I said I'd get this out quicker. Then Arkham Knight came out. First World problems.
As always, take delight :) (I'm tired of saying enjoy the whole time)
"You have irritated me, Ms. Beifong," Shin La said, his dark spectral eyes trained on the chief. "You are like an insect, niggling away at a power so much greater than you can fathom, yet you persevere. And I commend you for your persistence. But I cannot allow you to continue to meddle in my affairs. Affairs that I would have preferred to keep quiet. You have taken that from me now, and for that there is a price you must pay."
The tension was palpable between the decade old spirit and the stubborn police chief, but Shin La felt no fear emanating from her. A first, no doubt. People quaked and shook in fear when they learned of his true nature. But Lin knew exactly what he was capable of, and she didn't even flinch in her response.
"You said you wanted to talk," she said, leaning forward in her chair like she was accosting a rookie just new to the force. "Threatening me is pointless. I've heard it all. Threats are just words promising future action. I know what you're going to do. And I know what I'm going to do. If there's one thing I've learned in all my years it's that actions are what matter, not words. So if you just want to speak, I'll leave the door open for when you leave."
Shin La smiled at that. "I wonder how much your death will hurt the Avatar," he mused, walking around the decorated office, the cases on the wall filled with accolades and awards for outstanding bravery and commitment to the law. "Maybe not directly. But she'll feel the effects. I can't imagine the effect it will have on poor Mako though," he said, shaking his head almost in pity. "He will be distraught. And therein lays the seed for resentment. How many people do you think I will have to kill before Korra's closest allies turn on her?"
"Are you asking my opinion?" she replied, slowly pushing the chair out from under her desk. "Or do you want an estimate? All this talk about what you will do. What will happen. If you want my view I'll give it to you. Those kids have been through more than anyone ever should at their age. They've dealt with loss, suffering, injury, everything the world has managed to muster against them and they still came out on top. You won't change that."
"Oh?"
"Yes," she said grimly. "You're not the first to have promised the death of the Avatar. No, there was Amon first. Then there was Vaatu, whom I'm sure you are familiar with. Then Zaheer, you knew him inside out. And of course, the latest one before was you was Kuvira. And what you have to ask yourself, Shin La, is what happened to them?"
"We are not the same," Shin La dismissed her. "If you truly think that then you are already doomed."
Lin stood up, tucking the chair beneath the desk. Shin La raised an eyebrow, but didn't command her to sit back down. He thought the defiant look in her eyes could lead to some interesting results.
"Am I?" she responded, gripping the back of her chair. "Tell me, how are you any different to them? What do you have that they didn't? The powers, the plots, they're all the same. Each time, one possessed something that we had never seen before. With Amon it was bloodbending, with Kuvira it was a massive metal monster. Zaheer could fly. History repeats itself. It will repeat itself once again."
"They did not possess the same motivations," Shin La replied. "They were driven by ideals, by societal goals. They had malicious means but not malicious intent. And none of them have pre-existing history with the Avatar as I do."
The anger in his voice had heightened as the conversation raged forward. He looked her dead in the eye and she responded in kind, matching him glare for glare. "Oh yes," she clenched her teeth. "The real reason you've decided to make our lives a living hell. The one you endlessly bang on about. Maybe if you keep saying it I'll actually believe it."
That garnered a broken trophy case from the demon, as he extricated his glass-filled hand as the newspaper clippings and photos dropped to the ground. "Do not presume to know me, human."
"I'm a cop, remember?" she smiled mockingly. "Every time you've appeared in the city you've had a very clear purpose. The first time it was to get a reaction from me and Mako. The second time was to go after the Avatar. And the third is now as you come to silence me. Your intentions have been clear every time you've showed up. Except for the library."
Shin La's eyes narrowed into slits as Lin continued. "You had no logical reason to be there. Everything you needed to know about your enemy you learned from her friend's subconscious. And eye witnesses have said that Tan Shi harassed and annoyed the boy whose body we found old and frail. You weren't there to fight. You were there to learn. About what exactly?"
Shin La was silent for a moment, before he roared and flung the broken display at the chief. She saw the attack coming and brought her chair forward to block the incoming debris. She emerged afterward, hopping on the balls of her feet, ready for action.
"So far, you have been my most annoying yet effective foe. You are not afraid to fight me, not afraid to spit in my direction even after you have seen what I am capable of. You will never give in. You will not give up and you will never stop trying to defeat me. Your courage will invigorate others to stand in defiance, and I will not allow that to happen. The annals of death await, Ms. Beifong."
She didn't reply, instead planting one foot into the ground while the other kicked forward and sent her desk hurtling towards the phantom. He didn't even flinch as his skin turned transparent and the furniture passed harmlessly through.
He smiled, a deep chuckle emanating from his throat. He snapped the button at the top of his cloak, losing the garment as he readied himself to fight. He simulated the cracking of his fingers. He could physically interact with the world now. He intended to use that.
His shoulder was hit with something from behind and he glanced back as sheets of metal flew past him and into Lin's hands, twisting and shaping themselves into gauntlets and a helmet. They took a life of their own, moulding into suit of armour until the chief of police was covered completely, her eyes the only thing visible behind a set of goggles.
"First rule of combat," she said, her voice tinny from behind the metal mask. "Know your enemy."
With that she surged forward with a shower of blows, swinging at the demon like they were boxers in a ring. Her first punch went clean through the demon as he took hold of her armour and tried to phase through it.
She'd done her homework. Or she was good at guessing he needed skin contact to possess her. If she wants to beaten properly, Shin La thought, fine. She will be.
The two enemies circled each other, fists raised and bodies poised in their own battle stances. There was a single moment of silence. The air was still. Their eyes locked. A strange sort of respect was maintained. And then this cohesion was all lost to the flame of battle.
Lin was the first to break the standoff, experimenting with a right jab. Humouring her, Shin La swerved to avoid it, countering with a cross to her cheek. She kicked out with her left leg, her foot meeting Shin La's chest. Or it would have, if he hadn't have become intangible. He became formless for a second before becoming solid once again, trapping Lin's foot in the process. He grabbed her leg and slammed her whole body into the other unbroken display case.
"Earthbenders," Shin La mused, looking down at her. "So determined to face everything head on. You know this is pointless. I cannot touch you but you cannot touch me. I wonder what will break first. My form or your armour?"
With a growl Lin sprung back onto her feet, employing a haymaker onto the demon. Any other opponent would have wilted under such an assault but Shin La simply dematerialised, forming behind her. She immediately threw a backward elbow. It passed safely through his form before he leant forward and punched her in the back of the head.
"I know what you are thinking," he said as she reeled forward, her feet trying to keep her shaky form upright after the blow. "There's some way you can win. You think that there's something you're missing, some forgotten tactic that you can use to defeat me. In reality you are nothing more than an insect trying to avoid the inevitable crush of my boot."
She rushed forward again but this time he met her first, his hand clenching around her throat the same time his leg swept hers out from under her.
"Little tin soldier," Shin La grinned. "It's time to come out."
Metal has a great resistance to heat. Shin La knew that, and so did Lin. Shin La also knew that he didn't possess the firepower needed to blow a hole in her armour. But he also knew he didn't have to.
With a snap of his ghostly fingers, a bright light flickered to life in Shin La's hand. The fire pulsed, the embers warm and lively. And he fired right into Lin's chest.
The metal would not melt. It would protect its master by staying impenetrable. But her armour was also a prison, trapping her inside and as the cold steel began to warm up, so did Lin inside. And the metal could take a lot more heat than she could.
He cackled as the temperature rose, cooking the chief within. She could hear his distant laughter as the sweat trickled down from her face inside.
She took control of the fight for the first time when she burst unexpectedly from the armour, the sheets of metal striking Shin La and catching him off kilter before she kicked him back.
Shin La rubbed his chest in consideration, clearly not at all affected by her sudden re-emergence into the fray. "Does it depress you?" he asked smugly, his white teeth at odds with the surrounding darkness he emanated. "To know that no matter how many times you rear your arm to strike me you shall never succeed?"
Lin stood up, her hair disheveled and falling in front of her face. Whereas Shin La looked to be barely affected, she was feeling the effects badly. Sweat trickled down her face. Her lungs seized and her heart pumped erratically, while adrenaline swirled through her veins.
"If you're so untouchable," she breathed heavily. "Then you'll fight me properly. No bullshit. All this talk and yet you're afraid to give even the slightest bit of ground."
"You think you can goad me?" he chuckled. "Convince me to fight hindered so you can pull off a miraculous victory? Oh, you naive fool. I will indulge your request. It is the last one you will ever make."
The darkness behind him formed to make a whole, appearing as solid mass under the demon's skin. Lin clenched her fist, once again preparing herself.
She threw a right cross and he caught her fist and pulled her forward into his hand, smashing her in the centre of her face. She staggered back with the force of such a blow, her nose pumping blood. She swung once more with her other arm and again he caught it, doing the same thing with his left and swinging a brutal left hook. The Chief of Police saw stars and was helpless to block as Shin La reared back and slammed his foot into the middle of her chest, sending her crashing into the ground.
"Let me tell you something," he said as he walked beside her crumpled form. "I think I want you to hear it before the end."
He leaned down to speak and she seized her chance, firing her grappling hook concealed in her gauntlet, grabbing his face and using it as leverage to pull herself up. He took hold and propelled into his arms where he threw her head over heels into the opposite side of the room.
"You are born. You live. You fight. You die," he said tonelessly, shrugging as he spoke. "You copulate. You capitulate. You breed and you destroy. And then you rear little versions of yourselves so as to make sure that the cycle continues. So much of your pathetic existence is worthless."
Once more Lin picked herself up from the floor. Her bones ached. Blood trickled down from the gash at the top of her head and her broken nose hadn't stopped bleeding. It hurt to stand. But stand she did. She couldn't give up, not yet. Not ever.
"And you even ignored the few things in life that actually matter," Shin La continued, smiling as she shakily stood, propping herself up against the wall for support. "You were born to a mother who was fonder of the earth than the company of her own children. You were the offspring she ignored, always doting on the other spawn of her loins. You loved a man that rejected you in favour of a younger recipient, and you watched as he achieved the life you always wanted with another woman. You watched as your darling sister, who permanently marked you, was not only forgiven for her past transgressions in life but was actually rewarded. And you did this, all the while watching the world go by and ultimately changing nothing. Do you think rotting away in this police station is life? Your tale is a tragic one, Lin Beifong. You never lived a life, and now you never will."
"Shut up," she snarled, her expression all the hallmarks of a wounded animal. "Are you going to talk me to death?"
His only response was the quirk of his lip twitching upward. He walked forward, slowly and methodically, like he knew the fight was at its end. Closer and closer he came, until he was right next to her, able to feel the ragged heave of her lungs as she inhaled.
"No," he murmured, his voice so feather light she could barely make out the words. "I think I might beat you to death."
And then those ever familiar tendrils burst from out of the phantom's back, pinning the chief against the wall. She strained against the restraints, unwilling to give up, pushing to try once more, to never give up, and to never give in.
The first blow fractured her jaw. The second one traumatised her solar plexus and the third cracked her ribs. And on and on it went. Time became a blur as the world shrunk to only herself and the crack of her body as it wilted underneath the monstrous presence of Shin La. Her legs tried to twist, to kick out at the constant bombardment. She shut her eyes but he didn't let up, the pauses between hits giving only momentary relief.
Propped up before him, Shin La was free to rein down, to unleash all his frustration and anger on the woman. He could almost see her skin bruise from the never ending flurry of violence. Blood started to drip out of her mouth as she became too numb to even swallow, forming a small pool on the floor as he continued his assault.
Lin could only grunt in response as each fist and each jab found its mark as she was helpless to react. She gritted her teeth and refused to cry out even as the agony threatened to overtake her. She was nearing unconsciousness from the beating, the pain becoming more than she could take, before it finally stopped.
She opened her eyes slowly, seeing Shin La breathing heavily. Then with one final wail of rage, he slammed his fist into Lin's stomach. The resulting crack echoed throughout the room. The head of police, with her ever decreasing cognitive function, silently wondered whether it was her spine or the wall responsible for the noise.
She stumbled back and felt open air behind her. With blurry vision, she made out a brick shape on the ground far below. Wow, she thought, almost laughing to herself. The beating she took was enough to knock the wall down.
I always knew we needed to renovate.
A spectral hand wrapped around her throat. She flailed weakly against it, but her energy was undoubtedly depleted. She could do nothing as she went airborne, suspended in thin air, held only by the strength of Shin La as she looked down to see the streets below.
"I have never seen someone take such a beating and live," Shin La said quietly, his rage minimal. "You are remarkable, Lin Beifong. For a human at least." He seemed to speak with grudging respect, like he truly couldn't believe she hadn't passed out from such an assault.
She was too weak to reply. Her throat was sore and her breath was short. And so was her life span, she suspected. It didn't stop her spitting at him.
Despite his taunting, despite his threats and his attempts to dissuade her, she could look back with pride. She made her life, and nothing he could say would ever change her mind on that.
She closed her eyes and waited for the end.
Shin La saw this. She wasn't afraid to die. And she still wasn't afraid of him. He doubted there was anything he could ever do to make that happen. But there was something else he could do.
"Goodbye, Lin Beifong," he said, almost reverently. "From this height I can tell you your survival is... unlikely."
And then she truly was airborne, just for a moment. The rush of the air filled her lungs and flowed around her as she fell. It pushed her hair upward and chattered her teeth. And for a second, the fleeting moment was freeing.
And then she heard the sickening crack of her legs hitting the pavement as gravity did its job and the ground rushed to meet her fall right before her head connected with the concrete and-
Nothing. All thought dissolved into nothing.
Mako walked briskly down the street, the setting sun a reminder of the clock now placed on everyone in the city. The purple look of the sky, the pink clouds that you could only see as the day moved to embrace the night were clear to all. Usually a sight of beauty.
Now they were a warning. The streets were unusually empty, but for good reason. Shops had closed, work had stopped and people had gone home to their families. It was both relieving and worrying that the people had agreed to the curfew so fast. Of course, there would be people who resisted. Fools who didn't know the danger they placed themselves and everyone them in by daring to wait for the shine of the moon.
He was rushing, as always. The police office wouldn't be closed, even if most people would have gone home. Opportunists would be sure to take advantage of the curfew imposed on the city, and the whole justice system didn't halt because of one elusive demon on the loose. Still, he didn't want to be outside when the night came. He just wanted to get the dossier Lin mentioned on the task force and pour over it at home with a lantern and a beer.
Shin La knew them most of all. And he meant what he said. The closer you were to the Avatar, the more dangerous he became. He wouldn't stop. Not until they stopped him first.
He walked across the road and switched paths. There was an unusual crowd up ahead. Not as much as it could have been, true, but enough. Even if they hadn't heard from the radio, the chances of this many people gathering at the police station was impossible. It was-
He rounded the corner and suddenly it made perfect, horrible sense.
The first thing that gave it away was the huddle of people. A circle of pedestrians and bystanders, just standing in shock. Senior men, older men blocking people's view so as not to traumatise any young children still about. A woman, undoubtedly nurse or a doctor, leaning down to the body, checking for a pulse...
He couldn't see her face, but he didn't need to. The smashed hole at the top of the station, showing a destroyed office told him all he needed to know.
No,no,no,no,no,no...
Suddenly he was running, his feet setting off before he was even aware he was off. Every step was filled with inconceivable dread, feeling like a lifetime before he made it to her. The world seemed to slow down around him, shattering his perception. All he could see was her limp form and the blood on her uniform. All he could hear was silence.
He was vaguely aware of a man waving his hands frantically at him, trying to shield him from such an awful sight as he approached. He shoved him out of the way, almost too violently. He muttered a quick apology as he strode past. He made it to her just as the woman retracted her hand from Lin's neck.
"Wha-What is it?" he asked frantically, startling the woman as he appeared out of nowhere. "Does she have a pulse? Is she alive? How extensive is the damage? Is she-"
"She's alive," the woman confirmed, clearly disturbed by the amount of damage Lin's body had taken. "She has a pulse. An incredibly weak one. She needs to be taken to the hospital immediately."
No shit, Mako thought. His frantic mind raced at a million miles an hour. Hypothetical situations and possible solutions blurred in his consciousness but he came up with nothing in his panic addled mind. "I'll ring it," he said, dashing onto the street, only to look around in bewilderment for a phone booth. Damn it, where was the phone?!
"I've already had someone call," she replied calmly, reaching out to grasp his arm in an attempt to calm him down. "They'll be here within minutes."
Minutes Lin might not have. "How long will they take?" he asked quickly, his brain racing. "How long does she have?"
"It's going to be fine," she said, even as Mako's question was answered as the sirens, with an empty road and no traffic whirred somewhere in the city. "Everything is going to be fine."
Her hands were out in placating gesture, meant to keep him rational, meant to make sure he wouldn't freak out. But Mako was a detective. And he couldn't escape the feeling she was lying.
Everything is going to be fine.
The words echoed in his head as the ambulance arrived. The medics jumped out, Mako helping them with putting the unconscious woman onto a stretcher. The sight of Lin turned Mako's stomach as he got a closer look.
She was bleeding profusely from her head, a bloody smear still evident on the concrete ground. It stained the white sheets on the stretcher as her bruised and battered form was lifted into the back of the ambulance. Her left leg was splayed out in a direction that shouldn't have been possible. Her face was a mess of bruises and puffy, swollen skin.
And then the ambulance door closed. The vehicle sped off, leaving only billowing dust and flashing sirens as their evidence that they came. And as it left, a crushing weight settled inside Mako's heart. A weight he hadn't felt since that fateful night in an alleyway all those years ago.
And just as it did then, Mako's world just about shattered.
Everything was not going to be fine.
Tick.
Tock.
Tick.
Tock.
The incessant noise drowned Mako with its solitary sound. It drowned out the tapping of his foot and the gentle inhale and exhale he'd been working on for the past hour, in an attempt to keep calm.
He stared off into space, his thoughts the loudest thing of all. They came and they went, so quickly and scattered. His head tried to fill him with trivial things, like had he locked the door. Did he have enough milk and was the door to his bedroom wonky again? He should really have fixed that by now.
They were all distractions, disruptions in his silent soliloquy. No matter how much he banished thoughts of negativity, no matter how much he tried to think about the normal day to day routine he'd built, his mind always came back to that inescapable truth.
Lin was dying.
He'd rushed in after her, fire in his eyes and adrenaline in his veins. He couldn't remember the last time he'd ran that fast. The curfew had long since set in, but he didn't care. Shin La had already struck a decisive blow. One more wouldn't matter.
The doctor's face had been solemn. She explained that they had their finest healers on the job on a non-stop twenty four clock. That they were doing all they could. That while her survival was possible, it was "unlikely."
Yet still they worked. Still they strived to save her. Didn't give up, didn't give in, just like she would. Just like she had.
And all he could do was stare at a wall for an hour.
Tick. Tock.
The ticking made him feel powerless. Was this the clock of inevitability? Counting down not just for her but for all of them, the tolling of the bell for when Shin La finally came at his door and decided that he was done playing with them? He was directly responsible for helping to stop him now. He felt like a child, told to run when he'd barely begun walking.
He was so deep in thought that he didn't even notice her sitting down next to him.
"Hey," Korra said softly, a brief smile on her lips. "I got here as soon as I heard." The smile disappeared. "How is she?"
He barely glanced at her face before he looked down again. He was simultaneously angry, grief-stricken and feeling helpless. Putting his unrequited love right into that cocktail of emotions was not what he needed. "Not great," he finally replied, eyes glued to the floor.
"Right," she said, seeing that he wasn't in the humour to get into specifics. She'd seen him sad and unhappy before, but not like this. His eyes were baggy from the lack of sleep. His arms hung limply in his lap. He'd never looked so tired before in his life to her. "I can call Katara over, if you want?"
He looked at her again, and wave of familiarity spread over languidly. This girl, the Avatar no less, still wanting to help him. He'd never get used to it. Alternatively, he didn't know how he managed to live without it. "Thanks," he responded, trying to give her a smile of his own, however short it may be. "But you don't need to do that. Apparently, another healer won't make a difference. It's up to the spirits now whether she survives or not."
"Okay," she said, taking the information in before they both lapsed into silence. "Funny, I was going to ask you if you could teach me how to bend lightning but... I think you need help more than I do. How are you holding up?"
"Ah, you know..." he was about to say fine, before he looked at her face. She understood, trying to support him, but she couldn't hide the raised eyebrow. Anything of the particular grain of "I'm okay," would not be very convincing.
"Not great," he admitted. "Everything's not great right now."
"That's true," she agreed, before looking over to the wall that he'd been staring at. "I know how you must be feeling. I'm so sorry, Mako. And why would he do this?"
"Why does Shin La do anything?" Mako asked, his head shot to the ceiling. The question was rhetorical. "It's to hurt us. Nothing more, nothing less."
"Yeah but, why Lin?" she said, her voice rising just a bit. Mako's analytical mind didn't miss that. There was some underlying issue here.
"You know why," he supplied, sighing in acceptance. "It hurts me. And if it hurts me it's going to hurt you."
She looked at him, pain and worry evident in her eyes. "He wants to tear us apart. He wants Asami, Bolin and all of you to hate me."
There was a question in her face. "And?"
"Will you?" she said, a small sense of anxiety in her tone.
"Will I what?"
"Will you hate me?"
For the first time since she sat next to him, he stopped avoiding her gaze and stared at her. Her clear blue eyes were alight with concern and she was fidgeting with her hands, something he knew she did when she was nervous.
No, he thought immediately. He didn't hate her. It was the exact opposite.
But he wouldn't tell her that.
"No, of course not," he said instead, almost snorting in derision. He recalled an oath he'd made to her, when it felt like the trials and tribulations were finally over. "I told you that I'd always follow you into battle, Korra. I meant it."
She smiled at that, more reassured now that they'd spoke. "Thank you, Mako," she said graciously, her white teeth showing the lovely smile she'd always had, one that he would never forget.
They settled into silence again, a more manageable one this time. The clock continued to tick as the night started to take a stronger hold. The light from outside had dimmed from amber to blue. The cold breeze of night was about to bring Republic City under its sway.
"You know, after my mother died, I didn't have a good parental figure," Mako interrupted the quiet. "Mainly because I had to be one for Bolin. Any adults we met weren't your beggar with a heart of gold. I don't regret that. I had to grow up fast to survive. I didn't really get much of a childhood. And at the time, I didn't think I needed one. But then you came into my life and Asami and... Bolin was infinitely better adjusted to the shift. Infinitely better at being... normal. Because he'd grown up playing with other kids, interacting with other people. And I was left floundering."
Korra nodded, unsure where he was going with it but interested nevertheless.
"I made mistakes. I made a lot of mistakes," Mako mused, a rueful smile creeping upon his lips at the memories. "Mistakes with you, mistakes with Asami, just all round. I tried to please everyone and ultimately pleased no one."
His expression turned thoughtful as he looked across to the wall, envisioning Lin on the hospital bed. "But Lin never cared about that. If I fell she waited for me to come back up. She made sure that I never regressed into what I used to be. She was a steady hand that put me on the right side of the law and made damn sure I stayed there. She made me a better man than I am," he said, his eyes becoming shiny, threatening to break with unshed tears. "And I'll be eternally grateful for that."
He was surprised with what Korra did next. It was almost a reflex to pull away when her hand clasped his. "Then we'll fight on," she said resolutely. "We'll make that demon pay. For Lin."
Mako looked in her eyes once more, full of hope and wonder. "Yeah," he said, agreeing with her with everything he had, both mind and soul. "We'll stop him. I'll teach you how to bend lightning and we'll stop this madman. For Lin," he reiterated, his voice welling up strangely as he fought the sob rising in his throat.
"For Lin."
In her mind, there would always be room for niggling doubt. Little pieces of uncertainty floating away in the maelstrom of her psyche, flashes of reservation that refused to disappear. Her feelings for Korra were no different.
She wondered how something could seem so clear yet be so mired in hesitation and disbelief. Asami loved her. Of that there was no argument. One couldn't go through all she had if she didn't have some rock of hope and affection beside her, helping her move forward even when everything around her threatened to fall apart.
So, yes, she loved her. It had felt good to admit and good to say out loud. That was the clear part.
What wasn't clear was the ilk of her feelings.
What is love? She mused as she looked out the window, the dark night setting, the usual neon of a city embracing the darker side of its spectrum noticeably absent. When did it happen? Was it gradual or did it start as soon as you laid eyes on that special someone?
She'd always figured that it was the latter. It's what she'd been raised on anyway. And then, as she grew up, she changed her mind. Love could only be a chemical reaction that occurred somewhere inside her brain, igniting the positive feelings within her and instilling a warm feeling in her chest.
Korra wasn't like Mako. Mako was... something she wanted to be, at the time. Infatuation would be too harsh, love would be too strong. Compassion? Affection? Definitely. But then again, who actually knew? She hadn't even looked at Korra properly back then. It was only after the whole fiasco with Vaatu was over did she finally start to see her in a different light.
Love was one thing. Attraction was another. The two didn't necessarily always go hand in hand.
And so, in her quest to find clarity with her current situation, she found herself at the door of the earthbender.
"Hey, Bolin?" Asami asked, opening the door to see the surprised figure of him getting out of the bed. "Can I ask you about something?"
"Sure," he shrugged, as he turned to neaten the covers he'd just gotten out of. "Shoot."
"All right," she said, nervous anticipation settling in her gut. She didn't know for sure if he could understand. She'd just kind of found herself gravitating in his general direction, an instinct that he would be able to comprehend what she was feeling. "Um... did you ever have feelings for Korra?"
Bolin froze for a second, before turning to face her. His expression was one of apprehension and incredulity, mixed with curiosity. "Em... why do you ask?" he replied, rubbing the back of his neck while he did so.
"It's just..." This had been a mistake. She was wrong. She was making both him and herself uncomfortable and it would be best if she just made her excuse and left-
"I guess I did at one point," Bolin scratched the back of his head in interest. "Or maybe I thought I did. But I got over it, you know that. And that crush is long gone. Why'd you want to know?"
Asami took a breath. Okay, take two. "It's just, when did you know they weren't romantic?" she inquired, her tone a bit helpless. "I mean, when did they just disappear? Or were they ever like that? Because I've got a lot on my mind right now and I don't know what I'm feeling or what I should be feeling and-"
"And you're wondering whether you love Korra as a friend or as something more," Bolin supplied, not missing a beat as he spoke.
Asami nodded in agreement. She'd forgotten that behind the jokes and the goofy bravado, Bolin was quite an insightful person. Not many people knew that. She almost felt ashamed that she didn't remember it. "Yes," she sighed, "That's exactly it."
"There's not much I can say Asami," he said. "I don't... I never had feelings of proper love. Not until I met Opal. It's different for different people. Once I saw Opal I..." a smile came upon his lips at the memory. "Somehow I knew she'd be the one. Korra was an adolescent crush. Nothing more. And that doesn't apply to you."
Asami could only nod as he spoke. "No, it doesn't. And Korra... she wears her heart on her sleeve. And I don't think she knows either. Any advice?"
Bolin squirmed in his seat on the bed. "Uh, I don't think I can help on that one."
She knew that, even though he'd try to help her the best he could, he'd also try to help Mako. That's why he wouldn't tell her to go for it. She sighed. She'd put him in a awkward position, the exact opposite of what she wanted to do. "Thanks, Bolin," she said, putting on a smile and turning to leave.
He caught her by the arm before she could depart. "Look," he sighed. "I get that you're confused. And it can't be easy for you after all that's happened. But I'm pretty sure you'll sort it out. Both of you, that is. You'v e always done it before," he said, trying to aid her with his words.
"I know," she said, thanking him again before swinging the door shut.
In time, everything would sort itself out, she told herself. It had to.
The sky bloomed like a flower, violet dashes of purple and blue dotted upon a yellow skyline. Her back settled against the rich brown bark of the tree behind her, and the wind gently scattered the spores of plants she couldn't name, sights she couldn't explain. The daisies swayed in the breeze, and she thought to herself, is this what paradise looks like?
The grass moved lazily, brushing against the soles of her feet and the lake in the distance dazzled in the sunlight. Every so often a pulsating splash could be heard as amalgamations and hybrids of animals the girl couldn't recognise frolicked within the clear waters of the oasis she was sitting in. The sun shone with such vigour that it seemed the dark of the night and the gleam of the moon would never dethrone it. Not in this place.
Korra brought herself to her feet, her hair buffeted by the soft draught that swished and flickered all around her. She was barefoot, but the stones hidden in the undergrowth caused her no pain. It felt like she was walking on air.
Paradise did look like this.
It all felt natural, like this was how the world was meant to be.
She didn't notice the ominous cloud at first, the insignificant speck of dust in the sky almost invisible to the naked eye. She only noticed after that little speck rose and rose, higher and higher, settling into the heart of the sun. And then, like a cancer, it began to infect the bright glowing star in the endless sea of blue before her.
She wanted to speak, wanted to move, but her arms wouldn't oblige her skin suddenly becoming as sturdy as sand. The gentle breeze began to turn into a howling wind, battering the trees at their cores, uprooting them from the Earth. The water turned to sludge and the sky began to darken.
"Every decision you make," a voice boomed from the sky. Korra knew who it was as soon as it spoke. "Every decision your allies make. They come back to you."
The sky swirled above her, no longer a beacon of hope and prosperity. The only facets of innocence they had held were lost. Bright red flames of light carved into the night, burning a name across the skyline.
Noah.
"He made a decision. That decision comes back. It comes back to you."
It was the last thing she heard before the ground opened up and swallowed her whole.
She woke swiftly, her body bolt upright on the bed. Her chest took quick, gasping breaths before they turned to slow heaving inhales as she calmed down. The sweat dripped from her face like the tears of relief. It had all felt so real...
She looked around. The room she was in was plain. An open window, no pane of glass or anything was positioned behind her. A small bed, in which she was lying in, was stationed in the middle of the room. Apart from that there was nothing. No furniture, no decoration, no extravagance.
Strange. She swore that she'd fallen asleep in the hospital.
She looked out the window. Everything looked to be upside down and in ruin, like the people who had lived here had either left or were just gone. Maybe they died here, she thought. Maybe they were wiped out, a darker part of her mind whispered.
Evidence of past inhabitancy littered the abandoned buildings. Pieces of cloth once used for clothes and campfires that had long, long since been extinguished were scattered across the place. The buildings looked old yet sturdy, like they were built to last. A sort of stone garden was at the bottom.
And there, in robes of yellow and red, was a figure, staring out into the distance ahead.
"Definitely not the hospital," Korra murmured to herself.
She took care not to make too much noise as she exited the room and found the stairs conveniently leading to the garden right outside her door. She didn't want to startle the person below. She also didn't know whether they would be friend or foe.
A strange sensation of familiarity swept through the Avatar as she walked down the stairs and through the halls of what she had decided were some kind of temple. Almost like she'd been here before, at some point.
Finally, she made it down to where the person was, still staring transfixed into the distance. From where she was standing he looked like a man, a tall man, with a red hood covering the back of his head. He turned slightly, knowing of her presence. And somehow, even though she didn't know him and she hadn't seen his face, she knew not to be wary.
The steps seemed to make themselves happen as she walked unknowingly towards him. He was dressed with a familiar style, giving Korra the impression that, somewhere in the recesses of her mind, the answer to this man's presence was right on the tip of her tongue, like an elusive memory she was trying to claw back before she forgot completely.
Yellow breeches were stuffed into brown boots. A red cloak covered what appeared to be a yellow shirt. Only one man dressed like that that Korra knew of. "Tenzin?" she asked disbelievingly, as she reached a hand out to grasp him on the shoulder. The man brought his hands to the back of his head and removed his hood.
To reveal a blue arrow line tattoo that stretched all along his bald crown onto his forehead as he turned around.
"No," the man chuckled, his voice warm, his hands stroking his chin strap beard. "But I've been told we look alike."
She almost tripped as she stepped back in disbelief. Because dream, vision or reality, this couldn't be happening. No way...
Korra's eyes glimmered with a mixture of delight and disbelief as they settled on the visage of Avatar Aang.
Oh yes, we're going there.
Thank you to everyone who keeps reading and reviewing. Pretty sure that reviews are the thing that they'll put in my IV when I inevitablu end up in AE.
Huh, dark joke. Great.
As always hope you enjoyed and I'd love to hear what you's think :)
Peace.