I've kinda ran out of chapters to post for 'Rebirth.' I hope everyone doesn't mind another chapter of 'Fallout.' There are some more adult-ish themes in this chapter, but I don't think enough to change the rating. Enjoy!
He sputtered after water was splashed on his face. Bolin shot up, looking around. He saw that he was locked behind a series of bars with Asami and Mako. The bars were hastily placed into the ground from the looks of it. Though, when he tried to move the ground, it refused.
He let out a loud, dramatic gasp, "Someone found a way to make fake dirt!"
The sounds of Asami and Mako slapping their foreheads filled the cave they were in.
"No Bolin. Our bending was taken away."
"Oh well, that answers my first question," he said before widening his eyes, "Was it Amon? I knew he got away!"
"Nope. It was me." The voice was hoarse and weak. A short coughing fit followed.
Bolin looked up, seeing grayed blue eyes. He gasped loudly again.
"Oh, this swamp is good at playing tricks on us."
"It's not playing any tricks." The firebender deadpanned.
"It's not?"
"No. It appears that Jinora lied to the world to allow Korra to hide. They ran into each other sometime ago."
"… So she is real?"
"The real important question here is, are you real, Bolin?" The Avatar laughed, swatting her hand at something unseen to her prisoners.
Bolin nodded before jumping up, hitting his head on the bars, "Korra? Why were you pretending to be dead?"
The Water Tribe woman's eyes widened fearfully as she placed her hands alongside her cheeks. She then pulled her cheeks down, "I am dead? Oh no, I'm late to speak with the next Avatar. I need to let him or her know not to eat nutshells! They cause horrible stomach aches later. He would be two years old but I would hate to think that he'll choke because we all know that two year olds love putting things into their mouths."
"It was just the news across the entire world. You are not really dead." Mako said, wishing he could melt the bars he was now firming grabbing.
She stopped, looking certain about their comment, "It's just a rumor? I can't seem to keep track anymore."
"It's been said for the past two years." Asami sighed.
Mako growled, "Give us our bending back, Korra."
She lit a cigarette, blowing the smoke into the cage, "I prefer you all right there. You might come back in the night and cut my throat. You'd be helping her, and," She would pause to let out a raspy chuckle before continuing, "Then I'd really be dead."
Asami slumped back, crossing her arms. Anger did not hide its ugly head on her face and Korra laughed at it.
Mako spoke up, "Korra, we have an important thing to go to and locking us in here is really hampering it."
"Especially since we're trying to save the world." Asami added.
The Avatar sat down, propping her head up in a hand. She would hold up three fingers, "Saving the world is completely overrated. I did it twice."
She stared at them for a moment, letting the cigarette hang loosely from her lips. She then adjusted her oversized, worn green jacket, one taken from a soldier of the famed Red Collared brigades. She rolled up the long sleeves and kicked her bare feet out.
"Hungry anyone?" she finally asked, "All this catching up is making me hungry."
A chorus of 'no' sang out until Bolin changed his mind.
"I am a bit hungry actually."
Korra lifted herself up with a bit of airbending before walking off, "I will return shortly. Don't move from your spot."
After she was out of hearing range, Mako looked at his friends, "Something is wrong with her."
"Really? I'm surprised you say that," Bolin asked sarcastically, "I couldn't tell from her behavior or that she asked us to not go anywhere after we're in a cage."
"She doesn't care, Mako." Asami said disappointed, "And the color in her eyes? She's on something. It's no surprise that she doesn't seem to know what is going on when she's high all the time."
"I really don't like not having my earthbending. I feel weak and empty inside. How are we supposed to fight the Earth Empire now?"
He glanced to his right to see Asami glaring at him.
"Oops. Sorry Asami."
Mako cleared his throat, "We need to get out of here and make her give us our bending back. Bolin and I should be able to take her down until we can find your arm pieces, Asami."
"We're supposed to just fight the Avatar, our friend by the way, and get out in one piece?" Bolin shot back, "Without our bending? May I remind you of what happened in the swamp? Moving angry vines. They moved on their own! This swamp and Korra match each other very well."
The brothers argued for a moment as Asami inspected the bars. She laid down on her back before pressing up on the bars with her feet. She grinned, knowing that her guess was correct.
"Her bending is off still."
The brothers stopped to listen to her, "What?"
"She's not in fighting form. If it were not for the vines aiding her, I would have beaten her and these bars are not set in the rock properly. With the right amount of pressure, I think we can remove these. The only worry now is getting your bending back."
"Show us then." Mako said crossing his arms, "And we all know that we would have gladly helped her with getting back into shape if she had stayed, right?"
Asami shrugged, "Doesn't matter what we can do to help her now. Let's just exploit her horrible craftsmanship and get out of when she's not aware. Helping her can come second."
The brothers nodded, copying Asami and removing the bars. They would insert the bars back into their places as they hid. They waited for Korra to return and jumped her as she walked in, coughing roughly. Fear filled her face as they tied her up. Bolin made sure to stuff a sock or two into her mouth and seal it with a belt. She growled, cried and rolled about, screaming threats that no one could understand.
"Settle down Korra. Let whatever is in you leave your system for the next few days. You'll feel better." Mako said.
"We might not have the time, Mako. We still need to head north."
Mako frowned, "Then we'll go. Bolin can look after her."
"You are going to go without your bending?" A brow raised on the heiress' face.
"Yes. We don't have the time, unless she settles down and gives it back. Until then, our leadership is still needed."
"We can take her with us." Bolin spoke up, "It would be wrong of us to leave her here."
Three sets of eyes looked at the woman thrashing about still. Mako rubbed his forehead. He would look around the room, finding a series of plants in pots. He knew that they were from back in his cop days.
"Let's at least find a way out of the swamp. Asami and I can come back later and get you and Korra, then go." He finally said.
"Wait, you are leaving me with her? What if she gets out?"
Mako pointed to the plants, "She won't do anything if we get rid of those. She'll be in too much pain to want to fight in the next few hours."
Bolin began to tap his fingertips together, "More pain you say? Like more screaming?"
"Probably," Mako put his hand on his brother's shoulder, "not to mention being crazy and feeling like there's something crawling in your skin. I've seen weirder reactions to this stuff. Good luck."
The trio soon looked down, hearing the muffled screams turn into whimpered crying. Korra had managed to bring her knees to her chest. Mako took a moment to find what seemed like a blanket and laid it over her.
"Get better Korra." He whispered to her as he knelt, tucking the blanket around her, "We're going to need you in the future, if everything should go wrong."
When he stood, he saw that Asami was finishing with putting her arm piece into its socket.
"Ready?" the firebender asked.
"I'm as ready as I will ever be. I'm just worried about you not having your bending." Asami said, flexing her left hand.
"I'll be fine."
They both left the cave, looking for a path to safely take them out of the swamp.
The swamp left Mako in a foul mood. He and Asami spent the last couple of hours trying to navigate their way out of it. Now they were wet, cold and hungry. The firebender was mentally slapping himself for not waiting to have his bending returned.
"This was a bad idea." Mako finally said.
"Yeah, I realized this after we fell into the water a bit ago." She said, dumping the water out of her boots, "Do you think we can make it back to Bolin before dark?"
Mako shrugged, "To be honest, I'm so disorientated that I'm not sure which way is what. Damn it, Korra; of all the things to do to us. She had to take my bending."
"Well, I finally have an answer to your 'What would Korra do' question."
"And that is?"
Asami brought two fingers to her mouth before 'breathing' out fake smoke, holding it and then laughing, "Just roll another one, City Boy. Just roll another and pass me your bending."
Mako tried not to laugh, "City boy."
He pulled the Avatar's precious plants out of his bag and looked at them for a bit, "I wonder how she got these?"
"You should just toss them."
Mako nodded, dropping the plants into the water below. They stayed there for a moment longer before the cold settled in and forced them to move again.
They hid in the shadow of the night when they reached the town they were looking for. Mako rubbed his chin, secretly trying to hide the fact that the beard was beginning to become itchy. He was also looking for signs of roaming patrols. Indeed, there were some patrols passing by. They waited for one to pass by before climbing onto a building to hide for the rest of the night.
Asami made Mako sit down so she could fix his hair. She brushed it the best she could with her fingers before attempting to make it look like an Earth Kingdom top knot.
"You and Bolin really took growing your hair out. You both could almost pass like Earth Kingdom citizens."
Mako shrugged, "We do what we can to survive. We have to. There's too much to lose."
Asami chuckled, "So, do we return in the morning?"
"As much as I don't, I fear that Korra is already driving him mad."
"Let's get some sleep then," Asami started, "Then we'll get some food and return to get Bolin."
"And Korra."
Asami sighed, "And Korra."
For a town overrun with Earth Empire soldiers, this one was fairing very well. The market was busy and there were some smiles on the faces of the people. They waited for the patrol to pass by before climbing down into the alley. Then they made themselves look presentable before stepping out.
As Mako shopped for breakfast, Asami would keep watch a couple of paces away. She made sure to pull her sleeves down to her wrists hiding the fake arm as best she could. Mako would soon return with a bag.
"Ready?"
They began to walk down the street when the sight of something forced them to stop. Walking a block away was the Red Collar commander speaking with Bataar. The temptation was there.
"Urgh," Mako growled, clinching a fist, "If Korra hadn't taken my bending!"
Her hand went to his shoulder, "Another time, Mako. There are too many soldiers around. We couldn't take them even with your bending."
"It's just painful seeing him walk around so freely. We're so close to ending it all right here."
She pulled on his shoulder, "Come on. Let's go."
They accidentally bumped into a patrolling soldier as they turned. The soldier responded by shouting at them to be careful. Then he hesitated to continue his way.
"Hey, you two look familiar." He said before his eyes widened, "You're Resistance sol-"
Asami responded by bringing her right arm up and hitting the soldier with the metal fist. Her shock glove soon followed. The streets then went into chaos as the people ran to clear the streets. Mako threw his bags of food at some of the running soldiers before kicking another back.
"Run!" Mako shouted as the sound of Asami's shock glove went off on another soldier.
As they ran, the firebender made sure to throw what he could get his hands on back at the earthbenders. Mako let out a shout after his ankles were wrapped in a metal bands. He tripped as the metalbender dragged him back. Suddenly the man's collar was hooked by the inventor's right arm. Asami had come back through another alley and surprised the man with her shock glove going to his head. She then pushed him into his fellow soldiers before striking another with an elbow.
Mako tried to get his feet out of the metal bands but they were too tight.
"Asami, get out of here."
"And leave my brother behind? Never." she said grabbing his collar and attempted to drag him out of the street.
Mako grinned at being called 'brother.'
She pulled him into the next street where some more of the soldiers stood, ready to fight. One of the soldiers made the mistake of sending a cable her way. She used the shock glove on the cable before a metal band took her feet from under her. She shocked the next man that got close before something collided with her head.
It was a quick meeting between the chiefs of the Water Tribes. The twin chiefs informed their uncle that they would not be joining, giving Tonraq the entire command of the Water Tribes' forces. The older waterbender gracefully accepted, knowing that his nephew and niece were not the warrior type regardless of their bending skills.
Tonraq soon spent the rest of the day studying maps. The location of rivers and lakes within the mountainous northern Earth Empire, roads that would aid the Tribes' forces; they were all noted and memorized within his mind. While Prince Iroh II's forces would make their push in the west, he was going to hit north of Ba Sing Se before heading south. His daughter's friends should be bringing a ragtag force from the southern Earth Empire. The goal was to trap Bataar's army near the old Serpent's Pass and force them to surrender. He knew Mako's and Asami's efforts in the south were paying off, but the worry of Bataar moving back into Ba Sing Se worried him.
He hummed before having a letter drawn up to send to the Fire Lord. He would ask for a force to invade the east coast from the Fire Nation. He only hoped that it got there before the invasion began.