Korra woke with a gasp. Pain shot through her shoulder. Instinctively, she tried to clutch it, but found that she could not move her hands. She gave a tug, but the restraints wouldn't budge. Her hands were bound in front of her, secured tightly with rope.
Slowly, her vision adjusted to the faint flicker of torchlight. She looked past the bars of the cage and saw a large cavern. She was suspended in the middle of the chamber. Reluctantly, she looked down, but was not able to make out the floor in the darkness.
Zaheer. As her memory returned, she fought to keep her breathing controlled. Zaheer had her trapped, possibly underground, and far from any allies she could rely on to find her. She took a deep breath and fought the urge to exhale right away. She needed to remain in control. That was the only chance she had.
No one else was in the cavern. Korra tried not to think of what that might mean for Jinora and Opal. She pushed the thoughts from her mind. Her first priority was to escape. They could not keep her in a cage forever. If Zaheer had not killed her, that meant he needed her alive. But why? What is he going to do with me? Bait?
Korra took a few moments to focus. She glanced around her surroundings one more time, noticing the cavern wall not to far from where she hung. The rock face was creased and jagged, perfect for climbing if she could get her hands on it. Korra gritted her teeth and took a deep breath. She rocked her body to one side of the cage, then forward toward the cavern wall. The chain that suspended the cage groaned, but she rocked back anyways, putting more effort behind her forward push.
The cage swung a little farther each time. Soon all the rusted bars screeched in protest with her wild movement. "Just a bit more," she whispered. The next time she swung forward, she reached out for the rocks, shoving her bound hands awkwardly through the gap in the bars. Her fingers brushed stone, and then slipped away. "No!" The cry echoed through the cave.
"What are you doing?"
Korra immediately turned to see who had come into the cave. Zaheer stood below her, holding a torch aloft. He smiled up at her when she growled at him. "Nothing that concerns you."
"If you wish to kill yourself, it does not trouble me. But you should know that is all your foolish attempts will lead to." He swept the torch forward, revealing more of their surroundings. "This cave is completely enclosed, and has only one exit. It is heavily guarded. Even if you survived the fall, Knight-Commander, we would merely bring you back and lock you up in a less pleasant manner."
"This is pleasant?"
Zaheer laughed and she looked away. "Do you know what this cavern is, Knight-Commander?" When she did not answer, he continued. "This was one of many holding cells used by the first Earth King, Chin the Conqueror. After he united his territories, he sent the leader from each conquered government here. This room in particular jailed a man afraid of falling."
Korra rolled her eyes. "And so the King left him here to rot. And you hate the cursed nobility. I could care less about a mad man's motivations."
"But he did not leave him here to rot. No one died here, actually." Korra glanced down at Zaheer again. He began pacing. "The Earth King released them, years later when they were too feeble and too crazy to be of harm to anyone. They spoke wild tales of where they had been, of what Chin had done to them. He ruled his people with fear."
"Why do you tell me any of this? You expect me to agree with you? To think that all rulers are inherently evil?"
"I expect you of all people, Knight-Commander, to understand how dangerous a single person with that much power can be. Look no further than yourself. You killed your uncle in battle because of the injustices he had committed. But the people saw you as a thief. A petty soldier clamoring for power she didn't earn. They somehow think you hold their culture, their history, just because you struck down their leader."
Korra leaned back against the cage bars. "I don't hold any of those things," she replied. "I'm just a person, Zaheer. The people know that."
He shook his head. "No, they don't. I intend to remind them, Knight-Commander. I will liberate the masses, and I will do so by showing them even the Slayer is vulnerable." He turned and walked away, taking the torchlight with him.
"And what about you, Zaheer?" she called. "You are no better. Destroying the monarchy just to force the people into accepting your ideals."
"I force nothing upon them Knight-Commander. I simply seek to free them, not reclaim the throne."
Korra's eyes widened. "They'll be thrown into chaos."
He nodded. "That is the natural order. It will be as it should."
"You can't! Zaheer!" He ignored her, leaving through a narrow corridor that exited the main cavern. Korra sighed and waited a moment longer. She wanted to be sure he was gone before she resumed her work.
With a groan, she got back into position and started swaying the cage toward the rock face again.
Asami motioned for Kai to follow her across the empty courtyard. Silently, they made their way through the keep, careful to avoid the guards. They reached the stables and began saddling two of the horses. A noise caused them to duck behind one of the stalls.
"Bolin, watch it!" Mako hissed.
"I'm sorry!" Bolin whispered. "I can barely see where I'm walking."
"Come on we have to-" Mako stopped talking as he entered the stables. Asami groaned. He's sure to see Naga half saddled. "Who's here?" he called.
Reluctantly, Asami stood up. She could not meet his gaze. "Go back to bed, Mako."
"What are you doing here?" He pointed at Naga. "Where do you think you're going?"
The comment made her frown and glare at Mako. She raised a brow and put her hands on her hips. "I could ask you the same thing."
"We're going to save Korra!" Bolin said.
Mako sighed and tilted his head back. "Bolin…"
"Do even you have a plan?" Asami asked.
Mako straightened. "We're going to go start by the plateau and...why are you shaking your head?"
"Kai followed them, he knows close to where they're hiding. We think they're being kept underground. Hopefully Jinora, Opal, and Korra are in the same place." Asami moved to Naga's side and finished adjusting the saddle. "Kai and I were going to go alone, but I guess you can come along."
"Why didn't you tell us any of this?" Bolin asked.
"You two were held captive. You aren't exactly in the best shape. I know you were injured," Asami explained. Even as she spoke, Bolin winced as he walked over to her, holding his side. "But at this point I can either knock you out, or you can come with us."
Mako scoffed. "You wouldn't really knock us out."
Asami narrowed her gaze at him. "Try me."
"Let's save it for Zaheer, everyone," Kai said, stepping between them.
"You're right." Asami grabbed another saddle from the rack and tossed it at Bolin. He grunted, but caught it. "Come on boys. We're wasting time."
It took them the entire night and part of the next morning to reach the place where Kai had seen them disappear. They tied their horses off to the nearby trees and made camp. Asami pulled a sack from the back of Naga and carefully set it on the ground. Bolin leaned over and peered at it.
"What's in there? A secret weapon?" he asked.
"Something like that. We're going to have to wait until darkness though." She pulled the poles from the bag first and then carefully unrolled the fabric.
"What does it do? Is it some sort of catapult?" Mako asked as he joined them.
"No, it's a glider."
"A glider?" Mako sounded suspicious. "As in flying?"
"Gliding is very different from flying," Asami said. "I am hoping that we can use this to survey the valley more effectively. It will be easier to spot a fire, or campsite from the air."
"Does it even work?" Bolin asked.
"In theory the air moves over the wings of the glider and -"
"In theory? Have you even tested this?" Kai asked.
"Of course I tested it!" Asami shot back.
"And?" They all looked at her expectantly.
She hesitated. "Korra sprained her ankle." Mako frowned. "But, she did manage to stay in the air before falling. With a lighter load, I'm sure it will work."
"Well, Bolin is obviously out," Kai said with a laugh.
Mako shook his head. "There is no way I'm getting in that thing."
"No, we need someone small and light." Asami looked over at Kai. The color drained from his face.
"What?" He took a step back. "No!"
"Kai please? We don't know how much time she has." She prayed Kai would do it.. He had to. Even as she snapped the pieces into place, she watched him approach her hesitantly. He reached a hand out and felt the soft fiber pulling taut across the frame.
"It will work?" he asked.
Asami nodded. "If we go down into that valley without any knowledge of their location, they will find us and kill us." She finished assembling the glider and hoisted it up. "I would not ask you to do this if I thought I was putting your life at risk." She nodded toward the plateau edge. "Come on. There is a good launching point this way." Kai took the glider from her. As they walked, Asami pulled her spiked gauntlet on tight, cinching the straps tight to hold it on her hand. She flexed her fingers, working out the stiff leather.
"Are you all right?" Kai asked.
"I will be," Asami said. Fear gnawed at her gut - fear for Korra's life, for her safety. She worried that they would get there and that something would go wrong, that they would kill their captives rather than risk losing them. That won't happen though. I'll kill them before I let that happen. Her fists clenched. The leather creaked again. Her martial arts had always been a last resort, a means of self defense. But now she wondered what it might be like to smash the gauntlet into Zaheer's face. All she could picture was Korra, her face stricken with a familiar haunted look.
They reached the edge of the plateau and stopped. Asami looked out over the valley. Green grass rolled out before them, hills eclipsing one another on the horizon. "Whoa," said Kai. The glider tugged at him as wind currents passed over it.
"Do you think you can find them?" Asami asked.
He nodded. "If I don't fall to my death, I can take off in the direction I saw them go. But...how will I get back up here?"
"You only get one chance," Asami said. "Once you take off, we will climb down and wait for you to turn around and land by the cliff face." She took a moment to explain the basic concept behind controlling the glider. She pointed out the different ways he could steer and adjust his distance from the ground if something went wrong. "You'll just look like a bird to them," she said, giving his shoulder a squeeze. "A large bird."
Kai nodded, though his hands shook as he took his position with the glider.
"You can do this," Mako said. Asami saw him smile at the squire, a rare occurrence.
"I have full confidence in your abilities, Sir Squire," Bolin said with a bow. Kai chuckled nervously, and Bolin glanced up at him with a grin. "Good luck."
"All right, all right," Kai said. He turned away from them, looking out over the plateau edge. A strong wind pushed against them, and he took a cautious step forward. "So I just...try to run down the mountain?" he asked.
"And hopefully, your feet will never touch the ground," Asami said.
He took a deep breath. "This is for Korra. And Opal...and Jinora." He ran forward. He ran until his feet struggled to touch the ground, and he leapt into the air, the glider pulling him off the cliffside and into the sky.
A/N Omg guys, I know it's been a while. But yay here's a chapter! Also, for those of you that come to my streams, STREAMS ARE NOW GOING TO BE HELD ON SATURDAYS AT 5PM PACIFIC TIME ON TWITCH CHANNEL LURALINE. SAME TIME, DIFFERENT DAY. THIS IS IN EFFECT AS OF JUNE 20TH. I am going to be going to some meetings that are held on Fridays, that's why the change is happening. But yeah, hopefully we can be on a more regular schedule now.
In other news. I'M GOING TO HAVE A BOOK PUBLISHED! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! *ahem* Anyways, the book is called The Broken Coil and we're looking at having it ready sometime in the fall. I'll keep you all updated ~Sy