Asami rushed to meet Zaheer, intending to block his attack and force an opening. Zaheer twisted to the side and Asami quickly pivoted to face him once more. He lashed out with a low kick and Asami lept out of the way. He pressed forward but Asami was able to dodge each of his strikes. But each time she tried to counter his attack, he was gone. She heard Bolin cry out and she looked over at him. His opponent blew a stream of fire at him and he had dropped to the floor to roll out of the way. A second too late, she looked back and saw Zaheer rush in. She pulled her arms down into a block, but his foot slammed into her so hard that it knocked the wind from her lungs.
She stumbled backward, but managed to hold her defensive stance. In the distance, she heard Korra shout her name. She tried to block out the sounds around her. The fight would be over soon if she kept letting distractions get to her. She moved backward, letting Zaheer gain ground on her. She needed something to give her an edge.
A bang sounded in the air and a flash of light dazed her for a moment. She reached a hand over her eyes to shade her vision from the brilliance, but she already saw spots. She turned and looked away to see Jinora and Opal working together against the snake charmer and her serpent. She blocked Zaheer's blow at the last second. He grunted as his fist connected with the metal gauntlet.
She knew if she didn't do something soon, he would wear her down. We have the flash fireworks, too, but I have to light one first. Lighting it takes time. Time that Zaheer won't give me. She caught Bolin's eye from across the room to see him dodging a blast of fire from the tattooed woman. She darted her glance back to Zaheer then over at Bolin again, hoping he would understand her meaning.
Thankfully, he nodded and moved toward them, trying to position the fire breather closer to Zaheer. The next time she blew out a breath of fire, it startled Zaheer. Asami reached for one of the charges and tossed it through the flames at him. When it rolled at his feet, she saw the fuse burning. She grinned as Zaheer dove out of the way. She turned away just as the bang went off. She heard a scream, and when she turned around she saw Bolin standing with his spear driven right into the fire breather's gut. She clutched at the polearm weakly, and then her body went limp. Bolin slid the spear from her stomach and turned to help Mako against the knife thrower.
"P'li!" Zaheer yelled. He stood and rushed to her side, stooping to gather up her body in his arms. Asami charged, trying to take advantage of the moment, but he turned and glared at her, swiftly striking up and causing her to back away again. She panted hard. Prolonged fights were not her strength. She wanted to call to Bolin or Mako for help, but they had their hands full across the room. Asami managed to bring her fist down on his collarbone, slamming the gauntlet into him as hard as she could. It barely seemed to harm him. He growled and charged at her again.
Korra gripped the bars tightly. She wished there were some way she could be down on the ground helping in the fight. She was so focused on the chaos below her, she didn't notice Kai scaling the cavern wall until he was nearly eye-level with her. He waved from the side of the cave and held up a rope. He began tying something to the end of it.
Korra glanced from Kai back to fight. Small flashes of magic erupted from Jinora and Opal, and the woman with the snake responded in kind, sending her beast snapping towards them. A short way away from them, Mako and Bolin tried to hold their ground against a seemingly endless supply of knives. I need to get down there. Korra's stomach twisted into knots when she saw Asami desperately trying to hold her own against a rain of blows from Zaheer. So help me, if he so much as bruises her… She wanted to rip the bars off of the cage. She wanted to be down there, fighting beside Asami. Anything would be better than watching helplessly.
She looked to where Jinora and Opal fought the snake charmer. By now, Korra could recognize the flashes of magic the woman used to manipulate the serpent. The entire thing could have been an illusion, the way it rippled and twisted around her, blocking the forks of lightning that Jinora and Opal shot at her. She sent the snake lunging at Jinora, and Opal took the opportunity to run forward with her staff. Opal swung the end at the woman like a club. She tried to change the direction of the snake, but she was too late. Opal connected with the back of the her head. The snake charmer screamed and fell over. Without her magic keeping it alive, the snake shimmered and disappeared.
Jinora and Opal rushed to Asami's aid, trying to use their magic to keep Zaheer off balance. Mako and Bolin continued to gain ground on the knife thrower. Bolin yelled out in pain as a knife sunk into his shoulder. Mako stumbled when his brother cried out. The knife thrower closed in. Mako struck out and his sword sliced through the man's chest.
A metallic ping made Korra look up. Kai had fitted a grappling hook to the end of the rope and swung it over to anchor on a cage bar. He gave it a tug and the cage swung toward him. The metal groaned and the cave ceiling showered her with rocks. She frantically shook her head at Kai, waving her hands to get him to stop. "Get down," she called. "It's not safe."
Kai ignored her and gave another tug. "We have to get you out of here, and I don't see a better way."
"Kai I've been trying to get out of here since I woke up. It's loose." She shook her head again. "If you put anymore weight on it, it's going to break."
"I just want to pull you over here and see if we can-" His eyes grew wide. Korra followed his gaze.
Time slowed down. She watched in horror as Zaheer pulled one of the lit fireworks from Asami's hand. He turned and looked right at Korra, his face hard lines of stoic rage. Asami ran to grab the explosive from him, but he threw it at Korra. "Kai! Leave!" she yelled, turning away and ducking as the firework sailed toward them. It exploded close to the top of the cave ceiling. Above her, the metal groaned, then snapped. Her stomach lurched as she felt the cage enter a freefall with her trapped inside. The cage hit the ground with a jolt and she screamed as her legs slammed into the floor. Her ears were ringing, and her breath came short.
She toppled to the side, her legs unable to support her anymore. The cage fell on its side and rolled further down into the cavern, bouncing her already bruised body against the iron bars. Korra gritted her teeth against the blinding pain that seared through her legs. When the cage finally stopped moving, she meant to cry for help, but her vision blurred and the words died in her throat.
Asami was torn between diving toward the cage to save Korra, and moving out of the way of another attack. Zaheer made the decision for her by blocking her route to Korra. He sneered at her and kicked out again. She blocked the foot and shoved back against him, hard. This man is responsible for everything awful that has happened. She lept at him, her anger fueling the wild swings of her fists. She lashed out quickly, striking anew each time he blocked. A blow connected to his side, another to his shoulder, and another still to his cheek. Zaheer fell to the ground, but Asami struck him again, over and over. He stopped moving, his head rolled back and eyes closed. She raised her gauntlet to finish him.
He lay beneath her, bleeding from cuts where her gauntlet had made contact, and barely breathing. She thought about swinging her fist. She imagined bringing the gauntlet down and smashing his face in, but she could not do it. Instead, Asami looked up. The others had gathered around the wreckage of the cage. Korra. She got up and ran over to the twisted metal. Jinora knelt next to Korra, still trapped. Her body was discolored from multiple bruises, and her legs stuck out at odd angles. Asami swallowed against tears.
"Is she breathing?" she asked.
"She's alive," Jinora said. "But we need to get her out of there."
Asami knelt by the cage and found the hinges to the door. They popped away easily, and she opened the cage. With Mako's help, they pulled Korra out. Asami lifted her up, cradling her against her chest. "Korra." She refused to let her tears fall. She was thinner than Asami remembered. Korra had only been trapped a few days, but she did not imagine they fed her much in that time.
"Asami," Jinora said. She glanced over at the young wizard. She stood beside Zaheer's unconscious form. She tapped her staff to his chest. "What do we do with him?"
"We cannot leave him, not after all he has done," Opal said, pressing the tip of her staff against his chest.
"Don't. We need him alive. I'm sure Su or Lin can get some information out of him," Asami said. She carried Korra over to him, looking down and thinking. "Kai, see if there's anything we can use to drag him out of here." The young squire nodded and ran from the cavern. He had collected a few more bruises from his fall, but had survived it far better than Korra. She glanced to Mako. "Tie him up." She resisted the urge to clutch Korra closer. "We need the horses, or we need to take their horses. Jinora, do you know where the stables are?"
Jinora nodded. "One of the tunnels opens out into the forest. They keep the animals there."
"How many more Red Lotus do you think are left?" Mako asked. He cast a concerned glance at his brother.
"With all the commotion we've caused, they're either long gone, or heading right for us." Opal glared at Zaheer. "We should just finish him off. He's just going to slow us down."
"No," Asami said firmly. "He's too valuable." Korra wouldn't want that.
Kai ran back in with some canvas. "Will this work?"
Mako picked up the rope Kai had used on the cage. "Let's do this quickly. I'll drag him."
Asami nodded and shifted so that she held Korra more securely. "Let's get out of here."
"Asami, we could make something to carry Korra," Jinora offered.
"It's all right." She cradled Korra close. "I've got her."
A/N Well here's another chapter for you all. Probably one more before we take a small break. We will finish it out with S4 of LOK plot. But we just want to take a little time to get a good handle on what we call "part 2." Just so there is no confusion, the story will not be split into two stories. It's just we think of it as S3 and S4. So it will all be here on this same story but it just might be a while before you see another update. Streaming will be at 5pm PST on Saturday on the twitch channel Luraline. Some come hang out with us! ~Sy