Ambush
Chapter 10: Requiem
The Cabbage Corp building loomed in front of Korra and Mako as they made their way through the abandoned city streets. The pair met no opposition, which made them even more wary. They hid in an alleyway and Korra peeked out to get a good look at the entrance. It looked unguarded. Korra didn't put it past Kayne to have every inch of that building booby-trapped. She started for the entrance, but Mako grabbed her arm. She turned to him. He stared at her, is eyes full of the intense love that she felt for him.
"You know…"
His voice was horse. He cleared his throat and started again.
"You know…we might not come back from this…"
Korra put a hand over his mouth. She didn't want to hear this. Not now, not ever. She looked at him, pleading that he wouldn't finish that sentence.
"Mako…don't…please…"
He took her hand in his and moved it away from his mouth, despite Korra's half-hearted attempt to stop him.
"If we don't come back from this I want you to know…I love you, Korra."
Korra felt tears sting her eyes. The words that Mako said to her were the words that she always wanted to hear. She didn't want them to be the last she heard. She buried her head into his chest, the pain in her heart almost as great as the joy. She gathered her courage and looked him in the eye once again.
"I love you too…and we will get through this. Too many people have given up everything for us to back out now."
She saw understanding in his eyes. He was almost as afraid as she was. The hand that held hers squeezed gently.
"I'm with you all the way."
Korra nodded at him and turned toward the building. She took a deep breath.
Here we go…
The lobby was dark and deathly quiet. The two moved cautiously through, looking around. It looked like just another abandoned building. Amon said that Kayne's lab was underneath. She opened the door that lead to the stairs. They only led up. Korra went back to the lobby.
"Mako, look for a secret door or something. There has to be a way down."
Korra turned over furniture, scoured the walls, and looked under all of the rugs. Nothing. Feeling panic beginning to grip her, Korra threw open the door to a nearby supply closet…and gagged on the smell of the half decayed body that fell out. Even though the corpse had been there for a long time, Korra still recognized the monocle and the moustache.
"Mr. Sato…"
Hearing Korra's cry of disgust, Mako came rushing over.
"What is-By the Spirits…"
Mako steadied himself against the wall. He turned his head and retched. Korra started to look away from the corpse, but something caught her eye. A piece of paper was clenched in Mr. Sato's fist. Gingerly, Korra removed the piece of paper and read what was written on it. Ascend to heaven before you can descend into hell. Korra turned the page over. It was blank on the other side. Korra read it over and over. No matter how many times she read it, it didn't make any sense. She turned to Mako, who looked shaken.
"Mako, what do you think about this? It was in Mr. Sato's hand."
Mako looked it over, mouthing the words. His brow furrowed and he shook his head.
"I don't know. Maybe we need to get to the top of the building?"
Korra shrugged. It was a good idea as any. She looked at the ceiling. It was made out of concrete, but looked very weak. Korra reached toward the ceiling, arms together. She spread her arms wide and a hole tore itself in the concrete.
"Grab my waist and hold on. This is going to be rough."
Mako held her waist tightly. Gathering her strength, Korra created a pillar of earth that shot them upward. Turning her attention toward the ceiling. With many short, powerful jabs, she broke through floor after floor. After what seemed like ages, they broke through to a room with a tall ceiling. Korra dismounted the pillar, and then immediately collapsed. Getting them to the top took longer than she thought. Mako was instantly by her side.
"Korra! You ok?"
She nodded feebly. Her muscles protested as she struggled to her feet. She willed her body to be silent.
Come on…don't fail me now.
Korra scanned the room. They were in some kind of office. A large window, overlooking the entire city, stood before them. In front of the window was a wooden desk and a chair. Sitting on the desk was a glass with strange reddish liquid at the bottom. There was a tattered bookshelf with no books. Other than that, the room was empty and the walls were blank. Without words, the pair began to cover the room, inch by inch. They found nothing. Korra looked at Mako and he shook his head. All of the pent up rage, frustration, sadness, and fear reached a breaking point. Korra screamed and slammed her fist into a wall. She almost broke her knuckles on a cleverly hidden metal panel just beneath the wood. Korra stared as the dented metal hatch swung open to reveal hidden elevator controls. After a long while, Korra looked at Mako. He stared back. They both broke into relieved laughter.
"'Ascend to heaven before you descend into hell.' We owe you one, Mr. Sato."
Korra felt renewed as she pressed the call button. The tattered bookshelf slid aside to reveal a long, vertical shaft. The elevator stopped, and opened its doors, inviting them to come inside.
The elevator doors opened to reveal a long passage way. Korra exited cautiously, with Mako right behind her. It seemed empty. The pair dashed down the hallway, turned a few corners and came to a large door. They looked at each other.
"Ready?"
Mako cracked his neck, preparing himself for the battle ahead.
"Ready."
Korra surprised herself by having to suppress a giggle.
Well, look at Mr. Cool Guy here.
She shook her head to clear it, and the pair burst through the door. They came into a large room. There wasn't much in there except for a hallway leading onward and a balcony above that hallway. Still on their guard, the two advanced. They barely took a step, when lights came on and the hallway ahead became blocked by a thick sheet of platinum. Korra whirled around to see that the way that they entered was blocked too. A moment later, the room was filled with the sound of a lone person clapping slowly. They two looked around. Standing on the balcony, was Kayne. He was clapping slowly, a mock impressed expression on his face. Flanking him, were the two cloaked and hooded figures Korra saw him with at the ambush. A chi blocker stood behind them. This one was different than the rest. The helmet was different, as was the battle suit. Korra focused her attention back to Kayne.
"Wow. I'm surprised that you were able to make it this far. Bravo to you two!"
Mako took a menacing step forward, his eyes blazing.
"You're gonna pay for all the lives you took, Kayne! I owe Mr. Sato that much."
Kayne gave Mako a quizzical look.
"What on earth are you talking about? Hiroshi joined me of his own accord, along with his daughter."
Korra felt as if someone had dunked her in icy water. She looked at Mako. He was pale and was looking at Kayne in disbelief.
"No…Asami would never…"
Kayne chuckled and gave Mako a wicked grin.
"I guess you didn't know your girly friend as well as you thought. Oh, and, one more thing. I didn't kill Sato." He jerked his thumb over his shoulder to the chi blocker standing behind him.
"This one did."
Mako's fire seemed to have returned. He shot a jet of flames at Kayne. One of the robed figure stepped in front of the blast. Its robes caught on fire. Shrugging off its burning attire, the thing revealed itself to be another one of the things that took down Amon. Kayne chucked again.
"Now, that won't do. From the looks on your faces, I'll hazard a guess that you've met one of my Reapers before. They are my pride and joy. Very complex science went into these. These one's are special. They are my Seraphs."
The other Reaper shrugged off its robes and Korra immediately saw why they were special. On the Reaper that had protected Kayne, one hand glowed red, while the other glowed brown. The other Reaper's hands glowed white and blue.
The four elements…
Korra had no idea what to expect, but she readied herself just the same. Kayne brought his hand up to signal the attack, but the chi blocker behind him stopped him.
"Sir."
The chi blocker's voice was deep and distorted.
"Allow me to deal with these intruders."
Kayne let out an exaggerated sigh.
"Aww…and I wanted to see my Seraphs in action too…Ah well. I'm sure your friends will be pleased to see you again."
Korra was confused by Kayne's last statement. The chi blocked leapt over the balcony railing, did a front flip, and landed gracefully with its back to them. Kayne called out from the balcony.
"Now, now, dear. It's rude to keep your face hidden."
The chi blocker removed the mask and tossed it aside. Korra could tell that it was female. Her dark hair was tied up into a tight bun. It looked slightly familiar. When the chi blocker turned to face her, Korra quickly found out why. It was Asami. Korra heard Mako's gasp of surprise. Kayne laughed and turned to leave.
"You kid's play nice! Daddy's got a world to take over."
He left and the Reapers followed him. Korra and Mako were left face to face with Asami.
Chief Beifong entered the lab and froze. The lab was a mess and her specially trained Metalbenders were just coming to. Korra and Mako were nowhere to be seen. Tenzin came in shortly after. He looked around at the destruction.
"What happened here? Where are Kora and Mako?"
Chief Beifong strode over to the captain of the squad, who was conscious. She needed answers.
"Captain, status report."
The captain, shook his head, and looked around.
"Pretty messed up ma'am. This…thing attacked us out of nowhere. We tried to fight it, but it was too fast. Next thing I know, Maxi's dead, and I'm getting slammed against a wall. I recently came to."
Chief Beifong looked around. Up against a wall, there were tied up chi blockers and scientists. They looked to be unarmed. She walked over to one of the scientists and squatted down next to him. He looked at her, his eyes frightened.
"Look, I've been having a bad day. I had to fight giant creatures in order to take back my city and I've about had it with chi blockers. I'm only asking once before I lose my friendly disposition: Where did the Avatar and her friend go?"
The scientist whimpered and then let out in a rush.
"Th-they went down to the Cabbage Corp building to Kayne's personal lab. I know it's somewhere in the building, but I swear I don't know exactly where it is."
Chief Beifong jabbed a finger in the scientist's face.
"I find out you're lying, and Kayne's worst punishment will look like a tickle fight when I'm done with you."
Chief Beifong could have sworn the scientist wet his pants. She felt a twinge of pride at that. She stood up and walked back over to Tenzin and the captain.
"Captain, get your men and head to regroup with the rest of the unit. We have a few criminals to arrest."
"Yes ma'am."
Chief Beifong turned toward Tenzin.
"As for you, you're coming with me to the Cabbage Corp building. If Korra needs back up, we need to be there to provide. Let's go."
They started out the door. Chief Beifong felt that annoying sensation that indicated that she was missing something. It wasn't until they had made significant progress on their journey to the building that Chief Beifong realized that Amon was missing. Again.
Korra barely dodged the blade that Asami slashed at her throat. She back flipped out of her range and resumed her defensive stance. Something was wrong. This couldn't be the Asami that Korra knew and rivaled. That Asami was cheerful and smiling, not stony faced and dead eyed. Korra prepared herself as Asami charged again, blade held high.
She's faster than I thought…
Suddenly, Mako was in the picture and he grabbed her arm, stopping the blade.
"Come on Asami! Snap out of it! It's me, Mako!"
Asami seemed to look sad for a moment, then her face became stony again. She twisted her arm and performed a close quarters roundhouse kick that sent Mako flying. She leapt backward, unleashing a shower of daggers. Korra bent the air around her and diverted the daggers' paths. In the same motion, she sent a whirlwind at Asami where she landed. It flung Asami into the air. But instead of flailing, Asami spun with the wind and landed safely on all fours. Mako was on his feet and sprinted toward Asami. Korra charged with him, unsure of what his plan was. Mako struck out at her midriff with a right cross. She easily turned it aside and, with a simple twist of his arm, turned him toward Korra. Asami released him and delivered a powerful kick to his back that sent him crashing into Korra. The two skidded across the floor, tangled in each other. Korra felt drained.
"She's…too strong…too fast…how do we beat her?"
Mako sat up, his eyes on Asami. She was slowly walking towards them, twirling a pair of long swords.
"We need to make her remember…"
Korra looked at him, confused.
"What?"
"That's not Asami. Kayne did something to her. I don't know what, but we have to try and reverse it."
"Mako…"
Korra considered her next words.
"What if Asami's just trying to kill us?"
Mako's jaw set. He didn't look at Korra.
"Korra, just trust me on this. You asked me to trust you with Amon. I need you to trust me now. Ok?"
"Mako…"
His tone was as sharp as daggers.
"Korra, just trust me!"
Korra didn't know what to do. Mako had never spoken that harshly to her before. He stood up, his eyes still on Asami.
"I'm gonna try something. I need you to bind her arms. Can you do that?"
"Yes…"
Korra's voice was weak. She stood as well and mustered her strength.
The two of them charged. They were fast, but Asami was faster. She dodged all of their blows, and even managed to cut them several times. None of the cuts were deep. Finally, Mako managed to land a hit on her side and she staggered. Korra quickly moved behind her and pinned her arms. Asami struggled hard and Korra knew she couldn't hold her for long.
"Mako, whatever you're going to do, do it now!"
Mako moved close to Asami and took her face in his hands.
"Asami, It's me. You need to snap out of it. This isn't you. Whatever Kayne did to you, you need to fight it."
Korra felt Asami's struggle for release weaken. It really was working.
"Whatever you're doing it's working."
Mako looked into Asami's cold, dead eyes.
"Come on Asami, come back to us. You can do this."
"M…M….Ma…ko?"
Asami spoke as if saying his name was immensely difficult.
"Yes! It's me I'm here."
Asami's struggled less and less. Korra's arms ached from fighting to hold on.
"Ma…ko…I…I…can't…"
"Yes you can. You can beat this."
Suddenly, without warning, Asami became stiff as a board.
"Enemies of Kayne must perish."
She struck out hard with her elbows and Korra heard a sharp crack and felt a stinging pain in her side. Fully freed, Asami snapped her head into Mako's, causing him to stagger backwards, stunned. Asami lunged forward, a dagger clutched in her hand. Korra heard herself scream Mako's name as if far away. Before the dagger made it to him, Mako gabbed Asami's wrist with one hand, her shoulders with another. He bent his face to hers and kissed her. Korra felt numb. All she could do was stare. After what seemed like a hellish eternity, they broke apart. Asami stumbled backwards. The hand that held the knife loosened its grip and the knife clattered to the floor. Suddenly, Asami let out an earsplitting scream. Her hands rose to her head and gripped it as it were going to explode. She stumbled around, doubled over, screaming and grabbing her head. Just as suddenly as it started, it stopped. Asami stopped screaming and collapsed to the floor. Mako rushed to her. Korra didn't move. Mako cradled Asami in his arms. Her eyes fluttered open and she groaned. Mako helped her sit up slowly.
"Wh…what?…Mako?"
She looked over at Mako, as if seeing him for the first time.
"Mako…"
She flung her arms around him, sobbing loudly. Mako returned the embrace. Through her tears, Asami tried to explain everything.
"Mako, I'm so sorry! I couldn't control myself, but I knew exactly what I was doing. It felt so right. I don't know what Kayne did to me, but it made everything he said make sense. I didn't know what to do!"
She broke down in a new wave of sobs. Korra walked over to the pair, many things going through her head. Asami looked up and saw her. She flung her arms around Korra, apologizing to her over and over.
"Korra, I'm so sorry…I didn't mean any of it."
Korra tried to calm her down.
"I know, I know. It's ok now. You're safe."
Korra mentally kicked herself and reminded herself of what she was there to do.
"Asami, where did Kayne go?"
After a few shaky deep breaths, Asami spoke.
"He went to the lower lab. The Reaper tanks are located there. Korra…There are thousands of them…If he lets them all go…"
She didn't need to finish. Korra knew the world would be destroyed.
"Mako, let's go."
Mako stood up and nodded. Asami hastily got up with him.
"Take me with you! I want to help after…after all the damage I've done."
"No."
Korra's voice was harsher than she intended. She softened her expression.
"No. You're hurt badly enough. I wouldn't forgive myself if you got hurt even worse."
It was a lame excuse and Korra knew it. Asamli seemed to recognize her true intentions. She glanced at Mako, then looked at Korra. Her voice was soft.
"Fine…Go…I'll get out of here and try to bring help. You two be careful."
Mako opened his mouth to protest, hesitated, then closed his mouth and nodded.
They three went their separate ways. Using Earthbending, Korra launched Mako up to the balcony.
"Korra."
Asami's call stopped Korra. She looked around. Asami was standing near the exit. She somehow disabled the platinum wall.
"Make sure he suffers for what he made me do to my dad…"
Korra nodded grimly. She launched herself up to the balcony and followed Mako down the hidden hallway, leading to the lab.
The hallway seemed to go on forever. It twisted and turned. Finally, they came to a metal door that read Reaper Beta Lab A. They looked at each other. This was it. But before they could touch the door controls, the door swung open and there was the sound of party whistles. Kayne stood with his back to them.
"Congratulations on killing your friends! You're one step closer to becoming my apprentice, Asami!"
Korra scoffed and Mako retorted.
"Sorry to break it to you, but Asami's not yours anymore."
Kayne whirled around, a look of shock on his face.
"And to think…I didn't know you had the guts to kill her."
"We didn't kill her."
"…What?"
Kayne's expression from shocked to angry and confused.
"That doesn't make any sense! My conditioning was absolute! I'd been pumping my influence in her for a month! There was no way that two brats could break it!"
Korra assumed an offensive stance.
"You thought wrong."
Kayne screamed in anger and frustration.
"00 and 01! Kill them!"
Kayne's Seraph Reapers dropped from the ceiling and lunged at the off guard Mako and Korra.
Chief Beifong and Tenzin reached the door of the Cabbage Corp building just as the rain began to fall. They hurried inside. Immediately, Chief Beifong saw Hiroshi Sato's corpse. She grimaced. She remembered him going missing a month ago, but a lot of people were disappearing then. She looked away and observed the room. The ceiling had a giant hole in it. She looked through it to see holes going all the way up.
Yup. Korra was here.
Chief Beifong called Tenzin over.
"Come on, Tenzin. We're going up."
A few moments later, and Chief Beifong found herself in the CEO's office. It had been long since abandoned. Chief Beifong spotted a glass with some opaque, reddish liquid in it. It looked maybe a couple of days old. It wasn't much, but it was a start. She turned to call out to Tenzin and spotted the elevator switch on the wall. She called the elevator and the doors opened. She looked at Tenzin.
"Going down."
Fighting one Reaper was hard, but two genetically superior Reapers was impossible. It took everything Korra had to just dodge their attacks. She did, however figure out their attack style. Their right hand was used for offense and their left hand was used for defense. One of them used fire to attack and earth to defend. The other used ice to defend and air to attack.
How do we get past their defenses?
Korra didn't have time to think as one of the Reapers shot a jet of corrosive slag at her. It leapt backward and coated itself in earth as Mako unleashed a torrent of fire on it. The other Reaper, it's arm coated in sharp icicles, lashed out at Mako. The icicles pierced his arm, and he let out a cry of pain.
"Mako!"
Korra rushed over to him, only to be hit in the back by a boulder that the other Reaper flung at her. She hit the ground hard. Turning around, she saw that the Reaper's entire arm was missing. It was slowly growing back as it advanced. Lifting it's other arm, it shot a jet of slag at Mako. Right before it hit, Mako swung the other reaper around ant it took the full force of the slag. It writhed in agony, then dissolved into a puddle of water on the floor. Their victory was short lived as the other Reaper advanced. Its arm was fully grown. It raised both arms and coated itself in magma. Korra backed away, the intensity of the heat causing her eyebrows to singe. The Reaper looked weak as it trudged toward the two. Mako got Korra's attention and pointed at the floor. Korra understood at once.
The other Reaper melted into water! If I can…
Concentrating hard, Korra picked up as much water as she could. She turned into an ice spear and hurled it at the Reaper. It went right through where its heart should be. The Reaper fell to its knees and the magma cooled. It tried to stand but the magma had hardened into a shell, trapping it. Korra stood before it.
"It's over."
She pulled her arms tight across her chest and the Reaper shattered. Panting, she motioned to Mako and the two set off after Kayne.
A few moments later, they came to a giant room. It was big enough to hold a small army. Kayne stood in the middle of the room. He threw up his arms in exasperation as the two entered.
"Oh, come ON! Are you freaking kidding me? Two of my greatest creations couldn't take you down?"
He growled, pulling out lots of daggers. He cracked his neck and took off his coat. Korra looked at him in horror. His chest was pale, muscular, and covered in huge scars. Some of the scars seemed very recent. Strapped around his chest and waist were hundreds of daggers. His muscles rippled under his skin as he juggled the daggers in one hand.
"If there's anything I've learned from Firelord Ozai, it's that you can never trust others to get important jobs done for you. You need someone killed, you gotta do it yourself. Pity your former life had to go and end the fun."
Korra gaped at him.
Just how old is this guy?
"You knew Firelord Ozai?"
Kayne chuckled.
"I was one of his soldiers back in the good old days. My, my, how time does fly when your slaughtering hundreds."
He flung multiple daggers at the two. Korra leapt to the side. She heard Kayne's psychotic voice whisper in her ear.
"Peek-a-boo."
Korra lashed out in fear. She heard Kayne's gleeful laughter as the rock she flung at him missed. Mako sent a flurry of fireballs at him. Kayne was nearly a blur as he dodged them. Korra spotted a flash of silver just in time to pull Mako toward her with Earthbending. The dagger Kayne flung at him missed him by inches.
"What, done all ready?"
Korra spun to see Kayne dangling from the wall by a dagger. His dark eyes gleamed dangerously.
"I'm just getting warmed up!"
He launched himself off of the wall and landed between the two. Korra gritted her teeth and lashed out at him with a series of quick jabs. Mako was throwing hard crosses of his own. Kayne either deflected them or dodged them. However he did it, not a single blow landed. As Korra moved to jab him in the side, Kayne caught her arm and held it fast.
He…How is he so strong?
Kayne caught up Mako's as well. He twisted them so Mako and Morra were forced up against each other. Kayne leaned his grinning face close to theirs.
"We having fun yet?"
Laughing, he pushed them away and sent them flying with a kick. They landed hard. Korra decided that now would be a perfect time to powwow.
"Mako…we need to stop attacking him individually. We need to work as a team."
Mako looked at her, his broken spirit reflected in his eyes.
"How? He's too fast, too strong…I don't think we can beat him."
Korra didn't need this from him, not now, when it mattered the most.
"Mako, look at me. This is just another pro-bending match. Kayne is just another team. We work together, we can beat him."
Mako registered this for a moment, than nodded.
"Right. We can do this."
The pair stood up. Kayne was waiting for them patiently.
"Oh, you done licking your wounds? Good. Cuz I'm about to inflict more."
He charged at them. This time, it was different. Mako and Korra moved in unison, attacked in unison, and dodged in unison. After a short while, it seemed like their strategy was working. Kayne was slowing down. The battle came to a close a long while later. Kayne flipped out of the way of a fire blast by Mako only to land on a pillar of earth Korra created. Kayne stumbled. At that moment, Korra knew that it was now or never. Mako was right there with her and the two unleashed the remainder of their strength at Kayne. He fell under a hail of bending. Kayne lay on the floor, breathing hard. Korra had never felt more drained in her life then she did right now. Mako came over to her and caught her just as she was about to collapse.
"We did it."
Korra smiled weakly at him. Her smile quickly faded as she saw Kayne inching toward his coat. Before she could warn Mako, Kayne reached inside of the coat and pulled out a large syringe filled with black liquid.
"My…Insurance policy."
He plunged the syringe in his heart. Whatever Kayne had injected himself with began working immediately. His strength seemed to grow as he hauled himself to his feet. He let out a groan of agony as his muscles expanded. The groan became a scream as Korra heard his bones break under the pressure of his muscles. The scream became a laugh as Kayne's veins turned black. His eyes turned black as well. He reached inside a large bag that had been at his feet when they first arrived, and pulled out a giant sword. It was almost as big as Kayne was. He swung it around a few times then grinned at them. Black fluid leaked out of the side of his mouth. His voice sounded distorted, like he was speaking through gravel.
"I think I like my new toy. Time to try it out."
He lunged at them. He was faster than before. Korra managed to dodge the blade, but Kayne's fist came up to meet her. It hit her squarely in the head. Stars blurred her vision as she tried to stand. She couldn't move. She watched helplessly as Kayne bore down on Mako. He tried to fend him off with fire, but it seemed to have no effect on him. It wasn't long before Kayne overwhelmed Mako's defense. He struck the blunt end of the blade into Mako's stomach. Mako's eyes went wide as he tried to draw breath. Kayne grabbed his face and mercilessly slammed him into the ground multiple times, then tossed him carelessly aside. Mako hit the wall and was still. Korra still couldn't move as Kayne walked toward her. He grabbed her throat and lifted her off the ground, bringing her eyes level with his.
"And so it ends…A valiant effort, I must say, but you're no match for me."
He brought his face close to hers, his black eyes lifeless and filled with insanity.
"I'm not going to kill you now. I have better plans. I am going to round up each and every one of your friends, and I'm going to torture them into begging for mercy. When they do that, I will kill them, right in front of you. I want to see you suffer."
Korra felt her eyes fill with tears and Kayne laughed.
"Weak…You were always weak."
Korra closed her eyes, not being able to bare Kayne's torment any longer.
I don't know what I can do! I can't do this alone…
A chorus of ancient beings answered her question from deep within her.
"You're not alone."
Korra opened her eyes. They glowed white blue. The power that she felt when she escaped from the Equalist headquarters was back. It felt different this time. Korra felt herself become one with it. She was in control. She looked at Kayne, who was still laughing. She realized that he was still holding her. She didn't want to be anymore. She grabbed his arm and twisted it. The cracked bones in his arms shattered and Kayne cried out in pain. He released her instantly. When Korra spoke, the ancient voices joined hers.
"I am not weak."
Korra launched Kayne in the air with a blast of wind. She bended the air around herself to join him. She sent him back to the earth with a powerful jet of flames. Letting the air around her fall, Korra plummeted after him. Reaching something near terminal velocity, Korra slammed both feet into Kayne's midsection, creating a large crater in the floor of the lab. Kayne lay at Korra's feet, bloodied and beaten. With a sudden movement, Kayne stood and swung at Korra with his sword. With a tilt of her head, Kayne was launched backwards. He landed a ways away from her. Korra lifted her arms, and the walls of the lab creaked. Suddenly, the walls broke and a torrent of water rushed through. Twirling her arms, Korra made a pointed gesture at Kayne. The water condensed itself into a giant spear of ice.
"This is the end!"
Korra launched the spear at Kayne. Kayne looked at the spear with a blank expression on his face.
"Oh…"
The spear pierced him right through the chest. He was pinned to the wall. Korra lowered her arms and the air around the room quieted. Korra's eyes stopped glowing. She stumbled, but she managed to stay on her feet.
"Korra!"
She turned to see Chief Beifong, Tenzin, and Asami running toward her. Korra started in their direction when she heard a loud crack. She turned slowly and saw Kayne, the icicle still protruding from his chest, stumble toward her. He could barely stand, let alone walk. He made his way to his sword and grabbed it. He was breathing hard, blood leaking from his mouth. It was black. He glared at them all hatefully. His eyes slowly returned to normal.
"You…You can't take… my-my world from me…It's my world…"
He screamed at them, blood spurting out of his wound. He tried to lift his sword but he was too weak. He pulled a final dagger out of his belt.
"THIS IS MY WORLD! NO ONE CHOOSE HOW I DIE BUT ME!"
With a bout of insane laughter, Kayne stabbed himself in the neck with the dagger, over, and over. He was still laughing as he lost the strength to stab himself any more. He was still laughing as his life blood drained from him. He was still laughing as he died on the floor of the lab. Korra looked away from the gruesome sight. As if a light bulb flicked on in her head, Korra remembered something very important.
Mako!
She pushed past Tenzin, who was insisting that Korra lie down, Chief Beifong, who tried to stop her, and stumbled over to Asami, who was crouching near Mako. She looked up at Korra, her eyes filled with tears.
No…no…He can't be…
Mako looked peaceful, slumped against the wall. If it weren't for the odd angle of his arm, or the bruises and cuts all over his body, he would have appeared sleeping. Korra shakily brushed a lock of hair from his forehead. She couldn't take it. She put her head in her hands, and wept. Asami left her a little while later. After what seemed like an eternity, Korra felt a small tug on her sleeve. She looked up from her tears. Mako was looking back at her, his eyes barely open. But he was alive. His voice was very feeble.
"No…Tears…"
This only made Korra cry harder. She held his hand as the healers took him away on the stretcher. She watched as he was hurried to the hospital. She looked back at the lab. Kayne's body was still there, a lazy smile on his face. Korra allowed herself to be led away by Chief Beifong. She turned back one last time, and saw Amon standing over Kayne's body. She only got a glimpse before she was ushered out of sight.
Korra stood, hand in hand with Mako, at the celebration ceremony in front of City Hall. The last of the Equalists had either been caught or fled the city. The Freedom Fighters and the Yi Alliance formed a truce. The war was over. Chief Beifong was giving a speech about how it didn't matter if you were a bender or not, everyone was equal and that, no matter what, she will always protect all citizens of Republic City. Korra wasn't really listening. She was too busy thinking about how she could sneak out of this place. Chief Befong eventually finished her speech to thunderous applause. Korra gave Mako a kiss on the cheek then told him she needed to meet someone. He nodded and told her to be careful. She managed to slip out the back of the stage, and took off on Naga. A little while later, she came to a shady alleyway. A cloaked and hooded figure was leaning against the wall.
"Your late."
Korra gave the man a sheepish grin.
"It's not my fault Tenzin wrote a four hour long speech. Anyway, how are you feeling?"
The man shrugged, subconsciously touching his chest.
"It's healed over. I guess I was just lucky."
Korra felt relieved.
"So…what are you going to do now?"
The man sighed.
"I don't know. Get out of the city. Go to Ba Sing Se and make something of my life, maybe."
The man shuffled his feet, obviously uncomfortable.
"I'd never thought I would ever say this in my life...Avatar...Thank you."
He turned with a flourish of his cloak. Korra called out after him.
"Hey, Amon! Good luck."
Amon waved a hand at her passively as he disappeared into the shadows.
Mako was still waiting for Korra long after everyone else had left. He didn't look happy. Korra put on her best disarming smile and walked up to him.
"Hey Mako."
"Who were you talking to?"
Korra was taken aback by the sharpness of his tone.
"Like I said, I went to go meet with Leon. He wanted-"
Korra, please don't lie to me. Leon came by to apologize about five minutes after you left. Who did you go see?"
Korra didn't fully understand why she was lying to him. She felt that she owed it to Amon to keep his death real.
"No one. Mako, it doesn't matter. It's a beautiful day! Let's go to the park and-"
"Is there someone else?"
The words stopped Korra in her tracks. She looked at Mako. His eyes were serious.
"Is there someone…no, Mako! How could you think that? After all we went through to be together, you think I would do that to us?"
Mako's temper flared. He sounded severely irritated.
"I don't know what I think anymore. You disappear and tell me your meeting someone, you've been getting messages from someone who you won't tell me who, and you've been lying about it the whole time!"
Korra knew her anger was irrational, but she didn't care.
"Oh yeah? Well what about you! Sneaking out of the loft at early hours of the morning, moving lots of money around, speaking about secret plans? What have you got to hide?"
She jabbed him in the chest with her finger.
"Who the hell are you, telling me off for being secretive when you…Mako…What's that?"
While she was poking him, a long, black box fell out of his jacket. He moved to pick it up, but he wasn't quick enough. Korra got to it first. She started to open it, but Mako grabbed her hand, stopping her.
"Don't. Not now. It's not the right time."
Korra eyed him suspiciously.
"Not the right time for what?"
Mako looked exceedingly frustrated and slightly panicked.
"Just, stuff, ok? I can't really talk about it. Just drop it.
"No."
"Korra, please-"
"No, Mako. I won't just 'drop it.' Why are you hiding this?"
Mako opened his mouth to argue, but he knew it was useless. He turned away, sulking.
"Open it of you want."
Korra opened the box. A water tribe betrothal necklace stared back at her. She was lost for words. After a long time, she managed to find her voice.
"Mako…The sneaking…?"
"I couldn't have you find out."
"The money…"
"That shiny, flat rock was expensive, alright?"
"The secret meetings?"
"Had to get it here somehow."
Korra looked up at the back of Mako's head. His ears were a deep scarlet.
"Mako…Are you asking me to marry you?"
Mako stiffened and mumbled.
"…Maybe…"
Korra stared blankly at him for a second. Then she burst out laughing. Mako jumped. Clearly, this was not what he expected, but Korra just couldn't help herself. She gasped words at him through the laughter.
"That…had…to be…the…wussiest…proposal…I've ever heard of!"
"I don't care about that!"
He grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her to face him. The intensity of his gaze caused the laughter to die on Korra's lips. She suddenly found herself breathless.
"All I care about is your answer."
Korra felt all of the blood rush to her face. She found that she couldn't look him in the face anymore. It was too embarrassing. Looking at the ground, Korra nodded. All of a sudden, her feet were no longer underneath her as Mako swept her up and carried her clear across town to the ferry. They boarded and the ferry set off for Air Temple Island. Korra took out the betrothal necklace. It shined in the golden sunset. She tied it around her neck, then turned to Mako. She did and experimental twirl and flashed Mako her cutest smile.
"Well? How do I look?…Mako?…Hellooo?"
Mako just stared at her, his mouth agape. It wasn't until Korra slapped him across the face that he finally returned to himself.
"What? Oh! You look beautiful, Korra."
She giggled and melted into his arms. They looked into each other's eyes and saw their future laid out before them. The two shared the first kiss of the rest of their lives, on the ferry, under a golden sunset.
The End