Chapter 15: 'Last Avatar'

Notes:

Oh boy, got a lot of warnings.

-Implied Suicide
-Extreme violence
-Torture

"Keep her steady! Steady!" Chief Beifong spat at the Future Industries pilot as the airship swayed from left to right, pieces of furniture and bits of paper flew all over the conference room.

"It's not so easy in this wind!" the pilot began angrily until his eyes met Lin's icy glare. "...I just, I haven't flown in any storm like this. If it doesn't ease up soon we're going to have to make an emergency landing. Even the best built airship in the world wouldn't survive long in this weather, and this is the best airship in the world."

"Lin, leave the man alone, we're nearly there, the old market town is right below us...well it was, seems like the sea has taken it since I was last here," Suyin exhaled as she grip tightly to a nearby pole whilst staring out of the glass in total awe.

"If Miss Sato was flying we wouldn't have any problems," Chief Beifong muttered under her breath as she firmly gripped the back of the pilot's chair. The pilot was doing the same with the steering wheel, really struggling to maintain control as the metal interior of the airship began to creak.

"Landing seems like a really good idea. Most of us are earthbenders on here, not so fun falling from the sky as it is for the rest of you," Bolin pleaded with clasped hands.

"And nonbenders! Really not fun for us!" the pilot piped up before Lin glared them into silence.

"Lin!" Kya shouted this time. "Do as your sister says and leave the poor man alone to land us safely." This time Lin actually kept her mouth shut. Mako wished he possessed that much power, then maybe his ears wouldn't ring quite so much after a day at the station.

"I don't think landing safely in an option anymore," Kuvira noted as she kept a metal cable wrapped around one of the chair legs nailed into the floor.

"Any landing you can walk away from is a good one," Mako assured her half heartily as he tapped his jacket pocket softly.

Kuvira frowned in confusion. "Where did you hear that nonsense from?"

"Asami, actually," Mako smiled. "Wasn't long after we destroyed a mecha tank by driving her car into it. Actually I think it was two mecha tanks..."

"You guys get up to the strangest things..." Kuvira shook her head. "Guess I've got all that to come, right?"

"Right!" Bolin interrupted with a hand on either of their shoulders. He nearly tumbled over a moment later when the airship shifted violently, only saved by a cable from Kuvira at the last second. "See what I mean, Team Avatar material right there, saving my butt is pretty much an initiation rite." He smiled brightly, somehow.

"And dating the Avatar by the sounds of things," Kuvira laughed, especially loudly because of just how much she'd made Mako blush.

Bolin was unmoved. "I mean – I only got one date out of Korra, but I guess it only takes one. Let's not make that one of the initiation rites, you with me Mako?"

"All the way on that one, bro," Mako nodded frantically, slapping Kuvira's shoulder when she continued snickering at him.

Tonraq coughed loudly behind them. "Wise choice Mako. I was just about to clout all three of you on the head." He wasn't as tense as Mako would've imagined given how close they were to their goal now. If he was nervous, he'd buried it pretty deep. They'd all have to do the same against a group as calculating as the Red Lotus. Did Zaheer or the others ever feel real fear?

"The air, it feels familiar, don't you think?" Bolin said whilst waving his hands in front of him.

"What do you mean?" Tonraq asked with a raised brow.

"A little like Harmonic Convergence, actually a lot like, alive almost? I don't know how exactly to describe it – please tell me the rest of you feel it? I don't want to be going crazy now of all times," Bolin fretted. "I should've eaten more for lunch."

Mako nodded. That was exactly what it felt like, but he hadn't been able to make that connection until now. "You're right Bo. Do you think that storm has something to do with it?"

"Maybe," Tonraq considered. "A Spirit Storm. I read a little about them when I lived in the Northern Water Tribe, but I thought it was just a work of fantasy, or at least restricted to the realms of the Spirit World...but with the portals open again...I suppose it's possible. It'd be nice to have my brother's knowledge on the subject, and nothing else. We better land soon, who knows what effect such an unnatural storm could have on the weather."

Bolin's eyes widened. "A pretty bad one by the looks and-" another large creak, "-and sounds of things..."

"Alright, kids, get your butts round the conference table now!" Lin boomed. Tonraq frowned at his inclusion in 'the kids'.

Everyone complied as quickly as the swaying of the airship allowed. Both Mako and Bolin ended up clinging to Kuvira who seemed to still be somewhat sure on her feet, guiding them to a seat.

Immediately, Chief Beifong pointed to the large map of the area pinned to the table.

"We'll be landing on the top of this large cave structure soon enough, most of it is above ground, but given it's size, I'd wager there's parts of it below ground as well. We'll split our forces into two teams once we enter the cave system, making sure we cover the most ground in the shortest time before that damn storm really hits. Use your radios to communicate between each group and the airship. Once the Avatar and Miss Sato are secured, radio it in and we'll pull out. The Red Lotus will be dealt with at a later date. Myself, Tonraq and Bolin will take the west side of the lair, Mako, I want you and Captain Kuvira to take the east. And before you say another word Su, you're not going into that cave-"

"I'm fine, I can still fight!"

"Yes, I'm sure you can. That's why you and Kya will remain with the airship, keep it safe. It'll be our only means of escape once we secure our targets."

Suyin groaned with crossed arms but didn't say another word, Kya simply nodded in understanding.

"And what if only one of the targets is secured...do we still leave?" Kuvira asked anxiously.

"It's impossible to say exactly what we're going to run into once inside. It could be that either or both of them are already dead. Once we have a clearer picture of what's going on, we can make a decision. For now, our objective is the securing of both Asami Sato and Avatar Korra. If either team discovers that objective is no longer possible, make sure to radio it in to the other team and the airship," Beifong explained calmly before she closed her eyes firmly and swallowed hard.

"Are we all agreed?"

That was met by a round of nodding heads, Tonraq's the most notably reluctant.

"Good, then gear up for landing. If we've learned anything about the Red Lotus in all this time, it's that they'll do anything for their cause. Be prepared for the fight of your lives."

Asami cursed silently to herself as water began to seep up from the hole in the cell floor, rising at a steady rate. It was a lot cold than she would've expected given the humid temperature of the south during the day. The freezing liquid did have one benefit at least as it lapped at her ankles, it was keeping her brain engaged, and staving off the heat the plasma saw produced every time it was powered up.

The door was barely hanging by a thread anymore, all of Korra's work with the lock had been undone as Asami carefully sliced through what remained of the the final hinge. The saw was by this point continually cutting out – low battery – as she'd already predicted. "Hold still..." she whispered to herself as she felt the door dislodge from its frame, now only being held up by Asami's hands.

She pressed an ear to the cell door, listening out for the two guards who had been assigned to her cell. The adrenaline that was pumping through her veins furiously was the only thing keeping Asami's panic at bay. For how much longer was hard to judge. She swallowed hard again. Gotta keep my cool till I get to Korra. It's you against all of them. The only thing you've got over that lot is tremendous patience.

"Where the hell is all this water coming from?" one of the guards muttered anxiously. He didn't sound much older than Asami if at all.

"Dunno, don't care, it's done this before you know, before your time. We were wading up to the top of our knees in places, course back then we had Ming-Hua, she bent it all away in a couple of days. This'll take a lot longer," a much rougher voice replied. Experienced then, and the first one she had to topple. "Just put up with it for the time being, Zaheer will sort it when he's done with the Avatar."

"Sucks to be missing that...first the trip to Ba Sing Se and now this...I miss everything."

"What's Zaheer doing with the Avatar?!" Asami shouted.

"None of your business. You'll join her soon enough I imagine," the experienced guard replied. "Just keep your mouth shut until then." Not enough. She had to piss him off more.

"I don't really feel like it," Asami replied sharply. "Actually...I feel like escaping. Got a nice big hole in my cell floor, so I'll be going now. Have a nice day."

"What?! What're you on about?!" rough guard shouted as he stomped over to the cell door.

Three. Two. One. Big finish.

Asami stepped backwards a fraction and brought her leg back, a moment later she swung her foot forward into the centre of the door will all her strength. It flew out of the metal frame with some force and crashed into the Red Lotus guard who had been tempted right outside her cell with just a few words. She'd knocked him out cold, and probably given him a nasty bruise and concussion at the very least.

Guard number two yelped in surprise as his comrade suddenly vanished below the heavy metal door, his mouth gaped widely. Asami wasted no time as she dashed towards him, taking note of his pale complexion and amber eyes as she moved. Firebender. Gotta get in close before he can fire off a shot.

"You're a metal bender?!" the guard shouted frantically when he finally spotted her moving like a shadow right into his personal space. He tried to fire off a shot at close range, a potentially fatal move for either of them, but Asami was too quick, bringing a hand slamming up to force the guard's arm upwards. The stream of fire crashed harmlessly into the ceiling, though the heat it created made Asami flinch a little. She hated fighting firebenders.

Asami's fear didn't stop her this time as another adrenaline boost surged through her body. She grabbed at the man's outstretched arm before he could make another move and brought it behind his back sharply, close to breaking the bone. That made it fairly easy to kick at his back and bring him to his knees, water splashing up as she did so. The plasma saw was at his neck a heartbeat later.

"If you make one wrong move i'll power this thing up and cut right through your neck," Asami warned as she tightened her grip.

"Don't! Please! I'll do what you want!" the guard begged as he shook in place.

"Good. Turns out you'll get to play a part in today after all, just probably not the starring role you imagined," Asami teased angrily as she pulled the guard roughly to his feet.

"So you're not a metal bender then? But you just – you just happen to own a saw that chops metal?" the guard muttered as he walked with raised arms.

Asami took a few seconds to respond as they marched forwards. Her eyes were drawn to the green seaweed which coated one of the nearby by walls. If she hadn't known better it looked as those the plant lit up for a fraction of a second. Could it be a spirit vine...? Probably a trick of the light from the surface of the water. Water which appeared to be getting deeper as they moved.

"I built the saw – not that it matters. Now, you're going to do everything I say, okay?" Asami questioned sharply.

He nodded frantically.

"Take me to Zaheer, take me to wherever the Red Lotus have Korra, no funny business , or you know, saw in the neck," Asami instructed. She pressed the saw against his skin.

"Korra...oh! You mean the Avatar!" he replied with a half a shriek. Asami couldn't help but notice how much this guy sounded like Bolin. He was far too young to be involved with these kinds of people.

"Yes, take me to Korra and I'll free you, I swear," Asami replied sincerely.

The boy turned his head a little as they walked. "You know Zaheer won't do what you want...he wouldn't trade my life for the Avatar's. There's no way."

"Let's just see what your boss says. The Red Lotus are supposed to value the lives of their own," Asami muttered, feeling herself start to sweat from the increasingly humid air. Even for this place, it was getting hot.

"Not above the cause."

"Just shut up and walk!" Asami hissed as she felt a strange surge of energy drift up her arm, making her hand jerk a little. It wasn't painful however, more that it had taken her by surprise. The sensation was not much different from touching that little pond in the Spirit World which had healed her hand. "And stop splashing this water up!"

"Alright! Alright! Just – just stop twitching, you're making me even more nervous," the guard complained anxiously.

Korra awoke feeling more sluggish and drained than she'd experienced in her whole time spent in this hellish place.

Was this what death felt like? The afterlife? When Zaheer had taken her down with those damn darts she'd expected him to end her life shortly afterwards. She inhaled heavily.

Breathing felt real enough. And other senses were slowly starting to drift back with each passing second. She felt humid air clinging to her skin, her arms and the bottom half of her legs in particular. Her skin was bare in those places. So she'd lost the Red Lotus cloak then...that wasn't so bad, even if the outfit had done a good job of protecting her body during Korra's last stand. Now she wore a black vest trimmed in red, with black full length shorts.

"Let this day be a lesson to all those who would stand in the way of the Red Lotus and our cause. The path to change, to true freedom, has always been a fraught one. We have all made great sacrifices to get to this point. But today, the order of the Red Lotus will rise from the shadows." He pointed to Korra. "The Avatar is an enduring symbol of the inequalities in our world. A person granted so much power they could enslave every man, woman and child to their will if they so desired it. Today, the cycle will end. The chains we've been held by for all of our existence will be broken, starting with Avatar. The rest of this corrupt world's leadership will soon follow. After today, the people will rally to our cause, for there is no greater gift than true freedom."

Zaheer...so he doesn't just want to kill me, he wants to end the Avatar cycle?!

Korra's eyes widened in a panic at his words. She couldn't allow that to happen.

"Don't do it Zaheer!" Korra shouted angrily as she pulled and hauled on heavy chains around her wrists and ankles, chains that had suspended her from the ceiling whilst keep her firmly rooted to the floor. Korra gasped a little at how vulnerable she suddenly felt.

Zaheer simply smiled at her. "Hello, Avatar. Feeling well rested I hope?" He was flanked on all sides by other members of the Red Lotus, dressed in their trademark black and red cloaks. She spotted P'Li and Ghazan amongst them. So her death was to be a spectacle...of course. Zaheer loved a good show. Asami. Please tell me you've gotten the hell out of here...

She was high above the ground, a pit of sharp and jagged rocks below her. This cavern was one she'd never been in before, but she recognised the huge red symbol painted behind her head. A Red Lotus. This must've been the place where they made a real spectacle of any traitor's execution. This so easily could've been Asami.

Korra hauled against the chains with all her strength. They didn't budge much. Platinum, and taut. These weren't going to snap or move very easily. "You can't end the cycle, Zaheer! Just kill me, okay? It's personal now right? 'Cause I lied to you and stuff. You don't have to end the Avatar cycle!"

"I plan to do both, young Avatar," Zaheer replied calmly. "You should know better than anyone that ending the Avatar cycle means killing you whilst in the Avatar State, your last defence. When you die in the Avatar State, you end the cycle." He turned to his comrades. "Once the poison is administered she will be forced to enter the Avatar State, when that happens, end her with all your strength. Do not hesitate."

Ghazan nodded firmly before taking a step forward with clenched fists. The floor directly below Korra crumbled away, replaced by bubbling, red hot lava.

"Bring the poison forward," Zaheer commanded.

Two Red Lotus sentries with their hoods up stepped forward, one of them was carrying a silver bowl with a dark grey liquid inside. Korra flinched at the sight of it. She recognised it vaguely, from the early days in this place, she remembered how painful just a little had felt, and they were carrying a lot more than that.

"Zaheer, please! Listen to me! Ending the Avatar cycle won't change anything! I've been trying to make things better for people, normal people – don't you get that?!"

"If you really meant those words, the Fire Nation would have no monarchy, the United Republic would be without a President, and your father would be dead, your cousins too," Zaheer concluded with a shake of his head. "Administer the poison. The rest of you prepare yourselves." He turned back to face her. "Don't look so worried Korra, the less you fight, the easier this will be. You should be relieved, we are removing the burden you have carried since you were three years old. And your name will live on of course, Avatar Korra. The last Avatar."

"No! You can't!" Korra shouted desperately as she pulled and hauled at the chains.

The two metalbenders raised the poison upwards with ease, the dark liquid floating through the air at an alarmingly quick pace. Before Korra had even taken another breath she felt the cool liquid touch her skin. It bubbled against her upper arms and her shins, reflecting strangely in the low light. For a moment she felt nothing at all as silence filled the room.

And then it came.

The poison disappeared below her skin without leaving a mark. In less than a fraction of a second a terrible burning sensation filled her limbs, her insides bubbling in agony. Every part of her felt on fire.

Korra couldn't stop herself from crying out in agony as each surge in pain seemed to spike beyond a barrier she didn't even think possible until now. At least not without passing out in a few seconds.

Korra. You need to let me take control.

Raava...? I can't. As soon as I go into the Avatar State they'll take me out and end the cycle. Just let me die in peace.

But you are not dying in peace Korra. Let me help you.

Just go away, okay? I'm helping you out here – I don't want to fight you and the poison. Don't tell me I'm the first Avatar who died on your watch, and not from old age.

Roku died saving his friend, and his home. What are you dying for?

For my mistakes. For my friends. This was how it was always going to end.

"We've got a problem on the top of the cave, a huge airship just landed!"

"And flooding in the lower floors! We need to evacuate!"

Korra's vision was starting to sway back and forth, the voices in the room growing distant as Raava practically shouted in her ears. Korra gritted her teeth. You need to go away!

"Not yet, P'Li, go and deal with whatever minor problem is occurring outside, take some of our men with you. The rest of you stay here. Once the Avatar has been destroyed then we'll leave, not a moment before," Zaheer instructed angrily. P'Li nodded firmly, dashing off with five others out of the cavern.

"She's not going into the Avatar State like you said," Ghazan grumbled as a small piece of the ceiling dropped down into the pool of lava below.

"Give it time, she can't hold off the Avatar State forever," Zaheer commanded firmly.

"Time isn't a luxury we have!" Ghazan replied with a roar. "This place is starting to fall a part!" He was forced to jump backwards when a larger chunk of the roof fell.

"Alright! Alright!" Zaheer spat with waving arms. "We'll speed this up, more poison! MORE POISON!"

The metalbender's nodded anxiously as they lifted more of the dark liquid upwards.

Korra squirmed viciously in her chains, feeling a white haze start to flicker in front of her eyes. The Avatar State. Not now. She couldn't be the last Avatar, she wouldn't be the last Avatar. That would ruin everything she'd done so far, everything she'd bled for, a tainted legacy all because of Zaheer.

Mako pulled Bolin to his feet after their scuffle with three Red Lotus sentries on the roof of the massive cave structure. Several of them had fled back inside the cave, so they'd lost the element of surprise. Not that they'd ever had it, landing in an airship as flashy as the Future Industries one they'd flown here in. Their attacker's red and black garb at least proved the fact that this was the hideout of the infamous organisation. One crazy blind man in the Northern Water Tribe had led them here.

"This wind is crazy!" Bolin shouted as he tried to keep his balance. The sky above them had turned a deep shade of purple, with random flashes of light illuminating the horizon every few seconds. They didn't quite look like lightning bolts however. The sooner they got out of here, the better. "Can we please go inside?!"

"Keep the airship safe," Chief Beifong instructed Kya and Suyin one last time before she marched over to the rest of the rescue team. Was it even day time anymore Or anytime at all?

"Heads up!" Kuvira called in a panic behind them. She was flung backwards with a thud along with a whole pile of rocks.

Mako spun around in the squally winds, spotting a familiar figure emerge from the dark entrance to the cave. P'Li, with five others in tow. A shattered wall of earth stood between him and the combustion bender.

"It's P'Li!"

"Don't let her near the airship!" Lin boomed as she surged forward. "Keep her fire off the airship!"

Mako pulled Kuvira to her feet quickly. "You okay?!"

"I'm good! We've got to bring down that combustion bender!"

"Leave her to Lin and I, you three go deal with the rest of them!" Tonraq shouted as he darted past them, sending a barrage of ice shards flying at P'Li on the other edge of the summit.

Kuvira wasted no time despite her earlier tumble, shooting two cables out from either arm and tripping up three of the approaching Red Lotus. They tried to pull themselves upwards instantly but Kuvira didn't give them a chance wrapping an individual metal cable around each of their ankles and dragging them along the ground roughly.

Mako didn't need any further instruction, understanding Kuvira's intention in bringing their attacker's closer. Firebending was much more effective at close range.

He leaped in front of Kuvira at the last second and slammed his hands together, firing a wave of flames from deep within his chest. The Red Lotus guards didn't have a hope in hell to avoid it, crying out in pain as their black robes caught fire. They were quite lucky in the fact it was raining so hard as they rolled around in the dirt to try and extinguish the flames which covered them.

"Bolin time!" Mako boomed as he suffocated the flames himself, unable to ignore their screaming.

Bolin surrounded the injured three in a solid block of earth a heartbeat later. Their heads drooped forward without much fight, out cold then.

Mako leaped over them, promptly followed by Kuvira and Bolin as they charged towards the remaining two. They were all halted in their tracks when a cry of pain rang out from across the summit.

"Chief!" Mako shouted as he spun around, watching on in horror as one of P'Li's combustion blasts hit dead on target, sending Lin rolling back several meters. Tonraq was also on his back and struggling to get to his feet. Shit.

An ice coated fist smashed into the side of Mako's head in his momentary distraction, knocking him into the dirt and making his surroundings spin at a dizzying speed. He felt his attacker above him, a blade of ice in their hand. Mako rolled to the side at the last moment, fragments of ice flicking into his face. He brought a fire covered fist up to match his attacker's as they formed another ice blade.

Mako increased the flames intensity, the heat it produced making him sweat profusely, but it was enough put his attacker on the back foot as Mako pushed forward with gritted teeth until they were both on their feet again. Once their foreheads were close enough Mako ended the scuffle in a stupid, but decisive manner, smacking his head against his attack with another dizzying thud. It didn't seem to matter much given that his head was already spinning.

P'Li stalked towards Chief Beifong in the distance, inhaling deeply.

"Chief get out the way!"

Mako closed his eyes as a strangely dampened pop echoed in the breeze. He felt warm liquid splatter across his face and hesitantly wiped his eyes clean.

A spot of blackened earth smoked not too far away, but it wasn't Chief Beifong or Tonraq. Those two were awkwardly climbing to their feet, a look of horror spread across their features.

Suyin and Kuvira stood together a few meters away, both of their arms raised as they breathed frantically. A pile of what were presumably limbs sat in front of them, along with small pieces of metal. Suyin had lost her chest plate of metal armour. Had those two just done what it looked like they'd done...? Mako couldn't say P'Li didn't deserve it as he felt Bolin pull him forward to join the rest of them. Still...to go like that...he swallowed away the bile at the back of his throat.

"Thanks for the help, Kuvira, I couldn't have bent that without you..." Suyin exhaled with a tremble as she lowered her arm down.

"...I didn't think that would be quite so effective..." Kuvira muttered with wide eyes whilst she tried to wipe her blood smeared face clean.

"Everybody okay?!" Chief Beifong called as she took off a piece of shattered armour from her forearm and tossed it away.

The infiltration team nodded very slowly.

"Good, Su, get back to the airship and hold it, we'll be back soon enough," Lin ordered with a wave of her hand. This time Suyin obeyed without question, darting off to the still intact airship with a quick nod.

"Stay safe, Lin."

"We've got more company!" Bolin called in alarm as yet more Red Lotus members came streaming from the cave entrance. Was there no end to them?

But these ones were different somehow, more panicked, covered in dust, partially soaked, and they didn't pay much attention at all to their unwelcome guests. Instead totally ignoring them and running past. Once they spotted the huge Future Industries airship they began surging in that direction, but thankfully the pilot was sensible enough to raise it well out of the reach of the approaching Red Lotus. Once they realized they weren't getting on that airship anytime soon they kept running.

"What do we do here?" Bolin asked as he watched them. "Do we go after them?"

"Leave them, the destruction of the Red Lotus is not the mission here," Tonraq stated firmly. "Something's obviously driving them out from the inside of the cave."

"Then now's as good a time as any to go inside, whilst they're panicking," Lin decided with a nod. "Once inside we split up as agreed. Keep your radios on and update each other when you get any information." She looked back to the hoovering airship briefly. "Let's go!"

Asami stumbled forward with her hostage, moving quicker with every second when she began to hear the distant sounds of screaming. It really sounded like Korra.

"Quicker!" Asami ordered with a shove.

"All right, cool it!" the young guard replied with a shake of his head. "You could just go you know, slip away? Will all this flooding and rocks falling from the ceiling, nobody's gonna be paying any attention to you."

"Not an option, never an option," Asami answered instantly as she sped up a notch, spurred on by the increasing volume of the screams. They couldn't be faraway now. "Just keep going!"

They ran in silence for the remainder of the tunnel, the water level now up to Asami's knees. The lower floors where her cell was must've been totally swamped by now. And the guard she'd knocked out...he'd presumably have drowned. She wasn't given a chance to dwell on that disturbing thought, interrupted by angry and panicked shouting very nearby. It was Ghazan's voice this time, and Zaheer.

"Is this the place?" Asami whispered silently, pausing them at the bottom of a slope which appeared to lead upwards to a large cavern. At least the water wouldn't be so much of a problem up there, for the moment anyway.

"Yeh..."

"Good, keep your mouth shut and let me do the talking and you'll walk away from here in once piece."

They struggled up the slope in a few seconds, pieces of displaced earth tumbling past them with an eventual splash. Asami's heart stopped when they reached the top, taking in the huge cavern inch by inch. Most of the Red Lotus stood in front of them, facing in the opposite direction to stare at a stone wall on the other side of the room. The red flower of the Red Lotus was painted onto it. The words sacrificial chamber immediately came to mind. This room existed solely for whatever cruel rituals the Red Lotus carried out against total traitors and deserters.

"Korra..." Asami murmured when she spotted the Avatar struggling in chains, suspended from the ceiling and crying out in pain every few seconds. They were treating her like an animal. Less than animal. Asami gritted her teeth furiously and gripped the back of her hostage's head much more firmly.

"More poison! MORE POISON!" Zaheer boomed from the centre of the room. Two cloaked members moved forward cautiously at his command, carrying a silver bowl between them. Asami remembered vividly how that dark liquid felt in her veins, even just a little dosage of the stuff. And now they'd pinned Korra to a wall in order to administer it in much larger doses. Fatal doses. Asami wouldn't give them a chance to poison Korra with any more.

"ZAHEER! STOP!" Asami boomed from the back of the cave.

"Sato?!" Zaheer gasped in disbelief as Asami took a few cautious steps forward. The metalbenders paused in their administration of more poison. In fact most of the room had now turned to face her. All except Korra whose eyes were wrenched shut as she squirmed violently, fighting off some unknown force.

"Put any more poison into Korra and I'll cut this guy's fucking head off!"

"Do as she says, please brother," her hostage begged with raised arms as Asami powered up the saw, pointing it into the air. A gesture of just how serious she was.

"We ain't got time for this, Zaheer," Ghazan warned from the other end of the room, knocking a piece of falling stone out of the way. And another.

Zaheer shook his head with a smile. "Resourceful. I underestimated you Miss Sato. But you cannot stop what is already in motion. I told you this was no game. Today, the Avatar cycle ends, you along with it. Administer the poison!"

"I'll kill him I swear!"

The metalbenders stood looking a little shell shocked, glancing between Zaheer and Asami's hostage.

"In cold blood? We both know you're no killer, Ming-Hua forced your hand, this is very different," Zaheer explained calmly before turning his head to the two metalbenders. "That was an order. Ignore this farce and do your jobs!"

He turned back to Asami with a smile. "See. You won't kill him, he's just a boy." Zaheer raised his hands rapidly and sent a powerful gust of air surging forward, knocking Asami and her hostage flying backwards into a nearby wall. Their impact was enough to punch a hole in the wall's surface, water pouring in behind them. Asami tried to grab out for her hostage again in a daze but he was already scrambling away out of her reach.

A cushion of air formed below her, dragging Asami straight out of the crevice in the wall and across the room with a painful thud, right in front of Zaheer. "But I have no problem in ending you." He adjusted the position of the air with another swift wave of his arms, forced it down on top of Asami so she could barely move. In the distance the metalbenders lifted the metal poison up again.

"Zaheer! We have to go!" a nearby guard shouted after diving out of the way of a piece of falling rock. "If we stay here we're all going to drown!"

Zaheer ignored them entirely, instead gritting his teeth as he pulled Asami up to her knees. Several of the guards exchanged nervous glances in the distance, nodding to each other before sprinting off and out of the cavern. When the first few left, many followed, splashing up water as they fled in a panic.

"Cowards! TRAITORS!" Zaheer boomed as he remained steadfast, forming a rotating ball of air around Asami's head with deadly speed.

Immediately, Asami felt her lungs straining and heaving for oxygen, any that had been inside them currently being dragged out of her body through her throat, fuelling the ball as it spun at a dizzying pace. Her eyes began to pulse painfully, several small blood vessels bursting from the sudden and immense pressure being exerted on her entire head. Zaheer became an even hazier blur in her vision. Even the crumbling of the room became a distant echo.

Soon he became nothing more than a faint white outline in otherwise total blackness, Asami's hands dropping to her sides. The last thing she'd wanted was to die by fire, but she'd never expected her death to come by air.

But then she felt something else...that same twinge again. Just like in the Spirit World, before that monster with her mother's face had attacked. That surge of raw energy. Her chi-paths being opened well beyond what she considered possible. Asami clenched her fist and swung her arm forward, hoping to land any hit on Zaheer.

Suddenly the pressure around her head disappeared with a whoosh.

Asami tumbled forward and gasped for breath desperately, her vision was still blurred significantly. The chill of cold water up to the top of her elbows made her tremble, but also helped her mind to focus again as oxygen returned.

Zaheer sat against a boulder a few meters away, staggering up to his feet again with a grimace and wide eyes. "You...you airbent me...what the hell are you...?"

Asami straightened herself up and stared at her open fingers. Airbending...? So that's what that was just now? She sprinted away from Zaheer and searched for that same feeling again, that same surge in energy. And it came again like a bolt of electricity. Asami swung an arm forward like she'd watched Tenzin and so many others do before. This time she was able to see the air in front of her ripple, sending a gust smacking into the side of the two metalbenders about to poison Korra and knocking them onto their backs with a splash.

The dark liquid fell harmlessly into a pool of lava directly below Korra the moment those bending it lost control. They didn't appear to have any more of that terrible stuff left either.

Asami focused her efforts on Zaheer as she darted to the side of a piece of falling ceiling, using airbending to boost her speed but ended up severely over judging how much power was required. She hurtled into a nearby stone pillar with a painful crunch, her head plunging under the freezing cold water briefly. Asami hauled herself upwards with a gasp, water streaming down her face as she shook her head.

Zaheer darted towards her from the other side of the cavern, using a ball of air to float above the deepening water with ease. She punched a fist out at him again, a wave of air careering forward directly at the Red Lotus leader. It didn't move with anywhere the same speed as Korra or other's were capable of. Zaheer flipped out of it's path with ease as the gust smacked into a nearby wall, bringing down a section of it such was its force. Too heavy then, too slow.

Zaheer didn't give her any reprieve, sending a whip of air slashing across the water surface using his leg with alarming speed, it hit Asami directly in the chest as she flew backwards again, her back slapping against the water surface painfully. He'd winded her awfully, her lungs straining for air once again. Gotta get up...get up Sato!

She felt something yank at her leg under the surface of the water and once again was dragged across the room, her head dipping under the surface of the water every few seconds. By the time Zaheer had her in front of him again she was coughing and spluttering uncontrollably. He didn't waste anytime, summoning that same ball of air to form around Asami's head with what little remained in her lungs.

"Now that...that really was a surprise, Sato," Zaheer muttered with gritted teeth. "But a woman like you? You are no airbender, and the Avatar will still die this day. Even if it wasn't by my hand. The poison's been in her system for far too long. She'll expire soon enough. But you first."

Asami tried to swing her arms forward, to blast Zaheer away again, but nothing came, no surge of energy, no surprises. The energy seeped away from her limbs as her arms dropped back to her side. That increasingly familiar blackness returned to her vision. Her brain shutting down bit by bit. The ball of air continued to swirl around her head, though the painful pressure it created seem to be dimming in the darkness. I'm so sorry Korra...

"Get off her...!" a voice shouted weakly followed by a faint splashing sound.

The pressure around Asami's head disappeared again as she felt arms under her back, preventing her from plunging back into the icy water. But the blackness didn't fade away quite so quickly this time as she felt an arm loop under her shoulders and try to pull her up.

"Asami...I can't...I can't hold you myself...you need to stand up..."

Korra...

Asami's vision came back slowly as she pulled herself upwards unsteadily. Black spots danced in front of her eyes as she tried to focus. The cavern was falling apart, with Zaheer lying a few meters away, partially trapped underneath a rock. He kicked and punched at it furiously.

"You're done Avatar! Done!"

Korra's eyes seemed to be continually flickering in and out of total whiteness, the Avatar state. Korra fell to her knees with a restrained cry of pain. The water was now nearing their waists.

"Can you walk?" Asami asked in concern as she pulled Korra upwards with an arm wrapped firmly around her.

"Sorta..." Korra grimaced as she coughed heavily. "What about you...?"

"Sorta..." Asami nodded with a strained smile. She couldn't really, feeling utterly exhausted and just about ready to sink to the ground. "Hold onto me, I'll hold onto you. Don't let go. We'll get out of here together. We've gotta get upwards before this place floods and falls to pieces."

Korra tightened her grip on Asami. "Right. Know the way...?"

"No...but going up seems like a good idea right now..." Asami decided as she patted Korra's back after another bout of violent coughing.

Korra didn't seem to have the energy to reply, instead nodding weakly as they waded forward slowly. Asami glanced back to Zaheer briefly, still struggling and pushing against the rock. Alive.

"What about him...? We can't let him leave this place alive..."

Korra shook her head. "The water will take him...you don't have to...Asami, don't fall to their level..."

Asami swallowed hard and pulled them forward, feeling Korra lean more and more into her as they waded at an increasingly slow pace. She was loosing consciousness, dying even, with that much poison in her system.

Asami clicked her fingers several times in front of Korra's face. "Don't fall asleep, you've got to stay with me...I'm not a muscle machine like you...I can't carry you all by myself."

Korra smiled weakly at that before narrowing her brows and trying to increase her speed. That took some of the strain off of Asami and they waded towards the exit of the cavern, another slope leading them upwards and out into the rest of the cave.

"Sato..." Ghazan mumbled as he emerged at the top of the slope. He clenched his fists with a tremble.

Asami's eyes widened as Korra starting slipping down from her shoulder again, she pulled her back in place. "Hold tighter, dig in if you have to," Asami whispered softly into Korra's ear. Though it was a little painful, Korra did as she was told, gripping tightly with her fingers.

"Get out of the way Ghazan, it's over," Asami spoke firmly.

"It definitely seems that way, you've got the whole Red Lotus running all over the place, I guess that damn storm has a hell of a lot to do with it," Ghazan noted quietly. He crossed his arms but didn't move another inch.

"Ghazan, please, let us leave. You'll never hear from us again," Asami started to beg.

Ghazan smiled a little and Asami tensed herself. "Think you'll be able to fix that old record player up again? Even filled up with all this water?"

"Probably," Asami replied sharply.

Ghazan laughed loudly at that. "You've not changed since the moment you got here. That sharp tongue of yours may eventually get you killed. That confidence too, though I guess it's well placed with a brain like yours. Could change the world, a head like that."

"Move out the way, Ghazan."

"How 'bout you duck first Sato?"

Instinct told Asami to do as he asked for once. She pulled herself and Korra to the floor roughly as a large piece of earth flew over their heads. Asami heard a smacking sound followed promptly by a deafening splash. She turned around to see a body in grey robes floating on the water's surface, blood streaming from the corpse's shaved head.

Zaheer...

"Gotta give him credit, he doesn't give up so easily," Ghazan muttered as he strolled past the crouching pair, wiping at his eyes as he walked. "Just remember Sato, it wasn't you who ended the Red Lotus today, it was that guy, my brother, by letting you two in here in the first place. All that airbending really blew up his head." He mock saluted them before stepping into the water which had filled the cavern behind them. "Have a good life, Rei, Sato."

"Ghazan...?" Asami mumbled in disbelief as he kept on walking, whistling like he was simply taking a pleasant stroll as the water rose up his body. Asami recognised the tune easily. Path of Wind. She glanced to her hand briefly. No surges of energy any more. Whatever had caused it before was gone, passed over. The storm...

"Leave him Asami..." Korra muttered with a cough.

"Right..." Asami shook her head as she turned away with a grimace, pulling Korra forward and up the slope as the water stalked them every step of the way. They entered yet another, narrower tunnel which was completely dark inside. The generator that powered the lights was gone then.

Korra bent a small flame in her hand as they trudged forward. "I'm okay, I can bend a little...just keep walking..." she grumbled when Asami's eyes widened in concern.

Asami nodded slowly as Korra leaned into her for support once again. Her whole body weight, which was quite a strain on Asami's already aching bones. She watched Korra stifle yet another cry of pain with gritted teeth as blood trickled down her chin.

She's dying...

Asami picked up their speed with what little energy she had remaining.

End Notes

I feel like I need to lie down and breath a lot. So let me try and start somewhere.

Path of Wind was a very deliberate choice of music as you can clearly see from this chapter. If you want to go and take a listen to Youtube search it, cause fanfic is a dick and won't let me link stuff.

Mako/Kuvira:
-So P'Li is very much dead.
-The two infiltration teams are now inside the cave system by the end of this chapter.

The Storm:
-What I would title a Spirit Storm, do you remember Ghazan mentioning that earth bender's used to live in that place but disappeared without a trace? Well that storm was the cause, flooding the place and washing them all out to sea eventually. It's a one in every 300 year kind of occurrence. This storm in particular was really nasty because it was fuelled by the shift in climate and spiritual energy that opening the portals had caused, hence causing a spike in spiritual energy when it passed over. Note the glowing sea weed/spirit vines, an indicator of that.

Airbending Asami:
-First off, that's not a permanent ability of Asami's now. It was a side effect of the storm.
-There have been several breadcrumbs in previous chapters indicating that there was something different about Asami, or at the very least she'd changed.
-Old water tribe market guy commented on Asami's appearance, saying she was a mixture of Fire Nation, Earth Kingdom, and something else entirely.
-When Asami was in the Spirit World, she touched the Spirit Oasis, which healed her hand, but also opened her chi-paths in a way Harmonic Convergence had not, giving her the potential ability.
-However, it was only the effects of the spirit storm which allowed her to tap into that otherwise locked ability, it's increasing of the spiritual energy of the environment.
-And do you remember Kasumi? Ghazan commented on their similar appearances, black hair, same complexion, but different eyes. Kasumi is an original airbender, something that will be investigated a little later. It took the Spirit Storm's energy to let her tap into that ability. But again, it's only a temporary thing, an effect of the storm.

Korra and the metal poison:
-So Korra has been poisoned venom of the Red Lotus style, but it would've been an even more fatal dose had Asami not intervened. Atm, Korra is still dying, and pretty much unable to walk. Think of how toxic that stuff is in her veins. Though she did manage to crash down from the ceiling when the place started to fall apart to save Asami.

Ghazan/Zaheer:
-I'll leave it up to you whether Ghazan had any intention of actually stopping Asami and Korra when he ran into them. I think by that point he realized he had nothing else to live for, and that the Red Lotus had truly failed. He got his vengeance against the Earth Queen already, and I think Zaheer had become so deluded that Ghazan wasn't really fighting for him anymore. Also, he heard Zaheer mention that thing about Ming-Hua having tried to kill Asami, something Zaheer never told him, so he was pretty pissed with him by that point.
-I also tried to parallel the goodbye between Ghazan and his sister when he bumped into Asami. Asami taking his role this time by asking to get past, of course this time, Ghazan allows her to go, well, actually saves her butt from a vengeful Zaheer who I think pretty much lost all sense of wtf he was doing in this chapter, instead intent on killing Korra and Asami. But he's dead now, I swear. Pinky promise. P'Li, Ghazan and Zaheer are all dead. Korra is dying, so that's not so fun, and she and Asami are about a minute away from drowning, so also not good.

I feel bad about loosing Ghazan actually, I felt like I've given him a lot more depth than the show ever had time to give him, like he's an OC or something, so yeh, that sorta sucks. But I really enjoyed writing for a villain, one that actually had a few layers, and I think his final scene proved that he did have a few of those indeed. Asami didn't change him per say, but I think he liked her enough, her extreme determination and common sense, that he was willing to let her go, though not go far enough to show her the way out or anything like that. I think that's pretty in his character actually, that ending. Sorry Ghazan! But you had a good run!

Anyways, thank you so much for reading up to this point! Please leave your thoughts below, would love to hear from you all out there! I don't know how quickly I'll get the next chapter out, because university work is really starting to pile up, so the next one may take a little longer, who knows?

To keep up to date with everything to do with this story, go to my Tumblr: Ravensbomb100, i post chapters teases and such there from time to time and other related content.