A/N: Hello, I am back and I am BLONDE! Finally mustered up the courage to color it, and now I am that much closer to being like my role model (BBC's Merlin- Morguase!) But you guys probably don't care about that. You want to read the next installation and thus, you shall. Thank you for everyone who has hung in there for this story and I hope you guys continue to love/like/tolerate it as it pleases you. REVIEW and I will love you! See, it rhymes. :)
Disclaimer: I own a fanfiction account, but nothing more than that, unfortunately.
Previously on Events Unexpected…
"I have chosen…" she could not say the words. She refused to say them. Koh was well aware of her course of action; she felt no obligation to force herself into uttering those vile words.
"Then take it," the pendant was offered once more; it tinkled as it hit the palm of the Faceless hand.
"Present it to her as a token of your love. It will open a gateway that will allow her to come into the Spirit World, body and mind and all. After that, I will consider the debt repaid, and you will no longer have to fear me Avatar… unless you request my aid in the future."
Body and mind and all, she repeated. Body and mind and all. Her eyes snapped up to meet the hard brown ones ingrained in the cadaver where its buttons used to be. Body, she realized. Koh did not simply want Kaji's face; he wanted her to become another of his Faceless, a servant for eternity, and he needed her body for it.
"I will find a way to beat him," Korra said. "I will find a way to save us both… or at least save her and the world."
Omashu stood quiet in the daylight, the sun at its apex as the clock chimed noon and the restless streets became packed with people going to take their lunch breaks. The restaurants that had been deserted for the majority of the morning were suddenly flooded by a mob of hungry men, women, and children ready to taste the culinary treasures housed within. The pyramidal towers that housed the inner city and the Palace glistened in the backdrop, sitting regally and soaking in the sun's warmth along with their patrons. The platform of the city had been extended by the earthbending corps again, each year spreading ever closer to the other side of the gorge so as to accommodate the rising population and prosperity within its protective outcropping. As such, it was a constant job to keep the base of the 'island' from thinning to the point where it could no longer support the giant landmass above it.
Tunnels ran all along the base, providing swift methods of reaching a problem area were there ever to be a need. The passages were constructed in such a way as to not weaken the foundation of the trunk of stone holding up the bustling metropolis, but were also large enough to comfortably fit the men who would be sliding through them at a moment's notice.
It was through those tunnels that Korra and a small garrison of troops moved into at the day of their counter-invasion. The earthbenders were in charge of providing the mobility but, though she had initially objected, Korra sat forlorn in the corner of the platform-turned-elevator as it was propelled through the massive hole in the mountain. She had gotten practically no sleep the entire journey there, always paranoid over another message from Koh or a nightmare depicting the gruesome outcomes that inevitably awaited her and the Fire Lord should she fail to think of something. So she slept lightly and troublesomely, not getting more than three or four hours a night if she was lucky or too tired to dream. Katara had given her drafts made from teas or medicinal waters, but nothing seemed to help. In the end, Korra simply resigned herself to the fact that she would not be gaining much dormancy and instead placed her efforts into uncovering a method for outwitting the vile Spirit who plagued her.
Up until that point, Korra had not had a solid modus operandi come forth, but she had decided that telling Kaji was imperative. The girl had a knack for creating intricate plans and actually foreseeing the unexpected obstacles that loomed after each stage and decision. Korra felt the tightness in her stomach, flinching as the bile rose up her esophagus and burned her throat. She had not been this nervous about seeing someone since… well, ever. Confronting Kaji again; it felt like a dream. The time had gone by as slow as honey at times, but looking back at the two weeks they had spent in preparation, Korra felt herself thoroughly unprepared for what she had to do.
The fingers of her left hand played with the betrothal necklace she had put on, the one of fire, while her right hand clenched tightly around the bone necklace stuffed safely in her pants pocket. She did not believe that Koh was a mind reader, but she knew that he had his ways of spying in on her and she had no intention of revealing her ulterior motives just yet. She had to get to Kaji first, before he could whisk her away to the Spirit World where he was strong. Here, she still held the upper hand.
The elevator stopped. They had reached the inner sanctum of the city. Above their heads, through the walls of sandstone and granite, lay the lower chambers of the Palace. The Palace where Kaji had been taking up residence, and which she was undoubtedly now occupying. Katara's informants had reassured her of the fire prodigy's presence within the walls of Omashu, cautioning that she would not remain for long. Korra's face was graced with a tired smile, thinking of the impatience with which Kaji awaited her return to the Fire Nation. As much as she had claimed to have travelled around the world, Korra could sense the longing expressed in those gold eyes every time she faced south and west.
"Avatar," a man called to her. He was the one who had led the group of young boys and girls from the taken capital of the Northern Water Tribe. The rest of the men, about thirty as they did not wish to attract excess attention, had already disembarked the transport and were gathering around Master Katara and General Iroh II.
"I am coming," Korra announced, letting go of the twin necklaces and pushing off of her hands to stand. She dropped down and strutted over to where Tenzin looked on to his mother; Lin Beifong standing off to his other side. He acknowledged her with his own smile, not even bothering to hide his concern over her wellbeing anymore. Lin, as was her nature, nodded and resumed the appraisal of her weapons. Korra was glad that at least someone was not looking at her as though she would fall apart like some cracked china that had been poorly glued together. She was also done looking strong for the rest of them. She had no more of that left. All Korra had to keep her going now, was the conviction she held within her heart: the promise that she would save them; her and them; her above all, but Korra did not say it. Long ago she had learned from a skinny, strange Guru, that lying to herself would help no one, so Korra no longer tried to crush her feelings or stow them away. Kaji was the one she loved, and she would let her go if needs be, but not before; never before.
Iroh walked forward, calling the attention of those assembled, "We all know what awaits us in those walls," his voice was somber, but confident. Korra envied him, "There will be Earth Kingdom guards and Fire Nation guards. You may end up fighting your own people, but remember, we must hold them until Korra is able to get to Kaji. Once we have the Fire Lord in our custody, they should surrender. I hold no delusions over the necessity of killing. Do what you deem you must in order to keep yourselves in the fight. That is all."
Where usually there would be a flagrant 'Hurrah' of some sort, the men stayed silent. They knew the necessity of keeping invisible until the last possible moment. Instead, each man and woman raised his or her hand into the air in salute, showing their determination and understanding. Korra contemplated the stern complexions, each holding their personal motivations; motivations each one hoped would be enough to get them through the mission. Survival, pride, loved ones, whatever it took to get them out alive.
Out of the corner of her eye, Korra spotted the tall, stern figure of Kirei. He stood amongst the throng to her right, wearing a plain ensemble of loose pants and a long-sleeved button-up jacket. His hair had been pulled up into a bun to keep the strands from distracting him by falling in his face. The face, turned up to gaze unseeing at the ceiling as though he could almost imagine what his daughter, after four or five years of not seeing her, would look like. A subconscious reaction passed through him, stiffening his posture before he turned to look at her; their eyes met for a moment before he let his gaze fall and moved to lose himself in the crowd. Korra wondered whether he held regrets about what he had told her, about his plea for his daughter's death. Pity coiled up in her heart. The man had been broken so many times a gust of wind could have dissolved him into nothing but dust.
"Korra," Katara came to place a hand on her shoulder, "Tenzin and I will accompany you and Lin as we search for the Fire Lord," she turned to the metalbender before requesting, "Use you seismic sense to locate her. The sooner we find the girl, the sooner we finish this."
A rumble of earth shook through the room as a large portion of the wall was removed by a conjoined effort from the earthbenders in their small battalion. Iroh II then took the lead, moving them to their positions from which they would create the necessary distraction to hide Korra's own progress through the palace. The darkness of the earth took them all, each looking like some kind of sacrifice walking into the maw of a giant beast of stone and rock. Korra only hoped that most of them were able to come out of it whole.
There was a slight tremble in the earth, so small that it would have normally gone through undetected or barely noted as a natural occurrence. Normally, however, was not the adjective to describe the day as watched through the iridescent golden eyes of the Fire Lord sitting in the plush cushions of the throne she lounged in. It was almost comical, how sparse the palace had been before she came; everything was undecorated stone. The furniture, stone; the walls and floors and ceiling, stone; the statues, sculptures, even the mosaics ornamenting some of the few upper corridors leading past upper class guest quarters, all stone. The firebender had made sure to set up a more comfortable atmosphere, importing a plethora of furnishings and embroidered wall carpets portraying scenes of battle and adventure from the past century and the ancient myths of the four continents. The bourgeois had not been pleased at first, but had become keen enough with time and the hinted fact that none of their opinions held any value to their new overlord.
As it was, none of the paintings or comforts held any of their former aesthetic qualities in Kaji's mind. All she could think on was the minor shift in the foundation of the giant rock plateau and the look Izuru Kain had shared with her the moment it had occurred. It meant one thing and one thing only. They were here. The adolescent huffed in exasperation, knowing full well that the countermeasure had been inevitable, expected even. Still, her limbs felt leaden and her tongue was swollen in the stuffiness of the chambers. The heat, usually so pleasing to her own scorching skin, felt oppressive amidst the dusty old catacombs that passed as a royal establishment.
"Is the waterbender among them?" Kaji asked, her tone bored and heavy.
Izuru lifted her head from where she had been focusing on the ground. Kaji was loath to admit it, but the earthbender's seismic sense was a subject with which she felt thoroughly enraptured. To be able to feel the enemy and visualize them even with layers upon layers of solid crust between oneself and the opponent was something she found immensely useful. The twinge of jealousy was not an emotion Kaji liked possessing, as it hinted at poorly veiled weakness; weakness she could not afford.
"Yes, and they have quite a few followers by the feel of it," came the answer. Kaji's eyes lit up with the prospect of another triumph.
"How many in all?"
"No more than three dozen or so."
Kaji's eyebrows came together. It was suicide to think of assaulting the capital of the Fire Nation stronghold within the Earth Kingdom. Such folly may have been expected from an amateur adventurer or prospect hero, but the water witch was crafty, that Kaji knew. Katara would not risk such a small force to ascertain a victory unless she held some form of a trump card she had not played yet. The fires in the holsters lining the square room flared in interchangeable flashes of azure and sunburst. She had been awaiting this. If it was indeed the Avatar herself come to face her, then Kaji would be more than- Her inner mantra hit a snag at the thought. She was more than ready to… what? Her inner eyes conjured up those sapphire blue irises, spread wide in joy as the gleaming smile stretched across the tight cheeks and strong jaw line. Kaji's fire faltered, sputtering in the receptacles in a mirage of her heart. If she were faced with the option of killing Korra, or even of wounding her to the point of incapacitation, would she be able to go through with it? Her mind wrapped around the notion, but her subconscious pulled back as if stung.
"Your thoughts?" Izuru cut in. She knew the girl sitting a few steps above her on the raised platform was wrestling with some beast within and the earthbender found herself fighting the urge to roll her eyes. The firebender's antics were becoming more of a burden than anything else. When it became obvious that her question was going to be blatantly ignored, she did the least sensible thing, and pushed on, "You know that she isn't going to hold back with you."
Kaji's eyes flickered to catch the cool jade pools of the woman sharing the room with her. As obvious as the possibility had been, the firebender had never once considered Korra's conviction of beating her. Mentally kicking herself, Kaji reset her train of thought to mustering up the battle strategies they had been discussing before being so subtly interrupted. Whatever would come to pass, with or without Korra there, Kaji would have to adapt to it.
Still, it would not hurt to make sure she knew what she would be dealing with in a few sparse minutes, "Is the Avatar there?"
"You know she is," Izuru responded as one would speak to an idiot. The glare shot her way brought her back to her place. As conflicted as the firebender was, she was not weak; if anything, the constant stress edging its way across the Fire Lord's face made her even more dangerous. Izuru was not one for living her life as a charred shell because her tongue slipped.
"They are most probably using the bulk of their force as a distraction," Kaji muttered, drawing invisible lines on the armrest of the throne, "in which case we will send double their number in guards to quell the situation quickly and efficiently."
"What of the girl?" Izuru inspected her nails, each one flawless as the rest.
"The girl will come for me. As will the old waterbending woman. Your spies, did they affirm any other identities within the masses?" Kaji was certain that Katara would not allow Korra to face her without some form of defense. The firebender needed to know how many that shield would consist of and who they were.
"The airbender, Tenzin, and the chief of the police force in Republic City, Lin Beifong, were identified. There is also General Iroh II of the international armada fleet. As for the rest, they claim to be a part of the ancient organization known as the White Lotus-"
"Yes, I have been made aware," Kaji interjected, happy to parade her own intelligence and reconnaissance abilities; it was always prudent to implicate to those beneath her that she was not overly reliant on them. Her nails drummed against the seat impatiently. She had hoped to evade the girl until they were able to meet on her own terms, but with the added insight of the metalbender woman, the situation had become somewhat more serious. If Kaji was to choose her battlefield, she would have to do so soon, else her own connection to the floor under her feet would be her undoing.
"Is that old arena, the one in which Avatar Aang faced his trials under Bumi, still under repair?" the sand on the floor would make for a hazy visibility, or so she hoped, for the Beifong woman. It was not perfect, but it would have to do. In a city made of the natural element of her adversaries, Kaji had small choice in the matter. Her inner grandmother berated her for prolonging her stay in the Earth capital for so long, but it was too late to bemoan past decisions.
"I believe it to be finished," Izuru replied, puzzlement in her voice.
"We face them there. I wish to see how many follow the Avatar. If the number is small enough, we can split them and take them ourselves. If it turns out to be an overwhelming amount, then we retreat to the outer courtyard where the reserve troops will be stationed."
"Understood," Izuru fell to her knees and placed her forehead against her cupped fingers. Bowing to the Fire Lord had become easier with each display of power from the girl. Both Kaji and Izuru knew that the allegiance of the earthbender was to the strongest, and Kaji was sure to continue to keep her affluence on display. Standing, the Dai Li agent wasted no more time before sweeping from the room and moving to relay information to the troops stationed around the palace. Kaji took a few moments to catch her breath and keep her wits about her before strutting to the shaded stands overlooking the extensive arena of the old deceased king. Locating two agents stationed as her silent protectors, she moved to instruct them in the preparation of her little disappearing act.
The trajectory of Korra's small group was in the opposite direction of the main battalion. They emerged from the depths through a narrower, less conspicuous, tunnel courtesy of Lin, into a boiler room of some sort. The steaming pipelines effectively cut out all noise associated with their presence, the high-pitched shrieking of pressure gates opening and closing making Korra's ears ring and her eardrums ache. Two workers were milling around, inspecting the meters and their shaking arrows, indicative of elements pertaining to the men's jobs. Both were evaded rather than incapacitated as they wanted to leave as many unaware of their presence as possible. The rest of the expansive floor was easily traversed through the metalbender's mental map of the place.
The second, third and fourth stories likewise held no sign of Kaji. Lin, having only met the girl a few times during her stay in Republic City and then once more from the hull of the ship returning the fire prodigy to her homeland, had minor difficulties in discerning the objective from a few of the servant girls flitting around or the occasional soldier. Outside- the sounds carried easily through the massive labyrinth of corridors and hallways- the group could hear the clash of elements as their masters fought one another. Cries of battle and shouts of command mingled with the crashes of rock and bursts of fire or water until it was all just one drone of commotion. The security had been dispatched to the source of the violence, making it quite easy for them to slip through the chinks in the soldiers' parameter.
It was not until the sixth floor, the central one if Lin's senses had not failed them- which they hoped to the high Spirits they had not- that the metalbender felt the strong presence of a powerful firebender. The doorway separating Korra from her fate was made of thick stone slabs that stretched from floor to ceiling and were wider than all four of them standing in a line with their arms outstretched. Still, the Avatar had a sinking sensation that told her no girth would be thick enough to quell her nerves. She tried to breathe, to steady the chi wildly coursing through her fibrous peripheral nervous system. Her heart refused to slow. The adrenaline pumped into even the dead cells of her nails and hair creating a weightlessness within the fibers of her being; as though she was floating in a bubble made of soap and water that could pop and send her plummeting down at any second.
As if through magic, horrible dark magic, the slabs rotated inward, opening three gateways leading into the spacious room beyond. Moving forward, Korra was surprised to find herself standing on a balcony overlooking a wide, ovular arena. The sand covering the area had been smoothed to the point that it could have been a murky mirror of a hazy, smoggy sunrise. Stands were shaded behind the archways that supported the convex roof above their heads; the illusion of the architecture hid the height of the weathered rock to the point that Korra felt like she could touch it were she to stretch her hand out and lift onto her toes. As it was, she had no time to indulge her curiosity as a decent-sized boulder came hurtling into the small outcropping, flinging sharp debris at her as half of the balcony was sent blasting into the air. Easily, she shielded herself and her group from the deluge of rubble by erecting a barrier of rock from the leftover stone beneath her feet. Not waiting for their assailant to get another shot, she burst clear of her miniature aegis and flipped to the dusty floor. A cloud of unsettled microscopic rocks had been uplifted to cloud the center of the sand in a spherical bulb.
From within, an offensive of stone daggers broke through and came at her at speeds only attainable through complex earthbending. Korra barely had enough time to dodge them and keep on her feet. The next wave was more expected and less difficult to outmaneuver. Her arms swept into a wide downward block, carrying a field of water with it before solidifying into a wall of ice. The rocks embedded into it with force enough for their points to break through, yet they left Korra's skin to remain untouched by the lethal projectiles. Only then did Korra notice movement coming up from behind her. A massive billow of air pushed the remaining field of opaque sand into the corners of the stadium, revealing their hidden foe. To Korra's dismay, but not utter surprise, the figure facing them was standing alone and most certainly was not the intended target of their search. Out of the corner of her eye, the Avatar could see that Lin was canvassing their immediate location for any sign of the hidden firebender who had been present within the massive expanse of empty space only minutes beforehand.
"I can't sense her," Lin informed them, bewilderment lacing her frustration.
"How?" Katara growled, "You were sensing her presence before we entered-"
"I know," Lin bit back. She hated the mind games the Fire Nation girl was playing. The doubles walking along the multiple levels and corridors of the palace had cost them valuable time. The lives of many of her comrades may have become forfeit in the fruitless escapades, not to mention the fact that the metalbender took immense pride in her gift. Kaji's ghostly act only compounded on the mounting headache already throbbing through the woman's temples.
"Could you have mistaken her for-" Katara was about to hypothesize a glitch in Lin's seismic sense, but did not get far as the other woman retorted with a vigorous shake of her head.
"It was the firebender. Of that I am certain."
"Where is she?" Korra growled at the figure clothed in evergreen robes woven with gold embroidery. In the center of her chest was the familiar bronze ring surrounding the inner circle that symbolized the ranks of the Dai Li. The crisp black hair waved slightly in the last vestiges of the gale summoned by Tenzin seconds before. Clear, crisp emerald eyes lazily took in the line of benders tensed in the ready positions of their respective bending arts while a smirk played on the corners of the perfect pale lips. The arena had gone deathly silent after the ringing voice of the Avatar dissipated.
Izuru's chuckle cut through the air as easily as her stone knives had, "What's wrong? Am I not good enough for you? You've hurt my feelings."
Korra's teeth clenched, her hands itching to unleash her energy in a show of destruction with Izuru as the converging point of all of her elemental rage. From her right, Katara moved forward and raised her own vocals in a commanding hiss that translated across the barren landscape with more magnitude than should have been possible for the light words, "We have you outnumbered. Give up the location of the Fire Lord and we may consider sparing you from life imprisonment."
Izuru seemed to find the scarcely veiled threat as comical as Korra's forceful inquiry. Her hands gripped the sides of her torso and she doubled over as the fit of giggles wracked through her system. When she was done and her eyes had once again come up to encircle them, she spoke, "Do you honestly think that you can frighten me into giving away Fire Lord Kaji's location?"
There was a slight pause; Korra felt the creeping sensation that the opposing earthbender was allowing them time to contemplate the hidden absurdity of their bumbling statements.
"I fear her wrath far more than I fear your justice."
A slight shift under Korra's feet was all the warning she had before the earth erupted beneath her. The column that shot her into the air was flat topped- her quick reflexes saving her from being speared on the intended point of the spike- propelling her into a back flip to the sandy ground below. She had little time to see that the others had been scattered by a similar array of earthen spearheads sticking like porcupine quills from the floor of the arena. Then she was running. Tenzin came up beside her and they both wound their hands in the funneling motions of airbending. The tube that lashed out at the Dai Li agent was dispersed by a looming earth wall erected at the last second. Katara's water octopus sent its multiple tentacles around the barrier, contacting something that was too hard to be flesh. The fortifications broke into rubble as Izuru slid into the air on a sort of stone ribbon that wound around the four other benders, drawing them into a close circle. Lin's foot struck the ground hard enough for a small mushroom cloud of dust to burst forth before it was dispelled by a massive boulder flying toward the oncoming green-garbed fighter. Izuru's eyes narrowed as she constructed a swift, makeshift blockade. The same emerald eyes widened as the rock near her face cracked and then disintegrated under the force of the spinning spherical boulder. The next thing she knew, she was lying on the ground a few yards away from the group following the Avatar, her entire body screaming in pain. Something warm was oozing from a deep cut over her eye and the stinging in her side was slowly growing in intensity. She groaned, but picked herself up without too much effort. Taking in a quick overview of her status, she thanked the Spirits that no bones had been broken in her tumble.
Korra saw the Dai Li agent's body flung past the raised seats and columns of the arena before finally coming to the floor and slowing to a skidding halt. Her eyes focused in on the slight tremors of the crumpled figure, hoping that the earthbender had been put out of commission by Lin's powerful offensive. Unfortunately, her prayers were dashed as Izuru moved her hands under her chest and heaved herself onto her knees. Shakily, the woman stood, swaying slightly before regaining some semblance of balance. Her gaze was still centered on the ruins of her outfit and the bruises no doubt hidden beneath it. Korra's instincts kicked into high gear and she sprang, taking advantage of the opportunity presented to her. She would not allow Kain to get another chance at obstructing them. Korra had to find Kaji; that was her only purpose.
Her fist, encircled in a fluid curtain of water borrowed from Master Katara's water skin, shot out from her side as the young Avatar closed the distance between her and her foe. There was less than a yard of space, a foot, an inch; Izuru's head moved out of the way barely a second before Korra's clenched hand struck the air where her jaw had been. The momentum carried the girl over and it took minimal effort for the Dai Li woman to pivot so that she was behind her. Strong hands, their small size masking the power within them quite effectively, slammed into Korra's kidneys. The shock sent jolting through her frame was enough to floor her instantaneously. The younger girl gasped for breath even as the sands filled her gaping mouth and drying her tongue and palate. Words and shouts were being said, but none of them made sense, as though spoken much too fast in a flurry of alien languages.
A boom resounded somewhere far away, or perhaps it was only a few feet from where she was prone on the arena's soil. Among the torrent of thoughts, Korra tried to will herself up, to stand. She had been hit in the kidneys more than once before and, yeah, it had hurt like a bitch, yet never had such a target incapacitated her so profoundly. Her fingers tingled, the first sensation from her extremities currently, which could only be taken as a good sign. Perhaps, if I could just get my hands to pull me up, her intentions were barely formulated when a sudden pressure, more of a striking blow, hit her precisely in the back of the neck. The vague vision of light brown and yellow sand was completely engulfed by a black veil as Korra lost consciousness.
Kaji's eyes widened as Izuru was sent into the air. She had not expected the older Beifong woman to hold such immense skill and dexterity. Watching as her subordinate regained her feet, the Fire Lord mused as to whether her intervention would become necessary. If anything, she was not averse to simply leaving the retched Earth Kingdom city to the hands of this White Lotus group. World dominion did not occur overnight, and she had time enough, but Kaji had never been one to accept a failure. Omashu was hers through diplomatic victory and a brilliant execution of espionage; she was not too fond of having it taken by three senile fools and a smattering of untrained youths.
A yell, recognizably Korra's, brought the firebender's mind back into the battle. Balanced in her net hung securely in the shadows, Kaji held a wonderfully comprehensive view of the unfolding skirmish without being detected. Even the Beifong's seismic sense could not pick up on her presence when she was no longer connected to the woman's beloved element. The rope was slightly chafing to her delicate skin, the discomfort concentrated centrally on her exposed arms and the small of her back where the fabric of her shirt had drawn up from her periodic shuffling, but it was a small price to pay. Golden eyes looked down from the spider's nest she had constructed, peering in approval as Izuru deftly evaded Korra's attack and circled to catch her off balance and unguarded. A small, condescending voice in the back of her head bemoaned Korra's choice of attacking with water. Had she chosen flames, Izuru would not have slipped by unscathed. The mistake cost the younger girl dearly, as she was soon petrified by Izuru's jab to her kidney organs. Kaji winced as the limp form of the Avatar hit the turf of the coliseum, sighing in resignation that the fight was nearly done. Still, it was not unpleasant to see the fruition of her efforts in the Dai Li agent; Izuru had been forthcoming in the few little chi blocking techniques that Kaji had exhibited to her. She was also more than pleased that Izuru had followed her explicit instructions to not overly harm the younger girl without questioning the firebender's motives.
With Korra dispatched for the time being, the Fire Lord lazily shifted in her web. Her hands gripped at the cords, securing a grip so that her descent was measured and graceful. She would not have her entrance tarnished by a slight slip that would cause her to fall in an undignified manner to the stone below.
The Beifong woman's eyes met hers immediately after the toe of her right boot met the plain under her. She smiled, relishing in the sense of fear running alongside the adrenaline of the grey-haired woman. Others soon came to notice the earthbender's stillness; turning their confusion melted away into apprehension as Kaji slunk out from the shadows like some feral panther revealing itself to its prey before inevitably devouring it.
"Kaji," said girl's eyebrows rose in surprise at the manner with which her name came from behind the lips of the waterbender facing her. Katara's tone toward her, where it had always been hostile and bitter, was now laced with something unrecognizable. It was almost soft in its mannerism.
"Master Katara," Kaji made sure to emphasize the utter contempt she felt. If the older woman pitied her for some inexplicable reason, Kaji would make sure to teach the old water witch that sympathy was the last thing she needed. "I would say that it was a pleasure… but then I would be lying."
Instead of the angered remark directed in retaliation, Katara stayed silent. A slight shake of her head as she dropped her eyes to stare sadly at Kaji's feet was the only response given to the increasingly annoyed firebender. Kaji bit back another barbed taunt, refusing to let the bubbling fury under her skin chip her calm façade. She would not show the waterbender that her silence held more of an effect on her than any chastising words ever could.
"About time," Izuru huffed next to her. Kaji gave her a sparing glance, noting that the earthbender looked much worse for wear up close than when she had been observing from afar.
"It wasn't my fault that you got too full of yourself and overestimated your abilities," Kaji shrugged. Izuru glared at her, before smirking in understanding. Kaji was concerned, even if it was only minimally, but she also was confident in the earthbender's battle prowess. "I suppose I will have to finish them for you."
Lin and Tenzin stepped back into defensive stances, hands up and blocking their torsos from whatever oncoming attack the Fire Lord was planning. Katara stood ahead of them, but not too far, waiting in a relaxed manner with her feet slightly apart and her hands hanging at her sides. Much as she had expected, the girl sunk down into the tell-tale crouch that preceded the movements to harness the electricity dancing within her stomach. Kaji's hands began to circle in the concentric arcs that would bring forth her ultimate weapon, the fire so pure that it could tear apart the very atoms within the air into their various protons and electrons before they gradually regained their original, stable forms once more. The purple lightening danced along her arms and coalesced at the apex of her pointer and middle fingers; the very muscles beneath the skin tightened with the shocks coursing through the cells and tissues. Her being was on fire, her chi ignited with such raw burning energy that the entire universe, time itself, seemed to consist of only the sensation of her movements as she slowly unwound herself and loosed the vortex of bristling white. But it did not come. Kaji's eyes widened in disbelief as her hand shot out and the sparks fizzled out on the tips of her fingers. She quickly, almost sloppily, repeated the motions, only to come to the same conclusion. Her lightening died before it could even come into existence outside of her body. Her heart hammered as the bottled energy sped the contractions of her cardiac muscles and her head started to feel light.
Something shoved her aside with surprising force, knocking her to her hands and knees. The action itself was barely noticed by the shocked firebender, the rough grit of the dirt clenched between her white-knuckled fists registering only slightly amidst the utter desperation that was suffocating Kaji. She had never been without her lightening, not once in her furthest memories.
"-ji, -aji, Kaji!" a hand connected with her left cheek with enough force to break the dried skin of her lips and cause a small trickle of blood to run down her chin until it dripped onto her extended arms. Her golden eyes moved up to see who had dared to strike her. There were no longer any distinctions between ally and enemy for her; there was only the pain in her chest as the electrical buildup within her was completely extinguished. Izuru Kain screamed her name again, arms shaking and outstretched as she conjured barrier after barrier only to have them torn apart by the conjoined forces of the three master benders on the other side.
Anger was the first emotion to break through the paralysis of Kaji's disbelief. Her hands balled into fists, erupting in a brilliant flash of indigo fire. The heat given off by the burning air was not nearly as high as Kaji was used to and it felt devoid of the friendliness and familiarity of her beloved cerulean, but the fire was still many degrees hotter than the pathetic orange flames of the lesser skilled. Her irises flashed metallic and luminous as she broke Izuru's weakening rock wall and thrust her body forward. Tenzin was in direct line with Kaji's furious onslaught. His desperate attempt at a buffeting current only served to mildly slow her progress towards him. The airbender was only saved from severe burns to his face and chest by his fluid evasive technique. The distance, however, was not enough to save him from the intense heat that roiled off of the rain of fire and his clothes spontaneously combusted from the excitement of the molecules as their bonds disintegrated. Katara rushed to douse her son, drenching the airbender with the last of her water from the skin on her hip. Lin cried out a warning to her from behind, saving her from the crazed firebender who had turned on the heel of her grounded foot and come back at her victims with a backhand arc of fire. With no more water to speak of, Katara was forced into a veritable corner. She saw Lin moving to try and get to her, but the earthbender was cut off by an eruption of sandstone spines rising from the broken plates of the earth.
Kaji growled in frustration as her flames dissipated into nothingness. She had yet to actually burn anything, only serving to increase her irritation. Her hands stiffened into claws, nails sharpened into fine points. She wanted to feel the soft, malleable flesh give way as they ripped through sinew. Her movements were somewhat jaunty, not thoroughly connected in their transitions from one step to another. Still, she was practically on top of the old Water Tribeswoman and she could almost taste her blood on the tip of her tongue. She would have the symbol of everything she had been taught to hate right in the palm of her hand, and she would squeeze it until there was nothing left but ash and cracked bone. The one who broke her grandmother, the one who stole Korra from her, the one who was to blame for the loss of her bending; Kaji didn't even care if her allegations made no sense, she just wanted to KILL SOMETHING!
The Fire Lord's hands dripped molten sapphire, grasping at the air where Katara had stood, only to connect with nothing but air. Kaji hissed as some of the fire fell on her naked wrist and singed the epithelial layer. Her pupils roamed her immediate surroundings, searching for the prize denied her. Vaguely she recognized Izuru fending off the two others and the fallen figure dressed in blue still on the ground though showing slight signs of regaining control of her limbs. Those minor details were lost quickly in the fringes of red that ringed her vision. Then she found her. The smile that graced Kaji's face was nothing short of Draconic, monstrous in the fear it induced, but Katara had become accustomed to far darker things. Before Kaji could even take another step toward her, Katara stretched out her hands and felt for the girl's essence.
The blood within Kaji's body froze in its flow. Her pupils constricted and dilated, but the rest of her could no longer move. It felt as though she was a puppet held captive by her master's strings. Terror gripped her as her mind cleared and her analytical faculties asserted their dominance within her cerebrum. Katara's hands slowly came back to her body before languidly moving out in push and pull motions. Kaji's mind furiously raced to come up with some sort of way to tear herself away from Katara's controlling bloodbending, but not enough oxygen was getting to her brain and panic was setting in as though she were slowly being submerged into subzero waters, left to drown and freeze. Her knees gave out and hit the ground hard enough to bruise the bone. Pain, apparently, was not at all affected by the perverse waterbending as Kaji could feel the throbbing already. That and every cell in her body was crying out for the oxygen deprived by Katara's manipulation. Her eyelids were growing heavy as her lungs ceased to move, or was it her diaphragm that could no longer support them? Either way, she was dying of asphyxiation. She was dying. She was- NO!
Katara grimaced at the slow, losing fight as the firebender gradually gave in to her system's demand to shut down. She did not wish for the girl to suffer, but if she was not careful, she could easily end up killing her. A bead of sweat rolled down her forehead to rest at the tip of her nose. Katara ignored the ticklish feeling and the accompanying urge to scratch it away. She had to concentrate on her task. She had to keep control.
The process was almost done. The waterbender could feel the pulse rate diminishing with each passing second. Kaji would soon fall into a catatonic sleep and all of this would be over, finished.
Thump.
Slower. Katara hated the interconnectedness brought about by taking over a person's chi flow. The desperate, fleeting thrashes of the mind to keep conscious were almost too scarring to bear, and she still was unsure as to how she could survive such an experience with her sanity intact.
Thump.
It was taking longer than she was expecting it to. Even the strongest opponent did not stand a chance without air coming into their brain, but Kaji showed no signs of dormancy and it had been over five minutes.
Thump. Thump. Thump, Thump, THUMP! THUMP!
Kaji's hands ignited in a flurry of red, violet, and royal blue. Her body sprang up from where she had been kneeling like some filthy peasant before the water witch. She took a massive intake of breath before releasing it in a scream that shook the foundations of the city on the plateau. Fire spewed from her opened maw, released as dragon's fire, streaming without inhibition. It was apparent that the firebender's power was far beyond her ability to suppress it and Katara knew that if she did not somehow redirect the inferno, everyone in the room would be nothing more than charred specks lining the walls. Using the last vestige of influence over Kaji's muscular system, the waterbender contracted the disks making up the back of Kaji's neck causing the girl's head to bend back and the jet of fire to collide with the high ceiling above them. The massive explosion that accompanied the meeting of the immoveable rock and the invincible deluge of overheated energy was enough to deafen them and release small trickles of crimson liquid from their ears. Katara was thrown clean across the expanse of the arena, coming to a stop only when she hit the stricken form of Lin as she watched the display of force in awe. Having temporarily saved them all from being burned alive, Katara slumped tiredly against the steel-plated back of the earthbending woman and refused to move further.
Kaji found herself likewise jettisoned from her initial position. Her back ached horribly from where her inertia had been counteracted by the unforgiving stones marking the end of the battlefield and the edge of the onlooker sections. Her eyes squinted as she tried to dispel the ache of her head with a light massage of her temples, but her movements ceased as her eyes fell on the yawning hole in the center of the arched ceiling. A frighteningly large crack was sprouting from the edge of the perforation and it seemed to be becoming increasingly large. A pebble fell from the fissure and landed with a clunk on the ground far below. The patrons of the room, before frozen from confusion and uncertainty, were now frozen in horror as they watched more pebbles come clattering down. Then it became more than mere pebbles. Chunks of the ceiling caved in one by one as the crater increased and sucked the upper story down on top of them.
Kaji's eyes landed on Korra's body, lying right in the path of some of the larger boulders pulled to her with frightening velocity. Instinctually, the firebender shot a wide ball of navy fire at the oncoming meteor before lunging toward her once-lover-turned-foe. One of the smaller fragments was faster than the Fire Lord was and struck the girl on the back of her head, crumpling her as she tried to regain her feet. Kaji shrieked something unintelligible before sending her smoldering chi to her feet and pushing herself faster toward the Avatar. Her hands clasped onto fabric and flesh without remorse- undoubtedly leaving gashes in Korra's tanned skin. Blinded by desperation and survival, Kaji found that she could not remember how she managed to get them into one of the adjacent corridors running along the inner coliseum; all she knew was that Korra was safely cradled in her arms again and they were alive. Something warm and sticky spilled over Kaji's hand. She looked down, worried that she had spoken too soon, and found that the hand supporting Korra's head was soaked in blood. Paying no heed to the protest of her abused knees, Kaji rocketed down the hall toward her chambers, silently cursing her sluggishness. She would need bandages and ointment. She would not lose Korra to some damned inanimate abiotic failure in the palace's architecture.
Korra hated waking up with no idea as to her whereabouts. The hanging drapes covered the portions of the room where she suspected the windows were located so she could not even discern whether it was still day or if night had fallen already. She attempted to push herself onto her elbows, but the wave of nausea that hit her soon brought her back to her lying position. The cushions under her head felt nice and soft, but the material covering part of the back of her skull was scratchy and uncomfortable. Her fingers moved to feel around it, but something warm and inviting caught them before she had the chance to actually make contact with the area.
"You shouldn't touch the gauze. I had to wrap it tightly enough so as to stem the bleeding, but loosely so as to not cause you too much pain," a soothing voice said from somewhere above her head and outside of her line of sight.
"Wh-where?" her throat felt parched resulting in her words coming out hoarse and scratchy.
"Don't worry, you're safe here," was her answer. Korra sighed and sunk further into her lovely pillow. She did not know why she felt the overwhelming need to trust the phantom speaking to her, but she figured that if it meant her any harm, it would not have gone through the trouble of bandaging her up.
Bandages? she thought, befuddled. Why did I need bandages? Everything suddenly came back into focus. The infiltration of Omashu, now under the Fire Nation's jurisdiction; the fight with Izuru Kain and getting paralyzed somehow; the sharp jab to the back of her head; everything was clear as a crisp mountain spring's reflection of the sky. Pain forgotten, Korra shot out of the comfort of the small, green and gold embroidered futon. Her hand reached out to steady her when the vertigo overcame even her high strung synapse commands, falling through air until it was grabbed by that same warmth. Unlike the first time though, she was finally able to see the physical embodiment of the calming heat. The porcelain hand that held hers, the other one wrapped around her shoulders, steadying her like a protective crutch. There were also a few strands of obsidian hair brushing against her cheeks and the dip of her collarbone, vaguely, hauntingly familiar.
"Idiot," it was said in a not unkind manner, more of a reprimand than an insult. "You shouldn't be moving yet."
"K-Kaji?" Korra was almost afraid of the answer. How was she supposed to react if it was? For it certainly had to be the infamous firebender who still held her heart- or a majority of it anyway.
"Who else?" Korra could not see the playful smile, but she knew it was there. She could not understand how, after everything that had happened between them, the prodigy was still able to joke with her as if they were on some sort of hiatus.
"You… How? We… The arena… and then… something crashed," Korra could not think of the correct questions and every time she tried to collect herself, her raging headache returned with a vengeance.
"Shush," Kaji's face appeared before her, hands moving to cup her face in between splayed fingers as though she was trying to touch every square inch of skin she could reach. "You need to rest."
Korra's mind clicked shut. She could only think with her textile organs, loving the proximity of Kaji and reveling in the small breeze created by her exhaled breath reaching the flushed skin of Korra's cheeks. Her heartbeat increased exponentially as Kaji's thumb subconsciously moved to trace her swollen bottom lip, reminiscent of all of the other time when it was not the firebender's finger, but her tongue tracing the soft flesh. Both girls didn't notice moving closer to each other until they were practically inhaling the other's exhalations. Kaji was the first to snap out of the trance her former lover held her in. Her grip on Korra's chin, tilting it closer to her face, loosened, though she did not break the contact for fear of pushing Korra away. Korra herself felt the shift and found herself questioning whether she wanted to breach the distance or if she should shove the firebender away. Frozen, they stood looking at each other with a mixture of fear and longing.
"I-" Kaji was about to say when her words were cut off by Korra's lips sealing her own. The blossoming warmth in the pit of her stomach erupted into her heart and then proceeded to ignite her lungs and throat. Korra leaned on her toes, furtively inviting the firebender to take in more of her into her mouth. Kaji obliged, running her tongue over the contours of Korra's lips before slipping through her parted teeth and exploring the heaven she had not had the pleasure of tasting for what seemed like eons. Korra moaned against the gentleness with which Kaji was taking her. She wanted the roughness of the firebender's passion; she wanted her thirst for the girl to be sated, even when she knew that a thousand kisses like this one would not be near enough. One at a time, they would have to somehow gradually build up to it. Korra's arms wrapped themselves behind Kaji's neck and brought her down so that they were both sitting on the sofa cushions, before digging into the supple tresses she had missed for so long. Kaji, careful to avoid exacerbating Korra's injury, shifted so that she was on top of the Avatar. Her body pressed against the younger girl's as though it was a puzzle piece finally fitting into its intended groove. Roaming hands moved against Korra's sensitive spots, caressing her with the added friction of the fabric to create a delicious feeling of arousal in her lower abdomen. Her legs moved to wrap themselves around her firebender, allowing Kaji's hips to grind into the area wanting the most attention. Just as Korra felt herself nearing the edge, ready to give in to the practiced tongue now tracing its way down her neckline, she saw something fall from her pocket and onto the floor. In her current condition, the Avatar was more than willing to forget about whatever it was as nothing could have been nigh as important as feeling Kaji inside of her again, but, ever the courteous one –overly so in Korra's muddled opinion- Kaji did not leave whatever it had been ignored on the pristine carpet.
"What is that?" the firebender murmured as she got off of Korra, eliciting a disappointed and slightly pouty growl from her love's darkened lips.
"I don't care," Korra bemoaned the sudden cold that hit her with the absence of the other girl's body heat. "Are you really that interested? Enough to stop right in the middle of-"
Korra's tirade was cut short by a slight, very girly, squeak of delight. Perplexed, Korra peered over the hunched shoulders of the Fire Lord to see what could have elicited such an anomalous reaction. That was when she saw it. The white bone carved in the form of Water Tribe waves was resting delicately in Kaji's open palm. Turning around, Kaji's lit eyes met with Korra's own. A rush of guilt abruptly marred the beautiful smile stretching across the pale features of the firebender. She had thrown everything away, thrown Korra's feelings away, without even considering offering the girl a fair chance. It had been Kaji's own fault for pushing the younger girl away from her in the first place.
"Korra, I am so so-"
"NO!" Korra's scream shook Kaji's very spirit. Her immediate thought was that the betrothal necklace had not been meant for her and that, somehow, she had only further alienated the girl's affections. It was only after noticing that Korra's horror was not directed at her, but solely on the necklace residing in her hand, that Kaji began to question such an explanation. That was also when her chest spontaneously combusted in a crippling wave of agony.
Katara looked at where the rubble had settled, cutting the oval almost exactly in half. Her hands shook as she used them to painstakingly guide her aging body into a sitting position. Her deep set sapphire eyes took in the deathly quiet left in the wake of the massive shower of debris. Furniture, carpets, decorations, sculptures, the entirety of the floor above them, lay in shattered or tattered ruin; crushed under the massive stones that had once supported them. A shuffling of rock next to her startled the old master, turning her attention to a very filthy, very beige earthbender. At first, she was afraid that it was the Dai Li agent as the only discernible feature on the figure was a piece of green cloth clenched in the right hand, but Katara's fears turned to naught as Lin sneezed away the layer of dust obscuring her face.
"Lin," Katara beamed. "I am glad you are alright."
Lin's only response was a grunt before she flopped onto her back and attempted to disregard her complaining joints and ligaments. In between a series of wracking coughing fits, she was able to spit out one name, "Tenzin?"
Katara frantically took in the rest of their side of the arena, searching for a sign that her son was alive and hopefully not hurt too badly. Her sigh of relief at seeing him sitting propped against the smoothed wall along the perimeter of the sanded area was indication enough to the exhausted metalbender that her concern was unfounded.
"Tenzin," Katara called. The man's head moved up and he gave a weak wave to show that he was feeling fine. Another groan, from somewhere to her far left, indicated that another, less welcome, occupant was coming to as well. Looking over at the earthbender curled up in a fetal position, Katara couldn't help but grimace at what she saw there. Izuru had not been quite as fortunate as the rest of them, probably caught among the worst of the stone downpour, and had taken quite a bit of damage. Her hair was matted with sweat and blood coming from a gash on her forehead, her shoulder had been completely wrenched from its socket, leaving it looking boneless and disfigured, and her uniform had been ripped open on her right side, revealing a series of large bruises and what closely resembled a series of fractured ribs.
"I suppose I should ensure that our opponent does not die of internal bleeding," Katara muttered to herself, before rising. Moving over to the shuddering girl, Katara reached for her storage of water, only to find the pouch completely emptied. Worry crinkled the wizened face, emphasizing the prevalent crow's feet and underlining bags below Katara's eyes. "Damn it."
"Mother," Tenzin's voice reached her, hard and brittle. "I don't see Korra."
Katara's eyes widened with concern. Her first thought was of the worst, but she quickly quelled the despair by reminding herself that Korra would not have been killed so easily. She could not have died. It had to be impossible. It was impossible… as long as she kept repeating those words, Katara was sure that…
"I have to find her," she stated firmly.
"She's down the hall on the other side of the divide, to the right. There is a small room on the left side after you've gone about twenty yards or so," Lin informed, her fingers petting the ground under her and staring into nothingness.
"I will find her," Katara announced. "Tenzin, see if you can't find someone to give this girl medical attention. I fear she does not have long without proper treatment."
"Mother," Tenzin seemed about to protest. Katara's look worked well to stop him in his tracks. Shaking his head in resignation, he finally amended, "I will see what I can do for her."
"Thank you both," Katara said before starting to make her way through the maze of embedded rock and broken furnishings. The way was difficult for her relatively frail body, much less resilient than her younger days, but she held onto her convictions. She would find Korra. She would save her, before the girl did something that would endanger her life, or worse, her very spirit and the spirits of all of the Avatars before her and those to come.
Korra watched as though from behind a glass screen as Kaji's spine arched in on itself and her mouth opened in a silent cry. Everything was happening so slowly at first. The necklace falling from the contorted fingers twitching with the spasms shooting through Kaji's frame; the Fire Lord's shoulders rolling back until the bone was on the verge of popping out of place; the heaving of Kaji's chest as her heart fought to keep beating despite the pain that came with each throb. Then it began to move fast, or perhaps the speed was back to normal, only distorted by the previous lethargy of the passing events. Korra lunged at Kaji as her body slumped to the floor, cold and lifeless. Korra's wails ricocheted off of the walls until they died into silent sobs. The tears streaming down soaked the front of Kaji's shirt, compressing the fabric to the curves of her chest and her neckline.
Korra nearly didn't even notice the white medallion glowing a soft milky hue, her grief was so encompassing. It was only when she heard the audible gasp from the door, now flung open, and saw the light reflected off of Master Katara's darkened pupils, that she beheld Kaji's body –and her own as she was still clinging to it with a vice grip- bathed in iridescence. And then, by some ethereal magic that she could not fathom, she was whisked away from the room with its long drapes and soft futon, and sent into the oblivion that constructed Koh's prison.
Koh, she thought with dismay. He cannot have her. He will not have her. Kaji is mine! And then there was a burst of sultry, yellowish light and Korra knew no more.
P.S: Next chapter will probably be up soonish, maybe, but AP tests are coming up so my update schedule may continue to be somewhat skewed until after May 15th. If I am still writing this at that time, then updates should be more frequent. I apologize for any grammar mistakes as I revised this quickly and at like, 11:00 pm so, yeah. Well, hope you enjoyed it. REVIEW!
P.S.S: Over 200,000 words! I am seriously so fucking amazed at how I haven't run out of plot yet. Not meaning to toot my own horn or anything.
P.S.S.S: Toodles. :) REVIEW!