Korra doesn't even think. She's used to go, go, go. Never stopping, never turning back. But now, while she looks at Iroh's tethered body, she can't help but let the memories spill.
"Korra, listen to me!" Deep orange eyes stare right into her very being as tears spill down her cheeks, "I need you to run." Korra shakes her head, "I c-can't do that! You know I c-can!" She shouts as she hears yelling in the distance. "Korra, you're strong and brave. Listen to me now. I want you to tell my father I love him. I want you to tell him I hope I can see him again soon. You hear me?" Suddenly she bursts into more tears and clings to Iroh, "Please don't do this to me…. I've already lost my mother, I can't lose you too." She shakes while Iroh brings her in. "You're more important than I am, little miss Avatar." He whispers her old childhood nickname, and she can't help but cringe. "Only you can ever say that to me." She whispers back to him as the building around them starts to roar with voices. "Now go." Iroh pushes her away, and the last thing she says before she zips through the window off the zip line is: "I'll get you out. I promise."
"Asami! Where are you going?" Bolin stumbles against the door frame of the security office, but it's too late; Asami's already running down the hall yards away from where he is. Turning slowly, his green eyes return focused at the task at hand. He bends down with the help of his subordinates, and before he finally cuts the last colored wire he needs to unlock the cells, he prays that Korra and Asami will be okay.
Asami doesn't think; she runs. She needs to find her father. She needs to find Korra. She needs to breathe! She slows down and takes a breather, gasping for air. She really didn't think this through; she needs to figure out where she's going and who she's going after. "-Yes, I have the serum ready for when we capture the tyrant." A somehow familiar voice suddenly fills Asami's ears, and she know right away who it is. Stepping from behind the corner, she faces the voices that fill the hall. A man appears before her, his glasses almost slipping from his nose and his hair a ravenous mess. "A-Asami?" The man croaks out, and Asami doesn't move. "Father." Hiroshi makes a be-line to her, until he stops halfway and has a look of horror on his face. "How did you get in here?" Asami shakes her head, "That's not the point. The point is-" Hiroshi interrupts her with: "Asami, how did you get in here?!" He asks louder this time, and Asami finally breaks, "I came with Korra, okay!" Suddenly a man reveals himself coming out of a nearby door behind Mr. Sato, his hair a dark brown that's been slid back and a decent sized beard on his chin. "My, my. Hiroshi, you never told me your daughter would be coming." The man's deep dark blue eyes turn to gaze at Asami as he speaks, and she can't help but sense a familiarity behind them. "I-I well, I finally managed to fine her it seems, Mr. President." Her father was now sweating bullets, and Asami's eyes go wide. "Y-You-" "Why yes, Asami Sato. I guess you've managed to have been graced by my presence." He begins walking towards her, and she feels as though her feet are glued to the floor and her body was frozen. "I think I'll get some use from you." He says, his eyes glistening with evil.
Korra jumps high when suddenly the cell doors open, and immediately she rushes inside Iroh's cell, grabbing behind his back to undo his hands. "Wha?" Iroh says in a hushed tone. "Don't worry Iroh," Korra says as she grabs the wire cutters from her belt as she begins to cut the cuffs on his wrists. She only glances up to see people running down the halls of the prison, shouting and shoving past each other in a frantic rush to leave their retched temporary homes. "I made a promise and I'm getting you out." She hears a grunt in response, before she hears him whisper softly, "No." She stops instantly, her breath hitching. "Why?" She asks him. "It's a trap, Avatar." And with that, an alarm starts to sound above them. Korra panics, and cuts Iroh's cuffs before grabbing him. "Get up! We're going!" Iroh complies as best as he can, using the rest of his energy to put an arm around Korra and hoist himself up. Korra pulls him over her, and starts to the door. Suddenly on whim, an ethereal voice calmly whispers to her to push Iroh through the door, which she does almost as if she's heard this voice before. Iroh stumbles out of the cell, before the cell door slams shut and is cut off from Korra. "K-Korra!" Iroh tries to shout, but his voice cracks from his throat. She puts a hand up to the thick piece of glass that separates them and mouths, "Run," with tears in her crystal blue eyes that mourn deeply. Iroh stares for a moment with his orange dull eyes, putting his hand on hers before shaking his head, and mouths, "You win, Avatar," before stumbling off from Korra's view and running with the other prisoners.
She's shaking from within her new home now. She knew this would happen. She was ready to face him. Ready to face the president. She sits on the ground as if waiting patiently, quietly pulling her legs to her and stretching her back into a meditative stance. She breathes in deeply, the smell of flesh and blood now ceases since Iroh is gone. She breathes out, and hears a tiny tap on her window. She opens her eyes, only to gasp at the scene; there is the president, holding Asami with cuffs behind her back and his face in a tall grin. Korra growls from where she sits, shouting numerous things she wouldn't have thought she'd ever say before. The cell door opens, and right then guards fill the room. Korra does what she deems worthy of the situation and fights them off, one by one. Kicking in the stomach, punching noses and cheeks, she fights until she can feel her muscles burning from under her skin. "Get her!" She hears one say, and she kicks again, until she feels a hand on her wrist that wrings her back and something dull touches her side before it shocks her clean. She yelps in surprise and sudden pain, dropping to the ground instantly. Hands grab at her, pulling her into the chair Iroh was once in and ties her hands back with ordinary rope.
"Ah, Korra." She's still fighting to stay awake, and she lifts her head to see the president stepping into the room, holding Asami with formidable strength. "You can't fight forever." He says, walking around and snapping his fingers in the air, and quickly guards scramble to grab another chair and sit Asami down harshly upon it. "You don't know me." Korra bellows deeply, but her eyes scream I'm sorry to Asami's as they fill with suppressed tears. "I hardly think that's my fault, Korra." The man says, standing next to Asami now. "What do you want with her?" Korra growls again at him, and the president laughs as his blue eyes shine deeply. "Oh, I don't want to anything to her. I won't have to, if you cooperate." Asami shakes from her seat, and shakes her head. "Korra, don't tell him anything. Don't worry about me." She says to her, her emerald eyes mixed with emotion beyond Korra's hypothesis. "You see, I'm tired of you running away every time I get a chance to talk to you." The president now paces the small prison space, hands behind his back. Korra's sweating and biting her cheek, her anxiety at high brim. "You should have thought about that before killing innocent people." She simply says back to him in a hiss. He shakes his head, "You don't understand. They aren't innocent people, Korra. They seek to destroy this country-" "THIS COUNTRY IS DESTROYED ALREADY!" Korra screams with her interruption and suddenly the president slaps her right across the face. "Stop!" Asami begs as Korra slumps back down into her seat, blood trickling from her cheek at the force. "Do not speak out of turn, dear." The president says too lightly, acting as if he hadn't even touched Korra. "The country has been expanding far beyond what we predicted. And we have the ultimate weapon. We're unstoppable. By the time we reach China, it's an all-out war. And we need the best of the best. That's why I need you, Avatar." Asami is surprised when Korra suddenly lashes out, "Don't EVER call me that. You don't deserve to call me that." She says through her teeth. "Korra?.." Asami wants to reach out, to hold the girl who suffers in front of her. The man with blue eyes looks between the two, before bursting into laughter and taking Korra's chin with his hand harshly. "She doesn't know?" He asks playfully, with a smirk on his face. The blue-eyed girl rips her head from the man's grip, looking away and avoiding eyes. Again the president laughs louder than ever. "Korra, I want you to do a favor for me, if you will." He says, and Korra huffs in return, "Go to hell." Again she's shocked, and Asami swears they could hear her scream from outside the building. Her heart breaks as tears slide down her cheeks fast. "Please.." She simply says, hoping that'd be enough for them to stop. The president stares at the green-eyed girl for a moment, as if trying to decide something, before turning his gaze back to the tribal girl. "Korra, tell her who I really am." Korra breathes hard and fidgets in her chair, unsure of what to do. "Korra, I'm asking you to do something." Again, Korra takes a pause, until she looks up with tears in her eyes and stares right into Asami's eyes, "Your name is..."
Oh my. We'll save that for another chapter, shall we? Keep reading to find out the president's identity! Any guesses? Just review?...
-PMI