So it turns out that this chapter and chapter nine of my AnastasiaXLoK crossover have the exact same name. Imagine my confusion when I went to upload them within five minutes of eath other at 11 pm! That was totally unintentional, I promise!
But anyways, a thank you to my reviewers, and a sincere apology for being so late! I got caught up in college and stuff! Thank you to my reviewers, and I am sorry again for updating so late! I will try to do better in the future!
Oh, and insert the usual disclaimer here.
"So, Mako tells me that you suffer from migraines," Iroh said as he set a cup of tea down in front of the silent nonbender. "Is there a reason?"
The nonbender nodded and pointed at her head and pushed the sides of it, and then jabbed at her temples.
"I'm afraid I'm not very good at guessing games. Hm… something to do with your mind, yes?" he asked, and she nodded, and began looking around for something. "What is it?"
She looked around and finally found a white rag. She tapped the white rag, then his coat. He frowned and furrowed his brow in confusion. She tapped the white rag again, made a walking motion, and then tapped his coat.
"White to red," he guessed, and she nodded and pointed outside. "Clouds?"
She made a raining motion with her hands, or at least that was what it looked like.
"Raining blood? Oh, bloody snow!" he realized, and she nodded vigorously. "I'm confused."
Her shoulders slumped visibly and she frowned as she closed her eyes tightly and seemed to be focusing on something important in her mind. she stood up, went over to him, and he almost shot a fireball at her as she put him into the position that Amon had put his victims into. She stepped away and then made a slight fist with one hand and rammed it against the table.
"Amon took your bending," he said, and she tilted her head in obvious confusion. "That was what you just showed me in the mime."
She frowned and shook her head, trying to mime something before a searing pain erupted behind her eyes and temples. She could hear a strange strangled cry, and an alarmed shout, but she could see nothing but a blur through the tears that had formed as she tried to get rid of the searing pain.
"How is she?" Korra asked as she stepped up at that moment.
"Not good. I just managed to figure out that the ice brought back some memories of some bloody snow for her," he told the Avatar gravely. "She mimed out that Amon took her bending – she did the same position to me. but when I guessed that, she looked so lost and confused."
"I think we need a different approach, one that can't hurt her," Korra said frowning. "What on earth could we possibly do to help her?"
"Maybe… maybe instead of her remembering it through her focusing while she's awake, we can help her remember in her sleep," Iroh considered at last. "She seems to pass out from the pain each time from the migraines, but if she's already asleep, she can't feel the pain until it wakes her up."
"That's a great idea!" Korra yelled happily before remembering something. "I had a talk with the waterbender who attacked you."
"An equalists?" he asked, and she shook her head.
"she said that she saw this girl beside Amon at his right hand," Korra said, "But I don't remember seeing her at all with him, only that once with Mako and Bolin. I asked Lin to verify her story."
"That's a very good plan, and right now our best option is to keep her in Republic City," Iroh said looking down at the now-wet face of the girl that he'd rescued. "I'm trying to get her to talk, but I think her memories are blocking it for some strange reason."
"I'll see if it's a bending thing," Korra said, putting her fingers and thumbs in the position to heal Kailee.
But before she could, the nonbender screamed and rammed her elbow into Korra's groin, right in the soft spot that would have worked for boys if the Avatar had been one. As it was, she was still slightly stunned by the move, and realized that Kailee had, indeed, been harmed by Amon. But the nonbender collapsed in an unseeing heap as her eyes rolled back into her skull.
"That has to hurt," Korra winced as Kailee lost consciousness. "She's acting like a complete idiot and buffoon."
"Still, she has amnesia," Iroh contemplated. "I wonder…"
He stepped over and began rustling through the folds of the collars of Kailee's cloaks until he found the necklace that he'd been looking for after all these years.
"You wonder what?" Korra asked curiously raising an eyebrow.
"Impossible…" Iroh murmured in disbelief. "She's alive…"
"Well, yeah," Korra said like it was obvious. "Of course she's alive."
"Kailee," Iroh breathed, and the Avatar froze.
"Wait, you think she's Kailee?" she asked the firebender confused, and he nodded gravely.
"I was there the night that they were attacked," he admitted gravely before telling the Avatar everything that he could remember in as much detail as possible that only he would know.
"And he didn't take your bending away?" Korra asked in disbelief as he got to the part where he'd found the corpses of Katara's deceased daughter and son-in-law.
"I made it look like I was dead to him from all the electricity," Iroh said gravely nodding. "But all I found of Kailee was the impression in the snow, and the clear impression that the necklace left. The music box was all I had left of Kailee from that night aside from her memories, and the necklace is the same one that I remember the impression of. It must be her, I'm sure of it."
"Well, I'll go ask Lin to see what she thinks we should do," Korra said warily, "After all, Tenzin and Lin did say that the mute had a bit of a pained look in her eyes whenever she heard their voices. I'll see just how many of the ones from the meeting that I can gather up."
"That won't be necessary," Iroh said calmly stopping her. "We just need Lin to find out just how badly she's hurt, and if she really thinks that she's not the Kailee I remember. I could see hatred in the waterbender's eyes when she attacked us, but I'm not sure why, it was too deeply hidden."
"I'll come back later to see if waterbending would help," Korra nodded. "Maybe Master Katara will be able to find a way to bring back someone's memories with it, or even with bloodbending on a full moon if necessary."
Iroh looked at her knowing that she was a waterbender, and that Katara had been able to heal Jet when he'd been hypnotized by the Dai Li in Ba Sing Sei. Perhaps the reverse could be used to heal this new girl that Mako had asked him to protect. But the problems with her migraines happened whenever she came into close contact with something that either scared her or caused something odd to happen that only she had known of up until he'd questioned her about it.
"I wouldn't do anything so rash just yet," he said at last as only the Avatar's head was visible. "We'll get to that bridge when we get there."
I know there's not much known about Iroh, but I keep imagining him as the kind of man who's a gentleman, but can be totally epic when he wants to be. Which is probably why I'm addicted to writing fics with him in it...
Anyhow! Please review and let me know what you think! The reviews are my drive to give you updates, even at eleven at night just after finishing a very long study round for college for a week!