Note: Almost at the end now. After this, two more chapters, and an epilogue (ending at Chapter 45). We should also note that this time, we are actually ending the story when we say we are. Trust us: You won't want to miss it. Anyway, have you enjoyed this twisted tale? Or have we made you want to rip our throats out? Let us know. Regardless, enjoy.
The water rushed steadily into the glass tank. Lee pounded violently against the glass, shouting at Korra to act, but his voice was muted. The Avatar watched on, motionless, as the water reached his knees. He had about two minutes before his head sank beneath, and then he would begin to drown. From that point, she would have another four minutes to save him. She knew she could do it easily; with a pass of her hand, she could shatter the glass and force the water to drain from the tank. She could save his life effortlessly, yet she did not move a muscle.
"Let him die, and I'll spare her," Masaki instructed. Korra hung onto every word with care.
"That's not fair," she said, her hands trembling. "I can't make that choice—"
"Yes, you can," Masaki said confidently. "It's very easy. If you don't want me to save Asami, then you just have to sit back and do nothing. Close your eyes, cover your ears, and it'll be over before you know it. Think about it like this: You don't even know this kid. He's worthless! That's not too hard of a sacrifice now, is it?"
"Please, we can talk about this," Korra begged. "He hasn't done anything wrong. If you really want to kill someone, kill me. I deserve to die, not him."
Masaki chuckled. "Oh, Korra, you still don't get it. I don't want to kill you. That's missing the point. See, the problem with death is that it's an end. You can't suffer once you die. You can't feel empathy, or sadness, or remorse. Once you die, it's painless. Over and done with, like falling asleep. I wish my mother just died from her injuries. It would have been a far better fate than watching her struggle, day after day, year after year, and be broken down before fading away. I am not letting you get away with death. Death is too good for you. You need to suffer for what you've done."
"It's not my fault what happened to her!"
"It sure as hell is someone's fault," Masaki said darkly, "and I don't see anyone else coming up to take the blame."
Masaki paused, as if suddenly distracted. As the water level continued to rise past Lee's waist, she heard a faint voice in the background of the call. She perked up, trying to hone in on what it was attempting to say, but it was too weak to understand.
"Why would I do that?" Masaki asked the unheard person. "Why don't you—That doesn't make sense! Shut up or—"
Masaki paused again, and let out a frustrated sigh. He disappeared, and Korra heard thick static as the phone was passed around and carelessly shoved into place. Korra held her breath, waiting anxiously, until finally she heard a soft, barely audible voice call her name.
"Korra."
And in that moment, the Avatar's heart broke.
"Asami!" Korra cried, tears starting to well in her eyes. "Are you alright? I've been so worried about you."
"Korra." Asami tried to speak further, but began to cough violently. Her voice was strained and tired, as if all the youth and energy had been slowly, deliberately drained out of it. Korra could not imagine what Masaki had done to her over the past several days to weaken her so badly.
"It's going to be okay, Asami," Korra said hurriedly, feigning confidence. "I'm going to get you out of there. I promise, everything is going to be okay. I can save you. I can…"
Korra stopped as she heard Asami laugh coldly.
"Korra," Asami muttered knowingly, "what are you doing?"
"What… what are you talking about?" Korra asked, confused.
"I know what you've been going through," Asami said to Korra's surprise. "He wants you to make a choice between who you want to save. But I know, and you know, that there isn't really any choice at all."
"Of course, there's a choice," Korra said, desperately trying to reject the thoughts that she fully knew to be true. "I can save you. I've come this far. There's only one game left. I can still do this."
"Korra, I know you better than anyone. I can tell when you're lying… especially to yourself," Asami claimed weakly. "You're going to save the kid. You have to."
Korra watched the water rise to Lee's neck. He struggled in the tank, flopping around like a fish, trying to stay afloat the best he could with his leg anchored to the bottom.
"That's not true," she said, choking out her words. "I can help you. There's still time. If you tell me where you are, I could get help and—"
"That's not going to work, and you know it. You have to do something fast, or he is going to die."
"How am I supposed to save him?" Korra asked, pained. "You're asking me to sacrifice you. I can't do that, I can't."
"It's going to be okay, Korra," Asami said soothingly. "It'll be okay."
"No, it's not fucking okay!" Korra shouted, tears streaming freely down her cheeks, rationality escaping her. "It's you. I'm not giving you up like this! I swore to always be there for you. It's not ending like this. I can save you. There has to be another way…"
"I know this must be hard for you," Asami sniffled. "I'm sorry that you're stuck doing this. But this isn't going to fix anything. I know you don't want to do this—and believe me, I wish there was another way—but it's the right thing to do."
"How is this the right thing to do?" Korra screamed. Her vocabulary was stripped from her mind, and she cobbled together sentences from the paper-thin words that floated onto her tongue. "Letting you die is the right thing to do? Letting you suffer is the right thing to—How do you expect me to do this? This isn't…Without you, I'm… I'm…"
"The Avatar," Asami said forcibly, "and as the Avatar, you have a responsibility to save that child. It's in your blood. You told me yourself: Sometimes, you must sacrifice things for the greater good. I fell in love with you because you are the most selfless person I have ever met. And I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that if you let that child die, you will never be able to forgive yourself."
Korra fell to her knees, clawing her hand through her hair, struggling to breathe through her sobs. "I can't… I can't…"
The water passed above Lee's head, as the boy took in his final gasps of oxygen before being dragged under the surface.
"Korra, please," Asami begged, "we both know how this is going to end."
Korra felt ill. She wanted to wake up. More than anything else in the world, she wanted to wake up from her nightmare. She could not move. She could not think. She could not act. She was a useless coward. She was weak. She couldn't save them. She couldn't save anyone. She was worthless. She was a failure. No matter what she did, someone was going to die, and it would be all her fault. What was she going to do? What was she going to do?
But then, Asami's voice returned, weaker than before, yet also as gentle and warm as the day they first met.
"Korra," Asami whispered, "I want to tell you that I'm sorry. I'm sorry for not being there when I said I would. Sorry for never being the kind of person you wanted me to be."
"Don't be sorry," Korra moaned. "Just don't. Don't…"
"And I'm sorry so that our relationship never worked the way we thought it should have," Asami continued, smiling as she shed her tears. "It's my fault that I pushed myself away, that it took so long for us to get back on track. I think I was afraid of getting too close to someone again after losing everyone else and… you didn't deserve that. You probably deserved a whole lot better than me."
"Please, please, stop talking like that."
"Listen to me carefully. These past four years have been the best of my entire life."
"I'm begging you; please stop… I can't…"
"I am so thankful that I had the chance to meet you," Asami said sweetly. "If I had the chance to do it all over again, know that I would do it in a heartbeat. You are incredible, and I know that you are going to continue do incredible things. You never needed me, because everything about you was perfect right from the start. Don't you ever forget that."
"Please," Korra begged, hopeless. "I don't want you to go."
"Sorry" Asami said with a small laugh, "but the world needs its Avatar. It needs you. Now, go and be the hero that I know you are."
"I… I will," Korra nodded. Her breathing calmed, and the tears started to dry. Soon, she stopped sobbing, and the emotions that had overwhelmed her seconds ago became repressed inside of her, replaced with something far more terrifying: finality.
"I love you so, so much, Korra," Asami whispered tenderly.
Korra closed her eyes. For a moment, she could almost feel Asami standing next to her, warming her with her presence. She could feel Asami whisper directly into her ear, like she had done so many times before. She could practically feel Asami's hand gently wrapping around her own, and for a moment, she stopped trembling, and became perfectly still.
But then, Korra opened her eyes, and the dream died.
"I love you, too."
Without another word, Korra smashed the phone on the hard, concrete floor, reached out with one hand, and shattered the glass tank. Lee was carried out by the water, and he splashed about like a fish upon reaching left. He sputtered sickly, but at least Korra knew he was still alive. She fell backwards, sitting dully on the floor, watching through her tangled hair as he recovered. It took a few minutes for him to regain his breath, but he managed to rise to his feet, mostly intact.
"Th-thank you," he said, shivering from the cold. Korra did not respond. He walked towards her, but her eyes did not follow him. If it were not for her shaky breathing and the rigid rise and fall of her chest, he wouldn't have even known that she was still alive. "Excuse me? Are you okay, Avatar Korra?"
Suddenly, Korra's hand shot downwards, and planted itself into the earth. Korra felt the energy of the world rush into her. Her mind raced throughout Republic City, zooming past cars and citizens as it searched fervently for its target. It did not take long before she found Asami's energy, and locked down its location. She stood up and walked towards the door unnaturally, like she was a puppet being orchestrated by her strings. She paused at the entrance, turning around to face the boy. He backed away in fear; the only sign of life she wore was the indescribable fury burning in her eyes.
"Wait here. Help will come for you," she ordered. He could tell something was off with her voice. It was deeper and rawer than the last time he saw her. She turned away again and resumed her undead march outside, when he shouted at her.
"Wait! What are you doing?" he asked fearfully.
Korra did not look back. She kept one foot in front of the other, walking steadily towards the end.
"I'm going to finish this."