Author's Note: We own nothing, thank you guys for the support, reviews, and follows! Sorry for not updating as soon as we usually do. This chapter is more on the emotional side, and we wanted to show that not only is Zaheer in pain because of this, Korra is as well. She just doesn't know what is eating her up inside.
"I'm not as Strong as I Seem"
Lin's eyes turned back into their normal green and a soft groan left her mouth as her body began to fall towards the ground. Korra quickly moved her arms in a circular motion and pushed the growing ball of air towards the falling metal bender. Lin fell softly onto the cushion that Korra had made, and then Korra slowly moved the air towards the couch. Gently laying Lin down Korra kept her arms moving in a circular motion yet also in a pulling motion.
Once Lin was safely lying on the couch, Korra bent over placing her hands on her knees and let out a soft sigh. Korra quickly stood back up and pointed towards Lin.
"Make sure she is okay, and when she wakes up see if she remembers anything." Korra demanded, "I am going into the spirit world." Korra spoke as she walked towards the door, "There is someone I need to talk to." With that said Korra slammed the door shut; leaving the rest of team Avatar behind slightly nervous for whoever messed with Lin.
Zaheer leaned up against the large tree with his eyes and just marveled at the tranquility of this world. Zaheer spent most of his free time in the spirit world; underneath the same old tree that he and Korra would once talk under, just hoping that she would remember something, hoping that something would click inside of her mind. Hoping she would see him for what he actually was, not what she was scared of.
Zaheer let out a dark chuckle that seemed to dim the aura around the tree that meant so much to him. Zaheer could just picture how he looked, some foolish love-struck man who lost it all, and cannot seem to move on. He was now a man who lost his way, and didn't want to regain it. He would try to avoid the glances that he got; making friends with the shadows on the walls he was truly alone within himself.
Zaheer raised his eyebrow and couldn't help but feel his heart all but jump out of his chest when a strong aura wrapped around the tree and it seemed to bring him back to life. Then all the anger hit him like a brick wall and is heart quickly fell back into his stomach from where it came. Zaheer took a deep breath and tried to steady his voice as the young woman angrily stomped to him.
"Those who only look for demons, see demons everywhere." Zaheer spoke and his voice was strong and as steady as an ox. Zaheer snapped his eyes opened to see a very angry Avatar staring down at him with her arms crossed and right hip jutted to the side.
"The only demon I see is the one I am looking at right now." Korra's voice basically dripped with venom and anger with every word that she spit towards the man who she hated. After a moment of silence Zaheer opened his mouth and spoke without a second thought.
"If that is what you see m—" Zaheer could not finish his sentence before Korra quickly snapped at him.
"Because that is what you are! You have no heart; there is nothing inside of you." Korra sneered in his direction. Zaheer's eyes darted from the young woman's eyes to the sky and then back to her eyes. Korra truly believed that everything she was saying had no effect on the air bender. "What did you do to Lin?" Korra all but yelled at the man.
"She will be fine. I did no damage to her brain." Zaheer said in his calm yet hollow voice; the coldness in his voice caused a shiver to go up Korra's spine. "You went to the meeting; you saw what I can do." Korra's eyes widened in shock, she had no idea what he was talking about and she had no idea that he knew that she was there.
"You knew?" Korra questioned in a higher pitched voice. Zaheer simply glanced in her direction then back up to the sky to confirm her question. "I didn't stay long enough to see your new technique."
Zaheer glanced back and his eyebrow twitched for a moment as he thought back to that night; she was right, he had told her to leave through one of the many secret exits before he showed the entire Red Lotus. Korra fumed when Zaheer closed his eyes for around the fifth time at her.
"Why did you not do anything if you knew I was there?" Korra demanded as she bent down till she was eye level with him and jabbed her index finger into his sternum.
Zaheer opened his eyes and stared directly into the fire filled ocean blues staring back at him. Korra was thrown back that his eyes held no light in them at all; a dark sad grey, almost as dark as the midnight sky. Yet Korra's gaze did not falter as she glared into the man's cloaked eyes.
"One day in your life, you'll remember the love you found here. There is something missing in your life. You'll remember me, somehow. Though you don't need me now, I will stay in your heart. And when things fall apart, you'll remember me that day."
Before Korra could respond the air bender that she was just talking to vanished into thin air. A couple moments went by before Korra registered what he had said to her. A loud yell ripped through her throat and her fist flung into the bark of the tree. Small splinters of the wood dug into her skin trying to make a permanent home as others flung from the spot of impact trying to escape more pain.
Korra leaned up against the tree so her forehead was against the tree and left forearm was up against the tree as well. Korra's right hand slowly handed on top of her heart; her nails dug into the scar that was hidden behind the thin layer of cloth as a lump formed in her throat. What did he know about her heart and what was missing? What is even missing? A small sad smile trembled onto her lips.
"Everything." Her hollow voice was swept up into the warm spring breeze that held so many fake promises.
"Is everything ready?" P'Li asked Zaheer as she pulled the rope tighter around the young air bending girl who let out a small squeak of pain through the cloth that covered her mouth. P'Li turned to the girl and the noise that came from the back of P'Li's hand and the young girls face echoed throughout the meditation room.
"Yes." Zaheer said as his eyes ghosted over P'Li tying the rope in a knot to the many air benders faces that were filled with fear and hatred. P'Li had these people tied up like animals; their arms were bound by their sides, a bag over their hands that was tied at the wrists, their ankles were bound, and a cloth was tied around their mouths. They had already been here for a couple of days, and P'Li had an infatuation with retying their knots.
It had been pretty easy to take the new air benders hostage. Zaheer had no idea how he was supposed to help them with the invasion, but P'Li had her ways. These ways involved Ghazan creating a huge pond of Lava underneath Zaheer as he balanced on a small wooden pole. This made it so Zaheer was in enough danger to trigger his air bending, but not enough danger that he wouldn't be able to survive.
The air benders had almost no chance with Zaheer's air bending skills; P'Li and Ghazan created enough noise and damage to the Air Temple for all of the air benders to come rushing out of the temple from all directions. Once they took a step outside, they had already lost. Zaheer had his eyes closed and concentrated on the flow of air that each of the air benders took into their body. His eyes snapped open and he quickly began to whip his arms around his body and moving his hands as if he was a puppeteer. He was the puppeteer and all the air benders were his puppets.
It was after they had bound all of the air benders that Zaheer began to practice his technique even more. Zaheer taught himself to be able to focus on someone's aura from far distances and once he spotted their aura he was able to focus on the air that was inside of their lungs. Since he was farther away, he would have to almost go into their conscious. When he took over Lin's body, he saw through her eyes. P'Li's voice shoved Zaheer out of his thoughts and back into reality.
"Well, why not go and speak to the Avatar once more." P'Li said in a cold voice, as if all the passion she once felt had been drained out of her. Zaheer simply nodded at the woman and turned to leave the room.
"How are you feeling?" Korra asked fanatically as she ran over to the now awake Lin who was sitting upright on the couch drinking tea. Lin was the only one to notice that Korra had wrapped a white linen cloth around her knuckles; although, the white linen had a small pool of blood forming. Lin did not address it since it was something that the young Avatar did not want to discuss.
"I am fine." Lin said shortly looking down at the young Avatar who was kneeling next to her; Lin couldn't help but let a small smile find her face. "Thanks for worrying about me, kid." Lin said as she ruffled Korra's hair with her free hand. Korra smiled and made her away around Lin so she could sit next to Lin on the couch.
"Do you know what happened?" Korra asked Lin as Lin took another quick sip of the tea in her hand.
"No, I have no idea what came over me." Lin said placing the tea cup on the coffee table, "I was perfectly fine and th—"
Lin's eyes went wide and she began to stutter and choke on her own voice. Lin's eyes rolled back into her head, leaving nothing but whites in their wake. Asami let out a yell as Lin's eyes rolled back up, but no longer her normal greet. Dark grey hollowed eyes stared back into Asami's emerald green ones. Lin turned towards Korra and dark grey clashed with ocean blue.
"In the Si Wong Desert there you will find rivers silent, and the earth in shambles, yet you now may find new winds in motion. Although these new winds may create a soothing melody, the winds will be as silent as the rivers and as broken as the earth in two moons. Will you sacrifice your own harmony, or will you watch as their melody slowly comes to an end?"
With those words spoken, Lin's head flew backwards as her eyes rolled back into her head. Korra let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding when she saw the all so familiar green glow of Lin's eyes back into her head. Korra quickly pushed her left arm under Lin's legs and her other arm behind Lin's back. Korra slowly stood up with Lin bridal style in her arms and slowly began to walk to the door so she could bring Lin to her own room. Before Korra was out the door she turned to face the group.
"Get everyone into the dining halls." Korra turned back towards the door, but didn't move, "We will be leaving when she awakes." With that Korra left the room with Lin passed out in her arms.
The crescent moon brought the only light into Korra's room as she stood in front of her mirror in nothing but her bindings. Korra gently traced over the rather large scar that was peeking up through the top of the white fabric. Small jolts of pain still shot through her body, and a burning sensation followed the tips of her fingers as it touched the scarred flesh.
"Do you know what's the worst thing about this hole in my chest?" Korra whispered to the young black haired woman who was sitting on Korra's bed. Korra closed her eyes and reached behind her to untie her bindings. The white fabric slowly cascaded to the cold hard wooden ground as a lump began to form in her throat. Korra slowly turned around to show the other young woman the scar, and Korra did not speak till after she heard Asami let out a small gasp. Korra slowly opened her eyes; eyelashes freshly wet, "Not remembering what it felt like before."
"You need to slow down on that cactus juice, man." Ghazan said in a caring voice as he pulled up a chair next to the broken man. Ghazan reached to take the drink out of Zaheer's hand, but Zaheer pulled the drink away and stood up. Zaheer began to walk back to his room, but just as he reached the door a dry hollowed voice slipped from his heart.
"This may burn my throat, but to even think of her name hurts my head more. I rather black out and drown myself in the burning sensation than stare blankly at my hands trying to forget what it was like to hold her."
"I don't know what to do, I want to grab someone by the collar of their shirt and scream at them till I have no voice, I want to fight and let all my anger out, but at the same time I just want to cry." Asami clutched the young broken woman to her chest as they both sat on the floor.
Both broken voices whispered the same sorrow filled melody, at the same time, but to different people.
"I'm not as strong as I seem"