Flashback:
Lin 19
Suyin 13

"Good to see you on your feet again, Linny," Toph said sitting at the kitchen table attempting to hide her concern for Lin and the possible trial for murder.

"She shouldn't stay on them long. She lost a lot of blood recently and her body will need a lot of time to naturally replenish it," Katara said to Toph.

"What happened?" Toph asked.

There were three lacerations. The first was in the side of her left leg, about ten inches long, about three inches deep, four in the middle. The second was a simple stab wound about ten inches deep. The third was internal-"

"I don't need to hear this," Lin said sternly spooning some rice porridge into her bowl and heading again for her room.

Toph erected a wall covering the doorway from the kitchen to the hall.

"Sit. We need to talk," Toph said.

Lin gripped the bowl tighter, and reluctantly sat down.

"Toph, maybe we should wait. Let Lin eat first. She's lost a lot of weight in just nine- days. I'm worried-" Katara said trying to keep Toph from speaking.

Toph wouldn't relent.

"Where were you the night of April 15?" Toph asked.

"Protecting Su, like I promised I would," Lin replied through gritted teeth.

Suyin looked up with wide eyes.

"Were you at Kuang's Cuisine?" Toph asked.

"At first," Lin replied looking down at her food knowing exactly where the conversation was going.

"Did you end up at the Kiota Sake Bar?"

Lin said nothing.

"Do you know anything about the mass murder in the Dark Clay District?"

"Toph!" Katara hissed warningly.

"Yes," Lin said looking up into her mother's glazed unseeing eyes. "Yes, I killed them! I had to to protect my city by protecting my baby sister, and you."

"How was killing twenty-six people supposed to protect anybody. You could have apprehended the triad members and called some on-duty police?" Toph replied.

"THERE WAS NO TIME!" Lin cried bending her fork into a ball. She was more powerful now that her legs were mended.

"There's always time!"

"No there wasn't!" Lin yelled splitting the ground. "They were going to gang-rape Su! I couldn't let that happen- she's only thirteen! So I gave them myself! I thought I would be enough, but I was wrong. They were using Su, USING BOTH OF US to get to you. They asked me if there was a chance you would kill yourself if neither of us returned that night. I knew you would. I KNOW YOU! You would kill yourself if you lost us, but first, you would single-handedly destroy the city after trying AND FAILING to find us. And without you, the city would fall to the triads."

"You should have been more careful-" Toph scoffed.

Lin threw the tiny metal ball that Toph deflected easily as she stood up, enraged.

"Yes, I should be more careful and do NOTHING to try to protect my little sister, the child YOU birthed simply to IGNORE!" Lin yelled.

"Lin, listen-"

"No, YOU LISTEN, for once. You let her run around recklessly at the age of thirteen and let her go on dates with full fledged members of the Terra Triad that are TWICE her age-"

"This isn't about Su! This is about you, killing-"

"Of course it is not about Su! It is always about me. Su couldn't possibly mix with the Triads. She's too young, too sweet, too perfect at metalbending, mastering it at age three. Well newsflash, she's pledged! She is one of them. Even with your feet, you're blind mother! YOU are completely oblivious and it is infuriating!" Lin yelled storming off, leaving in her wake, jagged defense spikes crossing the hall space in every direction.

"Toph! Lin hasn't eaten in nine days and you couldn't let her get through one meal without criticizing?" Katara asked.

"I wasn't criticizing; I was interrogating. She used to be able to handle it." Toph shrugged. "Maybe Twinkle Toes junior made her knees weak or something."

"This has nothing to do with Tenzin," Katara snarled.

"It's my fault," Suyin confessed. Toph turned to the thirteen year old with her unseeing eyes. "I agreed to go on a date with a boy from the Terra Triad. He's higher up than me, and a lot older than I expected. He suggested we go to the bar after dinner at Kuangs. There, he tried to touch me. At tried to resist but... he... he became forceful, and had friends with him. When they wouldn't let me leave, Lin revealed herself. She knew we couldn't win and begged them to spare me,"

"Did you even try to fight," Toph asked.

"Of course, but..." Suyin looked down at the table. "They had a bloodbender. They locked me in a wooden cage and I think they took Lin's virginity,"

"You think?"

"Well, I know they raped her, but I don't know if she has done anything with Tenzin yet," Suyin said.

"Tenzin wanted to wait until marriage," Katara said with tears flowing freely down her face while Toph listened with a stone cold expression on hers.

"I'm sorry," Suyin said slumping in her chair. Toph said nothing, but Katara could tell she was severely bothered and angry. "I was stupid and naive. Lin's right. I should have known not to trust them. I am a Beifong. I am just a trophy to them to be used and abused. I was a fool for thinking they cared about me..." Toph raised a hand silencing her younger daughter.

"Why wouldn't Lin be honest with me?" Toph asked.

"Maybe because she is traumatized? Maybe because one of her greatest dreams/fantasies has been shattered? Maybe because all of her efforts to do good in the world are ignored. Lin may be tough, Toph, but she is still only human. She is not a machine. She has feelings," Katara said. "For once, use your ears and not your feet, that way you'll be able to see just how hurt she is!" Katara swept out of the kitchen and went straight to Lin's room.

"Why don't you come to the island, Lin, so I can make you some real food. The fresh air would be good for you. I'll send someone to change the linens on your bed. It's not healthy to stay here,"

"Thank you, Aunt Katara," Lin said as Katara helped her out to a sato mobile. Suyin watched them go. When her sister entered the sunlight of the outside, she noticed just how pale she had become from the blood loss. She looked like a ghost of a human being. Her eyes were distant, and her arms still shaking. Every sound made her flinch. She was a shadow of a human being.

Present Day

Hours passed since Opal ended the fight between the Beifong sisters. Lin had barricaded herself in the guest house and fortified the perimeter with jagged spikes while Suyin barricaded herself on the front door step of the guest house and fortified her small perimeter with metal panels from the courtyard.

Nobody really knew what to do with either women.

"Su, Honey, will you be joining us for dinner, tonight?" Baatar called through the metal panels.

"Not hungry," Suyin called back though the metal walls from where she sat with her knees held tight against her chest.

"Alright, we'll be sure to save some for you and Lin to eat later," Baatar said walking back to the main house to join the rest of the family, and all of their guests for dinner.

The sun had set and the domes had been risen for the night when Wing and Wei thought they would try getting through to Lin or Su.

"Mom? Uh... we're getting kind of worried. It's not normal to sleep outside. It could rain or something and then you'd get sick and..." Wei called knocking on the metal panel with his brother standing beside them.

Rain? Really? With the domes? You've got to be kidding me! Suyin thought to herself. Annoyed, she earthbent a ripple to hit her son's foot, not hard enough to hurt him, but big enough to startle him. Wei shrieked and leapt into his brother's arm. Any other time, Su would have laughed at Wei's reaction. She always enjoyed playing with the twins, but not today. All she could think of was her sister, and all of the stress and pain she caused the older woman in her lifetime. She regretted everything.

In the parlor of the main house, Baatar sat reading a newspaper from Republic City.

"Dad," Opal called letting herself into the parlor.

"Yes, Sweetie?" Baatar asked setting down his newspaper, extending an arm, inviting his daughter to sit with him.

"I just wanted to ask you what you know about Mom and Aunt Lin. I am really worried about them both and wanted to see if there's any way I can help. Mom has never skipped out on a meal as long as I've known her and Aunt Lin seems so... hurt." Opal told her father.

"You're right, and I am glad you say hurt and not mean. Your mother and Aunt Lin have a very complicated past, but I am not sure it is my story to divulge to you, Opal. I am sorry," Baatar replied holding her tight as she leaned her head on his shoulder.

Just as Opal was about to close her eyes, the door to the parlor swung open and Suyin entered.

"MOM!" Opal leapt up and ran over to hug her.

"Hi, Honey," Suyin said weakly, patting her girl on the back.

"You've been crying!" Opal declared noting the streaks of eyeliner that ran down her mother's face.

"I hurt Lin," Suyin said looking past Opal and straight to Baatar, not wanting to burden her daughter with the trials of her own past. "And I am not talking about just today," Suyin sighed walking towards the couch across from her husband with Opal clinging stubbornly to her arm.

"What happened?" Opal asked.

Suyin let out a heavy sigh and rested her elbows on her knees while Opal remained latched onto her arm.

"We were all each other had then, when we were kids, in terms of family. Mom grew up with so many restrictions that she let us sort of take our lives in our own hands and 'figure it out' I guess. She kept herself so busy with work that it often fell on Lin to respond to school's complaints and try to discipline me. I was a terrible kid who did everything I could to drive her crazy and I guess, prove myself different. I was stupid, naive, and one night, my choices and actions cost Lin everything," Suyin replied.

"How do you mean?" Opal asked.

It was an innocent question coming from such an innocent girl. Suyin paused to think. No, she wouldn't burden her daughter with that dark part of hers and Lin's history. "Lin was nineteen, and a full fledged cop. I was thirteen and as stupid as a girl could be. I pledged my loyalty to the Terra Triad. I promised them that I would drop out of school and become a messenger or security guard or something. I was hell bent on spending the rest of my days terrorizing my sister, for no reason..."

Opal gasped.

"I agreed to go on a date with one of the leaders and, and Lin came, to protect me. I didn't register risks very well back then and let her give up everything for me. I think that coming here, hearing my voice, has caused some of those awful memories to resurface."

"But you've changed! You're not a part of the Terra Triad! You're the matriarch of a city and you have a family! You've taught us everything we know and that has to count for something!" Opal cried.

Suyin took a deep breath. "I am not sure that is enough. I am not sure anything will ever be enough for Lin to forgive me," Suyin said.

"Then don't seek out forgiveness," Baatar suggested. Suyin and Opal both looked up, puzzled. "You cannot change the past. What has been done is done. Accept what is and find some middle ground with Lin. It will take time, but actions always speak louder than words. Don't let her walk out of your life again even though you were the one who asked her to in the first place."

"You asked her to walk out of your life?"

Suyin looked down. "It is one of my greatest regrets. I told her to leave me alone, leave my life and if she didn't then I would leave my life. After everything she'd done for me, I said that in a moment of blind rage. She simply blinked and said 'If that is what will truly make you happy, fine.' And thirty years passed with nothing," Suyin said. "All she wanted was for me to be safe and happy."

Opal was at a loss for words. Her own mother had taken advantage of, and then abandoned, her own sister in some quest for some superficial freedom? It was almost too horrible to believe. But Opal knew her mom! Or thought she did. She wouldn't lie about this kind of thing. Not now! Or at least, she didn't think her mother would. She wasn't sure anymore. Her thoughts were running wild. But still, that old Su was not woman who raised Opal. That old Su was not the mother Opal knew and loved. That old Su was gone. Right?

"If you will both excuse me, I think I should retire early. I have a feeling getting through tomorrow won't be easy," Suyin said standing up, slowly sliding her daughter's hands off of her arm.

"Sleep well, Sweetie," Baatar said rising from his couch to come around the table to hug his wife.

"Thank you. You too," Suyin replied kissing him before hugging and kissing Opal good night as well.

"Uhh, so who is going to knock?" Korra asked pushing Bolin towards the door to Lin's guest house the next day, after the jagged spikes had returned to the ground.

"No, no, no, no, no, no! Not me! You're the Avatar, why can't you do it?" Bolin asked.

"Uhh, I can. But I just thought that ..." Korra tried to explain.

"I'll do it," Mako announced impatiently raising his hand to the door. "Uhh, Chief, you've been sleeping for sixteen hours. We just wanted to make sure that you're okay."

Just then the ground began to rumble. Korra, Bolin and Mako hurriedly stepped back, Mako tripping and falling off the front steps as the door opened. "Good morning," Lin said nodding to the three bewildered teenagers, before passing them. They watched her go with their mouths agape wondering when on earth Lin procured some Zaofu clothing for herself and why on earth she decided now to wear anything other than her uniform.

"Heard ya skipped out on dinner last night. You must be starving now!" Suyin's pirate chef said to Lin as she entered the dining room.

"Actually, if I could just have something light, that would be very nice," Lin replied softly.

"Alright! I'll see what I can whip up for you!" the chef said disappearing for mere seconds before returning with a rather mysterious, vomit-colored drink.

"What's this?"

"I call it the kalenutsco. It's a mixture of kale, coconut water, and walnuts!" the chef proclaimed proudly.

Lin gazed at it for an instant before downing the drink. "Hm... Not bad!" Just past the chef, motion caught Lin's eye.

"Opal, don't go. Please sit down. I want to talk to you. Look, I'm really not comfortable talking about these things and I just— well, I wanted to apologizing for lashing out at you the other night."

"It's okay," Opal replied.

"No. It isn't." Lin's authoritative voice insisted while her green eyes narrowed. Opal winced. Noticing she scared the young airbender, Lin retreated, folding her hands in her own lap and looked away from the girl. "Your mother and I have a very... complicated relationship and I shouldn't have taken out my anger with her on you."

"I think I understand why it's so difficult for you to be here," Opal confessed. "Last night mother told me about what happened between you two and why you fell apart,"

"She did?" Lin asked looking up curiously. How could she betray me so? Again?

"But I don't think she told me the whole thing." Opal added. Lin let out a sigh of relief. "She told me how she joined the Terra Triad when you were a cop and how you just wanted to protect her because she's family. I understand that and I think she does too, now. She told me how she never listened to you and it ended up costing you 'everything'. And even after, she told you to stay out of her life. All you wanted was for her to be alive and happy in spite of all she'd done and for that, I really admire you, Aunt Lin. I think we're alike in that matter. I would do anything to keep my family happy. Maybe... maybe that's why I want to stay here even if it means missing out on the opportunity to train with Master Tenzin at the Northern Air Temple." Opal looked down instantly regretting part, well most of what she said, suddenly feeling uncomfortable for confiding in a stranger. Sure, Aunt Lin was blood, but she still didn't know anything of the woman other than stories from her mother and grandmother, and even those may have been lies after hearing at least partial truths the previous night.

"You're a smart young woman, and an excellent airbender, Opal. I think it would be a wonderful opportunity to train with the other airbenders at the Northern Air Temple."

"I know and I want to go! But I also don't want to upset my mom by leaving my family.

"When I was younger, all I wanted to do was please my mother. I became a police chief because I thought it would make her happy ... but it didn't. I gave up my friends, my opportunity for a family, my independence to do a job I never really wanted in the first place. Don't make the same mistakes I did and waste your life trying to please somebody else. You need to make your decisions based on what you want or else you will live a life of misery. And remember something Opal, if you're worried about your mom, those we love are never truly gone, but remain with us, in here," Lin said pointing to Opal's heart.

Opal thought for a moment and exhaled a breath she didn't realize she was holding, slumping slightly in her chair. "Thank you, Aunt Lin," she said hugging the woman. "For everything."

Lin walked through the garden trying in vain to clear her mind of the pain of regret. There was so much she could have handled differently and so many things she shouldn't have said. Her walk lead her to a statue of her mother. Suyin always did worship Toph even if she never really showed it. It must have hurt when Toph exiled her from the United Republic, Lin thought. It hurt all of them.

"Opal has decided to go to the Northern Air Temple. I am guessing you had something to do with her decision," Suyin said approaching her big sister as cautiously as possible, trying her best to not sound confrontational.

"Well, I was just ...Trying to be honest with her... and myself." Lin said looking up at the statue.

"It's okay. I'm glad she was honest with me. I want her to do what makes her happy. Mom gave us too much freedom, but I am starting to feel like I made the mistake of giving Opal too little. I think it's about time I let her choose her own way," Suyin said closing her eyes for a moment to feel the earth before opening them again. "I know no apology could make amends for what I've done to you, so I thought instead, I should say thank you. Thank you for not giving up on me like mom did. Thank you for tolerating my insolence for years, and for saving me from killing myself before I knew the finality of death. I can't imagine what my life would've been like if you hadn't arrested me that day, and if Mom hadn't sent me away, if I had stayed in the city ..."

"Frankly, you'd probably be in prison, or chained up in some whore house run by the Terra Triad because you're pretty."

Suyin laughed. "You're probably right." Suyin said also looking up at the statue of their mother for a moment before returning her gaze to Lin. "Mako told me that you're an excellent police chief. Republic City is lucky to have you. I know Mom is proud," she shared before wrapping her arms around her sister's shoulders, reveling in the lack of armor. Lin tensed, adverse to physical contact. "Can we move on? I'd love for you to be part of my life again. If not for my sake, then the children's. There's plenty of space in the house, and the they would love having their aunt around."

"Whoa! Slow it down. I'm not sure I'm ready to just end Mom's legacy in Republic City. How about for now, I just promise not to show up at your house and attack you again?" Lin asked offering her hand for a shake.

"Deal!" Suyin took it and squeezed before pulling her sister into a hug.

Lin froze at first before closing her arms around her little sister for the first time since the younger was probably three.

A/N:

And that pretty much wraps up my rewrite. I'm really sorry because I am not really proud of this chapter, in terms of word choice and refinement, but I can't really see it getting any better with time, and want to move onto(and finish) other projects before school starts again really soon. In a nut shell, I hope I managed to accomplish everything on my checklist for the chapter.

- Baatar being the source of Suyin's reason (because on her own she is kind of insane)
- Su doesn't apologize(not because she is a bitch but because she is older and wiser and understands mere words won't be enough), but at least acknowledges the severity of her own crimes (kind of)
- Su acknowledges the significance of Lin's sacrifices for her
- Lin realizes how she, in a way, chained herself to her mother's legacy with the police, and encourages Opal to choose her own path...

Let me know what you think of this rewrite. I'd really like to hear your thoughts on the original episode especially if you consider Lin Beifong one of your favorite characters.

Side note: I think she had so much potential, but they kind of dumbed her down after Season 1. also feel like the creators simplified her fighting style in an attempt to make fans like Suyin more. (like that cartwheel spinning upside down on the roof of the probending stadium and her front flip and launch onto the mecha suit under the Sato mansion and the fight with the equalists in episode 10. She was so epic then and then in the fight against Kuvira, only got to break a couple rocks, throw one kick and maybe two punches. It was sad)