Chapter 27: Trial by Fire
Jinora's face blushed slightly, and she took a deep breath, apparently projecting herself somewhere, but given her smile, it must have been near. How near became apparent a moment later when a box on the starboard side burst open in a blast of air. A thick burlap bag in the center opened, revealing none other than Kai. Tenzin pointed at him, saying, "I know what Aang told you about trust, but I'm overriding my father. You need to read him!" At first Korra wanted to object, but Jinora shrugged and said, "I don't see why not." Kai blasted over, apparently having heard Tenzin, said, "Yeah - I've got nothing to hide, Tenzin." Shockingly enough, Korra's truthsense did not raise any red flags - but then again, she wasn't too experienced with it, and Azula had managed to fool Toph.
Kai ran over to Raava, poking her small form, saying, "Who is this? Never seen her before." Raava said as she slowly grew to a size larger than Korra, "Your girlfriend, Jinora, may have told you about me - I am Raava, one of the two most powerful spirits in the universe, spirit of… well, I don't know exactly what anymore, but rest assured I really like humanity." Kai said, pointing back and forth between Jinora with a shocked expression on his face, "Wait… that's who you saved during Harmonic Convergence? Jinora, sorry for all those times I yawned when you told me about her - she looks awesome!" Kai looked at Raava, asking her, "Just curious - are you good with killing people? Cause that's been a conflict between me and Jinora before - her father yelled at me for trying to hurt some people hunting airbison."
Raava shrunk back down to her smaller form, laughing, "Yes, I am definitely cool with killing people - why, I even rigged the regrown Great Banyan tree with a boobytrap that will incinerate anyone who tries to cut it!" Before Kai could ask anything else, Jinora said, "That, I'm more than okay with. My father, Korra and Opal have gotten me to see taking life in a different light since the last time I talked with you, Kai. Remembering how cute those baby airbison were, and what that awful man wanted to do with them, I might have just stolen his breath if I needed to." Opal grabbed Jinora's shoulder and said, "High five!" Raava and Kai joined in the celebratory gesture. Tenzin just shrugged, saying, "My nine-year old son designing war machines and my daughter willing to kill to protect airbison - they aren't much different than Sokka or Aang, I guess."
Raava's contact with Kai's hand had apparently been all she needed for a read, as she said, "Read completed. While Kai's past antics are despicable, it does appear as though he has changed enough to be trusted. His experience with Tenzin's judgment has had the same effect on him as it did Jinora. I also liked his righteous fury at the airbison hunter - it reminded me of the fury Korra produced her first blue flames with. If Korra sees fit to share her deepest secrets with Kuvira, Kai is no problem." Everyone began laughing loudly, with Kuvira's yell of "I heard that!" barely audible. Kai ran over to Korra, saying, "What's this about blue fire, and Kuvira? Did she pull a Zuko?" Zuko laughed, saying, "Her transformation was more dramatic and sudden than my own, but I don't think the world will buy the 'I-changed-so-let-me-free' ploy." A figure used bending to ride the Zhu Li's rails like a railroad and land near the group, managing to stay balanced despite having shackles around her wrists.
Kuvira said, "While Korra infobends Kai, I have something to say about just that. I imagine that President Raiko will be very hard on me at the conference - not many people know I will be in attendance." Korra heard the sounds of running footsteps, a voice she recognized as Lin saying, "Get back here - you're not supposed to just run off without telling me or 'Mother Suyin' why!" While Su did have a frown on her face, it was much softer than the one she had worn while dragging Kuvira away from the Spirit Portal to a wooden cage what seemed like an eternity ago.
Seeing that Kai couldn't wait any longer, Korra began pumping information into him, editing out the identity of Jinshu Kuangmai, along with the details of what happened between her and Asami last night and this morning. Kai, being perceptive, noticed the second censoring, saying, "Aw, come on - that was the best part, and you blacked out everything after you made those … thingies! I know their name, but I'm not gonna tell you until you show me the rest." Kai crossed his arms, looking away, and Korra laughed, saying, "Uh-uh - you're going to have to wait until you're older to do anything like that, and you have to win Jinora's hand first anyways!" Kai laughed, saying, "Asami got you in less than one night, but I think Jinora's going to be much tougher." Korra's face flushed in anger, though not at Kai, saying, "Hey, it's not Asami's fault it was so quick - she couldn't even make any real advances on me!" Feeling a familiar hand on her back, Asami's beautiful voice said, "Relax, Korra - it's not as if Kai hasn't been without his own trials in love-related matters. Plus, he's only … uh, I don't know how old you are, Kai - but I do know you're young enough that you aren't supposed to know the thingies' name." Kai shrugged, saying, "Hey - I found a whole box of them once while stealing to live, label and all. You wouldn't believe what people have in their houses!" Seeing that Tenzin was giving him a dirty look, Kai said, "I think I am 13, but given that I'm an orphan, I don't know," looking down at the ground with sunken eyes.
Kuvira, apparently having heard Kai say the words "I'm an orphan", ran over and whisked him off the ground, saying, "I'm an orphan too! Mother Suyin adopted me when I was eight years old after my parents abandoned me. I don't know how much Korra showed you, but I have an even more mixed past than you do." Kai struggled to escape Kuvira's strong grip, saying, "Ouch, let me go!" Once Kuvira let him back down, Kai continued, "I don't need Korra to show me a bunch of images and thoughts to know you have a mixed past, Kuvira. The best thing I can say about your campaign over the past three years is you didn't try and weaponize airbenders." Kai took a deep breath, as though he intended to continue, but stopped when he saw Kuvira looking at the deck in deep shame. Kai used the air to blow a big blast in Kuvira's face, followed by, "Hey, cheer up, Kuvira - I saw what you went through three days ago. Korra made sure that part was especially detailed. It looks like Mother Suyin wants to speak with you."
Su turned to Kai, a broad smile on her face, saying, "One orphan, two orphans - why not? Kai, you want a family?" Kai didn't take Su seriously at first, prompting her to say, "You called me Mother Suyin, and that gave me an idea - why not give you what you really need? Zaofu, my home, is a beautiful city - though I fear Jinshu Kuangmai may make it his base of operations." This terrifying possibility caused Su to withdraw her hand from Kai's face. Opal let out a snort, saying, "If I were you, I'd stay away - the Beifongs have been a dysfunctional family since Toph's time. Did Korra show you what happened to Baatar Jr.?"
Before Su could slap her biological daughter across the face, Kai said, "It sounds to me like Baatar Jr. has a lot more issues than he has sense. Correct me if I am wrong, Mother Suyin, but it sounds like he has deep-seated daddy issues from what Jinora has told me. He's named Junior, for crying out loud!" Su swooped him up in her arms again, ecstatic at his apparent acceptance of her offer. Tenzin said dryly, "You do remember he was a thief, right, Su? And he stole from his other rich, definitively ex adoptive parents?" Fishing out an attractive gemstone, Su said, "When we re-take Zaofu and I get my city running again, he can have all the gems and gold he likes!" Much to everyone's shock, Kai pushed the gemstone away, saying, "From what Korra decided to show me, and especially what she didn't show me, I'd rather have a different gem. Her name is Jinora." A blushing Jinora tugged on Su's robe, saying, "Put my boyfriend down - there's something I want to do to him!" Jinora proceeded to kiss Kai deeply, making him fall over much as Bolin had the day before after his kiss with Opal.
Satisfied with how things had turned out, Korra asked, "What were you talking about when I was updating Kai?" Lin and Su said at the same time, "Kuvira's punishment." Lin continued, while Su picked up Kai, "We think that her expertise in weaponry, the Earth Kingdom and on her former forces is sorely needed, and any formal punishment should be put off. We did come up with an idea, however - my sister and I could take Kuvira on a tour of the Earth Kingdom. Community service and a direct showing of her effects on the kingdom, if you will." Remembering what Su had said about Zaofu, Korra asked, "Would you consider making the tour of only the northern Earth Kingdom? I don't want Jinshu Kuangmai to get his hands on Kuvira - he'd probably torture her using blood-iron bending without end." Korra saw Su, Lin and Kuvira shudder violently, Kuvira saying, "Yeah - I had thought of that. Plus, if I stay in the northern Earth Kingdom, I would be much more available for technical consultation. If you need me, Tenzin, Jinora or Korra can contact me remotely. I imagine that I won't be needed in that capacity until the various projects get started - and hopefully the Spirit Civil War will be over by then, or at the very least my supervised 'community service' and guided tour will be over." Lin interjected, "When we were talking, you hated the idea of the guided tour, saying you'd already been through so much with your awful visions, only good with the community service part! Why the change of view?" Kuvira responded, pointing at a distant speck on the horizon to the prow of the ship, "I know individuals can be persuaded by Korra's infobending, but the world? I now realize that's something else entirely. Plus, there's a special someone I want to find - the orphaned girl from my vision. I have hope that fate will cross our paths while I am on tour."
Su hugged both Kai and Kuvira tightly, saying, "I guess you really have changed, Kuvira - I never figured you to be a motherly figure." Kuvira said, choking back tears, "I didn't either, until I shattered that horrible metal vision. It's also a symbolic act - healing a wound close to my heart that my own actions created. As a side effect, if the world sees me adopt someone whose orphanage I caused, it will likely mend wounds other than my own." After shedding a few tears, Kuvira added, "Though I probably will need Korra's help to convince her - I know that such wounds run very, very deep. My own loss was part of the reason I turned into a monster - though, I am not sure it is a loss, to be abandoned by people willing to cast off their child..."
Korra took a deep sigh, taking in the endless sea and thinking about what Kuvira said. Suddenly realizing what the now larger point in the distance was, Korra said, "I support this plan of technical consultation, the guided tour and community service. I imagine the tour will be harder on you than any physical punishment. Now, to get President Raiko and the other world leaders to agree - that speck in the distance is Ember Island." Suddenly realizing that Mako had propelled the boat most of the way, Korra added, "Anywhere we go after we arrive at Ember Island, I'll propel the boat, Mako - you need to get some rest. I have a feeling we will need to visit the Fire Nation's capital sometime soon." Korra let out a surprised yelp when Tenzin tapped her on the shoulder when she was finished, saying, "I was serious about that offer of my body as a training dummy. No, Mother - I can make my own decisions, so don't even give me that look!" Katara stormed off with "that look" on her face towards the prow of the boat, grumbling as she went, people avoiding her and "that look".
As everyone else returned to their previous positions, Asami said, "I have something I need to do myself. See you in a bit, Korra - I'm going to go talk to Zhu Li." Remembering that the conference was slated to take place at noon, Korra asked, "What time is it? Do we have enough time to visit Mai and Ty Lee before the conference, or talk to Eska and Desna privately?" Asami poked her head back around the corner, yelling, "The bending must have done wonders for speed. It's only 10:00 AM, so we should have more than enough time! Don't hurt Tenzin!"
Tenzin just shrugged, saying, "I've been bloodbended before, by a much less friendly individual. Though, you will be using the Avatar State, so try to be careful. Here - why don't we start with blood that's not within the body?" Tenzin picked up the scalpel, had Korra sterilize it with purified sea water and flame, let it cool and cut a line on his other thumb, squeezing it to get blood out. Korra took a deep breath and entered the Avatar State, focusing on the large bead of blood on the deck. To her surprise, it was extremely easy to manipulate - Bumju's single drop of blood had been harder to move. She almost thought she could bend it without the Avatar State, but didn't want anyone asking even more questions than they would already.
Tenzin, having seen the ease with which she manipulated the blood, said, "Okay - let's move on to something a bit more complicated. I'm going to open my mouth, and I want you to close it very carefully. I think Katara is right, Korra - controlled bloodbending could be a nonviolent form of waterbending, if developed highly enough." Korra smacked herself on the forehead, realizing she must have let something slip. All these stupid secrets! Tenzin laughed, saying, "You didn't slip up any, Korra - Katara talked to me about this last night. Now shut my jaw gently."
When Korra turned her glowing eyes to Tenzin's open jaw, she was surprised by how much blood she could feel flowing in the face. Pretending she was controlling a surge of seawater, she stopped its flow and moved the liquid upward as one "mass", without trying to mimic the bloodbending forms she had heard about. When she finished, Tenzin coughed, saying, "That was very different from what I remember of Tarrlok's technique - you stopped the flow of blood and moved it as one unit, gently. Let's see how detailed you can make your movements, Korra - I want you to put me into a proper airbending stance, but this time, I will try and resist you. Are you ready for that?" Korra found her head shaking up and down, as if controlled by the Avatar State.
Before she started, Korra got an idea - use her earthsense along with bloodbending to make positioning easier. Eyes flaring, she struck the deck of the Zhu Li in a controlled manner, reading Tenzin's form more accurately than sight could. She then performed movements she realized were very similar to those Amon used when he wasn't using his psychic ability. Tenzin did resist, but given the lack of screaming or even any sound at all, Korra realized what she had done had the desired effect - no yanking of veins, only control of patches of blood. Letting go of the individual "cells" of blood inside Tenzin's body, she said, "I think I found a way to not hurt people while still controlling their movements. I didn't just yank on the blood -I manipulated different patches of it in unison to reach the desired effect. Did it feel different than Tarrlok's? I noticed that even though you resisted, you did not make any sound."
Tenzin said, with surprise in his voice, "Yes - that was exactly how it felt, as though my arms and legs were being moved around without strings." Before Tenzin could continue, Korra spotted a large water-bound form approaching the Zhu Li, fast! Tenzin must have seen it too, as he said, "What in the… that's the biggest shark whale I've ever seen! Quick, Korra - bloodbend it so it doesn't ram the Zhu Li's hull! I don't care if it dies - pretend it's Jinshu Kuangmai!"
Korra turned to face the threat fully, eyes flaring as she copied the form she had just used on Tenzin. She realized with a start that this shark-whale was almost as big as the Zhu Li, given the massive amount of blood in its body! At first, she tried to stop it, merely increasing the force she used in her movements and focusing solely on the shark whale. While the shark whale did let out a loud shriek as it thrashed its head above the water, finally stopped, Korra realized that with all her earlier exertions today, she would not be able to hold it long enough to let the Zhu Li escape.
Korra remembered the form of bloodbending that Katara had inadvertently came up with, and realizing it was her only option, she began to form ice crystals in the creature's brain and massive heart. In a series of frenzied motions, she thrashed the ice crystals against the arterial walls of the brain and the inside of the heart wildly. After about 30 seconds, she saw a large cloud of blood in the water around the beast's mouth and its razor-sharp teeth. She could hear cheers erupting from the front of the boat, and as they started to pass the beast's corpse, the Zhu Li suddenly slowed.
Turning around as her eyes dimmed, Korra saw Mako was no longer shooting blue jets off the deck, instead pointing to the massive dead shark whale and saying, "It'd be a shame to let all that meat go to waste! I'm going to bring us closer, Korra - why don't you find some metal object to bend into a big hook and cables, adding dryly, "Perhaps if you tell everyone at the conference what you did, and offer the shark whale's meat up for lunch, they will respect you and your wishes." Korra said, incredulous, "WHAT? I'm not going to try and 'gain respect' through bloodbending - that would likely backfire. I do agree that leaving it here would be a waste of meat, however, and we could use it to feed everyone at the conference." Mako coughed, saying, "I never told you to say you bloodbended it to death - just that you killed it." Korra knew what he had actually said - an ambiguous "what you did" that was more fitting coming from President Raiko's lips than Mako's - but didn't push the issue. Instead she ran to the prow of the boat, explaining to everyone what had happened, including her training with Tenzin and her new, less painful bloodbending form. Katara said, "I think you don't need any training, Korra - you saved our lives with that feat. Now let's go pick this thing up before another one smells the blood in the water and comes swimming at full speed." Katara seemed to want to say something else, but she was interrupted when the Zhu Li bumped into the shark whale's immense bulk.
As Korra, Su, Lin and Bolin created a massive hook to place in the shark whale's maw, Kuvira used her more limited mobility to create a single, strong cable. Varrick ran around, yelling "My deck! What are you doing to my deck!" before Zhu Li grabbed him by the collar and said tersely, "I'm sure the Avatar can find an undersea deposit of metal to repair the deck. Now quit running around like an idiot." Not wanting the meat to spoil and needing an easier way to tug the massive body, Korra asked Katara with glowing eyes, "Will you help me encase it in ice? My parents and Kya can help too! If we do that, then the scent trail will be lost!" After positioning the beast at the back of the boat using what little blood it had left, Korra helped Katara and her daughter Kya encase it inside a massive iceberg, making sure not to freeze it too quickly, her own parents assisting.
Realizing that propelling the boat from the rear would turn their prize to ash, Korra asked Mako, "Can you stand on the side of the boat and shoot a flame at a 45-degree angle?" Mako shook his head, saying, "I need a rest - why don't you and the airbenders propel the boat?" Korra, Tenzin, Kai, Bumi, Jinora and Opal did just that, with even Meelo "helping" - as a supervisor, of course.
Even after all this delay, they still managed to reach Ember Island at 10:45 AM, leaving plenty of time for preparations. Not being able to stand the nagging from Varrick any longer, Korra used the Avatar State to find and reclaim a chunk of ore from the ocean floor, noting that they were plentiful in the region, realizing this metal would come in handy for the war effort. Korra told everyone about her find, Firelord Izumi saying, "Good - maybe I can have my merchant fleet and a good navy after all. Good work, Avatar Korra - you can help Asami map out their locations." Before doing so, Korra took a tour of the boat, making sure everyone was doing something - they still had over an hour to the conference. Korra repaired Varrick's deck carefully before her tour as Lin, Su and Bolin used the remainder of the ore to cut the shark whale into smaller chunks, Kuvira watching enviously as she restrained Naga with a strip of metal. Kya was helping with the ice around the creature, Bumi was playing with Meelo and Bumju on the roof, the other airbenders and Pema were taking a rest, Poki and Pabu asleep in Kai's lap. Mako talked with Uncle Iroh, Zuko and Firelord Izumi about his Fire Nation heritage, Firelord Izumi staying silent. Her mother and father were talking with Katara about her bloodbending feats and what they meant for the legality of bloodbending in the future.