Korra looked at the wounded and comatose Kazuto. "How could they do this?" Tenzin didn't speak seeing his nephew's son in such a state.
"The equalists revenge I assume." Tarrlok entered by placing a gift basket on the nightstand. "It's a shame that a hero like him ends up here."
Tenzins kept his mouth shut while Korra just looked filled with dread at the prospect of being in the same situation she always imagined beating up bad guys left and right like the Stories Katara had told her, but reality was collapsing into her world of fantasy.
Then Zaya entered and in a commanding tone she said. "Those who are not related to me leave." Korra and Tarrlok almost ran out of the room. Tenzin sat next to her as she looked over at him. "It's happening Again." Tenzin looked astonished. "I'm just happy Kazuto has had a childhood, Zorig was scared the moment he left the kindergarten."
Tenzin finally spoke. "I remember a scared child shaking in Bumi's arms." He turned his head to Kazuto. "I know that he will be up and ready in no time, if he's anything like your and bumi."
Zaya chuckled. "It's just so hard seeing one of my grand babies being in the hospital." She grasped his cheek. "Get well soon, Kazy." She stood up and Tenzin followed after her.
§§§
"Notion to liquefy Tarrlok's task force into the police" Zaya asked.
Tarrlok jumped up. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN?!" He sat back down and calmed himself. "I mean haven't I proven that the task force was successful?"
Zaya continued. "Yes, only because Kazuto used the opportunity to capture Amon's personal guard with assistance from the police." The council muttered in agreement except the Northern Water tribe representative.
"We would be able to expand our hunt against the Equalists and continue the task force til Kazuto wakes up, as we can agree that he was the brains of the operation." Tenzin said as the others agreed.
"All in favor of my notion?" Three arms rose to one hateful glare at her. "Notion accepted." A gavel hit.
After further discussions Zaya in no better terms Ambushed Tarrlok in his car. "Councilwoman I did except-"
She interrupted him. "I'm already married, no need to suck up. I know who bombed my grandson's home." She read his face, simple curiosity.
"You do?" He sounded happy.
"The triads. Did you know he gave private interviews with the press?" She pulled out a newspaper. It read "The strategy advisor of the Anti Amon Task, said "once Amon is locked up, the triads won't be sleeping easily. I don't agree with everything the equalist say but I do agree the Triads need to be wiped off the map of republic city! Once Amon is finished I will reorganize the task force with the approval of the council into a triad breaking force!" It is good to…"
Tarrlok jaw clenched. "With an article like that, no wonder, they would go after him, the show of force a few days ago."
Zaya nodded. "Even with Amon they would rather nip these kinds of things at the butt. I asked my connections and they found that all of the triad heads have left, but left their grunts to man their stations with only a few commanders. Speaking of the body next to Kazuto was a top commander." She showed dental records. "Rizo was wanted for four counts of murder. Now, he joined his victims, including the wife of Future industries CEO. Could you stop here?"
The driver stopped the car and she stepped out. "Thank you for showing me this. I hope we can agree on our next campaign." She simply nodded and left the car.
Zaya entered her home, the top building. The center of the company that did two main things build funding for the hidden flowers and herself. Still it was built on many things, hard labor, intelligent investments and lots and lots and lots of secrets.
Then someone knocked on her door. "Please don't be some news hound." She opened the door to find Korra and Tenzin. "Ah Tenzi! I don't babysit anymore so why are you here?"
She said that directly looking at Korra. "Just wanted to talk with my sister in-law." Zaya let them in and got the pot heated by placing her hand to the side.
"What's that?" Korra asked, looking at a shrine, and she was too close to one of the candles which was burning blue fire.
"Korra don't." He said while she held the candle with Zaya giving her a look that could kill. "Return that candle to the shrine or else."
The Avatar did as told. "What's so special about a candle?" Zaya simply looked confused.
Tenzin pulling at his collar. "She doesn't know what an ancestor altar is?" Korra just smiled. "That candle has my mother's last fire. I keep it lit to remember her." She said Soberly and then got out a dish. "Here have some Flakes, they're sweet." Tenzin panicked and Korra instantly got a handful of the fire flakes and screamed as her mouth felt like it was burning. "I prefer to mix it with mashed Carato, it gives it an extra punch." Korra was panting, crying and drinking all the water she could.
"You didn't have to punish her." She chuckled.
"I did the same with you. Baby sitting you two was easy. Just needed to teach you what the punishment would be." She spoke, pulling out vegetables from the fridge. "Korra could you please sit?" She sat down away from the sink. As they both saw Zaya diced the vegetables and got a pot with day old rice. She threw the vegetables into the wok and stir fried it.
"Tenzin, how is she cooking it without fire?" Korra whispered to Tenzin. "She's heat bending, her children are no slouches when it comes to cooking either."
Zaya laughed. "Oh believe me they all got my talent in the kitchen, especially my little dust bunny." Korra turned Tenzin. "Her daughter's nickname."
Korra smilled, her stomach growling. "Are all avatars glutens? Speaking of glutens Tenzin, do you remember all the jelly I made?"
He sighed. "You told it everyone I know, I was only twelve and—"
She interrupted him. "And you thought you could get away with it! Oh your face when Katara found the stains it was one of the funniest!" She laughed and Korra joined in with a chuckle.
"Oh how about the time you tried to do the wind gates?" Zaya burst out laughing. "Oh that was so stupid! I was drunk too so of Course I would just run into it!" Korra blushed. "Though my son figured it out after his first try. Zorig was a smart kid. Even if he never was a kid."
Tenzin spoke up. "Zorig was a genius, he understood the fundamentals of all the elements and combined them into his own form of fire bending." She placed a plate to Korra.
Korra took one spoon full. "This is amazing." Zaya chuckled as she was wolfing down the fried rice.
Tenzin chuckled. "I always know how to make them." Zaya said placing the vegetarian option to Tenzin. "This one doesn't have the seal blubber."
Korra looked surprised. "Yo have seal blbber." She asked with a mouth full of rice.
Zaya smiled. "Yea you get used to it after a while and then you miss it." She added a portion to Korra's.
She thanked her and continued to eat. "Thanks for visiting, with Bumi on duty and kazy in the hospital it's been hard."
Tenzin smiled. "You can visit the air temple whenever you wish."
Zaya chuckled. "Ok but if one of your kids gets on my nerves, I zap em." Tenzin sighed. Once Tenzin and Korra left, she lit some incense next to her mother's picture, also one next to Aang's foto.
##
Kazuto's eyes slowly opened as he looked around the islands floating, creatures of unknown species he was in the spirit world. "Great." He walked through the forest deeper till the air around him burned and reached a place spirits were made out of fire and ash. "He looked around, he turned to look at his arm and leg to see they were on fire. "This is how dad sees himself." He turned to see a being made of fire. "If you're here to devour me, do so I will give you a stomach ache and rip myself out of you." It laughed its eyes blue, dressed like a professor wearing a lab robe made of fire and magma. "My grandmother said you looked like a blue burning woman wearing a cloak made out of fire, my father said you were a living volcano. So why do you look like that?" It smiled, opening his hand, lighting sparking between his fingers and he fired at Kazuto, to which he dodged. "Ok so you're the flame, the flame inside of fire." It nodded and launched a fireball at him.
Kazuto got hit and fell to the hot stone. "All elements are the same, they are immortal and change. Yet I die, I end and begin anew!" It spoke with a hoarse voice that could only be emulated with a hundred years of smoking, it stepped on Kazuto's chest. "What am I to you?" He bit his lip "You're the one that changes them, you're the only mortal element yet without your mortality there wouldn't be any change for them." He thought for a moment and realized something. "You are the sun." It burst in a great light and Kazuto was swallowed in it and woke up.
He stood up, changed into his clothes and bribed the doctor on his way.
He knocked on the door and once it opened after some annoyed yelling it opened to his grandmother who looked like she saw a ghost. "Sorry I was gone." She hugged him tightly, tears running. "You scared your granny! Don't ever do something like that!" He hugged back with a smile.