Chapter Twenty-Seven: Ba Sing Se
Alessia was standing near the entrance of the airship that her friend Asami had told them they could use to find the new airbenders. The ship was beyond fancy. It was fully equipped with everything they needed. It even had rooms. Feeling a hand squeeze her shoulder. Alessia turned to face Lin. Smiling weakly at the older woman before hugging her tightly.
"You'll be back soon." Lin spoke as she placed a kiss gently upon Alessia's lips who nodded. Returning the kiss. "I have to head back to the station. Keep me updated, alright?" Lin had asked. She nodded her head. Giving her fiancé one last hug before watching her leave. She sighed softly again while placing her hands into her pockets. She was visibly upset at this. She didn't want to leave. Especially since she didn't want to leave the chief's side. She had worked hard to get to her position in the police station. Though, Lin didn't have to work hard at all to win her heart. She had already held it. Long before she even knew herself. This woman was her whole world now. It pained her to see Lin walk away from her.
"An airship!" Tenzin's kids shouted while using their air scooters to fly up the ramp. They seemed more excited than she was. Of course, Alessia did not want to leave the city. She had no choice because of her sister Korra. Who always seemed to make a mess of things. Never cleaning it up either.
"Looks like we are heading to Ba Sing Se first." Asami spoke. Alessia nodded her head. It would feel odd going back to that city. She lived in the lower ring with her father before his untimely death from getting sick and meeting Su for the first time.
"Hello Mako." Alessia spoke as she spotted the young detective.
"Captain Alessia. Chief forgot to give these to you." Mako spoke. He was holding a cylinder case.
"Hello Korra. Err Avatar. Avatar Korra. This is the various locations with reports all over. Here is the map." Mako spoke.
"I was hoping you would come as well." Korra spoke.
"Maybe I should sit this one out." Mako added. Alessia could feel the tensions between the two. Alessia jumped as two of the three air bender kids started shouting at Tenzin. Bolin was talking to Mako about joining. Alessia Lowkey wished Mako would be joining them as well. At least someone else would be level headed joining them as well. She chuckled lightly while listening to Bolin.
"Alright! I have to call Beifong. She is not going to be happy." Mako added.
"Just tell her that your captain didn't want to be the only level headed going." Alessia spoke as Bolin was hopping up and down. He was excited. With that, they had boarded the airship as Asami told the captain of the ship they were ready for take off.
They were all sitting around the table in the center on the head up the ship inside. Mako had spread out the map. There were red marks on locations where reports of airbending were found.
"After two hundred years. We are going to bring the air nation back." Korra was smiling.
"And it is all because of you Korra." Tenzin spoke. Alessia crossed her arms and cleared her throat.
"What is it?" he asked. Raising a brow at her.
"We are going to assume that we are going to ask them if they want to come, correct? We cannot force someone to do something they do not want to do." Alessia asked while eyeing Tenzin.
"Of course we will be asking." He spoke while stroking his beard. The others nodded their heads in agreement.
"Looks like our stops are along the way to Ba Sing Se. We can hit the other locations first along the way." Mako spoke while pointing to a few locations. Alessia nodded and took mental notes. She looked at the map and for some reason, she was hoping a certain city was on the map. It was not. She frowned and sighed softly before leaving the meeting. They arrived at a small town rumored to have a farmer who recently started airbending.
"Avatar Korra! It's an honor!" A man spoke while bowing to her. Alessia rolled her eyes at this. "Kuon and his family will be joining us shortly for dinner." He added after Tenzin said they needed to get going since they were on a schedule. Alessia had drifted off in her mind. Not listening to the conversation.
"I'm just a simple farmer who can airbend!" Kuon shouted while pushing his hands forward. Alessia's reflexes were on point. She raised her hand so quickly, it stopped the pie from hitting Bolin in the face.
"Thank you." Bolin smiled weakly.
"Don't mention it." Alessia nodded her head lightly. She went back to eating her dinner as Tenzin began explaining the air temples and how he should go with them. Alessia could understand the frustration the man had in his voice. He already had a whole life here. He couldn't just drop everything and leave. Tenzin on the other hand said he could. Alessia scoffed at this. No one should have to leave the life they built for themselves. She should know herself. Since she was forced to leave Republic City against her wishes. She had built herself a life there. She frowned again as her thoughts trailed back to the city. She was already missing it and missing her Lin.
They were back on the airship. They were coming up with ideas on how to force the man to join them. Alessia rolled her eyes and sighed.
"You cannot force someone to leave their entire life to join something that is completely different from their lifestyle." Alessia snapped. Knowing full well what it feels like.
"They must come freely." Tenzin spoke as Alessia nodded her head lightly. Seemed like he was on the right track. It felt like failure after failure in trying to recruit air benders to join them. The way Tenzin was going about it. Korra finally decided to step up. Alessia raised a brow at her sister. They found themselves at a house as an excited lady answered the door. She seemed a bit too excited. Hearing her soon was living in the basement as he came up the stairs. He looked like a mess. She raised a brow at him.
"Hi, I am Korra." Korra spoke.
"So you're like the avatar? Big whoop." He spoke. Alessia let out a laugh before shaking her head. This kid has some guts. Korra seemed to have had enough. She slammed him into a chair.
"Korra!" Alessia shouted. Grabbing her sister's arm. The kid seemed to not be interested in joining. He wanted to stay and live with his mom. Not having a care for the world. Alessia was starting to not like his attitude. Crossing her arms while watching the scene play before her. Korra and the kid seemed to be arguing back and forth about responsibility. The kid was just plain not interested in joining. Alessia had to remind Korra that they have to come freely. Korra tried to force his hand by dragging him by his collar.
"Let me go!" He said while air bending himself away from Korra and the others. Alessia shook her head. She was very annoyed now.
"That's it!" Korra punched her hand with her other fist.
"Korra no!" Alessia, Mako, and Bolin all said together while holding Korra back.
"Let's go. He is clearly not interested." Alessia spoke while pulling Korra back to the airship.
"Time to head to Ba Sing Se and go from there." Tenzin spoke sadly.
"You gotta get them interested with some razzle dazzle." Bumi spoke. Alessia raised a brow. Wondering where he was going with this. She crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat while listening.
"Yes! Razzle dazzle!" Bolin piped up. He seemed to be excited about something. "Put on some air bending performance." Bolin added. Alessia smiled at Bolin and nodded her head. It seemed like a good idea.
"Come one! Come all!" Bolin shouted once they landed in another town. Tenzin was introduced to the crowd. He used his airbending to show off as the crowd cheered.
"If you see a fire bender with a red scarf. He is an escaped convict!" The crowd gasped as Mako came into view. Hearing Korra saying she would save them and showing off her air bending skills. Watching Bumi show off next. Then Jinora was flying around to hype the crowd up. Alessia was chuckling with Asami while they watched from the sidelines.
"If you or someone you know can airbend, send them our way!" Bolin shouted through the megaphone he was showing. The crowd then thinned as people left to go about their lives.
"Hmm." Alessia frowned while looking around. Still, they had no luck whatsoever.
"Hey! If you're looking for air benders. You just found one." A young boy ran up to them. Alessia gave Mako a side eye. She didn't trust this kid for some reason.
"We got our first recruit." Korra smiled proudly.
"What's your name kid?" Alessia asked. The boy looked at her with a smile.
"Kai." Kai spoke. He nodded his head as Korra explained what was to be expected of him.
"Yeah yeah. Let's go." Kai seemed to be in a rush.
"Hold on Kai, we need to speak to your parents." Tenzin finally said.
"My parents are gone." Kai spoke with a frown and looked down. "It happened about a year ago." Kai started telling them about his story of how he came to this town. Alessia felt like Kai was hiding something. She and Mako locked eyes with each other. Mako seemed to have caught what she was thinking.
"Think of me as your big brother!" Bolin piped up.
"Guys, we got trouble." Mako spoke as several men had shown up. Alessia took a stance and slammed her foot down to shoot a large sized rock from the earth.
"Release the boy! Or we will take him by force." The men shouted.
"That's the outlaws!" Kai shouted.
"If you want Kai, you go through me!" Korra shouted as the fight had begun. It was over when it started. Alessia hadn't even broken a sweat when she and Korra had sent the men flying to the ground off their feet. It did not take long. She fixed her shirt while eyeing the men. Crossing her arms.
"You outlaws are going to prison." Korra spoke firmly.
"Outlaws? I'm the sheriff and these are my deputies." The man was clearly angry now. Alessia stood out of her stance and frowned.
"My apologies, sheriff." She gave the man a bow and offered her hand. He stood it and stood up.
"This kid is a thief! He is a liar whatever he tells you!" The sheriff shouted. Alessia looked at Kai and shook her head. She knew there was something about him.
"Where is Kai?" Korra asked.
"Right here." Mako spoke while carrying Kai by the collar. Alessia was listening in as Kai was taken in by a nice family and stole their fortune. Telling them how he was a new person. Korra seemed to be conflicted.
"You want our new member to be a thief?" Tenzin asked.
"He just needs guidance." Korra spoke. "Who is better than us?" Korra added. She did make a good point. Mako gave Kai a warning as Alessia brought up the rear as Kai was officially joining them now. Seeing Jinora speaking to Kai and she was…blushing? Alessia smirked a little at this.
They were back in the air again as they were all gathering around the table for dinner. Alessia was humming softly while eating her food. Mashed potatoes seemed to be the only vegetarian food she enjoyed. Listening to the others talk as she was deep in thought. Tenzin was going on about how he was excited to be teaching the new airbenders the culture. Alessia didn't know much about the airbending culture. Only from what Korra knew and even her sister didn't know that much. She stood up and took everyone's plates as people began to finish. She took them to the kitchen-like area and dropped them off before heading outside. It was odd to see a sky bison chilling on the deck of the airship. Then again it was a state of the art airship they were using. She was humming again while leaning against the rail. Heights didn't bother her anymore. Ever since she used cables to travel around the city now. Or when she rode the bison as well. She closed her eyes while feeling the wind whip through her hair as she had it down today. Her police uniform was in her bedroom and ready to go. It was just in case. Yawning softly while she decided to head to bed. She headed down the hall to her room. Opening and closing the door behind her. She looked around the dim lit room. It was a metal airship. It was pretty awesome how it was flying. Must be weighing tons. She changed her clothes and set out an outfit for the next day. Crawling into bed and humming again. Fumbling with the ring on her finger. Looking at the emerald on it and smiled. Her heart swelled a little bit. She couldn't be happier than she ever was right now. She just had to make it through this mission. Hoping that President Raiko had made a mistake in kicking her from the city. She turned onto her side. She was still deep down hoping they would make a stop at a certain city. She was still constantly thinking about two people she missed dearly.
She must have drifted off to the dream world again. She was standing in the field of flowers again. Hearing a soft voice she had come to love as she turned with a smile. Lin was there. Her arms outreached. Reaching for Alessia. She ran into Lin's arms and hugged the older woman tightly. Smiling as she felt the woman sway a little with her arms around her. Alessia looked into Lin's eyes and smiled. The pale green eyes were different. They had galaxies in her eyes. Alessia leaned in and kissed her lover. Feeling the spark sensation take over her. Sending her heart soaring. The electricity that she felt through her body. It was a new sensation she felt. It was new to her. Loving every minute of it. Then she pulled back. Watching Lin's mouth move but no words came out.
"What?" Alessia asked with a confused look.
"You must choose, my love." Lin spoke as she pulled away. She turned and stepped aside. Seeing another person. She couldn't see the face due to it being a shadow. Alessia was frowning at this. The shadow took a leap across the field. Doing a turn before leaping across the river and disappearing. A male's voice came. Alessia turned back around to face Lin but she was gone. Frowning at the sight a man appeared. It wasn't short nor tall. He was carrying a tea kettle. He had a round belly. Gray hair that was just below shoulder length. His voice was gentle and kind. As if she had spoken to this man before. She had never seen him in her life but it felt as if she did know him somehow. She raised a brow in confusion.
"You must choose. If you don't, you will lose it all." The man spoke.
"What do you mean?" She asked. The images began to swirl around as colors began to blur right before her eyes. Everything disappeared as she was falling. Falling down in the dark. Into nothingness.
Alessia jumped up from her bed and sighed. Holding her head in her hands while rubbing her temples. The dreams seemed to be getting more and more lucid. 'Maybe it wasn't a dream after all. Maybe a warning or a vision?' She had thought. She was hoping Jinora had more information about it. If she did, she would let her know. For the time being, she did not want to bother the poor girl. Who was helping her father rebuild the air nation. Her and Korra both. Tenzin however was beyond ecstatic about it. Alessia could definitely feel the happiness radiating from Tenzin. The world was finally starting to become balanced. The world now had all four elements again. This time, they had to go out there and grab the air nation. Alessia stood up and changed into her clothes and headed outside. Not hungry yet for food. Jinora and Kai were talking to each other on the other side of the deck. She was introducing Kai to Oogie. She smiled as the kid jumped back as the bison licked him. Slobbering him up with saliva and what not. She chuckled before taking her leave to the other side. She leaned over the rail. There in the far distance as lights were flashing against the sunlight. It was Ba Sing Se. They arrived in the city in a short amount of time. She turned her heels and went inside. To inform the others they would be arriving soon.
–Notes–
Sorry it's a short chapter! There wasn't much to put in this chapter as it was basically a filler! I do apologize for the amount it is taking to put these chapters out. I am currently getting packed up since I will be moving soon! I will try and keep the chapters coming! Currently on five fanfics in the works! Enjoy!