AUTHOR'S NOTES: And for all the other development going on, here's where we get to see Kwan's true colours. One thing that always bugged me in the show is that after Lin lost her bending, we didn't see her again until the end where Korra restored her bending. We got nothing on how she escaped the Equalists, or where she was in the interim between being captured and being liberated. Fortunately, 'The Avatar in Chains' aims to fix that plothole/issue.
Happy Reading!
BOOK TWO: CHANGE
CHAPTER SEVENTY-SIX: RISKS AND SACRIFICES
Korra staggered again, digging her bare feet into the snow to stabilize herself as she was soon flanked by her friends. She certainly looked like she had been through the wringer what with how much she was bleeding, but fortunately, it seemed to just be smaller cuts that were bleeding more from the rush of battle rather than serious gashes or gouges. Korra's focus was not on her wounds, however. Instead, it remained on Tenzin.
"I'm sorry I couldn't do more…" she glanced back over the horizon, where the silhouettes of several more airships were seen approaching, "I tried to find Amon's flagship, but they all looked the same, and I—"
"You did fine, Korra…" Tenzin put his arms around her. "No one's expecting you to singlehandedly stop this attack on your own."
"What are you gonna do though?" she asked, "they're coming here because they're coming for you and your kids. They've been tracking me since this morning, but they know they can't get their hands on me, so they've switched targets!"
"I need to protect my family at all costs," Tenzin sighed, "and get them as far away from this conflict as possible. If Amon gets his hands on me—or much worse, my children… I hate to even think about it."
"If you're leaving then I'm going with you." Lin declared. "No arguments. You and your family are the last airbenders. There's no way in the world I'm letting Amon take your bending away."
"Thank you, Lin." Tenzin smiled. "Korra, I want you to leave this island and law low for the time being. Just because they're coming for me doesn't mean they don't still want you."
"I can't just give up!" Korra protested, "I just need to… catch my breath. I'm fine; I can get up there and... take the rest of them down, I swear!"
She was lying through her teeth, and no one was buying it. The fact that she just spit blood for the fourth time since landing was certainly not helping her case anymore than her laboured breathing was.
"Korra, he's right," Asami reasoned, "You're a mess. Let's gear up and get out of here."
"I want to be patient," Korra turned to Tenzin, "but with so much on the line… whatever you do, don't let him get you; you hear me?"
"You're learning well," Tenzin put a hand on Korra's shoulders. "Stay safe, Korra."
"You too," Korra sighed. "And I know you said it's not my fault, but… I'm sorry."
"Tenzin, if we're leaving, we better do it now." Lin warned before Tenzin could formulate a response. He wasted no time hopping on Oogi's back after he ensured that his family was secured. As he took to the sky, two of the approaching airships diverted their course and went after him as the other two approached. Has Korra not gone inside at this point, she would have made a move.
Ultimately, Korra did have enough time to clean up slightly, grab her trusty bow, and finally throw some proper clothes on, but after that, she whistled for Naga and called her friends to climb aboard. This time, it seemed even she knew the direness of their situation for she didn't throw them off like she did last time. Granted, Kwan wasn't with them last time, and it was clear she wasn't going to join them this time either.
"I'll hang out with these White Lotus lackeys," she told them, "You all get movin'."
"We can't just leave you behind!" Other than Tenzin, Mako, Bolin, and of course Asami, Korra considered Kwan to be one of her closest friends.
"Do you really think I'm about to die or lose my bending to these crummy bastards?" Kwan raised her eyebrow, "now get outta here!"
Kwan joined the remaining White Lotus sentries as Korra and her friends took off on Naga. The first thing she did was surround them all with a large swathe of lava to keep them at a range. A few Equalists threw bolas or electrified attacks at them, but it bought the Avatar enough time for her and her friends to escape.
Naga headed for the pier, but they were nearly stopped by Amon's Lieutenant, who came at them with his electrified kali sticks.
"Mustache guy!" Bolin exclaimed, but Naga was having none of this right now. She jumped up after him, slapping him off the side of the ledge with her paw as she continued charging towards the water herself.
"Nice one, Naga!" Korra smirked as Naga cleared the last few meters between the cliff and the sea, plunging all five of them into the icy water below. Fortunately, Korra had a plan lined up for this as well, bending the water around them to give them and Naga a large air pocket as they moved to swim to safety.
Tenzin's family was not enjoying the same good fortune, with the airships gaining on the flying bison. Lin managed to thwart a large net that would have ensnared them, and then launched her cables at the closest airship.
"Whatever happens to me," she warned, "don't turn back!"
"Lin," Tenzin knew exactly what she was about to do, and Korra would have done the same thing, "What are you doing!?"
Lin reeled herself in, propelling herself on top of the airship. Using fierce metalbending techniques she began tearing the ship's hull, damaging it to the point where it began to sink. She catapulted herself to the 2nd airship and began to tear it the same way, but was intercepted by Equalist bolas that pinned her down by binding her arms and legs. Another Equalist promptly electrocuted her, putting her out of commission.
"That lady is my hero…" Meelo gasped in awe.
"Yes…" Tenzin sighed with a frown as he saw his old friend fall, "She is."
It bought them the time they needed to flee, but Tenzin was still deeply saddened by Lin's loss. Similarly, Korra and her team managed to make it to the Republic City Underground, but Korra watched in dismay as the Equalists raided Air Temple Island. She wondered if Kwan had gotten to safety or not, and really hoped that Tenzin had. It was for the best that she did not know of Lin's current fate, otherwise she likely would have gone charging in after her.
At the same time, her exhaustion started to really show. Korra had been pushing herself to her limits all afternoon, from fighting the Equalists and to destroying multiple mecha tanks and airships. While her cuts and bleeding had been curbed by her circulatory system, her bruises were only starting now to show, and her posture, while already normally very bad, was even worse, to the point where her legs weren't even straight.
"I should have stayed…" she muttered to no one in particular. "I should have stayed and fought. There's no way anyone's making it out of there alive. I could have done more… I should have done more! What kind of Avatar am I, if I run and cower while other people fight my battles?"
"Korra…" Asami put her hand on Korra's shoulder, "don't be ridiculous. You took out a third of their forces singlehandedly. This isn't just your battle. This is all of Republic City's battle. The White Lotus sentries at the temple were holding them off to keep you safe, but also to protect Tenzin and his family."
"It's never enough…" Korra seemed to grow more and more disheartened the longer she watched the airships anchored at her old home. "First Sato Estate, now Air Temple Island… It's like everywhere I go, trouble follows—Kwan was right."
She paused. "Dammit... Kwan. She better not get caught because of me."
"Korra," Bolin was the one to speak up, "you're doing that thing you do again…"
"What thing?" Korra cast a weary glance at Bolin.
"That… thing." Bolin gestured, "you get all dour and start blaming yourself for everything when it's not your fault. I mean I know you're dealing with a lot of issues and I promise I'm not trying to make light of them at all… but Asami's right. Listen to her, Korra. No one's blaming you for this. Even if you weren't here, I'm pretty sure this Amon guy would still be leading his stupid revolution and everything. You aren't the reason everything's going down the drain."
"Bo's right," Mako stepped over to Korra, "and I know I come off as aloof or insensitive half the time, but even I can tell that you're exhausted, Korra. Let's get somewhere a little safer and then we can rest. You've earned that much."
"I hate it though," Korra lowered her head as she followed Mako, Asami, and Naga, "I hate knowing there are people fighting that need me, while I'm just cowering away in some underground water system in the hopes of 'waiting it out'."
"And you're not giving yourself nearly enough credit about just how freaking admirable that is," Mako admitted, "I admit—I'm not easy to impress. But your level of selflessness is amazing, Korra. I'd actually even say it borders on dangerous for your own well-being, but that's not the point. You risked your life out there to save us and to save hundreds of benders in Republic City. You can't tell me that you're not good enough when that's just part of your regular routine."
"He's got a point there," Asami smiled at her as they headed into the tunnel, "Don't lose hope, Korra. We'll find a way out of this mess, and we'll deal with Amon."
"I want to believe that…" Korra sighed, "I just hope the rest of my friends are alright…"
In this regard, it was a mixed bag. The White Lotus sentries had all been captured, and Kwan had executed a 'tactical retreat'. The lava that peppered parts of the island was a giveaway of her rare ability, and at this point the Equalists knew of the little lavabender to the point where it was something of a game of hide-n-seek. It was not that Kwan was a coward, but after the White Lotus sentries fell, there was nothing else really to guard or protect on the temple. Most of the Air Acolytes were nonbenders and so had no bending abilities to lose, and considering that there were dozens of Equalists that were still raring to fight; Kwan saw nothing practical or heroic about a 26-on-1 fight. Since none of them were earthbenders though, she formed a hole in the ground, jumped down, and sealed the top, leaving only a tiny, barely-noticable fissure for slight ventilation and to hear what else was going down.
After an uncertain amount of time, she heard footsteps and voices. She recognized Amon's voice, only from one of the rallies she had secretly attended during her masquerade as an Equalist. It made her wonder if her shop was going to get raided after all of this; because there was only so much of that she could hide, especially now.
They had a hostage. Kwan actually gasped and held her breath when she heard who it was: The Equalists had captured Lin.
"Tell us where the Avatar is, and I'll let you keep your bending…" Amon threatened.
"She's out of your reach," Lin seemed vindicated, "I'm not telling you anything, you monster."
"Very well." Amon did not seem perturbed by this defiance, and a moment later there was the sound of a body slumping to the ground.
"Three councilmen dead, a fourth in my custody, and the fifth on the run..." Amon was clearly talking to someone that Kwan could not identify due to not being able to see or hear them, "And the ex-Police Chief… out of commission. Sato Estate and Air Temple Island are ours… the Avatar's list of friends to run to and places to hide are growing thinner. And even without her, Republic City is ours."
"Do you intend to draw the Avatar out?" The voice sounded like Amon's lieutenant, but it was hard to tell from where Kwan was.
"She is not the type to idle about," Amon assured her. "Or let her friends suffer once she becomes aware of their plights."
Kwan was no hero, but she wasn't about to let the Equalists make an example of Lin. Using a swift earthbending movement, she caved the ground around Lin's body in, sealing it up almost immediately afterwards.
"There's nowhere to run!" Someone shouted, but Kwan was busy tunnelling through the ground to make her way off the island. A chase began the moment Kwan surfaced at the coastline, knowing that there was no practical way to get through the water short of burrowing far too deep underground. However, a fast-paced survey of the coastline allowed Kwan to discover how so many other Equalists had arrived here as swiftly as they did. Lines of speedboats dotted one side of the coast, and that was enough for Kwan to go off of. Times like this made her grateful that she had been a getaway driver in the past, because even the Agni Kai Triads had dealt with speedboats, and Kwan's excellent driving skills had helped many of its members escape justice—or escape with their loot.
It didn't take long for Kwan to find herself in hot pursuit of several Equalists, as well as at least one of the airships trying to throw bombs at her to blast her into submission. Republic City was in their hands, and so Kwan was on her own at this point. However, while she was outmanned, she was not outclassed. Much like she did when she was on car or motorcycle chases, Kwan pulled massive rocks up from the depths and lobbed them at her opposition, also even going as far as to melt some into balls of lava as she went. She didn't care so much about hitting them as much as she was just trying to keep herself and Lin safe, especially since the later was unconscious. Trying to fend off Equalists and pilot a watercraft simultaneous was difficult enough without even worrying about Lin, but Kwan knew that it was do or die at this point.
She charged her boat right up a pier before sinking her feet into the ground and launching herself forward with the help of her earthbending.
"They ain't gonna getcha…" Kwan muttered under her breath, her heart pounding. She had no clue where she was going, but as she started weaving through town and cutting through alleyways with Lin's unconscious form draped over her back, she realized that if she went to her shop it'd get blown to oblivion. As such, she diverted her course to a more industrial sector of town, hoping that she could make it there on foot (or on the stone slabs she was bending and riding) before she was bombed as well. She rounded several corners, keeping the foot soldiers and vehicles off her case by melting several intersections into lava pits. With the city in chaos, a few more bits of damage weren't going to count against her, and in her defense, she was fleeing for her life at the moment.
Soon to her surprise however, the airships pulled back, and Kwan suddenly had a hunch that she had entered their territory—something that they wouldn't want to just wantonly bomb. The question was which of these warehouses had what they needed in them. She was also growing tired from Lin's weight, which included her body as well as her metal police armour. Without bending, Kwan wondered how she would remove it, and so she did the unconscious woman a favour as well, leaving the pieces as a trail towards one of the warehouses she wasn't going to try. Fortunately, Lin had shorts and a tanktop under that armour, but Kwan was sure that she'd thank her anyways in the long run—as long as they got out of here alive.
Kwan metalbent the doors of the largest warehouse open, zipped inside, and slammed them immediately, using a small glob of lava to light up the otherwise dark facility. The noise of their pursuers was quiet for a moment, muffled by the barrier that was the doors of the warehouse. Kwan wasn't sure if she was hearing bombs dropping or if it was just hear heart pounding, but it took her a few moments of catching her breath before she realized where she was.
"Son of a bitch." Kwan cursed as she looked up.
If nothing else, she now knew why the Equalists didn't want to bomb this area. Waiting in front of her were rows and rows of mecha tanks.