AUTHOR'S NOTES: I had actually briefly considered shipping Kwan with Iroh, but then remembered that since he's Zuko's grandson and she's Azula's granddaughter, they're 2nd cousins. That said, there's definitely still a friendship going on there givne how strong Kwan's desire to repent appears to be. Also... There may or may not be a redemption arc coming up in the near future for a certain character, but this chapter and the next couple will probably make it clear who that is.
Happy Reading!
BOOK TWO: CHANGE
CHAPTER EIGHTY-ONE: FAMILIAR FACES
Korra essentially launched herself the remaining 200 meters from the water to the shore, Iroh still in her arms before she realized it.
"Easy there, Avatar!" He called, "Going in and blowing half the tunnel to smithereens isn't going to do anyone any favours."
"My friends are in there, and so are thousands of unarmed people!" Korra reasoned, shaking herself like a dog to remove the water from her body, "That thing will wreak all kinds of havoc on them unless I can wreak havoc on it first!"
"Listen for a moment, Korra…" Iroh put a hand on Korra's shoulder, and Korra paused as if waiting for him to continue. Iroh did not say anything, but the noise from the tunnel was minimal; just the usual soft humming ambience. The whirring of the mecha tank had stopped, and there didn't seem to be any sign of commotion.
"That doesn't sound like carnage and destruction to me," the General continued, "I think there's more to that mecha than meets the eye…"
Not more than a few moments later, two familiar women emerged from the tunnel.
"Lin? Kwan?" Korra's eyes popped out, "how did… was that mecha tank yours?"
"We were running a bit late," Lin admitted, "Kwan's idea, really—but we need to get you inside, General." Lin's view turned to Iroh, "that wound doesn't look good at all."
It was several minutes later and after Korra got to use her healing techniques on someone other than herself, that introductions were made and catching-up was done. Korra was visibly frustrated once she had learned that Lin had lost her bending to Amon, but also found great amusement in hearing how she and Kwan had escaped.
Kwan and Iroh kept glancing at one another as if they recognized each other from somewhere. Iroh was the first of the two to break the ice.
"I swear I've met you before, Kwan." he mused.
"Ever put a lavabender in the slammer?" Kwan riposted, "because if so that was probably me. If it ain't that, then maybe you've heard of the name Ikiza? Shenzi's younger sister; Triads, Red Lotus, all that shit?"
"I fortunately did not have to get involved with any of that," Iroh frowned.
"Well, I mean we're 2nd cousins," Kwan threw it out there like it was common knowledge. "You are Zuko's grandkid, right?"
"I thought you looked familiar," Iroh mused, "it's the eyes."
"I get that alot," Kwan shrugged, "but yeah. Bein' the spawn of Azula doesn't exactly hold the same prestige that bein' the descendant of Zuko does. Such is life."
"And yet here we are, fighting side-by-side despite the enmity between our grandparents." Iroh put a finger under Kwan's jaw, "chin up, Kwan. I think you're a good person."
And thus was the story of how Zuko's grandson and Azula's granddaughter met for the first time. However, there were more important issues at hand.
"We were prepared to deal with Sato's mecha tanks, but not those new high-speed aircraft." Iroh explained to the others regarding their crushing defeat.
"Well, I'm prepared to deal with the mecha-tanks too," Kwan smirked, "as our esteemed ex-Chief of Police can surely tell you."
"I would strongly advise against ever being a passenger in any vehicle this woman operates," Lin thumbed at Kwan, "but I can't deny that her driving skills are second to none."
"Still…" Korra sighed, "Every time we think we have an advantage, Amon pulls one over us. It's like he's always three steps ahead and it's driving me crazy!"
"No matter what our plans are, he's always got better ones!" Bolin sighed in agreement.
"Amon might be winning so far, but we're not out of the fight yet," Iroh assured them, "a second wave of reinforcements is on its way to the city. I need to warn them, however. Do any of you still have a way to get a message out?"
"I don't know if you and your forces heard the radio earlier today," Kwan pointed out, "but Chief here got the radios up and running; I'm sure she could work a bit of that magic to get in touch with your buddies."
"I remember that, actually," Iroh smiled, "it boosted morale to hear that the citizens of Republic City still had that fighting spirit to them and that they were still resisting Amon's rule."
"So who's the man that's getting this top secret message?" Lin turned to Iroh.
"Commander Bumi," Iroh replied, "Second Division of the United Forces."
"Huh boy…" Lin sighed, causing Korra to give her a curious look.
"Don't tell me you two were a thing at one point too," the Avatar pouted.
"Of course not," Lin shook her head, "but I'll just say this much—he's going to love you."
"How bad could that possibly be?" Asami chuckled.
"There were so many fire ferrets," Lin shuddered, "Many of us were certain that it was connected to the incident at Blackstone Hotel with all the rice… Ikiza. Sadly, my men weren't able to procure enough evidence to link the two despite these correlations."
"Oh shit, that was Bumi?" Kwan gawked, "man, that was great though—remind me to collaborate with him sometime."
"Oh, he's one of those kinds of people?" Korra raised an eyebrow. Lin shot Kwan a murderous look. Kwan bit her gums to keep from laughing, although Korra of all people was the one to help try and put it back on track a moment later as she reminded them of the task at hand. The sooner they got the message out to Commander Bumi, the better.
With a little help from resident telegraph expert Gommu, Iroh and Team Avatar were able to send a message to Commander Bumi almost right under the noses of the Equalists. A large map of Republic City was laid out in front of them, with Bolin and Asami in particular analyzing it.
"Now comes the hard part…" Iroh declared, "we need to ground those aircrafts. Otherwise, Bumi's fleet will never be able to retake the city."
"They flew in from this direction," Mako pointed out the position on the map, "so it must be somewhere over this mountain range."
"That mountain range?" Kwan's eyes widened, "I think I know exactly where they are then. Korra likely does too; she just doesn't know it."
"You seriously aren't suggesting the Red Lotus Compound!?" Korra gawked.
"That's exactly what I'm suggestin', kid." Kwan smirked. "Now I doubt they'd use the actual compound, but I reckon the area's far enough out of the way that they wouldn't expect anyone to actually go there. The only reason we got found out all those years ago was because Unalaq snitched on us. Remind me to deck him next time we see him, by the way."
"Uhh… no comment." Korra's expression suddenly became fairly awkward and uncomfortable as she got suddenl flashbacks of that terrifying afternoon when Nakkoa had gotten unhinged, attempting to torture and kill Korra in the process.
In a perhaps insensitive move, Kwan ignored it and turned back to Iroh.
"So gettin' there's actually surprisingly easy, and I've got just the way to do it." She suggested, "See, for all the time I've spent carousing with people like the Triads, the Red Lotus, the Equalists, Prison Gangs, and potentially other criminal or less-than-savoury organizations that no one present needs to know about, I've learned how to blend in—and ironically, more than my bending, my main talents were as a driver. Now, I ain't no Sato or anything, but due to some of my entrepreneurial endeavours as well as connections that don't need to be detailed at this time, I've got a decent array of vehicles at my disposal—some of which may not have been legally obtained from the Equalists—that I'd happily donate to the cause. The mecha tank is one such option, but as our esteemed Chief of Police could tell ya, it's a bit cramped unless you're piloting the thing. The van was another, but as our little Avatar and her friends know, that machine is no longer in commission. I do, however, still have the same old trusty transport truck from the days where I literally was haulin' Korra off to that compound, and lemme tell ya: she still runs like a champ after all these years."
"The truck, or Avatar Korra?" Lin quipped. Bolin snorted, and Asami was clearly biting her gums.
"Both," Kwan laughed as well, incidentally, "but naturally, this shit's gonna take time, so I hope Commander Bumi ain't upset for waiting a few days."
"Obviously the sooner we can pull this off, the better," Iroh explained, "but I would rather it be delayed and then go off flawlessly than to have it happen now only to falter."
"Does this mean more waiting games?" Korra sighed.
"Yes, Korra." Lin replied, "It means more waiting games."
"I hate waiting," Korra complained, "I want to do something. I want to help! There are people suffering out there; if the Equalist propaganda on the radio is to be believed they're stripping more benders of their abilities each day! Barring the inscrutable horror attached to that notion, these are people that need me—people that need our help! I can't just idle away in a sewer tunnel while people are suffering!"
"Korra," Lin coaxed Korra to look at her by putting her hand under the Avatar's chin, "I've lost my bending and it's not a pleasant experience. But you can't just go rushing into this fight without some sort of battle plan. If Amon catches you and does you in, what good will that do anyone? He's on patrol. He's flexing his muscles and showing off his strength. After this defeat I'd bet my old position that he's expecting you to jump up and try and counterattack."
"Lin has a point, Korra," Asami added, putting a hand on Korra's shoulder, "Remember Aang Memorial; remember the rally at the warehouse—Amon wants to goad you because he believes that it works. He wants you to throw yourself out in the open the way you usually do, because he's waiting for you."
"How do you know he's waiting for me?" Korra tilted her head.
"Educated guesses," Asami admitted, "but his strategies have proven effective, as we've all learned for the fourth or fifth time by now. Why would he alter his course when his current choices are proving to be remarkably effective? He's trying to put you back on strings, Korra. He knows it's worked before and he wants it to work again."
"So what do I do?" Korra shook Asami's hand away and grabbed her hair, tugging it with frustration, "I'm not going to just sit around waiting for other people to do my job for me. Don't get me wrong—I look forward to Commander Bumi's support, and Kwan's efforts are fantastic. But I want to be in there helping in whatever way I can! I can't do that sitting from the sidelines watching from the shadows. It's not about being a coward; fuck, this isn't even about being the Avatar. This is just who I am, Asami. There are people who need help, and I want to help them."
"Aaaaand there's that thing again," Bolin smiled, but Korra cut him off.
"I'm NOT doing that stupid thing again!" she snapped. Surprisingly, Bolin didn't flinch this time.
"Not THAT thing, silly," he punched Korra's arm playfully, "the other thing; the good thing. That thing where you get all passionate and concerned about people around you—the people you care about, Korra. Some of them you've never even met, but here you are wanting to put your life and well-being on the line for them. You really need to stop and look at yourself and realize just how amazing that is, because you don't give yourself the credit you deserve."
"Kid's got a point, Avatar," Kwan noted, "I'm not afraid to help if I think it'll make a difference, but there's no way I'd just throw my life on the line for a bunch of strangers, let alone without considering my chances of success. Now I ain't saying that your plan couldn't use a bit of work, but your intentions—those are the hallmark of your ideas. You just said yourself that it's not about being the Avatar, even; that it's just your own desire to help and make a difference. I'm sorry but not really sorry at all; that's fucking noble, kid."
"I just need a breath of fresh air or something, maybe," Korra suggested, shaking her head as she turned towards the room's exit, "I'm not going to run off and get captured by Amon or anything, but please don't anyone follow me. Let me just do my thing for a bit; I'll get back to you when I'm done; I promise."
Everyone in the room except Iroh exchanged looks with one another, but no one said anything except Iroh after a moment of silence.
"My grandfather always trusted the Avatar's instinct," he pointed out, "I feel it's right to do the same, especially if she just needs time to ponder what we're doing."
"My grandmother would have called her a menace the same way she thought Avatar Aang was," Kwan quipped with a dry laugh, "glad at least one of us descended from good stock."
Korra took that as approval, and left without a word. She reappeared outside the tunnel, gazing over the bay, where smouldering ruins of the United Forces battleships still floated among the waves as a sad reminder of the crushing defeat of the First Division. Korra gazed out at the Aang statue that still bore Amon's mask, and then out at Air Temple Island, where she could only imagine what sort of atrocities were being committed right now.
She simply could not abide that, and so against her own promise and against the wishes of any of her friends, Korra plunged beneath the waves again, descending so deep below the surface that she actually touched the sea floor before beginning a gradual ascent upwards. She obviously used bending tricks to maintain breath beneath the waves, but even then, Korra felt a certain comfort at being deep under the water, and she was not sure why.
She sprung out of the water after reaching the island, shaking herself off before taking a stealthier approach. The island was quiet, although there were Equalist guards here and there, and Korra narrowly avoided a confrontation with the mustachioed lieutenant that she still did not know the name of. On the other hand, the name Fukuhara popped up again, and Korra briefly wondered if that woman held any particular significance, because as far as she knew, the woman in question was just another faceless soldier among the many Equalists.
Figuring that if there were any prisoners, they would be in the temple itself, Korra slipped inside, only to find the place almost completely deserted. She thought she heard footsteps, and darted away to make an escape, slinking up to the attic of the temple to hide until the noise died down. It was in this moment that she realized she was not alone.
"I don't suppose you're here to rescue me, are you, Avatar?"
Korra froze as she recognized the voice. A quick glance behind some recently installed bars revealed its owner to be none other than…
"Tarrlok!?" Korra's expression was a mixture of shock and horror. "What are you doing here? Where are the others? Are there more prisoners on the island?"
"No," Tarrlok hummed. "I'm the only one here."
"I didn't know Amon considered you anything special," Korra snarked, "considering that he and his goons just offed the other three councilmen."
"There are a lot of things you don't know about me, child…" Tarrlok muttered, but gave pause as he noticed Korra's reaction suddenly change dramatically.
"There are a lot of things you don't know about me, child…"
Tarrlok's tone may have sounded very different, but in an instant, Korra was back at the dimly lit City Hall, pinned against the wall and unable to move as she felt the blood and fluids in her body moving her against her will. She cried out, her unnervingly high-pitched squeal of pain imitating the agonized one she had made when Tarrlok had actually bloodbent her. Right now, Korra could not even tell the difference between past and present, but even Tarrlok was disturbed. Korra's cry of pain was unsettling enough, but to see her suddenly floored by this flashback made it clear to him that he had just triggered something very unpleasant.
Korra came to a moment later as City Hall melted away, revealing the silent attic of Air Temple Island. The only real difference was that Korra was on her hands and knees, sweating and gasping for breath as if she had just run from Gaoling to Ba Sing Se in an hour.
"That was… something." Tarrlok muttered.
"YOU DID THIS TO ME!" Korra screamed, her eyes flashing as a swirling blue flame appeared around her now-balled right fist, "I'LL KILL YOU WHERE YOU STAND!"
"Go ahead." Tarrlok sat down and hung his head in defeat. Korra had expected more spiteful words; more cutting remarks aimed at tearing down her languishing confidence which grappled against formidable jabs at her struggling mental health and well-being. She actually gave pause, even if she didn't fully leave the Avatar State just yet.
"You're… not here to hurt me?" she lowered her arm, the flame dissipating.
"I'm devoid of any bending and behind bars," he frowned. "Nothing I can do can hurt you now, child. You need not fear me."
"There way many ways to hurt someone without ever even touching them physically," Korra warned, "What you said just a moment ago triggered some of the memories of that horrifying night at City Hall…"
"And I look back at that moment with nothing beyond shame," Tarrlok admitted, "but I'm not here to tell you my sob story."
"Why are you here then?" Korra wasn't sure what to feel at this point, and her eyes flickered and returned to normal, "What makes you so special to Amon?"
"Now that... I do have an answer to." Tarrlok grimaced, noticing that Korra had fallen completely silent and given him her undivided attention.
"...I am his brother."