Zaheer walks out of the room with the pesky firebender over his shoulder. He drops her into a nearby pit with tall uneven walls. The ugly sound of her body contacting with the ground doesn't faze him.
The airbender looks over to Ghazan, "are you going to be able to fulfill your duties?" his tone is cold.
The man in question rubs a thick green liquid over the burn on his face. He nods curtly. The flame barely grazed him – and thankfully missed his eye. He'd rather take the precaution of applying the healing ointment, than risk infection. He wishes now more than ever that Ming Hua knew how to heal people. It would've added immensely to their group's power. "Zaheer, that girl is a Yamada, of the Yamada family in Republic City."
"And?" he responds dryly.
"Well, she's from a prominent family. Maybe we could send the nobles a message?"
Zaheer scoffs through his nose. "That doesn't have the direct impact we're looking for. I don't want to intimidate the forces-that-be into creating a new world order. It's purely about a cleansing. Only true chaos can bring us to our natural state."
Ghazan looks down for a moment in contemplation, then nods gently before acquiescing.
"Now, let's get to work," the bald airbender states. "P'Li, keep an eye on that firebender. She's causing a bit of trouble."
The woman turns to stand at the edge of the pit and looks down at the wretched creature below.
Zaheer enters the room where Korra is being held. He walks closer, noting that she already had sensed his presence. He reaches out to press down on the table she's strapped to, and it tilts seamlessly. It sends Korra's feet down towards the ground and shifts her into a standing position. "I hope you can understand Avatar Korra that this is only for protection." His hand vaguely gestures to the tight jacket, leather straps and mask covering her mouth. "You see, we weren't sure how receptive you'd be at this impromptu meet-up."
She scoffs at the audacity. "Yeah, right. How 'bout you release me and see how things turn out for you?" Her eyes, full of indignant fury, shift quickly between Zaheer's own.
"I would be happy to do that, but knowing your strength, I feel it wise to start here and wait until the heat dies down." He walks towards a chair that's set up not far from her position and sits down. "I want to share a proposition with you, Avatar Korra."
The Avatar's brow furrows, not knowing what to expect. Zaheer is known for being a dangerous man, and his calm demeanor and easy-going pheromones throw off her judgement; regardless, her muscles all tense at the ready for any opportunity.
After a moment of silence, Zaheer takes his cue to continue. "We are the Red Lotus."
"Red lotus? Is that like the White Lotus?" she responds intrigued, but her eyes are furrowed in confusion.
Lin practically leaps out of the vehicle before her sister can put it in park. "Alright," she shouts to the officers surrounding her. "We'll ascend on cables and maintain at least 50 meters between ourselves. Get maximum range so that we can scan this thing from the outside! We'll converge and meet up at the top." The soldiers and Republic City police force need no further instruction as they all nod in response. A cacophony of zipping cable lines is heard across the mountain's face as everyone takes off.
The structure itself seems solid. Lin can't seem to detect any openings or tunnels. She too releases her cables and begins to ascend. As each foot plants before the next cable flies upwards she extends her earthbending into the rock beneath her feet. Nothing. Damnit! She grunts in frustration.
She's scaling very quickly and is already more than halfway up. She looks around to get a visual of her officers. They're all at least 75 meters below her. Another deep growl comes from her stomach. Aren't they taking this seriously?
A huff escapes her lungs as she decides to immediately let go of that idea. Of course they are. Yamada is one of their own, and Avatar Korra is of the upmost importance. She wouldn't question her officers on any other mission, it's not time to start now. She just needs to focus and stop getting in her head about everything.
There's no way in hell they're ever going to let these scumbags do anything to Korra. It's only a matter of time before they pick something up. This helps her refocus, and she decides to pay closer attention to her officers; because, as of right now, she's got no leads. Maybe the others will have more luck.
Her eyes scan around taking in each officer, but none of them seem to catch a whiff of anything. They're certainly all focused. She can tell by their body language. How could I ever question them? I'm a damn hormonal fool.
She's not far from the top, so she decides to scale it the rest of the way up. A big gust of wind pushes against her metal clad body as she stands at the plateau. She crouches down and takes in the entire southern side of the mountain.
Suyin gets to the top with a huff and swipes the hair out of her eyes. "Well, I wasn't able to locate anything within the mountain. There were a few dense spots, probably metals, but nothing loose or open."
"Same here. Damn!" Lin pounds her fist into the rock at her feet.
The matriarch switches her gaze from determined to concerned. "It'll be okay, Lin. We'll find them."
Lin rises and moves briskly past her sister. She may be aware that her police force is doing everything they can, but she knows one person that hasn't been taking her seriously. "This wouldn't have happened if you had listened to me about those bandits. I told you they were no good. And you had a traitor in your ranks, Su!"
"Hey," the woman responds offended. "I get that you're upset right now, but don't take this out on me. I know there's a traitor, and I am deeply hurt by it. I never would've –" her emotions catch in her throat. "I never would've suggested it if I had known."
The rage and frustration with her own inadequacy in finding the girls begins to boil over. "This is why I'm always bailing you out! You never think, Su. Always running around with whatever loon catches your attention."
"Hey!" Su's tone is demanding, and her sister's eyes snap to her. "This isn't like when we were kids. I've grown up, and I've changed. You can't keep holding grudges over things that happened decades ago!"
"I can do whatever I damn well please!" Lin slams her foot into the ground and earthbends a huge slab of the mountain erecting an entirely new structure near her body. But the weight of it is too much for the edge it's formed against, and the weight begins to reduce the integrity of the plateau. The women hear a familiar cracking sound they'd often recognize while training blindfolded with their mother. The sound of earth giving way and breaking apart. "Shit!" screams Lin.
The pair run further west up the plateau about 20 meters just before the large piece of rock breaks free and crashes down the mountain. Thankfully, it descends the opposite side of the officers, most of which have also made it to the top of the mountain.
The chunk of earth hits the northern side of the mountain, and all personnel could feel it beneath their feet. Lin and Su look at each other with concern. It was definitely big enough to draw attention to their efforts and it could backfire on them.
"No," Zaheer responds to Korra. "We are what the White Lotus was supposed to be," he begins to speak, but the mountain rumbles around them. It captivates their attention and derails the conversation as they both look upwards. Bits of gravel and dirt fall on top of Korra's head. As the dust begins to settle, one of his associates enters the room beckoning their leader to talk to him.
Korra keeps her eyes trained on them, wishing so badly that she can hear what they're saying. She's not sure how Yamada is doing, but according to that painful scream from earlier it can't be too good.
Zaheer walks out of the room, glancing momentarily at Korra before he leaves.
A dramatic groan comes from Korra as she tries to wriggle free. Unfortunately, it's to no avail. They really did a number on her. If only she could produce a flame without burning herself, she might be able to get out. But she's wrapped too tightly. There's practically no way out. This time she growls. I can't believe I let this happen. How could I be so unfocused to get myself kidnapped!?
Her thoughts immediately drift back to Yamada. That strong firebender has a lot of fight in her, so for her to make sounds like that she must be giving them hell. Korra just feels useless. They need to get out of here, but these assholes really came prepared.
A shadow comes from the opening of the room again as Zaheer walks back inside. "Where were we?"
"The Red Lotus. What is it?" Korra says frustratedly.
"Ah, yes. We are part of a secret society dedicated to restoring freedom to the world." He reclaims his seat. "The Red Lotus is what the White Lotus was intended to be. After the 100 year war its members came out of hiding and began to serve the Avatar, becoming nothing but glorified bodyguards serving corrupt nations. But a great man named Xai Bau broke from the White Lotus and began his own society."
"Wait, so why did you decide to take me when I was a kid?"
"That was Unalaq's idea."
"What?" Korra looks in disbelief. "My uncle was part of the Red Lotus?"
"I met your uncle when I was a teenager, just after joining the Red Lotus. We learned about Raava and Vaatu and how Avatar Wan foolishly severed them, disrupting the balance of the world forever."
"Avatar Wan wasn't foolish, he was trying to restore balance."
"He closed the portals, severing humans from spirits. Even you realized the error of his ways."
"So, all along, you and my uncle planned to use me to open the portals and release Vaatu. That's why you tried to take me as a kid?"
"Yes, and with members of the Red Lotus as your elemental masters, we could've taught you so much." The passion in his voice makes Korra queasy. He continues, "your responsibility is to the world Korra. Not just the whims of the people that raised you."
"Sounds like you wanted to brainwash me, so I'd do whatever you wanted."
"No, Korra. All I wanted was to show the Avatar a better path for the world."
"What makes your path the right one? If I am following the whims of the people that raised me, then what's the difference between them and you. I'd still be listening to what other people want."
"Do you really believe that the world being run by tyrannical queens and other moronic leaders is the best choice for the leadership of this world? It was one decision from the Firelord that nearly wiped out the entire Air Nation. True freedom will only be achieved when oppressive governments are torn down."
"So, you're suggesting we get rid of them? That would only send the world into chaos." Korra's beginning to get frustrated. This guy sure likes to think highly of himself.
"The only true order is disorder. The wise Guru Lahima, an airbender, once said: 'New growth cannot exist without first the destruction of the old.'"
Korra's eyes widen. She's torn between the reality of what his words are implying (death, destruction and disorder), and how people truly are living under the oppression of their governments. But she just can't justify killing people to get there. She decides to change tactics. "What did your little friend tell you when the cave rumbled?"
Zaheer just sneers at her. "It's your decision, Korra. Will you join us to fight for the freedom and wellbeing of all people, regardless of nation? Or are we going to have to do this another way?"
The sinking sensation she feels in her stomach at those words almost makes her sick.
"It seems some of the Zoufu scum was able to follow us up the mountain," Ghazan informs P'Li and Ming Hua.
The combustion bender nods, "Ming Hua, stay here while we go out to take care of the rodents. Zaheer will need as much time as he can get before everything's complete."
The waterbender nods and the pair run out in the opposite direction.
Ghazan faces the inner wall of the cave and can sense there's at least one bender on the other side of it. He grins as he begins to bend the rock into lava. It melts and swirls before Ghazan launches it outwards. The blood curdling scream from the poor soul on the other side is all he needs to confirm he hit his target.
The pair glance outside of the makeshift hole and look upwards to see what they're working with. Ghazan taps P'Li's shoulder and points in the direction of the remaining metalbenders traversing the face of the mountain.
The woman nods in affirmation and sends a blast out against the cliff. It explodes and the soldier she had been aiming at is hit directly. The sight is gruesome, but their odds for maintaining their hideout's secrecy are improving. She notices a few more across the way, but since she's already caused a commotion, many of them are scattering like spider-monkeys.
A few more explosions happen, but she barely contacts any of them. "Well, we lost the element of surprise," she says.
"Yeah, and if I try to lava bend it'll probably ruin the integrity of our hideout," Ghazan responds.
"Well, I can keep them at bay. Go warn Zaheer so he can hurry this up. We may need to leave soon."
He nods at her and leaves quickly.
P'Li maintains her eyes focused on the small bodies that reached the top, they seem to be contemplating on what to do next. She shoots another blast their way, morons are gathered all together in one location. She rolls her eyes.
The incoming blast causes them to create their own earthen shield, but she's able to explode through it easily enough. All she has to do is hold them off and keep them from approaching. Then, they should be able to make an escape soon.
I made sure not to open my eyes, and even though my body is in excruciating pain, I can't move to alleviate it without giving myself up. My teeth are grit tightly, but if I just heard that asshole guy correctly, then that means that Zaufu soldiers, and probably the Republic City officers, are here to get us. Thank Raava! I could almost cry that's such a relief. Maybe that means Lin will be here, too. Oh shit, she's going to think I'm a damn newbie for getting myself captured so easily. Stupid!
Some loud explosions ring out through the caverns and my heart drops for a moment. What the hell was that!? They have explosives on them? There's no way that came from Zaufu's soldiers. They wouldn't be so reckless. My thoughts seem to be nonstop until another boom, much closer to our location, drops a ton of small debris and dust. It hits my face, and I'm unable to keep myself from flinching.
"I saw that. Finally waking up, sleeping beauty?" the waterbender mocks.
I open my eyes immediately anticipating an attack, but she remains up at the top, composed. I turn my body to sit upright. Each joint groans as I move myself into a seated position. My ribs are in agony, and it's difficult to breathe. I know I'm not in the best shape, but in all honesty, it could be a lot worse. I doubt they gently laid me down here, I roll my eyes.
"What? Too tired?" she mocks again with her water tentacles at the ready.
I blow some of the hair out of my face. "Something like that."
"Yeah, well, won't matter much longer." The tips of her tentacles turn to blades of ice, but she doesn't make a move.
My eyes are trained on her as I attempt to detect any movement. She seems to be prepared, but not quick to start anything. "Why keep me alive? You have the Avatar. That's what you wanted isn't it?"
"Hmph," she scoffs. "It's always good to keep hostages for whenever you might need them."
That grates my nerves as I try to collect myself and prepare for whatever comes next; ironically, it happens to be that lava bender running past us down another corridor. "He's off in a hurry. You might want to go check it out?" It's weak but hey, whatever works, I guess.
Ming Hua's eyes never leave me. She's concentrated and focused. I'm actually impressed, and a little scared by the level of commitment and ability these bandits seem to possess.
Another blast rings out through the caves. It causes me to flinch as more debris falls down from above. This time there's larger pieces. That one was close. But I don't get it. Earthbenders would be bending through the rock to get into the mountain, not blasting their way through. My brain can't seem to comprehend what's going on , but I need to get out of here. I need to get to Avatar Korra.
I made up my mind. On the next blast I'll make my move.
When the moment finally arises, and the blast echoes through the cavern, I begin to move; but, before I can even get my limbs in motion from the signal from my brain, that damn lavabender comes back through. I halt everything, but she saw . I know she did.
The waterbender glares at me with scrutiny.
"Let's go," Ghazan says to her. "Zaheer isn't sure the Avatar will comply, so we're leaving."
When the waterbender turns to face him, I shift into my kata as I pull at the poles within my body. It takes only but a moment as I gather myself. I send a searing jolt through the air, and neither of them can dodge it in time. They turned towards me from reacting to my initial movement, but that's about as much as they could manage. The water she was bending also made it much worse for them both as the conductor carried the electricity through their bodies.
The smell was awful, but with my heatbending I can tell they are still alive. I'd finish them off, but there's no way I'm going to be by myself for very long. I was lucky enough to pull that off, but I need to get the Avatar and run.
The lava bender went and came from that direction to inform Zaheer, and he's been with Avatar Korra since I've been conscious. She must be that way. I look around and thankfully see a ledge that I can reach with my one good arm. I'll just have to use my bending for leverage. As I pull up with my arm, my ribs scorch my body with searing pain. I fall to the ground and cough out air. It's unbearable.
I eventually slow my breathing back to normal and decide to give it another shot. I inhaled and held my breath while I used fire at my feet for some momentum. The pressure built up from holding my breath was enough to stave off some of the worst of the pain, but as I reach for the top to pull myself out, all the air leaves my lungs as I cry out in pain and fall helplessly to the ground.
My luck has run out, and I'm writhing in pain. Suddenly, the rock wall that's directly above me, outside of the pit, breaks away, and rubble and debris shatters all around me. I raise my hand to protect my face, but some rock hits me anyways. Damnit! If I take one more blow, I'm not sure how much longer I can hold out.
As I attempt to compose myself the dust clears and several Metal Clan guards rush in. Upon observation they notice that I'm down in the pit. I'm assuming they see my uniform and recognize it quickly, because nobody attempts to fight or threaten me.
"Yamada," a loud whispered command comes from above me. I recognize the voice immediately. It's husky and is easily recognizable. I make my way over to her.
Captain Kuvira glances down at the ground and sees the two bodies lying there. "Nice work where is Avatar Korra?" as she's asking, her and another guard lower down into the pit to get me out.
"I'm pretty sure she's just down this way, but she's being held with their leader Zaheer. There's another woman just down that direction as well."
"We know, she's been shooting these blasts from her face. It's a projectile form of bending I've never seen before." The captain keeps her soldiers close as we gather at the top.
There's only five of us total.
"Is everything okay? There's not many of you." I noted out loud.
Captain Kuvira's brow furrows as she nods curtly. "That firebender took more than a few of us out. It also seems that one of them can use lava."
"Oh yeah, it's that scumbag over there on the floor." I point in the direction behind me.
The metalbender is clearly doing her best to remain composed. "With the caliper of bender's we're dealing with, it's best if we can get in and get out. There's no need to try to take them out on our own. It's too dangerous. There's only so much time before that blasting bender realizes that our party shrunk by half."
"Where is Lin? …and Suyin?" my voice comes out a little panicked as I realize that the Chief might be out on the face of the mountain receiving blasts from that firebender. Even as the thought arises another boom echoes through the rock. I duck and brace myself for more debris.
When the captain composes herself, she looks at me for a moment before she responds "they're on the complete opposite side of the valley. We found someone with intel that led us in that direction. But Suyin directed us to take this side in case it was bogus. That's also why we're limited on manpower. Now, we need to get out of here and stop risking the time we have."
The pheromones and the direct order that reverberates from her chest sends a heat through my body. Chills run up my spine. "She's this way," I say and point at the same time.
Captain Kuvira makes a few motions with her hands to her team, and we slowly start making our way down the hall. Another blast echoes as we move. There's hardly any light, so the miniscule rays coming from down the hall help guide our eyesight.
A man's voice, probably Zaheer, and Avatar Korra's muffled tones converse in a nearby room. It sounds strange, like she's speaking through a barrier.
As we approach the lit room with no door, Captain Kuvira halts the squad but continues to quietly advance on her own. The angle of the doorway lines up so we can all practically see inside. Korra is tied up in a wild contraption. She's completely immobilized. It causes a swirl of disgust to run through my stomach.
Another boom rings out. "See, Korra," Zaheer asks tauntingly. "There's only one way. And it's chaos."
"You're killing people for an idea, that's completely insane!" her voice is stressed and strained with emotion as we all listen in.
"I'm disappointed Korra. Really, I am. I was hoping it wouldn't come to this. But your fate has been sealed." Zaheer reaches for something on the table next to Korra. It looks like there's multiple syringes with a shiny liquid inside them.
Then, I notice that Captain Kuvira raises her hand. Not to signal any immediate movement, but to communicate something. I can't understand her hand gestures, they're not like the ones I've seen used in the police force. Before I know what's about to happen, Zaheer has his hand on a syringe, and Kuvira is counting down from three…
…Two…
…One.
The next few moments rush by in a blur. Kuvira earthbends a slab of rock at the unsuspecting Zaheer. She launches the man and the rock directly at the opposite wall of the cave creating an ugly crunch sound. I feel a moment of satisfaction from the awful treatment I endured.
Then, one of the soldiers grabs my shoulders and guides me into the room. The other two soldiers grab Avatar Korra's cage before all six of us are earthbent into the ground.
There's rock shifting like sand, and it feels like a freefall. The only thing I can focus on are the two different hands gripped around my waist. The darkness is shocking, but I don't dare open my eyes as we traverse through the ground.
Suddenly, our direction of momentum shifts, and my backside collides with a sturdy body just behind me. That's when I hear the captain reassuring me, "we're almost out. Hold on."
The ground is solid beneath our feet now as we're propelled forward. My arms are wrapped around and gripping the ones at my waist, giving me something to barely hold onto.
"Brace yourself," the metalbender says before the sunlight hits us in the face.
There's two metalbenders holding onto Avatar Korra and two more are bending the earthen platform beneath our feet. It glides us down the outer face of the mountain.
The air whips my hair into my face, and I release one of my hands to block it, but the metalbending captain rotates me within her arms and helps shield me from the onslaught. Her sturdy frame also keeps me balanced so I don't fall off while we ride down.
My stomach feels like it's in my ass at this point. Everything is so overwhelming, but I remain upright until we reach the base of the mountain.
When everything stops moving, I push myself away from the captain and crawl down onto the floor before dry heaving. I spit the weird acid taste out of my mouth, and Captain Kuvira helps grab me up again.
"Shit," I grimace as the pain in my arm and chest sear through me. "That was crazy," I say when the oxygen fills up my lungs again.
"Yeah," Kuvira says with an assured and confident smile. "Are you alright?" she asks while looking me over for any bleeding no doubt.
"Yeah, I'm not dead, so" my words taper off, and we stay like that for the briefest of moments. I laugh in relief, and she catches onto my sincerity.
"Can someone get me outa here?" Avatar Korra whines from the spot near us.
The metalbending captain approaches her and easily metalbends the locks right off. "Good thing they didn't use platinum."
"Yeah, I don't think that's in their budget, especially given their last minute hideout" the Avatar snarks. "We need to get back to Zaufu. I have a lot of information to relay."
The captain nods curtly.
"Thank you so much Kuvira," the Avatar states sincerely. "You're amazing. Seriously, thank you."
"It's my duty, Avatar." The woman shakes Korra's hand and then walks away to check on her other officers.
The Avatar rushes to me right after and reaches her hands out as if to hug me. She stops early, though. Probably due to the state of my appearance. "Yamada, are you okay?" she asks as she decides on simply placing her hand on my left arm. It must not be very good, because she looks deeply concerned.
"I-I'll be alright." Now that the adrenaline is slowly wearing off, my chest feels painful when I breathe, and my right shoulder hurts like a bitch.
We overhear the captain on her raidio, "Chief Beifong, Suyin, can you hear me?" she pauses for a moment for a response, but doesn't get one. The metalbender sighs. "We must have bad range with the height of these mountains. We need to get to safety. It's only a matter of time before they realize we got out."
"Wait," I said, "what about your other metalbenders that are dealing with that firebender?"
"They should've descended and gotten to safety. I earthbent out a signal through the top of the mountain just as we sank through the floor. It also helped propel us downwards."
"Brilliant," I say and laugh in amazement.
Avatar Korra looks at me and then looks back at the metalbender. "Yeah, Kuvira that's amazing. But how do we get back? I have no idea where we are."
I sense some tension between Korra and Kuvira but given the situation it makes sense. They're both alphas, and when it comes to deciding who's taking the lead there can be some urges to fight. Surprisingly, they're both doing quite well.
"We're down here at the base of the mountain, just cusping into the valley," Captain Kuvira pulls out a laminated map and places it on a makeshift table that she earthbends from the ground. She points to it, "looks like we're not far from the others. Should we meet up with them first, or try to make it back to Zaufu?" The captain looks to the Avatar as we each assess the map.
"Damnit, Suyin. We've got nothing! That traitorous moron gave us bad intel." Lin says it as though she's at her wits end.
"Knock it off," Suyin responds, and her older sister looks at her with a fiery blaze. "This isn't like you, Lin. You're tough as nails, and I've never seen you admit defeat. We just lost the trail, alright? Why don't we link up with Kuvira on the other side. I've also been concerned about those sounds echoing in the distance. They're not consistent with any mining equipment that I know of. It could be something. Radio her."
Suyin's confident tone instills some strength back into Lin's spine. With a new direction to follow, Lin is on it and determined to get more answers. This isn't the end, she tells herself. The Chief picks up the radio from the utility belt full of gear she's been carrying. "Kuvira, come in Captain Kuvira."
All she receives is static.
She tries again, "Kuvira, do you copy, over?"
More static.
"This is Chief Beifong to base, do you read me?" her hand grips the radio a bit tighter.
"We read you Chief," Mako's voice comes over the radio loud and clear.
"Have you heard anything from the other unit on the eastern ridge?"
"Negative, Chief. But we did have an officer notice some activity. It's just too far to visually tell what it could be. We couldn't make it out even with a scope."
Lin's blood runs cold. Her gut is telling her that's where they are. It must be. She looks over to her sister and the younger woman immediately knows.
"Alright everyone," Suyin announces to her guards, "let's make our way down towards the center of the valley and see if we can meet up with the second team. It looks like they may have gotten into some trouble. Stick together in teams of four. Nobody gets left behind!"
On that note, the sisters leap off the edge of the cliff and begin to descend followed by a blitz of metalbenders.
I keep trying to stick it out as we rush to get to some cover, but my body is so angry at what's been done to it. Every movement feels like an expense of energy I just don't have.
I stumble, and strong arms grab me preventing me from fumbling to the ground. "Shit, thanks." I say a little breathless as I look up into emerald eyes.
"Do you need me to assist you?" the captain asks.
Blood flushes my face and I push her off, "don't start with me Cap. I'll be alright. Just need some water."
As if materializing out of nowhere, she offers me a flask. "It not much, but it should help."
The metalbender's pheromones are a bit screwy. I can't tell what they mean. As an alpha she really knows how to conceal herself and her intentions. Nonetheless, I take it from her and drink from it heartily. I can't spare any cares to the fact that it's also running down my jaw and throat. It feels like a balm caressing my skin.
The alpha clears her throat, "better?" she asks earnestly.
"Much, thank you." I hand back the small tin, and we all continue walking.
"We've almost reached the center of the valley," Avatar Korra says as she looks over her shoulder.
I offer a wave of acknowledgement, then turn my attention back to the metalbending alpha. "Aren't you worried a waterbender will detect that water and use it on you?" I ask the captain.
She laughs through her nose. "No," she says confidently. "The grip I have on the metal of the container is enough to counter any waterbender's ability to manipulate the water inside of it." She says it with her chin held high. She continues to do this thing where she reaches out to me as we come up to some obstacles.
I scoff at the gesture and continue walking on my own.
As we get closer to the most vulnerable part of the clearing, the metalbenders keep a watchful eye on the landscape above us. The bandits having the higher ground is an extreme disadvantage for us. Thankfully, they're doing all the hard work, so that I can focus on just walking my happy ass back.
"- can any – me?" The radio sparks suddenly to life, and we all turn to the captain. She takes it off her shoulder and listens intently. It crackles to life again, "can any – he – me? Cap – Vira?"
The metalbender's eyes widen as she recognizes the voice.
"That's Mako," the Avatar says brightly.
The metalbending officer takes off sprinting further towards the center, probably to get better reception. She gets about 20 meters in front of us.
"Captain, look out!" one of the metalbenders cries out as he earthbends a wall that blocks Kuvira's back right side. Right after, a blast cuts through the structure.
Captain Kuvira gets launched several meters to the side from the impact, but thankfully it wasn't a direct hit. Then, the rest of us run to her aid.
I look up towards the mountain and catch a glimpse of the firebender raining down more explosions.
Suyin and Lin approach the base of the western ridge as a blast goes off about 200 meters away in the center of the valley. The pair see a body flying from its impact. Su gasps as she watches the metal clan guard's body crash, and the rest of the team bending protection around them.
The matriarch launches herself towards the battle at hand and towards her people.
Lin follows closely behind.
Avatar Korra turns towards the onslaught, and she takes off with her airbending to get closer to the attacker.
I scream after her, "Avatar! Don't let them separate us!" My voice comes out painfully raw even after drinking that water, and I also forgot how painful my ribs were.
Korra hears my words as she turns her head, but she keeps on moving. "I hope she knows what she's doing." I say as I lean down over Kuvira. She's taken quite a bit of damage.
The metal clan captain growls and pushes me off her. She rushes to stand so that she can get into a better position. "Get behind me," she barks out. I do as I'm told, but only because I'm really in no shape to fight, and at this point I'd just be a hindrance. I hate feeling so damn weak, but this is the best advantage for our team.
Avatar Korra gets closer to the face of the mountain. She must be trying to stop the woman from attacking us, but I wish her tactic wasn't so reckless. To be fair, we don't really have the best long-range attacks. Korra's close enough now, and I can see her launching boulders towards the woman's perch. She ends up getting really close, but the firebender is able to dodge it.
"Kuvira!" comes a loud cry from behind us.
I whip my head over my shoulder to the right and see Suyin leaping in our direction. I also notice how Kuvira's body stiffens at the sound and whips her head around as well.
"Shit, not now." The metalbending captain says.
Suyin finally hits the ground next to us and reaches for Kuvira's jaw and shoulder to personally check her. It's an intimate embrace, but before it can linger too long, the firebender sends another blast. Kuvira places up another wall after the one near them is blown to bits, and this time Suyin uses her strength to reinforce it with more dirt and rock.
Suddenly, another metal clad body lands near our group. As I look up to meet the face, I see a familiar scar on the alpha that stands before me. Her scent is off, but I can't place it. I look over her body, but she seems to be perfectly intact. She hasn't taken any damage.
My eyes wander back up to her face, and I watch as it shifts to pure rage. Her own eyes glance over my figure. The Chief's hand reaches out momentarily, but she doesn't allow it to extend towards me. Her body language is stiff and restrained.
All I feel in the moment is that my body wants to fall to pieces in her presence. Just letting go and no longer keeping it all together . I just want to melt, but then another explosion happens, and Lin's knocked out of the daze she's been fighting. Her eyes feverishly scan the mountainside until she spots the woman causing all this damage.
"Korra!" Lin yells before she launches herself into battle.
I turn and my eyes follow her figure. I'm locked on, but my body wants to stop her in her tracks.
"Suyin, stay here where I can protect you!" Kuvira's voice pulls my attention back to my immediate surroundings. She yells it between blasts, but the older woman lets go of her hand with a tinge of regret on her face and takes off after Lin.
The sisters advance towards the mountain, and their team of metalbenders finally make it us. The weak structure that's in place for protecting us is in shambles, but the unphased officers build an even stronger structure.
When the support team arrives is when my body decides it's done. I collapse to the ground as Captain Kuvira runs to my side. She calls out to one of our medical officers to attend me. The waterbender begins to work her magic on some of the heftier wounds, like my ribs, and I already begin to feel ten times better. Unfortunately, all I can think of is the Chief's face and the anger she exuded. She's got to be so disappointed in me…
Lin makes her way closer to Korra so that she can back her up. Fucking numbskull is gonna get herself killed! She growls audibly as she lands. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
Korra deadpans at the chief's unexpected entrance. "Well, obviously I'm trying to get close enough to stop her or at least draw her fire."
"Okay, but you're their key target. You need to be careful. Is this the only one we can get eyes on?"
"Yea! Kuvira slammed Zaheer with a huge rock wall. He's got to be down for the count, and then, I'm pretty sure Yamada said she took out the other two."
Lin's eyes widen at that, "no wonder why she looks so bad."
"Yeah," Korra says downcast. "Kuvira pulled the troops that were distracting the firebender during the rescue. She must've walked through the scene we left of her buddies and wants blood. Nobody was dead as far as I understand, but it wasn't good."
"Alright," Lin attempts to speak when another boom sounds off in the distance. "Damnit! I don't want her splitting us up. We're weaker if we're alone. We need to get back and regroup."
Suyin finally lands next to the pair but was close enough to hear Lin's last remark. "I agree." The younger sister reminds herself of how her misjudgment of this group's threat level is what led to Korra getting kidnapped in the first place. "We have too many wounded. And it's possible she's out here just to distract us while the others get away."
"But I need to know it's finished!" Korra barks in frustration.
Lin growls at the young alpha's bravado, but she's also equally impressed. "Alright! But we do this my way. Got it? And I'm not approving any further attempts at the criminals left in the mountain. Su's right, they could be gone, or regrouping. There's no sense in risking ourselves to recapture."
Korra's brow furrows in disappointment, but she nods in agreement.
"Suyin, you scale up the face just over there, so you're out of view. I'll distract her while you take her out."
"What about me?" Korra asks.
Lin rolls her eyes. "Dammit kid, you don't always have to sacrifice yourself."
"Neither do you." Worry crosses Korra's face as she recollects Lin sacrificing her own bending to protect Tenzin and his family.
Lin sighs as the firebender sends another blast. "Fine! We'll both scale up and distract her, but we need to keep her attention off Su."
The dead seriousness of the matter strikes Korra to her core, and she nods eagerly.
The pair begin to traverse the left side of the face from underneath the firebender's position while Suyin goes up the right. Su's path of travel is more calculated than the other two. She keeps her eye on the nooks and crannies she can hide behind while Korra rides up on her air scooter, and Lin bounds up the mountain's face.
I'm laying on the ground while the waterbender gives me a sling for my arm, then I begin to notice that the explosions are occurring much further away. Suddenly, I remember Lin, Korra and Suyin are much closer to her. A blade of panic slices through my body, and I ditch the waterbender to stand next to Kuvira.
We both watch closely as the combustion bender shifts her focus between Korra and Lin.
"I can't see Suyin. Where is she?" I ask the captain.
"There," she says as she points to a small dark sliver between the stone.
My eyes wander back to the firebender to realize she hasn't looked over at Su yet. "They're drawing her fire?"
"Yes," Kuvira states simply.
My heart sinks as I watch the Chief propel herself up and outwards far from the face of the mountain. It looks so reckless, but her cables move and twitch quickly. My heart pounds in my chest as I bare witness to this madness.
Korra's scooter rides up past Lin, which draws the fire back to her. She's able to dodge it easily.
While the firebender is still distracted, I notice Suyin isn't in the same place I last saw her.
Kuvira catches on to my confusion and points out where she is. There's another small sliver of black much further up the mountain.
I watch the firebender as she rears up for her next shot. She's staring right at Lin. I can tell she's waiting. She's waiting for the peak of her swing just before she launches another cable.
The fire in my stomach blazes to life and I go to cry out, but before I can warn her, Suyin launches her metal armor and bends it around the woman's head. The trap creates a implosion and the woman's body falls limp down the mountain.
I look on in horror as a racking sob of relief rushes through me. I fall over once again, because the pain in my ribs brings me to my knees.
Kuvira reaches out a hand to my shoulder and squeezes it from where she stands.
The three of them finally make it back to the group. Lin does everything within her power to keep herself from doing anything but watch on as Yamada receives further treatment.
As soon as the triaging officer lets Lin know that the wounded are stable enough to transport, they all leave as quickly as possible. The chief had radioed Mako to send them some back-up before they had reached the center of the valley. She directed him to locate the unit around the largest bend of the mountain for concealment, so that's where they're heading.
They grab the wounded and use their cables to traverse the final 250 meters to the pickup point.
Kuvira reaches for Yamada to take her hand, which she accepts eagerly. The captain carries the wounded firebender with the assistance of another soldier. Thankfully, it ends up being uneventful as no further attacks come from the Red Lotus.
The painful look on Yamada's face makes the Chief's alpha roar, but she ignores its' pleas entirely and presses on.
The entire city of Zaufu is set on lock down after they get back to prevent any of those lunatics from entering again.
A/N
Okay so there was quite a bit of dialogue you may have recognized between Zaheer and Korra. I did take it from S3 E19 the stakeout. I really wanted to make sure I got their motivation down well enough and made it canon. But I don't own any rights, or plan on making anything off this, so honesty is the best policy. Also, welcome back! I do apologize for my tardiness, but thus is life I suppose. Thank you for returning, friends.
