Chapter 25
"Get ready, Republic City," Bolin said, deepening his voice to sound mysterious as he, Mako and Korra met at the docks, Naga being guided along with her. Flexing his bicep, he patted it, stating, "You are about to be patrolled by Team Avatar."
The three turned to Asami as she walked up with her racing gear on, and Mako smiled as he complimented her. "Asami, you always know how to accessorize your outfits."
"I figure one way to fight Equalists, is to use an Equalist weapon," she said, showing off the Gauntlet she'd taken from her father the previous night.
"All right. Let's ride," Korra said as she climbed onto her Polar Bear Dog, followed by Asami and then Mako.
"Naga, away!" Bolin cheered as he heaved himself up as well, however, much to their dismay, they were all immediately thrown off as Naga slumped forward and threw them from her back.
"All right, scratch that," Korra said, looking to her friends while holding her head. "Any other ideas?"
"Hmm," Asami thought as she got to her feet and brought a hand up to her chin. A smile came to her face as she said, "I think I have the answer. You still got the keys you took from the kids?"
The engine roared as Asami turned the lights on and revved it, the lights coming to life. Hitting the gas, the tired screeched before she came shooting out of the garage and skirting to a stop in front of her friends.
"You think this'll do?" She smirked, receiving smiles from everyone as they all piled in.
Mako was quick to grab the front seat, stating, "I like the New Team Avatar style," as Korra and Bolin grinned from the backseat. Taking that as her cue, Asami put the car into gear, and sped off, taking them toward the city.
Team Avatar drove through the city, eyes vigilant for any signs of Equalist or shady behavior, but so far, they'd yet to find anything.
"Unit 216?" They heard coming from the radio, though none of them seemed to pay it any mind. "Cancel that 1058 at Harmony Tower. Come back to the Station. Over."
"My dad had police scanner installed in all of his cars. I guess now I know why," Asami commented, disappointment in her voice.
"Calling all units, Level Four alert," The dispatcher said, immediately grabbing their attention. "Jailbreak at headquarters. Officers down, electrocuted. Chi-blockers and Equalist convicts are still at large, armed and dangerous. Last seen heading East."
The Team seemed to have hit the jackpot as the very runaway convicts sped past them, nearly hitting them at the cross section. The metal prisoner truck was guided down the street by two Chi-blockers on motorcycles, as well as two more that followed behind.
"Chi-blockers!" Bolin called out as they came to a stop to avoid a crash.
"That's them!" Mako chimed in as well.
"Let's get'em!" Korra declared as Asami quickly shifted gears once more and sped around the corner in hot pursuit. The truck barreled down the road, forcing two on coming cars to swerve out of the way, but this did nothing to deter Asami from keeping up. Continuing the chase, they watched as the Equalist cut off a truck as it began to enter another cross section, forcing the driver to hit the brakes.
"Korra, Bolin! Gimme a ramp, now!" Asami called over her shoulder. The two stood in their seats, each leaning out one side of the car to swing their arms under and up, creating a ramp that immediately sent them flying over the truck, never losing speed for a second.
"WHOA!" They cried out before landing and swerving to right themselves. Seeing his chance, Mako stood to point his middle and index finger at one of the bikes before shooting out the back tire with a flash of lightning. The bike lost its momentum almost immediately and the rider was sent spinning and crashing as Team Avatar drove past.
Following his brother's lead, Bolin was quick to stand and lean out the side before repeatedly throwing his hands sideways. A flurry of stones came up from the ground, darting through the air as he attempted to take out another bike. Striking the wheel of one, the Chi-Blocker attempted to keep moving on just their front tire, but soon wiped out as they narrowly avoided becoming a speed bump thanks to Asami's quick reflexes.
The two remaining Chi-Blockers pressed a button on their handlebars, releasing a smoke screen from the tailpipes. They began crossing each other, hoping to spread the smoke quicker to escape Team Avatar as they drew closer to the truck, though they were unable to as Asami adjusted her goggles, keeping the smoke from her vision.
"Help me out; we've gotta make this turn," she said as she watched the truck and the Chi-Blockers make a hard right. Standing to her feet, Korra opened her eyes just enough to see the turn and quickly bent a curve in the road for the car to ride on, successfully turning. Getting closer, Asami said, "They don't know we made the turn…ok, get ready…"
With one last shift of the gear, she pushed down on the pedal, speeding up and crashing into both bikes to send them flying. Unfortunately, the two Chi-Blockers were able to rebound on the hood, prompting Mako to stand. Throwing a fireball at the first one, Mako's fist was caught as it was tied in a boa, as was the second that followed.
The second Chi-Blocker had, to their dismay, flipped into the car, standing between the four teens. Bolin prepared to assist his brother but was quickly met with repeated jabs to his shoulders and arm, completely blocking his chi.
"Oof! Aagh!" he cried out as he fell back into his seat, gripping his shoulder. Seeing her chance, Asami grabbed the distracted fighter by the ankle with her gauntlet and immediately electrocuted her. The girl groaned in pain before falling over unconscious in the back between Korra and Bolin.
Mako groaned as the man tried to pull him upward from the cabin by his wrist, but Korra wouldn't have it. Grabbing her friend by the shoulders, she yanked hard and brought both men down, Mako finding himself in the back seat now, while the Chi-Blocker fell across the window. As half his body hung in the open seat, he gave a cry of pain as well when Asami's glove made contact with him as well.
After freeing his wrists, Mako made quick work to toss both Chi-Blockers into the road behind them before leaping back into his seat in the front. Getting into position, Mako charged his fingers before releasing another flash of lightning right into the cabin of the truck as Asami pulled up to the right of it. The shot hit its mark, knocking the driver out immediately and causing the truck to spin out as it tried to skid to a halt, but soon turned over on its side before crashing into a light pole.
As their car came to a screeching halt, Team Avatar jumped from it and rushed over to the truck to finish catching them. It didn't take long for the police and reporters to show up, and before they knew it, the four were posing for pictures as they looked down at the eight criminals they'd apprehended.
Two police cars rounded the corner, coming to a stop behind them as Tarrlok hopped from one and began stomping over to them. Korra saw the man and immediately smirked in satisfaction. Time to show him.
"Avatar Korra, what do you think you're doing?" Tarrlok asked irritably while four of his taskforce Police officers began to round up the criminals.
"Oh, hey, Tarrlok. Nice of you to show up, finally," Korra said as she placed her hands on her hips. "Here, we captured the escaped convicts for you."
"What you did was tear up the city and impede the real authorities in their pursuit of these criminals," he replied disdainfully.
"Hmm, that's funny. I didn't see your little taskforce OR the cops the whole time," she mocked, placing a finger to her chin as she pretended to think about it. Crossing her arms, she added, "If it wasn't for Team Avatar, they would have gotten away."
"This is your last warning," Tarrlok threatened as he pointed a finger at her. "Stay out of my way."
Korra continued to smirk victoriously as she watched him turn and walk away in a huff while her friends walked up to her, matching victory looks on them as well.
Mai-Ling kept her gaze to the floor, refusing to look him in the face as he stood over her. There was a small trail of blood in the corner of her mouth, no doubt a result of trying to bite one of the guards, but there was nothing he could do about it.
"Those restraints wouldn't be necessary if you'd just behave yourself," he said, frowning at his niece. Mai-Ling continued to remain silent, angry narrowed eyes pointed away from him. Hiroshi was honest in that; Amon had only agreed upon this arrangement if she were chi-blocked and restrained. To no surprise, she wasn't particularly cooperative, resulting in her injury.
Hiroshi grabbed her chin, forcing her to look up at him as he narrowed his own eyes at her. "You will look at me when I'm speaking to you, young lady." Mai-Ling yanked her face free from his hand, but did as she was told, glaring at him. "You should be thanking me. Unlike the rest of those people, Amon is still offering a chance for you and your cousin to join us thanks to all my work."
"And all it would cost me is my bending," she mumbled before raising her voice and stating, "As if I'd ever join you."
"After everything I've done for you, this is the thanks I get?" he said with a shake of his head. Turning, he made his way back to the door, opening it to address the two Chi-Blockers waiting outside. "It appears she needs more time to think. Return her to the cell with the other two. We'll try again when Amon returns."
Mai-Ling's stomach dropped at the thinly vailed threat her uncle had laid but said nothing as the two Chi-Blockers came into the office she'd been dragged into and waited for her to stand. The chains around her wrists felt heavy as she stood, so she let her limbs hang to deliberately drag them across the ground. Making sure to take her time while walking, she only on the scrapping but made sure to stop and give her uncle one last look of disdain before allowing herself to be led away.
Neither of her guards said anything as she trailed behind them, clearly not worried she would try to escape. She had contemplated it, but without a real plan, she'd just end up getting beaten again, and likely end up like the Police officers in the cages they walked past. Bendingless. Which she knew she couldn't do.
The guards came to a stop at one of the cells, one pulling out a key to it while the other said, "Back in your cage, and don't make any more trouble, got it?"
Mai-Ling said nothing, glaring at him in hatred as she made no motion to move forward. The Chi-Blocker was annoyed by this and proceeded to grab the chain linking her cuffs to drag her into the opening. Tossing her into the cell, he paid no attention to her as she tripped and fell forward onto the floor while his partner slammed and locked the door before the two walked away.
Mai-Ling held her head down as her shoulders shook, a few sobs coming from her while Sota knelt next to her.
"Hey," he said quietly, bringing his own chained hands up to her face. Mai-Ling looked at him, sadness and anger on her face, but said nothing as he wiped a few away and began to bend it. The water gave a small glow as it spun around before he lightly pressed it to the side of her lip where the blood had dried. The spot glowed for a moment before the injury faded away as if it had never been there.
"Thank you," she said quietly. He nodded, helping her to her feet before the two sat on one of the two benches in the cell. "You know you probably wasted that water, right?"
"It wouldn't make a difference," He reassured her.
"He's right," Essa said as she rested on the opposite bench. Her Lotus cloak lay discarded on the floor nearby as she'd given it to the two kids to use as a blanket while her helmet rested in the corner. "We'd need a lot more water than that to use for any kind of escape plan."
"I doubt they plan to give either of you any before…" Mai-Ling couldn't even finish the sentence, the thought alone being enough to scare her. She leaned her head to the side, resting it on Sota's shoulder. "I couldn't even look at my uncle. He wants me to reconsider his offer, but there's no way I would ever do that."
"You won't have to. We'll figure out a way out of here, before that can happen," Sota encouraged, though he was just as scared if he were being honest. "Your Firebending might be just the edge we need, and after what you did back at the Estate, I'm sure we'll figure out something."
Mai-Ling was quiet, and Essa could see a guilty look on her face. Instead of commenting on it, she watched as Mia-Ling sat up with gaze still to the floor. Sota was confused, worried that maybe his words hadn't been so helpful, but relaxed a bit as she turned to him with a sad smile.
"I wish all of that were true, Sota. But the fact is, I'm a terrible bender. Everything…" she paused, swallowing a lump in her throat. "Everything you saw back there…wasn't really me."
"I don't understand. What do you mean it wasn't you?"
"Have you ever heard of a condition called 'Dragon's Rage'?" she asked, receiving a gasp from Essa. The Sentry's eyes were wide as she stared at the younger girl, while Sota simply shook his head. Seeing Essa' response, Mai-Ling nodded, saying, "Essa certainly has."
"I've only heard stories," she admitted. "It was part of the curriculum to become a Sentry for the White Lotus, but I've never heard or read a case as young as you before."
"Hold on, back up," Sota said, looking back and forth between them. "What is 'Dragon's Rage'?"
"It's an extremely rare condition that only affects Firebenders," Jun explained as she knelt at the dining room table. After Jinora succeeded in calming her down, she escorted Jun back to her home, asking one of the Acolytes to brew them some tea. "So rare, in fact, that people in the Fire Nation don't even believe it's real."
"I suppose that would make some sense, but if there's proof of it being a medical condition, why wouldn't people believe it?" Jinora asked as the Acolyte finished pouring a cup of tea for each girl before setting the pot on the table and bowing as she exited the room.
"Because they've never seen anyone actually have it," Jun replied as Jinora passed her a cup from across the table. Gratefully accepting it, she took a sip, letting the warm cup rest in her hands for a moment. Her mind was tired, but she was wide awake now and knew she needed to get this off her chest. "When someone has been discovered to have Dragon's Rage, they usually disappear."
"Disappear how?" Jinora asked nervously, not sure she wanted to know.
"The rumors make it sound grimmer than it is, but that's because it all stems from the old ghost stories about where the condition came from. Have you ever heard of the Dragon Hunts?"
Jinora nodded. "Of course. Back before the One Hundred Year War, Firelord Sozin organized the first Dragon Hunt in an effort to assert power and those who were successful in slaying one were given the name "Dragon" as a show of power and strength."
"Well, legend has it that doing so upset the world and brought weird spiritual activity to the sites of where the dragons died. It's believed that anyone who's killed a dragon will eventually suffer from 'The Dragon's Rage'. Obviously, Mai-Ling couldn't have done that, but she does come from a family that had Firebendering ancestors…
"The belief was that you'd become a better Firebender, some saying up to 100-fold, and that it was a blessing. In reality, Dragon's Rage is a curse. Not enough is really known about the condition's effects, but what they do know is a person with Dragon's Rage has the ability to Firebender up to 10x their normal ability and output. The problem is it comes at the cost of the person's sanity."
"Their sanity? That sounds awful," Jinora commented, taking a drink from her own tea.
"Dragon's Rage makes the person easily agitated and susceptible to their own anger," Jun said sadly, thinking about her best friend. "If she gets too angry, she'll fly into a blind rage that can lead to her destroying anything and everything around her. She has no control and will go berserk."
"Poor Mai-Ling. When did she find out?"
"There was an incident 6 years ago. Mai-Ling and her family were visiting her grandmother on Ember Island, and she'd only been Firebending for about a year. One of her brothers, Rai-Ling, was trying to help teach her some of the forms she'd been begging to learn. Things got out of hand, and before they knew it, they were having a full-blown Agni Kai on the beach.
"I've never gotten the full details on the fight, but from what she remembers, Mai-Ling said she blacked out at some point when he was standing over her, and the next thing she knew, she was being held face down in the sand by her eldest brother. When she regained control, she saw Rai-Ling laying on the ground holding his left arm and shoulder, screaming in pain, and part of the house was burning as well. She's still hasn't forgiven herself for it and hasn't seen her brother since."
"Wait, she hasn't seen him? Do…they not talk to each other anymore?" Jinora asked, saddened at the thought.
Jun shook her head, finishing her tea and grabbing the pot to pour another cup. "He spent a few months recovering in the hospital, but she was long gone weeks before that. Neither asked to see the other while she was still there. He spent his time recovering and she spent hers getting checked up on and evaluated to see what was wrong with her to have caused it. Her parents thought it best to keep her on Ember Island as the doctors were already working on this cause, but Mai-Ling believes that they were trying to separate them so it wouldn't happen again."
"It's likely that they were," Tenzin said, surprising the two girls as he entered the room.
"Dad? What are you doing here?" Jinora asked.
"Apologies. The Acolytes has informed me of what happened earlier. Asami is away in the city with Korra and the boys, so I thought I might check up on you. How are you feeling?"
"Better now, thanks to Jinora," Jun said appreciatively as she smiled at the Airbender before addressing her father again. "You said it's likely they were trying to keep them separate. Does that mean you know more about Dragon's Rage?"
"Unfortunately, no. The condition's rarity makes it hard to study, but there have been cases where the Fire Nation has deemed someone too dangerous to stay with the general public after they were unable to keep themselves from having flare ups."
"Where do they send them?" Jinora asked.
"I'm afraid I don't know. The only one's privy to that information would be members of their family, the Fire Sages and the Firelords themselves. As far as I know, there have been no cases where they're seen again."
"Then that explains why she was sent to live with me," Jun said watching the steam come from her cup. "After finding out she had Dragon's Rage, her parents decided to have her stay with her grandma and attend her boarding school. She spent about a year there, but eventually had gotten fed up and begged them to let her come home."
"I spent weeks pleading with them, though it seemed like it was getting me nowhere," Mai-Ling said as she rested her chin on her knees. After she started her explanation, she pulled away from Sota, afraid he'd be terrified of her. However, much to her relief, he hadn't moved an inch, and was instead listening to her story with intense focus. "'We're sorry sweetheart, it's just too dangerous to have you and the boys in the house right now until we know more about your condition.' My mom told me that once. I know she didn't mean for it to feel this way, but it felt like she didn't see me as her daughter anymore; just a powder keg waiting to blow up."
"I'm so sorry," Sota said, rubbing her back as best he could with his chains. "I'm sure she had good intentions and didn't mean for it to sound that way."
"I know…it just hurts," she admitted. "Eventually, my dad had come up with a compromise; he said I couldn't come home yet but that he had a friend on the Police force out in Zaofu and offered to let me move there. He said it was only temporary until my brother left to start his military service and that once he was gone, I could move back home. So, I agreed and before I knew it, I was on my way to Zaofu and moving in with Jun.
"Back then, we weren't even friends yet as we'd never met before that, so I wasn't sure if she and I would get along. I actually got along with her twin sister, Jing, a lot more when we first met."
"Wait, Jun has a twin?" Sota asked, before grimacing. "Great, another one…"
"Jing is actually a lot more social than Jun was, but that seemed to work for the three of us because before long, we were inseparable. Jing had a habit of making anything she could a game because she was always competitive. Jun blames it on being the younger twin, but I can't really say for sure."
"It's 100% a younger twin thing," Essa said, shaking her head.
"Speaking from experience?" Sota joked.
"I once challenged Tula to a stewed sea-prune eating contest, knowing that it was one of her favorite foods and one of my least favorites. Needless to say, that was an embarrassing mess I had to clean up," she remembered with a shake of her head. "The competitiveness can get you into serious trouble."
"Yeah…I know…" Mai-Ling said sadly before continuing. "Things were fine until the accident."
"What accident?" Sot asked.
"Jing…. got into an altercation with another boy at the local hang out. It was well known in the city that kids and teens held their own Earth Rumbles, something that's frowned upon now because of how dangerous it would be, but for the most part, the adults let them do it so long as nothing illegal was happening and no one got seriously hurt.
"Jing used to tell us she wanted to grow up to be an Earthbending athlete, and we would go with her to the Rumbles to watch others fight. One day, when Jun was running late from her Metalbending practice, Jing and I were at the Rumble arena and ran into one of our classmates. He had a reputation for nearly putting all his opponents in the hospital, so I told Jing to not fight him. That didn't sit too well with him and after he shoved me to the ground, she accepted his fight.
"She was doing fine until he started going for dangerous shots, but as soon as he hit her in the head, I…I almost lost it, and would have if Jun hadn't shown up when she did. I'd never seen her so upset, and before I knew what was happening, she and this guy were tossing boulders at each other so hard, the audience had to flee.
"I got Jing outside, but before I could go back in and help Jun, the cave started to crumble and fell in on them. It didn't take long for the police and paramedics to show up after that. All the older kids were taken in for questions while the younger of us were rounded up to wait for our parents or guardians. Their dad was searching the rubble like a madman, and eventually, he'd found her."
"That must have been hard for him," Essa said, imagining any parent having to dig through what could have been their child's grave.
"When they found her, she was completely unconscious and near unresponsive. Her right arm…" Mai-Ling shuddered at the thought, making Sota and Essa's stomach drop as tears came to her eyes. "The doctors told her that if she hadn't been wearing the Platinum bands her parents had given her, she probably wouldn't still have that arm. The band was basically destroyed and it…it left behind some fragments inside her arm.
"The doctors worked as best they could without severing anything serious, but they said that there may always be a few pieces left behind that they can't retrieve. Because of this, Jun can't metalbend with her right hand without feeling immense pain. She says that every time she tries, it's like getting stabbed by a bunch of tiny needles that progressively gets worse. On top of that, they diagnosed her with Taphophobia."
"A fear of being buried alive," Essa deduced, receiving a nod from Mai-Ling as more tears ran down her face. "An Earthbender who's afraid of the Earth. That has to be a lot to carry around with her."
"She spent a year in the hospital while her dad searched for the guy responsible. We all gave him a name and description, but he never found him. Rumor has it that he skipped town but Jing didn't believe it. Jing…she reacted in a way no one expected, and it really hurt our friendship…as well as destroyed the bond between her and Jun. Eventually, she stopped visiting and then it was just Jun and me.
"After she recovered, our parents decided it was best to move us…again. My uncle had volunteered to take us in; he said it would be good for Asami since my aunt had passed, and even offered to pay for Jun's medical needs while we were here, but only on the condition that we never use our bending."
"Disgusting," Essa said, shaking her head. "Instead of helping you through your fear, he just turned it into a weapon to use against you."
"It's true," Mai-Ling said as she sniffled and wiped away more tears. "I was so scared of what would happen to us if I screwed up again, that I swore I never Firebend again. And then I met you."
"Me?" Sota asked, surprised by this revelation.
"When I met you, I don't know, there was just…something calming about being around you. When I'm with you, I don't feel so scared or like the world is gonna burn down around me. I feel…like a normal kid. Like…I can tackle anything that comes my way, even learning to be a real bender." She paused for a moment before giving a light chuckle.
"You wanna hear something really dumb? When we started watching Probending, I started to hope that maybe one day I could learn to control myself enough to become a Probender. I was even gonna ask you to be my Waterbending teammate. But I guess that dream is pretty dumb now."
Sota watched her, his heart aching at the thought of her dreams being dashed before they even had a chance to become a reality. Reaching out, he gave her hand a soft squeeze, smiling in sincerity.
"I'd be honored to be your teammate, Mai-Ling," Sota said before turning to the door of the cell, the smile falling from his face as he stood up. Essa and Mai-Ling looked at him in confusion, but Sota said nothing before charging full force at the door. His shoulder slammed the bars, but nothing happened more than the ring of the impact as he bounced off it.
"Whoa, hey, what the heck are you doing!?" Essa chastised, getting to her feet and grabbing his other shoulder to stop him from doing it again. "You're just gonna tire yourself out doing that. You're never gonna break these bars."
"She's right, Sota, you're just gonna hurt yourself," Mai-Ling said, getting to her feet as well.
"I'm not trying to break the bars; I'm trying to get their attention," he said before he started slamming his restraints against the bars. The clang of the metals echoed down the hall, ringing more and more as he repeated the actions while also shouting, "HEY YOU COWARDS! YOU THINK YOU'RE SO TOUGH!? I COULD KICK ALL YOUR ASSES WITH THESE CUFFS BEHIND MY BACK!"
"Sota, sit-"Essa started to say, but was interrupted as the two Chi-Blockers from earlier came rounding the corner and rushing up to the door.
"Keep it down, your little runt, before I have to come in there and make you," the man threatened through his mask.
"Please, if you could make me do anything, you'd have done it by now," Sota said, flipping him a middle finger while Essa and Mai-Ling could only look at him as if he'd lost his mind.
The Chi-Blocker clenched his fists before turning to the other angrily. "Open the cell."
"Shu, calm down. It's just some punk kid, running his mouth, and-"
"I said open it, Loa!" he shouted at her while pointing at the door. "I'm gonna kick the crap out of this kid. He thinks because he's the Avatar's brother, he's untouchable. Well, I'm gonna show him."
Perfect. "You won't do anything," he said before to the horror of both his companions, he spit in Shu's face, dirtying his mask.
"SOTA!" Essa screamed as the Chi-Blocker wiped it away, angrily snatching the keys from his companion. Shu barely had the patience to get the door open before he reached in and yanked Sota out into the hallway.
The 12-year-old fell to the ground and turned to look at Shu just as his foot made contact with Sota's stomach. Sota cried out in pain, the wind being knocked from him, forcing him to double over in pain. Trying to lift his head, Sota felt it jerk to the side as he was punched across the face.
"Yeah! How's that feel!? Not so tough now, are you!?" he shouted, punching him again and knocking him over.
"Shu, stop!" Loa said, frozen in place, as were Essa and Mai-Ling as they watched him tower over Sota. "You need to stop and head back to your quarters while I deal with."
"Come on, where's all the big talk kid!? You got anything else to say!?" he asked, rewarded with a mumbled reply from Sota as he pushed himself up to sit on his knees, back turned to his assailant. "You benders are nothing but trash that needs to be taken out. Speak up! I wanna make sure everyone in the hall hears you."
"I said…" Sotas huffed, catching his breath, before looking hatefully over his shoulder. "You're even more weak than I thought you'd be."
Shu's fist tightened before he pulled back, putting as much force as he could behind this swing, hoping to put an end to this kid once and for all. Mai-Ling and Essa screamed out his name while Loa reached out pointlessly in hopes of stopping him from doing this.
Only for Shu's fist to stop short of Sota's face, as did the rest of his body which began to lock up and twitch. Shu grunted, confused on what was happening; why couldn't move!?
"Hey…I…I can't move!" he said, desperately trying to regain control of his body. His eyes, though hidden, were filled with fear as he looked down into the face of Sota; a face covered in hate.
"Remember, son. A man isn't strong because of how much physical strength he has. A man is strong by the strength and the bravery of his character."His father's words echoed in his head as he concentrated with all of his willpower to keep Shu in place. Now was not the time for weakness.
"Sh-Shu?" Loa said, before looking at Sota in horror as well. "You-you're-"
"A bloodbender…" Mai-Ling said, eyes wider than they'd ever been as she looked at him, stomach twisting in…fear? Anxiousness? Who knew.
"I'm sorry…you had to find out like this…" he said, slowly rising to his feet and raising his hands. "You are a good person and it's not your anger that makes you do things. It's your love and protectiveness." Jinora's words followed up in his head, fueling his resolve as he said, "but I'll explain everything after we get out of here."
"Ho-hold it! I'm not just gonna let you-AH!" Loa was immediately silenced as Sota raised his hands like puppet strings, pulling her up and down along with Shu, both of their body's twitching. Mai-Ling felt sick as she watched them, almost feeling bad for them, but the thing that made her most frightened was the look on Sota's face.
No longer was there the cheerful, sweet smile that always made her heart skip a few beats. No longer were there any sarcastic comments or jokes that brought tears to her eyes. No more was there that cool, calm demeanor he wore when he had something important that needed to be done. No. The one standing before her wasn't the boy she knew.
This was a warrior. Not just any warrior though.
"I want you to prioritize your safety over anything else. Even if that means you have to bloodbend. Use it as a last resort."
"Korra…" Sota mumbled, a small trail of blood running down his nose as he focused on holding the two Chi-Blockers in place. Lifting his hands, he brought the two up one more time before slamming them down to the floor as hard as he could. Both immediately fell unconscious as they made impact with the floor, and Sota huffed, trying to keep himself from falling as he said, "I'm not just the Avatar's little brother. I am Sota of the Southern Water Tribe."
To be continued…
Happy 9th Anniversary of the Legend of Sota!