Chapter 1: Too Short Years of Sweetness and Found Family
Notes:
Good morning!
Most of this chapter was posted in my Snippets series, but there is a whole new section, plus some other changes. The title of this story (City of Screams) was inspired by Denadareth's Avatar:PI Book titles. Check his stuff out, if you haven't already!
I'm planning to post once a week, and I'm 15 chapters in, so hopefully there will be no interruptions in the schedule.
It's nice to be posting again - Enjoy!
ALSO - Thanks to rottenbasil on insta for the art! :D They're my kid and they do commissions - you should check them out!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Asami
Wolf Cove.
Finally.
Asami looked over at Ikki, sleeping in the co-pilot’s seat beside her. It had only taken a few hours to go from the sinking wreck of the Sulaco to the capital city (and only city, really) of the Southern Water Tribe. She was still exhausted, however, and more than ready to land the aircraft.
It was low on fuel, too.
“Unidentified aircraft, this is WC Tower. Please respond. Over.”
The voice that came out of the radio was expected, but still startling. It had not taken Ikki long to pass out, and Asami had been in silence ever since, outside of the noise of the aircraft itself. Sometimes it felt like the three of them were the only three people left in the world.
There had been no other aircraft. No ships. Nothing but bright southern sky; cold, dark water; and snow-covered ground.
I can keep going. I’m okay. Just a little bit longer.
Those words had been her internal refrain for the past few hours, and that wasn’t long, except for the fact that sometimes she felt that they were the refrain of her entire life, both past and future.
I can keep going. I’m okay. Just a little bit longer.
“Unidentified aircraft, I repeat, this is WC Tower. Please respond. Over.”
Asami blinked, and realized she was just circling, in the early afternoon sky that was quickly becoming dusk, and had not even moved her hand towards the switch that activated her mic, never mind responded.
“WC Tower,” she responded. “Requesting emergency permission to land. Please have emergency personal standing by. Over.”
“Unidentified aircraft, please identify yourself. Over.”
“Tower...” she hesitated. Just because there were no more of those creatures, whatever they were, did not mean there were no dangers. She remembered how she had been treated after the loss of the Nostromo all too well.
“Tower, I repeat, I am requesting emergency permission to land. I have... I have an injured Southern Water Tribe citizen onboard. Please have emergency personal standing by. Fuel reserves low. Over.”
Asami circled, and waited. Fortunately Wolf Cove was not a hugely desirable destination for air traffic most of the time, so there was no pattern she had to worry about. She was so tired.
Even flying in circles seemed difficult.
I can keep going. I’m okay. Just a little bit longer.
“Asami?” Ikki asked from beside her. The girl yawned and straightened up in her seat, then stretched as only a child or a cat could do. “Where are we?”
“Wolf Cove,” Asami answered. “We’ll land soon.”
Ikki’s eyes darted around, and she looked nervous again. “What’s at Wolf Cove? Is it safe?”
Finally, the radio made sound again. “Unidentified aircraft, this is WC Tower. You have been cleared to land on runway three. Approach from the east. Runway is lit. Emergency crews are standing by. Winds are north by northwest at ten knots. Please respond. Over.”
“Thank you tower. Making approach for runway three. Out.”
Asami turned to Ikki as she ended her slow circle and began her approach. “It’s safe,” she said. “As for what’s there... I don’t know.”
They were both silent for a moment.
“Maybe we can stay here for a while?” Asami asked. “So... how about a home?”
Ikki looked at her, and nodded slightly.
Asami sighed. For now, that was more than enough.
She got the landing gear down, and approached the runway. The aircraft had its vertical takeoff and landing capabilities, of course, but she thought a simple, old-fashioned approach would be simpler and easier for now. She would drop the last few metres vertically, so that she didn’t break the landing struts.
And it was simpler and easier.
Touchdown was without issue, and since she landed vertically, there was no rolling to a stop. The Tigershark was down, and they were done.
Asami breathed out as she shut down the engines and opened the rear hatch. Ikki hunched back, nervous once again. Boots tramped aboard.
“This must be why the pilot asked for emergency personal,” an anonymous voice stated as more boots made their way to the cockpit.
“Hey,” another voice asked, “does the marine look familiar?”
“Oh shit,” the first voice swore as soldiers entered the cockpit.
Asami raised her hands above her head, and nodded at Ikki, who did the same, her eyes wide with fear.
“Sarge, we have the pilot and a kid up here,” one of the soldiers yelled back.
“Yeah, well you’ll never guess who we have back here,” the first voice yelled back.
A medic pushed his way into the cockpit, and quickly looked around. “I want stretchers for these two,” he ordered. “And get the healing tank unlocked from the fuselage.” He looked around at the soldiers, who were still standing with their guns pointed at Asami.
“Did I fucking stutter?” the medic demanded. “Get moving! And get the captain up here while you get the stretchers. She’ll want to see the injured marine.”
The medic looked at Asami and Ikki. “It’s okay,” he said, “you can lower your arms. You bring the chief’s daughter back alive from whatever happened to you, and you’ll get a pass from pretty much everyone here.”
The chief’s daughter.
Korra?
Oh.
It was only at that point that Asami realized that she finally had no more to give, and that she could keep going no longer. She leaned back into her seat and closed her eyes.
If the medic said anything else, Asami did not hear it.
-------
Suyin
Suyin Beifong looked at the chamber of Republic City politicians, and sneered. If a facial expression could speak words, then hers would say that the members of the Republic City governing body were worms beneath her feet, unworthy of both her time and her consideration.
And yet, Suyin knew that she had lost.
Somehow, the book was closed on an incident that had cost the life of one of the richest men in the world. And, to the best of her knowledge, the last complete airbending family. And a whole bunch of United Forces marines.
Marines that included her sister.
And her ward.
And her daughter.
Somehow, she was not sure how, she kept the sneer on her face. The sneer that made it seem like she was going to bend the metal screws out of the chamber’s furniture and perforate the council members with them.
The sneer that hid the fact that she wanted to weep and scream.
Lin. Kuvira.
Opal.
Oh, my precious Opal.
It had been a fear of hers, ever since her airbending daughter had joined up with the marines. Opal was a combat drop pilot. It was not as risky a job as being front line infantry, Opal had reassured her more than once, but it was still a combat job.
And now something had caused one hundred percent casualties to Lin’s unit, and the council was calling it an “unfortunate maritime accident.” A maritime accident that completely coincidentally happened at the same time as the loss of the southern research station, where the head family of the Air Nation had temporarily resided.
Coincidence. Right.
She had banged on every door. The ones that hadn’t opened to her banging she had kicked down. And still, everyone she had talked to or threatened had either pleaded ignorance or stuck by the official story.
She had lost.
Her daughter was gone, dead, without even a body for her to grieve over, and all she had was lies.
She had lost, and the council knew it. They had already dismissed her as nothing more than grieving mother. Easily dismissed.
Easily forgotten.
Suyin sneered, and slammed her fist down on the podium in front of her. Most of the council members jumped in their seats, startled, but one did not. It was to him that she directed her fury.
Tarrlok, his name was.
“You think this is over?” she demanded. “You think it is over, with your lies? Your stupid, pathetic lies?”
She stared at him, and he stared back, with a smirk. He was confident in his position, she could tell. From her few interactions with the council, in fact, she was confident that he owned the rest of the council’s august bodies, in fact.
“Lies?!” Tarrlok exclaimed with a great sadness. As if he deeply regretted having to dismiss the grieving mother who was also head of one of the most powerful families in the world. “Lies, you say.” He shook his head. “I understand. It is in the midst of tragedies such as these, that we truly come to understand that the world is indeed not fair. Or even just, much of the time.”
Tarrlok’s eyes changed from triumphant to sorrowful as he looked at Suyin. “It is a sad fact, that we humans search desperately for pattern even where there is none. For malicious purpose when there is nothing more than cruel chance.”
“You. Are. Lying.” Suyin spat back.
“I look forward to the day you bring evidence to support your accusation that there is more to what happened to the Sulaco than a tragic accident,” Tarrlok said solemnly. “Until then, however, this council must continue to do the work that the citizens of Republic City require of it.”
He looked at the rest of the council.
“I move to conclude this tribunal. The city must mourn and move forward.”
To no one’s surprise, especially Suyin’s, all hands raised in affirmative. Tarrlok nodded towards his fellow councillors.
“Mrs Beifong,” Tarrlok said, “this tribunal is concluded. The city gives you its sincerest condolences-”
“You. Are. LYING!” she yelled. The councillor’s smarmy words had finally overcome her internal impediments and the rational part of her that thought that perhaps now was not the time.
“That’s enough!” Tarrlok barked. “Guards, please escort Mrs Beifong out of the building, with all the dignity afforded to her station, of course.”
“I’m not done,” Suyin growled. Metal started to swirl around her to emphasize that she would leave when she was damn well ready. “You may have concluded your tribunal. But I will find out the truth. Sooner or later. And when I find out that you have lied to me, I will come back.”
Suyin turned and glared at a guard that had attempted to approach her. He retreated instantly, hands in the air in placation.
“I will come back for blood!” she finished as she turned back to Tarrlok and the rest of the councillors.
With that, Suyin stormed out of the council chamber, leaving a silent council behind her.
-------
Korra
“Are you ready?” Korra’s father, Tonraq, asked. They were sitting in the family kitchen of the palace.
There was another, bigger kitchen, of course, for staff and visitors, and to prepare official state suppers, but for intimate family meals, prepared and cooked by family, for family, this was the kitchen. All of them had cooked here.
Tonraq. Senna. Korra. Asami.
Even Ikki had tried her hand a few times, as she had gotten older and started to learn some skills beyond airbending and art.
Right now, it was Tonraq and his daughter, Korra, who had kitchen duties. They were making a hearty dish of noodles and seafood, spicy and warm.
Not coincidentally, it was one of Asami’s favourite dishes.
It was primarily Tonraq who was cooking, though. Korra was distracted by the seemingly heavy object in one of her pockets, that she kept fiddling with.
“Korra?” Tonraq asked again.
“Huh?” Korra responded, finally noticing that her father was talking to her.
“Are you ready, I asked,” her father repeated.
Korra took her hand out of her pocket, and held it in her other hand, just to keep herself from fidgeting with the piece of jewellery that she had hidden there.
“Yes,” she replied quickly. “Absolutely!” She paused, and her hands separated and the right one made its way back into her pocket.
“I mean, I think so,” she continued, “but how do you know for sure? Argh! The more I think about it, the more doubts I give myself.”
Tonraq sipped the broth, nodded his satisfaction, then looked at his daughter again. “Doubts about Asami?”
“No!” Korra objected. “Not at all. She’s... amazing. The best thing that has ever happened to me, by far.” She frowned, and finally her hand stopped fiddling of its own accord.
“Then doubts about what?” her father asked.
She suspected he knew the answer, but she answered anyway. “Doubts about me. I was a grunt. A corporal, in a unit that got wiped out, for a corps that I deserted. She deserves so much better than me.”
Tonraq grunted. “And she’s told you this? That she deserves better?”
“Noooo...” Korra trailed off.
“What has she told you, then?” he asked.
Korra said nothing.
“Well?” Tonraq demanded.
Korra whispered something under her breath. Tonraq raised his eyebrows and just stared at his daughter silently. Stared at her in a rather judging way, Korra thought.
“She told me she loves me,” Korra admitted.
“Once?”
Korra shook her head. “Lots of times.” She sighed. “Lots of times, every day.”
“Huh,” Tonraq said. ‘It seems like you were right.”
“I was?”
“Yes,” he said amiably as he turned off the burner of the stove. “The problem is you.”
“Oh.” Korra looked down. “I know I’m not good enough for her.”
“That’s not it,” her father said. “And I don’t think you should ask her until you figure it out.”
That got Korra’s attention, and out of her funk. “Are you fucking kidding me?” she demanded. “That’s your advice? Figure it out?!”
“That’s my advice,” he agreed. “Now, speaking of Asami, will you call her for supper, or should I?”
Korra glared at her father, and went out the door to get her lover.
Figure it out. For fucks sake.
She was aggravated, she knew, but was she really angry at her father? She had asked him for advice, after all.
It was all on her if his advice infuriated her.
Asami loved her, Korra knew that. The few years they had spent together they had formed a tight little family unit, her and Asami and Ikki. It was wonderful. Every bit of it.
But there was still a part of her that wondered. That was afraid.
Why her?
Because they shared the same secret, about what had happened?
Because Asami was scared she would be imprisoned or worse if she showed her face in Republic City again?
Korra walked slowly to Asami’s room, though really it was as much her room as it was Asami’s, the two of them slept together so often.
She’s the smartest, most beautiful, most wonderful woman in the world. Why is she with me? Beyond convenience and fear, that is.
Why the fuck is she with me?
She’s so smart, so beautiful...
The thought trailed off. Asami was so smart.
Smart enough to make up her own mind.
And she had made up her own mind. She had chosen Korra, over and over and over again. The only question left was whether Korra was smart enough to trust Asami in her decision.
Fuck, I’m an idiot sometimes.
Green eyes startled her as she turned down the hallway to Asami’s room.
“Korra!” Asami exclaimed as she leaned in for a kiss. She tasted of everything good in the world, Korra thought. “Is it supper time? I heard rumours of noodles!” she finished with a smile.
“Uh, yes!” Korra answered. “Noodles!” She stood stiff and stupid, like a recruit for her first inspection.
Asami looked at her. “Are you alright, love?”
“Yeah, um, totally!”
Asami cocked her head, then shrugged. “If you say so.” She started moving towards the family dining room, then turned back. “You coming?”
Korra stood there, and she knew that she was the biggest idiot ever. There was nothing about her that deserved the woman standing in front of her.
She was an unemployed ex-soldier. She was the Avatar in a world that, if it was given the chance, would take the Avatar apart to see how she ticked, and then not bother to put her back together again. She had nightmares almost every night from the things she had seen. She was not book smart.
More than one person had said she was not smart at all.
She loves me, a voice whispered. Her own voice.
Appreciate that love. Treasure it. Work every day to be worthy of it.
“Korra?” Asami asked.
Never let it go.
Korra sank to her knees, and pulled the necklace she had made out of her pocket.
“Marry me?” were the only words she could force herself to say.
Asami smiled, and a tear formed in her eye.
“Yes,” Asami answered. “A million times yes.”
Korra sighed, then made a sound that was almost like a hiccup, but was actually a sob. “You said yes.”
Asami stepped close, and pulled Korra into a hug, with Korra’s head pressed into Asami’s stomach.
“Of course I said yes, silly,” Asami said. “I would have asked you already, but I listened to your mom’s advice, and waited for you to make your move.”
“You...” Korra paused, “my mom...”
“I’ve been talking to her for advice for years,” Asami said. “Seriously, you should listen to her more. She gives great advice!”
“I’m going to kill her,” Korra exclaimed.
Then she laughed.
-------
Ikki
The inside of the vehicle pulsated with an eerie purple light. Like a twisted heartbeat, the glow pulsed, over and over and over again. Everything was illuminated. Then everything was dark.
Over and over and over again.
The little girl who had been told so many times that she needed to slow down and listen watched the woman, Asami, fade in and out of the purple light.
“They mostly come at night,” Ikki whispered. “Mostly.”
Asami turned to Ikki, and Ikki could not see her face. There was a facehugger attached to Asami’s face, and Ikki knew that they were all going to die, screaming.
Screaming forever and ever, like mom and dad and Jinora and Meelo and Rohan were doing now.
The other soldiers turned to her, and they all had their faces covered, too. Then facehugger-Asami held a mirror up so that Ikki could see herself, and Ikki could not see her own face.
She could only see the facehugger attached to her.
Ikki screamed.
Ikki woke up with a start, and looked around. Her room in the palace seemed like it did every other day. Posters on her walls, a messy pile of clothes on the floor.
Her heart slowed down as she woke completely up. She didn’t have nightmares like that every night any more, but she still had them.
Ikki looked at the clock by her bed. It was early for her to get up, but not so early that Korra and Asami would likely still be in bed.
She blushed.
She had wandered up to Korra’s room once, one morning when the two women had not gotten up yet, and she had never made that mistake again, not with the sounds that she had heard through Korra’s door. She had taken mandatory sex education classes at school, and both Asami and Korra had sat down and talked with her several years ago about the changes she could expect with her body as she grew. Still, somehow she had not been fully aware that when Asami had mentioned what consenting adults sometimes like to do with one another, Asami had also been talking about herself and Korra.
Ikki had never really before thought that way about the women she considered her moms, and she hoped to never have to again. It was weird enough just thinking about that sort of thing for herself.
She jumped up and grabbed some cleanish clothes from the pile. They would do until she showered.
Then opened her door and she stuck her head outside to check the corridor. It was clear of, well, it was clear of everything and everybody, and that was just how she liked it.
She bounced from wall to wall with airbending as she headed down for breakfast. The nightmare was not forgotten, not completely, but hunger was Ikki’s priority now.
She hoped there were pancakes.
-------
Asami
Asami smiled as Ikki bounced into the room. The girl that both Korra and her thought of as their daughter seemed more alive and healthy every day, with the horrors of the southern research facility and the creatures that had destroyed it fading further into the background with every day.
“Good morning,” she said from her seat. Korra had declared she was taking care of breakfast today. Asami watched as Ikki’s eyes lit up as the girl smelled pancakes.
Naga, who had been resting in the corner of the room which had been very much expanded to fit her bulk, perked up at Ikki’s entrance.
“Hey, Eeks!” Korra called from the kitchen. “Hungry?”
“Morning, Asami! Morning, Korra! Pancakes! Woo!”
With a touch of airbending the excitable girl literally bounced off of the ceiling, then down onto her seat. “I’m starving!” she declared theatrically.
Naga moved from her corner and rested herself on the floor right next to Ikki, making it very easy for Ikki to give her lots of pets.
“Excellent! First batch is coming right up!” Korra declared from the kitchen.
Tonraq walked into the dining room. “Is that pancakes I smell?”
“Absolutely,” Asami said. She hesitated for a moment. “Hey, dad, can you take over for Korra when she brings out the first batch? We need to ask Ikki something.”
“Of course,” Tonraq said with a smile. He ruffled Ikki’s hair as he walked by. “Morning, kiddo!”
“Good morning, chief!” Ikki responded with a serious face and a salute, before she gave Naga a few more scritches.
Tonraq winked at Ikki as he went into the kitchen. Korra came out with a stack of pancakes, which she placed directly in front of Ikki.
Ikki immediately grabbed the topmost, and proceeded to put some toppings on them, while Naga looked on enviously.
“You wanted to talk to me about something?” she mumbled through a mouthful of food.
Asami raised an eyebrow at the young airbender.
“Sorry!” Ikki mumbled through food once again.
Korra came and stood behind Asami, and put her hands on Asami’s shoulders.
“So,” Asami began, “once you have your mouth empty, we need you to answer a question for us.”
Ikki swallowed her mouthful of pancakes, and looked from Asami to Korra and back. “What question?”
“Well,” Korra took over, “we’ve been like a family for years now, and now that Asami and I are married, well we were wondering...” she trailed off.
“We were wondering,” Asami concluded, “if you would like to make that official? If you would like to legally become our daughter?”
Ikki’s huge smile was all the answer they needed.
But that didn’t mean that they didn’t appreciate her enthusiastic “Yes!” and the way she airbent over the table to hug them both.
And Naga enjoyed the pancakes that were sent flying.
-------
Elsewhere...
“You think this is bad?” the commander of their little submarine said. “If you think it takes a long time to get down, you should see how long it takes to get back up.”
“Why?” the head scientist asked bluntly.
“Come back up too fast,” the captain answered, “and you get the bends. You do not want that to happen, believe you me.”
“The bends,” the scientist repeated. “Decompression sickness caused by dissolved gases emerging from solution as bubbles inside body tissues.” He stared at the captain. “Inside a submarine?”
“Well, you wouldn’t want to get it!” the captain replied defensively.
The scientist snorted. “No, I cannot imagine that I would,” he replied, going back to staring out of the small view screen. “Let me know when we near the bottom.”
He watched the view screen, but so far there had not been anything to see. The water was cold, this far south, but at this depth, it was cold, no matter what your latitude.
“There’s the Sulaco,” the captain said suddenly, as he attempted to pretend that his previous attempt to scare the scientist had never happened.
“Good,” the scientist said. He was more than willing to let the attempted joke fade away. He had far more important things to concentrate on than a sailor’s feeble attempt at hazing. “Very good. Circle around.”
It took time, to circle around, but they were nowhere near at the end of their oxygen, so that was no issue. The Sulaco had settled on its side.
There was no structural damage on the top of the ship, or the side that they could see, with the other side settled in the mud. The bottom of the ship, however, was a different story.
“I think it is pretty obvious what sank her,” the captain said, as they both stared at the view screen.
“Indeed,” the scientist agreed.
There was a large hole in the bottom of the ship, made by what there was no way to tell at the present moment.
The scientist smiled.
Just because there was no way to tell, did not mean that he did not know. He knew exactly what had sank the Sulaco.
“Look for an exoskeleton,” he ordered. “Something big.”
“Exoskeleton?” the captain asked. “What’s that?”
The scientist smiled. “You’ll know it when you see it.”
There was a small part of the scientist that was sad for the loss of his sister and his aunt. There was another part of him that was angry over the loss of the woman who he had hoped would become more to him than just his mother’s ward.
But the biggest part of the scientist was excited. All of the sacrifices, no matter how painful they were, would be worth it, should he be successful.
He knew that he would be. It was only a matter of time.
When the submarine finally came across the corpse of the alien queen, the scientist barely even acknowledged the accomplishment. He had known it would happen, sooner or later.
His success was inevitable.
Notes:
So about six years pass between the end of the previous story and the end of this chapter. In that time, Korra and Asami date, live together, and get married; they adopt Ikki; and Asami discovers close found family in Tonraq and Senna. I never liked how Toph treated Baatar Sr in season 4 of the show, so T&S are far closer to my ideal vision of in-laws.
Of course, there would not be a plot without someone making some dumb decisions, so welcome Baatar Jr! I'm sure nothing bad will come of "researching" into the xenomorphs.
I hope you enjoyed. Kudos and pleasant comments are always welcome. See you soon!
Chapter 2: Family Matters
Notes:
Good morning!
I almost forgot that today was my scheduled posting day, it's been so long since I posted anything regularly. Anyway, welcome to a nice, quiet, slice-of-life chapter. That's what everyone wants out of a story with Aliens in the title, correct?
Enjoy!
Note: Check out chapter 1 again, if you read it around when I started posting - there's art there now! Check it out! :D
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Asami
“I’m sixteen, not six, mom!” Ikki yelled. “Stop treating me like a little kid!”
Oh.
Asami blinked. She had walked into the middle of something between her wife and their daughter, and she had no idea what. She hated being blindsided.
“I said no, and I meant it!” Korra yelled back. “So I don’t want to hear about it again!”
“Fuck you, you... you grunt! You’re... infuriating!” Ikki yelled as she stormed out and headed for her room. Asami could hear doors slam down the hallway as Ikki expressed her frustration through airbending.
“Well,” Asami said. “Maybe I should go back to work?”
Both Korra and Ikki had butted heads before, of course. Both were strong and fierce. But Asami could not remember the last time she had walked into an argument like this.
She wasn’t sure that she ever had, in fact.
“Ugh,” Korra grunted. “Sorry that what’s you came home to.”
Asami sighed, and started planning out the consequences this little spat would necessitate. There had to be something, for the insult and the cursing, if nothing else.
So much for a family outing this weekend.
Korra groaned and leaned against the nearest wall. Then she pointed at the dining room table.
Asami looked over. There was a form on the table. It looked like a school form.
A field trip?
She could not think of a reason for a fight over a school trip.
It was a big one, she read. So this letter was a preparatory one. There would be costs, students would be gone for... a week?
Okay, she had to admit that was longer than a normal field trip.
Destination... Republic City.
Oh.
Oh shit.
Asami put the permission form back on the table, then looked at Korra.
“Come here,” Asami said softly. She held her arms out, and Korra fell into them.
“I’m sorry,” Korra said softly back. “I know I overreacted.”
“It’s okay,” Asami replied. “It’s okay. But are you okay?”
“It’s just... it’s just if she goes there, I can’t protect her,” Korra said as she cried into Asami’s shoulder. “I know I’m not good for much. Just a dumb grunt, like she said.”
“Hey!” Asami objected.
“But,” Korra continued, as she ignored Asami’s objection to Korra’s characterization of herself, “I can help keep all of us safe. I am good at that. But not if she is somewhere I cannot go.”
It was a fact of life for the two of them. Asami was still wanted in the United Republic as a “person of interest” in the destruction of the Nostromo and the sinking of Sulaco (despite the fact that sinking had been labelled an “industrial accident”), and Korra was considered a deserter from the United Forces.
All of that despite the official reports from the United Republic that all hands had been lost in those disasters. Strangely, or perhaps not strangely at all, no reporter had ever questioned why two supposedly dead women were still wanted for questioning.
Korra’s father had torn up every extradition treaty that the Southern Water Tribe had with any and all other nations as soon as he had heard the tale of the Sulaco, first from Asami, and then from Korra when Korra had finally been able to talk again.
“Nobody tries to take my girls away,” Tonraq had growled, and Asami had cried, because Korra’s father barely knew her, but had already included her in their family.
The fact that she and Ikki had slept in a cot beside Korra’s hospital bed while Korra recovered might have had something to do with Tonraq’s quick understanding and inclusion.
Asami held her wife, just held her, and waited for Korra to relax. Only when she felt Korra’s back muscles loosen and she felt Korra sink more into her shoulder and hair did she finally speak.
“She’s growing up,” Asami said. “Her own person, and so much like you it is sometimes frightening for me.”
“Like me!?” Korra objected.
“Yes, like you,” Asami repeated. “Passionate. Stubborn. Hot-headed. Brave. Loyal. Loving. Smarter than she gives herself credit for.”
“I really hope she got your brains, not mine,” Korra muttered.
Asami let go of her wife and pushed her away. Then she looked Korra in the eyes. Or she attempted to, at least.
Korra looked away, and would not hold Asami’s gaze.
“Enough.”
Asami gently took hold of Korra’s chin, and made Korra face her.
“Enough,” Asami repeated. “Enough of this. This isn’t you. This isn’t the woman I love. This...” she paused and looked at Korra once more. Really looked at her.
“This is fear,” Asami finished. “What are you afraid of? What are you really afraid of, Korra? The creatures?”
Korra shook her head.
“It’s not that,” she finally answered.
“Then what?”
Korra shook her head. “I can’t say,” she said.
Asami cocked her head. “Can’t, or won’t?”
Korra hesitated.
“Tell me,” Asami ordered. “Whatever it is, we’ll face it together. But how can I face something with you when I don’t know what we’re facing?”
There was a long moment of silence as they stared at one another, but then, finally, Korra glanced away, and Asami knew that she had won, if that was the correct word.
It didn’t feel like a victory.
It felt like the prelude to a problem. Probably a big one.
“Shit,” Korra muttered. “You’re right, as usual.”
“Yes, obviously,” Asami replied with a completely straight face. “But what am I right about?”
So Korra told her, and Asami’s day got even more complicated as she ruefully realized that she had been correct.
A prelude to a big problem indeed.
-------
Tonraq looked surprised when he walked into his office and saw Asami sitting there, waiting for him. Neither Korra or herself generally had much to do with Tonraq’s work, outside what he was willing and able to talk about over supper.
And that supper talk was limited due to how little shop-talk Senna wanted to hear over supper.
“Asami!” Tonraq greeted her. “How are you? What’s going on?”
“Dad,” she responded as she stood up to give him a hug. It had been a bit of a shock becoming part of a physically affectionate family. Not that her father had not loved her, in his way, but frequent hugs had stopped after her mother had passed when she was little.
She frowned as she thought about the news bulletin from a few years back. Her father had died in prison, and she had not been able to go to him, or to the funeral. Not without risking joining him behind bars.
Or worse.
“I’m... conflicted,” she answered. “As for what is going on... well, perhaps you should tell me. What is going on?”
Tonraq frowned, and manoeuvred his large frame behind his large desk. He had a beautiful view of the southern tundra, which he presently had his back to. “I’m not sure to what you refer,” he said after he had sat down.
Asami sat back down and looked at him.
“I’m referring to the threats against my daughter.”
Tonraq’s confusion changed to embarrassment. He looked away, and looked much like his daughter as he did so, Asami thought.
“Korra was not supposed to tell you,” he finally said.
Asami raised an eyebrow.
“But I suppose you were bound to find out sooner or later,” he continued.
“I’m actually surprised she managed to keep it a secret as long as she did,” Asami said. “I’m slipping, I guess.”
Tonraq snorted. “I truly doubt that.”
She smiled, briefly. “Elaborate.”
Tonraq sighed. “They’re not threats, so much as warnings. We’ve heard whispers from within the United Republic that there has been outside pressure to reopen the investigations into the Sulaco.”
“And?” Her right hand wrapped around her left forearm without her noticing it.
“And it might have been bandied about that if I would not succumb to diplomatic pressure to give you and Korra over to Republic City, perhaps family pressure might work instead.”
“Family pressure?”
“Opportunities for Ikki would dry up. Scholarships would disappear. She would be stopped anytime she goes outside of the Southern Water Tribe because she matches the description of a known criminal.” Tonraq frowned. “And so on.”
Asami looked down at her left arm as a surge of pain ran through it. She loosened her grip, as she realized that she had been squeezing it without conscious thought.
“Bandied about?” she eventually asked.
Tonraq nodded. “Our source overheard it. Whether they were intended overhear it...” he trailed off and shrugged.
This was better than what she was afraid of, she realized. There was no talk of open kidnapping attempts. Not yet, at least.
But in some ways this made it worse. It would be very hard to justify why Ikki would not be able to do the trip.
And should they even attempt to justify it? Their little girl was growing up, and could not stay locked in a cage. What if Ikki wanted to go to university in Republic City or elsewhere? Or wanted to travel the world? Could they really justify imprisoning her on the basis that there might be a threat someday?
A part of her wanted to, Asami was much aware. She wanted to put a bubble over the palace and watch the world go by as they lived out their lives in peace.
“Is there a source of these rumours?”
Tonraq shook his head. “Only mid-level staffers, none of whom have the power to wipe their own asses without permission, never mind start something like this.” He snorted. “If we had a definite source, that person would already be here, enjoying some of the less pleasant aspects of southern hospitality.”
That made an unfortunate amount of sense. The rumours were feelers, most likely, sent out to see if a reaction would be forthcoming. It reminded her of some of the things she had heard about Future Industries, before she had left her father and his business behind.
Before everything she thought she had known about the universe and humanity’s place in it had been turned upside down.
Before all of that had been swept under the rug and everyone pretended that nothing had ever happened.
Asami frowned.
They pretended nothing had happened, but it was still not safe for either her or Korra to set foot in the United Republic.
Exactly where Ikki wanted so desperately to go.
Shit.
-------
Korra
I am a strong bender. Stronger every day.
True.
I am a trained military professional, with experience with a variety of weapons and experience in absolutely horrific combat environments.
Also true.
I am the Avatar, and for the past few years, have actually been able to hone some of the skills that go along with that.
And that was true, also.
So why am I so nervous about knocking on my daughter’s door? What the fuck is wrong with me?
Korra breathed out, and put her fist next to Ikki’s closed door.
It wasn’t like the two of them had never fought before, of course. Ikki was strong-willed, and neither of her mothers would have it any other way. But something was different this time, and Korra was not sure what it was.
Untrue.
She winced. She knew exactly why she had reacted so badly.
I’m afraid. Terrified, really.
True.
“Fuck,” Korra muttered under her breath, as she finally forced herself to move and knocked on her daughter’s door.
“What?” came Ikki’s yell from inside her room.
“Hey, Eeks,” Korra said. She breathed deep. She had fought off acid-spewing aliens before. This should be easy. “Can I come in so we can talk?”
There was silence for a short moment that felt unending.
“It’s open,” Ikki finally muttered, so softly that Korra could barely hear her.
“Cool.” Korra opened the door, and found... nothing unusual. Ikki was on her bed, laptop open in front of her. The usual posters were on her wall, and the usual one poster was halfway fallen off of Ikki’s wall.
That one poster would not stay up, no matter what they did.
Need to frame it, she thought to herself for the hundredth time, at least.
There was a small pile of clothes on the floor that needed sorting, but nothing out of the ordinary. A dirty plate on Ikki’s desk needed to be taken back to the kitchen.
Ikki refused to look her mom in the eye, and stared unblinking at her laptop screen.
“Listen, Eeks,” Korra began. “I-”
“I’m sorry!” Ikki interrupted. She finally looked over at Korra, and Korra could see the tears beginning to form in her daughter’s eyes. “I was so angry, and... and-” Ikki hiccuped, and the tears really started flowing.
“Hey,” Korra said softly as she sat down on the bed next to Ikki, then shifted herself around so that she was laying next to her daughter. “Hey, it’s alright.”
Ikki leaned towards her, and Korra lifted her arm so that her daughter could lean over and rest herself against her.
“I love you, you know,” Korra said.
“I love you, too, mom,” Ikki replied. “I’m really sorry for what I said.”
“I know,” Korra replied. “I’m sorry I got so angry.”
She paused for a moment, but Ikki was just listening.
“Listen,” Korra continued, “do you know why people get angry?”
“Huh?” Ikki answered. “Well, it’s when someone does something they don’t like.”
“Yeah, that makes sense,” Korra said. “I used to think the same. But your mother taught me something different.”
“What?”
It was funny, Korra thought. It was the same question as when she had originally knocked, but the different context and tone made all the difference.
“Anger is just fear,” she answered. “I wasn’t angry because you did something wrong. I was angry because I was afraid.”
“Afraid of what?”
Korra sighed.
“You know how your mother and I never take any trips?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s because we would probably get arrested if we did.”
Ikki pushed away and sat bolt upright, almost knocking her laptop on the floor as she did so. A brief burst of airbending kept it from crashing and potentially breaking.
“What?! What do you mean arrested? You and mother are criminals?! Why didn’t you tell me? Was it for something cool? International espionage or a jewel heist or-”
Ikki stopped talking when Korra rested her hand on Ikki’s arm. With her other hand, she snapped her fingers, and a little spark of flame burst forth. Then she moved her hand, and a little vortex of air swirled above it. Then she caused some water in Ikki’s glass to rise up and fall down again. Then she bent a small colourful stone from Ikki’s desk over and let it drop into her hand.
Korra looked at the stone, and the varying colours running through it.
“I could take this stone apart,” she finally said, “and put it back together again. But would it be the same stone? Would I be able to get the colours and the way they blend together exactly the same, or would they just be close? Still beautiful, but new.”
She looked over at Ikki and dropped the stone into Ikki’s hand.
“I don’t know that certain organizations know who I am. What I am. But I have been wanted for desertion ever since we escaped those creatures. And your mother is wanted for “questioning,” even though the sinking of the ship is listed as an accident. Even though in public records, there were supposedly no survivors from the Sulaco.”
Ikki seemed to shrink in on herself.
“It’s them, isn’t it? It’s always them. I still have nightmares.”
“I know you do, sweetheart.” Korra sighed once again. “We do too, you know? Your mother and I.”
“You do?”
“Yeah. Sometimes I hold your mother, and sometimes she holds me.”
“That’s no fair!” Ikki objected. “Why should we have nightmares? We didn’t do anything wrong! We... we... my family...” she trailed off.
“I know,” Korra said. “I’ll never stop feeling bad that we got there too late.”
“And I’ll never feel anything but grateful that we were not too late for you,” Asami interjected from the doorway, where she had been standing.
Korra sat up, and Asami came over and hugged her wife tight.
“I’m sorry,” Ikki said, downcast. “I never should have asked.”
“Of course you should have,” Korra replied. “I’m sorry I let my fear get the better of me, so that I got angry.”
“Hey, honey,” Asami said, “your mother and I are just going to go into the hallway so we can talk for a couple of minutes. We’ll be right back, okay?”
Ikki nodded, and Korra stood up and followed Asami out into the hall.
“What do you got?” Korra asked as soon as the door was closed.
“There is a solution,” Asami replied.
“A solution? So she can go?”
“Yes. I know the conversation got into the past, but that is not the real problem here, is it? There has never been any sign of those creatures in the years since.”
“Yeah, but...”
Asami raised an eyebrow.
Korra winced. “Alright, alright, you are right. I’m just scared, okay? That’s what my nightmares are: are you and her being taken away, by creatures or by people.”
Asami put her hand on Korra’s shoulder. “I know,” she said. “But like I said, I have a potential solution.”
“Alright.” Korra took a deep breath. “What is it?”
“It’s a school trip, correct?”
“Yeah...”
“Well, school trips always need chaperones.”
“Yeah, I know! And if we could go, that would be different! But we can’t so...” she trailed off, looked down, and shrugged.
“What about your father?”
Korra looked up at Asami again. “Wait, my dad?”
Asami smiled.
“But he would need...”
“Bodyguards,” Asami finished. “Far better protection than a school trip normally gets.”
“And an international incident if anyone tries anything.”
“Exactly.”
“And you talked to him about this?”
Asami chuckled. “He’s the one who proposed it, actually. Grandfather-granddaughter bonding, I believe he called it.”
“What about mom?”
Asami shrugged. “That part is up to dad.”
“Huh.” Korra looked straight at Asami. “You sure about this, Sami? Like, really sure?”
“I admit, I freaked out, too, at first,” Asami answered slowly. “Thinking that there might even be a vague whispering of threats against our daughter. But dad eased my concerns, and then, with the offer of going along...”
Now it was Asami’s turn to look down for a moment, then look back up again.
“I want Ikki to be able to go,” she continued. “Just because we cannot leave the south, does not mean that she should have to endure the same thing. What if she has a chance to visit Air Temple Island, and see where her birth family used to live?”
She paused, and now it was Korra’s turn to wrap Asami in her arms.
“It’s okay,” Korra whispered. “I get it.”
“Do you?” Asami asked. “I never got to go see my father again, or see his grave, or anything. How can I deny our daughter the opportunity to connect with the past, since she has been granted it?”
“I do get it,” Korra said. “I really do.”
Asami sighed, and finally relaxed into Korra’s arms. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I know you do. It’s just hard sometimes.”
“Yeah,” Korra agreed. “It really is.”
“Should we go tell her? And what about the outburst?”
“She already apologized for that.” Korra shrugged. “We’re good, as far as I am concerned.”
Asami put her hand on her mouth in thought for a moment. Korra grinned.
She had always loved that gesture.
“I have an idea,” Asami said.
Korra gestured back to Ikki’s room. “Lead on, milady.”
Asami snorted, which was not very ladylike of her, not that Korra cared.
“Ikki,” Asami said as they walked back into the room.
“Yeah?” Ikki said as she looked up. She had gotten out of bed and was going through her pile of clothes.
“It’s your lucky day,” Asami said with a smile.
Ikki dropped the pile of clothes she was holding. “Wait, what?!”
“There was an issue with the trip, but we think that we have worked out a satisfactory solution.”
Ikki squealed, ran over, and grabbed them both in as big a hug as she could manage.
“Thank you thank you thank you!” she yelled.
“There are conditions,” Asami said flatly.
“What? Doesn’t matter! But what?!”
“One, your grandfather will be going as a chaperone.”
“Cool, that’s awesome, sounds good!” Ikki responded.
“Two... you said something very hurtful to your mom earlier.”
Ikki settled down and looked serious, but didn’t say anything as Asami held up her finger.
“I’m not done,” Asami said. “I know you apologized, but I want something more.”
“What?” Ikki asked, perhaps with a little trepidation.
“I want you in the kitchen once a week. You need to improve your skills, and actually make an entire meal for everyone before your trip. Also...”
“Also what?”
Asami looked around. “Clean your damn room, will you?”
Ikki smiled, and sketched a weak salute. “Can do!”
Notes:
Just a little family drama to start things off. I like writing Korra and Asami as older and wiser.
So, Ikki and her adoptive grandfather are heading to Republic City - sounds like a fun place to be! Who are we going to see next week? Seriously, who? It's been so long since I wrote these early chapters that I don't remember whose POV is next.
*checks chapter 3* - ah! Now I remember - more Asami next week, but don't worry, we'll get more of both Ikki and Suyin soon enough.
I hope you enjoyed. Thanks for reading!
Chapter 3: The Better Things In Life
Notes:
Good morning!
First off, if you haven't seen it already, go back to chapter 1 and check out the art for this story!
Second... welcome to chapter three, and a sex scene! I almost forgot I wrote it :D
CW: explicit sex
We have another chapter from Asami's pov here (mostly, at least).
Enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Asami
It was weird seeing their daughter off at the airport. And a little bit scary, even though Ikki was perfectly safe.
Still, she and Korra had hugged Ikki, and had even got a little bit teary, as they had waved her good-bye. Knowing that Tonraq was on the trip with Ikki had reassured them both, but it was strange for both of them to realize their little girl was growing up.
Work? University? Travel? They wanted all the options to be open for their daughter, no matter what she wanted to do.
Not the military, hopefully. Both she and Korra were in firm agreement on that, even though the Southern Water Tribe’s military was more of a self-defence force than anything else.
Asami had expected argument from Korra when she had stated that she hoped Ikki never joined up, but Korra had just looked at her for a moment.
Asami looked at Korra. The sex had been quick and quiet, as it often was, with the risk of Ikki banging at their door at anytime. It was the price they paid, and they paid it willingly, but that did not mean it wasn’t frustrating sometimes.
She laid back down, and nestled against Korra, who wrapped one arm around her and squeezed Asami so tight against her breasts that Asami could barely breathe.
Not that Asami was complaining, mind you. Korra’s breasts were as amazing as the rest of her.
There was the sound of movement in the hall, and they both tensed for a moment, but whoever it was kept walking.
Asami giggled softly, then moved her head a bit so that she could actually speak.
“We’re nervous like schoolgirls,” she said softly.
“Yeah,” Korra agreed. “It’s been a long time since I sneaked someone into my room. Feels kind of like that.”
“Wait,” Asami demanded. “Are... are you saying I wasn’t your first?”
She pushed herself up and glared at Korra. Then changed the glare to a pout when Korra just grinned at her.
“Do you think I was born knowing that water tentacle move?” Korra chuckled.
Asami collapsed back down again and giggled again.
“You’re amazing,” she whispered.
“Fuck yeah, I am,” Korra agreed.
“And so modest, too!”
“I mean, I would never brag about that, but if that’s what the people are saying...”
Asami reached out with one hand and gave Korra a little slap on thigh. However, instead of an objection from Korra’s lips, there was a soft moan, and Korra’s legs spread open once again.
Oh.
Mmmmm.
Asami slipped her hand into Korra’s wetness while her mouth made it’s greedy way to Korra’s nearest nipple. She started sucking and nibbling while her fingers easily slipped inside Korra’s cunt, already wet and ready from their previous activities.
It seemed like only seconds and Korra was starting to lose control, thrusting on and around Asami’s fingers as her abs clenched over and over again.
She could sense Korra reach up and muffle herself with her arm as she came, her body shaking violently as she did so.
Asami could hear her name being called, muffled behind Korra’s arm, as Korra came.
Asami slowed and stopped her movements as Korra came down from her high. Then she pulled her fingers out so that she could lick them clean.
It had only been a couple of minutes, she was pretty sure.
“Better?” she asked.
“Oh, oh fuck yes,” Korra gasped. “Very much better.”
“Mmmm... good,” Asami said as she snuggled tight again. She felt satisfied, for now at least.
That feeling of satisfaction and contentment lasted only a few minutes, however.
“Where are you going?” Korra asked plaintively as Asami forced herself up.
“Finding my nightie,” Asami answered.
Korra sighed loudly. “Yeah, I get it. Can you grab my pjs while you are at it?”
“Sure,” Asami responded, then blinked as Korra firebent a bit of light for them. Then she bit her lower lip and grinned as Korra stared innocently at where she was standing, completely naked.
She made sure to turn and face away from Korra as she bent over to pick up the pyjamas.
“Nice,” Korra exclaimed softly.
“Pervert,” Asami responded with a smile as she tossed Korra’s pjs into Korra’s face. Then, she climbed on top of Korra while Korra was still pulling her pyjamas off of her face.
The way Korra had looked at her had warmed her up once again.
Or maybe it was Korra’s firebending, though Korra had let that go out as soon as Asami had tossed the pyjamas her way.
Either way, she wanted one more before they were done for the night.
“Press against me,” she demanded as she wrapped her legs around one of Korra’s very muscular thighs.
Korra stared upwards at Asami as she did as had been requested. Asami started thrusting back and forth as she rode Korra’s thigh, her own wetness providing enough lubrication, though a distant part of her was aware that she might feel a bit chafed the next day.
As Korra was before her, she was done quickly, and she collapsed down onto her lover.
“Better?” Korra asked, as she wrapped her arms around Asami and repeated Asami’s question back to her.
“Oh yeah,” Asami breathed in response.
She relaxed for a few moments, then finally sat up and got her nightie back on again.
“There,” she said as laid back down next to Korra again. “Decent again.”
“Safe again,” Korra agreed.
“Of course,” Asami went on, “the room still smells like sex.”
“I’ll airbend us fresh air if Eeks does show up,” Korra said with a chuckle.
“Yes, Ikki,” Asami said, then paused. “She’s had so much to deal with.”
“Yeah.”
Asami understood why Korra didn’t say anything more. They had both been there. They knew exactly what Ikki had gone through.
They both had their own memories and nightmares.
But it brought to mind something Asami had been meaning to discuss with Korra for a while now.
“What do you think she will want to do, as she gets older?”
Korra did not answer immediately. “I don’t know,” she said finally. “I mean, there are not that many airbenders in the world, so she could probably do something with that if she wanted. She’s smart like you. I think she could do whatever she wanted.”
“What... what if she wanted to do what you used to do?”
“Join up?” Korra asked.
“Yes. That would scare me.” She paused. “I don’t want that for her.”
Korra looked at her for a moment.
“There are good things about it,” Korra said. “Skills. Camaraderie. Discipline.”
“Yes,” Asami agreed hesitantly. “It’s just...” she trailed off, not sure how to say what she wanted to say.
They were silent together for seconds that turned into a minute, at least.
“One of the first things they teach you,” Korra finally said, “is that if an order is wrong, like, really wrong, you have the right... No, not just the right, you have the obligation, the duty to refuse to obey it.”
“Well, that’s good,” Asami whispered, but Korra went on like she hadn’t even heard.
“It is when they tell you that,” Korra continued, “that you realize, if you are smart, that the whole system is bullshit. I’m not that smart. It took me a while to figure it out.”
“You’re smart!” Asami objected.
“Heh. Thanks, babe, but no. You’re smart. I’m just a dumb grunt with extra elements I can bend.” Korra gently placed a finger on Asami’s lips when Asami was going to object again. “In the heat of the moment, or when plans are being made and you are clenching up at the thought of the shitstorm you are about to walk into, what’s right? What’s wrong?”
“They’re irrelevant,” Korra finished. “Right. Wrong. Good. Bad. All that matters in those moments is them... or us. That’s it. So all that about refusing to obey unlawful orders? Absolute bullshit.”
“So...” Asami trailed off.
“So, yeah. If she wanted to follow me, I’d support her and be proud of her. Goes without saying. But I don’t want her to. There are so many better things she could do with her life than kill or be killed at the whims of politicians and corporate shitheads.”
“Well,” Asami said softly. “That sounds pretty smart to me.”
The memory faded as Ikki and her classmates disappeared past security.
“So now what?” Korra asked.
Asami looked over at Korra. “Well, I could eat.”
“I mean, I could always eat, but breakfast wasn’t that long ago,” Korra objected.
Asami smiled, and looked her wife up and down. “I never said anything about food.”
-------
“You know,” Senna said with a mischievous grin, “just because your daughter is not here, does not mean that the corridors near your room are empty.”
Asami’s hand stopped moving, and she held onto the dish she had been drying. She looked over at her mother-in-law as she could feel her cheeks heating up.
“Workers have ears. Guards have ears. Mothers have ears,” Senna finished.
Asami stared at Senna for a moment, and Senna grinned and looked at the dishes again as she washed them. Korra had cooked this evening, so it was Senna and Asami’s turn for cleanup duty.
Asami smiled then, in return.
Two can play this game.
“I was out in my workshop working on a project all afternoon,” Asami said, her eyes now wide with exaggerated innocence. “Why? What did you hear?”
Now it was Senna’s turn to stop and blush. “Wait! I mean, but, I heard-”
She stopped, and looked at Asami, who just stood there, looking down at the shorter woman. Asami now had one eyebrow raised as she stood with her arms crossed in front of her.
“Oh, shit,” Senna muttered. “Dammit.”
Asami finally moved, and chuckled. “Gotcha.”
Senna shook her head. “Teach me to try to outwit the smartest woman on the continent, if not the planet.”
Asami blinked at the unexpected compliment. “Well, now I know where Korra got all of her sweet talking from, at least.” She smiled, happy that the conversation seemed like it had moved past her and Korra’s bedroom activities from the afternoon.
“Ikki texted me when she landed,” Asami said. “Seems like everything is going smoothly so far, though she was a bit sad.”
“Why?” Senna asked, concerned, but then she thought for a moment. “It must be weird for her to be back in Republic City after everything that happened, and after so long.”
“And to see the island on landing,” Asami agreed. “I looked at the flight paths into RC International.”
“Poor girl,” Senna sighed.
Asami just nodded, unsure of what to say. She had no doubts that she, Korra, and Ikki, were a family, and a close one at that, but still...
They were not Ikki’s first family, and nothing would change that loss. Even after all these years it had to hurt. All she could do was hope that their love and the passage of time eased the pain of Ikki’s grief.
“Thank you,” she finally said.
“For what?” Senna asked, surprised.
“For everything,” Asami replied softly. “Ikki and I both lost all the family we had left, though not in the same ways. And yet, because of you and Tonraq, we have family again.”
“Don’t forget your wife,” Senna said with a wry smile.
Asami smiled. “Her, too.”
She put away the dish she was drying, then got another one.
“I felt guilty, for quite a while,” Senna said, before Asami could say anything else. “Both Tonraq and I did.”
“Guilty?”
“You and Ikki both lost everything,” Senna said quietly, “as you said. So many people lost so much. Families wiped out, or nearly so. So much pain and death.” She reached out, and took Asami’s hand. “But for us, nothing but good has come our way as a result of what happened. We gained a daughter and a grandchild.”
Senna smiled, once again. “So thank you, Asami, for making our family complete in a way I never imagined possible, and for making Tonraq and I feel like the luckiest people in the world.”
-------
“Do you ever miss it?” Korra asked, startling Asami out of her reveries.
Asami half jumped, startled, and she turned from the stars she had been gazing at, towards her wife. Korra held out a mug of tea.
“Thank you,” Asami whispered as she took the mug, and raised an eyebrow at Korra, who had come outside wearing her usual inside clothes, as she often did.
Asami was dressed for fall in the south, which would mean being dressed for the worst parts of winter anywhere else. A big, fuzzy jacket bulked her up, and she wore multiple layers for her legs.
The funny thing was, she was far more used to the cold than she had been when she first arrived in the south.
It was still freezing for her, though. And she didn’t have bending to keep her warm, either.
She held the tea to her face, then took a quick sip. It would cool off fast, but Korra could take care of that, too. It didn’t usually bother her, the effortless abilities that benders had at their command, but she did sometimes wonder why none of her ancestors had married the right people to make sure their descendants had a chance at bending.
“Sorry, miss what?” she asked as Korra came up and hugged her tight.
“Republic City,” Korra answered. “Being able to go places. Home.”
“This is home,” Asami answered softly. “I do miss the freedom to travel sometimes, but I wouldn’t trade our little family for anything.” She paused for a moment.
“I was working on a freighter, using my mother’s name, when this all started for me,” she said.
“The Nostromo,” Korra agreed.
“After that,” Asami continued, “there was no going back, even for the short period I was there. All I had was inconsistent, shitty work; nightmares; and a father in jail. What about that could compare to this?”
They were both silent for a long moment, in the cold, underneath the twinkling stars.
“I love you,” Korra said quietly.
“I love you, too,” Asami answered.
Asami sipped her tea and looked at the stars, and leaned against her wife. Travel or no travel, once their daughter returned home, everything would be perfect again.
-------
Gommu
Gommu breathed a sigh of relief as he found his favourite bush unoccupied.
He had been living on the streets of Republic City for longer than he cared to remember, if he even could remember. He had had a job once, he was pretty sure, and a family. A wife.
A daughter.
He nodded. Yes, he had had those things.
There was a momentary cloud of sadness that crossed his mind as the memory bubbled up of a woman with eyes full of love and a girl with eyes full of admiration, but then he shook his head, and forced himself to concentrate on what he did have, rather than what he had lost.
He didn’t have a family anymore, but he did have a nice sized bush to sleep under.
Gommu had used to have a nice bush in the central park, but the police and gangs had ruined that spot. Then he had tried a shelter for a while, but they were too crowded. He just couldn’t handle the noise and the anxiety, no matter hard he tried or how hard the well-intentioned volunteers worked.
But now the sun was shining, and he had a new bush near the university, and everything was pretty copacetic, as far as Gommu was concerned. The bush was in a more secluded part of the university, where his presence wouldn’t bother the young, fresh faced students, full of hope and eagerness for life.
It was a good bush, with broad leaves and soft dirt underneath to sleep on. It would provide nice shade as he lay under it and dreamed the days away, and good cover should he desire to take out his precious sewing kit and mend his clothes.
And his clothes were not even that old!
That had been the one good thing about the shelter – he had gotten a newer pair of pants and a shirt. He had almost felt positively dapper the first couple of days wearing them.
There had been other homeless people in the area around the university, he knew, but he had not seen any of them for a while now. He had seen ads for some paid research positions, so some of his fellow wanderers might have taken the chance to make a little cash.
Gommu wasn’t sure why, but something about the studies didn’t seem right to him, so he had not taken one of the little pull away tabs of contact info at the bottom of the posters.
And he didn’t really need the money, he figured. He always found a way to get by.
He crawled under his bush, and rediscovered what had made it so enticing for him in the first place – in the hot spring air, it was cool and dim underneath the leaves. The muted talk of students and professors in the distance lulled Gommu, until eventually he drifted off, happy with his place in the world, at least until the next time he remembered everything that he had used to have.
It was dark when he awoke, groggy from too much sleep during the day.
Gommu grimaced, and wiped at something wet that had fallen onto his cheek. It was thick, and reminded him of mucus, almost like drool.
His eyes adjusted to the dark and being awake, and he looked above him, where the leaves of the bush had formerly covered him.
Now, instead of lovely broad leaves, there were teeth, sharp teeth, and many of them, and another drop of drool fell onto his face.
Sharp edges, a rounded shell of a skull, long sharp claws somewhat like fingers.
Dull black of night on the shiny black of... something. Something horrendous.
Something impossible.
Then, more teeth.
Gommu tensed, as if to scream.
Notes:
You *did* remember this is an action-horror AU, didn't you?
The Gommu scene was actually a late addition to this chapter. Originally, it was all just Asami, but it had always felt incomplete for some reason. Only have leaving the chapter alone for a long while and then coming back to it was I able to think of what it needed.
Honestly, I feel bad for Gommu. I don't think the depiction of homelessness in LoK aged very well (if it was ever good to begin with), especially with the homelessness crisis we now have that various governments and countries refuse to deal with in any way. Sigh.
But, in regards to this story, Gommu and his outdoor sleeping situation fit in *perfectly* with future events, so it was an easy insertion. RIP (if he's lucky) Gommu. He's the first, but he won't be the last.
Thanks for reading!
Chapter 4: Welcome to Republic City
Notes:
Good morning!
Let's switch povs, shall we, and see how Ikki is doing. Her first big trip since... well, since this author did terrible things to her family in the previous book. But I'm sure she's doing great! :D
Enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Ikki
“And there, on your left, you will see Air Temple Island,” the flight attendant’s voice came through clearly on the aircraft’s speaker system.
Though a part of Ikki wished it didn’t.
She stared out the little window of the aircraft, and looked at the island that she had called home for the first few years of her life. Until her father had made a very poor decision, and her family had died in agony.
She could not much of the features of her old home, outside the largest buildings – their landing pattern was too far away from the island. She wondered if that was deliberate. If it was an attempt to keep the loud technology, that replaced airbending in so many ways, away from the culture that the technology replaced.
It was hard seeing the island. It brought back so many vague memories. So many nightmares. Ikki had shared many of those nightmares with her moms, when she was younger, at least. Less so, now.
But one nightmare she had never shared was the glimpse, just the shortest of glimpses, before Asami had managed to keep her from seeing more, of her sister Jinora, begging for death. The screen had been full of static, and she had been young, but she had still seen more than enough to understand.
She had seen more than enough to understand that her sister was about to die, and horribly, and that she was probably going to die screaming, as well. “Jinora!” she had screamed. And that had been the end of her family.
She had a new family now, and she loved her mothers very much. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t ready to break down crying right now.
That didn’t mean she hadn’t broken down crying so many times before.
“Tell Korra,” Ikki said before trailing off.
The military transport they were in was crowded and loud, and full of sharp edges. It seemed so dangerous, and yet it was the only safety she had, surrounded mostly by strangers who had no comprehension of what they were about to walk into.
Asami crouched down. “Tell Korra what, Ikki?”
Ikki leaned in so she could whisper in Asami’s ear. “Tell her she should hurry up. It’s really dark out.”
“Is that important?” Asami asked.
Ikki nodded. “They mostly come at night. Mostly.”
Ikki shivered, and looked out the window again. Air Temple Island was out of view. There were other airbenders there, she knew. Could she get a chance to visit it on her trip? Did she even want to?
She wasn’t sure.
She looked towards the back of the aircraft, and there was her grandfather and his guards. She was glad she had chosen to sit with her friends and classmates, even if some of them were jerks. She loved her grandfather, but this was her class trip, not a family trip. He was mostly there so that her moms felt reassured that she was safe.
And the little bit of talking she had heard him and one of his advisors doing while she had gone past them to go to the washroom had sounded super boring.
“So what do you think?” her best friend, Nutha, asked.
The two of them had been in school together for around five years now, and had slowly become close to inseparable. Ikki’s mother had actually asked once, if the two of them were potentially more than just friends, but Ikki had denied it, truthfully.
And then she had told Asami that she wasn’t sure if she was interested in anyone that way, or if she ever would be.
And then she had found out that her mother knew far more about gender and sexuality than Ikki had ever thought possible, and she had wanted to squirm under the covers and not hear another word her mother was saying.
Learning it in school was one thing. Hearing about many different expressions of sexuality and intimacy, including kink, from her mother, was a whole other thing.
Especially since she had a feeling that her mother was speaking from experience, at least with some of the things she had talked about. Ikki grimaced. Considering some of the stuff she had heard, that one morning, that was still burned into her brain, she knew that her mothers definitely did have experience.
“Are you thinking of going?” Nutha continued.
“I don’t know,” Ikki answered. “I haven’t figured it out yet.”
“Weeelllllllll,” Nutha said slowly, “while you figure it out...” she nudged Ikki, and got her to look about two rows down. “What do you think? He might be interested in me, right? And he’s so cute!”
“I mean, I guess? Sure?” Ikki rolled her eyes. She loved Nutha, she really did. But this was not the first time they had had this sort of conversation, and she was sure it would not be the last. And no matter how many times they had it, she still felt like she was sailing through uncharted waters.
Were some girls prettier than others? Definitely. Were some boys more handsome, or prettier, or whatever was a complimentary word that wouldn’t make boys angry? Sure, she guessed.
Did she care, though?
Not really.
And did she notice when those sorts of interests were expressed, either to herself or to Nutha?
Not usually.
Sometimes she wondered if she was missing out, and if she wouldn’t be better off if she was more... typical. It seemed so good, what some of her friends had, especially when the relationship started.
But then that good never seemed to last, and was often completely terrible by the time the relationship ended. Which was usually not long after the beginning.
She also wondered if some of the things that had happened to her influenced how she felt about other people. She didn’t think so, but how would she know? This was the only life she had ever lived, after all.
Ikki looked out of the plane’s window, and her eyes widened as she noticed how close the ground was.
“Oh!” she exclaimed. “We’re landing.”
“Well, duh!” Nutha laughed. “Didn’t you notice?”
Ikki laughed in return. She really hadn’t.
-------
“Eeks!” Korra exclaimed over the phone. “You made it!”
“Yes, mom,” Ikki said, grimacing slightly as she held the phone away from her ear. She had turned the volume down really low, and still her mom was loud.
“How was the flight?” her mother asked, breaking into the conversation. She was not quite as loud as Ikki’s mom. “Was there turbulence? Were you properly buckled the entire flight? Did you-”
“Mother!” Ikki broke in. “The flight was fine!”
There was laughter on the other end of the line.
“Asami, let her breathe!” Ikki heard her mom say. “Sorry, Eeks, we just want to make sure you are doing well.”
“It’s all good, mom,” Ikki replied. She looked at Nutha, who was laughing quietly off to the side, and grimaced. Nutha had sent a quick text saying she had landed, and had gotten a few texts from her parents in response.
She could call if she wanted to, apparently. As opposed to Ikki, who had been told she had to call.
“Listen, ummmm,” Ikki said, “I have to go, there are, um, some things, forms, we have to do for the individual parts of the trip, so, yeah...”
She winced as Nutha rolled onto her bed, looking like she was about to explode from the laughter she was holding in.
“We’re embarrassing you, aren’t we,” Asami broke in. “You do not have to lie, you know.”
Ikki could feel her face heating up.
“Ummm, well, what’s that granddad?!” she yelled to no one in particular. “Okay, I’ll let them know!” She spoke into the phone again. “Yes, those forms are urgent, so I have to go. I’ll text later, love you both, bye!” she practically yelled into the phone as she hung up.
She looked at the phone, and watched, not able to breathe, as she waited to see if they would call back immediately.
But there was nothing.
Ikki breathed a sigh of relief as she looked over at Nutha. Her best friend was finally able to relax, and she immediately started laughing out loud.
“That! Was! Amazing!” Nutha exclaimed between gasps.
“Shut up!” Ikki yelled at her, before she started laughing as well.
She collapsed backwards onto her own bed.
It was going to be an amazing trip.
She just knew it.
-------
“Ikki!” Tonraq called as Ikki came down to the hotel’s restaurant.
The hotel was old, and seemed pretty nice. Apparently there were big suites on the upper floors, that cost more money than she had realized existed, to rent for the night.
“You made it for breakfast,” he said, as he motioned for her to grab a seat.
“Good morning, granddad, well, of course I did, we are on a schedule, you know,” she said as she poured herself a glass of lychee juice. Buffet breakfast was included in the trip – if she wanted anything more, she would have to use some of the spending money her mothers gave her.
Though she suspected that if she ever ran short, she could easily get more money from her grandfather.
“Order anything you want,” Tonraq said, “or stick to the buffet, if you are in a rush. But don’t worry about the money.” He winked at her. “I can expense it, and your mothers will never know.”
Ikki giggled. Well, that answered that.
“Thanks, granddad, and that kind of sounds awesome, but I’ll stick with the buffet today – we’ve got places to be.”
Tonraq put down his mug of tea and looked at Ikki more seriously. “So you decided?”
Most of the excursions on the trip were mandatory. They were not there to lounge about in the hotel rooms all week, after all. But this excursion, for Ikki, and Ikki alone, was optional.
Air Temple Island.
“I want to go,” she said with a nod. “Um, I... I need to see. I’m going to get food now. Later!” She nodded and hurried off to the buffet line.
She was glad that her grandfather had not mentioned the tears forming in her eyes.
She grabbed a few things, then headed back to sit with Nutha.
“Ikki,” Tonraq said as she once again passed by where he and his guards were seated, on her way to where Nutha was seated.
She turned to him, but said nothing. There was a roll in her mouth.
“I think you are making a good decision,” he said simply. “Also, I will not be around for supper tonight. Two of my guards will still be with you, however.”
“Okay!” she kind of, sort of said around the food in her mouth.
Tonraq nodded, and she went to sit with Nutha.
“So, are you excited?” Nutha asked as soon as Ikki sat down.
Ikki just looked at her friend.
“Sorry, Ikki, stupid question.” Nutha went silent for a moment as Ikki ate, but then could restrain herself no further. “Do you think there will be any cute boys on the island?”
Ikki sighed, rolled her eyes, and kept eating.
-------
The ferry was broken.
That was the only explanation that Ikki could think of for why the trip was taking so long. It definitely had nothing to do with her nervousness, or anxiety, or anticipation.
Seven years.
It had been seven years since her father had decided that the opportunities available at the southern research station were too good to pass up. To examine spirit vines that seemed so very different than what existed in the rest of the world. To examine different types of spirits, never before seen.
And then a little less than seven years, since she had seen her new friends and her classmates and her teachers and her family all wiped out as the spirits had turned out to not be spirits at all.
Ikki smiled at Nutha, who was looking at her with concerned eyes.
“I’ll be fine,” Ikki responded to the unspoken question.
And she would be. She knew that.
She still wished her moms were here, as well, though.
She still wished she was living on the island with her sister and her brothers and her mother and father, and that none of the past few years had ever happened.
Ikki frowned, and managed to still herself, at least for the moment.
“What are you thinking, Ikki?” Nutha asked.
A part of Ikki did not want to respond. They were her thoughts, for her alone.
But it was too much. Far too much for her to keep quiet.
“I want to be here,” she finally said. “But I want to be living here, with mom and dad and Jinora and Meelo and Rohan. I want none of this to have happened. But then I wouldn’t know you. Then I wouldn’t have my moms. And I wouldn’t have granddad and grandmother. Is that weird? It’s almost like there is two of me, wanting two different things, but I can only have one, and what does it matter if want my original family to be alive, because they are not, and they never will be again, so why am I even wanting that?”
“Whoa,” Nutha said, looking at Ikki with wide open eyes. “That’s a lot.”
Ikki smiled as tears started running down her cheeks. “Sorry. I used to talk that way all the time, I guess. Still do when I get really worked up.” She shrugged. “It’s hard to remember sometimes what I was like before.”
Nutha looked at Ikki, looked away for a moment, then looked at Ikki again, “I’m sorry about what happened to you,” she finally said, “but I’m glad you are my friend.”
Ikki smiled.
“Me, too.”
-------
The airbenders on the island were using the training gates, as if it was just another day.
Of course, it was to them. They had no idea that she was there, and she intended to keep it that way. The last thing she wanted was to be pestered because of who her father used to be.
Ikki lingered behind the rest of her classmates as they went to the next part of the tour, and watched some new airbenders attempt to navigate the quickly-spinning teaching tool. She could not even remember how old she had been when she had first attempted the gates, though she had never been as bad at it as her mom had been.
Korra had attempted to charge through the gates like they were the enemy and she was a marine charging a beach. The enemy gates had stood firm, however, and had firmly rebuffed the efforts of the woman about whose identity they were all sworn to secrecy.
“Be the leaf,” Ikki whispered to herself as a young student attempted the potentially painful challenge.
No one knew, or at least admitted to knowing, how or why airbenders had started popping up again all over the world well over a decade ago, but the importance of the Air Nation had become all too clear as various nations started conscripting airbenders into their military.
The Air Nation had provided refuge for those who suddenly found themselves with newfound skills, and Ikki’s father had made sure before they departed for the south that refuge would continue to be provided, whether he was there or not.
It was funny, she thought, that at the time she had no idea about refuge, or her father making that refuge a permanent part of the air nation. She had only found that out in school, long after her original family was gone.
“Ikki!” Nutha called out.
Ikki looked over, and there was her friend, jogging back from the main group to get her.
“Everyone is waiting for you,” Nutha said.
Ikki nodded. Her grandfather and his guards were there, of course, but had given her space. They would talk later, she knew.
“Did you use that to train?” Nutha asked, as she looked at the spinning gates. “Seems painful.”
“A long time ago,” Ikki answered.
In another life.
-------
It had been sad, but she was glad she had forced herself to come. While she had no desire to ever go back to the island again, it was good to lay some memories to rest.
She had wandered as much of the island as she could without hopefully being too conspicuous. The pagoda, where Korra had gone to sulk, or daydream, or both, depending upon her mood. The communal dining hall. Various places where airbenders practised their gliding.
The flying bison.
She had looked, but she had not seen Oogi. He had flown away during the initial attack on the research facility, and had never been seen again, as far as she knew.
She had lifted herself off the ground a couple of times out of excitement of being with people who shared the same talent she did, but her bending had not been noticed, as far as she could tell, other than by a squirrel that had followed her around while it chittered for food.
Finally, the somewhat stressed teachers gathered everyone up in the main courtyard, and did a head count, twice, and then when the teacher in charge was satisfied, everyone headed back to the waiting ferry.
Ikki wondered what was going on with the airbenders and acolytes. They all seem to have disappeared.
It was only when the group rounded the bend back towards the ferry, did she understand.
All of the acolytes and airbenders were lined up on both sides of the path, silently waiting.
Each one bowed as Ikki walked by.
She could almost see the ghosts of her parents standing behind the bowing people, smiling, her father seeming far less stern, and her mother far less frazzled, as they saw how the island was prospering. She could almost see her siblings: Jinora studious and serious; Meelo being gross; and Rohan following his big brother in whatever he did.
Her classmates were confused, but somehow instinctively their chatter trailed off and they kept the silence that the acolytes and airbenders were maintaining.
She looked to either side, at the solemn faces and deep bows, and the ghosts of her first family, and hurried towards the ferry.
Ikki stayed quiet for the rest of the journey back to the hotel, and their teachers, as well as her grandfather, made sure that she got space for the entire trip. It was only when she got back to her room and was able to hide herself in her bed that she allowed herself to truly break down and cry.
Notes:
Well, that was light and refreshing, wasn't it? ;)
A big part of my writing (and fiction writing in general, I suppose) is about the choices the characters make, and the consequences of those choices. For a sequel to have any chance of being good, you have to take into consideration the consequences of all the choices made in the previous installment, even the ones that you kind of hand-waved away.
So, in this case, that meant Ikki confronting her past life, at least a little. But don't worry, she's resilient!
Nothing on the "horrible things happening to good (and sometimes bad) people" front in this chapter, but I'm sure that will change eventually. The thing about following more characters is that everything takes longer to develop. But we're getting there, I promise!
Also, it's fun to write Korra and Asami as boring, protective, potentially embarassing parents, as a change from the usual "uber-hot power couple" (not that there's anything wrong with that!).
Also also, I forgot to add, yes, I wrote Ikki as aro/ace for the purposes of this story. Why? More rep is always better, and it felt right.
I hope you enjoyed - see you soon!
Chapter 5: The Unbearable Weight of Past Lies and Present Truths
Notes:
Good afternoon!
So far, nothing really bad has happened in this story (right? right????), it's just been a collection of thoughts and travel and family and all sorts of lovely things. So let's switch points of view again - I'm sure Suyin is having a happy time, but if you want to know for sure, you better keep reading...
Enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Suyin
The sun was getting low.
The domes would close soon, Suyin knew. Exactly the same as they had for decades.
Opened to the light.
Closed to the night.
Over and over and over again. Without end or purpose.
That was bullshit, she knew.
The domes had purpose. They protected those within. Those she was responsible for.
Opal.
She could almost see her daughter. Stubborn. Brave. Practising her airbending in the pagoda in which Suyin presently rested. Getting her pilot’s license.
Telling her mother defiantly that she was joining the United Forces.
Sending word that she had performed her first mission.
And then her tenth, her messages less excited now, and sometimes horrific in what they described, but still determined, and proud. So very proud.
As Suyin had been, though she sometimes had trouble saying it.
And then, no messages, not for a while. She had not been worried, not at first. Opal had said her newest mission would take her out of contact, for an indeterminate period.
But then more time had passed, and there was nothing. Nothing but reports of a failed mission and an accident. A terrible accident.
And then finally, word had come. But not from Opal. Instead from others.
The entire unit was gone. Lin. The young lieutenant who Opal had thought cute. Kuvira.
Opal.
Disappeared, forever, somewhere in the frozen south.
Gone.
Not for the first time, tears dripped from Suyin’s face, unnoticed.
She needed to move on. She knew that. It had been years now, and she had a husband, and her sons, all of whom needed her, whether they admitted it or not.
She had Zaofu to run, though she was less involved in the day-to-day operations than she used to be.
Not really involved with it at all, if she was being honest. Not anymore.
The sun disappeared to the west, and the domes started to close, as they always did.
Internal lighting turned on as the domes closed. Disappearing sunlight was replaced by powered incandescence. The light patches and the shadowed were all planned, and predictable.
So much of Zaofu was unchanging. Perfection engineered in metal. As it was since the city’s creation, and as it ever would be.
Wouldn’t it?
She wouldn’t always be in charge to keep things as they were. She knew that.
What legacy would there be after she and her husband were gone? Who would take over?
Not the one she had hoped would eventually return to take her place by Suyin’s side. She was gone, never to return.
The twins? Neither had shown any aptitude or inclination for the work and responsibilities of the leadership of an entire city-state.
Junior?
No, the thought was laughable. Baatar Junior was best left to his plans and his labs.
Huan? He had risen to every other challenge thrown his way, but she knew that his heart was in his art and his various partners, and she had no desire to destroy the light inside him with a responsibility he had never expressed interest in.
Then who?
She needed to figure it out. She knew that.
But not today.
Today was for sitting and reflecting.
Just like every other day had been, as far back as she could remember.
-------
“There is an envelope for you, dear,” her husband said as she walked back into their residence. “It came by special courier.”
Steadfast and loyal, Baatar had stood by her in good times and bad. She had hurt him, she knew, in the last few years especially, at a time when his own pain was overwhelming, and just as bad as hers.
Yet he was still there.
She turned to him. He looked older than she remembered. But then again, her memories seem to have stopped with the death of their daughter.
Nothing after that truly mattered.
Coincidence.
The word tormented her, and probably always would. The Sulaco, gone. The southern research station, gone. So much of her family, gone.
Coincidence.
“Thank you, love,” she said, as she walked over to her husband and gave him a kiss on the cheek. The gesture seemed to surprise him as much as it surprised her.
She took the envelope and gave Baatar half a smile, which was far more smile than she usually had for anyone. Her husband smiled back as she opened it.
She read the first page, then looked at some of the other documents.
Then she frowned, and read the first page again.
“What is it?” Baatar asked.
It had taken years. Years. But finally, there was something more than just lies. Not much, but something.
“A crack in the wall,” she answered grimly. “I’m going to Republic City.”
“To do what?” Baatar asked. He looked worried, and understandably so, Suyin thought. There would be many people who would not like their lies to be uncovered.
“To tear down the wall, and discover the truth,” she answered honestly, though not completely.
To find those responsible.
And make them pay.
-------
Unsurprisingly, there was press when she entered Republic City. She had not been back since her first attempt at getting answers all those years ago, and she was still the leader of the largest independent city-state on the planet.
And if she had been the leader in little more than name these past few years, well, none of these fools were aware of that.
“And what brings you back to Republic City, for the first time in over five years?” a reporter asked. This one worked for a network, she was willing to bet, based on his slick look and expensive suit.
“I want to visit my son,” Suyin replied.
She calibrated her responses on the fly. She did not want to come across as too warm, but she also did not want to come across as if she had something to hide, or some sort of grander purpose to her visit.
It was an art, manipulating the media, one in which she was well versed, even if her skills were a bit rusty.
“You mean Baatar Jr? Is the estrangement over?” another asked.
This one looked like a poorly dressed ambulance chaser.
“There was never any estrangement,” she replied with a smile that mostly hid her anger at the question. A little bit of anger at such a question was understandable. It made her more sympathetic, and made the reporter more the villain.
With a better dressed, more reputable reporter, she would have had to completely hide her anger, in order to achieve the same result.
“My son has always been focused on his work,” she continued, “and has not visited in too long. And I finally feel able to handle Republic City again, so I thought it was high time I came and visited him.”
“So you admit-”
Suyin looked over at one the employees at the Zaofu embassy, who nodded in return.
“Mrs Beifong is a very busy woman,” the employee said, as he talked over the voice of the reporter attempting to ask another question. “That’s all the time we have for today.”
“Thank you,” Suyin said with a smile, then she walked away from the crowd of reporters, towards the car that was waiting for her.
“Mrs Beifong,” a young woman sitting in the back of the car said as Suyin got in. The car’s driver started the vehicle moving as soon as Suyin was buckled in.
“Talk to me, Lian,” Suyin ordered.
“Her name is Ikki,” Lian replied. “She is coming here on a school field trip, from the Southern Water Tribe. Lives with her two adoptive mothers.”
The woman paused, and Suyin nodded for her to go on. People who interrupted before all the information had been relayed were a pet peeve of hers.
“She seems a regular teenager, except for two things,” Suyin’s assistant continued. “One, she is an airbender, and the only surviving child of airbending master Tenzin and his wife Pema, as far as we can tell.”
“And they were supposed to be all dead,” Suyin whispered.
“Indeed,” Lian agreed. “And two, her adoptive mothers. Korra, a former member of the United Forces, wanted for desertion. And Asami Sato, daughter of Hiroshi Sato, and a person of interest in the destruction of two ships.”
“Two?” Suyin asked sharply.
“The Sulaco, and a freighter called the Nostromo.”
“The Sulaco,” Suyin stated flatly. “The ship with no survivors?”
“Indeed. It seems like those reports might not be completely accurate,” the woman responded.
“I would like to speak with this Ikki,” Suyin stated. “And find out more about her mothers.”
“That might be difficult,” Lian said, without any noticeable hesitation. Suyin admired her professionalism. It was not always easy to tell the person in charge what they needed to hear, as opposed to what they wanted to hear.
Just as it had not been easy to say Lian’s name for some time, as it was too close to her sister’s name.
“Why?”
“Korra, one of Ikki’s mothers, is the daughter of Chief Tonraq. He has announced his attention to go on the field trip as a chaperone. It seems obvious that the south is very cognizant of any potential threat to the chief’s granddaughter.”
Suyin blinked. Wait. That Korra? Tonraq’s Korra was part of that expedition?
“Why, that’s brilliant,” she said with admiration. “And, in some ways, it makes it easier.”
She kept talking as the car pulled up to the embassy.
“Pull back on any plans with the mothers or the granddaughter, though keep an eye on them. I have not talked with Tonraq in years. Coordinate with his people. I should like to have supper with him while he is here.”
She did not think there was any way Tonraq did not know something. If she could get real information from him, then that would be so much better and cleaner than going after the family.
She would as a backup plan, if she had to, but she did not want to.
And if he refused to be honest, well, that’s what backup plans were for.
-------
“Suyin!” Tonraq stood up from the round supper table where he had been seated.
“Tonraq,” Suyin responded warmly. She was still unsure if leaders such as herself could be said to have friends, but if she did, she would count Tonraq as one of them.
Though one she had not spoken to in years. Over six years, in fact.
“It’s been too long,” he said, as he wrapped her in a powerful hug. Some things never changed, apparently.
“Indeed,” she replied as soon as he let her go. She had forgotten how huge Tonraq was. And still mostly muscle, though perhaps with a little more of his wife’s home cooking around the middle. “How are you?” she asked. “And how is Senna?”
They were in a rather posh restaurant, Kwong’s Cuisine, and had one section of the restaurant to themselves, except for three of Tonraq’s guards, and two of her own. She was only the head of a city-state, after all, not the head of an entire nation, so matching the number of his guards might be considered... ambitious.
And she had never been ambitious. Not in that way, at least. She had no interest in turning Zaofu expansionary.
“She is doing well,” Tonraq replied. “And how is Baatar?”
“Oh, you know him. Always has a project to keep himself occupied with.” She paused. There was no point in waiting. “Well, almost always, of course. He really couldn’t concentrate after...” she shrugged. “Well, you know.”
Tonraq frowned as they both sat down. “As I said at the time, I was and still am truly sorry for all the loss you suffered. It was far more than any one family should have to bear.”
“Thank you,” Suyin said softly, touching his arm as she did so. “You have more of an extended family now, do you not?”
Tonraq looked down at his arm, then back up at Suyin. “Indeed,” he said, more flatly now. “What is this truly about, Suyin?”
He always was smart, Suyin knew. Bringing up the past and then immediately bringing up his family was unlikely to be coincidental, as far as he was concerned.
“Did you know that the Sulaco was said to have no survivors?” she asked as she moved her hand away from his arm. “Absolutely none.”
Tonraq looked over at one of his security people, and nodded. The bulky woman came up to them. A handsome woman despite, or perhaps because of, her size, she had scarring along her right ear, and part of the ear was missing. Suyin thought that this was a woman best fought at a distance, with metalbending, should the need ever arise.
“How secure are we?” Tonraq asked.
“Initial sweep revealed nothing to worry about,” the woman replied. “We are also performing ongoing checks, including the entirety of the staff.”
“All clean?”
“Yes, sir,” she responded.
“Thank you,” Tonraq replied with another nod. He beckoned, and she leaned down so that he could whisper in her undamaged ear. She nodded, then went back to her position. Suyin could see her speaking to someone in her earpiece.
“What do you want to know, Suyin?” he asked.
“I want to know what happened to my daughter,” Suyin said.
Tonraq looked at her for a moment, then nodded. “That is more than fair. Though you might not believe it when you hear it.”
She just raised an eyebrow.
“I’m going to need a drink or two for these stories,” Tonraq said. “Plus food.”
Suyin smiled, for just a moment. “Well, shall we order?”
“Let’s,” Tonraq agreed. “Then I’ll tell you everything I know about what happened. It doesn’t start with the Sulaco, though.”
“What do you mean?”
“It starts with my daughter-in-law, and the freighter Nostromo.”
-------
“Monsters?” Suyin asked with disbelief in her voice.
“Monsters,” Tonraq confirmed. “Creatures. Aliens. Whatever they are, they are real, and they are deadly.”
“No creature,” Suyin objected, “no matter how naturally dangerous, could overwhelm a prepared force of benders and weaponry.”
Tonrraq sighed. “Do you think I did not have doubts? Even though it was my own daughter telling me this? That a group of creatures could wipe out the entire southern research station, and then a unit of United Forces marines, leaving only three people left alive.”
“All of whom are now part of your family,” Suyin stated.
“Indeed,” Tonraq agreed.
She was not actually sure of her own intentions, or if she was baiting him, but if she was, he was not biting.
“Why should I believe any of this?” she demanded.
“Beyond the fact it is too preposterous to be a lie?”
“Beyond that.”
Tonraq looked over at his guard, who nodded. “Bring it over, Maella,” he ordered.
The guard came over, dropped off a data stick at their table, then returned to her post. Tonraq took the data stick in one hand and looked at it for a moment.
Suyin waited, forcing herself to be patient. That data stick, and what information it contained, that was the prize. She knew it.
She could not imagine that Tonraq would demand anything that she would not be willing to agree to in order to get it.
“My daughter-in-law is a highly intelligent woman,” Tonraq finally said. He snorted. “Genius, really.”
“My son is a highly intelligent man, so I think I understand,” Suyin said softly.
“Do you?” he asked, looking at her finally. “I do not think you do. Not yet.” He put the data stick down on the table between the two of them.
“That is a copy of everything,” he continued. “Everything from Asami’s initial testimony regarding the Nostromo incident, to the recollections of all three of them regarding the southern research station and the Sulaco, to as many data files as she could copy over from the Sulaco.” He smiled. “She copied those at the same time as she scuttled the Sulaco, right after fighting a monster. Not just a genius, but a genius under pressure.”
“And you are giving it to me?” Suyin finally asked, unable to restrain herself any further.
“I need guarantees. I repeat, this is everything. We were planning to give most of it to the United Republic, until they chose to go in a different direction.”
“Lies,” Suyin said sharply.
Tonraq nodded. “Lies, deceit, and warrants for my daughters’ arrest. Relations between our nations have been... chilly, since this happened.”
Suyin nodded in return. So much made sense now. The sudden shift in the Southern Water Tribe’s attitude toward, well, everyone. She had thought it was just a reaction to grief, when she had had the inclination to think about it at all.
Just as she had been reacting to grief.
“What guarantees?” she asked.
Tonraq took a sip of his whisky.
“If Baatar Jr was wanted by official forces the way that my daughters are; if there was talk of using your family as leverage; how would you react? What would you want?”
“I would shut Zaofu down to the outside world, and use every bit of our power and influence to make sure they were safe.”
Tonraq nodded. “That’s what I want. The guarantee that if...” he paused in thought for a moment, “if the shit hits the fan, as they say, you will treat my family as if they are your family.”
Suyin blinked, and leaned back in her seat. “That’s practically an unconditional alliance between the Southern Water Tribe and Zaofu.”
“Yes.”
She looked at Tonraq for a long moment. There is no lie there. It was a huge demand. Beyond huge.
Unheard of.
Suyin grabbed her own glass, raised it, and saluted Tonraq with it, before draining her own whisky in one go.
Then she grabbed the data stick.
-------
It was getting light again.
She had finally stopped reading documents and listening to audio files, and now was sitting on the balcony of her embassy quarters, watching the sun rise.
It was all fantastical. Unreal. Completely unbelievable.
But also completely true.
The evidence was too much. Far too much to be lies.
Lin. Kuvira.
Opal.
They hadn’t died in an accident.
They had died because of lies and corporate greed. They had died saving the world.
And no one had told her.
She thought about the arrangement she had made with Tonraq as the sun rose above the horizon and the city started to come to life. It was an audacious agreement.
One which bound Zaofu closely to the Southern Water Tribe.
But it also bound the Southern Water Tribe closely to Zaofu.
And just as she would be required to bring the resources of her city to bear should any action be taken against the south, so would the south have to assist her should Zaofu have action taken against it. No matter who initiated that action originally.
She smiled as she thought about finally returning to the council that had ignored her, all those years ago.
Maybe she could, indeed, make them pay.
Notes:
So now Suyin is in on the dirty little secret... what implications will that have, I wonder???
Tonraq is the dad Asami deserved, as opposed to the one she had. And Suyin with her edge - so fun to write.
Anyway, another chapter complete, with no violence or anything! How is that possible? I'll have to change that - but when???
Thanks for reading!
Chapter 6: A Long-Awaited Confrontation
Notes:
Hello, and happy Tuesday!
We left off with our first full Suyin chapter, as she got information that helped her move on from her wallowing, and guess what?! This chapter is hers, too!
Let's see how it goes, shall we?
Enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Suyin
“Son!” Suyin called out warmly as her eldest child entered the restaurant she had reserved for a lunch for the two of them. She put down her tea and stood as he approached.
“Mother,” Baatar Jr said as they embraced. “It is so good to see you again. It has been too long.”
“It truly has,” she agreed as they separated and sat down. “I’m sorry I did not visit earlier, but...” she trailed off and shrugged.
Her eldest was looking well, she noticed, like a taller and younger version of his father. There was a certain pallor to his cheeks, however, though she supposed that was likely due to long hours in the lab, and she could hardly blame him for that.
Baatar Jr looked down at the empty place setting in front of him for a moment, then looked back up again. “It was a difficult time for all of us,” he said simply. “I do not blame you.”
Then he looked around briefly, and smiled, somewhat slyly.
“Though if just visiting was the order of the day, I suspect I would see father here, as well.”
Suyin smiled back at her son.
“Perhaps,” she agreed, “though he is as difficult to pull away from his work as you are. Next time, we will both come. Or you could visit home for once! I’m sure your lab could live without you for a few days or a week or two.”
“It probably could, mother,” Baatar Jr said. “Though what I am researching is so fascinating, that I have to admit I have trouble forcing myself to even go home on weekends, never mind take actual vacation!”
Suyin shook her head slightly and smiled once more. “So much like your father.”
A server came up and introduced himself.
“Shall we order?” Suyin asked.
They both did, then sat in silence for a few moments after the server left with their orders. Her son looked like he was going to explode.
“Don’t just sit there,” Suyin commanded. “Ask.”
Baatar sighed, and rolled his eyes. “So why are you here, then, mother?” he asked. “Your primary purpose, that is.”
“I finally have proof,” she said with a smile that did not reach her eyes.
“Proof?” Her son’s brows furrowed. “Of...”
“Everything,” Suyin stated. “Everything the council said about the Sulaco was a lie.”
Baatar’s eyes went wide. “Oh,” was all he said.
“Yes,” she said grimly. “I told the Republic City council, years ago, that when I found proof, I would come back and confront them on it.”
“Are you going to do that?” he asked, somewhat nervously, it seemed. “Confront them?”
“Yes. With as much force as it takes.” She looked at her son. “You disapprove?”
“Yes, well, um...”
“Spit it out!” She had waited far too long to tolerate hesitation or second-guessing.
“Well, you see, my research...” Baatar paused, took a sip of water, then continued. “My research is funded by the council, and if...”
Suyin calmed herself once more. It was a sensible concern.
“If I confront them, you are worried your funding will go poof?” she asked.
Baatar Jr nodded.
“I understand.” She smiled once again as she thought about the new arrangement she had with the Southern Water Tribe. “Don’t worry about that. One way or another, you won’t have to give up your research.”
Her son looked at her for a moment, then smiled, obviously at least mostly relieved.
Their food arrived, and they got down to eating and small talk, catching up with the lives that they both had missed for the past few years. She could tell that he was still anxious about her confrontation with the council.
She would be meeting the council soon, and then all of her son’s concerns would be laid to rest.
-------
“Madam Beifong,” the United Republic functionary said to her. “We were not expecting you.”
Suyin, her assistant, and two bodyguards stood in the entrance the capitol building of the United Republic in Republic City.
It was such a boringly named city, she thought, not for the first time. She couldn’t imagine having had so little imagination as to have called Zaofu “Metal City,” instead.
“Madam Beifong is here to speak to the council,” her assistant said.
“I’m afraid-” the functionary began, before Lian cut him off.
“Not as afraid as you will be once Tarrlok finds out you kept a sovereign leader waiting at the front desk,” Suyin’s assistant said with a smile.
Suyin smiled, as well, somewhat pleased with herself. She had chosen well with this one.
“Um,” the functionary said, his mouth opening and closing purposely like some sort of fish. “I’ll call up,” he finished weakly.
“Good,” Lian said.
Suyin's eyes blazed.
Soon.
-------
Metal blades shot out from underneath the sleeves of Suyin’s top. They sliced precisely into the gap between the two sides of the entrance into the City council chambers, wrapped themselves around the thickness of the doors, and then pulled back towards Suyin as she pulled her arms back towards herself.
The doors swung open, and the blades shot back through her sleeves, to wrap themselves around her arms once more.
Jewellery, after all, did not have to be purely decorative.
Councilman Tarrlok looked up and at her, as the doors swung wide. The rest of the council seemed shocked, with eyes or mouths or both wide open, but he just smiled his viper smile, as he had every other time Suyin had interacted with him.
“Suyin Beifong,” Tarrlok said, oh-so-pleasantly, as he stood to greet her, “what a lovely surprise. And so dramatic, too.”
Suyin walked into the council chambers, Lian just behind her, her bodyguards still in the outer chamber, where they had been requested to wait.
“To what do we owe this pleasure?” he asked. “It has been so long.”
Suyin looked at the de facto ruler of the United Republic. His hair was closer to white than black now, and perhaps his build was not quite as stereotypical “Water Tribe strong” as it used to be, but he was still a politician at the top of his game.
Suyin smiled.
It was not her fault that he did not yet know that they were playing a new game, now.
“The last time I was here,” she started softly.
She was calm.
She was rational.
She was in control.
“The last time I was here,” she repeated, “I made a promise.”
She paused, wondering what Tarrlok would say. Would he claim forgetfulness? Would he snicker?
Tarrlok said nothing. He waited, completely still.
“I have fulfilled that promise,” she stated.
Tarrlok raised an eyebrow, and made a shushing motion to the other councillors, who were muttering in confusion. Suyin realized that even though the councillors were old, they were not the same ones she had seen all those years ago.
“Go on, please,” Tarrlok said. “Enlighten my colleagues as to your promise.”
She narrowed her eyes.
“I have evidence that what happened to the Sulaco was no accident. I have evidence that it was far worse than an accident.”
“Is that so?” Tarrlok asked in return, seemingly unperturbed by her declaration.
“That is so!” she yelled.
Dammit.
Suyin breathed deep.
Calm. Rational. In control.
She knew the rules, unspoken and unwritten but still true. She had to be flawless, while he could be lawless.
“That is so,” she repeated, more softly.
“Hmmm,” Tarrlok hummed. “But – and correct me if I’m wrong – that was not your promise, was it?”
Oh.
The words were burned in her brain, as were the images of her humiliation at Tarrlok’s hands.
Oh shit.
“Let me play the recording of your words from that day,” Tarrlok stated, “since your memory seems to be failing you.”
And there went her chance at being flawless.
“I’ll be back for blood!”
Her voice rang out from the council’s sound system.
“So.” Tarrlok smiled once more. “Is that what you are here for?” he asked. “This council’s blood?”
She looked at the other councillors who were looking at her in shock, because of the recorded words they had just heard.
She had lost any chance with them.
They-
She stilled herself.
Calm. Perhaps a little less rational. But still in control.
Suyin smiled back at Tarrlok.
“If I cannot have justice, I will settle for vengeance.” She looked back at her assistant, nodded, and looked back at Tarrlok. “You are not the only one with recordings,” she said.
Lian moved forward, put the recording device she had been carrying down on the nearest table, and pressed play. Other sounds now made their way to the councillor’s ears, though her portable device could not match the volume of the council’s own sound system.
“Korra,” a woman’s voice came from the recording. “Korra, look down. What’s that?”
“Speaking: Asami Sato, civilian consultant,” came another, measured, calm, narrating voice.
“What the fuck?”
“Speaking: Private Tahno, United Forces,” the narrating voice said.
“Is it... is it pulsing?” another male voice asked.
“Speaking: Specialist Mako, United Forces.”
“Alright, marines,” another woman’s voice ordered, “we’re not here to gawk, we’re here to rescue some people. Form up and keep moving.”
“Speaking: Sergeant Lin Beifong, United Forces.”
Suyin winced, and a tear formed in her eye, but she let the recording continue, every second a second closer to the end of so much of her world.
Opal had still been alive at this point, waiting ready at her TigerShark. Opal, and Lin, and Kuvira, all still alive.
“That’s not a suggestion, Sergeant!” a male voice ordered.
“Speaking: Lieutenant Bolin, unit commanding officer, United Forces.”
“I want all AP ammo stowed. No grenades. No metal or lightning bending, either,” the lieutenant continued.
“What are we supposed to use, harsh language?” another voice asked.
“Speaking: Private Ezra, United Forces.”
“Stow that shit, Ezra,” the sergeant ordered. “You heard the man! Nothing armour piercing. Kuvira, I’m looking at you! It sucks, but that’s the hand.”
The recording went for a little bit more. Everyone in the room was silent as they listened.
“Hey, we got a live one!”
“Speaking: Private Kuyan, United Forces.”
“Jinora! Jinora!” a girl screamed.
“Speaking: Ikki, child, civilian, airbender.”
“Korra...” a voice pleaded. “Korra, please.”
“Speaking: Jinora, child, civilian, airbender.”
“Jinora!”
“Speaking: Corporal Korra, United Forces.”
“Korra, please...” Jinora’s voice faded, then regained its volume. “Kill me. Please, kill me,” she said. Then she started screaming.
“Motherfucker! Fucking die!” Specialist Mako yelled, and there was the sound of burning as the screaming faded away.
There was a brief moment of silence in the recording.
“Movement! I’ve got movement!” Private Tahno yelled.
“Enough,” Tarrlok stated.
Suyin let the recording play.
“I don’t see anything,” another soldier said. “You even know how to use that thing?”
“Speaking: Specialist Kuvira, United Forces.”
“Fuck you! I’ve got movement, getting close! Sarge, you’ve got something within a metre of you,” Tahno responded.
“Enough!” Tarrlok yelled.
The playback changed from frightened voices to the sounds of gunfire and screams. Suyin reached out and paused the playback.
“An... accident,” she snarled at him.
Now it was Tarrlok’s turn to frown. He looked at the other councillors, who were staring at him suspiciously, and with horror as they digested what they had heard.
“Clear the room,” he ordered.
The other councillors shuffled around, but did not leave.
“Clear the room!” Tarrlok yelled, and this time there was movement. The other four councillors stood up and slowly made their way out, muttering as they did so.
“What do you want?” Tarrlok demanded, once the chamber was empty of everyone but him, Suyin, and Lian. He looked at Suyin’s assistant. “I want her gone, too.”
Suyin hesitated, then turned to her assistant and nodded. Lian narrowed her eyes, then bowed slighlty, and turned towards the exit.
“What do you want?” Tarrlok demanded again as Lian exited the chambers.
“I want the truth!” she exclaimed.
“It seems like you have it already,” he countered. “So again, I ask, what do you want?”
She snarled. Tarrlok’s admission gave her no satisfaction.
“I want my daughter back!” Suyin yelled. “But shy that, I will settle for blood.”
Tarrlok sighed. “I had hoped you would be reasonable,” he said, as he turned his back to her. “But you leave me no choice.”
Suyin tensed, but Tarrlok did not attack her. Not that there was a significant water source in the chamber, anyway. Instead, he flipped a switch on the tabletop in front of him. “Send him in,” he ordered.
Send who in?
She looked over at the door at the other end of the chamber as it opened, and her eyes widened.
“Son?” she asked incredulously.
Notes:
Did anybody think Tarrlok was going to bloodbend her at the end? I even used the same phrase he used in his confrontation with Korra in S01E08! If so, fooled you! :D
I left Suyin's story on a bit of a cliffhanger, but you are going to have to wait to see how that plays out - back to Korra and Asami next week!
Oh, and before I forget to say: friendly comments and kudos are always very welcome. Also, I have a new series started: https://archiveofourown.org/works/63274666
Check it out! And my other stuff, too, if you are so inclined. It would be awesome if you did! :)
Thanks for reading!
Chapter 7: The Third Time
Notes:
Hello there!
I've had a week - both my mental and physical health have not been at their best, but still, here I am!!!
After a brief dive into what Suyin has been up to for a few years, we are back with Korra and Asami - unlike a certain author (*cough* Denadareth *cough*), I actually believe in putting korrasami into my korrasami story!
How are they enjoying their childfree life? Lots of loud sex, I assume... let's find out, shall we?
Enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Korra
“It’s only been three days,” Korra said as she held onto Asami, who was drying some tears with a tissue.
“I know,” Asami responded. “But I miss her.”
Korra gave Asami a kiss on the cheek. She was fine with how Asami was taller than her, most of the time, but it did annoy her sometimes how Asami could easily kiss the top of Korra’s head, but it was far more difficult for Korra to do the same.
“Me, too,” Korra said. “Want to go see what mom is up to?”
Usually in the evening the whole family relaxed together, or they split up to do different things as couples, but with both Tonraq and Ikki away, Senna was as out-of-sorts in the evening as Asami was feeling tonight.
“Sure,” Asami said with a smile. “Just let me wash my face.”
Korra watched Asami head into their bathroom, and enjoyed the view as she often did (the phrase “hate to see you go but love to watch you leave” popped into her head, not for the first time).
There was a knock on their door.
“Oh, hey mom,” Korra said as she opened their door. “We were just going to see if you wanted to hang out.”
Senna frowned. “Have you seen the news?”
“What news?” Asami asked, coming back from the bathroom.
Senna gave Asami a brief smile. “You should see for yourselves.”
Korra looked over at Asami, who’s hand was trembling. “Well,” Korra said, “that’s a bit ominous.” She took Asami’s hand in her own.
“Yes,” Asami agreed.
Senna blinked. “Sorry!” she said, as she grabbed Asami’s other hand. “I don’t mean to worry you, I’m sure it is nothing, but it is weird.”
“That doesn’t help,” Asami said flatly.
Korra squeezed Asami’s hand. “Why don’t we go see, right babe?”
Asami started, then looked at Korra. “Right! Yes, better just to find out. Sorry, mom.”
Senna patted Asami’s hand. “You have nothing to apologize for, dear.”
“Come on, let’s go,” Korra said, and led the three of them to the main entertainment room.
“News?” she asked when they got there.
Senna nodded, and turned on the television.
“We’re almost at the top of the hour, so it will restart soon,” Senna said. “It’s so easy to get information these days.”
“But is it accurate information?” Asami asked, snapping out of her funk. “I have read studies that indicate those who watch the news are often less informed than those who do not, due to the inaccuracies of what is being presented.”
Korra grinned. Listening to Asami go into lecture mode was still one of her favourite hobbies.
“I watch the news,” Senna said quietly.
Asami’s eyes went wide. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to-” She stopped talking, as she saw both Senna and Korra grinning at her.
“I hate you both,” Asami muttered.
“Love you too, babe,” Korra said.
“Revenge is sweet,” Senna stated.
“Revenge for what?” Korra asked.
Asami blushed. “Ummm...”
“Don’t you worry about it,” Senna said as she patted her daughter on the cheek.
Her mom’s hair was more white than dark now, Korra noticed. It wasn’t surprising, really, she supposed, since both she and Asami now had a bunch of white hairs themselves.
Senna turned on the television, and they watched the final fluff story of the hour. Naga wandered in as they did so, and presented herself for attention as they all shifted themselves to give the large polar-bear dog space.
Republic City news was not usually top of the hour priority, but with the chief of the Southern Water Tribe in Republic City with his granddaughter, the goings on in the city had taken on greater importance.
Still, a fishing dispute between the Southern Water Tribe and the Fire Nation was at the top of the hour, followed by warnings of a sudden plunge in temperatures expected soon. If the prediction turned out to be accurate, even Korra might have to bundle up when going outside.
Then, the news turned towards Republic City.
Suyin Beifong’s presence in the city for the first time in years made news, as did her supper meeting with Korra’s father. Senna turned thoughtful at that.
“It’s good seeing Suyin active again,” Senna said, “but I wonder what she wanted of Tonraq.”
“Active?” Asami asked.
Korra thought she had an inkling of what had driven the matriarch of the Metal Clan into retreat.
Lin.
Opal.
Even Kuvira had had a connection to the Metal Clan, though Korra had not known how attached the metalbender was to her former home, nor if Opal’s mother had been attached to Kuvira.
“Suyin took the loss of her daughter hard,” Senna said.
Asami looked over at Korra.
“Opal, the TigerShark pilot,” Korra explained. “You barely interacted with her, outside the sparring match on the Sulaco.”
“Oh,” Asami said softly. “I’m sorry I did not get to know her, or the rest of your unit, better than I did.” She looked down. “I’ve always regretted that.”
“Not your fault, babe,” Korra said.
Naga looked up and directly at Asami, and adjusted herself so that her large head was resting on Asami’s lap. She always had a good intuition about who needed her presence the most.
“In other news, Republic City police report another person gone missing from the university district of the city...”
“That’s what I was talking about,” Senna said. “There’s more.”
“...but no blood. Police request that anyone with information come forward...”
“What did they say before they mentioned blood?” Asami asked. “I missed it.”
“Just that there were personal possessions left behind, including some valuables,” Senna answered.
“So not robberies, then. Strange,” Asami said as she put her hand on her chin, almost covering her mouth as she did so.
It was her thinking pose, as Korra thought of it. “Is this what you wanted to show us?” she asked her mother while Asami pondered.
Senna nodded. “There was supposed to be a visit to the university tomorrow, but in light of this, Tonraq has been talking with the school officials about planning something different.”
“This is all the information that has been released?” Asami asked as she broke her silence.
“All that I am aware of,” Senna answered.
Asami hesitated, then nodded.
“What are you thinking, love?” Korra asked.
Asami started. “Nothing, really,” she said. “It’s a puzzle, and I like solving puzzles.”
Korra smiled. “You could have been a detective.”
Asami smiled back. “An engineer is good enough for me.”
-------
Asami
Asami hummed contentedly to herself as she worked on the old TigerShark she had flown to Wolf Cove in, all those years ago.
She had never imagined she would see the aircraft again after she had landed it, but some months into her stay, when she had expressed a frustration of no challenging projects to put her mind to, it had only taken a couple of days for Tonraq to present the aircraft as a ‘thank you for saving my daughter’ present. Southern Water Tribe technicians had gone over the aircraft with fine tooth combs, multiple times, and had reverse engineered everything they desired from the TigerShark.
Then the aircraft had gone into storage, with no real plan for it other than to keep it around if someone came up with a new project idea.
Instead, one entire hangar of Wolf Cove’s biggest military airbase had been reserved for the chief’s daughter-in-law. If any of the personnel at the base had issues with Asami’s presence, they had kept quiet, at first out of respect for their chief, and then, as time went on, out of respect for Asami.
Eventually, her skills got them seeking her out, so that instead of being a civilian interloper, she got hired as an official civilian contractor.
Despite working on more advanced Water Tribe technology on a regular basis, the TigerShark was her baby. At first, she had been worried that the aircraft would bring back too many painful memories.
That did happen occasionally, but it was also a reminder of how the three of them, her, Korra, and Ikki, had survived and become a family.
The TigerShark had no weaponry, of course, though she had ascertained soon after being given the aircraft that she could make the weapon systems operational again. She would just need each system’s loadout, and she would have ownership of a fully functional combat aircraft.
She sometimes wondered if there were laws against that, somewhere.
The last time she had taken the TigerShark out for a flight (she was only given a small yearly amount of fuel, so she couldn’t fly it too often), there had been a fault with power to one of the turbines, so now she had one side of the fuselage taken apart in order to find the problem.
It had been a frustrating, knuckle-scraping, curse-word-laden couple of hours, but she had finally found the issue. On the negative side, it had taken her hours to find the problem.
On the positive, the problem was easily fixed, with parts available on the base.
Asami sighed.
She enjoyed working on the TigerShark, but wasn’t looking forward to putting it all back together again. Still, it was part of the job.
She stretched, thought longingly about heading back home for a bath, and got back to work.
The sun was starting to reach its peak when, with a last exasperated sigh, she finally got it all back together again. She would have lunch in her little office, that was situated off to one side of the hangar. Then, if no paid work came up for her, she would head home early.
She washed up and cleaned a scrape she had gotten on one hand, then grabbed her lunch, and sat down at her computer as she started to eat. The first thing she wanted to check, and only thing really, was the goings on in Republic City.
Everything was good according to Ikki, and no field trip was scheduled anywhere near the university district anymore, but still. Asami just could not stop thinking about the disappearances.
There were now enough people missing that the city itself was starting to get nervous, as far as she could tell, with one vigil in the area being held the previous evening.
Still, there was nothing new that she could find regarding the disappearances, so she just scanned general Republic City news instead. There were whispers coming out of the city council that council members were starting to object to the leadership of councillor Tarrlok, but no detailed information was available.
Professional bending was still big in the city, with talk, not for the first time, of expanding the league outside of the city. Asami wondered how that would work, considering the homogeneous nature of bending in most of the nations.
Perhaps benders would travel to other nations in order to balance out the teams. And recruitment could be expanded outside of the United Republic.
She shrugged, and shook off her distraction.
The weather was seasonal, and uninteresting to her. Though at least she didn’t have to worry about Ikki catching a cold. Neither Ikki nor Asami herself had Korra’s natural immunity to cold temperatures, after all.
There was a report of a statue on the Republic City University grounds toppling over. People at the vigil had been accused of the vandalism, but all had denied it.
And how would candle-holding people, holding a vigil for those missing, topple a statue anyway, Asami wondered.
There were pictures of the toppled statue. It was one of the founders of the university, apparently.
Asami’s eyes widened as she zoomed in on the picture that showed where the statue had been broken.
Then she took off running, the remains of her lunch forgotten.
-------
Korra
“Did you see it?” Asami yelled as she barged into the gym where Korra was working out.
Korra started, and almost dropped the weights she was vertically pressing.
“What the fuck, babe?!” she grunted as she lowered the weights to chin height, then placed them on the rack. She turned to Asami.
“Seriously, I could have dropped those.”
“Huh? What?” Asami blinked. “Oh, sorry, but did you see it?”
Did she not even notice what I was doing?
“See what?” Korra asked.
“I’ll take that as a no,” Asami countered. “Come on, I need to show you.” She started to head for the door.
“Show me what?” Korra demanded.
Asami turned back, and Korra went still. Asami looked afraid.
“I don’t want to tell you. I want you to see for yourself,” Asami answered. There were tears forming in her eyes. “I want you see something entirely unlike what I saw. I want you to show me I’m wrong.”
Asami rushed out of the gym. Korra looked back at the weights.
So much for my workout. I can put them away after.
She grabbed a towel, and quickly followed Asami out and caught up with her. They went to their office together.
“Hold here,” Asami said as she sat down in front of computer.
Korra waited while Asami looked for something online. She hated waiting, and avoided it every chance she could, but Korra knew that Asami was always worth waiting for.
Always.
“Here it is,” Asami said, as she stood up again. “Sit down, read the article, look at the pictures, and tell me what you think.”
Korra frowned, but did as she was requested, taking the time to dry sweat from her face and neck as she did so. Then she sat down on the towel – no need to make the chair gross with sweat.
The article seemed to be about some statue that had been vandalized at the university. She read the article, then looked at the pictures.
“I don’t get it,” she finally said, as she looked up at Asami. “What am I looking for?”
“The third picture,” Asami answered. “Zoom in and tell me what you see.”
Korra went back to the start of the pictures, then forwarded to the third one. It was the one that had the best shot of the damage done to the picture. Korra zoomed in, and frowned. The stone looked like it had been eaten away...
“As if by acid,” Korra whispered as she looked back at Asami.
“You see it, too,” Asami responded. She clutched one hand in the other as she stood there.
Korra swung back around and glared at the screen. “There are lots of acid things in this world,” she finally said.
“I know,” Asami whispered. “But I know.”
Korra looked up at Asami. Then she nodded.
“Right,” Korra said as she stood up. “Let’s get a hold of Ikki and make sure she’s okay. Then get a hold of my dad. He can authorize an emergency evac for everyone. But...” she trailed off.
Asami looked at Korra. “But,” Asami completed, “he will need to justify it.”
“Yeah.”
“The disappearances!” Asami gasped. “They’re from the same part of the city. They are perfect justification to cut the trip short.”
“Fuck,” Korra said softly. “Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, and three times...”
Asami nodded. “Three times is enemy action.” She had been with Korra long enough that she never said the original, civilian version of the saying anymore.
“We’re at two right now,” Korra said.
Asami turned and strode out of the room.
“Where are you going?” Korra asked.
“Phone,” was the simple answer.
Asami grabbed a phone as soon as she found one, and dialed Ikki’s number. She was silent for a moment, then “Hey Ikki, can you call home when you get this? It’s important. Thanks. Love you.”
Asami hung up and shook her head. “No answer.”
“She’s probably enjoying... where were they going today?”
“Science and Technology museum, instead of the university,” Asami answered.
“Yeah. We’re still at two.”
“For now. Try to get hold of your father,” Asami said.
“Good idea.” It was highly unlikely that Tonraq would not pick up. Korra heard the phone ring twice, then cut off. She frowned, then dialed again.
“Your call cannot be completed as dialed. Please hang up and try again. Your call cannot be completed as dialed. Please hang up and...”
Korra looked at Asami.
“That’s three,” she whispered.
Notes:
Ha! no sex - fooled you! :>
Plot advancement, though. Definitely plot advancement. And that's important, right? Right???
The original saying ends with "three times is a trend," but I've always preferred the "three times is enemy action" version.
Anyway, I am feeling sick (and also sick and tired of all the bullshit from the country directly south of mine), so that's all for today.
Thanks for reading!
Chapter 8: Which Came First?
Notes:
Good afternoon!
I have had a busy, up and down, but overall good week, so I missed my scheduled posting day yesterday. Oops!
We left off with Korra and Asami finding out some disturbing facts - so it must be time to change povs! Back to Suyin we go.
Enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Suyin
“What is going on, junior? Why are you here?”
Of all the possible scenarios she had envisioned on how this confrontation was going to go, facing off against her own son was not one of them.
“I’m here because your accusations could impact my work, mother,” Baatar Jr stated. “I’m here because Tarrlok thought it a good idea, when I told him about the reason for your visit to Republic City.”
“You... betrayed me?” she asked.
“Always so dramatic, Suyin,” Tarrlok said with a smile. “There are important things going on in Republic City. Things you know nothing about. And your son is at the forefront of the research that is helping turn vague dreams into reality.”
“Research?” Suyin repeated.
Have I lost a second child?
She knew that she should not feel that way, that her son was not dead, but still, it was hard for her not to feel that way.
“What do you mean, research?” she demanded.
Baatar raised an eyebrow. “You did not think I locked myself away, working every single day, just to implement a slight increase in the fuel efficiency of passenger vehicles, or some other equally unimportant task, did you?”
“I...” she trailed off.
“I always wanted to discover something revolutionary,” he continued. “And I think I have.”
“By researching these monsters that killed your aunt? Killed your sister?”
“Killed the woman I was in love with,” Baatar responded softly. “But with my work, their deaths will be meaningful sacrifice, as opposed to meaningless tragedies.”
She stared at Baatar Jr, stunned. “You know what they did? What they are capable of?”
Baatar Jr smiled, and took her hands into his own. “Come, mother. Let me take you to my lab. Come see the wonders I am creating.”
-------
“You will have to leave your guards and assistant outside, mother,” Baatar said as they rolled up to his facility. A modern looking building, with many curves and angles, it did not fit architecturally in with the rest of the university campus, at all.
“You understand, I’m sure. These are revolutionary, and we do not want just anyone finding out about them.”
“Of course,” Suyin said with a smile. She was genuinely glad to be seeing her son’s research, and his reassurances had certainly helped.
She thought about all of the evidence that she had seen, in the drive that was presently burning a hole in her pocket. Tarrlok had eyed it covetously as the “meeting” had concluded, but had not demanded it, or anything else for that matter.
Were they being genuine? Would what she saw convert her to their side?
It seemed unlikely, but then again, being disingenuous had never been part of her son’s character.
If it was part of his character, would you know?
A part of her was unconvinced.
They got out of the car, and walked into the front entrance of the building. Students traipsed up and down the halls, though perhaps fewer than she would have expected normally.
Of course, there had been talk of people going missing, so maybe that had something to do with it.
There was a door marked “Employees Only” which Baatar swiped his card to unlock, and then he held it open and gestured for her to come inside.
Inside was a plain room, a security guard, and an elevator door.
“Doctor,” the guard said, as she stood up. “Going downstairs? This is your guest?”
“My mother, yes,” Baatar Jr responded.
The guard nodded. “I received the permissions already.”
She moved over, and punched a code into the keypad by the elevator, hiding what she punched from Suyin as she did so.
“Go ahead,” the guard said as she moved aside, and the elevator door opened.
Suyin went in, and her son followed. She watched the guard sit back down behind her desk as the elevator door closed.
The elevator went down, not up, though only a couple of floors, if Suyin was estimating correctly.
“An underground lair?” she asked sardonically.
Baatar Jr grinned. “Close.” The doors opened. “And we are not quite there yet. Now for the real security.”
The elevator opened into a bigger, more futuristic looking room. In-wall lighting was not too bright, but still strangely unpleasant. The ceilings were mirrored, and there were corner mirrors down at the end of the one hall Suyin could see.
“We’ll have to sign in here, mother,” Baatar Jr said.
“We?”
“Oh yes, we take security very seriously here at the lab.”
The two of them signed in, and Suyin received a visitor’s badge that she was instructed to display prominently on her chest. Then her son had a retina scan done so that the door would unlock.
Then they went through.
The institutional white and security mirrors continued, as did security cameras. But now there was more.
Her son pressed a button, and display lit up. Where it had been invisible before, hidden behind the lighting, now there was a full skeleton on display.
She recognized the shape, from the descriptions she had heard. Four limbs. A large, domed head. Mouths and teeth. So many teeth.
“We call them xenomorphs,” Baatar said proudly.
Suyin gasped, as she realized that she had forgotten to breathe.
“Where did you get this?” she asked. “Did you... did you find anything else?”
Did you find my daughter?
Baatar shook his head. “We didn’t find that. We grew it.” He smiled once again. “And then we harvested it.”
“Grew it? How?”
“That is information you are not cleared for, I’m afraid.” He paused, as if a new thought had just come to him.
I don’t need a truthseer to know that he is not telling me everything.
“Unless, of course, you were to sign on, and have Zaofu sign on, as a permanent part of this research.”
“Permanent?” she asked.
The alliance offers are coming fast and furious, now.
“Zaofu can be on the ground floor of a technological revolution!” He gestured for them to keep moving. “But I do not plan just to tell you. I plan to also show you.”
The next room they were able to see into was more the standard laboratory she had been expecting. Scientists in lab coats hunched over microscopes and computer screens. Diffuse lighting continued its low-glare, but also slightly disturbing, work.
“We have worked on high efficiency acids, and also complete protections against a variety of threats, including those same acids. We have made improvements in target tracking, and unbelievable discoveries about the nature of the universe beyond our atmosphere.”
Suyin thought about the skeleton on display.
“You have not just studied their physiology, you have studied their behaviours,” she finally said.
You have living... xenomorphs, as you call them.
He raised both his eyebrows. “Very astute, mother.”
“These things? Caged?”
“This is the most secure facility on the planet,” he responded. “It is fortunate you are onboard the project, mother, considering how astute you are being. We have had people killed for less.”
He frowned at her, then broke into a grin.
“Just joking, of course. Though there would be serious legal ramifications for any unauthorized disclosures.”
“Of course, son,” she agreed pleasantly.
He was lying. She knew he was lying.
But about which part?
She had a bad feeling that she knew exactly which part was the lie.
-------
The rest of the tour was uneventful.
Mostly because of the part of the lab she most wanted to see, was completely unavailable to her. Tarrlok had rejoined them.
“It is all very fascinating, isn’t it?” he asked.
“Indeed,” she agreed.
The question was coming, she knew. But how would she answer it? She wanted to see the rest. Needed to see it.
She needed to see what had killed Opal. What creature, what xenomorph, supposedly changed Opal’s death from a tragedy to a sacrifice, as her son put it.
“Has your son told you about our... generous offer?” Tarrlok asked.
She needed to think about it. She had Zaofu to consider, and her new alliance with the Southern Water Tribe.
She looked over at the guarded door to the one part of the underground complex she had not been given access to.
She needed to be honest with herself. She had already made the decision.
She needed to see.
More than anything else.
“I’m in,” she said. Sorry Tonraq. “But I want to see the rest. Now.”
“Well, you will have to sign some doc-” Tarrlok started.
“Now,” she repeated, as she stared at the door. “Or I start doing what I promised to do, all those years ago.” She stared directly at Tarrlok. “There is so much earth and metal here. But I don’t see any water.”
Tarrlok frowned. “I do not appreciate threats. You’re in my domain here. I could bury you.”
“Perhaps,” she agreed, “but not before I buried you. And only one of us means that literally.”
There was no way it could work. She knew that. She would have to decide quickly – this or her alliance with the south. She could not have her sweets and eat them, too.
She looked at her son. “Show me. Show me everything.”
Baatar Jr glanced over at Tarrlok, who hesitated, then nodded.
“I’ll get the paperwork ready while you enjoy the last part of your... tour,” Tarrlok said, only slightly ungraciously.
-------
The door she had been so fascinated with opened into a bare hallway, devoid of anything but light. At the end of it, there was another door.
Not a regular door, however. It was more of a vault door, thick and impervious, designed to keep people out. A large red light glowed balefully above it.
Or keep creatures in.
The lights brightened to her left, and a previously unseen storage closet opened up. Environmental suits hung in the closet.
“We will need to put these on,” her son said.
Suyin nodded, nervous, but not nearly nervous enough to stop.
The suits did not take long to put on, designed as they were to be worn over regular clothes, though every second seemed to stretch, and last far longer than it should have. She followed her son’s instructions on how to check the seals on her suit, and then on what to check on his suit, in turn.
Then, he did the same for her.
She let her son lead the way to the exit. He turned to her, pointed at his wrist, then flashed two fingers.
Suyin looked at her wrist. There was a large button, obviously designed to be pressed by clumsy, gloved fingers. She pressed it once, then a second time.
“-hear me? I repeat, mother, can you hear me?” she heard her son ask.
“I hear you,” she answered.
“Ah, good,” he said. “Are you excited? I still have trouble sleeping whenever I think about the possibilities of what we have going on here.”
“Excited...” she repeated. “Yes, that’s one way to put it.”
“I’m switching channels for a moment,” her son said.
There was silence, and then the red light turned green, and the door swung open.
Beyond it, was what Suyin could only describe as an alien world.
Structures, that no inventor or bender could have imagined, never mind build, crossed the open area. Condensation dripped everywhere from them.
Were they tubes? Bones? Intestines? She was not sure.
They walked through the open hatch, and then there was a clang behind her. She turned back, and saw that the hatch had slammed shut behind them.
“We only get to leave if security on the outside says it is safe for us to leave,” her son stated. “And then there will be decontamination.”
“That makes sense,” she said softly. “Is the atmosphere toxic?”
“No,” he replied. “But the air is so thick and humid that there is a good chance you would faint without protection. It took us multiple tries to get the atmosphere correct. Plus...”
Within her suit, she frowned. “Plus what?”
“Plus,” he continued, “the suits make us less... interesting, to the xenomorphs. And they have defence mechanisms. The first person to faint, well, they never made it out again.”
“The creatures killed that person?”
There was a silence, that was short, she was sure, but felt like it stretched forever.
“Eventually,” he finally responded.
He looked back at her. “Come. We have a ways to go yet. It gets darker the further we go, so turn your suit light on.” He pointed to a different button on her wrist.
“The light does not attract attention?” she asked as she complied. She needed to see.
“Not so far.”
Her son was a bit flippant, she thought. Though she supposed that was partially due to the base human response caused by going into risky situations repeatedly.
Laugh or cry, right?
Even through the suit she could feel the heat.
Condensation dripped onto her suit from the ceiling, if it could be called that. She looked up, as best as she could. With the light of her suit, she could tell that the ceiling glistened.
It was ribbed, she thought with wonder. And was it pulsing? Tubes, travelling from one part of the... nest? Surely not, surely her son would not be so arrogant...
“We grew it,” he had said.
What else could she call it, but a nest? Or a hive?
Right underneath the heart of Republic City.
“They have made this place theirs,” she said softly.
“There were individual cages originally,” her son said. “But the results were less than optimal.”
She looked at the columns and walls the creatures had made, as they walked slowly forward. Everything pulsed.
“Keep talking,” she commanded.
“We redesigned the confinement area,” Baatar Jr said, “and inhabited it with multiple xenomorphs, rather than just one.”
Ichor and ooze and little streams of water that she would never want to drink seemed to be everywhere. And, outside of where their lights pointed, it was now dark, as her son said it would be.
Her light reflected differently on one patch of terrain, and she focused there. This spot was curved, too, but shiny and smooth, unlike the rest of the structure.
Did it move?
“One of the drones,” Baatar Jr said. “Good eye.”
“And you grew that?” Suyin asked.
Her son hesitated for a moment. “Well, we facilitated it.”
“You facilitated it?” she asked, turning towards him. “And what do you mean, that one is one of the drones? That implies there are other kinds.”
“Well, there are the facehuggers, as well,” he answered.
Even through the suit and the radio she could tell he was not telling her everything.
There was a wall ahead, that looked grown. They stepped carefully, and slowly rounded it.
Suyin stopped dead, and knew that she had to promise everything, anything, to make sure that her son and Tarrlok were convinced she was onboard their mission, so that she could get out of the complex alive.
Because there were eggs. Rows of eggs.
And something had to lay the eggs.
-------
Suyin listened and watched the files from the drive provided by Tonraq, as the interviews went on. Interviews with Asami Sato and Tonraq’s own daughter, who had been directly under Suyin’s sister in the unit’s chain of command.
“We don’t know what happened to Opal,” Korra said, in response to a question.
“Opal,” Suyin whispered as she watched.
“Her TigerShark crashed on its way to evacuate us.” The former corporal shrugged. “There was no way either her or Kai survived the crash, if they were even still alive at that point.”
The early hours of the morning had come and gone as Suyin had watched, and listened, and then watched again.
“I- I went back,” Asami Sato said, trembling as she recounted the events. “I went back for Ikki.”
“Why her, and not anyone else?” the interviewer asked.
“Varrick, as well,” she replied. “His assistant insisted he was alive.”
“And was he?”
Sato’s trembling slowed, and she looked directly at the camera. “Technically.”
“Technically?” the interviewer asked.
“He had been implanted,” she answered. She looked at the interviewer again. “He had said they had some experimental tech on the Sulaco. Tech that might keep someone who was implanted alive.”
The interviewer paused for a moment. Suyin wished the camera was focused on him, for just a moment, to see his reaction.
“What was your reaction to hearing that?” the interviewer finally asked.
Now it was Sato’s turn to pause. She looked thoughtful.
As if she was deciding how much to say.
“It seemed... coincidental.”
“Suspiciously coincidental?”
She smiled, just slightly, and Suyin paused the playback. It was not the smile of a liar, she thought. It reminded her of something.
She stood up, and went to the washroom, utilized it, then splashed water on her face. Suyin looked at herself in the mirror.
She had smiled that same smile in the past. The smile of someone, a parent, a partner, a businesswoman, whoever, it didn’t matter.
The smile of someone who thought it best to let the other person figure it out for themselves.
If Sato had accused Varrick Industries of manufacturing the crisis, she would have been dismissed. And since knowledge of her survival was a well-hidden secret, she could not exactly fight back against any accusations of hysteria, to use an aggravating term.
Suyin went back to the recording, and resumed it.
“You said that, not me,” Sato answered.
“Hmmm,” the interviewer hummed, and then put his finger to his ear, like he was listening to someone else.
“Let’s go back to your rescue mission,” he said.
Instantly, Sato’s demeanour changed. Confidence changed to fear, once again. Her fingers started tapping on the table.
“What did you do?” the interviewer asked.
“I...” she paused, and took a deep breath. “I armed myself with a pulse rifle, flamethrower, grenades, flares, and a motion detector. Then I headed in.”
“In?”
“Into the power plant, and then the secret research station underneath it. Where the queen was.”
“Go on.”
“It was cold, so cold...” she trailed off, and the interviewer waited. “Specialist Mako’s corpse was the first one I came across. I could see his brains, frozen in death.”
“Then I descended, and it got warmer. Much warmer. Spirit vines mixed with... alien. Whatever it is. It was wrong. All of it was wrong.”
“I followed the same path the marines had taken initially,” she continued. “There was no resistance, not at first.”
“Did that surprise you?”
“It relieved me,” Sato answered after a moment. Her hands stilled. “But it did not surprise me. The marines had fought well. They just had no idea what they were walking into.”
“Was that not what you were there for? To advise them on the threat?”
Sato’s hands slammed on the table. “You think that I didn’t? You think I didn’t tell them, didn’t BEG them? But they did not believe. Would you?”
She turned and looked at the camera, once again.
“If I had not come back with the chief’s daughter, would any of you believe me now?!”
The interviewer paused, and listened in his earpiece once more. “Let’s take a break. We’ll resume after lunch.”
Suyin paused the playback once again. She knew what came next, after the interview resumed. She had it memorized.
Lin.
Hanging, dead, like a piece of meat, her chest blown wide open.
Then Varrick.
Then Ikki.
Then the queen.
-------
“What laid the eggs, son?” Suyin asked. Very calmly, she thought.
She looked around the field. There were at least a hundred eggs, and perhaps more.
Definitely more.
“Don’t go any closer,” Baatar Jr warned. “They trigger on proximity.”
Even with the suits’ spotlights, she could not see the end of the field. It went too far back.
“How do you get back there, and see what is going on?” she asked.
He had not answered her previous question, she was aware, but she let it go. The question had only been a test of his honesty, anyway.
“Remote controlled hover units,” her son answered succinctly. “This is as far as the tour goes, by the way. Past this point and even the suits won’t help us.”
There was slight movement in various parts of the walls. Five? Six? More?
She was not sure, and those were only the ones she could spot.
“How many are there?” she asked.
Baatar Jr did not answer, but instead turned back towards the entrance of the lair. She followed, turning to look every once in a while.
Nothing followed them.
At first, she thought he did not answer because he did not want her to know the answer. But then, another, far worse thought came to her.
They don’t know how many there are.
She picked up the pace as best she could, desperate to get out.
She had to get a hold of Tonraq. Only a full blown assault could stop this now.
-------
“So,” Tarrlok said, with a shark’s smile, his hair and suit immaculate, as always. “I have all the paperwork done up. You have seen everything now.”
He held the papers and a pen in his hand.
“Have I?” she asked.
There was a loud voice screaming inside her head.
Have to get out. Have to!
But there was also a quieter voice, which gave an answer to the question that she had asked herself earlier, and its words hurt far more.
My son is gone.
“What about the remote control cameras? I should like to see the rest of the... confinement area.”
Tarrlok glanced over at Baatar Jr.
“We’ll have footage retrieved for your next visit, if that would suffice?” Baatar Jr asked.
“Of... of course. That would more than suffice.”
She grabbed the papers and the pen, and started looking for signature and initial lines. Every part of the compound was made out of some sort of metal, it seemed to her.
“Not going to read what you are signing, Mrs Beifong?” Once again, Tarrlok glanced over at Baatar Jr. She could just see Baatar Jr shake his head out of the corner of her eyes. “It almost seems like you are in a rush to leave.”
The three of them were still for a moment, and then Suyin dropped the pen and paper.
They fell towards the ground, and she was in a bending position before they hit the ground. Metal in the ceiling and floor started to peel off -
Everything stopped.
The metal she had bent fell to the floor... stopped. Her body... stopped. She could not move anything beyond her eyes.
Her entire body felt like it was on fire.
Especially her blood.
She locked eyes with Tarrlok, and looked at his arms, locked in waterbending form.
“Be careful who you threaten, Mrs Beifong,” Tarrlok said. He smiled once again. “I think you should stay.”
Everything went black.
Notes:
"Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" Or in this case, the facehugger or the egg? But don't worry, I'm sure all the animals that incubated xenomorph eggs died humanely, and that none of them were human animals.
I'm sure.
Also, for anyone who wondered if Tarllok is a bloodbender in this story... question answered!
I'm catching up to what I have written on this, but still have a way to go, so hopefully I will not need to change this posting schedule. I am taking two weeks off next month (April 12-26), but I probably won't get any writing done then, either, so I might alternate my posting schedule after I come back, with this and my other ongoing story both being every second week. I'll think about it.
We're back with Korra next week - and whatever happened to Ikki, anyway???
Thanks for reading!
Chapter 9: The Corporal, the Consultant, and the Plan
Notes:
Good morning!
It's morning, right? I need my beauty sleep, and I definitely did NOT get it last night, so everything is a bit foggy right now. Anyway, new chapter!
Enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Korra
“Korra?” the young lieutenant stuck her head out of the boardroom outside of which Korra had been waiting. “They are ready for you.”
Things had moved fast in the Southern Water Tribe government, as Korra and Asami had merely confirmed what government officials had already discovered - their chief was completely cut off from all contact with the south.
Korra stood up. She was wearing fatigues camouflaged with various shades of light grey, with splashes of blue thrown in. She was not an active part of the Southern Water Tribe military, though as a combat veteran, and the chief’s daughter, she was considered as something more than just a civilian.
She smiled, briefly.
Despite her purely civilian status, Korra’s wife actually had higher standing with parts of the military than Korra herself did. Asami had been contracting for them for years now, after all.
They would listen to her because she was a subject matter expert, or because she was the chief’s daughter, or perhaps for other reasons that she hoped that she did not have to disclose.
She still did not flaunt that she was the Avatar, after all.
Korra followed the lieutenant into the boardroom. Cheap office chairs, filled with middle-aged men and women in uniform greeted her. Lowered blinds kept out most of the glaring morning sun.
The lieutenant gestured towards a seat, and she sat down. They had called her here, and not Asami, because she was the chief’s daughter, or so she believed. She just did not know what exactly that meant to them.
Korra looked around, and frowned. This was not a low-level interview. Top brass, of ranks that she would not have ever imagined interacting with when she still served, were seated around the table, with a large scattering of aides on all sides.
She would never say it to anyone but Asami (and maybe her parents), but it actually seemed like too many high-level officers for the size of the Southern Water Tribe military. She wondered how many of them had achieved their rank through prowess, and how many had achieved it through time served, or through political favours.
One, an older water tribe man, wore the uniform of a United Forces commander, which she would have found strange, if she had not known who the man was.
“Bumi!” Korra exclaimed, much to the chagrin of several aides, who visibly winced at her volume.
Bumi smiled, though not as exuberantly as he would have in the past. The loss of his brother, niece, and nephews, followed shortly thereafter by his mother, whose heart had given out almost immediately after the news had broken about her family, had taken a heavy toll.
Neither Bumi or his sister Kya had ever fully recovered, though frequent visits with their remaining niece had at least helped a little.
“Commander Bumi is here at our request,” one of the generals said. An older woman, the rank indicated by her uniform and the way everyone else deferred to her made it very clear that she was in charge. “As are you, corporal.”
Shit.
That was not a card she had expected them to play.
She wished desperately that she had thought to bring Asami as her aide, though she doubted that would have been allowed. Still, she did have her own card to play, should they start trying to give her orders.
“It’s been a long time since I was in any military,” she said, “and I prefer Korra.”
“The chief, your father, is missing, corporal,” the general continued as if she had not heard. “And you are still technically part of the United Forces military, and thus eligible to be brought back under Southern Water Tribe command at any point.”
Korra looked around the table. Outside of Bumi, there were no potential allies here, and she had doubts that he would go against a direct order.
“Why?” Korra asked. There was no point beating around the bush.
“If there is to be a mission to rescue the chief, it will be a military mission, with a proper chain of command. We will not, cannot, have civilians launching their own mission independently.”
That... wasn’t the worst idea, she thought to herself. Except for one thing.
“You’ll need to give me a promotion, then,” she said, “because if I’m agreeing to this, I’m in charge.”
“Agreeing to this?” another general broke in, outraged. “Chief’s daughter or not, you will obey orders!”
Korra sat still. Very still. And she just stared at the general in charge.
It was so tempting to show them exactly who she was.
The general looked over to her aide, who came to her side. She whispered something in his ear.
The aide looked surprised, but then he nodded. “Of course, sir,” Korra could make out.
The aide pointed at three of the other generals, Bumi, and Korra. “Anyone I did not point at, you are ordered to clear the room immediately.”
There were brief murmurs of upset and surprise, before the order was followed. The general who had objected to Korra’s demand was not one of those selected to stay, she noticed.
“This escalated faster than I expected,” the general said when the room had cleared. “But it is all entwined, and it is clear that you are willing to say things that might cause extra difficulties for both of us.”
“My father. My daughter,” Korra said simply. “No secrets matter compared to that.”
“Indeed. While we believe that the United Republic is implicated in the lack of contact with your father, we do not want to assign blame without further information and evidence. That is where you come in.”
“The United – what?” Korra asked dumbfounded. “This isn’t politics!”
The general frowned. “What are you saying, corporal?”
“Shit!” Korra swore, as she ignored the frowns of all the remaining generals. “I wish you had asked Asami here, as well. It’s not politics. We think it is far worse than that.”
“Go on.”
“General, what do you know about the Sulaco, and the destruction of the southern research station?”
-------
“Hey babe,” Korra said as she walked into their room.
“Hey yourself!” Asami replied back. “How did your big meeting go?”
“Ummm... I have not been called ‘corporal’ like that for a long time.”
“Oh, shit! I knew I should have come along,” Asami said with a bit of a growl in her voice.
“I thought so at first, too, but it was fine. We came to an agreement.”
“General, what do you know about the Sulaco, and the destruction of the southern research station?” Korra asked.
“I saw your testimony, corporal,” the general answered, “and that of your wife. What does that have to with this?”
“Everything,” Korra answered. “There might be politics at play, general, but we think it is them, again.”
The general’s eyes widened.
“Evidence?”
“Just some pictures of statue, around where a whole bunch of people have gone missing in Republic City.”
“A statue?”
“It looked melted, as if by acid.”
“So, you are seeing what you want to see,” the general said.
“What I want to see? What I WANT to see?” Korra stood and leaned over the table, without realizing that she did so. “I never want to see those things again, not in my nightmares, and especially not in the real world.”
“Korra,” Bumi said, finally adding his voice to the conversation, “sit down. This is no fight against cannibals and arctic hog monkeys, this is the chief, your father, being kidnapped and held hostage for reasons unknown.”
Korra shook her head. She had learned a long time ago to ignore most of the things that came out of Bumi’s mouth.
“Why is he here?” she asked the general. She turned back to Bumi. “I always love to see you, Bumi, but I’m not sure I understand why you are part of this meeting, considering the people who have been kicked out of it.”
“That’s...” he trailed off for a moment. “That’s actually a good point.” He looked over at the general in turn.
“Everyone here,” the general said, “knows of what happened on the Sulaco. Outside of your family, Korra, almost no one outside of this room knows what really happened, and those few are well aware of the consequences of breaching that trust.”
“So?”
“So, yes, a promotion is planned for you. But Commander Bumi is in charge.”
“Of course I am,” Bumi interjected. “Wait, I am?”
“We cannot bump a corporal to a rank high enough to lead a mission of this nature. No matter what the threat to the chief, and to your daughter. But I am sure that with Commander Bumi in charge, your expertise in the matter will be listened to. Your other rank might come in handy, as well.”
Her other rank.
Korra knew exactly what the general meant, and she was grateful that the woman had not spoken aloud, even if everyone in the room was cleared for the knowledge.
Before and after she was Corporal Korra, she was Avatar Korra, even if most people were not aware of that fact.
“Oh,” Korra said. She was surprised. This was far more sensible, as far as she could tell, than most military decisions were.
“Also, your contacts within the United Forces,” the general said, gesturing towards Bumi, “might come in handy.”
She turned back to Korra.
“If it is the... creatures, again, then it might be wise to have a civilian consultant on the team, as well. Your wife.”
Asami.
“I think,” Korra said carefully. She had changed her mind. She was glad now that Asami had not come to the meeting. “I think,” she repeated, “that this can work. But there is one thing that I need changed.”
The general raised an eyebrow.
“Go on.”
“I want a different consultant, if possible.”
-------
Knock knock.
Korra lowered her fist and stood in front of the small of the small home and waited. She was dressed in Southern Water Tribe forces uniform, with the insignia of a lieutenant on her shoulder. Bumi stood beside her, dressed in his commander’s uniform.
A woman answered the door. White haired but still in tremendous shape, there was a sadness behind her eyes that had appeared when news of what happened at the southern research station had reached her.
That sadness had never gone away completely, but the woman was still a great fighter and, with the passing of her mother, the best healer in the south.
“Korra? Bumi?” Kya asked. “What are you two doing here? Come in, come in,” she said, as she moved away from the door and gestured for them to enter.
“And why are you both in uniform?” she asked as they took off their boots. “Surely neither one of you have joined back up again?”
“We’ve been called back up on an emergency basis,” Bumi answered.
“Emergency?” Kya asked.
“We’re going to rescue my father and Ikki,” Korra said, “and we want your help.”
Kya stiffened at Ikki’s name.
“Ikki’s in danger? From what?” she asked.
Kya had offered to adopt Ikki, her niece, in the year following the sinking of the Sulaco, but Ikki had wanted to stay with Korra and Asami.
“It could be political,” Korra answered. “But there is a chance it is the same creatures as we fought before.”
Kya’s eyes lit up, probably with anger, though Korra could not be completely sure.
“I’m in.” Kya looked at Korra. “Who else do you have? Senna? Asami?”
Korra hesitated.
“It is a military operation,” she finally answered. “You are the only civilian coming along.”
“Asami didn’t want to come?”
“She agreed it was for the best that she stay home.”
Kya looked at her, then nodded. “When do we leave?”
-------
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, what sort of shit op is this that we get him for a commander?” were the first words Korra heard as she followed Bumi into the briefing room.
“Stow it, private!” were the second. “Atten-shun!”
Korra winced, as she remembered what Asami had to deal with back on the Sulaco, when she had first come onboard.
Same shit, different day.
“Be seated,” Bumi said as he took his place in front of the podium.
The strike team that he was to command, with Korra as his second-in-command, scraped their chairs and sat down.
They seemed an impressive bunch, Korra thought. They did not have the variety of bending that her old unit had, of course, but they all looked like soldiers who had seen real action.
Whatever experience they did or not have would have been nothing compared to what was coming, though.
“The chief’s daughter? What’s she doing here?” someone whispered, perhaps not as quietly as he intended. “Usually it’s the princess who gets rescued, not does the rescuing.”
Korra grinned for a brief moment.
That was almost funny.
“Stow it, Amak!” the unit’s NCO growled. A short, squat woman, she reminded Korra of Lin in attitude, if not in body type.
She took note of the comedian. Amak. If she needed to make an example of someone in this briefing, she would feel no guilt about ruining Amak’s day.
“Good afternoon, sergeant...” Bumi trailed off.
“Honu, sir,” the sergeant replied.
“Good afternoon, Sergeant Honu,” Bumi repeated. “Soldiers. This is Lieutenant Korra, and I am your CO for this mission, Commander Bumi.”
Bumi looked over the assembled soldiers, who were all quiet and paying attention, even the wannabe comedian, Amak. These were experienced troops, who knew how to get into the correct mindset quickly.
“Most, perhaps all, of you know me, by reputation, if nothing else,” Bumi continued. “I’m the old eccentric United Forces commander, with the crazy stories.” He smiled. “And that’s accurate! I have some crazy stories. Some of them are even true!”
There was a soft chuckle from the assembled soldiers.
“This is not a crazy story. Your chief, Korra’s father,” he said, nodding to her, “has gone missing. We are going to get him back.”
At this, the soldiers went from paying attention to sitting up ramrod straight. There was a mutter of voices, but it was Sergeant Honu whose voice cut through.
“What do you mean, missing, sir? He was in Republic City, was he not?” She looked at Korra. “With his granddaughter.”
“Lieutenant?” Bumi gestured for Korra to take his place in front of the podium.
“We lost contact with the chief and his entourage, as well as my daughter, over twenty-four hours ago,” Korra stated. “Phones are either not being answered, or are not connecting at all.”
“The United Republic kidnapped our Chief?” one of the soldiers asked incredulously.
“That... is a possibility,” Korra said.
The sergeant’s eyes narrowed.
“A possibility?” she asked. “A likely possibility?”
“I’ll get to that,” Korra answered. She looked around the room. “You are all here for two reasons. One, you have all seen actual combat, whether it be against terrorists, or stopping Earth Kingdom incursions, or something else entirely.”
“Two,” she emphasized, “you keep your mouths shut. You all have sparkling records regarding operational security, both during the mission, and afterwards. Not even your families know what you get up to.”
The soldiers looked at each other, and at Korra, warily. Operational security was standard, and expected. For it to be emphasized so heavily meant that something even bigger than just the missing leader of their nation was going on.
“This mission is volunteer only,” Korra said. “If you want out, you leave now. Because once I answer the sergeant’s question, you are in.” She paused, and looked around the room again. “I can say this. There is a very good chance that most of you will die before this mission ends, and your families will never know why.”
Again, the soldiers looked at each other, but none of them stood up.
The comedian, Amak, raised his hand.
“Yes, private?” she asked.
“I don’t know what we are going up against, lieutenant,” the private said, “but I don’t really need to. I just need to know where... they... are.” The private leaned back in his seat and smiled.
Korra smiled back.
“So everyone is in?” she asked. “Good,” she said when no one moved. She turned back to Private Amak.
“I was friends with someone once, who said the exact same thing,” Korra stated. She looked around the room once again. “She’s dead now, along with the rest of my old unit. And we are likely going to be facing the things that killed them all.”
She looked at the sergeant.
“That is what we are likely to face.” She thought back to the briefing room on the Sulaco, all those years ago, and Asami’s futile attempts to get them all to take her seriously. “We will likely be facing creatures that can kill you before you can blink. Creatures that can kill you by dying. Creatures that will make you beg for death if they do not kill you.”
She looked around the room, and moved away from the podium.
“I’ll be handing out briefing books. Study them! We are wheels up before dawn tomorrow morning.”
“You heard the lieutenant,” Bumi said. “Get reading. We have people to save.”
-------
It had been a long time since Korra had slept in the back of a military aircraft, but she knew that she would have no problems falling asleep once they were airborne. It was still dark, and she had not slept for over a full day.
The previous day and the entire night had been filled with the briefing, and making plans.
The soldiers had doubted, at first, but the testimony and the fact that Korra was not just the Chief’s daughter, but was instead also the Avatar, had brought them all onboard. There was no way that she could hide that from them, if she even desired to.
Even though they were buying in, she still worried. Reading and hearing about the creatures was one thing, fighting them was completely different.
She was also worried about Asami.
I did the right thing.
I did.
“Sir?”
Bumi was at the front of the aircraft, with the pilots and Kya. He was in command, but would not be heading straight into potential combat, as the tip of the spear. That would be Korra’s job.
The more things changed...
“Yes, corporal?” she asked.
Korra did not have everyone’s name yet, but she had Sergeant Honu and Corporal Dena to help with that.
Corporal Dena just looked at her for a moment. “We’ll get them back, sir,” the corporal said. “No matter what comes at us.”
It was nice to hear that he, and hopefully the rest of the soldiers, were confident. She had been confident, too, when she had been a corporal, going out on a mission much like this one.
“That’s the plan, corporal,” she agreed. “That is the plan.”
The engine spooled up, and the aircraft, a four engine troop and cargo carrier, started moving. It had room for the entire platoon, as well as vehicles.
Plus some large drums of water.
“I’m going to get some sleep, corporal,” she said. “Wake me if anything urgent happens.”
“Roger that, sir,” Dena replied.
That is the plan, she thought as she closed her eyes and started to drift off.
It was just too bad that no plan she had ever heard of had survived first contact with the enemy.
Notes:
Oh no. I'm splitting them up again. Bad things happen to them when I split them up... Not this time though! Definitely not!
You believe me, right???
Corporal Dena is named after denadareth - you should read his stuff!
Thanks for reading!
Chapter 10: This Cold Wall Between Us
Notes:
Good morning!
Was sick, now feeling better. Yay! Also, I actually remembered that Tuesday is supposed to be my posting day for this, not Wednesday (not that it really matters).
So, in the last chapter, Korra used some sort of sweet reason to convince Asami to stay behind... let's see how that went down from Asami's perspective, shall we?
Enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Asami
Asami’s frantic plans had been put on hold by the knowledge that Korra was going to see the Water Tribe high command.
Now, instead of a desperate rescue mission with just the two of them (and how would they even get there quickly? She wondered), there was the possibility of official assistance. Perhaps a whole, professional team, with the two of them in command.
She knew that she was dreaming with that last thought, but with both Korra and herself there to provide their expertise, perhaps they would have a chance to succeed.
She just hoped that whoever was in charge was not stupid. Military intelligence was often known as an oxymoron, after all.
Still, she had her old combat fatigues ready to go, along with her sturdier boots. She didn’t own weaponry, but she was sure that she would be granted access to some, given her history and her associations with the Southern Water Tribe military.
She almost bounced on their bed as she sat, and thought about what else, if anything, she could prep while she waited for Korra.
Footsteps in the hall made her turn, just in time to see Korra enter the room.
“How did it go?” she asked as she stood up.
“We came to an agreement,” Korra said.
Asami frowned. Korra wasn’t looking directly at Asami, and her stance was tense, as if she was bending something. Both things were strange.
Also, Korra was holding a large package in one hand, under her arm.
“An agreement?” Asami asked. “That’s good.”
“Yes,” Korra said. “They want it under military control, and with me in the chain of command. So I am bumped up to the rank of Lieutenant, with Bumi in charge.”
“Bumi?” Asami asked incredulously. “Well, hopefully he will listen to us. I presume they wanted me as a consultant again.”
“They did,” Korra answered.
Korra put the package she had been holding on the bed, and Asami frowned. There was something odd about Korra’s behaviour. Something strange, as she had previously thought.
“What’s that?”
“A care package,” Korra responded as she leaned in and kissed Asami.
Asami kissed her wife back, though now she was really confused.
A care package? A care package for what?
Asami stood in place, hesitant due to her jumbled thoughts, as Korra stepped back into the doorway and gestured, and a large amount of water that had been hidden in the hallway, shot forward.
Oh.
It all became clear, but too late.
Oh no.
“Korra, don’t!” Asami reached forward up and cried out as the water turned to ice, blocking the door and trapping her in the room.
“I’m sorry, love,” Korra said. “I want you by my side. I always do. But someone needs to be here for Ikki when she gets back. Just in case.” She started to turn away, but then turned back and reached out, and put her fingers on the ice.
Asami went forward and put her hand on the ice, as well, matching where Korra had put her hand. They looked at each other through the ice.
What Asami could see of Korra was blurred by the thick ice, and barely recognizable. They were so close, yet so far apart.
“Please don’t do this,” Asami whispered.
Korra said nothing for a moment, before she finally responded. “The food will last you until my mom finds you and frees you, or until the ice melts on its own. And you’ve got the bathroom for water. I’m sorry.”
“I love you,” Korra finished.
Korra hesitated for a moment more, then let her hand drop and walked away, and Asami was left alone.
A single tear ran down her face.
I love you, too.
-------
Asami had cried for the first little bit of her imprisonment, and then had started scouring their room, looking for something, anything, that might help her break free.
“Dammit, Korra!” she had yelled as she tore through their drawers and closet.
She had never felt her lack of bending so much as she felt it then, as the ice slowly dripped away. It would probably last another day, maybe even two.
She dug into the care package and ate, then went to the washroom to pour herself a glass of water. She knew that Korra had done what she had done out of good intentions, which meant that Asami would do everything in her power to rescue her idiot wife before deciding whether or not to divorce her or murder her herself.
Of all the days for absolutely no one to use these halls.
At least with the en-suite washroom their bedroom had, she wouldn’t have to piss into a bottle.
She drifted off for the night, having run out of energy and things to do. She supposed, when she woke up, that she should put the room back together again, but it was difficult for her to care.
Her father-in-law was in danger. Her daughter was in danger. And now her wife was going into danger.
And she was just supposed to sit at home and wait?
Asami stood up, and resumed her search for something, anything, to break the ice. It was thinner, obviously, but still more than thick enough to keep her trapped.
“I’ve survived these fuckers twice!” she muttered. “I’m the only person in the world who can say that!”
She went over to the far wall, where the ice was melting faster, as it had started thinner there. There was now separation between the ice and the wall.
She jammed her fingers in, as far as she could, between the ice and the wall. Then she pulled.
It was okay at first, but then it got cold, and then it started to hurt. Still she pulled.
The ice seemed to move just a bit away from the wall, so she pulled even harder.
Then there was a crack, and the piece she was holding broke right off, and she slipped backwards, and fell awkwardly onto the floor.
“Fuck!” she yelled as her arm slammed into the corner of their bed. Now her fingers burned and her arm was messed up.
Just fucking great.
She stood up and shook her arm out, and got ready to see if she could get the ice to move any more.
“Asami?” a voice called from the hallway. “Why is there a big slab of ice blocking your door?”
“Mom!” Asami called. Finally! “Get me out of here!”
“This isn’t some weird kink thing with Korra, is it?” Senna asked.
Asami almost screamed, but instead she smiled.
“Senna. Mom,” she said, as sweetly as she could, “if you want there to be any chance of me not murdering your daughter when I get out of here, then let me out right FUCKING NOW!”
The ice turned to water, and Senna waterbent as much of it as would fit into their bathtub. Senna came in to the room, and stared at the soaked floor and various pieces of Korra and Asami’s stuff that were strewn everywhere.
“What did she do?” Senna asked softly.
“Thank you, mom. Can you please check to make sure I didn’t do any major damage to myself while trying to get out of here?” Asami asked. She held up both her hands. “Possible cold burn from the ice, and I hit my arm hard when I fell.”
Senna bent water from the floor, and crouched as she surrounded Asami’s arms with the water. “The injuries are not bad,” Senna said. “It will only take a few minutes to heal you up, even for me. Talk.”
“She left me,” Asami said as Senna started healing her.
Senna’s eyes widened. “Left you?”
Asami shook her head. “Not like that! She’s going with a military unit to Republic City. They need me!”
Senna breathed deep, nodded, and then looked at her once again as she kept bending. “And what can you do that Korra and an elite military unit cannot?” she asked.
Asami sneered. “There are exactly three living people on this entire planet who have fought these things and survived. Ikki, Korra, and me. And only one who has survived them twice.”
“And you are sure that the... creatures, are involved?”
Asami locked eyes with Senna for a brief moment. “No,” she answered honestly. “Without an actual sighting, there’s no way to be sure.”
“Well,” Senna started.
“Korra thinks I’m right,” Asami said, as she interrupted her mother-in-law. “That’s why she trapped me here. And the military think she’s right – that’s why she has a full unit of soldiers going with her.”
Senna stood up. “You should be good to go.” She nodded at Asami’s arms. “Health-wise, that is. What are you planning to do?”
“I need to get there,” Asami said as she immediately stood up. “And quickly.”
“We,” Senna said softly.
“We?”
“My husband. My daughter. My granddaughter. How are we getting there quickly?”
Asami looked at the woman she loved to call ‘mom.’ Senna’s hair was as much white as grey now, and there were lines on her face that Asami was not sure that she had ever noticed before.
Senna’s eyes burned with purpose, however.
“Shit,” Asami sighed. “I’m not going to talk you out of this, am I?”
“I could just reform that ice wall again,” Senna said with a raised eyebrow. “Besides, a healer might prove useful.”
“They will be in the city long before we will be. Hours, if not a full day,” Asami said. “At best.”
Senna smiled at Asami’s use of ‘we.’
“We need an aircraft,” Asami continued. “We need weapons. We need supplies, and we need a plan.”
Senna furrowed her brows. “Why don’t we just take yours?”
“The TigerShark?” Asami asked with surprise. “It doesn’t have the range.”
“But it is otherwise ready to go, correct?”
“Yes, very much so,” Asami answered. The she reconsidered. “Well, outside of weaponry, of course.”
Senna stood silent for a moment. “Could it make it to Zaofu?”
Asami hesitated. “I would have to run the numbers to be sure, but I believe so.”
“Let’s get everything together that we need for our mission, and make a plan. I’m going to call Zaofu, and make sure they are ready with what we need.” Senna smiled. “There are advantages to being the chief’s wife, after all.”
-------
“Mrs Sato,” the gate guard said as Asami drove up to the entrance of the part of the base where “her” hangar was.
“Muni!” she responded. “How are you doing today?”
“It’s a weird one,” Muni responded. “Something has a lot of people upset.”
“I bet,” Asami replied.
She smiled as Muni’s expression changed. Senna had leaned forward so that the guard could see her better.
Muni’s eyes bugged out and he went ramrod straight.
“Oh! Ma’am! Senna! I’m sorry, I did not see you there.”
“That’s quite alright,” Senna answered with a smile. “We’re going to Asami’s hangar. Can you contact your CO and get them to meet us there? We have some... requests.”
“Yes, ma’am!” Muni responded instantly as he pressed the button for the gate to open.
“Thank you, Muni,” Senna said as Asami started to move them forward. “Lovely to meet you!”
The sentry stayed still for a moment as they drove away, and then Asami saw him rush into his guardhouse in her rear view mirror.
“I’ll start preflighting,” Asami stated as she drove up to her hangar.
“Good,” Senna responded. “I’ll get us everything we need, including clearance and ammunition.”
-------
The flight to Zaofu had been long, and tiring. But it was only a pitstop on the way.
It had taken less time than Asami had expected for Senna to overwhelm the resistance of the base CO and get the TigerShark fueled and armed, but it still had been far slower than she wanted. Takeoff had been smooth, though there had been a new voice come on the channel at one point and demand they return.
Asami had cut communications at that point. It wasn’t like they were going to shoot down the chief’s wife, after all, and the career prospects of the officer who had allowed them to leave was not her concern at all.
In Zaofu they would refuel, stretch their legs, and absorb any new intel they discovered into what they were optimistically calling a plan.
The two of them had decided upon Air Temple Island as their staging point. It was hopefully both friendly, and isolated from whatever was happening in the city proper.
A safe base of operations, if everything went well.
With luck, they would be there before sunset.
They got clearance to land on one of the Zaofu platforms, and did so, but got a surprise when they exited the TigerShark.
“Wing? Wei? What are you doing here?” Senna asked.
“We want to come,” one of Suyin’s twins answered.
Asami was not sure which one was which.
“No,” Asami replied instantly.
“That’s not up to you,” Wing (Wei maybe? She wasn’t sure.) replied. “As we honour the terms of our alliance, so do we make demands for you to honour.”
What?
“Talk like a normal person, bro,” Wei (Or was it Wing?) said. “We did our part, Senna. This is our price.”
“It’s your price, but it is her plane,” Senna answered, gesturing towards Asami.
“Why?” Asami asked.
“We have lost contact with our mom,” Wei (Wing?) said.
Senna sighed. “I’m sorry, Wing.”
Well, that settled which one was which, at least.
Asami frowned.
“You’re metalbenders, right?”
“Top notch.”
“There’s no guarantee that we find your mother,” Asami said. “Or that any of us come out of this alive.”
“Then why are you going?” Wei asked.
“I have to try.”
The two brothers looked at one another, then back at Asami.
“So do we.”
Asami hesitated, then nodded. They were adults, and could be useful. And it was someone they loved that they wanted to fight for; their mother who they wanted to help. There was no way she could deny them the opportunity that she was unable to deny herself.
“Welcome aboard.”
Notes:
I am presently enjoying the fact that the title for this chapter *sounds* all metaphorical and artsy, but in reality was literally what happened. I amuse myself sometimes :D
Those good ol' Water Tribe family connections were used advantageously again, in this case to get fuel, weapons, and clearance for our little crew. Yay for nepotism! :D
So, now Asami, Senna, and the Beifong twins are on their way to Republic City. I'm sure they'll all be fine... :>
Thanks for reading!
Chapter 11: The Long Drop Into the Void
Notes:
Good morning!
So Korra is on her way, having successfully (?) left Asami behind. How is Republic City doing, anyway? What is Korra heading into?
Read on to find out!
Enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Korra
Korra drummed her fingers against her leg, restless and anxious to get going. She had managed to nap for over an hour, to the envy of those soldiers who found it impossible to sleep, but once she had been jostled awake, it had been impossible for her to drift off again.
It did not help that a sense of responsibility weighed on her. These soldiers, these regular people with their loves and their lives, their hopes and their dreams, were putting themselves at risk because of the information that she had provided. Against a threat that even she herself was not sure was real.
For her family.
The plan was simple.
It was a high altitude jump over Republic City – their target was the Science and Technology Museum, as it was Tonraq and Ikki’s last known position. They would land, set up a perimeter, then search for signs of whichever way the chief of the Southern Water Tribe and the class of children had gone.
With luck, they would be holed up somewhere safe nearby, they would find the group quickly, and then they could evacuate out of the city.
There was a part of Korra that hoped she could actually solve whatever was happening, and stop it – she was the Avatar, after all – but she knew that was almost certainly too much to hope for. She had to save who she came here to save.
Republic City was on its own.
A dull orange light started flashing in the back of the aircraft.
“Five minutes!” Korra called out over comms as she stood up. “Take over, sergeant.” While she was second in command, she did not know the Southern Water Tribe military’s procedures the way her NCOs did.
“Buddy check!” the sergeant called out.
Each soldier had a buddy, someone for whom they made the final check to make sure that all equipment was attached correctly, including parachutes, and night vision gear. After a soldier checked their buddy, the buddy would check them.
It was a system that had dropped the number of mishaps and fatalities in their operations to near zero. Mishaps and fatalities due to equipment issues, at least.
“Are you ready?!” Sergeant Huno called out as the soldier’s finished their checks. “I said, are you ready?!”
“Ready!” the soldiers yelled in return.
Huno looked over at Korra. “All yours, sir.”
The sergeant and two other soldiers would be escorting Bumi and Kya down, once they had a secure landing zone. The initial drop was completely up to Korra.
“As briefed, LZ is the roof of the Science and Tech museum. If you have trouble finding the LZ, look for my signal.”
Despite them pouring over aerial photographs of that part of Republic City, and the distinctive shape of the museum’s roof, there was still a chance they would miss their target, especially at night.
Korra, on the other hand, absolutely could not miss the target, because she was going to lead the way. She raised a fist and flame shot out of it, for a brief moment.
“That is the signal.”
The soldiers had been shocked to find out that not only was the Avatar real, but that she was one of their own. They had also instantly seen the advantages, however.
The rear door of the aircraft lowered. Behind them was the dark of the ocean, and then slowly, lights came into view. Suburbs of Republic City, plus lights from smaller places, such as Air Temple Island.
More of the areas below were dark than she had expected, and many of the areas that were not dark... burned.
She hoped that isolation would keep the airbenders safe.
The light turned green.
“Go go go!” the sergeant yelled. If the sergeant was upset that she was not in the first wave, she did not show it.
She and the two soldiers staying on the aircraft with her for the moment released the tiedowns of the water drums, so that they slid out the back of the aircraft at the same time as the soldiers leapt out.
“See you on the other side,” Korra said to the sergeant.
Korra put her night vision goggles down over her eyes, and ran out the back of the aircraft.
Whistling wind and cold greeted her, as she plummeted to the earth below.
Each soldier had soft lights on the backs of the helmets and uniforms, so that they could be spotted more easily from above, but hopefully not from below. She dove towards the falling soldiers, as well as the barrels of water, and quickly caught up to them.
She stabilized her speed so that she stayed with her soldiers.
The lights of the city expanded quickly in her vision. What there were of them.
Where, if she had done this just a few days ago, she would have seen the lights of a bustling city, now there were large dark swaths, and other parts of the city looked to be on fire.
They hurtled towards the correct area of the city, she knew that, but with the lack of lights, and the fact that some parts of the city were burning, she was not as certain about reaching the museum as she had to be.
Multiple soldiers slowed down around her as they pulled their chutes. The others slowed down immediately after. The drums of water exploded apart as the waterbenders pulled the water out of the drums, and used that water to slow themselves down.
Korra let herself keep going.
Only when she had gotten far closer to the ground did she use airbending to slow herself down.
She finally figured out which building was the museum (the aircraft on display outside the building helped), and firebent herself upwards in the air. She headed towards the building.
With all of the fire she was producing, her soldiers should have no trouble following her.
Hopefully nothing else was paying attention to her bending. She was very visible.
Korra got above the museum roof, and released her bending, and let herself drop onto the roof. She rolled forward as she landed, and sprung to her feat again.
She looked upwards, and sent a burst of fire into the air, just to confirm the LZ.
Waterbenders landed first, and spread out to different ends of the roof as they kept their water swirling around them.
Non-benders with their parachutes were next.
“Head count!” Korra called out as she looked onto the street. The street was quiet, and dark. Power had been cut to this part of the city.
Corporal Dena came running up. “Missing one, sir,” he said. “Amak.”
Korra sighed. “Establish a perimeter, then start searching for clues. It’s a big city, we can only hope that we are in the part we need to be in. Hopefully Amak will show up soon.”
There was no sign of movement on the street, so that soldiers headed down to street level. There was no sign of any bus, so it was unlikely that the students were still here, but they had to check.
“Go go go,” Dena said, as the first squad headed into the museum.
Their night vision allowed them to see into the building, well enough, at least.
“Out of the dark, too,” Asami had said. “Ikki said before that the creatures get more aggressive at night.”
“Stay frosty, people,” Korra ordered. “Remember, they can be more active at night.”
The museum was quiet, but it was obvious that something had happened there. There was debris scattered around, and streaks of... something. It was hard to tell, but Korra suspected it was dried blood.
“Something went down here, LT,” Dena said. “But it doesn’t seem like anyone is home.”
“Yeah,” Korra agreed. It brought back a surge of memory.
“Looks like there was an attempt at a barricade,” the sergeant said.
“And a hell of fight,” Kuvira added.
“But whatever happened,” Beifong continued, “we missed it.”
“Right,” Korra continued. “I want a security team here in the lobby. The rest of us head back outside. We need to bring Bumi and the rest down. The transport can’t circle forever.”
Another soldier brought up their secure radio pack, and Korra nodded to the corporal, who grabbed the radio’s transmitter/receiver. “Big Bird, this is ground. Big Bird, this is ground.”
He listened for a moment.
“Roger that, Big Bird, send the package. LZ marked by fire. Ground, out.”
The corporal looked over at Korra. “They’re on their way, sir.”
Korra nodded and raised her fist. Every ten seconds or so, she sent up a burst of flame while her troops kept a careful eye out that they were no attracting attention.
“Amak!” one of the soldiers called out. “You made it, you useless shit!”
Korra looked over as she kept sending out bursts of flame.
Amak limped up. He looked like he had had a stressful few minutes.
“Talk,” she ordered.
“Chute snagged on a power line, sir,” Amak responded. “Took me a bit to get untangled.” He looked around, and shivered slightly. “I swear I saw something, multiple somethings, but nothing attacked me.”
Korra thought about that for a moment.
“Good work surviving, private. Spread the word that we might expect action soon.”
“Yes, sir,” Amak replied. The private saluted, then rejoined his comrades at the perimeter they had established.
“There’s the commander,” Dena said as he looked upwards.
Korra looked up, then lowered her hand. The APC was perfectly on target, heading for a landing in the middle of the street.
Its accuracy made sense, of course, when you considered that there were multiple waterbenders on board, as well as one airbender.
The armoured personnel carrier thudded upon landing, shaking slightly, then settling quickly. Bumi, Kya, Sergeant Huno, and the other two soldiers exited.
“How is it looking, lieutenant?” Bumi asked.
“Nothing here, sir,” Korra answered, “though something did happen. Also, we are worried that there is alien activity in the area, but so far there has been nothing hostile.”
“Would you consider that good or bad?”
“I think we can consider any unknown bad, commander.”
“Like with the cannibals,” Bumi muttered.
“Right,” Korra responded. “With you here, I think we should head out towards their hotel, as planned.”
“What about further into the museum?”
“It’s a judgment call,” Korra answered, “but... there’s no bus.”
Bumi grunted. “Carry on, lieutenant,” he responded. “I bow to your expertise.”
Korra smiled for a brief moment. “Everybody will be an expert soon, unless we have a ridiculous amount of luck.”
“Kya,” she said to the waterbender. “You all good?”
Kya looked around the darkened city. “It seems wrong.” She shuddered. “I never thought that I would come back here... after.”
“Yeah.”
Korra looked around at her soldiers as Bumi and Kya headed back into the APC, along with the driver. “Alright people, we’re moving! Heading towards the hotel, as planned. Sergeant, get me an advance scout; corporal, recall our troops from the museum.”
“Yes, sir,” both NCOs responded.
“I want full lights from the APC, and anyone on the ground to be inside the lights. I know it goes against your training, but remember, the dark is their friend, not ours.”
Everyone turned on their helmet lights, designated soldiers had their motion trackers going, and the small group started forward.
It was eerie, how quiet the streets were, and how dark. A city did not seem right without streetlights and the noise of traffic.
Where did everyone go?
Were they dead? Evacuated?
She shook her head as she walked forward.
She could not concern herself with the fate of Republic City. She had to stay on mission.
They reached the first cross street without incident, seeing neither movement or evidence of previous combat.
Their path was simple. They needed to go straight for around fifteen blocks, then turn right towards Kyoshi bridge. They would take the bridge across, then proceed several more blocks to the hotel.
If they did not find find the people they were looking for by then – Korra refused to think about that possibility. Even if the rest of the platoon evacuated, she would keep searching, if necessary.
She was not leaving her daughter behind.
And considering she was already wanted for desertion by one military, being wanted for desertion by a second just did not seem that big of a deal.
“Contact!” a voice yelled in her earpiece.
“Talk to me, private,” Sergeant Huno said.
“I’ve got two – hold – I’ve got three contacts, thirty metres to my left.”
Korra looked across the street where the soldier was indicating.
“That’s in the building. APC, concentrate spotlight on the multistory to our left.”
“On it,” Bumi responded, apparently having taken over some APC duties from the crew.
A bright spotlight turned on, and shone onto the building. The windows of the building were boarded up, and it was impossible to see inside the first floor.
The spotlight turned to windows on upper floors, but all that was visible with the angle they had, was ceiling.
“Movement has stopped,” the private reported.
“I think we have hidden civilians, Commander,” Korra reported. “They might have info, but I wouldn’t want to draw attention to them if they have stayed hidden this long.”
“Knowledge is power, lieutenant,” Bumi said. “Let’s see if we can get them talking.”
“Yes, sir,” Korra responded. “Everyone, stay on your toes.”
She walked towards the building, with her arms raised.
“Hello, the building!” Korra called out. “Can we talk?”
“Stay where you are!” a voice yelled out.
Korra stopped moving. “I’m not moving. I just want to talk.”
There was no response for a moment.
“Do you have food?” the voice finally asked.
“Um,” Korra responded, “let me check.”
“Sir,” she said, talking into her comms, “do we have spare rations?”
“We did not pack a lot,” Sergeant Huno interjected. “We expect to be in and out within days. If we are here longer, then...”
The sergeant trailed off, but Korra was sure she knew what the woman was going to say. If we are here longer, we will have a lot less mouths to feed, if any.
“I say we do it,” Korra said. “Hell, we get to the water, and most of us can fish without issue.”
“Good point, Lieutenant,” Bumi said. “Agreed. I’ll bring some out.”
“Yes, sir,” Korra responded. “We’re bringing you some rations,” she called to the person in the building.
Slowly, as she waited, the barricade was removed from the front door of the building, and two people came out, a man and a woman.
“Are... are you here to destroy the creatures?” the man asked.
Korra grimaced. “We will destroy any we run across,” she said, “but we are here to find some of our citizens and bring them home. Any information you have would be appreciated.”
“So you are not here to take back the city?” the woman asked.
“We did not even know that it needed taking back,” Bumi said as he approached. He and Kya approached together, and both were carrying several boxes of military rations.
The man gathered them all up quickly, and rushed back into the building.
“We lost contact with people who were in the science museum, the last we heard. Did you hear anything about the museum?”
The woman shook her head. “Nothing specific. There were places all over the city that had mass disappearances, and then outright attacks. And then everything ended.”
Not just the university area. All over.
Dammit.
Our intel is so out of date.
“Ended?” was all she asked.
“Power stations were attacked all over the city. United Forces soldiers came in. That was one of the last things we heard.” She shrugged. “There were battles, but no idea what happened to them. We barricaded ourselves here. We’ve been left alone since then, by whatever it is that did this.”
“We haven’t seen anything so far,” Korra said.
“Emi! Get back inside so we can board up again!” a man’s voice called from the building.
“I hope it stays that way for you. Good luck,” she finished as she turned away.
“Thanks,” Korra replied quietly.
“Oh, one more thing,” the woman said as she paused at the door.
“Yeah?”
“At least one big battle sounded like it was closer to the harbour, in the direction you are going, if that helps.” She shrugged. “It probably doesn’t.”
Emi disappeared inside the building, and the sound of hammers and other work started up, as the people replaced their barricade.
Korra thought about the news report, that she and Asami had watched together, about disappearances at the university. Maybe that had been the beginning, but did it even matter?
A battle closer to the harbour. Just the way we are going.
She dreaded what they might find.
“It doesn’t feel right, just leaving them here,” Kya said.
“We’re one platoon,” Bumi said in response. “We can’t save everybody.”
Korra looked at them both. “We’ll be lucky if we can save ourselves,” she said.
She missed Asami so much, and was so glad that her wife was back home in the south.
“Let’s get moving again,” she said to Bumi and Kya. “We shouldn’t stay still here in the open.”
Bumi looked at her, then put his hand on her shoulder. “You’re doing great,” he said.
Korra looked at the man who was in many ways her unofficial uncle. “I’m not her right now, Commander.”
He lowered his hand, and Kya gave Korra a nod.
“Carry on, Lieutenant,” Bumi said. “As you said, let’s get moving.”
The two of them headed back to the APC.
“Move out!” Korra yelled.
I’m coming, Ikki.
Notes:
APC = Armoured Personnel Carrier
NCO = Non-Commissioned Officer (a corporal or a sergeant, usually)
LZ = Landing Zone
LT = LieutenantThis is the second time I've had Korra do a military night drop. If you would like, you can read my Uncivil Wars trilogy to see how it went the first time. :) https://archiveofourown.org/series/3638761
I was quite proud of the way I got the waterbenders to the ground successfully - parachutes not required! :D
So, um, what happened to Republic City, anyway? You get to find out at least a little next week, then I will be taking a two week break from posting anything, including this, as I'll be, ahem, busy. ;)
See you soon!
Chapter 12: No Need To Be Scared
Notes:
Good morning!
My brain is a bit foggy this morning, so I'm having trouble thinking what to say here. Ummm... we left off with Korra heading into a wartorn Republic City. But what about Ikki, the reason Korra is even there? Let's find out what she's up to, shall we?
Also, posting note - I will not be posting anything next week or the week after (I MIGHT have a chapter of Greatest Change ready this week, but we'll see). After that, I think I will go down to once every second week for this story. I've got a bunch of different stories I'm slowly working on, so I have not been able to just focus on one or two. So, it will be one week Aliens, the next week With a Whimper, alternating.
Okay, enough of that! Enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Ikki
“Welcome to the Republic City Museum of Science and Technology! The place where the past and the future intersect for your enjoyment and education.”
The recorded announcement continued, but Ikki stopped paying attention as she bounced in place. Where they entered was one large, glass window, from floor to ceiling – there was a large jet aircraft on display outside the museum, as well as the letters RCMST in very large, blocky font. They had come in as a group, and were standing together in the sunlight – it was surprisingly hot in the museum entrance.
Ikki had heard her granddad mutter something about it being “a fucking sauna” before he noticed that she was listening. Old people swearing was funny, sometimes.
Their teachers had already explained that there were guided tours, and that students were welcome to take them, but that they were in no way mandatory. The expectation was that students would make their way back to the main hallway, where they presently were, one half hour before lunchtime.
That left leeway, as most of the students were well aware. As long as they all were back by lunchtime, everything would be good. She was just waiting for the official declaration that they could go wander.
Heavy footsteps came up beside Ikki, and she temporarily slowed her bouncing. “Granddad!” she exclaimed as her grandfather came back from whatever he had been talking about with the museum staff. “I don’t know where to go first, there is just so much to see, this is all so cool, this has been the best trip ever, so far at least, though I hope I have another even better one-”
She stopped as he put his arm on her shoulder.
“I have a suggestion,” Tonraq said. “Try the transportation exhibit.”
“Transportation exhibit? That sounds kind of boring, granddad. I’m not really an airplane person, not like mother.”
Tonraq winked. “Trust me. But have fun, whatever you decide.”
She watched him go.
Huh.
A part of her thought that the transportation exhibit still sounded really boring, but on the other hand, it wasn’t like her granddad was going to mess with her. Sometimes, listening paid off. She knew that, even if she often had trouble actually doing it.
She took a breath, then turned to Nutha.
“So, want to go to the transportation exhibit first?”
Her friend shrugged. “Good as place as any, I guess.”
They had missed the announcement, somehow, but Ikki figured there must have been one, because groups of students were scattering in all directions.
“Come on,” Ikki said as she grabbed Nutha’s hand and led the way, before Nutha could get distracted by another boy. Or the same one.
Same or different, it was annoying one way or another.
The transportation exhibit looked much as she had expected. There were cars, of various ages and types, including the original Satomobile. She looked more closely at one of those.
Sometimes she forgot that her mother had been part of an automotive company, before she had split from her family.
There was a section of a train, and that was interesting to go into. The seats were plush in one section, but more bare bones in another. The engine was manually fed with... coal? That sounded dreadful.
She was glad that wasn’t a thing anymore.
Then, they were at a cordoned off spot, with airplanes. It was a pity her mother could not go to Republic City. Ikki thought that she would have enjoyed that.
There were signs in front of each of the aircraft, she noticed, as well as a bigger sign for the aircraft that was hanging in a place of pride from the ceiling. Ikki jumped, then airbent herself higher in order to get a different angle on the various aircraft.
The cockpits looked complicated, with all sorts of buttons and dials and levers. Some of the planes had propellers, while others had jet engines. There was a helicopter, and even a prototype of something designed like a hummingbird.
Flying was far different from airbending, it seemed. She vaguely remembered being in the cockpit with her mother when they had arrived in Wolf Cove, but she had been so tired that it had not really registered.
“Hey, Ikki, look at this,” her friend called.
Ikki released her bending and sank back to the floor, then made her way over to the sign her friend was looking at.
“The Pride of Republic City” the sign said. It was the big sign for the aircraft hanging from the ceiling, an aircraft that had engines that were pointing straight up, at the moment. Ikki thought that perhaps it looked like the engines could swivel.
Like her mother’s plane, that she worked on back at home sometimes.
“The FI-37,” she read. “The first ever commercial use VTOL (Vertical TakeOff and Landing) aircraft to go into widespread use, manufactured right here in Republic City. In the picture, you see the FI-37T (Test) version of the aircraft, with its pilot, Asami Sato.”
Ikki’s mouth dropped open. “Wait... my mother?”
“I know, right!?” Nutha exclaimed. “I mean, everyone who knows her knows she can fly, right, but a test pilot? That is so cool!”
“Yeah.” She was honestly at a loss for words. She wondered why mother never talked about it. Or why mother mentioned her own father or other family at all.
Ikki looked up as several pairs of feet made their way towards the two of them.
“You found it!” Tonraq said as he and his bodyguard’s approached. “What do you think?”
Ikki was silent for a moment. A long moment, for those who knew her. “I don’t get it,” she finally said.
“What don’t you get?” Tonraq asked.
“You knew about this. So why didn’t I?”
He looked at her for a couple of seconds.
“Your moms and I talk, sometimes. And sometimes that talk goes towards events of the past. Events that they do not want you to be forced to relive.”
He looked over at Nutha, who was listening, but looked confused, then back towards Ikki.
Ikki understood. Some things were not to be talked about, even with best friends.
She had known that since she was very little.
She thought about what to say, in front of the airplanes and across from the cars and train car.
The lights flickered.
Then they flickered again.
Ikki frowned. She looked at her grandfather once more, then at the entrance to the transportation exhibit. There were sounds coming from that direction.
Sounds that her body recognized, even if her mind did not.
The scratching sounds of claws against metal and flooring.
And something else. Something that she did not want to recognize, but did.
The sounds of screams.
Screams that were quickly cut short.
“What the hell is going on?” Tonraq demanded.
“I don’t know, sir,” one of his guards responded. Then the guard gestured towards Ikki. “But I think she does.”
“Ikki?” Tonraq asked.
She was frozen, not breathing, her heart not beating, yet somehow still pumping blood faster than it had done for years.
“Ikki?” Nutha whispered. “What’s going on? I’m scared.”
The lights flickered again. Then stayed off for a few seconds, before coming back on again. Finally, they shut off permanently, leaving them in darkness for a few seconds before emergency lighting came on.
Ikki laughed, and then she laughed some more, as her brain tried to function and then reset itself, over and over and over again.
She wrapped her arms around herself and clutched herself.
“No need – no need to be scared,” she gasped out. “We’ll all be dead soon. No fear then.”
There was an acrid smell in the air – someone had pissed themselves.
It took Ikki a few seconds to figure out that it was her. The smell and wetness came from her. She blinked and the trance was broken.
I guess I am scared.
Terrified.
They don’t know. They can’t.
As far as she knew, only she and her two moms knew, truly knew, what was coming.
“We need to run!” she screamed at her grandfather. “We need water!”
Metalbenders would have a field day in this part of the museum, and she could possibly hide. But the rest of them would die, including Nutha and her grandfather.
And they had no metalbenders.
“Sir!” one of the guards yelled as she pulled out a gun from her pocket. The guard held the gun in one hand while she held a large case in the other. "Let's get into the main foyer. We can see better there."
And it was true. The sunlight streaming through the large glass windows was muted, but still bright. Unfortunately, that brightness meant that the less well-lit corridors were even more difficult to see into, as their eyes had trouble adjusting.
Noise and movement caught their attention as one of the students, the boy Nutha had had her most recent crush on, came running through the dim corridors, from whatever exhibit he had been in before. “Run! Ruuunnnnn!” he screamed.
And then, out of the darkness, as if it were an extension of that darkness, one was on him.
It seemed closer to grey than black, a detached part of Ikki noticed. It bounded forward on all fours, travelling far faster than any human could run unaided. It was angular and sharp, all cutting claws and terrifying teeth, except for the dome of its head.
It did not kill the boy, however.
The creature ran straight into the boy, and sent him flying. Then it scrambled up to him and grabbed him by the shoulder, its claws digging deep into his flesh. He screamed as the claws pierced him, then screamed again as the creature dragged him away.
His flailing feet were the last part of him that Ikki saw as he disappeared into the darkness.
“We... we have to save him!” Nutha yelled at Tonraq.
Tonraq started, then nodded. “Right. My daughters fought these things and defeated them. We can, too. We will proceed in a group through the rest of the museum, and pick up people as we go. First, we will head towards-”
He cut off as Ikki grabbed his sleeve.
“They came from that direction,” Ikki said quietly, barely audible underneath the screams that sounded and then just as quickly quieted as the sources of those screams were killed or taken.
“Yes, that’s why we have to be brave and...” Tonraq stopped talking as Ikki just stared at him.
“That direction is death, granddad.”
“But it took him!” Nutha screamed. “It took him alive! You saw!”
“Korra,” the spectral girl pleaded, “Korra, please.”
“Jinora!” Korra exclaimed.
“Korra, please...”
“Kill me. Please, kill me,” Jinora pleaded as her spirit faded away, and her body started screaming and convulsing.
Korra stood there, completely still, frozen, as blood spurted out of Jinora’s chest, and then Jinora’s head slumped forward as a small creature popped out, born in blood and pain and death.
Ikki had seen more than Asami had realized, back on the Prowler, when her world had ended.
“Hope that you were wrong,” Ikki said, as she gently touched Nutha on the cheek. “Hope that he is already dead. That’s the only mercy that he might have gotten.”
He wasn’t dead. Ikki knew that, and Nutha did, too.
The boy had a lot of screaming left to do before he was done.
“There’s a fountain in front of the museum!” one of the guards yelled.
Tonraq nodded, and they ran.
They got to the entrance doors quickly, and burst out into the sunlight.
It looked so normal outside. Like a pleasant fall day, cool in the morning, but now warm as the afternoon progressed.
Two of her grandfather’s guards ran to the fountain, and bent all of its water, passing some to Tonraq as they did so. The scarred female guard did not waterbend, but instead put away her pistol and opened the large case she had been carrying.
She pulled out a folded automatic weapon from the briefcase, and unfolded it, then checked it over to ensure it was loaded and operational. She grabbed extra ammunition clips and put them in her pocket.
Ikki looked over at her grandfather.
Tonraq smiled. “Diplomatic immunity has its privileges,” he said.
He looked over at his guards. “You’ve all studied the footage. If any attack, we take them at a distance. Do not engage at melee range.”
“Yes sir,” his guards responded.
“We should run we should run we should run,” Ikki muttered over and over again.
Her eyes darted back and forth, from Nutha to her grandfather to the guards to the museum and back again.
“We need to help other people!” Nutha screamed.
Her grandfather frowned. “She’s right,” he said.
“Sir,” the scarred female guard said, “that is not our job. You, and secondarily her,” she nodded towards Ikki, “are our job.”
“Indeed,” Tonraq said, “but I’m in charge.”
He stared at the guard, who stared back. She was a large woman, Ikki noticed. She not only had the height to actually stand taller than Ikki’s grandfather, she had the bulk to out-mass him, as well.
“Respectfully, sir, you are not in charge right now. I am.” She looked back at the other guards. “Get ready to travel. Has the bus driver responded?”
Another guard shook his head. “No response. And no sign of the bus, either.”
“Fuck,” the female guard swore. “We go by foot then. I want tight waterbending until we reach the bay. We don’t know what we will encounter, so act like there isn’t another drop of water in the city until we know otherwise.”
“We need to help them!” Nutha yelled.
The guard looked back at the museum, then she moved over to where Nutha was standing. She put her hand on Nutha’s shoulder.
Nutha stared up at the tall, muscular woman.
“Listen,” the guard said. “What do you hear?”
“It’s... it’s quiet,” Nutha said softly.
“Yeah, it really is, isn’t it?”
“Maella...” Tonraq interjected softly.
“Let me finish, sir,” the guard said.
Maella.
Ikki had heard the name before, but this time she hoped to remember it.
Maella turned back to Nutha.
“It is quiet,” she repeated. “And you know why, don’t you?”
“I...”
“Ikki knows, and so do you,” Maella said. “They’re not coming.”
“Sir!” one of the other guards exclaimed as he pointed back at the entrance of the museum. “Look!”
On the other side of the glass, a creature stalked across the floor. Its shiny, wet-looking grey dome of a head went back and forth, from side to side, as it walked on all floors, its tail slowly undulating behind it.
Even through the glass, they could see drool falling from its mouth as it moved.
It seemed to look directly at them for a moment, but then turned away as if it had seen nothing. They watched as it retreated back further into the museum.
“Alright,” Tonraq said. “We have to go.”
To people on the street, they must have seen an unusual group – four waterbenders, a heavily and almost-certainly illegally armed woman, and two teenagers.
They had gotten a few blocks towards the harbour when they all flinched. In the distance, closer to where Ikki thought the university was, there was a large explosion, followed by a couple of smaller ones.
“Secondary explosions,” Maella muttered as she looked. “Power station.”
Then, there were people.
People bending if they could, and running if they couldn’t. And there were screams.
A manhole cover less than ten metres in front of them popped open, and one of the creatures instantly followed. Ikki froze as the creature sprung right towards her and Nutha.
“Freeze it!” Maella yelled as she brought her gun up but didn’t fire.
Water lashed out at the alien, and froze it in place, its claws stretched directly towards Nutha. Ikki looked over at her friend.
Some of the civilians paused briefly in their retreat to look at the frozen creature, then they kept running.
“What? What? What?” Nuthat gasped over and over as she stared at the claws less than a metre from her face.
“Shoot it!” Tonraq ordered.
“No! We don’t know if water neutralizes the acid!” Maella yelled back.
Another alien popped out of the manhole, and leaped towards one of the fleeing Republic City inhabitants. More water froze it, but not before its claws had ripped the poor man in two.
More water froze shut the manhole.
“Leave it!” Maella ordered. “We have to get the chief out of here.”
She looked around at the fleeing civilians, and fired a short burst in the air. The ripping noise got people’s attention in a way that no amount of yelling could ever manage.
“Benders! Any benders with me, we can hold them back. Non-benders, keep going. Benders! With me! With me!” She looked over at Tonraq and the other guards. “Get the chief and the kids out of here. Get to water. I’ll organize some defences here.”
“Maella, no!” Tonraq yelled.
Some people stopped and looked at the small group in confusion, though most kept running.
“Your person is in danger, sir,” Maella said, “which means I’m in charge.” She looked down at her weapon. “Once I run out of ammo, I’m as much a liability as any other civvie.” She snorted. “Tell my wife I’m sorry for not making it back, and that I love her. Now go!”
Maella looked at the civilians who had formed around her.
Ikki looked back as their little group started to move.
“We have any earthbenders here?” Maella looked at the woman who raised her hand. “Alright, one is way better than none. Start building defences.”
“But, there are so few of us-” the woman objected.
“What’s your name?” Maella interrupted and asked.
“Isha,” the woman answered.
“I’m Maella. I get your objection, Isha, I really do. We’re buying time. If we can block the streets, more people will live. Can you be brave and help me with that, Isha?”
Ikki lost sight of Maella and the smaller woman the big bodyguard was talking to. She couldn’t hear anymore, and she had to look forward to see where they were going. They were surrounded by Republic City civilians now.
She looked up at her grandfather. His mouth was closed in a tight line as he pushed forward through the crowd.
There was a rumbling, and she turned back in time to see earthen walls rise in the street behind her.
Then there was gunfire.
They all moved faster as the gunfire and the screams continued behind them.
Notes:
Maella is inspired by my first ever D&D character, Maellara. She's a big half-orc with a big axe and a heart of gold (in some ways, I accidentally made my own version of Karlach from Baldur's Gate 3, before I had ever played BG3), and I have started popping versions of her into various stories. It's fun!
Though not for her, in this case.
Obviously, this chapter answers very few questions about what the hell happened to start all this, nor does it explain where Ikki and Tonraq are, or if they are even still alive at all. We'll get to all that... eventually... ;)
Thanks for reading!
Chapter 13: Only A Single Drop
Notes:
Good morning!
This story is back after a short planned hiatus - I got to spend two weeks with my girlfriend :) and then I posted a chapter of With A Whimper last week.
We left off... actually, that's a great question. Where did we leave off?... Right! We left off with Ikki's world going to shit, which means it's time to do the same thing to Asami!
Let's make her world go to shit, shall we?
Enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Asami
It was only a few hours flight time from Zaofu to Republic City. Asami had turned west from the metal city, and then north west to follow the coast, as it was far easier to fly over the ocean than through the mountain ranges south-east of Republic City.
It had been a quiet journey, for the most part. The two brothers were resolute in their desire to save their mother from whatever trouble she was in, but they did not really believe Asami’s worst case scenario.
She did not really blame them.
Still, Asami informed them of every detail she could think of – the viciousness of the creatures’ attacks, the acid for blood, the horrific process of new aliens being born.
The twins listened solemnly, though they did not believe, not truly, because who would, and then the four of them were silent as Asami flew towards Republic City.
Air Temple Island was their goal.
Isolated from the mainland, they hoped that it would be a safe base of operations from which they could figure out what was going on and get the people they were there to get.
Asami flew almost in a daze, the waves passing silently far below, as she flew the TigerShark. Time was meaningless, as the dread built inside her. She did not know for sure what they were heading towards, but she knew better than anyone else what they might be heading towards.
She grabbed Ikki up, and headed away from the eggs and the aliens. There didn’t seem to be as many of them left, at least, and the ones that were left seemed more hesitant. The marines had cut their numbers down significantly.
The eggs. They don’t want to threaten the eggs.
She got out of the egg field and around another corner. The purplish glow was intensifying again.
Oh, no no no. I went the wrong way.
With the creatures behind her, though, it seemed better to keep going.
Just have to loop around.
Just have to keep going.
Keep going and loop around.
The motion detector pinged its slow, steady sound.
Motion behind me. Nothing in front.
She turned another corner, past more eggs. The condensation drip from the ceiling and walls became more intense, but there were no bodies there, at least.
Oh.
She stopped.
Oh fuck.
Ikki somehow managed to squeeze herself even tighter against Asami.
“Ikki,” Asami said softly. “Ikki, honey, I need to put you down now. Okay? I need to put you down.”
Giving action to words, she put Ikki down beside her.
To the right was their passage back to the stairwell, unless she had gotten completely turned around. The spirit glow was brighter, and she had turned the same direction every time, so it should be correct.
It had better be correct. We’re dead if it isn’t.
In front of her was malevolence made flesh, if such a creature could be said to have flesh.
Found where the eggs come from, I guess.
The creature was three times the size of its offspring, at least. And that didn’t count the translucent tube down which eggs travelled.
Asami watched as an egg was laid; glistening fluids splashed to the ground as the egg was deposited. A squelching sound accompanied the lifting of the egg tube.
The queen, for Asami could think of no other term to describe the alien, watched Asami through midnight black eyes. The eyes were the only thing in the area darker than the alien’s exoskeleton, which extended around the queen’s head, like a ruff and a crown combined into one.
Asami watched the queen in return, as Ikki grabbed her leg and held it tight.
There had been so many eggs.
And now, somehow, they had the population of one of the largest cities in the world to use as breeding stock.
“Asami?” Senna asked from the copilot’s seat beside her. “What’s that?”
Asami blinked and refocused as she let go the nightmare of the past.
“Smoke,” she responded quietly.
Republic City was burning.
They flew over the southern outskirts of the city, towards the island. Buildings were on fire all over, and there was no sign of people.
Smoke disrupted much of their view, then they were over water again, between the island and the mainland, and finally the smoke cleared again. They circled, so that they could see the water and the island below them.
Senna gasped.
“There... there are so many of them,” Asami whispered as she circled above the water between Republic City and Air Temple Island.
Shapes in the water. Dark shapes, moving fast, and with purpose.
A part of her wanted to get higher. Much higher, and far away. Fear that had been buried for years came bubbling back to the surface, like some sort of noxious gas that she had thought was gone, but was instead just biding its time.
“We have to do something!” Senna exclaimed from the co-pilot’s seat.
Asami just watched, and kept circling. They couldn’t land. Not now. There were already some of the creatures on the island. Airbenders were attempting to cover the retreat of nonbenders, and paying the price for their bravery.
Too late.
Other airbenders were being forced to take off by the non-benders, so that they could escape even if no one else did.
Too late.
The creatures, the aliens, swam along the surface, and left wakes as they did so. There were somewhere between ten and twenty wakes that she could see.
Too late.
Too many.
“Asami!” Senna screamed. “Do something!”
Asami blinked, and sound came rushing back. The engines of the TigerShark. The sound of her name being screamed by the woman she loved to call mom.
Multiple cameras got overwhelmed as Mako let out a stream of flames. Asami saw Korra catch an alien in a field of ice, slowing it down for the moment, at least. Then she caught another the same way.
Then Korra threw herself to the side as an alien tail whipped through the space she had just been in. The distraction allowed the other two aliens to break free of her ice.
Shit shit shit shit shit shit.
Get them out get them out get them out.
“Lieutenant!” Asami screamed in Bolin’s ear, finally breaking through her own freeze, as he continued to sit and do nothing. “Get them out!”
Asami snarled.
“I beat these fuckers once,” she said, her voice starting soft, but quickly rising in volume, “and I’ll fucking do it again!”
She looked over at Senna. “How much bending can you do while buckled in?”
“Not much!” Senna replied. “Need to move!”
“Then clench your butt closed and keep your eyes open for me.” She toggled a switch. Aiming aids appeared in her HUD. The TigerShark’s main minigun was now hot. “Main weapons system online. You better be buckled in back there!” she yelled to the metalbending brothers sitting in the back of the aircraft.
“Express elevator to hell, going down... Drop!”
Asami pitched the nose down, and dropped her throttles, sending the TigerShark plunging towards the waters of the bay. The water got closer, and closer, faster than she had ever imagined possible.
Wait for it... Wait for it...
“Now!” she screamed as she pulled up on the stick and throttled back up again.
Her thumb that was on the throttle pressed a button, and loud ripping sounds came from the nose of the TigerShark. Multiple splashes, that quickly turned into the appearance of one ongoing splash, appeared in the water, at first in front of the nearest alien, and then surrounding it as Asami adjusted her aim.
“Got it!” Senna yelled.
The twins yelled their support from the rear part of the aircraft.
The wake disappeared as the creature sank to the bottom of the bay, and Asami adjusted her aim to go after the next one.
Once again, the first few shells missed, but then the next creature swam right into her firezone. Its wake stopped as she scored multiple direct hits.
I got enough ammo. I can do this!
All the wakes disappeared.
“Where did they go?” Senna asked as she looked around.
“I better move-” Asami started, but it was already too late.
A small patch of water appeared darker than the rest, and one of the creatures shot out of the bay, and landed directly onto the armoured glass of the TigerShark. Its inner mouth shot out, and slammed into the glass.
“Shit!” Asami yelled as the creature started whipping its tail into the glass, since its mouth had done no damage.
Asami pulled her stick to the left, and then sharply to the right as she tried to remove the creature from the TigerShark’s canopy.
“Get it off!” Senna yelled.
Pieces of one wing separated themselves from the aircraft, and Asami noticed that Wei had come to the front of the craft. He was holding on as he metalbent.
“Not like that!” Asami yelled, just as metal cut through the creature.
“I’ll bend the metal back into place!” Wei yelled.
The injured creature held on, though it seemed as if its grip had weakened, as its blood started to drip towards the canopy.
Acid for blood.
Drops of acid, building up on the creature’s exoskeleton, just waiting for the surface tension to break so that a stream of acid could pour onto the canopy of the aircraft.
The tension broke, and the acid started to stream towards the TigerShark.
“Hang on!” Asami yelled as she flipped the TigerShark upside down.
Only a single drop of acid made its way onto the armoured glass, but it quickly ate into it.
“What the hell?!” Wei yelled as Asami quickly flipped the TigerShark right side up again, and sent the creature flying back into the water.
“I told you, acid for blood!” she yelled. “I’m getting us out of here!”
“Incoming!” Senna yelled, as another dark shape rose out of the water.
Asami pushed the throttle forward and tilted the engines so that they would rise quickly.
The right engine produced a large puff of thick, black smoke, and then caught fire.
“No, no no no no!” Asami cried out.
She feathered the right engine – some acid must have sprayed into it.
They did not gain altitude – they barely stayed level with the missing engine. Before she could get them going along the water, another one of the creatures breached the surface and crashed into them.
Cracks appeared in the windshield and the TigerShark went into a flat spin as the water got quickly closer.
“Brace!” Asami yelled as the creature’s tail slammed into the weakened glass again, at the same time they crashed into the water.
Asami slammed forward as much as her seatbelt would let her. Water slammed into the glass and splashed over it and more cracks appeared all along it, spreading from the hole created by the acid.
She groaned, and looked over at Senna. The creature was gone, at least for the moment.
“Senna!” Asami called out. “Everyone call out!”
“I’m okay,” Senna said with a gasp of breath.
Asami unbuckled herself.
“Wei? Wei!” Wing called as he made his way to the front. “Wei!”
Senna unbuckled herself and quickly ducked back to where Wei was laying still.
“He’s unconscious!” Senna yelled.
The TigerShark started to settle in the water, and water started streaming through the hole in the glass.
“We have to move!” Asami yelled. “Get him stable, but anything more will have to wait.”
A creature landed on the glass, and the glass cracked further. The next hit of its tail would be the last, she knew.
“Wing, grab your brother. Senna, freeze that thing! It will slow it down!”
“I could-” Wing started to object.
The alien’s tail slammed into the glass and shattered, and sent the remaining glass and the alien itself tumbling into the cockpit as water started streaming in.
“Senna!” Asami screamed as the water rose. She gulped a mouthful of air just before the water covered her.
A bubble surrounded Wing and Wei’s heads, as Wing held his unconscious brother. Asami turned back, and saw the alien get its orientation and turn towards her.
It used her seat to push itself towards her just as the water surrounding it turned to ice.
Asami breathed again as the bubble of air surrounded her.
“Let’s move!” Senna called out.
Asami moved over to the twins. “I’ve got him! Use pieces of the aircraft to keep us clear!”
Wing looked at her for a moment, then nodded. “Don’t drop him!”
The metalbender looked up at the ceiling of the TigerShark, then spread his arms. The entire top came apart, but the sea did not come crashing in, as Senna’s waterbending held it at bay.
A sphere of metal swirled around them in the water as the remains of the TigerShark sank to the bottom of the bay, the ice encased alien still trapped within it. The waters of the bay were not deep, Asami knew, but still, she was glad she was not going down with the aircraft.
She held Wei underneath his arms so that she could still kick, as her legs and most of her torso were in the water. They started rising towards the surface as Senna expanded the bubble.
It seemed like they were alone, or if they were not, nothing was daring to try to get through Wing’s metalbending. They would have to decide which way to go.
The creatures had been heading towards the island, their original destination, so that was out, and the city was still quite a ways away.
“The statue,” Senna said as she kept them moving upwards and away from the slowly sinking wreckage of the TigerShark. “We can get our bearings there.”
Asami nodded.
That makes sense.
A separate, small island, it was the home of the statue of Aang, the last publicly known Avatar, and the last ever Avatar, as far as most people knew. It was amazing how much worse the world had gotten in the last few years of Aang’s life, and the first few years of Korra’s.
Movement drew her attention.
“Wing! Get ready!” she called out.
“I see it!” he responded, as he kept his arms moving and his eyes straight ahead.
Straight ahead?
“No! There’s one below you!”
Two aliens pierced the metal sphere at the same time. Metal slammed into the one coming straight at Wing from the front and eviscerated it, though not before its front half had entered their little air bubble.
The air bubble collapsed as Senna screamed in pain from acid that splashed her.
The second alien came from directly below, as it moved through the water more gracefully than Asami would have thought possible. It moved like a creature born to the sea, somehow, as it moved its body back and forth, undulating like some sort of sea serpent with its tail stretched out behind it, and its claws wrapped themselves around Wing’s legs.
What remained of the metal sphere collapsed.
Asami pushed desperately for the surface as she started to run short on oxygen. She had to hang onto Wei, even as his body struggled against her.
She had to!
Metal slashed though the alien as Wing fought against it. Bubbles exploded from his mouth. The creature’s acidic blood spread in the water around the two of them as it held on to him even in death, and dragged Wing down through the cloud of its blood.
Wing thrashed for an eternal, agonizing moment, then sank down into the darkness, still attached to his killer, completely still.
Asami turned away and swam upwards. She needed to reach the surface before her body surrendered to instinct and forced her to try to breathe. At least Wei was not unconsciously fighting her anymore.
It was so much pressure, but so close!
So close!
Her head popped out of the water and her mouth opened and she gulped down giant mouthfuls of air. She coughed. “We made it, Wei. We made it!”
She looked at the metalbender who she had so desperately hung onto. The metalbender whose twin she had watched die.
Then she let him go.
He was not breathing. She thought back to the way his body had struggled, then gone still.
Wei was long past healing.
She watched him float away, then slowly sink beneath the waves to join his brother. Tears blurred her vision as she looked around.
She was alone.
-------
Asami was exhausted by the time she finally dragged herself ashore, the towering statue of Aang looming above her. There had been no sign of Senna, either, in her slow, exhausted swim.
She collapsed onto the ground. If an alien showed up now, there would be nothing she could do to stop it.
Korra had been correct, and she was a fool who had just cost three people their lives.
I’m so sorry was her last thought as she passed out.
Notes:
Sorry, Wing and Wei. Your mission to save your mother ended almost immediately after it began. RIP.
And maybe RIP to Senna as well. Though we have no confirmation of that... Yet. :>
Also, RIP to Asami's TigerShark. Her pride and joy gone, just like that.
I have one more chapter of this story completed - I just have NOT been able to stay ahead. The following chapter is mostly completed, however, so hopefully the once every two week schedule will help me stay on track. It's always tough for me to write the climax and conclusion of a story - I hope the pieces all fit together the way I envision. I estimate somewhere around 20 chapters for this story, but I guarantee nothing.
Plus I have other stories that I am *slowly* working on, and I would like to be done this and Whimper so I can focus on them. Ah well.
Thanks for reading. See you soon!
Chapter 14: The Long Road Forward Into Hell
Notes:
Good morning!
Almost forgot this was a posting day - long weekend messed me up lol.
We're going back to Korra today, and her travels through war torn Republic City.
Enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Korra
“Sir,” Corporal Dena said, “scouts say there’s an earth barricade ahead. Looks like the battle the civvies were talking about.”
Forward movement had been slow, and stressful. Corpses were scattered throughout the streets, but not as many might have been expected by Korra. The other soldiers were horrified by the number of bodies.
Of course, Korra knew damn well that the dead were often the lucky ones – she wouldn’t want to be one of the ones dragged away to become hosts.
“Right.” Korra nodded her thanks to the corporal, then flipped her radio on. “Sir. Recommending platoon halt. There’s evidence of a battle ahead. I’ll take a squad ahead to investigate.”
“Approved,” Bumi responded. He then switched to the company channel. “Platoon, halt! Defensive positions!”
“Dena, grab a squad. You’re on me.”
“Roger that, sir,” Corporal Dena responded.
Dena pointed at eight different soldiers, including Amak. “Gather up! We’re on point with the LT.” He looked back at Korra. “Ready when you are, sir.”
Korra had a sidearm, of course, but as an officer, it was considered more for emergencies than anything else – if they did their jobs properly, the idea was that she would never even have to draw it.
Plus she had her bending.
Metal and concrete circled around her as her squad headed towards the barricade.
“Movement?” she asked Amak, who was carrying the detector.
“Negative, sir,” he responded.
It only took a few minutes before signs of battle started popping up.
An alien corpse lay in a depression in the concrete, caused by its own death.
“Fuck me,” Amak whispered as he looked down at the creature. “Acid for blood.”
“Yeah,” Korra agreed, as she thought about her own squad’s reaction to finding out that Asami had been telling the truth, all those years ago. “It’s dead. Keep moving.”
“Yes sir,” Amak responded, with perhaps a bit more respect than he had given her before.
Seeing was believing, after all.
A large woman was sitting upright against the wheel well of a car, with an alien’s corpse draped over her.
“Shine a light on this corpse,” Korra ordered as she peered at the body. There was an automatic weapon beside the body, as well as a semiautomatic pistol.
“That’s my dad’s head bodyguard,” she said as the light shone on the woman’s corpse. The alien’s claws were sunk into the woman’s body, but she had taken her killer with her.
Somehow, the bodyguard had ripped the alien’s inner mouth right out while its claws tore her chest open.
Korra crouched down beside the corpse.
“I guess your hunch was correct, if she’s here,” Dena said from behind Korra.
Korra said nothing in response.
She crouched down, and reached out to where the light had glinted off some metal wrapped around Maella’s neck. Then she pulled the necklace off the dead woman’s neck, snapping the chain as she did so.
Korra stood up and looked at the necklace for a moment, before pocketing it. She looked at Dena, who was staring at her curiously.
“To take back to Maella’s wife,” Korra said.
Dena hesitated, then nodded.
“Come on, let’s see what else-”
“Movement!” Amak called out, his voice almost breaking as he did so. “I got movement! Multiple contacts! Closing fast!”
“Close on me! Close on me!” Korra called out. “Remember, distance is life! Do not let them close!”
Korra started putting earthen barricades around her soldiers as waterbenders took the front, with nonbenders backing them up.
The tactics were simple. The barricades would slow the attackers down, making them easier for waterbenders to stop the creatures at a distance. Firepower, both weaponized, and from Korra, would then do the killing.
The alien attack patterns were devastating in their simplicity. Claws, and tail, and teeth.
And then acid if you wounded them.
“There’s one!” Amak cried out as water lashed out towards the rushing alien. It had appeared out of an alley, and was charging directly at the small group of soldiers.
“Benders!” Korra called out, just before water impacted the alien, and turned to ice as it did so.
“Let it go!” Korra ordered, as she sent a large section of brick wall hurtling towards the creature.
The ice and water retreated from the creature as her clump of brick slammed into it, and sent the alien flying into the far wall. Korra did not relent, but bent the brick further and further, squeezing the alien against the far concrete wall, almost like she had created her own drill press.
The creature hissed and thrashed as best it could, until suddenly there was a popping sound, and its exoskeleton gave way. It went still, and the only sound from it was the sizzling of acid burying into the concrete below.
“Three more to the rear!” Amak yelled.
Korra looked back towards the direction they had come from – there was a gap about the length of a block between her squad and the main force.
“Commander!” she called into her comms. “We are under attack! Request reinforcements and support fire!”
Water froze around the first two incoming aliens, and Korra managed to stop the third. Automatic weapons sent their payloads ripping into the trapped aliens.
“More movement! We’re surrounded!” Amak called out, yelling as loud as he could, but still almost inaudible due to the sounds of combat.
Korra sent concrete spikes into the midsection of one leaping alien, pinning it to the spikes, until it bled enough for the spikes to collapse underneath its corpse.
Another was ripped apart by gunfire, but it had gotten too close, and a soldier screamed as acid sprayed across his arm.
Multiple explosions blew through a group of four aliens bunched together – the APC fired multiple shells in quick succession as it came up to the battle site.
Korra ducked uselessly as shrapnel from the explosions rattled around her. It was a reflex, but a pointless one – by the time you reacted, the shrapnel had already hit you, or passed you by, depending on your luck.
“Woohoo!” Bumi called out as he fired. “Commander Bumi to the rescue, once again!”
“Cease fire! Cease fire!” Korra yelled.
The sounds of gunfire quieted as soldiers slowly came to the realization that the attack had ended.
“Contacts?” Korra asked Amak.
There was no response.
“Amak?” She turned towards the private.
The private was crumpled on the ground, and still. Korra crouched down beside Amak, and rolled his body over. There was an entrance wound underneath the private’s mouth, leading into his brain.
“Shit! Amak!” Dena yelled as he crouched beside the private.
“Ricochet, I think,” Korra said calmly.
Or outwardly calmly, at least. Amak was the first death. He almost certainly would not be the last.
The screaming quieted as the wounded soldier received medical attention, in the form of drugs and waterbending. He would stay in the command APC until he was healed enough to rejoin his squad.
Bumi came up and looked down at the dead soldier. “Shit,” he swore softly.
“I’ll bury him,” Korra said. “And Maella, too.”
“Maella? Tonraq’s Maella?” Bumi asked.
Korra nodded. It had to be her who did the burying, since she was the only earthbender.
“Then we keep moving,” she finished.
“Korra-” Bumi started to say.
“Sir!” Korra interrupted sharply. “She was the first. He was our first. He won’t be the last.” Korra looked at her daughter’s great uncle. “You saved us. It’s combat. Shit happens.”
Bumi frowned. “I know,” he said as he looked down at the corpse. “It’s just- it’s just, it’s been so long.”
“For me, too,” Korra agreed. “But not long enough.”
“No, it’s never that.” Bumi shook his head. “Right, soldiers!” he called out.
Any soldier who was not on perimeter duty moved in to listen. Korra earthbent rubble from under Maella’s corpse, and moved her over next to Amak.
Korra remembered what Maella had been like from the few times she had met the woman. The bodyguard would have hated Amak, she was pretty sure, but they had fought and died for the same cause, and that fact linked them for eternity.
“We have our first casualty,” Bumi continued. “But now you are starting to truly learn what the enemy is capable of. The lieutenant will bury Amak, and your chief’s head bodyguard, and then we move out.” He nodded at Korra. “Lieutenant.”
“Amak thought he was funny,” Korra said bluntly to the gathered troops. “Sometimes he even was.”
A few soldiers snickered as they looked at his corpse, though the laughter did not spread. It was too soon for that. The wake would be after they were done, and would celebrate far more than just Amak, Korra knew all too well.
If there was anyone left to hold a wake, that is.
“Maella,” Korra continued, “who most of you do not know, thought she was the baddest bitch in the Southern Water Tribe. Outside of me, she was almost certainly right.”
Korra took a wide stance, and opened up a gap in the road. Then, she used a thin layer of concrete to lift the bodies over and then into the hole.
“They fought for their nation, and their chief,” Korra said simply. “And they died for them. I would like to be able say that they were the first and the last, but we all know the latter is a lie. I’ll do my best to make sure that number of you I bury is as small as possible – assuming that some of you don’t need to bury me first.”
She looked around at the gathered soldiers.
“All we can do is make sure that they didn’t die for nothing. So let’s go kill some aliens and rescue the chief. Dismissed.”
She earthbent the grave closed and walked away.
I never asked for this.
I never wanted this.
Korra frowned as she watched her soldiers give each other small reassurances, and try to lift each other up, as they continued their walk into the unknown.
Whatever it takes.
Whatever the cost.
I’m coming, Ikki.
-------
“Sir, the sun is getting real low,” Korra said into her comms. “We need to fort up for the night.”
“Roger that, lieutenant,” Bumi responded. “Send scouts and find us someplace safe to hole up.”
“Yes, sir.” Korra looked around. “Sergeant, send out two scouting teams. Let’s find a place to hole up and rest until tomorrow.”
“Yes, sir,” Sergeant Huno replied. She quickly named off two groups of four soldiers each, and sent them scouting.
They were near the water now, so secure defensive fortifications would not just be dependent on Korra’s bending alone.
Once the eight soldiers got back, they quickly decided on an encampment spot, and got set up for the night. Concrete walls that Korra earthbent extended around the camp, and ice walls waterbent by some of the soldiers surrounded those.
Korra seismic sensed underground as best she could to check if there were any of the bigger sewers nearby, but that search came up negative, so they should be secure for the night.
Should be.
Two words that she hated together.
None of this should be happening at all!
There had been so many of the creatures in the earlier attack, maybe even more than they had fought in the south.
Where did they come from?
How did they get here, in Republic City, after they were wiped out in the south?
Korra sat, alone in her thoughts, as her soldiers settled in for sleep, except for those on watch. Her thoughts were dark, and all over the place.
The aliens back again. Ikki and her father lost and probably dead.
Korra frowned.
She hated thinking that, but it was almost certainly true. Then what are you doing here? A part of her asked. What are these soldiers dying for?
She knew the answer, of course, and what any of the soldiers would say. It was her answer, too.
She had to try.
She had to hope.
I’ll bring our daughter home, my love. I promise.
Eventually she slept, though not well and not for long.
-------
The night passed quietly, and Korra hoped they would make better progress with the new day – distances that would only take an hour or two to walk in normal circumstances would take half the day or more under combat conditions.
Checking buildings, making sure the street was clear for the personnel vehicle, giving the troops proper rest so that they would be effective if and when the fighting started – it all took time.
It did not take long for them to make the rest of the way to the bridge. The city was quiet now, at least where they were. No more signs of civilians holed up, nor anymore alien activity.
It was a bright, sunny day in Republic City, and quite beautiful next to the water, as long as you ignored the haze of smoke that hung over parts of the city.
The Kyoshi Memorial Bridge was jammed packed with abandoned vehicles. Korra looked at it, and then at the platoon’s APC, which Bumi and Kya were presently exiting.
“What do you think, lieutenant?” Bumi asked.
“Two choices, commander,” Korra responded. “Clear the path, or go on the water.”
“Recommendation?”
Korra thought about it for a moment. A part of her was tempted to bypass the bridge entirely, but...
“Clear it,” she finally answered. “That way we have a clear path should we need to GTFO in a hurry.”
Bumi looked at her for a moment, then nodded. “Make it so.” He grinned. “Time for us two old farts to get some fresh air. We’ll walk with the troops for a while.”
“Who are you calling an old fart?” Kya objected.
“As you wish, sir,” Korra answered with a grin of her own. “I’ll get things moving. Sergeant!” she called as she headed towards the largest group of soldiers.
“Yes, sir,” Sergeant Huno responded, as she instantly appeared at Korra’s side, seemingly by magic.
“What took you so long?” Korra asked with a wink.
The sergeant snorted and raised an eyebrow.
“We’re going to clear the bridge, sarge,” Korra continued. “Three teams. Advance squad, rearguard, and in the middle a squad with me, all waterbenders. We’ll be clearing the vehicles off the road.”
The sergeant nodded. “Yes, sir. Advance guard checks vehicles as they go?”
Korra nodded. “Absolutely. We wouldn’t want to toss a survivor into the water by mistake.”
The soldiers divided into the three groups quickly and easily. Forward scouts made sure the bridge was clear of threats, and found no survivors. Korra’s group raised water from the bay, and used the water to send vehicles plunging into the water below.
They drew the water up, wrapped it around and underneath the vehicle, lifted, shifted, and dropped.
Then repeated as the APV and rearguard slowly followed them. Bodies that they found they lowered more respectfully, to give the dead the last embrace of the sea.
“Hold!” Korra called out as they got just past halfway. “Break!”
It had taken them less than four hours to get halfway across the bridge, which was good time as far as Korra was concerned.
“You hear that?” corporal Dena said from beside Korra.
Korra frowned.
“Hear wh-” she started to ask, but cut herself off as she heard the sound. “Aircraft.”
The two of them looked around, before Korra finally spotted the plane. It was not very high, only one or two thousand metres, and circling in the distance, in the direction of Air Temple Island.
“A TigerShark, I think,” Dena said as he looked, too. “Not many of those still around.”
Not many of those still around.
The TigerShark stopped circling and dropped quickly.
“What’s it doing?” Bumi asked as he came up beside them.
“Fighting,” Korra answered as the aircraft pulled up and started to fire.
Many of Korra’s soldiers turned to face the direction of the aircraft as the ripping sound of multibarreled fire echoed towards them. It was so distant, it was difficult to tell anything that was going on, beyond the fact that the aircraft was firing at something.
Shapes, barely more than dots, shot out of the water, and the aircraft suddenly rocked back and forth, then flipped over completely upside down for a brief moment. A puff of smoke appeared around it.
“Shit,” Dena said.
“Yeah,” Korra agreed, as the plane started to go for altitude, but then started spinning, and crashed into the water after another shape shot out of the water, onto the aircraft. Whoever they were, their fight was over.
Not many TigerSharks still around.
It couldn’t be Asami.
Could it?
“Alright, the show’s over, people!” Sergeant Huno yelled. “Let’s get back to it so we can get the fuck off this bridge!”
Korra stared at where the TigerShark had sunk into the water. She almost thought she had seen some sort of movement, but it was way too far to be sure, and everything had happened too fast for binoculars to be brought up.
“Lieutenant?” the corporal asked from beside her, making Korra start.
“Huh?”
“We’re ready. On your word, lieutenant.”
“Right.” Korra looked around. “Right!” she repeated more loudly. “As the sergeant said, let’s get to it!”
She looked back at the now tranquil-seeming water. There was nothing left to indicate that anything had ever happened.
Asami is home. Angry at me. Safe.
She has to be.
-------
The rest of the bridge was cleared and crossed without incident.
The wind stilled and the smoke got thicker as they got into the city proper. A line of modern, tall buildings stood somewhat undisturbed, though many of the buildings’ lower level windows were broken, and it was that fact that kept any of them from realizing what they were walking into, Korra later figured.
The platoon got around a block and turned back towards their destination to find the way blocked by debris and torn up street. In the next block over, which should have contained more office towers and government buildings, there was...
Nothing.
Nothing but rubble.
Bumi and Kya came up to stand next to Korra as she looked over the long corridor of destruction.
“I was in the Earth Kingdom once,” Bumi said quietly.
His tone was different from usual. Korra suspected that this wasn’t one of his usual exaggerated stories.
“It was a coalition effort,” he continued, “military and civilian units gathered together to fight some of the worst wildfires we had ever seen.” He gestured down the length of rubble. “Part of how we got the fires under control was a long firebreak.”
“A firebreak,” Korra repeated softly. She could see it now. Benders and military working quickly together to stop the enemy advance.
Working to stop it at any cost.
“I’m sure most of the civilians got cleared out before they did this,” Bumi finished.
Korra nodded.
Most.
That word was optimistic, but it could still cover up a multitude of tragedies. All she could do was keep hoping that the people she was searching for were not part of those tragedies.
Notes:
Okay, so a trope for me - our two heroes JUST missing each other. You'll have to read my Uncivil Wars trilogy to see where else it happens.
RIP Maella - I think I said this already, but she's inspired by my first ever D&D character, Maellara, a bad-ass half-orc fighter/investigator loosely inspired by Miller from The Expanse, who had a horse named Roci (full name Rocinante - not dead, just couldn't travel with us anymore) and now has a tressym named Julie Meow (named after Julie Mao from the show). It was hard killing Maella off - I love my D&D characters, and that love extends to characters inspired by them!
GTFO - get the fuck out
I think we are back to Suyin next chapter.
Thanks for reading!
Chapter 15: Killing In The Name Of
Notes:
Good afternoon!
So, I've been really sick, so this is late. Thought about just skipping posting this week, since I've gotten no writing done, and it's Friday, but I don't want to - I've missed too much this week already due to illness.
So, let's see how Suyin is doing, shall we? Or perhaps I should say how she WAS doing, since I'm doing my usual timeline shenanigans with this story. :)
Last we saw her she was fading from consciousness due to some naughty, naughty bloodbending (okay, wait, not *that* type of naughty). Things have to be looking up for her after something like that happening, don't they?
Don't they?
Enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Suyin
Suyin awoke to the blaring of alarms and the worst headache of her life. Her dreams had been disturbing, and violent, though that was not unexpected, as she slowly recalled why she had been unconscious.
Tarrlok! The fucker is a bloodbender!
Of all the things to come out of her little trip to Republic City, finding out the city’s unofficial dictator was a bloodbender had not been something she had been expecting.
Of course, there was not anything that she had been expecting, really.
Bloodbending? Dangerous alien creatures? And perhaps worst of all, her son mixed up right in the middle of it?
Oh Baatar.
No. She had not been expecting any of those.
Suyin got up from the cot she had been passed out on, attempted to smooth down her hair, and did her best to sense the door’s composition, and what was going on outside the little room she was... not locked up in?
She frowned, and tried the button for the door.
It slid open without any effort or bending on her part. There were no signs of movement or activity in the hallway, outside of the blaring of the alarms, and the constantly spinning warning light.
Her headache was now somehow even worse than it had been before.
Displays lit up as she walked passed their sensors, their power usage somehow not reduced to nothing by the alarms going off.
Xenomorph skulls and cadavers glared at her, as did other specimens that seemed... different, from the others.
She stopped to stare at one. The mouth within the mouth had been carefully preserved and wired together, but the skull shape seemed different. More primal.
No, that was not it.
More primate.
More apelike in shape than the others.
More human-like.
Were they experimenting on apes?
She shuddered, and kept walking, her headache now pulsing, one hundred percent in tune with the brightening and dimming of the emergency lights, and the blaring of the warning horn.
Light.
Dark.
Light.
Dark.
Over and over and over again.
She wondered if she had been forgotten. Had she been left alone, down in an empty research facility, to wait for death at the hands of whatever was causing the alarm?
She shook her head, heedless of the pain it caused her head.
She was one of the premiere earth- and metalbenders on the planet. Even if she had been left behind to die, she would still get out.
She looked up at one of the mirrors placed strategically at the end of the hall. The next hall seemed empty, too, unless she was sadly mistaken. She ducked around the corner, and proceeded down the next uninhabited corridor.
Was she getting close to a part of the underground lab that she recognized? Or was it all just wishful thinking, as so many of the lab corridors looked alike?
Without warning, the blaring alarm and the strobing lights cut out, right when she was between one step and the next. Suyin almost stumbled into a wall as her vision darkened into static grey, then slowly normalized, and her ears adjusted to the glorious silence.
She leaned against the wall for a moment, as her headache blazed in fury, so strong she felt that she might vomit, then slowly receded, at least a little. She just stayed there, just for a moment, and caught her breath.
She felt exhausted just from the pain.
Suyin only gave herself a few seconds, then pushed herself back upright and resumed her slow walk, still alone. She rounded another corner, and there, finally was a hallway she recognized – the original one she had seen, with the first alien corpse on display.
Suyin straightened as she heard voices, ones she did not recognize, but human voices nonetheless.
Then a voice she did recognize, as she approached a closed door.
Junior.
She sensed the metal in the walls and the ceiling. In the desks and the computer systems on top those desks.
She tensed, ready to bend the metal in the room and send it all in a storm of metal, to cause a rain of blood and death, towards any who attacked her. Then she opened the door.
Five sets of eyes turned away from one another to look at her, including her son’s eyes.
But not Tarrlok’s.
“Mother,” Baatar Jr said as he saw her. Calmly. As if nothing untoward had happened at all. “You’re awake. Good.”
“Awake? Awake!” she exclaimed. “You mean after-”
Baatar’s eyes flickered back to the other people in the room, and then back to her. “Yes, awake. You succumbed to exhaustion and the shock of what you were shown. An understandable reaction.”
She went silent. Ah, so that is how we are playing this.
“And where is the councillor now?” she asked as her eyes narrowed.
“Councillor Tarrlok?” Baatar asked, seemingly surprised by the question. She wondered when her eldest son had become so good at lying. “He ended his inspection shortly after you went to rest.”
“And the alarms that awoke me?”
Now her son frowned without any attempts at deception. He was good at lying, disturbingly so, but not perfect at it.
Not to his mother, at least.
“Some sensors were triggered.” He turned and glared at the other scientists. “A false alarm, obviously, that should not be stopping the work we are doing here!”
One of the scientists stood a little taller, and moved forward so that she was slightly in front of the rest. An older woman, with grey hair and lines along her face, the way that the other scientists deferred to her made it clear that she was senior among them.
“I do not work for you, Beifong,” the scientist exclaimed. “I am a fulltime senior researcher with the university, and have a duty of safety to both the students and faculty of the university, as well as to the general public.”
“Safety?!” Suyin interjected. “What safety? With the things you are studying?”
“Ma’am,” the scientist said, “I assure you, we have more than adequate safeguards in place. That is why we need to take this alarm seriously.”
“It needs to be shut off and for everyone to get back to work!” Baatar yelled back.
“Junior, enough,” Suyin said. “What’s your name?” she asked the scientist.
“Tuin, ma’am,” the scientist replied.
“Well, Tuin, why don’t you tell me what the alarm is for.” Suyin looked over at her son, who was glaring at the scientist. “Then we can figure out how to set everyone’s minds at ease.”
The scientist nodded. “Very sensible, ma’am.” Tuin looked over at Baatar, and sighed. “Your son is correct, of course. The alarm makes no sense.”
“There!” Baatar Jr interjected. “You see!”
“Still,” Tuin stated, “we must follow protocol and ensure that it is a false alarm.”
Now it was Suyin’s turn to glare. “And you still have not told me what the alarm is for.”
“Apologies,” Tuin replied as she turned back to Suyin. “The sensor provides a headcount of the creatures. It was put in place to warn us if their numbers were dropping.”
“And are they?” Suyin asked. “Dropping, that is?”
She had a bad feeling that was not the case.
Tuin shook her head. “Just the opposite. The numbers are higher than expected.”
“Which is preposterous!” Baatar added. “We kept a careful count of every incubator we granted the creatures access to, and kept track of creature deaths, as well. The sensor is wrong, and that is all!”
“Incubators,” Suyin repeated slowly. She had seen the videos. She knew what that meant.
“Animals,” Tuin clarified. “Ones destined for slaughter, anyway.”
“Animals,” Suyin said. “Of course.”
Of course. Why did I immediately think that they meant something far more... nefarious.
My son would not be involved in something like that.
Would he?
She thought back to her “tour” of the lair, and things that her son had said. At least one human had become an incubator, as they put it, and by accident, at that. But only one?
“What other ways of counting their numbers do you have?” Suyin asked.
Tuin and Baatar Jr looked at one another.
“A manual count would be the only way,” Tuin stated. “And that would be... ill-advised.”
“It would be dangerous?”
“An extreme understatement,” Tuin answered, “but yes, dangerous.”
More incubators.
More chances to die... eventually.
A light that had been blinking on one of the consoles stopped. Tuin turned to look at it, and frowned. “Perhaps I owe you an apology, sir. The sensor is now showing normal numbers.”
“There!” Baatar exclaimed. “You see!”
Suyin looked incredulously at her son and at the researcher.
There are none so blind as those who will not see.
“And this reassures you?” she demanded. “Numbers too high, that have now dropped? Have you ever considered the possibility that they are getting out?!”
“Nonsense,” her son scoffed. “The mere suggestion is ludicrous, and I for one am-”
The light on the console started blinking again, and the alarm started blaring again, at full force. Suyin winced at the sound.
“Another scan completed,” Tuin said. “Now it is showing that the numbers are too low.”
“Bah,” Baatar uttered. “The monitoring system is garbage.”
“Future Industries equipment is the industry standard,” Tuin objected, though quietly.
“Their quality has been on the decline since the company left the Satos’ hands. We all know this.” Baatar looked around, and looked satisfied as there was no further objection from the researcher. “Now turn the damn thing off and let’s get back to work.”
“We need to investigate,” Suyin reiterated, as the blaring alarm went silent once again. “With creatures such as these, how would you feel if you didn’t make sure? You’re scientists!”
She paused for a moment, as she quickly thought about what to say. Both her son and Tuin were looking at her, and she thought that maybe, just maybe, she had a shot. “If there actually is real variance in the creatures’ numbers, would that not be important data for your research? What if, say...”
She desperately thought for a moment. She couldn’t say that the creatures might be getting out. Neither of the two wanted to believe that.
“What if, somehow the creatures can twin?” she asked quickly. “And you had two creatures in one host? Would that not be worth knowing?”
“Hmmm,” Baatar replied softly as he put his hand to his chin. “We have seen no evidence of any such thing, but it is a fascinating possibility.”
“How would you propose that we investigate that possibility?” Tuin asked.
“We go in,” Suyin answered with all the authority that her long years of being a parent and a leader could give her. “We take the risk, and do a proper count, and proper exploration of the hive.”
“We?” Baatar asked.
Suyin nodded. “My bending might become vital, so yes. We.”
Her son looked at her, then nodded.
“Alright, I am convinced.”
“First though,” Suyin finished, as she glared at her son, “the two of us need to talk.”
-------
“He bloodbent me!” Suyin hissed as soon as the door closed behind them. “And you knew about it. You let it happen!”
“It is merely an ability, mother,” her son said as he looked at her. Looked down at her, almost.
Fuck, she despised the inherent belief in their own authority that being taller gave so many men. You are still my son, you ungrateful little shit.
“An illegal ability, that can only be used for evil.”
“How would we know?” Baatar asked. “Who has truly studied it? Who has examined what the possibilities of it truly might be? Should we ban firebending because of the Fire Nation’s past? Ban metalbending because metal can be dangerous? Grow up, mother.”
“Grow up? Grow up?” she seethed. “Answer me this, junior. Have you ever been bloodbent? Did you ever volunteer to feel the ability that you are so desperate to study?”
He said nothing for a moment, and she stared at him.
Finally, he gave his head the tiniest of shakes.
“That’s what I thought,” she growled. Then, she shook her head to clear it. “But that is for later. Do not make the mistake of thinking that I will forget, however – both the physical pain and the pain of betrayal will not be forgotten. For now, though, we have to stay on mission. We need to find out what is going on in the nest.”
Her son looked at her for a long moment. “You really believe there is something to the sensor, don’t you?”
Suyin glared back.
“It doesn’t matter what I believe, junior. It only matters that we find out what is going on.”
-------
The suit was just as hot and cramped as Suyin remembered it being from her previous “tour” of the nest.
“You hear me, mother?” her son called over the radio.
“Loud and clear,” she responded.
In addition to the two of them, several of the more junior lab technicians had joined their “expedition,” as they were calling it, as well as two of the lab’s security personnel.
The security personnel had made their displeasure in being pressed into service known loudly, to no avail. Her son’s threats to them, of lack of pay and potential jail time, were as unoriginal as they were effective.
Despite their unwillingness to go into the nest, Suyin was still glad to have them. Their firearms would hopefully mean that she wouldn’t need to fight with her bending.
Ideally, of course, there would be no fighting at all.
“I didn’t sign up for this. I didn’t sign up for this. I didn’t sign-” one of the lab techs muttered over and over.
“You’re on mic,” Baatar interrupted the woman’s muttering. “Shut up and pull yourself together. This is part of the job.”
Baatar turned his entire body to look at them all, his glare muted by his suit’s faceplate.
“Complaining won’t help. Working, however, might get you out of here faster. So I suggest we do that!”
He pointed at one of the security guards. “Lead the way.”
Her second trip into the nest, Suyin noticed, was far more anxious than her first. Familiarity in this case was not breeding contempt – it was breeding fear.
She was not alone in this, she suspected.
Beyond the poor woman who was trying to stifle the verbalization of her fear, the way that everyone was moving indicated hesitation, at best. Except for her son. Baatar marched forward as if this was an annoying bureaucratic checklist – the inspection that could have been a note, so to speak. Suyin followed close behind.
Nothing had changed in the first part of their expedition, that she could see. The air still hung thick and still, with condensation dripping almost everywhere.
The light was still dim, and the footing uneven, with growths and secretions covering the floor, the walls, the ceiling.
They all started when the front guard stumbled and almost fell. The man looked down, and a solitary “shit” came from him. Then he carefully lifted his foot out of whatever had caused him to stumble, and kept going.
Suyin looked down when she got to the spot where he had stumbled.
The guard had put his foot through a human skull.
She looked over at Baatar, who said nothing, but merely looked back, before he resumed his forward progress.
Her son merely considered any loss of life the price for science, she supposed. When did he get so cold? How?
She could not think of anything that might have happened to her son in his privileged life to cause him to have such disregard for human life, but there had to be something. Didn’t there?
Where did I fail you, my son? How did I allow this to happen?
The small group continued their slow progress into the nest. The first guard, Baatar, her, the two lab techs, and then the other guard.
She could see further into the nest now. She could make the rows of eggs, many of which were hatched. She could see the movement of drones, and further in, something that blurry from the dim light and the humidity and the distance, but still seemed larger.
One of the lab techs gasped.
“Sir! There are more hatched eggs than there should be. Significantly more!”
Baatar Jr stopped, and turned to look at the eggs. There was no way to tell what he was feeling – the confines of the suit kept body language in just as well as it kept noxious gases out.
“Guards, get ready,” he finally said. “Everyone else, I want suit lights on. We need to see, no matter what the risk.”
“But sir-” one guard objected.
“Just do it!” Baatar ordered.
Somebody had to take charge, Suyin knew. And in some ways she was impressed with her son. But also, someone had to be the first to obey, otherwise the order was worthless.
She turned her suit light on bright, and the others soon did, as well.
There was an increase in movement in the distance, which she attempted to ignore as best she could. They would get warning, either from the guards, or by technicians back on the other safe, secure side of the hatch, if there was movement in their direction.
The other the lab technician swore softly, and Suyin turned to look at what the man was looking at.
Animal corpses were stuck to the chamber walls, their bodies glued in place. Human bodies also dangled in death, from the walls and even the ceiling. Dozens of them, and those were only the ones that she could see. All of them looked exploded, as if they had been forced to swallow live grenades.
Suyin knew that wasn’t what had happened to them, of course. What had happened to all these poor animals, all of these poor people, was far worse than that.
Her son said nothing as he looked.
He knew.
He fucking well KNEW!
“How many did you expect to find?” she asked, without fully realizing that she was doing so. “How many murdered, in the name of your science?”
“Not this many,” the stranger who looked like her son answered. He answered calmly, either unknowing or uncaring that he was broadcasting to the entire group.
She wondered why she was even surprised, at this point. He had already shown her who he was, and she knew damn well when someone did that, you should believe them.
But it was so much more difficult when it was your own child.
“They got out,” he continued on, talking to himself or to her, she did not know, but the important part was that he kept transmitting, so they could all hear his confession. “Somehow, they got out. And they hunted. They must have.”
“Sir!” the lead guard called out. “We have incoming!”
Suyin looked up, and she could see two points of movement, slowly heading their way. Stalking them.
“Lower the lights,” Baatar ordered, “then let’s head-”
“Override!” a voice blared from her comms. She flinched, as did the rest of the team, from the startling volume.
“This is an emergency override! The lab is breached. Repeat! The lab is brea-”
The voice turned to static, which then became silence.
Breached...
That means...
That means there is no way back...
They all stood still, dead still, for the briefest of moments, until the sounds of the guards firing their sidearms broke the stillness.
Suyin looked up, and saw two of the creatures charging towards them.
We’re all going to die.
Notes:
Huh. I guess things don't need to be looking up for her, after all. My bad!
Stole the title from the Rage Against The Machine song, of course. Figured it fit with the whole "how many murdered, in the name of your science?" line.
Anyway, Suyin's a metalbender, so I'm sure she'll be *fine.* Nothing to worry about, right?
Right???
Well, the answer to that question will come... eventually! Next chapter... back to Ikki.
Thanks for reading!
Chapter 16: A Multitude of Tragedies
Notes:
Good morning!
So this story has two different timelines, basically. The furthest advanced is Korra and Asami's; then there's Suyin's and Ikki's (I don't have it exactly measured, but I would say that their story lines are at about the same time). While they will all start converging soon, we're not quite there yet.
That being said, let's get back to Ikki.
CW: Violence, child death, murder-suicide
Enjoy, and... I'm sorry.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Ikki
Ikki did not think that she would ever get the sounds of screams out of her ears. The screams rang through her brain, twisting and turning as they repeated, over and over and over inside her mind, always the same but also always changing. Static but in flux.
The sounds of lives cut short, and pain never-ending.
There had been a brief respite when they had gotten to the bridge, the bridge that they had driven over so quickly that same morning. Their bus had been full of excited chatter, of delicious gossip, of friendship and joy and hurt and betrayal and everything that made life wonderful. Now the few of them who remained struggled across the bridge, stuck in a throng of people fleeing.
But still, it was respite.
The sounds of battle receded behind them, and now it was just the sounds of people moving, as well as the could, and sobbing, and pleading, and arguing... all human sounds, and while they might not have been desirable human sounds, especially compared to the sounds in the bus earlier, still they were sounds of life.
Vehicles attempted to cross the bridge at first, but as an accident, combined with the influx of foot traffic, turned the bridge into a traffic jam, more and more drivers got out and proceeded on foot, thus making the trip more congested and slower for everyone else.
Ikki thought, when she calmed enough to think about it all, that no one could be blamed for the state of the bridge; they were all trying to escape the same thing, after all. It all felt heavy, in a way that she had trouble recognizing, or putting a name to.
Inevitable.
Yeah, that was the word.
“Sir,” one of her grandfather’s other guards said. Like the rest of the remaining guards, he was a waterbender. “Sir,” the guard repeated, “we have to keep moving, and then make contact with the south when we are secure.” The guard looked over at Ikki, for some reason, before looking back at his chief. “We cannot slow down too much.”
Her grandfather snorted as he stood and caught his breath.
“You do not have to lie to salvage my pride,” Tonraq stated. “I am the reason we are going slow, not my granddaughter. She could leave us behind without effort, if she wanted to.”
The guard looked over at Ikki again, and raised an eyebrow. Not nearly as well as her mother raised her eyebrow, Ikki was sure.
“Airbending,” Tonraq said simply.
The guard sighed. “Yes, of course. Well, I know I’m no Maella, but sir, we need to keep you moving. And we cannot send your granddaughter on ahead, even if she was willing to go.”
“Yes, I know, just-” Tonraq began, but cut off. He was looking at something, Ikki realized.
The guard realized it, too, and the water he had been bending to keep himself armed, now turned into ice, ready to strike. The other guards stiffened as they sensed something was wrong.
The crowd noise, which had turned into a background noise that Ikki had been somewhat tuning out, rose in volume and intensity again, as civilians panicked.
“The water,” Tonraq whispered.
“Shit,” the guard stated softly as he took a glance.
Ikki went to the edge, and looked down. She could see trails in the water, like she had seen when ships were moving fast, leaving rough foam behind them.
Wakes, those trails were called.
Ikki gasped, and almost took flight she leapt backwards so hard.
“Ikki! What is it, Ikki?” Nutha demanded from behind her. “Is it them? I don’t want to look, is it them?!”
The background noise of the crowd behind them, towards the end of the bridge they were leaving behind, changed from a dull roar, easily ignored after a while. The noise became louder and sharper as screams filled the air.
Ikki looked back to Nutha, and rushed back to grab her friend’s hand.
“We have to go! Granddad, we have to go!”
“Yes we do.” Tonraq started moving, and batted away the hand of the guard that had reached out to assist him. “I’m fine! Let’s go!”
The small group hurried forward, avoiding vehicles and other people as best they could, trying not to hurt anyone in their desire to keep moving. More than once they had to avoid the corpse of someone who had not been able to keep going, and had then died from being trampled by the panicked crowd.
They also saw those who had given up, and were sitting or laying on the concrete, resting against the protective barrier of the bridge, or against abandoned cars, waiting for the elements or the creatures to take them.
Ikki couldn’t help but look at those who had surrendered as they went by them. To be so hopeless, as to just quit. She couldn’t imagine it.
She turned away, and looked around the bridge as they kept walking. A flash of colour caught her attention.
“Granddad!” Ikki called out as she grabbed her grandfather’s hand. “What is she doing?”
The group slowed their flight momentarily, as they turned to look at a woman on the other side of the bridge.
The woman wore what was once a bright yellow summer dress, that was now faded, dirty, and torn. She seemed to be carrying something in her arms, close to her chest, though it was difficult to tell what it was, as it was all bundled in a blanket.
The woman started climbing onto the protective railing, but it was obvious she was struggling a little, as she was carrying her bundle at the same time.
“No! Don’t!” the guard, Aliro, as Ikki had discovered his name was, yelled, but there was no way the woman could hear them, Ikki thought, she was too far away.
Or maybe the woman had, as she briefly turned to look in their direction.
“Is- is that a baby?” Nutha asked.
The woman jumped, and mother and child were gone.
“That was a baby!” Nutha screamed.
Ikki looked up at her grandfather, who just stared in the direction of the empty space where the woman and her child had been. A tear ran slowly down his cheek.
“Sir!” Aliro yelled. “Girls! We have to keep moving!”
“But- but-” Nutha sobbed.
It was too much, Ikki knew. It was too much for Nutha.
For any of them.
The woman and her baby.
Gone.
Their classmates. Their teachers.
Gone.
All the people caught by the creatures. All the ones who had given up.
Gone.
Maella and the others who had stayed behind to fight.
Gone.
The soldiers down in the south, no matter how badass they had thought themselves to be.
Gone.
Her family.
Gone.
“We’re not going to make it,” she whispered. “It’s too late for us.” She thought of her mothers. “I’m sorry.” Maybe now she understood a little better those who just sat down and gave up. Maybe just a little.
Strong arms wrapped around her. “Come on, kiddo,” Tonraq said, “I know it’s hard, but we have to go.”
Her grandfather squeezed her tight, then let her go.
“We have to go,” he repeated.
Ikki looked at him for a moment, her eyes blurry with tears.
“I guarantee your mothers are on their way to save us,” her grandfather asserted confidently, “which means we have to be alive for them to rescue. We have to go.”
Ikki thought about her mothers for a moment. The engineer and the Avatar. The only two people in the world who had fought these creatures and survived.
She wiped her eyes, faced her grandfather, and nodded. “I’m okay. Let’s go.”
Then, she turned to Nutha, and pulled her taller friend into a hug. Ikki then let go, and took her friend’s hand once again.
“Come on, Nutha. We’re not done yet.”
“But-” Nutha objected.
“Your parents will be worried, right? You have to make it, for them.”
“Mom,” Nutha sobbed. “Dad.”
“Think about how happy they will be to see you. But we have to go.”
Nutha hesitated, then nodded, and Ikki started moving, her friend’s hand still in hers. Screams faded behind them.
Screams could be heard ahead of them.
The group kept moving, towards the end of the bridge.
-------
“Wait!” the yell was distant, and barely audible. “Wait!”
“Granddad!” Ikki called out, as the group kept moving through the streets towards their hotel. They had moved parallel to their destination a couple of blocks, and had gotten out of the largest streams of refugees as a result.
They had seen no further sign of the creatures, so far at least.
“Granddad, do you hear that?” she asked.
“Wait!” the voice called again, louder this time.
As a group, they turned to look. A single figure was coming up the street behind them, waving as they did so. It was a woman, Ikki thought.
“Hold!” Tonraq commanded.
The sounds of combat and screaming had lessened as they had gone into the downtown core of the city, with the tall office towers muting the sounds and the wind. Except for the odd cross street, of course, where the wind would whistle between the buildings, at greater strength than it would have otherwise.
They had seen no further alien activity, though with the way that the buildings messed with sound, the absence of evidence did not mean that the creatures were gone. And there were the sewers, too, Ikki realized.
She did her best not to walk too close to any manhole covers.
The woman got close quickly, as she alternated between walking and running towards them. She looked familiar, but Ikki couldn’t figure out from where.
Tonraq frowned.
“I recognize you,” he said. He frowned.
“Sir, we have to keep moving,” Aliro said.
Tonraq nodded, but then hesitated. “Wait! You’re the earthbender!”
The woman nodded as she caught her breath. “Isha. My name is Isha.”
“What about my bodyguard, Isha? What about Maella?” Tonraq demanded.
“She... she stayed,” Isha replied through tears. “She would not go as long as there were other people to save. She told me to go, and... and, I did, I left, I left her there. I’m sorry!”
Ikki could see Tonraq deflate.
It only lasted a moment, and then he visibly pulled himself back together.
“It’s alright. She saved you, just as she wanted to do. Let’s not let her sacrifice be in vain.”
“Sir!” Aliro repeated. “Let’s move!”
“Lead on, Aliro, lead on. You can come with us, Isha, if you wish. Your bending will almost certainly be of value.”
The woman, Isha, just nodded as she wiped the tears from her eyes and face. “I-” She paused, and started walking. “I can fight,” she finally said. “I know how, now.”
Aliro nodded at Isha. “You’re a veteran, now.”
They kept walking. Ikki sometimes used her airbending to dart upwards, and use her height to see further than they otherwise could. Tonraq had tried to stop her from doing that, at first, but Aliro had insisted that they needed every advantage they could get.
Plus, he had added in a whisper she wasn’t sure she was supposed to hear, he figured that if she felt useful, she was less likely to do something really stupid.
Normally, that might have offended her, but not now. Now she was too tired and stressed to care about words, no matter how hurtful.
Visions of Jinora, of the boy in the museum, of the woman and her baby on the bridge, ran through her brain every time she stopped moving, so tried to keep going, doing something, at all times.
She didn’t want to think.
She didn’t want to remember.
So she raised herself upwards with her airbending again, as they reached the intersection of another block, to be useful, and so that she didn’t have to think. To the right, the streets were largely empty, other than abandoned vehicles and some pedestrians. The number of pedestrians was starting to increase, however, as some people abandoned the buildings they were in and fled.
Most had fled already, she suspected, or had decided to bunker in place.
To the left, throngs of refugees trudged through the streets, unbothered by attack, for the moment at least.
Maybe the creatures had fed enough, she thought briefly, then she chided herself for thinking at all, as she landed once again.
“All I see are refugees,” she told her grandfather and Aliro.
“Okay. That’s great,” Aliro said as the group continued on their way. “We’re only five blocks from the hotel. We get there, we barricade, we see if we can get a message out, and we wait.”
The group kept moving, guards in the front and back, and the rest grouped in the middle. Ikki held onto Nutha’s hand when she wasn’t airbending, and the group made good progress.
Four blocks away.
Then three.
Then Ikki heard something new, while she was airbending upwards.
They were almost at the intersection of a mixed use district. There were hotels, shops, a mall that Ikki had hoped to go to on the trip, and office buildings.
The crowds of refugees had increased, as many got tired and footsore, and it seemed like the urgent threat had passed. Adrenaline wore off, and people looked for food and places to rest. Even Tonraq’s four remaining guards were looking tired, and they seemed to be having more and more trouble keeping the water they were bending in the air.
But still, even over the noise of the increased crowd, Ikki heard something new.
“Do you hear that?” she asked as soon as she hit the ground.
“Hear what?” Nutha asked.
Once again, the sound of screams increased, and they all turned to look the way they had come. A large group of refugees, a couple of blocks behind their group, started to run.
“Shit!” Aliro swore. “Come on! We’re almost there!”
“That’s not what I heard!” Ikki yelled as they started running again. “That’s not what I heard!”
Their little group reached the intersection quickly, but was then slowed by the crowds.
“They’re coming! They’re coming!” the guards yelled, as they attempted to get the crowd moving, or at least out of the way. “Move or die! They’re coming!”
Ikki quickly airbent herself upwards, and looked around once more, and listened.
“Granddad!” she screamed as she landed again.
She pointed upwards, and her grandfather and Aliro looked up.
“United Forces!” Tonraq yelled. “That will slow the bastards down.”
Aliro frowned. The aircraft disappeared from view behind some towers, but then reappeared to the north.
“They’re coming straight at us,” he said softly.
“What?” Tonraq exclaimed. “No, that can’t...”
Ikki gasped as her granddad trailed off.
Aliro snapped out of his daze as explosions started to rock the street they were on, blocks away at first, but approaching far more quickly than Ikki would have imagined possible.
“Isha, make us a wall! A thick wall!” he screamed. “Waterbenders, I need a dome around the wall! Now!”
The explosions got closer and closer, and there was a roar as the line of aircraft flew overhead.
Ikki crouched, and held onto Nutha, as Isha added layer upon layer of concrete to her wall. Tonraq created a dome of water around the four of them, while the rest of the waterbenders created a larger water dome.
Ikki could literally see the bomb that she was sure was about to kill all of their group, as it dropped towards them. A small dot, that increased in size in dreadful slow motion, but also far too quickly, until the water dome above them closed completely, and blurred her vision.
Then, the world exploded.
The first bomb was triggered by its impact against the water dome. The water absorbed most of the explosion, but was vaporized as a result, leaving just Isha’s concrete wall to protect them, and Tonraq’s smaller interior dome for the four of them.
One of the waterbenders screamed as he found himself at the edge of the blast, his face melted from the flash of hot steam, but only for a moment. The second impact came against the top edge of Isha’s wall, where it was thinnest, and concrete shrapnel sprayed everywhere.
Part of her wall fell on the already wounded waterbender, crushing him, and putting him out of his misery. Isha fell, as debris from her own bending caught her in the arm, shattering it, but still, the rest of her wall stood.
The third bomb ended them.
Aliro crouched and turned towards them, as he had no water left to bend, and started to scream something, but no one would ever know what, because the last bomb exploded, and sent a concrete block the size of a car tumbling through the air, and right into him.
Aliro’s legs stood for a moment, attached to nothing, before toppling over. The rest of the waterbender was gone.
As were the remaining two guards – one’s body could be seen mostly covered in the rubble. The final one was simply gone.
The next bomb was further down the street, and shattered a group of refugees with its impact. Body parts flew into the air, and chunks of flesh rained down amongst the rubble.
Tonraq let the last few remaining drops of his water dome drop, and fell to his knees, breathing heavy and grabbing at his chest.
Ikki sobbed, in pain and horror, as she held Nutha’s corpse in her lap. The same explosion that had killed Aliro had knocked Nutha back into the rubble, and Ikki’s best friend had broken her neck on impact.
Tonraq looked over at Ikki, grimaced in pain, and mouthed words, but Ikki could not hear them. She was not sure that she would ever hear again. She looked down at Nutha again, and stared into her friend’s lifeless eyes.
She felt a tugging on her arm, and looked up from Nutha. Isha was standing above her, nudging Ikki as best she could while holding her shattered arm. Sounds slowly made their way into her ears, over the ringing, that almost sounded like words, but that couldn’t be right.
The world had ended, and no one would ever speak again.
“Ge- u-!” Isha yelled, right in Ikki’s face. “We -ve – go!”
Slowly, Ikki closed Nutha’s eyes, then let her friend go, and pushed herself to her feet. She swayed, and her vision blurred, and her body hurt. She staggered over to her grandfather, and helped him to his feet. She knew he was in pain, as she knew that she herself was in pain, but there was nothing she could do about either of those things.
There was nothing anyone could do.
More bombs fell behind them, destroying streets and buildings, as the three of them staggered the last few blocks, to the hotel that just a few short days ago Ikki had considered the base of operations for the best week of her life.
It was only when they got there that Ikki realized, with its glass doors and large entrance, that the hotel was practically indefensible as it was. They would need to board it up, and they had no materials to do so, and no one physically well enough to do so, even if they had the materials.
It was only when they got there that Ikki realized the pain in her stomach was more than just over-exertion and being knocked around by high explosives. She put her hand to her stomach, underneath her shirt, and when she pulled it out again, it was covered in blood.
She winced at the sudden increase in pain.
“Granddad?” Ikki called softly, as she collapsed.
Notes:
RIP to Nutha and the rest of Tonraq's bodyguard, though the fate of one is not completely certain (probably dead, though). Tonraq and Ikki aren't in great shape, either, for that matter - I sure hope they are okay.
I gave Isha that name so that anyone who knows Arcane would just assume that I was going to kill her off right away, but it was a fakeout (as I had plans to kill another child, instead). I'm kind of proud of that, actually (the fakeout, I mean lol), as I know it fooled at least a couple of readers. She's alive and somewhat well, so far, at least. No guarantees about the future, though.
The bridge scene was not planned out that way, it just happened organically. The jumping scene was hard to write. However, this story is a mashup of different genres, and one of those is war. And as many people in the real world are unfortunately finding out right now, war is hell.
If various countries could stop lobbing missiles at one another, that would be great. Just saying.
Anyway, while I believe we are in the back half of this story, the pain isn't over yet - at this point, if you think you see a light at the end of the tunnel, you are probably safe in assuming it's an oncoming train. :D
Thanks for reading - see you soon!
Chapter 17: An Unnerving Semblance Of Life
Notes:
Good morning, and happy day after Canada Day!
I was busy hanging out with friends yesterday, so for this week at least, Wednesday is my posting day! And really, what says "I hope you had a good day off" (or didn't, if yesterday was just a regular day for you) like nightmares, regrets and self-directed recriminations?
Nothing, really!
Of course, all of the above must mean we are finally back with Asami, after her initial foray into Republic City airspace went so horribly wrong.
Enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Asami
It was almost a disappointment to wake up.
Her time asleep, if it could be called that, had been racked by nightmares and distorted memories, of slashing claws and mouths full of teeth and screams and blood.
Of Ikki and Korra, being caught and tormented and implanted and torn apart, over and over and over again.
Of her, having to watch, never given the peace of death, no matter how dark the nightmare got. Always, she had to watch.
And yet, there was a part of Asami that wished she was still in those nightmares, rather than facing the reality of her failure.
The twins, dead for certain.
Mom.
Probably dead.
Or perhaps worse.
She opened her blurry eyes to the damp, dark grey night. The were no stars to be seen, but there was still light. Scattered fires throughout the city gave the illusion of seeing, even if not much more. Broken buildings were outlined in the dirty glow.
The only sound was that of the waves, gently lapping against the small island. It was a peaceful sound.
Asami let her eyes close again. Even the worst of nightmares were better than her reality, if only barely.
The nightmares returned quickly.
The bodies of the twins floated, still in the water. Clouds of blood surrounded them, as they stayed unmoving, impossibly so considering tides and current. Then they moved, in unison, bending nonexistent metal, their eyes pleading as they gazed sightless at Asami.
Then they were still once more, dead, floating in the water, swayed gently by the current, gone but somehow still there, as they breathed liquid in and out, and screamed insanely loud screams through the water.
There was no movement, anywhere.
She was alone in the water, drowning, the breath squeezing out of her, her lungs feeling like they needed to explode, the desire for death never stronger, but there was no escape for her, there never was and never would be.
Asami screamed into the water, bubbles exploding everywhere, and felt the tail of an alien wrap itself around her legs, slowly, sensually, as it dragged her down, down, down into the darkness.
Sweet oblivion awaited her, though she knew she would never attain it.
Blink.
She landed the TigerShark at Wolf’s Cove, and sighed in relief as she powered down the engines, which had strained and given her more than one scare as she had flown further south.
They had made it.
Asami looked beside her, at Ikki sitting next to her in the copilot’s seat. Ikki grinned wearily, then gave Asami a tired thumbs up.
They had made it!
“I’ll go check on Korra,” Asami said as she started to unbuckle her seatbelt.
“Affirmative,” Ikki responded with a salute, before turning to look out the front of the cockpit again.
Then, the young airbender stiffened, and her whole body started to shake.
NO! a part of Asami screamed, but silently. NO! I don’t want to do this! NO!
She watched silently, unable to speak or move, as Ikki turned towards Asami.
Blood began to pour out of Ikki’s mouth, as her chest started to swell.
NO! NO NO NO NO NO!!!
“Mama?” Ikki asked plaintively, her voice somehow clear despite the blood pouring out of her mouth.
Asami started to shake as well, as she felt the pressure build inside her. The pressure of something that wanted nothing more than to be free of its host...
“No!” she screamed, finally able to voice her terror. “NO! No no no no-”
“No!” Asami yelled as she bolt upwards.
Where was she?
That didn’t happen! Ikki’s fine!
“Ikki’s fine,” she sobbed to herself.
“Asami?” a voice spoke quietly from beside her, and a hand moved away from her shoulder. “Asami? Are you awake?”
Asami slowly stopped herself from shaking, so that she could move again. She turned to look beside her.
“Senna?” she gasped. “Mom?”
Then she sat up just enough to fling herself into the older woman’s arms.
-------
“I got disoriented,” Senna said once the two women had separated from their embrace.
“Or maybe the plan to come here got knocked out of my brain,” Senna continued. “I don’t know.” She sighed. “Either way, I ended up on Air Temple Island.”
Asami just looked at Senna “Do I want to know?” she finally asked.
“Some of the airbenders got clear,” Senna answered. “I- I...” she trailed off.
“I came ashore from under the water,” she finally said.
Senna’s waterbending created a bubble around her as she got close to shore. She let the bubble go as she got to the surface, and slowly poked her head up.
It was quiet.
The quiet surprised her at first, but as her ears and legs adjusted to being back on land, she realized that it was a false quiet.
The sound of the surf was the first thing that she had to tune out, and then the sound of the wind after that. Only then could she hear, in the distance, the sounds of movement, and communication.
Not human communication, though. No words, at least none that she could understand.
Hisses and screeches became clearer to her as she figured out what to listen for. It was communication. And as Senna snuck closer and saw movement, the purpose of that communication became clear.
The creatures were building.
Senna watched as bodies were dragged away, into a dimmer area where creatures were hard at work, building what she could only think of as a nest. They used existing structures wherever they could, and she almost gasped aloud at the sight of temple structures getting turned into something... else.
Angular joins became rounded as secretions hardened, and structures were torn down, their pieces moved to places the creatures considered more suitable, before becoming part of what was being built. It would not take long for all signs of human habitation to be moulded into something... else, she knew.
Senna slowly backed away, and then headed back to the beach, trying not to cough as she did so. The air was hazy with smoke. Only when she looked and saw Aang’s statue did she remember where she was supposed to be.
-------
Asami shuddered as she listened to Senna describe the nest building. She could only hope that the bodies Senna had seen were corpses – far better to be dead in that situation, than to be alive.
And the fact that the creatures were making a new nest... she didn’t want to think about that. She still had nightmares about the one in the south.
A new nest.
“They had to come from somewhere,” she said absently, not even aware she had spoken aloud.
“Yes,” Senna agreed. “They’re expanding. Like bees.”
“Like bees?” Asami asked, but then realized she already knew the answer. “Expanding. Not a nest. A second nest.”
“And the first one is... somewhere,” Senna said.
They both turned to look at the city. For a brief moment, in this short period between night and dawn, the city looked normal.
Advancing daylight quickly made obvious that nothing was normal, as smoke rose from various buildings, and the smell of death wafted over them when the winds were just right.
“I’m hungry,” Senna said suddenly. “Is that weird? I feel like I should be exhausted, unconscious even, but I feel wide awake, and all I can think about is us having breakfast together.”
“Pancakes,” Asami agreed, nearly drooling at the thought.
Senna chuckled. “It surprised me for a long time how much you enjoyed food like that. The simple things.”
Asami smiled briefly in return. “I was never as prim and proper as my father wanted me to be, and that included with food.”
For the first time she realized that she was glad she knew for sure that he had died – she would hate wondering if he was still alive, in prison somewhere, potential caged meat for the creatures that had invaded Republic City.
A prison would make an excellent nesting ground, an insidious part of her brain insisted on thinking. She shuddered, and tried about anything else instead.
Her stomach growled, and provided the perfect distraction.
“I guess you’re hungry, too,” Senna said.
“I guess so,” she agreed as she gazed upon the downtown core of the city. “How are we going to get there?” she asked.
Senna just looked at her with disbelief for a moment. “Waterbender, remember?”
“Right,” Asami said, her eyes still locked on the city. “Let’s go, then.”
I’m coming, Ikki.
-------
At first, Senna had suggested that they simply walk under water, and she use her bending to give them a bubble. Asami had shuddered at the thought, and nearly had a panic attack as she imagined all of that water above her.
After she had calmed down again, they started looking around the small island for something, anything, that they could float on. A bit of driftwood was all they found, but that was more than enough for Senna.
Asami held onto what had either been the branch of a bigger tree, or the trunk of a smaller one, while Senna held on beside her.
Then Senna started to kick.
The driftwood twisted, as there was no way to balance their weight precisely, causing a couple of false starts, but Senna quickly adjusted. All Asami had to do was hold on.
There was one brief moment where Asami had the almost overwhelming urge to just let go, and let herself sink, anchored down by the water in her clothes and the weight of her failures. The vision of it happening, of her letting go and sinking peacefully into the depths was so vivid it almost seemed like she was actually doing it.
And then it was gone, nothing more than a brief, terrible fever dream.
The city approached quickly, but with the speed they were moving and the fact that her head was so low to the water, Asami could not make out anything that she had not already seen. It was hard for her to even keep her eyes open, they moved so fast. Soon enough she surrendered to common sense and the inevitable and closed them, as the spray became overwhelming.
“We’re almost at one of the docks,” Senna finally said as they slowed down.
Asami opened her eyes, and gasped at the damage she could see. An entire building looked like it was simply gone, turned to rubble. They got to one of the ladders leading up to the docks, and Asami struggled to let go of the driftwood.
She had been holding on so long her hands were completely cramped.
“I got you, hon,” Senna said as she let the driftwood go. A couple of quick movements with her hands, and the water rose and then receded, depositing the two of them on the dock as it did so.
Asami stayed on her hands and knees for a few seconds, as she tried to get her limbs to remember what dry land was, and how they were supposed to function in order to be useful to her.
She reached up with one hand, and let Senna help pull her to her feet.
“Thanks, mom,” Asami said as she stood and took in the city. She barely even noticed Senna waterbending them both dry.
Up close, it was even worse than she had thought.
They were close enough to the Kyoshi bridge that Asami was sure she could see bodies on the streets of the approaches to the bridge, though strangely the bridge itself seemed clear of vehicles and bodies.
Cleared? By whom? she wondered. Asami knew who she wanted to have done that, but it seemed too much to hope for.
When she looked away from the bridge and the approaches to it, and looked over the water again, she noticed more bodies in the water. One bright yellow dress, floating just under the surface, drew her attention for a moment.
She grimaced, and looked at the city again.
Birds were taking their fill of the bodies on the streets, but that was somehow better than the way that fish and crabs were surrounding and crawling over the ones in the water, the motion giving the corpses an unnerving semblance of life. Or maybe it was just that the ones in the water were closer.
She shuddered, and refused to think that Ikki might be one of those bodies.
“She’s alive,” Asami said, not fully aware she had spoken aloud.
Senna put her hand on Asami’s shoulder. “She is. And we’ll find her. Her and Korra and Tonraq.”
Asami stayed still and silent for a moment. Her green eyes darted over the scenes, her gaze not stopping long enough to be disgusted anew by the nature of carrion eaters, but instead she tried to get a sense of the pattern of it all.
The bridge was cleared. That has to mean something.
She started walking towards the bridge, startling Senna, who quickly followed after. It only took a few minutes go the length of the block, though it was still longer than it would normally have been, as they avoided vehicles and corpses.
“The bridge was cleared,” Asami repeated aloud as they reached the on-ramp. “But by whom?”
“Does it matter?” Senna asked. “I think a better question is... does the cleared path go in the direction we are going?”
Asami nodded, then swayed slightly from the sudden head movement. Food was getting to be a priority.
“I can purify some water for us,” Senna said as she grabbed hold of Asami’s shoulder. “But all of our supplies went down with the TigerShark.”
“Yes, please,” Asami requested as she thought about what Senna had said.
It was midday now, and the sun beat down where buildings did not provide shade.
“You’re right,” Asami said after she had had a drink of water. It sometimes annoyed her how easy bending made everything, but right now she was just grateful. Hunger could wait, but thirst couldn’t.
Not for long, at least.
“We know where we’re going. If someone has provided us a cleared path, we should take it.” Asami continued as she looked over at Senna. “Keep some water with you, just in case.”
“Obviously.”
The two of them set out, deeper into the heart of downtown Republic City. They were watchful and aware, but also anxious, as they got closer and closer to their destination.
It was obvious which streets were cleared, and those were the ones they followed. Vehicles were pushed aside, and bodies were stacked, at least somewhat respectfully.
There was no sign of any of the creatures, but there were tracks. These were not natural tracks, though, but man-made ones.
“Military,” Asami said as they kept walking.
“Plus benders,” Senna confirmed. Water constantly swirled around and near her, in a figure-eight pattern.
“So it could be Korra,” Asami whispered, barely wanting to speak the possibility aloud.
“Or it could be United Republic,” Senna argued. “I know which I want to believe.”
“Same.”
They reached an intersection, and everything changed.
The cleared path now had walls of rubble on either side – where before the path had been made simple by pushing vehicles and bodies out of the way, now that same path had been carved, as if it was a road running through a mountain.
“What happened?” Asami breathed. She moved towards the rubble piles, wondering if it was safe to climb up.
“Don’t even think about it,” Senna ordered. “I’ll lift you up if you want to see that badly.”
Asami winced. Senna was correct again – even thinking about going onto the rubble was a bad idea, as there was no way to tell how stable it was.
No TigerShark, no food, no weapons, the Beifong twins lost, and seriously considering making moronic decisions... fucking useless!
“I got you,” Senna continued, as Asami felt water wrap itself around her. Asami’s self-directed anger had either gone unnoticed, or at least unremarked upon, and she was grateful for that small mercy.
She needed words of encouragement, she knew that she did, but she still did not think that she deserved them. She had made too many mistakes for that.
It only took a few seconds for her to lift above the top edge of the rubble. Asami gasped as she realized what she was seeing.
“What is it?” Senna called.
“This block!” she called back, but not too loudly, she hoped. “It’s gone.”
“Gone?” Senna asked.
“Rotate me,” Asami commanded.
Senna did, and Asami was able to see the extent of the destruction. She looked for a few moments more, before calling back down to Senna. She waited to speak again until she was on the ground.
“There’s a... corridor now,” she said when she was back on the ground.
“A corridor?” Senna asked, confused.
“Where a whole block used to be, now rubble. Stretching as far as I can see, a block-wide corridor of destruction.”
Senna thought for a moment, and then her eyes got frantic. “But-”
“It’s okay! It’s okay,” Asami reassured her. “We’re still a few blocks from the hotel. We have to cross the corridor, not go in its direction.”
Senna nodded and settled herself down, and they got moving again. Asami asked before they did whether Senna wanted to see for herself, and Senna had shaken her head.
The thought that even if the corridor of destruction had not touched Ikki’s hotel, it had touched many, many others, and that there had to be countless bodies buried in that rubble, was unspoken by both of them.
They were almost there.
“There it is!” Asami shouted as they turned the last block.
Their tired steps picked up again, and they both ignored the pain in their feet and in their stomachs as they rushed to the hotel.
There had been bending done on the ground floor, it was easy to tell. Where there once had been floor to ceiling glass windows, now there were walls of earthbent concrete.
Only the door was unprotected, the glass broken. Asami stepped through, careful not to brush against the broken remnants of the door.
“Hello!” she called out.
There was no response.
Notes:
Oh dang, I hope nothing bad happened to Ikki! :>
I don't really have much to say about this chapter, so...
Thanks for reading, and see you soon!