COMING OUT - Korrasami

Chapter Twenty

"Hello, Kuvira."

Kuvira opened her eyes to see Korra standing next to her. Her breathing hitched as she said, "I had a feeling you were going to be my first visitor."

"I need your help."

The ex-dictator scoffed, "With what?"

"Tell me about Commander Guan."

"Why are you so interested in him?"

"Were you aware he and his troops never surrendered?"

Kuvira looked genuinely surprised, "What? No, I wasn't. But I'm not too shocked, Guan is a cunning strategist. I put him in charge of my southern forces because I knew he could keep that region in line."

"I'm worried he's going to try to derail the upcoming elections. How big of a threat do you think he is?"

"If Guan hasn't surrendered by now, then he's plotting something. I'd treat him like a barrel of blasting jelly with a very short fuse."

Korra was starting to regret coming here for a quick second. Seeing Kuvira chained up, talking to her as if this was a normal conversation startled her a bit. Nonetheless, she continued with the interrogation.

"If you were in my position, how would you deal with him?"

"I'd take someone with me who Guan respects. Someone who can reason with him and bring him into line."

Korra nodded, thinking of who that could be. Her mouth clenched when the realization hit her, "You want me to bring you?"

"Guan's not going to roll over just because the Avatar asks him to but if I meet with him, face-to-face, I guarantee I could convince him to concede defeat. Then you and King Wu can carry on with your little election."

The Avatar jeered and turned away, ready to walk out of the prison, "Thanks for the info. But I can handle Guan without you."

"Think it over. I'll be here when you need me. And you will."

Meanwhile, in Gaoling, commander Guan stood on top of a tank, looking down on his soldiers. He recited his previous speech which he'd been practicing for hours, "Kuvira may have abandoned all of you, but I never will! Together, we will bring the Earth King to his knees! Together, we will force the Avatar to yield! The Earth Empire will rise from the ruins of defeat, and become more powerful and formidable than it ever was before! And our journey begins in Gaoling! Are you with me?!"

"ALL HAIL COMMANDER GUAN! ALL HAIL THE EARTH EMPIRE!" the soldiers yelled, raising their fists at the metal bender. He looked around smugly and grinned at the approval of the troops. His speech was cut off short when suddenly a hooded man jumped on the tank.

"Very, sweet... but unrealistic."

Guan tried to hide his disgust when he saw the man stand next to him, "What do you think you're doing?!"

"I'm giving you a chance to not mess this up."

The commander bent a piece of metal from his uniform, trying to scare the intruder, who didn't seem fazed. The hooded man gripped his hood and pulled it down receiving a shocked expression from the commander.

"What are you?"

"I'm your worst nightmare. Now, since you clearly don't know what you're dealing with... I'll be taking over this charade," he explained and turned to the crowd, "I'm your new leader now."

The crowd was quiet, no one uttered a word, and no one dared to speak.

"Who are you to make such a decision?!" Guan growled as he bent the metal at him.

From his coat, a large tentacle arm emerged blocking the metal from hitting his face. He gripped the commander by his neck and choked him, slowly and painfully, "I'm Tokuga, your worst nightmare, and your new leader," he spat.

His tentacle gripped tighter around Guan's neck making his face turn slightly pink with a shade of purple. He struggled to breathe and not one single person was trying to help him. Tokuga grinned broadly as he threw him to the ground when he completely stooped breathing.

He turned back to the crowd still smiling, "You all answer to me now."