"For your tribe? Luna, you're being childish." Korra attempts to appease me once she sees me get into my fighting stance. "This is a literal crime! Are you insane?"
I scoff. "Maybe I am. But at least I'm not blindly following a psychotic colonizer."
"You don't know him. You don't know his plans."
"Neither do you!" I retort, looking at my best friend with disbelief. When looking at her eyes, I feel complete and utter anger. She was the one that was supposed to protect us. She was the one that is supposed to bring peace and balance. And yet, she's letting her uncle take control of our home. And, on the one chance we have to get them to leave, here she is, standing in my way.
"Luna, it's me. Why can't you trust me on this?" Korra queries, looking at me with a begging look. "I know in my heart that Unalaq—"
"I'm sorry, Korra. I truly am." I assert firmly, interrupting her. "But you're not stopping this coup. And more importantly, there's no way in hell you're going to get through me."
Korra sighs deeply. "I don't want to hurt you."
I narrow my eyes at her. "I'm not the one you should be worried about getting hurt."
I extend my arms with an exuberant force, creating an enormous ice wall between Korra and I. Knowing that she'd bend through it, I prepare about a dozen ice picks ready to strike. As she blows through the wall, I bend the picks with precision and pin her back to the wall through her thick Water Tribe clothing. She grunts in pain and looks at me with anger. Her arms are completely stretched and pinned back. I smirk.
Korra then proceeds to kick a huge gush of wind my way, sending me flying back. I bend water out of my flasks and turn it into snow, using it to soften my blow. I grunt as I feel some air leave my lungs but immediately get back up.
As I recompose myself, I see Korra bending the water in the ice picks to set herself free. I furrow my eyebrows towards her and use the water to lift my body up and rush towards her. I land safely a few meters away from Korra and proceed to bend a tornado-like spiral towards her. Fury is completely guiding me and every single one of my instincts at this point. I am so angry at her that I can't stop myself.
Korra gets submerged in the water that I lunged at her. I see her struggling, and yet I don't stop. I'm not trying to hurt her severely, just enough to get her unconscious and we can proceed with the plan without any further interruptions. I know that she'll understand one day.
A few moments after, I dissolve the water. Korra's unconscious body lands on the ice-cold floor. I lean in and check her pulse, which is beating steadily. I sigh, breathing in deeply and trying to stop myself from crying. I never thought Korra and I would fight for real, that we'd bend at each other, that we'd be on opposing sides.
I stand up and head in the direction Yakun and the others went. I walk quickly, knowing that either I need to catch up to them or I need to run and get out of here as fast as I can. To my dismay, I see that they didn't get quite that far ahead, as I see that they are standing right outside the government building.
I rush towards them, beginning to put my head coverings back on. "Yakun!" I hiss. "What the hell happened? Why aren't you back at headquarters yet?"
"We encountered some North Tribe guards along the way." He explained. "Nothing that we couldn't handle."
I sigh, racking my brain at how much time we have lost. How much we're behind. How much more likely we are to get caught. "We don't have much time." I press. "Yakun and I will take the snow scooter with Unalaq and the rest of you get back to base. Stay out of sight."
They nod and proceed to escape. Yakun and I begin to carry Unalaq's unconscious body towards the snow scooter. Just as we're about to speed away, I hear fight grunts coming from the direction the rest escaped to. My brain starts reeling as I see Korra's figure appear in front of us. She must've regained consciousness quickly due to the Avatar State. I curse at myself for not thinking of that before.
"Go! Now!" I yell at Yakun.
"Luna!" She yells. "Dad! Stop!"
Just as we were about to cross under a bridge, Korra bends the snow and creates a sideways ramp, making us fall over from some meters in the air. I crash into the snow and grunt in pain. I look up at her as she runs towards the three of us.
"Why did you do this, Dad?" She queries with pain in her voice as she rips off Yakun's head covering. She gasps in surprise at the unfamiliar face. "What? Who are you? Where's my father?"
"He wouldn't help us. He's a traitor! Just like you." Yakun dramatically says.
I roll my eyes and take off my covering. "You know that your dad wouldn't hurt his own brother, Korra." I explain.
Just as our eyes meet, and a sense of sympathy flows in the air, Unalaq's voice thunders in the air. "You'll pay for this! All of you!"
☾ ☾ ☾
I'm pacing around in my cell, pondering everything that has happened. My fight with Korra, my relationship with Iroh — him leaving so soon and me feeling a void, Unalaq's invasion, and my involvement in his kidnapping attempt. Everyone probably thinks I've gone insane. The gossip is probably spreading like wild-fire. I can just picture that "Granddaughter of Avatar Aang and Master Katara is a criminal!" is most likely in every newsstand in the South Pole. I wonder if Gran-Gran is ashamed of calling me her granddaughter right now. I probably would've disappointed my grandfather as I hear that he was very much anti-violence. Korra probably hates me for what I did to her, seeing as she stayed quiet as I was being arrested right in front of her. But I didn't have much of a choice. In fact, in my opinion, I didn't have a choice at all.
I stop pacing, crouch down, and hug my knees; trying to calm myself down. I picture Iroh's face, his voice. I hear his kind words telling me that I'm not alone. I miss him. I miss his embrace and the way he makes me feel. Why did he have to go so soon? When will I see him again? Will I ever?
Would he be ashamed of me, too?
As I'm immersed in my thoughts, the door to my cell slides open. I look up to see Northern guards flooding in, looking at me with disgust. I furrow my eyebrows. "What's going on?" I demand.
They don't answer. A tall, grumpy-looking guard proceeds to take out a pair of handcuffs. I narrow my eyes at them and put myself in a defensive position. "There's no need for aggression, prisoner." One of them states firmly. "We're here to take you to stand trial for your crimes against Chief Unalaq."
"Trial?" I echo.
Something doesn't sit right with me. The fact that Unalaq is letting us stand trial after we literally tried to kidnap him is telling me that he's trying to safe-face with either Korra or the Southern people. He's trying to seem like a decent person. This is all just a show.
I let them handcuff me, figuring that if there's a chance to escape, it's probably outside of this cell. Outside of this prison.
There's an echo with every single step I take. I breathe in deeply, preparing myself for the worst. A few minutes later, we reach the doors that lead outside. The bright light is harsh on my eyes, and it takes me a while to focus my vision.
Once it does, I see someone who I never thought I'd see in handcuffs: Tonraq and Senna, Korra's parents.
☾ ☾ ☾
"This trial will now come to order!" A voice bellows, sending shivers down my spine. "Judge Hotah presiding."
I'm sitting next to Senna and Tonraq, feeling nervous yet apathetic in a way. I'm not worried about me, I'm worried about the future of Korra's parents. They truly are innocent, they had nothing to do with this.
As I fidget with my fingers, Senna moves her hands and places them over mine, squeezing them. I offer her a small smile as tears threaten to spill from my eyes. They didn't want to get involved. They shouldn't be here.
Our moment is broken as Unalaq proceeds to stand in the middle of the room, facing the judge. "I was asleep in my chambers when the rebels attacked. They overpowered me. And the next thing I remember was waking up in the snow after Avatar Korra had saved me."
The judge nods and Unalaq proceeds to go sit at the side of the courthouse. Judge Hotah summons Korra, and she proceeds to stand at the same spot. "According to Unalaq's testimony," he begins, "You attended a meeting where Varrick tried to incite a civil war. Is that true?"
I roll my eyes. It's not a civil war since we're trying to get rid of invaders. This trial is so rigged.
"Yes." She answers.
"And were these men present at that meeting?" The judge queries.
"Well...yes. But—"
"And where exactly did this meeting take place?"
Before Korra can answer, a voice is heard from the audience attending the trial. "Objection!" I immediately recognize the voice and turn around to meet Bolin's eyes. I look at him with wide eyes, worried that he might get himself into trouble. My eyes trail down to meet Asami's – who is sitting next to the earthbender. She sends me a small smile and I see her mouth: We'll save you.
I send her a huge smile, then turn back to look at the judge.
"Quiet down out there!" He commands. He then turns to face Korra. "I'll ask you one more time. Where did the meeting happen?"
"My parent's house." Korra answers in a solemn tone.
"And who led this meeting?" The judge presses.
"Your honor!" Bolin's voice is heard again. "If I may..."
"May what?"
"May...I, um, uh, declare...mistrial?" Bolin queries with a frightened look on his face.
The judge's face hardens. "Sit down!" He turns back to Korra once more. "Varrick and your father led the meeting, didn't they?"
"My parents are innocent!" Korra replies firmly.
I stand up, unable to contain myself. "It's true!" I call out. "I was there, I attempted to kidnap Unalaq. Chief Tonraq and Senna have nothing to do with this! Nothing at a—"
The judge rudely interrupts me. "I've heard all I need to. I'll return shortly with my decision."
As Judge Hotah leaves the room, Korra's eyes turn to meet mine. She doesn't say anything, she doesn't need to. I can tell by the look on her face that she's thankful that I stood up and advocated for the innocence of her parents. I offer her a small smile.
Senna turns to face me. "Thank you for standing up for us, dear. You really didn't have to do that."
I shake my head. "I did." I affirm. "I was the one that did this. Not you." I take a few moments to breathe in deeply and look her deeply in her eyes. "I-I think Unalaq might be framing you both."
She sighs. "Sadly, it wouldn't surprise me if he were. His relationship with Tonraq has always been rocky."
The next moments feel eternal. As if the judge were taking his sweet, sweet time making a life-or-death decision on our future and the future of innocent people. No big deal. No pressure. No hurry.
A lot later, he comes out of his chambers and sits down on his chair once again. The guards make us stand up and face the judge.
"Senna, please step up." He commands sternly. "I have found you innocent. You are free to go."
A guard undoes her handcuffs and Senna proceeds to run towards her daughter, hugging her tightly. I press my lips together, why did he only call Senna? What about Tonraq? I get a bad feeling about this.
"On the charge of treason, you are all found guilty." Judge Hotah states. "The punishment for this crime is death."
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status: unedited
word count: 2222
a/n:
um,,, hello?? 150k reads?? no words brain empty??
thank u all so much, truly ~~! 🥺🪴
thank u for loving moonchild and luna!
if y'all wanna chat about anything, message me anytime! i'd love to get to know all of u!
and for anyone who might need this, i know i certainly did today:
"everything goes. it passes. for sure. certainly. just like the night leaves and the morning comes."
—rm, everythingoes.
stay safe!! lots of love ~~! 🌙🌌☁️