A/n Long live the queen >:)
...
The Red Lotus is the world's newest threat! After confronting Zaheer, Korra learned that he is part of a secret society whose mission is to take out all the nations' leaders and destroy world order. But before Korra could warn anyone, she and Asami were apprehended by the Earth Queen's forces. And the Red Lotus have Mako, Bolin, and Kitty. Now both parties are headed toward Ba Sing Se.
...
"If you think holding us hostage will give you some leverage against the Avatar, you're gonna be very disappointed," Mako says to our abductors.
We've officially been captured by Zaheer and his people. They've tied us up, and now we're in the back of a van with the lavabender and waterbender- which, might I add, is really scary. Their names are Ghazan and Ming-Hua. Zaheer is driving, and the combustion bender, P'Li, is accompanying him in the front seat.
I'm finally in the presence of Zaheer. I feel beside myself. It's just, I know I know him. There's no way we didn't have any kind of interaction before. I feel like Tenzin, my father, even Lin, aren't telling me something about that night he tried to kidnap my sister.
... My sister, I hope she and Asami are ok. I know Zaheer doesn't have her, which is good, but there's no telling where they are.
Zaheer's eyes shift over to me. I quickly look away. I don't know, should I ask him? I kinda don't want to talk to him? I mean, how do you talk to someone who tried to Avatar-nap your sister? Plus, he's really scary. He broke into Zaofu. He didn't think twice before killing Aiwei, he was in prison for more than a decade and still broke himself and his friends out!
"Can't we just enjoy our time together in silence?" Ming-Hua asks, clearly annoyed by Mako.
"Why did you need my sister alive back in Zaofu? You had her paralyzed. Why didn't you just take her out when you had the chance?" I ask.
"Look, all you need to know is that the world is about to change, for the better," Ghazan answers.
"So you guys were like locked up for fifteen years, huh? It must've been like crazy boring," Bolin says.
"Actually, it was only thirteen years. But it felt like thirty."
"I mean, what did you do with all that time? Did you sing songs, work on crafts?" Bolin asks.
"Not a lot of craft supplies in a volcanic prison cell," Ming-Hua answers.
"And I must've renamed the constellations about a thousand times. When it rained, that was a big event," Ghazan adds.
"I would've killed for some rain. Mostly I just made up stories about the guards: who was having trouble with his girlfriend; which one secretly wished he'd become a pastry chef," Ming-Hua explains.
"Okay, that sounds like fun. Let me try that on you guys," Bolin says, and then turns his attention to the lavabender. "You were raised by an older sister, your mustache grew in when you were ten, and I'm sensing - just sensing an unspoken attraction between you two."
The two, Ming-Hua and Ghazan, glance at each other awkwardly. She gives him a sulking look, but eventually turns away. Wait, I think Bolin is right.
"Two out of three," Ghazan says with a smile. "Not bad."
He's totally lying.
"Bolin, would you stop making friends with the bad guys?" Mako asks rhetorically.
"Sorry!"
"So..." I start. "You're a waterbender, but you don't have arms, how do you do that?"
Forget what Mako says. If talking to the bad guys gets them to open up more and give us information, then that's what I'll do.
"I guess I can tell you," she says boringly. "It takes focus. You have to concentrate more so on the energy within the element than the actual element itself."
"Ohhh, but-"
"Ghazan," Zaheer says cutting me off. "Gag those three. We're almost there."
Awe man!
...
Ugh, back in Ba Sing Se, great... And you know what's even better? We're back at the Earth Queen's palace. Bleh! Zaheer and his gang have Mako, Bolin, and I gagged and tied together as they drag us through the palace. I'm so confused. Did the Earth Queen hire them or something? I can't wait till Korra destroys them all.
They enter the throne room and practically throw us to the ground, presenting us in front of the Earth Queen.
"Ah, yes, I remember these three. We'll find an acceptable home for you in prison, with the rest of the dissidents," the Earth Witch says to the three of us, and then turns her attention to the criminals. "Now, I'm told you have some information for me. I hope this isn't just some ruse to increase your bounty."
"We don't want any bounty, Your Majesty. You can consider these three a 'thank you' gift for simply taking the time to talk to us," Zaheer says to her majesty.
"How very magnanimous. So, where are my airbenders?"
"I'd be happy to tell you, once you hand the Avatar over to me."
Oh no!
I look to Mako and Bolin who look just as worried as me. So this witch has my sister!?
"Who told you that we have the Avatar?!" She's rages.
"How I know is not important. But if I found out, others will, too. And that could put you in a difficult position."
"Is that so?"
"Your Majesty, imprisoning the Avatar will cause the other nations to turn against you and demand her freedom. Before long, we'd be in the midst of a sticky international incident. If you let me take her today, no one need ever know she was here, and you can get your airbenders back without interference. We both win."
"And what do you plan to do with the Avatar should I see fit to grant your request? "
"All I can say is," Zaheer starts. "I have business with her. But she won't be bothering you again. I can assure you of that."
Mako, Bolin, and I all glance at each other, we're all worried. Does that mean he's going to try to kill my sister this time?
Hou-Ting ponders over the deal while annoyingly tapping her long finger nails on the throne. She sits up straight with a smile after some consideration. I could pray that she'd be a good person and realize what she's doing is wrong, but I already know that's a lost cause.
"I find these terms agreeable." Told you. "Gun, escort them to the antechamber until the Avatar's arrival."
Gun escorts the Red Lotus out of the throne room, and my heart is pounding.
"Send these three to the dungeon."
We try to plead with her despite all three of us being gagged, but it doesn't work. Two Dai Li agents open up the floor beneath us, and we scream as we drop into the unknown.
...
"Kitty, just calm down," Mako tells me.
"Calm down? Mako, my sister is in trouble, how can we help her if we're in jail?!"
I know Korra is ok, I can feel it. But I also feel like something major is going to happen. And if we don't get out of here soon, things are going to get bad... And I mean really bad.
"I know," he sighs. "We have to find a way out of here before Zaheer gets his hands on Korra."
As we brainstorm, a prisoner pulls out a mirror to reflect his face into our cell. This is annoying, we don't have time to deal with any of these people's antics.
"Take me with you. I haven't seen my wife and five kids for four years," the prisoner begs us.
"Four years?!" Bolin goes.
"The first few months were great, I-I could finally get some sleep, but ... now I really miss them."
"Listen, Bolin, this is up to you. I know you can metalbend," Mako encourages him.
"Yeah, you can do it, Bolin!" I cheer for him.
I'm a cop, I shouldn't encourage breaking out of prison, but this is important. Besides, Katara and Team Avatar did it all the time, now it's our turn.
"You can metalbend?" The prisoner asks.
"No."
"Yes you can. I believe in you," Mako tells Bolin.
"I believe in you too, Bolin," our fellow prisoner neighbor tells him.
"I appreciate that, Mako, Kitty, and fellow ... prisoner man. But I've been trying and trying and trying and I've never been able to do it. Not even a little."
"You've always had the ability deep down," Mako replies. "You just haven't had the motivation. But this is your time! Get us out of here to save Korra. You can do it!"
The both of us, and even the prisoners, start cheering Bolin on.
"This is your moment, Bolin!" I shout encouragingly.
"Bolin! Bolin!"
"You're right," he says readying himself. "Okay, here I go."
He goes through the motion and Mako and I watch anxiously as he concentrates on the bars. He stops and sinks onto the floor.
"I can't metalbend," he says, looking quite defeated.
"Aww!" The entire jail says sadly, and they return to their activities.
"Hey," a prisoner says. "You guys didn't happen to bring any toilet paper, did you?"
"Ok, I can't take this!" I say as I jump to my feet.
I can't just sit here in jail and do nothing. Zaheer and his goons are out there planning to do who knows what to my sister! I need to get myself and my friends out of here, and I need to know what's happening with Zaheer.
Think, kitty, think. I use to escape from the compound all the time! Yeah, I'd just slip through the gate and- wait a minute!
If my calculations are correct, and with physics on my side- and ya know, my double jointed shoulders, I think I can do this.
"What are you doing, Kitty?" Mako asks me.
"Shh," I hush him.
I need to concentrate. I have to do this perfectly or it won't work. I am praying to the all mighty Kyoshi I can still do this. During my time in the compound, I became a master escape artist- Do not tell my father! I stretch for a second, and with my arms drawn back, I propel myself forward with my airbending and force my body through the bars. As soon as I'm out, I fall to my knees. That wasn't so bad. A little painful, but it could've been a lot worse. I don't know how I ever did that without my airbending.
(A/n I may be projecting here bc growing up, I was lowkey an escape artists, lol. I was double jointed [I think that's the word] in my shoulders and I had this railing in my house that I'd slip through all the time. My friends and I would play 'jail' and I was always the escaped criminal bc I was the only one who could get through the bars.)
Have I mentioned that I love airbending?
"Kitty!"
I turn around to see Mako and Bolin, they look relieved.
"Good job, Kitty!- and kinda gross. Now get us out of here," Bolin says.
"No, I was only able to do that because of my airbending, and I was small enough to fit through the bars... And I kinda dislocated my shoulders."
"So go find a guard, beat him up, and take his keys," Mako says annoyed.
"I was planning to, but I think I need to find out what Zaheer and the queen are up to. And when I do, then I'll get you guys out."
"Me, too?" Our prisoner neighbor asks.
"Quiet you!"
"I don't know about this," Mako says.
"Me neither," Bolin agrees. "What if they catch you, and they hurt you?"
"I won't get hurt, and what other choice do we have? I'm the only one who's not behind bars or missing."
"Ugh, fine," Mako agrees. "Just be careful, ok?"
"I promise."
"Wait! Why didn't you just spirit project?" Bolin asks.
"How am I suppose to beat a guard up and snatch his keys?"
"Hm, good point."
...
I've been lurking around the palace. Even put my hair in a braid to give me a slightly new look so I won't be so easily discovered. I also threw out my skins that are usually wraped around my waist.
Even with my new look, it's not enough. I've already almost been spotted a few times by the Queen's people. Luckily they're so caught up with the impossible amount of tasks the Queen has assigned them.
First things first, find out what Zaheer is up to. I take my position behind a pillar, the perfect blind spot from the Dai Li and the Queen's employees. I'm going to project my spirit to where Zaheer is, and I'm going to see what's going on. Thanks to Jinora who taught me how to spirit project, but there's still the problem of keeping it going since it's not Harmonic Convergence anymore, and I need to be fast. I can't have anyone finding my body.
"Focus, Kitty. Focus..."
...
Success! Definitely not as strong as it would be if Jinora were here to combine our energies, but it still worked, and that's all that matters. And there he is. There's Zaheer, and he's sneaking around the palace. I cautiously trail behind him as he passes the palace doors and passes the pillar my body is behind.
I watch as he begins to stalk a Dai Li Agent who is rushing to the throne room. As the agent opens the door, Zaheer leaps against the wall and enters room via the ceiling lattice. I project myself inside as well.
"Your Majesty," the agent begins. "We received a distress signal from the airship carrying the prisoners. We believed the ship crashed in the Si Wong desert and the Avatar may have escaped."
Yes, yes! My sister and Asami got away!
When your sister is the Avatar, even though it can be really cool, it's also very stressful. A lot of times you're fearful because you never know when it'll be the last time you'll see them. There's always going to be some kind of bounty on their head, and that's scary. Losing Korra is my worse nightmare.
"This is outrageous!" She yells out angrily. "Send another airship to retrieve the Avatar immediately."
"It's already on its way, Your Majesty."
You won't find her.
I look up at Zaheer, and he's pissed! I've never seen him look so fed up. He leaves the throne room and returns to his chambers. I can't go in, so I linger by the door and listen to Zaheer and the other's conversation.
"What are we going to do now?" Ming-Hua asks. She sounds frustrated.
"There's no way we can track her down in the desert before the queen gets to her," Ghazan says.
"You really think we'd be lucky enough to capture her again? She'll be long gone by the time they arrive," P'Li adds.
They all sound so fed up. I'm afraid they're in their end game.
"It doesn't matter," Zaheer says. "We're through chasing her. It's time to make her come to us."
...
When I heard Zaheer say they're going to get my sister to come to them, actual fear pulsed through me. I was so relieved to hear that Korra and Asami got away, but now Zaheer and his friends are going to do something drastic and make her come to them! Of course I panicked, and something within me told me to go back to the throne room- So I did just that. I projected back to where Zaheer was hiding before, on top of the pillar, to spy on her majesty. Moments later, Zaheer, P'Li, Ghazan, and Ming-Hua
barge into the room, startling Hou-Ting. I gulp. They didn't knock...
"What is this riff-raff doing in my throne room unannounced?" She barks.
"Apologies, Your Majesty," Zaheer apoligizes. "But I couldn't help overhearing that the Avatar won't be joining us today."
"The Avatar is still in my custody. However, eavesdropping on royal conversations will land you in a cell right next to those boys and the girl you brought in. Now, if you value your freedom, you'll tell me where the airbenders are right now!"
"That wasn't the deal," Zaheer says darkly. I get chills.
"I will not bandy words with bounty hunters!" The queen lashes out and then turns her attention to the Dai Li. "Seize these hoodlums and throw them in prison until they decide to show proper respect for the crown!"
The Dai Li agents surround the the four, and P'Li fires a combustion beam to the floor, knocking off a group of Dai Li agents. Three more agents fire rock gloves at Ghazan, who easily redirected them back to the agents while another agent attacks Zaheer with an earthbending attack from below, though he is able to leap to avoid the attack and counter with an air blast. In my short years of living, I have never ever rooted for the Dai Li until now!
Another Dai Li agent attacks Zaheer from the pillar, only to be knocked against the other one. The third agent runs up to Zaheer, only to be thrown away and frozen against a pillar by Ming-Hua. Gun looks absolutely horrifying. He scream as he quickly runs away.
Smart man.
"Gun! Get back here and lay down your life for your queen, you coward!" Queen Hou-Ting squeals.
I can't believe four people took down the Dai Li...
She Notices Zaheer walking forward and follows suit. She tries to act unfazed, but She should be scared, very scared. Even I'm terrified, and I'm technically not even here!
"You wouldn't dare attack a queen!" She lashed out.
"Maybe I forgot to mention something to you," Zaheer starts as he glides to the top of the queen's throne and looks down at her. "I don't believe in queens."
Wha- what is he going to do to her?
I observe him closely. The look in his eyes... I've never seen anything like it. The rage and the fire that appears behind them is enough to strike fear into even the bravest of men. Even my spirit can feel the energy that he projects, and it's absolutely terrifying.
I watch completely mortified as Zaheer bends and pulls the air out of Hou-Ting's lungs and traps her head in a vacuum. She's gasping for air and eventually falls onto the floor.
"You think freedom is something that you can give or take on a whim ..." Zaheer says slowly.
I look at Hou-Ting's bloodshot eyes as they bulge out of the socket. Her face turns an icy blue.
"To your people, freedom is just as essential as ... air."
Her eyes twitch, then they twitch over to me. As we make eye contact, she reaches her hand out to me, like she's begging for help... She's dying- no, he's killing her. I can't move, I feel parazlyed, like my spirit is frozen in place. As she continues to reach out to me, she then grasps towards the ceiling like she's trying to pull her breath back into her body, but she can't.
Spirits, he's suffocating her.
"And without it, there is no life. There is only... darkness."
He stops bending, and her lifeless body falls to the floor.
He.. he killed her.
...
"Uh!" I gasp.
I look around frantically as I grasp at my chest. My breathing is ragged. I can't catch my breath. I look down, and though I am relieved to be back in my body, I've got bigger things to worry about. The Earth Queen is dead! In minutes, Ba Sing Se- no, the entire Earth Kingdom is going to be in complete shambles when they get the news of their deceased. I have to get my friends and get out here!
I arise out of my meditation stance and peer around the pillar. There are people scrambling everywhere. The palace is in complete chaos! I guess they found her majesty. That was fast. I wipe the stray tears that runs wild down my cheeks as I make my way back to the jail Mako and Bolin are being held in.
...
It didn't take long to get back. I run inside with keys in hand to get my friends. I may or may not have jumped a guard and stole his keys. I had no other choice, this ship is sinking fast, and we need to get out of here before things get any scarier! During my journey, I was telling everyone I could to get out of here. Some didn't want to listen, but others did, and I feel like those lives have been saved from the impending chaos and violence that is bound to happen. At one point I helped a few maids jump over the palace wall so they could get to their family. The guards are trying to keep the people here despite everyone fearing for their life.
My heart skips a beat once the alarms start going off, and I can hear a bunch of commotion coming from outside of the palace. As I continue to make my way to finding my friends, I have to push my way through a crowd of people who are in a panic. My hands are shaking.
"Kitty!" I hear someone shout.
In the crowd of prisoners, I spot Mako and Bolin. Without question, I run over to my two friends and practically jump in their arms. It's so good to see them. That was absolutely horrible, and I never want to leave their side again.
"You're ok," I hear Bolin say as he tries to calm me while gently rubbing my head.
"Kitty, what did you see?" Mako asks.
"I-I.." I can't even form words.
The moment I saw my friends, all the emotions came crashing down. I witnessed a murder, my sister is missing, the Earth Kingdom is falling, and now a bunch of criminals are trying to take my sister! I'm not ok, I'm stressed, and I'm worried. The Earth Queen was terrible, don't get me wrong. She oppressed her citizens and abused her employees, but without a queen, a leader... The entire Earth Kingdom is falling- again!
"Kitty, listen to me," Mako says as he places his hands on my shoulders. He looks at me deeply, eye to eye. "Korra is going to be ok, but you need to follow us. I promise, we'll find her."
...