Korra wakes up with Asami shaking her violently. As she regains consciousness, hearing Asami screaming.
"Korra! Get up, we have to go now!" Asami hollered.
Korra was confused but didn't falter to follow alongside Asami, trusting her friend completely.
"What's going on?" Korra asked in a confused manner.
"The hospital is being attacked by two members of the Blood Circle. We need to leave now!" Asami explained.
Asami wrapped Korra's arm around her shoulders as she carried her out of the emergency room. Korra barely was able to follow along as the damage from fighting Oni is causing her severe pain. Korra was covered in cuts and bruises and her breathing seems to be restricted. Her eyes were bruised, making it hard for her to keep them open and her legs barely worked due to over-exhaustion, causing her to limp instead of walk.
Moving down the aisle, Asami and Korra come face to face with Owl; a member of the Blood Circle. As the two heroes make eye contact with the masked villain, Asami immediately opens a nearby room and manages to shove Korra out of harm's way. Owl throws some ice shards towards their general directions but Asami manages to enter the room before getting hit. Managing to dodge those ice torpedoes, Asami used her quick thinking, barricading the door in front of them.
Asami was perplexed on how the masked criminal was able to water bend as she remembered Lin mentioning their inability to. However, misinformation was the least of her problems as they're barely able to focus on their own survival. Korra was too injured to use her bending and Asami didn't have her weapons to fend off against a Blood Circle member. This was the worst possible situation the two friends could be in.
They didn't have much time till Owl would penetrate their small defense, so Asami didn't plan on staying. Lucky for them, Asami is an incredible genius. Noticing a pile of clothing, an open window within her peripheral vision, and some highly flammable chemicals within the cramped vicinity, she uses the objects nearby to plan their escape. Concocting a chemical mixture while tearing the clothes into a sturdy rope, Asami tied Korra on her back as she prepared to exit through the window.
Just as Owl froze the barrier completely brittle, the unidentified villain barged into the room. Seeing the two friends making their get-away, Owl considered chasing after them but quickly changed his mind as he noticed the chemicals rumbling in high succession. Realizing it's actually a bomb, Owl made a quick escape of his own while Asami gilded Korra out of harm's way.
With the chemicals combined completely, it ruptured the entire room into nothing but ashes. Although her escape was brilliant, Asami and Korra weren't entirely safe as Fox, the other Blood Circle member, appeared in front of them. Fox began throwing her set of ice spears towards them, giving Asami no time to dodge. However, this didn't matter as the panicked people nearby ran into the incoming projectiles, blocking the potential danger for the two victims. This gave Asami enough time to carry Korra out into the crowded streets of Republic City and away from the hospital.
Frustrated, Fox screamed with rage and chased after the two runaways.
"What's going on?" Korra stated.
"It's okay Korra, I'm gonna get you out of this." Asami reassured Korra.
Making a run for the crowded city, Asami started using the buildings to her advantage, hiding from the masked figures as much as possible. However, it didn't seem to work. Every corner Asami tried turning to, she would either run into one of the two villains. Entering a long alleyway, Asami and Korra were trapped as the two villains pincered the both of them. Without any clever plans to escape and with Korra still in deep pain, Asami was able to do nothing but raise her fists, preparing herself for an unfair fight.
Walking towards Asami with a menacing look, Fox whipped her hand out to the side as ice began forming around it in the shape of a blade. Taking a mad swing towards Asami's fragile neck, Fox's attack was intervened by Lin. Parrying her attack, Lin uses her bladed legs and takes a swing towards Fox's neck. Reacting to the blow quickly, Owl uses his arms to block the attack. Although the blade was embedded into his forearm deeply, his arm was thick enough to prevent the blade from reaching his neck.
After pulling her leg out of the Owl-masked villain, everyone watched as Owl's ripped flesh re-combined into a singular organ. Steam excreted from the wound as blood re-entered his arm. Ripped tissues conjoined with each other to fix the damages and within seconds, his arm regenerated.
"Holy shit... they can manipulate their own blood." Korra exclaimed.
Seeing the inspector, the two masked villains worried about incoming reinforcements. Trying to maintain a low profile, Fox and Owl decide to leave Republic City. Using the water she carried, Fox begins creating an ice barrier, blocking the path between the two groups. Although Fox seemed desperate for a fight, Owl and Fox make the call to run before more police officers arrive.
Their dilemma doesn't seem to improve as Asami looks at Korra and notices she's been impaled by an icicle thrown by Fox. Seeing the blood flowing out of her abdomen, Asami rips a part of her shirt off and uses the small cloth to stop the bleeding.
"We need to take her back to the hospital," Lin stated.
"Korra and I almost died there. What makes you think we should go back now." Asami argued.
"I know you're upset, but keep your shit together and look at her. She's bleeding all over the place and if she doesn't get any medical attention within thirty minutes, she's dead!" Lin explained.
Asami didn't have any better suggestions as all she cares about is Korra's well-being. Seeing her completely pale from extreme amounts of physical abuse and blunt force trauma, Asami puts her emotions aside and helps Lin carry Korra to the hospital.
Things just got worse once they arrived as all the doctors were clustered with patients due to the recent attacks. Asami tried getting the attention of the nearby nurses and doctors but none of them seemed to listen as every single employee was busy and stretched thin. Realizing Korra wasn't going to get the medical attention she needed, Lin stares at Asami with an unsettled look.
"Korra is not gonna live if we wait for someone." Lin exclaimed.
"Well, what can we do about it?" Asami replied.
"What about you? Can't you perform the surgery?" Lin suggested.
"Are you crazy? I don't even have a license to do so. Even if I could..."
Lin begins to interrupt Asami.
"We don't have time to argue. Korra probably is losing a lot of blood and I don't think she's gonna last unless you perform the surgery. These doctors are too occupied to even notice Korra's condition and you're the smartest person I know. So, can you do it?" Lin asserted.
Gulping down her own saliva, Asami drowns all signs of anxiety from her body as she agrees to perform the procedure herself.
"Okay, I'll do it." Asami reassured Lin.
Carrying the lifeless Avatar to an empty operating room, Asami and Lin lay Korra down as gently as possible. With the Avatar barely clinging to life, Asami begins inspecting the wound as Lin brings out as much equipment as possible. From scalpels to clean towels, Lin opened every single cabinet door, pulling out all the utensils she found. Asami puts on a mask and gloves while tying her hair back to prevent outside contamination. After searching through all the cabinets, Lin was unable to find a single ounce of anesthesia or pain killers within the room.
"I can't find anything to ease the pain." Lin stated.
"What? I've never even done surgery and you expect me to do it while Korra is still conscious?" Asami yelled.
"Just keep her occupied while I go find some. It's got to be somewhere." Lin stated.
Everyone started panicking; everyone except Korra. With a droopy look in her eyes, Korra grabbed a hold of Asami's hand, comforting her while on the operating table. Although Korra was barely able to utter a word, she mustered all the strength possible to put Asami at ease.
"It's okay. I can take the pain. Just do the operation." Korra stated.
Asami and Lin wanted to argue against it, but seeing more of Korra's blood flooding out of her body, the two worried women took a deep breath as they resumed the operation.
"Hold Korra down!" Asami stated.
Following her instructions, Lin pressed her hands against Korra's body, stabilizing her as much as possible. Looking deep into Korra's deep blue eyes, Asami was scared at first, but gazing into her friend made her as calm as the low tide oceans. Seeing a nearby towel, she handed Korra a towel to clench her teeth into.
"Bite this, you're gonna need it." Asami stated.
She started the operation. Using every muscle in her brain and hands, Asami carefully pulled out the ice shard that was stuck in Korra's stomach and began pulling out the needle and tweezers. With much more blood flooding out the open wound, her vision of the wound was completely blocked. Trying to regain sight of the damage, Asami pulls out the nearby suction machine to clear the blood away from the wound. As this is happening, Korra begins whimpering and grunting in pain while Lin uses her full strength to hold the Avatar down. Korra kept screaming as tears began to fall down her face with excruciating agony.
Korra's pain only got worse as Asami punctured the open tissues with the needle attached string. Pulling the needle in and out of Korra's body, Asami slowly closed the gaping hole within Korra. With the last bit of thread left, Asami managed to connect the arteries and veins, closing the wound completely. However, Korra's operation isn't finished as Asami still needs to find a way to replace all the lost blood.
"Korra what blood type are you?" Asami asked.
"O negative..." Korra stated in a soft whimper.
While most doctors would sweat bullets hearing Korra had a rare blood type, Asami was more than grateful as she shared the same blood as the Avatar. Quickly pulling out a tube and a needle, Asami injected Korra with her own blood, mitigating the blood loss.
"You're safe now, Korra!" Lin stated.
With everything calming down, Asami takes a deep breath. Still startled from the cult's attack on Korra, Lin orders her troops to defend the entire hospital. Seeing Korra had fallen asleep after the surgery, Asami turns her attention to Lin, frustrated at the chief.
"What the hell is wrong with you! You brought Korra back to fight people like these just so you can have your revenge!" Asami shouted out.
"I never thought this would happen and I never meant for it either. I was just as surprised as you were when they arrived to attack Korra in the hospital. Besides, Korra and you are the only people I trust completely." Lin stated.
"What do you mean?" Asami asked.
"Someone tipped off that Suyin was spying on the group. It had to be someone within my ranks or someone that knows me very well. When I heard Suyin got caught I rushed to save her. Just as I found her location, I found her strapped to a chair and a ticking bomb. A couple of my men didn't believe I could save her in time so they dragged me out of the room..."
"And that's how you lost your legs..." Asami interrupted.
"You know what she said to me... as the time kept ticking?" Lin continued.
"What?" Asami responded.
"Nothing. She just smiled as if nothing happened. When she was caught, she went missing for a week. I think she was smiling because she was just happy to see me!" Lin stated.
A single tear dropped from Lin's left eye, but she quickly wiped it off as if nothing happened.
"But I survived! And I did manage to gain something out of this..." Lin proclaimed.
Asami remained silent, waiting for Lin's answer.
"Two blades and the motivation to kill every single one of them!" Lin affirmed.
Seeing Lin's build of ambitions and thinking about Korra, Asami decides to join the chief inspector in her bloody crusade.
"Fine, I won't hold any hostility towards you for today. However, if you want Korra to continue with this investigation, I'm coming along with her. I don't care how dangerous it is, and I don't care if I die. As long as I'm with Korra, that is all I care about." Asami declared.
"Don't tell me... are you....?" Lin asked.
"In love with Korra, yes. So please, let me join you, so I can help her." Asami demanded.
Lin didn't hesitate to bring Asami along. Reaching out to Asami, she welcomed her with open arms. Asami didn't know what she was doing, but she couldn't bear watching her friend in complete pain. In fact, Asami felt the fear oozing through her body and stomach. This was the most frightened she had ever been. However, it wasn't death that she feared the most; it was not being able to tell Korra that she loves her. Asami feared that either she or Korra would die without sharing a single kiss, before passing. With that notion permeating within her mind, Asami couldn't help but join Korra in this deadly mission of hers. While most people are weakened by fear, Asami was given strength instead.