Korra, Lin, Kuvira and Kya exit the boat as they finally arrive at the Northern Water tribe. It didn't take them long to get there as Varrick's new line of commercial boats now travels ten times faster than normal. Kuvira starts feeling a sharp pain against her shoulder and realizes the painkillers are starting to wear off. Trying to maintain composure, she decides to ignore it, heading down the loading docks.
Water only surrounded the four foreigners without a single trace of asphalt nor car to be seen.
After departing from the boat, Desna and Eska greeted them at their home estate. Removing themselves off the boat, everyone bows their heads as they return the greetings to the current rulers of the Northern water tribe.
"It's great to see you again Korra." Desna stated.
"It's great to see you too, Prince Desna." Korra replied.
"I heard about Mako and Bolin...." Eska commented.
"We heard about your friend Opal as well. I'm sorry for your loss." Desna stated.
"Your condolences are much appreciated." Korra replied.
As the two siblings lead the investigators to their castle, Kuvira starts having suspicions of the two siblings as they seem vaguely familiar. While Kuvira is very cautious, she doesn't utter a single word as she continues to observe her surroundings. Meanwhile, Lin starts pulling out a notepad and a pen as she jots down some questions for the twins to answer.
The atmosphere was cold as snowfall scattered throughout the ground, turning into ice. With the sun gone, the only form of visible lighting provided was the Nordic Lights dancing against the black sky.
Kuvira stared against the dark heaven above her, taking a deep breath and absorbing the bleak, winter air into her lungs. She's currently attempting to distract herself with different thoughts, ignoring the pain that aches from her arm. Closing her eyes and standing still, she imagines what Su's reaction would be if she was standing beside her. Creating a pigmentation of her stepmother, Kuvira starts having a one on one conversation with her own subconsciousness.
"It's pretty out here. You would've loved it." Kuvira mentioned.
"I do..." Su stated.
"Where do you want to go next?" Kuvira inquired to herself.
"Perhaps, the Southern Water Tribe. I've never got a chance to enjoy cold weather like this. Besides, I always wanted an excuse to travel all around the world." Su stated.
"I can't disagree." Kuvira claimed.
Kuvira's moment gets interrupted as Korra calls out her name. Shaking her head, Kuvira turns over to her right and notices her mother's visage no longer standing beside her.
"Kuvira, are you coming?" she asked.
Kuvira grabbed the suitcase she brought from the hospital and followed behind the Avatar.
Entering the central palace, Desna gives the foreigners a tour. While the blue interior was marvelous and shined like sapphires, Korra began ignoring the pointless tour guide as thoughts of Asami's whereabouts began to worry her. Just as Desna guides the guests into their room, Korra immediately intervenes in Desna's conversation.
"Your highness, I don't mean to be rude but we were wondering if you could help us with something?" Korra inquired.
"Anything for our friend Avatar." Desna stated.
Just behind Desna, Kuvira noticed Eska grunting from some pain. To her, it didn't seem Eska was displeased with sharp or burning pain like she was but rather something emotional. While it was subtle, it was something Kuvira and Lin kept note of.
What made Kuvira more apprehensive was Eska's lack of communication. Everyone else passed it off as something minor but she sensed a particular reason behind Eska's silence. Kuvira's detective work came to a sudden halt as her train of thought was interrupted by the ache in her arm, causing her more pain than before. Trying to drown out the agony, she grabs a piece of her uniform, pinching as hard as she could. She took heavy breathes, hoping the pain would suddenly disappear and her body would fix itself sooner or later.
While Kuvira got paler every minute, she managed to hide her emotions as Desna answered Korra's questions.
"I was wondering if you could help us take down the Iron Bloods? I know this is sudden, but they're currently too much to handle even with the four of us." Korra inquired.
Desna paused. It was from this point, Kuvira and Lin were on the same page, doubting the twins' upcoming answer. The pause gave both of them a sign that Desna was trying to think of some clever excuse to avoid confrontation. After a short moment, Desna stumbled upon his words but was quickly saved by Eska.
"As much as we want to help, we have a kingdom to rule over. I would come myself, but it takes both of us to run this country. While we're sorry your friend got kidnapped, we can't risk getting invaded or getting collapsed within the insides of our estate. We all have responsibilities to our people. However, if these so-called Iron Bloods are here to invade us, then we'll assist you as much as possible." Eska replied.
"How did you know Asami was kidnapped? I never mentioned it to you." Korra stated.
Realizing her hasty answer raised confusion, Desna continued talking, saving the overall conversation.
"News travels fast. While we don't have the time to search for your friend, we can allocate the resources to you." Desna replied.
Korra and Kya seemed satisfied with the answer, however, Kuvira started getting even more suspicious from their subtle mention of Asami. Korra apologized for her selfish favor and bowed once more for an apology. Taking the apology with a welcoming heart the twins lifted Korra's face away from the icy floor. The entire group continued walking, finally reaching the highest peak of the castle. Entering the throne room, Kuvira couldn't shake this eerie feeling she was sensing from the two twins.
Taking a deeper look at the two individuals, Kuvira noticed a gigantic bruise within Eska's left forearm. Kuvira started having flashbacks from her previous encounter with Fox and Owl. While Lin was entrapped within Owl's ice prison, Kuvira remembers lifting a piece of earth and hitting her against the same spot as Eska's bruise. Looking around her surroundings, her assumption continued to be justified as the only people within the small space were them.
While Kuvira was absolutely positive, she wanted to test her hypothesis to be sure.
"Eska, you have a bruise...." Kuvira noted.
Eska quickly covered her forearm to hide it from everyone else. Kuvira started to chuckle as her hypothesis had now turned into a fact.
"I never mentioned where...." Kuvira stated.
Within a millisecond, Kuvira quickly bent the metal within her shoulder guard, turning it into a blade. She lunges past everyone else as she aims her shank towards Eska's heart. Intercepting the attack, Desna moves his sister aside as he absorbs the lethal blow. He remains unconscious for a second, giving Lin enough time to unsheathe her blades and aim for Desna's neck. Rolling back his eyes forwards, he's able to intercept the bladed attack with his right forearm.
The parry perfectly matched Owl's fighting style, confirming the real identities of the two masked villains. Korra and Kya are in awe as they watch Owl return an attack of his own. Stomping his right foot against the ground, a barrage of ice forms around him, forcing Kuvira and Lin to back away from the twins. Kuvira broke free by breaking a piece of her armor that was stuck inside Desna's heart. Feeling unphased, Desna removed the chipped iron within his chest as he uses blood bending to realign his open wounds.
Through the open flesh, Desna can stare directly at Korra as nothing but terror fills her spirit. Lin and Kuvira have had their suspicions since they arrived, whereas Korra starts to panic from the small exchange.
Thinking Desna and Eska were her friends, Korra could no longer differentiate between allies and enemies. No matter how hard she tries to do right, Korra finds herself hated by or losing everyone she encounters. While Korra finally acknowledged the twins' secret identity, she didn't understand their reasoning behind it. Tears started to fall against her cheeks as everything around her continued to perplex her.
Finally caught. Eska begins laughing in a maniacal tone. Tension fills thw room as she is the only person that finds the who situation amusing. It was at this point that Eska was tired of pretending to be someone else, revealing her true colors.
"I'm Fox...." Eska stated.
"Are we seriously doing this?" Owl asked.
"I'm done hiding..." Eska replied.
"Why...?" Korra stated.
"Why? Is that what my turtle dove said when you let him die? Did Bolin question your recklessness as a giant piece of rock smashed him to bits! Answer me, Korra!" Eska screamed.
Korra didn't have words to justify her actions as she still blames herself for Mako and Bolin's death. Korra remained silent as Kuvira and Lin took their battle stances. Even though the two twins presented themselves as hostile, Kya tried talking, alleviating the fight as peacefully as possible.
"It wasn't Korra's fault that Bolin died. No matter how much you fight her, there's nothing you can do to bring Bolin back..." Kya pleaded.
Eska starts to wail as she tries justifying her position.
"Silence women! You think Korra isn't to blame for his death. It was her who recklessly tried saving a peasant, believing she's some messiah of the universe. She chose to ignore Mako's advice as she threw herself into harm's way. But what's worse, is that she was rewarded for taking my turtle dove away from me! Everyone praised her as if she's some angel, but no more!" Eska screamed.
"Eska I'm sorry that Bolin died because of me! But I promise you I didn't want any of this to happen... they were my only friends. They mattered more than the world to me!" Korra explained.
"I don't need your petty excuse!" Eska retorted.
Negotiations were no longer an option for the two Beifongs as they prepared themselves for a rematch of lives. Staring at the four women in front of her, Eska begins to laugh as she considers their fighting skills equal to that of a child.
"You're nothing but mere playthings compared to me. I was gonna make your deaths quick and secret but if you're really keen on dying slower, then so be it!" Eska exclaimed.
"You're coming with us whether it's through cuffs or in a coffin." Lin stated.
"The only person that's leaving in a tombstone is you!" Owl stated.
With her hair turning snow white and her skin getting paler and paler by the minute, nine crystal tails burst from her hip as she prepares to freeze the heroes in absolute zero. Noticing the incoming attack, Kuvira grabs a hold of Lin while Kuvira grabs a hold of Korra. Seeing an open window within a couple of kilometers from them, the two Beifongs grapple their friends to safety, exiting the tall castle. Finally entering her primal state, Fox launches a wave of energy destroying the entire upper region of the central building. Debris falls towards the lower floors as the four women are launched out into the distance. They continue to fly in the air, trying to prevent their immediate deaths.
Author's note: Sorry this moment took so long to arrive. I wanted to build up to this event. Let me know what you think of the reveal. I tried my best to make it not as obvious. I wanted to bring some old villains but in an entirely different way...
Feel free to comment or make some critiques and keep in touch for the next chapter!