CHAPTER FOUR
﹙ a new era ﹚
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IF Sanyu could express her love for flying a million times over, she would. It makes her feel liberated from the weight of the world. She dreams of soaring away, starting a new life somewhere beyond Republic City. However, her earthly attachments to her mother and her younger siblings keep her grounded, despite her countless thoughts of escape.
But when the young Avatar offers her a ride on Naga, Sanyu eagerly accepts despite the fact that she loves flying. Exhausted from the recent fight, she also harbors a secret desire to experience riding this magnificent polar bear dog.
Seated at the back, behind Mako, she clutches her staff tightly on one hand, and the other is holding onto the firebender to prevent herself from falling.
"Sorry for getting you involved, Sanyu," Korra apologizes as Naga ventures through a deserted city street in search of Bolin. "I know you should be home by now, but I just had to bring you──well, also because you glared at me when I wanted to help Mako by myself, and yet you──"
"I got it, Avatar," Sanyu interjects with a frown and an annoyed eye roll. "Spirits, you talk too much when you're nervous, don't you?"
"I-I'm not nervous!" the other girl defends as Naga heads toward another street with a closed night market.
"Says the one who just stuttered."
"What──?!"
Mako lets out a heavy sigh before intervening in the quarrel between the two girls. "Okay, can we focus on finding my brother instead of bickering like kids?" he chides them.
His words silence the girls momentarily, but then he turns to address Sanyu directly. "And you have to stop wearing that police uniform and shouting 'This is the police' every few seconds if you want to help me find my brother." He shoots a disapproving glance at the cop and raises an eyebrow. "Don't you have any other clothes than that?"
Sanyu glares at him. "No," she snaps, squeezing Mako's arm tightly, eliciting a yelp of pain from him. "And how dare you tell me what to do or wear!"
Korra nods, now siding with the cop. "Yeah, Mako," she agrees, giving him a judgmental look. "Let her do and wear what she wants."
Mako raises his hands in mock defense. "I'm just saying . . ." he says with an innocent face. "Officer Sanyu──"
"That's Beifong for you, you jerk!" Sanyu corrects sharply.
"I mean, Officer Beifong needs to be careful, too," he continue to explain after being interrupted. "Because the first thing those masked men are going to do is attack her instead of the Avatar. She's more of a threat to them since she's a police officer, capable of arresting them."
Sanyu narrows her eyes at him, reconsidering his words. A frustrated groan escapes her lips as she reluctantly agrees──she must proceed with extra caution to investigate this case.
She sighs in defeat. "I can't believe I'm agreeing with you, taking advice from a man," she admits, her expression sullen. "But you're right. I need to change up my appearance . . ."
"Here, wear my coat," Mako offers, removing his coat and handing it to her. Beneath, he's wearing a white compression shirt.
Sanyu hesitates before accepting it, pulling it over her police uniform. The scent of sweat and city smoke wafts from the fabric.
"Ugh, you reek of nicotine," she comments, wrinkling her nose in distaste. "You smoke!"
Mako whips his head around, eyes widening. "I do not!"
She lets out a dry laugh. "Heh, just kidding . . ."
He frowns, giving her a disapproving look that could rival her mother's. "Well, your joke isn't funny, officer!" he snaps.
"And you can't take a joke, good old Mako . . ." she retorts, a hint of the attitude she always threw at her mother during her teenage years.
Seated at the front, Korra releases a genuine laugh, feeling her burden momentarily ease at the exchange between the two.
"Well, I find it amusing," she admits with a shrug.
Mako groans in frustration. "Enough! Can we focus on finding my brother here, ladies?"
Muttering a brief apology to the boy, Korra leads Naga through the city. They traverse a deserted bridge, pass by a lit trolley station, and navigate another street before arriving at a dark alley teeming with dealers and thugs──where Mako intervenes to prevent Sanyu from making arrests──but find no trace of Mako's brother, Bolin.
"We've been out all night," Korra sighs as Naga stops in her tracks. Her loyal companion is panting heavily, also exhausted. "No sign of him."
"Yeah, I think we should let Chief──" Sanyu starts, feeling immensely tired, but she's interrupted by the firebender sitting in front of her.
"No, we've gotta keep looking!" Mako says stubbornly. He, too, is exhausted, having not slept all night in his search for his brother. But he refuses to give up. "But where?"
"Wait!" Korra suddenly says with determination, pulling Naga's reins to continue moving. "I have an idea!"
Korra leads them to the park and guides Naga to a fountain to drink. Pabu climbs atop Naga's head for a drink as well before Korra, Mako, and Sanyu dismount the polar bear dog and sit around the fountain.
Sanyu is too exhausted to listen to the two's conversation, having worked almost the entire day and now lacking sleep due to Mako's missing brother. Her body is wearing down, and she unknowingly closes her eyes, dozing off. That's how drained she feels and constantly gliding around doesn't help either, to be honest.
The next thing she knows, she wakes up beneath a tree, sheltered from the sunlight. Soft fur cushions her body, and she sees she's been resting on Naga while Pabu sleeps atop Naga's saddle. Realizing Korra and Mako are missing, she springs to her feet, alarmed, and scans her surroundings until she spots them approaching a protester.
"Non-benders of Republic City!" the protester shouts through a megaphone in an empty park. Despite the absence of onlookers, he projects as if addressing a crowd. "Amon calls you to action! Take back your city! It's time for the──"
The protester gasps in surprise as Korra approaches him. Her expression is resolute and unamused as both she and Mako pulls up at the table on which the protester stands, with a frightened civilian seated next to him.
"It's you again!" the protester exclaims angrily, pointing an accusing finger at Korra before resuming through the megaphone, "You cannot silence me, Avatar!"
Korra swiftly swats away the megaphone, causing it to shatter on impact with the ground, accompanied by a protester's squeal.
Seeing this, Sanyu steps in, approaching them. As a police officer, she can't allow harassment, even if she's eager for answers herself. Her duty is to uphold the law. She's been watching from afar, waiting for the right moment to step in, but then she remembers she's wearing Mako's coat, hiding her police attire. So, she merely stands next to Mako, watching as Korra deals with the protestor.
"Shut your yapper and listen up," Korra demands, glaring at the protester. "My friend got kidnapped by some chi-blockers. Where'd they take him?"
With arms crossed defiantly, the protester replies, "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Oh, I think you do!"
Korra lifts her leg high, delivering a powerful half-moon kick. The earth beneath the table rises, launching it into the air and sending the protester tumbling. Leaflets bearing Amon's image scatter, descending upon the scene as the protester scrambles to collect them, a look of dismay on his face.
Mako snatches one of the leaflets from the air, examining it closely. "Witness the Revelation tonight, nine o'clock," he reads aloud before turning to the protester. "What's this 'Revelation'?"
"Nothing that concerns the likes of you two!" the protester retorts, not knowing that Sanyu is with Korra and Mako, too.
Sanyu glares at the protester, who squeals as she grabs the hem of his shirt and pulls him up. "You better believe it concerns us. Spill it," she seethes.
"No one knows what the Revelation is! And I have no idea what happened to your friend," he says, completely frightened by the disguised police presence before arrogantly continuing, "But if he's a bender, then my bet is he's getting what's coming to him."
"Where's it happening?" Mako further questions with fury in his eyes.
At the sound of a whistle, Mako, Sanyu, and Korra turn to their left to see a policeman is running toward them, blowing his whistle again. Sanyu swiftly tosses the protestor to the ground and instructs the two to flee as Mako grabs a handful of leaflets before running towards Naga.
Korra and Sanyu already mounted on the animal, with Pabu sitting in front of Korra. As soon as Mako joins them, Naga takes off.
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AT a trolley stop, they try to figure out where the Equalists are holding the rally, but there's no location listed. Mako quickly realizes there's a clue on the back of the leaflets, matching the city map, pinpointing the rally's location.
Sanyu gives the firebender an impressed look. "You could make a good detective one day," she comments. "How about we partner up, huh?"
"You really think so?" Mako replies, looking touched. "You think I could be a good detective? Of course I can be your partner──"
"You know what, never mind," Sanyu deadpans, realizing the boy talks too much for her liking, just like Korra. His enthusiasm overwhelms her, and she really needs to make it stop. "You talk too much."
Mako sends daggers at her for having his hopes up, but little does he know that Sanyu does look up to him and believes he can be a very good detective. The two detectives at the Police Department are a bunch of stupid men with long mustaches who often stuff their faces with food rather than doing actual work.
Sanyu will never tell Mako about that. She doesn't want to. Maybe because she isn't accustomed to giving compliments or saying positive things to anyone, especially after her father left. She feels she's not good at being kind. She wonders if it's because she grew up without a father, raised by a single mother who often spoke bluntly and reprimended anyone without considering their feelings.
Before heading to the rally that night, Sanyu quickly returns home after returning Mako's coat. Lin is nowhere to be found, but there's food on the table covered with lids. Perhaps her mother cooked for her before heading to work.
Now the young airbender feels guilty for letting her mother eat alone, as they usually share meals together no matter where or when. It's their way of bonding, sharing stories, and opening up about their concerns.
However, since Avatar Korra's arrival, Sanyu finds herself rarely at home. She realizes she often visits Air Temple Island to see her siblings, observe Korra's training, and, perhaps, deep down, to see her father, Tenzin.
Maybe this is why she's drawn to Korra. She now has another reason to visit the island without relying on the excuse of seeing her siblings, which doesn't take long for her to spend time with them. Previously, she would play with them briefly before returning home, but now with Korra's presence, she spends nearly more than an hour there.
As night falls, Sanyu emerges from the house in a sleek ensemble: a dark coat over a white t-shirt, paired with black high-waisted pants and boots where she often hides her knives in case of emergency; she pulls her hair into a neat bun, and wear slight makeup.
Mako and Korra are already waiting at their rendezvous point, offering approving glances at her new look. They're all dressed in disguises; their usual attire would attract too much attention in the crowd they need to blend into.
From a distance, they spot a group of people heading towards a factory site.
"This is the place," Mako declares.
With a nod, Sanyu follows Mako and Korra as they approach the building. She notices a doorman checking invitations at the entrance. After approving one, he steps aside to admit the person, then turns his attention to the next visitor, who presents their own invitation leaflet.
As they approach the doorman, Sanyu notices Korra moving closer to Mako, grasping his arm.
"What are you doing?" he hisses at her with an annoyed look.
Korra simply hushes him. "We'll attract less attention this way."
"Hey, what about me?" Sanyu questions, frowning at the two before she pouts at Mako. "Come on, I could be your other partner! Your other arm is available for me to hold."
"Just be yourself," Mako says in a hushed voice.
Rolling her eyes, Sanyu walks past the two, shooting a glare at the firebender before presenting her leaflet to the doorman. He inspects it then allows her inside the building. As she enters, she turns around and sticks her tongue out at Mako like a little kid, earning her a judgmental look from him.
As soon as Mako and Korra enter the building, Mako wastes no time scolding the cop. "What the heck was that all about?"
Sanyu simply shrugs. "You said be yourself, so I did," she replies before joining Korra to observe the gathered crowd.
"I knew people hated benders, but I've never seen so many in one place," Mako comments, surprised, standing beside the young Avatar. He then instructs the two girls, "Keep your eyes out for Bolin."
Giving him a nod, the trio moves to the side to descend the stairs and navigate through the crowd. They stand together in the middle, facing an empty, illuminated podium at the far end of the large factory.
"Please welcome your hero," an announcer declares as a hatch opens in the stage, bathing it in light. "Your savior . . . Amon!"
Amon ascends from a hidden door onto the stage, accompanied by a row of Equalists, as the crowd erupts in thunderous applause. Sanyu's brow furrows deeply as a spotlight illuminates the figure of the so-called Equalist leader, and disbelief fills her as she witnesses the city's greatest menace before her eyes.
Anxiety washes over her; she hadn't planned to disguise herself for this rally. After all, she's just an ordinary police officer. If Lin finds out about this, Sanyu will surely never hear the end of it.
As Amon steps up to the microphone, the crowd cheers loudly for him. He begins a speech, and Sanyu listens intently, determined not to miss a single detail. Amon reveals that he and his non-bending family lived peacefully on a small farm until they were tormented by a firebender. This event changed Amon's life forever, leading him to wear a mask after being scarred by fire. He also shares that the Spirits bestowed upon him the power to permanently remove a person's bending ability.
Though Sanyu lacks expertise in airbending and has never undergone formal training, the idea of losing her bending ability and the freedom of flight is unbearable to her. It's the essence of her vitality, granting her the sensation that with a simple shift in direction, she could soar beyond the city, shedding her burdens and embracing a fresh beginning.
"No . . ." Sanyu's breath catches as she whispers, recoiling at the mere notion of losing her bending. Amon's words weigh heavy, striking fear deep within her. It's the worst news she's heard, especially for those who can bend elements.
Korra's disbelief is palpable. "That's impossible!" she exclaims, turning to Mako and Sanyu with wide eyes. "There's no way."
Sanyu tightens her lips, knowing the truth of Amon's claim. Only the Avatar possesses the power to permanently strip someone of their bending using energybending. She recalls stories of her grandfather, Avatar Aang, who accomplished such feats, like when he took Fire Lord Ozai's bending away instead of killing the Fire Lord.
"This guy's insane!" Mako whispers.
"Now, for a demonstration. Please welcome, Lightning Bolt Zolt," Amon announces into the microphone. "Leader of the Triple Threat Triad, and one of the most notorious criminals in Republic City."
The crowd jeers at the captive, stirring a desire in Sanyu to intervene, despite knowing his wrongdoing and being a bad guy, too. Equalist guards bring forth four more bound benders, compelling them to kneel. Among them, Sanyu spots Mako's younger brother, Bolin, his face etched with fear as he scans the scene.
"There's Bolin!" Korra points out, taking a step forward, only to be halted by Mako's firm grip.
"Wait, we can't fight them all," Mako cautions, holding onto the Avatar. "We need to be smart about this."
"Then come up with a game plan," Korra responds, her tone sharp, almost biting. "Team Captain."
"She's the one who's supposed to be the team captain!" Mako suddenly points at Sanyu, prompting her to glare at him. "As . . . you know, a good-person-chasing-bad-people, you should think of something too, and you're more than qualified to be a team captain."
"Oh, just because I'm a good-person-chasing-bad-people, doesn't mean I can think of anything at this moment!" Sanyu snaps at him. "I'm overwhelmed right now, okay? Let a good-person-chasing-bad-people have her rest!"
She turns to the stage once more, watching as Amon demonstrates his chilling ability on the leader of the Triple Threat Triad. His lightning slowly degrades into fire, then stops completely.
"The era of bending is over. A new era of Equality has begun!" Amon declares to the crowd, eliciting a gasp of horror from Sanyu.
She doesn't want her bending to be permanently taken away, even though she rarely uses any airbending abilities aside from flying with a glider. Despite the trauma airbending still brings from that fateful night, she loves flying and doesn't want it to vanish.
I'm putting more emphasis on
my oc's character development
and her relationships with
her family and friends.
That's why it's a slow burn fic.
I want my oc to mature and
evolve before delving into
any legit romantic relationship.
wordcount: 2948
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