In the wake of the Red Lotus ambush, Asami's priority is protecting Korra. But there are more enemies out in the desert than she anticipates.

Chapter Text

(Book 3, episode 9)

Asami clung desperately to Korra, holding her upright as they escaped Zaheer’s ambush. Past the Oasis’ gate, Naga broke into a full sprint and they made for the hills in a burst of panic and adrenaline. Asami gripped the reins, the momentum of each heavy stride threatening to throw her to the ground. Cold, relentless wind blasted around them. Asami flinched from it. She sunk her face into Korra’s shoulder, pulling the girl closer.

Her grip tightened as Naga climbed higher, away from the battle. Dark empty desert stretched out around them. Behind, streaks of fire and distant shouting.

How long could Bolin and Mako hold off the terrorist benders? Asami scanned the path behind them, more panic filling her chest. If she saw the terrorists following behind them, her friends were dead.

Asami forced air into her lungs. There’d be no easy breathing till Korra was safe. Zaheer and his cronies had almost managed to take her at Zao Fu, but the entire Metal Clan had been there to fight back. Their only option now was to run. Kicking at her foot holds, Asami urged Naga harder.

They hit the hard rocky path near the crest of the foothills. Somewhere up here, they had stashed Asami’s car. The boys were supposed to come back for it when they’d run off the rogue benders, or if they survived long enough for the terrorists to get loose and come chasing after Korra.

Asami pushed through the thudding in her ears, tried to regain her bearings. Heading back the way they came, getting back to Zao Fu, was Korra’s best chance for safety.

Naga returned to a sprint down the outstretched road. Not a person in sight, and more importantly, the sounds of battle continued to echo in the distance. Mako and Bolin were still putting up a good fight.

Arms still snug around Korra’s shoulders, Asami turned back to the road. In the split second, she caught the dust rising from the ground.

There was no time to dodge, no time to react other than a harsh yell as a massive rock tore up through the ground, blocking their path. Naga pivoted from the sudden wall, leaping aside to meet another slab as it slid up in their way.

They were being caged. Another jagged plate of rock rose up, then another. Growing higher and higher to meet above their heads and seal them inside.

Asami’s legs clamped down on Naga’s sides as they skidded in the dust cloud. With the deafening crunch of rock colliding with rock, the trap closed up around them, and the cool light of the moon was extinguished.

Their breath echoed raggedly against the walls. They waited in silence. Naga nudged at the rough stone with her nose, clawing at it.

Through the ringing in her ears, Asami could hear shouting outside.

She had to have missed something. Some vital detail that let Zaheer get the drop on them. The walls hugged close. Trapping them in. There was no room to dismount, not with Korra sagged against her, still unconscious.

“Korra,” she murmured, “You need to wake up. Please wake up.” She ran a hand through Korra’s hair, resting their faces together as she gently shook the Avatar. Her consciousness was off somewhere in the spirit world. Deaf to Asami’s pleas, numb to the physical world and the danger they were in.

Naga paced anxiously, whining, barely able to move. Asami tugged on the reins to slow her down, but the polar dog was too distracted. Too stressed.

With the harsh grinding of stone, small fist-sized holes suddenly slid open, surrounding them from all sides of the pyramid.

“Stay where you are!” a gruff voice commanded. “By order of Her Majesty the Earth Queen.”

Not what she'd been expecting. But not comforting, either. “We’ve been attacked by enemies of the Queen!” Asami barked out at them. “Enemies of every kingdom! Let us go, or help us!”

“You are to be detained and delivered to Ba Sing Se for summary judgement,” the man said.

Naga snarled at the closest opening, snapping her massive jaws down to tear at anything that might slip through. Another man outside shouted at the sound of the dog’s threat.

“Naga, no!” Asami commanded, but the dog kept growling.

The air took on an uneasy stillness. Asami listened desperately to any sounds she could make out, muted by the stone. She heard shuffling, and the familiar sounds of armed and armored soldiers.

“Aim,” another voice commanded calmly. “And...fire.”

Quiet shots whistled through the air and Naga jolted suddenly, as if she’d been bitten. Asami grabbed the reins with both hands. “Easy, Naga, easy…”

She could feel Naga swaying, unstable on her feet. With a huff, the dog’s legs suddenly collapsed.

Asami nearly barreled over the side. “Naga!” She held on to Korra as they both slid, Korra’s limp form dragging them harder. When they all hit the ground, quiet and still, Asami rested her hands on the dog’s fur, feeling for breathing. It was weak, but steady.

The shouting of men began again. Scrambling up, Asami’s hand itched. She’d left her stun glove on the ship, left in the rush from Zao Fu. She wasn’t helpless without it, but she’d come to rely on how that early intimidation could sway a fight in her favor. She waited in unbearable silence as she listened to the men outside doling out orders. Trying to predict where they’d strike from next.

A doorway burst open to her left and she turned to a half dozen Earth Kingdom soldiers barreling down at her.

Asami readied her stance, dug herself in between Korra and the soldiers. But the rocky sand was not firm.

Two of the soldiers leapt after her. She slid out of their path, getting a good swing in. Grabbing the other’s arm, she heard a snap and a yell as she twisted it, hurling him over her shoulder and to the ground. Another she got to back off with a swinging kick as his shin. She’d fought multiple opponents at once before. She’d trained for close quarters, for being outnumbered.

A heavy shoulder collided with her back and she slammed forward into another soldier. He got a grip on her jacket and kicked her legs out from under her. She hit the ground hard. It knocked the wind out of her chest.

Asami thrashed out with every limb, struggling to breath, but one after the other, the soldiers dog-piled her. Weighed her down. Pressing more air from her lungs. She struggled weakly, but they trapped her arms and legs to the ground.

“Halt!” The commander’s voice rang out. His men gripped hard, but Asami continued to flail against them.

The commander had pulled Korra up into his arms. His metal armor jutted out from his wrist in a blade. He held the knife gently at the Avatar’s collarbone.

“Korra!” The image set Asami’s blood cold. She released the tension in her shoulders, and all the soldiers’ weight came bearing down on her. She slammed into the sand. Her lungs settled and she sucked in air and sand. Coughing violently.

“Are you gonna sit tight now?” the commander asked. “Are you gonna be still?”

Asami breathed hard from her nose. She tightened her muscles again and squirmed, but she couldn’t move. The guards were holding firm.

The knife’s blade inches closer to Korra’s throat. Asami’s eyes clung to the image. Wake up Korra, please wake up…

Asami went still.

“That’s smart,” the commander said.

The soldiers twisted her hands back roughly, and she felt a surge of familiar panic at the cold metal cuff gripping her wrists. She was hauled up by her arms.

Two of the soldiers clamped onto her shoulders, keeping her head pointed at the ground. She tried to twist around, find Korra in the rush outside. One of the soldiers bent the slabs of the pyramid back into the ground, and Naga’s limp body sprawled out on the dirt.

The soldiers were leaving her behind.

Asami tugged against them. “Naga!” she called. A thick suffocating bag was thrown over her head, and everything fell into exhausting darkness.