The Earth Queen smiled at the Avatar, who had attended as she had been asked. She was very pleased that the Avatar hadn't taken long to respond to her.
'Good hearted, easy to manage, easy to fool.'
At the same time, it had reached her that Akashi had refused to kneel before her royal decree. In the Earth Kingdom, in Ba Sing Se, that's a crime punishable by law. Yet, Akashi's excuse for being rude was that he was dating the Avatar.
"Korra, you have arrived. Thank you very much." The queen smiled like a sweethearted grandmother, talking respectfully.
"You're welcome," Korra replied, narrowing her eyebrows and looking around. "So, why did you summon me, and what kind of business do you have?"
"My, my. Aren't you in a hurry, young one," said the queen.
"I've got business to do, and I was interpreted at a good moment. Now, every delay means that I'm giving that old woman a chance to make him take her side." Korra said.
An envoy reached her and whispered in her ear, "The rumors say that Akashi is dating both the Avatar and the Police Chief."
The Earth Queen narrowed her eyebrows for a second. 'That man is more dangerous than I thought. He may have seemed harmless and powerless in that letter. But he's dating two powerful women, and through his connection with them, he could accomplish a lot.'
The queen smiled at Korra. "I only wish you the best, just like I wish for my kingdom. The poor and hungry are being swayed. They suffer from a higher crime rate than before thanks to rebellions. But if the great Avatar is in a hurry and has more important business than the poor people of the land, then I completely understand. It's my fault for having high unrealistic expectations about the hero called the Avatar."
Guilt tripping Korra seemed to work as she looked at the ground slightly with a guilty expression.
"What are you talking about?" Korra asked as she narrowed her eyebrows.
"It has reached my ears that the rebellious forces—a people greedy for power, who steal people's food and money to support their ambition—have seen an opening. With two bloodbenders in custody, they are planning to launch an attack. I was hoping if you could guard their prison until the trials of the bloodbenders start. We would then take care of our internal conflicts. But I'm asking you not to let it get worse." Explained the Earth Queen.
Before, Akashi had mentioned that the forbidden book was a scheme made by Amon and Tarrlok. At that time, it had made sense, since only the bloodbenders knew about their origins as bloodbenders.
But the thing was, she thought, what if this was another scheme made by them.
At this point, she had gotten confused if the schemer was Akashi, Tarrlok, or Amon.
But she knew something.
No good thing would happen when these three were under the same sky and standing on the same earth.
A scheme was being sewn somewhere.
Luckily, the Avatar had come, and the Queen had decided to weaponize her.
After considering for some time, Korra replied, "I understand that you are not asking me to erase the rebellious force, is that correct?"
"Well, I wouldn't mind if you said yes," the Queen nodded, hopefully. If Korra took care of the rebellions, that would help the queen save resources and money.
"No. I won't. I'll be around for two days and ensure the prisoners are judged. Better hurry up with the trial, because I don't have time." Korra said, her mind somewhere else.
The fact that her moment with Akashi had been interrupted, and that the police chief was with him, alone, in a spacious house, dressing nicely before undressing for him.
It made her feel incredibly boiling from inside.
But she couldn't simply ignore her avatar's duties. So she had decided to stick around for two nights. Two long nights she could have spent living for her own. For the first time in a while, Korra wanted to be an average girl. But she knew that the Avatar's chain and conscience accumulated through tens of thousands of lives wouldn't let her do as she pleased.
The Earth Queen's hopeful expression turned into a sore one.
For a second, Korra made it seem that she would have realized her dreams.
But guarding the prison, or rather, the concentration camp, for two days was good enough to assure that no scheme could be played.
"Wonderful," the queen forced a smile.
-x-X-x-
Meanwhile, Tarrlok and Noatak were in a concentration camp, held by wheelchairs. Looking around, they could see that many young men, old men, and some young adults were super thin and walking around.
All they had been thinking of was where the next meal would be.
At the surroundings, three guards from the Dai Lee agency stood, watching. Other than them were the regular guards.
"The more I complain about food, the worse it gets," Tarrlok said, "to the point of no food at all."
"Little brother, can you shut up for a second," said Amon.
"Tsk. Talking is all I can do. What can I do besides it?" He replied, staring at his strapped hands to the chair. If he tried to get out of them, he would get a warning electrical zap. And he didn't want to risk turning into grilled meat.
"No." Said Noatak, looking at one guard kicking a woman protecting her child. "More than that. I feel that I have been directed."
"Tsk. Directed." Tarrlok laughed, "You mean to the execution chair. Or better, the pegging chair. That crazy old woman would do it, and she'd not use lube. All thanks to that backstabbing bastard."
"We were the ones who back-stabbed that backstabbing bastard first," replied Noatak.
"What's there to care about. My dream of controlling the city and doing it better than father, your vendetta against all benders oppression, was crushed, and it is only thanks to him." He said.
"You're still naive, little brother," said Noatak. "I think I understand very well. Instead of being back-stabbed, we're being redirected, to see what real oppression is like. Seeing that mother protecting her child reminds me of the time I protected you when father used to beat you up."
"Tsk. Don't remind me. Anyways, all we can do is wait," said Tarrlok.
"In case you haven't noticed, the chair is broken," said Noatak.
"Hahaha… so funny," Tarrlok deadpanned, rolling his eyes. "You think I don't understand you are meant to prank me for your amusement."
"Akashi did something when he placed his hands on our chairs." Noatak took his hand out of the strap, moving it up and down, not getting even a warning zap.
Tarrlok opened his eyes widely and moved his hands. He could break free easily.
"That bastard! Manipulative to the very end! Brother, let's escape and restart our life somewhere," urged Tarrlok, not wanting to fall for the same man's schemes.
Noatak shook his head, "I must say, I'm intrigued to see how things will play if we follow his way. Unite the people, and replace the ruler."
-x-X-x-
Akashi put on his mask, checking on his stats as the sun set.
He must say that the police chief was a stamina drainer. But it made him appreciate the recovery perks even better.
After the envoys had taken Noatak and Tarrlok, Akashi had focused his wavesbending to lock into their chair. And even though he had been making peace between Korra and the chief, he had been able to lock onto the sound waves from those electrical wheelchairs. To a wavesbender, discerning a sound wave was as easy as focusing on the hidden drum beats in some song.
And so, he had been able to figure out the direction these prisoners had been taken to.
Flying out of Ba Sing Se, dressing in all black, Akashi was nothing more than a crow to most people. And as he got far from the city, he could notice an isolated place in the middle of nowhere. A large facility surrounded it. Inside, there was a floor made of silver metal, and he was sure that it wasn't iron. But it seemed to be a form of a pure metal.
If there was a purpose for a large facility with pure metal surroundings, it would be to prison earthbenders and metalbenders.
That must be the concentration camp.
Akashi picked up on a few stray sound waves coming in his way.
And as he had amplified them, he could hear screams, begs, and laughter.
There would always be twisted motherfuckers laughing at the pain of others.
"Okay." As he stopped, Akashi vanished and appeared on the ground in less than a second, no fall damage descending upon him. It was thanks to the Flying Skill that he managed to float just before landing by an inch.
And so, as Akashi was about to walk in, he stopped by a sight. Few cars approached the camp.
Turning into a blur, Akashi hid behind a bit far tree and observed.
And as he looked, he couldn't help but open his eyes widely.
Sitting in one of the cars was Korra. And he could have a very good idea why.
A/N: Advanced chapters ahead at: Patreon.com/Blazuki