fuse_box | love builds prisons

Entry tags:

universe: after the city

love builds prisons

WHO: Hei & Korra
WHAT: After losing the baby, Korra sneaks out of the metal clan city to find Zaheer.

[Korra walks quickly and quietly down the corridors, using every technique she'd learned during the civil war to remain unnoticed by the guards. Snow and metal were two entirely different elements, but when you looked beyond the surface differences, the techniques for one can guide techniques for the other. She's heading for one of the isolated service doors that open up to the world outside the metal clan's city. Naga's already outside — earlier that day Korra had gone for a ride with her, and returned on foot after the guards had changed shifts. Her escape has been carefully, meticulously planned. The only person who could stop her is Hei, and he's not going to notice. He's been off in his own little dark world since she lost the baby. He doesn't see her at all.

Nobody does. Tenzin, Bolin, Mako, even Asami... They're so caught up in their pain for her that they can't see they're drowning her. Every time they say Korra, I’m so sorry, all she can think is Why? She's never wanted to be a mother. The Red Lotus is gunning for her and every other world leader. It's honestly for the best that the baby is gone. She knows there's a part of her that's grieving, but she can't feel it. That numbness and detachment frighten her, but there's no one she can talk to about it because all she'd get is more sympathy and orders to rest. Take it easy. Stay inside. Love will once again build her a prison — but she doesn't plan on giving it the chance. More than anything else, she's the Avatar, and she's not going to just hide inside a metal fortress while the world burns because she's "recovering." Even if she has to do it alone, she's going to find Zaheer and stop him.

She reaches the service door and lets out a relieved breath. Almost there.]

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[They may not be wholly out of danger; being quiet is likely in their best interest, and there's no sense in arguing about whether or not trying to save strangers is a worthwhile endeavor. Chekov and Hei have fundamentally different modes of operation. Neither will convince the other to change.

The cloying smell of overly-ripe fruit is stifling. There's too much nature here and it makes Chekov almost as uncomfortable as the battlefield that they left behind. There are too many places to hide in this grove and too few avenues of escape.

Hei's voice is a welcome break in the oppressive silence.]

I'm glad that my appearance wasn't an inconvenience.

[Far from an inconvenience — but certainly unexpected. Which has pretty much been the theme of the night. Neither Korra nor Asami had expected to be confronted with metalbending guards as they ran from the conflict...guards who turned out to be Red Lotus members in disguise. They'd gotten separated in the ensuing fight. Korra made it to the cellar on her own, and was debating whether to go out in search of Asami.

On the one hand, she can't just hide here and do nothing while her friend's in trouble. On the other hand, Asami outright told her to go hide, and the other girl was more than capable of taking care of herself. Probably moreso than Korra right now if she's honest with herself.

The sound of footsteps approaching makes her internal debate null; she gets ready to attack just in case.

.............why are they speaking gibberish? And why does that one voice sound so familiar?]

I'm hoping Korra will agree.

[ Hei tells Chekov, though what he really means is If she's alive. ]

[ The grove unfolds in a dozen shades of green around them. Carefully, Hei scans the terrain. All five senses tuning in, as if collecting the molecules shaken loose by other shapes, alive and moving. He feels the wind engaging millions of pine needles on their branches, like clattering whispers. A rabbit careening through the grove, dashing through dry leaves. Fifty feet. Birds, too many to count, dotted among the trees, flapping, swooping across the foliage. Thirty feet. A heavy shifting, possibly a threat, possibly an ally. Fifteen feet. ]

[ Hei goes perfectly still. His gaze fixes on the spot where a shadow flickers between the lush foliage, something settling across the planes of his face and in the set of his shoulders. Distrust is the best skill anyone can learn -- especially during a time like this. If it's an enemy out there, there are two expected responses. One is an old-fashioned Who's there? The other is silence. Either would betray wariness, and therefore embolden the enemy to attack. The correct move is a non sequitur, something incongruous that will momentarily occupy the enemy's cognition while his brain tries to process the unanticipated response. ]

[ And, if it's an ally, something this wildly off-track will coax them to show themselves. ]

[ so, instead of attacking, Hei inflicts the airwaves with a familiar song -- as croaky and tuneless as ever. ]

I can't imagine why she wouldn't.

[The subtle signs of wildlife, wind, and company are lost on Chekov. He is accustomed to monitoring his surroundings through sophisticated equipment or, when necessary, relying on his senses indoors. While he can readily pick out the sound of a malfunctioning warp coil or the hum of a dilithium crystal converter assembly that isn't working within established parameters on a ship, nature baffles him with its organic, chaotic noises.

To say that the Russian is startled when Hei begins singing would be a gross understatement.]

I will assume that you're doing that for a reason.

[Okay well that horrific voice can only be Hei, and he's going to draw attention here if he keeps that shit up. Korra scowls and emerges briefly from hiding, just long enough to bend a rock prison around him to muffle that horrible racket.

And then she sees a strange, almost alien looking person. His skin, beneath the grime of battle, is ruddier than any she's seen in this world, his eyes too pale. She doesn't recognize him until she notices the strange, curly hair.]

Chekov?

[ Wow, Korra. You're such a sweet nurturing girlfriend. He is such a lucky guy. ]

[ The rocky barrier effectively cuts the stream of discordant sounds off. Trapped in his little prison, scowling, on edge, recovering from a series of scrapes and burns courtesy of a group who has nothing to do with him, for a girl who never offers a word of thanks -- Really, he asks himself, when you stop to think about it, what sort of person does this sort of thing? Only movie heroes and madmen. So what is his own excuse -- over-compensation? When did the Black Reaper become Prince Fucking Valiant? ]

[ Timeless and poignant questions -- which only take flight within the hemispheres of your mind when you're trapped under a layer of rock. ]

[Chekov has not been on this planet long enough for rock prisons that grow from the ground to not be alarming. His hand automatically goes for the phaser...

...and then the sound of his name stops him cold.]

Korra! [It's a fairly subdued reaction for him, but, to be fair, he has been having a hell of a day. He even refrains from hugging her.] Are you uninjured?

[He automatically switches to Standard--the language he usually used in the City--before remembering that there aren't any translators at work here. Maybe the sentiment will get across anyway?]

[Oh shut up, Hei. You get plenty of thanks, and things which are a lot more fun than thanks. Just...not right now. She's too busy staring at Chekov, trying to understand how this was possible. He'd gone back to his own world when they all left the City. How can he possibly be here?

Then he speaks, unintelligible but still with that delightfully weird accent of his, and Korra decides she's not going to look a gift ostrich horse in the mouth. She's got her best friend back, the one she never thought she'd see again.

She tackles him in a tight embrace, and if it's a little too tight, well, it's been a rough few weeks.]

I can't believe you're here!

[He doesn't know exactly how he's here, either, but, at this moment, he's not sorry. Since Korra doesn't seem to mind the blood and dirt, he hugs her back (albeit not as tightly since no one hugs like Korra). The burns on his back protest mightily; they're going to have to shut up and deal with it.

After all, it's not every day that you get to see your best friend from another universe.]

I thought that I would never see you again. [Still Standard, still not a language that they both speak. Friendship doesn't need a common language!] And you're still in one piece! I wondered if you would be, without me to keep you out of trouble. I doubt that Hei--

[Wait.]

Perhaps Hei should be freed?

[He nods in the direction of the impromptu prison without detaching himself from Korra.]

Huh? [It takes a moment for her to recognize that one familiar word — Hei. The name of her boyfriend. The guy she locked in a stone cage for his & the entire City's benefit.

Right. She quickly bends the prison back into the earth, releasing her captive. But her attention is still on Chekov.]

How did you get here?

[ Unsteadily, Hei tumbles out of the rocky prison. His mouth is a tight line, eyebrows so close together they resemble a sideways exclamation point. Barely a minute in Chekov's company, and she's already relegated him to the status of the third wheel. He almost shakes his head, an unspoken disdain at the predictability of teenagers. But he softens a degree when he catches the look on Korra's face. Twinkly-eyed and cheerful in a way she hasn't been for weeks now. ]

[ He's forgotten the effect Pavel has on others. That breezy warmth Hei can never generate himself, unless it's a lie spun to achieve a specific goal. Anyone else would be envious. But Hei just thinks, without viciousness or contempt: I don't know why he's here. But maybe it'll perk her up again. ]

[ His own feelings are less clear. So he chooses to ignore them. Instead, after a quick scan to determine they're the only people in the grove, he says, first in Korra's language, then in Russian, ]

You can chit-chat later. Right now, we need to head back.

[ Dimly, he wonders where Asami has vanished. But if she were in danger, Korra would've said something. ]

[Chekov can't understand what Korra's asking, of course, but he can guess. How is he here, why is he here... who knows? He shrugs in reply and lets her go after giving her a final squeeze.

It's terribly flattering that his presence is so appreciated that Korra can ignore Hei, but he's right--talk can wait. He slips back into Russian.]

Where are we heading back to?

[Korra shoots Hei a glare. He's right, but that doesn't mean she has to like it. It'd be a lot nicer if she could focus on the positive — her best friend being back — rather than dealing with her shitty reality and the fact she wants to beat the crap out of her boyfriend for being an asshole.]

Where's Zaheer and the rest of his group?

[ Hei is aware he's being a killjoy. But he's not planning to lose sleep over it. Despite Chekov's unexpected but gladdening arrival, the fact remains that Korra is in danger, in a limbo where there is no way to know when the next blow from the Red Lotus will come, or from what direction, or how long the onslaught will last. ]

[ To Chekov, in Russian, he says, ] The metal city. This place is supposedly impregnable. Zaheer and his group didn't get inside without help. [ Then, to Korra, ] Chekov and I fought them off. We did some damage, but they got away. [ Terse, operational, until an irrepressible need to reassure her leaks in. ] We'll get them next time. They're tough. But not invincible.

[An impregnable metal city. That would seem bizarre to Chekov if he hadn't somehow beamed to wherever Korra and Hei are only to engage in a fight with would-be abductors who can control elements.

How long has it been since he left the ship? An hour? And to think that he has already managed to get into trouble and see someone die.]

Korra should go there, yes, but perhaps I should stay away from this city. [As much as he doesn't want to hang out here with the bad guys, if everyone around here looks like the people he has seen so far, Chekov can only imagine that he will stand out terribly in all of his curly-haired, blue-eyed Europeanness.]

What? No! Don't be stupid! You're staying with us! [She's not letting him go after they get to reunite like this. Not happening.]

[ Hei's face, smoothed flat of expression as he translates for both teenagers, is nonetheless contemplative. Privately, he weighs the merits versus the demerits of letting everyone in on Chekov's presence. On the one hand, Chekov would stick out like a sore, melanin-deprived thumb. But so what? Hei's brought Yin to this world -- in all her wintry Nordic beauty -- and she's become almost a quaint novelty at Air Temple Island. Sometimes invisibility is better achieved by standing out. A local character gives the illusion of being ever-present, their quirks and idiosyncrasies easily dismissed as products on an alien culture. ]

[ On the other hand ... Maybe it's best for Chekov to keep a low profile. Partly for his own safety -- (if anything goes awry, it's common to use the new weirdo as a scapegoat) -- partly in case Zaheer attacks again. Having an ally behind the scenes -- an ace in the hole -- could put the odds in Korra's favor. ]

[ Hei considers everything for a moment. But in the end, sentiment -- stirred by Korra's effusive joy earlier -- trumps tactics. God, you've gotten soft. ]

[ Flatly, he tells Chekov, ]

You'll be fine in the city. We won't let anything happen to you.

I have no doubt that I will be safe. [How dangerous can these people be, really?

What worries Chekov more than his appearance is everything else: his unfamiliarity with the culture, the language, and the level of technology, the possibility of having any of the items on his person discovered. While he has no doubt that he can learn the local tongue given time--he is, after all, rather adept at learning languages, if not at speaking them with an accent that's readily understood--the period of adjustment will be awkward. He isn't afraid, though, so much as nervous. He has spent the vast majority of his life being the local oddity. As long as his phaser, communicator, and translator are secure, he can probably get out of any additional trouble by playing the part of the wide-eyed ingenue.

To Hei, because Korra's tone didn't leave much room for argument:] If you believe that it be strategically advantageous to have me stay hidden outside of the City, please tell me.

[His mind went to the same place as Hei's, but he doesn't know the situation well enough to determine the cleverest course of action. Chekov might trust Korra with his life, but he trusts Hei to assess the realities of a situation impartially.]

[Korra looks to Hei for translation. Talk about fly in the ointment — she hates not being able to talk to Chekov directly, when they've never had problems with it before. She knows both of them would leave her out of the conversation if they thought it was in her best interest.]

[ Hei glances from Chekov's earnest face to Korra, who is radiating a sulk so electrically charged it's a wonder she hasn't shorted out all of Chekov's machinery. Objectively, he knows keeping the boy hidden at the fringes is the smarter option. If there's an opportunity for strategic deception against the Red Lotus, he needs to take advantage of it. His ends involve keeping Korra safe -- and he certainly believes they justify a wide range of means. ]

[ On the other hand, it's risky to leave Chekov alone outside the city's walls. He's unfamiliar with the terrain, doesn't speak the language, and if he gets into trouble, it will be one more loose end for Hei to contend with. Stealth and subtlety are good tools. But they're not the only tools available. What he needs is a middle ground. ]

[ A moment of silence spins out. Then, to Chekov, ]

It's better for you to stay hidden. But not outside the city. I'll get you a disguise, then smuggle you in. There a places in the metal city where you can stay without being discovered. Korra and I can come see you there, and vice versa.

[ A beat, before he glances at Korra. ]

He'll come with us. But we can't tell the others about him. Yet. It's better to stow him in through one of the tunnels.

[Oh, Chekov can feel the mighty Avatar Sulk. He's taking a great deal of care to not look at Korra lest he find himself throwing good judgment aside in favor of placating her.

Hei's idea is... kind of insane, honestly, but Chekov knows when he's out of his element and needs to trust others to lay down plans, even if those plans sound patently ridiculous.]

Yes, good. And you will tell me what I need to know?

[He risks looking over at Korra.]

I'll do what I can to repair my translator, although I make no promises.

[Don't worry, Chekov, Korra will question Hei's insane plan for you.]

Why?

[ He exhales irritably, more expressionless than usual, as if gravity pulls more strongly at the muscles of his face, tugging its masked surface flat. He lists the reasons off on his fingers. ]

Because the Red Lotus only got a few glimpses of him. Because they know nothing about his background, or who he is -- which works in our favor. Because he has weapons and smarts that will come in handy. Because it's better to keep your friends -- and the metal clan -- in the dark, especially if there's a double-agent relaying information to Zaheer. Also -- [ Here he visibly bristles, as if appalled by her blindness. ] -- If we leave the metal city, keeping a low profile will be impossible with a white boy tagging along.

[ No offense, Chekov. There's a beat, before he glances at the younger man. In Russian: ]

I'll give you all the info you need. Also supplies and additional weapons. I know you don't like the plan. But you've arrived at a volatile time. We need to get the jump on our enemies -- and you can help us achieve that.

[Chekov doesn't need to speak Korra's language to get the gist of what they're talking about. He pats Korra's shoulder in what he intends to be an it's-okay-I-don't-mind-hiding-in-a-tunnel sort of gesture. It would only be temporary.

(How temporary might depend on where, exactly, he is in relation to the Enterprise. It might be very temporary indeed if the ship is in the same universe.)

To Hei:] I can't argue against a plan if I have no counterplan to offer. Worry more about convincing Korra.

[He's already trying to figure out how to rig some kind of charger for the phaser. Perhaps he should ask if Jinora is around; she seemed to have a solid understanding of the workings of the technology of her world...]

[Be appalled all you like, Hei — Korra's not ready to give into you just yet.]

We could shave his hair and dress him like an Air acolyte!

love builds prisons

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