Winding Legacies: A 'The Legend of Korra' Rewrite

Episode 6: The Battle of Zaofu Part 1

Earth

Fire

Air

Water

Only the Avatar can master all four elements and bring balance to the world

THIS JUST IN:

Kuvira threatens to take Zaofu by force! After tensions flared between Suyin Beifong and her son's soon-to-be wife, Korra brokered a truce, but it was too late. Suyin and her sons were already on their way to put an end to Kuvira. Meanwhile, Bolin and Varrick are faced with few options as they are held hostage by Kuvira's diabolical plan. Will they be able to flee before the brewing battle begins?

Falling leaves softly pattered to the ground as branches swayed beneath their weight. Suyin's eyes surveyed the encampment carefully, counting the rows of tanks and the hundreds of tents full of sleeping soldiers. Wing and Wei watched her wearily, wondering what their mother was thinking. They had never seen her so determined before.

"Are you sure this will work? Even without Kuvira, they could still crush us," Wing whispered. He made sure to keep his voice quiet so the patrolling guards below wouldn't divert from their patterns as Wei watched them go by.

"Most of this army has been forced into service. If we take her out, they'll have no reason to fight."

Wei lifted his head as the latest patrol made its last bend around the encampment. He turned to his mother and asked, "What about Baatar?"

It was quiet, the truth that none of them wanted to hear settling over them. If he got in their way, they would have to cut him down. Still, that was their family, someone who should have never been on the opposite side of the war. "Tonight is about Kuvira," Suyin said with as much conviction as she could muster. "We must end her reign of terror."

Wing slipped down from the tree first, lowering himself over the next patrol and sliding a metal cuff over his mouth. As Wei located Kuvira's tent in the sea of darkness, Suyin dropped to the ground and pressed her hands strategically along the soldier's chi paths. He slumped to the ground and they hauled him to the side. Wei landed and bid them forward toward the ring of tents that were still lit despite the late hour.

Clinging to the shroud of one of the tents, Suyin stamped her foot into the ground and siphoned through all the possible places Kuvira could be hiding. Three or four tents were filled to the brim with sleeping soldiers. She paused as the seismic echoes rolled over Baatar's form, tucked sweetly into his bed.

She had to force her focus on the tent just beyond his. Quickly telling her sons the plan, she just her arms to the sky and spun, disappearing into the tender earth. They reappeared in the center of Kuvira's tent, just behind her sleeping cot. Suyin watched the quiet rise and fall of Kuvira's shoulders, her mind churning at the best way to go about completing their mission. When she realized she was running out of time, she turned to her sons.

All thoughts of stealth left her mind as a gasp lurched out of her throat. Wing and Wei's eyes were wide, shining with fear. Their bodies were clasped in thick metal rings that moved from their calves to their noses. Baatar slowly lifted the curtain into the tent, a more than disappointed look falling over his face. The blare of sirens faded against Suyin's ears as she watched her children with bated breath. The tent fell around her and spotlights from watchtowers around the camp rained down on her, but she didn't care. Not when her sons were in danger.

"I knew you'd try a sneak attack," Kuvira chuckled. Suyin could hear her as she shuffled out of the cot, but it wasn't until she stepped into view that she understood. Her lips dripped with a smug look before turning to Baatar with the saddest smile she could muster. Rubbing Baatar's shoulder comfortingly, Kuvira said, "I'm sorry."