Chapter 1: 'Purple Light'

Notes:

This is something I have thought about often. This started as a two chapter piece, but it's now gone on to a full Book 5 story, so if you want to be notified of future chapters you might want to follow this or what not.
Enjoy and feedback is always appreciated :D

Update: The fic is continuing into a full Book 5 plot with both Korra and Asami's POV's.

Tumblr link on my profile for possible future prompts and art for the fic

The parachute had deployed as flawlessly as she had intended it to during the designing and testing of the hummingbirds suits. Now she was running. All of those 'incredible machines' which had taken several days, weeks, of painstaking work to develop and perfect had been ruthlessly destroyed in a few hours by the self-proclaimed leader of the new Earth Kingdom.

Fragments from the machines had been scattered all over the city. Asami had seen Varrick and Zhu-li's bird take severe damage early on. She hadn't been able to watch it crash for herself but was certain that it would now be the same pile of twisted and crushed metal that had been the fate of the one piloted by herself and her father.

His warm smile flashed before her eyes as Asami sprinted round another corner towards the location she had seen the colossus explode. The memory of Hiroshi's eyes glowing with pride before they had set off into battle together caused a painful twist in her chest as she ran. It was a terrible sensation she could only recall feeling so deeply a few moments in her life.

Although she had been a toddler at the time she could still remember the death of her mother having been the first, then over 10 years later in wasteland near the Northern Air Temple where she had watched on in silent screams as Korra had writhed and squirmed from metal poisoning, eventually succumbing to its effects and seeming to fade away. That was until Suyin Beifong has stepped in and saved her life.

That same feeling of utter dread grew now with every step Asami took as she tore through an underpass teeming with spirit vines. The Future Industries CEO intended to get to the giant mech's crash site as quickly as possible, terror consuming her mind at the thought of what she may find there. A shortcut. I need to use shortcuts. She has designed most of these streets herself so that should of been a relatively simple task.

Except it wasn't. The engineer couldn't think logically at all, trying desperately to visualize a path to the downed colossus, to Korra. Her mind was a swirling torrent of grief and fear. Overwhelming emotion clouded her normally proficient mind. Republic City had never been more unfamiliar, the roads she had constructed had become an obstacle to her destination rather than a route.

Still she kept running and running, afraid to stop even for a moment. Asami was certain that if she did the growing panic in her mind would prevent her from starting back up again. The city would become even more of a maze than it already was. The shops and roads she passed didn't even look remotely familiar, there was nothing she could use to help get her bearings. When did this place get so confusing? Her muscles began to burn from the effort but she managed to maintain a quick pace.

Part of the engineer wasn't even sure why she was going to the crash site. There wouldn't be much she could do to help at the scene, a non-bender would have been more of a hindrance in the fighting. She hadn't even brought her shock-glove. That was just poor planning. The other members of Team Avatar would do better without her getting in the way.

No. She had to get there. Absolutely had to regardless of what might happen next.

Three years of waiting, was it really that long?

That thought gave Asami a new burst of energy and resolve as she discovered reserves of power she had never been aware of until now. Is this what being in the avatar state is like? The streets became more familiar as she sprinted through them, a quick analysis of some store fronts finally giving some much needed bearings. The engineer was certain she would be able to find her way to the destroyed mech now, quicker than anyone else in the city. I have to get there before it's too late. I just have too.

Suddenly a purple beam lit up the sky, tearing through the tops of several buildings in the distance as a roar filled the air. The spirit canon?! Shock caused the engineer to stop in the middle of the street as she stared upwards as yet another blast erupted and rattled the earth. Asami had been absolutely certain that the weapon would have no longer been operational after the mech had exploded so dramatically. What maniac would still be operating it from that low a level?! They will total the whole city at this rate.

The canon seemed to be being fired carelessly from the spirit wilds. Korra...no. Gut instinct told Asami that the Avatar would be there. Her lo-friend had a nasty habit of throwing herself into danger to selflessly protect other people. That's where the water tribe girl was now, trying to prevent Republic city from becoming a pile of rubble.

The green-eyed woman wasn't sure what aid she would be able to offer in the wilds once she reached there but that notion didn't stop her running again with a new found urgency. She had to be there, even if it meant death, which seemed highly probable given the way that spirit weapon had already laid waste to so much of the city. That was her place, the place she had wanted to be for so long, by Korra's side at the end of it all.

I don't even think Korra would be able to stand up against a direct hit from that terrible thing.

Never had her legs moved so quickly. Fond memories of the good and the bad times she had experienced with the Avatar played before her like a mover film reel with every step. It emphasized moments she had wanted desperately to say so much but knew better than to burden her best friend with yet more heavy emotions. Her eyes were so dull and lifeless back then.

The water-tribe girl had been in a very dark place at that time, unreachable, even to the people who loved her the most. When Korra had finally returned to the city, to her role in the world, she was different. More mature, wiser, less hot headed. A far cry from the girl who had carelessly challenged the Equalist leader to a duel on Aang Memorial Island so many years ago.

But something else had also changed, Korra had seemed less-confident in her abilities. Began to doubt herself. Even questioned her value in the world and the Avatar's place in it anymore. Had the four nations moved on so quickly in her three year absence? Asami had assured her that wasn't the case but she wasn't sure just how effective her input had been. Her friend was still troubled by the past and haunted by the horrors she had experienced.

Asami resolved that if they got through this alive, that she would be there for Korra, support her in the way she had wanted to when the Avatar had returned to the South Pole to re-cooperate.

It's so strange to see the city streets so void of traffic and people. The spirit wilds were not far away now, the spirit canon still firing in every conceivable direction.

She remembered the last words the pair had exchanged in her office back at Future Industries tower. Kuvira's forces were not far away, there had been very little time to talk. An audience had also been present in the rather crowded room. They had embraced tightly, even more so than they had back in the restaurant where they had reunited after so long. Neither had seemed willing to let go very soon, to watch the other march off into battle.

Both appeared to be acutely aware of the fact that this was quite likely to be the last time they would be able to hold each other. Korra's head lay against her shoulder for a few seconds, whispering into her ear.

"Promise me you'll stay safe. Don't take any stupid risks, you hear? I need you to come back to me," the Avatar implored with a weight that made the engineer gasp, struggling to fathom any response.

"Korra. I-I-" she stuttered before continuing. Not now. I can't let anything distract her. "I know that you're the Avatar. And that you want save the city, but don't forget to save yourself. Keep safe too. I'll see you soon" Asami reassured as much as her trembling voice would allow, her hands were following suit. She could feel tears beginning to build up from deep within, only just managing to keep them at bay.

The blue eyed girl pushed the shaking engineer back slightly, still maintaining a grip on her shoulders as she examined the other woman's concerned expression intently. The Avatar crouched slightly so that Asami couldn't avoid her gaze as much as she wanted for fear of Korra finally realizing hidden truths. Then she smiled widely with a warmth that managed to boost the engineer's mood considerably, like it always had done even in the darkest moments.

"You will," Korra voiced with fierce determination before finally the pair released their grip, exchanging one last fleeting glance before they ran off to their respective duties.

She promised me. She promised she would be okay. She'll be fine the black-haired girl assured herself as she ran. Now there was a continuous blast from the spirit canon in the distance which rocked the earth. What's going on now?! The sound of the pulsing was becoming deafening, pounding, banging, filling up every sense until it became almost unbearable. How long would her brain cope under this much punishment?

Silence.

The city seemed to have frozen in time, as though a fresh bed of snow had fallen.

The sound of the canon blasts has been erased from existence. The fighting must be over.

It was however, just like that old cliche. Too quiet.

Suddenly the ground began to shake with more violence than before, making it nearly impossible to stand. The air seemed to come alive with energy and crackled all around the empty streets of Republic city. Temperature seemed to fluctuate rapidly between icy cold and roasting hot as the rattling continued uninhibited.

Purple light blazed in the distance, its intensity blinding. In a matter of moments the fluorescent glow was upon her. Asami wanted to run to the spirit wilds, face whatever came at her, heart screaming for her to keep going no matter the consequences.

Human instinct and a promise she had made overrode those feelings in this instance as the engineer found herself racing towards a stair-well subconsciously. Asami hauled herself inside, slamming against a wall, covering her head protectively as she moved into the darkness just as the purple blast roared past consuming everything in sight. Now Korra's warm smiling face flashed before the engineer's eyes as she crouched low to the ground. Her heart ached painfully at the thought of what could have been and what was now.

Had Asami just lost her too?