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“Wu’s not here,” Called Korra, dragging a man out from the white van, “This guy was the only one in the truck.”
Mako’s heart drops.
Wu’s not here.
The words ring over and over in his head, each repetition bringing a fresh wave of panic. He pushes down his fear and marches over, grabbing the man by his shirt and slamming him against the side of the van. There was a crunching noise from somewhere in the man’s upper body – it sounded like it hurt. Mako hoped it did.
“Where’s the prince?” Mako couldn’t bring himself to say Wu’s name.
“Halfway to Kuvira by now.” The response came, accompanied by a sickening smirk.
Rage flared up in Mako’s chest. (Rage, and fear. But now was not the time for fear.) He shoved the man back up against the van again, hoping it would shut him up. It didn’t. “All hail the Great Uniter.”
Asami was talking, but Mako wasn’t listening. His ears were filled with white noise, growing louder by the second. Wu was being taken to Kuvira. They didn’t know where to find him. Wu was going to die, and it would be Mako’s fault.
Wu was going to die.
No. Mako wouldn’t let that happen.
He was pretty sure they’d broken every single traffic regulation in the book by the time they’d made it to the train station. Right now, though, traffic laws were the last thing on Mako’s mind. When the ran inside, the station was busy. Full of people who thought nothing was wrong, people who didn’t care.
But everything was wrong. Wu could be on any of those trains, or Korra’s spirit vine search might’ve been wrong and Wu could be miles away by now. Wu could- he could already be- Mako didn’t want to think about that.
A long, stressful few minutes went by searching the station, looking for – well, they weren’t sure what they were looking for. Something. The dread settling in Mako’s chest was becoming heavier by the moment. Wu was out there somewhere, alone, unsafe, and it was Mako’s fault.
Mako watched as Korra pressed a palm to the ground, brow furrowed in concentration. Then, suddenly, she leaped to her feet and started running. “He’s on that train!” she declared, rushing towards a moving train on their right. Mako and Asami took off behind her, barely making it onboard before the train left the platform behind.
“How do you know for sure he’s here?” Mako’s mind was racing, a whirlwind of hope and adrenaline and fear.
“I don’t. But I had a feeling, okay?”
No, that was very much so not ‘okay’ in Mako’s opinion. “And I’m just supposed to trust your ‘Avatar Feelings’?”
Korra spun around, scowling. “You wouldn’t have to if you had guarded the Prince like you were supposed to.”
That felt like a slap in the face. Korra was right; Mako knew that if he had been better, smarter, kinder, Wu would be safe right now. Mako needed to stop blaming everyone else for his failure – if Wu got hurt, that was his responsibility.
“You’re right. I’m sorry, Korra.”
She looked surprised. “Wow, somebody grew up a bit these last few years.”
“Yeah, well, responsibility does that to a guy.” Mako replied, pushing past Korra to continue down the train. They couldn’t afford to waste time bickering like children.
“Okay. Asami and I will search down the other carriages, Mako, you keep going ahead. Regroup once we’ve found Wu.” Korra instructed, already moving toward the far end of the train. Mako followed her orders and kept going onwards.
The next few carriages held nothing but passengers and luggage. No sign of Wu. Mako’s mind was working against him, summoning up every worst-case-scenario from the depths of his fears. Flashes of possibilities crossed his mind, each worse than the last, until it settled on one final image. Wu, lying cold and dead on the ground, his eyes closed and body lifeless. Mako tried to force the image out of his mind but it lingered, imprinted on the backs of his eyelids. His throat was getting dry, his hands were shaking. There was only a few more carriages to search, and Mako’s fear of what he might find only grew as the hunt continued.
Mako entered the next carriage, seeing luggage and cargo boxed propped up against the wall. Still no sign of Wu. Then, a noise. He spun around to see a red chest on the floor rattling slightly, clattering against the steel floor.
Wu.
Not wasting a second, Mako hurried over and tore open the lid to the chest. There, inside, scared and crying but alive, was Wu.
“Wu! Wu, it’s me. You’re okay.” Mako wasn’t sure if that last reassurance was for Wu or for himself.
“…Mako? Where am I? An I dead?” came Wu’s voice, small and shaky.
“No, no you’re not. You’re okay, I’ve got you.” Mako pulled Wu into a hug. “Spirits, Wu, I’m so fucking sorry, this is all my fault, I’m sorry, I-“
Wu cut him off, “Why are you sorry? You saved me! I don’t know what I’d do without you, Mako.”
He sounded so sincere and heartfelt and Mako thought he might cry. He wouldn’t, not in public, but he had never felt so relieved in his life. Wu was safe, Wu didn’t hate him, it was okay.
Mako realised he still hadn’t let go of Wu, so he pulled back from the embrace. The minute he couldn’t feel Wu’s warmth anymore, the creeping chill of panic began its rise within him once more. He reached out and grabbed Wu’s hand. “C’mon, we’re getting out of here.”
No sooner had the words left his mouth then the door behind them opened, casting a shaft of light across the room. Mako leaped to his feet and into a fighting stance, turning to face the four figures who stood in the entrance to the carriage.
“What do we have here then?” came a low, grating voice. A tall man stepped forwards, casting a long shadow out in front of him. Mako recognised his stance: a firebender. The others appeared to be nonbenders, carrying glinting knives in belts across their bodies. Shit. Fire, Mako could deal with. Knives? Not his area of expertise.
Mako repositioned himself so his body shielded Wu, who had now stood up from the chest and was frozen to the spot.
“You let us leave, and we won’t have any trouble. If you try and stop us, I won’t hesitate to bring you all down.” Mako’s voice was steady, betraying none of the fear in his mind. He’d always been good at concealing his emotions.
“Why don’t you just try, boy.” Came the response, blunt and aggressive.
Mako sighed; he’d hoped it wouldn’t come to this.
Swinging his right fist around, he sent a jet of fire at the intruders. The firebender deflected it smoothly, whilst the others ducked away. The answering call was a sharp burst of flame sent towards Mako’s head – he raised his arms to direct it away. And so it continued, for a short while; a blow and a response in quick succession, and then another.
The man stepped backwards. “This is taking too long. Get it over with.” And with that, he turned on his heel and stalked away. Mako decided Asami and Korra could deal with him.
The three other figures stepped forwards in his place. Mako kicked out a hot wave of flame at them, and then another, and another. One attacker dropped to the floor with a cry of pain, clutching her leg where her clothes were burned away. The other two were luckier, avoiding the worst of the flame – they continued towards where Mako and Wu stood.
Mako couldn’t lightningbend; the train’s floor was made of metal, he knew it would end up conducting the electricity and hurting them all. Instead, he dropped to the ground, twisting and sending a whip of fire towards the advancing feet. As he jumped back up, he felt a whistle of sharp wind pass by his left ear, then a thud in the wall behind. The knives were out! Great. This day just got better and better. Another flew past Mako’s arm, and another past his leg, and another.
The fight continued. Flames roared and knives flew and everything was happening so quickly, Mako was acting on autopilot. He just had to subdue them long enough to escape. (But maybe he wanted to make them pay for taking Wu. Maybe he wanted to, but that wasn’t the priority. He needed to get Wu out.)
Within minutes it was over, the three opponents lying unconscious on the carriage floor. Mako felt the adrenaline wearing off, tiredness setting in. Turning around to Wu, he began to talk, “Okay, Wu, we need to get out of-“ but he didn’t finish the sentence. Because, when he turned around, he saw Wu looking up at him, panic in his eyes. His hands were clutching his chest, a dark red stain blooming beneath them.
“…Mako? I- I’m not feeling too great.” came the whisper, so quiet it was barely audible. Wu’s voice sounded hollow, his voice cracking slightly.
Mako was frozen. There was blood, there was so much blood. Wu started to wobble, and Mako reached out to catch him. They sank to the ground together, Wu leaning back against Mako.
Mako had thought they’d won, he’d thought Wu was safe. He was wrong.
Mako could feel himself crying.
“Wu, Wu it’s gonna be okay. I’ve got you, I’m not letting go. You’re gonna be okay.” It was an empty promise and they both knew it. Mako’s arms were pressed over Wu’s, putting pressure down on his chest, but the bleeding wouldn’t stop. It was staining Wu’s shirt, covering both their arms, dark and red and terrifying.
“Don’t worry, Mako.” Wu’s voice was raspy, but Mako could hear the smile.
“Shut up.” This was not the time for jokes.
“Nothing a new jacket and some wellness couldn’t fix.”
“Shut up, Wu.” Mako’s vision was blurred by tears as he pulled Wu closer. “Don’t fucking die on me.”
“I’ll do my best.” Wu’s tone lost its lightness. “It… it hurts, Mako.”
Mako could feel his heart tearing down the middle. “Stab wounds tend to do that.”
“Huh. Who would’ve thought.”
They went quiet. Mako was sure Wu could feel the racing of Mako’s heartbeat through his shirt, much as Mako could feel the shudders of Wu’s breathing.
“It’ll be okay though, Mako,” came Wu’s voice, gently piercing the quiet, “You’ll be okay. You don’t need me like I need you.”
What the fuck was that supposed to mean? “Of course I need you, Wu, you idiot.”
“… For what?”
Mako paused. He wasn’t sure how to answer that. “Because… you make me happy. I need you so I can be happy.”
“Looks like my big tough guy does have feelings after all, aww.” Wu was smiling. “And… you make me happy too, Mako.”
They both meant more than that. It went unspoken, the feelings behind ‘you make me happy’. Maybe it would’ve been spoken if they’d just had more time.
But they didn’t have more time.
Wu’s eyes started to close.
“Wu? Wu, stay awake, I need you to stay awake. Please, Wu, please, stay awake.”
Wu wasn’t going to be able to stay awake. He lifted his hand to Mako’s face, resting it on his cheek. “I can’t, Mako. I can’t. I’m sorry.”
Mako wanted to tell him he was sorry too. He wanted to tell him that he loved him, that he needed him, he wanted to beg him to stay. And he did, over and over, but his words fell on unhearing ears. Wu’s hand had fallen from Mako’s cheek, leaving behind a bloody mark.
When Asami and Korra arrived, it was to the sight of Mako crying, clutching the body of the person he had fought the hardest to protect.
Mako asked them to leave, to just go. He cried and yelled and sobbed, but they didn’t leave him.
It was a long time before anyone left that carriage.