Chapter Text
the morning in republic city is near always a harsh contrast from it's glittering nightlife, as the city may as well have died in the early hours. the only waking souls are a few wandering spirits in the air, floating around the small forested sectors of the streets.
the morning is melancholic, it is unsettlingly perfect. it's early spring, and the flowers outside the run-down apartment building had begun to bud, despite the contrasting chilling weather that was common in the early season. the trees aligning the front of the building were beginning to grow leaves again, and a fresh spring draft flowed through an open window on the third floor. it was a near-splitting image of what anyone would describe the springtide daybreak.
a radio plays on a high shelf somewhere in the room, and the muffled sound of trumpets can be heard echoing on the street below. the record clicks in and out of a static repetition of the same melody. a romantic ballad, it was recognizably the one played at the unforgettable wedding of avatar korra and asami sato a few years prior, as it was sato's favorite.
a blue jay chirps on the windowsill, almost a saddened cry, seeking some sort of help. there's no sign of injury on the bird itself, but as it flees the scene, it's shining feathers are stained with crimson.
a silent police car rolls up to the building, unalarmed of any sorts. the emblem on the vehicle's side is that of lin beifong's detective division, a more prestigious sector of the republic city police. never would an officer assigned to this force be tasked to this kind of call on the regular, nothing but a follow up of a noise complaint from the night before, but this particular detective took this one on a whim.
the furrowed browed man who stepped out of the car, his black hair spiked and a daunting red scarf of sorts tucked into his collar, he'd gotten used to responding to some...well,, many civil complaints which korra had been responsible for. he did her the favor each and every time of responding to every call, letting her off with a tiring warning for whatever she had done to upset her unfortunate neighbors for the night.
he expected this morning to be the same.
within a few hours, a buzzing static erupted on his radio, his station asking him to report back with information, for reasons of paperwork and such.
the detective, standing in the doorframe, laying his eyes on the room in front of him and trembling at what he had witnessed, slowly unclipped the microphone from his side, bringing the device up to his face with shaky hands. his calloused index finger gently pressed down, and he quietly utter only a few words.
"send help. the avatar is dead."
news wouldn't break of tragedy for much longer after the body of the avatar had tragically been found. as police cars with their lights dimmed flooded the lot of the building, rushing to seeing the scene for themselves, contacting korra's newlywed wife and painfully explaining to her that she was gone, and reveling in what they knew would cause hysteria; mako stayed there.
even when he was pushed aside by coroner's workers and crime scene investigators, he couldn't move. his entire body was frozen in a mournful stricken sense of paralysis, leaving him there. for hours. even when asami, in her unkempt victory rolls and deep crimson trenchcoat, ran past him, shoving anyone she deemed in her way just to collapse over the beaten and mangled body of her lover; he sat and watched.
it was his fault.
across the united republic and through the vast earth kingdom, in the deep south woods, the city of zaofu is silent.
it'd been hours since the body was found, and the news had yet to have reached this far, much less outside of the walls of that building.
the warm spring evening brings no sound but the occasional chirping of songbirds in the distance, a lifting breeze floating through a creaked window just as it had that morning. the city itself is at normalcy, solely being the main estate which has confined itself into staying quiet since the early morning.
the silence is broken by the gentle cooing from high in the beifong mansion. the room is simpler than other parts of the home, as she wasn't supposed to have been there yet, at least for a few more weeks. didn't leave much time for decoration. the most furnishing was a metal crib with only a single sheet tucked at the corners. the walls are blank, and apart from a few scratchy antique bedstands and tables, it's strikingly plain.
surprisingly, she had been asleep since that morning, not even have cried when she was born. she'd been just as quiet as her environment for the entire day. not for any sort of worrying cause, she was just different.
she looked certainly alike to the rest of her family, it was fairly easy to tell even this early. her eyes were a deep jade, with unusual thick fluffy mahogany hair and slightly tanner skin. a blue ribbon tied the hair on her head into a tiny ponytail, a gift from her godmother for whenever she was born. it would have been likely for her to be unable to be there, because of her avatar duties, so she had given her gift early. the ribbon was one she had worn often years before.
her soft noises eventually turned to a fuss, and the sudden clamor caused the door to open ever so slightly, without the twist of a handle, but solely the use of manipulating the metal inside the knob. wasn't as loud.
a fairly tall, thin woman leaned in the doorway, holding her arm stiff on the intricate white moulding of the frame. her hair was in a long braid that effortlessly fell over her right shoulder, banded at the bottom with a thin metal band she could easily loosen when she wanted to. what looked to be bruising caved under her eyes, from the lack of sleep. she wore a simple emerald green slip gown under an untied black robe she'd quickly thrown on.
"i knew i shouldn't have hoped for you to sleep through the night." she mumbled to herself with a sharp sigh as she walked over, her step a bit of a stumble, stopping and resting her arms on top of the railing.
they had the same eyes. not just the color, the same shape and striking, almost intimidating feeling one would get just by glancing into them. unlike her eldest, this one lacked the small beauty mark under her eye, with her cheeks instead constellated with hundreds of tiny freckles. though, she didn't really care if her children looked identically or nothing like her.
"now, cao'an korra beifong, mind explaining to me why you're in such distress?" she lent her hand down, which was quickly grabbed by vicious tiny fingers and tightly held onto.
"i get it. you're certainly not hungry or tired, so you must just be a bit of an attention seeker, aren't you?"
cao'an began to make nonsense babbling again, which may have meant she was in agreeance with that point, perhaps.
"well," she slowly picked her up, holding her inbetween her left arm and her chest and allowing cao'an to continue grasping onto her right hand, "that's perfectly fine. you're already so spoiled, you know that? they got the entire place to shut up all day just for you. they've made you their little princess, xiǎo gōngzhǔ."
the shuffling of steel armor at the entrance caught her attention. one of suyin's metal clan members. she used to affiliate with the group, years ago. but all that's dead and gone.
"madam beifong, there's an affair downstairs that you may want to attend
stupid question. of course she was too busy for some irrelevant meeting that might be going on. what kind of idiot would ask her that?
"if it hasn't been made clear. i'm already occupied. now, if you'd kindly shove off to wherever your boss may have sent you from-" she began, her voice an aggressive whisper. she didn't want to stir up a fuss again.
"it's urgent. it's in your best interest that you include yourself in the matter. it is the business of the police, ma'am. with all due respect, you should be aiming to improve your track record with them."
"the police?" she suddenly became interested. the metal clan were zaofu's police force. meaning it was probably those under the management of chief beifong who were in attendance. what the hell did they want this late? traveling all the way out here now instead of just waiting until morning, it definitely didn't mean anything good.
it couldn't have been anything she had done, no, she was already scheduled for a hearing in a few weeks time to be completely cleared of her house arrest sentence, which she'd been granted years ago given circumstances with her other daughter and a bit of judicial meddling from korra.
the entire earth kingdom was nothing but a government shitshow after the earth queen's death. she didn't help much either, but that's another story. though it had left the beifongs with an unusual amount of control and influence over what was going down. since the earth king still had yet to get his act together, not including the millions of civilians who resented the monarchy.
there could have been a million reasons that the police were knocking on their door. knowing her mother in law, they'd probably be kindly heard out and given an empty promise that was enough to turn them away. she'd witnessed it herself each and every time the government of zaofu was asked for help, in recent years and even when she was younger.
"what the hell, so be it. i'll come down and observe for a while. see what they want." she muttered with a reluctant tone in her voice, placing cao'an back in bed and dusting herself off. she quickly tied the black silk feathered robe together as an attempt to look presentable, taking her hair out of its unruliness and combing through it with her fingers. she caught the clan soldier looking at her with what was between confusion and concern.
"what? this family’s all about presentablitity. heavens forbid i have the appearance of someone who nearly died a few hours ago. completely unacceptable. i'll get an earful from the entire lot about 'creating a strong image for the public' and what not. better to just look as if i made an effort."
she was already at the door with a moments notice. the guard, who'd intented to escort her, now struggling to keep up.
"i figured you'd have needed more assistance getting around. suyin-"
"it doesn't matter what she says. i'm fine, it's in this family’s interest as well as mine that i'm not simply sulking around needing cared for like a child. i once ruled this entire kingdom singlehandedly, i'm in no need of coddling."
he raised his armored hands in surrender. "fine then, as you were."
she continued down the grand stairwell, her light steps were quick with a sense of urgency. her left hand grasped the railing almost for dear life, though it wasn't hard for her to walk at all.
the foyer was empty, apart from two republic city officers stationed at the front entrance, despite their architectural posture of uniformity, they were out of place.
police didn't intimidate her. not at all. she could have got in their faces and sworn without an ounce of hesitation, if she had a purpose for it. instead, she silently walked past the statued officers, their glances fracturing and shifting towards her once she passed them.
everyone knew who she was. as much as she tried to change it. to reinvent herself as to not be reminded of it, it's all the world would ever know her as; and she'd never be able to help it.
the space opened to more of a meeting hall, multiple benches and chairs around a broad table. most of the seats already filled, majority by her husband's family and several notable clan members including their captain. police authorities stood and paced back and forth, waiting for suyin to count up everyone she needed to be there.
"everyone should be present now, ma'am." the clan member had cut in front of her to speak up, pressing their hands together and bowing, while suyin's face quickly turned to disappointment and concern.
"no..no, you-" she sighed as she hurried over in her flowing green ensemble, "when i said bring everyone here, i didn't mean her. i thought that would have been more obvious." her voice had a sort of bite to it, as she motioned for them to sit and join the others.
"i apologize for the miscommunication, i should have been more specific with my orders. you shouldn't have had to come all the way down here for this. i'll have someone help you back upstairs-"
"don't," she interrupted, putting her hand out, "i'm fine. if there's something important enough that everyone, except for myself, was called here, i think it's fair if i want to hear it."
there wasn't any use in protesting her words. once she made up her mind, no one could change it.
she took a seat next to her husband, who'd already been downstairs, which is why she couldn't be angry at him for excluding her. still, she wouldn't say a word to him, too focused on trying to hear what the police were about to say.
"hey, are you really feeling alright? i know you don't like being told no, but i don't think you should necessarily be trying to walk all around the place and act like everything's back to normal." he spoke softly enough for only her to hear. sure, what happened was enough to scare him, but everything was fine.
"i already told your mother. i'm alright. i realize i should be taking more care of myself, but have you ever truly known me to do that? i'm not going to act like some ill, bedridden child when i'm perfectly sentient enough to be here with the rest of you. that's final."
"i get that, but kuvira, i just-" he lowered his voice to near a whisper, "i almost lost you this morning, i mean- i'm still shaky from it. forgive me if i'm concerned, someone has to look out for your wellbeing if you refuse to address it yourself."
"you worry too much," she slightly leaned on the arm he had crossed over to place on her leg, wrapping her hands around him and placing her head against his shoulder as it had already become too exhausting to support herself on her own. "relax. i'm alright. both she and du'ego are in bed and as soon as this is over i'm all yours; but i'm not getting any kind of rest until i hear whatever's so important."
the detective in the center cleared his throat, standing still, his military posture paired with the decorated medals adorning his jacket showcased his authority over the others. of course, she'd recognize him without it.
his thick, spiked brows, accompanied by his gelled hair and amber eyes, made him distinguishable from any other cop there. mako.
she hadn't seen him in about four years. not since the invasion on republic city. not since he'd singlehandedly taken down her right hand soldier and destroyed her weaponry, which in normal circumstances, he'd glare her up and down with a certain distaste, in bitter memory of what she, or his seemingly innocent brother did.
but now all he did was give a second's glance of pity. his hands were trembling, going unnoticed as if he'd been like that for a long time. his eyes furrowed and his lips pursed before he spoke.
"if i could have your attention,"
he paused, with a quick look around.
"thank you. the republic city police have been sent here on informative mission to notify the government of zaofu on the-" he cleared his throat again, "the tragedy in our nation today. all that i ask is that you listen until i am done speaking, even if you feel you need to react, it's best if everything's civil so i can read you the chief's instructions."
everything seemed as if it'd been prewritten, like he was practicing reading a speech off of cards for the first time.
"early this morning, at around four or so, patrol officers were sent out to a private location to respond to a noise complaint. that location was one of the safehouses instilled specifically for the avatar's operations in the city, if she needed to go undetected. only those close to her knew the address of these safe houses, including her wife, my brother, and myself. when i- when the authorities went to inspect the misdemeanor, what they found was a violent, horrific scene of..."
he stopped, blinking rapidly and looking to the ceiling. don't do this, mako. you're in front of dozens of people, don't break down now. he sniffled, his hand grazing his nose. it'd been hours, and he had refused to allow himself to shed a single tear. just as he'd done when he came across his parent's bodies years before. there were people privileged enough to cry, but not him. he was here to preach the idea of staying strong, for her, and pushing focus to moving on, finding another avatar.
that's all they cared about. another avatar. she wasn't a person to the world, just their symbol of peace. their weapon they expected to show up and save the world at any given moment. he was promised an investigation into her death. he was promised justice. but he was smart enough to know he'd never get it.
the world had already moved on. and he was still there. time would fly past and he'd remain in that doorframe, the same horrifying image in his head until the day he died.
he needed to do his job. he needed to do what the government was asking of him and work on finding a new avatar. korra was gone. already just a burning memory. and he, her wife, everyone who loved her, were left in the dust. but he'd gone through this before. he'd been forced to climb out of a grave of grief and despair so others had the privilege to mourn. and he'd do it again.
"we don't have enough evidence to suggest foul play, but the body of avatar korra was found this morning. the international council, as well as the united forces are conducting a classified investigation utilizing every resource that we have. we don't know when we'll have the cause of death, but if there was anyone involved, we are using the full extent of our power to bring this to justice."
it was if everything around her paused. it was not that simple, no, she refused to let it be. all of that, just constricted within a single breath. the avatar was dead, and the police didn't spend more than a seocnd to dwell on the details. just that they would attempt to find justice?
there hadn't been an ounce of justice served between the republic and the earth kingdom since they let the queen be murdered.
she was never close to korra. well, close enough to give her name to her daughter, but it didn’t feel like she deserved to feel grief of any sort. still, the atmosphere began to close in, a python constricting around her neck, leaving her fighting to breathe. she couldn't make a scene and step away, but her nails dug into his arm, as a signal to say something was wrong without her having to interrupt.
mako was right. he didn't have to say it, but he was basically giving the order to act now and grieve on your own time. she didn't exactly have the luxury of disobeying orders.
"that being said, i know this is hard, but the united republic's central focus now is to find the new avatar; and because of the instability of your nation, it's going to be hard to search with the threat of violence and revolt looming over this country. since we cannot fix these domestic issues as quickly as we need, the united forces are asking for the beifong's assistance. with your family's resources," he was solely speaking to suyin, detached from the rest, "we'll have easier access to records and keeping this an orderly and most importantly, a classified investigation."
her mother in law's response as well as the quickly risen chaos faded into the background, voices rung out by the storm that erupted not long before. the rain wept in her place, and she had but no choice than to welcome it. but mourning wasn't her concern. perhaps it was, and her judgment was being blurred by some sort of denial or bargaining, but one single detail stuck with her.
he said four in the morning was when they'd found the body.
cao'an was born at three.