The Waterbender's Love and the Mechanic's Passion (Korrasami fanfiction)

Ch 0.24 The Western Last Stand

The tan woman scuffed her boots on the hard earth as she drudged into town. Her vest was covered in dirt and her body was battered. It had been a long time since she stepped on this ground - three years to be precise. She had taken all of this time to heal not only physically but mentally as well. She smiled at the familiar sign of her town: Si Wong.

However, she was surprised when she walked down the middle of the street that she didn't see the same busy town that she left. It was empty, except for a few horses tied up outside of the saloon. She pulled Naga, her own horse, over and tied her to the post. As she stepped up the wooden stairs, she heard a quiet commotion inside the bar.

A few people looked up and gasped when they saw her enter the building. She saw a certain black-haired beauty sitting at the bar, paying no attention to the others around her as she sipped her wine. The bartender, sporting a dress and apron, stared shockingly at the tan cowgirl as she sat down next to the girl. The newcomer smiled at the girl behind the counter, flashing her bright teeth. "Hi Opal."

Opal stood in shock, halfway through cleaning a glass cup. "Hi Korra."

The black-haired beauty jumped up and went wide-eyed when she did, in fact, see her former lover. "Korra?!" In two seconds flat, Korra was embraced in a tight hug.

The cowgirl chuckled and returned the gesture just as fervently. "Hey there, Asami. I missed you."

A few tears escaped Asami. "Where have you been?" She cried.

The reunited couple separated but kept arm's length apart. Korra noticed the dark bags under the woman's eyes. Yet, her beauty was unparalleled to this day still, even clad in a skirt and one of Korra's old plaid shirts.

Korra began her explanation. "I know I've been gone a long time, but I can explain. I returned to my tribe like I said, but they can only do so much. Master Katara did all that she could from my accident, but some of the healing would only start after I healed mentally. So I left after a few months and spent the last year traveling across the Si Wong Desert. It took a while and a lot of fighting, but I think I finally found myself again."

Asami laid her palms on the younger girl's cheeks. "You don't have to explain it all right now. I'm just glad you're back. I need you. We need you."

Korra gulped. "Is something going on here? I mean, the town was empty when I rode through."

Just as Asami opened her mouth to speak, she was cut off when the saloon doors slammed open. "Alright, where's the newbie? I saw the horse outside!"

Korra quickly whipped around to see who was talking like they owned the place and she was shocked. "Kuvira?"

The former lieutenant froze and then smiled maliciously. "Korra? You're the last person I would have expected."

Korra turned back around to her lover. "What's going on?"

Asami gulped and directed her eyes back to the younger girl. "Kuvira took over as sheriff after you left. She's let the power get to her head. It's bad, Korra."

"What about Mako and Bolin? I left them in control."

At the sound of her husband's name, Opal turned away from the women. Asami sighed. "Kuvira jailed Mako over some miniscule thing. Bolin opposed her and tried to break him out, but Kuvira caught him. They've both been sitting in jail for a year now. No one's gone against Kuvira since then."

Korra saw red the moment she heard that her friends and officers were wrongly jailed. She stood purposely against the dictator. "Let them go."

Kuvira simply laughed and ordered a beer from Opal. "I will not. They opposed my authority. They're still paying for it."