Chapter 7
Ho Chi Minh City is a dizzying conglomeration of a city. It’s as if somebody had cut and pasted different pieces of different cities onto one location. Tourists and residents alike mingle on the streets, while skyscrapers and Buddhist temples keep each other company. Korra sits in the backseat of an old taxi, taking it all in.
“Isn’t it amazing, Raava?” Asami looks eagerly out the window, “What a city!”
“We’re not here to sightsee, Sato,” Korra says, though she wishes that were the case. The closer they get to the site of the agent’s disappearance, the more unsettled she becomes. She’s positive that what they’re dealing with isn’t a spirit or a literal face stealer, but there is something going on here, something that she doesn’t fully understand. And what she doesn’t fully understand terrifies her.
After what feels like hours of sitting in traffic, the taxi brings them to Ben Duoc in the Phu My Hung district, where one of Asami’s contacts has agreed to meet. Korra and Asami make their way to the flower garden at the memorial temple and wait for the contact underneath a tree.
“Hello, Agent Sato,” A grey haired Vietnamese woman walks up to them.
“Hello,Dr. Nguyen,” Asami holds out her hand for Dr. Nguyen to shake, “Thank you for agreeing to meet”.
Dr. Nguyen nods.
“I’m Agent Raava,” Korra shakes her hand as well.
“Dr. Anh Nguyen, Professor of History at Vietnam National University”.
“What do you have for us?” Asami asks eagerly.
“Walk with me,” Dr. Nguyen smiles. She leads them down a path in the flower garden that leads them past brilliant purple flowers, “You seek the Face Stealer, correct?”she asks. Asami nods before Korra can correct Dr. Nguyen, “Not much is known about it,” Dr. Nguyen continues, “Beyond what I’m sure you already know, of course. Legends say that it has been around for centuries, that it has haunted those living in the small villages of the jungle for as long as anyone can remember,” Asami nods, “It’s an imitator, seeking to collect all the faces it can for its use”.
“We know all that,” Asami says, “Do the legends know of any way to stop it?”
Dr. Nguyen stops walking, “According to one legend, many centuries ago, a boy from one of the villages was able to escape the Face Stealer”.
“How?” Asami raises an eyebrow.
“By not making a single expression. In that specific legend, that’s how the Face Stealer takes its victims’ faces: by waiting for them show a hint of emotion. It feeds off of that emotion, taking the face for its own”.
“Is that the only story where anyone has escaped?”
“It’s the only one we know of”.
“Well, that’s good to know”.
“Sato,” Korra says, “You can’t be serious. We can’t go up against… whatever this is with just a handful of legends!”
“You’d be surprised at how much truth legends can contain,” Dr. Nguyen says.
After their discussion with Dr. Nguyen, Korra and Asami check into their hotel and Korra heads to her room. After throwing herself on the small bed, she hears a knock on the door.
“Come in!” She calls with no intention of getting up.
The door opens and Asami walks in.
“Sato, what’s up?” Korra asks.
“I’m going to go check out the sights, you wanna come with?” Asami asks.
“Nope,” Korra stretches, “This may well be the last time I get to sleep on a bed for a while, and I plan to take full advantage of that”. Asami chuckles at this.
“Want me to get you anything?”
“Just bring back some food,” Korra yawns, “I’m going to take a nap”.
Asami nods and leaves the room, closing the door behind her. Korra settles in for a nap.
A few hours later, she hears a knock on the door again.
“Comin,” Korra says blearily and walks over to open the door, “Sato,” she says when she sees that it’s Asami on the other side of the door, “You’d better have brought me food, “she lets Asami enter the room.
“Here,” Asami puts a large bag on the table, “I brought a few more things too”. She takes a pair of Vietnamese theater masks out of the bag and hands a blue one to Korra.
“What are these for?” Korra examines the mask.
“Well, Dr. Nguyen said the Face Stealer only takes faces when they make an expression, right?” Korra nods, “So I figured that wearing masks would be easier than keeping a blank expression”.
“And if the legends can’t help us?”
Asami grins, “Well,” she reaches into the bag and pulls out a sawed off shotgun “That’s what this is for”.