We were in battle. There were chi blockers everywhere, and Amon was there. We had been fighting for so long, and it had come down to this. Asami was fighting beside me and I saw Korra tackling a group of what must have been thirty Equalists. My goal tonight was to protect Asami since she was the least experienced fighter of us all. I had been torn all through out the battle though. I was committed to Asami, I wanted to protect her, but every time I saw one of the Equalists go after Korra I had to stop myself from rushing to her side, and leaving Asami defenseless. I had no idea what was going on. I knew I was harboring feelings for Korra, but I was with Asami. I was snapped out of my thoughts as a chi blocker came hurling at Asami. I quickly dashed in front of her and hit them with a fire fist. Soon enough I had taken the chi blocker down, and I looked over at Bolin. He was handling his group well, he was well trained and had already taken down ten out of the fifteen surrounding him. I scanned the scene, trying to find Korra, or Amon. I found both. Korra was in the middle of the same group of Equalists, but the group had grown in number, and Amon was making his way towards them. Korra was struggling. All of her opponents sported either electric rods or electric gloves. Korra had gotten shocked a few times, though she had managed to redirect a few strikes, and the strain was starting to show. I somehow picked up a sinister cackle that I knew had come from Amon. I saw Korra look up as she heard it. Her face morphed into an expression of pure fear.

"KORRA!" I shouted. I took a step in her direction, but was cut off by Asami stepping in front of me.

"You can't go over there Mako" she whispered. There was some kind of threat underneath the statement but I had no time to question it. I just needed to get to Korra.

"I know you need me Asami, but Bolin will protect you, I need to help Korra" I said urgently, placing my hand on her shoulder to move past her.

"No Mako, you cannot go over there, it would interfere with the plan" she breathed sinisterly. That caught my attention.

"What are you talking about Asami?" I said cautiously. I watched as she reached into her bag and brought out an electric glove. I gasped and her eyes turned dark. She slipped it on and the middle started to glow.

"It would interfere with Amon's plan to rid the world of filthy benders" she hissed, smiling evilly.

"You're an equalist" I said flatly. I should have seen this coming. She had always loved her father, it was so obvious that she would never actually betray him. She laughed mirthlessly.

"Of course I'm an equalist! You benders took my mother away from me! YOU IMPRISONED MY FATHER! YOU TOOK EVERYTHING I EVER HAD!" she screamed.

"I'm sorry Asami, I'm sorry that this happened to you, but why? Why when you knew and liked benders, why would you join the equalists?" I asked.

"Liked benders? Oh dear Mako I never liked benders. I may not have hated you, but I never liked you" she said, her voice like velvet tearing at me. She had never loved me, not like I had loved her. I had a choice to make. Waste my time trying to convert Asami, or help Korra.

"Move Asami, I don't want to hurt you, but if you won't let me help Korra, I will" I whispered.

"You want to fight me pretty boy? Lets go" she said. I just looked at her, but within a second she shot a bolt of electricity at me. I barely managed to move out of the way. I threw everything I had at her. She kept dodging and shooting electricity. Finally I knew of one thing I could do, something Korra had taught me. Something she had learned from Firelord Zuko who had come to oversee some of her training in the South Pole. I could redirect it. I prepared myself, relaxing every muscle in my body, letting all the energy even out and become neutral.

"What are you going to do Mako? Give up? Join your pretty little girlfriend Korra in the afterlife? Because she will be dead soon, and so will you" she sneered. I stood my ground and waited.

"Goodbye Mako" she whispered, then I saw the glove light up and I saw the arc of electricity make its way towards me. I felt it hit me and I felt all the energy pass through my heart. I shouted and moaned as it passed though. I thought I was going to die, then I moved with the grace of a waterbender and felt all the energy from the electricity exit my body through my finger tips. I opened my eyes as I heard Asami scream. I could see the fear in her eyes as she tried to move out of the way. But she wasn't fast enough. It hit her square in the chest and she went down. Bolin looked up stunned.

"Mako! What did you just do?" he asked sounding terrified.

"I'll explain later, right now we need to help Korra" I shouted at him. He nodded and we sprinted to where Korra was. She was fighting her best but she was even more drained than before. Sweat was pouring down her face and her bending was weak. Amon finally made his way through the crowd and watched as one of his henchmen shot a final blow at Korra. She screamed and her eyes went wide.

"KORRA!" I screamed. I saw her start to fall, and I pushed my way through all the chi blockers. One hit me and I found myself unable to use my left arm, I kept going. I was moving fast and I could see that Korra hadn't hit the ground yet, if I could just get there fast enough…

I made it through all the chi-blockers and fell to the ground. I scrambled up and managed to catch Korra's head before it hit the ground. She wasn't unconscious, just shocked. She looked at me her eyes wide and lip trembling. I heard Bolin yell something and noticed the Equalists attention averted for a moment. And for that moment, I had Korra. I pulled her to me in a hug and buried my face in her hair.

"Korra, are you alright? Can you talk? Say something to me Korra" I whispered frantically.

"I'm okay Mako" she breathed weakly. I sighed in relief and stood her up, draping her arm around my shoulder.

"Okay, we have to get you out of here, you weren't ready to fight Amon, we'll try it again" I told her. She shook her head and tried to release herself from my grip. I just held on to her tighter.

"No Mako, I'm the Avatar, I have to fight him, if I go down fighting, its okay" she said bitterly.

"But its not Korra! Its not just the world that needs you! Goddammit Korra! I need you!" I yelled. She looked shocked. I just looked hard at her. Then I heard Bolin yell. I whipped around and saw him running toward us.

"GO! RUN!" he yelled. I somehow managed to get Korra onto my back with one arm and started running. We were almost home free when Bolin yelped. I turned my head and saw him go down, twitching as the electricity coursed through his body. My right arm regained some feeling so I turned around and started fighting, using one arm. Korra tried to help as much as she could, but she was hurt and weak. I was breathing hard when an Equalist finally got me. I felt a slight shock and heard Korra yell as I blacked out.

I woke up with my hands and feet tied. My vision was blurry but I was able to see Bolin and Korra. Bolin was still unconscious and Korra was in the middle of a group of Equalists once more. Amon stood in front of her, he seemed to be taunting her, and she was shaking with anger.

"KORRA!" I yelled. She looked up, eyes wide and she looked terrified. Be quiet, shut up she mouthed to me. Then her eyes flickered to Amon and she starting screaming.

"NO! NO LEAVE HIM ALONE! NO TAKE ME! TAKE ME!" she cried, tears brimming. I noticed an Equalist coming towards me and I shivered. It was Asami. I guess the lighting didn't do her in. I grunted as I felt her kick my ribs. I winced as she sneered then roughly pulled me to my feet.

"Lets go Mako" she whispered sinisterly. She walked me towards the circle where Korra kneeled. I nodded reassuringly to her, I would be fine, I was tough. Asami kicked out my legs as we reached Amon and I was left kneeling in front of him, facing Korra.

"Avatar Korra, I had hoped you would cooperate with us, but if not, so be it. Watch your friend suffer" he said. Then I felt the tip of a pole touch me, and my entire body was on fire. I screamed and arched my back as I was electrocuted. I grunted as it stopped and saw Korra crying.

"Stop it!" she cried defiantly. Amon just clucked disapprovingly.

"Come now, certainly you can do more than that to save your dear Mako" he said. I winced when he said my name. Korra just looked from Amon to me.

"Don't listen to him Korra! I'm tough, I can handle it!" I called to her, then swiftly received a blow to the jaw.

"Be quiet boy! I could take your bending away right now! But, I need you. I need you to make the Avatar give me what I want" he whispered.

"I won't help you with anything!" I spat at him. I smiled smugly at him then received another kick to ribs, courtesy of Asami.

"As I was saying young firebender, I need something from you. You see, I need the Avatar to go into the Avatar State, it is the only way for me to effectively end the Avatar you see"

"And why do you think I can make her go into the Avatar State?" I asked incredulously.

"Well you see, she cares about you, and seeing you hurt, might be enough to trigger it" he said menacingly. He nodded to Asami and she kicked me again, but this time in the head. I tasted the blood as it flooded my mouth and made a choking sound. I was not going to let them hurt Korra. So I looked directly into Amon's masked face and spit all the blood and saliva in my mouth into his face. He jerked back and I was rewarded with some cursing and a cheer from Bolin, who had regained consciousness. I looked to Korra and saw her smile a little bit. I heard Amon say something about "that wretched boy" and smirked. Then I saw his hand flicker towards his belt, and a flash of silver. I clamped my mouth shut at the knife cut my cheek, determined not to push Korra towards the Avatar State. I heard Bolin cry out, and turned around quickly, shaking my head at him. Korra was shaking and breathing hard.

"Is that all you've got Amon? Please I've had worse than this!" I called. My ribs ached and my head hurt like hell, but I was going to stay strong. This sort of thing continued for the next hour and a half or so, until I could barely speak in order to make retorts to Amon.

"Avatar Korra, this is your last chance! Do as I ask or the boy dies!"

"NO!" she screamed. The sound of it was terrible.

"Korra! Listen to me, whatever happens to me you have to stay calm! Do not go into the Avatar State do you understand?" I urged her. She just froze looking around desperately for anything to help her.

"I warned you Avatar! WATCH AS YOUR FRIEND DIES AND KNOW IT IS YOUR FAULT!" he yelled at her. Tears flowed freely down her face as he made his way towards me. I would try to blast him with fire breath, but my chi had been blocked so I couldn't do anything. He pulled out a knife, one charged with electricity, and I closed my eyes waiting for the final strike. Bolin was shouting obscenities at him and trying to pull attention to him, but it wouldn't work. They knew what they wanted. I felt the knife plunge into my body and the searing pain that came with it. I heard Bolin yell, and Korra shriek. I felt myself going, but then I was back. He hadn't gone for a deathblow after all. I lay bleeding on the ground and felt a huge gust of wind. I felt terribly tired and weak but managed to move my head enough to see what was going on. Korra was floating in a ball of wind, surrounded by three rings, one of each other element. Fire, earth, and water swirled around her. Her eyes were glowing blue and she spoke in a voice that was not her own. It was hers, but it was layered with others. She had entered the Avatar State.

"Amon, you have disrupted balance, and now you shall PAY!" she yelled. I heard Bolin shout as he broke free of his bonds, and I felt myself being tugged away from the fight. My eyes fell closed and I felt as though I were floating.

"Mako! Mako are you in there bro?" I heard from a distance. All the sounds seemed to becoming more intense and suddenly I bolted up right and gasped.

"KORRA!" I yelled.

"Woah bro" Bolin said pushing me back down. We were still in the warehouse where we had been fighting Amon, but there were no more chi blockers. I saw Tenzin standing beneath Korra as she floated above still causing mass destruction.

"What happened?" I asked wearily.

"Tenzin came in with back up and all of the Equalists, including Amon are being taken in by Bei Fong, oh yeah and she got her job back" Bolin said.

"What's wrong with Korra?" I asked, looking back to where she was, eyes still glowing, her face still contorted with rage.

"Nobody can get her out of the Avatar State! I tried, Tenzin tried, no one can do it!" he said, looking with worry over to where she was.

"I want to try" I said, wincing and I sat up again.

"No Mako. You are really hurt, you just need to wait here until the medics come" Bolin said.

"Bolin, Korra needs me. I think I can do it. Just help me over there so I can try. If it doesn't work I'll wait for medics but Korra needs help more than I do. She's vulnerable in the Avatar State" I told him. He looked at me wearily then lifted my arm over his shoulder and helped me walk to where Korra was.

"Mako! What are you doing?" Tenzin asked as we made our way over. He looked at me in shock. My face was bruised, my jacket was soaked with my blood, and I could barely walk.

"I need, to…try and help…Korra" I panted. The walk over had really taken a lot out of me. He just looked at me, then nodded sullenly. I somehow managed to lean against a stack of boxes under Korra and reach up to her. At this moment I was very grateful for my height and long arms, for I was able to touch my fingertips to hers.

"Korra' I croaked 'Korra its me Mako, I'm fine"

She lowered slightly and I was able to take her hand in mine. She whipped her back very suddenly and looked at me. I pulled her down and felt the wind encase me. She remained in the Avatar State, so I hugged her, I kissed her forehead, I stroked her cheek. Finally the wind started to slow and she landed fully on her feet. Her eyes stopped glowing and she looked at me for a second. Then she went limp against me, and I grabbed her to keep her from falling. I was not very strong and we both slid to the ground. I registered Tenzin and Bolin running to us just before I blacked out.