"All it takes is one choice, to completely change your future. The only question is… which way?"
They were darting away, running, bolting like their lives depended on it. An angry bloodbender was after them, so that was probably a fair statement…
"Get your family out of here, we'll take Amon!" Korra said rapidly. Tenzin nodded, and the airbenders vanished down a corridor. Korra and Mako glanced at each other, then sent a wave of flame down between themselves and the entrance to the arena. They had made it ten paces down the opposite turn, and Korra froze. The hallway had vanished, and for a moment, she saw only ice and desolation, with a bizarre pillar of light in the distance. She saw herself, desperately fighting the blurred shape of a man with glowing red eyes, fighting in a world she had never seen.
"Korra!" Mako hissed, grabbing her arm, pulling her up, forcing her to keep moving. "We have to go!"
"The smallest change… it can affect everything." A man's voice whispered. Korra turned, looked. No one was there. She let Mako pull her into a room, the firebender pausing only to lightly touch the door they entered through, preventing it from swinging out, giving away their location.
She had been so sure… they had had to stop Amon, whatever the cost. She thought back to what Tarrlock had told them. "I think he truly believes that bending is the source of suffering… he truly thinks he's helping people."
She stepped to the side of the doors, walking lightly, feeling heat in her hands, ready to hurl flames as soon as the door burst open. A storage rack served as cover, and she flattened herself beside it. Mako was tensed, crouched behind some construction supplies his hand in the classic lightning bending form. Very few people could take a lighting hit without suffer major heart damage, she knew… the electricity disrupted the natural electricity in the human body. She glanced around the large room, and again, the dusty brown walls faded away. She saw the three of them—Mako, herself, and Bolin fighting desperately against three equally skilled opponents, glowing green stones adorning the walls. That other Korra was in the Avatar state, but was barely holding her ground against… an airbender? That Korra wavered and clutched herself, screaming in pain, despite no visible wounds.
She blinked rapidly, and as simply as that, the dusty room had returned. The visions might've been her losing her mind, but she suddenly just knew what they meant, without reason or explanation for how she could. The door swung open, and a cloaked figure walked in, almost casually. He didn't even seem to look around, but just strolled toward the center of the room.
"Your brother thinks you truly want to help people." Korra said, taking a few steps after him. Amon paused, but didn't even turn. "I've had glimpses of the future, Amon... there are terrible enemies ahead. Great suffering. But you could help stop it, I think."
"You want me to believe the Avatar can see the future?" Amon laughed, turning, his face still hidden behind the red and white mask. "Are you attempting to bargain with me, child?"
"I think you have been trying to help these people, save them from some of the same abuses I've been trying to fight." Korra said steadily, her gaze meeting Amon's. "But bending isn't the cause of suffering. You want to talk about people harming others… how long before new, non-bending triads are using those electroshock gloves Sato came up with?"
"You actually think you'll talk me out of a movement I created in two minutes?" Amon asked, sounding amused. "Do you think I'm a child who came up with this after a playground fight?"
"I think you can see that people abuse power." Korra said, trying to keep her calm, betray no fear or desperation. "Like your brother, having my friends arrested when I stopped him from arresting innocent people, or your father, torturing his sons."
"Ironic that my own brother turned into an example of what I am here to fight." Amon remarked, a hint of regret in his voice. "But he abused his bending, just as many others have before him. Look at your own predecessor, Avatar. His people utterly wiped out by firebenders. If someone like me had been around, his culture would still be alive."
"So make everyone helpless, so they can't hurt anyone, like mental patients in padded cells?" Korra said, a small jet of fire the size of a knife springing from her hand. His hand twitched, and she felt a surge of fury. "Why don't you just put the whole world in straightjackets, Noatock!" Behind her, she could hear the air crackling as Mako bent a lighting bolt. The hooded figure was utterly still for a few moments longer, then one hand reached up—and removed the mask.
"What are you suggesting then, girl?" Noatock asked. Across his face was a huge red… scar? No, the skin wasn't deformed, just red. Paint? "You think I will surrender myself to your precious counsel for judgment? Let things just continue the way they have always been?"
"No." Korra said. "I was hoping you'd be willing to work with me, instead of against the world. Like at the bending tournament. You paid the referee to let the Wolf-bats break every rule, didn't you?"
"Obviously." Noatock said.
"Because you knew they deserved to be punished, and we had played fair, and hence, didn't." Korra said steadily. "So why not play the same way in the real world? Why not just punish those who actually have abused their power and wronged others?" Noatock didn't speak, didn't move, his face almost as unreadable as the mask had been. "The Festival is coming up for the Southern Water tribe… I'll be going home for it. My father is the chief—leave a message with him, and we can meet there."
It was the hardest few steps she had ever taken… but Korra turned around and walked away, pausing only to hold the door open for Mako. The door swung shut behind them, and did not open again as they strode away. Mako had one simple question.
"What. Was. That?"
So, what do you readers think? A plot worth more words, or nay? All constructive criticism is appreciated! Please leave a review with your thoughts.