A/N: Hello, lovelies! Long time no see. Unfortunately, as a college student that also works, it's very difficult to find time, motivation, and inspiration to write, so it has taken me far too long to update this story and even change it. Rest assured I have just about finished Chapter 13 and plan to update the story with a new chapter when I'm halfway through or done with Chapter 14.

Something that also held me back with this fan fiction is the fact that I first developed this before Legend of Korra was finished, and as it turns out, I really, really, really hate Legend of Korra. I couldn't stand the characters, the writings, the insane technological evolution and how the unique Eastern representation of various cultures became Westernized, or the numerous plots (and yes, I am aware that Nickelodeon was only greenlighting one season at a time, but there was still too much going on), and I was extremely upset with the ending. I wasn't sure how to incorporate spirits living in the human world and a dismantled Earth Kingdom monarchy into my story. In particular, the Earth Kingdom monarchy was always a major plot point that I didn't want to get rid of.

I have no intention of reading the ongoing LoK comic to figure out how the world will evolve following the cartoon's conclusion, so I've reworked some things to suit my narrative. I do want to stick to canon as closely as possible, but not everything will be the same. Basically, I have decided what has happened to the world between the end of LoK and Sarika's birth.

Another thing that I want to mention now (because it would be difficult to explain in the story) is that the current environment in Sarika's world is intended to be more 1950's-esque to match the technological explosion and 1920's aesthetic seen in LoK. However, things that were created in the Cold War, such as nuclear and atomic weapons, Internet, satellites, rockets, and space programs do not exist because of the lack of competitive incentive seen when the USSR was around (plus there's no need for other weapons of mass destruction when spirit energy can be used in such a way).

Lastly, the original antagonistic organization was going to be something of my own design, called the Scarlet Regime. However, I decided to incorporate the Red Lotus instead, but it's overall objectives have changed with the times and new leadership. I thought it would be easier to take an already established group and have them develop a new mission that matches what I intended the Scarlet Regime to be, and it will be explained why and how the Red Lotus changed in the story.

Whew, okay, I think that's everything. These reuploads are just a few tweaks to my writing and correcting mistakes, but I hope you will get excited for the next installment!

Sarika looked up at the Earthbender, through vision blurry with pain. There was a smile on the woman's face, and she laughed down at the young girl at her feet. She laughed at the girl who was completely at her mercy.

"So, Avatar, care to speak yet?" Tomiko sneered, clenching her fists tighter. Sarika cried out in pain as the rocks that enclosed her torso pressed tighter to her chest. That cry turned into a scream of agony as she heard the sickening crack of her ribs, cut short by a sharp, desperate intake of air. Her hands and feet were bound together by platinum chains as she lay on the ground, surrounded by sand she was too exhausted to Bend. Sarika offered no rebuttal to her jibe but a low groan of anguish. Even if she wanted to speak, she was in too much pain to do so.

Tomiko paused, then hummed thoughtfully. "But I suppose I must give you credit for holding out this long. It must be horribly hard to resist the Avatar State by this point."

Sarika knew she was right. After a month of constant torture, she still hadn't cracked, and it was beyond her how or why she had managed. Sarika was not strong or brave by any means. She was cowardly, clumsy, and she too easily let fear drive her actions. She was a poor excuse for an Avatar, and she knew that. She had been too scared to master the four Elements, to bear the responsibilities she was born with. She tried to ignore her status, her duties, and this was where it had led her. The world was falling into disarray because she did not know courage. She only knew happiness and a sheltered life. She was not prepared for any of this, nor did she want to be prepared. And this was the price she paid for her naïveté.

"I…trusted you…." she managed to rasp at her Earthbending teacher. Tomiko was one of only a handful of people Sarika felt she could depend on enough to reveal her true identity. And now here she was, in a secret base of the recently revived Red Lotus, being tortured in order to find the Grand Lotuses of the White Lotus and the location of a world leader in hiding. Just as well, she was being forced into the Avatar State so that she could finally be killed and break the Avatar cycle. Tomiko and the others did not care which came first.

Tomiko said nothing, and instead grinned. She spread her fingers, and the rocks fell away from the young Avatar's body. Her response was immediate. She gasped for air, each pant hurting, but she hardly noticed. She just needed air.

"Humph. Guess I can't get you to talk today, either." Tomiko tossed her black hair and shrugged before beginning to walk towards the door. "Damodar will be here shortly to tend to your wounds. I suggest you think about your options until then."

Sarika did not loudly weep, but tears ran down her cheeks. She hated Damodar, the man from the Southern Water Tribe. The way he healed her was painful, and he used her to practice his Bloodbending. He would touch her, skimming his fingers over the veins on her wrists, looking for exactly what and where to manipulate. He would cut her at a vein, and coax her blood to flow out of her body until she was unconscious, and she would wake up to the terror of him putting the blood back. She would rather lie there with broken ribs for months than let him heal her in a moment.

"Help…." she choked, hoping something would hear her. All her life, spirits had been Sarika's friends, more than any human had been. Being the adopted daughter of a man whose past generations had settled on a holy site to protect it, she never had trouble crossing into the Spirit World, even though there were no portals nearby. In fact, she went there often. Many spirits were concentrated at the shrine she tended to, and they played with her. They helped her. If she got hurt when playing outside, or when she got lost in the forest, they would heal her, feed her, and take her home. But no spirits were here to aid her now. It made her sad, but she couldn't blame them. This was a toxic, horrifying place.

The door in the platinum cell creaked open. Sarika looked up and into the cold blue eyes of Damodar, her body seizing in terror. "Please, Damodar.…" she begged, not below groveling for mercy. Her chest rattled with each word, rendering her silent with agony.

He grinned, a look of genuine happiness on his face. He came over to her and crouched down. "Don't worry, Avatar," he said with false kindness."I'll fix you right up. Tomiko is pretty mean, isn't she?" He set down the ceramic jar he had been carrying, and Bended out the water. It flowed over his hands and he eyed her curiously. "Where does it hurt?"

He was as sadistic as one could get. He truly enjoyed watching her writhe in pain. He liked treating her like a toy, seeing how close he could get to breaking her before stopping, repairing her, and starting over. Sarika wasn't entirely sure that he even knew what he was doing was wrong. She squinted at him, unable to see him clearly without her glasses or contacts, and tried desperately to convey her terror, hoping upon hope he would show even a minimal amount of pity and restraint.

She was disappointed again. Without another word he placed his hands on her chest. Immediately, she screamed. "Ah, so that's where it hurts! Alright, just sit still and I'll…."

If he said anymore, Sarika didn't hear over her shrieks of pain. He did not guide, but forced her ribs back into place, the cracks lining up before sealing like glue as water spread over her body and glowed. When he was done, she could hardly breathe. She stared, wide eyed with horror, at the Waterbender as he moved his hands towards her face. "No," she gasped, in no less pain than she was when her ribs were still broken. But he did not listen. He held her cheeks, and water flowed over her head, into her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.

She writhed and cried out as he healed her swollen eye and bruised cheek, and in her panic her legs, bound together, swept up and hit his side. He grunted slightly, and moved his hands away.

"No more!" Sarika wailed, feeling empty and shattered in a way she did not know existed. She struggled to breathe again, coughing up the water that fell into her throat. Breathe, breathe, breathe! she told herself, doing everything she could to refill her bruised lungs. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. She was so tired, and in so much pain she could hardly remember how. She turned on her side, shuddering. "Please…no more…."

Damodar seemed surprised. He leaned back on his knees and with a troubled frown said, "Really? Are you sure?" as if he didn't understand why Sarika was so distressed. The water on his hands flowed back into the jar. Then he smiled again and said, "Okay, Avatar, okay. I guess your healing session can wait until tomorrow."

Sarika glanced at him, hopeful and relieved, but her heart sank when he began crawling towards her and murmured, "I guess we can go straight to Bloodbending."

"No," she groaned, trying to move away from him. "Please, no…."

He hovered over her now, his eyes evil and grin wicked. With hands on either side of her face, he bent down towards her. She watched in horror as his lips pressed against her right temple. "I can feel your blood rushing," he whispered. "You need to calm down, Avatar. It's not healthy for your heart to beat this fast." His lips ran downward, over her cheek, until they reached her neck. He felt her pulse, and nibbled very slightly on the sweaty flesh over her carotid artery. And at that moment, something snapped in Sarika, and she felt something she hadn't felt in a very long time.

Anger.

She was so furious at him—at everyone—for violating her, betraying her trust, for hurting her. Or perhaps, her despair had finally reached its maximum and collapsed, and so it was replaced with fiery rage. But even so, this was a sensation unlike any other that she had felt, beyond the agitation and annoyance she knew of. This vibrated in her bones, raw and moving, causing her chi to flare with energy.

"Get away from me!" she roared in a voice not quite hers. Damodar reared back in surprise and gaped at her as a new strength flooded through her. She pulled her arms apart with enough force to break the platinum chains, and she did the same with her feet. Thoughts that weren't quite hers stirred in her. Thoughts of past lives that had been quick to anger, quick to fight back rose to the surface, after remaining dormant her whole life. They would pay. They would pay for treating her this way. They would pay for trying to kill her, for torturing her, for exploiting her. They would pay for their crimes as the Red Lotus, and Sarika would make sure they did.

She stood up, no longer feeling any pain. No more mercy, sadness, or agony. Now was the time she had to fight back. No matter what, she had to fight. Even if something horrible happened, she had to act. It was not her time to die. She had to break out, even if the situation worsened. Was it selfishness or selflessness that drove her? Did she merely want to survive, or live on to save the world? She didn't know.

Damodar scrambled backward, and she raised her hands. Immediately, the water from the jar burst out and flew towards her. She swept her left arm outward, and it froze into ice. She turned her arms above her head in a circle, and with her right arm pointed forward the water went around her and out, running along her arm and straight at the Waterbender, the frozen point gleaming.

She heard voices. Shouting. Screaming. People were flooding into the room now, all with their arms raised, ready to Bend, ready to kill. But it was not her time to die.

It's not my time to die, Sarika thought, and just before the ice reached Damodar, her vision went white, and she tumbled through the light into unconsciousness.