A/N: Any comments/critiques are welcome and encouraged. I'm new to writing fanfiction so any feedback would be great. You can comment on here but I'm much more active on my Tumblr (tigersaurusex). I post my fanfiction on there as well.

Slowly, carefully, the newspaper lowered to the table. A clenched fist landed on top of it. A teacup rattled from the blow, almost toppling over and spilling its precious contents. The angry woman apologized to no one in particular, and carefully settled the cup back on its saucer. Green eyes scanned the newspaper again. Maybe she had misread.

But the headline stayed the same, and the anger rose again. "I leave those fools alone for one day." Eyes narrow, fingers tap irritably on the table. No more fists, but she does feel like punching something. "One day!" Her hand flies wildly through the air.

No longer in the mood for tea, the ex chief stands up. She curses herself for thinking that the others would be okay without her. She had wanted to relax for a couple days, to get used to life without babysitting the police force all day. She hadn't realized that the Avatar would need to be babysat as well. Then again, it's not surprising. The Avatar's punch first, think later attitude was bound to get her in trouble.

And now Lin would have to save her, yet again.

She wasted no time. She no longer had her metalbending uniform, but she knew something that would work just as well.

It had been a long time since she'd opened the wardrobe she kept it in. A layer of dust had settled upon it. Tears threatened to pool at her eyes, but now was no time for them. She held them back, and with arms that felt like lead, she put on her mother's old uniform.

It wasn't a perfect fit. It was a little loose. When she was younger, she would put the uniform on while her mother was out shopping or doing other errands. She would dream of the day she would be big enough to fill out the coat. The day her hips would fit snugly in the waistline of the pants. But it seemed her mother's boots would always be just a little too big for her.

She placed her hand on the coils of metal at her hips. She remembered the day she had proposed the uniform upgrade. It was right after she replaced her mother as chief. Moving the coils to the back of the uniform had seemed logical to her, but everyone praised her and called her a genius. She could remember perfectly the look upon Toph's face. 'That's my girl!' A gentle punch to her shoulder. Then a hug. It was a little harsh, strong and tight. But it was full of love, just like her mother. And then, whispered into her ear so only they could hear, 'I'm so proud of you. You're going to be a great chief, Lin.' She could still smell her mother's earthy scent, could feel her fingers digging into her back. Lin always wanted to say something about that, to tell her mother not to hold on so tightly.

She pulled herself from the memory. It had been a long time since she'd thought about her mother. She felt kind of guilty. A great woman like her deserves to be remembered. She silently vowed to visit her grave soon. To bring fresh flowers and maybe to talk to her a little bit. The idea of talking to a lifeless body buried in the ground had seemed silly to her at first, but it really had helped her when her mother first passed. Now it was a simple comfort.

Five minutes later, and Lin was ready to go. She had no idea where to start. Luckily it was dark out, so she wouldn't have a problem moving around the city. She would just have to be careful to stick to the shadows.
Lin left her apartment building from the back entrance, not wanting anyone to see her. She debated walking through the alleys, but quickly scrapped that idea. There were too many street rats who would instantly recognize her. She didn't have time for any detours.

With a quick swing of her arms, the metal coils shot from their cases. Working with the ropes at her hips would take a little getting used to, but Lin had been in worse situations. The ropes latched to the top of the nearest building, and she propelled herself to the roof.

She scanned the city, but it seemed the same as always. She ran through her options, but without any leads she wasn't going to get anywhere. She didn't even know who had taken the Avatar. Most likely Amon and his chi-blocking army. As much as it pained her to admit it, she was going to have to seek a little bit of help. Her gaze slowly scanned the horizon, until they settled on the island in the distance.

If anyone had knowledge about what had happened to the Avatar, it would be Tenzin.

—-

"You're sure?"

"I spoke with the council today. He was suspiciously absent. Korra was so upset with what he's been doing recently, and her poor friends being arrested so unfairly…. she probably went to confront him." The airbender trailed off, grief in his eyes. Lin could tell he blamed himself.

"Hm." Her gaze drifted outside. A flurry of movement caught her eye. "Is that the girl's polar bear-dog out there?"

Tenzin was obviously thrown off by the question. "Yes. The police found her wandering the streets morning. The poor thing was so distraught. We had to chain and muzzle her so she would stop attacking everyone. We've tried calming her down, but she's pretty upset." Tenzin paused. He raised his arm, meaning to place it reassuringly in Lin's shoulder, but the metalbender blocked the move as if he were going to hurt her.

"Don't, Tenzin. I don't need your pity." Lin let out a small sigh and stepped towards the door. "Thank you for your help." She turned, took another step.

"Wait, Lin." He reached towards her, but dropped his hand before it got too close. "You aren't going to try and save her yourself, right?"

"Well obviously you have no plans to save her, so what choice do I have? She can't die, Tenzin. The city needs their Avatar." Before Tenzin could reply, Lin stomped out the door and slammed it shut behind her. The crash of the door against its frame was comforting to Lin. She didn't have time to waste on Tenzin. He had already told her all she needed to know. And he wasn't going to chase after her now. He knew what that slamming door meant. He had seen it before, and Lin was sure the lily livered airbender would see it again in the future.

—-

Lin slowly approached the polar bear-dog. "You're Naga, right?"

Naga growled at Lin's approach. She tried to snap at the woman, but her muzzled snout wouldn't open. She shook her head, as if the movement would knock the muzzle off.

"Shh, Naga. You're worried about the A- er… Korra, right?" The polar bear-dog stopped struggling at her master's name. She looked longingly at Lin, and whimpered a little. "You seem like a smart girl. I bet you have a great nose on you, eh?"

Naga's tail wagged at the praise. She sat down, leaning her head slowly towards Lin. The ex chief smiled, patting the creature on her head. "These fools don't know the first thing about tracking down a rebellious teen. But you and me, girl, we know everything there is to know on the matter." Lin easily used her metalbending to free Naga from her chains. The muzzle took a little bit of time since it was made of leather and had a frustratingly tight knot securing it in place, but after a bit of tender manipulation, it fell to the ground.

Naga pressed her head against Lin, and gave her a big, slobbery lick from her toes to her head.

"Oh gross." Lin couldn't help but laugh. "You're just as bad a hugger as my mother."