This was bad. They'd been in tight spots before. But this was by far the worst. Mako looked over at his brother and where he assumed Korra was fighting. The Equalists had surprised them. And he thought they were safe for the day.

He forgot how much they hated him and his brother. Not only were they benders, but they were friends with the much-hated Avatar. Dealing with them would be a blow to Korra. He beat back the Equalists that surrounded him and tried to quell a growing rage. He wouldn't let anyone use him to hurt his friend.

He tried to get over to where she was. Bolin was doing the same. If they could all just get together, they'd be fine. They fought best together.

The Equalists seemed to know this. The first thing they did when they caught them was break them apart. And now their goal was to keep them apart. He heard Korra cry out in pain.

"KORRA!" Bolin screeched before being electrocuted himself. Mako cringed. The two people he cared most about were being hurt. And he couldn't save them like he wanted to. It made him so mad.

He was so focused on his failings that he let down his guard for a second, and that was all the Equalists needed. The closest near him thrust his rod forward and Mako felt an agonizing pain as he was electrocuted. He didn't hear his scream, but he felt it tear out of him.

There was a louder moan though. Naga… She was in trouble. Mako tried to clear his thoughts. Korra would be inconsolable if Naga were hurt. He had to get over to that stupid polar bear-dog before anything bad happened.

He tried to move, but he couldn't. He was hurting so badly. He turned to his stomach and began to crawl towards the general direction of Korra's pet. He was constantly expecting someone to hit him or stab him or electrocute him or something… But nothing was coming. He was slowly regaining his strength and even had enough to turn his head to see why he wasn't being bombarded with attacks.

None of them were looking at him. They were standing and seemed to be prepared for some sort of attack. Mako followed their line of site and saw there was a ring of knocked out Equalists lying around Korra. He wasn't surprised to see her finally fight her way out. She was Korra after all.

Except this wasn't exactly Korra. There was something different about her. And it wasn't a happy difference. It was terrifying. She slowly scanned their enemies and as she did he got a look at her eyes.

They weren't their normal pretty blue. They were glowing white-blue disks. He had heard rumors that the Avatar could become something… more, but he hadn't believed them. But now he was seeing proof.

Bolin was over by his side. When had gotten there, he didn't know. But his brother seemed less hurt than he did. Bolin slipped an arm under him and hoisted him to his feet. Supporting him he started to inch over to where an injured Naga lay. "We've got to help her!" he shouted.

They heard a huge rushing sound and slowly turned around to where Korra was standing. The water from the harbor was bearing down in cascades on the Equalists and they were scrambling out of the way to avoid being swept out to sea. He and his brother stood in awe. They had never seen bending on this scale before. They were shaken out of their stupor when they heard a groan waft towards them and they remembered the injured Naga.

They limped over to where she lay and Bolin started to calm her down. He was good with animals. Mako unsteadily stood on his feet. He couldn't stop staring at this new Korra.

For the first time that night, he was glad to be outside the city. If they were any closer he could barely imagine what damage Korra would be causing. As it was, the damage to the landscape was devastating.

The Equalists were running from her now, pulling injured comrades behind as they fled her power. Soon they were nothing more than small specks in the distance.

Mako took a shaky step forward. Korra hadn't calmed down. She was still scary. He had to get her to calm down before she hurt someone innocent or worse, herself. He had never really gotten used to seeing the bruises and cuts that she got from fighting with him and his brother. The thought that she could really hurt herself more was terrifying.

Bolin was urging him to hurry why he struggled to keep Naga from hurting too badly. Mako didn't need any encouragement, but he was glad that his brother was there, watching his back.

It seemed to take eons to reach Korra. She didn't look his direction and the aura of power didn't dissipate as he approached. He almost turned back, but the thought of her and Bolin laughing and her teasing him and her laugh kept him going. He had to help her.

When he reached her he tentatively reached out to touch her. She didn't react to the contact. He used her arm to support himself as he got nearer to her and slowly pulled her to him.

"Hey," he whispered. "Naga's fine." He pulled her into a hug. At another time he would probably be panicking at being this close to her. He didn't get close to people, let alone girls, let alone beautiful girls that could literally crush him. But this was Korra, and she needed him. "Hey…" he said and rubbed her back. He had a vague memory of his mother doing this for him when he was small and sick. It had always made him feel better, maybe…

She looked at him as her eyes faded back to their deep blue. She slumped in her arms and he collapsed under the strain. He kept her from hitting the ground though. She groaned as she slowly regained consciousness. "Hey," he said.

"Hey yourself," she muttered petulantly before slipping back to unconsciousness. She was hurt from the attack. To be honest, she looked as bad as Mako felt. He turned to yell at his brother to help him, but his brother and once again snuck up behind him. Bolin bent down and helped him put Korra on Naga's back. Naga wasn't that badly hurt after all.

She whimpered and knelt down. They brothers stared at each other and it took them a moment to realize she wanted them to come with. They doubted she could carry them all. They were about to refuse when Naga growled. Bolin looked over at him and shrugged and they hesitantly climbed on her back.

Mako was supporting Korra and Bolin was trying to find some room to fit behind them. They were pleasantly surprised that she easily could walk with the three of them. They were less pleasantly surprised when she jumped into the harbor and began to swim to Airbending Island, soaking them all to the bone.

Mako steadied Korra as they landed. She almost slipped into the water. "Whoa, there," he muttered more to himself than her. He held her close to him as Naga paddled her way to the Island. He didn't know she was awake until she weakly slapped him. "Put me down," she demanded. Mako didn't know whether to do as she said or not.

Luckily for him, Bolin answered for him, "Don't you dare! Korra, you're hurt."

She slumped forward again. "I'm fine," she declared.

"No you're not," the brothers said in sync.

Korra was about to protest again when a spasm racked her body. Mako held her tightly as Naga furiously swam towards the Island. "Just hang in there, okay?" he whispered.