A/N: Now you all know why my Learning Lightning hasn't been updated recently. I've been working on this baby. I'm happy to say that I am really pleased with how this turned out. This is also going to be a multi-chapter fic. The first chapter is a bit long to see how people like the idea. Please let me know.

I apologize in advance for spelling errors. Part of this was transferred from a notebook and I probably didn't catch all of my typos.

Legend of Korra is not mine. It belongs to Nick and Bryke.

Korra's POV:

Amon had turned all of Republic City into a combat zone.

Mines had been placed all around the city. The people were in panic. Nonbenders had fled to the safety of the Equalist camps while benders struggled to find a safe place. Air Temple Island had opened its arms to benders who could make it there, but they were few and far between.

I was currently sitting at the dock at Air Temple Island. My feet were dangling over the edge and I was staring at the water. I was envisioning Amon in that water. I couldn't stand him anymore. All of this innocent bloodshed had to stop. We had to do something. But what? No one knew where Amon was. There were numerous Equalist camps around the city and he could be at any one of them. Or at none of them. He could have a secret headquarters underground somewhere for all we knew. To attack all the camps at once wasn't possible. We simply did not have the man power. A mission into the city, however, was suicide.

We were at a stalemate. Risk a few lives in a suicide mission around the city? Or risk a great number of lives ambushing all of the camps?

I didn't notice Mako until he sat down beside me. I glanced over at him and then back at the water. Mako reached up and put a hand on my shoulder and the usual flip I would have felt in my stomach at his touch wasn't there. We sat in silence for a while. "I don't know how much more of this waiting I can take, Mako." I said. "But I'll never be allowed off of this island. Tenzin thinks the city is too dangerous."

"Isn't that the Avatar's duty?" Mako replied. "Isn't the Avatar supposed to bring peace?"

"There's a difference between bringing peace and suicide." I replied. "If I die, the world will have to wait sixteen years before the next Avatar is revealed. The next Avatar would be an earthbender. Do you know how huge the Earth Kingdom is?" I looked over at Mako and held his unwavering gaze.

"It has to stop, Korra."

And so it was settled.

I didn't tell Tenzin I was leaving. I simply grabbed Mako, Bolin, and some supplies. I couldn't take Naga because she was under heavy White Lotus guard. Tenzin knew it was highly unlikely I would leave without her and it would be a dead giveaway that I was leaving if she were gone. So in order to get us across unnoticed I created an air pocket in the bay and we walked across the bottom of the bay. It took us a while, but we came above sea level at the docks. We quickly dashed across the docks and took shelter in a now abandoned house. Once we walked in I took a map from my pouch and spread it out across a table.

"So what's the plan?" Bolin asked as he pulled a chair up to the table and sat down heavily.

"Well the nearest Equalist camp is the Pro-Bending Arena." I began. I saw both of the brothers wince. "So we're here at the docks. All we have to do is get over here to the Arena without getting blown up."

"What about when we get there?" Mako asked.

"We try and go through the arena undetected and maybe pick up an Equalist or two for interrogation. Our main goal is to find Amon." I looked up from my map and locked eyes with first Bolin and then Mako. "I want to thank you guys for coming with me." I said quietly. "It means a lot that you would stick with me for this long. I'm glad I can call you guys friends."

"Please, Korra, you're making me blush." Bolin replied and fanned himself. A small joking smile was on his face. A red tint had risen to Mako's cheeks however.

"Alright. Let's do this." I said.

"Wait." Mako said suddenly. "Maybe we should wait for daylight."

"Won't it be easier to sneak around in the dark?" Bolin asked.

"I have to agree with Bolin, Mako." I replied.

"I bet the Equalist guard is doubled during the night." Mako replied. "If I were Amon I'd be expecting an attack in the middle of the night and I'd set up more guards at night than in the day. The daylight will also make it easier for us to spot places mines could be hiding."

"Hmm… Good point." Bolin mused.

"Then maybe we should try and get some sleep before the sun comes up." I suggested. "We still have a few hours."

Bolin looked over to his brother and Mako nodded. "Great! Because my feet are killing me from that walk over here." He picked his feet up and plunked them down on top of the table.

"I'll go look around the house and see what I can find." Mako said as he walked off.

I plopped down in one of the other chairs that was at the table. "You have huge feet, Bolin."

"Why, thank you!" Bolin replied with a toothy grin.

I also pulled my feet up onto the table, mimicking Bolin's relaxed position. But I couldn't help thinking about what we could be facing after our next few hours of peace passed.

"Korra?" Bolin asked. His feet hit the floor and he leaned his elbows on the table so he could take a good look at me. His joking expression was gone and he was all serious. "Are you alright?"

"I'm…" I was what? I was nervous? I was scared? I tried to sort out my feelings into one sentence. It wasn't Amon that scared me. Well yes, Amon scared me, but I knew it was my duty as the Avatar to defeat him. I felt tears well up in my eyes and my emotions burst out. "I'm absolutely terrified that I'm going to lose one of you two!"

Bolin quickly moved around the table and scooped me up into a giant bear hug. "Korra, you're not going to lose us. We're going to stay right here with you and you're going to defeat Amon and then we can go back to Pro-Bending and being our awesome selves."

"But what if something happens, Bolin." I asked as I wrapped my arms around the earthbender.

"Korra, you didn't force us to come with you. We're here because we care about you." Bolin pulled back slightly and made sure he was looking me in the eye. A slight pink rose to his cheeks. "We love you, Korra. Not just me, but Mako too."

My lip quivered and I put my face in Bolin's chest. "Shut up before you make me cry."

Bolin's POV:

I could still feel Korra next to me even though we had parted long ago. After she had yelled at me for almost making her cry Mako had intruded and announced that there was a bedroom with two beds. Mako had instantly said that he was taking the floor. No buts about it. So here I was, sprawled out on a bed that was missing its pillow and blanket so Mako had a little bit of comfort. It was the comfiest bed I'd ever been on, but I still couldn't sleep. Mako had been the first to fall asleep. (I swear he could fall asleep standing on his head. The only thing that woke him up from a deep sleep was a bucket of ice cold water being dumped over his head. Seriously. It was insane how soundly he slept. When he did sleep.) Korra had been soon to follow. She was curled up on her side with her back pressed against the wall and an arm tucked under her head as a pillow.

Then there was me. Bolin. The boy who never slept. I'm a horribly light sleeper unless I'm dead asleep from a Pro-Bending match or a hard practice. Or if I didn't sleep the night before because of a nightmare. But those had been getting few and far between.

I knew I wasn't going to sleep. My mind was going thirty miles a minute. I mean Korra had actually let me hug her. The only other time I'd hugged her was after the Equalist attack on the Pro-Bending Arena, but that had been for a brief moment. I'd held Korra in my arms. A sigh escaped my lips. What I wouldn't do to hold her again. Maybe on a happier note though. Not an 'I'm-about-to-face-certain-death' hug.

And that brought up another topic. One of us could very well die. I rolled over so my back was facing Mako and Korra. I wasn't going to let anything happen to Korra or Mako. Korra wasn't going to let anything happen to Mako (or hopefully me). And Mako was definitely not going to let anything happen to me or Korra. So where did that leave us? Did it make us more vulnerable? Or stronger?

I repressed a groan. I couldn't be thinking like that. Instead I focused on my breathing and tried to clear my mind. I counted koala-sheep. I thought about boring things like what it would be like to have to sit through a City Council Meeting. Or having to sit through school. Ugh. Mako and I had never been able to go to school. We'd taught ourselves to read and write and do simple math. When we started Pro-Bending Mako had invested in some more advanced books and we'd been teaching ourselves.

Oh Spirits. Advanced Arithmetic.

I was asleep in a few minutes.

But it only felt like a few minutes before Mako was shaking my shoulder. "Come on, Bo."

"Curse your internal dawn… clock… thing." I spluttered as I peeled my eyes open. I saw a smile cross Korra's face.

"Mako let you sleep in." Korra said as her lower lip protruded in a pout. "He wouldn't let me."

"Sleep in?" I asked. I was very confused.

Mako nodded. "We've got all the stuff packed." He pulled an apple out of the bag at his side and through it to me. I caught it easily. "We're ready to go as soon as you are."

I looked from Mako to Korra and back. "You guys didn't have to do that."

"Bolin, I've lived with you long enough to your sleeping patterns. Take it as a gift." Mako replied gruffly. He turned and started walking out of the room.

"Fine then, Mama Mako." I muttered under my breath.

Korra burst into a fit of laughter.

I grinned and then took a bite out of the apple. "Let's get going people! We have a bad guy to catch!"

-break-

"And remind me why we're just waltzing down the middle of the street? I thought the point of waiting until daylight was so we'd be able to sneak around easier?" I asked.

"Anyone in the streets is a target." Korra replied. "If we sneak around it's just going to make us a more suspicious target."

"And that's why we're wearing these disguises?" I assured.

"Yes." Korra nodded.

Mako had thought about it right before we left. We quickly raided the closets of the abandoned house and then continued out onto the streets. Mako was wearing a newsboy cap that looked similar to the one he owned except it was a dark green color. His scarf had been carefully hidden beneath a brown long sleeved shirt that had the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Korra had simply thrown a red tunic top over her normal clothes. She had also pulled all of her hair down. I had to admit; I liked her hair down a lot better than when she pulled it up. Since we had all traded elemental colors, I decided to go with a nice blue colored shirt that was almost exactly like the one I usually wore. I was wearing what Korra had called a fedora. It was a nice hat that fit comfortably on my head. I mean, I had to hide my trademark curl. We'd be sitting turtle-ducks if that weren't covered up!

We hadn't even been walking for an hour before we saw the Equalist Airships rise into the air.

"Inside! NOW!" Korra yelled.

We dashed into a nearby building and winced as the first bomb dropped. "How'd they find us so quick?" I asked.

"I don't think they found us." Mako replied. "I'm guessing it's just a routine sweep."

"This part of town doesn't look touched though." Korra responded.

Mako simply shrugged.

"Bolin, let's make some extra cover." Korra said.

"You got it, Miss Avatar." I agreed.

We both quickly created extra support columns for the roof above us as the resounding bangs from the bombs got closer and closer. Korra raise a slab out of the ground and I quickly made supports for it. He all crawled underneath and braced ourselves. I took a quick glance out the door of the home we'd just fortified.

It was Pabu. I knew it as soon as I saw the red fluff of a ringed tail. I yelled his name and started to dash out the door without a second though. I couldn't let Pabu out there when bombs were raining from the sky!

"Bolin, NO!" Mako yelled and tried to catch my elbow. His fingers only caught the fabric of my shirt. I ran out into the middle of the street. The ground was shaking. A bomb went off nearby and made my insides feel like they were outside. "Pabu!" I yelled. "Cam here, buddy!" I saw Pabu coming my way and reached out my arms to catch the furry bundle.

That's when the bomb went off directly to my left.

Or at least I assumed it was a bomb. It could have been a saber tooth moose lion for all I knew.

I was suddenly flat on my back staring up at the open bellies of the Equalist Airships. I couldn't hear anything except a loud and constant ringing that was banging around inside my skull. I didn't feel the pain until I tried to get up. My body seemed to explode into a million pieces. The pain hit with such intensity my whole world started to pitch and spin on its axis. I was pretty sure I was about to lose my breakfast.

Then I realized I must be making an awful noise. I couldn't hear it, but I could feel my air supply ripping through my throat. My lungs burned for oxygen and my eyes began to burn too. I called out for the first person that came to mind:

Mako.

And just as I thought of him, he was there with Pabu wrapped around his neck. I could see his lips moving, but all I could hear was the ringing in my ears. My lips kept forming his name. I felt the street quake again with a bomb. A burst of fear coursed through my veins. I forced my brain to cooperate with my mouth. I tried to form the words, "I'm sorry." Mako must have understood because he started shaking his head. I saw Korra's head come into focus beside Mako's. Her lips were moving too.

I wanted to tell them that I couldn't read lips.

Suddenly both Mako and Korra disappeared from view.

Pain. A pain so horrible I felt all the oxygen rip out of my lungs in a scream and black spots danced on my already blurry vision. I was moving and I wasn't sure how. All my eyes could see was the worn road. Then my scrambled brain put it together. Mako and Korra were carrying me.

The last thing I remember is feeling cold water surround me.