(Side Note: This story takes place in an alternate universe than the main one. We will start at Episode 11 and continue on. The only difference? Amon's backstory!)
Korra and Mako had completed their ascent, and found a figure slouching at the other end of the room. Their ambush had just failed: there was already somebody here. For some reason, he made her feel unsafe. As if she wanted to run away. Mako approached the figure cautiously, Korra feeling an urge to hide behind him. Instead, she walked alongside her friend, as he made her feel safe. His determined stance, his smooth posture made her feel like he knew what was going to happen next.
"Who are you?" Mako said, snapping his fingers and bringing forth a flame.
"My name is—" the figure began, as the two approached him. Korra interrupted the man with one scream:
"TARLOCK!"
The man sighed, and hung his head. Mako's jaw tightened, and the flame became bigger.
"Are there any other prisoners on the island?" the firebender asked, gritting his teeth.
"No. Just me." Tarlock sighed.
"And what makes you so special?!" Korra exclaimed, stepping forwards, filled with rage at this man who had kidnapped her.
"I know who Amon is." The former councilman spoke. A silence fell over the room, and the flame went out. Mako's face softened, and he exchanged a look with Korra.
"Who is Amon?" the young Avatar asked.
"Let me start from the beginning…." Tarlock spoke, his voice trailing off. Silence again.
"Today, please." Mako sighed. Tarlock's mouth opened, and he began speaking. His voice was warm, comforting. Suddenly, Mako, Tarlock, the entire room was gone. It was just Korra standing there, hearing his voice, feeling a warmth fill her. Her body relaxed, and she closed her eyelids to let the words take her away. She opened her eyes, and found herself standing ankle-deep in snow.
"What the—" she began. "Where's the tower?! MAKO?!" she cried out, stumbling around blindly in the storm. The Avatar spotted a hut in the distance, and slowly approached it. The light coming out of it was welcoming as well. She entered the hut, and then she vanished. Tarlock began speaking in a first-person tone to tell his story. Korra, still enraptured by his wonderful storytelling skill, became a young boy with tan complexion and crystal-blue eyes.
The young boy looked up and saw his mother, a kind and loving woman. He turned around and saw his father, Yakone. It was a skillful surgery that still astounded the boy, and his father was an amazing person. After losing his bending, he was able to reform and look back upon his actions.
"Tarlock!" the dad said warmly, and the two hugged.
"Did you get any food?" the mother gently spoke, brushing hair out of her face.
"You bet I did! Caught myself some nice fish, started a nice fire." Yakone laughed, holding up his capture.
"Can I come on your next hunting trip?" Tarlock asked. Of course, when Tarlock came, Yakone wouldn't hunt. He would teach his son waterbending…and bloodbending. It began when Tarlock was assaulted by a polar-bear dog on their first hunting trip. The young boy accidentally bloodbended the beast, and threw it aside. Once Yakone had subdued the polar-bear dog, he explained his backstory. Tarlock had been asking for bloodbending lessons ever since.
"Bloodbending leads you down a dark road. You are not to use this power for anything but emergencies, son! Do you understand me?!" Yakone had said. Tarlock had nodded eagerly, really just wanting to bloodbend. It was just the most amazing thing to have a skill that others didn't. Tarlock had a drive for power…and he finally found an advantage that he had over others.
Korra blinked, and found herself back at the top of the tower.
"Wait…what happened?!" she asked, her drive for power gone. She had suddenly grown, and her body was not her own.
"What do you mean, Korra?" Mako sighed.
"I'm sorry, let me resume." Tarlock said, taking a breath. The young Avatar stared at Mako.
"Who's Korra?" she asked. How did she get into this tower? Why was she a SHE? What happened to her hut in the Southern Water Tribe? Where was her loving father and gentle mother?
"Very funny." Mako snorted, before Tarlock began to speak once more.
"Hey, Tarlock. How would you like to see a pro-bending match?" Yakone asked excitedly.
"What's a pro-bending?" Tarlock responded.
"It's an emerging sport that's a hit! Tickets are getting more expensive by the day! I just bought some so that we can go, father and son." Yakone laughed.
"What about mom?" was all the tan boy responded.
"I have to look after the house. Bring me something nice when you get back!" his mother laughed. The two boys left for Republic City.
"What's this got to do with Amon?" the sky asked, as the two headed away.
"Patience, Mako. I'm getting to that part." The sky answered to itself. The two boys arrived in Republic City and headed towards the Pro-Bending Arena.
"You sure nobody will recognize you, dad?" Tarlock whispered.
"Yeah, I'm sure." Yakone grinned wildly. Suddenly, a loud voice pierced the air:
"TO ALL GOING TO THE PRO-BENDING GAME?! WHY WORSHIP A SPORT THAT REVOLVES AROUND BENDING?! WHAT HAPPENS TO US NONBENDERS, HUH?! WE LIVE IN A SOCIETY DOMINATED BY BENDERS JUST BECAUSE OF THEIR SUPERNATURAL ADVANTAGE! ALMOST EVERY JOB IS TAKEN BY THEM, YOU NAME IT! POLICE, POWER WORKERS, BLACKSMITHS, THE ONLY SAFE PLACE FOR US IS FUTURE INDUSTRIES, RUN BY HIROSHI SATO! THAT'S NOT ENOUGH FOR HALF THE POPULATION! IT'S TIME TO CHANGE THAT!"
"Yeah. The world would be a lot better without bending." Yakone joked, punching his son in the arm. The man with the megaphone looked over to the two.
"Take Yakone! His bloodbending was insane! But, without bending, he was harmless. Same with Firelord Ozai. Even the Avatar practices this method! But, there's just to many bad benders and issues with benders to take. Don't you think the world would be better without bending?" he asked. A young boy, Tarlock's age, walked from behind the adult and frowned.
"Well, I'm a bender, and I don't abuse people." Tarlock blurted out.
"When you grow up, you will. They all do." The kid whispered.
"I'm different!" Tarlock protested.
"Come on, Tarlock. It's time we moved on." Yakone sighed.
"No, you're not. People can't change just snippity-snap. You benders are all the same." The kid whispered back.
"Tarlock, we're going to miss the game!" Yakone protested, trying to pull away.
"People can change! Take my dad, he's—" Tarlock began, before his dad pulled him away. The two began leaving, and the man continued shouting through the microphone. Throughout the game, Tarlock kept thinking about what the man had said. As he walked out, in the huge crowd, he managed to lose his dad. He called for his father desperately, and eventually ran into the kid from earlier.
"Hey. I thought about what you said." The kid whispered.
"That people can change?" Tarlock asked.
"Yes. But, only when they are humbled. When their power is gone and they take a walk in our shoes and see the pain they have caused, they change. When their bending is gone, they can truly be good." The kid whispered.
"Whatever. You can't take away bending." Tarlock laughed, in response.
"Yes, I can." The kid whispered, before reaching into his pocket and producing a bottle.
"What is that?" Tarlock asked.
"This is spirit-water from the Northern Water Tribe. It has special properties, including that of healing and restoring chakra. Long ago, Katara used it on Aang's broken Avatar chakra and revived the Avatar spirit…and Aang. It wasn't until Aang was struck upon the injury in the final battle that the Avatar spirit was truly unlocked, however, because the chakra was still tangled up. The thing is: if I can somehow modify this to bend the chakra, then I'd be fine." The kid whispered. He suddenly produced a fluid motion that caused Tarlock to collapse.
"What are you—" the little boy gasped, before a blunt object hit him on the head.
In the basement of Future Industries, Tarlock was tied to a table. A kid stood over him.
"Wh-wh—" Tarlock gasped, his throat dry. The kid responded by holding up the Spirit Water.
"I've done it. I've added an ingredient that can take away bending." He laughed, and Tarlock noted the water was red. There was a pain in his arm.
"STOP!" Tarlock cried out, as the kid began to walk up. He wasn't going to lose his bending…NOT NOW! Tarlock's eyes widened, and the water began to glow. The kid grinned, and in a moment ,Tarlock's world went black again. Another blunt object. The boy woke up again, this time facing the boy.
"Congrats. You just made it easy for me. I just added a small disruptor to the Spirit Water, to mess up the spiritual balance within it. You fused the disruptor, causing the disruption within the Water to be perfect. This alone can help me take away a person's bending…permanently." The kid whispered. Tarlock found he was still tied up.
"Big whoop…you can take away one person's bending, and then you're done!" Tarlock spat.
"Wrong again." The kid noted, before holding up his wrist. A huge cut had been made in it.
"What…" Tarlock breathed in shock.
"This cut leads it to the right chi points in my hand. I'm going to alter my very own blood." The kid laughed, holding the water above the cut with his other hand.
"Why do you want me awake?" Tarlock gasped.
"Because you're going to bloodbend it." The kid whispered.
"No…I'm not, you monster." Tarlock said again. Suddenly, the protestor from earlier walked in, holding Yakone.
"Son, make daddy proud." The protestor grinned.
"If you don't bloodbend, your dad dies." The kid cackled.
"STOP! I'll do it!" Tarlock whimpered. His eyes widened, and the kid uncapped the spirit water with his thumb. The red liquid floated out, and into the cut. He then started bending the water and the blood simultaneously…as if they were one. The cut healed, and the kid's hand suddenly went limp and pale.
"It's done. And now, Tarlock. You'll be my first test subject." The kid laughed. Tarlock protested as the kid walked up, flexing his hand as if to restore feeling to it.
"STUPID NONBENDERS! STUPID EQUALISTS! YOU'LL ALL PAY!" Tarlock screamed, writhing on the table.
"Let the boy go." A new voice said. All eyes turned to the intruder. All eyes witnessed Toph Beifong, the chief of police. In a moment, metalbenders crawled into the room. During the fight, Toph herself untied Tarlock.
"My dad." The boy gasped, pointing to Yakone. But, the kid was somehow avoiding all the metal beams. He moved gracefully and swiftly, before bringing a metalbender to his knees. The kid then placed one hand upon the spine, and the pale hand upon the forehead. The chi points responded, and the metalbender seemingly blacked out. The kid was then subdued by the sheer amount of metalbenders themselves. The victim slowly stood up.
"Are you alright?" Toph questioned.
"More than alright. He's pure. He can't bend." The kid laughed as he and his father were carried out.
"Can't bend?" Toph said aloud.
"I'm sure it's nothing. Kid's insane." The metalbender mumbled.
After Tarlock and Yakone were escorted back to their mother, they were forbidden to ever go back to Republic City. But, Tarlock swore that one day he would return to Republic City and get vengeance of the monsters that had tied him up. He need power…and he would get it. He would save Republic City from the nonbenders, somehow…
Korra found herself back at the top of the tower.
"That's…insane. I never knew Amon was that psycho." Mako breathed.
"Well, that's that. We have to go stop him somehow." Tarlock sighed.
Korra just stared into empty space. Mako snapped his fingers in front of her face, and she snapped to attention.
"Right! We've got to stop Amon! Do we just wait here?" she asked.
"No. Go to the rally…he has the family hostage." Tarlock sighed. His voice was still a welcome pleasure, as if he was still telling a story.
"Which family?" Mako asked.
"We've wasted enough time! You guys might be too late! Hurry up and GO!" Tarlock yelled, and Mako and Korra ran out of the tower.
Outside, Korra missed Tarlock's voice somehow. Just the absence of his company made the atmosphere feel more unwelcome than it was before. Like Tarlock was a guilty pleasure that you never knew you wanted, and now you couldn't live without. The young Avatar seemingly forgot about his evil standpoint before they had met, and now wanted to talk to him more. He had drawn her in as a father. And like a little girl with a fatherly role model, she yearned to see him and talk to him again. But, she had to get her priorities straight. Next stop: The Rally.