A/N So this is my first time attempting an LoK fic. After suffering many weeks from Korra-withdrawal (though I am even more pumped for season 2 after the previews from Comic Con came out), I turned to writing to fill the void. This is the result. This will be a multi-chapter story (5 chapters in total, 2 of which are already written and I'm working on the other 3). This first chapter contains portions of episodes 8, 9, and 10, but is largely based on episode 12. The subsequent chapters occur during episode 12 as well. Be warned, this first chapter is pretty lengthy, but there are breaks between scenes. Future chapters won't likely run this long. Reviews are more than welcome, including constructive criticism.
Chapter One: Taken
Too much was taken too soon.
It was too soon for Mako's world to fall apart. He was too young to bear the burdens of protecting and providing for both himself and his brother. When his parents died, his childhood died with them: his safety, security, and everything he'd even known, lost in a single night.
Years of using the pavement as a pillow and of never knowing when or where the next meal would come from molded Mako into a serious, calculating young adult. Necessity brought out his quick-wit, his strength, and enforced his resolve to think with his head and not his heart.
Mako worked odd jobs wherever he could, scoured for food, and did everything in his power to shield his brother from the cruelties of the world. For nine years that was all he could do, until the day Toza, the head of the Pro-bending gym, saw the boys fighting some thugs in the street. Recognizing their bending talents, the old man took the teenagers in, and after a year of training, the Fire Ferrets were ready to compete in the Pro-bending League.
Mako and Bolin had a roof over their heads, beds to sleep in, and though money was often short due to the trumped-up fees and expenses of the pro-bending business, they were always able to put food on the table. They finally had a shot at a better life.
Mako slowly pieced his shattered world together again.
And then the Avatar came crashing into his life, disassembling the firebender's fragile establishments with her openness and recklessness, her stubborn strength and passion for life.
At first she infuriated him and he infuriated her. They were opposites in so many ways, yet more alike than either cared to admit. Where Mako approached with caution, Korra acted rashly. Where she spoke honestly, he hid his emotions. And even though she sometimes annoyed him, he admired her. He learned from her and she learned from him, little by little breaking down his barriers and becoming an irreplaceable part of his life. She took the broken existence he knew and reassembled it, proving to him that trust and hope and happiness could exist in his life. She freely offered her friendship, and with it her loyalty and love.
Mako still berated himself for taking such a gift for granted and threatening to cut his ties to Korra over her suspicion of Hiroshi Sato. Korra stood by him through thick and thin, and he repaid her with ingratitude and a preference for another girl. He didn't deserve her forgiveness, but she gave him that unconditionally, too.
Her generosity baffled him. Mako had never known anything to come without a price, and though Korra asked nothing in return, instead attempting to bear her burdens, and those of the entire world, on her own, his attachment to the Avatar ultimately cost him. And the deeper he fell for her, the heftier a sum he paid.
He could handle fighting chi-blockers and corrupt politicians and spending the night in jail. He'd had his share of scrapes and scuffles growing up on the streets. But he never planned to invest so heavily in a girl of seventeen who battled danger on a daily basis and housed the most incredible power on the planet and loved pro-bending and fighting and had turned his life upside-down.
She'd worked her way into his heart and made him vulnerable, and then all it took was a handful of words to destroy Mako's carefully-constructed world.
"Korra's in trouble. Amon captured her."
His blood ran cold at Lin Beifong's statement. His mind rebelled against the information.
"No. No, she can't be gone."
Not Korra. Not his fearless, brave, headstrong teammate, his first and closest real friend in the world. She couldn't be gone.
He realized then that Korra wasn't just a part of his life, she was the center of it. She was a piece of the puzzle Mako never knew he'd been missing and the picture could never be complete without her.
Never seeing Korra's smile again, never hearing her laugh, never feeling the warmth her presence brought to everything-
Mako shook his head, forcing the dark thoughts away. He had to stay calm, though everything in him screamed in panic. Finding Korra was all that mattered in those moments. Finding her, bringing her back safe and sound- he had to focus on that. If he let his thoughts wander, he'd go crazy.
She'd been taken, so he'd find her.
Mako'd always felt that his tough-as-nails friend was somehow invincible, untouchable, but the scratches that zigzagged along Korra's arms and face proved how very wrong he'd been.
And he vowed, as he held her hand in his, that he would stay by her side no matter what lie ahead for them. He could no longer fathom his life without the young Avatar in it.
Too much had been taken from Mako in his life, but Korra helped him find hope and happiness again. He'd be damned if he let someone take her from him, too.
It felt like the weight of the earth pressed against his body. Every voluntary twitch of a muscle took all the strength Mako had as Amon's bloodbending held him to the ground.
Mako thought the hours Tarrlok held Korra captive were the most frightening of his life. But this, this was worse. Where before the extent of Korra's pain and suffering had been left to his imagination, where he could, with much force, push the worst fears aside, here he could not deny what he saw.
He had to watch, helpless, as Korra writhed in pain, the source of her struggle just a few feet away and him unable to do anything to stop the fiend.
Mako willed himself to move, willed himself with all the power he possessed, fueled by immeasurable hate for the masked man as he forced the Avatar's head back and touched her neck and forehead. Mako wanted to snap those filthy fingers off.
"Korra!" he called, trying and failing to reach for her.
She yelled, powerless to stop her enemy, then trembled violently and crumpled to the ground.
"I told you that I would destroy you," Amon said triumphantly. "Finally, you are powerless."
Korra rose to her knees and instinctively punched forward, but no element followed her movement, and she collapsed again.
The arrival of the Lieutenant averted Amon's attention, affording the firebender a brief moment of heightened control. He tried in vain to crawl towards Korra, but even with his focus elsewhere, Noatak's power kept both teenagers down. Mako's eyes widened in horror as the Equalist leader snapped the neck of his own right-hand man, terror like the firebender had never known making his blood run cold. We have to get out of here.
Amon's cruel eyes turned again to the young man. Mako used his full concentration, every bit of self-control he could exert, to fight against sheer terror and search inside himself to direct the energy within. And when Amon came just close enough, he struck.
The bloodbender screamed in pain as lightening coursed through his body, flinging him back against a wall. Free of Amon's grip, Mako shot two blasts of fire, trapping the enemy beneath a pile of wood. He wasted no time in scooping Korra into his arms and breaking for the exit. Every moment mattered. If Amon would kill his most loyal follower, he wouldn't hesitate to kill them, too. He had to get her out. He had to get them somewhere safe.
"Mako, my bending," Korra said quietly.
"Everything'll be alright!" he assured, sprinting down the hall. "We just have to get out of here!"
An invisible force tugged Mako back, throwing Korra forward. Pain shot through his back, his stomach, his sides, and his head as he collided with the walls, the ceiling, and crumpled on the floor.
"I'm impressed," Amon said, forcing the firebender's body to contort unnaturally. "No one has ever gotten the better of me like that. It is almost a shame to take the bending of someone so talented. Almost."
Mako braced himself for the loss of his bending, hoping Korra could at least use the chance to get away. He should have known better. Korra would never leave him.
A sudden gust of wind blew both Mako and Amon down the hall.
"No, that's impossible!" Amon shouted, disbelieving.
"I can airbend?" Korra asked aloud, just as taken aback by her powers. "I can airbend!"
A surge of hope and pride filled Mako as he watched the newly discovered airbender blast Amon back, yet again astounded by this beautiful, strong, amazing woman. He grit his teeth in anger and went to aim a fireblast at the monster when Korra's body again contorted under the bloodbender's control.
Amon was strong, but Korra was stronger.
"No. You. Don't!" Forcing a last surge of energy, the Avatar kicked towards the enemy and the air followed her motion.
Glass flew around them as the masked man crashed through the window and fell towards the bay, but that only held Mako's attention for a moment as Korra leaned against the wall, hissing in pain.
"Korra." He ran towards her, catching her before she hit the floor. He held her firmly as they made their way to the window to see what had become of Noatak.
Angry shouts filled the street below, first directed at the Avatar, then at the deceptive leader of the Equalists as he revealed his bending abilities. Blue eyes met blue, and they knew this marked the end. Mako fired at the coward as he fled, but not fast enough. Amon got away.
Korra sighed, falling into her companion's arms in pure exhaustion. Mako held her close and glared at the water, full of resentment for the man that had nearly taken her from his life.
I love you, he thought, pressing his nose into her hair and kissing the top of her head. No one's taking you from me.
While Amon's mask floated in Yue Bay, Korra assumed a mask of her own. She managed to hide her brokenness the rest of day by wearing a tired, numb expression as she explained what had happened to the others (her friends, General Iroh, the police) again and again mechanically.
She went to bed early, which no one questioned. Her battle and the subsequent healing sessions (which she could no longer perform herself) had left her physically exhausted. No one commented on the emotional toll of the day. The others thought it best to give her space, to let her rest and sort the problem of her bending out another day.
Mako watched her go, gold eyes fixed on her retreating form as a battle of indecision raged in his mind. Should he believe her words and let her rest? No. He knew Korra put up a front to hide her hurt. But what could he say, what could he do that would make her feel better? How could he comfort her when it was he who'd failed to protect her from this pain?
A delicate hand landed on his shoulder, redirecting his gaze to the green eyes of Asami.
"You should go to her." She spoke softly, but without hesitance.
"Asami-"
"It's okay. Really." And she meant it. A look of sadness still lingered in her gaze, but understanding and acceptance replaced the heiress' earlier hurt. They understood that their parting before the battle marked the end of their relationship. "We're still friends," Asami stated, answering his unspoken question. "And as your friend and Korra's, I'm telling you to go. She doesn't need to be alone, no matter what she says. She needs you."
"Thank you," Mako said sincerely. She nodded and with a small smile returned to the others while he headed to Korra's room. He knew where the Avatar slept from his frequent visits to her bedside throughout her recovery. The grounds of the island were silent and empty, even for a temple, as most Air Acrolytes had fled before the battle and had yet to return.
The firebender quietly approached the teenage girl's room lest she should actually be sleeping, but soon found such caution unnecessary. The thin sliding door of Korra's room couldn't contain her shouts and sobs of frustration. Mako's heart twisted in his chest at the sound, so without knocking, without thinking, he opened the door and rushed inside.
She laid on the bed, curled into herself and facing the wall. Her shoulders shook visibly as she wept alone, even her furry companion Naga absent from the room.
"Korra," Mako croaked, throat constricted as tears stung the corners of his own eyes at seeing his love in such a state. She didn't seem to hear him. He approached her bedside, cautiously placing his hand on her arm. She jerked out of his grasp, curling further into herself.
"Go away!" she sobbed, her words barely comprehensible between her staggered breaths.
"Korra, don't push me away, please." He begged her not to hide from him, gently pulling her hands away from her face and grasping them firmly in his own. He slowly coaxed her into his arms and held her tightly as she cried into his chest.
"Korra, look at me," he pleaded, cupping her face with his hands. "Don't give up. You are the strongest, most amazing person I've ever known. It's going to be okay."
A few months ago, even a few weeks ago Mako wouldn't have dared to use that overused expression of comfort for fear they would be empty words. But he knew now that it wasn't a lie. He'd make it true.
Whatever it took, however long it took, Mako vowed to see Korra smile again and be whole again. I love you more than anything in this world. He could feel the words on the tip of his tongue. He wanted her to know she was the same brilliant, beautiful, maddening girl he loved with or without her bending, but in that moment her light was eclipsed by grief. It would be selfish to tell her now, he decided, so he held back his words. He'd help her find her spark again. He'd dedicate every day of his life to her happiness.
"You don't know that," she cried, dissolving into a fresh wave of heart-wrenching sobs. The young Avatar had no strength left to give, and so Mako gave her his.
"It will be okay," he repeated firmly as she cried into his shirt. He held her fiercely, protectively, wishing his embrace could shield her from all the pain. "I promise you. You'll get through this. We'll find a way." He pressed a long kiss to her forehead. "It's over now. It'll be okay."
The girl could only nod wearily, too exhausted to refute his words. Too overcome by the events of the day to ponder or protest his actions as his lips moved gently across her face, kissing away her tears. Too numb to register the small leap of her weary heart, the tiny spark of warmth in her stomach each time his lips touched her skin.
Korra clung to him and she clung to his promise. She needed hope. Hope that somehow her bending could be restored, that things would finally be alright, that maybe Mako's care and concern went beyond feelings of friendship.
They had to believe something would be given where so much had been taken.