AMS

YOU CAN'T HOLD THE AVATAR BACK FOREVER

"Wait a minute, these people aren't armed or dangerous," pointed out Asami to the rest of Team Avatar.

Korra looked around disbelievingly. These were just normal people who wanted their power turned back on so they could go about their business!

"Mommy look! It's the Avatar," said a small child.

A woman carrying a baby suddenly turned to look at Korra. The woman's face had lines etched into her skin, making her look older than what she really was. She pushed her way to be at the edge of the barrier that kept them all at bay.

"Please, help us! You're our Avatar too," pleaded the woman.

That was all it took for Korra to fully realize that these people weren't equalists. Frowning, Korra shoved aside two metalbending officers to look out at the crowd.

"Everyone please calm down! I'm gonna put a stop to this!" Korra called out in an attempt to calm down the frazzled nonbenders.

It seemed to work since they all stopped yelling and instead turned to each other to ask if everyone was alright. Korra and Team Avatar went and found Councilman Tarrlok talking to a metalbender near a lit up tent. The fact he had electricity and not these innocent people fueled Korra's anger more, but she did her best to stay calm since getting upset now won't solve anything.

"Tarrlok, you need to turn on these people's power and leave them alone," ordered Korra.

"Avatar Korra, you and your playmates have no business being here. And we won't turn back on their power. These people are equalist conspirators," spat Tarrlok.

Asami stepped forward, frowning.

"These people aren't equalists. They're just normal people who want their rights back," pointed out Asami.

"They are the enemy! Round up all these equalists!" angrily shouted Tarrlok.

In complete unison, the metalbenders stomped their feet on the ground, lifting a bunch of nonbenders at once as the nonbenders screamed, the free ones running away in fear.

"Stop!" shouted Korra, a bit panicked as she stomped her own feet on the ground, getting the nonbenders back on the earth so they could escape.

Growling, Tarrlok bent water around Asami's wrist, pulling her towards him.

"Hey!" Asami protested.

"You're under arrest," announced Tarrlok as a metalbender cuffed her.

"What? You can't do that," Mako said, pointing his finger at the crooked councilman.

"Actually, I can. She's a nonbender out past curfew and her father is a known equalist supporter. Arrest him and his brother, too!" ordered Tarrlok.

Metalbender cops grabbed and cuffed Mako and Bolin.

"TARRLOK!" shouted Korra with much venom in her voice as she lifted huge chunks of earth in a threatening manner, but Tarrlok remained unfazed.

"Unless you want to join your friends in prison, I suggest you put those down and go back to Air Temple Island," calmly said Tarrlok with a hint of irritation in his voice to let Korra know he means business.

"Listen to him, Korra. We'll be alright," called out Mako.

"Don't worry I'll call Tenzin. He can get you out," Korra called back as she turned back for Air Temple Island.

The following events that happened, Korra never would have guessed any of it would have ever transpired. All she had meant to do was talk some sense into Tarrlok into releasing her friends. But it had turned out that he only wanted to get to her. She was smart to turn him down, she thought. But, oh so stupid for staying any longer after that and without telling anyone where she was going. Now, she was trapped in a metal box. Her only company was Tarrlok.

"I know how you bloodbend without the full moon. You're Yakone's son," smugly said Korra as she finger combed her hair, wincing at the pain.

Her clothes and body needed to be washed and mended.

"If only I knew how to metalbend," Korra thought bitterly.

"I was his son. But in order to win over Republic City, I had to become someone else. My plan was perfect. I was to be the city's savior. But then you came along and ruined everything," growled Tarrlok.

Korra smirked from inside the box. She could feel her freedom closer than expected. She figured all she had to do was nudge him in the direction of letting her go.

"If he does let me go, I won't even beat him up. I'll just run to the city as fast as I can," she thought to herself.

"Oh no. I'll escape, and make a new identity for myself, and I'll take you as my hostage," responded Tarrlok.

That was definitely not what Korra had wanted to hear, nor did she expect him to say something like that.

"You'll never get away with this! Tarrlok!" shouted Korra.

Tarrlok smirked as he headed up the stairs, but the smirk fell and his eyes widened as he saw Amon and chi blockers upstairs, waiting for him.

"As soon as I take his bending, I want you all to electrocute the metal box before opening it. Remember, do not underestimate her," ordered Amon.

"You fools," Tarrlok chuckled out, "You've never faced bending like mine!"

Amon's eyes widened in fear. He hadn't planned for bloodbending. Tarrlok's smirk grew wider as he made all their arteries burst, killing them all. From inside her box, Korra started panicking as she tried to teach herself metalbending.

"Metalbend, or unlock Avatar State. Any one will do," grunted Korra as she punched and pushed against the metal frantically.

Soon enough, Tarrlok opened the metal door and Korra fell forward in utter surprise before being bloodbended by Tarrlok.

"Give me any trouble, and you'll end up like Amon and his chi blockers," whispered Tarrlok.

Korra's eyes narrowed as she grunted whilst being bloodbended.

"Why wait? Why do you need me to come along with you?" asked Korra. "I'd rather be dead than be with you anymore."

Tarrlok smirked as he ran a hand against her cheek before grabbing her face like Amon had on Aang Memorial Island.

"I would, but then you would be reborn and then I'd have to search everywhere for you just to make sure you didn't know you were the Avatar, and you would most likely be reborn as a boy. You're almost eighteen, and you're a beautiful woman. But I assure you, I will kill you if you give me any trouble," promised Tarrlok.

Despite being bloodbended, Korra's spine tingled. Not in the good way either. She tried harder now, more than ever, to break free of his bending, but to no avail.

"Aang, please! Help me! Give me the Avatar State. I need it!" Korra begged in her mind as Tarrlok moved her upstairs, took off her clothes, washed her and tended to her cuts he made with ice in his old office.

Korra didn't even open her eyes.

"He wants me to be on my best behavior? He doesn't want me to fight back? Fine. I won't fight back. I will do what I must to survive, but I will fight back once I unlock the Avatar State," she thought to herself.

Once Tarrlok was done changing her and restyling her hair, he chi blocked her. She felt his bloodbending grip fully fade away and she opened her eyes to see him staring into her soul.

"Your name is going to be Korena, and you will be my wife. We are eloping tonight. My new name will be Noatak. Understand?" he asked.

Korra mechanically nodded her head. She didn't care that he blocked her chi. Either she unlocked the Avatar State sooner or later, or he slips up and forgets to block her chi which will give her the chance to end him and escape.

"I'm not Aang. I won't hesitate to kill him if that's what I need to do to survive," she thought to herself. "I had tried to roast him alive before he bloodbended me after all."

Tarrlok smiled as he stood up straighter before looking back down at Korra who was uncharacteristically quiet.

"Why are you so quiet?" he asked, suddenly suspicious of her.

"You told me you would kill me if I gave you a hard time, so I'm biting my tongue," casually replied Korra.

Tarrlok, still quiet, nodded.

"Right. And I will, too. So, don't push me," said Tarrlok as he cut his hair short, and put on different clothes. "Alright. We're ready to go, Korena darling."

Korra wanted to gag. She wanted to be Mako's darling. Not Tarrlok's darling.

"We're eloping tonight. So we will legally be married. We're going to have the documents to prove it. I can't just tell people who I really am, especially if he does remember to constantly block my chi points," Korra thought, deflating further.

Tarrlok grabbed her arm and pulled her up roughly. She looked at him and noticed his brow was twitching with impatience.

"I just hope we don't have to share a bed. I'll gladly take a metal box over that option any day," she thought to herself as bile rose up in her throat.

The bile didn't come out until after they were on a boat. Tarrlok chuckled as he pat her back and held her hair out of her face. To others, his chuckle sounded affectionate. To her, it grated against her very soul. She knew why he was chuckling. It was sick. It made her sick.

"Ah, how the once great Avatar is now throwing up over a ship. And all because of me," Tarrlok thought to himself.

He was about to say "how the mighty have fallen" but he thought that would sound too cliché. Almost as if, in another time, another version of him said it.

"Dear, do you feel better now?" blithely asked Tarrlok.

Korra almost glared at him but thought better against it.

"Just treat him as if he's Koh the face stealer," she thought.

Her face went unreadable as she turned to look at him.

"Much better now, Noatak," she replied blandly.

Tarrlok's smile broadened as he pulled her in for a hug. A bone crushing hug, that is. She could barely breathe!

"Noatak," she strained.

"Shhh, save your breath, Korena," smirked Tarrlok.

"He's not going to try to kill me is he? I've been good!" she thought.

She willed her nerves to calm down as she closed her eyes and tried to meditate. She desperately tried to contact Aang. Just when she thought she would pass out, Tarrlok let go of her, and she took in big gulps of air. It was in this moment she wished she had unlocked airbending so she could suffocate him until he nearly died. She just now figured out he did that to try and get a reaction out of her.

"If this is the one thing I can be stubborn with and get away with it, then I won't give him any reactions," she thought.

Tarrlok shrugged and turned away.

"Where are you going?" asked Korra.

"To bed, dear. Feel free to join me whenever you're ready," smirked Tarrlok.

"You mean, you're just going to leave me out here? By myself?" asked Korra, still not allowing any emotion onto her face.

"You're a grown woman," responded Tarrlok.

The truth was, he didn't believe she could escape. Both of them look completely different from how they normally looked, and her chi points were blocked.

"I think I'll stay out and look across the ocean for a bit before I turn in," replied Korra, turning back to hold onto the railing, gazing out at the water.

Tarrlok nodded, then went to bed.

"Aang. Please, answer me. I need your help now more than ever," she mumbled to herself.

She felt a presence near her, but she tried to ignore it.

"Enjoying the nice breeze? It's gonna get colder than this starting next week. Winter and all," said the male voice.

"I'm sorry, but can you please leave me alone? I'm a little busy here," calmly replied Korra.

"Busy with what? You're just standing there with your eyes closed," asked the man.

Sighing, Korra opened her eyes and looked at the man.

"Do you want to know what I'm doing? I'm trying to contact Aang because I'm actually the Avatar, and councilman Tarrlok kidnapped me. He left me alone because he altered my appearance so much that I don't look like myself, and he blocked my chi points. So, I'm busy trying to contact my past life to escape and I doubt you believe any of that," hissed Korra quietly.

The man chuckled and raised an eyebrow.

"Darn. Do I disgust you so much you had to make all of that up? Are you daddy's little girl so much that you actually listen to him when he tells you not to let anyone flirt with you?" teased the man.

Korra sighed heavily and shook her head.

"I knew you wouldn't believe me. And what do you mean daddy's little girl?" asked Korra.

"That old man earlier. You look a little like him, so I assumed he's your dad," explained the man.

"Ha!" Korra shouted out a laugh as she doubled over. "Yeah no. That was councilman Tarrlok. My captor. Seriously. Hey wait. Does this boat have a phone on it for people to use?"

"He was so not Tarrlok, but good one," laughed the man, "and yeah. The phone is over there. But you need three yuons to use it."

"Do you have three yuons to spare? Please? It's an emergency," begged Korra.

The man nodded as he pulled out the money for her.

"Thank you. If this helps me escape from him, I promise to reward you somehow," thanked Korra.

The man cocked an eyebrow as he watched her bound over to the phone, and put the money in. He decided to get a little closer to eavesdrop. Who was she calling? Why did she keep insisting that she's the Avatar and that a man who looks nothing like Tarrlok is Tarrlok?

"Hello?" asked a tired Asami.

"Asami? Where's Mako?" asked Korra.

"Korra?!" shouted Asami.

"Yes yes, it's me, Korra. Tarrlok altered my appearance and blocked my chi so I can't bend and prove to anyone on this boat who I really am. Help me, Asami. Tarrlok is taking me to get eloped so he will have documents to further make me look like a liar to anyone I try to seek help from!" quietly cried Korra.

"Okay, okay. First off, do you know where you are heading exactly?" asked Asami.

"N-no. I don't know. But I can tell you our fake names," Korra said, brightening up.

"Alright, tell me, before Tarr-"

Korra's blood ran cold as she dared not turn around at the owner of the hand that ended the call. The man who had given her the money had wide eyes at what he had just listened to.

"Just wanted to look out into the view, eh? Do you want to die?" Tarrlok hissed into her ear.

To anyone else, it looked like he was saying sweet things into her ear.

"N-no. I just want to go home," whispered Korra as tears ran down her face.

She missed her friends, she missed Naga, she missed Tenzin, Pema, and the kids, and right now, she even missed the White Lotus compound.

"Korena, I know you're homesick, but that's no reason to go bothering your extremely busy friends from back home," Tarrlok said in a normal tone.

The man was now conflicted. Was she just so homesick that she was trying to escape this man? Who was this man?

"Noatak," Korra growled, "let me go home. Please."

Tarrlok loved hearing her beg, and he loved it even more to see her so broken. Such a nice contrast to how cocky and hotheaded she used to be.

"Come to bed now," he said softly, smiling down at her.

To other people, that smile was the sweetest thing on earth. But to Korra, she knew he was laughing at her.

"I'm not tired yet," she lied as she stifled back a yawn.

Tarrlok's eyebrow twitched a little bit.

"Darling, it is not up for discussion," he said through gritted teeth while his face was stuck in an awkward smile.

Now she really didn't want to go to bed, but allowed him to drag her back to the cabin. He began taking her jacket off when, without her thinking about it, she slapped his hand away. She blinked in surprise at what she had done, but he was fuming. He swiftly grabbed her by the neck and slammed her head against the wall. As quickly as he had attacked her was as quickly as he let her go.

"Now, are you going to sleep on the bed like a good girl? Or not?" asked Tarrlok as she held the back of her head while gasping for air.

She was tired, humiliated, and the back of her head hurt now. She wanted it all to stop. She wanted to wake up in her bed on Air Temple Island for airbending lessons. Without saying a word, she stood up and walked over to the bed. Tarrlok stopped her by grabbing her arm roughly, causing her to wince.

"You're not sleeping in those clothes," Tarrlok ordered, his voice low and dangerous.

He had sent a shiver up her spine, even more so when he began taking off her clothes again. She shut her eyes and played a scene in her mind to take her away from him. She saw a wide, empty beach. The weather was perfect. Sun was shining, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and there was no breeze to make her shiver. When Tarrlok gently unzipped the back of her gown, she made a sand castle. When he carefully placed her on the bed, she dove right into the vast ocean, laughing her head off as she splashed the lukewarm water. When Tarrlok traced his hand over her stomach gently, she waterbended herself a surfing board, and raced against a dolphin. When he trailed kisses over her cheek and mouth, down her neck and stopped at her pelvis, she saw her friends rush onto the beach, calling out to her and waving their hands happily. The next morning, Tarrlok woke up with his arms around a half naked Avatar who was still asleep. He smiled warmly as he inhaled her scent before stretching. Korra's eyes fluttered open, and she realized she could bend now if she wanted to.

"He slipped up already? Thank the spirits!" she thought.

She closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep still as Tarrlok came over to her side of the bed.

"So peaceful. Korra. Wake up," said Tarrlok as he gently shook her.

Korra opened her eyes, keeping her face unreadable like yesterday. She wouldn't dare smile now and blow her secret. She would wait until he wasn't looking, and she would bend fire and water where everyone could see. They would help her get home, and she would have Tarrlok behind bars! The excitement welled up in her chest, but still, she did not smile at all. Tarrlok went into a suitcase he had given to her, and pulled out a dark blue dress and a white shawl.

"Put these on after taking a shower," yawned Tarrlok.

"Maybe he'll block my chi after the shower?" thought Korra. "Then I'll just have to escape out of the bathroom."

Korra nodded, stood up, and grabbed a towel to further make him believe she was still chi blocked. She went into the bathroom and closed the door behind her, then turned on the shower.

"I'm coming in to join you to make sure you don't do anything stupid," Tarrlok called from the other side.

Korra's eyes widened in horror.

"Like hell you are," she hissed in her mind.

She tried to earthbend the floor upwards, but to no avail. It wasn't that her bending was blocked, it was the fact that the boat was made out of wood. She had completely forgotten about it being wooden. She quickly scanned the bathroom for bendables, deciding on using the water to make a large ice block in front of the door. Just as the door was slightly opened, she pushed the ice block in front of it. She could hear Tarrlok cursing from the other side of the door. She could see he was starting to melt the water from the other side, and this time it was her turn to curse.

"I didn't think your bending would return already! Guess I miscalculated. Once I get in there, I am going to chi block you, and beat you until you're barely alive," growled Tarrlok.

Fear coursed through her veins as she added more another huge ice block in front of the one that was already half melted. She saw a window. It was small, but she knew she could squeeze herself through it if she tried hard enough. Then, she grimaced as she looked down at herself and saw she was half naked in her bra and panties. No time to worry about that though. Not with Tarrlok on the other side, melting her ice blocks. Then, she smacked herself in the forehead.

"Just use waterbending to cut through the wood, so you'll be inside the ship," she thought to herself.

She did just that. She cut and cut and cut until she made a hole big enough to jump down in. When she was inside the boat, she made a small flame for light to look around, and saw that she was surrounded by a bunch of metal rather than wood anymore.

"Guess they made the bottom metal so it wouldn't sink as easy," she thought, frowning.

She struggled to push a metal box under the hole she had made, and she was sweating profusely now. Then, she heard the bathroom door being thrown open, and adrenaline rushed through her, making her able to push the metal box faster. She managed to block off the hole just before Tarrlok could put his foot down. She smiled triumphantly as she heard him curse loudly.

"You think you're safe down there, Avatar? You have to come back up eventually, and when you do, I will be up here," hissed Tarrlok.

"I'll be just fine, thanks. I can now meditate in peace as I contact my past life and get away from you!" Korra threw back.

"Ha! You're a spiritual failure, Korra. Don't count on contacting Aang. No one's coming to save you, not even your past lives," Tarrlok threw back in her face.

Rolling her eyes, she suddenly heard her stomach growl. She made a flame in her hand again so she could look around her once more. She noticed regular boxes a ways off, and hope welled up in her. She pried off the lid, and smiled. They were filled with fruits and vegetables. She was normally a meat eater, but beggars can't be choosers. She grabbed an apple and began tearing into it. Then, she figured this would be a perfect chance for her to learn metalbending.

"I did pick up earthbending really fast. Maybe I can pick up metalbending fast too? All I gotta do is focus on the bits of earth within the metal, after all," thought Korra.

Nodding, she emptied out a box, carefully placing the food on top of another box, and turned it into a torch. She walked up to a metal box, and ran her hand over it as she closed her eyes to focus. A couple minutes later, she managed to move the metal, if only slightly. But it was a step closer to her freedom, and that made her smile. Meanwhile, she saw water seap down around the box that was under the hole. Tarrlok was trying to move the box with his waterbending. Gasping, she ran over to it, and used her new metalbending to ground the metal box to the metal floor. Now, it wasn't going nowhere.

"You cheeky, Avatar. You taught yourself metalbending, didn't you? A little late, wouldn't you say? Don't you think you would have had a better chance at escaping if you learned how back in that metal box?" snapped Tarrlok.

Korra didn't respond back to him as she ran away from the hole so he couldn't bloodbend her. She spent the rest of the day doing three things in this order: practice metalbending, eat, meditate, eat, and sleep. The metal was cold, and she was half naked. So sleeping was hard. But then it became impossible as she kept thinking that at any moment, Tarrlok would figure out how to break the wood with water, come down and drag her back up there with him, chi block her, and beat her to a pulp. Without another thought, she metalbent a tent around her, and made a flame to keep her warm. A few minutes later, she heard wood breaking, and her heart stopped.

"As long as this metal is around me, he can't to me. And if he does kill me, I'll just be reborn in the Earth Kingdom. Unlike the other nations, the Earth Kingdom is much larger, and it now includes Republic City," Korra thought to herself to help keep her calm.

The thought of dying still didn't appeal to Korra. She wanted to live. She wanted to experience true love, a family of her own, and she wanted to do so many great things that will set her apart from her past lives in a good way. She doesn't want to be known as the Avatar that was kidnapped by a bloodbender, never to be seen again. Her future lives would never seek her guidance! She went back into a lotus position as she meditated.

"Korra, the jig is up. I know you're in there, now get out before I really get mad. If you get out right now, I promise to not lay a hand on you. But, if you make me wait more than ten seconds, I will kill you right here and now," warned Tarrlok.

"Go ahead. Maybe I want to die," lied Korra.

Tarrlok chuckled, sending a shiver down her spine.

"Sooner or later, you will get hungry, and you will lower that tent of yours. When you do, I'll be ready for you," replied Tarrlok as he sat down and began eating a piece of fruit for emphasis on food.

Korra's stomach growled, and she glared in his direction. She placed a hand on the metal floor to feel where the boxes of food were at and cursed. They had been behind her tent, but Tarrlok had moved them to where they were now behind him.

"I got two options now. Technically three, but the third one is one I do not want to do. Either I find a way to contact Aang and unlock the Avatar State, or I die of hunger," Korra thought.

Then she remembered she doesn't have water down here. Her source of liquid was going to come from the fruit that was down here.

"I have a week at most before I die of dehydration," she thought grimly.

Suddenly her whole body stiffened and she began feeling intense pain.

"I'm tired of waiting, Avatar. Lower the tent. Now," growled Tarrlok as he twisted her limbs painfully, causing her to scream out in pain.

He let her go to give her a chance to lower the metal tent. However, she did not let it down as she resumed her lotus position.

"She really is too stubborn for her own good," he thought before bloodbending her again even more painfully than last time.

"Gaahhh!" Korra screamed.

"Are you going to come out now?!" he yelled. "Huh?!"

"Yaaaaaaaas!" screamed out Korra.

He let her go again, smirking as he heard a thud. She placed her hands on the metal floor, and focused on where he was standing. Tarrlok felt the floor beneath him shift. He quickly jumped away and bloodbended her again, slamming her against the metal walls of her tent. He cursed when he realized he had knocked her out unintentionally. In her unconsciousness, she saw a young Aang be bloodbended by Hama, forced to try and attack Katara. She then saw Katara freeze Sokka and Aang to trees before Hama almost made Sokka kill Aang with his sword. They had abruptly stopped when she saw Katara suddenly bloodbend Hama to protect her friends. The vision switched to show Katara bloodbend someone else, then the visions ceased and she woke up in her metal tent. She could hear Tarrlok pacing around out there.

"Maybe if I don't make a sound, he'll think he killed me," she thought, hoping he would think so and try and escape the boat so she could have free reign of the room. "But what were those visions for? To encourage me to learn bloodbending? Or to show me I'm not the only Avatar to be a victim of bloodbending?"

She closed her eyes, clearing her mind, and searching for Aang. Suddenly, she found herself in a beautiful world that was crowded with spirits.

"Huh? I did it! I'm in the Spirit World!" Korra hollered excitedly as she pumped her fist in the air. "Now, to find Aang."

She looked around and decided to go ask a spirit. She knelt down next to a spirit frog.

"Excuse me, but, do you think you can help me with something?" asked Korra.

"What do you want, human?" boredly asked the frog.

"I'm kinda new here, and I'm looking for my past life, Aang. Do you think you could point me in the right direction?" asked Korra as sweetly as she could.

"The Avatar? Hmm, I'm pretty sure Aang stays somewhere beyond that way," said the frog, pointing south.

"Thank you," smiled Korra as she stood up and ran in that direction.

Pretty soon, she found Aang sitting at a long table with Iroh there, and the two were laughing about some joke.

"Aang! It's me, Korra!" called Korra as she ran towards him.

Tarrlok managed to find a metalbender whom he paid to keep his mouth shut about everything.

"She's in there, and I need her tent removed so I can see if she's still alive or not," said Tarrlok.

"No problem. I hope you manage to win against her. I hate the Avatar," replied the metalbender as he took a stance and lowered her tent.

They both jumped back in surprise to see her sitting lotus style, eyes glowing.

"No. She managed to cross over to the spirit world. She's contacting Aang," whispered Tarrlok, fear on his face.

"If you move her body, she won't be able to make it back," said the man, "or at least that's the myth. Do you know how many times Zuko had moved Aang's body when he was in the spirit world, and Aang still found a way back? Yeah, you're good to move her. I would block her chi if I were you while she's vulnerable," suggested the man before walking over to the metal box Korra had grounded and moved it with ease for Tarrlok to carry Korra through. The metalbender held Korra's body up as Tarrlok swiftly jabbed her points, then he helped carry her up back into the bathroom, and Tarrlok placed her on the bed.

"If you need my help, don't hesitate to ask," said the man as he left.

Aang stood up from the table as he accepted a hug from Korra and he let out an oof, a genuine soft laughter following after.

"Hello, Korra. Nice to meet you," softly said Aang.

"Aang, I am so happy to finally meet you. Please, help me," pleaded Korra as she began bursting in tears.

She just now noticed that even in the spirit world, she was half naked, bruised, and her hair was styled the wrong way.

"Is there anyway you can unlock my airbending or Avatar State?" asked Korra, clinging onto Aang's robes in desperation.

If anyone could understand what Korra was going through, it was Aang. He had been kidnapped dozens of times. Although his life was never in danger until Ba Sing Se, he understood what it felt like. He was only able to get away because of the fact he was an airbender, and Zuko helped him escape that one time. He was super lucky Katara had that spiritual water to bring him back to life. The life of an Avatar is not easy, and his heart broke for the seventeen year old abused girl before him.

"I cannot give you airbending, nor can I unlock your Avatar State. Those two things, you must be patient for," replied Aang gently, and his heart broke further as he saw her hope completely disappear. "But, I can still help you."

Her eyes glimmered as she looked back up at him.

"Really? Tell me, please," breathed out Korra.

Tarrlok sat on the bed, watching the clock. He would not make the same mistake twice, that was for sure. With her bending, she was dangerous. But without it, she was just another girl he could easily over power with raw strength alone. Suddenly air whooshed in around her, making Tarrlok's eyes widen in surprise, then close because of all the dust that the wind was picking up. When he reopened his eyes, he saw Avatar Aang in the room, eyes aglow, and angry. Swiftly, Aang made air swirl around Tarrlok, picking him up and threw him out onto the boat, then used air to hold him upwards and still as he then placed his hands on Tarrlok's forehead and chest. Tarrlok yelled and tried to resist him, but felt his bending being taken away. The air disappeared from Tarrlok and air sucked back in where Aang was. When the air disappeared from around the Avatar, Tarrlok saw a worn out Korra who fell down. Tarrlok stood up, and went to walk over to her before he felt a hand grab hold of his wrist. It was firm, strong, and showed no signs of letting go. Tarrlok looked behind him and saw it was the man who had tried to flirt with Korra, and laughed when she tried telling him who she was. Before he could say anything, the man's fist collided with Tarrlok's face.

"Someone call the chief of police in Republic City! I'm all out of money," shouted the man as he picked up Korra.

"Got it!" shouted a woman as she ran over to the pay phone. Several moments later, Korra woke up next to the man who had laughed at her.

Much to her happiness, someone had wrapped her up in a blanket. She didn't need anyone to explain to her what had happened. She knows Aang had taken Tarrlok's bending.

"I wish Aang had killed him, but, beggars can't be choosers," shrugged Korra.

The man next to her laughed.

"I still can't believe you're the Avatar. But you know, if I squint my eyes, you do look just like her," said the man.

Korra tried to waterbend but frowned when she found out Tarrlok had chi blocked her while she was in the spirit world.

"The geezer chi blocked me while I was in the spirit world," sighed Korra before smirking. "Oh well. It's not permanent. And when I get back to Republic City, I won't have to worry about Amon anymore since Tarrlok took care of him for me. From here on out, it's gonna be smooth sailing."

The boat stopped at the island where she and Tarrlok were supposed to elope at and smiled when she saw Lin Beifong, a squad of metalbending police, Tenzin, and her friends waiting there for her. She took out the hair ties in her hair, letting her hair flow down her back, and she ran over to her friends to be wrapped up in their comforting arms.