Another update! I am feeling very inspired these days, having spent some time reading others' fan fictions. They, and Reviews, tend to be my best inspiration. And since I'm having a cold, sitting in the chair, wrapped up in blankets and with a cup of hot chocolate by my side, I really do enjoy to sitting here and deepening myself into my work.
Enjoy the chapter! ^^
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Chapter 3: Defiance
"Good spirits," sighed the novice Equalist, whom the Lieutenant had assigned the task of bringing the Avatar her breakfast. He watched Korra impatiently as she struggled with her still immobilized arms to reach out and grab a hold of the spoon right in front of her. She could not. Every muscle in both of her arms were completely immovable, and her arms hung like lumps of dead meat at her sides.
The man sat down in front of her with a sour look on his face and picked up the silver spoon, filling it with the gross-looking porridge she had been served. Honestly, it did not look the slightest bit tempting, not even to himself. Had he been the prisoner, he would have refused to eat it. He wondered what she had done to deserve such a dull meal.
A blush of annoyance coloured Korra's cheeks darker when she realized what the man was about to do. As if she had not been humiliated enough already! Just as the spoon arrived at her lips, she turned her face away.
"No thank you," she sneered. "I would prefer to feed myself." The Equalist sighed and frowned.
"Obviously you cannot even hold onto the spoon, let alone reach out to re-fill it." His voice held no sighs of concern or pity, just pure annoyance.
"I will regain feeling in my arms eventually. I can wait. Just leave the tray here," Korra suggested irritably. The man snorted.
"And wait until you attack someone with a spoon or a porcelain shard? I think not!" replied the man, sticking the spoon close to her lips again. "You will eat now. Amon's orders."
Amon. His name was like acid in her system. If it was something Amon wanted her to do, then she directly refused to do it. She would not let him win this mind game of his, not even if he had a major advantage. She did not care if he got angry with her again; yes, his punishment in his office barely an hour ago had really shocked her, but she doubted he would go any further than that. After all, he despised benders, especially the Avatar. So why would he go as far as creating such intimacy with her? He would not. His words had been mere empty threats.
"I will not eat, especially not that," Korra retorted sternly. The Equalist sighed in exasperation and let the spoon drop down into the porridge, making some of the sticky substance splay down onto the tray.
"Fine," said the man and stood. "Then it is something you must discuss with Amon himself." Korra's eyes widened instantly.
"Wai-" she began, but did not manage to stop the man in time. With a click of the lock, she was left alone in her cell, nothing but the lone lantern in the corner and those horrible memories to keep her company.
Damn it, she thought. She really did not want to deal with Amon again already. I doubt he will react so strongly over this, however, she reassured herself. She leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes. Holy spirits, she was so tired, both mentally and physically. After all those pains and everything she had been through already, and it was still only morning. If things continued like this, she would be a corpse in less than a week.
Sighing, she allowed herself to relax before Hell would break loose once again.
No more than ten minutes passed before Amon entered her poorly lit cell, the Lieutenant and the Equalist from before awaiting behind him. Korra eyed him as indifferently as she could, hiding how much her heart was actually beating inside her chest. She would show him no fear. She would not allow him the pleasure of seeing that his methods were working on her.
Amon threw a brief glance on the tray on the floor by her feet. Then he crouched, picked up the spoon and reached out for her face with it, his cold eyes telling her to stop being so stubborn. Like before, Korra turned her face away, refusing to be fed like a child.
"I would advice you to eat. Now," Amon's dark voice said, revealing no signs of humour whatsoever. Korra turned her entire body away and stared into the wall.
"I want to eat by myself. Is that too much to ask for?" she questioned calmly, avoiding making a bigger scene of this than it already was.
"Knowing what stare you are in, I think it is an unrealistic request," Amon remarked, his voice still completely grave. "Now, eat."
Korra still did not turn around. One minute of silence convinced Amon that Korra would not give up. Perhaps it was her stupid, childish way of getting back at him for what he had done to her. The fact was that it did not concern him personally in any way. This was her loss, and her loss only.
"Fine," spoke the man finally and stood up. "Kalin, take the tray. If the Avatar refuses to eat, we will not serve her food." With a wicked smile, the novice Equalist stepped forth and picked up the tray.
"Notify me when you are ready to eat, young Avatar." By those words, the three men left the room, Amon bringing the lantern from the corner along. Korra was left in pure darkness once again, cursing the lack of windows and lamps.
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Chief Lin Beifong spread out a map over Republic City onto a table, pointing at some red crosses drawn upon the map with a marker.
"These are places that we know the Equalists have been visiting regularly during the past week. They have all been cleared," the woman instructed. "The green crosses are the places we have suspicions about, and the blue crosses are places our sources have pointed out for us. We still need to raid and clear all of them." Tenzin, Mako, Bolin, and Asami watched the map closely, all nodding in silence.
"So the possibility for Korra being held captured in one of those buildings with a red cross is completely excluded?" Mako questioned, his eyes still lingering to the map before him.
"It is highly unlikely that we have overlooked anything in those buildings," answered Lin. "I will not exclude the possibility, however."
"It would be stupid of us to look those places as our first move," Tenzin mused out aloud. The others nodded.
"Should we not find Korra in the other buildings, we can always go back and check the red crosses," Asami added.
"My suggestion would be that you go check out the green crosses, seeing as the Police Force do not have the authority to raid those places without search warrants," Lin told them sourly. "And our system here is so ineffective that it would take us months to get all the needed warrants."
"So we will sneak into the other places, secretly searching for Korra?" Bolin asked.
"Only if you can avoid getting caught. Trespassing is a crime, and I am sure that Councilman Tarrlok would dislike you guys sneaking around 'his city'." Lin's voice was sarcastic and bitter, revealing just how much she hated Tarrlok. Tenzin knew just how she felt.
"Which might be the very reason why I cannot join you out in the field," spoke Tenzin with a frown. "If we were to get caught, I would lose my seat in the Council. Besides, should you get caught, my chances of getting you out of jail are better out here than in the cell with you." Lin nodded in agreement.
"I will make sure to put a word in for you, should you be so unlucky," Lin provided.
"Alright," said Mako and leaned in over the map. "We need a replica of this map and a list of all the addresses we are to explore. Side notes explaining why you suspect these places might come in handy as well."
"Give me two hours and I will produce everything you need," Lin answered. "Meanwhile, I would advise you to go home and prepare. Get something to eat and bring the tools you need. It will be a long day for you."
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It was around midday, Korra guessed, when her arms had returned to normal. Her body, too, had recovered from being weak and dizzy. The chi-blocking from earlier was still active, however, keeping her ability to bend at bay. But at this rate, even without her bending, she might be able to take on half a dozen of Equalists.
In lack of anything better to do, she decided to train. Surely, she could not train her bending, but also her physical abilities needed refinement, and she had room enough for a handful of various exercises.
She let herself drop from the bed, letting her hands take the blow against the stone floor, and she began doing push-ups with her feet still resting on the edge of the plank bed, making it tougher. She would take fifty push-ups for starters, and then eighty crunches, and after that some squat exercises. Perhaps some meditation later.
Korra barely reached thirty-five push-ups before the lid in the door was opened, revealing a scrunching brow and an incredulous look behind those green goggles. Korra noticed him but chose to ignore his stare.
"What do you think you are doing?" asked the goon, obviously offended by Korra's indifference. Not wanting to lose count of her push-ups, she decided to postpone the conversation until she had reached fifty stretches. The guard grumbled in annoyance. He did not seem to be the patient type, Korra noticed.
Finally finished, she stood and stretched for a second.
"I am working out, obviously," she retorted, earning another indistinguishable grumble. She ignored him and lay back on to the floor, starting her series of crunches. There was an awkward silence for half a minute, the guard staring at her.
"Stop it," the guard finally demanded, seemingly confused of how to react to the girl's activities.
"Then give me something else to do," panted Korra in between her quick movements.
In truth, the reason for her sudden urge to exercise was not entirely because she was bored; firstly, she needed to train once in a while, true as it was, but the main reason was that she needed something to do to keep her from thinking. All she really could do in her cold, lonely cell was to think, and she wanted a way to shut out the unpleasant memories from the morning. It had been so uncomfortable, just lying there helplessly while Amon took advantage of her body, teasing her, torturing her mind. The part she wished no answer to was why it had felt so good to be touched by him. And if she was left alone thinking for too long, she might come up with some guesses and answers she did not want.
The guard stared at her for a little while longer, a perverted smile creeping onto his face as his mind came up with one suggestion for an activity – one that would entertain both of them for a while. Heck, he could still make sure she would not escape, right? Avatar or not, her body offered curves and softness no ordinary man could resist. At least they could enjoy themselves in their lonely time.
Korra heard an unexpected click in the lock. Stopping in her tracks, she glanced at the guard entering her cell uninvited.
"What are you-" she began but was cut off by the sound of the metal door slamming, leaving them in total darkness. She had a pretty good idea of what the man was about to do. It came to her advantage that her eyes had gotten used to the dark. She could see him way better than he could see her.
With a grunt, the guard grabbed out for her wrist, his hand brushing her skin shortly as she fled to the other end of the cell.
"I warn you," Korra said harshly.
"Word against word, Avatar. Surely Amon would not believe the Avatar when she claims she was raped by a guard." He gave a very disturbing laughter that echoed back and forth in the small concrete cell. Then he launched for her. Korra, having readied herself for his move, jumped sideways, using the wall to bring her behind the man. Before he turned around, she wrapped her arm around his throat and tightened.
"Leave me alone," hissed the girl into his ear. He groaned and grabbed out for her unsuccessfully. Realizing that he was not going to give up, she let him go in a push and darted for the door, her heart lighter when she found it unlocked.
A thought struck her panicked mind: Maybe this was her only chance of an escape. She would take it, knowing that if she called for help she would be the one punished anyway. It was risky, but better than giving up now.
She turned left in the hallway, in the opposite direction of where she knew Amon's office was. This way provided only one door. She had no idea where it lead; she only knew that it led away from her cell, away from the raging guard following her, and away from Amon.
Adrenaline pumped through her system, her heart galloping, almost hurting her from the inside. As her fingers touched the cool metal of the door handle, a feeling of freedom started to spread, until she realized that it was locked.
Fuck!
In two and a half second, the guard reached her, literally throwing herself over her.
"Amon!" she yelped, her mouth covered shortly after.
"Shut up, girl," growled the guard lowly into her neck and started to drag her back into her cell. Korra tried to yank out of his rough grasp, but his strong arms held her arms tightly fixed behind her back. She kicked backwards, her heel just accurately gracing the guard's groin. He growled and forced her front against the wall, her cheekbone taking the blow, making her face ache against the cool concrete wall.
"What is happening here?" sounded Amon's deep voice from the other end of the hallway. A brief spark of happiness lit inside her chest until she realized that me man was observing her with tightly narrowed eyes.
"Escape attempt," explained the guard and continued to push Korra back towards her cell.
"Lead her to my office," Amon requested coldly and waited for the guard and the Avatar to pass him so that he could walk behind them and ensure that Korra did not try anything again.
When they stopped at the familiar door, the guard was told to take a break. Amon wanted to talk to Korra alone. Korra's stomach tightened.
"Please," said Korra the instant she was pushed inside the office. "The guard was-"
"Silence," commanded Amon and closed the door. Tears started to well up in the corner of her eyes. The guard had been right; surely Amon would not believe her, of all people. Gulping at the lump that had formed in her throat, Korra sat down. Amon took seat behind his desk.
"You are being particularly difficult, young Avatar," the leader began, his voice dripping with venom. Korra scowled away, trying to hold back her traitorous tears. It was difficult. Spirits, she hated being blamed for crimes she had not done. Yes, she had tried to escape, but more the guard rather than the hideout itself.
Korra parted her lips to speak, but a hand motion from Amon signed for her to wait.
"I want you to be completely honest with me. I can see if you are lying to me," the man told her, his golden stare watching her intensely. "After I have spoken to you I will hear the guard out. If your stories do not match, I will take his as the truth." A pang of anger and disappointment flashed through her chest, making it even harder to hold back the tears.
"I was working out in the cell when the guard came in. He tried... he tried to abuse me." The last sentence caused Korra to look away, a frown on her face.
"What were you doing in the hallway then?" questioned Amon, digging. Korra sniffed.
"He forgot to lock the door. I tried to escape," the girl told him.
"So you did try to escape," concluded the mask with its permanent smirk that seemed even more insane in this situation. There was absolutely nothing to grin at. Korra nodded.
"I tried to escape him," she corrected. "I even called for you. I would not have done so if I were trying to escape you." This part was where it got tricky, Amon knew. The girl could be telling the truth, as it seemed until now, but she had still cause trouble.
"Despite calling for help, you were still running for an exit, which means that you took the opportunity to try and escape your imprisonment." He was right. But still, Korra could not help but feel that this was the guard's fault, and not hers. She hoped that, no matter what, the guard would receive his own share of punishment at well.
Staying silent, she let her head drop with a nod. This situation was utmost unpleasant, she found.
"Whether you are speaking the entire truth or not, you have still done something for which you need to be punished," Amon's deep voice told her. Korra sighed. She had not expected anything else from this man.
"You will be returned to your cell now. I will see to that you are punished soon enough."
"Lieutenant," called Amon, summoning his second-in-command in less than six seconds.
"Sir," answered the Lieutenant with a bow once he had opened the door.
"Bring the girl back to her cell. And chain her to the wall." Korra's eyes widened. She managed no protests before she was grabbed and pulled out from the office.
Right before they rounded the corner, Korra shot a hateful glance back at Amon, who was still sitting with his fingers pressed lightly together and a painted smirk silently watching her getting dragged away.
Back in her cell, Korra was forced down onto her knees, her back against the wall. She was held in space by the new door guard while the Lieutenant clamped the shackles around both her wrists and her ankles, leaving only little air between the cold metal and her skin.
The two men left her there against the concrete, slamming the door shut and locking it. Korra was surprised when the lid was removed from the small opening in the door, letting light inside her cell.
Light. What a treat, she thought bitterly. It was nice to actually be able to see something now. But it was by the expense of her ability to move around. She did not know whether this development was for the better or for the worse.
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Back to thinking too much again, Korra realized with a sigh.
There was but one thing that bothered her, nagging in the back of her mind. Sometimes, she questioned her own thoughts or actions during situations where she had no time to plan ahead. Like today. When calling for help, she had called for one certain person instead of just 'help' in general. And it bothered her. Especially because it was so wrong.
Why would she seek solace by a man who had already abused her, in order to escape another man who was about to do the same? Why had she thought that – even just for an instance – that Amon should be the one to save her? He was her worst enemy, the man she feared most, and the very reason she was being held captive in this place. So why him?
She hated those sides of herself which she could not seem to read or figure out. Sometimes the cases were so sensitive that she did not even want an answer. Like now. But she could not block out the stream of thoughts.
Was she growing attached to him? No, she decided. Not one bit. She hated him, despised him for his arrogant personality and everything he stood for in general. Bonding with this man would be impossible, let alone feel attracted to him. It was wrong in every sense.
Then why had she felt anger and betrayal when Amon told her that he did not believe her? She should not even care what he thought of her. He was an egoistic, arrogant – and probably also very ugly – bastard with only himself and his goals in mind, stepping on everything and everyone who dared oppose him.
She hated him, she knew. But she was afraid there was more to it than that. She did not know what, however, so she chose to discard the thoughts for now. They were doing her no good.
Her focus was caught by the ringing of metallic shackles as she shifted a bit, trying to find comfort in her current position. It was difficult. The cold from the stone floor had crept through her pants and to her knees, causing her to shudder every now and then. Her time in Republic City had made her sensitive to cold yet again, and she feared that she would face a cold before not too long. Amon and the Equalists really lacked consideration when it came to their prisoner. Heck, she had only a bucket to use as a toilet, and she could not even use it now that she was tied up. She would have to ask for permission to be released every time she needed to take a piss. No privacy whatsoever. The very thought made her temper boil. Although their greatest enemy, they could at least threat the Avatar well, as long she could not retaliate in any way.
She remembered Amon's words all of a sudden: "I am giving you a chance to earn yourself liberties that could make your time here less horrible, maybe even somewhat enjoyable." If she behaved, she would be treated better. If she was lucky, she would even get a mattress to sleep on. The thought made her longing for home.
No, she scolded herself mentally. There is no point in investing time on such things. I am not here to stay. No need for me to try and earn myself a room er anything fancy. I should never get attached to this place in any way.
Besides, when she thought about it, she had no idea of what to do to earn such liberties. All she could do was to not break the rules or try anything provocative. Avoiding doing bad things did not automatically make you do good things. That just made you innocent and inactive. Korra was no such person, to just sit by and take everything as it came. No, she would do what she could to create herself the life she wanted. She would not do nothing.
Korra's stomach growled all of a sudden, ripping her from her thoughts. She had not eaten in a day now, and all those fights and happenings had consumed a lot of energy, not to mention how fatigued the body got from freezing hours on end alone. She had refused breakfast, so it was her own fault, although she knew she could go without food for days. But she knew that she would have to eat eventually. The body could only handle so much.
One thing was for sure, however: she would not eat until the day she was allowed to feed herself.
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Thank you for reading! I hope you liked the chapter :3
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