Equal Measure

by McEh

Korra and Tarrlok are captured and lose their bending. Amon and his Equalists take Republic City. At the moment of the Equalist Revolution's greatest triumph everything comes apart when a single, angry missive ends up in the wrong hands. Now Amon, Tarrlok, and Korra must flee across the Earth Kingdom in an insane bid to save the Revolution and Republic City from destruction...

3. Scheme

Quick Word: Things get moved around. The first scene in Chapter 3 here is the last scene of Chapter 2. It works a little better as the first scene of Chapter 2, methinks... In other news... this is a heavy chapter...

Part 1: Intrigue
Act 2: Family Matters
Chapter 3: Scheme
A/N: And wouldn't you know it, Amon just thwarted someone who doesn't take a thwarting well…

Trigger Warning: PTSD, triggered character, anxiety attack, mention of child taken by government/authoritative institution, discussion of murder/murderous intent, chauvinistic culture, verbal abuse, violent alcoholic behavior, implied intent to rape

It was the height of summer in the South Pole. The winds were low, the sky was clear, and the sun was still in the sky at eleven pm. In fact, the sun would only dip below the horizon for a few hours during the warmest months of the year. Night would only grow long again when the seasons changed.

Of course, no matter what time of year it was, humans needed to sleep. In order to remain, healthy, productive, and sane, the peoples of the Southern Water Tribe would block their windows to create an artificial darkness in their homes and would build up the snow around the outer walls. So that even when the sun bore down on their little pit houses, the interior remained dark and cool.

Senna and Tonraq had already pulled their shutters closed, lit the lion seal tallow candles and lanterns, and were preparing to settle in for a warm, restful evening. There were only a few domestic chores and nightly rituals to take care of before the two could curl up together. Both were looking forward to a quiet, potentially romantic night.

Senna was at the sink, carefully cleaning the dishes from dinner with a soft, cloth towel. She took her time, moving slowly and carefully over each dish until it was spotless. She set the last dish down and smiled at the collection of clean plates and eating utensils stacked beside her. Then she turned her gaze to her hands. She flexed her fingers gently and with great care. They were cool and stiff, but they weren't shaking.

The tremors were all but gone. She'd been almost entirely without the bone deep shuddering for nearly ten years. They only returned when she was particularly anxious or stressed, but she chose to take pleasure in the fact that she'd recovered so much since that terrible night. She was practically self-sufficient again, which was a relief. She hated relying too heavily on Tonraq—he had his own troubles and ambitions to wrestle with. The least she could do was take care of herself.

Speaking of her husband…

She straightened slowly, and leaned her head back, turning slightly to listen. She could hear the sound of voices slipping in and out of a haze of static. Tonraq was in the large, central hearth-room, fiddling with the radio. He was looking for that particular station.

She chuckled to herself. He loved that Republic City pro-bending station and ever since Korra had become a pro-bender he'd made an extra effort to listen to that station as often as possible. It took a special touch to get the signal, but he could do it. The local men were always inviting him down to the pub during the pro-bending season to get him to set up the radio so they could listen in on the games.

Senna shuffled around the kitchen, taking her time to put things away and finish cleaning up. She didn't want to rush him. He always said it took a steady hand and a careful ear to catch that elusive broadcast. He hated being distracted.

But as she finished her work in the kitchen, she frowned. He was taking longer than usual. She made her way slowly into the hearth room, taking small, careful steps.

She stopped in the doorway and took in the sight of her great, big husband, kneeling on the floor next to the tiny, ornate box, his large head pressed up against the small speakers, his heavy brow furrowed in deep concentration. He was frowning deeply, but she could tell he wasn't upset. She was quite familiar with this particular expression—it was his 'I'm very busy with something that requires a great amount of focus and careful finesse right now' face.

Warmth spread through her chest at the sight of her big man kneeling there with that look on his face. She couldn't keep the broad, happy smile off her own face and found herself covering the display of candid pleasure with her hand. It was a feeble attempt to keep a delighted laugh from escaping.

Oh, this great, big water tribe warrior of hers…

He was adorable.

But then she noticed the lines under his eyes and a little cheer left her. Something was troubling him.

She stepped into the large, central room of their pit house and took a seat on the sofa near where he knelt. She smiled at him as she asked, "Is everything alright, honey?"

Tonraq jerked and turned to look at her. With both his hands still on the radio and he looked like an arctic tanuki jackal that'd been caught thieving, but his expression made his posture particularly funny. He was still wearing his fierce, thoughtful frown as he stared at her as though he'd never seen her in his life. He looked like one of those ancient carvings of water tribe warriors—with their wide eyes, sharply down-turned mouth, great hairy brows arched high on their foreheads as if eternally surprised. Senna's mouth split into a grin of delight and she let herself laugh aloud. He looked hilarious.

Of course as soon as she started laughing, he relaxed and joined her, lending his own deep baritone. His frown spread into a wide, self-depreciating grin. "Ah, you caught me making that awful face again!" he guffawed.

Senna shook her head. "It's not an awful face at all."

Tonraq chuckled as he turned back to the radio. "Only my lovely, wonderful wife would say that! She doesn't mind when I put on an expression that makes me look like some kind of constipated, angry old man!"

"Well then, I guess you're lucky to have such an adoring wife."

He turned back to the dials and continued his fiddling. "Yes, I am."

Senna smiled slyly. "Well, if you're so lucky to have such an adoring wife, then maybe you should stop playing with that radio and come play with her."

Tonraq chuckled. "If she can be patient for a little while longer, I'll be right over to wrap her up in a warm, loving embrace."

Senna pouted and leaned back into the plush pillows. "You're lucky you're cute, Tonraq!"

Tonraq let out a low, rumbling laugh. "I'm lucky I found a woman who finds a big, smelly, ol' water tribe warrior adorable. Even when he makes a face that makes him look like a constipated, angry old tribal carving."

Senna gently nudged him with her foot in a vague approximation of a kick. "I always think you're adorable and sweet!"

"You think a lot of strange things are cute."

"You're right, I'll always think my darling husband is cute!"

That got another chuckle out of Tonraq and she could see that the tips of his ears were a little red—he was blushing. Senna smiled smugly, even after all these years she could make her hubby blush like a soldier-boy who'd just been given his first kiss by a pretty girl. She couldn't wait until he came to sit down next to her so they could snuggle up. But the mood quickly turned and he was soon frowning again. She could tell he was getting frustrated.

Senna frowned at his rapidly rising ire. "What's wrong?"

"I can't get the Republic City station." He muttered.

Senna's brow furrowed for a moment. "You know, it's not pro-bending season, all that'll be on are re-runs from…"

…last season…

Senna couldn't keep the grin off her face. Even after all these years, her husband remained the same big, tough water tribe man with a shy, gentle, and loving temperament. He was a good man, a good husband, and a good father. He wanted to relive his daughter's victories in Republic City since they hadn't been able to see them.

"Do you think they'll be playing Korra's games?" she asked.

He hesitated. "It might be an earlier match, but if it's not tonight, we'll be able to catch it next week or the week after."

Senna felt a heaviness settle in her chest and her eyes clouded with tears. For a passing moment, she wondered if this was how mothers who'd lost their children at a young age felt. Was this what it was like to, in passing, imagine a lost child was still with them? That the little one a future?

Korra, of course, was still alive, but in a way Senna's daughter had never really belonged to her mother or father. The great destiny of the Avatar had, in a way, taken their daughter from them in every meaningful way.

But there were small moments when they felt that they were allowed to share in the life of their little girl. When Tonraq had taken Korra hunting for her fifteenth birthday, when she'd run away from the compound and hid at the shipyard where Tonraq worked, when she'd escaped again to stay with her parents during a festival and they'd been able to spend an entire week with her without White Lotus oversight… Those fleeting moments when they'd been allowed to be a real family were treasured.

When she and Tonraq had overheard the match that Korra had hijacked, they'd both been thrilled. Tenzin, of course, had sent a missive to Tonraq and to the White Lotus apologizing for Korra's wayward behavior and fretting over the fact that The Great and Estimable Avatar had lowered herself to paying a simple sport, but Senna couldn't have been happier. Pro-bending had been something that Senna and Tonraq had shared with Korra on the rare occasions they'd been able to spend time with her. Hearing that their daughter was pursing something that represented her tie to her family, even in that distant city, warmed her heart. Every game was something that Senna and Tonraq looked forward to—it was a means of connecting with their precious little girl.

Every week they'd settle into the hearth room and Tonraq would fiddle with the dials on their radio until they caught that distant broadcast that brought their daughter home. Then, the two proud parents would settle in and spend the evening listening to the pro-bending game and cheering on their daughter. And for a moment they could pretend that they were a normal family, that their Korra was just a pro-bender and not someone with a great, terrifying, and potentially deadly destiny.

If only that announcer would just call Korra by her name, rather than her title! Didn't anyone know that Korra was more than 'the Avatar'?

But those nights were among the happiest they'd shared as a family. Just thinking about it made Senna all teary eyed.

She swiped a bit of wetness from the corner of her eye with the tips of her fingers. "It would be wonderful to hear Korra's games again."

Tonraq let out a heavy sigh. "I'm having no luck. I swear I'm hitting the 'sweet spot,' but all I'm catching is some kind of political rally or a weird drama… I don't know what it is."

"A weird drama?"

"I thought it was a news station at first, but what they're saying makes no damn sense whatsoever. And now there's some actor doing a monologue in front of a big crowd…"

Senna sighed in disappointment, but forced a smile on her face. "Well, maybe they changed up the schedule? If we can't find the championships, let's give this monologue-guy a try. I'm sure they'll announce the new times at some point."

Tonraq gave her a look of disappointment, but Senna returned with an inviting smile as she lightly patted the seat next to her.

"You can give me pro-bending Korra another time, let me at least have a night with my big man."

Tonraq grumbled, but she knew she'd won. He'd work the dials to find the station and once that was done, she'd get to curl up next to him. They'd listen to whatever 'grand epic' nonsense Republic City was broadcasting this week and when they got bored or the show ended, they'd retire to a warm bed. She just hoped it wasn't The Tale of Wu Pao again. She hated that story so much.

Senna frowned at the memory of the last time she'd sat through a rendition of Wu Pao. "What drama do you think it is?"

"I don't know, but I swear I've heard this guy's voice before. I think he's a pretty high-class actor."

"Really?"

"Or he's the asshole who crashed the championships…"

Senna frowned sharply at the memory. "Ugh. I hope that guy gets his. I hope Korra punches his face in. I can't believe any non-bender would follow an asshole like that."

Tonraq nodded as he worked the dial. A powerful voice slipped in and out of hearing. "You know," he began, "I think it might be that guy who did Rounin Yuefu."

Senna immediately straightened up, her face lighting up with surprise and delight. "Oh my gosh! Really?! That's amazing! I hadn't heard that he was doing anything recently! Not that it's possible to hear things about big-name actors down here, but…"

Her husband nodded in agreement. "Well, he did drop off the face of the earth for a while. I heard his group broke up in Ba Sing Se ten to twenty years ago… there was some kind of big upheaval."

"I hope it is him. It'd be great to hear what he's doing. He had such a great voice!" Senna gushed.

Tonraq turned the dial and a powerful sinister voice emerged from the static to blare over the speakers: [What are you going to do about it? You don't have your precious bending to fight us. Your allies have scattered. You are nothing!]

The big water tribe man frowned as he quickly moved to sit down next to his wife. "I guess he's playing the villain? Sounds like it's a big moment…"

Senna hummed in agreement and leaned into her husband's shoulder. "Sounds like we're a little late. If it is him, I hope they do re-runs."

A female voice responded to the powerful male voice. [Yeah, you're right! I'm just a non-bender now, just like everyone else here! That's not 'nothing,' is it, Amon? Or maybe you look down on your followers just as much as you look down on benders?]

Senna blinked in surprise at the voice of the actress. She sounded just like Korra. A strange chill settled over her skin and she shifted closer to Tonraq. She could feel the tension in his body as he stiffened in what had to be surprise.

Actress… It had to be an actress… That couldn't be her… it couldn't possibly be Korra…

A low murmuring sound emerged from the speakers, as if a large crowd were reacting to the words of the female speaker…

Senna's breath hitched in her throat.

[Don't try to twist my words, Avatar!] the sinister voice snarled, [How typical of a bender to lie!]

There were cries of agreement from whatever assembly was watching the drama on location.

Senna's brow furrowed in confusion and her fingers dug into her husband's shirt. Tonraq squeezed her arm, comfortingly. This was confusing and frightening…

[I'm not the one who twists words, Amon!] the woman who sounded like Korra shouted. [I'm not a liar! Didn't I just admit that I can't bend anymore!? I've got nothing left to lose and it's not like I've got anything to hide either!]

Her voice was loud, clear, and without any of the mellifluous qualities that so many radio-drama actresses employed. Her words were without affectation or artifice—this was someone who was articulate, but without experience…

Senna could feel a knot forming in her stomach as a cold certainty began to creep into the back of her mind.

That was her daughter's voice.

She let out a shuddering breath as her fingers slipped down to dig into her husband's thigh. She could not move, not even to blink as she grappled with what she was hearing.

[What?] the sinister voice gloated, [This from the girl who claimed that non-benders were oppressing themselves?]

Senna sucked in a sharp breath of shock. What had he accused her daughter of saying?

Tonraq let out a bark of harsh laugher. "What the hell is this?"

She glanced up to see his lips pulled back in a wide grimace. He looked as frozen as she felt. She didn't think he could tear his eyes away from the radio.

The crowd on the radio roared its approval. The garbled, raucous anger was horrible and menacing. Those people were in such a frenzy there was no telling what they'd do!

Senna heard Tonraq's voice over the sounds on the radio. "Is this some kind of sick joke?!"

Korra's voice blared over the speakers again, [I made mistakes! Doesn't everyone make mistakes? Even Aang made mistakes! Am I not allowed to make mistakes just because I'm the Avatar!? But what you're doing isn't just a mistake! You're doing this on purpose! You're lying to everyone!]

Senna only realized that her fingers were digging into the flesh of her husband's thigh when Tonraq pried her hand from his leg. He held it tightly, but her hand still shook in his strong, warm strong grip. He pulled her closer to him, so that her smaller body was almost entirely engulfed in his.

Senna clung to her husband's larger frame as she began to shiver. The surface of her skin felt cold. Her breathing was becoming irregular.

This was a joke, right?

It had to be a joke.

But what if it wasn't?

[Tell me, Avatar, what have I lied about?] She could hear the smirk in his voice.

The voice on the radio sounded unnaturally loud. Her eyes felt hot and her breathing was becoming increasingly unsteady.

This wasn't a joke.

She knew this wasn't a joke.

This was the man from the Championship game, the Equalist Leader, Amon. The man who'd sworn again and again to destroy the Avatar, who'd attacked and terrorized Korra. Now he had her in a room full of his followers…

What was this man going to do to her baby?

"No…" She whispered.

This wasn't happening. Not again.

…not again, not again, not again, not again, not again, not again, not again, not again, not again, not again, not again, not again, not again, not again, not again, not again, not again, not again, not again…

Senna couldn't find the strength to speak. She could barely think. The radio dominated her vision. She wanted to bury her face in Tonraq's shirt and hide from what was happening, but she couldn't move at all. Not even to look away and find solace.

Korra began speaking hesitantly, her voice seemed to falter, but soon grew in confidence and strength until she was shouting triumphantly and angrily over the air waves.

But Senna couldn't understand a single word her daughter was saying. She couldn't feel the warmth of the hearth room or her husband. On an intellectual level she knew she was looking at a small radio, with a pretty facade carved out of a fine, pale wood that sat on lovely little polished table Tonraq had assembled out of scraps and unwanted timber a few years back…

All she could see was the darkness of a cold, moonless, southern night. The winds were high, visibility was low, but not low enough to render them invisible. They were four figures moving rapidly away, toward the shoreline where they'd anchored a small junk.

Senna knew nothing and everything about these people, but none of that mattered at all. The only thing that mattered was that if she didn't catch up with them, if she didn't stop them, she'd never see her daughter again. She couldn't let that happen.

She wouldn't let anyone hurt Korra or take her away. No matter what happened, she would never let anyone cause her baby any harm. She'd die before she let that happen.

A pair of warm, strong arms wrapped around her body. A strong hand turned her head so that her eyes were shrouded in darkness and heat. She could smell the heavy, comforting scent of Tonraq all around her.

"Senna." His low voice reverberated in the small bones of her face. "Senna, breathe. I need you to breathe."

She sucked in an unsteady breath. She let it out slowly. She drew another and let the sound of her breathing swallow the terrible conversation taking place on the radio. With every breath the terrible visions from the past that made her bones ache and her body shudder as a cold had settled into her bones faded away.

When she felt she could stand it again, she asked, "What… what are they saying?"

She more felt than heard Tonraq's response. "I… I don't understand it all… but I think… Korra thinks he's a liar. He's some kind of dangerous bender and she's the only one who knows about it."

Korra's shaky voice came out of the speakers, [There's no way a chi-blocker could ever stand up to you…]

Senna gently disentangled herself from Tonraq's arms. "No way a chi-blocker…? I knew they should have let me oversee her training." She joked. But she was still frightened, still worried about her daughter.

Amon chuckled. [Care to share your theories, Avatar?]

With a few words, Amon successfully turned all the fear and anxiety that Senna felt into something she could process: Rage.

Senna fixed her gaze on the radio. "He thinks he's won. That smug bastard…" she snarled. "He thinks he's won!" She squirmed in her husband's arms, incensed at the smug pleasure she heard in the Equalist Leader's voice.

The radio crackled as Amon laughed. [How ridiculous! You have no evidence whatsoever! This is just another baseless claim!] He was mocking her. [You see, like all benders, the Avatar is nothing more than a liar!]

She couldn't stand it anymore. "How dare he," she growled. "How dare he talk to our little girl like that!" She wanted to pull herself out of Tonraq's arms and smash that pretty radio so it's metal insides were scattered across the floor, but as angry as she was, she didn't have the strength to pull free.

And Tonraq held her fast.

"He's doing this for a reason." Her husband's voice surprised her. He sounded particularly calm and rational. "He's using her."

Senna turned to look at him. "What?" She hadn't expected him to be so calm at a time like this. Usually she kept her head and he was the one going off on a tear…

But then, she'd lost her cool, so he'd stepped up. That was how it was—whenever one of them was going crazy the other stepped up to be cool and rational. They worked well together.

"He's humiliating her to rally his troops." Tonraq said with all the seriousness and authority of a general.

Senna's eyes widened. "Troops?" she asked. "What are you talking about?"

The radio drew their ear again at the sound of their daughter's wrathful snarling. [Do you want me to spell out your entire, horrible backstory to a room full of people you could kill with a look!? To invite a murderous blood bath? Oh no, your brother told me enough about you! You wouldn't hesitate to use your abilities on helpless animals, you haven't hesitated to use them on benders, and I seriously doubt that you'd think twice before hurting one of your followers!]

Tonraq's stared at the radio in shock. "What the hell…?"

[Enough!] a voice growled. There was the sound of a struggle.

Tonraq released Senna suddenly as he leapt to his feet. "Korra!"

Senna heard Korra shout [No!] and lurched to the front of the couch. Her hands covering her mouth in shock and fear. Had they hurt her?

But rather than deafening, terrible, silence, Korra's voice rang out loud and clear: [I'm not done making 'baseless claims!' But speaking of baseless claims, how do yours stand up, huh?!] she drew a sharp, loud breath, [I never once lied about a single thing! Maybe I didn't know anything when I came to this city, but I was always upfront and honest! You, though… tell me, has anyone ever actually seen your real face? Does anyone recognize you? Can they vouch for you and your story?

[I'm sure they all know you're not from Republic City—you didn't grow up here! Everyone's been more than happy to take you at your word about what happened to your family! I'm sure you're more than happy to let them follow you around blindly!]

The sound of the crowd's murmuring was rising. There was concern, confusion, and chaos in the background. For a moment it seemed that Korra's powerful voice would be swallowed by the outcries of anger.

[But I KNOW!] Korra's cry of rage cut through the din. Her words were almost rendered intelligible due to their volume.

The broadcast suddenly dropped. Static filled the room.

"Tonraq!" Senna screamed as she lurched toward the little box. She tried to stand, but her legs gave out under her and she sat on her knees on the floor, her fingernails scraped against the stones under her.

Tonraq was already beside the small device, fiddling with the dials. "Shit!"

She watched him work the dials desperately. "What happened?" She asked, her voice was steady despite the tremors that shook her body so hard that she thought her bones would come loose.

"Interference! It has to be interference! Some kind of storm or a tree or…!" He slammed a fist into the floor. "It could be anything!" he snarled angrily.

Senna crawled over to him and put her arms around his waist, pressing her head into the spot between his shoulders. He was breathing heavily. After a moment, felt his big hand find her own.

"Can you get the signal back?" she asked.

"I don't know," he replied. "I can try."

Senna squeezed him gently. She heard the radio stations change slowly. Voices emerged and slipped back into the static. And then Korra's voice broke through again:

[-u're a monster who didn't even think twice when your father ordered you to hurt your own brother!]

The station went quiet then as the dull sound of low static filled the hearth room.

"Did we lose the signal again?" Senna asked.

But then a low, soft murmuring sound started to come through—as if a large crowd were expressing surprise. The voices were almost indistinguishable from the undercurrent of static, but it was there.

Tonraq slid away from the radio and gently wrapped his wife up in his arms once more as they settled at the base of the couch. He pressed his face into her hair as he whispered: "We've still got it."

Amon's voice broke the silence. [Pathetic.]

Senna and Tonraq stared at the radio with wary eyes.

And then Amon's next command came through:

[Gag her.]

Senna let out a huff of tear-filled horror and anger, even as her husband wrapped her in an even more protective grip: "… that sonovabitch…" he growled. "That sonovabitch…!"

She could feel him shaking too, now. He was just as angry as she was, but he was holding it in admirably for her sake.

Senna swallowed and gently disentangled from her husband's arms. She rose to her feet slowly and unsteadily to face the small box. She felt strangely calm as she did so—it was as though all her anger and fear had vanished. She could distantly hear Tonraq speaking her name, asking her if she was alright. But the only sound that filled her head was the scuffle on the air waves. It was the sound of equalists gagging her daughter in front of a crowd.

[Behold the Avatar: a powerful, vile bender finally put in her rightful place!] Amon's resonant voice filled their house and her head, [Bound and muzzled like the violent animal that she-!]

Senna didn't wait to hear the rest of what Amon had to say. She reached down and flipped Tonraq's beautiful little table, sending their tiny, pretty radio flying across the room to shatter on the floor.

She stared at the broken remains of their radio. The wood had broken and bent in odd directions. Springs and wires spilled from the interior of the machine.

In that moment, the radio, to her mind, bore a remarkable resemblance to Amon's head.

And as she stood over the mess she's made, she smiled quietly to herself.

She was going to hunt Amon down.

She was going to find him.

And then she was going to smash his skull in.

And his head would look just like this radio with its inner-workings spilled across the floor.

A pair of warm hands gently encased her shoulders, "Senna? Are you okay?"

Tonraq's voice brought her back to reality and all the fight left her abruptly. She let out a soft gasp as her knees gave out. Her husband's grip on her shoulders tightened as he lowered her to the ground and pulled her into his lap.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Senna was silent for a moment as she contemplated the question. Was she okay? She was whole, she was safe, she was with her darling and devoted husband in their little house in the South Pole. She was, on the whole, alright. But she wasn't going to be alright. How could she be alright? Her baby was being held hostage by a horrible man who was hurting her.

So she told him the truth. "No. I'm not alright. Nothing is alright." Her eyes clouded with tears and she swallowed sharply. "After all this time, after everything I did to make sure she'd be safe! After everything we gave up…! After everything I lost…! After all that work just to be able to walk again, just to stand up and all it takes is…!"

He pulled her into his warm, large body and pressed a comforting kiss to the top of her head. "It's alright. This is nothing."

A heavy sob tore its way out of her chest. "It's not nothing! Our daughter's in danger and here I am falling apart and helpless to do anything!" Her body heaved as another sob wrenched its way out. "And what can I do about it?!" Hot tears coursed down her cheeks. "What can I do, Tonraq?! I can barely stand anymore! I can't even fight!" She swiped at her tears with the back of her wrist. "Spirits damnit, Tonraq! I can't do anything to save her this time!"

"Hey, now." Her husband's voice rumbled. "That's not true, you've come a long way since then. You march around the house and boss me around. You can stand just fine, but you know that when you can't…" he swallowed loudly, "I'm here with you, remember? You have me. I'm still here. Remember what I promised?" he asked as his large hand came up to stroke her hair.

Senna hiccoughed and sniffled, half-choking on her own tears and anguish. "Yes."

"Are you sure?" her husband's voice was mournful rather than teasing.

She shook her head. "You're going to make me say it, aren't you?" She cast an accusing glare up at him through red, nearly bloodshot eyes.

Tonraq gave her a sympathetic half-smile. "I am."

She pushed his chest with feeble arms. "You jerk!"

That got a chuckle out of him. "Come on. What did I promise? Do you remember?" He pulled her head into his chest.

Senna pressed a hand to his firm chest, just over his heart. She stared at it and recalled how she'd once been able to take down countless warriors with impressive ease… but that was lost to her now.

She'd lost so much.

She buried her face in his shirt and said, "You promised that you'd be my arms and legs for as long as I need."

"And that means, that if you need me to go up north and punch an equalist in the face, then I'll go up north and punch an equalist in the face."

She could tell she was crying again. His shirt was getting wet from her tears and probably her snot as well. She tilted her head up to look at him and smiled through her distress. "I love you."

He returned her smile, tracing lines of worry into his tanned face. "I love you too."

She pressed her ear against his chest and listened to his heartbeat and the steadiness of his breath.

"Tonraq?"

"Yes?"

"Let's go take our daughter back."

He shifted under her. She could feel him peering curiously down at her. "Take our daughter…?"

She turned her head so that her nose was pressed against his shirt. She breathed in deeply. "The White Lotus promised that they'd protect her. That was why we went along with all this compound nonsense, isn't it? They failed. I'm done letting other people raise my child. I won't' let anyone take my daughter away from me again. I'm not letting anyone locker her up, even if they say it's for her own protection. She hated it. I hated it." Senna felt fresh tears stain her cheeks. "They made us lie to her…"

Her fingers curled into his shirt and she pulled away from him to sit up straight and tall, she looked him in the eye. "Enough of this 'for her own good' crap. Let's bring Korra home."

Tonraq looked like he was going to argue, but any desire to fight left him as he let out a long heavy sigh. "I don't know if she'd like us interfering or dragging her off."

Senna didn't back down. "Then we'll bring home to Korra, even if it's only for a little while. But I'm done not being part of my daughter's life."

"Are you sure about this?"

"Yes. The White Lotus failed. They aren't worth a fraction of the price of the uniforms they wear. They never were." Senna swallowed and looked away. "We should have known better than to put our faith in them."

Tonraq stiffened. "Senna!"

She rounded on him. "It's true! They showed up to 'guard' Korra, three months later someone's trying to carry her off! They lost that fight, Tonraq!" Her voice cracked and broke. "They lost the fight and they had the nerve to take my daughter from me after their spectacular failure, after my father died and I broke my back to bring her home! They took advantage of us and our suffering to pull our family apart! I'm done with those charlatans! They've done a piss poor job and I refuse to stand by while people hurt my little girl over and over again!"

Tonraq was silent. He stared at her quietly, an expression of surprise on his face. He looked somewhat taken aback by her anger.

Senna felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment at her outburst, but it felt good to get her anger off her chest at long last. She expected him to resist and defend the White Lotus and she was ready for any defense he had. But her husband surprised her.

He let out a somewhat harsh chuckle and said, "They've really cocked things up, haven't they?"

Senna nodded. She settled against him once more and curled into his warm embrace. Her mouth curved into a frown, there was one last thing on her mind that bore mentioning.

"Tonraq…" she began softly.

"Hm?"

"Someone taught my daughter things that…" she swallowed and her fingers dug into his shirt once more. "They filled her head with lies about people like me. I once swore that I'd do whatever it took to keep my daughter safe and she still doesn't know what I've done to keep her safe." Senna swallowed sharply. "Even if she can never really be allowed to know about it, I'm never going to break that promise. I'll do whatever it takes to keep my word, to keep my baby safe."

"You don't have to do that."

"You know I do." Senna nuzzled her husband's chest. "I don't care if Korra is the Avatar. She's still my daughter, my little girl. She's the only child we'll ever-"

Tonraq's arms wrapped her and he locked her in an almost suffocating embrace. Senna wrapped her slender arms around his larger ones as best she could.

Something warm and wet dripped onto her forehead. "You're right," Tonraq's voice was rough with emotion. "We've let this go on for too long. I thought Tenzin and the White Lotus could handle this, were the best suited for it, but…"

"Tenzin's a good man," Senna said, "but I don't know if he could save anyone, let alone himself."

Tonraq let out a soft laugh. "You're right." He gave her a gentle squeeze and said, "Let's go get Korra back."

[] [] []

Korra sat curled up against the wall that divided her cell from Tarrlok's. She'd paced the cell for several hours. The equalists had come and gone, leaving food and drink for her. The light from the small window had started to fade. She imagined Tarrlok curled up just on the other side and it made her feel less alone and afraid.

And she was afraid.

She was scared out of her wits.

She buried her face in her arms and squeezed her eyes shut. Her body curled protectively into itself, it looked like she was trying to make herself as small as possible. She was trying to block out thoughts of the day, especially the part about Amon maybe marrying her for political gain.

Amon.

Terrifying, creepy, spirit mask-y, evil, possibly-a-blood bender, maybe-possessed-by-spirits Amon…

Marry her.

On a scale of terrifying possibilities, that one had been so high up on the list and so insanely inconceivable she'd never really considered worrying about it. It hadn't even occurred to her that it might ever happen. But now she'd just learned that being married to Amon was within the realm of reasonable possibility. In other words, it could actually happen in the near future.

What did a political marriage entail, anyway?

Was there a ceremony? Did they live in the same place? Did he put her in a box and only bring her out for special occasions—like some sort of special piece of jewelry…?

Would they have to share a bed?

Korra burrowed further into her arms until she was curled as tightly into herself as possible. She remained in that curled position for as long as possible, but then a shudder crept through her body. She uncoiled like a spring and lunged into the middle of the room, thrusting her fist forward as she fell into a fire bending stance.

No fire burst forth.

She dropped to her knees and crumbled into herself as she suddenly felt a great wave of crushing fear come down on her. Suddenly the loss of her bending as it related to her status as Avatar didn't matter quite so much as the fact that she could not fight back. If anything happened to her, if the equalists decided that maybe they didn't need her after all, she had no means of defending herself.

A shudder crept through her body.

No way to fight back…

She swallowed hard and closed her eyes tightly. There had to be a way out, some method to fix this, she just hadn't thought of it yet because she wasn't patient and she didn't stop to think. That's why she was always in trouble. She didn't think things through.

Well, she had plenty of time to think now, didn't she?

She stared fixedly at the floor as she tried to focus her thoughts. After a moment she shifted into a more comfortable seated position. She began to go over everything she knew about whatever she could think of about her enemy, Amon.

Amon, the New Avatar… the thought brought memories of this morning and the humiliation she'd suffered. She shunted them away. Not useful right now.

Amon, the Emissary of the Spirits… the man who wore that horrible mask to cover up the scars on his face. Those horrible, ugly…

Well, they weren't that bad, actually. He still had definition and features. Korrra distinctly recalled on particular fire bending White Lotus guard, Fong, whose face was mostly a reddish smear of flesh from losing against a 'bad guy.' Fong been one of her most determined guards, and also one of her best buds until he'd been transferred.

Really, by comparison Amon's scars weren't too bad. The way he'd been talking, she'd half expected that he wouldn't have a nose under his mask and that she'd be seeing his teeth through his cheek bones. He'd really blown the whole thing out of proportion in her opinion. But that was typical of a liar, wasn't it?

And he was a liar, wasn't he? He'd lied about his past, blown his facial scars way out of proportion, and kept all kinds of crazy secrets.

Amon, the liar.

She liked that. She didn't think she could fight a New Avatar, she didn't think she stood a chance against an emissary from the Spirits, but she thought that she stood a fair chance against Tarrlok's brother, a no-account lair…

… except she hadn't been able to take him down during any of their previous encounters. She had never once landed a hit on him. He was a formidable and frightening. He was powerful and terrible and even worse, if what Tarrlok told her was true, he was a powerful, powerful blood bender.

Korra slumped in defeat.

This was pointless.

She felt like she didn't know anything. All she had to go on were Amon's lies and Tarrlok's memories. So what if Amon was Tarrlok's brother? Did that really change anything about the situation? Of course it didn't change anything! Amon had prepared for everything, covered all his bases… he really was scarred up from an encounter with a fire bender. Being a bender didn't protect anyone from the triads! All Tarrlok's tragic history had told her was that Amon had been a blood bender before he started the revolution and there was no way to confirm anything he said!

She sighed and stared at the opposite wall of her cell. Her brow furrowed, something was bothering her, and she felt like she was on the edge of a breakthrough. If she could just push through the block.

Amon had been a blood bender.

She blinked and furrowed her brow.

Wait. Was that right?

Just now she'd been thinking that Amon had been a blood bender… but wasn't he still a blood bender? He had to be, that was why this situation was so awful. All these non-benders at the mercy of a blood bender… It was a really, really bad situation… Everyone was going to suffer…?

Unless he'd traded his bending abilities in the spirit world to become a New Avatar, he'd still be a blood bender, right? So… had he really traded his blood bending for the ability to energy bend his opponents into submission…?

She massaged her forehead as she tried to unravel Amon's web of lies. She felt like she was onto something here… if she could just figure it out!

She closed her eyes to try and focus harder. An image flashed before her eyes. Aang, small and young, no more than twelve stood before an imposing Fire Nation man bound by earth. The man breathed fire at Aang, but the young Avatar used his air bending to push through the fire to press one hand on the man's head and another on his heart.

The vision froze as another superseded it. A great and terrible face appeared; immense red eyes stared out from a golden lion-like visage. She could just make out the rise of a great, forested form beyond the face—it was like there was an island on this creature's? —no, this being's back was an island.

A lion turtle.

It spoke in a low, gravelly voice that echoed in her bones. "In the era before the Avatar, we bent not the elements, but the energy within ourselves." The creature reached out and touched her forehead and her heart. She was filled with a great and powerful light that suffused her entire being… "To bend another's energy, your own spirit must be unbendable. Or you will be corrupted and destroyed."

The vision faded and she found herself watching Aang and the Fire Nation man once more. Aang threw back his head and… a light burst forth from his eyes and mouth. The Fire Nation man's eyes began to glow as well, but the light was different—it was bright and orange-red like fire…

The light suffused Aang's body, turning his skin a bright, impossible blue. The man's body began to shine as well, but with the orange light… The glow was so intense it felt like the entire world was divided between the orange, fiery light and the white-blue of the Avatar's light.

Slowly the orange-red energy crept over Aang's body, putting out the blue light. And then, just when it seemed that the fire had swallowed the entire world, Aang's blue light returned. The world was suffused with that radiant, pale blue glow.

And then it was over.

Korra jerked back into awareness. She let out a yelp as she swayed precariously. Her entire body felt strange and unwieldy, like she didn't quite belong in it—everything was in the wrong place. Her hands searched for purchase on the floor to keep herself from falling flat. She was panting like she'd run a marathon.

Tarrlok's voice called to her his cell. "Korra! Are you alright?!"

"Yeah!" She shouted. She took a few deeper breaths and then said it again. "…yeah…" She swallowed hard. "I just need to lie down…"

"What happened?" He sounded concerned.

"I just… I had a bit of a breakthrough, I think."

Tarrlok's voice quieted and his words came quickly; he was clearly curious and excited. "What happened?"

She darted over to the wall and crouched under the opening. If the equalists were listening, she didn't want them to hear everything she told Tarrlok. "I saw Aang and a man from the Fire Nation…" She thought about her vision. That man who'd been energy bent… that had to have been Fire Lord Ozai! "I saw a vision of Aang fighting Fire Lord Ozai and a Lion turtle!" Tarrlok was silent.

After a few tense minutes, Tarrlok spoke again. "What do you think it means?"

Korra began to really process everything. The Fire Lord and Aang in combat, the vision interrupted by another of a lion turtle telling her about… Oh.

Oh wow.

"I saw Aang energy bend…" Korra breathed the words in reverent shock.

"You saw Aang… energy bend?" Tarrlok sounded confused and uncertain. Maybe he thought she was crazy and making all of it up.

If he did, it was too bad. She didn't have anyone else to talk to so he'd have to hear her out. And if that meant that she'd talk his ear off, bore him out of his mind, and make him think she was crazier than a koala badger… well, too bad for him. She needed a someone to listen to her right now and Tenzin wasn't here. Tarrlok would have to deal with it. "Yes. It was nothing like Amon's technique. And I don't think that any spirit other than a lion turtle can give someone the power to energy bend… to take someone's bending…"

"Wait, wait, wait." Tarrlok was starting to sound like himself again. He was clearly in politician mode. "You're saying that there's an actual kind of bending where you can bend energy?" The disbelief in his voice was clearly audible. "How does that even work?"

Korra wasn't sure how to explain it. "Well, I guess it's like… you bend someone's energy and…" She gave up on explaining it and just told him the important part. "Well, energy bending is how the Avatar was able to remove Fire Lord Ozai's bending and Yakone's."

"I see. And he got it… from a lion turtle?" Tarrlok still sounded doubtful.

Korra felt a little embarrassed at her explanation. Even she thought it was a little outlandish, but the legends did say it was true… not that everyone believed the legends, but, "Yes."

"What does it mean?"

Korra knew that answer to that one. "It means that Amon is a liar. Whatever technique he's using isn't a gift from any spirits. I know what energy bending looks like now and what Amon's doing isn't energy bending."

"Then how is he taking people's bending?" Tarrlok asked.

Korra sighed and let herself roll to lean against the wall as she sagged. "I don't know."

Tarrlok sighed. "Well… I don't know if this information will help us, but…" He paused; she suspected that he was thinking. "Maybe if you can communicate with the other Avatars we'll stand a better chance." He sounded like he wasn't sure it was possible to communicate with the other Avatars, which was kind of strange considering how she'd learned about his father, Yakone. And she'd told him about it. Didn't he already know she could reach back to her previous selves?

Well, she supposed he was only a little less confident her ability to speak to her past lives than she was… "Maybe." It wasn't like she could control the visions; they came at random whether she wanted them or not.

Then Tarrlok said something that took her completely by surprise.

"I'm proud of you."

Korra jerked upright and turned to look over her shoulder. "What?" All she saw was concrete and stone, but she knew he was there, she could hear his voice, and he had to be just as close to the wall as she.

He said it again.

"I'm proud of you."

There was warmth in his voice as he said it and it made her feel warm inside. It was like he was apologizing for when he called her a half-baked Avatar—she was still pissed about that—but this totally made her feel better about being stuck with him.

Oh, who was she kidding!? It made her feel WAY better about the entire situation! She'd spent the morning learning how little faith anyone had in her and how much everyone hated her. She'd spent the entire day feeling like the worst Avatar ever. Like she was the biggest mess up ever and everyone felt that way and why would her friends even rescue her after a screw up this bad?

But right now there was at least one person who was proud of her. There was one person who was in the same awful situation and who had—in retrospect—possibly screwed up even worse than she had, who had some faith in her abilities. That little bit of faith, even coming from an enemy meant so much to her…

Korra blinked and blushed a little. She pushed a stray bit of hair out of her face. "Really? Why?"

"This is clearly a sign of improvement and growth. I'm sure it'll help us get out of this situation."

"Thank you." Korra flushed, basking the praise, even if it came from Tarrlok. Her battered ego needed a bit of stroking.

"Why don't you keep meditating? Maybe something more will come to you. I'll try and come up with a plan." Korra thought his suggestion was sound and reasonable.

"Alright." She hummed and leaned back against the wall, feeling much calmer and far more content than she had in quite some time.

She closed her eyes and tried to think back to what she'd been focused on before her conversation with Tarrlok, before her vision…

She'd been trying to unravel Amon's lies, but where had she been in the thought process. Let's see… energy bending. Energy bending had been how Aang took people's bending. Amon was using a different technique. He wasn't energy bending. She knew what energy bending was and what it looked like and Amon was not an energy bender… no way, no how.

Then how was he doing it?

Amon…

Amon and his equalists.

Amon and chi-blockers…

Chi-blockers.

No.

It couldn't be that simple! There was no way! If it were that simple, then surely every single chi-blocker would be able to figure it out and pull of the same thing! They'd be up against an army that was fully capable of taking people's bending away!

Korra was on her feet again, pacing the cell. Her head was spinning with the implications.

But if it were a chi-blocking technique, it was a permanent one. But if he were blocking chi…

She turned over what she'd been taught. Okay, more half-taught, since she'd only been half-listening at the time… there'd been that handsome White Lotus guard and she'd been thirteen… And then he'd been suddenly relocated… which had made her very upset at the time…

Focus Korra!

Chi-blocking was a disruption in the flow of chi through the body… There were chi-points all over the body… Most chi-blocking techniques were non-permanent disruptions of the flow of chi… Chi was a mixture of physical and spiritual energy that acted as the spark for bending in benders… But even non-benders had chi… Chi was energy… It was life-force…

Chi was energy.

Chi was life-force.

That was important.

So… if Amon was permanently blocking a chi-point in the body… say a major chi point, like a point… in the head… kind of in the same vicinity as the mind chakra…

Korra touched her fingers to her forehead like Amon. She thought about the diagrams and what her teachers had taught her. Her eyes widened in sudden comprehension.

That wasn't just near the mind chakra. Her fingers were ON the mind chakra.

He was permanently blocking the flow of life-energy through the body.

He was blocking a major point on the path of life-energy through the body.

Korra stared straight ahead. She blinked a few times and then turned that thought over one more time. Amon was permanently blocking the flow of life-energy at a major point in the body…

That…

That wasn't just taking away the ability to bend. That was literally disrupting the flow of energy in the body. Disrupting the flow of energy in the body could permanently cripple someone; it could cause horrific illness, mental instability, and, eventually, death.

Did Amon know what he was doing?

He had to know what he was doing.

How could he not know what he was doing?

It probably took years of careful study to perfect a technique that permanently disrupted the flow of chi in the body. You didn't learn to permanently block chi in the body and not know the effects it would have on the intended target.

Sure, it wouldn't kill the target immediately, but over time it would cause long-term damage.

Amon wasn't just taking bending away. He was killing benders. Not outright, but over time the damage he'd done would take its toll on the bodies of his victims.

She thought of Tahno and how he'd seemed diminished after Amon had finished with him. She thought of her own behavior and how it wasn't quite the same… She was quieter now, more thoughtful… but that might be due to the fact that she couldn't throw a fiery temper-tantrum in her cell, melt the bars, and tear the place apart with her bending. She had nothing to do but think right now. And Tarrlok—he was being nice to her of all things…

Okay.

He wasn't energy bending, but he was doing something pretty close to it.

She walked back to the wall and sat down again.

So. He was creating a permanent chi-block. Next question: How? If she could figure out how he was doing it, then she might be able to reverse engineer the process.

And her teachers had said she wasn't half as smart as she liked to think she was!

She closed her eyes and thought back to the moment he'd taken her bending. He'd taken hold of her neck first. She'd felt a horrible sensation in her head, she'd felt shock and fear and… it was as though every part of her body had been gripped by a thousand invisible hands…

'I recognized his blood bending hold.'

Oh.

Oh.

That made sense. So he'd blood bend his targets into position and then…

She thought about what had happened again.

He put his thumb down on her head. The gesture wasn't unlike the one used by Aang to remove Ozai and Yakone's bending… She remembered feeling that something shifted out of alignment within her.

She opened her eyes, frowning hard.

What if he was hitting a chi-point deep inside his intended target? What if he used a combination of blood bending and chi-blocking to perform his little trick?

She glared at the wall.

It was possible that he was combining chi-blocking with blood bending to achieve his end. Unfortunately, all she could do was guess. It wasn't like she could ask him to teach her his big, secret, bending removal technique.

But if what he was doing wasn't energy bending. If all he was doing was blocking a key chi-point… Well, any chi-point could be blocked or unblocked through numerous techniques. It was too bad that she'd left the South before they'd gotten to the 'how to remove energy blocks' lesson—it would have been really, really useful to have that information right now.

Thankfully, Tenzin had been reviewing much of the information with her. The air bender patriarch had always claimed that the spiritual and the physical were connected and that there was a powerful spiritual aspect to bending. And then he'd start in on how 'that which is true in the physical is also true in the spiritual and that which is true in the spiritual is also true in the physical… the two worlds reflect each other… the point is that if you affect one side, you affect the other… Korra are you listening?'

She let out a small huff at the memory. He'd been pretty angry about her lack of attentiveness that day. But she'd been listening!

Kind of…

So the physical impacted the spiritual and the spiritual impacted the physical? In that case, maybe if she meditated and undid the block on the spiritual level, she could recover her abilities?

Korra briefly considered telling Tarrlok her plan, but then decided against it. She didn't want to get his hopes up about getting his bending back. She also didn't trust him yet—even if she really, really liked it when he told her how awesome she was.

She settled into a meditative pose, closed her eyes and reached for her bending. She refused to believe her abilities were gone forever, not when some not-even-half-baked fake Avatar had been the one to take it away. Unfortunately, she wasn't really sure where to look for her bending, it'd always been right there, on the surface for as long as she could remember.

Now she had to go and find the source of her bending without any trail to follow.

When she reached inside of herself and searched, really searched, she found nothing. She couldn't feel hardness of earth and rock. She had no sense of the flow of water. The raging fire within her had gone out.

Maybe her bending really was gone for good?

She tried to reach further, she felt as though she were straining herself. Then she felt… something… or maybe nothing… She wasn't sure how to describe it, but she'd never felt anything like it before, it was like a hard, cold, darkness stretching out before her. She wasn't sure this had been here before…

Something shifted on the edge of her awareness, something new. There was a dry, almost insubstantial quickness darting near the edge of the dark void in her mind's eye. She focused on it and felt a flicker like quicksilver darting in and out of her consciousness.

She reached for it, trying to catch it, but it slipped away like… like…

Air.

She could barely contain her grin of triumph. She opened her eyes and held out her hand. She called it forth, letting the sensation move through her arm to her fingertips with gentleness and precision she hadn't known she possessed.

A small sphere of wind appeared in her outstretched hand. "A leaf on the wind." She breathed the words with reverence.

She lowered her hand to the floor and changed the direction of the small breeze she'd created, watching, as it became a small dust devil there, picking up small bits of dirt and tossing them wildly. "He blocked earth, fire, and water, but not air." Her soft murmuring went unheard.

She felt her strength and confidence return. This fight wasn't over yet. She still had one element left. She could still fight.

She pulled herself to her feet. Fully intending to blast her way through everything in her path with her one, remaining element. She pulled back her fist and stopped dead…

There were two problems with her 'plan.' The first was that air would do absolutely nothing to the iron bars or stone. She'd just be advertising that she had that power. If she was going to blast her way out, better to do it when there were people she could take out… or steal keys from… or something… But then, there was the other thing…

Korra relaxed her stance and went to sit on the hardened shelf that passed for a bed in her cell.

The last few times she'd used her elements and gone blasting her way into and out of a situation, everything had gone horribly. At this point, she really couldn't afford another mistake. She only had one element left and it wasn't an element she was particularly familiar with, if Amon caught her she'd lose all her bending abilities and that'd leave her even worse off than now.

Korra grimaced. She had to keep her head down. She'd gotten into this mess by charging in and acting like a fire bender, or an earth bender, or a water bender. If she wanted to get out of this, she'd have to start acting like an air bender, like Aang. And she needed to escape. She had a destiny to fulfill as the Avatar.

She drew in a heavy breath and told herself to be patient. She had to wait for the right time and she had to trust that she'd know the right time when it came. And maybe she'd get some help from her friends…

Her friends…

She sat up suddenly and said, "My friends will come for me." The realization hit her like a ton of bricks. She wasn't sure if the thought made her happy, or if it frightened her. What if her friends did come for her and got caught? Mako and Bolin would lose their bending. Asami's father would probably take his daughter prisoner.

And then there was Tenzin and Lin… who would be risking their bending and their lives to save her from her own stupidity…

Tarrlok's voice broke into her thoughts. "You're right. Your friends will come for you." There was a note of grim distress in his voice. She realized that he was afraid. He would be judged for his crimes against her and against the city. They might choose to leave him behind.

Unfortunately, she really couldn't be bothered worrying about him right now, because the list of people who would inevitably try to free her just seemed to get longer and longer… "And so will my family and the White Lotus."

"The White Lotus, yes," Tarrlok agreed. "But what can your family possibly do against Amon?"

Korra slumped and thought about her parents. Her father would probably charge in and lose his bending immediately and her mother wasn't a bender at all… so she'd probably be fine. In the end they'd be captured and used as leverage to make her go along with Amon's plans. And what could her uncle possibly do to help? He wasn't exactly a fighter…

She rolled down to stretch her body out on the hard cot. "Not much probably."

[] [] []

Chief Unalaq was enjoying a leisurely stroll through his ice garden while he considered his carefully laid plans for opening up the portals to the Spirit World and unleashing the great spirit of Darkness and Chaos. So far, everything was going according to plan. He'd spent years carefully laying the groundwork with Korra so that she trusted him and liked him and would not tell her father about the letters they'd been exchanging since her tenth birthday.

He was rather certain that he had enough ammunition at this point to remove Tenzin from the coveted position of Spiritual guide to the Avatar and take that desirable position for himself. But the most important thing was making sure that Korra would be able to attend the next Solstice festival in the South Pole and open the gate. Once the Southern Gate was open, he was sure that he could easily talk her into opening the Northern Gate.

From there it was a simple matter of getting her to make an appearance during Harmonic Convergence, ripping Raava from her body, and destroying the spirit of light. He'd kill his dear, stupid niece, unleash and merge with Vaatu, and then he'd tear the world to shreds. He'd start with his family—Tonraq was at the top of his list, followed by Senna, and then he'd kill his frigid wife, Malina. Their deaths would be swift, but hardly painless. In the end, he felt their souls would be grateful. They would not want to live to see what he would do to those who survived his initial cleansing.

He smiled serenely as he stared at a particularly pleasing ice sculpture.

Everything was going according the plan.

Except…

He frowned. There was just one, small item of concern. Korra had gone missing. Apparently his appointed representative, Tarrlok, was a blood bender and had captured her. At this time, his young niece's whereabouts and status were unknown. If something happened to her it could set his plans back by months. He could not afford delays, the timeline for Harmonic Convergence was rather inflexible.

He was mostly certain that the situation wasn't anything to worry about. Elite White Lotus guards, trained from a young age to protect the young Avatar from harm, were scouring the city for Korra. But then, he hadn't heard anything good recently. The Avatar had not been recovered and he was becoming increasingly concerned. If this was not resolved in a satisfactory manner, he might be forced to act. If he acted prematurely, he risked exposure, but…

A special court messenger, the one that received information directly from his agents hidden among the White Lotus, interrupted his musings. "Sire!"

"Yes?" Unalaq took a seat on a bench that overlooked the lower ice gardens. "Do we have any news about the Avatar or her whereabouts?" he asked.

The messenger nodded and dropped to his knees to give his report. "Sire, the Avatar has been captured by the equalists. Her bending has been taken and Amon has named himself the New Avatar. She has been publicly denounced and humiliated."

Unalaq's expression remained perfectly calm. He looked out over the expanse of beautifully carved ice. "The Avatar has been captured by equalists and her bending has been taken." He repeated the words slowly, as if tasting them. His mouth twisted in mild disgust. "Amon has named himself the New Avatar..."

He drew in a long, steadying breath, and let it out slowly. "Is there anything else?" he asked.

The messenger proceeded to tell him everything. Unalaq learned about the desperate, but futile efforts of Tenzin, the repeated failures to recover the Avatar and Tarrlok, the radio broadcast of the Avatar's public humiliation by the equalists as a prisoner… Through it all, Unalaq's expression remained calmly concerned, his brow only furrowing a little and the corners of his mouth twisting downward only slightly.

When the messenger was done relaying what he knew, Unalaq sent him away so that he could think over everything that he'd learned.

Unalaq sat back and took in the view of his garden again, but he wasn't really paying the slightest attention to the icy beauty that surrounded him. He was blind, even to the beautiful glow that that the ice took on as it was suffused the midafternoon sun and its hidden blues and yellows and pinks were drawn out to shine with an ethereal radiance. He was entirely focused on the major obstruction to his ascent to destructive godhood.

So.

The leader of The Most Ridiculous Revolution had somehow managed to seize the Avatar, the key to Unalaq's ultimate triumph. And he'd somehow managed to strip the young Avatar of her powers. And they were probably causing his niece irreparable psychological harm that would likely prevent any chance of her recovery.

He drew a shuddering breath and let his fingers clench in his robes.

Tarrlok had told him about the uprising of the non-benders. His representative on the council had kept the Northern Chief abreast of the situation and the progress of the anti-bending activists. Unalaq had urged his protégé to violently crush the uprising and cleanse the city. He'd even subtly promised the councilman unrestricted access to Korra—without naming her of course—on the condition of his success in putting down the revolution.

Tarrlok had failed him spectacularly. Not only had he endangered Avatar Korra—who was key to Unalaq's endgame—he'd managed to draw attention to his unique abilities—abilities that Tarrlok had somehow managed to hide from everyone, including Unalaq—in a highly incriminating manner. And it had all come together to ensure that the equalists were able to capture Korra, take her bending, and use her as a hostage in their efforts to change the world.

Unalaq sat back and closed his eyes. He could feel the beginnings of a headache coming on. He took several deep breathes to soothe his rapidly rising ire.

If he'd known that Tarrlok was a blood bender of such astounding ability, Unalaq would never have let the ambitious young man leave the North. He'd have kept Tarrlok close and ensured his absolute loyalty and commitment by giving him an excellent situation. Having a loyal blood bender on hand would have been a boon… something that no one would have been prepared for, least of all Tonraq and the White Lotus. It would have made the removal of countless obstacles so much easier if he'd had a specimen like Tarrlok completely under his sway.

But perhaps there was still a chance he could get his hands on the prodigious water bender...

If Tarrlok survived his imprisonment with the equalists, Unalaq would ensure the councilman's safe return to the North for long-term incarceration. Once Tarrlok was in his power he would make a deal with him. He knew that the young councilman would be grateful for his careful and very secret removal from the prison and would look to his mentor and savior for guidance. The blood bending politician would make a potent and powerful ally.

But… that eventuality would only be explored after Unalaq ensured the safety of his niece, Avatar Korra.

It was easy to focus on Tarrlok, because recovering and controlling Tarrlok would be easy. The young Avatar would be another matter. The equalists would not part with their precious hostage easily and it would be incredibly difficult to recover her from the revolutionaries without using unjustified extreme force…

It would be difficult, perhaps impossible.

Impossible… Ah, that word.

Unalaq considered how impossible his situation had been when he was young. He'd been the younger, sickly child of chief who clearly favored his eldest. He had no chance at the throne... or at least that's what everyone had believed. It had taken years, but over time and with the careful manipulation of words over countless conversations, Unalaq had been able to undermine Tonraq's popularity and managed to reframe his brother's successes as failures. Yes, it'd taken time, money, and careful planning to remove his brother from his enviable position as crown prince.

And then, after Tonraq was gone, it'd seemed unlikely that Unalaq would ever have the opportunity to sit upon the throne. Their father was quick to consider forgiving his eldest son... so Unalaq had needed to remove his father as well. It had taken time and careful consideration to select the right poison—an uncommon venom that could only be found in the deep reaches of the Southern Fire Nations forests. He'd spent months setting his father against the one person on the high council who could procure the venom—a man who had, conveniently, opposed the banishment of Tonraq…

Unalaq sighed and smiled to himself. He'd done quite a lot in his life to secure a position of near absolute power in the North. He'd intended to be well situated for the birth of the new Avatar. Even before he'd sought political power, he'd cultivated his spiritual ability and established himself as a spiritualist and leader worthy of potentially training the young Avatar.

Tenzin had, of course, aggressively blocked his efforts to gain entry into the inner circle of the White Lotus. The air bender patriarch hadn't trusted him and Unalaq's efforts to win Tenzin over had failed spectacularly. To this day, Aang's son remained as wary of the Northern Water Tribe Chief as ever and Unalaq had despaired, fearing that he would never have access to the new Avatar.

It had been a stroke of inconceivable luck when the Avatar was born into his family. He'd never dared to dream he would be so stupendously fortunate. Tenzin and Tonraq had denied him the right to educate his niece, but as a member of the Avatar's family he was given far more access than he might have otherwise been allowed. Being the favorite uncle to the rambunctious, little Korra had been a blessing from the spirits.

He'd even been able to exert some influence over the young girl, carefully planting seeds of his knowledge in her head. Their frequent correspondence helped him keep careful track of her progress with Tenzin. He was, of course, always careful to withhold what he knew in order to build up her curiosity.

Of course, no one could know that he was the Avatar's uncle. He was forbidden from using her name and authority to extend his power, but that suited Unalaq just fine. He didn't need to use the Avatar's name and authority to increase his influence. He was only interested in earthly power as a means to extending his spiritual authority.

He'd done all of this. The world had given the Avatar to him through her birth into his family. He finally had everything in place to overthrow the Avatar and cast the world into chaos, only to be blocked by an upstart? A non-bender revolutionary who dreamed of a world without bending?

Harmonic Convergence was only a year or so away. If Korra lost her abilities, she might not be able to open the gates. Unalaq's efforts would be rendered utterly pointless. If Korra died, the next Avatar would be born into the Earth Kingdom. It would be years before the next Avatar would be ready to open the gates to the spirit world. By then, Harmonic Convergence would be long past. Worse still, the next Avatar would be under stricter protection than Korra—he would not be allowed near the child.

He clenched his fist in his robes.

Unalaq needed Korra alive and whole for his plan to succeed. He also required complete control over her in the coming months to assure her safety and prevent further interruptions. The new question was: how could he achieve that end in light of these new developments?

What did the leader of the troublesome, yet farcical 'equalist' revolution want? What did Amon want more than anything else?

The Northern Water Tribe Chief considered what he'd been told about Amon.

Amon claimed to be trying to create a world of total equality, where there were no benders and non-benders. He claimed to have the power to remove someone's bending permanently and Korra believed him—having seen his power. And he wanted to start his brave new world in Republic City.

Unalaq looked up at the clouds that were passing overhead.

When he'd first heard about Amon, Unalaq had decided that the revolutionary leader was either a complete idiot or a brilliant showman and manipulative mastermind. Tarrlok had quickly com to the same conclusion over the course of their correspondence. The councilman had also realized that while both could be equally dangerous, it was far more likely that Amon was a showman and mastermind than an idealistic fool. Unalaq agreed with his assessment.

At first the likelihood of Amon being a fool had seemed quite high. The man spoke passionately of ideologies that appealed to the downtrodden, helpless, and desperate. He made promises that were not within his power to keep—there was no way that one man could remove every single bender in the entire world. Amon even surrounded himself with true believers and zealots who would serve him with utmost loyalty and feed his delusions... Typical of an idealist who was drunk on his own dreams.

Even the mask he allegedly wore seemed to suggest a blind and naive optimism. As long as Amon wore the mask the revolution would always be assured a leader. If he died, another could take his place simply by picking up the mask and continuing his work. With his face hidden, Amon could be anyone and, through the mask, he came to represent the masses that flocked to his speeches again and again.

As things progressed, however, the true nature of the situation had become increasingly apparent. Yes, Amon surrounded himself with zealots who would serve him with blind devotion and feed his zealotry. Yes, he wore a mask to seemingly suggest that he was a cog in the wheel to give his ideology an unending legacy… But then he'd gone and 'demonstrated' the ability to remove people's bending.

Unalaq hadn't been prepared to believe for a second that Amon could remove someone's bending—no matter what Korra had seen. It had taken Tarrlok's confirmation to convince him that the equalist leader had developed a method to remove someone's bending. But even Tarrlok's affirmations weren't enough to convince Unalaq that the equalist leader had the power to permanently remove a bender's abilities.

But then...

Amon claimed that he'd been named the New Avatar by the spirits and that they'd given him the power to 'cleanse' people of their bending abilities. Such a claim bordered on ridiculous. After all, Unalaq knew that most spirits would not directly attack or cause grievous harm to the Avatar without provocation. Only the oldest and most powerful spirits would even dream of committing such an act. And those elder spirits who despised the Avatar were few and far between. Unalaq could count their number on one hand.

The two most likely candidates were Ko and Vaatu. Unalaq knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Vaatu remained imprisoned and he suspected that only Ko would display himself boldly and blunder about—after all, Ko was a spirit that wanted to be seen. And the mask was something that Ko would revel in wearing… But would Ko really pursue the Avatar again? So soon? Then there was the troubling aspect about this supposed 'ability to remove bending', only the lion turtles held the ability to give and take bending. And the ancient ones knew what the Avatar was and would never give anyone the power to act against the Avatar…

Unalaq knew that. He'd tried to sway them to offer him similar power some years ago...

But the lion turtles were smarter than Wan Shi Tong...

Whatever Amon's trick was, it wasn't a gift from any spirits. But he'd put on quite a show to display his abilities and prove to the world that he was powerful. He'd fooled Korra, but fooling a young woman who'd never left the safety of her home before was hardly impressive. And for all of Tarrlok's evidence, none could prove that Amon's technique was permanent…

No, Unalaq was not so easily fooled by Amon's grand displays. He would not be bamboozled by a cheap charlatan. Especially not one with enough savvy to pick his battles with such care and efficiency.

Republic City really was the perfect place to start an international conflict. No one wanted to destroy the Avatar's beloved city, the police force—though formidable—was overconfident in its abilities and had let things slide for too long, and the United Forces, while certainly the most technologically advanced army in the world, weren't the most well-trained or organized military. The United Forces were grossly unprepared to face a threat of Amon's magnitude on the home front. All Amon had to do was remove the metal bending police and the council and the city would fall easily.

And then there was the fact that Amon was probably, very purposefully, baiting the Earth Queen. There wasn't a leader in the world that did not know that the Queen of Ba Sing Se coveted the New Republic. Amon's threats and efforts to take Republic City had her complete attention and Unalaq suspected that Amon knew that the Earth Queen would let him play his hand…

But the Earth Queen was a woman who enjoyed vulgar displays of power. She'd tactlessly tossed her weight around in international politics for decades and had become the most despised leader in the world. And if she thought she had a chance at taking back the United Republic, she'd take that chance without a second thought.

Of course that dumb bitch had no mind for tactics or strategy, preferring brute force over cunning in any and every conflict. Unalaq was willing to bet that Amon was counting on her hubris. The equalist leader was waiting for her to attack the United Republic as soon as the United Forces failed to retake the city. Of course, by the time her forces arrived Amon's armies would be fully equipped with an arsenal of anti-bender weapons to take out her army.

And after the equalists demolished the Eath Kingdom Army, Amon and his forces would be ready to take Ba Sing Se.

Throughout this entire struggle, Amon would need control over the Avatar. The equalist leader would need her in his power and afraid of him. She would be his hostage and the most effective means of inspiring fear throughout the world.

After all, the man who destroyed the Avatar was the most feared man in the world.

Amon couldn't afford to kill Korra until he had the Earth Kingdom under equalist rule. Even after that, the loss of the Avatar would be a huge risk. There was no guarantee that he'd be able to locate the next Avatar while trying to control the vast expanse the Earth continent...

Of course... Unalaq was assuming that Amon was a brilliant mastermind. It was still entirely possible that the equalist leader was a dumb idealist who'd managed to put himself in the perfect position to take over the Earth Kingdom through sheer dumb luck...

Unalaq let out a long sigh. He watched the heat of his breath cloud the air before him.

There was unfortunately, still a chance that Amon really was a fool. It was possible that the idiot had managed to hoodwink Tarrlok and that he'd ruin everything by executing Korra tomorrow at dawn...

Of course, if Amon were a brilliant mastermind, then he'd be playing a long-term game. That meant that the equalist leader would need to maintain complete and absolute power over the Avatar for decades. And that was hardly an ideal outcome...

So.

If Unalaq assumed that Amon was a mastermind and needed to maintain complete control over Korra for his revolution, then how did Unalaq recover Korra in order to carry out his own plans of becoming the Dark Avatar and purging the world?

Unalaq let out another heavy sigh.

The only thing he could think of was a show of exceptionally brutal force. And really, it was the perfect time for such a display. The Avatar was in grievous danger. If Unalaq saved her from the equalists he'd be able to discredit both Tenzin and the White Lotus. Once that was done, it'd be nothing to install himself as the great protector of the Avatar. After all, he'd have proved himself a more capable protector than his rivals...

Unfortunately, he didn't have due cause to strike out at the equalists with exceptional force. They hadn't made a move against the Northern or Southern Tribe, so this wasn't really his fight. And even if this was an attack on the Avatar, his position had to remain as neutral as possible, particularly because he was her uncle. The Avatar wasn't supposed to have favorites after all...

As a leader, he'd only be expected to offer a small portion of his forces to the struggle and act as a military advisor beside the other international leaders. Yes, the equalists had taken the his niece and dishonored her, but Korra was the Avatar. Even with her bending gone, the Avatar was more than a mere man or woman, he or she existed as the embodiment of light and balance in the world. The Avatar was the bridge between the human world and the spirit world. And he could not make this fight into a personal and highly political grievance as long as she maintained her powers. Everyone knew that.

Well, everyone who bothered to study the old texts knew that…

And only those privileged enough to be welcomed into the ranks of the inner circle of the White Lotus, or those who sought out the hidden Red Lotus, or those who were of a particularly spiritual nature and able to convince Wan Shi Tong to share his secrets could gain access to those texts.

And even then, you had to ask the right questions of the right people to learn the truth.

Which meant that perhaps only a fraction of a percent of the world's population was aware of or even understood the true nature of the Avatar…

…

Ah hah.

Unalaq rose to his feet.

Hadn't the equalists claimed that Amon had taken her bending abilities? While those were hardly the most significant abilities held by the Avatar, they were the most readily known. The Avatar's status and power as a bridge between the human and spirit world was virtually forgotten. Even those who had heard the words barely understood what they meant. For the vast majority of the population, Korra's loss of bending symbolized the end of the Avatar line.

With her bending gone, the common people would no longer see Korra as the Avatar. And as long as Korra had held the title of Avatar in the eyes of the people, no other title or expectation could come before it. Nothing else about Korra really mattered.

Her sex was meaningless, for no expectations of femininity could be heaped upon a warrior whose destiny was to bring balance to the world by any means possible. The Avatar could never be treated as a normal woman. Even the status of her relatives had no meaning. She could be the daughter of the Imperial Dynasty of the Earth King or she could be the child of paupers. In the end, it all meant nothing.

The Avatar was the Avatar above all else.

But…

Once her status as Avatar was removed, Korra's status reverted to that of her birth: and Korra was the daughter of the exiled prince of the Northern Water Tribe, the niece to Unalaq, Chief of the Northern Water Tribe, and Granddaughter by her mother to Chief Sokka of the South. She was a princess without a nation who had ties to two of the most influential men in the North and a famous hero of the South. Her royal blood and sex now took precedence over everything else from this point forward. And there were some delightful old traditions about what should be done to an enemy that kidnapped and despoiled a Water Tribe princess.

Unalaq didn't bother to fight the broad, incredibly pleased smile the spread across his face. He was so happy that Korra's status as his niece had been kept from the world. He was so relieved that his father, the old chauvinistic bastard, hadn't bothered to strike the old traditions from the law books. He was so relieved that he'd built up a loyal council of war hawks and old, superstitious hunters who valued honor and male authority over international peace.

He stood, calmly folded his hands behind his back and made his way back to his castle. He'd call a council meeting tonight and reveal what he'd learned. Then he'd disclose his intentions. Then, he'd tell them the truth of Korra's parentage. A few would resist, but he'd placate them with the offer of a short missive that would give the equalists due warning to comply…

And when the missive came late in the night after, say, a key victory against the under-trained, understaffed United Forces… Well, no one would be able deny that he'd given the revolutionaries a chance to hand over the young Water Tribe princess. There would be a Blood War and when it was over, he would take the Avatar back to the North and she would remain within his power—as was the right of the one who protected the honor of a Water Tribe princess.

And then everything would go according to plan.

[] [] []

A telegram came through late in the evening, several hours after a major victory against the United Forces. The young equalist who took the message wasn't sure what to make of it. So she immediately brought it to the most senior authority figure she could find. Her immediate superiors were celebrating their recent triumph. And since Amon was busy discussing plans with his lieutenant, the highest -ranking person she could find was an inebriated Hiroshi Sato.

The young woman tried to explain her concerns to Mr. Sato, but she was brushed aside. Sato was in a bad way that night. The victory had given him an excuse to indulge in liquor—something he'd avoided for a long time after he joined the equalist movement. Liquor made him angry and resentful and at that moment he was resenting the fact that his daughter wasn't beside him, celebrating the triumph over the people who'd killed his wife.

He wasn't angry with Asami. It wasn't her fault. She'd been misled. But he couldn't think of anyone on hand that he could blame for her betrayal except maybe the young ex-Avatar. Unfortunately, he couldn't come up with a reasonable excuse to go to her cell and beat her within an inch of her life.

Not that he really needed one, but an explanation might be in order after and he'd probably need a good one if he wanted to get away with it…

Sato plucked the message from the young equalist's quivering hands and skimmed it, barely taking in its contents. What he gathered was that some Northern Water Tribe bender was trying to throw his weight around and force the equalists to 'surrender the Avatar' to them.

Sato started laughing loudly as soon as he'd finished reading. Here it was, he thought, the perfect excuse to go and visit the ex-Avatar. He even had something he could use to hurt her—a missive from a Northern relative. The analogy was perfect. She'd taken his daughter from him. He would make sure that she never got to see anyone in her vile bender family ever again.

Without further thought, he stood and marched to where the ex-Avatar and the ex-blood bending councilman were being held. He arrived just in time to disrupt a small group of equalists who were debating the amount of trouble they'd be in if anything happened to the ex-Avatar. More than a few were certain that it would be very bad if they were caught—and they would be caught. Everyone would know what they'd done. The others were certain that the fate of a young, female ex-bender was unimportant—and they were in need of comfort and a warm body in order really celebrate.

The group scattered upon Sato's arrival. Only the most daring and opportunistic remained behind to escort Sato in to see the ex-Avatar. Since he was drunk, they were certain they'd be able to pin everything on him if the young woman tried to complain. They might even get away with it.

Sato opened the door to the holding cells where the ex-Avatar and the blood bending councilman were kept. He strode in confidently, if unsteadily. The wealthy equalist industrialist announced himself. "Avatar." Sato chuckled. "Or should I say ex-Avatar?"

The young woman was seated against the divider wall. The councilman was seated similarly. Both looked worse for wear, but there was a steady determination in their eyes. They were clearly unafraid of Sato.

The councilman spoke before the ex-Avatar had a chance. He glared up at Sato with icy, baleful eyes. "What do you want, Sato?"

Sato slammed his electric-gloved hand against the bars and made them glow. "Quiet, blood bender!" The jolt of the electricity sent the imprisoned man reeling away from the bars, stunned by the threat of such extreme violence.

The ex-Avatar stood up and approached the bars. She still stood tall and strong, unbent from the humiliation that had been heaped upon her only last week. "Mr. Sato? What do you want?" There was calm hope in her gaze.

Sato hated her.

He grabbed the bar and pulled himself close until his face was almost pressed between the gaps in the bars. "You will call me, 'Sir!' You vile bending brat!" He snarled the word with undisguised rage.

She pulled back at his rage, but then rephrased her question and drew closer to the bars. "What is it, sir?"

Sato withdrew the slip of paper and waved it smugly in front of the bars. "We just got a message from one of your relatives in the north."

The girl's eyes widened and darted eagerly between the slip of paper and the flushed face of Hiroshi Sato. "What did it say, sir?" she asked, indulging the drunken industrialist in his inebriated fancies in exchange for news from home.

Sato laughed madly. "It demanded your immediate release." He then pointedly crumpled the note in his hand, crushing something he knew to be precious to young woman. "On pain of action!"

The girl frowned in confusion, but the councilman beat her to the question. "What kind of action?" The councilman had drawn right up to the front of his cell. He was curious about the conversation at hand. His gaze darted between Sato, the missive and what he could see of Korra from his position.

Sato slammed his hand against the bars again, electrifying them. "Didn't I tell you to shut up!?"

The councilman jerked his hands away from the bars, before he could be electrocuted and stared at Sato resentfully. The industrialist giggled gleefully at the sight of a bender cowering before him. It was as good as he'd always dreamed.

The ex-Avatar, however, reclaimed his attention. "What kind of action, sir?" She was being very agreeable and polite, but that was only because the bitch had no other choice.

Nevertheless, the question threw him off. He hadn't thought she'd ask about the contents. Sato belched and stared blearily at the piece of paper. He tried to remember what it had said. "Something about honor and dire consequences or something…" It was all that came to mind. Reading small words wasn't easy right now. He laughed. "It doesn't matter! What matters is that you are never, ever going to see your family again!" He crowed the words with insane delight.

The girl jerked back in confusion and surprise. "What?"

"See!" he cried, pointing at the ex-Avatar. "You see Avatar! You took my Asami away from me! You corrupted her, you and that filthy fire bending street-rat!" She'd understand his brilliance once he explained it to her. She really wasn't that smart, after all. "You took my only family away and now…" He panted in wild excitement and laughed again, holding the note high overhead. "Now I'm going to take yours away from you!"

The girl must have realized what he was going to do. She lunged forward, reaching for the note. "Wait! No!"

Sato activated his glove and the piece of paper ignited. It was reduced to ash in seconds. "You see, Avatar! Here's what I think of your relatives and their foolish belief that the Equalist Revolution will be moved by bending cowards and bullies and murderers!" He cast the ash at her; she let out a cry and jerked back. He grabbed the bars of her cell then and leaned in close. "You will not be released! You will pay for your crimes against the non-benders of the world!" Sato felt triumphant. He felt so powerful. Finally. Finally, after all these years, the benders were getting what was coming to them!

The Avatar stood before him, defiant as ever. "I never did anything to hurt any non-benders! I defended them when they were attacked, I was trying to protect them!" She glared at him, as though it would make him see that she was right. And then she said something that made him see red. "Why are you punishing everyone else for the actions of one person!?"

Distantly, Sato heard the voice of the councilman call out. "Korra, you can't reason with him right now, he's drunk!"

"SILENCE!" Sato electrocuted the bars of the Avatar's cell. "You're not allowed to talk! You're not allowed to say anything! You deserve this you murderous bitch!" He let the electricity fade as he advanced on her, pressing his face and body right up against the bars and snaking his hand into the cell, reaching for her.

The young ex-Avatar backed up until she was pressed against the back-wall of the cell. He could see the way she cowered, her body tensed to flee, but she had nowhere left to run. She stared at Sato as though she'd never seen him before in her life. As if she were staring into the face of a monster.

Oh…

Oh if he could get in there…

If he could just get into her cell… he'd show her a monster…

He'd show her exactly what he was capable and he'd teach her to attack non-benders and corrupt young girls. By the time he was done with her, she'd be lucky to be alive.

But then, what was stopping him?

His breathing became wild and labored as he made his way to the door of her cell. His hands gripped the bars trying to find purchase. "A key!" He called to the young equalists who were in the room with him. "Give me a key, I'm going to teach this… this whore a lesson she'll never forget."

He could hear a voice in the background, screaming at him. Howling desperately at him to stop. Telling him to leave the girl alone, to come at the councilman, the blood bender, trying to provoke him into turning away from the girl. But it was all a dull hum of background noise to Hiroshi as he struggled with the key to open the cell. The voice started yelling for help.

"Sato! What are you doing?" The lieutenant's voice was like the crack of a whip, pulling Hiroshi violently from his dark, desperate, and angry musings.

"Lieutenant!" Sato jerked away from the door to the ex-Avatar's cell. The keys tumbled from his grip and onto the floor.

What had he been about to do?

Sato blinked and his eyes darted this way and that as he tried to gather his now scattered thoughts. He turned to meet the gaze of the solemn man who lived and breathed the equalist ideology—the right hand of Amon. "I was just making it clear to our prisoner that she'd never see her family again. That she'd be separated them forever, just like with my wife and daughter are from me."

The lieutenant approached and plucked the keys from the ground. "What brought this on?" He asked in a voice so calm that it could only be hiding great anger.

Before Sato could answer, the young equalist who'd brought Sato the missive jumped in. "There was a missive from the North. They were demanding her immediate release on pain of dire consequences…" She hesitated for a moment, but then she voiced her fear. "I… I think they were threatening war, sir."

The lieutenant was taken aback by the young woman's words. "What?" He turned to Sato and snarled. "Where is this missive?"

Once again, Sato had no time to respond. One of the other equalist soldiers responded for him. "Sato destroyed it, sir."

Sato tried to explain himself. "She had to know what it's like. She deserves to know what it's like."

The lieutenant took Sato firmly by the arm. "Come on, Sato." He turned to the rest of the assembled group. "These are valuable and highly influential prisoners. If anything happens to them we could lose our legitimacy in the eyes of the Four Nations. No one is allowed in or out of this room unless the order comes from Amon or myself from here on out."

The equalists nodded and they quickly fled the room. The lieutenant took his leave with Sato once the rest had already exited. He stopped at the door to sneer at the prisoners.

[] [] []

Once they were alone again, Tarrlok darted to the dividing wall. He scrambled to try and find the small opening between their cells. The darkness and shadows concealed it. "Korra?! Korra are you alright?!"

His only response was a sob.

She was distressed, probably terrified after Sato's display of aggression and violence. The industrialist's harsh words had probably struck a chord with her. She'd been mulling over family and friends all day, wondering what would become of them if they came to save her...

And Sato had just cruelly burnt a message from her family and informed her that she'd never see them again...

But there was something that worried him. A missive? On a night like this? Blood and honor? Threats?

What the hell was going on?

Who the hell was she related to?

He pressed himself against the wall and asked, "Korra, who are you related to in the North?"

The girl let out a tearful, shuddering gasp. "It doesn't matter!" she cried. "None of it matters! I'm never going to see my family ever again! I should have never left the South Pole!"

"Korra…" He tried to comfort her, but his attempts did nothing to sooth the distraught young Avatar. Sato's efforts to hurt her had been incredibly successful.

[] [] [] End Chapter 3 [] [] []

And One More Thing: AMON THE EDGE OF SOMETHING BIG