None of these characters belong to me. I just abuse my fangirl privileges and use them as my puppets.

Toph kissed her daughter's cheek on her way out the door. "Now remember, I want you two to stay inside today, alright? Your uncles and I have to go take care of a nasty guy, and I need you to be perfectly safe."

"Yes, Mom."

"Good," she slid her metallic coverings over her arms and calves. "Tenzin, you keep her in line."

"Yes, Aunt Toph."

"What, do you not trust me?" teased Lin.

"Not even a little," and with that she walked out.

"It's really nice outside. Do you want to play football?" Of course, for them, football was slightly different than it was for nonbenders. There were usually only two players, and neither did much kicking.

"Alright," she agreed, "but I get to pick what we do next."

"Sounds fair," he agreed, noticing but ignoring the glint in her eyes.

Hours later, after their third overtime and still tied score, they both collapsed into the grass, sweating and exhausted. With a few lazy waves of his arms, Tenzin cooled and dried them with a strong gust of wind.

"Alright," he sighed after catching his breath, "your turn."

Lin gave him a side-eyed smirk.

For less than he second he was extremely confused, but quickly remembered his aunt's cautions from that morning.

"No, Lin, don't," he begged. "You mother told us to stay here. It's going to be really dangerous."

She lifted an eyebrow.

"I'm serious, Lin! Even my dad told me to stay away from town today. We shouldn't go near there."

She crossed her arms.

"I can't talk you out of this, can I?"

"Look, our parents are in danger, right? It's my job to keep them safe, and it's your job to look out for me."

She sprang for the gate, but he grabbed her arm. "Please, don't go. I can't let you get hurt."

"Then you'd better come keep an eye on me," and she ran off. He jogged a bit to catch up, and she began to walk.

"Did you abandon your dramatic sprint into mortal peril?" he asked with a quirk of his mouth.

Lin punched his arm and laughed. "No, I wanted to show you something I made up."

"How about we go back to the courtyard, and you can show me as many tricks as you want?"

She cocked an eyebrow. "Nice try."

"I thought so."

She stood in front of him, bent her knees very slightly and held out her arms. "Here, hold onto me. Tighter, I don't bite."

"That's new."

"Shut up. I just don't want you to fall off." Swiftly, she created a disk just large enough for the two of them and began smoothly gliding towards the heart of the city.

Tenzin was amazed, but too focused on keeping his grip to speak. It took them less than half an hour to be directly in the middle of Republic City, a speed that impressed him all the more.

"I've never seen anything like that!"

"Thanks, I kind of stole your idea with the whole 'flying' thing."

He gave her a quick smile and looked around. "Lin, this place is a ghost town. We need to go."

"So go home, little baby turtleduck! There's nothing to be afraid of. Look, my mom and her police boys already caught him. She's been after this Yakone guy for months, and I want to see her beat him."

Tenzin sighed. "Alright, but stay close to me. Something feels… off."

They walked down the main street and turned a corner, on their way to the judicial building. Lin knew the way well enough. Her mother had been to dozens of hearings there, and she had walked this road a hundred times.

Then she felt it; even through her shoes, she could see something coming. Fast. She grabbed Tenzin's sleeve to stop him.

"What are you-?"

"Shh!" she hushed sharply. He heard the rumblings a second later, but before he could push her into an alley, a raving-looking man jerked his charging carriage beside them. His eyes were huge and wild, and he wore a manic, evil smile.

"Well, look at you." His voice was low and rough. Lin noticed that Tenzin was standing slightly in front of her, not enough to impede an attack on her part, but enough to block one of the man's. She resisted the urge to shove him away.

"Look at the future leaders of Republic City," he cackled. "And where might you little ones be going today?"

Lin could have spat in his face, but Tenzin stepped on her foot, reminding her to stay silent.

At the motion, the man turned his crazed grin to Lin. "What a pretty young thing you are."

"Leave her alone," Tenzin growled. The tone chilled her to the core, but made the man laugh. She felt her heart hammering in her chest.

"Tell me, little lady, is your mommy the one who tried to lock me up?" he gave an evil laugh. "Oh, she won't try that again. No, I took care of her. She's probably bleeding on the court room floor with the rest of-"

Lin screamed pelted him with a chunk of brick from a wall. She struck harder, throwing him to the ground. He laughed again, and Tenzin shoved Lin behind him.

"Get out of here!" he warned.

"That's precious," the man patronized before his arms and neck jerked violently.

In that moment, Lin wanted to die.

Every cell was betraying her. Her body was no longer her own, and she become some sick, perverse puppet. She fought and screamed, but could not make her limbs obey. With every heartbeat, she could feel the violation taking place inside her.

But she could deal with that.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Tenzin being lifted and twisted in the air, arms and legs contorting.

"Stop!" she shrieked. "Let him go!" She struggled harder against her invisible bonds, but that only made the madman cackle all the more.

Every breath stabbed worse than a sword. With the smallest movement he forced her body to make, Lin felt like she was being ripped apart. She wanted to vomit. She wanted to surrender. She wanted blackness.

It was torture to keep her eyes focused, but she wouldn't leave him alone. She screamed for him, but the man clamped her jaw and mouth shut.

"What," Tenzin gasped, "are you," he screamed as he fought for speech, "you doing to her?"

She felt her wrist twist sharply in the wrong direction and wailed.

When he begged the man to let her go, Lin heard the most horrible crack, followed by a sharp scream.

No, no, no, no. Please, spirits, oh, please let him go. Please just let him go. I'll do anything.

And then she was on the ground, gasping and shaking, and she didn't care how or why. Breathing, moving, they were agonizing, but she forced herself to lift her head and find him.

Tenzin was lying feet from her, unmoving.

She crawled over pavement that could have been broken glass, wrapped her arms around him, and shielded him from the fighting in the background.

It might have been seconds or years, but the shouting and the shaking came to an end. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and she screamed.

"Lin?"

She held onto Tenzin tighter. One arm cradled his head and neck; the other covered his chest.

"Sweetie-"

"NO!"

Her shoulders shook with sobs, but she didn't cry. She couldn't.

The voice said something that made two feet sprint away, then, "Lin, look at me."

… Aang?

Slowly, and only just, she raised her head, seeing her uncle kneeling before her.

The relief drowned her, painful and sweet. She tried to open her mouth, but no sound came out.

Aang placed his arms under his son, trying to rest him on the ground, but Lin held on tighter.

She heard running. Four feet, two people. One of them was crying.

"Katara, the court house…" He didn't need to say anything else. Her aunt ran to the victims, healing water splashing at her side.

The crying turned to a sniffle and stopped completely. Lin felt arms encircle her, and she screamed again.

"Shh, shh, shh," hushed another voice. "It's ok, Lin, it's ok. It's me, sweetheart. It's Kya. I'm gonna make it all better."

Kya?

"Shh, just let go."

"No."

"It's ok. It's ok. Lin, you're the bravest person I know, and you kept him safe. You did everything you could. Now let me make it better. Shh, it's ok. Come here."

Lin loosened her grip, and slowly let Aang hold her best friend.

"There you go, come here," Kya gently guided Lin into her arms, whispering soothing words all the while.

"It's gonna be alright," she whispered one last time. Lin felt something wet and cool on her forehead and knew no more.

She woke with a jolt, sweating and shaking. Her aching left wrist was bound in a cast. She felt a body next to her and tensed, but relaxed when she saw her mother.

"Hey, baby." Toph's voice sounded strained. "You're awake. How do you feel?"

Lin opened her mouth but couldn't speak. She coughed once, twice, and began to heave painfully. A comforting hand steadied her shoulders as a bowl was placed in front of her.

"It's fine, try to relax," Aang soothed as she wretched violently. After a minute, he set the container aside and offered her a glass of water. "Drink if you can." She took a few sips.

Still unable to speak, her mother began answering all the questions Lin wanted to ask. "You were out for two days, but Kya's been taking care of you."

Aang smiled. "It's funny, Aunt Katara's the best healer in the world, but you responded better to Ky."

Toph rubbed her daughter's back. "You're stubborn," she cooed.

"Your mother hasn't left your side."

"He didn't hurt me," Toph reassured Lin. "Everyone was fine."

"Did you get him?" she croaked.

Toph bit her lip and nodded. "Yeah, baby, we got him. We wouldn't have, if it hadn't… if you…"

Lin could hear the guilt and pain in her voice. "It's not your fault, mommy." She tried to smile.

Her mother cleared her throat to keep from crying.

There was a knock at the door. "Enter," Aang called softly. A man in an orange robe shyly walked inside.

"Excuse me, sir, but a message arrived for Chief Bei Fong some time ago. I heard speaking and thought that-"

"Zip it, groupie, and give me the letter," barked Toph. The man obliged and hurried out.

"Your people skills improve every day."

"Thanks," murmured Toph as she scanned the paper, upside down. "Oh, that's right, I can't read," she noted in an exasperated voice that almost made Lin giggle. She passed the paper to Lin.

"Lin, are you sure you can-?"

"She's fine, Twinkletoes. What do they want now, baby girl?"

Lin's throat was dry and aching, but she made herself relay the message. "They need you back with the force. Yakone," she couched and reached for water.

"That's enough," grumbled her mother, pushing herself off the bed. She stood in front of her daughter and rested a hand on her cheek. "I'm so sorry, Lin, I wish I could stay with you. I'll be back as soon as I can. I promise."

Lin nodded. She understood that her mother was needed elsewhere, but she liked having her near. When the door shut behind Toph, Lin's eyes snapped to her uncle's. Her eyes burned with an intensity he didn't know a twelve-year-old could possess.

Aang gave her a reassuring smile. Lin had to be strong in front of Toph. She had to be braver than her mother. But in front of Aang, she could be afraid. She could hope and cry.

And love.

"He's fine," Aang whispered.

Lin swung her legs over the bed, and he went to steady her. "I know you're worried, but you need to rest."

The glare she gave him was so like her mother.

"Katara's been taking care of him," he gave her a reassuring smile. "If I'm not scared for my little boy, you shouldn't be either. Believe me."

Her eyes softened, and she bit her lip.

Aang smiled warmly. At her age, what would he have done to see Toph or Sokka or Katara if they were hurt? Even if he couldn't help, he would have needed to be with his closest friends.

"Alright, come here," he reached down and cradled Lin. When they reached the hallway, Lin was surprised.

"We're in the main house?" she asked in a raspy voice. "I thought I'd be in the girls' building."

"That's for acolytes and visitors. You're family."

Too tired to give him a kick or a punch, she settled for a hug. When they reached Tenzin's door, Aang gave a quiet knock.

"Come in," Katara answered. Inside, Tez was lying silently on his back, eyes closed, while his mother ran glowing water up and down his leg. Seeing Lin, Katara set the water in a basin and ran to embrace her.

"You're awake! Sweetie, you scared us!" She turned her attention to her husband. "How long has she been up?"

"Maybe an hour."

"Have you kept her hydrated?"

"She sipped at a glass, but that's all she's been able to hold down."

Katara brushed a curl out of Lin's face. "Do you feel well enough to speak? You don't have to talk about anything, I just want to know how you're doing."

"Better."

Katara smiled. "Good."

Uncle Aang set her at the foot of Tenzin's bed and hugged her aunt. "He was the first thing she asked about when she finally woke up."

Katara looked over at the little girl. "Honey, can I speak with you in private?"

"Why?" He caught his wife's look. "Oh, yes, let's go."

After they left, Lin reached over to the bedside table and drank a glass of water Aunt Katara left. Something about it made her whole body sigh with relief. She looked over Tenzin, still on his back with his right leg in a splint. She felt her breath catch but refused to cry. Moving as carefully as possible so as not to disturb her best friend or her broken wrist, Lin stretched out beside the sleeping figure. There wasn't enough room on the pillow, so she supported her head on her arm.

Half of her chided, "He needs rest;" the louder half whispered, "Tez?"

He didn't move.

"Tez?" she tried again, slightly louder.

He breathed deeply and blinked. He rolled his head to the left and smiled when he saw her.

"Hi." His voice was scratchy.

He reached out his hand and squeezed hers. "Are you alright?"

For half a heartbeat, she could have slapped him for that. But she looked at his eyes and his smile and his leg, and she burst into tears.

"I'm so sorry," she sobbed. "I didn't want… I didn't mean for you to…" Angrily, she swatted the tears away.

Tenzin was shocked. He had never seen her cry; he didn't know she could. She had been tossed around in practice, yelled at by teachers, scolded by her mother, and injured herself more times than he could count. But never once had she shed a tear.

He would have done anything to make it stop.

"Lin-"

"Don't tell me it's not my fault, because it is!"

"Lin," he started again, "don't think like that. If I hadn't been with you, you would have seen him coming and gotten away."

"Shut up."

"It's true. If I hadn't insisted on going with you, this wouldn't have happened."

She sobbed again, but this time he brushed the tears away. "I just couldn't let you get hurt. Guess I'm not very good at my job."

She laughed once and rubbed at her eyes, still angry that he was trying to take the blame.

"You aren't responsible for any of this," he whispered.

She shook her head. "Well, it wasn't your fault."

She could see he was struggling to keep his eyes open. "Let's just call this a tie, ok?"

Lin sniffled and wiped at her eyes again. "Fine."

"Will you stay?" he asked timidly.

She nodded and set her head down on a corner of the pillow. Still holding her hand, he pulled her closer. He wrapped his arms protectively around her as she lay with her head on his chest, shielding him from the outside world.

Despite her resolve, Lin felt a wave of weariness fog her mind. As she slowly drifted off to sleep, she let her mind wander.

It wasn't your fault, Tez, and maybe it wasn't mine, either.

But someone had to take the blame.

He was at the courthouse, surrounded by police, and he got away. He got away and he could have killed us. He could have killed Tez.

She gritted her teeth.

Mommy's stupid boys. They let him escape. They let him. They don't know what they're doing.

Lin held onto him tighter, letting one last tear fall.

I'll never let anyone hurt you again, she promised, for as long as I live.

The city couldn't do it. The police, her mother, even the Avatar. None of them could keep him safe.

But I can.

Comments? Questions? Concerns?