Haha, that content took longer to say than I'd expected. The chapters from here out should be longer than the earliest ones. Oh my, from this point things take an exciting turn. I've been looking forward to writing this stuff since the beginning.


Korra

Unfortunately, I'd only thought of problems and not solutions when I woke up in the morning. I needed to get Tarrlok away from the city, and soon. I probably had days at most before Tenzin caught on to my lies and told the council how well my patient was doing. I needed to get him out today if I could, but I still only had wild ideas that would never work. If anyone in the city would help me, it would be Mako, Bolin, and Asami. But I couldn't tell them the truth and risking that they wouldn't be convinced. They were as opposed to bloodbending as all of us in the city, but I wouldn't know without trying that my reasons were enough to convert them.

I stewed over the problem as I ate. I couldn't really believe that my Avatar ideas about justice and such would really be enough to get them to help me run away from Republic City to help a bloodbender. I did feel a little guilt over abandoning the city, but I was the Avatar for more than this one place. I was the world's Avatar. I could just leave for a little while and come back. I'd do this one thing and go back to my duty.

The answer finally hit me as I was preparing to take the ferry to the mainland. The truth wasn't really that important here, was it? I only had to convince people that this was the right thing to do, which I truly believed it was. I just had to trick them into doing it. I squirmed with impatience while we were still under Tenzin's watchful eye. He couldn't hear what I was planning; he was too loyal to the council's goals. When I was stepping onto the boat with Naga and the others, Tenzin finally left to fly Oogi into the city. I pulled Mako aside to a corner away from the others.

"Mako, I have a favor to ask. Could you, Bolin, and Asami meet me at the hospital tonight before going back to Air Temple Island? It won't take long."

"Korra, what are you planning?"

"I can't tell you right now." I definitely couldn't. I hadn't worked out exactly what I was going to say yet. "I promise, though. I'll explain everything tonight."

"You're making me nervous. Is something wrong?"

"Nothing! Everything is fine, it really is. But this is important. I need all of you to help me."

"Korra. I wish- I feel like you don't trust me anymore. You don't talk to me, and I know everything isn't alright."

"I promise, I'll tell you everything when we meet up. And I do trust you. You'll see when I explain what's going on. Just come to the hospital and I'll meet you in the courtyard where Naga stays."

He still looked unhappy, but I gave his hand one quick squeeze before the ferry docked and we drifted apart. He'd understand tonight. I finally had some idea of what I was supposed to do, and I was surprised to notice a new bounce in my step as I led Naga onto the road and jumped onto her back. I arrived at the council hall feeling more cheerful than I had in weeks and sped through the bending restorations of the day before heading to the hospital.

I did get a nasty shock when I walked into Tarrlok's room. He was out of bed and standing in the far corner of the room with his hand on the wall to steady himself. I rushed over to duck under his arm to support him and scolded him for his lack of caution while I led him back to bed. He should have been more careful! It was much too early for him to be doing this. He weakly tried to defend himself for a moment, but by the time I had seated him down on the bed he was apologizing. He said he'd felt much better after what I'd done yesterday, but I still didn't want him to be putting that kind of stress on his body.

However, after all that, I realized that it really was probably for the best if he was able to practice walking on his own. I hadn't figured out how to safely bring him to the North Pole without being caught, and in all likelihood he'd need to walk for at least some of the journey. If he could stand on his own already, it probably wasn't bad at all for him to be doing so. After a moment of silent arguing with myself, I sheepishly told him that it would actually be good to get some walking practice, but only while I was there to help him.

The morning healing was a bit of a blur because I was caught up with my planning. Tarrlok asked a few questions I didn't even remember later, but I had too much to think of to focus on him right now. How could I convince Mako, Bolin, and Asami that saving him was right? The biggest thing was that they needed a reason to want him alive. After so long in this room with him, I could feel the weight of what he'd sacrificed to kill Amon, but would that be enough? The plan was to use him to kill Amon, then execute him anyways, so I couldn't be certain. Actually, though... nobody but the two of us knew about Amon. Everybody else thought he was out there somewhere, just waiting to come back.

That was the start of it all. I built the story up in my head as I did the healing work. I think that Tarrlok stopped trying to talk to me eventually, but I was locking down all the small details. I tried to think of any argument my friends could bring against my reasons, and then thought of the most persuasive response. My original hopes had been for Asami to get us a ship to sail north, but I didn't think that would actually work. The Fire Nation navy was still mobilized and patrolling the oceans and if we were caught out there, we'd have nowhere to hide. Perhaps an airship would work? But I wasn't at all familiar with how they worked, and it would be easy to spot us. It would have to be an overland trip then. There would be cover and hiding places. It would take longer, but it would be easier to disappear, especially if nobody knew where I was going to go.

It was after noon when I finally had everything planned out to my satisfaction. I brought Tarrlok a meal of real food today and carefully cut his meat into bite-sized pieces before putting it on his bedside table, but he ate it himself instead of being fed it. I hovered over him as he finished the food, and he actually laughed and teased me for the look on my face. I found myself smiling back at him, and then after I'd removed the dishes it was time for him to practice walking.

I'd wanted him to use me as a support to get upright, but went straight from sitting on the edge of the bed to standing upright. He looked a little shaky to me, but he waved me off when I tried to step under his arm.

"Korra, I can do this on my own. Really, even if I fell you could just fix me up."

I circled him anxiously as he took careful steps around the room. At one point he turned for the door and reached for the latch, but I had to step in and stop him.

"I'd just hoped to find a window. I haven't seen the sunlight in so long..."

"It probably isn't for the best right now. It would worry the others."

"Because I look like this? Or because it's me?"

"Well, probably both. But also you still don't have clothing."

He stuttered to an embarrassed stop at that. To tell the truth, I'd forgotten it too until that moment. I'd need to find clothing for him before we made the escape. What else had I forgotten? We should bring all the supplies we could. There was so much to worry about. Hopefully Mako and the others would have some ideas and would see the things I'd missed. Tarrlok was walking better than I'd expected though.

I spent the rest of the day focusing on healing his legs and core muscles. The work went well, but I think Tarrlok could tell that something was off. He tried asking several times what was going on, but I put him off with little non-answers. He gave up on the questions, but watched me suspiciously for most of the afternoon. I was too distracted to get involved in much conversation. I was too focused on the upcoming argument with my friends. After he ate dinner, Tarrlok tried to refuse to take his medicine again.

"Korra, really. I want to try sleeping without it."

"Well you can't." That was true. I needed him to be solidly unconscious before I brought Mako, Bolin, and Asami in here. "Which one of us is the healer, now?"

"You didn't even think about giving it to me until I asked for it."

That was a low blow. "Well I'd never seen someone who needed pain medicine before! I'm sure I'd think of it now, and I'm just as sure that I'll know when you're ready to stop taking it. I've been trained by the best healer in the world."

He was clearly unhappy with my response, but that was too bad. There was still damage that must be hurting him I was managing to undo, and the less pain he was experiencing, the easier that made both our lives. Finally, he drank it, and it was only minutes before he lay back asleep on the bed. I carefully pulled the sheet halfway up his chest, stopping where the burn and knife scars on his chest were exposed. I gingerly took the stump of his right arm and arranged it so it would be the first thing anyone saw when they looked in from the door. I laid his other arm on top of the sheet so that they could see the twisted fingers of his hand.

Finally, I rushed down to Naga so I could meet the others. Asami was already there, and she was plainly curious, but I wasn't going to explain anything until I was sure we wouldn't be overheard. We made small talk and I petted Naga until Bolin and Mako arrived together, and then I led them all back through the hallways to Tarrlok's room. I took one last look up and down the hall before I shut the door, but it was completely empty.

When I turned around, they were all clustered near the bed and exclaiming over how awful he looked. Excellent. I was used to it after spending so much time with him, but the scars really were horrific. I cleared my throat and everyone turned toward me, but their eyes never left Tarrlok.

"So we all know that the council has been planning to use him to track down Amon. It's a weak lead, but it's the best that we've got." They all nodded. We'd heard the plans through Tenzin often enough. "Well I've heard some things at the morning meetings that make me think they're having second thoughts. The damage from the burns was so bad and the healing has been so slow that they're wondering if he'll ever recover enough to be of any use."

They were still nodding along with me. Excellent. "I disagree. It's not like he has to be very strong to bloodbend. And any advantage we can get over Amon there will be a huge help. But I'm worried that the council is just going to skip straight to trying him for treason."

"They won't listen to you?" said Bolin. "You are the Avatar."

I made a face. "They think I'm too young to have real opinions. They say that I'll learn with time. If I directly oppose them, I'm afraid they'll be too careful and I won't be able to do anything.

Mako turned and looked me dead in the eyes. "Korra, exactly what are you planning to do?"

The moment of truth. "I need to get Tarrlok out of the city." I could see them all opening their mouths to interrupt me and cut them off. "Hear me out! Republic City wants to put together a force to hunt down Amon, but how effective will that be? It's a city. They don't have an army and he could be anywhere in the world. But I know who could put together an army and would be especially interested in finding a rogue bloodbender."

"The Water Tribe," Asami said.

"Exactly. In fact, I think there's a good chance that Amon is hiding at one of the poles. He could blend into his own people better than anywhere else. And if nothing else, Sifu Katara is the only other known person who can bloodbend"

"So why did you bring us here?" Bolin had been nodding agreement from the start and Asami looked mostly convinced, but Mako was still skeptical.

"I need your help. Tarrlok isn't doing quite as badly as I told Tenzin, but he's not great. I want to contact the North Pole and the South Pole, and get Tarrlok to someplace safe while things get organized."

Asami cut in, "You need a ship."

"Not quite. I need you three to take a ship, and I need a fast Satomobile. If you three head toward the North Pole, I can take Tarrlok and drive toward the South Pole."

"Hold on, we're going to split up?" asked Bolin.

"Bo, wait. We're not necessarily doing anything yet," said Mako.

"I can explain. If we can win over the two tribes, I'm sure Tenzin will listen to us once we get a chance to talk to him. While we're in the city he'll be loyal to the council, but when we take things out of the city he'll have to hear us out. That would give us backing from three out of five nations. I need someone I trust to contact one tribe while I talk to the other. I don't know how to use a ship, but I can at least drive a Satomobile."

"I am not comfortable leaving Future Industries behind while I run halfway across the world."

"I know, and I'm very sorry to ask you all to do this. But this is the first time I've really felt that this is something I need to do as the Avatar. It's bigger than me, it's bigger than the city. I have to try anything I possibly can to do what I know is right."

"Hmm. If you took a Satomobile, you know there isn't anywhere to refuel very far outside the city, right?"

"Asami! You'll do it?"

"I'm thinking about it. What are you going to do about gas?"

"I'd bring as much as I could with me, and when I ran out I'd have to leave the Satomobile behind. Then I'd either buy a cart or we'd walk south until we had to catch a boat."

She sighed, "Korra, I'm not at all happy with this, but I know Amon needs to be stopped. Mako, Bolin, will you help me?" The two boys nodded. "I'm only saying yes because with the newest ships we should be able to get north in a matter of days. If you are saying as the Avatar that this is what we need to do, I'll trust you."

Mako interjected, "It's not quite that simple. What happens when the city finds out Tarrlok's gone missing?"

I winced. "A chase, I imagine. They won't want to let him get away."

"You mean they'll chase us."

"Probably, yes. Actually, that was another thing. I'm really sorry to ask this, but can you also bring Naga with you? Let me explain. I was guessing that Asami can probably get a ship that's faster than most of what the Fire Nation navy is using, right?" Asami nodded. "If Naga's with you, she'll be easy to spot from a distance. If they assume I'm with you, then Tarrlok must be with you as well. Hopefully that will give us a little more time to get away."

Bolin's voice was incredulous, "You're using us as a diversion?"

"Only because I know you can travel much faster than me! While you're outrunning them to the North Pole I can put a little more distance between me and the city. If I get caught with Tarrlok trying to run away, I doubt they'll bother with a trial. They'll just fight to kill."

Mako rubbed his forehead as he spoke. "As much as I hate to say it, it sounds like you've thought this through pretty well. Is there anything else?"

"Yes. I'm not trying to turn us into martyrs for his sake. If things go badly and you do get caught, tell them that Tarrlok persuaded me to give back his bending and immediately bloodbent me and forced you all to help him. Make me out to be a gullible idiot, but I'm not asking you to sacrifice yourselves."

"That isn't a real risk, right?" asked Bolin. "Does he know you can restore bending?"

"No, and I plan to keep it that way. He doesn't know that he's going to be used to hunt down Amon, and I'm going to leave things like that until there are benders in place to control him. Sifu Katara especially. I'll make up some story about why we have to run, but I'm not going to give him any power over me."

They all looked relieved at that, and we left the hospital with Naga quietly sorting out the smallest details of the plans. Asami thought that she could have the ship and Satomobile ready and stocked with supplies by tomorrow night, which was perfect for my plans. I didn't know how long I could lie to Tenzin about Tarrlok's condition and the sooner I could leave the better. Things were moving so smoothly that I almost couldn't hold back a triumphant grin at dinner. Everything was going as well as I could have possibly hoped. Tomorrow would see me and Tarrlok free of the city and the dangers it held.