Hiii! :D Sorry for the long wait... yet again. I kept on editing and re-editing this chapter, but still not fully satisfied with it... Meh. Anyway, here's the next chapter, so enjoy! :3
The sudden firm grasp around Korra's wrists jolted her awake.
"Get up." Amon hissed in her ear. His hot breath blew against the side of her face, instantly warming her frigid skin.
Korra grumbled in return, shifting herself into a more comfortable position as she succumbed to her sleepy haze. "Go to hell, you two-faced bastard." The words spilled out of her mouth before her mind could do anything halt her tongue. Shit… This is just a dream, right? The iron grip of Amon tightened to the point that it felt like her bones were going to shatter if he squeezed any harder. He roughly pulled her up to her feet.
"I see you chose to ignore my warning."
"And I see you ignored the fact that although it was pretty fragile, we once did have a friendship, Noatak." Amon ignored her retort as he attached thick metal cuffs to her wrists and ankles. After he pulled out two strips of cloth, she was blindfolded with one and gagged with the other.
"A photo shoot has been organized to help us convince the world that our demands are to not be taken lightly. Punctuality is required."
He shoved Korra onto the elevator, who fell to her knees, thanks to her shackles allowed her legs to move only inches at a time. Her protest was lost in the thick cloth wrapped tightly around her mouth as her skin quickly grew hot with both fury and embarrassment.
Once they began to rise, Amon leaned down and hissed into Korra's ear, "If you dare attack any person present in the room or even bring up Noatak during the photo shoot, you will sorely regret it."
Korra scowled in reply. An idea shot through her mind, causing her to smirk. Of course, I won't have to attack anyone or bring up your true identity to cause trouble… The elevator soon arrived at the level they needed to be on, and Amon guided her down a long, twisting hall. After being forced to spin around several times to confuse her sense of direction, she was pushed into a room. Her blindfold and gag were promptly removed.
Every single person, save for her and Amon, was garbed in equalist uniform. She was directed to an 'x' on the floor and ordered to stand directly above it. One of the equalist brought her that day's paper and shoved it into her hands. Her fingers slowly slid over the warm, textured surface as she flipped it around to look at it. After glancing at the front page, she paled. The headline read "Former Councilman Tarrlok still yet to be found after Town Hall incident; still remains primary suspect in Avatar abduction". If the date was current, this meant that it had been almost two weeks since she had confronted Tarrlok. Why haven't they found the equalist prisons yet?
"Hold the newspaper in front of your chest with the date facing the camera." The photographer barked. Korra followed his order at an agonizingly slow pace. After she slid the tips of her fingers over the rough surface once more, she asked the clearly irritated equalist photographer a question.
"You know, from all of this dust that's coming off of the paper, I really need a tissue to blow my nose with."
"We don't have any. Tough it out." The equalist growled
"Fine, but I might just have to snee… ahh-ahh-AHH-CHOO!" Flame burst out of her mouth, instantly incinerating the paper she held. She rubbed her nose with false embarrassment. "Sorry… Sneezing can be so annoying when you're a firebender."
Unfortunately, the equalists were prepared for an event like this, so they quickly handed another paper to Korra. She "accidentally" sneezed onto the paper once again, turning the water droplets that were emitted to shards of ice moments before they struck the paper. It quickly gained a close resemblance to a cheese grater. "I'm telling you guys, this dust is really irritating my nose. I need a tissue."
"Does anyone have a handkerchief for the Avatar?" Amon's smooth voice displayed hints of aggravation. The equalists quickly searched for anything that could be used as a suitable tissue, instantly detecting their leader's anger. One of the equalists handed her a white kerchief with green and gold embroidery along the edges. She blew her nose, trying to make the kerchief as nasty as possible, then handed it back to her, satisfied by the obvious disgust displayed from the equalist.
"Thanks! I feel much better now. You guys have got to be the nicest equalists I've met, especially since you're not trying to take me out by poking me to death." She inwardly smirked at how furious they became in reply.
After being handed another paper, Korra held it up the way the photographer instructed her. Instead of giving the disheartened expression that was expected, she looked straight into the camera and gave a big ear-to-ear grin. Several awkward moments of the photographer holding up the camera but not taking any pictures passed, and he finally coughed and voiced what was bothering him.
"Could you not act so… happy?"
"What? Why not?" Korra trilled innocently.
The photographer was left sputtering as he tried to come up with a response. After a few moments, Amon growled, "It's not appropriate for hostage pictures. Do what he asks you to do, otherwise I may just have to discuss your poor behavior with you later on."
Korra forced a sulky glare onto her face, despite the want to burst out laughing due to the discomfort that was building up. The equalist, now pleased with her forced performance, began to take several photos of her. After a few minutes, another came and took the paper from her. He then stood a few feet away, allowing the paper to still be a part of the photos. "Maintain a flame above both of your hands." He instructed. Korra nodded, then held her hands out in front of her, igniting the air above them. She waited for the perfect moment when the photographer was about to take her picture. As his finger slowly pressed down the button on his camera, Korra's hands quickly transformed as they both flipped the bird, flames dancing above her middle fingers. It was too late for him to stop, and the camera flashed as the picture of her was taken. Everyone in the room stood in dumbfounded shock as they stared at what she had done.
Amon cleared his throat. "If you cause any more trouble, Avatar, I will personally see to it that you'll greatly regret it once you have returned to your cell."
After that threat, Korra obediently followed every order the photographer gave. Although it was extremely tempting to deviate from what she was instructed to do, the Avatar was not extremely keen on finding out what types of torture Amon would put her through. The final words Aang spoke to her rang through her mind. If I want to be able to stand up to Amon when the time comes, I must have as much strength as I possibly can.
After what seemed to be hours of getting photo after photo of her taken. Amon blindfolded her once more and led her down several different halls. Once it was removed, she blinked until her blurred vision returned to normal. They were now alone in a recording room. There was nothing but a table, two chairs on either side, and a microphone that sat next to a lone lamp. The glassy green shade around it caused the room to bask in an unnatural glow as every hue was affected by the bright emerald light.
"The rules for the photo shoot still apply here. This is not a live recording, so anything you say that is out of line will do nothing but earn the retribution it deserves. Understand?"
Korra nodded slowly, then pulled out and sat in the chair she was appointed to. Amon took his seat on the other and flipped a switch that was located on his side of the desk. The clicking sound of film that sounded faintly from inside the desk revealed that they were now recording. Amon flipped on another switch, but nothing disclosed what that one was for.
"Greetings, citizens of Republic City. This is Amon. Unlike my previous broadcasts, I am not alone this time." He motioned for her to speak.
Korra swallowed the thick lump that was forming in her throat. "He-Hello."
"Don't be impolite. Tell our listeners who you are."
"This is your Avatar, Korra."
"You may be inclined to think that I am lying to you, since it is thought that the former councilman and former bender Tarrlok still has the Avatar. That was once true, but now Tarrlok and the Avatar will be detained in the equalist's prison indefinitely. Many of you may not believe this, so I will gladly give evidence that will eradicate all shrouds of doubt.
"As I speak, photos of the Avatar that were taken only minutes ago are being processed and will be printed in tomorrow's paper. As you will soon see, Korra still has all of her bending, and it will stay that way as long as she and the residents of Republic City are obedient. Otherwise, I cannot guarantee the Avatar's safety. Even though the friends of the Avatar will never be able to find her if they tried, I will not hesitate to bring harm to her if you meddling nuisances invade my prison. Isn't that right, Korra?" Amon had his hand placed over Korra's. Since there were a few moments of silence, he gave a sharp squeeze that took all of Korra's strength to not display the pain she felt shooting up her arm.
"...Yes." The tight grip was released. She glared daggers at Amon, her icy eyes staring right into his. He met her gaze for a few seconds, then focused his attention on something behind her and nodded. An unseen person suddenly pulled the gag over her mouth and hauled her out of the room, ignoring her legs that constantly kicked at him in protest. Once out of the room, Amon continued, his voice too low for her to pick up any word that he said.
A blindfold was roughly shoved over her eyes and she was dragged all the way back to the elevator. Since the equalist who was with her apparently didn't have the keys required for operating the elevator, they waited for the near silent footsteps of Amon to approach. The other man was dismissed and they began to descend back to her cell. The scent of smoked fish wafted into her nose, causing her belly to growl loudly. Korra's skin flushed with embarrassment as she could practically feel Amon smirking at her due to the noise that came from her digestive tract.
Once they were at the bottom of the lift, Amon nudged her into the cell, closed and locked the door, then removed all of her restraints and placed the plate of food in front of her. He sat down against the wall a few feet to her right, making himself comfortable.
Still fuming from being dragged out of the recording room so she wouldn't hear the last part of Amon's speech, Korra glared at the fish, refusing to take a single bite out of it.
"So you've decided to become too proud to accept any food now. I suppose I was wrong when I assumed you weren't as foolish as other prisoners."
Korra said nothing as she stared at the steaming meal. It was another one of the Water Tribe style dishes, something that she was now grew to loathe. "Why do you keep on bringing me just this style of food, which is an obvious attempt at trying to hint at who you are, when you won't even admit that I've now guessed your correct identity?!"
"The only reason why I gave you this type of food is because I assumed it was your favorite kind, since you are from the Southern Water Tribe. It was to show you that you will be treated fairly by the equalists while in prison, Korra. This is what our cause is all about, after all."
"What? Beating up benders, throwing them in prison, and then forcing them to eat octosquid?"
"Amusing, but no. The equalist agenda, though viewed tyrannical by many benders, is meant to end the oppression that the majority of humans on this planet face. Our goal is to have it so the people are actually treated like they're… people.