I live!

It's hard to believe that it has been over a year since I last updated this story and I am truly sorry for that. But as promised I never abandon a story and to make it up to my followers, I am publishing 2 chapters at the same time. I have a lot going on at the moment, hence the delay in updating so cannot promise when the next update will be but I have really missed this story so hope it will be updated soon. Thank you for your patience. Enjoy.

Turning the Tides

As they returned to the temple, Mako took his place at Korra's bedside, taking her hand. He was relieved to see Korra safe but Rona was still missing, and they had no clue where to look for her. Mako couldn't understand why Tarrlok would take Rona. Sure, she was Tenzin's daughter but the Avatar would hold more value as a hostage. What did he want with her? Hopefully when Korra woke up, they would learn more.

They had been searching the city for Tarrlok when they spotted Naga riding through the streets. As they approached, Mako felt his heart ease with relief as he spotted Korra on her back. Apart from when Bolin had been kidnapped, he had never been so worried about anyone. He had felt like he was losing his mind. His relief was short-lived as he realised there was no sign of Meriona. Korra used the last of her strength to tell them of the house they had been kept in but, by the time they had arrived, both Tarrlok and Meriona were gone.

Tenzin walked sadly through the temple towards his room. What was he going to tell his family? Meriona was missing, kidnapped. He had failed her. He should have realised she was missing, should have looked for her sooner, should have never let her out of his sight after he finally got her back. But he did. And now she was gone, again.

As he entered the room, he saw his wife and children all sleeping in one bed. He sat next to the bed and placed his hand on Pema's stomach causing both her and Jinora to open their eyes.

"Daddy, you're home." Jinora said, drowsily sitting up. "We waited up for you. Is Korra okay?"

"Yes, she's fine, sweetie." He replied solemnly, embracing Ikki as she reached out for a hug.

"I was scared." Ikki said. "I thought she wasn't coming back."

"I'm sorry you were scared." Tenzin apologised, taking in the frightened expressions on his young children's faces. He hadn't quite realised the effect that Korra's disappearance had on his children. He couldn't imagine their fear if they learnt that their sister was missing. Seeing how scared they were, Tenzin made the decision to protect his children from further anxiety. They didn't need to know about Meriona, not yet. "But everything is going to be fine now. I promise."

Looking to Pema, they shared a look that told her that not everything was as fine as he had said.

"Children why don't you go to the kitchen and help make breakfast. I'm sure Korra would appreciate it." Pema suggested.

"Yay!" The children cried, quickly racing out of the room and down the hall.

"What is it Tenzin?" Pema said directly. "What aren't you telling us?"

Tenzin sighed. "Tarrlok didn't just take Korra. He took Meriona too. She's still missing."

"No!" Pema breathed, holding her hand to her mouth.

"But we will get her back!" Tenzin said determinedly. "I promise you, we will not lose her daughter again!"

Meanwhile Meriona stood watch in yet another secret factory, watching as Hiroshi made finishing touches to his blimps. This had got out of hand. Meriona had hoped to have stopped Amon before anything could escalate this far. She had failed. What had she really accomplished? A few tips here and there, delaying the training of a few new recruits? She was a joke. She had done nothing to prevent this war from happening.

Frowning, Meriona stood resolved. But that didn't mean she couldn't do anything about it now. If she hadn't lost Amon's faith, she might have known about his plans earlier, she might have been able to stop him before the war, but it was too late for that now. Regardless of whether Republic City had her help or not, it was not ready for the attack Amon was about to unleash. All she could do now was help overthrow Amon after he took over, limiting the damage caused by their attack. By proving herself in the upcoming battle, she could cement her place at Amon's side, making it easier for her to help the United Forces beat him, once they arrived.

"Beautiful isn't it?" A voice came from behind her, but she didn't need to turn to know who it was.

"Amon." Slowly, Amon came to stand beside her as she continued to look out over the armada of battle blimps preparing for their attack.

"Soon, we will no longer have to hide in the shadows. Soon we will take our rightful places in the world."

Meriona simply nodded but remained silent.

"You seem disconcerted." He stated. "Are you sure you are fully recovered from Tarrlok's bloodbending?"

"It takes more than that to hurt me." She stated coldly.

"Then what has you so apprehensive?"

"Are we sure no one will be hurt?" Meriona asked.

"Are you starting to doubt our cause?" Amon questioned.

"No." She said firmly. "But my aim is to equalize, not harm. These blimps don't particularly seem to follow that."

"We have used force in the past."

"Only when necessary, and nothing that has seriously harmed anyone."

"We are at war Meriona, there are bound to be casualties, on both sides." Meriona's fists tightened at her sides but she remained silent. "But if it puts you mind at ease, all the Equalists have been instructed to avoid casualties as much as they can. We plan to capture and cleanse all the benders of this city not kill them."

"Good." Meriona stated. If there was going to be a war, at least there would be limited casualties.

"Don't worry, soon you will have the equality you always dreamed of."

Meriona frowned as Amon walked away. She hoped that Korra had had enough time to get her strength back. She was going to need it for the fight that was coming.

The moment Korra woke up her thoughts went straight to Rona. She tried to get out of bed only to find arms holding her still.

"Whoa Korra, calm down." Mako said, frantically trying to keep Korra in her bed.

"I can't. They've got Rona!" Korra shouted. "Let me go!"

"We went to the house Korra, they were long gone." Mako explained. "If you really want to help her then you need to recover your strength." Mako was desperate to find out as much as he could about what the girls had been through so that they could start looking for Rona but before Mako could ask any more, he was ushered out by the healers.

As he went to join the others in the dining hall, they anxiously waited for Korra's arrival. Finally a healer arrived and informed them that she was fine, but that they should wait for her to get some of her strength back before asking any questions.

When Korra arrived she didn't hesitate to devour the food that Pema and the kids had prepared for her, keen to recover and go after Amon and Meriona. Tenzin sat anxiously, waiting to be able to ask what had happened to his daughter. When he believed that she had recovered enough, he couldn't stop himself from asking.

"Korra, I realize you've been through a lot, but I need to know everything that happened. Where's Meriona?"

Korra's face turned sombre. "Well, first off, Tarrlok isn't who he says he is. He's Yakone's son."

At this revelation, Tenzin and Beifong looked at each other in shock.

"It all makes sense now." Beifong realised. "That's how Tarrlok was able to bloodbend us without a full moon"

"But how did you escape?" Tenzin continued. "And where's Tarrlok and Meriona?"

"Amon captured him and took his bending." Korra said seriously.

"What?" Tenzin said worriedly.

"Yeah, he showed up out of nowhere." Korra explained. "He almost got me too but Rona helped me get away." She paused as she looked down at her food guiltily. "I shouldn't have left her."

"No. You were right to escape." Beifong reassured. "The Avatar is too important to the world have your bending taken."

"And knowing Rona she probably didn't give you much of a choice anyway." Mako commented quietly, knowing that Rona would have done anything to protect her friend, even at her cost.

Korra smiled slightly. "No she didn't."

Tenzin sat silently, not knowing what to do with the information. Amon capturing any of his family was a terrifying thought, mainly because he would take away their bending. Knowing that he could cause no such harm to Rona was a comfort at least, but Tenzin was still worried for his daughter. He was brought out of his thoughts when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"She'll be fine Tenzin." Beifong comforted. "He can't do anything to her."

Tenzin nodded and stood determinedly. "This is very disturbing news. Amon is becoming emboldened. Taking out a councilman, almost capturing the Avatar ... I fear Amon is entering his endgame."

The group looked to each other in concern. The only question was, what was his next step?

Meriona ran through the streets quickly. Amon had finally confided in her the true extent of his plan. He had given orders for the remaining councilmen to be captured as well as for an assault on the police headquarters and on Air Temple Island. He planned to capture all high ranking benders in the city, including metalbenders and her family. He had ordered her to do a quick check of all of the squads to make sure they were prepared for the attack. She had taken the time to try and spread word of the attack, using her previous contacts to warn as many people as they could. If she was fast enough, they could inform Korra and the others about the attacks so they could prepare and escape. She wasn't going to risk her family.

As she was running, she thought back to the visions Aang had given her. Why had he let her see him remove bending and not Korra. Was there something she was meant to do with that information? The way Aang had removed bending was completely different to how Amon did it. Did that mean there was a way to stop it? Unfortunately she didn't have much time to think on it as she arrived at her meeting place. She could only hope she wasn't too late to warn everyone.

Tenzin's worries for Meriona's safety did not diminish as he flew to City Hall. Although he had been comforted by the fact that Beifong had stayed behind to protect the rest of his family, he couldn't forget that one of his children was still in danger. He had only just got Meriona back and he had lost her before they had had a chance to amend their differences. He had known their reunion was going to be difficult but he hadn't expected so much animosity from Meriona. Their relationship had seriously deteriorated as her lack of airbending became apparent and even more so after she quit trying, but he had never expected her to end up hating him. As he approached City Hall, Tenzin could only hope he wasn't too late to fix his relationship with Meriona.

Meriona stood anxiously with Amon and Hiroshi on an airship approaching the city, hoping that her contacts had enough time to warn everyone. Amon's airships were well equipped and Republic City was not prepared for an attack of such magnitude. The best thing the people could do was to hide and wait for reinforcements from the United Forces. She only hoped that enough people could make it to safety. From then onwards, anyone who had their bending taken away was on her. She hadn't prevented any of this from happening. This was her fault.

As the first bombs went off around the city, Meriona stood guiltily, staring out of the window. She noticed that some of the bombs she had revealed had been disarmed but there was still so much damage being done to the city. This was her home. She grew up on Air Temple Island but for the past 2 years she had made the streets of Republic City her home. She knew the businesses, the people and the families. Now all were at risk because she couldn't stop Amon in time.

"I've dreamed of this day for so long." She heard Hiroshi say. How could anyone hope for such violence? She knew the tragedy that he had suffered but this was not going to fix anything.

"Yes, the time has come for the Equalists to claim Republic City as their own." Amon replied eerily. Meriona glanced over in their direction to see them both standing proud over the destruction of the city. As they headed towards Police Headquarters, she prayed her warning had been received in time. The police force was not ready for what was coming for them.

As they drove through the streets of Republic City, Mako couldn't believe the amount of damage being done. After his fight with Asami about Korra, he had been in a mood with her but now, seeing the state of his city, his anger was targeted at Amon and his Equalists. As they approached Police Headquarters and saw the Equalists loading an unconscious Tenzin into a truck, Mako conjured a fireball in his hand. They were going to pay for what they were doing and they were going to get Rona back!

Meriona smiled under her mask as she watched Korra, Bolin, Mako and Asami rescue her father from the Equalists. Despite her contact warning the police to evacuate the building, the mecha tanks had already been waiting for them and they had successfully captured Chief Saikhan. Just as they were about to drive away with her father, team Avatar had arrived in time to save him.

"Tenzin has escaped once again." Hiroshi ranted as Meriona smirked under her mask. "I can't stand to see Asami fighting alongside those benders."

"We'll capture them before long and you will have your daughter back."

With that said, Amon turned to Meriona and nodded. Sighing under her mask, she knew this meant she was meant to do the capturing. Signalling to the other Equalists on board, Meriona approached the edge of the airship. She had to find a way to let them all escape, she had to lose this fight.

As Team Avatar attempted to recover from their fights against the mecha tanks, several grappling lines fired from an airship, landing around them.

"Oh great." Korra mumbled as they all took a fighting stance.

As their General signalled for the chi blockers to close in on them, straight away, Mako, Bolin, Korra, and Tenzin engaged them with their bending. Several chi blockers threw cables towards them, only for Bolin and Korra to bend a wall of earth to protect themselves. Leading three others, the General launched over the wall, landing crouched and immediately pushed up to kick at Bolin while the other three attacked the Korra, Mako, Asami and Tenzin. This successfully broke Team Avatar's circle, separating them but they still fought back aggressively. Asami was successfully using her father's own invention to fight back, taking out several Equalists as they attacked her, nimbly dodging their attacks before electrocuting them with the glove. Mako was using the electricity in the cables to redirect it towards the Equalists. Korra didn't even know he could do that. As the General fought Bolin, he defended himself well, blocking many of the attacks with disks of earth. Seeing an opportunity, the General crouched and kicked out, swiping Bolin's feet out from under him. As he landed, Korra saw the General go to deliver a series of jabs at Bolin. Summoning a large flow of water, Korra threw her opponent towards the General before they could attack Bolin. The force from Korra's water attack knocked the General back, sending their mask flying. The gang all gathered around the General as they lifted their head back up again, only for the gang to gasp in shock.

"Rona?!"

Disorientated after the jet of water hit her, Meriona lifted her hand up only to feel that her mask had been knocked off by the force of the water. She had nowhere to hide. Meriona cursed inwardly. She had hoped that this wouldn't happen but for now she knew she was being watched so needed to play her part. As the gang stood in shock, attempting to understand what had happened, Meriona pushed herself off the floor and straight towards Bolin who held his hands up to block her jabs.

"Rona what are you doing?" He grunted, trying to escape her attacks.

Flipping over him, Meriona tried to jab a pressure point on his back.

"Stop!" Korra shouted, sending a block of earth to knock Meriona to the side but Meriona was able to jump and land on the block, flipping off it a few feet away from her friends.

"Rona, what are you doing?" Korra demanded, stepping forward.

"Following orders." She replied smoothly. She had to sell it if she was going to stay at Amon's side.

"You're an Equalist?!" Mako said, astonished. "Why would you be with them?!"

"Ask him" She said coldly, pointing towards her father. She had told Amon he was the reason for becoming an Equalist so she had to use him now.

Tenzin stood in complete horror staring at his daughter dressed in Equalist gear. Is this what he had made her become? Did she really hate him this much?

"I don't understand." He said quietly, still in shock.

"You have no idea what it's like to not have bending." Meriona continued venomously. "To be the only one in the family who doesn't. From the moment it became clear that I couldn't airbend, I was never good enough for you." Meriona accused, glaring at her father. "For years I thought it was my fault, that I was the reason you hated me. But Amon has made me realise that the only thing separating me from you is my inability to bend. Without bending, there is no cause for inequality."

"Taking away bending won't change anything." Korra fought back. Meriona knew she was right, and she did dislike being so hateful to her father, even if they had fallen out, but the rest of the Equalists were getting up. She had to put on a good show for them.

"It already has." Meriona continued. "Look how the city has changed since the Equalists arrived. Non benders are finally finding the confidence to stand up for their rights."

"You lied to us!" Mako shouted. "We trusted you! And you were with them all along?!"

Meriona sighed. This was the part she had been dreading. The look of disgust on her friends faces. A look that was unlikely to ever go away. "I want you to know that despite everything, I do consider you my friends. I hope in time you can understand why I had to do this."

"No!" Mako yelled. "I will never understand why you did this. There is no reason good enough."

Meriona hoped that wasn't true. Maybe when this was all over they could start over again. As Meriona watched her friends slowly close in around her, she noticed the other Equalists find their feet and prepared a smoke grenade behind her back.

"When this is all over, you will thank me."

With her final words she slammed the smoke grenade to the floor, just as Team Avatar made their move to attack her. As the smoke engulfed the area, Tenzin was snapped out of his trance and used his airbending to clear the smoke.

Mako stood furious, hands held in tight fists by his side. How could she do this? She was supposed to be their friend. They trusted her! Even after she lied about her identity they gave her a second chance. But it wasn't just her family she lied about, it was everything. She was probably laughing at them after they forgave her, sniggering every time they confided to her about their hopes, their fears. She played them from the beginning and they bought everything she sold.

Bolin and Tenzin stood in shock, while Korra stood disappointed. She thought she knew who Rona was. She thought they had a true connection over their lack of airbending. It seems their opinions were completely opposite.

"Um…guys." Asami said, breaking the silence. "I know we are all in shock but we have bigger problems." Following her pointed finger, Tenzin looked down the street, where an Equalist airship could be seen arriving at Air Temple Island.

"Oh no."

Meriona stood on a boat heading for Air Temple Island staring worryingly at the Equalist airships hovering above. She had tried to leave the fight early enough to give Team Avatar enough time to get to Air Temple Island to defend her family, but she left it too late, the attack had already begun. No one had called in to Amon though which is why she was being sent to evaluate their progress. With any luck the Equalist attack had been prevented by the Order of the White Lotus who were protecting the island, hopefully giving her family enough time to escape on Oogi.

She felt awful after her identity was revealed. Up to that point, she had been able to distance herself from the idea of betraying her friends because they didn't know, she didn't have to face the consequences. Now that her secret was out, she had to face the looks of hurt and disgust on their faces, and it wouldn't be the last time. She would have to face them again.

Tenzin stared lovingly at his new son as his wife carried him aboard Oogi. He hated to leave the city in such a state, especially having just learnt that his daughter was with the enemy but he had to make sure his younger children were taken to safety. Once they were in good hands, he would return and rescue the city and his daughter from the darkness in which Amon had engulfed them both.

Meriona watched from the coast of the island as her family escaped on Oogi with Equalist airships in close pursuit. She watched as Chief Beifong sacrificed herself to sabotage the airships and allow her family to escape. Meriona frowned. It was a bold sacrifice, one very appreciated by her.

As the Equalist troops headed towards the temple, Meriona looked around at her surroundings. As she looked at what used to be her home engulfed in smoke, she spotted a small white figure in the distance quickly leaving the temple. She instantly recognised it as Naga. Not too far behind, Meriona spotted the Lieutenant chasing after them. Frowning in determination, Meriona realised she knew a shortcut and could beat him to the path and maybe warn her friends, if they would believe her.

It irritated Korra to be running away to hiding but she knew Tenzin was right, it was the best thing to do for now. Beifong had told her of the hidden tunnels within the sewers, somewhere they could set up before the arrival of the United Forces. Korra could barely focus on their mission at hand, her anger toward Meriona distracting her. All that time they had believed she was their friend. They had trusted her. She would make sure Meriona paid for her betrayal.

Suddenly Bolin pointed up. "Moustache guy!"

Korra watched as the Lieutenant slid down the slope of the mountain and jumped off to attack them. Naga then jumped up and used her right paw to smack the Lieutenant off of the cliff face as they ran past.

"Nice one, Naga!" Korra complimented.

As they continued running down the path they spotted Meriona standing alone in the middle of their path. Korra prepared a block of earth to launch in her direction when they saw her step the side. Confused, Korra briefly slowed down as they passed her.

"You're not going to try and stop us?" Mako accused angrily.

"Just know I have my reasons. For everything." Meriona said quickly. "Now run! More soldiers will be on their way!"

Mako frowned as Korra ordered Naga to continue down the path. He looked back to see Meriona frowning in their direction. What was she doing? If she was truly an Equalist, why didn't she try to stop them?

The battle was over, the fight was lost. Amon had won and the city was completely in his control. To cement his rule over the city, Amon wanted to remove the bending of those of the opposition who were the most powerful. First in line was the one who stopped him from capturing the airbenders.

Meriona stood guiltily at Amon's side as Beifong was dragged in front of him, being forced to kneel in the rain before him.

"How could you do this to your family?!" Beifong accused Meriona. There was no mask to hide behind now. Everyone knew who she was and what she had done.

"Tell me where the Avatar is and I'll let you keep your bending." Amon demanded, ignoring Beifong's previous accusation.

"I won't tell you anything, you monster!" Beifong replied defiantly.

"Very well."

As Amon walked behind Beifong, Meriona refused to look away. This was her fault, she should have to see the repercussions of her actions.

As Amon placed his thumb on her forehead, Meriona felt a surge of spiritual energy, emerging from within her. At once everything fell into slow-motion. Meriona watched as a wave of energy reverberated from Amon's thumb and through Beifong's body. As the energy travelled down her body it stopped at her core, clogging her chi. As the world returned to real time, Meriona stood in shock. She had seen Amon perform the act hundreds of times but she had never experienced anything like that. The way Amon took bending was so different to how Aang did. It seemed he did it by blocking a person's chakras. If he could block them, maybe there was a way to unblock them.

The Equalists had taken over the city, the police and council captured were awaiting Amon's judgement but for the first time Meriona felt something she hadn't before. Hope.

Thank you so much for everyone who stuck with this story, I hope this chapter was worth the wait