Korra leaned against one of the many pillars in the hall, waiting for the Council to finish so she could question Tenzin again about her visions. The Airbending master had acted weird when she'd told him about it. She had to know who that man was. The Waterbender sighed as she took a seat in one of the chairs. Standing was still tiring, especially in her current condition.
These last three days had been hectic. What with the Pro-Bending arena finally getting shut down; turns out the brothers had to move after all. And then with the whole Sato fiasco...Things were getting worse as the days went by. And to top it all off, Amon was using robots made of such a pure metal that even the great Toph Bei Fong couldn't have bent them. Something would have to be done soon.
The Avatar heard the pound of the gavel and quickly stood back up. Voices got closer and it wasn't hard to figure out that Tenzin and Tarrlok were arguing again. The doors opened and sure enough the two men were bickering with each other.
"Terrorizing the Equalists isn't going to help the situation," Tenzin argued.
"We need to attack while we still can," the Water Tribesman countered. "Capturing Amon's supporters will weaken his forces."
The Airbender shook his head. "It will only make the people uneasy. They don't trust Benders as it is. An attack will only tip the scales in his favor."
Tarrlok opened his mouth to argue when he spotted the Avatar. "Hello, Avatar," he greeted with a charming, venomous smile, bowing his head. Korra stiffly did the same. She didn't trust Tarrlok as far she could throw him. Korra turned her attention to her master.
"Can I talk to you?" she asked. Tenzin nodded then sent a look over at the other councilman.
"We will finish this discussion later," he told the other man. Korra watched through narrow eyes as Tarrlok nodded and walked away from the two. Tenzin turned his attention back to Korra. "So what is it you wanted to talk to me about?"
"You weren't completely honest with me the other day when I told you about…what I saw." She said the last part carefully, knowing full well Tarrlok wasn't out of hearing range. "What are you hiding from me?"
Tenzin released a heavy sigh. "It's nothing you should be worried about. You should try to meditate and talk to my father." This was Korra's breaking point.
"Meditate? Is that really all you can tell me? Avatar Aang is trying to tell me something and it seems to me like you're doing everything in your power to make sure I don't find out!" She didn't care that every person in the hall could hear her. Her patience and want for caution had been worn thin, nonexistent. "Because, let's face it, you know I don't have it in me to meditate!"
Tenzin furrowed his brow. "I'm only trying to help you," he replied, his voice still level.
"By doing what? Keeping secrets from me?"
"Sorry to interrupt," came Tarrlok's slick as oil voice. Seems he had decided to rejoin the conversation. "What seems to be the problem?"
"Tenzin won't-"
"It's nothing you should concern yourself with, Tarrlok," Tenzin stated, cutting off the young Waterbender. Korra narrowed her eyes at her teacher and looked to Tarrlok.
"He won't tell me who the man is in my visions!" The Water Tribe representative raised a brow.
"Oh? And what exactly does this man look like?"
"Korra, that's enough!" Both Waterbenders faced the Nomad. Korra glared.
"If you won't give me answers, then maybe he will," she said, pointing at Tarrlok. So, ignoring Tenzin's pleas, she told Tarrlok everything she could about the man, to the best of her abilities. Tarrlok nodded his head, listening intently, a smirk on his face.
"You're keeping Yakone a secret from the Avatar, Tenzin?" He shook his head. The Airbender's face turned red.
"Enough, Tarrlok!"
"Who's Yakone?" the Avatar asked, ignoring the Airbender once again.
"He was a problem. Just like Amon." There was a tangible silence between the three as Korra absorbed this breakthrough. So Tenzin had known who the man was. Certainly if Tarrlok did, the Airbender did as well. So her master had been lying to her. He'd actually looked her in the eye and lied…effortlessly. If he could lie to her about this…what else had he lied to her about?
She felt like her body had gone numb. She felt like something cold was slithering from the back of her mind, making itself known.
"Yakone…" the Avatar whispered. The name sounded so familiar. Tarrlok nodded. Tenzin had had enough.
"Come on, Korra," he said placing his hand between her shoulders, trying to guide her away from the council building and back to Air Temple Island. But Korra didn't budge from her spot. She turned her gaze slowly onto the older man.
"Why should I go back with you?" she asked her voice as cold as ice. "So you can lie to me again? I'm not going to be manipulated by anyone. Not again." Korra stepped away from him, her eyes never leaving his.
"Korra, I wasn't trying to manipulate you. I was only trying to protect you." Tarrlok smirked from his position out of the Avatar's sight. He seemed satisfied with the current situation.
"Now, now, Tenzin. Why else would you lie to her about something that happened forty-two years ago? You said it yourself; it is a completely different situation." Tenzin narrowed his eyes at the Northern Tribe representative. Korra glanced from one man to the other. Then turned on her heel and made her way out of the building.
"Korra, stop!" Tenzin started toward her when a wall of fire stopped his advance. He raised his arms against the heat. The flames slowly died down to reveal Korra, her back still facing her master. She was shaking violently, but not from sickness, like she had only a few days ago, but with pent up anger.
"Just. Stay. Away," she said between clenched teeth. Tenzin involuntarily took a step back. Korra stood there for a second before continuing on her way. Tenzin turned back to look at the smirking man.
"Look what you've done!" Tarrlok raised a brow, a triumphant smirk still on his face.
"What I've done?" he asked. "I'm not the one that kept something this big from her."
"She didn't need to know!"
"Didn't she?" he inquired. "She didn't need to know about something that important. That Republic City has seen this sort of attack before?"
*** Korra didn't walk far before she slumped against a wall and sat down, finally running out of steam. She curled her knees close to her chest, making herself invisible within the shadows of the alley.
"So, one of the people you trust most didn't tell you the truth…" It was faint, but Korra heard it as if it had screamed at her. "What other lies have you fallen for? And not just from him, but from your so-called friends. What about Master Katara?" Korra said nothing. "Maybe if the real Avatar were here, they wouldn't feel the need to keep so many secrets," it hissed. Korra dug her nails into her arms, forcing her eyes shut.
She wasn't sure how long she sat there. Long enough for the sun to sink further behind the horizon. The sky was darkened, not only by night but by storm clouds. It was going to rain. Great, she thought, as thunder roared above her.
"Korra?" The Waterbender looked up to see her Firebending teammate looking down at her. "We've been looking all over for you. Tenzin had us searching the whole city." Korra narrowed her eyes at him before turning her head abruptly away. Mako raised a brow. "What's wrong?"
She let out a bitter laugh. "You want to know what's wrong, City Boy?" she asked. "Everyone around me is constantly lying to me."
"Like who?"
"Tenzin. He lied to me about the flashbacks. He withheld information that he claimed he didn't know."
"Maybe he was just trying to protect you," he stated, trying to get her to see reason. Korra glared at him. Tenzin had said the same thing.
"You've lied to me too," she accused, slowly getting to her feet.
"What are you-?"
"You tell me one thing when I'm half dead. And the minute I'm better you pull a one-eighty. Not to mention that you say that you like me, but you still go out with that snotty rich girl." Her voice seemed almost devoid of any emotion. That's exactly how she wanted it.
Mako glared back at his teammate. "I told you before, Korra, I didn't want you to die! People say stupid things when someone you care about is dying! And don't you dare insult Asami!"
The rain suddenly started pouring down, soaking the two individuals.
Different emotions flickered through the Avatar's eyes. A war was waging inside those sapphire irises, an internal struggle that would decide everything.
"Do you see? I tried to warn you about this. Everyone you trust has lied to you. Used you for their own endeavors. You helped him save his brother and this is how he repays you?" Korra shook her head, trying to rid herself of the demonic and intoxicating voice. "Who needs trust anyway? It is a fool's bargain."
She straightened and turned from the Firebender, starting to walk away despite how much it hurt her leg to walk normally. Mako placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Korra, wait-"
He was cut off when the Waterbender suddenly turned and sent a stream of water into his chest, sending him flying through the air and into one of the alley walls. He slumped down onto the ground and looked up in shock at his teammate.
"What is your problem?" Both Korra's hands were at her side, but Mako didn't miss the three ice daggers growing between her fingers.
"I'm not just some toy you can pick up when you're bored, Mako," she said, her voice as cold as the daggers. "So quit playing games and stop pretending you care."
Mako's expression softened slightly as he saw the pain in her eyes. "Korra, I do care about you. We're friends remember?"
Korra stared back at him, allowing the daggers to melt away. "With friends like you, who needs enemies?" And with that she left the Firebender alone in the alley.
*** "Did you find her?" Mako pushed his hands deeper into his pockets.
"Yeah…I found her," he said reluctantly. Tenzin jumped out of his seat and made to go passed the Firebender when the boy caught his sleeve. "But she's not here. I lost her after I found her." The Airbender furrowed his brow.
"How could you lose her?" He towered over the Pro-bender, and Mako had to admit, for a Nomad, this guy could be scary.
"She seemed off," Mako continued. He paused, turning away from the Airbending master. "The other noght she told me she was starting to doubt her abilities as the Avatar." Tenzin seemed taken aback.
"What do you mean?"
"She told me that maybe it was a mistake that the Spirits chose her. That maybe if she had never come to Republic City, these things wouldn't have happened. I thought I'd helped but…" He let the sentence trail off. Tenzin couldn't believe his ears.
The Korra he knew loved being the Avatar, no matter the challenge. The Korra he knew didn't regret anything. But the Korra he knew was also very afraid of her enemy. The Korra he knew…was slowly fading away. Tenzin shook his head. "What else has she told you?"
"She told me that everyone has lied to her. Used her. And she's no longer going to play their games." Mako clenched his jaw. "She told me that you lied to her." Tenzin closed his eyes and sighed.
"I only did it to protect her…"
"That's what I figured," the Firebender said. He watched as the old man seemed to age before his very eyes. He seemed exhausted and worried beyond all belief. Mako knew the feeling.
*** Korra walked into the temple on Avatar Aang's Memorial Island, her steps echoing throughout the empty building. She seemed to find herself there a lot nowadays. She walked down one of the corridors, and found herself in the inner sanctum, all her past lives staring down at her. And in the very front was Avatar Aang.
"He is the one who started this whole mess," the serpent tongued voice hissed in her ear. "And yet, he is the one that everyone remembers as a mighty Avatar. You can never hope to be half as great as he once was. You're just another name in a long line of tradition. He ended a century long war…you can't even stop a lone Non-Bender."
"This is all your fault," she said to the statue. "You and Fire Lord Zuko wanted this city to be the epicenter of peace." She laughed bitterly, the sound feeling odd in her throat. "Is that what you thought would actually happen? Were you two really that naïve?" She clenched her fists tightly, drawing blood as her nails dug into her palms.
"They say the last Avatar appears to the current one in their time of need. So where are you, Oh Mighty Avatar Aang?" Her voice was dripping in sarcasm and mockery. "Where are you now?" She sounded slightly hysterical, even to her own ears, as she yelled at the statue, her voice echoing off the walls. "I know you must have a hectic schedule, what with being dead and all!"She was breathing heavy, two small puddles of blood forming next to her as the red liquid dripped down from her tightly clenched fists.
***** Yep. The voice is back. Our reasoning for that would be...it took a lot of evergy and strength to cast that thing out, but a moment of weakness would be enough to call it back. And Korra has deffinetly been feeling lousy lately... And I also decided to go ahead and have the Ferrets and Asami move to Air Temple Island...I know Bo and Asami werent in this chapter (and Asami hasnt really been in this story much) but dont worry, we havent forget them.
REview people!
We out! Peace!