Asami's POV

I didn't want to believe it. I didn't want to admit that my father was a selfish, cruel human being that had never cared about his family. His only concern had ever really been this damn revolution Amon had started. I wanted this to be just a horrible dream, a big joke, perhaps. But the reality was far too real.

My father had discovered my ties to the Bending rebellion. Then he'd had me thrown in a cell to rot while he informed his business partner of my actions.

That had been twenty-four hours ago.

So here I was, in a cell, waiting for them to decide my fate, though I already knew the outcome of that discussion. I was going to be put to death. That was the sentence given to those who betrayed their 'brothers and sisters'. The guards had made it their goal to bully their new favorite prisoner; I even had the bruise to prove it. They worked like a pack of wolves, and had a grand time while they were at it.

The door opened and I looked up to see none other than Korra. I smiled and managed to stand just as she ran into me, making me stagger back toward the wall. I returned the embrace, hugging her to me as tight as I could. Korra was the only person who cared about me, she was my family, and I knew she'd never leave me to face this alone.

I felt her body shake with sobs she was trying to suppress for my sake, and I tried hard to blink back my own tears. We both failed miserably. "I'm fine, Korra," I soothed. "I'm okay."

She nodded her head against my shoulder before pulling back to wipe at her tears, trying to be strong for me. I gave a small smile which she returned until her eyes narrowed. She'd seen the bruise on my cheek, just below my eye. I looked away, knowing what was about to come.

"What happened?" she asked, her voice almost alight with outrage, her fists trembling at her sides.

"Nothing."

She studied me for a moment, tilting my chin so she could get a better look at the blue and black mark on my face. Her jaw clenched. "Excuse me." Korra walked back over to the door, looking out into the hall. "All of you, get in here, now!" Her tone even made me flinch. Those poor guards.

They came in quickly before lining up in front of the brunette, standing up straight as if she were the Equalist leader himself. She glared at all of them. She was furious.

"Whoever did this," She pointed to my face. "To my friend will have to look over their shoulder for the rest of their life. And I promise, if it happens again it'll be a very, very short life. Is that understood?"

"Yes ma'am!"

Korra crossed her arms in front of her chest, scrutinizing the lot in front of her. "Dismissed," she finally barked. The men turned around to leave when Korra's voice stopped them. "Except you," she said, pointing the one at the end of the line. The man froze as his companions left him to face the wrath of the teen.

Without warning, Korra's fist swung and connected with his jaw, making the man topple back and let out a string of curses. "Leave," she growled. The man practically left with his tail between his legs.

Korra's posture relaxed some as she turned back to face me, rubbing her knuckles. She saw my look. "What?"

"How'd you know it was him?"

"I didn't," she replied, her tone dark and still slightly infuriated. She then sighed, her expression softening as she looked at me. I shook my head. "Hey, everything is going to be okay," she assured, her tone soft. "I'm going to talk to my dad and-"

"No, Korra," I said firmly. "We both knew the price for what I did. I've known from the beginning what would happen if I was caught. I accepted that."

"I won't…I can't watch you die," she whispered.

The corner of my lip turned up in a sad smile, and I draped my arm over her shoulder. She turned toward me and hugged me, her hands clenching into the material at the back of my jacket. If I had any regrets about betraying the Equalist movement…it would be leaving Korra behind.

The door to the cell opened again and my father stepped in, looking disgusted when he saw Korra in the room with me. The younger girl pulled away and glared at him, her jaw flexing. I gave her hand a squeeze, gentle but firm. She sighed, understanding. She gave me one last smile before leaving the room, making sure to glare at my father as she did.

Once she was gone, he cleared his throat and stepped forward. "How are you fairing, Asami?"

I scoffed. "Well, let's see. My father threw me in a cell and I've been harassed by the guards," I replied bitterly, gesturing to my face as proof. "How do you think I'm doing?"

He looked unaffected. "You betrayed the cause I have dedicated my life to," he answered simply. "All these years, I'd been worried about you spending your time with that…that…"

"Choose your words carefully," I warned him, knowing he was talking about Korra. I no longer had to sit idly by while he insulted my sister.

"But to think that you've been actually helping those filthy Benders rise against us… Do you have any idea what you've been doing?" He'd kept going like I hadn't even spoken.

"I've done nothing but what I thought was right!" I snapped.

"They killed your mother!" he roared. "They deserve to die! All of them! You are insulting her memory by your deceit!"

"I insult her memory?" I bristled. "Mom would hate you for what you've become, for what you've done! You're a monster!"

My head jerked viciously to the side, and I hissed as the slap reverberated off the walls. I looked up at the man I'd once called father, the man who had just struck me, and I finally had to admit to myself that there was nothing worth redeeming. He felt no remorse, no love… not for me. Not for anyone.

"I have tried reasoning with you, but you have left me no choice," he told me, his voice unwavering in its conviction, its anger. He turned to the two guards I hadn't noticed had followed him in. "Take her to the stage," he ordered.

The guards moved forward and handcuffed my hands behind my back, shoving me out the door. I knew what was happening. I knew what was about to happen. And I was completely terrified.

Korra's POV

I couldn't watch my best friend die. I wouldn't allow it. Hiroshi had not only crossed but demolished the line when he'd decided to execute his own daughter. I sprinted all the way to my dad's office, trying to figure out what I was going to say to him, how I was going to get him to stop this. He had to spare her life.

I slid to a stop in front of his door, my hands resting on my knees as I tried to regulate my breathing, tried to compose myself. I had to be smart about this. I needed to convince him that Asami did not deserve to die.

I knocked on the door, and waited for permission. When it was granted, I stepped inside, stopping to salute him before he gestured me forward, asking me to lock the door behind me. I took a deep breath, and waited.

"How may I help you, Korra?" he asked, taking off his mask and setting it on the desk.

"Sir, permission to stop Asami's execution," I replied, trying to keep my voice from wavering. He had to. He just had to let me stop it.

He breathed deeply, standing up from behind his desk and walking over to the window, his hands clasped behind his back. I waited, holding my breath for his answer. I was already sure he'd known the reason behind my visit.

"You know I can't do that."

I closed my eyes, and swallowed, fighting back the panic rising in my gut. "Please, sir. I'm asking you to reconsider."

He lowered his gaze, finding the window sill suddenly more interesting.

"Sir…"

Still no reply.

"Daddy, please!" I saw him wince, and he finally lifted his gaze to meet mine. "Please," I repeated softly.

My father shook his head. "Korra, you know the laws as well as I do. Miss Sato betrayed us. And thus, she must accept the penalty." He was talking slow, measuring his words but giving me the most brutal truth.

"Then shouldn't I be down there too?" I asked, my voice having risen slightly. "I befriended the Benders too, I helped them! I'm just as guilty as Asami!"

"You were forced to live with them for an uncertain amount of time," he countered. "It's different. I cannot stop this from happening. Hiroshi himself has asked for her death."

I was grasping at straws, trying to get him to change his mind. He couldn't do this! "She's my best friend! She's my family!" I was so close to just kneeling down and begging him. "She hasn't done anything wrong! Benders have suffered just as much as our people."

He looked back to the window, and chuckled, the sound coming out sad and humorless. He wouldn't turn to look at me. I shifted my weight from one foot to the other, waiting for him to say something, anything. It hit me how uncomfortable I felt in that moment, like I didn't belong there. But this was home. This was where he'd raised me, where we'd laughed when I was little and where he'd protected me from nightmares. But this was also where I'd grown up with Asami. And right now, she was all that mattered.

The atmosphere of the room had seemed to change so drastically.

"I should've known."

My attention returned to the man before me. "What?"

He finally turned so his profile was visible to me, his eyes so sad and tired, something I'd never seen before. "I should have known you would risk your life to save those Benders, just like you own mother died trying to save you." His eyes finally met mine and I could see some foreign form of regret.

"My mother…?" What did she have to do with…?

"Seventeen years ago, I conducted a raid on the Southern Water Tribe," he began. "While I was trying to subdue the rebellion, a woman ran out of the village toward the nearby Water Temple. I followed, and managed to stop her before she reached the doors. I grabbed the bundle in her arms and knocked her down…her head hit the stairs and she died."

I staggered back, shaking my head. No… He couldn't have… He was lying. He had to be. But I saw no falseness in his eyes.

"I had thought she'd been carrying some sort of weapon, something of importance for the war. But instead all I found was a baby wrapped in cloth." He shook his head. "I realized that this child was the Avatar, the only thing in the world that posed a threat to my revolution." He swallowed, so much regret and sadness in his tone. "I had intended to kill them."

The confession felt like a punch to the gut.

"If it hadn't been for my brother, I might have done it too." He stopped there and looked at me, his eyes trying to convey how sorry he was, and his eyes close to actual tears. He smiled weakly. "I never imagined I could grow to care about another human being so much."

I felt numb. His confession had knocked my entire world off kilter. "The nightmare," I began, my voice barely above a whisper. "It was a memory. You killed my mom. You killed my real parents." And that would mean this man before me had never been my father, that he had been lying to me all my life.

He nodded solemnly, reluctantly. "I'm so sorry for what I've taken from you," he apologized, his tone so sincere that it only made this whole thing worse. "I'm so sorry, little one."

"Don't." I forced the word out, my teeth clenching and my eyes squeezed shut in an effort to keep the tears at bay. The nickname seemed tainted now, like even that had kept its own secrets. I looked up and met his gaze. "While I was in the camp," I started, my voice even but quiet despite my raging emotions of confusion and betrayal and anger. "They would talk about the kind of monster you were, and I didn't want to believe them. I defended you."

"Korra," he called as I turned to leave, grabbing my arm gently. "There isn't a day that goes by where I don't regret what I've done. But I raised you as my own. You are my-"

"No." Amon slowly released his hold on me. I didn't turn around to face him, my hand resting on the doorknob. "You took them from me. It would seem only fitting that you take the only other person I care for as well."

I didn't wait for him to respond as I walked out the door and headed back to my room, shutting that door behind me. I just stood there, feeling absolutely numb, my body shaking against my will. I couldn't bring myself to cry, though tears were now falling freely from my eyes.

Naga's barking snapped me out my dismal thoughts. I walked over to the window and opened it to find my companion. She howled in dismay, gesturing with her huge head toward the other side of the compound, whining and barking. Of course, I knew what was happening there. Asami's execution. I hopped over the window sill and got on Naga's saddle, grabbing the reigns and making my way toward the main quad. I didn't have time to feel sorry for myself. Asami's life was hanging in the balance.

When I rode in, I felt as if the wind had been knocked out me, and my eyes widened in absolute horror.

Asami was kneeling in the middle of the stage, her hands tied behind her back to a pole. Pieces of broken glass surrounded her hunched form and I could make out trails of blood slithering down toward the ground though I couldn't tell where it was coming from. My blood boiled and I urged Naga forward, not caring if I trampled anyone in the crowd.

They moved out of my way, and the nasty jeers and insults quieted as I approached the platform. I hopped off my polar bear dog and ran up onto the stage, kneeling in front of the heiress, lifting her face so she was looking at me. I thought I might be sick.

There was a large gash at her hairline, which was where some of the blood was coming from. Her left eye was swollen and her lip was split in several places. There were tears in her clothes and deep gashes that had broke the skin all the way to the bone.

"'Sami," I whispered. "I'm so sorry."

She managed a pained smile, her gaze somewhat unfocused and she leaned forward against my shoulder. I ran my hand through her hair soothingly, fighting back the angry tears that threatened to fall. How had I allowed this to happen? I was supposed to protect her, just as she had protected me all these years.

"You!"

My jaw clenched and I gently sat Asami up and leaned her against the pole, standing and turning to face her so called father. The industrialist had stood from his seat on the other side of the quad, his finger was pointing at me in accusation as his masked partner just sat there, not saying a word.

"Get down from there at once!" he barked. "This traitor must be made an example of!"

My fists tightened at my side. Traitor? Was he really willing to have his own daughter killed? His own flesh and blood?

"I was not trained to murder," I shouted.

"But you were trained to follow orders," he answered back. "Now get down from there at once!"

My eyes narrowed before I turned and pulled out the knife I kept stashed in my boot, cutting the rope that bound my sister. She leaned heavily against me and I stood us both back up, looking back over at the monster, my chin tilted up in defiance. I wouldn't allow him to kill her.

"Insolent girl!" the billionaire growled. "How dare you disobey a direct order!"

I didn't waver. "You speak of justice and equality but look at how you treat your own daughter! Asami has done nothing wrong in helping the Benders, she's saved more lives than you could ever imagine. Your ideals of equality have only served to push Benders and Nonbenders further apart!" I could hear murmurs from within the crowd at my words.

"Enough!" Hiroshi snapped. "You will drop the traitor, and leave this facility!"

"No!" His jaw tightened. "I am just as guilty as she is! If you want to kill her, you'll have to kill me too!"

The masked revolutionist stood at this, but yet he still said nothing. I refused to let them do this. The two men seemed to argue, before Amon took a deep breath and nodded towards me. A group of Chi Blockers launched forward, surrounding us on the stage, and I was forced to put Asami down.

They came at me, and I managed to skillfully dodge their advances. But when one group went down, another would take their place. I tried holding my ground, but I grew overwhelmed by the sheer numbers. My body seized as a current of electricity went through my body, followed by several quick jabs that made me fall to my knees.

Two of the Equalists grabbed my arms and lifted me up till I was kneeling, pulling my head back so I was looking up…so that I was looking at Amon. He gestured for them to let me go as he approached, pulling the revolver from his waist. I had admitted to treason. And I was about to be dealt with accordingly.

Amon stood towering over me, and I felt something bubbling in my gut. I wanted to hate this man so much, I wanted the luxury of cursing him to the darkest depths of the Spirit World…but I couldn't. Not with every good memory I had of him tainting my hatred. He had always been a father to me…the only one I had.

"The sentence for insubordination is death." He had hesitated, only for a split second. "Such a pity." I could hear it in his voice, he was not enjoying this. But what did that matter? I was being forced to my knees before him as he threatened my life. I started to wonder if he would really pull the trigger. But of course he would. I'd seen a couple of executions like this a long time ago. He had never shown remorse afterwards.

So without batting a lash, without removing my gaze from his, I leaned forward and pressed my temple to the muzzle of the gun. I'd like to think he'd be proud. He'd taught me never to show fear in the face of death. Yes, I was scared shitless, but I wouldn't let him see.

"Consider it my highest honor, sir."