Note: Wow, we're late with an update. Honestly, it feels like its been an eternity. We hope you haven't forgotten about us. To make up for lost time, we've made this chapter DOUBLE-LENGTH, because we feel bad. Also, now is probably a good time to mention that we're entering the endgame of our story. Only about five or so chapters left to go after this one. Thanks to everyone who has followed and favorited "Crescendo". We are very grateful for all of the kind things you have said. So, enjoy this DOUBLE-LENGTH chapter, and once again, thanks from GodSaveTheKings.

"His name is Masaki Sugiyama. He's twelve years old."

Lin Beifong sighed deeply, and ran a single hand across the contorted features of her weary face. Korra kept her eyes focused on the ground as she sat motionless across from the Chief's desk.

"What does he look like?" Lin asked, the procedural phrases jutting forth like a blade on her tongue.

"He's short," Korra stated blankly. "He has long, shaggy, dark hair, and he always has this big smile on his face."

"Personality isn't going to help me find him."

"No, I mean… he has this nerve defect in his face that forces him to smile constantly," Korra explained. "It's this very big, toothy grin, but he never looks happy when he does it."

"Gotcha," Lin said, jotting down the information on a notepad. "Do you really need to report this? Can't you just track the kid using that spirit energy nonsense?"

Korra felt a twinge of bitterness in her chest as Lin brought up that fact. Naturally, it was the very first thing she tried to do. It was an effortless process to locate someone by tapping into the energy of the world and find their specific signature, so long as she knew what to look for. At least, the process should have been simple.

"It didn't work," explained the Water Tribe warrior.

"You couldn't find him?"

"No. I mean, I couldn't do it," said Korra, practically embarrassed. "I can't feel the energy around me anymore. It requires my body and mind to be in perfect harmony with each other. I need to be at peace."

Lin understood. Peace was getting harder to come by each and every day. She continued her questioning. "So, you would say that Masaki stood out from the crowd more than other children?"

"Exactly."

"And you last heard from him last night?"

"Yes, when he was taken from his home. I already told you that."

"There's no need to get frustrated, Korra."

"I'm frustrated because you're wasting time," the Avatar said with a grunt. "Masaki is out there somewhere, and you won't even send out a team to investigate. We know where he was taken. We should be searching through his home for evidence."

"About that…" Lin folded her arms over her chest. "I've been having Chen go over records regarding the Sugiyama family. As it turns out, the Sugiyamas don't have a place of residence attached to their name. There isn't a single file to suggest that they ever had a home in Republic City at all."

Korra was taken aback. "That can't be right. Masaki walked home from school every day. Clearly, he had to go somewhere."

"Maybe his family rented out a space. If it was a temporary arrangement, it's possible we wouldn't have any information written about it."

"But the Hanzi Killer knew," Korra mused. She did not like it at all. A little boy was taken quietly into the night, ripped straight from the world like a flower plucked from its stem and denied sunlight. His parents were gone, probably additional victims to a serial killer. Until the Killer was brought to justice, it was likely that they would never find him.

But something else upset Korra. At first, she didn't notice the inflection, but as she relived the moment over and over again, it became very clear to her. Masaki claimed that "she" was trying to take him.

"Lin, I need to tell you something," Korra said, embarrassed. The Chief leaned back in her chair.

"What is it?" Lin asked calmly. Her unjudging eyes only made Korra feel guiltier.

"I've been… running my own investigation on Illu Satori."

"The sister of one of the victims?"

"That's her. She happens to be a teacher at Masaki's school. Not only that, but it's the same school where the other kidnapped child went to."

Lin connected the dots easily. "You really think that this woman is the Hanzi Killer?"

"Considering everything that I know about her: yes." Korra looked into Lin's eyes as she spoke those words. Saying them out loud released all of the tension in her chest, and caused an overwhelming sense of relief to wash over her. The young woman continued. "She had a very strained relationship with her sister before she was killed. A few days ago, Masaki got into a fight with her son during school hours and badly beat him. And before that, I caught a conversation of her talking to a shady man on a street corner. He said something about her doing some work for his boss, and by the sound of it, it wasn't legal."

Lin stopped her briefly. "Korra, you haven't been stalking this woman, have you?"

Korra shook her head. "Not really, no."

"Not really? So you did do it? Because I'm pretty sure that's a crime."

"I didn't mean to. It's complicated. I accidentally ran into her on my way home, and since I thought she was doing something wrong, I just decided to… investigate it."

Lin sighed, and dismissed her grievance with a flick of her wrist. "So, when you were busy not breaking the law, did you happen to catch the name of who she was going to work for?"

"I didn't hear a name," Korra confessed, "but there was another thing off about it. Apparently, she already had a history of crime, but gave it up recently."

Chief Beifong mulled over the evidence. "I don't know. There's still nothing linking Satori to the other victims. And if she got out of crime, why would she attack so many people, including me?"

"Does that matter?" asked Korra. "We have a motivation, and we have connections. That's more than enough evidence."

"We have fragments," Lin stated. "Fragments aren't enough to condemn a woman to prison for life, especially if there are still doubts."

"I don't have any doubts," said Korra, feeling more frustrated than ever. "It feels like we've been searching for the Hanzi Killer forever, and now that we finally have a clear link, you don't want to act on it? Why don't you ever take anything I say seriously? What is the matter with you?"

Lin slammed her fist on her desk, startling Korra into silence. "Don't talk back to me. I'm not the one who disobeyed specific instructions to stay out of the investigation and broke the law."

"Oh, so that's your problem?" Korra asked with a sneer. "You're just mad because I managed to do more on my own than the police could ever manage. You're jealous."

"That's ridiculous," said Lin, grinding her teeth. "I'm trying to do things reasonably. I'm not spying on possible guilty parties. I'm not running around encouraging young children to beat the shit out of each other."

Korra gasped. "How did you—"

"Illu Satori attempted to file an assault charge against Masaki Sugiyama yesterday," Lin explained. "The case was dropped in regards to Masaki's age, but in the file, you were listed as an associate to violence. Look, I honestly don't care about whatever personal demons you're struggling with, but acting out against an innocent woman all because of one kid isn't going to solve anything."

"It's not—"

"And excessive vigilantism isn't going to fix anything either. The city is being swallowed by chaos. We need to show the people and the Hanzi Killer that we don't have to be as violent and crazed as he is to take him down. Once we stoop to that level, he's already proven his point."

Korra shot up from her chair, infuriated. "Obeying the law didn't stop Bolin and Opal from getting blown up in their own home! It didn't stop your prime suspect from being killed under your protection! I'm sick and tired of you wasting my time while innocent people are dying. You keep holding me back when I could help you, and you don't give me the respect that I deserve."

"You're acting like a child," Lin said bluntly.

"I'm being childish?" Korra shouted, her voice mixed with shock and anger. "Do you know what I see when I look at you, Lin? I see a woman whose entire life is living up to be a failure. I see a woman who has spent her entire life trying to protect this city, and can't do anything but watch it crumble around her. I see a woman who is afraid because she is watching everyone she cares about being hurt, and she knows that it's her fault for not doing enough to save them. I see a woman who is so ashamed of her own failure that she is willing to push aside all logic and reasoning, and push aside all of her friends, so she can be the one who finally catches the Hanzi Killer, just so she can try to reclaim the feeling that she matters."

Korra was breathless, panting heavily as a crowd began to gather outside of Lin's office. Her eyes were to blue fireballs blasting directly into Lin's heart. However, the Police Chief maintained her composure, and responded without her lips ever breaking a horizontal plane.

"You're not even trying to pretend that you're talking about me, are you?"

Korra had enough. She grabbed her wooden chair, and with a yell, threw the object against the office wall, causing it to splinter and dent the plastered surface. Lin stayed firmly planted in her seat, knowing that they eyes of her co-workers were cast on her.

"Fuck you," Korra said, laced with venom. "You want to sit here and let Illu Satori get away with murder? Fine. But I'll be damned if I let her get away without paying for what she's done."

Korra turned and left the office, shoving her way past the police officers that she used to consider her comrades.

"You can't take the law into your own hands, Korra," Lin called after her. "I won't let you hurt that woman."

"Arrest me."

Korra left the police station without resistance. Lin Beifong simply sighed deeply, and ran a single hand across the contorted features of her weary face.

As it turned out, Sy wasn't exaggerating about her family's fortune. One look at the colossal structure that she called a home would tell anybody such. When Mako approached the massive mansion, he found his path blocked by a large, steel gate and four security guards wearing elegant suits. Mako adjusted his collar as they approached, surrounding his car and staring him down as if he was an insect.

The chief guard knocked on Mako's window, and as the detective rolled it down, he couldn't help but notice the club hooked onto the man's belt. He was an elderly man, but his complexion held years' worth of hardship and struggle.

"You Mako?" the guard questioned.

"Yes, sir," Mako stated nervously.

"The family is expecting you," said the guard. He leaned inwards. "I want you to listen close, kid. If you do anything to hurt that little girl—be it break her heart or step on her toe—I will rip your testicles off and shove them down your throat. Is that perfectly clear?"

Mako nodded enthusiastically. The guard, seemingly satisfied, looked over to the passenger seat, where a bundle of red roses rested comfortably.

"Are those for the matriarch?"

Mako nodded again, struggling to free his tongue from the back of his mouth. "I heard she likes roses."

The guard shrugged. "You're off to a good start, then." He signaled for the gate to be opened, and Mako hurriedly went through it. He pulled up to the front of the mansion, where a gigantic wooden door towered over him. However, the door practically flew off of its hinges when Sy burst out of her home, wearing a sparking green dress that shone brightly in the car's head beams. She bounced up and down as she swooped in and pounded loudly on the hood before the vehicle had even come to a complete stop.

"You're here! You're here!" she shouted, jumping considerably well for a teenage girl in high heels. Mako got out of his car and gave her a light hug, which she returned with significantly more strength. "Oh, you brought roses!"

"I want everything to be perfect," said Mako, carefully leaving out what the guard had told him moments before. "You look lovely, by the way."

"Thank you," Sy giggled and gave a small twirl. "You don't look half-bad yourself. Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

"Oh, you'll be fine. They're nice," Sy insisted. "Just don't bring up my dad's business ventures; he's very private about those things. Also, my mom is kind of a big hugger, so be ready for her to pounce on you."

"Gotcha."

"And one last thing," Sy added, her face turning deadly serious. "Do not, under any circumstances, let my mom be alone in a room with you. And if she starts asking you to take your clothes off, run."

Before Mako had a chance to ask any follow up questions, Sy grabbed onto his free hand, and yanked him into her home, slamming the door behind them with one foot. The entrance hall was just as lavish as the exterior, the floor cast in marble, a large staircase ascending stories above into darkness, and a large chandelier hanging overhead, covering the hall in a bright white glow. To his left was a grand living room, where glass vases and porcelain sculptures rested on fine wooden shelves. To his right was another, even more extravagant than the last. He did not have the time to admire it, however, as Sy quickly dragged him through the gorgeous halls and into a dining room fit for a king. At its center stood a table twenty feet long, carved from black stone, and sitting at its head was the man that made Mako's heart skip several beats. His face was round, his chin protruding outward and his cheeks puffy. His neatly combed, black hair was greying on the sides, and his beady green eyes latched onto the young man his daughter was leading excitedly. A thick moustache traced his thin upper lip, which was kept tight as Mako approached. When the man rose, Mako could see that his posture was strong despite having a heavy gut, and he towered so large that it seemed impossible that the short, quirky teen that led him could possibly be related.

"So," Jampa spoke, his voice lightning echoing through the chamber, "You're the man who's dating my daughter?"

Mako gulped. "I'm Mako. It's, uh, a pleasure to meet you, sir." He stuck out a hand nervously, which Jampa did not accept.

"You seem so… " Jampa said, trying to find the proper word. "Puny."

Sy rushed forward, lightly elbowing her father in the belly and talking through gritted teeth. "Dad, we talked about this."

Jampa's features softened. "Oh, I'm sorry, sweetie." He took a deep breath, and shook Mako's hand more firmly than the detective had ever known. "My name is Jampa. Welcome to my home." He turned and shouted in his booming voice, "Serena! Come meet Sy's friend!"

"Give me a minute!" cried a voice from another room. "This roast isn't going to cook itself, you know!"

"That's my wife," Jampa sighed. "She insisted on doing all of the cooking tonight. Once that woman sets her mind on something, there's nothing that can stop her."

When Sy's mother finally burst into the room from an adjacent door, Mako's questions about his girlfriend's heritage were suddenly discarded. More accurately, he swore he was seeing double. Serena Kyoriku was the splitting image of Sy; her skin and hair were as white and snow, and she overcame her shorter stature with her perky deposition. In fact, if it wasn't for the marks of age that lined her face, Mako would have thought the two were twins. She scanned the room, and upon seeing the boy, a smile bloomed across her cheeks.

"Oh, you're finally here!" she screamed, nearly jumping over the table just to get at him sooner. She latched on firmly, which Mako was readily prepared for. What he was not prepared for was the strength of her grip, and the enthusiastic way in which she looked him over with her gray eyes. "Sy has told us so much about you."

"Mom. Let go," Sy groaned, rolling her eyes.

"Sorry," Serena laughed nervously and released Mako from her grasp. "Hey, are those roses?"

"Uh, yes," said Mako, extending the flowers outward. "I heard you—"

"That's so thoughtful," Serena exclaimed, snatching the roses and taking a long whiff. "Such a nice young man. Take a seat, won't you? Dinner will be out momentarily."

Serena dashed back into the kitchen, leaving Mako dazed. The good news was that he made a decent first impression. Unfortunately, he had to maintain that for the rest of the night, something he was not sure he had the stamina to do. Sy hardly had the energy herself, as immediately upon her mother's departure, she slumped into the chair closest to her father, and slammed her head against the table.

"This is gonna be a long night."

Like Sy and her family, the meal was anything but restrained. The entire table was lined with enough food to feed an army. A slab of ribs the size of a desk rested at its center, slathered in gravy thick enough to be cut with a knife. A dozen different varieties of fish, filleted, grilled and displayed in order from lightest shade to darkest. There were roasted potatoes, a plethora of steamed vegetables, soups and chowders, and a healthy amount of sauces to match. Once they had all settled in their seats, Jampa wasted no time in giving himself a more-than-sizable portion. Mako kept his manners in check, though he did give a satisfactory moan upon taking a bite of the elephant salmon.

"This is fantastic," he exclaimed. Serena blushed and acted coy.

"It's really nothing. It's all about multitasking," she stated. "Also, we have a big kitchen. That helps quite a bit."

"I hear that you're a detective," Jampa inquired. "It must be getting difficult these days with all of the public scrutiny."

"Don't be so brash, dear," Serena intervened. "I'm sure Mako can handle a little bit of negative media attention. He is a hero, after all."

"I wouldn't describe myself as a hero," Mako claimed. "I'm just trying to do my job the best that I can."

"Don't be so modest," said Sy. She leaned in and whispered to Mako, "Seriously, don't be modest. Play it up."

"Really, I don't think of myself like that," Mako insisted. "I'm just fortunate enough to be surrounded by good people and catch some lucky breaks. My brother's more of a hero than I am."

"But, his brother didn't blow up a giant killer robot," Sy added. "Who did? This guy. I know I'd be impressed if I blew up a giant killer robot."

"Technically, it wasn't a robot," Serena noted. "It had a pilot, which would make it a mech. Robots are defined by autonomy."

"But we don't have the technology for that yet, right?" asked Sy. "Then, I guess we'll them whatever we want."

"I think distinctions are important. Otherwise, once we do build them, everyone is going to be confused about the terminology." Serena giggled, suddenly amused. "Can you imagine robots walking around doing things that normal people do?"

"That's ridiculous," said Sy. "Like robot butlers."

"Robot dogs."

"Robot librarians."

"Robot teachers."

"Robot optometrists."

"Robot cops," suggested Jampa. "Maybe then they would actually be able to fix this mess of a city."

The room was filled with silence. Serena coughed and tried to change the subject.

"So, do you have any family in Republic City?"

"Uh, I have a brother," Mako said, keeping his eyes locked on his plate. "I have a pretty large extended family, but they all moved back to Ba Sing Se a while back."

"Back to Ba Sing Se? That implies they came from Ba Sing Se, which implies they're from the Earth Kingdom, which could mean… do you have any earthbenders in your family?"

"My brother's an earthbender, and technically a lavabender at that."

"Fascinating," Serena cooed. "I love stories of different cultures coming together. It reminds me of us, Jampa."

"Yes, true," claimed the man at the head of the table.

"How did you two meet, anyway?" Mako inquired. "Don't take this the wrong way, but it's hard to see you two fitting together so well."

"It was a quarter of a century ago, back when I was still young enough to be stupid and stupid enough to take risks," Jampa said fondly.

"I was up in the Northern Water Tribe for field research at the time," stated Serena. "I was fresh out of university with a doctorate under my belt and a penchant for heavy drinking."

"Wait," Mako interrupted. "You're a doctor?"

"Not important," Serena brushed him off hurriedly. "Anyway, I was in town buying supplies for an expedition out onto the tundra. I can't remember the details now, but I'm pretty sure it had something to do with ultraviolet rays. Or maybe it had something to do with penguins. Regardless, I was buying supplies, when I see this man get into a scuffle with local law enforcement."

"From what I gathered," explained Jampa, "there had been a recent string of robberies, and I bore some resemblance to the primary suspect."

"He was lankier back then," Serena stated, ignoring the frustrated sputtering of her husband. "I figured that he was innocent. The robberies had been taking place for over a month, and he had a deep tan that could only have been caused by spending time closer to the equator. Naturally, I rushed over and explained to the cops why he could not have been guilty."

"You rescued him from the police?" Mako asked, astonished.

"No. I was arrested," Jampa sighed. "They didn't believe her, and so I spent two nights in an icy prison cell. The only reason I was released was that the actual perpetrator was captured shortly afterwards. But when I got out of my cell, she was waiting for me."

"I wanted to make sure that justice was properly served. Also, the expedition was delayed on account of snowstorm, the bar was closed, and I was bored and had nothing better to do. But it all turned out for the best!"

"I can clearly see," Mako approved. "Although I didn't know you were a doctor. Give how good this food is, I would have sworn you were a professional chef."

"A woman can be talented at many different things," Serena said with a not-so-innocent smirk. "Maybe after dinner, I'll show you some of my other talents."

Mako gulped nervously. Jampa seemed blissfully unaware of any deeper meaning, chewing his food normally. Sy merely rolled her eyes. Was this really such a common occurrence in her household?

For the remainder of the meal, Serena stayed on the offensive, bombarding the detective with questions. Where did he see himself in ten years? What was his favorite color? What was his opinion of having children? What kind of car did he drive? Was he a safe driver? If he was going to be driving her daughter, where was his license and ticket record so he could prove he was a safe driver? She peeled him back layer by layer, dissecting him like a cadaver, poking holes into his brain and draining out information. Jampa sat in silence, only commenting occasionally when he deemed it appropriate. He expressed his utter disdain through his gluttony, consuming three whole fish in the span of five minutes, chewing loudly all the while. Sy, having resigned herself to fate, stayed quiet, only communicating to Mako via slight taps with her foot. Aside from when the occasional lurid glance headed his way, Mako held up rather well under the pressure, though he did lose his appetite after the third question about his workout routine.

However, once the meal was finished, and servants crawled out of the woodwork to scoop up every loose plate and utensil, Mako felt the sudden urge to relieve himself.

"Excuse me, but do can you tell me where the restroom is?" he asked politely. Sy sprang to her feet.

"Come with me," she said hastily. "I'll show you." She began to pull on his arm once more (which, by this point, did not even remotely bother the man). Taking him away from the prying eyes of her parents, she groaned loudly. "They are so much to handle sometimes."

"Well, I think your mom likes me," Mako suggested. "Generally speaking, I think it's going pretty well."

"She likes everybody. Dad hates everyone. They act like this all the time, which means that they don't really seem to have an opinion of you at all."

"What exactly were you hoping for?"

"I don't know," Sy confessed. "Complete indifference, maybe? I'd take anything other than this 'good cop, bad cop' shtick that they use whenever they meet any random person. At least then I would know that they think you're special."

After being dragged deeper into the complex, Mako found one of the many available bathrooms. Like every other room, it was larger than his first apartment, and he had plenty of time to admire that fact as Sy shoved him inside and slammed the door.

"Why are all the rooms in your house so big?"

"Have you seen my dad?"

"Good point."

"Yeah, he's—wait a second…"

Sy went quiet, straining her ears.

"Hold on, I think he's calling me. I'll be right back."

He heard the sound of footsteps clamor away. After he finished his business, he stepped back into the hall, only to be caught off-guard by Serena, nervously standing in front of him.

"Mrs. Kyoriku? Why are—"

Sadly, Mako did not have time to react, as Sy's mother grabbed him by the arm, and forcefully tugged him through the halls.

"Hey, what are you doing?" he exclaimed.

"Shush it," she hissed, shooting through the halls like a rocket.

Within moments, Mako was thrust inside of a dark room and thrown onto a soft mattress. Serena slammed the door behind them, and flicked on the light. The spare bedroom was coated with calming shades of blue and violet. Apart from the comfortable bed, there was only a closet located near the door, in which Serena rummaged around for something dreadful.

"Um, why am I in here?" Mako asked, his heart starting to race.

"We don't have much time, so I'm going to need your full cooperation," Serena half-explained. "Now… take your shirt off."

Mako's heart skipped a beat.

"Look, ma'am," Mako stammered. "I don't know what your game is, b-but this is all sorts of wrong."

"Ha! Wrong!" Serena laughed. "That's what everyone always says. That's just because they're a bunch of unimaginative slaves who refuse to push the boundaries of society. Shirt. Off."

"I-I-I-I…"

"You aren't making this any easier for me," Serena groaned. She pulled out a large leather case from the closet, and dumped it onto the bed. Its contents jostled loudly inside. "If you aren't going to man up, then I'll make you. You should be lucky I'm even using you at all. So, are you going to take your shirt off, or am I going to have to rip it off?"

Mako was speechless. He could only stare wide-eyed in horror, a horrible feeling pooling in the pit of his stomach.

"I just… I don't think this is—"

"Oh, don't be such a coward. I hate cowards." She slowly unzipped her bag. Mako flinched, not knowing what hideous tools he would find inside. What he was completely unprepared for was to see the bag loaded with bandages, gels, sanitizers, tubes, and syringes. "Now," she said with a smirk, "let's take that blood sample."

"It's just that your daughter is in the house and… wait, blood sample?" Mako asked, confused.

"Obviously," Serena shrugged. "That's what the needle is for. I thought you figured that out already."

"Why did you… how come… but why did you need me to take my shirt off? Couldn't you have just told me to roll up my sleeves?"

"You're wearing a nice suit. I didn't want you to wrinkle it. Can you show me your damn arm already? We're wasting very valuable time here."

Mako probably should not have complied with the mad woman holding a syringe, but he was filled with such a sense of relief that he did not mind at all. Once his muscular arm was exposed, Serena began to disinfect the targeted area.

"So… why do you want my blood?" Mako questioned.

"Experiments."

"What kind of experiments?"

"Important kinds."

"Can you be a bit more specific?"

"Jeez, you're a talky one, aren't you?" Serena chuckled. "Remember when I said I had a doctorate? Specifically, I'm a biologist. More specifically, I'm a geneticist."

"So, you want to study my blood for your research?"

"If I was boring, I might. You might feel a small pinch."

She jabbed the needle into Mako's vein. He watched as the blood steadily flowed out from his body and into the syringe.

"See, I believe that genetics hold vastly untapped potential for the human race. The scientific community still sees it as a relatively unknown and untrustworthy field of study, unfortunately. So, you probably won't be hearing much about it in the morning paper."

"I barely know about it at all."

"Sure you do. You just don't recognize it. It's heredity, Mako. Hair and eye color, height, size and shape, mutations and alterations, breaking down genetic code and assembling it into a new life form. Genetics is the study of what makes us, well, us. And I think it could potentially change the world."

"Like how?"

"Think about it. You are a firebender. Your brother is an earthbender. Why?"

"Because my dad was from the Earth Kingdom, and my mother was from the Fire Nation."

"Exactly! Do you see any babies in the Water Tribe born with the ability to firebend? Of course, you don't! Bending is usually specifically confined to one specific cultural subset. Traditional spiritual teachings would have you believe that bending is based on the flow of chi within the human body, or the balancing of one's chakras, but there are too many flaws with that kind of logical reasoning. If chi dictated the ability to bend, how do different types of bending differentiate themselves? Why can't some people bend even if they can master their chi, while others who can't master their chi can bend freely? Most importantly, why does bending seem to be locked within hereditary boundaries? You can't just wave your hands and say, 'Spirit World', and pretend that this doesn't matter! In the scientific community, if there are problems with a theory, we have to find a better one. For the past twenty years, I've been working on a theory of my own." She removed the needle from his arm, and quickly bandaged his wound.

"See, organisms undergo things called genetic mutations. In order to adapt to the conditions around them, they change on a cellular level so that they can be more prepared to survive their natural habitat. All living things do this; it's why some animals have thicker fur in colder temperatures and others change their skin color to camouflage. These superior traits are then passed down from generation to generation, so that the strongest and fittest species survive. Humans do this to, but I believe that it is highly possible that our mutations formed differently than any other."

"You think it manifested as bending?"

"I call it the 'Kyoriku Genetic Theory of the Bending Arts," Serena stated proudly. "I think that the ability to control the elements itself was a genetic mutation that started thousands of years ago. More than that, I think it was caused unnaturally due to humans close relationships to beings of the Spirit World. It makes enough sense; one would think that prolonged exposure to radiation from another world would cause sporadic changes to the genetic makeup of a person. My theory states that every single person has the genetic potential to bend every element, but most of them are locked and unusable. It would explain why bending seems to be passed down from person to person, because the parents who have already been affected by this mutation would pass it onto their children. It also explains why the Avatar—someone who is constantly being exposed to a powerful spirit and the energy that they emit—is able to bend all of the elements. The spirit triggers the mutation in her genes, and suddenly… boom! You've got yourself a bender."

Mako awkwardly cleared his throat. "Well, that's quite a theory."

"I know, right?"

"But I do have to ask… what does this have to do with my blood again?"

"Oh sorry, forgot about that part," said the raving scientist. "See, I came up with my theory many years ago, but I never really had the ability to prove it. It challenged a lot of conventional wisdom about how we perceive the world, and it also faced one or two problems of its own. Primarily, I couldn't prove that bending was caused by prolonged or intense exposure to spirits, since no one had ever really been in and out of the Spirit World at that time, and those who did only had relatively short exposure. The second problem was that if bending could be passed down genetically, then hypothetically, if people of two different cultures had a child, they could potentially be born with the ability to bend one or more elements… and no such person has ever existed. I eventually created a solution to that problem: the two different mutations would cause too much strain on the body, and cause the subject to die shortly after birth. The Avatar can handle the strain because the pressure is maintained by the spirit existing within her, but for everyone else, it would be too much. Since we can't tell if a person can bend an element until they—you know—bend it, we would simply say that the cause of death was something else, and move on. Naturally, the only way to test that would be to run genetic tests on every single deceased child of a multicultural family and… you can see why I had a bit of a quandary. Luckily, I think I recently stumbled upon some evidence that proved me right."

"Blood sample."

"Sorry, sorry! I'm getting to it. Do you remember what happened seven years ago?"

Mako nodded. How could he forget? It was one of the most important events in world history. "You mean the revival of the airbenders?"

"Precisely that. And remember what caused it?"

"The energy released from Harmonic Convergence," Mako stated, still skeptical. "I get your point: you think that energy triggered mutation in people who possessed airbending genes."

"If they were exposed to enough of it," Serena clarified. "For most, the gene was too dormant for a widespread burst to truly activate it."

"But if that was the case, then by your own logic, people who were already benders should have also been able to airbend, at least before they died. But that didn't happen."

"Except that it did," Serena stated, silencing Mako. "In the month that followed Harmonic Convergence, twenty-three hundred, sixty-two deaths with unknown causes were reported globally. Each and every single one of them was a firebender, earthbender, or waterbender. Their systems simply shut down, even if they were perfectly healthy the day before. It went completely unreported. A hundred thousand people die every single day, so why would anyone care if a few more died over the course of a month, especially if the airbender revival was taking up so much of the public's attention? But for me, it was the validation that my theory was right. Not only did it prove that the ability to bend was genetic in concept, but also—and this is where your blood comes in, by the way—it also proved that bending can be triggered."

She held up the full syringe to her grey eye, examining the blood closely. "If I can deconstruct your blood down to its most fundamental levels, it's possible I can selectively target and study the genes that make you a firebender. And if I can do that, then maybe I can find out what it would take to manually activate those genes. Think about the possibilities in that. Provided I can stabilize it, we could change the way we use bending on a global scale! You could sell firebending to someone in the Water Tribe, remove it in felons as punishment for breaking the law. Hell, you could even create entire artificial Avatars. My work is so close that I can taste it. Nothing will ever be the same again! I'll—"

The door shot open with a bang, startling the two. Sy stood in the doorway, her teeth grinding together and fury burning in her normally youthful eyes.

"I cannot believe you!" she screamed.

"Oh, honey," Serena laughed nervously, hiding the syringe behind her back. "This is definitely not what it looks like."

"Really, mom? My boyfriend!? You couldn't resist it for just one freaking night?" Sy yelled, stomping her foot.

"Sweetie, you know how important this is to me."

"More important than not acting like a freak in front of the one person I'm trying to impress?"

"Hey, I'm not a freak," Serena pouted.

"You're taking blood samples from him!" Sy cried. "What kind of normal person does that? Oh, that's right… nobody!"

"I should probably put my shirt back on," Mako said uncomfortably.

"Don't even bother," Sy said bitterly. However, she quickly mumbled, "Seriously, leave it off; you look great."

"I think you are overreacting," said Serena. "My work is for the good of humankind. I have to keep going with my research."

"Well, if that's the case, then I don't want any part of your work! And he won't either."

For what had to be the thousandth time that night, Sy grabbed Mako by the arm, and dragged him away.

"Sy, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Serena demanded to know. Sy shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm being a rebellious teen. Come on, Mako. You're driving me back to your place."

Mako did not have a chance to comply. It had been a long evening, and by this point, he was just going with the flow. Sy dragged him away the annoyed screams of her mother, past the confused glares of her father, who was surely perplexed as to why his daughter's date was missing half of his clothing, and past the even more confused security guards out front. He supposed that the red roses weren't good enough, or perhaps they were far too good. His mind was still trying to rationalize whatever crackpot theory Serena had attempted to preach to him. He was very tired, and wanted to go home. Sy was very frustrated, and she wanted to go as far away from home as possible. Everyone else was very confused, and they were exactly where they were supposed to be.

All in all, it was a very interesting way to meet Sy's family.

Asami stumbled into the car, half-blind and woozy. Zhu Li forced her out of the driver's seat. She said that Asami was in no condition to drive, but the Sato heiress did not care. She just wanted to be as far away from that place as humanly possible.

Varrick said they he never liked the guy anyway. Either he did not understand her pain, or he did not care. Zhu Li's hand fumbled as she hurried to start the engine. They were going across the entire continent. They needed fuel. They would have to put that problem off.

Blood oozed out of the gash in Asami's arm. She only felt its warmth. Everything else was too numb.

She nearly passed out as they drive away from the airship. Zhu Li shook her awake. She panicked, screamed for Asami not to go under, or else she wouldn't wake up. Asami wanted to dream. She wanted to dream so badly.

It was all a lie. The promises, the plans, the friendship. It was all a fabrication to play with her trust. Her throat was raw from shouting. She wanted to dream. She wanted to go home.

Asami needed to get away from everything. Away from Shang. Away from the airship. Away from the lies. With a whisper, she told Zhu Li to never stop driving. Her friend only complied because of the guilt.

Asami was headed back to Republic City. After what had just happened, she never wanted to leave again.