Lin shot up awake immediately as the loud morning horn summoning all the Air Nomads across the island to morning mediation seemed to shake her whole room. She let herself collapse back with a thunk on the hard wicker mat mattress and sighed. I know they're short on space here now but they had to give me the room next to the stupid siren didn't they. 'It's not a siren Aunt Lin, its a Dungchen, used by the ancient blah blah blah' Lin's inner Jinora trailed off as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and slid on the waiting pair of sandals. She stood with a groan, the retired police chief was an old woman and the beds the nomads slept on hadn't been doing her any favors. Shuffling over to the only window that had just begun to glow orange with the newly rising sun she leaned against the sill. Overlooking the main court yard she could see the island was already bustling. On the far corner, which she knew housed the kitchen, she could already see the smoke rising from the chimney. Clearly Pema was already hard at work. Lin watched the small procession of senior monks, those who might be getting their tattoos soon, marched towards the main temple. She envied them in a way she never thought she would, I bet they don't even need to try to get to the spirit world. Lin sighed, they had what she wanted most in the world but they couldn't possibly need it as badly as she did. Frowning she spotted Jinora enter the courtyard with a group of new but not quite the newest students in tow. I'll never get to Kya up here…Lin turned and exited her room sliding the door behind her shut and letting her sandals thunk down the hallway. She let her mind wander as she traversed a small stone staircase that wound around one of the buildings surrounding the courtyard. I really should visit her today, feels like its been ages, Lin smiled at the thought of Kya's lips on hers.

She came to the end of the stairs and was about to turn into the courtyard when she stopped and smelled the air. It had been years since she'd been on the beat as a rookie cop, but she knew the smell of burning cactus when she smelled looked down at her chest where her badge used to be pinned and rolled her eyes. She looked at the arched entrance to the court yard, and she looked down a small stone path where she guessed the smell was coming from. Retired or not I'm still a detective. Lin slid off her sandals and began to walk slowly down the stone path, she'd been on the island since it was under construction but there were more paths than nomads at this point. The path wound its way away from the main courtyard towards the edge of the island with bushes growing on either side. The smell was almost overwhelming as she neared the end of the path. Lin grew impatient and slammed her foot down onto the stone path and scanned the earth. "You've got to be kidding me."She said to herself and quickly strolled down the rest of the path coming to a small stone shed with a wooden door. She didn't bother knocking instead she gave the door a heavy kick and walked into the shed.

"Oh hey Lin, what, didn't wanna to knock?" Bumi sat on a large sofa in nomad robes with a rubber hose in his hand that snaked down to a hookah.

"Really Bumi?"

"Want some?"

"You could get arrested on the mainland for that you know," Lin sighed and put her hand to her head.

Bumi took a long drag from the hose and smiled letting the smoke from the burning cactus spew from his mouth as he spoke. "Aww come on Lin I'm retired, this is medicinal cactus…for my back."

Lin almost laughed, while cactus juice inside possessed hallucinogenic qualities Republic City citizens had taken to burning the cactus whole. As the cactus burned it would sweat the juice inside in trace amounts and be evaporated into the smoke. She'd lost count of how many arrests she'd made for it over the years. She turned and felt her back twinge in pain and she hesitated. I am retired too… "Does it really help with your back?"

"Doesn't hurt." Bumi smiled before taking a long drag.

Fuck it. Lin walked over and flopped down on the sofa leaning against the arm that had its fair share of tears in it. Lin took the hose and inhaled a deep breath, immediately she began to cough and immediately Bumi laughed. She raised her middle finger as she tried to control her coughing. "How fast does this shit kick in?"

"Doesn't take long at all," Bumi pulled on his beard and put his feet up on a small wooden crate.

"I'm surprised your brother even allows it." Lin took a deep breath and took another drag from the hose, this time she managed not to cough.

Bumi chuckled. "Mr. Spiritual is too busy with his morning meditation rituals,"

Lin rolled her eyes. "I don't understand how they do it, sure it's calming once and a while but every morning?" Lin scratched her head, the feeling of her hand on her scalp suddenly distant. She raised an eyebrow and took another deep breath of smoke.

"I know right?" Bumi motioned for the hose. "Dad tried to teach me and Kya but we were too restless, Tenzin took to it like a fish to water…for me though, this is my meditation."

"Smoking cactus in a shed?"

Bumi rolled his eyes. "Nah, relaxing, enjoying a nice long smoke on a comfy sofa in the peace and quite of my own little hide away."

Lin shrugged, she had to hand it to Bumi, it was much more comfortable than sitting in the lotus position on a stone slab. "This is much different from the Jinora philosophy of meditating."

"That kid knows a lot…my brother knows a lot, but if you ask me they've got it wrong."

Lin took a breath and felt her head swim. "How do you figure?" She held her hand out for the hose.

"Meditation is great for thinking and planning, but for solving problems?" Bumi laughed. "That you have to do the old fashioned way. Head on. Show that problem who's boss."

Lin's head swam and she smiled feeling giddy for no particular reason. "That's not a bad idea…"

I

Ren stopped and leaned against a tree, the jungle heat and the heavy rucksack on her back were draining the life out of her. When the mission brief had said full armor she'd been excited. A chance for some honest combat, a chance to be a real Kyoshi again. She hadn't considered she'd be rucking through a jungle in near one hundred degree temperature in the armor. Brushing the sweat off her brow she pulled out her map and checked it. Only one more mile till the target. Ren had been in Republic City less than 24 hours before being called back into the KWG. It was a rush mission, new intel from a mole inside the fire nation's Red Lotus sect had told them of a remote base in the middle of the jungle. Impossible to reach by foot, or so the Red Lotus thought. Supplies and personnel were flown in via airship, any nearing air traffic was closely monitored by a radio and radar installation near the base itself. Her mission, and the reason she didn't completely mind being soaked in sweat and lugging a heavy rucksack through the jungle, was to take the radar installation offline. She set off again making steady progress through the thick jungle that seemed to grab at every opportunity she gave it to slow her down. Ren negotiated a thick tangled mass of vines and a rotting tree and pushed on, a smile crossed her lips. She was enjoying herself. This was much different than assassinating an old man in the middle of a market. She was on a mission through the jungle to kill an enemy. The enemy in question had no idea she was coming for them, but she knew that they wouldn't stand a chance. Ren sliced one of her dao swords through a thick bunch of vines and continued her way towards the target. In a small gap of the jungle canopy she could just see the tip of the radio antenna that she needed to destroy. They had little intel on the installation itself but she'd come prepared for a fight. On the flight from HQ to the insertion point in the jungle ten miles away she'd taken great care to sharpen her Dao swords. As well as her swords she brought a hunting bow carrying the arrows on her rucksack. When she got close enough she dropped her rucksack next to a tree and carefully marked it so she could quickly make her way back to it. Unfastening the straps she pulled a large satchel from the top of the sack. As a regular Kyoshi she hadn't had much experience with explosives, the DAGR explosives expert had assured her though that the satchel was a self contained unit, all she had to do is pull the fuse and run. Hanging the satchel over her shoulder she sheathed her swords took a hand full of arrows, and crept low to the ground closer and closer to the installation.

"Radio tower this is base,"

"Base, radio tower, go ahead."

Ren laid flat on the ground and began to crawl, she could hear the voices of her targets, as she neared she could see the beginning of a clearing with the radio installation in the center.

"Just checking in, sky all clear?"

"Crystal clear base, not expecting any traffic till our late delivery."

Ren listened to the radio chatter as she hid behind a large bush, slowly she pulled down a head sized leaf and finally saw the installation. It was a bit grand of a name for a small shack on top of a small jungle covered mountain with the antenna sticking out of the center. The whole shack was surrounded by a low porch the railing of which a guard was leaning on. Immediately she studied tall guard with a radio satcheled on his hip. He wore no armor just a red and black robe. Idiots really did think this place was unreachable on foot. She briefly wished she could scan the interior like Setchi would've been able to but she shrugged, she didn't mind doing it the old fashioned way. Ren pulled the hunting bow off her sword sheath, the bow was useless for armored opponents it was used primarily to hunt small game while she was in the field. However she'd noticed the Red Lotus never seemed to be wearing helmets. Sliding the notch of the arrow onto the string she took a knee behind the plant carefully pushing the leaf out of the way with the tip of her arrow. Taking a deep breath she aimed for the man's throat. In…out…annnnd Ren's fingers let the arrow loose she dropped the bow and drew her swords charging after the arrow that had already burrowed into the guard's neck. Before he had slumped to the ground she rocketed over the railing landed on both feet and rushed into the shed. Left! The radio operator had just turned around in his chair as she sliced her sword into her neck. She turned back around right as another Red Lotus rushed into the shed. Ren threw her sword skewering the man to the wall before he had a chance to unsheathe his sword. Taking a deep breath and pulling the sword out of the radio operator's neck she quickly wiped it clean before sheathing it. Pulling the other sword out of the man she'd pinned to the wall she frowned as he hit the floor with a thunk. Guess I won't be needing the explosives after all. Shoving the radio operator out of the chair she spun the dial on the small control panel to the frequency she'd memorized. Pushing the button on the microphone she spoke quickly. "Serpent to Wasp, radio tower one clear."

"Roger that, prepare to fast rope out."

Ren smiled and immediately rushed out of the shed back to her waiting rucksack, heaving it back onto her shoulders she ran quickly back to the shed. Carefully she climbed onto the roof and eyed the radio tower. Just as planned. She began to climb the tower as the loud drone of a war ship began to echo through the jungle. Ever since she was a trainee she'd wanted an excuse to use this tactic on a mission. Ren scanned the sky and picked out the bow of the warship in a steep dive as it shoved the clouds out of its way. The move required precision on the pilots part and nerve on hers. The airship leveled out seemingly only feet above her and her perch on the top of the tower. It roared towards her at full speed, she spotted the cable waiting for her. Her heart raced as she balanced herself on the top of the antenna and readied herself to catch the cable. As the ship screamed over head she felt the cable smack into her and instantly she wrapped her hands and feet around it and flew forward with the ship. She stifled a laugh of glee and put her game face back on. The airships next stop was the jungle outpost.

I

Republic City traffic, the worst at the best of times, and Mako was in it at the worst of times. He let his head hang backwards over the headrest of the cruiser grimacing as the sweat rolled off his forehead. I should've just walked. He had considered turning on his sirens and moving the traffic out of his way, but off duty that was a trick not even Beifong would've pulled. Just a few more blocks to her place. He hadn't seen Ren in weeks and had been looking forward to their rendezvous for quite sometime.

"Keikan 12 to Hq."

Mako listened to the chatter coming in over the chorus of hoking horns.

"Keikan 12, HQ what have you got."

"I've got a three mobile pile up at the intersection of Jade and Lotus, blocking three lanes of traffic, two north bound one east."

"Mother fucker…" Mako said to no one but the rearview mirror.

"Any units in the area, we just…we just uh"

Mako grimaced as the radio transmitted the sound of someone puking.

"Last calling station say again?" HQ called over the radio.

"We just found what looks to be a homicide, it's a blood bath down here, any units near Kyoshi boulevard please make your way here. I'll cordon off what I can but I'm going to need back up."

Mako looked at the radio and looked back at the traffic, he flipped on his sirens and reached for the hand mic. "This is Detective Mako, responding to that last call at Kyoshi Boulevard over."

Even with the sirens it took forever to swerve through and negotiate the growing traffic jam. As he turned the corner he could already see the police cruiser parked at an awkward angle to the curb with the lights still flashing. Two police officers sat on the curb next to a basement loading door looking as pale as ghosts. He pulled the cruiser behind the one at the curb and stepped out. He grimaced noticing the puddle of vomit next to one of the police officers. He knew rookies when he saw them and the two clean cut freshly shaven but pale faces looking up to him as he neared the door were rookies. "How bad is it?"

"Pretty fucking bad Detective…I've never seen so much blood" The paler of the two police officers, with his hair slicked back stifled the urge to puke again. "The smell…"

What the flameo is down there… Mako stared at the concrete steps leading down into a pitch black basement. The metal bay doors hung open waiting for him to go inside. Mako shrugged and lit up a flame from the palm of his hand and carefully walked down the concrete steps. The flame only illuminated so much, the stairs lead surprisingly deep with no railings on either side. Letting the flame grow in his palm he saw the end of the staircase and adjusted his stride. The basement seemed impossibly dark, even with the flame in his hand he could only see a few feet in front of him. The smell hit him and he felt his stomach churn, he could never get used to the smell of a rotting corpse. Okay but where is it? He lit a flame in both palms and reeled backwards as the light illuminated a corpse strung up on the wall of the basement. Before he could stop himself his feet slipped out from underneath him and he hit the floor hard. Fuck…He lay on the ground for a moment to let the pain in his head die down and tried to get up. It was then he felt the slick oil like substance he'd landed in. You've got to be kidding. The hair on the back of his neck stood up as he felt it trickle down the back of his head from where he'd hit it on the ground. He grimaced and lit a flame in his palm confirming what his stomach and nerves were already saying. His palm was coated in a thick liquid layer of blood. Trying to keep his stomach in check he stood taking extra care to steady his shoes in the slick pool of blood. Don't puke…answer the questions and get out. Not holding back he lit a massive burst of fire from both hands cutting away the suffocating darkness of the basement. He quickly looked at the corpse that had startled him. Mid 20s female incision on both forearms from elbow to wrist. His head seemed to begin to float away from him. He shook his head and concentrated on his breathing. Victim is hanging by chains…seems like she was drained of blood…He turned and stopped dead, the flame had illuminated another wall of the basement, one bearing the universal symbol for water bending painted in blood. He made a break for the stairs as fast as he could while making extra sure he wouldn't slip again. Taking the steps two at a time he rushed into the sweltering air at street level and felt his head rush again. He looked at the two rookies and tried to keep his cool, but even they went pale at the sight of his uniform slicked in blood. "Get back on the radio, get the special crime unit down here…and ask them to bring me a new uniform." He felt his stomach clench and stifled the rising dry heave.

I

Asami eased the clutch in on her roadster giving the throttle a few long revs easing her towards the hangar on the edge of the estate grounds. She'd returned to the estate and had begun regularly sleeping there the past week. While the return had been necessary to finish up her prototype Asami had not looked forward to it. She had instructed that Korra's belongings be moved to one of the spare bedrooms while she had begun to occupy another room entirely. While the estate had never been full she was now the only resident, and it was driving her mad. Most of the progress she'd made on her prototype had been out of sheer necessity to keep her mind off the lack of Korra's presence. With a sigh Asami pulled the parking brake and hopped out heading into the small door on the side of the hangar. Closing the door behind her she pulled the large metal lever turning on the massive banks of flood lights above a spread out workspace. In the center of the square of tables, tool chests, and other equipment Asami's prototype seemed to glow in the fluorescent light of the hangar. When she had first designed her booster engine she'd wanted to instal it on a current model biplane. However the early tests had quickly showed the older model planes wouldn't be able to handle the increased speeds and thrust involved. So after many whisky fueled nights spent working furiously to keep her mind occupied Asami had cracked it. The Air Nomads had for centuries flown on single wing gliders achieving lift with their impossibly efficient bending. If her math was right she would achieve it with the two engines slung underneath the single silver wing like bombs waiting to drop. She strolled over to one of the large metal work tables and picked up her waiting leather work jacket and gloves. She slipped them on over the button up shirt and ratty pair of jeans which was all she could be bothered to put together on most mornings. Quickly she picked up where she had left off the previous day. The prototype would've been finished months ago had she not insisted she do the work herself, but the opportunity to shut herself away was too tempting.

Lifting a long metal fin off the table and holding it in the crook of her arms she snagged a few long bolts off the table and carefully manuvered the long fin over to the aircraft. Carefully she aligned the mounts on the back of the fin and the back of the wing. Awkwardly wedging the fin in place by holding her knee underneath it she slipped the bolts through the mounts and let the fin hang. Asami frowned and grabbed the fin lifting it on its hinges, the fin moved as designed, she carefully dragged her gloved hand back over the wing slipping down the smooth metal skin and up the fin. Exactly as designed. Asami left the fin hanging on it's bolts and went to one of the many tool chests and went the drawer full of ratchets and sockets. She quickly selected the correct size and ratchet and began tightening down the mounting bolts on the fin. Asami smiled satisfied. Crouching underneath the wing she followed the long complex system of pulleys and cables and connected the ends to the fin. As she snapped the cable into place she heard the door to the hangar open.

"Mrs. Sato, President Tsusamo is on the phone for you,"

Asami held her tongue, she had said she didn't want to be bothered but she knew her staff was just being considerate. Any day before Korra had left she would've been expected to be notified of a call as important as this. "Thanks." She dropped her wrench on the floor with a clatter and quickly walked over to the bench covered with blueprints and a few old cups off coffee. It also held a phone that was so rarely used it had a thin cover of dust on it. She sighed as she saw the glowing red light signaling a waiting call. Reaching for the phone she paused. Looking back at her project she wondered what the man she hadn't voted for had called her for. Without another thought she picked up the handset and immediately set it back down on the receiver. I never liked him anyways. She turned and set back to work.

I

Ren's body was still buzzing with endorphins and adrenaline as she unlocked the heavy deadbolt to her apartment. She let the door fall open as she hefted her duffle bag full of armor and equipment on her shoulder. Kicking the door shut with her boot she let the bag fall onto the floor with a heavy thunk. Another advantage to DAGR, the long reports and debriefings were non existent. After leaving the jungle outpost a burning ghost town and ambushing the late shipment they had headed back to Republic City immediately. Ren pulled off her shirt and quickly disrobed on the way to the shower cranking it to as hot she could handle. She had caught up on her sleep during the ride back to Republic City, since the mission had taken place in the morning she had the whole night ahead of her. Testing the water and tossing off the last of her clothes she hopped in and slowly let the hot water cascade over her. This is why I accepted the assignment to DAGR, all the benefits of being a Kyoshi and then some… Ren closed her eyes and let her head go under the water. For now the left over adrenaline and the endorphins kept the nagging voice in her head at bay, but she knew it would eventually come. Washing all the soap off her and out of her hair she turned off the water and quickly dried off. Ren wrapped a towel around herself and lazily strolled out to her bedroom and fell backwards onto the bed. She smiled remembering her fast rope extraction, and the incredible rush the ensuing battle had given her. I wish every op was like that. She shooed away the building memories of the missions she hadn't enjoyed and tried to think of what to do with the rest of the night. It wasn't yet seven and she hadn't eaten, her stomach grumbled for turtle duck. I still haven't properly celebrated my promotion. Her phone stared at her from the nightstand. Mako! She realized she had invited him over before she'd been called up for her mission. Shit… She sat up grabbed the phone and quickly dialed.

"Detective Mako,"

"Hey hot stuff, where are you? You could've let yourself in…"

"Ren, shit. I meant to call you and leave a message, there was a murder downtown this morning. It was a total bloodbath and I'm taking lead on the case."

Ren's heart dropped. "So I'm guessing dinner tonight will be a no?"

Mako paused. "Probably not, I was exhausted before I had this case dropped in my lap."

"Ah." Ren sighed.

"Sorry Ren, I know we haven't been seeing a lot of each other lately." Mako played with the case file full of crime scene photos failing to think of something to say that would make it better.

"No it's fine, we knew that getting into this I suppose…come by when you're off?" Ren asked half heartedly.

On the other end of the line he looked at his watch, It'll probably be the last chance I get to see her for a few weeks. "It'll be late, but I'll come by…love you."

Ren heart hesitated. "I love you too." The line went dead and she dropped herself backwards on the bed. Do you love him? Her heart seemed to chill at the prospect, she looked at the phone again and realized she didn't have anyone left to call. Now her heart really did chill. You've got a higher kill count than a friend count…She sighed and looked up at the set of armor on the wall. It's worth it…I'm making a difference. Ren's stomach grumbled and she picked up the phone again, this time dialing the number for take out. She played with the cord as the phone dialed and quickly ordered her usual. A number two medium, sweet and sour turtle duck, with a side of dumplings and noodles. The cashier on the other end of the line promised her food would be there in thirty minutes causing her to inwardly sighed before hanging up. Securing her towel around her she moved to her kitchen. She grabbed a waiting bottle of whisky and a glass she'd left on the counter from the last time she was home and sat down on the couch. Pouring herself a generous glass the nagging voice in the back of her head finally spoke loudly. Am I making a difference? She downed her glass and poured another.

I

"When I inject her, you'll have about thirty seconds, you sure can do it?"

"Yes."

"Okay…one…two…three!"

Korra's arm stabbed at her and her heart suddenly exploded with adrenaline she breathed in sharply as if someone had punched her in the gut. Before she could even get her bearings she was hit with a series of jabs across her body that felt like bricks smashing into her. She shook her head already in enough pain to make her vision blur. Slowly she realized she was chained to a wall in a torch lit room. "Where the fuck am I?"

"Avatar…I'm sorry for the rude awakening."

Korra screamed trying to ignite her breath with flame to burn the Kyoshi that walked forward into the torch light. Her breath failed to ignite but she could taste the blood from her still raw throat. "You chi blocked me?"

"It's for our safety as much as yours, look I'm sorry we had to meet under the circumstances but I'm here to help."

Korra strained against the chains knowing they were platinum. "Helping me…by chaining me to a wall? The last people dumb enough to do that are all dead." She looked at the short Kyoshi with a war painted face wearing a white lab coat over the dark grey Kyoshi dress uniform. Slowly her memory cleared and she remembered Kirā knocking her out. "Why did Kirā bring me here?"

"Kirā brought you here as ordered because the Kyoshi see that the world needs its Avatar. My name is Doctor Hāto and I believe I can help you."

Korra let her head fall. Yeah…right. "And what do you have in mind doc." She said letting the venom drip from her words.

"From what I've read and what I've been briefed on about your condition it seems that while you're willing to abstain from Blood Bending, the detox periods are too much to endure." Dr. Hāto paused. "I'm willing to help you, I believe that with a combination of chi blocking and medicine to keep your detox symptoms minimal you can really beat this…"

Korra sighed. "What are you going to do? Knock me out every full moon?"

"Basically." Dr. Hāto answered truthfully lacing her fingers together as she stood.

Korra looked up at her. "You're serious?"

"The world needs you Korra…from all the stories I've read and the look in your eyes I can tell you're a fighter. Don't give up just yet…I believe this can work."

Korra sighed feeling tears brim her eyes "I'm just…so tired."

Dr. Hāto crossed the room and carefully unlocked Korra's chains. "Then rest…we're here to help you, we'll get you anything you want anything you need. As well as help you through your recovery process." She backed off as Korra rubbed her wrists and stepped away from the wall. Dr. Hāto knew from experience the chi blocking would last for a while longer, otherwise she would've never unchained Korra.

Korra sat down against the wall and leaned her head in her hands. "For now a nice blanket and food would be great…I've tried so many times to fix this, but I—I am willing to give it another shot."

"Excellent Avatar, I have nothing but faith in you, I'll send someone shortly to take you to a more suitable quarters. I'll have some soup brought for you, is there anything else you'd like?"

Korra's stomach rumbled at the prospect of an actual meal, but something else bothered her. "I need to make a couple phone calls."

Dr. Hato thought for a moment. "I don't see why not, but your main focus needs to be on your recovery. I'll have a phone brought with the soup." She nodded as a way of saying goodbye and left.

Korra noticed the heavy thunk of the door being locked as the doctor left. Are they really here to help…or am I a prisoner? For the moment she let herself relax, there was no moon where ever she was, and the warm temperature was a welcome change from the freezing cold of the south. Maybe I really can beat this. Her mind drifted to the possibility of having a phone at her disposal. First priority would be to call her parents, after that was done she had only one other person she wanted to call. Will she even talk to me? Her heart dropped.

"Avatar?"

"What?" Korra called back to the voice behind the door annoyed at her broken trance.

"We were sent by Dr. Hato to bring you to your new quarters…"

"Okay…and?"

"Please place your arms back into the shackles please."

You've got to be kidding me. "Fuck's sake I'm not going to blood bend you, just bring me to the new place."

"Doctor's orders Avatar…sorry."

Korra sighed. What choice do I have…they're willing to help I might as well go with it. "Fine." Korra reluctantly stood, her sore body groaning at her and placed her hands back in the shackles. With one arm locked in she frowned and put her other arm in the open shackle. Taking a deep breath she blew outwards air bending a concentrated gust at the back of the shackle causing it to fall shut. "Okay i'm locked in." Korra called out and the door thunked and opened. Kirā walked through ducking to fit through the doorway. "Didn't expect to see you again."

"The assignment isn't over till you're back to full strength, and I'm apprenticing under Hebi here." Kirā said in her raspy voice and pointed to the silent Kyoshi

"Apprenticing for what?" Korra asked and strained against the shackles as Hebi bolted forward and slammed her fists into Korra's chi paths causing her whole body to tense. "Mother fucker…" Korra seethed with anger wanting to twist Hebi in half.

"I'm sorry Avatar." Hebi bowed. "It's for our safety as much as your recovery."

Korra clenched her teeth picturing the pale dark haired Kyoshi under her grip. "Whatever." She held her tongue as Kira unlatched the shackles from the wall and chained them together allowing Korra to walk. Her body felt unsteady after the barrage of blows from Hebi but she managed to step forward resisting the urge to tackle Hebi. The pair of Kyoshi didn't say another word but lead her out of the cell down a stone corridor lit by torches. Homey. "Where is this place?"

Kirā turned down the hall keeping an eye on Korra's body language. "It's a Kyoshi facility on an island off the coast of the Fire nation. Sorry for the austere surroundings, but this is the most secure wing in the facility."

Korra nodded and followed Kirā up a short flight of stairs to another wooden door. This one still had a large locking mechanism on it. She waited as Kira unlocked the door and eyed up the chi blocker. She hated her already, chi blocking had been illegal for decades yet she was somehow proficient in it. Korra rolled her eyes imagining the dark grey dress uniform turning black with blood. Kirā opened the door and motioned Korra through. It was a bigger room than the cell she'd left. A small platinum barred window on the far side and a soft looking bed were the only furnishings. "Can you please unlock these now?" Lifting her shackles to Kira.

Kirā looked at Hebi who nodded, Kirā pulled a key from her uniform and unlocked the shackles. "I hope you don't see this as something it's not Korra. We only want to help you." Kirā spoke as she placed the shackles by the door. "We'll be back soon with the soup and a phone."

Korra rubbed her wrists where the shackles had been and went over to the barred window. She could just barely see the beach and a crashing sea colored orange by a setting sun. While the Kyoshi were inherently trust worthy, her new surroundings and jailers didn't instill the most trust. If it works…I can see Asami again…maybe she'll even forgive me. That is worth a shot.

I

Kya sat on the bank of a luminescent pond her dress pulled up to her knees so she could soak her feet as Lin rested her head on her lap. She watched the bay glow for a moment longer then she laid back on the soft grass and smiled. "I missed this…you should visit more often."

Lin took a break from chewing on her lip to feel around for Kya's hand to hold on to. "I know babe, I would it's just you're damned niece is driving me into the ground."

Kya smiled and stroked Lin's hand with her thumb. "Oh?"

"It's meditation this, and meditation that, 'concentrate on your breathing aunt Lin'" She fumed. "I swear if you weren't so damn worth it I'd have given up weeks ago."

Kya blushed. "You're quite worth it yourself Lin.

Lin chewed her lip. "Maybe…but I'm a terrible monk." Lin smoothed out the grey and black shirt and pants.

"Well as far as resumés go, former Chief of Police, expert metal bender, expert lover, expert detective, and overall bad ass aren't too bad." Kya smirked.

"What was that last one?" Lin asked rolling her eyes.

"Expert lover?"

"Ah, thought you said that."

Kya pulled her feet out of the glowing water and moved to Lin on the grass beside her. "And I meant it."

Lin smiled smugly. "You've taught me everything I know Sifu."

Kya leaned in and kissed her, slowly, keeping their lips together between each movement of their mouths. As their lips parted Kya breathed heavily out on Lin's neck smirking as she saw the rising goose bumps on Lin's skin. "Maybe not everything I know."

Lin's laugh caught in her throat as Kya's teeth nipped her neck causing her whole body to tense. Without another thought Lin rolled pinning Kya to the ground as she straddled her. "Teach me."

Kya blushed and traced her fingers along the waist of Lin's pants till she found the clasp. "Lesson one…"

I

Mako slipped his key into the door and unlocked the last of a set of heavy deadbolts locking Ren's front door. He yawned as he put the key away, it had been a long day before he walked into the murder scene. Filing all the reports and taking notes from crime scene as photos were logged and the victim was removed took till near midnight. He had eventually borrowed a uniform as the one soaked in blood had to be logged as evidence. However the rookie that had lent him the uniform used a heavy cologne that seemed to be actively burning his nose. Mako pushed open the door and locked it behind him as Ren had insisted he do every time. His stomach rumbled at the smell of take out and as his eyes adjusted to the light he spotted Ren asleep on the couch. She was sitting up right in a towel with a bottle of whisky in her hand and an empty glass in the other. He looked at the cartons of take out and picked one with chop sticks still lodged in it and ate it as he moved to the kitchen. The noodles were cold but delicious to his empty stomach.

"No…"

The hair on the back of Mako's neck stood up and he froze in place. He quickly gulped down the last bite of noodles and carefully crept back into the living room. What the fuck…

"No."

Mako kept his distance, he was almost convinced his ears were playing tricks on him when Ren spoke again, louder this time.

"NO."

He crept carefully around to the front of the couch debating whether to wake her up or not. The bottle and glass were still in her grasp he knew from experience he might get a fateful of bottle if he shook her awake.. "Ren?"

"NO!"

Mako looked at her, she was clearly asleep but her whole body was tensed and slick with sweat. He realized with a shock her hands were squeezing the bottle of whisky and her glass with white knuckles. "Ren!"

"NO!" Ren screamed and woke herself up as her grasp tightened and shattered the whisky glass. "FUCK!" The bottle dropped from her other hand and she immediately held her injured hand by the wrist. The glass had shattered into large chunks making quick work of the palm of her hand, her hand quickly soaked itself in blood.

"I'll get a towel." Mako rushed to the kitchen.

Ren blinked away the tears in her eyes and tried to slow her breathing as the pain screamed through her body. Her hand trembled with the shards of glass imbedded in her hand. She took a deep breath and stood, quickly moving to the kitchen where Mako was frantically searching for a towel. Fucking DAMN IT! She wanted to scream but was too concentrated on stifling the pain in her hand. "Med kits on the wall by the swords, bring the whole kit." Pushing the faucet on with her good hand she ran the blood soaked hand under the water. Stifling a scream and leaning forward on the counter as her head swam with the pain Ren clenched her teeth.

Mako returned with the med kit and turned on the lights to the kitchen, he opened the med kit on the counter and pulled out the tweezers and sterilizing ointment. "Ren…"

She took a deep breath. "Just…give me a second." Fresh blood was quickly replacing the blood washed away by the water. In the light she could see the shards of glass protruding from her hand. "Fuck…"

"I've got the tweezers."

Ren sighed and moved over to give him enough space at the sink. "Just, becar—" Ren sighed. "fuck it, just get them out."

Mako raised an eyebrow but carefully leaned forward with the tweezers ready. "Ready?" Mako zeroed in on the largest shard. When Ren answered with a nod he gripped the shard with the tweezers and pulled.

Ren resisted every urge to clench her hand. "Mother fucker!"

"It'll be okay." Mako reassured as he placed the tweezers on the next shard of glass.

She inhaled sharply almost shaking at the level of pain, every twitch and shake of her hand caused the glass to cut more. "Just get them out."

Mako pulled another shard out earning a grunt of pain from Ren, he worked for a few moments more letting each shard thunk into the sink. "Almost done." He grasped the last shard and pulled. "There."

Ren let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding and held her hand under the water again. "Can you grab the bottle of whisky?"

Mako paused. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Is your hand sliced open? If it was you'd really want a fucking drink right now." Ren grabbed the gauze with he free hand and carefully pressed it down on her wounds. Her blood froze. I can't use a weapon with this hand… She straightened her fingers and felt her head swim again. Ren blinked away the tears in her eyes and finished bandaging up her hand.

"Here," Mako placed the bottle down on the counter. "How bad is it?"

Ren wrapped another loop of bandage around her hand and leaned back on the counter trying to slow her racing heart beat. "Pretty bad…it'll probably need stitches and a healer in the morning…fuck." Ren put her good hand to her face rubbing her eyes. "What time is it?"

"Two in the morning, you were sound asleep when I got here."

Ren eyed the bottle of whisky and grabbed it pulling the cork with her teeth she spat it into the sink and took a few gulps. Normally she would've protested, whisky is never supposed to be drunk from the bottle, but the scalding heat of the whisky dulled the pain in her hand. "Fucking damn it!" Ren slammed her good hand into the counter. I'll be out for any emergency missions for at least a few days.

"Ren…if your hand is bandaged enough you should get some rest, it looked like you were having a really bad nightmare…"

The pain still radiated through her hand and arm. "Was I?" She pretended.

Mako raised an eyebrow. "You know it's okay to talk to me…I could never judge you."

Actually, you might. Ren sighed and checked her bandaged. "It's fine, it's nothing…let's just go to bed."

Didn't look like nothing… he thought as he followed Ren into the bedroom eager to get the cologne scented uniform off. "Working tomorrow?"

Not anymore. Ren seethed but calmed to answer him as she pulled on a pair of sweatpants. "Maybe, I'll need to go in to see the healer and get this looked at but there's nothing mission wise planned for tomorrow." Ren carefully laid back in her bed carefully adjusting herself around her newly injured hand.

Mako joined her keeping enough space between them for each of them to toss and turn as they would undoubtedly do.

Ren turned to face Mako, this was their normal sleeping arrangement. While they both tossed and turned Ren couldn't sleep at all with someone next to her. Normally she would unintentionally lash out at anything that came into contact with her and wake up in a panic. She tried to get comfortable and shut her eyes. "Night,"

"Mhmm." Mako mumbled already ahead of Ren.

As her eyes stayed shut her mind began to spin, slowly she remembered the nightmare she was having before she smashed the glass. Fuck… The closer she got to sleep the closer she got to clearly remembering driving an arrow into the back of a target as he walked down a crowded street. "Mako…"

Mako stirred shaking the beginnings of sleep off. "What's up?"

"I…I was having a nightmare…"

Mako nodded. "Want to talk about it?"

Ren felt a tear in the corner of her eye. It's better than reliving it… She scooted closer carefully maneuvering her hand onto Mako's side. "It never used to be this bad…"

Mako kissed her forehead "It'll be okay, just let it out."

Ren's breath caught in her throat. "It never used to be this bad…I only had nightmares about the really bad missions. Missions where someone di—where I failed. Or just other things. But now, it's so many missions Mako." She paused to catch her breath. "Every fucking night…"

Mako couldn't see it but he could tell Ren was crying, he brushed away a tear and carefully hugged her. "I know how hard it is Ren, it's okay."

"It's not okay…" Ren said speaking softly into Mako's chest. "It…it might never be okay…" Ren began to sob.

I

Lin collapsed on the grass breathing heavily her sweat quickly cooling in the spirit world's cool night air. "Okay…" Lin chuckled catching her breath. "There's still things I need to learn."

Kya snuggled up to Lin their bare skin and sweat mixing together. "Practice makes perfect."

"Guess I'll need to visit more often then." Lin ran her fingers down Kya's bare back tracing the valley made by her muscles. What you should do is figure out how to live here permanently.

"I'm sure we can make the most of the time we have," Kya smiled and shut her eyes for a moment content with listening to the soft puttering heart beat in Lin's rising chest.

Lin sighed. "If I can just figure out this spiritual mumbo jumbo we can have all the time in the world."

"It's okay Lin…I promised to spend the rest of my life with you, if I have to wait, I'll wait," Kya said nuzzling into Lin's neck and closing her eyes.

Lin kissed the top of Kya's head. "I know…I just don't want to wait."

Kya was already falling asleep. "Put up a tent?"

Lin smiled and bent the earth around them with a wave of her free arm, thick slabs of earth shot up creating a small shelter. "Done."

Kya yawned. "You'll figure it all out soon Lin, I know you will."

Lin played with a length of Kya's hair as her mind turned. "Maybe there's nothing to figure out…"

"Hmm?" Kya mumbled against Lin's neck.

"If I can't meditate my problems away, maybe the only way to face them is head on. Maybe Bumi was right…" Lin stared into the darkness of their tent.

"Don't let him know you think that."

Lin relaxed and shut her eyes. "That's nothing compared to how my sister is going to react."

I

Korra sat on the bed with an empty bowl of soup next to her and the phone Kira had brought her staring up at her from the floor. Her parents had been thrilled to learn she was alive and getting help, she'd spent nearly an hour talking to them. However her body's aches and pains continued to grow with the setting sun and she had to hang up eventually. Her head rested in her hands as she looked at the phone, she knew she could call the estate, she knew if she didn't introduce herself Asami might answer. However the possibility of Asami rejecting her kept her hands off the dial. She could only sit there and watch the sunlight coming through her barred window begin to fade. Her mind already tortured her with the memories of the weeks worth of nights she'd spent in her cave. The soup was delicious she'd devoured it knowing full well she would probably vomit it all up that night. Korra held out her hand and watched the small tremor run through it. It had been almost a week since she'd destroyed the Polar Bear Dog, the moonless nights and her sedation by the Kyoshi had kept her symptoms at bay. Tonight would be a different story, she had completely lost track of the moon but from the chill running through her body she knew it was going to be a growing moon. Korra wrapped the blanket around her holding it tightly waiting for the shaking to come.

"Avatar?" Dr. Hāto called from the other side of the door.

Korra held tightly onto the blanket. "Yeah?"

"I'd like to begin your treatment before it gets much later in the day."

Korra took a deep breath. "Okay." Korra waited for the door to open then immediately understood. Damn it. Begrudgingly she adjusted the blanket over her shoulders and walked over to the shackles by the door. She fastened the shackles. "Ready,"

Dr. Hāto unlocked the door and motioned for Korra to follow her. "You'll be sedated with a number of techniques. First, Hebi will block your chi paths, then we'll sedate you with an aerosolized shirshu venom, last but not least I'll inject you with a dose of an herbal mix used to sedate our warriors for surgery." She explained matter of factly.

"Sounds a little intense." Korra felt a chill go through her body as she continued to follow Dr.Hāto down the hallway. She briefly remembered dry heaving and shaking against the ground in the cave and considered being sedated. It might actually be better.

"I assure you Avatar, once we put you under you'll wake up the next morning with very few side effects. The worst parts of your withdrawal will pass by without you even knowing." Dr. Hāto turned down a corridor away from the staircase that lead down to Korra's old cell.

Korra sighed. It sounds too good to be true. Korra followed the doctor until they reached a metal door. Korra tightened the blanket around her trying to fend off the growing coldness in her body. Dr. Hāto opened the door and Korra followed her in, the room was nothing like anywhere else in the facility. Gone were the torches replaced with bright fluorescent lights on each corner, in the center of the room was a large medical bed with its own lights on the ceiling above it. Surrounding the soft looking bed was a myriad of medical machines with Hebi and Kirā at the ready. Immediately Korra's heart began to pound, the whole situation felt wrong to her. "Look…maybe we can just wait a little bit? The withdrawals aren't even that bad till a full moon…"

Dr. Hāto turned and tried to reassure Korra putting a hand on her shoulder. "It'll be okay, trust me Avatar, this is your best chance at recovering."

Korra felt her hand shake in the shackle, she could already feel the blanket failing to keep her warm. "Okay…okay."

Kirā moved around the bed and waited for Doctor Hāto's approval. "Ready?"

Korra nodded and braced herself, the blows came faster than she had expected. Before she could stop herself her knees gave out and she hit the floor. "What the fuck…"

"You missed the last chi path by a half inch," Hebi rounded the bed and shot her fist down on the small of Korra's back. "It causes more pain and loss of motor control if you miss more than one."

Korra seethed. "You're so lucky I'm trying to quit blood bending." She got to her feet glaring at Hebi and held out the shackles for Kirā to unlock. Giving her wrists a quick rub she tried to relax as she got into the bed. "What's the next step?"

Dr. Hāto held a vial up for Korra to see. "I'll open the bottle and hold it to your nose, breath normally and try to relax."

Korra's heart thundered inside her chest but she tried desperately to slow her breathing. She nodded as Dr. Hāto pulled on a surgical mask and cracked the seal on the vial. She felt the mouth of the vial touch her upper lip gently. That's weird…doesn't smell like anything. The venom took effect without her realizing, suddenly her arms and legs felt like they had been weighed down with lead. She tried to move them with not even a twitch in response. I'm not sure this was a good idea… Out of the corner of her eye she saw Dr. Hāto pull a large syringe out of her lab coat. Korra couldn't move but she could still feel the thundering in her chest. Out of her field of vision she felt a needle prick that became a burning sensation within a matter of seconds. As her breathing slowed she felt the sensation disappear, replaced with a slowly growing warmth. The warmth spread down her body filling each limb and joint. This…this isn't so bad. Her eyes glazed over as her breath returned to normal and what little control she had over the muscles in her face caused the slightest of smiles, her eyes slowly drifted shut.

I

Well my dear readers another chapter, unfortunately I was short on time for editing this one which undoubtedly means in about a week I'll see some spelling errors that i should've seen instantly but C'est La Vie. Hope you enjoy!

As always please review, subscribe, and tell your pet that they're a good boy/girl!