AUTHOR'S NOTES: There's a lot of important faces at Tarrlok's gala tonight, and of course he's still trying to hound Korra to join his task force. We'll see if Korra's got the willpower to keep telling him no, or if she finally caves and bends to his will. We also get some long-awaited closure on Nakkoa and Kwan, the latter of which we will be seeing again within a couple chapters. Otherwise, there's a lot going on here, and despite these moves, the game between Tarrlok and Korra is still far from over.
Happy Reading!


BOOK TWO: CHANGE

CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO: PUBLIC PRESSURE

Korra was surprised but also slightly relieved at meeting Bolin over at the drinks. He seemed just as thrilled to see her—perhaps more so even.

"Korra!" he beamed, flipping 'finger-guns' at her. "I didn't expect to see you here!"

"You didn't expect to see me… at a party dedicated to me?" Korra raised an eyebrow, her trademark pout returning immediately.

"Okay, that wasn't the best intro I've dropped," Bolin blushed with a hearty chuckle, "but still—it's nice seeing you all dressed up and stuff. It suits you, and you look pretty."

"Pfft;" Korra snorted, "Flatterer."

"Come on, Korra," Bolin elbowed her, "do you really think I've got some ulterior motive?"

"No, no…" Korra shook her head, dismissing a wild and irrational thought as she spoke, "but if you're just trying to butter me up hoping I'll let you pay for Narook's next Wednesday… think again. You need the money more than I do."

"That actually didn't occur to me this time," Bolin chuckled, "But I'll keep that in mind. Still, this party's the bomb. You should get this guy to throw you parties like this every weekend!"

"I think if I joined his task force he probably would," Korra muttered, "but you don't think there's something suspicious about this guy, barring that he's got 'sleazy politician' written all over him?"

"Well, sure," Bolin shrugged, "but Mako and I've dealt with sleazier dudes than him before, and those Triad guys still sometimes try to hound us. Sometimes you just gotta shrug 'em off and do your own thing. A nice drink every now and again doesn't hurt either."

"Not a bad idea," Korra took a fizzing glass that smelled of alcohol, "something strong would be good about now—like this."

"Ehh," Bolin winced, "I wouldn't have said that strong… but maybe that's just me channeling Mako's lectures on how I shouldn't drink until I'm responsible enough."

"Bottoms up," Korra laughed, draining the glass. It was definitely alcoholic, but Korra was no lightweight—one glass wouldn't even make her tipsy; just enough of a buzz to loosen her otherwise tense attitude.

Shortly after Bolin sauntered off, Korra scanned the area for Asami. She noticed her talking with Mako and her father about something, and while Korra made a movement to go that way, she was suddenly cut off by Lin, who seemed more interested in reaching the bar than blocking off Korra. It did not, however, stop her from launching a few choice words at the Avatar.

"Just because the city's throwing you this big to-do, don't think you're anything special." She leaned in towards Korra's face, "you've done absolutely nothing to deserve this."

"And here I thought we were starting to get along at long last," Korra's wry comebacks were still fresh as ever, "go choke on your metal slabs while you're at it."

"Don't give me ideas for the next time you inevitably get arrested," Lin shot Korra a scathing look, "would that I could say 'if', but even a kid as dense as you knows it's a matter of 'when'."

"I'll keep that in mind chief," Korra nodded curtly, "Stay on your guard."

Lin put two fingers to her eyes and pointed them at Korra as she walked away. Korra's eyes widened with malcontent as she bent over slightly and mockingly imitated Lin's gesture as she strode off, putting her nose in the air a second later.

Lin was admittedly caught off-guard by Korra's audacity for a moment, but simply rolled her eyes and shrugged it off. Korra would either learn, or Lin would have to keep 'teaching' her.

Incidentally, Korra soon ran into Hiroshi, and this time Asami was nowhere to be seen.

"It has been a while since we have been able to talk face to face, Avatar Korra," he greeted her with a respectful nod, which she returned. "And for that, I apologize."

"It's hardly your fault," Korra shook her head, "I've been busy and all over the place, and I can only imagine that running a business as huge and successful as Future Industries takes a lot of time and work. I hope I haven't overstayed my welcome."

"My daughter has made several… convincing arguments in favour of you remaining," Hiroshi mused, "and despite your occasional disturbances, you overall treat my family and my property with respect. Let it not be said that I am an unreasonable man, Miss Avatar."

"I don't think I've said it enough, but I hold you in really high regard, Hiroshi," Korra smiled, "Both for your hospitality and your genius, but also for your selfless support and sponsorship of my friends in their Probending tournament."

Korra may not have been able to join Mako and Bolin's team due to Hasook also remaining a loyal teammate, but she still respected them and cheered them on. The only time she didn't cheer them on were the few times she had squared off against them in her Avatar Gauntlet.

"How could I not, with the way Asami raves about them?" Hiroshi chuckled, "And I respect their origins, all things considering. Sometimes, the most dedicated and ambitious people just need a few extra yuans in their pockets in order to change the world. You know my story in that regard."

"And it's every man's dream," Korra nodded in agreement, "Seriously, I respect that."

"You're an interesting woman, Avatar Korra," Hiroshi smiled at her, "Bold too, what with facing down the Leader of the Equalists in single combat. Most benders would have tried to shy away… or may have considered just tearing him apart with overwhelming force."

"Oh, the urge was there," Korra admitted, twirling her finger in some loose hair, "but that would have just exacerbated the situation. Killing or disabling the Equalists in a brutal and vulgar display of power wouldn't solve anything…"

"I'm glad to see you understand that," Hiroshi gave her a very approving look as he popped open a bottle of firewhiskey. "You have matured over the years, Korra, and it impressed even me. That does not happen often despite my generosity."

"Well, thank you." Korra watched him pour a glass, and was even more surprised when he offered it to her. She took it and smiled.

"To peace and prosperity," Korra raised her glass.

"Something all of us can drink to," Hiroshi raised his glass in turn.

Shortly after emptying her glass, Korra ducked away to avoid Tarrlok, and scanned the area again to try and locate people she knew. She caught a glimpse of that Fire Nation woman staring at her from a corner, and noticed Mako and Bolin bantering with a couple of other individuals Korra did not recognize. She couldn't see Asami, which worried her for a moment. However, she also realized that this was a large enough gala that she was certain there were people she couldn't see. This became more apparent when she was able to pick out Tenzin, Pema, and Jinora from the crowds, but no sign of Ikki and Meelo. She also saw Kuvira again, although Lin was missing from Korra's view too.

Deciding to confront the Fire Nation woman in the corner, Korra beelined it for her, and got the surprise of her life after she learned who it was.

"And what interest does the Avatar have in meeting the woman who killed her previous incarnation now, hmm?" the woman put her hands together, the wide sleeves of her robe concealing them completely.

"You slew Avatar Aang?" Korra gawked, noticing that the woman was certainly old enough to have known Aang—likely from a young age.

"In a manner of speaking," the woman hummed, "Although it just so happened that he was only mostly dead, and clearly there's a big difference between being mostly dead and all dead, considering you're standing here before me. Mostly dead means slightly alive. With all dead… well, with all dead there's only one thing you can do."

"Hmm?" Korra stared at the woman's face, trying to remember why these pointed features all looked so familiar. She had a shrewd idea that this was former Princess Azula, but without having ever seen her or even pictures of her, she could not say for sure "And what's that?"

"Go through his clothes and look for loose change!" the elder cackled, "but I digress. Don't take it too seriously, Avatar. I can see the gears turning in your head and in about five seconds about to click on who exactly I am. Three… Two… One."

"Azula," Korra replied without skipping a beat. "You're here in Republic City?"

"No, child," Azula rolled her eyes, "I'm clearly in the Northern Water Tribe right now. If I'm standing here in front of you and you're in Republic City, where does that put me?"

"What do you want with me?" Korra was apprehensive naturally, but now she was even more apprehensive, as if Aang was subtly warning her about this woman on a spiritual level.

"Nothing," Azula gave a slight shrug, "I was invited to your party, and so here I am, merely saying hello in response to your greeting. Don't be so suspicious, Avatar Korra. I won't try to kill you like my granddaughter tried and failed to—not yet, at any rate."

"Granddaughter?" Korra's eyes narrowed and then widened. "You're Nakkoa's grandmother?!"

"Shenzi is her name," Azula frowned, "but aye. Now the last of my lineage is some renegade earthbender… to think how far my royal line has fallen."

"What happened, exactly?" Korra was too curious to be upset with Azula's harsh words.

"My good-for-nothing son Omozu ran off with some Earth Kingdom tramp," Azula scowled, "And within a couple years, Shenzi and Ikiza were born. I'm sure you know the rest."

"How did you know about my time with the Red Lotus?" Korra was still in noticable shock as she made the connection. Those pointed features that both Nakkoa and Kwan had bore a striking resemblance to Azula's features, and as Korra mentally pictured Azula's long flowing hair to be black, she could see Nakkoa's resemblance. Kwan's was a bit harder to see, but if she envisioned Azula's face with darker skin and green eyes, her mind suddenly made an almost perfect match. She wondered if she'd ever be able to look at Kwan the same again.

"Just because my bastard grandchildren didn't speak of me didn't mean that I failed to keep tabs on them," Azula idly twiddled her thumbs, "Now Shenzi's gotten herself killed, and Ikiza's rotting away in prison. My son's been gone for decades, and so what does that leave me?"

"I'm, uhh… sorry?" Korra scratched the back of her head. This meeting had just become rather awkward as Korra realized that she had killed Azula's eldest grandchild. "No hard feelings or anything at this point, right? I mean, it was kind of in self-defense."

"Perhaps it's karma," Azula hummed, "I killed the Avatar, and his successor killed my successor. At this point it is what it is, although do not be surprised if you meet Ikiza in the near future. I'm not about to let what's left of my legacy rot in a cell—even if she is some dirty earthbender."

"Lavabender too, actually." Korra had actually liked Kwan somewhat, and so didn't exactly want her friend to get trashed when she wasn't even her to defend herself.

"Oh?" Azula looked suddenly amused, "So she learned a new trick after all. This is good to know. Thank you for your time, Avatar Korra."

And with that, Azula vanished back into the crowds, disappearing remarkably swiftly despite her red dress. If Korra thought she was unstable, she wondered just how crazy Azula was. She had heard the horror stories, either from Katara back in the day, or from memories of Aang she had picked up during one of her courses of meditation. She did not speak of her past lives to very many people apart from Tenzin, but Korra actually came in contact with many of them on many different occasions. Whether she had intended to or not, she had contacted her Interregnum past lives much more than any other incarnations, and all of them had taken the same interest in her that Zeruda had, after she had spoken of Zoroka to them.

Being the Avatar was a lot more complicated than Korra would have thought it would be when she was 14 and naively optimistic about seeing the world. Now she was tangled in a political web against Tarrlok, Amon, and even the White Lotus, wondering how Azula planned to free Kwan, and whether it would be violent or a peaceful solution.

As much as she might have liked to stop and think about that, she would not get such a luxury. She actually yelped in fright as she felt a pair of hands excitedly grab her shoulders and spin her around, where she found herself face-to-face with Varrick.

"Well if it isn't my favourite gamer!" he beamed, "I can see why Councilman Tarrlok threw you this party, kid—if he didn't I might have had to do it myself down at Blackstone! So tell me—what's your secret? There's gotta be a way you play my system so well."

"Luck, I guess?" Korra shrugged. "If it makes you feel any better, I'll come down sometime next week if I'm able."

"Ah, that's the spirit," Varrick beamed, before standing next to Korra and putting an arm around her. "Zhu Li! Do the thing!"

Zhu Li pulled out a camera and photographed the two of them, Korra proving once again that she was not very photogenic. Despite this, Varrick took right back off into the crowds once again, and Korra was once again alone. It all happened so fast that she blinked a few times; pouting as she tried to figure out what had all just gone down.

Before she could have a moment to herself though, Tarrlok approached her, and this time there was no escape for her.

"With how elusive you are, I'd almost say you were avoiding me, Avatar." Tarrlok smirked.

"Maybe I was." Korra crossed her arms.

"It is your party after all," Tarrlok did not seem fazed, "but come; walk with me. There are a few matters I wish to speak to you about."

"The answer is still no," Korra replied without skipping a beat.

"This is not about that," Tarrlok claimed, "although the public is curious about a few things…"

He led her casually towards where a group of media reporters were waiting, and Korra realized at once what was about to happen. Fortunately, she was confident enough in her speaking skills—but she knew that Tarrlok was likely going to want to throttle her for what she ended up announcing. She steeled herself, although suddenly grew concerned because she didn't know every side to the story.

"If you'd be so kind, they just have a couple of questions," Tarrlok smirked.

"But..." Korra stammered, still feeling out of her element. Before she could finish her sentence though, Tarrlok pushed her forward, and already, the legion of reporters were ready for her.

"Avatar Korra, you witnessed Amon taking away people's bending firsthand. How serious of a threat does he pose to the people of Republic City?"

"I think he presents a real problem," Korra stammered for a moment, but was cut off again.

"Then why have you refused to join Tarrlok's task force? Shouldn't you be going after Amon?"

"It's not that simple; I…"

"Why are you backing away from this fight?"

"I'm not backing away from it; but this approach is…"

"You promised to serve the city; are you going back on that promise now?"

"Can you just let me expl—"

"Are you putting your side jobs in front of fighting the revolution?"

"Hey! Now that's flat-out untr—"

"How do you think Avatar Aang would have handled this?"

"One at a time!" Korra's agitation was starting to show as her face twisted many times, her arms and shoulders also tensing as she started to hunch over. Asami and Tenzin were two of the only people who recognized the signs, and Tenzin in particular knew exactly what Tarrlok was trying to pressure her into doing and saying.

"You fought Amon once already; why didn't you stop him then and there?"

"I'll tell you everything if you just let me—"

"He slanders the name of the Avatar by bringing up crimes from people dead for thousands of years. Were you just going to let him get away with that?"

"NO! Now slow down and—"

"Are you afraid of Amon?"

"Stop antagonizing me!" Korra raised her voice, her tone betraying frustration.

"Are you just going to back and hope that Tarrlok's task force does all your work for you?"

"I'm not gonna... it just… cut it out!" Korra's entire figure tensed up, most noticeable on her arms.

"Would you rather just hide in the shadows while someone else does your duty?"

"WILL YOU ALL JUST QUIT IT!?" Korra bellowed, her eyes flashing as her hands were suddenly wreathed in blue fire. She spewed a mighty ball of that same blue flame upward from her mouth, which made her and many others thankful for the vaulted ceilings—for it was because of them that she didn't set anything on fire.

So overt was this display that it actually silenced everyone in the room in awe as Korra stood there threateningly in front of everyone, flames still shrouding her arms.

"Tarrlok's task force is a dangerous threat to the harmony between benders and nonbenders!" Korra shouted through sharp, heavy breaths as she tried to regain her lost composure and allowed herself to lower the Avatar State. "If we preemptively strike Amon's movement without evidence, then all we're doing is proving him right! We need to disarm him and expose him for the fraud that he is, so we can expose him as the one that's stirring up the turmoil between benders and nonbenders. Otherwise, we're the ones doing that, which makes benders the problem instead! Now GET OFF MY CASE! I know what I'm fucking doing!"

"Well then," Tarrlok's smirk was hiding just as much emotion as Korra's now stoic expression, "There's your headline folks."

It did not mark the end of the party by any means, but Korra managed to duck out and avoid contact with anyone else. As much as she desperately wanted to talk to Tenzin and Asami, she was instead met with the last person she wanted to see or talk to.

"No one would know if I twisted your neck and threw you into a back alley," Korra warned.

"Ah, but you're much more civil than that, Avatar Korra," Tarrlok beamed, "or perhaps I was mistaken. That was an impressive display of power in there."

"Get off my case about it!" Korra stepped back, her hurt expression and watery eyes betraying how distressed she was at the moment. "Seriously; leave me alone!"

"I try and reason with you," Tarrlok sighed, "and after all this time, still I don't resort to force, because I know how much you despise it… and yet you refuse to listen to reason. Instead, your plan is to wait for Amon to strike at innocent people so we can blame him for making the first move. Is that what you want, Korra?"

"That's not…" Korra stammered, finding herself struggling to explain what had sounded so clear in her mind with Tenzin, "It's not like that!"

"You've made a powerful enemy today, Avatar Korra," Tarrlok gripped Korra's lower jaw threateningly, all pretense dropped in this brief moment. "So I would watch your step—and if you value what little emotional stability you still have, you need to stay out of my way."

He released Korra by pushing her back with enough force that she misstepped and fell onto her back, as he pivoted on his heel and returned inside.

Vivid recollections of how she had been helpless in Amon's grasp at his rally suddenly surged through Korra's mind as she got to her knees. These intrusive thoughts were joined by recollections of the times she felt helpless against Nakkoa. As angry as she was about the entire situation, she felt more hurt than anything, to the point where she resigned to her volatile emotions, and simply curled up and cried.