Chapter 50

Despite the cracked ribs and the fractured spine, Lin demanded to be discharged from the hospital within hours of arriving. The healer in charge of her care had cringed and stated that it was better to at least keep her over night for observation, but Lin was not to be argued with that night, and shortly thereafter, she had signed out against medical advice.

Tenzin had tried to reason with her, because as much as he wished to be home, he wished even more to know that his wife was all right. He wanted assurance that she would not suffer irreparable damage. Spinal injuries were not to be taken lightly, and yet she could not be swayed. She wanted to be home with the children and he could not blame her for that. After everything that had transpired that evening, it only made sense that she would want to hold their children close. Nevertheless, Tenzin was not going to allow any exertion on her part, and that included picking up Jeia. Lin was to be on bed rest for the foreseeable future, and it was a testament to how much pain she must have been in that she did not protest that. Then again, she had resigned from her position as Chief of Police the very next morning after the raid on the Sato mansion went sour, so there was little for her to do. She had no work to get to, no responsibilities besides the kids.

Tenzin and Ronen had both protested vehemently when Lin had first spoke of resigning on the airship as they left the Sato mansion far behind. Her assertion that Tarrlok was right about her, that she had failed as Chief, was pure blasphemy, plain and simple. Ronen in particular could not understand why his mother would ever believe such a thing, why she would give up when the city so plainly needed her. But Lin had asserted that she was not giving up at all, that she was, instead, going to find Tosuki and her officers and take down Amon, but do it on her own terms, without the restrictions of the law to hold her back. Ronen had still been upset, had still been concerned that her decision would only insight further mayhem in the city, but Tenzin had begun to understand in a way that his son could not. Tenzin had known Lin for a very long time, and he knew that when she made up her mind about something there was little chance of swaying her. He worried about what she might do running amok through the city seeking out Amon, but he knew also that she was the strongest person he had ever known and he would be right by her side every step of the way.

He did not know what their future would hold, but he knew that they would endure. No matter how strange it might be to no longer see her leading the police force. She had been a cop for so long, had been the Chief for nearly two decades, and while he had always feared what could happen to her on the job, he also feared what might occur when she no longer had it. He knew that there were other more important things to her, their family in particular, but Lin had always believed that being a cop was necessary for her, had considered it one of her most defining features. Tenzin did not think that retirement would suit her so soon, but then again, considering the war that was underway, it wasn't as if much would change. The only difference would be that she was no longer restricted by rules or politicians.

Tenzin could see that Lin was very clearly distraught after the Sato mansion failure, but he believed that it had more to do with her captured officers. He remembered clearly the downcast look he had seen on her face when she had insisted on going to tell Sanji that Tosuki had been taken to Amon. Lin had grown fairly close to three of the four living officers that had been with her during the end of the siege on headquarters four years prior, and she had felt a sort of responsibility for Sanji and Tosuki in particular, considering how young they had been at the time. She had mentored them to become detectives, and had brought Tosuki with her to the Sato mansion because she trusted him implicitly. Sanji could not participate in most police work outside of the office due to an injury that had never fully righted itself after the siege, and so had not been there to stand alongside Lin and Tosuki, and it was plain to see that the man felt some responsibility for that, even though, if Sanji had been there, he would have only gotten himself captured too.

Despite how guilt-ridden Lin was over losing her officers, few others at headquarters believed her responsible. When she proclaimed her plans to turn in her resignation, many of them had protested just as Tenzin and Ronen had. Sanji had decided that her decision must have been coerced, that Tarrlok had forced her out and that he would not continue to work for a corrupt system. Sanji had led several of the other officers in declaring their allegiance to Lin, and they planned to walk out and the leave the job behind until she was reinstated as Chief. Lin, however, had rebuffed their decision and demanded that they remain to help the newly instated Chief Saikhan through the transition. She asserted that Republic City needed good police officers more than ever, and that all of them must stay and fight until the Equalists were brought to justice.

The entire event had been extremely taxing on Lin, emotionally and physically, considering it was only hours after she had been discharged from the hospital, and Tenzin knew that she had not slept a wink in the predawn hours beforehand, because he had lay beside her the entire time, also wide awake and lost in his own thoughts. Tenzin had ushered her home immediately after her resignation to finally sleep, and she had remained unconscious for most of the day. When he had to go back into the city again that afternoon, with Korra this time, to stand alongside the rest of the council and police as Saikhan publicly accepted his new role as Chief, Tenzin had tasked Sora and Yunjin with keeping their mother in bed and tending to any needs she may have, like coaxing her to eat something. Ronen asserted that he would help as well, but he was fairly busy getting Mako, Bolin, and Asami settled into their new rooms on the Island. The three teens had moved in that morning, and Tenzin was too exhausted himself to put much thought into what that might entail.

Saikhan's acceptance speech was surprisingly fraught with only more disturbing news. Much to Tenzin's chagrin, Saikhan more or less declared his allegiance to Tarrlok, and vowed to aid the councilman's task force in anyway possible. Tenzin and Korra could not imagine what Tarrlok had on Saikhan to persuade him into such a deal, but it did not bode well for anyone on Tarrlok's bad side. Tarrlok essentially controlled the entire police force now, and it made Tenzin sick to his stomach.

The council meeting that followed the next day did nothing to quell Tenzin's misery. Tarrlok was on a roll, and dug his claws in deep until he had goaded the rest of the council into imposing a curfew on all nonbenders. It was absolutely ludicrous to imagine punishing any innocent citizen based simply on such discriminatory ideals. Tenzin's own son was a nonbender, and could face harsh treatment simply for being within city limits after nightfall. If Tenzin were to take his family into the city one night for dinner, would the police be allowed to go after his teenage son simply because he was a known nonbender? How did such foolish fear mongering makes sense to the rest of the council? It was enraging, and Tenzin had had to spend several minutes alone in his office afterwards in an effort to calm down. Even when he returned home to his family, he was still fuming internally, even more so when he caught sight of his sweet Ronen and was reminded of the prejudice the boy would now face.

Upon entering the bedroom that he shared with his wife, Tenzin had found Lin awake but half slumped in bed still, with Ronen sitting on the bed next to her and Jeia on his lap. All three of them looked up at his arrival and greeted him with smiles, but Lin's was brief and vanished quickly when she caught sight of Tenzin's face. She could read him so well that she must have seen the slump to his shoulders or the strain it took for him to attempt a smile of his own.

"Where are the twins?" Tenzin had asked first, after kissing both Lin and Jeia on the forehead and squeezing Ronen's shoulder.

"With Korra and the others," Ronen explained. "I offered to give them a little break while I sat with Mom."

"More like give me a break," Lin countered, looking slightly exasperated. "I swear those two could talk for a century and never get tired. I wish I had half their energy. Although, I did learn a lot about what they're up to at school these days."

"Oh?" Tenzin inquired with interest, settling down on the edge of the bed and trying to relax after such a trying afternoon. "And what did you learn?"

"Too much to even remember," Lin admitted, "but Sora and Jinora are friends again, and Jin and Sora have completely made up. Apparently their three peas in a pod, can't be separated. They keep begging to let Jinora come over, but I told them they'd have to wait."

"Perhaps soon," Tenzin murmured, but he knew it was wishful thinking. It was doubtful they'd be able to have another child on the Island with everything going on. The twins and Jinora were a bit too young still to really be trusted on their own without supervision, in part because of Yunjin's mischievous behavior, and in part because Jinora's parents would likely not be pleased to know their daughter was given free reign of the Island while Lin and Tenzin were elsewhere. They certainly didn't want to ask Nira or Ronen to take on anymore responsibility either, and they were already at full capacity at the dinner table with the three guests that had recently joined them. Tenzin did not like disappointing his children, but it simply was not a good time. He and Lin didn't even know how much longer they'd be keeping the kids in school with all that was going on, but they were saving that argument for another day.

"Speaking of the twins," Tenzin continued, "Ronen, why don't you take Jeia and ask them to watch her for a bit? Then bring Korra in here. I want to discuss the council meeting I had today with the three of you."

Ronen frowned slightly in concern. "Is everything okay?"

"There is simply some news you should be aware of. I'll explain as soon as you return."

Ronen nodded and did as requested, lifting Jeia up onto his hip as he rose off of the bed and hurrying out of the room. Tenzin turned to his wife as two of their children left, and stroked her hair while asking, "How are you feeling?"

"Like hell," Lin said bluntly. "What's going on, Tenzin?"

Tenzin answered her question with a question of his own. "What could Tarrlok have on Saikhan?" She hadn't been awake long enough the day before for him to tell her about the press conference, so she didn't yet know that Saikhan was bowing to Tarrlok's wishes.

Lin groaned with an eye roll and sunk further back against the pillows propped up behind her. "Why does it always have to come back to that hog-monkey? What's he done now?"

"Well, in just a few short hours he convinced Saikhan to essentially turn the entire police force over to his disposal. So it begs the question of how? We've known Saikhan for decades. I never imagined he would so easily defer to a politician of all things."

Lin sighed heavily. "I'm afraid some of that is my fault. Saikhan was telling me that we need to squash the anti-bender sentiment long before it erupted into this, but with all the troubles we already had with the triads, I didn't see it as a top priority. It was just protests mostly, political bullshit, and I figured if we stopped the triads from antagonizing the nonbenders some then it wouldn't even be a problem. He must have seen what I didn't and was frustrated by my lack of action. We've been butting heads over how to handle it the past few weeks since it started escalating, among other things. I don't know what Tarrlok offered, Saikhan isn't exactly power hungry, but he did used to have that problem with gambling. Maybe he has some new debts he needs paid off."

Tenzin stroked his beard thoughtfully and nodded stoically. "I suppose that would explain some of it. I just never wanted to believe that Saikhan could be so easily swayed, and by the likes of Tarrlok. Especially with what the council is pushing now. The fact that the police will actually enforce it…"

Lin frowned. "What is it they're trying to do?"

Tenzin wasn't sure that he could stand to say it twice, as he could already feel the anger growing in him anew. He thought of all of the children like Ronen and adults like Nira and he knew so many nonbenders that were better people than some of the benders he knew, and yet all nonbenders would not even be allowed to leave their houses after nightfall.

Luckily for him, Ronen and Korra entered the room shortly after Lin's question, and then he explained what went on in the council meeting and the repercussions to Tarrlok's new proposed law. As expected, all three of them were as outraged as he had been, though Lin seemed wholly unsurprised and was a lot more subdued in her displeasure.

Tenzin had implored Ronen to adhere to the new law, despite how ridiculous it was, but he doubted that his son would listen. Ronen was too headstrong and he wouldn't sit on the sidelines just because of a little risk. Tenzin feared that Tarrlok would just be looking for an excuse to arrest Ronen on trumped up charges, but Ronen was not fearful of such a thing. He was too incensed by the insanity of the revolution and Tarrlok's prejudice. He would fight back against it no matter the cost to himself. Tenzin understood that, but struggled to accept it. He had seen firsthand that his son was becoming a very capable fighter, but it didn't make him any less of a concerned father.

Korra had said that she would look out for Ronen, and Ronen had insisted that he wouldn't go looking for trouble if he could help it, but Tenzin and Lin expected everything to go sideways eventually.

Tenzin just didn't expect it to happen so fast.

It was late the following evening when he received the call. It was almost bedtime for the kids, but he was letting them stay up just a bit longer because they were with their mother. Ronen, Korra, Mako, Bolin, and Asami were off together somewhere, and Tenzin was forcing himself not to fret over where. They had been out together a lot lately and he knew that it was mostly to do vigilante work he was pretending not to be aware of. He himself had been in his home office most of the evening fielding phone calls and the like.

Until one of the phone calls turned out to be Korra, who frantically and vaguely began explaining how she and Ronen and the others had gone into the city, and then something about Tarrlok arresting innocent nonbenders and Bolin, Mako, Asami, and Ronen being arrested too when they tried to intervene. Tenzin had been absolutely mortified and enraged all at once, and promised Korra to meet her at the police station as quickly as possible.

He went into his bedroom first, and found Lin nestled in the middle of the bed, eyes closed but still half awake. Sora, Yunjin, and Jeia were all on the bed with her. Jeia was curled up against her mother's side and definitely asleep. Yunjin was on Lin's other side with his back against the headboard, quietly reading a story that he must have started for Jeia. Sora was painting Lin's nails, of all things, which might have been hilariously cute under different circumstances.

Tenzin approached his family quietly, forcing reassuring smiles for them that made the twins narrow their eyes suspiciously. "I have to run into the city," he murmured to them, mindful of Jeia. "Can you two stay here with your mother and Jeia until I return."

"Of course, Daddy," Sora easily acquiesced.

Yunjin added, "Sure. How long will you be gone?"

"Not long," Tenzin assured, even though he really had no idea.

Lin cracked open a bleary eye, squinting up at him with a sleepy frown as she croaked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, love," Tenzin lied, leaning down to give her a quick kiss. "I'll explain as soon as I return."

He wasn't going to tell her that their son was in prison, not before he had more news to give her besides whatever confusing explanation he'd gotten from Korra over the phone. He didn't want to worry her anymore in the state that she was in. She was improving a lot after the healing session she'd had that morning, and most of her bones were almost completely mended, but she was still worn out and in some pain. He didn't want to add onto that.

So he left without further explanation and rushed into the city. By the time he had reached police headquarters, he was boiling mad. At Tarrlok, at Saikhan, and at Amon, for starting the whole mess that had gotten his son into such a precarious position in the first place. Tenzin stormed into headquarters with a gust of wind swirling around him, clenching his fists under his cloak and trying to maintain his patient civility in the midst of his ire.

He found Korra at the front desk, frustrated and arguing with a clerk that made a hasty retreat the moment he saw Tenzin approaching.

"Korra," Tenzin said as the girl was slamming her fists down on the counter in agitation, "I came as fast as I could. Where are your friends? Is Ronen okay?"

Korra spun around to face him, looking simultaneously relieved and wary at the sight of him. "Tenzin," she sighed, "I don't know. These knuckleheads won't tell me anything!"

"I'll take care of this," Tenzin vowed. It was at that same moment that Saikhan tried sneaking by, and Tenzin called out to him, "Saikhan! A word, please."

"Councilman Tenzin," Saikhan said through gritted teeth, as if they hadn't known each other on some level since they were in their late twenties. "I'm pretty swamped at the moment, can this wait?"

"You know that it cannot," Tenzin fumed. "Three of Avatar Korra's friends and my son were wrongly arrested tonight. You will release them to me immediately."

"They're not going anywhere," Saikhan disagreed, pressing his palms flat against the countertop. "They were interfering with police business."

Korra heatedly interjected, "Your so-called police business is rounding up innocent people and claiming they were Equalists. They should be released too."

"All Equalist suspects are being detained indefinitely," Saikhan said flippantly. "They will be released if and when the task force deems they are no longer a threat."

"Those people are entitled to due process under the law," Tenzin fired back.

"You'll have to take that up with Councilman Tarrlok," Saikhan replied flippantly.

"Oh I plan to," Tenzin promised, "at the council meeting first thing in the morning. But until then, I will not have my son sitting in prison over night." Tenzin slapped a hand down on the countertop in his fury, but Saikhan hardly flinched.

"You know I can't give him preferential treatment," Saikhan grumbled. "Would Lin release my daughter from prison just because I asked?"

"Don't you dare!" Tenzin seethed. "You know that Lin would never condone such foolishness in the first place, and if your daughter was fifteen years old, Lin would absolutely release her into your care. I don't know what Tarrlok has on you, but I hope all this is worth it."

Tenzin's voice had raised enough that people were starting to watch, and Saikhan glanced around with an uncomfortable frown. He did not have the sort of feared respect that Lin did, and some of the officers still loyal to her would rally behind Tenzin if given enough reason to. Saikhan was respected as Lin's right hand man and a veteran on the force, but that could all shatter if they thought Saikhan was selling them out for his own personal gain. Some of the officers must already be opposed to Tarrlok's new rule, but were trusting their new Chief's decisions for now, and Saikhan must have known he was walking a thin line.

"Listen," Saikhan muttered, giving Tenzin a warning glare, "Ronen is still technically a minor, so maybe I could release him to you, but I can't do anything about the others."

"They are also minors and I am currently their guardian," Tenzin tried to argue.

"They're hardly minors," Saikhan snorted. "Do you have any paperwork to back up your claims?" When Tenzin could only purse his lips, Saikhan nodded. "That's what I thought. So why don't you take what I'm offering you before I change my mind?"

Tenzin gritted his teeth, but knew better than to gamble Ronen's freedom. Asami and Mako and Bolin would be okay to spend a night in prison. They would not come to harm, and in the morning, Tenzin would do everything possible to ensure their release. Technically speaking, Ronen might have been able to withstand the same, but Tenzin wasn't about to return home to Lin to tell her that he had left Ronen in a cell. She would leap out of bed and tear headquarters down herself to free him. And as strong as he may be, Ronen was still just a boy, and a famous one at that. Tenzin didn't think any of the guards would allow harm to come to the boy, but they were living in uncertain times.

"Very well," Tenzin acquiesced. "You will bring Ronen to me now?"

"I'll have someone bring you the paperwork and send an officer to the tombs to retrieve him. Now if that's all, I really do need to be going."

Before Tenzin could get a word in, Korra leaned up over the counter and grabbed Saikhan's chin as she told him, "You are officially the worst Chief of Police ever."

"Now, now, Korra," Tenzin soothed, pulling the girl back. "We'll get this sorted out. We just need to be patient." Which must have been extremely difficult for her considering how incredibly impatient Tenzin himself felt.

Nevertheless, as Saikhan turned his back on them to go and carry out his task, Tenzin called to his back, "But you really are the worst! Ever!"

Saikhan hardly flinched, and Tenzin spent the next several minutes pacing until someone finally brought out a mountain of paperwork for him to fill out. And afterwards, he and Korra were forced to wait even longer, to the point that Tenzin began to wonder if something had gone wrong, or if Saikhan was just purposefully being obstinate.

Tenzin was just considering going down to the prison level himself when Korra thumped him in the arm and said, "Hey! There he is! Ronen!"

Tenzin spun in the direction Korra was darting off to, and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his son emerging into the entrance hall. He appeared to be unscathed, and he smiled as Korra enveloped him in a crushing hug. Tenzin rushed over to join them, and as soon as the two friends had pulled apart, Tenzin tugged Ronen into his embrace.

"Thank goodness," Tenzin said, before holding Ronen out at arms length to look him over with concern. "Are you all right, son?"

Ronen nodded and assured, "I'm fine, Dad, just a little tired. Thanks for getting me out of there."

"I wish you hadn't come into the city," Tenzin admonished lightly. "I told you to adhere to these new rules, that Tarrlok would be looking for reasons to punish you."

"I know, Dad," Ronen sighed. "I'm sorry, but Tarrlok is an idiot." Well, Tenzin could hardly argue with that. Ronen turned to Korra to question, "Where are the others? Are they coming too?"

"I'm afraid not," Tenzin answered instead as Korra shook her head in frustration. "Saikhan would not release them to me, but I will be meeting with Tarrlok first thing in the morning to get this figured out."

"You weren't with them?" Korra asked Ronen.

Ronen smiled bitterly, no amusement to his expression as he admitted, "No, they put me in solitary confinement. Said it was for my own safety."

"They what?!" Tenzin spluttered in outrage. "I can't believe – how could they just – you're a child –"

"I'm okay, Dad," Ronen interjected, raising his voice to be heard over Tenzin's tirade. "Really, I'm fine. I wasn't in there long… Can we just go home?"

"Of course," Tenzin murmured, half-apologetic, squeezing Ronen's shoulder and ushering him and Korra out of headquarters.

As they were descending the stairs, Ronen glanced back over his shoulder with a frown as he admitted, "I hate leaving Asami and the others in there."

"Yeah, me too," Korra muttered. "I really wish your mom hadn't quit. That Saikhan is a coward."

"Speaking of Mom," Ronen said, turning his head up to look at his father again. "I'm assuming you told her I was in jail? I'm surprised she didn't storm down here herself."

Tenzin winced just imagining the reaction Lin was going to have when they got home. "Actually," he confessed, "I haven't told her yet. I didn't want to worry her, and she was half-asleep when I got the call from Korra."

"Oh boy," Ronen cringed. "She's gonna be mad."

Ronen was not wrong.

When Tenzin, Ronen, and Korra returned to the Island, the two teens went separate directions, Korra to her room to attempt sleep, and Ronen to a shower to wash away the grime of prison that he felt was on him. Tenzin went to his bedroom, and found the rest of his family right where he'd left them. All three of the kids were asleep in various spots on the bed, but Lin was awake, still looking bleary, but clearly waiting on him.

"You said you'd be back soon," she accused, and Tenzin could only apologize and promise to explain as soon as he got the kids into their own beds. Lin was obviously frustrated, but did not argue as he carried Jeia off to her room. When he returned, he woke Sora and Yunjin, and guided them as they stumbled sleepily down the hall to their own rooms. On his way back to Lin, he peeked into Ronen's room, and found the boy sprawled atop his bed on his stomach, already asleep, his hair still soaking wet.

When Tenzin finally revealed the truth to Lin, it took a concerted effort to keep her from blowing the roof off of the house. She wanted to storm right into the city and give both Saikhan and Tarrlok a piece of her mind. Tenzin then made the mistake of quirking his lips up just a little into a very tiny smile, because he just couldn't help but be captivated by his wife's beautiful fury – so long as it was not directed at him. Which it then was, because she began berating him for not having told her before he left. He knew she was mostly just angry that she hadn't gotten to tell Saikhan off herself, but he wasn't fool enough to say that to her face.

It took a while to calm Lin down, but eventually, she did settle with a harrumph and a tired, muttered promise to take care of Tarrlok just as soon as she was back to full strength. And Tenzin kissed the side of her head and laid his arm over her waist, careful not to jostle her healing wounds, and murmured, "Yes, dear, of course, dear."

He fell right to sleep with his face buried in his wife's hair, only to be disturbed from his peaceful slumber a few short hours later by the sound of the phone ringing shrilly in the early morning hours.

Lin was grumbling and lazily rapping her knuckles against his shoulder as she croaked, "Shut that thing off."

Tenzin rubbed at his eyes as he sat up to answer the phone, still half-asleep and slightly confused. However, he was wide awake a moment later.

Korra had been captured.

Tenzin scrambled to get dressed as he informed Lin of what little he had been told. He implored her to remain in bed while he went to city hall to find out more, and he should have been suspicious of how easy it was to convince her, but he was so consumed by worry for Korra that he raced out of the house without another thought.

Tarrlok was there, looking disheveled, covered in minor injuries of his own, and claimed that Korra had come to confront him about imprisoning her friends in the middle of the night, and that was when the Equalists had attacked them both. Tarrlok had been electrocuted and the Equalists took off with Korra. Tenzin then spent some time looking over the evidence left behind and calling in a few favors to see if he could find out anymore information as to Korra's possible whereabouts. He realized at some point that he had not bothered to check if Ronen was still in bed before he had left the house, and even though Tarrlok had said nothing of Ronen's involvement, Tenzin still raced home to the Island just to be certain.

Tenzin hadn't even landed when Ronen came racing out into the courtyard, and he allowed himself to breath deeply in relief, the panic in his chest abating slightly. He was still extremely worried about Korra, but at least it was not the both of them that were missing, and perhaps Ronen might know more.

As it turned out, Ronen knew only what Lin had told him before she had left the house on a mission of her own. Korra had not come to him before leaving the Island the night before, nor told him anything of her plans.

Tenzin was beyond frustrated when he learned that Lin had gone off into the city to break Asami, Mako, and Bolin out of prison. While it might help to have Korra's friends involved, Lin was only just healing from the fight at the Sato mansion days before, and running off to break a couple teens out of jail was foolhardy under normal circumstances. Nevertheless, he didn't go rushing back into the city to try and stop her. He didn't think he could have even if he wanted to.

So he and Ronen waited for Lin to return with the others by discussing their next steps and trying to figure out where to look for Korra first. Tenzin also went ahead and called Nira over to the house to look after Jeia and the twins, since he had no inkling of how long they might be out searching. Jeia sensed the tension and was practically inconsolable, and the twins demanded to know what was going on, and then tried to insist on helping, but Tenzin shut that down immediately. It was bad enough that Korra was missing and Lin was still healing and Ronen was going to be involved. Tenzin could not add worrying over Jin and Sora to the list.

Thankfully, Lin returned to the Island looking none the worse for wear; Asami, Mako, and Bolin in tow and no police airships pursuing them across the Bay.

"You're supposed to be resting," Tenzin still admonished when she entered his study.

"I've rested enough," Lin waved off. "You're gonna need all the help you can get looking for Korra."

"Do you have any leads?" Mako immediately questioned.

"None so far, I'm afraid," Tenzin admitted.

"We need Naga!" Mako insisted.

Ronen, who was leaned back against the front of his father's desk, arms folded over his chest, said, "We already thought of that, but Naga is missing too."

"Well where were you when she left?" Mako demanded. "Why wouldn't she have told you where she was going? Why did you let her go alone?"

Ronen pushed off of the desk with a scowl as he fired back, "She went in the middle of the night without telling me anything. What was I supposed to do, sense her leaving the island while I was dead asleep?"

"You're her best friend aren't you?" Mako scoffed, as if that should make a difference.

Before Lin or Tenzin could intervene, Bolin inserted himself between his brother and Ronen. "Hey, guys, this isn't gonna help anything. Let's focus on Korra, right? Where should we start looking?"

He directed his question to the rest of the occupants of the room, and Lin was the first to answer, "My guess is the Equalists are hiding underground, in the maze of tunnels beneath the city."

"Underground," Asami muttered, mostly to herself, "just like my father's secret workshop. Figures."

"That makes sense actually," Bolin commented. "When I was taken by the Equalists it sounded like we drove into a tunnel."

"I know where to start looking!" Mako declared, and the teens went running from the room.

Lin and Tenzin stayed behind for a moment to share a look, and Lin said, "Wherever Amon is keeping Korra, I bet that's where Tosuki and my officers are too."

"Let's bring them all home, Lin," Tenzin said with determination, reaching out to squeeze her hand in his.

They turned to follow the kids, hands still entwined, but Lin paused in the doorway, looking up at him to add, "Oh, and another thing. Before I went into the city, I contacted Su. Amon is getting bolder, and this war doesn't appear to be ending anytime soon. I think it'd be best if she took Jeia and the twins to Zaofu for a little while. I'd send Ronen too, but I know he'll never agree. I'm sorry, I know I should have talked to you first –"

"No," Tenzin cut her off, "you were right to call her. When is she coming?"

"She said she would leave right away," Lin replied. "She should be here by nightfall."


Lin found Tosuki and her officers in a prison in the tunnels beneath the city, just as expected. Unfortunately, she was too late to save their bending, and it tore at her heart to know that she had failed them, that they had lost an integral part of themselves by that monster Amon's hands while she had been lying in bed trying to recover. She knew that it was not truly her fault, but she still felt some responsibility. She didn't know how she could ever make it up to them.

Korra, however, was not in the same prison, or in Equalist hands at all. As it turned out, Tarrlok was a damned blood bender and had been playing them all along. He had Korra, and when they confronted him about it, he bloodbent all six of them, plus Saikhan and the three other members of the council. Lin had been bloodbent a time or two before, because every once in a while one of the members of the Red Monsoon Triad would start wreaking havoc on a full moon, but it was basically an automatic sentence of life in prison, so few ever risked it within city limits. Nevertheless, it was still just as jarring and horrific as it always was, and the agony was such that she was almost relieved when she passed out.

She woke stiff and angry though. Tarrlok was long gone and they were no closer to finding Korra. They tried to follow Tarrlok's trail once everyone was back on their feet, but there wasn't much to follow.

They searched well into the night with no further progress, and were flying Oogi over top the city when they heard the familiar howl of what could definitely have been a polar bear dog.

Tenzin swooped down to where Naga was walking along the abandoned street, and there atop the saddle was Korra. She didn't have any visible injuries besides a few scrapes, but she was draped over Naga's back on her stomach, only half-conscious when they all approached her.

Tenzin, Lin, and Ronen reached her first, but they had only managed to get out a few short words that Korra could not muster the energy to respond to before Mako pushed his way through them. The boy had been acting insane ever since Korra's capture, snapping at the rest of his friends and threatening Equalists. It was obvious that he cared a great deal more for Korra than perhaps anyone else had first realized, and Lin could tell that it was annoying Ronen, who kept glaring at Mako's back and throwing sympathetic looks at Asami. When Mako picked Korra up off of Naga and began carrying her towards Oogi, Ronen lurched forward, expression pinched in anger, but Lin grabbed him by the sleeve and tugged him back. She didn't know what drama was going on with the teens, but the last thing Korra needed right then was for the two boys to be arguing over top of her.

Tenzin flew Korra, Mako, and Bolin back to the Island on Oogi, while Ronen and Asami offered to take Naga back on a boat, and Lin went with them because she wasn't about to let them get abducted after they'd just found Korra.

The two teens started whispering to one another shortly after the boat took off from the harbor, and Lin did her best to tune it out, but she picked some of it up anyways.

"Bolin says I'm probably imagining things," Asami huffed, "but I'm not stupid. I see how he looks at her. What do you think? You see it, right?"

"I don't know Mako all that well," Ronen deflected.

"Great, so you're lying to me now too?"

"What? No! Asami, look…I just don't want to say something that could mess things up with you and Mako. I don't know what's inside his head, just what I see, and I could be wrong. I could be imagining things too."

"So you do see it! He has feelings for Korra, doesn't he?"

Ronen sighed heavily. "He seems to, yes," he finally admitted, "but it doesn't necessarily mean anything. He likes you too, he's just, I don't know, confused I guess. He hasn't acted it on it –"

"Yet," Asami muttered bitterly.

"And I know Korra," Ronen continued. "She wouldn't do that to you."

"So what, they'll just yearn for each other until I get sick of it and break up with him? And what am I supposed to do in the meantime? Just accept it? Hope that he changes his mind and chooses me? I think I deserve better than that."

"You do," Ronen murmured after a long pause. "I'm sorry, Asami. I wish that I could make this better somehow. I don't want to see anyone get hurt. Mako's an idiot if he doesn't see how amazing you are. I hope for your sake that he gets his act together, but if he doesn't, well…that's his loss."

Asami and Ronen stared at one another for a few long seconds that made Lin extremely uncomfortable. Spirits, had she and Tenzin been that awkward as teenagers? And what the hell was she witnessing?

Then Asami sniffled and wiped a stray tear, smiling a little as she mumbled, "Thanks, Ronen. You're a good friend."

The boat was just about to dock at the Island then, and Lin leapt up with a gruff, "We're here," before anything more could be said between Ronen and Asami. She inserted herself between them none too subtly and nudged Ronen along saying, "Why don't you help the Acolytes with Naga?"

Ronen shot his mother an annoyed look but went to do as she asked.

Once the four of them were on the Island at last, Naga ran off on her own, Asami said a quick goodnight to retreat to her own room, and Lin and Ronen went together to the main house.

Suyin was waiting outside for them, leaning forward with her forearms resting on the railing, the right side of her body cast in shadow.

Ronen, who had not known that his aunt was coming, squinted at her form and then gasped in surprise, looking up at his mother to see her lack of shock, and then exclaimed, "Aunt Su! What are you doing here?"

He rushed over to greet her, Lin lagging behind, and they embraced with gusto.

"I'm here to see all of you, of course!" Su replied, pulling Ronen out to arms length to look him over in the light of the nearby lanterns. "Look at you! You've grown so much! You must be as tall as your mother!"

Ronen grinned and said slyly, "Taller actually."

Lin snorted as she joined the pair and parried, "Keep dreamin', kid. You haven't outgrown me yet."

Ronen nodded, but then whispered conspiratorially to his aunt, "She's sensitive about it."

Lin rolled her eyes and Su said seriously, "Your mother is very sensitive."

"Are you two done?" Lin asked blandly, while Ronen and Su chuckled.

"For now," Su teased, before turning her attention onto her nephew. "Why don't you go see how your friend is doing so I can catch up with your mom?"

"Sure," Ronen easily agreed. "I'll see you at breakfast in the morning?"

"Absolutely," Su confirmed. "And I want to hear about everything that I've missed."

"Good night, kid," Lin added.

"G'night, Mom, Aunt Su."

Ronen walked briskly into the house, and the two sisters waited until he had crossed the threshold before turning to one another. Lin expected to see a serious expression, but Su was still smiling brightly, and before Lin could warn her off, she was lunging at her older sister and engulfing Lin in a crushing hug.

Lin sighed dramatically, but wrapped her own arms around Su's back and allowed herself to relax into the embrace. It had been a while since she'd seen sister. Lin found herself longing for the day when Amon was brought to justice, because – besides for the obvious reasons – she intended to take an extended vacation in Zaofu, to relax for once maybe and spend time with her sister that did not feel rushed or impeded, to see her niece and nephews and how much they must have grown, and to spend time with her own family before her kids grew up completely. She thought Korra might like Zaofu too, and maybe she and Ronen could bring their friends if they could keep the teen drama to a minimum, and even if they couldn't, Zaofu was fairly large, and Lin could easily avoid them if need be.

It all seemed like such a distant, unobtainable future in that moment though, and too much like optimism for Lin's tastes, so she pushed the thoughts aside for now.

"It's so good to see you, Lin," Su exclaimed, still squeezing tight and twisting Lin from side to side.

Unfortunately, the movement caused a stabbing pain to shoot through Lin's still healing spine, which was particularly stiff after the long day of searching and fighting and being bloodbended. She sucked in a sharp breath through her teeth and strained her arms to halt Su's movements saying, "Easy."

Su lurched back with a startled gasp, frown marring her features. "Oh, Lin, I'm so sorry," she rushed out. "Tenzin told me you were hurt, I wasn't thinking–"

"It's fine," Lin interjected, waving her hand dismissively. "It's getting better. Really," she added, when Su looked skeptical.

"You wouldn't admit it even if it wasn't," Su pointed out.

Lin shrugged. "Maybe not. What else did Tenzin tell you?"

"Not much," Su admitted. "We only had a few seconds to talk. He was seeing to the Avatar, poor girl, and then the kids woke up so he's trying to get them back to bed now. I tried to help, but he told me to make sure you and Ronen made it back safe."

"But he had time to tell you I got hurt?"

"Well he said the Sato girl was with you," Su explained, "and that she was staying here on the Island now. I was confused as to why the heiress to the Sato fortune wasn't living in her mansion with her father, so he gave me a brief summary of Hiroshi Sato's involvement with the Equalists."

"You've missed a lot," Lin said.

Su snorted. "I'd say. You don't write for three weeks and it's like the whole world shifted out of balance in the meantime. There's a madman running around the city that can take people's bending permanently, Satomobiles are funding the bad guys, and you have four more kids than you did the last time I was here."

"Ugh, don't remind me," Lin grumbled, folding her arms across her chest.

"And you said I had too many kids. You have eight."

"Hey, they're not my kids," Lin argued. "They're just guests staying on my island."

"Sure, whatever you say, Lin," Su said, unconvinced and smiling knowingly.

Lin rolled her eyes and gestured towards the door. "Can we take this reunion inside? Should probably see if my actual kids are in bed." Su nodded wordlessly and fell in step beside Lin, who then asked, "Did you tell them why you're here?"

"No," Su answered, "I thought I'd leave that nightmare to you."

"Thanks," Lin scoffed.

"I just told them that you called me and things sounded crazy so I thought I'd come visit. I don't know if the twins totally bought it."

"That's the trouble with kids getting older," Lin lamented, holding the door open for Su. "They stop believing the lies we tell them."

After the children had gone back to bed and Korra was settled into the guest room with Ronen and Mako looking out for her, Lin and Tenzin and Su convened in the kitchen with a pot of tea. The sun would rise in just a few short hours, but the three adults were still wired from recent events and it seemed imperative that they have a discussion before the kids woke the following morning and made it next to impossible.

Lin and Tenzin gave Su a detailed explanation of what had been going on in Republic City and with their family as of late, filling her in on all the little details they might have forgotten and more information than they could have fit into a letter. Su had a lot of questions and was baffled by half of what she was told. She nearly fell off of her chair when she heard that Lin had resigned from the police force. She also decided that, as soon as she took the twins and Jeia back to Zaofu, she would then return to Republic City to help her sister and brother-in-law defeat Amon, and no amount of protesting from Lin would change her mind.

"I've got enough things here to worry about without adding you to the list," Lin argued, and her fists were clenched on the table top in a frustration that was coursing through her with more and more strength. "That's why I'm having you take the kids away from here."

Su was undeterred, smiling in that annoyingly knowing way as she replied, "I know that's your way of saying you love me, Lin, but I can handle myself. The kids need protection, not me. You can argue all you want, but I won't change my mind."

It was shortly after that when the three of them finally went to bed, Tenzin inserting himself between the two sisters wearily and begging that they argue over it in the morning when he wasn't so exhausted. Lin was still muttering under her breath when she crawled into bed with him, but then Tenzin pulled her fully into his arms and pressed a firm kiss to her mouth that distracted her long enough to relax into his embrace.

"I'm still mad," she mumbled against his chest afterwards, but she was breathless and her eyelids were too heavy to hold open any longer, and she drifted off seconds later.

The whole house slept late the next morning, so that it was nearly lunch time before they all gathered in the dining room to eat. Korra, who had taken a long, hot bath after her extended slumber, joined the rest of them at the table a little later, and spent the next several minutes shoveling food into her mouth as quickly as she was able.

When she finally paused for breath, she spoke through a mouthful of food to say, "The food is delicious."

"I would hope so, the way you're eating it like you're starved," Yunjin commented, still helping himself to any stray food he could find as well. The table was crowded with everyone there, and he kept knocking into various bowls and cups, so that Su, who was on his left side, had to keep darting a hand out to catch whatever he was about to spill.

"Jin," Sora hissed at him, "you're an idiot."

"Why?" Yunjin scoffed, shoving rice into his mouth that he had snatched off of Ronen's plate.

"It's okay, Sora," Korra interjected with a little smile. "I know what he meant, and I'm finally starting to feel like myself again."

"That's good to hear," Su said, not even turning to look as one of her arms darted out behind her to catch Jeia, who had been toddling over, and tripped over Yunjin's leg as he extended it behind him to better reach across the table towards Mako's half-eaten plate.

"Yunjin!" Lin snapped, giving the boy a warning look that caused him to slump back into his seat with a disgruntled pout.

Mako slid his plate across the table to Yunjin and said, "Here, kid, you can have it."

Jeia plopped down in the tiny space between Jin and Su and simply stared up at her aunt with a judgmental gaze. It had been nearly a year since Jeia had last seen her aunt, and what little she could remember was obviously not enough to warm her to Su just yet, but she was keeping a close eye on Su anyways, and Su was trying very hard to win Jeia over.

Korra squinted her eyes at Su, gulping down the food in her mouth before saying, "I'm sorry, you're, um, Lin's sister, right?"

Su smiled kindly and answered, "You can call me Su. You were pretty young the last time we met, and I'm assuming Lin doesn't talk about me much."

Su shot Lin a teasing glare and Korra chuckled, "Lin doesn't talk much."

"She likes to act all mysterious, but we all know she's a big softy under that metal contraption," Su teased.

Lin made a face, but didn't bother with a rebuttal. Korra laughed and Lin figured that had been Su's real goal anyways. Su was always better at trying to cheer people up and had a knack for sensing when someone was in need of a good laugh.

"So are you here to help fight the Equalists then?" Korra asked Suyin.

Su shrugged as if she hadn't just admitted to such a desire to Lin and Tenzin the night before. "I'm not sure yet," she hedged. "I go where I'm needed, and I had a feeling I should be here."

Yunjin scoffed in disbelief and asked Lin and Tenzin, "Okay, sure, what's the real reason Aunt Su is here?" And Ronen and Sora both turned questioning gazes onto their parents too in anticipation. "Are you ever gonna tell us?"

Lin exchanged a glance with Tenzin, who nodded and cleared his throat before answering, "Your Aunt Su is here because we asked her to come. She is going to take the three of you to stay in Zaofu until this revolution has been dealt with."

"Without you?" Sora exclaimed.

"No way!" Yunjin protested hotly.

"No go!" Jeia added.

"This isn't up for debate," Lin told them plainly. "You're going and that's final."

"You expect us to run and hide like cowards?" Yunjin persisted.

"We expect you to understand that we know what is best for you," Tenzin countered calmly. "This is not your fight, and your mother and I want to ensure your safety."

"But what about Ronen?" Sora inquired in a quiet whisper that was nearly overpowered by her twin brother's loud, "So it's everyone else's fight but ours?"

"Ronen is older," Tenzin began.

Lin finished, "And he understands the seriousness of this revolution. He isn't just looking to pick a fight." She gave Yunjin a pointed look, but he only glared right back. "Look, kid, maybe next time we have a civil war you can help, but you're gonna have to sit this one out. You and Sora are the last hope for the Airbending race, and if Amon takes your bending, that's it. Everything we've done to protect you will have been for nothing. Is that what you want? Besides, Jeia is a baby still and she needs her brother and sister to keep her safe while your father and I deal with this."

"No baby," Jeia muttered petulantly, but she must have recognized the severity of her mother's tone and said no more.

Yunjin, too, had been subdued a little by his mother, but after a beat, he still smacked his hands on the table and sat up onto his knees, opening his mouth to no doubt go on another tirade. However, Sora reached out and grabbed his bicep, squeezing tight and giving him an imploring look as she quietly begged, "Come on, Jin. Don't start a fight. Mom and Dad are right. We can't risk getting our bending taken and we gotta look out for Jeia."

Yunjin was still scowling, but he slumped back down into his seat without further complaint, folding his arms over his chest and looking bitter but complacent.

Lin was grateful that when she had had Yunjin, she had also had Sora, because as much as she loved the boy, he was too much like her for his own good. He was sweet and loving in his own way, but he struggled with an inner rage that might even be worse than his mother's, and Lin worried about him in ways she didn't worry about his siblings. But thankfully, Sora was the yin to his yang, and she was better than any of the rest of them at calming him when necessary. She could make him agreeable when the same words out of his parents' mouths only angered him. Likewise, Yunjin could help Sora see reason instead of devastation when her emotions consumed her. They fought like any other siblings, but one without the other was not fully whole. While they might have recently been fighting and avoiding one another, they could never truly be separated. If Sora was going to Zaofu, Yunjin would follow regardless of the rest of his beliefs.

A still silence had fallen over the table, and Su sought to break the uncomfortable tension by softly telling the twins, "Wei and Wing are very excited to see you again, and Opal started getting your rooms ready as soon as she heard you were coming. I know you're very worried, but once this all gets sorted out you'll be back home in no time."

"Your father and I will meet you in Zaofu," Lin proclaimed, even though she had told Tenzin nothing of her plans and she had no idea how long it might be before she even saw her three youngest kids again after she sent them away. "Once we can leave here, we'll all spend some time with Aunt Su and your cousins. Korra and her friends can come too and we'll all have a nice long vacation."

Sora smiled a little at the thought, and Asami nodded exuberantly as if in total agreement, until Korra and the two pro-bending boys and Ronen caught on and were all nodding along too.

"If you'll be leaving soon, I've got some stuff I want to give you before you go," Asami chimed in all of a sudden, looking at Yunjin and Sora. "If you guys wanna help me clean up the dishes first, then I can show you."

Asami rose and started gathering dishes, and Yunjin and Sora exchanged a look before nodding enthusiastically and jumping to their feet to help. Ronen smiled gratefully at Asami and squeezed her hand briefly as she passed by him, and the girl smiled back in a way that made Lin narrow her eyes despite her own feelings of gratitude. Then again, Ronen did the same sort of thing with Korra, so maybe Lin was just jumping to all the wrong conclusions about the two teens. She just didn't care much for the idea of her son being old enough to be interested in relationships. Wasn't fifteen too young? Or was Lin just a late bloomer? After all, Su had started dating at twelve and Lin had probably been closer to seventeen before she'd even kissed someone.

Ronen seemed about to offer Asami his help, but instead he stayed planted firmly at Korra's side, ensuring that his best friend was really okay after all she'd been through. Mako was on Korra's other side, and he hardly even glanced in his girlfriend's direction, so there was no chance of him following her. Bolin stayed too, seeming to pick up on the impending conversation that was about to happen once the younger kids were out of the room.

Asami stopped by Jeia on her way around the table and held out her free hand, the other full of dishes, and asked, "Will you help me, Jeia?"

Jeia didn't seem all that interested, but she looked over at Lin, who inclined her head in response, and then Jeia was clambering to her feet and accepting Asami's hand.

Once the four of them had left, Tenzin turned his gaze onto Korra and said delicately, "Korra, I realize you've been through a lot, but I need to know everything that happened after you were captured."

"Well, first off," Korra began, "Tarrlok isn't who he says he is. He's Yakone's son."

Lin and Tenzin both gaped in shock, but Suyin looked confused as she said, "Yakone…why does that sound familiar?"

"A ruthless triad leader from a long time ago," Lin explained. "You were just a baby when he went on trial. He had the ability to bloodbend people without a full moon, used it against everyone in the courthouse that day, including Mom and Aang and Sokka. It messed Mom up so bad that she took us on vacation for nearly a year, but Aang stopped Yakone from fleeing the city and took his bending. Nobody knew what happened to him after that. But it makes sense that he would have had a son. It would explain how Tarrlok was able to bloodbend us."

"But how did you escape?" Tenzin questioned Korra. "And where is Tarrlok?"

Korra looked down at the table for a moment before admitting, "Amon captured him…and took his bending."

"What?" Tenzin gasped in surprise.

"Yeah, he showed up out of nowhere," Korra confirmed. "He almost got me too."

Seeing the sorrowful look on Korra's face, Ronen reached out to squeeze her shoulder, keeping his hand there in a gesture of support.

Lin felt her own hand moving to brace itself against Tenzin's thigh underneath of the table, feeling a weighted concern pressing against her own chest and certain that Tenzin was feeling much the same. She exchanged a glance with her sister too, and Su seemed to have grasped the severity of the situation just as well.

Tenzin was the one to voice what they were all thinking, his expression pinched with concern as he said, "This is very disturbing news. Amon is becoming emboldened. Taking out a councilman, almost capturing the Avatar." He looked over at Lin, and squeezed the hand she had on his leg so tightly she felt her knuckles cracking under the pressure. "I fear Amon is entering his end game."


-You all know what's coming next. End game. The Equalists take over. All hell breaks loose. But Suyin is along for the ride this time. Hope you're all as excited as I am. It only took us six years to get here lol. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts, and until next time!-