Chapter 55: Disobedience
Amon chuckled lightly. "There you go. I'm surprised it took you that long to recognize it. You've only seen it plastered on your... friends'... uniforms every day. Or on every Satomobile."
Oh, shut up. I'm trying to keep it together here, you ass.
"This is a Sato mansion isn't it?"
Amon nodded. "Good," He mumbled, as if he were praising my observation and deductive skills.
I ignored him, going on my own line of thought instead. "That was why he looked so nervous when they asked me if I remembered where the hideout was. And why he looked at me weird when I said I didn't know anything."
Amon bobbed his head again. "Hiroshi told me of his confusion. He suspected that you suffered some form of insomnia."
My knuckles kneaded at my chin as I thought aloud. "Yeah, well for a genius he's pretty stupid." Amon chuckled in response. "So he's funding you... partially at least, if not entirely." I nodded to myself as I shifted my weight from foot to foot. "And I think I can safely assume that the gloves were his design."
"Yes."
"And your airship?"
"Yes."
I glanced down. "And this... I assume..." I breathed as I bent to scoop up one of the fallen pages. They were blueprints containing sketches and calculations that made my blood run cold. "What the hell are these things?"
"He calls them mecha-tanks. Driven by non-benders. Impervious to bending. Powerful and swift. Incapacitates and captures benders in mere moments."
It's not impervious... I'm already seeing ways you could beat this thing.
I shook my head in shock at the massive contraptions of metal armor. "And I thought you were wise, Amon." His face crinkled in confusion. I shrugged, a grin on my face as I looked at the blueprints. "Making a giant metal army is probably the worst decision you could make in a city where the elite law enforcement is strictly metal benders..."
"You clearly think little of me."
"What gave it away?" I growled.
Amon ignored me though... for the moment. "They're made of platinum. The metal is so pure, the benders won't have any power. Even Toph Beifong could never bend it."
I pursed my lips, putting the papers on his desk. "What about Asami?" I whispered, my heart clenching. "Is she part of this, too?"
He looked at my thoughtfully for a second before sighing. "No. Only her father. She will join the cause when her father asks her. For now, he wanted to keep her out of danger."
"No, she won't."
"Sorry?"
I met his eyes icily. "She won't join. She really likes Mako. Maybe even loves him." Which makes me feel terrible since Korra and Mako have it for each other. Amon chuckled.
"Childish attraction. It means nothing."
I felt my heart clench again, so I tried to draw the ice back over it. Protect myself... "You don't know her."
"And you do?"
I clenched my teeth. "What does Hiroshi have against benders anyways?" I stuck my finger in Amon's face, moving closer. "What are you holding over him? Huh? What's your deal with him? Is it the safety as Asami?"
Amon laughed for real this time, but it was laced with mockery. "Hiroshi helped me kick-start this revolution. He sought me out. Not the other way around."
I knit my eyebrows. "I... I don't understand. Why?"
Amon's voice took on uncharacteristic sadness. "His wife was killed by a bender. A firebender."
"Oh..." I looked sideways, feeling terrible. "That doesn't make everyone bad."
"You've said this before."
"Yet no one seems to listen." My words felt heavy in my mouth, sticking to my tongue like molasses.
Amon seemed as if he was about to speak when a light knock was heard at the door. I listened to the light whistling of his breath as he heaved a sigh. "Enter," He called loudly without taking his eyes off of me.
"Your dinner, sir." I broke our staring contest at the sound of Naomi's voice. She was pushing our dinner cart again. She glanced up at me, her face tired, before re-fixing her gaze to the cart.
"Good," Amon spoke to her before turning to me. "Clear the desk," He commanded me.
My mood turned sour again, feeling the ice seal off my heart again. I crossed my arms, glaring at him. "No."
I heard a small intake of breath from Naomi while I watched Amon's eyes narrow. "Watch your tongue."
"Not until you watch yours. It's your mess," I said nodding to the desk. "You clean it."
His arm shot out, his fingers curling around my cheeks pulling my close harshly. His hot breath slipped through the slit in his mask, hitting my face. "I told you," He spoke quietly. "To clean that desk. Are you disobeying me, soldier?"
Suddenly everything snapped into perspective. Amon had made a deal with me, whether or not I liked it. And he was going to follow it strictly. My bending was being held in the balance, and without my bending... I couldn't help Korra. Not really...
And I had just straight up said 'no' to a direct order. In front of one of his chi blockers.
Oh shit. My eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. I felt my heart beating frantically in my chest as my jaw shifted up and down like a gasping fish. "I...I..."
Pull yourself together, girl! I flinched when I felt Yue's voice pounding in my head.
"No, sir. Of course not, sir." I bowed my head as my mind raced, turning to quickly shuffle together the papers. With the heaps gathered together messily in my arms, I turned back to Amon, my eyes glued to his shoes. "Where would you like them, sir?"
Ugh. I hate calling him sir. You'll survive. Just hope he doesn't take away your bending. I can barely keep our link as is...
"My bedroom will suffice," His voice was cold, but I detecting a thin layering of amusement beneath it all. Just ignore it and do as you're told... I hurried to the bedroom, pushing the door open with my toes. Behind me, I heard Amon greeting Naomi politely, but his commanding voice remained. Always playing the part. I put the papers down as neatly as I could, taking a final glance at the blueprints from Hiroshi Sato. Poor Asami... she'll be heartbroken... I heard the door shut out in the main room, no doubt it was Naomi leaving, but I stayed put, trying to form an apology... or some excuse... Anything... Anything to keep my bending.
"Kanni," Amon's voice called sternly to me.
I shuddered through my next breath, stepping into the room with my head down. He was silent, standing behind my chair with his hands gripping the back. I looked up to his face to see him staring straight forward.
"Amon, I-"
"Sit," He cut me off, his voice unsettlingly even.
My shoulders shook slightly in another shudder as I stepped slowly across the room. "You don't need to pull out my chair or anything... I-"
"Sit."
I slid around him, plopping down at his commanding tone, my back ramrod straight. I felt his fingers curl on the chair behind my shoulder blades as he leaned down. The cold porcelain of the mask brushed against my ear, causing my skin to raise in goosebumps.
"Are you... unintelligent?" He asked in a whisper.
"I- I'm.. sorry?" I responded, confused.
"I said," He spoke softly at first before erupting. "ARE YOU UNINTELLIGENT?! ARE YOU A COMPLETE... BUMBLING... IDIOT?!" His arm swept out as he shoved away from my chair, sending parts of the meal shattering off of the desk. I screamed at his outburst, my hands automatically coming up to shield my face.
"Do you want to know why I think that?!" He yelled, turning to me with rage. "Do you want to know why?!" He moved closer to my face, his own the infuriating and terrifying neutral mask.
I shoved my face further into the protection of my arms, yelling without thinking. "No!" I cried out. His hand snapped out, his vice grip closing around my wrist painfully. He pulled me upwards so that I was balancing awkwardly on my feet around the chair.
"You dare to disobey me?! When I hold your very life in my hands? Are you that idiotic that you would go out of your way to upset me? To make me look foolish?! Make me look WEAK?!"
Tears sprung into my eyes as he yelled, my free hand coming up to claw at his fingers. He released me, throwing me backwards to fall with the chair. I landed heavily, my ribs complaining.
Amon towered over me, his eyes glowering at me from behind his mask. "I should destroy you right now. Take away your bending. Break you."
I pushed myself up slowly, my head bent as my hair fell into my teary face. "Don't you see?" I whispered. "You don't have to break me..." I raised my eyes to his own. "You already have."
His silver orbs narrowed before he scoffed. "A broken person does not disobey and speak out of term." He sighed slowly. "I will decide your punishment. For now, clean up this mess." He scooped a platter off of the desk, stepping towards me. I flinched, curling in on myself, as he moved over and past me to his bedroom. The door shut loudly, and I heard the distinct sound of the lock.
I stayed curled on the floor, silently scolding myself for cowering. Finally, I pulled myself to my feet, wiping angrily at my eyes, my sleeves darkening with moisture. I sniffled pitifully before glancing over to the mess. Amon's anger had scattered most of the food and platters across the floor, tea pooling across the tile and soaking into the expensive-looking carpet.
I shouldn't even do this. Screw him! I crinkled my nose, a defiant scowl rising to my face. That's the stupidest thing you've ever said. Don't test him, Kanni. You know full well what he's capable of. I sighed, stepping over to the mess and falling to my knees. I scooped up all of the silver platters, piling them onto the desk.
I tiptoed around the shards of china, grabbing towels from the bathroom. Putting down a few to try and soak up the soup and tea, I used the others to carefully pick up the broken bowls and plates. When the majority of the shards were piled onto the platters atop the desk, I tried to sweep the rest together into the towel.
My head snapped up when I heard a light knock at the door. I glanced nervously towards Amon's bedroom, but he never appeared. I raised myself up, brushing off my hands, and opened the door quietly.
"Naomi?" I whispered.
She seemed shocked to see me opening the door. "Ka-" She cleared her throat, stopping herself. "I'm here to pick up the trays?"
"Right.. right." I opened up the door, letting her in. She gasped, seeing the half-cleaned mess. "I'm almost finished. If you could just wait a moment?"
She stood gaping as I hurried back to the mess, gathering as much of the shards as I could into the towel, and piling it onto the silver platters.
"What... what happened in here?"
I ignored her. "What are you doing back so early anyways?" I asked, genuinely curious.
She looked at me, shocked. "It's been about an hour, Kanni..."
"What?"
She nodded, a flash of concern in her eyes. "It's been an hour," She said again.
I ran my fingers through my tousled hair, brushing it from my eyes. "That's... impossible..." I glanced at my hands, seeing the many cuts and redness from cleaning up the sharp pieces. Well I'll be damned... has it really been that long?
"Do you need help?" Naomi asked gently.
A part of me panicked, glancing sideways at Amon's door. "No! No, I'm alright. Just give me a moment." She clicked her tongue, kneeling beside me and reached for a towel. My arm snapped out, blocking her hand. "No! Please... He told me to do it..." I muttered quietly... and shamefully. "I have to do it."
She nodded, pulling back. "What happened?"
I shook my head silently, still wiping at the liquid on the floor. "Nothing... just an accident." Why am I covering for this guy?
Her hand settled on my arm, stopping my movement. "Kanni," She breathed softly, worry in her eyes.
I looked away. "Don't look at me like that."
"Like what?"
"Pity."
She chewed on her lip. "I feel sorry... both for what's happened to you... and what I did." I looked to her, shocked. She glanced down at her hands. "It never mattered to you... who I was. And you were always a bender. Even before. And every time... every time... you kept putting your neck out for me. Because even though we were different... you didn't care." She sniffed as her eyes glossed over. "We were friends. Real friends. And I never knew that. Not until after I told you out and put you down. I- I'm so sorry, Kanni. For everything. You saved my life and how do I repay you? I-" I cut off her rambling by lunging across to her, wrapping my arms around her shoulders. She flinched at first, before I felt her muscles relax and her arms envelop me, her head coming down to rest against mine.
I heard a drawer being closed in Amon's room, making me pull away. "It's fine," I whispered. "It's all fine." I gave her another hug before glancing to Amon's door. I reached out with my bending to feel him moving around his room, waving his arms around. What the hell? Probably changing, dearest. I flinched when Yue's voice pounded in my skull again. Ouch...
Naomi's fingers brushed my shoulder, her eyes cutting to Amon's door as well. "Are you alright?" She glanced around us at the remnants of the mess. "Is he... hurting you?"
I shook my head. "No, he's not. He just... scares me sometimes..."
"He scares all of us, Kanni. I mean... he's our leader... but the amount of power he has?"
I looked to her, curious. "Are you... rethinking?"
She shook her head. "Spirits, no. I mean... I still believe that things need to change..."
"But...?"
She looked up to me through her eyelashes, gnawing at her lips. "I never really saw it up close... what happens to a person. I had heard it wasn't fun... but I had never really seen it up close. Especially not to someone I cared about. I mean... at the arena... it wasn't anything. They were a bunch of jerks. Bullies. They deserved it. And I thought with you... I thought it would feel the same. Especially since I was so angry with you." She looked down to where her fingers were fiddling in her lap. "But then I saw you before you went out onto that stage. How you looked so calm... but I could see everything underneath, Kanni." She met my eyes again. "The fear. The desperation. The hopelessness. The... resignation. It was terrifying to see... especially on someone like you. And then when you fought Amon... you never used your bending. You kept it fair..." Her hand alighted on my shoulder. "You never broke what you said was important to you... even if it meant there was a high chance that you would lose a part of yourself."
"Well damn, Naomi... you're getting deep on me," I grinned at her, trying to lighten the mood. She punched me playfully in the shoulder.
"Damn right, I am. Now stop ruining the moment."
We chuckled lightly before I enveloped her in another hug. "Thank you," I whispered. "You never stopped being my friend, I hope you know that."
She hugged me back with a sigh of relief. "Same to you... I just couldn't see it. Now," She pulled away, looking to the remnants on the floor. "Let me help you."
"Naomi, really... I've got it." I scooped up the last shards and dumped them onto the platters. Naomi climbed to her feet, piling everything onto her cart.
"You sure? I could help with the tea.."
I raised my hands to her, cutting my eyes sideways to Amon's door. "I'm fine. You should go. I don't want to keep you."
I walked her to the door, opening it for her. She pushed the cart out, and turned to me. "But he isn't hurting you, right?"
I chuckled lightly. "No. You know I would kick his ass if he tried." She laughed back, nodding. "You don't have to worry about me..." I glanced sideways, leaning on the doorframe. "Well... maybe you do. But that's just because I'm stupid and talk back."
She smiled slightly. "Maybe if you learned to keep your mouth shut..."
"Hey! I wouldn't be any fun. Everyone knows the only entertaining thing about me is my sass."
She laughed, smothering her chuckle in the palm of her hand. "True," She teased.
When our laughter died down, I bid her goodnight, and watched her push the rickety trolley down the carpeted hall. Hmm... no guards at night? Interesting.
It's good to see that you're friends again. I flinched, clutching at my head. Why the hell does this hurt so much? Sorry... Our connection is still weak. I'm draining a lot of your energy to stay in touch. Is it necessary at the moment? This kills.
She receded from my mind as I mopped up the remaining spills on the floor and gathered the sopping towels into my arms. I tossed them in the laundry bin that I found in the corner of the bathroom, and walked back into the main room, brushing off my hands.
So... can I leave? I stopped when I realized I had no idea where to go. And I'm exhausted... why? Well other than the fact that you did and incredible amount of physical activity today and died the other day, our strained connection is draining you. Well then... could you stop? I'll leave you be after you figure out where you're going to sleep. We need to talk. Great...
I pursed my lips, glancing around. I guess I'm staying here... but there's no way I'm staying where Amon can get to me... I don't want him going into another rage.. I glanced back at the bathroom. Is that wise? He won't be happy finding you in there if he needs to use the toilet in the middle of the night. Well... maybe he shouldn't be such an ass, then. Kanni... Yue's voice had a warning tone, but I ignored it. I tiredly hefted my bag off of the couch and onto my shoulder, along with the spare blanket draped over the back. I closed the bathroom door behind me, turning the lock securely.
As I set myself up on the cold tile, Yue spoke in my mind, making my brain pound in pain. You need to be more careful, Kanni.I know. You need to escape. I...I can't. Not yet. Why not? Well for one, I'm not completely healed yet... That's a PITIFUL excuse. You can kick a bunch of grown men's butts, but you can't escape a place where you basically have free reign? What's holding you back? Nothing! I'm just... playing my cards strategically.
Yue paused in my head, and I knew she was thinking. It's him isn't it? What? You still care about him... maybe even... love him? Her voice was laced with a mixture of shock and knowing.
I scowled, settling myself onto the floor, my bag under my head and the blanket tucked around me. Of course not. He's a jerk. Holding my bending over me... you see my memories. I'm just a pawn to him. You read his journal... you know that's not true. I rolled over to my side, hugging my arms close to my chest. Those were probably planted... All to make me be easier to control... He's been playing me... I couldn't care less about the bastard. I know that's not true... and so do you. Whatever, Yue... All I know is that he's been a heartless... bipolar... controlling ASS to me.
Yue didn't respond, letting my scrunch my eyes closed and beg for sleep to bring me some solace.
But you still love him...
I chewed on my lip, refusing to answer... but she didn't need me to. She was in my mind, after all.
Author's Note:
Wow... ok this chapter was amazing to write. I felt like this was the darkest and most frightening moments of Amon that Kanni has seen thus far. At least, I felt that way writing it and having to feel her fear.
Honestly, I've described writing as just setting characters loose and recording what happens. I felt like I had to reign in this chapter SO much... just because if I let one of them get too out of control, all chances for a romance would be gone. They're just too hotheaded and stubborn.
But this was a riot to write, in all honesty, and I hope you guys enjoy reading it. I know Amon was being an ass... and it SUCKS that it was right after they sorta started to bond... but I sorta see their relationship as pretty rocky... especially now.
Like... you can love someone completely... but still want to murder them sometimes. Ya know? I feel like that's how they are a lot. They're gonna have adorable "aww" moments... but they also have HARDCORE fights.
Idk... ya'll will see cuteness soon, I promise. Also, Kanni is a bit separate from the canon story right now. It's happening a little bit (but on a slower timeline) while she is at the base. Basically... right now, the bending brothers have been told they need to move out, but have yet to do so. Or are in the process of doing so.
Kanni will be filled in on the happenings of Republic City soon (probably during her next meal with Amon or Kanan), so everyone will be filled in.
Just a reminder that I've played Time-Lord on this canon plot line and slowed it down to benefit me. :)
Thanks y'all!
-Ryder
