A combination of torpedoes and new, mechanical planes decimated the United Forces fleet. Asami had stood at the edge of the water, knuckles white as she gripped the railing and watched wreckage streaking past; too-fast eyes following screaming men as they were swallowed by water. She tried to ignore the way her heart sang to the explosions.

Hours later she sat and half-listened to the group as they discussed their next move. The General Korra had rescued (Asami vaguely recalled his name to be Iroh) still seemed to think they had a chance. There was a reserve fleet, extra forces that could be delayed until a signal was sent out.

She nodded along but her mind was elsewhere. The light bruising on her neck had turned into an ugly mark that ached whenever she shifted her head. Asami's fire was resurfacing faster, doubling and tripling in its intensity every time she shoved it down.

The engineer was all too aware she was running out of time. She had hoped, rather naively, that the United Forces would swoop in and fix everything; leaving time for her to sort out her issues without endangering everyone around her. But Asami was a notoriously unlucky woman. She had never won a game of chance in her life and whichever spirit controlled that sort of thing wasn't going to let her start now. So she ran calculations. The same calculations, over and over like an engine that refused to start. If nothing changed Asami had less than half a day until her best chi-blocking moves stopped working entirely.

She was tired. She was tired, and she didn't want to hurt anyone, and she was no closer to understanding bending than she had been back on the island.

But that wasn't strictly true. She understood it fine- it just didn't feel like her. Maybe it could have been, once. Maybe at some long-forgotten point in her childhood she had sat in front of an open flame and felt something kinder than burning herself from the inside out. Not that it mattered now.

Secretly Asami knew it wasn't a part of her anymore. She didn't want some great spiritual awakening. If she had to lose herself to bend she would rather have Amon take the power away entirely. Better to lose it than live with her father's cruel, half-finished job. So when Korra shot to her feet, insisting she had to face the Equalist leader before the second assault? Asami was just a little too quick to join her.

Of course, she told herself it was to help the Avatar. It wasn't even a lie. She cared about Korra- perhaps more than she should, and the woman did have a habit of running into danger. So it was with absolutely no other motivations that she pulled on the Equalist mask and followed Korra into the tunnels that led to Republic City.

It was quiet. Asami could hear her own gently thumping heartbeat as she walked. Korra didn't spark a flame in her hands when the tunnel ran out of light, and for that she was grateful. It was dark, though. She kept one hand against the wall to steady herself.

"Asami," Korra's voice echoed off every surface. "Are you sure you want to come with me?"

The engineer looked up in surprise- she sounded worried. "Of course I do, I want help."

"I know but-" Korra paused. After a moment Asami felt a hand intertwine with her own. "Nevermind. I'm glad you're here."

The Avatar's fingers were layered- covered in calluses. Asami ran a thumb over the rough skin and both women smiled softly in the dark. Seconds later she realized what she was doing and heat rushed to her face.

"Anyway!" The engineer coughed, suddenly flustered in a way that had nothing to with her bending problem. "Do you think we're close?"

Korra's silhouette nodded, pointing to a thin strip of light further along the tunnel. "That should be it."

As it turned out, she was right. The crack of light faintly illuminated the top of a rusted ladder. Korra climbed it first, easily pushing aside the manhole cover and hauling herself out of view. When Asami went up she had to take a moment to adjust her eyes.

They were back on Air Temple Island. Specifically, they were crouched in the little patch of shrubbery behind the indoor meditation rooms. Equalist banners hung from every surface; she saw at least ten tangled in the branches of a tree. If these people spent as much money on infrastructure as they did on posters the city would be a utopia. Well, that was an exaggeration, but spirits- red ink was expensive.

Korra didn't look like she was following the same line of thought. The Avatar stared at Amon's mask in a way that made it obvious she was seeing more than just an overbudget poster. She swallowed and after a moment seemed to force the tension from her body- fists unclenching at her sides.

"Are you-?"

"I'm fine. Let's just get this over with."

Korra was a terrible liar but all Asami did was nod. They did need to move; with airships patrolling overhead it was too dangerous to stay out in the open. Korra led her around the edge of the building and shifted some empty crates away to reveal a door.

Well, it was less of a door and more the entrance to a supply lift. She was reminded of the dumbwaiters in the Sato mansion- though this elevator didn't seem designed to carry food into depressingly empty dining halls. No, the wooden base of the lift was wider than a dumbwaiter but still too small to be intended for people. Ball bearings laid into indentations up three of the four walls kept it stable while a series of pipes allowed airbenders to lift the platform through their own power.

Thankfully there was also a pulley system that hoisted them up with ease. Asami imagined the pipes were intended as a test on the airbender's part rather than an improvement on functionality. The nomads didn't feel the same pride in efficiency that was so prevalent in the Fire Nation after all.

Asami watched Korra wrap the pulley's rope around a set of hooks (it looped in a way that technically wasn't a knot but could have been if it was pulled tight), then looked out to the rest of the room. She choked. Councilman Tarrlok was the last person she expected to see here.

That being said the man was barely recognizable. He sat with his hands bound and his hair hung loose in front of his eyes. When he looked up it was slow, like his body was too heavy to move. Still, he gave a wryly smile as the two women stood stunned- "I don't suppose you're here to rescue me?"

They weren't, of course. Asami stayed quiet. She didn't trust herself to speak politely to the man who had tried to have her arrested. Korra shook her head and gave a brief summary of what had happened to the city and why they were here. When she finished Tarrlok laughed, shaking his head.

"It won't work. You can't beat him, Avatar."

Korra bristled. "And how would you know?"

"Because he's my brother."