Whew. Longest chapter yet! I really hope you all like it. Got writer's block so many times throughout this one! I'm loving all the kind, constructive reviews. Thanks so much! Keep it up, por favor. : )
Darkness. Darkness and pain. Oooh, her head hurt. Spirits, her whole body hurt. It felt like someone had run over her with a satomobile. No, scratch that. Tied her to the back of a satomobile and sped through the streets at ninety miles an hour, banging and smashing her against every building and pedestrian in their way.
Korra opened her eyes with a low groan. Her vision swam for several seconds, and she blinked a few times to adjust to the dim light. She was lying on a cot, no thicker than a few centimeters and filled with an uncomfortable substance, most likely hay. The only illumination came from a small metal grate in the ceiling. Faint sunlight slipped through the thick iron bars, slanting down to play across her face. The cell was only about twenty by twenty feet, and there was a small bucket in the corner, no doubt her toiletry facilities. Korra groaned, closing her eyes again.
How had this happened? How had she allowed her guard to slip down, allowed herself to trust a man she'd known all along was bad news. Korra pressed her hands against her eyes, little colored fireworks exploding against the backs of her lids, and growled at her stupidity. Her stupid, naïve, trusting self. Why did she always leave herself open for this kind of pain? And it was pain she felt. Very real, deep, smoldering pain, like someone had slipped a knife between her ribs and twisted. Her throat clenched. How could she have let this happen?
A scraping sound made her lurch upright, instantly cursing herself for doing so. The rapid movement brought a swirl of pain and dizziness to her head, and she clutched her temples, swearing under her breath. The single door at the opposite end of the cell squealed open, and a man stepped through, garbed head to toe in the Equalist costume.
"Ah, so you're up. About time." The man's goggles gleamed in the thin light, hiding his expression. Korra lowered her gaze to see he carried a tray of food. Water slopped over the edge of the glass, but he didn't seem to care as he set it roughly down at the foot of her cot.
"Amon seems to want to keep you alive. For now. So eat up. You don't get another meal till sundown."
He turned to go. But Korra's heart was racing. In one quick lunge, she leaped off the bed and closed the distance between them, fisting her hand in his collar and hoisting him off the ground. She could see his eyes widen through the green shield of his goggles. She slammed him against the wall, putting all her hate and fear and uncertainty into her gaze.
"Where am I?" she demanded, pressing up against his windpipe so that all he could do was squeak in protest. "Huh? Am I in Republic City? Did he take my bending? Answer me."
The Equalist gasped, clawing at her fist on his throat. "You're—at headquarters," he choked. "Under—the city."
Korra glared at him. Without releasing her hold, she drew back one of her hands, curling her fingers into a fist. Flames burst around her knuckles, and she let out a sigh of relief. The man stiffened, whimpering in fear. Korra let him slump back against the wall, still clutching his collar, but giving him enough room so he could breathe.
"So he didn't cleanse me," she muttered. "Why?"
"I—" the man rasped. "I don't know. Please… don't—kill me—"
Korra dropped him in shock. "I'm not going to kill you."
The man gasped for air, clutching his bruised throat, and staggered to his feet. "You're…" he wheezed. "Just like the monster they say you are. Amon was wrong to let you live."
Korra took a step toward him. "I'm not—"
But the Equalist was already scrambling for the exit, slamming the door behind him. Korra heard the key twist in the lock and cursed her impulsiveness. The man's frantic footsteps pounded away. Korra sighed. She raised her hand, palm up, against her chest, and watched the slow curl of flame as it glowed against her body. At least she still had her bending. Why hadn't Amon taken that away?
Figuring she might as well eat while she got the chance, Korra moved back over to her cot and sat. After the way she'd behaved, she might not receive another meal for a while. The food was sparse, just a crust of bread and cup of tepid water that tasted like metal. Korra grimaced but forced herself to swallow the last of the water, knowing she'd need to stay hydrated if she wanted any chance at escape. Shuddering, she wiped her mouth and moved back to lean against the wall. Her eyes ticked over the room.
The walls were bare metal. Nothing bendable. The floor was metal too, she noticed with a dry groan. Surely it had been designed that way on purpose, to trap benders so they'd be entirely helpless. Korra realized she shouldn't have drunk all the water in the little cup; she couldn't have used some of it as bending material. She groaned, running a hand through her messy hair. She just wasn't thinking straight at all anymore, was she?
She couldn't airbend. With her current options, she couldn't waterbend, or earthbend. She had fire. Korra glanced over at the door, a thoughtful frown furrowing her brow. There was no handle on her side, just a few bolts and panels. Moving over to it, she laid her hand flat against the cool surface. Metal was just another form of earth, after all. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. What had Beifong said, about feeling the earth? It's vibrations, its aura. Korra stretched out with her mind, straining to feel any kind of connection with the element. She tried to get a feel for how thick the door was, if it would be possible to melt through it with enough superheated firebending.
Slowly, she began to see a sort of mental picture. Smooth blue lines, almost like sonic waves, rippled over her, through her, from her hand down her arm up to her mind. Korra breathed in deeply, feeling the vibrations in the earth. She shivered, hearing the gentle thud of her own heartbeat, the change in rhythm of her own breathing resonate deep into the floor, through the door, into her hand and back through her mind. Slowly, she opened her eyes. Then, without a second's hesitation, she plunged a fire-filled fist into the cold metal.
The heat of the blaze cooked the front of her body, so hot she had to turn her face away. Sweat trickled down her brow. When she risked a glance back, the door had become a frightening red glow of hot metal. A thin silver dribble slipped down the front of the door, and Korra smiled in triumph. This wouldn't take long at all.
She had just about melted through the first layer of metal when she heard it. The soft hiss, almost imperceptible. Korra broke off her firebending in an instant. The cold thrill of danger prickled along her spine. She pivoted, searching the room. Her eyes landed on a small vent she hadn't noticed before, in the far corner of the room. The air shimmered around it. A sudden metallic snap above her made her look up. The grate that allowed air in from the outside had slid shut, the folds of metal turning inward on themselves, sealing her in. A strange, gaseous smell met her nostrils.
Oh. Oh no. They were gassing the room. They'd decided to terminate her already? Korra shrank back as far as she could from the vent, scrambling for some escape. The sick, bitter scent of gas clogged her lungs. Korra staggered back against the ball, burying her nose and mouth in the collar of her shirt. She stumbled toward the vent, dropping to her knees. Feebly, she attempted to block the noxious fumes from escaping, covering the vent with trembling palms. Her hands danced in front of her, jumping and blurring in a swimming sea of dizziness. The world tipped sideways, swirling with strange shapes and colors. Korra tried to scream. It stuck in her throat, pathetic and soundless. A tear slipped from, leaving a burning trail down her left cheek.
She was the Avatar. This seemed like such a pathetic way to die.
… …. …
She gradually became aware of the cold bite against her wrists. Korra groaned, tipping her head back against the metal wall. Her ached something abominable. Slowly, she pried her eyes open, blinking away the fading effects of the gas. She was in a different room. Bigger than her last cell. Mercifully, this one had been built with a window. She could make out the faint traces of blue sky through the bars. She forced herself to release a breath of tension, moving to stretch her aching muscles. Her arms met resistance on either side.
She looked down to see two thick iron cuffs tethering her wrists to the wall. The chains tinkled as she jerked against them. Anger boiled in her chest. How dare they? She was the Avatar, not some caged animal. She tried to slide her wrists out, wincing as the sharp metal cut into her skin, scraping against the bone. After a few minutes of pain, she dropped her arms in defeat. Clenching her eyes shut, Korra threw her head back and let loose a thundering yell of frustration. Then she slumped forward, her forehead on her knees. Her cry echoed around the room, and then went silent.
"Are you quite done, Avatar?"
Korra yelped at the voice, the chains rattling as she whirled to find the owner. Amon sat, not three feet away, his hands clasped comfortably over his lap. Korra felt her lips curl in a snarl, all her disgust for him showing on her face. She strained back from him, ignoring the bite of her chains.
"What are you doing here?"
"I'm aware that you assaulted one of my followers. Tsk, tsk. Hardly the kind of behavior befitting of an Avatar."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I guess I'm just recovering from getting stabbed in the back."
Amon sighed with a small lift of his shoulders. "I told you, our truce had dissolved the moment we set foot again on the mountaintop. I did nothing you wouldn't have done in my position."
"You're wrong," she spat. "I thought we were beginning to see eye to eye. I would never have turned on you like that. Not anyone."
Something flickered behind his golden eyes, but he quickly masked it as he got to his feet. Korra shrank back against the wall, her heart leaping in fear. But Amon only sighed and knelt before her, pulling a water flask from the depths of his robes. Korra suddenly realized how parched she was. She didn't resist as he reached forward, gripping her chin and tipping her head back. The cool water was a balm on her cracked lips, soothing her dry tongue. Korra downed several swallows before he pulled the flask back, recapping it and tucking it back into his robes.
"I apologize for the poor hospitality."
Korra glared at him. "Was gassing me really necessary?"
"I did not want to risk the welfare of any of my loyal followers. You rattled up Muriko quite a bit."
Korra winced. Softening her voice, she admitted. "I really didn't mean to do that."
"A broken collarbone, the healers said. You don't appear to know your own strength."
"Look, I'm sorry. Maybe if I got some information around here instead of behind locked up in these stupid chains, I'd be a little more agreeable."
"Will you promise to behave?"
Korra could hear the smile in his voice behind that wretched mask, and her scowl deepened. But she knew she wouldn't get anywhere unless she at least made an effort to cooperate. Gritting her teeth, she nodded.
Amon drew a set of keys from an inner robe pocket and grasped her arm, unlocking the cuff. Korra slid her wrist out of the chain, rubbing at the reddened skin where the metal had bit into her. She waited as he uncuffed her other hand. Once she was free, she sat back against the wall, resisting the urge to lunge at her captor's throat and throttle him until she was released. She kept her eyes on the ground, unwilling to look up and meet that cursed golden gaze.
The silence stretched. Korra had never been one for silence. In the White Lotus compound, silence was what she got when her teachers were displeased. Silence was the absence of fun, the absence of people she loved. Here in Republic City, silence was the prelude to something bad about to happen. Korra liked it even less, here in the presence of this dark, two-faced man. She shifted her weight, scooting back closer to the wall. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore.
"What do you want?" she demanded.
"To talk," came the simple reply.
"Well, I've got a word or two for you. You're a real jerk, you know that?"
"I can understand why you'd feel that way. Again, I apologize for my behavior in the cave. It was an act of exhaustion and absence of mind. It won't happen again."
Korra scoffed. "You think that's all I'm worried about? I don't care that you kissed me, Amon. I care that you locked me away in a cell, chained me to a wall and filled my room up with gas. I care that my family and friends are going to be worried sick right now. I care that Republic City is probably panicking with the news that their Avatar's gone missing."
"You seem to hold yourself in very high esteem."
Korra glared at him. "I'm the Avatar. The hope of benders and nonbenders alike. It doesn't matter if you've locked me miles underground, my friends will find me. They'll smash your whole headquarters to the ground, turn it inside out and burn it up so they can find me. You'll regret ever setting foot up on that mountain."
Amon leaned back, folding his arms across his chest with a soft chuckle. "Ah. Such confidence in your friends. How touching."
Korra glared at him with all the fierceness she could muster. Then her whole body stiffened when he reached forward, brushing the backs of his knuckles lightly against her cheek. She forced herself to remain still, as if he hadn't rattled her, and met his gaze in a defiant stare.
"I wonder," he murmured, letting his touch trail down the side of her face. Korra fought the shiver that started in her stomach. "If your friends will fight as fiercely for you when you've been equalized."
Korra's heart dropped like a stone. She forced her voice not to shake. "You won't take my bending."
"Mmm, more misplaced confidence. And why won't I?"
Korra struggled to hold that penetrating gaze. "Because you would have already. You told me before you were saving me for last. Did you mean that? Or are you going to go back on that, too?"
His caress was so light, it was as if she were being brushed by a feather. His fingertips traced the corner of her mouth, slipping along the edge of her lip, and stopped there. A tingling trail of fire burned in the wake of his touch.
"You are right about one thing," he whispered, his golden eyes lowering to rest on her mouth. "I need you, Avatar." Was it her imagination, or did the words ring with a deeper meaning? "I will not have you become a martyr for the bending cause, nor have your potential wasted on a public display of my power. No. You are more than a trophy. You are the key to my revolution. I can't afford to lose you."
With a soft intake of breath, as if he'd forgotten himself, he took his hand away. Without another word, he stood, clasping his hands behind his back in his customary manner, and turned to the door. Before his hand reached the knob, he stopped, the muscles in his back tensed. Korra kept her eyes fixed on him, her heart pounding as she tried to predict his next move.
"I am truly sorry, Korra," he whispered, his voice softer than she'd ever heard it before. The sound of her name on his lips brought the fire rushing back through her blood. Korra dropped her eyes to the ground.
"So am I," she whispered. For a still moment, neither of them moved. Then he opened the door, stepped through, and locked it behind him. Korra listened to the sound of his footsteps fading away, and closed her eyes, dipping her head to her chest. Something raw and foreign burned in the back of her throat.
So am I.
…. …. ….
All right. Phew. That was fun. Please, please review and tell me what you think. I revel in all your comments! They're like my bread and butter. : ) I'll post the next chapter soon. For now, enjoy.
*sinks into an exhausted nap*