Sultan Asil Arslan-Hiatus: Huh… I kinda liked this Tarrlok. But now I hate Hiroshi. Wonder how long until we get to punch his face in?
Re: You'll have to get in line. Asami has first dibs.
LoamyCoffee: A double update!
Bedhead can be horrendous. Toph knows.
Ah yes, with Hiroshi's resources he could make such aircraft.
Loving how you're implementing actual war tactics, like the transmissions being possibly intercepted.
Gommu keeps dodging stuff. It's going to rather interesting to see his secrets.
Do you feel that, Mako? That's the karma of Canon~ Very nice~
I did think it odd he used make up in canon, I mean it'd make sense to do as his father did and get surgery or actually get burned.
Love how Tarrlok's remorseful and how you actually chained him up for the reasons you give in the AN.
Re: Whether he knew it or not, Zhu was Tarrlok's rival, both before and after their Bloodbending was exposed. Thanks to that dynamic, which I've been building up through the near-entirety of Book 1, it was actually quite easy to have Tarrlok get a type of Redemption Arc. One I hope that readers will continue to enjoy.
Cchang3: It's nice to add the detail of Zhu bringing in some resources to get real ingredients for food underground, at least Asami can eat well this time around.
Appreciate that you didn't rehash the whole battle in Yue Bay if Zhu is not making ripples in the water over there.
Foresight seems to be Zhu's best tool as this story approaches Endgame, it's a very good safety net when things could go wrong anytime.
Anyways, good work.
Re: Funny story; them buying actual groceries was actually inspired by the remake of Red Dawn, though from a grocery store instead of a Subway sandwich shop, and instead of a not-smash-and-grab, they just bought the groceries while disguised as the North Koreans-I-mean Equalists.
And yes, Zhu couldn't have done anything tangible to change the outcome, so I abridged the naval-to-air battle. Like I said, it bugs the hell out of me when writers re-hash a scene verbatim just to up the word count.
Blaze1992: I wonder in light of all the new weapons the Equalist have made, will Zhu push for them to be products of republic city and upgrade the military/police with them.
Re: To be fair, that'll be more of Asami's job, what with the Biplanes and Mecha Tanks being a Future Industries' product line, while Zhu has to weather the media shit-storm following the reveal of his "controversial" Bending form.
*AIR*
Making their way to the cove from where they arrived, Air Temple Island now-completely unoccupied by Equalist forces, a somber air surrounded the three Benders. Eyes turning toward the muted golden shell of the Pro Bending Arena in the distance, bright red Equalist banners fluttering in the winter wind, it was Korra who broke the silence.
"What should I do?" Korra asked worriedly to no-one in particular.
"Isn't it obvious?" Mako asked. "We sneak into that rally, and take down Amon for good."
"Yes, I know that! The question is how!" Korra snapped back. "It's like Zhu and Tarrlok said; if we try to oust Amon as a Bloodbender flat-out, it could horribly backfire on us… Zhu!" she said turning her whole attention on him. "I need… I need you to tell me what to do! I… I don't know what… to do…" she said in a half-sob, her voice trailing off as she once again confronted the fact that she was a 'failure' of an Avatar, imagining that Aang would've had the answer, or just never let things get to this point.
" . . . Korra," Zhu said after a moment. "This is a turning point. Not just for your life, but for the history of the whole world," he said taking hold of her shoulders, giving her a light shake. "What you do here and now will set the precedent for future generations. Sozin's opening volley created a war that lasted a hundred years; what Amon has done, it's preyed on decades and then centuries'-more of anti-Bender sentiment before it. Amon might've called 'The Avatar' out on their failings, but it's up to you to return fire. This isn't something I can solve for you, because if I did, you'd always be left wondering…" he trailed off, looking at her expectantly.
" . . . What if I'd gone with my gut? Could things have been different if it were my choice?" Korra replied, Zhu nodding his head with a- "That's right." -causing a smile coming to Korra's face.
"Korra… Fate rarely calls upon us at a time of our choosing, but what separates the 'legends', from the 'lost', is how or even if we step up to the dividing line."
" . . . So I have until we get to the Rally to come up with a game plan? That's a ton of pressure."
"Whatever you do, I'll back your play."
"And what if I screw up? Like… reaaaaally screw up?"
"Then I do as the butler does, and tidy up~"
"You know, you've been getting pretty chummy with Asami lately. Things don't work out for you here, maybe next time I see you it'll be in a three-piece suit and a silver tray in your hand~"
Though Korra had meant this quip in jest, as a way of lifting everyone's spirits, Mako didn't take to it quite that kindly.
*AIR*
Returning momentarily to the coastal entrance to the sewer system at Zhu's insistence, Gommu was there to greet them, a somber expression on his normally-jovial face as he held out a package, which Zhu took.
"How are the others?"
"I just received word. By now, they've made it to the edge of Republic City, and are ascending the Hahn Mountains as we speak," Gommu returned. "What of your fact-finding mission?"
"It was…" Korra spoke up somberly. "Halfway between a wash and a rousing success."
"I see… Do you have a plan going forward?"
"We're going to launch a tactical strike on this 'Rally' the Equalists seem to be having a hard-on for," Mako answered. "Have your eyes and ears on the streets found anything out?"
"No. They've been keeping the exacting details of this 'Rally' a closely-guarded secret. With how-sudden it is, they likely want to head off some of the more… unsavory rumors that have been floating about as of late."
"Then that just means it's the perfect time to strike," Korra nodded. "The best time to end things… maybe for good…"
" . . . A word of advice, if I may," Gommu hummed after a moment. "No plan survives first contact with the enemy. Whatever you've got cooking up upstairs… be ready to throw it away at a moment's notice."
"Are we ever going to get an answer out of you about what you did before becoming a hobo?" Mako questioned.
"Live to the end of the day, and I might tell you over drinks~" the man chuckled taking back some of his former exuberance. "Now go on. The sooner you get in position, the sooner you can scout things out on your end."
"Right," Korra nodded. "Gommu… Thank you. For everything."
"Think nothing of it. At the end of the day, all we really are, is 'Human', and if we don't stick together now, when can we?"
Korra, nodding at that, turned on her heel and made for the water, Zhu and Mako huddling closer together to ease Korra's workload as she bent a bubble of breathable air around them.
*AIR*
"Well, that was definitely… something…" Lee said as he, Aki, Bumi, and the rest of the second squad watched Iroh, Bolin, and Asami get dragged away by the Equalists after a passing patrol had spotted them.
"What happened?" Aki blinked, trying to make sense of it all.
"Must've been some kind of… 'invisible fence'…" Bumi hummed eyeing the metallic spires and their innocuous-looking studs warily. "Naga and Pabu knew what was up even before we did."
"No wonder they were so antsy… It was like walking in front of a Lightningbender…" Lee said wringing his hands.
"Say what you will about Hiroshi, but the man's a genius ahead of his time," Aki huffed. "If Lord Sokka were still alive, they'd have gotten along quite admirably."
"I shudder to imagine what the two of them together would've concocted if they weren't on our side," Bumi stated. "That 'invisible fence'… Unless you knew exactly what it was, you'd walk right into it thinking they were only boundary-markers."
"But now we do know exactly what it is…" Lee nodded. "I say we wait a few more minutes, let the 'A-Team' occupy their attention, and then we move in behind them."
"What about the fence?" Bumi asked.
"The thing about live electricity… you always need a land line, or at the very least, a very big capacitor," Lee stated. "All we have to do is knock them over, see if our animal guides think it's safe to move on, and then…"
*AIR*
After Korra, Mako, and Zhu had successfully snuck into the Pro Bending Arena, the three of them had split up. A single and a double going in opposite directions drew less attention than "a crowd" going in one; or at least that was Zhu's justification for going off on his own. Perimeter patrol, surprisingly, was quite light, allowing Korra and Mako to scope the rally out as non-Benders poured in from across Republic City.
Like the Pro Bending Championships, it was a packed house. Not only that, but in place of the ruined arena, a new ground floor had been added over the water hazard, opening up a great deal of open space for the crowd, with a large stage erected underneath the locker room the Fire Ferrets had last used. Whether that was coincidence or an intentional barb on Amon's part, Korra didn't know. The fact that there were Mecha Tanks outside and Airships overhead certainly implied that Amon didn't want to be interrupted, and with the Metalbending Police and White Lotus either captured or scattered, it made sense why there weren't more opposition surrounding them.
"You seen Amon, yet?" Korra asked, playing the part of an Equalist scanning the crowds for rabble-rousers.
"Not yet. Zhu's completely ghosted also," Mako replied. "Who do you think he's disguised as this time?"
"My money's on the Red Spirit. I've heard his name come up with a lot over the past hour," the Avatar replied.
Pro-Equalist or otherwise, the masses were still prone to gossip, and stories about the Red Spirit had ranged from wild speculations of their gender, the Red Spirit being ten feet tall with spindly limbs, having the ability to travel through shadows, and even the power to duplicate at will. The Bloodbender's efforts hadn't seeded enough doubt to cause an outright schism, but if they'd had more time, then maybe…
As it stood however, they couldn't really afford to sit and wait any longer. The longer they did, the more-likely it was that the fleet's location would get back to Amon by word-of-mouth.
The chattering of the crowds intensifying, Mako and Korra's eyes turned to the stage where a platform was rising up, Amon himself coming into the limelight, arms crossed behind his back before he stepped forward and took hold of the mic.
"Equalists! Fellow man! Thank you all for joining me on this historic occasion!" he greeted into the microphone, cheers going out through the crowd. "When I was a boy, a Firebender struck down my entire family and left me scarred…"
"Geez, this guy likes to hear himself talk," Mako whispered.
Korra for her part simply gripped the handrails. In another time and place, she'd have blown her cover right there and then, accusing Amon of being Noatak and a Bloodbender flat-out and subsequently destroyed her own credibility because of a little makeup. Here and now, however, she let Amon make his grandiose speech, which seemed to go on forever. It utterly disgusted her, watching everyone eat those lies from out of his hands like Koala-Sheep, but thinking back on all the injustices done to non-Benders, the Dragon Flats Borough coming to the forefront of her mind, a part of her could understand why they so-desperately clung to his words; even the words of a convincing-enough charlatan.
"And now, onto the main event!" Amon said finally ending his self-aggrandizing narrative.
Part of the platform at his back rising up, to Korra's horror, chained with their arms above their heads to metal posts were Tenzin, Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo, the four of them gagged.
"No… No, they got away. We saw them get away…!" Korra gasped, her words unheard as the audience cheered at what was to come.
"Today, we rid the world of Airbending, FOREVER!" Amon proclaimed, arms raised up to the crowd.
To his confusion however, the cheering was soon smothered by hushed murmurs, the attention of all in attendance turning away from him.
Korra and Mako's eyes following Amon's line of sight, on the opposite side of the arena, standing on the guardrail with arms crossed and coat flapping in an unseen breeze, was the Red Spirit in all his crimson-clad glory, long crimson hair wavering through the air like a corpse in the waves.
Another shocked gasp leaving the crowd as the Red Spirit fell forward off the rail and toward the floor below, a fresh wave of awe and terrified gasps spilled across the arena as the Red Spirit flew. Equalist supporters on the new ground floor scattering in his wake, the Red Spirit, cloak and hair flapping like a wraith's, devoured the distance separating him from the captured Airbenders.
"You…!" Amon gasped as the Red Spirit alighted before him, coat flapping and hair fluttering as he gracefully landed.
"Tenzin, child of the previous Avatar," the Red Spirit spoke, his words catching the microphone and spreading to the whole of the arena. "The Spirits will be washing our hands of this farce, and the atrocities committed in our name. In light of our departure from this imaginary war, thank our chosen apostle for the… 'loaner', as you Humans say, in our stead."
The Red Spirit slowly undoing the clasps holding his mask in place, those in the front-most rows of the stands above flooded to the guardrail to see. As the wooden dragon mask fell from gloved hands, shocked gasps filled the arena anew as the face of Zhu, the newest of the Grand Lotus' number and close confidant of Avatar Korra, revealed itself. To Amon's own shock however, the Water Tribesman's eyes were twin rings of oceanic blue atop a sea of red, with tribal markings the color of blood spilling around his eyes. A pained hiss suddenly leaving the Grand Lotus' lips as he recoiled, streams of red shot out of his eyes, the tribal markings on his face flaking away into the wind. The last of the red leaving his eyes, Zhu stomped a foot forward to stop himself from falling.
"What… What's going on…? Where am I…?" he asked like someone waking from a dream. "What… What the hell am I wearing?!" he cried tugging at his attire, those in the stands gasping at the revelation. The revelation that Zhu, one of Avatar Korra's closest confidants, was not only the 'chosen apostle' of the Spirits whom had been used to exert their own will in the mortal world, but that the Spirits were allegedly 'washing their hands' of the atrocities spoken of only-in-rumor. That the war between Benders and Equalists was in of itself, some kind of farce.
"Whoa…" Mako gasped, pressed to the guardrail by Equalist supporters scrambling to see what was going on.
"Yeah… This has way more oomph than just calling him a Bloodbender in front of Raava and everyone…" Korra admitted.
With everyone's attention focused on Amon and the Red Spirit's "former host body", who at the moment was wavering on his feet and rubbing at his eyes, Mako and Korra were able to slip into the stairwell unnoticed.
"Amon, what's going on?" the Lieutenant questioned as Zhu looked at his crimson-colored hair in shock, and then down to the mask he'd once been wearing.
"MMMMMH!" Jinora cried out from her gag, Zhu's eyes snapping open as he turned to her.
"Jinora!" he called out, shouldering past Amon and running towards her.
Equalist rank-and-fille interposing themselves between him and the Airbenders, Zhu raised up curled fingers, and to everyone's shock, the Equalists bodily rose from the ground. Bodies locked in a rictus before a swipe of his arm sent them flailing sidelong off the stage, Zhu looked down at his hand in shock before turning to Amon, projecting his voice just-loud-enough for the mic to catch.
"So… They were right… I do have the same power as you. The power… of a Bloodbender… That's how you've been taking away people's Bending, isn't it…?" he spoke feigning shock and horror at the revelation, Amon's own eyes widening at this alleged apostle of the Spirits, whom he himself proclaimed his sponsor, ousted his greatest secret for all Republic City to hear.
"What… What is he talking about…?" the Lieutenant asked, the crowd turning eyes on Amon.
"And… And if that's the case…"
Snapping up his hands to Amon, the Equalist leader's back arching as he left the ground, Korra and Mako ran up to the stage from behind, working to free the four Airbender prisoners with Firebending.
"It seems like you have a choice to make, Noatak, brother of Councilman Tarrlok…!" he proclaimed loudly, playing up the crowd. "You can either die with the lie… or break free of my Bloodbending hold with your own…! Damned if you do… damned if you don't…!"
"Holy shit, I can't believe this is actually working…!" Mako gawped as Equalists and their supporters started arguing amongst themselves, some of them even coming to blows.
"Yeah, well, let's hope the others are doing their job at the airfield," Korra said with her own Fire Knife.
*AIR*
Elsewhile…
"Asami. I know I have hurt you… and I am sorry. But I believe that one day, you will come to your senses and we can be a family again," Hiroshi said pleadingly to his daughter from the other side of the cell bars.
"Are you insane?! How can we be a family after everything you've done?! Mom would hate you for what you've become…!"
"How dare you?! I am avenging her death!" Hiroshi roared through the bars, knuckles bone white.
"Firebending didn't kill my mom! People killed my mom!" Asami shot back, her words making Hiroshi recoil as though struck. "You don't blame Satomobiles for vehicular manslaughter, you blame the driver! Firebending…! Any Bending, is just a tool to be used! A convenient tool, but a tool nonetheless!"
" . . . I see you've been sufficiently brainwashed by the… company, you keep," Hiroshi sneered as he looked at Bolin and Iroh. "No matter. Once Amon's glorious revolution is complete, there will be more than enough time to break you of your… delusions."
"The airplanes are ready to take off, sir," an Equalist Pilot said coming up to him.
"Excellent. Ready the planes to annihilate the fleet," he ordered, Iroh and Bolin gasping in shock. "That's right, general. I intercepted your little message to commander Bumi. It might've gotten interrupted by someone with too much sense for their own good," he said bitterly, "but the Equalists have eyes outside of Republic City as well. It wasn't hard to find an entire fleet moored at Whale Tail Island."
*THRUMBLLLLLLLL…!*
"What in the world?!"
"Sir! We've got White Lotus attacking the runways!"
"WHAT?! How did they break through our defenses!?" Hiroshi growled, Bolin and Iroh's eyes turning to see stones flying across the runway, relieved to see that it wasn't the wrong move to divide their forces after all. "Damn it all…! Deploy the biplanes, immediately!"
The head of Future Industries storming off, the three prisoners struggled against their bonds anew.
"How are we going to get out of here?" Asami asked.
"I don't suppose you know how to Metalbend?" Iroh asked hopefully.
"That is a negative, Sir," Bolin replied before a chunk of ice half the size of a Satomobile took out part of the wall behind them before melting, giving way to- "Pabu!" the Earhtbender cried in delight as his Fire Ferret scampered through the hole. "But wait, where's-"
*GROAAAAAR!*
"Naga!" Asami cheered as she galloped around the corner, Lee astride her shoulders and shooting fireballs every which way, came to their rescue, the Polarbear-Dog making short work of the prison bars with her phenomenal strength.
"I'm going after those airplanes. You help Bumi with the rest of the runways!" Iroh said as he finally broke free and leapt onto Naga's back, Korra's animal guide grabbing Bolin by the back of his pants and carrying him away as well, leaving Asami to look up speculatively at an open cockpit for one of the Mecha Tanks.
"Huh, what do you know… Just like a Future Industries forklift~"
*AIR*
Elsewhile, back at the Pro Bending Arena…
"Tenzin, where are Pema and the baby?" Korra asked frantically as Zhu held Amon up and at bay.
"In prison."
"Beifong?"
"I don't know…"
Though some of the Equalists were now hesitating in light of Zhu's revelation, enough of them were loyal-enough to Amon, regardless of the alleged truth, to rush at Zhu, bolas at the ready.
"You leave my friend alone!" Jinora cried as she leapt up, launching an air blast with a flying kick the moment she was freed.
"Jinora! Is this why I've been blacking out?" Zhu asked inclining his head at his mask, once again projecting into the mic.
"It makes sense, I guess. How are you feeling?" she asked, catching on to their play after realizing he wouldn't have called Amon 'Noatak' and 'Tarrlok's brother' without good reason.
"Like a worn-out coat…"
"So it's all true, then? Amon really is a Bloodbender?" Tenzin asked covering for Mako and Korra as they freed his remaining children.
"We heard it from the Ostrich-Horse's mouth," Korra answered. "Zhu just helped with the delivery."
"The only way it could be more damning is if Noatak only wore makeup, instead of intentionally mutilating himself," Mako added with a smirk.
"IT'S A LIE! IT HAS TO BE!" someone from the crowd on the new ground floor shouted. "IT'S A CONSPIRACY I TELL YOU! A CONSPIRACYYYY!"
"Ohhhh crap…!" Mako bit out as the sentiment started to take root.
"Get the White Lotus! He can't Bloodbend all of us!" another shouted in a rallying cry.
"Shiiiiit…!" Zhu bit out as he tossed Amon to the opposite side of the stage before forcing back the living wave rushing up at him. "Go! Get Pema out of here! I'll be right behind you!"
"Prison breaaaak!" Meelo cried out.
"Get back, you duped suckers!" Mako shouted lobbing fireballs into the crowd approaching.
"So what now?" Korra asked following suit.
"Amon's credibility is shot! Mission accomplished, now we run like hell! Go!" Zhu said forcing Mako and Korra down the hallway Tenzin and the kids had just vacated with a forceful push. " . . . Where the hell is Amon?!"
*FWOOSH*RUSH*FWOOOOM!*
"Jinora?!"
"Korra and dad can handle themselves! But you're going to need all the help you can get!" Jinora shouted, hair whipping as she blasted rioters back with gale-force winds. "Come on! Let's push our way through!"
"Heh… You'll make one hell of an Airbending Master someday~" Zhu grinned, drawing as much of the heat off of Korra as he could.
*AIR*
Elsewhile…
With Iroh leaping up onto a Biplane from Naga's back, Bolin and Bumi were quick to wreck as many runways as they could. The remaining Equalist Biplanes forced into a bottleneck, as Lee and Aki shot the scrambling aircraft with lightning and icicles, Asami had a fateful duel with her progenitor.
"Asami, what do you think you're doing? You are aiding the very people who took your mother away!"
"It was the Agni Kais who took mother away, and they've been rotting in prison for years!" Asami shouted from her own Mecha Tank, a ruined Biplane at her back. "You don't feel love for mom anymore. You're too full of hatred."
"You ungrateful… insolent… CHILD!"
Hiroshi advancing on Asami, though the Sato heiress was an ace pilot and driver, her youth was no match for the wisdom and experience of the man who had designed the Mecha Tank from scratch. Right as it looked like the emotionally distraught Hiroshi was about to do in his own daughter-
*CRASH!*
*SMASH!*
*BASH!*
"Mr. Sato, you are a horrible father!" Bolin shouted from atop Naga's back launching disc-shaped slabs of concrete.
Asami getting her tank back to its treads, was able to capitalize on the distraction and send Hiroshi's Mecha Tank sailing with an over-the-shoulder throw. The head of Future Industries put up a valiant effort, but it was all for naught as the allies Asami had made took pot shots at the Mecha Tank, taking it apart piecemeal. And though the man was able to break through the line with a smoke bomb, it was on Asami's hands to deal the finishing blow before he could escape.
"You really are a horrible father."
The tear from Asami's eye, and her father's body after it was struck by the electrical bola, hit the floor at the same time.
*AIR*
Elsewhile…
"Did you see where Tenzin went?" Mako asked, the fleet-footed Airbenders leaving them well behind in pursuit of Pema.
"No, which means he didn't either!" Korra said looking over her shoulder to the dot of white through the darkness, the masked form of Amon stalking toward them, fury and anger rolling off of him like waves as the sounds of lines drawn in sand washed over them from the arena proper.
To their credit, Mako and Korra made Amon work for his prey, Mako's first-hand knowledge of the Pro Bending arena giving them a competitive edge as they scrambled for a place to hide. However, all their efforts proved futile, their own blood surging through their veins like rapids betraying them from their hiding places.
Though the elder of the Bending Brothers tried his very best, there was nothing capable of stopping a newly-determined Amon from getting his hands on Korra.
"I told you I would destroy you," he rumbled ominously over her, poised to take her Bending away.
"Yeah… well… Zhu got to you first!" Korra smirked.
"Maybe… But he won't get to you. Not this time," he said bringing his free hand down on her Light Chakra.
"Korra, nooo!" Mako shouted as the Avatar's body slumped to the floor.
"Finally… You are powerless."
"Amon!" the Lieutenant said from the doorway, Amon scowling from behind his mask. "Everything that Zhu said was true. I just saw you Bloobend her…! Bloodbend them both!" he growled, ripping his mask free before stomping the eye lenses under his heel. "You traitor! I dedicated my life to you!"
The Lieutenant taking out his kali sticks and lunging forward, it was barely an effort on the Master Bloodbender's part to catch the man mid-leap.
"You served me well, Lieutenant."
Casting the once-loyal follower into a pile of timbers which fell down atop him, Amon sauntered over Korra's insensate body and toward Mako. Despite the Bloodbending hold however, Mako was able to blast Amon at point-blank with his lightning, the Equalist leader's insulated suit the only thing saving him from the blast that lifted him off his feet. The masked man landing atop another pile of timbers, the fireballs that peppered the area around him gave Mako the time he needed to get Korra out of the storage room.
*AIR*
"Korra…"
"Zhu, did something happen?" Jinora asked as the two fought their way out of the foyer and into daylight.
"I… I felt… a disturbance… A voice crying out in terror, but was suddenly silenced…" Zhu shuddered, an Equalist Biplane sailing into the giant mask atop Avatar Aang's own in the background.
"Dad and Mako are with her! I'm sure she'll be fine!" Jinora said lashing out with Airbending blasts, rattling the Mecha Tanks flanking the entrance.
" . . . You're right. For now, we need to worry about getting us out of here!" Zhu said, his hair standing up as he threw out his hand, a forceful push sending more of Amon's dedicated tumbling across the ground.
The two fighting their way towards the railing of the pier so they'd have their backs toward the water, right as one of the Mecha Tanks righted itself, a window at the corner of the arena was blown out. A leather-clad body sent sailing away in an impressive arc before landing in the bay, a porcelain mask and bubbles bobbed to the surface a moment later.
Everyone's attention momentarily diverted the moment someone pointed this out, Zhu and Jinora caught their breaths in time to see Korra and Mako walking up to the window.
"You bending tyrant!"
"Evil Avatar!"
"Amon was right about you!"
The crowd slowly turning on Korra, intent on flooding back into the shrine to Bending, suddenly, a whirling pillar of water erupted from Yue Bay, an un-scarred man with passing resemblance to Tarrlok riding the column.
"He's Waterbending!"
"He is a bender!"
"Whaaaaa?!"
"The scar is fake!"
"The White Lotus was telling the truth!"
Amon, now-exposed and scowling at Korra, swiftly dove into the bay to escape the baying crowds. Mako lobbing fireballs at the man's shadow as he Waterbent himself away like a torpedo, despite the Bending Brother's best efforts, they were all for naught as the man vanished toward…
*AIR*
"Noatak," Tarrlok greeted tiredly as his brother returned, mask nowhere to be see.
"It's over, brother. I'm sorry for what I had to do to you."
" . . . Our father set us on this path; fate caused us to collide. I should have left with you when we were boys."
"Leave with me now. We have a second chance; we can start over, together," Noatak pleaded. "Please… You're all I have left in the-"
" . . . Noatak?"
"It was you. You told him!" the unmasked man howled, betrayed as the final piece fell into place.
"I did. And if given the chance, I'd have done it again."
" . . . !"
*AIR*
"The two of us… together again…" Noatak giggled manically, sanity fraying. "There's nothing we can't do…!"
"Noatak… Stop this madness…!" Tarrlok bit out, his brother holding him above the ground in his Bloodbending hold, unironically as he himself had once done to the Avatar, as Noatak stalked toward the speedboat docked on the edge of Air Temple Island.
"Mad…? No, I'm not mad… It's everyone else that's mad… I'm the only one that's sane…!"
Tarrlok, realizing that his brother had become utterly broken, felt true, genuine fear for his life as Republic City grew more distant.
A splash of water and a bay-soaked form clawing its way up beside the boat, Tarrlok let a relieved sigh pass his lips as Zhu, veins pulsing and skin reddened, pulled himself up onto the dock. Red hair forming a curtain on his face and making him look like a foul Spirit, as Zhu downed the tranquilizer to counteract the Chi-Enhancing Tea he'd downed to catch up to Noatak, the former Equalist leader felt a look of absolute hate come to his features.
"You… Always… you…!"
"Yeah… Me."
"Even if you capture me, it won't change anything," Noatak said casting his brother aside. "I took Korra's Bending. I destroyed the Avatar! JUST AS I PROMISED!" he crowed causing Zhu's eyes to go wide. "What do you have to say to that?!"
Zhu, hair rising on end, taking an infuriated step forward, Noatak was swift to bring both clawed hands forward in a strangling motion, pinning Zhu in place. Sweat beading his brow as the attempted to break the White Lotus, with a single defiant look, Zhu powered through the man's Bloodbending hold, striding towards him imperiously before throwing a body shot into the space between them. Noatak gasping as an invisible blow struck his abdomen, before he could right himself, Zhu raised the man up with a single hand, limbs splayed spread Raven Eagle.
"It's over, Noatak, Amon, whatever. I don't know how you used Bloodbending to take away Korra's power… but by the look of things, you missed a spot~" he taunted, a vein throbbing on his captive's temple. "Now, you're going to tell me how to undo it, or-"
"You'll what…? Kill me…?" Noatak taunted.
"No… I won't kill you. But you'll certainly wish for death…!" as streaks of red flitted through the oceanic rings of his eyes.
Noatak, looking sidelong to see a Sky Bison flying toward them, Airbender tattoos prominent even at this distance, and then to his brother who made no move to help him, Amon realized he had very truly lost…
"I might have lost this war… but I won't let you win either~"
Brows furrowing as he gathered Chi for a single powerful feat of Psychic Bloodbending, Zhu readied himself for the next volley, but instead of his blood being Bent, Noatak turned his own blood into a weapon. Korra and Tenzin swooping in, were just in time to bear witness to the Equalist leader's body exploding from within, massive ice crystals erupting through his flesh as though a thornbush had suddenly ripped itself free.
Korra and Tenzin's eyes going impossibly wide at the sight, Pema shielded her childrens' eyes as the mutilated body fell to the dock with a sickening *Splat*
*AIR*
AN:
It always bugged me how much Korra had been banking on being able to expose Amon/Noatak as a fraud, and even though he was wearing makeup in the end, that no-one even stopped to think he might've taken some precaution for his mask being knock off… well… I mean, Korra was way too happy to find out that Amon was a Bloodbender, given it would be her word against his.
Obviously with Zhu around and him being willing to use his Bloodbending as a weapon, I had to change some of how the Rally went. If Zhu had joined Korra and Mako back in the storage area, the fighting would've gone much differently, but because Amon inspired a "cult of personality", it was actually quite easy for me to write Zhu being "pulled away" from Korra so he could take away her Bending abilities, as a near-literal monsoon of meat-shields threw themselves at him.
Something I learned while writing my Teen Titans story (both through practice given, and constructive criticism received) is that if you make your heroes stronger, the villains need to rise to the challenge as well, otherwise, the story stops being interesting.
I mean, sure, Zhu could've stopped Amon from taking Korra's Bending, but then she wouldn't have gotten the "push" she needed to "learn" Airbending.
That, and, I have a way cool plan in mind for the next Book to get around this very issue that the anime/cartoon… didn't handle with the most grace it could've…
But until next time, see you later on Giant-Slayer!