Hello, my lovely readers! Thank you so much for still reading. I hope you all still have patience with me even after this sudden break. I have had a lot to attend to the past week. I apologize for not warning you in time! ^^;

As promised, a bit of action. Please enjoy! :3

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Chapter 8: Precautions

Tomorrow. The word echoed in her mind as she sat with her back up against the wall, her eyes closed and a heavy feeling in her chest. Tomorrow was the day of the usual weekly ceremony. Tomorrow was the day her friends would be robbed of their bending. Their lives would be ruined. It would be the end of the Fire Ferrets, the end of sparring with each other, and maybe even the end of their friendship. After all, it was her fault that they had been captured. Had she never befriended Mako and Bolin, Amon would probably not have targeted them already. Without her, they were just some ordinary benders in the street. But with her by their sides, they were an undeniable threat to Amon and his quest for power and domination.

It also bothered her that she knew nothing about Amon's plans with her. Why was he saving her for last? And when was 'last'? Was it tomorrow? A week from now? A month? She hated not knowing.

A grim expression took over her face. If it was tomorrow, would her imprisonment end directly after the ceremony? Or would Amon keep her to toy with her, to break her down for his own entertainment and pleasure? He was sick. It would not surprise her if he chose to keep her even after she had lost her bending. Honestly, she did not even care anymore. Without her bending and her friends she was nothing. The meaning with her life would disappear along with her bending. It would take years for her to regain the will to live, and by then she had probably already been discarded, thrown out. A prey that neither ran nor winced in fear was not fun chasing or torturing.

Where were her spirit guides when she needed them? Tenzin had told her that she needed to meditate in order to strengthen her contact with the spirit world. She had spent days meditating. No contact, not even a faint whisper from her predecessors. Nothing. Why were they not helping her? Even Aang, said to be one of the strongest Avatars through history, had not even given her a sign of support. The only thing that made her still believe she was a bender was Amon and his words. But he could not be trusted. What if her bending had already been stolen?

No, it made no sense. She was still a bender. She saw no logic in Amon tricking her about this. And the daily chi-blocking process could impossibly be fake.

But unless the Avatar spirits helped her out, she would lose her abilities eventually.

A knock on the door interrupted Korra in her trail of thoughts. She knew what was happening, and she kept silent as the guard entered her cell with a tray in his hands. She praised herself lucky that she had dressed herself earlier in the morning. No matter how little dignity she had left, it was worth protecting.

The tray with her breakfast was placed on the far end of her bed. Without any words, the guard left the cell and locked the door. A faint chatter from the two men passing outside in the hallway, then silence again.

Korra threw a glance at her breakfast. A piece of bread, a small bowl of plain rice, an apple, and a cup of tea. The tea was what she savoured the most. Feeling the warmth of the cup between her hands, and the warmth in her body as she drank, was amazing.

She was not really hungry, she realized as she started to eat the rice. Her thoughts had made her feel uncomfortable. So she drank the tea and ate the rice slowly. The apple was hidden beneath her blankets for later, or in case Amon decided to have her starved again. She did not trust him. If it pleased him to see the Avatar starve, who was there to talk him out of it again? She was fairly certain that allowing her to finally receive food was not his idea in the first place, and whoever had convinced him to feed her was not among his favourite employees at the moment.

The guard from before soon returned to pick up the tray. Like the day before, the piece of fruit was missing, no remnants of it whatsoever. It seemed that the girl was collecting them. He should probably point out to her that such weird behaviour was not preferred, he realized, but something inside of him did not really care. He was merely bringing her food, not educating her. Domesticating the beast was Amon's job entirely.

Just as the guard was about to leave, an idea hit Korra. Since the guards seemingly did not care that she hid the apples she was served, she would use them for something creative. They provided a wonderful snack in between meals, but they could also be used as weapons, especially when thrown hard enough. With her strength and precision, one apple to the face or the back of the head would knock a grown-up out in an instant. She had two small, firm apples under her blankets. At midday she would receive her third. One for the guard that served her, one for the guard sitting just outside her cell, and one for whoever dared to chase her. Although a bit too creative, an escape plan was an escape plan. She would just have to wait about five hours until the next meal was served. It was perfect.

The guard never saw Korra's sudden sly smile as he left, the door locked behind him.

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"Hey, Asami," whispered Bolin and caught the girl's attention. She had barely been sleeping. She sat up and looked at the Earth bender with a groggy expression. Behind her, Mako shifted in his cell, sitting up.

"Listen," Bolin continued and nodded toward the door opening leading out to the hallways. "Something is going on out there."

Asami listened for a while but could not really catch whatever Bolin was hearing, until a sudden growl echoed through the hallway. Then the sound of fighting. And bending.

"What is happening?" Mako asked and managed to get upon feet. Bolin shrugged, his eyes and ears occupied by the activity out in the hallways. Equalists were running back and forth, people yelling, things breaking, walls crumbling.

"Maybe a police raid," Asami spoke, not sure if she should start hoping to be rescued or not. If they were the police, and they were sent out by Tarrlok, freedom seemed far away already. Tarrlok would do anything to have the Avatar and her friends locked away. Although he did not actually have the Avatar, neutralizing her friends would still strengthen his position.

More Equalists ran toward the intruders, their electrified weapons ready to strike and defend. The three captives witnessed as several Equalists were knocked back, some of them sent flying against the walls with throated groans.

Then a face came into view through the door frame. Smiles erupted on their faces. The woman looked their way, her sharp cheekbones and her facial scars showing on her face.

"Tenzin!" she called. "They are here." With a few movements, she tore the doors of the cells off.

"Come on," she said and disappeared. Still with their hands bound, the three hurried after Lin. The hallways were filled with unconscious Equalists who they had to avoid as they darted after the Police Chief. Behind them, Tenzin showed up and started to cut open their bindings.

"Amon?" Mako asked and stretched his back awkwardly. Lying down so many hours had made his body stiff and sore.

"He is not here," Tenzin replied from behind. "Have you seen him?"

"He was here yesterday. Maybe he managed to escape in time," Asami spoke. Lin muttered a few curses.

"So damn close," the Metal bender hissed. "At least we have nearly twenty of his men. I am sure at least one of them will tell me where to find Amon." Asami shot Lin a confused look.

"Then why are we leaving them here?" she asked the older woman. They skidded to a halt as they reached a long, narrow stairway which Asami remembered from the night they had been captured.

"I brought some colleagues," the woman said with a smug grin and started to climb the stairs. When the gang entered the abandoned warehouse, they saw what Lin had meant. More than a dozen of policemen were waiting for their boss to return.

"There are about twenty down there. Make sure to keep them in separate cells back at the headquarters," Lin instructed her men who quickly descended the stairs and started to carry out the many unconscious Equalists. They were all stripped for weapons and masks and then handcuffed. Then they were carried outside. Asami recognized the motor buzz as from one of the prisoner transporting vans her father had developed for the local police forced back in time. It was great to see that they were still being used.

"What do we know about Korra's whereabouts so far?" Tenzin asked as he approached the teenagers. They looked at each other with a shrug.

"Nothing, only that Korra is kept in another base," Mako spoke. "But you already know this." Tenzin stroked his beard for a moment, his eyes clouded with thoughts.

"I see," he then mumbled with a frown. "We will have to continue our search for her again tomorrow. The three of you will be brought back to Air Temple Island where Pema will take care of you. Lin and I still have some work to do here."

"Of course," Asami said with a nod. "Then let us go, boys. I do not want to spend one more minute in this place." Mako and Bolin nodded in agreement and followed the girl outside where they were soon picked up by a policeman.

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"Amon, sir," said the Lieutenant the very moment he entered Amon's office. Closing the book he had been reading, Amon stood up by the sight of his second-in-command.

"Lieutenant," he greeted.

"Base Four has been raided by the police," the Lieutenant continued, a grim look on his face. "They managed to capture eighteen of our men." Amon's golden eyes narrowed behind his mask.

"And the captives?" Amon asked with as much self-control he could muster in this situation. It was not much, but at least enough to keep him from slamming his hand into something in pure rage.

"Presumably rescued," the Lieutenant answered, knowing just how Amon was feeling. For some reason, he praised himself lucky that it had not been the escape of the Avatar which he had to report. He could barely imagine how the Equalist Leader would react to such news. Luckily, the Avatar was in her cell, sleeping. He had checked up on her moments ago.

"I see," Amon said and sat down again. "We will have to abandon base Four for good. The location has been discovered. It is useless now."

"Of course," the Lieutenant replied. "What about the contents of your office? Is there anything that could reveal our other locations?" Amon frowned behind his mask.

"I am afraid there is," he sighed. "Most of the documents are fake, though. I keep the real documents hidden in a secret chamber beneath the room. If Chief Lin Beifong uses her abilities, she will most likely find it, however." Amon rose to feet once again.

"What do we do? Shall we just wait and see if they find it?" the Lieutenant asked, unsure of how to handle the situation. This was their first real base discovered by the police.

"No. As far as I recall, there are only documents which lead to this location. There is nothing that reveals that the Avatar is kept here, however, but I doubt this will stop them from checking." Amon's voice was stern and still with a clear tone of anger. This event was highly unexpected even by him. The Lieutenant nodded in agreement.

"So we abandon this place too?" the Lieutenant asked with a shrug. Amon had found a bag in the meantime and had started to collect scrolls and documents.

"Yes. I want no more such surprises," Amon spoke with a sneer. "We will have someone check up on this place daily to see if the police find it. If the place turns out to be safe for now, we might come back. But not before we are completely sure it is safe."

"But what if one of our men reveals information about our locations during an interrogation?" the Lieutenant asked once again. He was more worried about their captured troops rather than a hidden chamber in the lost base. After all, one could easily say too much and reveal everything.

"They will tell nothing," Amon told him reassuringly. His calmed voice told him that he was sure of this. The Lieutenant nodded.

"Very well," he spoke. "I will call our men together and make sure we bring everything with us. Shall I prepare the transport as well, sir?"

"Please do," Amon said. The Lieutenant left the office right away.

It took mere minutes for Amon to finish packing all his papers and documents. Throwing a final glance at his favourite office, he closed the door and proceeded down the hallway toward the Avatar's cell.

The door guard stood up immediately as he realized that something was wrong.

"Sir," he greeted as Amon stopped in front of him. Amon dropped the bag of documents by the guard's feet.

"We are abandoning this place. Please take my bag outside to the awaiting vehicles," Amon instructed the man who seemed unable to comprehend the order at first. Then he nodded, shouldered the bag and ran down the hallway to the door at the end.

Amon unlocked the door to Korra's cell and entered without any warning. The girl gasped in surprise as she was ripped from sleep and opened her eyes just to stare directly into the familiar porcelain mask.

"Wha-" she tried to say but was cut off by Amon's hand which expertly grabbed a hold of her shoulder and pressed the certain nerve point that made Korra fall unconsciously to the ground. Ignoring the stares of the passing Equalists, Amon swung the Avatar over his shoulder and carried her outside.

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His smell was the very first thing that came into her mind when she woke up by the steady rocking of the floor.

Wait, she told herself. I am in a vehicle. The buzzing beneath me must definitely be an engine.

Korra tried to sit up but had to give up instantly. First of all, it seemed that she had been tied up completely, but she was not sure. The only thing she knew for sure was that she was blindfolded and that her head was throbbing from a painful headache. And that Amon was near. She could not ignore his odour that seemed to linger to her clothes and the room itself.

For a moment, his scent seemed to become stronger. Then, by the sudden skin contact that followed, Korra winced and tried to move away. But the hand was stronger. She was grabbed by her chin, her face moved in the direction of the owner of the hand. His scent became even stronger now, and she was sure it was his hot breath she could feel on her face. Her heart started to race in her chest, and she sneered in disgust because of her unwilling reaction.

"Relax, Avatar," said Amon's well-known, deep voice. "We are moving. I need you to remain calm or else I will have to force you into silence again."

What a threat, Korra thought in sarcasm. There is not really much I could do if I wanted to, anyway.

Deciding that she would rather remain completely silent than conversing with her captor, she yanked her chin from his grip and lay down with her back to him.

Although he could not read her expression in the dark, he knew that she was hating him more than ever and wished no physical or verbal contact with him whatsoever. The Lieutenant had told him about her breakdown just before they left the base. He had figured out the rest. She was slowly starting to lose her mind after their little... incident. The thought pleased him. His plan was working.

"There has been a change of plans," Amon spoke again. "Where we are headed, there are no cells. You will be living in my private quarters until we find a more suited solution." His voice did not sound regretful at all. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying the opportunity to remain close to her.

Korra was frowning deeply, her mouth twitching. She wanted to say something, to retort, to show disapproval. But she could not seem to form the right thing to say. So again, she kept silent.

"You should enjoy it while it lasts. There will be a bathroom and a bed for you to use. But only until we find a solution; then it is back to living in chains."

Korra snorted.

"I would rather live in a cell for the rest of my life than sharing a room with you for a week," the girl finally hissed. Her defiance brought an amused smirk on Amon's lips. It was much more fun when she put up a fight. He liked the beast inside of her.

"Oh, you will be moving back into a cell soon enough, trust me," Amon laughed evilly. Korra ignored him.

Well, as long he does not try and kill me by starvation again, I do not care how poorly I live, she thought bitterly. This will not last forever, anyway.

The rest of the way was travelled in silence. The only things Korra could hear were the buzzing of the engine and the road beneath them crackling under the weight of the vehicle. The sounds of life and activity from a nearby city seemed nonexistent. They were most likely far away from Republic City by now.

Korra was tempted to ask where they were going, and why, but she realized that it had been pointless to tie her up and blindfold her if Amon would just reveal their new location anyway. There was no point in asking. He would not tell her anything she did not already know.

After some time, Korra managed to forget her questions and the constant annoyance nagging in the back of her mind because of her badly selected company, and she was just about to fall asleep when the vehicle stopped.

The sound of Amon's boots moving across the floor caught her attention immediately. The man knelt before her, his golden eyes observing her for a moment, knowing that she could not see him.

"We have arrived," he told her. "You will be escorted inside. I have some things to attend to. And you better behave without my presence, too." Korra remained silent.

Standing up, Amon opened the doors at the back of the car and let fresh air inside. The smell of saltwater tickled Korra's nostrils, and she recognized the sound of boots being dragged through sand. They were at the coast somewhere far from the city. This helped her very little, however, because there were miles upon miles of coast outside the city. She still had no chance of figuring out her exact location.

"We have arrived just in time, sir," said an unfamiliar voice.

"Very well," Amon said and left the vehicle. "Have someone bring the Avatar to my private chambers. Do not release her just jet, however."

"Of course," replied the man with a quick nod. Korra was swung over a broad shoulder and carried inside their new location.

No words were exchanged between the man carrying her and the many people they passed. Without the ability to see or move, all she could do was listening to her surroundings. Also this place was of a peculiar construction with many narrow hallways, it seemed. The way the many footsteps around them echoed sounded just like the location they had just fled. The only difference she could pinpoint was the size of the building. The amount of hallways and stairways drew a labyrinth in her inner map.

Soon, the journey came to an end. She recognized the sound of a door being opened, and she was led into a room. The first thing she noticed was the temperature. It was slightly warmer in here. It was comfortable, if she just ignored the fact that it was Amon's private quarters. Up here, the sound of people rushing back and forth in the hallways was muffled. Again, if she ignored the owner of this very room, she actually liked how private and remote it seemed.

As she was put down on to the bed, an unpleasant thought hit her. Maybe the undeniable feeling of privacy here would just make it even more attractive for Amon to...

No, she would not think of it. What had happened was past now. It was only once. It would not happen again. She would not let him.

"Do not move," the man ordered. "Amon will be here in a moment." Leaving Korra to herself, the man left the room and locked the door behind him. Korra sighed. Even when she was utterly helpless and tied up like a ham left to air-dry, they still locked the doors.

As if I could do anything in this state, her mind sneered.

Sighing, she tried to relax a little. She could at least try to enjoy her few minutes alone. When Amon would return, a new chapter of her life would begin. One filled with dread, displeasure, and fear. And she was not excited at all.

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Thank you for reading! I hope you all liked this chapter.

Please leave a Review and tell me what you think! ^^

Love, MAL.