Another update, with a treat for you guys, just around the corner! (Oh, you will find out what I am talking about...~)

I hope you will all enjoy! ^^

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Chapter 10: Betrayal I

Once again, Korra had been abandoned in Amon's room, casually thrown onto the bed, still tied up. Nobody ever bothered to untie her before leaving, so Korra had decided that this time she would untie herself before Amon would return. Once he returned, she would feel Hell, she was sure of it. Until then, she could at least make sure that she was able to defend herself properly when that time came.

Finding a sharp object was a much bigger challenge than she had anticipated. One would believe that a person such as the leader of the Equalists would have something hidden somewhere in case of emergency. Apparently not. She had yet to find anything useful.

When the turn came to Amon's dresser, Korra stopped with a crinkle on her nose. She refused to rummage through his underwear drawer with her bare face. On the other hand, such places were often used for storing secret things because nobody bothered to look there.

Korra concluded that it would be the last place she looked. She still needed to look in the bathroom. Maybe she was lucky.

The bathroom was still a bit steamy after her shower, she noticed indifferently as she pushed the door open with her shoulder. Once again, she caught herself in the mirror, and she frowned. She really did look better with those hair pieces from her parents.

Then a realization hit her.

Of course! her mind sang. Mom told me that the back piece contains a weapon for emergency situations. How come I did not remember that a week ago? It could have helped me greatly!

Reaching out for her pocket, she cursed under her breath. Her hands were fastened together too tightly. She could not reach her pockets.

"Okay, time to be inventive," she told herself. At first, she tried to jump, which did not help. Then she lay down and tried to let the hair pieces fall out by rolling around. No success there either.

Standing up, she bit her lip. She could only see one option left, but it was so stupid that she was not sure it was even worth it. At least not if she was discovered in action.

On the other hand, if she spent less time considering and more time acting, the risk of being discovered was smaller. She would just finish it quickly.

Resting her back on the edge of the bed, she wriggled and tugged with her feet until her pants came off. Bending over, she caught some of the fabric between her teeth and lifted the pants into the air upside-down, shaking it lightly – and indeed, her hair accessories fell out on the floor.

Her happiness did only last a brief moment, however, because she immediately realized that the back piece was missing. Shaking the pants furthermore did not help. It was gone.

No, it cannot be! her mind cried. It has to be here somewhere.

She let go of the pants and dropped to her knees, poking the empty pocket with her nose. Nothing. She did not know whether it was the situation itself or merely the fact that she had lost one of her most precious belongings, but tears welled up in her eyes.

As if the situation could not get any worse, Korra listened as the door was opened. She froze, feeling too embarrassed to meet the eyes of the person. She knew very well who it was; his scent had become unmistakable to her by now.

Instead of just standing there gaping at the girl in her weird situation, like most people would have done, Amon entered immediately and closed the door. For the second time that day, Korra had no idea of how to act or what to do. For once, she was glad that Amon was the one who took the lead.

"Are you looking for something?" he asked coolly, provocation clear in his voice. For some reason, Korra was glad that he understood her situation, but when she looked up at him, her eyes narrowed instantly, tears long forgotten. In his hand he held her missing hair piece, studying it casually.

"In fact, I am," Korra replied in a low hiss. Amon kept glancing at the hair piece for a short moment as if ignoring her words, and then he put it in his pocket.

"I hope you find it then," he answered, watching as Korra's frown deepened. How dared he?

"Something entirely else," the man started and crouched before her, grabbing her jaw in a swift movement. "- is that I will have to punish you for that little show of yours. Pray that I am in a good mood when I return." By these words, he rose to feet and left Korra in the room. She gulped, staring at the locked door in horror.

At first, she had no idea of where the man was going, until she remembered what day it was; Saturday, the day of the weekly purification ceremony. And then she remembered Mako, Bolin, and Asami, and those tears from before re-surfaced.

"Come back!" she cried several times, hoping with all her heart that he would turn around. She would plead him to leave her friends alone, no matter the cost. But although Amon heard her in the hallway, his stride never faltered. The smirk on his lips grew by the sound of the Avatar sobbing.

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The cold night breeze made her shudder, and Asami pulled her jacket tighter around her slender frame, cursing under her breath.

Finding the place was actually much easier than she had expected; none of the many posters or invitations around the city stated where exactly the ceremony would be held, but she took her time to watch the poor amount of activity in the streets and figured she would go the same way as most of the other people. It could not have been more obvious, just as long you knew what was going on. Had she not known that the ceremonies were always held at Saturdays at midnight, she would not have suspected a thing.

The majority of the people wore hoods or managed to hide their identities other ways. Asami wondered why. Supporting the Anti-Bender Campaign had become normal among the ordinary citizens – too normal, Asami thought with a wry smile – so why were they hiding themselves? It was no longer a shame to support Amon openly. As it was now, there were more anti-Benders than Benders in Republic City. And by the rate of Amon's influence on the city, it would not be long before the anti-Benders made the majority of the citizens here. If it continued like this, she doubted that there would be more than twenty Benders in a year or so. And by that time, the campaign would have spread to other cities as well. This was why they had to find Korra in a hurry. And this was why Asami had chosen to betray her friends.

As she came closer to the secret place, people moved closer to each other, and finally they moved in line or in groups. Asami noticed how only a few spoke or chatted. The atmosphere made it seem like something forbidden, or a taboo. In some way, it amused her, seeing how many they were.

She was led through narrow passages and alleyways, until they reached a dead end. A door in the building at her right opened and let people inside, the doorkeeper watching people closely as they passed him. Asami started to feel nervous. What if she was recognized?

It really did not matter, she concluded. Whether or not she got through, she would end up before Amon sooner or later.

"Follow the hallway and turn to your right," the doorkeeper instructed people repeatedly, and much to Asami's surprise, she was let through the door without trouble. Did they know of Amon's offer? Or did he simply not know who she was?

With a contented smile, Asami followed the stream of people inside the enormous hall. It seemed that the ceremony had just started, because Amon stepped forward into the spotlight, his mask greeting people with a smirk. People greeted him back by clapping and cheering.

When Amon lifted his hands into the air, an immediate silence took over. The ceremony had begun.

"As many of you may know, we have recently been chased from several locations by the police. The week has been rough on us," Amon started, his deep voice almost mesmerizing in the silence as it echoed out through the hall. "But in these hard times, luck has also been on our side."

Amon opened his palm and flashed something. Despite her height, Asami could not see what it was. People around her gasped and started to whisper, and in desperation Asami tiptoed to see. Her eyes widened as she recognized the object in Amon's palm. It was that blue thing Korra always wore in her hair.

"That is right. We have finally captured the Avatar," Amon said, his voice proud and victorious. Asami felt a wave of disgust as she heard several among the audience shout "Kill her!" in unison. What disgusted her even more was Amon's following laughter. It was so dark and full of evil intention.

"Have patience, my dear followers. The Avatar's time will come. I have plans for her," the leader continued.

All of a sudden, he was interrupted by one of his men, who whispered something in his ear. Amon removed the microphone for a moment to answer whatever he had just been told, and Asami could not help but feel nervous. What was it? She frowned. It could only be something about Korra, and she doubted it was good news for anyone.

People started whispering again, seemingly wondering the same as she.

"How interesting," Amon continued and caught the audience's attention once again. "It seems that we have a special guest among us tonight."

For a brief moment, Asami wondered who that could be, but when she felt two hands grabbing her shoulders roughly, she knew that the special guest was she. Without protests, Asami allowed herself to be dragged out of the room.

"Follow us," one of the goons commanded in a harsh tone, and Asami complied.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked calmly, knowing that she could not afford to rouse any scene with her current goal.

"You will find out," came the indifferent answer. Again, no matter where they led her, she would come to speak with Amon eventually. Asami kept silent and followed the men inside a small room which looked like an old and abandoned office. Here she was forced down upon a chair.

"Amon will join you after the ceremony," she was told. Asami sighed and relaxed in the chair, knowing that this would take some time.

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Something did not feel quite right, Korra concluded while fighting to unfold the nail clippers she had discovered in one of the bathroom cabinets. Ever since Amon had managed to capture her friends, he had made sure to remind her of it to torture her feelings. But now, after having fled from their former location, he had not even hinted at their captivity or their tragic fates. Not even before leaving for the purification ceremony had he told her anything hurtful. It was as if they were no longer in his custody.

Had they escaped? She really hoped so. If this was the case, was their escape related to the reason for Amon and his men to abandon their former location? This was tricky. First of all, as far as she knew, her friends had not even been held capture in the same base as she had just been moved from. So why would Amon demand his troops to move location, seeing as her friends had not even found it yet? It did not make sense. Perhaps they had been on the trail?

She hated knowing absolutely nothing. It was all based upon assumptions and small clues.

Korra signed and started to cut at the rope tying her hands together, cutting a few tiny threads at a time, careful not to cut her own skin. This would take some time, she realized with a frown. But she had time enough. The weekly ceremonies usually took some time, she had been told by Chief Lin Beifong, who had questioned several Equalist suspects in an investigation once. Especially those with a lot of Benders to be purified on stage.

When finally the nail clippers had gnawed its way through most of the rope, Korra tugged at it a couple of times, and the rope snapped apart. With a smug smile, she flushed that damned rope away in the toilet, watching triumphantly as it was sucked into the drain.

The first thing she did was pulling on her pants and slipping her hair accessories back into a pocket. It was ironic how she had fought to get them out only to put them back inside, but her hands were free now, so she no longer needed the hair pieces. It still angered her that Amon had taken one of them, however. She hoped that he did not find the tiny knife hidden inside. It should serve as her trump card when the time came, and she would make sure that said time was near.

Finally able to use her hands, Korra went to the door and turned the handle only to find the door locked. Not that it surprised her, of course. On both sides of the door was a keyhole, and it seemed that the door was never left unlocked. Whipping out the tiny nail file on the nail clippers, she tried to force the curved tip into the lock and wriggle it open. It was not this simple, she realized. The nail file was far too broad to turn in the keyhole. Cursing, she returned to the bathroom in hope of finding something smaller. A hairpin, or perhaps a needle.

Rummaging through every single cabinet turned out to be a useless move. Much to her dismay, there was nothing smaller than a cotton stick in the entire room. Growling in exasperation, Korra let herself dump down on the black leather couch.

If I just had my bending, then it had all been so easy, she thought with a sigh. And where are my spirit guides when I need them? They are a week too late already...

Closing her eyes, Korra remembered the shocking sight from earlier. An image of Amon's scarred back flashed before her inner eye. That weird feeling of pity washed in over her again, but she brushed it away. She would feel no sympathy for this man whatsoever, no matter what had happened to him in the past. What he was doing to others – especially her – undoubtedly made him more of a monster rather than a victim.

Amon's true identity had gotten even harder to guess after the incident, although it seemed that some pieces of the puzzle fit together. First of all, he was a Blood Bender who despised benders. Korra knew from her lessons on the South Pole that Blood Bending was a specialization of Water Bending. According to logic, Amon had to be from a Water Bending Tribe. His skin had a slightly dark tint to it, but nowhere like Korra's. Perhaps his parents were from the North Pole and had moved to Republic City before Amon was born, thus making his skin more like that of the regular citizens of Republic City, but still with a hint of his ancestry.

Those whiplashes on his back had a story, too. But were they connected to the reason for Amon to hate benders? Had his parents tortured him with their bending? Connecting these two things was risky, seeing as they most likely did not have anything to do with each other. But Korra did not know anything about the man. She remembered his tales during those propaganda ceremonies. He claimed to be a victim of raging benders. Was it true? Korra had never believed him, especially not after finding out he was a bender as well, but those scars on his back told her that it might be true after all.

She did not know what to believe anymore. Seeing his face might help her recognize him or at least his roots, but that was impossible. He would never show his face to her willingly, and she doubted she could remove his mask without him knowing.

What if he was someone she knew already? He could be from the South Pole, too. Heck, he could even be from her clan, or her family. An uncle? The thought frightened her. No matter who he was, or where he came from, he had done unacceptable things to her. Was it personal hate? She knew that a lot of people had reacted badly to the news that she was the Avatar. For all she knew, Amon could be the father of one of her old friends who became jealous and turned their back to her. It could be revenge, or it could be something entirely different.

Feeling sleepiness taking over her, Korra went to the bathroom to brush her teeth. She knew from the search that there was only one toothbrush, so she squeezed some toothpaste out on the tip of her finger and brushed like that. It felt so nice to be able to take care of herself again, she decided.

Next problem was where she was going to sleep, seeing as there was only one bed as well. It was a huge and luxurious bed which could easily accommodate several people at once, but the thought of sleeping next to Amon made her nauseous for more than one reason. No, she would sleep on the couch, she decided.

Having found an extra blanket in the tall wall cabinet earlier served her well. She would just use that one, and she would manage without a pillow.

Undressing into just a shirt and her panties, she turned off the lights and crept beneath the blanket. The leather felt cold against her skin, but this was better than sleeping with Amon by far.

Soon, Korra slipped into a dreamless sleep.

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"Asami. What a surprise," Amon spoke the very moment he entered the room, ripping Asami from her almost-slumber. "I would never have guessed that you would miss the Equalists this much already." It was clear that he was teasing her, although his voice was calm and collected.

Asami sat upright in the chair and watched as Amon took seat before her.

"Now, I suppose you are here to speak to me, hm?" the man continued and gestured for the two guards to leave the room. Once they were gone, the girl faced to the mask again.

"I have considered your offer. I want to join you," Asami told him, remaining calm as well. Amon let his fingertips rest against each other and nodded once.

"What has made you change your mind, my dear?" This was the detail she had been thinking most about. Whatever sounded reliable. She gave him a sad smile, her moss green eyes as innocent as she could make them seem.

"I have come to realize that you were right. All along I have been fighting for the wrong side," she told him, letting her gaze drop briefly once. "I belong with my father. And I want revenge for the death of my mother." Amon's thoughtful smile widened behind his mask.

"What about your friends?" he tested evilly, watching Asami closely. Her gaze not not falter.

"I will get new friends among the Equalists," she answered with a natural shrug. The amount of triumph Amon felt this very moment was nearly overwhelming. He had done it. He had turned the Avatar's friends against her – or at least one of them. The most dangerous of them.

"Alright. Mark my words, however; if I witness anything suspicious from you, you will meet great consequences. There is no way out of the Equalists other than death. You better not try and fool me." Asami stood up and bowed with a smile.

"I understand," she spoke.

"Good," Amon said finally and rose to feet. "Follow me. I will make sure you are brought to the base in which we train our new recruits."

Following the Equalist leader outside, Asami could not help but feel both victorious and a bit nervous. She was used to playing games, but never had she played a game this dangerous.

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When Korra awoke, all she could feel was heat. Beads of sweat graced her forehead and temples, and the blanket clung to her body. Unsure of why she was sweating this much, she kicked off said blanket and wiped off her face, sitting up to cool her back as well.

Then, all of a sudden, she was reminded that she was not alone. She caught the sound of faint breaths from the bed, knowing who it was. A strange feeling washed in over her. This was the very first time she had been this close to Amon without him being on guard.

At first, she had no idea of how to react, then an idea hit her. He still had her hair piece. She would take it back without him knowing. She would be completely soundless in her movements, and he would never suspect a thing.

Rising to feet, she took one careful step at a time, having only a faint ray of light from beneath the door to show her the way.

As she stopped only a metre from her captor, she realized that this might also be her only chance to escape. He had to be hiding the keys somewhere close to him. Under his pillow?

She neared him, breath bated in anxiousness. The perfect white porcelain from his mask, which he wore even in sleep, shone through the darkness, and a third idea struck her. This might also be her only chance to find out who Amon really was.

And then she stood there, three options to choose between: knowledge, freedom, or possession.

It was a mistake from Amon's side to leave her untied for the night – not that he necessarily knew that she had managed to rid herself of the ropes – but he could have checked, and she knew that once he realized his mistake, he would make sure to never make anything alike ever again.

Making her decision, she felt the floor for clothes. She refused to believe that he slept fully dressed. He had probably dropped his pants somewhere. If she was lucky, she would find the keys in a pocket – and if she was extremely lucky, she would retrieve her hair piece as well. Right now, freedom was more important than anything else, although knowing Amon's identity was a huge thing as well. But what did it matter if she would be kept as a prison rat for the rest of her life with nobody to tell, anyway?

Realizing that she would not find his pants on the floor on this side, she sneaked around the bed and felt the floor again. Still no pants. Maybe he was sleeping fully dressed after all, she mused.

One place left, she told herself with a wry smile. Without touching the bed at all, she leaned in over Amon's sleeping form, listening. Deep, slow breaths. He was sleeping, no doubt.

Counting to ten, she held her breath and reached out toward his pillow, feeling victory as her fingers stroked the smooth fabric without a response from the man. Pushing her fingers in beneath the pillow, she felt something hard, but she never managed to identify the object before Amon grabbed her wrist and swung her upon the bed with such speed that Korra barely had time to yelp in surprise.

"Playing dirty, huh?" Amon said lowly, no trace of sleep in his voice. Had he been awake after all?

Korra was so shocked that she could not muster any reply. With her breath caught in her lungs and her eyes wide in fear, she could only stare at the man, who had managed to move above her in that incredible movement. It felt as if her heart had stopped beating entirely.

"Well, now that you have offered your company by almost throwing yourself at me, I guess I will take advantage of the situation..."

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Thank you for reading! :3

Well, I guess you guys can guess what will happen next. Yup, that's right; some juicy stuff! Stay tuned for more ;)

Love,

MAL.