Hellooo, all my lovely fans and followers! A late night update (well, inspiration came at a slightly inconvenient hour), but I decided that this was my chance to finish chapter 15!

I was rushing to finish the last part, so there might be typos or other mistakes. I'll probably find them someday, but you are very welcome to point them out to me. I like learning :)

I hope you'll enjoy reading! And please let me know what you think of this chapter..

Love, MAL.

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Chapter 15: Limitations

The remaining two members of the Fire Ferrets gazed expressionlessly out through the window, their eyes watching the sun rise above the sea. It was beautiful, but neither of them felt able to enjoy anything anymore; food had become tasteless, training was without results – just like their searching. Life had become bleak end meaningless. The only persons to keep them company were Tenzin, Pema, and their children, but loneliness seemed to be their only friends now.

Well, at least they still had each other, like before they met the girls, Bolin concluded. But it was no longer sufficient. The girls had left irreplaceable spaces in their hearts.

All of a sudden, Mako stood up from the chair.

"Tenzin!" he called, his eyes never leaving the sunrise before him.

A tired Tenzin had to leave Pema with the children's toothbrushing for a while. Running a hand over his head reminded him that he soon needed to shave again. Too many thoughts and events had kept him so busy that he was starting to neglect himself and his family.

In the kitchen, Mako had moved to the dining table, his eyes glinting with thoughts. Bolin seemed unsure whether or not it was something to interrupt his window-staring for.

"You said something about an undercover agent. The one who had spotted Asami at the Equalist ceremony," Mako began, and Tenzin nodded. "Is there any chance that we can talk to her?"

Tenzin urged for Mako to take seat with him. Bolin turned in his chair and listened to whatever was coming.

"Normally we are not allowed to reveal the identity of undercover agents, but I believe Chief Lin Beifong will see through fingers with it this once," Tenzin explained, still unsure of what Mako had in mind. "Care to share your thoughts?"

Mako nodded, a faint smile tugging at his lips. Hope in his eyes.

"Asami was able to attend an Equalist ceremony where the undercover agent was, too. If this agent were to reveal the location of the next ceremony, maybe I would be able to sneak inside," he told, watching Tenzin's reaction intensely as his plans were revealed. Pinching his chin, Tenzin nodded thoughtfully.

"Continue," he offered.

"Korra is held captive at the same location where Amon is staying, right? If I could just keep myself hidden until after the ceremony, I might be able to follow Amon when he returns to the hideout. Perhaps even slip inside his vehicle. It will bring me right to their front door."

Tenzin suddenly crossed his arms, the corners of his mouth drooping.

"No. That is too dangerous! What if you were to get caught again?" The Airbender's voice was stern. But Mako saw no other way.

"I will not get caught. I promise!" the boy defended.

Sighing, Tenzin stood up and started to pinch the bridge of his nose, eyes closed.

"Merciful Spirits... You kids are giving yourselves away to our enemies, one by one!"

It was easy to see that the disappearance of the Avatar was a burden on Tenzin. The bags under his eyes told that he had not slept properly for days. Mako knew his plan was risky, but really, what could they do? He refused to give up. Not as long it was a question of life and death for people he held dear.

"We have no other choice. The Equalists are not coming to us, and they certainly are not revealing their hideouts," Mako said calmly.

"He is right," Bolin added. "We will have to take action. We just need to be more careful than before."

After a moment of silence, Tenzin finally sighed and sat down again, his expression still grim by the thought of letting such a young boy infiltrate an Equalist ceremony.

"Alright," he finally gave. "I will speak to Lin. Be ready for the weekend."

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Eyes intensely focused on her goal, Asami charged, her hand ready to strike the very moment her legs were forced into motion. Her fist brushed Talan's shirt at the abdomen half a second before the girl felt her legs being pushed away from under her, and she smashed sidewards down onto the rubber mat.

She did not bother standing up again.

"You are definitely getting better," Talan praised her, obviously because of the courtesy and not the fact that she was getting better. "You were so close to striking me this time!"

Asami took his extended arm and was pulled on to feet much against her true will.

"Spare your praises until the day when I actually manage to hit you," Asami replied dryly, a sour smile on her lips. Talan patted her shoulder once with a genuine smile, amused by the recruit's pessimism. She obviously did not acknowledge her own speed and agility. Because of her history of fighting, she had an advantage. Her reactions were faster than those of most of their new students. It seemed to be the techniques she was failing at.

"The day you knock me off my feet, I will bake a cake for you," Talan teased with a wink, which did not help on Asami's mood. Being this bad and taking this many hits really pissed her off. But she had to keep trying.

And yet it was not that bad. She was just impatient with her improvement.

"Better make it a three-layered chocolate cake," the girl answered in the same dry voice as before, but this time a faint smile made it to her face. However, it faded the moment she saw a well-known dark figure out of the corner of her eye.

Asami was afraid to turn and look at him. The way Amon had glared at her in the hallways the evening before made her shiver. The thought that perhaps the man had seen through her plans made her paranoid. It was not helping that he, in fact, was staring at her right now for no apparent reason.

"Are you ready?" Talan asked, stealing the girl's attention. Asami had to focus to recall everything she needed to remember. Nodding, she took a fighting stance.

"Try and aim for my chest this time. Watch my entire body and try to deflect any defensive moves by my legs."

Asami breathed once. Then she charged again. Just like before, she barely managed to touch him before she was thrown to the ground, rubbing her bottom with a grimace. Talan had to fight away the urge to laugh at the girl's comical face. Asami saw no fun in it, especially not when the Equalist leader was watching her intensely.

Or was he watching her? She turned her head a bit only to find Amon gone. Asami felt relief and stood up.

"I see improvement," a dark voice spoke behind her. Instantly the air was caught in her lungs, her body nearly failing to stop the yelp of surprise in time.

Do not act suspiciously, Asami told herself. Turning around, she bowed slightly.

"Thank you," she answered, closing her eyes so that she avoided responding to his cold, searching gaze. "But I still have a long way to go."

"You need to focus on your movements. Your strikes are too unfocused and insecure, and your stance is too weak. You are too easy to push off feet," Amon told her. Asami was surprised to be receiving fighting tips from her enemy. Not that he knew that he was her enemy. She hoped, at least.

"Yes. Thank you," Asami replied again with the same stiff and mechanical half-bow.

"When you are done here, I must ask you to come to my office. There are some practical things we need to discuss."

Asami's inner turned to ice. She failed to respond. Could only stare on his feet with wide eyes and heated cheeks.

"Of course. I will send her to you once we are finished," Talan replied quickly when he realized that Asami was not going to answer their boss anytime soon. A brief moment of silence.

"Very well," Amon said and left, his feet moving almost soundlessly across the floor as he went.

When Asami finally thawed, she was speechless.

"No need to be shy. The paperwork is always done in several steps. You will probably just have to sign some papers," Talan reassured her with a smile. "Now, stop staring. Attack me again."

Something inside Asami snapped. Whether it was from fear or annoyance or insecurity – or perhaps all of them.

She charged towards the man with renewed fighting spirit. This time she jammed her knee into Talan's stomach and kicked away his feet when he crouched in horror. The man slammed backwards down onto the rubber mat, his face a mixture of surprise, wonder, and fascination.

"I believe you owe me cake," Asami spoke flatly, ignoring the many people who had stopped their fights to watch her in amusement.

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Groaning in discomfort, Korra awoke and sat up, rubbing her temples in an effort to ease the headache that had built up during the night. At least the nausea was gone now, she realized, although the thought did not make her nearly as happy as it should have.

She was dizzy. The lack of sleep had taken its toll on her body and mind, making her irritably weak by pushing her to the edge of sickness. A side-effect from the pill, she knew, but it did not make it even less uncomfortable. At least it seemed that the pill was working.

Barely had she pushed the blankets aside when a knock was put on the door. The sudden rapid sound surprised her, and her gasp just made the headache seem worse for a moment, an uncontrollable throbbing behind her temples. She groaned again and stood up.

By the sound of the lock shifting, Korra realized that she was about to get an unwanted visitor. Everybody knew when Amon was working, which he was doing right now, she assumed, seeing as he had left earlier in the morning. She had been half-sleeping then, but her lack of movement seemed to have fooled Amon into believing that she was sound asleep. He had barely looked at her before leaving.

Covering her bare skin when she realized who the visitor was, Korra watched him silently, her face blank and her skin slightly pale.

"I see you are adapting to your new prison," the Lieutenant spoke coolly as he entered the room, a tray in his hand. "Do not get used to it, however. It will not be long before things change."

She thought she saw him smile slyly for a moment, but she was far from awake enough to rely on the glimpses she caught.

The Lieutenant placed the tray on the table by the couch, his face now bitter as he reminded himself that he was the one bringing the Avatar her breakfast. It was like serving her in some way, and he did not like it, even though he knew the reason why Amon had asked him specifically. He was the only one besides Amon himself who had the key to the room.

By the sight of food, the nausea in Korra returned, and she fought to keep the last amount of nutrient in her system inside of her. Disgust shone clearly on her face, and the Lieutenant sighed irritably.

"If you do not want it, I will be happy to take it with me again," the man snarled.

"Do whatever you want," Korra replied indifferently, acting ten times more confident than she felt.

The Lieutenant felt unbearably tempted to remove the food and let the Avatar starve now that she was seemingly incapable of thanking the very man bringing her breakfast. But he knew that once Amon had decided that he wanted the Avatar to eat, she had to eat. He would not be the one to oppose Amon's orders, even though he knew he could get away with it because of their relationship. There was no need to challenge him anyway, he decided.

"You should be grateful that Amon allows you food in the first place," the Lieutenant said sternly. "Anyway, I will come check on you later. You better have eaten by then."

With a sharp turn on his heels, the man exited the room with no further comment, and Korra was left staring at the oatmeal porridge in the bowl with a frown on her face.

She knew she had to eat. If she kept refusing the food she was offered, it would just end like last time where she was starved seriously. She would get sicker and weaker for each passing day, and Korra knew that this was something she could not afford with Amon around. Eventually she would have to eat. And although her mind said no, now was a good idea. She had already forgotten last time she had actually eaten something that was not thrown up mere minutes later.

Sighing, she dumped down onto the edge of the couch, watching her breakfast unamused.

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Asami's heart threatened to burst through her ribcage the moment they stopped in front of the door to Amon's office.

"I will see you tomorrow," Talan spoke with a grin and started to walk away.

"Yeah," Asami mumbled in half-hearted response, her eyes watching the wooden door with strange interest. She really did not want to go in there.

When she listened intensely, she could hear him move around. Papers being rearranged and light footsteps on the wooden floor. Until both sounds suddenly stopped.

"Come in, Asami," she heard him call. Mentally cursing the volume of Talan's voice, Asami sighed and breathed one final time before pulling the door handle.

Amon had sat down behind his desk when Asami entered. His golden eyes watched her intensely as she closed the door and turned to watch him, her eyes betraying every degree of the discomfort she was feeling.

"Please, sit down," Amon offered with a simple gesture. Asami could only obey and sit down, her willpower having faded the very moment she left the training hall.

Those cool eyes assessed her silently for a moment, as if he was considering the possibilities or perhaps planning his next move. Then his eyes closed.

"How are you feeling?" he suddenly asked. Asami frowned in surprise and perhaps also a small degree of disbelief. How was she feeling...?

"Alright, I guess," the girl answered with a shrug. "I still have to get used to the rules and memorize the locations of the various rooms. Not to mention the slow progress of my training."

Somehow, it felt good to be talking about something so unimportant. Her adaption and familiarization. Although she doubted that he really cared about her well-being.

"I see. Yes, it takes some time to get used to our system here. You will learn it eventually," Amon spoke calmly. "Are you making friends?"

"I suppose," came her short response. Larila and maybe even Talan were the only persons she would dare to call friends already, although she suspected Talan's kindness to be out of pure courtesy. Or attraction. It would not be the first time she had made friends with someone who had more than friendship in mind. Not that it mattered, really. She would be long gone before they reached the point where he would actually act upon his attraction.

"Larila, right? I saw you with her yesterday."

Asami felt like snorting. She was well aware of the fact that Amon had seen her. In fact, it was something she could not quite get out of her mind.

She nodded in response.

"What about Korra? You must be missing her," he spoke, his eyes suddenly awfully aware of her reactions. The bomb was dropped. Asami swallowed.

"A bit," she said. "But she is no different than any other friend I have had during my life. You grow apart, and eventually you forget." A great understatement and a huge lie, because nobody could ever forget a personality as great as Korra's. But Asami's tone of voice and the firmness of her gaze made her seem reliable. Amon was almost convinced. Almost.

He took a brief moment of silence before nodding in agreement.

"Alright," he then said. "That was it for today. You can leave."

Asami did not know whether to rest assured or be more nervous now that Amon had concluded something. But nonetheless, she could not suppress the urge to exit his office awkwardly quickly.

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Korra was caught in a bored slumber when something awoke her. Unlike before, this was not caused by a knock on the door nor an unwanted presence; this was something else. She could not quite identify the feeling, because if it really was what she thought it was, this was too good to be true.

Sitting up, she breathed slowly, feeling inside herself. No, she was right. There was no doubt.

Her teal eyes watched her outstretched palm intensely for a moment, a small frown on her face. The second a lick of a flame touched her skin, an inner explosion of willpower made her grin widely, her eyes glinting with more emotions than she could have recognized that very moment. Strongest of all was the desire for freedom. And revenge.

Finally! Korra's mind sang as she rose to feet and reached out for her pants. It seems that the idiots finally forgot to chi-block me in time. It was just a matter of time before someone would screw up the routine.

However, somewhere inside her, she felt bitter. Had this happened merely a few days ago, she would not have fallen victim to a possible impregnation. She still did not know how it would turn out, but for once she felt that she could trust her luck. No matter what happened, it was okay – once she got out everything would be alright. Surely there was some kind of medical intervention, should she turn out to be unlucky, right?

Catching herself thinking too much, Korra moved to the centre of the room where she faced the door leading to the bathroom. At this state she was still weak, she knew. The few times she had been chi-blocked before her capture, it had taken some hours for her powers to regain full strength. Right now it was only a spark of power inside of her system, and she would have to wait a few more hours before she would be strong enough to take on anyone at the level of a well-trained Equalist. As for Amon, she hoped that she would not bump into him during her escape.

Closing her eyes, Korra focused and sensed in a way that was only possible for her with bending. She felt her surroundings and read them, analyzed them. Recognized the methods to bend the materials and elements around her.

The element she reached out for was water, since it was the only element she could bend right here without making revealing noises or smells. She let her knees bend slightly, making her entire body flexible. Moving in a way that she had learned back in her early childhood, she pulled with her body and spirit. The sink in the bathroom protested lightly at the unwanted leak, but finally allowed Korra to pull out a snake of water.

Korra felt how the water was harder to manipulate compared to what she was used to, but she became stronger for every passing minute. Successfully, she drew the water inside the bedroom and let it encircle her body, testing her limitations. Only a few drops of water fell to the carpet – more than she would ever allow normally, but less than she had expected in this case. She smiled to herself and sent the water back into the drain before anyone would interrupt her.

She would have to wait a bit before attempting her final escape. This was an only chance, and she refused to let it go to waste by her impatience. One wrong move against a strong opponent and she was forever done bending, she knew.

According to the Equalists' routines, Amon would soon return from work. He would spend a little less than an hour in his room before heading down to get supper. The best she could do was rejecting to go eat and wait until everybody was gathered inside the canteen. Then she would give it a shot.

But for now, she would have to wait. And hope that Amon did not realize his fatal mistake until it was too late.

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Thank you for reading! I hope you liked it :3

Please Review and tell me what you think!

Next chapter will be exciting, uuhh! XD

Take care,

MAL