A/N: Hey guys, back again with a third chapter. It's a bit longer than expected, but I hope you like it. Thank you so much for reading!

"'Equalist Enthusiast Convicted of Killing Family of Benders,'" Liko read aloud.

Lin promptly folded her newspaper to hide the story from him. "You shouldn't be reading that."

They should have been out the door half an hour ago, but last night's nightmare threw her off. She told him there was no rush, even though there was, because she needed time to be with him, to know he was okay. And he needed time to mentally prepare spending the day alone on the island. She offered him breakfast, but, true to Beifong fashion, he chose a cup of coffee instead.

"What happened?"

She tossed the newspaper down to allow him access, and she watched carefully as he read quietly to himself. Journalists had a habit of romanticizing these reports–a tragic tale meant only to give pathos to the reader–but Hikaru always told it straight: the good, the bad… the ugly. And, more importantly, he was neutral and stuck only to the facts. None of that romanticizing bullshit. Equalist enthusiast , instead of outright stating she was an Equalist. The woman was an extremist; she did not represent them all. And Amon was only briefly mentioned in the story. Told right, the incident might even bring other enthusiasts out of their Equalist fog; told wrong, benders and nonbenders become even more divided. She believed Hikaru told it right.

Liko softly whispered the words as he read; her stomach turned at the part where officers found the children, remembering Amon's shadow looming over them like he was a clear memory. He still had yet to show his face anywhere, but she felt his presence nearly every place she went. When Liko finished reading, he looked back up at Lin.

"How're we feeling, kid?"

He slid the newspaper back to her. His face was pale and shadows remained prominent under his eyes, but anxiety did not haunt his expression. He sipped his coffee before speaking: "Pretty brutal for people who preach about equality."

"Yeah…" she said, picking up the newspaper and turning to the sports page. And the Avatar appeared before her. 'Avatar Joins Probending,' the caption read with a story about the match below. The journalist made sure to mention the time Aang was invited to play in a match; he had to backout at the last minute because other priorities took precedence. It was Yakone, wasn't it? Reports of him being a bloodbender came out right before. Set the whole city in a frenzy.

A knock at their kitchen door brought her attention away from the story. She knew it was Tenzin before even looking–he was the only person to ever knock on that door–but she could see his figure behind the tranculencent curtain as she stood to let him in. Liko remained seated, uncaring. She recalled a time not too long ago when their roles were reversed: Liko being the one to open the door, welcoming Tenzin inside with open arms, while Lin remained seated, uncaring.

"Good morning Lin," Tenzin greeted. His eyes wandered briefly to her chest before meeting her eyes. He smiled at her innocently as if he had not been noticed staring. She was in her tank top, her armor still in her bedroom, and it had been a while since he had last seen her without her uniform. "Ready to go, Liko?" he continued, stepping inside to get a better view of Liko.

"Why are you here?" said Lin, too exhausted by his never ending bullshit to even give him any proper greeting. "I said he's fine taking the ferry."

"I dropped Korra off at the arena after our airbending lesson," he explained. Lin rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. Who the hell benefits from the Avatar being a probender? "And I thought I'd stop by to see if you'd left yet. Maybe save you a trip on the ferry."

"Why is the Avatar even on a probending team," said Liko. "I thought she came here to master airbending."

"It turns out probending is helping her grasp many airbending techniques."

"Has she airbent yet," she asked. The girl couldn't airbend if her life depended on it, last Lin heard.

"No, not yet."

"Maybe she isn't the Avatar," Liko said with a shrug. He examined the newspaper–not to read, just to not make eye contact.

"What else would you call someone who can bend three out of four of the elements?" said Lin, an amused expression forming on her face.

"A Third-atar," he suggested. "Like, maybe they came up with something new. They knew airbenders were going extinct."

And silence.

Liko remained unbothered, uncaring. It was meant only to cut his father, she knew. Tenzin adjusted his robes and cleared his throat in response to the uncomfortable silence.

"You ready?" said Lin when the tension settled.

Liko went to pour the remainder of his coffee down the drain. "Yeah…"

Liko had been a happy accident, but an accident Lin was not looking forward to making ever again. A mistake they had been discussing since they were young adults. A mistake Lin did everything in her power to never have it happen again–Tenzin understood and agreed, of course. He remembered Lin's pregnancy being so difficult. The experience weakened her. The Lin Beifong he knew, the woman he loved, had disappeared while pregnant; still strong, still beautiful, in her own right, she was miserable throughout the entire ten months. The fainting, the severe nausea, and the many, many sleepless nights, it was nothing at all like Pema's own experiences. There was nothing he could really do to ease Lin's pain, nothing permanent. At Liko's birth–a relatively simple one compared to her pregnancy–they both agreed there would not be another. They also agreed not to dwell, not to fixate on whether he was a bender or not: he was their son before he blew air, or moved dirt. But a small part of Tenzin–of Lin, too, he hoped–wanted him to be an airbender.

"Pema and the children are looking forward to having you stay with us," said Tenzin. Air Temple Island was in sight and he spotted the children eagerly waiting for them in the distance: Ikki was waving, Meelo was running in circles, and Jinora simply stood patiently. Oogie, who had made this journey too many times to count, was already diving down to make his landing. "Meelo especially," he added when Liko said nothing.

Meelo saw his elder brother as something a little more than a prophet. Perhaps it had something to do with their age difference; Tenzin recalled a similar feeling toward his own big brother. It took about a decade before he realized Bumi was a loquacious numbskull, not a numen. And Liko was not his Uncle Bumi, thankfully, but he was his mother's son: he knew to target an already open wound.

Liko shrugged in response.

Tenzin sighed. "I know I haven't been there for you as much as I would like to, especially as of late," he said softly, "but I am doing my best here."

He waited for Liko's response, no doubt a jab at Tenzin's own shortcomings. But he was ready for it. Liko crossed his arms and pursed his lips in the same way Lin always did. "Look, I… I don't wanna hear any of your guilt tripping crap. I just want to listen to the radio today, okay?"

They landed. Any words from Tenzin quickly became overshadowed by Ikki's squeals in the distance as the children all ran to greet their brother. "Okay," agreed Tenzin finally, when the air around them settled some, but Liko was already away from him, sliding down Oogie's tail.

Ikki went in for a hug. Meelo airbent himself on top of Liko's shoulders. And Jinora waited patiently near him. "Hey guys," greeted Liko halfheartedly, already walking away. His siblings eagerly pursued him, like little turtle ducklings following their mother.

"Look, you know me," said Ryo, a man half Lin's age but already aging like milk. He was one of those get rich quick types; always getting into some kind of trouble. He worked odd jobs in between schemes. Last week, the docks. This week, it was Republic City's power plant where they spoke to him now. In his foreman's office, who seemed more concerned by the police interfering at his place of business than his worker being questioned for criminal activity. Ryo spent the better part of his day either running from cops or being behind bars. He served mostly as the Triad's fall guy. They pursued Zolt and somehow always ended up with Ryo. "You know I'm straight now. I ain't involved with no Triple Threat Triad crowd no more."

"Right," said Saikhan in disbelief, no doubt remembering the Triad bust just three weeks ago. The Triple Threat Triad crowd always seemed to abandon him at the last minute. They must pay him a hefty some for it, because he's always back on his crap a week or so later.

"Cut the garbage, Ryu. We know you've been hanging around Shady Shin again," said Lin.

"You've been having me followed, Chief?" said Ryu, feigning shock. "And here I thought you two was the good guys." He paused, glancing at his boss, who stood impatiently outside the door, no doubt eager for his workspace back. "Look, I ain't know nothing. And this shithole ain't gonna pay me if I stand around talking to you cats all day, so…"

Lin rolled her eyes and made to speak again, but Saikhan stopped her. "We just want to know what's up, Ryu," continued Saikhan. "Lightning Bolt Zolt's been recruiting a lot of old members. And word on the street is he's planning something big." Ryu, the stubborn buffoon he was, looked away, looking more like a child on the verge of a tantrum than a criminal. "You say you're straight, right?"

Ryu took a step forward, his intrigue as foul as his odor. "Yeah?"

"Well, maybe we can make a deal."

"What kind of deal?"

"You tell us what went down with you and Shady Shin," said Saikhan, "and we give you a clean slate. Clear your record. Maybe help you get out of this shithole."

He was silent for a moment. His foreman knocked frantically on the door. Lin waved him off. When she turned back, Ryu was confessing: "I ain't know all the details, okay," he said. "I just know he needs a lot of benders. All types. Extra muscle, you know? Something about a big hit on the Nation Trade Center. He's getting everybody involved–but you ain't heard nothing from me. Anyway, they might be meeting tonight to… discuss some things. I ain't going 'cause, like I said, I ain't messing around with them no more. I got a little honey to think about now."

The foreman knocked again–agitated, Lin metalbent the door open to let him inside, since he wanted to get in so bad. "That's all we need to lock them up," she said to Saikhan before pushing the foreman, who stood there frozen, aside to exit. Saikhan followed her out after thanking Ryu, and assuring him his record would be cleared. She wondered if it would stay that way. He had a habit of finding trouble.

"Lunch," suggested Saikhan outside the power plant.

"What? No, we have to get this back to Lu and Gang."

He rolled his eyes. "Those idiots?" She agreed. They had done nothing exceptional since their promotion last year. "C'mon, I know a great noodle shop just around the corner."

"I'm Shiro Shinobi and these are the hits you're buying and radio stations are playing from nation to nation," said Shinobi on the radio. Wang joined the White Lotus because he believed in the cause. To dedicate one's life to the Avatar, to fight against tyranny. He grew up on the poor side of the Earth Nation where bandits and rebels roamed free. His family, his dad, actually, got caught in it one day. Owed some money to the crooks down by the wall. They nearly killed him. And for what? A few copper pieces out of their pocket? It was Avatar Aang who ended up saving him. That was the day Wang decided to one day pay him back, to join the ranks of the White Lotus and help him, the Avatar, fight for peace. He met the Avatar again some years later, and he was just as kind as Wang remembered. Avatar Aang, of course, only vaguely remembered the incident when he brought it up–he was older, wiser; he had saved countless lives at that point. Probably could hardly keep track. "Now here's a band from the east. Shuhon Island, to be exact. The band Fire rising two notches to number eleven with 'Hungry For More.'" And the music began playing.

Liko, who sat listening to the music on the ground, began humming and moving his head to the beat. Meelo, sitting beside him, mimicked his movements. A pile of assorted flowers lay on the table near them where Wang sat; they would choose from the pile to craft their flower crowns. Ikki showed them how. She sat across from the two, too focused on perfecting her own flower crown to hear the music blasting on the radio.

Wang remembered fighting terrorists threatning to kidnap the Avatar. These days being a member of the White Lotus was more like a babysitting gig. He did not mind, however as he quickly found out he had a knack for crafting flower crowns.

Pema emerged from the kitchen with Jinora at her side. Wang could smell the vegetable dumplings from outside. It was late afternoon–a bit late for lunch, but his stomach growled nonetheless. "Kids," she called to them. "Lunch is just about ready. Come inside to wash up."

Ikki stood, placing her unfinished crown on the table for safe keeping. Liko did not, and so neither did Meelo.

"Not hungry," Liko called back, not even looking up from his flower crown.

"Not hungry," echoed Meelo at his side.

Ikki happily skipped toward her mother. In the distance, Wang could hear Pema huff in frustration. A moment later, Tenzin emerged. "Liko, Meelo, lunch is ready," he told them, his tone stern.

"Not hungry," said Liko again.

"Not hungry," said Meelo with the same audacious spirit as his brother.

The song faded out and a man's voice came on: "You know, Folks, Hari Bulkan's is the only cigarette that combines for you mildness with no unpleasant aftertaste…" Wang was partial to Buffalo Yaks. They were the cheapest cigarettes.

Tenzin calmly made his way up to his sons. "Liko," he said, because he knew Liko was steering the ship, "I know you and your mother don't normally eat together, but this is how we do things here. If you don't want to eat, that's fine, but we would still like for you to sit with us at the table."

"Pass," said Liko.

"Yeah, daddy, pass," said Meelo, amused by his father's irritation.

And Shinobi came back on. "This is Shiro Shinobi here moving on now to this week's top twenty," he said, and Liko straightened, his full attention on the radio. "Starting off strong at number twenty with The Wenben Sisters singing the now classic ballad, 'I Left My Heart in Ba Sing Se.'"

And the music started playing. Liko, disappointed, slumped back against the wall.

"Go wash up for lunch, Meelo," instructed Tenzin.

Meelo looked at Liko for guidance; Liko gave him the signal to go, and he did so obediently. Tenzin then looked at Wang. "Lunch is ready, Wang, if you or any of the other White Lotus members would like to join us."

And Wang stood, too hungry to even care about some sulky teenager with daddy issues.

Korra returned to the island feeling down on her luck. Where were they gonna get thirty thousand yuans? She wished she could help, but her parents weren't rich. The only way she got anything growing up was because she was the Avatar, and even that was limited–she could ask Tenzin for the money, but he would probably say no. Maybe Pema can help her bake goods for a bake sale or something. She was sure a lot of people would line up to eat a cake made by the Avatar. The problem would be that it wouldn't be that good. Mako said he would figure something out. She wished she could be useful to him.

"Pushing in at number eightteen is Wen Cai, 'Prisoner's Song.'" She heard the radio play in the distance. She followed the sound as the music started.

"'Prisoner's Song'?" said a distant voice. "That's bogus–this thing is rigged!"

The sound led her to a young boy sitting alone on the ground with one flower crown atop his head and working on another in his hands. He looked familiar, but she couldn't place him.

He looked up at her and nodded, as if she were an old friend not a complete stranger. "Hey, kid," he said, and she recognized his voice.

"Hey…" she said, stepping forward cautiously. And then she remembered him. He was there when… when she became the first Avatar to get a mugshot. "Hey, you're that kid from the police station."

"Yeah… you really made an entrance," he said.

"Not exactly my finest moment," she admitted, rubbing the back of her neck. "Why were you there?"

"Got arrested for arson," he said.

"Really?"

"Nah," he said. "My mom works there. I go there after school–or, at least, I did."

"Liko," Tenzin called somewhere in the distance. The boy rolled his eyes.

And Korra realized. "Wait, you're Liko? As in Tenzin's son, Liko? We met when we were little–at least everybody says we did. I don't exactly remember."

"Liko," called Tenzin again, "you're mother's on the phone."

Lin was at her breaking point. She dealt with serial killers, psychopaths, politicians, but this was torture and all Lin could do was groan as the voice on the other line continued blabbering on:

"We're making flower crowns. I showed everybody how–mine's the prettiest, but Liko's was a close second. We were also listening to music, but I wasn't really interested in that. Liko liked listening to it, though. And then we stopped to eat lunch, but Liko said he wasn't hungry, so he didn't eat with us." Tenzin had answered and then set the phone down to fetch Liko. And then Ikki answered and started giving Lin her life story. Lin felt a migraine coming on, but, of course, the girl was hardly finished. "Daddy seemed upset by it, but he told mommy he was fine. And then mommy got upset with him for saying that he was fine. Then Meelo accidentally got chopsticks stuck up his nose. Daddy had to pull them out…"

She wanted to yell, scream, confess her most kept secrets to this little girl just to get her to shut up. And then somebody heard her prayers and pulled her away from the phone. Lin was met on the other end with silence. Thank the spirits. How did that girl breathe? But her hope quickly died when another voice that wasn't Liko's spoke:

"Hi, Liko's mommy!"

"Hello, Meelo," said a tired Lin, "please, I beg you, give the phone to Liko."

"Gimme that," she finally heard Liko speak on the other end, his voice distant. "And do me a favor. Go ask Tenzin what an erection is. Don't tell him I told you to ask." Lin had to laugh. Tenzin wasn't around for Liko when he started asking uncomfortable questions; Lin had to give him who gave him the talk when puberty hit. But it was wrong of Liko to do that, no matter how funny it was. No matter how much Tenzin deserved it. "Please tell me you're calling to get me out of this hellhole," Liko finally answered.

"No, sorry, kid."

"Then make it quick," said Liko. "Top forty is still going."

"I'm calling 'cause it's looking like you'll have to stay the night there," she told him.

"Bullshit! Why?"

"Language," she warned. He hummed in response. "It's just the same crap as always. Look, try to eat something. I know how you get." He went on hunger strikes when things didn't go exactly how he wanted them to. When Tenzin left, he hardly ate anything for two days. "And Liko… apologize to Tenzin for making Meelo ask him what an erection is, okay?"

Liko huffed on the other end. "Is that it?"

"Yeah…"

"Okay bye, then."

She sighed. He hung up the phone before she could answer. "Bye."

"And moving into the number ten slot," said Shiro Shinobi on the radio, and Tenzin watched Liko lean forward, "is a band we saw last week. They barely made it into the top forty last week, but now it seems every nation is listening to their song, 'Dai Li On My Back.' Here now are The Drills."

"Yes!" Liko said, jumping to his feet and dancing to the atrocious sound of whatever it was the singer was doing. Not singing, in Tenzin's opinion.

"Yes!" Meelo mimicked him, celebrating something he did not quite understand. Neither did Tenzin.

Tenzin could not help but smile at that precious moment between brothers. The sun was setting and Liko's attitude seemed to have finally simmered. He spotted Jinora and Ikki giggling off in the distance as Korra spoke with that boy from her probending team. His brow rose; something seemed to be blossoming between those two. When only Jinora and Ikki returned to him, he knew something else was up. Bolin, her other teammate, the boy's brother, had gone missing, Korra told him as the ferry was already quite a distance from the island. She said she would be back in a few hours.

"What if Ryu was lying?"

"He wasn't," said Saikhan. They sat incognito in an automobile a few distances away from Triad Headquarters. The streets were quiet, empty, not even any disgusting possorats crawled about. "I mean, why would he?"

"I feel sick," said Lin after a moment. A migraine formed late in the afternoon, and it still had yet to go away. Lin had her moods: popping up out of nowhere, and coming and going as they pleased. The doctor said it was stress. He suggested she take up meditation. So did Tenzin, when they were together. But the only thing that really helped was sleep. And sex, but that wasn't happening any time soon. "Got anything?" Saikhan rummaged through the mess in his back seat and pulled out a bottle of booze. "Fuck it," she said, taking a quick sip. Not enough to make her head spin, but just enough to ease the pain.

He switched on the radio and Yowza Yaozu's scratchy voice came on at full volume, nearly blowing their cover and Lin's eardrums. Despite how she felt, she couldn't help but smile as Saikhan turned the knob to lower the volume. She knew Liko was listening; probably dancing like some fool around the island in celebration.

"Hey, Liko told me about them. They're not bad," said Saikhan. "You know this Yaozu fella is something of an outlaw in the Earth Kingdom. The Queen banned his music on the claims of defamation. He spent time in jail for it, I think."

"Half her citizens are in jail for absurd things anyway," she said. She remembered meeting her at some gala in the earth kingdom; her heir was an idiot, but she was a tyrant. "The woman is a maniac."

Saikhan turned to her. Not to say anything, just to stare. Eventually he smiled, and Lin dreaded the next words to come blabbering out of his mouth. "You know…" he started, but he fell silent as a car blasting The Drills drove past them and parked near the Triad entrance. Lin turned the radio off. After a moment, Shady Shin and a nervous kid exited the vehicle and entered Headquarters. A few moments later, a man Lin recognized from The Red Monsoon Triad emerged from an alleyway. He took a look around–Saikhan and Lin pretended to have a conversation–before entering the same building.

"You sure this isn't a turf war?" asked Saikhan.

"Not if they're planning a hit on the NTC," said Lin. "They'll need all the muscle they can get, if that's the case. But maybe Ryu's sources are wrong."

"Ryu's sources are never wrong," assured Saikhan.

A few more people entered the building, quietly and discreetly. She counted thirteen, but there was probably more inside. And the building had a back entrance.

"Call for backup, Chief?" said Saikhan, his fingers already on the police radio.

"Yeah–no wait, hold on," she said as a van pulled up. "There's more coming." Her heart sank when the van's doors opened and out emerged not Triad members but some of Amon's puppets. "Your hunch was right," said Lin, giving credit where credit was due. "They are somehow working together…" But something seemed off. They had weapons on them. Ones that sparked electricity. They entered the building ready to fight. "No. It's an ambush."

"Shit," said Saikhan. He went to the radio to call it in at headquarters. From the window she could see the Triad members were putting up a fight, but the chi blockers quickly overpowered them. It wasn't even a fair fight; Amon's goons were stronger than she had thought. And they were out as fast as they entered, carrying the stunned benders back to their van. "They sure work fast," said Saikhan. "What do we do?" Lin watched as the kid from before, crying, got thrown into the van with the others.

"Call off backup," ordered Lin. Saikhan looked at her like she was drunk. "We don't want them to know we're here." And so he quickly called it off. Thankfully no sirens had sounded yet. They seemed in the clear. "We'll follow them," said Lin, and Saikhan started up his car. "Find out where they're taking them."

As they pulled out to follow the van, Lin thought she spotted what looked like two figures riding a polar bear dog in the rearview mirror. Maybe she did drink a little too much. Her migraine was still attacking at full force.

"We are grateful for this delicious food," said Tenzin, bowing his head, "for happiness, for compassion and for love." His family all sat around him. Again, Liko sat farthest from him. Meelo right next to him. And the girls at his side. Meelo was already gorging down his food at the end of the prayer, but stopped abruptly when he realized Liko wasn't eating.

"Eat your food, Meelo," instructed Tenzin.

Meelo turned to Liko for guidance. Liko gestured for him to continue eating, and so Meelo continued as he was before.

"A bit slower, Meelo," instructed Tenzin.

Again, with a mouthful of rice and a booger dangling from his nostril, he turned to Liko. His brother nodded for him to eat slower. And so he ate slower.

"Something wrong with your food, dear ," Pema asked Liko when she noticed he wasn't eating, and Liko visibly tensed. She was kind, but Tenzin did sometimes wonder if it took her a bit more effort to be kind to Liko. He was grateful for all her effort, regardless.

"No… I'm sure it's fine," said Liko.

"We can always fix something else for you, if you'd like," said Tenzin.

"I suppose you're not used to everything being vegetarian," said Pema with a slight laugh. " I'm afraid that's all we eat around here. I'll be sure to pick up some meat next time I'm at the market. Just for you."

"That is kind of you, Pema," said Tenzin. He turned to Liko, who had his head faced down toward the table. "Liko, isn't that kind of Pema?"

"Yeah…" he said through gritted teeth.

After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Liko slid his bowl away from him and stood. "I'm… just gonna call it a night."

He walked out without excusing himself. Tenzin quickly apologized to Pema, who shrugged it off. He wondered if she cared. Meelo looked toward the door, wondering what he should do. "Finish your dinner, Meelo," instructed Tenzin.

Liko was not around to give him guidance, so he obeyed his father's orders with little issue.

They followed Amon's goons to an abandoned warehouse. Too open to park anywhere near the building, they drove on by, pretending to be on a casual night drive. "That must be where they're keeping them," said Lin, looking back to get a good look at the place. She remembered a few equalist riots occurred near this part of the town. Maybe it was their headquarters. Maybe that was where Amon was. She wanted to bust in there and get the whole thing over with, but she knew it wasn't safe.

"Jiang said there's an Equalist rally happening tomorrow," said Saikhan as he drove on. "I bet that's where they're holding it."

"I wonder what they're gonna do with them," said Lin.

They sat in silence for a long moment. And Lin realized she hadn't yet put her seatbelt on. She bent it to secure her body as Saikhan turned on the radio. It was the end of a probending match. Wolfbats won, a knockout. She'll have Lu and Gang go undercover tomorrow night. Have them wear a wire.

Liko sat wide awake. He hated the bed. He hated the sheets. Hell, he even hated the smell of the place. It smelled too much like incense. It smelled too much like him . He wanted to climb out the window and swim back to the city, back to his home; he knew where they hid the key. But he refused to cry; too many nights he spent doing exactly that. And he was the bad guy? He would always be the bad guy! He wanted to scream and yell, he wanted to throw a tantrum, but that would just prove everybody right. He just wanted to leave.

He couldn't take it; he stood to leave. He would leave a note for them that read: 'Fuck you, Tenzin!' Because fuck you, Tenzin! But his door creaked open when he reached his window, and Meelo appeared with a look of wonder in his eyes.

"Where are you going?"

"Nowhere," said Liko. And after a moment, he returned to his bed.

"Oh. Can I sleep in here with you?"

"Me too?" came Ikki's voice from the hall. She appeared at the door with that same look of wonder. "Korra's not yet back and I'm worried."

"Um, sure, I guess," he said, and Meelo airbent himself onto the bed. And Liko winced as he stepped on his groin. Ikki was more gentle, opting to exclude her bending when climbing into bed. Part of him expected Jinora to come in, but she was older, probably too immersed in a book to care about the world around her. In truth, Liko was uncomfortable being squished in a small bed with two other people. He liked his space; he wanted them to leave, but he didn't want to be unkind.

"Liko?" said Ikki after a moment.

"Hmm…?"

"Are you mad at us?"

"No," came Liko's response. He was easing into comfort now, but not quite there yet.

"Are you mad at our mommy?" she continued.

"No," said Liko, surprised at his own answer.

"Are you mad at daddy?"

"Yeah…" he answered quietly. And she hugged him in response. Meelo was already asleep, his foot pinching Liko's stomach. "But, um, mostly, I'm just mad at… myself."

Tenzin fully expected, fully prepared, for teenage rebellion, but this was just unacceptable. To be out so late… and with a boy. What if the media catches wind? He tried contacting Lin, but she wasn't even at headquarters; too busy with the Triad bust, he was sure. He half expected her to waltz in the next morning. He prepared a speech and everything. When she didn't, and when morning turned into afternoon, and afternoon turned into evening, he wondered if something else happened. Zaheer and those terrorists were locked up–but then there was also Amon to think about. That story about that family… If that happened to her, oh, spirits, he would never forgive himself. But if it turned out she was up to funny business… oh, well, he would send her back to the south pole as punishment!

He had just gotten off the phone with Lin's secretary, Jiang, when Wang informed him of her return. He mentally prepared for a lecture, but really he just wanted to know she was okay. And what happened?

"He can take people's bending away for good," she told him, and his heart sank. He knew Amon was dangerous, he knew he was a serious threat to Republic City, but this? It was impossible, and yet he believed every word Korra told him.

She went to bed right after, poor girl. At least she found her friend.

Lin arrived soon after, looking just as exhausted as Korra, if not more. It had been a long weekend for both of them. "Lin–"

"Where's Korra?" She was in one of her moods, and he could tell by the way she avoided the light that she also had a migraine.

"She's in bed," he said. "I've been trying to contact you–"

"She nearly blew our cover with that crap she pulled tonight."

He paused. "I take it you already know… about Amon."

"Of course I know. It's my job to know, Tenzin!" And she winced in pain. He moved to comfort her; she pulled away. Liko appeared, and she collected herself quickly, masking any pain she had. "Tell her to stay out of my way."

"Lin, she is the…" But she was already moving toward the ferry, waving for Liko to follow her. And Liko did so obediently, not even turning back to say goodbye. Tenzin waved at them as they left, though he was sure they weren't looking.