Published November 4, 2016
"Bet On It"
"There was a young girl who saw the bear and felt sorry for it. This girl came in the night and cut the rope while the bear lay sleeping. The bear awoke with a start, seeing the rope had been cut."
"So the bear escaped then," said Thomas. "It ran off in the night and found its way home."
"No," said Thorn. "The bear looked all around and, not knowing what to do, woke his master and showed him the rope. Now the master knew he had trained the bear well. From that day forward, there was no rope, no stake, nothing to keep the bear at his master's side. And yet the bear never tried to leave. He died of loneliness, clutching the old cut rope at night like a child's blanket, wishing for the courage to leave."
"That's a very sad story," I said. "Why do you think your mother told it to you?"
"So I would never wander off and be captured, I suppose," said Thorn. "But my mother knew my headstrong nature. She knew I might roam into places I shouldn't go. Maybe she wanted me to know that if ever I was captured, the rope that held me was a lie, and that if I chose, I could escape."
"It's never too late to stop believing a lie," said Thomas. "You need only courage and friends, and you have both."
~ Patrick Carman, The Land of Elyon: Into the Mist
The only things that keep Korra from going stir-crazy are her glimpses of Aang's past, which enable her to see places she has never visited in her current incarnation. That ability almost makes up for not being able to move about freely in her physical body.
She tries sleeping more, hoping to witness more of Aang's memories, but when she reaches a semi-conscious state, the visions that appear to her seem to be from her own subconscious. Her fear, confusion, and anger swirl into scenarios that startle her out of sleep.
She is young, with short legs and arms, and a chubby stomach peeking out from the hem of her shirt. She is in the park with other children, playing in the pond while the park rangers are not looking. They try to catch fish with their bare hands, and sneak up on the frogs that rest in the water or the reeds.
The frogs remind Korra of an experiment she once read about in a science book. She sticks her hands in the water and somehow combines her waterbending and firebending to heat up the pond. It happens so gradually that the frogs do not notice the change until they are burning; then they want to jump out of the water, but they are paralyzed.
"It wasn't the water that killed them," a boy says to her. "It was his inability to decide when to jump."
One child looks almost like a mirror image of Korra, except that he is a boy. Is that how she would look if she were a boy? "Come play with us," he says, and she follows him to the open grassy area.
They begin playing hide-and-explode, with multiple teams and some confusing system of alliances. Korra finds herself encumbered by an armful of dolls, including the one Amon gave her long ago; the rest are borrowed from Asami. She cannot carry them with her while she runs, and they make her take up more space when she needs to find small spaces to hide in.
"I'll hide them for you," someone offers kindly, but it is a waterbender, and benders can't be trusted, so Korra shakes her head.
"I can help," another child says, this one a mean-looking non-bender.
Korra is afraid to entrust her dolls to either side. How can she choose?
She decides to take a risk with the non-bender, but the girl throws the doll—which she realizes with horror is made of porcelain—on the ground, crushing it.
Korra is so upset she is unable to stop the other children, benders of all kinds, from taking her remaining dolls. One burns in flames; another dissolves in water; another sinks into the muddy earth.
And then they turn on her. "If you're not on our team," each side says, "you're the enemy."
"I'm not! I'm not!" Korra cries, sorry for her dolls and afraid for herself.
She is truly crying when she wakes up. She clutches her sheets to her chest. It has been a long time since she had a real nightmare. She remembers running to Amon's room and snuggling with him until she fell asleep again. She wonders who stopped coming to the other first as she got older.
Asami asked her something after they went to that pro-bending match: "Are you ever lonely?" Korra has always been fine with being alone, but now she misses everyone. She misses her family, her friends, and the person she thought her guardian was.
She writes about each dream in her journal and reads her accounts before ripping them out and tearing them apart. She cannot risk Amon learning about anything so private and precious as her subconscious. If he knew about the connection she made with Aang just days ago—she does not know what he would do, but it would bode no good.
Korra continues writing in an attempt to make sense of her situation, but when she writes in ordinary prose she merely rambles, her thoughts going in circles as usual. So she tries a list format instead.
Things I'd do if I had unlimited physical and political power:
1. Replace monarchies and bureaucracies with democratically elected leaders
2. End air pollution
3. End water pollution
4. Use water- and earthbending to build vacation houses around the world—one of ice, one underwater, one on a mountain, one in a volcano
These are all changes that Amon would probably approve. Maybe, if the revolution succeeds, Korra can achieve these goals afterward. That would be some consolation after failing to stop him from causing so much destruction.
Amon makes some effort to interact with her. He invites her to play pai sho, and she agrees because she has to keep her mind sharp. They play for best out of five games, but they are so evenly matched that they keep one-upping each other and arriving at a tie. They do chores. When they pass by each other, he attempts small talk, but it is hard to say much when so little changes. His niceties irritate her because she knows how empty they are.
As Korra stews about all the things he has done and plans to do, she turns to her journal again. Her pencil almost presses through the paper as she makes another list.
Things I hate about him:
1. His smugness
2. His ethics
3. His secrets
4. His lies
5. His self-righteousness
6. His power
7. He has killed people (and I don't know whether this counts as murder)
8. He hurt my parents
9. He threatened my friends
10. He tries to make me feel like the bad guy in the situation
11. He won't let me be with people who I care about, or who care about me
12. He won't let me use my bending
13. He denies me my freedom
14. He denies me the chance to find my destiny
15. He wants me to love him in spite of everything
16. He knows what he did was wrong, but he won't admit it
17. He thinks love is enough to merit forgiveness even though he doesn't have any remorse
18. I don't know if I can stop loving him
19. I don't know if I can, or should, hate him
20. He makes me feel afraid, a feeling I hate
Korra wonders how she could justify any soft feelings toward her adoptive father at this point, after learning what kind of person he really is. She finds herself making another list, a failed attempt to balance out the other.
Things I like about him:
1. His cooking
2. His patience
3. His calmness
4. The way he changes his voice when quoting someone, telling a story, or reading a book
5. He used to take me camping
6. He taught me how to read, write, fish, swim, fight offensively
7. He didn't leave me in a terrible situation after kidnapping me
8. He took reasonably good care of me
The last two might not count; they basically state that he was not as much of a jerk as he could have been. That phrase pulls at something in her memory—Korra thinks it had to do with Zuko before he switched sides in the Hundred Year War.
It occurs to Korra that she could list what she likes and dislikes about her friends as well. She misses them so much, but when she thinks about it, she still does not know them very well.
Things I like about Bolin:
1. He taught me to appreciate pro-bending (which turned out to be really cool)
2. He likes animals
3. He is friendly
4. He is an open book
5. He made me realize not all benders are bad
6. He makes me feel good
Things I dislike about Bolin:
1. He trusts people too easily
2. He thinks he likes me, but he doesn't really know me
3. He will probably never know the real me
4. He cannot ever know the real me
5. He reminds me of what a rotten person I am
6. He would be starstruck if he knew I was the Avatar
7. He would be crushed if he knew I was an Equalist
For some reason Korra feels uneasy when she thinks about Mako. She misses the scarf, now, and almost wishes she had not given it to Asami. She can understand why it means so much to him, having a physical connection to a loved one no longer with you.
Things I like about Mako:
1. He loves his brother
2. He cares about Asami
3. He helped me without expecting anything in return
4. He seems to like me
5. Even if he doesn't like me, he is kind to me anyway
6. He let me borrow his scarf
7. He knows how to take care of himself and his one-person family (like me)
8. He was able to get away from the people who took care of him but weren't trustworthy (unlike me)
Mako left the Triple Threats because that was the best thing for Bolin. Ironically, Korra is staying with Amon for the same reason.
Things I dislike about Mako:
1. I don't know in what way or to what extent he cares about Asami
2. He acts unimpressed when I do things well
3. He purposely forms his eyebrows into weird shapes
4. He is better than me at firebending
5. He thinks my dad is abusive
6. He totally jumped to that conclusion
7. He turned out to be (kind of) right
8. He would hate me if he knew I was an Equalist
9. He would be completely justified in hating me
Korra wonders if it would be better or worse if Mako were completely right, if Noatak was abusive in the way he imagined. It would probably be better, because then the only one whose safety would be at risk would be Korra herself. Then she could fight or leave without endangering anyone else.
She adds some items between the brothers' dislike columns, showing that they have them in common:
~ Their friends and former mentors are criminals
~ I can't be completely myself around them.
~ When they're nice to me I know I don't deserve it.
~ I don't know how to tell the difference between liking either of them as a friend or as a potential boyfriend. And I can't even let myself think that way.
~ They don't know how much I care about them and how much I'm sacrificing for them and even if it's selfish I want them to at least recognize how I feel and what I do for them.
Korra pays close attention to Amon's communication. He is too alert and observant for her to risk fully eavesdropping, but she takes note of the phone ringing and telegrams being delivered. He sometimes hears him speaking into a two-way radio in his bedroom, but she cannot get close enough to make out the words without him noticing.
After a week and several days, he answers the phone and has an unusual reaction: surprise, skepticism, suspicion, and finally a kind of shrewdness. Korra watches these strange shifts from her bedroom doorframe, ducking away when he glances in her direction. She sits casually on the floor, and absently arranges a solitaire game, until Amon finally hangs up and approaches her room.
He knocks politely before opening the door open enough to look in. "May I come in?"
"You're already doing that."
He pushes the door fully open and looks down at her. "Hiroshi just informed me that Asami is coming to call on you."
Korra tries to appear neutral, even as her heart leaps with hope and joy. She merely looks at him and says, "Oh."
"He wants you to speak with her about Equalism."
Her surprise makes the short but significant leap to shock. "He wants me to do what now?"
Amon sits on the edge of her bed and explains. "Hiroshi knows of your work, and he believes you can help her to see things from our point of view."
"And you're going to make me?"
"I'm going to let you go outside and have a private conversation with your friend."
"Huh?"
He taps his fingertips together, looking contemplative. "I've spent the last few days wondering how to end this arrangement, since it doesn't seem to be doing either of us any good. I realize, now, that you won't be able to prove your trustworthiness unless I give you a chance to prove it. This is how you can earn back your freedom. If you stay in line and do everything in your power to persuade her, I can make allowances for you to do other activities outside the apartment. It shouldn't be hard—you know why we fight and what we stand for. Help her to understand it."
"Asami and I have already talked about Equalism," Korra reminds him. "That's how I found out she doesn't believe in it—at least not your execution of it."
He merely shrugs. "What she does is ultimately up to her. All you have to do is lead the ostrich-horse to the water."
Korra understands the aphorism, but just to annoy him she mutters, "Asami's a million times smarter than an ostrich-horse."
He stands and comes over to her, extending a hand. "There's something I need to do, first. Stand up."
"You're not …"
"You need to stay secret, Korra."
Of course: if she cannot bend, then any claim she makes to being the Avatar will simply be unbelievable. She thinks about fighting him, but then he might not let her leave at all. If she wants this concession, she will have to make one in return. So she stands up, albeit ignoring his outstretched hand, and braces herself for impact. She manages to stifle her gasps and remain standing as he jabs the pressure points on each arm and leg; it takes less than half a minute. Then he pats her arm and leaves her to get ready.
Korra wonders if this could be her chance to escape, but this wild hypothetical feels choked by deterrents and obstacles. The idea of leaving Republic City, and possibly never returning, brings a strange pain. She grew up in this city and considers it her home. More importantly, fleeing would leave Mako and Bolin vulnerable, and likely prompt Amon to go after them, as a way of punishing Korra. So if she leaves, the boys would have to leave as well, or find a safe place to hide in the city. Maybe the three of them—or four, if Asami joins them—could run away together. Could they survive as fugitives, or exiles, or immigrants? Korra wonders if she could find her parents, and whether would they be willing to let a few teenage strangers move in and stay with them.
She puts on some clean clothes, and tries to think of what, if anything, to bring. She takes her money from her jewelry box. She knows she cannot arouse Amon's suspicion by packing as though she intends to leave. As she looks around her room, she decides she really does not need anything here. All she owns is memorabilia of the life Amon built for her.
When the intercom buzzes, Amon beats her to the door. Asami's voice rings out. "It's Asami. May I take Korra out for a while? Maybe get some lunch?"
Amon presses the button and answers. "I don't see why not. But I'd like you to bring her back within two hours."
"I understand, sir."
He turns and sees Korra, dressed and ready to leave. He smiles at her in a way that does not quite reach his eyes; she cannot identify the emotion in them. He lays a heavy but gentle hand on her shoulder. "I know you'll do what's right."
Korra waits a beat before answering honestly, "I'll try."
She goes down the many stairs and finds Asami at the front door, dressed in her athletic Future Industries jumpsuit. When she smiles at Korra, her eyes are sad and tired, but also tender, understanding, forgiving.
Korra hugs her, because, in addition to being happy and relieved, she is pretty sure they both need it. She knows she is right when Asami holds onto her just as tightly: it is a hug that lingers, giving and receiving support. The past week has been hard for both of them.
"Are you okay?" Korra asks as they exit the building together.
"Of course I'm not. And neither are you."
"You're right, that was a stupid question."
Once they get in the car, Asami leans back in her seat with her hands folded across her stomach, sighing.
"Do you really want to get food?" Korra asks as she fastens her seatbelt. "I mean, we can if you want, but I don't have much of an appetite."
Asami pauses, steers the car away from the sidewalk, and then says, "Not really." She is quiet until they come to a red light; then she looks at Korra and asks, "Do you know why I'm here?"
"Yeah. And I think we should find someplace, you know, more private to talk about it. Private but open, in case—" She breaks off.
"You think that someone might follow us?"
"Yeah, I do. Or …" Korra soundlessly taps the police scanner in the car's dashboard.
Asami's eyes widen in understanding. She tries to move her lips without making sound. Can they hear us?
Don't know for sure, Korra answers with a shrug.
They sit in silence for a moment. Then Asami makes a convincingly casual suggestion. "Why don't we get some tea?"
"That would be nice."
They find a teashop in a neighborhood that looks like the Fire Nation. Korra orders a blend that is supposed to both calm the mind and energize the body. Maybe that will help her think or fight her way through whatever happens now. Asami orders a fruit infusion that her mother used to drink. They violate traditional tea etiquette by getting their drinks to-go rather than sitting and taking the time to enjoy them, but they do not have the luxury of time, and there are too many people in the shop for them to be able to have a private conversation.
"We could go to the docks," Korra says, once they are back in the car with their drinks. She speaks clearly so her voice can be heard through any bugs planted in the car. "Not to use the boats or anything, just to see the ocean."
Asami nods. "Sounds good to me."
They park close enough to the docks that they will be able to keep the car in sight. Korra points out the longest, widest dock. "Want to race?"
In spite of everything, Asami smiles and takes off at the same moment as Korra.
After being indoors for so long, being able to run and jump and climb is exhilarating, like the first warm day after winter. This must be how animals feel when coming out of hibernation, their dormant strength and energy returning as they finally venture outside their safe but stifling shelters.
They both slow down near the end of the pier, come to a stop together, and look out at the bay as they catch their breath. The last time they were here together was one of those summer days spent boating and fishing with Korra's father.
Asami sits on the edge of the dock, her boots just barely touching the water below. "Will we be okay here?"
"I think so. I'm sure they're watching us, but they can't get close enough to hear us without our noticing." Korra sits sideways so she can keep one eye on the car and another on the water and horizon, with Asami directly in front of her.
They can speak freely now that they are alone, but neither of them is sure how to begin addressing the topic they are supposed to discuss.
After a moment, Asami begins asking questions to prompt her. "How long have you been … aware of this whole thing?"
"A few years," Korra admits.
"How long have you been personally, actively involved with it?"
"I started learning chi-blocking when I was fifteen. I started field work about a year ago."
"A year?"
"There was a lot of training involved, and things only started to pick up recently …"
"I can't believe it." Asami's carefully plucked eyebrows knit together. "But if you knew about it all along, then what just recently happened between you and your dad?"
"My dad also kept a secret from me, and it's even bigger than the movement. It's another I'd-tell-you-but-then-I'd-have-to-kill-you thing … it does have to do with Equalism, though." Korra cannot make a claim that she cannot prove, but she supposes she can tell at least part of the truth. "I learned about something my dad did that made me pretty much lose my respect for him. We had a fight, and … he said if I left him or told anyone his secrets, he'd send Equalists to capture Mako and Bolin. Then they'd be imprisoned, probably equalized, and maybe tortured."
Asami blanches when she hears this. Korra pulls her legs up to her chest, feeling small and ashamed under her friend's horrified stare. "That's why I've been scared to do or say anything. I don't think my dad would hurt me, and I don't care if I get in trouble with the police or whoever, but I can't involve Mako and Bolin. I don't want you guys to suffer, least of all because of me." Korra feels bad enough knowing that her parents suffered—and perhaps are still suffering—because of her. No one else should, especially if it is in her power to prevent it. "Probably the only reason my dad let me go out tonight is because he has people watching them. If we do or say anything that threatens the Equalists, they'll snatch up the boys before we can reach them."
Now Asami looks angry. "So, our dads don't trust us after all."
"Not really. At least, mine doesn't trust me. He said he wants to, though. He really wants me on his side."
"My dad wants that for me, too. I guess what I need to know now is … do you still support the Equalists? I mean, if you weren't being blackmailed, and you could walk away without anyone getting hurt, would you still work for them?"
"I … don't know anymore."
Asami reaches over to touch her hand. "Be honest with yourself. What does your conscience say?"
"That's the problem: it's pulling me two ways. Personal loyalties aside … some people really shouldn't have bending in their arsenal. Others—like Mako and Bolin, and the airbenders—I can't believe deserve to lose it. But I know how sincerely the Equalists believe in what they're doing. When I talk to people who believe in it, they're so confident … they have this conviction that makes it seem like they must be right."
"They may have been right in the beginning—they may even still have some good points—but they've gone too far, and from what my father said, it sounds like they're planning to go even farther."
"Yeah. Meeting Mako and Bolin made me wonder if we might be wrong about benders—or bending—being inherently bad. Ever since the Revelation, when Amon revealed his power and his plan for equalizing the world, I've wondered whether he was making a mistake. I asked my da—" Korra almost slips up, forgetting how much Asami still does not know. "I asked whether Amon was planning to equalize all benders, even children and airbenders. For kids it seems harsh, and for airbenders it seems unnecessary. But he says he can't make exceptions."
Asami exhales and seems to steel herself. "Okay. Listen. When you were at my house and we talked about the Equalists … I didn't mention this, because, well, it's an awkward analogy. It's my reason for knowing from the start that Amon's plan for 'equalizing' people is wrong. The way I see it, taking away bending in order to prevent violence is like castrating a man to prevent rape."
Korra gapes, shocked at such a crude and accusatory comparison from such a refined and open-minded friend. Asami holds up a gloved hand to ask for patience. "Hear me out. You can try to justify either measure by saying they don't need that particular thing to survive. But taking that thing is a personal, bodily invasion, and takes away a part of them, something that can bring them pleasure and even has the power to create good things."
Korra thinks this over. "Okay … but that doesn't change the fact that rape is wrong," she points out.
"Yeah, but so is punishing many for the actions of a few. It'd be hurting people to prevent them from hurting people, which makes no sense." Asami pauses. "If you want a female comparison—imagine if someone suggested performing mastectomies on women, to prevent them from seducing men. How would you feel if someone did that to you?"
Korra almost unconsciously folds her arms over her breasts. She remembers her own mixed feelings when they started to develop, what a nuisance they were when she exercised. But, if she is honest with herself, she is used to them, even to the point of liking them. Ultimately, their purpose is to nurture: if she ever has children, they will depend on that part of her, which will enhance their physical and psychological bond. Losing them would mean losing that ability and experience.
Asami sums up the hypothetical loss. "You'd still be you, but you wouldn't be the same. There would always be a piece of you missing."
Korra closes her eyes, feeling like she is finally giving in after holding out in her beliefs for as long as she could. "I can see what you mean." A disconcerting yet amusing thought crosses her mind, and she quirks an eyebrow at Asami. "Did you tell your dad you thought of this?"
Asami snorts, momentarily cracking a smile. "No way. Not that I wouldn't like to—and I'd love to see the look on his face if I did—but if I'd told him what I really think, he wouldn't have let me out of the house."
"How did you convince him to let you go out?"
"He taught me a thing or two about persuasion; and he wanted to hear what I said, so he believed it pretty easily. I told him I wanted to talk to you and see what you thought about the whole thing. He was thrilled—apparently you're an exemplary Equalist. He thinks you can finish my conversion."
"My dad wants me to do that, too. He says if I do, he'll un-ground me. So … if I can't, do you think you could fake it, for my sake?"
Asami laughs, briefly, before giving her a strange look. "Are you serious?"
"Eh … kind of." Korra feels sheepish under Asami's gaze.
Asami lowers her eyes, looking at her gloved hands resting on her lap. Her voice is grim. "Korra … you know how I feel about the Equalists. There's no way I can support them. And I don't want to pretend I do. Even if, I don't know, I spied on them for the police, deceiving my dad would be wrong. So my options are total loyalty, or total betrayal."
"No middle ground?"
"Not in this case. There's middle ground between benders and Equalists who want to fight each other, but where our dads are concerned … I don't see any." Asami raises her head and looks Korra in the eye. "I want to go to the police, and I want you to come with me."
Korra is not surprised, but hearing the words spoken aloud makes her grimace and clench her fists. Asami continues, "I know it's betraying our dads—and, if you stand by them, it would hurt you too—but some things are more important. It's like, honor on a personal level—being loyal to people you should be loyal to—and honor on a different level, being a good person, doing the right thing."
"Which level is higher?"
"The latter. I think sticking with your moral code matters more than loyalty to a person. I can't just ignore what I learned and let them keep hurting people. If the Equalists really want to 'equalize' the whole world, then eventually they'll go after innocent people, including our friends. If it's in my power to expose them, to help the police stop them—I don't think I have a choice."
The very act of saying those words puts them, and the boys, in danger. Plus, Asami is taking a huge risk by addressing those words to Korra, an Equalist who has not officially deserted. "What makes you think you can trust me? Besides the fact that we're friends."
Asami shrugs coolly. "I thought, if you were being pressured into this, you should at least be given the chance to decide for yourself. If you don't want to come, you can run. I won't chase you. If you try to stop me … well, I don't know which of us is a better fighter when it comes right down to it." She flexes her fingers in her lap, and Korra wonders, too, what it would be like if they truly fought each other, holding nothing back. "I think I could take you out before speeding to the police station. That's not a threat—"
"It's okay, I understand." Korra appreciates that Asami stayed to offer her a way out. But going to the police would not be a mere escape from this mess; it would be switching sides, submitting to a different authority, the benders, the government, the police. "Do you know what that will mean for me?"
"Yes, but I think it's ultimately in your best interests to turn yourself in. They might let you off easier because you were influenced by your father. You might get some jail time, but it won't be as bad as it will if you're still fighting for the Equalists when they fall."
"I'm not sure that they will. You don't know them like I do; they're efficient and they'll fight to the death for their cause."
Asami folds her arms, annoyed at Korra's contrariness. "So are you trying to choose based on who you think will win?"
"No!"
"So, deep down, you know the Equalists are wrong."
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean the other side is necessarily right. I've been going over this in my head for days, and I can see the good and bad in both sides, and that just makes it harder to choose one over the other."
"Here's how I see at the situation. It's not about the people involved, because there's always bound to be a mix of good and bad people on each side—that happens in most conflicts. So it's really about the principles involved. We each need to do what we believe is right … even if it's not what the people we love think is right. Can you understand that?"
"Yes. I agree."
"If you don't like the benders in our government … what do you think would help more people? Letting the Equalists take over, or working in the system to make things better?"
Korra looks out over the bay. She remembers the list she made of things she would do if she had unlimited power. Her physical and spiritual power may be limited, but it is still great, and so is her potential political power … if only she could make full use of it.
If she can be free to be the Avatar, she will be able to put an end to the corruption in the world's political and economic systems. Amon will not let her do that, because he wants to be the people's hero as long as he is alive and able to lead them. But the benders in Republic City's government might help her embrace her role as the Avatar, and then she could enact the kind of changes the non-benders and other disadvantaged groups need.
"I guess … I can live with working in the system."
Asami nods, satisfied with this answer.
"But," Korra continues, "you're forgetting the biggest reason I haven't done anything. Mako and Bolin. Our dads will know something's up when we don't come before our curfew, and in the time it takes us to convince the police we're telling the truth, the Equalists could snatch up the boys."
Asami does not seem to be thinking the same way she is: where Korra sees only obstacles, Asami continues to present ideas, looking for gaps between the prison bars. "We could get the boys ourselves and bring them with us while we go to the police. Or we could drive them out of the city before we go."
"That doesn't seem fair to them. Our going to get them will mean they have to leave their home."
"Well, they're already in danger. That won't change no matter what we choose. So I say we pick the boys up, tell them what we're doing, and tell them their options: they can hide, leave the city, or come with us."
Korra remembers Aang's memories of decisions his friends made. That old earthbender king believed in doing nothing, waiting for the right moment to take action. How can she tell which moment is the right one?
She stalls by thinking about the logistics of the decision. It is not so very late, but she is already tired. If she turns herself in, she will have to spend spend hours confessing, and going through whatever procedure they have for documenting new criminals. Then where will she sleep? In a holding cell at the police station, or in the prison?
If she does not go now, then when? Amon might not let her go out tomorrow. She has no way of knowing when she will have another chance. What if she never gets another opportunity like this?
Asami interrupts her deliberation. "The longer we wait to decide, the more dangerous it'll be to side with the city. If we tell them what we know now, they might be able to get an advantage on the Equalists. If you wait until they do something bad that tips you over the edge, you'll wish you had helped stop them earlier."
Korra knows she is right. There will always be a reason not to go. They have already ruled out the best reasons. She shouldn't give in to such stupid excuses. She should be as strong in her resolve as she is in her body and personality.
In truth, Korra knows what she has to do. She only wishes that she did not have to do it—to push away her father figure once and for all; to abandon her old, comfortable way of life; to ally herself with strangers who may not be trustworthy themselves, in the hope of finding ones who are.
She thinks of Toph Beifong, and Lord Zuko and his wife, who all defied their parents to fight for Avatar Aang and his friends. She hopes she can have the same kind of courage and conviction they had during the Hundred Year War.
Korra swallows and says, "Okay." She meets Asami's eyes. "If we can get the boys to safety, then I'll go to the police with you."
Asami smiles in true gratitude. "Thank you."
They both stand up slowly. Once on her feet, Korra takes a deep breath, filling her lungs with fresh, salty air. This is the place where she first arrived in the United Republic of Nations, where she decided to give her kidnapper a chance and let him be her father. Now, in the same spot, she is casting him off. She thinks of the way they said goodbye, less than two hours ago, as though they would not be apart long enough to miss each other. It was not the kind of farewell exchanged before parting ways for a long time, possibly forever. Yet there would be no good way for the two of them to say goodbye if they knew they were going to fight against each other.
She mentally prays to her past lives: Please help me.
"Let's find a restroom before we go." Asami lowers her voice to add, "If we have to fight, better not have a full bladder." Korra laughs but agrees because she has a good point.
They each keep watch while the other uses a public toilet near the beach. In the stall, Korra flexes her fingers and rubs them together, willing them to light with fire. They spark, and a few small flames emerge from between them, but she cannot sustain it. She supposes this means her chi is no longer completely blocked, but it is not flowing well enough to use her bending effectively.
They try to look casual as they walk back to the Satomobile. Asami takes Korra's hand and squeezes it reassuringly. "We're doing the right thing."
Korra nods. "I know. I just hope we won't regret it."
"I don't think we'll ever regret doing the right thing."
"It's possible. Sometimes doing what's right can cause more trouble than if you'd done nothing, or done the wrong thing."
Asami smiles playfully. "Maybe we should start a school of philosophy. We could be the heads of rival debate teams." They used to say things like this often, hypothesizing plans for future ventures in which they would be partners.
Korra hopes this plan will not be like the others. This is the first one they are actually taking steps to carry out. They never risked or invested anything to carry out their other plans. For this plan they are risking their freedom and investing their future.
This way of thinking is not helpful, Korra reminds herself. On missions with the Equalists, she didn't stop to think about the big picture, of the overarching goals and stakes; she always had to focus on the immediate action. Right now her priority is to protect her friends. Once she accomplishes that, she will allow herself to worry about the other points.
Music: "Bet On It" from High School Musical 2, and "On the Steps of the Palace" from Into the Woods. I got the idea for Korra's lists from the song "Seven Things" by Miley Cyrus.