A/N: I don't even want to explain why this update is so late. Please enjoy and if you do have time please write your thoughts in a review. AMORRA LIVES ON.

A Terrible Synergy

Chapter 2

"Noatak?"

He felt the tendons in his jaw contract the instant his ears picked up on her voice. He turned, albeit reluctantly. He could determine from her appearance that she came from the probending arena, most likely from practice with her new team, the Fire Ferrets.

"Good Evening, Avatar," he tipped his head in acknowledgement and started to walk in the opposite direction. He was at least a hundred meters from where she stood.

"Hey!" she yelled, a desperate shrill thick in her voice, "Where are you going?" she gripped her bag tighter shouting louder, "Hold up you, moron!" He couldn't believe how utterly absurd she was, flailing around like that in order to gain his attention. Obviously, she didn't care about what others perceived of her or she simply was just as unreasonable as she made herself out to be. Making a fool out of herself or not, it seemed that city has fallen into step with the Avatar. Her face was a ubiquitous sight. It was plastered on the front page of every magazine and newspaper headliner. It was mildly irritating how the media was so desperate to cling onto something even if it was just an unexperienced, teenaged Avatar in-training. Nevertheless, He had to keep tabs on her. He couldn't let his guard down just because she was a teenager. The publicity she generally received were superficial articles about her and what she would do for the city in the future. He recalled that only one interview was taken by the Avatar because her master would only allow one. Master Tenzin didn't want his precious student's learning environment corrupted by the influences of the city, the most toxic of them being the press. He remembered reading that interview on her. It was brief, only a couple of questions and her answers were short and clipped as if she was told beforehand not to talk too long.

What will you do for this city, Avatar Korra?

I will restore balance.

"Hey! Wait up!" He heard her yelling from behind. She was still a considerable distance away and his long, graceful strides weren't helping her in the least to catch up.

He could sense her position was about to be equal with his so he stopped short forcing her to over step him. He could feel her pulse through his refined sensibilities. It was strong and youthful. He looked down at her with smug amusement as he subconsciously clasped his hands behind his back. He stood stock still waiting for what she had to say, his expression defined by its normal indifference as he watched her catch her breath.

"What was that about?" she gasped both weary from her practice and exasperated from his little stunt. The waterbender was bent over with her hands cupping her knees.

"I was simply walking home," he stated blithely, "I didn't know you wanted to stop and chat," his words were like acid on his tongue trying to decay his feigned smile.

"Well, yeah," she brushed a few loose strands of hair from her face, "I haven't seen you in weeks. Where have you been?"

"Working, sleeping, then working some more. My professional life tends to be all consuming," he answered honestly but without warmth. His voice sounded lower than usual.

"Alright, so you've been away but what was that all about?" the Avatar stuck her hand out irritably syncing her actions with her words, "You saw me walking over here towards you but then you walked in the total opposite direction and you're talking to me like I am an idiot… Spirits! Do you have a stick up your ass or something?" Apparently, the Avatar was not happy with him.

Her words contained a palpable sting but, to her displeasure, his expression maintained its unaffected look. "I don't have time to be running around with teenage girls," he retorted bitterly, his face was stone, "I'm a professional man."

Unsurprising to him, the comment instantly invoked an impulsive and reckless reaction from the Avatar. Her spine shot up straight in a split second as her exhaustion disappeared with a sudden burst of vitality. He smiled inwardly at the sight of her: eye burrows furrowed and arms crossed in a defensive manner. Noatak could get under her skin in a matter of seconds but she could barely lay a scratch on his tough exterior. He could see her bruised pride in the outline of her face, and the color of her eyes seemed to grow darker as if to indicate her shift in mood, "I remember you to be a nice guy, and here I was going to repay you for that meal you treated me to," she motioned to leave.

"Korra," her name immediately caught her attention despite her need to ignore him and walk away like she should have. Her head turned up to look at him; it was the way he said her name, how it left his lips as a warm informality with no title that caught her attention, "Don't be so naïve. People lie."

Korra was not prepared for his simple and overwhelmingly cynical statement but, rather, for something more profound and insightful. Bewilderment suddenly replaced her unhappiness and she crossed her arms defensively again, "And what's that's supposed to mean?"

He pivoted on his heels with unnatural swiftness, tucking his hands that were stationed behind his back smoothly into his pockets, "Whatever you want it too," he responded mockingly with his back to her. He paced a few steps away to the railing of the dock. Below the bay curled up against the shore, the waves almost licking the tips of his boots. He angled his torso forward resting his forearms on the metal bar. A breeze brushed pass his shoulder blades ruffling his hair slightly. She hadn't moved since, heart rate slowed. He held his hands together idly watching the sun recede into the cover of the horizon. The whole goal of his petulant demeanor was to rid himself of her presence; however, the Avatar would not cease her endeavors. Much like he was when he first met her.

Suddenly, he felt her hand on his shoulder and how he wanted to swat it away like the annoying insect she was but her voice thwarted any more of his hostile thoughts. It was soft and innocent, "It's just me, Noatak," her tone was so soothing to the point that he couldn't determine whether it was the same person behind him. There was no strand of hostility laced in her speech just pure concern for another human being. He made a strong effort to stop the guilt from congregating in his chest as he realized his earlier behavior was not proper towards a woman, or any person for that matter. He didn't understand his mixed emotions at all. He could feel his hands shaking.

"I don't follow your comment about disloyalty, but I haven't committed any crime here. It's just me, Korra, not just the Avatar… And you're Noatak, not just a big shot professional. We can talk like normal human beings or if you want to talk like stiff guys in suits I'm fine for an intellectual conversation," she moved to the space beside him with her back against the rail so she had a clear shot of his face. She almost forgotten how handsome he was and she felt her heart flutter the way when she first met Mako a week and a half ago.

There was silence for a long moment as both let stillness bring peace to their minds. The Avatar noticed his back raising to release a heavy sigh, "My sincere apologies, Avatar Korra. Life just seems to get ahead of me sometimes. I have been unfair to you." Wow, what an ironic statement he thought.

He was surprised by her quick pardon, "It's okay. I can vouch for that. I get caught up in everything especially since I'm not used to a place like this."

They stood their talking to one other for a good amount of time. It was almost pleasant to have a simple conversation. He didn't want to admit that was enjoying it and, in the end, almost forgot who he was talking to. The tension he had felt before lessened.

"See that tree right there," he pointed out in front of him and the darkening outline of a tree could be found. It was growing in the water yet remained close to the shoreline.

"Yeah, I do. What about it?"

"It's a Red Mangrove common to Ember Island," he stated, "It's a miracle that it's even surviving in a temporal climate like this. It's a misfit among its peers." He could sympathize with that unfortunate plant. He too stemmed from the tree of unconventional idiosyncrasy and did not belong among his peers.

"I didn't know that. Trees were always trees to me since I grew on a plane of ice and packed snow. You seem to know a lot about everything," she laughed, duly intrigued.

"I suppose I do," he mumbled as the last of the sun dipped below the visible surface. The two remained motionless in the darkness listening to other's breath. He couldn't comprehend his impulse to reach for her even though he knew exactly where she stood; he couldn't disregard the feeling of uncertainty in his mind. He could still hear her heart beat thudding in his ears as the streetlights started to produce light. They hadn't realized that they were looking at one another the entire time until the light flooded in; he could feel her heart rate spike as they both turned away.

"I should really get going," she spoke, the sodium light framed her face in a yellow, godlike glow, "I have to attend Councilman's Tarrlok's Gala in a few hours." He already knew about the gathering and the councilman's goal of persuading the Avatar to join his task force. He stood no threat to him or his plans. Maybe he would be successful in weeding out bits and pieces of his equalist group, but he could never take down entirety of it. His men were too well trained, his intelligence systems too complex, and his image too powerful for any one group to conquer. The only person powerful enough was the Avatar.

"Ah, Councilman Tarrlok," he spoke inaudibly. His eyes were distant as he examined the dark waters of the bay. He looked as if were searching for something that had been lost a long time ago.

"Shouldn't you be going to a party like this? I mean you told me that you're a coordinator or something," she asked.

He wanted to cruse himself. He had exposed too much about who he was, "Yes, I used to work with politicians and officials, but I'm afraid that I'm more of an information broker these days. There is a lot going on in this city," he lied attempting to cover up the damage he made, "I am not the type to attend insignificant parties like this one. It just wastes resources and time."

"I agree with you," she smiled, "If I cared about it in the least, I would have probably punched you because it's held in my honor."

"Of course it is. You are one of the most valuable assets an individual can have to their cause. Tarrlok would certainly love for you to take down the Equalist threat with his ragtag group of hooligans. By all means I think a war much needed to change the myopic mindset of this godforsaken city," he suddenly roared not caring if he spoke out.

"So you know about all this conflict?"

"Sure I do. I thought we have already established that I know everything," he joked contrasting his previous coldhearted statement, "What would you like to know?" He was curious what she would ask him.

"Do you know anything about Amon?" she spoke as if she were afraid something horrible would happen if she uttered his name.

The feeling of victory washed over him. He had successfully invaded her mind with his seeds of fear and they had blossomed fruitfully. He could feel her clinging onto his every word, and, at that moment, he held the all power to take advantage of her, "Yes, what about him?"

"Do you know where he came from? Do you know what he can do?"

"Don't be silly. Everyone knows what he's capable of even if you just believe they're rumors. I've heard that he can take bending away."

She nodded, "I saw him do it. I went to one of his rallies on the east side," she paused, "He said that he received the power from the spirits and that it was his duty to correct the world by eradicating bending. He said that I had failed the world," her hands tightened around the metal railing almost violently making her knuckles go white, "but how can he say that? Who hell does he think he is?"

The spark was back in her eyes again. He watched her intently and found that he had nothing to say. Her head turned up towards him, "Do you know where he came from?" she questioned again. Smart of her to get to know the enemy.

"He came from a rural part of the Earth Kingdom. I don't remember the name it, but he grew up in a tiny village where he lived and worked on a farm with his family. They were very poor and they could not afford to own their own property or house so they worked as sharecroppers, which are tenant farmers that give up part of their crop for rent, on a large stretch of land owned by a wealthy earthbender. There were multiple families there other than their own, all of them being nonbenders. And being nonbenders, they were poorest of poor and were the scum of the earth in society's eye, but they found a deep and rich community and sense of comradery and happiness among themselves. It's said that he and his family were happy for some time. Then one year, a terrible drought racked the country and killed almost all crops. The landlord needed to make up lost profit, so he hired fire nation mercenaries and disposed of Amon's family, quickly selling their part of the property away to a wealthy buyer. The landlord didn't need to kill his family. He could have let them go and starve on the streets, but he didn't. He ordered them all to death, but what he didn't know was that the firebenders left the eldest son out of the four alive by the begging of his father. It's said that the mercenaries made him watch as they cut his family members down one by one in front of him, and later burned his face to an unrecognizable condition because they did not want to be reprimanded by their boss for letting a rotting nonbender live. The eldest boy became Amon and if it wasn't for that earthbender's hatred, maybe he and the equalists wouldn't exist. The firebenders could've just killed him too," he paused, "but they were taking their anger out from the hundred year war. You see, they used to be Fire Nation soldiers. They thought that they should be treated as heroes, yet they were being persecuted by their own country for their war crimes and were trapped in hiding. I guess they took their frustrations out on him because his country was the cause. They wanted to make him as scarred as the Fire Nation was," Noatak ended. It all was just a cruel lie. He had play the part. It was a believable, harrowing story.

Korra processed his story slowly. Her gaze set out on the black current of the bay. She pressed her lips in a thin line as she came to a conclusion, "How do you know so much about him?"

"It's my business to know these things," he answered causally trying to brush off her suspicion. The Avatar became quiet again. She was thinking about something, and it bothered him that he didn't know what it was. It was getting late and darker with every minute that passed.

"Korra, you should stay away from him. He's dangerous."

He watched in slight enjoyment as her face shrank in distress. Suddenly, he thought it sickening that he felt joy in her fear. He didn't understand himself. She made an effort to conceal her anxiety but it was abundant in her expression swirling around in the blueness of her eyes, "Okay…" the waterbender started but stopped unable to find her words, "Do you know anything else about him?"

"You look as if you saw a ghost," he pointed out bluntly, "I'm sure if you are cautious no harm will come to you," but you're not. Always brash and irrational; sure you'll rather protect your image than admit you're afraid he mused, "That's all the information I have about him."

As if on signal she stated, "I'm not afraid of him, you know."

It took every fiber in his body not to laugh, "Alright then, I'm sure that we will see great things from you, Avatar," he bowed humbly, "Good night and do enjoy that party for me."

The young woman remained there as he left, "I hope we see each other soon," it was as if fate itself was speaking.

Updated: 1/13/2017