A/N: Let's get to it. Please review.

A Terrible Synergy

Chapter 11

His breath was hot as it rolled off her face tickling her skin; it was warm, welcoming her into his world. He pressed her roughly against the wall angling his head sharply into hers in order to deepen the kiss, his tongue exploring every recess of her mouth. The movements of his lips were insistent and unrelenting as if he aimed to suck the very air from her lungs. His hands felt down her body; she could feel his desire. Korra bit down catching his lower lip in her mouth sucking on it slightly. He stopped briefly, his deep blue eyes taking in the sight of her aroused state. She wore a victorious grin across her face as if his lip was the most valued possession of mankind, and he couldn't do anything about it. The porcelain mask had been pushed to the side a long time ago by Korra's roaming hands. She released the prize of his lip breathing hard; there wasn't an inch of space between them.

"I don't know if I can stop," he was smiling, almost laughing, making the waterbender extremely happy. He felt like a love-sick teenager, "Korra, you're simply too much," he whispered planting two gentle, chaste kisses on her neck. He wasn't planning on doing anything with her in the first place, but she always muddled his plans as well as thoughts.

"Who said you could stop?" she answered with slight annoyance poking his chest with her right index finger.

"You know I can't do this here, Korra." It was extraordinary how the tension before just released from the room once they embraced each other. It was hard to fight against the attraction he held for the woman.

"Ah I see… I'm too much of a risk." she questioned sarcastically rolling her eyes. The impetuous, mischievous mood she was now in didn't help in pushing him away. It only exacerbated the burning ach of desire between his legs. Still Korra continued to push his buttons, but he intended on keeping his promise to himself that he would refrain from having sex with her, at least until she was out of the compound. He couldn't take that chance anymore due to rumors of insubordination surfacing in his ranks.

The Avatar was answered with a soft chuckle, and she felt his midsection quiver beneath her hands, "You're always a high risk, essentially a suicide mission every time I see you," he slowly detangled himself from her and slipped his dark hood back to its normal position, his mask was in his hand, "because it's either life or death with you." The words did hold some truth to them; Korra was either his salvation or his demise and he couldn't discern which.

"Come on, you big, tough professional. Are you too afraid to take a chance then?" The waterbender shouted humorously.

Amusement stretched across his features from her remark as he quickly covered her mouth, stepping closer to her like she wanted, "Spirits, Korra, be quiet. I know I sent the guards away but who knows who's out there. Plus, you're a real screamer in the bedroom. It simply would not work. Do you want everyone hear Amon get the better of you?"

"Well you're not Amon in my eyes," she confessed softly, "and no you big jerk, I don't scream," she punched his torso lightly to force her point across.

He disregarded her first statement, focusing on teasing her further, "Oh, yes you are," she crossed her arms and frowned like a four year old and he couldn't resist sniggering at the sight of it, "Don't worry I do find it rather endearing. Ask anyone, anything you do inspires the quality of love and adoration."

She raised her hands in small defeat, "Fine, since you're being so nice to me right now, I do scream a lot. It isn't so crime, you just make me so excited, and if you're so worried about people hearing why don't you just take me back to your office?"

He nodded and the corners of his lips arched upward, "Well aren't you eager. I we could, but there's too much on line tomorrow, Korra. I need you to be safe along with everybody else and that means I need my mind focused," he kissed her temple and pulled away from her body tying his mask in place.

"Don't leave me. Why don't you stay for a little while, please? Plus, you got to make up for lost time you, dope."

He grinned. Spirits, he couldn't resist her, "Okay."

They rested side by side against the wall. They talked for a long stretch of time almost forgetting who they were and where they were. He couldn't recall how they got on the subjects of fairy tales. Good memories of his mother came rushing back to him as he told her old stories from long ago: tales of adventure, lives of heroes, and legends of the spirit wilds. They were things she never believed a man of logic and rational thought like him would ever speak of. His words built the backgrounds of battlefields and constructed the cosmos in a colorful quilt of detail right before her eyes.

"You haven't said anything in a while," he noted. He was unaware how long they had been there.

"I just like listening to you talk. The stories are surprising coming from a guy like you."

He was still for a few moments collecting his thoughts, "I used dream all the time. I dreamed about a world were people lived together in peace, a place where people treated each other fairly with respect and dignity," he hummed and exhaled, "I suppose when I younger I would look up see the stars and couldn't help but dream and then one day I stopped looking up and started looking forward."

"Why?"

"Nevermind, it's not important."

"Okay, if you say so," she leaned her head against his shoulder pad and closed her eyes. When she woke up he was not there.

-0-

"Amon! Come out and face us!" the newly appointed Chief of Police, Chief Saikhan, roared through the empty factory building. The chief was met with no reply, only the silencing reverberation of his voice. He called out once more and again he was met with silence. He turned to his second in command, "Check the perimeter, it looks like this bastard skipped us." He looked up at the rafters for some sign of movement; he had posted metalbenders there long before they had arrived in the hopes of catching Amon off guard. The chief sighed rubbing his bald head in irritation, he snapped his head around barking at the closest commanding officer, "Where's Tarrlok?"

"Outside near the prisoner cars, sir," there were two trucks of equalist POWs waiting outside along with a police force of fifty individuals; failure was not an option.

"Well go get him. I knew this plan was stupid. Why the hell would you try to negotiate with a full blown terrorist?" he grumbled.

"Patience Saikhan,"councilman Tarrlok placated walking up to him, "This was Tenzin's idea and we are more than happy to help the Avatar are we not?"

"Yes, yes we are, sir. My apologizes."

They stood at the large entrance of the old, unused factory building, "Happy that you agree with me. Now go send a patrol and search the back corridors of this building. We'll at least find something useful against this psychopath," Tarrlok turned to exit but was stopped by the sound of a familiar, deep, cutting voice.

"That would be needless," a hooded figure walked into the light of the open door. All the officers froze at the mouth of the entrance, "Why, haven't you just arrived?" he took a step closer placing his hands behind his back, "Come now, councilman Tarrlok, It would be awfully rude for you and your group of friends to leave the party now," he raised his hand extending his index finger toward the supports above and a rope dropped down from the ceiling holding a restrained and gagged metalbender from his bound wrists. They had used the officer's own wires to restrain him; it was the most humiliating sight to see. The caught man rested on his knees pulling hard against the ropes like a deranged animal, "It has come to my attention that you had sent some guests early," Amon took each step toward the man in a methodically sinister fashion, the white of his mask glowing in the shady light of the factory beams. The sun was beginning to set outside stretching the block of light that masked man stood in. The Northern Watertribe Councilman was paralyzed looking at the hooded man as he increased in size and vanity with every step. As he paced closer toward the struggling metalbender, nine more officers dropped from the ceiling, "Ah, what a shame, I was never one for parties," he was behind the frantic officer now; his muffled screams could be heard by every officer in the room. All bodies stood frozen from fear, "I shall now cleanse you of your impurity."

"Noatak, Stop!" The Avatar shouted from behind him spitting out her own gag. His muscles tensed but he did not turn, he would not answer to his name. Rage swelled in his veins; she had used his name, and he realized how foolish he was to believe that they could work. They were enemies, how could love between them ever subsist? Without turning, he ordered with a stern, apathetic tone, "Why don't you gag her a little bit better next time? Her babbling isn't helping anyone." Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her features crumble in dolefulness. Her attractive face, which he had grown to love, transformed into one that would haunt him. Every beautiful contour of her face was outlined by the hollowness of betrayal. She could just tear him apart with just one look, and still he told himself it was what needed to be done; that she did not need him; that he was not his place. He extended his hand toward the man's forehead in his infamous gesture. As the pad of his thumb hovered over the man's forehead, he could faintly make out the word 'monster'. There was no doubt in his mind: that is what he was and will only ever be. Korra may have found the lost pieces of himself but she could never put him back together again, he was too far gone.

The councilman stayed there helplessly observing the hooded man. Amon hoped that he had not heard the name Korra had uttered. Even if he did his actions spoke against his connection to the name. Below his thumb shouts of bloody murder were cried, but they no more than background static Amon's ears. Suddenly, Tarrlok launched a large icicle toward the hooded man's neck. Amon gracefully caught it in his other hand, surprising the councilman and all spectators at his impressive show of dexterity.

"Step away from the Officer!" Tarrlok warned, "He is a man of public service and goodwill. Stop this. Stop this right now!"

The grip he held on the man dissipated, and the restrained police officer slumped over in externally invoked fatigue. His bending was gone. "And what possible power could you hold over me? You can't save this man as much as stopping the sun from setting each evening. It is inevitable. There is no use. Why resist it?" He dropped the icicle, which shattered instantly as it made contact to the ground, "I have the Avatar isn't that what you came for?"

"I have an army outside, Amon. Hand over the Avatar and I will return the equalists POWs and allow you to leave peacefully."

The councilman's peace offer was futile. He started to walk to the next police officer, "It's pitiful that you benders do not see what kind of position you are in. You cannot escape it. You cannot destroy it. I have given life to it and now the people see. It is the idea of equality. It has given hope to those that you had cast aside and left to die; those who you thought were worthless. Now the tables have turned, you are no longer the enforcer, the brute, but this powerless man on the floor fighting against something that is impregnable," he pressed his finger on the second officer's forehead. The man was lashing violently back and forth, "You will fight and struggle but you cannot win," the man collapsed to the floor, no light was left in his eyes, "Even if you deny it, your influence over the world has long run its course and the new generation, the nonbenders, will rightfully come to power. You label me a terrorist, a criminal, because I am threat to the system," he pushed the police officer to the side, "Well you're right in one respect. I am a threat, and I won't stop until every bender is equalized," he paused allowing his words to settle among his stunned audience, "Now that I have your full, uninterrupted attention, I ask you to give us what was promised and I will allow you to leave peacefully." He could've taken them all, but he was in no mood to wage a war tonight.

"Give us the Avatar, Amon. That is all we want. Stop this unnecessary madness," Councilman Tenzin shouted. He had entered the enclosure the moment he was notified of Amon's attendance a few minutes ago.

The masked figure laughed darkly, "This unnecessary madness? But you benders were the ones to act belligerently in the first place by placing these officers here."

"I promise you that those officers were only there to guarantee the Avatar's safe transfer," Tenzin pleaded.

"And why should I believe that faulty allegation? The presence of Couniclman Tarrlok is clearly seen. He is in fact the leader of the taskforce assigned to bring me to my knees. It wouldn't be like him to pass up an opportunity like this," Saikhan swallowed nervously as the masked man continued, "and if by some miraculous chance you did succeed in defeating me, the revolution would never die. You cannot kill an idea and the hope it creates, no matter how small, how insubstantial it is because it is here, and it exists," he motioned his hand and two chi blockers appeared with a properly gagged Avatar along with his second in command and small militia of thirty mechatanks. The two councilmen glanced at each other in trepidation; the man before them was a lunatic with seemingly limitless power.

The masked man confiscated the Avatar from the two chiblockers gripping her bicep firmly. He pushed her forth toward the light. Korra looked up at him wondering what happened to the man she had talked to last night, the one she had kissed. He didn't dare look down at her. His voice dipped low whispering the words I'm sorry. A petal of his heart wilted and died then. It was stupid of him to believe that there was something for them, that he actually thought something waited from them down the road. How could that ever be? They were who they were and nothing could ever change that.

She heard him swallow uneasily, only she was that close, but his voice did not vacillate, "I am feeling rather gracious today. If you do follow the agreed conditions of releasing the POWs in addition to giving me these caught police officers, I will give you the Avatar unharmed. It shouldn't be a problem since the officers were here to ensure her safe return in the first place." He knew he had to show some form of leverage and asking for the officers was a display of his control over them and the situation. Korra shouted but the cloth over her mouth caught any of her screams. She did not want innocent officers to sacrifice themselves for her. They only were doing their jobs.

The Chief of Police had no idea what to do. The Equalist leader had pushed them into a corner they wished they would never, ever be in. He had no intention of starting a war today. "If they have the Avatar, they most certainly would win if a war broke out," Saikhan muttered across to Couniclman Tarrlok.

"That's not necessarily true. He won't take her bending away until the end. He wouldn't be that careless. She'd only become a martyr for all benders to unite under," the Tarrlok turned toward the airbender, "Tenzin, can Korra restore bending like your father could?"

"No. She hasn't accessed the Avatar State yet."

"Will she be able to?"

"I don't know. Amon won't kill these people, will he?"

"He hasn't killed anyone we know of, but I won't be surprised if he did. The man is a psychopath."

"There's no need for this at all," Tenzin pinched his nose in frustration, "I don't want to risk anybody's life, I just Korra back and safe."

"What about my men!?" Saikhan roared over the two bickering councilmen.

"Chief, we will be okay. Free the, Avatar. We all knew the risk of this mission," one of the restrained officers shouted. He had managed to remove the cloth from his mouth. The chief lowered his gaze and signaled for the POW prison cars.

-0-

Tarrlok didn't want the Avatar back. With her out of the picture every aspect of his plan was running smoothly, but if he had failed to retrieve her, the city would have most likely responded with a negative reaction. On the other hand, they had already lost a dozen officers during the raid of Hiroshi Sato's mansion a week earlier and in losing ten more, the elite police force was running thin. The only reason Tarrlok wanted her back was the chance to question her about the name she belted out. He waited until she was alone back at city hall, when Tenzin was retrieving his flying bison to take her back to the Air Temple.

"I need to talk to you right now, Avatar," He pulled her roughly to the side, to the cover of a column in the main camber of city hall, "Who were you calling to?"

"What?" the Avatar looked confused.

"You used the name Noatak. Who were you calling to?" he asked more persistently.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Tarrlok."

"Stop playing dumb. Were you calling to Amon?"

"Yes."

"Why did you use the name Noatak?"

"I don't know. It was my grandfather's name. I guess sitting alone in a cell for more than a week messes with your head."

He shook his head laughing bitterly, "You know you're not very good at lying."

"Who says I'm lying?"

"You're protecting a very dangerous man. More dangerous than you'll ever realize. Not even an hour ago, he took the bending of ten innocent officers that had sacrificed themselves for your release. So what was it? Was he nice to you? Comforting? Did he fuck you?"

Her eyes narrowed, "Fuck you, Tarrlok," she spat out with as much disgust as she could muster. Korra tried to step away from the column but he pinned her down.

"It seems I hit a nerve. I didn't know that the Avatar had a soft spot for masked man. Now, you're going to listen to me right now: you're going to go home and rest up, then you going meet me in my office tomorrow night and you're going tell me everything."

"And why should I come?"

"I'll throw your friends in jail for rest of their lives."

"You can't do that."

"Considering that they're close acquaintances to Miss Sato, whose father is a full blown equalist, I think anything is possible," he released his grip on her as Tenzin came walking in, "I'll see you tomorrow night, Avatar Korra."