Cadence Chapter Fourteen: Captive

"Is this feeling any better?" Korra asked, her hands placed on either side of Zaheer's face as she struggled to keep the touch of her healing energy as light as possible.

She was trying to influence the hormonal balance of Zaheer's body. It sounded easy, but in practice was incredibly difficult. Hormones influenced so much of the body, rarely having just one effect, so she would only risk tipping the balance the slightest bit.

Not to mention, that the collar had decided to remind her of its existence in the form of the light, empty feeling curling behind her eyes.

"I feel calmer," the older man said, as though he couldn't quite believe it.

"That's only because Mako used his pin-point bending on you," Ming Hua sniped, as she prepared to leave the room on an errand. "It has nothing to do with her."

Korra ignored Ming Hua but Zaheer frowned at her, a shadow of anger flitting across his features. Korra was glad that some of Zaheer's usual spirit seemed to be returning; he had been so guilty about attacking her he'd barely been able to look her in the eye when she'd first approached him afterwards.

"Don't you have somewhere to be?" Ghazan asked Ming Hua rudely. "Somewhere that's not here?"

Ming Hua sneered and shut the door with a rather loud 'bang'. Korra privately thought it was a miracle the sound didn't wake Mako; his battle with Viper must have truly exhausted him.

"Do you feel anything other than more calm?" Korra queried, as though she and Zaheer hadn't been interrupted. "Headache? Nausea? Anything that spontaneously developed while I was working on you?"

Zaheer shook his head causing Korra to beam. "Excellent! I think we may be on the right track here, as far as 'curing' you goes. I'll be perfectly honest, I'm not sure if I could ever completely cure you, but I certainly might be able to help-"

Korra's words were cut off by a large yawn.

"You might want to take your own advice about that sleeping-thing, Princess," Ghazan commented. Then, with a flirtatious grin, "Don't get me wrong, I'm sure you'd look hot even with bags under your eyes-"

Korra snorted. Ghazan's playful interest in her was good for her ego, as opposed to the constant reminder of Mako's disinterest, though that little episode when she had been healing him made her think otherwise. Sure, Bolin did much the same thing, but nowadays it seemed to be an action of habit, as opposed to any real desire for her.

As always, thoughts of Republic City brought a painful twinge of homesickness, and Korra had to forcefully steer her mind elsewhere to keep her mood from plummeting.

"It's this stupid collar," she groused. "If this was off-"

"I'll have another go at it," Ghazan offered.

Korra slumped back against the wall behind her, sitting down and letting her head rest on it to allow him access to the lock that had frustrated him previously.

"Why don't you just try to cut it off?" Zaheer asked. "The leather is tough, and quite close to your skin, but as long as you were careful..."

Korra shook her head. "When I first got it, I wasn't going to risk cutting it off, I mean, I'm sure I wasn't the first slave to try to cut their collar off, so I thought it was a good bet that there was probably a nasty failsafe built in it somewhere that would do something to me if I tried to cut it off. And now that Mako has told me there's an electric current moving through it, I'd rather not risk it."

After all, she wasn't an idiot. Who knew what the current in the collar would do if the material it inhabited was suddenly severed? It could be perfectly harmless, or it could do something very harmful, like blow up. And frankly, she wouldn't have put it past Amon to put some lethal trick into his slave collars.

She wouldn't risk cutting it off her neck. Picking the lock was far less likely to trigger any sort of negative reaction.

Zaheer frowned, and Ghazan ran his tongue over his lips in concentration as he inspected the lock. He didn't really hold out any hope of finding anything new but felt he should look all the same.

He jabbed at the lock with the tip of a dagger, unsurprised when something seemed to bar his way. Someone inexperienced in lock picking wouldn't realise what was happening, but Ghazan had opened enough forbidden doors to know that the tip of the blade wasn't sliding in far enough to contact the tumblers.

Something was preventing it.

He tried to angle his head to see into the lock, in case he could pinpoint exactly what was causing the problem. Maybe a small rock or piece of dirt had slipped inside it during Korra's travels...

But he saw nothing; the lock was too small to really get a good view inside. He was about to ask Korrato move closer to the window and therefore the light, when Zaheer spoke softly.

"She's asleep."

At first, Ghazan thought he was talking about one of the birds that had re-alighted on the windowsill. It was only when he raised his head and glimpsed Korra's closed eyes that he realised the blonde had been talking about Korra.

It said a lot about how exhausted Korra was that she had fallen asleep within a few minutes of leaning up against the wall. And watching her work on Zaheer, Ghazan would never have guessed she'd felt the slightest bit tired.

"Should we move her?" Zaheer asked tentatively. "She doesn't look comfortable..."

"Yeah, but we better be careful. Princess is the Avatar, remember? We don't want to startle her awake and have our heads taken off."

In the end, they decided against moving Korra to a horizontal position, something told Ghazan she wouldn't remain unconscious for that big of a shift in her environment, so he and Zaheer slowly, carefully, edged her a foot or so along the wall and into the corner.

Korra stirred as her head came to rest in the small cradle provided by the juncture of the two walls, just as Zaheer was carefully shifting her legs into place.

"If you're groping me, Bolin, I'll break your arm," she threatened sleepily, her brief moment of coherency only registering hands moving her legs.

"You know, Princess, some guys might consider that a price they'd be willing to pay," Ghazan drawled, but she had drifted into sleep again.

Zaheer regarded her for a moment, as though he was a photographer trying for a perfect shot.

"Not finished with your masterpiece?" Ghazan remarked.

Zaheer ignored him, pulling a blanket from the closet and draping it over Korra, tucking it around her to ensure she'd be warm.

Only then did he resume his seat by the window with the birds.

Bolin darted through the trees, finally bursting into a tiny clearing several feet ahead of Tenzin and Jinora to find the others standing grouped around a body. A very familiar body.

Bolin gaped as he recognised Viper of the Triple Threat Triad, his body pale and stiff, showing the first stages of pallor mortis and with several daggers driven through his neck.

"What happened here?" he demanded.

"Looks like everyone else noticed the flash as well," Tenzin commented as he drew alongside the brunette boy.

"Mako and Korra were right here until a moment ago; we managed to track them," someone from behind Bolin said. "There are still traces of them left, along with several others."

"So, does that mean Korra's around here somewhere?" Bolin asked desperately.

"Well, the spattering of other foot prints suggests that Mako has other companions besides Korra," Lin said. "We'd follow the trail farther, but it ends here."

"Here?" Bolin glanced wildly around at the trees, as if expecting Mako and Korra to step out from behind one of them at any moment.

"So it's likely that they escaped fairly quickly preceding the battle," Tenzin mused, glancing around at the broken branches and scraped bark on some of the trees, "but seeing as there are no other bodies besides Viper's, that seems to suggest that Mako and Korra survived their encounter. In fact, the evidence suggests that the killing blow was dealt by Korra," he finished off grimly.

Bolin glanced down at the body.

"Daggers," Tenzin explained. "Targeted to very precise pressure points; pressure points a healer would know well."

Bolin nodded absently. At least it seemed that Mako and Korra were alright.

He knew Tenzin, Lin and even Master Katara seemed to think there was something to those rumours about Mako raping Korra, but Bolin refused to believe it. He couldn't; Mako was still Mako, deep down, which meant he wouldn't do anything like that, especially not to Korra.

"I've got something!" Jinora suddenly declared.

Everyone turned to her.

"Nowadays, my spirit projection is better than it's ever been," she grinned. "I've found Mako and Korra."

Lin raised an eyebrow, impressed in spite of herself.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Bolin said. "Lead the way!"

"Wait!" Tenzin barked. "What about the body?"

Lin considered it. It was true that many things could be learned by examining a bender's corpse, but they had been sent on a rescue mission, not to gather intelligence. And if they took Viper's body with them, they would surely be subjected to Triple Threat attacks as the gang tried to claim the corpse so they could bury it.

"We leave it here," he ordered. "Korra is our priority."

"Do you think she's alright?" Zaheer asked, his eyes on Korra, who was still dozing against the wall. "She's been sleeping for a while...

"I'm sure Princess is fine," Ghazan said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Just kinda worn out. Mako hasn't woken up yet either."

The fire bender was still dead to the world as well, slumbering peacefully in his futon.

That was the case, until the door was kicked down by Ming Hua. "Mako, wake up; we're being followed!"

Korra jerked out of her sleep with a loud, inelegant snort, and Mako blinked awake.

"Who's following us?" Korra asked, putting aside her confusion about how she'd ended up in the corner with a blanket over her. "The Triple Threat?"

"We leave now," Mako ordered, his voice firm as he rose. "Get everything ready. Zaheer, grab the map

and mark the location of every Triad hideout you learned about."

"Who's following us?" Korra repeated.

Mako glanced at Ming Hua, his eyes ordering her to answer.

"It's either the Triple Threat or members of the Republic City Police Force," she said at last.

"Republic City Police Force..." A small, incredulous joy began to build behind Korra's chest. "Then you can let me go!"

Mako turned to her. "What was that?"

"You can let me go!" she insisted.

"No, I can't!" he said shortly. "We cannot be sure who it is that's following us."

Ming Hua, apparently seeing an opportunity to get rid of the other female member of their little group, chimed in with, "There were several of them, benders too, if that helps."

"That has to be the Police Force!" Korra exclaimed.

Mako was silent.

"Come on; if you just let me stay here, they'll catch up and I can go with them."

Mako knew that this was presenting a perfect solution to his dilemma, but somehow he couldn't bring himself to grasp it. He had become accustomed to Korra's presence, liked having her as company.

And he couldn't forget the picture she'd made when they were seeking shelter sheltering in the cave earlier, lit only by the faint glow of her energy as she healed him, her eyes large and deep when she looked up at him, lips slightly parted...

Having Korra around upset the careful balance within himself he had built over the year of defection. Her presence, her laughter, her warmth, they all threatened to disturb his resolve because everything she did only drew his mind from killing Zolt, made him wish he was someone else, anyone else.

Someone who didn't have a near-impossible obstacle in his path, one that would likely take his life.

But if he let her go it would all be over. He could return to what he was, focusing on Zolt's demise to the exclusion of all else...

But what if he didn't want to let her go? What if he'd come to like this?

"We cannot be sure," he repeated. "You will remain with me."

Ghazan didn't think it was accidental that Mako had said 'me' instead of 'us'.

"But she can't do anything," Ming Hua argued. "Her healing is mediocre at best-"

"Enough!" Mako snarled. "We leave now, that includes you, Korra."

Korra stared at him, feeling her chest constrict with pain. After his confession as to his reason for taking her with him, and that episode inside the cave, she had thought they were growing a little closer. That maybe he respected her enough to trust that she could take care of herself, even with the collar on.

But apparently, that wasn't the case. And now she felt foolish for even considering the possibility that

Mako might see her as anything more than a weak tag-along.

She turned away, gritting her teeth against the threatening sting of tears. She'd cried enough over Mako.

She had returned to help him during his battle with Viper, yes, but that was different. She hadn't known if he was injured or not, he had been in need of help, but now, he was on his feet again, and perfectly capable of getting along fine without her. For Spirits sake, now that he knew how difficult it was to take down a member of the Triple Threat, she would have thought he'd understand just how strong she'd become!

But apparently not. And the disappointment was almost more than she could bear.

Zaheer moved to her side, resting one huge hand on her shoulder in sympathy. Korra grasped his hand in her own, smiling gratefully up at him, and something hard and cold lodged in Mako's gut. Zaheer lifted his eyes to meet Mako's, and the fire bender found himself tensing automatically. Zaheer was very fond of Korra, it was entirely possible he might forgo his previous friendship with P'Li and actually attack Mako if he thought he was causing Korra distress.

But the moment dragged on without any action being taken, and at last Zaheer bent down to speak to Korra again. "You should be cautious, Korra. If there is truly no way to tell who is pursuing us..."

"Yeah," the medic sighed, but Mako could tell that she was only feinting agreement so she wouldn't hurt Zaheer's feelings.

"You seem pretty much recovered," Ghazan remarked to Mako as they left the room.

Mako nodded.

Of course, he owed it all to Korra's healing.

Korra trailed out behind them, struggling not to show how depressed she truly felt. For a moment or two, she considered flatly refusing to go anywhere, but she didn't want to push Mako too far. He had once threatened to knock her out in order to bring her along with him, and seeing as he seemed to have scrapped whatever tentative connection they'd been building lately, she didn't think he'd hesitate to do so. As long as she remained conscious, there was a chance she could escape.

And seeing as her friends were nearby, she didn't even have to evade Mako and company all the way back to Republic City; just long enough for her to find her friends.

"For now, we'll follow up on what Zaheer has informed us of," Mako was saying. "We'll head to various Triad hideouts."

The others nodded, except for Korra, and stepped forward. Ming Hua's hand shot out, seizing Zaheer's shoulder and bringing the larger man to a halt.

"Do you think you could help me out?" she asked in a low voice.

"With what?"

"I have the shirt that Mako was wearing," she said, brandishing the said shirt that was soaked in sweat and blood.

"Why do you have Mako's torn up clothes?" Zaheer asked, nothing but bland curiosity in his

tone.

"Never mind why!" she hissed. "Republic City Police tend to make good use of trackers; we can use this to throw them off our trail, except I don't have anything of Korra's."

"You want me to ask her for something?" Zaheer queried, sounding as though he was getting angry.

"We need a diversion, something to get them off our tails," Ming Hua wheedled. "After all, we assume it's Republic City Police, but we don't know for sure, do we? It could be The Triple Threat, after Mako and Korra because they were involved in the death of one of their elite members. You don't want The Triple Threat following Korra, do you?"

Zaheer frowned, appearing to debate the matter over in his mind. Then, his decision obviously reached, he stepped up his pace, catching up with the others in front of them. He spoke with Korra, though Ming Hua couldn't hear what they were saying, she could see Zaheer's lips moving. Korra gave a small, sad smile and shrugged the small pack she was carrying from her back, passing it to Zaheer without qualm.

Zaheer then slowly dropped back until he was level with Ming Hua once more.

"What did you do?" she asked.

Zaheer was looking a little guilty. "I just said she was looking tired, so if she wanted, I could carry her pack for her."

'Stupid girl,' Ming Hua thought scornfully. 'Far too trusting...'

Zaheer unfastened Korra's pack, drawing out a small bundle of dusty, sweat-streaked clothes. The clothes Korra had been wearing earlier that day, before she swapped them for the clean set she was wearing now.

"Bingo," Ming Hua smirked.

"Should we divide up our belongings as well?" Zaheer asked.

"I don't think that's necessary," Ming Hua said, giving him Mako's shirt and taking Korra's in her own hands. "If it's Republic City tracking us, they'll only be after Mako and Korra. I doubt they even know we exist. And if it's the Triple Threat, the same applies, after all, they are the only two among us who've had any contact with the Triple Threat, so they're the only ones they're interested in. Now toss Korra's shirt away!"

"We've got a problem!" Jinora called. "Mako and Korra are on the move and it seems they're not alone; whoever they're with just scattered in all directions."

"They must have come up with a plan to throw us off the trail," Lin commented.

"But how could they have known we were on their trail in the first place?" Ikki asked.

"My guess would be whoever Mako is with is extremely talented at sensing energy," the silver-haired woman replied.

"Then let's search all directions, we split up!" Bolin proclaimed.

Lin was about to rebuff Bolin's suggest, but before she had a chance, he was off into the thick forest before them. She sighed in exasperation but gave the signal for the other members of the rescue team to follow in Bolin's direction; one of them was sure to intercept their missing Avatar and her keeper.

Korra was quiet, and Mako told himself he wasn't bothered by it. The group had stopped in a small clearing, close to where one of the Triad bases was said to be.

Korra had yet to speak to him. She hadn't even glanced in his direction. If she had been furious, he could have brushed it off and simply waited for her to cool down. If she had tried to escape, he could have stopped her, but this bleak aura, as though she were deeply hurt but trying not to give into it, was something he simply didn't know how to deal with. He didn't want to see her miserable.

They'd traveled like this for barely forty-five minutes, and already Mako was feeling a desperate need to somehow make things better.

He wanted to see her smile again, really smile, even if it was only at either Ghazan or Zaheer. He wanted see that fiery spirit of hers again, even if it was only glimpsed in flashes when she scowled at him.

Her attacks he had been able to counter. Her biting remarks he had largely ignored. Korra's anger; he had been able to deal with.

But this, this quiet sadness was forcing him to realise how much he was hurting Korra by denying her her freedom.

But what could he do?

'You know what you can do...' came the voice from the depths of his mind. 'You can let her go. There are no more excuses you can make; you know it's the Police Force behind you, not The Triple Threat. Korra isn't here because you need her here; she is here because you want her here. But have you ever once stopped to consider what she wants?'

"Korra, come with me," Mako blurted suddenly. "The rest of you; stay here."

Korra clenched her jaw and begrudgingly obeyed his command, determined to act as though Mako was nothing but her keeper. From this moment on, she would owe him no loyalty, no devotion; nothing.

She had been smothering her sorrow for so long, choosing instead to focus on her anger, that when this blow was dealt she had found herself practically swept away in a sudden onslaught of depression. She was sure she had worried Zaheer, and most likely Ghazan as well, with her despondent behaviour, but she had been struggling to deal with the death of the hope that maybe, just maybe, Mako really could be dragged out of the deep, dark hole that he had fallen into.

If he had let her go, it would have proved that the Mako she once knew wasn't completely lost to the Mako that stood before her.

But he hadn't. Korra sighed and then shook her head firmly, telling herself to Avatar up and get out of this slump. Sure, it hurt, but she just had to get over it; after all, she'd dealt with Mako's defection, hadn't she? She could certainly deal with this.

Mako, for his part, was coming to terms with his prior revelation. It was rather stunning to realise that he hadn't brought Korra along with him because he was concerned about her safety, though he was in part, he'd brought along mainly because he didn't want to be without her again. He wanted her with him, so he took her, with no regard for her feelings on the matter whatsoever.

He was starting to realise that when it came to Korra, frighteningly little of his interaction with her had been done with her feelings paramount in his mind. He'd always been selfish when it came to Korra, so he would be generous this time. She wanted her freedom, and even though he didn't want to see her go, he would give it to her.

They found the cave that served as the entrance to the Triad base, and Mako entered, turning down one of the tunnels, just enough so that he was hidden from any passers by, but not far in to be without a way of escape, should they need one.

"What's going on?" Korra asked quietly when he turned to face her.

The dim light of the cave threw Mako's mind back to when they'd hidden in cave earlier, more specifically to the moment when he'd been consumed with the idea of kissing her.

If he was going to let her go, couldn't he be selfish just one more time?

Acting upon this notion, he approached her slowly until he was barely an inch away from her.

Anyone else would have been intimidated by his advance, uncomfortable with his proximity, but even now, after all he had done to her, Korra's eyes showed nothing but mild puzzlement at his actions.

Korra stared up at Mako, unable to decipher his motives for doing so. If he expected to frighten her into cooperation, explaining why he'd left the rest of the gang behind, then he was going to be sadly disappointed.

He was making no move to intimidate her, however. On the contrary, the hand that traced the side of her face before falling away again brought back memories of their stolen moment from within their temporary shelter.

'What is he playing at?' she wondered.

Before she could ponder any further, Mako stepped forward, closing the last particle of distance between them, dropped his face towards hers, and kissed her.

To say Korra was surprised would be a gross understatement. Her whole body froze, her turquoise eyes staring blindly at Mako's closed lids.

Part of Korra's mind, the part that was still functioning, could admit that when she had thought of

Mako kissing her, which had happened more often that she liked to admit since she had healed him, she had imagined he would probably be forceful, maybe even a bit rough. It would have made sense for Mako to approach a kiss like it was some form of combat.

But instead, he was achingly gentle. His mouth rested only lightly against hers, and he made no move to deepen the kiss. He made no attempt to hold her in the kiss, their lips were their only point of contact, his arms hanging limp at his sides. Korra's arms weren't moving either, but that was mainly out of shock.

He stepped back before she could respond, his eyes opening once more. And it might have Korra's imagination, but she could have sworn his face was that of remorse.

"You're free to go," Mako said quietly, looking away from her.

Korra gaped at him, certain she'd misheard. "What?"

"You're free to go," he repeated, sounding as though the words pained him.

He looked like he would have said something more, instead he tensed suddenly, turning his neck slowly to gaze past Korra.

Korra guessed that he'd sensed something. "Is there someone there?" she asked, all business. She was the Avatar, after all and kisses out of nowhere from teenage crushes you never really stopped loving could be pushed aside in favour of focusing on immediate threats.

Mako didn't answer, too focused in staring into the dim cave. "Who's there?"

A dark figure moved, lifting its head, revealing amber eyes, much like Mako's.

"Hello, Mako."

Zolt was standing in front of them.

Korra sucked in her breath sharply, and beside her, she saw Mako become so tense it was a wonder his bones didn't snap beneath the force his muscles were exerting.

"You're not going to rush in screaming at me like last time?" Zolt commented.

Mako smirked, cold fury in every line of his face. "This won't be like last time."

Once again, the younger fire bender moved too fast for Korra to track with her eyes. In the space of a moment, he was behind Zolt, aiming to pierce the elder with his lightning fused daggers, hoping to use the solid electricity to cleave into Zolt's vital points while at the same time burn his flesh. Mako however, missed his opportunity to do so as Zolt used his fire bending to push off from the ground, creating just enough space between him and Mako's daggers.

"You have become strong," Zolt murmured, his voice low but perfectly audible within the cave.

"He's close," Korra whispered.

Mako seemed to think so too; he was starting to move deeper into the cave. Korra made to follow him when she suddenly felt her right wrist was seized and twisted up across her body, forcing her against a hard, lean chest. The razor edge of a small dagger pricked the skin of her throat, resting so close to the jugular vein that she could feel each individual beat of her pulse beat against the blade.

She wrapped her left hand around the arm that held the weapon, automatically trying to tug it away from her neck even as she drew breath to scream...

"One move, one sound, and I will kill you," came Zolt's voice, right next to her ear.

Korra froze.

Zolt didn't like what he was about do, but felt it was necessary. Korra had a strange hold on Mako, if the Avatar remained with Mako, Zolt was certain everything would go as it was meant to. At first, he had resented the extra variables she brought into his plan, but now he was certain that Korra had to remain with Mako at all costs.

He had intended to just deliver his challenge to Mako and leave, but when he realised that Mako was preparing to farewell the girl, he knew he had to step in.

What he had planned now would not only ensure Korra was with Mako when he killed him, but would also serve to increase the younger fire bender's thirst for his blood.

"Mako," he stated quietly.

Mako spun around, and if Zolt had any doubts as to the younger man's feelings for Korra, they were swatted away in the emotions that flooded Mako's eyes when he saw her held hostage.

It was only for a moment, just a moment before his usual mask of anger and hatred slid back into place, but that small moment had been enough. The depth of horror and blind panic in Mako's eyes in that instant spoke quite eloquently of just how much he valued the young Avatar.

"If you move, she dies," Zolt said quietly.

Something in Mako had frozen the moment he had turned around to see Korra in Zolt's grasp, a dagger held against her neck. He clenched his fists against the urge to fly to her aid, not wanting to provoke Zolt into carrying out his threat.

Blood squelched up between his fingers, but Mako was oblivious to the pain. All his attention, all his focus, went to the two figures in front of him.

His urge to use his fire bending pulsed through him; it often responded to anger and hatred, especially in the intensity Mako was feeling them now. Mako grit his teeth and attempted to push it back, but his normally flawless control of his emotions was wavering, his usual iron restraint under attack by something primal and violent that screamed for him to tear Zolt apart and to retrieve Korra.

"Mako..."

Korra's voice reached his ears; soft and concerned, with the slightest sour tinge of fear, and

Mako clung to it, staring into iridescent turquoise eyes as though they could anchor him to sanity.

And miraculously, they did.

As they had done so on multiple occasions in the past, his angers hold on him ebbed beneath her gaze, shrinking back to its quiescent state, her simple plea restoring him to himself so quickly it was shocking.

Zolt watched the younger man gain control of himself, as though all his pent up anger was somehow shut down by the sound of Korra's voice, and something in him marveled.

But he couldn't focus on that now.

"Come alone to the Triad Head Quarters," Zolt instructed. "We will settle things there."

Mako slowly nodded. He'd never imagined Zolt might issue a challenge to him, in all the scenarios he'd accounted for, it had always been him tracking down Zolt and forcing the confrontation.

"And it would probably be better for Korra if you hurry."

'What?'

Then both Zolt and Korra vanished in a cloud of smoke.

"NO!" The shout was torn from Mako's throat. He rushed forward, reaching futilely for where Korra had been, but his hand ended up hitting the unyielding cave wall.

For a moment, Mako was frozen, staring at the empty space that had so recently been occupied by a chocolate-haired woman, not wanting to believe what every one of his senses was telling him.

Zolt had taken Korra.

Something hard, sharp and hot rose in his throat like bile. He was somehow more furious than he thought he'd ever been in his life and at the same time, almost nauseous with horror at what had just happened.

Zolt had taken Korra.

Eeeeeeeeee! And there you have it; the plot thickens and our Avatar is now a damsel in distress (although not really)! This chapter took ages to fix up and get uploaded so I apologise if it's a little shitty. Anywho, hope you enjoy it!