Cadence Chapter Fifteen: Deception
Mako stared numbly at the spot where Korra and Zolt had been standing.
'You fool!' he berated himself. 'You shouldn't have kissed her; that's why he took her! He saw it and now he knows what she means to you!'
Mako dug the heels of his hands into his eyes, as though if he pressed hard enough, he could erase the image of Korra's frightened face as Zolt snatched her away.
He instinctively began to think of ways to get to the Triad head quarters in the least amount of time, but he stopped himself in his own tracks. He and the others were nowhere near the location of the Head Quarters, and if they were to rush, Mako would be exhausted. And if he were to face Zolt while low on energy…
Mako knew what would happen. He'd lose, and Korra would be at Zolt's mercy.
He'd have to get to the Head Quarters at a paced, but efficient speed. Zolt may be willing to squander stamina on making his way to Head Quarters quickly, but Mako wasn't about to take the risk; there was too much at stake.
"Hey, Mako!" came Ghazan's voice from behind him. "Ming Hua sensed someone else's presence- Wait a second; where's Princess?"
"He took her!" Mako barely recognised his voice; it was low and guttural, sounding more animal then human. "Zolt took Korra!"
Mako knew, logically, that he should slow down. Zolt had issued the challenge, so he would presumably be willing to wait for some time. He knew he could rest and restore his energy, be truly prepared for the confrontation...
But in the meantime, Zolt had Korra. And Mako wasn't leaving her in the hands of the older fire bender for one moment longer than he had to. The thought of Korra at Zolt's mercy made him feel nauseated.
'He won't kill her,' he told himself repeatedly in an effort to calm the wild, erratic pounding of his heart that had nothing to do with the frantic pace he had set. 'If he wanted her dead, he would have killed her without a moment's hesitation. He wants her alive, he'll keep her alive...'
But that did little to silence the forbidding whispers of how spirited Korra was, of how much defiance she would show Zolt and what the Triad member might do to subdue her. If she challenged Zolt's power, what would he sentence her to in order to imprint that power upon her?
'He wants her alive, he wants her alive...'
Of course, those thoughts begged the question of exactly what Zolt wanted Korra alive for. If the
Triad were really after Raava and Vaatu did that mean Zolt was even now torturing her for information on potential vessels?
Mako put an extra edge on his already extraordinary speed. He knew he was forcing the others to labour in order to keep up, but he just couldn't bring himself to care.
"There's people following us," Ming Hua panted.
"It's the Republic City Police force," Mako stated. Bolin was, no doubt, among the party that was tracking them. But then again, he should have expected nothing less. "We keep going!" he barked.
If they ran into those tracking them, then they'd deal with it. Mako knew how advantageous it would be to have the Republic Police Force follow them to the Triad HQ; a retinue of Police Force Personnel, benders and non-benders alike, would ensure Korra was freed and escorted back to Republic City in safety.
Regardless of all that, Korra needed him and every second wasted was another second she spent in Zolt's grasp. Mako found himself automatically beginning to urge himself to move faster.
'No! If you are drained when you face him he will kill you!' Mako had to grit his teeth against the urge to scream the words, dredging up the iron-clad self-discipline that he had forged all throughout the long years of training to protect those important to him.
But whenever he thought of Korra in the hands of Zolt, he could practically feel his self-discipline splintering apart.
And beneath his fury and worry, guilt churned like bitter acid in his stomach. If he had allowed her to leave when staying at the inn, when he should have, none of this would ever have happened...
The sound of the rumbling Earth came from up ahead, and Mako welcomed the distraction from his increasingly-dark thoughts of what Korra might already be enduring. The splotch of brown resolved itself into a messy mop of brown hair that was attached to a very familiar face.
Bolin.
"Mako!" Bolin yelled.
Mako didn't slow his pace for even a moment. Ignoring the shout of his name, Mako continued onwards to his destination. Internally, Mako grimaced; while it would have been useful to have Bolin along to safeguard Korra, he wasn't about to diverge from his headlong flight. He and his team would have to be enough.
Though the group was rapidly tiring of his punishing pace. He had expected some form of complaint, but all three had made no protest.
Zaheer was silent, as he often was, but his face was wearing an expression fiercer than any that Mako had ever seen on him outside of his occasional outbursts. Ghazan, who would usually have been whining for a rest by now, hadn't made one complaint, the only expression on his features one of grim determination.
And Ming Hua...well, she probably just sensed he wasn't in the mood to hear any objections.
They were going to the Triad HQ, and they were going there as fast as they possibly could.
"I've found him!" Bolin called as the rest of the small rescue team caught up with him. "Follow me – I think there's a problem!"
"Why would you say that?" Lin asked, running level with him.
"Because Korra wasn't with them," the young Earth bender practically growled. "There was Mako and three other people, but Korra was nowhere to be seen!"
"So they split up?" Tenzin offered. "Korra escaped?"
"My bro was looking pretty damn worried," Bolin commented.
He doubted anyone else would have seen it. Mako was so expressionless most of the time, it made him very hard to read but once you learned how, a wealth of information could be conveyed by the slightest shift in his facial muscles.
And Bolin could tell that Mako had practically been screaming.
'This has got to be some sort of record,' a small, lucid and strangely calm corner of Korra's mind remarked. 'This is what, my third consecutive kidnapping? First the Equalists, then Mako, and now Zolt! Just one of the perks of being the Avatar, I guess.'
The rest of her mind was busy trying to come up with some sort of game plan.
Zolt had released her as soon as they'd arrived at the Triad HQ, and Korra had found herself in a large stone chamber. Several steps lead to a raised portion of the floor in which a large stone chair rested, like a throne. The Triad insignia was carved on the walls. The room was particularly plain, however Korra found it odd that the room seemed to be crumbling; the walls and floor were all chipped and cracked, pitted with large holes in some places.
Zolt was in front of her, surveying her with interest, a good distance between their bodies. He had made no effort to bind or restrain her, as though his presence was enough to hold her captive.
And he might be right about that, Korra could admit. He'd just travelled across a staggering distance with her in tow and he didn't look the slightest bit fatigued. She shuddered at the thought of how powerful Zolt truly was.
Korra's eyes darted towards the room's entrance, and she wondered if there was any way she could possibly move fast enough to reach it before he did.
"I will advise you now against trying to escape," Zolt said, his tone even but somehow conveying a thousand threats.
He stepped forward, and Korra stepped back, automatically trying to keep several feet between her and the mass-murderer.
But she hadn't taken two steps before she felt cool stone against her back. Zolt's advance didn't halt in the slightest and Korra felt fear tickle at the back of her mind, reminding her that she was standing in front of Zolt, without her bending, a weapon and unable to throw even a single energy-enhanced punch.
The Fire bender halted when he was perhaps six inches in front of her and Korra looked down, automatically avoiding his eyes. He didn't say anything, he didn't move, and Korra had the feeling she was being studied like a specimen in a petri dish.
Korra couldn't deny that she was intimidated by Zolt's presence. But she refused to give in to her fear, setting her jaw and squaring her shoulders. It took more than a little invasion of personal space to subdue her!
Zolt considered the woman before him carefully. He had never passed up an opportunity to deepen Mako's hatred of him and he knew he had a rich, untapped mine of opportunity in front of him. The hatred and anger over the death of his family had been given Mako many years to cool his anger, to become smoldering, calculated resentment instead of the wild inferno that it once was.
Korra represented a perfect opportunity to fan those flames once again; in spite of his protests, it was obvious Mako cared deeply for her.
Zolt would not kill her, as Korra was necessary at a later stage, but what else could he do?
He considered the woman before him, noting the collar that encircled her neck, and found himself wondering what Mako would do if he raped her.
The idea was distasteful, and if he did it she would undoubtedly be traumatised; she wouldn't want Mako to so much as lay a finger upon her mocha skin...
On the other hand, he didn't need to actually rape her; he just needed to make Mako believe that he'd raped her.
"I will apologise in advance for what I am about to do," Zolt intoned. "But it is necessary."
Korra blinked, startled by his regretful tone, and fought the urge to look at his face.
Korra was unable to hold in a screech of shock and pain when Zolt abruptly seized her shirt and, putting his strength into it, literally tore the clothing from her body. The tattered material fell to the ground, leaving her binding exposed, and Korra struck out at Zolt, trying to put some space between them.
"I am not going to rape you," he snapped, catching her wrist and slamming it painfully back against the wall. "I only need to create the illusion of it."
"For what; Mako?" Korra spat, struggling against his hold. "I don't think he'll care what you do to me; I'm just an annoyance to him!"
Even she knew that wasn't strictly true, that kiss had to have meant something, right?
"Annoyance?" Zolt mused, his voice mild. "I think not, you are much more to Mako than just an annoyance."
Korra remained silent, writhing mutinously in his hold, and yet at the same time unwilling to outright attack him in case that provoked something worse. The tension in the air was making her chest ache, and she wished she still had her shirt on.
"There are many things in Mako's life that provoke his rage, his hatred, but I have never seen anything that calmed him. Until today. He controlled himself, for you."
Zolt was perfectly honest in his assessment of Mako. He had seen firsthand how easily Mako could be driven to rage but he had never seen anything capable of checking Mako's fury. At a word from Korra, he controlled himself. For her, he stayed his hand when he would otherwise lash out.
"No matter what he might say otherwise, Mako will go to great lengths to ensure your safety."
With that, he reached out and snagged at her bindings, pulling at it, causing a red welt to surface on her skin. Korra snarled and raised her knee, trying to catch him in the groin, but Zolt released her wrist and stepped back, out of her immediate range.
"Are you going to be difficult?" he asked, not sounding as if he cared one way or the other.
"What the hell do you think?" Korra exploded, one hand clutching at her chest so she wouldn't be exposed.
She had no idea what possible motive Zolt would have for trying to make it appear as if he'd raped her, but she knew that it wouldn't be to Mako's benefit. Her eyes remained locked on his feet, trying to predict his next move, however was caught by surprise when his feet suddenly disappeared from her view.
The next thing she knew, she had been spun around and shoved face first into the wall. The rough stone scraped against her cheek, and she winced as she felt the skin part. Zolt's body was against her own, a solid pressure keeping her pinned neatly against the wall.
A hand slid over her hips, unbuckling her belt and deliberately snapping the metal tongue off. Korra heard it ping against the floor when it fell. Her pants fell to rest precariously low on her hips, slipping down to puddle at her ankles when Zolt ripped away the button that fastened them closed.
Korra tried to kick backwards, but the cloth fouled her legs. She swore viciously into the wall as she jerked an elbow backwards and upwards. She connected with solid flesh and was rewarded with a soft hiss of displeasure. Zolt's grip on her loosened and Korra pushed away from the wall, trying to gain enough room to turn around in...
Zolt's hand had fisted in Korra's hair, driving her forward in retaliation. Korra's head cracked against the stone, stunning her. The momentary laxness of her body allowed Zolt the opening he needed to seize both her wrists in one of his hands, pushing them against the wall to nail her in place.
Her blow had split his lip, but he was actually pleased by that. Zolt knew if this charade was to be believable, he had to have marks on him as well; Korra would not have submitted tamely to him.
She seemed to have recovered from the blow to her head and was now writhing and twisting against him once more, her hands spasming in his. An energy scalpel flickered to life between her fingers and Zolt tightened his grip; he couldn't give her an opportunity to slip free and wield it.
His free hand dropped to her breast and squeezed viciously. Korra yelped but Zolt paid it no mind, releasing her when he was certain she was bruising, only to drop his hand to her inner thigh and apply similar pressure there.
Korra had the feeling she should have been much more frightened by the hand that was roaming her body than she actually was. But Zolt had said himself that he wasn't going to rape her, and Korra saw no reason to disbelieve him; why would he lie? The fingers that were biting into her flesh seemed cold and distant; there was no hunger behind them, no desire to prove his power, no need to subjugate and dominate her.
This assault was nothing but a deliberate, calculated attempt to produce a myriad of bruises on her that would make it look like she had been violated.
But that didn't mean she'd take it lying down. Since she couldn't kick back at him, Korra settled for shifting her foot backwards and digging her heel into his instep. Zolt's grip loosened in a reflex to pain, and Korra yanked her arms down, her energy scalpel parting the flesh of her captor's palm.
Zolt stepped backwards rapidly as Korra spun around. He moved far enough to be out of the range of debilitating injuries, but he deliberately held himself in place so her extended energy scalpel could make a clean, shallow cut along his collarbone.
Then he moved with the speed he was known for, knocked her hands aside and seized her wrists again, pushing her harshly against the wall behind her.
Zolt surveyed her with a critical eye, like an artist considering the finishing touches to a painting. She looked like a woman who had been thoroughly ravished. Her clothes lay in tatters at her feet, there was a sluggishly bleeding wound on her head that oozed crimson into her chocolate locks, her underclothes were dirtied and crumpled, and he'd made sure that the bruises adorning her body were concentrated on her arms, hips, thighs and breasts.
Korra was panting slightly with the effort of struggling against him, and when he dipped his head and deliberately bit her collarbone, she gritted her teeth against a reflexive yelp and bucked against him, trying to kick her pants off over her boots so she'd be free to strike out at him with her legs.
He tightened his hold on her wrists and bit her once more, this time on the soft skin of her neck above the collar, drawing blood.
Korra let out an animalistic snarl and twisted against him. One of his hands loosened, and Korra swiftly slammed a fist into his face. Zolt's head snapped back, but the hand that still held her wrist twisted violently, and Korra found herself thrown harshly to the ground.
Zolt planted a foot on her neck to keep her down, satisfied by the sluggishly bleeding indents of his teeth in her skin, and pleased at the throbbing ache that had taken up residence in his jaw. He was sure that by now he looked bruised enough to give the illusion that he'd had to struggle violently with Korra.
Korra coughed against the pressure on her throat, her hands gripping Zolt's ankle, trying to get enough leverage for a violent twist that would force him off her. She had never resented the collar more; if it wasn't a factor, she could have broken his leg like a toothpick.
He released her abruptly, as though he had come to some sort of decision, and Korra scrambled backwards and upright, kicking away the pants that tangled her ankles.
Of course, this left her in nothing but her underwear, but Korra had bigger problems than a little embarrassment. She pressed herself against the stone, her eyes darting to the doorway, toying with the idea of escaping but at the same time, she knew she didn't stand a chance and she didn't want to invite Zolt into close physical contact again.
Zolt wondered how to incapacitate the woman in front of him. She couldn't be allowed to interfere, but at the same time, he needed her conscious, as a witness to corroborate Mako's story.
He knew about the collar she was wearing; it was made to restrict bending by interfering with energy channels. The ability to bend was still present, but only a limited amount could be utilised. And if the wearer pushed their limits, they would often become dizzy and sometimes even pass out.
But the collar's difficulty lay in the seal that was carved onto the inside of the lock, preventing the collar from being opened without the seal being released first. And if the collar was cut away, the breaking of the seal caused the release of a toxin that caused paralysis, intended to incapacitate the slave who was attempting to escape so they could be found and recaptured.
Zolt knew what he could do.
"Hold still," he instructed Korra mildly, drawing out a small dagger.
Korra stiffened, barely registering his words before she felt a sudden brush of cool, sharp metal against her neck. She jerked backwards, but Zolt closed one hand around the base of the collar and yanked it away from the back of her neck. Korra yelped as the needle was pulled out, but promptly forgot the pain when she saw the collar resting in Zolt's hands, the leather parted by a smooth, clean cut.
And he'd never even nicked her skin.
For a moment, she felt fine. Then numbness washed through her body with astonishing speed, and every muscle suddenly felt like it was made of water. Her legs folded and she tumbled into Zolts's arms, unable to even so much as cry out.
The Fire bender was surprisingly gentle as he lifted her, moving to the centre of the room and depositing her on the cold stone. He arranged her unresponsive limbs almost artistically, half-curled into her as though she had tried to pull herself into a fetal position. Zolt noted the blood from his palm was smearing across her skin, and deliberately crumpled the corner of her underwear in one fist, letting the blood seep into the fabric.
He hooked her pants around her ankles once more, and placed the shredded remnants of her shirt about her, trying to make it appear as though he just ripped at her clothes, took what he wanted, and then left her where she lay.
Such blatant dismissal and humiliation of her would only enrage Mako further.
Zolt knew that Mako had been given many years to think over the events of the murder of his parents. Zolt was quite certain that any confrontation between himself and Mako would involve several very pertinent questions, questions he hoped to avoid.
If Mako thought that he had raped Korra, it was possible he would simply burn him alive in a fit of rage rather then check himself for the sake of information.
Korra felt Zolt position her on the floor, her limbs as unresponsive as lead weights even as she screamed at them to move. But even through her desperation, some part of her registered that this was certainly a very elaborate ruse Zolt was concocting; what was the point? He wanted Mako to think he'd raped her, why? What could it possibly gain him?
Unless, after all these years, provoking Mako had become some kind of game to him?
She saw Zolt grasp the collar and break the needle off before settling it around her neck, giving the illusion that it was still intact. Her body was turned towards the entrance, and for a moment she hoped she'd be able to see Mako come in, but Zolt deliberately brushed a few locks of hair over her face, obscuring her turquoise eyes, obviously intending for Mako to believe she was unconscious when he came in.
Considering that her body felt as though it was nothing more than a lump of marble she was imprisoned in, there was absolutely no way she could let Mako know she was conscious, if he couldn't see her eyes.
The fact that she couldn't even push her hair out of her face both irritated and frightened her. Loss of control had never sat well with her, and Korra had to fight an almost smothering feeling of claustrophobia. The fact that her hair was essentially blinding her didn't help with her fear, either.
A very desperate battle was about to begin and she was completely helpless; she wouldn't even be able to roll out of the way. Hell, she wouldn't even see an attack coming!
'Calm down,' Korra told herself. 'Panicking will get you nowhere. Focus, think clearly, and figure out a way out of this!'
But what could she do if she couldn't move?
As Korra forced her mind to go over what she knew about the collar, she realised there was something she could do. The collar worked via chemicals, which meant that this paralysis had probably been triggered by the release of a toxin, so if she could channel energy into her body, especially her liver, she could detox her system and probably recover much faster.
Deciding this to be the best course of action, Korra slowly and cautiously, tried to channel her energy. It was difficult, mainly because she couldn't move. Katara had trained her to channel energy to the affected site via her hands, simply because it was far easier to move energy to the hands and out, than to let it transverse the complex systems throughout the body to reach what it needed.
And as Korra had to do this without the use of her arms, she knew it was going to take awhile.
Mako practically flew through the ruined city towards the Triad HQ, not slowing his pace in the slightest even when Ming Hua shouted about a large energy approaching them at great speed.
A flutter of a Triad cloak, and then Viper was standing in front of them, a smug expression upon his face.
"Where is she?" Mako's words were dangerously quiet.
"She is with Zolt," Viper said mildly. "Mako, please continue on alone. Zolt would prefer it if the rest of us waited here."
"You three stay here!" Mako snapped. While he would have preferred that they came along to ensure Korra was taken out of harms way, he wasn't about to take the risk that Zolt might hurt her if anyone but himself approached.
"Hey, if the guy's got Princess, shouldn't we come along?" Ghazan piped up, a little winded a result of the frantic pace Mako had set. "I mean, we should make sure she gets away, right?"
But he was talking to empty air. Mako had already gone on.
Ghazan cursed.
"I'm sure Mako will take care of Korra," Zaheer said quietly, sounding as though he were trying to convince himself. He clutched Korra's pack like a talisman, and there was a look in his eye that suggested he was struggling with his bloodlust.
Ghazan shrugged, letting the matter drop. He eyed Viper and considered challenging him, that was the whole reason he had gone along with Mako, after all, but just as quickly dismissed it. The punishing run to the hideout had left him too exhausted to attempt to fight a man so strong.
And if Zaheer snapped, he wanted to be fit enough to get out of the way in a hurry.
"You took your time, Mako," Zolt remarked as the young Fire bender entered. "I'm afraid Korra and I had to entertain ourselves without you."
Mako told himself that the red rage that swamped him was because he faced the killer of his family. But he knew it was lie; that had been given time to settle, and was cold and sharp, hard and calculated now. This was the red hot, liquid burn of a fresh wound, a new fury.
And its source was Korra: unconscious and in a state of undress, curled in pain and visibly violated on the cold stone floor, marks and bruises curling about her body like shadows.
While he had run towards the Triad HQ, he had feared that Korra might be suffering by Zolt's hand. The thought that Zolt might rape her had never once crossed his mind.
"You should have left her out of this." Mako could practically taste adrenaline and fury on his tongue.
Zolt let out a soft, mocking sound that Mako didn't think could be considered a laugh. "But it was you who brought her into this."
Zolt could feel the threatening pulses of Mako's energy filling the room; the young Fire bender was reacting exactly as Zolt had thought he would. Since the collapse of the Equalists, many people had been telling tales, and he'd paid particular attention to those involving Mako.
Particularly those of how Korra had come to be with him. The fate of a captured woman in an Equalist base was never pleasant; Zolt suspected that Korra being raped was an old fear of Mako's, and he had not simply hit that button, he had sent a lightning strike into it.
Mako dragged his eyes away from Korra's still form, knowing that if he kept looking at her battered body, his cool resolve would go flying out the window, along with any control of the situation he currently held.
He was inches away from Korra's motionless form, but he quelled the urge to reach out to her; he had to deal with Zolt first.
"I have one last question for you," he hissed through gritted teeth.
"A question?" Zolt mused. "I thought you would have wanted to kill me on the spot, especially after what I did to little Korra."
Blood pulsed through Mako's veins, echoing in his ears and momentarily drowning out Zolt's taunting words in a rush of fury. His teeth ground together, and it took every particle of will he had not to lunge for Zolt and attempt to tear his heart from his chest.
"Why did you do it?" he asked, as though Zolt had never spoken.
"Will giving a reason change the fact that it happened?" Zolt remarked, but it sounded rather wet to Korra's ears, as though he were choking on something.
"It'll give me more satisfaction after I kill you!" Mako spat. "On that night, you said there was a reason you had done it. Why?"
"You're my son."
'What?' was all that Korra could manage to think. 'Mako is Zolt's son? How can that be possible? Unless…'
She could vaguely hear Mako making objections that matched her own, and tuned back in to the surreal conversation, curious in spite of herself.
"It's true. Your mother and I had been betrothed before she left the Fire Nation to move to Republic City. She was pregnant with you when she left." came Zolt's voice once more. "Whether you believe me or not is your choice."
"I've had enough of your bullshit!" Mako snarled; not unreasonably, Korra felt.
"People live their lives bound by what they accept as true, and that's how they define their reality," Zolt said, and Korra thought it was an odd time to wax philosophical. "But truth is merely a vague concept, and as such their reality may actually be a mirage."
"What are you getting at?" Mako was sounding more and more irritated.
"The way you simply decided that the fact that you could be my son was not true. The way you believed that your mother had only ever had one love."
Korra couldn't actually wince, but she cringed mentally on Mako's behalf.
Mako felt rage course painfully through his body. All Zolt's babbling about truth and reality were nothing but mindless drivel; the reality was his parent's bodies lying singed and unrecognisable, the reality was an unconscious and raped Korra barely a meter away from him.
The reality was that Zolt was a monster. A monster that he was finally going to slay; father or not.
Now before anyone blows their top at me changing the character history from the original, I'd like to remind you that doing so is one of the perks of writing fanfiction; you can do with it what you will. Quite honestly, I like the idea of Zolt being Mako's father (the eyebrows would certainly be a family trait) and that Naoki, his mother, did actually have a life back in the Fire Nation. Despite doing this, Mako's love for the parents he knew and the brother he cherishes does not change I just felt it would help to shape the plot a little bit better.
Anywho, as always, enjoy and review (kindly). Thanks!