"Looks like you crossed someone you shouldn't have," Gommu stated as he smiled down at the figure. He swung the bag he was holding over his shoulder and leaned over to inspect the boy he'd found lying next to the tunnel leading into the bowels of the city. The figure had numerous cuts and bruises on his body. Parts of his clothes had been torn and the hobo could make out burn marks through the tattered patches. There was no blood around so it must have happened somewhere else.

"Don't worry bucko, I know just where to take you," he continued, putting the person's arm around his shoulders and hoisting him into the tunnel and half dragging him further in.

*** "I'm starving," Bolin stated for the umpteenth time.

"I'm sure Gommu will be back soon." Asami heard her own stomach growl and sighed. She was a little hungry herself. Bolin leaned against the bench and rested his head on his arms. The old man had been gone for a while now.

"Do you think he ran into some trouble?" the Earthbender asked. Asami shrugged. Things were getting worse up top. It was definitely a possibility.

"Hello, Kiddies!" Gommu's voice brought them out of their thoughts. They looked over toward the hobo and saw him carrying a sack…and supporting a body.

"Did he kill someone?" Bolin whispered to Asami. Asami narrowed her eyes at the person being dragged before realizing who it was. The heiress got up and ran over to the man and motioned Bolin over. The Earthbender helped her carry the boy over to one of the cots lying about and laid him there. "Whoa…" The youngest brother looked over all the injuries on Tahno's body and gulped.

"Do you know this guy?" Gommu asked the teens. Both nodded. "Well what do you know? I found him down by that tunnel entrance," he added, pointing in the direction he'd come from.

"You wouldn't happen to have anybody down here that's good with medicine, would you?" Bolin asked.

Gommu rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I don't think so…I can ask around though!" And with that the man left them to care for the ex-Bender.

Asami turned to Bolin. "Watch for Korra and Mako. If Gommu can't find anyone, Korra will have to heal him."

Bolin nodded and took off. Asami sat next to the ex-Wolf-Bat. "What did you get yourself into?" she murmured.

*** "I'm telling you we should go back up there," Korra mumbled.

Mako raised a brow. "And do what? If we go back there we're only gonna end up being handed over to Amon," he reasoned.

Korra muttered something unintelligible. "I just hate this hiding thing." Each minute she spent hiding more Benders were being drained of their abilities. Her fists clenched at the thought.

Mako nodded in understanding. He went to say something else but his brother practically tackled them both. "Bro, what are you-?"

"Korra! We need you, like, right now!" Korra furrowed her brow as the Earthbender practically dragged her forward.

"Bolin, what-?"

Again Bolin cut her off. "It's Tahno!" That got her attention.

She broke free of the brother's grasp and grabbed his arm. "What about Tahno?" she asked.

*** Korra paled the moment she saw all the cuts, bruises and burns that marred her friend's pale skin. She kneeled next to him and examined the burns. They needed to be treated immediately. "Get me a couple buckets of water." Gommu ran off and returned shortly with the requested items and leaving her in the tent alone with Tahno.

The Waterbender gathered the water and spread it across Tahno's chest. His jaw unconsciously clenched before his features became relaxed. She furrowed her brow, willing the cuts to close and the bruises to fade. The burns however, were another matter entirely. They were most likely going to scar.

Korra knew exactly what had caused those burns. Lieutenant. Her teeth clenched.

Finally she decided it was best to let the wounds settle before continuing. Tahno would be undoubtedly sore when he woke but it would pass. Korra felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Asami.

"Is he going to be okay?" she asked.

Korra sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Yeah. He should be fine."

Asami sat down next to the younger girl and studied her. "Are you going to be okay?" Korra slowly nodded before leaning her head in her hand.

"I shouldn't have left him behind," she muttered.

"There wasn't anything you could do," Asami pointed out, to which the Avatar said nothing. "Personally I think it's a miracle he survived in the first place."

Korra flinched. "Yeah, no thanks to me," she replied. "This is the second time I haven't been able to help him."

"But you're helping him now." Korra looked over at the heiress. "If you weren't such a fantastic healer I'm not sure he'd make it to see tomorrow. Not to mention you helped him get back on his feet after Amon took his Bending. You can't keep blaming yourself for things you have no control over. Just do what you can for now and then see what happens."

Korra mulled her words over. "If he does pull through this, I'm going to kill him," she muttered. Asami laughed at the younger girl. Korra grinned.

Tahno groaned and Korra was by his side immediately. Asami raised a brow as she watched the Waterbender go back to healing the dark-haired boy. The look on her face told the raven-haired beauty all she needed to know.

She patted her on the shoulder. "Go easy on him," she advised before leaving.

*** Tahno opened his eyes and regretted it. He blinked a couple of times, letting his eyes adjust before he made a move to sit up but his body protested. When he finally managed to get into a somewhat sitting position, sweat was starting to form on his forehead and he took a look around at his surroundings. He was in a tattered tent, some holes torn in the top, letting a stagnant light shine through. There were noises coming from outside the tent, clattering and footsteps. His first instinct was to run when his memory started coming back to him.

But that was when he noticed the sleeping Waterbender. She was propped up against a crate, her head leaning forward and arms crossed over her chest. Tahno smiled.

"You're doing a fine job of guarding me, Sweetheart," he said, his voice sounding hoarse. Korra groaned and let out of wide yawn, stretching her hands above her head before her focus went to Tahno. She blinked a couple of times.

"What?" he asked, his smile widening innocently.

For a moment, Korra didn't move. Then a frown etched its way onto her face. Tahno's smile faded slowly. "Um, what's-?"

Smack!

Tahno let out a hiss as his head was snapped to the side. He slowly turned his head back to look at the girl who'd just slapped him. He rubbed his cheek and furrowed his brow at the Avatar. "And what, pray tell, did I do to deserve that?" he asked, a little bit of anger in his voice. Being slapped first thing in the morning was not on his list of pleasantries.

Korra's fists clenched at her side. "You…" She looked like she was about to strangle him. Tahno opened his mouth to say something smart when the Waterbender practically tackled him into a hug, wrapping her arms around his neck. He released another hiss. His body still felt like he'd been run over by a truck. "You idiot," she finished, her voice sounding relieved and mad at the same time.

Tahno wrapped one arm around her shoulder hesitantly, using the other to support both their weight. "Good to see you too, Avatar," he muttered into her hair.

"I thought I told you not to do anything stupid," she said, pulling away to glare at him.

Tahno chuckled at this. She was trying so hard to stay mad at him but failing miserably. Her expression softened and she leaned back against the crate with a sigh. "Since when do I ever listen?" he asked.

Korra sat back against her crate and sighed. "I'm sorry this happened to you," she said. Tahno furrowed his brow.

Tahno released a heavy breath. He ran a hand through his hair and noticed the look on the girl's face. "Don't start feeling guilty, Sweetheart. This was in no way something you could've stopped," he said in a matter of fact tone.

"You don't know that."

"Neither do you." Tahno tried to maneuver himself so he was sitting next to the Avatar, leaning against the crate when he succeeded. He had to catch his breath but then he focused his pale gaze on her. "Some things I've come to realize about being acquainted with you are nothing is ever easy, something will always go wrong in a perfectly made plan, and nothing is ever as it seems."

"Gee thanks, oh wise one," she muttered sarcastically, playfully nudging his shoulder with hers. Tahno beamed when he saw her smile.

*** It took a few days, but Tahno finally got the order from Korra that his wounds had healed enough that he could walk around on his own. And he was more than happy to finally be out of that tent. He stuck with Korra most of the time, not really trusting the crowd that surrounded them. They had however, "borrowed" some clothes for him to change into since his old ones were shredded, even by vagabond standards. They were good enough to last till all this was over.

"Look who finally decided to join us," Bolin greeted with a grin as Team Avatar sat with Gommu as he passed bowls of some sort of stew around. Tahno took a seat between Korra and Asami and poked at the stew with his spoon before taking a hesitant bite. It wasn't bad.

"Wow, this is the best street gruel I've ever had! Seriously!" Bolin exclaimed, chowing down on the stew.

Gommu laughed. "Cultivated it from the finest dumpsters the city has to offer."

Tahno was officially disgusted. He weighed the pros and cons. He could continue to eat this and get poisoned, or he could quit now and go hungry. He watched from the corner of his eye as Asami spit hers back out and placed it on the ground. He smirked and continued to eat his, a little more careful though.

Asami nudged him. "How can you eat this?" she asked.

"I've had worse."

"So, Tahno, how did you escape from Amon?" Bolin asked curiously.

The boy in question furrowed his brow. The events after the second or third shock session with Lieutenant were a little foggy. He remembered the electricity coursing through his body and being beat repeatedly. He closed his eyes and could almost picture the sadistic twist of the second's smile. Last thing he remembered was the feeling of weightlessness and an inability to breathe. "I don't remember," he answered unsurely.

"Well isn't that convenient?" the Firebender said, taking another bite of his stew.

Korra narrowed her eyes at the accusation. "What are you getting at, Mako?"

The elder brother shrugged indifferently. "I'm just saying that I find it odd that Amon just let him get away."

Tahno saw Korra's grip tighten on her bowl, a hairline fracture appearing on the container. He continued eating his stew, his gaze returning to the Fire Ferret. Why had Amon let him get away? Had he escaped from Lieutenant? What had happened after he blacked out?

"For once we're in agreement, Fire Rat," he replied thoughtfully.

**** It was raining. Blood seeped from the open wounds on the boy's body and mixed with the puddles on the cobblestone. The boy no longer felt the electric shocks though his body still tensed each time the Kali Stick touched him. His busted lip gushed the red liquid. He drifted in and out of consciousness periodically, only waking up when one of the Equalist guards thought it necessary to beat him awake.

Lieutenant grabbed Tahno's chin and lifted his head up so he was looking at him. "If you had just told the boss what he wanted to know, you wouldn't be in this situation."

Tahno's vision blurred, making it hard to keep focused. He tried to clear his head, limply shaking it from side to side. Lieutenant released his grip on the boy's chin, letting his head fall forward. The torture continued for what seemed like forever when finally Lieutenant ordered the lower Equalists to follow. They dragged half-conscious teen toward the bluff before throwing him over the edge and into the crashing waves.

"Have a nice swim, Kid," Lieutenant said.

Tahno weakly tried to swim back to the surface but his body protested and he drifted further into the churning water. His lungs burned as they begged for oxygen and his vision darkened.

"Tahno….wake up…"

"Tahno….wake up…!"

"Tahno! Wake up!"

*** Tahno jolted up with a gasp, sweat covering him in a shiny layer. "Easy, Pretty Boy," Korra's soothing voice ordered. He turned his head to see her staring at him in concern. He took a deep breath, his breathing becoming less frantic. "Must have been some nightmare," she said after a moment of silence, pushing a piece of his hair out of his face.

Tahno sighed. "It was more like a memory."

"It was about what happened wasn't it?" she asked, quietly.

Tahno nodded slowly.

Korra wrapped her arms around him in an effort to comfort him. He returned the embrace, holding her like she was his life line.

"I promised you I'd get him," she said. Tahno nodded. Korra pulled away so she was looking at him. "And I never brake my promises," she finished.

**** Well this chapter officially bites. I really hadn't planned this last part very well. But….in a way….I think it was….okay. I suppose.

Well you guys know the drill. Comment and Review. Do what you need to.

I'm out! Peace!