Like I promised, I will post another chapter. Thanks for reading and and I hope you like this chapter.
He had watched them take Wu away, then Bei Fong and her policemen. Since then, he had not seen them. This had happened a couple of days ago and now it was just him and a weak Asami from Republic City's thrown-together group of resistance. She was not looking any better. She was slumped against the wall, eyes closed from the pain of her hand. If he listened hard enough, Mako could hear the quiet whimpers coming from the heiress and it pained him that he could not help her.
"Asami," Mako said, shaking her softly, "How are you feeling?"
"Tired," she replied, opening her eyes slightly, "And my hand is killing me."
He looked down with a worried look. Her hand had long passed the time to be ignored and was now beginning to saw signs of gangrene. The guards at ignored his calls for a doctor.
"I will get you out of here, if that is the last thing I do." Mako said, tugging at his cuffed hands, "If only I could get these off."
"Mako," Asami said, looking up at him, "I have a pin under my shirt. They never found it."
"How'd," he started, "you hide that from the searches? And why are you telling me now?"
"When you happen to be pretty, men tend to treat you differently." Asami flashed a smile before she whimpered in pain again, "I honestly forgot about it. I can't think straight, but I'll try to get those off now if I can."
She stuck her left hand down the grey prisoner's uniform, finding the pin that was woven into her undergarments.
"Asami, you are a lifesaver, even if a bit late."
She fiddled with the locks, seeming a bit livelier than the last few days. As the cuffs came undone, Mako bolted to the door, searching for signs of movement before returning her to side to help her up.
"Easy," he said, getting her to her feet, "I'll carry you when I can."
She nodded, getting to the door, "This pin won't open the door. It's too small. Can you break the hinges?"
Mako nodded, "I'll try. If not, I'll call for help again and we'll ambush the guard or something."
Before he attempted to burn the door down, Asami spoke again.
"Mako, if I start to slow you down, please leave me."
"No, you're the only family I have left at the moment. I won't leave you here." He interrupted.
It was an ever slow job as he began to cut the hinges away. After finishing one, he was tired from all the effort of keeping his flame at a high temperature. He flopped down to the floor besides the young inventor.
"This is going to take awhile."
Asami sighed, adjusting her sore right arm again. She would then wipe a tear away, "We're going to die here, like the others."
"Don't say that."
"Mako, don't try to sugar coat this. They would have allowed a doctor to look at my hand if they had any intentions of keeping us alive."
"Asami, I'm scared about this too, but we can't give up just yet."
He then stood. Mako kicked the door, making as much noise as he could. To everyone else in the hall, it sounded like he had lost his mind. Asami was about to shout at him until the door was forced opened to reveal two guards. Just as the first one was about to remove his hand from the metal door, Mako let out a bolt and held it until both men dropped.
"Come on Asami. We won't have much time." He said, picking her up and rushing out.
To aid their escape, he made sure to get the keys into another prisoner's hands. The escape snowballed, confusing the prison guards as Mako carried Asami out of the building and into the shadows of the camp. She held on as tightly as she could until he sat her down to look at the fence.
"It's powered, Mako." She said, pointing to the signs.
"There has to be a way to break it." He said, looking around at the fence before pointing his fingers at the fence and releasing another lightning bolt.
Power boxes within the camp began to explode, taking out some of the lights. Wiping his brow, he then began to make a hole in the fence.
"Stop them!" Mako turned at the sound of two guards charging them.
Asami got to her feet, using the shadows to trip one of them over before Mako engaged the second. As if she read his mind, Asami stumbled through the fence as Mako kept the guards at bay. He knew that he needed to get out of there as well. The sounds of fighting lightened and other guards would soon make their way to him. After electrocuting the remaining attacker, he slipped out.
After minutes of running, Asami collapsed. She was far too weak to continue and she was mentally beating herself over coming along with Mako.
"How are you feeling?" he asked.
"My hand is still killing me. All that running has made it worse." She panted checking her forehead for a fever, "Mako, it's far too gone to save it."
Mako nodded gravely, "There looks to be a shed of some sort ahead of us. Can you make it?"
She nodded slowly, trying to stand again before falling, "No."
The firebender then picked her up and continued to the shed. He made them a torch before looking around. Axes, pickaxes and saws were hanging on the wall. He did not ask her for permission before taking an ax and heating it red hot.
"Asami," he said softly, "I need you to lay your arm out and to bite down on anything you can find."
"You're going to cut it off? Now?"
"We both know it needs to go, if you want to live." He said, concerned.
She gave him a hurtful look before conceding. Her jacket came off before she rolled it. She then placed her right arm on a workbench, looking away.
"Don't count off, Mako. I don't want to know when it happens." She said softly before biting down on her jacket
He nodded, giving the ax a practice swing. He heated it again before looking for the best part of the arm to leave.
"Asami, I hope you don't hate me after this."
Mako took a deep breath, mentally going over what he needed to do after. The red hot ax slammed down just below her elbow. Asami was not quite ready for it and just turned away as it went through. She screamed into her jacket. The muffled scream made Mako turn as if he was going to be sick, but he was still not done. He took her arm in his hand and made sure to close the wound entirely. By the time he was done, she had paled and passed out. After he made sure she was somewhere safe and comfortable, he walked out of the shed to empty his already empty stomach.
He attempted to hunt. Each time, the firebender watched the small critter run off. He was a survivor, but the wilds were testing his strength and patience. Both were beginning to diminish for the day. Mako would later quit, feeling the need to check on Asami. As it turned out, he spotted a man enter the shed, most likely the owner of the place. He rushed back, stopping at the door to peek into the shed. He could tell that the man had spotted the unconscious woman and had knelt by her side to check on her.
"We could use a healer, if you know of one nearby." Mako said, scaring the man.
After the man recovered from the shock of Mako appearing, he spoke nervously as he inspected the grey prisoners' uniforms they both were wearing.
"You came from the camp? We were warned about you all." The man said, stepping back, slowly reaching for one of the tools, "They said you all were murderous thieves."
"Steady there, pal. I mean you no harm." Mako said, holding his hands up to show that he was not going to be aggressive, "I'm just trying to take care of my friend."
The man lowered his guard, "What's wrong with her?"
"An untreated injury to her arm. I need to take her to a healer."
The man looked down at Asami, finally noticing the missing forearm, "There's one in the village nearby, but the guards are out searching for people like you. They'll kill my family if I don't report you."
Mako let out a long sigh, "Then we'll be leaving."
"You didn't hear me; I cannot let you both leave. The soldiers here are brutal."
"Fine." Mako said before letting out a burst of fire just above the man. He then rushed to grab Asami as the shed lit up.
The man rushed out as Mako carried Asami away. He could hear the man shout, calling for help. He managed to escape before collapsing near a cave.
He woke up to smell something cooking over a fire. The young firebender was left staring at the ceiling for what seemed to be hours before finding his courage to sit up. He found himself in a bed. Rubbing his forehead, he felt a stack of clothing near him. They were rough and worn, but the green robes would fit, though he knew they were meant for someone shorter than he was. His image in the mirror caught his attention. The man of almost twenty-three years old looked worn, tired and sickly. The hair on his face was a bit longer than he remembered too.
The smell of food called him back to reality. His stomach growled, angry from the lack of attention. Using the wall to hold himself up, he walked out of the room to find others at a table. There was an older couple, eating quietly. He then noticed that Asami was awake, staring blankly into her bowl of stew. She too, was dressed in green and dark circles hung below her eyes. The older woman at the table touched Asami's shoulder, bringing her back.
"Look who is awake." The old woman said with a slight smile on her face.
"Come join us living for a meal." The older man cheered, standing to help the firebender to the table.
"Mako." Asami said with relief.
"Asami. You woke up."
The old woman spoke up, "Guohei found you both lying in the hills. We knew right away from your grey clothes who you both were. When we saw Asami's arm, we both knew that we couldn't leave you there to die. But eat; you look famished."
"How long ago was this?" Mako asked, looking the trio in the eyes.
"About a week. We were worried that you wouldn't make it." Gouhei said, "Asami woke up this morning."
Mako gave the heiress a smile before taking a bite of the food. He was too busy to notice that Asami was only playing with her food, holding the spoon uncomfortably in her left hand.
There was a sudden banging on the door. Mako dropped his spoon, looking fearful. Asami seemed worse off, ready to bolt under the table. Guohei stood to check the window before opening the door and letting the strangers in. A young man in green, walked in informing Gouhei of something. His green eyes glanced at the two strangers before a smile formed. The other, taller man with eyes of blue also lifted his arms up.
"Mako! Asami! You both are alive!"
Mako stood there, blinking before bursting out.
"Bolin! Varrick? You both are alive and here?"
Bolin soon collided with him, hugging him tightly.
"I don't think we could be alive in any other form!" Varrick shouted, "Perhaps being a bit lost after Zhu Li Zhu li'd us and our boat out of this place sank, you could change our form of being alive. This lovely couple gave us a place to hide from Bataar's army."
Mako turned to the couple, "Thank you both. I don't know where we would be without you."
"We have seen too many of our friends and family lose their livelihood to this tyrant. Help us get rid of him and you all can stay for as long as we can cover for you." Gouhei said.
Nods in agreement spread across the room, soon becoming the founders of rebellion.