(This is another work set in the universe in which Bolin is the Avatar. Mako deals with the aftermath of Bolin's decision to face Zaheer alone. This story is next continued in Chapter 11.)

Dawn broke through the tiny window of the airship and Mako opened his eyes sleepily. He had been up late strategizing and hadn't slept well, dreaming of possible calamities that could happen. If anything, their plan was far from foolproof. He sat up, turning to Bolin's cot and stretching.

It was empty.

Mako instantly felt a jolt of fear. Bolin never got up early, at least not voluntarily. Usually he had to be prodded from bed by Mako, who would have to shake him roughly in order to even get him to respond.

Mako jumped out of bed and opened the door, immediately making for the control room. When he arrived Su and Lin and several of Su's commanding metalbenders were sitting around the round table, hunched over with mugs of hot tea in front of them.

Mako internally breathed a sigh of relief. Surely Bolin couldn't have done anything stupid if Lin and Su were around.

"Morning." Mako said gruffly. Su and Lin glanced at one another before turning back to face him.

"What?" Mako asked them, searching their blank faces. "What is it? Where's Bolin?"

"Mako." Lin began, then hesitated. She started again. "Mako, early this morning we dropped off Bolin, Korra, and Asami about five miles east of the Air Temple. They should be meeting with Zaheer at any minute in order for Bolin to give himself up in exchange for the airbenders."

Mako stared at her blankly, processing her words. Bolin…gone? Giving himself up? A slow terror was building up inside of him, threatening to spill out at the slightest provocation.

"No…" he whispered dumbly, looking out the nearest window. The airship was hovering midair, and he could see the outline of the nearby Air Temple surrounded by mountains on every side in the faint morning light.

Su had gotten up and had moved to stand behind him. She laid her arm on Mako's shoulder, comfortingly.

"Mako, they have a radio transmitter that we've been using to communicate with them. We are on standby, ready to attack if anything goes wrong." Su said.

"How could you let him do this?" Mako asked. His tone was emotionless, dull.

Apparently at the end of her patience, Lin snapped back at him. "Stop acting like a child whose favorite toy has disappeared. This is war! We are here to support the Avatar, and this is the plan that he set forth. Our job isn't to question him—it's to take orders and see this through."

Mako knew that he had lost. No one else would see the lunacy of this plan because nobody cared for Bolin the way he did. They saw him abstractly, as a protector, a savior of sorts, whose duty it was to see to the needs of others even if those needs required his surrender and capture.

Mako's chest had begun to ache and he felt like he might once again succumb to tears. He angrily pushed back from the table and started towards the window, looking for any sign of his brother and their friends.