Korra awoke around noon, not feeling too refreshed but she had the energy to move. She sat up and saw Mako asleep beside her, sitting on the floor with his head against the arm of the sofa. She couldn't help but smile a little but her head flicked up hearing someone enter the room. Asami looked at her and forced a smile, which Korra could see straight through but didn't say a word.

Asami brought a plate with some toast for her and knelt down, trying not to look at Mako. She whispered to Korra.

"If you have a few minutes..I'd like to talk to you before anyone else comes in to ask you questions."

Korra blinked and she figured that she'd want to talk about Mako, she was naïve but certainly not stupid. "Sure Asami..."

The girl nodded and got up heading back to the back room that connected the living room to the kitchen. Leaving Korra to play with her food a little before deciding she was too hungry to not eat it.

Mako stirred but he seemed out of it as Korra put her boots back on and crept into the other room to talk with Asami, closing the door gently. She looked up at the dark haired girl and waited for what she hoped wasn't a painful tongue lashing from her.

Asami looked at Korra with her arms folded over her chest, regarding her for a moment as if sizing her up. But she dropped her arms to her sides, one hand resting on her hips. "Listen Korra I really liked Mako but it seems his affections are for you..not for me. It pain's me to say this but...if you feel the same way about him I..I need to know. I don't want to see him hurt."

"Asami I do.." Korra stopped herself and began rubbing the back of her head. "You heard huh?"

She got a nod, "Well I..I thought he liked you more and I do like him...a lot.." She looked to the floor for a moment then back to Asami. "Have you told him yet?"

"No..not yet. I'll talk to him later after wakes up and has had something to eat..he's been up all night worried about you you know?"

"No I I had no idea." Korra was starting to feel tremendously guilty and sighed, why did this have to happen now? Why couldn't they work out relationship stuff after the fight with Amon? Asami walked passed her and gave her a more genuine but small smile before leaving.

"Iroh's going to be looking for you, you should probably go answer his questions."

"Yeah I will."

Miss Sato nodded and closed the door behind her leaving Korra to her thoughts for a while.

Iroh found Korra wandering around outside while everyone was busy making the domes for themselves, it made Korra a little happier knowing that more benders were safe from Amon, if at least for now.

She explained everything to the general and even how guilty she felt for leaving Mao behind but he re-assured her that the girl sounded like she knew what she was doing and she had nothing to feel guilty about. Korra nodded but was not 100% convinced.

The others joined her shortly after, Asami and Mako were being oddly silent to each other so Korra assumed Asami had already spoken to him. She decided it'd be best not to mention anything and mostly spoke to Bolin about what happened, though she didn't enjoy repeating the story again she gave him the short version. After that she had very little to say. She nodded if people said hello or asked how she was. Even when Iroh called them inside to discuss how they were going to face Amon Korra was unnaturally silent. This irked Mako a little and he wondered if there was something she wasn't telling him but she would only look away if he tried to speak to her.

He decided to talk to her later, after all Asami had bluntly ended their relationship and explained precisely why, so he figured it wasn't going to hurt anyone if he confronted Korra.

Bolin surprised everyone at the meeting by suggesting a brilliant idea of using the tunnels under the city, and create distractions along the tunnel to lure the chi blockers into traps, that would leave very few left to deal with and then they could face Amon directly. Even Iroh was impressed by this so he called upon his earth benders to make more tunnels and channels so that there was more space covered.

In a matter of hours the plan had been mapped out and everyone had been given a job to do which would begin immediately. If all went according to plan this would be over by sunset the following day.

The earth benders worked tirelessly through the evening and the night, switching shifts if they got tired. Water benders provided food and water to the workers while the fire benders created light in the work space.

Mao woke up to her cell doors being opened and her arms were tied with a metal cable, perfect. She grinned as the chi blockers pushed her forwards, taking her through the many corridors of this warren like structure. They came into a large open room where One person stood in the centre with his back to her. She knew who he was immediately without him needing to turn around or even speak.

Amon turned his head very slightly, regarding Mao with what she could only imagine to be a look of annoyance. Especially since she was still smiling.

"I was certainly not expecting this. A dark-horse to aid the Avatar and those benders escape their crumbling city. Tell me young earth bender.." He leaned in close to her, pulling down her mask, his eyes narrowing behind his own. " Where is the Avatar?"

Mao remained calm and focused solely on breathing for a moment, she would not let this monster frighten her at this crucial stage, not now. She smirked at Amon and built up a small amount of saliva in her mouth before launching it at his mask.

Amon reeled back and wiped the spit away before his hand struck her face then brought it close to his again, gripping her jaw with bruising strength. "Defy me again and you will face the consequences. Tell me where the avatar is and you may keep your bend-"

"Fight me!"

The room fell silent for the longest time but Mao would not let up her hardened stare.

"I have no reason to fight someone such as yourself."

"Afraid Amon? You should be I don't need my bending to kick your sorry ass back to where it came from!"

He looked back at her and raised his hand up to her forehead but a sudden twang of metal caught his attention, both chi blockers were bound to the door handle by the very cable used to detain Mao. She stood up to her full height but still only came to Amon's chin.

"Me and you. No bending involved you have my word, if you can beat me then I will gladly tell you where the Avatar is. And you can then take away my bending. You see I have trained day and night, not only in my bending but in countless other forms of combat, You can do nothing to me."

almost without warning Amon lunged forwards at Mao but she guessed something had to make him snap, she didn't know if it was luck or intuition but she nailed it, she found what made him tick. Good then this would all go according to plan, and the two idiots tied to the door would keep anyone coming into the room for a good long while.

Amon made no sounds except when Mao got a lucky shot to his chest or stomach, she purposefully made sure he could keep fighting, she dodged him just as easily as she dodged her. It wouldn't take him long to figure out her plan, but she hoped it would be long enough. The Avatar needed time, she would give it to her if it was the last thing she ever did on this earth.

Both opponents stood opposite each other, holding themselves against the wall and staring each other down. Amon was glaring at Mao and sweat was dripping from under his mask, though Mao wasn't doing much better, under her padded clothing she could feel her soaked skin sticking to the cloth and it was not at all pleasant.

Amon stood first, he knew blocking her arms and legs would do no good under her carefully chosen attire, but her face and neck were now easy targets, she'd ripped her own mask off for the need to breath. He would have done the same in her position but he did not like outsiders seeing his face, if anyone at all.

Slowly he made his way towards the girl who looked like she would collapse at any given moment, his hands pulled her towards him and he glared down at her. "No more games. You've lost, just admit defeat and tell me where the Avatar is."

To his annoyance she mearly laughed at him and it distracted him long enough for her to throw her head forward, cracking the red circle on the forehead of his mask. He stumbled back with a low growl of displeasure and his hand was around her throat in a moment, the other reaching for her own forehead but his lieutenant burst through the door.

"Amon! Sir we have trouble, benders are coming out of everywhere, pouring into the streets and they have re-enforcements. Fire nation tanks and coming into the city."

Amon looked at him for a while and let Mao go. She smirked while her head was down, her plan worked.

"What of the airships?"

"Shot down sir."

"Get everyone to the surface immediately and bring this earth bender with you."

"Sir!" He bowed and tied Mao's hands behind her back, surprised at her lack of retaliation.