We are finally here, guys. I honestly didn't think I'd make it this far and actually finish this story. Part of me thought it was gonna end up like my Randy Cunningham story and just end with a hiatus. And I'm glad it didn't!

I want to thank all of you for sticking through with the story and hope you've all enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I also must thank one of my best friends, Powershade117 for his help in putting the majority of this story together.

Now, before you proceed to reading, I must warn young readers that this chapter may not be appropriate for them. There are some strong visuals and suggestive language that might not be suitable for the youngins.

She was back here again. After so long, he finally got a hold of her again. At his command, she removed her clothes and stood still as he examined every inch of her. He voiced his approval at how she had grown and how her body developed, licking his lips pleasurably. She shuddered in fright and stiffened as he ran his hands down her body. When he came back up, he pressed his chest against her back and she could feel his hardened length pressing against her rear. She shut her eyes as tears rolled down her cheeks, barely choking back a sob. He noticed this and brought his mouth to her ear, whispering in it. "You don't know how long I've been waiting for this. Just relax. You might just get some pleasure out of this too," he encouraged. She released the breath she had been holding in this entire time as he brought his mouth to her cheek and licked the side of her face. The sob she held in finally escaped past her lips as he grabbed her by her ponytail and roughly pushed her onto his bed, all the while causing her hair tie to unravel and release her blonde locks. As she propped herself up on her hands, she felt his rough, calloused ones roughly grip her hips and lift them up, causing her to yelp in shock… and whimper in terror. He leaned forward to whisper in her ear again. "Now, be a good girl and do what I say."

She inhaled shakily and gripped the sheets between her fingers. With a choked sob, she shut her eyes, more tears trailing down her cheeks in the process, as she quietly squeaked, "Yes, master." She continued gripping the sheets tightly as she felt him thrust painfully into her. He kept going, not even giving her a chance to get used to it and eventually, she couldn't hold in her sobs.

"NO!" Rai shouted loudly and sat up with so much force that it quickly frightened away the small fox deer that had been sniffing her. Her body shivered as the images in her dream - no, her nightmare - were still fresh in her mind. She quickly wrapped her arms around herself, reassured by the presence of her clothes, that the nightmare was not real. She trembled at the thought of how real it all felt and even more so at the thought that Goro could get into her head so easily and reduce her to… this: a crying, terrified mess. She thought she was so strong, that she would be ready to face him, but she wasn't ready at all! One touch, one whisper in her ear and it was like she was back there in chains. She wasn't strong enough… She'd never be strong enough; she'd never be free of him.

When she finally calmed her erratic and panicked heartbeat, she observed her surroundings. The last thing she remembered was being in Ba Sing Se, but now she was in the middle of a dense forest that looked completely untouched by humans. The raised herself high into the air on a pillar of earth to see where she was, but couldn't even see Ba Sing Se in the distance in any direction. She remembered running, but she didn't think she'd gotten that far away. And she had left her friends behind as well. She couldn't think straight in the Avatar State, not in that moment when so many thoughts and feelings were flooding her mind. All she could think to do was get away, get away so she could think clearly.

How long had she been unconscious? Hours? Days? Her friends surely would not have stayed in Ba Sing Se after that and she knew they'd have to be on the search for her. But where even was she? She had to get her bearings, figure out where she was and how long it had been. She spotted a small town in the lower valley and lowered her pillar of earth back to the ground. As she reached the edge of town, she quickly pulled her large hood over her head. Her secret was out; the world knew she existed now and she didn't want to be recognized. As she cautiously stepped into town, some of the civilians she passed by looked at her. For a moment, she feared the spark of recognition in their eyes, but sighed in relief as they returned their focus to their original tasks.

She moved through the town relatively unnoticed, but still kept her hood up and a watchful eye out. Ahead, she spotted a newsstand and quickly grabbed one of the newspapers. Rai quickly glanced at the date, seeing that it had been two days since Ba Sing Se. Had she really been out for that long? As her eyes moved down the page, she wasn't surprised when she found a picture of herself - albeit a very unfocused and blurry because of the wind that had been swirling around her - plastered beneath a headline in all capital letters, "THE AVATAR RETURNS".

"Hard to believe, eh?" the newsstand operator asked, noticing Rai's fixation on the paper. She said nothing, but looked up at him to acknowledge his presence. "People had been saying for years now that the Avatar never got reincarnated after Korra. Turns out he was just in hiding!" Rai cocked her eyebrow in confusion at his choice of word: "he". She returned her focus to the picture. Between the lack of focus in the clarity of the picture and her thick layers of clothes, it was awfully hard to see for sure if the subject was male or female. She mentally sighed in relief; that would at least make it harder for people to properly identify her.

"Yeah, hard to believe," she responded to the owner.

"Hard to tell in the picture, but he's gotta at least be a teenager! The question on everyone's mind is why he hasn't come forward at all?"

"Probably didn't want to be found," she commented.

"Why wouldn't the Avatar want to be found?" he asked.

"Well, maybe she doesn't want to live her life based on what other people want. Who says she has to be the Avatar?" she blurted out, before realizing what she had said.

"'She'? You think it's a girl?" the owner pulled over one of the copies and took a closer look at the photo. "Oh yeah, I guess that could be a girl too."

Rai mentally cursed at herself for that slip. If people were thinking the Avatar was male based on the picture, she was more than happy to let them think that. She had to be careful not to give people the idea that the blurry figure might be a girl. During an absentminded glance down the street, Rai quickly spotted a trio of men in navy and white uniforms walking towards her. She cursed under her breath and quickly ducked into a nearby alleyway. She'd recognized those uniforms anywhere; she had spent several years avoiding them and their organization. But now that the world knew for sure that she existed, she should have known that the White Lotus would be searching for her more extensively than before.

Cautiously, she poked her head out from behind the corner and sighed in relief at the sight of the White Lotus agents questioning other villagers. They weren't here for her… We'll, technically they were here for her, they just didn't know she was what they were looking for. Either way, she couldn't risk sticking around when the White Lotus were here. She was able to avoid the White Lotus easily, but made sure not to look too suspicious as she slipped out of town and back into the wilderness. Unfortunately, in her haste to get away, she had completely forgotten to figure out what village that was and where she was.

If it really had been two days, then her friends would be closing in on her soon enough. They would have followed the direction she flew off in certainly. She knew Goro wouldn't pursue her. No, he would wait for her to come to him. Everything was a power play to him and she knew that he knew if she wanted to settle things once and for all, she would have to find him. Part of her was unwilling to seek him out, unwilling to give him the satisfaction of knowing that she was looking for him.

Her body suddenly trembled and shook uncontrollably as the images from her earlier dream flashed across her mind. The feeling of his hands on her body, his skin against hers; it sickened her. She slumped to her knees and wrapped her arms around herself, trying to regain any sense of fleeting security she had. As she choked back her tears, she felt someone gently place their hand on her shoulder. When she looked up, she expected to see one of her companions having finally caught up to her, but instead she saw only a blue hued transparent woman.

"Korra…"

"Rai," the apparition began with tender and caring eyes, "Tell me what's wrong."

"I thought… I thought that when the time came, that I'd be strong enough. I had been planning for this day so long, but… but…"

"Things don't always go the way we plan, Rai. When I was young, I thought I was ready to be the Avatar, but I was far from it."

"This isn't about being the Avatar, Korra! I spent years building these walls around me to be strong, so that I would be tough enough to face him when the time came! But in an instant, he just broke those walls down like they were nothing! How is it he can get to me so easily? I'll never be free of him, not when he can get inside my head without an effort!" she cried, tears slipping through her shut eyes as she tightly gripped her head with both hands.

Korra closed her eyes and sighed. "I know you once said that I could never understand you and what you've gone through, but I might be able to help you here. You let me guide you once before, let me do it again," she whispered tenderly. Rai looked up at her predecessor silently, allowing the previous Avatar to speak. "I know what it's like to carry the scars and trauma with you wherever you go. When I fought the Red Lotus and they poisoned me, I felt completely and utterly broken and shattered. I didn't feel like an Avatar; I didn't even feel much like myself anymore. And even though I was physically fine, I carried that fear, the scars with me for three years. I was so afraid of what might have happened that day that I let my fear of it and Zaheer control me. It wasn't until I confronted him and put what happened behind me that I finally was able to fully recover and reconnect with Raava."

"Being poisoned is hardly the same," Rai said.

"I know," Korra answered tenderly. "I know being poisoned is nothing compared to what he's put you through and I don't mean to compare our traumas. But right now, you're still carrying that trauma with you and you want to be free of it. But you will never be free of it until you confront the source. Take it from someone who knows, once you do, your road to recovery can finally begin."

"But…" Rai hesitated.

"But what?" Korra asked, gently encouraging Rai to speak.

"I'm… I'm afraid," she whispered in shame. "As strong as I am, I'm afraid that I won't be strong enough to fight him, not when he can so effortlessly break me down like this!"

"Rai, it's all right to be afraid. But you aren't in this alone." With those final words, Korra faded away. Rai reached her hand out, not ready for the spirit to disappear yet. From behind her, Rai suddenly heard a familiar hiss and turned to see Haku running towards her, followed by the rest of their menagerie.

"Rai!" she heard them call out to her. She stood silently in place as they rushed towards her, relief on each of their faces that they had finally found her. Takumi and Sati were quick to greet her with a tight and relieved hug, while Hiro kept his usual respectful distance and merely contained a sigh of relief at seeing her.

"Rai, what happened in Ba Sing Se," Takumi began as he pulled away.

"The whole world knows now," Hiro added.

"The Air Nomads are already calling everyone back to the temples to help the White Lotus look for you!" Sati exclaimed, her expression one of worry.

"What do we do now?" Takumi asked as the three companions looked to her for her decision.

"I don't care," Rai muttered, her eyes narrowed in determination.

"What?" Hiro asked.

"I played right into his hands, just like he planned. The only reason he brought up Kala was because he knew I would lose it. When I realized just what was going on, I should have just killed him then and there! But… I hesitated; I couldn't focus and I just had to get away from everything so I could think straight. And he counted on that! But it's not going to happen again!"

"What do you want to do?" Hiro asked, ready for whatever task she needed done.

"I can't think about what the world knows now. I need to finish what I started." She turned to her three companions, each waiting on her words. "When I planned for the day I met Goro again, I always envisioned myself alone. The last thing I want is to force you to help me; this isn't your battle. But, I don't think I can do this without you," she whispered, her eyes pleading with them.

"We've stood by you all this time. We're not leaving you now," Hiro replied firmly.

"Yeah, we're with you, Rai," Sati smiled.

Takumi reached forward and took Rai's hand in his, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"Goro won't be easy to find. He'll have left Ba Sing Se by now," Hiro said.

"I know where to find him," Rai said.

"You do?" asked Takumi.

"Everything Goro does is part of his game with me. He won't come looking for me; he'll want me to come to him. He'll wait somewhere that's significant to both of us."

"And where's that?" Sati asked.

Rai moved towards Haku and quickly mounted his saddle. "Where it all began." Rai rode silently in the lead as the others trailed behind her. They didn't know where they were going, so they had to follow her closely.

"She said 'where it all began'. What does that mean?" Takumi asked Hiro as Kiwi and Griffith ran side by side and Daisy flew over their heads.

"A lot of bandit cells usually move around to avoid authorities, but if they find a good spot that's hidden well enough, they'll call it home," Hiro explained.

"So, when she said 'where it all began', she means," Sati began, only for Hiro to continue.

"Where Goro's main camp used to be, where Kala died and Rai discovered she was the Avatar."

They stopped in a small clearing, which Hiro noted was just short of their destination.

"You're sure you want to come? Wouldn't have pegged you as willing to help me kill someone," Rai said to the Nomad.

"I know I said a lot of things when we first met and looking back at them now, I feel somewhat ashamed at how naive I was to what you've gone through and selfish for always pushing you. But after meeting Goro and seeing just how awful that man is, I understand. He needs to be stopped and I'll support whatever you decide," Sati smiled with determination.

Rai returned a smile to the optimistic airbender before speaking in a serious tone. "Goro will be unlike anything you've ever had to fight, Sati. He's not the kind of person who will kill you to put you out of your misery. He likes to play with his prey and he'll hurt you because he knows it'll hurt me. If you have to get away, get away, do you understand me? If I tell you to leave and abandon me, you do it." Sati opened her mouth to protest to this, but Rai quickly continued. "You said you'd stand by my decision." Sati closed her eyes and sighed in defeat, only managing a simple nod to acknowledge Rai's request. Rai then moved over to Takumi, who had been adjusting his bow and arrows. "You're staying here."

"Wh-what?" Takumi cried, standing up sharply.

"You're not coming, you're going to stay here," Rai repeated firmly.

"Why? I'm not going to get in the way!" he protested.

"It's not that you'll get in the way. I can't focus on fighting Goro if I'm spending half my time worrying about you."

"Rai, you said you needed us and now you're telling me you don't want me to come with you?"

"Someone already used you to get to me and they succeeded! And you almost died because of it! I won't put you in that position again!" Rai loudly shouted, her angry tone just gently masking a hint of fear in her voice. She noticed Takumi flinching at the sudden raising of her voice, so she took a deep breath and spoke more calmly while placing a hand on his shoulder. "Please, I'll fight better knowing you're out of the danger."

Takumi sighed in defeat and dropped his bow to the ground. "Fine," he muttered, conceding defeat.

"It's for the best, trust me," she said, before turning to Hiro and Sati, both ready to follow her lead. "Let's go."

As they moved through the woods, Sati spoke up, "Is it really a smart idea to just walk in? Out in the open?"

"Goro's expecting us, so there's no point wasting our time with a sneak attack. Besides, if he fell for a sneak attack, he would have fallen for one a long time ago," Hiro answered.

"But he's got a whole army, doesn't he?"

"He'll be alone," Rai said from ahead of them.

"How can you be so sure?" Sati asked.

"He'll be alone because he'll want our reunion to be more... intimate," Rai replied darkly. "We're almost there, so be ready. I don't think he'll try to bloodbend us right away, but keep your distance from him and each other. There's three of us, but he's only got two hands. If we stay spread out, he won't be able to bloodbend all of us at once."

Sati and Hiro nodded and continued forward, following Rai into an open clearing. As she stepped into the field, Rai couldn't help but move over to a small patch of grass on her right. She bent down to one knee and gently placed her hand on the ground, sadly recalling what had occupied this spot the last time she was in this place.

"Ah, the memories this place brings back." Rai snapped out of her trance at the sound of his voice and immediately stood up as Hiro drew his dual swords. Goro stood opposite to the trio on the other end of the clearing alone, as Rai had surmised. "You came," he grinned, "just like I knew you would. Now, we should really get going. There's so much you and I have to catch up on." He held his hand out towards her as if to beckon her forward to take it.

Rai's feet remained firmly planted in the ground, however. "I meant what I said in Ba Sing Se: I will never go anywhere with you," she repeated firmly.

"Ah, but now it seems you don't have much of a choice. Ever since we were separated, I had been waiting for news of the Avatar's return. But, months went by, soon years and still nothing. You had all this time to come forward, go public, yet you didn't. That told me only one thing: you didn't want people to know what you were. More than anything, you want to stay hidden from the world. But now the world knows about you. Already the White Lotus and Air Nomads are searching every inch of the world for you. But I can hide you from them, my sweet flower, I can hide you from the world. It'll just be the two of us."

Rai grit her teeth angrily and stomped her foot to the ground, raising a line of earth from the ground towards Goro, who easily jumped off the rising earth and landed to the side.

"It seems you've forgotten your manners. I offer you a comfortable life: food, luxury, anything you could ever want! And this is how you treat me?"

"Anything I could ever want?" Rai scoffed. "How about my home? My family?"

"Now, my dear, you know I had nothing to do with that tragedy," he said, feigning sympathy.

"Then what about Kala? Can you bring her back then?" she shouted. In her heart, she knew Kala was dead and that no one could bring back the dead, but she wasn't about to let Goro think he could lure her into his arms with such false promises of granting her heart's desires.

"Now, what happened with Kala was unfortunate, but I-"

"Unfortunate?" Rai shouted angrily. "You had her murdered right in front of me!"

"To teach you a lesson!" Goro shouted back. "A lesson that you clearly need reminding!"

Goro drew his hands up, drawing water from the two waterskins on his back and launching both blobs towards Rai. He tightened his fists, causing the water to harden into sharp icicles. Rai raised a wall of earth to block the icicles, while Hiro easily deflected and sliced through them with his swords and Sati blew them back with a strong gust of wind. Rai launched herself over her rock shield with a blast of fire, ready to fire another blast at Goro. The bandit leader drew water out of a nearby tree and used it to douse Rai's flames. He reformed the water into a long tendril and wrapped it around Rai's ankle, roughly pulling her out of the sky and onto the ground, landing roughly on her back. Hiro came up from the right with his blades at the ready, but Goro easily side stepped and avoided the path of Hiro's blades. As Hiro advanced with one of his blades, Goro took a hold of his wrist, twisted his arm around, forcing Hiro to release the blade, which Goro then took for himself. The dual blades clashed, this time on opposing sides.

"You've certainly come a long way from sweeping in the forge," Goro grinned, almost in pride. "With some more training, you'd make an excellent assassin for me."

"I'd never work for you!" Hiro replied with malice.

Goro was larger, so it was easy for him to push Hiro off with his stolen sword, knocking Hiro to the ground. Goro raised his arm, ready to strike down with the sword, but Rai launched one of her cables towards him. The cable wrapped around the hilt and blade and with a firm pull, the blade was torn from his grip. Sati came at him from behind, knocking him off his feet with a thin blade of air that swept him off his feet. He was back on his feet in an instant however, and pulled even more water from the nearby plant life, surrounding himself with wildly waving tendrils of water.

Hiro and Sati both tried advancing on opposite ends, but Goro was able to sweep them aside. Rai charged head on, bending the tendrils aside and whipping out her arm blades. Goro countered with ice blades of his own. Goro pushed Rai off him just as he did with Hiro, but Rai easily recovered, and swept her hand to the side, causing a pillar of earth to eject from the earth at an acute angle and strike Goro in the side, knocking him to the ground. The three didn't let up and continued their assault.

"ENOUGH!" Goro ducked under attacks from both Rai and Hiro, effortlessly avoiding them. Using that momentum, he put Rai on the defensive with a few swings of his ice blade while tripping up Hiro with his water whip. Seizing the moment, Sati came forward with a gust of wind, but was thrown off when Goro wrapped another whip around her ankles. He then pulled his arm back and yanked the girl off her feet and towards him. Discarding both weapons, Goro reached out with his powers and held Sati aloft in the air with the invisible hand of bloodbending. "As enjoyable as our little game of cat and mouse is, I'm growing impatient. Surrender yourselves...or else," he threatened.

"Let her go!" Rai shouted.

"Wrong answer, my dear! You understand how things like bloodbending and plantbending work, don't you? A waterbender moves the water within the bodies of living things and plants. It's rather easy to pull the water straight out of a plant, and for a while, I often wondered that if I could rip the moisture from plants, could I do the same to a person?" Goro's hand stiffened. At his gesture, Sati lets out a blood chilling scream. Just as Rai and Hiro notice that her clothes are starting to get damp spots in some locations, a glob of water seems to jump from Sati's body, fusing into a single orb suspended above Goro's open palm. Sati slumps over, her eyes glazing as Goro releases his bloodbending hold on her. With a single tired groan, she falls over, but is caught by Goro and held up in his arm. He looks back at the duo with a dark grin spread across his face. "Let's try this again," he said, holding the glob of water out in a taunting gesture.

Rai and Hiro stared in silent shock at what he had just done. "Y-you... you pulled the water from her body? You monster!" she yelled.

"Monster is such an ugly word, my dear. Is that any way to treat your master? Put your weapons down."

Sati groaned weakly and gently cast her eyes in Rai's general direction. "R-Rai…"

"It's going to be all right, Sati. I promise," Rai held out her hand trying to reassure her.

"So...thirsty," she exhaled weakly, her throat parched.

Goro pulled a smaller, but still noticeable amount of water from Sati through her skin to further make his point. This time though, the act elicited a painful hiss from the girl instead of a scream.

"Weapons. Now," Goro repeated.

Rai growled under her breath, but complied, giving Hiro a look to do the same. She removed her cable spool belt and bent the metal plates off her forearms, scattering the pieces to the ground.

Goro chuckled as his gaze focused on Rai. "Good girl."

Rai's face twitched angrily at Goro's remark, but she stayed her hand. Perhaps she should have come alone. She had let foolish optimism convince her to bring support. She thought he might try to bloodbend one of them against her and that she would be able to get around that. But she never would have dreamed it possible for him to do what he just did to Sati! And now because of her, Sati's life was in danger. "Now let her go."

"Tsk tsk tsk." Rai hated it whenever he made that sound and swayed his finger back and forth like she was a petulant child in need of scolding. "You know a slave never makes demands of their master. If I were to do that, you would just attack me again. Besides," he paused, taking a moment to stroke Sati's cheek, an action the weakened girl did not seem to register. "She would make an excellent servant, wouldn't you agree?"

"I won't let you take her!" When they first met, Rai hadn't cared much for the annoyingly bubbly airbender. Even if that's how she still felt, Rai would never let another fall into that position, knowing from personal experience just what it entailed.

"Oh, don't you worry, my dear. I wouldn't even dream of splitting the three of you up. Just how heartless do you think I am? A pity that we seem to be missing one…" Goro trailed off, his mind wandering off to Takumi.

"You leave him out of this too!" Rai shouted defensively.

"Oh, you needn't worry yourself. Your friends are the least of my concerns. For now," he began, discarding Sati and letting her slump to the ground with a soft thud as he slowly approached Rai and Hiro. "Let's get reacquainted with each other."

As Goro made his advance, Hiro quickly jumped in front of Rai, putting himself between her and Goro. "Not another step closer!" he yelled. The unarmed swordsman didn't hesitate to blast a stream of fire towards Goro, who easily doused the roaring flames with the water he had painfully extracted from Sati's body. Goro quickly raised his hand, using his powers to force Hiro to his knees as the firebender struggled fruitlessly against his invisible grip. Behind him, Goro could see Rai start to make a move, so he raised his other hand, forcing her to stand in place.

"Well…," he exhaled contentedly as he looked at his two former slaves under his control. "Just like old times, isn't it? You should be more careful where you fire, my boy. Someone could get hurt." With a slight movement of his fingers, Hiro's arm was suddenly pulled forward and twisted painfully behind his back. Goro merely grinned in delight at Hiro roaring in agony as a sharp and painful snap was heard from his arm. "If this is what it takes to teach you both a lesson," he said, preparing to do the same to Hiro's other arm.

"Stop!" Rai interjected, still unable to move. "Let him go. I'm the one you want anyway."

Goro turned his head towards her, his eyebrow cocking at surprise to her words. He leered at her for a few agonizing moments before shrugging with a smile and roughly pushing Hiro aside with his bloodbending, only for the firebender to land on his broken arm.

"Mmm, very well. So like you to offer yourself in the place of others, as you always did with…" Goro paused for a moment to remember her name, "Kala. I see all these years alone have done little to snuff that noble heart of yours. Always protecting the weak and helpless. Why do you do it?" he asked, while she refused to answer, not that he would have given her a chance since he continued speaking. "You don't owe this world anything, not as yourself or Avatar. Why must you give so much of yourself to them, to people undeserving of your charity? You deserve to be a little selfish. And now that it's just you and me, my sweet, I can give you everything you deserve, anything you want that is within my power. You only need to give me something in return." He held her in his power with one hand while he used the other to softly caress her chin before gripping it firmly, but sensually and forcing her to lock eyes with him.

Though Rai couldn't escape his bloodbending grip entirely, she was able to jerk her chin out of his hand, leaning herself as far away from him as she could even though she hadn't moved at all.

"Relax," he whispered, seizing a hold of her chin again, roughly this time, as his tight grip forced Rai's lips to pucker. "The more you fight, the less fun you'll have." He released her chin and moved around behind her. Rai instinctively tried to turn around, keep him in her sights, but his hold on her was firm and unrelenting. As he hovered behind her, he dove his head down into her skin where her neck and shoulder met, taking in her scent with a loud and obvious sniff. "Oh, you have no idea how much I've missed you, my dear. How much I've been waiting for this day," he said with a delighted sigh, the warm breath escaping onto her skin.

Rai trembled under his grip, sickened by how close he was to her as she struggled to get away. All she could manage was to clench her fists angrily and grumble, "Don't touch me."

She heard him exhale sharply against her skin. He drew back from her neck and grabbed a handful of the dark green fabric of her hood in his hand before swiftly and roughly pulling the long and tattered cloak off her. Rai flinched at the sudden movement, shutting her eyes frightfully while trying to maintain a strong composure. She couldn't let him see her fear; she couldn't let him see that he was getting to her.

"You've grown into such a beautiful young woman," he whispered in her ear sensually, enjoying the reaction he was getting from her. "And yet, you hide it from the world. Such a shame, if you ask me." He stood behind her as he spoke, still whispering in her ear and taking pleasure in how she trembled beneath his touch. He slowly snaked his arms underneath hers and wrapped them around her waist. He brought his head close to hers again, resting his cheek against the back of her head as he mouth hovered over his ear. "Why do you insist on fighting, my little flower? You must be so tired of always fighting." His warm breath against her ear sent an eerie chill up her spine as his hands ghosted over her breasts. "Let me take care of you from now on. I can make you happy and in time, you'll feel what I feel, you'll learn to love me as I love you." With that, he playfully nibbled on her ear lobe, earning a sharp inhale from her as her shoulders stiffened and breathing became more panicked and labored.

"That isn't love; a vile beast like you could never know love."

She heard a sharp exhale escape Goro's nose. His fingers stealthy reached to the two pink strings that tightly tied her wrap and pulled them loose, allowing the pink and green pieces of fabric to gently fall to the ground. Rai barely choked back a shocked and fearful squeal as layer after layer of cloth was slowly removed from her. With nothing holding her yellow tunic together, the two sides of the tunic fell loose and open, revealing the dark tank top she wore beneath it. Goro swiftly kicked her in the back of one knee, forcing her to fall to it. Another, rougher kick to her back sent her onto her stomach. She tried to lift herself off the ground, but Goro quickly planted his foot on the back of her head, pushing her face into the dirt.

"I'm offering you everything you could ever want and you spit in my face? Where have your manners gone? It seems you'll need reminding." He lifted his foot off her head, but would not allow her to get up on her own accord. Instead, he lifted her off the ground entirely, keeping her suspended over the ground with one hand. Still paralyzed under his control, she could do nothing to stop Goro from stepping forward and softly pulling her tunic off her shoulders, allowing the fabric to gather at her elbows and exposing her shoulders and upper arms, still littered with old scars. "Even then, you refused to bend to my will. Do you know what happens to things that don't bend, my dear? They break. And that's what I'm going to do to you," he said, taking her chin in his free hand and lifting it, forcing her to look at him as he spoke. "I'm going to break you until there is nothing left. Taming you is going to be more fun than I originally thought," he chuckled darkly.

Rai overcame her momentary hesitation to retort, "I am no pet to be tamed!" No matter what, she wouldn't let him have the last word; she wouldn't give him that satisfaction.

"Now where have I heard that before? I think you once said the exact words to me so long ago. But this time things will be different. This time, I'll finish what I started." With a malicious grin, his eyes trailed down her body, lingering for a few seconds on her hips. Rai knew what he wanted to do, as he had voiced his intentions so long ago when she was younger, but she deprived him of the chance with her escape. He snickered and moved his hands slowly up her sides, slipping them beneath her tank top and taking pleasure as she trembled and shook under his touch. He brought his face to hers, taking in her scent once again before licking her cheek in one long, drawn out motion. Rai's breath shuddered as the dark memories of his hands on her body return mixing with the images from her earlier nightmare. She shut her eyes, desperately trying to hold in the tears that were threatening to slip out. She wouldn't let him see her cry. At this point, she couldn't be certain if it was the fear and trauma of the memories or his bloodbending that still paralysed her. "You can't say you won't enjoy it. In time, you will. In time, you'll see I'm a good master and you'll enjoy being with me."

Rai grit her teeth angrily at him as he continued to fondle her. "Don't be surprised if you walk in one day and find me dead, because I would rather take my own life than live under your heel again!"

"I'll just have to keep a close eye on you then," he said, gently stroking her cheek with the back of his hand. "Now then, why don't we see exactly how well you've matured over the years."

Goro's hand moved down from her face to her almost completely exposed torso, where he gripped the collar of her tanktop. Brandishing a knife in his other hand, he brought the blade close to her chest, ready to do away with the final barrier that shielded her body from his sight. But before he could make the first cut, he suddenly stopped short as a sharp whooshing sound cut through the air. Goro gasped sharply and grunted as Rai caught sight of a thin arrow shaft sticking out the side of Goro's neck. The knife fell to the ground as his breath hitched and his hand shakily moved to his neck to feel the arrow. Goro and Rai both turned to the direction of where the arrow had come from and spotted a bow-wielding Takumi at the edge of the clearing. Goro released his grip on his tank top and focused his attention on Takumi, ready to bloodbend him, but the boy reacted instantly, firing a second arrow he had already nocked that struck Goro directly into his left eye. The bandit fell to his back and his bloodbending hold on Rai was released. She dropped to the ground on her rear, staring at Goro's lifeless body with wide eyes in shock. Rai was so entirely focused on him that she barely registered Takumi's soft steps coming towards her.

"A-Are you okay, Rai?" he asked, hesitantly, casting his gaze between her and the man had just shot.

Rai's heart was racing and it seemed that all she could hear was her erratic heart beating wildly. Part of her was afraid to tear her eyes away from him, fearful that it was some sort of ruse and that if she did even for a split second, he would be back up on his feet, ready to continue her torment. But with each passing second, he lay still on the ground, dark crimson blood oozing out of his eye, dripping down the side of his face and staining the earth below. Could it have really been that easy. Was he… Was he finally dead?

Takumi approached her cautiously, himself still shaken up, but at the same time worried for Rai. "Rai?" he called out. Still, she did not seem to register his presence, which only caused him to grow more concerned. He stepped closer and reached out his hand to place it on her shoulder. The instant he touched her, she flinched and locked eyes with him. She stared at him with wide eyes for a few seconds as if to take a moment to remember who he was. "Rai, please say something," he urged.

She blinked out of her trance and slowly reached to wrap herself back in her tunic and hugged herself tightly. She hated feeling so exposed and vulnerable, especially when it was by his hand. She hated how he could make her feel like this, reduce her to this. "I-is he dead?" was all she managed to say.

Takumi pulled back and carefully approached the body. He hesitated to reach out and check for a pulse, so instead he resorted to gently poking Goro's arm with one end of his bow. When Goro made no reaction, Takumi jabbed him harder and to confirm for sure, he nudged Goro's head with the bow, causing it to limply nod off to the side, facing away from Rai entirely. "Yeah, yeah I think so," he answered.

Rai released the breath she hadn't realized she was holding and fell onto her back. She held it in as best she could while he was undressing and molesting her, but now she let everything loose as if a dam had opened. She lay there, in the dirt, crying her eyes out and not even trying to control the wailing sobs that escaped her. So many feelings and thoughts were going through her head and it felt like every emotion she had ever bottled up - all the fear, anger, sadness and somewhere mixed in with all three: joy - was finally breaking out uncontrollably. Takumi took a step forward and reached out to comfort her, but stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around and saw that it was Hiro, whose other arm hung limp at his side.

"I'll look after her. Go check on Sati," Hiro said simply.

At the mention of her, Takumi quickly spotted the fallen Sati a few feet away. He rushed over to her, dropping his bow in the process and gently slipped his hand underneath Sati's neck and lifted her head and shoulders into his lap. "Sati," he called, but she didn't respond. "Sati, wake up!" he cried more urgently, giving her a gentle but desperate shake. He sighed in relief when he heard her groan weakly. "Are you ok?"

"Thirsty…" she whispered dryly. Takumi quickly reached for his water bottle and brought it to Sati's lips, allowing her to drink her fill.

Meanwhile, Hiro crouched next to Rai, who had turned over onto her side as she continued sobbing. With his good arm, he reached for her shoulder and whispered, "He's dead, Rai. It's okay… It's over."

Rai sat on a large rock overlooking a small pond in the woods. Her yellow tunic, pink and green wrap and dark green cloak were folded nearly beside her, leaving her with only her tank top. Takumi appeared and took a seat next to her, silently gazing out at the pond with her.

"I know I disobeyed you," he began. "You told me to stay behind, but I didn't. So, I understand if you're mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you," she said.

"You're not?" he turned his head sharply in shock.

"I never wanted you to know what it's like, Takumi. I never wanted for you to know what it feels like to take a life, even if it was his," she muttered that last word venomously.

Takumi sighed. "Before we met, if someone were to ask me if I could see myself taking a life, I'd probably tell them I couldn't, no matter the circumstances. But that's not what I was thinking about when I did it. When I saw him… doing that to you and about to take it further, I just wanted to make him stop hurting you. I thought he was going to bloodbend me. I-I didn't mean to kill him, I just reacted, but I don't regret it either. I know killing him meant a lot to you, so I'm sorry that I took that away from you."

"All I ever wanted for years was to kill that son of a bitch, to make him pay for what he did to me, to Kala and so many others. I always thought I'd be strong enough, but it turns out I was far from it. Maybe it shouldn't matter who killed him, just that he's finally dead and it's finally over," her voice shook, as if she was still coming to terms with that that meant for her.

"And you're free," Takumi finished for her.

She couldn't help but crack a smile at Takumi's statement. "Free…" she exhaled. That word had been completely foreign to her for so long, and the freedom she had been yearning and fighting for for so long was finally hers.

"So, what do you want to do first?" Takumi asked.

Rai said nothing and instead stood up from her seat on the rock and jumped into the pond. This alarmed Takumi at first, but he relaxed when all she did was float in the pond on her back, enjoying the feel of the cool water against her skin. She closed her eyes and sighed contentedly as she drifted in the water.

The chains were broken.

When Powershade117 and I started working out on this scene, I knew right away that I wanted Takumi to be the one who made the killshot. Call it symbolic or whatever, it just felt right for him to do it rather than Rai.

As for whether Rai's story will continue, that remains to be seen. I haven't decided if I would continue Rai's story or if it even needed continuing. But, I dunno, we'll see.