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"Lets go," Mako's gentle hand on her shoulder led her away from the fire. At the edge of the forest Korra collapsed. The cannon boomed. The screams were still in her head. No matter how hard she pressed her hands against her ears she could still hear him. Mako. Mako was there. He held her shoulders and rested her head on his shoulder. Was he saying something to her?

She was able to move again when she heard the ping. A little parachute had landed a few feet away from her. Mako had noticed it too but chose to stay next to her. After a few seconds of watching it just ping on the ground she took it and read the attached note

"You're doing wonderfully. Hold on a little longer."

-Asami

Korra didn't even give Mako the chance to read the note. It was hers and she slid it into her pocket.

With a deep breath she asked, "Is the cave far?" She tucked Asami's sponsor under her arm. To her the message was worth more than whatever gift was inside. It could wait until they were sheltered.

"Not far. I'd guess about a half hour's walk maybe." He looked down at her and Korra didn't like it, "Can you make it? I can carry you if you can't?

"No, I can do it," Maybe her mind had snapped a little at Eight's surrender. That didn't make her weak. She could manage walking just fine. It did bother her how Mako had seemed completely unphased by what they had just witnessed.

Even as she stood she felt Mako hook one of her arms around his shoulders. She could feel the warmth of his hand against her him. She let him. She wanted to fight but what would be the point. It felt comforting at the very least.

Mako guided her slowly through the few passages that stood between them and the cave. There they found Wei waiting for them in the dark.

"You guys made it!" He said when he heard them enter. With one move Mako lit the fire in the center and sat near it. Korra settled on a rock a few feet away from the firebender. Allied with Wei or not there was no reason for him to see that she had been hurt. "I was beginning to worry about you guys when I started hearing cannons go off."

"We decided to camp out there for a while. And the game makers sent a dragon after us." Mako reported blankly.

"She ok?" Wei asked and she raised her arm to let him see the cuts Eight had managed to make on her, "One of them got you bad huh?"

"I'll be alright," Korra shrugged opening her sponsor. Fitting she should see a small container of disinfectant inside. It would be a shame if she lost just because she didn't take care of a cut properly.

"What about the other careers?" Mako asked.

"Yong's still holed up in the cornucopia. He's bound to be running out of supplies by now. I've heard a few sponsors come down but nothing near what he's going to need to survive."

"It's not like a career to hole up for the competition anyway," Mako's eyes narrowed, "What about the other one?"

"Xie's been roving through the city. I've clashed with her a few times but she's hard to get close too."

"She's probably finding her supplies around town too. Arrows too maybe, unless a sponsor is stepping in for her."

Wei shrugged and pulled a rock from the ground for him to lean back against, "I don't know. Either way she hasn't run out. It'd be stupid for us to plan for that."

"She can only shoot one at a time though," Korra added, "What about an ambush?"

"That, might work." Mako looked into the fire. His eyes were distant and focused as he watched. "We'll have to make it look like she isn't being handed a kill though. She'll know something's up then."

"Does she know we're working together?"

Wei shook his head, "I don't see why she would? But she's seen be plenty of times all by myself. There's no reason why she would suspect I have allies."

"Korra's our bait." Mako said definitively.

"What?"

"Yeah, wait a minute I didn't agree to that."

"You're a good fighter but we know if it comes down to it you won't be able to kill her when the time comes. Best to let us do the dirty work and keep you on the defensive."

Korra sighed heavily and crossed her arm, "You're right," Of course he was, "Just don't let me get killed ok?"

"We all need to work together to finish this." Mako promised. She felt his hand on her shoulder. Warm like a true firebender. "None of us are dying."

"Easy for you to say team captain. You won't be at the end of her arrows." Just like the boy was the first day of the games.

Wei's voice stopped her from completely remembering the deaths of the first day. "After Xie is taken out Yong will be the only career left,"

"Aside from me," Korra added but Wei continued on.

"I just want to be clear right now. When we get her I'm out of the group."

"We're almost done. You can't bail on us now." Korra almost threw a rock at him.

"We're almost down to the last three. We knew this Alliance couldn't last forever. Mako, this has worked out just fine with me being super sneaky for you. Don't get me wrong I'm grateful for that. And at least I helped you with that kid from your district." Korra glanced away, "But when we're the only ones left we're going to have to turn on each other at some point. Nothing against either of you but I'd rather be far away from you when that happens."

Korra looked at Mako. He was bound to have some kind of argument against him. They were a team right? But instead the firebender only nodded and asked, "Who's going to take the first watch?"

How someone could sleep with someone who was going to abandon her team she wasn't sure. Who's to say Wei wasn't going to turn on them sooner than he said? It would be the perfect strategy. She fought her urges to toss on the hard floor. Stay still, look asleep. Wei can't know you're worried about him. And how was Mako sleeping? She couldn't see him from her angle.

By the time the sun rose she hardly even knew how long she had slept. She was sure it could not have been long. Her body ached to move and she found herself surprised to want the soil of the forest under her. In the shadows of the cave the rising sun was nothing more than a dim light far away from them.

Korra pushed herself up to sit, forced a yawn and stretched. Knots buried in her muscles and joints. But as far as Wei knew she slept like a baby, right? She brushed herself off and jumped to her feet. The effort to look refreshed was not exhausting, but a nescience. All she wanted was to collapse in the bed in the tribute tower and never move again. Well, maybe she'd move if Asami was there with her.

"Have any trouble sleeping?" Mako pulled her from her thoughts

"I'm fine," Korra snapped sounding crankier than she meant to. She walked towards where Wei was sleeping soundly. There was a little spark of fury at the sight of him. How dare he just doze away peacefully when he had made her uncomfortable all night? She woke him up with a punch to the arm. "Get up Four," She told him calling him by his district.

He snapped awake and Korra could have sworn he flew into a fighting stance. "Mako!" He shouted just before realizing he didn't have any reason to be alarmed. "Oh, it's you. Can't a guy sleep without thinking he's gonna be murdered any second in these games?"

"Sorry." Korra smirked, "Maybe you'll feel more comfortable in the kiddy rounds next time."

"That's enough playing around you two." Mako ordered, "We need to get moving. Wei."

"On it." Wei pulled at something with his bending. The wall buried in the far back of the cave shifted and an opening formed. A thin tunnel burrowed deeper forming a set of stairs. Mako led the way keeping the way lit with a flame in his hands.

The steps spiraled upward through though the dark. They were nothing more than ledges of stone shifted into shape. She wondered if Wei had made the steps himself or had the gamemakers put together this little tunnel and let Mako come across it?

The door they reached was another one made of metal. Behind her she could feel, rather than see, Wei's movements that opened it. For a moment the sunlight that streamed in was painful. Korra blinked and shielded her eyes with one hand until she was more adjusted.

"Welcome to heaven!" Wei said cheerily as he gestured to the landscape around him. They stood on the tops of the iron walls that covered the city. From here the labyrinth she had gotten lost in before looked like nothing more than a complicated map. Large gaps in the maze marked where small neighborhoods stood. Behind them Korra noticed a gap that she was sure held the home that Tukun's brother had been killed in. In the labyrinth's center a wide oval gave away the cornucopia.

"Yong is that way isn't he?" Korra said pointing. Wei nodded. "Shouldn't we go after him first then?"

"Last time I was close to him he was laying something down all around the place. Even I don't have any idea what he's set up out there. Not to mention he's had the time to make everything perfect for him. We'd stand a better chance if we dragged him out."

"And when we have a plan." Mako added, "we already have one for Xie in place. We need to focus on her. Stop being so distracted."

"Fine." Korra grumpily crossed her arms, "Give him time to rest up."

"Xie's been on the move most of the time, but more often than not she'll regroup that way." Wei pointed towards a distant opening. With that settled they made their way towards it.

Crossing the maze was much easier this time. Without needing to navigate their way around it getting lost was out of the question. Korra wondered why the gamemakers even bothered putting a maze in the arena this year. Was watching tributes get lost in it part of the fun for them? And if it was why let her and her alliance just walk over the thing? The questions only made her nervous. Would they send another dragon after them for finding a way over the maze?

Wei's bending proved to be the most useful to Korra when it came to crossing the maze itself. The gaps were sometimes narrow enough to jump across easily. Other times her waterbending wasn't strong enough. With more water around her she probably could have managed, but not like this. Wei easily made small bridges that she could cross as long as she didn't look down. Still, the fact that the height made her uncomfortable at all made her mad at herself. It didn't help that she was scanning the skies for swooping dragons.

Mako waved for them to duck when they were close. Looking over the edge Korra was annoyed to find it was the same little shopping district she had found the can opener boy before. Had Xie come here because it was familiar to her because of those kills?

"Get back," Korra stifled a sound in her throat as she felt Mako yank her back by her collar. "Are you trying to get us caught?"

"She's in that house." Wei was several paces further back than her and Mako. Enough that even standing he wouldn't be visible from Xie's angle. Korra looked at his heavy stance and studied his face. His eyes were closed as he focused on his bending. Korra had heard of Toph's legendary seismic sense ability but had never seen it up close. No wonder he had known where Tukun's brother was before she did. How long ago was that?

"What did I say about distractions?" Mako hissed in her ear.

"Right." Korra nodded, "Wei, do you want to let me down?"

"Not a good idea. If I bend the walls to let you down she'll probably hear. The wall's lower that way though. You could probably jump." He nodded towards the edge with a jerk of his head. "Just watch the rocks."

"Wei and I will get into position and move just as soon as you draw her out. All you have to do is get her into the open. We'll handle taking her down." Mako told her.

Korra nodded but as she stood a thousand doubts weighed down her steps. What if Mako didn't come to her rescue? It would be too easy to let Xie take out his ally for him. No, with what little she knew about him he wasn't the kind to stab his teammate in the back. Certainly not after how they had worked together for so long. Wei on the other hand she wasn't sure she could trust. How easy would it be for him to cut down Mako while she was away? Would she even know Mako couldn't come to help while she fought with Xie?

Her ankles ached and her teeth clattered together as Korra landed heavily on the gravel walkway. Try to look normal, she told herself as she stepped towards the abandoned shopping district. Try to look natural, not paranoid. Like you have no idea anyone's here at all. Because you don't remember? But this is the last stage of the games isn't it? Wouldn't it look more suspicious if She didn't look a little worried?

Korra barely heard the sound. String snapped against wood. The whizz of the arrow lasted only as long as she realized it happened before she felt the arrow burry deep into her collarbone.