On glider, it took a day and a half to reach Air Temple Island. When an exhausted Korra finally arrived there, the sun was low in the sky and most of the group, including a Lin who nursed a broken arm and a rather beat up Bumi, were already gathered in the courtyard. A frantic Pema ordered some Acolytes to place Tenzin on a bed while Min, a middle aged water bender and one of the very few benders to join the Acolytes, did her best to heal him. She had been Katara's best student before Korra came and her healing abilities were often said to be on par with those of her master. If anyone could save Tenzin, it would be her, Korra was sure of it.

But after an hour or so of constant healing, Min returned to the group with grim news. "It doesn't look good" she said solemnly "it's nothing short of a miracle that Master Tenzin is hanging on even now. I've done all I can but I doubt he'll be able to live through the next hour, if that. I'm sorry."

This news rocked everyone present. Pema immediately broke into tears and sought comfort in the arms of a nearby Acolyte while Lin seemed to be struggling against her own emotions, unsure of how to react. Even Tahno, who barely knew Tenzin, was at a loss for words. Bumi however, was furious.

"HOW COULD YOU LET THIS HAPPEN AVATAR!? AFTER ALL MY BROTHER HAS DONE FOR YOU, YOU LET SOME PUNK TRIAD DO THIS TO HIM!?" Everyone was shocked when the usually jovial Bumi lashed out at Korra. Never before had anyone seen the Commander become so angry. He looked as though he was ready to attack his father's successor.

Korra however, was in no mood to be berated. "Hey! I did what I could, alright! Tenzin wanted to face the Four Winds by himself and I wasn't about to get in his way! He had to restore his ancestors' honor!" Korra might not have agreed with Tenzin's choice, but she understood it. Over the years at the compound, during the times she could sneak out, she had encountered those who would berate her father due to rumors of his banishment from the North. Being a Daddy's Girl, she would retaliate in an often violent fashion. She would have done the same for any member of her family, even if it meant her life.

Bumi didn't respond. He merely glanced at his brother's still form with a solemn expression. "They were OUR ancestors and it was stupid to let him face the Four Winds alone! I should have been there!"

"Then where were you!?" Korra snapped at the Commander "you and Lin said you'd have our backs but you weren't anywhere in sight the other night!"

"We were delayed" Lin spoke up "we heard about the prison incident but on the way there, we were ambushed by some Triple Threats. They were tougher than I'd ever seen them. One even managed to give me this." The Chief gestured to her sling covered right arm, which Min was already working to heal.

"You're not going to be using that arm for several weeks" the Acolyte healer reported after a few minutes "I've never seen an arm twisted at this kind of angle. What did that Triad do to you?"

"He was a bone bender" Lin replied after a long moment of silence "I never thought I'd see another one." Everyone was surprised by the Chief's tone. She seemed almost afraid to reveal what she had witnessed.

"Bone bending was one of my mother's lesser known innovations" Lin continued "funny thing is, it all came about because of a silly bet. My mom and Aunt Katara were having a spar one day and, at least according to Mom, Katara performed horribly. This lead to a bit of teasing about how she was spending too much time as a volunteer healer at the hospital and not enough time focusing on real training. Things escalated from there about how vital and difficult it was to learn healing and then they made a bet: if Mom could develop her own healing technique within six months, she could become Katara's personal trainer and work her as hard as she pleased. If she failed, she would have to take a dive in front of everyone, including us kids, the next time they sparred. Mom accepted."

A handful of the adults present began to remember the spar in question, the one that could only have taken place after the bet was made. Bumi in particular remembered that Aunt Toph had been unusually docile following her loss, so much more than his Mom must have been expecting. He hadn't thought about it much as a kid, having been rooting for his Mom that day anyway, but it was clear now that there was more going on with Toph's end than a bet.

"Mom's first attempt was with metal bending acupuncture but it was unsuccessful. From there, she began ordering special books and scrolls written in brail so she could study earth itself and learn exactly what our native element could and couldn't do. She eventually learned that the bones of the human body contained much of the same minerals as earth and could probably be bent the same way."

"Cool!" Bolin exclaimed out loud, though he started to regret it when Lin gave a slight, sad smile.

"Mom certainly thought so. She figured it out easily enough and was using it to mend broken bones almost instantly within three months of making the bet. She wanted to rub it in Katara's face though, so she waited to debut it and only used it in secret, trusting only her Lieutenant and myself with her secret. Life just sort of went on after that until the day some of Yakone's thugs jumped Councilman Sokka and beat him pretty severely, stealing evidence that apparently would have put their boss away years earlier."

Korra flinched involuntarily at that, remembering her visions of the Yakone incident in full. She knew that even if Sokka had succeeded on the day Lin spoke of, he still would've been unprepared for the full extent of the crime boss' power.

"Mom had always had a crush on Sokka from when they were kids and even though he was married, she was never able to get past her feelings thanks to his and Suki's long distance relationship. She went ballistic after the beating and hunted down the thugs herself. During the fight, she used bone bending and literally broke every bone in their bodies."

Everyone went wide-eyed at this horrifying revelation. Bumi was also shocked at the depth of Toph's feelings for his uncle. Sokka and Suki were very much in love despite the rather unconventional way they lived. Sokka stayed in Republic City for his political career while Suki was forced to remain on Kyoshi Island to lead her warriors. The only reason they were able to get married was because they married in Republic City, which allowed for any multi-cultural marriage to be legal in every nation. Bumi's parents had done it the same way so many years ago.

"Mom was so horrified by what she did that she never used bone bending again and forbade me from ever using it myself. She also made sure that anything even hinting at it's existence was covered up. After all the trouble caused by blood bending over the years, she couldn't let it be known that something with the potential to be even more dangerous was out there."

"But if that's true, then what really happened to you?" Mako asked "if Toph only trusted you and her Lieutenant with bone bending, there's no way a Triad would know it unless one of you taught him."

"I don't know" Lin admitted "Lieutenant Hiro became Chief after Mom died and he disappeared years ago after he stepped down and gave me the job. He was one of the best and most loyal officers the force ever had, I can't believe he would ever betray our family's trust."

"Did the Triads say why they attacked you?" Korra asked, only for Lin to shake her head once again. "all they said was that their new boss wanted to make sure I got the message to stay out of their way. They didn't even bother with Bumi and just swatted him aside while they escaped."

"They underestimated me" the Commander said in a low voice "they won't make that mistake twice!" Bumi stomped off then, leaving everyone wondering just what he meant.

…

As night fell, Korra retired to her room without dinner. She was starving but she couldn't bring herself to eat or even speak to anyone after what had occurred. Tenzin, her mentor and surrogate father, was dying and there was nothing she could do. All she could think of now was all the times she had yelled at him, dismissed his wisdom, and blamed him for her own shortcomings. He had always stood by her despite it all and this was how she repaid him!?

For the second time in the past several days, Korra found herself overwhelmed with emotion and collapsed on her bed in tears. Just like before, Aang's spirit appeared to comfort her. "You musn't blame yourself Korra, this isn't your fault." The previous Avatar's voice was so soft and without accusation that it filled his successor with white hot rage.

"HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT!? YOUR SON, YOUR YOUNGEST SON, COULD DIE AT ANY MINUTE BECAUSE I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING TO STOP HIM OR HELP HIM!"

"You told Bumi that this was the right thing to do when he accused you of the same thing" Aang reminded her gently "this was also what you genuinely felt. I sensed that through our bond."

That seemed to make Korra even more angry. "WELL, I WAS WRONG! I'M ALWAYS MAKING THE WRONG CHOICES! EVERYTHING I'VE EVER DONE SINCE I'VE LEFT THAT STUPID COMPOUND HAS MADE THE CITY HATE ME, GIVE MY ENEMIES LEVERAGE AND ENDANGERED ANYONE CLOSE TO ME! AND DON'T THINK SOME SPIRIT WORLD JOURNEY IS GOING TO CHANGE MY MIND!"

Aang didn't respond to this outburst. "Very well" he said in the same calm voice that made Korra want to punch him "if I can't convince you, maybe he can." The previous Avatar faded away after that and Korra turned to see Bolin standing in her doorway, looking unsure.

"Uh…hi" he said awkwardly "I just came by to see if you okay and then I heard you screaming at someone so I'll just leave I guess." The young earth bender turned to leave but the Avatar quickly got up to stop him. "No, wait! You can stay…I wouldn't mind the company."

For a moment, Bolin looked hesitant. He seemed to be debating whether he should be offering her comfort or not. Whether this was because of Mako or something else, Korra wasn't sure. Something told her she would've preferred the former to the later.

Eventually though, Bolin nodded and joined her on the foot of the bed, a sleeping Naga their only audience. "So, who exactly were you screaming at? Did Naga pee on the floor or something?"

"It wasn't Naga" Korra said with a slight chuckle "it was me and Aang. We were arguing about what happened with Tenzin."

"He's got no right to blame you and neither does Bumi" Bolin said as he suddenly turned serious "there was nothing you could have done."

"He didn't blame me, I blame myself" Korra corrected quietly "and Bumi's right. I should've done more instead of letting Tenzin go alone." Bolin actually chuckled a little at that and made Korra raise an eyebrow. "What?"

"It's just that…I kinda felt that way too a while back. Remember when you challenged Amon to a duel?" Korra nodded, though she wasn't fond of the memory. "Well, I kinda wished I'd been with you that night. I mean, I know I'd probably been useless but you know, it's the thought that counts, right?"

"You're never useless Bolin" Korra replied firmly "and I honestly did need the help. Amon had me in less than a second all because I didn't want to admit I was afraid of him. He could've equalized me right then and there if he hadn't decided to take his time. And not just that, I let Tarrlok put me in his stupid task force and make me look like an oppressive goon for the same reason!"

"Hey, you beat him in the end" Bolin reminded her gently "the city was saved because of you, remember?" Korra snorted, which to Bolin was actually pretty cute. "Yeah, for like a week! Then, new Equalist leaders, show up, Triads more dangerous than any other attack at almost the same time, what's next!? Am I going to unleash some kind of super powerful evil spirit next!?"

The Avatar gave a sigh of frustration and placed her face in her hands. "Aang showed me that no Avatar was perfect a while ago and I felt like I could handle things after that but I never expected this! There's literally been a new crisis popping up every day and I never even got a real handle on the first one! Why couldn't I just make better choices?"

"The choices you made Korra, did you think they were right?" Bolin asked suddenly, still sounding uncharacteristicly serious. The Avatar looked at him wearily. "What kind of question is that? Of course they weren't!"

"I didn't ask if they WERE right, I asked if you THOUGHT they were." Bolin clarified "there's a big difference."

Korra blinked, confused by this. "Well…I did at the time but does that matter? A wrong choice is a wrong choice."

"Did I ever tell you how I met Pabu? Or how Mako and I first formed the Fire Ferrets?" The Avatar shook her head. "It was a few years before you showed up" Bolin began "Mako and I were still on the streets and running numbers for Shady Shin, which meant we collected bets for him while he fixed Pro Bending matches."

This statement caught Korra's attention. "Wait, Pro-bending is fixed!? How? When?" The Avatar had many childhood heroes from her beloved sport and it was unsettling to think any one of them could have gained fame unfairly.

"They don't do it anymore, at least I don't think so" Bolin assured her "Zolt got bored with that a while ago but back then, he paid off teams to take a dive so he could get money from people who bet on them to win. Toza was the last one he tried it on."

"Aang showed me something of Toza when he had me in the Spirit World" Korra interjected "Apparently, he used to be called 'Typhoon' Toza and was captain of a team called the Republic City Dragons." Bolin nodded. "Yeah, he told me that they called him that even though he's an earth bender because his manager thought it was catchier than 'Terra Toza' or something. Anyway, by the time I met him, he'd moved on to captain the Boar-Q-Pines, you remember them, right?"

Korra did, though the memory wasn't pleasant. The Fire Ferrets almost lost that match because she and Mako were at each other's throats. Bolin had saved their butts that night and she had repaid him by breaking his heart. Swallowing any apologies that were threatening to gush forth, she motioned for her friend to continue.

"Anyway, Toza was being paid to lose the match that night and he was going to go through with it because he didn't think he could cut it in the ring anymore. Mako told me to stay out it but I told Toza that he was still the best and he didn't have to lose. I couldn't turn my back on someone when they were down."

Korra gave a small smile at this admirable statement but also found herself thinking of how Bolin's brother seemed to do the opposite most of the time. Mako hadn't come to see her once when she was grappling with her fear of Amon, not even to yell at her for missing practice. She knew he had other priorities but she had thought they were at least starting to become closer, especially after working together to rescue Bolin. She also had a sneaking suspicion that he'd grumbled about her task force work before she returned.

Then of course, there was Mako's still stinging accusation of attempting to frame Hiroshi out of jealousy over his relationship with Asami. It had been the worst insult anyone had ever given the Avatar and though he had given her an apology when the truth came out, she now took time to note that it wasn't actually for the insult itself, just not believing her. The two didn't really go hand in hand the more she thought of it.

"Toza didn't listen to me at first and it looked like he was going to lose that night but he pulled it off single handedly at the last minute!" Bolin continued excitedly "he even saved me and Mako after Shin found out what I did and came after us!"

"And then he took you guys in and made you a team, right?" Korra asked, having gotten into the story by now. Bolin frowned a bit and rubbed the back of his head. "Well, sort of. Zolt called Shin off because he thought fighting kids was disgraceful and I had to convince Mako to accept Toza's offer. Back then, he was pretty susceptible to pouting."

Korra wanted to laugh at that but inside, she was debating if Mako making such an important decision based on his little brother pouting was cute and a true display of brotherly loyalty or a sign that his heart was never completely into turning his life around despite all the noble speeches he'd made. Still, the thought of Bolin pouting was adorable and brought on a smile at least. "What about Pabu?"

"That happened the same night" Bolin said as he pulled his pet from his shirt "my buddy here used to belong to a pet store owner named Mr. Feng. He was gonna feed Pabu to his pythonaconda if I hadn't snuck him out." The mention of his old enemy made the Fire Ferret's fur stand on edge and he suddenly leaped from Bolin into Korra's arms. The Avatar giggled and nuzzled the animal's nose affectionately. "Don't worry cutie, if any snake tries to get you, they'll answer to me" she said.

"The point of my story Korra, is that even though my choices might not have been all that smart and they could've backfired just as easily as they worked out, I don't regret making them and I still wouldn't even if they turned out badly. I thought they were the right thing to do and that was good enough for me. It should be the same for you."

Bolin smiled warmly then and placed a hand on his best friend's shoulder. "I know you think you didn't do well against Amon but you did stop him in the end like I said. You also stopped who knows how many Equalists before the war started. As for Tarrlok and the whole duel thing, Tarrlok had every body fooled! Hell, he even convinced us he was innocent of kidnapping you after putting us and like a thousand innocent non benders in jail! You were awesome just for walking away after he got you to join his task force. And Amon was even worse! Who knew he'd be crafty enough to wear a fake scar under his mask in case it came off? And you know what? I say that even though Amon almost got you that night, you proved he was too scared to face you alone. Why else would he have ambushed you?"

Korra wanted to tell Bolin that Amon had simply outsmarted her, that he would simply blood bent her into submission with no witnesses around, but she couldn't. His optimism, naïve though it might have been, was infectious and she found herself truly believing his words. "Thanks Bolin" she said softly before the harsh sting of reality slapped her "but that doesn't help Tenzin any."

"I wouldn't worry about Tenzin" Bolin said honestly "he's pretty tough for an old guy. I mean, he deals with Meelo on a day to day basis. Compared to that, the Spirit World should be cake."

Korra can't help but laugh out loud at that. Part of it felt wrong given the circumstances, but it also felt wonderful just the same. There was silence afterwards and Korra took the time to just appreciate her friend Bolin. Her friend, who had never relinquished the warmth in his heart despite having endured so much pain. Her friend, who never allowed the criticism of others to change him or make him doubt himself. Her friend, who undoubtedly would have understood her fear if she had just opened up to him.

Deciding to address these regrets later, Korra stood up. "You're right Bo, Tenzin will wake up and I'm going to make sure he wakes up in a balanced city. Where's Hiroshi?"

"Uh…well, they gave him a room but things haven't been easy. He and Asami had a huge fight and he ended up rummaging through the kitchen but other than that, he's stayed out of everyone's way. Why?" "Aang told me that working with the Equaliists may be the only way to stop what's happening and Hiroshi is the first step. Can you show me where his room is?"

Bolin nodded and lead the Avatar to a solitary room on the far end of the men's dormitory. Korra steeled herself and gave the door a firm knock. "I told you I don't want any food!" Bolin gave Korra a look that seemed to ask if she really wanted to do this. She nodded firmly and opened the door without invitation.

"Hiroshi, we need to talk." The room was dark with not even a candle to light it and Korra had to strain to see the man in question sitting alone with his back turned to her and facing a blank wall. When he spoke, he sounded tired and weak.

"Avatar Korra, what surprise. I suppose you're here to give me that long overdue beating you promised? Go ahead, it will be a welcome relief." The utter defeat in her former enemy's voice nearly broke Korra's heart. He sounded as though he had nothing to live for.

"That's all in the past Hiroshi, things are different now. Republic City's in danger and I could use your help." A bitter laugh was Korra's response. Hiroshi turned his chair towards her and after lighting a flame in her hand, she could see he looked sick, almost as though he would throw up. His eyes also looked very red and bleary, almost as if he had been crying. He fixed the Avatar with an unfocused stare as he scoffed at her request.

"You want my help? Me who nearly killed my own daughter in a mad obsession with revenge? Don't try to pity me Avatar, I don't deserve it. I let the words of one man turn me into a war mongering psychopath, a man who was the very thing he claimed to hate, a bender! I'm no better than the one who killed my wife, no better than my father!"

Korra was confused now. "Your father? What did he do?" As she said this, The Avatar caught sight of something on Hiroshi's bed. It was a bottle of Fire Nation Whiskey, strongest stuff in the Five Nations. Korra could remember some White Lotus guards sneaking in a few bottles over when they came over to the island and not every bottle was accounted for. It was clear that Hiroshi's current state and his rummage to the kitchen were connected.

Hiroshi's face grew even darker. "He was a spoiled brat! My grandfather Satori, was an inventor like me and he almost made the family rich when his uncle entered into a partnership with Lao Beifong and he was allowed to create much of the machinery for their finery, like the assembly line and the first forklift. Avatar Aang found that the land they used was not only sacred Air Nomad territory but also in direct violation of a deal made centuries ago between a very powerful spirit and Avatar Yangchen. Grandad saved everyone after Lao and his uncle refused to pull out but he was reduced to near poverty because of it. His son, my father, never let him forget and took it out on me and Mama when I was growing up. Always thought he deserved more than us, always looked down on decent, hard working people just because they earned what he wanted to take! When he walked out on us, I swore I'd become the man he wanted to be by honest work and I'd do it one Yuan at a time!"

Hiroshi sighed then and turned his attention back to the wall, even as he continued his story. "I made what little money I had shining shoes and kept at it until I was about as old as that street rat Mako. Of all the things I regret, attacking that urchin isn't one of them! He used my little girl, didn't he Korra? Used her to sit in the lap of luxury then abandoned her when she lost it all! I know what I did but how could he treat her that way!? He promised to take care of her for me, the little liar!"

"Mako isn't here right now" Korra said as soothingly as she could to try and get Hiroshi back on track, even though she could neither accuse nor defend her boyfriend from what was being said "just finish your story."

"I met my wife Lilly while I was shining shoes" Hiroshi continued as a ghost of a smile crossed his face "she believed in me more than anyone ever had and I knew I had to become someone for her if not for anyone else. I turned to granddad for help and together, we designed the very first Satomobile. Cars were already invented and being manufactured by Cabbage Corp. but we knew how to make them better, more affordable for the common man. It was the last thing Grandad worked on before he died."

The way Hiroshi spoke of Cabbage Corp was with distain, as though he had been burned by them in the past. It seemed as though he had more than one reason for choosing his competitor to be his "fall guy" in the Equalist campaign. "I had the plan but no capital. I thought I'd be stuck in the dirt for good until one day, a business man came to my corner and saw my blueprints. He actually said he liked my drive and thought I could go places, even gave me a fifty-thousand Yuan tip to get me started! Bought my first factory on that loan, built Future Industries from the ground up. But you know who that man was Avatar? Yakone! I didn't even realize it until Amon was unmasked. I've spent years hating benders and the evil they caused, yet I owe everything I had to one of the worst! Life's so funny, isn't it?"

Hiroshi gave a bitter, drunken laugh and shakily rose from his chair. He began to stumble back towards his bed and Korra realized he was going for the bottle. She swiftly jumped in between the two and snatched the offending object up. "I think you've had enough of this" Korra said firmly "Republic City, and more importantly Asami, needs you sober."

"Asami hates me" Hiroshi drawled out, his voice breaking just a bit "I'm a horrible father." Korra ignored him and effortlessly shoved him down on the bed with one hand while keeping the bottle in the other, far away from her former enemy's grasp. After throwing it away, she moved over to the basin in the corner that was used as a sink. Bending some water from it, she proceeded to let it hover a few inches from her former enemy's body, even when activating it's healing properties. She then moved the glowing mass of water back and forth over Hiroshi's body without actually touching it, all the while listening to him rant and mumble.

This unorthodox method of healing was taught to Korra years ago by Kya during the Avatar's training in her native element. It was the hippie water bender's own invention and made specifically to cure hangovers and sober one up quickly, though Korra had never been sure how it worked. Apparently, there was some form of hypnotism involved.

The Avatar had doubted the move's effectiveness until it was used on her some time ago. During the wait for Tenzin to come train her, Korra decided to celebrate the success of her fire bending test with some of the "fun" White Lotus Sentries. One of them ended up egging her into a cactus juice drinking contest. She had schooled them easy but what happened afterwards was apparently so brutal that Kya had to be brought in and sober her up to the point that all memory of the incident was erased.

Korra didn't want to forget this incident however as it had taught her so much. She now understood one of the Equalists a bit better and was now more willing to accept that they were not just monsters who hated bending out of jealousy and prejudice. After all, hadn't an abusive father helped shape Amon in the first place?

Putting such thoughts on hold for now, the Avatar focused all her efforts on sobering up Hiroshi. The technique took twelve hours according to Kya but the ever impatient Korra didn't have time for that as far as she was concerned. Entering the Avatar State, she focused much of her amplified power into the healing process. Most other female Avatars had also been taught healing during their water bending training as well so Korra drew on their power and wisdom the most this time around. The males were either too "macho" to learn such a "feminine" skill, like Kuruk and all other Northern Born Water Tribe male Avatars, forbidden by tradition even when they wanted to, or never had time to learn, like Aang.

After half an hour of the bizarre healing treatment, Hiroshi sat up and moaned. "What did you do to me? My head feels like it's been on fire."

Korra shrugged. "Beats me, my teacher was pretty wasted herself when she invented it. But do you remember what I said when I came in?"

Hiroshi nodded slowly. "You wanted my help, but are you sure? How do you know you can trust me after all that's happened between us?"

"Things have changed" Korra said simply "I'm willing to help the Equalists get what they want but there's something even worse than unequality in this city and we'll need everyone to fix it. If you won't do it for yourself or anyone else, do it for your daughter. I know Asami wants her father back even if she won't admit it. You want her back too, don't you?"

Hiroshi was silent for a long moment, then turned back to the Avatar. "What do you need?"

AN: Another update before the Korra season ends? It's a miracle! I know there wasn't much action here but that will change next chapter, trust me! I also know that the scene between Bolin and Korra might have been repetitive but I wanted to put something between the two there. In case anyone doesn't know, the backstory I gave Mako and Bolin wasn't my idea. It was shown as an online special called "Republic City Hustle" during the long wait for Book 2. It came in three parts and might still be available on the Nickelodeon website, or floating around youtube. It's a decent special and gave Bolin a bit of character development that the show didn't but Mako? Not so much. It happened pretty much the way I wrote and has him doing nothing of real consequence until the very end. It did little to make me sympathize with him or like him any more than his not doing anything too unlikable in the show lately has. Also, Satori comes from "the rift", the latest ATLA comic trilogy from Gene Yang. I may not be a fan but it works in some cases.

Finally, I'd like to say that I don't really ship Tokka but I thought those who do might enjoy a taste as well as bone bending belongs to Silver Omega 01 and Book 4 has been okay if a little slow, though I can't stand Korra's new hair and I have to wonder why Toph gets to still be badass while Katara and Zuko got left at the wayside.

Until next time!