Korra found him in the bathtub.

She couldn't guess how long he'd been in there. It was filled to the brim with part water, part liquor, and part his own waste. Empty bottles floated across the top. His head lolled off the side, limp hair clinging to his forehead. For a terrifying moment, she thought he was dead.

Then she noticed the subtle rise and fall of his chest.

How the mighty had fallen.

"Tahno?" she breathed.

He didn't open his eyes. He hardly showed a sign of recognizing her presence.

"Are you here to kill me?" he murmured, "Have the Equalists finally decided to be merciful?."

"Tahno, it's Korra," she replied. She took a step closer and realized for the first time that he was completely naked. Her cheeks colored. There was a thin film of bubbles that covered his body, but she was all too aware of his body beneath them.

She'd never seen a naked man before. She'd never even seen a man not wearing sleeves before she came to Republic City. The only people she had known were her parents and the White Lotus sentries.

"The all powerful ah-vatar."

Despite the hostility in his tone, he looked up at her for the first time.

"How'd you get in my apartment?"

"The door was open. Horrible choice, by the way. Your place is completely ransacked."

The Wolfbat grabbed one of the floating bottles and took a long swig.

"Perhaps I should rephrase. Why are you in my apartment?"

"No one's seen you in weeks," she replied, "The last time you were seen in public was at the police station. I came to make sure you were okay."

Tahno laughed then, a cruel, biting, sarcastic chuckle.

"You checkin' up on me, mommy?"

"Yes," she said. She was surprised by the steel in her own voice.

"It's a waste of time," he grimaced, "I'm done. There's nothing else for me. Nothing but all of this." He made a sweeping gesture with the bottle.

For a moment, Korra thought of Tahno's future. How hopeless it must seem, being forced to live a life without bending. She thought of Amon taking her own bending away, and for a moment she wanted to crawl in the tub with him and cherish the connection she had with water while she could.

For a moment, she let herself be weak.

"What does it- what does it feel like?" she whispered.

"Like choking," he replied grimly, "For a second, everything just clogs up. You want to cough, you want to protest, you want to do anything you can to get your chi flowing again. And then you feel frozen. Everything, everything in me is frozen now. It feels like I'm not moving, like the world is going on without me and I'm in the same spot."

Another long swig. His voice was bitter now, bitter and broken.

"I used to love baths. Being surrounded by water. Immersed in it. Every nerve in my body was alive, and I could breathe like I never could before. Well, you're a waterbender. You know what I mean."

Korra nodded. She understood the connection he had felt, the connection he was missing now.

Her breath caught in her throat when she thought of losing it.

"And now," he snorted. "Now it's like... it's like..."

The room was silent for a moment.

"Nothing," he muttered. "It's feels like nothing."

Tahno closed his eyes and leaned back against the tub. He was not fighting tears. He was not struggling to keep it together. He had nothing left to give. He was empty.

The young Avatar gazed upon the broken man before her. She remembered everything he had been before, and she mourned it, even if he had been insufferable.

Then she moved on.

"Get up," she ordered. Her voice was harsh.

"What?" he mumbled, opening his eyes and looking up at her.

"Get up!" she screamed. She leaned over the tub and pulled him up by his armpits. "Amon didn't break you!"

He stood in front of her now, wobbly and unsure on his feet. She was still supporting him.

It was her first glimpse of a naked man, but it was nothing like she thought it would be. It wasn't sensual, and she wasn't impressed. Everything about him was pitiful. He held himself like an ancient bum. His nails were untrimmed, his face unshaved, and his hair a mess.

She jerked him out of the tub, still holding him up.

"Where are your towels?" she growled.

"I don't have any," Tahno replied with a tone just as nasty. "I always waterbended myself dry."

Korra couldn't bend and support him at the same time. She noticed that his shirt lay across the sink. She picked it up with one hand and roughly toweled him dry.

"Amon did not break you," she repeated. Soon enough, it became a mantra. She said it over and over again as she shoved clothes into his hands and forced him to stand alone.

"Say it," she demanded.

"I can't," he breathed. He was open and vulnerable, clothed but still just as broken. Korra's movements were jerky as she used water from the tub to twirl his hair.

"Say it, pretty boy. Amon did not break you."

The room was quiet. Tahno's face was a sea of emotions. It was as if Amon had taken his bones along with his bending, leaving a sagging blob of skin and sadness and empty dreams.

Korra let out a long sigh and turned to leave.

There was nothing she could do.

As she began to exit, she heard a voice behind her. It was quiet, barely above a whisper.

"Amon did not break me."

The Avatar left his home with a sad smile on her face.