Asami's POV

I have to say, having the Chief of Police show up at my father's factories with a squadron of Metalbenders was never something I thought I'd wake up to. My dad was currently away on business and had left me in charge of the company until his return. I had jumped at the opportunity to get away from the island.

I was glad Korra was doing better, but seeing as Mako had taken over I had decided some distance was necessary. I didn't want to snap at any of them in case I was just overreacting.

What really surprised me was that my boyfriend and best friend were following close behind Bei Fong. My eyes narrowed when I noticed Mako give the shorter girl's hand a squeeze.

"Chief Bei Fong. To what do I owe the visit?" I asked, standing from my seat and meeting her halfway.

"Is your father here?"

I shook my head. "He's away on a business trip." I furrowed my brow. "Can I help you?"

"I'm here with reasonable suspicion that your father may be affiliated with the anti-Bending revolution," the older woman explained. "With that being said, I need to search the premises."

"What?" My father, in league with that terrorist? The thought was absurd. "My father is a good man. You have no right. Or any proof."

Lin held up a slip of paper, her expression unmoved. "This says I have every right," she replied, her tone as hard as steel. "And as for proof, Korra's testimony should suffice for now."

I snatched the warrant out of her hand, skimming over it as she walked back out of the office with her Metalbenders. I walked over to the shorter girl, noticing the conflicting emotions in crystal blue eyes.

I shoved the piece of paper into her chest. "What the hell is this?"

"Asami, I -"

"My father and I have our differences but that doesn't give you the right to accuse him of something like this!" I growled. "He hasn't done anything to you-"

"He has, actually." Mako's voice cut me off, traces of anger apparent.

His tone was enough to get me to flinch. But I didn't acknowledge him as I glared at the ex-Waterbender, who was refusing to look at me. I crossed my arms, huffing impatiently.

"Your dad was there," she revealed, her voice quiet. "When...when he took my Bending. He electrocuted me."

Her eyes finally looked up to meet mine, and it felt like a bucket of ice water had been poured over me. I clenched my fist. It couldn't be true. It couldn't be true.

"How dare you," I hissed. "My dad would never hurt anyone. I get that you're upset that you're no longer the Avatar and you want some attention, but this is going too far, Korra." She looked like I'd slapped her, her eyes full of hurt. "I can't believe you'd actually have the nerve to tell Bei Fong such a bold face lie! It's completely ridic-"

"That's enough!" Mako finally intervened. "I won't let you talk to Korra like that."

I looked over at the Firebender. "Excuse me? You're taking her side?"

"I'm not taking anyone's side, and it's not even about that," he replied. "It's about the facts." He paused, and his voice was gentler when he continued. "Asami, think about it. The equipment in your car, the bombs, all those trips. It all makes sense."

I shook my head. "He's an inventor. He has to test it out."

"He invents vehicles and construction equipment."

"Asami," Korra started. "I'm sorry. I wouldn't do this to you if I wasn't sure."

The door opened and the Chief entered once more. "Well Ms. Sato, it would seem the factory is clear. But I have another warrant for your home." She looked over to the Water Tribe girl, and her expression softened marginally. "Let's go."

Korra was still staring at me, silently begging for me to understand. I looked away. "Leave, Korra," I told her. "Get off my property." The Firebender made a move to follow both women out but I grabbed his arm. "Not you."

We were silent after everyone left, and I noticed how tense he was, how his hands were hiding deep in his pockets. He didn't want to talk to me.

"I want you to stop spending so much time with Korra."

"What?"

"You're always with her," I said. "You're my boyfriend, not hers. Your supposed to be there for me."

"She's my friend. And in case you hadn't noticed," he shot back. "She's been through a lot and could use a good friend." That was a crack at me. "I'm not your property."

"You like her! But guess what Mako, you can't have us both! So you need to choose!"

"Asami-"

"Either you stop spending so much time with her, or we're done."

He didn't reply at first, his jaw flexing and golden eyes ablaze. He had to pick me. I needed him to. Please.

"You are my girlfriend," he said, deliberately measuring his words with care. "But you can't treat us like this and expect to keep us. She needs someone to tell her the world hasn't ended." His eyes were sad now, almost pained. "And you've abandoned her. And I refuse to make that mistake."

He shook his head, letting out a long, tired sigh. "I'm sorry, Asami."

And with that he walked out the door. It was over. I was alone.

Lin's POV

I sighed impatiently as we waited for the Firebender to finish his conversation with the Sato girl. If it had been up to me we would've all ready been on our way to the Sato Estate, but the ex-Bender had wanted to wait for her friend. And I understood why. Mako had been the only one to stay with her day and night, to bring her back to herself after what Amon had done to her. The Earthbender had tried to cheer her up, telling jokes, but only being greeted by silence.

Finally the older of the brothers emerged, and by the look on his face I could tell his conversation with the heiress had been far from pleasant.

"Get in the car," I ordered.

The ride to the mansion was silent, though there was a palpable tension. Korra looked disheartened, hurt. I huffed in irritation. She shouldn't even have been feeling bad about what had happened with Hiroshi Sato. He'd hurt her, and that was not something I was about to take lightly.

"Are you okay?" I heard the Firebender murmur to the smaller girl beside him.

"She hates me," came her reply.

"And why should you care?" I finally butted in. "You know what you saw, what happened. You shouldn't feel sorry for her."

"Asami is my friend."

I scoffed. "With friends like that who needs enemies," I muttered. In the rearview mirror I saw Korra's jaw start to work. "She hasn't even been around to help you recover. My advice, just forget about her and focus on doing what you got to do. It's clear to me that she doesn't care about you. And if that's the case then she's not worth your time."

"Asami is worth it," the young Nonbender defended with a growl. "And I'd appreciate if you focused more on this investigation and less on my personal life."

Hmph. "Suit yourself."

And with that, it was silent once more. Personally, I couldn't care less. If Korra didn't want to see the older girl for what she was then I wasn't going to waste my time. A lot had changed, they were no longer nine years old with simple lives. I glanced again at the rear-view mirror, noticing that she was now leaning her head on the eldest brother's shoulder as he held her hand. I shook my head.

Soon enough we pulled into the very extensive driveway, the heiress not too far behind us. She wanted to 'supervise' the investigation. But if Hiroshi Sato was hiding something then I'd find it. I'd search every nook and cranny of this place until I did. Asami wouldn't look in the younger girl's direction. I gritted my teeth.

"Is this all the property you own, Ms. Sato?" I asked after a couple hours of searching with no luck.

"My dad has a garage out back that he uses as a workshop," she answered, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Not that you'll find anything there either."

"We'll see."

At first glance it seemed that the girl may have been right. Everything seemed pretty uninteresting despite the few little devices and parts on the the table. I ordered my officers to check the boxes in the corner for any incriminating evidence. I was searching through the contents of one of them when I dropped something and it rolled under the table. I cursed under my breath and bent down to pick it up when something caught my eye.

There was a slab of metal that didn't quite fit underneath. I pushed the table aside, using my Metalbending to pull the sheet apart, revealing a stairway and a door at the end.

I looked up at the others in the room, varying degrees of shock, especially on the ravenette's face. "Looks like we did find something," I announced, motioning to my officers. "Surround the premises, no one gets in or out. You six," I gestured to the teens. "Come with me."

Asami stepped forward. "I'm coming too."

I shrugged, continuing my way down, having the Firebender light the way. As we continued down into the unknown, it became increasingly clear to me that the taller girl had known nothing of this place, and Hiroshi had wanted to keep it that way. Finally, we reached the end of the tunnel which opened up into this great big space, a workshop filled with tons of Equalist propaganda and platinum mecha drones of some sort.

Platinum. My jaw clenched. It was earth refined to such a pure state that even my mother wouldn't have been able to Bend it. Cautiously, I led them further inside. Then the lights turned on, casting an eerie greenish glow. Everyone prepared for the worst, and I saw from the corner of my eye Mako stepping in front of Korra.

"I never thought you'd find this place, Bei Fong."

The voice was familiar.

"I am a detective, you know," I snapped.

"It's too bad you won't live to tell the tale."

"I wouldn't be so sure."

There was a loud noise and I turned to see the platinum mechs come alive, blocking our exit. Footsteps echoed and I turned back to see Amon's second in command and a dozen more Equalists at the ready.

We'd fallen right into his trap.

Korra's POV

I'd never thought I'd hate being right.

Hiroshi's secret workshop erupted into complete disorder as those weird, giant machines went on the offensive. Lin and her officers did their best to take them down. Those things launched their big metallic claws at me, and I managed to dodge most of them when one caught me off guard and knocked me into a wall. Sudden pain exploded in the back of my skull and my vision spun. I managed to get back up on my knees, and as the world stopped spinning my gaze landed on Asami, and she caught my eye through the fight.

A loud explosion shifted my focus, and I watched as several Equalists threw handfuls of bombs. The loud fiery booms knocked Bei Fong and her men back, injuring most of them. I rolled away just in time to avoid another one, getting to my feet. Once again I found myself being tossed across the floor.

That was about the time Amon's lieutenant spotted me, loading up some sort of...launching device and taking aim. My eyes found Asami again, and I wondered if I looked as horrified as I felt. But then I noticed the Equalist taking aim at her.

No.

I was up, making my way through the chaos until I was in the line of fire, standing in front of Asami. "No!"

The man fired, and I pushed my arms out in front of me, like that would actually stop it, and then...I Airbended. The air spiraled around us, creating a sphere, protecting us from the explosion that shook the ground. I saw Lieutenant clench his jaw, quickly covering up his surprise at my new found Bending ability. He reloaded, and I felt my heart drop.

"Korra...?"

I didn't turn to acknowledge my friend, getting ready for the next round. But I couldn't help the sense of dread. We might not be walking out of this one. The world slowed as what looked like a missile was launched toward us, and I created another dome just as the flames enveloped us. The strain was incredible, and my Airbending was far from battle ready. I could feel the sweat dripping down my face, and Asami's hand on my shoulder.

The air around us started to thin, and I had to make a split decision. Without much thought, I turned around, knocking the taller girl to the ground, using my body as a shield. And the next eternity was nothing but excruciating pain.

I don't know what happened next.

Lin's POV

Korra's eyes fluttered open tiredly, blinking slowly before managing to focus on me. Her lips twitched into an attempt at a smile but quickly turned into a grimace, one of her hands going to her right ear.

Soon after Korra had blacked out the Equalists had retreated, and we had brought the ex-Waterbender back to the island. Now she lay on her stomach, her torso and arms bandaged from the burns. Katara and Senna both had said that there shouldn't be too much permanent damage.

Senna stood, telling her daughter to hold still as she wiped the blood away, a side effect from the explosion.

The new Airbender was having trouble keeping her eyes open and I couldn't help but shake my head. Movement caught my attention and I turned toward the door to see the heiress. My eyes narrowed. She made to move toward the bed, toward Korra, but I stepped in the way.

"A word, Ms. Sato."

She glanced over at the teen on the bed before nodding her head and following me out of the bedroom and into the living room. I could tell she already knew what this conversation was going to be about judging by her fidgeting and her resistance to looking me in the eye.

"Chief Beifong-"

"Korra has second degree burns all over her back and arms," I began, ignoring her. "She's lucky to not need skin grafts to repair the damage."

"I-I didn't know."

I blinked, her ignorance astounded me. My jaw tightened. "Excuse me?" I asked. "You didn't know? Well Ms. Sato, what did you think would come out of Korra using herself as a human shield to save your ungrateful ass."

"I didn't know she was going to do that!"

I'd had enough. I took a step forward, towering over her, my face inches from hers. She'd known Korra would protect her, she knew that. And I was going to make sure the Water Tribe girl would never get hurt again.

"Korra has been hurt twice on my watch," I began. I pushed back my own guilt at not having been able to stop it. "I've known her since she was a toddler and I will do anything in my power to keep her safe."

"I care about Korra," she defended, her voice quiet. "She's my best friend."

I scoffed. "You have a funny way of treating your friends, Ms. Sato," I answered. "If something happens to Korra because of you, there will be consequences. Understood?"

There was a moment where neither of us moved, where my fiery, steely stare burned into her emerald gaze. Finally, she nodded her head, and I stepped back and went back inside Korra's room, slamming the door shut behind me.

Asami's POV

I walked inside Korra's room to find her on her stomach, bandages over the burns on her back and arms. I had waited till the Chief of Police left before going inside, not wanting to disturb the girl while Lin sent me scathing looks. I couldn't help but flinch at the sight, knowing she must be in pain. There was an IV in her arm and no doubt morphine in the bag next to it. Katara had let me know that she wasn't in any pain for the moment and that the burns hadn't been as bad as they'd first thought, which was good. She probably wouldn't scar. Probably.

I sighed and sat in the chair next to the bed, contemplating what I'd say when she woke up. I couldn't believe that after everything I had done, everything I had said…she'd still risk her life for me. Slowly, her eyes opened and she gave me a smile to which I lowered my gaze. I didn't deserve any kindness from her and Bei Fong had reminded me of that moments ago. She had flat out threatened me and I couldn't blame her. Someone needed to protect Korra from me.

"Hey, what's wrong?" the Waterbender asked, before wincing a little.

I clasped my hands together before looking at her. "I've treated you terribly. Why did you protect me?"

"Because I remember that ten year old girl who saw me as more than the Avatar. You're my friend, 'Sami."

I closed my eyes, feeling the tears fall. "I don't deserve a friend like you," I finally managed to say.

Korra reached out, placing her hand over mine and I noticed the gauze on her forearm and the bruises around her knuckles. I gave her hand a gentle squeeze and she smiled through a yawn, her eyes drooping and I knew she had to be tired.

"You should rest."

"My ear is bleeding…"

I stood and grabbed a few napkins before gently cleaning the blood away. Considering the amount of tissue in the thrash can I didn't doubt this had happened several times already. I felt a pang of guilt in my chest. She was in pain because of me.

"Do you want me to call your mom or Katara?" I questioned. I didn't want her to be in any pain.

"I'm fine," she muttered as her eyes closed. "I can't feel my back…but I think that's a good thing, right?" She grinned, trying to joke about it.

I held back the tears and the sob that threatened to emerge. "Yeah," I answered. "Just sleep, please." She looked ready to argue. "Why don't you take a nap? I'll be right here," I suggested.

She relented and nodded her head, not letting go of my hand as she closed her eyes. I sighed. Korra was the best friend I could have ever asked for.