/*Thanks again for the reviews. The story is a little lengthy so thanks for sticking with it. I have constructed it so that all the plots will come together. :)*/

-The Echoing Ring—

Bolin heard the constant ringing bouncing around within his ear. The high pitch explosion left his eardrums slowly decaying. He lay in an alley. His back against a dumpster. The sun peered over the building and blinded him. His eyes were still damaged from the grenade as well. Super sensitive. He lay at the base of the building where he was attacked.

Bolin struggled to get his balance and made his way back to the street. The station was nearby. That was where his car was. He suddenly remembered what had happened only hours ago. Oni had escaped him, but he was unsure if those men had done something to her. He actually hoped he would hear about her breaking up an exchange later that night. To know she was still alive. Whoever those men were, they were stealthy. Bolin now had so much on his plate he didn't think he could handle researching who these most recent attackers were.

Last night had been his first confrontation with Oni since the task had been given to him. It turned ugly real fast. Bolin didn't really have any desire to continue this mission just yet. He would put it on hold for now and take care of other things. Catching Oni proved to be extremely intense. He would need a better mindset going into it. Bolin decided once he found his car that he would return to the police station and try to get some background data on the man who lived at 1271 Decatur Street, the address Animal had given him.

Things were happening simultaneously now. Korra, on the outskirts of the city, had awoken in a nicely furnished room. She barely felt the sting of her wound. Someone had treated her. She was slightly cleaned up, but what scared was that her hood was on the chair next to her. Whoever had treated now knew that the girl Republic City called Oni was the Avatar. The door opened. Korra tried to quickly cover her face with her hood, but stopped when she saw who had entered.

"Asami?" Korra remembered being close to Asami's house, wishing she would find her crawling up the road.

"Are you alright? You were pretty beaten up when I found you on my way to work this morning."

"Did, did anyone see me?" Korra asked. If it was just Asami, Korra knew she would be okay.

"No. I'm sorry, but unfortunately we don't have a family doctor anymore. I had some first aid kits so I just treated you myself. I didn't really do a whole lot, just cleaned up your cuts and gave you some pain medication. I'm sorry for removing your hood but your face was bruised so I just gave you that ice pack next to your bed. I hope it worked."

Korra did feel a lot better. Asami seemed very apologetic for what she did. Korra rose and hugged her old friend she hadn't seen in a year.

"Thank you so much, Asami. I can't say how much this means to me. You saved my life."

Asami was touched that Korra was so thankful. The two were happy to see each other. Asami led Korra to the kitchen to give her something to eat, and Korra did eat. She stuffed her face and Asami began to get worried.

"Hey, Korra," Asami laughed, "don't eat all my food. I may have this house but I don't have all the money in the world anymore."

Korra slowed down. "I'm sorry, I'm just so hungry, ugh. I'll stop, hah. What is the deal with your company? Why does it seem like you don't have much."

"Because I don't. I don't know if you have heard the news while you've been, well, in the city. Future Industries is going down fast. We are almost bankrupt now," Asami sounded depressed now. "Things are just hard, first since my dad turned out to be a crazy terrorist-funding maniac, then Graft shows his ugly face."

Graft's name stops Korra. "Graft?"

"Yeah, he squirms his way into the city and starts manipulating the government to take over all the private companies in Republic City and the surrounding area. I don't know what he told those guys, but they would get down on their knees and bow to him. What is bad is that those private companies he is taking over are my resources. I relied on those people. What could have possibly told them to just make them give in to him? What dirt did he have on them? Who knows? All I know is he wanted to keep me because he needed 'competition'. As if this were a fair economy anymore…" Asami paused, "Sorry, I'm rambling again. It's just easy to rant about this stuff. It's my life going down the drain in front of me and I don't know what to do. He controls almost everything."

Korra was listening. "It's okay. I understand this must be a lot for you to handle. I can't imagine doing it myself. Things are getting hard in Republic City. I've been trying to figure out just what is going on. I haven't really looked into what Graft is doing. I just…don't know anymore."

"When did you return, Korra? Why are you back here?" asked Asami.

Korra sighed. "I left the South Pole and spent a year training with my uncle. Training to learn how to fight without my bending. After that I hopped on a train and ended up back here. That hood of mine was pretty good at veiling my face so I got a room in the city without anyone recognizing me. That was a little over a month ago I guess."

"So you're the one who has been over the news? Well not you, but your work? Ruining all of those mobster meetings?"

"Well, yeah. They call me 'Oni'. You might have seen that tagged across the city."

Asami was a little surprised by this. Her old friend had secretly been hiding in the city and had become an idol to some. "I have. I…don't really know what to say, Korra. Why are you doing all this?"

"Some disturbing things have been happening here in Republic City. I've been told about these things. You can probably imagine Spirits like to communicate with the Avatar a lot. Ever since I lost my bending I've been getting really weird messages from them. Confusing ones. All I knew was that the Spirit World was becoming unstable and whatever is happening in Republic City was causing it."

"So how did you get started on this fighting crime thing?"

"When I got here, I needed to find one person who I knew I could trust. It wasn't that I didn't trust anyone else. I only wanted one person to know so that the situation was more under control. I told Tenzin. I felt an elder could be trusted. Tenzin said he wouldn't tell anyone. I stood on the docks to Air Temple Island.

'Not that I am unhappy to see you, but I need to ask why you have suddenly returned. I just ask because as the avatar, strange events seem to surround you,' Tenzin had asked.

'I've been visited by Spirits, Tenzin. One in particular. She showed me some pretty terrible things. And I knew it had something to do with what is going on here. The Spirits are worked up and they are going to take action soon unless I can change something. If I can right the wrongs in this city, maybe they will be calmed. Can you tell me what has been happening?'

"He told me a little about Graft, but mostly he mentioned how crime in the city had been on the rise, and quickly. People were scared. Graft promised safety, but he wasn't delivering. I dove in to see what I could do about it. To see what I could find. I started with the mobster warfare.

"What did you find?" asked Asami.

"I'm not sure…yet. I'm still trying to figure it out. As I've learned more about the situation here in the city, things got more complicated. Things are connected it seems in a way I am not entirely sure about. I need to find out what it is. All this gang activity, this crime wave, and not to mention the ones who took me down last night. Men I had never seen before. They were so fast and I didn't know where they even came from. In order to prevent some uprising from the Spirit World I need to stop it!" Korra couldn't believe she was telling this to Asami, but she felt safe with her. She felt a warmth from her that she hadn't felt in such a long time.

It was a different feeling than before. Korra used to think of Asami as a friend. With Mako always in the mix, Asami just seemed like another person around. Something was different now. Korra felt she could open up and trust her. She wanted to hug her again. She felt she depended on her since she saved her life. Since she was the first peer Korra had talked to, a person other than Tenzin or her uncle, in over a year. She missed Asami. She missed talking with someone her age, someone who knew the value of honesty and loyalty in a friendship. Someone who was experiencing difficulties in life as well, and was at the same level of maturity. Korra did not have to be a different person around Asami, and she could tell her anything. Her attention meant a lot more than anyone else's.

Korra had found…a friend, perhaps?

"I don't even know what I am looking for now. I just need answers. I need to find…the one who is calling the shots. I need to find Don Sabo of the Agni Kais."

"Sabo? Why him?"

"Whatever these gangs are trying to do, he knows. None of his minions will tell me or anyone what is up, but he will. I've foiled his plans enough times that he has to be discouraged. I know what he is feeling. He has given up…"

"How do you know," Asami was confused. "Why him, again?"

"I can feel things. I can find people. I can feel the cosmic energy that flows around us. It sounds like Avatar stuff so much, I know. I just need to focus and I can find him. He will tell me what he is trying to do and perhaps that will clear things up. Asami, I'm really sorry I have to just leave like this."

"It's fine, Korra. You sound like you're under more pressure than I am. Everything is so messed up here. The crime wave isn't helping either. All these gangs destroy their cars and demand more but I have no resources. But Graft does. Graft has choked me, so perhaps finding out why these gangs are going crazy will help me too," Asami smiled. "Do you know where to find Sabo?"

"Nah, but I think I will be able to. I can use the energy to pinpoint him, but given this entire city that is constantly giving off energy that will take a lot of concentration."

"I think I can just tell you, Korra. A few weeks ago something strange happened within my company. It was brought to my attention that some of my lead designers were secretly doing business with the Agni Kais. Having them gather resources to make certain kinds of parts. Sabo's men could get resources easily through extortion. Of course, I ended their partnership as soon as possible and had these men fired. I would not be working with the family that was responsible for the death of my mother. Graft decided to make an example of me by saying that my men were dealing with gangsters. That this is what private ownership has come to.

"The strangest part about all this is that I never remembered seeing these men. There were a lot of people working for me, but looking through my records neither my father nor I had hired these guys. I don't know if I was missing some files or what but these guys were the only ones who didn't have much of a history beyond a month or so. No hiring date. No payroll. I did not know where they came from. I couldn't explain it. But what I did know after all this was where Sabo operated. It is a penthouse off of Fleet Street." Asami gave Korra the address. They walked to the front door.

"Thank you so much Asami. You've really done a lot for me today. I'll always remember that I can trust you."

"Yeah, if you ever need anything Korra, uh, don't be afraid to come to me," Asami smiled. Korra wanted to stay. She didn't understand what she was thinking but Asami's presence made her feel warm. Safe. It made her smile. She would come back.

"If you are ever in any trouble, I owe you my life," Korra said.

Asami gave a light laugh. "Just being a friend would be enough, Korra. Thank you." Asami thought it was a friend in Korra she wanted. Asami didn't remember what a friend was like. It had been so long. She felt the same way as Korra. To her, this was processed as friendship, and she felt happy with this. Korra didn't tell Asami, but she would owe Asami her own life.

If anything ever happened to Asami, Korra vowed to herself that she would save her. No matter what.