Author's Note: Hello, lovelies. I apologize for this taking so long but the next chapter has FINALLY arrived! Hopefully the next one will not take nearly as long.

The room was a whirlwind of emotions as the Bei Fong sisters discussed a strategy of infiltrating the Northern Air Temple. Bolin's radio conversation with Meelo and then Tenzin had led to the revelation that the Red Lotus had already beat them to the airbenders. Now Zaheer was threatening to wipe all of them out unless Korra surrendered herself. Su and Lin were tensely arguing over the best way to attack the Red Lotus with the least amount of damage to the airbender population.

"The only plan that will work is for me to give myself up," Korra spoke up through the argument.

This sent everyone into an uproar of protests. Arael stood back against the wall, watching them silently. She knew it didn't matter what she thought in any of it. Nobody in that room, aside from Mako and maybe Bolin and Asami, wanted her there. Whatever the case, it wasn't her place to state her opinion. She was there to guard Korra, simple as that. However, it would be hard for her to protect the Avatar if she gave herself up to the Red Lotus. Yet, Arael agreed that the only way for the airbenders to escape unharmed was for Korra to surrender herself. Tired of the arguing, Arael stepped forward.

"Korra's right."

The sound of her voice surprised everyone in the room and they all turned to look at her. Most surprised of all was Korra, who clearly hadn't expected Arael to side with her. Arael didn't hesitate to continue once she had everyone's attention.

"The only plan that will work is for Korra to give herself up. We rescue the airbenders and once they're safe, I will go in for Korra."

"No," came Mako's stern voice, causing Arael to shift her gaze to him. "Neither of you are risking your lives like that."

"It could work," Korra said, finally breaking through her surprised silence.

"It could," Lin said thoughtfully. "But it's risky."

"You aren't seriously agreeing with that?" Mako said in bewilderment toward his chief. "I'm not going to let you guys put yourselves in that sort of danger."

"It's not a matter of you letting us, Mako," Arael said icily, growing frustrated with his argument. Mako looked taken aback by her tone, his eyebrows furrowing.

"Do you think you can handle it, bloodbender?" Tonraq asked, his tone skeptical after their last encounter with the Red Lotus.

"Bloodbender?" Su asked, looking at Arael in surprise. Everyone else in the room seemed to realize that the leader of Zaofu hadn't been updated on the identity of her newest guest.

"Arael was a part of the Equalists and Amon taught her how to bloodbend. But she killed him in the end and ended up being tried for her crimes," Bolin said, his green gaze shifting to the woman in question. "But I thought Korra took your bending away?"

"I did, but it returned to her after the Harmonic Convergence," Korra said, her tone a bit annoyed. Arael wasn't sure if it was due to the fact that she had received her bending back or if it was because the conversation was derailing from where she wanted it to go.

"I hesitated last time," Arael said, focusing her attention back on Tonraq. "It won't happen again."

She sounded more confident than she really was. Arael had sworn off bloodbending once she could bend again, yet she had broken that promise to herself already. Bloodbending was what had caused everyone to hate her, yet now they wanted her to use it. They didn't care about how she felt on the matter. To them, she was just a weapon, a way to protect the avatar. Even Zuko, who she thought really understood her, had forced her into a position she didn't want to be in. Perhaps all the time they spent together was intended to butter her up so she could be called upon when needed.

With these thoughts clouding her mind, Arael couldn't be around the others anymore. She left the room, letting them continue to debate over the plan. She made her way to a window looking out over the terrain of the Earth Kingdom as it passed below, her dark thoughts continuing to plague her.

All she wanted was to go home. She wanted to return to a normal life. No more Avatar, no more bloodbending, no more world saving. She wanted to go back to the arena and fight side by side with Mako and Bolin in their sport once again. Not against terrorists. She wanted to see her family again and feel like she belonged somewhere once more. She was tired of being an outcast, only good to anyone as a weapon.

"But isn't that what you are?"

She was startled by Amon's voice. She realized that her reflection in the window wasn't hers anymore, but Noatak's.

"What?" she gasped in disbelief. She wasn't dreaming, how could he be there?

"A weapon. What do you think I made you into? Did you think I was helping you? Did you think that I actually cared about you? You mean nothing to me. The only thing I care about is the Avatar, dead. You were a means to an end. A weak child who was blinded by hatred. Everything I did for you, it was so you could kill her."

His words stung, stabbing her painfully in the heart. Noatak was her family. He was evil, but family nonetheless. Surely that had meant something to him.

"Family means nothing. All that matters is power. With the Avatar dead, there will no longer be an imbalance of power."

"I won't kill anyone else," she told him, her words harsh from the hurt he had caused her.

"Won't you? Aren't you protecting her now? How will you do that when there are more people out there who seek to harm her? Did you think you could imprison Zaheer once more? Clearly it didn't work the first time. Nor will it work a second or third. Zaheer must die. P'li must die. Ming-Hua must die. Ghazan must die. All the Red Lotus must die if Korra is ever to be truly safe. That is why the White Lotus enlisted you. They can't bother to dirty their hands, so they hired you as a mercenary to do the work for them. Because they recognize your power. They believe they can control you by dangling freedom in front of you. But you can take that freedom yourself. All you have to do is kill."

"Arael?"

Arael snapped her eyes away from Noatak, turning to find Mako. His expression shifted from determination to concern when he saw her face. "Are you okay?" he asked.

She was confused by his concern until he drew closer, his thumb brushing across her cheek. To her surprise, it came away wet. She quickly reached up and wiped the tears away, unsure of when they had started falling down her cheeks. "I'm fine," she muttered, dropping her gaze.

"No, you're not," he pressed, reaching to touch her cheek.

"I told you, I am," she bit out, turning away from his touch. He stopped his movements, his expression growing frustrated again as he dropped his arm.

"Why are you so hostile all of a sudden? Back in there, that was unnecessary," he said, referring to the way she had lashed out at him earlier.

"You're being controlling. You keep telling me what I can and can't do, how I'm feeling…you aren't responsible for me."

"I'm just worried about you, Arael," he told her in exasperation. "You've been gone so long; how can I not be?"

"I'm not a child, Mako. You don't have to worry."

"Yes I do. Especially when I come out here and you're in tears. I'm sorry if I've been controlling, but I don't want to see you get hurt. I couldn't protect you last time…I…I can't watch that happen again." He reached out once more, cupping both of her cheeks and tilting her head up until her gaze met his. His expression had softened and his golden eyes were sad. "I love you."

Arael felt her anger dissipate at his words. She couldn't blame him for worrying about her. All he had done was support her, even before all of this happened. She couldn't imagine what it must have felt like to watch helplessly as she was put on trial and then taken away. He had been powerless to help her. She could understand why he was so adamant about her not using her bloodbending. He didn't want to see her get into more trouble because of it.

She sighed, squeezing her eyes shut and resting her forehead against his. "I'm sorry."

She felt his hands disappear from cupping her face, moving to rest on her waist. "It's okay," he murmured softly, his voice reassuring.

She drew back slightly, looking up at him earnestly. "I know you're worried, but I need you to trust that I can do this. It's why Fire Lord Zuko asked me to be here. I'm the only one who can protect Korra from the Red Lotus."

Mako gazed at her for a long moment, his golden eyes searching hers. Finally, he nodded, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Okay," he said, pulling her closer and wrapping his arms securely around her. "But after all this is over, we're going home." He pressed another kiss into her hair and a small smile fell across her lips. That was all she wanted.

After a few moments, Mako drew away, nodding towards the room they had come from. "They sent me to come get you. They have a plan now." Arael nodded and he took her hand, leading her back inside.

The expression on everyone's face was grim.

"Korra is going to surrender herself to the Red Lotus," Lin said, laying out the plan. "She already contacted Zaheer over the radio. Once she gives herself up, Zaheer will give us the airbenders. Those of us on the air ship will collect them and retreat to a safe distance. Meanwhile, Arael, Mako, Bolin, and Asami will infiltrate the Air Temple and search for Korra. Su, Tonraq, and I will return to the temple once the airbenders are safe to serve as back up in case anything goes wrong. Our biggest priority is Korra's safety." She gave Arael a pointed glance. "We can fight Zaheer and his lackeys, but you're ultimately the one who can immobilize them."

Arael's jaw clenched slightly at Lin's words. It was like Amon had said. Arael could read through the lines and clearly see that Lin was implying she kill the Red Lotus members. She didn't say anything, though, instead choosing to nod her understanding.

"Does everyone understand the plan?" Lin asked, her stern gaze shifting across the room. Everyone nodded. "Good. This goes down at noon."