Thank BG-13
Korra's POV
"I have to know," Mako began, his warm amber eyes looking straight into my ocean blues. "Did he-Did he suffer?"
I stood quiet for a minute, remembering the day Bolin had died.
"Just leave him alone!" I shouted, fighting against my captors.
Amon chuckled and looked over to the bloodied Earthbender who lay on the floor, hands tied behind his back. I could see the silent plea in his emerald eyes that pierced my icy blue ones. It wasn't until that moment that I had regretted bringing him with me. I'd thought the masked man would beat us up a little and then let us go. I had been wrong. So terribly wrong.
"Please," I begged. "Kill me, not him!"
The masked revolutionary man turned his attention to me, roughly grabbing my face as he made me look at him. I could see him narrow his eyes at me. "No, I won't kill you," he said, hatred evident in his voice. "I want you to live with the guilt of having been the cause of your friend's demise."
With those words he grabbed Bolin and dragged him to edge of the ship. I yelled, thrashing against whoever held me, to no avail. I felt kali sticks dig onto my back and collapsed on the floor, just as Amon stood Bolin up and stabbed him. I could still see Bo's pained face as the bade went into his torso before he fell back into the sea.
"No," I replied. "He didn't."
I could see the relief in the older brother's eyes. "You know, what I said a couple of days ago about wishing it had been you?" he said quietly. "I didn't-I mean-I-"
"Didn't mean to say it out loud," I finished for him. The Firebender looked at me apologetically. I shook my head. "You have every right to hate me. I deserve it."
He slowly shook his head. "No," he said.
"If I could switch places with him, I would," I said, my voice firm and truthful. I would take Bolin's place in a second if it were an option. He'd had so much living left to do. He'd once told me he wanted to have his own Pro-Bending team, lead them into victory like his brother always seemed to do. I'd laughed at it then. That laugh seemed cruel now.
Mako lowered his gaze, trying to hide the pain reflected on his face at the reminder that his little brother wasn't coming back and it was all my fault. "I think about him every day," he admitted quietly.
"Me too."
He half smiled at that. "I guess we have something in common," the ex Fire Ferret captain noted. "I can't believe I'm going to do this, but…if you need to talk about-"
"Mako," I said, cutting him off. He looked up at me and I gave him the coldest look I could muster. "Bolin always saw the best in me. Perhaps you did too and that's what you're doing right now. You're looking at me and wondering if that prison, the Boling Rock, changed me somehow made me a better person. Well I hate to break it to you, it didn't."
The Firebender didn't say a word as I continued. "Stay away from me. Otherwise, I'm just going to hurt you again and this time it will be worse. Get lost; I have a party to get back to. I have five years to catch up on."
I saw my old teammate's jaw clench and he shook his head sadly, as if disappointed. "You know what, Korra?" Mako replied. "You being in that prison did change you," he said, stepping closer. "At least now you're honest."
I didn't say a word as he bumped my shoulder, walking away from me. I fisted my hands by my sides as I turned back to watch him go.
Howl's POV
I patiently waited for the Avatar to come out of the room she had gone into with the brooding Firebender. I figured I would give them some…alone time. I didn't know exactly how old Korra had been but if she was the party animal everyone said she was I wouldn't be surprised if she hadnt gotten around, I guess you could say. I was surprised, though, when five minutes later, the Firebender came out, steam coming off him.
A few seconds later, the young woman appeared, heading towards another room. I walked toward her and cut her off. She stopped in her tracks and I could tell she was annoyed by my presence.
"Something I can help you with, Miss?" I asked.
"I just wanted a moment to myself."
I smiled fakely. "I would believe you, Avatar Korra, if you weren't so full of crap," I replied. She simply let out a small laugh. "The party is that way," I added, pointing in the opposite direction.
She sighed and nodded and I turned around to lead her to the party. The Avatar seemed to be entertained with her friends. I took my eyes off her for a split second and the next thing I knew she was gone. I growled. This was not good.
Korra's POV
It hadn't been easy but I had gotten away from Howl. Now I really felt sorry for the guy. I mean, he was trying, I'd give him that, but he wasn't trying quite as hard as he should. Either that or I was just that good.
I put on my gear and headed across the street. I saw Bei Fong's Police Force outside, ready for the intruder. My eyes zeroed in on Mako, who was there too. I shook my head; he wasn't going to intervene with my plans.
Of course, I had known that Tarrlok would want to get the police involved in this, which is why I came up with plan B. There was a bunch of old tunnels people didn't really know about that were once used by this notorious underground leader, Yakone.
I went down one of these tunnels and easily slipped past security, ending up inside the City Hall. I noticed that outside Tarrlok's office there were a bunch of guards. I grinned. The councilman was scared after all.
With ease I took out all the guards as quietly as I could. I placed a blade on one of the guard's neck. "Where is it?" I asked. He shook his head and I made a small cut on his neck. "Where is it?" I repeated.
"It's in the council room," he replied his voice shaking with fear. "This was all a diversion."
I nodded and knocked him out cold before heading out to the council room. When I got there, sure enough there were two large bags full of money. Just as I was about to take it, I heard clapping and turned to find Tarrlok.
"Well looks like you found the jackpot," he mused. I looked around and noticed there were tanks full of water all around. I silently cursed. It had been a trap.