AUTHOR'S NOTES: Tarrlok's arc continues. It's a lot more feasible in this story due to Korra's own heightened maturity, and able to see the bigger picture here. Also, being weaponized by the Red Lotus really helped her relate much more personally to Tarrlok's story of being weaponized by Yakone. This is actually one of my favourite chapters due to some of the strong remarks made by Asami, Korra, and Tarrlok, all—especially since some of these speeches get referenced a lot later down the road, and even into the next book.
Also, someone gets a well-earned precision F-strike. This will not occur often at all, which means it's not Korra, whose profanity counter is already more than double that of the rest of the cast... combined.
Happy Reading!
BOOK TWO: CHANGE
CHAPTER EIGHTY-THREE: THE UNTOUCHABLE WOMAN
During the walk back, which slowed down somewhat after Tarrlok had regained consciousness due to his condition and thus Korra slowing her own pace to let him keep up, the older man continued to have choice words for the Avatar, which she listened attentively to. He explained that death was his preferred option because there was nothing left for him.
"You took my career, my brother took my power, and my father stripped me of my humanity." he explained, "There is nothing to return to, and there is nothing to gain from keeping me alive. This has nothing to do with thinking I am unworthy to kiss your boots, Avatar. This is a tired old man who wants this story to end. Do you prolong this torment as a twisted form of vengeance?"
"I don't know what you're getting at," Korra shrugged, "I assure you my intentions aren't that crazy though, so make sure to keep up."
"You continue to puzzle me, Avatar Korra." Tarrlok grunted.
"Deal with it," Korra interrupted him. He muttered a few other things that Korra mostly ignored, and the two trudged on. Tarrlok followed Korra, but his travelling companion soon got fed up with the complaining.
"Is the notion of caring for others that foreign to you?" Korra spun around, her teeth bared as she spread her arms, "Has no one in your life ever done a single good turn for you to the point where you're blinded to the notion that maybe there are people in the world that want to help others simply to help them? This isn't about me; this isn't some sort of petty way for me to avenge whatever wrongs you did against me. This is me accepting the past, moving on from it, and hoping to let you do the same. I'm not Yakone; I'm not Noatak. I'm a stupid kid that wants to try and do a little good in a world that demands everything from me and will condemn me any time I fail. And yet Avatar or not, I want to help people, Tarrlok. Whatever horrific acts the Equalists are doing to the innocent citizens of Republic City, I want to put an end to them. If I was suddenly no longer the Avatar tomorrow, that desire wouldn't change. Bending or not, I am strong. I'm not invincible, and you've seen my weaknesses and struggles firsthand—and while they've dragged me down before, I get back up and keep pushing forward. I've been labelled as a villain. My past lives call me one of the Interregnums. I don't care if they're right and I don't care if they're wrong. I know who I am, and I know what I want from life. I don't always get my way, and that's okay! Sometimes the best way to stick it to the people who have wronged you is to show them that they have no control over you; to show them that despite the damage they did to you, that you were able to get back up and become strong—and become happy again. I may struggle; I may get hurt; I'm sure I'll cry again sometime, but at the end of the day, I've got it pretty damn good. You want to stick it to Yakone; you want to stick it to Amon? Get up and stand tall! Show them that their grip on you has faded! Show them that despite everything they did to you… that you're not their plaything and not theirs to manipulate!"
She paused, taking a deep breath as she realized the water around them had flared up almost in a miniature vortex. It subsided, and their air dome was safe.
"Oh, and uh… stay close. My arms are getting tired, and we still have a little ways to go."
Tarrlok would have likely stood in place for several minutes in awe, had Korra's bending not been what separated him from the breath of life and the depths of the ocean around them.
"It seems I was wrong about you this entire time, Avatar Korra," he commented as the ground beneath their feet began to incline. He wondered if that was Korra's bending at work as well, or if they had just chosen a very lucky path.
"How so?" Korra didn't look back, but continued pushing forward.
"Much of my hatred for you came from feeling like you were gallivanting through this city trying to flex and show off how powerful you were; that you were doing the things you did just to show the world that you were the Avatar and that you were the last word on authority. Your actions, both now and earlier… have shown me different."
"I'll admit," Korra frowned, "a few were to spite you, since we did kind of have that petty back-and-forth thing for a while, yeah? But really, a lot of what I did was just me wanting to help people that were less fortunate. I wasn't about to let the Triads rule Republic City, and when I saw the fear in the eyes of those nonbenders you rounded up, I just couldn't abide it. That was less personal than any of the others, really. Anyone doing that to people in front of me would have me up in their face trying to stop them. I don't know why I'm the way I am, Tarrlok. It's just… me."
"No," he gritted his teeth as if to assert the firmness in his voice, "That's why I was wrong about you, Korra. Do not ever let that go. That was me once upon a time. That you have somehow retained that compassion even after everything you've been through is a sign of your strength."
A few moments later, Korra and Tarrlok both surfaced, and while Korra made to head right back into the large tunnel only a couple hundred meters away from where they were, Tarrlok took her arm and pulled her back.
"Hey, what are you…" Korra stammered, although realized that he wasn't being forceful.
"I need an answer," he ordered, "clearly the Equalist threat is still at large, and while you may have accepted me for whatever twisted compassionate reason you claim, I do not imagine your friends will be so lenient."
"It's not like we run the Underground or anything," Korra shrugged, "and if they don't like you, they gotta deal with it. Just let me do the talking, alright?"
"I was afraid you would say that," Tarrlok groaned, "but it seems I have no choice in the matter."
"I mean, you do;" Korra shrugged, "you don't have to follow me or anything—but it's definitely safer down here considering none of the Equalists have raided this place yet."
Tarrlok glanced back towards Air Temple Island, and then up towards the city.
"You make a compelling point, child," he grunted, "Lead on."
Naturally, none of Korra's friends took the appearance of Tarrlok calmly, causing the man to shoot Korra a rather clear 'I told you so' expression.
"Korra what the FUCK!?" Asami surprised everyone in the room with her verbal precision strike, "you said you weren't going to be long, much less go anywhere, much less than that, come back with one of the men who traumatized you!"
"I didn't expect it to happen either," Korra shrugged, "but it felt like the right thing to do." Korra immediately launched into a summarization of everything Tarrlok had told her, barring his own backstory. She mentioned that Tarrlok had shared it, but left it up to him whether or not he was willing to share it—and he wasn't.
"I am not looking for your forgiveness or your approval," he warned the others, "I had resigned to accept my fate, but it seemed Avatar Korra had other plans. As such, I would ask that you defer any and all of your inquiries to her as to why I am here."
"What did you do to her?" Bolin blurted out. This sentiment was shared by Mako and Asami, both of whom also did not seem to trust this new development.
"I told her my story, and I suppose it moved her," Tarrlok answered, "Again; were there anywhere else I could safely be right now, I would be there."
"What is your story then?" Mako raised his eyebrow, also gaining the interest of Bolin and Asami.
"A long, twisted tale of a power-hungry fool who weaponized his sons not unlike the way the Red Lotus weaponized Avatar Korra," Tarrlok frowned, "I will say no more than that. There is only one person that deserved to hear that story, and she is standing directly to my left."
"I… I can't." Korra shook her head, "It's not my story to tell." Asami seemed cross, and while Mako and Bolin exchanged looks, neither of them seemed to want to question Korra's motives.
"Well then," Bolin shrugged, "make yourself at home I guess? I'd rather have you on our side than on our enemy's side."
Tarrlok simply nodded but didn't say anything. He stared down at the floor as he sat there, and remained that way until he saw Korra, Mako and Bolin's feet all shuffle this way or that as they went their own ways with little fanfare. He still felt a pair of eyes drilling into his skull, however; and when he looked up, there was Asami, still sitting across from him and glaring intently at him.
"I take it there's something on your mind, Miss Sato?" He raised an eyebrow almost nonchalantly, figuring that he had not seen the last of her—especially not with how strong her relationship to Korra had become.
"If Korra trusts you, then so will I—for the moment," she warned, "but know this: if you do anything to hurt her; to scare her; or otherwise try to break her down again, so help me I will make you wish you were back in Amon's hands begging for death."
"Of that I have no doubt," Tarrlok muttered, "Like I said earlier: Korra did not deserve anything that happened to her, and I regret each and every move I made against her. However, I cannot undo the past any more than she can, and so at this point my choices are few."
"How do you live with yourself knowing you tortured a teenage girl?" Asami kept her cool, but was clearly frustrated at Tarrlok's presence, particularly because of the damage it had done to Korra.
"I don't," Tarrlok gritted his teeth, "Like I said: I was ready and waiting for Korra to kill me—and even now I am both surprised and disappointed that she didn't."
"Avatar Korra's compassion is not something you should treat lightly," Asami warned, "Tell me, councilman—have you ever killed a man before?"
"I may as well have," Tarrlok responded, "there are fates worse than death, Miss Sato. What I subjected your lover to is among those."
"And yet she chose to spare you," Asami all but cut him off, "and that's not something she would do to just anyone. She's killed people; and not just in self-defense."
"Then perhaps enlighten her to carry through on her threats," Tarrlok suggested.
"No." Asami snapped sharply in return, "If Korra went through with every threat she made, there would be a lot more people that wouldn't be alive right now—including myself, her parents, Councilman Tenzin, Chief BeiFong, and many others."
"And so how do you justify that type of madness?" Tarrlok stared right into Asami's eyes, gritting his teeth as she stared him back down in turn. Asami was the first to blink, however. "I've said my piece, and I'm not happy to admit that what I did has only helped break Korra's already fractured mind even further—but just because your lover is not fully sane does not justify that type of behaviour any more than my own past justified any of my actions."
"I don't justify it, but I understand it!" Asami riposted, "Korra throws up defenses and turns hyperaggressive when she's afraid. That she threatened you upon first meeting you in the attic of the Air Temple is a sign that she was still afraid of you, however brief."
"Sato, what do you want from me?" Tarrlok growled, "I am powerless and all but a prisoner here; there is nothing I can do or say that can sway Korra any more."
"I think there is," Asami pointed her finger at him, "I think Korra sees something in you that she's trying to reach for, but that she doesn't know how to reach for. I think you can help her in some way and that she subconsciously realizes it—and that she wants to help you in return."
"Damn that woman and damn her stupid compassion!" Tarrlok barked, "If you will leave me be, I will discuss this with her at the next convenient time. However, I do not think that my brother is going to wait for Korra and I to figure out our differences before he makes a point."
"Then we will worry about that when the time comes," Asami rose to her feet, "but know this, Tarrlok: Korra spared you and rescued you, despite everything you did to her—and despite everything you could still do to her."
"No, child," Tarrlok rose to his feet as well. "Avatar Korra is untouchable, and do you know why? She is untouchable because you cannot hurt a woman who can wear her pain like the grandest of gold around her neck. The fact that she is still a functional individual at all after everything she's been subjected to is a miracle in and of itself—but you are not giving her enough credit if you think that I have any hold on her anymore. I think she realized that when she carried me off here despite my complaints and protests."
"Perhaps you are right," Asami pursed her lips for a moment, "There are many things about Korra that remain a mystery even to me; but out of respect for her, they are things that she will need to tell me when she is ready, rather than for me to try and peel away at her layers just to reach them. However: do not insinuate that you know her well!"
"If I knew her well, I would not be asking her why she spared me, or why she does half the things she does, young one." Tarrlok countered, "I am done with this discussion, but I will say this: you, Miss Sato, have stumbled across an extraordinary individual whose status as the Avatar has nothing to do with how incredible she is. Perhaps instead of closing off your own insecurities, you might try sharing them with her. If she can find good in a lowlife such as me, then fathom what she might find if you actually opened up to her the way you're always pressuring her to do in turn for you."
"How dare—" Asami began, before trailing off. "How do you know so much about her?"
"I've studied Korra obsessively ever since the first time we met," Tarrlok explained, "I looked for her strengths; her weaknesses; chinks in her armour so I could twist the knife when the time was right. I am not proud of it, but I have made that abundantly clear."
Asami frowned, but did not say anything for the moment.
"Defeat my brother," he ordered, "and after all of this is over… open up to Avatar Korra. She can tell you more about yourself than you ever knew if you give her a chance. It is unreal how much love and concern she has for people."
He rose to his feet and turned away before Asami could formulate a response for this. It left her with a lot to think about, however; and wondered if this was one of Tarrlok's last-ditch attempts to get under her skin, or if he had a point about her doing the same thing that she often accused Korra of doing. That man was an enigma for sure, but at the same time, so was Korra. If—or rather, when—the Equalist crisis was finally resolved, Asami made a note to address this with Korra. For now, however, it would have to wait.