AUTHOR'S NOTES: After the whole debacle with the Equalists and then with her father (particularly the 2nd time) Asami's definitely experienced some serious psychological trauma, which has messed her up more than she's letting on. The next several chapters put a particularly prominent emphasis on Asami as well, really delving into her growth and struggles, and as such, her development as a character. She's the 2nd most important character in this series for a reason, after all. Also, Tarrlok returns, and suffice to say this is very passionate chapter full of tense, heated exchanges—particularly between Tarrlok and Asami.
Happy Reading!

BOOK THREE: WATER

CHAPTER NINETY-TWO: AN AVATAR'S COMPASSION

Despite her efforts, it was difficult for Asami to put her father out of her mind when this was literally his house, and that most of what was in it belonged to him or had been used by him as well. She wound up wandering into Korra's room, where the Avatar was once again out cold, and had somehow already shifted to the point where one of her feet was on her pillow, the other was hanging off the bed, and her sheets were wrapped around her right arm and torso.

"What did I ever do to deserve you, Korra…" she whispered to herself as she watched Korra's nearly motionless form. Her chest rose and fell prominently enough to be noticeable; since Korra breathed (and snored) so loudly that someone could have shot her in the dark. "Even as you deal with your own struggles, you lend me your shoulder, and for what? I can't fathom a world that does not see your importance and contributions, Avatar Korra. You are not unworthy of the world… the world is unworthy of you…"

Asami went back to her study to sort out a few things, fiercely cutting out any thoughts of Hiroshi's toxic letters and words, and tried to keep her mind clear and focused on the better aspects of her life, such as Korra herself. Her success was limited though, and she was still fairly tense as she worked. As such, when the phone rang she was a little startled even if she knew that it did not mean danger. The one on the other end caught Asami by surprise once again, however.

"Councilman Tarrlok?" Asami gawked, "What business do you have calling this number?"

"Perhaps none," Tarrlok responded, "but I feel you would want to know what I wish to share with you, especially considering who it concerns."

"Is this about Korra?" Asami's eyes narrowed.

"Of course it's about Korra!" Tarrlok scoffed, "who else in this wretched city has that kind of sway on people as powerful as you and I?"

"What are you calling me for then?" Asami shook her head, "Surely you know where to find Korra if you wish to speak to her, and she apparently forgave you so I don't imagine it would be that uncomfortable coming face to face with her again."

"Oh no, Miss Sato," Tarrlok's voice almost sounded ominous, "what I wish to share with you is undoubtedly one of the last things Korra ever wishes to be reminded of—but I need your help."

"What in oblivion do you need MY help with?" Asami was still tense from her moment earlier today, even if Korra's reassurance had done wonders for her.

"I need you to talk some sense into the Avatar for me," Tarrlok grumbled, "and tell her to revoke any forgiveness or mercy she showed me."

"That's ridiculous," Asami shook her head, "and you know as well as I do that she'd never do that. Barring her compassion, you surely know as well as I am how impossibly stubborn she is. I guarantee that not even I could try talking her out of forgiving you, even if I wanted to. If you want that so badly, come do it yourself."

"Miss Sato, let me ask you something," Tarrlok's voice grew more irritated, "have you ever been racked with an emotion that will not leave you alone; something that rakes at your mind and pushes you to the fringe of insanity?"

"...are you spying on me, Councilman!?" Asami sounded as annoyed as she looked, and raised her voice even. Did he somehow know about her emotional turmoil with her father, or had it just been lucky chance?

"I am not Ikiza, Miss Sato." Tarrlok mumbled, "If I struck a nerve it was unintentional."

"What makes you even bring this up at all?" Asami sneered.

"Because every waking moment since that day when Avatar Korra dragged me kicking and screaming from my fate at Air Temple Island, she has populated my mind and refused to vacate it. Everywhere I look, I see her face, and everywhere I go, she is there waiting for me. Every facet of my life has been invaded with the face of a woman I tortured and came close to breaking, and now here I am reeling in dumbstruck confusion as to WHY in oblivion she not only chose to spare me but also forgave me even if she didn't forgive my actions. Call it guilt, call it derangement, or call it something else, but whatever you decide to call it, you must understand that Korra will not leave me alone."

"So what do you expect me to do about that?" Asami tilted her head even if she was on the phone, her skeptical expression betraying a matching tone, had anyone been there to see it.

"I want you to come with me so I can show you exactly why you need to remind Korra that I do not deserve her mercy." Tarrlok ordered, "as bizarre as this request may sound, you deserve to know the truth of what happened that night, because I would bet the scant remainder of my possessions that she did not tell you the full truth."

"Fine," Asami huffed, "you better make this worth my time."

After Tarrlok gave her the address at which to meet her, Asami donned a more professional set of clothes and set out to her garage before hopping in a rather unremarkable Satomobile and hitting the streets. It did not take her long to find the place, but was surprised to see that it was a very unremarkable apartment in an even less remarkable district.

"Gone are the days of the lap of luxury, huh?" She quipped as she found Tarrlok waiting at the curb for her there.

"Naturally," Tarrlok scoffed, "nearly every yuan I had went to repair the damages that I directly or indirectly caused. I'm without a vehicle as well as a result, so I would ask to drive yours."

"Hold it," Asami was unsurprisingly apprehensive. "Where exactly are we going?"

"Into the mountains," Tarrlok replied, "to the place I took Korra after abducting her at City Hall. Were it easy to find on your own I would happily explain its location, but since that is not the case, I apologize for the inconvenience."

"I still don't see what this is going to accomplish," Asami crossed her arms as she got into the passenger seat, "or what you're trying to accomplish. Honestly, if this is all just a ploy to get your bending back, just wait for Korra to finish organizing her charity drive for that thing. She's got this whole big beautiful event in the works to try and get people who were attacked by Amon to come out so she can help restore their bending."

"Of. bloody. course. she does." Tarrlok growled, punctuating each word with a sharper intone than the last one as he drove them out of Republic City, "Why does that not surprise me?"

"Barring that you know as well as I do how biased I am in Korra's favour, it's probably because in her own words, she can't abide suffering. Frankly, that's probably why she showed you mercy."

"So it would seem, and I don't even want to think about whatever other ridiculously compassionate schemes she's hatching." Tarrlok growled, "but nI digress; this is not about my bending or any of that. This is the story of a man who needed to, wanted to, and deserved to die, and that is now being held hostage by the very woman he tortured. I want little more than for Avatar Korra to let me go."

"Maybe it's not her that needs to let you go," Asami retorted, her arms crossed, "and more that you need to let her go."

"You do not imagine that her judgment is fair by chance, do you?" Tarrlok retorted.

"I don't, but that's not for me to decide…" Asami began before getting interrupted.

"Then why don't you talk some sense into her?" Tarrlok snapped, "convince her to do the right thing and to end me before it's too late—or before my brother returns. You do know that he is not dead or incarcerated, do you not?"

"I know a lot of things, councilman," Asami sneered, "do not take your own anger and personal issues out on me, especially not when I'm sitting here doing YOUR sorry ass a favour."

The remainder of the trip was made in silence, as Tarrlok drove Asami towards a place she thought would be near the airfield where she had fought Hiroshi, but turned out to be in different direction off on a little dirt road to nowhere. Eventually, however, he stopped in front of a derelict cabin—or rather, half of one. One side had been completely blown out in what was clearly an enormous explosion that had occurred from the basement, which was visible from where they stood as well because the floor was gone.

"In hindsight," Tarrlok added dryly as he got out of the vehicle and handed Asami the keys back, "it's no surprise that Chief BeiFong knew my story about the Republic City Jail didn't hold up. I'm sure you don't even need to ask what happened here."

"Korra's got a pretty telltale signature." Asami quipped dryly, "But… what exactly is this place?" She stepped towards the wreckage, which the weather had not been all that kind to either over the last few months.

"This is where I took Korra and effectively left her to die." Tarrlok frowned, "in perhaps the most ironic twist of fate, I was stopped by my brother before I could finish carrying out my plans of moving her even farther from this place, and she clearly broke out. I'm you've seen far more of her scars than I did, but it was me who allowed all of this madness to happen."

"I take it that metal box in the middle of the room is the one she speaks so ill of?" Asami raised her eyebrow as she slid down the rubble into the basement to get a closer look at the box. Tarrlok followed her and was at her side a second later.

"This is where I took her, and it is where I drove her to ruin," Tarrlok gestured, "for whatever Shenzi and the Red Lotus did to her—whatever your father did to her, Miss Sato, none of it compares to the atrocity you see right in front of you now."

"I'm honestly more impressed that it was able to hold her," Asami's comment was dry and hinted at distaste and a lack of impression, considering how harmless the metal looked on the outside.

"Really now," Tarrlok approached the door, "I'm surprised that you aren't as horrified against this atrocity as even I am."

Almost as if on cue, Asami gasped as her eyes widened, and she put her hands to her mouth in abject horror as she gazed upon the box's interior. Burn marks, blast scars, scrapes, small dents, and what looked like both dried blood and claw marks riddled every interior surface of the impenetrable plate metal.

She lowered her head, burying her face in her hands just to try and maintain emotional control as horrifying visions of a manic, deranged Korra throwing everything she had against this metal box to try and escape invaded her mind as she tried to fathom how terrifying and frightening it must have been for Korra to experience it firsthand.

"And that…" Tarrlok spoke stoically as he noticed Asami's reactions, "is exactly why I must wonder… why is Avatar Korra trying so hard to forgive *me*?"

Asami's eyes watered, but suddenly instead of sadness and horror, her eyes had switched to a righteous fury as she threw herself at Tarrlok with an ear-piercing shriek and fists a-blazin'.

"YOU WANT TO DIE?" she shrieked, "I'LL KILL YOU MYSELF!"

"No," Tarrlok grappled with Asami for dominance. Even without his bending he proved to be swift and possess considerable strength, "You don't get to make that decision, Miss Sato! It is not you that I wronged—it is Korra!"

"I'll have you know," Asami did not hesitate to resort to clawing an even biting to try and get an edge over Tarrlok, her feet kicking at vital points on his body, but the older man had agility to him that made it clear he knew how to defend himself all the same, "I loved Korra long before you abducted her, and I'm pretty sure that torturing the most important person in my life is going to have an impact on me!"

"This is exactly what I'm arguing in favour of," Tarrlok got Asami in a headlock as he tightened his grip on her dominant arm using his free hand, using his legs to try and prevent Asami from using hers. "And yet I guarantee… that were the Avatar here to see us now, she would be yelling at us to break it up and give some sappy spiel about love and forgiveness or whatever she does! I'm sure you know… better than I do!"

Tarrlok's grip on Asami faltered for just long enough to allow Asami to jerk one of her legs free, where she kicked him hard enough in the shin that he buckled, and thus released her head and her arm. She spun around and kicked between his legs, but Tarrlok ducked to the side which had Asami's boot instead strike his hip. She followed this up by immediately striking him in the sternum with her foot and in the forehead with her fingers in what was not unlike a chi-blocker's attack, but after a moment of recoil, Tarrlok lunged forward, seizing Asami's shoulders.

"I've tried to play nice, Miss Sato," he threatened, "but if you do not lay off I will become much more aggressive!"

Asami did not respond immediately, but Tarrlok felt Asami's forehead collide sharply with his own, and he saw stars for a split second. However, rather than relinquish his grip on her shoulders, he clenched them tighter, slamming her against the wall as her back, shoulders, and the back of her head struck the hard stone surface. Asami reeled, and looked like she was about to retaliate, and so Tarrlok repeated this action three more times to rattle her skull enough to slow her down. Dizzy and aggravated, it took a moment for it to finally register with Asami that her head was pounding and her vision was clouded. It did not help that a moment later, right as she lunged at Tarrlok again, that she found herself completely encased in stone and slammed back against the wall as Tarrlok was catapulted away from her towards the opposite wall.

Asami glared daggers at Tarrlok, thinking this was his work for a moment, but he looked just as enraged and confused as she did. Both of them glanced around to find out the source of the earthbending, only to find Korra of all people staring down at them from the blast hole, her arms spread wide, and an expression on her face that could only be described as "why".

"Babe," she turned to Asami first of course, "what the fuck is the meaning of all this, and why are you two out here?"

"Korra, I should be asking you the same thing!" Asami snapped, "First of all, HOW did you even get here, and second of all, why are you not taking my side here when clearly you just missed him assaulting me and then trying to crack my skull open against this wall!"

"Okay, so you would never believe how I got here," Korra began with a skeptical pout, before her face turned much sterner. "but I need to hear what happened. Tarrlok…" she paused before jumping up and suddenly appearing within inches of Tarrlok's face, "why the FUCK were you attacking my girlfriend!?"

"Would you believe me if I said it was in self-defense?" Tarrlok frowned, "She wished to kill me, and I told her that such a responsibility is yours and yours alone."

"Asami?" Korra turned to approach her as if to verify Tarrlok's claim.

"What difference does it make?" She was fighting back angry tears, some of which may have been from the recent assault, "he wants to die and I saw what he did to you here, Korra. How in any reality including this one, is what he did to you EVER okay?!"

"Babe…" Korra frowned, stamping her feet (which Asami realized were still bare) and freeing her from her earthen prison as she took Asami's hands, "no—Asami… it's… I'm not going to kill him. I don't want you killing him either. I… are you feeling okay? I mean, not counting this little scuffle thing you two had, that is..."

"No…" Asami gripped Korra tightly, "No I am absolutely NOT feeling okay and today has been nothing but everything I ever knew or thought I knew getting turned on its head and I HATE IT all and I just want to go home…"

Korra paused and held Asami for several moments until the latter pulled away, after which, Korra turned her attention back to Tarrlok.

"None of this was necessary," She told him, "and I know you're going to hate me for what I'm about to both do and say, Councilman… but there is nothing you can do to stop me."

"Korra, are you…" His eyes widened as Korra's eyes started glowing. Rather than doing anything violent or aggressive, however, Korra reached out with her hands as a little bit of rock fell away from his chest.

"Deal with it." Korra replied in the sternest tone anyone had ever heard the Avatar use her trademark catchphrase.

"Korra for FUCK'S SAKE, are you JESTING!?" Tarrlok roared, but he was powerless to stop Korra as she softly placed her hands on Tarrlok's chest and forehead. A gentle but powerful surge of energy coursed from the Avatar into the Councilman, and suddenly the latter felt like there was a certain part of him that had been restored that he had not had in months.

Korra removed the stone casing from Tarrlok's body and looked him in the eyes.

"I have restored your bending, Councilman Tarrlok." she spoke with an emotionless, authoritative tone as her eyes stopped glowing, "and you are free to do what you will wish it. If you wish to turn into a monster and wreak havoc across the city again, then you better get a head start. If this blessing was a mistake, I'm sure I'll find out right away… but whatever you decide to do… do not EVER touch Asami again. If you want to take your anger out on me for my decisions, you take it out on me, and me alone—but the next time you put your hands on my girlfriend, Raava help me I will tear them right off. Are we clear?"

"Crystal, Avatar." Tarrlok scowled.

"Good," Korra frowned, "She did nothing wrong—any misdeeds against you are entirely on my head, and so turn to me to release your anger—no one else."

To both Tarrlok and Asami's surprise, Korra got onto her knees and raised her hands against her face as if preparing for a blow.

"After everything…" Tarrlok looked at his hands and then down at Korra, "you give me back the very weapon with which I tortured you and traumatized you..." he paused, swinging his arms, and bending some vestigial snow from one corner to another as if to test how legitimate Korra's ability was. It did not disappoint even in the slightest.

"On your feet, Avatar Korra." Tarrlok reached out and took Korra's right hand, pausing as he noticed the vicious scar that covered her entire hand. "If there was a monster inside me, it died today, or so help me I will spend the rest of my life trying to kill it. I still do not like your course of action, but it's clearly you know more than me about all of this."

"Own it," Korra's free hand closed around Tarrlok's as she looked him in the eyes. "Own it, and own yourself. Don't let your past define you, and don't let the actions of other wicked people who may have tried to destroy your life dominate you. It… never ends well."

There was a pause, before Korra glanced at Asami and then up at the car. "Also, get us out of this damn place. I need a bit more time with Asami after everything she's been through today."

Tarrlok nodded and led the two women back to the car without a word. Rather than resolve his problem, it seemed Tarrlok's idea had backfired and made it worse in an ironic sort of way. Rather than incite the Avatar's wrath against him, he had only made her forgive him even further. As they all piled into the car however, both Tarrlok and Asami were both (unbeknownst to each other) thinking the same thing: how had Korra followed them out here in the first place?