AUTHOR'S NOTES: It's important to remember that the murder-suicide between Tarrlok and Noatak did not happen in this fic, and as such, the last time we've seen our good friend Noatak was when he was fleeing Republic City after Korra had exposed him. It's one of those issues she never fully resolved, and so she's actually still very afraid of him. He's just been so uninvolved in her life lately that he hasn't crossed her mind. That changes in this chapter, where Amon pays a few close friends a couple of visits, and treats us to a fast and fierce (and inevitable) battle between the Equalist and the Avatar that will be one for the books.
Happy Reading!
BOOK THREE: WATER
CHAPTER NINETY-SIX: ONE LAST ATTACK
While Korra kept herself busy with repairing the damage Amon had done to the benders of the city, the man himself was technically still at large. Tarrlok learned this the hard way when he found the masked man waiting for him in his apartment one stormy evening out of the blue. The fact that it was raining heavily complete with lightning and thunder, only made his presence that much more ominous.
"Brother!?" Tarrlok looked surprised but was predictably defensive. While he was merely in a humble pair of pajamas with his hair down, Amon was geared up as if he was at one of his rallies, mask and all. He removed it, however, upon getting his brother's attention.
"Brother indeed," Amon crossed his arms, "oh, how the mighty have fallen. This is certainly not like the estate you used to own."
"I caused a lot of damage," Tarrlok admitted, "And most of the funding for the citywide reparation efforts were taken from my own pocket. It was only fitting—especially after what I as a bender was able to do, and the damage and disruptions I caused.
"And yet you're soft now," Amon kept his arms crossed, "you've let the Avatar get to you all because she gave you your bending back."
"Soft isn't the right word," Tarrlok argued, "'Humbled' might be though. She's too powerful, Noatak; but more than that, she's overwhelmingly compassionate. And before you accuse me of kowtowing to the Avatar, know that I'm just as puzzled as you might be as to why she would give me my bending back after I used it to nearly ruin her life. But I don't imagine you care much about that. Why are you here, and why aren't you trying to strip me of my bending again?"
"You would run right back to Avatar Korra to have her undo it," Amon replied, "the same way she has undid almost all of my work here! We were so close to building an equal society…"
"...before you learned the hard way just how damn strong the kid is?" Tarrlok interrupted him, "Brother, listen to me before you do something reckless that gets you maimed, killed, or otherwise brutalized in some horrific manner. How familiar are you with the Red Lotus?"
"Disgustingly powerful benders that would rip this world apart to throw it into anarchy," Amon spoke as if he had just read it from a book, "Avatar Korra was trained by them a few years ago even, and look what it's done to her."
"Exactly!" Tarrlok stood up, "The Avatar was trained by those anarchists, and for better or for worse, they made her unstoppable. Say what you will about it, but that's the unfortunate truth of Korra's situation. The good news, however, is that she's compassionate and generally remarkably merciful. The bad news is that if you push her to the point where she wants to kill you, then you've gotten yourself into a bigger mess than I can help you get out of."
"Our father set us on this path," Noatak sighed, "Fate caused us to collide. I spent so much time trying to fight for a just cause, all while you tried to win the city from its heart… and then she came along. How many years did we fight for this city, brother? How many years did we build up a glorious and upstanding society only for some impulsive, destructive brat to come roaring in and tear it down within a few months?!"
"And look at her now," Tarrlok pointed out, "She's not ruling Republic City with an iron fist; she's not subjugating nonbenders to her tyranny; she's not bossing anyone around, really. She's not even in charge of anything. Unless an 18-year-old girl is running a covert underground empire behind our backs, she appears to be doing little more than simply trying to live out her life without further disturbances—much like me."
"Until she changes her mind," Amon refuted, "The Avatar is a wild and volatile creature, as I'm sure both of us have seen. That she is not entirely mentally stable makes it worse."
"Brother," Tarrlok asserted, "I will say it again. Korra is too powerful for either of us to deal with, and could likely even stand against us as a team. I heard that she fought off your bloodbending without even using the Avatar State, and she's fought off mine as well. She has shifted to the point where she now takes a more defensive approach, and since she's not actively causing harm there is no reason to provoke her. Leave the Avatar alone."
"A powerful bender that has complete reign to do whatever she pleases," Amon muttered, "is this not what I created my entire movement to try and prevent?"
"And yet it's over, Noatak." Tarrlok declared.
"Is it?" Noatak shook his head, "I'm sorry for what I had to do to you, brother. But we can start anew. We have a second chance to start over—and start over together. Just as you tried to do with Avatar Korra, the opportunity is in our grasp."
"Except it's not, and what I did was folly." Tarrlok shook his head. "I still don't know what was more horrifying to look at—the expression on Asami Sato's face right before she lunged at my face, or the scale of the damage the Avatar did in her little frenzy. I broke her down, brother. I tried to drive her mad, and I fear I partially succeeded. But do you know what the worst part about all of that is? The worst part about it is that despite my atrocities committed against her, Avatar Korra forgave me. She put her trust in me as she restored my bending. I feel like to flee would be to spit on everything she has done for me."
"Brother…" Noatak sighed, "Tarrlok, please. You're the only thing I have left in this world."
"I need time," Tarrlok shook his head, "I've made commitments and have sworn to help reform the corrupt council to not just be a governing body controlled by benders. And as much as it pains me to say it… I cannot be seen interacting with you—not if I hope to make things right."
"I understand," Noatak muttered darkly. "I will think on this further when I get the chance, but know that I am still watching."
"If you insist," Tarrlok warned, "but while I might understand your enmity against the Avatar, know that I tell you this out of brotherly concern, Noatak—do not trifle with her anymore. It will not end well for you, I assure you."
"Noted," Amon hummed as he replaced his mask on his face, "We will meet again, brother."
"Right… right." Tarrlok mumbled, before looking Amon right in the eye.
"But I mean this in all seriousness," he added as a warning, "Brother, leave the Avatar alone."
Amon simply paused before making what almost looked like a nod. Tarrlok laid back down, sighing in defeat as Amon stole away into the night. He had a bad feeling that his brother was going to blatantly disregard everything he had warned him about regarding Korra, but knew better than to get in his way.
True to Tarrlok's gut feeling, Amon went straight to Sato Estate to hunt down Korra. Much like he had done with Tarrlok's apartment, he managed to slip in and break in without too much difficulty. Hiroshi's secret tunnels that he had helped smuggle equipment to Amon and the Equalists with, served as his method of entry, and so he did not even have to bypass any of Sato's security measures to make his way to the grounds, and subsequently, the mansion itself. Finding Korra was not too difficult considering that all he had to do was follow the heavy snoring, which also meant he was far enough away from Asami that she would not likely be a problem.
Suffice to say, when Korra felt something out of sorts and woke up to Amon hovering menacingly over her, she did not react well. She screamed loudly, her eyes glowing as she sprung out of bed (still in her nightclothes), tackled Amon, and smashed him through the wall of her room without regards to anything around her and suddenly the two were surrounded by the heavy rains. Being a waterbender, Amon also used this to his advantage, although he did attempt to throw Korra for a loop as he tried to bloodbend her. It gave her pause, although the situation was far too different from her memory at city hall for it to trigger her trauma. Furthermore, Korra did not associate manipulative bloodbending with Amon the way she had with Tarrlok; but rather assumed that he would try to get right up in her face to remove her bending.
This, coupled with her presence in the Avatar State, had her fiercely resisting Amon's attacks. She had entered 'fight or flight' mode, and her body told her to fight. Using the rain around them, Amon and Korra both attacked each other with fierce waves of water, freezing the rain into razor shards of ice that they attempted to lacerate each other with. Amon's thicker leather boots, gloves, and clothing protected him much more than Korra's sweatpants and tanktop did, but one thing the Avatar did have over the masked waterbender was speed.
"They said you were a speed demon in the arena," Amon taunted, "and it seemed they did not lie. Yet here you are, driven into a frenzy for your life, Avatar…"
Korra did not reply. Whether it was her own self-control or just her primal instincts telling her to focus on the fight, she remained stoically silent, which would have made the fight that much scarier for just about anyone else besides Amon. Whether it was because he knew he had lost everything and was determined to take Korra down with him, or simply because he did not fear the Avatar's wrath, he remained unfazed.
Korra soon turned up the heat though, throwing rocks and lightning bolts into the fray, and even a well-placed combustion blast that would have no doubt torn Amon apart had he not dodged at the last moment.
All of this commotion however, did not go unnoticed. Naga was growling and focusing intently on the scene, but seemed to know better than to try and intervene. If anyone could read Korra flawlessly, it was her.
Similarly, while she was woken by the commotion as well, Asami knew better than to intervene as she peered through the shattered wall at the showdown, but with the lightning (both from weather and Avatar alike) and other explosive attacks, she realized what was happening and was both frightened and tense. She knew there was nothing she could do to help tip the scales, and did not want Amon to notice her lest he try and use her as leverage against Korra—because she knew full well that Korra would bend to any and every of Amon's demands to ensure Asami's safety. That was just who Korra was as a person.
Tarrlok had gone back to sleep, although was rudely awakened by a banging on his door. Dragging himself up with a grunt and a mumble, he answered it to find Kwan, who also looked a bit disheveled, barefooted and all.
"There's gotta be a story, Kwan." Tarrlok sighed as she gestured at him.
"You mean you haven't heard the shitshow going down at Sato Estate—or at least heard the sirens or heard about it?" Kwan retorted, "Follow me and get in the car. Now, this is all just really educated guessing, but I think we just found your brother."
"Son of a bitch…" Tarrlok cursed under his breath, "I told him SPECIFICALLY not to trifle with the Avatar and what does he do not an hour after I warn him? He goes to pick a fight with the Avatar. Floor it, Kwan. Not that I suspect I can talk any sense into my brother, but I do want to see how Korra handles this situation."
"And I figured that, actually." Kwan mumbled as she led Tarrlok to one of her trusty vehicles. Even half-conscious, the little lavabender seemed to be a rather impressive driver. "Well, to be honest I actually suspected you'd be more interested in seeing what became of your brother, but I suppose since he and Korra are no doubt the ones lighting up the skies over there, that they're both the ones we're about to see in action."
"So it would seem…" Tarrlok frowned. "And I'm afraid I've said goodbye to my brother for the last time. If she's lighting up the sky I don't think Korra's taking the merciful route."
"That's what I'm worried about," Kwan shook her head as the thundering sounds grew nearer and nearer. "But I suppose we'll see for ourselves in a few minutes what's what."
It was a spectacle like neither of them had ever seen. The rain only added to the dazzling displays of waterbending, and even without bloodbending, it seemed Noatak had remarkable control over water itself as well, staying toe to toe with an angry Korra in the Avatar State. Amon seemed to be saying different things to her at different times, as if trying to taunt and/or provoke her, but Korra remained ruthlessly silent. Despite the odds and circumstances being no doubt stacked against him, Amon also kept his cool and his taunts seemed to be similar. However, it seemed that this time Korra was not affected by them. The remarks and threats that worked against Korra when he was at the height of his power were not shaking her this time, and even an attempt to bloodbend her only tripped her up for a second. Her power and strength in the Avatar State was too strong. Amon realized this further as he suddenly became immobilized in ice and stone that he was unable to break his arms and legs free from.
Sirens began to blare in the distance to hint at approaching police, and this seemed to snap Korra out of her almost trance-like fury if just for a moment. However, while she may have originally intended to be merciful, it seemed Amon was too fiercely trying to bloodbend her for her to be able to carry through with her plan. As such, she suddenly launched herself skyward instead, disappearing in a streak of blue up into the dark rainy sky.
From various angles, Tarrlok, Kwan, Naga, and Asami watched but dared not get too close, let Amon notice them and use them as leverage, or in case Korra was on a blind, fury-filled rampage where she wasn't watching who or what she smashed. Naga seemed to rock back and forth as if contemplating pouncing into the fray, but incidentally, she stayed back after Asami put a hand on her back. When Tarrlok looked up and saw a glint in the sky through the rain though, he knew he had said goodbye to his brother for the last time.
"I'm sorry, Noatak." he muttered under his breath, and he turned away. Kwan seemed too transfixed to look away, and so did Asami across the clearing, peering out from the gaping hole in Korra's room wall. Korra came spiraling down seemingly out of the dark abyss above them, large tendrils of water swirling around her limbs. The one around her right arm solidified, and soon was a full-on ice spike—which then lodged right into Amon's vitals. With an audible gasp as he felt Korra's fatal attack go through him, he gave up the ghost almost immediately afterwards, and his head hung limp as Korra's wrath subsided. She was breathing heavily, soaked to the bone, and for a moment simply stood there, slouched and seething as her eyes shone brightly through the thick sheets of rain, only a few feet from Amon's motionless form and the stone-ice casing surrounding his limbs.
Asami stepped in when the police arrived, acting as a witness to everything that happened. Korra, whose eyes were still glowing, refused to comment, or perhaps seemed too shocked to. Considering that Korra did not even say anything to Asami at the moment, the police were unsuccessful at getting anything out of her either, much less any late night reporters. The only words they were able to coax out of the Avatar, whose eyes were still glowing threateningly, were "self-defense". With this, she stumped off, disappearing not back into the estate, but behind it and towards the forest that surrounded it. She should have felt relieved. The man who had plagued her and jeopardized her safety for months (arguably years, considering that Korra had first seen Amon in an alleyway when she was 14) was slain by her own hand. And yet, rather than feeling safe and relieved, Korra felt shaken, and more terrified than before.