It was a quiet night with a full moon. Korra was at that moment sleeping peacefully in her bed with the windows open, letting in a night breeze.
Suddenly, a mysterious figure was running out of the room, alerting the Avatar who quickly awoke just as an Equalist soldier leapt through the window, followed by two more soldiers who came through the door, breaking it in the process.
Korra jumped up to throw a horizontal fire wave at them, but they dodged it. She then proceeded to throw a couple of fireballs from her fists, but failed to hit any of them.
One of the equals tried to hit her with an axe kick, but she blocked it with her arm before throwing more fireballs at him which he dodged.
Unfortunately, while she was focused on one soldier, another approached her from behind and hit her repeatedly in the back, forcing her to let out a groan as she knelt on the ground.
It was then when, looking up, she saw Amon standing in front of her.
"After I take your bending away, you will be nothing." said Amon bringing his hand menacingly close to the Avatar's face who's eyes were wide with sheer terror.
"AH!" shouted Korra, waking up quickly.
Masane was startled by that.
"W-W-What happened?!" asked Masane startled.
Korra took quick deep breaths to calm herself down as she looked around to see that no one was there.
"N-Nothing. I'm sorry, Masane." said Korra with a hand to her face.
Masane rubbed her eyes before getting up from her bed to sit on her friend's.
"Are you okay, Korra?" asked Masane with slight concern.
"Yes, I'm fine." said Korra.
Masane could see that she wasn't really okay and she could understand why, as what they saw yesterday at that rally was something to be afraid of, especially for any bender like her.
The only thing she could do for her at that moment was to simply hug her.
"It's going to be all right. I'm right here with you." said Masane as Korra returned the hug.
The next morning, a Republic City council meeting was being held to discuss the main issue of the moment.
"There is a madman running around our beloved city, threatening to tear it apart. We need to create a task force whose sole mission is to find Amon and bring him to justice." said Tarrlok, one of the council members.
"Absolutely not. A move that aggressive would only further divide benders and non-benders." said Tenzin.
"Tarrlok, I'm inclined to agree with your proposal, but who would even head up such a task force?" asked a Fire Nation woman member of the council before Tarrlok stood up.
"It would be my honor and privilege to accept such a duty." said Tarrlok bowing respectfully.
"This is just another one of your ploys to gain more power, isn't it?" asked Tenzin banging the table a little hard, as he didn't trust the waterbender councilman.
"All I'm trying to do is help. Think back, forty-two years ago, Republic City was threatened by another dangerous man. Yakone. Your father wasn't afraid to deal with him head-on." said Tarrlok mentioning a deed done by the previous Avatar.
"This… is a completely different situation… and how dare you compare yourself to Avatar Aang!" asked Tenzin rising from his seat and pointing at the councilman, feeling offended.
"Amon is not going to stop with the bending triads. Eventually, he will come for all us benders. Our friends, our families. Vote for this task force and I will stop Amon before it's too late. All in favor?" asked Tarrlok raising his hand.
Soon after, the other three council members raised their hands and Tarrlok banged a gavel against a platform to signal the end of the vote as he gave Tenzin a smile of victory while he scowled at him.
That same night, on Air Temple Island, Korra was outside practicing her airbending moves while Masane stood to the side watching as they heard music from a radio station.
Suddenly, the music played static before a voice familiar to them could be heard.
"Good evening, my fellow Equalists. This is your leader, Amon. As you have heard, the Republic Council has voted to make me public enemy number one, proving once again that the bending oppressors of this city will stop at nothing to quash our revolution. But we cannot be stopped. Our numbers grow stronger by the day. You no longer have to live in fear. The time has come for benders to experience fear." said Amon over the radio before Masane turned off the radio.
"He sure likes to talk that guy." began Masane before looking at Korra, who was looking at the radio with a panicked expression as beads of sweat ran down her face. "Korra, are you okay?"
The girl's question was enough to snap her out of her stupor and wipe away the sweat quickly.
"I-I'm fine. I just need to… keep practicing." said Korra before walking away.
Masane could easily see that she was lying and it worried her a little.
The next morning, Mako was strolling through the streets of the city.
Looking ahead and in the distance, he saw several people getting on a streetcar, which must have been his transportation, because he started running quickly towards it.
Meanwhile, a girl on a motorcycle was racing by and suddenly, Mako stepped out onto the road in the middle of the motorcycle's path.
The driver was so surprised that she tried to brake, but failed to do so and ended up crashing into the firebender, knocking him to the ground.
The girl parked the motorcycle before quickly running towards him as he sat on the ground.
"Oh, no! I'm so sorry. I didn't see you." said the girl getting next to Mako and taking off her helmet.
"How could you not see me?" asked Mako rubbing his head in pain. "I mean I was ju-juu..." began Mako angrily before gawking and blushing as he had become spellbound by the girl's beauty. "Uh, I was... I- I… wow. *cough* I was... *cough*" said Mako unable to find words as the girl crouched down to his level, causing him to blush a little.
"Are you okay? Did I hurt you?" asked the girl as she helped him up, much to his embarrassment. "Ugh, I'm such an idiot."
"Don't worry, I'm fine." began Mako to reassure her before brushing the dirt away from his clothes. "My brother hits me harder than that every day in practice."
"Wait, I recognize you. You're Mako, right? You play for the Fire Ferrets." said the girl.
"Yeah, that's me." said Mako.
"I am so embarrassed." began the girl before extending her hand. "My name is Asami." said the girl introducing herself as Mako shook her hand. "Let me make this up to you somehow. Uh, how about I treat you to dinner? Tomorrow night, eight o' clock, Kwong's Cuisine." said Asami before leaving.
"Uh, Kwong's? I don't have any clothes nice enough for a place that classy." said Mako.
"I'll take care of that." began Asami putting on her helmet. "All you need to do is show up." said Asami before putting on her glasses. "So… it's a date?"
"Uh, yeah, I guess so. I'll see you tomorrow night." said Mako.
After that, Asami started her motorcycle and set off, though on the way she gave the firebender a small smile.
As soon as she was out of sight, a goofy grin formed on Mako's face as floating hearts appeared around him.
Later in the evening, on Air Temple Island, Tenzin and Korra's family had gathered for dinner.
"We are grateful for this delicious food, for happiness, for compassion, and…" began Tenzin reciting a prayer when suddenly…
"I'm not interrupting, am I?" asked Tarrlok at the entrance to the dining room, interrupting and at the same time surprising the airbender.
"This is my home, Tarrlok. We're about to eat dinner." said Tenzin as the waterbender councilman entered.
"Good, because I am absolutely famished." began Tarrlok as Tenzin eyed him suspiciously. "Airbenders never turn away a hungry guest, am I right?" asked Tarrlok as Tenzin sighed in defeat.
"I suppose." said Tenzin sitting down at the table.
Pema stood with her arms crossed and scowling at him.
Tenzin, realizing that, could only answer her with a shrug.
Tarrlok walked over to stand next to Korra.
"Ah, you must be the famous Avatar Korra. It is truly an honor." began Tarrlok bowing in respect. "I am Councilman Tarrlok, representative from the Northern Water Tribe."
It was then that Tarrlok focused his gaze on the girl.
"And you must be the non-bender accompanying the Avatar." said Tarrlok.
"That's right, I'm Masane Amaha. It is also a pleasure to meet you." said Masane rising to bow as well before the three sat down.
Soon after, Ikki leaned over, eyeing him suspiciously.
"Why do you have three ponytails?" asked Ikki before sniffing him a bit. "And how come you smell like a lady? You're weird."
"Well aren't you… precocious?" began Tarrlok trying to get the girl to like him before focusing on the Avatar. "So, I've been reading all about your adventures in the papers. Infiltrating Amon's rally, now that took some real initiative."
"Oh, thanks. I think you're the first authority figure in the city who's happy I'm here." said Korra recalling her first experience with the police chief.
"Republic City is much better since you arrived, Avatar." said Tarrlok.
"Enough with the flattery, Tarrlok. What do you want from Korra?" asked Tenzin.
"Patience, Tenzin. I'm getting to that." began Tarrlok receiving a scowl from the airbender. "As you may have heard, I am assembling a task force that will strike at the heart of the revolution and I want you to join me."
"Really?" asked Korra a little surprised.
"What?!" asked Tenzin very surprised.
"I need someone who will help me attack Amon directly, someone who is fearless in the face of danger. And that someone is you." said Tarrlok.
"Join your task force?" asked Korra as she began to think about what joining that force would entail or rather who she would meet. "I can't." replied Korra leaving the waterbender councilman and the airbender in shock.
"I must admit, I'm rather surprised. I thought you'd jump at the chance to help me lead the charge against Amon." said Tarrlok.
"Me, too." said Tenzin.
"Honestly, I thought the same thing." said Masane.
"I came to Republic City to finish my Avatar training with Tenzin. Right now, I just need to focus on that and other things." said Korra.
Masane knew she was right, but she also knew there could be more to why she didn't want to join the task force of the waterbender councilman.
"Which is why this opportunity is perfect. You would get on the job experience while performing your Avatar duty for the city." said Tarrlok trying to convince the Avatar.
"Korra gave you her answer. It's time for you to go." said Tenzin.
"Very well. But…" began Tarrlok as he stood up. "I'm not giving up on you just yet. You'll be hearing from me soon. It has been a pleasure, Avatar Korra." said Tarrlok bowing slightly in respect before leaving.
"Bye-bye, ponytail man!" said Ikki to the annoyance of the waterbender councilman.
That man may have seemed like someone nice, but for some reason, Masane felt that he knew people like him, people who didn't back down so easily and who were willing to do anything to achieve their goals.
Having Korra as his target, she was worried about what he might come up with.
The next day, in the evening, Mako was at the doors of Kwong's Cuisine, very nervous, as he thought he didn't come dressed enough for a place like that, but it was too late to back out now, so he went in.
"Ah, welcome to Kwong's Cuisine, Master Mako." said a waiter bowing respectfully to him.
"Uh, 'Master'?" asked Mako confused by the treatment he was receiving.
Later, the waiter helped the firebender by dressing him and combing his hair so that he looked very elegant for dinner, much to his delight.
Mako put on the scarf and the waiter looked at it funny.
He reached out his hand to take it, but Mako grabbed it before he touched it.
"The scarf stays." said Mako very seriously.
"As you wish, sir." began the waiter accepting the request as he bowed before gesturing for him to follow. "This way please."
Later, Mako found himself at a table with Asami, who was sporting an elegant dress.
"I am such a big pro-bending fan. I caught all of your matches this season." said Asami.
"All of them? Wow. Honestly, There were a few I wish you hadn't seen." said Mako.
"Oh, don't be ridiculous, you're amazing. I can't wait to see you play in the tournament." said Asami.
"Yeah, well, ah, maybe next year." said Mako with a lowered look.
"What do you mean? You made it in." said Asami confused by what he said earlier.
"It just isn't in the cards for us right now." said Mako.
Asami sensed something was wrong and put her hand on his to comfort him.
"Tell me. What's the problem?" asked Asami with concern.
"*Sigh* We don't have the cash to ante up for the championship pot. So, it looks like we're out of the running." said Mako.
"That's not fair." said Asami feeling sorry for him.
Just then, a waiter approached them with two trays of covered food.
"Pardon me, Ms. Sato. Your main course." said the waiter leaving the trays on the table and taking off their lids before walking away, but Mako was surprised by what he had said earlier.
"Ms. Sato? You wouldn't happen to be related to Hiroshi Sato, creator of the Satomobile?" asked Mako.
"Yeah. He's my dad." said Asami, much to the firebender's surprise.
"Get out of town!" said Mako unable to believe it.
"I'm serious. You want to meet him?" asked Asami.
"Haha. Meet the most successful captain of industry in all of Republic City? Yeah, I'll take you up on that." said Mako.
The next day, in the middle of the sunset, Korra and Masane were sitting on the ladders while the girl was stroking the belly of Naga who was lying on her back just as Bolin approached them with his hands behind his back and Pabu on his shoulder.
"Hello, fellow teammate!" said Bolin catching her attention.
"Hey, Bolin." said Korra.
"Hi. Hope you're better." said Masane.
"I am, thank you. Missed you at practice this week." said Bolin.
"Yeah, sorry about that." said Korra.
"Nah, that's all right. We're probably out of the tournament anyways." said Bolin.
"It's really too bad. If only money would fall from the sky for us." said Masane.
"Bah. It's all right. Anyways, the reason I came by was to give you this." began Bolin approaching them before holding out his hands towards them revealing that he had some roses and some bags with cupcakes. "Ta-da!"
"Wow, thanks." said Korra accepting half of the gifts.
"Yes, you're lovely." said Masane accepting the other half causing Bolin to blush slightly as he rubbed the back of his head.
"What's this for?" asked Korra.
"Uh... Well I don't remember. Oh, yeah, there you go. You saved me from Amon." said Bolin.
"Uh, oh I can't remember now. Oh yeah, now I remember. You saved me from Amon!" said Bolin.
"Oh, that? It was no big deal." said Korra.
"We just did what we would do for a friend." said Masane.
"No big deal, are you serious? I was totally freaking out when he was coming at me with his creepy mask all, 'I will take away your bending forever.' I mean that is.. scary stuff; I still can't sleep well." said Bolin.
"That's understandable, even though I'm not a bender." commented Masane before noticing how very nervous Korra was and before she could ask about it.
"Delivery for Avatar Korra!" began a messenger as he approached carrying a large basket full of flowers and other goods which he set down next to Korra. "Tarrlok sends his compliments and urges you to reconsider his offer."
"Tell him I haven't changed my mind." said Korra.
"Mhmm." said the messenger bowing before walking away.
"Who's this Tarrlok guy? Is he bothering you? Huh, 'cause I could have a word with him." said Bolin tapping his palm with his fist.
"Heh, no it's not like that." said Korra.
"Although if you want to talk to a council member, you're perfectly free to do so." said Masane with a smile.
"Ah, I think… I think I'll pass." said Bolin a little scared of the idea of pissing off a council member.
Korra and Masane couldn't help but chuckle at that, though deep down, they were a little worried that Tarrlok gave them a 'little gift'… for now.
The next day, at the city's satomobile factory, Asami was making good on her offer to introduce Mako to her father, Hiroshi Sato, director, and founder of Future Industries.
"What do you think of my little operation here?" asked Hiroshi.
"It's very impressive, Mr. Sato." said Mako.
"Please, call me Hiroshi. So, I understand you're dirt poor." said Hiroshi.
"Uh, well..." started Mako not knowing what to say about that.
"Young man, it is nothing to be ashamed of. I too came from humble beginnings. Why, when I was your age, I was a mere shoe-shiner, and all I had to my name was an idea; the Satomobile." began Hiroshi showing one of the many satomobiles around the place. "Now, I was fortunate enough to meet someone who believed in me and my work ethic. He gave me the money I needed to get my idea off the ground and I built the entire Future Industries empire from that one selfless loan."
"Dad, stop bragging. Just tell Mako the good news." said Asami, causing her father to burst out laughing a little.
"What good news?" asked Mako.
"Well, my daughter passionately told me all about your hard-earned success in the Pro-bending Arena. And about your team's current financial stumbling block." began Hiroshi standing beside Mako with his hand on his shoulder. "Now, I'd hate to see you lose your chance at winning the championship just because you're short a few yuans. That's why I'm going to sponsor the Fire Ferrets in the tournament."
"Are you serious?" asked Mako in shock at the news.
"He's serious. My dad's going to cover your ante for the championship pot." said Asami.
"Tha-that is good news." said Mako very happy with the news.
"There's just one catch. You all have to wear the Future Industries logo on your uniforms." said Hiroshi.
"I'll tattoo it on my chest if you want, sir." began Mako, to laughter from father and daughter. "Thank you both so much." said Mako shaking hands with both of them. "I promise the Fire Ferrets will make the most of this opportunity."
Meanwhile, on the island, Tenzin was approaching a luxury satomobile with a gift bow in which Ikki was in the driver's seat making starting noises.
"Out of the way Daddy, we're driving here! Beeeeeeep beebeebeeeeep!" said Ikki as her father shook his head in disappointment, as he knew who the gift was from, who it was for and why.
"Beep-beep." said Meelo who was in the passenger seat.
Tenzin left and turned to Korra who was training while Masane sat on the steps of some sort of octagonal platform.
"I see Tarrlok's gifts are getting more and more extravagant." said Tenzin.
"And confusing. He's given him a satomobile when she doesn't even know how to drive." said Masane.
"Yeah, that guy doesn't know how to take 'no' for an answer." said Korra.
"Korra, are you… doing all right?" asked Tenzin.
"Yeah, I'm fine." said Korra stopping her training.
Tenzin sat down on the stairs and offered the Avatar to sit between him and the girl.
"Why don't you take a break?" asked Tenzin as Korra sat down. "I'm glad you turned down Tarrlok, but I just want to make sure your decision was for the right reason."
"I agree, Korra. I know you well enough to know that you wouldn't turn down the chance to be able to take Amon down, but lately you've been kind of… distracted." said Masane.
"It's just that I'm… very focused on training, nothing else." said Korra.
"Really?" asked Masane getting the feeling that wasn't the reason.
"I am." said Korra.
"You know, it's okay to be scared. The whole city is frightened by what's been going on. The important thing is to talk about our fears, because if we don't, they can throw us out of balance." said Tenzin.
Unfortunately, Korra looked away, feeling unable to admit her own weakness.
Tenzin rose from his seat.
"I'm always here for you, if you want to talk." said Tenzin before walking away.
"You can count on me too. For anything." said Masane getting up and leaving.
Despite the words of her teacher and her friend, Korra couldn't see herself being able to admit that she was afraid or even accept it.
Later, Korra was at the railings of the temple entrance with Masane while Jinora and Ikki played majong.
"Avatar Korra! I have something for you." said the messenger entering the scene.
Korra had had enough of Tarrlok's gifts and decided to make the point.
"It doesn't matter how many gifts Tarrlok sends, I am not joining his task force." said Korra as she used earthbending to create underneath the messenger a platform that she spun and then kicked him away from her.
"And tell him that if he continues like this, I will denounce him despite his position. It's getting to be harassment." Masane said.
"It's not a gift, it's an invitation." said the messenger pulling out an invitation.
"What for?" asked Korra before going to grab the invitation.
"Tarrlok is throwing a gala in your honor. All of Republic City's movers and shakers will be there. The councilman humbly requests your attendance" said the messenger as Korra read the invitation.
"Should I accept her?" asked Korra to her friend for advice.
"I think you should. It would be rude not to. And who knows. Maybe, after this, he'll leave you alone." Masane said.
Korra agreed with her, but for some reason, she had a feeling she wasn't going to like this celebration, since, even if it was in her honor, she hadn't done anything special.
Later in the evening, we found ourselves in a building where the gala party was being held, on the sides of the front door of which were posters with images of Korra.
Korra, Tenzin and their family, who were dressed in gala costumes, entered the building. Shortly after they entered, Korra received applause from those present.
"I can't believe this is all for me." said Korra in amazement.
"I'm not sure what Tarrlok's plotting, but keep your guard up. It's not like him to throw a party just for the fun of it." said Tenzin suspicious of the waterbender councilman's actions.
It was then that they realized someone was missing.
"Wait, where's Masane?" asked Pema.
Korra looked towards the entrance to see Masane peeking out slightly.
"Masane, don't just stand there. Come in." said Korra.
"I-I don't want to. I'm embarrassed." said Masane.
"Don't say that. You look beautiful. Besides, you don't want to waste the occasion after what it took us to find the right dress for you." said Korra.
"O-Okay." said Masane deciding to enter the building.
Once she did, she revealed to be in a beautiful white dress with gloves of the same color that reached their elbows, as well as a white rose adorning the left side of her hair.
In the next instant, all the people around turned their gaze towards the girl who looked more beautiful than ever.
"T-They're all looking at us." said Masane nervously.
"No. I think they're looking only at you." said Jinora.
"And no wonder. You look very beautiful." said Ikki.
"S-Stop it, girls. You're going to get me to leave." said Masane with a slight blush of embarrassment.
"You take it easy. I'm with you." said Korra placing a hand on her shoulder as she gave her a calm smile.
That was enough for the girl to calm down a bit.
In fact, now that she was looking at the party around her, she couldn't help but feel that she had been to a place like this before, only, on that occasion, she was going with someone, someone important to her.
Unfortunately, she couldn't manage to remember any of it, but she felt better knowing that she was slowly making progress on getting her memories back, especially having Korra by her side.
"So glad you could make it, Avatar Korra." began Tarrlok approaching them. "If you'd excuse us, the city awaits its hero." said Tarrlok before leading her off to the side.
Masane didn't hesitate to follow them, as she felt that if she was left alone, many men would approach her, which would make her very nervous, so she decided to stay by Korra's side.
Tenzin stood looking suspiciously at where they were going when, looking in another direction, he saw something that caused an expression of pure horror to form on his face.
"Meelo! No, that's not a toilet! Oh dear." said Tenzin before walking over to where his son stood embarrassed and with his hand on his head.
"Korra, it's my pleasure to introduce Republic City's most famous industrialist, Hiroshi Sato." said Tarrlok introducing the company director.
"Nice to meet you." said Korra receiving a slight bow from the company director.
"Oh, are you the creator of the satomobile? Let me tell you, it's amazing." said Masane.
"Thank you, young lady." began Hiroshi before turning his gaze to the Avatar. "We're all expecting great things from you." said Hiroshi.
"Right, greatness." said Korra lowering her gaze, discouraged.
"Hi, girls!" both the Avatar and the girl turned to the side to see Mako, Bolin and Asami, who was clutching the firebender's arm, causing Korra to scowl at her.
"This is my daughter, Asami." said Hiroshi.
"It's lovely to meet you. Mako's told me so much about you." said Asami.
"Really? Because he hasn't mentioned you at all." said Korra.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Masane Amaha." said Masane bowing by way of greeting.
"Oh, so you're Masane. Mako told me about you too." began Asami before noticing her chest which was showing off a bit because of the dress. "Why do I feel defeated?" thought Asami as she unconsciously and unnoticed brought a hand to her chest.
"How did you two meet?" asked Korra with her arms crossed.
"Asami crashed into him on her moped." said Bolin stepping to Korra's side before returning to his previous position.
"What? Are you okay? Are you hurt?" asked Masane worriedly.
"I'm fine. More than fine. Mister Sato agreed to sponsor our team." said Mako.
"Hehe, isn't that great?" asked Bolin giving his brother a side hug with an excited smile.
"Really? That's wonderful!" said Masane with a joyful smile.
"Yeah, terrific." said Korra without much encouragement and joy.
Just then, Korra saw a person she had no desire to talk to walk by.
"Chief Beifong!" began Tarrlok catching the attention of the police chief who approached them upon hearing the call. "I believe you and Avatar Korra have already met."
"Just because the city's throwing you this big to-do, don't think you're something special. You've done absolutely nothing to deserve this." said Lin before walking away with her hands behind her back.
"I could be nice once in a while." said Masane with a pout.
Although Korra was angry at the police chief's comment, deep down she knew it was true what she said and it put her off even more.
Later, Tarrlok took the Avatar to the top of some stairs where, at the bottom, there were several journalists who started taking pictures and asking questions as soon as they saw her.
Tenzin and Masane noticed this and began to worry about it.
Tarrlok and Korra went down a couple of steps before stopping.
"If you'd be so kind, they just have a couple of questions." said Tarrlok.
"But…" began Korra before Tarrlok pushed her a little so she was in front of all the reporters.
"Avatar Korra, you witnessed Amon take away people's bending firsthand. How serious a threat does he pose to the innocent citizens of Republic City?" asked a reporter.
Korra let out a small throat clearing sound before deciding to answer.
"I think he presents a real problem." said Korra, bringing a hidden smile to the waterbender councilman.
"Then why have you refused to join Tarrlok's task force? As the Avatar, shouldn't you be going after Amon?" asked another reporter.
"Well…" began Korra not knowing what to say before a camera flash forced her to close her eyes. "I…"
"Why are you backing away from this fight?" asked another reporter.
"What? No! I've never backed away from anything in my life!" said Korra annoyed by the question.
"You promised to serve this city, aren't you going back on that promise now?" asked another reporter.
"Do you think pro-bending is more important than fighting the revolution?" asked another reporter.
"How do you think Avatar Aang would have handled this?" asked another reporter.
All these questions were destroying the Avatar's patience and calm, to the point where she was holding back the urge to scream.
"Are you afraid of Amon?" asked another reporter asking the question that broke the camel's back.
"I am not afraid of anybody! If the city needs me then… I'll join Tarrlok's task force and help fight Amon." said Korra with firm resolve.
"There's your headline, folks." said Tarrlok stepping to the Avatar's side before more pictures and questions were asked.
Masane looked with concern at her friend who had been forced in the end to accept the waterbender councilman's offer.
Tenzin lowered his head with his eyes closed in sadness.
Mako and Bolin looked at each other in surprise.
Tarrlok had a smirk on his face as he leaned his arm on Korra who looked away knowing she had made a mistake she couldn't back out of.
The next morning, Korra, in uniform, had gone to a meeting with Tarrlok's task force, who was giving the members some information.
Although she felt she had made a mistake, she had to put it aside to concentrate on the meeting.
"My fellow task force deputies, tonight we will execute a raid on an underground chi blocker training camp located in the Dragon Flats borough. According to my sources, there is a cellar underneath this bookstore, where Equalists train chi blocking in secret." said Tarrlok pointing to a spot on the map.
Later in the evening, near the destined spot, a truck was passing by, with Korra and the task force members hidden and waiting for the moment to act.
When the truck stopped, Korra and the others got out of the truck and proceeded to carry out the mission, with Tarrlok among them.
Korra looked out a small window where she could see several people training to block the chi, but what caught her attention the most was a poster of Amon that reminded her of the nightmare she had that one time, causing her to let out a small gasp before focusing on the situation and looking at Tarrlok, who nodded his head.
Tarrlok made a couple of hand gestures, which caused a member of the task force to turn the compartment valve of a huge capsule the truck was carrying.
It turned out that the capsule was a container of water that the task force members, who were waterbenders, manipulated so that they each had a share of the contents.
Tarrlok was holding up his hand as a signal to stand by for the attack signal while Korra let out a small sigh of concentration.
Inside the training area, things were quiet until a large amount of water violently poured in through the windows.
The water caught some of the locals before it completely froze, encasing those it caught in ice.
Soon after, the rest of the wall exploded and in came a couple of members of task force earthbender who threw some debris, managing to knock down a couple of people.
One of them managed to dodge the debris, but the task force member used a large earth tile to push him into the wall.
Then Tarrlok and Korra entered with a large water drop at their side. Tarrlok hurled his water drop at one of the locals, covering his head with water before freezing his into ice.
A woman managed to escape as a man spun in the air before throwing a couple of cans that began to expel a green smoke, but Korra covered the cans with her droplet which she quickly froze into ice, preventing them from expelling more green smoke.
Though that helped the man escape as well.
"I'm going after those two." said Korra chasing after the only people who had escaped.
Korra started running down a hallway in search of the escapees, but unfortunately, she didn't see a tripwire in the middle of the path and ended up tripping over it and rolling a bit on the floor.
Suddenly, out of the ceiling came an Equalist soldier, forcing Korra to roll to the side to dodge him before lifting her foot to send a rock smashing him in the chest.
Another Equalist jumped behind her, who was sitting on the ground, with a bolas, but a drop of water hit him against the wall before freezing, encasing him in ice.
Korra glanced at the imprisoned soldier before turning her gaze to her rescuer.
"Nice timing. Thanks, Tarrlok." said Korra rising from the ground.
"We make a good team, Avatar." said Tarrlok.
"Yeah, we do." said Korra crossing her arms with a smile.
Later, a group of reporters began taking pictures of the task force (with Tarrlok and Korra posing) holding the prisoners in front of them.
Then they took pictures as they led the prisoners to the police van.
The next day, in the gym of the pro-bending arena, Mako was reading a newspaper that had a picture of Korra and the task force on the front page while Bolin was carrying two earth disks with his bending.
"No Korra for practice again?" asked Bolin.
"Doesn't look like it." said Mako before Bolin threw the discs in frustration.
"Is everything okay?"
The two brothers turned around to see Masane entering the gym.
"Hello, Masane." said Bolin happy to see a friendly face.
"What are you doing here?" asked Mako.
"I wanted to see how you were doing. Are you all right?" asked Masane.
"Fine if you take into account the fact that Korra decides to abandon us just when we're going to enter the pro-bending tournament." said Mako with annoyance.
"Come on, Mako. I don't think she would abandon us." said Bolin.
"Then why hasn't she gone to training lately? It seems she wants to be with her task force before she wants to be with us." said Mako.
"She didn't really want that. She was turning down the offer to join from the first moment it was given to her." said Masane.
"Well it looks like she changed her mind by the way she looks in the picture." said Mako showing the picture of Korra with Tarrlok's task force.
"It's not like that. Tarrlok set her up to join of her own free will." said Masane.
"If so, why doesn't she leave it?" asked Bolin.
"I don't know, Korra's been acting really weird lately." said Masane.
"In what way?" asked Mako.
"In that since the rally happened she's been… more nervous, distant." said Masane.
"Oh, I think I understand. Korra must be afraid of Amon." said Bolin, to the girl's surprise.
"Afraid… of Amon?" asked Masane in surprise.
"Well, it makes sense. She's a bender and she's afraid of losing her powers. Anyone would be. And I say that I've had it in front of me." said Bolin.
"I don't get it, why didn't she tell me?" asked Masane.
"I may not have known her as long as you have, but I can tell she's someone stubborn and probably doesn't want to admit she's afraid." said Mako.
Masane lowered her head in guilt.
"How could I not see it before? What kind of friend am I?" asked Masane.
"Hey, don't blame yourself. Even we couldn't see it and we're teammates." said Bolin.
"Right. The only thing to do is to wait for her to admit what she feels or talk her into it." said Mako.
Now that Masane knew the real reason behind Korra's behavior, she was determined to talk to her, as Tenzin might be right that if Korra didn't confess what she really felt, it could be detrimental to her and that was what she feared.
Meanwhile, in one room, Tarrlok stood behind a podium in front of a crowd of journalists, with Korra at his side.
"Avatar Korra has bravely answered the call to action. With the two of us leading the charge, Republic City has nothing to fear from Amon and the Equalists." said Tarrlok before the reporters raised their hands for questions.
"Question for the Avatar! Amon remains at large. Why have you failed to locate him?" asked a female reporter.
"You want to know why?" asked Korra approaching the podium as Tarrlok stepped aside. "Because Amon is hiding in the shadows like a coward." said Korra before grabbing a microphone and holding it up to her face. "Amon, I challenge you to a duel! No task force, no chi blockers, just the two of us tonight at midnight on Avatar Aang Memorial Island. Let's cut to the chase and settle this thing, if you're man enough to face me." said Korra before putting down the microphone and walking quickly away.
What she didn't know was that the whole conversation had been overheard by Masane and the two brothers.
Without saying anything, Masane ran away from the place.
That night, in the city park, Mako and Asami were taking a ride inside a car, with the engineer hugging the firebender's arm.
"I know it sounds weird to say this, but I'm really glad I hit you with my moped." said Asami, making the firebender chuckle a little.
"Uh, me too." said Mako.
"I forgot to ask. Why didn't you accept the new silk scarf I bought for you last week? You didn't like it?" asked Asami pointing to the firebender's scarf.
"No, it was really nice, but this scarf was my father's. And it's all I have left of him. I just feel like… Like it keeps me safe." said Mako.
"I'm so sorry. I lost my mother when I was very young." began Asami with her head down and a sad look on her face. Mako took her hand and they both shared a smile before Asami leaned against him. "I feel so safe with you." said Asami with a smile as they continued to enjoy the walk.
However, despite the tender moment between the two of them, Mako kept thinking about Korra and what he had discovered about her.
He wished he could talk to her so she could admit her fears and go back to the way she was before.
On Air Temple Island, Korra had prepared for her confrontation with Amon, but as she was about to leave the temple, she ran into Masane at the entrance.
"DESTY AMON TO A DUEL?! ARE YOU CRAZY?!" exclaimed Masane.
"Masane, please, I have to do this. I'm done letting Amon get away with this forever. I have to stand up to him." said Korra.
"Not until we talk!" said Masane standing firm.
"There's nothing to talk about." said Korra.
"Yes there is! Have you even thought about what will happen as soon as Amon shows up? It could be a trap!" said Masane.
"I know what I'm doing! It's my duty as Avatar!" said Korra pushing her aside to continue on her way.
"No! You're not doing it because you're the Avatar! You're doing it because you're denying that you're afraid!" said Masane causing the Avatar to stop.
"I'm not afraid!" protested Korra turning around to look at her.
"Yes you are! I may not have noticed it before, but now I realize it! No matter how hard you try to hide it, you're afraid of Amon and you refuse to acknowledge it!" said Masane.
"SHUT UP!" shouted Korra, much to Masane's surprise. "Ammon is trying to destroy the city and as Avatar it's my responsibility to take him down! You're not capable of understanding because you're not a bender! You don't even remember who you were before, so why don't you go away with your empty memories and let me do what I have to do?!"
Masane was in shock at the Avatar's words that had hurt her deeply in the heart.
"Is that what you want? Ok! Go get your powers taken away or get yourself killed! I don't care what happens to MY BEST FRIEND anymore!" shouted Masane angrily before running off with tears in her eyes.
"Masane!" shouted Korra trying to stop her, but it was too late.
Korra felt sorry for what she said to her.
She really didn't mean to tell her any of it, but it was too late.
Despite that, Korra refocused on the main issue and set off to confront her masked enemy.
Around midnight, Korra was on a boat, preparing to set sail for the island where she would have her meeting with Amon.
Of course, at that moment, Tenzin arrived in his glider to try to stop her.
"Korra, this is madness." said Tenzin.
"Don't try to stop me and don't follow me. I have to face Amon alone." said Korra without backing down from her decision.
"This is all your doing!" said Tenzin to the waterbender councilman.
"I tried to talk her out of it too, but she's made up her mind." said Tarrlok.
After preparations, Korra used waterbending to steer the boat quickly towards the island.
"We'll be watching the island closely. If anything goes wrong, I have a fleet of police airships ready to swoop down." said Tarrlok hoping to reassure Tenzin as he looked at the island.
Soon after, Korra was on the roof of the building on the island where the statue of Avatar Aang was located.
Suddenly, she heard a noise that caused her to quickly turn around with a bending pose, but there was nothing there before the chimes of midnight sounded, scaring Korra so much that she screamed.
Korra let out a sigh of relief that it was only the clock and, knowing it was time for the duel, she took a deep breath to prepare herself.
She waited and waited.
The hours passed and Korra sat down, beginning to grow impatient, as Amon hadn't appeared at any point.
She even went so far as to yawn from exhaustion and boredom.
"Guess you're a no-show, Amon." began Korra accepting the fact that her opponent wasn't going to show up. "Who's scared now?" asked Korra getting up from the ground and jumping off the roof to leave.
As she walked, she began to think about what she said to her friend.
They had done so much for each other since they had met at the South Pole and she had simply treated her that way.
She was determined, upon returning to the island, to talk to her to try to work things out.
Suddenly, as she was passing near an entrance, a bola wrapped around her legs, making her fall and dragging her inside the building as she screamed.
Korra was dragged until she was plunged into darkness, but freed herself from the rope by emitting fire from her feet as she spun around and landed on her feet, only to find herself completely surrounded by Equalist soldiers.
Korra launched a flare to illuminate the place, but bolas wrapped around her wrists before those in charge pulled on them to keep her restrained.
Several Equalist soldiers lunged at her from in front, but Korra pushed them back by launching a fireball from her foot before a pair of soldiers hit her repeatedly in the back, knocking her down.
Before the Equalist soldiers went to do anything else, an incoming kick knocked one of them down.
Korra woke up in time to see Masane knocking down a couple of Equalist soldiers with her fists, but after that, the other Equalist soldiers simply dodged her attacks as Masane tried to hit them.
It was then that Korra saw something that made her eyes widen in horror.
"MASANE, BEHIND YOU!" shouted Korra.
Before Masane could react to it, an Equalist soldier stepped up behind her and struck her repeatedly on her legs and arms, causing her to fall to the ground.
A spotlight illuminated them as a pair of Equalist soldiers grabbed Korra by the arms to lift her up a bit just as another pair of Equalist soldiers did with Masane.
"Masane! Masane!" exclaimed Korra with extreme concern.
Instantly, Masane opened her eyes with a small groan.
"K-Korra?" asked Masane having woken up.
Soon after, someone stepped out of the shadows in front of them, someone Korra had expected to see that night, but not like that.
"I received your invitation, young Avatar." said Amon.
Both Korra and Masane were paralyzed with fear at the sight of the leader of the Equalists with them being at their mercy.
Amon began to reach out his hand towards Korra's face, who was completely horrified, for it was her nightmare come true and she ducked her head with her eyes closed, expecting the worst.
"Get away from her!" shouted Masane.
Suddenly, Amon stopped his hand and grabbed Korra's chin to force her to look at him.
"Our showdown, while inevitable, is premature. Although it would be the simplest thing for me to take away your bending right now, I won't. You'd only become a martyr." began Amon before releasing Korra's chin. "Benders of every nation would rally behind your untimely demise, but I assure you, I have a plan. And I'm saving you for last, then you'll get your duel, and I will destroy you."
"You're a coward, Amon! You talk about equality, but you bring reinforcements to a one-on-one duel!" said Masane looking at the masked man with a frown.
Amon turned his gaze to the girl.
"You know? I'm a little surprised that a non-bender would want to stand by our oppressors." said Amon.
"She's not an oppressor! She's my best friend! I won't let you hurt her!" exclaimed Masane.
Amon knelt down to meet his gaze at her height, causing her to be startled by how close she held the masked man.
"And tell me, what will you do to accomplish this? Unlike me and my followers, you don't have what it takes to oppose anyone." said Amon before standing up.
"What do you really want?" asked Korra.
"I'm sorry, I can't tell you, but I assure you I have a plan and I want you for the end. Then we will have our duel and I will destroy you." said Amon before giving Korra a blow on the shoulder that knocked her unconscious.
"KORRA!" shouted Masane at the top of her lungs before Amon did the same to her.
"I'm sorry, but I don't want anyone to find out about us. For the moment." said Amon.
"What do we do now, sir?" asked an equalist soldier.
"We retreat, as planned." said Amon.
"And what do we do with her?" asked another Equalist soldier pointing to Masane.
"I say we take her with us. Whether we can get her to join us or not, it could be a fatal blow to the Avatar given what she has said about her." said another Equalist soldier.
"Hmm. A good suggestion." said Amon.
What no one knew was that something else was going on, but not outside, but inside Masane.
Inside there was like a deep black void.
There seemed to be nothing in there.
Suddenly, however, a flash of red light could be seen for less than a second, but the next instant, that flash returned and kept increasing until it filled that black void.
"Very well. We'll do that. That way, this won't only be a message for what will happen to the benders who oppose us, but also a message to those non-benders who aren't able to see our message of equality." said Amon.
The two Equalist soldiers holding Masane nodded their heads before proceeding to move as they carried the girl, but then…
SLASH
SLASH
Everyone's eyes widened in horror as they saw the two equals scream in pain before falling dead to the ground with one having a deep gash in his chest while the other had it in his neck.
What really horrified them was that the cause was Masane, who was standing among the corpses, but looking something… different.
For on her right wrist, the bracelet she wore had turned into a bracelet with a sharp blade, with blood dripping on it, her hair had gained a couple of red locks and most disturbingly, on her face, adorned with yellow eyes with black sclera, was a very sinister smile.
Masane turned her gaze to Amon who was surprised by it.
"Well, Amon, you like to play dirty, don't you?" asked Masane in a different voice than before as she brought the blade to her mouth to lick the blood on it. "Then, I'll play dirty too."
Sensing her as a danger, the Equalist soldiers there, including the ones holding Korra, who dropped her to the ground when it all happened, went on the attack.
They tried to hit her with fists and kicks, but Masane was dodging all that with increased speed and when she could, she punched one in the face so hard it shattered his face and so on.
Then she gave another one such a powerful kick that a few cracking sounds could be heard.
After that, she began to use her blade to cut or stab them, leaving them with such deep cuts and wounds that they died immediately.
The most sinister thing was that in all that time, Masane had a smile on her face, as if she enjoyed the massacre she was performing.
Amon was in complete shock at what he saw.
He thought she was a simple non-bender who didn't know how to fight at all, but now she had undergone some sort of transformation that had turned her into… something, something that was draining her strength very easily.
In a short time, all the Equalist soldiers in the place were dead around Masane, who turned her gaze towards the last remaining one.
Amon, who, at that glance, felt something he thought he would never feel.
Fear.
"For the record, you started this. So don't blame me if you die." said Masane with a smile before lunging towards him.
Reacting quickly, Amon stepped to the side to avoid a deadly cut, but due to Masane's speed, he ended up getting a small cut on the side of his body, causing Amon to groan slightly as he covered the wound.
Masane turned her gaze towards him and just as she lunged for the attack once again, in a desperate act, Amon threw a can that expelled a green smoke.
Masane wasn't bothered by it and continued forward, but as she stepped through the smoke, which dissipated soon after, she didn't see Amon anywhere.
"Tsk. You really are a coward." began Masane before looking at Korra. "I wake up after so long and this is what I do. I hope that, when we get a chance to talk, you will thank me for this… Masane." said Masane before her transformation faded, causing her to fall unconscious to the ground next to Korra.
What she didn't know was that, while she was unconscious, Korra was having some sort of flashback that featured Sokka, Toph, Aang, a mystery man, and then she saw Aang launching into a fight with someone.
After that, Korra began to open her eyes.
At first, she could only see blurred, but she saw someone familiar running towards her.
"Aang?" asked Korra mistaking him for the previous Avatar, but it turned out to be Tenzin.
"Korra! Masane!" shouted Tenzin running towards them, but stopped for a moment to stare in horror at the dead Equalist soldiers on the scene. Despite the horrific scene, he had to concentrate on what was most important. Once he reached them, he knelt down beside them as he helped Korra sit up. "What happened?"
"Amon came… and ambushed me, but then Masane came and…" began Korra before her eyes widened as she remembered what happened next. "Masane!" exclaimed Korra before looking to the side to see her friend unconscious. "Masane, wake up! Wake up!" exclaimed Korra as she shook her.
Luckily, Masane answered with a groan before sitting up and rubbing her head.
"W-What happened?" asked Masane.
"Masane, are you okay?" asked Korra with concern.
"Yes, I think so." began Masane in confusion, as she couldn't remember anything. "More importantly, he wouldn't have…?" asked Masane worried that, while they were unconscious, Amon would do something terrible.
To check, Korra managed to create a flame in her hand before clenching her fist and extinguishing it.
"No. I still have my powers." said Korra.
"Ah, thank goodness." said Tenzin.
"So, are you really okay?" asked Masane.
Not being able to take it anymore, Korra burst into tears as she rushed to embrace Masane who didn't hesitate to hug her back.
"I was so terrified, I felt so helpless." said Korra shedding tears as she cried.
"It's okay. He's gone now." said Masane.
"Masane, I'm so sorry for what I said to you. I'm so sorry." said Korra pulling away from the hug. "You and Tenzin were right! I've been scared this whole time. I've never felt like this before and… I don't know what to do!" said Korra before hugging her again.
"Neither do I, but you won't be alone in this anymore. I'm with you. We're all with you." said Masane as she also cried.
"She's right. Admitting your fears is the first and most difficult step in overcoming them." said Tenzin putting his hand on Korra to try to comfort her.
Despite this, Tenzin kept wondering what had happened to cause such a scene.
Fortunately, Korra and Masane were so focused on their moment that they were oblivious to their surroundings, much to the airbender's relief, as he didn't think it was necessary for them to see it.
After making sure Korra and Masane left for the island so they could rest for the rest of the night, Tenzin stayed on the island with Tarrlok at his side while the police dealt with the crime scene.
"What the hell could have happened here?" asked Tarrlok.
"I don't know. From what I could get from the girls, when they fell unconscious they were alive and when they woke up, that's when I arrived and saw the scene in this state." said Tenzin.
"As if taking on the Equalists wasn't enough now it turns out we have a killer on the loose." said Tarrlok.
"Maybe, but we can't deny that if it wasn't for him or her, who knows what might have happened to the girls. For that I am grateful to him or her." said Tenzin.
"So am I, in part, but if he or she has attacked once, it is possible that he or she will attack again." said Tarrlok.
"Yes. I don't know who or what did it, but I hope he or she really is an ally of ours." said Tenzin.
"Whether he or she is an ally or not, I won't allow him/her to destroy the peace of Republic City with acts like this. If I ever find him/her, he or she will answer to justice." said Tarrlok.
Meanwhile, in one of the Equalist hideouts, the lieutenant was in a room waiting when suddenly, the door opened and to his horror, he saw Amon hunched over with a bloody hand holding his wounded side.
"Amon!" exclaimed the lieutenant before rushing to his leader's side to help him in, but he pushed him away.
"Take it easy. I'm fine. I just need to rest." said Amon before limping a little to a chair where he sat down with a groan.
"What happened? Was it the Avatar's doing?" asked the lieutenant angry at whoever did that to his leader.
"No. We met our objective with her. Whoever did this to me and killed everyone I took… it was her non-bender friend." said Amon.
"That girl? That's impossible! When I fought her, she was nothing but a novice in terms of fighting." said the lieutenant not believing that someone like that would hurt his leader.
"And so she is, but there is something about her that makes her… different from the other non-bender. I'm afraid she's hiding something none of us could have imagined." said Amon.
"So, if she's not a bender, what exactly is she?" asked the lieutenant.
"I'm not sure, but the proper term for her would be… Witch." said Amon.
AN: OMG. Was that what I think it was?
I have a suspicion that we all know what happened to Masane at that time.
The question is… How?
This is a mystery that we will solve throughout the story.
Or not.
Who knows.
