Chapter 10

Sota yawned loudly, his eyes drooping heavily as he lay across some mats that were on the ground in the gym. After their amazing comeback from their last match, the Fire Ferrets had secured themselves a spot in the tournament. That being said, Mako thought it was a good idea that they get Korra caught up on the rules and regulations as quickly as possible. Korra had excitedly agreed to it.

At the moment, though, she was definitely regretting that decision.

The medicine ball few threw the air and into Korra's arms, pushing her back as she caught it. Korra glared at her teammates, her crankiness showing.

"What's the big idea, making me train this early in the morning?" she complained. "The morning is evil…"

"What's the big idea of dragging me out of bed this early in the morning?" Sota complained to his sister. "Growing boy needs his rest, you know. Plus, I'm not even on the team!"

"Hey, you're just as much a part of this as I am, so you're gonna suffer just like I am," she replied as she threw the ball to Bolin.

"We're the rookies, so we get the worst time slot in the gym," he said, interrupting the squabbling siblings as he caught the ball before tossing it to his brother.

"And you're the rookiest of us all," Mako said with no sympathy. "We gotta get you up to speed if we wanna survive in the tournament. Deal with it!" He tossed the ball forcefully toward her, and though Korra was able to catch it with ease, she was not happy with how he talked to her.

"You deal with it!" she shot back, tossing the ball with extra force. Mako, being caught off guard, was not prepared for the force that was behind the medicine ball, tumbling across the gym floor. Sota snickered at the firebender as he got to his feet and walked over to his smirking sister. The sound of the gym door opening caught their attention as a well dressed man made his way over to them.

"There're my little hard working street urchins," he said as Mako got to his feet and stood next to his teammates. Sota looked at the man in curiosity, wondering if the Ferret brothers knew this man because he knew for a fact that he and Korra didn't. He also found it upsetting that he referred to them all as street urchins, but figured it was best left unmentioned.

The man reached out, touching Korra's shoulder as he said, "It's an honor to finally meet you, Avatar." Looking down, he patted Sota on the head, messing up his hair. "And who might this little scamp be?"

"Sota, my younger brother," she replied uneasily, while the boy in question fixed his hair back into place, a glare centered on the man. "And you are?"

"Butakha," he said shamelessly as he tipped his hat to them. "I run this whole probending shebang."

Korra rolled her eyes and sauntered off, annoyed at all the "excitement" she's had to endure this early in the day. Sota stayed behind with Mako and Bolin to see what this guy was here about and maybe see if you knew anything about the mysterious girls, Mai-Ling and Jun that claimed to frequent the arena. Butakha paid them no mind as his dug into his jacket pocket and fished out some money that he handed off to Mako.

"Here's your winnings from the last match," he said. Mako held a cheesy grin, preparing to put the money away in his pocket, but was stopped as Butakha wagged a finger at him. "Not so fast." The man swiftly snatched a few yuans from the top of the pile. "First, you owe me for the Avatar's new gear."

Sota looked to his sister who looked sheepish at the mention of her gear that they had to get her since Hasook's was obviously too big to fit her.

"Gym and equipment rentals, for last month," he continued to list off, taking more money off the stack. "Rent on your apartment-and a personal loan for groceries."

As Mako looked at his now empty hand, he couldn't help looking at his younger brother in displeasure. Bolin, seeing his brother's look, shrugged, nearly knocking Pabu off his shoulder.

"What? I'm a growing boy," he protested with a pat of his stomach.

"Sounds like you're more of a glutton, to me," Sota said with a grin before turning to the fancy man. "So you own the arena, right?"

"I do," he nodded.

"Then maybe you can help me. I'm looking for a couple of girls who frequent the arena, and-"

"Maybe you should be looking for them on a playground, kid," Mako said in annoyance. Sota gave him a nasty look, preparing a rebuttal, but was cut off by Butakha.

"Sorry, kid, but there are way too many people who come to the arena for me to know who these girls are," he said with a shake of his head. "People come from all across the United Republic to see probending at its finest. How do you expect me to know every one of them?"

"I'm not an idiot; I know it'd be impossible," Sota replied. "But these two are different. I know that they live in the city and come here all the time. One of them even claims to know the arena inside and out because she's climbed all over it, and they have a personal skybox here. Their names are Mai-Ling and Jun, and-"

"Save it, kid. I don't know'em," he said, turning away from a very frustrated Sota and back to Mako and Bolin. "Now, back to business. The Fire Ferrets need to aunty-up 30,000 yuans for the championship pot."

"30,000 yuans!" Bolin shouted. Sota was just as surprised, his mouth hanging open in shock.

"Sorry kids," Butahka said sympathetically. "You got til the end of the week to come up with the dough, or else…you're out of the tournament."

Korra walked back over to the boys, standing behind her little brother who looked just as unhappy as Bolin with their predicament. Butahka walked out of the gym, leaving them to talk about what they were gonna do.

"You wouldn't happen to a secret Avatar bank account overflowing with gold, would you?" Bolin asked her.

"I got nothing," Korra said as she pulled out her very clearly empty pockets. The three looked to Sota who raised an eyebrow at them.

"Don't look at me. I got, like, 10 yuans to my name that I got from Jinora, and I left it at home," the young waterbender said.

"We've never really needed money," Korra continued. "I've always had people taking care of me, and Sota's just a kid, so my parents pretty much took care of that."

"Then I wouldn't say you have nothing," Mako said bitterly as he turned away and picked up the medicine ball. Korra's happy demeanor quickly deflated at his tone. Sota, on the other hand, had just about had it with Mako's attitude.

"Look, it's not her fault that she's the Avatar. She didn't ask for it or to be taken care of or any of the responsibility or backlash that comes with it," Sota said heatedly. "Maybe if you could get over your stupid cool guy attitude, you could see that for yourself."

"Whatever," Mako replied, not even looking at him as he put some of the equipment away, pissing Sota off even more. Korra grabbed his shoulder, causing him to look at her as she shook her head. She understood why he was upset; he hadn't exactly had an easy life, and though it wasn't her fault, she still felt responsible for all the torment that he had to endure because of it. Sota, though still very much upset, stopped the next part of his rant while Korra turned to Bolin.

"Sorry about that. Sota gets a bit defensive when it comes to the whole Avatar thing," Korra apologized to her friend. "And sorry about before, I didn't mean-"

"No, it's alright," Bolin assured them, knowing that they meant no harm in what they said. "It's just…ever since we lost our parents we've been on our own."

Korra instantly felt a familiar pain as she glanced down at her brother who, though feeling somewhat sympathetic about their situation, was still miffed with Mako. Korra could recall the very day she had found Sota, out in the snowstorm, all alone and cold, crying his eyes out. That was nothing compared to how she felt when her parents had finally told her what had actually happened to Sota's real parents. The pit that grew in her stomach that day was immeasurable.

Korra could almost not believe that it was true, but deep down, she did. She knew it was completely and utterly true. She was devastated, and could only imagine how Sota would feel. Her parents told her that they would wait until he was older, and could handle the news of him being adopted better before they told him, and Korra instantly agreed, not wanting to hurt her little brother. So to hear that her friends had gone through very much the same thing, hurt her deeply.

"I'm so sorry," she said sincerely. "I didn't know."

"So, anyway," Mako interrupted as he zipped up his gym bag, clearly uncomfortable with the topic. "How're we gonna come up with the money?"

"Oh, oh! I got it!" Bolin cried out. "I've been training Pabu to do circus tricks! Now, people, would pay good money to see that."

Sota looked at Bolin in disbelief. "You honestly think you could get 30,000 yuans from a fire ferret circus act?"

"Sure! Pabu's great! He could pull in the money easily!"

"Come on, Bolin," Mako said, deflating his brother's good mood. "We need serious ideas."

"I was serious…" he said dejectedly.

"Don't worry about it. I'll figure something out; I always do." Everyone watched as Mako walked away, Sota silently wishing he could pull out the water from his pouch and whip Mako with it.

"Your brother's a jerk," Sota said to Bolin. "Even if we can't get all the money, every little bit counts. If you want, I'll help you."

"Thanks, Sota, I appreciate the encouragement," Bolin said, a new look of determination on his face. "We'll prove Mako wrong."

"Well, I wish you both good luck with that," Korra said as she too packed up. "I gotta get back to the temple and practice my airbending. Sota, be back by dinner."

Sota nodded as he watched his sister, a feeling of determination growing inside of him as well. Mako thought he was so cool? Well they were gonna show him. They were gonna get plenty of yuans and show Mako.

Sota was suddenly starting to regret this decision. They had been out here for hours now, and hadn't made more than a single yuan. And to be honest, he was surprised that they had even made that one.

Bolin was sitting in front of the statue of Firelord Zuko, dressed in a very ridiculous circus performer's outfit as well as a fake mustache that wasn't going to fool anyone. Pabu was dressed in a special little outfit that Bolin had bought for him and had just walked across a tiny platform on his front paws before flipping onto the ground and landing on his front right one. Apparently someone thought it was at least entertaining enough to earn at least one gold coin because that was all that they had gotten from it, even when Bolin held it out and shook it.

"One yuan down, 29,999 to go," Bolin said as he looked at the coin resting in the cup.

"Yeah, and it only took us half the morning to get it," Sota said sarcastically as he leaned against the pillar. A screech caught both their attention as a Satomobile pulled up in front of them. Bolin and Sota looked at it curiously as the window came down.

"Hey, Bolin, is that you?" the man asked as he leaned out the window.

"You know this guy?" Sota asked Bolin, glancing sideways toward him, but still kept facing forward so as not to let this guy out of his sight. He had a bad feeling about him, and was sure that whatever he wanted wasn't good. Must have been the fancy clothes. Their seemed to be a lot of fancy dressed men giving him weird vibes today.

"Uh…yeah, sort of," Bolin said uneasily before turning back to the man. "Hey there, Shady Shin…"

"His name's Shady Shin? That doesn't strike you as bad news? Like at all? Even a little?" Sota whispered.

As Shady Shin got out of his Satomobile, Sota was slightly disturbed to see that he was dressed in a fancy Water Tribe colored suit. He was even more disturbed by the fact he was right about the vibe coming off this guy, but kept his mouth shut; if there was one thing he had learned since he got to the city, it was not to mess with people who gave you a bad vibe. And this guy definitely gave him a bad vibe.

"Heard you're a big time probending player now," Shady Shin said as he walked up to them, hands in his pockets. "Not bad."

"Uh, thanks," Bolin said bashfully.

"Who's your friend?"

"Name's Sota. Brother to the Avatar," he said, trying to make himself sound more intimidating.

"Nice to meet ya, kid. Bet you're a pretty good bender, huh?"

"You could say that."

"So listen; I got an offer for ya, Bolin," he said, pouring on his snake like charm. "Lightning Bolt Zolt is looking to hire some extra muscle."

"Uh, I don't know, Shin," Bolin said. "Mako told me to stay away from the Triple Threats…"

"Wait, the Triple Threats? As in those Triad jerks that my sister tossed around when we got here?" Sota said, his anger raising as he looked at Bolin. "Why would you ever hand out with them!?"

"It's a long story, Sota, and I promise you, it's not what you think," Bolin said quickly, shaking his hands in protest. "Just, trust me, ok?"

"Yeah, kid, trust him," Shin said with a grin that only creped Sota out even more. "And come on, Bolin. Your brother ain't the boss of you. It's just a little security work. Nothing crooked." Digging in his jacket, Shin pulled out a bundle of cash, throwing it into the cup in Bolin's lap.

The young man gapped at the cash, not believing what he was seeing. Sota was just as awestruck by the money, never having seen so much in one place before in his entire life. How could a guy like this have money like that?

Shin pulled out another stack identical to the last one, and held it up in front of them. The two boys' eyes followed it as he waved it in front of them, another grin coming to his face.

"And, if your little friend here helps, I'll pay you double," Shin said. "I'm sure that the brother of the Avatar would be able to handle something simple like this. You two game?"

Jinora and Ikki whipped their hands around, gathering wind above their heads as Korra stood at the opposite end of the spinning doors, waiting for them to begin spinning. Thrusting their arms to the side, the wind shot out and began to spin the doors in quick succession.

Korra moved swiftly through them, her body moving as if on autopilot. Her arms whipped around her body and above her head as she spun effortlessly with the flow of the wind.

"Good, light on your feet!" Jinora called. Korra continued to focus, finishing with one final spin as she emerged on the other side in front of them. Catching her breath, Korra paid no attention to the two girls as they looked over her shoulder to see a handsome boy coming up the stairs.

"Ooo, he's cute," she said, Ikki running up next to her sister. "Korra, is that the handsome firebender boy that drives you crazy?"

Korra looked at her in confusion, before looking over her shoulder to see Mako walking toward her. A look of mortification came to her face as she looked back at them.

"Does he drive you crazy in a bad way? Or does he drive you crazy like you like him?" Ikki teased. Korra looked at them in terror, praying to the spirits that Mako hadn't heard her, and quickly slammed her foot on the ground, shooting the two giggling airbender girls into the sky and away from her before turning to her teammate.

"Oh, hey, Mako," she said awkwardly.

"You seen Bolin?" he asked rudely.

"Nice to see you too," she replied, before a look of thought came to her face. "And no, I haven't seen him or Sota since practice." Worry crept into Korra as she looked at the firebender. "Think something's wrong?"

"I don't know," Mako said, looking off into the woods. "Bolin has a knack for getting into stupid situations. And if that's the case, he may have dragged Sota into it."

"Sota's in trouble?" Jinora asked in worry.

"No, I'm sure that he's perfectly fine. Sota's not normally one to do something dumb like that, but he does have his moments," Korra replied, she too now in deep thought. She knew that Sota wasn't one to get himself into trouble; quite the opposite actually since he was usually the one trying to keep her out of trouble. The thought of him being in trouble out in the city did not sit well with her, but she couldn't let Jinora see that she was worried or else it would only upset the little airbender further.

"I'd better go find them. See ya later," Mako said, turning to leave.

"Wait," Korra called, running after him. "I'm coming too to help you look for them."

"Nah, I got it."

Grabbing his arm, Korra smirked. "Hey, cool guy, letting me help you. Besides, my little brother is part of this too. We can take Naga."

"Who's Naga?"

"My best friend," Korra said proudly. "And a great tracker."

Sota stood outside in the alley near the hideout, trying desperately to ignore the sounds of what was going on around him, but that seemed impossible. It was bad enough that he knew that what he was going on was probably illegal, but then to actually be considered a part of it only made him feel worse. He could just imagine the disappointment on his parents' faces, not to mention the angry one on his sister's face. Thankfully, Bolin had agreed that they wouldn't tell their older siblings where they had truthfully acquired the money. Sota didn't feel right about that either, but knew that Korra would have his head if she knew he was working with the Triple Threat Triads.

Speaking of Bolin, he looked just as uncomfortable being here, especially given that he was actually known by many of the gangsters present. Apparently, he and Mako used to run numbers for them. This made Sota feel slightly better knowing that they weren't really criminals, but that didn't mean he felt any better about being here.

Just remember, you're doing this for Korra, he chanted in his head for the thousandth time since they'd arrived. He hand constantly flipped the lid of his water pouch anxiously, his nerves on edge. Apparently, this "security work", had a lot more to it then what Shady Shin had told them, not that Sota was surprised. From what he had picked up, there were at least three other gangs that were trying to steal their territory, and the Triple Threats were trying to protect their turf. Sota hadn't signed up for this, but Bolin had assured him that everything would be ok.

The sound of tires screeching made him jump as a truck whipped around the corner and onto the street before them. Sota could feel his heart beating furiously against his chest as everyone prepared for the fight. Bolin shifted his stance, bringing up two boulders beside him, while Sota pulled the water from his pouch and shifted his stance.

As the truck came to a stop, the sound of more engines caught their attention as five motorized bikes whipped around the corner, masked people sitting on them. Sota blinked in confusion as he looked at them. They were all wearing dark suits and mask, though the eyes of the masked glowed an eerie greenish yellow, and on the forehead was a large red dot that instantly reminded him of that Amon guy he'd seen posters of.

The back door to the truck opened up, more people in masks jumping out and swinging boas in their hands. The ones on the motorcycles jumped off, tossing canisters on the ground which instantly filled the small space with smoke, blinding everyone.

Sota stumbled backwards as the sounds of fighting erupted around him, the ground rumbling under his feet. A shout to his left startled him as Bolin came into view for one quick moment, a masked man slipping under him and jabbing him in the back. Sota watched as the pro earthbender dropped to the ground unceremoniously. Shifting his stance, he sent a whip of water at the man, grabbing him around the waist while his back was turned. Once he had the man in his grasp, Sota began to pull with all his might, but yelped as a jab hit him from the side. His left arm instantly went dead, causing him to drop the water and the man in his grasp.

Nearby on the ground, Bolin cried out to his young friend, trying to warn him of the other chi-blocker that had just taken him down, but it was too late as the man was already closing in on Sota, now that he could only use one hand to waterbend.

Turning to his left, he came face to face with a masked woman who was swinging at him again. Sota rolled out of the way just in time to avoid being him, but was once again jabbed as the man from before got him from behind, hitting him in the back from the bottom of his spine to the back of his neck. Sota felt his legs give out, bringing him to his knees, the rest of his body hanging limply. The woman walked up to him, grabbing him under the chin and forcing him to look into her glowing eyes before she viciously punched him in the face, knocking him out cold.

Bolin watched as they tied Sota up, guilt pulsing through him as he watched the young boy's limp body get tossed into the back of the truck. A chi-blocker came up behind him, tying his hands behind his back as well before pulling him to his feet. His eyes darted around the alley, the smoke finally clear, and instantly landed on his pet fire ferret.

"Run, Pabu!" he shouted. "Got find Mako!" His mouth was soon gagged by a bandana before being pushed toward the truck. Bolin could only hope that Pabu would bring his brother here to save them, for both his and Sota's sake.

"Your best friend is a…polar bear dog," Mako said, not the least bit surprised. "Somehow, that makes perfect sense."

"I'll take that as a complement, city boy," Korra said jokingly as Naga walked down the street following their brothers' scents. They soon found themselves in front of the same statue of Lord Zuko that Bolin and Sota had been at that afternoon. The small plaza was crowded with various people, young and old, but there was no sign of their brothers anywhere.

"Well…this is his usual hangout," Mako said, hopping off of Naga's back. Korra followed suit and followed him as he walked over to a group of kids playing near a light pole. There laughter echoed around the square, though one boy in particular stood out from the rest as he hung back from them, and Korra made a mental comparison of him to a monkey but made sure not to voice this opinion.

"You guys seen my brother around here today?" Mako asked.

"Perhaps," the monkey boy replied, walking up to them and holding his hand out as he said, "My memories a little…foggy. Maybe you can help, clear it up?"

"You're good, Skoochy," Mako conceded, scratching his head and pulling out a bill that he placed in the boy's hand. Korra gapped at his, shocked that this kid had not only just bribed them for the information, but that Mako had actually caved and paid him for it. "A real pro."

"Yeah, I seen him."

"When?"

"Bout noon."

"What was he doing?"

"He was hanging around with some Water Tribe kid. They were performing some kinda, monkey rat circus. And then…" he trailed off, holding his hand out. Mako rolled his eyes, Korra doing the same, but pulled out another bill that he placed in his hand.

"And then what? Why'd they leave?"

Skoochy looked around before leaning in and whispering behind his hand. "Shady Shin showed up and flashed some serious cash. Bolin and that kid took off with him in his hot rod. The Triple Threats, The Red Monsoons, The Agni Kais; all the triads are muscling up for something real big. Now that's all you getting out of me."

Skoochy ran off, waving his friends after him. The others quickly chased after him leaving Mako and Korra to mull over the information that they had just received.

"What's he talking about?" Korra asked in worry.

"Sounds like there's a turf war brewing," Mako said hauntingly. "And our brothers are about to get caught right in the middle of it."

Korra's eye grew wide as she the thought of Sota getting caught up in something like this made her stomach twist into knots. The two benders ran back onto Naga, jumping onto her back as Korra took the reins, and taking off at full speed.

"So where are we headed?" she asked, trying to keep her voice even.

"The Triple Threat Triad's headquarters. Hopefully they're still there and nothing's gone down yet," Mako said, a similar feeling of worry, as well as anger about his brother's stupidity, coursing through his body.

"Triple Threat Triad's? I beat up some of those yahoos when Sota and I got into town," Korra said. "Why would Bolin and Sota get tangled up with-" she was cut short as Naga took a swift turn, chasing after something. As the small creature turned the corner and ran up a light pole, Korra and Mako realized that it was Pabu that Naga was chasing.

"That's Pabu!" Mako shouted.

"No, Naga!" Korra said, reining in her polar bear dog. "Pabu's a friend, not a snack."

Pabu and Naga sniffed each other, touching noses for a second, before the small ferret jumped off the light pole, running up his new friend's body and securing himself around Mako's neck.

"We gotta hurry," the firebender said. He knew that if Pabu was here without Bolin, then that means that Bolin was probably in trouble.

Korra and Mako soon made their way to the hideout, finding the outside streets completely abandoned. Mako knew this wasn't normal protocol; the triads always had at least a few guards standing out in the front of the building to guard it. This put him even more on edge as they walked up to the entrance.

"Something's not right," he said. "There're usually thugs posted out front. We'd better be cautious."

Korra ignored his warning, walking up to the doors and kicking them in. She was in no mood for games, and needed to find her little brother as soon as possible, and she wasn't gonna let anyone stand in her way of finding him. Walking in, they were surprised to find the entire place completely empty. Mako walked in, Naga and Pabu with him as Korra looked around, annoyed with all of this.

"Bolin? Bolin? You in here?" Mako called.

"Sota?" Korra cried out. The sound of an engine startled them as they looked to the back entrance to the building. The two ran to it, kicking it open to find themselves in an alley way. The masked chi-blockers from before revved the engines of their bikes as the truck drove off, bouncing down the road with the door open.

Bolin looked out to see his brother and friend standing in the alley, however, his sight was cut off as a chi-blocked pulled the doors shut. Korra gasped as she saw a limp figure on the ground of truck bed that she instantly recognized as her little brother. Her blood instantly boiled as she and Mako took off after them.

"Bolin!"

"Sota!"

The chi-blockers on the bikes threw down canisters of green smoke that cut off their view before taking off out of the alleyway. Korra and Mako coughed as they moved out of the smoke to find the alley empty.

"Naga, come!" Korra called out. The polar bear dog barreled down the road, allowing them to jump on her back and took off after the truck.

The truck sped away with the bikers behind it, turning around corners in an attempt to lose them. Mako leaned over, throwing balls of fire at the chi-blockers who swerved on their bikes to avoid the fiery blast. They were quick, Korra admitted, but she wasn't about to let them get away. Dropping the reins, she shifted her hands, bending earth up behind them. The ground snaked and cracked under a chi-blocker, launching him into the air. The biker shifted in the air before landing gracefully back on the ground and speeding off as if he'd never been sent flying.

As they came into an open, empty plaza, two chi-blockers slowed down, one spinning and throwing a boa at Naga's feet. The large polar bear dog's ankles were wrapped and caught, tripping her and sending Korra and Mako flying off of her. The two benders hit the ground roughly, sliding across it.

The chi-blockers back flipped across the ground and landed in front of them as Mako and Korra got to their feet. Lighting their fist a blazed with fire, the probenders began to try to defend themselves.

The female chi-blocker jumped over Korra's fire blast, landing in front of her. Korra shot another blast upward, but the chi-blocker dipped under her arm, knocking them away with ease. Korra jumped up and brought a fiery foot down toward her, but again she was evaded. Kicking up more fire, Korra's leg was caught and twirled around by her opponent, who then took the opportunity to jab up the side of Korra's right arm.

Korra groaned as her arm went dead at her side, but stayed determined as she tried to fight her off with one hand. She shot off more fire, even trying to sweep her with a wave of fire from her foot before jumping into the air and shooting it at her, but never once hit. She fired again, throwing a spin with a fiery arc at the masked woman.

Mako wasn't doing much better as he tried to evade the man he was fighting, who was definitely more aggressive then his female counterpart. Mako let out a loud groan as his right arm went limp, wincing at the feeling of his chi being blocked. He tried one last time to sling fire at his opponent, but it was useless. The chi-blocker ducked under him, sweeping around the back and jabbing him up the left side.

Korra groaned as she was hit in the same spots, shutting off her bending. The chi-blockers wasted no time to knocking their defenseless opponents to the ground. Naga growled before she began to bite at her restraints.

Korra and Mako looked on in fear as the chi-blockers twirled their boas, preparing to capture two more victims, but before they could, they stopped as an angry polar bear dog charged at them, roaring in rage. Pabu hopped off of Naga and shrieked at them.

Knowing that they were outmatched, the chi-blockers jumped into the air, the male throwing another smoke grenade to cover them. The sound of engines could be heard once more as they drove out of the smoke and away from the Avatar and the her friend.

Korra and Mako breathed sighs of relief as they pulled themselves up. Naga nudged her master, helping her to her feet. Korra instantly knew something was wrong as she looked at her hands. Shifting, she tried to firebend, only to find that she could not only not produce it, but not feel it either.

"I can't bend," she cried out, trying once more only to have the same results. "I can't bend!"

"Calm down, it'll wear off," Mako assured her, now back on his feet as well. "Those guys were chi-blockers. They're Amon's henchmen."

"Amon? That anti-bending guy with the mask?"

"Yeah. He's the leader of the Equalists."

"What do they want with the Triple Threats?" Korra asked as she rubbed her sore arm.

"Whatever it is, it can't be good," Mako said, looking down the empty alleyway before pinching the bridge of his nose. "I can't believe Bolin got himself into this mess."

"And Sota's with him," Korra said sadly, before her fiery spirit kicked back into gear. Placing a hand on his shoulder, Korra assured him, "Mako, we are going to save our brothers. I promise you that."

Mako looked at her uncertainly for a moment, but put a mask of determination on his face. Korra didn't blame him. It sounded bad even to her. But she wouldn't rest until she found Sota. Even if it took all night.

To be continued…