The lies and truth

Korra was captured by Tarrlok as he put her inside a metal box beneath his mansion somewhere far from Republic City. Sure, she tried to fight a bit, but to no avail, as Tarlok was using bloodbending to control her body like a puppet. With her imprisoned, he quickly called the police and left a trail of evidence that it was the Equalist that attacked.

The next morning Tenzin was awake as he received a phone call that the Avatar was missing. As he went straight towards city hall, what he got was the damages inside city hall, and Tarlook, who was found injured, was being healed by a healer while he explained the Equalist attack and captured Avatar Korra.

Meanwhile, Lin Bei Fong heard about what happened on the radio and decided she had enough rest and time for action; only this time she is no longer chief of police. The first thing she did was rescue her kids from jail and confront the air nomad.

He had been on the phone when Lin and Korra's friends walked through the door, taking him completely by surprise. "I have to go. Call me the minute you find anything." He hung up the phone and stood up, seeing his ex and the kids. "Lin? Wh-wh-what are you? You should be in the hospital! And you three!" "You should be in prison!"

"Lin Bei Fong got us out," Asami told him.

"And I figured you could use our help finding Korra. Lin said in a flat tone. She was wearing her police armor with a trench coat over it without a badge.

"Do you have any leads?" Mako asked the Air Nomad.

"I've been on the phone all morning, but nothing yet," Tenzin already tried.

"We need Naga! She can track Korra and where Korra is.

"I'm afraid her polar bear dog is missing as well; not only that, Minato is also missing."

"It makes sense that he would try to find her first," Mako said, irritated.

Mako's tone perplexes and confuses Bolin and Asami, who exchange glances.

"Then where do we start?" Bolin asked.

"My guess is that the Equalists are hiding underground in the maze of tunnels beneath the city," Lin said.

"Underground…just like my father's secret factory. Figures," Asami said darkly whilst staring at the floor. "Just how much did they share?" she asked herself.

"Yeah! Yeah, that makes sense!" Bolin agreed, remembering when he got kidnapped alongside the majority of the Triple Threat Triad. "When those chi-blockers had me in their truck, it sounded like we drove through a tunnel!"

"I know where to start looking!" Mako declared. "Come on!"

He, Bolin, and Asami raced out of the room, leading the adults there alone. "Wherever Amon is keeping Korra, I bet that's where my officers are too," Lin said to Tenzin.

"Let's bring them all home, Lin," Tenzin reassured the metal bender.

XXX

While everyone was searching to find the Avatar. Korra, knowing she couldn't get out, decided to follow Tenzin in advance to mediate, allowing her to see Ang's vision of the past. It was during the time Ang was still the Avatar and Team Avatar was still a team. The vision showed Ang and Toph they were apprehending a man. In the restaurant, and he didn't resist.

Korra opened her eyes. "Whoa," she breathed out before looking up at the box's ceiling. "I've finally connected with you, Aang. But what are you trying to tell me?" She sighed again. "I should have learned how to compress my fire like Minato taught me."

The persona user showed her his powerful fire spell that could melt metal, and she thought if she compressed her firebending to one point, like a finger, she could use it to cut metal easily with enough practice.

She just sighed again, trying to stay positive. It can be said that this is the first time both of them have separated. Minato was always by her side, and now she missed the banter and arguments they always had. It was quiet, and she didn't like it.

The thought of growing up without someone beside her was terrifying; to be all alone, with no friends growing up. She remembers how the kids her age reacted when she suddenly could shoot fire, and their reaction was awe and fear.

They started to distance themselves from her, and then all of a sudden she was forced to live in isolation, guarded by the White Lotus. Thinking about it won't do as she continues meditating. There must be answers from Ang's past.

XXX

They took Tenzin's sky bison to where Mako and Korra had first encountered chi-blockers. It looked a little different in daylight and covered in snow, but that didn't matter to Mako. "The truck we took off this alley," he told everyone, pointing to the alley in question.

They started down it, only to quickly find that it led to a four-way intersection. "Which way?" asked Asami.

"Hmm. This way kinda... smells familiar," Bolin said, looking straight ahead and sniffing the air.

Lin simply raised her foot, closed her eyes, and slammed it into the ground. Everyone stayed still as she felt the vibrations of the surrounding ground. "There's a tunnel nearby," she declared, opening her eyes and pointing to their left.

They went down that alley to a large sewer ditch that had metal grates at the end. "There!" cried Mako, looking at the grate with the tracks in front of it.

They all went down into the ditch, and Lin inspected the tracks. "Motorcycle tracks."

"Korra has to be in there somewhere," like they could get lost in there.

Lin bent the grate open. "Come on," said all, heading into the tunnel with them by her side. The tunnel was dark; Mako bent a flame in his hand to serve as a light source.

They kept walking until they came to a junction of tunnels. Five separate tunnels went in different directions, and darkness prevented them from seeing any further. "Let's go this way," Mako said, moving towards the center tunnel.

"And what if Korra or Minato are not down there?" Asami asked him.

"Then we pick another tunnel until we find her!" He moved forward, not caring if his action made Asami look hurt.

As they went down the tunnel, going with the curve of it, Asami fell to the back of the group alongside Bolin. "Hey, is Mako alright?" "He seems really worried about Korra."

"Yeah, we all are!"

"I know, but he's your brother. Do you think that he likes Korra as more than just a friend?"

He laughed awkwardly. "W-What? No! That's just gossip. Where did you hear that? Crazy talk is coming out of your mouth right now," he told her with a finger pointing at her. She didn't buy, and he found that he couldn't hold her gaze, so he turned his eyes away.

"What do you know, Bolin? Come on, spill it."

"Nothing!" He instantly protested. "I mean, there was this one time during the memorial tournament when Mako and Korra kissed, but—"

"They kissed?" She turned her head to look at Mako's back.

"Believe me, I was upset too, but I'm over it; I don't think it meant anything."

"I doubt that. Also, you've seen how he acted towards Minato; it's like Mako saw him as a threat".

Bolin knew what Asami meant when he saw the sign. "Yeah, I already sensed it after the whole persona thing." Bolin had already seen how his brother would act towards Minato; there was even one time he mentioned he didn't like him being near Korra.

The group stopped when they heard the sound of a motorcycle getting louder. The others heard it too, coming from behind them. When they turned to look, they saw a light further down the tunnel getting brighter. "Hide!" Lin ordered everyone.

They all ran to the side and hid behind one of the support pillars against the wall, two Equalist motorcycles driving fast towards them. The Equalists veered off to their left. A part of the tunnel wall flapped upwards to reveal a new tunnel, which they promptly disappeared into.

Once the section came down, the rescuers went over to it immediately. Lin closed her eyes and placed her hand on it, feeling through the vibrations to find the opening mechanism. Once she found it, she bent it to open the wall. It did, and they all went further in.

What they found looked to be some kind of supply station for the Equalists. There were various kinds of supplies there, ranging from simple things, like food and clothing, to trucks and motorcycles.

There were more tunnels at the station. Metal rails went into the various tunnels, and they all originated from a central point in the station. But there was one question remaining. "What are the rails for?" Bolin asked.

"They look like something my dad came up with," Asami told him quietly. "I could've sworn they were part of a plan for an underground train system."

"Why would you want an underground train system?"

"I once asked Minato for his opinion. Minato said that a train station would help Republic City during rush hour time as citizens would be able to travel faster to any location easily during rush hour. It's both cheaper and faster, especially for children going to school."

Mako voiced his irritation. "Of course it's always about him."

It wasn't just Bolin and Asami who noticed the firebender's reaction; even Tenzin and Lin heard his tone that he didn't like the person user.

Lin thought. "I guess it would be so that mobility and space wouldn't be a problem."

Meanwhile, an Equalist was placing supplies on a tram-like car while one waited for him to finish onboard and another stood before it with a clipboard in his hands. "That tram goes to training camp." One went for the controls, and the tram sped away into the tunnel.

Out of another tunnel came another tram with only one Equalist on board. "Everything was delivered to the prison, sir." The two of them walked off, leaving the tram just sitting there.

The rescuers had perked up their ears at the sound of the word "Prison. That's where they must be holding Korra and Arashi," Tenzin declared quietly.

"We need to get down that tunnel," Lin said.

"Then let's not look a gift ostrich horse in the mouth."

"If we take the tram, they'll see us coming," Asami objected.

"No, they won't," Lin told her. She signaled the group to move out to the tram. They boarded it quickly, and Asami manned the controls. The tram started down the rail into the tunnel, moving quite fast.

It was only a minute later that Tenzin said, "Alright, everyone hang on." Without another word, he bent the air to carry them off the tram and onto the tunnel ground, letting the tram go on without them.

They followed close enough to see the tram stopping at the end of the tunnel and the two Equalists looking over it. "It's empty!"

"Yeah, I can see that," the other replied sarcastically.

"Does it look like I know?" the first one replied, returning the sarcasm.

Before there was a reply, Lin bent her cables at them, dragged them out of the tunnel, and into the stop. She tied them up and threw them against the wall. "You two, keep an eye on them," she told Bolin and Asami as she ascended the nearby staircase, close to Mako. Again, she struck the earth with her foot to sense the vibrations of the area. "My officers are inside," she declared as she opened her eyes.

"What about Korra?" Mako asked

"I don't see them yet." She, along with the Firebender, Tenzin, and Yue, climbed the rest of the stairs and walked into the prison. It was unnerving to see so many prison cells stretched out before them as they walked.

As they turned the corner, they saw two Equalists at the same time the Equalists saw them. The masked men quickly drew bola ropes, , and promptly threw them. Tenzin bent the air to repel the bolas, sending them back to their owners and knocking them down against the far wall.

Lin peer into a prison cell, where her metalbending officers are being kept. She metalbends the bars apart and walks in. "Chief Beifong?"

"I'm too late. That monster already took your bending, didn't he?" The officer nods his head. Lin looks down sadly. "I'm so sorry… Come on, let's get you out of here." All the officers get up and follow Lin out of the cell.

While Lin walked past them, Mako ran up to one of them, grabbed an Equalist by the shoulders, slammed him against the wall, and ripped off his mask. "Avatar Korra, where are you keeping her?" he demanded.

Everyone just looked shocked at Mako action.

"I'll ask you one last time," he said before slamming the guy higher up on the wall, pulling a fist back and bending fire onto. "Where are they?"

"We don't have the Avatar or the spirit user," the Equalist groaned out. "And the Equalists didn't attack City Hall. Tarrlok's lying."

"What?" he demanded, letting him fall back down so his feet could touch the ground.

Lin came back with her officers in tow. The fact that they were alive and had a defeated look in their eyes must've meant that Amon had already gotten to them. "I scanned the entire prison, Neither Korra nor Minato is here." Lin told them.

Mako let go of the Equalist and put the fire out. "Why would Tarrlok make up a story about being attacked?"

Tenzin came to the important conclusion first. "Because he has Korra, he fooled us all!"

A siren began to wail, and a red light began flashing, signaling everyone that they'd been found out. They ran out of the prison and back to the tram, where Asami was already manning the controls. "Let's go, people!" Bolin shouted at them as they came down the stairs, urging them on.

They all quickly climbed aboard the tram, and it began zipping down the rails the way they came. Mako and Bolin saw a light fast approaching from behind them. It was another tram filled with chi-blockers intent on boarding them.

Bolin raised his arms and bent the walls to break and collapse, halting their pursuers. "Try to chi-block that, fools!"

"We've got more company!" Lin shouted from the front, where she was seeing the lieutenant waiting with chi-blockers and mecha-tanks. Looking up at the railing overhead, she bent it to split apart and angle the side they were on upwards to the ceiling. "Hang on!" As the tram flew up to the ceiling, she bent a hole in it large enough for the tram car to fly through.

They sailed through the air in the upper tunnel for a few seconds before landing on the floor with a hard bump, skidding the last few feet. When it stopped, they stepped off, a little dazed but alive. Now came the hard part: getting the truth out of Tarrlok.

XXX

Korra's vision was getting more vivid as they were in the courtroom as they were discussing Yakoine and the eyewitness is that he was a bloodbender. That he was using such bending to control the underworld in Republic City.

The courtroom included Sokka, Ang, and Toph being there to witness Yakonne's testimony if the man is guilty or innocent, as they say.

And in the final verdict Yakonne was found guilty of using Blonbending. Knowing he couldn't talk his way out, the defendant decided to show his true colors. Using his bending, he forced everyone in the courtroom under his control, especially when he bent Toph, making her undo the cuffs and escape, proclaiming he would be back.

Ang cannot allow such a person to escape using the Avatar State; he chases Yakone and apprehends him, making sure he can't hurt anyone. Ang took his bending away.

Korra then stops meditating as she opens her eyes. "Aang... this whole time... you were trying to warn me about Tarrlok."

XXX

Inside city hall, Tenzin is talking to the council and Saikhan. "Thank you all for meeting us on such short notice."

Lin looked at Saikhan before speaking coldly. "Chief."

"Lin."

Tarrlok then walks up to the group. "Have you heard of Avatar Korra?"

Tenzin nodded before pointing at Tarrlok. "We do. You kidnapped her, Tarrlok!"

"I am shocked you would accuse me of such an evil act! I already explained: Equalists attacked us and took her!"

"But there were no chi blockers here last night. You planted the evidence, didn't you?" Tenzin yelled as Tarrlok glared.

"That is a ridiculous accusation!"

They then heard a voice and saw Page hiding behind a pillar. "It's true! He took her! I was here when Avatar Korra arrived last night, but Councilman Tarrlok ordered me to leave. I was on my way out when I saw Tarrlok bring her down to the garage.

"That is nonsense!" Tarrlok yells up as Page cowers behind the pillar. "Everyone knows you're nothing but a squeaky-voiced liar!"

Lin folds her arms and looks at the page. "Why did you wait until now to 'feess up?"

"I was terrified to tell you because... Because Tarrlok is a bloodbender! He bloodbent Avatar Korra!"

Tenzin looked over at Tarrlok shocked including everyone learning he was a bloodbender. "Don't make this worse for yourself." He then takes his airbending stance. "Tell us where you have Korra."

Lin also takes a stance, and both prepare to attack. Tarrlok's eyes bulge as Tenzin and Lin bend at him, but he has control of their bodies before they can hit him. Everyone in the room cries out in pain as Tarrlok's blood bends them to their knees.

Knowing the jig was up, he had no choice but to escape to his villa, where he imprisoned Avatar Korra.

"Yeah, I'm done," she answered. "I've figured out what Aang was showing me." She heard a door opening and her feet coming down the stairs. "My life is a disaster now!" Tarrlok's voice said in anger. "Thanks to you."

"So your little bloodbending secret's out?" Korra asked him, standing up in the box. He just grunted in annoyance, so she pressed on. "And I know how you bloodbent me without a full moon. You're Yakone's son."

"I was his son," he corrected Korra. "But in order to win Republic City, I had to become someone else. My father failed because he tried to rule the city from its rotten underbelly. My plan was perfect. I was to be the city's savior. But you ruined everything!"

"Tarrlok, the jig is up, and you have nowhere to go," she told him.

"Oh no, no, I'll escape and start a new life. And you're coming with me as my hostage." Tarlok went back upstairs, ready to pack and leave.

"You think I'm just going to let that happen? You're never going to get away with this!" She began banging on the box again.

Then she heard Tarrlok shouted, "Amon!"

XXX

"It is time for you to be equalized," Amon said as the lieutenant and other Equalists behind him all took fighting stances. Tarlok didn't expect the terrorist cell was looking for him.

"You fool! You've never faced bending like mine." Tarrlok begins bloodbending the group. The other Equalists all crumple and fall to the ground, but Amon seems unaffected and, with minor struggle, begins walking forward.

Tarrlok gasps and redoubles his efforts. Amon is halted for a moment, but with a very great effort, he moves one foot forward and continues walking normally. Tarrlok begins backing up in horror. "What? What are you?"

Amon reaches for him before saying, "I am the solution."

Amon reaches out and grabs Tarrlok's arm, twisting him around until he is standing behind him. He jabs his right hand at the base of Tarrlok's neck, who groans at that, and moves his left hand toward his forehead as Tarrlok watches in horror. "AAH!"

He screamed before he collapsed to the ground with wide-open eyes. The Equalists all groan and stand up as Amon lifts Tarrlok's limp body onto his shoulders.

"You four retrieve the Avatar. Do not underestimate her. Electrocute the box to knock her out before you open it."

Korra heard this idea pop into her head; the lieutenant electrocuted the box as Korra screamed in pain, and then it was over. They open the box to find an inconspicuous avatar, but at that moment, Korra quickly uses her firebending as a distraction and escapes. Amon was furious, but it didn't matter; the new weapons would be ready.

XXX

Korra managed to flee, but she was weak and freezing until she noticed Naga approaching her, accompanied by Minato on top of the hybrid. Minato noticed Korra and leapt down from Naga, covering her with a coat.

"Korra, are you alright?" Minato wanted to chastise her for leaving on her own, but the most important thing was to keep her safe.

When she saw Minato, she hugged him and burst into tears on his chest. She was overjoyed to see him, but also terrified as Amon almost approached her, taking her bending or trapping her inside the box for good. She feared she would never see her family or friends again.

"It's alright; you're safe," Minato reassured her.

XXX

When the trio arrived back at Republic City, the group that was riding the sky bison saw Naga running back towards Airbender Island and quickly flew towards the polar bear dog. Minato was surprised but happy that others were looking for her.

Mako quickly pushed Minato and grabbed Korra carefully, which caused a shock towards Asami. Minato notices how hurt Asami is knowing Mako has feelings for Korra, and he just sighs, "I'm too old for this shit."


Like I said a short chapter. I wanted to focus on Korra not just Minato in the story as being a mob in this chapter.