Winding Legacies: A 'The Legend of Korra' Rewrite

Episode 11: Skeletons in the Closet Part 2

"Before long, they started a family together. Amon was the firstborn, under the name Noatak. I was born three years later. Noatak was a good-natured kid, always looking out for me and others around us. Those were the good years. Before my brother and I discovered we were waterbenders. At first, we were excited by our new abilities, but our training brought out a different side of my father..."

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"Tarrlok, you'd better shape up or you'll be out here in the cold all night until you get it right," Yakone demanded, staring down at his son.

"I'm trying, but-"

"Try harder!" Tarrlok squeaked and dropped the blob of water that he was desperately trying to float smoothly across the sky. "Your brother was never this sloppy." Tarrlok swallowed, hard, as he rubbed his hands beneath his wet eyes.

"Dad, he'll get it. He just needs time," Noatak said as he waved his arms fluidly around himself.

"Don't talk back to me, son! Ever!" Yakone snapped, making Noatak flinch back.

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"Even back then, my brother wanted everyone to be treated fairly and equally. When I was seven, my father took me and Noatak on a hunting trip far away from our home. He told us his true identity was Yakon, Republic City's most notorious crime boss, and that he was once a bloodbender of rare skill..."

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"What's bloodbending?" Tarrlok asked as he curled up into himself in the warmth of the fire roaring in front of them.

"The most powerful and feared form of bending in the world. It was declared illegal thanks to that coward, Katara. Our family has the strongest line of bloodbenders in history. You boys have this power inside of you, and I will teach you to master it."

Noatak looked off to the side and sighed. "What happened to your bending, Dad?"

"The Avatar stole it from me!" Yakone stood up and furiously said, "That's why I brought you out here, to learn your destiny. You two will become bloodbenders of the highest order. When the time is right, you will claim Republic City and you will destroy the Avatar. You must avenge me. That is your purpose in life."

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"The good days were behind us. Every full moon, our father took us on another supposed 'hunting trip,' where he secretly trained us in bloodbending. We kept the truth from my mother. I don't know if either Noatak or I could bear to tell her."

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The boys and Yakone huddled near the snowy ground as they keenly watched a herd of yak-bunnies jump by. Yakone turned to Noatak and nodded, Noatak grimacing before standing up to face the herd. He raised his hands and exhaled a warm breath, churning the blood of the closet yak-bunny in order to make it stand up on its back legs. Noatak forced its head back and the yak-bunny yelped out in pain.

"Stop! You're hurting it!" Tarrlok cried out as he reached up to tug on his brother's coat.

"Toughen up, Tarrlok!" Yakone yelled. "You'll need thicker skin for this." Noatak let the yak-bunny down from its legs and it quickly scurried away, limping as it joined the rest of the herd in a hurried retreat. "Very good son, very good," Yakone congratulated.

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"A few years later, my father taught us to bloodbend anytime, without the need of the full moon. We practiced constantly, and I hated every minute of it. I had no stomach for manipulating such helpless animals. My brother, however, seemed to revel in this newfound power. He seemed like he wanted to understand it and master it, but he never seemed on board with our father's wants and desires. His hours behind his closed bedroom door made it feel as if he had his own plans. I guess, now I know what they were. Either way, he was a prodigy mastering my father's psychic bloodbending technique by the time he was fourteen."