◇ Korra ◇
I was lying in my bed thinking of Asami, Bolin and Mako when an idea came to my mind.
I stood up from my bed and walked over to my polar bear dog who was sleeping on the ground.
"Wake up, Naga. Let's go."
I opened the door and led her out into the corridor. As we walked past Aiya's room, the door opened.
"Avatar? What are you doing?" She asked, rubbing her eyes.
I blinked at her in surprise. Why was she awake?
"I'm going to City Hall, I need to talk to Tarrlok," I told her, saying his name with distaste.
"I'm going with you," Aiya said.
"No, you're not," I told her.
"He locked Asami up. I need to give him a piece of my mind," She said.
I sighed. It was no use arguing with her.
♤ ♧ ♤ ♧
"Wait for me here, girl. Don't worry, I'll be alright," I told Naga who reluctantly stayed outside of City Hall.
Aiya and I walked up to the door and I kicked it open.
"Very dramatic, I like it," She said.
"Are you complimenting me. What happened to you, Sato?" I asked her as we walked down the corridor to Tarrlok's office.
"I guess I realised I'll have to deal with you for the next few months," Aiya replied.
I then kicked the door to Tarrlok's office open and the two of us stepped inside.
"We need to talk," I told Tarrlok who was sitting at his desk.
"Are any of the other council members here?" Tarrlok asked his assistant as we walked up to his desk.
"I believe everyone has gone home for the night," His assistant replied.
"Then you should do the same," Tarrlok said.
"Are you sure, sir?"
"Leave us," Tarrlok said.
He waited until his assistant left before turning back to us.
"You two obviously have something on your minds. Spit it out," Tarrlok spoke in a demanding tone.
"Don't you see? You're doing exactly what Amon says is wrong with benders. You're using your power to oppress and intimidate people," I said.
"And you don't?" He asked.
"Of course not!" I responded.
"Isn't that what you came here to do? Intimidate me into releasing your friends? See, that's what I admire about you, Korra. Your willingness to go to extremes in order to get what you want. It is a quality we both share," Tarrlok said.
I was about to reply when Aiya spoke for me.
"You and Korra are nothing alike. You're a man in power who is hurting innocent people," Aiya said.
"Look, I'll make you a deal. You fall in line and do what I say, and I'll release your friends," He told us.
"That's why you arrested them? To get to me?" I asked in disbelief.
"I need your answer," Tarrlok said.
"No, you might be able to manipulate Chief Saikhan into following you, but it won't work on me," I told him.
"You will regret that decision."
"You need to be stopped. You're just as bad as Amon!" I remarked
"I've tried to work with you, Korra, but you've made it impossible."
Tarrlok suddenly spun around and waterbent at me. I quickly dodged it and I looked over at Aiya who shot a few blasts of fire in his direction.
I hit the ground with my foot and the ground under Tarrlok shook. He fell backwards into the wall of water behind him and Aiya and I firebent at him.
He created a ball of water around himself and then sent shards of ice at us.
I punched through the shards of ice with my fists and out of the corner of my eye I saw a piece of ice slice through the side of Aiya's hip.
She grabbed onto her side and held her other hand out to defend herself from the ice. I ran in front of her and quickly created a wall to protect us.
I then bent the wall behind Tarrlok and used it to throw him out into the main hall.
"Stay here," I told Aiya before running out into the hallway.
I took in deep breaths as I looked down at Tarrlok who was holding onto the side of the balcony.
"Still think I'm a half-baked Avatar?"
I earthbent the ground above him and he fell off the balcony.
I jumped down from the balcony and earthbent the ground under me.
"What are you gonna do now? You're all out of water, pal," I said to Tarrlok who was crawling away from me.
I made my way towards him with fire in my hand. I was about to shoot fire at him when I felt my body stop involuntarily.
My eyes went wide as Tarrlok moved his hands and I dropped to my knees.
I then realised what he was doing.
"You're in my way, Avatar, and you need to be removed," Tarrlok said.
"You're— you're a bloodbender?" I managed to grunt out.
"Very observant."
"It's not a full moon. How— how are you doing this?" I asked him, my hands bending in ways I've never seen them move before.
"There are a lot of things you don't know about me."
He the flung me against the wall and my vision went black.
♤ ♧ ♤ ♧
I woke up in an automobile and I felt someone next to me.
I looked over at Aiya who was covered in cuts and blood.
Before I could see if she was okay, the door opened, revealing Tarrlok.
I was about to bend at him when I felt my body being controlled by him again.
He lifted Aiya and I into the air using his bloodbending and I looked around at my surroundings.
We were outside a small cabin in the middle of nowhere.
Tarrlok opened the door into the cabin and used his bloodbending to bring us down into the basement.
"What are you doing?" I asked him as he put Aiya and I into a metal box.
My eyes went wide as he locked the door.
"Tarrlok! You can't keep us in here forever!" I shouted.
I heard the front door of the cabin shut and then there was silence.
"Avatar?" I heard Aiya's quiet voice. I managed to turn my body in the small space and I saw Aiya looking at me.
I saw fear in her eyes for the first time and I couldn't help but feel scared myself.
"Where are we?" She asked me.
"Tarrlok kidnapped us and took us to a cabin somewhere in the mountains. I can get us out of here if I figure out how to metalbend," I told her.
"It's no use, Avatar, I can tell that this whole box is made from platinum," Aiya told me.
I sighed as I leaned my head against the box.
"Tarrlok's a bloodbender, isn't he?" She asked me.
"Yeah, but I can't seem to figure out how he was able to bloodbend without a full moon. Anyways, how's the cut on your hip?" I asked her.
She looked down at her hip and the cut was covered in dried blood.
"I think it's infected," I told her as I looked the cut.
"Well, how do we uninfect it?" She asked me, crossing her arms.
I took off my fur jacket that was tied around by waist.
"What are you doing?" Aiya asked me, confused.
"We have to keep the cut covered or else it will become more infected," I told her as I tied the coat around her waist.
She flinched and let out a small groan of pain.
"A little less aggressive, please?"
"Sorry," I mumbled.
After tying the coat around her, I sat back down and began to think of what Tenzin had told me.
"I urge you to meditate on these visions. I believe Aang's spirit is trying to tell you something."
I took in a deep breath and got into a mediating position.
"Why are you sitting like that?" I heard Aiya say.
I opened one eye to look at her.
"I'm meditating. I was thinking that one of the past Avatars can help us get out of here," I replied.
"Yeah, I already see a spirit opening the door for us," She said, sarcastically.
I rolled my eyes before taking in a deep breath.
I soon found my thoughts disappearing, and a vision appeared in my head.
"What are you doing here, Aang? I told you I have this under control," Chief Toph Beifong said.
"Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't get involved. But if what those victims said is true, we're not dealing with a normal criminal," Avatar Aang said.
"Fine. Follow me, Twinkle Toes," Toph said.
"Toph, I'm forty years old. You think you could stop with the nicknames?" Aang asked.
"I'm afraid not."
The two of them, along with a few metalbenders entered a restaurant and Toph led Aang to a table where an older man was eating his food.
"It's over. You're under arrest, Yakone," Toph said, pointing a finger at the man.
"What is Republic City coming to? Used to be a man could enjoy his lunch in peace," Yakone said.
He picked up his chopsticks but Toph used her metalbending to drag him out of his seat and into the arms of a police officer.
"What's the big idea?" Yakone asked, glaring at the Avatar and Chief of Police.
"We have dozens of witnesses, Yakone. We know what you are," Aang said.
"Take him away," Toph ordered her officers.
"I've beaten every trumped-up charge you yahoos have brought against me. And I'll beat this one too."
"Woah," I said, opening my eyes.
"What happened? Will an army of Avatars come down here and save us?" Aiya asked me.
"No, but I connected with Aang. He's trying to tell me something," I told her.
"Tell him that a way out of this box would be nice. I'm going to try get some rest. Wake me up if something happens," Aiya said.
I closed my eyes once again and returned to mediating. Soon enough, I was back in my vision.
"Yakone has ruled Republic City's criminal empire for years yet he has always managed to stay out of the law's reach until now. You will hear testimony from dozens of his victims and they will tell you Yakone has maintained his grip on the underworld by using an ability that has been illegal for decades— bloodbending," A woman said.
The council was holding a court hearing against Yakone in the City Hall with Chief Beifong and the Avatar on standby incase something occurred.
Councilman Sokka's eyes narrowed at Yakone who wasn't making eye contact with anyone in the room.
"The prosecution's entire case is built upon the make-believe notion that my client is able to bloodbend at will, at any time, on any day. I remind the council that bloodbending is an incredibly rare skill, and it can only be performed during a full moon. Yet the witnesses will claim that my client used bloodbending at every other time except during a full moon. It would be a mockery of justice to convict a man of a crime that is impossible to commit," Yakone's lawyer said.
"Councilman Sokka will now deliver the verdict."
"In my years, I have encountered people born with rare and unique bending abilities. I once bested a man with my trusty boomerang who was able to firebend with his mind," Sokka said, recalling the memory with a frown.
"Why, even metalbending was considered impossible for all of history, until our esteemed Chief of Police, Toph Beifong, single-handedly developed the skill. The overwhelming amount of testimony and evidence has convinced this council that Yakone is one of these unique benders. And he exploited his ability to commit these heinous crimes. We find Yakone guilty of all charges and sentence him to life in prison." Sokka then banged the gavel on the table.
Yakone then stood up and opened his eyes.
Suddenly, Sokka's body began to bend as did the rest of the council members.
Toph rushed forward to metalbend at Yakone, but the older man stopped her with his bloodbending.
Yakone turned his head and laughed at the Avatar who was struggling to fight the bloodbending.
Yakone then bloodbent Toph towards him and made her unlock his handcuffs with her keys.
He freed his hands and then knocked everyone in the room to the ground.
Yakone turned around and bent Aang into the air.
"Yakone, you won't get away with this," Aang said, trying to fight the bloodbending.
Yakone merely laughed at him.
"Republic City is mine, Avatar. I'll be back one day to claim it." Yakone flung Aang against the wall and ran out of the building.
As Yakone was fleeing the street, Aang was getting into the Avatar State.
The Avatar airbent himself out of City Hall and onto the street.
He caught up to Yakone with ease and sliced through his carriage with air.
Yakone's carriage crashed and Aang stood above it on his airball.
Yakone suddenly jumped out of the carriage and Aang rushed to move but failed as Yakone bloodbent him.
"This time I'm going to put you to sleep for good," Yakone said, bending Aang's body parts in various directions.
Yakone was about to snap the Avatar's neck when Aang's eyes and tattoos lit up. The Avatar managed to resist the bloodbending and trapped Yakone in rock.
He then walked up to Yakone and placed his thumbs on the bloodbender's forehead and chest.
"I'm taking away your bending for good," Aang said.
Yakone fell backwards and Aang stepped back.
"It's over."
I opened my eyes and then shook Aiya awake.
"What's going on?" Aiya asked, sitting up quickly.
"Aang was trying to warn me about Tarrlok this whole time," I told her.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"A few years ago a bloodbender named Yakone tormented the people of Republic City. But Aang managed to stop him by taking his bending away," I said.
"Did you find out anything else?" She asked me.
"No, but I do have a theory. I think Tarrlok might be Yakone's son," I said.
"What makes you think that?" Aiya questioned as a frown formed on her face.
"Think about it, Yakone only bloodbent on days where the full moon didn't occur. And who else did that? Tarrlok," I told her.
"Wow, you might actually be onto something," Aiya said, rubbing her chin.
"No, I'm a hundred percent sure that I'm correct," I said.
She was about to reply when the door to the basement creaked open. The two of us quickly stood up when we heard Tarrlok's voice.
"My life is a disaster now, thanks to you two," Tarrlok said.
The two of us look at eachother and I felt a smirk appear on my face.
"So, your little bloodbending secret's out?" I asked through the platinum door.
"This could have all been avoided if you didn't capture us and lock us away in this small dusty box, you know," Aiya called out.
"Be quiet!" Tarrlok shouted and Aiya smirked to herself.
It was obvious that we were getting on his nerves.
"And we know how you bloodbent us without a full moon. You're Yakone's son," I said.
"I was his son. 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 about to be the City's saviour. But you— you both ruined everything!"
"Save your little sob story for later, Tarrlok," Aiya said.
"The jig is up and you have nowhere to go," I said.
"Oh, no. No, I'll escape and start a new life, and you're coming as my hostages," Tarrlok told us as he began walking up the stairs.
"You'll never get away with this!" I shouted, banging against the box.
"Amon," I heard Tarrlok's voice upstairs.
I stopped hitting the box and I felt my stomach drop.
Amon was here?
I looked over at Aiya and she pressed a finger to her lips.
"It is time for you to be equalised," Amon said.
"You fool. You've never faced bending like mine," Tarrlok told him.
I heard a few bodies drop to to floor and I assumed it was Amon and his equalists. However, I frowned when I heard Tarrlok's scared voice.
"What? What are you?"
"I am the solution," Amon responded.
There was a loud crash and then a scream came from Tarrlok.
"I'll take care of him. You four retrieve the Avatar and Sato's daughter. Do not underestimate them. Electrocute the box to knock them out before you open it," Amon said.
We then heard footsteps coming down the stairs and Aiya looked at me with wide eyes.
I looked down at my arm wraps and then back at her.
"You think you can hold yourself up for a few seconds?" I whispered, taking off my arm wraps and tying both of them through the holes in the top of the box.
She nodded and we then heard one of the Equalists speak.
"It's payback time."
Aiya and I grabbed onto an arm wrap each. We held our bodies up, making sure to not touch any part of the box as the Equalist electrocuted it.
We both faked a scream until the electricity stopped flowing. We dropped to the ground and waited for the Equalists to open the door.
"Open the box and tie them up."
The door then opened and I kicked a blast of fire at the Equalists. They jumped backwards and I earthbent the ground underneath them.
They all fell and I quickly looked over at Aiya who was struggling to get up.
"What's wrong?" I asked her, frowning.
"My hip. It hurts, a lot," She told me.
I ran up to her and picked her up.
"Hold on," I said and she grabbed onto my shirt.
I ran up the stairs and out of the house. I paused when I saw Amon standing a few metres in front of me.
I used my free hand to create a cloud of smoke that would distract Amon. I turned around and began to run down the hill.
I heard his footsteps behind me and I used my waterbending to get down faster.
Once I neared the bottom of the mountain, I noticed that there was a lot of rocks that I could trip over.
I carefully dodged them but I suddenly got distracted and tripped over one.
I felt myself being thrown against a tree and I let out a groan of pain.
♤ ♧ ♤ ♧
◇ Aiya ◇
I layed on the ground next to Korra, trying to keep us warm with my firebending.
I couldn't help but think of what could possibly happen to us.
Would we die from the cold or would Amon manage to find us before we could?
Suddenly, there was rustling in the trees next to us and to my disbelief, Korra's polar bear dog appeared.
She began to lick Korra and she opened her eyes.
"Naga?" She mumbled.
"Korra, stand up and get on," I told her.
She stood up weakly and I managed to pull myself up using a stick.
Korra climbed onto Naga and immediately fell against the polar bear dog's saddle.
I ignored the pain in my hip and got on behind her.
I grabbed Korra with one hand and held onto Naga's reins with the other.
Naga began to walk and I looked at the mountains in front of us.
It would be a long way to to Republic City.
♤ ♧ ♤ ♧
"Help! Anyone! Please!" I called out, my voice raspy from shouting.
I then heard a growl above me and I looked up to see Tenzin's bison land next to Naga.
"Korra! Aiya!" Tenzin shouted, running towards us with Lin, Asami, Mako and Bolin not too far behind.
"Oh, thank goodness," Tenzin said.
"Where's Tarrlok? How did you get away?" Lin bombarded me with questions.
"Give then some space," Mako said, picking up Korra who was still knocked out.
He carried her to the bison and Bolin and Asami rushed towards me. They helped me get off Naga and onto the bison.
♤ ♧ ♤ ♧
14/05/2023
Votes and comments are greatly appreciated.