I woke up to Uncle Tenzin shaking me awake. Rubbing my eyes, I asked quickly what was going on. He didn't say anything for a moment but then said solemnly, "Come with me."
I had to admit my confusion as to why he was asking me to go with him to the city hall. It seemed more like an Avatar thing, but when I voiced my concern, Uncle Tenzin said nothing. Moments later we were there, at the seen of an Equalist attack in the middle of City Hall. Tarlock was being treated by a healer as we approached, and he was looking pretty rough.
As he relayed what had happened the previous night, it was obvious why I was there instead of Korra. She was taken by Equalists. I flashed back to the time that Amon had let Korra go without taking her bending. Had he decided that now was the time for them to settle things? There was nothing that had happened that would make me think so. Uncle Tenzin continued his discussion with Tarlock and eventually spoke with news reporters as I walked around and surveyed the damage done. Pillars were cracked and looked about to fall. The floor had been shattered by what had to be Korra's earthbending. There was a clearly a struggle involving Korra, so I was inclined to believe Tarlock's story.
Somebody! Help, please! I heard Korra's voice in the distance somewhere. But I hadn't heard it, not really. It was more like I felt it but only for a brief moment. Images then flooded to me, but none of the made any sense. There were no words with them, but I could recognize my grandfather in his younger years easily. He looked much the same minus a few wrinkles, and it couldn't be anyone else. There were no other airbenders except Uncle Tenzin and my cousins. None of the images made sense, but I couldn't brush something so strange off that easily. But I kept it to myself nonetheless.
Uncle Tenzin pulled me up to his office to make a few phone calls and receive a few just the same. I rested in a uncomfortable chair as he spoke with person after person. But then the doors behind me opened loudly, and I turned to see the intruder. Beifong walked in tailed by Mako, Asami, and Bo.
I stood and walked up to my three friends immediatly to give them all a hug. As I reached Bo though, our arms stayed around each other. "Lin? What are - what are you doing here? You should be in the hospital!" Uncle Tenzin scolded his ex-girlfriend in a way that made me think that his feelings for her were still stronger than they should be. "And you three! You should be in prison!"
"I figured you could use our help finding Korra," Beifong said in her usual manner.
Mako stepped forward immediately and asked, "Do you have any leads?"
As always, everyone's tone of voice gave their emotions away. Mako, of course, was most eager to find her. I suppose that made Asami the least eager. If she knew the truth, that was.
"I've been on the phone all morning, but - nothing yet."
Uncle Tenzin walked around his desk to speak with everyone more properly. "We need Naga," Mako decided quickly. "She can track Korra."
"My thoughts exactly, Mako, but we can't find Naga either. My guess is that she is already tracking Korra on her own," I told him a bit sadly, yet I was still slightly relieved that Naga would definitely find out where she was taken.
"Then where can we start?" Bo asked the entire room. That's what I wanted to know as well.
One thing in the conersation led to another, and we were all running from the city hall at Mako's lead. We ended up back at the place where Bolin had been kidnapped from two days before we met. We ran down the street until we reached a four way. Then we weren't sure, but Beifong used her earthbending to sense a tunnel beneath the ground nearby. We headed in that direction immediately, but as we reached the tunnel, I was already tired out.
"Motorcycle tracks," Beifong commented as she kneeled by the tunnel entrance.
"Korra has to be in there," Mako said thoughtfully. "Somewhere."
Beifong lifted the metal grate with her bending so that we could enter, but I hesitated. Bo, who held my hand, looked back at me. "I shouldn't go with you. I'm not over what happened last time. I'll only get in the way."
"Are you sure?" Uncle Tenzin asked me slowly. "I thought you would want to go after Korra with us."
"I do, but I also don't want to be the reason that something goes wrong. I'm the weak link in the group right now. You should go on without me. I'll wait here. I can see if anyone goes in or out. Maybe they'll decide to move her if you're all detected. I can follow them if I stay here."
I felt like they knew that I was just grasping for excuses to avoid conflict. But I trusted all of them, and I knew they would bring Korra back safely. Myself, I didn't trust as much. Whether they thought my idea a good one or they knew the truth, they all agreed that it was for the best, so they headed into the tunnel without me.
When they were out of sight, I walked over to a less in-plain-sight area and sat down. It wasn't long after that two Equalists on motorcycles sped past me and into the tunnel. I worried for the others but still couldn't bring myself to go after them, and when the grate fell back down to cover the tunnel, I was useless entirely. I couldn't get in if I wanted to.
As I sat there, I saw more images in my mind. There was a trial against a strangely familiar man whose name I didn't know. I watched the images until stranger ones appeared. My great uncle and grandfather among others being twisted in the grip of a blood bender. As the man looked over his shoulder to Avatar Aang, I knew what had really happened to Korra. This man resembled none other than Tarlock. They must have been related. Tarlock must have been a blood bender.
I ran back to the city hall in time to see Tarlock use bloodbending to take down my uncle, Bo, and the others. He turned to leave, and I quicky dodged behind the door to keep from being seen. I looked back at my friends and uncle unconscious on the ground. There was no choice now. I had to do something for myself this time.
As more images of Tarlock's bloodbending father - this time, escaping the trial only to be apprehended by Grandfather who took away his bending - flashed through my mind, I chased after him. I made sure to keep my distance until he rounded a corner and hopped into a Satomobile. I ran as fast as I could, but his Satomobile left me coughing on dust.
As I caught my breath, I pushed on. I didn't know which way he was going, but I couldn't give up. What if I was Korra's only hope? What if he did something terrible before the others came to?
I ran straight down the road until I spotted black marks on the road that looked like a Satomobile had turned a bit too fast. Instinct told me that I was heading in the right direction, so I followed it's lead. I ran so much that I thought I would die until I reached a mountainous area. I slowed down then. The air was cold and pierced my lungs painfully. I couldn't keep running any more. Still I eventually found my way to a little house - a little house with Equalists standing in front of it. Immediately I dodged behind a nearby tree as they entered the house.
Amon walked out of the house a moment later with Tarlock across his shoulders, and I froze. They had Korra now, too. I just knew it. But still I couldn't force myself to go forward and face such a dangerous man alone. I didn't have bending to lose, but there were worse things to lose than that. I wouldn't be able to get her back on my own. My best bet was to observe.
Just then Korra burst forth from the door of the house, and Amon slowly began to walk towards her. She bended the snow around her quicky to distract him and leaped off of the side of the mountain into the freezing abyss. I hurried to the side of the mountain closer to me, took a deep breath, and jumped.
The slide to the frozen earth below was icy and rigid. I didn't know if I had made a worse mistake by going after now or not, but finally the motion stopped. I stood quickly - a little too quickly - and had to steady myself as best I could. I blinked rapidly trying to see through the blurriness in my eyes, and somehow I made out Naga in front of me. And Korra was on her back.
I placed my hand on her hand. "Good job, Naga. You got her before me."
I hopped on her back quickly, and we headed back to the city slowly. If we'd have gone faster, the cold might have done some serious damage. But I could get over the shivers. When we reached the city, Naga began to howl, and I was so cold that I couldn't tell her to be quiet, that she was hurting my ears.
"Korra!" I heard someone say.
Korra leaned up a little beneath me as I lay across her to keep her warmer, so I slowly fell from Naga's back to the ground. Luckily, my feet were still working. I was freezing but functioning. Before I knew what was going on, Mako had snatched Korra up and took off with her. Bolin wrapped an arm around my waist and began to pull me towards Uncle Tenzin's flying bison, but I shook my head. "I'll ride Naga back."
Uncle Tenzin wrapped his upper robe around me as I hopped on Naga's back once more and nodded. "You girls both have quite the story to tell when you recover."
"I figured we would," I said as Bolin jumped up behind me.
He said he'd ride with me, and Uncle Tenzin gave us an odd look before hurrying to get Korra back to Air Temple Island. "Come on, Naga. Let's go home," I said quietly, and she began to run after them.