Chapter V

REPUBLIC CITY

170 AG

My heart was pounding through my chest as I sprinted into a nearby alleyway a few feet away from where Mako and I had gotten surrounded. All I could think about at that moment was the mess the two of us had gotten ourselves into and how I was going to get myself out of it.

Just a few minutes earlier, we had seen what Amon had done to Lightning Bolt Zolt and what he had almost done to Bolin. After seeing that, there was no way in hell I was going to let those guys grab me and I sure as hell wasn't going to stick around long enough for them to try.

Running into the alleyway as fast and as hard as my legs could take me, I jumped over a trash can that was strewn haphazardly across my path and spotted a chain-link fence in the distance. It seemed just low enough for me to climb over and make my escape, but high enough that it would buy me a few seconds to get away from Amon's goons. I had no idea where the fence led to, but that was the last thing on my mind. With every second that passed, I could hear their footsteps behind me getting closer and closer, and if I hesitated for even a second-

Well, I didn't want to think about that.

Reaching the fence and using the momentum I had built up from running, I jumped as high as I could and grabbed for the railing at the top, but just as I was about to pull myself up and over the fence, I felt something wrap around one of my ankles and pull me straight down to the floor. I fell to the ground with a hard thud and groaned loudly as I landed awkwardly on my back.

I tried to shake off the pain as quickly as I could and reached for whatever it was that was wrapped around my ankles, but as I began to untangle myself, a hard kick to the chest stopped me dead in my tracks and completely knocked the wind out of me.

I wheezed loudly and lay still for a moment, trying to catch my breath, but before I was given a chance to recover, I was hoisted up by someone and dragged away from the chain link fence.

"Don't struggle," The male voice whispered into my ear as he put me in a headlock. Ignoring him, I did the exact opposite of what he'd told me to do and began to struggle like my life depended on it.

Which, technically, it kinda did.

Now, I know what you're thinking. Takeo, why on earth would you not listen to someone that has their arms around your neck? The sensible thing to do would've been to listen to him and cooperate, right?

Wrong.

Reacting quickly, I raised my right elbow and hit him as hard as I could in a very sensitive area.

"Ah!" He yelled, keeling over in pain and letting me go.

Seeing that I had a chance to finally make my escape, I began running in the opposite direction and headed for the entrance of the alleyway where I came from, but as I turned the corner I was slammed into a wall and dragged back inside once again. Still dazed from being slammed head-first into a brick wall, I wondered how the first guy had caught up to me so easily after I'd hit him in the nads', but then I realized something.

It was a different guy.

How could I have been so stupid? I'd heard multiple footsteps behind me earlier, and I hadn't even thought to look out for the other guy!

"I think it's time we had a little chat," The other man said as he tied my hands behind my back and sat me against a wall. Like the first guy that had grabbed me, the voice was also male. However, he spoke with an accent that I had never heard before. He certainly wasn't from Republic City.

"I don't want any trouble, okay? Just let me go," I said, pleading with him. The rough texture of the rope he'd tied my hands with was digging into my wrists, making me even more agitated than I already was.

"Not yet," He replied, before stooping down so that he was face to face with me. I kicked out at him, a gust of air leaving the base of my foot, but somehow he had managed to dodge my attack.

"Another Airbender," He said. "Interesting."

I kicked out at him once again, but this time he grabbed me by the neck, immobilizing me.

"Do that again, and I'll break both of your legs," He said. His voice was threateningly low.

I glared at him for a moment and he stared right back, not once breaking his focus or looking away. There was something eerie about the way the glowing red eyes of the mask stared back at me. He was wearing the same uniform that the Equalists were wearing back at the arena, but for some reason, something about him seemed...off.

"You don't scare me," I replied. The Equalist laughed, and before I could register what was going on, he grabbed me by the collar and held a blade to my neck. My breath hitched in my throat, and for the second time that night, I was genuinely terrified for my life.

"I'm not the one you should be afraid of," He said, holding the knife dangerously close to my neck. I lifted my neck as far away from the blade as I possible could.

"Why don't you take me to him? " I asked, just about choking the words out. I was doing my best to hold it together, but as the time went by, it was getting harder and harder. "Just do yourself a favor and rid the world of another bender like Amon wants,"

"And what makes you think our allegiance is to Amon?" He asked. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion and looked at the man. What kind of question was that? They were Equalists for spirits sake!

"You guys are Equalists!" I said, also stealing a glance at the other Equalist who had attacked me. "Of course your allegiance is to Amon!"

Instead of replying, the masked man looked at me, clasped his hands together and created a small sphere of air between his palms. At this point, if my eyes could have popped out of my skull, they would have.

"When you base your expectations only on what you see, you blind yourself to the possibilities of a new reality," He said.

"A new reality?! Who are you-" I began, but before I could finish my sentence, everything faded to black.

-0-

*Chirp Chirp*

*Chirp Chirp*

*Chirp Chirp*

I exhaled deeply as I began to register the sounds around me. Before opening my eyes, the very first thing that caught my attention was the faint metallic taste in my mouth and on my lips. The second thing that had caught my attention was how sore I was. I lay still for a moment and then opened my eyes, immediately squinting at the sun that was now shining in my face-

Hold on.

The sun?

I sat up quickly and took in my surroundings. My heart dropped at the realization that I didn't make it back home the night before, and to make matters worse, I had somehow ended up in the Republic City Park.

Grass? Check.

Ridiculously large pond with Turtle Ducks in it? Check.

Sign at the entrance that: Republic City Park: Home of the Soft-Shelled Turtle Ducks? Check.

Yep, I was definitely at the park, and how I ended up there was a mystery in itself.

"Universe, you've got a lot of explaining to do," I muttered. The last thing I remembered was getting attacked by those two Equalists that had followed me into that alleyway. I couldn't remember anything after that. Taking a deep breath, I focused on trying to piece together what exactly had happened the night before.

After sneaking off of Air Temple Island with Korra and (a very irritated) Mako, we ended up at a shady bar.

After we ended up at said bar, we somehow managed to get into an Equalist Rally. I shook my head at that one.

Okay, Takeo, what happened after that? I thought.

We saw that psychopath, Amon, take away Lightning Bolt Zolt's bending.

There was an explosion.

Through the chaos, we managed to find Bolin. How we pulled that one off, I had no idea.

Korra and Bolin left on Naga while Mako and I stayed behind-

Wait.

Korra. Bolin and Mako.

Did the two of them get back to the island? What about Mako? Did he make it back? My mind began to race. What if they hadn't gotten back? What if something had happened to them too? What if the Equalists had gotten to Korra? To Mako-

Calm down, Takeo. I thought. Breathe. For all you know, they're back at the island safe and sound. Now's not the time to freak out. Leave that for later.

Alright, what happened after that?

Mako and I split up and I got cornered by two Equalists who roughed me up pretty badly. One of the Equalists airbended in front of me and also said something extremely vague and cryptic, which was honestly making me question my sanity.

I took another deep breath and counted to ten. The first thing I needed to do was get back to the Island as soon as possible. I could figure out the rest after that. I stood up slowly, and groaned at the pain that immediately washed over me.

Everything hurt. My back, my face, my legs. Even parts of me that I didn't even know existed hurt.

"I'm not leaving my bed for a week when I get back," I said, as I did my best to stretch my aching limbs.

Spotting a nearby park bench, I took a seat on it and proceeded to plan out how I was getting back home. Air Temple was a solid thirty minute bus ride from the park. It was even longer by train, but if I wasn't mistaken, I probably had just enough money for the bus fare. I stuck my hand in one of the front pockets of my jacket, searching for the leftover change I usually kept there, but my face quickly fell as I realized that they were empty.

"No, no, no..." I said as I checked my pockets frantically.

Of course someone had robbed me while I was out. What else had I expected from this shithole of a city? I checked my pockets once more for good measure, even going as far as to check my pants, but again, I came up with nothing.

So, that was Plan A out of the window. There was no way I was catching a train or even a taxi back home with no money. It was going to be a long walk back to Air Temple Island.

"You new here?" Said a voice from the bush next to me. Startled, I jumped off of the bench and held my fists up in the air. I was an absolute mess, both physically and mentally, but there was no way I was going to get the snot beaten out of me on this fine morning.

Peaceful Air Nomad teachings be damned.

"Who's there?" I said, trying to get a better look at whoever it was behind the bush. I shuffled a few steps and peered behind the bush, but frowned when I realized that nobody was there.

"Okay, Takeo, first a Airbending Equalist and now a talking bush," I said. At this point, I was definitely starting to question my sanity. I needed to come up with a plan and get back to the island. Fast.

Seeing that there wasn't anybody there, I closed my eyes and sat in the meditative lotus position that Tenzin had taught me weeks before. If I was going to get myself back to the island in one piece, I needed to refocus both myself and the energy I was putting out into the universe.

I closed my eyes and I thought back to Tenzin's meditation sessions with Korra and I. Now, what would he always say whenever he wanted us to focus?

If I had any hair I'd pull it out.

Wait, no, that wasn't it.

That was usually reserved for Korra when she'd get annoyed at not being able to Airbend. Her irritation usually followed with something or someone going up in flames. I tried again.

Close your eyes and center yourself. Feel your element around you and free your mind. Be like the wind and-

"You didn't answer my question," I opened my eyes and found myself staring face to face with a man that was sitting way too close to me.

"Gah!" I yelled as I hastily scrambled away from him. Where did he come from?

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle ya!" He said. "I'm just very protective of my home these days. Can't have people getting too close, you know,"

I stared at the man and wondered what on earth he was talking about.

"Your home?" I asked, looking around the park for any sign of a tent or something that remotely resembled a home.

"Why, this here foliage," He said, patting the leaves of the bush next to him. "Ain't she a beauty?"

"Uh, sure?" I replied, trying to figure out where this conversation was heading. The man gazed lovingly at the bush and nodded his head in agreement.

"So, you live in that bush?" I asked, trying to figure out how a grown man could fit in a bush the size of Meelo. The man chuckled in response.

"Funnily enough, you're not the first person to ask me that question!" He said. "But yes, this bush is where I currently reside,"

"Right," I said.

That was definitely my cue to leave.

The bushman stood up and then extended his hand. I looked at him hesitantly and sat there for a moment. Now, I didn't have anything against strange bush people, but I figured that there was no harm in being extra cautious, especially after the night I had just had. Eventually, I took his hand, and lifted myself up, all while trying to suppress another groan at the sudden movement.

"Rough night?" The man asked, surprising me with his concern. It wasn't often you got that from a stranger in the big city.

"You have no idea," I replied, but as soon as the words left my mouth, an idea of how to get back home popped in my head. "Say, you wouldn't happen to know a shortcut to the Yue Bay docks, would you?"

"Hmmm," He said, putting his hand on his chin and stroking his scraggly beard. "You'll have to cut through the Downtown District, make a left on Kuei Avenue and follow the road. It should get ya' there within an hour or so,"

I nodded my head and repeated his instructions to myself. Was I a little crazy for trusting a man that had jumped out of a bush? Probably, but at that point, I was desperate to get home.

"Thank you for your help, uh," I said, trying to remember if he had told me his name. "I don't think I caught your name,"

"The name's Gommu! Good luck, stranger!" He said, hopping back into the bush and disappearing. I smiled to myself and headed towards the park's gates. The day had started off a little rough, but it seemed like things were looking up. I walked towards the park gates and headed towards the Downtown District like Gommu had instructed, but just as I was about to turn onto the main road, I felt the all too familiar sensation of cold metal locking against my wrists and my hands being forced behind my back.

"You're under arrest," The officer said, holding my already sore arms behind my back.

"What?! What did I do?!" I asked, wondering what I could have possibly done. I was bruised, bloodied and I'd just had the worst night of my life. Even if I had wanted to commit a crime, there was no way my body, in its current state, would've even allowed it.

"You're under arrest for the aiding and abetting of a known terrorist organization here in Republic City." The officer replied, leading me towards a police van just outside of the park.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me,"

-0-

REPUBLIC CITY POLICE HEADQUARTERS

This had to have been a new personal record.

When I rolled with the triads, I was no stranger to being arrested on a pretty consistent basis, but to get arrested literally weeks after being warned by Chief Beifong to stay out of trouble? That was a new low.

I shook my head in disbelief and sighed loudly. There was no way this was happening. Those assholes kicked my ass, dragged me into an alleyway, dumped me in a park, and now I was being accused of helping them?

The Universe really hated my guts, didn't it?

I looked at the familiar blank walls of the holding room and sighed at the fact that I was here, again. I had no idea how I was getting out of this one. My boyish charm could only take me so far and it seemed like my luck was finally starting to run out.

"Well, well, look what the catgator dragged in," A man said as he walked through the door. I looked over at the door and immediately frowned at the person that stood there.

Saikhan.

The city's Deputy Police Chief, Beifong's second in charge and an all around asshole. The two of us had a bit of history. I didn't like him, and he sure as hell didn't like me.

"I can't say that I'm too surprised, Takeo. I figured it would only be a matter of time before you ended up back here. You Triad thugs aren't good at staying out of trouble," He said, striking a nerve. I hated the way he said my name.

"I'm not a Triad anymore," I said, doing my best to keep calm. Saikhan smiled and shook his head.

"Once a Triad, always a Triad, in my eyes," He replied.

"Once an asshole, always an asshole," I muttered under my breath.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" He asked sarcastically, putting a hand to his ear.

"Nothing," I replied.

"So, do you want to tell me what you were doing at an Equalist rally last night?" He asked, sitting in the chair directly across from me. As he sat down, the first thing I had noticed was how much hair he had lost since the last time I'd seen him. The little bit of hair he had left was just hanging there.

Just shave it off, dude. Stop fighting it. I thought. I looked at Saikhan who was now staring at me as if he was waiting for an answer.

Oh, right, I was supposed to be answering his question.

"A friend of mine got kidnapped by a couple of Equalists," I replied. "We went to go find him,"

"And how do you explain being seen with two Equalists? An eyewitness recalled you being seen with them in an alleyway on Jiseng Avenue and First. Is there anything you want to confess?" He said, looking me straight in the eye.

"Did your eyewitness conveniently forget to mention that those Equalists beat the shit out of me?" I asked, incredulously. Was this guy for real? If I looked the way I felt, then it had to have been obvious who the victim was here.

"There must've been a reason they attacked you the way they did. Double crossed them, maybe? You've been known to exhibit that kind of behaviour," He said, referring to an incident that had occured months before I had met Korra.

"You don't know what you're talking about!" I said, raising my voice a bit higher than I had intended. I was starting to get frustrated. He was deliberately tugging at all the wrong strings and I was falling for his games. "Where's Chief Beifong? I want to talk to her."

"Chief Beifong isn't in until later today," He replied. "Now, answer the question. Why did they attack you?"

"You're asking me, a bender, why a bunch of anti-bending lunatics attacked me? Come on, Saikhan, I'd like to think you're smarter than that," I said sarcastically. Saikhan frowned, slammed his handcuffs on his desk and grabbed me by my collar.

"That's Deputy Chief Saikhan to you, you little shit," He snarled. "Your little innocent schtick may have gotten you this far, but it ends here. After I'm done with you, you're not going to be seeing the outside of a jail cell for a long time," He threatened.

Defiantly, I stared him straight in the eyes, but moments later the sound of a commotion outside distracted the both of us. This showdown between Saikhan and I was going to have to wait.

"You have no right to keep him here! Tell them to open the doors, Lin." A muffled voice said from outside. That sounded like Tenzin! Oh man, did he sound pissed! Seconds later, the door to the small room slid open and both Chief Beifong and Tenzin walked inside. My eyes lit up and a huge grin spread across my face.

Maybe the Universe did have my back after all.

"Tenzin? Chief? Man, am I glad to see you guys!" I said, as they walked in. I looked at Saikhan with a shit eating grin, and he glared at me in response.

"Takeo! Oh, thank goodness you're alright," Tenzin said, before turning to Saikhan."Uncuff him, now."

"I'm afraid I can't do that sir. He's a prime suspect that needs to be questioned further," Saikhan replied. His response seemed to infuriate Tenzin as I could see the veins beginning to pop out of his neck.

"Saikhan, if you don't uncuff him at this instant, I will not hesitate to-"

"Can it, Tenzin," Beifong said, shutting Tenzin up. She turned to Saikhan. "Uncuff him, Saikhan. That's an order,"

"But Chief-"

"That's an order," Beifong said again. Saikhan clenched his jaw, but did as he was told, immediately uncuffing me. I rubbed my wrists and shook the soreness out of my hands.

"With all do respect, Chief, he's a prime suspect in this investigation! You can't seriously be considering letting him go," Saikhan argued. It took all my strength not to sock him one right in the face. That's how antsy I was feeling.

"If you don't mind, Saikhan, Councilman Tenzin and I would like to speak to Takeo alone," Beifong said.

Saikhan clenched his jaw again, but this time he left the room, wordlessly. I breathed a sigh of relief and sat back in the chair.

"Okay, out with it," Beifong said to me as she took a seat on the chair that Saikhan had been sitting in. Tenzin stood behind her, and looked at me and I could see the concern etched all over his face.

I didn't look that bad, did I?

"Do you want me to start from the beginning, or…" I trailed off.

"Takeo, what happened? We sent out a search party for you, but when they came back without you, I feared the worst." Tenzin said, finally speaking up.

Hold on, they sent out an entire search party and none of them thought to look in the park? Seriously?

I sighed and recounted the events of the night before. I'd conveniently left out the part about that one Equalist being able to bend because I was convinced that they wouldn't have believed me. Hell, I wasn't sure if I believed myself.

"This is worse than we thought," Tenzin said. "I have to inform the council immediately,"

"Well, kid, your story lines up perfectly with Mako, Bolin and the Avatar's," Beifong said.

"They're okay?" I asked. In the midst of all this commotion, I had completely forgotten to ask about them.

"They're fine." Tenzin replied. "When I received the news that you were here, I had to convince them not to follow me down here,"

I smiled at that. I had really lucked out in the friendship department, hadn't I?

"So, what now?" I asked.

"Now, we launch a formal investigation. In the coming days, I'll be putting together a squad solely focused on taking down this Equalist ring. As for you," She said, looking me directly in the eyes. I had to look away for a moment because her glare was so intense. "No more Equalist rallies. From now on, I want you, the Avatar and your friends to come to me or Tenzin at any sign of trouble. Understood?"

"Yes, Ma'am." I replied.

-0-

AIR TEMPLE ISLAND

After a few more minutes of talking to Beifong about everything that I had seen at the rally, Tenzin and I eventually took off on Oogi and made our way back to Air Temple Island. Tenzin sat up front manning the reins and I opted to lie down at the back of the saddle and stare into space for awhile. There was so much going on in my head, and truthfully, I was having trouble coming to terms with everything that had happened.

On one hand, I was happy to be back home safe and sound, but on the other, I couldn't help but feel angry at what had transpired. I shouldn't have let myself get captured like that. I should've been able to defend myself against those two men. I was sure that if Korra or even Mako had been in my position, they wouldn't have gone through half of the things that I had. They would've fought and gotten away.

I felt ashamed.

Embarrassed.

Angry.

Weak. I needed to learn how to fight because there was no way I was going to let this happen again.

"Takeo?" Tenzin said, interrupting my thoughts. I had been so wrapped up in my own little world that I'd forgotten that anybody else existed.

"Yeah, Tenzin?" I replied.

"We're here," He said, as Oogi landed. I sat up and felt relieved at the familiar sight of the Air Temple's training compound. I had only been gone for less than a day, but it felt like a lifetime.

Tenzin airbended himself off of Oogi and then walked around to the back of the saddle where I was. I was still extremely sore, so getting up after lying down was proving to be a bit of an issue.

"Do you need help?" Tenzin asked.

"I'm fine. I just need a minute," I snapped back from on top of the saddle. I didn't mean to snap at him, I just didn't want anybody helping me as I was more than capable of doing things for myself. Tenzin nodded his head and stood watching me.

After a few more seconds of struggling, I eventually managed to slide down Oogi's tail and make it down to the ground. It hurt, but I wasn't going to let Tenzin know that.

Merely seconds after climbing off of Oogi, I saw Korra jogging towards us in the distance. Tenzin had told me she was okay, but I was glad to see her anyway.

"I'm so glad you're alright!" She said, stopping in front of me. She immediately hugged me, and I hugged her back just as tightly. Well, as tightly as I could anyway.

"I'm glad you're okay too." I replied. "How are Mako and Bolin doing?"

"They're fine. They went home about an hour ago, but they said they'll swing by tomorrow to come see you," She said, letting me go, but as soon as she did, she began staring at me.

"What?" I asked.

"Takeo, your face," She said, but the look she gave me as she said it made me feel even worse.

"I know, but it's not going to happen again," I said.

"What do you mean?" Korra asked. As we were leaving the police station, I had managed to catch a glimpse of myself in a mirror, and it wasn't pretty. Seeing myself in that state that I was in, reinforced the idea of getting Tenzin or Korra to teach me how to defend myself, and since I had the both of them here, it was now or never.

"Can I ask you both something?" I said, looking at the two of them.

"Of course," Tenzin replied.

"I need you guys to teach me how to fight. I'm can't let this happen again," I said, with a seriousness to my voice. Korra looked taken aback, but Tenzin frowned and shook his head immediately. I braced myself for an argument. I had read enough of Tenzin's old books to know that fighting offensively was frowned upon by the pacifistic Air Nomads.

"Now, Takeo, I know you're upset but you know that fighting isn't the way we resolve confli-" Tenzin started, but I cut him off immediately.

"Of course I'm upset! Look at my face!" I said, pointing to the large bruise that stretched down the left side of my face. "Look at what those assholes did to me! I couldn't even fight back!"

"Takeo, we get it, but-" Korra said, putting her hand on my shoulder. I shook it off and moved away from her.

"No, you don't get it! You're the Avatar and you're an Airbending Master. You both have no idea what it's like!" I yelled. At this point, I was furious and in a fit of rage, I turned around and swung a fist out towards the nearest tree. To my surprise, an enormous, powerful gust of air hit the tree and several branches came toppling down.

Where had that come from?

I didn't give myself time to think about it because without a second thought, I walked off and made my way to my room, leaving Korra and Tenzin behind.

-0-

It didn't take me long to get to my room, but in the condition I was in, it felt like forever. I slammed the door shut behind me and before heading to the bathroom, I took off my jacket and threw it to the ground.

Walking into the bathroom, I looked at myself in the mirror and shook my head. It was only now that I could actually get a good look at myself, I could see how awful I looked. The entire left side of my face was discolored, my wrists where I had been tied up were a purplish color, and upon taking off my shirt, I could see how bruised my chest was too.

Essentially, I looked how I felt.

Like shit, and it seemed like with every second that I looked at myself in the mirror, I got angrier and angrier.

I was angry at Tenzin for not wanting to teach me how to fight. I was angry at Korra for acting like she understood what I was going through. I was angry at Mako and Bolin for getting me in this mess in the first place. It felt like I was angry at the entire world.

But then, I realized something. Maybe, just maybe, my anger was misplaced. Was I actually mad at them? Or was I mad at the situation? Was my pride getting in the way? I didn't know, but what I did know was that a part of me wanted revenge. I didn't know how or when, but I knew that I was going to make it happen somehow.

After taking a quick shower, I changed into some clean clothes and took a look at the jacket that I had thrown on the ground. It was covered in stains, and there was a huge hole in one of the sleeves.

"Looks like I won't be wearing this ever again," I muttered, picking up the jacket and shaking off all of the dirt on it. As I began shaking it, I heard something drop to the floor, which confused me. I'd checked my pockets earlier that morning and they were empty. I took a look at the ground to see what had fallen, and seeing what it was made me pause for a moment.

It was a red Pai Sho tile. The exact same one I had seen those two men playing with in the bar the night before.

So, I wasn't seeing things. That was good to know.

I picked the tile up and sat down at the foot of my bed, examining it closely. It was a vibrant red, unlike any other colour I had seen on a Pai Sho tile and it had some kind of strange symbol on it. I looked at it closely. It looked like some sort of...flower, but why did it seem so familiar? Where could I have seen this before?

The White Lotus. This was the symbol on their uniform! But why was the symbol on this tile red?

I flipped the tile over and read the inscription on the back.

3. Chaos. It read.

"Three, Chaos? What the hell does that mean?" I muttered.

Three as in the number three? I thought. I read the inscription, again trying to decipher what it meant, but after five more minutes of trying to figure it out, I gave up. I placed the tile on the table next to me and lay down on my pillow before getting ready to take a nap. Spirits knew I needed it.

*Knock, knock*

The knocking on the my bedroom door jolted me awake. I lifted my head up off of the pillow and stretched before putting on a T-Shirt I had on thrown on the chair next to my bed. I glanced over at the Lotus Tile that I had placed next to me on the desk and decided to quickly stuff it underneath the mattress. Didn't need whoever it was at the door asking any questions.

"It's open," I said, after putting the T-Shirt on. Moments later, the door opened slowly and Korra poked her head through the small crack. I really couldn't get a moment of peace on this island, could I?

"Hey," I said awkwardly as she walked in.

"Hey," She replied. She took a look around the room and then stepped in. "I just wanted to know if you wanted to come to the top of the cliff with me. The sunset's supposed to be nice today,"

"Sunset?" I asked. How long had I been asleep?

Korra nodded her head.

"Yeah, you slept through Lunch and Dinner apparently," She replied. I looked out of my bedroom window and realized she was right. I really must've been exhausted.

"So, what'dya say? I'm sure being cooped up in this tiny room all by yourself isn't fun," She said.

"Sure, let me just grab my shoes."

-0-

"You weren't kidding about the sunset. The view up here is incredible, " I said, as we reached the top of the cliff. The cliff overlooked Avatar Aang's statue, the city's skyline and the mountains. It really was spectacular.

"Told you," Korra replied.

"How'd you find out about this place anyway?" I asked.

"Gao told me about it the first day we got here," She said, referring to one of the Air Acolytes that worked in the temple grounds. "I like to come up here when I can't sleep or whenever I need to think,"

"What do you think about?" I asked.

"I don't know, life, I guess." She said. I nodded my head, accepting her answer. I could agree with that.

"I thought I had this whole thing planned out," She continued. "I thought I'd come to the city, master Airbending and somehow be the hero like Aang was, but it just seems like I'm constantly screwing up."

"You're doing pretty well in my eyes, considering how much you've got on your plate, I replied. She shook her head.

"I just feel like I should be doing so much more and now there's this crazy anti-bending guy running around." She said, holding her head in her hands for a moment. "As the Avatar, it's my duty to protect people and after that explosion at the Equalist rally I-"

"Korra, there's nothing you could've done to stop that," I said, doing my best to reassure her. "The city's always been like this. It's not your fault,"

"It sure feels like it. Look at what those Equalists did to you. I couldn't even stop that from happening to one of my friends," She said.

"It's not your fault. " I said, again. "Besides, things could've been way worse. I could've ended up like Lightning Bolt Zolt, am I right?" I joked. Korra immediately frowned and I knew that I screwed up.

"Is this some kind of joke to you?" She asked.

"Uh-"

"How could you have been so stupid?" She asked. I sat back and took the well deserved tongue lashing. I walked straight into that one.

"Korra, I didn't-"

"Look at you! You could've died! You and Mako should've come back to Air Temple Island with me and Bolin!" She said. It never ceased to amaze me how quickly we were able to descend into an argument.

"Korra, Naga wouldn't have been able to carry the four of us! We had to stay behind!" I said, finally getting a word in.

"We would've figured something out!" She replied. "We could've stayed and fought!"

"No, they would have overpowered the four of us and spirits know what they would've done if they had gotten their hands on you." I said. She softened and looked down at the ground.

"I just-When you didn't come back with Mako, I thought something happened to you. I was so worried, and then seeing you like this, I just-"

"Hey, look at me," I said, getting her to look at me. "I'm okay. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere."

"I have to do something about this. They can't just get away with-" She started. I put a hand on her shoulder and she softened.

"What's done is done," I said. "You've got better things to focus on,"

"No," She said. "I need to put all my energy into defeating Amon and his Equalists and getting this city back to normal,"

I shook my head at that.

"Korra, this city's never been normal. It's always been like this," I said. If I was being honest, the city was getting worse and it felt like things were only going to go downhill from here.

"Well, things are going to have to change," She said. "And I'm gonna start by teaching you how to defend yourself,"

"What?" I said, taken aback.

"You heard me," She said. "Tenzin might not be on board with it just yet, but I'll convince him. This is important."

I looked at her and noticed the dark circles under her eyes. I decided to lighten the mood because all this talk about Equalists and fighting was really killing my mood.

"When's the last time you slept?" I asked.

"I didn't get much sleep last night, if that's what you're asking." She replied.

"You should probably get some sleep, then. You look awful," I teased.

"Hey! You look way worse than I do!" She said with a slight smile on her face.

"I know! Do you know how long it's going to take to get my beautiful face back to its normal size?" I joked.

"You're such a dork," She said, but then she paused for a moment and looked at me. "You know, I'm really glad you're okay. I don't know what I would've done if something happened to you,"

"I'm like a cat-gator. I'm pretty sure I have like, nine lives," I replied. "It's gonna take a lot to get rid of me,"

"Maybe so, Mister Cat-Gator, but I don't want any of those nine-lives running out," She replied. She took my hand and squeezed it. I looked into her eyes and couldn't help but notice how brilliantly blue they were. I had never noticed it before, but they were a striking contrast to her skin tone. I'd also noticed how whenever she smiled it always reached her eyes no matter what. It was one of my favorite things about her-

Oh, no.

No, no, no, no, no!

The unthinkable was happening.

I was falling for the Avatar. This was not good. I needed to change the subject, and fast, so I pretended to yawn.

"Well, I'm pooped," I said, getting up from where we were sitting. "I think it's time for me to hit the sack,"

"You're leaving already? You're gonna miss the best part!" She said, referring to the upcoming sunset. Part of me wanted to stay there with her a little longer, but the rational part of me knew that it would be a lot more trouble than it was worth. I had a good thing going here. I didn't want to screw that up because of some stupid feelings.

"Yeah! I've gotta run. Tenzin said something about us needing to be up bright and early or something! Goodnight!"

I turned around and hastily walked towards the men's dorms.

-0-

The next few days had passed by fairly quickly and uneventfully. Mako and Bolin had come by to see how Korra and I were doing, and news had come out about what had happened at the rally. Thankfully nobody was hurt in the explosion, but there were several reports that said that Amon was looking for revenge.

Whatever that meant.

Even though I'd recovered quite a bit, I couldn't help but feel like things were off. I couldn't stop thinking about what that Equalist had said, and to make matters even more complicated, I'd realized that my feelings for a certain Avatar, weren't a one off thing. I'd realized that I had actuallydeveloped a little crush on her. I had no idea where those feelings had come from, but I was determined to do away with them as quickly as possible. Complicated feelings were the last thing the both of us needed right now, especially with things in the city getting worse. She needed to be focused on the city, and I wasn't about to get in the way of that.

At Tenzin's insistence, I'd taken a few days off of Airbending practice. He had been weirdly overprotective lately, and if I had so much as breathed too heavily, he had been the first person to check up on me. It was a little annoying at first, but I had begun to ppreciate it. I was starting to see him as a sort of Father figure. Something that I had never really had before.

Eventually, I started joining in on the Airbending lessons again and I had noticed that Tenzin had sneakily started incorporating some self-defense manoeuvres as well. I wasn't sure what made him have a change of heart, but I was grateful nonetheless. His change of heart probably had something to do with a certain Avatar putting in a good word for me. That, or she had managed to bug him to the point where he gave in. Both seemed plausible.

As time had progressed, I'd found myself getting through the basic forms a lot quicker than before, not to mention that I felt like I had a lot more over my bending. I'd finally begun to feel the sensation of the air around me, and according to Tenzin, that was another breakthrough. Tenzin had also said that he had seen a noticeable difference in my forms and my bending abilities and even though I was nowhere near the type of fighter that he or Korra was, I had made a lot of progress. It was as if I had finally connected with the element.

After finishing my afternoon meditation, I went into the dining room and took a seat next to Jinora, who had her head down in a book.

"Whatcha' reading?" I asked playfully. She looked up at me and put a bookmark in between the pages. I picked up the book and the first thing I noticed was how thick it was.

"It's called Perfection and Immortality. It's about a girl who can turn into a Wolfbat and then she goes around looking for people to eat so that she can stay immortal," She explained.

"Oh," I said. That was a whole lot more than I had expected. When I was her age, I would read stories about the adventures of the Cabbage Merchant and his friendly vegetable companions. Did Tenzin know she was reading these books?

"You know, I always forget that you're only eleven," I said.

"Why, because I read a lot?" She asked.

"Yeah, and because you read books that would probably give Chief Beifong nightmares." I joked. She laughed softly and went back to reading her book. I looked over to the doorway and watched as Meelo ran into the room, followed by his parents, Ikki and Korra who had just returned from her Pro-Bending practice. I stuck my tongue out at him and he returned the gesture.

"Hey you." Korra said, poking me on the arm and taking a seat next to me.

"Hey." I replied. "How was practice?"

"Amazing. Bolin taught me a few more combos today. I'll show you later," She said. Tenzin and Pema sat across from us and Tenzin looked over at me.

"Takeo, if you would be so kind as to say a few words before dinner."

"Of course," I said, closing my eyes. "We are grateful for this time together as a family, for happiness, compassion-"

I didn't get to finish.

"I'm not interrupting, am I?" Came a voice from the doorway. We all looked up, surprised to see someone interrupting dinnertime. Tenzin hadn't mentioned that we'd be having guests. I looked over at Tenzin who was now scowling. Whoever this guy was, it didn't seem like he and Tenzin were the best of friends.

"This is my home, Tarrlok. We're about to have dinner," Tenzin said standing up quickly and, doing his best to keep calm.

"Good, because I am absolutely famished. Airbenders never turn away a hungry guest, am I right?" The man said smugly. I looked at Korra who shrugged her shoulders and continued eating. Thinking about it, I had seen this guy before in the papers and he always had that smug grin on his face. T

Tenzin sighed and didn't even bother to answer. He walked over to the table and returned to his seat.

"You must be Avatar Korra. It truly is an honor to meet you. I am Councilman Tarrlok of the Northern WaterTribe." He said, extending his hand out for her to shake it. Korra returned the pleasantries and shook his hand.

"I don't believe we've had the pleasure of meeting, young man," Tarrlok said, looking at me. "I am honored to meet another Airbender,"

I looked at Tenzin who seemed just as surprised as I was. I had been under the impression that this whole Airbending thing was going to be kept under wraps.

"How do you know I'm an Airbender?" I asked.

"It's my job to know the ins and outs of the city and you, Takeo, along with Avatar Korra, are the talk of the town! You didn't think something as grand as this would be overlooked, did you?" He replied.

"I suppose not," I said, noting that he still hadn't said how he had known that I was an Airbender. I put my chopsticks down and shook his hand, which was oddly clammy. It felt like I was shaking hands with a dead, sweaty fish.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Councilman Tarrlok." I said, as politely as I could muster.

No sooner had the words left my mouth, Ikki then proceeded to somehow interrogate the man and insult him at the same time.

I was so proud.

"Well, aren't you…precocious." He said. "Anyway, I'm actually here to talk about your adventures, Avatar Korra. It was quite some feat infiltrating Amon's rally, if I do say so myself."

"I didn't do it alone. I had help." Korra said, taking a bite of her dumpling. She looked at me and smiled.

"Well, I'm glad that you and your friends did. The city is better off with you here now and I feel safer already!" Tarrlok said with the cheesiest grin on his face. I looked over at Tenzin and caught him rolling his eyes. He was quite expressive for someone with such a stoic demeanor.

I wasn't sure if it was just me, but this Tarrlok guy seemed like he was up to no good. I could smell it from miles away, Tenzin could smell it, hell even Ikki wasn't a fan. Unfortunately for us though, from the grin on her face, I could tell that Korra was totally buying it.

"I think you're the first authority figure that's actually happy I'm here." She said. Tenzin sighed loudly and folded his arms, finally putting an end to their nauseating exchange.

"Enough with the flattery, Tarrlok. What do you want from Korra?" Tenzin said, getting straight to the point. That was something I had admired about Tenzin. He didn't have time for the sweet talk and was willing to call out bullshit when he saw it.

"Patience, Tenzin. I'm getting to that." Tarrlok replied, chiding him like a child. I could see Tenzin going red again. "Avatar Korra, as a token of our gratitude for all you've done in the city, I would be honored if you considered joining my task force,"

Task force? Does Republic City even have one of those? I wondered. If so, they were doing a pretty lousy job.

"Your task force?" Korra asked. "I didn't know we had one of those in the city,"

"We've just established it. Lin Beifong, our esteemed Chief of Police and I are working to assemble a task force that will strike at the heart of the Equalist revolution and I want you and your friend, Takeo to join me." He replied.

I spluttered on the rice that I was eating at the mention of my name. How'd I get involved in this?

"Sorry." I said, wiping my mouth. Both Korra and Tenzin looked surprised, but Tarrlok continued.

"As you all know by now, Amon has promised revenge. I want to get to him before he has time to do anything else," He said. "I need a team that can help me attack Amon directly. Who better than to have two people on my team that have had first hand experience with Equalists? You're both fearless and not afraid to get the job done, something I believe is best for our beloved city."

This guy was kidding, right? Beloved city, my ass. This city was a dump. Everyone and their mother knew it.

"You want me to join your task force?" She asked, looking like she was mulling it over in her head. After a few moments she put her hands in her lap and shook her head. "No, I can't."

I raised my eyebrows, surprised that she hadn't jumped at the chance to go straight after Amon and his cronies, especially after the conversation we had last night. Judging by the looks on their faces too, I could tell that Tenzin and Tarrlok were thinking the same thing.

"I must admit, I'm rather surprised. I thought you'd jump at the chance to help me lead the charge against Amon." Tarrlok said. You and me both, buddy. This was out of character, even for Korra.

"I came to Republic City to focus on my airbending and finish my Avatar training with Tenzin. I don't have time for distractions. I'm sorry, Tarrlok." Korra replied.

"Which is why this opportunity would be perfect. You would get on the job experience while performing your Avatar duties for the city-" Tarrlok said, still trying to convince Korra to join his task force thing.

"She gave you her answer," Tenzin cut in quickly, which then gave Tarrlok a chance to look at me.

"And you, Takeo? You would be an asset to our team. Not to mention it would be a great opportunity for you to develop both your airbending and combat abilities."

"Absolutely not. He's still recovering from his injuries-" Tenzin said.

"Yes, I heard about that. A shame really. Which is all the more reason why I would be happy to take him under my wing ." Tarrlok replied, cutting Tenzin off.

His reply had struck a nerve. Although Tenzin had started incorporating some self defence techniques into our lessons, it wasn't moving fast enough for my liking. It was the one department I was lacking in. The mental side was there, and now, it was just the physical bending side that needed fine tuning.I didn't see any harm in getting some extra combat training on the side. I also didn't see any harm in doing a little extra investigation of my own.

Starting with that Red Pai Sho tile and that mysterious Airbending Equalist. Things weren't adding up and I was going to get to the bottom of it and if things went according to plan, I was definitely going to be busy over the next few weeks.

"Alright, Tarrlok. I'll join your task force," I said, scooping a spoonful of rice in my mouth.

"What?!" Tenzin and Korra said at the same time. I could see that little vein popping out of Tenzin's neck again.

"Why not? Can't hurt to try, right?" I replied.

Tarrlok clapped his hands together and stood up from his seat.

"Wonderful! Takeo, I will be in contact with you over the next few days and you, Avatar Korra," He said. "I'm not giving up on you just yet. You'll be hearing from me soon. It has been a pleasure."

I think everyone in the room collectively breathed a sigh of relief as he left the room.

"Takeo, what were you thinking?!" Korra said as soon as Tarrlok left the room. She sounded a little annoyed.

"I would also like to know." Tenzin chimed in, folding his arms.

"I'm thinking that it'll give me a chance to figure out what Tarrlok is really up to and why he's so eager to have you on the task force. You can't tell me you believed all that garbage about him 'wanting the city to be better'." I lied. I was getting pretty good at that. So much so that it was starting to worry me.

Tenzin stroked his beard, a habit I had noticed whenever he was deep in thought.

"Takeo might be onto something here." Tenzin said.

"I am?" I said, not expecting them to buy into my bullshit reason.

"He is?" Korra asked, probably expecting the same thing from Tenzin.

"Yes. I trust Tarrlok as far as I can throw him, so maybe having eyes on the inside might not be a bad idea after all," Tenzin said. A sneaky side to Tenzin? This day was just getting weirder and weirder.

"Yeah, what Tenzin said," I replied, hoping to convince Korra. She continued to frown for a few more moments but eventually, she relented.

"I guess," She said, crossing her arms and looking at me. "Just be careful,"

"I will. Don't worry." I replied.