It's done! Been a bit busy cause of the holidays, but it's finished.

I'd just like to thank all the commenters for their lovely reviews. I've gotten a lot of wonderful ideas for future chapters now. :D So thanks, you guys!

Also a thanks again to willowscribe for her wonderful editing.

In this chapter Tarrlok's a bit out of it and Korra's not much better. Amon finally shows up too, but he's not too happy either.

Anyway, enjoy and Happy Holidays!

Take It On Faith

Ch 2 : Blindfolds

Like a ton of bricks—that's what Tarrlok would call this feeling. It was as if someone had taken a very large hammer and then proceeded to bash it into his head. God, he could still feel his brain rattling around in there. He was lucky there didn't seem to be any permanent damage.

His father had always said he had a thick skull.

He tried to raise a hand to his forehead to stop the throbbing, but a sharp pain from his left forearm made him wince. What in Spirits' name…

Then a light clicked on.

The force of Korra's anger, the tightness of his refusal, and the crackling of tension. The memory of his water whip flowing through his hands as it rebounded against Korra's defense. The trembling of the earth against her fist. The impact of his body on the hard ground.

The undoing of everything he had worked for.

Then he remembered her rage. The heat of the fire glowing in her palms. The unrestrained fury in her eyes. The acknowledgement of his failure and the acceptance of his fate. The blackness that followed.

He hadn't expected to come out of that alive, let alone unscathed.

Enough. Such thoughts could be contemplated later. First, he had to figure exactly where he was. He could smell the scent of cooked meat very close by.

Tarrlok attempted to open his eyes, only to find that only one would open. To his right, his vision was perfectly clear. To his left, pitch black.

Another touch of reality.

His left arm was burned and useless. The weight of it triggered a swirling of panic at the pit of his stomach. The smell of burning flesh was starting to make more sense.

The second fact caused a much stronger reaction.

~ O ~

"What do you mean there's nothing you can do? There has to be something, anything! Just name the price and I'll pay it!"

"Korra, I'm afraid it's not a matter of expense. There's only so much the doctors can do. He's lucky he's doing as well as he is. His entire right side is untouched and his arm will heal with time, but…"

"But what, Tenzin?"

A sound, torn between a desperate sob and a hysterical scream, deafened the room.

Korra's gaze snapped to the supposed-to-still-be-sleeping hospital patient's bed.

"Sir, calm yourself! It's all right, you're safe now." The nurse attempted to soothe the flailing politician but to no avail. "Councilman, please! Your injuries!"

The man's arms shot out in different directions with no concern about whom they made contact with. His right eye was wild with panic, and his voice rose to ear piercing shrieks that caused many of the nurses and Tenzin to cover their ears. Korra, however, rushed forward and directed the nurse to stand aside. Carefully evading Tarrlok's attacks, she took a deep breath and leaned in close to his ear.

"TARRLOK!"

It seemed to do the trick. Tarrlok's arms dropped limply to his sides once more, and he blinked one eye as his voice trailed to a vague whisper. "My eye… Spirits, my eye…"

Korra winced. She cursed the doctors for not administering heavier medication. She was not ready for this. A tsunami crashing into the city, a hurricane tearing through the streets, giant boulders falling from the sky, anything but this.

"It's so dark. I didn't know black could be so dark."

Still, she was silent, taking in his bruised and broken form. She watched as his hands shook and his chest stuttered with every breath. A broken smile followed by a series of coughing. His head turned toward Korra, eyes shining with something close to tears.

"So much irony, Korra." His chuckle came out more as a gasp for air. "It's like one giant metaphor."

Then his eyelids shut, and his form went still.

"Tarrlok, can you hear me? Tarrlok!" Korra shook him.

He wasn't- He couldn't be-

A gentle hand grasped her arm. Tenzin gestured to the Councilman's chest. Still breathing.

"He's fine, Korra. He just needs time to rest."

Korra nodded, her eyes still pinned to Tarrlok's charred features.

"I don't…I just don't…" Her voice broke.

Tenzin embraced the still very young Avatar. Sometimes, for all her skill, Korra could have the most sensitive of souls. The memory of her breakdown after the Equalist ambush fluttered across his mind as she pressed her nose into the folds of his cloak.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I'm so so sorry."

"I know, child." He held her tightly, as a father would his daughter. "I know."

~ O ~

Meanwhile, below the brightly lit streets of Republic City, tension gathered in darker places. Places of radical beliefs and shared defiance. Places no bender dared to tread.

Rats scurried about through well-worn tunnels, following long forgotten passages. Though the dripping of water could be heard and the smell of grime lingered in the air like a smog, these were trivialities.

The freshly printed newspaper, exchanged between gloved hands, was of far greater importance.

"You're sure."

"Yes, sir. Just printed this morning."

A white mask hid the thinning of the first man's frown. "I see."

"One less thorn in our side, eh sir?"

The masked man's grip on the paper tightened. "Quite."

"That task force has given us nothing but grief ever since that councilman decided to rise up. But without him, there's no question that it'll fall apart." The other man tilted his head. "The irony of it though—the Avatar bringing him down. They're calling it an accident, but the press is up in arms. Nonbenders are joining by the day, Amon, sir."

Amon raised his hand to his chin in a contemplative gesture. "Yes, everything seems to work to our advantage."

"It's too bad though."

Finally, Amon turned his sharp blue eyes, lined with the red symbols of his mask, to the man kneeled before him.

"What is?"

"That he wasn't killed." The man chuckled darkly. "Would serve the bastard right after all he-"

"Get out."

The other man looked up into his leader's burning gaze. Cold pits of blue fire.

Amon turned his back to his follower. "I need some time to process this information."

The man looked confused. "But sir-"

"I said, get out."

The man stumbled out of the room, muttering apologies as he went.

Noatak looked back down at the paper in his hands. He read the caption beneath the picture of Korra formally apologizing to the press.

Avatar Korra's announcement of profound apology and sincerity has people skewed. Accidental injury or calculated attack? More on page 7.

He could hear his teeth grinding as he scanned the quotes.

"Deeply tragic event"…."Ashamed for my recklessness"…."Do all I can to make up for this horrible mistake"….

Then, the image of Tarrlok's condition.

The steps of Noatak's boots echoed through the tunnels as the door clicked shut behind him.

The paper was scattered across the floor in pieces, frayed and ripped apart as as if in a violent fit of anger.

The only thing undamaged was torn picture of a sleeping, half scarred man, laid gently and carefully on the occupant's single pillow.