Councilman Tarrlok's task force crouched on the roof of the tea shop, waiting. Tarrlok himself was half-standing. His eyes were glued to the street below, where the Equalists they'd been trailing were kneeling. The moonlight was just enough to see by. From their vantage point, the benders clearly saw the Equalist agents lift a sewage grate and drop into the hole. The grate was fixed back into place from underground.

Korra met Tarrlok's eyes questioningly. He knew what she was asking: Are we going after them?

Tarrlok addressed the fighters. "We're going in. I want every waterbender with an emergency pack, stat."

The waterbenders in the group, including Korra, helped each other put on the emergency packs. They were actually large metal canisters of water, held up by leather straps that criss-crossed the bender's torso.

"Earthbenders should be in their element. We'll be underground." He turned to Korra. "If you firebend, just be sure you don't burn the place down. Let's move out."

The task force surged over the lip of the building and fell lightly to the sidewalk. Korra was tenser this time around, in comparison to the task force's first mission. Tenzin had gotten her really worked up. For one thing, he didn't think Tarrlok's actions were making a positive impact. Also, the airbending master believed Amon wouldn't let her off so easy again.

"If you're captured," he'd said before they'd left, "the battle's already lost."

As she followed Tarrlok to the grate in the ground, she wondered if she should have taken Tenzin's advice.

The councilman bent down and removed the grate easily. A smell of raw sewage greeted them, along with a black tunnel disappearing into the earth. The only way down was to free-fall.

"After you," an earthbender said, nudging Tarrlok.

Tarrlok took a deep breath and gripped the edges of the hole, legs dangling. "If I start screaming, assume something's wrong."

And he let go. There was a soft thud, followed by Tarrlok's voice calling, "All clear!"

The entire task force turned its eyes on Korra. Of course, the Avatar should be next to fall to her possible demise. Korra glared at the benders and lowered her legs into the gaping hole. Breathing deep, she slid forward and used her weak airbending to lighten the blow of impact. She landed on a concrete ledge. It followed the left hand wall of a tunnel, with greenish water flowing on her right and another ledge on the other side of the sewage stream. Tarrlok was waiting a few feet ahead.

Korra held out her palm. A soft ball of fire sprung to life in her hand, lighting the near-black tunnel. Rats scurried away from the brightness as a waterbender dropped into their midst.

"Guess we don't need this," he said, tapping his pack and then gesturing to the dirty water. She nodded and held the flame over her head, throwing their faces into sharp relief.
Once the whole task force had joined, Tarrlok lined them up, shoulder to shoulder, in rows of three. He had Korra stand with him in the front, as she had their only light source. The tunnel seemed to move straight forward, and for some time, they crept forward in silence, meeting no resistance. And then they came to a crossroad. The main tunnel continued, but two smaller tunnels branched off to the right and left.

Tarrlok frowned and assessed their options. "We'll have to split up. Everyone should have flares, yes?"

The members of the task force checked the red flares at their belts. The flares were activated by pulling the tabs at the tops of the crimson cylinders, which broke the seal and released a bright burst of light and a loud bang.

Korra bit her lip. "Tarrlok, I don't think we should split up." The tension in her stomach increased.

"Korra, we can't explore every tunnel one at a time," he said. "We have to work with the little time we have, and if we're all moving in a large group, we're more likely to be spotted. It's the only way."

He clearly didn't want to be argued with. Against her protests, he divided the task force in three - one faction was headed by Tarrlok, the other by a metalbender captain, and the last by Korra. The Northern Water Tribe councilman refused to have it any other way. He led his team forward without another word, and was soon swallowed up by the darkness of the tunnels. The metalbender cop, a man named Hai, instructed his waterbenders to create a bridge of ice to link the two ledges; then he was gone as well.

Korra glanced back at her group. Some of them seemed smug ― they felt safer with the Avatar herself leading them. The more experienced members were worried, wondering if being guided by someone so young would only get them killed. Korra gave them a reassuring smile, brightened the flame in her palm, and motioned for them to accompany her down the left tunnel.

With two-thirds of the task force gone, Korra was on edge. She wanted to tell someone to walk ahead, but that would seem weak, and Tarrlok had said she was in charge. She proceeded with extreme caution, moving so slowly the men behind her were practically impatient.
When they reached the blank wall at the end of the tunnel, she nearly smacked into it. The task force bristled and moved into fighting stances. She signed that it was okay and panned the light of the fire over the wall. There was no door, so she gave the signal for fall back, there's nothing here. Korra's squadron pivoted to head back. For a suspended minute, the route to the main junction was clear of obstruction. Then Equalists plummeted to the ground all around them, at least doubling the number of fighters Korra had behind her.

"Hold your ground!" she commanded. Her six teammates ― four earthbenders and two waterbenders ― instantly sprang to action. It was difficult to fight on the ledge, since it was only about five feet wide. The Equalists brandished kali sticks, bright and electrified in the dim tunnel.

Korra extinguished the flame and sent a wave of the sewage water at their attackers. Several fell into the churning waste, while others retreated and then came back full force. Her waterbenders had moved to the opposite ledge and were barraging the agents with a series of violent attacks. Three of the earthbenders transformed the stone around into flying weapons of destruction, filling the enclosed space with powdery dust. The fourth earthbender, who'd been chi-blocked, moved to the back of the party and fumbled to set off the flare. A luminescent red firework tore through the cloudy air and fizzled out far off.

The Avatar froze an Equalist in place with water from her pack. More and more of the agents were pouring into the battle. Another earthbender had been rendered useless by a chi-blocker, and he joined his fellow in the safe zone. The waterbenders were barely holding onto their minuscule territory, but they would soon be overwhelmed. Equalists were climbing onto the platform from the sewage below, while more seemed to materialize from the empty air. Korra herself was drowning in opponents; she could no longer bend with her right leg, and by the looks of it, her other limbs were on the way.

And despite the sensory overload she was experiencing, the absolute terror she'd been fighting since the Revelation overcame it all. A panic rose in her. She could hardly breathe, it was so strong; all she could manage was to keep bending.

The waterbenders were overcome soon after, and with only Korra and one earthbender still standing, it looked like the battle was lost. She backed up until she was pressed against the concrete wall, ready to surrender, when Tarrlok and Hai charged out of the darkness, heading the other two factions of the task force. The Equalists were now the ones that were outnumbered. The rest of the task force had intimidated them, and Amon's agents dodged with expert skill, ducking out of the way and receding down the tunnel until they were just specks.

Tarrlok grouped everyone together on one ledge. "What happened?"

Korra just shook her head and coughed, dust lodged in her throat. The earthbender that had fought with her answered instead. "An ambush. We reached this dead end, and when we turned around, they were on us."

The councilman swore and checked that everyone was still alive. "We're lucky no one was seriously injured. We need to get out of here, quickly. Korra, light the way."
Korra, still recovering from the blind fear, nodded mutely and illuminated the tunnel with a two-handed fireball. The benders moved briskly, anticipating a second ambush. But the way was unobstructed. They came to the original point of entry without being confronted, and reached the surface by earthbending a ladder up to the sewage grate. Tarrlok and Korra were last to see the stars again.

The Avatar felt like sobbing, the way she had when Tenzin had found her, but kept her face carefully blank. She was exhausted. The task force's first success had made them cocky, and they had nearly lost their lives for this mistake. The image of Equalists rising out of the darkness made her heart skip beats.

A heavy vehicle veered around the corner and stopped inches from them. It was the transport they'd been granted by Chief Beifong, who was in the passenger seat in the cab of the truck. A metalbender cop was driving.

The task force piled into the bed of the vehicle, worn out and covered in soot. Tarrlok took the wheel to explain what had transpired to the chief. This district of Republic City was dark and quiet, something Korra could appreciate. She leaned her head back and felt the breeze play in her hair, listened to the shifting of the officers around her, smelled the metallic scent of city that was still new to her. It was peaceful.

They pulled up to the police headquarters twenty minutes later. Korra hated this part of the mission; everyone involved had to fill out a report. That could take half an hour at most. She really just wanted to get back to the Air Temple and sleep, but her Avatar status wasn't enough to bypass the procedure.

Naga was waiting patiently when Korra emerged from headquarters. The polar bear dog could sense her owner's tiredness, nuzzling her nose against the Avatar's stomach.

"Ready to go, girl?" Korra rubbed Naga's head affectionately and swung into the saddle on the animal's back.

They set off through the streets, the sounds of the more populated area of the city blocked by the shops on either side. Naga whined loudly. The noise grated on Korra's already taught nerves. "What's wrong, Naga?"

Her animal guide huffed and sped up, paws thumping against the ground like a heartbeat. Naga didn't slow her pace even when they reached Yue Bay. The polar bear dog splashed into the waters and paddled towards Air Temple Island. Korra twisted around to look for the source of Naga's discomfort, but saw nothing among the buildings but shadows.

"Dammit!"

Korra and Bolin shared a he needs to loosen up look as Mako attacked the training dummy again. He was trying to pull off a move he'd created, but it wasn't working out well. The firebending attack, though very powerful, required a midair-spinning kick coupled with a series of complicated jabs with the fists; Mako said there was something about it that let your chi flow stronger. In theory.

The captain of the Fire Ferrets roundhouse kicked the dummy once more before sitting down with his teammates. Bolin handed him a bottle of water, which Mako drank deeply from. He was sweating and breathing fast.

"Jeez, you need to lay off the super-attacks!" Bolin commented, thrusting a towel at his brother.

Mako scowled. "If I could just make that work, we'd be unstoppable in the championship tournament. I read all about how bending flows through your movements, but it's way harder than it looks."

"Save your strength for the match tomorrow," said Korra. She stood and stretched. "The Wolfbats are no one to mess around with."

Mako just nodded. Like Korra and Bolin, he was nervous and excited about the first match of the tournament. The Fire Ferrets were the underdogs, according to every newspaper columnist in the city. No one but Bolin's fan base seemed to think they had a shot at beating the more experienced teams.

Toza appeared in the doorway of the gym. "Hey, you all! Your time slot ends in three minutes. I don't want to see you when the next team gets here!"

He departed. Korra, Mako, and Bolin went about cleaning up the gym.

"I'll see you guys around," Korra called over her shoulder, heading for the door. The way was blocked by Councilman Tarrlok.

Korra's hands curled into fists. Tarrlok was the reason she was constantly putting her life on the line, he had manipulated her into joining the task force. She wanted nothing to do with him.

"Avatar Korra," he said in his usual slick tone, bowing low.

"Oh. Hello, Tarrlok.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance again."

"Do you need something?" Mako asked bluntly.

Tarrlok made a face at Mako before returning his attention to Korra. "As I was saying. The Council made an interesting decision today, and I thought you would like to know."

He paused for dramatic effect, possibly waiting for her to thank him for being so inclusive. He didn't receive such a response. "Well, out with it."

"You know firsthand that Amon's power and numbers only grow. The benders in Republic City aren't enough to combat them all, so we sent requests for benders to the other nations.

Chief Beifong will personally train an army to defeat the Equalists before their little revolution gets any more out of hand."

Korra was surprised. "Oh, yeah? And what did Tenzin think of this?"

Tarrlok's face flashed with contempt. "Oh, you know the monks. Of course he was against the idea of using violence, but he doesn't have the city's best interests in mind. Not like you and me."

"You and me?" She didn't like where this was going.

The councilman grinned. "When the army is assembled, the Council wanted to surprise you with a position as general. One of the highest ranks, you should know, under only Chief Beifong and myself."

Her eyes widened. How was she supposed to respond to that? It was especially uncomfortable with Mako and Bolin listening intently in the background, and with the fact that she knew Tarrlok was only buttering her up to get her to play into his plans. "I don't know what to say."

"You don't need to. I just thought I'd mention that. Now I've got to be on my way. Good day."

He swept from the room, ponytails whipping through the air. Korra shared a bewildered look with the brothers. "Well, that was unexpected."