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𝐄ach Equalist that crossed the furious airbender were all sent to their unconscious state, but that didn't mean she was safe from the bruises and the pain of it. Cloud ran along the stands, but slowed down when the top of the glass dome was smashed as ropes with platforms on the end, coming from an Equalist airship, were lowered down through the hole. Amon and his group of henchmen climbed onto the platforms as the ropes were lifted out of the arena.
Cloud shook her head in disbelief and continued to run until she reached Lin and her uncle who was now awake but still a bit disorientated.
"Uncle! Lin!" She called, and the two older people glanced at her, relieved to see that she was unharmed.
The chaos didn't end there when the Equalists decided to detonate an explosive on the central platform. Cloud recoiled and lifted her arm to cover her face from the blast, Tenzin tried to cover her too as he put himself in front of her. The entire explosion made the whole arena shake and the crowd began to scream in fear.
Cloud snapped out of it and looked at the airship, but her eyes widened when she noticed Korra trying to follow Amon. She looked at Tenzin and Lin but found no sign of the Chief of Police. She looked back at the scene and found the woman already helping Korra to get to the top, which made her sigh out of relief.
"Cloudy!"
Cloud turned around behind her and saw Mako and Bolin running towards her, soaking wet from the bottom to the top, even the little fire ferret that perched upon his owner's shoulder. Words weren't needed as she greeted the brothers with a big hug, the two returning it as they buried their faces on the girl's shoulders. No matter how many arguments or disagreements the three of them have or will make, they will always have each other's back.
After suffering from a lot of bruises, Cloud decided to give herself a break and slept for hours back in the Air Temple Island. I deserve it. The airbender reminded herself. She also went through about thirty minutes of meditation with the sky bison as they flew around her. They gave her a strange sense of comfort although she never owned one because she never had the time to take care of them.
Mako had invited her to Asami's mansion, but Cloud declined after telling him that she couldn't swim. It wasn't a lie. Besides, she promised Meelo that she would help him chase around some ring-tailed lemurs, and also teach him about other cool airbending moves. She couldn't say no to that kid. He was like, her very own tiny best friend.
Another night she'd see the loveliness of the moon, but in this time of darkness, she found herself inside one of the police airships with Tenzin, Korra, and Lin Beifong on both sides. Korra had told her that Asami's father was somehow working with Amon, which surprised her more than anything. The metalbender cops burst into the living room, surprising the clueless teenagers inside.
"What are you doing here?" Asami demanded.
"We have a reason to believe that there's a factory hidden below the mansion."
"I think I would've noticed if there were a factory underneath my house. The lies you people come up with just to persecute my father."
"Where is your father?" Tenzin asked.
Asami frowned. "In his workshop, behind the house."
When the two brothers looked at their childhood friend with uncertainty, Cloud only gave them a shrug and followed after the others behind the house. A few metalbender cops guarded the area while the others busted into the workshop, but instead, they found no one inside the room.
"Dad? Hello?" Asami called out, a little confused since she was sure her father was there.
An officer approached Lin. "Chief, the estate's been secured. No one has left the workshop since we arrived."
"Perhaps we just couldn't see him leaving," Lin muttered.
Perhaps she was right. Lin walked into the middle of the room with her hands behind her back. She raised her leg and metalbends her left sole, removing it to expose her barefoot to perform her seismic sense.
"There's a tunnel beneath the workshop running deep into the mountainside."
"What? There's no tunnel." Asami was in disbelief and sounded a bit angry. Maybe it was because she didn't want to believe her own father was part of the cruel group who called themselves the Equalists.
The Chief of Police ignored her and looked at the floor instead before suddenly metalbending to remove the metal layer, exposing a set of stairs and an elevator going down. Cloud pursed her lips and stepped forward to check the tunnel. She took no joy from it either. She'd feel betrayed too if her father was doing very bad things behind her back without her knowledge.
"Officers, into the tunnel. Be cautious." Lin turned to her officers and pointed at the stairs. She sent a firm nod at the airbender. "Cloud, guide them."
The airbender nodded in response and walked down the stairs, standing on the elevator as the officers followed close behind her. Lin, Tenzin, and Korra followed without the two brothers and Asami, and the elevator took them down until it stopped. They cautiously walked into a massive room that had posters of Amon hanging up. There were also large robotic machines on the sides━which was more than an answer to their accusations.
"Not your average backyard workshop," Lin commented.
