A Monster or A Human

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The Following SEVEN Chapters are already avaliable for Patrons

Chapter 27 (Together), Chapter 28 (Love and Pleasure), Chapter 29 (At the Edge of Madness), Chapter 30 (Regrets), Chapter 31 (Korra's Love), Chapter 32 (A Dream of Death), and Chapter 33 (No Time Left) are already available for Patrons.

Sato Mansion

Bolin, Asami, and Mako were relaxing in the living room, eating fruit and reading the new edition of the Future Industries magazines. It had been a rough week for them ever since Korra left them. Mako was angry at her, but he would be lying to himself if he said he didn't miss them at all. Korra was a good friend before all this trouble started.

That wish, however, went unheard as a metalbending squad crashed into the room along with Tenzin, Naruto, Korra, and Lin.

"What are you doing here?" Asami asked, irritated, looking at Lin; her eyes noticed her boyfriend was looking down.

"We have reason to believe there's a factory hidden below the mansion," Lin answered, looking around the place but not at the girl in front of her.

"I think I would've noticed if there was a factory underneath my house! The lies you people come up with just to persecute my father."

Tenzin stepped in. "Where is your father?"

"In his workshop, behind the house," Asami replied, her eyes softened when she talked with him.

"Asami, my uncle, believes something is going on. We are just going to check the place one last time," Naruto said with a hint of sadness; Asami wanted to say that they had already checked the house but knew the old Airbender wouldn't do this without strong proof.

"...Very well," Asami reluctantly agreed; she respected the old master; therefore, she agreed to check the house one last time.

With this said, the metalbending squad reached the workshop mentioned and secured the perimeter. When they confirmed the area was clear, everyone entered the workshop.

Naruto walked up to Asami before grabbing her hand; she was angry that they were suspicious about her family but decided to trust Naruto. Accepting his hand, she felt better having him close, something noticed by Korra, who looked down, feeling bad, and in a way, ashamed.

The place was empty, with nothing but toolboxes on a couple of shelves, a few unfinished sketches of Satomobiles on a drawing table, and a Satomobile yet to be finished. There was no sign of recent activity in the room.

"Dad? Hello?" Asami called her father. The silence was her answer.

A metalbending officer reached Lin. "Chief, the estate has been secured. No one has left the workshop since we arrived."

"Perhaps we just couldn't see him leaving," Lin replied as she placed herself in the middle of the room. The next thing she did, she kicked the floor, retracting the metal sole of her boot. Everyone stayed quiet, recognizing the Chief's technique as the seismic sense used to scan the area through vibrations. "There's a tunnel beneath the workshop running deep into the mountainside." she declared after a minute of concentration.

"What? There's no tunnel." Asami assured, her voice cracking a little.

Lin replied by metalbending the floor, opening a large rectangular hole that revealed an underground stairway that descended deep into the ground until it reached an elevator platform.

"Wow. Do you think your dad knows about this tunnel?" Bolin whispered to Asami.

"I-I don't understand. There must be an explanation." Asami said, shocked. What was the meaning of this? Why would her dad have this hidden tunnel? And maybe even more important, why didn't he tell her before? She felt a comforting hand on her shoulder; she knew Naruto was near her. Does my mother know about this?

"Maybe you don't know everything about your father. I'm sorry." Korra said with a downcast look. Asami ignored her, and she simply followed the others.

Even if she tried to deny it, something was telling Asami that what Korra just said was true. That feeling scared her.

"Officers, into the tunnel. Be cautious." Chief Beifong commanded. The metalbending squad nodded and proceeded to enter the tunnel, followed by Tenzin, Korra, and Naruto. Asami, Mako, and Bolin tried to enter as well, but Lin stopped them. "Uh-uh. You three stay up here. Officer Song, keep an eye on them." she said as they left. The last thing she needed right now was more civilians interfering with her job. The only reason she let Naruto go with them was because she knew the boy well enough to figure out he would join them anyways, even if it meant leaving the guard she placed unconsciously. Hopefully, these other three would be a little more cautious.

Hidden Factory

As the elevator finished going down, the bending group reached a big bright entrance. Once they entered, they found themselves in a wide chamber that appeared to be some sort of factory. On the roof, there were hanging several banners with the face of Amon on them. There was no doubt about it now. Hiroshi Sato, founder and owner of Future Industries was indeed working with the Equalists.

"Not your average backyard workshop," Lin commented.

"And I'm guessing those are the new weapons," Korra added as she pointed to the machines on the side of the room. These machines were large humanoid robots about 16 ft. tall with tweezers for hands.

"Hiroshi was lying alright, but where is he?" Tenzin asked, keeping his surprised look at bay.

Suddenly, a large wall appeared beneath the floor, quickly blocking the entrance and obscuring the chamber. Lin instantly reacted by trying to metalbend the wall away, but nothing happened. A voice echoed through the room as a series of lime-green lights started flashing from the humanoid robots. "I'm afraid you won't be able to metalbend that wall, Chief Beifong. It's solid platinum. My Mechatanks are platinum as well. Not even your renowned mother could bend metal so pure." the voice said as the now active Mechatanks surrounded the group.

"Hiroshi, I know you were a lying, no-good Equalist!" Korra shouted. "Come out here and-"

"And do what, young Avatar? Face the wrath of your bending? No, I think I'll fight from inside here, where my odds are a little more... equal." Hiroshi said from inside his Mechatanks.

"That source was a set-up. You lured us down here!" Lin accused him.

"Guilty as charged."

"Why are you doing this, mister Sato?" Naruto suddenly shouted in anger, but most of all sadness; he had known the man for a long time, and to see him betray them like this.

Seeing Naruto, his face changed from calm to disgusted, a look the blonde had never seen before; Master Sato was looking as if he was a monster.

"A monster like you would never understand," he seethed, his voice getting louder with each word he spat out.

Naruto didn't understand it. Did Mister Sato know about the Kyuubi? If so, how did he know.

Did he somehow hear about what I did? How? Asami would never tell him, he thought. He quickly noticed that Asami's mother wasn't around.

"Where's Miss Yasuko? She would never agree to this?" Naruto questioned, afraid that something had happened to her.

"She had doubts about me; she was suspicious of my activities, so I needed to keep her quiet," Sato explained with sadness.

Naruto's heart stopped for a moment, and his blood turned cold like ice, fearing the worst. "...Did you harm her. I swear if-" "Don't you dare say that I would never harm my own family, the people I love. Unlike You," he interrupted him, his voice dripping venom in the end, pointing his index finger at Naruto.

"I never harmed anyone," Naruto quickly replied; he knew he had lost control against Amon, but he didn't harm Korra. This caused Tenzin to tense; knowing what Mister Sato was talking about, he had hoped this would be kept quiet and eventually forgotten. But it seemed. Nothing stays hidden forever.

"You Never Harmed Anyone, You Almost Killed My Daughter," The man shouted angrily, causing Naruto to freeze in horror at what he had just heard, his hands suddenly shaking, desperately trying to remember what he was talking about.

"What are you talking about?" Naruto questioned, almost not wanting to know the answer, his voice cracking, sudden flashes of a night in his eyes, a woman's scream.

Naruto Stopp

He grabbed the side of his head with his right hand; a terrible headache made his head feel like it was pulsating. Mister Sato grinned when he heard Naruto's words, understanding that he had no idea about the incident seven years ago.

"So, Master Tenzin never told you," he spoke with a sinister grin, briefly glancing at the old master before turning his attention to Naruto.

"Seven years ago, you lost control; you were like an animal; when you lost control, you were about to kill Asami, My Daughter; where do you think she got that scar above her eyes? That night I understood that as long as monsters like you existed in this world. This world will never be safe," The man shouted in both anger and a hint of sadness.

Naruto's eyes widened in shock and terror; he knew of the scar above her eye; he had asked her when she had gotten it, but neither she remembered when; he felt his whole body turn cold, and he felt as if he was freezing.

"You think you help people, but your very existence is a Threat to our world," he shouted, enjoying that Naruto seemed broken; his eyes had lost all the passion they usually had, and his plan was obviously working.

"Naruto, don't listen to him; what happened that night was not your fault,"

Naruto barely acknowledged his uncle's words, his eyes looking at his hands; a flash of much different hands went through his eyes, a flash of hands covered in blood, his hands engulfed in Red demonic power.

Am I really a monster? He questioned himself, feeling as if a void was engulfing him. Suddenly a slap echoed throughout the place like an echo; Naruto felt a sharp pain across his cheek, leaving a big red mark on his face, his ears buzzing in his head, as a hand forced him to look at another pair of blue eyes, filled with unshed tears.

"It is not your fault, Naruto; whatever happened that night is not your fault. You save and help people, you saved Yasuko's life, you try to fix the lives of non-benders, and you do a much better job than I ever did; that alone proves that you're a Kind and Good man," Korra spoke on his face with as much honesty and love she could muster in her words. Her soft hands held his face close to hers.

She felt joy when she saw his eyes looking brighter, pulling him close to her. "You're my friend; you're not a monster," she spoke softly, voice kinder than ever before.

Naruto smiled in appreciation, hugging her back. "Thanks, Korra," he whispered, appreciating her words. She had never seen him so vulnerable ever before.

Hiroshi growled in anger, seeing that his plan didn't work because of the annoying Avatar.

The Mechatanks attacked, sending metal hooks out of their tweezer hands. The group quickly evaded the hooks and dispersed themselves from their position. With now more ground to use at their advantage, the metalbending squad worked in pairs to neutralize the Mechatanks by using their cables to restrain them. Lin dodged a hook directed to her and used her earthbending to jump at the head of the Mechatank that had just attacked her. Revealing the secret blades from her wrists, Chief Beifong started to cut through the Mechatank's head, hoping to reach the Equalist using the machine. Her relentless attacks worked, for the chi-blocker inside was too busy dodging Lin's blades that he didn't realize he was going backward until the machine lost its balance and fell.

Korra and Naruto were fighting against another Mechatank. Naruto was using his airbending to push the machine back so it couldn't fight back, while Korra was using her firebending to damage the robot. They were aided by Tenzin, who threw strong air blows to keep their attacker at bay. Three other metal benders were struggling to restrain a Mechatank with their cables. The humanoid robot grabbed the cables attached to him with its tweezers and sent an electrical discharge that reached the metalbenders, electrocuting them to unconsciousness in a matter of seconds. Lin noticed this and tried to aid her squad members, but she was caught off guard as a hook grabbed her by the back and threw her to the ground, leaving Chief Beifong unable to move.

Tenzin, Naruto, and Korra were now fighting the Mechatank Hiroshi Sato was in. Their constant attacks were succeeding, for the Future Industries founder couldn't reach them. However, a second Mechatank joined the combat. Korra was unaware of the second robot and could not sense its hook coming at her before it was too late. Korra was smashed into a big machine from the factory and was knocked out.

"Korra!" Tenzin and Naruto shouted. The two airbenders went to her aid, but one of the hooks from the Mechatanks caught Tenzin and electrocuted him, leaving the son of Aang in a similar condition to the one the Avatar was in.

Naruto kneeled to inspect Korra. She was unconscious and had a few scraps on her, but luckily she was going to be alright. Holding her close to him, Naruto placed her in a more comfortable and secure position before reaching his uncle to check up on him.

"Well, I'd say that was a near flawless test drive." Hiroshi confidently said now out of his Mechatank. "Load everyone into the transports and deliver them to Amon!"

"Like hell, you will! You're going to pay for this, you traitorous bastard!" Naruto yelled, fury flowing freely through his veins, his eyes unconsciously turning red. No matter what it took, Naruto would punish that man for his betrayal.

Hiroshi laughed, amused. "To think that a monster like you took my daughter's heart, I hoped she would move on, but it doesn't matter; a monster like you will never be allowed to live. You think people will see you as anything but a monster once they know the truth," he spoke, laughing in amusement, seeing Naruto clenching his teeth in anger.

"Amon knows what you are; soon, the whole city will know; once that happens, everyone will know that you're a monster," the man said, the feeling of malice spreading around the air, causing the concrete and glass to start cracking from the pressure.

"Stop it right there!"

The Airbender and the Sato Equalist turned their heads. Asami, Mako, and Bolin had arrived at the scene.

Mako approached Naruto and held Korra while Bolin did the same with Tenzin. Asami just stood there, incapable of believing what she was seeing. It was true. Her father was an Equalist supporter, just like Korra had thought.

"Sponsoring our team, supporting the Avatar, it was all just a big cover," Mako said, angered by Hiroshi's treason.

"Yes. And the most difficult part was seeing my daughter together with a monster like him!" Hiroshi replied as he activated his gloves.

"Dad, stop!" Asami shouted with tears threatening to fall from her face. "Why?"

The Sato Equalist lowered his hands. "Sweetie, I wanted to keep you out of this for as long as possible. But now that you know the truth, please forgive me. Naruto, he's a monster; you have no idea what he is; if he's allowed to live, he will one day destroy everything!"

Asami felt even more hurt, a pang on her heart threatening to tear her apart; moving away the hair that covered her scar, she glared at her father. "Where's mother?"

"She's safe. I gave her something to help her sleep," he replied with a downcast look.

This caused Asami to stiffen in place, her heart beating in her throat, she felt like crying, but she held herself together. "You think I don't know about the scar? Naruto was the one who saved mother that day. He was the one who taught me the importance of being free; he's the most important man in my life,"

Hiroshi snapped. "Shut up! You know nothing, absolutely nothing! Naruto is a monster. But with Amon, we can fix that and build a perfect world together. We can help people like us everywhere." Hiroshi said, taking his right glove off and offering it to her daughter. "Join me, Asami."

Asami hesitatingly walked toward her father. Slowly, she grabbed the electrical glove and placed it in her hand.

The others thought she would join, except Naruto, who knew Asami would never join him.

"I love you, dad," Asami said. Before anyone could react, Asami placed her hand on Hiroshi's chest and activated the glove. Hiroshi screamed in pain before falling to the ground.

The two Mechatanks remaining, who were in automatic mode, charged against the group. "Let's get out of here!" Mako said, still holding a now conscious but weakened Korra. Lin and Tenzin were now conscious as well and were helping the rest of the metalbending squad. Everyone was now near the exit hole Bolin made and were ready to leave.

Everyone except Naruto.

"Naruto, get out of there!" Tenzin yelled.

However, Naruto did not move. Instead, he went into a horse stance and opened the palms of his hands. In a couple of seconds, Naruto was holding two grey spheres the size of a soccer ball in his hands. These spheres were surrounded by white light and were whirling at a tremendous speed, the sound of piercing air echoing throughout the place.

"W-What is that, Tenzin?" Korra asked, shocked.

"I... I have no idea." Tenzin answered just as astonished.

Trying to figure out what in the name of the Spirit World her friend was doing, Kora remembered something Naruto had said to her not long ago.

'When strong enough, air can become wind. Wind does not only blow, but it can also cut.'

"No way," Korra said to herself.

In an amazing display of speed, Naruto charged against the Mechatanks, still holding the whirling spheres. Once they were close enough, the humanoid robots threw their hooks at Naruto. Just before the hooks could get to Naruto, he jumped, using his airbending to blow air out of his mouth to the ground, effectively evading the hooks. As he descended, Naruto raised his hands and pointed the spheres at the Mechatanks. Letting out a loud and aggressive roar, Naruto reached the robots and buried the spheres into them, piercing through the platinum and creating a huge hole in both of them. The Mechatanks exploded, and Naruto fell to the ground.

"Wooooooooooooooooooow," Bolin said in awe.

When the smoke coming out of the once-functioning Mechatanks dissipated, the crew expected to see Naruto standing up and running to join them. What they saw was a completely different thing.

Naruto was on the ground, trying to get up but failing to do so. His body and face were suddenly covered in sweat. His hands and forearms had cuts on them; some of them were even bleeding. The cuts were not very deep, but they were a lot. His entire body was shaking, and his skin color was paler than usual. Just when his shape couldn't look any worse, Naruto started coughing small amounts of blood. He couldn't seem to catch his breath as two blood threads were coming out from both sides of his mouth.

Korra and Asami were panicking. "Naruto!" They shouted as they reached their dear friend, followed by Bolin and Mako.

"I'm... I'm f... I'm fine." Naruto managed to say as he tried to regain his breath.

"Fine? You're anything but fine! Just look at you!"

The Airbender grunted as he was held by Mako and Bolin from his arms. The pain he was feeling right now was extreme. His whole body was burning, and his muscles were giving him the impression of being torn. The bending brothers brought Naruto to the exit as fast as they could while trying to avoid causing him any more pain. After a long and tiresome escape, the group finally reached the squad's airship outside the factory.

Once they were at a safe distance, Naruto was placed on an emergency stretcher, and one of the officers started to patch him up as best as he could with a first-aid kit. Chief Beifong was resting on another stretcher right next to the one Naruto was in. Tenzin, Asami, and Korra were keeping them company while Bolin and Mako were comforting Asami, who was crushed after learning the truth about his dad and being forced to attack him. She was aware by now that her relationship with her beloved father was never going to be the same, maybe even nonexistent.

"My actions almost cost us our lives and our bending. Tarrlok was right. I failed. First thing in the morning, I'm handing my resignation." Lin said.

"No! You can't give up like this!" Tenzin exclaimed.

"I'm not giving up," Lin explained. "I already told you protecting Republic City is all I care about. But I won't risk any more lives in this. From now on, I'm going to do it my way... outside the law."

At the same time this was going on, Mako approached Korra and Naruto. He decided to start with Korra. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you. It's just that Asami's dad being an Equalist is not an easy thing to believe. Even now..."

"I know. I'm sorry this whole thing happened." Korra replied in a sad tone.

"Sooo, does your offer to live in the Air Temple still stands?"

Korra smiled. "Of course it does. And Asami is welcomed too."

Mako thanked her and let out a relieved sigh. He wasn't so sure Korra would forgive him that easily, but her kindness had proved him wrong.

Tenzin narrowed his eyes. Whatever his nephew did back at the factory, he would have to explain it. Something was telling him Naruto had a few secrets of his own, and he was determined to find out what they were. But not now. It had been a crazy day for everyone, and he was not an exception.

The next day, however, was going to be a different story.

Amon

"Brother!" The masked man turned around to face Tarrlok, who was smirking.

"Is it done?" He questioned; the room they were staying in was dimly lit, and the only light source was the small lantern on a table near the stone wall.

"Yes, it seems he loses control when his loved ones are in danger or harm. Soon the world shall know the truth, the monster will show himself, and we will be known as heroes who saved the city from a monster,"