Akashi grabbed a cigarette and lit it up, putting it in his mouth while looking at Tarrlok, who was coming his way. Tarrlok smiled widely, seeming overexcited to finally have his revenge.

Akashi, on the other hand, thought that he was lucky to take a shit before going to work. Well, putting that aside, Akashi had known that Tarrlok was following him. And for that, to increase his sensitivity to the air, he had raised his airbending by one level while putting the rest of the points on wavesbending.

"Not afraid to finally see me," Tarrlok said, ignoring all of the policemen that lay around, dead.

"I applaud you for letting them take the injured girl first," Akashi commented.

"Unlike you, I'm not a monster," replied Tarrlok.

Akashi's eyelids twitched.

Even a shit-bender was calling him a monster now.

Akashi pondered for a moment, thinking if he should manipulate him or not.

After all, Tarrlok was a highly dangerous person.

And even with a level 9 wavesbending, Akashi wasn't sure if a scream was enough to kill him. No, he wasn't sure if he could scream while being bloodbent.

That's why he had left his points unused.

Would strength points be the key?

Would vitality be the key?

He had yet to know.

But the only thing he knew for now was that he should give it his best shot.

"So, tell me, Tarrlok," Akashi said, "Did your brother send you, or was it by the orders of the Earth Queen?"

Tarrlok, who was about to raise his hand and bloodbend Akashi, stopped.

He heard something bizarre. As he had read Akashi's book before, he had come to understand that the latter had found a way to dig through his past and knew about his father and all.

But he had never known about his brother, or so Tarrlok had thought. But Akashi had now revealed that he knew that all along. And he knew about the pact between the equalists and the Earth Queen.

"You… how much do you know?" Tarrlok asked.

"You're really curious, aren't you?" Akashi replied teasingly.

By now, the cigarette had turned into ash linked to the butt. The smoke floated in the air, taking a more light-blocking form.

Akashi had manipulated the air density, resistance, and pressure, to make the smoke look thicker, and it lunged, wrapping him and Tarrlok.

-x- Flashback -x-

Three days ago.

"The Earth Queen's patience is running low," a man with noble green clothing and a bamboo hat said. One of the Dai Lee unit leaders was now standing in front of the higher-ups of the equalists.

Sato, a white-haired man, smiled and said, "Please, we're working on delivering the results as fast as possible."

"How hard is it to kidnap a man when you claim that you have the whole city under you," replied the agent, the men behind him nodding all along.

They, too, understood the reason for Her Majesty's anger. And they were angry too.

"When we were about to capture that man, he vanished from the trace of the earth," said a man in a mask. Amon, or so people knew him by that name. A charismatic figure who could drive tens of thousands of nonbenders to join his revolution.

"Because one of your side must have made a mistake," replied the agent.

"Not really," another man with a mask said, "He vanished because he was afraid that Tarrlok had escaped from prison."

"Tsk. That man, useless, even when you don't ask him for help," sneered the Dai Lee's agent.

Another man in a mask pulled it down, revealing Tarrlok's face.

"Excuse me," said Tarrlok, the whole unit behind the man floated in the air, "What did you just say?"

"I said, you're quite useless." The Dai Lee's leader stood his ground. "You've failed to kidnap that man, got yourself into jail, and because of that, Her Majesty is angry and all…" he added, "She has generously funded this whole operation. And yet, it was ruined again because of you."

"Tell her that she'll have that man," Tarrlok said, "One of my previous henchmen saw him going back to the police force today, and I know where he'll be."

"Hmmm… And what if you fail?" said the Dai Lee's leader.

"Don't worry, I won't fail like the eight men you sent," replied Tarrlok.

As he had seen the news about their deaths, and that it was linked to a bloodbender, he knew exactly who did it.

He had understood that these agents found another book, and they attacked Akashi, and the latter had twisted the truth to make himself look innocent.

That book had reached the Queen's hands. And as she had lost her influence over the city—Tarrlok—she had teamed up with the equalists.

The Dai Lee's agent, triggered, turned and said, "You better."

The floating men fell on their knees, breathing heavily for air, before following after their leader.

-x-X-x-

Tarrlok lost his sight of Akashi.

He extended his hand to bloodbend him. But he felt nothing on his bloodbending weight sensory.

The more matter you bend, the heavier it feels, and thus, it gives a sensation of weight.

"Be careful, smoking kills," echoed Akashi's voice.

Tarrlok turned his head in the direction of the voice, and he extended his hand, pulling toward him.

What he pulled was an unconscious cop, sleeping peacefully.

"Yeah… just like water isn't the only thing you can bend, I can do tricks," replied the same Akashi's voice.

And just like that, Tarrlok felt a chill. Akashi's voice came right next to his ear. It was as if he was standing next to him. His words and the sound of his breaths were too close.

Tarrlok felt that he had underestimated this opponent.

'How is it possible? My father said that he almost killed the Avatar. I'm stronger than my father. A mere airbender shouldn't pose a threat.'

Tarrlok pushed his hand back slowly, only for it to pass through. The phantom that was created by his brain vanished.

"Soundbending…" Tarrlok concluded.

'More like any wave that passes by the air.'

Akashi, standing outside the mist, opened his arms widely. It was time to try changing the frequency and amplifying the coming sound wave.

And he clapped. A strong wave left from his hands, blowing all of the smoke away.