Book 2: Heroes and Monsters
It has been six months since Avatar Korra, excuse me, former Avatar Korra returned and since the restoration of the Air Nation. With the Air Nomads back and the world at peace, everything's been going wonderful. Though Korra is still struggling with trying to help people and protecting them while not being the Avatar anymore. And the memories of her past actions during her service to the dark spirit, Mala Ta'ak, also still haunt her. But this time she has her friends, both old and new, to help her. This story starts in the Southern Air Temple, now again populated with airbenders, where Taka and Masaru are still getting used to life on the mountains. "Why is it always so cold here?" Masaru said as a few kids air scooter past them. "Well, it is the mountains," Taka replied pointing out the obvious, "and we are pretty high up." "Well, isn't that just dandy." Though it was a beautiful sight. The air temples have always been magnificent along with their beautiful scenery. The small mountains around the temple only add to the beauty, what with their growing green grass and rugged formations. Master Tenzin was busy practicing and training with the other airbenders. He was feeling very happy. His and his father's people are finally back after all these years.
"Have you seen Korra?" Taka asked his friend. "Uhhmmm…I think she's inside. She looked like she wanted to be alone," he replied. A little confused, he left to go find her. She was inside one of the rooms, sitting alone in the dark, wanting to be away from it all for a while. She should be happy, everything was finally getting better again, but she still can't help but think about it… Those memories. A few of the rooms were built into the mountains, following its natural shape. The one she was in had already been made into a simple bedroom—she was sitting on the bed, wrapping her arms around her legs. "Sweetie?" he said entering, "are you okay?" A small window sits right beside the entrance. She wiped away what little tears she had before turning around to face him. She wasn't really crying, a few tears just came out as she was contemplating. "Yeah, I'm fine," she replied with a smile, "everything's great." She then greeted him with a hug followed by a kiss. She wanted to leave and see the world again… Or just to go out, whichever one. "Let's go out," she said. "Now?" "Yeah, I wanna…take a walk," she explained, lowering her head. "Okay," he nodded. They went back out to be greeted by the sun still shining quite bright above them—though it looked like it was about to go down.
"Well, at least it's still light out," he said. "Alright, let's go," she ran past him, enthusiastic. "Okay, what's going on now?" his friend asked. "We're going out, let's go." Korra already ran off to borrow one of the sky bisons so they can take off, excited. Though she was feeling bad inside, she tried to distract herself with this. She encountered Tenzin on the way and he asks her what the rush is all about. "Can't talk. Need sky bison," she spoke quickly, not giving much detail. He stood there, perplexed. "Hey, Tenzin," Taka and Masaru came. "Hey, guys. Do you have any idea what's going on with Korra?" "Oh, we're just gonna borrow one of the sky bisons and head out," Taka answered, "she wants to go somewhere, so naturally we have to go with her." The airbender smiled, "I see. Sounds like fun. You guys sure deserve it after what you did here." "Oh, we didn't do anything," he scratched his head, trying to be modest. "Nonsense!" he put his hand on Taka's shoulder, "you brought back my people, Taka. That is the greatest gift anyone could've given me. You guys can borrow any of the bison at any time. Have fun." He then walked away.
"It WAS pretty cool what you did," Masaru added. "It almost killed me, man! I don't think I should do that again. I don't even think I CAN do that again." "But you haven't granted me one," his friend joked. "Are you serious?" "Nah, man. Just kidding around." It was then that Korra showed up riding a flying bison. "Guys! I found us one!" It seemed majestic as it flew down—its white fur ruffled by the wind. It let out a soft groan, "Mwaahh." She set him down and hopped off. "Guys, this is… I don't even know his name, haha," she said turning to pet him, "Lefty, I think. Is that right, boy? Oh, you're so cute." He cuddled her in return and she hugged him too. It was a heart-warming sight for the two friends, especially knowing what she had been through. She climbed back up and told them to hop on and off they went.
The Air Nomads bid them farewell as they left. "Bye"—"Thank you"—"See you"—were some of the words spoken. And off they went on an adventure. Well, it was much of an adventure as their previous ones. It was nice feeling the wind on their hairs again, on their faces. The sights below were a treat too. As majestic as the mountains are, seeing the land and grasslands below, the villages and small towns—they were also quite a view to behold. And just soaring through the sky itself, as I've said before: feeling the wind on their faces. "Where are we going again?" Taka asked her. "You'll see. Somewhere I really wanna go to," she explained, being cryptic.
She headed back to the Southern Water Tribe: the only place where she felt safe right now—she could've headed somewhere else, but she didn't want to, or rather didn't need the attention at the time. Although the rest of the world might've forgotten—or just didn't care—the people at her tribe remembered. They supported her as much as they could or at least tried. When she announced to the world that the Avatar no longer exists, she faced some criticism and hate from the people. Which is a little strange since they've seemed to have moved on from the Avatar and felt like they didn't need her anymore. Funny how they now criticize her for giving them what they want—it seems they still haven't gotten used to the idea of a world without a protector. Anyway, her friends, of course, defended her as much as they could, but only succeeded in condemning themselves with her. But it was understandable—what could they have told them? They couldn't have told 'em the truth, definitely not that. No, I think that would've probably condemned them to an even worse fate.
Her people at the Southern Water Tribe were the only ones who accepted her and welcomed her back. They even made a statue of her in honor of that sacrifice. But anyway, back to the present… She was heading back home—after helping to restore an entire nation it felt nice to just go home. Taka was also excited. He was finally going to see her hometown, where she grew up. As they flew further South, the air started to get colder and the sky a little darker. Not dark in a sense that it's dark and evil, mind you—it was just cloudy at the time with snowfall. It was just white as far as the eye could see and below them on the ocean were small snow white patches of land like an island and broken pieces of ice—like smaller islands, most likely broken off from one of the bigger ones—floating on the blue water. Taka and Masaru marveled at the sight. They've never seen so much snow—their town never gets snowfall except for the mountains. A few polar beardogs can be seen and lots of otter penguins too. It was amazing…and cold. They were shaking and shivering, I should've worn thicker clothing, they both thought. "Hahaha," she laughed at them shivering, "I'm home." She stood up for a moment and yelled out, "I'm home!"
At long last, their destination was just straight ahead. Taka and Masaru could see Korra's statue below them, sitting in the middle of the ocean. "Looking good, sweetie," he told her. "Shut up. I don't really like that statue. Doesn't really look anything like me," she replied. "What are you talking about? It looks exactly like you," Masaru looked over to see. "It kinda makes me look big," she said quietly. "Sorry, what?" The wind rushing and blowing around them already made it hard for them to hear each other and she was speaking quietly. "Nothing! We're almost there! Let's go!" With that, they flew fast and straight to the heart of Harbor City, the capital of the Southern Water Tribe.
Unlike how it would've been had they gone somewhere else, they were welcomed with happy greetings and smiles and the people waved at them as they flew by—"Hey, Korra!", "Korra's back!", "Welcome back, guys!". It was just as beautiful as she remembered it. Not really though…it was actually better. "Wow," Taka spoke, "everything's soo…white. And amazing." Indeed the Water Tribe architectures are something of a wonder—or maybe fantasy. Nearly the entire city is built on ice and snow, the buildings, the houses, they even have a small river flowing throughout the city, flowing and turning and ebbing. "So… This is where you grew up, huh?" Masaru wondered. "Yep. This is home. This was everything I knew before…before all this Avatar stuff started happening." She had a happy tear remembering all the good times she had growing up here. But it turned into real tears for a moment when she mentioned it… Taka grabs her shoulder and moves closer to comfort her. "Hey, remember what we're here for," he reminded her. She nodded and wiped those tears away. "You're right, sweetie. That's all in the past. What's important is right now…and the future. It's unknowable. It's what we make it," she said with hope. Although it wasn't showing, she felt soo happy to have Taka there with her and Masaru too. They were the only two real friends she had ever had in a really long time before returning to the world. They stuck with her to the end, no matter what—even after what she told them and what she did. She finally found a less crowded street near the middle of the city and landed.
"Alright, guys. We're here!" she yelled to them and quickly jumped off, excited. "Wait for me," Taka quickly jumped off too. She took a moment to feel the snow beneath her feet. It felt nice stepping on it again—it felt like home. But for her sweetie, it felt a little strange. The ground is a little slippery and not…fully solid. Well, some parts are. She turned around and laughed at the sight. "You okay, sweetie?" "Yeah2. Just…give me a minute," he chuckled. "Where are we going anyway?" "To eat some real food," she told him, hinting at Southern Water Tribe grub. She was finally going to eat some again. She hadn't for a while—for about six months actually—during the restoration of the Air Nation. They had to travel to all of the four air temples and couldn't eat, or find, any Southern Water Tribe food along the way. Well, couldn't find any authentic ones at least. They mostly ate Earth Kingdom food and, when they would arrive, Air Nomad dishes. Even though it looked great and was delicious—with dishes such as their egg custard tart, fruit pies, and dumplings filled with vegetables, and let's not forget about their moon cakes—she found herself longing for some blubbered seal jerky and seaweed noodles from back home. Just the thought of the delicious, traditional five-flavor soup that the Southerners would usually have for dinner was enough to water her mouth and wonder how awesome it would be if she could eat one now. But that's in the past. They're here now, and she doesn't have to wonder anymore. "I'm home!" she screamed, "food, here I come!"
"You know what, guys? I think I'll just stay here while you guys walk around," Masaru said making himself comfortable on Lefty's back. He made a makeshift bed with their bags and lay his head down and stretched his legs over the huge saddle. "Alright, man," he waved to his friend, bidding him farewell for now whilst Korra was tugging and pulling at his left arm. She couldn't wait any longer and dragged him off. "Come on, come on!" she yelled. "Alright, we're going!" And they were off to explore the rest of the city. It's incredible. What once was a small town filled with tents and igloos has now developed into a large, modern city. The streets are bustling with all sorts of people—both young and old—and buildings stood proud, small though they are. The sun was about to dip on the horizon, bathing the city in its radiant, orange, reddish light. Though a little bit of yellow light was still visible, mixing in with the others to create a sort of…kaleidoscope, a mix of yellow and orange and red. The harbor lighthouse was already far behind them.
Taka followed Korra as they went around the city, greeting people and admiring the architecture. The people are so nice there, he thought. He felt that at least there still exists a place where they can just walk around without being looked at with hatred or contempt and such. Everyone knows who Korra is here. She was wearing her usual light blue Water Tribe clothing again like before her disappearance. She even tied her hair back again too. It felt nice to be amongst her people again. Now that she's not the Avatar anymore, it feels appropriate being among waterbenders—what with her now just being that: a waterbender. "Come on, sweetie. It's just around the corner," she said. "What is?" he replied. "Our dinner," she smiled.
Meanwhile, Masaru was enjoying his sleepy time on top of Lefty, who was also sleeping. He was already in a nice, deep slumber when suddenly, splash! A snowball struck his face. "Argh!" he exclaimed and quickly got up. "Hey! Who threw that?" he yelled out. He looked down over the side to see a few kids were stifling their laughter and huddling close together. "Hey, you kids! Did one of you throw this snowball at me?" "Maybe," one of them said. They were all still laughing quietly. "Well, I'm gonna get you little rascals!" He quickly jumped down, but one of the kids waterbended the snow to intercept him mid-flight, knocking him on his back as he landed. "Hahahaha," they laughed again. Masaru continued to lie on and in the pile of snow, looking quite annoyed.
Korra and Taka finally arrived at the restaurant. It was a small place, but it was big enough. A few people were already inside, sitting down and enjoying their meals. The room itself has that Arctic kinda feel to it. The walls are light blue—almost white—in color and have a snowy, kinda icy texture. There are around six benches in total and three quite big…nooks, I guess you would call them, with the round tables. Korra took a big whiff of the aroma in the room, "Hmmmm, do you smell that? That smells like Water Tribe food," she spoke with enthusiasm. Taka had never had any Southern Water Tribe grub, or any Water Tribe meals for that matter, before. Should be interesting, he thought. Korra had already made her way to the counter to order. "Two five-flavor soups, please." She could already taste it in her mouth, and she couldn't wait to share the moment with her sweetie. "Oh, he's gonna love this," she said enthusiastic. He was still looking for a seat. It wasn't too crowded though as he found one quite easily. It was a wooden bench that comfortably seats four, but they only need the two for now. "Alright, should be here soon," she said sitting down. "What should be here soon?" he asked. "Our food. Hope you don't mind, I ordered for both of us," she explained. He smiled, "Of course not," he didn't really care. Spending time with his sweetie was all that he needed. "So what did you order?" "A traditional Southern Water Tribe dinner. It's called a five-flavor soup." "It…sounds nice," he remarked. "Great. Can't wait for you to taste it. This was my favorite food growing up. It still is, so I hope you like it too," she told him.
"Okay, there will be no more waterbending from now on!" Masaru was yelling a sorta rules to the kids, "this has to be a fair combat. Man to man—uhh, man to little man." As if they were really gonna listen. Another snowball hit his face while he was still talking. Ohh, he looked so annoyed. "I'm gonna get you kids!" he yelled, rushing to them.
Back at the restaurant, Korra was savoring and enjoying her food, and the atmosphere. Nothing beats the real thing after all. Taka on the other hand was having a little bit of trouble with it. He was examining it and swirling it around with his spoon, awkwardly staring at it. "Uhhh, sweetie? What is this thing?" he asked. "Oh…this…is a traditional Southern Water Tribe soup," she answered, a little muffled, with a bit of it still in her mouth, "we usually have it for dinner here. I've been waiting a long time to have it again." Her explanation didn't really help. For her, it was the greatest meal in the world. But to him, it just looks…strange. "What's in it?" "Oh, you know, seaweed, whale, fish, some octopus or squid… Things like that," she explained. He stared at her. All those things are in this thing, he thought. "Well, go on. Have some. Tell me what you think," she told him, eager to see his reaction. Swallowing his doubts, he finally took a spoonful to his mouth. All of a sudden he was filled with this overwhelming sense of…disgust, I guess. Or maybe it was a bitter taste. Either way, he quickly felt like throwing up. He didn't wanna upset her so he tried to hide the look and stomach it as best as he could. "Well, how is it?" she asked him enthusiastically. He reluctantly swallowed it and boy that was a mistake. He quickly covered his mouth as he felt he could throw up right then and there in front of her. She noticed this and asked if everything's okay. He tried and reluctantly shook it off and nodded. "Yep. Never better. That was…something," he replied, "I can honestly say that I've never tasted anything like that before, hehe." She could see plain as day that he didn't enjoy it. But she still smiled. "Sweetie, it's okay if you don't like it," she said," it is a very traditional meal. It can be a little different if you're not used to it." He chuckled and started to feel terrible, "I'm sorry, sweetie. It's just…like you said, very different. Sorry if I ruined this for you." "You didn't ruin anything. Having you here together with me is all I need," she assured him, "besides, this way, I can eat two bowls, haha." He shook his head and they both laughed.
The sun dipped over the horizon just as she was about to finish her second meal. He still couldn't believe that she ate both of 'em. It was the most incredible thing he had ever seen—and he's seen the Avatar bend all four elements, and the Spirit World, and all that stuff that happened six months ago—well, not really. It was still impressive though. "Ahh, that was soooo good," she said with satisfaction after slurping the last drop from the bowl, "it's so good to be back." "Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Sorry again for not being able to share this moment with you," he replied. She gave him a soft punch to his left arm, trying to tell him that it's okay. "Ow," he spoke, rubbing his arm. "Oh, don't be such a baby. I didn't hit you hard at all." Most of the other patrons had already left and the owners were starting to close up shop. "Well, it looks like we'll be closing up shortly, guys. You kids better head out soon," he said to them. "Alright, thanks," she replied. "Say, wait a minute. You're Korra, aren't you? The Avatar," he noticed her, "I mean, you were, weren't you?" She was very distraught at him saying that. Being reminded that she was the Avatar only brought back those painful memories again. Taka could see that it affected her very much. Especially knowing the truth…of what happened, of what and who the Avatar really is. "Yeah, I—I…was," she replied reluctantly, "I don't like to talk about it." It was obviously upsetting her. "I'm sorry. Didn't mean to pry like that," he apologized, "I'm Sinnok, btw. Nice to meet you folks." "Nice to meet you too," Taka spoke.
Meanwhile, everything was starting to get quiet outside. The moon was shining up high in the dark sky—it wasn't a full moon. Most of the people were getting ready to sleep and call it a night. Only a few still remain outside still doing activities like practicing their waterbending techniques and walking around the now quiet city. One or two were going on a date it seems. But unbeknownst to all of them, something was approaching the city from the frozen tundra, moving fast…really fast.
"Hey, listen. I know it's probably been a little rough for you the past couple of months. But I just want you to know that the people here in the Southern Water Tribe, and I'm sure at the North too, still support you—Avatar or not," he reassured her. She mustered up a smile, trying to be in the present, and expressed her gratitude. "Thank you," she said and gave a small bow, "for you and all the people here." "You're very welcome. Now I've gotta close up. See you kids tomorrow, alright?" Then, all of a sudden—Boom!—there was a huge rumble from outside—like a bomb going off. The force was enough to shake the room and the chairs and the tables—and they stood up hastily in response. "What the hell was that?" Taka spoke. "Honey, did you feel that? What's going on?!" Sinnok's wife suddenly came out of the kitchen. "I don't know. But it sounds big," he replied. Taka and Korra looked at each other and nodded. They knew what they had to do. "You guys stay here and stay out of sight. We'll do what we can," the former Avatar told them. "Good luck, Avatar," he wished them success for whatever would happen. She chuckled and smiled, "It's just Korra now, remember?" "Haha, right. Well then, good luck…Korra." And with that, they bid them farewell and left to deal with whatever's happening. Though deep down she was a bit worried. If it should come to it, this would be the first battle she would fight not as the Avatar anymore and with only one element at her disposal. But there was nothing she could do about it. Worrying about it would only serve to distract her, and if she could still help people in any way she can, she would do it without hesitation.
As soon as they exited, things looked normal outside the restaurant. And as I've said before, there weren't many people out on the streets anymore. Then they could see a few people running to their right, frightened by something. "Hey, wait!" she yelled out to them. "What's going on?" "Aaaarrggghh!" was all they yelled. "Well that was helpful," Taka came up behind, joking. But Korra looked serious. She could feel something…something familiar. "Oh, great. Them…" she said. "Who?" Just then, something zipped by like lightning and crashed through one of the buildings—thankfully it was empty. Taka quickly hugged Korra to try and shield her from the debris. "Uhhhmm, you can let me go now," she told him. He immediately did so, "Right, sorry." And out of the hole stepped out a figure—it was a spirit, tall and dark in color, and spiky. It turned around—creepy—its face all distorted, and it noticed them. "I knew it," Korra spoke, "it's a dark spirit." "What're you doing here?!" Taka yelled at it, "well, it doesn't matter. We're still gonna kick your ass." It quickly charged at them, fast like before. At that instant the former Avatar froze. For some reason, she couldn't move, she didn't know what to do. But thankfully Taka quickly stepped in and blasted it away with a burst of energy. It flew away a good distance. Energybenders were always good in handling spirits as their energy affects them quite a deal. "Hey, are you okay?" Indeed, she was still looking freaked out and still appeared to be frozen. He took a good shake at her to try and snap her out of it. "Korra!" She looked scared. "I'm sorry, sweetie," she suddenly spoke, "I—I don't know what came over me." "It's alright. But maybe you should just stay here. Let me deal with this, okay?" She nodded and held her forehead—she closed her eyes and let out a tear.
He didn't have time to comfort her again as the spirit quickly rushed back. Zip, zip, zip… It moved so quickly. But then another spirit intercepted it mid-run and slammed it aside and they both ended up in the river. Korra and Taka stood in silence waiting for something to happen. Suddenly the spirit was shot out and up into the air followed by the dark one. "Korra!" it yelled out and launched itself to them. "Ohhh, great." Taka prepared himself to defend while Korra gets out of the way. He shot a few energy blasts, but it fast evaded it and, seemingly teleporting, appeared directly right in front of him. "Oh, crap," he cried out. The energybender quickly dodged the dark spirit's ground-shattering punch and retaliated with a sort of energy lasso, and another, and another—tying it up and immobilizing it for a few seconds.
He was obviously still struggling with maintaining his energybending. He just got it recently after all and didn't use it much during their six months break. "Hahahaha," it laughed ominously, "so the rumors are true. There IS an energybender walking among us again. But you are still soo young. Tell me: how long can you keep this up?" What it said wasn't wrong—Taka could feel his grip slipping and the energy breaking. It wasn't long before it finally shattered and he was repelled back from the backlash and hit a wall. "Urgh!" he exclaimed. He fell to the ground and felt the icy snow press against his face and body. It was cold to the touch. He tried to get up, but his hand slipped and he fell back down before he even got up. It felt…strange. Like thousands, no, millions of tiny little particles rubbing against his hand and cheeks. It was kinda like sand, but…different somehow. They're more condensed together—not as loose as sand…and colder. Strangely, it felt comfortable after a while and he gave in to it, to the feeling of slumber, for a while.
The dark spirit took this opportunity to kill him, but was stopped by the other spirit. It slammed it to the ground from the sky and they started wrestling. It was an even battle as they became equally matched. This spirit had a light green color to its body, also a bit distorted, but more pleasant looking. "You think we're gonna let you do it?!" it said to its dark counterpart. "Hahahahaha! Even if you stop me, even if you kill me, it WILL still happen!" it replied, "you can't stop what's coming." Suddenly, three bright circles of light surrounded and encircled the dark spirit, flowing around it, and immobilized it. "Aaarrggghhhh!" it screamed. The circles grew brighter in a flash of white. The light spirit turned around to see none other than Korra walking towards, using her waterbending to try and control the spirit. The dark spirit calmed down some and became still. Taka had just regained consciousness—rubbing his neck and shaking his head—and stood up to see her subduing the spirit. "Thank you, former Avatar," the spirit expressed its gratitude. Though it may have been too early to start celebrating as the dark spirit quickly regained its senses and broke free of her bond. Crack! "Argh!" the former Avatar yelled as she was pushed back. Taka quickly rushed to her aid, catching her fall. "Don't worry, I got'cha." "Aaaarrrggghhhh!" the dark spirit roared and screamed. But then everything became silent. Something had pierced its chest area—it appeared to be an arm. The dark spirit then dissolved like melting, flowing down to the snowy surface before disappearing. The arm, it turned out, belonged to another spirit—one who's a friend and light blue in color. "What took you so long?" the green spirit asked its friend. "Sorry. Had to deal with another one back home before I could catch up," it replied.
Taka was still trying to help Korra regain her strength. "Are you alright?" he asked her. "Haha. Yeah, thanks for catching me." She stood back up, though wobbling a little—almost losing her balance. At that point, they were overloading with questions and noticed the two spirits having a conversation. What the hell just happened? "Uhm, excuse me?" she interrupted them, "can someone please tell me what's going on, please?" "My apologies, former Avatar. Please forgive us," one spirit spoke. "As you could see, we didn't have time to explain before. That spirit we fought was a very…bad spirit," the other explained. "Yeah, we can tell," Taka responded, "but what was it doing here in the first place? And for that matter, HOW did it get to our physical world?" The two spirits didn't answer, they only looked at each other with concern.
"Uh, hello? We're still right here," Korra said. "Once again, my apologies. When you broke the Avatar Cycle, you inadvertently also broke the barrier between our world and yours that was created by Avatar Wan," it explained, "and since that moment, our two worlds became connected and linked once again as it once was." "So you're saying that now any kind of spirits can just waltz into our world at any time?" Taka asked. "Yes." "Okay. But what was that dark one doing here? And why were you two chasing him?" he inquired further. Again, the spirits paused for a moment. "Alright, that's enough of that!" Korra got angry, "look, we can't help if you won't tell us anything!" "I am sorry, Korra. But as you are no longer the Avatar, it is not your duty anymore to interfere in spiritual matters. No offense, of course."
She was a bit shocked to hear this. Not because it was a surprise—she knew that not being the Avatar anymore meant a lot of things had changed—but because she felt that sense of helplessness again… "Even so, we would still like to help," she told them, wanting to not feel useless. "All we can tell you is that you should be prepared. Since you permanently sealed Mala Ta'ak away, there has been civil unrest in the Spirit World. Others have tried and are still trying to take his place. Some spirits, such as ourselves, are trying to maintain balance, but this is different. Something very evil is coming, former Avatar. And now we must bid you farewell." After giving them that warning, they left the way they came: in a flash like lightning.
"Oh, thank you!" she yelled to them for giving them vague information. "You okay?" he asked her. "Yeah, fine. Just a little frustrated," she replied. He chuckled, "Come on. Let's head back." By that time, some people had gone out of their houses to see what was going on. When they saw their former Avatar and her boyfriend walking down the road, they knew there had been a battle. Course the debris scattered all over the snow and the holes on the ground also gave 'em a clue. A few of them went up and asked them what happened and they explained as best they could. She told them that everything's alright for now and they shouldn't be worried. After that, they all went back inside to their beds.
"He's right though. You're not the Avatar anymore, so it's really none of your business…nor mine for that matter," Taka spoke out, "maybe we should just leave it at that and call it a night. But why do I get the feeling that's not what you're gonna say?" "Of course not. You heard what that spirit said. Avatar or not, I have to do something. WE have to do something. We still have an obligation to help," she replied sternly. Though she seemed to have another reason for that. He could tell that something was a little off with her, but he let it slide for now.
They went back to Lefty to get Masaru. He was looking quite disappointed—most likely from losing his battle with the children. But they were already long gone when they arrived, only Masaru lying on the snow, dripping wet. "What the hell happened to you?" Taka asked. "Don't ask," he said, frustrated, "so how did your day go?" "It was soo good. Come we'll explain on the way," Korra spoke. She led them to the harbor where they could view the ocean in the light of the crescent moon. They explained to him what had happened along the way. "Alright, then. So what do we do now?" he asked them. "We round up the gang and we stop this evil spirit," she answered. "Of course, we don't even know what this evil thing is, or if it's even a spirit," Taka added. "We will, and it's definitely a spirit." They were standing on a sort of coastal wall overlooking the Southern Ocean—the reflection of the moon on the calm, yet still wavy water, and the wind brushing by with its quite haunting, breezy sound gave a chilly and eerie feeling to the night…especially with the city being so quiet now—and in the distance is her statue. It depicts her standing firm with one foot atop a step or rock—not really sure—wearing her usual Water Tribe clothing. "I still don't like that statue," she said jokingly, "I still think it makes me look a little big." The three friends shared a good laugh before calling it a night and ending the day, heading back to town for a good night's rest.