"You won't win this one!" Korra shouted as she blasted fire at a dark spirit. She yelled louder with each miss. Even with her best aim she couldn't predict the spirit's movements. The spirit's ability to avoid her attacks was such that even if Korra had sent a ball of fire in the right direction, it wouldn't matter – the spirit was simply too fast.
Angry with herself, Korra threw a massive burst of fire into the air. As the smoke cleared she tried to regain her composure. One more time she would try the technique.
As the spirit walked towards Korra with angry eyes, she stood perfectly still yielding an unwavering stare. When the spirit was close enough, Korra changed her stance and raised her arms slowly, moving the water around the spirit's feet gently. Within a few fluid movements, Korra bent the water into a calming spiral around the spirit. This was exactly what Unalaq had done and it worked every time. There was no reason the avatar, the most powerful bender in the world, shouldn't be able to master this as well. Slowly the spirit began to stand up and straighten out. A smile crept onto Korra's face as the dark spirit began to change colors into the beautiful light display she had come to recognize from her uncle.
Suddenly Korra felt the wind knocked out of her. Her face planted squarely in the snow. Dazed and confused she slowly brought herself to turn around only to see an even angrier spirit staring her down.
"What the hell!" she screamed as she punched the spirit with a blast of fire. In its wake the spirit had left but Korra knew the spirit would rear its ugly face again once things settled down again. She leaped to her feet with more rage than ever.
"I did exactly what you told me to, uncle! What didn't you tell me?" Korra yelled.
"How about that I'm the only one who can do it," a smooth voice said in the background. Korra turned to see her uncle in the shadows wielding a wicked grin. Korra gasped as the spirit she had been fighting walked over and stood next to Unalaq, resting a knowing arm on his shoulder.
Korra's eyes narrowed as a feeling of betrayal grew inside of her. "Is this some kind of trick?"
Unalaq shifted his weight and held his arms out to the avatar. "Korra, all I ever wanted was to teach you the ways of the spirits," he replied in an eerily calm voice.
"Oh really?" Korra challenged. "Were you accomplishing that by almost having me killed?"
Unalaq kept a leering smirk as he raised an eyebrow in fake shock. "Kill you? You're the avatar! You're the bridge between the spiritual and material world. Without you, how would any of us mere humans communicate with the spirits?"
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Korra yelled gesturing over to the spirit standing comfortably next to her uncle. "Looks like you've done just fine without me! In fact, you're doing better than that! You've got a spirit right next to you, completely at your will. And you need me to be some kind of bridge?"
Unalaq raised his hands ever so slightly to calm the young avatar down. "Korra I know you're upset. But the truth is, I was only trying to make you a better avatar."
Korra folded her arms as she seethed with anger.
Seeing the distress in his niece, Unalaq toned down his position. He walked towards Korra with a softer expression on his face. "Korra, listen," he said with a hint of remorse in his voice, "call me a proud uncle but I just want you to be the greatest avatar ever."
Korra looked up to face her uncle. His voice had changed and something inside her desperately wanted to believe he was still a good person. Korra looked back down as the mixture of anger and sadness fought for her attention.
"We've come so far," Unalaq whispered gently.
Korra's eyes widened in pain. Unalaq's words stung worse than a buzzard wasp. They were the exact words her old mentor, Tenzin, had used just before Korra shot him down and told him she'd rather train with Unalaq. With an anguished look she straightened herself up to face her uncle.
"Well, Korra?" Unalaq asked, "will you let me continue to mentor you? I'd love to guide you-"
"Yeah, right off a cliff you will," Korra interrupted.
Startled, Unalaq took a step back as he looked at his niece with a sense of bewilderment. "Korra, I would never do that!" he tried to explain.
"I've made many mistakes in my life," Korra said evenly, "but you're quickly becoming one of the worse ones I've ever made. You may have the power to control the spirits but there's another side to you. You say you're helping me and defending the south from angry spirits yet it seems they're only angry when you tell them to be."
"Korra, I never-"
"No!" Korra shouted, cutting off her uncle. "You're not the person I thought you were. You have betrayed me, my family, the southern water tribe and everyone who's ever looked up to or trusted you!" She took a deep breath, "I'm sorry Unalaq. It's over. We're done."
"Korra-"
Korra continued evenly, "Leave. Now."
Telling Unalaq off gave Korra a sense of relief. As she took another deep breath she went over everything she had to do now: reconnect with Tenzin, make amends between the water tribes...
"Where are you going to find another waterbending master like me?" Unalaq asked defiantly, cutting off her thoughts.
Korra folded her arms and replied with a smirk, "well there's always Katara. You know, wife of the previous avatar… master waterbender… saved the world when she was like fourteen… probably could do more than you ever could."
"Katara will teach you nothing," Unalaq replied coldly. "No waterbender can teach you what I can and no waterbender is as skilled as I am."
"Are you sure about that?" an eerily familiar voice chimed in. Korra's breath suddenly left her and chills ran up and down her spine.
That voice. Could it be-
Shaking, she turned around and froze in fear as she stood before someone she hoped she would never see again.
Amon.