This fanfiction has been going around in my head for awhile, so I finally decided to sit down and write it.

So the setting of this story is right after Vatuu ripped Ravaa out of Korra in book 2. It doesn't follow the story line exactly, but I think you'll be able to figure it out. : )

This is my first fanfiction, so I hope you like it!

R&R please! And no flames!

Darkness.

Pain.

Defeat.

A deep, raspy voice, taunting, "The Era of the Avatar, is over."

That was all she could sense.

For what seemed like an eternity, the voice continued, over and over and over, until she wanted to scream with insanity. But she couldn't. She had no feeling of her body. All she could do was lay and listen to that voice, imaginary tears streaming out of her imaginary eyes.

"The Era of the Avatar, is over."

"The Era of the Avatar, is over." louder.

"The Era of the Avatar, is over!" louder.

"The Era of the Avatar, is over!" the voice was screaming now, screaming and cackling over her, she could feel its imaginary cold, rancid breath on her imaginary face.

She felt a pull, a pull so strong it was almost impossible to resist. A pull towards what, she didn't know, but anything was better than this feeling of helplessness. The voice was pulling, pushing her to a bright light. Realization dawned. This was death. She was dying. Death. Strangely, the word didn't scare her like it used to. What was the point in living if she had nothing to live for? Like the voice said, the Ear of the Avatar was over. She had lost. Merciful Death had come to her at just the right time. She stopped resisting,(or what she thought was resisting) and allowed the voice to guide her to the light.

"KORRA!"

Another voice. She stopped, turning her imaginary head to listen for the voice again.

"Korra!" It was closer this time. Curious, she turned from the white light.

"Korra, c'mon wake up!" Wake up? She was sleeping? And who was Korra? What was going on? She was just about ready to accept Merciful Death's invitation, until this voice . . . this voice . . . this voice was familiar. Like she had known it for a long time, been friends with it, fallen head over heels in love with it. It reminded her of hardships, yet perseverance. Of arrogance, yet love. But who's voice was it? It certainly wasn't the voice that had been leading her to the white light.

"Korra. Please. Come back to me." Mako. It was Mako! But where was he? How did she get to him? She didn't have a body. She opened what she thought was her mouth, trying to call out to him, to tell him what was happening, but she was silent. Frustrated, she gritted her imaginary teeth, searching for her body. After what seemed like hours- Aha! She had found a hand! And an arm, a shoulder, a neck, another shoulder and arm, a chest, and stomach, and legs! She did have a body! But wait, where was her head? Slowly, she traveled up her legs, past her torso, up her chest, to her neck . . . there it was! Her head! Her face! Carefully, she cracked her eyes opened. Intense light filled her vision. Intense pain filled her mind. She remembered. She remembered that her name was Korra, and she was the Avatar. She remembered her parents, Naga, Katara, Tenzin and his family, Republic City, Lin, Mako and Bolin . . .

All these people, these places, these things, filled her mind, making the pain worse. She remembered being the one to find out Hiroshi's secret. Tarrlok's secret. Amon's secret. Defeating Amon and the Equalists. She was a hero.

No, she wasn't. She remembered Unalaq, and Vatuu. Harmonic Convergence. She wasn't a hero. Not anymore.

"Korra. Open your eyes. Please." Mako was whispering now, pleading with her to wake up from this eternal nightmare. She didn't want to. If she woke up, she would still be the Avatar, she would still have responsibilities . . . Unavatuu still would have won. If she didn't wake up, she could pretend that Unalaq and Vatuu didn't exist, that they hadn't just fused together and defeated her. She didn't want to wake up. But she would. For Mako.

Groaning, she opened her eyes wider, pushing aside the pain she felt. Her vision still blurry, she made out Mako on her right, Kya on her left, holding a glowing hand to Korra's forehead. Bolin, Bumi, and Tenzin were clustered around them, faces squinted in concern and worry. She realized she was still in the Spirit World, she could see the Southern Portal over her feet, the Tree of Time above her head.

"Korra, you're awake!" Bolin cried happily. Korra groaned in response, in too much pain to answer.

"How are you feeling Korra? What hurts?" asked Kya solicitously, moving her glowing hands around Korra's aching body, trying to heal as much of it as she could.

"E-Everythig." whimpered Korra in reply. Mako gripped her hand tighter, his eyebrows knit together in worry.

Tenzin, silent up until then, could no longer curb his curiosity. "Korra, what happened? Who was that spirit?"

Korra dropped her eyes, remembering every single excruciating detail. "I'm sorry, Tenzin. I-I failed. Unalaq fused with Vatuu, and they're-he's heading to Republic City. He's going to destroy it. He's going to destroy the world."

"But can't you just use the Avatar State and some Ravaa-spirit magic to put Vatuu back in his prison?" asked Bolin innocently.

The wounded girl slowly shifted her eyes to look up at Bolin. "No. Ravaa is gone. Vatuu ripped her right out of me."

Tenzin gasped, shocked that Korra had undergone so much torture and pain.

The tears finally came, and Korra closed her eyes and silently cried. The others hung their heads, realizing there was nothing they could do. They stayed like that, heads down in defeat, Mako clutching Korra's hand, her sobs becoming weaker.

Kya, whose healing hand was still on Korra's forehead, sharply called out, "Korra?"

The others looked up, wondering what was going on. They saw Kya move her hand to the teen's chest, searching for a heartbeat. Mako then noticed Korra's hand had gone limp in his, where she had been squeezing it before.

"Korra!?" he cried out, not liking the calm look on her face. He shook her. No response. He chafed her wrists, all the while calling her name. Nothing. Mako, crying, realized the truth. Korra was dead. The love of his life had just died. The boy screamed, the pain and anger too intense. The others looked away, unable to watch the heartbreaking scene that was unfolding before them.

The Era of the Avatar, really was over.

Darkness.

Pain.

Defeat.

The voice.

She was back in the abyss. She was back with the voice. That stupid voice,still taunting her.

She wanted to give up. She was done. She was done saving the world, only for it to get back into trouble. She didn't want to be the Bridge between the Spirit World and the Material World anymore. She wasn't naive anymore, she didn't want to deal with being the Avatar anymore. She was done.

Willingly, she turned toward the light, ready to be relieved of the burden of being the strongest person on earth. Ready to have the next Avatar take her place, confident that he or she would do just fine.

The light was so close now. She could almost touch it. A sense of peace washed over her, a kind of peace she had never felt before. The peace replaced the pain, making her imaginary lips turn up in an imaginary smile. She was almost there.

Almost there.

Almost there.

Almost there . . .

"Korra."

She stopped, recognizing the smooth, calm voice.

Ravaa.

"Korra, what are you doing? Why have you given up? Why are you taking the easy way out?"

"Ravaa, I-you-you're gone. We're not connected anymore. Vatuu ripped you out of me. I saw him kill you! How are you still here?" disbelief etched into her voice.

"Korra. We will always be connected. I will always be here. Always. Let me ask you again: What are you doing? Why have you given up? Why are you taking the easy way out?"

The girl was silent, guiltily recalling her reasons.

"I'm tired Ravaa. So tired. I'm tired of having to save the world only for it to get into trouble again. I'm tired of everyone blaming me when something goes wrong. I'm tired of trying to keep peace between the spirits and humans. I'm tired of being the Avatar. Let the next one take my place. No one will care."

"Korra, you know that's not true. Think of your parents, how would they feel? And Tenzin and his family? What about Asami, Bolin, and Naga? What about Mako? He would be devastated. He already lost his parents, it would crush him to lose you. Everyone gets tired, Korra. Everyone wants to give up. But the strong ones are the people that stand back up, they keep fighting. You're the Avatar, Korra. You are the strongest of them all."

"But my past lives Ravaa! They're gone! I'm all alone!"

"True, your connection to the past Avatars may have been severed, but you will never be alone. You have many friends who are very wise and are very willing to help you become a fully realized Avatar. You just need to let them help you."

The girl was quiet, contemplating. Suddenly, she heard a faint sob. A sob that broke her heart. A desperate sob, one you only hear from someone who has experienced immense pain. She covered her imaginary ears, trying to block out the sound. But it was still there. It was as if it was in her mind, and she could do nothing to get it out.

"That is Mako, Korra." Ravaa said. "That is him sobbing over your body. They think you are dead."

"But I'm not!" cried Korra. "I'm not dead!"

"They do not know that. You have given them no sign to think otherwise."

"How do I tell them that I'm still alive?" Korra asked frantically, "How do I wake up?"

"Just open your eyes Korra. Open your eyes."

She was still, thinking. She heard Mako again, still crying his heart out. She heard Bolin brokenly ask, "K-Korra?". It was too much. The emotional pain she would cause her parents, friends, and Mako if she died, was more than the physical pain she would feel if she woke up. She concentrated, once again trying to find her eyes. At long last, she found them.

Mako was sobbing into Korra's shoulder, still in shock at what had just happened. Bolin was crying now too, leaning on Kya's shoulder, while the rest had silent tears dripping down their faces. There was no hope now. Even if the Avatar was reborn, it would still be too young to even try to defeat Vatuu. The Light had lost. The Dark had won.

A sluggish heartbeat.

Mako stilled, not believing what he had just heard.

Another one.

"Korra?" he whispered, lifting his head from her shoulder. He placed his hand on her neck, searching for a pulse.

One more, stronger this time, and another, and another.

"Korra?" Mako said, eyes widening in hope.

A breath.

Eyes squinting.

Another breath.

Eyes finally opening.

"Korra!" Mako almost shouted, overcome with joy.

She ignored him, instead turning her head to the right, eyes landing on a rock a few feet from her body. She moved her arm, trying to shove the stone out of the way. Mako helped her, while the others looked on in disbelief. There lay Ravaa, within a few inches of Korra's grasp.

She stretched, trying to reach the Light Spirit. Ravaa, sensing Korra's presence, stirred, reaching for Korra as well. They touched, Korra's back arching, eyes and mouth spilling white hot light as she screamed, energy and pain coursing through her body. A column of light rose out of the Avatar, a light so bright the others had to shield their eyes to prevent themselves from becoming blind. The light continued to pour out of the girl for forever, it seemed. Suddenly, it stopped. The column vanished, and her eyes and mouth closed, and she became still once again. The others heard someone whisper "We are bonded once again." At that voice, Avatar Korra's eyes opened again. But they were not her normal cobalt blue, no, they were piercing white. She stood, much to the amazement of her onlookers. She opened her mouth and her voice was amplified greatly by the Avatar State and Ravaa's voice. And she spoke.

"It's not over yet."