Disclaimer: I own nothing. Which is fine.
A series of chapters that make my only Legend of Korra story. I'm not branching into the fandom other than for the occasional fic and pic.
AU. Definitely won't follow canon or the second book at all. Rated T for description of a wound and potential character death. Can't give it away. ]Borra, some Makorra. Story will end with Borra. Not to mention I like Borra, so. Makorra folks, you've got plenty of other stuff you can read, so if you don't like Borra, go read that. No hard feelings, jolly good. No anti-ship comments against either side please. No Mako hate either. I'm kind of ambivalent at this point. I'm only posting this fic here because Tumblr folks are interested and it'll all be in once piece at the end. I have no problem with most Makorra shippers; I'm friends/family with several. Let's all act like adults.
Comes from me wondering if there are any Equalists left and what would happen if Korra had to go through some of the trials Aang did. And no one can tell me she'd have complete control of the Avatar state after one try. Very random until next installment, where some things are explained. Much shorter than my other works.
Together We Make Mud
Brought Low
To be the Avatar was to be a god.
She was everything, expanding. Everything was in her, every bending technique, every breath, every shivery pulse on the glacier. They were all in her hands because the Avatar was beyond all mortal things.
Judge. Jury. Executioner. The Avatar is all these things in her wrath.
The ground fell away, torn by the elements. Her hands seared bright and her hair was torn from its bands.
Air. Water. Fire. Earth. She was the elements, and time coursing. She was eternal. To be the Avatar was to be immortal, always returning to Earth as the wave crashes down on the coast.
There was only a little earth in the glacier, but it rose with the ice that turned to water and shifted between liquid and solid. The rock had rested in the glacier for hundreds of years, brought up by the only being that could possibly reach it.
"The Avatar state is never to be used lightly. And now that you can use it, you have to be careful not to lose control of yourself. Once, when my mother was in danger, Avatar Aang lost control and obliterated an earth bending training ground. He was the most peaceable and gentle of all the Avatars. Considering how much more…combative your temperament is, I shudder to think what would happen if you lost control now. You must be careful not to get into a situation where you might get too angry or upset until we focus your power with more training."
Tenzin would hear of the glory of the Avatar. She would bring it down with the weight of thunder on the scum that had not known when to give up when Amon was defeated.
"Korra! Stop!" Mako was calling her. "The Equalists can't hurt us now! They want to surrender! They've put down their weapons!"
Of course they would. Now that they'd seen the power. No. They would face her. How dare they strike and then cower? After their group had been going back to Republic City to seek peace with nonbenders at their request? The filthy hypocrites…they would lie a thousand times to get their chance to strike.
"Losing your head won't help Naga!" The other mounts cried out in fear as the ground cracked.
They'd attacked. Naga had fallen from the cliff. She'd thrown Korra from her back before she went over.
She couldn't look over the edge. Couldn't look over the white glacial side and see a red splatter.
Amon was gone. The Avatar was present. Equalists would dare to betray her after swearing peace as nonbenders and non-Equalists? They would pay.
Katara was calling now. "You have to stop! You'll obliterate everything!" The old woman turned to Mako, coats billowing. "Get in there and calm her down! I used to be able to get Aang to come out of it! If he could calm down when he lost Appa, she should be able to as well!"
Mako looked at her slightly incredulously before trying to approach, edging towards her. "Korra…stop. Please."
Do not approach the Avatar, mortal.
She was fire now. Mako made her fire. She was lava destroying the mountainside, sparks flying off metal, steam rising from the hot springs buried below the ice. He brought out the girl's combative side and made her fight. Fire and water turned to steam, and she soared to new heights in the heat.
He barely redirected a wave of flame. The second one forced him back. She was all Avatar. There was no longer a mortal there, no weak, frail, whiny, selfish girl to hold her back. She was the connection between this world and the other side. Nothing could touch her if she so willed. He was knocked away by air, hitting the snow without a sound.
A thread of water turned into an icy blade, attacking the nearest Equalist. They were pitiful without Amon to gather them. He managed to duck. The one beyond him was nearly leveled by a shower of stones.
Naga was innocent. They were after the weak Korra, not her, and had no qualms about killing her to get at the Avatar. They had shocked her and with her last bit of strength she'd bucked Korra out of the saddle. Polar bear dogs were notoriously loyal.
She shut her eyes and the wind was so hard that her skin was tearing. There was no holding back the might.
She was glorious. Korra was nothing. It was all rage, all Avatar.
Something had grabbed her. Something heavy, around her waist. Whatever it was dared to touch her? Flames erupted from her palms and streaked over the flesh. It jerked but didn't release. Again she raked her nails across the skin and again it trembled but didn't let go.
"Korra. Stop. You'll kill yourself. The debris…it's hitting you."
Her eyes opened. The Avatar looked down to see…green. The same green as the noodles she liked and Naga would beg for. Deep, earthy, stew green. Like the same noodles she'd once eaten with…
…Bolin was attempting to quell the wrath of a god?
Her gaze slid from the green to the thick coat that had been ripped to shreds by the wind and ice. Coat turned to flesh. And flesh turned to…
Red. Open, burnt red. Shiny, bleeding red.
The wrath buckled and the "god" began to fade.
I'm not a god. The Avatar isn't a god. I'm…me.
Bolin shut his eyes and buried the side of his face against her front. "Wake up Korra. It's Bolin. Stop being so…not-Korra. We've gotta help Naga. She didn't fall…all the way down."
His arms were raw from her flames. Her nails no longer dripped fire as she slowly realized the blood and flesh were peeling back from the seared muscle underneath.
She could see his veins pulse. The front of her shirt was wet with agonized tears and sizzling as the damp evaporated. There was no blood on his arms in the heat.
The tears raged from her eyes and turned to salt.
What have I done?
The Avatar state fell away like water. She hit the ground with a thud, legs buckling. Bolin didn't let go, but it was more because he couldn't than anything. The skin around his wound was black and flaking. The muscle looked like Naga's favorite rotisserie snack.
Why? Why did Bolin come so close? Stupid…so stupid…no one else is stupid enough…
Korra sat senselessly, hair limp around her face. She was barely aware of Katara pelting over, fast for an old woman, and hitting the ground harder than aging bones should. Mako pulled Korra back, breaking Bolin's grip and lunging for his little brother. Korra lay back in the dead earth, realizing that it was starting to snow again and that there were scratches on her arms where the air and ice had sliced at her and bruises where pebbles had hit. The sound of snow shifting into water and the light of the greatest healer known to water bending flared out of the corner of her eye.
What have I done?
Faint, pained baying was carried by the wind. The crunch of boots in the snow of the remaining Equalists fleeing from the benders was nearly carried away.
Naga was alive. Probably hurt. But alive. And Korra couldn't even move.
Bolin whimpered. Katara would try to knit his flesh back together. Korra's eyes welled up with tears and they rolled down her temples and she stared into the sky, unable to move or think save for one, hazy, exhausted thought.
What have I done?