Korra Alone, part 1

Korra's heart ached as tears flooded her eyes. She stared intently into the low, sullen faces of her parents and of her dog-bear, Naga, as they watch her small, watertribe sailboat slowly drift away. It tore at her to know that she was the cause their pain. Korra knew that they were worried about her and that there was nothing she could do. Things were so far gone. So much time had passed since her almost life-ending run-in, with the airbending anarchist, Zaheer. Yet, Korra could still feel a fatigue and soreness that remained in her body.

It was the Avatar's duty to keep balance in the world, to make sure that all the world's nations lived in harmony. Korra was impressed with her ability to fill the role at such a young age, facing more challenges and foes than any other Avatar in history. Korra's run-in with Zaheer, however, was definitely the most formidable adversary in her short time as the Avatar. Zaheer was a mere man, but had developed a profound connection to the spirit world, and to spirit energy. Because of it, Zaheer considered himself an airbending visionary, and believed in a world without conventional laws or social order. His airbending skills were impressive; Zaheer mastered the power to detach himself from the natural world, granting him supernatural abilities. The first step in the anarchist's perverted plan was to rid the world of the Avatar. He and his team of opportunistic misfits executed a plan to capture the Avatar. They kept Korra captive, suspending her by her arms and legs by chains and shackles. Korra remembered how cool, meditative-like Zaheer's demeanor was, as he commanded that his men to pump a metallic poison into her veins. Their plan was to kill the Avatar slowly and deliberately, ridding the world of the Avatar forever. Somehow, Korra conjured the strength to break free, but only to find herself engaged in hand-to-hand combat against the omnipotent airbender. The Avatar used every bit of strength and resolve, and Zaheer was defeated. But, the injuries to Korra's body was extensive. And although it had been nearly 3 years, Korra could still feel the effects of her near-death experience.

Korra was bound to a wheelchair, and felt completely useless, incapable of being the Avatar she once was. Thank the spirits for Katara, master water-bender, 100-Year War veteran, and the wife of Aang, the Avatar incarnation before Korra. After prompting from her parents, Korra started to go for daily healing sessions with the water bender. Katara's healing sessions gave Korra a renewed energy. Korra discovered what a steep hill she needed to climb. In the beginning, just taking a single step was an incredibly arduous and painful task. But Katara's calm, wizened demeanor kept Korra focused, and with each day, Korra's strength improved. But it soon became painfully clear that Korra had reached a plateau in her healing. There was only so much that Katara's healing could do to undo the damage done by her last adversary. She knew it and was frustrated. But, Korra couldn't just sit back and accept her condition. She had tried to do things their way, and now she knew that she needed to find her own way, her own path to healing. And so, one night at dinner, Korra informed her parents that she would be returning to Republic City in hopes of returning to her old life, to the life she knew before she had lost it all. And although it broke their hearts, Korra's parents agreed to let her go.

Korra sailboat glided atop smooth moving waters as she made her way to Republic City. All alone, staring into the clear, cloudless sky, Korra became lost in her thoughts. So much time had passed since her old life, when she was the Avatar. So much time had passed since she was with her friends. Korra with her close-knit group of friends... they were "Team Avatar". They fought by her side to protect the world from evil. It tore at Korra to be away from her friends. It broke her heart to leave them. Especially her dearest friend, Asami Sato. Asami was Korra's first female friend; with Asami, Korra discovered a level of intimacy and companionship that she had never experienced before. And when around Asami, Korra felt free.

Still lost in thought, Korra remembered the day she boarded the large cruise ship that was to take her to her childhood home, the South Pole. Korra survived her ordeal against Zaheer, but the poison damaged her nervous system, leaving her legs paralyzed. Korra couldn't stand, walk, or do much of anything without help. She was to meet her parents at the pier and board the a cruise ship that would take them back to the South Pole. She was escorted to the pier by all her good friends, the bending-masters, brothers Mako and Bolin, her kind and patient airbending teacher, Master Tenzin, and, of course, Asami. Asami had taken the reins to pushed the Avatar's wheelchair. A plan had been made to send Korra back to live with her parents. The idea was to give her time to recover without the stresses that the great Earth Kingdom capital, Republic City, presented. Considering all the political and public discord that remained after Zaheer's attempted coup, tension in the city was thick and palatable. Tenzin and the other council members knew that keeping the city together would be a challenge to come. It was best if Korra laid low in her recovery.

Not that Asami, was going to let that happen without a word of defiance. Asami, being a few years older than Korra, had been in big sister-mode, staying by Korra's bedside, caring for the wounded Avatar. They were all there for the final battle against Zaheer. After Zaheer had captured the Avatar, they came to her rescue. Bolin and Mako were brothers by blood, but to Korra, they were both her true brothers, in life and in battle. They had all been beaten and battered during their fight against Zaheer's ruthless team. They fought hard and helped the Avatar once again save the world. But in the aftermath, when all the smoke had cleared, the one thing Korra could remember the most was hearing Asami's voice in her ear, whisper her name as she lay unconscious, pleading for Korra to wake up. Korra woke to find herself staring into jade-colored eyes, accentuated by a framed of jet black hair that cascaded around Asami's neck and shoulders. Korra's mind captured the image of Asami's bright, beautiful eyes staring back at her with warmth and concern.

It was Asami who nursed the Avatar back to life. It was Asami who helped her lift her useless body up and down whenever Korra needed it. Asami spoon fed Korra soup and anything Korra could keep down, and wiped the sweat from her forehead when she woke up screaming in the middle of the night. It was practically every night since her ordeal with Zaheer that Korra would wake up drenched in sweat, screaming from night terrors. The trauma of being tortured infiltrated Korra's mind, and each night in her dreams, she relived it. She would awake screaming and thrashing out with her hands balled into fists. Asami would come running, grab Korra by the arms, and would whisper soothingly into Korra's ear, "Shhh… Korra, you're safe. I'm here…"

Korra stared into the night sky remembering the sound of Asami's voice, and the warmth of her skin as she would lean into the Avatar to soothe her raging fear. "I'm here…"

Korra stayed staring into the day-lit sky, remembering her friend. It was hard for her to leave her friends, but knowing that Asami wasn't exactly happy to hear the news made things worse.

"Why are they sending you away?" Asami demanded to know one night as she laid on the bed next to Korra once she had tending to Korra's nightly needs. Korra turned her head to face her friend; turning her whole body would have been far too much effort. She gave Asami a weak smile.

"It's just that they can see I'm not getting any better here. I guess they just think that I would do better in a less stressful environment."

Asami nestled her head into Korra's arm and wrapped her arm around the Avatar's mid-section. "How long will you be gone?"

Korra stay quiet for a few seconds, deliberating the best answer that would calm her friends concerns. "Not too long, I'm sure." But she wasn't sure… about anything! As a matter of fact, Korra was terrified. She was terrified she would never be able to walk again, much less fight or be the Avatar ever again. "Just until I'm better."

Asami sighed as she moved closer into Korra's body. Korra could tell Asami wasn't buying it. "I'm gonna miss you."

Korra rested her forehead against Asami's. "I'll miss you too, Asami. I'll miss all you guys."

They both remained silent for a few minutes. Korra could feel Asami's warm body resting against hers; the warmth felt so good to Korra as her body was tired and sore. Korra let out a deep sigh as she felt herself nettle even closer into her friend. She didn't want to leave, but Korra also knew she couldn't stay. She had to do something to restore herself to what she once was, the great and powerful Avatar Korra, master of all four elements, bestower of peace to the world. She wanted to stay with her friends, to stay in Republic City, to see things through to the end and to see her ordeal and defeat of Zaheer to come to fruition. But what could she do bound to a chair? She felt as if all she could do is sit and let her friends care for her like a weak, helpless child. Korra knew she couldn't stay as she let out another deep sigh.

Asami finally pulled herself up to meet Korra eyes, "Well then, go get better and we'll be waiting here for you until you get back." Asami took Korra hand in hers and quickly leaned in to kiss Korra's forehead. She leaned back to meet Korra's eyes again briefly, then to gently moved in to kiss Korra's lips. Asami then sat back, staring down to where she was holding Korra's hand. Korra stared bewildered at Asami for what seemed like a quiet eternity. But, Asami did not meet her gaze, continuing to stare down as she began to run her thumb across Korra's knuckles. Korra could see tears drop from Asami's face.

Korra sat still for a moment unsure of what to say. She knew Asami care for her deeply and was obviously hurting. Korra was so grateful for her friend, who had dropped everything, including her responsibilities to her engineering firm, Future Industries. Asami had sacrificed so much. Korra just wanted to grab Asami and never let her go. She wanted to tell her friend how she felt. She wanted to tell Asami how the feeling of her warm, soft lips against hers was a surprising sensation that gave Korra butterflies in her stomach. Korra took a breath, then gently put her free hand under Asami chin, raising her eyes to meet Korra's. Korra smiled, trying to give her friend some cheer, but Korra imaged that her smile probably looked pretty awkward. "I'll be back, Asami. I promise."

It was so hard the next morning as Asami rolled Korra to the pier to send her off. Everyone important to Korra was there. But, Korra just stared down at her lap. She felt she couldn't look into their faces, she felt so defeated.

Asami pleaded "Are you sure you don't want some company at the Southern Watertribe? I'm happy to come with you.…"

Korra's heart broke hearing her friend's words. She felt like such a disappointment to everyone. She had become a burden, especially to Asami. She had to leave, to go off and figure this out. She just couldn't face them otherwise. "No, I appreciate it, but I'll only be gone for a couple of weeks." Korra felt she just needed some time alone, to see if she could figure things out.

Korra could see no one else except Asami as the cruise ship surged away. She felt as though her heart was being ripped from her chest. What was she walking away from? Her mind flashed back to the sensation of Asami's lips touching hers. Korra's eyes began to well up with tears. It was all she could stand as she broke her gaze with Asami and looked away.

Korra felt the watertribe sailboat rock underneath her as she stared out into a lively sky. The whole sky was lit up in yellow, orange, and red as the sun was setting. It would have been beautiful, but Korra didn't really notice. Instead her mind stay fixed, remembering that agonizing day at the pier. Korra shut her eyes tightly as they became flooded with tears. She promised Asami she'd be back, but the years passed by so quickly as Korra watched her body make small, disappointing improvement. She attempted to reach out to Asami. All of her friends had written her, but she could really only muster the energy to write back once, to Asami. She just wanted to let Asami know she was ok, but really she wasn't ok. So what could Korra really write that was worth reading?

Korra feared what it would be like to see her friends again. Would they be angry with her for disappearing? Would they expect her to get back to business with her Avatar duties? Would she be up to it as she still felt so weak and tired? Or would they continue to treat her like an invalid? She didn't know if she was ready. She wasn't sure if she could face them, or even face herself in the mirror if she were to disappoint them, again. The watertribe boat was slowing approaching the city and Korra could see its distinct outline of tall building and smokestacks bellowing smoke. She felt her heart dropped into her stomach and she started to feel nauseous. Korra felt a wave of coldness come over her.

It was getting darker as she approached the city. It was twilight, the time of day when everything is going dark, yet the sky is still lit. Korra felt the coldness increased as she continued her approach. Suddenly, she felt this extreme pressure to her forehead. Korra doubled over in pain, putting her hand to her head. What was going on? Korra tried to focus her eyes on the tall rock wall that lined the way to the Republic City seaport. She thought she saw something, or someone. Who is that? Korra could see the online of a figure in the distance. It was female. Could that be Asami? "Did she know I was coming, did she come to greet me?" Korra thought to herself.

Korra's breath became shallow as she continued to make out an image of someone in the distance, her terror was building. Then, the figures eyes began to glow with a brilliant white light. Korra was instantly struck with fear and her breathe was caught in her throat. She couldn't breathe. She had to stop. She couldn't go on any further. Korra cried out and she threw the sails around, pushing air hard against the boat, diverting her approach and steering the boat away from Republic City. She gasped for air, then exhaled hard, coughing and gagging. Her shoulders slumped forward, and Korra began to breath again as she saw the outline of the city drifting away, fading into darkness.