Revised 9/22/15
Korra woke up in a daze. Her head pounded, she saw black dots in her vision, and her body felt weak and shaky. She looked around, not remembering where she was at first. She saw airbenders. Mako, Bolin, Asami...
'The air temple...' Korra thought as she put together what the giant structure was. She also noticed that everyone's expressions were morphing back from concern to something else. Confusion maybe? 'Why am I at the...Zaheer!' Korra sprung up onto her feet. Her head spun, her limbs shook and screamed, and her blinding headache surged. She stood a few steps back, struggling to stand. Panic coursed through her veins. She looked around again, more frantically this time.
"Zaheer! Where are you?" Korra yelled out as she braced herself once more for a fight. She wasn't in any condition to do so, but she was the Avatar and Zaheer...she had better not see his face again. She was about to run off to find him when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She spun around as fear filled her, but not letting it control her.
She clumsily lost balance yet again. She regained her balance, frustrated with the fact that her injuries - or whatever they were - were making her wide open to attacks. When she finally got steady she opened her eyes, adrenaline rushing, to look at her attacker. Correction, she looked at her friend. "Tenzin?" Korra asked, eyes wide.
She remembered him getting injured.
~Flashback~
She jumped off of the airship before it had even landed, earning sighs and facepalms from her friends. She landed safely on the ground near the airbenders. They all looked back as an explosion just barely missed them. It was too close of a call for Korra to stand.
"Korra!" Jinora ran up to Korra. She looked up at the older bender, her face covered in ash and tear stains. Korra's heart just nearly broke at the sight of the young girl who she considered family. The girl who was usually so smart and so strong seemed scared and saddened.
Korra gave her a quick hug then cut to the chase. There was a time for comfort, and there was a time to fight. This was a time to fight. Korra knew that comforting the pre-teen would only get them both blown up. "Where's Tenzin? What about Kya and Bumi?" she asked the airbenders as a whole. It was Ikki who spoke up.
"We don't know where Daddy, Aunt Kya, or Uncle Bumi went. They were fighting off the bad guys as we tried evaca-whatever." Ikki explained with hand motions included. Another explosion nearly hit Korra this time. She was knocked down but quickly got back to her feet, only slightly winded and bruised.
Korra put a firm face on. "You guys get outta here! I'll distract eye lady as long as I can. Mako, Bolin, Asami, my dad, Lord Zuko, and Beifong are helping Tenzi. I'll catch up with them later." Most of them nodded, others just stood there and looked at her. Korra didn't take this into consideration. She wasn't looking for their 'okay'.
"Here, take my glider!" one offered. Korra turned around to see that the airbender in question was Opal. Korra smiled and took the glider.
"Thanks Opal!"
"Oh, and tell Bolin that I say 'hi'." she said, blushing. Korra nodded. It was slightly humorous how shy Beifong's niece was. And how she Bolin hadn't managed to scare her away.
"Sure thing!" Korra had just taken off when a hand grabbed her ankle. She nearly fell of the cliff as she lost her balance. Luckily she air bent herself back to the flat ground. She looked over her shoulder to see who had grabbed her ankle. Surprise wasn't strong enough of a word to describe how Korra felt to discover that it had been Jinora who had grabbed her ankle.
"Korra...don't..." Jinora muttered, grabbing Korra's wrist.
Korra was confused. "But Jinora, you guys need to get out of here! I'll be okay!" Korra tried assuring her. Jinora did not look convinced. Her grip only tightened. Why is Jinora being so persistent about this? "Get to the bison! Get outta here!" Korra continued to yell at Jinora and the other airbenders. Her words seemed only to hurt Jinora further. Jinora's face went from concern to shock, as if she had just seen a ghost. But she nodded nonetheless. A determined look crossed her face.
"C'mon guys! This way!" Jinora said waving her arm. Satisfied, Korra flew off on the glider towards the airship with the combustion bender.
"Hey! Your fight is with me! Leave the airbenders out of this!" Korra said, flying around in crazy directions to divert the girl's attention. It worked. Explosions followed in Korra's path gaining fast. Thinking just as quickly, Korra flew close to the airship. The third eye girl climbed onto the roof of the airship, aiming at Korra. At the last moment Korra flew over the airship, making a giant hole appear from the explosion. Korra flew off of the glider (now in flames) and fell towards the ground far, far below. As eye girl went down with her ship, Korra shot flames from her fists, propelling herself to safety.
"Now to Tenzin." she said aloud to herself. She ran through the temple to where she found Tenzin trapped in a corner. The rest of the red lotus surrounding him. He was bruised, beaten, and bleeding. His movements seemed wobbly and his breath was shaky. Korra was horrified to see Tenzin – son of Avatar Aang and Master Airbender – in such horrific condition. She felt something strange stir inside of her. It was a swirling inside her middle and head. She blamed it on the Avatar State, telling herself that she was probably just slipping into it.
She looked to her side to see the rest of the gang. They looked as horrified as she did. She looked at Asami who just shrugged. Next she looked at Mako. He gestured towards them. Korra's turn to shrug. What was she supposed to do? She couldn't beat three of the Red Lotus at the same time. She felt utterly helpless. She hated being helpless.
Trying to devise a plan in her mind, she saw more blows being dealt to Tenzin, who was doing less than half the damage they were. Where were Kya and Bumi? Korra clenched her fists as she just watched. She was the Avatar! There had to be something she could do! The strange feeling returned a bit stronger this time. It was as if something she had locked away was trying to get out. It had a faint anger to it, as if the feeling was it's own entity inside of Korra. She brushed it off, again blaming it on the Avatar State because she didn't use it much. It was times like this she wished she could talk to Aang. Or Iroh. She'd settle on Beifong right about now.
Then she felt a tug on her pants.
Korra looked down to find Jinora and Ikki standing there. The latter being the one who tugged on her pants.
"Do something Korra!" Jinora whispered, just audible over the water, air, and lava.
"Daddy...help him!" Ikki begged. Korra frowned as she looked back at the battle. She had to do something! She couldn't just let Tenzin die! She couldn't let these children be fatherless. Korra looked back towards the two young girls. Then a thought crossed her mind.
"Why aren't you guys on the bison getting away?" Korra hissed.
"We came back to make sure daddy, Aunt Kya, and Uncle Bumi got out alright." Ikki told her. Then smirked slightly. "We managed to get Milo on the bison before escaping!" Korra nodded. It was only natural for these girls to do something like that. Just like when the Equalists were attacking Air Temple Island and they came back to fight alongside Beifong.
But she couldn't let them stay.
"You girls gotta get outta here!" she whispered to them. Neither moved a muscle. "Now!" she said slightly louder, glancing over at the fight to make sure she wasn't heard.
"Not until we know daddy is okay!" Ikki said as loud as she dared. Looking back at Tenzin, the girls were terrified. There was their dad, Master Airbender and son of Aang, getting his ass whooped. Then he collapsed, unconscious.
Korra felt that feeling again, this time much stronger. It made her head pound and her stomach churn. Korra thought that she was going to hurl. She looked over at her team, this time specifically towards Lord Zuko. He had the most experience hanging with the Avatar than any of them. When he saw her, she saw him visibly taken aback. She wondered why. Was it because she hadn't intervened yet? Zuko nudged Beifong who was standing next to him then pointed to Korra. What was she doing that was attracting this much attention. Even Beifong stood there flabbergasted.
Korra glanced down at the two girls. They seemed to have gotten shorter. Korra found it hard to focus, her headache making her eyes water, pupils dilated, but she did her best as she examined the faces on the kids. Jinora's eyes were filled with amazement and compassion, a major difference for earlier, but a smile was still notably absent. Ikki was shocked and what almost looked scared, again, a major change from earlier. Korra looked back over to the Red Lotus.
They all aimed a finishing strike at Tenzin; using all of their elements at once. As they aimed, Korra's vision blurred. She felt wobbly. As she tried to regain her balance she noticed that her legs felt longer. She looked down. Her feet were bigger and her clothes had changed. Not to mention her physical appearance. Her curves were replaced with a flat, muscular chest and smaller hips. Her body didn't feel like hers, like she was just spectating. Her face was one of anger and rage, yet she couldn't feel those emotions. The last thing she remembered was her team staring at her and the Red Lotus poised to attack before everything went black.
~Present Day~
Now here Tenzin was, standing in front of her. He wasn't unconscious and his injuries seemed to be better. Time seemed to have passed, as only a sliver of the sun was visible above the horizon. No sight of Zaheer anywhere.
'Did he flee after...after...after what?' she asked herself. She had no idea what had happened. Her last moments were all fuzzy to her. All of the airbenders were back as well.
"It's okay Korra. We're safe now." Tenzin assured her. Korra didn't – couldn't – believe it. Zaheer and the Red Lotus were still here, they had to be. She couldn't remembered ever beating them! Her brain was on high alert. The others seemed to detect this.
"No we aren't, Tenzin! Not until Zaheer and his gang are defeated!" Korra snapped, just like she did every time someone told her no fighting or that they were safe. Tenzin sighed and glanced back at the others for support. It was Lord Zuko who stepped forward.
"Korra, do you remember any of what happened?" he asked carefully, as if afraid of offending her.
"Not really. I think I passed out, but I'm not sure why." Korra stated. Then a thought occurred to her. Could the Red Lotus have been defeated while she was unconscious? No. She dismissed the thought. It would have taken the power of the Avatar wouldn't it? "Will someone please explain what happened to me?" Korra asked when they looked shocked that she didn't already know. A few moments of silence followed.
Bolin looked over at Korra. "We don't exactly know how to explain it." he told her, breaking the silence. He was scratching his head. "Any ideas?"
"You don't need to explain it you just need to say it! And now would be preferable!" Korra said, her impatience getting the best of her as usual. The airbenders and Zuko flinched slightly at her outburst. The rest remained rather stoic; accustomed to her loud attitude. "Tenzin?" she insisted. Tenzin sighed and shook his head.
"Unfortunately, I was only awake for the last bit of it. I missed most of it." Tenzin admitted. He seemed really bummed out about it. Whatever Korra had missed, it meant a lot to Tenzin. Looking down at the girls, they were looking at her – amazed. Admiration shone in their eyes.
"But you said you were awake for the last bit, right?" Korra remembered, "What did you see?" she suggested.
"I got hit real hard by Zaheer and his gang, so I may have been hallucinating, but I thought I saw my father– Avatar Aang." Tenzin smiled at the memory. Korra stood there, the same flabbergasted look on her face that the others had worn earlier that day.
"Yeah! You were so cool!" Ikki said excitedly, "You turned into Grandpa – which scared me at first – but then Grandpa Korra fought all three of the bad guys off alone!" Ikki finished, jumping up and down.
"Grandpa Korra trapped them using various elements and took away their bending." Jinora said, then she surprised everyone by putting on the first smile they had seen on her face since the Red Lotus had arrived. "Then you took them to the ground below." This made everyone take a breath of relief because no one can get to the temple unless it's by air.
Korra, still with the same expression on her face as before, looked from one girl to the other. She was hopelessly confused.
'How did I...turn into Aang?' she interrogated herself. 'I lost my connection to the past Avatars when Raava was pulled out of, and then later put back into, me.' Korra looked back over to the adults. They all just shrugged.
She glanced over to a pathway through the temple. Standing at the entrance to the hallway was an old man. But not just any old man. It was Iroh. He moved his mouth, but didn't actually speak, not wanting to draw any attention to himself. It didn't matter to Korra though. She could read lips.
'Sometimes love is more powerful than any physical or spiritual limitations.' Korra smiled and nodded.
"Thanks." she said to him. He nodded then disappeared, probably back to the spirit world.
"Thanks for what?" her father asked. She looked over, startled as she had forgotten about the others.
"Nothing, nothing. I just received some great advice from a wise old man." she said smirking. Zuko seemed to catch onto what she was saying, and glanced over to the hallway. His eyes darted excitedly. When he saw nothing, Korra saw him sigh, understanding that he had missed him.
"By the way," Korra asked, changing the subject, "Where's Kai?" she asked curiously. Thinking back, she hadn't seen him with the airbenders earlier either. Everyone shut up immediately. Korra's eyes widened, fearing the worst. The smile that had crossed Jinora's face had faded, and she looked on the verge of tears.
"Kai..." she said, about to explain. Deciding it too hard, she then ran over to Tenzin. She hugged Tenzin then wiped her face, but refused to look at Korra.
"He's not..." Korra asked as much as she dared. Ikki nodded grimly. Korra couldn't believe it. Wouldn't. Refused. "He's not." she said, this time as a statement instead of a question.
Then they heard the cries of a bison.
Korra pivoted around to look behind her. Off in the distance, approaching fast, was Kai on his bison. Everyone smiled. Korra could almost hear the happiness as it filled the air. They hadn't lost an airbender or a friend after all.
"Hey guys!" Kai called. He landed the bison off the right a bit then dismounted. Jenora immediately perked up. "Miss me?" he asked with a smirk on his face. He was about to say more, but before he could he was enveloped in a tight hug. Kai jumped a bit in surprise but, upon realizing who it was, returned the hug. Tenzin was about to intervene until Kya grabbed his arm. She shook her head.
Once the two kids separated they were both blushing profusely, causing everyone to laugh.
It was indeed a very interesting day in the life of the Avatar, but then again, what day wasn't?
A/N: This is the revised version of this story, in case you hadn't known that. I wrote this back when Book 3 was still new. I had just watched the episode where Tenzin got his ass kicked by the Red Lotus, and just couldn't resist writing about it. The season hadn't even finished yet, that's why nothing is Canon to the ending of Book 3 or ANYTHING in Book 4 (because it hadn't came out yet). Thanks for reading my fic! Leave a review!
Quick Question: Should I write an up-to-date post-Book 4 Legend of Korra fic? Yeah? No? Lemme know!
~animegirl336