AN: I love YYH (and LOK) too much and re-watching it inspired me to write my own story .
Disclaimer: I own nothing but any OCs that may appear for the sake of a plot (:
Legend of Korra: The Last Bender
Prologue:
No Longer Home
Korra could only see white as she floats in a space of nothingness. Her eyes could barely stay open as they took in the bright light before her. Her body felt as if she hadn't used it for years. Her weight as light as a feather as she remained stationary in the sea of light.
Is this...the Spirit World?
No it is too foreign. It is nothing like the realm she became so familiar with and embraced with all her being. Memories flash in her mind's eye as she tries to figure out how she got here. She remembers the cannon and her last plea to Kuvira. But it had been too late. She remembers the purple beam and that was it.
So I'm dead? Just my luck.
But she didn't feel dead. Almost as if she is on the bridge between life and death. It doesn't look like she will leave this place anytime soon. Korra sighs loudly and winces at the echo it produces.
"Mark me down as the worst Avatar in history." Korra grits her teeth and clenches her fist.
She notices that she no longer wears the water tribe outfit from her battle with Kuvira, but the earth one she wore three years after her infamous torture. Something didn't seem right and dread filled her entire being. Is this punishment for failing as an Avatar? Perhaps she truly could not live to be as great as her past lives. She failed the world that Aang tried so hard to protect. She couldn't help but think of Asami, Mako, Bolin and the others. Would she go down in history as the youngest Avatar to die? How pitiful.
"Tenzin, I'm so sorry." She feels tears gather in her eyes and tries to stop them.
She feels as though she is being watched and her every move judged without her consent. She grimaces and quickly rids her eyes free of tears with one swipe from the back of her hand. She gasps when she feels herself going into free fall but fortunately landing on her feet in a matter of ten seconds. She stumbles slightly, not used to the sudden weight after floating for who knows how long. She rubs the back of her neck sheepishly, however her eyes scan for any possible threats. She feels the same dread from moments before except it envelops her body in intense cold. She freezes when she hears the sounds of chains and slowly looks over her shoulder.
"You." Korra gasps and whips around to see the haunting hallucination she thought she got rid of.
The mirror of herself dressed like before, in the blue of the Water Tribe, with the broken chain wrapped around her wrist, and her eyes glowing with the energy of the Avatar State. Her shoulders are hunched, her head raised and her arms limply hanging at her side, giving her a somewhat inhuman appearance. Korra can only step back in shock, and wonders what the hell is going on. Korra clenches her fist and brings it back, ready to throw a ball of fire but stops short when she realizes nothing is happening.
"I can't bend?!" Korra curses when she attempts the other elements but it only made her look like an idiot doing intricate dance.
She feels fear grip her heart when the hallucination takes a step towards her. Korra looks around trying to find some means of escaping but could find nothing.
I am so screwed...
She denies the squeak of fear that tumbles out of her mouth when the Nightmare Korra (a name she thought up on the spot) runs at her with her fist looking ready to connect with Korra's cheek.
"No!" Korra cries raising her arms to block the oncoming attack.
She shuts her eyes tight and prepares for it only to feel a small gust of wind rustle her hair. She opens one eye to see her mirror image standing very close and studying her like some lab rat.
"What?" She opens her second eye and holds her breath.
The hallucination reaches out slowly with her hand towards Korra's forehead. She feels a bead of sweat roll down the side of her face as the hand gets closer to her. She winces when Nightmare Korra's index finger touches the center of her forehead and this wave of heat surrounds her. Suddenly it feels like millions of needles are poking at her skin and she can only yell in pain as the hallucination takes a step back and disappears as if she had never been there at all. The pain soon became unbearable, like the mercury that plagued her during that frightful day. She could hear the voices of her friends and family fill her ears like annoying static and she falls to her knees.
Their voices grow louder but do not separate, making it sound like she is in a room with everyone taking at once. She shakily brings her hands to cover her ears and cannot stop the tears that fall out of her eyes like rain drops.
"Shut up!" She screams, her voice piercing the emptiness of this nightmare.
The voices only get louder and her irritation sky rockets with her pain.
"I said shut up!" The Avatar sits up and throws the blanket off her body.
Wait what?
Korra blinks and looks around, taking in the room around her. The room she is in is unfamiliar and rather small. It looks like it was originally a closet for storing cleaning products and unused furniture. She looks down at her body to see herself still wearing the green of the Earth Nation. This time her arms are covered in bandages and so are her feet. Almost as if the most important parts of her body used for bending are critically damaged.
"You're almost as loud as the dimwit." An old, small woman with pink hair pushes the sliding door while cleaning her ear with her pinky.
The red in her outfit makes Korra suspect that she's from the Fire Nation but the white and overall design throws her off.
"Who are you?" Korra states bluntly, not sure if she should trust the old woman despite realizing it was probably her who fixed Korra up.
"I'll tell you if you're worth my time." The old woman mimics her tone and glares at her. "Get your ass to the main part of the temple."
Korra can only gape as the old woman slams the sliding door shut behind her. She oddly reminds her of Toph and suddenly becomes rather frightened at the idea of those two being in the same room together. They would tear her apart. Realizing she has no choice at the moment, she slowly stands up and fully expects her body to be in a world of pain.
She feels okay.
"Fantastic." Korra sighs in relief and does a small fist pump.
She opens the sliding door and looks both ways. She refrains from face palming when she notices that she has no idea where the main part of this temple even is. She closes the door behind her and decides that going right would be her first guess. She frowns when she reaches the end of the hall, feeling some sort of energy getting closer. She instinctively takes a left, a right, goes straight and then another right, ending up in a large room. Korra felt irritated at how big this place is.
"So you're not a dimwit. Congratulations." The old woman is standing before her, a small grin on her face.
"Thanks?" Korra's eye twitches and she reminds herself it's not polite to hit unsuspecting old people.
"Usually someone without spirit awareness would have gotten lost completely since your room is rather far away. But you managed to find your way to me under ten minutes." She had the decency to look slightly impressed.
"Well I am the Avatar." Korra frowns, not really understanding what she meant though.
"Is that supposed to mean something?" She raises an eyebrow and claps her hands behind her back.
"Well yeah."
"Well it doesn't." The old woman says and a flash of amusement passes through her eyes when she sees Korra trying not to punch her lights out.
"I suspected that you wouldn't be able to walk. I found you in a rather large crater on my temple grounds covered by blue flames."
Korra felt her frown deepen. Did Kuvira's cannon hit her so hard she ended up in the Fire Nation? Blue flames didn't make sense either. The cannon shot a purple beam. The Avatar could only scratch her head and stare at the pink haired woman in confusion.
"Tell me your name punk."
Korra wonders if the woman lives in the farthest corner of the earth away from civilization.
"I'm Korra. You honestly don't know me?" She raises an eyebrow and puts her hands on her waists.
"Not a clue."
That statement makes Korra hit the floor in shock. She quickly recovers and clears her throat.
"You haven't told me your name."
"I'm Genkai. You honestly don't know?" Genkai said in a mocking tone.
Korra clenches her fist but ultimately decides starting a fight isn't the best idea. She had to get back to Kuvira and end their fight.
"Look I need to get back to Republic City. I need to stop Kuvira." She begins to hastily remove her bandages despite Genkai's noise of protests.
"Amazing." Genkai whispers at the lack of scars or wounds beneath the bandages.
Her hands and feet had oddly taken the most damage in the fall. No one would believe that she had fallen out of the sky if the crater was not out there. Korra heads towards the largest sliding doors in the room, guessing that they are the doors that lead outside. Before she can open it and begin her journey back, Genkai's words stop her mid step.
"Wait, you idiot. I have never heard of a Republic City."
"What?!"