Hey there guys! Ok, so this is a standalone story that popped in my head. For those of you who are reading my other story, The Road to Forever, I promise an update for that one is coming soon. But the idea of this one reared it's head and refused to be ignored. So here we are. It's a little something for the holidays and is the first of 3 parts. So Happy Holidays and I hope you enjoy!
My Promise to You
Part 1
"I should be going with you." Asami whispered to Korra. Her voice was sulky and tired as she held Korra tightly to her. They were enjoying a rare, quiet morning cuddling in Asami's ridiculously warm bed as the snow fell lightly outside. It wasn't nearly as cold as it was in the South Pole but Republic City had a decent enough Winter all the same. "Instead, I'll be stuck in endless board meetings and then there's the meeting with President Raiko." Asami's face scrunched up in annoyance making Korra giggle softly. Neither of them were a big fan of the current President.
"I wish you were coming with me too Asami. But I'll only be gone a couple of weeks at most." Korra whispered back as she gently kissed the tip of Asami's nose and smiled. "Besides, it's not just ANY meeting with Raiko. It's THE meeting you've been working towards for months. You're finally going to be able to show him the plans you and your team have worked up for the city. Even he won't be able to find anything wrong with what you've come up with. You're going to be great." Korra told her.
"Thank you Korra. Still, helping to introduce the world to a newly discovered Earth Kingdom temple...it's going to be incredible. Just imagine what you'll find there! They're saying it's possibly thousands of years old." Asami said excitedly.
"I doubt it'll be that exciting. I'll mostly just be keeping the peace between the excavators and the villagers. Things in the Earth Kingdom are still...troubled."
"Avatar Korra! Over here!" shouted one of the excavators. Korra turned and saw the older, shorter man named Shen calling to her. He was the leader of the excavation and a professor at the leading university in the Fire Nation.
"What is it Shen?" asked Korra as she came over. She hoped he wasn't going to try to pull her into another discussion about one of her many past lives. It was bad enough she had lost her connection to them, but Shen seemed to constantly forget it and so was always asking her questions about the past. She genuinely like the older professor. But there were times he got a little excitable about history.
"We've found something! The temple itself as I told you earlier is most certainly bigger than we had originally estimated. Well we decided to try doing more exploration over here on the eastern side of the temple. As I said previously, the sand surrounding this temple has been difficult to work with and without having the full support of the neighboring village, we are in short supply of Sandbenders. The whole thing is just silly really. I mean, honestly, this is their history! You'd think they'd be more interested, more grateful even that we've discovered something so import-"
"Shen! Please. I'm well aware of your feelings on the subject of the Sandbenders. And as I've told you, they have a right to their opinion too. Either way, this temple is along the boundary of their lands and with all of the recent skirmishes with the other neighboring villages, surely you can understand their hesitation about this whole thing. Now, please, tell me what you've found." Korra asked him.
"Yes, yes you're right. Of course. My apologies. Well as I was saying. We decided to work on the eastern side of the temple today. And we found it! We found the entrance...or at least AN entrance! Look!" Shen turned and gestured for Korra to follow him down the ladder and into the excavation area. At the bottom, Korra was stunned to see that the temple really was bigger than they had originally estimated. They had uncovered a large circular door at least 20 feet from the surface. It was incredible to realize the sands of the desert had been able to hide so much. Could there be even more?
"You're sure this trip won't be too dangerous?" Asami asked her quietly. Korra could tell Asami was worried. She always bit her bottom lip when she was nervous or stressed and she was doing it again just then.
"Asami, everything is going to be fine." Korra told her smiling. "Now," she started before rolling on top of the older girl and leaning down to rescue Asami's worried lips with her own. Asami was surprised at the suddenness of the move, but welcomed the kiss all the same. She cradled Korra's face with her hands, moving her hands into the shorter girl's hair as she deepened the kiss. They both moaned when Korra pulled away gently.
Korra rested her head against Asami's and stared into her lover's beautiful green eyes.
"What's really bothering you Asami? Please, tell me. I can tell something's been bothering you ever since this trip was announced last week. And I think it's about more than just me being gone for a couple weeks. You know I'll still make it back by the Solstice, no matter what if that's what you're worried about." Korra told her.
Asami was silent for a moment and Korra was startled at the fear she saw then in her lover's eyes.
"Asami…?" Korra whispered, leaning back and trying to give the engineer space for a moment but Asami just followed her and gripped Korra's arms tight.
"I'm...just scared Korra." Asami whispered as she brushed her fingers lightly across Korra's cheek.
Korra stayed silent, wanting to give Asami the time to collect her thoughts.
"I'm scared at the thought of you leaving. We haven't been apart for that long since...well...since…" Asami's voice broke and Korra reached up to grasp Asami's hand.
"Since I disappeared" Korra said, her voice hushed and regretful.
"Yes. I'm not angry at you for being gone so long. I get it. But not having you here, not knowing where you were or if you were ok. It was just so hard. I know you came back, you came back to everything, came back to me. But the thought of you leaving again, it terrifies me. I'm worried that one day, you're going to leave on a mission, and it'll be the day you don't come back. I can't lose you Korra."
"We haven't found a way to open the door yet…" started Shen and Korra looked at him, surprised.
"Yes I know, the door is clearly made of stone but even our strongest Earth Benders have been unable to budge it." Shen answered Korra's question before she could even ask it.
"What are these markings on the door? They seem different from the markings on the rest of the temple." Korra asked as she examined the door closely.
"We're not sure but you're correct in that they are different. We're not certain if it's a different dialect or different language altogether but just as the rest of the markings scattered around the temple, we have yet to translate it." Shen was clearly frustrated but also seemed excited at the new find.
"I'm sure we'll get it figured out in time" Korra muttered. What was that noise? She could swear there was a strange...humming? No, that wasn't it.
Korra started towards the door and she realized the closer she got to it, the sound deepened and the air seemed to become charged. It wasn't humming, she realized. It was a heartbeat. A deep, resonating heartbeat moving so fast that it sounded like humming. She felt it surrounding her. Korra began to reach out to touch the door, not knowing why, just that she needed to.
'Korra…'
Korra stopped. "Raava?...What is it?" Korra asked the spirit. She was surprised. Usually, Raava did not make herself known to her. Korra always knew she was there of course, could feel her presence now that she knew to be aware of it. But Raava stayed mostly silent. A calming presence deep within her.
'Korra...you must leave this place. Leave the door. It keeps her back...you mustn't open the door...'
"Keeps her back? Who?" Korra asked as she felt the noise of the heartbeat grow even stronger, almost making her dizzy it surrounded her so.
"Avatar Korra? Are you alright?" Shen asked her, concerned.
"I'm...fine. But I think this place may not be safe. I think we should all leave…"
"Asami, I'm so sorry for everything I put you through while being away. I know that as hard as everything was for me, it was hard for you too. I was scared for such a long time of so many things. Scared of failing, of losing the people I care about, and scared of you."
"Me? You were scared of me?" Asami asked, startled.
"Not..not OF you. Not exactly. I was scared of how I felt about you. The more time I spent with you, the more I realized how much I cared for you. I'd never felt that way about anyone before. Here was this beautiful, amazing, girl who had the power to either break my heart or reshape it into something new. My Asami, that I couldn't possibly ever be good enough for-"
"Korra! Don't ever say that! Don't ever think you're not good enough!" Asami said harshly.
Korra leaned and kissed Asami softly, calming the older girl. When Korra pulled away, she brushed the hair out of Asami's face gently.
"You have to understand Asami. At the time when I had fully realized how I felt about you, I was broken. My whole world was broken and I felt like I had fallen into this deep, dark pit that I could never escape from. You were the one bit of light I had left and I was so afraid I was going to drag you down into that pit with me. I couldn't do that to you. I loved you too much. So I had to pull myself out of that pit on my own or...die trying. Anything to keep you safe." Korra whispered as her eyes began to tear up.
Asami reached over and wiped them away gently. "You have me now and I'm not going anywhere. I don't care where you are, even if it's in the darkest pit in the world. I'll always be waiting for you, always. And if you can't dig yourself out, then dammit Korra I'm coming too and don't you dare try and stop me. We're in this together, you got that?"
Before Shen could say anything they heard shouting from above. Both turned and were alarmed at the sounds of screams and shouts.
"No! Leave this place!" It was the Chief of the village Shen had been talking about.
"Chief Kyo, what is the meaning of this!?" Shen shouted.
"We will not tolerate your presence at this temple any longer. You have no idea what you have found. This temple was never meant to be dug up. Leave! Now! And you will be unharmed. But I warn you, we are not afraid to fight even the Avatar." Kyo told them coldly.
Korra moved Shen aside and looked at Kyo sternly. "What have you done with the workers?" She asked him, her voice calm despite the growing ache in her head. The sound from the temple kept getting louder and she feel it almost filling her from the inside out.
"They are safe and unharmed, for now. But if you don't leave, it will not stay that way. Take your people and leave this place!"
"How dare you! This is one of the greatest historical finds in the modern age! Don't you people see that? There's nothing to be afraid of-" Shen was saying before he realized Korra had fallen to her knees beside him and was grasping her head tightly and moaning.
"Av-Avatar Korra…! Are you alright?!" Shen rushed to her.
"I love you Asami" Korra whispered in between each soft kiss she gave the engineer. "I love you too Korra. But promise me you won't let the darkness chase you away ever again."
Korra looked at Asami then and realized she'd been right. She didn't just love Asami. Asami was a part of her now. They were a part of each other and Korra would never stop cherishing that.
"I promise. In fact, I have something for you." Korra told her as she made the slightest movement with her hand and Asami saw a small metal box shoot out of the younger girl's coat pocket and into her outstretched hand.
"This...well I was going to give you this on the Solstice but now seems like the right time." Korra whispered, her face glowing red.
Asami just stared at the box in Korra's hand, knowing with every bit of her being what it was.
"You can open it you know." Korra chuckled. "And when you do, there's something I'd like to ask you."
Asami looked up then from the box to Korra and reveled in the girl's shining smile and happy but nervous eyes.
"No." Asami whispered.
For the briefest moment Asami saw the fear and hurt creep into Korra's face before she corrected herself. "I'm sorry, no I mean...no not right now. Not yet!"
"Oh...ok then." Korra was clearly disappointed but was trying to hide it.
Asami reached over and took the box from Korra's hand and placed it on the nightstand. She then pulled Korra flush against her and kissed the young Avatar deeply. After what seemed an age, the two lovers finally pulled apart and Korra looked starstruck. Asami just smiled at her.
"Korra, when you get back, I will open the box and you can ask me whatever it is you want to ask me. So promise me no matter how long it takes, that you'll come back to me."
"I love you Asami, and I promise. I'm always come back."
Korra felt as if her whole body was both covered in ice and on fire at the same time. Nothing made sense. The heartbeat, it was now a drumming noise and it consumed every thought, every bit of her being. Shen, Kyo and Kyo's men backed away in fear as they watched her begin to levitate off the ground, her eyes flickering from light to normal faster than they could comprehend. She screamed and the earth began to shake around them. The sand lifted and swirled as she created a terrible dust storm right there within the site.
"She's going to destroy us all!" shouted one of the panicked men Kyo had brought down with him. Before anyone else could stop him, he bent the earth around him, forming a boulder and sent it flying at the Avatar. So consumed by the drumming, by the heartbeat, by the pain of everything she was feeling, Korra never saw it.
The boulder struck her hard in her center and sent Korra flying towards the door. The moment she collided with it, everyone stood stunned as the door glowed a brilliant orange and seemed to hold her there for the barest moment. Korra was trapped by some invisible force on the door like a waspfly caught in a web. The light from the door grew and grew until finally no one could look at it any longer. They shielded their eyes from the glowing orange light of the door and were powerless as they heard the Avatar give one final scream before all was silent.
Shen dared to look again, realizing the light was gone. Never in his life had he seen anything like it. The door looked the same as they had found it earlier that morning. But he could feel the heat coming off it from where he stood many feet away. And what was worse...the Avatar was gone.
Korra had only been gone a week but Asami already missed her terribly. She had met with President Raiko and it had gone surprisingly well. He had actually agreed with her on at least most of her ideas for how to improve the city. She should be in great spirits. But for some reason, Asami felt as if she had a ball of ice in her gut. Something was wrong and she could feel it.
Asami was about to leave her office and try to take a walk to clear her head when there was a knock. "Come in!" she told them.
Surprised, Asami stared as Mako walked in.
"Mako? What are you doing here? Is something wro-" Asami started before she really looked at his face.
Asami had never seen Mako look more serious, or more sad. No..it couldn't be...she told her herself.
"Asami...we just got word and I wanted to be the one to tell you." No...no...no….
"I'm so sorry Asami. It's Korra...she's disappeared."
Asami stood there for a moment before Mako's words sunk in. Korra was gone…Asami's legs seemed to give out from under her and she sank to the floor next to her desk, tears streaming down her face. Mako rushed over and knelt next next her, but not touching her, uncertain how she would respond just then.
"Asami...Asami please, say something." Mako pleaded.
She finally looked at him then, her green eyes watery with tears. "Mako…"she whispered, "she can't be gone. She can't be. She promised."