a/n: Because I wanted to write about something other than Korrasami for once, what did I end up writing about? My other favourite little rascal: Ikki. Does anyone else find this girl utterly precious? And I am so glad she got an episode focused on her rather than Jinora or Meelo. I love those other two, don't get me wrong, but...Ikki. She's just so precious. And so I began to think, "well, what can I write about her?" I then began to ponder about possibilities that could have occurred in the series finale. Especially when looking at the scene where Ikki saved Jinora. I thought, "maybe I can expand on this? Casualties of war are rarely just adults or front-line soldiers. Sometimes heroism is done in the smallest acts, but take the biggest amount of courage." Plus, I wanted to expand on Asami's engineering talents to cater to those in need. I'm pretty sure she was the one who designed Korra's wheelchair at the end of the third season, and having Ikki in a spot of being a casualty of war really spurned my interest. I would like to apologize in advance if I am misguided or in anyway offend anyone who has prosthetic limbs, as this is a subject I have not written about before, and whilst I have done my research on this, I am sure I will get some things wrong. If anyone can consult me on how to write this better or to fix anything in the long-run, believe me, it will be much appreciated. I guess it's my idle curiosity on how this world handles certain subjects that implores me to explore it in my own vision, but I know I am bound to get parts of this subject matter wrong. Nonetheless, I hope you do enjoy!

It all happened so fast.

Ikki was eleven years old, and should have been at her home, prancing around with spirit eagle-rabbits and playing hide-and-seek with her less-than enthusiastic father. She should have been pestering her mother that she was "old enough" to go out in town on her own to buy the latest dresses which had a assortment of bright pinks and purples on them. She could have been with Jinora and Meelo, bickering over who got-what desert and who-sat-where on the dinner table when Korra graced them with her presence.

Ikki should have been able to explore the freedoms of being in her last years of childhood, before teenage years hit her harder than a swatter on a mosquito.

"Ikki? Dear? Dinner is almost ready, are you coming down?"

Her mother's voice had always been warm, Ikki said nothing. She remained on her bed, looking wearily out at the spirits frolicking in the winds, and for a brisk moment, wished to be one of them.

She heard her mother's footsteps come closer, before feeling a weight on the end of the bed. Her mother is careful not to alter her daughter's balance, fear that she'd fall.

"Ikki, you can't stay up here forever. Please, honey, come down. Just for dinner, that's all I'm asking you. Jinora misses you." She paused. "We all do." Ikki heard her mother's voice cracking through it's steeled defences. Nothing was solid since that day. Not at all. Perhaps having everything grounded would have been best for her, considering she was an airbender, but she wasn't sure. Ikki isn't sure of anything, not since that day.

She finds herself tumbling into a war of two sides who thought they were in the right. In the midst of all that chaos, she sees her sister and her father, falling down after trying to shield the other from that colossal mecha's blast.

"Ikki! Grab Jinora! I'll get Dad!"

It is one of the few times she didn't argue with Meelo over something, and instead, she battles against the currents of air trying to tell her this speed wasn't natural, but nature be damned because "that is my sister, I'll save her no matter what", and she plummets down, parallel to the skylines that are slowly being obliterated, and embraces her older kin in her arms.

Ikki anticipates on landing just shy of the rooftop of the old tea shop her father loves to visit so much.

Brief thoughts of the aftermath of that day come into her mind: her complaining she hated tea, Jinora tutting her to mind her manners, Meelo being Meelo, and her father and mother just chuckling at their antics.

She doesn't land on the rooftop.

"Korra…" Her mother exhales slowly, trying to prevent her heart from pouring out to her daughter. Ikki reasoned that was the case, anyway. Everything just made so much more sense when looked at in cold logic. No more rainbows and glitter potions. There wasn't any point in thinking all that. She was too tired to try. "Korra is here. She wants to see you."

"...She does?" Ikki is surprised how different her voice sounds. It's so tired, so hoarse, so lifeless. But the very fact that Korra was there now, made some small amount of life return in her dimmed eyes.

At the very least, it pleased her mother.

"Yes, honey, she does! She really wants to see how you are, and she's staying for dinner, too." Mirth, excitement, genuine happiness. All radiate in her voice. Ikki turns around to glance over at her face. She'd been crying again. The sight of it made her stomach churn, but she was too tired to speak of it. It was only then she discovered, just how much energy it took to speak everyday. How had she managed it so effortlessly before? The very thought was a mystery to her.

Ikki's eyes flickered over to the discarded airbender suit that Asami gave to her last year, crumpled up in a heap in the corner. Not much use now.

"...I'm coming." She saw her mother open her mouth, and chose to interrupt her before she said anything, "but I can come down on my own."

"Are you sure? I can help you if you want-"

"I'm fine."

The bright smile that had played on her mother's lips had vanished in but an instant. Ikki regretted her harsh rebuttal for assistance soon after, as she saw her mother merely retreat through the door with a silent nod. Ikki wanted to apologize, but her patience has worn down in the following weeks since the battle. She knew that her mother only meant well, that she was only concerned for her well-being, but Ikki just wanted to be trusted to do a few mundane activities by herself.

The door slid closed, and Ikki was left standing alone in the barren room. There weren't anymore pastel paintings colouring the walls; most of them had been torn down last week. All of her playful spirit friends are warned away by her screaming fits, and everything else that decorated her personality have been shoved to the sidelines.

The one thing that hadn't changed, however, was the body-length mirror that hung aimlessly by the window. Slowly, she walked over to it, seeing her reflection in full view.

Bandages adorned her entire body. She was dressed down in nothing but brown-cotton Her left hand traced the slight scarring on her cheek.

Shrapnel digs into her skin, slicing her cheek until she can almost taste the air through the hole. The very sensation pulses overwhelming heat through her, emitting a whimper, but all she can think of is Jinora's safety. She's scared, she's crying, her arm is crying out from the pain; but Jinora is still out of it, so she has to get her to safety.

Jinora's foot ended up getting a few cuts from that as well, Ikki remembered. She was so heavy that day, but somehow, the adrenaline had carried the dead-weight for Ikki to manage to get her to somewhere that she could have been protected.

Of course the 'important people' always gets protected. What am I to them all, then? It was a spiteful thought, but one she felt was justified. Her father nearly died to save Jinora, so many times. Plus, Meelo was the son he'd always wanted, and Rohan was still a little kid. What did they need her for? Someone to get in the way of the 'master who will lead us into a new age' being harmed.

Ikki stared at her face. At the way it contorted, twisted, turned into a sneer when she thought of her family.

It was ugly.

It was just a skim of hatred, but it was enough to settle in her gut over what she had just thought about. Her brows furrowed, her lip trembled, and like that, the young airbender began to wail.

Deep sobs ruptured from her throat, blubbering incoherent words as her cheeks grew red with grief and anger. She went to her knees with a violent, sudden fall, and her eyes began to heat up with the familiar pain yet again.

I've had enough! I've had enough! I want my life back! Why did it have to be stolen away from me? What did I do?

Those thoughts played like a mantra, and soon they took up the space in her lungs. There was no more room for her at all, only those words, and soon her mind was incoherent with anything else. I can't breath! Why can't I breath?

"Ikki!"

Was that Korra? Ikki couldn't see past her blurry vision, with those feelings utterly blinding her.

"Ikki, Ikki, look at me."

"C-can't," she rasped, as Korra held her up by her shoulders.

"Ikki, I need you to listen to me, okay? Okay?" Ikki managed to nod at that, though her mind was still hazy, and Korra's warm grip had been the one thing keeping her from getting lost in that fog of a mind. "I need you to stand up. Can you do that for me?"

Ikki didn't nod, but did comply, with her left arm wrapped around Korra's shoulder as she carefully ascended from the floor.

"Good, that's good." Korra said, and smiled at her, which caused Ikki's heart to stop racing so fast. "Now, when I count, you take a deep breath, okay? Odd numbers when you breath in, even numbers when you breath out. We've practised this before, just in case. Can you do that for me?"

"...Mm."

"Ready? Okay, one…"

Air flooded her lungs, and she felt rejuvenated somewhat. Echoes of the fall, however, don't cease.

"Two…"

"Ikki…" She hears Jinora mumble, "get out of here…"

"Three…"

"Are you crazy? I can't leave you behind! You're my sister, and Dad would kill me! Why does everything always have to be about you putting yourself into danger for other people? You may have tattoos, but your a kid like me! You being a master means nothing now!"

"Four…"

She feels her tears well up, "I can be a hero just as much as you!"

"Five…"

"Stop being stubborn, Ikki…" Jinora's fading in and out of consciousness, and it would just be so much easier if she could make up her mind, "run…"

"Six…"

"Me stop being stubborn? You're the one who's acting like Lin did four years ago! You don't have to be the hero again!" Her protests run dry when Jinora glares at her, with worry creasing her brows.

"Seven…"

"I said, go."

"Eight…"

"No."

"Nine…"

The flashes stop running through her mind, and Ikki found herself at peace. For the moment, anyway. Korra helped her through this way before, and it was just as crucial as the first time her native element escaped through worried whimpers.

"Ten."

The last slow breath left her lips, and Ikki couldn't bring herself to look back up at Korra. Her shoulders still quaked from the tremors of a battle not-yet won, yet she was supported by the pillar of strength that embodied itself in the form of the Avatar.

Instead of meeting the Avatar's gaze, Ikki instead gazed out of the window. Though the blinds had been drawn shut, there were still cracks within the surface, allowing a little sunlight to kiss the inside of her room. Snow fell softly, landing on the ground with little purpose other than to find somewhere stable and safe to settle. The trees, once green, were coated in a cape of white cold, like blank canvases readying themselves for paint to be splattered upon them. The very thought of paint splattering over a blank space once enticed Ikki to her very core.

Now? Now, she just doesn't have the energy.

"Ikki, can you speak?"

"...Yes," she said, because there was no other response she could have said that wouldn't have caused her to tear up and cause a storm of emotions to battle against Korra's warm touch.

"Good, that's good." Korra paused, before stroking the bandaged part of her right side. "Ikki… I want you to know, we're all here for you. I know… after what's happened, it's hurt you. But I want you to know, you're not alone. You'll never be alone."

"Mm…" She whimpered. Those words resonated with her more than Korra would ever be able to understand, and Ikki was pretty sure she felt a tear slip down her cheek once again.

"Ikki?" Korra's hand didn't leave her right shoulder, and dared not to move it.

Ikki hid her eyes with her fallen bangs, disheveled and tangled. Her odango buns were with her airbender suit; discarded.

"...Korra," Ikki's voice was shy and hesitant, but she knew that Korra would give her all the time in the world (and for the next ten thousand years, or more, no matter how many lifetimes passed), which spurred her on, "am I...broken? I can't...airbend very well anymore. My suit doesn't fit me anymore. I can't... everything's so difficult."

Korra glanced over to the suit in question. She saw the hair-band tied up around the right sleeve two days beforehand, until Ikki had cut it off in a rage.

"When I was poisoned, after what Zaheer did to me, did you think I was broken?"

It was a tense topic to bring up. Neither woman liked the imagery that emerged from the incident-Zaheer's insane rambles, Korra weakly grasping for her father's hand, "Sweetie, it's me, Dad," and then it all goes dark-but it was something that Ikki remembered well.

"...No. You looked...really sad. I wanted to help you. But I didn't think you were broken or anything." Ikki sighed, "but you didn't lose anything, Korra."

"I lost a lot. But no, I didn't lose anything physically." Korra's gaze didn't leave Ikki's left hand stroking her right shoulder, feeling the absence of the other limb more prominently. "But that doesn't mean you're broken."

"Other kids made fun of me in the city, Korra! They called me weird!" And the tears sprung up again, "they said I was just like that...that...that Red Lotus lady! The one that had no arms, the one that hurt Aunty Kya! They said I was going to end up just like her! All because I lost my arm!"

Korra rummaged through her brain to try and search for something to say, something comforting. "And you know who else doesn't have something, but she was still strong? Toph Bei Fong. She's blind, Ikki. She doesn't have sight. But she never let it stop her."

"It's not the same!" She protested. Her mother gave her the same lecture already. "She was born with it! I wasn't supposed to be like this! I'm not supposed to be like this! I-I'm not supposed to be like this…"

"Maybe you weren't, Ikki…" Korra hushed her softly, wrapping an arm around her in a quiet embrace, "but it's happened all the same, and nothing will come of you denying it. I'm not going to lie to you, Ikki, it's going to be a lot harder to get back who you once were, but you've got so many people that care about you."

She didn't need to say anything else after that.

Ikki, with much hesitance, eventually did go down to join the others for dinner. Though she didn't make much in the way of conversation, she appreciated that her mother had already pre-cut her food so that she wouldn't have difficulty. It was quiet, as most dinners had been in the aftermath of Kuvira's onslaught on the city, but with Varrick and Zhu Li's wedding coming in the following two months, preparations were under-way.

Ikki glanced at the absence on her right shoulder. At the phantom limb that she saw next to her bowl, the one that she knew nobody else could see. Maybe she'd be able to find the courage to attend.

"I'm not leaving you here to die!"

Just, maybe.

a/n: And there you have it! I do hope you enjoyed that, as I am going to continue this series!