"Hello?"

"Hey Pema."

"Asami, what's wrong?"

Asami had not been crying on the other line; she hadn't let out a sigh or sob of any kind. Her voice was monotone, but collected. Despite this, it was easy for Pema to tell that she had been crying not too long ago. This isn't like her, Pema thought. She had never heard Asami sound so grave, even when she hosted her in the Air Temple after Hiroshi's betrayal for the Equalists.

The receiver was quiet.

"Is Tenzin there?"

"No, he just left to go see President Raiko. He's closer to you now than he is to me." Pema paused, trying to offer advice for a problem she knew none of the details of. "Maybe you could swing by or call?"

The line was silent once more.

With a sharp intake of air, Asami replied. "I… I can't. I can't leave." She was losing her composure.

"Asami, what happened?"

Pema was sure she hung up until she heard a very faint sniff.

"It's Korra."

(-)

Oogi landed as gracefully as a giant flying bison could. To both of them, it was just another trip to Republic City. Tenzin hopped off of the saddle and landed with an air current. He spun around to scratch Oogi's fur before heading into President Raiko's office building.

"Greetings, Tenzin" Raiko welcomed the Airbender as he entered the private lobby. He gestured for Tenzin to sit. "It's been some time since we've gotten to talk, one on one." He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. His hands were intertwined and perpendicular against his mouth. With Kuvira on the rise, it was no surprise that the President seemed tense.

"Indeed it has." Tenzin sat forward as well, but kept his back straight. He hid his suspicion of Raiko, half expecting the intent of this "meeting" to involve discussions of a plan of action well before the other world leaders were to arrive. Before he could continue, one of the staff approached the pair. Raiko sat up and turned his attention to the man. Tenzin followed suit after a brief glance at the President.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but you have a phone call Tenzin. They requested to speak to you in private." Tenzin exchanged a look with Raiko before rising to his feet. He followed the man to a smaller room, who left once Tenzin had the receiver in his hand.

"Hello? Who is this?" Tenzin asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Tenzin, it's me." His features tensed. Something's not right.

"Pema, are you and the children safe?"

"We're all fine, Tenzin." She paused and took a breath. "Asami called. Something's wrong with Korra."

Tenzin felt his heart skip a beat.

"What happened?"

Another pause.

"I'm not sure, to be honest. I couldn't get much information from Asami. She… she started crying. I've never heard her like that before." Pema swallowed and continued. "I told her where you were but she said she couldn't leave. So I told her I would contact you for her. She doesn't want anyone to know about this. But the way she sounded…"

They understood each other even in the silence that followed. Tenzin gathered himself.

"I'll head over right away." There was no verbal response, but he knew Pema had nodded. "Everything will be alright," he reassured her, barely believing his own words. I hope they will be. It was a shared thought. With that, he hung up the phone and left the room.

He returned to the private lobby to find Raiko sitting at the edge of the couch in the same hunched position as before. The other leaders hadn't arrived yet.

"I have to leave," Tenzin announced. "There's an important family matter I must attend to." He stopped when their eyes met.

"Is anyone hurt?" Raiko rose as he spoke. Tenzin kept his gaze.

"I certainly hope not."

"We will postpone the meeting. I will let the others know immediately." Tenzin responded with a grateful nod and left the room. Oogi, who had moved out of the doorway and into the small courtyard, stood with surprise. Tenzin propelled himself onto the bison and gave a hasty "yip, yip". Oogi set off towards the other side of Republic City with a blast of air, sharing the same urgency that the Airbending Master felt.

(-)

Asami hadn't left Korra's side.

She was sitting on the bed next to her. One hand was grasping Korra's, hoping for some sort of response from the limp fingers. The other stroked her short brown locks in an attempt to bring both of them comfort. She had wrapped Korra in two blankets – not because Korra only had her bindings on her torso – but because her body was cold. Asami had always been the colder one of the two, and even when Asami had taken care of the Avatar when she was crippled, her body had not been this cold. The faint waves of white were still rising from Korra's mouth. Had her heat been escaping? she thought, wondering if shutting her jaw would put an end to all of this. She dare not move Korra's body, though. If she was meditating, it would be one thing. But Asami had no idea what this was.

She kept going through everything that happened in her head. The massage. The lower back. Avatar State. Water. Energy. Chakras. Pain. Cold. So, so cold. She looked down at Korra and checked her pulse again for the fifth time that hour. Still there. She checked for a breath. Still there, still the same slow rise and fall. Asami sighed and curled herself around Korra, careful not to move her. Her thumb moved back and forth against those unmoving fingers.

Memories crept back into her mind. She saw Korra on the ground, writhing from metal poison coursing through her veins. Asami remembered the weakness in her knees, how her heart had pounded and her breath was halted as she watched Suyin bend the poison out of her. Those glowing eyes… they weren't the same ones she saw last night. It was almost as if the light was weaker, though the moment was still intense. She thought to the letters. The recovery.

"I still can't go into the Avatar state. I keep having visions of Zaheer…" Asami felt pain in her dry eyes as they tried to well up with tears. "…I worry I'll never fully recover."

They fell, yet again. Asami used her free hand to wipe them away.

"…it's easier to tell you about this stuff." She gripped Korra's hand and kissed her forehead. All she wanted was to hold her and do whatever it took to help.

(-)

Tenzin didn't wait for Oogi to land before he soared off of him. He landed with air currents and raced into the complex. Oogi flew away but stayed close to the area. Tenzin raced up the stairs to Asami's apartment, having been there before with Pema when Korra first went missing. When he reached the landing, he walked to her door, giving himself time to breath. He knocked and listened closely. After a long pause, he heard footsteps approach.

Worried eyes met worried eyes.

"Where is she?"

Asami shut the door behind her and led the way, doing what she could to keep herself together. Tenzin halted when he saw Korra. Asami continued, tucking another blanket around Korra's body. He surveyed the area before approaching. Korra's shirt was on the back of a chair, folded over neatly. The chair was beside the bed next to the Avatar. A tray of food and tea was on the end table, cold and untouched. Asami was dressed in her usual garb and her hair was pulled back, but this was the only composed component to her. Tenzin could feel her pain and her struggle to hold it back in front of him. She doesn't like to show weakness and he was well aware of it.

"How long has she been like this?" His eyes scanned the almost-upright Korra. He noted the white vapors escaping from her.

"About two hours." Asami half-choked the words out. She sat in the chair instead of on the bed and checked Korra's pulse again. "She's… she's so cold Tenzin."

Sadness filled his eyes when they met Asami's. He stood beside her and placed a hand on Korra's forehead. She almost felt lifeless.

"What happened?"

Asami swallowed hard. It all flashed into her head once more, and she struggled to find words to explain it all.

"Korra and I ate dinner. Then I gave her a massage," she paused, trying to fight the redness in her cheeks. "She was feeling really stressed and tense. So I was massaging her, and when I got to her lower back…" this time, she fought a wince at the memory of Korra snapping into the Avatar State. "I moved across her spine and she burst into the Avatar State." Those eyes

She looked up at Tenzin for the first time to see his eyes wide in shock. She looked away quickly and continued.

"She wanted water, so I brought her some. She bent it in her hand and put it on her back. She pulled her hand away and it was glowing. Then she fell out of the Avatar State and collapsed onto the bed." Asami didn't remember at what point she had grabbed Korra's hand, but she was squeezing it. Tenzin stood motionless. "She woke up this morning and said she was feeling a lot of lower back pain. I put a heating pad on it to relieve the ache. I went to get food and tea for her and when I came back…"

She couldn't finish. She didn't have to. Tenzin wrapped his arm around Asami's shoulders. This unexpected gesture instantly got her attention. She looked up into his eyes and hid her tears well. They looked back to Korra. The silence was thick in the room; both of their heads were swirling.

"She mentioned something, after she left the Avatar State." Asami stood up as she spoke. She looked at Tenzin with determination in her eyes. "Something about energy. Energy and chakras."

The gears in the Airbender's mind clicked. "You said this happened when you hit her lower back?"

Asami nodded. "When I went over the base of her spine."

Tenzin stroked his beard in contemplation. "The base of the spine represents the Earth Chakra. It deals with survival and is blocked by," he paused at the realization, "fear." Asami was no stranger to the nightmares Korra had. "I keep having visions of Zaheer..." Asami recalled the letter. They haven't stopped, have they?

"Pooled energy. What about pooled energy?" Asami broke Tenzin's gaze at Korra. "She mentioned that energy can swirl around the chakras."

Tenzin nodded. "There are seven chakras that allow energy to flow throughout the body. For the Avatar, energy flow is linked to the Avatar State. When too much energy pools around a chakra, it can get blocked, which prevents proper flow in the body and can inhibit the Avatar State." Tenzin explained in almost a recital, as if quoting whoever taught him about the chakras.

He slid by Asami and looked closely at the white wave leaving Korra's mouth. "This is energy," he spoke as he straightened and pointed to the puff that just escaped. "It's escaping from Korra's body, most likely from that pool around the Earth chakra. You started the process when you hit the base of her spine," he paused and turned to Korra. "She must have tried to remove this energy in the Avatar State but could only remove a small amount."

He bent down and touched her forehead again.

"Is there anything I can do?" Asami's hands were clasped at her chest. That determination in her eyes was mixed with guilt. Tenzin straightened and crossed his arms, one of his hands grasping his chin.

"I'm not sure. I don't know exactly what Korra is going through right now. The energy is escaping, but I don't think we can – or should, for that matter – speed up the process. You've been doing a good job of keeping her how she is. I'm afraid that's all we can do until she wakes up."

Asami looked at Korra and back at Tenzin with frantic eyes. "What if she never wakes up?" she paused, "And why is she so cold?" Asami couldn't let that part go. She wasn't used to Korra being this way and she knew something wasn't right.

Tenzin placed his hands on either of her shoulders. "Korra will wake up Asami. We have to be patient. There's only so much energy pooled around that chakra. Once it escapes, she should be awake. As for the cold…" He didn't have an answer for this one. His hands fell to his sides and he turned to look out the window. His arms were crossed and his chin was cupped again, his mind deep in thought.

"Maybe it's from the energy escaping?" Asami offered, thinking of the relation of heat to energy that she used in the engines of her Satomobile designs.

Tenzin spun around. "Perhaps. I'm really not sure." He crossed the room and inspected Korra once more. "Try to keep her as warm as you can. If her body temperature drops too low…" He trailed off. They both knew what it meant. Asami instinctively checked Korra's pulse. Still there.

Tenzin sighed and sat in the chair. "Now, we wait."

(-)

It had been a long, silent day.

Tenzin spent most of his time meditating in the other room while Asami stayed with Korra. He would always return with a shake of his head. During his first session, he had been trying to recall any information Aang may have taught him about the chakras and being an Avatar that may have been useful for Korra. The second was an attempt to feel Korra's spiritual energy, since Asami was still concerned about Korra's dropping body temperature. She wasn't told what the third meditation was for, but by the look on Tenzin's face before he left, she had assumed it was to help him through the situation. She had wondered if Jinora might be a better candidate to find the answers they needed, but she dared not make the suggestion; she didn't want to hurt the Airbending Master's pride. So she let the thought go and continued to check Korra's pulse. Still there, she reassured herself.

The sun was setting outside when Tenzin returned. If there was any turmoil within him, he masked it well.

"I should return to the Air Temple for the night." He didn't need to explain. Asami acknowledged him with a nod. She turned her attention back to the Avatar. Tenzin shifted towards the exit, but couldn't bring himself to leave. He stared into the hallway with a hand on the door frame.

"Tenzin?" Asami noticed that he hadn't left. He budged from the entrance and faced the bed where Korra lay. A wave of concern for each other spread when their eyes met.

"Will you be alright Asami?"

She nodded in response. Tenzin mirrored the movement. Everything had affected her much more than he initially believed. She had not left Korra's side at all since he arrived, not even to eat or drink. There were a few moments when he heard a very faint sob when Asami thought he would be too deep in meditation to notice. He looked back to the tray of rigid food and cold tea for a moment before his eyes returned to Asami.

"Please take care of yourself." His voice was sincere even though is features were hardened again. Asami didn't respond to this. When Tenzin motioned to leave, she tore herself away from Korra to see him out. He shot her a look of concern before he left. She shut the door and put her forehead against it as she turned the lock. She closed her eyes, her hand still on the knob.

Hunger pains brought her out of the blackness she saw. This wasn't a mere hunger in her stomach, though. She hungered for Korra. She wanted to be beside her, to feel her warmth again, to hear her voice. It was almost as if she was back in the South Pole or Spirits knows where when she was missing and Asami was here, in the bustling Republic City, alone.

She shook her head and pushed herself upright. She thought of Tenzin's last words as she passed the kitchen. With a sigh, she put a pot on the burner for tea. As it boiled, she left to check on Korra. The room was dark now that the sun had set. Asami had not bothered to turn a light on during the twilight; doing so would require her to leave Korra's side. The moon had not even offered her solace as it hid behind incoming storm clouds. She could see the faint glow of white swirls exiting Korra's mouth in the darkness, but there was another dull light as well.

Asami squinted and approached the Avatar. She climbed onto the bed and examined her eyes. They were closed as they had been all day, but a small amount of light was protruding through the slits. It was too faint to notice in the harsh sunlight of the day. She hesitated and lifted a shaking hand towards Korra's face. Her fingers caressed the cold eyelids.

With a deep breath, Asami slid Korra's eyes open. She was met with a bright white glow from each and jerked back, causing the lids to close again. Her breath caught in her throat and she felt her whole body quiver. Her eyes were brighter than they had been last night, but still not as strong as…

Asami flew out of the bed to an unusual, alarming sound and scanned the room in a defensive position. She grabbed her gauntlet from the end table drawer, a flashback of a poisoned, Avatar State Korra almost dead in the forefront of her mind. She put a pulse to the glove to make a stream of electricity flow around her hand and pushed her pounding heartbeat out of her ears to sharpen her hearing. Her eyes didn't stop moving around the room, flicking to each corner, the door frame, the window, the Avatar. It all hit her at once. She shifted to a more aggressive stance by moving a step closer to the bed. She knew the stakes, knew what would happen if Korra was wounded in the Avatar State…

And she sure as hell knew that she wasn't going to go down without a fight.

(-)

EDIT: 12/22/14

Hello everyone! Thank-you again so much for your support, reviews, follows, subscriptions, favorites, etc! You are all quite wonderful! Sorry for the late update. Final exams and the LOK Finale got in the way of my writing. My exams went well and now that I've got a week off, I was finally able to update this fic. I've also been writing another Korrasami fanfic (unrelated to this one) that has been really speaking to me for the past two weeks or so. As you will see, I eventually got back to this fic because the story finally progressed to me.

Anyways, thank-you again for your reviews and support! I plan on continuing to update this fic with potentially two to three more chapters, depending on how it speaks to me. In the meantime, please enjoy this next chapter!