My Promise to You

Part II

Pain. Everything was pain as Korra groaned and slowly pulled herself to her feet, stumbling slightly and leaning against the wall nearest her. Her head was pounding and her throat felt raw and sore from screaming. But at least the drumming was gone.

Korra tried to look around but the place she was in was too dark and no matter how hard she tried, her eyes couldn't seem to focus enough to adjust. Taking a deep breath to center herself and push away the pain, Korra lit a small flame in her hand and looked around cautiously. She was in a long hallway that stretched further than she could see to both her left and her right. The walls were covered in the same strange writing that she had seen on the outside of the temple.

Korra slowly turned as she examined the walls and then gasped as she realized what she was missing. 'The door…' she whispered, starting to panic. 'Where's the door?!'

Asami hated to cry. She hated the feeling of it, hated the way it could just take over her at any moment. When her mother had died, Asami had cried so hard and for so long, she had finally been unable to cry again for a long time. She honestly believed for a long while that she had cried every last tear possible. But her father had proven her wrong.

Hiroshi's allegiance to the Equalists, his betrayal and trying to kill her, had broken Asami all over again. But she hadn't let the tears incapacitate her, not that time. She had too much she needed to do, too many sins her father had committed that she had to make right. Even when she had lost her father after only just making peace with him... Seeing him die after saving her, it was one of the most terrible moments of her life. But Asami hadn't let it stop her; the moment she had landed, Asami and burst out of the mech and sprinted back towards the battle, towards the chaos and destruction, back towards Korra.

Korra. Asami had run towards what was effectively a bomb for her. Because it was Korra and Asami loved her. When the new spirit portal had opened but Korra was nowhere to be found, Asami had felt the panic rise within her, the fear clawing at her heart. But she had refused to cry. Crying felt like giving up and Asami knew deep down she would never give up on Korra. She had to believe that Korra would come back somehow. And she had. She had stepped through the spirit portal with Kuvira and Asami had never been more grateful for anything in her life.

It was that moment that helped to remind Asami that she couldn't break, couldn't let herself stay on the floor of her office and do nothing but cry. She had to get up, had to wipe her tears and believe. Korra wasn't gone, not really. They were going to find her and nothing was going to stop Asami from believing that.

It was with that new determination that Asami had boarded her airship and headed towards the Earth Temple site where Korra had disappeared (of course, not before grabbing a few old friends along the way).

"Anything yet, Jinora?" asked Tenzin.

Jinora was sitting on the floor at the back end of the airship where it was quiet. She'd been meditating and entering the spirit world as often as possible in the hopes of finding Korra or at least some word of her, but so far no luck.

"No, Dad. I'm sorry." Jinora told him sadly. "If Korra were in the spirit world, I'd be able to sense her there. I always have before. I've looked, and asked as many spirits as I can in case I was missing something. But, she's just not there."

"Well maybe that's a good thing!" Bolin said, interrupting them. "I mean, if she's not in the spirit world, then she's got to be still here in the physical world, right?"

"Yes, but if Korra were in trouble or trapped somewhere, she would know to send her spirit into the spiritual realm. She could send for help from there or at least make her presence known. But she hasn't. It's possible she's unable to from wherever she is, but it's not just that…" Jinora trailed off as she realized Asami had joined the group.

"What is it?" Asami asked her softly and Jinora stood up then, looking sadly up at the older woman.

"Korra holds the spirit of Raava inside of her. They are one being. Raava is the spirit of light and her presence is always felt by the rest of the spirits, regardless of where Korra is at any given time. But now, the spirits can't feel Raava at all. It's not something they've felt since she was nearly destroyed by Vaatu and Unalaq." Jinora told them as the group (Mako, Kai, Bumi and Kya having joined them) looked on, afraid and uncertain.

"I don't understand this. What could it mean?" Tenzin asked quietly.

"It doesn't matter Tenzin. We're going to find her, we're going to find Korra and bring her home." Asami told them, her voice strong and resolute as she walked away.

Korra had managed to calm herself slightly after realizing that wherever she had ended up, the door she came through had disappeared. She had trying many times unsuccessfully to earth bend the stone around her to make a new door. But she seemed to be having the same problem as the earth benders working with the excavation team. Nothing would budge no matter how hard she tried.

Frustrated, Korra had decided to stop wasting time and find another way out. Neither end of the long corridor she was in seemed to be any different than the other so she had simply chosen to go left and started walking. Before long Korra had come across numerous turns and separate paths but still had no idea where she was going, finding herself lost and increasingly worried.

'This isn't good' Korra thought to herself. She had come across yet another T section in the maze she found herself in. She could go left or right but both looked the same. Growing angry, Korra yelled in frustration and pounded her fist on the stone wall in front of her. As soon as she did though, she felt an odd sensation roll over her skin, as if the stone itself had rippled at her touch. Korra jumped and held her flame up so as to get a better look at the stone.

The stone itself was different from the rest of the walls surrounding her. It was deep black with no markings on it and was mirror smooth. In fact, Korra was startled to realize, it was a kind of mirror. She could make out the faint reflection of herself in the stone with the light she held her in palm.

"What IS this place…" Korra muttered. She reached over to softly touch the stone again and this time she saw it. The surface of it rippled like water under her touch. Once the ripple had spread across the length of the stone, Korra looked back at her reflection and realized with horror that it had changed. She began to breathe frantically as she stared into the eyes of the dark figure of herself the day that Zaheer had almost killed her.

"No…no no no no…you're gone! You weren't supposed to come back! I got rid of the poison! I got rid of you!" Korra shouted as she began to back away from the figure.

"You cannot get rid of what has always been and always will be a part of you, young Avatar" said a whispered voice that surrounded Korra and sent chills down her spine.

"Who…who's there?! Who are you?" Korra shouted back.

'What is wrong little one? Do you not remember me?' The strange voice asked in a silky sweet sing song voice.

Korra couldn't place it. She didn't recognize the voice at all but she had a strong feeling one of her many past lives would. If only…

"Raava! Raava, who is this? What is going on?!" Korra asked the spirit desperately. But Raava did not respond.

"No…Raava!" Korra yelled but still no response. The voice of the strange woman just laughed sweetly and Korra felt her skin crawl. She looked again at the stone and the figure that had haunted her for three years was still there. But now, Korra was horrified to see, the figure was smiling at her with the most predatory grin that she had ever seen and the sound of the drumming had returned, louder and more intense than before.

Before Korra could react, the hand of the figure shot through the stone that separated them and grabbed her by her throat and pulled Korra closer to the stone.

"She cannot help you now Avatar. You are mine." The dark figure that looked so much like Korra on the worst day of her life grinned even wider and jerked Korra through the stone as if it were nothing more than water.

Asami and the rest of the group had finally reached the site of the Earth temple where Korra had disappeared. As they had been flying over the desert, Asami was reminded painfully of when she and Korra had been taken prisoner, escaping, the crash and sand sailing away from the giant creature chasing them. It was before either of them had admitted their feelings to the other, but Asami had already known then that she loved the younger girl.

The Airship had barely finished landing before Asami was off and running towards the site. She was stopped however by a group of men that looked to be from one of the neighboring villages.

"Stay back! We will not allow anyone else to go near this temple!" shouted one of the men, his face concealed by his turban. Asami eyed him coldly.

"Let me pass!" she growled at him. "I'm here to find Korra so get out of my way!" Asami was cursing the fact that she'd left her glove on the airship. But she was prepared to fight her way through these men.

Before the man who had originally stopped her could respond, another man appeared from behind the group and silenced him.

"Enough Moro! I know of this woman. This is Asami Sato and you're not going to stop her." The new figure said calmly. He stared at Asami thoughtfully, his face was uncovered unlike the other men. It was lined and carried a few small scars, his hair peppered with gray showing his age. But he was also more heavily built and stood tall and strong, his eyes clear and searching. Asami stared back at him defiantly.

"Please, let me pass. I have to try to find her." Asami told him.

"I am Chief Kyo, Miss Sato. My men and I have taken control of this site. It has been three days since she disappeared into the temple. You must understand that no one is likely to save her now. I'm sorry." He told her.

"I don't care who you are! It's Korra and I'm not going to stop until I've found her."

"Yes, I believe that's true. I'm sorry, truly, that all of this has happened. This is exactly why we tried to stop the excavators from going near this temple. It is a dangerous place." Chief Kyo told her.

"Why? What's so special about it?" Mako asked, coming to stand by Asami with the rest of the group.

The chief was silent for a few moments, seeming to consider what he should tell them. He sighed then.

"This temple is what my people have long called 'The Lost Promise'. Our people have lived in these lands for thousands of years. There came a day when darkness nearly overcame the light. A day when the entire world was no longer in balance and was nearly swallowed by the darkness, when the planets were aligned and the energy of the world was strongest. That day, darkness almost won, but was once again held back by the light. We never knew how, only that the world was never the same again."

"You're speaking of Harmonic Convergence, the day the first Avatar, Wan, was truly born." Tenzin whispered.

"Yes, I have come to believe so. The Avatar saved us all that day. But not before allowing the darkness to create so much chaos throughout the world. Not before the birth of a new spirit. A spirit born from the pain and suffering caused by the chaos of war between the spirits and the humans, and amongst the humans themselves. This spirit was not a being of either light or darkness, but something else entirely. She fed on the pain and suffering of all those around her, spirit and human alike, becoming stronger with every soul taken. She fed on their memories too and soon there was nothing left of those she took but empty, lifeless husks. Husks she could bend to her will" Kyo told them sadly.

"But, what happened to her? We've never heard of her and surely if she was so dangerous we would have. Does that mean she was defeated or destroyed?" Jinora asked him.

"An incarnation of the Avatar was able to finally defeat her, though we do not know how. But the Avatar recognized that this spirit could not be destroyed, not while there was still pain and suffering in the world feeding her. So the Avatar instead imprisoned the spirit in a temple, this temple, in the hopes that she would eventually fade away or at the very least, not be able to feed on anyone else." Kyo explained.

"It was the duty of my people" said Kyo sadly "to watch over the temple and ensure that no one released the spirit. For thousands of years we carried out this task. But then there was a great storm, none like any of us had ever seen. There was no seeking shelter from such a storm and many of our people were killed. When the storm had finally settled, the temple had been buried in the sand. My people attempted to dig for it but we were horrified to discover that the temple was gone."

"Gone? How could it be gone?" asked Bumi.

"We do not know. My people have searched for the temple for centuries. We have grown apart into numerous villages and are no longer one people. We are no longer the strength that we used to be. Our promise to keep the temple safe, to keep it from others has become little more than memories. Only a few of us, me and my men included, choose to remember the promise we made and have devoted ourselves to finding and protecting this place. That is why we call this temple 'The Lost Promise'. Our people are fading away and I believe it is because we have failed in the duty given to us by the Avatar."

"You know, you could have just explained all of this from the get go" muttered a much older and much shorter man as he walked up to the group.

"We did not believe you would listen, Shen. Besides, these are the secrets of my people, and were not meant for you." Kyo told him angrily.

"Then why tell us now?" asked Tenzin.

"Because the Avatar has been lost and must be found. Avatar Korra may not remember the promise we made to her, but it was a promise all the same and now we have failed her. I, we, must make things right. As I said, I do not think it likely that she can be saved at this point. But, if you are truly willing to give up everything to try, then I believe there may still be hope." Kyo eyed Asami.

"I am. I'm not going to leave her, Chief Kyo."

Kyo smiled softly then. "Come then, I will take you to where she disappeared." Kyo said the last to Asami who followed him eagerly. It was time; they were going to get Korra out.

Korra felt herself falling into the darkness. She screamed but the sound seemed to magnify and surround her. There was nothing to see anywhere, even when she managed to light a small flame. Finally, Korra landed hard on a stone floor. She stood up slowly, groaning in pain and marveled that she was still alive.

"I must have been falling for miles…how…how am I still alive?" Korra muttered to herself.

"Because I won't allow you to die, not yet little one" came the shrill, chilling voice again.

Korra looked around in fear but she could still see nothing but blackness. Then she heard another voice, one she knew too well.

"I'm going after Amon!" shouted the voice of Korra and she watched, mystified as images of herself going after Amon during the tournament materialized in front of her. She watched herself battling the equalist lieutenant, could almost feel the fire she had been blasting at him heating her skin right then.

"My my…you were angry. You nearly killed that man. Is that what you wanted little Korra? To kill him?" came the simpering voice.

"No! I was just trying to stop him! Stop Amon! I would never WANT to kill anyone!" Korra shouted back.

"Are you certain? Your thoughts betray you. I can see into your memories, I see everything you have done. I know what you are."

The images multiplied then and Korra watched in horror as every single one of her worst memories played out before her. It was like she was back in the Tree of Time, only now, the images seemed to assault her, surround her and consume her thoughts.

Korra watched as Amon took away her bending, watched as UnaVaatu ripped Raava from her and destroy the light spirit. She could once again feel every connection to her past lives be destroyed all over again.

"No" Korra choked out "Not again..."

It wasn't just her worst battles either. She saw the funeral of Chief Sokka after he had died to save her. Korra was surprised, not realizing how well she remembered that day. She saw the face of Katara, tears in her eyes at the loss of her brother. Korra watched as the other children in the tribe kept their distance from her, afraid of playing with the Avatar. Little Korra trained harder and harder, pusher herself too much, determined to be the best Avatar she could, determined to live up to Aang but always falling short of in Airbending.

The memories shifted faster and faster and Korra was being overwhelmed by them. Watching Mako with Asami, every fight she and Mako had had, every fight she'd had with Asami, fighting with her father on the tundra when they had been headed to the Southern Spirit Portal, feeling for the first time the loss of Raava. It was all too much and then, as Korra knew it would, the memory came of her trapped by the Red Lotus and being poisoned. She could hear her own screams and cries, could almost feel the poison seeping into her skin again. Korra watched herself fight for control, to keep the Avatar state at bay as long as possible, to fight the pain and the fear that was overcoming her before the battle was lost and the Avatar state had taken over.

"You were nearly killed that day. How pitiful. And look at you, look at your rage, look at how it consumed you. You nearly killed them all." Came the voice once again.

Korra couldn't respond, could do nothing more than stare at herself, the chain wrapped around her forearm so tight she could feel it biting into her skin even then. The past Korra chased after Zaheer, her rage tearing through the landscape around them. But soon the battle turned and she saw herself being suffocated, saw and felt her life and breath being forcibly pulled from her.

"Stop it, stopitstopitstopitstopitstopit STOP IT!" Korra screamed.

"What is the matter little one? Afraid of seeing yourself and what you really are? Look again."

Korra didn't want to but she felt herself drawn up to look at the images again. This time she saw herself fighting in the Earth Kingdom underground battles.

"Always something to prove, right Korra? You have never been good enough, always letting yourself be consumed by your rage. Always willing to take that extra step, to cross that line, to kill! And then when you are finally given the chance, what do you do?"

A new image popped up; it was Korra's first battle with Kuvira. She'd been losing, she couldn't defeat her. Not without the Avatar state. Su kept shouting at her to go into the Avatar state, to take out the woman who had once been like a daughter to the clan leader.

Korra hadn't wanted to do it. She'd wanted to beat Kuvira on her own because deep down she was afraid of the loss of control in the avatar state. She worried she would become the rage filled monster who had fought Zaheer. But she had given in, let herself go and when the moment came to end Kuvira, she'd hesitated. She hadn't seen Kuvira, she'd seen herself.

"You were weak…you had your chance to end it all right then. How many lives could you have saved had you taken hers in that moment? You were too afraid. Rage and fear; that is all you are little one. But I can help you. I want to help you. I can take it all away: the pain, the memories, all of it. Let me help you…"

The voice seemed to wrap itself around her and Korra didn't have the energy to fight it off. She let herself be slowly consumed, let every painful memory slip away, not realizing she was losing every good memory too.

A week…they had arrived at the temple only a week ago and still, Asami fumed, they were no closer to gaining access to the temple.

The group worked with Kyo's men and the excavators to do everything they could but nothing worked. Asami had attacked the door and the stone walls with various tools and mechs she had brought with her. Numerous earth benders attempted again and again to bend the stone. Bolin had even tried to use lava to eat away at the door. But nothing had worked. The door and the rest of the temple didn't have a mark on it to show their efforts.

Jinora, going against her father's wishes, had tried just that day to astral project herself into the temple to at least see if she could find Korra. But the moment her spirit came into contact with the door, she had been flung forcibly back into her body and had felt, she told them, like she'd been trampled.

Asami didn't want to admit it to herself, but everyone was beginning to lose hope. She slid her hand into her jacket pocket and held the small box tightly. The engineer still hadn't opened it. She had promised Korra that she would wait until the younger girl returned and would let Korra ask her what she wanted to ask her then. So she hadn't looked. She wouldn't. But she still kept the box on her at all times, if only to remind her that Korra has promised she would come back.

Now it was late and everyone had decided yet again to call it a day. She'd waited until everyone else was asleep and then crept back to the temple. Asami hadn't slept in days. She was so tired, but she couldn't sleep knowing that Korra was there, right there in that damned temple and she couldn't get to the trapped girl.

Asami stood at the door where Korra had disappeared and started at it angrily. "Let her go, please" Asami whispered. But the door did nothing. It mocked her by staying the same unmovable force it had been since it was discovered.

"Let her go!" Asami screamed at it as she punched and kicked at the door. She screamed and screamed at, beating her fists again and again. Soon they were covered in blood Asami finally broke and slid to her knees in front of the door, leaning her forehead against it and cried. She cried harder than she had since her mother was killed all those years ago.

"Please Korra…please come back. Come back to me. You promised me Korra, that you would always come back. So please, you can't leave me now. I love you…please come back to me" Asami sobbed again and again, repeating it like a prayer, hoping Korra could somehow hear her.

Suddenly, she felt the earth around her begin to shake and the door seemed to tremble. Startled, Asami backed away quickly. She heard shouting and realized the rest of Team Avatar along with everyone at the site was running towards her. The ground had begun to shake even more and she could barely stand as she scrambled to get away. What was happening?!

Korra felt her skin growing colder and colder but she could do nothing about it. She had no fire, no power. She had sunk to the ground and allowed herself to be divulged of every good and terrible memory she had; anything to make the pain stop. Korra was losing herself and she couldn't even remember why she should care.

"Korra…"

Korra's eyes opened. That voice…she knew that voice. But who…?

"Korra please…!"

That voice…it was so sad. She knew that voice and wanted to take away their pain.

"Korra! Don't leave me! Please, you promised you would come back!"

She had promised that? Why? How could she promise that when she had nothing to give anyone? She had no power, she was too afraid, too full of rage and terror.

"Please, Korra. I love you."

Korra gasped then. She did know that voice. Korra gasped for air, she wasn't suffocating anymore, she wasn't falling. She KNEW that voice and she held onto it with everything she was worth.

"Asami" Korra whispered, fighting the cold that surrounded her, fighting the sound of the drumming that tried to bury her.

"No! No I'm not going to leave her! I promised her, I promised Asami!" Korra shouted and fought back.

The voice came back then, the one that haunted her since she had been pulled through the door.

"You cannot fight this! You cannot fight ME!" It screamed.

"Korra, I'm right here, please come back. I'm not giving up on you!" Korra heard Asami sob and that did it. Korra screamed and she felt herself shake off the cold as a great warmth filled her.

"Raava! I thought you were gone!" Korra cried.

"As I told you Korra, I am always here. We are one. Your fear kept me away but I have never left you and I never will" came the voice of the light spirit and Korra wiped away the tears she hadn't realized she'd shed before allowing the light to overtake her and slipping into the Avatar state.

"NO!" screamed the voice again.

"You cannot win Dusaa. You cannot destroy us" said Korra, her voice overlapped with Raava's.

Dusaa screamed as the Avatar burst into light and the darkness faded away, showing that Korra had been in a large circular room this whole time. There were multiple pillars throughout the room that lead to the top of the dome but there was nothing to see. There were no windows or openings and Korra was still uncertain where they were.

"This is not over! I will have her! I will destroy you, for good Raava!" screamed the voice of Dusaa again before finally appearing out of one of the many large, dark entryways. She was just as Raava had remembered her. Her upper body was that of a young woman, her chest bare but for the various dark red markings covering it, her long white hair trailed past her waist and lay tangled on the large black mass of what was the lower half of her body. Her lower half was seemingly that of a large black spider, each leg ending to a sharp point that clicked and clacked as she moved across the stone room. The chaos spirit bared her sharp jagged teeth at the Avatar, her cold bright yellow eyes never straying.

"I am still so hungry Raava. I must feed. You locked me in here so long ago and I will have her. I will consume every last bit of little Korra and then I will do the same to you. Without your Avatar you are nothing!"

Korra shot forward and attacked the spirit but she was too fast. Every burst of air and fire that she sent never reached.

Dusaa cackled back at her. "You are too weak now that I have fed from you, fed from your memories. Even with Raava awakened in you, you will not defeat me."

"Korra….!"

"Asami!" shouted Korra back. Korra had to escape, she had to get away and fight this spirit another day when she was stronger.

Dusaa seemed to read her thoughts. "You still do not know where you are, do you?" Dusaa's voice had once again taken on that chilling, simpering quality that Korra had grown to despise.

Suddenly, everything around them began to shake violently. What was going on, Korra thought frantically, releasing herself from the Avatar state.

"When you trapped me in here, you thought I could never escape, Raava. And you were right! Being trapped within this Ancient One, I have never been able to escape. But I never needed to! I only had to bide my time and wait. Even the great Lion Turtles are not immune to me! I fed off every memory, every bit of pain this lion turtle carried and oh there was SO MUCH of it. I fed and fed until there was nothing left but this empty being that I now control. It fought me, for thousands of years we battled but I have won! And now I will destroy you and little Korra and free myself from this prison!" Dusaa hissed at them, her sharp grin growing until it stretched across her entire face.

Korra, alarmed to realize that they were in fact trapped inside of a Lion Turtle, tried to escape but there was nowhere she could go. She then realized that not only was the Lion Turtle shaking, but they were sinking. The entire temple was sinking further into the sand and the drumming had become louder, so loud she couldn't hear anything else.

"ASAMI!"

The ground was shaking furiously and Asami struggled to get away when she heard it. "ASAMI!"

It was KORRA!

Asami tried to run back towards the temple, not caring that it was sinking but Kyo had pulled her back and held her.

"No! Let me go! I heard her! I heard Korra, let me go!" Asami screamed at him.

"Dammit girl! You'll be killed!" Kyo shouted back.

Asami struggled but the larger man was too strong, she couldn't get out of his hold. She watched, helplessly as the temple sank further and further into the sand. She heard a strange, groaning noise, so loud she felt it deep inside some primal part of her she didn't recognize. Then, with one final giant tremble of the ground, there was nothing but silence and swirling dust. The temple, just like Korra, was gone.

Kyo finally let Asami go and she bolted to where it had been. She began to furiously dig with her hands, whatever it took to bring Korra back. She had heard her, had heard Korra scream her name and she wasn't going to give up.

"Asami…Asami stop!" Tenzin came and knelt beside her.

"I can't Tenzin, I heard her! She was in there, we have to get her back!" Asami yelled at him.

"Asami, I now know what that temple was. It's gone, not just buried in the sand, but gone. I know why the earth benders couldn't touch it. That temple was on the back of a great Lion Turtle." Tenzin told her.

"A Lion Turtle?!" exclaimed Mako. "But, I thought they were all gone? No one has seen one since Avatar Aang during the 100 year war."

"Nevertheless, I know that's what it was. Nothing else could explain it. The problem is now that it's gone, it will be very difficult to find again." Tenzin said sadly.

Asami stood up angrily then. "I don't care how long it takes. Korra is in there and I'm going to find her. I will, I promise you!"

Asami stormed and prepared to pack her bags. She wasn't going to give up. She would find Korra, no matter what it took.

Whew! This was a beast to write. Between spending the first half of my Saturday in the ER, then dealing with the horrible weather last night, there was no way I was go to reach my initial goal which was to have this chapter posted last night and the third by end of day today. Part III should be up within the next couple days at the most. Hope you guys are enjoying this so far and as always, reviews are my lifeblood! Tell me what you think, what you like, what you don't, all of it.