Fandom: Avatar: Legend of Korra

Disclaimer: Jinora, Korra, Mako, Lin, Tenzin, Pema, and Bolin all belong to Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. Well, everybody here belongs to them, except for Jet Beifong, who is mine.

Story Title: Transcendent Wings

Chapter Title: Adulthood

Notes: Same universe as the last chapter. Also, I put Bolin together with Jinora because honestly, Bolin's such a nice guy and I feel that the writers of LoK underrate him the entire time in Legend of Korra. Besides, it's kind of cute when you think about it. The nice guy and the romantic getting together…

Thanks for all your support!

Warning: If you do not enjoy blood or character death, please avoid the prompts that say Titanium, which has some blood, and Passing, which has more blood than Titanium. You can still read the story without losing any understanding of the plot, though. But if you have the stomach for it, I highly recommend you read the two.

Chapter Summary: Jinora's leap to adulthood.

Chapter Quote: "I thought you would be the one mourning at my funeral. Not that I would be attending yours."

Adulthood

Gentleman

Jet, whenever he picks Jinora and the others from school, always takes Jinora's hand and presses a chaste kiss to it, much to Jinora's chagrin and her female and male classmates' jealousy. It makes him look like her boyfriend, her much older boyfriend, and Jinora is fifteen, all swaying hips and luscious curves, at the age where boys are beginning to try to catch her eye.

Despite searching tirelessly, there is no one in Republic City like Jet, the polite, joking gentleman that also happens to be her ideal type. He always plays the part of a chivalrous knight in shining armor at all times, helping old ladies cross the street, saving damsels in distress, and telling women that they're beautiful.

"Why do you do that?" Jinora laughs. "Doesn't it get tiring?"

"Never," Jet chuckles. "My mom says that it makes the girls go gaga over you."

He adds as an afterthought, "And besides, I guess this is my way of atoning for my father's sins."

Enrollment

"I want to join the police force," Jinora remarks one day at the dinner table. Judging by her parents pursued lips and barely contained faces, Jinora already knows that they don't approve. But looking at Lin, there is a mixture of pride, worry, and guilt marring her hero's beautiful face.

Lin takes Jinora's hand in her own, squeezing it. "It's a tiring life," she whispers softly.

"I'm a tireless girl," Jinora defiantly shoots back.

"But why?" Lin's eyes glitter, her bottom lip trembling incredulously. "Why do you want to have this parasitic life? I never wanted you to… I…"

It is the only time that Lin seems to be at a loss for words, face contorting into such a pained expression that almost makes Jinora want to become an air nomad again.

Almost. But not quite.

Jinora forces herself to look at the table, aware of the tension in her real mother's shoulders. "Because I want to be just like you."

With that, Pema promptly stands up and storms out, but Tenzin stays, his face in an ironic smile.

"You've made her your daughter, Lin," he chuckles, an arm wrapping around Lin's slim waist. "Jinora…"

She looks up into her father's face, seeing only a rare twinkle of fierce pride in his eyes.

"I approve," he murmurs, bringing Jinora and Lin into a three-way group hug.

Never

The police training is tough as nails, screaming Lin with every arduous work out and exercise. Some recruits cannot take the heat and drop out, but every time someone asks Jinora, the only female rookie, if she ever wants to quit, Jinora just glances at Toph's statue and replaces the head with Lin's before replying.

"Never."

Excel

Jinora strives to excel with every isometric, as if she has something to prove. The other recruits scoff that she doesn't have to try since she's the first airbender on the squad; however, the look she gives them shuts them up.

She has to excel. Because that's what Lin would want. Because Jinora wants Lin to feel bursting pride whenever the Chief of Police so much as glances at her.

With that determination, it is to no one's surprise to find that Jinora finds a place on Lin's A-team after the training.

When Lin tells her of this, she places a surprisingly gentle hand on Jinora's shoulder. "You did good kid," she tartly compliments before leaving the station.

It's only at the Air Temple where Lin is able to squeeze the living daylights out of Jinora. And Jinora loves every minutes of it.

Hell

It was supposed to be a normal patrol, a normal perimeter scan, but it wasn't. It goes to hell the moment Lin's left foot touches the road. Mines in the ground immediately burst, blazing up like a flare into the sky to consume everything. Jinora vaguely feels a familiar push of earth, landing on her butt far away from the danger along with her fellow squad members.

But Lin…

Snapping her eyes open, Jinora struggles like a demon against the arms of her comrades. "Chief! Chief! Chief!" she shrieks in desperation, watching as the smoke trails up in a funeral pyre. Jinora clenches her hands into fists, biting her lip. The acrid scent of burning metal and flesh drifts on the air, permeating through Jinora's senses to her heart.

"No…" she whispers. "Not Lin."

"What do you mean not Lin? I'm still here." Lin's cool voice replies from behind the squad, and upon turning back, Jinora sees she has the would-be terrorist in tow. "It'll take a lot more than a bit of fire to kill me, lieutenant."

Lin gives her a rare smile on duty before earthbending the man into a makeshift prison. Jinora feels a flush of relief on the way back to the station because she doesn't need to die to be introduced to hell. Her hell doesn't have eternal flames or suffering; her Hell is a life where Lin isn't in it.

Despair

Jinora knows that Lin would move heaven and earth in order to protect Republic City, its people, her officers, and her family. So when she and a few other officers get kidnapped on one assignment, none of them give into despair.

Whatever happens, they know Lin will come for them: no matter what.

And she doesn't disappoint, Lin never does. She literally moves the entire earth to bust them out, tearing the cage into bits and catching the criminals in seconds. It's only outside, with newfound freedom blazing through her system, when Jinora sees her chief badge off that she knows something desperately wrong has happened.

Deal

"Oh? You wish to know why Lin has resigned?" Tarrlok enquires, calmly returning the glares of all the police officers. "It was simple really. Lin couldn't retrieve you without going against the laws of our city and getting arrested. In exchange for rescuing you and not pursuing the charges, Lin had to resign and swear never to reenter the police force again."

Jinora personally smacks Tarrlok across the face, sending him flying to the nearby wall where Jet promptly seizes him and smiles.

"Hello Tarrlok," he states with a leery grin. "I hope you enjoy the hospital."

It's only when Lin bursts in on the scene and demands Tarrlok be released does Jet and the other officers stop pummeling the representative to pieces. It's a pity really; a couple more blows might have been enough to "accidentally" kill him.

Anger

Jinora, sweet-tempered Jinora, begins to show her horns the day that Lin leaves the force, but it's okay, since every other police officer is too. Even Jet, who acts like his mother can almost do no wrong.

"Chief! What the hell were you thinking?" an officer who was captured along with Jinora demands, pushing his way to the front of the throng. "How could you- How could you take Tarrlok's deal like that?"

"Chief! You can't go!"

"Chief! Why?"

"Chief!"

The crowd surges forward toward Lin, incredulous glares on all of them. Their hero quitting half way through? Unheard of! Preposterous!

Jet mutters something about trying to get Lin to stay in Jinora's ear, prompting Jinora to break away from the throng to set herself in front of the only exit. The look on Lin's face is heartbreaking, shaking Jinora's unshakeable resolve. She goes through with it anyway because Jinora would do anything just to make Lin stay.

"You shouldn't have resigned to save us!" Jinora screeches at Lin, pounding her hero's with half-hearted fists, tears falling down her rosy cheeks. "The only person who matters here is you!"

She doesn't expect Lin to remain silent, for strong stoic Lin to say nothing to all the upset individuals. But she does. Instead of arguing assertively and fighting her way out of the situation, Lin just pulls her into a tight hug and waits for the crowd to simmer down before she says two words none of them expected to hear.

"I'm sorry," she whispers. "But it was something I had to do outside the law."

And she brushes past Jinora to leave, departing without even saying goodbye to any of them.

Jinora believes that Lin wouldn't be able to without bursting into tears.

Silence

Even after Saikhan takes Lin's torch, no one moves on from the fact that Lin is gone. The police station is emboldened in an eerie stillness that doesn't suit it. The Triads, even, seem to have gone silent, as if in direct protest of Tarrlok's decision.

When Tenzin tries to comfort Jinora, it's to no avail. Even when Lin comes over for dinner one evening, Jinora just makes it a point to be "on patrol" because she cannot forgive Lin for valuing her and the others over her duty toward Republic City.

Afraid

"I was afraid I would lose you," Lin whispers to an apparently sleeping Jinora. She strokes Jinora's brown hair tenderly, brushing the seventeen year old's brow with Lin's slender fingers. "All of you. And I couldn't do that. Not to you. Not to Tenzin. Because, Jinora, you and Jet and the other officers will always mean more than Republic City will ever be."

When Lin shuts the door behind her, Jinora sits up in bed and struggles not to cry.

Normalcy

The police officers pretend that Lin will still walk through the doorway, at 7:00 a.m. sharp, and bark at them to get back to their duties. As everyone bustles around in a hubbub of activity, in preparation for her "arrival," the air of routine is back in the air. But when Saikhan steps into the room, it is lost as everyone just glances at each other, almost at a loss of what to do now.

And silence returns as soon as normality is lost.

Danger

A new triad has broken the silence rule that has been in place. Thus, Saikhan mobilizes the police force and readies them for battle, but upon reaching the site, the police officers are in shock.

The new triad has guns.

As they all scatter, ducking for cover to avoid the storm of bullets, Jinora and the rest of the A-team don't know what to do. They all look to Saikhan for instruction yet even he seems at a loss. It's beginning to look desperate as the casualties begin to pile up, more for the police than the triad.

"What are you all doing?" a familiar, metallically sharp female voice demands. They see Lin, dresses in casual attire, her black hair out of its usual bun, behind them carrying a bag of groceries. In that moment, Jinora couldn't find her more than beautiful, a living spirit coming to dwell temporarily for the living.

It's only then that every police officer feels safe, even when danger is fast approaching.

Magnet

Lin's presence is magnetic, both figuratively and literally. She immediately begins to bark orders that every single officer gets down to more speedily than they've been doing things the past two weeks Lin was gone. Lin draws them in with an easy charisma, inspiring them in a way that no one else could.

Then again, she also makes a huge magnet.

In an instant, the bullets, shrapnel, and guns are snatched from the assailants' hands from the magnetic pull, clanging deafeningly

"Hey mom, why aren't the earthbenders affected by the magnet?" Jet glances at her, expecting a complete answer.

"I reversed the polarity of your metal armor," Lin states, bored, despite knowingly performing the impossible.

"Looks like someone's been practicing," Jet mutters under his breath, taking out his handcuffs and slowly begins to approach the thugs.

For a moment, it looks as if the police have won, but then the triad leader begins to bark orders and the firefight (renewed with platinum guns) continues.

Titanium

Jinora screams as a stray bullet pierces her arm, pain blossoming from her injury. She looks up in time to see a triad attempting to finish her off in order to punch a huge gust of air to blast her would-be attacker off his feet. As another approaches her, Jinora feels desperation clawing her system and closes her eyes, thinking it's the end.

She hears a fractured yell, a scream of pain, and three rounds echoing in the distance. Opening her eyes, she sees no new bursts of blood on her, and looking up, Jinora notices Lin standing over the triad member, the scent of blood clinging to her porcelain skin, her right hand clutching her left side. Lin winces slightly but doesn't fall; her eyes instead scanning around for anymore terrorists to take down.

Their eyes meet for a moment, causing Lin to smile, wink, and proceed to launch herself further into the fight.

Dance

Once Lin manages to get ahold of metal cables, it's all over for the triad. Her fiery tango knocks the thugs down left, right, and center with each step, twirl, and jump. She is the untouchable queen of the battlefield, where no one can escape her web of attack.

"And you wonder why she ever need us," Jet comments, amused, by Jinora's side. She fires a blast of wind to sweep more assailants off their feet while Jet grounds a few enemies. Permanently. They share a look for a moment before they resume their own personal waltz.

"I know," Jinora chortles, resting a hand on his shoulder. "But I guess she's averse to dancing by herself."

Recovery

"Is everyone all right?" Lin queries vehemently at Saikhan, who seems relieved that Lin has taken charge. She surveys the damage critically, her green eyes sharp as they sweep around the razed area for anything unusual.

"Just a few cuts, chief," he responds. "All of those in critical have already been transferred to the hospital."

She nods, turning away from the wreckage. "Good. Ensure that all the injured not in medical care are sent to the hospital." Lin moves to depart, but Jinora grabs her arm, brown eyes sparkling with fear.

"Did you get injured? I thought…when you protected me the guy got your side." Jinora asks quietly, "Are you all right?

Lin's face twitches into a smile. "Of course. It was just a scratch. I should be fine in a few days."

But when Tenzin comes on the scene, before Lin can say anything, he grabs her and hauls her bridal style down to the hospital.

Jinora can hear her protests even from down the street.

"What are you doing? What's your problem? You're being so overprotective! I'm perfectly fine!" Lin huffs, folding her arms. "And I have to buy more groceries," she adds grumpily.

"I think that's the least of your worries," Tenzin murmurs, gesturing to her side.

Lin rolls her eyes, pressing her face into Tenzin's shoulder. "Just get me to the hospital before I metalbend you to the moon and back."

Scratch

Just a scratch turns out to be three bullet wounds to the side and a diagonal laceration that stretches from Lin's left shoulder down to her back. The few days that it should take for her to recover are actually a week. Nestled quietly in the pillows, Lin looks more delicate in her overlarge white hospital garb, like a porcelain doll Jinora used to break with a single touch. Jinora and Jet stay by the comatose Lin's bedside for seven days, clutching her hand and checking her pulse every so often to make sure she's alive. They make sure never to leave her alone for more than fifteen minutes. Even when visiting hours are over, they just "leave" and bend themselves back to Lin's hospital room before bending themselves out once the hospital begins a new day.

It's a relentless process, a silent vigil filled with unspoken fears and They continue in this fashion until Tenzin kicks them out, going on about how Lin wouldn't want to see them like this.

As Jinora and Jet wait patiently outside Lin's hospital room, they hear the soft murmurings from the inside. Peeking in the crack of the door, the two of them see Tenzin clutching Lin to his chest, running his hands through her long ebony hair. His tears drop onto Lin's cheek, trailing down to stain her white hospital gown.

She reaches up to stroke his face, wiping the remnants of his tears away. Her smile is sad, her wan skin revealing how closely she had brushed with death.

"Don't cry," Lin chuckles softly. "I'm still here."

"I thought I was going to lose you," Tenzin sobs into her shoulder. "You brush off death like it's nothing, but you never think about the consequences of it."

"How so?" she whispers, drawing herself even closer to his chest.

"You never think about what I'm going to do without you."

Jet and Jinora both exchange a glance.

They also never thought about what they would do without Lin in their lives.

Newspaper

The newspapers herald Lin as a hero, and citizens - nonbenders, benders, triad members, police, and more- all call for Lin to be reinstated as Chief of Police. To no one's surprise, Tarrlok does it immediately and swears never to try a stunt like that again. Jinora smirks when she hears that comment. Apparently, the beating the police force gave him is enough of a warning.

It was a pity, though, Jinora sighs. If Tarrlok hadn't sworn to that, she and the rest of the boys would have rolled up to City Hall and beat the crap out of the three ponytailed man again, and she was really looking forward to doing that again.

Rock

Lin is the police force and Republic City's rock. She is steady like the earth, always there whenever duty calls, but after the new triad incident, Lin begins to train Jet and Jinora in case she's ever gone.

"I can't be a rock forever," she laughs when they complain.

No. You can. Jinora bites those words back. If anyone can, it's you.

Comfort

Lin is the first person Jinora goes to whenever she has boy troubles. She is twenty now - young, beautiful, successful – everything any sane guy would want. Jinora knows Lin understands which boy is just planning to play her, which boy actually has an interest, and which boy will be her soul mate for life. She is never wrong, and Jinora learns the hard way when she ignores Lin's advice to not date this one guy.

So when the boy she thought she would marry breaks up with her, it's Lin who she cries her heart out to. Lin lets her sob it out before pointing to a boy she's known since childhood who was waiting outside of Lin's apartment window, as if he knew Jinora would be there. He has roses in tow, looking slightly nervous and constantly shifting his gaze up to the window.

Looking for Lin, Jinora supposes. For what, she doesn't know.

But as their eyes meet for a split second, Bolin's face is like a sunburst, smile stretching to cover his entire face. He waves frantically in a universal gesture of come on down.

Smiling, Jinora crushes Lin in a hug, thanks her, and races out into the waiting arms of Bolin. One hug and Jinora knows that she belongs in those arms.

Family

"I was thinking of having a family," Jinora mentions to Lin one morning at the station, six months after that incident. "With Bolin."

Lin looks up from her piles of paperwork, a smile playing at her lips. "Did he propose to you?"

Jinora can barely conceal her smile and squeal of excitement when she shows Lin her glittering diamond ring on her left finger. She is so enthusiastic that she doesn't see the wistful look on Lin as the chief pulls out a green betrothal necklace from a concealed compartment in her armor.

"That's good. I want you to be happy," Lin murmurs as she hugs Jinora tightly, her eyes never breaking away from the black meteorite stone of her necklace. "I want you to finally have the complete family I never could."

End

Jinora knows that Lin cannot remain Chief of Police forever, but she thinks that the Chief of Police would somehow manage to ensure that her relationship withstands the test of time. All of their "ends" are really just new beginnings, new lives waiting in the distance. She can't wait to tell Lin she's pregnant after the wedding; she knows Lin will be ecstatic at the news, at the end of a new chapter and a beginning of a new one.

Wedding

Jinora, playing the blushing bride for once, is congratulated by her mother immediately after the ceremony, the first time they spoke in months. With Jinora's tiring schedule, the wedding plans, and Bolin, Jinora hasn't been able to get around to hustling over to her parents for dinner lately.

"I'm proud of you," Pema whispers, pulling Jinora to her chest. "I love you, and I wish for your happiness."

When Jinora and Bolin run into Lin, the Chief of Police just gives them a smile and doesn't even need to use words to tell them what she's thinking.

They both know and love her for it.

Passing

They don't expect a revolutionary group to attack them during Jinora's wedding. Lin, Tenzin, Mako, Korra, Katara, and Jet immediately spring into action, providing enough protection for the guests to exist safely. There are too many of them, overwhelming the small fighting force of six in a swarm. They are just about to make a hasty retreat, but Pema trips on the mad rush to get out. The revolutionaries immediately zero in on her, guns blazing a steady stream of platinum bullets.

Without hesitating, Lin, bloody and battered, waves a hand to diverge the incoming projectiles, balling the platinum into a makeshift sphere she embeds into the ground. Grabbing Pema with a metal cable, Lin looks away from the battlefield to set the woman a safe distance away from the fighting.

Saving Pema is the worst decision Lin could ever make.

She couldn't sense the grenade speeding toward her with her seismic sense, she couldn't leap out of the way, and her metal cables couldn't completely deflect the grenade, reflecting them into an even more vital area. And none of the other fighters can help her in time.

Jinora and the rest of the wedding guests can only watch as the grenade lands a few feet away from Lin, and it seems that the entire world has went to hell as the grenade detonates. The assailants fire blindly into the fiery dust, each bullet followed by a quiet, pained groan. When the dust clears, Lin's perfect skin is torn, her metal armor singed, and a steady stream of blood trickling down from everywhere. Swaying slightly, another bullet tears into her midsection, causing more blood to drip down from the corner of her mouth. She collapses in a heap, the child of earth's blood finally mingling with the element she held so dear.

Blood. Blood. Blood.

It just keeps coming. It never stops.

Jinora fights an urge to vomit at the sight of the broken Lin.

Tenzin and Jet's combined rage cause their respective elements to go out of control, defeating every single assailant violently without the slightest hint of remorse in a fury that would make even Sozin cower in fear.

Tenzin is by her side in a heartbeat, running a finger down her cheek. Lin gives him a weak smile, touching his face, whispering, "It'll be all right."

"Mother!" Tenzin calls desperately. "Please! Can you-"

Lin's fingers touch his lip, effectively silencing him. Her rueful smile has a quiet acceptance of her fate, a tendril of hope nowhere to be seen. She almost seems peaceful, no longer at odds with the world, Pema, or even herself.

Death has a funny way of doing that to people.

There are no words that are exchanged in that moment, but their knowing look between the two of them transcends the need for such useless chatter, saying what both of them are forbidden to say aloud.

Tenzin squeezes Lin comfortingly, burying his chin in the crook of her neck. I love you.

She smiles. I do too.

Tenzin's eyes glitter. Before he can do anything to prevent it, the waterworks begin to start.

"Don't cry," Lin whispers, her eyes blinking quickly to fight back the tears, her teeth digging into her lower lip. She reaches up to brush away the three tears descending from Tenzin's face, her eyes fluttering as she rasps weakly, "I hate it when you cry, so don't cry…when I'm….gone."

Then she's gone. Just like that. The best Chief of Police Republic City would ever know, the best person Jinora would ever know, is gone in an instant. The candle has been blown out, and the flame's never coming back.

Mourners

Lin's funeral is attended by Republic City in its entirety: from wealthy businessmen, like Hiroshi Sato, to the homeless. The onlookers walk by the closed ebony casket emblazoned with the golden police logo, blinking back tears or perhaps biting their pursued lips as they reflect on the life of a woman who gave up so much for this city.

It's an ostentatious ceremony, something Lin would have never wanted for herself. The proceeding is bittersweet because it seems all these people realize the value of Lin when she's gone.

Lost and insecure, Jinora honestly doesn't know where to go from here, gazing blankly at the casket, half-expecting to hear a shout and banging on the coffin, to open up the casket to see a battered but a very much alive Lin. She retreats to the back of the room, unable to take the pain and emptiness anymore.

Every comforting word hurts. Everything hurts. Everything is wrong. So wrong.

She feels a warm hand on her shoulder. Turning she sees former Firelord Zuko, the same Firelord Jinora has heard so much about from Lin in her bedtime stories, clad in black robes and a mournful expression.

He gives her an encouraging smile, golden eyes twinkling. "Lin told me a lot about you. Talked about you like you were her own kid."

"She told me a lot about you too," Jinora says with a watery grin. "About the Blue Spirit. About the Agni Kai. About…everything from the war to reconstruction and back again."

"Did she?" Zuko chuckles. "Well, her, Avatar Aang, and I did get along famously." He touches Jinora's cheek, staring her straight in the eyes.

"She would have been proud of you, Jinora," he states simply. "So don't continue to beat yourself up over this. She wouldn't want that."

Nodding, Zuko links arms with Mai and turns away. He pushes his way through the swarm of mourners, coming up to the coffin with his wife.

"May I open the casket?" he asks Jet, who hesitates, looking uncomfortable.

"You can," he replies at last. "Just brace yourself. There's a reason why the coffin's closed."

The aged man lifts up the black coffin, wincing as he sees the burned sides, the gaping wounds, and the bits of shrapnel in her skin that not even Katara could get out. But his expression softens as he sees Lin's last peaceful smile. Zuko tenderly brushes Lin's face, his eyes reflecting the happy moments between the two of them, the happy moments Jinora can recall in a heartbeat.

"I thought you would be the one mourning at my funeral," he murmurs, running his fingers through Lin's black locks. "Not that I would be attending yours."

It takes all of Jinora's self-control to stop herself from bawling her eyes out.

Speech

"Even my mother admits she wasn't the easiest woman to be around," Jet begins, closing his red-rimmed eyes. "But she was the person everyone wanted to be around. She had this sort of charisma, this glow, surrounding her with every step, intoxicating like honeysuckles in the evening air, and drew people in with an addicting bitter honey. My mother described herself as "cold, ruthless, and tough as nails;" I describe her as loving, doting, and everything a child could ask for. She was the type of person who would never give up and never run away from her problems. Like an earthbender, my mother would face problems head on, unless it was in the kitchen."

A few laughs. Jinora nearly manages to smile at the memory before she remembers there won't be any more droll moments. Bolin just squeezes her shoulder and rests her chin on his shoulder. She takes comfort in her husband's warmth, listening as Jet's intonation echoes in her head.

"Then," Jet says with a wry smile, "she would be the first to make a hasty retreat."

"She probably didn't really want to go," Jet continues, opening his eyes to fix the audience with Lin's familiar stoic stare. "Not at Jinora's wedding. Not now. Not ever. But she probably didn't mind going protecting someone near and dear to her. It just added another stone in her dream to build a peaceful, equal city. I hope all of you in attendance help me and the rest of the police force try to make the bridge between my mother's dream and reality. Because, we will build this bridge, one stone at a time."

"But moving on doesn't mean I'll miss her. There's nothing about my mother I won't miss. I'll miss her causing a hurried, worried flurry of activity every morning down at the station because everyone's afraid of getting their asses' kicked. I'll miss her gentle smiles and infecting laughs. I'll miss how she always looked she was having the time of her life playing the piano with Jinora. I'll miss how my mother would sometimes get into a huge argument with me and manage to make me forget all about it five minutes later with a hug and a kiss. I'll miss how she used to tuck me in at bedtime, kiss me goodnight, and weave countless stories of her rambunctious childhood with the last Avatar."

"I'll miss my mother dearly, and I know all hardships last for never. But between you and me," Jet laughs, leaning in toward the guests as if sharing some covert secret, "I'll treasure her memory forever."

There is a distant round of applause, but Jinora can barely hear it. All she hears the faint whisper of Lin's lively voice calling her back to the past.

Memories

I want you to be happy.

She's a child again, unmarred by sorrow and only thinking about the next time Lin can come over.

"I think you're perfect Jinora," Lin laughs, picking Jinora up and spinning her around. "In every single way."

"I'll always love you."Lin pokes Jinora in the chest. "But that doesn't mean that'll stop me from incarcerating you for life if I hear you get thrown into the principal's office for getting upset over some stupid girls gossiping about me."

"I will always protect you," Lin whispers every single night, planting a kiss in Jinora's messy hair. "Nothing will ever change that."

"You're like the daughter I never had," Lin chuckles, ruffling Jinora's hair.

"I want you to be happy," an older weary Lin states, the sides of her mouth curling into a smile, lifting Jinora's chin so brown eyes meet green. "So don't dwell on me too much, all right?"

It's when the ghost or spirit of Lin says those words that Jinora allows herself a good cry, feeling Lin's hands heal Jinora's fractured heart even though her time is done.

Wings

With Lin, Jinora felt like she could fly forever and ever. With Lin, she could never fly too close to the sea or sun.

But without her, Jinora has to find a way to remain in that happy medium for flight. She can and she will.

Lin gave her the wings to fly. It's time that Jinora took those wings and transcended all expectations with them.

Deal

"So…" Jet muses a week after the funeral. "How does joint leadership as Police Chief suit you?"

Behind the newspaper she's immersed in, Jinora's face curls into a grin. "It suits me fine," she laughs. "But, not all police chiefs after us will have the same amicable relationship, so that might not be advisable."

"What do you propose then?"

"I'll be the Vice Chief," Jinora states blandly, glancing back down at her newspaper. "You can be Chief, on one condition."

"What?" Jet appears to be genuinely intrigued.

"I want Lin's armor."

Jet pauses for a moment, letting the words sink in, before he nods, glancing back to the paperwork on his desk.

"Of course you can have it, Jinora," he says gently, placing his hands on top of hers. "I think mom would have wanted that too."

A/N: I feel bad killing Lin off, but I kind of had to in order for Jinora and everyone else to develop further. Lin, in this story, was everyone's rock, so when the rock disappears, you have to be able to move on and find a replacement. The next prompt centers on Jinora stepping up to the plate to take care of her child with Bolin and how the past continues to haunt her.

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Thanks for all your support, people who have read this story, especially people who have done the procedure above. I wish eternal life and happiness to TheDreamChaser, Lin Is Amazing, ziver911, Dreamhare, Teen Warrior, emcateer90, Leia Rayn Storm, muggle-toph, Rise of Anarchy for their support and all those wonderful guests who took the time to make those reviews.

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