Thank the Spirits Air Temple Island was in view. Korra and Mako had gently as possible, carried Iroh all the way to the boating docks where they stole a near by row boat and started towards the island. Korra had been trying her best to heal Iroh with the water that they had been exposed to, but her own injury of her lower abdomen prevented her from healing him fully, or correctly. So in fear of making anything worse, she stopped and tried to make him as comfortable as she could.
She was terrifried...it that wasn't obvious. Not only was Iroh severely hurt in places she didn't even know of, but Amon had stolen her bending right out from under her. What in the name of Kyoshi was she supposed to do now? She didn't even know where to turn, or where to go next. She couldn't figure out her next move for the life of her. But whatever happens, right now she couldn't afford to be weak. She had already made that mistake once, but this time is was different.
She didn't have to strong for anyone before, but now she did. She needed to be strong not just for Mako, but for Iroh too. Korra absolutely refused to let a single tear roll down her cheek until she knew for sure that Iroh would be alright.
Mako noticed Korra's current state, glancing up at her from the paddles every few seconds. "I don't think slouching like that is good for your stomach," He told her.
"Does it look like I care?" She muttered back, pulling her knees to her chest and wincing in pain as she did so.
"Told you so," Mako smirked.
Korra glared at him, but let her features soften when she realized there was no point fighting him anymore. She gazed deeply into the water as her relection rocked from side to side in the tide. She frowned at it, and splashed the water away from her. "I can't believe this happened," She said aloud.
Mako looked up at her and nodded. "Neither can I."
So many worries popped up in Mako's head at the moment, and he wished all of them would just leave him be. He wondered how Korra would cope with this. How she would manage without her normal routines. How this would effect their friendships. How much Tenzin is going to try and kill him when they get home. Have mercy, he didn't even know what was going to happen to Bolin and him. He knew they couldn't say on Air Temple Island forever, even though they'd love to. Eventually, they'd have to go back to work, but that lead to him thinking of another problem; what were going to happen to the Fire Ferrets?
But his thoughts were interrupted when Korra, almost flipping the boat, jumped at the sight of the island. "Look!" She cried, and Mako followed her gaze. "Tenzin's with everyone at the docks! There's Bolin and Asami! And is that Lin?" Mako took a deep breath before rowing a little harder so they could arrive faster, and maybe, just maybe, all his questions would he answered.
"Jinora!" Tenzin yelled from across the docks, running towards her. She smiled and ran towards him, jumping into his tight embrace when they were finally in reach. "Please tell me you're alright," He whispered, his voice extremely hoarse.
"I'm fine, daddy. I'm ok." She said, squeezing her father reassuringly.
Tenzin smiled down at her, tears in his eyes as he pulled away, stroking her face with his thumb. Then all the sudden, his smile turned into a look of shock and anger. "You are never doing that again, do you understand me. young lady? Amon would've caught you and taken your bending, or worse. Oh, I can't believe I actually let you go wandering around the arena on your own without my protection! There were so many risks that could've hurt you severely, Jinora! I might've never seen you again, never knowing what happened to my own daughter!"
He heard a chuckle from behind though. "Same old Tenzin, always the kind of guy to see the glass half empty." He spun around and his mouth dropped slightly. "Can't say I'm surprised, you've always had this paranoia thing about y-" She was cut off by Tenzin pulling her into a hug.
"Lin," He whispered, " You don't know how worried I was."
He wasn't letting go anytime soon, which left Lin feeling fairly uncomfortable. She hesitated, but hugged him back after a few seconds. "Don't start getting all sappy on me now, you know I don't handle that as well as others." She reminded him.
Tenzin laughed lightly. "Of course not." He replied. "How on earth did you get away?"
"Who knew mecitanks could float."
Tenzin immediately pulled her out from him. "You what! You let my daughter go near one of those metal death traps? How could you...Jinora!" He yelled, turning back to his daughter who now looked guiltily down at the ground.
"Relax Tenzin, we didn't do anything drastic. You shouldn't be disappointed in Jinora, you should be proud of her. Your daughter freed three whole floors of prisoners."
Tenzin's eyes went a bit wider as he turned back around. "You did?" He asked his daughter.
She smiled shyly and nodded her head. "But there were so many more I couldn't get to in time, and I didn't know the way around the arena. It was hard enough finding the exit. I know I couldn've done better, dad, and I'm sorry. I promise I'll try harder next time to make you-" She was cut off by her father pulling her into another tight embrace, leaning down on one knee to match her height.
"Aang would be so proud." He said. Jinora then hugged him back tightly, a smile placed on her lips.
"Tenzin!" He heard someone call behind him. He let go of Jinora and they both looked to see Korra waving her arms furiously while Mako tried to gently lift something out of a small row boat he couldn't quite make out...
"Korra!" He called back as he, along with everyone else, started running towards them. "Are you alright? What happened, are you hurt?" He asked, hugging her quickly and then carefully inspecting her well being.
"No time for Mr. Mom, Tenzin. We need help. Now." Korra told him, turning back towards Mako and revealing what he had been carrying.
He let out a gasp. "No," He whispered, taking Iroh in his own arms, but quickly pulled his hand away when he felt a warm, sticky substance cover the hand under his head. "What happened?" He demanded.
"He...he tried to save us, but..." Korra's voice began to trail off. "I...I..."
"But Amon got to him too," Mako finished for her, seeing as how she struggled.
"You mean...?" Tenzin's eyes widened.
"No, he still has his bending." Mako answered.
"Good." Tenzin reached out to pull Iroh's arm over his shoulder, an attempt to help him stand, but he let out a distressed hiss, he immediately stepped away. "Where is he hurt?"
"Um...we actually don't really know..."
"What? You didn't even think to check where he was wounded?"
"Well I didn't want to hurt him! It's kind of hard to heal everywhere and everything when you don't know what's broken!" Korra defended.
"You think he broke some of his bones?"
"I don't know!" She threw her hands up in the air. "I'm pretty sure we just established that!"
Tenzin sighed and rubbed his temples. 'What about you two? Did you get out safely?"
Korra's gaze suddenly fell down as his words echoed in her mind. "Mako had a close call, and he's fine." Is all she responded with.
"But?" Tenzin asked her. He raised an eye brow when Korra didn't bother to answer. His heart started to pump a little harder. "Korra?"
"But," She repeated. "I wasn't as lucky."
Tenzin was taken aback and he wore a shocked expression on his face. "Oh, Korra." He said, before pulling her into a tight embrace. Everyone expected Korra to then begin to cry, but she didn't let out a single sob. Her face didn't change, her figure didn't even shake. She just stayed the same. Exactly the same. And this worried Tenzin greatly. He didn't willingly let go, but he had to when Lin tapped him on the shoulder.
"Sorry to ruin the moment, but do you mind if I have a word with Korra?" She asked calmly.
Tenzin nodded. "Of course," He answered, letting Korra go and holding her out to Lin.
She took her by the arm and guided her a few feet away and then looked into her eyes. Lin could see many emotions swirling around in her ice blue orbs, but decided to subside the urge to state the fact that Korra was definitely not alright when she would only deny it and make the matters worse. She was scared. But relieved. She was terrified. Yet thrilled. Lin couldn't explain, but she then saw a small piece of herself in Korra as they stood there together, face to face. She was always tough on Korra, but that was just the Bei Fong pride that always filled her spirits.
But they were both one of the same now. They both were caught by Amon. They both didn't let their true emotions show because they had trained themselves not to. They both didn't know how to deal with their feelings. They both could relate to the to how the other felt. And all both of them needed was someone to just be sympathetic. So they said nothing, and just brought each other into a tight, yet slightly uncomfortable hug. "I can't believe Amon got to you too." She said, as Korra's friends began to crowd around them.
"Hey! At least you unlocked your Airbending!" Bolin exclaimed, hoping to lighten the mood.
Everyone turned around and gave him a hard glare, signaling for him to shut up. "Bro, not the time." Mako told him.
"Right, right. I'll just stand over here, quietly," He put his hands over his mouth and whispered "In silence!"
"Um, you guys...General Princey over here is bleeding... a lot." Ikki said, poking his cheek bone.
Pema sighed. "Right. Jinora, can you please fly to the temple and get me a few towels please? And Tenzin, help me move him over under the tree, and be gentle!" She instructed. Iroh groaned as Tenzin and Pema carried him over and carefully placed him up barely against the tree. A few minutes later, Jinora came back down from the temple on her glider, towels and clothes in her grasp.
She handed them to her mother and Pema tried her best to decrease the amount of blood that was flooding out from Iroh's body, but soon her hands were stained and the towels were rather soaked. Tenzin put a hand on his wife's shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll get help soon. Just let him rest." Pema nodded and came to watch the horizon with her family. "You saved Republic City." He told Korra.
"But Amon got away." She replied. Tenzin put a hand on her shoulder, and she held onto it with hers.
"Yay, Uncle Bumi's here!" Ikki cried as the United Forces ship came around the corner.
Bumi stood proud and tall in his uniform on the top of the ship and grinned. "Waaaaaaaahooo!" He cried.
"Great. Now I have to entertain my brother." Tenzin said to his dismay, which almost made Korra smile.
"Well isn't my baby brother!" He cried, jumping off the side of the ship and landing onto the docks. He ran up to Tenzin, grabbed him in a head lock, and began to run his knuckles onto his head vigorously.
Tenzin struggled to get away, but Bumi kept his grip tight. "Bumi, not in front of my children!" He grimaced.
Bumi immediately let go and looked around. "What! Where are my mini Aang's at?" He then darted towards the children, picking them up as they squealed with laughter. He threw them up in the air and brought them back down multiple times, to their delight.
Tenzin narrowed his eyes at him, and let out a strangled sigh. "What is he doing here?" He asked through slightly clenched teeth.
"Well Iroh did say he called for the other forces," Lin said, "And that's the other forces."
Tenzin rubbed his temples once more and cleared his throat behind his brother, causing him to turn around. "I'm glad to see you've been reunited with my children, Bumi, but I believe we've got a fatal situation." He said firmly.
"Oh Tenzin, always such a stick in the mud! Live a little, baby brother! Come on, nothing could really be that bad-" But he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw what lied beyond his brother, under the tree. Bumi started walking towards it, not believing his eyes. "No."
"Bumi," Tenzin said, putting a hand on his shoulder. He knew this must be hard for him, he was very close to Iron, practically taught him everything he knew when he first enlisted. Iroh was like his son. But seeing him lying there, soaked in his own blood couldn't help but make Bumi feel the sting in his eyes he hadn't felt for almost twenty years; his own tears. "I know this is hard for you, but Amon-"
"You mean to tell me Amon did this?" Bumi roared. "That monster! Look at what he's done!" He growled. "Tenzin, I should've been here! I knew I should've sped up our invasion, I felt it in my gut! And now look what's happened." He looked back at Iroh. "I let him down, I let Uncle Zuko down too," Bumi clenched his fists. "There has to be a way to help him. There has to be a way to fix this!"
"Pema already tried to get his bleeding to slow, but nothing worked. All of our healers were captured after we left."
"Well I can't just sit here and watch him die!" Bumi hissed, letting out a sharp breath. "That's it. I have to take him to the South Pole, it's the only way,"
"What? Are you crazy? That's almost a four day trip on Oogie, that's not possible! He'd be dead by then!"
"But not on my ship, Bumi answered. "Tenzin," He said, "I understand you've always been the rational one here, but can't you just once be supportive of whatever hope I have? Now there is no way in the name of Avatar Aang that I am going to just sit here and watch him suffer right in front of me when there's even the slightest chance someone out there could help him." He then started to pull Iroh over his shoulders and onto his back. "I'm sorry Tenzin, but I'm going with or without you."
Tenzin's face hardened, and he was about to say something to make matters worse, but the look in his brother's eyes made him do otherwise. "Bumi, you are one of the most insane, careless, self absorbed lunatics I have ever known my entire life," He snapped.
"Then I'm taking that as a no." He started towards the ship, but Tenzin put his hand on his shoulder to stop him.
"But," He said. "I'm proud to say you've actually used your head this once."
Bumi's expression suddenly turned into a wide grin. "Does this mean you're coming with me, baby brother?"
"On one condition," Tenzin told him. "Korra must get looked at as well. It maybe be possible this monstrosity Amon has created can be healed."
Bumi smiled warmly at him. "Thank you, Tenzin." He said sincerely. Tenzin smiled back, and nodded at his brother. "Everyone on my ship!" He called out. "We're taking a little field trip."
Korra sighed as she plopped back down onto her bed for the umpteenth time that day, letting out an annoyed groan. She rubbed her eyes with her hands growing more and more exhausted by the minute. She couldn't take it; this was killing her. She wasn't allowed to see Iroh whatsoever, orders of General Bumi. Korra scoffed. Stupid Master Katara and her stupid, bossy kids, She mentally cursed. So Bumi, Tenzin's brother, got to be right by Iroh's side, who wasn't related to him in any possible way, got to be with him. How unfair was that?
Granted, Korra wasn't blood related to him either, and Bumi did know him since he was a kid, but still. She should be by his side! She fought with Iroh, she went with him through this battle, don't you think she deserves a little relief after all that's happened today? But no, Bumi had to play I'm-General-of-the-United-Forces-so-You-Better-Lis ten-to-Me card and there wasn't one measly thing Korra could do about it.
But she was the Avatar for Spirits Sake, her destiny and the Fire Prince's were intertwined before they were even born! She had a right to be in there! Right? Korra groaned and rolled over so she could scream into her pillow and hit it furiously.
She only stopped when she heard a knock at the door. "Who is it?" She asked in a muffled voice, still face first in her pillow. "Are you Iroh?!"
"Uh...Not really," She heard from a low voice on the other side of the door.
Korra immediately got up and jumped off the bed, running to open the door. But she sighed when she realized who was on the other side. "Hey...Mako..."
"Good to see you, too." He said sarcastically. "Can I come in?"
Korra looked around her room and then back at him. She let out a sigh and opened the door wider. "Yeah, sure." She mumbled.
Mako nodded and walked through the doorway, leaving Korra to shut the door, but she kept her hand tight on the doorknob. She closed her eyes and refused to look back at him. "Wow," He said. "You really got quite the special treatment, huh? I mean, look at your room; your bed is huge and your bathroom is-"
"Why'd you lie to Tenzin, Mako?" Korra said, cutting him off abruptly.
Mako stopped and turned around to see her. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh please," Korra rolled her eyes, spinning around to face him. "Of course you know what I'm talking about. Why did you tell Amon was the one who caused Iroh's injuries?"
"I was protecting you."
Korra snorted. 'Yeah right, we both know I don't need anyone to protect me." She snapped. "Tell me the real reason."
"That was the real reason." Mako told her, a little more sternly.
"I'm not stupid, Mako!" Korra cried. "So just tell me why you said Amon caused all this!"
"Because, you were stressed out enough, you didn't need him ragging on you for something that wasn't your fault!" He said, starting to raise his voice.
"But it was my fault!"
"No it wasn't! That could happen to anyone, millions of people got their bending taken away, it's not a big deal!"
"How is that not a big deal? Ugh, why can't you just once understand me!"
"I do understand you, you just can't see the big picture here!" Mako shouted.
"Me? You're the one who doesn't even care that Iroh is injured, maybe even permanently, and you're telling me I don't get the big picture?" She laughed. "Yeah, real mature, City Boy. I knew you were happy this whole time."
"What! I never said that!" Mako yelled back.
"You didn't have to!" Korra snapped, crossing her arms and sitting down on her bed.
"Ugh! You come up with the stupidest things like this! Sometimes I don't even know what goes through that thick skulled head of yours!"
"You're right Mako, I am thick skulled, and proud of it. I may be stubborn, but at least I know how to tell the truth." Korra jabbed.
"How can you even say that! You're not as innocent as you think, Korra! You're lying to yourself by thinking what happened to Iroh was your fault!"
"But it is!" Korra screamed at him. Mako stumbled back at her sudden volume change. "Don't act so put together and play "tough guy", because it's really pathetic. I've been through enough today that to put up with your stupid little mind games, and I'm finished with it. I took on dozens of chi-blockers, saved the last Airbenders, drove off Amon, and I still got my bending taken away. You think I have enough in me to do this right now? Do you really feel you need to push me over the edge even more? All I want is some peace in this nightmare that I'm living in, so would you please just stop fighting with me and leave me ALONE!" Korra screamed. She then let her lathered breathes out, clutching her head and sliding her back down the wall.
Mako sighed and walked over to sit down next to her. He then regretted going so hard on her before. She had done enough today, and she still felt like she was living in hell. She's trapped, and she can't see to get out either. It was thrashing her from the inside out, and Mako couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy every time he was reminded. "Korra...you can't blame yourself for what happened to Iroh."
She scoffed. "Oh yeah? If it wasn't for me, he'd still be standing right now, piloting this ship. Not in the infirmary with idiot healers who don't know what they're doing."
"Korra," Mako said, "This is war. We were in the middle of fighting Amon, things like this were expected to happen to even us. Iroh knew what the risks were and he went to help us anyway. That was his decision, not ours."
"But Mako," Korra answered, "It was my fault he was there in the first place. He came to my rescue because I was being stupid. If only I'd listened to him int the first place and went with him, none of this would've happened."
"Yeah, and Amon would still be terrorizing people."
"But after all we've been through, everything he's done for me, I repay him by knocking him out a window and cracking his head open!" Korra's hands balled into tight fists to where her knuckles turned white.
Mako noticed this, and took her hands in his, forcing her to loosen her fingers. She sighed and let her head fall onto his shoulder. "Korra..." He started to say. her hand still in his. "You have enough to stress about. Just...please don't rip yourself up over something like this, especially for him." He whispered. And then they said nothing. All that filled the room was Korra's soft curses and Mako's attempt at comforting her.
"There she is!" Bumi called from the top of the ship, waving his arms rapidly.
Katara smiled and waved back, waiting for him to hop down when their ship docked. "It's good to see you Bumi." She said, bringing her son in for a hug.
"Mom," Bumi said seriously, causing Katara to pull away and look him in the eyes. "I need your help."
"What happened, Bumi?" Her eyes widened slightly. "Are you hurt?"
"No, Mom, it's not me..." He then turned around, motioning to who was being carried out of the ship on a stretcher.
Katara gasped. "Oh my," She said, placing her hand gently on Iroh's forehead. "How did this happen?"
"Amon..." Bumi's gaze fell downward.
"Please, master Katara," Korra pleaded. "Can you help him?"
Katara nodded. "Carry him into the healing hut, and I'll see what I can do. Make sure you don't bump him or carry him too fast, put him down as gently as possible." She instructed.
The soldiers nodded, and started off in the other direction, watching carefully where they stepped. Korra beamed at the waterbending master. "Thank you, Master Katara."
Katara smiled back at her. "Of course." Korra then threw her arms around her, to her surprise. Katara smiled to herself and hugged the young girl back, knowing what it meant. She then realized what Korra had lost, and felt a deep wave of sympathy wash over her. She had aknew understanding for the girl in front of her, but she had try and not let it show too much that she knew. "It'll all be alright." She whispered.
Korra pulled away and tried to fake a smile. "I hope so."
"Come along," Katara said. "Let's go inside." She held her hand out to Korra, who graciously took it, walking slowly with her master.
Have you ever had your heart beating so fast, and so hard, that it's all you could hear in your ears? Korra hated the constant tha-thump, tha-thump that filled her head, and the fact it wouldn't stop annoyed her greatly. She was sitting in the healing hut building, outside the healing room waiting eagerly. Korra repeatedly tapped her foot on the ground, matching the rhythm of her heart beat. She sighed as she received many attempted sympathetic looks, for she was the one who was taking this the hardest.
Korra looked around the room, examining the others who had come to accompany her in the wait for Iroh's results. Pema sat in the far corner cradling Rohan, trying her best to shield him from the sheer cold. The kids sat at the table, giggling and watching as Jinora showed them her grandfather's old marble trick and taught it to them, while Bolin smiled and sat with them. He made them laugh even harder when he shot a pebble at Jinora's marbles and sent them flying everywhere. The kids erupted with fits of giggles as her face turned bright red and she rushed to catch them all.
Bolin laughed, and unfortunately took Jinora's pink color as a blush, even though she was just obviously flustered. Behind them sat Mako and Asami sitting on the seats about a foot away from each other. Asami said nothing and did nothing, just looked down at the floor and only the floor, not making eye contact with anyone. Korra noticed the slight blush that creeped across her cheeks when Mako sat down next to her, and how he fidgeted with his scarf nervously as well, but she was too worried to care of feel jealous.
Her parents sat very close to her, Lin standing not too far behind. Katara had sent for them just before she had started healing Iroh. At first they were overjoyed to see their lovely daughter again, but terribly shocked when they were told her bending had been stolen. They desperately tried to comfort Korra by hugging her, rubbing her back, and trying to reassure her.
Korra knew they meant well, but she really wanted to be left alone at the moment, so instead of sitting on the sofa next to them, she sat hunched over in the corner, far away from everybody. Korra jumped when she felt a warm hand stroke hers with their thumb. She looked up to see her father smiling down at her. She tried to smile back, but it wasn't too convincing. "Hey my Little WaterBender," He said softly, "How ya holding up?"
"I'd be lying if I said ok," Korra sighed.
"I kinda figured." Her father smiled down at her and pulled a chair over. "Korra, I know you feel terrible for what happened to Iroh, but he's with Katara getting all fixed up now. The feeling of tragedy striking a loved one is unbearable, but this is Iroh's job; he's supposed to protect the people he cares about and honor his family name and nation. Everything happens for a reason, Korra, and maybe this specific injury will make Iroh realize that he needs to start taking it a bit less extreme."
His heart broke as he saw no tears begin to stream down his daughter's face. She was trying to be brave, but he could tell she was cracking. She refused to let any of her emotions show, keeping them all bottled up inside, and it was tearing her apart.
He wanted to just wrap his arms around her, and tell her everything would be alright, but he knew she was too old for that now, and she wouldn't believe him anyway. Korra let the silence between her and her father creep onto them for a few minutes to let his words sink into her system. She closed her eyes, fearing tears might fall. She wasn't ready to cry yet.
Not now. Not until she knew.
As if on cue, Katara slid the doors back open from her healing room and looked at her. "You may see him now," She said.
Korra exchanged a quick glance with Tenzin across the room and immediately jumped out of her seat, leaping for the door. Behind her Mako clenched his fists, only person noticing this being Lin. They soon all followed Korra's lead, and into the healing room. Korra let out a gasp when she saw Iroh at the table in the corner, laying motionless. "He isn't...?"
"He's only resting." Katara reassured her.
"My goodness, he's so much!" Senna brushed some hair out of his eyes and smiled softly.
"He's definitely matured after all these years," Katara smiled. "Such a handsome young man."
"Mommy, is that the big Fire Man daddy was talking about?" Meelo asked, tugging on Pema's robe.
"Yes, Meelo," She cooed, "That's Iroh."
He then hopped up onto the edge of the table and stared at Iroh. "I thought he was one of the great heroes like Grandpa!" He pouted, pursing his lips and crossing her arms.
"He is a hero," Korra said from behind. "I probably owe him my life."
"Korra, stop being so dramatic!" Mako snapped.
"You know it's true, Mako! Don't act like you're the victim here!" Korra retorted.
"We are the victims! You got your bending taken away, Korra, and you honestly think Prince Fire Boy's little scratches compare to what you lost?" Mako knew he had hit a weak spot with her bending, and a part of him regretted it, but the other was still stinging from all the attention this general was getting when she was so much more important.
Korra was taken aback, but quickly snapped back to reality and narrowed her eyes into slender, black slits. "Do you really wanna go there with me, Mr. Hat Trick?" She hissed, taking a few steps closer towards Mako. He honestly didn't want to fight Korra, especially not now out of all times. He knew she was stressed, and worried, and scared. And it drove him crazy how she felt this way all because of Iroh. She's acting like he did when Tarrlok kidnapped her, and it wasn't fair.
Did Korra maybe have feelings for Iroh? That Fire Jerk? Granted he wasn't actually a jerk, he was brave and honorable man, but Mako would never admit it. He hated Iroh even more at the thought of Korra wanting to be with him, even though he still technically was in a relationship. Again, the confusion invaded Mako's head; why was he feeling this way? Why does he hate the idea of Korra liking Iroh? Why can't he just let her go?
But before either of them could make a dangerous move, Katara stepped between them. "That's enough, you two. This is a place of healing and recovery, not violence." She said sternly, glancing at both of them. "Korra, I need to talk to you and Tenzin," Katara told her, and looked back at the small crowd still in the room. "Alone, please."
Everyone then got the hint and started slowly filing out of the room, Bumi slower that others, glancing back at the table where Iroh lay every few seconds until he was forced to shut the door behind him. "What is it, Mother? Any bad news?" Tenzin inquired.
"Not exactly, but I wanted to ask you both about Iroh's accident."
"What about it?" Korra wondered.
"Well Iroh's injuries are very serious, possibly even fatal, but I don't see how Amon's bloodbending could cause them. I have treated many of those types of internal injuries, but nothing quite like this. A few of his ribs are damaged, his skull has been cracked, and his body is having trouble functioning all together. The sudden stop of blood flow through his entire body, and how intense this case was, his body isn't getting the correct nutrients it needs..." Katara's voice trailed off once she noticed the horror in Korra's eyes. She let out a small sigh. "I'm not exactly sure how bloodbending could crack his bones so much to where they could potentially block his blood from flowing properly."
Korra gasped, but immediately slapped her hand across her mouth in hope to hide it. Tenzin turned to see her current expression and acted quickly. "Mother, may I have a moment with Korra, please?" He asked politely.
She gave him a nod. "Of course." Katara then walked out of the room and slid the door closed behind her.
Tenzin turned back to Korra, wearing a look of concern. "Korra, is there something you have to say?"
Korra sniffled, wiping her wet eyes. "Mako lied to you, Tenzin," She muttered.
"What do you mean?"
"When he said Amon did all this to Iroh, it wasn't true. He was protecting someone..."
"Who?"
Korra took a deep breath and gazed up at him, apology gleaming in her eyes. "Me."
Tenzin's eyes widened. "Korra...please help me understand."
"Iroh came to rescue me and Mako from Amon. He was going to kill Iroh to end his family of Firebenders, and that's when I figured out I could still Airbend. I used it to blast Amon out the window...but Iroh went with him." Korra let out a sob. "I'm so sorry Tenzin, it was an accident, I swear! I never meant for Iroh to get hurt, and now he's here in the infirmary when it's all my fault." She fell to let her knees and finally let her tears fall. Tenzin was taken aback by her sudden confession and kneeled down next to Korra, wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his tight embrace.
"It's alright, Korra. It was an accident, and it's human to make mistakes. I know your emotions must be overwhelming right now, but you must be strong and push through. We are all vulnerable at some point, no matter how powerful we are, and we all have our own ways of dealing with it. You have always been so courageous and brave, that you've never had to feel something like this before, so you are lost within your emotions internally, and that can be a very dangerous thing. You have to not be afraid to let your feelings show, Korra, and you must face them before they take over your being. If you expect the worst, it sure to happen. However, if you believe in the best outcome, you will escape from the torturing traps in your thoughts."
Korra cried into his robes, but nodded. He was right; she couldn't afford to give in right now. She tried to find the words to say, yet all she could joke out was, "Ok," and clutch onto Tenzin's robes again. "I'm sorry," She whispered.
"I'm so, so sorry."
I know I said only one more chapter until the main plot is set, but bear with me through the next chapter. Then I swear we'll get to what you guys came here for. Thanks for all your patience, guys. Hope you liked this chapter and can't wait for the next one! :)
~Suki17