The Grand Lotuses stood around the prone form of the Avatar. He now lay in his bed in the small room above the Golden Leaf tea shop. He tossed and turned, writhing in his sheets. Whatever he was facing in his dreams, It was not an easy foe to beat. The mental battle was putting his physical body under stress. The Healer had pronounced him healthy, finding no physical cause for his sudden slip into unconsciousness.

"So...'I cant even Earthbend Properly...' What were you getting at there?" Korra asked nonchalantly as she hurled another volley of fire balls at him.

"I can't..." he dodged, "...Get..." he ducked, "...The forms right..." He spun out of the way, landing in unsteadily and leaping out of the way as the former Avatar sent a boulder rolling towards him. "I always end up losing control when I get to anything larger than my fist."

"Huh... So you think your talent ends with levitating Pebbles?" She grinned. "Well... Ok. Let's Start there..."

"Why do I get the impression this is going to be a Painful lesson?"

"Kohaku, please watch over the Avatar, we are going to retire for the evening." The last Grand Lotus called to the guard as he left the room.

"Yes Sir, Master Mako." She saluted sharply and turned to walk into the room. The Aging Firebender smiled and rested a comforting hand on the guard's shoulders. "It'll be ok, Kohaku... The Avatar is made of stern stuff. Believe in Him and He'll pull through."

"Sir... Can I ask you a Question?"

"Well, you just did... But Yes, you may ask."

"You knew the last Avatar, Do you truly believe that this boy can take her place?"

"No." Mako sighed plainly. "He will never replace Korra. But then... he's not meant to." He saw the young guard go to speak but he raised a hand to silence her. "Yes, he is the Avatar. Yes, he will have to grow into the person to fit that role. But the Purpose of an avatar is not to Inherit the duty of care for the world from their predecessor. It is to guard it for the next in line. Korra isn't gone. She Lives on in him. She will offer him her counsel and her wisdom will help guide him. The New Avatar doesn't replace the old. It joins them." He forced a smile. "Good night Kohaku."

"Good night, sir."

"So, Lets start by finding your upper limit in size. I'm going to throw some pebbles at you, You bend them away. Stay Sharp, kiddo."

Shen deflected the first round without any issue. The second came faster and he had to think on his feet. The fourth was when he realized they were getting bigger. The seventh was where he finally slipped, a rock like the egg of a Ostrichorse catching him in the hip and sending him sprawling, the air knocked out of him.

"Good Shot, he wheezed.

"But it proved my Point, Shen. You are limited by worrying about every detail. When you let go and get caught up in the moment you don't have time to worry and your bending improves." She slammed her heel into the earth, a pillar of rock catapulting him toward her.

"Fine. So I can now Earthbend in my dreams. Doesn't help me though."

"Why not?"

"Because it's all in my head! None of this is actually real!"

Korra just grinned. "Of course it's in your head... But that doesn't make your achievements any less real." Her grin shrunk by a few molars, her gaze growing steely as she spoke. "Shen, I'm going to ask you something and I want you to answer honestly... Did you try to Hide your bending when you were younger?"

Kohaku sighed. Dumb guard job, protecting the stupid Earthbender who couldn't even admit he was the Avatar. She sighed, feeling her gut clench as the body before her writhed and moaned, twitched and spasmed.

"It was when I was eight... I saw a Girl in my class torturing a Baby Rabbitoad. She was cutting the webbing out from its paws. She was laughing as it bled and something in me just... Snapped. One minute she and her friends were laughing at the poor animal they had maimed... The next she has been pulled into the ground, buried from the neck down. I couldn't control it. She got out ok, just a sprained ankle, someone had called the teachers and they dragged her out. Sinkhole was the official story, but I think they suspected it was me. Every time I try to bend, I hear her crying. I can't bend anything without thinking about how I could screw up and accidentally kill someone. That's not the kind of person who should be the Avatar."

"Shen... that is exactly why you are the Avatar."

"Didn't You Just hear me? I nearly KILLED a little girl!" He was yelling now, but he didn't care. Tears streamed down his face.

"Yes, Shen... Nearly. And the guilt has tortured you for nearly eight years. That will prevent you making the same mistake twice. You need to forgive yourself, but you shouldn't forget." Korra raised one eyebrow. "Ready to go back to the real world? After all, you've kinda missed a whole day of training."

"Have I though?" He smiled weakly, "I thought you said the Achievements I make here are no less real than out there?"

Korra chuckled, "Ok, you got me there."