Here's episode 2, guys. Hope you enjoy :)
As the sun rose on a new day, the light subtly hit Korra's face filtered through the half-closed curtains. Naturally she wasn't ready to wake up. She hid her head under her pillow and quickly went back to sleep. But then the door creaked open slowly as someone entered… "Korra. Sweetie?" a voice softly spoke. It was none other than her mother, Senna, ready as ever to "ruin" her morning and wake her up, haha. "Korra? Time to wake up, sweetie," she spoke quite loudly this time. "Mom, please! Just five more minutes," she responded. Senna shook her head—just like the old days, she thought. "Well, if you insist… Taka's already up though. We'll see you soon, honey," she gave her a kiss on the forehead.
She wasn't really paying attention, still too tired for that. Though she heard the part about her sweetie being up. She couldn't believe it. Taka got up early? That's a first, she thought to herself. After that, she laid herself back down and slept for another five minutes. Well, at least that's what she told herself. Then it turned out it was for another hour or so. Slept like a baby. It's hard to wake up when you're already cozy—when you feel just right in bed and your head feels so heavy on the pillow that you just can't seem to muster up the energy to lift it.
When she finally woke up, it was already almost noon, around 11-ish. The sun was shining and the day had already begun for most people. But she didn't really care. She sat up to think about it. One of the perks of not being the Avatar anymore is that you really don't have any responsibilities anymore such as saving the world and maintaining balance between the nations. But even so, she still felt that that was her job, Avatar or not. Wanting to protect people is something that she just…feels right doing. But no matter what—especially now—sometimes you just can't save everyone. Sometimes…you have to know your limits.
These thoughts were inside her mind. Taka wasn't wrong before. She's not the Avatar anymore and she doesn't have access to all four elements anymore. And it wasn't necessarily her job to deal with this anymore either. But if she doesn't—if they don't—who will? These thoughts were heavy on her mind. And she was still haunted by the memories of the past and a vision of her darker self…her former self.
She was still contemplating when the door swung open again. "Sweetie? Are you still asleep?" this time it was Taka going in. She was curling up her arms around her legs, smiling of all things. "Hey, there you are. Everyone was waiting for you. Where were you?" he asked. "Yeah, sorry. Was still sleeping and…thinking," she spoke releasing her legs and propping herself on her elbow. "Well, let's go then."
Except for Masaru, who was all for the sleeping just as she is, everyone had finished their breakfast already. Though her mother saved up two bowls just for them both. Her father, Tonraq, was also there still drinking his morning tea, having not finished it yet, on the table. Their dining room has a medium-sized round table at the middle, no chairs—they usually just sit down on the floor, or rather, the carpet. The walls are decorated with Southern Water Tribe traditional items. "Hey, honey. Finally awake, huh? Haha," he spoke. He stood up to give his daughter a big hug. "So how's my little girl?" She broke it off gently. "Dad, come on. I'm not a little kid anymore," she said. "Hey, whether you're 18 or 68, you'll always be my little girl," he told her, "and no matter what happens, I'll—we'll—always support you." Senna joined in on it. Despite what had happened, they were still a quite happy family. Other than Taka and Masaru, Korra's parents are the only ones who knew the truth about what happened. But they didn't care. They still loved their daughter. Taka smiled at the sight and scratched his head after realizing the awkwardness of the situation for him, and thus left to go wake Masaru.
When he entered, his friend was actually already up and just about ready. "Hey, dude. What's up?" he greeted his friend. "Nothing. Just came here to wake you up, but I see you're already ready," he told his friend. "Gotta admit. I'm surprised to see you already up." "You gotta have more faith in me, haha. Come on, let's go."
"You really have to do this, don't you?" Tonraq asked his daughter. "Your father has a point, honey," added Senna, "like you said, you're not the Avatar anymore. You don't need to do this. Please." She looked at both her parents with a smile. She understood their concern, but she still wanted to do it. Guess she was still used to being the hero. "Thank you for your concern, both of you. But I…" she sighed before getting serious, "I need to do this. I can't just stand idly by when the world is in danger, again. And don't worry, I won't be alone." "Damn right you won't be alone," Taka suddenly said. Masaru greeted her parents with a bow, "Good morning."
"Good morning, Masaru. I saved a seal jerky for you on the table," she told him. "Oh, thank you very much, mam." He was very much excited at that. Apart from being hungry, he really loved their blubbered seal jerkies. He quickly sat down and started eating. Her parents stared in amazement at the sight. Both Korra and Taka were already used to it, so they just smiled and laughed.
Anyway, realizing that they can't stop their daughter, they only wished her good luck and to be careful. "Don't worry. I'll keep her safe. I promise," Taka assured them. "Hey, right here, people. And I'm not exactly powerless," she spoke. Senna gave her a big hug and a kiss on the forehead. "Of course you're not, sweetie," she said. Tonraq would've joined them, but this is something he believed his daughter needed to do alone, without him. At least for now… Plus he had other stuff to do. Word was that something big was going down in the Northern Water Tribe. "I'll help in any way I can if you guys need me," he told them. "Thanks, dad." Korra gave her father a hug and bid her parents farewell before they set off on their journey.
"So what do we do now?" Taka asked her. "First off, we gather up everyone." "And where exactly are they?" he inquired further. "They're… Uhhh…" She didn't know where they were. Naturally, she was still a bit hardheaded, even though she has matured much from past experiences, and quick to act, but not think. So of course, she called Tenzin and told him what was going on, well partly, and asked him whether he knows where they are or if he could contact them.
Elsewhere, on a small, remote volcanic island isolated in the middle of the ocean, two guards were patrolling, protecting some kind of…a fire-shaped object. It was laid on a small pedestal in the middle of the lava surrounded by a cage, seemingly unreachable by anyone. The guards, wearing black suits and helmets, were standing on a circular, metal platform overlooking the cage. There was a small building sitting in the rocks above them acting as a house, a place to rest and eat. "Well, there's nothing today, just like yesterday," one guard said. "Yep. And the day before that, and the day before that, AND the day before that…" the other replied. "I'm actually quite happy and feel lucky that no one's tried to attack us. You know what's at stake here. Remember what Avatar Korra told us," he reminded his friend. "I know, I know. I wonder how the others are doing though."
Meanwhile, Korra and the gang had just arrived back at the Southern Air Temple. She jumped off of Lefty and was greeted by Tenzin. "Korra, welcome back," he said, "how are you guys doing?" "We're doing good, thanks," she replied followed by a bow. "So have you contacted them?" she asked. "Yes, I have. It seems that they're all at Republic City right now. Mako's continuing his job as a police officer and Asami's busy running her family's company," he explained. She felt a little hesitation and worry in her heart. Republic City… It's the city that's not a big fan of her right now. Are they ready to see her again? What if they're greeted with hate? These thoughts were racing through her mind. "What about Bolin?" she then asked. "Hmmm, I think he's lazing around somewhere in their apartment." She smiled a sincere smile, "Thank you, Tenzin. Come on, guys. Let's go." "Umm, might I ask what this is about? You were kinda vague on the radio." She stopped for a moment, trying to think whether she should tell him or just keep him in the dark for now. "Uhhh, nothing," she replied, maybe a little too fast, "we just wanna see them again. Hang out like old times." He chuckled, "Alright then, have fun." With that, they hopped on and were on their way to Republic City. The former Avatar looked a bit sad though. Hope everything's gonna be okay, she thought to herself. And of course, Tenzin knew she wasn't telling him everything—it was plain as day for him. She was her mentor for quite a while and had learned her behaviors quite well, especially when lying. He became worried again that she might do something stupid. She DID just return from a one-year disappearance after all. But there was nothing he could do about it, so he let it go for the moment.
Elsewhere, on a remote mountaintop reaching high near the clouds, two other guards were protecting another object, this time in the shape of air or wind. "Man, it really gets cold up here sometimes," she spoke. "Well, we are up on the mountains," her friend replied. They were only outside to check on the object. It was fine, of course, sitting atop its pedestal in the middle of a cage inside a cave. "Alright, let's go back inside." "Finally," she was thrilled to get out of this cold. They exited the cave and he used his earthbending to seal the entrance. It wasn't really an entrance, just an opening that was created. The point was to make it look like just another ordinary rock. He then pushed it down back into the mountain and sealed it there. Now it looks like just like any ordinary mountaintop. Not even very big.
"There. Let's go," he said. "Finally." She grabbed hold of him and flew them both out of there with her firebending back to another mountain close-by where their small house resides. "Ahhhh, feels nice to be back inside." She quickly made herself a cup of warm tea and sat down on the chair near the radio to drink. He grabbed a cup too, might as well, and sat down next to her and took a sip. The warmth of the tea felt nice going down their throats. It was a pretty comfortable house too, specifically designed to counteract the cold temperatures and high wind speeds. It had two beds for each of them, a dining table, and a spot for the radio. There was a closet for supplies too and a window, though there was nothing see at the time. It was misty outside and they couldn't see anything. Usually the other mountains would be visible and it would be a truly majestic and beautiful sight.
"This house is pretty nice for a guard house," he commented. "Yeah, it is. Though the thing we're guarding isn't exactly any ordinary item either and the people guarding it would have to stay here for a very long time. I think Avatar Korra designed all the living quarters for the others herself too, right?" "I think so. Like you said, with the job we have to do, I guess she wanted to make sure that everyone would be comfortable while protecting the keys or something like that," he answered. "Though, knowing what these things are for, I would protect it no matter what," she was worried, "speaking of which, we haven't heard from her in months. Could it be that…?" "I don't know. I'm gonna call the others." He reached for the radio and did just that. Back at the volcano, the radio statics and his voice can be heard through it. "Damn, it's good to finally hear another voice again," the guard said, picking up the radio, "hey, yeah. This is the fire team. We hear you." "Anyone else?" "Yeah, water team here." "Earth team here too. We hear you loud and clear."
"Well, since everyone's answering, I guess everything's okay?" the air team guard asked. "Yeah, we're good here. It's quite boring, to be honest," the fire team guard replied. "Same here", "Yeah, same here." They were all fine. No one's actually ever even tried to steal the objects. Everything about this operation is beyond secret. No one else knows about the locations or even the existence of the objects other than Korra and the guards. "Soo…have any of guys heard from Korra?" the water team asked. The water object was hidden somewhere what seemed to be underground surrounded by layers of ice and snow. "Nope," the fire team answered. "Nope," the earth team added. The earth object was, surprisingly, also somewhere in the middle of the ocean. Another small island with a quite dense jungle in the middle-it was there where the earth object was hidden and protected. "Do you guys think she…you know?" the air team asked them, worried. "No, I don't think so," the earth team replied, "when I went back for supplies, I heard talks that she came back to Republic City. She's alive. But here's the weird part: the rumor is that she's not the Avatar anymore." What? But how is that possible?" "You got me, but that's what I heard." "Well then, let's hope it's just a rumor. Even if it were true, Korra entrusted us with a very important task, so let's get back to it," the air team signed off. "Alright, see you guys."
"Do you really think that's true? That she's not the Avatar anymore," she asked him. "I don't know. But even so, why wouldn't she contact us? This thing that she asked us to protect…" he was thinking. "Do you think she forgot?" He paused for a moment, unsure of what to think or answer. "I don't know." Crash! Suddenly there was a loud sound that came from outside. She put down her cup and looked out the window. "Anything?" he asked. There was nothing—just the sound of the mountain and the wind howling. "Should we check it out?" "Yeah, let's go."
They ventured back out into the cold air of the mountains. Of course their first thought was of the object—or the "key" as they call it—to make sure that it's safe. But as they were about to fly off to the spot where it was being held, faint sounds—like bursts of small explosions flying through the air—could be heard, followed by another…and another… "Do you hear that?" she said. Then the sound appeared again, though this time it was heading towards them. "Look out!" he pushed her aside. Boom! The patch of ground they were standing on exploded. Standing far away on another mountain were four individuals. "Dammit! You missed," their leader said. He was an airbender named Zaheer. "Sorry, sweetie. But how was I supposed to know they could see it coming?" his girlfriend replied. Her name was P'Li, a powerful firebender with the rare ability of combustionbending. The explosion was courtesy of her. "Well then, looks like we'll have to do this the hard way. Ghazan, get down there!" he ordered. "Sure thing. Ming-Hua, give me a hand?" "Yeah, sure. Haven't killed anyone in weeks," she replied. They were an earthbender and waterbender, respectively. Ming-Hua was a special kind of waterbender though. She was born without arms and used her waterbending to create arms-like appendages using the water she bends...as well as other forms.
He then earthbended the ground and levitated it, using it as a platform of sorts. The waterbender hopped on and they both flew towards the air team. "Contact the others!" he yelled to her. But Ming-Hua quickly jumped off, transforming her arms into scythes, and tried to kill her. She dodged them and quickly retaliated with some firebending. Woosh! Woosh!
The other guard earthbended a piece of the mountain and threw it towards Ghazan, but he dispatched it easily and quickly. "Is that all you've got? Haha!" he shouted to him. He broke off a small piece of the platform he was using to fly and broke that off into even smaller pieces. He levitated them around him before sending them like bullets to the guard. Pew! Pew! Pew! "Huh!" He dodged them as best as he could, but two or three managed to hit their target. "Argh!" he exclaimed in pain. He fell back against the side of the mountain as his arm and leg got hit. He sat there for a moment to recuperate, but Ghazan quickly trapped him using the surrounding earth and he hopped off to his location. "What do you guys want?!" the guard asked him. "You know damn well what we want," he replied, knowing what they're guarding. "Impossible," the guard stated, "how? How do you know of the key?" He moved forward and grabbed the guard by the neck. "Let's just say we have a friend in a very dark place," he answered ominously, "who very much wants revenge."
The other guard was still battling with Ming-Hua, but it was obviously a losing battle. The waterbender was hardly breaking a sweat while she was pushed to her edge. It was no surprise—the waterbender got a few wounds in. She was bleeding around her right waist—it wasn't too bad, but still. While she was trying to recuperate, she was hit with a surprise punch that knocked her out. She fell down unconscious and the waterbender grabbed her and went back to Ghazan. She threw the guard against the wall, "Urgh!" she exclaimed as she fell down. "You can kill us if you want. We'll never tell you where it is," the guard spoke, determined and holding his ground. "Okay, maybe we'll do that. And what makes you think we won't find it?" Ghazan threatened him. "Cause Avatar Korra will stop you. She'll never let you do it." "The Avatar? Hahahahahahahahaha!" they both let out a huge laugh. "Haven't you heard? The Avatar is dead. There is no Avatar anymore," Ming-Hua happily told them. He looked very shocked, "No… It can't be."
As the three of them were talking, the firebender guard woke up, but made sure not to let anyone notice. She was planning on catching them off guard. "Alright, look. We'll give you one last chance to tell us where it is. If not, well, I'm gonna enjoy killing you," the earthbender said. Just then, the firebender quickly got up and firebended towards Ming-Hua, catching her by surprise, and she fell from the mountain. "Ming-Hua!" Ghazan screamed for his friend. But the guard earthbended himself out of the makeshift rock prison, broke it off, and returned the favor by imprisoning Ghazan in a rock prison too followed by a punch to the face. He was out of the game for a while. But Ming-Hua suddenly flung herself up to the air, having survived the fall by hanging onto the side of the mountains, and launched herself down. Transforming her arms into scythes again, she tried swinging at the firebender, but she dodged and it hit the side of the mountain instead. Crack!
The earthbender quickly earthbended and launched a rock towards the waterbender's back, hitting her. It caused her to stumble for a few seconds while his partner firebended to her right arm, causing it to dissipate. "Aaarrghhh!" she exclaimed before falling down from tiredness. This battle seemed to have been won… But they were forgetting something: the two other people that were with Ghazan and Ming-Hua. They've gone from the place they were standing. "Argh!" the firebender was suddenly pushed back in a gust of wind. She nearly went over the edge, but was able to capture herself by using her firebending, utilizing them like jets from her hand. "Noooooo!" the earthbender screamed before trying to retaliate. Unfortunately, Zaheer quickly used his airbending and slammed him against the wall before freeing Ghazan. "Wake up!" he yelled to him, slapping his cheeks. But he was still unconscious. The firebender then flew back straight for Zaheer and firebended towards him, but it was quickly redirected by P'Li back towards her, catching her by surprise, and she took the full blast of it. "Aaarrrgghhh!" she screamed as she got burned. "Noo…" spoke the earthbender as he tried to regain himself.
She was lying there on ground, badly burned. But even so, she still found the strength to stand back up. "I'm not giving up… Avatar Korra… Gave us a mission," she spoke sparsely and quietly to herself. "Wow, you guys are good," P'Li teased them. "That's why she chose us…" she answered. "But it's still not good enough. Goodbye." She then used her combustionbending to hit her directly. Time seemed to have slowed down for the guard as the explosion headed towards her. She knew what was about to happen. Boom! Her body was flung off the mountain, or rather what was left of it. "NOOOOO!" the other guard screamed for her. He angrily got up and wanted to attack them, but was quickly subdued by Ming-Hua. She pinned him to the wall using her water arms. "Now then, we'll ask you one last time. Where. Is. The key?"asked Zaheer. "I will never tell you! You can kill me if you want. You'll never find it!" "Oh, I think we will. And we don't actually need you." The guard was shocked by this revelation. "No! You can't! Don't you know what it can do?!" "I know very well what it can do. That's why we're doing it," the airbender answered, "now, goodbye." He then covered the guard's face in a sorta air bubble and sucked all the air out of it, suffocating him. The waterbender then released him and he dropped dead.
"Well, you killed him. That's great, but can we actually find the key without him?" Ghazan asked just getting back up. "Of course we can. I already know where it is," his leader replied, "come on, follow me." He took them to the exact spot where it's hidden. "It's here, hidden beneath the mountain itself," he told them, "Ghazan! Use your earthbending. Open it up." You got it, boss." He did so and the mountain opened up like before and lo and behold, there it was: the key's chamber. He raised it up and opened a path for them to enter. "I gotta admit, pretty clever hiding spot," P'Li said. "Yeah… How did you find it?" Ming-Hua asked. "While you guys were fighting with the guards, P'Li and I went around and searched for it. Eventually we found it," he explained. And just like that, their prize was right in front of them: the air key.
"Well, there it is," the earthbender stated. "It doesn't look like much, does it?" P'Li commented. "Maybe so, but we all know what it's capable of. Ghazan, if you don't mind…" He stepped forward and metalbended the cage bars open. It was a bit difficult—it creaked and bended slowly as he did so. But eventually he made a big enough opening for them to enter and grab the key. "Finally," Zaheer spoke as he held it in his hand, "the first piece is ours."