His words rang in her ears, jarring her completely.

Of course she'd wanted him to say it for quite some time now… She'd known there was something between then from the very beginning. But that was in another lifetime… another part of her that was violently ripped from her. She didn't know which part of her he'd meant those words for. Because if he meant it for the stubborn, headstrong girl he'd first met, she didn't exist anymore… and she couldn't risk being rejected again.

So she ran.

For the first time in her life, she ran. And she hated herself for it. But who was she, really? Who had Amon turned her into? Rage and pain filled her at the very thought of him. He'd taken away everything she'd ever believed about herself. It was everything she'd ever known since she'd discovered she was the Avatar. And now, it was all gone. And she didn't know what to make of that.

She was grateful for Naga. She was the only friend who'd never, ever leave her side even though everything about her had changed. All she ever asked was for love and friendship. That was something she still had left to give. But she couldn't dull the sting of Mako's pained voice as he called out to her before she disappeared on Naga, away from him… from everyone.

"They deserve better," she told herself firmly. "They don't deserve the failure I've become."

Tears blurred her vision as she thought about how fervently she'd hoped Katara would be able to fix what was broken inside her. She didn't understand why the greatest Waterbender she'd ever known couldn't fix her. She couldn't even count on her anymore.

"It wasn't for her to fix, Korra," a calm voice inside her answered… somewhere deep in her subconscious.

"Then who can?" she asked it, just as quietly.

"Only you can know that… Only you can fix what's broken inside you," the voice said.

"How? How can I mend the connection I had to that part of me? It's gone!" she thought furiously. "It's gone, and it will never come back."

"The Avatar Spirit chose you for a reason, Korra… Believe in that… in yourself."

"Am I still the Avatar without my bending? Am I still carrying the Spirit of a thousand lifetimes inside me?" she asked herself.

"And if you weren't… would that be so bad?" the voice asked her.

"It's all I've ever known," Korra thought desperately as tears spilled on to her cheeks, its warmth burning her cold skin.

"Then find yourself again… You were strong before… you're strong now. Find yourself again," the voice declared firmly.

She heard the slow crunch of boots on the snow and wiped her tears as she saw the hem of his saffron and ochre robes.

"Not now, Tenzin… I just wanna be left alone," she said in a shaky voice.

"But you called me here!" a very familiar voice replied gently.

A voice that she recognized from somewhere deep within her spirit… A voice she vaguely remembered possessing in another life. The shock of it made her turn. The tall, handsome Airbender who was smiling benignly at her was someone she'd known very closely. Someone she'd arranged to meet ages ago but had quite forgotten about the arrangement.

"Aang!" she exclaimed softly, an odd sense of relief washing over her.

"You're finally connected with your spiritual self," he declared.

"How?" she asked. She had so many questions… Was that voice her spirit? Was it her own spirit, the one that was still connected in some way to the Avatar?

"When we hit our lowest point, we are open to the greatest change," Aang smiled.

Then she understood. She'd finally accepted, however slightly, the possibility of having to go through life without her abilities when the voice inside her had asked her to find herself again. And find herself she did… in him. In all of them as she saw more of them across the glacier. She felt a familiarity… a sense of oneness with every single one of them in a part of her that she knew had been waiting to be tapped into. They were welcoming her as if they'd been waiting for her to come meet them. And she finally had.


Mako ran across the tundra, snow seeping into his boots and numbing his toes. Tenzin had asked him to be patient with her… and for a while he'd even considered it.

But then he realized that she'd never be patient if he'd run away from her like that… and he felt the cold seep into his bones in a way that frightened him. He loved her. It was that simple. She needed to believe him. He needed her to believe him desperately. And when he finally found Naga, he felt hope surge through him, giving him a fresh spurt of energy as he ran towards her. But as he watched her bend not just air, but fire, earth, and water as well, he stood awestruck and rooted to the spot.


She felt the power of the Avatar State leave her as the realization sunk in. She had finally made contact with her past lives… and she could bend again. She could sense someone else's presence behind her, so she turned to look. And what she saw made her heart stop.

Mako was there, smiling and waiting for her. She'd rejected him; crushed his feelings like they were nothing; she'd run away from him… But he came for her. Despite the way she'd brushed him aside, he came for her… without any resentment. He was actually smiling at her.

So she ran.

And this time, she ran towards him… and when he opened his arms wide for her, she hugged him tight, hoping he'd understand and forgive her for treating him so harshly. But the way he held her and spun her around told her that he didn't hold it against her… that he understood. So when he set her down, she told him something she'd wanted to tell him ever since he'd admitted his feelings to her.

"I love you, too."

Then she kissed him, so very grateful for his support and love… not at all worried about the strange ways he showed it… Because in the end, they were in love…and they were simply grateful for each other.