This next chapter for 12/12/12 is all divsalley's work - ayziks just edited and read in admiration at her work
Chapter 4 - The Discovery (by divsalley)
Back at the Arena, Korra, Mako, and Bolin were listening intently from the small apartment in the attic. Mako noticed how Korra's expression had turned pensive. Clearly, whatever happened back then was not something Korra was proud of.
...Fourteen Years Ago...
The South Pole had its first glimpse of the sun in six months. The snow had slightly melted off of some of the mountains and the slight warmth of the sun was enough for little Korra to have an excuse to throw away her thick parka and run out for play time.
"Slow down, Korra!" Tonraq called after his daughter with a laugh.
"You gotta catch me first!" his daughter yelled as she ran across the glacier towards the mountains.
He knew he'd be able to catch up to her in a heartbeat if he really tried, but it was enough for him to watch his little girl laugh and play without a care in the world. He smiled as he heard his wife walk up to him.
"She's one of a kind, isn't she?" Senna asked her husband as she hugged him.
"She really is," he said as he returned the embrace and watched as Korra went exploring. "I'll be back. I can't lose sight of her."
...
As Korra ran around in the ankle deep snow, she noticed how some of the ledges looked bare without the usual sheet of ice covering them. She started climbing one of the smaller foothills just as her parents had instructed. She was a rebel, but understood quite clearly when they said it could turn fatal to get lost in those mountains.
Once she was standing safely on a ledge, she started playing around with the snow, trying to bend it into different shapes... turning it into spikes of ice and back into snow again. In her excitement, she decided to try a more drastic move. Arms outstretched, she bent all the snow she possibly could in her vicinity and sent it at the face of the mountain supporting the ledge she was on.
Then everything went wrong.
The ledge she was standing on gave way and Korra found herself sliding down the slope at top speed.
"Just like penguin sledding," Korra kept telling herself, but it didn't work. She had no control over the sliding rock as it careened onto the slope and towards a deadly drop.
"Daddy! Help me!" Korra screamed as she moved her arms to cushion the rock... and then realized there was no snow to cushion it with... At least not here.
She tried desperately to find some source of water or snow, but the drop was closer than she thought. She simply closed her eyes and willed the rock to stop moving - just this once - so she could go back home and never try anything this drastic. Just as she'd thought that, instinct took over and she dug her feet into the rock's sides. She didn't know how, but it turned out that she could control it. She was surprised at this, but somehow felt that she'd known how to do this all along.
With a huge effort, she was able to stop the rock from sliding over the drop. Korra opened her eyes and exhaled in relief as she slid off the rock and backed away from it, wondering how she'd been able to stop it at all.
"I'm a waterbender... Not an earthbender... I can't stop rocks," she told herself continuously. Even so, something told her that she really had done it. And even as she thought that, a sneeze racked her body and she scrunched her eyes and nose at the feeling.
Something very warm left her throat with a roaring sound. Her eyes shot open to the most incredible sight.
She'd just sent a blast of fire from her mouth.
"It can't be!" she told herself over and over as she ran back home. She didn't know what to make of it. No one had ever heard of anyone bending more than one element... No one except... except... No. those were just Mommy's bedtime stories. That was impossible. It couldn't be her... Not in a million years.
She was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she smacked straight into her father's leg.
"OW!" she yelped as she fell back and looked at her father.
"Easy, there, Korra," her father said as he picked her up. "You alright?"
"Yeah, I... I'm fine," Korra lied. She didn't want to tell them just yet. She wanted to confirm this for herself first... that she really had done it.
She was strangely quiet for the rest of the day, which bothered Senna greatly.
"Is everything alright, Korra?" Senna asked.
"I'm OK, Mommy... I'm tired. Bedtime!," Korra said as she swung her legs over the platform and left the table for her room.
Senna and Tonraq looked at each other quizzically. Korra never went to bed without a struggle. And a few stories.
...
Little Ket was excited about playtime with his friends. Especially Korra. She didn't mind roughing things up a bit or playing dirty just for fun. He looked forward to seeing her every day, too. So today, as he rushed out of the igloo, he was caught by a strong pair of arms.
"Grandpa, let go!" Ket laughed.
"Come here, you little devil!" Sokka said as he picked his grandson up and laughed with him.
"Grandpa, I gotta go!" Ket whined as Sokka finally let his grandson down and smiled.
"Stay safe," was all he said.
"See ya later, Gramp-Gramp!" Ket called as he ran out.
He made his way to the usual spot where all the kids came over to play. Surprisingly, Korra was missing.
"I'll go find her," Ket told the others as he waded through the ankle deep snow and towards Korra's house.
He knocked the wooden door and waited for an answer.
"Oh, hey, Ket!" Senna greeted warmly. "What brings you here?"
"Hi, Aunt Senna! Where's Korra?. She didn't play with us. Is she okay?" Ket asked.
"She just left. I'm sure you'll meet her in a bit," Senna said.
"Thanks!" Ket said brightly as he ran back.
Sure enough, he did see Korra running towards their usual hangout. But suddenly, Korra took a sharp turn and headed straight for the mountains, so he followed her from a distance.
Korra seemed a little strange... It looked like she was trying to avoid being seen. But Ket wasn't one to give up easily. He followed her as stealthily as he could – just like his grandfather had taught him hunting skills - and watched as Korra disappeared into a small range of hillocks. Ket frowned as he walked to the spot himself, not knowing what to expect. But nothing could have prepared him for what he actually saw.
Korra was practicing her bending. This wouldn't have been so surprising if she hadn't been bending earth and fire apart from water. She was a novice, for sure, but she was definitely a natural.
"Wow!" Ket exclaimed as he jumped forward. "That was awesome! How'd you do that?"
Korra jumped in fright and sent an unnaturally large blast of fire at Ket's outstretched hands.
"GAH!" Ket yelped in pain as Korra ran over to him and tried to help him up.
"You burned me!" Ket yelled as he jerked out of her grip and ran back home.
"Ket, I'm sorry! Ket, wait! Please!" Korra called after her friend, but he was too far off already. She plopped back on to the snow sobbing, knowing she'd hurt her friend.
...
Sokka noticed as Ket came back home sobbing. Then he noticed his hands... His hands had angry, red welts on them.
"Who did this to you?" Sokka asked angrily.
"It... it was sorta an accident... I scared her, and... she didn't know I was there," Ket said between sobs.
"Who was it, Ket?" Sokka demanded.
"Korra," Ket said sadly.
"Korra? But... isn't she a waterbender?" Sokka asked, bewildered.
"She's not justa waterbender, Grandpa... she can bend earth and fire, too," Ket remarked.
"What?" Sokka asked, but then trailed off.
He remembered when Korra was born... Very shortly after Aang's passing. Could it be possible that this little girl was the Avatar? The White Lotus had been searching everywhere, but when they were last here, Korra hadn't demonstrated the ability to even waterbend.
"Let's get you healed," Sokka said calmly as he went to the only healer he knew apart from his sister.
...
The knock on the door was insistent... a little different from how Korra or Tonraq would go about it, so Senna cautiously made her way to the door. She was surprised to find the old Chief smiling up at her with little Ket in his arms.
"Ket, what... What happened to your hands?" Senna asked as she gently examined them.
"I think we just found the new Avatar, Senna," Sokka said with a smile.
"Who?" Senna asked.
"Your daughter... Korra," Sokka statd plainly.
"What?" Senna exclaimed. "Are you saying she did this? These are burns! Korra's only a waterbender!"
"She's not just a waterbender, my dear... She's our new Avatar. The White Lotus must be informed immediately," Sokka said.
"What?" they heard another voice cut in. Tonraq had just returned home from a hunt. He wasn't sure if he'd heard correctly.
"I can't believe it either, Tonraq... But... it seems to be true... She was bending fire, and... she hurt Ket!" Senna said sadly.
"It was an accident!" Ket said, not wanting Korra to be punished.
"Where was she when you last saw her?" Senna asked as she began healing Ket's burns.
"Just outside the village... by the hillocks," Ket said.
"We have to go find her," Tonraq said.
"And fast!" Senna remarked as she pointed outside. It had started snowing heavily, and the skies were blackened with clouds.
...
Korra couldn't believe she'd just hurt her friend. She sat there sobbing when it suddenly started snowing heavily. She tried to use her waterbending as a shield, but it kept getting heavier and heavier until it was too much to bear. She stood up and started looked for shelter, since she couldn't go back home and face her parents after what she'd done. She was sure now that she was it... The Avatar... No one else could bend more than one element. And until the moment she'd hurt Ket, she'd been proud of it. But now... Now things seemed different. She sighed in relief as she finally found a small cave and ran towards it.
...
Tonraq and Senna lent each other support as they waded through the snowstorm. The storm was turning into a freak blizzard. But what worried them most was that their little girl was out there somewhere... and that was enough to send a frightening chill down their spines, despite their warm clothing.
"Where is she?" Senna asked wearily as the cold slowly started to settle in.
"I don't know," Tonraq sighed, just as weary after a couple of hours of wading through this blizzard.
"I just want to hold her again, Tonraq... She must be so scared... she doesn't understand," Senna said.
"We'll find her," Tonraq stammered as she scanned the hillocks.
They plodded on arm in arm until they saw a small cave. Then the cold settled in... They were covered in snow all over, chilled to the bone... Their joints ached from the strain... Their blood literally ran cold as they collapsed near the entrance, and everything turned black.
...
Korra heard the slight thump right outside, but was wary as she approached the entrance. The blizzard showed no signs of dying down anytime soon. She looked around to find out what had made the noise she'd just heard. A strangled, pained scream left her throat as she found her deathly pale parents, passed out from the cold. With one, huge swipe she lifted the snow off of them and dragged them both inside with great difficulty.
"No, no, no! Not you, too!" she whispered as she tried to dry them off. She knew the best thing to do would have been to start a fire, but after what had happened earlier, she was a little apprehensive.
She thought, "No! You've got to do this! Ket was an accident. Be more careful... Don't be scared!" she told herself as she carefully gathered the few twigs she could find and started a small fire.
She literally had to pry their parkas off them so she could dry them and warm them by the fire. Once she was sure they were warm enough, she draped them across her parents' sleeping form and willed them to come back to her.
...
Tonraq was the first to open his eyes. At first his vision was blurry, but the minute his eyes found a sobbing little girl, he smiled and scooped her up and hugged her, knowing who she was.
"I'm so, so sorry, Daddy," Korra said as she held on to him tightly.
"It was an accident, sweetheart... and look at the bright side! You saved our lives with your firebending!" Tonraq said soothingly.
Senna was up shortly after and held her daughter close. Korra apologized profusely for keeping such a secret from her parents, especially after the accident.
"I'm just glad you're safe," Senna said gratefully.
...
The storm died down in a couple of hours and the family headed back home. But Korra insisted on making a stop by Ket's house.
"Korra!" Ket yelled happily as he ran over to hug his friend.
"Ket, I... I'm so sorry... It was an accident... I'll be more careful," Korra promised.
"It's OK... Your mom fixed me right up," Ket shrugged.
"Friends?" Korra asked with a smile.
"Nah... We can't play if I'm mad at you!" Ket snickered, which earned him a sharp punch to his arm.
"See ya later, then!" Korra said as she waved to him and left with her parents.
...Present Day...
"That is an incredible story, Tonraq!" Shiro commented in awe. "Quite the bender even at such a tender age! You must be so proud! So now I can guess that shortly after this incident, the White Lotus came to visit your family and Korra formally began her Avatar traiining, right?"
"That's right," Senna said. "My only regret sometimes is that we never got to help her through the ups and downs of her training. She was alone so much of the time... and... We couldn't do much to help during our family times. Only Master Katara seemed to understand... and Korra always appreciated that about you," Senna said as she gratefully looked at Katara.
"Well, that brings us to our next question, Master Katara! As wife of the previous Avatar, how did you feel about Korra when you first met her?" Shiro paused dramatically. "We'll get the answer to that straight from the Master herself right after these messages from our sponsors!"
...
For the first time since the broadcast began, Korra's eyes glistened with tears. She'd always only thought about how hard it had been on her while she was away training, with precious few times together as a family - but because of Master Katara, they at least had those times. Today, she realized that her parents had given up their only child and had been forced to watch from the sidelines just because she was the Avatar. That's when she felt Mako and Bolin's arms around her in a comforting embrace. And she hugged them back, thankful to have them as friends.
