Korra stared at the other girl in disbelief.

"They think I'm dead?" She whispered, her voice hoarse. She could just imagine everyone's reactions; the Avatar, dead, at not even eighteen years old. She hadn't even mastered airbending, for Spirits' sake, not to mention her completely ignorant stance on her spiritual side. Had this happened before? Had a previous Avatar ever died this early in their lives? Korra couldn't remember – it was hard enough trying to recall the last three Avatars before her, never mind the hundreds that came before her.

And her friends, how would they feel? The caring part of her wanted them to get on with their lives as quickly as possible, maybe even help train the new Avatar. Agni knew that Mako and Bolin could teach the little earthbender better than anyone knew. Asami could teach her successor how to treat a non-bender and the best fighting skills there were.

But Korra wasn't dead, and that meant she had to figure out a way to get back to her body. Because as much as she hoped that they were taking this misunderstanding, the Avatar knew they were about as opposite of okay as you could get.

She turned back to the girl in the white hair. "Can I… Can you show them to me?"

The spirit – Korra figured she must be as such because she lived in the Spirit World – hesitated. "Are you sure that's what you want?"

The Avatar nodded firmly.

"Very well." The other girl waved her hand over the moon again, and the portal rippled, morphing the picture as it rippled.

Korra glanced in; they were looking at a room with mahogany walls and a table in the center, various people surrounding the only furniture room. Maps hung on the windowless walls and paper was strewn about.

Korra turned to the girl with the white hair. "Can this thing act as a teleporter?"

The spirit frowned. "I guess, though I've never had to use it before since –" But the Avatar had already leapt through, stepping out onto the wooden floorboards. She noted her transparency.

The occupants of the room seemed to be arguing; a man in a yellow parka raised his voice above the rest…

"Enough!" Tenzin shouted, effectively silencing the room. "We need to have order between us! All this talking over each other is absurd!"

The occupants of the small, wooden room looked at him. There were warriors from the Southern Water Tribe, benders and non-benders alike. Katara sat in the only chair, her eyes watery but strong, and Tonraq stood at the head, his face void of all emotions.

One of the top military waterbenders sneered at him. "Or what? The Avatar will come and bring balance to us all? In case you haven't realized, she's de –"

"I am fully aware!" The airbender snapped, flinching at the man's unspoken words. "In case you haven't realized, we have even more reason to unite the four nations. Those creatures are dangerous, and powerful. They can bend fire, and even without that they're much more powerful than us."

"So what do you suggest, Master Tenzin?" The single remaining Lotus guard asked. "If Avatar Korra couldn't beat these things, then what chance do we have?"

At this, the man deflated visibly. He turned to the Avatar's father. "Tonraq?" The man looked as though he had aged ten years in the time they had visited him. He looked at them all, as though he couldn't quite wrap his mind around what had happened.

"I –" he started, but his voice choked, and he left the room quickly.

Tenzin sighed, his shoulders drooping. "Look," he said, his voice ragged and full of pain, "I don't know more than any of you. All I know is that Korra told us that she's been having bad dreams about these creatures, and on our way here, they ambushed us."

Katara looked up suddenly. "You say Korra's been dreaming of them?"

Bolin, who had been leaning against the table's edge, stood up straighter. "Yeah, she has. Do you know anything, Master Katara?"

"When Aang and I were first married, he was summoned to the Earth King's palace in Ba Sing Se. He told us that his youngest son was being plagued with nightmares. But they weren't normal nightmares. Every time the boy woke up, he would be hurt.

"At first it was small, things the boy could have done to himself in his sleep; a few scratches on his shoulder, bruises on his wrists like someone had violently grabbed him. But as the family continued to dismiss it, the injuries worsened, until one morning the young boy woke up with three gashes running across his chest. The King, who had grown very worried, begged Aang to do something.

"My husband couldn't figure out what was causing these dangerous dreams and, try as he might, he couldn't fix them. He decided to meditate on it and call on some of his past lives to see if they could help him.

"Avatar Roku told us of these spirits that, while very spiritual, were also extremely evil. Everything has a balance, and evil balances out the good, and vice versa. These beings were called dark spirits, and they were as powerful as any other spirit, and could hold their own in a fight against the Avatar. In fact, they could defeat him."

"So how did Avatar Aang save the little boy?" Bolin asked.

"He didn't. When we went to inform the Earth King of the new information, the boy was already dead. They had killed him in his sleep."

Everyone looked at the elder in shock, mouths slightly agape. There was a pregnant pause. Bolin sat on the table hard, his face colourless.

Asami broke the silence, speaking for the first time that night. "So… What do we do?"

Tenzin sighed. He looked towards the messenger in the room, the face of a leader on his features once more.

"Send word to the other nations," he said firmly, leaving no room for argument. "Tell them that there is an incomparable danger amongst us. One we haven't in over fourteen years." He took a deep breath, and then said:

"Tell the earth kingdom to start looking for the next Avatar. Korra is dead."

As the room awoke with a worried buzz, the boy who had been leaning against the back straightened up. Wordlessly, he left the room, shutting the door quietly behind him. No one paid him any attention; that is, no one but the sole earth bender in the room.

Bolin looked up as he watched the flash of red around his brother's neck disappear behind the door. He wiped his face quickly and nudged Asami, whose cheeks were stained with tears.

The teenager nodded his head toward the exit and the heiress nodded immediately, following him as they made their way across and out the room. He didn't owe her an explanation; she would have trusted any of the members of Team Avatar with her life.

The two emerged from the building, their eyes adjusting to the dark of the night. The wind had quieted considerably since earlier, but still it snuck through their parkas and slid through their bones like seal-snakes. They shivered and pulled the thick jackets closer to them.

They found him at the water's edge, his back to them. The light from the moon lit up the waters, its pale white contrasting against the night's darkness. His red scarf, just barely visible, fluttered mournfully in the breeze.

Bolin and Asami approached him hesitantly, both trying to find the words that could help them all.

"It's funny," Mako said, beating them to the punch without turning around, "how everyone's more worried about finding the next Avatar than how to fight these so-called Dark Spirits."

The pair behind him exchanged glances. Bolin stepped forward, struggling to keep his voice upbeat. "They're probably trying to find them quickly so that –"

"I mean, what do they expect the kid to do? It'll be a baby, for crying out loud!" He paid no heed to the fact he just cut his brother off. "It's not like it can bend all four elements and enter the Avatar State when it can barely walk and talk."

"Well, maybe this way, the earlier they find him the faster he can bend all four elements and –"

Mako laughed humourlessly. "And what, Bo? It won't matter then. By the time this kid will master earth, these things will probably have wiped out half of us! We need to be to figure out an alternative. We need to be able to defend ourselves now."

"We don't know what will happen, Mako!" Bolin argued. "And Korra certainly –"

"Don't!" At this, the firebender whirled around to face them. "Don't say her name!"The two stared at each for a long moment. There was something about their heated conversation that was familiar to both boys.

"Please don't do this again." His little brother whispered.

Mako reeled back as if he'd been slapped; he finally took in the tears that ran down Bolin's face, his eyes lacking their usual twinkle of joy. The way Asami's shoulders convulsed, her hands pressed against her mouth in an attempt to contain her sobs.

There was a time that both brothers kept hidden under a thick blanket in their minds, something that was only uncovered on the darker days they would have. The weeks quickly following their parents' murder when Mako was basically non-responsive, when Bolin had been at his most vulnerable and scared, were some of the earth-benders worst memories. His older brother wouldn't speak, his eyes haunted and unfocused as Bolin begged him to find Mom, find Dad! Please, Mako, I'm scared!

Mako lived with those two weeks as a reminder that he could never let himself love again. Bolin would be his exception, but no one else, because losing someone you loved meant losing yourself.

And he had broken that promise. Twice. Once when he foolishly agreed to have Korra on the Fire Ferrets, and once when Asami hit him with her Satobike.

"I need to be alone right now," he said softly, averting his eyes and turning back to the sea. "I'm sorry."

"But Mako –"

"Please, Bolin." His voice cracked, and the tears began to fall, silently, relentlessly. "Just for tonight." And as he listened to two pairs of feet shuffle through the snow, he looked up at the moon.

"You promised," he whispered tearfully. His voice broke, and he screamed. "You promised me! You said you wouldn't leave, and you broke that promise!" He let out a gut-wrenching sob, falling to his knees as he wept.

There was a sharp blast of wind, and his neck suddenly prickled from the cold. He opened his eyes and saw that his scarf had fallen to the snow. He picked it up and stared at it, this beautiful fabric that his father wore all the time.

Something inside him snapped. His expression turned fierce, his lips pulling into a broken-hearted scowl. He got up, crumpling the red garment until it was a thick ball of cotton. He looked out at the sea once more, a single moan of agony leaving his lips, before he pulled back his arm and threw his most prized possession into the water. It went far, much farther than Mako had ever expected, and yet that made him feel better. He watched it hit the water and stop, floating peacefully as the contact rippled the water, shattering the moon's reflection.

"I'm sorry I couldn't save you," the boy whispered. "Both of you."

And then he turned and walked away, unaware that he had just screamed into the face of the girl he was mourning over.

Korra looked at her companion desperately. "Isn't there anything I can do?" She could feel tears of her own running down her face, but she ignored them.

"Life is supposed to take its own course."

"Please!" The Avatar begged, her voice high with emotions. "I love them! I love him! I can't just watch them all suffer! One sign, anything!"

The spirit pursed her lips, before she touched Korra's shoulders gently. "I've given you enough spiritual energy that you can touch something. But only one thing, before it drains. Your mind isn't yet fit for that because you are not completely separate from your body. So make this count."

The brunette nodded and dove into the water, slicing through the depths easily. She reached the scarf, which had begun to sink, and grasped it tightly in her hands. She felt a slight tingling, as though her hands had gone numb, and returned to the land, picking herself out of the water and rushing over to Mako.

Her hands were transparent, her body dry and her breathing even despite the effort in swimming and running. He wouldn't know it was she. And yet…

And yet, as she wrapped it around his neck in his usual manner, watching as his eyes widened in disbelief, she knew it would do the trick. Because he could say that the winds blew it back to him, but he couldn't say they wrapped it twice around his neck and tucked it into his jacket, denting feminine fingerprints into the cold, wet fabric.

Who has gone through grade 11 and found it hard? Because I only just finished the first week but my chemistry teacher has me peeing myself in fear. Seriously!

Before anyone says that this is a little OOC or that Korra and Asami are strong, independent women, I would just like to point out that they all think Korra is dead. Asami would cry, of that I'm sure, and Korra would cry because she would feel responsible for her friends' pain.

Also, I warned you guys that updating would take longer; here's my proof! But hey, worth it, right? (ihopeomg)

REVIEWS

maila08: Yes! And thanks! You bring up a good point, one I was (stupid as it sounds) ignorant to and will try to resolve in the later chapters! Thanks for pointing that out!

i'mNotAgirlinlove: Haha, thanks girl! HEY NO BREAKING MY SHIP LOL again, thanks for all your kind words, they mean so much! :) Yes, that is who the spirit is! ;) I'm actually so done for for school it isn't funny. I will only do well in socials and biology, I see it now. LOL

J (Guest): It has? AWESOME. I feel terrible that I'm putting the kid through this; how horrible am I? Haha, thank you!

t: Please don't die! Then I wouldn't get to space all the letters in your name! ;) Sorry this took so long!

Black Dragon Master: Oh my God, I know. I mean, I don't even know how I'd react to that... probably like Mako or worse, you know?

sparkstoaflame: Answered privately!

Anne (Guest): Thanks! I try not to bring in too many filler chapters, I'm not actually sure how I could even hype myself up to write one LOL Your review was great, so thanks! "The gift is a rare and precious thing" I couldn't agree more, though I wish I could take credit for the small gift that is mine. You'd have my brother to thanks for that!

author-144: AWWWWW THANKS! But on a serious note, no heart attacks. Those are strictly forbidden. No. You are not allowed to have one. No. I said no. ;)

Little Mockingjay: OOP FANDOM CLASH HUNGER GAMES WOOP sorry LOL love your username. And thanks!

Guest: See I actually took a quiz that says I'd be an earth bender so that air bending high five is out LOL Yes, school is mildly necessary ;) LOL thanks on both parts!

StarryNight101: Isn't it so cute? :D Angst and fluff are like, the best things ever! Intensity is pretty great too! :)

JayLiyah: You basically just hit the nail on the head with Mako's feelings. I'll be revealing why she doesn't have a major injury later, you'll have to keep reading!

OKAY I AM SO SORRY I WOULD HAVE HAD THIS UP LAST NIGHT BUT MY DAMN INTERNET SHUT DOWN SO YOU ALL HAD TO WAIT I APOLOGIZE.

~sistergrimm97