[AN] This is it! Thanks for hanging in there with me - this last chapter was _murder_ to write (darn writer's block), but while I wish it could be better, I'm okay with calling it done. I really had fun trying to envision what Burning Man would be like in the bender world, and I truly hope I did this idea justice.

Many thanks again to marin-everydaybox, for creating such beautiful Korra art...

By dint of herculean effort by almost every earthbender he could find, Bolin's amphitheater had been modified and enlarged. Instead of the previous 'U' shape, it had been opened up and extended in both directions. The avenue of the earth drums remained but the originating megalith circle had been removed. The lengths of bleachers were filled to capacity with excited festival goers, and the myriad flashes of color indicated Asami's light sticks and Opal's glow paint were in heavy use. Those unable to find a seat were spread out in a huge semi-circle encompassing the ice temple, the kinetic sculpture and the Team Avatar tribute.

Korra and Asami arrived at the control platform to find a slightly panicked Bolin pacing back and forth in front of a frowning Varrick as Opal looked on with amusement.

"Oh thank goodness you're here," cried Bolin, racing over to Asami. "Varrick's decided that he doesn't want to do fireworks because he did them already, and we're supposed to start soon."

Varrick huffed. "It won't do to repeat a performance. People will expect something new."

"People will expect something other than nothing!" said Bolin, his frustration evident. "We don't have time to come up something new—"

Korra looked up at the sky, then stared hard at the ground. She took a few steps away then knelt, her palms pressed into the dust. There was a small shimmer and a tiny spirit popped into view. It looked around, nose twitching, before it scrambled up Korra's shoulder and nuzzled under her chin.

"Don't worry about it, Bolin." said Korra with a faraway voice.

Everyone turned to her in surprise. Her eyes were closed, and they felt an almost tangible thrum of energy emanating from her. She took a deep breath than turned to them, a broad grin on her face. Asami started in surprise when she saw the faint swirl of light in Korra's eyes.

"I totally got this," she said, her voice firmer now. The spirit on her shoulder chirped, then disappeared. "We're going to give the Playa what it wants."

Bolin blinked, looking worriedly at Opal, who shrugged. "What the Playa wants, Korra? How can the Playa want anything?"

Korra's chuckle was filled with delight. "How can we bend? How can we feel joy, or sorrow, hope?" She looked adoringly at Asami. "How can we know love? Some things aren't really meant to be understood rationally." She spun around and saw her parents, Suyin, and Lord Izumi sitting nearby and looking curiously at her and she winked. "Let's do this."

"Um, okay. I, uh, was going to thank folks and let Lord Izumi say a few words, and then Varrick's thing was going to happen—"

Korra waved at him impatiently. "Go do your thing. When Lord Izumi is done, turn off all the lights, okay?"

"Wait, what?"

"Bo! Just turn off the damn lights! And maybe play some good music."

"Okay, okay," Bolin stalked off in the direction of the sound engineers, muttering under his breath. "Bossy…"

"Make that great music, Bolin!"

"BOSSY!"

—

"My father stood on the steps of the capital of the Fire Nation and declared the end of the Hundred Years War. He was able to do this because he discovered that love and friendship were more important and more powerful than anything else in the world." Lord Izumi stood calmly in in a circle of light, her red and gold robes flashing in the glare of the spotlight, voice echoing across the dusty expanse. "He also knew better than most that there is always a path to redemption, no matter how steep, or how treacherous. This world has been torn asunder countless times because the lessons my father learned are hard, and too many of us still struggle to learn them to this day. I hope that we, coming together in this place, can learn them better together. I thank the artists who came to this barren place and made a first step on how together we can create more than just destruction, but rather breathtaking masterpieces that we may all share."

The Fire Lord stepped away from the light to retake her seat next to Tonraq, and he smiled brightly at her as around them the crowd clapped and cheered. Bolin stood next to the control panel and looked over at Asami with a panicky expression. She merely smiled and nodded, her eyes flicking towards the lever she knew would cut all power to the lights. He took a deep breath, then nodded to the sound engineer.

The lights went out, leaving the crowd hushed in the dim starlight. After a moment, Asami heard the crash of gongs followed by the building beat of drums and nodded, recognizing Bolin's choice of music as a favorite of Korra's. She looked over to where she thought Korra might be, and was shocked to see a pale glow growing brighter until it bloomed into brilliance, the ethereal shape of Raava blazing from Korra's bare torso. Asami's borrowed coat and her own trousers discarded, the Avatar was stripped down to her fur wrap, her muscular body outlined dimly against Raava's light.

The deep tones of dungchen horns rang out, followed by the wail of tsungi horns, and fire leapt from Korra's hands as she began to dance, her arms twirling the fire into greater and greater circles of flame. Her dark skin glowed orange in the firelight, while the intense white blue of Raava blazed around her. The Avatar's hips swayed to the pulsing beat, her arms now over her head, tendrils of flame flickering higher into the sky.

Opal appeared and grabbed Asami's arm excitedly. "Holy shit, your girlfriend is beyond hot. Did you know she was going to do this?!"

"No," Asami whispered, mesmerized. "But apparently she did up her game…"

"You are lucky I'm happy with Bolin or you'd have some competition—hey wait, where did that come from?"

Asami was no longer listening, her attention fixed on the Avatar. Her hands fumbled at the clasp at her throat, and with a flick she let her kaftan slip from her shoulders, fully revealing the shimmering costume underneath. Opal's jaw dropped at the exposed expanse of Asami's alabaster skin as the engineer stepped away from her towards the looping dance of flame.

"Asami, where are you going—"

Korra saw her coming, her eyes luminous with the strength of Raava's spirit pulsing within her, but she was not yet in full Avatar state. She grinned and flicked her wrist, sending the flames around Asami's gleaming body as the engineer moved in time with the beat, encircling the two of them in a glowing ribbon. Asami's arms were raised over her head, her hips rolling in a seductive rhythm. They finally met, moving together, their eyes locked. Korra chuckled, and now there were great streams of water flowing in and around the flames like a braid, steaming as they intersected.

Their bodies pressed together, never ceasing their fluid movements. Flashes of light surrounded them as spirit after spirit popped into view, bouncing excitedly. Larger and larger spirits appeared, twirling around the Avatar or flying over her head. The music seemed to get louder, more primal, pulsing against their chests like a shared heartbeat. Asami felt herself grin and slide her hands into Korra's hair, pulling the Avatar into hard kiss. Korra's arms instantly wrapped around her, but after a moment she felt her girlfriend's body went rigid.

Asami opened her eyes as she reluctantly broke the kiss. Korra's eyes were blazing white, and Asami could see nothing else. It was as if the light had texture, wrapping itself around her, filling her with a comfortable bliss. The blinding white started to fade, and Korra's smiling blue eyes crinkled with joy as she landed one last peck on Asami's nose before turning her around.

"Look…"

The starlit darkness of the Playa had been replaced by a soft purple twilight. Towering flowers rose around them and spirits skittered from bloom to bloom. Dazed festival goers wandered around the trunks in stunned silence, shocked at finding themselves suddenly in the spirit world.

"Come on," Korra murmured. She laced her fingers with Asami's and led her around a dense thicket to emerge next to the glittering ice temple. The earthen dome that protected it from the Playa's fierce heat was gone, but even in the warmth of the spirit world it showed no signs of melting. Korra pulled her along gently. "We can come back baby. I want to show you the rest."

The Cog Camp's kinetic sculpture rolled under the spirits scampering along its length, even their slight weight enough to send it moving. Even more impressive was what lay beyond it — on a small hill, surrounded by lush meadow, rose the towering Team Avatar tribute. Despite the lack of Asami's generator power, the five symbols glowed brilliantly against the velvet sky.

"My brother is going to be gutted when he finds out what he missed."

The couple jumped, looking up from where they stood near the base of the statue.

Kya sat perched on Aang's foot, contentment and mirth warring for control of her expression as she leaned back against her father's ankle. "Serves him right, the boring old fool. I argued with him for hours to come but oh no, he had too many duties to attend to."

Korra chuckled, easily imagining Tenzin's reaction. Her arms tightened around Asami's warm body and she pressed her cheek into soft raven hair. "He can always come visit later. This will all stay here, forever."

Asami pulled back slightly and regarded her girlfriend affectionately. "I can't possibly imagine how you transported thousands of people and huge art pieces into the spirit world instantaneously, but I get the feeling you knew all along what you were going to do here."

"I didn't know I was going to do this exactly," said Korra with a shrug, blushing. "But I knew that there was potential for something amazing."

"We got that, alright."

Kya slid down and joined them. "How you created some kind of instant spirit portal is a story we all should hear in great depth, most certainly, but let's save it for a better time. For now you really need to take everybody back before they wander too deeply into the spirit world, my young Avatar."

"I know," Korra sighed. "It's just—"

Kya smiled and patted Korra's cheek. "You can come back someday too, Korra."

—

Korra sighed as she stared through viewing port, watching the dusty expanse of the Playa fade into the distance.

"And why so great a sigh, Great and Mighty Avatar?"

Korra looked over at Bolin, lounging nearby with a drink in hand. He grinned impishly before joining her at the window.

"First of all, shaddup. Secondly, thanks Bolin," she said finally. "I'm really, really glad you asked us to help with this."

Bolin's jaw dropped. "Seriously?" He threw his arms around her and lifted her up, spilling his drink in the process.

"Okay, okay, you can put me down now!" Korra huffed. "And yeah, for the first time in ages I felt like being the Avatar was actually something good and helpful and not always having to involve excessive amounts of violence."

"I'm really glad I did this too," said Bolin, beaming. "Even though I thought it was going to kill me."

"Oh yeah? Why's that?"

"Suyin loves me now. I am totally in with the Beifongs."

Korra shook her head. "Good to have priorities, Bo."

Asami and Opal walked up, a bottle of Fire Nation whiskey (a surreptitious gift from the Fire Lord) held firmly in the engineer's hand while Opal placed four glass tumblers on a nearby table.

"Come on, people," announced Opal. "I think a toast is in order."

Glasses raised, they looked at each other. Bolin cleared his throat. "To the best friends in the world, making amazing things happen."

"That's sweet, honey," said Opal graciously. "But boring. To Korra, for causing Wu to pass out by letting him get to glimpse real breasts for the first time."

Korra rolled her eyes. "I could have lived forever not knowing that." She took a fortifying swig. "To Bolin, for talking me into this. To Opal, for making sure I didn't have to kill him in the process. Oh, and for the glow paint. And, to Asami, for being the craziest, sexiest, hottest, and most creative genius in the history of the planet."

Asami smiled, meeting Korra's gaze. "To the world, to balance, to love, and to fantastic sex."

They all looked at each other for a moment before they burst out laughing.

"HEAR, HEAR!"

After a clink of glasses, the whiskey was downed.

"How do they drink this?"

"Holy shit, that burned."

"I could have warned you about Fire Nation whiskey."

"Shut up, Asami. And pour another round."

"Bossy…"

"What was that?"

"BOSSY!"

I may or may not have an epilogue - I sort of have an idea for one, and if I can flesh it out a bit, I'll come back and add it.

Thanks for reading!