Near the Southern Air Temple, Flying (Oogi)

170 AG (9AB)

Bolin leaned back on Oogi's saddle casually bending a small piece of metal into different shapes. Spheres. Squares. Stars. He'd even been working on making a figure of Naga for Korra, but anything more complex than simple geometric figures was still too difficult for him to bend. Metal bending never came very naturally to him, but Lin had been able to tease the skill out of him. Somehow. He still found it difficult to feel the bits of earth inside the metal, but constant practice had made him proficient enough. He had even been able to teach Korra how the metal bend. She quickly surpassed his abilities. That was the Avatar for you. Bolin looked over at her. She was reclining next to him and seemed to be fast asleep. A small bit of drool was hanging from her mouth. Bolin chuckled and whipped her face clean with his shirt sleeve.

Korra stirred and her eyes fluttered open. She yawned, "are we there yet?"

"Nearly," Tenzin said from where he was steering Oogi. "I'm glad you're awake, Korra. I have some more questions to ask you about your visions of Avatar Aang."

"Shoot." Korra said sitting up straight and looking over a Bolin. She looked nervous. Bolin gave her two thumbs up. He'd coached her on what to say to Tenzin, but she still seemed a little unsure.

"Are you certain he gave you no further instructions? It just seems like a very short message. 'Go to the Air Temples.'" Tenzin still kept his eyes forward.

"Maybe I'll get more visions as I go? I mean, I'm not that spiritually connected to him. I might just need to go somewhere that has a stronger spiritual connection to Aang, and then he can conect with me for longer."

"Perhaps." Tenzin said stoically, "perhaps"

"Whoa!" Bolin yelled as the Southern Air Temple came into view. The towering white towers with blue tops looked stunning in the afternoon light. Korra stood up next to him and placed a hand over her eyes to shade them from the sun.

"Whoa!" She said, too.

"Did you know that the Southern Air Temple is where Grandpa Aang was sent to master airbending, and that he invented the air scooter technique there?" Jinora asked, looking up from her book.

"Oh course I know that," Korra snapped. Bolin had a feeling that she was lying. Korra was never very good with her history studies. Still, what she lacked in other areas she made up for with her amazing bending skills. Korra focused again on the scene in front of them, "this place is amazing!" Her eyes glowed and a wide smile crossed her face. Bolin was glad he'd been able to play a part in bringing her this joy. They were close enough to the temple now that Bolin could see the orange, yellow, and red robes of the air acolytes below them. Tenzin pulled on Oogi's reigns and slowly circled around the temple, bringing them down gently in the gardens. Korra jumped off the sky bison in excitement and ran to the nearest spot covered with grass. Bolin followed her eagerly. Korra jumped forward and tumbled into the grass and lay there looking at the sky.

"Woo!" Bolin yelled as he dove forward and rolled, landing right next to Korra.

"So this is what grass feels like?" Korra said with an airy voice filled with awe. Her comment sent a pang of sadness through Bolin. He knew Korra had spent her whole life at the south pole, and most of that time had been inside the White Lotus Compound. Knowing this, it was obvious she wouldn't know what grass felt like and smelled like. Honestly, it had been a long time since he had been able to roll around in the grass, too, but at least he knew what it was like. Korra had been deprived of so much. He hoped he could help give her all the things she'd missed out on as a child. Bolin looked over at her and she had her eyes closed and was breathing in the cool air deeply.

"Yeah," Bolin answered her earlier question, "pretty great, huh?"

"Oh yeah," Korra said her eyes flashing open. She pushed herself up, leaning on her elbow for support and facing Bolin. "Thank you," she said sincerely and then added quietly, "if it wasn't for you Tenzin never would have been convinced to come her."

"Anything for you, Korra." Bolin said keeping his eyes fixed on the sky, but their moment of peace didn't last very long at all.

"Korra!" Tenzin yelled, "come over here. There is someone I have to introduce to you." Korra hopped back up to her feet and groaned softly. She turned back to Bolin and gave him a hand up. They walked over to Tenzin together. "Korra, this is Abbot Shung, he's the leader of the temple."

"Avatar Korra," Shung said excitedly, "it's my honor to welcome you to the Southern Air Temple." He bowed deeply.

Korra bowed back and Bolin did the same, "Thank you, Abbot Shung."

"To be honest, Avatar, we wanted to give you a gift, but we couldn't find anything we thought would be suitable for you, but do you like fruit pie? You all must be tired from your long journey. Please eat with us and rest for the day." Shung said gesturing toward the inner parts of the temple.

"Fruit pie sounds amazing," Bolin chimed in, his stomach growling on cue.

"Yeah," Korra agreed. "Let's go."

"Actually," Tenzin said giving Korra a sideways glance, "we need to get to our training right away. Fruit pies will have to wait."

"Oh," Shung said sounding slightly disappointed, "I completely understand, Master Tenzin. Please, feel free to use the gardens."

"Thank you Abbot Shung," Tenzin bowed and then turned to Korra, "come, Korra. Jinora, you too." Tenzin started to walk off and Jinora followed him. Korra gave Bolin and shrug and a smile before turning after the two of them.

"Wait," Bolin yelled and they stopped. All three turned back toward him. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Hold this," Tenzin said walking back over and handing him a strange contraption that looked like a wind chime.

"What's this?"

"A-" Tenzin cleared his throat, "It's a traditional head shaver."

"Okay…" Bolin let his words hang in the air.

"Why don't you go eat some fruit pies, Bolin?" Korra suggested. "Nothing stopping you." She made a pouting face in Tenzin's direction.

"We came here for a very specific purpose, Korra. The sooner you can contact my father, the better."

"I know, I know. Let's do this. See you later Bolin." Korra waved and the left him standing at the entrance of the gardens with Abbot Shung and some of the other air acolytes.

"Would you like some fruit pies?" The Abbot asked.

"Yes, please!" Bolin's sadness at being left behind was replaced by his desire to try the tasty Air Nomad treats. He'd heard they were incredibly delicious and was looking forward to stuffing himself with them.

...

Bolin leaned back on his hands. "Ugh," he managed and looked at the plethora of empty plates in front of him. He realized that he may have gone a little overboard with the sweets, but they'd been just as good as he'd heard. The Air Nation knew a thing or two about making sweets.

Abbot Shung smiled at him from across the table. "Finished?"

"Yeah," he said and pat his full stomach, "I think I'd explode if I ate another bite."

"Perhaps you need to walk off your meal? I could give you a tour of the temple." Abbot Shung offered.

"No, that's alright. I'll explore a bit myself, if you don't mind, though." Bolin said standing up.

"Not at all. If you need anything at all just ask any of the acolytes."

"You got it," Bolin said as he stretched his arms high above his head. "Thanks for the snacks." He waved to Abbot Shung as he walked out of the dining hall and back toward the gardens. He watched the Tenzin, Jinora, and Korra meditating from afar, but quickly got bored with watching them, as nothing seemed to be happening. Although their story about Korra having been in contact with Avatar Aang had been a lie, Bolin still hoped that she would find something here that would help her master airbending. He remembered a few things about the Southern Air Temple from his studies. The place that stuck out the most in his mind was the statue room. The place that had a stone or wooden likeness of every Avatar back to the very first one. He headed there. It took him a bit of wandering and he did have to ask some of the acolytes for directions, but he eventually made it there.

He walked up to the statue of Avatar Aang and crossed his arms examining it for a moment. The gaze of the statue was somehow hard and soft at the same time. Bolin met the unmoving stone eyes. He wondered how long it would take for Korra to contact her past lives. All of their forms surrounded him, but their consciousnesses were buried deep inside his friend somewhere. He looked at the empty space next to Aang and realized that the space would be where Korra's statue would be placed someday. Looking at all the past Avatars around him made him consider his own mortality. He would die and turn to dust. People might remember his accomplishes for a while, but Korra would live on forever. He was a bit envious and, suddenly, he didn't want to be in the presence of the Avatars anymore, even if they were just statues. Bolin turned around and left the large circular room quickly.

He made his way to a balcony facing away from the temple and overlooking the jagged mountains surrounding the temple. Bolin guessed that it was around late afternoon, but a thin mist still hung in the air between the peaks of the mountains. He stood there contemplating would be the next best move. He'd helped Korra lie to get here, and it would only be a matter of time before Tenzin realized that fact. While in thought, something odd in the distance caught his eye. He blinked and rubbed his eyes to make sure they weren't playing tricks on him. The object was still there, and it was moving closer at a steady pace. "Oh no…" He muttered to himself. He ran off toward the gardens. He needed to warn Korra and the others about the Equalist airship approaching them.

…

Korra did her best to meditate along with Tenzin and Jinora, but an itch on her backside kept bothering her, and she kept breaking her focus to scratch it. She didn't know why she was so bad at all the spiritual parts of being the Avatar. She took a deep breath and tried clear her mind, but she couldn't stop thinking about that itch and the fruit pies she knew were waiting for her. She opened her eyes and sighed, "Tenzin, can we please take a break? I'll try to contact Aang later, but right now I just can't focus."

Tenzin opened his eyes and gave Korra a hard stare, "Korra, if Avatar Aang tried to contact you, it's of the utmost importance that you speak with him again as soon as possible. He may have some sort of information for you about restoring balance to the world. We must-"

"Korra! Tenzin! Jinora!" Korra turned around and saw Bolin rushing toward them at full speed.

"Bolin, what's the matter?" Tenzin said getting to his feet.

"There's an Equalist airship heading this way," Bolin said breathlessly. He placed his hands on his knees and took several deep breaths.

"What?" Korra asked as she and Jinora also stood up from their meditation poses. She grabbed Bolin by the shoulder, "are you sure?"

"Yeah," Bolin nodded, "you can mistake those things, and this one's a behemoth! I've never seen an airship so big." Tenzin pulled his bison whistle from his robes and blew into it, summoning Oogi.

"You three warn the Abbot Shung and the rest of the acolytes. I'll see if I can slow this ship down." Oogi groaned as he landed in front of them. Tenzin jumped up to the reigns and Korra followed him.

"No way, you are not leaving me behind."

"Korra, this is not a debate. You are needed here. Now go help the acolytes!" Tenzin said sternly, but Korra did budge.

"Um, hey guys, it might be a little too late for that," Korra looked back and saw Bolin pointing toward the sky. She gasped. She had only seen Equalists war airships for the first time a few weeks ago and they had been massive with frightening firepower. But none of the ships that attacked the South Pole held a candle to this one. Korra wasn't sure how something so massive could fly. It was like a flying fortress. The cannons lining the sides of the airship were all pointed at the temple, but Korra noticed that there were several white flags hoisted in the air above it. Korra scoffed. There is no way they wanted peace.

"This has to be a trick." She said to Tenzin.

"Most likely, but we don't have the strenght to stop them, we have no choice but the hear them out and see if we can find some way out of this…" Tenzin looked up the airship. Several of the acolytes and Abbot Shung had returned to the garden and were gawking at the warship that was slowing lowering down toward the ground.

Korra cracked her knuckles, "we can take them. They've got a big fancy ship, but I'm the Avatar. With you, Bolin, and Jinora helping me, we can win for sure!"

"You may be the Avatar, Korra, but you are not invincible. Don't be foolish. We'll hear what they have to say, but if a fight breaks out I want you take Jinora and Bolin and flee back to the White Lotus Compound." Korra opened her mouth to say something, but Tenzin spoke over her, "Jinora."

"Yes, Daddy?"

"Take this," he threw her the bison whistle. "If things get bad, you three get out of here."

"But-" Jinora started.

"No buts. The Avatar's safety is the most important thing." Tenzin placed both his hands on Korra's shoulders. "Promise me. Premise me you'll run if things get bad. The world can't lose you." Korra looked down and away from Tenzin's pleading stare clenching her fists. She couldn't make that promise. These Equalists deserved punishment and if Tenzin wasn't going to dole it out, she would do it. Lucky for her, she didn't have time to answer him. The ship was hovering at ground level and a metal gangplank shot out from the center of it and hit the ground. Only one man came down the the gangplank and Tenzin jumped off Oogi and walked toward him.

"Tarrlok," Tenzin nearly spit the man's name. Korra ran up behind Tenzin. She could hear more footsteps behind her and she ventured a guess that it was Bolin and Jinora. "So you've been working with the Equalists this whole time," he continued, "we all thought you were dead. Now that I see what's become of you, I wish that were the case."

Tarrlok's eyes narrowed. "I wasn't left with much of a choice. When you abandoned the city, the council had to make many difficult decisions. Accepting President Sato's authority was only one of those choices." He paused and looked over at Korra, "now, hand over the Avatar and everyone else here will be spared. Even you, Tenzin."

"You're a waterbender, aren't you!?" Korra yelled from behind her airbending master. "Why would you work for a man who wants to destroy all the benders in the world?"

"Avatar Korra," Tarrlok sighed, "I'm sorry we had to meet under such unpleasant circumstances. And, yes, it's true, I'm a waterbender, but sometimes we get forced into situations that...aren't ideal. That's why I now fight for President Sato and his idea of balance."

"There can be no balance without bending!" Korra shot back.

Tarrlok seemingly ignored her comment. "Come with me now, or things will not end well here." He held out his hands. Korra didn't recognize the technique he was preparing to use and they all stood in a pregnant silence. Tarrlok's eyebrow twitched, "well?"

"I'll never give Korra to you!" Tenzin yelled and sent an airblast at the man in front of him. Tarrlok pulled his hands back into a defensive position and was sent flying back into the gangplank.

He tried to stand back up, but stumbled forward seeming somewhat dazed. "Fire!" He managed to yell and the cannons protruding from the ship's side all fired in unison. Korra was able to metalbend a few of the cannonballs into the ground. She looked back and saw Bolin trying to do the same. Jinora and Tenzin were also trying to blast as many out of the sky as they could, but there were too many of cannons and too few of them. Several of the huge metal balls crashed into the temple. Korra could hear the screams of the acolytes behind her and felt her blood begin to boil. This man, Tarrlok was harming people who had nothing to do with the war. She charged at him in rage.

"No, Korra," she heard Tenzin's muffled voice from behind her. She sent several blasts of fire at him as she closed the distance between them. She would make quick work of him, as there wasn't much water around.

Tarrlok lifted his hands into the same position as before, "I don't have time to play games with you, Avatar!" Korra suddenly stopped charging forward, and not only that, but her body wouldn't listen to the commands she gave it. She looked at Tarrlok, wide-eyed.

"W-what are you doing to me?" Korra choked out.

"Bloodbending…" Tenzin said in shock. "How-" Korra couldn't look behind to see what had happened, but Tenzin's voice had been cut off painfully fast.

"I gave you a chance to surrender her peacefully." Tarrlok said as he levitated Korra toward him. As he turned her around, she could see that he was bloodbending all of them. The acolytes were keeping their distance, so none of them had been caught in his snare, but Korra could also see they had more important things to attend to like caring for their wounded. He levitated Tenzin next to her. "The two of you will be coming with me now, and as for you two...you're of no use." With a flick of his wrist he sent them flying over the edge of the gardens.

"N-no!" Korra croaked, "Bolin!"

"Jinora!" Tenzin screamed. Korra had never heard such a horrifying sound. She looked over at him. His head was hung low and tears were streaming down his face.

Korra felt an overwhelming guilt overcome her. Bolin and Jinora were dead because of her. They were dead because she had lied about her visions of Aang. They were all here because of her, and now she'd never see them again. She screamed, desperately trying to break free of Tarrlok's bloodbending, but it was no use. Tarrlok had won.

Author's Note: Hmmmm do you really think they are dead? Korra seems to think so. Let me know what you think of the story so far. Any comments are welcome :)