Title: Korrasami 12

Fandom: Avatar: The Legend of Korra

Pairing: Korra / Asami Sato

Rating: PG-13

Notes: Not so Cruel Intentions

There are some reveals in this chapter that a few of you already picked up on. But don't think you've figured it all out, as things are not what they seem to be. I've mixed a few new ideas into the Avatar world lore based on some things we already know. Let me know if there is something that you don't understand. This was a tough chapter to write as I had some important points in my story to cover in preparation for what's next. Be gentle. More to come.

Keep the reviews, PMs, Favs, and Follows Love flowing. We're almost through this thing.


Air Temple Island

January 3, 151 AG

The last two years of Aang's life were the hardest for Katara, knowing what her husband had done. She wanted to hate him, but she couldn't. All his life he was always thinking of others. Even on his death bed he still couldn't kick the habit.

"Honey, please…." Sixty-four year old Aang says as he sits in an easy chair with his head down resting his forearms on his knees. He'd just returned from the spirit world a few hours ago. The aging avatar had made a decision that couldn't be undone. He tries to calm his wife down after telling her what happened.

"Ugh! I can't believe you did something like this. What were you thinking? After everything you've told me about Koh….WHY! Why Aang! Did you even bother to consider how we would feel about this? Ugh!" Katara yells as she paces back and forth in their bedroom.

"Katara, everything I have ever done…" He says as his wife interrupts him.

"Oh please…Don't give me that! You didn't do this for us." She shouts as her husband stands up and puts his arms around her. She cries into his chest for a full minute as he gently kisses her forehead. "What about our family, what about me."

He knew this was going to be hard for her, but this was all he had left to give. "Katara…I did this for you. It's always been for you. Don't you know how important you are to me, to the world? If I hadn't met you… none of us would be here today."

He smirks softly. "I fell in love with you the first moment I saw you. That was when the entire course of my life changed. It wasn't until I met you that I had something I wanted to fight for, that I wanted to live for. Do you understand that?" Aang sighs heavily as he pulls away from her and gently lifts her chin so he can look into her eyes. "I had to do this, for all of us. The avatar must know love otherwise everything we've worked to build will have been for nothing. The entire world will be thrown out of balance. "

"I get it okay, I really do…but…" Katara whimpers. "Why couldn't you have waited? I just needed a little more time." She says as her eyes well with tears. She looks up into his eyes. "I'll find some stronger herbs, I can heal you. I know I can…I just need to find the right combination then you'll…."

Aang smiles softly and cups her cheek as he shakes his head. "It's my time honey. This isn't something you can fix. Believe me I wish it was. I even asked my most long lived past life Avatar Kyoshi if anything could be done. She lived for 230 years and told me my only option would be to refreeze myself." Aang says with a sad laugh. "And we already know what that leads to."

Katara swallows and wipes her eyes. "Aang is this really the only way? I mean… you found me. Who's to say the new avatar won't find someone too? There has to be another way."

He takes her hand and they go sit on their bed. He lowers his eyes and takes a deep breath. Over the years Aang shared a lot of what he learned about being the avatar with his wife including the harsh truths that came along with the all powerful position. "Katara…do you remember when I told you about the 10 Choices?"

"Yes." She nods.

Aang holds his head down sorrowfully. "Avatar Kuruk was the 10th." He looks up into her eyes. "The avatar spirit is half of one interconnected spirit. When an avatar is reborn, there is an all consuming drive to be reunited with the other half of itself to balance the energy. It manifests as love in us. We must find our counterpart. You're mine. Ummi was Kuruk's." Aang takes a deep breath. "Unfortunately those of us who don't find love, or find love and lose it…choose to die." Aang says as he lowers his eyes and looks away from her.

He sighs heavily as he continues to speak. "When Kuruk's fiancé was taken from him, he went into the spirit world right away to try and find her, but it was like she had completely disappeared from existence. He was so distraught and in pain over failing her that he committed suicide. He chose to take his life. While in spirit form he discovered the tree of time. That's when he found me apparently. He saw me in the future telling him that Koh was the spirit who took Ummi from him. When he found out that it was a spirit who took Ummi, he tried to find a way to destroy him."

Aang bows his head. "He found a way. After years of searching unexplored areas of the spirit world and experimenting using what he found, he created a very powerful weapon…a spear. Kuruk… destroyed many spirits to make sure it worked. He immediately went on the hunt for Koh."

Katara covers her husband's hand with her own. "I remember, but why didn't he destroy Koh if he had the power to?" She asks him.

"Koh wore Ummi's face. Kuruk couldn't bear the thought of killing his wife. So he tried to force Koh to release her so their spirits could be together again. That's when Koh told him…what he told me. There was only one way to release her. Kuruk would have to give a life in exchange for hers but it couldn't just be any life, it had to be the life of an avatar. So Kuruk spared Koh's life and now roams the spirit world in sorrow." Aang says sadly looking into his wife's eyes.

"So you're giving him your life?" His wife says disdainfully.

Aang nods as he lowers his eyes. "Kuruk asked me to do this for him knowing that the next avatar would be born a waterbender. This way he and Ummi can be reunited through them and the next avatar won't take the same path he and so many others have…"

Katara stands to her feet and pulls her hand away from his. "So you'll end up being the 11th Choice then."

He shakes his head. "No, I found you remember and… I'm already dying, this way I can still be of use, even in death. Koh will just have my body, not my spirit."

Katara turns around angrily. "What! Aang?!"

Aang takes a deep breath. "I know what you're thinking. He won't use my face to hurt you or the next avatar." Aang looks away for a moment. "I've made sure of that. It's part of our agreement." He says remembering the contract he'd made with the spirit. He made Koh promise on his own life.

Katara shakes her head as her husband stands to his feet. "Aang…I…how do you expect me to be okay with all this?" She says as he puts his arms around her.

He sighs heavily. "I don't."

The beautiful waterbender begins to cry again. "How much time do you have?"

Aang blinks a few times as he strokes her hair. "Two years. Koh already released Ummi back into the incarnation cycle. So she should be reborn sometime this year." He kisses Katara's head and smiles to himself. "Hey with any luck Kataang, will live again, right?"

Katara laughs softly through her tears. "You dumb jerkbender. I'll Kataang you..." She sighs and wipes her eyes on his shirt. "Ugh…what are we going to do without you?"

He smirks softly and pulls back then gazes into her eyes. "I won't be gone long." He leans in and brings their lips together softly.


Katara's Apartment

Quick as lightning a blade made of spirit water launches toward the man. The two lotus guards suddenly appear in front of him. The glowing blade stops. "Now now, Katara, what kind of greeting is that for your dearly beloved. You wouldn't want to hurt your little soldier boys would you? They're not dead...yet." The man says.

Katara takes a deep breath maintaining her calm expression. "What do you want Koh?"

"Oh I do miss the old names." He says as the lotus guards under his control step aside. "I just want to talk. May I come in?" He asks raising one of his eyebrows.

Katara just stares at him.

Koh pouts. "It's the face stealing thing isn't it? Don't worry, I don't want your face. You're perfectly safe. Besides Aang and I have an agreement. I couldn't take your face even if I wanted to. So why don't we let bygones be bygones for a few minutes, huh."

Katara clinches her jaw. "Take off my husband's face."

Koh stares at her. "I think it's rather appropriate, all things considered. I'll keep it on a little while longer."

She roughly breathes out through her nose and steps aside.

He smiles and walks inside with the two guards walking behind him. There are 16 large floating ice balls in the living room. "Oh this is cozy." Koh says as he looks around. Three of the floating spheres suddenly fly out the front door and land on the ground creating large pot holes.

Katara swallows as she watches him. She needed to find out why he was really here. "What do you want with Asami? Do you plan to take her away again?"

Koh straightens one of the paintings on the wall with his back turned to her. "I assume you're the one who removed my essence from her body." He turns and darkly stares into her eyes.

"Yes I did. And I'll do it again if I have to. Now tell me what you want with her." Katara says.

"You shouldn't touch things that don't belong to you." Koh says sounding very angry still staring into her eyes.

The ice balls turns into long sharp barbed spears. He glances at them out of the corner of his eye.

"Answer my question." Katara says sternly.

Koh smirks. "You know some people would take that as a threat, but I know better. You're not going to risk these two men's lives just for the answer to one question. You're not that heartless, but I am." Koh says as the two guards begin to choke one another.

"Stop it." The old waterbender says.

"You…first." Koh says pointing to the floating spears.

Katara takes a deep breath and turns them back into balls.

"That's a good girl." He says taking a seat in one of the recliners. "Now, on to business." Koh says patting the recliner across from him.

Katara reluctantly sits down.

"Get the door, will you gentlemen." Koh says waving his hand as the guards walk to the front door like zombies and close it, and then pass out. Koh leans toward Katara as though he's telling her a secret putting his hand against the side of his mouth. "Can you believe those two, sleeping on the job like that? I can't imagine what their boss will do when she finds out."

The old waterbender breathes roughly through her nose and squeezes the arm of her chair. "Enough games Koh. Tell me why you're here."

He laughs and smiles deviously. Then he stares at her seductively. "Do you miss it?" He asks looking at her midsection. "Do you miss him? I've always wanted to ask you that. You humans have strange concepts of fidelity." He asks sitting back in the chair. "I thought for sure you and that Fire Nation brat were going to copulate after I took good old Aang from this world. So tell me. Inquiring minds want to you. Did you and Zuzu seal… the… deal?"

Katara remains silent for a moment. "Is that why you came here?"

"Yes, in a manner of speaking." He says.

Katara takes a deep breath remembering the things Aang taught her about dealing with spirits. There always had to be a fair exchange even when it came to information, a question for a question, an answer for an answer. Even the most evil of spirits still respects the balance in their own way. "Yes I do miss being intimate with my husband. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't wish he was still here with me and our children. Zuko and I have never been together." She says looking into his eyes.

Koh pouts. "Aww, I'm sorry to hear that." He leans forward and pats her leg then sits back in the chair and purposefully spreads his legs apart. "I'm fully functional you know. Would you like to take a spin on the old Air Nation express for old times sake?" He says pumping his hips a few times.

She clinches her jaw.

He sighs. "No? I didn't think so. Oh well, maybe next time then." He says with a smile. "Now as to the reason I'm here. You…are a naughty little bender aren't you? You seem to enjoy touching things that don't belong to you…"

Katara interrupts him. "Asami doesn't …."

"Wrong!" He says angrily as Aang's face contorts and he raises his voice. "Filthy diseased mongrels know nothing of the true world. You think insipid contracts and necklaces give you the right to take what's not yours!" He shouts.

Then sits back in the chair and takes on a cheerful expression and speaks sweetly. "You see my dear, Aang and I made a very 'specific' agreement…a life for a life." He says as he holds his left hand out. "The avatar gives me his life…." Then Koh holds out his right hand. "…and I release a life…Uumi's to be exact. Now pay attention, this is important." Koh shakes his finger. "That… does… not… mean… that she no longer belongs to me. In all fairness I should have retrieved her when she reached 2 years of age. Your dearly departed hubby neglected to tell me that he was already dying when I took him. In my graciousness I allowed her to continue living, but make no mistake." He leans forward with a hostile aggressive look on his face. "She… is… mine."

"She was never yours Koh. Aang told me what happened between you and Avatar Kuruk. You stole that poor young woman away on her wedding night just to punish Kuruk." Katara says.


Koh laughs at the top of his lungs. "Is that what he told you? That's hilarious!" He wipes the tears from his eyes. "Wooo, that is good. Oh….I needed that. I must say human perception is absolute madness sometimes." He takes in a deep long breath and composes himself.

"Do you know what Kuruk did with his time in your world?" He asks as she shakes her head no. "He fought…morning, noon, and night. And not for freedom or peace…he fought for the pleasure of it. He enjoyed watching those weaker than him, squirm under his boot. When he ran out of people to challenge in this world, he came to the spirit world eager to find what he considered to be a 'worthy opponent'. I watched him for years." Koh says staring angrily into her eyes as he continues to speak.

"He was an arrogant pompous man. Challenging everyone he could find. He was extremely conceited…(Koh looks away for a moment) especially when it came to women, he was no better than a winged lemur moving from one female to the next." Koh looks away into the fireplace as though deep in thought. "Ummi was no different."

He breathes in through his nose and turns to Katara with a smile. "But that's ancient history. Let's talk about the present."

He sighs softly. "Since you took the liberty of removing my essence from Ummi's new body that means you are going to finish what I started." He says as he crosses his legs.

Katara sits up straight. "And what might that be?"

Koh gazes into her eyes. "You're going to make sure they consummate their relationship."

The old waterbender furrows her brow. "What?"

"Are you so old that you can't hear either? I said….I want them to consummate their relationship!" He says raising his voice.

She blinks rapidly. "Why?"

He smiles. "I have my reasons. Now how soon can you make that happen?"

"Don't play games with me Koh. What do you really want with…" Katara is interrupted as he flashes in front of her and wraps his hand around her throat.

He catches one of the spears she immediately launches at him with a hand that sprouts from his back as he scowls at her. "I promised the avatar that I wouldn't hurt you. I never said I wouldn't kill you." He dodges a few times as the 12 remaining spheres crash through her front door. He growls. "You missed."

The large spheres seem to bounce crashing into the ground over and over again creating large indentions that practically shake the entire block.

Koh grits his teeth no longer squeezing her neck. A dark mist wafts from his mouth as he speaks. "Katara, you will do what I have asked or I will destroy…." He releases her and jumps out of the way as a spike made of steel suddenly burst through the floor.

"I told you that was only for emergencies Katara." Toph says helping the old waterbender to her feet. She had felt the vibrations all the way from the swamp. Katara had used a special sequence of ground shaking indentions in the earth her old teammate had given her as a vibrational phone number she could use to contact her in case she was in trouble.

"It took you long enough." Katara says brushing the dirt off of her sleeves.

Toph turns and stares at Koh. "You called me here for a bug? Are you kidding me? You know how many of these we have crawling around the swamp." She says popping her knuckles.

Katara furrows her brow. "What are you talking about?"

The old earthbender points to Koh. "What…are you blind now too? You can't see the fifteen foot centipede squirming around over there?" Toph says digging her foot a little further into the floor to make sure she knows what she's sensing.

Katara moves her arms as she stares at Koh who's still disguised as Aang. The 16 ice balls fly back into the house and turn into spears and float around the demolished living room. "I don't know what you're planning Koh but this ends now. I won't let you hurt them."

He takes a step toward them as water burst through the floor freezing his foot and a metal spike barely misses his face. He stops and breathes out through his nose. "I seriously doubt intercourse is going to hurt them, quite the contrary as a matter of fact." He says as he easily pulls his foot out of the ice.

"What are you talking about?" Toph asks him.

"Oh come now Katara. I'm not asking for much. Besides I wouldn't need you if you hadn't interfered in the first place." He takes another step toward them and finds himself suddenly encased in metal. Koh rips through it like its tin foil and continues toward them. Eight glowing ice spears suddenly pierce through his body. He stops and looks down at his chest and rolls his eyes as though mildly annoyed. The spears seem to melt though his body as a boulder shaped like a foot drops down on top of him.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you it's rude to ignore people bug boy?" Toph asks as the boulder begins to tremble.

Koh lifts it with one hand and tosses it at Toph as he gets to his feet. She launches it right back at him along with 20 metal spikes. He lifts his hand and the floating projectiles stop and drop to the floor. Katara launches more glowing spears at him. He successfully evades them. "That's quite enough. I'm done playing with you two." He says angrily as the two lotus guards float into his hands and he squeezes their throats. Toph and Katara stop moving as he walks toward them still holding the guards in the air.

Two more hands suddenly sprout from his waist and he grabs their necks. A dark liquid seeps into their skin from his hands. He tosses the guards up against the wall then releases the two women. They both simultaneously launch spears of metal and spirit water at him from behind.

He smirks as he snaps his fingers and they both fall to their knees. He can hear sirens in the distance. "I'm guessing you two can feel that. Call it a little gift from me to you." He leans over and speaks to Katara. "My venom will have made its way to your feeble hearts by now. It's a special blend I made just for you. Only I can remove it, so don't try. I don't want you joining Aang before you've finished my little assignment."

The sirens are almost on their street. "A few things before I go, your little soldiers are all currently infected with my venom, so I suggest you send them back home if you don't want to be responsible for 34 deaths. Also I don't want the two lovebirds knowing about any of this. So you will tell them that you engaged in combat with the spirit you were searching for and it agreed to return to the spirit world, never to return again. If I even get an inkling that you are about to tell them what I want from them, every heart I have infected will explode including yours and your little friend here." He says motioning toward Toph. "Do I make myself clear?" He says as they both feel intense pain in their chests.

Katara grits her teeth and nods.

"I'm sorry sweetie, but I didn't hear you?" Koh says as he hears someone speaking on a bullhorn outside.

"Yes…" Katara whispers.

He whispers into Toph's ear. "I rather enjoyed meeting you little earthbender. Don't tell Katara, but I think I'll keep you around if she decides to betray me."

Koh smiles, winks, and dematerializes into millions of bugs that scatter everywhere. Katara and Toph get to their feet. The old waterbender looks at her wrist noticing that her bracelet was no longer glowing.

"Toph…I'm …sorry." Katara says as her friend moves toward the front door.

"Its fine fussy britches, I don't have that much time left anyway. I'll see what I can do on my end. The bug wasn't lying about the sex thing by the way, but that's definitely not all he wants. Just take care of twinkle-toes will ya." The old earthbender says as she walks out the door. Toph didn't care much for dealing with the outside world anymore. Every since Aang died, she'd gone into self-imposed exile. The old woman had had enough of fighting for lost causes and this was no different.

"Chief….?" Lin exclaims as her mother walks past her and a large crater forms in front of her a few yards away. Lin is speechless watching her mother walk nonchalantly down the street. She swallows and opens her mouth trying to speak up.

Toph takes a deep breath and stops, still keeping her back turned to her bewildered daughter. She turns her head slightly toward her. "You do good work Chief. Keep it up if it makes you happy." She says creating a tunnel into the crater. "And don't be too hard on that waterbender, it's not easy to love a Beifong." The old earthbender says as she disappears into the ground.

The police chief is stunned as she stands there with her jaw on the ground blinking rapidly. She shakes her head and swallows then turns and looks at the almost demolished brownstone apartment. Then quickly heads inside to help Katara.

"What happened in here?" Lin asks as she helps the old waterbender outside.

Katara can feel a sharp ache in her chest as she swallows. She breathes through her nose roughly as she speaks. "We had a fight with…a spirit."

"Well is it still here?" The police chief asks as she looks around cautiously.

Katara clinches her jaw hating that she needed to tell a bold faced lie. "No, it's gone." She swallows.

Lin furrows her brow hearing the way the old woman was speaking. "Well, let's get you to the hospital."

Katara stops walking. "No…I'm fine. I just need to rest. Can you take me to Korra's apartment please?" She asks.

The police chief nods. Then she commands some of her officers to create a perimeter around the area to keep citizens away. Lin helps her into a car. She can't help glancing at Katara a few times wondering what her mother was doing there.

She clears her throat. "So…how did you manage to get my mother out here?"

Katara takes a deep breath. "Toph and I have a unique friendship. She told me a long time ago that if there was ever an emergency that I could call her. I'm sure she feels the same toward you and your sister."

Lin clinches her jaw. "No, not really. I could keel over right now and I doubt that woman would even flinch." The police chief says resentfully.

"Lin, I know your mother hasn't been as close to you as she could have been. She grew up very sheltered, she just wanted to give you and Su all the freedom she didn't have growing up, but that doesn't mean that she doesn't love you two. She just shows it a bit differently." Katara says trying to soothe her.

"Or not at all." Lin says under her breath as they pull up in front of Korra's apartment.

She drops Katara off and drives away. Her mother's words heavy on her mind. It bothered her. Lin heads back to Katara's apartment to file a report. Why would her mother say something like that? How could she possibly know about Kya? There was no way Suyin told her. Neither of them knew where their mother had run off to that's how the old woman wanted it to be.

Lin couldn't stand the jealousy and resentment she felt in her heart knowing that her mother would show up for Katara and not for her and Suyin. She'd been in plenty of life threatening situations and the woman was nowhere to be found. She didn't even bother to show up when Amon took her bending away, not that she had a way to get in touch with her anyway. The frustrated police chief squeezes the steering wheel that much tighter almost bending it.

It pissed her off that the old woman even had the gall to give her advice about her love life. It was ridiculous. As if hers was any better. She and her sister didn't even know who their fathers were. The more Lin thought about it the angrier she got. Her mother claimed to be so strong and brave yet she runs away from her problems.

Lin pulls up to the taped off site and gets out of her car. She finds herself magnetically drawn to the crater that her mother left behind. She was about to destroy it so she could fix the road, until she sees something twinkling inside of it. Lin takes a few steps into the crater and bends down seeing a metal bracelet with a brail message chiseled into a piece of granite.

I know this probably doesn't mean a lot coming from me, but I'm proud of you Chief. I've always been proud of you and I'm glad you found your own way. That's all I ever wanted for you. You're not alone out there kiddo and contrary to how things have looked, I'm never so far that I can't reach you if I felt you couldn't handle things on your own. My girls are built strong.

One last thing, I was born blind, that doesn't mean you get to pretend you don't see what's right in front of you. Kya's a good girl. Heck of a lot stronger than her flighty airbending brother. Give her a chance. Earth and water work pretty well together, I hear.

Toph

Lin can't help the single tear she lets roll down her cheek as she picks up the still warm bracelet and looks at the engraving inside.

L. Beifong

Best Police Chief of Republic City


Korra's apartment

The young avatar is fuming, not knowing what to do with herself after hearing that he mentor was attacked by a spirit.

Something inside kept telling her that she should have stayed over a little longer, but she didn't listen. Korra is more frustrated than ever with herself. She shouldn't have left all this in her mentor's hands. It was the avatar's job to deal with spirits, not an 85 year old waterbender's.

"Gran! Why didn't you call me? I should have been there! What if you had been killed, what then!" Korra almost shouts standing to her feet. Asami tries to get her to sit back down.

Katara sighs as she sits back in the recliner with her eyes lowered. She could hear the caramel beauty's frustration, but she didn't know how to respond to her just yet. She also noticed that their bracelets had stopped glowing, just like hers did.

The young avatar grits her teeth finally sitting back down and staring at Katara seeing the wound on her neck. She quickly bends some water and begins to cover the old woman with it. To her surprise Katara immediately bends the water away. "Ugh! The least you could do is let me heal you." Korra says.

"I'm fine Korra. I just need some time to think over what happened alright." She turns to Asami. "Asami, I'm terribly sorry dear but Toph and I caused quite a bit of damage to the apartment. I'll make sure you are reimbursed for…" Katara says.

The raven haired woman interrupts her. "Don't worry about anything Gran Gran. I'm just glad you're alright. I'll send a crew right over as soon as the police finish their investigation. Do you need anything from the apartment?"

The old waterbender thinks for a minute and nods. "Yes, have them bring the bottles of spirit water here as well as the trunk in my bedroom."

Korra breathes roughly from her nose feeling like she's being ignored. "Gran…what did the spirit want with Asami?"

Katara blinks a few times feeling a tightening in her chest. Koh or one of his bugs was definitely somewhere watching her. She needed to be careful with her words. She thinks over the things Koh told her and what he was interested in. She turns and looks into Korra's eyes. "It was…looking for a mate and thought Asami was attractive." To her surprise the pain in her chest immediately stops.

The young avatar furrows her brow. "Huh? Seriously? Can spirits even do that…with humans I mean?"

"Wow really?" Asami asks as she looks at Korra with raised eyebrows.

"Yes Asami. And no Korra, spirits cannot mate with humans. The spirit became angry about that and Toph and I had to…" The old waterbender says as Korra interrupts.

"Well what was Toph doing there? Didn't Sue say that her mom left to find enlightenment or something?" She asks.

Katara takes a deep heavy breath.

Asami puts her hands on her girlfriend's shoulder. "Korra, Gran Gran's been through a lot. We should let her rest. She's tired… look." The young avatar stares intently at her mentor. She'd never seen the old woman look that worn out in her whole life.

"Sorry Gran." Korra says.

The old waterbender sighs. "It's alright Korra. I'll try and answer your questions tomorrow. I'm sorry wasn't able to call you, but I'm glad that you didn't have to get involved." She looks up at the two young women examining them for a moment with a soft yet sad smile on her face. "You two… really do make a lovely couple."

Korra smirks as she blushes. Asami tucks her hair behind her ear. "Thanks Gran." The two young women say in unison then softly giggle. Korra gets up from her wheel chair and grabs her forearm crutches. Asami immediately gets her cue. "Here let me help you." Asami says as she helps the old waterbender into Korra's wheel chair and rolls her into her bedroom. Korra walks in behind them on her crutches.

"Gran, are you sure you don't want me to heal you? I've gotten back into the swing of things since you had me work on Asami." The young avatar asks as Katara gets into bed.

"I'll be alright dear. I just need to rest. I know you'd do just fine though. Thank you. Sleep well you two. We'll talk about all this in the morning." She says as they leave the room. She didn't want Korra to see Koh's venom in her system. She knew if the young woman saw that she would suspect that something was going on. The old waterbender stares at the spirit talisman on her wrist in deep thought. Had Koh always been this powerful? The amount of strength he displayed in their fight was unbelievable especially the way he tore through Toph's attacks. Just what kind of entity was he?

She sheds a few tears as she gently trembles and rolls over. The moment she found out it was Koh they were up against she immediately began preparing herself to see her husband's face. She still couldn't predict how she would feel seeing him again his face, his voice, his body, just as he was before he disappeared into the spirit world. "Aang…" She whispers.

She sighs then bends some water from the bathroom to heal herself. The old waterbender could feel Koh's venom surrounding her heart. She heeds his warning however and doesn't try to remove it. Instead she heals her wounds then turns over and falls off to sleep.

Twenty minutes later the old waterbender is in a very deep sleep.

"Katara…" She hears a voice call her name. The old waterbender finds herself in her and Aang's home on Air Temple Island. She turns around to see her husband standing there with a small sad smile on his face.

He moves toward her. "Don't take one more step Koh, your mind games won't work on me." She says as she unsuccessfully tries to bend water from the plants in the room.

Aang sighs and lowers his head. "This is a dream honey. I'm just a physical representation of your own inner guidance. I only know what you know. This is the only way I can help you." He says sorrowfully.

She furrows her brow suspiciously. "How do I know it's you? Tell me something that only Aang and I know."

He smirks softly and looks into her eyes as he raises his eyebrows. "Uhh…Kataang?"

She shakes her head unable to stop the tears from falling from her eyes. He walks over to her and holds her in his arms.

"Aang…I don't know what to do. Koh wants…" Katara says as he interrupts her.

"I know." He says pulling back from her so he can look into his eyes. "Katara…You're not going to like this but…you need to do what he asked."

"What! How can you say something like that? Do you know what he's planning?" She asks him.

"That, I don't know, but what I do know is that you know something about Korra that he doesn't. Don't you?" Aang says looking into her eyes.

The old woman takes a deep breath, thinks for a moment then nods softly.

"Katara the best thing you can do for Korra right now is to make sure that she and Asami are united." Aang says.

She sighs as she lowers her eyes. "You're right." She takes in another deep breath. "You're right. But what do I do about the venom? He's pretty much holding us all hostage right now." She asks.

Aang thinks for a moment then looks up into her eyes with soft smile. "I think…you should ask Korra when the time comes. She'll know what to do."

Katara nods as he hugs her again. "Aang why can't you tell Korra what's going on?"

He holds his head against the crown of her head as he begins to disappear. "I can't because you can't honey. I'm only here as your guide, remember. I only know what you know. Korra lost her connection with the me you knew."

She sighs heavily finally understanding that he was just her own connection with herself. She still couldn't fight her tears just holding him again. She hugs him a bit tighter. "I miss you so much."

"I love you Katara…always." He says as he disappears.

Korra's bedroom

The young avatar lays on her back staring up at the ceiling as her girlfriend cuddles into her chest. "I know this is bothering you Korra. It's not easy for me either. Talk to me, please." Asami says to her.

Korra takes in a deep breath through her mouth and breathes out. "Gran Gran could have died today and I wouldn't have been able to do anything to stop it. What kind of avatar am I?"

Asami sits up on her elbow and looks into Korra's blue eyes. "One that's recovering thats what. Korra don't beat yourself up over something that didn't happen. Gran Gran's fine. Besides didn't you tell me that next to you in the avatar state she's the greatest waterbender in the world?" She says matter of factly.

Korra raises her eyebrows. "You're right." She says with a small smirk. "Sometimes I forget how strong she is." Korra sighs. "But…something just doesn't feel right about all this."

"What doesn't feel right?" Asami asks.

Korra swallows and shakes her head. "I don't know." She says as she turns her head and stares at their bracelets on the nightstand. "I don't know. It just…seems too easy. I'd never give up on you. I can't imagine anyone giving up on you even a spirit. And I don't like the thought of that spirit wanting you in the first place. Isn't it enough that I have to deal with guys and now I have to worry about spirits too."

Asami cups her cheek so she can look into her eyes. She saw genuine fear in the young avatar's eyes. "Korra. I'm not going anywhere. I promise." She says as she leans down bringing their lips together.

The young avatar looks up at her for a moment then closes her eyes.

"What is it baby?" Asami asks her.

"I just feel like... there's something that Gran Gran's not telling me...not telling us." Korra says sounding very worried.

Asami cups the caramel beauty's cheek. "If there is, I'm sure she has a good reason for it. We'll talk to her about it tomorrow okay." Korra nods as her girlfriend gently kisses her. "Let's just focus on us for a while alright." The onyx haired beauty had to admit that she was scared too, but that's not how she wanted to spend her time with her girlfriend. So with a little coaxing and refocusing of Korra's attention the two young lovers end up enjoying one another as they did a few mornings ago with Asami leading the way. Showing the young avatar how good it feels to have Asami Sato between her legs. Korra worked overtime to keep her voice down, not wanting to disturb her sleeping mentor downstairs.

After a solid half hour of intense sensual explosions the two women fall fast asleep in each other's arms.


Foggy Swamp

Toph picks her feet for the umpteenth time as she leans against one of the above ground roots of the Banyan-grove tree. The old earthbender hits her foot against the ground and a small centipede lands in her hand. "What are you really after bug boy?" She asks as she holds the bug in her hand to keep it from moving.

She could feel the poison surrounding her heart. This was a new sensation for her. She had been bitten by plenty of bugs over the years even a few centipedes, she didn't think this bug's venom should be any different. The old earthbender lifts the small centipede above her mouth and gently squeezes the pincers. A small drop of dark liquid hits her tongue. She winces not enjoying the taste one bit. Then she sits still for a moment and waits to see if her body has a response.

Sure she was old, but never in a million years would she have thought that a bug bite would do her in, even it was from a 15 ft spirit bug.

When she received that messenger hawk from Katara two weeks ago, she didn't think her old friend would need her so soon after returning to the city.

It's been a long time Toph,

I'm sure you're doing well as always. I'm contacting you because I believe Avatar Korra is in danger. A very old spirit named Koh infected her partner with a dark energy. I don't know what he's planning, but I know it can't be good.

I'm currently at the White Lotus headquarters working out a plan to locate and capture him. In the event that I cannot, I will need your help, particularly with locating him.

I'll contact you soon.

Katara

Part of her regretted going, but she had to admit she enjoyed fighting alongside her friend after so many years apart. Of course now she had a ticking time bomb in her chest thanks to that fight.

Toph takes a deep breath seeing that her makeshift antidote hadn't done any good. The old earthbender could still feel the thick liquid around her heart.

"Oh well." She says. "I guess I have to get it from the source. Let's see where your nest is bug boy." She punches her fist into the root of the Banyan tree and closes her eyes. The vibrations hit her mind right away. To her surprise she sees five bugs in different places around the world. "Well that can't be good. I need to tell Katara about this." Her chest begins to ache intensely as she takes her hand away from the tree. She can suddenly hear Koh's voice as the little centipede she released sits on her head.

"I'm beginning to like you more and more little earthbender. Let's keep this between us, shall we?" He whispers as she clinches her chest and grits her teeth.

"What are you planning… you little…" She manages to gasp out.

"You look tired. Why don't you rest for a little while." He says as Toph passes out.

The next morning…

Korra and Asami sit at the dining room table across from Katara eager to hear what the old waterbender had to say. The book of spirits is sitting on the table between them. Asami was true to her word and had the old woman's things delivered that morning from her demolished apartment building.

Katara takes a deep breath and smiles at them as she opens the book. "So…how are you two doing this morning?" She asks. She hopes that seeing a picture of Koh will somehow jog Korra's pastlife memories.

They both look at one another. Korra speaks up. "Uhh…we're fine how about you?"

The old waterbender nods. "I'm feeling much better this morning. I just needed some rest." She says as she turns to page 55 and clears her throat then swallows. "Now I owe you some answers in regards to what happened yesterday." She points to the picture of the centipede.

"That's what the bugs in my dream looked like." Asami says as she holds Korra's hand.

The young avatar looks down at the book and reads. "Koh?"

Katara takes a deep breath as she waits to see if she experiences any pain her chest. There was none. "This was the spirit Toph and I fought with yesterday." The old waterbender swallows.

"This is the thing that wanted Asami?" Korra asks as she takes a closer look at the picture and reads Aang's notes about it.

Katara nods and gulps. "Yes as I said it wanted Asami as a mate. I asked Toph to help me a few weeks ago, in case the spirit didn't cooperate with me."

Asami apprehensively lowers her eyes then looks up at the old waterbender. "So it's…gone now right?"

The old waterbender clinches her jaw slightly. "Yes…it is."

Korra furrows her brow and sighs. "How do you know it's really gone? This book says that Koh is malevolent. That means he's bad right. What's to stop it from coming back?"

Katara swallows hard and holds up the spirit talisman. "This spirit has a very strong energy and is known to keep its word in spite of its negative nature. If it were still around, we would know it. It promised to return to the spirit world if Toph and I could defeat it and we…did." She says trying to stop herself from coughing from saying something so idiotic. Koh had practically wiped the floor with them.

The caramel beauty stares at the talisman and thinks for moment. "Asami and I are gonna keep ours on just in case it comes back. It says this thing steals faces." Korra has a determined look on her face as she stares at her mentor. "I'm not gonna let it have Asami or her face." She says as she squeezes her girlfriend's hand.

Katara nods softly. "It won't Korra. Aang dealt with Koh in the past…and in spite of its nature, it has honored its word. Now, is there anything else you'd like to know?" She asks.

Asami timidly speaks up. "Gran it…it took my face in my past life didn't it." Korra turns and stares at her with a furrowed brow.

The old waterbender's eyes widen for a moment. She wasn't expecting the question. Katara breathes out through her nose. "If you mean based on the dreams you've had. It's possible. But I can't say for sure."

"I won't let it hurt you Asami. If that thing comes anywhere near you, I'll crush it." Korra says aggressively hitting her fist against the table.

"Gran…" Asami says swallowing.

"Listen to me, both you." Katara says taking a deep heavy breath. "I'm not just Korra's mentor, I'm also her protector just like Toph. We won't let it or any other spirit hurt either of you. Now I don't want you two to worry about this anymore alright. Focus on getting well and being there for one another. Korra the sooner you're recovered, the sooner I can go back home. You are the bridge between the two worlds not me. Now you're welcome to keep the bracelets but no more worrying. There is nothing for you to worry about. Koh is gone. Am I understood?" She says holding her chin up slightly.

Korra sighs heavily, half smiles and nods.

The raven haired beauty nods too feeling better hearing the certainty in the old waterbender's voice.

Katara wanted to tell her so much more but she was unsure of how the venom in her heart would react. For now she was just grateful that Korra had the sense of mind to make sure that she and Asami kept the spirit talismans on. That was what she had hoped for. At least if Koh came near them, they would know it.

"Alright then." Katara says as she stands up from the table. "I have a few things I need to attend to today. Lin called and said I needed to sign some papers down at the station. Are you two going to be alright or do you need me to stay here with you?"

Korra smirks. "We're okay Gran, thanks… for everything. Really." She says as she looks into Asami eyes. It moved Korra's heart knowing that her mentor was looking after Asami too.

The old waterbender smiles then walks around the table. She kisses both girls on their foreheads. Then she heads into her bedroom and into the bathroom shutting the door.

"Is it really gonna be alright Korra?" Asami asks her blue eyed girlfriend.

Korra nods and smiles softly. "Yeah, if Gran says it's okay, then I believe her…but…we'll still keep the bracelets on…okay." Asami nods. "You're not going anywhere right?" Korra asks her.

Asami smiles. "Not without you." She says as she leans in gently bringing their lips together.

Katara sighs as she stares into the mirror. "Bravo…" A voice says from the window. She turns around and sees a bug on the window seal. "Why didn't you tell her about Kuruk, that's the best part of the story." The bug asks.

"If she knows about what happened between you two, she'll never stop worrying about you taking Asami away from her. And if she's worried she won't find the time to be intimate." The old waterbender says as she keeps her voice down.

"Oh…that's smart…good thinking. I should have gotten a human's perspective from the very beginning. So how soon until the main event?" He asks.

Katara takes a deep heavy breath. "It's… going to take some time."

The bug crawls up the window. "Why is that? They were halfway there last night as I recall."

The old waterbender furrows her brow. "Koh this makes no sense. You obviously know that the two of them will eventually come to that point on their own without any interference. Why are you doing this?" She asks as her chest begins to ache. She almost falls over. "You…you made…an agreement with Aang…."

"Oh yes, I did, I promised not to hurt you. What you are experiencing is the pain of death, it's completely different. Now answer my question. Why is it taking them so long?"

"Korra… won't do anything until her body is completely healed."

"Hmm is that all…well I can fix that. Meet me outside the police station after your meeting with the little earthbender's offspring." Koh says.

"Koh, what are you really after?" Katara asks him.

"I'll see you at the station." The bug says as he disappears out the window.

Katara grits her teeth and lowers her head. She couldn't believe she had been forced into working for Koh. The old waterbender turns and looks into the mirror for a moment then heads out the door to leave. She waves to the girls as her assistant pulls up with the car. "Keep your wits about you; he wants to meet at the police station." She says to the young man as they pull off. He nods.

The old waterbender takes a slightly relieved breath as she thinks over the things she still had going in her favor. Apparently the six white lotus guards she had on special detail hadn't been infected with Koh's venom including her assistant. She dismissed the others back to headquarters already in hopes that they would find a way to remove the dark liquid from their bodies.

Jinora was still doing research in Wan Shi Tong's Library. She knew her inquisitive granddaughter would find something sooner or later. Besides that, the great owl Wan Shi seemed to have taking a liking to her.

Toph was as tenacious as ever. So Katara knew that of all people her husband's earthbending teacher wouldn't go down without a fight. She also knew of Toph's enhanced connection with the Earth thanks to the Banyan-grove tree. The old waterbender felt at the very least Toph would be able to locate Koh after meeting him.

Then there was Korra. Katara knew how strong her student's feelings were for Asami. It was just as Aang told her all those years ago. The young avatar had indeed found her counterpart. Everything rested on her realizing it.


Forty minutes later….

She leaves the police station and sees an old man pushing a flower cart in front of the station.

"Excuse me there, little lady." The old man says. Katara's assistant immediately stands between them. "Easy there sonny, just offering the lady some nice flowers, don't mean to bug ya."

Katara swallows and taps her assistant's arm having him step aside. The old man's face contorts as his mouth becomes much larger than his face for a moment. "I'm here Koh, what do you want."

"Aww you recognized me, how sweet." He says as his mouth returns to a normal size. He hands her some flowers and a small tincture. Her bracelet lights up as he touches her hand. "Give this to your sick friend. Just two drops though. Anything more will kill her and neither of us want that, now do we."

Katara furrows her brow, then looks up at him defiantly. "Koh I'll end my life before I ever do anything to…"

He rolls his eyes. "Oh please, don't be so melodramatic. If I wanted her dead I would have killed her 3 months ago after that ideological airbender weakened her. Just do your job." He says as he bears his teeth. Then he takes a deep breath and pushes the flower cart across the street and disappears down a dark alley.

The old waterbender stands there staring at the small bottle in her hand. Her assistant hands her a small test tube. They get into the car and she carefully pours a few drops into the bottle. Another lotus guard sits up in the back seat. She hands him the bottle. "Take this to headquarters and have it examined. I want a report back by tomorrow." The man nods and disappears through the bottom of the car.

The old waterbender stares at the bottle as they drive out to her apartment. There were still a few things she wanted to get. As they pulled up, to her surprise a crew of workers had already started repairs. She picks up what she needs then heads back to Korra's apartment.

"Hey Gran, we're heading out for a while." Korra says as she stands on her forearm crutches next to Asami's car. "Do you… want us to pick you up anything?" The young avatar asks trying to take her mentor's advice and not worry about things.

The old waterbender stares lovingly at the two girls as she opens the front door. "No dear I'm all set. You two just have a good time."

Korra nods and gets into the car.

Asami takes her hand as they drive off. "It's… gonna be alright…right?"

Korra takes a deep breath as she looks into Asami's eyes. "Yeah…as long as we're together."

The young avatar steadfastly holds her girlfriend's hand. She still felt uneasy. Something just didn't feel right.

TBC…


Okay a few things to cover here:

According to AvatarWiki:

Avatar Kuruk was the Water Tribe Avatar immediately succeeding Avatar Yangchen and preceding Avatar Kyoshi. Native to the Northern Water Tribe, he was born around 345 BG and died in 312 BG at (the age of 33). Though gifted as a bender, he was a brash and arrogant person, who always preferred a "go with the flow" kind of mentality. Due to this attitude and his pompous demeanor, Kuruk lost his fiancée, Ummi, to Koh the Face Stealer.

History

Living in a world brought to peace and stability by his predecessor's tenacious efforts, Kuruk spent most of his days searching both the physical and Spirit World for worthy opponents to challenge in bending contests, usually for no reason other than entertainment and pleasure.

He also liked to show off grand displays of his bending ability to others, especially beautiful women. Kuruk airbent lotus tornadoes for young Air Nomad nuns, would challenge random Fire Nation citizens to an Agni Kai, and engaged in earth-lifting contests with earth-benders.

His strength in sparring matches was considered legendary, and no bender was ever able to trump his abilities. Kuruk was a "go with the flow" type of Avatar. The world's tranquility allowed him to step back from his responsibilities as the Avatar and let the four nations resolve their own conflicts. Although there was peace in his era, Kuruk's carefree lifestyle would eventually cost him dearly.