The air had calmed. Katara and Tenzin watched as the Energy seemed to seep back into the Avatar, as if being absorbed. Her cuts and scars that had recently appeared started to heal and fade. Both masters approached the unconscious girl.

Korra suddenly took in a gulp of air, as if she'd been holding her breath this whole time, and jolted up. She winced at the pain in her side and almost immediately fell back into the bed.

"Shh, it's alright Korra," Katara whispered as she moved the hair away from her pupil's sweaty face. The young Waterbender's breathing was frantic almost panicked. She looked around, trying to remember everything that had happened.

"Where? How?" she managed to ask. Her breathing calmed slightly as Katara stroked her hair. Korra winced as every intake of air started to hurt worse than the last.

"You're on Air Temple Island," Tenzin said gently. "Naga followed your scent to Memorial Island, where we found you unconscious. I carried you here and my mother tried to heal your wounds."

"Tried?" The Avatar looked up at her Waterbending master, her eyes pleading for an explanation. She tried to sit up again, but the pain in her side got worse and she let out a small cry of pain.

"Try not to move," Katara ordered softly as she gathered water in her hands and placed it on the young girl's side, making the water glow. The young Avatar let out another cry before relaxing a bit.

"Your Energy was stopping me from healing any of your injuries. Every time I tried it either didn't work or I was thrown back," the woman replied. Korra's eyes still held a question.

She tried to ask what else there was but the pain in her jaw became overwhelming, causing a single pain induced tear to slide down her face.

"Try not to talk," Tenzin said softly with a small smile. Korra looked at both masters, their forms getting blurry. She finally closed her eyes, allowing the darkness to take her.

*** Asami sat in the chair next to the Avatar's bed. It was her turn to stand 'guard'. The girl had to admit, she'd never seen Korra so…still. The usually hyperactive girl she was used to seeing was now lying before her, completely motionless except for the uneven shallow breathing.

When the heiress had first met the Avatar she was surprised. For someone who wielded so much power, Korra seemed like your typical teen. She remembered the stories she'd heard about the past Avatar and the legends of the ones before him. An all-powerful figure like that was almost intimidating.

So seeing the young Waterbender so still and beaten…was worrisome. Especially after what Master Katara had told them about what had happened last night while everyone was out looking for her.

*** "So…what you're saying is…Korra…was actually considering-"

"We don't know for sure," Katara answered, interrupting the Firebender "But…all the signs indicated that was probably the case."

"But Korra's stronger than that," Bolin commented, denying what he'd just heard.

"But Korra is also only a teenager," countered Pema, her voice sad and worried. "Everyone has a breaking point." The Benders in the room fell silent at the Nonbender's words. Each trying to come to terms with this.

Mako was the first to break the silence when he punched the wall beside him with the side of his fist. "I should have stopped her from running off when I'd found her in that alley!" he growled. "I should've-"

"Thinking about what you should have done isn't going to help Korra, Mako," Tenzin said firmly. "What matters now is that we're all here for Korra when she wakes up."

"Which, by the looks of things, won't be for another few days. That much mental strain…I can't even imagine what happened while she was unconscious." The master Waterbender shook her head.

The door to the kitchen opened and in walked Asami. "How is she?" Katara asked the raven haired Nonbender.

"Same," the heiress said. "It's odd…seeing her like this," she commented.

"Tell me about it," Bolin agreed.

*** Katara and Tenzin sat in the room with the unconscious Avatar, watching as their pupil lay motionless on the bed.

The old Waterbender had almost completely healed all of the girl's wounds, but she'd been right about making the rib worse. That was going to take little more healing to fix. It had been four days since this whole mess started, and Korra gave no sign of waking up soon.

"What could've happened to her?" the Airbender asked.

"I cannot say for sure. But I'm curious to know if she was…"

"In the Spirit World?" Tenzin finished. Katara nodded. He stroked his beard thoughtfully. "I don't know if she even had the level of spiritual control to do that."

"Maybe Aang decided to help her when he noticed the state she was in," Katara suggested.

"Perhaps. And how do you explain how Korra received those wounds? I've never heard of a Bender's Energy turning against them."

"Neither have I. But Korra has been through a lot. Her fear has been gnawing at her from the inside out. My guess is she just wanted it all to stop."

"We'll find out more when she wakes up," he replied, getting up to pace back and forth.

The Waterbending master sighed and looked back over at the Avatar. She knew exactly how strong-willed her pupil was. It pained her to know that she could be brought down to such a low place. But she would wake up. The question was when.

*** Mako sat in the chair; it was his turn to keep tabs on the Waterbending Fire-Ferret. He sat there watching his teammate and he couldn't help but feel guilty. He should have stopped her. He shouldn't have let her go off on her own. Despite everyone telling him he was being illogical, that there was nothing he could've done that would've stopped the Avatar. That didn't make it any easier for him to see Korra like this.

It was past midnight when the tired Firebender heard a soft groan. He immediately snapped to attention and saw the Waterbender beginning to stir. Then she slowly opened her eyes.

"Mako?" Her voice was weak from the nonuse and it cracked slightly. She looked around the room and it took her a moment to register that she was in her room.

"Hey," he greeted, trying to keep his voice even.

"How…how long have I been out?"

"A few days." The Avatar started to get up but was rewarded with a small throbbing pain in her side. She groaned before deciding to lie back down. "Try not to move," he ordered with a scowl. She gave him a small smile. He continued to stare at her and her smile vanished. She sighed and looked away, knowing what was coming.

"What happened to you?" Korra continued to avoid his gaze.

"I don't know," she answered, lying through her teeth.

"Don't lie to me."

"Saw right through that one, did you Team Captain?" She gave a small grin as she turned her head towards him.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Master Katara told us her theory about what had happened." The Waterbender sighed and turned her gaze back to the ceiling. "How could you even think about doing something like that?"

"How long have you been here?" she asked, avoiding the question. Mako pinched the bridge of his nose.

"A couple hours. We've all been taking turns 'guarding' you, so to speak." Korra nodded slightly. "And I want to apologize." The Avatar gave him a confused look.

"For?"

"Being a jerk and not telling you the truth." Korra looked bewildered. She must either been dead or dreaming. "The truth is I wasn't completely honest with you. When you had that fever, I really did mean what I said. I do care about you."

Korra blinked a couple of times, letting this sink in, and remembering the memories from the Spirit World. She grinned.

"This is one really weird dream," she replied.

Mako rolled his eyes at her antics. "I get it. It's odd for me to be this nice," he said with his own grin. "But I hope you were paying attention because I don't plan on repeating myself."

She chuckled but winced when she agitated her sore side. This is seriously getting old, she thought.

"I've answered your questions, now you need to answer mine." The Firebender was suddenly all business again. "What made you possibly even think about doing that to us? We were all worried sick!" he said in a harsh whisper.

Korra groaned. "Why do we have to talk about this?" she asked. "Besides you're ruining the moment."

"What moment?"

"We are having a decent conversation that hasn't turned into a fight. I'd like to keep it that way but if you keep pushing the subject I'm going to blast you out of the room."

"Oh really? I'd like to see that," he teased with a sigh. He wasn't going to get anything out of her about what had happened.

"I wouldn't push your luck," she countered with a roll of her eyes.

He chuckled and stood. "Go to sleep, Korra. You're becoming your irritating self."

"I thought you were happy I was awake?" she teased with a triumphant grin.

"I am," he said simply. She yawned and moved her head to the side, facing him. He smiled and leaned over to move the hair out of her face. "Go to sleep."

Korra sighed and closed her eyes. He took a couple of steps before he felt his scarf being pulled. He looked back at the Avatar, her eyes were open again. "Don't leave," she whispered. He could see a spark of fear in those cerulean blues.

Korra was sure she'd gotten rid of that…thing. But if it came back, she didn't want to be alone. Mako furrowed his brow. What could have scared her this bad while she was unconscious?

"I won't," he replied softly, sitting back down in his chair. Korra nodded in silent thanks and closed her eyes before drifting off to sleep once again.

*** Katara walked into the room a little later that night and spotted Mako, asleep in his chair, his chin tucked against his chest. But something was missing…and that's when she noticed that his red scarf was in Korra's hand. The young Avatar was wide awake, the scarf clenched tightly in her fist as she stared off into the distance.

"So you're awake?" the old master said with a smile. Korra blinked and turned her head to look at her old master.

"I found this on me when I woke up," she replied, gesturing to the scarf. A small smile found its way onto her face as she traced her thumb around the worn holes in the red piece of fabric.

Katara sat down on the bed next to the girl. "He was worried about you, you know. We all were." Korra said nothing, her focus returning to the scarf. She sighed. "I'm not going to ask what happened. I know you'll tell me when you feel the need. But you need to realize that keeping this sort of trauma to yourself is never the best idea."

The younger Waterbender remained silent. Her eyes never moving from the piece of fabric in her hands. Katara sighed and stood, getting ready to leave the two. "I saw Aang." Katara stopped. "We talked. I chewed him out but he didn't seem to mind. He just kept smiling." Katara turned back to face the girl. "He was nice."

Katara had to push back the tears that threatened to come at the mention of her late husband. "Yes, he was," she whispered.

"He helped me get passed Koh," the Avatar continued. "That centipede creature…" She shook her head. "You know, I've heard stories about the Spirit World…they didn't prepare me for what was actually there." She fisted her hand in the scarf. "I also got to meet Appa and Momo." Katara let a watery chuckle escape her throat at that.

"He showed me that I wasn't alone…that I had people who cared about me to help me. He told me that I could choose my own destiny. But…" She paused to take a deep breath. "But that damn voice," she hissed. "He wouldn't go away." Katara's eyes widened. "He was messing with my head, trying to get me to…" She let the sentence trail off.

"Is that why you…?" Korra nodded.

"I just wanted it all to go away. I just wanted the pain to stop." Her voice sounded hollow as tears streamed down her cheeks from her glazed over eyes as she relived those moments in the Spirit World. "It made the option sound so tempting," she continued in a choked whisper. "I just wanted it all to go away," she repeated. Katara sat down next to the girl and gently pulled her into an embrace. Korra blinked and looked up at her master, as if just remembering she was there.

"But in the end, you did the right thing. You stayed strong, Korra. And I couldn't be more proud of you," she whispered. The Avatar pulled the scarf closer to her chest, looking for some protection as Katara just held her, humming that tune again.

Korra closed her eyes, letting the tune carry her back to sleep. Noticing this, the Waterbending master gently laid her back in her bed and smiled as she noticed how tightly she held onto the scarf. She covered her with the blanket and caressed her cheek before turning to the Firebender.

"You can stop pretending to be asleep now," she said. Mako lifted his head to look at her, his golden eyes tired.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to listen but years of living on the streets has made me a light sleeper." Katara nodded at this. "Is she going to be ok?"

Katara sighed. "It's going to take a while, but I believe Korra is going to be just fine."

He nodded and looked over at his teammate as she clung to his scarf. He remembered letting her wear it when they were looking for Bolin at the Revelation. He never thought he'd ever lend it out again, but he figured she needed it more than he did.

"Thank you again, for being here for Korra," the old master said, interrupting his thoughts.

"I care about her," he replied with a shrug.

"More than you show," Katara said with a small grin. Mako hesitated but nodded slowly.

"I don't want her to get hurt," he said, not trusting himself to say more. Katara smiled and left the room. Mako sighed heavily and turned his attention back to his teammate and friend.

She was still asleep, a calm expression on her face as she held his scarf. He had to be honest, for the loud irritating girl she was, he didn't expect her to ever be this quiet. She shifted and muttered something unintelligible under her breath. He smiled slightly.

A cold breeze suddenly went through the room. He looked around and saw an Air Nomad sitting at the end of the bed. His eyes widened.

"Hello, Mako," he greeted. The Firebender managed a nod.

"Avatar Aang," the boy replied in awe. The Airbender smiled.

"I wanted to thank you for helping Korra. She's going to need people like you by her side. I know she can be…difficult but her heart is always in the right place," he said gratefully.

"I'm just doing what anyone would have done for her," he said. Aang chuckled.

"Perhaps. But it is still appreciated. She needs you, Mako." The Firebender didn't know what to say to that.

Aang simply smiled before he faded away. Mako shook his head and looked around. Had that really just happened? Korra stirred again and her eyes opened slightly. He gave her a soft smile.

"Go to sleep," he whispered. "I'll be here when you wake up." She gave him a tired smile and closed her eyes.

*** Katara went back to her room. She hadn't wanted to leave her former pupil but the Waterbending master knew she was in good hands. She figured she might as well get some sleep. She suddenly felt a cold breeze. She frowned.

"Katara." The master's eyes widened and she slowly turned to see her late husband.

"Aang," she managed to choke out, a silent tear falling down her cheek. He smiled sadly and cupped her cheek, wiping the tear away with his thumb. She placed her hand over his; he felt so real. But she knew better.

"You've done a great job as a mentor to Korra," he said. "It was you, our son and her parents that kept her hanging on to life the entire time she was here in the Spirit World with me."

"She has always been headstrong, but she always makes the right decisions in the end," she replied.

He nodded. "You mean a lot to her. Keep guiding her. She is going to need you if she is going to recover from this ordeal. And not just from her physical wounds but her emotional ones as well."

"I will," she answered, sensing their time together was coming to a close. "I miss you."

"And I miss you. But you mustn't worry about me. I'm fine. And I'll always be with you," he said softly. Katara nodded. "I have to go now."

"I know."

Aang gently leaned forward and kissed her forehead tenderly. "Take care. And take care of her. And never forget that I'm never truly gone."

"I know," she repeated. And with that he faded away, leaving Katara to wipe another tear away.

*** Korra opened her eyes to find herself in a familiar place. She was in the Spirit World again. She groaned loudly. Someone chuckled. The Waterbender sat up to find her past life sitting across from her.

"Hello, Korra," he said with a smile.

"Hey. Look, not that I'm not happy to see you or anything but what exactly am I doing here again?" she asked, slightly annoyed.

"I called you back to say how proud I am of you. Not everyone would have had the strength you did. Not everyone would have fought like you. And I can see the real Korra shining brightly right now," he answered sincerely.

The Waterbender smiled. "Thanks. For not giving up on me."

"Korra, I am a part of you, don't ever forget that. All of us Avatars are only a small part of a whole. The reason I didn't give up on you is because I knew you hadn't given up either. I know how strong you are." Both Avatars stood.

"It's going to be a long time before I see you again, isn't it?"

Aang smiled. "We'll meet again when you're ready. But for now, it's best that you do things your way." He chuckled.

"And everyone will just have to deal with it," she stated with a grin. He gave her nod before turning to leave. "Wait."

The Airbender turned to face her. "How do I defeat Amon? And who is Yakone?"

"You'll find a way. And you'll do it your way. Don't let anyone control your fate."

"What about Yakone? Who is he?"

"That's the thing. You already know the answer. You just have to dig deep," he replied as the new Avatar faded from the Spirit World.