Chapter 25: Loose Ends

The room was packed with people. In addition to Mako, Bolin and Opal, they were also joined by Genly and Haku Ai, Genly's husband Therem, Chen, and Varrick and Zhu Li, who were setting up a tripod in the corner, preparing to record the meeting. As Korra and Asami entered the room, Genly rose and came over to hug them both warmly. "It's good to see you up and about. You had us worried for a moment there," he said. "How are you feeling?"

"Never better," said Korra, dropping down heavily on to a nearby couch. Asami sat next to her, and she casually slung her arm around Asami's shoulders. "Let's get this little pow-wow started. Who wants to go first?"

"First I think we should get a general update on the state of the city," said Genly authoritatively. He looked over at Therem, who nodded and began speaking.

"The fighting has stopped completely," Therem told them. "Our sources tell us there was no more fighting after Korra vanquished Corruption. But there is still a great deal of distress. We had nearly two hundred casualties, and twice as many injuries."

Everyone in the room bowed their heads. That was a large number of people.

"We're offering as much assistance we can. We have healing teams in the lower ring who are working to reverse all the damage to citizens, but they are overworked."

"I can go down and help," offered Korra. "And I have two members on the Balance Team who can help, too."

"That would be very much appreciated," said Therem. "Actually your Balance Team has been great during this crisis. The members of the Dai Li who were restored by Chen have been instrumental in the cleanup efforts. When the corruption on the vines was lifted, they physically retreated away from many places, including the great wall. There was only minor damage to the wall, but other places in the city haven't been so lucky. The Dai Li has been helping citizens navigate through the wreckage towards places where the relief crew has set up."

"By the way," interrupted Korra again, "how exactly did you cure those Dai Li members, Chen? When I purified all the pistol zombies there wasn't a single Dai Li agent among them."

"Oh, um, I told them their names," said Chen awkwardly, unused to being put on the spot in front of such a large crowd. "It made them regain their Fortitude."

Haku leaned forward in his chair, his brow furrowed. "Fascinating," he said. "All you did was restore their identities?"

"Yes, that's all we did."

Beginning to think out loud, Haku said: "It seems this 'Fortitude' of which you speak comes in different measures in different people. Those of us who retained our free will must possess more of it than the average person, because we were able to retain ourselves. But even those who have Fortitude can be corrupted, provided Corruption pushes hard enough."

"Like he did with Mako in the courtyard," supplied Korra. "He was fine, and then all of a sudden he was trying to kill me. By the way, Mako, that was very rude."

"Sorry," deadpanned Mako.

"But why would Corruption bother pushing so hard on the Dai Li, who are a group that prides themselves on their Fortitude?" asked Asami, bringing the conversation back on track.

"Probably because it needed that tunnel," said Korra, "and the Dai Li are the best earthbenders around. Corruption needed a way to smuggle in those pistols, and it decided that was the best way."

Raising his hand, Bolin said: "Okay, stupid question time. What the heck is Fortitude?"

"It's hard to explain, but it's basically the ability to resist having your spirit corrupted when someone or something uses energybending against you," Korra told him. "Let me tell you my portion of the story, and you'll hear about a lion turtle who can explain everything."

Ignoring Bolin's confused stare, Korra launched in to everything that had transpired during those hectic hours in which they fought Corruption. She repeated everything Jinora and Haku had figured out, and then shared her terrifying jaunt in to the spirit world to meet Corruption face-to-face. When she got to the part about hearing Ao's bark on the wind, she caught Haku's eye and nodded. The carefully-suppressed sadness behind his eyes lifted a bit, replaced by a hesitant hope.

Continuing her story, Korra relayed the vision she'd had of Aang and the lion turtle that had led her to the conclusion that she'd have to bring Corruption to the material world and use energybending to reverse the damage that had been done. But when she reached the part about Asami helping her, she hesitated, looking over at her wife. What they had shared was intensely personal, and she wasn't sure she really wanted everyone knowing just how intimately she and Asami had been intertwined, and how close it had resulted in the two of them becoming. And looking in to Asami's green eyes, she could tell Asami felt the same way. It just felt too private.

"So then I used energybending on Corruption to purify it, and then I did the same thing with the rest of the city," she said, deciding to simply leave out Asami's involvement in those efforts. She felt Asami reach over and take her hand, intertwining their fingers, and Korra knew it was Asami giving her silent approval.

"And then you passed out because you're a crazy lady who does crazy things all by her crazy self," said Mako. "It was crazy to do that alone. You should have let us help."

Shrugging and not quite meeting his eyes, Korra said: "I had it under control."

"Sure you did. Did I mention that you're crazy?"

"Okay, fine. I'm crazy."

"So what actually happened to Corruption?" asked Opal. "Like, after you finished energybending it, where did it go?"

"It did that smoke-popping thing when Korra stopped bending its energy," said Mako. "It was pretty wild. I've never seen anything like that before."

"Is that what happened to it? I was too out of it to notice," said Korra.

"That's what happened," confirmed Genly.

"So you killed it?" said Chen. "Is it even possible to kill a spirit?"

Shrugging, Korra admitted: "I don't know. But to be perfectly honest, I really doubt that I killed it. It's kind of like how Raava returned to me after Unalaq had supposedly destroyed her. I don't think it's possible to kill a spirit, especially not one as ancient as Corruption." She paused, and then added, "I bet it went back to the spirit world. It was in a lot of pain, like I was when I fought it the first time."

"Perhaps being destroyed in the material world sends the spirits back to the spirit world," suggested Genly.

Pondering this, Haku said, "That could be. And the smoke effect could be what it looks like to have a spirit be destroyed here. Or perhaps it only looked like that because of Corruption's control over the city." Apparently growing annoyed at his own lack of answers, Haku stood and went to stare out the window.

"In any case, I definitely weakened Corruption a lot. If it ever comes back it should be a lot easier to defeat. But something tells me it won't want to show up in this city again, at least not as long as I'm still the Avatar," said Korra. "So I guess now I'm finished with my side of the story. Who's up next?"

"Let's hear from Asami. We've been getting some very interesting reports of wonderfully heroic deeds she did in the lower ring," said Genly with a sly smile.

Blushing, Asami said, "It was nothing anyone else wouldn't have done in the same position."

"Mmm hmm," drawled Genly, clearly unconvinced. "Go ahead and tell us your story. We'll be the judge of that."

Putting aside her embarrassment, Asami began her story, starting with meeting up with the unusually grumpy Koti and the two engineers who were later corrupted. When she got to the part where she gathered up uncorrupted civilians and began leading them to safety, Varrick had a rare moment of rule-breaking when he snorted loudly.

"What?" Asami said, turning to glare at him.

"'Not heroic' my butt, Sato," he said, rolling his eyes. "Don't worry guys, we got the whole thing on camera. She'll find out sooner or later."

Everyone chuckled, and Asami frowned in annoyance. Korra patted the hand that was still intertwined with her own. "Ignore them, Asami. Keep going."

She continued her story, covering the betrayal of the engineers and Koti's furious objections to going to the elementary school. "She came by yesterday and told me she feels really bad about that," said Asami. "She said it felt like every time she opened her mouth, someone else's voice came out. I think it's likely that Corruption already had her by that time, especially since she must have picked up the pistol when we were in the elementary school. I do think Corruption had her, but it was using her for some other purpose."

"To destroy you, most likely," said Haku. "A spirit as ancient as Corruption would know that in love there lays a power that is virtually untouchable. It probably wanted to get rid of you to weaken the Avatar."

Korra and Asami shared a glance as they experienced a simultaneous wave of Raava's warmth. Yes, thought Asami. Corruption knew the danger posed to it by the unity of the Avatar and her wife. Raava, the spirit of light and hope that gave the Avatar her powers, was the embodiment of love and purity. And the biggest threat to Corruption was purity.

Clearing her throat to refocus her thoughts, Asami said, "Well, in any case, she actually thinks Corruption must have had some degree of power over her for a very long time. Possibly since the day she moved back to Ba Sing Se from Republic City to be my construction foreman here."

"Do you believe her?" asked Mako.

"Yes, I do," replied Asami immediately. "The Koti who worked for me in Republic City was a lot different from the Koti I've known here. I definitely think Corruption was messing with her. Even our conversation yesterday was different from the last couple of weeks. She seems more like her old self. She said she feels really bad about shooting Bolin, and trying to shoot me."

"Aw, no hard feelings," said Bolin, waving the comment away. "I mean, yeah it was super painful, but it could have been a lot worse."

Asami continued her story, describing the events at the elementary school and the young mother who had been injured in front of her son. Though she didn't say it out loud, she remembered again her revelation about wanting to have children. That was another private matter, something to be shared with Korra and no one else.

The rest of the story was pretty straightforward until she reached the point when she'd gotten a message from Raava that Korra needed her. She realized belatedly that she'd have to come up with something that would explain why she'd been so drained when Chen found her. Thinking fast, she glanced at Korra and said: "And then I saw all the vines glowing and um… I guess I just passed out."

Staring at her, Bolin said: "You passed out?"

"Yeah. Just blacked out. No idea why." She shrugged. "I guess I was tired from all the fighting."

Bolin did not look convinced, but he didn't say anything else.

Asami caught Varrick's eye, and she realized with a jolt that her already-flimsy cover story wasn't going to hold up against what their cameras would show. She felt a brief moment of panic, trying to nonverbally plead with him not to say anything. Relief rushed through her when Varrick put one finger over his lips and winked ever-so-slightly at her, his blue eyes twinkling. Zhu Li pushed her glasses up her nose and used the motion give her a barely noticeable thumbs up.

Then Asami realized that there was someone else in the room who could possibly blow her cover. Chen had been nearby in the lower ring, near enough to notice her when she had collapsed afterwards. She turned her green eyes to Chen, who met her gaze evenly and slightly inclined his head, letting her know that he, too, would remain silent.

Reassured that none of them were about to spill her secret, she said to the group: "So that's about it for me. Next?"

After Asami had finished, the group heard from Chen, who relayed the story of how he had come to be captured and of his subsequent release of his missing Dai Li brothers. Then Bolin and Opal, who had been left in charge of the refugees outside the wall, explained how they had just gotten the unconscious Koti out of the tunnel when they could see a golden glow coming from the other side of the wall, brilliant even in the afternoon sunlight. Bolin informed them that there was a small cabin near the place in the woods where the tunnel let them out, and that there had been several more wooden crates of pistols hidden inside the building. He'd destroyed them all immediately.

"I can't believe how many of those things there are," Therem said, shaking his head. "Where did they even come from?"

"Cah-Bage Corp," said Asami grimly. "Lau Gan-Lan invented them."

"As if we needed another reason to hate that jerk-faced jerk," grumbled Bolin.

"Yeah, and Saigon and the rest of the BSSPD were stockpiling them," added Korra.

"Oh man, I forgot about that jerk-faced jerk!" exclaimed Bolin. "What's her deal, anyway?"

Looking troubled, Korra said, "I have reason to believe that the entire BSSPD has been under the control of Corruption for far longer than anyone else in the city. I bet that after Gan-Lan was arrested, the BSSPD went out and found the pistols for Corruption. But the disturbing thing is that Corruption was able to maintain its control over Saigon and her officers even outside Ba Sing Se's walls."

"Oh, dear," said Genly. "That is disturbing. If it could do that, couldn't it just strike elsewhere in the world?"

"That is a valid question," said Haku, "but one I don't think we need to worry about. Corruption has been focused exactly on this location since before the time of the Avatar. I believe that if it was possible for Corruption to move on, it would already have done so. Perhaps, like the Tree of Time, this force has power only in this particular location."

"And on its parallel location in the spirit world," added Korra. "It had obviously been in that wilted field for a very long time."

Considering this, Genly said, "Well, that is rather reassuring. And now that we've seen what happens to the city under Corruption's influence, we can nip it in the bud if it ever starts happening again."

Mako glanced at his pocketwatch. "Not to put a damper on this party, but Genly, our press conference starts in fifteen minutes and we still need to go over our talking points."

Sighing, Genly stood and said: "Duty calls, my friends. Thank you for meeting with me. Do not hesitate to contact me if you need anything at all."

He, Therem and Mako went out in to the hallway and were immediately swept up in a small crowd of aides asking them questions. Their chatter could be heard echoing down the stone corridor long after they'd gotten around the corner.

The rest of the group dispersed, too, and Korra and Asami headed back to their apartment. "I guess we'll have to reschedule our date," said Korra. "I need to get down to the lower ring and help out the healers. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize for that, Korra. I knew what I was getting in to when I fell in love with the Avatar. I'd expect nothing less from you. I'll go down there with you," she said. "I can't heal, but I'm sure there's something I can do to help."

"Okay," replied Korra with a smile. "It's not a traditional date, but at least we'll be together."

"I think it's safe to say that very little about us has been traditional so far. Why start now?"