Thank you TheToasterMarketingBoard for editing this chapter!

The sun had started to set upon the Earth Kingdom palace, casting long shadows off the furniture in Mako's room. Opal and Mako stared at each other, both slumped down in their respective seats. The food tray between them was now fully picked over, their wadded up napkins the only things left.

"What if we fake your death too?" Opal tossed out.

Mako blankly stared at his brother's girlfriend. "I thought you were going to help me do this the right way."

"I know I know," Opal said slumping down further into her seat, followed by a little laugh. "I really didn't consider how hard it would be to make you a sympathetic character. It's the only way we can be sure she won't want to vindictively out you when it's over."

"If only we had some dirt on her..." Mako muttered, stretching out his arms to the end of the armrests of his seat. He rapped his fingers on the edges.

Opal continued, ignoring the comment. "Or maybe we should give up on caring how Yasmine will feel about you and convince her that saving Kuvira was the right thing either way. Did she ask about our motives when you blabbered the truth?"

Mako shrugged his slumped shoulders. "Sorta… She was more interested in the deception we pulled on her and the conversation I had with Korra in front of her."

"Which I'm guessing was not about Kuvira?" the airbender asked, cocking her head to the side.

"No."

"'Course not. A woman that's attracted to you would be far more interested in your exes than politics. I'm sure you glossed over your unsavory actions during the relationships, and highlighted the more endearing aspect that your ex-girlfriends left you for each other."

"Ouch."

"Someone had to acknowledge it aloud, though that is a gross oversimplification. You had all been broken up for a few years," Opal said, kicking up her feet and resting them on the table.

"You done?"

"Yes, sorry. Just trying to get the whole picture. One more question; you said

it has become clear that you don't know anything about each other, or have anything in common. Now is that just on your end, or do you think Yasmine has also had this realization?"

Mako picked at a drying food stain on his pants. "I mean, she must in some way. We argue a lot, about really little things like what we should do that night or where to eat. But then, this has also coincided with her bringing up having me meet

her parents and I keep pushing it back. That's what we were fighting about earlier."

"If Yasmine wants you to meet her parents, then she is definitely still invested."

The pair fell silent for a moment.

"Yasmine wanted me to go over to their house tonight for dinner…" Mako murmured. "What if I go meet them and bomb, so then she'll want to break up with me?"

Opal sat up in her seat. "That's not a terrible idea. Quick, call her up, tell her you've changed your mind."

Mako slowly rose from his own chair, and walked towards the table where the room's phone sat.

Opal put a finger to her lips for a moment. "And tell her you're bringing your sister-in-law."

The snow that was gently falling during breakfast had started to pick up momentum when Korra, Asami, Tonraq and Senna walked out the back door towards the shed where the snowmobiles were kept.

Korra nudged Asami while they watched Tonraq open up the double door.

"Finally, a vehicle that I know how to drive better than you do," the Avatar said with a wide grin.

"So sure?" Asami said, flipping her hair as she walked up to one of the snowmobiles. She mounted the vehicle and turned on the engine. It hummed to life and Asami took off out the shed.

Tonraq laughed as he watched his daughter get a face full of snow from the kick back. "You shouldn't spit in the wind Korra."

Asami did a few laps around the shed before pulling back up to the family.

"You want to ride with me Senna?" Asami asked, revving the engine.

"Oh-uh."

"Go on Senna, Korra can ride with me," Tonraq said as he gave his wife a nudge.

Senna hesitantly walked over to the snowmobile and slipped behind her daughter's girlfriend.

"Hold on!" Asami called back over the engine.

As soon as Senna's hands met around Asami's middle they took off for another lap around the shed.

"We better get going or those two will leave without us," Tonraq said as he walked towards the remaining snowmobile.

Korra stood and watched her father mount the vehicle. She let out a slight groan, slung their picnic sack over her shoulder, and stomped over to join him. Once on the snowmobile Korra wrapped her arms around her father's broad body. Tonraq revved the engine, then they too zipped off into the snow.

It was almost noon when Korra, Asami, Tonraq and Senna arrived at the entrance of the wiry cluster of trees that surrounded the spirit portal. Korra and Senna, being passengers dismounted the snowmobiles first, followed by Tonraq and Asami.

"Well, those are fun," Asami said with a big smile, adjusting the hair under her knitted cap.

"You've really never driven one before?" Senna asked. "You're quite good at it."

"After driving a lot of different vehicles I've found it's all the same principles."

Senna slowly stepped towards the forest. "This is a lot spookier than I had imagined…"

"Don't worry Mom, it's a much friendlier place now," Korra said, catching up to her mother.

The four passed through the dark entrance into the Sacred Forest. The only light was fluorescent blue tube of the spirit portal ahead of them.

"How do we get inside?" Senna asked as they neared the portal.

"You just walk on through," Tonraq swiftly replied.

Korra dashed ahead of her parents to demonstrate her father's instructions. "Spirit portals are easy, it's trying to get in through meditation that's difficult," she said, sticking part of her body into the glowing tube and then fully disappearing inside.

It was early in the afternoon when Jinora gathered up the courage to go and seek out Zhou Rhen. It didn't take her long to find him; over the past few days she had learned he favored sitting in the courtyard by the spinning training gates.

Jinora hesitated for a moment; Zhou Rhen had not noticed her presence. He was hunched over, writing in his notebook. His rectangular glasses had slid so far down his nose they looked like they were about to fall off. If she wanted to, she could walk away and push it back another day.

Before Jinora could make up her mind she noticed Meelo peaking out from behind one of the spinning gates. He was crouched like a ring-tailed flying lemur ready to pounce on a berry bush.

Jinora caught her brother's eye and furrowed her brow to discourage whatever he was planning. Meelo glared back, and with his chin motioned for her to leave. Jinora didn't budge. The two siblings stared each other down for a few moments until Meelo's eyes rolled back in his head and he dramatically started to back away into the gates. Jinora smiled, pleased with her assertion of will over her obnoxious younger brother. It didn't last; Meelo shot out from behind the gates with a huge gust of air, so strong it knocked Zhou Rhen's book out of his hand and his glasses off his nose.

"Meelo!" Jinora cursed as she watched her brother fly off towards the roof of the temple. He didn't look back as he nimbly jumped towards the top and out of sight. Once he was gone Jinora turned to Zhou Rhen, who was fumbling around looking for his glasses.

The eyewear had been flung a few feet away from Zhou Rhen. Jinora walked over and grabbed them, ending his pitiful struggle.

"Here," Jinora said more curtly than she meant to, placing the glasses in the young man's hands.

"Thank you Master Jinora, I'm virtually blind without them," Zhou Rhen said as he put the eyewear back on.

"Sorry my brother's a jerk, don't take it personally."

They stood for a moment and Jinora felt strangely awkward.

"I uh… I'm available to talk to you about Korra… If you want to."

Zhou Rhen smiled. "Yes, I've been anxious to speak with you. Come sit."

They took a seat on the steps a few feet apart. Zhou Rhen thumbed through his notebook to a blank page and started scratching in it.

"Okay, first a little background information. When did you start working alongside Avatar Korra?"

Jinora leaned back onto her hands and thought for a moment. "I really started getting actively involved during harmonic convergence. Not long before it started I became more in touch with the spirits and learned how to enter the Spirit World through meditation, something my father couldn't do. I was the one who guided Korra through her first meditation into the Spirit World."

"Master Tenzin cannot meditate into the Spirit World?" Zhou Rhen asked, leaning forward slightly.

"He can now, but it was very difficult for him. Dad was really self-concious about it because of who my grandfather was."

"I can imagine," the young man replied, making a few pen strokes. "You have quite the impressive lineage Master Jinora, and many accomplishments for such a young age. I know my organization is very interested in working with you some day. Your father has been quite possessive of you, but now that you are older, I think you should know you have options of where your life and career could go."

Jinora shook her head. "This is my place."

"You don't have to make any decisions, I'm merely giving you some information."

Jinora pushed off of her hands, and sat upright. She looked down at her hands, noticing the red creases on the top of her wrists from bending them for so long.

"Can I ask you a question?" the young airbender master said, after a few moments of quiet.

"Certainly."

"Why you?"

"This is the job I was trained to do," Zhou Rhen replied matter of factly.

Jinora shrugged her shoulders. "But why you instead of the Korra's friends and family. We know her, we know what's best for her."

"Your attachment to Avatar Korra inhibits your ability to be completely honest and objective with her. There will come times when Avatar Korra needs someone to confide in who is not involved, or does not have preconceived notions. This outsider perspective was something your grandfather noted as lacking in his own experience as Avatar. As I said, I am here to present myself as an asset to Avatar Korra. At the end of the day, it is her choice if she wishes to use me or not. I cannot force my aid upon her."

"If you want to be an 'unbiased outsider,' then why are you interviewing all of us about her? Doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose?"

"Knowing a little bit about my subject won't cloud my judgment," Zhou Rhen replied, pushing back up his glasses that had slipped down during the conversation.

"Your subject? Korra is not a subject you study in school, she is a person!" Jinora said, shooting up from her seat. She furiously stared at the young man in front of her for a moment before turning away. "Good luck getting her to talk to you."

Zhou Rhen watched Jinora march away from him. He let his book slip from his hands, flabbergasted by the sudden eruption of anger from the young woman.

Jinora was so upset she could feel the heat radiating from her face. She was marching down the temple halls towards the living quarters to go fume in her room when she heard two familiar voices ahead of her. Jinora slowed her pace and crept to the open door. She peeked in to see her father and Kai sitting around a small table.

"Based on my and Opal's and meetings with some of the Earth Kingdom's rural villages, it's clear airbender aid is still needed. Barely any of the supplies or government order has made it outside of Ba Sing Se."

"That is not what I was hoping to hear, but I'm not surprised," Tenzin sighed.

"I can feel your hesitation in spreading our people thin by continuing to aid the Earth Kingdom while also helping to fix things here in the United Republic, but I believe our efforts are best targeted to the Earth Kingdom. Airbenders are so much more mobile, traveling between villages takes hours by bison or wingsuit compared to days by Satomobile."

Tenzin began to stroke his beard, casting his gaze from the young man to the table between them.

"You know the United Republic will have no trouble rebuilding Republic City, again" Kai continued. "Look at the wealth our state has in contrast to its size and compare it to the Earth Kingdom. I know Prince Wu's plan is to get rid of the monarchy, which will help distribute the wealth more evenly around the country, but that will take years before the villages see its effects," Kai said earnestly, his body leaning in closer to the table.

"You've changed so much from that boy we took from the police in the Earth Kingdom three years ago."

"I'm now a part of the Air Nation, but the Earth Kingdom will always be my home."

"I understand. We will continue to send the same volume of airbender aid to the Earth Kingdom. I would like to put you and Opal in charge of overseeing this mission. I know I will be pulled in many different directions once the reconstruction gets into full swing, so you can report to me monthly on the progress."

Kai laid his hands on the table and bowed his head so it nearly touched the surface. "Thank you Master Tenzin."

Jinora had lost herself in the conversation and forgot she had not made her presence known. She quickly turned on her heels and darted down the hall in the direction she had came from.

The Avatar emerged into a dry and rocky world, very different from the one she had just left behind. Asami soon slipped through the portal, followed by Korra's parents.

"This part of the Spirit World looks so different from the Republic City entrance," Asami commented, taking a few steps away. "Does the Spirit World loosely mirror our own, or does it expand farther?"

Korra shrugged. "The portals have been closed until recently. I doubt if there's ever been a formal test of its boundaries."

"With a portal in the center of downtown I'm sure interest in the Spirit World is going to increase. We are going to need to put in some level of security around the portal to monitor who is passing through. A few weeks ago we just walked right in, who knows who else has been doing the same?"

"That's a good point. Man, I haven't even been thinking about the spirit portal. I mean in the context of it being in the city," the Avatar sighed.

"There's been a lot going on, but I think we're really going to need to gain some focus when we get back."

"So what would you like to see first?" Korra asked, turning to her parents but finding they were gone.

"Is that the Tree of Time?" Senna exclaimed as she shuffled towards the gnarled tree.

"It is," Tonraq replied walking closely behind her.

Korra shot a smile to Asami and the two trailed behind the older couple heading for the tree.

The four stood below the Tree of Time, staring up at the branches. Korra felt a pang of embarrassment as she looked the tree over. Less than a year ago she was fruitlessly meditating beneath it, hoping to regain her connection with Raava. It wasn't long after she was getting her ass kicked in a underground earthbending match. She made so many mistakes during that time, she felt grateful no one was around to see it.

Asami shaking her shoulder brought Korra back to the present.

"We heard a weird noise."

Korra nodded and they walked around the perimeter, stopping when they saw a figure hunched over, rooting around the trunk.

"Stay back," Korra warned, taking a few steps closer, Asami trailing close behind her.

"C'mon, there must be some sticks around here somewhere!" shouted a very familiar male voice.

"Varrick?" Korra asked, stepping closer.

Varrick stopped his foraging and turned around. "Hey kids, what brings you to these parts?"

Korra and Asami turned to each other, relieved.

"I was going to ask the same thing," the Avatar replied.

Varrick rubbed his hands together to get rid of some dirt, and walked towards the girls. "Zhu Li and I are here on our honeymoon of course! She's around here somewhere also looking for some firewood for our camp."

"Should he be building a fire in the Spirit World?" Asami murmured.

"Uh… I don't know actually."

"It's fine, we've been making one every night! How else are we supposed to cook our dinner?" Varrick said matter-of-factly.

"Just don't start a wildfire in the Spirit World, okay?" the Avatar warned.

"Roger that! So what are you kids doing out in this part of the Spirit World? Hopefully not planning on fighting another giant spirit monster. Give us the heads up if you do, so the misses and I can skedaddle outta here."

"No, just here on a little day trip with my parents," Korra explained pointing back to her mother and father standing a few feet away.

"Great, great. You wouldn't happen to know what day it is, would you two?"

Korra turned to her girlfriend. "Uh…"

"It's the 8th of the month," Asami answered.

Varrick fished around in one of his large pants pockets and pulled out a small planner. Pens and a few other papers slipped out and pooled around him on the ground.

"Huh, my calculations are way off."

Asami stepped closer so she could look over Varrick's shoulder. "What day did you think it was?"

"We've been in here for what's felt like days, almost a week, but apparently it's only been two days."

"Hello Avatar Korra, Miss Sato!" Zhu Li called out as she came from behind a snow drift, a collection of wood in hand.

Korra and Asami gave Zhu Li a quick wave as she walked past them and over to what appeared to be the couple's packs. Zhu Li dropped the load of wood next to them.

"The girls here say we've only been in here two days!" Varrick called out, still mulling over his notes.

"That seems so unlikely; we've traveled all the way from the Republic City portal. Perhaps it's not located where we thought?" Zhu Li said, joining the small circle they had formed.

"We experienced a time discrepancy when Korra and I were here a few weeks ago. We came in from the Republic City portal, but time moved faster on the outside. Our vacation of eight days in here turned out to be around three weeks in the physical world."

"How very strange; is that why you are here now, to investigate?" Zhu Li asked.

Korra started to rub the back of her head. "We're actually here sorta on another vacation… though I think this is turning into something I should look into when I get back to Republic City."

"Well we'll give you the full report when we get back ourselves. The plan is to exit the Southern Portal, show Zhu Li the village I grew up in and then back to the city! Asami, I'd like to meet with you at some point, so I can pitch you some of my brilliant ideas with magnets!"

"Magnets again?" Asami asked dryly.

Varrick put a hand to his chin and looked up. "Well more like for the first time, everything got tabled when I started working for Kuvira. She was all into spirit vine technology, completely ignoring the natural and spirit-friendly technology of magnets!"

"You know my office number, schedule a meeting when you get back," Asami sighed.

"Brilliant!"

"Enjoy the rest of your honeymoon," Korra said with a smile.

Zhu Li bowed her head slightly. "Enjoy the rest of your trip as well."

Korra and Asami gave the couple another wave before walking back towards her parents.

"Thanks for waiting. Those two are always up to something," Korra explained as they began to walk again.

Asami slowed her pace. "Now I'm curious about what time it will be when we leave today. What if a week has gone by when we get out?"

"Something the matter?" Tonraq asked.

"We're not sure…"

"When Korra and I ventured to the Spirit World a few weeks ago, there was a discrepancy between the time inside and the time in the physical world. Honestly, I thought it was because I had wished for time to stop when we stepped through the portal…" Asami said, putting a hand to her chest. She could feel a slight blush forming on her cheeks from her admission.

Korra tottered back and forth on her feet as she spoke. "You mentioned that, but I thought you were just… I dunno now..."

"I was going to chalk it up to magical Avatar stuff, but clearly that was just wishful thinking. Something could be seriously wrong in here."

Korra winced. "We need to go back, don't we?"

"Korra honey, we understand if you need to leave," Senna said softly.

The Avatar kicked a small rock by her foot.

"Your old parents aren't going anywhere anytime soon. We'll come visit you in Republic City, that way if something comes up during a visit you'll be where you need to be," Tonraq said, putting his arm around Senna.

Korra turned to her parents. "I'm really sorry guys."

"Don't be," Senna whispered, reaching out her free hand to touch her daughter's cheek.

"We should go now, through the Republic City portal, that will be fastest," Asami suggested.

"What about your airship, and luggage?" Senna asked.

"I can arrange for someone to fly it back, I have a few business connections in town."

Korra nodded. "Okay, but we're taking my parents back through the portal first."

"I know the way back," Tonraq said, waving off his daughter. "We might as well look around for a bit while we're here."

"No way, weird stuff is happening in the Spirit World, I'm not leaving anything to chance," Korra replied, pinching her mitten fingers on both her parents coats.

After dinner at the temple, Jinora went outside to take a walk around the grounds. She didn't walk long before she heard her name being called.

"Hey Jinora!"

Jinora turned around and saw her boyfriend standing a few feet away. "Kai, when did you get back?"

"A few hours ago, can I join you?"

"'Course."

The pair began to walk towards the outer limits of the island, near the rocky shore. Kai stretched out his hand to take Jinora's. She accepted his hand, and gently squeezed their palms together.

"So…" Jinora started. "How did your trip to the Earth Kingdom with Opal go?"

"It went okay. The outer states are still in rough shape."

"I can imagine, so… uh… what's the plan?"

"Your father has put me and Opal in charge of overseeing the relief efforts."

Jinora already knew the answer, but needed to ask. "So you'll be going away for a while?"

"Yeah…" Kai replied slowing his pace. "You should come with!" he said, placing his other hand over their joined ones.

"You know I can't do that, I need to work with my father here," Jinora replied shaking her head.

Kai's expression fell and he let go of Jinora's hand. He moved his hands to the top of his hips.

"Fine, but you could at least visit this time."

"What are you talking about, I visited you," the young air master said, mirroring Kai's stance.

"Hardly, and you had the same excuse. I'm starting to get the feeling you don't want to be around me."

"Of course I do. The way you're always gone could make me say the same thing about you."

Kai took a few steps closer and slapped his left hand on his chest. "I've been helping to fix this big mess the world has been in, sorry if that eats up a lot of my time."

"Why are we fighting, clearly we are working towards the same goal?"

"Are we?"

Jinora scowled at the remark. "Don't even joke like that."

"I'm sorry, it's just hard, you know?" Kai said quietly, backing off a bit.

"Of course I know, it's hard for me too. I love you…"

Kai stepped forward again, placing his hands on Jinora's slender shoulders. "I love you too," he whispered before leaning in for a kiss.

To be continued...