Aang's words had held all the best intentions, he'd meant to go off and search the world for his little sister right that instant… but it didn't happen. Instead the Korra had been dropped off by the airship in the woods a little ways away from their camp, she'd been hiking through the dense tangle of trees and vines for a couple of hours before she emerged in the spot Aang was talking to Skye.
"Korra!" Aang ran to her, trying to hug her but the small girl sidestepped him and pushed him away. Visibly she was pretty banged up, but inside she was even worse, if her bending was coming back it would have by now. She shook her head and tossed her glider at him.
"You can have that. Now, leave me alone." Korra snapped at him, she didn't mean to be mean, she was just hurting. "I want you to take me home." She stood there with her hands on her hips, glaring at Aang and Skye who just stared at her with dumbfounded looks. "Now!"
"Okay…" Aang frowned and looked to Skye.
"Korra are you alright?" The sweet girl asked, trying not to start anything. Korra pursed her lips and drew in a deep breath.
"No more talking. No more questions. The both of you just take me back to Republic City! What part of I want to go home don't you get!?" Korra shook her head and turned away from them so she could head back to Appa. With her back to them she let a few tears slip down her cheeks, she hated to be so mean to her brother, but she didn't want to face telling him she'd let him down today. Skye and Aang walked a few paces behind her, still confused as to why this usually sweet girl was being so nasty.
"You found her!" Opal screeched as she saw the tiny group come back towards Zuko's airship. Mako perked up when he heard this and jumped up.
"Korra!" He grinned, running to her side. Korra flinched as he pulled her into his arms, holding her there for a long time. "It's okay. I promise you're safe now." He whispered, trying to make her feel better. Korra wanted to believe it, but to her hope was lost and there was no longer a point to anything.
"Mako." Korra pulled back, her eyes glistening with unshed tears, she wanted to yell at him like she had Aang but the look in his golden eyes melted her and she couldn't, instead she just flung her arms around him. The feeling of him holding her, the comforting ashy smell that came off of him, and his whispered words of love were all too much, causing Korra's tears to spill out.
"Hey…" Mako rubbed her back. "Hey, it's alright now." It broke his heart to see her like this.
"No. Mako you don't understand. Nothing is okay. Everything is ruined!" More tears spilled over onto Mako's shirt. The rest of Team Avatars stood there in shocked silence, they'd never really seen Korra this upset. Mako frowned, noticing them watching.
"Korra, let's go for a walk." The firebender laced his fingers between hers and pulled her down the beach until they were out of earshot. He pushed Korra down to sit on the rocks with him. "Want to tell me why everything is ruined?"
"Mako…" Korra sniffled and shook her head, fresh tears starting to form in her eyes.
"Okay, okay, maybe in a bit." Mako grinned, producing a tiny flame in his hand. "Want to make shapes with our bending? That always cheers you up!" Korra stared at the fire Mako was holding, it crushed her.
"No." She stood up, pulling on the two ponytails she wore in the front of her hair. "I don't want to bend!"
"Come on, just try it. You never know, it might help." Mako frowned, watching as Korra squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. "Korra…" He extinguished his flame and put his hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong? You can talk to me."
"It's gone." Korra looked up at Mako suddenly. "It's all gone Mako!" Korra burst into tears, crying harder than she had in her entire life. "They took my bending. It's all gone!"
"Korra…" Mako didn't know what to say, he felt horrible for her.
"Everything's ruined." Korra shook her head. "I'm not the Avatar anymore, I'm just a stupid non-bender who ruined the chances of helping to bring the world back into balance."
"You're not stupid Korra!" Mako took her by her shoulders. "What about Aang? Can't he just give you your bending back? Why don't you talk to him?"
"Because Mako! As soon as Kuaza injected me with that poison I felt Raava leave me. She must've gone back to Aang. Why would he give up half the Avatar Spirit for me? " Korra shook her head, but Mako just smiled.
"If it had been Aang who lost his bending would you have given up half of the Avatar Spirit for him?" He asked, already knowing the answer. Korra sighed.
"Of course I would." She shook her head, the tiny girl knew what she had to do. "Come on Mako." Korra took his hand, squeezing it tight for support as they made their way back to where the others were waiting.
"You're back!" Bolin smiled. "Are you okay Korra?" The earthbender hugged the girl, wanting to make sure she was okay. "We were all really worried about you."
"I know." Korra frowned, hugging him back for a second before wiggling out of his arms so she could talk to everyone. "I just wanted to apologize to you all for the way I was acting earlier… especially to Skye and Aang." Korra turned her attention on the couple, her cheeks blushing furiously. "I'm so sorry."
"It's alright." Skye smiled, she wasn't really the type of person to keep grudges over something someone said when they were simply hurt and upset over something.
"You want to talk?" Aang asked, getting up from his place at Skye's side. Korra took a deep breath and nodded.
"Actually, yes." Korra answered. Mako smiled at her encouragingly as she followed the Avatar away from the group. Once Aang and Korra got to Appa, the airbender threw Korra her staff.
"I don't want this, it's yours." Aang smiled, trying to show her he wasn't angry with her at all. Korra caught the staff easily in her hand, leaning against it for support.
"Aang, I need to tell you something." Korra felt butterflies building up in her stomach. "I don't know how to tell you this, so I'm just going to say it." The young girl took a deep breath. "Kuaza, the woman who's behind this whole mess, took my bending away."
"Korra..." Aang frowned, he couldn't imagine what this little girl had to be feeling right now. He knew only the Avatar had been able to take bending away before, but the world had advanced quite a bit in their knowledge of spirit-bending over the years. "Why wouldn't you tell me before?" He wondered. Korra chewed her lip for a moment.
"Because I was worried you wouldn't want to give me my bending back. I mean you have full control over the Avatar Spirit now, I can feel the emptiness where it was before." The small girl shook her head. "I realized I was being ridiculous about it when Mako asked if I would give you back half the Avatar Spirit if the rolls were reversed."
"And would you?" Aang asked, though like Mako he thought he already knew the answer.
"I would give you back all of the Avatar Spirit if that's what it took for your bending to come back." Korra sighed. "Aang, you're not just the person I share Raava with, you're my brother and I love you."
"Korra." Aang pulled the girl into his arms then, touched by her words. "I love you too. You're the best little sister in the world." He pulled away slightly then. "Ready to get your bending back?" Aang asked. Korra nodded once, closing her eyes. Aang crouched down so he was at eye level with her and arranged his fingers on her forehead, closing his eyes he focused on their energy. Try and try as he may, he couldn't get any of his energy to flow to Korra. He couldn't give her back her bending. Slowly he released her from his hold, cringing when he saw her pop the lid on her water pouch and try to bend. Nothing happened.
"Aang…" Korra looked up at him, worry clear on her face. "Why can't I…"
"Korra, something's wrong." Aang looked confused about it himself. "I can't give you back your bending…"
"What!?" Korra asked, her voice jumping up three octaves.
"Don't worry!" Aang held his hands up in surrender. "I promise you we'll find a way to fix this." Korra sighed, leaning her face in Aang's chest, being dramatic.
"Whatever we do, can we go home for a little while first? I want to see Naga." Korra sounded so upset and deflated that Aang couldn't tell her no.
"Yes, we'll go back to Republic City for a while. We should probably tell the others what's going on though." He sighed, putting his arm around the tiny girl as they headed back to the airship once again.
"Everything alright now?" Zuko asked when he saw the two of them walking back with their arms around each other.
"Sort of." Aang answered shortly, looking down at Korra. The tiny girl frowned but took a deep breath, being brave.
"Kuaza took my bending away and Aang can't give it back to me for some reason." Everyone in the group was unanimously horrified by this idea. Even the older members of the group knew that this wasn't how things were supposed to be.
"We need to help you two figure out a way to return the Avatar Spirit to her." Sokka said, effectively putting everyone's thoughts into words.
"I agree with Sokka." Toph chimed in. "It's not supposed to be just Avatar Aang anymore. Avatar Korra needs to be right there by his side helping to save the world."
"We won't rest until we find a way to fix this." Asami said, taking a small step forward. "And I would still mean that even if it were the other way around." All of the younger kids nodded in agreement.
"Okay, then it's settled. What's the plan?" Zuko asked, looking to Aang and Korra.
"We're going to Republic City. We'll deal with everything else when we get there." Aang told the Fire Lord. Zuko nodded.
"Okay." Katara clapped her hands together. "Everyone who is not Aang, Korra, Skye, or Mako let's get on the airship." Everyone obeyed, scurrying onto the ship.
"We'll see you when we land!" Suki called as she closed the gangplank up after everyone coming with them had boarded. Aang led his small group over to Appa. He took Skye by the waist and airbended them both into the saddle, then held his hands out to pull Mako, then Korra up with them.
"Come on Korra." Aang smiled, patting the spot beside him. Korra crawled up onto Appa's head next to her brother and took the reins he was offering her. "Do you remember what to do?" Aang asked her. Korra nodded, giving the reins a little flick.
"Appa, Yip Yip!"