Korra's POV

Mako had taken me to the city's hospital to have the burns checked. The healers worked on the wounds right away, at first making the wound feel as if it was on fire but then melting it away as the water glowed. I couldn't help but feel comfortable at the soothing sensation, they were bothering me but I didn't have time to let it get in the way. After I was all patched up, Mako asked what I wanted to eat. It had been a while since I had been to Narook's so I asked for that. He bought Water Tribe noodles and we went back to his place.

"Take a seat in the living room," he said. "I'll get the food ready and you're eating all of it." I rolled my eyes at that but didn't say anything. I leaned against the coach when I heard glass shattering and Mako cursing. Moments after I got up and went to see what had happened. "Careful with the glass."

I bent down and picked up all the pieces, throwing them into the trashcan when I noticed something red on one of the shards. I dropped it and pulled his hand towards me. I panicked, immediately grabbing a cloth from the counter as I used my own hand to apply pressure. I checked the wound before using the towel, making sure no glass was in it.

"Thanks," the Firebender said, taking out a first aid kit and wrapping up his wound. I looked down at my hand and saw the blood. Images flew into my mind. I saw Aiden, Bolin, Howl Sr., the guard, everyone I had killed. I felt my breathing quicken as I looked at the red liquid.

"There was so much blood," I whispered. "So much blood."

"Korra, what are you talking about? It's only-"

I didn't hear what he said, my attention focused on my bloodied hands. There had been so much blood. I remembered being covered in it the last time I was taken to that God-forsaken island. The Equalists liked to have some "fun" so once a month they would take prisoners to a nearby island and leave them there for three days.

There was only one rule: when they came back someone had to die. I had been terrified the first time I had been there, sleeping in the trees. I saw people beat each other, kill each other to survive. I could never get the images out of my head. I remembered this as I stared at my hands, realizing how stained they really were with the blood of others. With the blood of innocents.

"Korra!" I heard Mako shout.

I shook my head, trying to focus my attention on him. I felt everything spinning around me and I turned to go back to the couch but couldn't take more than a couple of steps. I closed my eyes tightly, my heart pounding in my ears.

"Make it stop," I heard myself say. "Please... Just make it stop." My voice came out as a whimper.

"Hey, it's ok," the Firebender soothed, coming close to me. He held out his hand and I reached out and took it, my knuckles turning white as my grip tightened on his hand.

I guessed he must have figured that it was the blood that bothered me because he washed my hands and threw away anything that had blood on it. He led me back to the couch and I sat down, covering my face with my hands; trying to control and hide the overwhelming emotions I felt right now.


Mako's POV

I didn't know what happened. One minute Korra was fine and the next she looked at her hands as if she had just bathed them in blood. I had never seen her this way. I tried to calm her down and after a few attempts she did, finally setting on the couch. I realized how traumatized she really was, how much pain she hid from everyone. From me. I had to get her to talk. It was the only way I would be able to save her, even if it was from herself.

"Korra," I began gently. "What happened to you in that prison?"

The girl lowered her hands from her face. Korra hadn't wanted to talk about anything that happened those five years. She had only mentioned something about it once. So it surprised me when she began to speak.

"I didn't lie when Bei Fong asked if I had killed anyone," my ex teammate whispered.

"Hey," I said. "You didn't kill Bolin, or the boy you told me about."

"I wasn't only referring to them." I straightened a little at this, waiting for her to continue. "I killed Aiden's guard," she confessed.

I didn't say a word. I didn't think I could. Korra had actually killed someone. Anyone in my position would have judged her right away, called her a murderer. But I couldn't do that. I wouldn't do that.

"What happened?" I asked quietly.

"There were two guards trying to pin me down, make the other one's life easier but I fought back," she said. "I knocked them both out but by that time Aiden already had the knife in his chest. Something… Snapped inside me. I took a guard's knife and launched myself at the remaining one."

She stopped there for a moment and I could see her eyes begin to fill with tears. I placed a hand over hers, silently letting her know it was ok.

"We fought and somehow I got the advantage and I killed him. I stabbed him until my arm hurt," Korra finished. "For a long time I told myself that it was either my life or his. But I know the truth. I just…unlocked something that was already there. A predator inside me. I really am a monster. I hurt those around me…I still do. There's nothing inside me. Nothing at all. I'm...empty."

"No," I said, turning her face so she could look at me. "We already talked about this. You're not a monster."

"I killed him," she said. "I stabbed him until I was too tired."

"Korra," I began gently. "He was going to kill you. Look, as an officer I can see your perspective. It was your life or his, and you chose yours just like anyone else would have. Just like I would have."

Her blue eyes met mine and I saw all the pain she felt. There was a questioning look in them, as if asking why I cared, why I wasn't reacting like other people would have.

I pulled her into a hug, holding her tightly against my chest. Her face nuzzled under my neck and I could feel the hot tears against my skin. I rubbed her back, assuring her everything would be fine. Her sobs were heartbreaking; I'd never heard anyone cry with so much pain…so much anguish.

The scars that Korra had on her body were nothing compared to those she had on her heart.

We sat like this for a long time, for how long, who knows. I looked down to see that she had fallen asleep. I sighed. So much for her eating. Gently, I picked her up and took her to my room and laid her on the bed. I took a deep breath as I sat next to her.

Everything made sense now. Why she had renounced her title. Why she acted the way she did. She didn't think she could save the world having her hands stained with the blood of others. I knew she hadn't just killed one person. She probably thought I hadn't paid attention but I had. It had been more than one. Korra wanted to shield her family and friends from the 'monster' she thought she was. But she wasn't a monster, and I didn't know how to make her understand that.

"You have a great destiny ahead of you, you know," I began, covering her up. "I read something in a book once. I liked what it said and it kind of reminds me of you. Don't let the memory of what happened to you in that prison consume you. Fight it. Be the person you are destined to be," I added. I paused as I remembered the quote.

"There are those who say fate is something beyond our command. That destiny is not our own, but I know better. Our fate lives within us, you only have to be brave enough to see it."