Author's Note: ah, the day that Mako has been dreading has finally arrived! He now has to explain to Korra's parents exactly what happened to their daughter!
The following morning, Mako briefly left the factory so he could get to a wire office and send a message to Korra's parents about her incident. Although he could not see or hear them, when the operator relayed the reply message, Mako could tell that both Korra's mother and father were deeply concerned. All Mako could say back was that they should both come to Republic City as quickly as they could.
Afterwards, Mako headed back to the factory, but he didn't enter through the main gates. Unbeknownst to everybody on the outside, there was a secret entrance to the factory through a nondescript building just off to the right side. Mako had some mixed feelings as he reentered the factory. Bumi was going to give the firebender his crash course on day-to-day operations today, and as hard as Mako may have trained in the Pro-Bending Gym, numbers and money matters were never his strong suit. He had told Bumi that, and was surprised to see the candyman laugh.
"That's alright, Mako! I've never really enjoyed that aspect of the business either, but it is a necessary evil."
Fortunately, Mako seemed to pick up Bumi's lessons quite quickly. As they broke for lunch, Bumi remarked, "You know, if pro-bending doesn't work out for Keira, she'll have the perfect teacher in you."
"Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves, Bumi," Mako replied slyly. The firebender had breezed through lunch, simply because he wanted to check on Korra. He hadn't done so since last night, and he hoped she was feeling better faster than expected.
Mako went to her room, and found the Avatar sitting up in bed, practicing her airbending. She did look better than yesterday; aside from her blue skin, she seemed more alert than and not nearly as tired as she was before. But when she saw him enter, the combination of her crossed arms and the annoyed pout on her face threw Mako for a curve.
"Korra? What's wrong," Mako asked as he pulled up a chair and sat beside her bed.
"After trying that stupid gum yesterday, I was pretty stuffed for quite awhile," Korra grumbled. "Today I'm finally hungry again, and when I told an Oompa-Loompa, he brings me that for lunch!"
Mako looked to the other side of the bed where Korra was pointing and gave an awkward laugh. Sitting on the nightstand was a small bowl filled with blueberries.
"It's bad enough that I was turned into one, apparently now I can only eat blueberries for the time being," Korra ranted. "If anything else, these pint-sized guys are still teasing me about my accident!"
"I'm pretty sure that's not the case, Korra," Mako chortled, even as he tried not to. Korra then shoved at his shoulder in irritation.
"Quit laughing, city boy," she added with a sneer. "It's not funny!"
"Oh come on, Korra," Mako said as he recomposed himself. "It may not be funny now, but someday, I'm sure you'll look back on this whole thing and have a good laugh about it!"
"Maybe…but my parents' reaction is still up in the air," Korra grumbled. "By the way, did you manage to contact them?"
"I did, and they said they would be here in about two days," Mako answered. "I didn't tell them exactly what happened to you, but that there would be a lot of explaining once they arrived."
Korra once again looked nervous. "I just hope my skin won't be as blue by the time my mom and dad get here. How am I supposed to explain all of this to them and expect them to believe it?"
"The blue skin might be the way to help them believe it," Mako surmised.
"Mako, I've been curious, once my parents do get here, and I go back home, what will happen to us," Korra asked, implying about their relationship.
"I don't know," Mako said after thinking for a moment. "But know that I will always love you, and you are more than welcome here anytime."
Korra gave an adoring grin to the firebender and embraced him. The Avatar did love Mako, but the fact that she still lived at the South Pole meant that they were so many miles apart. However, seeing that Mako had told her she could now come to the factory anytime she wanted, maybe they could make this relationship work.
"Well, I have to get back to the grind," Mako said as he drew out of the hug. "Bumi is adamant that I learn as much as I can as fast as I can."
"Go on," Korra replied understandingly. "Since it will be all yours someday, you have to know how to do the job. Besides, I was going to try to walk around today. I have to get my legs working again because this time yesterday, I didn't even have any!"
Despite her best efforts, Korra laughed a little, and Mako joined in. It turned out he was right: looking back on the whole blueberry incident, it was rather funny.
The days passed by, and true to Bumi's word, Korra's condition continued to improve. She was becoming more active and acting like her old self again. And her blue skin was fading, too, becoming a lighter shade that was not nearly as deep and brilliant when her transformation began.
The only thing getting her down was the fact that she couldn't leave the factory. The Avatar knew she would be embarrassed beyond belief if anyone outside saw her with blue skin, no matter how light a shade it was.
Finally, the day of the arrival of Korra's parents dawned. Mako had left the factory to go to the docks to meet Korra's mother and father. As the ship moored and the gangplanks were extended, Mako grew very anxious. This wasn't the way he wanted to meet the parents of his potential girlfriend, but they couldn't be kept in the dark about what had happened to their daughter.
As he kept close eyes on the disembarking passengers, Mako spotted a man and a woman walking beside each other. Both of them were of Water Tribe descent, and their faces were in worried confusion. The firebender closed the distance between himself and the couple.
"Pardon me, but are you two Korra's parents," Mako asked.
"You must be Mako," the woman said as kindly as she could. "I'm Senna, and this is my husband, Tonraq."
"It's really great to finally meet you both," Mako said sincerely. "Although I wish it was under better circumstances."
"I agree, and maybe now you can explain exactly what happened to our daughter," Tonraq said firmly as he stepped in front of Mako. "You never said anything in your message to us, but the fact that you told us to come here immediately, didn't fill us with confidence."
Mako knew Tonraq was trying to intimidate him, and truth be told, it was working. But Mako also knew why Tonraq was doing it. His daughter had just been through a harrowing experience, and he simply wanted to protect her. Mako also had a feeling Korra had talked about him to her parents, and both of them, especially her father, were being very wary of the young firebender who Korra had a crush on.
"I would be more than happy to explain, Tonraq," Mako replied uneasily. "But if I started now, we would be out here for quite a while. We should head back to the factory so you can see Korra and so that she, Bumi and I can clear up everything."
His words must have persuaded them, as Tonraq and Senna nodded, gathered their bags and followed Mako to hail a taxi to the factory. After a short ride that Mako paid for, they arrived at the Bumi Chocolate Factory.
Mako then explained they would have to go through the secret entrance to get inside the factory without being seen. The fact that nobody had stopped them on the way there was amazing in itself. Being one of the five golden ticket finders had made Mako a local celebrity overnight. Bumi had not yet officially named Mako as his successor to the public, but whenever he did, the media wouldn't give Mako a moment's peace.
After a couple of minutes, the trio arrived in the small foyer outside Bumi's office, where the candyman was waiting for them.
"Good to finally meet the Avatar's parents," Bumi greeted warmly. "I'm Candyman Bumi. I hope your boat ride was pleasant on the way here."
"As well as can be expected," Tonraq replied. "But we really only came to check on our daughter, Bumi. Senna and I have been worrying ever since Mako sent us that message."
"I understand your concern, sir," Bumi continued. "Korra is exploring more of my Chocolate Room right now. You can take my special elevator there; I would go with you, but it can't fit all four of us. I will meet you there in a few minutes."
"So what's so special about this elevator," Senna asked as Mako led Korra's parents over to a call station.
"As Bumi told me, this elevator does so much more than just move up and down," Mako explained with a small grin. "It can move sideways, slantways, front-ways, back-ways, and any other direction you can imagine. And it can take you to any room in the factory!"
It was a bit of a snug fit getting the three of them inside the Bumi-vator, considering how big Tonraq was. But Mako was able to reach the button labeled, "Chocolate Room", and called out, "Hang on, everybody!"
The Bumi-vator shot to the left a ways, then jumped backwards, and left again before coming to an abrupt stop.
"Tonraq, Senna, I give you the Chocolate Room," Mako presented as he opened the door. The reaction from Korra's parents was a look pure amazement and wonder. Just like when the tour started, the room was awash in bright, vibrant, and colorful candies of all shapes and sizes.
"I never would have expected a room like this in a factory," Senna remarked.
"The best part about this room is that almost everything around you is edible," Mako explained. "This room serves as the very heart of the factory."
Just then, Tonraq spotted movement along a brick pathway. His eyes widened as he saw Korra walking about, and then kneel down to pick up one of the chocolate-filled pumpkins. But there was something very different about her.
"Korra," Tonraq called over to her.
The Avatar turned to the voice, and her eyes lit up with joy. "Daddy! You're here!"
But as she ran towards him, Korra noticed her father wasn't closing the gap between them. And his face had a look of fearful disbelief. His daughter's skin, which was once a mocha-color, now appeared to be a vibrant sky blue! He also noticed that Korra's stomach was a little pudgy, which she hadn't had since she was a small child. He briefly shook off the dreading feelings as Korra threw herself into an embrace which Tonraq returned. But the uneasiness came back when Tonraq caught a whiff of a somewhat strong scent coming from his daughter.
'Is that,' he thought. '…blueberries?'
"I'm so happy you're here! I've missed you both," Korra added before she drew out of the hug. But when she caught sight of her dad's face again, she knew it was time to explain.
"You're probably wondering why my skin is blue, dad," Korra said with a sheepish smile.
"The thought did cross my mind, yes," Tonraq answered uneasily.
"Korra! Goodness, what happened to you," Senna exclaimed as she and Mako came over.
"Well…to be blunt…I had an accident," Korra admitted.
"What sort of accident could have made your skin change colors," Tonraq demanded.
Korra looked a little ashamed as she continued, "Believe it or not, my skin was a darker shade of blue before you two got here. And as Bumi had told me, the blue skin was just the start."
"We were in the Inventing Room," Mako jumped in. "Bumi took us, as in the rest of the tour, to this room where he created all of his newest candies and put them through their paces. The last thing he showed us was this kooky mechanical wonder that did all these different things to make one piece of chewing gum."
"That doesn't sound very efficient," Senna threw in.
"Well, there was a reason why," Korra added. "Bumi said that the gum contained the flavors of a full three-course dinner."
Tonraq, for one, looked skeptical. "Seriously? How did Bumi manage that?"
"I'm not sure, but dad, it was amazing," Korra said as she recalled the scene. "I tried it myself, and it literally felt like I was eating tomato soup, roast beef and a baked potato!"
Korra then stopped, looking sad and regretful. "It was when I reached the dessert portion, blueberry pie; then everything went south…"
Tonraq and Senna appeared to understand, and Korra's father surmised, "You turned blue all over. That gum must have made you sick."
Mako noted how similar Tonraq's assumptions sounded so familiar to Keira's before solemnly saying, "No sir. It was something much worse."
Noticing how Korra was rubbing her arms uncomfortably, Mako put his arm around her shoulder in reassurance. She then carried on with her explanation.
"My body began swelling up and out like a hot air balloon," Korra stammered. "But that's not what I was filling up with. Bumi said that anybody who had tried that gum had been transformed into a giant blueberry when they got to the dessert…"
Korra paused to wipe away the tears she had been shedding, and added, "I should have listened when Bumi warned me not to try that gum, but my own pride did me in."
Both Korra's mother and father looked deeply shocked. Tonraq then asked, "If all this is true, then why aren't you still a piece of fruit?"
"It is true, daddy," Korra insisted. "Bumi and his workforce managed to squeeze the juice out of me and return me to normal; or somewhat normal. And Mako has been by my side almost every minute since then."
"Is that why your skin is still blue," Senna questioned.
"Like I said, it was much darker before you two got here," Korra explained. "But it's been fading away gradually in the days since. And my stomach will be back to normal, too."
After a moment or two, Tonraq and Senna gave comforting smiles to their daughter, and Tonraq added, "We're just happy you're alive and well, Korra. We're proud that you admitted your mistake and we will always love you, even if we did have a blueberry for a daughter."
Korra jumped forward to embrace her parents in a group hug. Tonraq then looked up to Mako and sincerely said, "Thank you for looking after our daughter when we couldn't, young man. You are a very good friend to Korra."
"You're quite welcome, sir," Mako kindly replied. "You have no idea what that means to me."
"What do you mean by that," Tonraq asked suspiciously. Korra then drew out of the hug, blushing adorably.
"Daddy, Mako and I are kind of, well…we have a crush on each other," the Avatar explained. "Remember when I came here for my airbending training, I took in a pro-bending game. Mako's team was the team that won the match I watched, and he's the firebender I met afterwards."
"So you're Korra's pen pal," Senna realized as she smiled. "She talked about you all the time back home. You seem to be finally getting a good change of fortune, Mako."
Tonraq then spoke, his face somewhat apologetic, "I'm sorry if I intimidated you when we first met, son. It was only Korra's second time in this big city, and her best friend here is a boy who we didn't really know who he was yet."
"No need to apologize, sir," Mako said. "I completely understand."
"Although I'm sorely tempted to give the candyman who runs this place a piece of my mind," Tonraq grumbled as his demeanor darkened slightly.
"Daddy, no," Korra protested. "Bumi may have made that gum that was defective, but he didn't force me to sample it. It was my own fault, nobody else's. And besides, if not for Bumi and his workers, I probably would have exploded! His gum may have turned me into a huge blueberry, but Bumi very likely saved my life! So please, don't blame him for my accident."
Tonraq was shocked at the fact that Korra could have exploded, and now he was about to find Bumi and angrily choke him out for having his baby girl put in such danger. But Korra's words resonated with her father, and he slowly began to relax.
"Well, at least now we all know Korra will be completely restored," another voice said happily. Everyone turned towards the voice to see Bumi walking towards them from the Bumi-vator. "And I'm sure she is eager to show her parents all the sights that my factory has to offer! So please, Tonraq and Senna, feel free to explore to your heart's content!"
A/N: whew! Korra's father didn't hurt anybody! Now I know I'm progressing way beyond where this story should have ended, but truth be told, I'm enjoying it! Here's hoping you all are too!