Korra went to watch Bolin do one of his street performances with Pabu and special guest Sanyu at the Firelord Zuko statue in Republic City Square. Zuko's massive metal likeness held the eternal flame aloft as Bolin and Pabu did their warm up stretches at the base; they both wore fake mustaches to add an air of charming mystery. Sanyu crossed her arms and leaned on one hip, reveling in their silliness and strange customs.
Mako was already there, rolling his eyes at his brother. Aside from Korra and passersby, he was their only audience.
"Get this over with Bolin." Mako looked at his watch.
"Shhh. Talent takes time," Bolin said, unaffected by his brother. He twirled his fake mustache. "Besides, isn't it your day off? I can tell because your hair is all 'poof' at the front again."
Bolin knew his brother too well. Mako patted his hair carefully. To get this casual look took lots of care and moose.
Korra and Sanyu shared a knowing look. The brothers were cute together. Had to admit that.
"So, no Asami?" Bolin looked around to see if she was merely arriving late.
"Nope, sorry buddy; she's caught up," Korra said.
"Wow, that woman doesn't stop! That's why I'm really feeling the life of an air nomad. The whole 'time to enjoy the present' thing really gets me here." Bolin patted his heart and looked at Sanyu, who blushed beneath her ebony skin.
"Maybe we should get started then eh?" she said.
"Right!" Bolin clapped his hands together and cleared his throat. "Gather round folks (folks being Mako and Korra) to witness the one, the only Pabu! C'mon little buddy; do your thing!"
Pabu did flips and spins along a pre-made obstacle course, his fluffy orange and red-striped tail curving to the movements, until he finished his routine and collected a treat waiting for him in Bolin's hand.
"All right Pabu!" Bolin said, more excited about his companion's feat than anyone else there. He was his Fire Ferret's number one fan.
They all clapped and Pabu bowed.
Next came the new routine, the one Bolin had rehearsed with Sanyu. For dramatic effect, he ripped off his top layer of clothing to reveal a jumpsuit resembling his swimsuit attire, his bouldering muscles rippling through the fabric. He flexed and smiled and winked, cowlick dangling at his forehead.
Korra laughed. Bolin imitated strong guys, but he was also one of them. And strong guys didn't always have to show their strength by making others submit, by putting them down. They could lift things – and people – up too. So, that's what Bolin did.
He earthbended two perfectly round stone boulders, artistic fixtures and monoliths that had taken a team of benders to transport and mold. The spherical stones moved toward him, and Korra and Mako ducked their heads out of the way before the boulders stopped suddenly in front of Bolin. He lifted them like heavy reps, then juggled them high in the air, eventually bringing one more stone into the rotation.
Steadying himself, he sent the boulders back from where they came, using postures he picked up on the street and through pro-bending rather than traditional tiger crane movements; when this was done, he settled the chi within himself with his hands moving slowly downward, breath exhaling slowly.
The crowd cheered. This time, a few had gathered to watch after the previous display.
"For our final act, I invite the one, the only Sanyu to the stage."
The stage was the floor at their feet. Bolin held out his hand and Sanyu took it, and in the next moment, he lifted her up, spinning her as she contorted her body in different ways. Korra was awestruck by their chemistry, the way they seemed to lock into a rhythm.
Finally, Bolin lifted her up and she stood on tiptoes with one leg extended one-hundred and eighty degrees upward. She used airbending to maintain balance and a steady core. Pabu climbed up both of them, encircling the two until he balanced on Sanyu's foot. They looked as if they were trying to reach the top of the statue or create their own.
Pabu came down, followed by Sanyu, who flipped in the air and floated down gracefully. She was an airbender after all, though her style was distinctly from her culture which was not on the map, a location she would never reveal to anyone – except for maybe one.
Truly impressed, Makorra clapped and woo'd. Mako tossed a yuan into a hat that was placed upon the floor. A few other onlookers followed suit, and Korra grabbed whatever was in her pocket and tossed it in. All she had was a thick silver piece, but it wasn't like money had ever been an object to her.
To Bolin and Mako, it was an object. It meant the difference between whether or not they ate as orphan boys living on the street – either that or they had to resort to pulling jobs for the Triple Threat Triads. Korra also didn't realize it was poor show to vastly out-tip the rest. It was arrogant and uncomely of an Avatar. At any rate, her head had been elsewhere lately.
Korra meant to talk to Tenzin shortly after returning from The Southern Air Temple, but she found herself avoiding Air Temple Island all together. In fact, she had all but secluded herself in recent days and was relieved that Asami had lately become a workaholic. She didn't want to scare Asami away with the dark thoughts racing through her mind. All of the worry and shame and worthlessness weighed her down. And they hadn't been intimate in almost two weeks.
But the Avatar had resolved not to let anyone see her like that, not again. Not after her three years as a pathetic nobody, a woman who couldn't win a street fight against a random earthbender. And she was the Avatar!
"Korra you OK?" Mako said.
"Hmm? Yea. I'm fine. Lost track a moment." She broke from a dark day dream that seemed to play over and over in her mind lately.
"You sure?" Bolin chimed in. He had also noticed Korra slip away for a second into a sad reverie.
"Why does everyone keep asking me if I'm OK? I'm fine! I'm the Avatar!" Korra's chest puffed and the eternal flame at the tip of the statue shot outward in a dangerous display. The flame went out and she said "Oops."
Mako noticed something then in the irises of her deep blue eyes. It was subtle but seemed to glow fiery in that moment, brief enough for others not to notice. He could have sworn he'd seen that shape before. But the eternal flame going out distracted him.
"I don't know what's going on with you, but something's off." And I'm going to get to the bottom of it, he thought.
"Hey you! You can't just blow out the eternal flame!" An officer on duty called from across the square.
"Whoops, look at the time." Bolin didn't own a watch. Either way it was time to skedaddle. "Catch you guys later!"
The last thing Mako wanted to do was run from the police but it was better than explaining and making a ruckus. He shot a flame back in Zuko's statue'd hand and ran with Korra in the opposite direction of Bolin and Sanyu.
They managed to ditch the cops and ducked into an alley to catch their breath. Korra was on an adrenaline high.
"Whoa, Mako! Didn't' think you had it in you to run from your buddies."
"Don't get too excited. Those aren't my buddies. A lot of those guys got it out for me on the force. Think I'm too goody goody or whatever." Mako looked around in case anyone else caught up to them.
"You really are though." Korra nudged him.
"What? Me? No! I'm just… responsible is all. I had to take care of me and Bolin on the street a long time."
"Not to mention boring – in the street and elsewhere," Korra said haphazardly, rolling her eyes and yawning. She felt emboldened, adrenaline rushing to her head and throughout her body.
Mako's first instinct was to defend himself, but he remembered the tiny shape in Korra's eye and his memory flashed to the same symbol he saw elsewhere – on Chai Son's ring. His detective brain turned on again.
"You're not yourself. We're gonna get to the bottom of this."
"Whaddya mean I'm not myself. I'm always myself. Whether I'm the Avatar or not." Korra slurred, punching Mako's arm with heat coming off of her fist.
"Ow watch it." Mako recoiled, burn marks settling into his sleeve. He noticed Korra sweating profusely and placed the back of his hand against her forehead. "Korra you're burning up!"
"No you are!" She fell over.
"That didn't make sense! Either way, I'm getting you outta here."
"Flameo hotman! See what I mean? Can't take a joke like an old fuddy-duddy."
Mako swooped Korra up and carried her out to the end of the alley. She noticed Bolin and Sanyu's blurred figures approaching them before losing consciousness.
Korra opened her eyes to see Mako, Bolin, and Sanyu leaning over her. Her head pounded and her body felt heavy and sore as if she had spent a wild night drinking. She groaned, wiped her eyes.
"Where am I?"
"We're still in the alley," Mako said, relieved to see Korra come to.
"We haven't lost you to the dark abyss!" Bolin squeezed Korra in a tight embrace and melodramatic display of happiness she was alive.
"What are you talking about? How long was I out?" Korra sat up; she was genuinely confused. "I don't remember anything that happened after your performance."
"Not long but long enough to scare us," Mako said. "You were acting strange… and mean. Then you started slurring your words, overheated, and passed out. Bolin and Sanyu found us here."
Bolin chimed in: "We were just about to call for help. Tenzin and Asam—"
"No!" Korra said. "I mean… I don't want to burden them yet. If I can figure this out first, maybe it won't matter."
Korra forced herself to stand. She felt a little woozy but shook it off and felt relatively normal again.
"OK what is this? Is there something you're not telling us?" Mako folded his arms.
Korra felt backed into a corner but soon loosened her guard, deciding it was better to come clean. Sanyu felt a personal moment coming up among Team Avatar, and while she got along just fine with the rest of them, she didn't want to impose.
She pulled Bolin to the side. "If help is not needed, I'm going back to the temple."
"OK then. That was fun though – I mean until Korra got all scary." Bolin laughed weakly.
Sanyu smiled and kissed Bolin on the cheek; he blushed a deep red, little hearts floating out of his head into the air. She turned and blew off with the wind, bouncing lightly from roof to roof in the direction of the ferry.
Korra spilled everything to them then – what happened after Harmonic Convergence, what she had been going through lately, how she felt isolated and lonely, even from the ones she loved the most. She felt herself sinking deeper into a dark place – the worst part was she couldn't tell if it was Vaatu dragging her down or her own dark thoughts and insecurities.
"Don't worry. We'll figure this out. We got your back no matter what. This is Team Avatar we're talking about." Mako said sincerely.
"Yeahhh! Team Avatar!" Bolin cheered.
They brought it in for a sappy hug and Korra enjoyed her friends before realizing Team Avatar was missing one very important member. She really did want Asami there more than anything but didn't feel this incident was big enough to tear her girlfriend away from her busy schedule. She was a big time CEO after all, and Korra, though the Avatar, felt more and more useless every day in the modern world. She caught herself beginning to spiral again and tried to shake it off.
"Chai Son!" Mako said abruptly.
That was the last name Korra wanted to hear. "What about him?"
"You said he was a phony – I thought you were just jealous at first, but you might not be wrong. He wears a pinky ring; there's a symbol on it. I swear I saw it flash in your eyes earlier."
"Is it still there!?"
Mako and Bolin leaned in to examine Korra's Water Tribe blue eyes, as deep as oceans and night sky. There was much to see in those eyes, but no trace of a symbol.
"It's not, but I know what I saw. Let's get out of here. I know a guy who might be able to help," Mako said.
By the time they pulled up to Republic City High in Mako's motorcycle, the dark night and bright waxing gibbous moon had long settled in the sky. It happened that Korra rode side car while Bolin sat behind Mako, cradling and leaning into his brother's torso. A sign on the front lawn read: "Enter all who seek knowledge."
"That's us. C'mon," Mako said.
"Why are we at a high school?" Korra said. She had never been to high school, and neither did Mako or Bolin for that matter.
"There's a librarian here who might be able to tell about the symbol. He's helped me occasionally with some of my stranger cases."
Mako walked with urgency. The others followed him through the double doors of the school. Lockers with stickers of bands and hand-painted posters that read "Go Flying Boars!" adorned the hallways.
"Wow, lockers!" Bolin said, entranced by the simple things in life. "I always wanted one of those."
"Bo, stay focused." Mako on the other hand, remained steadfast on their mission.
"Fuddy-duddy," Bolin whispered to Korra loudly and the two chuckled.
They came upon the swinging doors leading into the library. It was a quaint little one-and-a-half-storied thing with stacks of books and scrolls organized neatly on tall bookcases. That is, except for the massive table at the center, which was covered in open books and scrolls strewn about. Two teenagers sat at the table with their heads buried in a respective book.
A redheaded girl wearing red and black overalls looked up and noticed the three adults enter the library, one of them resembling the Avatar, another a famous mover star, and the other some guy who came off sort of like a square.
The other teenager, a boy who appeared to be half-wolf spirit, also looked up as the librarian came out his office, steaming cup of tea in one hand, book in the other. The spectacled gentleman was tall with strong bone structure and wore a dull green tweed vest and a button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He appeared to be in his early-to-mid forties.
"Mako. It's been awhile chap. And Avatar Korra. And… Nuktuk? What brings you here this evening." The librarian knew Mako and recognized the others.
"We need your help," Mako got right to the point. "It has to do with Avatar Korra here."
Korra bowed and the librarian bowed back. The redhead waved shyly and the spirit boy nodded his head coolly.
Korra became painfully aware of the teenagers and signaled not so subtly toward them as if to say she didn't feel comfortable spilling this information in front of them.
Bolin, meantime had ambled over to the table and noticed the open books and pictures of what looked like dark spirits and all manner of things that go bump in the night. He gasped and recoiled. What sort of kinky stuff did this group get into at night?
The other two were quiet as well. It appeared they held their tongues in a mutual standoff of poorly kept secrets.
The librarian removed his glasses and wiped them with a rag in his pocket, put them back on.
"Um, yes, of c-course," He stuttered in the polite lilt of the educated classes. "Please, won't you step into my office.
Mako and Korra followed the librarian behind the checkout counter to a small room adorned with a desk, ancient artifacts, and dozens of bound journals; Bolin stayed outside with the teenagers.
Once the door was closed, Mako pulled out a napkin from his pocket. On it, he had drawn the symbol he saw in Korra's eye and Chai Son's ring.
The librarian examined the symbol. It did not seem completely foreign to him. "And this has… affected you, Avatar Korra? Tell me, what has it done?"
"I don't know. I'm so confused lately," Korra said. She came clean again, this time to a stranger she just met. "I'm infected by Vaatu, the dark spirit. It's inside of me, along with Raava. Both of them, swirling around. And it hurts." She realized the truth and weight of the last statement as she said it.
"You poor child. You'll have to deal with this, unless… ah! Ah!" It appeared a lightbulb went off in his head and he left the room, grabbed one of the open books on the table and flipped to a specific page as he walked back. He slammed the book onto his desk, revealing the symbol.
Mako's eyes widened and picked up the book to examine the symbol closely. "That's it!" he said.
"It's a secret occult society. A lot of those have been cropping up lately seeking to revive the old ways while knowing nothing about what that actually means. Amateurs playing at spells and sorcery, trying to control the elements by supernatural means. Oh dear, the worst of it is what I feared," the librarian said.
"What?!" Makorra said dumbfounded. The worst of it?
The librarian removed his glasses and leaned in closer to the two. "Do you think harmonic convergence brought together only the spirit and material worlds? Let me tell you, there's a lot more than just those two worlds – and there ARE things that go bump in the night."
Korra remembered what the dogfish spirit had said to her when she and Kuvira traveled to the Spirit World. The Avatar was the bridge between these two worlds, but there was much more out there, infinitely more.
"So we take out these guys, we save Korra?" Mako said.
"Possibly, but it's not that simple. We have two different issues here. Well, three." The librarian walked over to his secretary in the corner of the office and pulled out a fine bottle of fire whiskey, pouring himself a glass. He took a sip, then chugged the whole thing and breathed out hot air. He inhaled fresh air and continued: "One, Raavaatu are fused once again and that has nothing to do with these amateur occultists. Two, these amateur occultists are extremely dangerous because they don't know what they're doing and are messing with powerful forces they think they can control. And three – the end of the world. It's nigh."
"What?!" Makorra said again in unison. Here were two people not so elegant with words.
"I'm afraid so," the librarian said.
"How nigh?" Korra said, though she had a gut feeling she knew the answer.
"The Earth Moon in less than a week. The full moon lasts three days. By the end of the third day, we won't know what will happen exactly. The text is unclear – a translation of a translation of a translation."
Korra could feel panic settling in. "I don't know what any of that means! The end of the world?"
"We don't have enough information to say anything definite yet. That's what the prophecy said, but it could also very well translate to…" The librarian caught himself before saying more and Korra ran out of patience.
"Tell me!" She demanded, gripping his collar with one hand and raising him off his feet. Her eyes flickered white then red and the foundation beneath them shook before she put him down.
Mako was frightened by this display. The others darted their eyes toward the office and Korra realized her mishap. She was losing control more and more often.
The librarian adjusted his glasses and gulped. "It could also mean the end of the Avatar. But it's really all up in the air."
"And what are y'all doing here huh?" Mako also found himself getting worked up, feeling offended for his friend, Korra, the Avatar, who was going through something he could never understand.
The librarian looked out to the kids on the other side of the office window, who seemed to be getting on well with Bolin. "If Korra's the bridge between the spirit and material worlds, consider us the bridge between the material world and what's underneath. The rest of our gang is out patrolling as we speak." He fixed his collar. "And another thing, I expect the utmost discretion, as I will be of your plight."
Korra shivered. This was all too much. What more could there possibly be?
"Oh and Korra, there's something I've been meaning to tell you," Mako said. "I've been following Chai Son awhile now, ever since he first made headlines last year with Asami and Varrick; remember that?"
Korra gritted her teeth. She didn't appreciate the reminder.
"Anyway," Mako continued, "the force has been investigating bootleggers smuggling in cactus juice and doling them out at speakeasys all throughout Republic City. The case ended up getting dropped a long time ago, but before it did, I connected it back to Chai Son. And Varrick. And… Asami."
"But that doesn't mean anything," Korra found herself immediately defending Asami before she wanted to hear more. "They're business partners. And Varrick is just – who knows about that guy?"
"I know. I know," Mako said. "Still. I'd watch her, at least to make sure she doesn't get in any deeper with these cats."
"All of this is speculation yet," the librarian tried to console the Avatar. He didn't know most of what Mako was talking about but could see how things could go either way.
Korra felt crushed and alone. She came up with a rash idea then, one that would hopefully take care of her problem for good.
"Is there a way to get rid of it? Get rid of Vaatu and send it somewhere… else?" She asked with an air of desperation to her voice.
The librarian paused and rubbed his temple. "When I was young – about your age – I fell in with a group like those occultists I described. It's how I know about it. We were idiots, but we were powerful idiots. The answer is yes, in theory."
"Great. Do it," Korra said with finality then.
"But –"
"Your Avatar needs you." She pulled the Avatar card, but desperate times called for such measures.
Minutes later they exited the stuffy office to the cool air of the library. Korra, Mako, and the librarian carried solemn faces.
Bolin at first was none the wiser.
"Hey guys, this kid here just told me how he became a wolf spirit boy. Such a great tale, long story though."
"A spirit passed through me," the boy said nonchalantly, shrugging.
"Apparently not that long." Bolin smiled and finally caught onto vibe the others carried out of the office.
The redhead looked concerned and before she could ask what the matter was, the librarian instructed her: "Prepare a circle."
Meantime, somewhere in Republic City, robed figures stood in a circle around a fire, chanting in an ancient tongue and holding up earthen chalices of fluorescent green cactus juice. They gulped down their drinks in unison.
One of the figures, Chai Son, broke away from the circle and approached a scared little koala sheep, which was tied up nearby. He unsheathed his cane to reveal a needle-like sword.
"Accept our sacrifice!" He closed his eyes, chanted something with the others repeating in unison, and skewered the sheep. A stream of blood traveled toward the fire, causing the flames to spit and crackle in an array of bright colors.