Chapter 15: The Water Bender
Korra and Daigo stared deeply at the colossal statue of Avatar Aang, which almost glowed in the full moon.
"It's funny. It was in Aang's statue that we first faced Tarrlock." Korra almost chuckled.
"Hmp, you're right. It's all come full circle." Daigo took a deep breath as their boat closed the distance. Naga whined and nudged her head against them both. The husband and wife understood her fear.
"It's going to be ok, Naga, I promise." Korra stroked her companion's head and spoke in a soothing voice. Despite what she said, Naga felt Korra trembling slightly. The young Avatar felt her husband's warm hand on her shoulder and looked back at him.
"Are you ok?"
Korra wanted to answer instantly with utter confidence, but the words caught in the back of her throat.
"...I hope so." Diago smiled and hugged Korra tightly.
"You're the Avatar."
"I'm only eighteen years old." Diago laughed.
"Korra, Avatar Aang was thirteen when he defeated Firelord Ozai." Before Korra could retort, she felt his warm lips press against hers. The young Avatar didn't resist and melted away into her husband's arms for what felt like an eternity, but still too short.
Naga barked, and the two reluctantly looked over at the base of Aang's statue. They'd arrived. Both took a deep breath and, holding hands, they entered the small island with Naga close behind.
Once off the dock, Korra and Diago let go of each other to remain vigilant of Red Lotus combatants possibly laying in wait. However, so far, everything seemed still and ominously quiet.
However, it didn't last long, for Naga sniffed something and growled towards the statue. Korra didn't wait and furiously unleashed a series of masterful blue fire bending followed by kicked-up boulders. Three Red Lotus combatants came up readying themselves to attack but yelped in pain when Korra's bending hit them first and sent all three sprawling to the ground.
Moments later, a pair of fire and water benders attacked from the other direction, only to have their efforts wasted. Enhanced by the full moon, Diago bent a protective spout of water around him, his wife, and their polar bear dog before sending it back at the four Red Lotus benders, sweeping them away into the harbor.
Korra swiftly followed this up by bending two serpent-esk veils of water from the bay into a few earth benders, collecting their stones and knocking them out with them before using a burst of air bending to knock down two fire benders who rushed onto the edge of the statue's base.
"Well, we know someone's here." Diago muttered.
"Come on!" Korra grabbed his hand and raced inside with Naga close behind.
However, immediately after entering the statue interior, all three lurched to the side, narrowly avoiding a series of water-blades that sliced clean through the doors.
"Well, I was wondering when someone to show up." Ming Hau grinned in her usual sadistic manner, slowly emerging from the darkness with six watery arms on each side of her empty arm-sockets.
"Great." Korra growled in annoyance.
Ming Hau gazed up at the window as moonlight shined down upon them, basking in the power it granted her.
"You feel that? Of course, you do. You're both water benders, but neither of you is anything like Tarrlock or me. You'll never truly water bend."
"Go." Diago said, earning a horrified look from Korra.
"Diago-"
"Go! We can handle her. You need to stop Tarrlock! You're the only one who can!" Tightening her fist, Korra nodded, and with a look of reassurance from Naga, the Avatar air bent herself over Ming Hau. The elite water bender tried to stop Korra, but Diago bent in water from the bay and blocked her.
"Hmp, you want to fight me alone? How foolish, especially now that she won't be here to save you like last time?"
Diago narrowed his eyes and got into a defensive stance.
"You don't get it, do you. Korra didn't save me when we battled that time in the streets. She saved you."
Ming Hau furiously came at Diago with all six of her arms, but the Lieutenant bent them away or shielded himself with his own water. The Red Lotus elite kept up the pressure, but the full moon enhanced Diago's water bending just as much as hers.
A pair of Red Lotus fire benders rushed in to try and flank Diago, but Naga was on them instantly, snarling and hurling the man and woman back with her immense strength.
Diago narrowly parried one of Ming Hau's watery blade arms and felt it slice through the sleeve of his uniform. Ming Hau grinned wider while watching one of her earth benders ready himself behind Diago.
"Graaaaww!" Naga leaped into the air over him, making the Red Lotus turn pale. Diago saw this and laughed.
"Good girl!"
"Grraaaa!" Ming Hau lashed out like an octopus, but the Lieutenant came back, bending a water spout around himself that absorbed each incoming blow then sent them back in the form of javelin esk icicles.
Ming Hau pulled back, slashing her arms around to smash each icicle, but a few got through and raked across the sides of her body and face, drawing blood.
"Grrrrr!" Diago's smirk made the Red Lotus elite's blood boil. So much that she combined all six of her arms into a single blade and swung it around like a fan, slicing through walls and anything else it came in contact with.
A few Red Lotus members yelped and jumped backward, barely avoiding her attack.
"Ming Hau, watch it!"
"Get out of the way or die!"
"Naga, here!" The polar bear dog managed to get behind Diago just in time to get shielded from the spinning blade. Ming Hau's initial excitement faded when she saw his defensive northern style keep back the watery weapon.
"My turn." Diago narrowed his eyes and, seizing the blade. He sent it back at Ming Hau, who frantically ducked but didn't do so in time. The Red Lotus panted heavily upon realizing the attack missed, only to feel water dripping from the top of her head and an amused look on Diago's face.
Looking down, Ming Hau saw a pile of hair, and upon gazing at her reflection in some water, she realized she was bald.
"Oops." Diago laughed while shrugging. However, his smile faded upon seeing the crazed look on Ming Hau's face. Naga barked louder, and Diago realized ten more Red Lotus members now surrounded them.
"Now you die!" All ten unleashed their fury, and Diago tried everything to protect himself and Naga. However, he could only stop Ming Hau's attack.
Yet, as he braced himself, the Lieutenant felt nothing. Looking back, he saw another jet of water hit and knock back all ten of Ming Hau's minions.
"What!?" She snarled.
Both heard a series of soft footsteps approaching, and Naga began panting with a happy expression. Diago and Ming Hau then saw her, an old woman in southern water tribe attire came.
"Sorry, I'm late." Katara said, not even looking as she smacked back a Red Lotus water bender with her jet as she tried to ambush the old woman.
"Master Katara!" Diago exclamed in glee.
"Master Katara!" Ming Hau stuttered in genuine fear.
Katara narrowed her eyes at Ming Hau, not with anger but disappointment.
"You were one of my best students, Ming Hau, so much potential, just to throw it away with the Red Lotus."
"I've surpassed you, cowardly old woman!" Ming Hau unleashed everything she had, only for Katara to bend the water away and shake her head effortlessly.
"I won't hurt one of my old students, Ming Hau. He, on the other hand." Katara glanced over at Diago and nodded at him. Diago bowed his head respectfully and placed himself between Katara and the Red Lotus elite.
"Gaaahhh!" Ming Hau resumed her offensive while Naga and Karata prevented any other Red Lotus minions from interfering. Slowly but surely, Diago closed the distance between himself and Ming Hau, defensively bending away each of her attacks as sweat formed on her now clean-shaven head.
"Die! Die! Die! Die-" Ming Hau convulsed, gasping when she felt a horrific pain in her stomach. Looking down, the Red Lotus saw Diago had redirected her blade arms back into her stomach after getting close enough.
Diago's face lacked rage, holding only discipline and a sense of duty. All six of Ming Hau's arms fell apart, splashing across the floor, followed quickly by Ming Hau's corpse, which hit the ground with a thud, going limp.
Diago exhaled deeply and looked back at Katara, who endured Naga's passionate licking.
"Yes, I've missed you too, Naga!" Katara laughed.
"Master Katara! It's a privilege!" Diago bowed his head only for Katara to shake her head.
"Get up, young man, none of that. Where's Korra?"
"She went after Tarrlock."
Katara nodded, all three quickly sharing the same concerned look.
Elsewhere in the statue, Korra swept three Red Lotus benders off their feet with some air bending them slammed them aside with bent metal. With the combatants down, her path now lay clear, and Korra stared at the doorway ahead of her.
The young Avatar stood in place for almost a minute before taking a deep breath and mustering all her strength. Korra thrust both hands forward and smashed the doors apart with her metal bending.
Inside, the chamber she saw a single man who water bent with no visible water. However, her eyes widened upon seeing who stood before her. The hooded man turned to face Korra, his white mask almost glittering in the moonlight.
"Not who you were expecting, Avatar Korra?" Amon asked.
Korra narrowed her eyes and slowly entered.
"Actually, no, you're exactly who I was expecting, Tarrlock!"
Amon went still for a moment and then nodded.
"Very good, Avatar Korra, very good." Amon's voice instantly transformed into Tarrlocks, and upon lowing his head and tossing the mask aside, she saw his smirking face.
"That explains it, all those times water bending could never touch Amon. The ability to take away bending and give it, you've been manipulating both sides this whole time! But why?! Why Tarrlock!?"" Tarrlock's smile widened.
"I'm afraid you're only half-right, Avatar Korra, for you see, Tarrlock is no different than Amon, he's just." Tarrlock moved his hand in front of his face as if waterbending, and Korra nearly yelped when she saw it contort into another face entirely.
Tarrlock seemed to transform into a completely different person, his eye color and facial structure doing the same.
"Another mask." The man's voice completely changed too, and it sounded dark, sinister, and unsettling. (Erik Todd Dellums's voice when he did Koh the face stealer. The character isn't Koh, but Koh's voice is what I imagined).
"Who, who are you?" Korra muttered, doing her best not to tremble.
"Who am I? That is a good question, Avatar Korra. If it is a name you seek, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. For I'm not quite sure I remember what my name originally was, myself. I'm not even certain this was my original face. I've used so many different names and wore so many different faces throughout the years. However, you can simply refer to me as, The Waterbender, the greatest water bender to ever live."
Korra kept both hands up in a fighting stance and tried to read the Waterbender but was afraid of what she might see.
"So you led the Red Lotus and Equalists, why? What's your game?"
"Isn't it obvious, Avatar Korra? I want what all of us really want deep down, power. Not the vain and empty power my dear Raiko desires. Titles, positions, pathetic. I want real power. Do you know what that is, Avatar Korra?"
She didn't answer.
"Control, getting people to do exactly what you want them to do, without them realizing it, and even convincing them it's what they want. That is true power, Avatar Korra. Controlling the flow of energy of this world, the ultimate form of water bending."
The Water Bending gazed up at the full moon and closed his eyes while taking in its power.
"Manipulating this city and its people was so easy, Avatar Korra, make people believe they're oppressed, give them someone else to blame. It almost wasn't even fun, almost. You see, when I discovered the ability to energy bend, I realized something. The Spirits have guided and shaped this world for thousands of years through their wisdom. But now, that power will belong to me."
Korra's eyes widened.
"So that's it, then, Raiko was going to be your puppet!"
The Waterbender nodded.
"Yes, Avatar Korra. But I'm afraid it won't stop there. One by one, the world leaders will all belong to me. They will do exactly what I want them to do, and through them, I will perform the ultimate water bending. Piece by piece, I'll reshape this world into the image I please. Culture, ideas, architecture, wisdom, art, all of it will follow my design, whatever I please. The power of the spirits that is the power I will have, Avatar Korra."
"You're insane!"
The Waterbender shook his head.
"No, I'm not."
Korra trembled harder, and as she looked into his eyes, the Avatar realized, whoever, or whatever this man was, his mind was sound. That, perhaps more than anything, frightened her.
"You're never going to have that kind of power!"
The Waterbender nodded.
"Yes, that brings us to the point of contention. You see, I cannot have that power so long as the Spirits are here to contradict me. You, Avatar Korra, are the Spirits' conduit into this world. Thus, you, and the Avatar cycle as a whole, must be destroyed."
Korra narrowed her eyes.
"Ahh, that's it then. Back when we first met here, and when you had me as a prisoner with the Equalists. You want to kill me in the Avatar state. Too bad because I'm not going into the Avatar State, so even if you do kill me, the Avatar Cycle will continue."
"Ahhh, but you will go into the Avatar State. I just need the proper motivation. Your precious husband." Korra's face went pale.
"Yes, you risked the Avatar Cycle to save him before, and now you've brought your greatest weakness here. Will you be willing to watch him die?"
Korra grit her teeth and thrust two fireballs at the Waterbender, who immediately brought in water from the windows, smashing the glass and shielding himself.
Korra immediately followed up with a successive barrage of metal, air, fire, and water. However, despite her best efforts, the Waterbender held nothing back and swept away Korra's attacks with more efficiency and ruthlessness than he ever showed as Tarrlock. Korra narrowly avoided his counter-attacks, mostly through air bending.
Korra was proud of how far she'd come in the last year, going from virtually no ability to considering herself a powerful water bender. However, she couldn't deny that the man before her was something else entirely. Perhaps Master Katara and Master Katara alone was greater.
Even so, the young Avatar refused to give up. Maybe she wasn't a master Water Bender, but that was fine. Smiling, Korra bent up metal from the ground towards the Water Bender's legs, ensnaring him.
Without breaking stride, he bent some water down to slice them off. Yet in doing so, he sacrificed enough water to let Korra's air bending break through, hurling him into the wall.
The Water Bender let out a satisfying grunt, yet Korra didn't stop there, and channeling her innermost fire bending, she unleashed a bolt of lightning straight for Water Bender.
As expected, he recovered in time to catch and redirect it back towards Korra. However, this time, Korra had something else up her sleeve. She swift bent pieces of metal around her as makeshift lightning conductors that aimed back at her opponent.
"Too ba-" Korra's eyes widened when the Water Bender unleashed blade-shaped bursts of ice into Korra's metal, slicing it to pieces.
The young Avatar propelled herself away from the explosion only to cry out in agony when the Water Bender slammed her into a wall with his water, then another.
Korra's body filled with sharp pain, and worse, the veil of water over her head didn't even let her breathe.
"Even if I can't kill you in the Avatar State, it will buy me time to-" The Waterbender covered himself with the veil with less than a moment to spare when Korra burst out of his trap with a cyclone of air bending.
"Hyyaa!" Korra flipped herself in mid-air and kicked a barrage of blue fireballs into the Water Bender. Her fiery inferno burned so hot that it began evaporating his veil piece by piece.
The Water Bender tried to replace his lost arsenal, however, Korra mixed in a bit of her own water bending, only enough to hinder his efforts, and in doing so, it divided the Water Bender's attention.
"You turned this city and its people against each other! You killed countless innocent people! Now you threaten my husband!"
Korra unleashed all four elements together with a furious thrust, hitting the Water Bender in his center mass and nearly shattering his entire skeleton.
Korra panted heavily while watching him go flying through the wall and skidding across the bay like a skipping stone. For a brief moment, Korra actually thought it might be over.
Yet as she stepped out from the hole in the wall, the Avatar could only watch in horror as she saw a circling spout of water rising in the air. The water glittered in the moonlight in the same way it would if a water bender used healing.
The Water Bender stood atop this tower, his bones reformed and his eyes almost glowed from the full moon's energy. He smiled at Korra for a moment before turning back to Republic City.
Korra tightened her fist but hesitated. He was in the bay now, surrounded by a virtually unlimited water supply and during a full moon.
"...Here goes nothing." Korra's long hair flew free in the wind as she propelled herself straight at the Water Bender. The Avatar bent water filled with rocks from the bay floor straight at the Water Bender from multiple approaches, yet he unleashed a tidal wave in every direction.
In doing so, he not only swept away Korra's attack but also opened seized the opening to unleash a series of water whips the size of trains, each wielding a mace of ice at the end.
Korra furiously firebend the ice, pushing herself away with moments to spare. However, it wasn't enough, and the Water Bender slammed her straight down with another living water wave. Korra managed to bend the bay water around herself despite the sharp pain, healing any immediate injuries she sustained and preventing a harsh impact.
Instead, she propelled herself back up with a combination of water and air bending.
Back at the statue of Aang, Diago, Katara, and Naga had a front-row seat to Korra's fight with the Water Bender.
Diago tightened his fist and nearly rushed to help, only to feel Katara's firm hand on his arm.
"No, this is her battle." Diago grit his teeth while Naga began barking.
"Korra, you can defeat him!" Katara almost blinked at him.
"Is that really the best you can do?" The Lieutenant glared at Katara.
"No, the best I can do is go out there and fight beside her, but apparently, this is her fight!" The old woman sweatdropped and nervously turned back to the fight.
On Air Temple Island, Tenzin, Jinora, Kai, and the others also saw the battle, while Opal, Bolin, Mako, and Asami saw it with the others watched from the harbor.
"Good, an audience. Once you're dead, they won't have anyone protecting them from my bloodbending!" The Water Bender laughed.
"Unless I outlast the Full Moon!" Korra roared while air bending away from several incoming flying waves and earth bending rock pillars under the Water Bender.
Unfortunately, he merely glided away with the aid of water jets or sliced the pillars apart with ease.
"No matter, I'm a patient man. I can wait another month if need be." Korra endured another blow to her side that knocked the wind out of the young Avatar's stomach.
The Water Bender instantly seized upon this moment and unleashed a blizzard of icicle spears. However, to his disbelief, Korra didn't try to dodge these icicles. Instead, she propelled herself forward at the center, and at the last moment, bent those directly in front of her into water before unleashing a typhoon of air that struck the Water Bender dead center.
The blow sent him tumbling towards the bay, but when he tried to catch himself as Korra had, the Avatar bent a rock pillar up into his path. The Water Bender's eyes widened, and he desperately attempted to slice it apart but only partially succeeded.
His arm and part of his waist hit the rocks and shattered bones. Even so, he landed in the water and began healing himself like last time. Unfortunately, he had Korra to contend with this time, and she unleashed a giant blue fireball that hit the water and made an artificial mist of steam.
Korra landed softly on an artificial island she bent up alongside some air bending. Once on her feet, she peered through the fading steam to see the blow left the Water Bender severely burned and breathing heavily.
"Hmp, try changing that face. You might want to put Amon's mask back on now." Korra laughed with a smug expression. That joy instantly faded when she saw the Water Bender's sadistic smile return. Despite his scorched body, he stood tall on the water itself.
"You haven't seen anything yet, Avatar Korra." He whipped out Amon's mask and placed it on his head before sinking beneath the water, though judging by his hand movements and how he did so, it was clearly by design.
The water around him began to shift violently as if a storm brewed before Korra's mouth dropped.
"By the spirits!" Diago cried, and even Katara found herself speechless when she saw a behemoth monstrosity made entirely out of the water rise up and tower over Korra with the Water Bender in the center reminiscent of Aang's fusion with the Ocean Spirit Katara saw at the siege of the North Pole decades earlier.
The Water Bender's eyes still glowed with the power of the full moon, and the behemoth around him roared before bringing its crushing fist down towards the Avatar.
Korra frantically air bent herself away and watched the stone island she'd stood on shatter into tiny pebbles when the watery fist made an impact. The behemoth roared again and furiously pursued Korra, smashing the water into massive waves with each miss.
Korra did her best to stay clear and fight back, but alas, nothing worked. Her fire bending extinguished instantly without hindering the behemoth in the slightest, with any air bending having similar results.
Korra's attempts to earth bend proved similarly fruitless, for the behemoth merely smashed the stone apart. As for water bending, she had no hope of overpowering the Water Bender at her current level, even with the Full Moon.
"Now, you will enter the Avatar State or watch your husband die!" The Water Bender laughed as he turned the behemoth towards Aang's statue.
Naga's barking faded into a frightened whimper when she saw the behemoth approaching them. Diago's eyes widened, and he did his best not to tremble before the monster moving towards them.
"Master, Katara. I don't suppose-" He started.
"Don't worry." Katara narrowed her eyes and got into a fighting stance. Seeing her so confident, Diago took a fighting stance beside the master.
Korra, however, didn't see Katara and turned pale, thinking Diago and Naga would soon be crushed.
"No!"
Korra's eyes turned white, and she felt the power of every previous Avatar once again flow through her, but also, someone else.
Diago and Katara saw this with horror.
"No, Korra, don't enter the Avatar stat-" Diago cut himself off when he saw Korra rise up and into the air without air bending until she floated directly in front of the full moon.
"Finally!" The Water Bender quickly turned his behemoth and hurled both arms at Korra, only for the water to get pulled away from her harmlessly.
"What!?"
As Korra floated there, something or rather someone began to appear around her. Diago and Katara couldn't quite believe it, but a silvery-white woman formed around Korra, with the moon's gleaming white light enveloping her.
"What is that!?" Diago muttered before he saw tears flow down Katara's face.
"Not what, who. Korra has merged with the Moon spirit, Yue."
Korra and Yue's eyes opened, and they faced down the behemoth.
"You are not worthy of energy bending!" Korra roared but spoke with multiple voices.
"No one is more worthy! Your time is up. This world belongs to me now!" The Water Bender came for Korra/Yue, unleashing a fury of blows only for Korra/Yue to move their arms and effortlessly pull the water away from them each time.
On Air Temple Island, Tenzin found himself lost for words as he watched Korra merge with the Moon Spirit.
Zuko trembled as well, for, like Katara, he too saw Aang merge with the Ocean Spirit decades earlier. Opal had to keep Bolin upright while Fourth Platoon struggled to comprehend what they watched.
"What are you all drooling over?" Toph asked.
"Master Toph, can you not see this!?" Bolin muttered before getting an irritated look from the old woman.
"No." She growled, emphasizing her blind eyes.
"Oh, right, sorry."
The Water Bender snarled in frustration and kept at Korra/Yue with everything he had, but to no avail. Finally, Korra/Yue reached out and the behemoth apart like a paper doll. The Water Bender bent up a spout of water to catch himself, but Korra surged forward ahead of Yue, her eyes still glowing. The Water Bender readied himself to impale her with a sea of icicle blades, but Korra reached him first, grabbing his shoulder with her left hand, and slammed her right thumb into his forehead so hard it shattered Amon's mask.
The Water Bender convulsed as he felt himself get energy bent, Korra remaining calm and completely in control before, at last, she did it. Korra let go of the man who now looked dead despite a beating heart. The spinning water beneath him instantly ceased, then fell back to the bay below, alongside the man who hit the surface with a splash, then sunk beneath the water alongside the fragments of Amon's mask.
Korra took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Upon opening them again, she saw herself in the same astral plane as a child. There, every previous Avatar, the Moon Spirit Yue, and Rava stood around her, all smiling with proud expressions.
"Well done, Avatar Korra."
As the spirit of Yue vanished, Korra felt herself get lowered onto the base of Aang's statue, where Naga leaped into her, knocking the Avatar down and barraging her with licks.
"Gaaah, Naga!" Korra laughed.
When she finally got up, Korra almost froze upon seeing an immensely proud Katara there, tears in her eyes.
"Master Katara!?" Korra tried to bow before the old woman wrapped her arms tightly around the young woman.
"You did it, Korra. I'm so proud of you."
"She's not the only one." Korra heard Diago's warm voice, and within a moment of Katara letting her go, she felt his strong arms lift her up. Korra laughed and playfully thrashed about before feeling Diago's lips press against hers, and now, with the threat vanquished, there was nothing to stop Korra from losing herself in the moment.
Author's note
There's still one more chapter