"Oooh!" Korra hung up the phone to a cacophony calling from the children who'd been eavesdropping.
"That's it I'm not going," she folded her arms.
The party left the beach in relative shambles, but the shack which Korra had hidden in, and spent the night sculpting her father's unfinished surfboard, remained untouched. She finished around midnight, and sat back to enjoy the peace of a well earned empty mind. It was just enough to sleep on the couch that still smelled like the woman that left her.
At the break of dawn the trio of children had slammed a trifecta of aggravating knocks until she had no choice but to open the door and agree to terms. A swimming tour of the island, in return for no more yelling at her.
"So does this mean you and Asami aren't fighting anymore?" Ikki asked nosily.
"I hope not I can't believe I watched Asami kung fu your butt!"
"Shut up Meelo! I meant are Korra and Asami back in looove?"
"We're not- okay no more of those questions for the rest of the day capeesh?"
The girl huffed indignantly and crossed her arms, and Meelo pulled a jealous face that Korra wasn't sure how to respond to.
"Well what do we talk about?" Ikki balked, frustrated.
Korra rolled her eyes, held her nose and pretended to dive and swim from the room. Jinora was studying a map on the kitchen table of the archipelago.
"I say we start here, from the north side of the island, and swim south in a curve until we hit Makapu,"
"Why do we want to go to death mountain anyway?" Korra muttered packing bottles and snacks into her swim pack.
"Scaredy Korra!" Meelo jibed.
"Kya says the manta rays are there."
"They're ok," Korra shrugged, "Nothing to shout about."
"You saw them already?" Jinora looked at Korra, and the other two rounded.
"With Asami?" Ikki added.
"In the Cave of the Two Lovers?" Meelo shrieked. The three girls looked shocked at him. Korra felt her whole body heat up, and was praying her tan skin didn't give away her blush.
"We…I don't have to answer to three twelve year olds, are we swimming or not?"
They answered in unison.
"Yes!"
"I'm thirteen!"
"Collectively we're 35,"
"Come on then." she beckoned them out, and something in the sound of them clambering out for her made her smile.
Korra plucked her freshly made board from the sand as she walked.
"Meelo, Ikki Jinora, do not go any further!" From deck chairs outside the house Pema beckoned her children, greasing her hands with sunscreen, "You're not going to be out on the water all day without sunblock"
Meelo and Ikki groaned but Jinora knew better than to argue.
"You too Korra,"
"Uh thanks Pema, but I think melanin has got me covered."
"Not necessarily," Pema shot back slapping white cream over Meelo's arm, he was pulling away, or she was yanking him into place, either way it looked uncomfortable, "Melanin doesn't protect from UV, and due to your darker skin it might be harder for doctors to spot skin cancer."
When Pema was finished with her son she looked up at Korra who'd just had her whole world put into question. The older woman threw her a bottle from her stash. Her husband, grumpily sleeping and fair skin turning rosy bit by bit on the deck chair beside her.
"Thanks,"
"You sure you're going to be alright with them? On land they're quite a handful"
"I'm hoping they could put all that excess energy into the sea,"
"And you guys are good with the distance?" Pema double checked, worried parent oozing out as she jammed floaties on Meelo's arms, and Ikki wriggled out of her own.
"We're bringing Korra's new board." Jinora unstuck it from the sand and brandished it. The board Korra's father had began some years back, Korra had spent the night finishing, and finished it with a burning detail of an intricate Maori mermaid, complete with hibiscus flowers, long flowing black hair and encompassing lidded eyes. It wasn't til after she showed it to someone did she think maybe it gave too much away. "So Meelo can rest on it the whole way."
"Korra used to do this with her dad at my age." Meelo defended.
"Not all the islands though," Ikki pointed out.
"Today's the day we go to the mountain," Korra huffed, lifting Meelo over her shoulder, "and today is the day it'll probably erupt," she chagrinned.
"Best take that cream with you in case it does," Pema surmised watching her children follow Korra into the sea.
Korra tied the board to her ankle and let it float beside them as they set off. The first island they reached, and Korra sat wet on the sand watching the trio play with the pigs paddling happily in the shallows. She mused how she was destined to end up in a place she had already been, this time alone, without Asami. It couldn't help but pale in comparison.
A pang of regret tore her mood down as she watched the children give chase to unbothered and surprisingly quick little swines.
"Piiiig!" Meelo yelped and made yet another running leap to catch one, which rolled nonchalantly from his grasp.
Korra smiled, and wished Asami could be here to see this.
"Come on guys, on to the next one, or we won't make it back for dinner."
"Wait!" Meelo snapped a picture of her from a camera he'd been swimming with around his neck. "Can you get a picture of me with him?"
Korra blinked before accepting the camera, when Meelo leapt this time her landed in a pile of squeal, struggles and bubbles, Korra caught it, laughing and even managed to catch some under the water.
"Now can we go?" She giggled, and Meelo stood puffing out his chest like a proud hunter as his capture swum away disgruntled and disturbed.
Korra almost forgot her dread the closer to Makapu she came. The kids were true to their word and didn't pester her about her love life, but something inside wanted to talk about Asami, to talk about it with people she cared about, to share her and the happiness she gave her. She finally could give voice to something she'd locked away for years, it wasn't exactly something she was used to.
Talking about it made it real, and after a lifetime of only pretending, she was starting to like reality for a change.
When they made it to the island Korra looked up at the mouth of the mountain, and instantly wanted to hear Asami's voice telling her it would be okay. Instead as Ikki and Meelo rushed ahead, Jinora hung back.
"You and Asami came here already?"
"We did,"
"On a couples hike?"
"In the place of a couple, what are you getting at?" Korra knew of course, and marvelled silently at the bashful smile she felt pulling on her lips.
"She kissed you,"
"Whatever happened to no more questions?" Korra sighed, sticking the board in the sand on the shore before following the kids up ahead.
"It's not a question it's a statement." Jinora shrugged.
"You're getting too smart for your own good."
"We saw you, from the cliff."
"It wasn't exactly subtle." Korra mused unable to stifle a grin, "it's new."
"But also not new," Jinora side eyed her as they walked.
"Too smart," Korra laughed.
"You guys are cute," Jinora told her and Korra felt the warmth of it bleed over her chest. The affirmation was wholly unexpected, and something she never knew she'd ever need.
Korra noted the little things occurring around them, she couldn't help it, she began logging the birds above and the gentle breeze cooling her just then. She handed out the snacks and waters to her little flock of weirdos and watched as Meelo practiced his best gollum impression on all fours and creeping up the sheer walls until she had to catch him after he lost his grip. He did it so much she was starting to wonder if he was practicing a trust experiment on her.
They were halfway up the mountain, and Korra recognised the short shrubs and bushes she'd wanted to hide in days before. The memory of coming clean was so strong, and Asami begging her to tell her the truth. The march to the cave, the first kiss in the water, and all that followed.
Korra assessed the memories from a place of objectivity, studying Asami as she kissed her back, held her close and dived in, eyes wide shut, hand held tight, head first.
The moment was interrupted by Meelo postulating on a micro-cliff above them.
"The Boulder is the master of this rock!" he yelled.
"Really is he up there?" Jinora jibed.
"Cry havoc and let loose the dogs of war!" he screamed stamping his feet, stomp, stomp, stomp - BOOM!
The ground beneath their feet shook, and Meelo toppled from his perch into Korra's arms
Korra looked up at the mouth of the mountain, and it was as though her nightmare had opened the sky and tore vengeful smoke and hell fire down on top of them.
"Korra?" She could hardly hear save for the blood pumping in her ears, she couldn't tell which child had spoken to her.
"Get down," she managed, "get off the cliff now!"
She grabbed Ikki by her arm, and kept Meelo in her grip, and Jinora in front they sprinted down the mountain path.
The magma ran like a river, levelling its own track and pouring in front of them. Everything in its path, bushes, small trees, lizards, even rocks went up in puffs of smoke, obliterated in seconds.
"Jinora!"
"I'm okay!" she hopped back.
"Up,"
"What?"
"Trust me, back up," Korra pushed Ikki back up and reached for Jinora's hand. Already she could feel the ash on her skin, and the ground burning beneath her bare feet. Her legs were shaking but she kept them going, kept an iron grip on Meelo shivering against her.
"Down there," she guided Ikki on the thin path hugging the cliff, put Meelo on next back and pushed Jinora after. It was then the unthinkable happened, immense pressure sent a funnel of rock, fire and magma shooting from the rock face, smacking into Korra's shoulder.
She heard screams above her, and found her grip on the steep face of the mountain.
"Korra!"
"Follow that path!" she commanded, pain burning through her left side as she tried to get numb feet to push her higher. Every reach came with great difficulty, and her hands were slick with ash, sweat and blood as she climbed. She couldn't understand how one eye was seeing more red than the other, but nothing mattered more than getting back to the kids.
She found them in the arch way, trembling with wide eyes and gripping each other.
"Get inside," She urged.
"Korra your head!"
"You want us to go inside the volcano?" Meelo shrieked.
"Trust me," she pushed, her hands leaving black marks on their skin as she guided.
Already dark with smoke yet somehow cool, the stairs carved into the mountain path soothed her feet. Her heart was racing, and it felt like all the blood she had was swarming to the heat on her left side. Still she limped, and the darkness gave way to glowing blue algae. Below them a foray of frantic Manta rays, panicking and swooping for an escape as magma seeped into their keep.
"Stay here." she told them, lowering herself into the water, only to slip and stumble on the first step.
"Korra we can't let you-" Jinora began, but Korra snapped.
"Look after your siblings," she dipped into the water and eerily felt as though her body was sweating as the lagoon began to boil. The algae mopped into her hair and clothes, thick and unrelenting, but she was desperate not to submerge her head for fear of never returning. Her hand hit rope and she took three deep long breaths before struggling to yank herself up the side of the boat.
She would have liked to return to this place under different circumstances, to continue where she and Asami had left off, and maybe, just maybe say all those things that had been left unsaid. Instead she ripped at the hammock where they lay once, and prayed for an oar or a sail or something.
An Engine.
Someone is looking down on me. She yanked the cord, it puttered but failed.
"Come on," she muttered.
"You can do it Korra!" Ikki yelled, hopeful and frantic in the same moment.
Please God, she thought as she yanked and the engine gave nothing, if you let me live I will never second guess anything good in my life again, not my friends, not my parents, and definitely not Asami.
With the third and final yank the engine roared to life, she laughed but stopped when immeasurable pain split her sides. She guided the boat to the kids on the shore, counting them desperately, one, two, three, as she pulled them on.
"Hold this," she gave the rudder to Jinora, and helped her tug it so the boat aimed for the opening in the mountain side. The kids hooted with glee when they emerged, but Korra curled up against the back of the boat next to her, keeping her bleeding hidden as best she could. "Go straight," she croaked "keep going until you're out of smoke,"
"What about land?" Jinora asked, but Korra had already slipped away.
Asami dreamed of an evening, meeting Korra waiting for her on the beach, bright blue bikini and chiffon sarong. A maroon beach hat lowered over her own face until the crucible moment; the heiress' hand on her shoulder, lips meeting hers, parting and watching Korra's lipstick smudged lips smile easy and free.
Asami wanted to live in this; this moment entirely of her imaginings. To feel the sand, numb against her feet, to smell the sea. She couldn't place how wrong that scent was at first, what should have been salt and sunshine was instead, sulphur.
She awoke coughing, eyes open to what should have been day, but instead smog and grey darkened the window, and slipped in through the cracks of it. A headache bloomed in her skull as she felt the alarms blades rake through.
Adrenaline filled her body, head to toe, when she stood. She knew for a fact it was something outside on fire, and that the smoke had formed a thick fog outside meant it was probably unsafe to leave. Her first thought was of Korra, she had to know where she was, and ripped up the phone to dial Kya's.
The phone was answered after half a ring, on the other end a panicked Kya pleaded.
"Korra is that you?"
"Asami." answered, before her throat closed.
"I'm guessing they're not with you." Kya's voice had a twinge of hopelessness, and Asami's took on that tone as well.
"No,"
"They left hours ago, they could be anywhere,"
"What's happening?" she hazarded to ask, dreading the truth that was slowly dawning on her.
"The volcano, honey you have to come to this side of the island, maybe you'll catch them along the way."
"They were going to the volcano."
"Asami-"
"I'm not leaving without her." it slipped out, she was well aware how deranged it made her sound.
"This is serious Asami, I know it's hard, but we have to let the professionals do the rescue work. There's nothing you can do."
"I can't do nothing," Asami countered, voice breaking, and listening intently to Kya's ragged breathing for a response. She hung up and suddenly she was aware of a banging on her bedroom door.
"Miss Sato? Miss Sato! We're evacuating!"
She yanked it open, a hotel clerk holding a rag over his mouth and nose beckoned her out.
"Have you seen a tall man, black hair, probably wasted, he was in the bar last night?"
The boy looked at her, eyes wide and confused, but he nodded.
"Do you know where he is now?"
Eye brow cocked, he offered her a hand, and she took it without question. As they marched other members of staff were banging on doors, and in some cases kicking them down. Guest after guest was being led in one direction, and Asami and the stranger, another.
They left through a beach side exit, and Iroh was sleeping on the sand, unencumbered by worldly troubles.
She got down on her knees and shook him. He didn't stir until she was literally hitting him in the back.
"Iroh!"
"'Sami?"
"What the hell are you doing?"
"You decided to change your mind?" he had the gall to look relieved, but that look faded when she took his face in her hands and yanked it to look at the volcano behind them, belching flame and magma at an alarming rate.
He stood, a semblance of military training marring his features as he tensed his muscles and prepared for, well, anything else.
"We need to get out of here." Without thinking he lifted her into his arms and was prepared to fireman's carry her for the next ten miles, but she started hitting his chest and struggling.
"Korra's still out there!" she screamed at him, he gawped at her, speechless, but she could tell he could muster enough of a brain cell to even care. A flash of something vindictive crossed his face, and Asami could read his thoughts, so what? She deserves it. Before she knew it she was slapping him across the face. He stumbled holding his jaw.
"She has three kids with her," she snapped at him, "in case you needed a better reason."
Iroh looked at the staff member, who for some reason was totally engrossed in the conversation and had temporarily forgotten his evacuator duties.
"You gotta phone?"
Sun, sand and perfect blue skies was the perfect spot for a Marine base apparently, Iroh made a call and within minutes a chopper was headed their way. It landed on the beach, and was a spectacular sight in what had become a vacant wasteland of ash and smoke.
"I'll meet you back on the North side in 0200 hours,"
"I'm coming with you."
"You're trained to operate in flight missions?" Iroh mocked.
"I'm trained to have eyes and look out of a window. I'm coming, end of."
"Asami," he gripped her arm to stop her passing. She twisted his hand with a viper like strength and venom, and he released.
"There's no time for this," she snarled as he bodily blocked her path.
"Asami I can't let you on," both hands now, on either side of her shaking form.
"Iroh please… let me do this and I…I'll forgive you." his steely gaze softened, and he watched her, suddenly looking small and just as scared. His thumbs stroked her arms for the last time, and then, he let her go.
Asami thanked him quietly before stepping on the copter, strapping herself in a seat and pulling on a headset.
She couldn't revel in the fact they were racing through the sky, in a machine that rivalled many of her own inventions in speed, grace and deadly precision. Even in the spinning blades were no match for Makapu's relentless smoke and thunderous booms as it purged a century's worth of molten core from its guts.
As the sun went down the search became even bleaker. They circled the whole of Ember Island, and as the people on the ground crowded from the smaller archipelagos to the north side, no four distinguishable figures emerged for the masses. They hadn't returned either, Asami had called Kya's every hour, on the hour.
They skimmed the reaches of the mountain, Asami unbuckled herself to peer over the edge of the cabin floor to get a better look. A memory struck her, Korra after she'd kissed her, a goddess enveloped in bioluminescent blue, triggered by a score of the algae painted atop the sea in a path leading from Makapu out to open sea.
"There!" she pointed, and ran to the pilot and instructed, "Follow that,"
In the fading light the trail grew brighter, Asami even swore she saw the manta rays pirouetting around it, until whatever was left on the boat was washed away, and petered out a mile or so away.
"Sir?" The pilot addressed Iroh, who looked back at Asami. His jaw was set with determination, and a tempest of emotion boiling in his chest. He knew what he was doing, he knew exactly what it would cost to keep following this trail on way or the other. There was a light in the heiress eyes that still held out hope for something better, and even if it only worked out for her, he couldn't help but want it too.
"Keep going." he instructed.
They flew for what seemed like hours, but truly only minutes had gone past.
"Sir the fuel."
"How long?"
"Ten minutes till no return."
Asami pretended she didn't hear that, she kneeled by the cabins edge and waited. Holding her breath. Praying for anything below to scream at her like the trail of algae did.
Seven minutes.
Time flowed like water, the blades above ticking it away as it slipped past.
Five minutes.
They could see the moon now, wide and open, a lidless eye watching them fail.
Two minutes.
Asami could feel her heart pumping loudly in her chest, it moved her physically, and she felt like any moment and errant beat would send her careening into the abyss below.
One.
The heiress closed her eyes, and tried to remember what Korra's shy, unveiled smile looked like.
"Holy shit."
She snapped them open, all she could hear was the pilot yelling co-ordinates to the command tower, requesting medical assistance, without it she wouldn't have believed what she saw.
A single orange flare cutting through the navy blue sky. Three children on a boat with their faces turned up at it.
The copter lowered, and their hair whipped madly in the wind but faces stayed the same stony, pensive and cheeks streaked with tears long passed. Asami took Meelo in her arms when Iroh lifted him up to the ladder, to her, then Ikki, finally Jinora.
"Are you kids okay?"
They looked at her but didn't speak, Jinora managed a nod, and lips twisted in an attempt to give a reassuring smile, only to grimace.
Iroh crouched over the final passenger, Asami couldn't see past him as he checked her pulse. She waited in agony, as he lifted her limp, unable to grip, or notice if he was pressing into her wounds.
"Get a medpack." he yelled up as he climbed the rope ladder, balancing Korra over his back, gripping her hands with one of his own. Asami pulled a kit with a cross from the wall and ripped it open. She'd never done anything like this before, all of this was new to her.
"We tried to fix her," Asami heard Ikki's voice, small and quiet and ashamed, "she kept bleeding through the bandages we…we," her lower lip jutted out and trembled as she struggled with all that huge wad of grief in such a tiny body. Asami hugged her quiet, cooing gently as she watched Iroh pull her over the side and onto the floor of the cabin.
Iroh had her flat on her back.
"She's still bleeding," Jinora croaked.
"That means her heart is still beating." Iroh told her matter of factly, undoing the children's work and inspecting the damage to her left side, head and shoulder and ribs.
Asami knelt at her head, while the kids crowded her right side.
"Lift her head up," Iroh told Asami, "on your lap."
Asami did as she was told.
She watched the man she was going to marry, pull out needle and thread and begin to suture the woman she loved.
Something about needle going into her skin made Korra flinch. Her eyes flew wide open and her hand gripped Iroh's wrist. Asami felt her anxiety fall out of her in a big wet wad, and instantly began to run her fingers soothingly through the hair not caked in blood.
"Korra, Korra, Korra," she said in a whisper as it was all she was able to manage. Korra looked up at her, confused and exhausted, but whatever fear she had seemed to fade as she gazed into Asami's emerald eyes.
She was covered in blood, smoke, ash, and sweat. She most certainly was in an insurmountable amount of pain, and couldn't possibly stay conscious for long. God only knows what possessed her to smile up at her like that.
Her own eyes hazy and soft, and managed to speak the words.
"Hey you."
Before letting the black take her again, head cradled in the hands of the woman she loved.