The darkness swirled around her. Korra fought it, struggling to raise her head from the cold metal ground. She looked up, fighting the blackness. Mako… NO! He was going to take Mako's bending!

"No!" she cried, lurching to her feet. Her fist moved of its own accord, slamming with incredible force into the air. Amon looked up, his eyes widening with shock, before he was blasted backwards, slamming against the far wall.

Korra stared down at her trembling hands. Did… Did she just airbend?

The blackness swirled around her once more. Someone had her in an icy grip, pressing down at the vulnerable chi point at the back of her neck. Korra gasped, trying to struggle against the viselike hold, but her bones wouldn't cooperate. Her blood seemed frozen in her veins.

"Death," a voice hissed in her ear. "The Ultimate Equalizer."

The thumb found her forehead. Korra squeezed her eyes shut, feeling the power drain from her… her very core, her being, sucked away into a roiling oblivion…

She fell forward with a silent scream. The cold stone floor rushed up to meet her. She felt herself fading.

"I told you I would destroy you."

Korra's scream echoed off the walls of her bedroom. She leaped out of bed, sending a blast of fire at the wall. Naga yelped, scrambling back from her. It took her a moment to realize where she was. She stood, panting, on top of her mattress, staring at the fresh scorch mark on the wall. Her heart still hammered in her chest.

"Korra!" Footsteps thundered down the hallway. Seconds passed before Tenzin burst into the room, garbed in a long red sleep-tunic, his eyes wild with worry. He hand his fists raised, his feet planted in an airbending stance. His blue eyes swept the room, taking in the scorched wall, Korra's pale face, Naga's stunned posture. Slowly, he lowered his fists.

"Are you all right?"

Korra stared at him. Slowly, she lowered her own fists, shame heating her face. "Uh… yeah. I'm sorry I woke you." She swallowed, fighting to still her racing heart. "And sorry about the wall."

Tenzin sighed, running a hand over his clean shaven airbender tattoo. He moved to sit beside her on the bed, while Korra lowered herself down from where she stood, feet splayed, ready to fight.

"More nightmares?"

Korra glanced at him. "How did you know?"

Tenzin rested his hands on his knees, his face suddenly looking much older than his forty years. "My father used to have them, when he was your age. Sometimes they'd keep him up for nights on end."

Korra sighed, drawing her knees up to her chest. She rested her forehead against them. She reached up to brush her sweaty hair away from where it lay plastered against her cheeks.

"I don't know what's wrong with me," she whispered. "They won't go away."

"Sometimes the Avatar is blessed with a special gift," Tenzin explained. With a glance at her face, he amended, "Or a curse, to see things before they happen. Would you mind telling me what was in your dream?"

Korra hesitated, gnawing her lower lip. "I saw… Amon. He took my bending. He was going to take Mako's but…I think I stopped him. With airbending."

"Hmm." Tenzin stroke his sharp brown beard, his blue eyes deep with thought.

"What does it mean?"

"I don't know. Unlike your visions before, this isn't a replay of events that occurred in the past. Perhaps this is a revelation of what could happen in the future."

"What?" Korra's heart tried to slam its way out of her ribcage. She leaped off the bed and started pacing in frantic circles. "No. Amon can't take my bending. He—" she stopped herself, about to say he wouldn't.

"Perhaps Aang is only trying to warn you about what could happen," Tenzin replied. "Not what is sure to happen. He could be warning you onto a different path."

"But what can I do to avoid—" Korra swallowed, trying to swallow the tremor in her voice. "That?"

Tenzin paused. "I urge you to meditate on this. Perhaps you'll find something we're not seeing."

Korra's feet felt like they were wearing a track in the floor. With a sigh, Tenzin reached out and caught her arm. "Korra, stop that. Wearing a hole in the floor won't help you solve anything."

Korra sat down on the bed beside him, shutting her eyes. It wouldn't—couldn't—happen. Amon would never do that to her. And yet, he'd told her, before he'd left Air Temple Island, that the moment they parted they would become enemies once again. What was there to stop him from destroying her now? Only now… now he wouldn't simply destroy her bending, he'd take her heart along with it.

"Korra." Tenzin's voice was soft. "Do you have something… else… you wish to tell me?"

Korra pressed her lips together. She wanted to. Oh, Spirits, she wished she could tell him the whole thing. She couldn't handle being alone any more. She had Asami, yes, but she needed someone older, wiser, someone to help her through this terrifying mess. But even as the thoughts coursed through her, she was shaking her head.

"No," she whispered. "That's it."

Tenzin sighed, knowing she had more on her mind. But instead he patted her shoulder and rose, stretching. "All right, then. Try and get some sleep. You won't be skimping out on your airbending training tomorrow."

Korra gave him a weak smile. "I won't. I'll be up bright and early, like I'm supposed to."

Tenzin left her door cracked when he left, probably to hear if she had any more nightmares. She could hear his heavy footsteps padding back down the hall to his room. Her throat tightened. She was lucky to have him, she knew. She wished something awful that she could confide in him. But she didn't know what he'd do. Would he be understanding? Furious? Ground her to the island like he had when she'd first gotten to the city?

With a soft sigh, she thumped back onto her bed. Naga curled up beside her, resting her chin on her stomach. Korra slid her fingers through her furry ears, letting her eyes fall closed.

The dreams were different this time. Foreign, yet somehow just as terrifying. Instead of Amon's face, or the Equalists, the face of a strange, violet-eyed girl filled her nightmares. Her full red lips were curled in a snarl, her pale violet eyes glowing with a hatred that sent chills down Korra's spine.

"Hello, Avatar Korra." The blood red lips widen in a frightening smile. "My name is Sakura. I am to be your end."

And then, from all around her, a sea of monsters rose. Only they weren't really monsters. They were people—only with white skin and eyes dead and staring, their rotted hands lifting, reaching for her, fingers curling for her throat…

Korra awoke in a cold sweat, her arms wrapped tightly around Naga's neck. Her polar bear dog whined and licked her cheek with a scratchy wet tongue. Korra untangled herself and sat up, pushing her damp, messy hair back from her eyes.

"Oh, crap," she rasped, seeing the way the shadows lengthened across her room. She was late for airbending training. Diving out of bed, she pulled on her boots and sprinted down the hallway. Passing the dining hall, she decided she'd skip breakfast today.

She rushed out into the courtyard. Her heart sank. Ikki, Jinora, and Tenzin were already there. Her airbending teacher looked highly peeved, tapping one foot against the smooth marble ground. Korra skidded to a stop, breathless, and gave him her most winning smile.

"Hey-y, Tenzin. Top of the mornin' to ya."

Aang's son rolled his eyes to the sky, muttered something about his mother under his breath, and turned toward the spinning gates Korra hated so much.

"Right. Well, now that my student is finally here, let us begin."

Training was rigorous and brutal. Korra had mastered it shortly after joining the Fire Ferrets team, but Tenzin still made her train on it every day. It was hard enough as it was, but now the airbender children were allowed to throw blasts of air her way, knocking her every which way into the gates and sending her flying more often than she'd care to admit. Once the training session was over, Korra lay flat on the marble ground, panting, her hair blown into a rat's nest thicker than Naga's tail fur. Ikki giggled and jumped on her stomach, pounding on her shoulders.

"Come on, Korra, get up! Pema says we're going to the city today."

Korra groaned. "Didn't you go to the city yesterday?"

"But Kooooraaaaaa, they're rebuilding the pro-bending arena! Butaka wants all the teams there to claim the gym slots. You don't want to get the morning slot again, do you?"

Korra was on her feet in seconds. "Spirits, no. Let's go. Mako and Bolin coming?"

"They're already down there. Come on, we'll take Oogi."

The trip down to the city took a quarter of the time of a ferry ride. Within an hour, Korra and Ikki were heading down to the pro-bending stadium. Korra waved to Ikki as her little friend skipped on down to the lobby to play with Skoochy and the other boys who'd gathered around, waiting for the grand opening. Korra headed to the locker room, that familiar excitement boiling in the pit of her stomach. She couldn't wait to begin training again, feeling the sweat on her brow, the feel of the gym floor beneath her feet as she pounded away in the traditional earthbending steps.

She changed into her Fire Ferret outfit and was about to head down to the gym when she ran smack into someone coming up the stairs.

"Ow," she groaned, rubbing her forehead.

"Ow—oh, hey, Korra, I was just coming to find you."

Korra looked up to see Mako, rubbing his jaw where they'd collided. He grinned down at her, albeit a little painfully.

"Hey. We're still early for Butaka's sign-up. Can we talk?"

Korra swallowed. There was a look in his eyes she'd never seen before. "Uh, yeah. Okay. Here?"

"Yeah." He turned, running a hand back through his spiked black hair. He seemed to be searching for words, flailing. It was cute, in a way. "Look…"

"Oh, just spit it out."

Mako took a deep breath, turning back to her. His light brown eyes blazed. "When Tarrlok took you, I kind of… went crazy. I didn't know where you were, or what was happening to you. I was so worried I wouldn't see you again. I just… I don't know how else to say this, but I think… I like you. Really like you."

Korra stood, staring at him. She swallowed hard. Then again. "Um. Whoa. Thanks, Mako… I…"

But before she could get anything else out, he was across the room in two long strides, catching her by the waist and kissing her. Korra gasped, hesitating a moment before returning it. Mako's lips were soft, and sweet. A little… too sweet. It was nothing like the wild hunger of Amon's passionate kiss. The feel of his lips of hers felt strange and foreign. Her body didn't respond like she had when he'd kissed her. Guilt swam in her chest. She couldn't play with him like this. Gently moving her hands to press against his chest, she pushed him away, breaking the kiss.

For a moment, they both stared at each other. Korra didn't know what to say. Neither did he.

Then, all of a sudden, a deep voice sounded from out of the shadows, making her blood freeze in her veins.

"An interesting state of affairs to walk in on. Fancy seeing you here, Avatar."