A Legend of Korra Fanfic
By Sakura Martinez (aka SMTsukishiro)
Author's Notes:
Alright, first off, thank you to everyone who continues to support this fanfic-those who have left a comment, hit that kudos button, and added this to their subscription list and whatnot. I really appreciate it. :)
Next, I'm kind of in a hurry, so I'm just going to say this for now. There will be no chapter releases next week. I can't really share the reason behind this, but I do hope you guys understand. I promise the wait for the next chapter will be worth it.
Anyways, that's all for now.
Allons-y~!
Summary:
A promising engineering student. A mysterious woman capable of controlling the four elements. When their paths cross, the resulting collision not only changes their lives and themselves, but the fate of the entire world as well. [Korrasami AU]
The Legend of Korra:
The Schism
Chapter 30. Asami's Encounter
"My name is Jinora. And my family is the last of the Air Nomads."
That was the first—and the last—important thing the child said before she instructed them all to follow her someplace else.
At first, Korra refused to give in to the request, saying, "We have dawdled too long and have done what you have asked thus far. We are not going anywhere until you tell me all that I need to know."
Jinora, who had already walked a couple of paces, did not bother to stop walking. She was confident that, despite the Avatar's protest, she and her friends would follow her nonetheless even before she told them, "What you want to know, and what I would share, they are things not meant for anyone's ears but your own. You and your friends deserve to know these, but the enemy has ears everywhere and will work against you. It is not safe to discuss these things so casually here, out in the open."
"The enemy?" Asked Asami, looking to Korra.
"Does she mean that bastard Tarrlok?" Opal asked as well.
The young Avatar had no answer to give, however. Her enemy's identity was still shrouded in mystery. Unless, of course, the Air Nomad girl meant to speak of the masked man she had fought and lost against, or perhaps—as Opal had asked—Tarrlok.
"Are we going to follow her?" Kai—whom Korra and the other two young women with her had thought would never bring that question up after his earlier outburst and whom everyone had thought would be the first to dismiss the girl's claim—asked, watching the distance between them and Jinora grow. "She seems to not have any intent of waiting for us."
"Heh, interesting…" Avatar Korra smiled, though it held in them no warmth. If anything, the expression on her face, the glint in her eyes, suggested annoyance—the very same look Asami remembered being given when she had been forced to do as Korra had asked. That worried the Prodigy. "Very well, let's do as she asks."
All three of her companions nodded, Kai and Opal being the first to hurriedly go after the mysterious Air Nomad. Before Korra could follow them, Asami held her back.
"Is there something wrong, Asami?" The change in the Avatar's expression was quick.
"What are you up to, Korra?" was the Prodigy's response.
The crease on the darker-skinned girl's forehead deepened. "Pardon?"
"I know that look you just had, Korra." Asami said, not being fooled by Korra's tone. "I've seen it. I've been at the receiving end of it. Whatever it is you intend to force upon that kid, don't."
It took several seconds for Korra to understand what Asami was saying, and when she did, feigned offense. Placing a hand on the porcelain-skinned girl's shoulder—an act that was meant to be comforting, but only served to raise the Prodigy's suspicions—Korra said, "Asami, you wound me. And after everything I have said at dinner, too."
"Korra…"
Raising her hands up, as though in surrender, Korra added, "Trust me. I am not going to do anything…forceful and rude."
The quirk of Korra's lips did not provide any relief for Asami. With a sigh filled with trepidation and resignation, Asami dropped the matter.
They ran after Jinora, Kai, and Opal, catching up just as the Air Nomad girl was about to enter one of the display rooms in the museum.
He didn't really expect to see them so soon. He had thought they had made use of the airships; that the docks were the reason why they were in the Pohuai Stronghold. Apparently, that was not the case.
Though the Agent could see them, it was not the same for the Avatar and her companions. Bathed in shadows as he was, he was hidden from their view. His hiding place a perfect spot to spy on them and get the information his employer wanted. That was his plan, until they went inside a room and he was forced out of hiding.
He sighed as he pushed himself off the wall he had been leaning on and began walking closer to the room the Avatar had entered. His eyes scanned the walls and the rafters for a way to get inside. He found one, of course (rarely does he ever fail to get inside a place once he had set his sights on it).
Just as he was about to make his move, he found that he couldn't. A wall—an invisible wall—kept him from doing so. An unexpected collision with said wall caused him to fall on his haunches with an audible thud.
"What the—?!" the Agent looked around. "Did the Avatar do this? Does she know she's being watched and followed?"
He gritted his teeth, grounding them together. The Avatar couldn't possibly know that. She shouldn't.
This is going to complicate things. He thought to himself, already thinking about what he was going to send for his report. After all, he couldn't very well do without one, giving excuses were unacceptable. Not to mention his daily reports were expected.
He tried to get past the barrier once more, but it was futile. There was no way for him to get through it. With a huff, he gave up doing so. There were other ways—somewhat difficult and troublesome ways—to get the information he needed.
Jinora looked past the Avatar and her friends and towards the door they had just passed through. Even before the Light Spirit could whisper to her, she already knew that someone had attempted to get in the room—someone with ill intent.
"That certainly didn't take long," she muttered to herself, her face a mask of serenity despite knowing how troublesome the situation had become. Turning away from the door and the barrier placed on it and around the room, she took a good look at the people who had sought her out.
They were not at all what she had expected from the stories she had heard and what she, herself, had seen through her gift of visions.
Perhaps they had not yet grown into the roles fate had placed them in, the young Air Nomad thought to herself. Her eyes landing on the Avatar who looked at her impatiently and caused her to compartmentalize her thoughts for later.
"Avatar Korra, when was the last time you saw the Spirit World?"
Korra was taken aback by the question, but quickly regained her composure. "I haven't meditated in a while," she admitted. "The last time I did so was back at Makapu, before the volcano erupted—which, I suppose is the reason why you asked for me to wait for three days before leaving. You somehow knew the volcano would erupt, didn't you?"
Jinora nodded and closed her eyes. "I foresaw it: the prelude to the world's destruction. The start of the countdown, if you will. Makapu, Erebus, and Norikura. They are only the beginning of the rage of the fire spirits. Soon, even the earth, air, and water spirits would cause chaos and destruction. And they will continue to do so until the Elemental Spirit Lords are revived."
"Elemental Spirit Lords?" Asami asked.
It was Korra who answered. "She means Alignak and the others. They are the personification—the collective consciousness—governing all the other spirits of their kind. I had a feeling that was the case, but to think that it was not just Makapu that suffered a volcanic eruption…" the Avatar shook her head. Again, she felt responsible for what was going on and what was to come.
"But, is their absence really that big of a deal?" Opal asked, cocking her head to the side and tapping her chin in thought. "I mean, the Avatar is still here, right? Couldn't Korra simply order the spirits to settle down?" Looking at Korra, she added, "They should follow you, right?"
It was a good question. Even Jinora thought so too. But it was a question she could not answer with confidence. Looking at Korra, the young Air Nomad got the sense that it was something she would rather not answer as well. But she doesn't have a choice now…
"That should be the case," Korra's words were uttered carefully. A frown marred her features once more. "But for some reason, the spirits are not listening to me. I can't reach any of them, save for that lone Light Spirit."
No one said anything after that revelation. They knew it was big news, they just didn't know how big and troubling it was; what it all meant.
After a while, Jinora broke the contemplative silence. "I wish I could provide an explanation to that, Avatar Korra, but what I know only comes from the visions I see and interpret from my dreams, and what the spirits tell me. Unfortunately, when it comes to that, the spirits who come to me are too 'young' to know anything and be of any help."
Korra's shoulders sagged. She had hoped—and Asami knew how heavily and deeply she had—that this child would provide her with answers. Still, as disappointed as Korra was, she didn't fault Jinora for it.
"Then what was the point of having us—having Korra—come find you?" Asami asked. She hoped she didn't sound disrespectful (heaven knows the darker-skinned, sapphire-eyed girl beside her would not let her live it down), but seeing Korra look the way she did and remembering all they had to go through and pass up just to find this girl made it difficult not to sound bitter.
Auburn eyes settled on emerald ones as the young Air Nomad explained, "I was merely stating that I knew nothing about this particular subject, Asami. I didn't say I was clueless about anything else. There is always a reason—a point—to things, if you must know."
"The Lady Oracle is right, Asami," Kai quipped, speaking so suddenly when no one expected him to and uttering words that no one expected him to say. "You shouldn't be quick to assume that we had come here for nothing." The Avatar's Steward then turned to Jinora and said, "I apologize for Asami's rudeness, Lady Oracle. Please, share with us what you know."
"That little twerp." Asami's eyes twitched in annoyance.
Korra's mouth quirked upwards, getting dangerously close to smiling. Opal, for her part, was unable to keep herself from snickering.
"And you told me not to be forceful," Korra's voice was coated with amusement as she whispered to the taller girl, whose ears quickly burned in embarrassment.
"Shut it, Korra," was the only thing Asami could offer in retaliation, even as she plotted how to get back at Kai. "That idiot was the one who was being rude, not me."
"Hmm…" Korra just hummed in response and Asami didn't know if that was a good thing or not.
"That's alright," Jinora said. "I am not offended. Asami's heart was at the right place, after all."
"It always is." Kai, Opal, and even Asami herself were surprised to hear Korra say that. And by the time Opal had looked at the young inventor, it wasn't just her ears that were burning red.
Korra then shook her head and maneuvered the conversation right back on track. "Then, what do you know, Jinora?"
The young girl looked at the Avatar with so much seriousness that immediately got everyone to settle down and helped ease Asami's blush from her face.
"A way to stop this apocalypse." She said after a short while.
Opal had a frown on her face as she and Kai left the room—with Korra, Asami, and Jinora still inside—to wait for them outside. It was something 'The Oracle' (as Kai had dubbed the young girl) requested as she spoke to each of them in turn. She didn't know what Jinora was saying to Korra and Asami, but what she told her was something to be pondered on.
Jinora had known about what she intended to do: to learn the true history of the world. It was really surprising, considering that Asami was the only one she had confided in about it. And yet, the Air Nomad had warned her, told her how dangerous it was going to be.
"The world is not yet ready to know the truth," Jinora had said, and she did so with a sad look upon her face. "They will not welcome whatever truth you learn."
Opal knew that, of course.
Jinora was not yet done, though. And she went on to say, "The secrets you hope to uncover, it will affect a lot of people. The people closest to you, most of all. Are you certain that you are ready to bear that responsibility?"
It was a question that—if Opal was being honest with herself—she didn't know the answer to, especially when Jinora didn't give an answer of her own when asked what the younger girl meant by what she said—about those secrets affecting the people closest to her. Though that was not the reason why her face was scrunched up in thought. As heavy as those words had been, they were not as much as what had been shared when it came to keeping the world's destruction at bay.
The Elemental Cores. Whatever they were—whatever they looked like—were the answer to the troubles that were plaguing—and would soon overwhelm—the entire world. Or so Jinora had told them. The young historian didn't know what those 'cores' were. She didn't know they existed, even. And judging from how Korra had reacted, even the Avatar knew nothing about it too.
Still, knowing that these Elemental Cores were their next priority did not exactly make it easier for them to accomplish what needed to be done. The cores were kept hidden in each continent—much like everything regarding the Avatar and the Spirits, and everything related to them—and were guarded by a chosen few: "the Guardians", as Jinora called them.
They need to find these Elemental Cores and their Guardians and awaken the beings sleeping within the cores. That was what Jinora had told them: awaken the cores and everything would be fine. It sounded easy, but Opal knew it was going to be anything but.
"I really have nothing against adventuring all over the world," Opal said with a sigh. "I just wish, for once, we have something concrete to go on and not some vague direction that basically just tells us to search all over."
"Yeah…" came Kai's reply, which sounded a lot like even he was disappointed about the whole thing.
"I suppose that such important items and people need to be kept secret, but it's strange that the Avatar herself wouldn't know anything about it, right?" Again, Opal vocalized her thoughts.
"Yeah…"
"Why doesn't Korra even know? Why keep something this big from the Avatar? I don't get what your Elders and Chieftains—and whoever else is involved in making these decisions—were thinking. Did none of them actually think that something like this would happen?" Opal's thoughts had turned into a rant.
She was expecting Kai to agree with her, or even give her an explanation—him being from Nia Bayou, after all. The young man, however, merely heaved a sigh and replied "Yeah" for the third time.
Opal rolled her eyes and turned to Kai, ready to give the young steward a piece of her mind and tell him to focus on what was, clearly, something incredibly important. What she was about to say, however, was lost when she saw the dreamy look on Kai's face—which immediately disappeared when he noticed her looking at him.
The Historian smirked even as Kai smiled and wondered aloud, "What do you think they are talking about in there?"
"Why so interested, Kai?" Opal asked. "I thought you didn't think highly of this child we've been after. I distinctly remember you saying something about teaching her a lesson for causing problems to Korra."
"I-I…uh," Kai cleared his throat, stuttering as he spoke. "I just t-thought she was a phony. It turns out she wasn't so…uh, yeah…B-Besides, why is she talking to them for so long?"
Opal shrugged. "There's got to be a good reason behind it. No need to be jealous, Kai. You had your turn."
Kai's eyes bulged and he quickly turned to Opal. "J-Jealous!?" his voice reached a higher octave than normal. "W-Who said I was…?" The grin—that annoyingly, knowing grin, the Historian had plastered on her face made the young man shook his head and growl, "You know what? Forget it. I'm not going to stick around here and be teased by you. I'm going back to my room."
"Wait!" Opal called out as the messy-haired steward began walking away. "Are you serious? You're not going to wait for them to finish? I thought you'd at least want to see her again before she continues on with her family's pilgrimage."
Kai stopped for a moment—just a couple of seconds—before he continued walking again, waving his hand in dismissal to what Opal had said. Opal had to roll her eyes at how the young man was acting before running after him.
I'll see her again, Kai thought to himself as he and Opal walked back to Taku. He was confident of it. After all, how could he not be? Jinora said so herself.
"I owe you an apology," Jinora had opened up their private discussion with those words.
Korra had been looking at the items displayed on the case close to them when Jinora spoke and she had to stop what she was doing to ask, "An apology?"
The younger girl nodded. "It seems hiding the specifics from you—and from them—and having you all follow my instructions did not sit well with your friends. I got an earful from them, except Kai—which is rather surprising, knowing what I do about him.
"I have a few things to say about that as well, but—" the Avatar glanced at the raven-haired, young woman that was waiting for her. "—Asami had warned me against acting up." She sighed, shaking her head. "I am not obligated to listen to her, of course, but she can be quite terrifying."
"I can imagine," Jinora smiled, eyes twinkling with an emotion Korra could not decipher. "Anyone who can get away with slapping the Avatar and getting the Avatar to do things she would rather not is someone worth fearing indeed."
The said Avatar frowned. "I feel as though you are making fun of me."
"No, not at all, Avatar Korra."
Korra found it hard to believe, but she shrugged it off. "I suppose there is a reason why you pulled each of us aside? Why you pulled me aside when you have already told me what I need to do?"
The young Air Nomad nodded. "Your enemy—the identity of the one who is behind all of this."
All of Korra's attention was on Jinora. "You know who that person is?"
"Regrettably, I do not." Jinora replied. "What I do know is that your enemy—whoever it is—is employing each and every means to sow seeds of chaos in our world. Republic City is only just the beginning and it seems like there is trouble brewing in the south as well."
"The South? You mean, the Water Tribes?"
The young oracle nodded. "Something is stirring. Something sinister. I am unable to see what it is, but I know that what goes on in our world has an effect on the Spirit World. If this person is bent on spreading chaos and discord, then you have to stop them. Otherwise, even if you awaken the Elemental Spirit Lords, the degradation of the Spirit World will continue."
"Then I must go to the Water Tribes first," the Avatar mumbled in thought.
But before she could make plans about it, Jinora stopped Korra from following that train of thought any further than she had already.
"No, you leave the Water Tribes for now, Avatar Korra. Even if you meet whoever is responsible for all of this, you won't stand a chance against them as you are now." Jinora's words were harsh, but Korra knew them to be true. She really was as far from being the Avatar the people of Nia Bayou knew and worshipped as she was now. "You have to focus on the Elemental Cores. But be careful in doing so. They are hidden for a reason, and should they fall on the wrong hands…"
Korra nodded, understanding full well how dangerous that would be.
"There is also the Spirit Bastille to contend with. Amon—that masked man you fought against—has not given up on it. If Amon obtains the cores, it would truly be the end of us all." Korra's eyes widen at the news—news that she almost missed because of Asami—who had caught her attention as she began wandering around the room.
"But—But I destroyed that nefarious machine, had I not? The explosion that had caused all those lives…it should have taken the Spirit Bastille along with it." Korra felt sick—or at least, that was what she thought feeling sick would be like: the churning of one's stomach; cold, sticky sweat and the clamminess of one's skin; feeling cold all of a sudden.
Jinora shook her head once more. "The blast damaged it, but Amon managed to have someone fix it."
Avatar Korra let out a string of curses.
"Avatar Korra," the young girl had to place a hand on the Avatar's forearm to stop her from ranting. Especially when the Mark of Flames suddenly lit up. "Please, calm down. We don't want you burning the whole museum down."
The Avatar had to take a few calming breaths before Jinora was satisfied that Korra wasn't about to go on a raging rampage.
"I suppose," Korra said, after calming down. "I would need to deal with this Amon and his Spirit Bastille first."
"It would be dangerous. As dangerous as facing off against the mastermind behind all of this." The Oracle informed her. "But, should you choose to go against him, you must be extremely careful. Facing off against him and the Equalists may be too much."
"You mean, I may not be able to handle them?"
"No. It is not you I am most worried about, Avatar Korra." Jinora replied as she looked at the line of display cases Asami had disappeared into. "It's your friend, Asami Sato."
Asami wished she could have left the room along with Opal and Kai at that moment when she had been left alone as Jinora conversed with Korra privately. She couldn't even understand why she was in that room with the Avatar and the so-called 'Air Nomad Oracle' when Jinora had already spoken with her. She was no longer needed, and yet Jinora had asked that she wait for Korra.
The aspiring engineer and inventor heaved a sigh. She was bored, not to mention tired. The thought of what they had to do—of the journey they must all undertake churned in her mind and caused her to feel anxious.
Her eyes trailed to where Korra was still speaking with Jinora, resting on the wolf-tailed girl. The Avatar looked confused, maybe a tad agitated and it—for some reason—made Asami frown. Instead of dwelling on…whatever it was that had gotten Korra disconcerted or wallowing on her mind telling her she was not spending her time wisely, the young prodigy opted instead to look around the room's displays.
There was nothing that caught her attention in that room, nothing that really stood out. She had, after all been there earlier in the day, and it was merely out of boredom that she started inspecting the cases with as much interest as she could muster in her state. When she caught Korra's eye, she made a motion of looking around, to which the Avatar merely nodded her response and returned back to speaking with the Oracle.
The room was pretty big and as Asami began to look around, she was very careful not to lose sight of Korra and Jinora. She didn't want them to worry, after all. Especially not Korra who would be capable of turning any place inside-out and upside-down if she wanted to.
The Prodigy followed a long line of display cases, carefully reading and examining their contents before moving on to the next one, and then the one after that, until she found herself at the very back of the room. She was about to turn back when a woman spoke to her from her right.
"History is fascinating, isn't it," the woman said, making Asami whirl around in surprise, her hand already inside her bag, ready to pull out the Shock Glove if she needed to. She paused when she saw it was just a woman—her head wrapped with a headscarf—a niqab—that only allowed her eyes to peek through. She wore a long, loose fitted clothing that closely resembled what Jinora wore. The woman didn't seem to notice Asami's surprise, or that she was being scrutinized, as she went on to say, "It tells us of how the world was and shows glimpses of how it could be. But it also makes us wonder how different things might have been."
"Um…" Asami didn't know what to say, or even if she should say something. She wasn't even sure she was the one the woman was talking to. It was only when the woman looked at her directly with kind and warm-looking eyes did the young inventor know she was the one being addressed, but by then it was already too late to say anything.
The woman didn't seem to mind, though, and instead went on speaking. "Take for example, the motivation behind the actions of the people in history. How different would our reality be if they had been motivated differently than they had been?"
Asami couldn't help chuckling a bit at hearing those words. "You sound just like my friend, ma'am. I believe you would have a far more interesting time speaking with her about this than you would with me."
"Your friend?" the woman asked.
Asami nodded. "Opal Bei Fong. She's aspiring to be a historian. Well, the Historian who would uncover the true history of the world."
The niqab-wearing woman placed a hand under her chin, tapping it. The action gave Asami pause as she was heavily reminded of Opal.
"She seems like an interesting person," the woman said.
"I'm sorry, do I know you?" Asami found herself asking. She couldn't help but feel like she knows this woman whose eyes were twinkling with something the young prodigy couldn't identify but felt familiar with.
The woman's eyes crinkled into a smile, though she gave no answer. Instead, the woman took a step closer to Asami and placed a hand on her shoulder. Asami breath hitched. She couldn't help it, though she was again lost as to the reason why.
And then the woman spoke once more.
"There is something you must know. Something you may find no need to hear now but you will soon find helpful to you." She said so suddenly and so seriously that the emerald-eyed Sato couldn't help nodding and listening in earnest. "Motivation. You must always think about what motivates a person to act. Similarly, you must take care of your actions—of your own motivations. A person who is motivated by love will make completely different choices than a person who is motivated by fear. Those choices will result in completely different actions. Those actions will result in completely different outcomes and experiences. Before they know it—before you know it—they will have shifted themselves into completely different realities: one based on love, and the other based on fear." The woman then took her hand off Asami's shoulder and took a step back, before adding, "Never let your actions be inspired by fear, Asami. Let all you do be out of love. It is something your mother, Yasuko, took to heart."
Hearing her name from the woman's lips—and the name of her mother as well—came as a great surprise to the Prodigy who didn't tell the woman her name. But before she could ask how the older woman knew, said woman had walked away. Asami hurried after her, turning the same corner that the niqab-wearing woman took only to find that she had lost sight of her.
For several minutes Asami searched the room for the mysterious woman. She couldn't find her anywhere.
When Korra had finally finished speaking with Jinora and had sought her out, Asami decided to ask the Avatar if she had seen the woman.
"Woman? What woman?" Korra asked in return. "There was nobody in that room except for the three of us, Asami." The Avatar then frowned and moved closer to Asami when the Prodigy paled. "Are you sure you're alright, Asami? You don't look well."
"I'll be fine," Asami gave Korra a reassuring smile. "Are you sure, though?"
"I am certain." Korra then blushed a little as she admitted, "I kept a close eye on you while you were looking around. I saw no one but you." Korra then frowned, remembering the same thing happening to her back at the Abbey. "I wonder…that woman you met and the one I met…are they the same person?"
As quickly as that thought came did the Avatar shook it away, taking a good look at the young woman with her. "But enough of that. Let us return to our room, shall we? Opal might start wondering why we haven't returned yet and I certainly do not want her to worry. And you really look like you need a good night's sleep, Asami."
Asami nodded, trying not to think about the encounter. She did feel tired, and sleepy. It took quite a lot of her to keep herself awake.
"Was it really necessary to show yourself to her?" Jinora asked with a frown.
The woman shrugged. "Is that not something you should know, Oracle? You are the one who can see what is to come—or a fragment of it, at least."
The Air Nomad sighed, shaking her head. "You know that is not how my gift works."
"I know," the woman smiled, her form shimmering as she shifted from the Human Realm into the spiritual one. "I just wanted to help Asami. She needed to hear those words, and hopefully, when the time comes, she will remember them. After all, if Korra is to succeed, she would need Asami's help. They would both need to work together." The woman—who had, at that point, become a silhouette—cocked her head to the side as a thought occurred to her. "Did you tell Korra about the Hidden Hour?"
Jinora's eyes widened in response.
"Jinora…"
"I forgot about it!" the young Air Nomad exclaimed. Quickly she made a move to leave the room. "I have to hurry!"
The woman didn't try to stop nor hinder Jinora in any way. And, instead, disappeared the moment the Oracle left the room.