Korra threw the rope of that tied her little boat to the pier onto the deck. The entire island had come to see her off. She threw her old water-tribe clothes on, then looked over to Tatsuo with a tired expression. So much had happened today alone that she just didn't have the energy any more to think, just enough to get on with her life. Now, though, she had a crisis to deal with, Omashu and Ba Sing Sae apparently having gone to war in her absence, according to Tatsuo. Brilliant. Just brilliant.
"Avatar Korra..." Tatsuo started awkwardly, his whole life having been flipped upside down. Korra waited for him to continue, but for the first time ever in front of her, he was lost for words.
"Thank you?" Korra suggested. She rubbed the circular indentations of her tattoo, something that she'd started doing ever since she'd gotten the tattoo.
"Yes, I suppose," he said, sighing, then threw whatever he had planned in his head out the window. "Look, what occurred today probably won't sink in for me for a while. But I'm too tired to make up lies at the minute, so this is coming from the heart, while I'm not too effected by emotions.
"We haven't gotten along at all the entire time you've been here," Tatsuo began. "And that's all down to how I treated you. I know it's a bit rich, but I'm sorry for how I treated you. For the last thirty-odd years, I've been worshipping a false god, almost never questioning her decisions. Azula manipulated me to do her bidding masterfully. I could've taken over at any point, yet I was just happy to let her boss me around. It's just..." he trailed off again.
"We're probably not going to meet again for a long time," Korra said, putting a hand on his shoulder. If she'd done that eight hours earlier, she would've probably gotten a harsh slap, or worse. "Let it all out."
"She was the devil, but I blinded myself to her atrocities for the sake of feeling important," Tatsuo continued glumly, then looked at Korra meekly in the eyes. "I'm sorry for how much of a bellend I've been to you. I'm sure that goes for everyone else behind me." The crowd behind him all nodded silently, showing their support to his statement.
"There's a line between okay and bad crimes," Korra said, to the man more than twenty-five years older than her. "I'm not one to talk, but I think you should have realised that by now. Selling drugs to support your operation isn't good in the slightest, but it's not nearly as bad as torturing people. My words won't mean much in a week when I'm gone, but I hope you remember what happened today, and draw the line a lot sooner than what Azami had to go through. I don't want to have to come back one day to remind you of that."
"I swear we won't be so radical in the future," Tatsuo promised. Then, he took a deep breath, looking embarrassed, and stuck out his hand. He held it there awkwardly for a second, before Korra realised he was asking for a handshake.
Korra grasped Tatsuo's hand firmly, squeezing it tightly. Tatsuo looked up, relieved, and shook Korra's hand with vigour. It was about eleven seconds before they broke the handshake.
"Goodbye, Tatsuo," Korra said. "Thank you for hosting me." Korra hopped onto her boat, preparing herself to create a strong current to get her journey started. She was exhausted not only from the Agni Kai with Azula, but also Azami's heart-wrenching cremation just an hour ago. Funnily enough, Korra felt a little nostalgic for a second as the current started to pick up, but then it disappeared when she reminded herself why she was leaving.
"Avatar Korra!" Tatsuo called out as she began to drift away.
"Yes?" she called back.
"The nature of our roles means that there is a very strong possibility that we will meet again sometime in the future," Tatsuo shouted. "We may be on opposing sides by that point. I just want to let you know that you have earned my respect and the respect of everyone else on this island. Goodbye!"
"Thank you! Bye!" Korra yelled back, and summoned a powerful wave.
Then, the young Avatar was suddenly speeding away from the island she had come to call home for the last year. She watched it slowly shrink into the distance while pushing the boat forward through the current. After roughly about seven kilometres was in between them, and she was sure that she wasn't being followed by sensing for any submarines in the depths of the sea, Korra lay on her back, contemplating what her next moves were. She rubbed her left thigh, which she'd bandaged up on the island after bending all the pebbles and dirt out.
Korra thought about Kalla, and her heart fluttered when she realised that she might be able to see her daughter again soon enough. Of course, the war between Omashu and Ba Sing Sae took huge precedent, but Korra was sure that she'd be able to squeeze in a little time once she'd located where her parents were staying.
Korra rubbed her tattoo again, not able to smudge it thankfully, as she played out different scenarios of leaders reacting to her return. None of them were with welcome arms, unfortunately, no matter what way she tried to angle it. They would probably try to get her imprisoned in any way possible. It didn't matter though. Korra had just been given a harsh example of what happened when she didn't act decisively, or when she stuck to her morals against a dangerous opponent. People died. Azami's blood was on her hands, according to Korra. So she had a rough plan of what she would do: Force the leaders into peace with her authority as the Avatar.
Sure, it wasn't ideal. If they were pushing for peace themselves (which she doubted), then great, just nudge them along in the right direction. But if she just let them deal with it on their own because she had bloodbent recently and they didn't like that, then quite possibly, millions of lives would be lost. She might not be a popular figure afterwards, but she would stop war at all costs. Even if it meant losing all her friends.
Who am I kidding, I don't have any friends, Korra thought to herself, getting a little upset at the realisation. But so long as I have Kalla, that's all that matters.
Thinking about Kalla led to darker thoughts, namely about Mako. She thought that all of her anger had been used up today, but she was wrong. Even just the thought of him still got Korra riled up. Her ability to combustion bend hadn't set itself permanently when Korra killed Azula. She could still feel it the exact same as before, lingering in her mind. Korra wasn't totally obsessed with cementing the ability, but she was a little unsure about what she would do when she finally met him again, if she ever did. She had convinced herself that she would kill him while on the island, but inside, it all felt like a bit of a front.
I'll beat him into next week, anyway! Korra assured herself in her mind, and Vaatu's spirit rumbled contently. He wasn't talking right now at the minute, annoyingly, but a change had come over Korra after killing Azula.
Korra liked the power she felt when she had used Vaatu's power. When she had gone into the Avatar State with Raava in the past, her conscience was nearly always nagging at her in the back, apart from when she fought Zaheer. But in the Avatar State with Vaatu, that annoying voice was gone. She was able to just believe in herself without any doubt creeping into her mind. The doubt that had kept Korra from shooting down Azula when she had the chance, the doubt that had cost Azami her life.
If she was going to stop a war, then Korra would need all the self-confidence an Avatar could get. She didn't see herself as a 'dark' Avatar for using Vaatu instead of Raava; she still firmly believed in peace.
Korra just wouldn't be bound by other peoples' opinions any more. She felt no regret for bloodbending the Triple Threats back then, or taking away General Iroh II's bending. She likened herself to Kyoshi, who had made the Earth King bow to her in order to maintain peace.
If Republic City doesn't want me back, then fine, Korra thought, gazing at the stars. Winter was approaching, and the sun had already set. But I'm their Avatar, and I'll help them when they need it.
Jinora wandered around the top of the small hill dotted with pretty dandelions and roses, numerous spirits ambling around her peacefully. She had decided that this was officially her favourite spot to visit in the spirit world, as she gazed at a beautiful waterfall crash down into a lake a few hundred metres away, or what looked like it. If she had entered the spirit world through the portal with her real body, she would've had to trek all the way to this spot, but Jinora had become incredibly in tune with her spiritual self ever since the portal had been reopened, pretty much about a year now since Korra had reopened it without warning. She could travel vast distances in mere moments just by imagining them.
Jinora's mood fell a little bit as she thought of her old friend. She hadn't talked to Korra once since the poor girl ran away, when she was fourteen. Jinora had now just turned sixteen a few weeks back, having grown a few inches since they had last met. She plopped down on the grass, feeling the gentle, warm breeze ruffle her skin. She rubbed a winged-tiger cub under its chin, earning a purr from the tiny spirit.
"Please come back soon, Korra," Jinora pleaded aloud to no-one in particular. "Even if most people don't like you, we need an Avatar."
A war had officially broken out between Omashu and Ba Sing Sae, which had been threatening for a good while, just a few weeks ago. It was still in its infancy stages, but soon enough it would get very bad. It showed how terrible things got when Korra left the world to its own devices, or rather, she was shoved out by the world. It felt like nearly a repeat of the Earth Empire, just a lot more openly bloody.
"It really is a pity," a random man's voice said behind Jinora. Jinora twisted around, startled, but noticed immediately that the man didn't have any negative energy about him. He looked old, had orange and red robes on, a beard that stuck strictly to his jawline, a bald head and airbender tattoos.
"Sorry," Jinora said, relaxing, breathing a sigh of relief. "I didn't hear you there. Things have been troubling back in the physical world." She swore that the man, who was very tall, looked familiar, but then again, he looked like all the old paintings of airbenders that she had seen in the temples.
"You're worried for Avatar Korra, are you?" the man asked.
"Yes," Jinora admitted, although she didn't say that to most people she didn't know, as they still all had a negative opinion of the young woman. The immediate rush to cancel Korra in the media had long passed, but most were still outraged with their Avatar. "I just think that she deserves a second chance at least, she's done countless to warrant one, like very nearly dying for the sake of our culture! You were an Air Nomad, weren't you?"
"I was, or am," the man answered, sitting down on the grass. He smiled gently at the winged-tiger cub spirit, who nested on his lap. "It depends how you view it."
He looks a lot like dad, Jinora thought, but just put it down to the tattoos and general airbender appearance. No, more like Uncle Bumi, by his face. "I'm sorry, but who are you?" she asked the stranger.
"I expected that you would have that reaction," the man said sadly. "One of my few regrets in life is that I never got to hold any of my grandchildren. I can see that you've grown into a strong young woman. Tenzin did a much better job than I ever did at raising his children."
"Tenzin? Grandchildren?" Jinora repeated, connecting the dots, and thought of all of her grandparents. She knew both of them on her mum's, Pema's, side, so that just left her dad's side. Katara and…
"You're very sharp," he complemented as a look of realisation dawned on Jinora's face, while his grin just grew wider. "Your uncle Bumi would've taken a lot longer to figure that one out, you've got your aunt Kya's intellect."
"Grandpa Aang!" Jinora cried, jumping over and crushing her grandfather in a bear hug, recognising him from the old photos of her gran-gran, Katara. "It's so good to see you! I bet you've got so many amazing stories to tell me!"
"They don't have much on yours," Aang chuckled, returning the hug in earnest. They held the hug for another few seconds before Aang continued; "Your courage and pure heart only comes once in a generation. You got your airbending tattoos before me, which makes you the youngest in about five centuries." Aang's spirit heart fluttered as he finally got to meet his granddaughter, who he had been watching for so long.
"Really?" Jinora asked, looking her grandfather in the eyes.
"I wouldn't lie about something like that," Aang said, gesturing for Jinora to sit down in front of him, which she did. "Let's talk. I'm sure there's plenty that I've missed out on. Don't bother with anything heavy at the moment, we can discuss that later."
"Like what?" Jinora asked, unsure where to start.
"How about your brother and sister, Ikki and Meelo," Aang suggested. "I haven't been able to watch too much of them, compared to you."
Jinora chatted away endlessly for the next hour, Aang soaking up every word. Jinora told him thousands of tiny things about her day to day life, which would've been boring to most, but Aang hung on intently to every word. He did feel a little bit sad that he couldn't have been there to witness them himself, but couldn't get the giddy smile off of his face that came when he was undeniably happy about something. He wished he could spend days talking, catching up with Jinora, as well as Meelo and Ikki, but unfortunately, he knew that he couldn't avoid the reason why he had appeared to her in the first place.
"Jinora," Aang said eventually, his smile slowly turning into a more serious look. They had just had a bit of a lull in the conversation, which gave Aang the opportunity he needed. "I know this may seem a little dark given that we only met an hour ago, but there was another reason why I appeared to you today. I've been holding off on it for about a year and a half in your time, but something transpired which means I have to step in, and I need your help. It's to do with Korra."
"Has she been found?" Jinora asked hopefully, springing up. "Where, where?"
"Where she is does not matter," Aang answered, "but rather the path that she is headed on. I sensed Vaatu's energy nearly crumple Raava's just yesterday entirely. I fear that if action is not taken soon, Raava's light will be quenched completely, and Korra will be corrupted with it by Vaatu."
"Vaatu?" Jinora repeated, remembering the giant dark spirit that attacked Republic City back at Harmonic Convergence, nearly five years ago now. She shuddered at thought of him, nightmares coming back. "I thought that Korra had dealt with him, I felt him get purified myself. Don't tell me he's back?!"
"He is," Aang admitted reluctantly. "How he came back isn't of the utmost importance right now, the important thing is that you listen to me very carefully."
"Well… okay," Jinora said hesitantly, remembering she did feel an uncanny semblance to him the day before ripple through the spirit world, but had ignored it.
"About four and a half months ago in the physical world," Aang began, "Korra's general confusion manifested itself into hate. I don't know what triggered this, but at that time, Raava's energy presence inside of Korra was weakened as Vaatu grew stronger, and equalled Raava's presence. There had been a warning sign at the South Pole, but I have been blocked from appearing to Korra ever since, whether it be in the spirit or material world. I believe that she summoned Kyoshi from the dead to talk, but when I tried to reach out, Kyoshi rejected me, as she felt her time on this planet was done."
"I thought the Avatar cycle had been broken, and started anew," Jinora commented. "At least that's what Korra said, or what I think she told me."
"The new spirit portal has opened up a realm of possibilities," her grandfather explained. "And it has also allowed me to verify the potential within you. Jinora, what do you know about energybending?"
"Energybending?" Jinora repeated, thinking hard. "I'm not sure, not too many people know anything about it. Didn't you use it to take away Fire Lord Ozai's bending to end the 100-Year-War?"
"Yes," Aang confirmed. "Even I didn't know too much about the intricacies of it, and I was renowned for my ability to take one's bending away. Energybending is the purest form of bending. Air, water, earth and firebending are all just different branches of it."
"Does that mean," Jinora said after a moment of thought, jumping to a conclusion, "that any bender can energy bend? That they can take someone's bending if they just know how to unlock it?"
"No," Aang answered, having an answer prepared for that question. All sense of humour and light-heartedness had left the conversation. "The Lion Turtles knew strictly to only grant one branch of energybending each. Humans, as I know all too well myself, can be bent and twisted. Do you know what happens to the corrupted heart when it tries to energybend?"
"No," Jinora answered.
"It will backfire, and your bending will be removed permanently," Aang revealed, leading to a gasp from Jinora. "The resolve must be driven by a calm and collected mind. Any influence from emotion will flip the process over entirely."
"That's terrifying!" Jinora exclaimed. "Weren't you afraid of that ever happening to you? And... wouldn't the genocide of our people have made you angry, even in the slightest, when you fought Fire Lord Ozai?"
"At that time, my faith in the philosophy of the Air Nomad culture was unwavering," Aang answered. "I believed that I would be no better if I took a life in exchange for my people's, and I also knew that he would wreak havoc on the world. So when Ozai refused my genuine offer to stand down, I knew that that was my best chance."
"That's amazing, grandpa!" Jinora said, Aang somehow earning even more respect from his grandchild. Then her expression changed to a curious one: "But how does this fit in with what you need to tell me? What does it have to do with my 'potential'?"
"You have the power to energybend," Aang revealed, shocking Jinora. But rather than revel in amazement, she just looked at the ground. She seemed to be torn about something she was thinking about.
"What is it?" Aang asked.
"It's just…" Jinora said, then sighed, her shoulders slumping. "It's just, I'm not sure I'm capable of dealing with all that power. I mean, taking someone's bending away is no small deal, I remember the terror I felt when Amon was about to take my bending away. I don't know if someone like me is the right person to wield that authority. I'm sorry for disappointing you, grandpa."
"That's nothing to be ashamed of," Aang answered, and a dejected Jinora looked up to see a proud smile etched on her grandfather's face. "You are a mature young woman, pure of heart. Your reluctance to have such power, when most teenagers would usually do anything to impress others, shows that you are the right one for my task."
"Umm… thanks," Jinora replied awkwardly, blushing at the high praise from a man she had heard so much about. Then she looked up; "Wait, what task? Do you want me to take someone's bending away?"
"Not at all!" Aang cleared up immediately. "You would probably die from such an exertion, even at the peak of your strength in your entire life. I never once even considered using it without the power of the Avatar State. The task I need you to carry out is still incredibly dangerous, though. Are you up for it?"
"Well…" Jinora said. "What is it?"
"You are very sharp," Aang repeated. "It will be life threatening, I can guarantee you that."
"I've been in dangerous situations before," Jinora replied patiently.
"Very well," Aang said. "I fear that Korra will be tempted by Vaatu from now on to use his power in place of Raava's. If Korra does get sucked into that, we both know for a fact that Vaatu won't sit by idly. He will slowly possess Korra's mind more and more every time she uses his power, until he has complete control over her consciousness. There is only one form of pure love that can revive Raava within Korra, if you will. Do you know where Kalla is?"
"Kalla?" Jinora repeated. "You mean, Korra's baby sister?" Aang nodded, after a moment of slight hesitation. "Yeah, Korra's parents have been staying on Air Temple Island for the last year with her, as they were shunned out of the South Pole. What does she have to do with this? And how do you know her name?"
"Do you really not know?" Aang asked. "The truth about Kalla? I know her name because I learnt everything about the fiasco at the South Pole, if you really wonder."
"What truth?" Jinora asked.
"It isn't my place to tell you," Aang said, sighing, "but I have no choice. Kalla… is Korra's daughter. I presume the reason Korra left Kalla with her grandparents is because she didn't want to put the child in danger."
Jinora just sat there, speechless, staring at her grandfather, before the meaning hit her. It was true that given the skin tone of Tonraq and Senna, that Jinora had naturally been confused by how much lighter Kalla's skin was than her 'parents'. But after knowing Senna for a few weeks, Jinora had banished such a suspicion from her head, knowing that Senna would never do something like cheat on her husband, and put Kalla's skin tone down to a condition. But now, that made so much sense. Jinora's heart instantly filled with an aching sympathy as she wondered how hard it must have been for Korra for the last year, separated from her baby.
"Do you mind me asking who the father is?" she blurted out.
"That's not my business to say," Aang told Jinora, who regretted what she had asked immediately. She was about to apologise, but Aang kept going: "Now I need you to listen carefully. Korra is coming back to the rest of the world soon. She has heard about the conflict between Omashu and Ba Sing Sae. Korra will come rushing to stop the war before it gets going properly. I want your uncle Bumi to lead the new Air Nation to Omashu to lead a peace effort."
"You know about the new Air Nation?" Jinora asked.
"I know about everything," Aang revealed. "I wish I could spend days upon days expressing how proud I am, but even this brief appearance to project myself is tiring. I want you to go to Omashu with your uncle, and see if you can save Korra before she falls too deep. A war like this changes a person, so you cannot wait around."
"But how do you know that she'll definitely go to Omashu?" Jinora asked nervously. "And what if she's too far gone for me to help her?"
"It is as clear as day that she will go to Omashu," Aang said. "And listen carefully to what I need you to do. I only trust you specifically to be able to carry out this job."
Jinora listened carefully to her grandpa's next words, but despite the immense respect she had for him, Aang's words did not settle well with Jinora.
"Are you joking?!" she cried, throwing her hands up. "There's no way I'm doing that! Can you even begin to understand how stupid that sounds?"
"Jinora, please," Aang told her calmly. "The custody of the Air Nation will be enough protection, and this is only as a last resort. Please, run it by Bumi and he will agree with it. Hopefully, you won't even need to do it."
Jinora grumbled unhappily, but decided not to shout, as her grandfather certainly wouldn't have proposed something so desperate without a lot of consideration being taken into account.
"I'll run it by every one that needs to know," Jinora grumbled. "Anything else?"
"Yes," Aang said. "There are a dozen marbles in my old office, which would now be Tenzin's, I suppose. They are light blue in colour, and very sentimental to me. I want you to take them with you when you go to talk to Korra. If you feel them tingle with spirit energy, pour your chi into them. Understood?"
"Yes," Jinora said, vaguely remembering something like that in her dad's office.
"Now go," Aang said, his image shimmering before Jinora's very eyes. "There is not an abundance of time to spare. Tell everyone that you met me if you want, but I fear that Meelo and Ikki could get jealous, so it might be best just to leave it with those on a need-to-know basis until the future."
"Grandpa," Jinora said shyly.
"Yes, Jinora?" Aang asked, unable to keep his image from unravelling.
"Can we talk again sometime, when all this has blown over?" she asked, looking up, but his appearance was already gone. Only his voice remained:
"Of course," he whispered from all directions, then disappeared to wherever spirits recharged their batteries.
"Time to get to work," Jinora declared out loud to no-one in particular after a minute of going over everything that had just happened. She bid farewell to all the surrounding spirits, then vanished from the spirit world back to her physical body.
Mako took in an irate breath as he, Bolin and seven different lavabenders all sat quietly in the back of the truck, hidden inside of a crate. The atmosphere was tense as they couldn't talk, being close enough to a checkpoint. The general shaking off all the 'goods' had lessened, meaning that they were slowing down. The former commander was shitting himself, and they still had another week and a half to go stuck inside this truck until they reached Omashu. He hated every minute of it, but whenever he brought up the idea of defecting to Bolin, his younger brother vehemently rejected going back now.
The seven other students had all been present when the class got bombed. They were all hate-driven, just like Bolin, the agony of losing their friends or family twisting itself into a hatred of Omashu, one that would probably never disappear even when the war was eventually done with. Bolin was a truly sorry sight, consumed by his darkest desires to avenge Ling. They had signed up, and been sent off the next day, missing Mo's return to Ba Sing Sae after telling Ling's family the horrible news.
There were several battles being waged at the minute, all across the territory in between Ba Sing Sae and Omashu. Both ignored the smaller states who forbid them from fighting on their land, and laid waste wherever they came. Because of that, Mako, Bolin and the others were taking the long way around for their mission. What was their mission?
To sabotage the infrastructure of Omashu as much as they possibly could from the inside. There was the inner city, which used to be the entire city, sitting alone in a canyon, looking out over the abyss that surrounded itself on all sides, and there was the rest of the city, which spread out for miles and miles on top of the cliffs that surrounded the inner city. Omashu had apparently seen near-exponential growth since the end of the 100-Year-War.
There were a lot of Ba Sing Sae sympathisers in Omashu, who would help smuggle all nine of them into the inner city. These sympathisers would earn a lot of money and privileges after the war was done if Ba Sing Sae won, for their help. The idea was to wreck the economy of the inner city, which was very rich, at the start of the war, so that more finances would be vacuumed in centrally. That would naturally cause unrest from the worst-off citizens, who were getting the short end of the stick when Omashu declared war.
Mako's heart thudded inside of his chest as he thought about everything that could go wrong. He really hated this entire plan with a passion. Maybe if Nel had been able to come out of intensive care, he might've been able to talk Bolin around, but Mako had doubted it. He and Bolin had had ten or so extremely long, dragged out arguments after the first one before enrolling, and the young lavabender hadn't been swayed in the slightest.
Please let us both get out of this mess alive, Mako prayed to any potential god that could be listening.
Asami Sato dragged herself across her bedroom, dragging the white sack of powder with her that she kept hidden under her floorboard. Not that her servants didn't know about it, but she just did it so that any 'guests' wouldn't immediately be able to see it, and steal it behind her back. She had plenty more hidden all over her mansion, but it was just more convenient.
Her paper-thin arms struggled to even do that much.
The only remaining Sato caught a glimpse of her ghastly reflection in the mirror, her skin draped against her cheekbones, but didn't care about her appearance anymore.
Asami got the thin, sturdy cardboard she always used, and poured a sizeable amount onto her desk. Any papers or documents were now gone from the worktop. It was only used for one thing now; cocaine.
Asami held her head just above the substance, the jittery anticipation of what she was about to do for the third time this week getting her excited, as it always did. She snorted the sugar-like substance up one nostril, pressing the other shut with her finger. In just a few seconds, it was all gone, travelling into her system. Asami sat back on the ground, waiting for the happy feeling to hit.
Just a minute later, the euphoric sensation of cocaine returned, shoving all of Asami's problems down the well for later. The loneliness was all forgotten as Asami lost herself in the dreamland she had visited so often in the last year and a half.