Korra peered around at the space in front of her. There were hundreds of crates lying around. They were in towers of one to three, in no particular order. Korra couldn't see Mako anywhere, as the light was very poor, nor could she hear him. There was a row of windows at the top of the wall, but she doubted that they would let anything in during the day anyway. The hole that she had created illuminated the space in front of her, but it didn't reach very far, as the moon was covered by the clouds tonight.
"Mako?" Korra called out sarcastically, getting no response. She sighed, and lit a fireball in her open palm, before tossing it aimlessly over the crates directly in front of her. There was a little path which Mako had probably run down, but he wasn't there as the blue fireball travelled to the other side of the massive room. Next, she placed her hand on the ground and sensed for a heartbeat somewhere. But just as she'd suspected, these crates were made of platinum. The chances were that he was hiding on top of one.
"Fine!" Korra declared, her voice echoing across the plant, which seemed to have been converted into a warehouse, but wasn't used at the minute by the looks of it. It was probably too inconvenient to protect something so out of the way during a war.
Mako lay flat on a single container, fifty metres away from Korra. His heartrate had slowed down a lot since they had stopped falling, so he could feel his hip getting at him again. It was like an itch right in the middle of your shoulder-blades. Something you could ignore usually, but when you have nothing to do, it bothers you like hell.
She's crazy, Mako thought as Korra walked closer in his direction. Suddenly, without warning, she shot a combustion bending bullet out of her forehead at a random container. Mako jumped, but it was far away from him, so he was fine. His burnt hand from blowing up the wall still stung, and he guessed that it might be permanent.
However, when the smoke cleared, Mako's heart leapt as he saw that Korra only managed to put a dent in the crate. She was weakening! His joy was short lived though, as he had to remind himself that he was a human. A dent like that would still kill him.
How do I beat this? he wondered. It's practically impossible to get near her, I thought that this thing was a myth until I saw that lady from the Red Lotus. How did we beat her? Mako racked his brain, until he vaguely remembered Lin Beifong telling him how they ended the tall woman. I don't want to kill Korra though, even if I'm going at her with intent to kill.
He thought hard as Korra started slowly walking his direction, keeping an eye out for any sudden movements. Mako tried his hardest, remembering how Bolin had managed to stun the lady back in Zaofu, but Mako didn't know how long that would work on Korra. He kept on trying to think of anything, but nothing genuinely helpful came up. So when Korra was only five metres away from him, he decided on a risky plan. His risky plans of flying away from her when she blew up the wall and jumping off a cliff worked relatively well, so this was worth a shot.
Korra walked carefully through the path between the crates. Goosebumps rippled along her skin, making her shiver with nervousness. She was fairly sure that the sound she had heard from the crate was from her imagination.
Why would my imagination make sounds at a time like this? she wondered, irritated. It's so inconvenient, this is life or death! Korra felt her eyelids beginning to get heavy. It had been a long day, travelling on a bus with her head bent down the entire nine-hour ride, starting in the morning around nine or ten o'clock. Then, she flew over most of Omashu in the Avatar State relatively fine. Then, three hours of burning her enthusiasm out with boredom after the talk with King Siya. The fight with Bolin had been very draining, and this one with Mako just kept dragging on. Korra rubbed her eyes, and was unable to stifle a yawn, despite how on edge she was.
Now! Mako thought as Korra rubbed her eyes. He got into a crouching position, then jumped off the crate onto Korra. He hit the young woman perfectly, making sure to wrap her tightly, and they rolled together as she struggled.
"AGH!" Korra cried as Mako suddenly smashed into her broken arm. It interrupted all of her thoughts, leaving her relying on her instincts as they hit the ground. She tried to push Mako off, but he grabbed her good wrist and punched Korra straight in the nose, breaking it. Then, while she instinctively forced her hand in front of her face, he grabbed the water-tribe woman by the sides and flipped her onto her front, so that she definitely couldn't combustion bend at him.
Mako started to ram his elbows into the back of Korra's skull, drawing blood. She managed to slap him off her back using airbending, but that was only after seven or so strikes. Korra slashed fire at Mako, making him have to retreat while she got up.
"Nowhere to run!" Korra shouted, inhaling deeply. She couldn't possibly miss with combustion bending from this distance, but as she tried to pinpoint in on him, her vision swam. Two blurry Mako's fizzed in her line of sight as the back of her head became wet with blood. She grunted, finding it harder to concentrate.
You'll die if you use combustion bending now! Vaatu chastised her. How long will it take to get the message through to you?! You need my power!
I don't need shit from you! Korra replied, although she knew that he wasn't lying. She could barely stay up on her own two feet, nevertheless combustion bend. She also felt Vaatu slowly gaining more of a foothold on her mind. If she didn't do something about it soon, he might take over temporarily.
Jinora could sense Vaatu's energy pulsing far off in the distance. She was about halfway down the canyon by now, and had just covered two thirds of the length of the city. Kalla was securely strapped to her chest, still asleep. Jinora's hair whipped back in the wind as she picked up more speed, anxious to get to Korra as soon as possible.
"How'd you know the weakness?" Korra asked, Mako standing five metres in front of her.
"Lucky guess," Mako answered truthfully, in a boxing stance. "You can't use your special new skill now, huh?" He needed to make sure that she wasn't just bluffing, and if she didn't use it here, then it would probably be safe to say that she couldn't use it. That plan was a terrible one, seeing as if Mako was wrong, then he'd be dead. But luck was on his side so far tonight.
"You were never one to take chances before," Korra mentioned, slowing her breathing.
"You can tell I've changed, then, can't you?" Mako asked, deepening Korra's scowl. "I came here to talk, Korra, not to fight!"
"Shut your trap!" Korra responded, regaining her balance. She emphasized her point by jumping into the air and kicking at him with both feet, two blue fireballs searing at him. Then, when she landed, Korra lashed her hand out at him, creating a wall of air that rushed to meet Mako. She finished off her move by shoving her hand into the earth and sending a small tremor through the earth at him.
Mako waved away the two fire-kicks, which weren't nearly as hot as Korra's fire at the start had been. He lashed his hand out, creating a wall of fire just like Korra's. They cancelled each other out with a bam, but Mako was thrown into the air by the ripple. Korra took her opportunity, and spun, stretching her leg out. She sent an air-roundhouse kick at Mako, and it connected perfectly. He was sent flying into a crate, but he took it well, only letting out a slight groan, and continuing as usual.
Mako easily jumped out of the way of a blue fireball from Korra, showing that he was just fine. He punched a fire-backhand, a fire-uppercut, and fire-kicked at Korra's thigh with his right foot. Korra blocked both of the punches, but was forced to take the kick. She grimaced, feeling it burn into her flesh. Mako sent another fire-hook, this time aiming for her head, and did the exact same kick as a few seconds ago. Korra was wise to it though, and shot fireballs out of her index and middle fingers to counter them. She stomped on the ground, a block of earth rising up, and kicked it at Mako.
Mako crouched under the block of earth, hearing it crunch against the crate he'd just been sent into. He extended his leg, and swept his foot in a wide arc at her. A carpet of fire rushed to swipe Korra of her feet, but she tucked her knees into her chest as she jumped, the danger passing safely below. Mako got up, and put all his weight behind a fire-hook, spinning around on his uninjured hip. He brought his leg in a circle, and fire-roundhouse kicked at the mother of his daughter. Korra couldn't keep up with such a high tempo, and was hit right in the gut by the fire-roundhouse kick, having just about avoided the fire-hook. She stumbled back, clutching her gut.
"You're gonna fucking regret that!" Korra threatened. She inhaled slowly, lifting her entire body up, and the ground to her right started to turn into a red shade. In a few seconds, Korra had a small pool of lava beside her, lighting up a lot of the room. She took her hand off her gut and reached at the pool, pulling up a thick rope of the molten rock. Mako backed away as Korra fashioned it into a three-metre long lava whip. This was hard enough to do at her current energy levels, but it had the desired effect.
Fuckin' hell, Mako thought, backing up well out of the whip's reach. He kicked and punched fire at the whip, but it had no effect against the lava. Mako contemplated running away for the time being, but then realised that this was going to be his best opportunity to get her, while she was still tired. She'd had to use a lot of energy in that landing, and could barely stand up straight as a result. Mako evaded another five lashes from her whip, then started gathering lightning.
Korra dropped the whip of lava as soon as she saw electricity starting to fizz around Mako's fingers. She waited patiently for him to charge up, then pointing her two fingers at the onrushing bolt as Mako directed it at her. Korra took it in through her body, controlling it perfectly fine, despite only having one hand. She was about to send it right back, when she thought of a different idea.
Mako prepared himself to catch his bolt as Korra stretched her hand out. The lightning shot from her fingertips, but his brow burrowed in confusion as Korra missed altogether, and hit the ground right beside him. Mako covered his eyes as dozens of little sharp pebbles flew at him as a result of the explosion. He glanced back at Korra after only a moment, but his breath caught in his throat as he realised that he'd played right into her trap.
A rock wall smashed into Mako, the former commander taking the full brunt of the assault. He fell onto his backside and rolled over, groaning. Korra watched him lie there until he got up, her shoulders slumped. Neither of them made any attempt to attack each as they stared off, both taking a subconscious breather.
"Why are you making life so fuckin' difficult, Korra!?" Mako asked, pushing himself up wearily. "None of this had to happen! If we keep on going, one of us is going to die, and I don't want to kill you!"
It is crucial that you shut his words out, Korra, Vaatu advised. He was at the forefront of Korra's mind, almost making all her decisions for her. You are fatigued, so you will want an excuse to stop the pain temporarily to get some rest. Need I say what will happen next?I know, Korra told him, not bothered to give out about him piping up.
"Well?" Mako asked, getting his hopes up a tiny bit as she hesitated to answer him.
"Go fuck yourself!" Korra declared, and he sighed.
Mako punched four fireballs in quick succession at Korra, then kicked vertically with both feet, two small columns of fire following the fireballs. He started to quickly gather more lightning, hoping to catch her off guard. Korra raised a thin wall of blue fire, which it absorbed Mako's attacks easily. She caught Mako's lightning again as it was shot at her again, and thought about going for another diversion, but Korra's haste got the better of her. She redirected the lightning right back at Mako, making no secret of her intent, but Mako read the move before she had even fully realised that she was doing it herself. He rolled away, and the lightning sparked off of the damaged crate harmlessly.
What will it take to fucking get him with a proper shot?! Korra thought, frustrated. Mako had such a cool and collected head compared to her. She tried to think more slowly and think things out a tiny bit more, but just the sight of him standing there got her worked up.
Don't let him think, Korra, Vaatu said. Go all out, and he won't possibly be able to deal with your intensity. Don't think, just do it. He's tired too, he's just good at hiding it, like he is with his true intentions.
Korra didn't know if she could've fought Vaatu's advice if she wanted to, but she just decided to trust him. She mustered up her energy, preparing herself for what should be the final stretch of the fight if she did everything properly.
Korra shoved her hand diagonally into the ground, and started shaking it while she inhaled sharply. A tremor rippled through the earth towards Mako, only this time it was a tremor of lava. It was a lot quicker than the other tremor too.
I have to run from that! Mako reasoned, and took off in the direction behind him, the lava giving chase closely behind.
Jinora's heart pounded as she felt Vaatu grow more and more. His spirit had stopped moving though, so she reckoned that it would definitely be under ten minutes until she reached Vaatu, and Korra as well.
What am I supposed to do, though? Jinora wondered. She wasn't able to do what she did at Harmonic Convergence, and was more worried for Kalla than herself. What if Korra was taken over by Vaatu, didn't recognise Kalla in her rage and lashed out?
"No mother would ever do that," Jinora muttered, her words snatched away by the wind. "Especially not Korra."
Mako had temporarily given up on attacking Korra, as he twisted and turned in between crates to avoid her. She had been chasing him on foot for a minute or two now, only slowing down when Mako lobbed the odd attack at her. Mako skidded to a halt and spun around, clapping his hands together. A tunnel of flames erupted between the crates, attempting to swallow Korra up, as Mako started running again. Korra didn't even break stride, holding her hand out in front of the flames. They were pushed back as she broke through the flashy diversion without any trouble.
Mako glanced back, his pace increasing as he saw her get closer. He took a random left, always looking behind him, but then bit his tongue as he rammed into something hard. Mako looked back at what he had run into, seeing that it was a wall. He looked left and right, but then his heart stopped. There were crates both sides of him too, as Mako realised that he had run into the far wall of the plant, the opposite side of where he had come in from. He backed into the wall, terrified. He got a flashback all the way back to when he fought Kenichi Shinoda, as this was nearly the exact same situation. Korra rounded the crates, and made eye contact with Mako. She was nearly on her last legs too.
"I'm going to make you squeal like a pig!" Korra declared, another voice underlying her tone. Mako's eyes widened as he got full confirmation of what had happened to Korra.
"Korra, don't you see, Vaatu's corrupting you!" Mako tried desperately. This was backed up when her eyes and combustion bending tattoo flickered red. It seemed that Korra was struggling to stay out of the Avatar State.
"The only thing that's corrupted here is your heart!" their voices responded. Now, there were a number of things Korra could have done right there and then to finish Mako off. Turn the ground into lava, create a slab of earth to grind Mako into the wall, or bloodbend him, if she went into the Avatar State. But just like Shinoda, Korra wanted the most satisfying execution possible. So she took a deep breath, and blue fire blasted out of her feet. She held a hand out as she flew towards Mako, aiming for his neck. Mako knew instantly that if she made contact, his throat would be crushed without a doubt. But also like time against Shinoda, he got a last-second idea.
As Korra crossed the ten-metre space like a bullet, a victorious look of her face, Mako kicked his leg upwards, fire trailing after his toes. Korra's hand was only a foot away from Mako, when she suddenly felt something hot smash into her stomach. She suddenly started flipping, losing her rockets as she turned upside down. Korra's fingers brushed off of Mako's hair.
Korra crashed upside down into the wall behind Mako with her back, one of Mako's last-ditch plans having worked yet again. Mako glanced up, saw her short hair drooping into her face, and took his cue. He bounced out from his rigid position, and started running away yet again, no longer in the belief that he could win this fight. He just wanted to escape right now. He was extremely lucky that she hadn't used bloodbending yet.
Korra used airbending to cushion her fall, grimacing as her broken arm spasmed out. Vaatu threatened to take over at any second.
Forget your pride, Korra! Vaatu demanded. Dead men don't talk in your world, so he wouldn't be able to tell anyone of how you needed to resort to my power! He's a smarter fighter than Bolin earlier. You had your chance to finish him there, now let me take the reins!This has nothing to do with you! Korra retorted, resisting Vaatu through pure willpower. She got up unsteadily, and resumed the chase.
Mako hobbled into an opening, seeing about twenty trucks lined up against another wall. He was at the corner of the plant, and saw his opportunity to escape. But he barely managed to make it half the way before his hip finally gave in. Mako's leg buckled, and he fell. Mako tried to drag himself over, but his hopes sank when he heard Korra run out into the opening after him. The father of one shoved himself up, knackered from all the running he'd had to do after ten days of sitting in a truck. He turned around to face the mother of his child. He was definitely cornered now. There was no way he could keep on out-running her.
Mako and Korra stared off fifteen metres away from each other, Mako ten feet from the trucks. So agonisingly close, yet so far away. Korra's breathing was fast and irregular: she was definitely hurt from that previous crash. She stood rigidly, as if to not cause anything to flare up by moving it. Mako felt like his luck had run out, because there was no way she would be reckless again. On the plus side, Korra seemed to have restrained Vaatu, so maybe she didn't plan on bloodbending him. Suddenly, there were so many things that Mako wanted to say, as he suddenly thought of a million different favours he owed to people.
"Nowhere to run," Korra commented, her voice echoing across the vast empty space in the abandoned plant. She seemed too tired to give an angry long speech.
"Korra, you don't have to do this!" Mako begged. He had always imagined that he wanted to die with a bit of dignity, not showing weakness, but he couldn't hold it in. "I know that I've made one bad mistake, that you may never forgive me for. But if you can just try to ignore me, I'll, I'll…" Mako trailed off as he was about to say something significant.
"What?" Korra demanded.
"I'll… I'll…" Mako went on, before going quiet. "I can't say it. I don't care if it's written on my tombstone, but I won't commit myself to that. I was about to say that I'll never try and get back into Kalla's life, but I won't say that. Ever."
"Get back?" Korra repeated. She laughed a horrible, wretched laugh. "You were never in it in the first place."
"Look, Korra," Mako began, "I don't want to get back with you. Ever since I realised that Kalla was my daughter, I lost all romantic interest in my life. Every single ounce. I still find women attractive, but I've already been selfish enough so far. I just want Kalla to live a happy life, and grow up with both her parents."
This was completely true. Though Mako still thought Korra was good-looking, even with the fear-instilling tattoo on her forehead, he just couldn't look at her as someone he could date. In all of the time he had talked to women casually in Zaofu and Ba Sing Sae, he'd never once thought of any of them as girlfriend material.
Don't be fooled, Korra, Vaatu warned.
"I just don't believe you!" Korra stated, throwing her hands up exasperatedly. "Why should I even let anywhere near Kalla when the first time I see you in OVER A YEAR is when you're terrorising a city. I guess that you feel sorry about that too, huh?"
"I never wanted to come here!" Mako reiterated. "I only came here to protect Bolin-" He kept on talking as Korra was about to interrupt, "-just like I want to protect Kalla from now on. Why is that so hard to believe?!"
"Because leopards don't change their spots!" Korra cried. She couldn't put the betrayal she had felt into words herself, but thankfully, Vaatu did that for her.
"I'm not a leopard!" Mako cried back. He was really getting emotional. "I'm a human being, who feels regret, and wishes that he could take back his stupid decisions!"
In spite of all that had happened, Korra felt herself relenting a tiny bit. Sure, she had just been trying to kill him for the last half an hour, but even now, he tried to talk things out. Korra wasn't sure if she would be so willing to negotiate if it was the other way around. Sure, she'd forgiven Kuivera for all her faults, even when Kuivera hadn't deserved forgiveness, but Kuivera had been a lot like Korra. Mako was like Korra too, in some ways. Maybe… he did deserve a second chance.
Korra! Vaatu interrupted, flooding her thoughts. Do not lose sight of your goal! When faced with the prospect of death or physical pain, humans will always beg for mercy to get out of whatever sticky situation they are in! You are above this, Korra!
But it sounds sincere, Korra argued. He was getting upset there.
He was upset at the thought of dying! Vaatu countered. Do not follow a path of leniency whenever someone breaks down emotionally, Korra! You must be decisive, as you are in a position of power! Do you want this man to hold your daughter?!
Korra looked at Mako. His clothes were torn, his hair was all over the place and one of his hands was purple from a burn. He looked tired of this mess, wanting desperately to give in and move on. But when she imagined Mako holding her daughter, the memory of him denying Kalla as his child came back vividly to the forefront of her mind. The thought itself made Korra angry, and she clutched her head as everything started to hurt. She felt Vaatu creeping into the driver's seat once more.
"Oh shit," Mako murmured as Korra started screaming like a hyena. He stood there awkwardly as she broke down, but then, as soon as it had appeared, it passed. Korra looked up at him, and although her eyes weren't glowing red, they still had murder in them.
"Your time in this world is up!" Korra declared. She pointed her fist to her right while getting into the horse stance, then dragged it across her body until she was pointing the other way. A large crack rumbled in the ground, and bright, red lava bubbled up through it, overflowing. It didn't quite reach Mako, but he was definitely trapped now. There was no way out, unless he could clamber onto one of the trucks and jump across, by some miracle. But even he used firebending, he knew that he still wouldn't make it. Mako had enough energy for one big attack left, maybe. If he tried to use flamethrowers as rockets, he'd just fail half way.
But then, a reckless idea came into his head with the thought of fire. Very reckless indeed. So reckless, it would get him killed if he didn't put 100% on his focus into it. And it wouldn't even guarantee his escape.
It's better than nothing, Mako reckoned, and slowed his breathing.
Korra watched as Mako started to drag his fingers around in the air, conducting a powerful voltage of lightning. Korra could tell that it was going to be his final move. He was about to pass out on the spot, but somehow, he managed to gather enough for Korra to know that she had to give him her full attention. Mako's hair flew about as he made eye contact with Korra, but both of them had shut out any emotion from their expressions. Only the gritty desire to win, which varied greatly for them both.
Mako touched his fingers together, signalling he was done charging. Korra stared at his fingers, following their every movement. But she raised an eyebrow unconsciously as they pointed to Mako's side. Only as the first few volts started to travel towards their destination, which was nowhere near Korra, did she realise his intent. If he couldn't find a way out, he would make one.
The lightning zapped the engine of one of the many trucks lined up right beside each other, taking a moment to sink in. Then, it exploded. That explosion set off a domino effect, and the trucks beside the first one exploded too. Soon, all the engines were going off in a chain reaction. This wasn't big enough for what Mako had hoped for, but luckily, in the back of one of the trucks, there was something unknown that wasn't to be tinkered with. That truck alone exploded with flames a hundred times bigger than all the rest, speeding to swallow up the two young adults.
Mako clapped both his hands together as he was engulfed, the fire just about parting for him. His scared hand stung with the contact, but he gritted his teeth and doubled down on his efforts as parts of his outfit and long pieces of his hair got singed. His cheeks rippled with the shockwave alone. Korra, on the other hand, just held her palm out to face the flames. The fire slammed to a stop in front of her, while the rest roared by. She didn't have any trouble controlling the flame, but it did take up all her attention. She lost sight of Mako amidst the eruption, the orange glow taking up all of her surroundings.
Jinora landed on the ground, just at the base of the cliff that Omashu stood out. She could sense Vaatu's energy about a kilometre away. Suddenly, a huge explosion burst out the side of a plant, coincidently where she felt the anarchy-driven spirit. Jinora started to air-hop towards the huge orange cloud that was reaching up into the sky, gaining twenty metres with each hop.
"I wish I had my glider!" Jinora murmured desperately. "I could be over there in a minute otherwise!"
The entire time, she kept one arm around Kalla, making sure to land as softly as possible as so to avoid harming the small girl in any way.
Korra followed Mako out of the gaping hole that was now in the wall. He looked behind himself, and cursed when he spotted her giving chase, running by the lake. Mako had only done that because he wasn't able to escape Korra back in there, but this wasn't much better. He could run as fast as he wanted, but with his hip, he wouldn't get far. Korra used a spurt with her rockets to land just ten metres behind Mako.
Fuck it, if I die today, I'll die fighting! Mako thought. He turned and faced Korra, his fists up.
"Finally given in?" Korra and Vaatu's voices asked in unison. Korra's eyes kept threatening to break into the red glow, but she held it back. Mako had absolutely no idea why, but he didn't question it.
Korra pointed her hand to the lake, then flung it at Mako. A barrage of icicles jumped out of the water like a school of fish, hailing down towards him. Mako knew instantly that each one of them could pierce right through him, so he thrust his fist at the onslaught. A weak flamethrower washed over the ones heading for him, and while it didn't melt them entirely, Mako managed to blunt the edges to the point where they were just giving him bruises when they hit. When the hail had finished, Mako swung a fire-roundhouse kick at Korra. He didn't expect it to do anything, but surprisingly, Korra was too tired to move out of the way. She took it full on, grunting.
Korra's eyes and tattoo glowed momentarily as Vaatu nearly broke loose, but the water-tribe woman just about managed to haul him back yet again. It was so exhausting mentally to always keep an eye on him, especially as Korra was losing conviction not to just take the easy option. But she assured herself that the fight would be over in a minute or two, and then she could relax.
Korra swept her hand at Mako, and a wave rose out of the lake. It crashed onto the firebender, slamming him onto the ground, but Mako still managed to crawl out of its hold. However, just as he was about to be in the clear, Korra exhaled coolly. The water around his foot connected to the injured hip froze, leaving Mako clawing at the dirt. He tugged and tugged, but was too late in using firebending to break the ice as Korra used a torrent of air to attack him. He was thrown into the air, before crashing into the lake right beside Korra with a slap.
Korra entered the lake as Mako resurfaced, spluttering and coughing. The freezing cold water tried to drag him down, but he doggy-paddled furiously to stay afloat. Korra fashioned a spear out of ice, wadding into thigh-depth, just six metres from Mako. She held it up, aiming for where his chest would be.
I'm going to die, Mako thought, seeing her take aim. Her expression was stone-cold, not showing anything. He didn't think that firebending would work in this situation, even if he could get his arm above the surface. Now, he could only think of one attack that would affect her. The only problem was, with his current energy levels, it would definitely condemn him to a watery-grave. I'm going to die anyway, he admitted. So I may as well go out with a bang.
"Any last words?" Korra asked her former lover.
"I love Kalla," Mako stated proudly, irking Korra. "And I always will."
Mako zapped the water with the last dregs of his energy, electrocuting himself in the process. He shook violently in the water, drooling uncontrollably. Then, he began to sink slowly under the surface. But the affect it had on Korra was much worse than he had imagined. Much worse for him.
Korra lost her last piece of self-control, dropping her makeshift spear as she was electrocuted by Mako's final attack. Vaatu stormed her already weakened mental defences, and possessed Korra's mind. Her body snapped back into a strong, tall stance, as her eyes and tattoo glowed. This time, however they stayed glowing the devilish red that was Vaatu's energy.
Mako suddenly felt his body being lifted out of the water, the air shocking him back to a half-conscious state. He looked into Korra's glowing eyes, and suddenly, all of his insecurities came to the surface. Every fear or scare he'd ever felt in his life apart from one, paled in comparison as he stared into those unholy eyes.
A sliver of water started to curl around Mako's body, while Korra circled her hand above her head. The smile on her face was the most horrible thing he'd ever seen. It's made him want to curl up into a ball and cry. Another sliver of water started to curl around Mako, until he had two intertwining with each other around his body.
"You're going to wish that you had died!" Vaatu's voice declared, only a tiny hint of Korra's left.
"What are you doing?" Mako tried to ask, but suddenly, his jaw felt like it was made of bricks. He couldn't move, in a different way from bloodbending. Mako looked down to see a purple sheen beginning to make its way up his body, starting with his feet. He lost all feeling as it travelled up his shins, then his knees, then his waist. A sense of dread accompanied the numbness, like a horrible dream. But this wasn't a dream. The purple sheen reached over Mako's chest, slithering over his collarbone.
"Korra, stop!" Jinora cried as she got within twenty metres of the young woman. But all it took was one glance from Korra, and those red eyes identified Jinora as a threat. Jinora's body suddenly jerked to a halt. Korra turned her head back to Mako, having no trouble keeping the teenage airbender in place with her bloodbending.
"Prepare to spend the rest of eternity in hell!" Vaatu's voice declared, yet still, there was a hint of Korra's voice behind that message. Mako slowly gave up has the purple sheen crawled over his nose. Then, with one final push, it covered the top of his head. Mako felt the very essence of who he was, his soul, get torn out of his body, as Korra completed the damning ritual. His body slumped.
"Korra, no…" Jinora muttered, in shock, as Mako's body was tossed out of the lake, onto dry land. His eyes rolled back, and there was no sign of consciousness in the young man.
Mako was dead, and this time, it was for certain.