Mako's eyelids fluttered open to a cloudy sky. He tried to rub them, but his arms felt like lead, not budging an inch. He tilted his head, and saw Korra playing with something in her only good arm.
"Kugh," he mumbled, even having difficulty moving his mouth. Korra's head snapped up from what she was doing.
"You're awake!" she exclaimed.
Is she… happy to see me? Mako wondered. Even with all the weariness that soaked his body, he managed to raise an eyebrow.
"Kor…" he trailed off. "Kor… rah?" He was breathing hard from just those few syllables. Mako tried to sit up, but found no response from his muscles.
"How are you feeling?" Korra asked.
Mako squinted at the young woman suspiciously. He remembered vaguely what had happened before the purple water ripped his… soul out of his body. That wasn't the best way to describe it, but it was honestly all he could manage at the minute. He decided to play along;
"Tired," he blurted out, unable to hold his breath for very long.
"I bet you are," Korra agreed, then looked down at the ground awkwardly. She pursed her lips, trying to think of something casual to say.
"Was… tha' all… a dream?" Mako asked. He didn't believe so himself, but why would she be sitting passively in front of him if it weren't? He peered behind her, and saw the gaping hole in the plant that he had created earlier.
"Nope," Korra answered. "It was all real. I killed you, but it was only temporary. I brought you back right away, though. I forgive you, by the way." Korra kissed whatever she was holding. Korra made sure that it was warm, wrapping the small object up in every spare piece of clothing possible to add to the layers it had already come with. Unbeknownst to Mako, Jinora had already been collected by a couple of airbenders. The teenage girl was fast asleep when she was picked up by her fellow Air Nomads.
"Huh?" Mako grunted, but Korra got the message. What he wanted to say was 'why?'
"It took a bit of convincing," Korra admitted, "but I stopped being so stubborn. You've been unconscious there for two hours, and I'm absolutely sure that I don't feel any other way. I've forgiven you, although realistically, after tonight, I should be the one asking you to accept my apology. I'm so sorry for what I've done to you, Mako."
"This… is very… conven…ient," Mako said, after a few moments of trying to register what she said. If he weren't so tired, he reckoned that he might have felt shock or disbelief, but he could barely process the meaning of what Korra was saying without falling back asleep.
"You won't be able to move for another few weeks," Korra mentioned quickly, as if it was something that had slipped her mind.
That makes sense, Mako thought, and stopped trying to wiggle his toes and fingers. He felt himself drooling, but didn't care. He didn't even have the energy to swallow it. Another few seconds of awkward silence passed before Korra spoke again:
"Do you think Bolin will forgive me?" Korra asked. "I mean, I took his bending away. Even he probably can't let that go too easily."
"Actually," Mako replied, taking in deeper breaths. "I think it's the opposite. He... seemed to acknowledge… how much of a prick… he'd become. He lost all interest… in the war. Why? Do you plan on… giving it back?" His chest heaved up and down as he began to speak longer sentences. Mako was content to talk for now, as he seemingly couldn't fight.
"Honestly," Korra revealed, "not for a while. I may have been under Vaatu's influence when I took it, but before that, he was really crazy. I can't let him off that easily, no matter how good of friends we used to be. I'm sorry, but that's non-negotiable."
Mako gazed up at a break in the clouds, seeing a lonely star twinkle in the sky. "I hate to say it," he began, "but that's a… fair enough decision. How long… do you reckon?"
"How long is a piece of string?" Korra asked back. She had healed all of her injuries to the point where she would be okay for a little while before she got medical attention, but any type of facial expression still hurt because of her nose.
"However long it… needs to be," Mako answered.
"Correct," Korra informed him. She was sitting on a rock she had erected, while Mako was laid flat on the ground. "Although it has to be a year at the very least. He was ready to kill me."
"He'll understand," Mako assured Korra. "You know, if you… want to kill me, now… is the chance. I don't know… if what you said about… bringing me back is true, but… now's the perfect opportunity."
"I don't want to kill you," Korra reiterated. "Like you just said, if I wanted to, I could do it right now. But I'm willing to forget everything that's happened so far with Kalla, because I was willing to kill you for one mistake a year ago that you've tried desperately to apologise for since. Even if it was really bad, I think we'd both just prefer to move on."
"I would love… too," Mako responded, then looked at Korra again. "But I can't… trust you so easily… again. Not least with… that red glow."
"I'm working on getting rid of that," Korra answered. "But I'm fairly sure I can make it up to you." The way she delivered that line gave Mako the wrong idea.
"We're… never dating… again, Korra!" Mako stated affirmatively. "Besides, your looks… can literally kill."
"I didn't exactly plan on that either," Korra told him, drawing a curious look from the former commander. "We were a horrible couple."
"Agreed," Mako laughed, with a dry chuckle. "Show me… then. Don't try… to seduce me… either, please."
"Trust me, that's not what I had I mind," Korra told him, smirking. The sombre tone had lifted a tiny bit, surprisingly, but Mako's expression dropped when Korra walked over and showed him what she had in her hands. "If you could move, I'd let you hold her."
"No way," Mako muttered. A tear started to form at the edge of his eye. "No fucking… way. She's grown… so much. Korra… is that who… I think it is?!"
"This is your daughter, Kalla," Korra told the dumbfounded Mako. "And from now on, we're both going to be in her life."
"Korra… if this is some kind… of sick joke…" Mako started, "please… stop it right now. It's not… funny!"
"This is no joke," Korra reassured him, holding Kalla carefully just above his face. Mako's heart melted, and his mouth gaped open while Kalla opened her eyes. Her pristine, sapphire eyes. Mako was lost in them as his own amber pupils reflected back in hers. "We both have an equal responsibility to take care of her."
Mako didn't say anything, his expression frozen, as Kalla yawned. It was an adorable little yawn, and she reached out for Mako, even though she couldn't possibly remember him. Korra slowly lowered her down onto Mako's chest, where she began to clamber around curiously. Korra watched silently as Mako found pure delight in letting his daughter tug at his shirt playfully. He was marvelling at the fact Kalla was really right in front of him, with no strings attached. It obviously pained him not be able to hold her, but he didn't say anything. After a few minutes, Korra spoke up again;
"So," she began, "how are you feeling?"
"I've never… felt better!" Mako exclaimed, an ecstatic smile on his face while Kalla tugged at his nose. Korra waited another few seconds before building up the courage to ask what was on the forefront of her mind.
"I know this is very rich, coming from me," Korra prefaced, "but… do you think we can both move on from right now? Forget what's happened? It's okay if you can't," she added quickly.
Mako's smile dimmed a little as Korra asked the question. He thought out his answer carefully over the next minute, before he finally came to his conclusion:
"Honestly," Mako started, "I've got two… main feelings about you right… now: One, I'm extremely… confused, and two, I'm really… really pissed off. I'm… pissed off because you… insisted on murdering me… when I laid my heart out… and apologised the… hardest I have… in my entire life. But even for… someone understanding like… you, that wasn't enough. If you'd asked… me when I arrived in Ba… Sing Sae, I would've gladly… been killed by you if… it meant making it up."
"Really?" Korra asked, surprised. "You put up one hell of a fight."
"That's because… of a guy called Ling," Mako told her, breathing hard. "I think I told you earlier… that he was killed in… the attacks by Omashu. But I can say… without a doubt… that he is the best… people-person I've ever… met. I talked to him… about my dilemma, and… I told him that I... was willing to die. But Ling was… a good man, and he saw the problem… in that, right away. He said that… if I really loved Kalla… then I wouldn't let… her mother kill me… for the sake of making… up my one… bad mistake."
"You expected me to kill you?" Korra asked quietly. It was incredibly ironic, but she was a tiny bit hurt. She didn't start feeling sorry for herself though.
"I just said that… in the event of a… worst-case scenario," Mako replied. "But no... I never actually expected it. I imagined it… would be like… Lin Beifong getting… angry at you, but a hundred… times worse." Neither of them spoke again for another couple of seconds.
"So," Korra trailed off awkwardly. "What are you thinking right now?"
"I would love… to beat some sense… into you," Mako admitted, his sentences getting a bit longer. "But… fighting won't solve… anything." He looked at Korra, making eye-contact. "Let's move on… with our lives. If you're willing to… I'm okay… with being friends."
"Do you forgive me?!" Korra blurted out, hope rising in her chest.
"How the… tables have… turned," Mako commented wryly, while Kalla tugged at his ears. "But yeah. I… forgive you… Korra."
Korra felt all of the grievances, all of the tension and bad blood between herself and Mako finally flow down the drain. She began to quiver with excitement, realising that this big long cycle of negativity with Mako had come to a stop. If she was being honest, it had all started back at his apartment, nearly two years ago now. A weight that she hadn't noticed was finally lifted off Korra's shoulders, being cast away. But relief wasn't the only thing that was bubbling up inside of her.
"Korra?" Mako called out as she began to shake. "Are you okay?"
Then, Korra's eyes and tattoo suddenly lit up, illuminating the surrounding area. The chill in the air was sudden cast away, replaced by the warm, enveloping aura from the water-tribe woman. The last time Mako had looked into her glowing eyes, he felt terror. But now, terror was replaced with a sense of security, just as the red glow had changed to blue.
Raava! Korra exclaimed mentally. It's, it's, it's so good to have you back!
I'm sorry, Korra, the age-old spirit apologised immediately. I didn't sense what was happening, Vaatu snuck up on me, and by the time I realised what was happening, it was too late. This is all my fault, Korra! I should've recognised it when you bloodbent that old man way back at the corner shop.
It's okay! Korra reassured Raava. But… how didn't you feel Vaatu? Wasn't he sharing the same space as you?
I was complacent, Raava confessed. I didn't expect him to come back so soon, and he was very sly in how he went about it.
You were… complacent? Korra repeated, amazed, then rubbed her weary eyes as the glow faded.
Spirits and humans are more alike emotionally than you think, Raava told her. With Vaatu constantly bombarding your thoughts, though, I don't blame you for forgetting that.
"Is the bad… Avatar State… gone?" Mako interrupted as Korra's eyes returned to normal.
"I think so-" Korra began, then stopped herself. Although Raava had overwhelmed Vaatu's presence, Korra still felt his essence refusing to disappear.
You know what you must do to get rid of Vaatu entirely, Raava told Korra. You still have one major feeling of guilt left.
You're right, Korra agreed, but she didn't want to worry Mako unnecessarily when he wouldn't be able to help. "Yes, he's gone completely," she lied.
"Does that mean… you can't… bloodbend anymore?" he asked casually, as if he were commenting on the weather. Then, he struggled not to gurgle as Kalla started tugging at the edges of his mouth. She hadn't paid one bit of attention to Korra ever since she was laid down on Mako, more interested in prodding her dad's teeth.
Will you let me? Korra asked Raava.
If you need my power, I won't hesitate to lend it to you, Raava answered. I have absolute faith that you will use it only when necessary. I don't view bloodbending as immoral. It is simply a subset of waterbending, just as waterbending is a subset to energybending.
Thank you, Korra thought, then turned her attention back to Mako. "Yeah, I can. I still need the Avatar State though."
"It's… unstoppable," Mako told Korra, Kalla having decided she was bored with playing with Mako's mouth. "You don't need… the Avatar State… to combustion… bend, do you?"
"I," Korra began, then hesitated before resuming. "I didn't need it." She lit a fire in the palm of her hand, and it was still blue. However, she didn't need to concentrate on hating Mako like she had before. It was just how her chi came out.
You are healthy enough to combustion bend, Raava told Korra before the question had even fully formed in her head. Just focus on a point in the lake if you want to practice. You needn't concentrate any of your emotions now.
Korra took what Raava said without any questions, and walked wordlessly over to the side of the lake. She closed her eyes, inhaling deeply and tensed her entire body up. Then, Korra opened her eyes, imagined one particular spot exploding, and a bullet of compressed fire shot out of her forehead. It whizzed across the surface of the lake, before erupting violently as Korra exhaled sharply. The sudden disturbance created ripples that travelled for hundreds of metres.
I really just went head-to-head with someone who can do that, Mako thought in disbelief as he watched from the corner of his eye. Never again.
"That didn't even feel bad," Korra muttered to herself. Previously, combustion bending had taken a lot out of her mentally, but now, it wasn't much more than just paying 100% of her attention for more than just a few seconds. "Did I cheat the way you're meant to obtain it permanently?"
Yes, Raava answered, and Korra laughed out loud. It was the loudest she'd laughed since her downtime with Kyoshi Warriors, before Crescent Island. She had forgotten how good it had felt, and didn't stop even when her nose flared up with pain.
"What's… so… funny?" Mako asked, having to speak up for Korra to hear him.
"You wouldn't get it," Korra responded cheerfully, then stretched her arm high above her head. She was tired, but she still had a thing or two to do in Omashu, and that wasn't rounding up the remaining lavabenders. "I'll take you to the Air Nation camp, and you can rest there while I get Bolin, and get something sorted. Do you reckon that they'll let me back in Republic City if it means stopping the war?"
"What do you… want to get… sorted?" he asked.
Korra walked up to Mako and picked Kalla up, bouncing their daughter up and down. "I've got business with the King. I'm not doing his dirty work for him. I'm going to get him to negotiate without giving him lavabenders, and do the same with whoever runs Ba Sing Sae. Unless Wu is leading the war?"
"Imagine that," Mako said, grinning at the thought of Wu fuelling a war effort. "But no. It's the… Prime Minister… who runs everything… in Ba Sing Sae. That's the… impression I get… anyway."
"Are you sure he's not some puppet?" Korra asked, remembering the story of Long Feng from Katara.
"He was very… intelligent," Mako informed Korra. "Not smart… really intelligent."
"You've met him before?" Korra asked, surprised.
"I-" Mako began, but then he stopped talking, and closed his eyes. Korra waited for a second or two, before saying something.
"Mako?" she asked. No response. "Mako?"
It took her a full minute to figure out that he had fallen asleep mid-sentence. Korra checked his pulse, which was fine, then flicked his ear. No reaction.
He must be wrecked, Korra thought. I don't blame him. I guess we can iron things out with Kalla later.
"Ready to go, Kalla?" Korra asked in a high-pitched voice. The one-year-old squealed excitedly at the suggestion, even though she probably had no clue what it meant. "I'll never let us be separated like the last year again. Ever."
With that, Korra's eyes and forehead tattoo glowed the celestial blue light of Raava. Korra would be doing two trips up and down, as she only had one arm to carry either of them. Hopefully, she'd be able to get a glider at the Air Nation camp, wherever it was. It couldn't be too hard to find, anyway.
Korra strolled in the doors to King Siya's throne room, a sling on her broken arm, but no chains at all binding her. It was mid-day. She'd found Bolin passed out where she left him last night. Once he'd woken up, she had told him everything. Surprisingly, although just as Mako had said, he bore no grudge towards Korra, even when she told him that he wouldn't get his bending back for a year. The Bolin that Korra had remembered was thankfully back, albeit a lot more mature. He was friendly and nice like before, but now, he didn't seem to be the type of person to get over-enthusiastic or ahead of himself easily. He was a little bit more reserved, but in a good way.
Maybe that was just the effect of taking away his bending, like how Tahno had lost all of his confidence when Amon took his bending. But Bolin specifically thanked her for beating some sense into him, so Korra was happy to interpret it that way.
Mako was still asleep, and would have to be drip-fed while he was rehabilitating, but Korra had slept a combined four hours last night, a combination of her schedule on Crescent Island and worrying about Kalla. It also took a lot of subduing to keep her dad from finishing the job she'd started on Mako, but he'd eventually resigned himself to waiting until Mako was 'capable of defending himself.'
"Avatar Korra," King Siya greeted. "Did your efforts last night bear any fruit? I can see that you are quite heavily injured, although you didn't report back one lavabender. What is the matter?"
"I'm not doing your dirty work for you," Korra stated immediately. "I did beat a lavabender, so you know. But I'm not handing him in." Korra heard the three guards behind her jostle, and she didn't need to be a psychic to know that they were pointing their weapons at her.
"What's the meaning of this?" Siya asked, getting up off of his throne. "I thought that we had an agreement, no?"
"Our agreement was built on the fact that you don't want this war," Korra said. She put her good hand on a pillar, pretending to lean. She sensed for bodies in the room, and felt four secret guards hiding at different parts of the ceiling. "But you initiated this conflict with the attacks on Ba Sing Sae. That means that I don't trust you not to harm the lavabenders. I'm asking you peacefully to appear at Republic City Hall in three weeks' time to discuss peace terms with the Prime Minister of Ba Sing Sae. I'll let you bring two advisors."
"When was this been arranged?" the huge man demanded, walking up to ten metres in front of Korra.
"I decided on it last night," Korra told him calmly. "Don't worry, the Prime Minister will definitely come. I'll make sure of it."
"We had a deal!" Siya shouted. "What authority do you have here? In case you've forgotten, most of the world is out for your neck! And how is my safety guaranteed in Republic City, when the last time you were there, you escaped through the spirit portal from the police, hmm?!"
"This war will grow out of anyone's control, even yours, if I don't put a stop to it now," Korra stated affirmatively, taking her hand off of the pillar. Although she projected a cool demeanour, she was actually on high-alert. "Republic City won't want to get involved with the war, and I still have good relations with the airbenders. And you should recognise my neutrality as the Avatar."
"What if I refuse?" Siya posed the question. His muscles truly looked like they could be popped just like a balloon, with a pin.
"I may have to resort to unpleasant measures for your cooperation," Korra told him. "Or unnecessary measures, for a better word."
"Give me an example of your 'unpleasant' measures," Siya tested.
"I'll take your bending away," Korra told him without hesitation. Instead of giving out, he just laughed deeply.
"I can take you any day, Avatar!" he declared between hoots of laughter. "Sure, look at what just a measly lavabender from Ba Sing Sae did to you! I am the strongest lavabender in the world!"
"That's a bit rich considering how you injected firebender genes into your body to be able to lavabend," Korra called him out, which cut the laughter out in an instant.
"Pardon?" the king asked, quivering with anger. The atmosphere had gone from tense to hostile in just a few moments.
"You heard me just fine," Korra told him. "I know how you're an artificial lavabender. Now, I'm going to come back at mid-day tomorrow. I'll expect an answer by then."
Korra swivelled on her heel, and began walking to the door, leaving even the guards shell-shocked. It didn't last for long, however.
"DON'T YOU DARE DISRESPECT ME LIKE THAT!" Siya boomed. Korra turned slowly, making sure not to give the impression that she was frightened. "I AM THE KING OF OMASHU, AND I WILL NOT BE TALKED DOWN TO BY ANYONE, NEVERTHELESS A BLOODBENDER! GET ON YOUR KNEES AND GROVEL BEFORE ME, IF YOU WISH TO SEEK MY MERCY!!!"
"Is that a 'no' then?" Korra asked, ready to fight. "I'll resort to whatever means necessary to protect the balance of peace in this world. And I certainly don't intend on doing that by grovelling."
"THIS IS YOUR FINAL WARNING, AVATAR!" he declared.
"Is that your final answer?" Korra responded, and that sent him over the edge.
"APPREHEND HER, GUARDS!" Siya demanded. "TAKE THE AVATAR TO THE TORTURE CHAMBER! SHE'LL LEARN TO RESPECT ME THERE!"
I guess that's pretty definitive, Korra thought, and started reaching deep down inside herself. Let's go, Raava!
Korra's tattoo on her forehead and her eyes lit up with the blue glow of the Avatar State. She swept her good arm to the left, and the three guards who were about to attack her suddenly smashed into the wall, past the pillars. Next, Korra brought her hand up, locating the circulation of blood from the four guards on the ceiling. She whipped her hand to the floor, and they all came crashing down, Korra having no difficulty bloodbending them at all. Then, with a simple wave of her fingers, the metal lock on the doors barricaded herself and the king alone in the room. She turned back to him, who was shaking with a murderous rage.
"I'LL SHOW YOU-" Siya started, but got no further. Korra held her hand out, using bloodbending to subdue him too. She tugged in towards her own body, which pulled him over, levitating. Korra made him kneel down just in front of her.
"You will learn to respect my authority as your Avatar!" Korra declared, Raava's voice in sync with hers. She placed her thumb on Siya's forehead, and his eyes widened in horror as he realised what Korra was about to do.
"No, no, please!" the king begged, suddenly trembling. "Please don't take my bending! I swear that I'll show up to Republic City! Honestly!"
Korra looked down at the huge man, now blubbering, with a fiery expression on her face. She stayed like that for a few seconds before speaking again:
"Very well," Korra agreed, leaning by his ear even though there was no one else around to hear them. "But if you back out of our agreement, I won't be so lenient next time. You will call a ceasefire until the meeting. Understood?"
"Yes," Siya mumbled.
"WHAT?!" Korra demanded.
"Yes!" he said, a bit louder this time.
"We have an understanding, then," Korra stated. With that, she made all the blood rush to his head, until Siya passed out, unconscious. She let him drop to the floor, then looked back at the doors. She didn't let the glow stop, though.
If I bolt through, they won't have enough time to stop me, Korra thought. With that, she inhaled deeply, tensing her body up, and shot a combustion bending bullet at the doors.