It had been ages since Asami had had a bath. Not just a shower, but a real, actual bath. She laid back, luxuriating in the feel of the warm water on her head and neck. It felt like someone was massaging her scalp, too. The back of her head prickled pleasantly. She sighed contentedly, then opened her eyes.
Two enormous blue eyes stared back at her out of a dark, lined face. Asami started, then everything fell into place. She wasn't in a bath. She was at the South Pole. In the middle of a battle? But it didn't seem like a battle. She tried to move and found she couldn't.
"See, Iroh," Katara said, her face breaking into a smile. "She's fine. Just a little knock on the head, that's all. Cuts up there look a lot worse than they are."
"Are you sure?" Iroh's voice. Asami tried to find his face, but she still couldn't move her head.
"I've been doing this twice as long as you've been alive, Iroh. Yes. I'm sure. Ask her yourself."
Katara pulled back and Iroh's face appeared over her. He looked pale and tired.
"Did we win?" Asami asked. Her voice came out slightly cracked.
Iroh let out a relieved laugh. "Yeah. For now." She felt his fingers brush her temple. "Are you all right?"
"I'm… Iroh, I can't move my head."
"That's just the bending water." As he said it, the warm feeling surrounding the back of her head started to recede. Then she felt a strong hand under her back. "Okay, up you go." Her head throbbed faintly as she sat up, but when she tried again she found she could move her neck just fine. She reached one hand up and rubbed gingerly at the back of her head. It felt tender, but not painful.
Asami saw that she was sitting on the ground on the city side of the wall. She didn't quite know how she'd gotten there, but had a vague memory of perhaps being carried? It was all a bit fuzzy. She didn't see any dark spirits at all. She looked to Iroh, who was kneeling next to her, one hand still on her back.
"What happened?"
Katara answered. The old woman was standing a few feet away, screwing on the top of one of her water pouches. "Iroh here says you got hit into the wall. You got a good thumping and cut yourself pretty badly, but you should be all right now."
"No, I mean, what happened. The battle. Where are the dark spirits?"
"I'd like to know that myself, Iroh," said Katara. To Asami's surprise, she was frowning at him.
Iroh looked away. "I… there weren't that many left." Katara's frown deepened. She cast a glance back towards the city wall. Asami followed her gaze and her mouth dropped open.
The aluminum gate was a blackened ruin. Its twisted remains had collapsed inwards, and the top bowed down considerably in the middle. A huge, ragged hole in the center smoked faintly. It looked like it had been hit with some kind of rocket, but she didn't see any mecha around. Had Iroh done that? It didn't seem possible. Whatever had happened, it had taken far more power than she'd ever seen a firebender wield, even one as talented as Iroh. Only a half hour before it had taken what she thought was nearly all his effort simply to weld the pipes together. But she didn't see a lot of other possibilities.
"What happened to the gate?" she asked. "Iroh?" He turned back to look at her, and she was surprised to see that he looked almost scared. With everything they'd faced so far, including the probable end of the world, she'd never once seen him frightened. She'd long since thought of him as one of the bravest men she knew. What could have happened in the few minutes she'd been out that would make a man like Iroh afraid?
Suddenly, the ground shook. Asami looked around, expecting some new threat, but there was only silence. Then she felt it again, the faint vibration so low that she might have missed it if she hadn't still been sitting.
She looked back at Iroh. His face had gone white. He said nothing, but got up and walked cautiously to the ruined gate, then peered around the wall. Asami stood carefully, then followed him.
Through the gate and over the icy plain they had a clear view of the Southern Mountains. Although it was at distance, she could clearly see the pass that led to the spirit portal and Unalaq's camp. Climbing through the gap in the mountains was… Korra?
Whatever Asami had been expecting, it wasn't this. Seemingly made of bright blue fire, the spirit form of Avatar Korra was the biggest thing that she had ever seen. Taller than Republic City's tallest building, the glowing Avatar seemed to scrape the stars. She took one giant step, then another, clearing a mile or two with each stride. She stalked off to the north in the direction Iroh said that UnaVaatu had gone. Asami just stared. Perhaps her head wasn't healed after all?
"It looks like we're not out of the fight yet," Iroh said beside her. Good. If he saw it too, at least she wasn't hallucinating.
"That's my girl." Katara had walked up behind them. Asami turned to look at her. The old waterbender was beaming. "See, Miss Sato," she said, grinning from ear to ear. "It's always best to bet on the world."