Unalaq hadn't even been Korra's new spiritual guide for more than an hour before he recommended that they make a trip he referred to as a spiritual journey, in order to reach the south pole and help repair the abandoned spiritual center of the tribe.

She wasn't complaining by any means. It wasn't learning how to fight spirits, like she thought she'd be doing, but if they were able to make peace and stop the attacks, that'd be even better.

Unalaq estimated the trip would be more than a day's travel, so Korra had planned on setting time aside to pack, at least before Bolin took care of that for her, with surprising effectiveness. It was something that she would have expected more from Mako, but it was still nice to see the nurturing side of her boyfriend.

Speaking of the two brothers, they'd accepted her offer to come along with her to the south pole, figuring it wouldn't hurt to have them come along in case they ran into any trouble. Korra wanted Asami to join them as well, but her friend felt she wouldn't be very useful, and there was more work that she wanted to do with Varrick to iron out their deal.

The businessman was willing to help them out though. He allowed them to use some snowmobiles that were Varrick industry prototypes, as well as some winter gear that only Bolin was really interested in, which was apparently enough to bug him as they waited on the outskirts of the tribe.

"Okay, so I get you not wanting to be a passenger on this, since you have Naga, but why won't you at least wear one of the snowsuits he got for us."

"Because I don't need it", she told him lightheartedly. "Seriously, I never thought overkill could be stuffed into a coat like that."

"Well maybe the inflator thing is a bit much, but come on, you're telling me an internal heater, emergency beacon, and food ration pouch won't be useful? I would survive a month in this thing."

"Like I said, overkill."

"Did you at least make sure that you got the stuff I packed for you?"

"Right here", she said while patting a bag strapped to Naga's saddle. "Got the extra bag of seal jerkey you snuck in there too."

"Aw, that was supposed to be a surprise!"

"Well, I was very surprised to find it."

"You better hope she's willing to share, bro", Mako added as he prepared the arctic camel he had been lent for the trip.

It took a moment for Bolin to figure out what he meant before he saw Pabu poking out to rummage through one of the many pockets the snowsuit had.

"Buddy, no!", Bolin exclaimed as he tried to catch the fire ferret that was squirming around in an effort to not get caught. "Don't eat all the freeze-dried cucumber-quats!"

After a few moments he gave up trying to apprehend Pabu and just waited with everyone else for Unalaq to get there.

When he did show up, Korra wasn't expecting the company her uncle had with him. It made sense that Eska and Desna were coming along, since they were really good waterbenders, but why was her dad here?

Unalaq seemed to notice her apprehension. "I tried to tell him to stay in the city Korra, but your father insisted on speaking with you."

"What are you doing here, Dad?"

"I heard about the expedition Unalaq has planned, and you'll need someone looking out for you."

Bolin picked a bad time to cough, and when her dad looked at him he immediately realized he'd been misinterpreted.

"I just had something in my throat, I swear", he said with a panicked voice.

"But Korra addressed her dad, taking his attention. "If I'd wanted you to come along, I would've asked you. Why do you always assume you know what's best for me?"

"Because he's misguided", her uncle answered. "The sad truth is, it's it's men like your father who have put the Spirit World out of balance. He's ignored my warnings in the past and apparently hasn't learned since."

"What happened in the past?", Mako asked.

"It doesn't matter", he dismissed quickly, which did nothing to prove it wasn't actually important. "What matters is the everstorm that's been battering the south pole for decades. "You'll need someone who knows the terrain well enough to help you navigate. Korra, I know you're not happy with me right now, but I'm your father and it's my job to protect you." Then her dad turned to face his brother. "I'm coming, unless you think you can stop me."

Korra didn't have time for this. It was infuriating that her dad thought he still needed to protect her, but it would be useful to have him along, since he knew the area so well from hunting all these years, not that she wanted to admit that.

"Fine. Come if you want Dad, but don't interfere with my training."

He didn't waste time trying to thank her, just realizing that it was lucky she agreed. Korra wasn't happy that he was tagging along, but at least Tenzin wasn't coming too.

She held no grudge against her old teacher. He was a good man that helped her come far, and she still wanted to remain close with him and the rest of his family. But even without past actions being revealed, she needed a change in spiritual advising and her uncle was a better fit.

They departed soon after. Somehow Bolin ended up with her cousins in the passenger sidecar of the snowmobile, something his older brother found amusing.

"Well, well, look-"

"Go away, Mako."

They were mostly quiet after that, saving their energy for traveling, until Korra brought up something she'd been mulling over.

"So Uncle Unalaq, why are evil spirits attacking people?"

"There are no 'evil' spirits, Korra. There is light and dark in them all, just like people."

"But what about Koh the face stealer? He seems pretty evil."

"According to legend, Koh originally just took the faces of wrongdoers, and eventually the people who asked him for information that weren't able to hide their emotions. I wouldn't call that 'evil', but if you want think of him as the exception that proves the rule."

Korra wasn't sure she'd ever seen her uncle smile like that as he talked to Bolin, but she still didn't have her question answered. "But why are they attacking?"

"They're likely out of balance. When that happens, the darkness in them takes over. When we reach the south pole and you open the spirit portal there, balance can be restored."

"Spirit portal?"

"Yes", Unalaq told her. "There are ancient spirit portals in the north and south pole that connect our world to the spirit world. If you can open this one in time, balance can be restored."

"What do you mean, in time?", Korra wondered.

"There's a reason the Glacier Spirits Festival ends on the winter solstice. That's when the Spirit World and the physical world are closest together. Only then can the Avatar open the portal."

"But the solstice is tomorrow", she realized.

"Exactly. And we can't afford to wait another year."

"But we can't travel in a fog either", her dad interrupted. "It's too dangerous to navigate with spirits lurking", he said while gesturing to two of them in the distance, putting Naga on her guard. "They'd be on us in seconds, we'll need to find somewhere to camp until it clears."

They found a small gathering of rocks nearby that was perfect for them to gather in a circle around a roaring fire that Korra and Mako put together. Once it got going, she was ready to ask more questions.

"Uncle, why are the spirits following us?"

"Can we not talk about dark spirits right now, please?", Bolin asked while scooting closer to Korra.

"My brother doesn't like ghost stories", Mako explained to her cousins.

"It's not a ghost story if it's about very real, very angry spirits that could sneak up on us in the dark right now!"

"Don't worry, I'll protect you", Korra told her boyfriend as he grabbed her arm for comfort.

"Thank you."

"The spirits are following us because he's here, Korra", Unalaq told her while looking at her dad. "Haven't you wondered how your father ended up in the South? Why he's never taken you to visit his homeland in the north?"

"Yes." He'd never brought it up when she was little, and when she'd asked he would always change the subject.

"Unalaq, this isn't the right time."

"The right time to tell her was long ago."

"Tell me what?", Korra demanded.

"I left the Northern water tribe...because I was banished."

(-)

When Korra's dad finally finished telling the story of his banishment, his eyes were staring at the fire, where they had been the entire time he was talking. And Bolin had just managed to make sense of it all.

"So, it sounds like you were supposed to be chief, but you screwed up and got kicked out, so he became chief? Is that why you two don't like each other?"

Mako gave him a whack on the arm that somehow stung even with all the layers he had on. "Ow, what? It's true, isn't it?"

"More or less", Tonraq quietly admitted.

Korra stood up, looking more upset about what her dad had done in the past rather than his own question. "I can't believe you hid this from me."

"I was trying to protect you from the shame I brought on the family", her dad explained, which made Bolin wince again. Bad move.

"Well, stop it! Quit hiding things from me, or lying to me, and telling me it's for my own protection! I'm sick of you protecting me!"

Then she stormed off, ignoring her dad's request to wait. He seemed worried about it not being safe, but honestly the spirits that could be lurking in the dark were at a bigger risk if they came across her right now. Normally Bolin would follow her, but it felt better to give her space for the moment. He was now realizing he'd seen Korra annoyed, frustrated, grumpy, but never furious, until now.

She soon returned though, saying the fog had cleared enough for them to start moving again. They packed up quietly, but her dad tried to speak with her once they were going, while Bolin watched silently.

"Korra, you have every right to be mad at me, but I don't want you to make the same mistake I made. I should never have gone into that forest, and we shouldn't be going to the South Pole now. Spirits and the physical world should remain separate."

She moved forward and in front of him, cutting her father off. "Dad, it's my job to be the bridge between the spirits and the physical world, and I finally have the chance to live up to my potential."

"You don't even know if what your uncle is telling you is true."

"You want proof?", Unalaq asked. "Look to the skies. As opposed to here, the spirits are at peace and they light up the dark."

"The northern lights", Korra realized.

"Yes. There used to be lights in the South as well, but during the Hundred Year War, the South was thrown out of balance and the lights disappeared. When the war ended, the North helped to rebuild you physically, as a nation, but we have not yet rebuilt you spiritually. Now the spirits no longer dance in your skies. Instead, they rampage in the everstorm."

Mako spoke next. "Uh, I think we're here."

The snowfall and icy wind they'd just traveled through was starting to pick up, but it was nothing compared to what was in front of them, fully fitting Tonraq's description of a never-ending blizzard. It was difficult to see anything, but it wasn't hard to hear the roars from the dark spirits.

"Oh man, I don't like this", Bolin fretted.

"Just stay calm, there's no reason to- panic!" Mako couldn't even finish his sentence before they got ambushed.

It didn't go any better than the night of the glacier spirits festival. Out in the tundra, Bolin wasn't able to summon any earth to defend himself with in time.

"Oh, it's in the engine!" He wasn't sure how, but it didn't really matter since now the snowmobile was speeding toward a mountain. Good thing Korra's cousins were there to pull him off before it hit, and the inflator actually turned out to be useful, preventing a rough tumble down the mountainside. Once Eska deflated him, he stood up with everyone else to survey the damage the dark spirits caused.

It was significant. A lot of their equipment had been destroyed, and the arctic camels they were using had been spooked, one even throwing off it's saddle. "Aw man, it's like this story I heard about where a bunch of people got trapped in a blizzard and they had to-"

"No it's not." Mako had been there when Bolin heard the story. "So what do we do now?"

"We have to turn back", Tonraq told them.

"We can't", Unalaq argued. "The solstice will end tonight, and we're too close to the portal to give up now."

"What if you're wrong and there's no portal? Or it can't be opened? Without those supplies, we'll all freeze to death if we don't get out of the everstorm in time. It's too dangerous. We need to leave, now."

Then Korra stepped in. "No dad, you do."

"Korra, please I-"

Unalaq wasn't willing to hear any argument. "No. You're a distraction to Korra and a hindrance to what needs to be done. You're going."

Tonraq looked back to his daughter, but there was no sign she disagreed at all with what her uncle was saying. "Alright. Move quickly, please."

Bolin went to retrieve the saddle, and also get a tiny bit of distance from any additional argument, but Tonraq still approached him. "Please, look out for Korra. My brother can be...driven when it comes to matters dealing with the spirits, and I need someone to look out for her best interests."

"...Of course." Bolin accepted his grateful handshake, but he could feel Korra's eyes burning a hole in the back of his head while doing so.

With the snowmobile destroyed, Bolin hitched a ride on Naga while Eska and Desna rode the arctic camel that had been carrying the supplies that were now destroyed, with Mako being dragged behind them in a makeshift sled. Korra didn't immediately ask him about the talk he'd had with her dad, but he knew the question was coming, and sure enough...

"So what exactly were you and my dad talking about back there?"

"Nothing. He just wanted me to look out for you."

"I can take care of myself", she dismissed.

"I know that, it just felt like a good idea to agree with him. And for what it's worth, I don't think it's you he's worried about."

"Don't defend him, please. I need you on my side right now."

"I'm not defending him. And why do there have to be sides?", he pleaded. We're all here for you, to help you. You gotta trust that, okay?"

Korra didn't say anything else, and Bolin hoped he hadn't made things worse.

When they got to the south pole, there was no mistaking what they saw for anything other than a forest like what Tonraq and Unalaq described. The snowfall and icy wind around them

"That's incredible", Mako observed. "Trees frozen in ice like that. But why does it look like it's glowing?

"It's like the forest in the north Tonraq nearly destroyed, a sign of spiritual energy. And just like in the north, it's hope that the damage can be repaired."

"So, where do we start looking for the spirit portal?", Bolin asked.

"It should be in the heart of the forest, but Korra must go alone," Unalaq told him.

"What? We've been outmatched against those dark spirits when there were seven of us against an ambush, now you want Korra to go in there where they live by herself?"

"If she goes, we go too", Mako added.

"In a spiritual place as sacred as this, the avatar must go alone." Great explanation. Bolin was starting to get a better idea of what Korra's dad meant in terms of her uncle.

"But I've never had a great connection with the spirits", Korra told Unalaq. "In fact, it seems like they all hate me."

"Korra, all of the past Avatars live on inside of you. Let them guide you. Let them help you find the light in the dark." Bolin didn't know if she'd said anything to Unalaq yet about her difficulty connecting with Aang and her other past lives, he just had to hope she wasn't letting it influence her decisions.

But Korra seemed convinced now. "Wait here, I'll be back soon", she told him and Mako.

"Good luck."

Once Korra was in the frozen forest and her family was out of earshot, Bolin whispered to Mako. "I don't care what Unalaq says, any sign of trouble and I'm going in after her."

"I know, I will too."

It felt like an eternity while they waited, but it was clear Korra succeeded when the everstorm hiding the sky faded away, and spirits that danced in the sky in the north as Unalaq described now did the same here. She brought back the southern lights

"I don't believe it", Mako murmured.

"It's beautiful", Bolin added.

He was the first to notice Korra coming out of the forest, and let everyone know while he gave her a big hug. When Bolin let go she started to talk to her uncle.

"Everything you said was true."

"Avatar Korra, you have taken the first step in bringing balance back to the South, and soon the whole world."

"You never cease to amaze me", Bolin told her as they made their way back to the water tribe.

"Thanks. By the way, I'm really sorry for being a total pain. Things were really stressful and pretty confusing. All this avatar stuff...it's just so hard."

"It's harder being the avatar's boyfriend", he joked.

The tone was mostly celebratory on the way back, but it was gone when they arrived to see military ships entering the harbor of the south pole.

"Uncle, why did you bring northern troops here?"

"Opening the spirit portal was only the first step in getting the Southern Water Tribe back on its righteous path. There's more difficult work to be done before our two tribes are truly united."

Author's notes: Wow, finished this chapter much quicker than I thought I would. Didn't really feel the need to divert that much from the show, just added some additional dialogue. Tenzin's family vacation will get its own chapter, apart from civil wars 1 and 2, to properly address the topics brought up in the episode. I'd recommend reading the last airbender comics if you haven't already, particularly north and south along with the promise, since there's some stuff in there I wanted to mention and work with, and I don't wanna spoil anything for you. I still need to get around to reading the Kyoshi books myself. Hope you enjoy!