Korra was hoping for a hero's welcome when she came back to the southern water tribe, with the ancient spirit portal opened to return the southern lights to the sky, but the military presence that her uncle brought ended any idea of that happening. Unalaq told her that it was to ensure the spirit portal was protected, but that explanation didn't sit well with civilians.
Things were tense the moment soldiers arrived, and so many incidents occurred in the following days that her dad felt the need to call an impromptu meeting with concerned citizens to address these issues. Korra still didn't feel like being on speaking terms with her dad, so instead of sitting next to her parents, she sat between Bolin and Katara instead, relieved that her old teacher didn't seem to have any hard feelings over her change in spiritual guide.
"Thank you all for coming", Tonraq began. " I know these last few days have been very troubling."
"Troubling?" Everyone looked to Varrick, who was busy helping himself to a plate of kale cookies that Katara brought. "Troubling is when I get that itchy rash that won't go away, and Zhu Li's not around to scratch it. This is shocking. Nay, sickening! But these kale cookies? Opposite. Remind me to get the recipe." He looked to a woman Korra assumed was Zhu Li, since she seemed to nod in confirmation.
But the man had already annoyed her dad even though he'd only been speaking for about ten seconds. "What's your point, Varrick?"
"My point is, Unalaq's already booted our chieftains out of their palace. And I heard he wants to require meditation in schools and pass laws on what we can eat and drink. And when we can do it. Not to mention all the new tariffs he's passed! How long before he starts telling us what kind of cookies we can eat?"
"Probably a few days."
"Rhetorical question, Zhu Li, you gotta keep up. Not to mention, I've got a cargo ship full of halibut that's rotting thanks to this harbor lockdown? Who wants to buy a ship full of stinking fish?" Then Varrick threw a plate on the floor. "Seriously, it's not rhetorical. I need to sell these fish."
Korra hadn't been aware of her uncle's other plans, but he had to have a good reason. "Chief Unalaq is here to help the South. He wants to show us how to restore balance with the spirits so they'll stop attacking.
Varrick was unconvinced. "The only spirit I'm interested in restoring is our spirit of independence. Am I right, people?" That got an angry cheer from many people at the meeting.
"All Unalaq is trying to do is make sure our tribes are united again."
"No, he's not!" A man Korra didn't recognize had cut into the conversation. "He just wants to take us over and try to make us just like the North!"
That got another angry cheer. "Exactly!", Varrick told him, before turning his attention back to Korra. "Listen, I don't know what your uncle's been telling ya, but you better start remembering whose side you should be helping out."
"Hey, wait a minute. She already stopped the equalists in republic city, and she just brought back the southern lights. Korra's already done plenty, and all you're worried about is money!"
She appreciated Bolin's support, but Korra wasn't sure if it would actually be helpful. But Varrick actually seemed impressed.
"I like you, kid. You're a straight shooter. Good for you, sticking up for your gal like that. But a word of advice, this might not be the best time for shooting your mouth off."
Then a different man Korra didn't recognize stood up. Yeah, it's bad enough dealing with northies telling us how to act. We don't need to hear it from an ashmaker."
The commotion this time was at least anger directed at the cruel outburst towards Bolin. Even Varrick seemed disturbed. "Well, that was uncalled for."
"I'm an earthbender, you idiot.", Bolin told the man, anger visible in his voice and body language.
But the man didn't seem to care. "Still an ashmaker, halfbreed or not."
Bolin walked toward the man, looking fully ready to punch him even though he was almost the same size as her dad.
"Enough." Korra's dad had stepped in between them before things escalated any further. "There's no need for language like that...but perhaps this discussion should remain a tribal matter." Bolin realized what he meant immediately and left without saying anything else.
Korra wanted to follow him, or lay into her dad for treating her boyfriend like that, but Katara stopped her from doing either. "I know, but your people need you." Korra knew she was right, so she stayed where she was.
Varrick kept talking. "Anyway, If Unalaq doesn't pull his forces out, then we have no choice but to stand up for our freedom!"
"What are you talking about? Do you want to start a war?"
"Unalaq started this, not us," Korra's dad told her. "I'm sorry, maybe you could speak with your uncle. Tell him how frustrated we all are. He'll listen to what the Avatar has to say. Do it for me?"
Korra stood up. "I'll do it. For the tribe." Then she left the house without talking to anyone else.
Bolin wasn't too far away, leaning against a wall, looking at the ground with hands in his pockets. "Hey."
She went up to him and hugged him right away. "I'm so sorry you had to hear that."
"Not your fault. Kinda caught me off guard, usually when people insulted me they'd just call me street rat."
"I'm gonna find that guy and-"
"He's not worth it", Bolin dismissed. "I'm actually glad I left. Gave me a chance to calm down a little."
"Do you need me to do anything?"
"I heard this is the last day of the festival. You wanna walk on the fairgrounds for a while?"
Korra's stomach tightened. I can't. I have to talk to my uncle about all these things people are mad about. Sorry."
"Don't be, that's more important. We'll meet up later, ok?"
"Promise." Korra was about to give him a quick goodbye kiss, but on a whim, just to forget about what happened, she decided to add a little more passion to it, coiling herself around him, fingers tangled in his hair, leaving her and Bolin blushing when they finally broke apart.
"I love you."
"I love you too."
When she talked to Unalaq though, he didn't seem particularly concerned about the anger the southerners had towards him, or make any sort of changes that would appease them, and that everything he'd done was to improve the spirituality of the south. In fact, he seemed confident that she would handle it fine on her own, if she was able to remain neutral.
It was easier to hear it than actually being impartial. On her way back from the palace she saw some northern soldiers overreacting to a thrown snowball of all things, and some passersby sticking up for them. She tried to keep the peace, but the southerners took that as being against them. Her father showed up to help prevent things from getting out of hand, but Korra didn't feel like sticking around to thank him.
When she told Bolin about all of this, it came out as more of a rant than she intended, and he acted like he was a little caught off guard. "I uh, got you this." He held up an adorable stuffed otter seal that he must have won for her. "Look, it squeaks."
But the demonstration got Naga interested instead. She snatched the toy out of his hands and tore into it as if it was a real creature she'd managed to make a meal of. "Never mind."
It cheered her up though, as she apologized through her laughter. "I'm sorry. All this stuff has me so worked up right now."
"It's alright. How about you take a break from all this Avatar stuff, and we go out for a quiet dinner. Just the two of us."
(-)
Desna had no idea what his sister was up to.
They'd been traveling the "city" by rickshaw, just waiting for the moment father told them it was time to return home. He was fully content with the idea of returning to the palace, but Eska had spotted cousin Korra in a nearby restaurant, eating with her boyfriend whose name he couldn't remember, and she insisted on joining them.
The food paled in comparison to northern cuisine, conversation felt forced, and he wondered if they were even wanted there. Cousin Korra and her boyfriend had both excused themselves to go to the bathroom a while ago, but at least there was the chance to confront his sister.
"Do you mind explaining to me the point of this whole endeavor?"
"I wished to see our cousin with the boy she seems to be in a relationship with." Eska's explanation felt unsatisfying.
"I don't believe she really needed our company."
"It's not her that I was concerned with."
It took a few moments for Desna to comprehend what he'd heard. "You can't be serious."
There was no response. "You are serious, aren't you? Him?"
"He amuses me. I will make him mine."
"Putting your taste aside for the moment, you do notice he seems happy with our cousin?"
"He does not realize the better options available." Then she pulled out a betrothal necklace that looked more like a necklace you would put on an angry pet. "We will wed at sunset. He will express his joy through tears."
"It is more traditional that the male offers the betrothal necklace to the female. And that weddings are consensual."
"Those are irrelevant details." Desna was dumbfounded. What had gotten into his sister? He was starting to wish he was with his cousin and her romantic companion right now, who still hadn't returned to the table.
(-)
"Huh. Never thought I'd have to sneak out of a date with my date."
"Yeah", Korra responded glumly. She knew Bolin was trying to cheer her up, but she just wasn't in the mood right now. She'd been having a good time until her cousins decided to sit with them, and she also knew they didn't mean any harm when they did, but...
"You don't think Eska and Desna will be mad that we left them with the bill, do you?", Bolin wondered.
"They're basically royalty at this point, they can afford it". Needing Bolin's help to climb out a bathroom window wasn't her proudest moment, but she couldn't imagine her cousins being all that upset about it. But she'd still take responsibility if they were.
"Sorry things got screwed up. Do you want me to make you some tea back at the motel?"
"That's sweet, but I think I'm gonna call it a night. Thank you though."
When they got to their rooms, they kissed each other goodnight and went to their own rooms, but Korra's wasn't unoccupied, with her mother sitting on the couch and Katara across from her.
"Did Dad send you to talk to me?"
"Your father doesn't know I'm here." Korra looked at her former teacher to ask her the same thing, but she answered before Korra could speak.
"I've seen what's been going on since northern troops arrived, and you deserve a proper explanation for why it's happening. Your father has no idea I'm here either."
"What's been going on between you two?" Her mother prodded.
"Ask Dad." Korra felt no obligation to be the peacemaker right now.
"I've tried, but he won't tell me anything either. Honey, please. It breaks my heart to watch our family getting torn apart like this."
"You want to know what's been going on?", Korra snapped. "I found out Dad's been lying to me my whole life. Unalaq told me everything, how Dad and Tenzin kept me trapped down here while I trained, how Dad got banished from the North."
"So the truth is out." Sensing Korra's shock and anger, her Mom clarified. "Your father told me what happened before we were married."
And Korra realized she must have been aware of keeping her in the south pole compound. "So you knew the whole time and didn't say anything?"
"We wanted you to have a normal life, and wait until you were old enough to understand."
Not this again. "But I'm not 'normal', mom. And I haven't been a little kid for a long time. Why did I hear about what Dad did from my uncle instead of him?"
"Because it's really painful for him to talk about", her Mom explained. "After he was banished, he had to leave right away. He couldn't see or talk to any of his friends or family. He wasn't even allowed to return to see his father before he passed, or go to his funeral. And your uncle...Korra, they used to be so close, but you've seen what they're like now. The first time he told me, he was sure I wouldn't want anything to do with him now that I knew."
Korra let that sink in. She was still mad, sure. About what Dad did and how he hid it. But hearing what'd he'd gone through sounded just about as harsh a punishment as she could think of. "He still should've told me", she grumbled soon after.
"I'm not saying it was right to keep this from you, but I promise we had no bad intentions."
"So is what Dad did why things are so bad between the north and south?"
"No, that started a long time before you were even born."
"Your Mother's right", Katara finally spoke again. "After the hundred year war ended, many folk came here from the North to help rebuild, but there was already resentment since the north only had one siege for a few days, while the south was nearly wiped out."
"What happened when they got here?", Korra asked.
"There was so much talk of bringing 'civilization', as if our culture and traditions didn't matter to them." Korra wasn't used to hearing bitterness from Katara. "Things only got worse when we found there was a plan to take the resources we had and turn the south into a glorified colony. Some were so angry they tried to kill those responsible, and my father nearly lost his own life trying to stop them."
"Things have been tense between our tribes ever since", her mom added. "You can't expect to undo all of this in a day."
"So should I just sit back and let the North and South go to war?"
"No, but this situation might be out of your control. Honey, this is all so complicated. When your father and I met, all we wanted was a simple, quiet life to raise a family. But then we discovered you were the avatar, and-"
"What's that supposed to mean?", Korra interrupted.
Her mom's eyes went wide as she realized how her words had been interpreted. "No, Korra, that's not what I meant."
She stood up. "No, it's fine. Good to know that everyone would be better off with him instead."
"Korra..."
She'd been looking at Katara when she spoke, and Korra immediately regretted it when she saw her face. It was unfair to be angry with her teacher. She'd always treated her more like one of her grandchildren than just a student, and she'd never given inclination that she'd prefer her late husband instead of his successor. But it would have been a lie if she'd said she wouldn't rather be with him, right? And there was no doubt for her that Tenzin would be the same way. Korra couldn't even blame them for that, but both of them were just another reminder.
It was getting harder to keep her composure, she needed to get out. Korra left the room, ignoring the pleas to stay, and once she was outside, threw up a wall of ice against the door. She knew Katara would take it down easily, but hopefully it got the message across to leave her alone while she ran a few doors down and frantically knocked.
Bolin opened the door soon after, now wearing pajamas with a bathrobe and slippers. He had a tendency to ask a lot of questions, but he must have seen something in her expression, since he let her in without saying anything.
He motioned an invitation for her to sit on the couch, and when she did, Pabu hopped into her lap, giving Korra a little smile as she scratched behind his ears while Bolin joined her. He still didn't say or ask anything, just draped an arm around her again while she rested her head on her shoulder, just letting time pass for a little bit.
But there was another knock at the door. "Korra? Korra, I'm sorry!"
She remained silent, still not feeling ready to talk to her mom yet, but she was undeterred by the quiet.
"Bolin, is Korra in there? Please, I need to talk with her, it's important!"
Korra felt her boyfriend tense hearing his name. She knew it meant a lot to him to be on good terms with her parents, so wasn't gonna let him get dragged into this. "It's okay", she whispered. "You can let her in."
"She might think we're not here if we're quiet."
"Nah, she probably saw Naga outside." Bolin got up and opened the door when she told him that, but when he let her mom in, he still wore a look of concern on his face, almost protective of Korra.
"What do you want, Mom?"
Her mom almost looked panicked. "Sweetie, I'm so sorry. That wasn't what I was trying to say at all."
"You said it was important?", she responded almost dismissively.
"Varrick's plotting a rebellion, he asked your father to join, and-"
"Dad's part of a rebellion?"
"I don't know, but he didn't want you to get caught in the middle of it."
"It's too late, Mom", she said as she stood up. "I'm already in the middle of it."
Bolin followed Korra as she went to Naga. "Do you want me to come with you?"
"Yeah." He certainly wasn't dressed for it and hopefully it wouldn't be needed, but she could use the help, as she rode off with Bolin right behind her.
"So what's the plan, then?"
"Hopefully we can get there in time to warn my uncle. Or talk my dad out of whatever they're doing." There was an unsaid 'what if we can't?' lingering in the air, but neither of them said anything else.
"Oh no." They saw two guards slumped against the wall, near the palace entrance. They were just unconscious, but it made the search for Unalaq more frantic. "Uncle? Uncle?"
Then they spotted four men with their faces covered, but she was still able to recognize her father, with her unconscious uncle on his shoulder. "Dad, stop!"
"Turn around, both of you, and pretend you didn't see anything."
"No. Just put Unalaq down and go. We'll tell him that we tried to stop you but you escaped. We can still prevent a war."
"No, we can't."
The rebels caught Bolin and Korra by surprise when they created an ice wall to trap them in. Korra was able to punch a hole to get out, but the rebels had gotten a head start. They tried to pursue, but they created another ice wall when they were about to catch up.
"We're part of the same tribe", Korra pleaded. "I don't want to hurt you!"
The rebels were too busy strategizing to respond. "Get him out of here!"
Korra realized their plan. "They're trying to slow us down so they can get away with Unalaq!"
"Then let's split up. I'll deal with these guys, you go after your uncle."
"But-"
"We don't have time to argue, go!" Korra rushed off at the behest of Bolin, and chased after her dad through a maze of hallways that eventually led outside. But he was already on a snowmobile, ready to escape. Acting in desperation, she created a ramp of ice that made them crash. It worked, but the snowmobile they were on nearly fell on top of them. She ran over to them to make sure no one could get away. Korra heard footsteps behind her, but she recognized them to be Bolin's.
"Dad? Dad, why did you do this?" She tore off his mask to confront him, but it was the man who insulted Bolin at the tribe meeting earlier. "Who are you? Where's my father?"
"He wouldn't help us. He's a traitor, just like you with that dirt boy." Bolin didn't respond to him, even though he clearly wanted to. Instead, he helped her now conscious uncle stand up.
"Chief Unalaq, are you alright?"
"Yes, I think so." After that, royal guards finally arrived to take away the rebels, including the ones Bolin had taken on by himself. He told Korra there was a lot of dodging involved, and some stuff with banners and pillars, it was kinda hard to explain. And once Unalaq was done talking to the guards, he addressed the two of them again.
"Thank you both. You may have saved my life tonight."
"Was that their plan, to kill you?"
"I wouldn't put it past Varrick. We need to find him so he can freeze with the rest of these traitors."
"You can't lock them away like that", Korra warned. "If you don't let them stand trial, it's only going to make the south angrier."
"Very well, I will respect the avatar's wishes in this matter." Korra thanked him, and he returned to the palace, leaving her and Bolin by themselves.
"What do you want to do now?"
"I need to talk to my parents." All of the relief she felt from saving her uncle was gone, and now she just felt uneasy and guilty. Bolin steered Naga for her on the way to their house, and offered to go inside with her, but she needed to do this on her own. So she timidly knocked and slightly opened the door.
"Can I come in?"
Her mom and dad were sitting at the table, and Korra felt another pang of guilt for how worried they clearly looked, despite their smiles. But they showed no anger towards her. "Of course. We heard about what happened, are you alright?"
For all her talk about being older and more grown up, Korra still found herself tearing up in front of her parents, and hiding herself in her father's arms, as if he would protect her from everything. "I'm so glad you weren't there! I don't know what I would've done."
"I had no idea Varrick was willing to go that far. My brother and I have our differences, but I would never attack him."
"I'm so sorry for ever thinking you were part of that. I know I've hurt you both a lot."
"No, you haven't. Korra, all I meant to say before was that when we found out you were the Avatar, we knew there'd be a day you wouldn't need us anymore. You'd be so strong, smart, and brave. We are so proud of you, and we wouldn't change anything about you. I'm so sorry if we ever made you think otherwise."
"Of course I still need you." There was more she wanted to say, but Bolin stuck his head in to talk to her.
"Uh, Korra? I'm sorry, I know this is a private family matter and everything, but your uncle is here with a bunch of soldiers and he does not look happy."
And sure enough, Unalaq barged past him and into her parents home. "Tonraq, Senna, you are under arrest for treason."
"For what crime?", Korra demanded.
"Conspiring to assassinate me."
Author's notes: So, I wanted to add more to the original story by taking from some of the storylines presented in the comics, and other topics the show was unable to touch on in a significant amount. Really enjoyed the storylines they had, and how it bridged the two shows, and you actually get to see Katara and Aang as a couple. I did it because I think the consequences of the hundred year war would still be felt, and all the anger and pain it created unfortunately wouldn't go away just because the war ended.
As for the whole Bolin/Eska thing, it definitely wasn't my favorite part of the show, but I wanted Korra's cousins to be a part of the story, so I made sure at least Desna was there to make sure there was some acknowledgement of how messed up it was, in a lighthearted way. Hopefully.
I also wanted to add the theme of Korra still trying to live up to Aang, and negatively comparing herself to him, since that's still something the fanbase does a lot, and unfortunately I don't think that's something that Korra would stop doing.
I can't believe it's already been a year since I started writing this! Seriously thank you all so much for the support, it really does mean a lot to me.