"Gotcha!"

"There you are, Jinora." Tenzin had finally found his daughter...talking to herself?

"Were you playing with someone out here?"

"Oh, just some ... imaginary friends."

She was a little bit old for that, wasn't she? Jinora was still giggling for some reason, but he decided not to press her on it. "Well, come on then, everyone's waiting."

"Stop telling lies, Bumi!"

Spirits, were they still arguing about this?

"It's true!", his older brother told Kya. "I really did beat an earthbender in a rock throwing contest."

"Like the time you beat Uncle Iroh at Pai Sho?"

"I didn't say I beat him, just that I put up a good fight! Besides, I got a trophy to prove it this time."

Tenzin decided to nip that conversation in the bud. "All right, who's ready for an exciting tour of the Eastern Air Temple? We've got a lot to see today, including ancient statues, ancient gardens, and the meditation hall used by ancient airbenders."

His children weren't as enthusiastic. "How come we have to walk around looking at old things all day while Bolin gets to stay in his room?", Ikki whined.

"Bolin?" Now that he'd thought about it, he hadn't seen the boy all morning.

"Thought he deserved to sleep in", Pema explained. "Kinda owed him after he changed Rohan last night."

"Uh, hi."

Tenzin looked at where the voice came from, and he couldn't believe who it was. "Korra?"

While he was in disbelief, everyone else was excited. "Korra!"

"What are you doing here?", Pema asked.

"And how did you find us?", Kya added.

"Tenzin's itinerary", she explained, while hugging the kids. We went over it like a hundred times before we left Republic City."

"See, this is why schedules are important", he reminded his siblings.

"It's so good to see all of you."

"It's great to see you too, Korra, but why aren't you in the Fire Nation getting help to fight Unalaq?"

"...How'd you know about that?"

"Bolin filled us in on what happened before we left for the Southern Air Temple. Ever since then we've been out of touch with the outside world."

"Tenzin's idea", Bumi clarified.

Now it was Korra's turn to be surprised. "Bolin? Is he here?"

"Still sleeping, probably", Tenzin grumbled.

"Meelo?", Pema asked. "Can you get Bolin and tell him to come outside?"

"Use airbending if you have to!", he told his son as he scurried off to complete the task he'd been given.

"Yay!"

"So what happened?", Kya asked Korra.

"So much. I-I don't know where to even start."

"Just go from the beginning", Tenzin encouraged.

"Everything? Alright." Then she took a deep breath. "I opened a spirit portal at the South Pole, but then Unalaq turned out to be a bad guy and wanted to take control of the South, so I sort of started a Civil War, but when I went to find some help, I was attacked by my cousins, and then by a giant dark spirit, and then I forgot who I was, and then I met the first Avatar, the light spirit Raava, the dark spirit Vaatu, and then I realized I shouldn't have opened the portal in the first place, and now I need to close it again!"

Tenzin paused for a moment to take in what she'd just said. "I knew this would happen."

(-)

"Up and at em, maggot!"

"W-" Bolin didn't get a chance to get a word out before he got blasted off his bed and onto the floor, terrifying Pabu enough to scamper out of his bedroom.

"What are you-" he was interrupted again, but this time by the tiny whistle Meelo kept around his neck.

"I'm not interested in your excuses! Mommy and Daddy want you outside so get out there on the double, mister!"

"But-" More whistling. Apparently he'd picked up a few things from Bumi's lemur training lessons. He'd have to figure out how to thank him for that, but revenge would have to wait.

He had to skip his hair routine if they wanted him out there as quickly as Meelo implied. He thankfully still had fresh clothes left, but they were wrinkled thanks to a rushed packing job.

"Tenzin, I'm sorry I overslept, but did you really need to send Meelo in there to...Korra?"

Korra was here. Right now, in front of him, and he hadn't prepared for this at all. He'd been so focused on the old Avatar drama that he'd forgotten his own with the new one.

And now she was running up to him. Oh man oh man oh man. What was she going to do? Yell at him, slap him, bend him, hug him and plant a big kiss on his lips, whaaaaaa?

"Bolin, I missed you so much!"

Well, this was going much better than he could've ever hoped. "H-Hey Korra, I missed you too. So, you're not still mad at me?"

"Why would I be mad?"

Huh? "We...had that fight before you left? Don't you remember?"

"No, not really. I got attacked by a dark spirit while I was gone, and I lost my memory for a little while. Maybe it hasn't all come back yet. Was it a bad fight?"

"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh..."

This was it. His get out of jail free card. They could move past this whole thing, stay together, get married, have a bunch of babies and...

No he couldn't. It wouldn't be the same. This wasn't like he'd left the toilet seat up, he'd screwed up big time. And hiding it from her...

It wasn't as if he was the only person who knew about it either. There was Mako, Tahno, Varrick, and probably Asami too. He couldn't expect them to go along with that.

And relying on her not remembering felt like begging for trouble. If Korra had been that mad for breaking his promise in the first place, how bad would it be if- no, when she found out he tricked her into thinking it never happened?

Trust in what you and Korra share together.

"Can we...talk in private for a minute?"

"Um, sure." She definitely looked nervous now, almost as much as Bolin was.

He was able to fix his hair a bit and get some of the wrinkles out of his clothes, but his room was still a mess when his girlfriend walked in. "What happened here?"

"Sergeant Meelo", Bolin explained, while motioning to Korra to sit on his unmade bed. "So, what do you remember from when we got back to Republic City after the civil war started?"

"Varrick had a meeting with President Raiko set up, but before it happened the Southern cultural center got blown up", She told him while he sat next to her. "But after that, everything's fuzzy until my cousins and the dark spirit attacked me in the middle of the ocean."

At least he didn't have to break the news of the bombing to her. "Wait, you got attacked by your cousins and a dark spirit?"

"Yeah, and the only thing I really remember from that is that I wanted to strangle Eska with my bare hands."

Bolin hoped she still wasn't in a strangling mood now. "Well, Raiko didn't want to send the United Forces, so Varrick cooked up a plan to get General Iroh to help us without the president's help. But you and Mako had been arguing a lot, so I promised I wouldn't tell him about it."

"Okay."

"But Mako got suspicious when I talked to him later, and he promised he wouldn't say anything either, so...I told him, and he had to tell Raiko."

"...Oh." Korra's eyes weren't glowing and there weren't a bunch of other voices, but this almost felt worse. She just looked...so disappointed.

"So yeah, I'd guess it was a pretty bad fight."

"Yeah...", she said quietly. Her hand was on the bed, about a foot away, and Bolin wanted to grab it and beg for forgiveness, but he took a deep breath instead.

"Look, I know that just saying 'sorry' doesn't make up for breaking my promise, or what happened because of it. But whatever you need me to do to stop your uncle and his dark spirit army, I'll do it, no matter what it is. And afterwards, if you want to just be friends, or...go our separate ways, I get it. I just want you to know I love you, and I'll do whatever it takes to make this right."

Korra didn't say anything. She kept her eyes on the ground, looking at...Bolin wasn't sure.

He sighed, then stood up. "We should probably get back out there before Tenzin sends Meelo in here again."

"Wait." Her hand had grasped his wrist, and though it wasn't a tight grip, Bolin didn't feel capable of moving.

"It was hard to hear, but I'm really glad you told me. And whatever happens, with Unalaq, or whoever else, I want to do it together."

Bolin felt a tiny spark of hope. "Like, 'Team Avatar' together, orrrrrr?"

Korra's kiss answered the question, but she spoke again. "Together together."

Yes. "Yes. Yes! Ohhhh, thank you Aang."

"Aang?"

"I might've prayed to a statue of him that you wouldn't dump me." Korra just giggled at his explanation. "Can I just stop embarrassing myself and kiss you again?"

"Yes, you may", she told him as their lips connected again.

But the door slid open in the middle of their moment. "Korra, we need to- oh, for goodness sake."

It wasn't as embarrassing as last time, but still awkward. "Uh, pretty sure the door was closed, Tenzin?", Korra pointed out. "Ever heard of knocking?"

"Yes, well, you also said you were just in here to talk." Bolin felt his cheeks redden a little more at the reminder. "Are you ready to focus on the task at hand, or do I need to drag one of you out by the shirt collar again?" He did not.

When they were back outside, Tenzin continued. "So, you said you learned about Raava and Vaatu through the first Avatar? Did you see my father as well?"

"Yes. Well, kinda. Him, Roku, Kyoshi, and Kuruk. They told me to regain my connection with the Avatar spirit. I didn't know who they were, though, my memory was still scrambled."

"Oh." That must've felt anticlimactic compared to what he must have been hoping for

"Tenzin, I...have a confession to make. Before this, I hadn't been able to talk to Aang, or any of the other avatars for a while."

"What? For how long?"

"Since he showed me how to energybend at the South Pole."

"That was months ago, Korra!" Then her airbending instructor turned to Bolin. "Did you know about this?"

"Um..."

"You didn't think that was worth mentioning when I said Korra should consult with my father?"

"Well, what would you have been able to do about it?", he argued. "It's not like you were still her spiritual advisor!"

"Oooohhhh!" Bumi looked like a little kid that'd just seen a sibling backtalk his parents.

"It's not his fault, Tenzin", Korra interjected. "He didn't know until the Glacier Spirits festival, and I didn't want him to say anything because I was angry about you keeping me locked up in the South to train. I'm sorry I didn't trust you."

"I...suppose I've made mistakes as well." He was calm, but definitely still unhappy. "But we need to fully cooperate now to stop Unalaq. Now, please come with me, so we can fully discuss what happened with Wan."

(-)

"Father, what are we doing here?" Eska had despised the first journey to the spirit forests, and she'd had no desire to ever return.

"You're here to straighten out the mess you caused when you failed to capture the Avatar", he told them.

"I told you, that wasn't our fault", Desna argued.

"You're right. My mistake was trusting you in the first place to capture someone as powerful as her."

"We would've accomplished this if one of your dark spirits hadn't gotten involved."

"I don't control all the dark spirits", he angrily explained. "I am merely cooperating with some of them to ensure the release of Vaatu. You would know that if you had been paying attention!"

Their spiritual knowledge had never really sat well with father. It had been tolerated when they were children, but when Grandfather passed and father became chief, he'd become more demanding of them. She and Desna didn't fully understand their father's goals, but they trusted his judgment.

"We won't let you down again, father."

"Good, because I'll need your help to open the northern portal."

"You said only the Avatar could do that", Desna reminded him.

"I suspect there is another way. And if the Avatar is truly dead like you believe, then we have no other option."

As they crossed through the portal, Eska looked around at the battlefield of the fight ten thousand years ago. Apart from the two portals and the tree of time, it looked desolate, lifeless. Perfect.

"So how do you plan to open the portal when the spirits haven't been able to for ten-thousand years?"

"We have an advantage they do not have with our physical bodies. Our bending." Father summoned a stream of water and tried to pierce the portal, while Eska and Desna did the same.

But it showed resistance. In fact, it actually fought back, sending an energy wave that disrupted their streams and knocked her brother backwards.

"Desna!"

"He'll be alright, stay focused!"

Eska wondered how father would tell, since he'd barely given him a backwards glance. He was still conscious, and in considerable pain.

"Father, he needs a healer at once!"

"Just hang on, I'm so close!"

What had gotten into him? They had no idea what kind of damage spirit energy could do, so why was Father dismissing this? Desna's life could be in danger, would he really risk letting his son die just to open the portal? She wasn't going to wait to find out. "I'm taking him back!"

Father finally looked back, groaned in frustration, and dropped the stream. "Put him down and let me look."

(-)

Now that Korra had finished explaining the origins of the Avatar to Tenzin, he began his questions. "So Avatar Wan imprisoned this dark spirit Vaatu in the Spirit World? And you think what your uncle is doing with the spirit portals is related?"

"It has to be. The whole thing felt like when Aang showed me Yakone's trial. I'm worried that if the portals are open, Vaatu will escape again when Harmonic Convergence comes."

"Korra, do you think it's possible that Unalaq knows this and is trying to intentionally release Vaatu?"

"I don't think so. He knows more about the spirits than anyone I've met, he has to know what kind of damage Vaatu would do if that happened."

Tenzin wasn't as convinced. "I'm not so sure. He's always seemed hungry for power."

"How did you know my Uncle?", Korra wondered.

"I knew of him before since he was Chief, but we never met in person until you were discovered as the new Avatar. He was...insistent that he become your spiritual advisor?"

"Why were you chosen instead of him? No offense."

"None taken. There was no debate that my mother would be your waterbending sifu when your teachers were chosen, and she recommended that I be your spiritual guide, since I was the only choice for airbending master and the two were so intertwined. There was some debate, but your father and the rest of the White lotus agreed to choose me instead of your uncle."

"My Dad?"

"His voice carried weight as the Avatar's father, and he was next in line to become chief after my Uncle, though there still hasn't been an official ceremony since he passed. We all expected him to support his brother's case, but I think they had a...complicated relationship."

No kidding. "My mom said they used to be close, but they had a falling out after Dad destroyed the spirit forest in the North and got banished."

Tenzin raised his eyebrows in surprise. "I never knew that."

"He didn't even tell me until we went on the trip to restore the southern portal. I was so angry that he'd done that and hid it for so long, and I...did exactly what my uncle wanted me to do. This is all my fault."

"This is Unalaq's doing, not yours. Now, we must focus on setting things right before he can do any more damage.

"Thank you."

"So, how do you plan on getting to the portal in the south with Unalaq's army there?"

"I've been thinking about that. My best chance is to go to the spirit world and close the portal from the inside."

"I'll help you. All my years of spiritual training have prepared me for this moment."

Then they explained their plan to the rest of the family. "I guess vacation time's over", Kya glumly responded.

"What kind of attitude is that?", Bumi wondered. "Saving the world sounds like the perfect way for Aang's family to have a vacation! We've even got Dad here to help out!"

"Can you please stop calling her that?", Bolin begged, cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

Their first attempt to enter the spirit world was in a forest, close to the garden where Aang had learned from Guru Pathik. Ikki and Meelo played instruments to encourage a relaxed state, while everyone else sat in meditation positions.

Tenzin gave up on the location though, since Meelo was apparently clanging his bell at inappropriate intervals.

The next spot was on top of a statue that overlooked the entire forest while the sun set, with Kya burning incense. But again, it wasn't good enough.

"Kya, this is too much smoke!", Tenzin coughed. It feels like the forest is on fire, you set it up wrong!"

"I did what you told me to do", his sister argued.

"Well, now the moment's ruined."

"We could've tried a little longer", Korra pointed out.

"It's getting late anyway. We'll try again tomorrow in the Yangchen hall with a full night's rest. There's a spot close by where we can set up camp."

By the time they got a few tents and other supplies from Oogi's saddle and finished putting things together, the setting sun had been replaced with a clear night sky. There were plenty of stars to stare at, which was just what Korra was doing as Bolin climbed up to join her on the bison's back.

"Hey you."

"Hey." At least they were getting to spend a little time close together now, since Tenzin had made sure that their tents were as far apart as possible in their makeshift camp.

"Watcha thinking about?"

"This whole thing with Raava and Wan."

Bolin chuckled. "What's so funny?"

"The first Avatar was named 'Wan'? What was the second Avatar called, 'Tu'?"

It was kinda ironic, now that Korra thought about it. "I don't know, I only saw what happened with Wan. It just...puts it all in perspective."

"Puts what in perspective?"

"Being the Avatar. I always heard so much about Aang, and the couple that were before us, but there's been Avatars for ten-thousand years. And there's gonna be Avatars for the next ten-thousand. As long as we figure out this whole Vaatu thing."

"You mean a Avatar for the next ten-thousand years."

"I can't be immortal, Bolin."

"But you can try to be. Please?"

"I'll do my best. Anyway, I've been trying to fill the shoes of the Avatar before me, but... it's so much bigger than that, than any one of us. Kinda feel...insignificant in the grand scheme of things."

"Hang on." He'd been laying next to her while they talked, staring at the night sky together, but now his face hovered over hers. "First off, nobody who ever met you would call you insignificant, okay? Plus, you're like, Korra, and that's way more important than just being the Avatar."

"That's sweet", she told her boyfriend, pulling him down for a kiss. "But I'm fine, really."

"Glad to hear it. Buuut I think I've got just thing for...awwww."

"What's wrong?"

"I left my Pipa back in the South Pole with my other stuff", Bolin explained.

"What's a Pipa?" The question didn't come from Korra, but a high-pitched voice that wasn't even on the bison at all.

"Ikki!"

"The pipa is a four-stringed wooden instrument used in Fire Nation orchestras or by street performers in Ba Sing Se. The latter would often serenade passersby as well in order to get donations."

"Jinora!" The couple leaned over the saddle and saw the two airbending girls sitting on Oogi's tail. "Are you seriously spying on us again?"

"Again?", Bolin asked.

Ikki was too excited to answer either of them. "Serenade? Like a song? You made a song for Korra? Can you sing it to us?"

"Uh, it was really only just for her."

"Please, Bolin? Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease?"

"I'm not a performing hog-monkey!"

"Can you just do it so they'll calm down and we can all go to sleep?"

Tenzin? "Okay, who else is up right now?"

"Me."

"Sorry."

"Hi."

"I'm up. So's Poki."

Even the animals? Pabu chirruped, Naga barked, and Oogi rumbled underneath them. Korra could've sworn she heard Rohan cooing too, but it wasn't enough to convince Bolin.

"None of you were this interested in watching me and Pabu's circus tricks!", he pouted. "I put up posters around the island and everything." Korra was the only one that had shown up, and even then it was more to see the two in their cute uniforms.

"But this is way better!", Ikki argued. "Has he done this before, Korra? Is he a good singer?"

"He is."

"Don't encourage them", Bolin told her over the squealing of the two girls.

"Aw, come on...", Korra teased. "...For me?"

"Fine. You're lucky I love you."

Isn't this such a beautiful night?

Whoa, we're underneath a thousand shining stars

Isn't it nice to find yourself somewhere different?

Whoa, why don't you let yourself just be wherever you are?

Look at this place, look at your faces

I've never seen you look like this before

Isn't it nice to find yourself somewhere different?

Whoa, why don't you let yourself just be wherever you are?

Look at this place, look at your faces

They're shining like a thousand shining stars

Isn't it nice to find yourself somewhere different?

Whoa, why don't you let yourself just be wherever you are?

Why don't you let yourself just be somewhere different?

Whoa, why don't you let yourself just be whoever you are?

Notes: Finally got Bolin and Korra reuniting this chapter. I could see him hiding the fight like Mako did if they were together, but in this book I think his talk with Katara set him straight to do the right thing, plus he gets a little more time with the airfam.

Tweaked the Unalaq scene from this episode too, since they made the same mistake with him that they did with Ozai (I'm so evil I'll let my kids die for power mua-ha-ha!)

And some long overdue Bolin/Korra fluff. The song is Be Wherever You Are from Steven Universe if you're interested.

Also want to give a heads-up that the next chapter miiiiight be a little delayed, since I want to read the Yangchen book coming out soon and incorporate any lore I can into this story. Plus I want to write more on the other Avatar story I'm working on.