Chapter XVII: Adventure

Saltrall woke up early the next morning because he could barely sleep last night. He spend all tossing and turning, trying to think of ways he could've done more to stop Amon. Finally he just gave up and got up.

He sat on his couch twirling his Sonic between his fingers, still thinking.

"If only Korra had listened to me!" He thought to himself, remembering yesterday right after they left City Hall.

With a sigh he stood up and put his boots on before stepping out into the crisp morning air. He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly before smiling and looking around the natural beauty on the island.

"You know, I could get used to this." He said to himself as he walked over to a cliff overlooking Republic City in the distance and admired the sunrise which had turned the sky shades of pink and yellow.

"Like it?" Said a female voice behind him, and he turned around and saw Korra standing behind him with smile.

All he did was nod and he turned back towards the cliff as she walked up next him.

"I mean, I've seen stars supernova and I've stood on comets, but there's always something so..." He paused, trying to find the right word, "peaceful about seeing nature early in the morning." He finished, looking back at the city.

Korra kept smiling.

"So you really have seen some incredible things, haven't you?" She asked, and Saltrall nodded, "It's funny, after everything I've seen from you, I've still been a bit skeptical."

Saltrall looked over at her and smiled, "Wanna see something incredible?" He asked her and he looked towards the horizon away from the sunrise, pointing to a dim star "I can show you that up close."

Korra just looked at him, shocked.

"Are you serious?!" She asked, making Saltrall grin.

"Race you to the TARDIS," He said, making Korra grin before they sprinted off back towards the ship.

Saltrall got there first and threw the door open and ran in just before Korra, and they both started laughing as they caught their breath.

"Sit on the couch and hold on to something, this may get bumpy." Saltrall said as he slid in front of his console and started twisting knobs and pulling levers.

He turned around and looked at Korra, who was holding onto the arm of the couch.

"Ready?" He asked, putting his hand on a lever. Korra grinned and nodded in return. "Then here we go!"

Saltrall pulled the lever as he said the last word and grabbed the railing as the TARDIS jolted around as it took off. Eventually it calmed down as they started flying. Saltrall flipped a few switches and looked at his monitor before hopping the railing and sitting next to Korra on the couch.

"We got a few minutes, got anything you wanna talk about?" Saltrall asked, looking at her. Korra thought for a few seconds before replying.

"Tell me about yourself, Saltrall," She said. Saltrall laughed in response.

"I'm 600 years old, it'll take awhile to explain," Saltrall replied, laughing, "besides, I want to hear about you first."

Korra just nodded and started explaining her life story. Right as she finished the TARDIS jolted softly.

Saltrall stood up and stepped under the railing in front of the console.

"Good, we're here." He said as he checked the monitor. He pulled a couple of levers and tapped a dial. Content he walked over to the door.

"Ready?" He asked Korra as she walked over.

"As ready as I'll ever be!" She exclaimed with nervous excitement. Once Saltrall opened the door, however, her jaw dropped.

In front of them was a large, deep red star with many small meteors orbiting it as the TARDIS stayed a safe distance away for it's shield to protect them.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Saltrall asked, looking at Korra, who just nodded silently, mouth still agape, Saltrall smiled, "I love this view, space is one of the few places I can escape to."

"This... this is the most amazing thing I've ever seen." Korra said, finally getting control of her mouth back.

Saltrall blushed lightly and looked towards the star. Korra looked at him with a smile, but soon looked concerned when Saltrall's smile faded a little.

"What's wrong?" She asked as he started walking back towards the console. Saltrall let out a small sigh and messed with some knobs.

"Space is beautiful," He replied, "But I've seen parts of it that I wish I could forget, and sometimes it's hard to forget that." He sighed and looked towards the floor, "Sorry for killing the good mood."

Korra closed the door and walked over, putting a hand on his shoulder, causing him to look over at her.

"There are things no one wants to see, but what's important is seeing the beauty first." She said, looking him in the eyes.

Saltrall smiled a little and looked back at his console. "Yeah, you're right," He said, adjusting spinning a small handle and typing coordinates into the console. "Hold on," He said as he pulled a lever and sent the TARDIS back to Earth.

When they landed Saltrall walked Korra to the door and opened it for her. He still had a small smile on his face but had a hint sadness in his eyes.

"Thank you, Saltrall, that was incredible." She said as she stepped outside.

"It was my pleasure." He replied with a hint of solemness still in his voice. Korra patted him on the shoulder one last time before she started walking away. She had gone about 30 feet when she remembered something.

"Hey!" She shouted back at him, making him look at her, "You never told me your story!"

"Next time, Korra, don't worry." He replied before closing the door.

Once he was alone he sat down on the couch and sighed. Running a hand through his hair, he began to lose himself in thought.

He was feeling feelings he hadn't felt in what felt like centuries, he thought, but he was in denial as to what they were.

"I can't be... can I?" He thought as he stood up, "I can't be falling in love with Korra..."

He decided to go for a walk to try to think more clearly and to clear his head. He walked around the island for a long while before looking up and realizing it was almost dark out. Deciding it was better to stop thinking about it and just try to relax, he started back towards the TARDIS. However, at the same time he had a feeling something bad was going to happen soon, so he ran back into his TARDIS.

Once he was inside he started getting things ready, including his Sonic, a special rubber undershirt to protect himself, and his old Guard staser that he'd kept for centuries. He took a test shot on both the lethal and nonlethal settings, just to make sure it still worked. Content, he looked at the clock.

"Crap, it's 1:30 already!" He said as he ran up to the console, he overheard Tenzin saying he was going to the Sato mansion for something, and the radio said the police had searched Sato factories but found nothing. Figuring it was his best lead he punched in the coordinates and pulled the lever.