Chapter XXXV: What Happens Now?
Saltrall parked the TARDIS and turned to face Mako and Korra.
"Would one of you two like to find our intrepid heroes or shall I?" He asked, leaning against the railing.
"I think you should, and hopefully they won't try to kill you on sight," Mako said, smiling a little as he finished, imagining possible reactions to Saltrall's new appearance.
Saltrall smiled and shook his head softly before going over to his closet, "new face, new outfit," he said quietly to himself.
Eventually he decided on a pair of black jeans, a red polo and a grey zip-up sweatshirt. He smiled at his new look and looked at himself from all angles before closing the closet door and walking out into the world. He looked around at the destruction his three friends had caused and nodded softly before seeing them turned away from him and smiling.
"Not bad, eh guys?" He said loudly, causing them to wheel around and made Bolin pick up some dirt to throw at the source of the voice.
"Calm down you jumpy bastards," Saltrall said, still smiling, making Bolin lower his guard a little while Asami kept her electric glove on.
"Saltrall...?" Bolin asked wearily, still holding the piece of earth he pulled out of the ground.
"In the flesh," Saltrall said, opening his arms a little, "got a new face, and voice, and probably personality too, haven't really had time to check it out yet."
"Wait, you... regenerated?" Asami asked, finally calming down as she and Bolin walked up to him, "isn't that something you only do right before you..."
Saltrall nodded, "turns out Time Lord physiology does NOT like extended periods of bloodbending."
Asami ran up and hugged him, catching him off guard.
"I'm so sorry that happened to you," she said, squeezing him softly. Saltrall was caught off guard and let out a soft oof, but he soon hugged her back softly.
"I'm okay, brain might be wired a little differently, but I'm not hurt. Anymore," he replied, only to receive a worried look from his friend.
He sighed softly and pulled away, "trust me, Asami, this has happened before, I'm okay, hell, better than okay."
She nodded reluctantly and straightened up while clearing her throat awkwardly.
"Sorry for, you know, assaulting you with that hug," she said shyly, slightly embarrassed.
Saltrall chuckled, "apology accepted, now come on, Korra and Mako are waiting."
Asami and Bolin smiled and followed Saltrall into the TARDIS. Mako and Korra grinned when they walked in and Saltrall smiled, walking to the console and setting a course for Air Temple Island as the others caught up. He pulled the lever and they took off. He looked at the monitor and sighed softly, but then he noticed that the group had quieted down and he turned around to see them all looking awkward and sad.
The TARDIS soon landed and everyone except Saltrall, who stayed put at the console, quietly adjusting some dials, began to stand and leave the TARDIS. Mako was the last one to leave and stood in the doorway and looked over at Saltrall, who was still standing by the console.
"Hey, you coming?" Mako asked, causing Saltrall to look at him over his shoulder.
"Hm? Oh, yeah, give me a couple of minutes," he replied. Mako nodded and walked out, closing the door behind him.
It didn't take long for Mako to come back to the TARDIS and open the door. Saltrall hadn't moved, still adjusting some knobs on the console and typing something into the console when he heard the door open and turned to see who was there.
"I told you I'll be out in a second, Mako," Saltrall said with a hint of annoyance in his voice as he turned back to the console, rolling his eyes. He wasn't sure if Mako noticed as he didn't react to it.
"There's a change of plans, we're going to the Southern Water Tribe, I don't know if you know where that is, but it's where the best healer in the world is."
Saltrall nodded. "I know about Katara, I've done my research," he said, wincing to himself when his words came out with more venom than he had intended.
Mako sighed softly and leaned against the doorframe, "look, I know you still don't like me but I thought we put all those hard feelings behind us."
"We did," Saltrall replied with a sigh and a little more softness in his voice, "sorry, new personality, still figuring out what makes me tick."
Mako nodded and stood straight, "Do you know how to get there, or do you want some of us to travel with you?"
"I know the way, thanks though," Saltrall replied, finally really looking over at Mako and smiling reassuringly.
Mako smiled softly and nodded before walking out and closing the door. Saltrall ran a hand through his hair and let out a long breath before turning back to the console and putting in the coordinates he needed and pulled the lever.
Saltrall looked at the console and lost himself in thought as the TARDIS flew. He walked around it slowly, dragging his hand along the edge of it.
"Now what?" He thought to himself, stopping and looking around the room.
"I've done so much here, and I don't even belong here, I'm an alien," he continued in his head before sighing.
"Great," he muttered, "I'm a cynic now."
He kept thinking about his options and didn't notice the TARDIS landing. He was eventually torn from his thoughts by someone shaking his shoulder. He jumped a little and quickly turned to see that it was Bolin who had a small frown on his face.
"Geez, you scared me Bolin," Saltrall said before shaking his head softly, "I'll be out in a second, I zoned out for a minute."
"That's fine, but I think you're needed, Korra's having a bit of a breakdown and I thought you should talk to her," Bolin replied, "you always seem to calm her down when you talk to her."
Saltrall turned and looked at the console so Bolin wouldn't see and smiled softly, thinking of all of their late night talks that they'd had over that last few weeks.
"You're very attentive," he said, turning back around and looking up at the earthbender and putting a hand on his shoulder before walking past him out of the TARDIS. He looked around and saw the small group of people standing close by and talking amongst themselves.
"Where did Korra go?" Saltrall asked, walking up to Tenzin.
"She went that way, Mako followed her," Tenzin replied, pointing off in a direction away from the house, "but I don't think you should follow her..."
Saltrall ignored him and started walking off in that direction, his smile fading a little as he went. He walked for a ways before breaking into a run. He soon stopped to catch his breath and saw where the two of them were standing. Korra had a strange aura around her and Mako was watching her, whatever she was doing. He looked around but there was nothing to hide behind, just ice and snow as far as the eye could see. He figured he shouldn't get any closer in case he interrupted what was happening and reached for his Sonic before groaning when he remembered he left it on the TARDIS.
He was about to turn and leave when he noticed Korra come out of whatever state she was in and run over and hug Mako tight before kissing him. Saltrall frowned and sighed, watching for a few seconds before he managed to tear himself away from the scene and started walking away.
"I knew this was how it would turn out," he thought to himself solemnly, "it always turns out like this, doesn't it?"
He heard Korra shouting behind but he ignored her and kept walking until he heard Naga run up behind him and he stopped.
"Saltrall, hey, are you okay?" Korra asked, hopping off of Naga and walking over and putting her hand on his shoulder.
Saltrall shook it off softly and didn't look at her, "oh yeah, I'm just dandy," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
He heard Mako say something quietly to Korra before quickly making his way back to the village, leaving Korra and Saltrall alone.
"Hey, come on, don't be like that," Korra replied, a hint of anger in her voice.
"Oh yeah, cause that's SO easy, right?" He snapped, turning quickly and facing her, trying to hold back the stinging tears behind his eyes, "how do you want me to be like then? Do you want me to be my old happy go lucky self and say, 'wow that's great Korra! I'm so happy you love someone who isn't me!'"
"No of course I don't want that!" Korra replied without thinking before groaning and putting her face in her hands.
Saltrall sighed and turned away again as a tear rolled down his cheek, "I'm not even surprised, honestly, I completely expected this," he said, voice shaking and barely above a whisper.
"What do you mean?" Korra replied cautiously.
"I mean I knew that there was no chance of you choosing me!" Saltrall said, snapping a little as his voice gained intensity, but not turning around so she wouldn't see his tears, "I knew and prepared for this, but I still couldn't stop my stupid emotions."
"Saltrall, you know I love you too, I love how you willingly threw yourself into danger to save me and-" Korra started to explain.
"Exactly, that's just it, I did so many heroic things for all of you, but I went above and beyond for you and you alone, and in a storybook world that time in the TARDIS would've been it, we kiss and live happily ever after," he interrupted her, his voice breaking as he finished that thought, "but this isn't a storybook, and I know that."
He finally let out a choked breath and sniffled, not able to hide his crying anymore. Korra walked up close behind him and put her hand softly on his shoulder.
"Hey, don't cry," she whispered and rubbed his shoulder, "I don't just love you for all the heroic things you did, I love you for who you are."
Saltrall sighed again. "You barely knew me, Korra, I didn't see you for so long, you know basically nothing about me," he said, wiping his cheeks and turning slowly to look at her, "besides, that was the old me, remember?" He motioned to his face and let out a soft, humorless chuckle, shaking his head, "new face, new personality, hell, I'm basically a new person you need to get to know all over again. I'm lucky I still have some of my old personality now, who knows how long this will last."
Korra looked him in the eyes for a few seconds before she sighed and pulled her hand away and looked at the ground.
"I know, Saltrall, I really do, but that doesn't change everything you've told me, about your past, about yourself, or anything else," she said, looking back up at him, "you said it yourself, everything changes, but the history, the memories, stay."
Saltrall looked at a mountain of ice of to their right and thought about that silently. Korra felt her heartbeat speed up, unsure of if she said the right thing before Saltrall smiled softly and chuckled.
"You know, I never thought about it like that," he said, looking back at her, and this time it was Saltrall putting a comforting hand on Korra's shoulder.
"You're amazing Korra, you have a gift, hell, YOU'RE a gift, please, never forget that," he started before pulling his hand off of her shoulder and gesturing towards himself, "me? I'm centuries old and have to live with the things I've seen, the things I've told you about, things that no one should ever have to live with. I have horrible memories locked up in my head, but I also have great memories too, a lot of them thanks to you."
Korra smiled when he said that and was about to reply when he kept going.
"But, honestly? In the end, I'm still a different person, I've come to accept that thanks to my past, but it will take time to get used to. I have no idea what this me has in store, and I just hope that I never do anything to hurt you."
He wiped his cheeks before kissing Korra's forehead, right at her hairline.
"I understand you had to choose," he whispered, resting his forehead against hers before leaning back, "and you never wanted to hurt me, I don't resent you or hate you, I never could. Like I said, just give me some time."
Korra looked at him with glossy eyes from the tears she was fighting to hold back.
"If things don't work out with Mako then we could always-" she started to say before Saltrall put a finger on her lips.
"Shush. Don't say that," he said, chuckling before growing serious again, "I think that ship- our ship -has sailed," Saltrall said quietly, "hell, you might not even like my new personality," he chuckled a little and Korra smiled.
"But you know, that's a bridge we'll have to cross when we get there," he added.
Korra nodded and they stood in silence for a minute. This wasn't an uncomfortable silence or an awkward silence, it was just a calm silence. Eventually Korra leaned in and kissed Saltrall on the cheek.
"Come on, we need to get back, the world doesn't just stop because we want it to," she said, smiling softly and going and getting on Naga.
Saltrall smiled softly and nodded, slowly walking over and climbing up behind her. Korra urged Naga forward and they made their way back to the village, ready for whatever else the world could throw at them.
Well, that's the end of this part. I hope you enjoyed it, at least a little. I know it's not the greatest work ever, but I'm proud of what I've written and will continue to edit things as time goes on. Have no fear, the story isn't over, and hopefully the next part will be bigger and better than this one. Thank you all for reading.