LEGEND OF KORRA DOJINSHI SCRIPT
Journey through the Spirit World

By FirstEdition

CHAPTER 03

THE NEXT MORNING
The next morning, the two are packing up their camp, stretching and looking around.

Korra slings her pack over her shoulder and looks at Asami, who looks happy.

"What do you want to do today, Asami? You know," says Korra, looking out over the water, "we could stay here for another day."

Asami looks out at the river, thinking about it.

"Mmmh... maybe. But... this has been great for relaxing? But... I kind of want to DO something today. Something amazing! Something... I've never done before." She looks over at Korra, smiling, hoping she knows what she means. "Can you think of anything like that?"

Korra puts her fingers to her chin, thinking.

"Hmm... something... amazing..."

A wry smirk spreads across her face.

"Yeah... you know? I think I have an idea! C'mon!"

They head off.

LATER THAT MORNING
A tall, sheer cliff face stands like a monolith, jutting out of a sea of clouds, which goes off into the horizon. The forest and the lands of the Spirit World just... stopping and giving way to this sweeping vista of soft, volumous clouds.

"Okay, so... this is the horizon, where the land meets the sky," says Korra.

Asami nods and looks out at it. But Korra steps towards the edge of the cliff face.

"Isn't it... a little dangerous to be out here?"

Korra smiles and shrugs. "I guess that depends."

Korra walks dangerously out to the edge of the cliffs. The spirit world peeling away underneath her feet to the sea of clouds. A few bits of earth dislodge and drop, silently, into the expanse.

Asami's hands twist with nervousness.

"Korra, do you really think that's a good idea? I mean... you don't have your glider..."

Korra turns around and looks at her. The backs of her heels are on the edge of the cliff. She stretches out her arms and closes her eyes, leaning her head back, filling her lungs with the clean air and feeling the soft wind on her hair.

"Korra... I'm not really comfortabl—K-KORRA!"

But she's already LEANED BACKWARDS and is PLUMMETING DOWN THE CLIFF!

Asami dashes forward, kneeling to grip the land as she watches Korra falling down into the sea of clouds. Korra's face is relaxed, her arms out at each side.

"KORRA!" Asami cries!

She FALLS into the sea of clouds, which bend, enveloping her, and then... after prolonged, soften landing... rebound, ROCKETING Korra back up the cliff! The clouds acting like an enormous, soft, trampoline!

"Yeeeaaahhh—hhhHoooo!"

Korra's flying back up the side of the cliff, soaring up the side of the rock and back up towards Asami, who is completely dumbfounded!

"K-Korra...!?"

"AaaaaaasssssaaaaAAAAMMMMIII!" She calls as she's flying closer and closer, finally landing by crashing into Asami, who barely has the sense to catch her!

They tumble in each other's arms. Korra's infectious laughter melting Asami's frayed nerves.

"Korra...! W-what... what were yo—"

"Relax, Asami, I'm okay," she says, leaning back from atop her.

"Y-you... th-that... that was... W-why didn't you TELL ME what you were DOING?!" Asami fumes.

"What? And ruin the surprise!?"

Korra gets to her feet and offers a hand to help Asami up.

"Nngghh..." Asami grumbles, taking Korra's hand, and is pulled up. She frowns, bitter at Korra for giving her such a scare.

"Come on..." prompts Korra, "the best part is yet to come!"

"Uh... NO, Korra. There isn't going to be a 'best part' if it's anything like THAT." Asami says, crossing her arms.

"Oh yes there is..." grins Korra. She circles around Asami and puts her hands on her shoulders.

"Because YOU'RE going NEXT!"

Asami's eyes go WIDE and she WHIRLS around.

"Y-you can't be SERIOUS!"

"Why not?" giggles Korra, still grinning widely at Asami.

"B-because... I'm... I'm NOT the Avatar! I'm not an Airbender! I'll just... SPLAT!"

"I didn't airbend, Asami. And it doesn't make a difference that I'm the Avatar. Listen..." she says, turning Asami around and putting an arm around her shoulder so they both face the cliff.

"This is where the land meets the sky, right? But... I can't fly... and neither can you! Meaning that our natural place is here... on the land. So... that's where the sky will return us."

Asami gives her a worried, skeptical look.

"Yeah... That's what I mean when I say SPLAT!"

Korra laughs and walks her forward a bit towards the edge.

"Look, think of it like... jumping okay? Only... down there," she says, pointing at the sea of clouds, "is the TOP of where you jump."

"K-Korra..." breathes Asami, full of doubt, "I... I don't know if I can do this..." she says, ducking her head.

"Asami," says Korra, who puts her hands on Asami's arms, "I KNOW you can. You're and incredible, strong, amazing person. You can do anything."

Asami smiles at her, touched at how highly Korra regards her.

She slowly detangles herself from Korra and turns to face the huge vista of sky. She breathes deeply and puts her arms out as Korra did.

"You know... it's better if don't go face-fi...!"

BUT she's DROPPING. Asami pitched forward and now SHE is PLUMMETING down the sheer cliff. The rocks rushing by. The wind in her hair as she falls.

Korra dashes to look over at her, her heart suddenly tense. Even after all the words, the WORRY suddenly strikes her.

"A-Asami...?"

In her freefall, she feels herself weightless, she feels the terrifying, exhilarating SPEED with which she falls. She sees the clouds rushing at her. The lingering doubt of Korra's words about going in back-first only adding to the terrifying sensation.

"Nnghh...yyeeeEEEEAAAAHHH!"

She DROPS into the clouds! They envelop her, like falling into a giant ball of cotton, that bows, and turns soft and curls around her, cradles her... and then SHOOTS her back UP THE CLIFF!

"Ooohhh wwoooowww... KooooRRRRRRRRRAAAAAA...!" She screams, full of adrenaline. NEVER having felt so ALIVE!

"ASAMI!" Korra yells back, cheering!

She rockets upward, losing speed as she reaches the top of the cliff, where Korra is there to catch her. She hugs her tight and wraps her up in her arms.

"That was AMAZING!" Shouts Asami! "I—I can't believe that...! Oh, KORRA!" she exclaims, and then PULLS KORRA IN AND KISSES HER ON THE CHEEK!

...

The exuberation is followed by a moment of INTENSE awkwardness. Korra, caught totally off-guard by the gesture, stares at Asami, her lips barely parted. Asami's body clenches up and she quickly looks away, suddenly fearing she's done something dreadfully wrong.

But, Korra smiles, and laughs it off.

Her laughter revives Asami, who smiles back. "I... I can't believe it. Oh, that was SUCH a rush. Mmmh, thank you Korra..." she says, unable to NOT hug Korra who holds her.

"This is JUST what I wanted..."

"You're welcome," she says back.

A pause.

"Want to go again?"

They look at each other...

MOMENTS LATER
Korra AND Asami are plummeting down towards the clouds, cheering!

"YEEAAAAHHH!"

LATE IN THE DAY
The two are heading back through the woods. Smiling at each other. Still giddy and pumped by their time diving off the horizon.

"See? Wasn't that amazing?" says Korra.

Asami laughs. "You know, I SHOULD still be mad at you for tricking me like that... but I'm not."

"Awwww... come on..." chides Korra. Nudging her as they walk.

Asami smiles at her. "What? I'm agreeing with you. That was incredible. This whole trip has just... been... incredible!"

Korra glances at Asami. "Yeah... it has."

They continue their walk.

The woods are as beautiful as they were the day before, but there is an odd change to it. Not immediately visible at first.

They continue their walk, but eventually, Korra stops, finally noticing what's wrong.

"Huh... that's odd..." says Korra.

Asami perks up. "Huh? What...?"

"I don't see any spirits..." she says.

They look around. It's the same woods that they had walked through the previous day but... there's nothing moving in them. Even the light from the glowing fruit seems to have died down.

Their view of the forest darkens, as though a cloud is passing overhead. But the shadows just seem to keep building.

Asami tenses.

"What's... going on Korra?"

"I don't know."

Korra looks around pensively.

"Do you think we're in danger?"

"...No..." Korra says after a moment. "So long as we don't panic."

She turns and smiles at Asami. "Maybe it's just something is going on nearby and has drawn the other spirits to it?"

Asami nods slowly. "I... guess."

Korra goes over to her.

"Look, we shouldn't become overly fearful just because we don't understand what's going on. Spirits respond badly to negative energy, so we need to keep an open mind."

Asami feels calmed and nods.

"Okay."

"Here, take my hand," says Korra. "We'll just keep walking and see what happens on our way back to the pool."

Asami smiles and nods.

But... as they continue, the forest grows darker. But with none of the wondrous beauty that the woods had during the night. No dancing lights. No glowing little mushrooms. It's shadowed. Dark and ominous.

Korra suddenly looks over her shoulder at Asami.

"Did you just say something?"

Asami looks puzzled. "No...?"

Korra's brows furrow. "Hmmm."

They continue on. But after a moment, we hear something. A whisper. Inaudible.

Korra stops on the spot.

"I heard it too," says Asami, reaching for her electrified gauntlet.

Korra looks over at her. "Asami, relax. Don't feed the spirits your negative energy or fear."

Asami clutches her gauntlet, feeling safe behind it. "I'm NOT afraid I'm just... READY."

Korra turns to look at her. "No. I mean... don't let your negative expectations overtake you, Asami. You need to relax and face whatever it is with an open mind."

Asami looks at her and puffs. "How do you KNOW all this?"

"Would you just trust me? I've been through this before..."

Asami gives her a look.

"I'm also the Avatar?"

Asami glares. But she shuts off the gauntlet and relaxes her posture.

"It'll be okay," smiles Korra.

A whisper comes from the trees.

"It won't be okay."

The two whirl around, looking for the source of the voice.

"Who's there?" says Korra.

There's a long, eerie pause. The two young women looking out through the woods, which are now dark and foreboding.

Then, a dark, wicked, slippery voice comes out of the woods, speaking in but a whisper.

"I sense your fears..." says the voice. "They smell delicious..."

Korra straightens up.

"I'm not afraid of anything!"

"Yeah," adds Asami, "you're talking to two people who just JUMPED off of the horizon today, so there's not a whole lot we're really afraid of right now."

The voice continues, coming out of the blackness. The distant light of the forest fades, as though an enormous spotlight above Korra and Asami is getting smaller and smaller...

The voice laughs.

"Ahhhh-ha-ha-hah-hah-haaaa... I am not some... object that action can conquer. I am INSIDE you. I KNOW your fears. Your... real fear" says the voice.

Asami and Korra keep looking for the source of the voice.

"I know about... your FEELINGS..." whispers the voice. "The ones you hide. You're confused... ashamed... worried... because of them." A pause. "And you've hidden them... So NOBODY will find out..."

Korra and Asami glance tensely at each other.

"Something IS wrong with you. The way you feel about them. It's not normal. It's WRONG. They will NEVER feel that way about you. Because you're a freak. You're wrong!"

Asami has gone pale. She clutches her electrified gauntlet, breathing tensely. It KNOWS how she feels about Korra. B-but how?

She glances over at Korra, who is baring her teeth in determination.

"There's nothing wrong with... either of us...!" retorts Korra, looking into the woods, boldly defying the voice.

The voice laughs. The light continues to fade. Darkness now all around them. Just a last ray of light coming in overtop Asami and Korra, who stand now, back to back, looking for the source of the voice.

"I KNOW your fears. What you dread... YOU think... that if SHE finds out what you really feel... you'll ruin EVERYTHING. And you know what...? YOU WILL."

The voice laughs.

Asami gives Korra a wide-eyed, worried glance. It's going to happen. The moment she's been dreading. Korra will find out... and EVERYTHING will be ruined. She'll be a freak. She'll be wrong. Korra will NEVER be able to look at her the same again. She'll be cast out. Alone!

Korra glances at Asami. She gritting her teeth.

"I'm NOT going to let myself be guided by fear." states Korra firmly, lifting her head to address the voice. "I choose to face whatever happens, and YOU have NO power over me!"

Light explodes before Korra, returning to the forest, and we see something MOVE out of it. Behind the trees and into the darkness that remains before Asami.

Korra sees her, still facing the blackness. She reaches out towards her but she turns away.

"Asami?"

Asami clenches her eyes shut, turning away.

"She knows..." hisses the voice, now more emboldened. Asami stifles a cry of pain. She shivers.

"No..." she begs.

"It'll NEVER be the same. It's OVER. You'll be alone... forever..."

Korra's head upturns defiantly towards the voice. Light spreads from her half of the circle again, illuminating the trees, but Asami's side is still bathed in darkness. She turns to her.

"Asami...?" Korra says quietly, as if realization is dawning on her. "Asami, you're... you are afraid...?" she states quizzically. "Are... are you scared of... me finding out something about you...?" she asks in a small, nervous voice.

Asami hides her face.

"Asami..." says Korra. "I want you to know... I've been afraid to tell you something too."

Asami's shivering quiets. She listens.

"There are... sometimes things we... don't understand or... aren't sure... about ourselves. Regrets... uh... f-feelings, I dunno. But... I know that... when I'm finally able to talk about it... that what will happen... will happen. And I can't change that. You're going to feel... however it is that knowledge makes you feel, and I can't change that. I accept you, and I always will."

Asami turns her head away in pain.

"Korra..." she says, fighting the tears.

"If there's something you're afraid to tell me, Asami? I want you to know... I PROMISE you, Asami... that no matter WHAT happens, I will be your friend. I'll be there for you if you EVER need me. No matter what, I will always try and help you, Asami. I won't leave you alone... un... unless you want me to."

The last words come out with a touch of pain. Korra continues.

"Just trust in that, and maybe you'll realize that... you don't have to have to be so scared."

The words are EXACTLY what Asami needs to hear. Emboldened, the lifts her head and opens her eyes. She won't be afraid anymore. What will be, will be. And she believes, no matter what, she'll always have Korra be her friend. She won't be alone. No matter what.

No sooner than she does so, than the shadows wash away completely. Darkness surging back into the roots of the trees and the undersides of the leaves. And all that remains of the blackness is...

...a tiny, dark spirit. o_o'

Asami boggles. THAT is the source of that hideous voice?!

Korra narrows her eyes at the spirit.

"So THERE you are..."

The spirit's eyes go wide and it turns to flee.

"Oh NO you don't!" says Korra, bending the water in her waterskin into a lasso that GRABS the spirit and freezes it in place!

The spirit squeaks! Then turns and uses that dark voice from before.

"Doom will befall you if you harm—"

"Knock it off!" says Korra, walking over.

Asami glances from it to her friend.

"...THAT was that voice we heard?! It's... so... tiny..." says Asami.

"TINY?!" says the spirit. "Doubt might be a small thing, but I am POWERFUL! And if you do not release me I will revisit a thousand years of misery on—"

Korra leans over and GLARES at it.

"I guess you weren't paying attention. But we're not exactly moved by fear."

The spirit shrinks a bit and looks away.

"...yes, I was paying attention" grumbles the spirit. "And it almost worked..."

"That's... a spirit of doubt?" says Asami, bewildered.

"I guess," says Korra. "So... those words it was speaking were... our doubts...?" she trails off.

Korra straightens up and looks towards Asami, then down at the spirit.

"What do you think we should do with it, Asami?"

She turns her attention to the spirit, her eyes narrowing.

"You know, I've only got ONE thing that I want to do with my doubts." She walks over. "And that's GET RID of them."

She looks at Korra. "May I?"

Korra grins. "By all means..."

The doubt spirit tenses, AFRAID. "W-what are you going to do...?"

"I told you," says Asami, backing up.

She takes one-two steps and then, BAM! PUNTS the tiny spirit FAAARRRRR into the distance.

"...get RID of you!"

"YEEeeeeeeaaaauuuuuhhh..." wails the spirit as it flies into the distance.

Korra laughs.

"Nice job, Asami."

Asami tosses her hair back and turns towards Korra.

"Thanks..."

Korra looks at her too, her brows raising as she wonders if... maybe they should talk about what was said.

Awkward silence.

"Um... Korra...?" says Asami.

Korra awkwardly smiles. "Yes? Uh... I... yeah, we should get on to the pool..."

"Uh... well, I kind of think... maybe we should talk about what that spirit said..."

"Yeah... uh... w-we should..." says Korra, who rubs her neck nervously. "It's just that... well... I... I'm worried that if you... knew something about me it... would change the way you feel about me..."

Asami looks puzzled.

"Just... I... I REALLY don't want to ruin this trip. It's been great, but... I..." says Korra.

Asami takes Korra's hand, nearly giggling with relief.

"Korra. Whatever it is? I want you to know, I will ALWAYS accept you for who you are."

She smiles at Korra who is looking more nervous by the second.

"We'll always be friends Korra. I'm here for you."

"Yeeaaahhh..." says Korra, still looking tense. "Ummm... a-about that..."

Asami's heart sinks. She lets go of Korra's hand.

"Y-you... don't want to be my f-friend...?"

"What?! No! I-I mean YES! I...!"

Korra facepalms.

Asami looks worried and confused.

"I mean, YES, I AM your friend. And I always want to be YOUR friend too! I just said that!"

"So... what are you worried about?" smiles Asami softly, but puzzled.

Korra takes a deep breath. She looks at Asami. At those big eyes of hers. The expression just melts away her awkwardness and she takes a step towards her.

Even so, Korra feels tense. So... she just takes a moment to compose her—

"Korra..." says Asami softly, interrupting the nervous tension. "Look, whatever it is... it's something that we can talk about when you're ready."

She takes Korra's hands and they look at each other.

"Maybe it's difficult to talk about but I promise I'll be here for you."

Korra glances up at her, biting her lip cutely. She blushes and nods.

"I... I want to tell you..." says Korra.

"Then tell me..."

Korra looks at her. Her face tightens with fear but she begins to speak.

"Asami... I—"

And the moment is SHATTERED BY A BLOOD CURDLING SCREAM!

Both girls are STARTLED.

"GGgyyaahhh!"

"AAaahh!"

"What is that?!

"That's not one of YOUR doubts is it?!"

They look off into the forest in the direction of the scream. It's followed by another.

"HEEEEEELLLLLLPPPP!"

"Definitely not one of my doubts!" says Korra. "C'mon!" She runs towards the noise.

"Uurrgh! I cannot take all these emotional roller coasters!" says Asami, running after her.