Korra wakes with a start when it is still dark out. She is panting and covered in a familiar cold sweat. Panic floods through her body as she surveys her surroundings with wide eyes, her hands lit with fire.

"Korra?" she hears from nearby, and she jumps a foot in the air and lands with her arms poised to strike. "Korra, it's okay. It's me. Asami." There is a hand on her arm, gently lowering it to her side. "You're still having the nightmares." It is not a question.

Korra nods, her chest still heaving. She cannot catch her breath long enough to speak. She feels like she might be sick.

"Do you want anything? Water? We could go for a walk," Asami suggests. It was how they handled the nightmares right after Korra's injury, before she left for the South Pole. Asami would run into her bedroom to calm her down, bring her a cup of water, and wheel her around the temple while she drank it. It happened every night in those early days.

Korra nods again and allows Asami to help her up. The engineer bends over to pick the canteen out of her backpack and holds it out to her. Korra feels a pang of guilt as she empties it, but Asami only laughs. "That's okay. We'll walk to the stream to refill it."

Asami takes her hand and they embark beyond the trees to the stream where Asami filled the canteen when they first made camp. "How often do you have them?" she asks quietly. There is a sadness in her voice that Korra wants to make better but knows she cannot.

"Not too often," she answers. "It's been less and less since I stayed with Toph."

"That's good," Asami says, and Korra nods mutely. "Are you okay, you know, otherwise?"

"I haven't had any hallucinations since Zaheer guided me back into the spirit world," she answers. "But I still don't feel… as strong as I did before."

"I think that's natural," Asami replies. "Korra…" she hesitates, "you know how much I care about you, right?"

Korra grimaces because this conversation has taken a turn she did not expect it to and she is unsure how to answer. "I think so?"

"I care about you a lot," Asami tells her. "If you ever need anything, I don't want you to feel like you can't come to me for help because my father just died. We help each other. That's how this works. Mutual support. Nobody's problems make the other's unimportant. And we've both been through a lot. I know we're going to need it."

"I know," Korra answers. "But you spent weeks taking care of me after I got hurt. I just wanted to spend this vacation focusing on you."

"You're so sweet." She feels Asami's other hand on her arm, just above her elbow. "But you don't need to pay me back for doing that. I was happy to."

"I know," Korra repeats. "But that doesn't mean I don't feel bad about it. I didn't exactly make those few weeks easy for you."

Asami shakes her head. "You were hurt. I knew that. But you were my best friend and I…" she clears her throat, "liked you a lot, so I wanted to do it. You don't have anything to feel bad about. If I hadn't wanted to be with you during those weeks, I wouldn't have been."

Asami's smile is reassuring, but it does not mute the anger she feels toward herself for not being able to take care of the engineer for even an entire day without needing to be taken care of herself. She is the Avatar. She has held the world on her shoulders. Why can she not do this?

They reach the stream, and Korra crouches down to fill the canteen, reluctantly removing her hand from that of her friend. When she stands back up, Asami places a hand on her shoulder. "Are you ready to go back?"

The honest answer is no. Korra would much rather continue their walk through the forest. There is something peaceful about it, something inherently romantic, vastly different from the way Korra remembers it, when Vaatu's dark spirits lurked around every corner. But the sky is already in the process of cycling back from blue and purple into pink and yellow, and Korra should let Asami get back to sleep. They will need to be well-rested when they arrive at Wan Shi Tong's library. She nods as her hand finds Asami's again, and they start back in the direction they came.

"I want you to know…" Korra takes a deep breath before she continues, "that I really like you too, and I wanted to make this vacation about you because I thought you deserved it, after everything you've been through. Most of it would never have happened if you hadn't met me." She can feel heat rising to her face. Talking about feelings has never been one of Korra's strong suits. Lack of communication in either direction was one of the many components that caused her relationship with Mako to fail, and she will not make the same mistake again.

Asami squeezes her hand. "The past few years have been hard for both of us," she answers. "Yes, I've been through a lot, and sometimes I felt like it was worth it and sometimes I didn't, but Korra, I have never been sorry that you are in my life."

Asami drops her hand, and for a moment, Korra feels empty as disappointment sinks through her body. And then Asami's hand is on her chin instead, dragging it to the side to face her, and Korra becomes acutely aware that they have stopped walking. Asami is coming closer and she does not know what to do, so she does not move. Their lips touch. It is the softest kiss Korra has ever experienced.

Once she recovers from her initial shock, she leans into it. She places her free hand on the back of the engineer's neck, weaves her fingers through her hair, and pulls her closer. She feels Asami's fingers leave her chin and slide down her neck to rest on her shoulder. It is so much different than kissing Mako was. It is not spurred on by anger or simple hormones. It does not feel like a competition with both of them fighting for dominance. Emotion is being conveyed, strong emotion that Korra does not fully understand, through their wrestling tongues, like they are trying to say everything they have ever wanted to say to each other.

When they break apart, Korra immediately misses the contact. Asami's cheeks are tinged pink, and she is looking at Korra like she has never seen her before. "Umm, that was…" the Avatar stammers, dropping her eyes. "Umm…"

"Perfect," Asami finishes, taking the hand that is fidgeting anxiously at Korra's side. "It was perfect."


Su is manning the controls when the calls comes in.

"Hello?" Tenzin's voice says from the radio on the control panel. "Su? Mako?"

"Tenzin," Su replies into the speaker. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

She can hear him sigh on the other end and she knows that something has happened. It is the same sigh she used to hear as a child when she and her sister stayed with his family while their mother was out of town and he had to admit to his parents that he and Lin had broken something, because, as she can recall Lin lamenting, "He's too much of a goody two shoes to just blame it on Kya or Bumi. We all know his parents would believe it."

"It's not good news," he informs her. She squeezes her eyes shut. She had known that stabilizing the Earth Nation for the second time in three years would not be easy, but she never expected it to be quite so frustrating, and she certainly never expected anyone to call for Kuvira's reinstatement. "I'm afraid the riots have spread up the West Coast."

"What are we talking about?" Su asks hopefully. "Fishing and mining villages?"

"Omashu," Tenzin answers gravely.

Su bows her head and forces herself to take a breath before answering. "I don't think we can do anything about that now. Kuvira's speech… didn't go over welling in Gaoling."

"We have to try," the airbending master insists, and Su grits her teeth in anger.

"What do you want me to do, Tenzin?" she growls. "Take Kuvira down there and tell her to give another speech when her first speech may very well have fanned the flames? They were accusing her of lying. They were chanting, Free Kuvira. What we need to do is take her back to prison and think of a better plan."

"We have to at least try," Tenzin argues.

"Trying could make it worse," Su exclaims. "What if she gives another speech, and then there are riots in Ba Sing Se?"

A beat of silence and then, "Ba Sing Se is a long way from Omashu."

"That's not the point, Tenzin. That's completely irrel—"

"Su, listen to me." She breaks off immediately. Lin. "We have to try this. We just don't have any other options right now, short of send in an army, and I know that's not a move you would support."

"Neither of you saw what it did to Gaoling," Su protests. "I did. They were breaking things is the town square. We had to rush everyone back onto the airship and leave immediately. I'm telling you, this won't work."

"Can you try asking Kuvira to change her speech?" Tenzin asks diplomatically. Su hates how calm he can be under so much pressure. Airbenders. "Maybe having her throw her full support behind the Prince was too much of a stretch. Why don't you try simply having her ask people to put an end to the violence?"

Su hates to admit that he may have a point.

"I know you don't want to hear this," Lin begins. "But maybe we should try asking for Kuvira's input. She stabilized the Earth Nation remarkably quickly three years ago. She obviously understands how to manage people."

"We are not going to ask the woman we just arrested for staging a coup for advice on handling the nation we took from her," Su answers with finality. "For all we know, if we give her any power, she could use it to put herself back at the head of an army."

"You told me you thought her remorse seemed genuine," Tenzin comments. "Has she done anything since she's been with you to change your mind?"

Su hangs her head. "No." This is not just about her pride, she tells herself. It is about the security of the Earth Nation. It is about Kuvira not knowing that the world leaders cannot control the people she made follow her at the tender age of twenty-four without breaking a sweat. If Kuvira knew that information, she would use it, wouldn't she? Anyone would.

Unless Su was right about Kuvira's remorse. Unless what Kuvira told her about only wanting the best thing for the Earth Nation is true. The best thing still is not Kuvira.

"We'll go to Omashu," she agrees, though she knows she will regret it.

"Thank you, Su," Tenzin replies. He sounds so earnest that it pains her.

She hangs the speaker back on its hook and braces herself with a fist on the top of the control panel. This entire mission was a mistake. Perhaps agreeing to help Wu stabilize the Earth Nation in the first place was a mistake. She built Zaofu in a time of piece. She resolved disputes over land and work hours and how old children should start learning metalbending. She knows nothing about rebuilding a war-torn continent.

But neither did Avatar Aang. Neither did Katara or Sokka or Fire Lord Zuko, she reminds herself. Neither did her mother. No one just knows how to do anything like this.

"Mom?" a voice comes from behind her. "Are you okay?"

Opal is standing in the doorway looking concerned. Opal is older now than any of her mother's friends were when they ended the Hundred Year War, she realizes, and Opal is not even twenty yet. Su is a forty-eight-year-old woman, and she can figure this out.

"I'm fine, dear," she answers, though she can see the disbelief in her daughter's eyes. "We need to go speak with Kuvira."


Even though Korra and Asami have not talked about the kiss, Asami does not think they have stopped touching each other all morning. Whether it is Korra's fingers through her hair as they woke up, her palm on Korra's knee as they ate breakfast, or their hands clasped together as they walk, they have been in almost constant contact. The kiss was the wakeup call they both needed to move from a mutually acknowledged attraction and uncertainty as to their relationship status into the early stages of a romance, and for Asami, it could not have come too soon.

"We should be getting close," Korra tells her, her brow furrowed in concentration as she surveys the forest around them.

"Do you know what Wan Shi Tong's library looks like?" Asami asks.

Korra shakes her head. "No, I've never been there. Jinora was there once, before Harmonic Convergence. I think it was where Unalaq found her." She shrugs. "I've never really talked to her about exactly what happened. The new airbenders started popping up right away, and then that whole thing with the Red Lotus. We never really got a chance."

"Well, hopefully it's conspicuous then." She does not even notice that Korra has stopped in her tracks until their shoulders collide.

"I think it's pretty conspicuous," Korra replies, gesturing in front of them. Asami gasps. They are standing before huge, ancient-looking stone building suspended upside down from the canopy of the forest.

"Do you think that's it?" she asks.

Korra shrugs. "I don't know what else it would be. Come on, let's check it out." She pulls Asami through the trees until they are directly under the dome roof. Then, she wraps her arm tightly around the engineer's waist and catapults them into the air and through the skylight. As they enter the building, the world rights itself and they land lightly at the center of a cavernous hall. They are on a bridge, Asami realizes as she recovers from the daze brought on by having her world literally turned upside down. She can see floors and floors beneath them, more than she can count, and they are surrounded by books in every direction except for up.

"Wow," Korra gasps. "No wonder Jinora ended up here. I bet she loved it." Her voice echoes through the building. Asami can hear an ominous movement from within the depths of the library. As it becomes louder, she can distinguish it as the sound of wings flapping. Her hand twitches toward her backpack, where her chi blocker glove is stowed, but she reminds herself that it is unlikely to have any effect on spirits. It would probably just make them angry. She brought it with her out of habit more than anything. Habit and some twisted sense of sentimentality, because it has gotten her out of some sticky situations and it was made by her father. Like he was watching her, even when she hated him.

There is a sudden rustle of feathers, and then a massive spirit that looks like a barn owl with a long neck emerges from the bowls of the library and lands on the bridge. "What are you doing here? Humans are not allowed in my library."

"Are you Wan Shi Tong?" Korra asks, stepping forward bravely. "We just need to look around. It won't take long. I'm the Avatar."

"The Avatar?" The spirit recoils. "I gave the Avatar a chance many years ago, but he stole knowledge from me. Knowledge to use in a war. There are no humans allowed in my library. No exceptions."

"Was Aang here?" Korra's eyes widen.

"Oh course he was, foolish girl," the owl hisses. "If you are who you say you are, you should know that."

"My connection with my past lives was broken three years ago. I've been out of contact with them ever since. Iroh—you might know Iroh—he told me there might be a way to repair it. I need to know if that's true," Korra pleads. "The information Aang took from you was used to bring an end to a war that had been ripping apart the human world for a hundred years. He used your knowledge to bring peace. Please help me."

"Wait," Asami steps forward. "You let anyone use your library who can bring you a new piece of knowledge, right? I might have something." She taps her chin with her index finger and calls on years on engineering expertise. "Do you know how airplanes stay in the air? Air catches under the wings as the plane is taking off. The wings are positioned at an upward angle, so that the plane is the most aerodynamic when it's traveling up at a diagonal. Once the plane picks up enough speed, air does all the work."

"Hmm." Wan Shi Tong tilts his head to the side. "It seems like you could accomplish the same thing with an airbender."

"But there aren't many airbenders out there," Asami explains. "This way, anyone can fly."

"That was very informative," Wan Shi Tong replies. Korra and Asami begin to smile at each other before he speaks again. "But there are no humans allowed in my library. No exceptions. You can thank your past life if you ever see him again." Before Asami knows what is happening, they are falling through the air. They land with a thud on the forest floor.

"Ouch," Asami grounds, rubbing her hip as she stands up.

"Sorry," Korra grimaces, "It happened too fast for me to catch us."

"It's okay," Asami assures her. "So now what?" She gazes up at the building in the sky. "Iroh said Wan Shi Tong would help us."

"I guess he was wrong," Korra shrugs. "Maybe he didn't know about whatever Aang did."

"But he must have helped Jinora when she was here, right?" Asami asks, furrowing her brow in confusion. "And she was with you."

"Maybe he didn't know that, or maybe he did and—" Korra gasps.

"What?" Asami's eyes widen.

"Unalaq caught up with Jinora at Wan Shi Tong's library," the Avatar exclaims. "What if Wan Shi Tong tipped off Unalaq that she was here?"

"You don't really think he'd do that," Asami says, though it is more of a question than a statement.

"I don't know," Korra answers. "If he did, he cost me that battle with Unalaq and my connection to my past lives."

"Well, there's only one thing we can do about that now," Asami replies. "We have to get back in there."


Kuvira is sitting on the side of the bed looking a lot more defeated than Su expects her to when they enter the bedroom where she is staying. She looks up as soon as the door opens, and her eyes widen in surprise, but she does not say anything.

"Your speech spurred riots up the coast," Su informs her coolly. Kuvira looks like she might be about to stand, but then she simply shakes her head.

"That wasn't my intention."

Su cocks her head to the side, studying the other woman carefully. She certainly does not look pleased with herself, and pride is not something that Kuvira has ever been able to conceal. Hesitantly, she answers, "I believe you." Beside her, Opal frowns.

"What now?" Kuvira asks. "Are you taking me back to prison?" She does not even sound particularly upset by the idea. Only resigned. For a moment, Su almost wants to ask if she is okay, and then she remembers her family's imprisonment, how Kuvira invaded Republic City with apparently no regard for human life, how she tried to kill them all, and she pushes the impulse from her mind, even if this is not the Kuvira that she remembers.

"No," Su answers, to an alarmed "What?" from Opal.

"We're going to Omashu," she explains to her angered daughter and the confused former dictator. "Tenzin wants you to give another speech. I'm not optimistic after how the first speech went…"

"Mom, no offense to Tenzin, but that's a terrible idea," Opal protests. "Did he just not believe you when you told him it made things worse in Gaoling?"

"Tenzin thinks we may have come on too strong with Kuvira's support of the Prince's plan," Su answers. "He wants her to try simply asking the crowd to abstain from violence."

"What is Tenzin thinking?" Opal grumbles, crossing her arms.

"He's thinking," Su replies softly, in a voice that is carefully measured, "that Kuvira knows how to get people to do what she wants." Kuvira's jaw clenches, and Su thinks it is out of aggravation from being talked about like she is not in the room. Su understands that feeling. Her mother used to do it. She takes a deep breath and turns to the prisoner. "He wanted me to ask you if you have any ideas." Opal scowls in rage, and Su turns to her. "I don't like this any more than you do, but we have to give Tenzin's idea a try." She focuses back on the former dictator. "If the Earth Nation had rebelled against you while you were leading them, what would you have done?"

Kuvira sighs and stands up. Su can tell that she is wrestling with something, and as soon as she speaks, Su knows why. "If they were small-scale riots, I would have sent the participants to reeducation camps. If it was a large-scale rebellion, I would have given them what they wanted. I would have withdrawn my protection from the region, let them deal with bandits and the elements and a trade embargo with the other regions for a while and waited for them to come back."

Su is silent for a moment. Opal only looks more furious. "What happened to you?" Su whispers. "You were wrong when you left, but you were idealistic. You had good intentions. You were never… malicious or spiteful or… ruthless."

"Power," Kuvira answers simply, and Su understands. So much power in the hands of one person inevitably corrupts them. It is exactly like she said in her speech. It is why the Earth Kingdom has not had a decent monarch in generations, and it is exactly why Su did not agree to reunite the Earth Nation herself.

"That's why you should have listened to us when we told you not to go," Opal growls, crossing her arms, and Su considers reminding her daughter that she was not there but decides against it. They are all angry with Kuvira, but she and Opal used to be close, like sisters almost. Certainly closer than she and Lin ever were.

"I was trying to help my people," Kuvira argues. "No one else was doing anything. Someone had to step in. I didn't… intend for everything to get so out of control."

"No one ever does," Su sighs. "But that's not what we need to be focusing on right now. We need to come up with a plan for what we're going to do when we land in Omashu."

"Is this a conversation the Prince should be in on?" Kuvira asks, raising an eyebrow. A beat, and then all three of them begin to laugh, and it almost feels like three years ago.


"Okay, it was farther up than I thought it was," Korra pants as she heaves herself into the library. The sound of her breath echoes in the hall, and she tries to quiet herself so that Wan Shi Tong does not hear her through the silence in the library and come back, but it only makes her feel like she cannot breathe.

Asami is still a few feet below, clinging to the vine. "If you die in the spirit world, do you die in real life?" she asks, though the question seems to be moot, at least for now, as she pulls herself up beside the Avatar.

"Yes," Korra answers with a weak laugh. "It's not a dream or anything. This is still real life."

"Just checking," Asami replies. "I think I might have a heart attack."

"My arms are probably about to fall off," Korra retorts.

"Don't worry," Asami assures her. "If you die in here, I'll bring your body back to your parents." There is a smile in her voice.

"As long as you still get out okay," Korra agrees.

"You can leave me here, if I go," Asami continues. She pushes herself up with some effort and stretches her arms over her head. "There's no one left to bury me. I'd want you to save your strength for saving yourself."

"I'd want to buy you," Korra answers softly. "Or maybe light you on fire and send you off on a boat. That's how we do it down south. You can't really bury bodies in the snow."

"You're very sweet." Asami smiles fondly down at her. "Where do you think we should start? This place is huge."

Just then, Korra hears footsteps. They do not sound loud enough or far enough apart to be Wan Shi Tong's, but she sits bolt upright and looks around.

"Hello there," she hears Asami say, and she jerks around to look at her. The engineer is bending over to talk to a fox. "Are you a spirit?" It would be comical if Korra had not seen much stranger things in the spirit world. "Are you here to help us?"

The fox cocks its head to the side and perks up its ears, and Asami gives Korra a significant look. She is the Avatar, she supposes. She knows more than Asami about what they should be looking for. "Umm…" she pauses to think. "Is there anything in here about reconnecting with past lives?" The fox sits down. She takes it for a no. "Is there anything about Raava or the Avatar spirit?" she tries again.

The fox stands back up and takes off down one of the isles. "Does it want us to follow it?" Korra asks, looking to Asami for help.

"What else would it want?" Asami replies. Korra gets to her feet and they run after it, through rows of books, down a spiral staircase, across a bridge, and up a different staircase. By the time the fox stops to pull an enormous, worn-looking book from the shelf with its teeth and drop it into Korra's hand, they are several floors down with no idea how to navigate the maze of shelves.

"Do you think it will stick around to help us find out way out?" Asami asks as Korra flips through the pages of the book.

Korra shrugs. "I have no idea." She nods toward the balcony, where they can see light shining in from the top of the dome. "At least we know it's that way."

Asami pears over her shoulder as she flips through a chapter about Raava and Vaatu's ten thousand-year battle, a chapter about Avatar Wan's travels and the lion turtles, and a chapter about Vaatu's imprisonment in the tree of time. "I wish I'd known all this information was right here the first time I was in the spirit world," Korra mutters, and she feels Asami squeeze her shoulder.

"Where do you think this book came from," Asami asks, reaching around Korra to turn a page herself.

"One of the past Avatars probably," Korra answers. "One of the early ones. The connection weakens the more lives are in between. I didn't even know Wan existed until I was attacked by that dark spirit and lost my memories."

"These chapters are just about Wan and Raava's travels as they tried to restore balance," Asami says as she flips the pages, although the book is right in front of Korra. "There's nothing in here about the Avatar spirit itself or the connections between lives."

"Great," Korra groans. She looks down at the fox. "Isn't there anything else in here." The fox whines and lays down. "I'll take that as a no."

"Maybe there's something else mentioned in this book, or someone who would know or something," Asami suggests. "Do you recognize any of these names?"

"It was ten thousand years ago," Korra answers dully. "Do you really think any of these people would still be alive?"

"I don't know," Asami replies. "How long do spirits live?"

"Vaatu did tell Wan he lived ten thousand lifetimes before humans even existed," Korra says slowly, realization dawning over her. "Do you really think there are other spirits around today who remember when Raava merged with Wan?"

Asami shrugs and smiles down at her. "It's worth a try, don't you think?"

"Here's a section on Wan collecting knowledge for Wan Shi Tong's library," Korra mutters as she skims the words on the page. "And this is the thanks I get? Okay, we're not asking him." She flips another few pages. "Here's a section on Wan investigating a disruption at what's now the Misty Palms Oasis that the settlers thought was a haunting but turned out to be the aye-aye spirit reclaiming his oasis from the spirit world. Huh, that's interesting. I didn't know it was the same place. It's really gone downhill since Wan's time."

"What's the aye-aye spirit?" Asami asks, and Korra remembers that the engineer does not know Wan's story past what Korra has told her.

"He met Wan right after he was banished from the lion turtle city," she explains. "He was the caretaker of a spirit oasis, like the one at the North Pole where the moon spirits live. I have no idea if he's still around or where to find him if he is." She sighs and moves to the next chapter.

"That looks haunting." Asami points to an illustration of a spirit with a body that looks like a twisted tree and seven faces but no eyes.

Korra squints at the hand-written caption beneath the image. "The Mother of Faces." She flips back a page. "This chapter is about Wan negotiating a truce between a feuding mother and son. The Mother of Faces and Koh, the Face Stealer. Wait!" she cries. "I've heard that name before." She reads on. "Yes! I think Aang met him! That means he's still around! Maybe he knows something! We at least know he met Wan!"

"Korra…" Asami says warily, but Korra ignore her.

"All we have to do is find him!" Her voice is escalating in volume. "Maybe he can tell us something—"

"Korra," Asami tries again. "Is that really a good idea? He's called the Face Stealer."

"It's okay," Korra answers pointing to the words on the page. "It says he can't steal your face unless you show emotion. All I have to do is keep my face completely neutral." She waves her hand dismissively. "Piece of cake. It says here that his lair was in a cave under a dead tree on the outskirts of a swamp. It's been ten thousand years, but maybe it still is. We have to go there."

"Korra, are you sure you don't recognize any other names?" Asami asks, but before Korra has time to respond, the meager light from the dome roof is gone, and they are encompassed in shadow.

"I told you," Wan Shi Tong storms at them. "There are no humans allowed in my library."

Korra drops the book and seizes Asami's hand. "Run!" They hurdle behind the shelf as the spirit charges at them. Korra glances at their surroundings. She has no idea which staircase they came down or even which direction it is in. She drags Asami along the wall behind the shelf, along a path that is too narrow for Wan Shi Tong to follow. He mirrors their movements on the other side of the shelves along the balcony.

They come to a spiral staircase. Korra is not sure if it is the right one, but she climbs it. It only takes them up two floors, and, with a thud, the owl spirit lands on the balcony just as they reach the top. "I forgot he could just fly," Korra whispers in vague annoyance. She is not sure if he still knows where they are. They creep along the side of the wall, trying to stay behind the shelves and under the cover of darkness. Light shines in from the dome roof.

"Wait," Korra hisses. "If he can fly between the floors, so can we."

"Korra, you don't have your glider," Asami points out.

The Avatar only smiles. "I don't need it. Come on."

Before Asami has time to protest any further, Korra grabs her hand and pulls her through the next row of shelves toward the bridge. Just as she reaches the railing of the balcony, she wraps her arms tightly around the engineer's waste and launches them over the edge with a gust of air.

They are falling. Korra rights herself so that her feet are facing down and summons a burst of fire. It slows them, but they do not stop. She is holding an extra body, she realizes as Asami's arms are wrapped around her neck. She is carrying extra weight. She takes a deep breath, closes her eyes, and allows herself to fall into the Avatar state.

When she opens her eyes again, she feels like she is the embodiment of power. They slow to a stop, and then they are rising, shooting toward the ceiling with increasing speed, fueled by the flames burning beneath her feet. Asami's arms tighten around her.

A shadow blocks the skylight as Wan Shi Tong takes off from the balcony to block their exit, but Korra knocks him to the side with a wave of her fist and a strong gust of air. They shoot through the hole in the ceiling and are met with light and warmth. Korra staunches her fire and summons a sphere of air around them to cushion their fall to the earth.

Korra picks herself up from the forest floor and reaches for Asami. "Come on, we've got to go."

They run through the forest as fast as their feet will carry them, though Korra's chest is burning. They do not stop until they reach a stream and there is still no sign of anything following them. Korra drops to her knees on the bank.

"Does Wan Shi Tong… ever leave… his library?" Asami pants beside her.

"I don't know," Korra answers weakly. "I don't hear… anything behind us." And then she feels a rough shove to her shoulder, and when she looks over in shock, Asami is glaring at her.

"Don't ever do that again," she demands.

"Don't do what again?" Korra asks, baffled. "I saved us."

"You almost killed us," Asami fumes. "Do you have any idea how close we were to the ground floor?"

"I knew I could do it," Korra fires back. "And we're fine. We wouldn't have gotten out any other way. I don't know what you're so upset about."

"You didn't even tell me what the plan was," the engineer answers. "I thought you were improvising. I thought we were going to die."

"Oh." Korra drops her eyes.

"We were hidden," Asami continues. "You had time to tell me."

The Avatar sighs. "I guess you're right."

"I know there are things you can do that I can't, Korra," Asami explains. "A lot of things. And that's fine. I don't care. I can do things that you can't do too. I'm just someone you have to save, and I'm not along for the ride. I'm your partner. Your equal partner."

"I'm sorry," Korra mutters. "I do know that. I guess I just don't always act like it. I'm used to people relying on me to fix everything…" she trails off, still short of breath.

"It's okay." There is a hand on her back, rubbing up and down her spine soothingly. "As long as you know that you can rely on me to help you."

"I know," Korra answers, looking up at her companion. Asami's gentle smile signifies that she is no longer upset. Cautiously, Korra leans in to lay a kiss on Asami's lips. "Thank you."


A/N: Hey guys. Sorry about the lack of update last week. I was falling behind, so I decided to skip an update to get ahead again, which I did. I finished my Wednesday chapter on Sunday, but then I didn't finish this chapter until last night because this week was actually hell, so I'm not ahead after all, but at least I'm not behind anymore. Anyway, hopefully this chapter was worth it. It's a longer one, first in this fic to hit 6000 words, so there's that. I actually had to bump a scene to the next chapter because it was going to be too long.

Thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter. Please keep them coming! We're getting into the main plot for the Earth Nation gang next chapter, so that's something to look forward to. I'm pretty excited to write it, so hopefully it won't disappoint. I'll see you all next Saturday, or Wednesday if you're reading Fate Is Cruel.