.

.

.

.

As the group carried on, the dawn remained at Korra's side. If the others didn't know any better, they could have sworn the fawn had "adopted" Korra as its new mother.

Mako walked side by side with the Avatar, smiling at the charming creature beside her. The little fawn took a liking to Mako as well, frolicking and jumping playfully around him.

"He likes you." Korra said with a smile, only to have it fade when she noticed Mako's frown. "What? What is it?"

"It's…it's like your back from the dead." he replied, looking into her eyes, "The city hasn't been the same without you. Nothing has."

"I'm sorry." she said, "But I'm here now, and we'll find a way to stop Unalaq before he releases Vaatu."

"But I don't understand something. If you've been active this whole time why haven't you come back?"

Korra bit her bottom lip and tugged on her long braid before replying, the nervousness evident in her voice. "Well, when I was washed up here I…I had some things I needed to work out. I wasn't in the right state of mind at the time and now I am. What about my family? How are they holding up?"

"Jinora, Ikki and Meelo miss you like crazy. Beifong hasn't slept in days trying to find you, Tenzin's been running around like a chicken without a head, and Pema spends most of her time in the kitchen just to avoid talking about it."

Hearing this only made Korra fell worse. Here she saw, healing her broken heart and learning so many things from her biological father and new friends while her adopted family back in the city were suffering greatly due to her absence.

"I wasn't planning on staying lost forever, you know." she said, her gaze straight on ahead, "Unalaq's plan was to fill my heart with darkness, which is why he framed my dad and made Yuki give you and Asami those poison apples. No doubt it was to make me lose faith in my friends and family. The worse part…it sort of worked." she tugged lightly on her silver hair, remembering the single dark strand of hair that was once present.

"I was so angry and hurt I closed up my heart. I thought I was doing the right thing by joining my uncle, but I realize now it was just a brilliant deception. He knew what I wanted most and took advantage of it. But after some time with Tonraq, Tenzin and P'Li I learned to let go and remind myself of who I really was. I even met my grandfather for the first time."

"Avatar Aang? You saw him?"

"Kind of. Sort of. It's complicated. I just have a feeling I was meant to come to the island. I feel more at peace now more than ever."

Mako smiled upon hearing this. She certainly looked happier an more at peace than the last time he saw her.

"So…what was it like meeting your father?" he asked curiously, "I mean, your birth father?"

"He's amazing! If anything, he's a lot like how I always imagined he would be."

While they spoke about Tonraq, Bolin and Asmi walked beside Zaheer and P'Li, both feeling rather awkward about walking side by side with the two criminals who tried to kill their friend when she was a baby.

Bolin was the first to speak, addressing the two former terrorists. "So you're a combustion bender." he said to P'Li, "Cool. I've heard of you guys, you can…blow up stuff with your mind. That's cool. Really cool."

"This is weird for you, isn't it?" the woman said with a concerned smile.

"Well, you did kind, sort of, try to kill baby Korra and separated her from her family for seventeen years and were part of a secret society that tried to bring chaos into the world and stuff."

Asami face palmed herself in embarrassment. As much as she loved Bolin, he could pretty dense sometimes, and had a tendency to leap before thinking. To her surpass, Zaheer chuckled.

"It's okay. That's all in the past now."

"You mean it doesn't bother you?" Asami asked curiously.

"Not anymore. We do still remember it at times, if only to remind us we don't have to go back and to not make the same mistakes twice. Sometimes it's good to remember your past mistakes so you won't repeat them."

"You know, you guys are alright!" Bolin said with a smile, "Hey, when this is all over how about we take you guys to a pro-bending match? Ever been to one of those?"

"No, can't say that we have."

"Oh, you guys are gonna love it, trust me. I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

Tonraq chuckled at the young boy's enthusiasm once he walked side by side with his daughter and her firebender friend. "You have quite the collection of friends, Korra." he said with a smile.

Korra simply shrugged, while laughing happily. She looked over the horizon and spotted the garden just a few feet away. "We're almost there!" she said before springing forward with the fawn close behind. The rest of the group followed close behind but came to an abrupt halt only halfway. The fawn jumped and hid behind Korra's legs.

Asami and Bolin's eyes widened in horror at the familiar sight before them. Towering above them were three lion-dog spirits, snarling and snapping their large sharp teeth. Their golden eyes dead on their pray.

"Not these guys again!" Asami exclaimed as she and the others readied to fight, but stopped when Zaheer raised his hand up and told them to step down. Tonraq placed a hand on Korra's shoulder and nodded.

She knew what he was trying to tell her. Taking in a deep breath, Korra stepped forward to face the dark spirits. They growled while surrounding her and the others.

"I'm not afraid." Korra said out loud to the creatures, one of which gained up on her, its teat only inches away from her face. But Korra stood her ground. "Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident."

But even with her words, the creature still growled in anger at her, roaring loudly it made her long braid bellow against his breath. Still, Korra stood firm. She knew this creature was in trouble, she could tell from its eyes. He didn't want this darkness anymore than she did. Slowly, she rose up her hand and gently placed it over the creature's nose. She smiled.

Her gentle touch began to calm the creature down, his eyes softening as it did with the others. This girl was not afraid of them nor did she show any animosity towards them. She showed empathy, compassion but also honesty. She knew they had darkness, she didn't deny that nor did she pretend it wasn't there, but she also showed them a demonstration of the opposite of darkness through her simple kindness.

Seeing her example, Mako approached one of the dark creatures, which growled at him. "Easy, it's okay." he said softly. Just like Korra, he placed his hand on the creature's nose, which calmed him down. Feeling for confident, Mako smiled and even rubbed the creature's forehead, much to his delight. "Aw, you're not such a bad boy, are you?"

Even P'Li took a moment to befriend the third creature, and received the same results. Once they relinquished their fear the creatures weren't all that threatening anymore.

The group watched in amazement as the skies began to clear, the sun shown brightly upon them and the creatures' bodies began to shift and change. Their bodies lost their dark coloring, becoming bright blue in color and their faces became friendly, welcoming and even playful. They stuck out their tongues, licking the young Avatar, making her giggle.

The three newly transformed dog-lions happily jumped around the group, licking their faces like excitable little puppy dogs. They squatted down to the ground, allowing the group to ride on their backs. One by one, they got on and the dog-lions ran ahead towards the golden gardens. The fawn rode on one of the creatures in front of Korra.

Korra released a happy "Woo-hoo!" while feeling the wind in her hair and raising her arms upwards into the sky like a happy child. Her father, while ridding with Zaheer and P'Li, also cheered alongside his daughter. Laughter echoed all around the grassy planes. If Korra could, she could be in this place forever.

Before long, the dog-lions arrived at a clearing, separated from the rest of the fields by a large ring of grass. Outside of the circle the grass was naturally green, but on the inside, the grass was golden, shimmering like stars in the sunlight. Just a few feet ahead was a forest with slim trees with sparkling levees that resembled emeralds. The fawn smiled upon seeing the golden grass. Without a second thought, he leaped to the inside of the ring, where his body began to change color. No longer was his fur a lovely light brown, but a shimmering sparkling white like snow. His brown eyes remained as he turned to look at Korra.

"This is it! We made it!"

"Wait, you can talk?!" Bolin asked in disbelief, his eyes wide open like dinner plates.

"Yeah." the fawn replied casually, "Come on, I want you to meet my family!"

Korra was the first to step foot into the golden grass, with the rest following behind. They followed the little fawn all around the forest, he frost began to frolic before running at top speed, laughing like a happy little boy as he did. Korra and the others ran after him as well, watching as the trees past by them with such speed it was almost as if they were flying. Korra's eyes remained on the fawn who, as the trees kept on passing and passing by her, so quickly she could blink and miss a great portion of the forest, the fawn's body began to grow. His legs became longer, his body wider, and a pair of bumps grew from his head. He ran faster and faster and faster, Korra kept her eyes on him, she could hear the others running close behind her but she never once looked back, she looked on straight ahead, chasing after the now growing fawn.

Finally, she stopped, her heart was pounding at a hundred beats a minute, her chest rising up and down to catch her breath. Her eyes widen at the sight before her. It was like something from a dream; a beautiful forest space, trees with emerald leafs all around, and fully grown dears and does surrounded the area. Each one a sparkling white that matched Korra's hair.

They had never seen a place like this before, it was like something straight out of a dream. Korra's eyes tried looking for the fawn, which she concurred would now be all grown up, unless that event was a trick of the forest. To her wonder, it was not.

There before her stood the fawn, only he wasn't a fawn anymore…but a fully grown stag. His majestic yet threatening antlers rested on his head, giving the impression of a crown fit for a king. His eyes were still the same warm brown orbs the Avatar had fallen in love with, and his coat was a shimmering white that put even the purest of snow to shame. His body was larger than before, his well built chest being his most intimidating feature, and his legs, though still skinny, looked far healthier, balanced and stronger.

The stag bowed his head down, placing one of his front legs back and his second leg forward to bow at the Avatar. Korra bowed in respect as well.

"Thank you, Avatar Korra." said the stag, speaking in a much older masculine voice, but still sounding like that of a young man in his twenties, but wiser beyond his years. "Follow us."

The stag leaped forward to the rest of his kind, who all bowed before him as if he were their king. Then, one by one, several of the dears of the garden began to gallop around the plane, faster and faster, gaining more momentum before their hooves no longer touched the ground. Bolin's jaw literally dropped upon seeing the dears soaring above their heads, running as if they were still on the ground. One by one, a dear or doe came by one of the group, hoisting their respected passenger onto their backs before soaring up into the sky. Bolin, on the other hand, was hesitant.

"Oh, no, no please, I'm not big on-flying!" before he could properly protest, the boy was already one one of the dears, horrifiedly looking down while holding on as much as he could.

The stage squatted before Korra, allowing her to get on his back. "Hang on. My friends and I will take you to close the portal and find your sister."

"Thank you." Korra said kindly while stroking his soft fur.

"No, Korra. It is I who should be thanking you." Galloping his front legs, he ran up into the air, leading the dears that carried the humans on their backs. With the stage leading on, the heard of dears loyally following their leader.

The heard flew over the spirit world, bypassing grassy fields, mountain reigns, streams and canyons filled with thick mist. Korra had never experienced anything like this before, even in this dire situation they found a moment to take in the beauty of this real, as well as its creatures.

"This is amazing!" she said to the stag.

"If you like that, watch this!" smiling confidently, the stag picked up speed and began doing back flips in mid air, making Korra cheer and laugh all the more. She always was one to enjoy a wild ride, and this was no exception.

Asami took notice of Bolin shaking while grinding his teeth and holding onto the hairs of his dear. A look of terror on his face.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm an earthbender ridding a flying magical dear hundreds of feet in the air, so…no! Are we there yet?!"

"Almost." replied the stage before swooping down with the rest of his heard following.

As they flew, the scenery started to change. The sun was partly hidden behind various brown-colored clouds before shifting to an aquamarine color. Pointed hills stood over the horizon, looking much like the back fin of a shark, and at the center of it all was what appeared for be a flat crater formation, several stones spiraled around one large blue shinning beacon counterclockwise, which was the northern spirit portal, which also had stones pirating around it clockwise around a glowing orb, which had more of an eerie red glow to it instead of the blue one.

Korra's gaze then turned towards the one thing that stood out among the place aside from the portals. While the rest of the location was a gray/dark blue ground, a single tree with a large, wide twisted trunk, surrounded by smaller rocks around its rooks, the twisted branches were stretched outwards, abnormal looking for a tree, and a single opening which slightly glowing red.

"And that's where Vaatu is." Korra said, gazing at the strange-looking plant.

The stag and his heard landed safely on the ground, allowing Korra and the others to jumped off. Bolin felt really woozy and needed Asami and Mako's help to get down.

"You okay, bro?" Mako asked with concern.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Just let me down before I puke on the deer."

Upon hearing this, the dear bucked the earthbender off, only to be caught by his friends and wobbly stood up.

Korra petted the stag's head in gratitude before he and his heard flew off into the sky once more. The Avatar slowly approached the portal which she had opened. It was indeed beautiful and bright, but it needed to be closed. She placed her hand on the beam of light, ready to finish the job she had started.

"So you've returned, Raava."

Korra's eyes widened at the sound of a dark and sinister voice. A voice that echoed with greed and pride. The very sound of it brought chills up one's spine. She knew exactly who this was.

Just like with Iroh's teashop, the scenery appeared to be moving on its own, and before long Korra and the others were now face to face with the servant of chaos himself, floating within his eternal prison, which was growing weaker by the hour. The creature was dark in appearance, with red markings all around it.

"So that's the Vaatu?" Mako asked, angrily glaring at the creature, "Not so great being locked up in that tree."

"Mock me all you want, boy. But the Avatar knows I speak the truth."

Korra narrowed her eyes at the dark creature, "You're mind games won't work on me, Vaatu. I know exactly what you are. You're nothing but a deceiver, the wicked one. You may have fooled my uncle into following you but it won't work on me."

"Spoken like a child who has been touched by the Light. But even in your heart you know you are far from being a true hero. Every human is born with the potential for great evil or great good. What makes you think you are any different?"

Korra clenched her fists tightly, she wanted so badly to yell at the creature, order it to shut up, but she kept her composure.

"We all have a choice Vaatu." she said, "And I choose Light."

"Ah yes, just like my sister did all those years ago. She fought for love, sacrificed for love, gave up everything for love and what did she get in return?…death. What's the point of doing the right thing if you need to keep on sacrificing so much just to accomplish it. Harmonic Convergence is coming soon, and this time, I'm going to wipe you out for good."

"Talk all you want, Vaatu. I'm here to close the portal. You are never getting out." Korra said strongly before walking away with her friends in tow. There was no way they would allow this creature to get the better of them. But they had underestimated him greatly.

"You might want to reconsider…that is if you want to save your sister."

Upon hearing this, Korra gasped and spun around rapidly. Walking out from behind the tree was none other than Unalaq, levitating Jinora with a stream of purple water around them. Fear evident in their eyes, while Unalaq smirked wickedly.

"Jinora!"

Korra attempted to run towards them in an effort to save her sister but was quickly stopped by a dark Furry-Foot who landed before them, snarling and attempting to scratch her with his now sharp paws. The ground began to shake and the entire group was then entrapped in stone prisons that rose up from the ground, trapping them from the shoulders down. Without his bending, Bolin couldn't break free, and neither could Korra.

Yuki walked out from behind the tree, smiling wickedly at the group. Asami and Mako immediately felt a wave of rage from within.

"Yuki!"

"Surprised to see me?"

Asami wanted so badly to claw this girl's eyes out for what she made her do. "You…you no good, sleazy son of a-!"

"Ah, ah, ah, watch the language, Sato. Not very lady like." Yuki taunted while wagging her finger, which only made Asami even angrier.

"When I get out of this, sister you're in for a world of hurt!"

The female earthbender only laughed at her remark. Did she really think a prissy heiress could stop her?

"Yuki?"

Her laughed stopped the moment she heard an older man's voice call her name. Her eyes shifted towards the bald man and combustion woman she had imprisoned.

"Is that you?" Zaheer asked, his eyes widening at the sight of her, "You've grown so big. You look so much like Ming-Hua."

"How…how do you know my mother? And how do you know my name?"

Both his and his wife's expressions fell in dismay. "They never told you about us, did they?"

"No. Who are you?"

"I'm Zaheer, and this is P'Li. We were friends of your parents."

Yuki's eyes widened in shock at this revelation. But she wasn't the only one. Unalaq's eyes then widened when he saw the face of the one man he never thought he'd ever see again. Slowly, Unalaq lowered his arms but still held Jinora in his grasp.

"Br…brother?"

Tonraq stood three frozen while gazing into the eyes of his long lost younger sibling. He couldn't believe how much he had grown…and how far he had fallen.

"Hello, Unalaq. It's been a long time."

"Tonraq…you're alive?…how can that be? I thought-" his eyes then shifted to the two figures behind him before looking back at Yuki, who's surprise expression shifted to one of anger.

"You…you're the traitors. You're the cowards that walked away from the Red Lotus!"

"We walked away because of what they did to out daughter." P'Li stated. "You were born only a year before our little Rose."

"What are you talking about?"

"Your parents never told you the real reason why we left the Red Lotus, did they?"

"Of course they did! They said you didn't have what it took to do the job you were assigned. If it weren't for your mistake the world would have been freed a long time ago!"

"They killed our daughter!"

"That's your own fault! If you had only done your job then she would still be alive! Unlike my parents, who always did what was needed to be done. But, apparently, you're little 'revelation' poisoned the minds of the other members, and one by one the Red Lotus diminished before disappearing for good. Unalaq is the only one who truly believes in our cause."

Tonraq looked at his brother with great sadness, "Unalaq, why are you doing this? How did you get wrapped up in this Red Lotus nonsense?"

"After you and Senna left, you drove Noatok away, I had no one else! Father had perished, mother was already gone, I had no one else from our family! I was alone until I stumbled across Ghazan and Ming-Hua. They told me everything they knew of the Red Lotus and what they thrived for. I found a new purpose in my life, and have raised Yuki as my own after they died."

"But, you're Chief of the Northern Water Tribe!" Mako said, "You have a wife and kids, isn't that enough?"

"No! No it's not!" Unalaq spatted, his irises shrinking due to his madness. "It's not enough. I want more. I want to feel whole, and what better way than to bring the entire world to its rightful glory. Once Vaatu is freed, I will merge with him and we will become one. I will become a new Avatar… The Dark Avatar! I will lead the world to true freedom, tearing down the boarders of all nations, spirits will roam the earth once more, and I will be the grand savior, their messiah who made it all possible! Me! Unalaq!"

Korra felt her heart breaking into a million pieces at seeing her own uncle descend further into madness, and this Yuki girl had been completely damaged and broken and she didn't even know it. She couldn't let this happen.

"Uncle please, you can't do this! You'll destroy everything, including yourself. Think about your family. What would Desna and Eska think of their father becoming a monster?"

"I'll be no more of a monster than you are! We could have been a family, you and I could have changed the world together, but you choose your own path. You choose your own way and left me alone. You are no different than your father.

"Unalaq, I'm sorry!" Tonraq shouted out as loudly as he could so Unala could hear him. "I never meant to hurt you. But there wasn't much left for us in the north anymore. We could have started a new life, Senna and I were more than happy to have you be a part of our family, but you wanted to stay. I respected your wishes, all this time I thought you respected mine. I should have tried to understand you better. Please…please forgive me."

Unalaq's eyes shimmered, his hands started to tremble. The others watched anxiously, waiting for a response from the man. Yuki clenched her fists in anger.

"Are you seriously going to back down now?! We've come so close, don't be a coward, Unalaq! Don't back away like your brother did! Keep on fighting!"

Much to their horror, that was enough to convince Unalaq to carry on his plans. The past was in the past, he refused to go back again.

"If you to make it out of the spirit world in one piece, you will open the other portal. Now!"

"Don't do it, Korra!" Jinora exclaimed with the purple water still surrounding her body. The purple coloring rose from her feet reaching upwards nearing her waist. The young girl could feel her soul being swallowed up by the darkness.

"The choice is yours, Avatar." Yuki said with a wicked grin, "Open the portal…or loose your sister's soul forever!"

"She can't now!" Zaheer exclaimed, "Her heart isn't filled with darkness!"

"Oh, well in that case, maybe this will trigger her bad bone." Yuki nodded her head to Unalaq, who began moving his arms once more. The purple energy continued to grow, nearing up to Jinora's face, the child practically gasping for air.

Korra couldn't allow this to happen. Her love for Jinora mattered more to her. She pondered on what to do, she couldn't open the portal anymore…or could she?

As Jinora's body was nearly surrounded by the purple energy, Korra made her choice. "STOP!…I'll do it. But let her go first."

"Portals, then the girl." her uncle demanded before attempting to corrupt Jinora's soul again, making the young girl scream in fear.

"Alright!….alright."

"Korra, don't!" Jinora exclaimed, but Korra didn't answer. She couldn't allow Jinora to sacrifice her own life for the sake of the world. She was too precious and special to die now, especially in this way. Korra would find another way, but for now…this was her choice.

Yuki bended the rocks around Korra, releasing her from her bindings.

"Korra, don't it it!" Mako called out, but Korra did not reply.

The group was forced to watch in horror as Korra walked on over to the closed up portal, which glowed a sinister dark, purple and orange. Jinora was freed from her watery prison and was now being held hostage by Furry-Foot. The young Avatar stood before the portal, her hands shaking in fear.

"How is she going to open it?" Asami asked, "She doesn't have darkness anymore."

"Not exactly." said Zaheer, his eyes straight on the young child, "We are all capable of great good and great evil. It all depends on the path we take. Korra has already chosen her path, but even she is well aware of one very important fact….she's still human."

Korra took in a deep breath, allowing a single tear to roll down from her eye. "I'm sorry." she whispered, before emptying her mind to think of the times she had been hurt by the ones she vowed to love and protect. She felt pain and anger, guilt and fear. She didn't want to do this, and the portal knew this. It reacted to her fears the moment she placed her hands onto its surface. Korra kept her eyes shut, unlike before her Avatar State did not activate.

Jinora watched in horror as the portal opened, a bright beam of light emerged, rising up into the sky, identical to the southern portal. Once it was open, Vaatu's tree glowed red and released a large purple ring as the dark spirit screamed in agony and the ground shook. During the whole process, the lower part of Korra's braid had turned completely black, leaving only a smaller portion of silvery hair reaching her neck. The flowers she once had in her long braid were now dried up and dead as they fell to the ground.

Once the deed was done, Korra sank down to the ground, tears rolling down from her eyes, her heart breaking. She didn't want to do this, but she didn't have any other choice. Her sister would have been gone at this point if she hadn't. The others watched in sadness as Korra struggled to get herself to stand up.

"Now let Jinora go." she ordered her uncle. However, Unalaq surprised Korra by waterbending at her arm, which turned blue and she screamed in pain from the impact. "AHHHH!"

"You should've come through the portal. Then you could do this!" Unalaq kept waterbending at Korra, who continuously dodged his attacks. She summersaulted away from another just when Furry-Foot flew off, carrying Jinora away.

"KORRA!"

Korra quickly got up to try and go after her sister, avoiding her uncle's attacks, but was then knocked down by Yuki's earthbending. She sent the young girl flying across the ground, rolling and groaning in pain.

Tonraq struggled to break free of the rock, but it was just too strong for even him to punch through it. Suddenly, the group heard something coming their way, soaring above in the sky.

Korra looked up to see the stag, flying once again with his heard behind him. The stage lowered down, the moment his hooves touched the ground, a powerful wave emerged, followed by a powerfully white ring that knocked Unalaq and Yuki off their feet, landing hard on the ground.

The event made the rock prisons break and the dears swooped in to carry the humans to safety. The stage quickly hoisted Korra onto his back, but the poor girl was already exhausted that she passed on. The stage now carried an unconscious Avatar while he and the rest of his heard back to the golden garden, where they would be safe.

"I'll see you again, Raava." Vaatu said arrogantly form his prison, "Once Harmonic Convergence comes, I'll be free from this prison, and then I will have my revenge!"

(~)

"Get up, Korra." a voice said. But her body refused to comply. "Get up." the voice insisted, this time with more power in his voice, as if demanding she get back up. "You must get up."

She groaned and she slowly opened her eyes. Her vision was blurry, everything else was dark minus for a pure white figure before her with large majestic antlers. She heard the voice once more.

"Get up. You can do it, get up."

Her vision cleared up and she could see the white stag before her. She felt something tingling her fingers, immediately recognizing it as grass. The atmosphere was bright and colorful, filled with green emeralds on top of the tallest trees. She was back in the golden garden, the last things she remembered was her opening the portal, her sister's screaming and the stag flying her away to safety.

Korra wobbly managed to get herself to sit upright, but her body hurt far too much. She was physically fine, but emotional she was crushed…yet again.

She looked over her shoulder to see the dark colored braid. A visible sign she had failed.

"It's over." she said, her voice practically a whisper. "Even when I succeeded…I failed."

"You did not fail. Your sister is still alive."

"Yes, but now she's trapped in the spirit world. If she stays here any longer she'll be lost forever and it's all my fault! Stag, I don't know what else to do."

The stag simply looked down upon her with his warm brown eyes, his ears perking slightly upwards in alarm, as if her very words were strange for him to hear. But he did understand.

"The only way for that portal to have opened was if I allowed my heart to be filled with darkness. I gave into darkness."

"Yes. But look what else." he walked towards a small pond in the field, gesturing with his head for Korra to approach and see for herself.

Korra stood up, nearly tumbling down due to her own depression taking its toll on her body and approached the pond. Her eyes widened in wonder at what she saw. Part of her hair was still silvery white. She had thought her entire hair had turned dark like her heart, but she didn't feel darkness in her heart. Not this time.

"Hatred. Envy. Pride. Fear. These are all the things that can poison one's heart. Even the kindest person can sin. Enemies will try to knock you down again, and again, and again, sometimes using what is most precious to you to do so. But a true repented heart can recognize these temptations, even when all hope seems lost, and find the strength to overcome them. What the portal used against you was your fear. But your love for your sister was what kept you from sinking further. Yes, you failed to proceed with your mission, but you have not failed the world yet. There is still a chance for you to save your sister, and everyone else."

"Why aren't you mad?" she asked, "I endangered so many lives with that choice."

"True, but your heart still hopes for the best. Hope is more powerful than you know. You can win this fight, Korra. You helped me stand back up…now, I will help you. Just as I always have."

Suddenly, Korra felt a human hand touch her shoulder. She gasped and looked up to see a man with pale skin, amber brown eyes and slick dark hair wearing ragged old clothing. He appeared to be in his mid to late twenties, and very handsome. She recognized him immediately.

"Wan."

The very first Avatar squatted beside her and held her in a warm embrace, allowing her to cry into his shoulders. He didn't say anything else, he simply held her close, letting her know she wasn't alone, no matter what. She felt at peace once more, remembering all of the lessons she had learned on the island and from her family. Now more than ever, she needed to keep her Faith. It would be the one thing that would encourage her to move forward.

Wan's body suddenly felt lighter, turning into golden colored butterflies which flew up into the sky in a d dazzling display. Korra sat there looking up, hearing footsteps form behind her. She heard her father's voice speak.

"So…what's it going to be?"

"Excuse me?"

"We followed you in, and we'll follow you out. It's your decision."

Korra released a sarcastic chuckle, "Yeah, I think we've seen just how effective my decisions have been." she stood up and faced her father and friends. "Let's recap for a second, shall we? I lead my family to the south pole to find a long-lost relative who turns out to be a new world order twisted freedom fighter nutcase, tricks me into opening a spirit portal thus unleashing hoards of dark spirits into the human world, enabling him to start a civil war between the tribes, get my adopted father framed for a crime he didn't commit, had his floozy mentally insane foster child give my friends poison apples all in an effort to make me angry enough to open up a ding dang portal so he can free a thousand year old demon from a tree which-thanks to me-is one step closer to total world domination and the end of all life as we know it! Have I left anything out?!"

"Well, you did throw a temper tantrum in front of the president and let a dark rabbit thing take your sister." Bolin said, only to have him be elbowed on both arms by Mako and Asami.

Korra waved her arms in the air, "Thank you! Thank you very much." she sighed while gazing down at the pond before her.

"Can I say something?" Bolin voiced out, raising his hand.

"I think you've said enough, bro." Mako replied sternly.

"No, this is good, I promise. Varrick once told me, 'When you hit rock bottom, the only place left to go is up'."

Korra traced her fingers over her dark braid, gazing at her reflection. She had once wondered when will her reflection show who she was inside. And now…it really was.

"You guys go back home." she said, turning around to face her three friends. "Tell my family and Beifong I'm alright and to meet me at the South Pole at my Gran Gran's healing hut."

"But how will you get to the south?" Asami asked, "We couldn't even figure out where this island is."

"Just trust me. I promise, we'll all be together again soon."

Asami walked up to Korra and hugged her best friend tightly. "Be careful."

"You too." Korra turned to Bolin, who hugged her so tightly she almost couldn't breath.

"It was great to see you again!"

"You too, Bo. You can let go now."

"Oh, sorry!"

Korra giggled a bit before lately turning to Mako. The two gazed into each other's eyes. Yet again, they had to part ways.

"Korra, I-" before Mako could continue, she stopped him by placing her finger over his lips.

"I'll be okay. I promise."

Her eyes told him she was telling the truth. The two leaned in forward, ready to kiss, until they heard Tonraq clear his throat. He may have been away for a few years, but he was still Korra's father, therefor he couldn't help but feel protective of her when it came to boys. Even if Mako was a nice young lad, but still.

The firebender blushed and awkwardly stepped back, not wanting to upset the man even more. Korra only rolled her eyes. As if dealing with one dad wasn't enough.

The three teens bid their farewells and closed their eyes…

(~)

Mako gasped once he came back to the physical world. He took in slow deep breaths, noticing his brother and Asami also made it back. All but one…

Jinora.

(~)

Korra looked over at the horizon, at the vast ocean before her. She and the others had made it back to the island safe and sound, and now were thinking of a way to get back to the south.

The lower half of her braid was still a disgustingly shade of black. She didn't want to look at it anymore. She didn't want to be reminded of it, not to mention it felt heavier now and it was, quite literally, dragging her down a bit. Taking a knife that P'Li often used to make the meals, Korra pulled her hair back, placing the knife just bellow the very link between her silver hair and her dark braid. In one swoop, with no hesitation whatsoever, Korra cut off her braid and tossed it into the ocean, allowing the currents to carry it away.

She felt so much lighter now without that long dark chain dragging at the back of her head. All that was left of her hair was a sparkling silver bob-cut. She had tossed away the dark, and remained with the light.

I know that the clouds must clear

And that the sun will shine

I know that the night must end

I know that the sun will rise

And I hear your voice deep inside!

I know that the night must end

And that the clouds must clear

Oh, and the sun will rise

The sun, the sun will

Rise!

She heard footsteps approaching her, and immediately knew it was her father. "Korra…it's time."

"I know…"

(~)

Psalm 27:3~ "Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident."

Okay, only one or two chapters left. This story is almost done. God bless, *kiss kiss*