I really couldn't resist calling this chapter "Rai Alone", I really couldn't. I mean, come on, this is the chapter where she picks herself back up from rock bottom. Fits the theme, right?

Darkness surrounded her as she sank further and further into the deep abyss. She tried to will her body to move and swim the surface, but all she managed to do was lift her arm weakly, stretching her hand out towards the shimmering light above her. She opened her mouth to cry out, but it suddenly filled with water. She choked and cough, flailing about as the abyss continued to drag her down further while she struggled as if watery arms gripped her tightly and pulled while her lungs burned for air. When she could no longer struggle any longer, her arms went limp and sluggish as she blacked out.

Bright green eyes burst open as Rai suddenly inhaled sharply. The feeling of suffocation in her dream felt so real that she inhaled so deeply and quickly, as if quenching a long thirst. Still laying on her back, her hands quickly felt around her, trying to feel out where she was. As she tried to calm her fast-paced breathing, she tilted her head and looked around at her unfamiliar surroundings. She was in a small bedroom, surrounded by four wooden walls. The sunlight shined through the open window just next to the bed. The rays warmed the blanket that covered her legs, generating a cozy and comfortable sensation. But her alertness and not knowing where she was quickly overpowered whatever sense of comfort the warmth gave. Rai noticed that she wore only her tanktop and pants while the rest of her clothes were folded neatly on a nearby dresser. Her chest and shoulder had been bandaged and her hair was loose, long bangs falling in front of her face. She clutched her chest in pain as she tried to sit up, her wounds sending a painful sting throughout her whole body, forcing her to fall back onto her pillow.

When she heard the door open, she quickly stiffened as an old man carrying a tray of food entered. "I wouldn't move around so much like that if I were you," he said, walking in and setting the food on the bedside table. "I did what I could to save your life, but that don't mean you're back to a hundred percent. Go on, eat up," he said, gesturing to the bread and bowl of soup that sat on the tray.

"Wh-who are you? Where am I?" she asked as he helped her sit up and placed another pillow behind her for support.

"I am the guy who dragged your half dead butt from the river side and fixed you up. As for where, this is my humble home. I know it ain't much, but it's my home. You got a name?" he asked.

Rai cleared her throat and answered weakly, "R-Rai."

"Well, good, you don't have amnesia. Frankly, I don't have it in me to deal with girl who's wounded and amnesiac right now. So, you wanna tell me what you were doing on the side of a river with a couple of arrows in your chest?" he asked, taking a seat by the bed. "Did you run into trouble or did the trouble come looking for you?"

"Arrows…" Rai whispered, gently resting her hand over her chest where she was shot as she instantly recalled the events on the clifftop. Images flashed in her mind so quickly that she couldn't process it all at once. All she could see was a shrouded figure in front of her drawing back a bow and two sharp pains, one in her chest and the other in her shoulder. She hunched over and gripped her chest in pain as her breathing became labored.

"Hey, hey, relax," the old man said, sitting up and gently pushing Rai to rest against the pillows.

"H-how am I even still alive?" she asked wearily.

"I used water from the Spirit Oasis up in the north to heal you."

"You're a waterbender?" Rai asked.

He nodded. "And with an injury like yours, no other water would cut it. You're lucky to be alive. I've heard stories of Spirit Oasis water bringing someone back from the brink of death, but I never thought I'd see it!"

"Lucky to be alive…" Rai muttered, casting her eyes down sadly. She was pulled from her thoughts by the man handing her the bowl of soup.

"Eat, you need your strength. The Spirit Oasis water did most of the healing work, but you still need time to recover."

"How did you get water from the Spirit Oasis?"

"It's a lot easier to get with the portals to the Spirit World open. Most waterbenders like to have some on them just in case. You never know when you'll need to save someone's life, like the Avatar."

"What did you say?" Rai asked, trying to hide her distress.

"You know the story of how Katara revived Avatar Aang after the fall of Ba Sing Se? If it can bring the Avatar back from the dead, it can certainly fix you up. Now, eat up before it gets cold."

"Thank you," she said quietly, taking the bowl from his hands. The man left her alone as she finished the soup and bread alone. When she finished, she placed the empty bowl back on the tray and carefully sat up, groaning slightly in pain as she swung her legs off the side of the bed. Placing her hands on her knees, she pushed herself onto her feet, barely holding in a pained groan that slipped through her lips. Her legs felt so loose, almost like she couldn't even feel them there, but she pushed through and slowly stepped towards the mirror affixed to the wall ahead of her. Pausing, she stood in silence as she gazed at her reflection. The girl she saw in the mirror… If Rai didn't know she was looking at herself, she would have sworn that she was looking at some poor girl, broken and defeated. Her body looked so beaten, so destroyed and her face hid behind the long blonde locks the way a child would hide behind their own bangs. She raised her hand to move the bangs aside, tucking them behind one ear, but they almost immediately fell loose again. She sighed as her eyes shifted towards the reflection of her chest in the mirror. Slowly and carefully, to avoid any sudden pains, Rai took the bottom of her tank top with both hands and lifted it over her head. Her entire upper chest was bandaged, along with her shoulder. She reached around her side and fiddled with the bandage, unraveling one of the strands and slowly untied the bandage. A gasp escaped from her lips as she gazed at the two bright red scars that marred her shoulder and upper middle chest. She gently touched the scars with her finger and pulled back when it sent a painful sensation through her body. The Spirit Oasis water had sealed up her wound, but she was far from fully recovered. The flesh was still healing and it felt like the arrows were still in her chest. The blurred image of her attacker suddenly flashed in her mind, disappearing just as quickly before she could process it. Her hand flew to her head as it suddenly ached painfully. She took steps backwards until she felt her legs hit the bed and she sat down on it. When her headache died down, she sighed wearily and put her tank top back on.

Days progressed quietly as her injury slowly healed. Each day, her body felt that much stronger, but something inside her still felt weak and broken. She knew she had to get back, but every time she tried to take that first step, something held her back. One thing rang through her mind persistently: why couldn't she remember who attacked her? She remembered everything else in perfect clarity: leading the slavers away while the others got the enslaved children they rescued to safety. She was ready to fight and kill every single one of those slavers, but what stopped her? Something made her hesitate, but no matter what, she couldn't recall what it was.

When she was well enough to move around again, she started helping her saviour by chopping firewood, a physically demanding job that he simply wasn't able to perform anymore. She wasn't one to do menial work for someone, but he clearly went through a lot of trouble to save her life, the life of a stranger. And as he had put it, she should "spend her time doing something useful rather than staring off into space". Raising the axe high above her head, Rai brought the blade down swiftly, splitting the wood log into two chunks, which both fell into a matching set of piles on either side of her. As she picked up another piece to chop, the hermit came around from his shack and called out to her.

"All right, that's enough firewood. It's not like we're in the middle of winter," he remarked. "I'm heading to the market in town. You coming?"

Panting from exhaustion, Rai wiped her sweaty forehead with a small cloth and placed it down with the axe. "Sure," she said, walking up to the old man's cart, the same one he had used to carry her in. When he stood in front of the cart, ready to take both handles and pull it, Rai gently placed her hand on his. "Let me do that," she insisted.

"Well, I guess it's only fair. I carried your butt in this thing, now you get to carry me. Don't go too fast though; there's a lot of bumps on this road," he replied gruffly, climbing up to the bench at the front of the cart. At a steady pace, Rai pulled the cart with the old man and his contents - fish - along until they arrived at the town at the end of the road. She helped him unload his baskets of fish as he set up his small shopping booth alongside many similar booths, each selling their own wares. She leaned next to the stall as the day went on. People came and went, some purchasing the hermit's fish. Rai couldn't help but wonder what the chances were of her companions arriving at the village. Who knows how far the river she fell into carried her? And who knew if her companions were even heading in this direction?

Did they even know what happened to her? Were they looking for her? Or did they think she was dead? They must have. Even she didn't think she would survive a fall of that height, let alone two arrows to the chest. But did she want to get back to them? To her own surprise, she in fact did! Any other day, she would likely be glad to be rid of all them; she would be glad to be by herself again. It was so much easier being by herself. But despite her guarded defenses, she had warmed up to them. But she couldn't go back to them, not yet. For some reason she was repressing her attack and she didn't feel ready to leave until she could figure out why.

"And who is this?" Rai was pulled from her thoughts as two older women purchasing fish from the hermit turned their attention to her.

"Uh…" Rai began, unsure of what to respond with. Thankfully, the hermit spoke up for her.

"That's my granddaughter. She's staying with me for a couple days," he responded.

"Oh, your granddaughter, how lovely! I didn't know you had a granddaughter." The woman moved over to Rai. "Such a pretty girl," she commented with a smile. "You should wear your hair back; don't hide those pretty eyes," she said, brushing some of Rai's thick blonde locks aside. However, upon seeing the scar over her eye, the woman gasped lightly and pulled her hand back, releasing Rai's hair back over her face.

"Uh, thanks," she replied as the women moved on to the next booth. "Do you actually have a granddaughter?" she asked the hermit once the two women were gone.

"Maybe. My son and I never saw eye to eye on anything and one day we got in such a bad fight that he up and left. Never saw him again. So, I suppose I could have a granddaughter somewhere. You know, you don't gotta stand there all day like a statue. Its making me really uncomfortable. Walk around town for a bit! If I'm gone by the time you get back here, you know the way back." Rai said nothing, but took the man's advice and began to stroll through the town. For the most part, it was like every other little town she had stumbled upon: peaceful and quiet…

"You seriously expect me to eat this crap?" a loud voice bellowed.

"Spoke too soon," Rai muttered under her breath as she looked at a small street side noodle bar.

"That's our house special!" the noodle patron cried nervously. He squealed in fright as the unhappy patron, a large, gruff man dressed in armor, reached over the counter and roughly gripped the man's shirt collar.

"Yeah, well it tastes like shit! Is this seriously how you treated a decorated soldier like myself? I expect a new bowl and this meal to be comped!"

"I-I'm sorry, sir, but I'll need to see some identification to confirm that," the noodle boy whimpered.

"You callin' me a liar? I served for our country!"

"You're no soldier," Rai said, intervening.

"What did you say?"

"What's your rank?" she asked.

"Lieutenant," he replied, releasing the boy and giving him a push.

"And yet, you have the incorrect number of Earth Kingdom emblems on your uniform and your armband is on the wrong arm. Like I said, you're no soldier. I suggest you leave before the real authorities show up."

"Grr, someone needs to teach you some manners!" The man pulled out a dagger and charged towards her, but Rai quickly grabbed his wrist and flipped him over her shoulder while taking the dagger from his fingers and placing it on the counter of the noodle bar. The fake soldier angrily pushed himself off the ground and suddenly sent a stream of water towards her. Rai took a step and rolled away to avoid the strike, only to be hit by a second stream of water she hadn't seen him prepare. The jetstream struck her right in the chest, reinvigorating the pain from her arrow wound. She fell to her back and clutched her chest as she tried to sit up and catch the breath the was knocked out of her. She felt something wet on the corner of her mouth and lightly touched it with her fingers. Blood, she realized, as the recognized the metallic taste in her mouth. The man laughed and reached for his bow, which had been propped up against the noodle bar. She looked up in time to see him draw the bow and she froze instantly as an image of a younger boy with black hair and green eyes flashed over the man in front of her for a split second. Petrified, her eyes widened in shock at the image that just flashed in her mind as she did nothing to move away from the man's line of firing. Thankfully, a fish came flying out of nowhere and hit the man right in the face, causing him to drop the bow and arrow.

Coming out of her trance, Rai looked up in shock at the man as he furiously looked around. "Who did that!" he shouted, but all the bystanders stayed quiet. He grumbled under his breath before quickly saying to Rai, "You better watch your back, girl!"

Rai lay on the ground, propped up by her elbows, breathing heavily and shakily. As the bystanders slowly went back to what they were doing, the hermit appeared next to Rai and bent down next to her. "Come on," he said, helping lift her up by one arm, "we should get you back to- H-hey!" Rai suddenly darted towards a small alleyway, disappearing down the corridor, quickly leaving the hermit behind. She wasn't sure where she was running to, but something just compelled her to run and run. But what was she running from? Even she wasn't sure, but all she wanted was to get away from everything. Though no matter how much she ran, she wouldn't be able to run from this. With every step she took, it felt like the thing she was running from was just inching closer and closer towards her. When her weary legs could carry her no further, she came to a stop deep in the woods.

Her mind was reeling, but one thing was clear to her: she was angry. But she wasn't sure what she was angry at. Herself? The situation? Takumi? Sati? Hiro? All of them? Goro? She knew deep down that none of them were the answer, but at the same time, she didn't want to admit what she was really angry about. When that man drew his bow back at her and the image of the bow flashed over him. It was like the floodgates of her mind came open and the memory instantly poured into her mind. She was on a hairpin trigger and snapped angrily when she heard rustling from the bushes behind her. "Go away!" she shouted, as the sun began to set and rain fell from the sky.

Whoever it was wasn't deterred by her and continued moving towards her through the bushes. She had expected it to be the hermit, here to offer some sort of sage-like advice that would somehow solve all of her problems. But she doubted that anything she or anyone else could say would ease the rage and pain she felt. "I said, 'Go awa-'," Rai gasped in shock as a large green eel hound emerged from the bushes, "H-Haku?" Rai cast her eyes to the ground, still wide in shock. Haku had found her. Were the others with him as well? She suddenly felt completely overwhelmed; she couldn't face them all, not now! Noticing her distress, Haku moved to comfort her, but instead found himself on the receiving end of her unfocused rage. She pulled away from his attempted comforting gesture, growling at Haku to leave her alone. Haku, ever the loyal and stubborn companion, pushed to try and get her to talk, gently nudging her shoulder with his snout. But when his scaly skin touches her, she shouts at him again. Haku jerked back as Rai stood up and unleashed her bottled up rage towards him, shouting at him to leave her alone and that he couldn't do anything to help her. At the end of her rant, she ran off, leaving a stunned Haku behind. As she ran from Haku, from everything she wasn't ready to face, Rai slipped on the mud and landed on her side in the dirt, the thick, wet mud clinging to her clothes, skin and even some of her hair. Now more than ever, she felt so utterly alone and pathetic. She felt broken. She turned, hoping to find Haku standing right there, but was saddened to see that he was not. She cursed herself under her breath for now chasing away the one who had always been there for her.

The pain and heartache was all too much for her to bear all at once as she pushed herself up to her knees in despair. The rain continued falling around her, drenching her clothes and hair as lightning flashed in the sky. She cried out and screamed in pain, feeling like she was being shot in the chest over and over again. She clutched her chest as she cried out once more, tears slipping from her eyes and falling to the ground with the rain. Her life flashed before her eyes, her life of misery and suffering, of pain, but for a brief moment before all of that, a life of happiness and joy: her parents and her little brother. She still had so much to do, so many names to cross from her list, but now she felt so defeated. Every time she tried to remember the face of the one who shot her, her head and chest would hurt, like her mind was refusing to let her remember. It had practically forced its way into her mind earlier, but why wasn't it coming to her now? Now that she wanted to remember it, her mind just wasn't letting her! She tried again this time, concentrating as hard as she could as the archer's face became clear in her mind for a split second. Rai gasped in horror, unable to accept what she saw. "No, it can't be!" she shouted, slamming her fist into the muddy ground. It couldn't possibly be him, not like this! He can't be one of them! After so long of feeling so little, she was utterly overwhelmed by suddenly feeling all too much all at once. She couldn't take it. Rai metalbent one of her bracers into a long smooth blade and held it up to her face. She had always intended this to be the end. Even with her vendetta unfulfilled, all she wanted now more than anything was to forget: forget her past, forget Goro, forget all the pain. She just wanted it all to stop. It would be better this way, she reasoned, to remember him the way he was rather than what he had become. Slowly, she brought the cold metal blade to her neck and rested it against her flesh as her breathing trembled.

"Stop," Rai heard a voice whisper. Instantly, she pulled the blade away and saw none other than Korra standing before her completely dry and unaffected by the rain. "This isn't the answer, Rai."

"Why not? I have the right, don't I?"

"But consider how it will make your friends feel. They wouldn't want you to do this to yourself," Korra said gently.

"They deserve someone better than me. They'll be better off without me," Rai whispered. "All I've ever done is fail. Do you have any idea what it feels like to realize you could have saved someone you loved? That you had the power to do it but found out too late?" Korra stood in silence, allowing Rai to continue. "I could have saved her," she cried as tears began streaming down her face, "if only I had known what I was, what I could do. Kala would still be here. Everything would be different…"

"You mean Arata would not be," Korra began, but Rai suddenly cut her off.

"NO!" she cried, falling to her knees once more as she clutched her head in her hands. "No, no, no," she quickly whimpered over and over again.

Korra sighed and walked over to Rai. "Your mind cannot accept what he has become, so much that it tried to block the memory from you to protect you. Accept the truth. Accept what has happened," Korra said, suddenly becoming stern and firm in her tone. She waved her hand and Rai found herself back on the cliff. In front of her, she saw herself, eyes wide in shock and fear as an arrow struck her in the chest. Rai instantly clutched her chest in response, feeling like she was experiencing the pain all over again and watched as a second arrow struck her other self, who fell into the river below. She heard footsteps and watched as the boy with the bow stepped over to where her other self had stood just recently. When he turned his face, she gasped and stepped back, undoubtedly recognizing the face of her little brother. The vision around her disappeared and Rai was back in the raining forest.

"No… he can't, he can't be one of them. He just can't," she cried with teary eyes.

"I'm afraid he is. The one you loved so much has become the thing you hate the most," Korra said, walking over to Rai. "It is a paradox that you are unwilling to accept, but you must if you are to push forward and survive."

"If… If I had known, I could have saved him. I could have stopped this."

"Many things are often beyond our reach of control. You cannot change the past. Accept what has happened to you, to him. You do not have to kill yourself to keep yourself from feeling pain."

"Then what can I do?" For the first time in her life, Rai genuinely wanted Korra's help as she sat there on her knees begging like a crying child desperate for guidance. "Please."

"Embrace your future," Korra encouraged her. "Your happiness lies in the friends that stand by you. There comes a time when we must choose what is right and what is easy."

Without so much as a farewell, Korra vanished from sight as the rain slowly let up. The clouds parted, allowing the shining sunlight to peek through. She felt the warmth of the sun's rays instantly strike her exposed skin and warm her, realizing that she had been in the forest all night. She looked down at the metal blade over her arm and bent it back into place, sheathing it. No matter how much she wanted to, she couldn't go back and change anything that happened. Every time she imagined her brother, it hurt so much to realize what he had become in her absence, how different he might be had they still been together. She stared out at the horizon with narrowed eyes, suddenly renewed with vigor. She wasn't done yet. She had to know. She had to know what happened to make him this way. She could still save him. "I'm not done," she exhaled shakily. She tightly gripped her fist, showing her resolve. She had come so close to breaking, to giving in, but she wouldn't give Goro or any of the rest of them the satisfaction of knowing they had won, knowing they had broken her.

She heard the sound of soft footsteps on the moist soil and turned to see Haku standing there. "Haku," she sighed in relief that she hadn't completely scared him away and smiled. The eel hound made its way to her, eyes full of concern, as he nudged her with his head. She noticed his caution and quickly stepped forward, wrapping her arms around his head. "Oh Haku, I'm so sorry. Please forgive me," she whispered, gently crying into his scaly skin. Haku sighed and when he pulled away, he gently brushed her long blonde bangs out of her eyes with his nostrils. Rai smiled and rested her forehead against Haku's. "Thank you," she whispered. In response, Haku wrapped his neck around Rai, bringing her body closer to his in a comforting hug. Even though he couldn't say it, Rai knew that he would always be there for her.

After cleaning the mud off her, she climbed onto Haku's saddle, comforted by the familiar feeling it gave her, and rode back to the hermit's shack. Inside, she retrieved her clothes, putting them on as she faced the mirror while Haku peered in from the window. There was just one more thing she needed to do. She pulled out her green hair tie and reached up to her head, gathering her hair - with the exception of the two long strands on either side of her face - and tied her blonde locks together at the top of her head. The hermit wasn't home and judging by the absence of his cart, he must have been in town.

"Got one more stop to make, buddy." With that, she rode Haku into the town and arrived at the hermit's fish booth, only to see him being accosted by the same thug she had fought yesterday. This time he was accompanied by two more.

"I know you're the one who threw the fish at me the other day! Nobody else here sells fish!"

"Feh, anyone could have thrown that fish. You said it yourself! I sell fish; I have lots of customers every day! Or maybe the fish learned to fly!" the hermit argued.

"Right into my face?"

"Of course! You can't assume a fish knows how to fly; they're bound to crash into things on their first go."

Rai jumped off Haku's saddle and narrowed her eyes angrily at the sight before her. She stomped her heel into the ground, raising a pillar of earth up from between the thug's legs and striking him in the crotch. He squealed and released his grip of the hermit, quickly clutching his groin in pain as the earth pillar subsided back into the ground.

Upon spotting her, one of his pals pointed and shouted at her, "Hey!"

"You again?" the leader cried, recovering from the strike and standing up straight. "Guess you didn't learn your lesson."

"Oh, I learned what I needed to learn. Now it's your turn," she replied, taking a combat ready stance. The leader gestured with a nod for his two allies to advance on her. One wielded a sword while the other held a meteor hammer. Rai exchanged glances with the two, keeping her eye on that swinging meteor hammer, but also watching out for the other one in case he tried to surprise her. As she expected, the one with the sword charged first, swinging his blade at her. Rai took a step back to avoid each swing before grabbing his wrist as he lunged with his sword and twisting his arm around his back, forcing him to let go of the sword. She heard a loud whoosh and looked up in time to see the meteor hammer flying her way. She kicked the thug she held to the ground and raised her hand, catching the meteor hammer in her palm, avoiding the row of spikes that ran around it. She seized the chain in her other hand and pulled the other thug towards her. She jumped and delivered a swift kick to his jaw, sending him to the ground. As she turned her attention back at the leader, she saw that he had once again drawn an arrow at her. But this time, she was ready. When he released the bowstring, Rai metalbent one of her blades out and brought it up to the arrow just as it neared her, knocking the arrow up over her and landing in the ground behind her. The thug gasped in shock at her effortless deflection and quickly drew another arrow as Rai advanced on him, eyes narrowed in determination. He fired again, which Rai simply knocked away again. Three, four, five arrows and none of them hit their mark. He quickly reached for a sixth arrow just as Rai reached him. She pulled the bow from his hand and snapped it over her knee before hitting him in the chest with three angled pillars from the ground.

"I suggest you make yourself scarce," she said with a vicious glare. Picking himself off the ground, he dashed off. Rai turned to the old hermit and helped him to his feet.

"Well, you certainly look different," he remarked. "Better than when I first found you, that is."

"I feel better," she replied.

"So you sorted through everything you needed to sort through?"

"Yes, I-" Rai began, but the old man held up his hand to silence her.

"Nope, don't need to hear it. You're all better now and that's all that matters. I don't need to know the details. You and your friend gonna be on your way?" he asked, noticing Haku.

"Yes, thank you for everything," she said sincerely.

"Oh, now go on and get outta here before you make an old man like me blush. I'm sure a youngin' like you has places to be and people to get back to."

Haku lowered himself to allow Rai to climb onto his saddle. "You ready to go?" she asked her faithful companion as she sat atop his saddle. Haku nodded in response and dashed off as the man watched the pair disappear out of the town.

I suppose it's pretty obvious that I drew some influence from the Zuko and Korra Alone episodes. But I also drew some influence from Parasyte (awesome manga that recently got made in an anime finally. Seriously it's awesome, go watch it). There's a part where after the main protagonist suffers a terrible defeat and loses his partner and recuperates with an old woman.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I sure as hell enjoyed writing it and boy are my fingers sore!