Hello everyone!
It has been a long time since I have updated this, and I apologize; the last year and a half of my life has gotten away from me as I completed my thesis degree. I am moving onto my PhD now and expect some tough work ahead of me. But! During this summer, I have been working on this piece and writing new chapters because I love you and I love this story. I haven't finished writing this installment yet, but I still wanted to give you an update. Many of you have moved on from the Elements series while others have stuck around, patiently waiting for more. And to that, I would like to say "thank-you". Thank-you for your support and love over the years, even if you are no longer in the fandom or just getting into Legend of Korra. Not a day goes by where I don't think of you and don't feel grateful for each and every one of you.
I wanted to post today for two reasons: to celebrate my 25th birthday and to celebrate the international release of the Legend of Korra comics. As such, I am giving away five copies of the comics for free to my lovely readers! All you have to do is follow lok-elements on Tumblr. And yes, that is exactly what it sounds like: a Tumblr just for this fic series! It is still in development as well, and I hope to add more over time, but all of the previous fic chapters are there with one-sentence summaries and links to the AO3 and versions for you to enjoy. It will also feature art, bios on the characters, and much more to come! I will collect the names of the people who follow the page after this post and do a raffle of the comics on August 9th, 2017 at 10:00 PM EST. If you win, I will contact you!
Moving forward, to help ease into this chapter, I wanted to give you all a little "previously on" to highlight some of the major events that happened in History Part I and Part II. Feel free to reread some chapters if you want as well!
Previously on Elements:
Asami, Tonraq, Senna, and Naga searched Republic City for Korra after Korra went missing. They found a letter threatening her from a man named Kuru who was previously violent against Korra and Asami. It was Korra's defense of Asami from Kuru's assault that resulted in Korra Fire Bending for the first time after spending her entire life not being able to Bend any element, despite her Water Bending parents. Asami finds evidence of foul play between Kuru and their chemistry professor, Sentai, who has caused nothing but trouble for Korra and Asami. She submits the evidence to the dean of the college, Dr. Suri, before returning to Republic City to search for Korra.
Eventually, they are successful in their hunt and find Korra on the outskirts of Future Industries. There, they are attacked by a group of the Strikers lead by Sentai himself. They are able to flee to the Sato Mansion where Asami learns that her father might be involved in making weapons for the Strikers. They leave the Mansion and head to the Southern Water Tribe on a boat they stole from Future Industries.
Once there, Korra and Asami start to settle and confess their love for each other. The next day, the Strikers attack in an attempt to retrieve Asami and return her to Republic City on the secret orders of Hiroshi Sato covered by a reward for several thousand yuans for Asami's return that was plastered around the city. A confrontation ensues where Sentai reveals his past involvement with Katara and her family many years ago that resulted in the harm of a pregnant Suki. During the battle, Korra is forced to Fire Bend to save Asami and Katara from danger. This shocks the Southern Water Tribe, though no one is more upset than Tonraq. He argues with Senna about it later in the night and storms off, yelling that Korra is not his daughter. This upsets Korra deeply, and Asami and Naga console her into sleep.
During the night, Korra sleepwalks to the glacier where she confessed her love to Asami. The moon is full and the Winter Solstice has come. With the Spirit World close to the Physical World now more than ever, Korra is taken to the Spirit World where she learns more about her birth and the death of the Avatar that occurred not too far away at the same time. It is then that Korra learns she was premature and underdeveloped at birth, and suffered a seizure and blood clots in her brain during the delivery. When she returns, Katara tests her with an old Avatar relic and reveals, upon Korra's correct answer, that her suspicions were correct: Korra was the Avatar after all. Korra goes into shock as the pieces fall into place. Three men from the White Lotus want to take Korra away to the compound to train, but Korra refuses. They attack her later that night, with their Fire Bending leader Piku claiming he is not a member of the White Lotus. He strikes Korra with lightning, which she manages to redirect, but the force of the energy and damage she endured renders her unconscious.
Again, thank-you for your time, comments, and love!
(-)
Chapter 2
As far as she could see, she had two options: allow the dark to consume her or find some source of light to guide the way.
The situation
She wasn't quite swimming in a sea of darkness. No, her limbs weren't moving around through blackened waters as they had through the Mo Ce Sea. This was more like a drift, as if she were laying in a calm lake, floating on her back in a perpetually silent neck of the woods.
Silent. Abandoned. Peaceful.
Yes.
It was what she needed after all this torture. Some peace… and… quiet…
She sighed in content, coming to the conclusion that she would be happy in this state of absentness for quite some time.
It was when the minutes turned into hours and the hours felt like years that she began to grow frantic. The silence became deafening. No longer did she find comfort in the darkness that was swallowing her. What she believed to be a mindless drift turned into an act of suffocation. Her senses weren't heightened from the black as one would expect. If anything, she felt as if they were on fire.
Except for taste. For some reason, the only thing she could taste was dryness, like her tongue hadn't touched water in ages.
And a slight bit of metallic, the oh-too familiar flavor of what she later recognized to be blood.
This was enough to startle her. She tried to sit up, but it was of no use. Her body ached, a thin layer of sweat failing to keep her cool. Her nose took in a mixture of smells; burnt flesh, arctic air, sea water, a small fire. Her ears were ringing with nothing but the perpetuating silence. Her eyes, as frantic as they were, took in all that was around her.
All of which was that damned darkness.
She had enough. She wasn't going to drift in this wretched lake anymore. She wanted to know more. She wanted to see the animals swimming underneath her, the clouds of the blue sky above her, the sun radiating onto her skin to keep her warm and give her strength.
She wanted to move; she was sick of the stagnation.
But when she sent the signal from her brain to move her arm above her head, nothing happened. She focused on her toes, but they wouldn't curl. Her attention was spread to her vocal chords, but they just wouldn't vibrate with the voice she had known to be her own.
So she did the only thing she knew how to do in this situation: she thought.
While it might have seemed like a simple route to take, it was not always that easy. Her mind was a discombobulated mixture of images that she couldn't see.
But she could feel them. And she didn't like what she felt.
There was sorrow in her heart. Swarms of rage infected her. Pain coursed through her, sending a shock to her brain. But for her, it wasn't unfamiliar in the slightest.
And she decided she wanted it to end.
No more, the first thought panged. No more.
The words were split between a plea and a command. Half of her was the former while the other was the latter.
As far as she could see, she had two options: allow the dark to consume her or find some source of light to guide the way.
While she didn't quite know where the way was or where it would take her or how to get there, it seemed a hell of a lot better than drifting along in this perpetual silence. She came to the conclusion, at that moment, that there really is such a thing as "too much of a good thing", because even the greatest of things can start to drive you mad at some point.
Except, maybe…
There was a small spark in her. It wasn't so much a light as it was a feeling. The colors of the images started to break from the darkness and into her mind.
She saw a flick of familiar green. That was all that was granted to her.
It was then that she knew what she wanted to do. While it was a wonderful sentiment to float around having no responsibility, no problems, no pain or torment to haunt her into submission until the end of her time, it just wasn't enough. It didn't bring her the same type of happiness and joy as the other things did. She was content, for sure, and peaceful at last, but it just wasn't enough. She wanted that overwhelming pleasure that would exude from her pores whenever something wonderful happened.
And she decided that, even if the highs meant facing the many, many lows that seemed to stalk her like a rabaroo to a cabbage cart, it was well worth it.
Because she was meant for greater things. Because she wanted to make a difference.
Another spark flicked in her. This one caught. The heat had grabbed onto something inside of her and lit it afire. She looked down and saw a small, white flame in her core. It waved to her, as if the little flame was blowing in a tumultuous wind.
She wrapped her metaphoric hands around it, protecting it from the gales. Feeling started to return to her body. Her lungs became apparent to her again. She took a deep breath and the flame grew larger. Another inhale and her nerves in her toes kicked in. It spread to each of her limbs, projecting both life and pain into her mind.
She could tell that her body was damaged, but the aches weren't going to stop her.
She filled her lungs and spread her arms a few inches, giving room for the bright light to expand. It morphed from a flickering flame to a swirling beam that rapidly circled and turned inside of her, the pattern never constant. Several other sources of light began to fade into her sight, all of which depicting different flows inside of her.
There were eddies and storms and whirlpools and squalls. They were familiar to her, whether she wanted them to be or not.
It was the intense buzzing that really got her attention. It radiated from her core, making her little tempests seem like simple breezes. It made her bones shake and her ears vibrate from the frequency. A voice called out to her, one that was all too recognizable after everything she had been through.
Korra.
This time, she wasn't afraid. She wasn't angry. She wasn't curious. The only thing she radiated was a strong sense of determination.
She found her vocal chords. It was time. "I'm ready," she spoke with a resolute voice, her decision to leave the maddening comfort of the darkness true in her heart.
The white energy filled her from head to toe. In a blinding flash of light, she dropped from her drifting state and slammed into herself.
And the second she did, part of her wished she hadn't.
Her nerves burned with pain. Her muscles were stiff. Her back ached and her head swirled. Sounds of pounding and slamming and muffled screaming floated into her ears. It wasn't until she recognized the voice that she finally came into herself.
That flint of green she had seen revealed itself, and the image matched the human-made noises.
Korra's eyes shot open in a panic. The darkened walls around her were shifting in their visibility from the flickering fire beside her. She forced herself to sit up, though her core and limbs pained to do so. It took her several tries, but after the fifth, she managed to do it. The blanket covering her torso fell into her lap, prompting her peripherals to pick up on the white bandages on her torso. She glanced down and saw two pairs of wraps; one was her normal coverings for her breasts while the other was more like gauze, hiding a wound she couldn't see just below the edge of her bindings.
But she felt it. Spirits did she feel it.
The buzzing in her core would not cease. She closed her eyes and massaged her temple, noting her wolf tails were missing. Before she could even ask herself what happened, her memories played it out in a quick flash.
A quick flash of lightning.
Korra gasped and pushed herself back, her lids separating from the image. She had been shot by lightning, but not that of the natural sort; it was man-made, and it was from a Fire Bender with a motive to kill her.
He – he almost killed me. I almost died.
She felt her face with frantic hands.
"It didn't work," she whispered, finding her real vocal chords for the first time since she was awake. Her voice was rough and her throat was dry. The metallic taste was still in her mouth, the perception from her floating darkness an actual translation from her physical state. With another touch of her lashes, she saw herself catching the lightning from Piku in her hands, felt it radiate and sting her core.
He wanted me dead. I didn't even know him and he wanted me dead.
How is that different than Kuru or Sentai?
Because he – he wanted to kill me just because I'm the –
Korra gulped. Her heart twisted in her chest as it sped up. Her head felt light though her limbs were heavy. Sweat continued to form on her skin. She blinked and saw the lightning once more, coming as fast at her as her blink had been.
Fucking hell, she grimaced. She closed her eyes and the image replayed.
Korra twitched inward and put her palms on her covered injury, right over the spot where she was struck. She didn't open her eyes though. She let the memory proceed, observing in awe as she redirected the attack to five other people at once, the lightning flowing freely from each of her fingertips. Her hand moved to Piku and she struck him down as well, the last of her energy draining from her.
If I had been one second off, one inch… I don't think I would have lived…
This brought a chill to her bones. Honestly, it terrified her. The energy inside of her flared up. She tried to inhale but the air wouldn't enter. She could feel her eyes water.
I almost died. Like, actually died. This wasn't just me getting sick or beat up by some thugs or criminals. I could have been gone. Gone gone. In the blink of an eye.
Was I gone? Another side chimed in. Was that darkness…
No, you weren't dead, a different voice called, and you're not gone now. You survived.
Korra tightened her arms against her stinging abdomen. The scene replayed once more, the lightning surging towards her and her hands catching the blast. She could see Piku's eyes, the dark look of destruction and death in those pupils.
Her destruction. Her death. For no other reason than her title, it seemed.
Korra bit her lip. Her heart pounded. A part of her deep down didn't want to utter those two words.
The lightning burned through her as it replayed, and her abdomen throbbed as if on cue. Korra gritted her teeth and watched once more as she managed to redirect the lightning.
But it wasn't the collapse onto her knees or the buzzing and electricity beaming off her rattled center that forced her lids apart. Rather, it was the sight of the woman rushing towards her, the woman she loved, the woman whose green eyes had come to her in the darkness and whose voice had gotten her attention as she returned.
The woman who was currently making the same muffled noises above her, which were followed by several thuds and groans.
"Asami!" Korra jumped up, regretting the decision the instant her toes hit the cold wooden floor. She collapsed onto the boards in a painful crash, convinced she acquired some new scrapes, bruises, and maybe even a cut or two from the impact.
She didn't care.
Korra growled her way to her feet, her right hand on her torso wound as she meandered at a sloppy pace through the door. It took everything in her to stay on her feet. The ship was starting to look familiar to her, but she had no time to stand around and examine the pieces. She passed the empty helm and crawled up the steps to the deck. She halted at the top, surprised at what she saw.
There were several people surrounding Asami, all with various looking wardrobes – most of which consisted of flowing torso garments and black pants. Some of them were adorned with long earrings while others had hats. Their weaponry contained whips and small explosives and swords of all sorts.
Asami was fending them off in the close range, redirecting their attacks at break neck speed.
Kya was to her left, using her Water Bending to switch between the offensive for the people on the deck and the defensive for the boat that tried to shoot cannon balls at their ship.
Naga was nearby, attempting to chase down some sort of iguana parrot that had dared to try and peck her eyes.
Korra brought her attention back to Asami, completely perplexed as to what was happening. She had no idea when they had gotten on a ship or where they were or who these people were as she leaned on the entryway beside her. She narrowed her eyes and gritted her teeth when one of the whips wrapped around Asami's wrist, forcing her to stop her attack and yelp in pain from the recoil. It was when the man with the sword ran towards her that Korra sprang into action.
She knew she was too far away and too sore to catch up to the man before he reached Asami. Korra took a look at her as she inhaled, focusing the best she could on the chi inside of her aching body. She didn't need a large portion of her fluctuating energy; she just needed enough for a little fire, just enough to distract them.
Please let this work.
She directed the chi from her stomach up into her left arm, which was poised and ready for her to punch the air. With a tightening of her core, a deep exhale, and a rather strong – but expected – pain in her skull, she extended her arm and forced the energy out of her knuckles.
A very tiny stream of fire flowed from her and raced over to the charging swordsman. It intercepted his path and set the whip on fire, forcing the rope that held Asami back to slowly disintegrate into ashes.
It worked. It actually worked.
They all turned to Korra, faces in shock – though the most surprise came from the woman she had just saved. None of them were expecting a third person to enter this fight, let alone a Fire Bending person.
Korra staggered in the entryway a bit frozen from disbelief herself, though the tiny grin on her lips and the mischievous look in her eyes showed otherwise.
That all faded when half of the men ran towards her after the attacker with the sword yelled "get her".
Shit!
Korra spun around and booked it, knowing she was in no shape to fend them all off. She didn't even know who they were; if anything, she just wanted to distract them from Asami.
Mission accomplished there.
She missed a stair in her panic and tumbled down the rest of the flight, cursing as she did so. Her limbs were just not ready for this physical endeavor after being sore and inactive for Spirits know how long. Korra pushed herself to her feet and scurried along, their voices loud in her ears. Adrenaline fueled her, overpowering the absolute torment she felt when she moved her legs even an inch. She sprinted to her door and slammed it shut, spinning the lock as fast as she could. The banging of metal-on-metal echoed through the room. She backed away to the other side, her peripherals taking in her surroundings. There was no way out from here. The ship felt like it was shaking, just as she was. The fire caught her eye and she shifted into an offensive stance. If she had to fight, then she was going to make the most of it. She focused on her chi again, trying her best not to pull from the growing flames of rage inside of her. While this method was more painful for her, she would much rather try to pull from her sun and her chi than her anger; the former always produced stronger blazes, and the more she did it, the less of an effect it seemed to have on her. It was the proper way to Bend, the method she had been trying to ingrain in her head since her trip to the Fire Nation –
Korra, would you shut up and just focus! You can reminisce and think about this later. Just focus on your damn chi and stop making things so wordy!
She nodded and took a step forward, her fists up at her face and ready. Her shoulders and back burned but she fought to ignore it. She tried to take hold of a small piece of chi, a tiny stream that induced a pain that she could handle. Her shoulders tensed from the attempt and her subsequent failure. She gritted her teeth as the minor ache in her mind began to pulse into a stronger shock.
Come on, you worked a second ago!
She tried again, but couldn't get the energy under her control.
Korra scowled.
I only need a little bit…
The sounds of the men outside colliding with each other and the door filled her ears, pulling her away from her third attempt. The men bounced off one another and fell to the floor, groaning as they did so.
What the –
Korra straightened just a bit and watched on with confused eyes as water slid under the crack of her door and into her room. Some of it receded from the pool that had formed, the sounds of the battered attackers fading at the same time. Light footsteps forced the floor boards to creak. A pound on the door reverberated off the walls of her room.
"Korra?" The voice was muffled, but recognizable.
"Asami?" She approached the door, waiting for a response.
"Yes, it's me. You're safe now; Kya cleared the last of them."
Well, that explains the water.
Korra forced the spinning lock open, her core aching as she did so. Once it clicked, she pulled the door open and held her injured side with her free hand.
She almost fell over from the force of Asami's hug.
"You're okay. You're alive," she whispered, a handful of dark brown hair tight in her grip.
Korra melted into her, her tumultuous insides easing just a bit.
Asami departed and put a gloved hand on each side of Korra's face. She flicked between the oceans before her with worried peridots. "How are you feeling?"
"Like my legs are going to give out the second you let me go."
A mixture of emotions spread across her face. "Here, lay down. You need to rest. Your body has been through a lot." She slid her arms under Korra's and guided her to the bed.
"Are you okay, Asami? Did they hurt you?" It was her only concern as Asami forced her to lie down.
"No, no, I'm fine. You really helped me back there. Thank-you." She gave her a genuine smile and sat on the edge of the mattress. She tucked the blanket around Korra's shoulders and slid her hand up to Korra's face. Her fingers meandered over to a loose brown lock and caressed it off Korra's scarred cheek.
Their eyes locked. Her heart raced, though her exterior was calm and collected. Fortunate for her, her vocal chords were also in check this time around. "What happened, Asami? Who were those people?"
"Pirates, believe it or not."
"Pirates?"
She chuckled to the disbelief in Korra's voice. "Yes, pirates."
"What were they doing here?"
Asami sighed and looked away. "They were here for me."
"For you? Why?"
"For the same reasons the Strikers were." She turned back to Korra, intensity burning in her eyes. "They wanted the reward for my 'safe' return to my father. They had the notice and everything…"
"So, it's true; he did put out a reward for you."
She nodded and dropped her sight.
Korra, on the other hand, was furious. "You're not something that can just be bought and sold like a lost pet. This is ridiculous. Well, I won't just let someone come and take you away for some yuans," she motioned to sit up but the pain in her core was too much. She plopped back onto the mattress with a grunt.
Asami met her eyes and held her shoulders. "Rest, Korra. Relax."
She shut her lids and took a breath, forcing the raging flames to recede a bit.
"Besides, I don't need you to do that for me; I intend on taking care of the situation myself."
Korra looked at Asami with a bit of shock at her dark, commanding tone. "What do you mean?"
She pushed herself to her feet and paced over to the fire. Asami placed her hand on the top of the mantel and stared at the flames below. "We're heading to Republic City right now for supplies. We've been out at sea for about two days, so we should be getting close. Once we get there, I'm going to do whatever it takes to put an end to this 'reward' before any more people get hurt." Asami clenched her jaw and closed her fist, images of the members of the Southern Water Tribe who were injured or dead floating to her mind. Her thoughts ended on Korra and everything that had happened to her from their conflict with the Strikers. Asami faltered a bit when she added "before you get hurt, again."
Because of me, she concluded, but to herself so that even Korra couldn't hear. Her resolution was strong when they left the Southern Water Tribe, her promise to Katara and even Korra fresh in her mind and her heart. But her time at sea sitting by Korra's injured, unconscious side had caused such drive to waver. The silence gave her too much time to think, and for someone like Asami Sato, too much time to think could be deadly during long, sleepless nights. She thought about what they had been through, what had got them to this point. She thought of Kuru and Sentai. She thought of the Strikers. She thought of her father and the Benders that attacked them and everything in between. And she began to wonder if keeping her promise would be the best thing she could do to keep Korra safe. Prior to the pirate attack just a few moments before, she had thought it was. Now, despite her previous statements of confidence, she was thinking otherwise. What if it wasn't the right option at all? What if Katara was wrong? What if her heart was wrong? She inhaled; this was too much for her now. So, she tried to hide it, not just for herself, but for Korra.
Korra was no fool, though. At least, not all the time; she could feel Asami's pain. Her stomach turned. She took a breath and shoved it down. "How – do you plan on doing that?" She spoke in a broken sentence, trying and failing to sit up again.
Asami turned back to the bed and crossed the room. "I'm going to meet up with my father and – talk to him. And let him know that I'm okay." She lost a bit more of her fire as guilt swam into her gut. She sat beside Korra on the bed and glanced at her gloved hands, which were fidgeting in her lap.
I should have told him sooner. Then this all could have been avoided. The Strikers wouldn't have attacked, Korra wouldn't have had to Fire Bend, and none of this would have happened… It's my fault.
Korra squirmed until she could reach Asami, hiding the grimace on her face. She wrapped her fingers around one of Asami's palms to get her attention.
Their eyes locked.
"It's going to be okay, Asami. Whatever is going to happen, well, it's going to be okay." She tightened her hold, wanting nothing more than to comfort the woman she loved. "Besides, I'm sure your dad will be happy to see you again after everything that has happened the past few days."
She looked away and nodded, wondering to herself if the sentiment was true in the reverse; she wasn't all that excited about returning to the City and seeing her father once more. There was still too much going on inside of her heart and inside of those streets for her to feel safe in the place she had called home. The only time she did feel secure since they left Republic City was when –
Asami brought her attention back to Korra, imagining her soothing arms around her. She shook the notion away inside; this was not the time for such things.
"Are you okay, Asami?"
"I'm fine," Asami blurted out, her natural response to the question. She didn't want to worry Korra about her emotions – not right now at least, and not until Asami could take a breath without fear creeping into her lungs.
Korra forced herself completely upright, continuing the motions even with Asami's protest. She wrapped her arms around Asami and pulled her into an embrace, knowing full well that Asami was not okay.
I wish there was more I could do.
"I want you to know that I'm here for you, if you ever want to talk," Korra pulled away and met the saddening peridots before her, "or anything."
Asami smiled and placed a hand on each side of Korra's face. "Likewise."
They grinned softly at each other, the world melting away from them.
The loud grumble from Korra's stomach destroyed the moment.
Asami chuckled and guided Korra back onto the mattress. "I'll get you some of the seal jerky Katara packed for you."
"Wait, where is Katara? I didn't see her on the deck. And my mom and dad."
"They aren't here. It's just Kya, Naga, and I."
Confusion crossed her face. "Why? Are they okay?"
She nodded. "They're fine. They stayed in the Southern Water Tribe to – address everything that's happened the past few days."
"So, they're not staying in Republic City with us?"
"Korra, you're not staying in Republic City at all."
She pushed herself up in shock. "What? What do you mean? Where am I going?"
"You're going to the Fire Nation."
(-)
Chapter 3: Investigation
And it didn't matter whether he liked it or not. Because this wasn't about his desires or his preferences or his urge to just bury this all away; this was about justice, justice that needed to be served.