Chapter 24 - Reunion

"I'm talking spirit tech, you've seriously not considered it when you live in a city full of spirit vines?" the dark haired woman across from Asami questioned incredulously. She looked to be in her late thirties with bright green eyes and black hair, not too dissimilar to her own. Asami could only hope this wasn't a reflection of herself in the not too distant future, tired and worn. This woman clearly hadn't had the easiest life thus far.

"Messing with the vines isn't a good idea. Even trying to shift them a few meters has resulted in considerable collateral damage," Asami grumbled as she waited her turn to take to the podium placed on a stage in the rear of the largest conference room in the Fire Nation palace. "Your nation has largely been spared the problems they cause. Trust me on this, it's not a venture you want to look into if you respect the health and safety of your employees."

"This isn't my nation," the business woman replied quietly. She'd given a pretty interesting speech a few minutes ago to the hundreds of industry representatives at the conference, explaining in great detail multiple new methods in creating power. Tidal power had been the most intriguing, since it only really required a few good waterbenders to manipulate it, unlike the dozens of lightning benders that were required to do the job electrically. Asami folded her arms, a clear indicator that this conversation was over.

Just when it seemed like the woman was about to leave and allow Asami to properly prepare her speech she took a step closer. "The papers here reported about you quite heavily after that incident in the Earth Republic a few years ago, the Sato family are still held with high regard in the Fire Nation, after all, it's where you all came from." Asami narrowed her eyes and began to wonder if this woman was actually some undercover reporter, in some seriously deep cover. "So hopefully you could clear this up for me. What actually happened to all those members of the Red Lotus? Those four master criminals. Did they really all die? Or are they just locked away? Being tortured as we speak by Izumi's government, if you're to believe all the whispers on the street."

"Who are you?" Asami questioned. This woman didn't seem like a threat, at least not physically. Still, Asami never kept her hands off the shock glove in her satchel.

"Let's just say I have a vested interest in one of the four," she replied softly before switching her volume to a whisper when a palace guard began to approach. "I'm not the press, I just want information." She subtly passed a card into Asami's free hand. "That's my company's head office number, call that if you want to speak to me." She took a small step backwards. "Perhaps if you help me, I may be able to significantly assist Future Industries in accessing the Fire Nation market you've been trying to hack your way in to for years."

The dark haired woman was out of Asami's sight in no time at all, disappearing into the crowd of business people gathered. Gone.

"Is everything okay Miss Sato?" the nearby guard asked.

"Fine," Asami replied far too harshly before softening her tone. "Thank you for your concern."

"No problem, mam," the guard nodded before gesturing with an armour covered arm. "I believe now is the time for you to give your presentation, if you'd please make your way onto the stage."

Korra never thought she'd adapt so quickly to this nation and its oppressive heat, but it only took a week or so before she was sleeping comfortably at night. She would've been fairly naive to think that was the only reason in improving her normally nightmare filled sleeps. Her constant shadow, Rei, hadn't been quite so full on lately. There were nights now where she wouldn't appear at all, and appearances in the day, hallucinations or whatever they were had become none existent.

It didn't stop Korra being on edge every living second. Worrying that this lack of intrusion of recent days was really a cover for something big and nasty heading her way in the not too distant future. If her life was anything to go by so far, periods of peace always ended far too quickly. The next challenge would come along soon enough, each harder to resolve than the next. The whole Rei thing…that was a new one. The last obstacle she'd expected was herself.

"Hey! Get up here, we've got customers to serve!" a rough and increasingly familiar voice commanded from a few meters away, at the vending table where the Avatar's current employer, and perhaps first employer, was slaving away on a hot grill, serving customers left and right. She didn't really think that Tarrlok's task force counted as employment, since she didn't exactly get paid for her services. Tenzin hadn't allowed it.

"Just a second," Korra grumbled from the shade of a nearby wall with a long stretch of her arms. She used her bandage wrapped forearms to wipe some sweat from her forehead before it irritated her eyes. There was no where near as much moisture as there had been when Korra had first arrived in the Fire Nation capital by boat, she'd gotten good at regulating her body temperature with bending fairly quickly. Unfortunately her boat hadn't dealt with this nation's climate so well, and had all but fallen a part on her journey here during some pretty vicious storms.

"I need some water, nice and cold, ice cold, and put some cucumber in there too," her gruff, but ultimately fair boss ordered. He was a water tribe citizen too, though from the north and not the south. He quite obviously possessed some biased for his fellow tribe people, having hired Korra fairly quickly when she'd needed money pretty badly. Illegal back street bending matches hadn't exactly gone her way. Especially now that she was restricted to only bending one element, her native one, in order to hide her identity.

"Sure thing," Korra replied as politely as possible. The last thing she needed was to lose this new job, now so close to earning the money she needed to buy passage to the Northern Water Tribe, and the closest spirit portal to her current location. Roku's silence had made her decide that was the next logical step.

Paying for cheap inns and food had quickly dwindled down whatever money her parents had given her when she'd left. Korra still sent them letters, but never left a return address, hoping that they would just assume she was in Republic City by now, since that's what her letters clearly stated over and over again. She hated lying to them, but she hated being a burden to them even more than that. A danger.

Korra quickly filled up a bunch of glasses using her bending, adjusting the temperature of the water with a quick flick of her hand to somewhere pretty close to freezing. She placed them gently beside the grill a few seconds later. "Seems to be a lot more dehydrated people than usual today," Korra commented distantly as she watched customers gulp down their drinks desperately before wandering off.

"There's a lot of different people from across the world in town for the weekend. Some big business conference thing over at the palace has brought a hordes of up their own ass types here, taking in the culture whenever there's a break," her boss replied with clear disdain. He didn't seem to have much time for the rich and mighty. She doubted he would have much time for the Avatar either if he knew.

No more words were spoken between either of them for most of Korra's remaining shift, except for fairly basic commands and questions. They were kept far too busy by customer after customer to have any conversations about their respective homes. Which was basically all they talked about otherwise since it was all they had in common.

"You still haven't told me where you got this ring from," Korra asked when the stall started to quieten down a little. She pulled the small piece of jewellery from her deep maroon parka. The ring had been so achingly familiar to her when she'd first laid eyes on it, sitting nonchalantly on a chain her boss's brother wore the few times he'd visited for some cheap water tribe food.

She couldn't pinpoint why she recognised it, a part of her wondering if Zaheer's torture had left her with more permanent memory loss than she was aware of, though she knew deep down she'd seen it before. Once or twice. Something in her gut had compelled Korra to buy it, with what little money she'd had left. It was logically a pretty stupid decision, only increasing the time that it would take until she could buy passage to the north. But Korra tended to listen to her gut a lot more than logic. That was Asami's thing, and Mako's, to a lesser extent.

"I told you to stop asking," her boss muttered as he started to count his takings for the day. It looked like a considerable amount. Probably enough to buy the ticket she needed. Korra tried her best not to eye it up, knowing that stealing it would likely end up with herself in Fire Nation jail or revealing her identity as the Avatar when she tried to escape with the money. Her boss was almost twice her height and could probably smack her pretty hard.

"You think I'm going to sell you out to the police or something? I'm pretty sure your family didn't get a hold of it legally. The way you tense up when I ask about it is a bit of a hint," Korra explained with narrowed brows. "You're my boss. You going to jail means no more money for me."

The huge water tribe man huffed at that. "I guess so. But first you've got to tell me what your real name is. I don't have a problem employing a criminal, just making sure you ain't no murderer." He jabbed her arm firmly at that. "Every time I call you Katara you tremble. What have you got to hide girl?"

Damn it. She'd been so sure that using the name Katara was a good cover. It was easily the most common name given to girl's in the Southern Water Tribe. Korra shrugged lightly. "Petty crime, a bit of participation in some illegal bending matches, nothing crazy. Just things to get by."

Her boss seemed to buy that one pretty quickly. "I can see why you quit that game, going by those scars you can't have been very good. The most danger you'll run into in this job is burning your finger."

Korra scratched the back of her head awkwardly. "Yup. Always getting my butt whooped. That's me. Bending some glasses of water is basically my best move." She followed that up with a rather comical swipe of her hand.

The man chuckled loudly at that before smacking her on the back of the shoulder a little too hard. "That ring came from some Earth Kingdom brat when my brother used to trade there. Used to sell water tribe gear actually, to some of the worst scum you'll ever meet. That trade stop ain't in operation now, doubt many of the scum that bought stuff there are either."

Korra raised a brow at that, wanting to correct him on his use of the word Kingdom instead of Republic, before suddenly noting how low the sun was getting in the sky. It'd almost dropped behind the huge palace belonging to Firelord Izumi in the distance, casting the whole city in a unique, orange glow. Avatar Roku's main temple would be shutting up for the day soon.

"Could I bunk off a little earlier?" Korra asked as she gestured to the complete lack of customers in front of them.

"I guess so...but you better make up for it tomorrow," her boss conceded with a sigh.

"Will do," Korra replied in a rush, quickly tightening her long braid and boots before hopping over the grill and making her way over to the main road of the city at speed. It was stupidly busy at this time of day with people returning home from work or going out for the evening.

It was still a little odd being in a city with so little Sato mobiles when they were basically everywhere in Republic City. Some company called POW seemed to dominate the motoring landscape here. Almost 90% of the cars here belonged to them, and Korra had to say, they looked just about as sturdy as any Sato mobile, and were maybe even a little faster. Something she'd learned pretty quickly when she first arrived here after nearly being ran over on several occasions.

"Excuse me," Korra apologized as she dodged around a few exhausted looking tourists dressed in Earth Republic finery.

Visiting Roku's temple was almost a daily routine for the Avatar, though each trip had ended up rather fruitless. The Avatar State still hadn't returned, entering the Spirit World through meditation was like hitting her head off a wall, and worst of all, Roku didn't speak out to her. None of them did. All her past lives were still silent.

But there was an undeniable comfort in visiting the temple too. It stirred something deep inside her that she used to feel every time she saw Aang's statue in the middle of the bay. She was the Avatar, and not by some random occurrence either, some kind of weird water bending baby lottery. Raava had chosen her to maintain balance in the world. Some thousand year old spirit had put her faith in Korra. That had to be for something.

It didn't take her long to get down the main road and into one of its many side streets, where the smell of Fire Nation cuisine was at it's most palpable. Streets like this were where Korra was recruited into one of those illegal bending rings in the first place, but she'd needed that money, the little she'd got helped to pay for terrible food.

She wondered if Lord Zuko and Izumi were aware of the many gangs that operated in their capital city, or had basically ignored them like President Raiko did. A problem that they couldn't stop because of how deep it ran. How easily people could become involved in that lifestyle. Korra thought of Mako then, and started to feel a bit of empathy on how much he and Bolin must have suffered when they were younger.

There really isn't anything worse than not being able to afford to eat.

"You sure about that?" a malicious voice called from the red temple steps nearby, leading up to a large statue of a younger Avatar Roku.

Rei sat cross legged on top of the bottom step, head leaning against one of her hands. "Did you miss me, buddy?"

Korra took a step to the side, her hands trembling in fear and frustration. Suddenly she remembered how frightening her other self could be, with those haunting white eyes that seemed to turn all of her nerve endings to ice. It was definitely worse when she appeared in the physical world.

"Trying to go into the temple are we?" Rei grinned. "The old man's not home. Hasn't been for ages. It's a shame really. You both have so much in common. Running away from your responsibilities of maintaining peace and balance," the figure mocked in an overly grand tone. "He took so long to act against his friend, and by the time he grew a backbone it was already too late. The world suffered for 100 years because of his indecisiveness."

"It's your fault I can't," Korra replied with increasing distress. "If you would just leave me alone then I'd be okay! I was getting on fine until you showed up!"

"You know that's physically impossible, dear Korra." Rei took a few steps towards her, the red tail of her red lotus cloak rippling in the breeze. "We are one in the same." There was a certain madness to Rei's smile that made Korra's hair stand on end. She seemed even more unhinged than usual, and her hands were positioned in such a way that she looked ready to start bending.

Was she going to attack her?

That would be a first. Korra stared at her reflection intensely, trying to read her every move. Her heart stopped when she realized that Rei's clothes were being effected by the wind in the air. Like she was a part of the physical world, just as much as Korra. That was another first.

"Back off," Korra called in warning. If that thing was more than a hallucination, if it could really be effected by the real world, then it would be reasonable to assume that Rei could do the same in return. Actually hurt innocent people. I have to get away from the city. Go somewhere no one else is around.

"You look like a frightened catdeer," Rei stated as she increased her speed.

Korra didn't let her get any closer, sending a gust of air surging from her palm directly into her reflection. She didn't wait around to see if it had hit the mark, turning away and sprinting with everything she had, and using yet more airbending to increase her speed. If Rei had access to the Avatar State, and judging by those white glowing eyes, she probably did, she'd catch up with Korra in no time.

"Watch it!" a man carrying newspapers warned as Korra surged past him and out of the narrow side streets, back into the main road.

Car horns hooted at her from every direction as Korra used a quick current of air to jump over one particularly high roofed vehicle. It seemed like all of the pedestrians walking nearby had their eyes glued to Korra as she moved, for obvious reasons. She was airbending, and even with the recent resurgence of the Air Nation, it was still a pretty rare sight. Especially in the Fire Nation.

She reached the other side of the bustling main road with a few more well timed gusts of air, a chorus of car horns blaring out behind her as she landed safely away from the traffic. The street ahead of her eventually led to the sea, and right now, Korra was desperate enough to bend a platform of ice and float out into the middle of the ocean if that kept Rei away from other people.

All of those grand plans of safety were cut short a moment later when Korra heard what sounded like a huge truck's horn roar behind her, followed by the sound of breaks screeching furiously, but not stopping. Some poor civilian was going to get themselves ran over because of the chaos she'd just caused on the road.

Decisive. She had to be decisive. Not like Roku.

With a swift flick of both her arms Korra sent herself shooting backwards with jets of fire in the direction of the skidding truck. Her bending was definitely not as smooth as it had been in the past, switching to another element took more time than usual. As soon as Korra felt her feet touch the ground, she shoved the person in danger to the side. The truck was no more than a meter away now, so close that Korra could see the panic in the driver's face.

The Avatar raised a wall of earth as a shield using whatever she could from the road's surface. It was a pretty thin and shoddy wall that certainly wouldn't survive the impact of the truck, but would at least slow it significantly. Korra gritted her teeth as the wall shattered a heartbeat later, sending her crashing backwards and onto her back with a painful thud.

Her head was spinning from the force, every sound around her a distant echo as she tried to come to her senses. Despite how blurry her vision was, Korra could just about see the truck sitting a few inches away from running her over. Thankfully it seemed to have stopped, its engine was probably ruined by all that concrete.

Voices called out from every direction, concerned people rushing over to the accident from inside their cars or just the side of the road. Korra couldn't really make out much of what they were saying.

"The Avatar! It has to be the Avatar! I saw her bend fire and earth!"

"Stop talking crap! This girl's a Fire Nation girl!"

"But I saw it!"

"I don't care what any of you saw! All of you back off! Give her some space!"

"I'll fetch a healer!"

Hands under Korra's head helped to stabilize her vision slightly, stopping the world from spinning, though it did remain incredibly hazy. Rei. Was Rei here…? Korra couldn't see her familiar outline in the blur of people who stood a few meters away from her.

"Can you hear me?" a concerned, but soft voice called from above, the stranger holding her head Korra guessed. The same voice that had told everyone else to back off a few seconds or minutes ago.

"Hear you…? I can barely see you...my head's spinning like Tenzin's stupid gates..." Korra grimaced with heavy breaths before coughing a little.

"...Tenzin's gates…?" the voice above whispered so quietly Korra barely heard them. It was hard to tell whether they were confused or surprised. "Korra…?"

Korra…? Now that was weird. Nobody here knew her true name.

It was only now that Korra properly opened her eyes to their widest, the blurriness of before had made it too painful to do earlier. Is this a dream…?

A pair of bright green eyes stared down at her.

She can't be here. Can't be...how hard did I hit my head…?

"If this is a dream this is extra cruel, even for you..." Korra muttered angrily.

"It's me, Korra. It's Asami. I'm right here." The voice above her began to crackle and rasp with emotion.

That's when Korra realized she wasn't dreaming. Nobody, not even her demon, could replicate Asami's voice to such accuracy. All of Asami's kindness was present in every syllable.

"I don't understand...how can you...why are you…?" Korra said frantically as Asami helped to sit her up properly, making the world still entirely. Now Korra could properly see her. Really see her.

She looked so familiar and yet so different at just one glance. Mature, with her hair tied up and a smart shirt, tie and waist coat combo. But the old Asami was still there too, with her ridiculously precise make up and same reassuring smile. She was more beautiful than ever.

"I was going to ask you the same thing," Asami said softly before narrowing her eyes. "You nearly got yourself killed for me, again."

"It's a bit of a habit," Korra smiled, sensing more relief from Asami than anger. "But you should really watch when you cross roads...don't you own a company that makes cars or something?"

Asami smiled brightly at that before examining Korra more closely. "I didn't even recognise you..." she admitted. "Only when you opened your eyes properly. Nobody in the Fire Nation has eyes like you."

"Ditto," Korra grimaced. "Can you help me up? I think I'm okay to stand..."

Asami complied immediately, pulling her upwards with a gentleness Korra hadn't felt for so long. It was almost enough to make her burst into tears.

"My truck came off way worse than you," the driver responsible called as he glared between Korra and the smoke gently rising from his engine.

"I'll pay for your truck," Asami replied sternly whilst guiding Korra off of the road that had come to a total stand still.

"Pay for my truck?! You've given me whip lash. I'm going to sue the pair of you!"

"You're lucky she doesn't sue you for that kind of driving!" Korra spat angrily. If she'd been a second slower, Asami would've been mowed down. Korra knew it was a pretty terrible thing to think, especially as the Avatar, but if it had been some random civilian that had been injured, she wouldn't have been quite so furious with the driver.

"Korra!" Asami chastised. "Not helping!" Her expression softened after that. Clearly much happier about Korra's defence of her than she was letting the idiot driver see. Asami leaned her head down a little, an unmistakable smirk crooking her red lips. "Besides. You can't really talk about terrible driving skills."

End Notes

There's so much going on in this chapter that I can't even cover, though I'll answer any specific questions on Rei and any of the other big questions this chapter included.

Instead I'm gonna focus on the end, because I'm korrasami trash through and through. I basically paralleled how things went down in the caves all those chapters ago when Korra shoots herself backwards, and away from Asami. (Saving her don't forget). And now, in this chapter, doing basically the same thing, but going to Asami this time. I guess a metaphor for things to come.

Whereas before, that moment in the caves marked the start of Korra and Asami growing apart for as long as they were in those years away, this moment was definitely a indicator they are coming back together again. And I'm so glad because I love writing for them when they are actually together, in the same scene. TALKING. They've got a lot of talking to do. And things won't be plain sailing. Oh the things lurking in the background.

Thank you so much for reading! Now the main plot for book 4 can finally begin!
Please leave your thoughts and comments below, let me know what you think of all that! Feedback is my life blood so please take the time if you can.

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