Part One

"Korra. Korra, wake up, please."

Korra could hear someone calling her, but she didn't know who or why. Her head ached and all she wanted to do was sleep.

"Korra please, come back to me."

The voice was masculine, but young, and pleading now. But she could not place it. She wanted him to be quiet. The pain in her skull throbbed.

"I'm begging you, Korra. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

She frowned, even more confused. Light filtered through her closed eyelids and made her squint, though she did not open them. She heard a gasp somewhere above her.

"She moved! Bolin, look!"

Bolin? Why didn't she recognize that name? And why was it such a big deal that she was moving?

She was so confused. And so, so tired. And still hurt so, so much.

She ignored the voices calling her name and went back to sleep.

—

The next time her consciousness roused her, it was not so bright and her head didn't hurt quite so much. She was still exhausted, but felt she had the energy to open her eyes this time.

The room was dark as her eyes fluttered open. It was small, and she was on a bed in the middle of it. There was a boy on a char in a corner. Beside her was a small table with bottles on it, and a pretty bouquet of white flowers. As she woke up a little more, she recognized the scent of bleach and steel.

She was in the hospital. Why?

Quickly she tried to recall what had happened, but her memories slipped through her fingers like sand in a sieve. She knew she was Korra, the Avatar. She knew she came to Republic City and stayed with Tenzin and his family. She knew her enemy was Amon and his Equalists.

Was that all? It felt like she was forgetting something. Try as she might, she couldn't put her finger on it, and thinking too hard only intensified her headache.

She looked around the room again, hoping for some clued. The boy slumped in the corner fast asleep was unfamiliar, but there must be a reason he was there. He looked roughly her age, with black hair and his coat pulled tight around him. Could he tell her what happened to her?

"Hey," she rasped, her voice cracking from misuse. She swallowed a few times, trying to soothe her dry throat and tried again. "Hey!"

The boy started and looked around frantically. When his eyes landed on her, he heaved a sigh of relief and smiled sardonically at her. "You would wake up after I sent Mako away, wouldn't you? But oh it's good to see your eyes open."

"Mako?" She questioned, the name feeling familiar on her tongue, but it did not spark a memory.

"Yeah, you know, your boyfriend? My brother? Worried sick over you, the poor guy. He's been in here every night since, and we had to force him to go home and get a decent night's sleep in something other than these awful chairs."

"I don't…remember. What happened to me? And who are you?"

He looked stung at her question, but covered it quickly with a charming smile. "I'm Bolin. They said you might have some problems with your memory. You really don't remember me?"

"Sorry."

"It's okay, I'm sure it'll come back to you. I'm one of your best friends. We were teammates, too. You helped save me from Amon once. Well, more than once, really, but you asked me to stop keeping score."

"Why can I remember Amon's name, but not yours?" She asked aloud, more to herself than him. Her eyebrows furrowed in frustration.

Bolin shrugged. "You heard about Amon before you met us, right? Maybe you just lost your memory to a certain point, where you hadn't met us just yet."

Her head was spinning. "Can you tell me why I'm here? And how long it's been?"

His face grew serious. "You've been unconscious for about a week."

"A week?" Korra tried to sit up, but Boling sprang from his chair to ease her back down.

"Shh, I don't think it's a good idea to get you riled up. You still need a lot of rest."

"A week," she repeated in amazement. "Tell me what happened."

"I don't know," Bolin looked to the side. "I don't want to upset you."

"I'm going to get more upset if you don't tell me," she threatened.

Bolin was worried about how agitated she was getting, but pleased to see the Korra he knew and reluctantly began to tell her.

"You and Chief Bei Fong – well, former Chief, I keep forgetting – were infiltrating an Equalist base. Do you remember her at all?"

"I met her my first day in Republic City. She didn't like me then."

"Things have changed; you two have the same knack for survival, and you get along quite well now. You told me once she said you don't remind her of Aang at all, except for when you airbend. You took it as a great compliment."

Korra thought that over and smiled.

Bolin continued, "You had her metal-benders as back-up, and Tenzin and Mako insisted on going, too. I stayed on the island with Pema and the kids, so I really only know what they've told me.

"Your source was bad. It was a total ambush. Mako said it was pretty bad. They were trying to capture you, but they didn't realize we'd figured out a weakness to their mecha-tanks. You were able to defend yourselves, but not escape. They'd trapped you in with platinum walls.

"Mako said you tried to get the others out first when Bei Fong found a weak spot she could puncture with earth from the outside. They tried to tunnel their way out, but there were still attacks coming, and you were defending the rear with him.

"One of the mecha-tanks was still working, and it threw a metal beam at you. There was no way to dodge and it hit your head pretty hard."

Bolin took a steadying breath. "You passed out immediately. Mako carried you out and the others escaped safely with only a few minor injuries. But you haven't woken up since then. Korra, we were so worried."

Korra tried to conjure of any memory of the event, but only succeeded in making her head spin again. "I'm sorry to worry you," she murmured. "I just don't remember any of it. But everyone's okay?"

"It'll come to you," Bolin assured her again. "And yes. Well, Mako's probably sick with something, not to mention exhausted, but he'll be fine once he sees you're awake and talking."

He kept saying that name like it would be important to her. It frustrated her to realize it held no meaning at all.

"When will he be here? And the others?"

"He'll be here first thing in the morning, I'm sure, though I could go get him if you like. He'd back on the island. It's still the middle of the night, but I'm sure he'd want to see you."

"No," Korra was quick to say, though a little disappointed. She'd hoped she could see him now. Maybe it would jog her memory. "He should rest, too."

"And the others come by in the afternoon, to check on you and talk with you. Those drawings are from the kids," he nods at the wall to her left, where she hadn't noticed several papers taped to the wall. There were crayon drawings of varying skill of what she assumed to be her and the kids.

"That's sweet of them," she said softly, feeling the exhaustion creep in again.

Bolin noticed her drooping eyes. "Go back to sleep. Someone will be here when you wake up again."

Though she fought it, desperate to know more, sleep won in the end.

"What do you mean, she woke up? Why didn't you come get me?"

Korra's eyelids fluttered, the exclamation dragging her from her fitful sleep.

—

"Sorry, bro. It was late and you needed sleep. Plus how was I supposed to get back to the island? The ferries don't run that late."

"You can swim, can't you?"

"She wasn't awake for very long. Just long enough for me to tell her what happened. But, Mako, she doesn't remember us."

Korra heard a sharp gasp. "What?"

"She remembers who she is and where she is, but her memory stops sometime after she came to Republic City and before she met us."

She heard footsteps as someone started pacing. She assumed it to be Mako, with how agitated he sounded. She struggled to open her eyes so she could see him. There was something about his voice that she new, and that encourage her. If she could just see him…

He sighs again, and she can see him raked a hand through his messy hair. "Sorry, Bo, I know you're just as worried as I am. I shouldn't have yelled at you."

She blinks, and waits for him to turn around, her voice still weak from sleep. Even if she could talk, she didn't know what to say. "Hey" didn't seem appropriate somehow.

After what seem like an eternity, he turns to her.

She takes in his angled face, his amber eyes, and taught mouth, all showing signs of fatigue and worry.

But she does not remember him.

He approaches her, his mouth open as if to speak, but nothing comes out. His hand hovers over hers, afraid that if he'll touch her, she'll break.

Then he breathes her name and wraps his fingers around hers.

And then Korra remembers.

Flashes of shouting, his golden eyes on fire with anger, her heart pumping adrenaline and looking to fight, the two of them pummeling each other with fire and water, more yelling, more anger.

She flinches away from him, her eyes wide.

"Korra?" Mako asks, his voice full of concern. "What's wrong?"

"I remember you," she whispers. But just as his face relaxes with relief, she hisses.

"Get away from me."

.

.

.

Notes: This will have three parts, and all but the very end is already written. Many thanks to the person who left this prompt for me on tumblr. I would thank them by name, but my inbox ate the message before I could get to it. :( Anyway, I hope you like this! Thanks for reading!