A/N: Hi there, I come bearing updates! It took me forever to get this one down because I completely forgot the entire episode and had to find it on Netflix, which in itself was not that hard except for the fact that we didn't pay for the renewal of the account... oops. :) Anyhow, I was reading up on the chakras, since they completely skipped over the location of the Water Chakra. I have to say, I was not that surprised to find out where exactly it was... and promptly started dying of laughter afterwards like the immature teenager that I am. No wonder they skipped over it. I decided to humor the spirit of ATLA and also just skimp on the info but yeah, that would have been awkward for the parents of kids watching the show. Review, Enjoy, and yup, I think that's it.
Disclaimer: I will soon be the proud owner of a fully-powered up IPod, but other than that I own nothing special really. Especially not ALOK.
Previously on Events Unexpected…
A stick whistled in the air and struck the starved animals down with almost deft ease. After the first few went down the rest got the message and began their retreat. Korra, having been snapped out of her stupor by the near-death experience, looked around to locate her savior. To her utter disbelief, and the chagrin of a few of the laws of the universe, her eyes landed on the nearly naked form of an old, tanned man with a bushy beard reaching to his chest and a flimsy toga as his only article of clothing sitting criss-crossed on the ground with a staff across his lap.
"Hello Avatar Korra," he smiled at her in such a friendly way that seemed not at all out of place despite the fact that he should have been dying from hypothermia. "I am the Guru Pathik and I do believe that you are in dire need of my services."
Korra had been originally wary of the underdressed man with the heavy accent and beard that seemed to be its own entity- reminding her of a puffy sheep-goat and making it extensively hard not to try and pat it. He just seemed to be such a random, unexplainable presence, not to mention the fact that she still had no idea as to how he had known where to find her or what he wanted from her. Still, curiosity won over her skittish instincts and her general low mood made her care less about the consequences of an action than could be deemed healthy. So she had followed him. Her limbs, so frozen at first that she had had to utilize the man's walking stick to prop herself up, were now a cozy warm and comfortable. Naga was recovering from her wounds- Korra felt especially guilty about not defending her friend against the rabid creatures lurking outside- in the corner of the lodging they found themselves in.
Guru Pathik had taken her into a small hut that seemed to have been conjured out of the blue, though perhaps white would have been better fitted for their surroundings. The outside had been very misleading as, once she had entered the rickety little wooden door with far too many gaps in it to possibly conserve warmth, the expansive living room opened up before her eyes. There was a comfortable looking carpet in the center of the room, orange and yellow yarn woven in a pattern of rings coalescing into a bright, sunshine center. A chair had been placed next to a one-legged round table at the far end by a door that led to another section of the establishment, probably a bedroom. The walls had been left without paint or plaster, revealing the individual boards of wood thinly nailed together to resemble makeshift walls. Really, the entire thing seemed like it was waiting for another snowflake to fall upon the twig roof before it capsized. What was even more astounding than the miracle of the building's existence was that it was hot inside. Hot enough to make Korra's lips lose their blue tinge and color their usual hue. Even with all of the gaps and fissures in the patchy craftsmanship, there was not a hint of cold seeping in from the outside environment.
So Korra had found herself being beckoned to sit on one side of the ornamental rug, finding that it was quite spongy and a perfect cushion for her weary limbs. Naga had curled herself in a protective position around her master, but soon she was shooed away by the scrawny man who then covered the gashes in the polar bear-dog's flesh with a creamy mixture that smelled faintly of eucalyptus and something else, more subtle and covered up by the pungent plant. The animal had then settled in her corner to take a much needed nap. Her stomach growled in protest but the pure thing had no energy for even lifting her head, much less biting into something.
"Would you like something to drink?" Pathik's voice came from the small kitchen area Korra hadn't seen, tucked behind a support that edged slightly out of the far left side of the shack. Korra was about to shake her head when a familiar, unpleasant burning in her throat made her realize that she was, most definitely, in need of a beverage.
"Y-yes, please," her voice cracked and strained to get even that small bit out, making her blush in shame. She was supposed to be the damn Avatar but all she seemed good at lately was running away and breaking peoples' expectations of her.
"Oh lovely! I will make something extra special then. Get your strength back, because, frankly my dear, you look like you haven't slept or eaten in days," Korra silently mused about the heavy dialect in which the stranger spoke. She had not exactly travelled all that much- in comparison to how big the world was, she had been to only a small fraction- but the enunciations of the vowels and the slight mistakes on the stresses of the consonants was completely unfamiliar to any region she could think of.
"Here you are," he handed her a half-sphere filled with light yellow sludge. If Korra had been stupid, which she was starting to worry that she in fact was becoming, she would have thought that he had somehow procured a coconut in the middle of a frozen tundra. Not wanting to be ungrateful, and only too happy to appease her body, Korra took a large swig from the little container. Nearly as quickly as she had taken it into her mouth, the liquid was expelled in a jet that splashed right over the lovely little carpet. Whatever this man was, assassin surely had to have been added to the list because that must have been an attempt at murdering her.
"Gah, what is in that?" Korra wiped at her mouth and swallowed heavily to try and get the gunk off of her taste buds. "Tastes like a blend of bananas and onions."
"That is because it is a blend of bananas and onions," Pathik said with a large smile before bringing a similar cup and downing it before patting his stomach lovingly. Korra stared at him for a long moment, the perplexity clearly written all over her face, before glancing down in embarrassment at her outburst. He hadn't been obliged to offer her anything, even to have saved her for that matter, and it was immensely rude of her to have spilled the 'drink' over his furnishings. She lifted her hands and lifted the liquid with a flick of her wrists. It was harder to control fluids so thickly imbued with components other than water, but she managed to bring most of the contents back into the coconut half-shell.
"It is very good for clearing one's mind and opening up one's chakras," Pathik continued as he looked on encouragingly as the young Avatar brought the cup to her lips again. Deciding that chugging it down was the best option, Korra opened her mouth as wide as it would go and gulped down the offending concoction. The second time going down hadn't been as bad as the first. It was still completely vile, but at least she had been expecting it that time.
Once she was finished- and had gotten a look of approval from the Guru- Korra focused in on his previous statement. "Chakras?" she asked in confusion. They sounded familiar, like she had heard of them through a conversation that she had not been a part of or some sort of passing remark; nothing substantial enough to remember much on them past the name.
"Oh dear," Guru Pathik mused, his thin hand moving to twirl his long fingers through his puffy white whiskers. "It seems that I am forever doomed to meet Avatars who have not been given much instruction in the most important aspect of their training."
Korra immediately bristled at that comment. He had no knowledge of her teachers, all of whom had been exceptional people even if they had sometimes underestimated her. The criticism had been undeserved.
As though sensing the change in Korra's demeanor, Pathik raised his hands in a placating gesture and flashed another one of his blindingly white grins, "I do not mean to offend young Avatar. I just wish that Aang had mentioned me and my lessons to you in his encounters with you. He had quite the time under my instruction; that I remember all too clearly."
"I- wait," Korra backpedaled. "You knew Avatar Aang? You were the Guru he met in the Eastern Air Temple?"
Both questions received a curt nod in answer. Korra's jaw nearly fell off as she tried to make sense of how the man was still alive, much less moving and speaking as he was now. "But, that makes you over…"
"I am quite old yes," Pathik bobbed his head, his eyes closing and his mouth drooping in a mock serious frown. The image was made quite comical by the fact that it elongated his nose so much that its point was nearly hidden in the jungle of white hair coming off of his jaw line.
"H-how are you still… walking?" Korra didn't want to make it seem like she was wondering as to why the spiffy old man was not a bag of bones lying in the earth somewhere or a pile of ashes, depending on his choice of ceremony.
"Well, I do not tell most persons this secret, but it is all in this," Korra looked at where the Guru's hand stretched out and all but one finger curled into his palm. The digit sticking out was hovering right over the center of her finished coconut bowl. For a few seconds, Korra's eyes moved up and down between the empty vessel and the eccentric older man, waiting for the punch line only to find that he was being completely serious.
"Umm," was all she could think to utter. She felt it expressed her feelings of confusion without being completely silent and appearing to have completely missed the indicated response to her question; even though she had completely missed it.
"That and a lot of help from the Spirits," Pathik moved back and crossed his arms over his chest in a comfortable, lax position. "I make sure that the teachings of my people are not forgotten by passing them on to the new Avatars that cycle through and in return, I am able to manifest my body outside of the Spirit World. In a sense, I am a corporeal ghost."
"Right," Korra said in her most confident tone. She figured that straight answers were not the guy's forte, much like the spirits that he claimed had given him his powers.
"But we are not here to discuss how it is that I am here," the Guru continued, cutting her off though Korra had nothing more to say so she was rather fine with it, "we are here to help unblock your chakras and regain your true potential."
"What are you talking about?" Korra growled. "My potential is just fine thanks."
Much to her chagrin, all the Guru did was give a small chuckle and brush off her defensive remark, "in order to reestablish balance in the world, you must first establish it within yourself. I told the same thing to the Avatar before you and the Avatars before him too."
"Balance-" Korra remembered Koh's words about Kaji's role in breaking the tentative equilibrium that held their world together. His ultimatum came back to her, causing her to shudder at the thought of what bringing balance might cost her. His words came back to her clearly, as though he was whispering them into her ear with that slippery silver voice of his, dripping with ichors holding secrets and doubts.
"Choose the girl over your duty and the world will fall into chaos."
"Choose your duty as Avatar and you will be hailed as a hero. Should that happen, I want you to bring the girl to me. You must swear to it, that Kaji will be mine as soon as her armies fall. That is my price Avatar Korra."
"Avatar Korra," Pathik's own voice, soft yet firm, broke through her fear-induced haze. "I can feel the warring emotions within you. There is much turmoil in your soul, tainting and blocking your energies. I only wish to help you regain the healthy flow that you need."
Korra looked into the clear, grey irises. They held none of the ulterior motives and veiled intentions that seemed to lie beneath the surface of everyone Korra had once trusted so unconditionally. The way he looked back at her, gently holding her gaze in an attempt to console her, to affirm that he had nothing to hide and only wished to help her. She still held her fears of what was in store for her were she to accept his offer; not knowing was something she had been having trouble with lately and another uncertainty was the last thing she needed. Still, if he could show her the way to find her center again; to clear away the fog and burning self-deprecation, then there was no harm in it that she could see. If she could only have the ability to think without having her mind run in frantic circles: second-guessing her intentions, worrying about Koh and Kaji and the fate of the world, seeing Tenzin's disapproving face when she eventually returned, having to face Mako and explain that she was not in love with him anymore.
"Alright, lead on," she exhaled.
"The task you are about to undertake will not be an easy one. The enemies you will face may not be real in this world, but they will be very real to you. At times, you will be your own adversary. You must be prepared for that before proceeding forward on this path."
Korra's stomach clenched for a second, reminiscent of the first time she had gone onto the sparring field, the first time she had left home, the first time she had faced Amon, and the first kiss she had shared that had been reciprocated in the middle of the night in a country millions of leagues away. The feeling persisted, even as she gave a firm 'yes' and awaited the Guru's next instructions.
"Very well. Follow me, young Avatar, to your first challenge. We are going to gradually unblock your chakras so as to allow you to flow, to reabsorb the energies around you and harness them. Then you will be able to project into your Avatar State safely once more."
"What do you mean, 'once more'?" Korra gaped. "I can do it just fine now."
"No young Avatar," Pathik shook his head vigorously. "Now you are too vulnerable to the corruption inside of you. Do not call upon your powers until the chakras have been released, lest you endanger your body and spirit."
Visibly shaken by the information, Korra could only mechanically move her limbs to the Guru's instructions as he packed a small bag and handed over her parka to keep warm in the outside temperatures.
For her first test, Pathik had taken Korra to the west. She had been astounded that the twin-peaked charcoal mountain that rose from the barren earth had stayed hidden from sight at the onset of their journey, the flat lands usually affording a wide view of what lay on the horizon and beyond. As it happened, the outcropping of stone had all but spontaneously erupted on her periphery. Its right side was stretched into a high sweeping arc, almost as though it were trying to extend its craggily zenith to engulf the left one. In turn, the left was smaller and shrank into the right, allowing the domineering wall of rock to shade it from the midday sun floating directly above them. The mountaintops never actually met, but their proximity gave the illusion of a beautifully sculpted circle interwoven in their center. The closer Korra walked to it, the more it became obvious that the stone was actual obsidian, metamorphic rock spewed from the depths of the Earth's core in large plumes of magma millennia ago. The surface was glossy, perfectly reflecting the expanse of winter land and sky, if in a slightly eerie grey hue.
Within the coolness of its walls, lined in patterns that were so perfectly formed it was nigh impossible to imagine them coming from the random coincidence of natural phenomena, were smooth passages glistening with condensed water tendrils. No stalactites had formed because of the unmovable smooth surfaces of the carbon formations, but the liquid had left its marks in the form of small grooves that wound their way down like vines of ivy on the pillars holding up the ceiling of the interior caves. Running her finger along the side of one of the columns, Korra withdrew her hand in shock at the slight trill of pain that coursed up from her finger. Looking down at it, she saw that the edges of the formations were sharp enough to cut; the ruby droplet joined the plopping sound of the myriads of small water spheres falling from the unimaginable heights above.
Pathik took them further in, never worrying about a lack in light as the large, circular opening in the sides of the mountain served to illuminate their paths, no matter how deep they trudged or how close they were to the heart. In fact, once they came upon the very center of the volcanic elevation, Korra found that the light spilling on them came from orifices directly over their heads. The sky above was its usual placid grey-blue, though the sky shining in the mirror image on the ground before them was stormy with billowing clouds formed by the furrows made by tiny rivers of water and the shadow of the globular walls mushrooming over it.
"There are seven chakras," Guru Pathik began, settling into a meditation pose on the obsidian stone floor at the center of the cavernous natural amphitheater. "The first one we will attempt to unlock within you is Earth."
Korra made to sit across from him, observing that a perfect oval of white crystals embedded in the stone separated them. With each rush of breeze or shift of air they seemed to breathe in and out, glowing slightly whilst inhaling then dimming at each exhale.
"This chakra," her concentration on their surroundings broke and she centered her mind on the words of the Guru, "is located at the base of the spine. It is the chakra of survival. Therefore it is blocked by fear. Think of the things that cause you to feel afraid."
Korra's eyes closed and images immediately flooded her vision. Amon standing before her, his masked face peering into her soul, his eyes menacingly tearing her apart, his hand stretching out to place his thumb upon her forehead. Her lungs constricted, holding the air within them in a vice grip before the picture faded to be replaced with another. This time she was standing in the little room allotted to the Fire Ferrets where they could gather their things and prepare for the matches ahead or wind down after a particularly grueling challenge. Only, this time there had been no competition. Bolin was standing next to a past Korra, holding her shoulder supportively as his lips moved to words that were unspoken or, at least, inaudible to the Avatar's ears as she looked upon the scene with the eyes of an outsider. She didn't need to know the words though; she knew exactly what the earthbending boy was telling her. That had been the day she had heard that Mako had left them. Her knees began to shake with the familiar strain of a heavy weight settling in on her chest. The doubt that came about from not knowing whether she would see him again, the anger at not being good enough to anchor him to the city, the frightening emptiness of being alone again, everything was as vivid as if it had only been yesterday. The clarity of the image was soon lost to another flashback. Her arms hitting grass, clamped over something soft and pliable as her bodyweight landed on the prone body of another person. Her eyes widened at the sight of a face she had missed so much that it caused a suffocating pain to smother her heart. Lips, soft but cold, lifeless, pressed gently into hers, reminiscent of the uncertainty that came with opening herself up to another person again; the overwhelming possibility of being left without a tether to reality or a trace of warmth. The pressure of Kaji's lips left hers, wafting away like streams of smoke, caressing her cheeks with cool detachment. Korra turned, not wanting to lose the sensation even if it was only a lie wrapped in a memory of the girl she still felt for. What she found behind her was not the shade of the Fire Lord, but a dark mass of something else. The light steamy qualities had lost their transparency, metamorphosing into a plume of heavy grey and black masses of writhing cumulonimbus. Korra's eyes widened as scaly centipede legs ripped out of the condensed tempest. The large, insect body curled itself up before a thick tail, capped by razor sharp pincers, slapped down on the beige ground. The forced of the impact expelled the rest of the billowing currents of smoke, revealing the grotesque form of Koh. At first he appeared to be facing away from Korra, his hulking form bent over something lying by the first set of limbs not dangling in the air. At her shaky inhale, his head turned to look at her, segmented body straining to hold the position despite the tension it caused the interlocked plates of chitin. His faces were interchanging at a rate that was nearly too fast to register for Korra's retinas. She would have been happy if they had been indistinguishable as each wore a grin showing rows of jagged teeth covered in dark red liquid.
"Ah, Avatar Korra," he growled appreciatively in a hundred different voices. "I would like to thank you for upholding your end of the bargain, it was most invigorating."
Korra's face contorted in horror as his body moved to reveal what it had been that he had undoubtedly been intent in consuming. Lying in a deep pool of blood, half devoured by the voracious spirit still basking in his victory, was Kaji. Her body had been nearly ripped apart, though most of the damage was concealed by the thick black ooze now spilling out of her to eat away at the rest of the corpse. When there was only her face left, her lifeless eyes shifted over to look at the Avatar, her mouth opening in a scream for help that could not come due to her lack of a trachea and larynx. Then, the entirety of her essence was gone. A cold laugh came from behind Korra. Turning her stricken, damp eyes to face the sound, she sank to her knees under the waves of terror and sorrow. Upon Koh's massive form, contorted in an expression of insane glee, was Kaji's face, forever doomed to adorn the large centipede as one of his precious collection of facades.
"Your turn now, little Avatar," it said through Kaji's lips. The lips that had held so much love and kindness and even the hints of betrayal, turned into a ravenous demonic gateway into the Stygian blackness behind the sharp incisors lining massive black gums. Korra cried out, bringing her hands up to her face, not ready to be turned into an empty shell, condemned to the agony of eternal unrest and torment.
"Avatar Korra, the things you see are not real," sweetness and warmth seeped into Korra's clammy skin. Her mouth, which had become as dry as dust, filled with a light film of something faintly tart and faintly bitter, but also welcome. "You must calm yourself and move past these trepidations."
Korra's breathing slowed slightly, her pulse coming down from its erratic battery on her ribs. Koh's gaping mouth closed, his giant silhouette becoming lost in the light, crème vapor rising to surround the young girl still curled into her fetal position, head buried in her knees.
"Avatar Korra," Guru Pathik tried again. "I can only guide you on this journey. You must be the one who opens your chakra gates. You must be the one who breaks the hold of these negative emotions within yourself."
Korra's eyes longed to tear up, to leak the moisture necessary to expel all of the visions still playing behind her eyelids, clamped shut over her wide sapphire irises. Her eyes remained dry however hard she pressed on them to trigger the reflexive lactation of salty tears, giving nothing. The rest of her minor fears, the ones wracking her frame with tremors, came faster than the previous four. Tenzin's judging face at her naivety and weakness, Katara's disapproval were she to ever find out about Korra's feelings for the firebender that the master waterbender had never trusted from the beginning, the world's confusion and blame being poured over her as they awaited her response to the onset of war.
"You must control your thoughts. Focus on calming your breath," the words were faint now, much fainter than they had been before. "All of these problems and expectation will be dealt with in due time. You have to allow yourself the time and space to think. Not everyone is out to get you, to judge or convict you for any perceived failures. Those who you fear you have betrayed will forgive you. Those who have betrayed you are far less in number than those who stand beside you."
Korra's head slowly came out of the small cocoon she had made for herself. The voice of the man on the other side of the veil of her mind was getting stronger with each word until it seemed to echo throughout the entire expanse of seemingly limitless empty space. Her hands, clenched tightly around her withdrawn knees, loosened their grip until she was able to slide her legs out and rest her calves on the smooth surface of the floor- even though it looked no different than the rest of her mental space and she could well have been hovering over air.
"Korra, you are not alone. There are those who care for you. You are loved," Pathik finished. His eyes crinkled as the girl opened her own eyes and shook away the final fragments of her insecurity.
"Well that was harder than I thought it would be," Korra mumbled, a small smile cracking through the stiffness in her face. She hadn't felt as good as she did then for a long time. It was almost as though she was lighter, more flexible and fluid, without the restraints that had been holding her in constant captivity.
"Yes well, it is one of the most difficult tasks to overcome," Guru Pathik stood, dusting off his robes before looking at the opening in the pinnacle of the room. "You did very well though. It usually takes quite a while longer for all fears to be vanquished from one's essence."
Korra mimicked his eyes, glancing up to see that the sun was no longer above them, streaming its light from three corridors to their left. She glanced down at the oval, the only decoration in the formation, only to see the crystals shine with a fiery orange in the setting rays. An entire day spent battling her demons had left her rather famished and exhausted.
"Well, on to the next gate then," the Guru cheerily announced. Korra's shoulders slumped at the news. She had really hoped that they would have been able to take a break, or even to have left for the night. "Here, drink some onion and banana juice to replenish your energy."
Korra took the yellow concoction with hesitation, wondering how the old man had suddenly procured it and whether he might have been able to conjure something more substantial. Her stomach grumbled in apprehension as she brought the coconut to her lips before consuming the entirety of the poultice. Grimacing, she couldn't help but think, yup, horrible as always.
"Come Avatar, we must not lose any more time."
"The second chakra is the Water Chakra," Guru Pathik informed her.
They had gone into the lower rungs of the mountain, far down underneath the outlying wastelands. Luminous bulbs of blue fungi lit their descent until even they could no longer grow and fluorescent crystals took up the empty spaces along the walls. The obsidian that far down was not nearly as smooth as its brethren rock rising above the surface. The water and wind erosion had not been as extensive in the hearth of the mountain leaving the small blemishes and ridges to keep their form. Shadows played against the corner of her vision, sometimes resembling creatures that would never have been foolish or confident enough to walk the path they held to.
After some time, they had reached an underground lake of some sort. The black waters lapped at the shoreline of small grey pebbles. The crystals along the edges of the water and hanging from the high ceiling only illuminated the surface of the colossal body. Its submerged secrets held to their mystery, not to be unveiled or disturbed for the rest of eternity as they stayed quietly just beyond the reach of any outside light.
Korra and Pathik had found an outcropping of rock that stretched out into the lake. Had someone looked at them from the side, they would have appeared to be afloat over the murky still water. Korra's eyes moved languidly over the static blanket of night around her. Her body would have been afraid of it had she seen it only a few hours before. Now, she was content in mutual seclusion from whatever lay underneath the sheath of black.
"The Water Chakra," the tanned old man continued, "is the chakra of pleasure. It is blocked by guilt. Think of all of the things you blame yourself for, every mistake that has caused pain to someone else and caused you to feel regret."
Korra immediately flashed to the night that should have never happened; her actions that had alienated both Mako and Kaji from her. Barely over a whisper, she confessed, "I betrayed the ones I loved."
"Now, you must let go of the blame. Accept the reality that these things happen and free yourself of their lingering presence."
Korra smiled sadly as the images of Kaji's eyes, full of shock and pain, faded from her mind. She would never forget, but at least she could learn to set the memories loose and forgive herself.
The next vision was one of Tenzin, probably worried sick over where she was and why she had left. The knots in her chest unfurled as they too were set adrift on the streams of energy finally flowing openly through her system. He would forgive her when she came back. She would have a lot of explaining to do, that would not change, but she would return and that would certainly be enough for the kind airbender.
The final image was of Katara. The loving waterbender who had offered Korra nothing but affection and compassion; the woman who had always been supportive of Korra and all the Avatar had given her in return had been lies and deception. She knew that she would have to tell Katara the truth about her and Kaji. If anyone had held a right to know, it was the amiable, selfless old woman.
Korra's eyes slid open to look expectantly at the Guru. "Very good. That one went quite well for you. I am glad that you were able to forgive yourself and look to the future instead of getting bogged down in past mistakes."
The next room they came into was almost a perfect replication of the underground passageways of the Fire Nation Capital. Where the black water lake had been quiet and still, the river of magma that ran through the underground chamber they had come upon was spitting and hissing showers of molten rock and fire out of its slithering mass. Korra felt the rise in temperature, but it was obvious that the room should have been much warmer than the light heat that grazed her skin. She glanced at the Guru sitting next to her on the ledge- which felt a little too narrow for her liking- and couldn't help but question how many abilities the Spirits had bestowed upon him in exchange for his wisdom.
"Let me guess," Korra started before her companion could announce the next stage to her purification. In a smartass tone she finished, "the third chakra is the Fire Chakra."
Instead of the reproachful chastisement for her behavior that Korra had expected to hear, the old man responded with an astounded and excited, "Why, yes. How perceptive of you!"
Korra raised an eyebrow, not entirely sure as to whether he was mocking her or had seriously complimented her on her mental capabilities, as though it had not been obvious from their location what element the chakra belonged to. Choosing to ignore her confusion for the time being, Korra allowed Pathik to continue in his usual dialogue.
"The third chakra, as you inferred, is the Fire Chakra. It is located in the stomach and deals with will power. Will power is blocked by shame. Picture all that has caused you to experience shame and then expel it in order to release the strength you hold inside yourself."
Korra closed her eyes to focus on her inner thoughts. Most of them centered on the same principles as her guilt had. Additional, small instances also came up: her insistence on keeping Kaji a secret, causing the split between them to fracture without being able to confide in anyone, giving up so easily on the firebender instead of fighting to keep what they had alive, being so quick to feel the betrayal of Kaji's actions before even inquiring as to her reasons why or trying to understand things from her point of view. When she was done, Korra looked out into the vortex of fire, sensing the intensity thrumming through the core of the earth and the core of her body.
"You are doing very well Korra," Pathik said. She gave him a wide, genuine smile. Her mind felt much clearer than it had before. The only time she had felt like that had been on the night of the Summer Festival, but even then it had felt only temporary. This assurance coursing its way through her was stronger than the tentative equilibrium she had reached in those sparingly few hours where everything had been just fine. This was permanent; this was all consuming.
High above the ground, in the center of the broken circle in the arms of the sloping crags above their heads, Korra and Pathik looked down at the morning landscape. She had not noticed the time fly by in the timeless recesses of the mountain's base. Up in its crown, she could sense the movement of the sun and moon as one overtook the other and the stars disappeared in the cloak of daylight. It was fascinating how there was no snow on the mountain. The overhang of the right peak sheltered some of the expansive area, but it was not enough to cause the complete, unbroken carbonate. Not even a snowflake when it must have snowed during the night. There was never an evening without a minor flurry this far south.
"The fourth chakra is the Air Chakra," Pathik called over the hum of the morning winds. Korra could not describe it as a roar, it being much too calm for that, but it was above a whistle, enough to carry away words if they were spoken too softly.
"It is the chakra of love, located in the heart. It is a very strong chakra, but can easily be blocked by sorrow. Find your sorrow and release it into the wind. Let the pain flow out to be carried away from you by the gales of serenity."
Korra thought of the night she had kissed Mako and had been rejected. Her heart still throbbed from the badly healed wound. Then she paired it with the news of his departure with Asami. Calming her racing pulse, Korra concentrated on lessening her grip on the boy's heart and letting him go. She wanted him to be happy and knew that, even if it was only as a sister, he would love her until the end and that it would be enough. She then moved on to the prevalent source of her sadness. She felt Kaji's efforts to get her to release her wrists as Korra pushed her into the wall of the room within the Pro-Bending Arena. Her heartbreak at watching the girl walk away from her, leaving her to fall to the floor in a pile of despair. Instead of focusing on that image for too long, Korra replaced it with the moments of bliss they had shared together. Suddenly, as though waking from a stupor and taking in a breath of clarity, Korra knew that Kaji still loved her. The girl had been hurt; she had not known what to do, so she had run. Korra had much the same response whenever she felt pressured.
As though sensing her thoughts, Guru Pathik placed a hand on her shoulder, gently saying, "Love is much stronger than any other emotion, even hatred and loss. You are still loved by your friends, family, and the person you hold dear in your heart."
Korra nodded, her lips quirking into a joyous smile. There was still time. She could still find her wayward Fire Lord and rekindle what they had somehow misplaced. There was no doubt that it would be a difficult task, but it would be worth it.
"The fifth chakra is the Chakra of Sound," the Guru's words echoed from the walls of the enormous room where they found themselves. Its walls were perfectly shaped to carry any acoustics for ages. The old man did not wait for his voice to cease resounding before going on. Had he patiently asked for silence, it would have taken days to finish what he had to tell Korra.
"Sound is located in the throat and deals in truth. The truth that is blocked by the lies we tell ourselves. Look into yourself and find the truth behind all of the lies you have woven."
Korra felt her walls immediately erect into a bulwark against the truths that would have almost certainly hurt her had she not opened her other four chakras. Slowly, calmly, she let go of the excuses she had used to cushion the blame she had heaped on herself for her misguided actions. The walls were slow in coming apart, but she was successful in releasing the false 'truths' she had come to accept, replacing them with the actual ones she needed to hear.
Standing on a natural balcony in the full light of the afternoon sun pouring down on them, Korra expectantly looked at her teacher, waiting for him to reveal the second-to-last chakra. So far, she was confident that she would be able to open up her remaining energy pools. There was an air of excitement surrounding that moment, when she knew that she would be complete again. It had been so long since she had known balance in her life and she desperately craved the notion of a clear mind and body.
"The sixth chakra is the Light Chakra, located at the center of the forehead. It deals with insight and is blocked by illusion; the illusion of separation. You must realize that we are all interconnected with one another. Even the different people of the four nations are truly one people, even if many have forgotten that again. As Avatar, you must come to realize that the barriers we form, the distinctions we create, are all a façade."
Korra nodded. That was perhaps the simplest notion for her to grasp. She had always felt united with the peoples of the world, or rather the one people of the world. She had had no difficulty in making friends with different benders and even nonbenders. Her mind faltered a bit when thinking of the Equalists, but in the end she realized that they were simply frightened of being considered inferior, a fear caused by the perception of the separation that Pathik had mentioned. Amon and Tarrlok had played on those fears, but the victims of their manipulation were not to blame. With another cleansing exhale, Korra felt the pieces of her cerebrum click together in a satisfying release of stress.
They had climbed the tallest of the twin pinnacles of the mountain. The stars were above them again, marking the end of the second day of Korra's spiritual journey. She was slightly afraid of the final task, not enough to block her Earth Chakra again, but the butterflies in her stomach were flapping away quite merrily. Guru Pathik was running his soft eyes over her as though appraising her, watching for something concealed or hard to locate.
"This is the final chakra, the seventh. Your predecessor had a very difficult time in coming to terms with it. I do not wish to frighten you with these words, but you should know that there is no going back once you have begun this final test. Aang nearly lost the ability to enter the Avatar State because he was not yet ready to undertake the seventh chakra and, when he tried to in the midst of battle, he was left vulnerable to Princess Azula's attack. Are you ready to face this challenge?"
Korra knew in her heart that she would not say no. She had come this far and sacrifices were not something new to her. Aang had been young when he had been forced into this; she was at least a bit more experienced… at least she hoped that she was. One hundred years in an ice cube did not count as years the boy had over her. Slowly, she nodded her head and looked into the grey depths of her teacher's eyes. She would do her utmost to not fail herself in this test.
"Very well. The seventh chakra is the Thought Chakra. It is located at the crown of the head. The final chakra deals with pure cosmic energy and is blocked by earthly attachment. You must find all of the things that keep you grounded to this world and let them go."
Korra gazed up at the heavens, so close from the height at which they were standing. She didn't even notice as her spirit detached itself from her body and began to walk up toward the millions of celestial bodies burning with the heat of a thousand suns. A path of purple led her on a tortuous stroll further away from the Earth, now a large ball of green continents and blue oceans with sparing clouds floating over them. Korra's eyes did not see any of those things though. She was completely focused on the large, dark form of a being that resembled her almost exactly. The being's eyes glowed with an ethereal violet light and soon, Korra's irises were imitating it. She had come almost to the end of the winding lace of lavender light, right to the apex of her ascent. A ball of churning energy wrapped itself around her, billowing in streams of purple haze originating in the palms of the giant Avatar floating in front of her. Before her eyes, the faces of those she had cherished and loved flashed brilliantly then faded like the embers of a dying fire. Her parents, her teachers, Asami, Bolin, and Mako. Pema and the kids. Tenzin, Master Katara, Naga. Finally, the one face that lingered most of all. Korra's heart yearned to just keep that one face within it, to erase everything else if only it were allotted a small exception. But the cosmic energy was an all-consuming force and would not settle for a shared space. Korra shook her head, trying to fight the sense of gravity pulling at her, only it wasn't gravity here. Here it was Kaji who was pulling on her to return to the confines of the physical world. It was Kaji keeping Korra from becoming a part of the metaphysical entity that superseded all distinctions and separations.
"I'm sorry Kaji," Korra sighed, a single tear leaking down her cheek and falling back to Earth; falling as a drop of rain on the hand of a firebender far below the Avatar, heading home from a victory that had quickly lost its grandeur to the frowning Fire Lord.
Above the atmosphere, Korra tentatively let the girl slip away from her outstretched hands, opening them as one would open their fingers for a caged bird to be able to spread its wings and fly away. She was a pivotal part of the universe and therefore it was not in her power to fight it any longer. It was her destiny to become one with all things around her. Perhaps, one day, she would be able to return the burning energy being allotted to her and she could take up earthly things ones more. For now however, she had more pertinent things to consider, mainly restoring balance to her world.
Coming back down to her body, Korra awoke with her head resting on a pillow. At some point she had been taken back to Pathik's home in the miniscule shack at the center of nowhere. She was about to question how he had moved her body without disrupting the connection it held with her spirit, but she figured it was just one of those things that one simply did not question. The important thing was that her spirit had found her body without any trouble and she was ready to return to her Avatar duties.
"Thank you Pathik," she said in earnest.
"There is no need to thank me young Avatar, but I gladly accept it anyway," he beamed at her. "You are now free to complete your task and fulfill your destiny in this world. There will be many more challenges for you to face, but now you are prepared for them. Remember, do not be ashamed or afraid of the emotions you feel. Accept them and turn them into something positive."
"I promise I will," Korra then turned to her faithful pooch, still happily snoozing next to a completely chewed up bone. Prodding the sleepy hound awake, she gave her a smile and asked, "You okay to travel girl?"
Naga shifted her leg, testing the ligament that had once been ripped. To both her surprise and the astonishment of her rider, none of the wounds sustained in their flight across the tundra were there anymore. There was not even a scratch or a patch of exposed skin.
"Wow, you did all of this?" Korra turned to look for Pathik, but found that he was no longer there. A chill wind crawled through the holes in the little shack where it had not before, giving the place a deserted feeling. Shrugging her shoulders, Korra led Naga out into the snowfields and got into her saddle. "Alright then, I want to get to Republic City as fast as we can, but there is one place I need to visit first. Come on Naga, time to see an old friend."
P.S: I have recently discovered Imagine Dragons (the band) and those Imaginary Dragons decided to consume my entire battery in just one day, stupid Apple never lasts long enough I swear (sorry Apple lovers, I just rant some times). Writing the compliments on Katara's character was a little hard, not gonna lie. She was not exactly my favorite character in the show, if that hasn't become apparent already, but I try to keep it balanced and Korra likes her so, FINE. What else... I may or may not update for a while due to a mix up in weekends with my parents so I apologise in advance. REVIEW! You know you want to. For everyone who commented on the previous chapters, thank you all so much, even the flames- which, thankfully, were not many at all and they were pretty mild. Umm, yup, that's about it. I found ice on one of the cars in the driveway today! For a SoCal person that is like a freaking White Christmas! Exciting. Ugh, I need to stop jibbering. Bye, until next time!