/*Whew thanks for reading and reviewin. Love em.
Edit 5/21: once again took out the immortality business (of SPirits in spirit world / physical world)*/
-The New Republic City—
Asami held Korra close to her as they lied together within the stone chamber on top of the relic. She could not remember a time when she felt this complete. Like the piece she had been missing her whole life was now being cradled in her arms. She could not waste this moment. She wanted to be immersed in it, every second of it.
Asami looked at the walls. They were covered in strange drawings. Hieroglyphics disguising the true meaning. Asami wondered what they meant. Wondered how they got their and what the artist's purpose was for drawing it. She did not understand a single one.
"Korra?"
Korra moved, indicating that she was still awake. Still attentive. Still alive.
"Yes?"
"Nothing…I just wanted to tell you how happy I am right now being with you. I haven't felt like this in such a long time." This seemed to make Korra happy. She turned and buried her head into Asami, trying to be cute. Asami giggled.
"That's really sweet."
"Hah, I've never seen you like this, Korra."
Korra seemed so vulnerable now to Asami. "I guess I've never felt like this either. I finally found the person I can open up to. Let my defenses down. Just let it all flow down the river, gladly." She smiled up at Asami and kissed her. "Asami, you said you haven't this for a long time," Korra said, hesitating before she continued. "What about Mako? If I may ask? Did you actually…feel something for him?"
"I thought I did…" Asami said. She thought the question over in her head, trying to trace the reason back to its source but finding it hard to remember when it began. "But I think I was just having trouble accepting the truth. You know how we tend to look past it. Hope it isn't true?"
"Hope what isn't true?"
"That you don't actually feel the way you do because it makes you ostracized and people are driven away from you. Start to hate you." Asami saw she had Korra's full attention at this point, so she continued. "When I was younger, after my mom died, something happened. I never had many friends in school growing up. I was shy and rather closed off from people because of the trauma of losing my mother. Kids liked to poke fun at me though for being the daughter of a rich tycoon, but whatever. It was something, I suppose. Well, one year this girl in my class, popular girl, lot of friends, invited me to her girls only sleepover party at her house. I never knew how it happened. Now I can imagine her mom must have made her, but at the time I didn't analyze the situation. I was so excited to be a part of it. Go to a sleepover. Gossip. Do girly things. I never had the chance to do anything like that and so I wanted to see what it was like. Also, there was this other girl going. A girl in my class I thought was really pretty. And she was one of the few girls who was actually genuinely nice to me when I talked to her. I was hoping we could be better friends after this party.
"I could tell none of the girls actually wanted me there, but they proceeded with the night's events anyway, so I quickly forgot that. We painted our nails and did our hair and gossiped about boys. I remember how disinterested I was in all of it. None of it seemed fun. It felt like work to put all that makeup on and paint nails. I kind of just wanted to go home. I was so incredibly bored but I couldn't tell them that or they'd just get pissed at me. And at least I was hanging out with this girl who I thought was fun so it wasn't all bad.
"Well, that night we decided to play this game, I forget what it was, but if you had a certain card or something you had to tell a secret. The secrets were never supposed to leave the room. I was so stupid and naïve then. I don't know what I was thinking. They asked me who was my super secret, never-tell-anyone-or-I'll-kill-you crush was. I smiled real big, seeing my chance, and pointed to that girl, that stupid girl that was there who was the reason for me coming. They told me what a crush meant, and I said I knew. They said it had to be a boy, and started laughing because I said it was a girl, and more than that, a girl in that room. The fact that I was serious made them laugh harder. I was embarrassed but didn't know why. And worse, I could tell the secret leaked all over the school. I didn't have any friends after that, no one even made fun of me anymore. They all just disliked me, and the girl that I thought was pretty ignored me. I was told that such a thing was not correct. It was different, wrong, not normal, so I thought I had to get rid of it. I bottled it up in a jar and hid it in my room, ashamed of myself, of what my mother would think of me doing something so wrong.
"I acted girly for the world, even if I hated it, I lost touch with my old self, but one thing I didn't let go was my love for pro-bending. Watching people fight was such an adrenaline rush. It allowed me to become some part of myself that was actually me. Maybe that was the reason. My fascination with the sport, my wish to just be a normal girl, combined together when I met Mako. Good looking guy. Pro-bender that I had been to see numerous times in the stadium and enjoyed watching. It made rational sense. My love for the sport overpowered my perception of myself. I did what I thought people wanted to see…
"When Mako developed feelings for you, Korra…I wasn't even mad for the obvious reason. I knew I should have been, and I acted like I was, but I wasn't actually mad that he didn't like me anymore. I was mad because the person he was falling for…was you. It was pretty easy to ignore those feelings for you when we first met, especially because you weren't seeing anyone. I knew it was wrong also at that time, so Mako was kind of like my buffer. My justification.. I knew I couldn't feel that way…but around you…I began to think that maybe I didn't need to hide. It was like you instilled something in me that made me unafraid to be myself. A sort of disregard for the systems and institutions set up in society that tell us how to think and who to be attracted to. That person that I once was, that I tore down to become what society wanted me to be, that I buried under layers of soil because I was ashamed, you found her, you found that burial and planted flowers over it, flowers blossoming with freedom, stretching higher than the arms of judgment from others. It was like feeling peace after a decade of suppressing myself."
"I never knew that," Korra said. "I'm touched. I'm not really sure what I did."
"You did it, though, Korra. You just did it without thinking. You showed me that it's okay. That being who I am is more important than what anyone else wants me to be. I could see that you, too, were aware of the stigma for what we had, but you taunted it. You challenged it. You kept coming back. And you inspired me to find my old self and challenge that, too. To smash that jar I hid my old self in and put those pieces back together. I don't know how…"
"I didn't do that, Asami. You did. You realized the truth about ourselves. About yourself. That you are not defined by your past. By your family. Or by what you choose to show affection for. You are defined only by Asami. And that is all that I see when I look at you."
Asami smiled, closed her eyes and shed a tear. "I don't think I could ask for a better way to spend this last day before…" Asami looked out to the sky, getting brighter. "Korra, what if this didn't have to happen? What if the world wasn't ending, and we were free from the Spirits? What would you do first?"
"What would I do?"
"Yeah."
"Hmmm," Korra said. She stood up, getting excited about what she was going to say. "I'd leave. With you. We'd go back."
"Back?"
"Yeah, back to Republic City. Go home. And then…and then we'd find the best car in the city. And just take it. You and me. You would drive, of course." They both laughed.
"And go where, Korra?"
"Far away. Anywhere. Just far away from civilization. Drive straight out, into the country, the wilderness, the open range. The middle of freaking nowhere. Drive for hours and hours together, seeing the beauty of the world mile by mile. And when we ran out of gas, we'd be at the perfect place when it happened. The most beautiful cliff side…no, a meadow! The most beautiful meadow. An infinite meadow. Just going off into the horizon. And we'd get out of our cars and run through it. Chasing each other like little kids with absolutely no worries at all. All day. And when the sun started to go down and we got tired, we would just fall in the grass, next to each other, close to each other. Lie there and stare at the sky. And be free. Safe. Happy. Holding each other as close as we want, far away from the city. From anyone who would judge us."
Asami's smile was big. "From anyone who would tell us what to do?"
"From anyone who would try and dictate our lives."
Korra lied back down next to Asami. The two were both dreaming the same dream. That magical place where they could be their true selves. Express their true love. Korra started to fall asleep as she sat in her euphoric state, thinking about this place, but trying not to remember the truth, that it was unattainable. That she had a job to do. And Asami, thinking the same. But they wanted it so badly…
"We're going to go there, Korra." Asami said.
"What?"
"We're going to go there. When this is all over, I'll take you there. We will go together, just leave society, leave everyone, and find that infinite meadow. And we will finally be together. When we end this, it's going to happen, trust me."
Korra crept closer to Asami as she drifted to sleep, her head turned away, knowing that what Asami promised, as much as she wanted it, would never come true.
Asami opened her eyes, remembering that she was on an airship heading for the New Republic City. It was no dream she had, just a memory replaying itself. She looked at her Clasma-embedded arm, hoping she would never have to use the power and lose herself. Hoping she would one day be able to go with Korra to that place. That heaven. She pulled her sleeve back down upon hearing the footsteps of O-Ren and Lin walking by the door to the small room she was napping in.
"The other day was just so…eye-opening," O-Ren said. Lin could tell something had changed him. He spoke sincerely, for once, to her. "For all of us. Mako can't come to terms with the fact that he took a life. I figure your first kill must be a weird feeling. But me, I've never been around death likethe ones I witnessed that day."
"Like what?"
"Qu killed Korra's polar bear dog. Right in front of her and me. That was something I never even want to think about. It made me sick. Killing for survival is one thing. But murdering an innocent animal, one that is risking her life for her owner. It's so disgusting."
"Yes, it is sad," Lin said, trying not to think too much about it lest it distract her from the mission. Throw her off of her game.
"Lin, there was something else, too. Something that really screwed with something inside me when I saw it. I carried Rong all the way from Metro to the camp we set up in the woods. But he didn't make it."
"Was he shot?"
"No…he died from metalbending."
"It happened…again?"
"Yeah. he went into a coma after he helped tear down the wall of the city with me. I guess it finally broke him. His vitals got worse as time went on, but he finally woke up minutes before his death
Lin stopped, no longer hiding behind her stern disposition. Remembering the pain of seeing her mother slowly die over the span of years, but for O-Ren at least those years of watching someone suffer because of their own bending was compressed into a day.
"I couldn't stomach watching it. The man barely holding on to the little life he had left. Struggling to grasp it. Shaking with fear because he knew he was going to die. It twisted my insides because it wasn't some disease or a murder, it was a power that the Spirits gave him. A power that he exhausted to the point where it actively killed him. A cancer that he was born with, part of his makeup, part of who he was, that was there to help him but only ended up killing him."
"Bending does not define who we are, O-Ren."
"I guess…but still, it's there, in some of us, innately. Are we not supposed to handle it?" Lin didn't answer. He could tell she didn't want to talk about this, so he agreed to leave that topic. "Anyway, there is something I need to tell you. I need to before we arrive because I don't know if the chance will present itself beyond that. I think this is what truly defined Rong, at least at his death. I want to believe it does." Lin turned to look at him. "He said he was sorry, Lin. He said he should have never treated you the way he did. None of them should have. He hoped that you could forgive him, and see that at least at the end of his life he saw the light and tried to do something good for us. He gave his life to tear that wall down, knowing it could backfire on him since it happened before. He didn't want to be here anymore. I could see that. Too ashamed of himself. But he was thankful for you. That you never gave up. That you were someone that doesn't let the darkness creep in and manipulate you when things get tough, when the world turns against you. You latch on to your principles, and I don't think even a Spirit or a SPORE could touch that soul of yours. It's bound to you like cement, Lin…and for the record, these aren't just Rong's words anymore.."
Lin was quiet, as was O-Ren, in their tentative memorial for Rong's death. Lin was thankful that O-Ren told her this. Thankful that there was more to fight for. That even those who fall the lowest can still see that glimmer light and reach for it. And that it is never too late to change someone.
"Captain," a voice said over the intercom, "We have arrived."
Team Avatar arrived at the bridge just as the ship descended below the dark clouds. Upon leaving Republic City, the Team recalled abandonment. Desolation. Tall building reduced to rubble. A city caved in on itself. Before them, now, a new city, bustling with the life of the survivors. Refugees from around the world filled the streets. Abandoned buildings now sparkled with light from activity. Antennae installed around the perimeter of the downtown area. The streets re-paved. Helicopters circling the revived city, long harnesses hanging from them, carrying vehicles, cargo, weapons, and some even carried small buildings. The Team saw many military bases arranged through the streets of the city. Rooftops and highways saturated with people, barricades, guards. Cars and tanks rolled through the streets. Layers of tall, metal walls arranged concentrically encircling certain areas. Watchtowers installed at these iconic places: the police station, the courthouse, the arena, Air Temple Island. The skies heavily patrolled by airships similar to this one. The lights shined bright as the black sky darkened the entire city, making it appear as if it was night. On the far side of the city, farthest from Yue Bay, there was the most activity, the most protected place, the Central City Station, with several towers placed around it, shining lights in all directions and at all times. Atop the building, a large metal structure installed, antennae sticking out from it, blinking red lights constantly. Cameras and guards surrounding the station. It was here that the ship was directed to go to via radio transmission from a nearby airship sentinel.
As they approached, they saw the masses of civilians. It was no longer just the military in this fight. Anyone willing to fight joined, grabbed a gun, a crowbar, their own fists. Many accepted the offer, to fight for their city, for their families, for their life. For humanity. Others took shelter with their loved ones near the station, or in it. Utilizing every space, finding anything that would keep them safe from the inevitable battle. The others, those willing to fight, moving out of the sanctuary enclosed by the walls, out toward the other checkpoints stationed closer to the water where CHAOS would come from, out into the lifeless streets of the city, lined with barricades and guns and explosives, where the fight would take place.
The ship docked behind the train station. They saw that the structure on top was actually a large annex, allowing the generals to plan and strategize for the fight. General Iroh, eager to greet the renowned Team Avatar, waited at the docking station.
"My friends. We meet once again. It's rather unfortunate that the only time we ever see each other it's because something bad is happening." The rest of the crew exited the ship, including the refugees and Tenzin's family. "Ah, I see you have more survivors. Excellent. We will have them taken to a safe place." Iroh looked at each member, remembering their faces from a long time ago when they helped to stop the Equalists all those years ago, in particular Asami and Bolin's faces. "It looks as though you are missing a rather important member this time around."
"Yeah," Bolin said. "Kind of a bummer…but knowing her, it isn't that weird."
"I wish that wasn't so. We could use any intelligence there is, and I know Korra is a treasure chest of useful information. But nevertheless, we will manage. I'm glad you're all here, now. Many in the city will be pleased about your arrival. Each one of you has been involved in this since it started. They almost see you as prophets, here to guide and save us." Iroh's words were immediately proven to be true. The Team looked to the train station. Many citizens, looking exhausted and emaciated from the past few days' events, crowded to get a glimpse of Team Avatar. Revel as they were in the presence of the very people who were believed to save this world from its destruction.
"Wow," Sydney said, grabbing Bolin's arm tightly. "I feel like we are famous."
"It's nice to be looked at and not hated, for once," Asami said, remembering how tough it was taking over the Sato business.
"They know what is coming for this world, and the fact that you present the slightest hope has made you all heroes to them," Iroh said.
"Iroh, why did you station here?" Lin asked.
"I'll explain as we go to the meeting room up there," he pointed to the large structure on top of the train station. As they walked, the crowd of citizens separated, forming a path for the Team to walk through. They looked to the Team with extreme gratitude in their eyes, some even bowing down. Some of their faces looked familiar from Metro when they freed them from Qu's dictatorship. A few citizens reached out and gently touched them in awe. Asami and Bolin admired the gesture, while O-Ren and Mako were confused and tried to shake them off. Tenzin was skeptical about the crowd while his wife and children embraced the attention.
Iroh explained. "We started construction of the New Republic City once it was destroyed. The place was crawling with people infected with what was called the Clasma, crying for help in the wreckage. Some of them so far-gone that they couldn't even think. We are currently keeping those infected in a hospital, our people are trying to treat them and seem to be making progress both with their wounds and mental state. As for the ones they called drones, we didn't have much of a choice as to what to do about them, as unfortunate as that sounds. The surviving ones were just killing machines.
"We didn't know what had brought the city down. Some people thought it was Qu, but evidence kept telling us that it was something much more powerful. Inhumanly powerful. So we began thinking it was a Spirit. After you discovered the settlement in Misty Grove, Korra's words spread like wildfire across the world. Telling us all of the danger we faced. Many were skeptical, but I believed it, and I was surprised but also pleased to see my opinion had a lot of gravity. People followed my lead, and we prepared for a battle, one final battle with this beast terrorizing our land, our people. No longer a fight for a nation, for a culture or way of living or an idea. But a fight for our own existence. Everyone, the whole world, got on board with that cause. Whatever differences we had dissolved." They walked into the building and rode the elevator up to the annex. Tenzin and Lin stayed behind to see his family off.
"Now, you all go with your mother. These people will provide you a safe place to stay. I will come and see you when this meeting is over. I'll let you know everything that is going on, then."
"Honey, where are they taking us?" Pema asked.
"There is an old hotel two blocks east," said a young woman who was responsible for escorting the family.
"Dad," Jinora asked. "Can I come to the meeting, too? I've used some of ONI's weapons before I might be able to help."
"I know you would be, but please, just go with your mother. I promise I will be there later today and tell you about everything that is going on. We can talk about that then. Just please do this for me, just now." Jinora agreed and left with her mother. Tenzin joined up with Lin at the elevator and informed her where his family would be in case anything happened.
The room above the station looked just like the bridge of the airship. A small command room. Cameras set up across the city sent feedback to various screens in all the rooms. Radios transmitted voices, updating on the perimeter status from the checkpoints. Iroh stood before a large window overlooking the city.
"Our reconstruction pace increased dramatically upon seeing footage of the actual beast tearing Metro apart," Iroh was explaining. "Almost all of the survivors were brought here to join the other members of ONI, and many volunteered to fight, too. As of this morning, the beast has been on the move. It's pretty amazing actually. The beast transmits cosmic energy through the dark skies which allows some of our technology to trace it back to the monster to track it. It's currently displayed on those radars in the other room. As you can see, it's basically going back the way it came. Into the ocean, then eventually here. It's energy levels are off the charts according to our engineers, but it's coming right for New Republic City."
"How did you know that it would come here?" Asami asked.
"We didn't!" yelled a voice behind the ground. Tenzin cringed as he joined back with the Team upon hearing the voice. They turned to see a tall, dark-skinned man with long brown hair. They each individually gathered from the man's appearance and his voice that he was crazy. "We began rebuilding this place and brought refugees back here before we even knew about this monster. Ah, hello brother." Tenzin rolled his eyes at the sight of Bumi but was ultimately happy to see his older brother safe. "Good to see ya all healthy!" He forcibly grabbed Tenzin and pulled him closer into a tight and uncomfortable hug. "How's the fam!?"
"They are fine, Bumi. Safe and sound in the hotel down the street."
"Good, make sure you keep an eye on that place. We don't know what is going to happen. Not to worry, we will keep a close watch on it, too. Unless, of course, we forget."
"Bumi, don't joke about this right now," Tenzin said, seriously. Bumi laughed like it was no big deal and walked up to join Iroh and looked out the window.
"Ain't she a beauty, though? Republic City coming back together," Bumi said.
"You did this all rather quickly," Lin stated.
"Yes," Iroh said. "At first we adhered to our philosophy. The only rule of ONI to never use your bending to get your work done, to advance the world. I petitioned to repeal that only rule, temporarily, in order to restore this place quicker. I know it sounds hypocritical. But I tell you this: if this was a human war, I would not have done that. The consequences of subduing someone because you have bending, because you have that power over them can lead to an imbalance that cannot be solved because the Spirits endowed us with bending that the enemy did not have. It isn't right…but you see, we are going against Spirits. We do not and should not, as humans, ever have to face a Spirit. It is fundamentally unfair because we are fundamentally different. We do not belong side by side, in the same world, in the same dimension. The connection should not be an open one. We would forever be ruled. They endowed us with a power to keep this control…but we seek freedom from them. So in this case, I say it is fine to use their power against them, one last time, in order that we may be free from it forever."
"Good speech, Iroh…"O-Ren said. "But what if the monster goes plowing into some other city and kills all of them first? And if it does come here, what do you do when CHAOS just destroys all of your barricades and weapons?"
Iroh looked at O-Ren angrily. "O-Ren. One of my formers subordinates. I see you haven't changed."
"You were barely above me back then, Iroh."
"Well, that is General Iroh now, isn't it?" Iroh calmly joked under his breath.
"Quit your bickering, you damn children," Bumi yelled. "Whatever the case, O-Ren is right. That is why we called you here. Our prediction models tell us the beast is coming this way. But we need more intelligence to make the best strategy to defend these people. We understand the stakes, and what this thing, CHAOS, is trying to do with these SPORE. I know they will steal our souls and completely dissolve the channel between the worlds, so that the Spirits can cross over and tear down this one. That right? Sounds crazy but Iroh believes it, so I do, too. Right now, we have our skies patrolled, covering every inch within a reasonable distance. Our airships have been equipped with the most powerful guns and missile launchers, as well as qualified benders. We've placed many layers of metal walls accessible only by human hands, hoping that will at least add some resistance to the SPORE as they attempt to tear through the streets. Mounted guns and even anti-aircraft weapons have been installed across all the walls and on each watchtower. Our soldiers and civilians line every street outside of these walled-in areas, defining the war zones. Those who are not fighting remain in this circle, which is the safest place in the city. We are afraid to move them out lest the monster abandon us and go for them while they are unprotected. Please, tell me anything that can help. Anything we would need to know in order to stand a better chance."
The ships sailed through the darkness outside, only their lights and the very bottoms of them visible. Asami stepped forward and began explaining everything the Team knew, starting with what CHAOS actually is, and that within it is the Spirit World. She explained that a powerful Spirit from within the beast held the connection between physical and Spirit World. Additionally, she mentioned the role of Solomon. "According to Korra, the beast is being controlled by a man named Solomon. He died several years ago but was brought back to this world by a very powerful Spirit, the one responsible for the creation of the Avatar, to be the Spirit World's ambassador and help direct these events."
"Is he tied to this beast?" Bumi asked. "In other words, if he dies, what happens to CHAOS?"
"I don't know, and beyond that, I think we are in the same boat. But…I think it would make sense that Solomon direct it here, where the most people are so that he can collect the most souls..."
"It looks like that is what is happening, just tracking the beast," Iroh said. "There isn't any way to escape it, we realize that. There is no choice but to face it. The fact that it is coming here where there are the most people, well, that is a good and bad thing. If we fail to stop it…then that is it. It would all be over for everyone else. But I can assure you that this will not come to pass. Our plan is simple: Defend. Stay alive. Do whatever it takes to do so. Fire every last bullet and missile, bend every bit of water and fire and earth at this thing. Hold off its supporting army until we take down the beast itself. "
"It'll take more than that, General," Mako said.
"There is no way to kill it. It has the power of the Spirit World keeping it alive. You know, like, infinite power?" Bolin said.
"The best you can do…the only thing you can do is stall it," Lin said. "Hold off the SPORE from killing us for as long as possible. They are much weaker than CHAOS, but I wouldn't be surprised if their numbers were infinite. They will not cease to attack. They will be killed and recreated by CHAOS, and they are the ones who steal our souls. Once they enter into this world and are killed, the Spirits will just use the energy to create more. As long as we are determined we should be able to just hold them off until…"
"Until what, then?" Bumi asked. "What is the point of delaying our own downfall? Why are we doing this if it is not to be victorious?"
"It is like Iroh said," Asami spoke. "They are Spirit, and we are human. We are different. We were not created to have their level of power over the cosmos, and so to fight each other, like this, like an outright battle, doesn't make sense. It should never happen. The only thing we are capable of doing is holding it off until one of their own stops them. They will keep coming, so we must keep fighting, until she saves us and ends this all."
"You are talking about Korra," Iroh said.
Asami nodded. "Korra is the only one who can actually stop this. She hails from their world, the Spirit World. We may have human power, but like you said, it is different than the power of the Spirits. Only she can deliver this power to the Spirit World in a way that would suppress their attack. Go there as a human and as a god. Allow us to finally realize our freedom. She is the bridge between our worlds, and so she is the key to allowing us to stop them. And once she does, the two worlds will be separated. She has to find the Spirit controlling all of this, but in order to do so she has to go inside CHAOS, for the Spirit World awaits within. That is why you must stall the beast as long as possible, and that is all we can really do. There is no possible way to kill it. It literally is an entire world contained in a vessel. She said if the beast is met with resistance, too much resistance, then it will give up some of its own strength and mobility to allow a direct pathway to open between the Spirit World and the physical one so that more powerful Spirits can get out, but that is precisely how we get in."
Asami felt her friends were not entirely on the same page as she was with this last statement. They looked at each other then back to her. "What do you mean, 'we'?" Mako asked.
Asami turned to look at them. "We are in this together. We've been together since this began, and we will be together until it's over. Stopping this Spirit is ultimately Korra's mission, but at least I've sworn to be with her, to be by her side and see her through it all, for as long as I can live, no matter what. Until the end." Her Team did not answer. Asami would not stand there and try to convince them. She knew what the future had in store for her, and she accepted it. She turned to Iroh, standing in front of the large window overlooking the city before him, all the way to the bay, the waters acting up, gradually becoming angrier.
"Yes, that is how we do it, then," Bumi said, smiling. "A direct channel into the Spirit World. That is how we kill the beast. From within the damn thing! From within we fire our most powerful guns and blow the Spirit World sky-high! Show those Spirits what they get for messing with this human race. Tear it down until there is nothing left."
"Bumi, I don't think that is the right way to go about this," Tenzin spoke up. "We should not be interfering directly with the Spirit World. Protecting ourselves from them is one thing, but actively going into the Spirit World…that is for the Avatar to handle. You have no idea what you would be disrupting. We as human should not be meddling in those affairs. The two worlds must exist in a balance."
"The Spirits apparently don't believe that, Tenzin," Bumi said.
"I think they still do," Asami said, "They've just let their anger blind them from the truth. We should not let the same happen to us. We cannot blindly go in and start wreaking havoc. That is why we need Korra. She will know what to do, we just have to trust her. To believe in her. Our strength as humans, she knows how to bring it into the Spirit World. To use it against them. To preserve the balance, for both worlds."
"We will see what you think when the time comes if the Spirits don't deserve destruction after you witness how many lives will be taken today," Bumi said. He looked at Lin.
"I'm going to have to side with Tenzin on this one, Bumi," Lin said. "I don't think it is right for you to go through with this last part of the mission. Listen to us. That is why you called us here. Just stall the beast until Korra gets here."
"I'm tired of looking to one person to save us. Again and again," Bumi said. "We will follow your plan of action. It was basically our original one anyway. Attack the beast until it weakens, then we go inside. I am not doing this because I have any wishes to kill. I am not doing this because I am sadistic and enjoy the sight of death. I am doing this to save my people, the people I love, all of you here and all of them out there, ready to give their lives for this race."
"General Iroh, surely you cannot condone my brother's plan," Tenzin said. Iroh looked from Tenzin to Bumi, reflecting on the argument, when the alarms went off. Several officers rushed into the room and up to the general and commander.
"Sirs, an attack has been initiated. Energy is raining down from the skies. Its source is unknown but we imagine it to be the beast from far away."
"Shoot em down!" Bumi yelled.
"We tried. The energy just plowed through our missiles. They didn't have any effect."
"How powerful is this attack? Have any of our ships been hit?" Iroh asked.
"Yes, I think. A few of our ships far out are going down. But they weren't hit. The energy seems to disrupt all of the power of their ship, disabling the mechanics from keeping it in the air."
"That makes sense," O-Ren said. "The Spirits aren't trying to kill us today. The SPORE are trying to steal our souls, which they'll use to bring the Spirit World into this world. If they just killed us all that wouldn't happen, would it?"
"So then," Bumi concluded, "Sounds like this attack will just shut down our technology, if I heard that correctly."
"Which basically serves our souls to them on a silver platter," Lin said. The Team looked out the window at the dark skies in the distance. It almost looked as if the clouds had split and a bright meteor shower was traversing across the sky. Spanning its entirety. Like a million fireflies coming right for New Republic City to render every one of its defenses useless. All of its vehicles, communications, guns, airhships. Iroh began to panic internally as he felt the war would be over in a matter of minutes, a complete slaughter, if this attack reached them.
"I should have seen this coming."
A black shadow quickly moved vertically across the window. Its movements so swift that the Team barely noticed it.
"Did anyone else see that?" Bolin asked. Suddenly, Asami felt a familiar feeling. Her heart rate slowed as she became calm, knowing that things were going to be okay.
She's here
A dark figure soared across the air from the roof of the station and landed in the palm of the still-standing Firelord Zuko statue, all but his flame surviving.
Korra rose and stuck her arms out toward the mass of light heading for the city. Her fingertips glowed green, and soon the green consumed her whole hands. The light shot out of her hands, the familiar vine-like appearance, zigzagging through the air, into the clouds. The energy beams glowed so bright that the Team was blinded, unable to see the light of the energy rain from CHAOS beyond the city. Up in the air, airships witnessed Korra's energy beams extending across the sky, finally reaching the wall of the oncoming cosmic energy attack.
The energy discharged in all directions upon contact, causing a green lightning storm in the skies over the waters of Yue Bay. Immediately following this light show, the sky glowed orange, like a nuclear explosion, as Korra's energy beam detonated every droplet of CHAOS's energy rain toward the city, completely suppressing it.
All that Korra heard afterward were the gasps and thanks of the many citizens and soldiers at the foot of the statue, praising her. Looking up to their savior with awe.
"You've come back. I knew you would," Asami said quietly as she hugged Korra.
"Where exactly did you go, Korra?" Mako asked.
"Yeah and what was that glowy light-up thing you just did outside?" Bolin added.
Korra had joined her Team in the annex of the station.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I left. I tried to help you, I wanted to stay," Korra looked at Asami, implying her double meaning. "But there was something I felt I had to do. I believed you could escape and be found. I tried to reach you. I left to go to the desert, to face Solomon. I hoped that without his guidance, the beast would lose its source of strategy and just become berserk. No direction. Solomon tried to take me to a prison within the Spirit World, but I broke free and landed us on one of the mountains near the city limits. I was able to kill Solomon, and my prediction was right. Without him, CHAOS would go for places where it would gather the most souls. It appears that place is here. New Republic City."
Upon finishing this sentence, an object in everyone's periphery grabbed their attention. They turned to the window to see a massive wave forming in the waters beyond Air Temple Island. Completely flooding it. Bright green eyes glowed through the floating water, but now joined by millions of smaller pairs of green eyes.
"They have come," Korra stated. CHAOS's wave came right for the city.
"Not gonna fall for that again. We got channels set up to redirect that water, ensuring none of our artillery on the boundaries gets flooded," Bumi said.
"Then what is our plan?" Korra asked.
Bumi smiled. "We fight the damn thing. Defend our existence with our lives until the beast falls."
"And when it does…I have to be the one that goes in. I know how to stop this," Korra stated.
"Absolutely, Korra," he said slyly. Bumi left the room, feeling the skeptical stares of his comrades.
Iroh remained in the control room watching the beast rising out of the dark sea. "Wow. It is incredible." The tidal waves were accompanied by the green and black waves of the SPORE. He turned to one of his officers. "Tell our men we have no more than five minutes before the SPORE arrives. Prepare for battle."
Korra grabbed the handle of her sword. Asami saw something dangle from Korra's belt. A mask with a rope tied around it. She walked up to her. "Korra, you realize that if I survive that long, I am going with you. Whether the others do or not, I am going in that beast with you."
"There is nothing I can do to stop you?" Korra asked.
Asami shook her head and grabbed Korra's hand. "I'm with you in this. Until the end. Just like we said, we'll be together, and so we'll see this through together."
"I figured you would do something like this," Korra said, smiling. The two hugged. "Thank you."
Asami felt the object tied around Korra's belt hit her leg. "Korra, what is that?"
Korra looked down and untied the mask from her belt.
"Why do you have that?" Asami asked, a little frightened.
"After killing Solomon I seemed to have inherited his power over cosmic energy. I'm not sure if Daya knows yet that Solomon is dead. She's been trying to disassemble me, literally, but there are Spirits fighting to hold me together. I can definitely feel it, though. Anyway, I released an energy beam into the air on the mountain and used it as a guide to find this city. I could contact and feel life, so I followed that feeling here to Republic City. I finally reached the bay, and this was just there, sitting by the water. Waiting for me. Perfect condition. I don't know why but I felt I was supposed to find it." Korra held up the mask, looking at it, the white base, the light green color, the big red dot at the center of the forehead. The evil gaze, as if the mask had a life of its own. It stared at her, and reminded her of those fears she had long ago. The fear of losing her bending. Of losing her purpose. Her identity, at the touch of the man's hand who had worn this very mask. And with that, she would no longer have any place in this world. It seemed so silly to her now. "I don't know why I kept it. I was so scared of losing my bending to this man. But here I am, siding with those who oppose the idea of maintaining bending. Fighting in a war that will end it forever. I can't help but think that he was something more. A man before his time. That what he said was completely true, but his methods were flawed, and in the end, the very thing that he sought to end consumed him. The very power he wanted to render useless was his own corruption. Like he wasn't capable of handling it. I wonder if I am nothing more than his protégé. As if I have helped to start an entire organization of Equalists. But, If I am to succeed, I must not meet his same end. I must not let my power be my downfall. I must remember what I fight for. I must remember what defines me."