Chapter 13: Even Dead Gods Can Still Dream

"Haaahh!" Korra shouted as she charged towards the Northern soldiers attacking her. They wielded the fancy but battered guns that use to belong to Blackwatch, but they were unbelievably unskilled with them. They kept messing up with them, ejecting the ammo or using the lock or just ending up shooting at everything else. She swung out with her arm, now altered into a blade covered in flames, and sliced through the guns with ease. She Earthbended a wall to hide behind as other soldiers retaliated with Waterbending, before she sent the wall flying towards them. The soldiers were left in a groaning pile at the other end of the street, rubble strewn everywhere.

"Korra! Heads up!" She heard Asami shout, already rolling away as a flaming boulder crashed down the street. She glared back at Bolin, who was sweating nervously.

"Sorry!" He apologised. "I was aiming further down the street!" Korra kept glaring. "Watch out!" She ducked, a sliver of ice slicing past her face. If she hadn't moved, that could've gone through her skull. She quickly rolled away while blasting a wave of wind down the street, knocking at least three soldiers away from cover. They quickly got back up, blocking her follow-up attacks with walls of water. She got behind a house as they retaliated, only stopping when another flaming boulder was fired at them again. She got back into the street, creating a series of barricades with rocks before lashing out with water. But the soldiers were skilled. They managed to dodge and repel her attacks, slicing through the barricades in an attempt to get to her.

And while they were busy concentrating on her, a black blur skidded past and sliced their legs out from under them. A large wave of snow formed as it suddenly stopped, before the snow turned into water and stabbed the lot of them dead. When the snow was gone, Alex was standing before her.

"Hey. How's your day going?" He said, smiling at her.

"Better now that you're here." Korra replied, giving him a quick hug. "Though we've got big problems. Unalaq's trying to free…"

"Vaatu, the spirit of chaos, from the tree. I know." Korra stared at him in amazement before groaning loudly.

"Of course you do. I had to literally lose my memory and do a lot of soul searching to get this info, and you somehow found it out by yourself. That's just typical."

"If it makes you feel any better, I had Unalaq's personal collection of books to work with. I doubt I could've gotten anywhere without them. And even then, they only gave me a starting point." A couple of loud thumps alerted them to the arrival of the others. "I still had to enter the Spirit World in order to figure out his master plan."

"You entered the Spirit World? Alex, you're even less spiritually capable than me. And that's saying a lot." Korra replied.

"Yeah well, you can keep the Spirit World. That place is insane. Give me a world where the laws of physics are mostly obeyed any day." He shook his head before smiling at her again. "Still, I got some results. I know how to stop Unalaq's plan. We just need to make sure that the second spirit portal, the one leading to the Spirit World, stays closed until Harmonic Convergence is over. Once that's done, Vaatu's gonna be stuck in that tree for another 10,000 years. Between the five of us, plus hanger-ons, it shouldn't be too difficult to do so."

"Ah, yeah. About that." Korra looked away, obviously ashamed. "I… had to open the portal for Unalaq."

"…" Alex sighed. "I know it's probably gonna piss me off, but I'm compelled to ask why you did something so…"

"I didn't have a choice. Jinora and I went to the Spirit World to make sure that the portal couldn't be opened from that side, but we got separated when we got there. She went to Wan Shi Tong's library to find out how to stop Vaatu, but he betrayed her and handed her over to Unalaq. And then he threatened to corrupt her spirit unless I opened the portal for him, and then he tried to kill me, and then I got rescued, but Jinora's spirit is still trapped in the Spirit World."

"That… That motherfucking owl. Now I feel really glad that I practically caved his skull in. How are we going to save her?"

"While we're stopping Vaatu and Unalaq…"

"Unavaatu." They both stopped talking to look at Bolin. "What? That's what we're calling their team-up. It's faster that way."

"…As I was saying, while we're stopping them, Tenzin is going with Bumi and Kya to find her spirit. They get her out, we stop the end of the world, and we all go home happy. Now, where's my dad?"

"In an underground base I made. There's an entrance not too far from our location. It's right by…" A large explosion bloomed, filling the sky, not too far from City Hall. "…That big explosion. Guess the Northerners finally found a doorway."

"Well, what are we standing around for? We need to stop them." Korra led the charge, the others following close behind. Alex rolled his eyes and shifted into a Hunter, his claws modified to handle the slippery snow. He charged up behind the others, throwing them onto his back with ease, before rushing towards the entrance. When they arrived, it was clear that the North had been very prepared for this assault. The entrance was blasted wide off, shored up by ice beams and with three guards standing guard. Alex smashed one against the ice walls, while Korra and Mako jumped off and ambushed the last two. His large size working against him in the tunnels, Alex changed back and led the charge again. Left, left again, right, straight, down, right, left, up…

"This… place… is like… a maze." Bolin panted, bouncing off the walls as he tried to keep up with everyone else. "I… could get… lost… down… here."

"That's the point Bolin." Alex replied, barely stopping as he spun round another corner. "We didn't want to make it easy to find us. Don't have a clue how they've gotten so far though. Maybe we've got a mole in our resistance."

"We can worry about that later. Right now, we have to stop them before they capture everyone." Korra said firmly.

"Don't worry. We're almost there." And indeed, he could already hear yelling and the sounds of fighting. "Just get ready to duck if I tell you to." They rounded the last corner, and came across a war zone.

Oh, and a few corpses riddled with spikes.

The rebels were putting up a good fight against the Northern invaders, aided by the weapons he made that were still active. They were crouched behind the huts and walls made of ice, lashing out with water whenever they got a chance. But the North had more soldiers, even with some of them lying dead at their feet. The soldiers closest to them barely had time to react before Alex grew a blade and sliced through them with ease. Korra rushed past him and Earthbended pillars beneath the next lot, sending them flying out of cover. The rebels trapped them in ice against the walls. The soldiers still left found themselves caught in a pincer maneuverer, trapped between the rebels, the Krew, and Alex.

"All units, they're trying to flank us. Second squad, cover our rear." One soldier, likely the man in charge ordered. That was a big mistake. Alex charged through their numbers, using his increased heft to crush anyone in his way, before grabbing the commander and breaking his neck. The soldiers unleashed a barrage of water strikes at him, but all that was left was a broken husk. Korra looked up to see Alex latched onto the roof of the cavern, the commander already gone. Some of the soldiers lashed out again, but Alex was gone again, dust trails and a blast of air the only signs of his passing. That, and a small crater where several soldiers once stood.

"Arrgh!" Korra heard someone scream, turning to see Asami shocking one of the soldiers. She blasted two more sneaking up on her with air, knocking them through a hut in the process. Korra then charged out further and created a wave of Earth, blasting more soldiers into the air before she fired a strand of biomass at them. It pierced through a couple of soldiers before she reeled it in, the spike tearing through them on the rebound. She then booted the wounded men away, before she blasted another lot with a blast of air. She turned to see Mako and Bolin double teaming a group, their fire and Earthbending overpowering their Waterbending. As she turned again, a strong gust passed her by. When she looked, Alex's whipfist was buried in at least three soldiers, and was currently slamming them against their brethren. He released them, turning to look at another group charging towards them.

"Korra, box them in for me." Alex said.

"Right." She slammed her foot against the earth and swung her arms up, walls of Earth rising around them. But she left an opening in their direction, funnelling them towards Alex. On his part, Alex had formed his blade again, the soldiers growing pale as they realised just how big it was. They slowed, but it was too late. Alex rushed towards them, spinning on his heel as he went. Once, twice, thrice his blade spun. The soldiers' parts were sent flying everywhere.

"All units, regroup and defend." Someone shouted. The soldiers charged into the middle of the settlement, forming a massive wall of ice from the snow. Then, they started blasting water through it, peppering the buildings around them and generally making it difficult to retaliate.

That all stopped when Alex rushed up the roof and dropped down from below. When he landed, large black spikes rose from within the ice bubble, tips red with blood. When it all shattered and flowed away, he was standing alone in a crater.

"Thank you, Alex." Tonraq said calmly to him. "I'm hoping that you found something while you were out meditating these last few days."

"As a matter of fact, I did. Unalaq's interested in freeing Vaatu because he wants to fuse with him and become a 'Dark Avatar'. We need to hit them with an all-out assault so that Korra can seal the portals. Without the energy flowing through them, Vaatu's trapped."

"What? My brother wants to become an Avatar?" Tonraq asked in surprise. "I… I knew he was a bit power hungry. And I'll admit I underestimated the depths of his envy if he was willing to have me removed. But surely even he can't be that envious."

"Sounds like he really is."

"I'll grab everyone we can spare. But there's something I was curious about. Say that our plan doesn't work. Say that Vaatu manages to free himself. What's the plan then?"

Korra and Alex looked at each other nervously. "Uh, well. We got up to Vaatu…" Korra started saying.

"And hit him a lot. And then have Korra seal him away again." Tonraq rolled his eyes. "Hey, we don't exactly get many ancient evil spirits back home, ok? This is new for me, and so I need to stick to my strengths. And hitting things a lot is one of my strengths."

"…Alright. But we need a plan. We can't just assault their main camp without one. And it can't just be 'charge in and hit them really hard'. It needs to be a real plan."

"We get it Dad." Korra said. "Gather everyone willing to fight. We'll come up with something." Tonraq walked away, shouting orders at the rebels. Korra pulled Alex over to one side. "Seriously, do we have a better plan?"

"It'll work for now at least. We can add bits to it once we scout out the enemy. But we don't have time to waste on recon. Harmonic Convergence is only a few hours from now. The sooner we get the portals closed again, the less likely that Vaatu's going to escape again."

"I know. But Dad will need more than just that. You're the only one here who being beheaded or sliced apart is a minor nuisance for. The rest of us need more to go on."

"…I'll go and scout ahead. Tell the others to take tunnel 25. That'll drop them off near the camp. Once I've looked it over, I'll meet up with you there. And tell them to grab any binoculars and rifles that we have." He injected something into her arm. "Hold your hand over your eyes, and it'll act like binoculars for you. Meet you upstairs."

"Right. Don't get started without us." Korra slapped him on the arm before he ran off. With everyone watching her, she took a deep breath to calm her nerves.

"Ok people. Grab some binoculars already." She called out.

Well, it definitely looked like the North's final stand. There were more spirits out and about that ever before. And practically every third soldier had a rifle in his hands. Annoying, but given how the rest handled them not a problem. He could see guards standing on top of towers, a large basin of water with them. And what looked like a recovered tank turret and a couple of AA guns near them. Also annoying. And those mecha tanks could be a problem too. Seriously, how much tech got out of Republic City anyway? He shook his head wry fully, before running back towards the hill he had directed the rebels to. As he had ordered, they were waiting there. And quite a few of them were watching the camp closely too. Korra looked away as he skidded to a halt next to them.

"They're way more prepared for us this time." She said solemnly. "It looks impenetrable now."

"Looks that way, but I think I can see a few holes in their defences." He grew several tendrils and started sketching out a map before them. "The biggest problem for us is the Blackwatch weapons they have, especially the tank turret and the anti-aircraft guns. They need to be one of our first priorities. Luckily, they're both not suited for the colder climates down here. Metal turns brittle, ammo can jam, bolts can crack. Shove a lot of water down the tank barrel and freeze it, and it's good as disabled. The AA guns are more easily dealt with. Someone take a team and slice through the barrels with some water. That'll be enough."

"What about the guards in the tower? As soon as we get close enough, they'll spot us." Mako asked him.

"Luckily, one of my donors was an Archery champ. I'll take them out with arrows as we get within range. With any luck, we'll be within range before they realise that they're under attack. Then we need to deal with the rifles."

"Flame blasts should leave them too hot to use." Korra said. "That was something Beifong found out when they studied the rifles they caught."

"Good idea. Mako, you and Korra will start blasting away at them. Catch as many rifles as you can in the flames, but make sure to stick to cover. And I mean good cover. Wooden boxes just won't cut it."

They both nodded. "What about the spirits? Should I try to pacify them?"

"Pacify? You're telling me that you learnt Unalaq's spirit cleansing technique?" She nodded. "I'm impressed. I might suggest it if you could, but I'm worried that being so close to the portal could mean that Vaatu's completely twisted them. Better to just disperse them instead."

"And is that what you'll be doing?"

"Yep. Dispersal and decoy. And smashing those tanks to pieces. While I'm keeping them busy, you guys and Tenzin go through that portal."

"I need to find Jinora's spirit first, Alex. We can't close the portal until we return." Tenzin said firmly.

"Fine. But you have to be quick. If you're not back by the time Convergence is about to begin, then we'll have to lock you guys in."

"I know."

"He'll be quicker with us beside him." Bumi said. "Between the three of us, we should find her in no time flat."

"Don't count on it. The Spirit World is insane."

"What will the rest of us be doing?" Tonraq asked him.

"Dealing with everyone else, of course. Between all of you, those guards shouldn't be too difficult."

"And directions? Where will we come from?"

"I don't know. Front, left and right, I guess. Just make sure to spread out. That cannon's a real bitch." He wiped away the map and stood back up. "Let's move it people."

The first guard fell without making a sound, or alerting anyone. His fellow followed within a second. Black arrows flew with nary a sound, finding their mark with ease. It wasn't until one guard was thrown forcefully off the tower and crashed to the ground below that anyone realised that they were under attack. And then the Avatars jumped over and through the barricades and unleashed mayhem. The guards on the tank turned the barrel as best as they could, but a basin crashed into the front and knocked it askew. As the soldiers tried to realign it, the water flowed down the barrel and froze over, the metal cracking and groaning from stress. When the shell was fired, it exploded against the ice and destroyed the turret. The guards on the AA guns turned to face the fight, but most were destroyed as Southern rebels climbed over the barricade and slice through the barrels. One managed to get started, but the soldier manning it wasn't prepared for the recoil. His gun's sights jumped everywhere, proving him more of a hazard to his own side than the rebels. Alex smashed through the gun, a wave of spirits following him and screaming. The other spirits were flying away, panicking and terrified. A guard brought a rifle to bear, just as Asami placed her shock glove against it. He jumped nearly a foot into the air, before she moved onto the next guard. Out in the open, Bolin was creating walls of stone as barriers, the bullets cracking the stone while Korra and Mako blasted with fire. The soldiers yelped in pain, dropping their scorching rifles and shaking their hands. The rebels used their moment of distraction to get in close, smacking the soldiers with their fists. A few guards got into the tanks, their servos hissing and their cables flying.

"Beep beep, motherfuckers." Alex said as he crashed into them, his body armoured up. The new layer of hardened biomass made their destruction easier, metal denting inwards, parts flying and blood oozing. A few of the faster spirits managed to swarm him, trying to tear into him with their claws. Alex's hands flashed silver, and fragments of spirits rained down around him. The wounded retreated, and the rest started wavering. Taking advantage of their fear, Alex got back to his feet and blasted them with a column of biomass, the spikes piercing through them. He smashed the massive tendril into other tanks, crushing them against walls and the ground while spirits worked free and ran. Clearly, whatever Vaatu's hold on them was, it wasn't strong enough to make them suicidal.

"That's the last of them! Get going!" Tonraq called out to him. "We'll guard the portal until you get back out!"

"Right!" Alex shouted back. He moved to run back when he was smashed sideways by another wave of spirits. Guess they were suicidal. "You guys go on ahead. I'll catch up once I deal with these assholes." He grew four arms and started tearing through them, constantly being pushed back step by step. He turned slightly to see the others running into the portal.

His view was then blocked as he found himself buried under the snow. His armour started degrading slowly under all that water, becoming weaker. He slammed his fists together and blew the spirits away, allowing himself to jump high into the air. His armour solidified again, and he started raining down fire from above. The elements seemed just as effective against the spirits as contact with his biomass, parts shearing off any spirit that got within the blast. Streams of spirits flew around him, ready to attack from both sides. He used his two extra arms to unleash fire blasts sideways too. He turned his head 180 to see a fourth stream rushing down towards him.

He grew a large mouth and spat flames at them too.

It certainly would've looked impressive, him acting like a flaming cross against the spirits. At the very least, they got the idea and ran for it. He stopped the flames and fell to the ground, watching as they all raced away. Only once he was certain that they weren't coming back did he move towards the portal.

When he came out of the portal, he found Korra, Mako and Bolin in a stalemate with Unalaq and his kids. And a lot more spirits flying overhead. As his foot touched the ground, it felt like a pulse radiated out from him. At the very least, the spirits seemed to notice him.

"Not again." He groaned, watching as yet another wave of spirits rushed towards him. He pushed off from the ground, curling into a ball and growing spikes covered in a flammable secretion. Igniting the spikes, he carved through the stream and crashed down near the others. Unalaq barely had time to push him away with water, before Korra tried to throw him around with a pillar of stone. He jumped off it, using water to slow his fall, just as Alex jumped underneath (he had been aiming for where he was going to be). Quickly, Alex grabbed him by the ankle as he passed. But Unalaq sliced his hand off with a blade of water, kicking away the remnant biomass. As Alex landed, Korra jumped forward and stole Unalaq's water, trying to smash him with it. Alex turned on the spot and unleashed a fire blast. Unalaq stole his water back just in time to block it. Steam billowed everywhere.

"Korra! We're running out of time! Close the portal!" He shouted. He saw Korra rushing past, impeded slightly by Desna, Eska and the spirits. But with her tapping into the full powers of the Avatar and Mako and Bolin's help, she managed to punch through them. Alex looked back at Unalaq, smirking.

"Looks like your plan's a complete screw up. I look forward to breaking you into tiny little pieces." He was a bit startled as Unalaq started laughing.

"That's almost precious, monster. Really." Unalaq said. "But you see, we have been planning for this moment, even once you and Blackwatch showed up. You're far too late to stop us."

"Last I checked, even you can't speed up time or move the planets. And there's still at least an hour until Harmonic Convergence."

"Oh, but we don't have to speed up time. You see, time in the Spirit World works differently to our world."

"So I noticed."

"But you see, you've been running behind schedule the moment you entered through the portal. When Korra was waylaid by our attack on her ship. And when we attacked your camp. In short…" He was interrupted as two massive pillars of light erupted from the portals, and shockwaves knocked them down. "…You were at least an hour late this whole time."

Son of a bitch. Seriously? They were wrong about the time? They lost because no one realised that the Spirit World lost an hour? That was possibly the stupidest thing he had ever heard. There was Diabolus Ex Machina, and then there was something like this.

"I swear, by the time I'm done with you – both of you – there won't be enough to bury." He growled angrily, spikes growing everywhere. He charged for Unalaq, who used the water to propel himself out of reach.

"You shouldn't worry about me. You should be worried about him." Unalaq said, pointing behind Alex. Even as Alex was about to say that he wouldn't fall for that, he felt unbearable pain as something burned away at his back. He turned to see Vaatu floating behind him.

Oh, right. The big angry evil god-thing.

Alex charged for Unalaq. Their plan was to make a Dark Avatar. If he was dead, then that plan would fall. At least long enough for Korra to lock him back up. A glowing tendril sliced through his arm, before he felt another one grabbing him round the stomach and throwing him away. Alex bounded out of the crater he made and punched Vaatu in the eye. As they crashed down to the ground, he saw Unalaq get sent flying by a bolt of air, throwing him out of the portal. His body erupted into more pain as he was struck by an energy beam of some kind. When he reformed his face again, he saw Vaatu caught in an orb of air, surrounded by flames, rocks, and water. He struggled against it, but it wasn't enough. Alex chuckled as he watched the helpless god get beaten again.

And then Korra crashed into him, soaked through with water. Eska and Desna stood before them, water flowing between them. Alex moved to attack them, before seeing Vaatu's eye glowing again. He jumped away with Korra in his arms, dodging the blasts as he tried to find an opening again. Korra jumped away from him, no longer disorientated.

"You deal with Vaatu. I've got the twins." He said. They moved as one, Alex firing spikes at the twins as he approached. They managed to barely dodge it, before striking him repeatedly with water. He tapped into his knowledge and gained access to the fluids within them. They struggled helplessly as he held them in place. Tendrils grew from his back and skewered forward, ready to drive themselves through their heads. Until dark spirits formed a wall, taking the blow meant for the twins. And then he was knocked aside by more spirits. "Oh come on. This is just taking the piss now." Large ghostly hands rose from the ground and grabbed him by the limbs, keeping hold even when he skewered them repeatedly and carved them up. He looked over to see the twins attacking Korra again. Just long enough for Vaatu to break free again.

This time, when Vaatu blasted him, there was nothing but pain.

He felt something organic, something meaty land on top of him. His tendrils burrowed deeply into the flesh and devoured every inch. Another thing, and another, and he gorged himself repeatedly on them until he could fully reform into human form. As he grew lips, he took a deep breath of air.

"Well that fucking hurt." He gasped. "And I thought the nuke was bad enough." He blinked, looking around at his surroundings. He was still in the Spirit Bridge (or whatever it was really called), with Asami standing next to him. There was a small pile of dead seals near her. He consumed them even as he stood back up. "Ok. What happened? Last I recalled, I just got blasted by a pissed off evil god."

Asami didn't even smile. She just looked at the ground sadly. "With you gone, and Korra busy with the twins, Vaatu managed to knock Mako and Bolin aside, giving Unalaq a chance to come back. Then they fused into one, and tried to kill Korra. She fought bravely, but Vaatu fought dirty. He managed to remove Raava from Korra, and she was destroyed."

"…So, that means that we have an all-powerful dark god out there destroying the world, and anyone who could disable him is gone or weakened. That's just fucking typical."

"You don't think you could stop him?" Asami asked. "If you weren't being blindsided, you might have a chance."

"I might. But this is new territory for me. I don't even know if I honestly killed all the spirits that attacked me before. And the only other time I fought a giant… thing, I had to fight every inch to beat her. Not to mention that it looks like Vaatu just has to hit me hard enough once, and I'm dead for good. So unless Korra and Tenzin pull out some special spirit technique that lets them fight a god, we're kinda fucked." He sighed and shook his head. Honestly, right now it felt like some sadistic god was watching them, taking joy from the gruelling odds they faced. "How the hell did Vaatu manage to pull Raava out anyway? I thought they were bonded forever. Or at least until someone kills Unalaq."

"We're not entirely sure, but Tenzin thinks that because they only just bonded, Vaatu could still escape if he wanted to." Kya said, having walked over to them. She had a look of horror and disgust on her face, and Alex was pretty sure it wasn't about Vaatu. "You know, you are really creepy when you're eating."

"I nearly got killed just now. Manners weren't on my list of important things right now." He walked away, towards Korra. She looked broken. Even more so than when Amon took her bending and her arm. He sat down next to her, placing one arm supportably around her. She looked up, giving him a small, sad smile. "I…" He stopped, feeling… awkward. "I… I don't know what to say in this… situation." There was a heavy pause. "Sorry for failing you. If I had moved faster, the twins wouldn't have distracted you…"

"It's ok Alex." Korra said, hugging him. "I'm just glad that you're alive still." She stopped smiling. "But there's nothing we can do now. Unavaatu is destroying the world, and I've lost Raava and my past incarnations. I couldn't beat him before; how do I beat him now? I'm officially the last Avatar." She sighed, tears running down her cheeks. "I'm useless now."

"No you're not, Korra." Tenzin said softly. "You need to realise that there is more to you than peoples' expectations of you as the Avatar. And your own. You are more than just Raava." He seemed to think of something. "Just like Alex is more than just… well, Alex."

"He's right." Alex caught on. "The original Alex was a sociopath. He cared only about himself. I've grown past that into my own person. Someone who can actually consider people friends." He placed a hand on her shoulder again. "Think about our fight against Amon and the Equalists, or Blackwatch. Think about your near victory in the Pro-bending Arena. None of that was because of Raava. They were because of you. You and your feisty attitude."

"Aang became a great hero because of what he did. Not just because of his power, or the fact he was the Avatar." Tenzin continued. "Come, both of you. I want to show you both something." He stood back up and walked off, heading towards the tree. Vaatu's prison. Alex helped Korra to her feet, and they both followed.

"So, this tree is still important? I'm guessing that if it is, it's because it was something else before becoming a prison." Alex said.

"That's right. Long before Wan locked Vaatu inside it, the ancients used to meditate within it and connect to the great cosmic energy of the universe." Tenzin confirmed.

"The cosmic energy? Really? What is with the Spirit world and Deus Ex Machinas and all that stuff? You'd think they'd at least make it simpler to stop good an evil besides the twisting of fate and chance." Alex complained.

"Men have spent thousands of years studying the Spirits, and I'm afraid that they haven't gotten any closer to an answer than you have. It's best if you just accept that good and bad things happen, and take advantage of the good when it appears." Korra gave a small smile as she used the air to lift herself up to the hole in the tree, Tenzin and Alex right behind her. As they crossed the threshold, ghostly images appeared and floated around Korra. Alex spotted her in all of them, both when they knew each other and before.

"These are all my memories. The most important moments of my life." Korra said.

"Yes. The Tree of Time remembers everything. And as all of these memories show, your greatest strength hasn't been Raava. It's been you all along. As Alex said, it's your determination and your desire to do the right thing that have led you to doing such amazing things." The images were replaced by ones of another person. A man with spiked hair, giving them a warm yet cocky smile.

"Avatar Wan." Korra whispered. So, this was the first Avatar. Looking at him, Alex could honestly believe that he had been a perfectly normal man before he met Raava.

"Yes. A regular man once, who through his desire to help others, became a living legend. He could've surrendered; he could've abused his strength. But he didn't. Because of his strength of will. His legend was never defined by Raava, any more than you are." The images changed for a third time, this time showing a singular picture. A giant red man, with Vaatu's markings on his chest, ripping the Aang Memorial Statue from its base. Korra gasped.

"He's going to kill everyone in Republic City." She said.

"We need to stop him."

"Uh, hate to ruin your grand speech, but we're halfway around the world right now. Even if I were to help Korra, we still wouldn't be able to make it for at least a couple of hours." Alex said. "How do you expect her to get there so fast?"

"By connecting to the cosmic energy, just as the ancients had and Unalaq did. Don't bend the elements as you always have, but bend the energy within yourself. If you do that, I know that you can stop him."

"You really think I can do it?"

"I do. You are a brave young woman, and I know that you will not give up in stopping him." Korra smiled and pulled him into a hug.

"Thank you for not giving up on me." She said to Tenzin. They pulled apart, and she turned to Alex.

"I'd love to give you a pat for support, but I don't want to have my memories known by the tree." Alex said. "But hey, I'll give you moral support from all the way back here."

Korra laughed. "Thanks Alex. That really means a lot."

He smiled back at her. "I've come a long way from where I started from. And I doubt I could've done it without your help. If you can redeem something like me, I bet you can do anything." Korra walked back towards him, pulling Alex into a strong hug. His biomass instinctly clenched up at the contact, but he forced himself to relax. Korra was a friend. Korra was… family now. They broke apart, and he noticed tears on her cheeks again.

"Come on now, Alex. Let's give Korra time to meditate." Tenzin said gently, leading him away. They dropped down from the tree, walking back over to the others and waiting for a miracle. After what felt like minutes, but were likely seconds, the hole glowed with a bright yet gentle blue light. Alex blinked in surprise as a giant blue astral projection of Korra crawled out of the hole, glowing brighter still as she stood at full height. She reached out to touch the twin beams of the portals, getting sucked in before heading through the Physical Portal.

"…Uh, what exactly did you say to her?" Bumi asked in shock, looking at Tenzin like he had hit him upside the head with a bat. Tenzin shrugged, a smile on his face. As they stood there, still looking surprised, People started coming through the portal. And at the lead… was Jinora.

"Dad!" She shouted happily.

"Jinora!" Tenzin replied, running towards her and pulling her into a strong hug. "I was afraid that you'd never wake up again."

"I'm ok now." Jinora said, crying slightly. She rubbed her tears away, before seeing Alex and the others. "Korra's gone to stop Vaatu, hasn't she?"

"She has. And hopefully, she will stop him for another 10,000 years." Tenzin said. Alex walked closer, ready to attempt some bonding. If he was going to die for real, he didn't exactly want to go as an antisocial prick.

"Heard all about what happened to you in the Spirit World. You'll be pleased to know that I knocked Wan Shi Tong upside the head a few times when I entered the Spirit World. I doubt he's going to forget me anytime soon." He said, rubbing Jinora's head.

"Thanks Alex. That's sweet of you. How did you find the Spirit World? Was it great?" Jinora asked him.

"It was insane. I take five steps, and I'd find out that I'm walking upside down. You won't believe the number of times that I ended up falling off something and landing into trouble. I'll stick with the real world from now on. At least there they've got Badgermoles and flying lion turtles and crazed bioweapons and other normal stuff." She laughed again at that, but it turned into a shriek as dark spirits started appearing. Vaatu's deep laugh filled the air. "Shit. That can't be good."

"Tenzin, what's going on?" Kya asked as she blasted at spirits with water. The others grouped together, covering each other from attacks.

"I don't know. This shouldn't be happening. Unless…" He gasped. "Unless Korra's losing."

"Goddammit." Alex cursed. "That does it. I'm going after her."

"But how? You said it yourself that even you couldn't reach Republic City in…" He gave Alex a look. "You're going to do what she did. You're going to tap into the cosmic energy. Even though we don't know what might happen with all your souls."

"What I do know is that if I don't try, we'll all die from Vaatu or his spirits. We've got no choice. But do you think it's possible?"

"I don't know. There's so much pain inside of you, and so many conflicting opinions. But you're right. We don't have a choice."

"We'll cover you as long as we can." Mako said.

"Yeah. We've even got Desna and Eska to help out." Bolin added. And indeed, the twins were joining in.

"Father said that he was going to cure the world, not destroy it." Desna said.

"To be fair, I'm sure that from his point of view, he is curing the world." Eska added.

"I'll try not to take long." Alex said, rushing towards the tree. As his foot touched the bark, flashes of images started forming. A literal shower of memories, both his own and those of the people he consumed. The wood started becoming darker, and it almost appeared to be made of flesh in a certain light. He sat down next to Korra, and attempted to meditate again. Normally, he'd assume that the odds of him doing it successfully again in such short time would be astronomical. But he had to try. Dammit, he had to try.

Can you all hear me? Do you recall what Korra did?

Yes…Maybe…Yes…Yes…Who cares…No. Wait, can I change my answer?

Listen. If we can't replicate it, Korra will die. Everyone in Republic City will die. And then everyone in the world will be wiped out. This is our home now. We've made friends here. We are more than what we once were, what I was made for.

Friends…Friends…Family…Lovers…Children…Sons…Daughters…

Vaatu must be stopped. Vaatu must be destroyed.

Before, a cacophony of voices echoed in his head. Now, there was only one, unified voice. He opened his eyes to find himself standing on a glowing path in the stars. Before him was a hole in space, a thousand arms holding orbs of light and firing beams into one large orb. He looked behind himself to see an army of people waiting. Everyone he had ever consumed. Good, evil, young, old. Nodding to them, he lead the march towards the cosmic power. Once by one, they crossed into the light and felt another join them. Holding hands until they were one mass again.

The spirits pushed harder, almost to the tree now. They were determined to reach Korra's body, to do something to it. It was all they could do to stop them. But then the tree started screaming, a swirling black smoke oozing out of it. The spirits looked at it before panicking, several actually falling apart as they stared. Everyone turned to see the smoke rise up, solidifying as it left the tree. Where there was smoke, now there was a monster. A man, made up entirely of people. Their arms and legs bound together to make bone and muscles. And it had only a skull with a hundred eyes and a billowing hood for a head. It reached out to the portals, just as Korra did before, and was whisked away to the battlefield. The portal energy flashed a deep blood-red as it went.

The Tree became silent, as though its energy was spent from the screaming.

Korra awoke blearily, stumbling back to her feet. Or at least, she tried to. But her spirit ached so much. Her body just refused to listen to her. She raised her head to see Unavaatu waving his hands around, bending the elements around him. Water lifted her up and held her in the air, twin streams circling around her just like when Unalaq threatened to corrupt Jinora. This was it. She had failed. Vaatu was going to destroy everyone, and everything.

"With you out of the way and Alex dead, I will be the one true Avatar." Unavaatu gloated. He looked up with a frown as the sky turned red. A black comet came sailing through the air, crashing into him as Korra did. She dropped into the sea again, the process interrupted. She got back to her feet, ready to try fighting again. Unavaatu stood back up not far from her, shaking his head as he tried to get his bearing. What was the thing anyway? An ally? An enemy? Or something else?

As they readied themselves, the water bubbled and frothed where the comet had landed. Large black tentacles rose up, lashing out and striking Unavaatu across the chest and throwing him aside. Before he could move, another tentacle grabbed him and threw him the other way. He crashed into the mountain, while the rest of the thing rose up. Korra stifled a scream, but she could hear everyone else screaming in horror.

It was a monster. A creature not meant to exist. It was a large inverted skull with a single red eye, surrounded by a mass of tentacles made from people. There was a single person in the center of the eye, acting as the pupil. As she watched, it rose up as tentacles condensed into legs and arms, a hooded head forming from the skull.

Wait. Hooded…

"What manner of monster are you?" Unavaatu asked, clearly shaken. "In all my eons, I have never encountered anything as horrifying as you before."

"We are legion. We are many." The thing said with a thousand voices. "We are Blacklight. We are those taken for knowledge, for sustenance, for power. By blade and tooth and claw and bad luck. We stand beside our friend, against a new monster. We are your enemy. And we will not rest, for as long as one of us remains, until the world is safe from you."

"Madness." Unavaatu gasped, stepping back.

"Alex." Korra said. The creature turned to face her, the eye watching. "Thank you." The hooded head nodded as a hand gave her a thumbs up. "Now, do as I do." She moved her hands to be near her body, focusing her spiritual energy into a singular strike. Unavaatu did the same, so that their two beams became locked in a stalemate. It could've gone either way, if it wasn't for a red beam joining the fight. Their combined attack overwhelmed Unavaatu completely, before Alex shifted again. Now, he was a large dragon with a dozen mouths made from grasping hands. He rushed Unavaatu, the mouths biting down and tearing into him. Korra rushed after him and booted Unavaatu in the head, knocking him to the ground again. But Alex roared and retreated, purple marks across him. Even as she watched, his body shifted into smoke for a second before the marks were almost gone. Only a few people were glowing now, and even that faded. When he reformed, he was the tentacle monster again. Korra blasted Unavaatu again, knocking him down long enough for Alex to grab him. He placed his lands on the tentacles and they glowed with his energy, but Alex kept holding him.

"You forget. We are good and bad. You cannot corrupt those who are already evil." Alex said. "Now, we will find Raava. We will return her to our friend. Even if we have to tear you apart to do so." The skull opened its mouth, and large hands shot out and stabbed into Unavaatu. He yelled in pain as Alex started pulling his chest open, the markings glowing as he charged an attack. Korra slammed her fists into his face, disrupting him. Again and again, she kept wailing on him to stop him from succeeding. With a final cry, a pulse of energy knocked her back. She landed on something, likely Alex. But a hand dangled above her, a glowing white orb held between its fingers.

Raava.

"No!" Unavaatu shouted. He fired his beam again, but Alex somehow moved before her and blocked it with his spirit. His body glowed red, and he fired his own beam. Korra quickly touched the orb now lying in her hands, and Raava flew out of it and back towards her. She felt almost whole again, she felt rejuvenated by her presence. And she had an idea of what to do to stop Vaatu.

"Alex. Focus all your power into one giant attack." She ordered. A head grew from his back, nodding before his whole body changed. Tentacles entwined around each other, tying together until he was once whole object. She ran around him to see that he had created a long barrel-thing now. His eye glowed even brighter, and Vaatu was quickly overwhelmed. The beam continued into the horizon, dissipating to reveal a nearly unconscious Unavaatu. Without saying a word, she tapped into her training. Everything Unalaq had inadvertently shown her of the Spirit Purification technique. Unavaatu could barely struggle against his fate. His body turned golden, and dissipated into the ether. "Go in peace." She said, remembering her training.

"It's more than either of them deserve." Raava said to her. "But we must return to the Spirit World, or else we will not be able to fuse together truly. And I think your… thing is losing focus." While Korra would've called Alex a friend instead of a thing, what Raava said was true. He was losing form, his body almost warring against itself. The other people he was made up of were encroaching on the single entity in the center of the eye.

"Alex. Listen to me. Keep calm. Work together. We need to leave, now." She wrapped her hands around him, looking at him and pleading.

"Leave." Alex whispered. "Korra… is our friend… We must… listen. We must obey. We are not a monster." The sprits calmed down, reforming again. Now Alex was a man again, made of bone and muscle and wearing a heavy black cloak. He gripped her hand tightly, and Raava tapped into their power to send them back. The worlds faded past them at a blinding speed, until they found themselves once again at the Tree of Time. Korra guided Alex towards the tree, his body barely holding form now. Whispers and screams and shouts echoed from him. When they were close enough, they started dissipating. She into blue orbs of light, and him into wailing souls. She closed her eyes, and opened them again to find herself back in her body. Beside her, a black puddle reformed into Alex. He was lying on his back, shifting between different people. She reached out towards him with her Evolved arm, but stopped as he opened his eyes.

"No. Go. Fuse with Raava. I… Will be fine." He whispered. She nodded, standing back up shakily and walking out of the tree. Raava floated before her, now large and whole again. She grabbed hold of Raava as she was led back towards the portals, reaching out once they were close enough. Energy filled her body and blinded her world, until she felt her feet touch the ground. Everyone was smiling at her. The portals had returned back to normal. It was over.

They had won.

"Pretty ballsy move you made there." Alex said to her after her speech. "Wan closed the portals 10,000 years ago, and now you've decided to keep them open."

Korra turned to look at him, his body fully reformed again. He was leaning against the wall, completely at ease if you ignored him holding an ice pack to his head. "Do you think I made the wrong choice?" She asked him, worried.

"Well, I won't lie and say that I'm thrilled to have beings around that can identify me at all times. Or the fact that people can enter the insanity that is the Spirit World. But that's life for you. It's filled with things you like and things you hate, and you just gotta learn to adapt. Who knows, maybe being near me will cause them to stop freaking out all the time." He slapped her on the back. "Besides, you just wouldn't be my best friend if you didn't work with your gut." He winced in pain and held the ice pack closer to his head.

"Guess you're not fully back to 100 percent. But why do you need to hold the pack to your head? It's not like the pain is up in there."

"I think of myself as human. I have the biggest headache of my short life. Ergo, I feel better acting like the pain is in my head. But let's be clear that I am never doing that again."

"I think everyone else agrees with you on that. But how did you get them all to focus like that? I thought you were at war with yourself most of the time."

"Yeah, well we all agreed on a couple of things. Vaatu had to be stopped, and that you're our friend. Either one was enough for everyone."

"So, what will you do now?" He sighed, wincing as the act sent another twinge of pain.

"God. That's a good question. I don't actually know what I'll do now. Blackwatch is dead; I don't want to go home; and I have no idea what the future will hold." He mulled it over for a bit. "I guess I'll just hang out with you and Tenzin back in Republic City. Maybe if I wait long enough, you'll get involved in something interesting. Or gain the attention of something for me to smash."

"Sounds like a plan. Uh… you're not gonna smash Mako, are you?"

"Well, he did dump you after betraying your plans to help out the Southern Water Tribe. And then he didn't tell you that he dumped you after you lost your memory. But then again, I don't think I'd be willing to tell you that I'm dumping you if I was your boyfriend. And he did help us stop Vaatu. So I think I'll give him a pass for now. After some mild pranking, of course."

"Great. If we hurry, I think we could get a bucket of water ready before he goes anywhere."

"Race you." Alex said, moving at a more human pace. Korra laughed as she followed him, jumping off the walls as they reached the corners. She found this version of Alex wonderful. No longer a vengeful monster trying to act like a person. Now he really was a person, with good and bad in him like everyone else.

She wasn't completely certain, but she felt like she managed to redeem Alex, and bring him back from the brink.

Wow. I managed to finish Book 2 in just four chapters. Must be because I left out all that stuff involving Republic City and Wan's memories. There were some things I would've liked to do, but frankly there wouldn't be much change in them besides a few extra bits of dialogue. And besides, the only real change would've likely been Zhu Li fighting, and Varrik would've surrendered peacefully to avoid an even lengthier jail time.

So yeah, that fight with Eldritch Alex was the sole reason I let Unalaq live for so long. And let Vaatu escape. I wanted to have Alex become a horrifying spirit monstrosity so bad that I just couldn't leave it out. I know some people will nit-pick it, but I really liked it myself. And maybe it might have some repercussions later on. We'll see.

The friendship thing might've felt a bit rushed, but as someone else pointed out in a review, Korra and Alex had already jumped the biggest hurdle in their friendship. The fact that Alex is a mass-murdering bioweapon who tried to wipe out the human race. If she could forgive him for that, then she's the best friend he's ever had. As for him not killing Desna and Eska for aiding Unalaq, well one of the lessons he's learning is that you can't just murder everyone you dislike. And they did help out in the end after all.

And just because, happy anniversary to me. It's been a whole year since I first released this story. It's got a lot more words and action to it than most stories I've written, and I can't wait to see where it leads us from here. Who knows, I might even get this thing finished by the next anniversary.

Have a great day everyone.