A/N: We're alive! Thought we forgot about this story huh? Well we both got a valid excuse: SCHOOL. Yep, that's whats been keeping us away folks but no matter, expect another update soon. We're working as hard and fast as we can during this break. Read, Review, and Enjoy!

Korra had staggered to her room some time ago, leaving Asami's embrace for the sanctuary of her old room. That left the heiress sitting against the wall, mind reeling, heart aching, stomach more than a little uneasy.

It didn't feel real. Maybe it was all a nightmare. She prodded at her neck, wincing when she agitated the tender skin. She swallowed, noticing the slight pain. As far as she could tell, she was bruised but the damage wasn't severe.

The adrenaline was fleeing her body, but she still couldn't quite wrap her mind around what had just happened. Maybe she didn't want too.

Slowly, she got to her feet, and absentmindedly began to pick up the mess left behind. It wasn't until a few moments later, while she was sweeping up the remains of a vase, that tears finally began to trail down her face, and her shoulders began to shake, and she used the broom to hold herself upright.

But she made not a sound.

The Sato mansion was silent the next morning, as if the building itself was scarred by what had taken place the night before. Naga whined, giving the Colonel's hand a lick when she felt her shift in bed. Truth be told the military woman hadn't gotten much sleep, her mind replaying what had happened. She could see and feel it all. Green eyes had been wide, mouth open as she gasped for breath, neck pliant under harsh hands.

She'd nearly killed Asami.

With a heavy heart she stood, petting the ball of white before heading to the shower. She stood under the cold spray for a long time, watching the water disappear down the drain. How had she gotten to this point? She had known she had issues, but a lot of people did. Never in her military career had she felt so vulnerable... So ashamed.

The brunette shook her head, rinsing herself off before getting out and going back to her room. When she finished dressing she began to pack her clothes, taking only what she needed before grabbing Naga's leash. She took out her phone, dialing for a taxi before leaving her room and heading into the foyer. The brunette felt different emotions flicker through her when she spotted the ravenette cooking breakfast in the kitchen, wearing a scarf around her neck. The Water Tribe woman cleared her throat, trying to get her friend's attention.

The engineer looked over her shoulder and smiled. "Hey."

"Hey. How's your..." she trailed off, unable to finish the sentence. What a stupid question.

"Korra, I'm fine," the Sato woman assured, trying to put her girlfriend at ease.

When she was met with silence, the CEO moved the skillet off the burner and turned off the stove and walked over to her lover. Korra flinched but didn't move, unable to take a step toward or away from the raven beauty. Asami gently took her hand, giving it a light squeeze. "I'm fine. It's just a little bruise. To tell you the truth, I'm worried about you."

The Colonel looked up at that. How was it that after she had hurt her, destroyed part of her house, left her alone, the engineer could be worried about her? She searched the taller woman's eyes, and felt a part of her heart ache. She knew the engineer too well. She could see that no matter how sincere her words, she could still see remnants of sadness still clinging to her. It was in the very subtle slump of her shoulders. It was in the way her hands now gripped her almost in a vice like death hold.

She'd hurt Asami. And not just physically.

"I know how you get. You tend to carry your guilt around with you until you breakdown. But this wasn't your fault," Asami continued, pressing forward with trying to put Korra at ease.

"I hurt you... I almost..." That's all she could see.

Asami leaned her forehead against Korra's, one hand at the back of her lover's head. "I won't lie. You deserve the truth. It was a scary experience. But that doesn't make it your fault."

"I think... I think I should stay at my apartment for a while," the brunette whispered. "Get some distance..."

"Korra-"

The military woman stepped away and grabbed the bag that was sitting on the floor, grabbing the ball of white's leash as well. "I can't do that again... I can't..." She shook her head. "Hurt you like that again." She started to step away before taking a step back toward the heiress and kissing her on the corner of her mouth. "It's not forever."

And just like that she was gone.

The Firebender took a deep breath as he pushed open the door to the Southern woman's home. Asami had called him letting him in on the situation and he had decided to check up on the military woman. He'd known it was only a matter of time before she snapped but both women had been stubborn. It surprised him that a woman with the engineer's intelligence could not see that their friend had been a time bomb waiting to explode. But matters of the heart hardly ever coincided with matters of the mind to begin with, did they?

Naga whined and came out of her hiding place to saunter up to the amber eyed military man. Everything in the apartment was crushed, broken, unfixable. The walls had holes in them and he could feel the room shake with every sound of fist hitting something hard. He bent down and gently petted the white dog's head before instructing her to stay put and heading further inside.

Mako felt his chest tighten when he saw the Colonel in the middle of the room, hitting the nightstand repeatedly, knuckles red with blood and embedded with splinters as her eyes flickered between white and blue. "Korra..."

Her jaw clenched and she tossed the broken furniture aside, breathing labored as she gripped her hair.

"Korra, it's me, Rhodey."

She shook her head furiously as he approached her. Gently he placed a hand on her shoulder, giving it a squeeze. Slowly she lowered her arms, the flickering stopped as she caught herself against the wall, releasing sounds from her throat that could have been mistaken as sobs if she let them out freely.

"It's okay," the Firebender whispered.

"It's all messed up, Rhodey," the military woman managed. "I screwed up." She seemed to curl tighter in on herself with each word, flexing broken hands to try and get some sort of feeling back. She felt so tired and numb, but she knew the pain would come in spades later before Raava had a chance to really heal her.

"Korra, I don't know a lot of what happened but...it's not your fault."

She shook her head in response. "It's..."

"It's not your fault."

"I..."

"It's not your fault."

Her jaw clenched and she pulled away from him. "Mako-" But he held firm, not crowding her but also not backing off. He reached out again, hands on her shoulders.

"Listen, it's not your fault."

"You don't-"

The Colonel was cut off once again. "It's not your fault."

"Don't fuck with me," Korra snapped, pushing on his shoulders and causing him to stagger slightly. He held fast, still.

"It's not your fault."

She grabbed his collar, lifting him up. "Stop saying that!"

"Korra, it's not your fault," he repeated gently. Her grip tightened before she put him back down, his hands going over hers to give them a squeeze. "It's not your fault."

Slowly his arms wrapped around her and she allowed it, gripping his shirt with all her might. "You need to see someone," the Lieutenant Colonel whispered gently. "You need help."

"I know," the Colonel managed.

"I know a good therapist and an Airbending master. He can help."

She nodded against his shoulder. "Thank you, Rhodey."

The Firebender managed a smile, his grip tightening slightly. "I'm here for you."

The Colonel let her leg bounce up and down obsessively as she waited to be called in. Mako had set up her first appointment with Tenzin shortly after his visit to her apartment. He had helped clean her wounds and cleaned up after her as she took a long and cold bath, trying to pull herself together. She could still remember the sting in her eyes with the threat of tears that she hadn't allowed. It wasn't the time to fall apart. She needed to get better. For Asami.

The door opened and she nearly turned back around and left with a groan, recognizing the military official who was already sitting in the waiting room. The older Firebender raised a brow in response as he checked in and took a seat across from her, studying her curiously. He had to admit that it had struck him as odd to see the Colonel away from the base and to no longer see the heiress during their lunch break.

"So this is where you've been, Colonel," he stated casually, simply.

The Water Tribe woman didn't answer, not looking at the man. She knew it was childish but she wanted nothing to do with the Firebender. She was not in the mood to deal with his usual bullshit.

The General chuckled lightly, with genuine amusement. "What, no snappy remark today?"

"What do you want, Iroh?" Korra finally asked, clearly annoyed.

He sighed. "Listen. I'm sorry."

She turned to look at him, brow raised. "Wait, what?"

"I'm sorry. I, uh, know how hard it is," the General began gently. "It's actually part of the reason Asami and I broke it off. I never told her. She always wanted to talk... I never could when it came to what I'd seen and done in service."

Her jaw clenched slightly and she turned away again. He didn't know. He didn't have a Spirit living inside of him. He hadn't lost his team. He hadn't been left behind. He-

"I know talking is hard. Especially when the person listening is someone so... Asami." The Firebender gave her a small smile, seeming completely at ease for the first time in the younger woman's memory. "You don't want to disappoint her."

Korra looked up at him, surprisingly finding sincerity in his eyes. He grinned at the puzzlement on her face, shaking his head. "Talking to Tenzin…it makes me feel...better. But don't get used to it. I still outrank you."

She opened her mouth to speak when she heard her name called. "Colonel Jordan, Tenzin is ready for you."

Iroh smiled. "Good luck, Colonel."

The brunette let out a long sigh, standing up to follow the green eyes woman further inside. At the end of the hall a bald, bearded man with a sky blue arrow tattooed on his head greeted her, asking her to sit down. She looked around curiously, noticing all kinds of artifacts and pictures of people she could assume were his family. The Airbending master cleared his throat, effectively getting her attention.

"I've had a chance to read your file, Colonel," Tenzin began. "You've suffered a lot of trauma in a very short time." He paused, studying her. "How are you feeling today?

Korra shrugged in response. "Good, I guess."

He hummed thoughtfully. "Honesty is going to be important in our time together," the Airbender answered gently. "Whatever you share with me, won't leave this office. Now I'm going to ask you again. How do you feel today?"

The Colonel remained silent for a moment before letting out a deep breath and leaning back against the chair. "I don't feel anything," she admitted quietly.

Tenzin clasped his hands together. "Nothing? No anger? Happiness? Unhappiness? Guilt? Survivor's guilt?" He noticed the military woman's jaw clench. "You know it's very common with soldiers-"

"It's not about my team," Korra interrupted.

"You have shoved aside your feelings for so long," the Airbender continued. "I'm asking you to claim them." He paused for a moment, leaning forward. "And Korra, this is about your team."

The Colonel scoffed in response. "It's about the fact that I tried to choke my girlfriend to death," she countered, clearly irritated by now. "What, are you saying that the way I feel about my team and the way I feel about what happened with Asami are the same? They're not the same."

"Well, how would you know of you can't name those feelings?"

Korra blinked at that. "That's not what it...it's..." She sighed and shook her head. "I don't know." And she really didn't.

Green eyes watched curiously as the military woman stood. This was the third attempt the Colonel had made trying to get through those spinning gates. The eldest Airbender sighed and shook his head, smiling softly. It was as if he had already known this would happen and was just waiting for the younger woman to stop being so stubborn. Kuvira scoffed lightly when the Water Tribe native made it half way, seeming to make progress before being thrown out once again.

This was the all-powerful being that had destroyed a majority of her weapons?

For a while now the Metalbender had been experimenting with her new found powers. Torture, mind control, and espionage seemed to be few of the many undiscovered traits granted to her since the discovery of the scepter. Baatar had watched as the woman he was engaged to submerged herself into the crimson glowing rod. He had commented that perhaps it would be best to leave the weapon be but the more he suggested the more obsessed the woman became with it.

"Baatar," she called.

"Yes?"

"Contact the United Forces and ask them to hold a summit in six months time."

His eyes widened. "What? Why?"

"I want to show them I'm open to negotiation," Kuvira answered simply, studying the weapon in her hand.

"They can set a trap, we aren't ready-"

Sharp eyes turned on her fiance, narrowing her gaze. "They won't try anything."

"You can't know that for certain."

Her lips twitched into a cruel smile, the scepter in her hand glowing ominously. "Oh, I certainly can."