Mako's apartment was in a modest-looking building just beyond the Dragonflats. Despite him living on the third floor, Asami practically raced up the flights of stairs to see him. Bolin was in the middle of shooting a new Nuktuk segment, and Korra was still away—an "I'm okay" series of squeezes in Asami's palms this morning set her at ease—so the next person Asami thought to share the good news with was Mako.
She was saved. Future Industries was out of the fire and in safe hands. She could breathe again. That merited celebration.
She'd almost reached Mako's door, even had her hand curled and raised to knock, when the piece of wood swung open and Mako all but ran into her, hastily buttoning his police uniform. His hair was sticking up messily rather than gelled, he had purple circles under his eyes, and he was wearing what looked like a days old undershirt beneath his officer's jacket.
"Asami!" His amber eyes widened and his head snapped to the side as he looked down the hallway where she'd just come from. Without a word, he grabbed her wrist, backed into his apartment with her in tow, and closed the door behind them. When he spoke, he was on the verge of whispering. "I was about to go find you. Listen, I figured out who's been stealing from Future Industries."
Asami stopped smiling. "You did?" The elation she felt moments ago faltered. "Who?" She wasn't sure what she'd do if she found out who was responsible, but she needed to know. That was more important than anything.
Mako's eyes hardened and he stood straighter. "You know how I've been looking into those weird detonators from the Cultural Center attack?" He ran a hand through his hair as he waited for her to nod. "Well, I found another one today when I visited Bolin on his mover set."
Asami's throat constricted, her brain running with an idea she hoped was wrong. "What do you mean by that exactly?" Mako could've found it along the way, not necessarily—
"Behind the main set," Mako said. "The explosives, the detonator…"
Don't say it, Asami thought.
"…are all Varrick's creations. Which means he supplied whoever attacked the Cultural Center. The ship's captain saw the same kind of weird, contained explosions I saw the night of the peace march, which means Varrick targeted his own ships, too." Mako rubbed his chin and stared off down the hall. "I'm close to proving Varrick's the one who orchestrated all the attacks. Asami," he put his hands on her shoulders. "You've got to get out of business with him now."
The beige walls started to waver around Asami. A startled laugh burst through her lips and poured out in long peals. Mako took a step away from her before tentatively reaching out to her. His hand on her shoulder did nothing to assuage. How could she have been so careless? Varrick was a businessman. He didn't do hand-outs. Why would he pay for her mecha tanks when he could just toss a couple thousand yuans at some thugs and steal them.
Starting a war made it easy for him to blame Unalaq and the North for their losses at sea. And attacking his own ships made him look like a victim rather than the perpetrator. He stole every last thing from her, then swooped in under the guise of savior and bought out her company for cheap because it was nearly bankrupt.
It didn't matter anymore that he was going to let her head up the engineering department while he handled the business aspect of Future Industries. He'd taken everything from her and she played right into his hands from the very beginning. All her stress returned in a heartbeat.
"Asami, are you okay?" Even though he asked, Mako's tone was a clear indication he didn't think so.
"I came here to tell you the good news," she said between hysterics. "I came to say Varrick saved my company and we should go out to celebrate. Kwong's, my treat."
"Hold on, what are you talking about? What did Varrick do?" Mako gripped both of her shoulders, his head dipped so he could stare down at her and read her reactions.
Asami shrugged away and turned her back on Mako. She couldn't tell him how foolish she'd been, at least not while looking into his eyes. "He bought controlling share in Future Industries. He owns my company now, Mako." The laughter was gone, replaced by a deep emptiness in her chest.
"That scumbag!" Mako balled his fists. "It all makes sense now. Varrick starts a war, then buys out any company that'll stand to profit from it. He just wants to get rich!"
Though Asami was sure Varrick also wanted Unalaq gone and an independent Southern Water Tribe, she couldn't argue that Varrick was probably making a killing off her and her technology now.
"Don't worry," Mako said as he rushed to the other end of his apartment, tripping over the low table in front of his ratty couch. He grabbed a stack of files off the cushion and haphazardly tried to straighten the loose leafs of paper sticking out. "I've got enough evidence right here for Chief Beifong. He won't get away with this."
Asami wanted to tell him to stop again—maybe even repeat her defeated speech from last night—but a harsh knocking on the door jolted her out of her downward spiral. Mako's eyebrows scrunched together. Clearly he wasn't expecting anyone. He opened his mouth when a gruff voice outside called, "Police! Open up!"
"What?" Mako crossed the room in three strides and ripped open the door.
Tenzin, Bumi, Kya, and Jinora looked on as Korra bowed to the fading pinpricks of light in the air above her. "Go in peace," she said as she stood straight.
The ancient airbending meditation circle responded to her spiritual bending in kind. The vines retracted, clearing the smooth, worn stones of the circle. Even the trees seemed to part to allow more sun to shine down on them. The dragonfly bunnies flew around the area. An orange one even nuzzled against Korra's shoulder as it passed. The energy pouring off of it was different, like she'd walked past a fire and could feel the heat cast off, though she wasn't close enough to be warmed by it. She'd felt something similar all day. They must've been surrounding her before they allowed themselves to be seen. Korra tried not to dwell on the fact that she should've been able to see them in the first place, being part spirit and the bridge between worlds and all.
After a long moment of observing the now-purified circle, the first to respond was her airbending master. He approached her slowly, a thoughtful look on his face. "You're able to transform spirits now," Tenzin began. He didn't sound judgmental, for which Korra was glad. "I never would've been able to teach you that. As awful as Unalaq is, I'm glad he was able to teach you something useful."
It wasn't meant as a jab at her choosing Unalaq over the Air Temple tour, but Tenzin's words struck a nerve in Korra. She looked at her hands and frowned. "Part of me wishes he hadn't. Sure, I wouldn't have been able to stop those spirits from attacking us but he only taught me this technique so he could use me." Korra's gaze settled on Tenzin's calm, blank face. "Everything you've taught me was to better myself. I can't thank you enough for being so helpful and selfless." Tears rimmed her eyes, but Korra held back from crying.
Tenzin closed the short distance between them and hugged Korra. He didn't say anything, but Korra sensed any lingering tension from her not coming with him was gone. When he let her go, Tenzin cleared his throat and smoothed his robes. "Well, let's see about getting into the Spirit World now. We've got a world to save."
"You go first," Korra said, gesturing to the center of the stone circle.
Tenzin bowed in silent thanks, then took up a lotus position in the center of the meditation circle. Korra settled on the ground beside Jinora and Kya, while Bumi whittled at a stick with a knife.
Hours passed. No matter how quiet they all were and no matter how many times Korra lit incense and breezed it through the area, Tenzin could not manage to slip into the Spirit World.
It was almost dusk before Jinora could talk her father into relenting for the night. And by the time Kya talked Tenzin into letting Jinora lead Korra into the Spirit World herself, the air was cool and dark around them. Only the orange glow of the fire Bumi built outside the meditation ring cut through the night and illuminated the worry on Tenzin's face.
"I'll be with her the whole time, Tenzin. I won't let anything happen to her," Korra said as she sat across from Jinora on the hard ground.
"Okay." The implicit trust was in his voice. Korra hoped she wasn't making a promise she couldn't keep.
She and Jinora settled in the ancient airbending meditation circle. After a few deep, centering breaths, Korra closed her eyes. She counted to thirty before the air came alive around her. There was a tug around her navel. A heart beat later, Raava's light surged through her body, filling her with the power of the Avatar state.
Then, all of her senses fell away. Korra could no longer feel the firm stone beneath her. The humidity no longer clung to her skin. Even her body was lighter, as if her bones had been removed. It was then she opened her eyes and squinted into the yellow-green sky. Rolling hills covered in tall, green grasses and purple and yellow wild flowers surrounded her. Pale blue rivers wound lazily beyond where she stood with Jinora. Giant, green leaves sprouted from the ground, dappling the hilly fields with patches of shade.
"Wow," Jinora gasped.
"So this is the spirit world," Korra mused.
Everything she'd read suggested it was a darker place, filled with danger at every corner. Yet what lay before her was beautiful. Korra basked in the aura of the place. Even though she wasn't physically there, Korra swore she could detect a breeze and everything was a pleasantly abuzz that she just knew, rather than actually felt.
"Asami do you see this?" She spun on her heel, looking for her soulmate (girlfriend? They were dating and kissing but knowing you were going to be with someone for the rest of your life, well, girlfriend didn't seem to cut it) to gauge her reaction, but only found Jinora, head craned up and eyes alight with wonder. Korra frowned. How could she have forgotten Asami wasn't with her?
Jinora offered a sympathetic smile. "That's so romantic, wanting to share the beauties of a magical land with your soulmate." The young girl sighed and clasped her hands together.
Korra balked. "How did you know?" She and Asami hadn't been together (they were together, right? They'd been doing more kissing than talking lately) when Jinora last saw her.
"Asami drew you sometimes on the island. She blushed whenever I caught her. You're always together and you two get each other perfectly. And your voice just now, filled with happiness and love—"
"Woah," Korra held up her hands. "I don't...we're...I don't love her like that yet. I really, really like her and she's so smart and thoughtful and kind and—shut up. We should get moving. Find the portal and close it." She turned her back on Jinora's smirk.
"So you can get back to the city and kiss your soulmate," Jinora sing-songed.
If Korra's spirit could blush, it would have. "No," she said, even though that was exactly what she planned to do, especially if it made Asami feel better. Korra felt Asami's pained sorrow last night and earlier today. She hoped everything was okay.
"Okay," Jinora relented. "Where should we start?" She looked up to Korra, expectant.
Korra turned in every direction, hoping to get some sort of signal or even spot the portal on the horizon, but nothing jumped out at her. And when she tried to search within herself, she felt like her spiritual energy was being pulled in multiple different directions, leaving her confused.
"I'm not sure." She stared at Jinora. If she could bring Korra into the Spirit World, maybe she could find her way around it, too. "Any ideas?"
Jinora looked around, too. "Maybe we can find a spirit to ask directions."
It was better than no plan, so Korra and Jinora started down the nearest slope, keeping their eyes peeled for movement.