Chapter 26: Ember Transit
Even with the conference slated to start at lunchtime the next day on Ember Island in Zuko's old family home, Korra had not dreamed one bit about the big event. It was all Asami, all the time, and Korra felt betrayed when she was woken up. Mumbling something about Asami's body and her dreams, she heard a familiar laugh that got her attention immediately. Asami, wearing her fur coat and nothing else, said from the foot of the bed, "I see you had pleasant dreams as well. But, to business. We both need to wash up - you can't go to the conference like that, all sticky from our fun last night. Why don't you add in that basement you said we need, and we can wash off using purified sea water." Korra felt like just sweeping Asami off her feet and starting last night all over again, but she sighed, saying, "I guess we can always do something interesting later, after the conference. I'm not putting my clothes back on until I have to, though - I haven't ran around free as the polar wind since I was a little girl."
Asami laughed, suggesting, "Who said it had to be later, Korra? Once the water feature is done, we can … save some time by washing off together beside it." Asami gave her another sultry look that made Korra's head spin. Asami smiled, continuing, "Korra - now it's my turn to stare. Why don't you start doing some really exaggerated bending moves to make that hideout." A large smile crept onto Korra's face and she leapt off the bed, relishing the freedom of motion, among other things. Korra struck her foot hard against the floor, the force shaking her body. Apparently, this is just what Asami had in mind, as she said, "Yeah - more of that, definitely" as Korra entered the Avatar State and processed the information about the rock beneath the house. Deciding to use her feet to earthbend - both for practical purposes and to tickle Asami's fancy - and her arms to alternatively lavabend and waterbend, Korra set about the sweaty work of creating a cavern below.
Wanting to make sure that the water entrance to the cavern was hidden, she put great care into making the cave entrance natural-looking. Before trying to create the underground sea inlet, Korra created a hidden door on the floor next to Asami, making her yelp in surprise. Korra formed earthen stairs beneath, stopping them near a large bubble in the volcanic rock she had detected with earthsense. Korra used this bubble as the base for a large room, only extending it when she had to. Thinking she was almost done, she created a large chasm near the "cave" entrance for sea water to rush into and an earthen dock at the point nearest the stairs. Before she could break the barrier between ocean and the inlet, she got an idea that she figured would please Asami to no end. Taking a deep breath, she used the power of the Avatar State and her upper body strength to instantly create a marble-lined pool close to the water's edge, intending to fill it with purified sea water. She made another smaller pool of a similar make next to it - a "hot tub". Remembering her longing for cold, she created another one next to it, intending to fill it with cold water and ice when she wanted a reminder of the frozen South. She didn't figure Asami would care much for it, but Korra didn't really see the appeal of a "hot tub" either.
Satisfied with her work, Korra exited the Avatar State - though not likely for long, she thought with a smile. Korra opened the door in the floor, saying, "Come on! Get some soap and a scrubber, lose the coat, and come see what I made!" Asami's coat hit the floor with a satisfying thump, and she ran off to get what they would both need to get clean, Korra watching intently as she did so. When Asami was deep in thought, apparently trying to find the scrubber, Korra snuck over slowly and grabbed Asami's butt. Asami let out a small whimper, saying, "Just give me a minute - I can't think when you're grabbing my rear!" Korra removed her hand, looking around the room, suddenly spotting the scrubber - apparently, all her bending had hidden it under a fallen tile. Korra said, "The scrubber's over there under that tile, but don't move - I think I have some repair work to do." Using a lighter strike this time, Korra did not sense any major damage.
Grabbing Asami's hand without explanation, Korra whisked her down the stairs to show Asami her handiwork. As they reached the last stair, Asami asked, "Where's the water?" and Korra slapped herself on the face - she had forgotten to let the sea in! Korra used earthbending to destroy the gap of earth between sea and interior, barely having time to react to the torrent of water that entered. She slowed the tide with her waterbending, realizing she had to take the elements a lot more seriously when doing construction. Entering the Avatar State as a precaution, she purified large amounts of sea water at the same time making sure the sea wouldn't rush in with such violence as it had before, placing a lot of normal temperature water into the largest pool and hot and cold water in their respective tubs.
Asami pointed at the hot tub, saying, "I don't know what the ice in the other one is for, but is that what I think it is? That would be perfect to get clean together in! Although, the hot water would make cleaning a little too fast for my tastes…" Before Korra could point out that they did need to get clean quickly, Asami wrapped an arm around Korra's back, lying her hand on Korra's bare stomach, strumming her fingers on Korra's sweaty belly.
As they cleansed themselves together, taking turns on one another to make sure they didn't miss any spots, Korra yet again entered the Avatar State at random times, thoroughly enjoying this mutual bath. Korra said, her eyes glowing and her voice quivering, "We'll have to do this every night! Ohhhh…" Asami laughed, saying, "I'm glad you like it so much. It's why I got you up at 6:00 AM - I figured we might be down here for a while." Korra sensed a small alarm going off upstairs through the tile, her earthsense apparently magnified by the Avatar State. Korra said, "I think we were both clean a good while ago - my mind seems to have been hijacked by my body. What was that alarm I just sensed upstairs?" Asami stopped rubbing her back, saying, "I'm glad you can earthsense - that was my watch! It must be 8:00 AM by now, between your creation of this beautiful place and our excessive hygiene."
Using the Avatar State for an entirely new purpose - to regain control of her body from whatever had hijacked it - and bending the soap off both their bodies with large streams of fresh water, Korra said, "We better get going - you said when we were moving stuff that everyone was going to leave the new island at 8:00 AM on the Zhu Li, didn't you? I believe Tenzin set the time." A panicked look jumped onto Asami's face, who said, "Quick, get some clothes on and project yourself to Tenzin, and tell him we're going to be late!" Korra ran upstairs alongside Asami, having no time to look at her, and threw her clothes on, almost beginning to project herself before Asami said, "Wait, stop! You look like a mess - here, let me fix you up, then you can help me!" Korra stood still while an undressed Asami fussed with Korra's outfit and hair before handing Korra a Water Tribe comb, saying, "Hold onto this until I get dressed - my outfit is a little bit more complicated than yours, so you may as well contact Tenzin now." Korra said with a wide grin, "I don't see what's wrong with your current outfit, Asami - it fits you rather nicely." Asami blushed, seeing fit to give Korra one last bare hug before running off.
Despite the difficulty, Korra managed to stop focusing on Asami's energy - among other things Asami - and concentrate on Tenzin instead.
When she projected in front of Tenzin who was standing near Pema in a distant corner of the ship, he began laughing, saying, "Your expression… You honestly didn't think I expected to leave with everyone at exactly 8:00 AM, did you? That was just a number to keep you from doing… whatever it is two women do for too long. I know what I did with Pema the first night in our own house." Pema blushed slightly, saying, "He's right - plus, with that blue flame jet technique, we should be able to get there on time anyways. Zhu Li and I already assured Varrick no harm would come to his 'boat', and Katara offered to sit at the prow to reduce water drag with her bending." Tenzin said, as though he had been thinking while Pema talked, "I think Meelo, Jinora, Opal and I should be able to reduce air friction as well." Korra said excitedly, "You're bringing Meelo to a war conference? Thank you for listening to me yesterday!" Before Tenzin could respond, Pema said, "Yes, he is - through no small effort on my own part. Meelo didn't act very grumpy at all in our home last night, so I convinced Tenzin to let him go."
Satisfied that everything was in working order, Korra said, "Thank you both so much! See you soon!" and began to end the projection when she saw Pema and Tenzin wave. Given the way they looked at each other before doing so, Korra wouldn't have been surprised if they had been kissing in the secluded spot before she contacted them. Evidently, she had said so out loud, as Pema's face flushed again, saying, "Yes - now go!" As Korra vanished, she saw Pema slap Tenzin's butt with a coy smile on her face and a gleam in her green eyes.
When Korra came to, she saw Asami standing in front of her body, who said, "Quick, comb my hair, and help me adjust my clothes! We've got to go - I don't know what you were talking with Tenzin about for so long; it's 8:15 AM!" Korra laughed and stood up, placing a palm on Asami's forehead, going on to comb Asami's beautiful dark hair as Asami stood in temporary shock at what Korra had just shared with her. Korra was just finishing Asami's hair when she said, "Wow. It's so nice to be accepted for who you are, Korra - I just hope President Raiko doesn't have a fit at the conference. He never really struck me as overly tolerant - just enough to win elections, nothing more." Korra shrugged, saying, "So what if he doesn't like our relationship? Given that Republic City's core was destroyed three - no, four - days ago means he's not likely to try anything stupid. Plus, after that lecture from Aang on trust and President Raiko's less infuriating antics lately, I'm ready to be open with him. He had a statue of me commissioned for the incinerated Avatar Korra Park, after all."
Asami sighed, still not fully satisfied, saying, "Come on, let's go. I'll radio Varrick quickly and ask him where the ship is, and then you can do something to get us there quickly. Maybe the flame jets?" Korra laughed as Asami ran off, saying, "No - I don't want to roast you! Some airbending will have to do." After Asami told Korra the ship was parked right near their house, Korra grabbed Asami and used a large gust of wind to land on the rear of the massive ship. After lightly striking the ship's hull and sensing where Mako was, Korra made to run off to find him, but ran into a form that had seemingly teleported in front of her. Korra looked up, saying, "Watch where you're going, you - " before stopping in her tracks, seeing that it was Katara! Katara whispered, "I figured I'd find you here. Don't forget - we need to meet Ty Lee if you want to learn to block someone's bending without resorting to Amon's method." Returning to a normal voice, she finished "Plus, Asami will want to talk to them both - maybe you could even infobend some of their expertise to Asami and yourself, given the fact that neither one will be up to physically demonstrating. If they refuse, just offer to tell them about Azula - that should get their cooperation." Katara walked towards the prow of the ship, whistling innocently in a way that made Aang laugh in Korra's head.
While Korra would have loved to watch the other benders in action, given that she was the Avatar and the main source of propulsion on the ship, she couldn't. Once Mako joined Korra at the rear of the ship and everyone else was ready, they began shooting massive jets of flame. Asami sat watching her in a chair with sunglasses on, periodically yelling "Stop! Mako, Korra, switch - food and water break!" While Korra drank some tea that Uncle Iroh had somehow made - she still didn't get this whole "human spirit in the physical world" thing - and ate some meat on a piece of ricecake, Mako took over temporarily until Korra felt stronger again. Before she could relieve him so he could eat, she felt a familiar surge of energy, and the little white rascal in front of her said, "As I become more human-y, strange things happen. Just go with it." When Raava returned to her, Korra heard her intone You're going to find more and more odd things happening - my front row seat last night and this morning just accelerated changes already happening. Korra laughed loudly, causing Mako to drop his jets and ask, "What's wrong, Korra? What did Raava say?" Korra said, taking Mako's hand and then "assisting" him off the platform, "It's none of your business." Despite her better judgment, Korra said, "You had your chance," making Asami snort and spill some of her tea while laughing. Mako surprised Korra by saying, "I think I know what you're talking about, and I'm fine with it. I'm sure I'll find someone someday."
Korra took up her position on the back of the boat and began letting loose torrents of Avatar State powered blue flames. She nearly lost control of the flames when she heard a woman say, "Maybe sooner rather than later - fire and steel mix well!" Asami burst out laughing and given the wet splash and sound of breaking china that followed, Mako must have thrown a teacup at this unseen person. Mako yelled back, "Whatever, Kuvira. I'm not attracted to you in the least, change or no change! Now go back to wherever you came from so I can eat!" Korra snorted loudly, this time losing the flame for good - the same truthsense she had with Asami last night told her Mako was lying! Thankfully, no one but her knew about this new truthseer ability and Asami just laughed it off, apparently remembering Mako and Kuvira's blushing from the previous day. Just as she thought she could resume powering the Zhu Li, she spotted two figures coming up the ramp. When they both saw the shattered teacup and liquid around it, they both cried "I know you're not supposed to cry over spilled tea, but… it's just so sad!" in unison. Just adding to Korra's confusion, the two figures - Zuko and Uncle Iroh - hugged each other while… crying?
Sick and tired of all this weird crap, Korra stormed over to the two and forcefully projected Raava out, saying, "I DEMAND a better explanation for these two being able to hug than 'more and more odd things happening!' I can't do my job as Avatar properly when I have no clue as to what's going on, and all this constant change is making me crazy! Spirits coming into the physical world, new airbenders - that I can handle! But Uncle Iroh being able to hug his nephew in the physical world flies in the face of everything I've ever learned, much less Uncle Iroh being able to cry out here!"
Given the look on Raava's face - it closely resembled that of a really angry Katara - she was about to launch into a tirade, but before she could do so, a huffy Varrick bowled Zuko, Uncle Iroh and Raava over. His face was beet red, and he yelled, "I'm the owner of this vessel, and I order you all to shut your yaps! Do you want me to turn the actual engines on full throttle so you useless oafs can keep having your deep and meaningful interruptions, or would you mind actually doing your job and shoot fire off the back of the ship! I give you two one job, Mako and Korra, and we've been stationary for the last 5 minutes!" Raava got up and swelled to her normal size and boomed angrily at Varrick, "Oh, I'm sorry that the Avatar and the most powerful spirit in the world have a slight conflict over the very nature of the world and that she cannot power your boat properly! I'll make a note that I need to start personally removing your calluses if you're so important, Varrick." Varrick's face was now a beet purple and he ran off screaming, "Zhu Li! Zhu Li! Save me, Raava's gone mental! AAAAAAH!"
Having apparently vented her anger, Raava returned to normal size, and said, "Iroh's tears are not physical - they are just things you mortals see as a communication of his feelings." Zuko said, "Look at my chest. See the wet? Does that look like fake tears to you?" A clearly nervous Raava said, "I'm sure those are your own tears, Zuko. It's just not possible, and no big deal. Why don't you demonstrate for us, Uncle Iroh?" Uncle Iroh gave Raava a skeptical look, then laughed, saying, "What are you, crazy? I can't cry on demand!" Zuko placed a hand on Uncle Iroh's shoulder, saying, "I can think of one thing you don't know that will make you cry. Korra and Mako, come over here - we're going to need triple proof to convince Raava something is different." Korra knew the one thing that could make Uncle Iroh cry as if tea had just been banned or it turned out the Fire Nation had won the 100 Year's War after all. Zuko began telling Uncle Iroh about Azula's tale of woe, and as soon as his uncle started crying profusely, Zuko placed one hand on Uncle Iroh's back and one to the side. Zuko said, "Okay, now - Korra, Mako, place your hands under my Uncle's teardrops and see if they interact with you."
Uncle Iroh was too deep in his sorrow to mind, periodically wondering aloud why he had never seen it, so Korra placed her hand underneath Uncle Iroh's face, and to her shock, not only did a tear rest on her hand, it made her skin glow as if it were an Master Airbender Avatar's tattoo! When Zuko did the same, Korra's mouth fell open - the tear did the exact same thing! When Mako put his hand in the path of now subsiding tears, the tear interacted with his hand, but no glowing happened.
Raava was in complete, total shock, and she yelled, "Jinora! Tenzin! Come here - we have a problem!" Three figures came racing up the stairs - apparently, Opal had come along with them. Raava explained what had happened with Uncle Iroh's tears, and given the look on Tenzin's face, he was completely stumped. Mako, content his part in this was over, began propelling the Zhu Li again, and Korra could hear Varrick cheering at the head of the boat. As they moved, Raava finally managed to say, "This is… unprecedented. I'm not going to ask you to cut Uncle Iroh with a knife to see if he bleeds, but the tear's behavior is something I have never seen in ten thousand years." Zuko said, while hugging his sad uncle tightly, said, "The tears only produced glowing on my own hands and Korra's. I expected something interesting to happen when the tear hit Korra's hand, given she is the Avatar, but I have barely any idea why it would glow on my hand." Raava said, "Barely any idea is better than no idea at all. Speak up." Zuko replied, "My best guess is since I had an extremely close bond with Uncle Iroh during my lifetime, that is why my skin glowed as well. I've heard the word 'humanity' bandied around quite a lot lately." Uncle Iroh removed his nephew's grasp and said sadly, "I was closer to Zuko than his own father. I do not think it is familial, however - if Azula were alive, my tears might burn her." Uncle Iroh shook his head, saying, "No, no, I shouldn't joke like that. It is not nice. Wait… there is someone else aboard who knew me well, but not as much as my nephew, obviously. Katara! Come here, we need your help!"
Katara came as fast as she could, and Korra overheard Varrick yell, "Dagnabbit! Not again! I just lost the airbenders. Get back here and make us go faster, Katara! You may be old, but you're bending just as much as Kya, Senna and Tonraq!" followed by a loud slap that must have been from Zhu Li, given how he screamed, "Go do your thing Katara, I don't mind!". After Raava explained what happened, seeing that Uncle Iroh was already sad, Katara did something Korra didn't think would work - she picked up some of Uncle Iroh's tears off the deck! When she placed a tear blob against her skin, it only glowed slightly. Zuko's eyes opened, and he said, "I think this odd event has to do with that," pointing to Raava's human-y form. Raava said angrily, "Call me by name, at least! But what do you mean? Wait a minute…" Raava studied her small hands, felt her face, and played with her snow-white hair. "I think I get it now. With Korra and others as guides, I have become increasingly human, and any spirits aligned with me must be doing the same. I need to do an experiment. Get me Bumi and Bumju! On second thought, just Bumju - Bumi isn't going to like this."
Once Bumju had flown over, happily trilling, Raava's face took on a darker due as she said, "My little quip about cutting Iroh earlier? I'm afraid that may be what we need to do here. Korra, I want you to talk to and re-assure Bumju, then use a piece of metal to make a small incision. I don't think we'll be able to get Bumju to cry - he's too darn happy!" Korra felt a queasy feeling in her stomach as she bent a fork into a scalpel, holing it behind her back while she explained to Bumju what was going on in spirit-speak. Much to her surprise, he trilled loudly when she was done, which her brain translated as "If Raava needs me, I am happy to help."
With her hesitation evaporated, she made a small cut on Bumju's leg. At first, it didn't bleed, but to her shock, after about 15 seconds, a single, small drop of red blood appeared. After Korra felt Raava return to her body, her eyes began glowing. Korra found that she could actually manipulate the blood! She bent it onto her arm and the drop produced a glow much larger in diameter than Uncle Iroh's tear had, with Bumju's status as first and only spirit convert apparently making him very close to Korra and Raava.
Before Korra could test Bumju's blood on anyone else, Katara let out a delayed scream, saying, "Did you just BLOODBEND a spirit's blood without any formal training in the Avatar State? What… How? Hama had to practice for years under a full moon, situation forced me to learn quickly, and the Yakone family had nasty talent on their side!" Katara shook her head violently, saying, "After we're done with this issue, I want you to try and bloodbend someone." After the shocked gasps around her, Korra figured the fireferret was out of the bag, and explained Katara's offer - though not where they would have trained. Suddenly remembering she forgot to put in a moon roof in the basement, Korra realized she likely didn't need it after all. Korra's eyes glowed momentarily, and Raava's form returned to the deck. Tapping Korra's shoulder, Tenzin said, "My offer still stands, Korra. But we have to figure out what in the blazes is going on here first. Anyone got an idea, past 'Raava is more human-y'? That doesn't seem sufficient to me, otherwise Uncle Iroh would have been crying at the party last night."
A bizarre idea occurred to Korra, and apparently Raava read her mind, as she said, "Well, in case anyone hadn't just inferred this already, last night Asami and Korra consummated their relationship, shall we say. If I am learning human-y things from Korra, perhaps this shared experience was enough to effect this change." Uncle Iroh shook his head, saying, "Early, early this morning, at about 4:00 AM - I don't need to sleep as a spirit - I dropped a teacup while trying to make some tea, and I picked up the pieces. One of them hit my finger in such a way that it should have made a cut in my skin if I were alive, but it didn't. Korra, let me see that scalpel." Uncle Iroh took the blade's edge and ran it along the palm of his hand in a short line. He actually yelped in pain, saying, "What is this? I'm bleeding! I can understand Bumju, the first spirit to join Raava's side in the Spirit Civil War - but me, a human spirit? I know I'm aligned with Raava, but…" Uncle Iroh's eyes opened wide, and he said, "I felt a very odd pulse of energy earlier today - before getting on this boat. Something tells me Avatar Korra was too busy to notice it."
Uncle Iroh turned to face the three present airbenders, asking, "Did any of you feel an odd pulse of energy?" Opal's eyes widened so big they looked like a child's finger would fit in the pupil, and she said, "The new Spirit Portal! It must have strengthened the link between the spirit and physical world, and given what's happened, considerably. I got airbending a week or two after Harmonic Convergence. Jinora, did you notice any odd energy pulses between the end of Harmonic Convergence and the first new airbenders?" Shaking her head side to side, Jinora said, "I was still too drained after the fight to feel any energy, and my dad still had some emotional blocks at the time - our problems didn't start with Kai." Opal said, with a shocked look on her face, "So that means we have no idea what else this new Spirit Portal has in store. I can't possibly see who would get bending - it's not like Republic City is closely associated with airbenders. The colony upon which it was founded was a mix of earthbenders and firebenders, and there's plenty of them around."
Tenzin said, with a final air, "Well, looks like we have our answer - a combination of Raava becoming more human-y, and a pulse of the new Spirit Portal's energy. I felt something this morning as well, but thought nothing of it." Clearly not done, Raava held up a hand, and said, "It sounds like we need to make every effort to close this Spirit Civil War, and quickly. There's no telling what the next, likely final pulse from the new Spirit Portal will do. I also have a confession to make - about my increasingly human-y nature." Raava took a deep breath, saying, "So far, apart from small actions, nothing has moved in the Spirit Civil War. I have the belief that this is due in large part to my increasing humanity - it acts as a sort of neutralizer, possibly, against Long Yumao's forces. So far, no minor Dark Spirits have managed to get out into the physical world - even before your new caps on the portals, Korra. Given the increasingly unpredictable nature of the physical and spirit worlds, I do not know if even those will stand the test of time. If the Republic City Spirit Portal does something unexpected, Dark Spirits could pour forth from it." Raava turned to face Jinora, saying, "This is why your mission is of utmost importance, Jinora. If you can, you will want to bring Kai with you - the spirits aligned with Long Yumao hate human relationships, much less romantic ones, and even your young one with Kai may prove useful as an additional deterrent."