Chapter 32: Atokara
Korra had a horrible nightmare the night after the conference - a three-year old boy who somehow seemed familiar had lost his fight against a massive metal monster of a man. As she remembered more and more details of the dream, she realized it was anything but. Kuvira had killed her metallic self, but apparently, "Tonga Beifong" had not been so lucky -"Jinshu Kuangmai" had prevailed. After she thought of the horror, emotional wounds she thought had been healed throbbed with terrifying rawness. Korra found her eyes shut against her will, witnessing Vaatu's horrible message of approval for Jinshu Kuangmai she hadn't seen before that apparently preceded Tonga's "death". She wanted to scream as she heard that monster alternatively laugh "There is no Tonga Beifong now, aside from your own, soon to be destroyed, pathetic little form," or yell "Now, there is only JINSHU KUANGMAI!" over and over while she witnessed Tonga Beifong's demise, this time in excruciating detail. The arm blade… the emotions pumped into the sphere… Toph's family crest transformed into what must have been the new Earth Empire symbol, and its sickening drop of gleaming blood… the evil laughter… how his metallic skin had hardened as if forged in hatred… that awful red mist! For the love of everything good, that MIST!
Once the mist dissipated, she finally found relief from the horrible repeats. As she wanted to scream so loud that windows would shatter for miles, she watched Jinshu Kuangmai's attempt to woo Long Yumao in terror. She felt relieved that her foes were not cooperating, but knew full well that Jinshu Kuangmai's campaign of terror would help Long Yumao's forces grow anyways, adding to her horror. She felt the impact of the horrible spirit's tail, again and again, and the dark energies of both spirit and human alike. When she finally felt as though she were about to break, she screamed in a vision of her own.
The sphere in front of her was pure white, with blue lines forming the symbol of yin and yang. This was small comfort, however - the vision she saw behind it chilled her to the bone. It was the form she had called Dark Korra, but when she saw what was slowly dripping from her dark opponent, she began crying, and felt as though she were shrinking much as she had before Harmonic Convergence.
Dark Korra said in a raspy voice, "You thought I was gone for good, didn't you? When you removed that mercury from your system and got Zaheer's help, you just weakened me to a point where I could no longer harass you in the physical world." Dark Korra howled in insane laughter, screaming, "Well, you're not IN the physical world now, and Raava isn't here! You're as good as mine!" Dark Korra continued, in a slow and intimidating voice, "You… are… weak… powerless, in fear's grip. You hate what you see - fear the consequences of your own actions." Korra put her small hands over her eyes, wanting to shield herself from having to watch…
The blood. The dripping, horrible blood. She didn't find Dark Korra's new orange eyes to be the most frightening - Korra knew why the blood was there. It was her own doing, and that made it all the more terrible.
As though the doppler could read her mind, Dark Korra said, "I appreciate this new blood, little girl. You may think that bloodbending can be used for good - but you're wrong." Dark Korra swung her arm such that hot blood splattered onto Korra's face, and she screamed in terror. She could hear maniacal laughing. "I never thought you would use bloodbending, not after what you witnessed Tarrlok and Noatak - no, Amon, I like that name much better - and their father Yakone's feats." Dark Korra pointed to a small speck of black that was appearing underneath a drop of blood on the orb, saying, "Look how, even now, it taints your soul. Hah - so weak, so soft, so LOVING! You may think you're willing to kill something other than a shark whale, but you aren't. I am."
Korra's small eyes opened wide in terror and her body trembled as she saw Dark Korra's eyes glow a brighter orange - this shouldn't be possible! Before her body began to levitate, she just barely managed to scream "ASAMI! HELP ME!" at the top of her tiny lungs, Raava's name not even occurring to her. Hoarse feminine laughter filled her ears, and time slowed - was this really the end? Even after all these years, all this progress, a whole list of vanquished foes? All that personal growth - for nothing? Forget Unalaq - would she really become the first true Dark Avatar, four elements and all?
Asami had slept well the night after the conference, especially after the fun she and Korra had together - both inside that weird but wonderful ice sphere and in the comfy bed Zuko had provided for them both. As she rolled out of bed, naked as the day she was born, she noticed something troubling. Horrifying.
Korra was sweating, her bare dark skin crowded with beads of sweat, the sheets soaked. Before Asami could decide whether to shake her awake or use a light electroglove shock in case it was something spiritual and serious, she heard a scream, though Korra's lips did not move.
"ASAMI! HELP ME!"
Time stopped, Asami's heart beating wildly…The terror in Korra's voice, the helplessness - it sounded as though Korra were four years old, being choked by Jinshu Kuangmai at the same time Long Yumao snatched the teapot from Raava's neck. The end, for both Korra and the world. Tears escaping her almond eyes, Asami yelled, "I LOVE YOU, KORRA!"
As soon as she did so, she was transported to a black vision - but she knew it was just another reality. Asami made to gasp in horror at the unnatural form in front of her. A dark form of Korra's eyes were glowing in a sick, intense orange light, with red blood dripping from her form. Seeing that "Dark Korra" was apparently bending, Asami turned to her left, and was stunned. Korra was floating in mid-air, crying as though the world was about to end, jerking violently, her tiny body flailing.
Asami pushed with all her might against what appeared to be the ground, jumping at the dark figure, screaming, "YOU LEAVE KORRA ALONE!" as she felt love for the one she was defending course through her. As soon as her bare skin contacted Dark Korra, the horrible being let out a piercing shriek, howling in pain as its skin appeared to boil and its eyes dimmed to pinpoints of orange color.
Asami was surprised the beast didn't shatter like Kuvira's evil self. Dark Korra let out a weak laugh, saying, "I can't be killed - just as Raava has Vaatu inside her, Korra has me inside. Permanently." Before Dark Korra could continue to speak, Asami heard a loud, angry yell from beside her, turning to see Korra at full size. While Asami did admire her beautiful body, she admired what Korra did and said next even more.
Korra said, pointing a finger at her dark self, "Love is stronger than hate, you wretched fiend. I may not be able to call upon the power of Raava right now, for some reason, but I've got all the power I need beside me." Asami said, forming a fist, "Let's see how this Dark Korra likes a double whammy."
Feeling a sense of oneness as Asami might have when hugging Korra or showing her love in a more intimate way, she leapt with an outstretched fist at the same time Korra attacked. Before her punch connected, Asami said, "Have a love sandwich, scumbag! HYEAH!" feeling facial bones give way as her strike connected. Dark Korra crumpled to the floor after her lover's foot struck her square in the stomach shortly after. A shrinking form beneath her screamed, "You haven't seen the last of me, Korra and Asami! I'll be back, whenever you're at your weakest and most fearful, Korra!" The blood-dripping, insanely laughing little girl vanished into the distance.
Hearing her lover breathing heavily, Asami hugged her, relishing skin-to-skin contact as she asked, "Are you okay, Korra? I thought that… thing we just fought was dead." Korra sobbed, saying, "I think I did something to strengthen her, Asami - my bloodbending. The orb was turning dark from a splatter of blood… I'm such a failure - using the technique Amon used on me." Korra pushed Asami away slightly, saying with eyes full of shame, "Maybe Avatar Kyoshi is right - I'm no legend." Breaking the embrace just enough to see this orb, Asami said, "No she's not, Korra - look. The orb is all white again. You're fine." Seeing Korra was not convinced, Asami pressed her face up against Korra's, saying, "It's okay, Korra. If you are to stand a chance against Tonga Beifong, you need everything you can get -even if it is bloodbending." Asami saw a flash of light near her face, hugging Korra tighter as she entered into the Avatar State - finally.
Korra's body went rigid, her eyes dimming, and a familiar little white-haired girl appeared. As Korra sniffed deeply, Asami turned Korra and herself to face Raava, who had an extremely proud look on her face. Raava started to cry what must have been happy tears as she hugged both Korra and Asami as best as her little human-y form would allow. After a while, Raava said with a pleased sigh, "I can't believe you two managed to fight Dark Korra off, no bending, no Avatar State - no me. I knew human emotions were powerful, but I never hoped that your bond would let you reduce Dark Korra to a more proper size." Korra asked, with a slightly angry tone, "Where were you, Raava? What happened?! I almost died, and if I had, I'd be the Dark Avatar right now, if that horrible vision I had of Tonga Beifong's defeat is accurate."
Raava let out a deep sigh, apparently out of regret or defeat - possibly both. Seeing something had happened that she had no idea what it was, Asami asked, "What are you talking about? Tonga Beifong is still running around, probably blood-iron bending people to his sick will as we speak." After Raava described Tonga Beifong's reaction to Vaatu's energy, Asami barely avoided retching, her skin crawling. Given how Raava said nothing more, she really had given up on Tonga Beifong. Korra continued, describing her awful "nightmare".
When Korra got to the start of her own vision, Asami stopped her by kissing her deeply on the mouth and embracing her again, saying to a fluttery Korra after the kiss, "I don't think Dark Korra was able to do what she did because you bloodbended yesterday. She was able to get to you because of the horror and fear you felt while watching the demise of Tonga Beifong." Asami cried, hugging Korra again as she said, "I don't want to lose you, Korra - not after a lifetime of pain and longing. If something like that ever happens again, just think of me and the baby, your parents, our friends, Raava… Stop those awful feelings in their tracks." Touching Korra's soft chest, Asami said, "Being the Avatar isn't your only strength and attractive attribute, you know."
Korra snaked a hand onto Asami's belly while laughing, causing her to shudder in pleasure. Korra was about to grab Asami's butt - something she loved, especially with no clothes - but Korra let out a surprised yelp, breaking the sublime embrace. Korra said, "Let's take this party back to our room - I need to do something. Something wasn't right when I put my hand over your stomach - it almost felt like a shard of Raava was in there." Placing her hand back on where Asami knew the very young fetus must be inside her body, Korra said, "And a fairly large one at that. Come on, let's go - I have no idea what time it is, and you aren't wearing your watch." Korra giggled, saying, "You have my favorite outfit on - nothing." After Korra grabbed Asami's butt, laughing, Asami felt a wonderful heat on the other side that had nothing to do with bending.
When Asami came to, she was still standing in her indecisive pose between the bed and her pack. Seeing Korra smile broadly and move her glistening, dark-skinned form out of bed made Asami reach into her pack and take out what Korra only knew as a "thingie". Before Asami could properly savor the feeling she had when Korra's hand groped her bare butt, Korra took a deep breath, projecting Raava into the room with them. Tossing the thingie at Raava, who seemed inappropriately fascinated with it, Asami tackled Korra back onto the bed, saying, "It's thingie time!" Korra laughed, saying, "Think with your head, Asami, not your 'hips'. Which, I may add, are very shapely." Seeing this as an opportunity to think with her hips, Asami pressed into Korra, who looked like she might just go along.
As Asami drew closer to give Korra a kind of kiss she had loved the previous night, Korra dodged her mouth, saying, "Wait - the baby! Get off me, please - maybe after." Still not wanting to cooperate, Asami went in for the kiss, but Korra wrestled her over onto her back, leaving Asami wildly trying to pull her lover on top. Korra barked, "HEY! This is serious, so stop screwing around, Asami - literally. You need to be still for this." As a slightly angry Korra made to place her hand below Asami's bellybutton, Asami tried to redirect it in a last attempt at pleasing her hips, but Korra knocked it away with a blast of air. Korra then used her bending to sweep water from the air and create ice handcuffs for Asami, using one hand to keep them locked together as the other sat on Asami's stomach.
For some reason, she found this more pleasing to her hips than a butt grab, then Asami laughed, remembering aloud how Korra looked so sexy in the Earth Queen's little Avatar prison getup. Korra laughed, saying, "I didn't know you were into bondage, Asami, and apparently neither did you. Now be quiet so I can finish this, then maybe I can finish you." Asami took a deep breath of anticipation, only knocked out of it when Korra barked, "Raava, quit playing with the thingie and get over here! I don't think spirits have the necessary equipment for them anyways." Raava cursed, saying, "I hope I do! What do you want, spoilsport?" Korra pointed to Asami's belly, saying, "Do you have any idea why the baby now has more of your energy than the first night?"
Raava shrugged, saying, "Hey- until now, I've been inside Korra's heart when something interesting happens between you two, so I have no idea." Korra said irately, "Then get over here and feel it manually. Maybe you can tell us if the baby is a bender or not." Asami was disappointed when Korra's large, sweaty hand was replaced by a small hand that almost felt as though it weren't there. It didn't help matters when Raava apparently used the same trick Uncle Iroh could do and pushed her hand inside, apparently trying to get a better feel. Korra grabbed for Raava's arm, her hand passing through it. Raava removed her hand, saying, "I'm done now, Korra - it's a good thing I made my whole arm nonphysical, or I wouldn't have been able to take as good a look as I did."
Raava looked uncharacteristically nervous as she glanced back and forth between Asami and her lover. Finally not able to stand the suspense, Korra said, "Now it's YOUR turn to get on with it! Come on - tell us what you found!" Raava chuckled, saying, "Okay, first, the good news - your waterbender child is at maximum carrying capacity of my energy without being the Avatar herself." Asami's eyes widened when Raava said "herself", Korra asking "Wait - how can you tell the sex already? You only gave us this gift, like, less than a week ago!" Raava laughed, saying, "There's no way this baby could be a boy - you're both girls!" Seeing Asami and Korra's confused stare, Raava said, "Oh - I forgot, mortal science isn't very advanced yet in many fields. Even with my intervention, you two don't have what it takes to have a baby boy - you need a-" Raava said something that sounded like "Wai Chromo Somm." Asami said, "What's a Wai Chromo Somm, and what does it have to do with not having a boy?" making Raava snicker then laugh. Raava managed to say with a smile, "I can't tell you that - your scientists have to figure out how these things work themselves. Perhaps if Varrick weren't so obsessed with money, you humans would know more about yourselves."
Asami asked, somewhat offended, "Okay - so what's the bad news?" Raava sighed, saying, "It appears that whenever Korra gets really excited, she transfers some of my energy to the closest living thing that is receptive." Korra said with a scowl, "Wait - what? Aang went into the Avatar State plenty of times when he was excited with Katara, and none of his children have your energy in them." Raava made a rather crude set of gestures with her small hands, saying, "Since you two aren't like my hands, I had to intervene to make this pregnancy possible, meaning the baby already had some of my own energy in it. Thus, any children you two have with my assistance will be 'receptive', and thus unlike anything the world has ever seen." Asami asked, "Is there any way we could have a normal child, other than adoption?" Raava let out a sigh, saying, "The only way for any children you have - all girls, by the way, unless you come up with some crazy solution - to be normal is if you abstain from sex completely during the pregnancy. I can tell that that won't happen, given how you somehow managed to fill your baby girl with my energy in the course of two to three days."
Korra smiled slightly, saying, "Okay - so we're not going to have any normal children. Do you know any other effects this energy of your might have on the baby?" Raava said neutrally, "I'm not sure if you will see this as a positive or negative, Korra and Asami, but it is likely any child you have will be extremely precocious. The little waterbender girl, from what little I know of human development, is a fair bit larger than a normal baby would be at this stage. You should probably expect an early delivery."
Asami sighed, sitting up and pointing at her pack, saying, "I guess if we have no idea when the baby will be due, I'll need to cancel my plan for surprise 'pregnancy gifts' made during the last three months. Given how chaotic things are right now, it might be best to get the different members of Team Avatar their 'presents' early anyways. Here, let me show you what I mean Korra - hey, what's up with the ice shackles again? Are you feeling frisky or something? Because I'm down with that - especially if it involves the ice shackles."
Korra had the same loving, sentimental look in her eyes after she had first embraced Asami without any pesky clothes to get in the way. Korra said, dismissing the ice shackles, "I want to name the baby, given that we know it's a girl waterbender! Your tech stuff can wait." Asami grabbed the notebook anyways, turning from the page that had her own "present" on it to a blank one, saying, "Sounds like a good idea to me, stunning. What did you have in mind?" Raava jumped up and down, saying, "How about after me? It was my gift, you know!"
While Asami didn't think it was a terrible idea to at least incorporate Raava's name into the mix, Korra laughed, saying, "No - I get enough of you as is, Raava, and I want our little girl to have a completely human first name." Korra said, after Raava crossed her arms grumpily, "Maybe the next baby, Raava - you did say we could never have a boy, after all." Now that the great spirit was no longer pouting, Asami suggested, "How about we name her after a mix of our own names, Korra? Maybe something like Satorra."
Korra put a hand on her chin and the other on her hips, distracting Asami temporarily, but what Korra said next grabbed her attention. "I don't have a last name of my own, but you do - Sato. I think I'll take it." Korra smiled, watching Asami's broadening smile with pleasure. Korra said, while idly playing with a little spit of ice she had drawn from the humid air, "If our last names will be Sato, Satorra Sato would sound a little odd. If we took off the first 'letter', we'd have to make up a character of our own for our girl's written name." Asami laughed, pointing at Raava and saying, "Something tells me 'Atorra' is going to be a character anyways, given Raava's energy and what your parents told me about your own youth, Korra." Raava picked up the discarded thingie and tried to hit Asami with it, but Asami stepped aside nimbly, more so than she might have a few days ago. Raava cursed, saying, "I guess you did pick up some of Ty Lee's acrobatics after all, Asami." Seeing Asami's angry look, Raava said sheepishly, "Sorry about that - I'm just mad that Korra is right about me not having the proper equipment for the thingie, and that you two didn't take my name suggestion."
Korra began laughing hysterically, saying, "I guess you won't be able to have fun with Avatar Wan, even if you do manage to convince him it's a good idea. Katara would find this hilarious." This mention of Katara gave her lover an idea, who said as Korra fixed her messy short hair, "'Atorra' sounds sort of awkward, and I always did love Katara's name - and not just because she used to be my wife in a past lifetime. How about 'Atokara'? The first part of your last name, Sato, changed slightly, plus the last part of Katara's, with the sound 't' replaced with a 'k', for the first sound of my own name." Asami said, "I love it! Now, just to make this new character for her name." Asami tried multiple times to capture the essence of Atokara's unique name on paper. In resignation, she idly wrote down "Zhu Li Moon" on the paper next to the odd symbol she wanted to represent her daughter's difficult name, followed by the symbol for "Sato".
As she idly traced her finger over Zhu Li's full name, when her finger crossed the character for "Li" a second time, she got a strange idea. Erasing the character meant to say "Atokara" and re-drawing it to the left, adding in a small symbol for "yang" to its right end, Asami added the character for "Raava" in between the first and last names of her unborn daughter's name. Making sure to show it to Raava herself first, Asami smiled when the spirit said, with wide eyes, "I can't read very well, but I know my own name when I see it. That's a wonderful idea!" Korra grabbed Asami's butt to get her attention, but Asami was too happy to even feel with her hips - only her heart. After Korra looked at the characters, she said, "'Atokara Raava Sato'. It may be a mouthful, but I like it. I guess that would make me Korra Raava Sato, and you and your delightful butt Asami Raava Sato. Now, to just get it made official when we return to Republic City." Asami laughed as she heard Raava cursing loudly, barely managing to get out, "Aw, come on, spoilsport!" before she apparently vanished back into Korra, whose eyes were now glowing brightly.
Asami thoroughly enjoyed Korra's intensity and caresses, wanting to forget all about the horrible experience with Dark Korra they had both had earlier. Apparently, in a fit of passion she had cursed Dark Korra quite strongly, as Korra stopped, her eyes no longer glowing, her beautiful blue irises instead open wide in terror. Feeling an intense love in her chest, Asami hugged Korra tightly, saying, "It's okay, Korra - she's not coming back anytime soon." Korra seemed inconsolable, and Asami realized with terror that Korra's eyes were transfixed on where the closed door to their room must have been.
Asami turned around to face the source of a young girl's hoarse, grating laughter, hugging Korra tighter - for both their sakes. The little abomination she recognized from earlier said, "You're very easy to scare, aren't you, you little wimp. I may not be able to do anything to you here - not yet. But I can certainly savor the fear in your eyes, Korra - Jinshu Kuangmai considers fear a delicacy, as do I." Blood dripped from the small form, though it did not pool on the wooden floor. Asami continued to hug Korra tightly with one arm and place her hand over Korra's racing heart with the other, saying, "Get back! You aren't welcome here…" with a slight hint of fear in her voice. Asami pushed both herself and Korra into the bed as Dark Korra began to grow slightly, laughing maniacally, "Or maybe I CAN do something to you both - I love the feel of the growing pool of blood around my feet, and my growing size."
Remembering what she had told Korra earlier, Asami pressed her hand hard into Korra's chest while thinking of their shared love, feeling a wonderful sense of oneness replace her fear. As Asami turned Korra's face to kiss her, she noticed Korra's eyes were no longer wide in terror - they were thin, angry glowing slits. Given Korra's own maniacal laughter, her younger, vile self must have been shrinking, Korra saying, "It looks like you're three instead of four now, monster. Let's see if I can make you two, with Asami's help." To Asami's double surprise, Korra's eyes stopped glowing and gave Asami one of the sloppy kisses Korra loved so much. Completely forgetting about Dark Korra for a moment, Asami moaned and moved her hand to a different, more exciting part of Korra's chest, barely noticing the awful screeching coming from by the door. Apparently, Korra had registered the disappearance of Dark Korra, as she said, "Now that that horrible thing is gone, we can finally pleasurebend." Korra shocked Asami by licking Asami's face playfully, Korra saying in a sultry voice after, "I can see you liked the tongue. Good - I'm not done with it."
When Korra was done and panting in a combination of arousal and exhaustion that just made Asami want more, especially of that, she heard an odd, small thump from beside the bed. Korra looked like she wanted to curse, but ended up joining Asami in her own light laughter. Standing up and using her notebook to lightly slap a passed-out Raava's face after Korra splashed some ice-cold water on the spirit's head, Asami said, "Looks like somebody couldn't handle thingies, let alone Avatar Wan. Why don't you just stay inside next time - Korra is exhausted, without the Avatar State's help." Clearly nervous, Raava chuckled weakly, "Curiosity killed the fireferret. While you two get ready for the press conference, why don't you - hey, Korra, I'm supposed to be the foul mouth! Surely, you didn't forget you have a press conference at 10:00 AM, did you?" Korra wildly cleaned up the mess Dark Korra had left on the wooden floor with a towel and then used bending to wring out the sheets, tossing the liquid out the door into a pot and incinerating the bloody towel. "Yes, I did! Asami, check your watch - I have no idea how much time has passed." Asami joined Korra in her panicked rush as she pointed to her watch, saying, "We don't have time to clean up properly, Korra - you need to give us both a quick rinse with air water, and get dressed! It's 9:30!" Raava tried to help, picking up some decidedly non-practical underwear that Asami had made the previous day, saying, "Is this something you need, Asami? They feel heavy!" Laughing along with Asami while she washed Asami and then herself with bending, Korra said with a snicker, "Those are for fun, not actual use!" Korra bent the water into the now-full pot as Raava picked up some more useful clothes.
Surprised that her watch only read 9:40 AM, Asami said, now fully dressed, "Let's make sure we both look presentable - I want to be at your side for this press conference." Seeing Raava had picked up Korra's formal dress, Asami said, "Not yet, Raava - thanks for all the help. Korra needs to project strength, not grace." To Asami's surprise, Korra took the dress and placed it on top of a now dry bed, saying, "Femininity is not weak, Asami. You wear makeup while beating bad guys, so I don't see how a dress is any different." As Asami found herself agreeing heartily, Korra added, "Plus, if word has gotten out about my bloodbending, I'm going to need to look as disarming as possible. It's part of the reason I wore the dress to the conference anyways."
With Raava's help, they were both ready to go a mere ten minutes later, including most of Asami's normal makeup. Korra had insisted Asami skip the more time intensive parts, saying, "You don't need all that eyeliner, Asami, or that stupid powder I once tried - your face is beautiful enough without lipstick." As Korra and Asami ran outside to a blackened rock, Korra's eyes began to glow, Raava having been apparently recalled. Asami loved the way Korra said with a big smile, "Ready to blast off, Asami? You'll need to be in my arms for this. I want to make a big entrance to this conference - I didn't hem up my dress with metal bands for nothing." Asami felt herself nodding with excitement as Korra picked her up, saying, "You're no wimp, Korra - your arms are strong as is, weight training or not."
Laughing at Asami's compliment while staring at Asami's beautiful, full lips, Korra said, "The weight training wouldn't be just for strength, you know. I see how you admire my body, and it's not because of my dark skin or my curves." Asami blushed slightly, asking, "The curves won't go away, will they?" Korra shrugged, bringing Asami closer to her face accidentally, saying, "I don't know if they will, but I doubt it - I've been somewhat curvy all my life. You've seen my baby pictures." After Asami laughed and said with anticipation in her voice, "I can't wait to see what Atokara looks like. I'm sure she'll be beautiful," Korra warned Asami, "Get ready - after I earthsense the exact setup of the press conference, we'll be taking off."
Korra shifted her feet and lifted a single foot off the ground slightly, not wanting to lose her balance. Korra was surprised to feel herself not wobbling at all, Ty Lee's acrobatic skills having apparently rubbed off after all. Korra said glumly, having just sensed the press conference's setup, "Those idiots must have used wood for the podium's base - I can't sense the podium itself. I won't be able to land on it as I had hoped - I don't want to burn it up." Realizing she could just land using airbending, Korra said, "Time to blast off!"
Finally using the Avatar State for something interesting, Korra took a deep breath and launched herself into the air using her legs and earthbending, propelling herself slightly higher with a blast of air. Once she was sure she wouldn't torch any trees, she shot powerful, concentrated jets of blue flame from her legs, with the Avatar State and her renewed link with her past lives letting her skip the hand jets. Asami was screaming happily like a little girl all the way, and Korra used her airbending to touch down a distance aways from the press conference, calculating the angle she'd need to shoot herself and Asami at with a spit of earth to land close to the podium. Asami said with exhilaration, "That was amazing! I wish I were a bender sometimes." Korra couldn't respond or even carry out her bending move before Asami said, "Wait - why don't I go first, and give a full account of the Battle for Republic City, with you giving me the bits I don't know through infobending. I don't know how accurate the accounts are that are floating around right now."
Korra put Asami on the ground, transferring her fight with Kuvira in full, as well as other bits she had heard about second or third hand. Satisfied she was done, Korra picked up Asami again and propelled them onto the podium, making sure to make a show of her blue flame with a skyward blast once Asami was behind the podium. After Asami started speaking, Korra quietly made her way to the refreshment table after letting her dress down and drank tea with sugar in it, as well as eating some sorely needed food. The horrible experience earlier in the morning, the sex, and this latest bending feat had really taken the wind out of her.
As Korra walked back to Asami's side, she could barely contain her laughter at how well Asami was playing and handling the press. One exchange in particular made her smile, as some annoying, square-jawed male reporter with weird black hair and expensive clothes asked, "Asami Sato, can you offer any comment on why Avatar Korra spared Kuvira's life, and how that plays into the rumors Kuvira has been spotted with Team Avatar?" Before he could add anything else, Asami said, "If you had been listening, you would have heard my account of the exchange between the Avatar and Korra." After the reporter looked sufficiently sheepish, Asami continued, "Korra saw herself in Kuvira in many ways, and Kuvira had initially good intentions three years ago, but went out of control. I'll let the Avatar herself talk about your last comment, so you better get ready to listen." Apparently, his peers held a low opinion of him, one woman with thick glasses quipping, "Yeah, 'Geraldo', wherever your mother got that horrible name from - it looks like you might actually have to listen for once, and shut up. You know, like a real journalist."
The raucous laughter of the press and Geraldo's flushed face providing a good transition, Korra tapped Asami's shoulder, saying, "I'm ready to speak my part now. I have a lot to say, and not all of it good." As Korra stood behind the podium, she let the press murmur among themselves, finally speaking again, but in response to a question. The woman who pestered Geraldo asked, adjusting her thick glasses, "Avatar Korra, you've dealt with a lot of threats over the years: Amon and his Equalists, the close victory over Unalaq and Vaatu, chaos in the Earth Kingdom, being poisoned, and Kuvira and her Earth Empire. You have, not without struggle, defeated them all. What could have possibly happened over the course of less than five days that could compare?" Korra gave a genuine sigh, saying, "A lot has happened that the world does not know of. First, I will give the good news, then that which is neutral or likely to cause uproar, saving the terrible for last. A lot of these events are interconnected, so I will start with the simplest good news."
Korra said, with a smile that rivaled Aang's, "Everyone thought the Avatar's past lives destroyed forever by Unalaq, but we were wrong. With the help from four individuals who knew Avatar Aang in his lifetime - Toph, Zuko, Tenzin, and Katara - as well as my own friends from this lifetime, we broke all my past lives free from icy prisons that Unalaq had placed them in. I call this the 'Restoration'." Seeing the crowd's look of disbelief, she continued, "Allow me to demonstrate. Avatar Aang lives - though not in the form you are most familiar with." Korra took a deep breath, projecting Aang out for the assembled press to see. When she opened her eyes, she spotted a familiar pair in the distance, hidden behind some greenery with a glinting lens visible. Varrick and Zhu Li were filming the press conference, and given their reaction, they must have produced more SpectroFilm in her absence.
Hearing roaring laughter, she turned to look at Aang's image, who was frustratedly trying to perform his spinning pebble trick for the crowd. Korra picked up a piece of the nearest earth, removed a pebble and mimicked his form, saying, "Sorry, Aang - I'm the Avatar now." Aang's eyes widening, he asked, "When you get those blades made, can you do the wind sword?" Frustrated at Aang's slip of the tongue, Korra said, "Not now - let me do my speech!" The woman in the glasses laughed, saying, "I once interviewed Katara, and she mentioned something about a wind sword. I guess Avatar Aang really is back." Geraldo said after Aang vanished, in the same annoying voice as before that made Korra groan, "I don't believe it, Avatar Korra. Show me some more proof - I want to see Avatar Roku and Avatar Kyoshi, just to be sure they're all back." As Asami said loudly, "Avatar Roku should be no problem, but Avatar Kyoshi might just start cursing if Korra projects her out," Korra's eyes glowed momentarily, hearing a voice in her heard she recognized as Avatar Kyoshi's say almost instantaneously, "After all you've done since we last met, especially your trap for Jinshu Kuangmai and crushing of Dark Korra, I no longer hate you - if that horrible man falls for the trap like I think he will, I might even like you. I'm not quite the Avatar the world sees and reveres me as, Avatar Korra - but that's something for another time."
After Korra projected Avatar Roku out, he said, "I am Avatar Roku, the one who failed to stop the 100 Year's War by showing mercy instead of common sense. I hope that Avatar Korra gets over her encounter with Dark Korra earlier today quickly." Korra groaned - at least the information that Aang let slip was fairly innocuous! As she saw Geraldo's eyes gleaming, his stupid pointy chin starting to move animatedly, the woman in the thick glasses came to Korra's rescue, saying, "I have heard rumors of a terrible vision you had multiple times during your recovery, Korra, that no one else could see. Is this 'Dark Korra', and how did she return?" Korra took a deep breath, keeping in mind her love for Asami as she said, "What Avatar Roku referred to was indeed Dark Korra, but I will talk about her later, if at all. Let's get on with this, shall we?"
Geraldo was waving his hands wildly, Korra knowing he wouldn't let the issue rest, so she replaced Avatar Roku with Avatar Kyoshi, hoping to throw off his train of thought. Korra laughed madly as Avatar Kyoshi said, "Geraldo, mind your own damn business, and leave Avatar Korra alone." Apparently having heard Asami's surprised yelp, Avatar Kyoshi said, "On further thought, as well as some of Avatar Korra's more recent actions, I realized that my initial hatred of Avatar Korra was driven by horror at the destruction of property and artifacts that occurred in the Earth Kingdom following Earth Queen Hou-Ting's fall, as well as a more personal feeling - shame." Waiting for the surprised gasps to die down, including Korra's, Avatar Kyoshi continued, "While many remember me as a strong Avatar, killer of Chin the Conqueror, the truth is, he fell to his death - I didn't kill him. He just refused to move while I was breaking Kyoshi Island away from the mainland. On top of that, I only acted when he threatened my homeland, while Avatar Korra tried to stop Kuvira the 'Great Uniter' before she threatened Republic City, despite having been recently poisoned. The only reason that she did not kill Kuvira outside Zaofu, from what Raava has told me, is Avatar Korra hallucinated Dark Korra's face instead of Kuvira's, weakening Avatar Korra's resolve."
Avatar Kyoshi turned to Korra, actually bowing, finishing, "Now go make me proud, Avatar Korra: the Earth 'Kingdom' isn't out of trouble yet." With that, the Earth Avatar vanished, along with any hope Korra had of an orderly press conference. Just as she was about to give up hope and start from the time she walked into the new Spirit Portal with Asami, she looked up after hearing a running sound. Smiling to see who it was, Korra heard Varrick say, "Geraldo, you little pest - If you shut your yap and quit interrupting Korra's planned speech, I'll give you five thousand yuans." Geraldo made a cheesy smile, asking, "Ten?" causing Varrick to shell out considerably less than that and use it to thwack the annoying twerp over the head, saying, "Four thousand, just for the delay! Now be a good reporter, or Korra might kick you out of the press conference all together!" Although Geraldo clearly wasn't satisfied with the smaller amount of money, he said with wide eyes, "Oh, no, anything but that! My boss would dock my pay more than six thousand yuan's worth!"
Korra managed to get the press conference back on track, talking about Kuvira's horrible vision and change of heart, segueing into the Spirit Civil War after questions about Long Yumao and Koh, making sure to stress Raava's undying support for humanity. Although Geraldo wasn't supposed to ask any prying questions, he asked to see Raava, so Korra projected Raava out, who at first appeared in her spirit form. Raava only switched to her human-y form when Korra finished explaining her increasingly human nature, some of the women -and men - in the audience saying, "She's so cute!" as Raava vanished. Feeling a little tired, Korra let Asami explain the "Sudden Death" option as Korra ate and drank some more. As Korra overheard the woman in the glasses asking, "And what exactly caused this Spirit Civil War?" she sighed and walked back to the podium, not anticipating the next part.
As Korra explained Raava's gift, then her relationship with Asami, Korra was pleasantly surprised - there were only a few negative reactions from within the audience, with only a few more being indifferent. She had always figured most reporters as annoying, but a cosmopolitan lot. Once she had talked her fill on the matter, Geraldo's eyes glistened as he said, "I'll have to conduct interviews on the street about this - my boss is going to love the emotional responses, especially from people on the extremes on this issue!" Korra could hear some angry yammering from Varrick, now closer to the press conference, but Korra held up a hand, saying, "Given that all nations are going to be legalizing gay marriage soon, I am curious to hear people's reactions. I do not mind your plan, Geraldo - though I would appreciate it if you heckled the interviewees who aren't open to my love for Asami." Geraldo laughed deeply, saying, "Oh, yes, I will, Avatar Korra - that's one of my specialties. You may not remember it, but I did some interviews with Equalist supporters and made them look like fools. It's great for keeping listeners." The woman with thick glasses, who had finally identified herself as Li Jun earlier, laughed, saying, "Yes - one of your few good works, I might add."
As Geraldo kept a stony face, Li Jun continued, "No offense, Avatar Korra, but so far, what you have told us, especially the order of events, is very confusing. I know you cannot possibly divulge everything, as there are obviously a lot of secrets, but do you think you could help Asami tell what you feel comfortable revealing to the public, in order? Just forget the good news bad news format entirely - it's not as if you've been following it anyways."
Korra let out a deep sigh, knowing she couldn't just infobend everything - there were radio crews present as well, and the whole proceeding was live, not to mention the surprise SpectroMover camera. The next three to four hours went by in a blur, Korra swapping off with Asami, back and forth, so they would not get exhausted. Neither allowed questions during this time, as every event from the "vacation" to this morning was re-told, with plenty of editing, of course. The most notable deletions being the bloodbending, Jinshu Kuangmai's identity, Azula's secret, the fact that the Great Banyan tree was a trap - in case Jinshu Kuangmai were listening in, the military details aside from what Korra now called the Four Elements Task Force, the various technologies and tuber-vines. Korra was about to give a very bare-bones explanation of her vision of the "young boy" and her own experience, but Geraldo said sternly as Korra began her own experience, "Avatar Korra, if you think you're going to whitewash the details of your experience with Dark Korra, you're already too late. A little boy named Meelo was talking loudly to anyone who would listen this morning about how you killed a shark whale that was going to sink your boat, and I snuck into the kitchen to see the beasts' heart for myself. There were rumors it had been turned into mush, and they were right - there's only one thing I can think of that could pulverize such a massive heart, as though from the inside out."
Korra heard surprised gasps and screams from the audience - one of her biggest secrets was out. Korra said calmly, "At first, I was loathe to consider using the outlawed practice known as bloodbending, but Raava convinced me otherwise." Korra explained Raava's words, then continued, "You remember the general turned leader, Jinshu Kuangmai, correct, and his awful blood-iron bending ability? How he crushed his three-year old self, turning him into a fine mist?" Korra waited for the fearful nodding in the audience to stop, and she said, "That is why I decided to try to learn bloodbending. I have to be in the Avatar State to do it, so don't worry - I'm not Tarrlok or Amon's secret daughter." Korra paused, letting the nervous laughter die down. "I do not think any other form of bending would have been sufficient to stop the shark whale - you must have all seen its bones by now, if Geraldo managed to sneak a peek at its heart." After the fearful nodding died down again, Korra said, "You're right, Geraldo - the bloodbending does have a lot to do with Dark Korra. I will give the full details here, without infobending, so if there are any younger listeners in the audience, you may want to stop listening. I just need to 'talk' to Asami for a moment - I don't want the first time she hears of everything to be in front of the press."
Korra took Asami aside, clearly tired, as Asami asked quietly, "Is the questionable content our naked bodies, or all that blood and terror? Korra - you never did tell me what happened between you going in, and screaming for my help." Korra choked back tears, saying, "What you're about to experience, and what the world is about to hear, is very disturbing, Asami - all I can say is, I would probably be helping Long Yumao right now if you hadn't come to my rescue." As Korra hugged Asami deeply, she felt a familiar feeling of oneness, followed by pure, untainted terror. Those orange eyes, the laughter, the helplessness… the horrible blood!
Asami looked over Korra's shoulder into the press, saying loudly, "I'm sorry - we just need a minute," then asked Korra, "Just where was Raava for all of this? How could she abandon you?" Asami felt Korra's body stiffen and saw her eyes glow momentarily, and a familiar voice said, "Korra's awful vision of the 'three-year old boy' must have struck some raw, primal nerve, and fear welled up in Korra's heart, greatly empowering Dark Korra to the point where I couldn't intervene. You can't let terror grip your heart like that, Korra - just think of what Asami said to this morning."
Asami could hear shouting from the press, demanding to know more about what happened this morning. Korra was still unsure, saying, "Should we really divulge all this, so soon? People might think I am weak." Asami felt anger well up inside as she saw Korra's eyes fixate on a point, as if on a distant figure again. Not wanting Korra to even see five seconds of her dark self, Asami grabbed Korra's butt, whispered "I love you" into Korra's ear, then forcefully kissed the beautiful Water Tribe girl. Apparently, Dark Korra must have been around still and the actual Korra still terrified, as Asami heard a familiar evil cackling that reminded her all too much of Long Yumao.
Turning to see where Korra had been looking, Asami was just in time to see the two-year old shrink to the size of a baby as multiple people in the press said things like, "Aw, how sweet!" or "I wish I was young again - young love," some even saying, "Now that's attractive." Somehow still capable of speech, Dark Korra yelled, actually sobbing, "I'll get you someday! I might be a baby, but I can still grow…" With a final screech, she vanished in a fine, dark mist that Asami realized may have been blood.
Needless to say, Korra told the press everything relevant to Dark Korra about what had happened earlier that morning after a deep male voice intoned "Listening discretion advised" over a loudspeaker above the podium. Asami was about to say something, but Raava said, "Human love is one of the big reasons for my constant changes over the past few years, especially over the past half-week. Love has a big effect on Dark Korra - she just turned into the size of a baby just now, in case you hadn't noticed Korra staring into the distance in terror before Korra's explanation." Seeing that Raava was done, Asami grabbed the microphone and said with intensity, "That is why, if any of you or anyone listening is attacked by a spirit that you think falls in line behind Long Yumao, you need to think of your friends, families, lovers, comrades in battle - anyone you love - as you attack. The new Dark Spirits all find this energy to be vile and repulsive. Korra and I managed to reduce Dark Korra to the size of a two-year old with love strikes, and with your exclamations, you, the press, shrunk her to the size of a baby."
Tears in her eyes, her girlfriend said loudly, "This press conference is over. I need to make a trip to the Fire Nation capital now, as Firelord Izumi has requested my help in convincing her isolationist nation to go to war." Geraldo asked an actually useful question, yelling at the top of his lungs, "What about the information blackout from Ba Sing Se? Do you know what that was, Avatar Korra?" Asami said, while lightly putting her hand on a confused Korra's shoulder, "I don't think she knows anything about that, Geraldo! And to be frank, neither do I! My best guess is that the city revolted after news of Kuvira's defeat reached the city, and given the blackout, all the good radio equipment must have been destroyed, probably on purpose!"
As Asami accompanied a slightly confused Korra back to their room, Korra said, "I hope that those possible rebels in Ba Sing Se are friendly… Anyways, only part of that thing about Firelord Izumi was true - the Firelord's speech isn't for another, what, four hours? It's around 2:30, right?" After Asami checked and nodded, Korra continued, "The only people who really need to go are myself, Uncle Iroh, Zuko and Firelord Izumi, so we can leave on a small boat. No need to drag the Zhu Li along." After they got back and shut the door, Asami made to pick up a thingie, but Korra stopped her, saying, "I'd prefer a pencil, not a thingie - for now. Why don't you show me your other, unnamed projects for Team Avatar? You mentioned you'd need to speed their development, since not even Raava knows when the baby will be due. Literally."
Asami made to grab for the pencil initially, but took Korra's hand and placed it on her forehead instead, saying, "Infobending would be much faster than showing you drawings. Time we could use for other things. Like getting you out of that dress, for one." As Korra blushed and shuddered slightly, Asami could feel her four remaining "gifts" temporarily leave her head, then return. Before Korra could say anything, Asami told her, "Try and keep those secret - three of the gifts have already been exposed, and I'd rather Mako and Jinora especially not suspect anything." Korra nodded and ran outside, her formal dress flapping as she did so. Asami didn't know what she was doing until Korra returned with a large chunk of ore ten minutes later, eyes glowing.
Korra said, "The most interesting one first - yours," as she tore a chunk or ore off and formed a metallic representation of the suit Asami had in mind for herself, watching in fascination as Korra grew it to full size and fitted it around Asami's body. Even though Asami knew it was a mockup, she admired what she could see of the metal form from the helmet, and was surprised when she found she could actually move it around.
Asami said, "Wow - I didn't expect you to be this good at translating my internal blueprint into reality! Given how your hand is still, you aren't moving the metal for me either - it works!" Korra chuckled slightly, saying, "I am helping it move - I've got a hand hidden behind my back, metalbending. You're right that it would need a tuber-vine power source, especially if you want the twin blades to be effective against Dark Spirits." Korra took a hand from behind her back and moved the two long blades with lines that must have been representations of spiritwire in and out, saying, "Those blades will be a lot easier to hook up than mine - I'm still not sure how I will handle the pain of the wiring for my armblades. All you need to have done is to hook the tuber-vine to the spiritwire in the blades." Asami laughed, saying, "We could just get you really, really drunk - you wanted to know what it felt like anyways." Korra nodded while smiling, adding, "I had more than a slightly sheltered upbringing, and look forward to you showing me more things others thought inappropriate for a lady or the Avatar."
Asami said with a gleam in her eye, "I can show you more later, though we've already done much of what I know about the bedroom." Returning to business, Asami tried moving her fingers, and to her disappointment, she could not. Pointing to one of the suit's hands awkwardly with the other hand, she continued, "I see you couldn't get the electricity or flames to work, or even the fingers - the weapons will likely need to be powered by the tuber-vine." Asami jumped slightly as Korra placed her hand underneath one of Asami's metal-clad arms and used her bending to mimic the effect of the flamethrower. Korra said, done with her blue fire, "I'm not going to try and mimic the lightning you want to shoot from the palm - I don't want to start a fire in Zuko's property." Asami could feel Korra manipulating the interior of the mechasuit's arms, saying, "I just modified the suit slightly so that a firebender could actually use their bending to power the flames, but from the palm instead - I imagine this suit would go over well with the Fire Nation military as the first of the technology sharing. Once we have enough tuber-vines, of course."
Part wanting to see how it looked in person, part wanting to distract herself from the possibility of her suit not being unique, Asami raced to the nearest mirror, admiring her metal-clad form. Asami realized with a laugh that certain parts were not as she had thought they were. While she had designed the suit to be much less cumbersome than Kuvira's suits, she noticed Korra had further reduced the armor plating on the suit, letting her feminine form show much better, especially in the chest, legs, arms and hips. Korra joining her side, Asami asked, "Is there any reason this thing's breasts are bigger than my own? I look sort of ridiculous!" Korra laughed, saying, "I figured one side contains the tuber-vine power source in the extra room, and the other side could contain communications equipment of some sort. I'm sure Shiro Shinobi and Varrick can come up with something." Slapping Asami's metal-clad hips, Korra said, "The rest is for eye-candy, though I'm sure that the reduced weight will help with the other feature. Watch out - I'm going to remove one of the mechasuit's legs."
As Asami lifted her leg and the metal slid off with Korra's assistance, she could immediately notice a big change from her design. There was a big groove, apparently representing spiritwire, running down the back and into the sole of a significantly larger boot. Korra turned the leg such that the bottom was visible, and Asami said with a start, "Wait - that's a condenser ring. Did you make the modification I think you made? I can fly?" Korra nodded her head up and down, saying, "I figured that Kuvira's suits would not be of much use against Long Yumao, given he can fly and all. If you're worried about your suit not being unique, this should fix that - there's actually a condenser ring inside the electric shock projector as well, so you can fly like I do. I guess this suit might just need two tuber-vines: you could probably use the ones in your hands as weapons."
After Korra replaced the leg, Asami closed her eyes, visualizing what the final suit would look like. One retractable spirit-wire laced blade on each arm linked to a larger spiritwire, just as she had discussed with Korra. When she visualized the forearms, she saw a hatch open and close underneath, spitting fire out when opened. She saw the suit's palm next, it alternatively letting loose a large torrent of electricity or a controlled blast of spirit energy. Refocusing off weapons, she saw the suit -coated in platinum to avoid metalbender trouble - and its feminine helmet painted in black and red. There was a green visor that resembled her favorite goggles to see out of, the whole head sitting on top of slight but armored shoulders that had smaller, custom-fit green ball joints. Her "enlarged" chest was emblazoned with the Future Industries logo instead of an Earth Empire insignia against a black and red background. The feminine form ended in large black boots with jade green insets - the same color as her eyes. The odd dark green skirt of Kuvira's mechasuit was gone, cut for increased agility, as were the large protrusions on the back. Making a mental note, the image in front of her changed slightly - the ankles now had a small ball joint all to themselves, needing additional maneuverability for the spirit jets to work at maximum capability.
Apparently, she must have been talking to herself, as Korra shook her slightly, saying, "That sounds amazing, Asami. Why don't you go make a blueprint while I bend the other three 'presents', at reduced scale." Korra made to take the suit off, but Asami resisted, saying, "Just make it able to move without metalbending - I want to keep it on. It makes me feel empowered, confident - like I could punch Long Yumao in the beak." Korra's eyes glowed and she placed her hands on Asami's exaggerated armored breasts, saying, "This should help it run - but only for a bit." When Asami looked in the mirror, she was surprised to see the Future Industries logo on her chest - but it was glowing blue! Finding she could move the fine metal fingers now, she carefully created a blueprint, making sure to make a note that said "Discuss with Zhu Li and Varrick." She called her suit "Asami's Reach", writing down the names "Iron Varrick" and "Zhu Li's Thing" next to her metal baby's name.
When Asami turned around, she saw that Korra had created small-size representations of the gifts for Mako, Jinora and Opal. Feeling the suit starting to tense up, Asami asked, "Can you go ahead and take this thing off me? Just solidify it - I want to show it to Zhu Li and Varrick while you are off in the Fire Nation, in secret." After the suit was off, Korra had to tap Asami's shoulder to get her attention away from the Asami's Reach mockup, saying, "So, Mako's vest - I didn't have any rubber for the insulation, obviously, but I still didn't understand all the weird fibers underneath the electrifiable wire mesh and rubber. What are those - you 'said' something about it being body armor?" Asami coughed, saying, "Yeah… it was an idea I had about a lightweight armor that can stop a projectile, but I'm not sure how to make it work. I'd need some chemistry help from Zhu Li on that one, I think." Asami took the vest, saying, "Anyways - there were some gloves and leggings that went with the vest. Did you make those?" Korra shook her head, saying, "Since I had already made something similar for your mechasuit, I didn't figure I needed to. Although, honestly, I didn't know how to make the gloves - that weird little circle in the center was difficult to make. If I remember right, it was intended to let Mako firebend out of it, but also somehow project ball lightning after he generates a charge." Asami found herself again needing help, saying, "That's an idea I got when you showed us what the Restoration looked like. I'll need Varrick's help with that."
Eager to get away from presents that needed other's help, Asami pointed to a miniature staff on the bed, saying, "Why don't you give me Jinora's special staff? I really liked that one - it's pretty simple. It can act like a glider, due to its thickness towards the head, and there are holes along it so Jinora can use it to whip up a tornado or cyclone rapidly using the tornado-shaped head of the staff. The holes will have little pieces of tuber-vine embedded, my hope being that they will increase her power. The little handgrips you're poking with your finger are coated in spiritwire, which runs through the staff to the holes to let her better project herself and communicate with spirits better, as well as let her channel her airbending into the staff."
Korra picked up the other, simple item, saying, "This is Opal's buckler, and the final present. You 'told' me about how she can create an air barrier using it, with spiritwire enhancing its power enough that she can shield herself from everything but the fastest of projectiles or spirit weapons. Can this absorb spirit weapon energy, Asami?" Asami shook her head, saying, "No - I think you have to be hooked to a tuber-vine for that. You forgot to mention the little hole in the shield where Opal can shoot out steel projectiles, including Satot rounds once the brain trust makes them." Asami let out a sigh, saying, "I guess we'll need to replace Kuvira with Meelo, given her sentence. We should be able to meet with Kuvira one last time, while you're going to the Fire Nation. At least Meelo's a bright nine-year old, and can probably help us in making the suits fly well, as well as any airbending related troubleshooting."
Feeling like they had finally finished, Asami asked Korra, "I'm out of my cumbersome 'dress' - now how about you get out of yours, and we have some more fun?" Korra yawned sleepily, saying, "Sorry - no sexy time right now. I could go for a bare cuddle, though - make sure to set an alarm for about 5:00 PM. I don't want to be late in taking Uncle Iroh, Firelord Izumi and Zuko to the capital."
Though at first Asami was disappointed that Korra just wanted to cuddle, as she embraced Korra again, she still had a feeling of oneness that was more satisfying than anything her hips could give her. She snuck a hand onto Korra's bare chest, her lover sighing contentedly as she slept, Asami soon joining her in peaceful slumber. As she drifted to sleep, she could have sworn she heard her father's voice say, "I am so proud of you, Asami - and so sorry for all the hurt I caused you over the years. I love you."