Asami

The airship hung low in the sky over the Foggy Swamp, as its occupants surveyed the trees below.

Asami had been very worried when she had come back from her dinner with the King of Omashu to find that Jinora had collapsed, but when the airbender told her that she knew where Korra was, she had made haste to the Foggy Swamp, leaving that very night and flying non-stop to where they now hovered, sweeping over the landscape looking for the Avatar.

"Where exactly did you say she was?" She called. She was stood in the bomb bay, on the edge of the open bomb bay doors, and peering down at Ikki and Kai. The two Airbenders were sat in a small streamlined pod that was suspended about fifty feet beneath the airship with a winch, in order to allow them to get a closer look without risking a possible crash by flying lower.

"I'm not sure exactly," Jinora told her. She was leaning against the wall of the bomb bay a few feet away, as she still had not quite recovered from whatever had happened to her.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Asami asked her gently, but the airbender shook her head.

"I'll be fine. It hasn't happened since..."

"What did happen?"

"There was a flash, a purple flash. It catapulted me back into my own body."

"Maybe your father knows something about it. Or Korra, once we find her," Asami told her. She didn't even pretend to understand the affairs of spirits. Jinora nodded.

Suddenly, there was a shout from below. Asami looked down in time to see Ikki plummeting out from the pod, falling into the trees. A moment later, Kai glanced up and then followed her.

"Ikki! Kai!" Asami shouted in shock.

"Get Meelo!" She told Jinora, as she reached up and took hold of another winch. She connected it to her belt, took a breath, and then jumped out of the airship.

The rush of air took her breath away as she accelerated downwards, the tree line getting closer and closer. As she passed the pod, still hanging there, she felt the rope connected to her waist begin to slow her down, and so she was travelling very slowly by the time she reached the ground. She touched the forest floor, straightened up, and looked around.

A fire burned in the centre of the space, with a cauldron hanging over it. An old woman sat tending the flames with a stick, dressed entirely in green. She showed no sign of acknowledging the new arrivals.

Ikki, meanwhile, had rushed over and hugged another woman who had her back to Asami. Kai was standing nearby with a smile on his face. As Asami watched, the woman broke off the hug, straightened up, and turned around.

And Asami Sato, for the first time in three years, found herself staring into the face of Avatar Korra.

Korra looked noticeably older than she had last time, and that was not just down to the three years that had elapsed since then. Her eyes seemed tired. She wore her hair loose, and it hung down around to her chin, and she wore a green top that left her arms bare.

The Avatar gave a crooked grin.

"Hey Asami," she said. "I suppose it's been a while." Then she paused. "This is really you, isn't it?"

"Why wouldn't it be?" Asami asked.

"This place does funny things to your mind," Korra replied. "Strange visions and apparitions. It wouldn't be the first vision I've had here."

Asami shook her head. "I'm not a vision," she replied.

Just then, there was a shout from above, and Meelo came plunging down. He managed to slow himself down with his airbending, so his faceplant into the ground was funny as opposed to life-threatening, and was immediately on his feet.

"Korra!" He cheered, and came rushing over to give her a hug. She complied, still looking at Asami.

"I... can't believe we finally found you," Asami told her, taking a step towards her. And then another, as anger began to take over.

"I haven't seen you in THREE YEARS, Korra! Do you know how stressed I've been, how we've been worrying about you? Mako hasn't taken a holiday in all that time, and you haven't even written?"

By now she was right in front of the Avatar, shouting angrily at her. She wasn't sure what she would do next. She raised one arm angrily.

Korra's expression changed to one of shock and apprehension, but Asami threw her arms around her and hugged her tightly.

"We were so worried," she said again. "Don't do that again. Just talk to us, please."

"I'm...sorry," Korra admitted after a while. "I had to get away, from everything. It was too hard."

"Did 'everything' have to include us?" Asami demanded. "We're on your side!"

There was a rustle of leaves and a rush of air as Jinora dropped down next to them, landing gracefully in a swirl of leaves.

"I know, I'm sorry!" Korra said. Asami softened at that, finding that it was impossible to remain angry with her. Just then, the other woman spoke.

"Friends of yours, Avatar?"

"Oh yes!" Korra gestured towards her. "Toph, this is Asami, Ikki, Meelo, Jinora and Kai. They're my friends."

She turned to Asami. "This is Toph Beifong. She was a friend of Avatar Aang's."

Asami nodded, excitedly. Aang's Team Avatar were all legends, and she was actually meeting one!

"And you're Airbenders," Toph stated. "Dare I say you're relatives of Aang?"

"He was our grandfather," Jinora told her.

"Ha!" Toph snorted. "He was a pain in the butt, that's what he was."

But her tone was happy, as if she were recalling some happier memory from long ago.

"Why are you here, anyway?" Jinora asked.

"I came to get away, and to find Toph. I still had the Red Lotus' poison in me, and I needed her to get it out of me."

"And did she?"

"No," Toph replied. "Korra got it out herself."

"That's great!" Asami said. "You must be feeling much better now! You can come back with us!"

"Back?" Korra asked.

"To Ba Sing Se," Asami supplied. "The world needs its Avatar again, Korra. I need the Avatar."

Korra thought for a moment, and glanced down at her hands. Then she looked up, met Asami's eyes, and nodded.

"Alright then," she said. "I'm coming back."

"Are you coming too?" Meelo asked Toph. But the old woman shook her head.

"I came here to get away from all the lunatics out there. I'm not going back any time soon."

Her tone indicated that there would be no room for disagreement.

Asami nodded. "Do you want to see my airship?" She asked Korra, who laughed.

Asami did not know what would happen in the future, but she had her friend back. Finally, the future did not look so bleak.