Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender and Legend of Korra, or any of the related characters. The Avatar universe is created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko and owned by Nickelodeon. This fanfiction is intended for entertainment only.
Book 1: Dark
Chapter 3: Ethereal Journey
The sun has just begun to light up the Southern Water Tribe, and three newly met friends left Mona's house for their trip to the spirit world. Kairo definitely wasn't a morning person, unlike Gyila. He was trying to chat with them, but both Kairo and Mona were still quite sleepy.
"So, do you have any spirits in mind that you think may inform us about the separation?" asked Mona. Seems like she was much more awake compared to Kairo.
"Well, most spirits are as old as the event, so the real problem is finding a spirit willing to help us," responded Gyila.
The rest of their trip was quiet. They silently adored the white terrain slowly being lit up. It took her a while to adapt to the cold, especially in her first months, but she grew to like it. She honestly felt much like herself. She particularly liked snow, too. Whenever it snowed, she was in a good mood all day. One of the best things she absolutely adored about her hometown was definitely the constant snow. Mona thought the next element would be the southern lights.
The trio stood at the edge of the South Pole; they had arrived. Kairo was mesmerized; he had never seen the Southern Portal. The swirling vortex of blues and whites seemed to dance with the energy of the spirits. The weather and landscape were much harsher up here, but it felt like the portal gave life to this rather melancholic terrain. He looked upon the spirits dancing around the portal. They seemed much more different than the spirits around the Republic City Portal. They seemed somewhat more intimidating.
"The spirits at the Republic City are much more friendly; they enjoy the presence of humans. These spirits here, however, prefer solidarity and are more… solemn," explained Gyila, as if he had read his brother's mind.
Kairo observed the portal with awe and hope. To him, this mission and the portal represented not just a gateway to the spirit world or bringing balance but a ticket to strengthen his airbending and spirituality he surely lacked.
As they approached, the colors of the portal shimmered as if it felt their presence. Mona observed that it shimmered much more than when she and Hoaq would enter the spirit world. She wondered if it was because of Kairo, the young Avatar who was literally half spirit, or because of Gyila, who surely had a strong connection with the spirits. She also observed that the colors of this ethereal portal became… darker.
They circled the portal, and almost harmoniously, they took a deep breath, closed their eyes, and started to walk inside the portal. They were calm; the nature of this spiritual place left a tranquil feeling inside of them. The moment their breaths left their bodies, their energies started to transform into the spirit world. Kairo thought that it was like stepping into a dream.
As they left the physical world behind them, the world around them shifted. The icy tundra of the South Pole melted away, replaced by a surreal and colorful landscape. Kairo tried to understand the color of the sky. Right when he decided on one color, it seemed as if it had changed colors again. The colors were vivid, almost too intense to be real, and yet, they felt more alive than anything in the physical realm.
Mona, Gyila, and Kairo looked at each other, trying to figure out if they shared what they were feeling. Gyila, most of the time, meditated himself into the spirit world, but the experience of using the portals was much different.
"Now what?" asked Kairo, finally snapping out of the ecstasy of using the Southern Portal for the first time. Yes, he has been to the spirit world before, but it was purely for touristic purposes. He never needed to "connect with the spirits" for the police work in the Fire Nation Capital.
"Now, we travel," answered Gyila. Mona admired the Tree of Time while the two brothers were chatting. She always wanted to meditate there but felt nervous about it for some reason. She saw an old woman meditating inside the Tree of Time.
"Who is that?" she asked her companions, pointing out to the Tree of Time. With her question, the brothers turned their attention to where she was pointing at. Kairo shrugged; they were too far away to recognize who the old lady was. As they approached the tree, Kairo recognized the woman.
"That's Asami!" exclaimed Kairo, he continued. "Maybe she can help us?"
"I cannot see why not," answered Gyila with a smile. He loved it when his brother, who has always had his troubles when it came to spirituality, was this enthusiastic about the spirit world.
"Asami?" thought Mona to herself. She thought she was long dead.
They paced towards the Tree of Time, standing right inside the Republic City Portal. Kairo was almost running towards Asami, so Gyila and Mona were forced to speed up to catch him.
"We are sorry to disturb you, Asami, but can you help us?" asked Kairo as he greeted him with a slight bow.
Asami opened her eyes and smiled. "Of course, Kairo, it is a pleasure to see you." They hugged. Kairo and Asami were close friends. When the identity of the Avatar was revealed, Asami spent most of her time with Kairo, telling him all she knew about Korra and her accomplishments. But after her oldness started to interfere with her physical abilities, she left her body and decided to live in the spirit world, just like Iroh. Iroh's exercise became very popular after it was discovered, but leaving your body and living eternity in the spirit world was not what everyone could accomplish.
Asami's eyes first met Gyila's. "It is always a pleasure to see you too, Gyila."
"Likewise," answered Gyila with a smile and bowed before her.
"And who is this young lady?" asked Asami with curious eyes while looking at Mona.
"That is Mona. We met at Wan Shi Tong's library. She is studying the culture of the Southern Water Tribe," answered Gyila for Mona.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Asami," said Mona and greeted her, just like Kairo and Gyila.
"We are trying to figure out the separation of the water tribes. Do you know any spirits that can help us?" asked Kairo. No point in wasting time.
Asami thought for a moment. "The water tribes got separated thousands of years ago, and it is ancient history. I do not know the reason myself, nor did Korra when she was alive."
She continued, "You can find Zuko and Iroh. Iroh, especially, has been in the spirit world for almost two hundred years. I am sure he can help you more than I can."
As the three of them started to prepare to leave, Asami continued. Her voice was low as if she was confessing a crime or telling a despicable secret. "Day by day, I feel the presence of Korra diminishing from your energy."
Kairo's confusion could've been understood by the look in his eyes. "What do you mean?" he asked, his words filled with fear, and the twist in his mood was reflected in the spirit world, too.
Mona started to get afraid and approached Gyila closely, who had already taken his guard for any possible upcoming danger. Kairo wasn't aware of the fact that he was changing the environment with his moods. On the other hand, Asami calmly observed the shift and responded, "Do not fear, Kairo. In order to bring balance to the world, you first need to overcome your own imbalances. I can feel that you will accomplish it." She said, and the environment changed again, not to its former mesmerizing scenery, but somewhat less treacherous than just before.
"You need to calm down, Kairo. I am sure everything is fine. We are going to figure it out," Gyila said to calm his brother. Gyila knew that in order to travel around the spirit world safely, especially with Avatar, he needed to be as calm as possible. After all, Avatar's moods had a major impact on the state of the spirit world. The confidence in Gyila's words encouraged both Mona and Kairo.
"Okay, I am fine," said Kairo, while taking a deep breath. He continued, "We should get moving." He tried to sound as confident as possible. Even if he was not his most confident self because of Asami's confession, he thought that maybe he could at least fool himself that he was confident.
After this little tension, they said their goodbyes to Asami and started their journey to find Iroh and Zuko. Although, Kairo was still confused. What did Asami mean by "she could feel Korra's energy diminishing?" Could it be related to why he hasn't been able to connect with Korra? What was wrong with him? He entered the spirit world with so much hope; why was this happening to him? He was feeling afraid; he never felt afraid. Yes, there were times when he felt insecure, especially when he compared himself to his past lives, but he never felt afraid. He didn't like it. He didn't like the nausea making his stomach funny. He didn't like how cold his hands were. And he certainly didn't like affecting the state of the spirit world, either.
The forest they were walking in started to get scarier with each step. The trees almost looked threatening, as if they wanted to harm them. They all started to walk really close to each other.
Gyila stopped. "Kairo," he started. Kairo looked at his brother. The always calm brother of his was looking more concerned than ever.
"I understand you; I really do. I have no idea what Asami meant by saying that, either. But right now, our mission isn't to solve your imbalances or to strengthen your connection with Korra. Right now, our mission is to-"
With Mona's concerning scream, both brothers turned their heads back to see Mona. She was getting pulled inside the trees. She tried her best to bend her way out of the branches, pulling her to the depths of the Spirit Forest, but she was unsuccessful. The branches of the trees looked as if they were arms and hands kidnapping her.
"Mona!" shouted Gyila, and he started to airbend in hopes of saving her. Kairo bended the earth below the trees, which only seemed like it made the trees angrier. As much as they tried to save Mona, now her face couldn't be seen, only her incredibly painful-to-hear screams.