AUTHOR'S NOTES: This chapter's kind of weird, but it sets a lot of foreshadowing into place, and the cameo at the end of the chapter may or may not be the real deal. That said, the characters Korra meets in her daydream might be real or might not. This is definitely not the only time we'll run into these apparitions though, hence the significance of the chapter name.
Happy Reading!
BOOK ONE: POWER
CHAPTER NINE: THE APPARITION
Most people tended to associate daydreaming with positive implications, since they were often done while awake or at least semi-conscious, and usually involved various fantasies or dreams. Other times they were literally dreams during the day, such as in Korra's case. The contents of these dreams varied, with some being more pleasant than others.
Korra was not sure what to make of this one though. She found herself in the same area surrounding the Eastern Air Temple that she had seen when she spoke with Yangchen, but this time the entire place was deserted. The towering pagodas of the temple were visible from the distance, and they looked in decent repair. Perhaps this location was merely her mind painting a generic setting rather than trying to dig up something symbolic.
The only other figure Korra saw was herself, however. Maybe she was a little older, but she was dressed exactly the same: that light blue form-fitting top, the dark blue sweatpants, and little else except an unusual set of heavy bracelets around her wrists and ankles. If these were metal, they looked to be made of solid gold, and while they resembled shackles, they didn't have latches or openings. Her eyes also shimmered blue and white, as if she was in the Avatar State.
"Who are you?" Korra asked the apparition.
"I am Korra," the apparition replied bluntly. It had a low, commanding voice that Korra could not place as belonging to anyone she knew; "Or rather, I am you. I am the concerns and fears of your mind personified. So tell me, Korra: Who are you?"
"What do you mean who am I?" Korra tilted her head. "I'm Avatar Korra."
"Which are you first?" Korra's projection demanded.
"Well, I'd have to be the Avatar first, right?" Korra reasoned, "duty and all that stuff, or something. But I don't wanna just be the Avatar. I want to still be Korra too."
"Then ensure you keep your priorities straight." the apparition warned. "Embrace your status as the Avatar, but do not lose yourself in it if you wish to preserve Korra."
"What else can you tell me?" Korra asked.
"I can hardly give you advice you don't already know at least slightly," the apparition gave a hollow laugh, her glowing featureless eyes making it creepier than it should have been, "After all, I am you. I am merely reasoning with you on how to balance Korra and Avatar Korra in your life if you seek to preserve both."
"Of course I do!" Korra exclaimed, "I can't just stop being the Avatar, but I don't want to lose myself and my name in the process."
"Then don't," the projection advised. "Be yourself. If 'yourself' is the Avatar, then be the Avatar. If 'yourself' is Korra, then be Korra. If 'yourself' is Avatar Korra, then be Avatar Korra."
"That doesn't even make sense!" One of Korra's brows rose slightly while the other sunk, followed by her lower lip sticking out.
"What it means is that you are in control of your destiny." the projection explained, "You chose to leave home and travel the world. You chose to embrace being the Avatar as a little child. Every action you choose has a consequence, for good or ill. If you fear that Korra is being overshadowed by Avatar Korra, then do what you know you must do in order to rectify it. If you think that it is merely a phase; that you will get over the Earth Rumble Host's words, then disregard it and continue living how you please. All I am saying at the bottom line, Korra, is to think. Ponder the consequences of balancing your own spirit and the Avatar Spirit, and ponder what happens if the balance is too skewed. There is no right and wrong answer here… although if you allow this imbalance, your name will consume your identity… or your status as the Avatar will consume you. Make of that what you will."
Korra paused to contemplate this advice, looking down at her bare feet for a moment before looking back up and realizing the apparition had changed. It still resembled her, except the gold bracelets around her wrists and ankles were replaced with actual shackles, and a thick chain of heavy links was wrapped around her right hand a forearm. Instead of glowing Avatar State eyes, the apparition's eyes were a dull, featureless white, and her skin appeared to be greyer.
"Wait, what happened?" Korra looked confused, "you aren't me."
"Become the Avatar," the apparition did not appear to be moving or speaking, and yet Korra would swear that she heard these words in her mind, "master the spirits… purify what has long since been defiled. Find… me…"
And with that, the apparition faded away, and soon Korra slipped right through the illusory plain, plunging into the abyss before being awakened from her nap. She had no idea how much time had actually passed, and for a moment she lay there contemplating the conversation she had had. She wondered if that had been another spirit world trip and if that apparition had been an actual spirit; or if this had all just been a dream inside her own mind, with both sides of her conflicted argument carefully presenting their points. The apparition with her wearing golden bracelets had felt like herself, but that shackled apparition had felt like a very real outside force trying to get into her head. Who or what had that thing been? Korra didn't really want to worry too much about it, because it was likely just her mind playing tricks on her.
She sat up, putting her left foot down and putting pressure on it to see if it still hurt. There was a sting in her ankle, but it wasn't enough to prevent her from standing. Korra was made from some seriously resilient stock, and it would take much more than a twist to keep her down.
The sun was setting on Gaoling by the time Korra got dressed to head out again, and neither Kwan nor Nakkoa had returned yet. She only had a few hours until the ship to Republic City would depart, and many of those would be spent sleeping. She had to try one last time to find Ichiro. Fortunately, since she had visited his home last time, she knew where to find it—or at least thought she did. She and Naga got lost a few times, although after Korra stopped and let Naga guide her to Ichiro's house they got there without incident. It was difficult to gauge the actual intelligence of a polar bear-dog in comparison to humans, but as Korra dismounted, she was almost certain Naga gave her this sassy look that could very well have been her calling out Korra's terrible navigational skills.
"Yeah, yeah, rub it in," Korra pouted as she stepped up to Ichiro's door and knocked. For a moment there was silence, and Korra briefly thought he wasn't home. Right as she was about to turn and leave however, Ichiro answered the door.
"Well, well," he cooed, "if it isn't my favourite little Avatar. What brings you to my humble abode? You don't quite look in need of healing like you did last time"
"The hits were easier to shrug off this time," Korra admitted with a light shrug which betrayed her bad posture, "I mean if you're offering I wouldn't say no, but I just wanted to say goodbye since I'm out of here tomorrow. I also wanted to ask you about those candies."
"Did you want some more?" Ichiro offered with a playful grin. His eyes widened when Korra excitedly seized his shoulders.
"Of course!" She jumped up and down like a giddy schoolgirl, grinning ear to ear, "and you should totally tell me where you get them. I've got money burning a hole in my pocket right now!"
"Sadly, I cannot disclose my secret," Ichiro invited Korra in, "but I can give you a bag that might last you about 6½ minutes."
Korra's left eyebrow went up as her right one sunk, her lip jutting out once again. "That's it?"
"Maybe," Ichiro gave a hearty laugh, "It depends on how fast you demolish them, little one."
"I have some restraint!" Korra argued.
"Smile," Ichiro offered, waiting for Korra to flash her slightly discolored teeth. The green tint they had exposed Korra's bluff immediately, and she pouted upon this realization.
"You're a bad person." Korra frowned, further amplifying her pout.
"And so what does that make you, coming all this way just to see a 'bad person' and say goodbye?" Ichiro teased with a playful grin.
"Smartass," Korra's pout intensified. Ichiro could not help but laugh at her dramatic expression.
"Whatever the case," Ichiro sighed, changing the subject as to not tear his young friend down too far, "I will miss you, little Avatar."
"I have a name, you know." Korra piped up. She thought back to Kazuya and back to her daydream earlier and shook her head. She didn't think Ichiro was doing it on purpose, but her teenaged mind wanted a bit of proper closure, as well as admittance from the man himself.
"And it's a rather pretty one," Ichiro smiled. "Korra, was it? I just figured you weren't big on using names, and so I went with nicknames."
"What made you think that?" Korra tilted her head.
"You've never used my name since meeting me," Ichiro smirked. "I don't really see you as the passive-aggressive type though; I feel if you truly loathed my affectionate nickname that you would have said something much sooner."
"Are you this persistent of a smartass to everyone you meet?" Korra pouted. He had outsmarted her again, and she didn't have a comeback ready.
"I am indeed," Ichiro laughed before rising to his feet and tossing her a sack of candy, "but I will not keep you… Korra. Thank you for taking your time to meet me; I do hope our paths cross again sometime."
"Thanks for putting up with me," Korra admitted, "I mean, other than the two sisters… I don't really have any other friends. I don't imagine you'd want to come with me, would you?"
Hearing the stories of "Team Avatar" in the era of Avatar Aang made Korra wish she had a little band of friends like that. Kwan and Nakkoa were clever and Kwan especially was rather humourous, but they were both about twice her age and were not really her 'Team Avatar'. Perhaps the conflict between "Korra" and "The Avatar" was deeper than just her name. On one hand, she was excited to start learning more of the bending arts to augment her already respectable skills, but on the other, she was almost certain that her masters would be men and women twice her age that had vast knowledge of their respective arts. Finding teenaged prodigies the way her predecessor had did not seem like a lucky enough combination to happen again so soon. As Korra returned home for that evening, these were the types of things on her mind. She wanted to be the Avatar just as all of her past lives had been, always imagining that mastering those abilities would help bring the world back into balance. She started to realize that there was much more to this notion than she previously thought.
Korra did not have any dreams, visions, or trips to the spirit world that evening; nor was she visited by that cryptic apparition she had daydreamed of, and so ultimately she woke up as refreshed as she could be for it being morning. This time the three women boarded the ship as passengers rather than cargo, and even Naga was allowed on with them. Something behind them, however, caused Nakkoa to cast her eyes back uncomfortably before they made their way to the suite. It was a 2-2½ day voyage to Republic City, and so Kwan had steeled herself for a restless Avatar on the journey there, and could only imagine what Nakkoa was preparing for.
Korra glanced behind them to see what had flustered Nakkoa so, but only saw an elderly man with a three-pointed silver beard, and a long pointy mustache to match. His skin had a darker tone to it, and so this old-timer very well might have been from the Water Tribes. Korra wanted to talk to him, but when everyone was still boarding, her opportunity would be later.
She remained on the deck as the ship left the port, sailing west back down the mighty river that connected it to the sea. She thought about going to look for that old man, wondering what he could have done to strike such discomfort into Nakkoa's heart for even a second (for Nakkoa vehemently denied any such thing, and even Kwan backed her up), but she didn't have to look far at all. Instead the old man found Korra, approaching her while one of his dark blue eyes widened as he got right up in her face.
"So… you're the Avatar, is it?" His tone was lively and dramatic, especially for a man who was likely in his mid-late 80s.
"That's me," Korra gave a sheepish smile, "off on my adventure to master the elements. Can I help you with something?"
"As a matter of fact… you can." The old-timer lowered his voice. "I'm on a reconnaissance mission, hunting down four powerful benders."
"I mean, I'm the Avatar," Korra introduced herself, "but I'm still kind of in training so I'm not sure if I'd qualify as powerful or not."
"Avatar, hmm?" the old man raised his eyebrows, "well then, missy, I think you might have simplified my search in one way.
"Really?" This old geezer wasn't making too much sense, but Korra could have sworn he looked familiar in some way. Her first thought was some subconscious Avatar dream, but that couldn't be it; her past lives were all dead.
"Really, really." the man nodded. "And now you're prancing off to Republic City of all places! It's a bold move on your part, little one, but don't let the ramblings of some old geezer throw ya off."
"How did you know where I was going?" Korra looked defensive, "who are you, even? Are you following me? Did the White Lotus send you?"
"White Lotus?" the man scratched his beard, "Ahh yes. I've heard of them. I knew the original Grandmaster Lotus back in my day… but no. I just happened to be boarding the same boat as you. Whatever sinister plot they've got in store or you, I'm not part of it!"
"How did you know where I was going though?" Korra demanded, "And who are you?"
"Lass," the old man laughed and shook his head, "I know where you're going because I'm on the same ship as you, and only an idiot would take a ship without knowing its destination."
"Oh," Korra stared adamantly down at her boots, "um… right." She had walked right into that one; that was for sure. Foot, meet mouth.
"As for who I am…" the man looked Korra squarely in the eyes. "You can call me Wang Fire."
AFTERTHOUGHTS: yup, that's Wang Fire. I couldn't have been the only one that felt cheated that we never saw or heard what happened to Sokka. I have a few ideas as to what to do with him here, but for now... teaser time.