AUTHOR'S NOTES: In order to be officially diagnosed with PTSD, the symptoms have to persist over a month. This chapter kind of makes it official as it covers the next 5 weeks of Korra's attempted recovery,but it's clear that her symptoms are getting worse instead of better (I wouldn't have tagged it as PTSD if she got over it that easily). Anyways, here's where things start to get really wild.
Happy Reading!

BOOK ONE: POWER

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE: THE RETURN TO THE SOUTH

Tonraq and Senna were distraught over Korra's behaviour, both for her wild and rebellious actions, but also because they could see past her mood and saw in her visage the eyes of an injured young woman who was overwhelmed by her own abilities. They kept their distance from Korra over the next few days, giving her space, but also observing her behavioural patterns. She slept at weird times, hardly ate, and when she wasn't muttering things to Naga when she thought she was alone, she was off exploring the different spires and pagodas of the temple, launching herself from one to the next with surprising precision. She gravitated towards the Avatar Chamber multiple times in a day, at one point disappearing for almost half the day. Without airbending of their own, Tonraq and Senna were limited to the pagoda where Fukui seemed to live, as well as a few others that were connected with for them, the entire temple was not connected this way, and so there were many times when Korra was simply out of their reach.

As she fired a powerful burst of wind into the Air Nomad Emblem lock for what was the 18th time in the last half a week, Korra shut herself in the Avatar Chamber once again, this time without a particular destination in mind. Attempts to meditate brought her a slight sense of serenity, but ever since the incident that had nearly taken her life, she felt like she was out of sync with that part of her spiritual side—or perhaps more likely, she had done so much 'nothing' over the last few days that her mind couldn't abide not doing anything once again.

In a fit of rage, she spotted her own statue and bum-rushed it, lunging through the air with blue flames on her hands. She struck it with considerable force, but after the dust cleared, the only thing that had happened was Korra's knuckles were bleeding and she landed hard on her backside. The statue itself was unharmed.

She stood up and took several steps back, focusing on the head of her statue before firing off a combustion beam from her forehead. She underestimated her own power in this regard as well, knocking her back yet again, but other than slightly singed hair and another bruise on her backside, she was mostly unhurt, and the statue looked untouched, to the point where there was not so much as a chip or a crack in its masonry.

"What even is this thing…" she muttered as she started analyzing every detail of herself that she could, still shocked that she hadn't even so much as chipped it with her explosion. The statue's appearance hadn't changed at all, and still had that stony, intimidating expression that all of the other statues had as well. It was almost comical watching the little Avatar climb all over the large statue of herself, trying to find out more information about where the design had come from, who or what had built it, and what it was made of.

"Still think you don't fit in, hmm?" Korra was hanging off the arm of her statue before the voice startled her and she fell right off. She sprang up and threw her head side to side, trying to locate the sound of the voice she had just heard.

A bluish projection of a scantily-dressed tribal woman approached Korra, who recognized the wild woman from her dreams and meditation.

"Kozue?" Korra recognized the first of the Interregnum Avatars, "How did you get here?"

"In a place as spiritual as this, you don't exactly have to meditate to call us out," Kozue explained, "And as you might have noticed… we are drawn to you; and you are drawn to us."

"We? Us?" Korra tilted her head, having a shrewd idea of who Kozue was referring to, but wanting confirmation.

"The Interregnum Avatars, primarily," Kozue clarified, now standing in front of Korra, "although technically any of your past lives could do as well. Do you truly think you don't fit in?"

"Something happened to me," Korra clutched her forehead, "and I haven't been the same since. I come here and see statues of these heroes from my past, and then there's me, some ragtag vagrant who likes blowing shit up."

"And then there's me," Kozue hummed, "a sheltered tribeswoman revered as a deity who revelled in that reverence. And look at the monster I created in my wake: the 2000-year reign of the Avatar as a force of tyranny."

"But that wasn't your fault—" Korra stammered.

"And was it your fault that you were manipulated without you knowledge?" Kozue interrupted her, "Was it your fault that a woman decided to attack you and nearly slay you? You are but a little child, Korra; there is still much growth to be had in you, and an alarming amount of potential. But first, tell me—do you know why me and my peers are stricken from history the way we are?"

For this, Korra had no answer, prompting Kozue to continue.

"Beyond what we did in the physical world… there was a great deal of atrocities committed by many of us in the spirit world as well," She remarked, "and for us, the Spirit World becomes a dark and twisted place, shaped by our emotions. That is also why you should avoid it."

"What?" Korra felt accused, "I've hardly even properly been there! I haven't done anything to piss off the spirits, have I?"

"No," Kozue shook her head, "but in the spirit world, your emotions become your reality. Would you like to see the reality your emotions currently create? Because I can oblige if so, but you will definitely not like it."

"Hard pass," Korra shook her head, "I'm already dealing with enough shit right now."

"And you will have to let it go." Kozue warned, "To discard negative emotions entirely is a farce, as I'm sure you figured—but know that there is a balance. You are still riding on the winds of your positive emotions from before this turning point, Avatar Korra. There will come a time very soon though, where if you do not correct it, you will fall out of balance, endangering yourself and your abilities as a result."

"So what in oblivion do I do then?" Korra did not take this news well.

"Do what you enjoy." Kozue laughed, "You're the Avatar, and you gotta deal with it."

And with that, Kozue's projection vanished in a wisp of blue smoke, leaving the little Avatar alone in what was once again a silent sanctuary.

Perhaps going home would be good for her; to be surrounded by her native element again and take a breath from the turbulent world around her. She knew that there would be people that tried to tie her down, but she would do what she could to avoid it.

Korra made these desires known to her parents, beseeching them once again to let her retain her autonomy, supporting her argument by reminding them that the Red Lotus leaders had been incarcerated, and so the paranoia surrounding them was no longer necessary.

"I mean, unless one of them suddenly gets another bending discipline and breaks out, they're locked up pretty tightly, right?" she reasoned, "I know I can't be normal… but can I at least interact with people from the actual tribe instead of a bunch of old fogies in purple?"

"We will try to talk the White Lotus out of it," Tonraq promised, "but your safety is paramount, Korra—and there are far more dangers in this world than just them. Some of these dangers… are in here…" He pointed to her forehead, although was more specifically talking about Korra herself rather than her combustion bending. "And I don't want to see these happen to you again…" he indicated Korra's right forearm, and the left-front part of her neck, where fierce red burn-scars had emerged from Nakkoa's torture a few days earlier.

"Trust me," Korra sighed, wincing as she touched her neck, "I don't either."

The little family soon packed up and took the ship back to the Southern Water Tribe, where a slight sense of nostalgia mixed with dread filled Korra's mind. She had also changed her outfit more to match the cold climes, once again wearing her boots and armbands, and with a high-necked shirt to conceal her scars. The dark blue fur jacket she had worn prior to her departure had returned as well, marking one of the rare times when Korra ever covered her arms or shoulders. Her hair seemed to have only gotten thicker and harder to tame, however, and so Korra didn't even bother trying to do anything with it this time—not until she could find the time and interest to comb it, at any rate.

Similar to what she did when she first hit Gaoling and subsequently Republic City, the first thing Korra did upon getting off the boat was hop up on Naga and take off through the tribe, and out into the wilderness, where she disappeared for an entire evening. Naga seemed quite content to be home as well, and the two of them went hunting together and spent the night in an igloo Korra built using her bending handiwork. Korra also proved to be a fairly competent hunter, since she put her skills with the bow to good use as well. After all, blowing her prey up with a combustion beam wouldn't exactly leave much to eat.

"I could live like this every day if I wanted, Naga…" Korra sighed, gazing out into the starry sky, the dim lights of the Tribe that evening far off in the distance, and away from her thoughts or concerns. "I feel like this wild side of me was what was missing from my life."

She spent most of the next morning and afternoon out in the frozen wilderness as well, only returning to the tribe proper that evening. Despite claiming that she wanted to interact with the tribe, Korra spent most of her time out in the wilderness, returning to her remote outposts day after day in the hopes that she could finally put the horrific events surrounding Nakkoa and the Wulong Forest behind her. For the first few days, she was successful. However, there was no one but Naga to hear her frenzied screams when she woke up in the middle of the night from vivid nightmares of her relicing these events. Naga proved to be a solid source of comfort for Korra during these times, but despite this, Korra never looked happy.

Her nightmares were unpleasant, but one of them that she had 15 days after coming home topped them all. Given the nature of Korra's trauma, this nightmare had involved the Red Lotus like many of her other ones had except this time, they were all attacking her at the Western Air Temple. She had seen everything in vivid detail. Nakkoa had ignited the place, while Ming-Hua and P'li had made brutally savage work of both Fukui and Korra's parents. Ghazan had started to melt the entire cliffside, while Kwan had shaken the canyon and caused the various pagodas to collapse. She had felt her pagoda come loose, and as she plunged towards the watery abyss at the bottom of the canyon, she saw Zaheer's face sternly watching the spectacle as if he approved of the entire thing. Moments before Korra would have crashed against the rocks and waves below, she jolted awake in such a violent frenzy that she blasted her entire shelter apart and had formed a dazzling blizzard of ice, rock, and lightning that made even Naga scamper a distance away from her master. After she recovered from the incident, Korra fell to her knees, throwing off her gloves and digging her bare fingers into the ice with tense aggravation. Where this dream had come from, she did not know, but it was uncomfortably vivid, and had felt so real.

"What happened to me, girl?" Korra clung to Naga's neck after her trusted companion had come back to investigate the situation, "How come I can't discern these flashbacks and nightmares from reality anymore? WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME!?"

While Naga was a great source of comfort, Korra wanted someone to vent to that could also talk to her in return, but she feared talking about this with her parents, lest they see it as further reasoning to put her back in the compound. As such, she stayed out an extra day, coming close to running out of food. She botched a hunting trip that same day after swearing that she had just shot Ming-Hua with one of her arrows instead of the yak she had been aiming for. It seemed there was more venom to the Red Lotus' machinations than merely whatever poison Nakkoa had laced the knife with that she had used to stab Korra. Her refusal to open up about these problems to anyone was only exacerbating the problem.

"You said you would be gone for two days, not three," Senna pointed out when Korra made a brief trip back to their family's old supply hut to restock, "What happened?"

"Blizzard," Korra technically was not lying since there had in fact been a blizzard—but it was one of her own creation, "Don't worry; Naga and I are fine. We always are."

"But how fine are you up here?" Senna put a hand to Korra's skull, "I have no doubts about your physical well-being."

"I'm doing better," Korra lied, but the sweet, almost innocent smile that her bright eyes put on seemed convincing enough, "It's still a struggle, but I think I might be able to put this behind me soon. I really hope I can anyways."

"Just remember," Tonraq reminded her, "we're not trying to find excuses to lock you up, Korra. If something's hurting you, we want to know because we care about you."

"I'm fine," Korra shook her head, "I'm not going to be some weakling that comes crying to mom and dad just because of a scary dream or two. I'm tougher than that! I'm going to head back out again though—maybe clear my mind a little more?"

"Stay safe then, Korra," there was a slight resigned look on both Korra's parents' faces, and while subtle, Korra had noticed it the same way that Tonraq and Senna (Senna in particular) had noticed the thousand-yard stare hidden behind Korra's adorable smile.

Of course, considering Korra's ostensibly smooth lying, her mental and emotional situation was actually worsening and her refusal to let these emotions show themselves was causing them to fester in her and make everything else worse by winding her up so tightly that she became visibly more aggressive and hostile. It was just before the month anniversary of their return home that Korra had a particularly violent outburst that left half the supply hut as little more than rubble, and the Avatar had immediately disappeared for another four days without warning.

Korra never did come clean with where she had gone or what she did, but surprisingly, she returned in a much calmer and happier mood. She was confident enough to actually visit to the Southern Water Tribe palace for one of the first times, and almost had a skip in her step. Her father had been Chief of the South for years, but since Korra had mostly been confined to the distant compound, she seldom got to spend any time here.

As she went to go find her father, however, she overheard him and his mother speaking with voices she didn't entirely recognize. It only took a few moments for her to realize that the discussion was about her.

"I think I have more than just a say in the fate of my daughter," Korra felt slightly vindicated to hear Tonraq arguing in her defense, "She was particularly vehement about not returning there."

"The Avatar's fate belongs in the hands of more than just her family," the opposing voice replied in kind, "especially if she is as unstable as you claim. The chances that she will hurt herself—or worse, many other people—is all the more reason she needs to be monitored."

"She's a teenager! There's no way she'd want anyone breathing down her necks unless your men are okay with her hitting them in the face regularly."

"She will need to learn self-control on that front as well. She was not ready to leave the compound when the Red Lotus Sleeper Agents took her, and she's still not ready 18 months later. Avatar Korra needs to be contained, and it's for her own good."

Korra's fists clenched as she mustered every ounce of willpower to keep from bursting into the room, grabbing one of those White Lotus members by the collar and threatening them with violence. On the other hand, her somewhat cheerful mood had quickly given way to her pent-up fury and it was a miracle that half of the hallway she was in did not get detonated.

"I'M NEVER GOING BACK TO PRISON, DO YOU HEAR ME?!" She bellowed, before taking off running. Unsurprisingly, Tonraq, Senna, and the White Lotus masters all froze when they heard her voice, and immediately tried to find where she had run off to. Fortunately for Korra, she was much too fast for them, and was long gone before she had even been spotted.

"This is exactly what I mean!" Tonraq and the Grandmaster Lotus both said simultaneously.

"No," Senna interrupted them both, "This is exactly what my husband has been trying to warn you about. With as powerful as she is, she very likely could and would demolish that entire site. The whole way home, she has made that threat, and she seems fixated on it."

"And so you expect that just because she's the Avatar that she should be able to get away with vandalism, destruction and possible murder?" the Grandmaster gawked, "She is too powerful; containing that power is the only way to ensure the safety of anyone she's around, as well as herself. I do not like her threats, and I do not like having to make her so angry any more than you do—but it is a necessary evil."

"That's the problem though," Tonraq warned, "I'm primarily opposed to it because she is opposed to it. The reason I'm arguing against it is because of how powerful Korra is. I don't think she will be able to be confined or constrained."

"What are you implying, Chief Tonraq?" the Grandmaster frowned.

"What he's saying," Senna clarified, "is that if Korra decides to go on a rampage… I do not think any of us have the capability to stop her. And I believe that the Red Lotus deliberately trained her the way they did for that express purpose."

"Then what do you propose we do?" The Grandmaster crossed his arms.

"We try to reason with her." Senna pointed out, "And if that fails, then we can resort to more drastic measures—but trying to use force on Korra is counterproductive and arguably suicidal. She's extremely volatile and temperamental and I don't imagine she will take too kindly to orders or threats at this point."

Unfortunately, if they wished to reason with Korra, they would first have to find her, and the Avatar was long gone from the palace at this point. Young as she may have been, she was not stupid, and made two stops before disappearing into the wilderness again. The first stop was to get Naga, and the second stop was to observe the harbour and the easiest way to get there from her next destination. She would wait until nightfall before she made a move, but she was already fixated on what she intended to do—and it would cause more damage to the Southern Water Tribe than it had seen in over 70 years.

The compound had other uses besides holding and training the Avatar, and had been used accordingly over the last 18 months that Korra had been absent. In the meantime it had become something of a training facility for younger and less experienced members of the order, as well as a shelter of sorts, among other things. There were watchtowers at regular intervals to watch for storms or visitors (friendly or otherwise), but they were so far from anything else that most of their surroundings looked as black as the night sky above them. Fortunately, most of the compound had actually been evacuated, which showed that the White Lotus were in fact taking Korra's threat seriously, but there were still a few guards and sentries to watch over the place, especially in case Korra did decide to attack—and that was exactly what Korra planned to do.

"The stars sure are pretty tonight," one of the greener night-watch sentries commented to his comrade as he peered through a telescope at the surrounding sky.

"For how cold and distant this place is from anything," the other sentry noted, "you've got a point there. It almost makes the night-watch bearable, heh."

"Hey, speaking of stars," the sentry with the telescope commented, "look at that… those two stars are so low in the sky…"

"Hold it…" he seized the telescope from his fellow, "I… don't think those are stars, friend."

His eyes widened, as small flecks of blue appeared just below the two small white lights. "I think that's the Avatar, and that means we're in trouble."

"How does Avatar Korra paying us a visit mean we're in trouble?" the green guard had not been entirely briefed on Korra's warnings.

"We evacuated most of the faculty because she threatened an attack on this place," the older guard replied, "and given that her hands are on fire and she's got her eyes all glowing, I think our little Avatar is about to… ohhh boy…"

Almost as if he predicted what happened next, there was a loud rumble, and the entire compound shook. Any wires carrying electricity to the place had just been snapped, and the entire facility was thrown into darkness as the ground began to shake again.