AUTHOR'S NOTES: This chapter marks the beginning of the actual integration into Season 2 of the show, which means there will be a few familiar scenes that play out here. It should also be noted that the Red Lotus Sisters had a reason they were so powerful despite being so mentally out of tune—especially Nakkoa. While she's definitely still dead and gone, I'll simply say that we haven't seen the last of her.
Happy Rearing!
BOOK THREE: WATER
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED ONE: A SPIRITUAL SHIFT
Korra may not have been the most spiritual Avatar in history, but even she started feeling spikes of spiritual energy, and she was not the only one. A phone call from a well-liked little lavabender had Korra racing through town on her trusty motorcycle to see how she could help. It was still sort of strange for Korra to see that her old friend had expanded her business and now had a few workers that helped her out with the number of vehicles in the place, but compliments could wait—business came first and Korra figured she had been called here for a reason.
"Is this about the money again?" Korra slapped her hands down on the desk of Kwan's new shop, now located in the Little Water Tribe District. "Because barring that I love what you've done to upgrade the place with it, I'm going to burn it in front of you and Tarrlok if you try to give it back to me." As if to drive her point home, she brandished a blue flame on her arm.
"Nothing so fanciful, kid," Kwan shook her head, "put that away. We've accepted it, and put it to good use. I upgraded my shop, we both upgraded our living quarters, and Tarrlok's started a campaign to hopefully get elected as a local representative of the Little Water Tribe district. Looks like politics isn't quite out of his blood yet, eh?"
"I'll endorse him," Korra quipped, "but I suppose we're both getting off-topic here. You called me here for something, yeah?"
"I did, actually." Kwan remarked, "so you know that my sister and I are a bit unhinged, yeah? Nakkoa obviously had it worse than me by a huge margin as you've read in her journal, but I'm not all here either. But is it just me, or is there a sort of spiritual disturbance in the air that you just can't quite put your finger on?"
"Hold it," Korra's eyes popped, "you can feel it too!?"
"Of course," Kwan shrugged, "Tarrlok thinks I'm a little loopy from possibly being pregnant, but I think he's been hitting the sake at Port Town a bit too often. What matters though is that I've been to the spirit world a couple times lately and things are crazier than I remember. If it's strong enough that it's spilling out into the physical world, then we've got a problem on our hands."
"Whoa, Whoa, back up, WHAT!?" Korra was dumbfounded, "YOU'VE been to the spirit world? When? How? How long has this been a thing? Kwan, what the fuck!? Seriously, you never told me about any of this ever!"
"Well, in my defense you technically never asked," Kwan shrugged, "but no, Nakkoa and I both had really strong spiritual connections despite our lack of sanity. Mental instability can make a few things around you feel a little bizarre when you're there, but it's how we had such powerful connections to our elements."
"Nakkoa was spiritual too!?" Korra was still flabbergasted and it showed as she tried to keep herself from getting overwhelmed by the craziness of this new revelation.
"Oh, she was even better at it than me," Kwan remarked, "I wouldn't be surprised if her spirit is there or something, but now I'm getting off-topic. Korra, have you felt anything unusual in regards to this kind of spiritual mumbo-jumbo, or am I just going crazy? I've got money riding on it against my husband, but I'm also concerned both for my own sake and status quo of the world right now because I'd rather avert an international catastrophe."
"I have," Korra shook her head, taking a deep breath, "sorry, it's just… no offense or anything, but I would never have pegged you or Nakkoa as the very spiritual types—especially not Nakkoa."
"Honestly I think if Nakkoa wasn't as spiritual as she was, she probably would have just flat-out murdered you in front of your parents or something," Kwan glanced away guiltily, "but so… you've been feeling this spiritual imbalance thing too? Because it's apparently very real—there's apparently a spirit trap in the ocean down south that's claimed three Southern Water Tribe ships so far. It's been in the newspapers down there for weeks now."
"What!?" Korra gawked, "you could detect that all the way from here?"
"Ha, I wish," Kwan shook her head, "remember, kid. Knowing things I'm not supposed to know is one of those things that I just happen to do. I have eyes and ears, y'know. A friend of a friend of a friend's sister tipped me off about that one. I hear there's some activity up North too, but not as crazy as the stuff down south. If my recollection of the Water Tribes is right, it might have something to do with the spiritual balance and imbalance of the Northern and Southern Water Tribes respectively, although Chief Unalaq in the North would be the one to ask about that sort of thing. I try to avoid Water Tribe politics, and so does Tarrlok, believe it or not."
"Speaking of which," Korra couldn't help but ask, "how's the old bastard doing these days—besides the whole district representative bit, at least?"
"He's actually been making contact with people up north about this." Kwan explained, "One of his leads actually led me to find out where P'Li's prison is. A little more digging, and we found out where Ghazan, Ming-Hua, and even Zaheer are."
"You're not suggesting breaking them out, are you?" Korra's arms tensed up.
"Of course not;" Kwan shook her head, "I'm crazy; not stupid—but I guarantee that if you and I are feeling this disruptance, then so are they. I'm not saying they're going to bust out or anything, but… stay wary. Sheesh, maybe I am pregnant."
"In any case, I'm actually going to be heading south in a few weeks anyways. There's a really awesome festival going on, and I'm going with Asami to hopefully meet a mogul who can cut us a deal to get Future Industries back on its feet." Korra's face lowered as she said this.
"They've been tanking hard lately," Kwan frowned, "no pun intended. Apparently those contractors that helped seal the secret tunnels gabbed to their buddies, and so the idea that Sato's factory was directly supporting the Equalists was met with rather sour reception among benders. Funny enough, word from a few other contacts is that there's a lot more of these machines in the hands of former Triad members. Has Sato realized any missing stock lately?"
"None," Korra shook her head, "I've been working security for her for a little while after the Probending Season ended, and none of us noticed any missing inventory."
"Odd," Kwan stroked her chin, "Must mean they were bought and paid for. But do tell me more about this festival of yours? I need a vacation and might need to drag Tarrlok on one too since citywide elections aren't going to be for another few months."
"It's got something to do with the solstice I think," Korra pouted contemplatively before grinning, "They've got candy, rides, games, more candy, and all kinds of fried food on sticks!"
"You had me at fried food on sticks," Kwan admitted. "I'll be there."
"Are you going to try and talk Tarrlok into coming too?" Korra raised her eyebrows.
"It'll be good for him," Kwan smirked, "Honestly I think part of why he wanted to move to the Little Water Tribe District is because part of him misses home."
"Well there's definitely a lot of pretty authentic Water Tribe shops and restaurants here," Korra hummed, "but that's understandable. I can't really say I've ever felt too homesick myself personally—it'll be nice to see my parents again though."
Kwan mumbled under her breath before glancing up at Korra. "Just keep your mom off my case, alright? I'm not sure she'll ever be happy to see me."
"Kwan, that…" Korra stammered, before shaking her head and sighing, "I'll make sure to do what I can to keep it civil for both of you. Just keep it cool, it's supposed to be a vacation, yeah?"
"Fair, fair." Kwan shook her head, "You remember that too, Korra. Don't think I haven't noticed how tense you've been lately. Is it still fallout from Amon or Nakkoa? Or is it from the spiritual disturbances now?"
"Both and more," Korra shook her head, "Don't worry though, I have it under control this time. If you don't believe me you can ask Asami or Tenzin, but I promise I'm not trying to dupe you this time. Trust me—you'll know if I'm stressed out."
"Ha, don't I know it," Kwan crossed her arms. "Well, hang in there, kid. I mean you're a Fully-Realized Avatar on top of all the other crazy things you've done, and so I'd be willing to put money on you being able to power through whatever's ailing you. Truly, there's nothing that can hold you back."
It was a Red Lotus teaching, and yet whether Korra had forgotten where she had first heard it, or if she simply accepted the advice at face value without worrying where it had originated, she decided to try and heed that advice to the best of her ability.
While she was by all means a Fully-Realized Avatar, Korra did find herself going to Air Temple Island more and more often with the increasing spiritual activity the world was seeing. Often times she would come to Tenzin to try and tap into her more spiritual side, while other times she came to play with his children, or just to find a serene place to relax from all the hustle and bustle of the city. On occasion, Asami would come with her as well, both to relieve some of her own stress, and also to keep in touch with Tenzin, who she still confided greatly in. This worked nicely for Tenzin as well, because his brother Bumi was quite a striking contrast to Tenzin's typical peaceful attitude.
Asami tried to remain a neutral party when Korra, Ikki, Jinora, and Meelo had an air scooter race across the island, but even she was laughing in amusement as she watched the spectacle unfold. Bumi's wildly enthusiastic support of the idea had certainly helped, and Tenzin deliberately ignored the fact that he had heard Bumi and Asami whispering something that involved 250 yuans and the phrase "Korra cinches it".
Korra was as notoriously fast as ever, and left Meelo in the dust before quickly overtaking Jinora, but it seemed Ikki's air scooter skills were still speedier than the Avatar's.
"Hey! Airbending only!" the young airbender chastised Korra as she briefly tried to boost herself with a burst of blue flame. She complied, but as they approached the finish line, Korra had other ideas. Her eyes flickered, and as she entered the Avatar State, she got the boost of speed she needed to whiz across the finish line a few seconds before Ikki.
"The Avatar's the winner!" Bumi announced with zeal in his voice that was quickly deflated by a smirking Asami with an outstretched hand. A low-key grumble and a hand in his pocket later, and 250 yuans switched hands from the retired general to the young engineer.
"No fair!" Ikki put her hands on her hips as she stared up at Korra, "you can't go into the Avatar State to win!"
Korra responded by blowing a raspberry with her tongue and crossing her arms.
"You did what?" Tenzin caught wind of this almost immediately and was there in front of Korra a moment later, "Korra, we've been over this. The Avatar State isn't supposed to be used so frivolously! You are toying with a dangerous power that you obviously don't appreciate!"
"Tenzin, you know as well as I do that I've been abusing this power for years." Korra shrugged, "and even then, it's the Avatar State and I'm the Avatar. Who appreciates it more than me?"
"And here I thought that you were making good headway with your spiritual lessons," he sighed, shaking his head. Korra opened her mouth to fire a Red Lotus-style sharp remark in return, but then paused as he saw the tension in Tenzin's face.
"Hey…" She spoke a little softer this time, out of earshot of Bumi, the children, or even Asami, "you seem a bit tenser than usual… are you feeling the spiritual disturbance too?"
"Perhaps I may have lashed out a little more than I should have, Korra," Tenzin admitted, "but in all honesty, every lecture I give you is for your own good and for your development as the Avatar. I worry about this upcoming Harmonic Convergence just as much as anyone."
"Of course," Korra admitted, "I just wanted to blow off a little steam and maybe acted a bit too soon before thinking. "But still, I've been through the mill with training, and now I'm pretty much a Fully-Realized Avatar. Check this out!"
Korra put on a borderline-vulgar display of elemental prowess, demonstrating rather apt control over each of the four elements, including air. It was always interesting watching Korra firebend as well, because her flames were still blue, a further indicator of her level of power and control. Some of her earthbending was liquified in lava form, but it seemed that Korra's favourite element had gradually shifted over the last few months from fire back to water, which she had remarkably skilled control over.
"Looks pretty good to me," Bumi gave a nonchalant smile. "I'll have to start betting on her more."
"Is it too late for you to unretire from the United Forces?" Tenzin shot his brother a glare.
"The paperwork's gone through, little brother," Bumi smirked, "and from now on, it's 24/7 Bumi time!" he pinched Tenzin's cheek.
Tenzin shook him off and approached Korra. "To be honest," he admitted, "I think a trip to one of the Air Temples might be good for me and my family. Given the origins of Avatar Aang, we had our eyes on the Southern Air Temple."
"Hey," Korra smiled, "if it's anything like the Western Air Temple, it's a great place to get in tune with spirits and that sort of thing. I've connected with dozens of my past lives there, and I'd even offer to go with you guys if it weren't for whatever disturbances are going on down South."
"Oooh!" Jinora piped up, turning to Tenzin, "can we see where Grandpa Aang was born?"
"I wanna get tattoos!" Ikki interrupted her, "except instead of arrows, I want lightning bolts!"
"You can't get lightning bolts," Jinora argued, "that doesn't make any sense!"
"Maybe I'll get an eye tattoo like Korra then!" Ikki retorted "have exploding eyeballs of doom instead of arrows!"
"That makes even less sense!" Jinora narrowed her eyes.
"Oh yeah? Well YOU don't make any sense!" Ikki blew a raspberry. "Korra's tattoo glows when she goes into the Avatar State just like Grandpa Aang's arrows!"
"She's right," Korra shrugged at Jinora. Since it was placed right along her chi paths at her Light Chakra, the tattoo did in fact light up when Korra entered the Avatar State. She just had it covered so often by a headband or her bangs (the latter much more often these days) that few people ever noticed it.
"Even then," Jinora stood her ground, "it still doesn't make sense for you to get one, Ikki."
"Yeah, well your FACE doesn't make sense to get one!" Ikki stammered.
"Fight! Fight! Fight!" Meelo chanted as the sisters started scuffling. Korra and Asami exchanged looks, but neither of them got involved.
"No one's fighting!" Tenzin stepped between his two daughters, "We're going to have a wonderful time." He paused and sighed, before glancing at Korra and then his own children. "Now that the president is in office and the council has been dissolved, I can focus more on my family properly—and finally relax a little."
"Ha," Bumi laughed, "Tenzin, relax? I'd pay to see that. Maybe I'll tag along to see "Vacation Tenzin" in all his glory."
"You're not invited." Tenzin crossed his arms.
"I heard that you guys were going to gonna join us down at the Glacier Spirits Festival for a bit," Asami commented offhandedly, "Korra mentioned that Katara mentioned you by name."
"Gran-Gran!" Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo all chanted. Tenzin's truly defeated face came about after seeing a smug, shit-eating grin on his own brother's face.
"Ha! There's Vacation Tenzin," he laughed, "The Avatar's right though—you can't stop me from coming with you to that festival. Mom already invited me."
Tenzin's eyes widened for a brief moment, before they narrowed in slight frustration and defeat. He knew when he had been beaten, and it seemed there was no way out of this one.