AUTHOR'S NOTES: A while back I mentioned that we hadn't seen the last of Nakkoa. She's still definitely dead, but so powerful was her spiritual attunement despite her villainy (not unlike Zaheer) that she is tethered to the spirit world, just as Kwan is. That said, the Civil War is inevitably on the horizon, but for once, here's a chapter where things go Korra's way for once.
Happy Reading!
BOOK THREE: WATER
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED ELEVEN: THE LIGHT IN THE DARK
Korra was so shocked at this discovery that everything else seemed to just melt away into the oblivion of her subconscious. Here in front of her stood the very woman that had opened the floodgates for Korra's severe psychological trauma, which had only been worsened by many other players in her lifetime, even if she had managed to nearly gain a grip on it.
"Where... what… how!?" Korra stammered. She had remembered what Kwan had said about the spirit world, but it was still bizarre to see the spirit of a woman that Korra vividly remembered slaying, standing in front of her and speaking, no less.
"I've been using the spirit world for decades," Nakkoa smirked, "and then you killed me, and here I am. My spiritual attunement keeps me here."
"I just want to know…" Korra stared up at the Fire Nation woman, her expression turning more earnest as she locked eyes with Nakkoa. "Why? Why did you do it?"
"I'm not going to try and justify my madness to you, Avatar." Nakkoa sighed, "Perhaps my sister was right… maybe I was just too paranoid—too afraid. My visits to the spirit world revealed scars of the belligerence of the Interregnum Cycle, and to see you become so powerful only made my fears grow as I worried you might become one of them."
Korra frowned, but the way she was latching onto Nakkoa's words made it clear that she was paying complete attention to her.
"And that's about it," she shrugged, "I threw reason to the wind and threw my life away. I took all my fear and anger out on you as I tortured you, and then you murdered me. I… I wish there was more to say on the matter, but that's more or less the face value of it, Korra."
"Y-you used my name…" Korra's eyes widened. That had honestly hit her as the biggest surprise more than her confession for why Nakkoa had tortured her.
"I tried not to," Nakkoa confessed, "trying to keep you as merely a faceless entity made me feel better about… about what I did, really. I'm not saying anything I did to you was right, Korra—except maybe teaching you firebending. What I am saying, however, is there was a method to my madness, and being messed up in the head is not pretty."
"Trust me; I know that way too well." Korra frowned. "I can't try to say that what you did was ever okay, but in many ways… I've come to terms with it."
"Would you take it back if you could?" Nakkoa stroked her chin, "if you could turn back time and make it so you never came with Kwan and I when we took you from home?"
"No." Korra's answer surprised Nakkoa. "No, I would not. Despite what you did to me, I've been able to help those around me and build up my friends and family, and even Republic City as a whole. I didn't do it alone, but that's what I enjoy doing, Nakkoa. I like to help people. I wanted to restore this spiritual imbalance in the South Pole. I wanted to help benders and nonbenders in Republic City come to terms. I wanted to help a corrupt councilman make amends for his crimes. I wanted to help an ex-criminal turn her life around… and somehow, they blame me for getting together." Korra gave a somewhat guilty chuckle as she fondly thought of Tarrlok and Kwan, who had practically been dragged kicking and screaming down a path of redemption that later led to them falling in love and marrying. Korra was still giddy with excitement over the notion that Kwan would soon have a child of her own.
"Perhaps I was wrong about you… Korra," Nakkoa sighed, "I wanted so much to hate you; to take my fears and angers out on you to quell my own worries for being the Avatar… and perhaps I will. The problem with the notion of becoming like an Interregnum is that you have to spend your whole life trying to avoid that path. It only takes once…"
"It only takes once to provoke an Avatar into murderous self-defense," Korra argued, "you can't tell me that my retaliation wasn't justified."
"Oh no, I absolutely deserved it," Nakkoa admitted without any hesitation in her voice, "I attacked you, and you proved to be much more powerful than me. That is simply the natural order of things, Avatar. The strong destroy the weak."
"I wouldn't call you weak considering that you're the one who taught my fire and lightning…" Korra remarked, "I've still yet to meet another blue firebender apart from your grandmother."
"The apple truly doesn't fall far from the tree," Nakkoa shook her head, "Princess Azula was an even bigger mess than I was, and yet somehow she evaded death. And yet—"
"Nakkoa," Korra held her hand out, "stop. Just… stop. I know I can't take back the past, and I can't necessarily even forgive what you did… but it's over. It happened, and I still carry the scars from it, but I've come to terms with it. I've accepted that it happened, and I've managed to move on and grow from it."
"Of course you have," Nakkoa crossed her arms, "My sister still rants and raves about how loving and compassionate you are, and it's almost enough to make me either wish I could have taken the time to know Kora rather than merely Avatar Korra… or to strangle my sister to shut her up. I haven't really decided yet."
"So why are you here?" Korra glanced at Nakkoa and then back at the shimmering golden tower of light emanating from the newly opened spirit portal. "Did you… did you wait for me?"
"Perhaps I did," Nakkoa admitted, "what of it?"
"Once again… I guess I'm just wondering why?" Korra pouted, "For someone who professed to hate me so much, you certainly seem interested in me."
"There's certainly no way I can be the only one, child." Nakkoa smirked, "Avatar Korra, you're terrifying because you break convention. You're rough around the edges, you're remarkably stubborn, and your uncanny behaviour and unorthodox problem-solving methods often rub people the wrong way. You're often so reckless and overly confident, and you make little to no apologies for your straightforward and bombastic behaviour."
Korra crossed her arms, but Nakkoa did not appear to be done speaking.
"Right or wrong and for better or for worse, you march to your own beat," the firebender continued, "and because of that, it was hard for people to believe that you belonged in this world—myself included. Honestly, none of us know what to make of you, Korra. Those who don't understand you are terrified of your power; they fear your forwardness and how outspoken you are as you assert your stances and stick to them."
"And yet I evolved," Korra shot right back, "for better or for worse, every scar I received; every traumatic setback I encountered… they changed me. They developed me. I grew as a person and developed a deeper understanding of tolerance and compassion along the way. Hell, for all the things I like to boast about, that's one that people throw in my face much more than I try to go around flaunting it. And yet, for all my accomplishments, none of it was done alone. I couldn't have done it alone and I wouldn't want to do it alone. Being around people that I can actually call friends has helped me come to a better understanding of both my place in the world, as well as my shortcomings. Maybe I would have failed, but honestly, if I had known everything you were going through, Nakkoa, I would have tried my damndest to help you."
"Somehow, if I'm to trust everything Kwan has told me… that would not surprise me," Nakkoa shook her head, "but come now, I could talk your ear off and fill your mind with all the horrible machinations of my own, and I'm sure you don't want that when Harmonic Convergence is on your doorstep. Go on; head back to the Water Tribe… tell your Uncle everything that transpired, or tell him that you simply opened the portal. I'm sure your girlfriend will compliment how you look without trousers anyways."
Korra's face flushed scarlet, and the pouted. "How much about me did Kwan tell you?"
"She gushes about you, Avatar," Nakkoa laughed, "you weren't lying when you said you turned her life around. If I hadn't heard it from her I might have doubted it, but I see no reason for my sister to lie to me about something like that."
"Kwan's about as honest as they come these days," Korra smiled, "it's really pleasant. I feel like the Red Lotus on the other hand were always trying to hide something."
"They most definitely were," Nakkoa shook her head, "And while I don't mean to terrify you any more than I already have… I don't think you've heard the last from them."
"I'll worry about that bridge when I come to it," Korra mused. Not even Zaheer scared her the way Nakkoa did, and so she was fully confident that she would be able to handle him if she was able to stand so confidently in front of Nakkoa the way she was currently doing.
"Of that I have no doubt," Nakkoa hummed, "for good or ill, Avatar, you are a light in the dark, and that's not something to take lightly—pardon my wordplay. You leave a trail of changed lives in your wake, and nearly all of them are beneficial. You're a tricky one to figure out; Korra… and I think that might be part of what aggravates me so. But come now; I'm sure you're just there wondering when I'll shut up, so I'll leave you to your 'saving the world' while I contemplate your inner machinations. Just trust me when I say things are about to get wild... and know that there is a certainty that we will meet again."
Before Korra could respond, Nakkoa's spirit dissipated into the same blue dust that the Avatar spirits did after they had finished speaking with her. Nakkoa's warning sounded ominous, but when Korra stepped back through the portal, she was met with silence. The ice dome had shattered, but all of the ice around the portal and the forest had dissipated, leaving beautiful dark green trees all around her, and dancing green lights in the sky.
"Amazing…" Korra gazed upward with an almost childlike smile of awe. She was low-key glad she was alone because her state of half-dress would have definitely killed the mood. Fortunately, her lost articles of clothing were not far from the portal itself, and so Korra wasted no time putting them back before returning to the rest of her party, who were still waiting for her.
"Korra!" Bolin opened his arms, and Korra opened hers in turn.
"You did it, Avatar Korra." Unalaq congratulated her, "now come; let's return to the Tribe and we can celebrate your triumph. Open the spirit portal was only the first step to getting the Southern Water Tribe back on its righteous path. There's more difficult work to be done before our two tribes are truly united. Still and all, you've earned a rest."
The journey home did not seem as long or as perilous as the journey there, and the Tribe seemed a bit more peaceful now that the carnival was over and that most people had retired for the evening. Korra's first thought was to meet back up with Asami, and tell her everything that had happened, although before she did, she ran into Tarrlok and Kwan.
"Look at you, opening spirit portals and bringing balance," Tarrlok crossed his arms approvingly, "always doing good wherever you go…"
"Is that an insult or a compliment?" Korra crossed her arms with a confused pout. "Because I'm gonna take that as a compliment."
"I see you still haven't gotten around to fully trusting me yet," Tarrlok chuckled, "I hardly blame you, but no; it was a compliment, Avatar Korra. You turned my life around and I'm married because of you. If healing a corrupted councilman and helping him turn back to a moral path isn't considered 'doing good', I don't know what is."
"Not gonna lie," Kwan raised her eyebrows, "hopefully this portal business helps keep things a bit calmer in the spirit world and such now. That imbalance was really getting to some of them."
"It should," Korra smiled, "It's a wild story too; remind me tomorrow and I'll tell you what happened. Right now I wanna see my girlfriend again."
"You've earned it," Kwan chuckled. "I just hope the next few months go by fast enough so I can squeeze out this damn kid and be back to fighting again."
"Always the trooper, Kwan." Korra hugged the smaller woman, who surprisingly returned it in kind. "And always a friend…"
Korra had a shrewd idea that Kwan was frequenting the spirit world more because of Nakkoa's recent appearance, but she wanted to see Asami quite badly after everything that had transpired, and she'd rather discuss Nakkoa with her before Kwan.
"You look exhausted," Asami's first remark upon seeing Korra was unsurprising, but also had Korra realize just how worn out she was. "Come; lay down and you can tell me everything. Based on the colour of the sky though, I'd say you were successful?"
"I was," Korra shed her skirt and coat and then lay down as Asami sat nearby, "we fought a ton of spirits, my mom showed up out of nowhere and surprised all of us including my dad, but the weirdest part…" Korra turned to face Asami and looked her directly in the eyes. "Is that in the spirit world… I saw Nakkoa."
Asami's eyes widened. "What in oblivion was Shenzi doing there? What did she want?"
"I'm not sure, but she claimed she was waiting for me." Korra admitted. It was also not lost on her that Asami almost always used Nakkoa and Kwan's original names: Shenzi and Ikiza. Even talking face-to-face with Kwan, Asami would still call her Ikiza, although Kwan did not seem offended or upset by this.
"Waiting to do what?" Asami leaned forward, "what did she do to you, Korra?"
"Complimented my legs," Korra gave a cheeky smile, "it was weird… she almost seemed impressed by everything I've done… but I think the best thing about it all was that I was able to face her, Asami. I faced her and stood my ground. I came to terms with what she did. I came to terms with her as a villain in my life, and learned more about the kinds of things that plagued her that she kept secret from everyone. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to forgive her crimes or dismiss her atrocities… but you know what I mean, right?"
"I do," Asami reached over to take Korra's hand. "Although… why on earth would she compliment your legs of all things?"
"Oh right!" Korra bit her lip, "well, it was the stupidest thing…" Korra launched into an explanation of how she had opened the spirit portal and what it had "cost" her to do so. Much to Korra's delight, Asami actually giggled, covered her mouth, and accidentally snorted. This made Korra laugh as she threw herself back onto the bed.
"Well," Asami actually stood up, and before Korra could react Asami had whipped Korra's pants off and flung them across the room, "based on what I've seen, you definitely look better without them, Avatar Korra."
"Well," Korra went as beautifully crimson as she had when Nakkoa had called her state of undress out, "this just went from sweet to spicy in 3.5…"
"Just like that Firewhiskey you seem rather partial to," Asami retorted, climbing over Korra and smirking as she stared down at the Avatar's form. "I'll let you keep that top this time."
"Huh?" Korra raised an eyebrow, "why?"
"Because…" Asami took Korra's wrists and spread her arms apart at a 180-degree angle, "it does little to conceal your form… and I'd rather not be kicked in the ribs by an overly ticklish Avatar again, thank you."
"Goddamn, I love you so fucking much…" Korra laughed, still feeling the fire in her cheeks, "fine, fine… we'll do it your way…"
"Good…" Asami licked her lips, "I like doing things my way…" she smoothed Korra's arms out, and ran her hands up and down them as she leaned in to give Korra a kiss.
Korra couldn't have asked for a better ending to a rather high-intensity day, and she wound up both laughing and singing fairly deep into the night. Whether there was more to this mess with the Spirit World or not; whether Nakkoa's warning held any water or not… Korra didn't feel bad about putting it off until tomorrow… and so she did exactly that.