Korra opened her eyes, and found herself on the street, clutching her shoulder. Her shirt was barely holding itself together, and her torn pants were soaked with blood and dirt. Naga trotted alongside her, her fur matted and dirty, clearly exhausted.
It was cold and humid, but sunny. Korra was wandering through a richer part of town. Maybe to look for some kind of opportunity. Or maybe to just escape the smell of dirty factories or filthy slums for a little while.
People gave her glares on the street, as if she was some sort of disease. A cancer that didn't belong in this part of town. If only they knew who and what Korra really was, the power she commanded.
...Maybe they would still be disappointed, Korra mused. Just like her masters were.
Unable to take the dirty looks for one more moment, Korra ducked into a green park, taking refuge under a tree. Naga flopped down beside her, with a sad look on her face.
"I'm sorry, girl," Korra apologized. "I shouldn't have dragged you here. I don't know why we stay in Republic City, but... Where else could we go? The Earth Kingdom wasn't any better."
Naga whined, nudging her gently. "I know, I know," Korra consoled her. "You're hungry, aren't you?"
Korra turned her eyes forward, and saw a group of protesters marching through the park. "Down with benders!" they chanted. "Equal rights for nonbenders!" Just another group of people that hated her, she thought bitterly.
Korra spotted movement in the corner of her eye. She turned to look at a crystal clear pond, and saw plump fish swimming around lazily.
Korra's mouth watered. Without even thinking, she switched to a bending stance, and pulled several fish out in a bubble of water. With a clench of her fists, she boiled the bubble, cooking them and softening their skin.
The tender fish dropped into her hands like a gift from the spirits. Naga's mouth watered too. But before she could even taste the treat, a voice called out.
"Hey, that bender is stealing fish!" a young woman shouted, pointing at Korra.
The crowd turned around, and began to advance menacingly. "Thief! Thief!" they yelled.
Naga growled defensively. "No, please," Korra pleaded, backing away. "I just wanted to feed my animal."
"You're just like the rest of them," a middle-aged man sneered, stepping forward. "You should be rotting in jail!"
Grasping the fish like they were made of gold, Korra hopped onto Naga. "Go girl!" she urged, kicking off hard.
Naga bolted, leaping over bushes and ducking under trees as the crowd roared and sneered behind her. Korra hung on tightly, grinning as they left the angry mob behind... only to run into some cops.
"Hey, stop!" they ordered, giving chase.
Korra didn't even know why the cops were chasing her. Everyone just hates her, she figured. Naga dashed down a ramp, around a corner... and into an alley. A dirty older man was sitting there, drinking from a brown bag.
"Crap!" Korra cursed, looking behind her. She could hear the cops drawing closer.
"In here, kiddo!" the man called out, gesturing towards a big sewer grate. "Make it quick!"
Korra dashed in behind the guy, with Naga just barely squeezing in after her. Korra put the grate back, and followed them through the darkness, into the bowels of the city.
The old guy slowed down to catch his breath, hands on his knees. "I think we lost 'em," he wheezed.
Korra nodded. "Thanks, you saved our skin. Uh, are you OK?"
"I'll survive," the man grunted, sitting down and leaning against the wall, barely illuminated with greenish light. "Name's Gommu, by the way."
"Korra," Korra introduced herself with a small nod. "And this is Naga." She looked in her hand. "Uh, are you hungry? I don't have much of anything, but I caught a couple fish."
Gommu perked up instantly. "Oh, I thought I smelled something delicious through this stinking sewer," he remarked.
Korra sat down next to him. She gave Naga two fish, and offered Gommu his own with a smile.
"Thanks, kiddo," Gommu accepted gratefully. He bit into the fish eagerly, closing his eyes in pleasure.
Korra nodded. "It's the least I could do."
"It's more than most would do," Gommu pointed out between bites. "What's a young lady like you doing out here alone, anyway?"
Korra shrugged. "I... got fired. Not that it was much of a job to start with," she admitted sheepishly.
"Ah," Gommu sympathized. "I know how that goes. I used to work for a telegraph company, back before radio. Then they went belly up."
"Sorry," Korra commiserated.
"Don't be," Gommu waved her off. "I got by. Found ways to survive."
"How?" she asked, pulling her legs to her chest. "I feel like I'm just barely eking by, like I could perish any day now."
Gommu smiled. "Oh, we have our ways. I've got something to show you, kiddo," he hinted mysteriously.
After finishing off his fish, Gommu led them down a long tunnel, through dark passageways and nasty sludge. Eventually, it opened up to cavernous chamber filled with makeshift tents and ramshackle shelters. Some people were passed out under cardboard boxes and dirty blankets. A fire was burning in the center, with some vagrants stirring something in a big pot, and others sitting around chatting or washing clothes.
"Welcome to our five-star resort," Gommu announced grandly. "Home sweet home."
Korra smiled. "Pretty fancy."
"I know!" Gommu agreed, leading them deeper into the camp. "Come on, I'll show you around."
Korra meekly followed, her eyes scanning the area nervously as Gommu showed her makeshift shelters and stores. She spotted a young girl, no older than eight, picking through a pile of discarded clothes. She turned around to look at Korra with big blue eyes, half suspicious, but half curious.
"Hello, Miss," she meekly called out, before turning back to the pile and pulling something out. The little girl shuffled over to Korra and held up a blue button down shirt. "Would you like a shirt?" she quietly asked. "It's too big for me, but it matches your eyes."
Korra's heart melted. She knelt down to meet the girl's level. "I would love it, thank you," she assured her, graciously accepting the shirt and slipping it on. "What's your name?"
"Phoebe," the girl answered, shyly peeking up at Korra. "What's yours?"
"Korra," she introduced herself, smiling kindly. "It's nice to meet you, Phoebe."
"You too, Miss Korra," Phoebe responded politely. "You seem nice."
"Thanks," Korra replied, blushing slightly. "You do too. You're one of the nicest people I've met in this city."
"Really?" Phoebe asked, brightening up considerably.
"Definitely," Korra assured her.
Phoebe pulled Korra over to the pot, and Gommu introduced her to the rest of the camp. Everyone was friendly, inviting her to eat with them, sharing stories of their pasts, and their struggles in Republic City.
Heads turned. Korra followed the gaze of the crowd, and saw a rough looking duo approaching. Both wore leather jackets, heavy boots, and bandanas covering their faces. One was male, with a sword, and the other seemed to carry herself like a bender.
"Who are they?" Korra asked warily.
"Triads," Gommu spat out.
"What do they want?" Korra demanded.
"They want us out of here," Gommu explained grimly. "This is their territory, and they use it however they want."
"That's not fair," Korra objected.
"Life ain't fair, kiddo," Gommu reminded her. "Now come on, let's get out of here before they decide to make an example out of us."
Korra hesitated, but nodded. The vagrants started filing out, hiding in the darkness of the tunnels that branched out from the main chamber. Korra followed behind them, with Naga padding silently at her heels.
"Wait, where's Phoebe?" Korra suddenly remembered.
Gommu looked around, and winced. "I dunno. But we need to move. Now."
"No. I'm heading back, just to make sure she's okay," Korra decided firmly.
"Korra, no!" Gommu argued, stumbling after her.
Korra peered around the corner of the tunnel, and saw the Triads talking to someone just out of view.
"Ugh, this tastes like crap," the female Triad complained, kicking over the pot of stew.
"What do you expect from a bunch of bums?" the male retorted.
"Knock it off, both of you," the third figure commanded. "Do you have the cash or not?"
"Maybe..." the female drawled. "Only if you have something special to offer me."
The third figure stepped forward... he was a cop, a metalbender in police armor, holding a heavy looking bag. "Don't insult me," he warned. "I'm not here for fun."
"Fine," the female relented, tossing him wads of cash. "Here's your money. Give me the goods, and we'll call it even."
The officer tossed the bag, and bricks of opium fell out. "There," he said gruffly.
A barrel on the corner of the chamber tipped over, and the three figures flinched. Inside the barrel, Korra saw a set of blue eyes standing out against the darkness.
"Well look what we have here," the cop sneered. "A rat." The cop dropped to a metalbending stance, and shot a cable forward, snaring Phoebe and dragging her out of the barrel.
"Leave me alone!" Phoebe cried. "Please, sir."
"Quiet, brat," the cop barked.
"What are we gonna do with her?" the female Triad wondered. "We... we can't whack a kid."
"It's her, or you," the cop threatened. "Your choice."
"No," Phoebe whimpered, shaking her head frantically. "Please..."
Korra couldn't take it anymore. She burst out of the shadows, glaring daggers at the trio. "Let her go," she ordered, adopting a fighting stance.
"Another rat," the cop muttered dismissively.
Naga hopped out behind her, letting out a loud growl. The cop flinched once more, and the Triads backed away a little.
"I won't ask again," Korra warned.
The female Triad regained some composure. "This is our turf," she snarled. "Get outta here, or we'll make you regret it."
Korra narrowed her eyes, and burst into violence. With a swift kick, she shot a blast of water at the male triad, slamming him into the wall. The female triad dodged aside, and returned the favor with a bolt of fire."
Korra rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the flames. Naga charged forward, forcing the cop back.
"You mangy mutt!" the cop yelled. "I'll slice you open!" True to his word, he bent a shard of metal from the floor, hurling it straight at Naga and slicing into her fur. Blood trickled down the beast's side, causing her to yelp in pain.
"Don't touch her!" Korra screamed. She summoned a huge wave of sewer water, and sent it crashing into the cop. It knocked him back into the wall, and he fell forward on his knees, coughing and spitting up fluid.
In a fit of rage, Naga roared and charged the cop, biting onto his armored leg.
"Aaaaaah!" the cop screamed, struggling to break free. Naga shook him, cracking bone, and lobbed the cop into a wall, knocking him out cold.
The remaining Tried slowly backed away. "You're... you're gonna regret this," she stammered. "We're coming for you. The Triads don't forget."
Korra thrust her arms forward, and another wave of water engulfed the woman. With a clench of her fists, she froze it solid, trapping the Triad inside a block of ice, with just her head exposed.
Korra slowly walked up to the frozen prisoner. "What's your name?" she asked coolly.
"Eva," the Triad squeaked fearfully.
"Eva," Korra started, leaning in close. "You can do drug drops somewhere else. If a Triad ever comes in this camp again, I promise you, I will find you, and end you."
Eva gulped.
"Got it?" Korra demanded.
"Y-yes." Eva stuttered.
Korra nodded, and shattered the ice. Eva collapsed to the ground, coughing and sputtering.
"Scram," Korra ordered. "Get your friends out of here, and never come back."
The other Triad came to, and they dragged the cop away. Meanwhile, Korra ran over to Phoebe, checking her for injuries.
Phoebe hugged Korra's leg. "Miss Korra, you saved me," she whispered.
"Of course I did," Korra assured her. "You're my friend, aren't you?"
"Yes," Phoebe nodded fervently.
Gommu walked up behind her. "You're just full of surprises, aren't you, kiddo?" he chuckled. "Tell you what. As a thank you, I'll show you one of my secrets to getting by."
Korra nodded. After she healed up Naga, they followed Gommu down a long tunnel. Korra could see sunlight at the end of the passage, and the sound of waves crashing grew louder.
Eventually, they emerged onto a beach. Factories billowed smoke near the docks overhead, waves crashed onto the sand below, and the sun slowly sank beneath the horizon.
Gommu inhaled deeply, then exhaled. "Smell that?" he asked rhetorically. "It's a heck of a lot better than the sewers."
"Yeah," Korra agreed, staring out at the ocean. "I guess I could get used to this view."
"And you can fish, trap out here. Scavenge leftovers from markets and restaurants," Gommu suggested. "You can survive out here, Korra. And if you stick around, maybe we can help each other."
"I'd like that," she agreed sincerely, watching the sun finally sink beneath the waves.
Korra's eyes snapped open from her dream, and she was back in her loft. She heard a scream from downstairs.
She shot out of bed and rushed down. It sounded like Ren was in agony.
"Ren!" she yelled, bursting into his room. She found him in bed, shirtless, face down, thrashing, his face twisted in terror.
"Ren!" she repeated, grabbing his shoulders and trying to shake him awake. "Wake up!"
Ren's eyes snapped open, and he immediately stopped moving. He panted heavily, his body slick with sweat... and she saw something she never noticed before.
There was a huge burn scar across Ren's back, but strange and twisted, with faint cracks crisscrossing the flesh. It looked irritated, inflamed.
"Ren, are you OK?" she asked worriedly. "What happened?"
Ren turned over, and stared at her. His look of shock turned to relief. "Korra," he breathed. "Uh, it was just a dream. Nothing to worry about," he said between heavy breaths.
"Are you sure?" she pressed. "You looked like you were in real pain."
Ren looked to the side. "I'm OK. Just a nightmare," he insisted.
Korra hesitated. "This is related to your episodes in the shop, isn't it?" she guessed. "To the warlord that killed your parents?"
Ren closed his eyes and nodded. "Yeah... It's nothing new though. I've dealt with them since I was a teenager."
"Why haven't you told me?" she asked, hurt. "I thought we were friends."
"I... I didn't want to burden you," Ren admitted honestly. "I'm dealing with it."
"But you're not," Korra countered. "Look, I have plenty nightmares. I have this horrible one where I see a bunch of kids die in a gang fight," she admitted. "I know what its like."
Ren sighed, and turned to the side. "For me, it's usually the same nightmare. It's from when Kylie and I escaped the warlord."
"Tell me," Korra encouraged.
Ren winced, as if he was in pain.
"Ren, please," she urged.
Ren looked up at her. "Korra, this one is... really personal. I'm sorry, but I can't tell you."
Korra nodded reluctantly. "OK. I understand. But if you change your mind, you know where to find me."
"Thanks. I appreciate you coming to check up on me," Ren said sincerely.
"No problem," Korra assured him. "Try to get some sleep, alright?"
"Will do," Ren promised, rolling over.
Korra left, and headed back to her room. She lay down, but she couldn't fall asleep. She kept thinking about Ren's nightmare, wondering what it could possibly be.
She felt a little hurt that he wouldn't confide in her, but she understood. Korra knew all too well the horrors of her own dreams, the gravity of her own secrets.