Chapter 10 – An Old Foe

An eerie grin formed on his face. Korra felt a chill run down her spine as his gaze pierced through her like a dagger.

"So you know who I am, that is good" he began circling around her in up and across the walls and ceiling of the cave. "I'm glad you haven't forgotten me in the past 80 years. So tell me, what brings the 'great and powerful avatar' to see me?"

Korra felt the rage begin to flow through her "You know exactly why I'm here" she said loudly, holding herself back from displaying her internal anger. Koh let out an amused chuckle as he blinked, his face switching to that of a fire nation nobleman,

"Ah yes, you have come to reclaim that which is yours, correct? But I think we have something of a dilemma in that, you obviously enjoy her but you see I think she would look better immortalised in my collection, don't you agree?" he stopped circling and moved in front of Korra, staring into her eyes. Korra's blood burned hotter that the brightest flame, every muscle in her body tensing up with pure rage,

"Where. Is. She?" she growled, fighting intensely within herself to refrain from reaching out and beating the spirit to a pulp then and there. His face turned back to a white mask as he laughed, continuing to stare into her eyes,

"You know Avatar she told me you would come, she told me you would 'rescue' her. That is of course after she tried to escape herself, she may be quite the fighter in the physical world but here... well" he laughed again "she cried, she wailed for you, she screamed in pain for you but you never came" Korra's heart sank as her eyes began to well up, she fought to keep her face straight as one salty tear dripped down her cheek,

"Where is she? Why are you doing this?" her voice cracked,

"Why!" Koh blinked, his face switching to an enraged looking blue face, obviously not that of a human. "Don't act as though you didn't bring this upon yourself! It is your own incompetence that has wrought this upon her"

"How is this my fault?"

"It was you who allowed the spirits to be treated as nothing more than filth in your absence!" he yelled angrily "It was you who allowed that human woman to exploit the power of the spirits. You allowed three years of our subjugation while you stayed detached from the world. Consider this reparation for your failure as the bridge between the worlds, for your failure as the protector of the humans and spirits, for your total and utter failure as the Avatar."

"Please, let her go" she begged "I stopped Kuvira, she can't exploit the spirits any longer. I opened the spirit portal in republic city to allow the integration of spirits into the physical world. I have given everything I possibly can for the spirits and more. Please don't hurt her" Korra swallowed a lump forming in her throat as her voice cracked, "please just... just let her go" Koh turned to face away from Korra,

"I think we both know that it would be quite impossible for me to allow her to leave Avatar" he smirked.

"LET HER GO!" Korra screamed angrily, allowing her face to contort for a second into the purest image of anger. She gasped quickly, forcing her face back to an emotionally blank page, all the while her rage filling her up, her heart burning with pure fury. Koh quickly spun around, his face switched back to what appeared to be his default, the white mask. He grinned wickedly,

"Come on avatar, show me your rage. What are you going to do? Kill me? Your predecessors have tried many times, in fact the last Avatar from your pathetic tribe spent his entire life hunting me trying to reclaim this" Koh blinked his face changing to that of a beautiful water tribe woman, her hazel hair waved as a small breeze passed into the cave. He laughed, the woman's voice becoming prevalent. Korra felt a chill creep down her spine as she looked on in horror, she couldn't let this happen to Asami, she wouldn't allow it. Koh let out a maniacal laugh "I have a special place in my collection for every face of the Avatars love I take, yours shall be the fourth, and it's long overdue, it's been nearly five hundred years since I last added one." Koh blinked again, this time his face changing to that of a scrawny looking air nomad boy, no older than fifteen, his tattoo neither the traditional arrow nor the pattern the nomads had in Wan's time, this one was more rounded at the end where the point of the arrow would usually be. Koh blinked again and the face of an elderly earth kingdom man came to view, his grey beard almost touching the floor. He changed back to the water tribe woman, "I have fought you many times before and each time I have been the victor. Why should I be afraid of you, what makes you so special?" he mocked, turning around and wandering back further into the cave away from Korra. Korra clenched her fists together tightly as thick black smoke rose from them, more and more pouring out with each passing second, Korra's eyes flashed white for a moment,

"YOU WILL TELL ME WHERE SHE IS!" Korra yelled furiously. The spirit turned and Korra quickly contorted her face to show no emotion. He dashed right up to Korra, staring into her eyes menacingly, their faces almost touching from the closeness.

"Leave me Avatar" he turned again nonchalantly, "and I may allow your love to live a while longer." Korra stayed put, unmoving. Her mind raced with thought of ways she could find Asami and save her, "or by all means stay, I'm sure if you concentrate hard enough I'm sure you will be able to find her" he chuckled under his breath. Korra brought her hands up to her head and rubbed them up her face and pulled at her hair. She paused. Her eyes narrowed, looking over at the spirit, then slowly widened. Korra turned around beginning to walk out of the cave, "that's right Avatar, leave, it's always a pleasure" he grinned.

Korra stomped angrily on the ground, the earth under her cracked and rippled outwards from her foot as a large tower of rock shot up underneath Koh, pummelling him against the roof of the cave. Korra continued walking out of the cave emerging into the field. The sky was black and the sound of thunder was deafening. Korra looked around, noticing Shiju sat cowering behind a rock near the entrance of the cave, his hands held over his ears and shaking with fright. She inhaled deeply allowing her mind to become calmer, as the clouds began to retreat the only sound to be heard was the chirping of a few baby dragon birds flying overhead. Shiju stood up peering anxiously over the top of the rock,

"Is..is it over?" Korra looked down at the floor,

"It's over." she walked over towards her and Asami's bags.

"Avatar? Where's your friend? I thought you went in to get her?" he inquired,

"I'm... working on it" Korra sat down next to their bags, she reached in and pulled out Asami's jacket. She shifted into the lotus position and pulled the jacket close to her, hugging it. "come on Korra if Jinora can do it so can you, you're the Avatar" she reassured herself, her voice changed to a whisper, "you're the Avatar" Korra inhaled deeply, allowing her mind to go blank, save for one image, Asami. Korra's eyes flashed for a second, then began to glow continuously.

The room was small and dark, the rocky walls displaying smalls cracks all around. It lay completely bare except for a woman laid on the floor, next to the wall with a small bowl of water beside her. A chain linked the woman to the wall by a collar around her neck, so tight each breath took tremendous effort. Her gasping for breath was the only audible noise as she struggled to even intake enough to survive. She lay struggling to keep her eyes open, dying slowly, painfully on the floor. Her clothes were shredded and muddied and her skin bruised, cut, ripped all over. A blue silhouette flashed in front of her, illuminating the room slightly. The woman stirred slightly attempting to reach out weakly to the silhouette as it flashed again. The blue light enveloped the room as Korra's spirit solidified in front of the woman. Korra's face shifted to the picture of horror, her heart sank, her stomach twisted, her eyes quickly welled up.

"A..A..Asami?" She knelt down next to her trying, futilely, to hug her, to help her, to caress her beautiful raven hair, to reassure her that it was all going to be ok. Korra's throat swelled up as she tried to get her words out, to tell Asami she was there, to tell her she would get her out, but none would come. She grasped tightly at her pants and looked down pulling her eyes closed allowing her tears to drip onto the floor. "I.. I'm sorry Asami" she stuttered. A scuttling noise came from just outside the room,

"I warned you Avatar..."