Chapter Text

(season 1, episode 12)

In the span of a few hours, the world abandoned the bluster and roar of war machines for an exhausted, uneasy hush. The Equalist army had fled the city. Amon was nowhere to be found. Anyone who had rallied around his flag had disappeared from the streets.

Asami closed her eyes, her face tilting to the sky as she breathed in sea air. The sun warmed her face, thawing the unrelenting chill from the mountains. She rocked with the gentle sway of the ferry boat. Tried to let it wash away the sound of her father’s hateful words.

Her fingers scratched along Pabu’s head and the little fire ferret curled tighter on her lap. Her hand traced the downy soft rings around his tail. Massaged between his ears and down his fuzzy neck. He yapped out something between a screech and a clicking sound. The monotony of the motion was soothing for both of them, it seemed.

A heavy weight shoved into her, and Asami’s shoulder buckled. Naga nudged again with a deep, resonant chuff. A glutton for attention. “Jealous?” Asami smirked at the polar bear dog, lifting her free hand to rub at the coarse white fur along Naga’s muzzle.

Bolin sat down on the deck next to Asami, keeping his hands wrapped around the railing ledge. “I think she appreciates good technique,” he chuckled. He nodded to Asami’s lap. “Pabu’s enjoying himself.”

“He’s got this little tuft behind his ear that he likes.” Asami smiled quietly down at the creature.

“There’s a good spot just above where his tail starts, too,” Bolin nodded. “He’ll love you forever if you can find it.”

Testing a few spots, Asami smirked when Pabu let out an enthusiastic, chittering purr. He unfurled and stretched beneath her hand as Naga nudged her shoulder again for attention. Asami rested her cheek against the polar bear dog’s massive skull.

“The fleet’s coming in,” Bolin said.

Asami glanced back to the bay. United Republic Forces ships were in sight now, cutting a sleek arrow through the water as they headed for the mainland. She and Bolin, along with the young General Iroh, had taken out the airfield and her father’s planes with barely time to spare.

“Not too shabby for a day’s work,” Bolin sighed. His head rested back on the railing.

The distractions that Asami had so carefully cultivated around herself faded into the background. Her hand stilled, and all she could think about was police marching her father into Republic Police Headquarters. They’d found him strapped to Naga’s back, delivered to their doorstep. Asami and Bolin had watched from several blocks away, tucked around a corner. The building had been crawling with officers darting in and out. Despite the winding down of hostilities, Asami and Bolin were still fugitives. They couldn’t risk getting recognized till tensions had blown over.

“I’m so sorry about all the things my father said to you,” Asami murmured. “He was terrible.”

Hiroshi had not left the airfield quietly. Slurs against benders, against the Avatar, harsh, cruel things that were designed to cut to Asami's core. Things that only a father could say to hurt his little girl.

Bolin’s shrug was small. “We were toppling his boss’s evil regime. He was bound to be a bit desperate. And, you know, angry.” Bolin reached out and scratched Pabu’s haunches. “How are you doing?”

“I don’t know,” she said softly. “I’m glad that it’s done, but what next? I...I don’t think I can go home.” Was there anything left of the estate for her now? How many of the staff had helped with her father’s dealings with Amon? She’d known most since she was a child. How many could she even trust anymore? If anyone was left, that was.

“You don’t have to figure everything out yet.” Bolin’s voice broke through the fog of too many loose ends in her life. “Mako and I are probably going to be staying at the Temple for a while. Why don’t you stay, too? At least until all our beds stop sitting in the middle of crime scenes.”

“I’ll have to deal with the police sooner or later.”

“Let’s go with later,” Bolin smiled, “Definitely later.”

Two air acolytes sulked across the deck past them. The tall young man and middle-aged woman carried a heavy rope between them to the other side of the ferry. They spoke low to each other. “Does she still get to be the Avatar?” the boy asked.

“No idea,” the woman responded. “Apparently she managed to airbend him off the roof of the pro-bending arena.”

The boy adjusted his hold on the rope. “Does that count?”

“Wait,” Asami called up at them. “What are you talking about? What’s going on?” She scooted Pabu back to Bolin’s lap.

At the question, the pair slowed their pace. “We just heard from the mainland before we set sail,” the boy said, “Avatar Korra was the one who chased off Amon. It turns out that he was secretly a waterbender!”

Bolin whistled. “Wow. That’s crazy."

“Everyone at the arena saw it,” the acolyte woman insisted, “He came up out of the bay! Straight out of the waves in a water spout.”

“What were you saying about Korra?” Asami interrupted.

The two looked at each other, hesitating, but the young man coughed and spoke up. “They...they’re saying that Amon took her bending away.”

All the air fled Asami’s chest.

Everything Amon and Hiroshi had wanted. They’d gotten it all, short of a full scale takeover of Republic City. The Equalists had succeeded in destabilizing the government. They'd torn at every prejudice and anger below the surface of their city, dragging it up to light. And now, Amon had taken the Avatar. Asami remembered the words that Korra could barely form when they’d spoken about Amon’s threat. He’d wanted to make an example of her. Make her suffer with the knowledge that she wasn’t strong enough to stop him. Korra had been so afraid of that. She had to be so afraid right now...

Staring out at nothing, Asami heard Bolin’s voice. “Where is she?” he asked.

“Back on the Island,” the boy answered.

“Go faster.” Asami pulled herself up by the railing. They were halfway to the Air Temple pier. She couldn’t make out any figures on the coastline yet, but she had to find Korra.

Bolin gently set down Pabu and stood beside her. “I don’t think that’s how the boat works...”

With a huff, Asami thrust a finger out at the two acolytes. “How about I tear apart this bucket of sticks you call a boat and get you a damn diesel engine that crosses the bay in less than a damn week!”

Bolin gently spun her back by the arm. “Hey now, no reason to threaten anybody. Though, to be honest, that was the nicest threat I’ve ever heard…”

“I should have been there,” Asami whispered. “We should have been there to help her.”

“You have to take a breath.” He eased her back to sit on the deck.

Naga’s head fell into her lap again, weighing her down. Asami sunk her trembling fingers into the white fur. She stared out at the bay, and the fleet that she’d sacrificed her father to help. She’d been asked to make a choice, and she’d stepped up to make it, for better or worse. But no one had asked Korra to sacrifice so much of herself.

“We can’t do anything yet, okay?” Bolin waited for her to meet his eyes.

She nodded weakly, silently hoping that when they got to Air Temple Island, that she wouldn’t find herself still stuck in the worst day of her life.

The Avatar had been emptied. The fire at her core, the earth under her feet, the water surging through her blood: they were all strangers to her now. Amon had sunk his claws into Korra and torn everything out. He’d left her a hollowed shell.

“I can’t believe Amon got you, too.” Beifong palmed Korra’s shoulder from the step above them. Almost tenderly. Gentleness from Lin could only mean that everyone else was too afraid to even be near the former Avatar. They thought she was fragile. Helpless.

Korra watched Tenzin and his family at the bottom of the Temple steps. His arms wrapped around Pema, his eyes gently adoring his newborn son. A quiet, grateful moment amid the disaster that the day had wrought. The war was over, for now. Republic City was be free of Amon. Free of Korra, too.

The world had always responded to her in little ways. Yesterday, Korra could have felt the ripple and pull of currents in the sea as she swam. The echo and grit of the stone as she sat here now. Mako’s warmth beside her was the only fire she could sense now. Everything else felt dull. Lifeless. The air clung to her, and she felt a twinge of awareness and energy in the wind, but Korra had grasped one element only to lose the other three. She felt blind in the world. An airbender was no Avatar.

She threaded her fingers with Mako’s. He hadn’t left her side since the Equalist rally. He was still concerned for her like the others, but he wasn’t avoiding her like a plague. She leaned into his side, and sharp pain flashed. The healers would be here soon. Korra couldn’t deal with her injuries on her own anymore. She settled into the gentle discomfort, the stinging along every cut and bruise on her body.

“You said you had news,” Mako said to Beifong.

“Hiroshi Sato’s been taken into custody,” Lin sighed, reclining on her step. It was unsettling to see her not at a soldier’s attention. Beifong looked exhausted. Defeated. “Police found him waiting in front of the station, trussed up to your dog.”

Naga had made it back to the city.

“What about Asami?” Korra asked quickly. “Bolin?”

There had been no new planes in the sky since their infiltration of Amon’s rally. Asami and Bolin must have succeeded in shutting down the airbase. Iroh had already checked in safe and sound with the Air Temple radio. But if Hiroshi had been there, Asami must have confronted him. Captured him. There was too much pain between them for that to have been a happy reunion. Korra needed to know that she was okay.

“They weren’t mentioned in the reports I received.” Beifong said. “The dog ran off.”

The world had fallen into chaos in only a few days. With or without Amon, there were no doubt plenty of Equalists out there looking to take out their loss on one of her allies. Even better, her friends. “What if something happened to them?” Korra tapped her feet anxiously against the steps.

Mako grabbed Korra’s other hand, his thumbs tracing the curves of her palm. He held her close. “It doesn’t mean anything, Korra.”

“I broke them out of jail during the invasion,” Beifong reminded her, “More likely they were avoiding arrest.” She eased herself to her feet, and began descending the steps. “So much for the girl’s word.”

“What do you mean?” Korra asked. An acolyte darted down the stairs past them and hurried to Tenzin’s side.

Mako fidgeted on the step. “Asami...promised to turn herself into the police after we stopped Amon.”

“But she didn’t do anything. She was on our side.”

“And before that, she conspired with Amon to trap you,” Lin blustered. “She offered evidence on her father’s dealings and agreed to accept any charges leveled against her.”

Tenzin parted from Pema and the kids and quietly approached the steps. “The mainland ferry is on its way back,” he said, “Asami, Bolin, and Naga are all on board.”

Korra watched him avoid her eyes. She could feel the shame he was bottling up. He had lost an Avatar on his watch.

“I want to be on the dock when they get here,” Korra said. She dropped Mako’s hands and began to stand.

“Are you sure?” Mako asked. “You need your rest.”

“I’m tired of resting.” At her full height, she met Beifong’s gaze. “No one is arresting her,” she ordered.

Resting a hand on Korra’s back, Mako let her take a few uneasy steps down. “I’m right behind you,” he promised.

Naga barreled over the side of the ferry before its wooden ramp had been set down. The polar bear dog hit the stone dock with a heavy thud and bounded for Korra, who couldn’t help but smile at the unbridled joy. It was the first face all day that was unconditionally happy that Korra had survived. That didn’t carry an ounce of grief, or disappointment, that the mantle of Avatar had not.

She braced herself as the polar bear dog crashed into her in a heap of fur, slobber, and happiness. “Missed you, too, girl,” Korra held onto scruff to steady herself. Naga whined into her chest, blew out heavy puffs of air through her nose as she nuzzled into her.

Rushing past them, Mako met Bolin at the ferry ramp. The brothers grabbed each other into a firm, exhausted hug.

“Good to see you’re in one piece,” Mako said, patting his little brother’s back.

“What? After a few Equalists? Please.” Bolin grinned. “No sweat. Not with a pair of terrifying guard dogs watching my back.” He nodded back to the ferry.

Korra shook out Naga’s fur one more time before finding Asami hanging back from the others, slowly descending onto the dock. Hands grasped in front of her, she halted at the foot of the ramp when Korra met her eyes.

The girls said nothing for a long second. Didn’t move. They studied bumps and bruises from the distance between them, finding some calm in the fact that they were each in one piece. But they could see how the other carried a weight in her stance, in the depths of her expression. Neither of them felt whole. Despite the small smile they shared, neither of them looked happy.

They hesitated before the last few steps to each other. Asami was the first to try and speak. “They…they said that-”

“I heard about your father.” Korra said quickly. “I’m sorry that you had to do that.”

Asami blinked at her for a second, hugging her arms. “I’m not,” she said. “If he was too far gone, I wanted to be the one to put him away.”

Korra nodded. “What happens next?”

“I don’t know,” Asami said quietly. She reached out a hand, and Korra felt a flush up to her eyebrows. A heavy heartbeat passed, and Korra shifted forward to close their distance.

When Naga’s familiar chuffing blew air over her shoulder, Korra felt her blush worsen. Asami reached out the rest of the way past her face to scrunch up the fur on Naga’s head.

“Yeah,” Bolin chimed in. The boys shuffled over to them. “Do you take over Future Industries now?”

“What?” Asami bristled nervously at the question. A calming breath later, she managed an answer. “That is…I don’t know when I’ll be...I’m not sure. I haven’t thought that far ahead.”

Mako offered Asami a smile and threw an arm over her shoulder. For a moment, she looked startled by the gesture. “Let’s just take a minute to appreciate that the Equalists are gone, but we’re not,” Mako said.

The brothers pulled Asami and Korra into a hug, and they all clung to each other in a moment of precious silence. Naga loped around the group, barking low in her throat. She pushed her nose between them and nudged around to get close. They laughed quietly, breaking apart as the polar bear dog burrowed between them.

Asami lifted a hand to Korra’s chin, staring at the scratches that had not been healed. “Is it true?” she asked. As if she needed to hear the answer to know.

The words were stuck, heavy in Korra’s chest. She could only nod.

The hand moved to her arm. “You saved Republic City,” Asami reassured her.

“No,” Korra muttered, “You did. I let Amon get away.”

“Hey, at least you unlocked your airbending!” Bolin said.

Mako frowned at his little brother. “Not the time.”

Bolin lifted his hands defensively. “Right, right.” He slowly backed away from the huddle. “I'll just stand over here. Quietly. In silence.”

“It’s over,” Korra whispered hoarsely.

“We still have options,” Mako said, holding Korra’s arm. “We’re gonna go to Katara. If anyone can help, it’s her. We’re not done yet.” He glanced up at Asami. “Tenzin’s already chartered a ship to the South Pole.”

“Can I come with you?” Asami asked.

Korra looked up. She’d begged Asami to turn herself into the police, but the prospect of running away from that looming promise was the best thing she’d heard all day.

Mako smiled quietly. “You’ve already got a seat.”

A massive foghorn blared.

They all jumped at the noise, as the flagship of the United Republic Fleet sailed into view passed the cliffs. The lead battlecruiser was multiple stories tall, all guns and steel. A howl of joy echoed from the deck.

“What in the world?” Mako stepped to Bolin as they eyed the ship in the distance.

Korra lost interest in the fleet, and turned back to find Asami still studying her face. There was so little left to say. This future had hung like a specter over them from the moment they’d first truly seen each other. There had been plans. There had been expectations. Parts they had been expected to play in the scheming of ‘great men’. And now what were they?

As everyone else watched—and heard—the flock of battleships sail by, Asami slipped her arms around Korra’s neck. Korra fell into the hug and gripped the back of Asami’s jacket. Gently ran a hand against the small of her back. Offering what little comfort she could. They breathed together quietly. Needing to know that they were both alive.