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Legend of Korra: True Ending

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Everyone gathered in the large healing hut, all looking more than a little worse for wear. They'd just achieved a great victory, putting down the Equalist Rebellion. However, it had come at a very great cost. Avatar Korra had lost her ability to bend Water, Earth, and Fire. Though this had somehow awakened her ability to Airbend Mako, Bolin, and Asami feared this would prevent her from becoming a fully realized Avatar. Tenzin, Pema, and Lin, however, feared for a great deal more.

What if Amon's theft of her bending had somehow damaged, or even destroyed the reincarnating Avatar Spirit? Was the cycle broken? Was there a new Avatar being born in the world right now? All these questions posed themselves before them and no answers seemed to be following. In all of history nothing like this had ever happened before. It was an agitating presence in the room and it was difficult for the adults to contain their anxiety.

It was then that the door to the healer's room opened to reveal the elderly Master Katara. The great healer stepped through the opening and slid the door closed behind her. Everyone rose and resisted to rush the woman. All of them wanted to begin bombarding her with questions, but no one spoke.

"I've tried everything in my power," she stated, her gaze falling to the ground, "but I cannot restore Korra's bending."

Tenzin nodded in understanding and his eyes shifted, as if attempting to plan some contingency for the future.

Lin was the first to verbally respond to Master Katara's statement. "But," she began, feeling a small sense of desperation, "You're the best healer in the world. You have to keep trying." She tried to make the last sentence more of a demand, but the struggle to grasp onto the last crumbling straws of hope for herself colored her voice. If even Katara, the woman who'd once restored life to Aang when he'd died over seventy years ago, couldn't return Korra her bending, then there was no hope for any of the hundreds of people, including herself, who'd lost their abilities to that ... that monster.

"I'm sorry but there's nothing more I can do," she said. "Korra can still Airbend, but her connection to the other elements has been severed."

After this the door opened and Korra stepped from the healing room. She put on a good strong front, but those who knew her could see the pain of loss still held a tight grip on her heart.

Tenzin was the first to break the silence that hung between everyone in the room. "It's going to be alright, Korra."

As he spoke she met his gaze. In it there was a startling lack of emotion. Korra was still trying to come to grips with the fact that her whole life up to that point had all been for naught; the training, the fighting, the endless hours of forms and instructions, everything. Just a few moments in Amon's hands and all of that was gone. Now she was just another Airbender, Another testament to a long forgotten and nearly extinct race. "No, Tenzin, it's not."

The complete lack of inflection in her voice caught everyone off guard. This was not the same Korra who'd been so lively, active, boisterous, and adamant about everything, even as a child. This Korra speaking to them now was someone entirely different.

Because of this shock no one moved to stop her when she just walked out, grabbing her coat as she went.

It wasn't until Korra had mounted up on Naga that Mako and Bolin finally reacted, rushing out of the house. "Korra!"

However, she ignored them and spurred Naga into a run. "Korra, wait!" shouted Bolin.

A hand on each of their shoulders gave them pause and they turned to see they belonged to Tenzin. "We need to be patient with her," he said. "It will take time for her to accept what has happened."

~~~

Naga came to a halt a few yards short of the north-facing cliff-side. Though it was the same one they had stood upon just a few months ago, the open ocean that stretched out before the two figures felt completely different now. Once its shimmering reflection seemed like a thin veil, an open path leading through a hazy unexplored world filled with endless possibilities. Now it appeared to Korra as a great void. It wasn't even an obstacle for her anymore, just a bleak vastness of nothing.

Tears that she'd been fighting back finally began to trail down her cheeks. As one dripped off her chin Korra looked down to see it fall over the edge of the cliff. Startled, she took a step back. She hadn't even realized how close she'd been to the brink there. Had she not looked when she did would she have just kept walking?

She leaned, tentatively examining the sheer drop, the incredible height she stood at. 'It wouldn't be hard,' she thought, 'just lean a little further and it would look just lik-' From her side Korra felt a soft nudge. It was Naga. With a small groan the Polar Bear-dog put its head between her friend and the impending cliff.

Obeying her friend's wish, Korra took a step back. She instinctively ran her fingers through Naga's long, thick fur seeking comfort in its warmth. At the first sob Korra felt her legs grow weak and she hugged Naga's neck, crying into her shoulder as she fell to her knees. Resting her head in Korra's lap, Naga curled her form around providing as much support, comfort, and warmth her frame would allow.

Korra wasn't sure how long the two of them stayed wrapped up in each other like that. It could have been moments, though it was more probably hours. She felt bad for putting her friend through so much worry and grief. She hated feeling this way. Everything was all so messed up. They'd won the fight but she'd lost so much in the process. Had it been worth it? She'd lost almost all of her bending. She wasn't the Avatar anymore, was she? Was there a new Avatar being born in some Earth-Kindom village now? Or was she still holding up a place in the cycle? Could Amon have broken the cycle? Locked the Avatar Spirit away inside her to perish when her life ended?

So many questions remained and people would want to look to her for answers. But what could she tell them. She was just a teenage girl who'd spent her whole life locked in a White Lotus Fortress learning how to bend. She didn't hardly knew anything about the Avatar Cycle beyond what most children were told in stories by their parents. Her guess was as good as anybody else's, probably worse. Why should anyone care about what she did or thought?

Her thoughts were interrupted by footsteps in the snow. She didn't see who it was but from the way the cloth swished she could tell it was someone dressed in an Airbender's robes. That meant it could only be one person. Though she was grateful for his concern, Korra wasn't feeling very tolerant for some deep cryptic spiritually sage advice at the moment. "Not now Tenzin," she said, probably a bit more harshly than she'd intended. She tried tempering her tone with an explanation. "I just want to be left alone."

This wasn't entirely true. Naga was here. But Naga had been so much a part of Korra's life that they were practically the same person. That meant being left alone with Naga counted as being left alone ... sort of.

The voice that spoke almost sounded like it wanted to chuckle. "But you called me here," Aang responded.

Korra lifted her head and turned to face the man. A whole whirlwind of surprise, wonder, awe, and relief filled her heart and voice as she once again found herself connected with her past life. "Aang."

The man looked to her with something akin to fatherly pride. "You're truly beginning to connect with your spiritual self."

"But," Korra was still trying to come to grips with the fact that she was still able to connect with Aang at all, much less the idea that she was actually getting the hang of it. "But, how?" she asked, standing to face him.

He placed his left hand on Korra's shoulder, indicating she should sit back down with Naga. "It's when we hit our lowest point that we are open to the greatest change." With his right hand he took Korra's left. "Come with me."

Korra gasped as she felt energy surge through her body and a sense of weightlessness caused her perspective to shift. This change felt very unnatural to her and it only took her a moment to figure out why.

Looking down she saw her feet no longer touched the ground. What's more was that below them was ... her body? It was just laying there, limp, slack-jawed with arms and legs flopped on the ground with her back against Naga. She was dead.

Panic seized her ... what should have been her stomach. "What did you-"

"It's alright Korra," Aang assured her, "you're in the spirit world now."

Korra struggled against his grip, trying to get back to her body. "Put me BACK!" she demanded, "I'm dying!"

Aang grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. "KORRA!" he commanded, forcing her to get a grip on herself. "It's okay," he assured. "Look, you're in a trance."

Korra slowly dropped her gaze back to her corp-... body. And this time she saw that her eyes, while only half open, were glowing bright blue.

"I was able to force you into a meditative state," he explained, "but you don't have much experience with this so we don't have much time."

He swept his cloak over her now translucent form and she felt the air change. She opened her eyes and saw that she was being led by the hand as they floated over a mountain range. In the distance she saw the rapidly approaching spires of the Southern Air-Temple. As they approached the outer wall Korra braced herself for an expected impact but was greeted only by another change in the air. Now they stood in a vast room filled with statues, all of the Avatar's previous lives.

"This is the Southern Air-Temple," Aang explained as he stepped towards the newest addition to the hall of statues, the one of himself. "The place where I was first taught Airbending, and where I accepted my role as the Avatar." He turned towards her as he continued. "Your bending is not gone," he said. "It is only out of reach for the moment, much like Airbending was for you before."

He reached out and placed a hand on her forehead. Several points on Korra's body began to glow. "Several of your chakra points have been severely blocked by the Spirit-Bending technique," he explained. "To become a fully realized Avatar you already needed to open these gates to let your spiritual energy flow freely." He removed his hand and the points on her body stopped glowing, yet he continued speaking. "With them being blocked from an outside source it will be much more difficult for you to reach that point, but it can be done."

It was hard for Korra to keep up with all of this information coming at her at once. She was certain she was missing something and she was afraid of forgetting something vital. "H-how do I do that?"

"Tenzin should be able to help you with the basics," he said. "But this journey of self-discovery is one only you can make."

Korra's gaze fell and she felt her feet shuffle. She didn't think she was fit for some sort of vision quest right now.

He stepped up to her and placed his hand under her chin and smiled down to her. "It's okay," he assured her. "You are a strong young woman, and you have all the tools you need. All you need is to learn how to use them." After this Aang looked up as the sound of a distant wind howled through the halls. "Time's up," he said, "your body is pulling you back now."

Korra's eyes widened at this. "Wait, what if I have more questions?" her feet began to slide back against the floor as an unseen force pulled her away from where she stood.

"It's okay, all your past lives are a part of you," he said, letting go. "Tenzin will guide you." His transparent blue body began to fade when realization struck him with one last piece of information to pass. "Beware if you go to the Spirit Realm ..."

The growing distance between them combined with his fading form made it impossible to make out what he said after that. Something to show... or not to... it was hard to concentrate as the entire world around her faded into a swirling mist. Then Korra felt her body spasm and jerk back into consciousness, gasping and coughing for air. Naga was startled at the sudden movement from her companion but remained still as Korra's warm and steady support.

It took her a moment to recover from the experience. Parts of it even felt like a dream, but the clarity of the memories told her that it hadn't been. "Let's go girl," she said, grabbing the harness.

That little prompting was all Naga needed to go from calmly sitting to barreling inland. Korra used the momentum to kick her other leg over and settle into the saddle with an ease that only years of practice could provide. She had to get back to the others. She had to tell them what had happened.

Once inside the compound Korra leaped from the saddle and ran to the main hut. It wasn't exactly possible for her to burst in through the doors, but she slid it open so hard that she was forced to spin around and almost bowled her parents completely over. "Korra!?" her mother explained. "Is everything alright?"

"Everything's great mom," Korra beamed. "Where's Tenzin?" she asked. However she didn't wait for a response before calling out to him, "TENZIN!!"

She rushed to the door of the next room and reached it just as Tenzin came through. "Korra? What is it?" More than a little shocked at her change in mood.

"It was amazing Tenzin. I was at the cliffs, crying. And then he came and I died. Then he took me to the Air Temple and showed me my chakra," she explained. "I can do it, Tenzin. I can DO IT!"

Tenzin carefully grabbed Korra by the shoulders as she spoke to try and restrain her a bit. "Now, hold on Korra. Hold ... ON!" He waited a moment for her breathing to calm. "Now tell me again, slowly now. What happened?"

Korra took a deep breath and grinned crookedly up at her Airbending Master. "The Avatar is BACK."
Alright ... As some of you might already be aware of, i wasn't too terribly happy with the Ending to Season 1 legend of Korra ... particularly the last 3-4 minutes

They wrapped everything nicely in a neat little bow ... they gave no signs for any conflict for the future ... nothing left for the team or group to accomplish or achieve or overcome ... and what's more is that it would have been SIMPLE to do, even as an eleventh-hour change after they'd found out they were getting a second season ... even if they'd made us wait another week or so for the revised ending ... lord knows they've made us wait for new product before and it always turned out worth it in the end

So ... i've taken it upon myself to put in a little preconcieved notion i have about Aang's (and thusly Amon's) Spirit-Bending Technique and thrown it in along with Korra's need to still become a fully realized Avatar

Is it a little disappointing that we never get to see an Avatar State Korra? Yeah ... but i kinda understand though ... Aang wasn't even supposed to know he was The avatar for another 3-4 years ... As a mere child he was still emotionally unstable, even as a monk ... So it's understandable that Korra, whose been in a pretty well controlled environment up into her (i'd say) near-twenties and gradually eased into her full range of emotions would have a better handle on not triggering the "I'MM A FIR'N MA BENDING" "HULK SMASH" effect of an uncontrolled Avatar State

That being the case she should still have to go through some sort of spiritual training (if you will) in order to get to that final stage ... She's only been shown to have some VERY basic knowledge of meditation or spiritual awareness and that's all been learned in the past couple months ... if not WEEKS ... and she's supposed to be the bridge between the spirit world and the human world ... she needs some serious OJT (On the Job Training) and fast ... because i think the best way for Bryke to go in Season 2 is to the Spirit Realm because lets face it, SOMEONE on that side has been up to some serious shenanegins to have been able to give Amon the ancient technique of Spirit Bending

I mean ... yeah they tried to explain it with "Oh he used Blood-bending to do it" but i find the sauce in that excuse to be VERY weak ... YOU HEAR THAT BRYKE ... YOUR SAUCE IS !!!WEAK!!! ... Find that otherworldly awesomeness you built in 'Book 1 A:TLA' and bring Koh and Yue back into the picture ... You've got Katara, Korra, and Yue all raring and ready to go and i'm sure you can find more than a few ways to fit the rest of Team Avatar in there without that forced Shipping junk you were trying to ham-hand down our throats

Season 2 Theme ... Character Development and Spiritual Growth
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Makorra-Fan29's avatar
when it said she was dead my heart actually skip a beat. no joke. heh... anyways nice fanfic