Chapter Text
The next morning, everyone was outside, discussing theories on how Bumi had finally been able to airbend. Korra was the first to make a suggestion.
“Do you think being in the Spirit World during Harmonic Convergence could have given him bending?”
Tenzin pondered that. “It's possible. But if that's the case wouldn't our bending be affected too?”
Bolin had his own idea. “Maybe he ate something funny in the spirit world? Ooh! Or maybe a spirit bit him and it gave him airbending powers.”
Don’t remember any sort of biting that happened with the spirits.” Bumi told them. “And I made sure to eat before I got into the Spirit world. For a while, when I got hungry I had a bad habit of eating whatever I saw.”
“Maybe Uncle Bumi really is a late bloomer?” Ikki asked.
Kya approached her older brother, waving her arms. “I have noticed a change in your aura lately.”
“And you didn’t tell me?!” He snapped. But he continued trying to airbend with his sister right behind him.
“Invisible spirit monster attack?” Lin asked, approaching them alongside Mako.
Korra had never seen Tenzin so happy as he walked to them. “Lin, you’re never going to believe this. Bumi can airbend .”
Their eyes widened, but it seemed very believable to them, and Bolin pointed out as much.
“Gotta be honest, guys, your reaction is pretty underwhelming.”
“Well, he’s not the only new airbender.”
“What?”
“That’s why we're here.” Mako explained. “Got a call last night about a guy who just started airbending out of nowhere. Wouldn't have believed it if he hadn’t...blown a door down on me and gotten away. We've got an APB out on him.”
“Guess it’s more than just your family now, Ten.” Lin smiled, a rare sight of its own. “Congratulations.”
The man seemed to have trouble processing what he’d heard. Tenzin took a couple of steps back and paused for a few moments before speaking. “This...this is unbelievable. I-I should contact the other temples, perhaps they’ve had reports of their own.”
As he walked off, Korra felt Bolin lean in close to whisper to her. “It’s probably because you left the Spirit portals open.”
She smiled. She knew what he was trying to do, but... “There’s no way to know what caused it. I mean, it could be anything, like-”
“I don’t care, I’m giving you credit.”
Asami walked up to Mako now. “Do you want us to help you look for him?”
“Oh, well, y'know, you should leave it with the police. It's ... police business. Y'know. It's um ... official.”
This was painful to watch. Enough for Korra to step in. “You sure? You know, you're welcome to stay here instead of the police station.”
It didn't make things much better. “No, I'm fine. I should just get going. There's a lot going on. Official...police business and all, so...as you were, ladies. He finished the awkward interaction with a salute then ran off to catch up with Lin.
“Like I said, he just gets like this.” Bolin told the girls. “Bet we can find the guy before he does, though.”
“Be careful with that arm.” Kya said.
“What’s wrong with your arm?” Korra asked, looking back.
Before he could answer, the healer spoke. “You didn’t tell them?”
“Tell us what?” Asami was interested too, turning to completely face the others.
Whatever tendencies Mako had when things got awkward, they must’ve run in the family the way he was shuffling around. “I, uh...my arm felt funny a few days ago after trying to move some of those spirit vines, so I had a healing session with Kya. B-But it feels fine now!”
“It’s not fine. You strained a muscle in your shoulder, and you’re supposed to be resting it for a week so you don’t tear it by overexerting yourself.”
“What?!”
“So I’m guessing he hasn’t been taking it easy out there like he agreed?” Kya asked the girls.
“No, he hasn’t.” Asami said, folding her arms alongside Korra. The avatar remembered the day before yesterday, when he helped move debris out of the way after a spirit vine burst through the street. He’d been shaking his arm a little bit afterwards, and she’d thought nothing of it, until now.
But he was still trying to put up an argument, despite it being three against one. “But I’m okay, I just can’t lift anything super heavy right now. Can’t I get a second opinion or something?”
“Sure.” Korra told him. “Listen to Kya and rest like you should've been doing before. Asami and I can handle this on our own.”
“I was just trying to-”
“You want to help, Bolin? Don't hide things like this from me.” The way his face fell was almost enough to make her regret her tone, but...no. He should know better than to do something like this. “Kya, I'm sorry, but could you make sure he hasn't hurt himself worse?”
“Not a problem at all.” Kya smiled, staring at Bolin with a smile that showed she was definitely enjoying him getting caught.
Korra looked at Bumi too. “And make sure he doesn't do anything with that arm until he's fully healed.”
“Seriously?”
The Avatar ignored her boyfriend's protest, so Asami spoke instead. “Bolin, we need you at full strength. What if there's a big attack and you can't help because you're too hurt?”
He didn't have anything to say to that, so the girls left. When they got close to the docks, Korra walked towards Naga, but her friend had other ideas.
“Really?” Korra asked, joining Asami by the Satomobile. “You know I'm not very good at this.”
But her objections went unheard as the inventor tossed her the keys. “You've mastered all four elements, you should be able to drive. Besides, it's relaxing.
Korra didn’t think she meant it though, since she noticed her white-knuckle grip as she pulled onto the ferry. Still, she wanted to show appreciation. “Thanks for the help back there.” She was glad Asami was able to get her point across more eloquently.
“Of course. But you should probably know something.”
“What’s up?”
“I was talking to him yesterday. He's worried about the pressure you're under, and...that he's making things worse for you somehow.
The Avatar leaned back against her seat and groaned, staring up at the sky.
“I didn't want to worry you, but...”
“No, I'm glad you said something.” Then Korra sighed. “I guess I shouldn't be surprised.”
“How come?”
“Do you...know what happened with us when the deal with Iroh to help the South fell through?”
“Yeah, Tahno told me. He heard the arguing...and he saw Bolin leave afterwards.”
What Asami didn’t say, though, felt like it was boring into Korra’s head. She knows how you hurt him.
She must have picked up on it. “I don’t think any less of you.” But Korra didn’t think she deserved to hear that.
“And Bolin still thinks the world of you.”
“That's part of the problem.” She told Asami. “After all that happened, I lost my memory from a spirit attack. When I met up with again, he told me that he broke his promise about telling Mako, but he didn’t tell me what I'd done when I'd found out about it. Because he was trying to protect me.”
“From what?”
“From feeling guilty. Or because he said I had more important things to be dealing with. I don't want him putting me on a pedestal.”
“Have you talked to him about it?” Asami asked.
“I thought I did.” Korra sighed, frustration mounting. Not at him per se, just the situation. And herself, if she was being honest. “I guess it didn't get through if he's still acting like this.”
“Do you want some help? I could pull a few strings, get you a reservation at Kwong's or something.”
That sounded amazing, but... “Heard on the radio last week about a bunch of spirits breaking into the place and ransacking it. If I had dinner there they'd probably spend all night spitting in my food.”
“Sorry.”
“Don't be, you just gave me an idea. Do you have a dress I can borrow?”
“Sure thing.”
This was nice, Korra thought as the ferry finally finished its journey across the bay, bringing them to the streets of Republic City . “I've never had a girlfriend to hang out with and talk to before, except for Naga. I'm glad you're part of all this.”
“So am I. If you ever need to talk, just let me know. You've got a lot to deal with.”
“And you don't?” Korra smiled. “You're helping with this, and running a multinational company?”
“It pretty much runs itself.” Asami dismissed. “We're doing a lot better after the settlement with Varrick Industries. And now more people are making deals with us. Guess Varrick trying to kidnap the President was enough to finally get people to forget about everything Hiroshi did.”
“Mako said Raiko is on the police department to get them to track down Varrick after he escaped, but there’s been no sign he’s even in the city still.” Korra figured he’d turn up eventually, though. He didn’t seem like a man capable of laying low for too long.
“Is that his new excuse for staying at the police station?”
“Who knows?” She shrugged. “I swear, it's like pulling teeth with him sometimes.”
Asami agreed. “He's never really been a ‘In touch with his feelings kind of guy’.” Then her expression shifted, and her eyes cast downward. “But I know he's hurting right now.”
Mako wasn't even here, so how could things become so awkward just by talking about him? Korra wanted to change the subject to something -anything- else, but she remembered her friend had just been an ear for her relationship troubles, should she do the same for Asami? “Do you...want to get back together?” She asked, ignoring protests from pedestrians and fellow drivers as they blew past a stop sign.
“Not if things would just go back to how they were before. We were both so busy with work that we barely had time for each other, and on top of that he lied to me about fighting with Bolin and what Varrick was up to. I had a bad feeling about where things were headed.”
“So...what do you want to do?”
“I don’t know.” The inventor sighed. “Things will get better eventually...I hope. Maybe we should just -brake-”
“You want to just have a break instead of a breakup?”
“No, brake!”
Korra looked to where Asami was pointing, and slammed both feet down on the brake pedal, bringing the Satomobile to a screeching stop inches away from a spirit vine sprawled across the road carrying one very annoyed spirit.
“Hey, why don’t you watch where you're going?!”
“What are you doing in the middle of the road in the first place?!”
“I live here!” The spirit argued. “You're the one that made the world this way, Avatar, don't get mad at me!”
“Look, I don't have anything against spirits, but these vines are causing problems all over the city!”
But the spirit snorted distastefully, and hopped off the vine. “Of all people, the avatar should know.”
“Know what?”
“We're all the same, vines and spirits.” The creature told her as it walked off, before turning back for a moment. “No wonder you can't figure this out.”
“You okay?” Asami asked Korra.
“Yeah.” She realized. “I'm gonna need a lot of water, but I think I just figured out a way to get rid of these vines.”
She hadn't. She tried to heal the vines as she and Unalaq had done to spirits before, but it had only made them larger, nearly collapsing the building they were and burrowing into nearby apartments, forcing Korra and Lin to act quickly to evacuate the inhabitants that were now added to the population of people displaced. And to make matters worse, Raiko and the press were witnesses to all of it. If she wasn’t public enemy number one before, she definitely was now.
(-)
“Dad, it's incredible.”
Tenzin never really spent much time around the statue of his father, and he'd certainly never spoken to it, but under these circumstances, it finally felt appropriate.
“I talked to the other Air temples, and there's dozens of reports. New airbenders in the water tribes, the fire nation, all over the world. Even some of the air acolytes.. It's actually happening, Dad.”
The man had to take a moment to gather himself. It had been a feeling he'd dealt with all his life, being one of the few airbenders in the world. After his Dad passed and before he had Jinora, he had been all by himself, the very last one. Tenzin wondered how his father had coped with it, and part of him felt selfish for even wanting children at all, knowing that one day they would inherit the weight of trying to keep a whole culture alive. But now...
“We're not the last ones anymore.”
“Daddy?”
Tenzin turned around to see his children approaching. “What's wrong?”
“It's alright, sweetheart.” He told his eldest daughter. I was just...thinking about your grandfather.”
“Do you miss him?” Ikki asked.
“Of course. His wisdom, his smile, the way he made people feel, so many little things about him...”
Tenzin wiped his eyes, and then he realized something. “But, in a way, he’s still here with us.”
“Huh?”
“Much of our words and actions live beyond ourselves. They shape the world we live in and the people that live in it. This city, myself, even you three.”
“Us too?” Meelo was getting too big to climb onto his head, but that didn’t stop the boy from trying.
“Everything I learned about airbending and our people, I learned from your grandfather.” He smiled, lifting his eldest son off his shoulders. “I wouldn’t know how to teach you anything if not for him.”
“And now we can teach the new airbenders! Are we gonna have enough for an army?”
“Air Nomads don't have armies, Meelo.” Jinora told him.
“But maybe, there will be enough airbenders to fill the temples again.” Tenzin knew he would never be able to thank the air acolytes enough for keeping the spirit and traditions of his people alive, but whenever he visited the old temples, what had been lost hung over him.
There used to be air nomads everywhere you went, up in the sky practicing glider tricks, on the ground discussing anything from philosophy to fruit pies, and, inside, meditating in a sacred room, or providing aid to weary travelers.
Tenzin had been able to- or rather, was forced to- accept that what had existed for his people was gone forever. But Harmonic Convergence had changed things. Now...what would they be able to create?
Regardless, it didn’t matter if they couldn’t find any of the new airbenders.
“Are you gonna be the airbender president?” Meelo asked.
“No, but I think the new airbenders will need lots of help and guidance to understand what it means to be part of our nation. That's a big responsibility.”
“Don't worry dad, we'll help you.”
“I know you will.” His children were right. He didn't have to face the pressure of this alone. Not only did he have his family to rely on, but the Avatar as well.
Speaking of Korra, he should probably go have a talk with his former student. Not long before this he’d heard about her latest misadventure in trying to contain the spirit vines, so he doubted the girl was in good spirits. Even if he was no longer capable of being a spiritual advisor, Tenzin knew he was still capable of offering advice.
The children ran off to go play while he went to the pavilion, but when Tenzin approached, she was already in a conversation with his mother.
“I heard about what happened.”
“I was just telling Katara.” She told him, not doing a good job of hiding any sadness. “I don't know how to fix any of this. I even tried meditating to try and contact one of the past avatars, and talk to someone who knows something to help me, but I can't.” Then she sighed. “Did I ruin everything by laving the spirit portals open?”
She must have been at the end of her rope if she was meditating. “Korra, you didn’t ‘ruin’ anything. You did what you thought was best for the world, and now things have changed. Change can be good or bad, depending on your point of view.”
“I know the people’s point of view. It’s bad.”
“Korra, you’re the Avatar, not the president. Your responsibility is to bring balance to the entire world, not to fix the daily problems of every person in Republic City. That means no matter what you do, some people are not going to be happy about it.
She flopped down on the ground. “Right.”
As Tenzin knelt down next to her, the air nomad watched his mother rejoin the conversation. “Did I ever tell you how this land became Republic City?”
Korra shook her head.
“During the war, all of this territory, and the rest of the United Republic of Nations, was a Fire Nation colony, their way of ‘Sharing their greatness with the world’. After Aang defeated Fire Lord Ozai, the land was supposed to be returned to the Earth Kingdom, and the citizens would return to Fire Nation. It was the ‘Harmonic Restoration Movement’. Many felt that the Fire Nation were their oppressors, the people that had invaded, killing their friends and family. But, there were some who felt differently. Many had never even stepped foot in the Fire Nation, but that was the country they felt loyal to. Even some earthbenders were part of this, sharing their culture with those who weren’t born there, and starting families with them. When Aang and Zuko realized how divided the people were, they knew things couldn’t stay the way they were or go back to how they’d been before. So they created something new: The United Republic of Nations.”
“And people were happy with that?”
“Some were, others weren’t.” She told Korra. “Some still aren’t. But that’s the nature of compromise. You’ll never be able to please everyone.”
“But I don't think I pleased anybody.”
“On the contrary, Korra, you've made me very happy.” Tenzin said. “What you did during Harmonic Convergence may have brought back the Air Nation, and that can only be good for restoring balance. That is the act of a great Avatar.”
"It's scary. I have all this power and all these people depending on me, but I don't know what I am supposed to be doing half the time. It seems like I should be ... wiser.”
“True wisdom begins when we accept things as they are. You've started a new age, Korra. There's no going back to the past.”
They heard Bolin’s footsteps before his voice. “Mako called. He and Lin found the missing airbender.”
“Good.” Tenzin said as he and Korra got to their feet. “Hopefully we can convince him to-”
“I mean, they found him and he climbed to the top of Kyoshi bridge, and he's refusing to come down. Lin's hoping Korra can talk to him.”
“Oh...”
“I'm on it.” Korra said, grabbing her staff.
“Sorry, did I interrupt an Avatar wisdom session?”
“Avatar wisdom is a thing of the past.” She told him.
“Is...that a good thing?”
“Depends on who you ask.”
(-)
As Korra flew closer to the bridge, she noticed a crowd of people standing behind a barricade. Probably Raiko and more press . It felt like the better option to bypass them (plus a grumpy Lin) and deal with the issue directly. The one good thing about trying to talk a man down from a bridge is that they were pretty easy to spot.
“Ah!”
But she shouldn’t have landed so close to him. “Sorry.”
“Don’t come any closer!”
“It’s okay.” She reassured him. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
“You don’t understand! I don’t want to hurt you! I-I can’t control this. Last night this started, I trashed my brother’s place, and I knocked over a cop. One just tried to grab me, and I blew him away! I don’t mean to keep doing it, I swear!”
“I know. What's your name?”
“It's D-Daw.” He stammered out.
“Okay. Daw, I can't imagine how scary this must be for you-”
“Exactly! I don't want to be an airbender. Please, you're the Avatar, right? Make it stop!” Now that Korra was face to face with him, she would see that he was drenched in sweat, and he had a white-knuckle grip on the bridge. This man really was terrified.
“I can't do that. Listen, I know this is a big change for you, and I...may or may not be responsible for it, but it doesn't have to be a bad thing. I can take you to Air Temple Island, and they can help you control this. They’re actually really excited to meet you.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I don’t think they ever expected to see someone like you.”
“That...actually sounds really nice.”
“It is.” She said. “They’re really great people. Do you want to go see them?”
The man looked down at the crowd below, full of police and paparazzi, then back to Korra's outstretched hand. She figured just about anything sounded better than going down there.
“Alright.” He said.
“Good. Now hang on.”
She'd had enough experience flying with the glider that she could handle the weight of another passenger without much trouble. Bolin had been the only person that had flown with her before, so carrying a man lighter than him was no trouble, though the whimpering in her did get a bit annoying.
“Daw, this is Tenzin.” She introduced when they landed on Air Temple Island, this time at a safer distance from everyone else. “He can help you with airbending.”
“It is absolutely my pleasure to meet you, Daw.” The air nomad said with a bow. “I've never met a new airbender before. Well, at least not one whose diaper I didn't have to change.”
“Honestly, I almost just fell off a bridge, so a fresh diaper actually doesn't sound too bad right now.”
Perhaps a bit too honest for Tenzin's ears, Korra thought to herself, as the man raised an eyebrow at the comment. But he didn’t get a chance to respond.
“Hi! Daddy says you're our new brother?”
“Meelo, I said-”
“I’m not sharing my room!”
“Ikki, nobody’s asking you to- kids, please. ”
The avatar giggled watching Tenzin trying to reign in his children, but her smile faded when she saw who was approaching.
“What are you doing here?” She asked, walking in a direction away from Daw and the others, in case something was said that she didn't want them to overhear.
“I came to get a straight answer from you.” Raiko told her. “Is this going to be the routine from now on? Are we going to have a new crisis every day until you fix the mess you made?”
“Listen, I know you're having a tough time getting used to these changes and I'm sorry for that, but you and everyone else are going to have to learn to live with it. The vines and the spirits are here to stay.”
“Well, you know who's not here to stay? You! I order you to leave this city by the end of the week. You've caused nothing but trouble since you arrived.”
It should’ve felt shocking, or at the very least, a deep insult to be banished from the city. But with everything that had happened, and everything she needed to do, Korra couldn’t really bring herself to care. “Fine.”
As she walked away, it was Bolin approaching her now. “What did he want?”
“Just to kick me out of Republic City.” She smiled.
“Seriously? He can do that?”
“I guess so.”
Her boyfriend glared at the President, now down at the dock to take a ferry back over. “Hang on a sec.”
“It’s all right.” She told him, grabbing his shirt sleeve so he didn’t go anywhere.
“But-”
“This isn’t where I need to be, anyway. There are new airbenders out there and I've got to find them to rebuild the Air Nation.” Then she shuffled her feet. “I know it's a lot to ask, but...”
“Then it's a good thing you don't have to.” Bolin winked, taking her hands in his own.
“Are you sure? I don't know where we'll be going yet, or for how long. And this is your home, too, I don’t know when I’ll be allowed-”
His voice got quiet. “I didn’t say ‘I’m gonna be right by your side unless you leave Republic City’, did I?”
She didn't say anything, but the shy smile and flush in her cheeks must have been an answer enough for her boyfriend.
“So don't worry about me, okay? I want to come with you.”
“Don't think I'm not going, too.” Tenzin added. “All of this is so exciting. Who knows who's out there now, discovering the gift of airbending for the first time?”
(-)
As Zaheer left the spirit world and returned to his body, he noticed right away something was different. He wasn't sure how, but the Harmonic Convergence had blessed him with new power. A quick glance around showed he was still in his familiar prison cell, but he’d never felt more free. And he would share this freedom, not just with his comrades, but the rest of the world.