You're Not Alone

She was dead?

Dead?

How could it be?

How could she die?

No, it couldn't be.

Not her.

Not Katara

All these questions and more formed in Korra's head as she analyzed the old woman's still body lying on the bed. When she came home from practicing with Mako and Bolin, this was not the news she expected see. She walked in expecting to hear Tenzin nag and/or explain to her how she was neglecting to meditate. Not see him hovered over his mother's body with red eyes and tear stains on his cheeks. It didn't make sense and Korra refused to believe the water bending legend had passed on.

"No, Tenzin you're making a mistake. She's just sleeping."

Tenzin closed his eyes. "She was Korra, she was."

"She still is!"

The 17 year old was quickly getting upset with Tenzin for acting the way he was when all Katara was doing was resting.

"Korra, calm down." Mako, who stood on the left side of her next to his brother, ordered.

Her teammates had come back to the island with her this time, upon Korra's request. It took a lot of begging from her to get them to agree, well more so to get Mako to agree, but it pissed her off even more that this situation is what they had to be greeted with.

Korra turned to Mako, prepared to start another argument with him but Tenzin put his hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay Mako, she's just in denial now...she'll get over it soon."

"I'm not in denial!"

Tenzin shook his head but removed his hand and started walking away. Pema and the kids had been out and not gotten back yet to receive the news; it was going to hurt all over again once he told them how she passed away peacefully in her sleep without warning.

"We should probably be going..." Bolin suggested, rubbing the back of his head uncomfortably.

"No, stay! I'll show you all!" Korra said as she walked closer to the bed. "Watch, Tenzin, you'll see."

She didn't hesitate to gently shake the old woman. Tenzin stopped walking but kept his back to her. It would be Korra's first experience with the death of a loved one, so he expected her to be in denial. However, he didn't really know how she'd be once she came out of it.

Mako and Bolin looked at the floor and anywhere but Korra; they could see from the distance that Katara was dead. It was only a matter of time before Korra would come to her senses.

"Wake up…wake up, Gran-Gran...come on..." Her voice got more distressed with each word and her gentle pushes became harder by the second. "Gran-Gran, wake up...you're sleeping...you're just sleeping..."

"Korra." Tenzin said in a sharp tone; she was making it harder for him too.

Korra stopped pushing Katara and then slowly touched her neck to feel her pulse. When there was none, Korra gasped and took a large step back. Now the atmosphere had become really uncomfortable as all was silent and still. Korra remained staring at the woman who had been like a grandmother to her. Was it possible? Was she really...dead?

Finally, Bolin walked over to his friend and place a soft hand on her back. "Korra...I'm sorry..."

Korra didn't respond verbally or physically; she just continued to stare. Mako watched her but didn't know what to say; he was really regretting giving in to her constant pleadings about going there.

"Korra, are you going to be alright?" Tenzin asked softly, still with his back to her.

"Korra..."

The Avatar heard her name being called but couldn't respond even if she wanted to. Everyone seemed so distant and the pain she felt at the sight of Katara was unbearable, yet she couldn't take her eyes away. She began feeling like she was kind of slipping away, as if she was losing herself. Everything was so distant and it hurt so much; she just couldn't handle it. She couldn't control herself anymore.

"Korra?" Bolin said, somewhat alarmed.

Something about Korra changed, they felt it in the air and everybody had their eyes on her. The three other people in the room watched as Korra's eyes suddenly glowed brightly.

"Whoa...I'm guessing that's not a good sign…" Bolin mumbled while staring in awe.

"Korra! Korra!" Tenzin called her immediately, trying to bring her out of it. "Mako, Bolin, get out of here!"

Mako didn't hesitate; he grabbed his brother's arm and began pulling him towards the door. Unfortunately, they weren't able to make it out before floods of water from the ocean shattered the windows and broke down the door. The water flooded the house immediately and whirled around Korra like a tsunami. It lifted her up in the air as Mako, Bolin and Tenzin were swept up in the process.

"Korra!" Tenzin tried again while trying not to take in the water. "You have to calm down!"

But the Avatar didn't seem to hear him and the tsunami grew bigger and meaner. The house was beginning to come apart and before long Tenzin was washed up along with the furniture and Katara. Mako still had a grip on his brother's arm and was holding onto a wall with his other hand. It took all his strength and more not to allow himself and his brother to be swept away in the growing floods.

"Mako!" Bolin yelled over the rage of the water. "We have to calm her down!"

"Are you crazy? We have to get out of here; Korra will be fine eventually, but we won't if we don't leave."

"Mako, look," Bolin pointed to her. She had a calm face but he could tell she was just hurting. "she needs our help."

"We need our help." Mako mumbled, still concentrating on holding on.

The tsunami seemed to be getting bigger and more destructive by the second. The house was falling apart quicker and it didn't look like Korra was to be finished any time soon. When Mako didn't make any move towards helping Korra, Bolin snatched his arm away from him recklessly.

"What are you doing?" Mako demanded.

"Something you won't." Bolin answered as the tsunami separated them.

The earth bender then used his powers to make an earth column that sent him up over the flood of water.

"Korra!" Bolin yelled as he got closer to her. "It's okay! Were here for you! Calm down!"

Korra still didn't seem to hear; her eyes still glowed and the fury of the water continued.

"Korra! Can you hear me? It's me, Bolin, your friend! You can come down!"

When she didn't speak or move, he made another earth column that would've put him close enough to touch her. Unfortunately he didn't get the chance to get on it before the water crashed into the rock columns hard, causing him to stumble back and fall off. Bolin was quickly swept up with the water and went under.

Seeing this made Mako clench his teeth; he always protected his brother, how exactly was he to do that when the flood was threatening him too? The fire bender kept a level head like usual though and came to a decision. He had no choice; he had to calm Korra down.

Mako would've sighed if he could've but the water prevented him from doing so. It wasn't like he didn't care; it was just that Korra frequently got mad and she always fine not even five minutes later. He never bothered to calm her down before and didn't exactly know how to do that now. Why couldn't she just calm herself down like always? She was always making things difficult for him, in more than one way; that's what Mako would've said right then.

Reluctantly, he let go of the wall and allowed the water to take him away from it. When he got close to the rock columns Bolin made, he reached for them. Once he had a good grip, the fire bender began climbing them. Thanks to his upper body strength he was able to get to the top of the first one in no time. The water crashed against the columns again, threatening the same fate as his brother, but Mako refused to fall.

He looked to the Avatar and yelled. "Korra, calm down already! You're making a mess!"

That didn't seem to help the situation as the house began to fall apart even faster. Mako exhaled deeply; things could never be simple with Korra. He climbed the second pillar so that he was even closer to Korra, only a few feet apart. Now that he was closer, he was able to see her face better and was surprised to see her calm face, glowing eyes...and tears streaming down her cheeks.

She was just hurting and this realization struck Mako kind of hard. He understood what she was going through; he and Bolin had lost their parents at an early age. Whenever Bolin was down in the dumps about it, he tried unsuccessfully to comfort him. Mako was never good at comforting as it just wasn't his personality; however he supposed if it would help, he would try it now.

He reached over and grabbed her hand. "Korra...calm down."

He said it differently that time, not like he was ordering her but softer and more understanding. When she didn't respond, Mako pulled her onto the rock column with him. Her eyes still glowed and tears were still streaming however she seemed to be looking at him.

Mako did something then that even he didn't expect; he pulled Korra into an embrace. Her face was buried into his chest while he rested his head on top of hers.

"Look, I'm not absolutely sure what's happening and I don't know if this will help or not...but I know what it feels like to lose someone close to you...and its okay." He sighed because the words weren't coming out like he planned and he didn't know if it was assuaging the situation or not. "Like Bolin said, were here for you; you're not alone. We'll get through this just like we get through everything else. Korra, it's okay...so come back already."

A minute or two after Mako finished, Korra's eyes stopped glowing. The tsunami died down, slowly but surely revealing the floor once again.

"Mako..." Her voice was very weak.

"Yeah, I know."

Korra didn't say anything else and after a few seconds she seemed to be getting heavier in Mako's arms. It didn't take him long to figure out that she fainted. He sighed as he just held her in his arms and looked at the mass destruction around them.

"Korra...why do you insist on making things difficult for me?"