Title: Korrasami 82

Fandom: Avatar: The Legend of Korra

Pairing: Korra / Asami Sato

Rating: PG-13

Notes: Thank you all for your patience. And I hope your holiday was awesome. I'll be the first to admit that this chapter isn't my best. If this were a TV episode it would definitely be filler. it's been a very busy and sometimes challenging 2019. It hasn't been easy to find time to look into the story universe and write what I'm seeing. But I'm still here doing my best. The story is a joy for me as well as a stress releaser. I love Korra and asami and I know where I want the story to go. However if you have any ideas please feel free to message me privately and your ideas may end up in the next few chapters.

X

Chelse swallows hard as she helps Asami over to the couch. She realizes her boss wasn't as concerned as she should have been about her current condition. "Here we go. Have a seat and tell me what happened."

Asami sucks in a deep strong breath. She still felt horrible like she would vomit any second. She shakes her head. "I should have listened to you. One minute we were fighting then the next…" The exhausted CEO covers her forehead with her hand. "I don't know what came over me. Sure I flirted with him every once in a while but I wasn't serious about it and neither was he." She closes tear-welled eyes and sighs. "Anyway, we kissed and I felt him up..." She averts her eyes with a gulp. "And down." She says remembering the feel of him in her hand. She wipes her hand off against her thigh.

Chelse kneels down in front of her. "I need you to relax okay?" She says nervously.

Asami shakes her head again. "Look I'm calm alright. I'm just not feeling well. I never imagined kissing anyone but Korra would make me sick."

The executive assistant gulps. "Yeah, that's the problem."

"What do you mean?" Asami asks.

"Miss Sato, you're immortal right now." Chelse says.

"Yeah, and?" She responds.

Chelse feels her stomach tightening. She was genuinely scared for her naïve employer. "You…can't get sick."

"Huh?" The CEO says with a confused look on her face.

"The laws." Chelse says as their eyes lock. "You shouldn't be able to get sick while you have the other essences inside of you. The Mother's laws make that impossible. You could eat a table full of poison and still not be…"

Asami lowers her eyes in deep thought for a moment. "Then maybe I'm not sick. Maybe this is something else." She says looking down at her stomach.

Chelse sighs. "I'll call the others."

"No. I want to go see Katara and Kya. They're on Air Temple Island right now." Asami says.

Chelse closes her eyes and exhales. She hated having to be the voice of reason for Asami. "There's nothing they can do. Kya doesn't even have her memories." She takes Asami's hand. "I know how bad you want to be pregnant."

Asami stands to her feet. "I need you to stop lecturing me Seika." Her eyes flutter a few seconds later as she starts to feel faint. Chelse catches her. "Take me to them. Please."

Chelse rolls her eyes then sits Asami back down on the couch. "Fine, I'll call the island and have them pick us up from the roof."

"My mini airship is up there. I'll fly us." Asami says.

"Not in the condition you're in." Chelse says.

Asami leans her head back against the couch and exhales through her mouth. "Come here, I'll show you how to fly it."

Chelse swallows hard again. She and Asami hadn't shared a strong telepathic connection since they found out she was one of the Mothers. Sure they'd shared little thoughts here and there but nothing longer than a few seconds. "Uhh, I…I can…figure it out."

Asami looks up at her. "It'll be faster if I show you. Come here." She notices Chelse looking away from her. "What's wrong?" Chelse remains silent. Asami lowers her eyes recognizing how tense her assistant was. There was only one reason she'd feel that way. Asami takes a deep breath. "Seika, I already told you that I don't remember anything about being the Mother of Faces, right? Is that what you're worried about?"

The Fire Essence involuntarily emits a burgundy glow at the sound of her name. "I…I just don't want to risk seeing something I'm not meant to see. There's a reason they live in a separate dimension. They don't view things the way we do." Truthfully she didn't want to relive her mother abandoning them again. She knew that the cosmic deities didn't mean it that way, but that didn't change how it felt once she became a mortal.

Asami inhales softly, pushes up off the couch, and makes her way over to her assistant. She puts her hand on her shoulder. "You're right." Their eyes lock. "We don't see things the way they do." Chelse gives her a slight smirk remembering who she was talking to. Mizu understood perfectly well what she was going through. "That's why I need you to trust me like I've always trusted you. Okay?"

Chelse nods then places her forehead against Asami's. Soft gentle hands grasps the nape of the brown haired woman's neck as she sends the memories of operating the airship. Chelse feels a strange sense of peace as the images flow through her mind. For a while it felt like she was back in the primordial energy of creation.

A few minutes later Asami pulls away and sweetly wipes a tear from Chelse's cheek. The Fire Essence slowly opens her eyes. "Did you feel that?" Chelse asks.

Asami shakes her head with a small smile. "No, but I wish I had. I haven't seen you look this relaxed in a long time." Chelse lowers her eyes. "Did you get the instructions?" Chelse nods. Asami smiles again. "Good because I need to vomit." Chelse shakes her head as she watches Asami disappear into the bathroom.

Air Temple Island

Meelo comes in hot on his air scooter as soon as Asami lands. "A baby airship!" He shouts. "This is incredible!"

"It's not a baby." Ikki says flying in right behind her little brother. "It's just small that's all."

Chelse steps out first. "Is Katara here?" She asks watching Meelo airbend himself to the top of the airship.

"She's with Aunt Kya at the healing pool." Ikki says as she blows air into one of the propellers.

Chelse pulls Asami into her arms. The heiress tries to move out of her grasp. "Chelse I'm fine." She says taking a wobbly step toward Ikki.

Tenzin quickly comes down from the main house. "I got your call. Please don't try to move. I've got some acolytes coming to take you to Katara." He places his hand on Asami's forehead. "What exactly happened?"

Two men come from the sleeping quarters with a stretcher. "Be careful with her." Chelse almost shouts as they pick Asami up.

The heiress takes her assistant's hand. "Chelse relax, please."

Healing pools

Chelse nervously taps her foot against the floor as she sits watching Katara move the water around Asami's body. Kya softly places her hand on the woman's knee. Chelse clenches her jaw.

Kya glances at her for a moment then refocuses her attention on Asami. "Tapping your foot isn't going to help us diagnose her any faster."

Asami rolls her eyes. "Chelse will you stop that please. Why are you so tense?"

Katara speaks up with a small smile. "Maybe because you're pregnant."

"What?" Everyone in the room says at once.

"Don't make an old woman repeat herself. I'd say you're at least a month along." Katara says knowingly.

Asami furrows her brow and shakes her head. "No that…that's not possible. You said I wasn't pregnant three months ago."

"Because it was too early to tell. I told you to give it some time. I really don't know why you're so shocked." The mature waterbender says. "You and Korra have accomplished many incredible and unexplainable feats over the past year. This is just another to add to the list." Katara rubs her chin. "I am concerned about your illness though. At first I thought it was morning sickness, but you're immortal so that shouldn't be an issue. And it's doesn't seem to be coming from the babies but it might be going through them."

Asami looks up at her cautiously. "W-what do you mean? If it's not them, then what is it?" The raven haired woman lowers her eyes and looks at her belly.

Kya speaks up. "Asami, sweetie? When exactly did you start feeling sick?"

Chelse stands to her feet. "Miss Sato, I think I know who we need to talk to."

Asami notices a slight glow in Chelse's eyes. She nods knowing exactly who the Fire Essence was talking about. "Okay." She turns to Kya. "It started after my sparing session a little over an hour ago. It felt like something had taken over my body."

Kya lowers her eyes in thought. "Maybe something did or someone."

"What do you mean?" Asami asks.

Katara clears her throat. "It seems like you all are discussing something personal."

Asami's eyes widen. "Oh geez, I'm sorry Gran Gran. Would you mind if I covered your eyes and ears?"

Katara nods. "Go right ahead."

Kya furrows her brow. "Why do you need to do that?"

Chelse speaks up as Asami creates a layer of water over Katara's ears and eyes. "Because no human can know who you are. And if she speaks to someone about our existence she will die."

Blue eyes widen in fear. "Why!"

Chelse rolls her eyes. "You should know the answer to that."

Asami hits her shoulder. "Chelse stop. None of us have our memory." She turns to Kya. "What did you mean about someone controlling me?"

Kya looks back and forth between Asami and Chelse. "I mean Lin and I felt what happened between you Korra three months ago. We were forced into being intimate with one another. We couldn't control ourselves."

Asami averts her eyes and creases her brow. "I don't understand. Are you and Lin sick too?"

Kya shakes her head. "No, I'm just trying to come up with some explanation for your symptoms." Kya lowers her eyes. "I don't understand how we can be so connected one minute then not know a thing about one another the next. I mean we're the Mothers, right? Why aren't we all immortal like you? Why can't we heal the way you do?"

Asami can hear pain in Kya's voice.

"How are we supposed to deal with this if we don't have the time to process what we can't even remember?" The mature bender asks.

"I…I don't know." The CEO says sadly as she takes Kya's hand. "I'm sorry."

"Asami, let's go." Chelse says waving her hand evaporating the water from Katara's eyes and ears.

Chelse helps the heiress into the airship. Asami inhales slowly. "How are we getting to their dimension?"

Chelse starts the airship. "Through the Forgetful Valley."


The Swamp

"Climb!" The elderly earthbender's voice booms through the swamp.

Korra was a third of the way up the tree before she lost her grip. Her stomach and legs are almost scraped down to the muscle as she frantically grabs the closest branch she can find. She huffs and gulps forcing herself not to go into the Avatar state to save herself. The lack of air in her lungs let her know how high up she was.

"Keep climbing, you're not even halfway there yet!" Toph shouts.

Korra swallows hard. She had no choice but to rely on her senses, on her body, on her will, on her inner eyes in order to get through this part of her training. No matter what, she couldn't think about…her family. Toph told her what she needed to do. Now she needed to do it.

Memories of her wife and children begin to flood her mind. She grits her teeth as she sees Asami holding their kids in her arms. "Asami…" She whimpers. Suddenly she feels the gigantic tree tremble against her hands.

"Focus Korra!" She hears Toph yell from the ground.

The young Avatar nods before shaking the memory from her mind.

After what felt like hours she makes her way to the top. She takes in as deep breath as she can manage. "Okay Toph! Now what?" She yells.

"Fall!" Toph shouts.

Korra's eyes widen. "What!"

"You heard me! I said fall! Let go and fall!" The master bender says again.

"Are you crazy?!" Korra yells back.

Lesson 3: You're blind. Your body is what you use to see.

"Concentrate. Feel everything around you as you fall. I'll catch you." Toph says.

"How? You're not an airbender! How will you know where I am?" Korra says.

"Do you want to see or not? Just do it." Toph shouts. Korra's heart beats hard in her chest. She nods to herself then inhales deeply as she stands on top of a thick branch. "Jump back and fall."

Korra reluctantly does as she's told. She pushes off the tree as hard as she can. The wind rushes past her ears. She squeezes her eyes shut.

A minute later she feels herself being cradled by a mixture of leaves and earth. She trembles. "O-okay. W-what was I…supposed to see as I'm falling to my death?" She tries her to catch her breath.

Toph crosses her arms. "Get back to the top of the tree."

Korra shakes her head. "Toph, seriously."

"I'm serious Korra. Climb back to the top and jump again. You'll do it as many times as it takes." The earthbender says in a strangely gentle tone.

"Tell me what I'm supposed to see." Korra commands.

"Everything. Just climb." Toph says.

She places her hand on the gruff teacher's shoulder. "Toph, please. I can't figure this out if you don't tell me what I'm looking for."

"You'll know when you see it."

Forgetful Valley

Asami sighs as they trek through the valley. Chelse hadn't said two words to her since they left Air Temple Island. If she didn't know any better she would swear the woman was angry with her. She clears her throat. "Chelse, do we have a problem?"

The executive assistant glances back at her while chopping a branch with a machete. "No, why?"

"Because you haven't said anything since we left the island." Asami says.

Chelse continues chopping away. "I'm fine."

"Seika." Asami says.

The Fire Essence stops cutting and huffs through her nose. "Yes, Miss Sato?"

The heiress stares at the back of her wayward assistant's head. "Does your silence have something to do with my pregnancy?"

Chelse resumes cutting her way through the forest.

Asami has finally had enough. She grabs Chelse's shoulder. "There is no one else in this forest and you know it." She says as her eyes turn blue. Thousands of ice blades instantly cut them a path to the great mother's lake. "Why are you being so distant?"

The Fire Essence can't take it anymore. "Because this isn't fair!"

"What's not fair?" Asami asks genuinely confused.

"Why are you doing all this for it, huh? You never did anything for Tsuchi and me, not even when he almost destroyed himself. What's makes the last essence so special? Why do you keep pushing us aside? Why did you even create us?"

"Chelse, calm down. Please." Asami says cautiously as she watches a strange fog rolling in.

"Damn it mom! Stop! Just shut up and let me talk for once!" She says slapping Asami's hand away as the woman reaches out to her. Asami nods. "Y-you, you never cared! You never listened! Why? Why now!" She shouts. "What makes the last essence so special?! What about us!" She says covering her body in black flames. "I told you that he needed you! I told you that he wasn't ready to separate from Mizu! Why didn't you listen? None of this had to happen. You never listen!"

A grey blue mist slowly begins to cover the ground. "Seika. Seika! Chelse stop! Look!" Asami says as she points above the livid woman's head.

"What! What is it now?!" The Fire Essence shouts.

A huge winged being materializes behind her. "Master." The creature says as it bows its head. Chelse takes a step toward the CEO only to watch the creature almost teleport itself in front of Asami. "Extinguish…your…flames…daughter of Fire."

Chelse grits her teeth. "No one but the Mothers have the right to command to me, spirit."

The creature flaps its massive wings. The Fire Essence starts choking as the air is sucked from her lungs.

Asami quickly moves to stand in front of Chelse. She unleashes waves of ice spikes at their attacker. "Leave her alone!" Asami shouts. The mist around the creature begins to dissipate revealing a gigantic cat owl. The flapping immediately ceases. Asami furrows her brow. "Who are you and what do you want?"

The creature cocks its massive head. "I am your guardian, great mother."

Chelse and Asami look at one another while she catches her breath. They both knew that Azula was the pervious guardian assigned to the Mother of Faces. Hundreds of questions begin flying through their minds. With everything that had happened over the last few months when had this new guardian been assigned and by who, and why? Asami certainly wasn't the one responsible for it.

Asami clears her throat while helping Chelse to her feet. "Where are the mothers?" She asks the feline-like guardian.

The creature points its wing toward the lake. "This way." A void opens above the lake.

The two women float up into it. Chelse's eyes widen as the guardian comes in after them. "W-what is this?" She asks. Four colossal trees were twisted, intertwined, and interlocked reaching straight up into the vast emptiness of space.

Asami's jaw drops. "It's, it's them." She whispers.

"What?" Chelse says in shock. "That's impossible."

"I can feel it." The raven haired woman says as the other three guardians step into the void from other locations. She turns to the cat owl. "Why are they like this? What happened?"

The creature opens its catlike mouth, then closes it a few seconds later. "I…do not know, great mother. We were hoping to ask you."

Chelse steps forward and places her hand on the massive trunk. She closes her eyes and sighs. "Abandoning us again, huh."

Asami swallows softly remembering what her assistant said to her earlier. She cautiously puts her hand on the woman's shoulder. "Chelse…"

The Fire Essence huffs from her nose while keeping her gaze lowered. "I'm sorry for yelling at you. This isn't your fault. Without her memory you're not her." She turns finally giving Asami some eye contact. "We need to talk to the others about this."

Asami nods then turns to her new guardian. "So, if I'm the Mother of Faces when did I choose you?" The heiress asks.

"You chose me the moment your released your previous guardian." It says.

Asami looks up at the gargantuan tree. "Why is it so tall?" She says remembering that she'd only ever seen the mothers grow to 25 stories.

"Because it was necessary." The cat owl says.

"That's a lie. There's no reason for them to increase their height that much. There's nothing up there but space." Chelse says.

Asami shakes her head. "Chelse let's stop by the library before we head back. I need to talk to Shi-Shi about this."

"Oh please that owl doesn't know any more than we do." The Fire Essence says.

"He knows the library. And it's as old as the mothers are. Let's go."

Later that day…

The Swamp

Korra wasn't sure how many times she'd climbed that tree but she was sure she was tired. "Toph please, tell me what I'm supposed to see." She says after having almost fallen to her death yet again. She was grateful that the curmudgeonly earthbender had actually caught her each and every time she jumped.

Korra plops down on the ground and takes a few steadying breathes. "Okay, I'm done for a while. This is too much for my heart."

Toph shakes her head then creates an earth seesaw and launches Korra back to her feet. "No you're not. Get back up that tree."

The obstinate Avatar lays back down and shakes her head no.

Toph raises a challenging eyebrow. "Okay fine."

"Really?" Korra says furrowing her brow.

Toph cracks her knuckles and neck. "I haven't tried this on a person before. This should be fun."

"What?" Korra says before she is catapulted into the air at breakneck speed. "Ahhhhhhhh!"

"You might want to grab onto something before you start falling!" The earthbender yells.

The Avatar frantically waves her arms and legs through the air trying desperately to feel something, but it's too late. The air rushing past her face is coming so fast it almost cuts her skin. She's falling. Just like she'd been doing for the last few hours. But this time was different. She was scared but not like she was before.

With her eyes practically welded shut the Avatar reaches out. Ripples begin flashing through her mind. She takes a deep breath as the outline of a tree forms in her vision. She's just about to airbend herself toward it when she slams into the ground. "T-To-ph…why?" She mumbles wondering why the earthbender hadn't caught her.

"You'll find out in the morning. Go to sleep."


Republic City

Spirit Portal

It took them a few hours to get back to the city. The quickest way to the library was through this portal.

Before they enter Asami suddenly grabs her assistant's arm. Chelse furrows her brow seeing the fear on Asami's face. "What? What is it? What's wrong?" There is a strange opaque glow around her body.

"Korra. She's hurt." Asami says as her eyes dart back and forth. She felt pain everywhere all at once.

"What?" Chelse gets out as Asami launches herself into the sky. Chelse's eyes widen. She looks around to make sure no one saw her fly off. "Damn it, Asami." Thank goodness there were lots of spirits flying around. Hopefully no one would notice that one of them looked like a certain raven-haired billionaire.

Half an hour later…

The Swamp

An abnormally tall earth wall juts up from the ground stopping Asami mid-flight. She scans the canopies and sees the woman who created it. "Toph, where is she?"

The master bender crosses her arms. "She's fine. Go home."

"No she's not. I felt it. Now take me to her." Asami commands.

"She needs to be hurt to finish her training. I promise she won't die. Now go home." Toph says as her ears twitch feeling Asami's movements. She immediately fills the air with earth and metal spikes surrounding Asami. "I know who you are Sato. And I know how much power you have. But don't be stupid."

"Excuse me?" The green-eyed woman almost growls while mentally preparing to fight her way to her lover.

"The kid knows you're pregnant and so do I. You don't want to get into a fight with me. Trust me. I know more about what's happening in your body than you realize." Toph says.

"Are you really threatening to hurt me and my children?" Asami says in disbelief.

"No. But I'm more loyal to Korra than I am to you and I'll do whatever it takes to help her. Now go home. She's having enough trouble keeping her memories together as it is. If she sees you now it'll mess up the progress she's made."

Asami's eyes begin to water as she remembers pushing her partner past her limits. "You know?"

"About your pregnancy and about her memory problems? Yeah. That's why she's out here. It's about more than her eyes." Toph says.

"At least let me heal her." Asami pleads.

"Are you deaf too? I said no. Korra's hard headed. She doesn't understand that her eyes are injured. It doesn't matter how they got that way. She's got to learn to manage it. Experiencing another trauma is the only way to get her to understand." The wise old woman says before huffing roughly. "I'll let you see her, but that's it. No talking, no sound, no smell, no touching, no nothing. She can't know you were here. You understand me?"

Asami wipes her eyes and nods. They walk slowly through the swamp. Asami sniffles. "Were you really going to fight me knowing what I can do?"

"I could ask you that same question. All six of you are arrogant. Think you know everything. You don't even know why you're getting sick." Toph says as Asami opens her mouth to speak. "Korra's the one who felt sick and those kids in your womb are made of both of you. Bet you didn't think of that did you?" Toph shakes her head. "Eons old and don't know nothing about nothing. I could out bend you with my hands behind my back." Toph says.

Asami stops walking hearing that. "Prove it." Toph stops as well. Asami suddenly finds herself flat on her back huffing from her nose. She's in complete shock. Her body was on the ground before she felt the earth beneath her feet move. "H-how? What…did you do?"

Toph turns her head slightly toward Asami. "Korra will show you once we finish training." She helps her up and they start walking again. "And you don't need to go see that owl."

"What?" Asami says.

"You all came here because there's something coming that only you can deal with. And whatever it is its coming from above the sky." Toph says.

Asami shakes her head in amazement. "How do you know that?"

"Look." Toph says pointing up to the gigantic tree Korra had been climbing.

"It's...growing. How is this possible?" Asami says as she watches new leaves sprouting from fresh branches.

"Don't know. Don't care. But I know you all are the only ones who can deal with it, being trees and all." The earthbender says nonchalantly.

Asami shakes her head again. She's in complete disbelief. "How does a blind recluse living in the middle of a swamp know the inner workings of the world?"

Toph shrugs. "I'm a good listener."

Little Water Tribe

Lin washes the dishes as Kya sweeps the floor. Things had been strained between them since Korra's last visit. Lin clears her throat. "So how's your mom doing?"

Kya stays focused on her task. "She's still refusing to let anyone heal her. She's got us all worried. And she doesn't want to hear what we have to say."

Lin nods with a small smile. "I'm sure the chief had a hand in that. Her stubbornness tends to rub off on people. She never wanted to listen to anyone."

Kya smirks. "That's definitely where my dad got his from."

Silence fills the room for a full minute.

Kya glances at Lin for a moment then continues sweeping. She takes a hesitant breath and swallows softly. "I saw Asami today."

Lin dries a cup and picks up a dish. She huffs from her nose and rolls her eyes. Sato was the last person she wanted to hear about. Try as she may, the topic of their cosmic identities was still too hard of a pill to swallow. She wanted nothing to do with any of it, especially their so called "kids". Korra asked them to check in on Asami before she left to train with Toph. Lin thought it best to keep her distance but apparently her partner had a different idea. "Oh yeah? How is she?"

Kya kneels down to pick up the dust pan. "She's pregnant." Lin involuntarily breaks the plate in her hand, clears her throat, then continues washing dishes. Kya rushes over and pulls her partner's hand out of the water. "Lin!"

The metalbender yanks her hand away and picks up a dry cloth to wrap around the cut. "I'm fine."

"No you're not. Let me heal you." Kya pleads. Lin squeezes her fist tightly around the towel and puts her hand out of the waterbender's reach. Kya reaches for her hand again only to have Lin pull it away. "Lin, will you stop please? What's the matter with you?"

The police chief clenches her jaw. "It's been 3 months since Korra left and you still haven't answered my question Kya."

The caramel skinned woman furrows her brow and shakes her head. "What question? Stop messing around and give me your hand." She says grabbing her partner's wrist.

Lin finally complies. She watches Kya unwrap the towel and stare at her hand. "How do you know we're not immortal? Did Sato say something to you?"

Kya swallows hard then blinks a few times before turning on the faucet and bending some fresh water onto Lin's wound. "No, she didn't. I…I just know."

Lin cups Kya's chin for some eye contact. "I asked you how." Kya averts her eyes then pulls away. Lin grabs the woman's forearm. "Talk to me." Kya keeps her back turned. Lin takes her hand and gently pushes up her sleeve to look at her wrist. Kya doesn't say a word. Lin releases her a few moments later and lets her leave the kitchen. "Babe, if you can't talk to me at least talk to your mom, or even Asami. I don't care, just talk to someone. You can't keep…" She hears the bathroom door close.

Lin shuts her eyes, shakes her head and sighs before following her lover. She gently knocks on the door. "Kya, you and Katara are the ones we've been going to whenever we're having issues. You're always there to listen. It's part of why I love you. But a lot has happened and no has any answers, not even Korra." There's no response. "We're supposed to be figuring this out together, right?"

Lin puts her hand on the door and speaks as softly as she can. She fights back tears. "You don't have to keep holding it in baby. Stop acting like none of this is affecting you. I'm scared too okay?" She takes a deep breath when the waterbender remains silent. "I've seen the marks on your wrists Kya. You've done a good job healing them. Their barely visible, but I've seen them."

The door slowly opens, Kya steps out with lowered eyes, and rests her head against the doorframe. "It's not what you think."

Lin swallows nervously. "Then…then what is it? Why are you harming yourself?"

Kya keeps her gaze on the floor. She swallows hard and exhales. "The Mother of Minds, Mother of Hands, Mother of Faces, Mother of Plexus. That's who we are."

Lin shakes her head no.

Kya finally raises her gaze and looks into her partner's eyes. "I spoke to my son last month."

The metalbender shakes her head again. "No! Kya stop. Why are you buying into their shit, huh? We don't have any children. We're not even…"

"Lin, I felt it the day I touched Asami, the day the water began to rise. I felt it when your metal spikes pierced her body. I felt it the day she put her hand through my chest. I felt it when she crushed your…"

"God damn it, Kya! Urgh! Fuck! Why? Why, huh? Why are you letting them in your head like this?" Lin yells.

Kya quickly cups her lover's cheek. "Are you listening to yourself baby? Did you hear what you just said?" Lin gulps and averts her eyes. Kya lifts her chin slightly to get more eye contact. "Those are not words we use in this world. That's not a part of our language. I'm not the only one who's been holding back, am I?" Lin pulls away. "You probably know more than I do since your (she stops herself from saying 'son')…since Genshō shared his memories with you."

Lin exhales quietly and blinks a few times. She hadn't meant to blow up like that. "I only saw the memories he had of me. Nothing else." She takes Kya's hand. "But that doesn't explain why you've been cutting yourself."

The mature waterbender shows Lin her wrist. "It was only a few times." She swallows hard. "I…I thought I might remember something. It seemed like pain was what sparked my memory before." She smirks sadly to herself. "I also thought the wounds would heal the way Asami's did." She looks into Lin's eyes. "I might give my life to save someone, but I'd never take my life Lin, never. I'm sorry for scaring you."

Lin pulls Kya into her arms and kisses her forehead. "Maybe we should go see that owl Korra told us about." Lin averts her gaze. "And Azula agreed to talk with me a while back too."

Kya's eyes widen as she pulls out of Lin's embrace. She runs toward the phone. "That's a great idea! I'll go call Jinora. You contact Azula."

Lin grabs her hand stopping her from leaving. "Hey let's take it slow okay. I'm still not sure how involved I want to be in all this." She lowers her eyes. "I still don't quite believe it."

Kya smiles softly. "One step at a time baby."

Spirit World

The Library

"Hello?" The Fire Essence says. She's in her energetic spirit world form.

"Well if it isn't the Essence of Fire." Wan Shi Tong says. "To what do I owe the honor, Master Seika?" He bows to her.

"Mizu says the library might know something about what's happened to the Mothers." She says.

Wan Shi nods. "Well the story of creation has changed recently."

"What?" Seika snaps.

"Ah, I see Mizu hasn't told you about it." The owl says.

Seika rolls her eyes. "Of course she didn't. It doesn't matter now anyway. No one has the power to undo what they've done. Just show me what's been changed."

Zaofu

Beifong Quarters

Opal caresses the curves of her protruding abdomen. Her baby bump was noticeably larger. She was about 4 or 5 months along. Bolin dutifully massages her feet. "How you feeling?" He asks. "Are you hungry? You're probably hungry, huh? Would it be okay if I told the cook to make you something?"

Opal shakes her head no. She knew she had been hard on him after he broke the news to Korra and the gang. "Baby I told you I'm fine. You don't have to keep checking in with me every time you want to do something."

Bolin focuses his attention on her swollen feet. "I'm never going to betray you again. We are a team, a duo, a duet. We do things together. Ours is a partnership that will stand the test of time. No matter how many waves crash against us, our ship will never sink as long as we work together and…"

Opal sighs. "Bo, honey stop. Please. Look at me." Their eyes meet. "I was being a jerk to you. My mom told me it was because my body was changing. There was nothing wrong with you telling your family about my pregnancy. I just got scared because I didn't want my family finding out before I could tell them. You didn't betray me, okay? I'm sorry I couldn't communicate with you the way I wanted to."

Bolin lowers his eyes. "Are you sure? I don't want to make you mad at me again."

She reaches down and cups his chin bringing their lips together. "Yes, I'm sure. And I'm also sure that I will be mad at you again at some point."

"Huh?" He says with fear in his eyes.

Opal smirks. "Bolin no couple is happy with things 100% of the time. And let's not forget that I'm pregnant. Maybe you should have a talk with my dad. He and my mom have a lot of experience."

"Really? How much experience?" He asks genuinely.

Opal furrows her brow. "Well, I have four brothers so…"

"Oh right." Bolin nods. "I see what you mean."

Opal shakes her head and smiles appreciating how adorable her soon to be husband is. "I love you."

Four Elements Hotel

Azula sits alone in her meditation room. She'd been there for the last five hours. Mako paces outside the room. Ty La rolls her eyes. "Mako will you stop carving a path into the floor please. She's fine."

"What if something's wrong? She's usually only in there for two hours. Why aren't you worried?" He says.

"Maybe because she's stronger than the both of us combined. And if she needed our help she would tell us." The chi blocker says.

She gets up from the chaise, walks over, and takes his hand. "Come here." She says pulling him toward the bedroom. "Since you have so much energy let's put it to good use."

He smirks and follows her. "You aren't worried about her getting mad?"

She shuts the door behind him then backs him up against it. Their eyes lock. "No, not anymore." She slides her hand down into his shorts. "Mmm, and it looks like you aren't either. Let's try not to disturb her, shall we. We'll need heirs once she's crowned."

"Wait, what?" He asks as she pulls him into a kiss.

Inside the meditation room Azula nods while speaking within her mind. She sits in a circle with the other Mother's guardians. "I understand. Have you tried bonding with them from beneath the root system? They must have left the information in a different section of the void. No, they wouldn't have shared that knowledge beyond this dimension. The last child isn't the cause. There must be something within this universe that requires them to create their present form. The other children don't seem to be aware of it. Keep searching and watching. Alert me if their bodies change shape again. I'll connect with their human incarnations and inform you."

Azula opens her eyes and is greeted with the sound of her future wife's moans echoing throughout the suite. She should have been happy but she was worried. The other guardians were in regular contact with her. It meant that the mothers hadn't been communicating with them. That was a problem.

She walks to the bedroom door. It pleased her to hear her lovers together, but she wondered what kind of world their children would live in if the Mothers remained in this dimension. The future Fire Lord takes a deep breath and gently knocks on the door. "May I join you?"

The Swamp

Toph stops Asami. "That's close enough."

The heiress' brow creases. They were over 200 meters away from Korra. "Are you kidding me?"

"No I'm not. Your senses are strong. You should be able to see her from here. I don't want you getting any closer. The kid's been training hard. She doesn't realize that she's made progress. She'll sense you if you get any closer." Toph says.

Asami lowers her eyes. She was desperate. Now that she was so close to Korra she almost couldn't restrain herself. "I can erase my presence. She won't know I'm…"

"She'll know. She'll know because I know. This swamp is living energy. She's out here learning to connect with it. Even if you evaporated yourself this swamp could still pick you up." Toph moves to stand in front of Asami. "Look, I know you miss her, but if you don't let her finish this…"

"I know." Asami says softly. She takes a deep breath and focuses her eyes on a point in front of her. Within a few seconds, she can see Korra sleeping soundly on a moss bed. She closes her eyes and drowns out the sounds around her until all she can hear is the sound of her partner breathing.

"Sami…" Korra whispers.

Asami's eyes slowly open allowing tears to fall.

Toph earthbends them further away. "Figures her senses get stronger when she's sleeping. You need to leave."

"Just a few more minutes, please." Asami whimpers

"Leave." Toph says. "It's only going to get harder the longer you stay."

Asami nods. "How much longer will she be training?"

"Depends on her. Now get going." Toph says.

"Tell me what made her get sick." The CEO says.

"Talk to her when she's back in Republic City."

TBC…