Title: Disobeying Destiny

Summary: AU in which Tonraq and Senna never revealed Korra as the Avatar, and like Aang, had initially avoided her Avatar duties out of fear of global enemies. The world is in chaos due to her cowardice. While fighting in the front lines of another Water Tribe Civil War, Korra struggles with trying to ignore her destiny, and all her enemies from the entire series at once.

Chapter One

There was fog for miles, and as it blended in with the brightness of the expanse of snow, one almost felt like they were surrounded by a celestial glow. But this was not heaven, this was hell. Korra stood in a hidden snow trench with the rest of her company, her long hair lightly dancing with the wind, and watched in high alert for the first sign of Northern Water Tribe warriors. According to a scout, the invaders had been spotted coming their way and would cross paths within the hour. Well, that was almost two hours ago, and Korra and her fellow brother- and-sisters-in-arms were getting tense by the second. She scanned her company from her peripheral vision, calculating their chances of victory by creating bender and non-bender ratios in her head. There were exactly 150 warriors in this company stationed in the wild outskirts of the Southern Water Tribe, and only 50 were benders. Many of the water-bending masters had be reserved for inner-city defense and guarding important social figures, so it was safe to say that you would find more non-bending warriors here in the field than you would in the more densely populated areas. The strongest soldiers protected the people, while the rest protected the land. In the young warrior's mind, the land was equally important and worth defending, because the more land you lost to the enemy; the better they could suffocate the population. Lose the wilds and you lose lumber and earthly material for economics and weapons building. Lose the wilds and you lost hunting and farming grounds. Lose the wilds- the only thing between them and their enemy, and the Northern Water Tribe would be at their doorstep. Losing the wilds meant eventual and inevitable civilian casualties.

But maybe this battle would be a secured victory… they had the Avatar on their side after all, they just didn't know it. When Korra was an innocent young child, she had discovered that she was blessed with more than her ethnicity's lineage of water-bending, but could also fire bend and earth bend. She had stumbled across this power in the safety of her home, and her parents immediately forbid her to bend those elements, panic displayed across their faces. Normally, parents would be thrilled to know they had given birth to the Avatar, but times had reverted back to how they were in the days of Avatar Aang. The Avatar cycle was once again under a genocidal attack. The one free city that was built for co-existence had been taken over by a radical political party known as the Equalists, and their powerful masked leader, Amon, had gone on a genocidal rampage, stripping as many benders as he could of their powers in public assemblies, forcing benders who didn't fight back to flee for their lives, desperately trying to escape the city and claim asylum back in their bending-nations… if their leaders would take them. Fire Lord Izumi had welcomed all the fire-bender refugees from Republic City, and even non-benders who refused to join Amon's order. The Earth Queen accepted earth-benders too- not as honorably as the Fire Lord, not many were admitted to Ba Sing Sae, but were allowed to stay in villages in the countryside. As for the Air Benders… yes, air benders, they overcrowded the Air Temples for safety.

Korra had avoided her Avatar duties, yet took pride in her power. However, for as evasive as she was, she still could not escape Raava, being inside herself after all. The ancient spirit had at least convinced the young warrior to do her ordained duty by fighting Vaatu. Korra had slipped away from home, opened the Southern Portal, transcended to the Spirit World, then opened the North Portal and waited for the battle. Even though she had hid her Avatar status from everyone in her social circle aside from her parents, she did confide in one other person without her parents' notice: Katara. As the widow of her previous life, Korra had confided in the water-bending master her spiritual identity, and asked on her to help her practice her other elements in privacy, especially air, the one she struggled with the most. But with enough time and seclusion, she had tapped into that part of her power, albeit her weakest one at the time, but she had finally unlocked it, thanks to Katara's counsel and support. Her victory over Vaatu had released such spiritual energy into the world that Air Benders were resurfacing! But that wasn't the only big news in the world. While Korra rejected her Avatar duties, the world was clueless as to if the Avatar was even in the Water Tribes at all. It had been eighteen years since Avatar Aang's passing that people were wondering if the Avatar was in hiding, or if he or she had died before being presented to the world. Many believed that was the reality, and that the cycle could be in any region by now! Who knows how many times the Avatar had died and been reborn in those 18 years, if they weren't in hiding? But thanks to her success in Harmonic Convergence, the world now knew that whoever this Avatar was, they were old enough to handle a tremendous spiritual battle.

"The Avatar has been among us all along," a Southern Water Tribe warrior had read one day from a newspaper, as he and Korra and the rest of their company dined on preserved food in the mess hall. "Equalist Leader, Amon, was quoted saying 'The Avatar's cowardice to participate in the physical world does not bother me at all. Let him or her do their duty in the spiritual grounds. That's where the Avatar belongs anyway, not with us. The day they try to seize power in the physical world, the Equalists will be waiting.' Fire Lord Izumi urges the Avatar to make him or herself known in the safety of the Fire Nation, while the Earth Queen offered no comment. Air-bending master Tenzin, son of the late Avatar Aang, also begs for the Avatar to resurface and help fight the injustices that are running rampant across the world."

One of the conditions Korra made Katara swear was to not let her children know that she was the reincarnation of their deceased father… she would reveal herself in time. But the Avatar was running out of time. The world was crumbing around her. Katara witnessed this fear and procrastination in the Water Tribe warrior, and tried not to give negative counsel, but the elder could not put the worldly news in any other light. The Earth Queen had suddenly been assassinated one day, targeted by a group called the Red Lotus, who had reemerged into society at the evidence of this elusive Avatar achieving victory in Harmonic Convergence, and it was rumored that the Equalists were trying to build an alliance with the mysterious order to track down the Avatar together. The Earth Kingdom was in shambles, and scrambled at the feet of a "savior" named Kuvira, who was turning the Earth Kingdom into a militaristic nation. How much longer was the Avatar going to sit idle as the world fell apart? "Let me end this war first", Korra had gritted through her teeth at Katara one day, "One thing at a time…"

But how long would it take for this war to end? It had only been a year, and there really wasn't any progress. They were in the same boat they were since the start- defending the outskirts … and the portal.

Korra's eye caught movement from the end of the trench. Their captain raised a fist silently as he took down his spyglass. "They're here…" he said in deathly whisper. Korra scanned the horizon from their trench, seeing through the visible breath coming from her and the other soldiers, and saw faint outlines of a moving mass of people. Soldiers for sure from the North; their light purple tunics somewhat visible in the fog. "Ready," whispered the captain. Korra and the benders created massive ice shards in unison, suspending them in the air, as the non-benders readied bows with arrows. As their opponents continued their walk through the fog and they became more visible for the captain to confirm their identity, their leader nodded and shouted "Fire!"

Through the openings of the trenches shards of ice and arrows flew, whistling through the crisp air and crashing and piercing into the enemy force. The sharp cries of their injured and those quickly descending to death echoed throughout the air. There was a command mixed with the pain in the air, and soon the Northerners charged viciously down the snowy field, charging spikes and arrows down to the now visible trench, their surprise attack giving away their location.

"Fire at will!" commanded the Southern captain, "Hold your positions!" Shards of ice and arrows were shot out of the trench in a rapid fashion, crashing down by the charging military force, taking only a few soldiers into the afterlife.

"Watch out!" Cried a soldier next to Korra, and all the Southern warriors tried to retreat from their openings at the trench, as large boulders of ice were smashed against them, caving some of the trench's foundation in.

Shaking the snow and debris from herself, Korra cautiously made her way to her captain, dodging ice spikes and bone-tipped arrows along the way. "Captain, we have to engage in open combat!" she shouted over the sound of the trench collapsing, ice shattering, arrows whizzing, and battle cries merging into an all-too-familiar song of death. The captain had seen his fair share of battle, and had been a seasoned fighter for over thirty-five years, but even he knew he had to let his troops disperse to the battlefield. Staying in the collapsing trench would only trap his forces and bury them in wood and snow. He nodded, then looked over Korra's shoulder to the rest of the soldiers.

"Charge!" he commanded, and the Southern Water Tribe forces ran out of the trench, emptying the front line to make way for the rest of the company waiting inside the barrack rooms further beneath the ground. The swarm of blue rushed by Korra's vision, and the warrior soon scrambled to the battlefield with her brothers and sisters, their captain charging in behind her.

Reaching behind her back, Korra pulled out from a harness a long spear, gripping it in her right hand while reserving her left and for bending. Not many warriors carried this ethical style of war like Korra did. While everyone did have a melee weapon of some sort, bender or not, Korra tried to reserve her spear with combat against non-benders, making the duel as fair as possible. When it came to one-on-one or open field combat, Korra would try to never use bending on someone who did not have the gift. Running briskly across the deep field of snow, Korra passed many of her fellow warriors and collided into an opponent first. The two of them crashed into the cold inches of snow, but instinctively scrambled back to their feet. Holding her spear in both hands, the Avatar watched her enemy, immediately taking a defensive stance first. She needed him to reveal if he could bend or not before she made her first strike. With a growl, the Northern warrior reached for a sword at his belt, and unsheathed it. Non-bender. Korra lunged forward, extending her spear with her right arm, aiming for the man's gut. The man quickly reacted, and swatted the spear off target with his sword. Korra made a step to the side to stay aligned with her weapon, and made a quick evasive roll away from the man as his sword came crashing down into the ground, failing at an attempt to hack a limb off of her. He turned around, not letting her take advantage of any vulnerability, but as he turned to face her, the young warrior thrust her spear with both arms, and impaled the man straight through his heart. Blood streamed down the staff of her spear and met her hands as the dying man fell to his knees. Korra pushed him down onto his back with her foot, applying pressure to his chest. She ripped the spear out, as blood sprayed out of the wound and onto the pristine snow. As she watched the life fade from the Northern warrior's eyes, Korra couldn't help but feel ashamed. She was doing her duty as a warrior of her homeland. What she was doing was right on that front, but she couldn't help but wonder what Raava thought, staying dormant in her body. Did the Avatar kill? Was she leading a blasphemous Avatar life simply by taking life, even in a fair fight for a righteous cause?

Her mind returned to the battlefield as she saw a constant rumble of blue, purple, white, and red clash all over the battlefield. Ignoring the blood drying to her hands, she shifted her spear back into a defensive hold and continued charging down the field, throwing ice spikes at bending Northerners, and puncturing weapon-wielding counterparts, shedding blood with her company. She didn't know how long the battle lasted, or how many lives she hand ended herself, all that she knew was that they were victorious when her bloodlust had subsided and she saw the destroyed field in front of her. It was funny how earlier that day the field had looked celestial. The pristine heavenly snow was disturbed and scattered and had soaked up every drop of blood that drained out of a fallen warrior, north and south. Bodies were scattered across the field in nightmarish positions, some missing limbs, some contorted with broken bones, intestines displayed from being sliced across the stomach, empty eyes staring at unknown gods in the sky, mouths semi-open from taking their last breaths or saying their last words.

Korra turned away from the massive grave to account for her surviving members, and soon found the captain sitting against a dead Northerner, trying to catch his breath.

"You're wounded," Korra said, as she knelt by her leader, taking notice of blood showing through his tunic on his shoulder.

"It's nothing," his breathed staggered, "listen, Lieutenant, I need you to travel to the Council of Elders and let them know of our victory, and that we need reinforcements to replace our dead. While you are there, make sure they organize morticians to be sent to us to collect our fallen warriors, and give them a proper funeral."

The Avatar nodded, accepting her orders as healers came from the collapsed trench to aid to all still alive on the field. Korra went deep into the trenches to find the stable they kept for all their animals. The further down into the trench, the closer you got to a secondary entrance. She would use that to exit the bunker and travel to the capital city. She chose her favorite steed… a polar bear dog she affectionately named Naga.

When she had arrived to the Council of Elders, she had interrupted a meeting in progress.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," the warrior said, walking towards the members present, "but I come with urgent news regarding our civil war."

"Speak," said one of the elders, eyeing her skeptically. Korra had forgotten to wash up. She was so determined to carry out her mission she was now standing before the Council with dried blood across her face and hands, sticking to her long flowing tangled hair, and her warrior tunic torn here and there, with caked mud and dirt clinging to the fabric. A man in nice clothes and a perfectly groomed mustache was standing near her, frowning at her appearance. He must have been the citizen who the Council had been holding a meeting with before she barged in.

"We were just recently attacked at the North Fields bunkers by Unalaq's forces. We achieved victory, but have lost many soldiers and require reinforcements. We have depleted the entire attacking force, save for some prisoners of war, if anyone survived. The North will not know that they lost troops in this crossing, so there is the risk that troops will continue trying to cross it. My captain also requests that funeral services be granted to our dead."

"Granted," said the old man who had addressed her from the council. "Congratulations on your victory, young warrior, and condolences for your departed. Please, rest before returning to your company."

"Thank you," Korra said, bowing respectfully to the Council. She began to turn around and walk away when the man with the peculiar mustache started talking.

"Like I was saying…" he went on in a rather rude tone, "She is offering to help our cause!"

"But doesn't Future Industries supply the Equalists?" boomed the voice of another council member.

"Yes, but it's a half-effort. Basically just to keep herself in good-graces, and most importantly- alive. I got in contact with her through the Triple Threats in Republic City. Mafia activity is the only resistance to the ethnic cleansing of bending that is happening in Republic City. All the gear they have, they were supplied with by Ms. Sato. Fortunately, she doesn't know that they were the ones who killed her father… since they did it through non-bending ways so no one would expect the murderer of the Equalist's main supplier to be a bender. They made it look like non-benders who robbed him for his wallet. Anyway… she is 100% pro-bender. Well, not a pro-bender like the sport, but you know what I mean!"

The man's voice was so animated and energetic, that the rambling made the Avatar smile as guards began to pull open the doors for her to exit.

"Yes, Varrick, but why exactly did she agree to help the Southern Water Tribe? There is a difference between supporting benders in terms of equality and supporting benders in a civil war," continued the deep-voiced councilman.

"I told her we have the Avatar on our side."

Korra froze in her tracks.

"We do not have the Avatar. Or at least, not to our knowledge. No one knows where the Avatar is or from which region they herald from currently."

"Well, she doesn't need to know that," Varrick huffed. "She's so intrigued by spirituality that she'll probably just believe me and ship us all the weapons and tanks we need."

"And you don't think that she'd want to see the Avatar for herself?" the voice of the booming councilman echoed through the meeting room, like the voice of an angry spirit from the heavens. "Or tip off the Equalists?! Do you know what danger you could have put us in as a whole if this inventor of yours doesn't know how to keep quiet!?"

Author's note: So I realize that it is hard for Korra to face all her enemies at once, especially Unalaq since Harmonic Convergence has passed, but trust me, all will be explained soon, and this is an AU, liberties with the story are obviously going to be taken. I also give very thorough explanations via PM lol. Sorry if people don't like the thought of Korra killing… but I wanted to put a realistic touch on the militaries of the Avatar Universe. Since Korra is running away from her Avatar responsibilities, she chose a "normal life" by being a warrior for just her people… but being a warrior may just be the viewpoint Korra needs to see that the Avatar is almost the same thing? Hmm? Hmmmm? Anyway, comments feed me lol