Alright, Here's Chapter 2! This is still not my stuff…

Chapter Two

Tenzin, the sole Airbending Master and the youngest son of Avatar Aang was slowly pacing about the terrace that overlooked the dock leading to Republic city. He was worried sick about Korra. While she was the Avatar, she was also still a young woman with no experience in the city, especially this late at night. His pacing led him past the guard shack for the hundredth time that night and he stepped inside.

"Good Evening, Master Tenzin." One of the White Lotus guards stood from his seat and bowed out of respect. He was a non-bender, and carried a short sword on his belt and a long spear that rested in the corner. Behind him a clock showed that it was almost four in the morning.

"Good evening, Jin." Tenzin glanced at the rotary phone mounted to the wall. He was considering calling the police station and reporting the Avatar missing, but quickly realized that could send them into a panic. "Any word from the guard posts of Korra coming up from a different direction?"

Lin shook his head. "I just returned from my rounds five minutes ago, sir. No one has seen or heard from her since she left this morning."

Tenzin sighed deeply and rubbed his hand across his bald head. "Very well…"

"I've told the men to alert me as soon as she is spotted. I'm sure she is alright, sir." Lin spoke softly, trying to encourage the older man.

"Agni, I hope so…" Tenzin shook his head to clear some of his sleepy fog and walked back outside to the path he was wearing into the grass to continue his pacing. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed blue and white movement. It took his eyes a moment in the darkness, but he recognized the figure of a White Lotus guard was sprinting towards the shack.

With an air bending assisted hop, he landed at the doorway just as the man had started speaking. "Avatar Korra and someone else are swimming in on here Polar Bear dog from the city right now!" The guard spoke quickly before gasping for air after his armored sprint.

Tenzin wasted no time, moving down to the dock on an air scooter to wait for the young Avatar to emerge. After about two minutes, he could make out a small wake in the water and the white form of Naga kicking towards them.

"Tenzin!" Korra stood up on Naga's saddle and waved before jumping into the water and bending herself over to dock. The water turned to partially to ice on the surface, allowing her to slide the last few feet and slam into Tenzin's chest to meet him with a hug.

"Korra, where have you been? I was worried sick!" Tenzin held his hands on her shoulders after breaking the hug. Any plan he had to seriously scold her or punish her was gone when he felt as if she was trembling.

"We were at Amon's rally." She hung her head in shame, knowing he had expressly forbidden her to go there. "I had to see for myself, Tenzin…. He can take people's bending away… for good."

"Then he is much more of a threat then the council and I anticipated." Tenzin hugged her once more. He looked around and noticed Naga standing behind her and a man climbing down out of her saddle. He was clean cut, with grey pants and a black t-shirt that looked nothing like the style from the city, or any he had ever seen before. He had a bag slung over his shoulder and he just seemed to be waiting for them to finish.

"And just who are you?" Tenzin moved to place himself between Korra and the man, even though he had just seen her riding up with him.

"Tenzin, this is Roland." Korra moved past him to where she now stood between the two. Roland approached by taking two long strides forward and reached out to shake Tenzin's hand at the same moment that Tenzin bowed. They both looked at each other for a moment before deciding it wasn't worth the explanation.

"Sir, I have a feeling you're gonna need to be brought up to speed a bit." Roland glanced at Korra and then looked around at the air temple a bit. High towers and lots of curves seemed to make up the entire building, it was very Hindu monkesk. Not that Roland had ever visited the Hindus, but he'd read about them. Most of the windows were darkened as it was late, but a few were lit with air acolytes awakening to begin their day.

Tenzin nodded slowly. "Let's go into the tea room." He looked at the dark night sky and saw the tiniest hints of sunrise to the East. He shook his head and turned, knowing he wasn't going to be getting much sleep.

Korra led the way and immediately grabbed a pair of apples from the tea table. She bit into one and tossed the second to Roland "Humfgy?" she muttered through the apple bits.

Roland caught it and nodded his thanks before taking a seat. "Korra don't talk with food in your mouth!" Tenzin scolded as the three eased into the cross legged position around the low table. As the sun rose, Korra explained everything that had happened at the rally with Amon and how she had come across Roland in the alley way while fleeing. Then he took over and explained about his background as a UNSC Spartan and what he remembered from before he blacked out and woke up with Bolin over him. The two both conveniently left out the small fight that had happened in the guys attic room.

"You said you saw a large flash of light and then he was laying there?" Tenzin rubbed his eyes sleepily as he asked. It had been a long night indeed.

"Yes, it was kind of purplish, and there was a wave of heat too, but then I heard a clanking sound and he was here." Korra said for the third time.

Tenzin stroked his beard in thought. "And you say you just remember an explosion?"

Roland nodded. "We had explosives all over that area. C12 combined with the plasma makes quite a big boom."

Tenzin stood and stretched his tired bones while looking out the window. Staying up this late was a young man's game, not his own anymore. He measured each word carefully before speaking them. "I do not know of the science or magic from you world, Roland." He turned to face the two sitting at the table once more. "However, to me, this sounds like the works of the spirit world."

Korra shot a quick glance at Roland who raised his eyebrow in question. "Spirit world?" He inquired almost sarcastically. The only references he had for spirits were from his studies. Many ancient races worshiped their ancestors and built shrines to them. "Like ghosts who haunt you?"

"Somewhat… In our world, the Spirits live in a separate world of their own. Many Spirits can come in and out of our world, but only the Avatar can go into the Spirit world and return." Tenzin paused in thought for a moment. "Well, I guess the late General Iroh was an exception. But from what I have heard, it wasn't easy."

Now it was Roland who thought these people were crazy. If anything, he would have chalked it up to the force of the plasma explosion somehow ripping time and space apart and sending him here. He and Jonah had never actually been briefed on what was being researched in the covenant facility they had destroyed.

"Well, either way. I am here now and Korra saved my life." Roland unconsciously rolled his shoulder again. He knew how much damage he had sustained, the vitals display in his HUD had made it quite clear and he had resigned himself to die, but somehow this seventeen year old had saved him. "The least I can do is help y'all out some."

"That is precisely it" Tenzin nodded as he sat back down. "The Spirits are the one's who granted the first human's and animals the ability to bend. Without them, you might well have succumbed to your injuries."

Roland wasn't sure if it was the loss of blood, the forty hours lack of real sleep, or a concussion, but his head pounded in pain as he tried to understand this alien world. "Animals can bend the elements too?" He placed his head in his hands and rubbed his temples.

"Not all of them, just a few." Korra tried to reassure Roland that he wasn't insane. She couldn't help but notice the scars on his hands and arms now. They were thin, and obviously several years old, but it looked as if his body had been flayed apart in places.

"I'm sure I'll wrap my head around this with a little sleep." Roland wished for a stim pack. Just a little something to perk his mind a bit.

Tenzin nodded and stood to his feet. "I'll inform the guards that you are a guest and are to be treated with the utmost respect."

"Thanks, Tenzin." Korra smiled as she and Roland also stood.

"Well, morning is upon us, and none of us has had a wink of sleep. I am going to try to rest until the noon meal, but I'm sure Meelo will have none of it." Korra smirked as the image of Tenzin's son Meelo jumping upon him the second he laid down flashed through her mind.

"We can figure out a proper rooming arrangement for you at lunch, Roland. For now, Korra, you can find somewhere for Roland to sleep."

"I don't know which rooms are where…" Korra said, as she tried to orient herself. She thought the male dormitory was off of the temple, facing the Sky Bison stables.

Tenzin sighed and waved his hand towards her as he walked towards his room. "Just get an air acolyte to direct you and we'll ensure it is set up at lunch."

"Okay!" Korra turned and ran off with far to much energy for not having slept. The firebender in her loved the sunrise, although she knew the high would wear off shortly she wanted to make the most of it.

"Thank you, sir. Have a good few hours of sleep." Roland bowed and turned to followed Korra towards the dormitories. He could never get used to how civilians thought they needed SO much sleep. If he got three hours of unbroken sleep, he could function for more than twenty hours without an issue, thirty or more with a stim pack. Most civilians wanted at least eight or ten.

"Sorry, but I am still rather new here myself." Korra said from up ahead as she spoke with an air acolyte carrying what was obviously a very heavy bail of hay towards the sky bison stables. "Can you direct me to the empty male rooms?"

The acolyte turned and jerked his head in the direction he had been. "They are over this way, Avatar. Follow me" And with that, he continued walking towards the stables, nearly bumping right into Roland.

Roland laid a hand softly on the man's shoulder to stop him falling over in shock. "Would you like a hand with that, friend?" He asked a gently as possible with a smile. Even out of his armor, Roland stood at nearly six and a half feet tall, making him one of the shorter Spartan III's and a massive two hundred and forty pounds. The armor added a few inches and a couple pounds, but this giant before the man was nothing but pure Spartan.

"Uhhhh…." The acolyte dropped his bale of hay and murmured in shock, unsure how to respond.

"It's alright!" Korra laughed as she gently shook the man. "Roland is a new friend of mine, and he'll be staying with us for a while."

Roland hoisted the bale of hay up onto his shoulder as if it was a bag of air and motioned with his free hand. "Lead the way."

Without a word, the man slowly led the way towards the rooms. Korra followed the two with a massive smile on her lips. When they reached the male dormitory the unoccupied doors were open and Roland simply squatted down to lean his bag against the frame before standing back up and looking at the acolyte once more. "Should we feed your bison?" He asked kindly. He truly did not mean to scare these people, but the man still hadn't said a word.

"Ummmm…" The bison have been let out for the morning" The man finally stammered out. "But you can just set it by the door over there."

Roland looked in the direction where the man was pointing. It was about twenty yards to a barn style door that must have led to the stables. Placing a hand on either side of the bundle, he thrust it in the direction of the wall. With a thwack, the bundle impacted a few feet off the ground before landing with a thud in the dirt.

The acolyte had watched the bundle soar through the air and land before turning to look back up at the Spartan. For the last six months he had been on bison duty and had struggled under these bundles every single day. Seeing that display caused him to go mute once more and simply stare.

"Oh, he's just showing off!" Korra shoved the man gently to snap him out of it. With a bow and no words, he turned and hustled over to the stables.

"I didn't mean to scare him so badly…" Roland smiled sheepishly.

"I know." Korra beamed up at him with delight. To her, it was amazing to see the two sides of Roland. The super soldier who seemed to have unrivaled strength, and then a boyish smile that made her heart flutter. "They'll get used to you." She leaned to the side to look past him into the room. "Are you gonna be okay in there?"

Roland glanced back into the room. It had a simple bed with a night stand, a chest of drawers, and a chair against the wall. "I'm sure I'll be just fine, I've slept in worse places than this for sure." He said as he turned back to face her.

Korra had shifted to tucking one arm behid her back and with the other she was fidgeting with her belt. Neither was sure what else to say, so they stood there for awkwardly for a few moments.

Finally she broke the silence. "I guess you'll have to tell me some time." She desperately wanted to get to know him better, but social graces aren't taught on the planet Onyx so Roland merely nodded to her and turned to leave.

"Sleep well, Korra." He said over his shoulder as he absentmindedly closed the door.

Korra's face fell slightly as he turned away. "You too…" She said softly as the door clicked shut. For a few moments she contemplated knocking and asking to come in and talk more, but maybe he wasn't interest in her that way, and his body definitely needed sleep. As the thought of sleep crossed her mind, she felt a wave of exhaustion sweep over her.

Korra turned and strolled back to her room, finding the door open as she left it and Naga curled up on the rug, taking up half of the room. The smell of wet dog hit Korra as she crossed the threshold and she realized she forgot to dry Naga off. She squeezed past and opened the window before bending all the water out of Naga's fur without waking her.

With that, Korra kicked off her boots, leaned back onto her bed. Her mind raced with thoughts and sleep didn't come easy at first. She thought of the Chi blockers she and Mako had fought and lost to what felt like days ago, but really had just been a few hours before. She thought of Amon and what he represented for the future or Republic City and for herself. She thought of Mako and Bolin and how glad she was that they were both alright, and finally she thought of the Spartan sleeping a few buildings away from her and what him coming here would do to change her life. Finally after several minutes she drifted into a strange, fitful sleep sleep.

While Korra had walked back and laid there thinking, Roland did a quick scan of the room. THe window and door were the only exits, so he placed the chest of drawers in front of the door and ensured the window was latched from the inside. Satisfied with his meager defesnive posture, he simply slid off the shoes Mako had given him, pulled his shirt over his head, placed his knife and holster on the night stand and laid down on top of the made bed. He pulled his M6C from the holster, checked to ensure the safety was on, and slide his arm under the pillow before rolling onto his side. This placed his back against the wall and his head facing the door. His eyes eased shut and moments later, he was asleep.

Pat pat pat… Korra's eyes shot open to the soft foot falls of someone running in the hallway outside her door. She stared at the window for a moment, confused as to why it was dark now. Had she slept all day? Shaking her head and still feeling exhausted, she flipped her pillow to the cool side and laid her head back down. Just as her cheek touched the cool fabric a chi blocker burst through the window a few feet from her face. She was up in a moment, spinning and sending a blast of fire into the chest of her assailant from her foot, knocking him back through the window he had entered though just as two more blockers broke down the door. They immediately dodged her attacks and closed with her in order to counter with their own.

Korra managed to get a solid fire hit on one of them as the second slid inside of her attack and landed several strikes on her right side. She felt her body go limp but managed to fire once more by throwing her left arm across her chest. The last shot was simply out of the last of her hope and it missed completely. This time, the other chi blocker struck her twice on her left side and once on the neck, which caused her entire body to fall out from under her. She landed on her chest, which forced her face painfully into the floor.

As she laid crumpled onto the ground, she noticed the spot where Naga should have been. Why wasn't she helping her? Heavy foot steps echoed in the hall and she was sure help had arrived. Was it Roland wielding his powerful pistol or Tenzin with his airbending?

As the shaped of a man crossed the threshold, what she saw took her breath away. It was Amon. His brazen presence on Air Temple Island took her breath away and he simply strolled into the room and looked about. "After I take your bending away, you will be nothing." His menicing voice filled the room as he stooped down and his hand filled her vision. Air entered Korra's lungs and she managed on last scream.

She jolted awake to Naga standing over her with head on her outside shoulder. She licked her face softly to try to reassure her that it would be alright. It had all been just a dream.

"Naga?" Korra pitifully moaned as she threw her arms around the Polar Bear Dogs massive neck and wept softly for a minute or more.

Naga pulled free after the crying slowed and licked Korra across her face again, trying to comfort her friend. "I'm alright now, girl." Korra said as she slid her feet onto the ground. She dressed quickly, ran her fingers through her bed head before placing it in her traditional way with a high ponytail and two piece of hair hanging down past her ears. With that, her stomach rumbled and she strolled out the door looking for food.

She found Tenzin and his family sitting down to what she thought was lunch in the dining room. "Where is Roland?" She inquired.

"I thought I would let him sleep." Tenzin replied. "After such an injury, I'm sure his body needs time to heal."

"Well, I'm glad I made it in time for lunch." Korra smiled as she sat down and pulled a plate of stewed seaweed towards her.

Tenzin's wife, Pema smiled sweetly at her as she started to inhale her food. "Korra, my dear, this is dinner."

Korra almost chocked as she looked up. "Reawwy?" she swallowed loudly to Tenzin's chagrin.

"Korra, please don't talk with food in your mouth!" He signed and shook his head while the children laughed.

"Korra slept all day!" Miki, the middle child laughed.

"But I still feel exhausted…" Korra sighed as she took another massive bite.

"You did have a very busy day…" Tenzin reminded her.

She looked up and slurped a weed into her mouth. This time swallowing before she spoke. "Is there any meat with this meal?" She asked, knowing full well the answer was no. The Air benders treated all life as sacred, and because of that, they were vegetarians.

Tenzin sighed once more. "No Korra, there is not. There has never been meat at a meal since you got here…"

Korra shot a knowing glance to Pema who looked down and smiled shyly without Tenzin seeing her. The rest of the meal was eaten in silence, and upon finishing, Tenzin stood.

"Get some more rest, Korra." He turned to leave with a swirl of his cloak. "We will continue with your air bending lessons in the morning."

"Horray…." Korra sighed sarcastically.

Shortly, it was just Pema and Korra sitting at the table. Pema glanced down the hall before pulling a small covered bowl from under the table. "Here, sweetie. I hope you feel better"

Korra smiled broadly. "Meat!" She exclaimed softly as she devoured the bowl. The Southern water tribe where she grew up was definitely not vegetarian, and Pema knew how much a little taste of home could help boost someone's spirits.

"I know Tenzin didn't say too, but why don't you take some food to that mysterious soldier boy?" Pema said as she started making a plate of food.

"I don't want to wake him…" Korra said between bites of succulent Opossum-Chicken. "But I guess I could just leave it inside for when he wake up."

"Good idea." Pema smiled. She finished making the plate and placed another small covered bowl on there with it. "Korra, this is for Roland…" She scolded, not wanting the Avatar to devour the second bowl as well.

"I know…" Korra rolled her eyes and grabbed the plate of food and a clay pitcher of water. "Thanks Pema! You're the greatest!" She hollered as she ran off towards Roland's room.

When she got to the male dormitories she realized her mistake. All the doors looked the exact same and she wasn't sure which one was his. Holding the pitcher in one hand with the plate balanced on top, she knocked softly on a door. After not getting an answer for a few seconds she eased it open into an empty room. She repeated this twice to no avail, and on the third door, she eased it open to see one of the oldest air acolytes pulling up his pants and nearly dropped the food out of shock.

"Eek" Korra screeched covering her mouth with her hand. The poor old man probably hadn't heard the knock, because he didn't even turn around as Korra slide the door shut.

Finally she came to what had to be Roland's door. She knocked softly and tried to open it, only to have the door barely crack and then bump into something hard. She heard a thud and a painful sigh of "Damn it, who's there!?" Roland hollered sleepily from inside.

"It's Korra." She spoke into the crack. "I brought you some food."

Furniture scraped away from the door and it eased open to reveal Roland's painful face. He was shirtless with his pistol tucked into his pants and his right arm cradled by his left.

"Good Morning" Korra smiled brightly as she stepped into the room.

"Mrpgh" Roland mumbled as he sat back down on the bed and placed his head into his good hand. "My head is pounding..." He stated plainly.

"What was that noise?" Korra asked as she sat the plate onto the chest of drawers.

"Umm…" Roland rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Your knock at the door startled me. I guess I slept on my arm funny with the injury and hen I pulled my pistol up, it fell on the floor."

Korra couldn't help but smile. "You're still not fully healed." She reminded him.

"I know… what time is it?" He asked rubbing his temples again.

Korra shrugged. "It's dinner time, so we both slept most of the day."

Roland looked at her quizzically. "Then why did you say 'Good morning'?"

She kind of shrugged. "It just seemed to fit the mood" She responded with a smile. "Would you like me to heal you some more?" She offered kindly.

Roland though for a moment. His body still hurt, and sleeping on his bad side hadn't helped at all. "Yes, please." He nodded.

Korra had him sit up on the edge of the bed. She grabbed the plate of food and set it to his left along with the pitcher of water. "You should eat while I do this, it's pretty boring."

Roland nodded and relaxed his arm for her. She closed her eyes and bent about half the water out of the pitcher. Roland watched in amazement as the orb of water floated past his face before flowing over his shoulder and chest.

"Feel free to drink the rest of it." Korra said absentmindedly as she started to focus on healing the bones in the same manner as before. Roland nodded his wordless understand as the water started to glow.

Over the next ninety minutes, Roland split his time by slowly eating his meal and watching. He was trying his best not to distract the Avatar at all and so he moved as if he was under observation by the enemy. Slowly moving his good arm down to the food and picked up a peace, then returning it in the same manner and chewing softly, not allowing his movements to affect any other part of his body.

In between bites he watched Korra work. Her arms moved slowly and rhythmically across his skin, and her touch felt soft and comforting. His headache had started to subside and the cooling water felt wonderful where ever it touched, never warming up with his body heat.

The vegetables, rice, tofu, and chicken tasting meat were all quite tasty, but the seaweed was slimy and not at all something he wanted to consume if he could avoid it. He left it piled neatly on the plate before slowly picking up the pitcher and downing it in a few large gulps before placing it back onto the end of the bed.

Finally, Korra looked up at him with her deep blue eyes and smiled. "How's that feeling?" She asked good-heartedly.

The Spartan rolled his shoulder forward, backwards, and shrugged it up and down a few times before responding. "It feels far better. Thank you once again, Avatar." He half bowed with a playful smirk on his face, causing Korra to laugh at the thought of Roland and Tenzin interacting at their first meeting.

"So what do you think of our world?" She inquired once her chuckles had subsided.

Roland stood and opened the window to glance out across the bay at the city. The sun had set and the city was bustling with early evening activities. Back inside, Korra noticed the untouched pile of stewed seaweed and grinned.

"I haven't exactly seen the city yet." Roland reminded her. "But so far you and the people on this island have been quite welcoming and enjoyable to be with." He turned back into the room to face her. "Do you think we'll be able to leave here tomorrow and go into the town?"

"Of course!" Korra beamed. She was excited to have someone to show around, even if she had just recently gotten here herself. "I just have airbending practice with Tenzin and then we can leave."

"Airbending?"

Korra's face fell slightly. "Yeah… it has been the only element I can't learn."

"When did you learn the other three?" Roland asked.

"When I was two, pretty much as soon as I could walk." Korra smiled this time.

"I think I might have been toilet trained when I was two…" Roland's attempt at humor succeeded at getting a bigger smile from Korra.

"Master Katara always told me, 'Everyone has to start somewhere' but with this airbending…" Korra saddened again "I just feel constantly lost right now."

Roland nodded and tried to empathize. "I failed my first couple of stalks and got my ass thrashed repeatedly because of it…"

"Stalks, like sneaking up on someone?" Korra asked.

"Yeah, before we were given our armor, we had to demonstrate several different basic soldering skills. With stalking you had to use a camouflaged suit to sneak within range of the instructors, fire a shot with your rifle from concealment, and then sneak back the way you came." Korra nodded her understanding before Roland continued. "I would either go too quickly and get busted for being seen moving, or I would go to slow and run out of time before I could get my shot off."

"So how'd you learn it then?"

"My partner Jonah helped me understand how screens work. You use a bush or anything really that is between you and where the observers are at to shield your movement as you approach. That was you can almost walk from screen to screen and get super close in a short amount of time, then you have plenty of time to add vegetation to conceal you and take a good shot."

Korra shrugged. "I wish there was some easy fix for airbending."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out." Roland stood and stretched his arm. "Do you mind telling me where the head is?" Roland paused for a moment to understand the quizzical look Korra had given him. "Ah, I meant the bathroom, sorry." Naval terms probably wouldn't mean a whole lot to people here.

"Oh, it's out the door, to the left, at the end of the hallway." Korra started piling all the dishes up.

"Ya, ain't gotta leave just yet. I'll be back in a minute." Roland hollered over his shoulder as he stepped out.

Korra placed all the dishes on the chest of drawers and sat back down on the bed. After lighting the lamp on the bedside table she leaned against the headboard and decided she would rest her eyes for just a moment before Roland got back. Healing took quite a bit of energy out of her and she was confident that she would here him enter and wake up.

Two minutes later Roland opened the door and stepped in. He wasn't being overly quite on his approach, but upon seeing the Avatar passed out in his bed he made sure his every move was as stealthy as possible. He gingerly pulled the loose blanket on top of Korra before taking the folded quilt at the foot of the bed and creating a pillow for himself on the floor. In minutes he too had fallen asleep to the sounds of her soft rhythmic breathing.

Pat pat pat… Korra's eyes shot open once again to the soft foot falls of someone running in the hallway outside her door. She stared at the doorway for a moment before the scene around her jolted her memory. Instead of laying back down as before she bolted up right and took a bending stance in the corner. This way she could see both the door way and the window.

Just then a chi blocker burst through the window like the previous dream and just like before she sent a blast of fire into the chest of her assailant from her foot, knocking him back through the window. As soon as she had attacked though, Korra pivoted on her other foot and sent a massive nearly uncontrolled fiery eruption at the door way. Her timing was almost perfect as the first chi blocker was badly burned and the second had his arm singed enough to force him to fall back.

Korra grinned as she moved towards the door. The critically injured woman on the floor moaned and rolled to her side as Korra got closer. A flash of clothing darted past the door way and Korra sent another flame thrower like attack into the hallway. Over the roar of the fire, she couldn't hear the soft landing and three quick steps of the equalist who entered the window behind her. With two quick blows to her side and one to her neck, Korra felt her body go limp and the wooden floor filled her view once again.

The impact on the floor was face first this time, and even though it was a dream she still cringed in pain. As she laid crumpled onto the ground, heavy foot steps echoed in the hall once more. Korra thrashed and shook in her mind, but her body wouldn't react. This time she was hauled to her knees and made to sit before the monster.

His sinister mask filled her vision as he leaned over in front of her face. "After I take your bending away, you will be nothing." His menicing voice filled the room as he straightened up and placed his hand across her face. Air entered Korra's lungs, but this time instead of a scream, she answered with a blast of fire before she awoke.

Korra glanced around to see Roland standing beside the bed with his hand firmly on her shoulder. The lamp had been knocked off the table and the wooden rafters were singed above her. "Did I do that?" She asked timidly.

Roland nodded his head. "Go back to sleep." He patted her on the shoulder and sat down on the side of the bed. He sat there for several minutes watching her, but her eyes never shut. She simply stared at the ceiling, rarely blinking and not moving.

"Korra, go back to sleep." Roland said quietly.

"I can't. I'll have another dream." She sat up and looked around the room. The moonlight was shining in the window and by it should could see Roland had been sleeping on the floor.

"This Amon guy is really getting to you, isn't he?" The Spartan sighed. Korra nodded and didn't seem as if she would move at all. The shadows danced as a cloud rolled past the moon outside. Korra looked him over quickly in the darker room to allow herself to think of something else. To her, he was a very good looking guy. For all his strength and augmentations his muscles weren't massive. They were however very well defined and lean, and the moonlight only helped his good looks. Thankfully none of his scars extended to his face, and it was probably one of the only places on his body that didn't have any.

Roland could see her every look due to his augmentation but wasn't sure the meaning behind them. He simply reached down and pushed her feet back towards her a bit and sat across the foot of his bed, resting against the wall. "Go to sleep. I'll be right here if you need me to wake you up from another dream."

Korra smiled sadly and rolled up into a ball. She was embarrassed at the weakness and fear she was showing around Roland. No wonder he didn't respect her as the Avatar. All he had seen of her was a quick bending display and now this. At least she could trust him, regardless of if the Spirits sent him or if it was just an accident, he seemed to be an amazing guy and wasn't going to harm her. She finally drifted off into a peaceful sleep, no dreams of any kind, but all night, she felt the bit of a slump in the mattress where Roland sat, ready to help if needed.

Korra's eyes opened slowly. The sun was gleaming through her intact window into her eyes as it did every morning. Judging by the height of the sun, it had to be at least eight already. She felt the fire bender in her absorbing the energy that the sun radiated. She sat up and saw that Roland wasn't at her feet like he had been last night. His bag and bed roll were still on the floor, but he was nowhere to be seen. She heard some grunts and a shout coming from the training grounds, stretched, and decided that would be a good place to check.

Once again, Korra ran her fingers through her hair as she walked towards the courtyard try to straighten it a bit. There were only the sounds of grunts, no blast of earth or any other type of bending. As she left the temple door way, she could see why.

Roland was standing in the center of the training yard with five of the White Lotus guards encircling him. The biggest guard on the island, Parger, a beast of a man from the center of the earth kingdom, was sprawled out nursing several bruises next to Tenzin. Tenzin motioned for Korra to come over by them. She glanced once more at Roland, noting that he only was wearing the clothes he had on for the past two days, while all the guards had training armor on them.

"Korra my dear, would you mind healing Parger for me?" Tenzin asked her kindly as she sat down with them. He had barely broken his gaze from Roland.

"Sure… what happened?" She asked as she drew some water from a nearby fountain and continued to watch Roland.

Parger looked at Tenzin as if asking to tell her. He got a nod in reply. "Well, about twenty minutes ago, I came out here for my usual workout and sparing with the other guards. That guy seemed like he had already been out here for an hour working out. He saw a few of us start to spar and moved aside to make room." Korra applied the healing water to his shoulder, causing him to wince in pain. "Well, I figured he could be fresh meat and asked to spar with him. At first he refused, but I egged him on until he did. I have never lost like this before…" Parger hung his head.

Now Tenzin spoke up. "I saw Roland throw Parger at the end of their spar and told the other guards if they were going to continue they needed to put on padding." He shook his head in disbelief. "Never in all my travels with my father have I seen someone move as quickly as he does."

"But that is five on one!" Korra exclaimed as she looked at the group again.

Parger rolled his eyes. "Roland asked for it that way. He just specified no bending for now."

Korra's eyebrows scrunched and she scrutinized Roland from a distance. The five guard were circling like buzzard wasps ready for a kill. They were a mix of water, earth, and fire benders, and Roland had simply taken a fighting stance in the middle of the group. Even though they were benders, all White Lotus guards learned martial arts and he had let himself get surrounded.

"That's odd. Even I know not to get surrounded like that." Korra thought to herself.

Even without their bending, they were all trained men who knew how to fight and had a combined forty years of experience between them. Roland still stood there. His eyes watched their hips the entire time, never looking at the eyes or hands. Finally, one of the guards broke the stalemate. He rushed forward with a wicked right hook to try to catch Roland by surprise.

Korra almost missed Roland duck into the blow, grab the man, and use his momentum to throw him into another guard behind him. The second man tried to dodge but instead took the full weight of his friend to the chest and they crumpled to the ground unharmed. As the two guards tried to recover, another tried to high kick Roland. He stepped into the blow again, catching the leg as it impacted his ribs which caused the attacked to yelp in pain. Roland smirked and swept his leg out from under him and simply threw the man onto his back.

Korra almost shouted out a warning as one of the final two guards grabbed Roland in a headlock from behind and the other drew back to bash his face in. These guards were tired of their mates being made into fools. Roland seemed to succumb to the headlock and didn't really fight back but remained standing. As the man threw his punch though, Roland dropped his weight like a sack of bricks, causing the guard holding him to pitch forward, unable to adjust for the heavy load. As he fell downward the other smashed his fist into his friends face causing the headlock to be broken. From nearly on the ground Roland performed a simple leg sweep, knocking this man to his back as well.

Having lost the element of surprise and most of the numerical advantage, the two guards he had knocked down first tried to simply rush him together to tackle him. Roland threw an elbow into ones face as he smashed the others instep. They both fell to the ground shouting in pain. As one of the other guards would stand, Roland would take him down more violently each time. This went on for a few more minutes before Tenzin stood up.

"Master Roland. I believe you have shown us all who the best here is at fighting hand to hand. I would appreciate it if you did not kill or maim any of my guards."

Roland bowed with a smile. "Of course sir, but mind you, they did start it."

"I am aware. Thank you for the demonstration of your strength. There is a bathroom through there if you would like to clean up for breakfast." Tenzin pointed out the faculties before turning back to Korra.

Roland followed the two walking guards towards where Parger and Korra were sitting. The two guards help Parger up and they moved towards the bathroom.

Roland smiled sheepishly at Korra as he walked past. "Sorry I left this morning, but the sun was up and you seemed fine."

Korra finally closed her mouth after watching Roland. "Don't worry about it…. Nice moves out there." She mumbled. "I guess your arm is doing better?"

Roland stopped and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah thanks again for healing it. Sometimes it's hard to remember they aren't trying to kill me and to hold myself back." He turned and continued towards the showers. "I doubt you would appreciate it if I killed six of your guards by punching my fist through their skulls."

Korra was slightly horrified at the thought. "See you at breakfast?" She asked hesitantly.

"Of course, kicking ass and looking good makes me hungry!" Roland yelled as he entered the bathroom.

Korra blushed slightly and headed towards the dining room. If only Roland knew how true that statement really was.

Roland showered quickly. He had felt a pang of guilt when he told that phrase to Korra. He and Jonah had used it several times just before they removed their helmets and paused to eat field rations. Roland really had no idea where Jonah could be, but if he was here somewhere, super soldiers don't exactly stay hidden for long.

Roland quickly washed his clothes, but couldn't get all of the water out of them and still make it to breakfast. "Oh well, it has been worse than damp skivvies" He thought as he dressed and headed to the dining room.

Everyone else was already seated when he walked in. "I am sorry. I couldn't get all of the water out of my clothes." Roland said motioned to himself

"Here, let me." Korra jumped up to help him as two younger girls giggled in the back ground.

Roland looked at them and Tenzin's wife quizzically, he figured Tenzin was a monk, you know, no family or anything, but must have been wrong.

Korra bent the water out of Roland's clothes and smiled at him again. He smiled back as best he could and took a seat next to her. All this attention from a female… Roland wasn't sure if he even liked it that much, but it was very different tan anything he had known in the UNSC.

Tenzin blessed their food and then they started to eat. Moments later the verbal barrage worse than a Covenant glassing hit his ears all at once.

"Who are you?" Ikki

"Why are you here?" Meelo

"Where are you from?" Jinora

"What's your name?" Meelo

"Why do you dress weird like that" Ikki

"Will you be with us for a while?" Jinora

"Why do you have on those old shoes?" Ikki

"Do you want to meet Oogi?" Meelo

"Children, allow Mr. Roland to eat for a moment before you shower him with questions." Tenzin scolded the children. As Roland started to eat, he was introduced to the family. "Roland, this is my family, my wife Pema, she is pregnant with our fourth child, my eldest daughter Jinora, my middle child Ikki, and my son Meelo." Roland nodded at each of them and tried to speak before he was showered with questions again. Several more were asked, but one stood out the most.

"Do you like Korra?" Ikki, the middle child asked bluntly.

Korra almost spit her mouthful of eggs across the table at Ikki. Roland wasn't exactly sure how to reply to her question. "Umm…. Well, she is very nice." Korra blushed fiercely. "But I don't think I am very likeable." Roland bent down as if to tell Ikki a secret but he spoke in a loud whisper. "Plus, I don't have very much experience with women." Roland smiled at Ikki and went back to his breakfast. Tenzin had chuckled a bit and Korra was finding her food very interesting.

"Why is Roland here, daddy?" Jinora asked.

"Well, he will be staying with us for awhile." Pema explained for her husband. She had already been told of the entire situation. "We are still trying to decide how he got here, but he is welcome as long as he wants." Roland silently nodded his thanks to Pema.

"Hey mister, what do you do?" Meelo spoke up next. Roland thought for a moment as this could be a touchy subject.

"I am a soldier for a giant military. I got to fight in many battles and a big mistake happen on my last one, but somehow I ended up here." Roland took a bite of some type of fruit. He decided to focus on his eggs instead. At least there was one dishes that really could never change.

"Oooo" Jinora spoke next. "Did you have any warrior friends? I read this book once where these three soldiers took on an entire army and survived. Did you do anything like that?"

Roland nodded. "Something like that."

The children seemed as if they were about to ask more questions, but Pema silenced them with a look. "What will you do here, Roland?" she asked kindly.

Roland thought for a moment. "I am not really sure at all. I have been taught quite a few skills, but all of them pertain to the battlefield. I am sure I can find something to help with my cost of living here."

"Nonsense! You needn't pay us a yuan to live here." Pema smiled pleasantly.

"Well, thank you for the offer, but I must find something to do, even if it is just for pocket change." Roland knew that he also might go stir crazy if he never left the island.

Tenzin thought for a moment. "Would you be interested in teaching Korra how to fight?"

Korra's head shot up from her plate and she shot daggers at Tenzin with a glare. Roland looked at her and back at him. "I wouldn't mind, but why does she need it? She already knows how to bend, and even a few basic fighting styles outside of bending."

"I know, however, all of the fighting styles we teach relate to bending or are bending moves in themselves. You fight in a way that I have never encountered before." Korra glared at Tenzin as if she couldn't stand the thought. "Plus, with the threat that these chi blockers pose, a fighting style that doesn't need bending would be a great thing for the Avatar to learn. You could also continue to teach our White Lotus men and that can be your way of covering your expenses, and we can even pay you so you can have some money to go out on the town."

"Very well, I can start as soon as you would like me to." Roland said as he wiped his plate with a piece of his toasted bread.

"Korra, you and Sifu Roland can start training after you let your breakfast settle." Tenzin said as if the matter was settled.

"Sifu Roland?" Korra moaned and leaned her head and arms back in dismay. "Don't I get a say in any of this?"

"What is a Sifu?" Roland looked around the table for an answer.

"It means master or trainer." Jinora chimed in brightly. "So it means Master Roland."

Roland grinned and glanced at Korra. "There is no need for that, although it does have a nice ring to it. Korra, we can start in an hour. You might want to get some training pads and some water." Roland bowed to Tenzin and left the room to go prepare.

"Really!?" I don't want to have to learn from another person!" Korra argued when Roland was out of earshot. "And this one is my friend and you're immediately making me work for him!"

"Oh well. This will be great for you to learn, and you might actually need it someday." Tenzin said as Korra stood to leave. "Remember, Roland said to be there in one hour."

"Hmph." Korra threw her head back a bit as she walked out to Ikki and Jinora laughing.

"I have a meeting with the council today. I will stop by to see how your training goes when I return." Tenzin smiled to himself as she stalked off. If there was a way to keep her from getting into more trouble this was probably it.

Well that's a wrap. It's over twice as long as the first go around and I feel like t flows far better. Tenzin is not going to just let the Avatar have a guy for a room mate, and this way you still get the bonding between Roland and Korra over the dream, plus some more healing before he starts sparing on a broken shoulder.

If anyone has as suggestion how to do the Ikki, Meelo, Jinora questions at the end there, I'm very open to changing it.

Please review if you liked it, or if you see anything you think should be changed!