My Promise to You: Part III

Korra felt herself pulled back to consciousness and blinked slowly. What had happened? Where was she? Looking around, Korra could see nothing but blackness.

"This…this doesn't make any sense…wh-where am I?" she muttered. This wasn't right, she had to get home. Had to get back to…what…to whom?

Korra's breathe quickened and she tried to stop herself from panicking as she realized she couldn't remember where home was. As hard as she tried she couldn't remember anything beyond her own name. But that wasn't right. She had friends, had family! They…they were…no. That wasn't true. Korra was alone.

"I'm alone. I've always been alone" she whispered before sinking to the floor and curling into a ball. She felt herself fading away into nothing until soon she would no longer even have a name.

Asami was well known for her unwillingness to give up. It was a quality that had served her well in saving her family's company. Had been what had gotten her through the three years that Korra had been gone. All of her loved ones saw that same determined spirit in her now as she relentlessly searched for the woman she had grown to love. They truly believed that she would never quit, and they were right, Asami knew. She would never give up the search for Korra. But after so many days of searching after the temple, or the Lion Turtle, had disappeared, Asami's spirit was growing more and more pained.

She did what she could to hide it from the others. She waited until it was late at night, when the rest of the group was asleep in the airship, and stepped outside to stare at the stars. Tonight was one such night. They had landed the airship outside of a small oasis not unlike the one the group had visited previously in their hunt for the red lotus. They had been searching for any word of a sighting of the temple or anything else that may lead them to it. And as had happened so many times before, they had come up empty handed.

Asami stared at the sky as she sat alone atop a small sand dune. The moon was nearly full and it would be on the solstice this year. With the sky so clear and the beauty of the stars above her, Asami could only look on them and wonder if this was it. She allowed herself to wonder if she would ever find Korra again, what life would be like without the brash young woman that had stolen her heart, what she would be like without Korra.

"I'll be expected to return to the company soon. Expected to move on and be happy again. But I won't Korra. I can't do it. I've loved you for so long, waited for you all those years. I can wait as long as it takes if it means I'll find you again. I just need you to hold on and stay alive for me. Please. I'm coming, Korra. I promise." Asami whispered into the night.

Korra was struggling to breathe. Everything hurt and she felt as though her soul was being ripped apart. But it didn't matter; she was no one, had nothing, and had no one who cared about her. Korra struggled to remember why that thought felt so wrong but nothing would come to her mind. It was as if every memory she had ever had was gone, leaving nothing but her name and the knowledge that she was alone.

Wherever she was, Korra was certain there was no place colder or darker than this place. Suddenly, a memory seemed to burn at the end of Korra's thoughts. She was somewhere else, someplace equally cold and barren but it had felt…warm? How was that possible? She could feel then the ghost of someone's hands holding hers tightly. Korra could feel the warmth of their hands spread into her own, could feel soft curves of someone pressed against her still. She had been holding this person against her, her chin resting on their shoulder as they sat somewhere in the darkness admiring the stars. Their hands intertwined, and their breathing soft and gentle.

Korra allowed the memory to engulf her, to lose herself in it and as she did, more and more details came flooding into her mind's eye. She could smell the slight hint of perfume from the other woman's…yes…it was a woman!...hair. If Korra concentrated, she could even feel the small scar on the back of the woman's hand as she gently ran her thumb along the woman's knuckles.

"Korra…" the voice sounded so far away and Korra struggled to keep a grasp of it, to dive further in and REMEMBER. She could feel the soft, cool wind blowing gently around them and the warmth of the small fire that she had lit to keep them warm. She had smiled then, in the memory, at the sound of her name coming from the other woman's lips and brushed her own along the woman's neck.

"Korra…there's something I need to tell you…" The voice was whispered in the memory but was stronger now, stronger as the memory became more and more clear.

She had been worried for a moment, had wondered what the person was going to say. Who was this person who had held such power over her?

"What is it?" Korra asked quietly.

Both the Korra of the past and the Korra of now waited with baited breath for what this person might say. What could cause such strong emotion in their voice?

"I wanted to tell you for so long but I never knew when the time was right. But I realize now it doesn't matter. Korra…I love you. I've loved you for so long."

Korra felt her heart stutter and a small flame of something deep inside her seemed to awaken. She remembered that night. She'd gone home to visit her parents and had brought her lover with her. They had decided to take a walk late one evening and Korra had taken her to a favored spot where they could view the stars. Never had she expected to hear the very thing she had longed to say to the woman she had held.

"I love you too." Korra whispered.

The young woman Korra had been holding turned slowly then and her green eyes bore into Korra's blue. "Always?" she asked and Korra nodded, "Always Asami."

"ASAMI!" Korra shouted, pulling herself up. She remembered Asami! Everything else was a dark swirling nothingness in her mind but not Asami! Korra remembered that night. Remembered it was the first time they had said 'I love you'. She remembered the feel of Asami's soft lips on hers, how her hair had smelled of fire flowers, the way Asami held her close. They had both been crying softly with joy. They had finally said it, finally opened themselves fully to one another.

Korra held onto the memory with everything she had and as she did, more came rushing back to her. The first time she and Asami had kissed in the Spirit World.

They had been traveling for a couple days, seeing as many sights as they could before deciding to rest and stay in one place a while. They had chosen the bank of a small lake with waters that glistened with the brightest blue they had ever seen. Deciding to go for a swim, the girls had dived in after securing their gear and changing.

Korra could hear Asami's laughter as they had played in the water for what seemed like hours, Asami even initiating a water fight with the water bender. Korra had finally dove under the water and come up behind Asami, surprising the older girl as she grabbed her and lifted her up by Asami's waist, making as though she were going to throw the other girl.

"Ok! Ok! I give in!" Asami shouted as she tried and failed not to laugh.

"That's what I thought" Korra laughed as she brought Asami back down into the water. But the devious engineer had spun around quickly and tackled the water bender back into the water, submerging them both. They had come up sputtering and laughing before they both seemed to realize that Korra was still holding Asami and they were close enough that their noses were touching slightly. They had stared into each other's eyes then before Asami finally reached forward slowly and pressed her lips to Korra's faintly, ready to pull away if need be. But she hadn't needed to worry.

Korra had pulled Asami closer and kissed her back, smiling into the kiss as she realized Asami liked her back. She had never felt as complete as she had right then.

There were other memories, dates they had gone on, a night spent on the river in Republic City in a turtleduck boat, Asami bringing Korra tea as an excuse to be near her. Seeing Asami the moment she exited the spirit portal. With every memory of Asami that resurfaced, Korra felt the flame inside of her grow stronger and brighter. She opened her eyes then, not realizing she had closed them, and found the darkness surrounding her was slowly beginning to fade as a bright white light was shining from her.

"I promised her…I promised…" Korra chanted as the light grew stronger and brighter still, nearly blinding her as it pushed away the darkness. Korra squeezed her eyes shut to the light and could then hear a voice screaming in the dark. The voice was in pain. What was happening? Finally, Korra felt her strength return and shouted "I promised Asami I was coming back. I won't break that promise!"

With that final shout, the world around Korra shattered. She opened her eyes to see the face of Dusaa close to her, felt the grip of the Chao spirit's web surrounding her as Dusaa tried in vain to divulge Korra of more of her memories and in the end her soul.

"It is not possible!" screamed the spirit. "I took your memories! I took everything from you!"

"You'll never take her from me" said Korra, the strength of the light of Raava filling her, her eyes glowing, Korra screamed with a power unknown to any other being in the world, even Dusaa. Her bonds were broken and the Chaos spirit was flung back. It was time to end this.

Korra took in her surroundings and realized she was still in the center of the Lion Turtle. Dusaa was struggling to get back up and Korra once again turned her attention back to the Chaos Spirit.

"It's over Dusaa. You won't gain control of me again" said the Avatar, coming back in control of herself enough to look at the spirit with her own eyes.

"This woman…your Asami…" hissed Dusaa. "You love her so much you were able to break my hold. I am impressed Avatar! But I wonder. Does she feel the same for you? You have been gone for weeks! Surely she has given up hope of finding you by now."

"Weeks….? No, it was only today that I came here! Not weeks."

The Chaos spirit laughed then and Korra felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand.

"You have been in my grasp from the moment I pulled you into the temple! I have taken so many of your memories, so much of your spirit, and you were under my thrall the entire time. You nearly broke it when that girl called for you. But I had this Ancient One leave that place and we are now so far away that your Asami will never find us! You are MINE Avatar!" Dusaa shouted the last and launched herself at Korra who dodged the attack and allowed herself to fall back into the Avatar state.

The Avatar and the Chaos spirit battled and shook the temple around them. They were nearly an even match but Korra was finally able to gain the upper hand and knock the spirit down.

"End this Dusaa!" echoed the voices of Raava and Korra. "You are more than this creature you have become."

"No! I will end YOU! I know what you fear little one, what you so desperately have tried to destroy!" Dusaa screamed and Korra was startled as the dark vision of herself appeared again, the chain dragging along the stone floor and predatory grin back in place.

"You fear the darkness inside of you, what it is capable of making you do. Let it consume you Avatar!"

The Dark Avatar launched itself at Korra and Korra's fear overtook her as the Avatar state fell away from her. The Dark spirit attacked again and again and it was everything Korra could do to hold her back. It was as if she were back in the swamp before Toph had found her. No matter what she did, her dark twin was always ahead.

Korra took her a hard hit to the stomach and went flying against one of the stone pillars, hitting it hard and sliding to the ground. Dazed, she struggled to stand up and once again face her enemy.

"You cannot win Avatar. You cannot fight the darkness!" echoed Dusaa and Korra realized with a start that the Chaos spirit was right. She couldn't find the darkness, not her darkness and not like this.

Standing, Korra stared at her twin self. The dark version of what she had become the day Zaheer and the Red Lotus had nearly killed her. Here was the embodiment of everything she was afraid to be: ruthless, chaotic, out of control…a killer. She was the Avatar; she wasn't supposed to be capable of so much darkness.

"Balance must be had in all things Korra" whispered Raava.

"Raava…! How can I be worthy of being your Avatar when I have so much darkness inside myself?" asked Korra.

"Humans carry within them the capacity to be both good and evil, Korra. It was Wan who showed me that greater than every other creature, humans have the strength and will to affect change in the world. It is what you do with that strength that determines who you are. I chose you Korra because I know who you are and what you are capable of." The warmth of Raava's light filled Korra as she looked at the Dark Avatar pacing before her.

"Balance must be had in all things" whispered Korra. She had spent so long trying to fight this spirit, trying to fight this darkness inside of herself.

"I won't fight you. Not anymore" Korra told her darkness as she took a step forward. The spirit remained unchanged, staring at its opponent hungrily.

"You are the dark part of myself that I never wanted to accept. But you're a part of me just as Raava is and I can't keep running from you!" Korra shouted, tears trailing down her face as she came to stand before her dark twin.

"You will never control me. Never. But you're a part of me and I have to accept that. I do accept that. I will NOT fight you." Korra whispered the last as she reached out and grasped the spirit, holding it to her in a tight embrace. The spirit struggled but Korra only held tighter. The spirit's mouth opened letting loose a unworldly scream, Korra's joining it before there was a burst of light that filled the room and blinded Korra and Dusaa both.

Soon the light faded, and Dusaa was shocked to find that the Dark spirit was gone.

"What have you done!" she screamed.

Korra, breathing heavily, looked up then and smiled softly. "I accepted the darkness Dusaa. I accepted myself. It's time you did the same." Korra's eyes blazed then and she once again allowed the Avatar state to take over. She floated calmly towards the Chaos spirit, the air around her moving in a graceful sphere until finally she was close enough that she could reach out and touch the spirit.

"You have existed all this time, unique and alone. Not a creature of the light, nor a creature of the darkness. You steal the memories of others, their happiness and their pain because it is the only way you know to feel anything. You can be more Dusaa" echoed the voice of Raava and Korra.

"You know nothing Raava! I know what I am! I was born of the pain and suffering brought to this world because of the chaos your separation from Vaatu caused! And as long as there is the faintest hint of pain, a flicker of suffering, I will remain here, even long after the light is gone."

"Yes, there will always be pain and suffering, Dusaa. But you are wrong that that is what bore you into this world. You are the embodiment of all that was lost to the humans and spirits; the memories of their losses fading away of time. You have spent millennia feeding on the memories of all creatures in the hopes of finding what they craved. Peace."

Dusaa's breath had grown ragged, her eyes pained as she stared into the Avatar's.

"Let me end your pain Dusaa. Let me give you peace" whispered the Avatar. She moved then, encircling Dusaa in ribbons of light before reaching out and softly placing her hand over the spirit's heart. At her touch, Korra's body jolted as Dusaa began to glow. A wave a light raced along the temple walls as Korra's memories flashed before them both. Together they watched as Korra's parents played with their daughter, Korra laughing with Mako and Bolin, Tenzin telling her how proud he was of her and all she had accomplished.

The images didn't stop. Memory after memory, both good and bad played all around them before each one flashed and returned to Korra. Finally, the last memory played before them.

"…So promise me no matter how long it takes, that you'll come back to me." "I love you Asami, and I promise. I'm always come back."

"As long as there is love, Dusaa, nothing is ever truly lost" said the Avatar as Dusaa watched in awe, the ribbons of light encircling her more and more until she was encased in a sphere of white gold light.

"It is time, Dusaa. Go in peace."

With those final words, the sphere of light exploded into a shower of golden sparks, and Dusaa was gone. The Ancient One once again began to shake as the power of the chaos spirit was no longer there to control it. The Avatar raced through one of the doorways and followed the speck of light she could see in the distance before finally escaping through the now open doorway.

Korra relaxed as she broke out into the early morning light of day and found herself floating above a great expanse of ocean. Turning back to the Lion Turtle she was shocked to find it staring back at her.

"Thank you young one. Thank you for releasing me" its voice rumbled deeply within her mind.

"You're alive!" exclaimed Korra.

"My time is nearly come. But I can now leave this world in peace. Watch over this world Avatar, for we guardians are so few." It told her.

"I will. I promise." Korra swore. The Lion Turtle bowed its head and slowly allowed itself to sink beneath the cerulean waves.

As it disappeared, Korra wiped away her tears at the loss of the great creature. Then with a quick gesture of her hands she formed a small raft of ice and floated down to it. Looking up, the stars were still faintly visible as it was so early. She used them to pick her direction and began to race home. She had a certain someone waiting for her.

Asami stood in front of the Solstice tree and let the smell of the decorated Fir wrap around her. The Solstice tree had always been one of her favorite parts of the season. Decorating it with small ornaments and garlands, watching the lights from the ornaments dance across the walls of the room as they were reflected by the fire in the great fire place in her home, it brought back fond memories of her childhood. But now, all Asami could think was how the one person she wanted to share in this with wasn't here.

"We're going to find her Asami. But we've run out of places to look...for now. We all needed this break, especially you" said Mako as he came to stand next to her by the tree. The group had continued their search but after nearly two weeks of no sightings and no way of tracking the Lion Turtle, they had managed to convince Asami it was time to go home and regroup.

"She's out there Mako. She's out there, alone, probably hurt. And I'm standing here, pretending to enjoy the holiday." Asami whispered.

"We all are Asami. We all miss her too" Mako sighed. The event was truly a somber one. It was only friends and family who had come to spend the Solstice with Asami, intent on keeping her from being alone and at the same time, taking solace in each other as they missed their friend. Even Korra's parents had sailed in to join them. Tonraq intended to join them on their search as soon as they could determine where to start looking.

"Ahem, excuse me…" Tenzin said as he got everyone's attention. It wasn't difficult as quiet as the 'party' really was. Even Rohan had sensed the mood and was being relatively calm.

"I know these last few weeks have been hard on all of us; that we all miss Korra. But I know that we must not allow ourselves to lose hope. Korra is still out there, and together we will find her. " Tenzin raised his glass, "To Korra!"

"To Korra!" shouted the occupants of the room as Asami felt her insides grow cold. It was too much.

"I need to be alone" she muttered to Mako as she walked out of the room and to the double doors that led to a small balcony that overlooked the city. As she stared out into the brightly lit city, all the more illuminated by the constant reminder of Korra that was the new spirit portal, Asami felt drained. It was all well and good to hear Tenzin say that. But did he truly believe that they would find her? Did any of them? Asami knew Korra was still alive, could feel it in every fiber of her being. If something had happened to her, Asami believed she would have felt it.

The others wanted to wait until they could research ways to track the whereabouts of the Lion Turtle; wanted to wait until they could convince Raiko to allow the release of several units from the United Forces to help in the search. But Asami was done waiting. She was going to take her airship and set out that night, on her own if she had to. She wasn't going to stop until she found Korra again.

As Asami continued to make her plans for leaving, she held the box Korra had given her tight in her hands. It had become an anchor for her that kept her from losing herself. It gave her hope that she would find the woman she loved. So intent was Asami in her planning, she failed to notice the hush that had overtaken the room with all of the partygoers, failed to notice the sound of footsteps behind her.

"Asami?"

Asami spun around and stared in shock as Korra stood there, right in front of her. The Avatar was thinner than when she had last seen her, and she was covered in bruises and small cuts, but Korra's smile was as bright as it had ever been.

"Korra…you..you came back…" Asami whispered.

"Of course I did silly. I promised you I would, didn't I?" Korra smiled even wider as she stepped closer to the older girl slowly. Asami hadn't moved, she was so shocked, so afraid that if she took a single step Korra would disappear and it would have all been a dream.

"Are you really here?" Asami whispered.

Korra frowned slightly before reaching over and gently taking Asami's right hand in her own; she kissed it softly before placing it over her heart.

"I'm really here Asami. I'm sorry I was gone for so long. I tried to get back sooner but there was a Lion Turtle and a Chaos Spirit and it was really craz-" Korra was interrupted and Asami shot forward and captured Korra's lips with her own. They each poured everything they were feeling into the kiss, only stopping when the need for air became urgent. When they did, Asami leaned her forehead against Korra's and stared into her eyes, sobbing and laughing at the same time.

"I don't care what kept you. I'm just glad that you came back to me" Asami whispered.

"Always Asami, I'll always come back. I only made it out because of you. You kept me going, kept me from falling away into the darkness" Korra whispered back, wiping away Asami's tears gently with her thumbs and kissing her again softly. As Korra pulled away, she noticed what Asami was holding in her other hand.

"You still have it" breathed Korra.

"Of course I do. And I never opened it" Asami told her smiling. Korra grinned and gently took the box from the dark haired girl.

Korra stared at it a moment before looking back into Asami's bright, tear filled green eyes.

"Now seems as good a time as any I suppose…" muttered Korra before she bent down on one knee and opened the box for Asami to see. Inside was a beautiful silver ring with a garnet in the center of two sapphires. On the inside was a single word elegantly engraved and Asami smiled at the sight of it.

"Always" she whispered, staring at the engraving.

"I know we've been through a lot to get here Asami. But if you'll have me, I will spend the rest of our lives making every moment we have together better than the last. I love you and I will always, ALWAYS come back to you. So, what do you say…will you marry me?" asked Korra.

"Yes" Asami breathed, smiling brightly as she placed the ring on her finger and Korra shouted with joy. The Avatar jumped up and grabbed Asami by the waist, twirling her around in circles before taking the older girl in her arms and kissing her senseless. They didn't break apart until they noticed the shouts of their friends and family behind them congratulating the couple.

Laughing, the two broke apart smiling. "We should probably go inside" Korra whispered against Asami's lips.

"Yeah. Stay with me?" Asami asked as she took Korra's hand and led her back to the family and friends.

"Always Asami."

Hello all! Sorry for the slightly longer wait than anticipated. Work kicked my butt this week. Here is the third and final chapter of this story. When this story first popped in my head, all I saw was the image of a tree, Asami standing by it sadly and Korra coming in behind her after being gone for so long. From there the story just kind of...exploded. Suddenly we had lion turtles and temples, chaos spirits and guys named Kyo. But I've grown to love and to be really proud of this story and I hope you guys enjoyed it. Thank you to all who have reviewed/favorited/followed this story. As always, I especially love reviews, so please tell me what you think, good or bad of this piece. Thank you!