/*Update 6/6: for those that enjoyed this, I am writing another story. A fanfic, about Legend of Korra. Same writing style but different storytelling style. Won't be nearly as long as this one (a shorter story, not an epic-ish thing.) It will be set in the same universe as this story and season 1 of the show, but it will take place before the events of season 1.

It will chronicle some important events in Lin's and Toph's lives. Just some interesting story ideas i had for those two, ideas about her upbringing, her father, and her scars and things like that.

should be done soon! Probably going to name is 'Scars' I think, even though that title is probably way overused by now.

*/

-The Legend—

The Chief surveyed the city from the annex above the train station. Once again on her feet, fully revived, standing tall, presiding over her city, over her people that she had given everything to protect.

They had made it.

Calls were coming in from ONI bases from other parts of the planet over the radios. Transmissions now making it through with the fall of CHAOS. Reports of several other cities being hit with smaller attacks from SPORE around the time Republic City was under siege. Reports of lost soldiers and casualties, but also of heroes and the many survivors. Reports on how these towns across the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation had held up against the SPORE until the enemy suddenly disintegrated into nothing and the sky was clear again.

Lin sighed of relief, scared to hear that other towns had been hit, but glad that the majority of them had pulled through. The breath caused pain in her chest. Lin filled up a small glass of whiskey with ice and sipped on it, hoping to ease the discomfort. It would be a long road for her. She would have to travel to many places to ensure they got back on their feet quickly after this ordeal. But for now, she was just happy to know that there were still humans elsewhere. That the human race was victorious.

That they were safe. Free.

"Ms. Bei Fong," the young girl asked her when she was in the hospital, after Lin realized that the SPORE were gone and CHAOS and vanished. The young girl was accompanied by a twin sister who finished the question, "Is it safe?"

"Safe for what?" Lin asked.

"Safe to go outside again?" they said in unison.

Lin heard silence. No more gunfire. No more explosions. No more violence or screaming or pain or death. The sun pierced through the dark clouds.

"Yes. I believe it is."

"Ms. Bei Fong," said a different voice. Now in the present. The male voice of General Iroh accompanied by Commander Bumi. Lin sipped on her drink and watched out the window, looking over the statue of Zuko. In her other hand, she fiddled with the rock bracelet she was wearing upon her awakening.

"What did you find, men?"

"Several things, actually," Iroh said. He held out objects wrapped in a cloth. Unveiling them, Lin saw that he had found a Water Tribe Betrothal Necklace and a boomerang.

"Well, I'll be damned," Bumi said upon recognizing the necklace and boomerang to belong to his mother and uncle. "They were here, weren't they?"

"I knew I saw him," Iroh said, looking out the window at the statue. "They came back to help us."

Lin looked at the rock bracelet her mother had given her. "Yes. They did." Lin suddenly realized what must have happened now that this was over. "Iroh. Your…everyone's bending?"

"She was right," he replied. "It's gone. From everyone. All benders."

Lin wasn't sure if she should be sympathetic toward him or not.

"Bending or not," Bumi said, "we are still human, and we are still here. Chief Bei Fong, I think it is time you take back this city, and help us rebuild this world."

Lin stood before the courthouse. Some time had passed since the battles had ended. The flashes of cameras and microphones mounted to the podium before her. Crowds of refugees and soldiers gathered in the streets, reveling in their freedom, some awed by their loss of bending. An entire new way of life to adapt.

Lin took the stage, and silence swept through the crowds. Even the paparazzi was silent upon the sight of her.

The Woman Who Defied Death.

"Republic of Nations," Lin spoke. "This is your Chief, Lin Bei Fong, speaking from Republic City to say that we are still standing. Despite the corruption of Graft and his mission to control us through his Clasma, despite the hordes of assassins sent from the world beyond to rid this planet of us, we are strong, we are determined and brave and fearless, and we are still standing.

"The path we have travelled to get here was not easy, and it was not without its losses, none of which should be forgotten. The bravery of our soldiers, nothing more than humans like you and me, allowed us and our families to make it to this point. Allowed us to finally be free from the ones that wished to control us. It was not the act of some higher power. It was not sheer luck or pity that the Spirits had. It was only us. Humans. We were victorious with our sacrifice and our perseverance. We demonstrated just how dedicated we are to this race. To each other. To this planet. To our lives. We showed the Spirits that bending, this power over the elements, means nothing to us when the lives of our loved ones are threatened. It was this, as I shall call it, human power, this human ability, that saved us. Our will to live, to survive, our desire to find meaning in our lives and in our relationships with others. That is what brought about the peace and permanent separation between us and the Spirits.

"The future now is tough, but it is bright, and for now, while I think we may rejoice in our victory, we should also step back and look at why we were the target of such hatred from the Spirits in the first place. I ask of you to remember, when you find yourself in a position of power, what about your life is most important to you, and make sure that you have a head unclouded with distraction from the true value of life when you answer that question. Because those same values are held to the same degree by everyone around you, and they deserve to be respected.

"From here, we begin a new day. A new life. A life without bending. It will be different. It will be difficult. We may reject it at first, but we are humans. The qualities of the once Four Nations exist within us all. I see you all, and I see a human. No matter the difference. No matter the origin or the gender or the age. I see a human. A human that is driven and motivated to survive and achieve what they want. A human that will not abandon another, that will be strong and persistent against opposition. A human that is free of the body and mind and will not allow power and material possessions to blind them from the truth. And a human that can adapt to these new changes in our society, and work as a community to bring a better future. A future where we are not guided by our bending, where the Spirits do not hold our hands, but a future where we define our own destinies, our own strengths, and we achieve them ourselves."

The flying bison soared across the ocean, tired from the weight of its four passengers as it traversed to the South Pole. Tenzin made sure to stop and help any injured survivors from the battles with the Spirit World.

"The Southern Water Tribe is just ahead. I hope you are all ready for this. It will be more difficult than you think," Tenzin said.

Mako, Bolin, and Asami took deep breaths, but looked to their destination with courage and determination. They came all this way for a reason. The request of their lost friend. A respect that was the least they could do.

"We owe this to her," Mako said.

"No way we are backing out of this," Bolin said.

"That's right. We are family," Asami said.

"Among many, there is, however, one woman who I believe deserves to be recognized. A woman who was born into a life that was laid out for her from birth, by both this society and by the Spirits. A life of servitude to the balance of this world. A life she accepted, even after she had lost that which we all believed allowed her to successfully carry out this task.

"Korra, from the Southern Water Tribe, was a dear friend of mine. She never asked for the life she was given, but she took the responsibility into her hands. And she never let it go, not even when the world had forgotten her, not even when her bending was taken, not even when the Spirits, the ones responsible for her existence, commanded her to be the bearer of destruction to this world. Korra refused to give up, on us or the Spirit World. She sought peace between the two. She refused her fate, but she realized that in order to keep us alive, in order to achieve this peace, she would have to die.

"I do not contradict what I said earlier. It was the humans, all of you, that saved us from this attack. Korra felt the strength and determination you possessed, and was moved by it. So moved that she abandoned her title. Rejected her mission on this planet in order to free us and allow us to live in peace. Korra knew that in order to do this, she would have to separate the two worlds, causing her own life to end. But she never gave it a second thought. Never turned her back on us. Her resolve was strong. And because of that, we are here today. We are alive. We are still humans, and we are free."

The door opened slowly. The Water Tribe Warrior, spear in hand, looked out to see the four travelers standing in the attack stance loosened. He stood up straight and looked relieved to see faces that he recognized.

"You are Korra's friends aren't you?" Tonraq said. "Been hectic around here with the dark skies lately. We thought Spirits were coming through to get us but they never seemed to reach here."

"It was true," Mako said. "The Spirits did attack."

"Many cities have been ravaged because of these wars. Many have been killed," Tenzin said, before trailing off, fearing he had said the wrong thing. Behind Tonraq, Senna had walked out from the kitchen holding a pot with some food in it and watched the four outside the door, silent. They didn't realize how long she had been standing there.

"What do you mean," Tonraq said, looking at the four. Senna's grip on her pot weakened as her eyes watered. "Where is Korra?" Tonraq asked.

"Tonraq, Senna," Tenzin continued, "The warfare is over. The Spirits have retreated and left us at peace. I wanted to tell you this so everyone in this village knows that they are safe. And also the reason we are safe: Your daughter."

"Korra saved us," Asami said. "She ended it. She knew she had to do it. The war is over because of her."

Tonraq or Senna didn't say anything. Senna's grip weakened too much and the pot fell from her hands to the floor, shattering.

"Yes," Tenzin said. The group was startled by the sound of the pot smashing. Tenzin was aware that Korra's parents knew what he was about to tell them, but they stood there, frozen awaiting the news. It was almost too hard for him to say, but he knew he had to do it. He knew he was the only one who could. "Unfortunately things do not always go the way we would prefer. Korra risked everything and saved us. In the process of doing so, however, she had to give herself up so that we could live. I'm very sorry to have to tell this to you..."

Senna fell to her knees. Tonraq was immediately next to her, holding her as she cried in his arms. Korra's friends approached to comfort the mother and father for their loss. Asami had never heard a woman weep so hard. She could not imagine the loss of such a thing. She could not imagine what it must have been like knowing their daughter was the Avatar, knowing their daughter would always be in the face of danger throughout her whole life. Asami wished it had never been that way. She wished Korra was born into a world where the Avatar did not exist, where she wouldn't have to sacrifice her own life in order for others to live, where she could be happy being alive, living her life the way she wanted. Where she could spend time with her mother and father and make them happy as well. Make them proud, and they could watch her grow and mature and find her own way.

Asami wondered if there was some other universe where she wasn't here to tell Korra's parents of their daughter's death. But rather, she was here, with Korra, being introduced to these same parents as the one Korra chose to fall in love with. Perhaps as Korra's wife. She wanted to be here for that instead, because even though the idea of revealing the truth about their love was scary to her, she would be brave and comforted with Korra at her side.

But this was the reality she had to cope with. The reality she had fallen into. And she would have to be brave on her own. She had come here to fulfill one of Korra's final wishes. That evening, Asami found Senna alone in her room, sitting on her bed and staring out the window facing the mountains and the water. The auroras colored the sky, like the energy bands holding the portals open between the worlds. Asami was too hesitant to speak with Korra's mother before after the news was revealed, but she knew she had to do this before departing the next day.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Senna?" Asami said. "There's something I came here to tell you."

Asami heard that Senna was hardly crying anymore. The tears filled her eyes. She wiped them away, but was only breathing calmly, unable to shed any more.

"Please, come in. Sit down," Senna said politely. Asami felt safe being here. She felt unafraid, for these were the people who had molded the woman she fell in love with. "Your name is Asami, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is," Asami said, smiling. Senna smiled at her as well. Asami took the seat on the bed next to Korra's mother, feeling privileged at having the chance to speak with this woman.

"You know, I always had the thought in the back of my mind that this day would come earlier than I wanted it to. The fact that I was scared every day that it would come while I was still alive…it was too much to bear. I started getting ready for it, knowing that she was out there doing good, but at the same time being in so much danger. I tried to prepare myself, tried to be realistic, but it's never what you expect. You realize you can never be strong and held together for something like this, even when I knew what had happened before you even arrived. I just didn't want to believe it."

"She spoke to you, didn't she?"

Senna smiled and nodded. "Yes. We all knew something terrible was happening when the skies turned black. We feared for our lives. But just before it cleared, before anything came for us, I heard her. I heard her speak to me. I felt her hands holding mine. I felt the warmth, and I knew it was her. I knew it was my Korra. And I was reassured that we were going to be okay. That she was protecting us. I felt so close to her. To everything she was feeling, to her fears and doubts, to her thoughts and emotions. Everything about her, all of it told me I would be safe. I knew what the implication was. The condition. The fact she was trying to hide but was so easy to see: Korra was not coming back. I knew it then, right at that moment when I felt her, I knew it when you showed up, I know it now. There is no point in wishing it could be undone. I'll have to accept the truth, but it is never that easy for the one who watched her grow up to be the strong woman she became."

Senna was silent for a while. Asami spoke up to break it, "I cared about her. So much. I never thought I would meet anyone as amazing as your daughter. Someone who also cared about me more than anyone I have ever known in my life since the passing of my own mother. I lost something, a vital piece about myself when my mother died, but Korra reignited it. She somehow brought it back from the dead, and I never felt more like myself than when I was with her. I never felt happier, more free, able to do anything. I couldn't bear to see her go, even when I found out what would happen to her, when I found out that she had known her fate going into this. I tried to stop it. I sacrificed myself for her, but she always came back for me. She never forgot me. She was…is the most genuine person I know. She trusted me and…I…I held her in my arms when she died. She had preserved herself, using all her energy to do so just to bring me back to this world," Asami started to cry again as she retold the story she had to tell. "She told me she was happy. She told me she was glad to be with me at that moment. She told me she would always be with me. When she had finally passed, there was a smile on her face. She truly was happy."

Senna was crying again as well. She had no idea that Asami had been there at Korra's death like that. The two hugged and cried together for several minutes, feeling close in their bond with Korra.

"She wanted me to come here," Asami said. "To tell you how much you meant to her. That she was sorry she had to go, to leave this world, but that she loved you."

Senna rose and walked to the window. She smiled again, watching the stars and auroras dancing above her home. "I am glad. Glad that Korra had the privilege of spending her last moments with someone like you, Asami. I truly am. I am thankful that someone so loving and caring held her, and that she was at peace when the time came. You don't understand how much that means to me. I think you helped her just as she helped you, and that was why she died in peace. Ever since Korra was a girl, she was forced into the life of the Avatar, beginning her training at such an early age. I am not sure she ever thought how the choice of the life she wanted to live was taken from her. I wanted her to be happy, and was never able to tell if the life of the Avatar was truly making her happy. I could never tell if she was doing because she felt she had to, was expected to, not because she wanted to. These were never thoughts of mine until one day when she was younger and she was telling me all about her day training with one of the elements. She asked me:

'Mom? I thought of something kind of weird today,' Korra asked.

'What was that, honey?'

'Well, not that I'd ever do this, but what if I just left? What if I just told the White Lotus that I didn't want to be the Avatar. That I'd rather not learn about the four elements and the Spirit World. That I'd rather just be a regular Southern Water Tribe girl? I doubt they'd just be okay with that.'

'Hm, I am not sure.'

'There's no way they'd let me…'

Senna sighed in her room. "I truly was not sure. I didn't think of it then, but over time the question weighted on my mind. The trace of some desire hidden within her to escape a life planned for her. I didn't know it, and maybe she didn't know it then either, but I think it was there. The wish to be free, to make her own life. The seed of this thought which slowly grew over time, especially when she left and saw the rest of the world. Upon Korra's return, I could tell this idea had overtaken her mind. The question of our own freedom, the question of her freedom. Wondering if she could ever be free to do what she wanted or if she would always be controlled by her title of the Avatar, if everyone in the world would always be defined by their power, by their bending, be forced to do what they were meant to do and not what they wanted to do. She may not have known it, but Korra sought to break this standard, to free everyone from this predestination. To allow us to make our own futures. And to do so, she would have to renounce her title as the Avatar, become something else in order to serve the cause that she, not us, not the Spirits, believed was right. And she did. She saved us, not as the Avatar, not as a bender, but as Korra."

Asami did not know what to say. Senna kept turning over in her head the things that she felt when Korra came to her just before she died.

"Korra told me about you, Asami. Just before the clouds disappeared, just before she died and she visited me, she told me about the one she had fallen in love with. She did, you know? She was very much in love with you."

"I'm sorry," Asami said, not knowing how Korra's mother would react to her daughter being the way she was.

"There is no need to apologize, Asami. I am not upset, I am happy. I am happy that my daughter found someone strong and compassionate like yourself." Senna hugged Asami again, this time to comfort her. Asami realized how hard it must have been for Korra to leave all of this. Realized why Korra was the free-spirited girl she was, the girl who only chose to see others for who they truly were. Because of the parents that raised her, these people who were so accepting, who did not judge but rather welcomed despite the way Asami was. Hugging Korra's mother, she felt like she was hugging her own. It felt comforting. It felt right.

"I'm going to miss her so much," Asami said.

"Me too," Senna replied. "I am going to miss seeing her, hearing her, but I don't think I can ever stop feeling her next to me, holding my hand, watching over me. Over the past few days, the feeling of her warmth and comfort have not left me. They still exist, because I still remember her. The memories and the relationship we had still survive, and because of that, so does she. She never truly leaves us unless we forget her, unless we forget what she and I shared. That bond can never be broken, and so we are always connected. I hear her when I wake up. I feel her when I go outside and look at the snow, the mountains, the sky, the water, the sun, the moon and the stars. I see her when I look at Tonraq, and when I look at you. She is present in everything that reminds us that we are still alive because of her. Her love for you was so strong that it can' t possibly be destroyed by something like death. She will be with you for as long as you remember what you two shared. Always together."

Always together. Always with me. Blowing my hair in the wind. Heating me with the sun and cooling me with the snow. Watching over me from the stars. Comforting me when I am scared and hugging me when I am happy. I will never forget what you have done for me, Korra. I will always love you.

"Korra was the embodiment of our strengths. The embodiment of our true power. A power that still lives within all of us, keeping her and all those that have died for us alive. A legend that can never be forgotten, for to be forgotten is to truly die. And that will never happen. Korra told me that she did not want to be our savior. She did not want to be remembered as one who single-handedly saved the world. She told me she was not, told me that this world was saved by each and every one of you. That we do not need to rely on an all-powerful being to save us. Korra may have not wanted to be remembered as a savior, but I believe she must be remembered as a symbol, a reminder, of our strength, of our potential, of our determination. That this is our world, and that when we stand together as humans, we can accomplish anything. She showed this to us not as an Avatar, not as a bender, but as nothing more than a young girl whose name was Korra."

The end.

/*Welp that is it. Thanks for all those who read it all, especially the guest reviewer who always has a different guest name and praises these chapters. Big shoutout to that person cuz you rock.

I may be back to edit this story a bit and maybe post a few small things relating to this story like vignettes of other characters. Hope it was enjoyable. I enjoyed writing it.

'Tiny Anthem' by The M Machine is a song that I liked listening to while writing this, which I think goes along well with this story.

till next time. peace. */