The Lost Avatar
By: Tellemicus Sundance
#01—Origins of the Legend

There are many countless legends that surround the beings known to the world as the Avatar, spirit bridge between the worlds. Legends of them preventing wars, ending conflicts, fighting enormous battles both alone and not whilst against armies, settling political disputes, bringing and maintaining peace, protecting the world from the dark and vengeful spirits of the otherworld. And all of these feats of legend weren't due to the common factor that the Avatar was a being of immense political and spiritual power. No, these tremendous feats were guided by the power of the Avatar's destiny to bring and keep the world within balance.

At the end of the reign of Avatar Aang, the world held its breath for the discovery of the next Avatar as the cycle began anew. But, in an encounter that many future historians would later debate endlessly, the destiny of the new Avatar was forever changed and the rise of a different legend began.

—Water—Earth—Fire—Air—

157 ASC
South Pole

In the South Pole, winter lasted slightly more than eight months of the year. Some days the sun didn't even rise, keeping the lands coated in varying shades of darkness. Winter storms had a tendency to last for weeks and the constant snowfall and winds made travel extremely difficult. Many a poor fool ended up getting lost and freezing to death. And that wasn't even taking into account the deadly predators that roamed the frozen wastes, like the polar bear-dog, wild polar dogs, and the deadly polar leopards.

It was for these conditions that the majority of the Southern Water Tribes were located near the shores and every home had its own source of running water. Though several ambitious leaders had tried in the past to establish new Tribes further inland over the ages, the winter conditions only got harsher and longer lasting, forcing those budding expansionists to abandon their dreams of fully cultivating the South Pole.

Korra was only four-years-old when she discovered she possessed the wonderful gift of waterbending. She had been out playing in the winter snow during the morning darkness. There were ominous, dark clouds visible on the horizon, promising the arrival of the start of a new storm season and frigid temperatures. But the young, slightly plump girl didn't even notice.

Her attention was focused upon herself, the water at her feet, and the basic instructions on the scroll that she'd set on the bucket next to her. Dressed in a simple blue fur and tiger-seal leather coat and snow pants, the little tanned girl was glaring cutely at the water as she set herself into the basic stance of waterbending that the scroll described. Focusing inwards, Korra felt a deep reservoir of untapped chi potential within herself. Drawing upon this energy, she filled her body with it, moving it with the ease of water.

Raising her arm experimentally, Korra let out a delighted cry as a narrow strip of water surged up from the ground and floated in the air like a serpent. Due her childish fascination at what she'd done, Korra lost her concentration on her chi, her martial arts stance faltered, and the water collapsed limply back into the puddle. But it didn't dissuade her in the least.

"I did it!" she cried out joyously as she jumped into the air, raising her arms triumphantly. "I'm a Waterbender! I'm gonna be greatest ever!"

It was then that something remarkable happened. With her chi still present within her body despite her losing her focus, it responded to her body's actions. With the upward thrust of her arms, a pair of small rocks jutted out of the ground next to each other in front of her. The remainder of her chi was then expelled as a small and weak plume of fire erupted from her mouth while she was still crying out happily.

Startled by these unexpected events, Korra lost her balance and fell to the ground. Moaning slightly at her pained bottom, she quickly sat up and stared at the two rocks that still were jutting out, an incredulous expression on her face. "Did I do that?!"

Jumping back to her feet, she brought out her chi again and tried to repeat the event. Now that she was paying attention to it as she was lifting her arms up, Korra felt a slight resistance pull at them. The resistance was rather light, so she was able to stubbornly push pass it with her chi-enhanced muscles. Sure enough, another rock, larger than the previous two, lifted out of the ground and hovered in the air before her. Losing her focus again in surprise, the rock fell to the ground as she stared at it in slight incomprehension.

As her mind began to catch up to her, an idea quickly formed. It was impossible. It had to be! But she still had to test it. Feeling the small amount of leftover chi still inside her, she expelled it as she punched outwards, making another blast of orange fire. Realizing that the bedtime stories her mommy and daddy had been telling her were true, a wide smile crossed Korra's face.

"I'M THE AVATAR!" Channeling her chi once again, she thrust her tiny fist into the air triumphantly with a wide grin, raising the large rock in front of her once again to accentuate the point. "WATCH OUT WORLD, HERE I COME!"

From the inside of their home, Senna watched her daughter with a small smile and sad eyes. She loved her baby dearly. And while she was both surprised and honored to discover that her little Korra was the Avatar, she felt an immeasurable sadness fill her. This was because she knew that her daughter was going to be facing many hardships in the future, most of which she'd be expected by the masses to settle in some way. It was both a gift and curse, an incredible honor and a never-ending duty.

Senna truly hoped that her spunky daughter could handle the challenges that no doubt were awaiting her arrival.

—Water—Earth—Fire—Air—

Two days later…

It was late night, very dark, freezing cold, and the strong winds were blowing large, shifting dunes of snow through the air with the greatest of ease. The many of the lamps and candles of the various igloos and homes of the Tribe were slowly being sniffed out, leaving only the small central fire pits in homes for light and heat on this cold winter night. The only sounds disturbing this tranquil scene were those of five people dressed very heavily in fur coats, cloaks, and various other winter gear as they quietly entered the Tribe's main village area.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Jakka?" one of the men asked, his voice barely heard over the winds.

"Of course it is!" Jakka answered instantly. "And don't try to talk us out of it! This rumor is credible, I know the guys I overheard discussing it yesterday quite well."

"And think of the fame and fortune!" another man added, a greedy sneer on his face. "Do you think we could talk Amon into paying us for a job well done?"

"Shush!" all four of his companions hissed instantly. Jakka quickly continued, glaring at the speaker, "We're in enemy territory! No speaking of his name until we've got our target! Now, come on. Their home is that one." He pointed to a seemingly random hut.

As they crept closer to the hut, two members of the group approached the door while the other three quickly fanned out and circled around it. They carefully peered through small openings in the fur-lined windows. There were four basic rooms to this particular hut. The largest central one was the common area, one was the washroom, and the other two were bedrooms. Signaling that they'd found the bedroom of the youngest resident, who was presently asleep in her thick fur blankets and sleepwear, the three men went to work digging through the ice and rock that formed the bedroom wall.

Meanwhile at the door, the two men began loudly knocking on the door. It was late, but not so late that travelers would be out and about and most people were just preparing for bed. After a few minutes, a tall burly man opened the door to greet their visitors. "Can I help you?"

"Evening," Jakka greeted in a staged travel-worn voice. "I don't mean to intrude, sir, but I was hoping we could trouble you for some shelter for the night?"

Tonraq didn't even need to consider to request before opening the door fully to allow the two travelers entry. "Of course, come on in. I'm afraid we don't have a spare bedroom, but I know our blankets are quite comfortable, especially on cold nights like tonight."

"Who's there, honey?" Senna asked, as she pulled a robe over her nightgown and approached the bedroom door.

"Just some visitors asking for shelter," Tonraq answered easily, smiling at his lovely wife as he turned towards her, not noticing the strangers reaching towards the insides of their jackets.

—Water—Earth—Fire—Air—

When asked in later years, Korra wouldn't be able to answer just what had caused her awaken at that time, her memories were too hazy. But what she did remember with crystal clarity were the sounds of her parents' distress coming through the walls, thumping noises as bodies jostled about, and the bitter chill of the freezing night air washing over her lightly clothed body as strong hands grabbed her small arms and pulled her out of the comfort of her home and bed.

With a cry of pain and confusion, Korra reflexively tried to free herself. Because of the position she was being dragged in, loose snow on the ground easily entered her loose pajama shirt and sent fiercer shivers of cold up her spine. She was still somewhat asleep, so her body was sluggish and she couldn't properly see through the hazy that clouded her eyes. Sadly, because of her yelling, she made it all-too-easy for her captors to shove a large, filthy rag into her mouth and it off behind her head.

Just as her eyes began to clear, Korra caught sight of something that she'd never be able to forget in her life. Through the hole in her bedroom wall, she saw her mother open the door, stumbling and hunched over slightly, holding her side that had a quickly spreading dark spot of blood. Her mother stared at her and her captors for a moment. Then, in a burst of movement behind her, Senna jolted slightly with a slight cry of pain.

Slowly to Korra, like the change of the tides, her mother's eyes began to close as she hunched further forward and then finally collapsed to the floor. In her mother's place, there stood a burly, heavily coated man with a bloody knife in his hand and a look of absolute contempt on his face as he stared down at Senna's body. Despite her very young age, Korra could recognize death when she saw it. She knew instinctively that her dearly beloved mother was never going to get back up again. Never gonna tuck her in to bed at night, cuddle and play with her in the snow, teach her basic mathematics and reading, help her learn various necessary chores around the house. She was gone to the Spirit World forever.

Thankfully for her captors, before Korra could fly off the handle and trigger the Avatar State as her fast-rising chi skyrocketed, she was roughly jabbed in certain key locations along her spinal column. The pressure points blocked off the natural flow of chi in her body and thus prevented her from entering the Avatar State. As Korra slumped to the ground limply, completely drained of her chi and fighting spirit, a loud wail of anguish erupted from her throat and out around the gag in her mouth. It was a wail that was quickly cut off as she was promptly knocked out and stuffed into a large bag like a piece of rubbish.

"Did you really have to kill them?" Hiwon asked, staring in slight apprehension at the bloody knife Jakka was holding.

"Shut up, we need to get out of here now!" Jakka snapped irritably. The Avatar's father had put up more of a fight than he'd really expected, especially for a man who'd been caught by surprise. "Someone might've heard that brat's yell!"

Grabbing the sack that the girl had been stuffed into, Hiwon slung it over his shoulder and backed away from the hole. Jakka and Wu Jan exited through the hole and they quickly turned and ran for the outskirts of the Tribe. They weren't a moment too soon as just as they'd reached the relative safety of the snow dunes, lanterns and shouts began to appear in the village.

Rushing over to where they'd hidden their boat, the group of men quickly pushed it out into the frigid waters and jumped aboard. Four of them took up oars and began paddling, pulling away from the shore and heading towards the clumps of ice burgs that littered the surrounding waters. The fifth man used an oar to push away any ice that got too close to the boat. With four men paddling in synchronization, they made quite exceptional time and were nothing more than a speck on the horizon before the first of the polar dogs reached the shore, tracking the scent of the strangers.

When the Order of the White Lotus arrived later that night, they found that they'd failed Avatar Aang's last request of keeping his reincarnation safe from threats until he or she was ready.

—Water—Earth—Fire—Air—

The next day…

Korra had never felt more weak, afraid, or alone in all of her short life than she did when she awoke again upon a cold, wooden floor. Her hands and feet were tightly bound by rough ropes that bit mercilessly into her tender skin. She was still dressed in her pajamas, which offered almost no protection against the biting cold in the air. As a result, her body temperature was quite low, her knees and arms were so cold they were almost numb, and her breath came out in small poofs of moisture before her face.

"Mommy, Daddy," she murmured quietly. The first coherent thought in her mind was that she wished her parents would close the door or give her a blanket to warm her up in. Then she remembered the vivid memory of her mother falling over dead and the fear set in.

Eyes opening as her drowsiness quickly fled, Korra looked around her new surroundings with fear and confusion. She was inside some kind of dark room. The only light came from the small barred window in the door. Though not enough to illuminate the room, it was enough to help Korra see. The room was bare, except for a small, ragged blanket, a set of clothes about her size, and a pair of boots. Struggling, she tried to push herself up into a sitting position, but she couldn't with her limbs tied.

"Hey!" she called out as loudly as she could. "Can someone untie me, please?!"

There was no answer, leaving Korra to suspect that either she was being ignored or she was alone. Gritting her teeth, Korra rolled over onto her back, glaring at the ropes on her feet as she lifted them into the air. How she wished they'd just spontaneously combust—! That's it! Using the same trick that she'd learned a few days ago, Korra breathed in through her nose, heating the air in her lungs with her chi, and then blowing it out in a small but concentrated blast of fire. Due to her unrefined technique, the fire bloomed into a relatively large fireball that mildly burned her bare feet. But the trade-off of having the ropes burned off seemed somewhat worth the pain, in Korra's opinion.

Holding in her initial cry of pain, Korra merely rolled onto her side and tried to breathe deep and calmly. In a slight twist of irony, she actually found herself somewhat thankful for the cold air since it helped to numb down the burn pains. After several minutes of this, she gingerly tested her feet. They still throbbed in pain, but it was a bit more manageable now. Enough so that she was able to finally stand up and walk hesitantly over towards the pile of clothes.

Sitting down next to it, thanks to her young and flexible body, she was able maneuver her hands down under her butt and looped them out under her feet, freeing them from behind her back. Repeating her earlier firebending trick, she blew out another but much smaller ball of fire that incinerated the ropes on her wrists. Hands free, she quickly changed out of her pajamas and dressed into the clothes provided. They weren't much, torn and worn bare in places, but they were still considerably better than what she had on.

Moving over to the door, she started banging on it as hard as she could. "Hey! Is anyone there?! I wanna go home!"

"Quiet, you!" a sudden and loud voice snapped from the other side as the man hit the door hard enough to cause it to jolt in the frame, scaring young Korra. Peeking through the small window, the dark-skinned man glared disgustedly down at her. It took only a few seconds, but Korra soon recognized that horrible face from her nightmarish memory. That was the man who'd killed her mommy! "If you know what's good for you, Avatar, you'll keep quiet and out of trouble!"

"Why'd you hurt my mommy?!" Korra yelled, muscling through her fear of the man as a small glare worked its way onto her face. "We didn't do anything to you!"

"Not yet, you haven't," the man acknowledged, his glare deepening. "You should be happy we didn't send you to join your parents in the Spirit World yet."

"…What?" Korra asked, a deep quickly starting to take place in her heart. "My 'parents'? What'd you do to Daddy?!"

"The same thing as your mother, brat," the man snapped. "Now, sit down, shut up, and behave or I'll come in there and hurt you too!" Before Korra could formulate a response to that, the man stepped back and slammed the window shut, cutting off the light.

In the darkness, Korra loudly wept for her parents. Fear, confusion, and sadness were her only companions.

—Water—Earth—Fire—Air—

Three weeks later…

Jakka stared out of the manmade window of the small cave he was in. It had been a stressful month for him and his team. When he and his companions of fellow Equalists had set out for this job, they had thought it'd be a simple case of grab and run. But ever since they'd arrived at the Avatar's home tribe, they'd been continuously blocked or hindered in some fashion. Some of them hindrances were expected, but others most assuredly weren't.

First, the Order of the White Lotus had learned of the 'potential' Avatar's kidnapping much earlier than they'd first assumed. The ancient Order had become much more influential and militant in the past few decades, especially since Avatar Aang's passing. With that kind of power, they had easily been able to all but put up a blockade around the South Pole. Getting out of the South Pole had quickly proven to be very difficult, even when a person wasn't trying to conceal anything. Trying to smuggle the uncooperative Avatar out of the Water Tribe right now would be nothing more than an effort in futility. On that note, it had definitely been a good idea of Jakka's to hide the little brat in his family's old hunting cabin out in the frozen wastes.

Another complication was of course the weather. The Avatar had chosen a horrible time to reveal herself, as far as Jakka was concerned. The winter storms had hit with a vengeance, keeping the South Pole painted in near-constant darkness and endless freezing winds of snow. This made travel very difficult by itself. With only an average of three hours of daylight a day, this only further restricted travel time.

One small blessing was that he had managed to send Wu Jan ahead to Republic City with news of the Avatar's capture. He had been sure that Amon would've been quite pleased with them. That alone would've made nearly all other problems seemingly worthwhile if they'd had their leader's approval. But the fact of the matter was that this 'preemptive strike' was completely unplanned, unsanctioned, and unnecessary. Wu Jan had returned only a few days ago with bad news: Amon was not pleased. Apparently the Equalists' leader had had plans to face the Avatar later on, when she was a fully-trained and recognized Avatar and at the height of her power. What better way to show that the Equalists weren't to be trifled with than if Amon could bring down their bending champion like that?

Alas, he and his team were trapped in the Southern Water Tribe in the beginning of winter with the Avatar that they couldn't just return for fear of discovery and imprisonment or worse. To add to their troubles, their food supplies were beginning to run low and they'd need to more lumber for a fire if they hoped to survive the cold. The only saving grace was that the cave they were hiding in was a completely natural formation farther out into the frozen wastes that many other travelers or hunters would dare venture, especially in winter. The fact that it was a cave provided them with some rather worthwhile protection from the elements, but that'd only last for so long. Not to mention that cabin fever would begin setting in and would likely have him and his teammates at each other's throats in no time.

"I'm going out," Fafnir said suddenly as he pulled on his fur coat and headed to door. Fafnir was Jakka's longtime friend and they were brothers in all but blood. "I'm gonna head to the Tribe and get some food."

"No," Jakka said quickly. "The storm's starting to get worse and the light'll be gone in less than an hour at this rate. You'll never make it."

"You think I can't handle a little cold?" Fafnir asked in a slightly mock-accusing voice. "You forget that I grew up out here, like you."

"And you're forgetting just how quickly the cold can set in," Jakka snapped, not the least bit swayed.

"I don't know about that," Hiwon spoke up from the other side of the room as he too put on a coat. He was of Earth Kingdom ancestry, as was evident of his stocky frame and green eyes. Turning to face his self-appointed leader, Hiwon continued, "We need food, tonight. We won't have any more after breakfast tomorrow. Either we freeze to death out there, or we starve to death in here. I personally don't wanna be in here anymore either. I'm going with Fafnir."

Jakka really couldn't argue with them since they were right. But at the same time, he knew he was also right too. No matter what they did, they'd have to take a risk. These types of risks were dangerous in winter, especially since they never knew when the storms would pass. Letting out a sigh that sounded more like a growl, Jakka sternly said, "Don't dawdle out there! Get there, get food, and get back here tomorrow morning!"

Neither man wasted the time to answer as they exited the cave and headed off in the direction of the Tribe, quickly vanishing in the white-out conditions of the blizzard.

As Jakka let out a sigh of resignation, a loud cry of pain rang out from further in the cave. Getting up, Jakka headed off in the direction of the noise. At the back of the cave, the place normally reserved for supplies that they were now using to hold the Avatar brat, he found the door to the room open. Inside, he found Lyzon and Wu Jan. Wu Jan of the Earth Kingdom was holding a lantern, watching the spectacle that had become common place in recent times with a bored expression. Lyzon of the Fire Nation was standing before the young Avatar, holding her up by her dark hair as he hit her in her slightly pudgy gut. The girl had tears falling down her cheeks, futilely trying to protect herself from the blows to her stomach with one hand and trying to free her hair from Lyzon's grip with her other. To a degree, Jakka was pleased by what he was seeing.

In the early days here, they had quickly 'taught' the Avatar that any form of bending would result in instant and painful punishment. No matter the cause or reason, if she tried to use it to escape or protect herself. If they caught or suspected her of using bending, they'd block her chi and beat on her. Not enough to break bones or even leave a scar, but enough to leave her body in agony and covered in dark bruises. Of course, that was only in the early days. Nowadays, they'd just beat on her for the heck of it and she'd no longer try to ask for an explanation because she knew what she'd get in response, a slap to the face if she was lucky.

"What did the little brat do this time?" Jakka asked Wu Jan, distractedly watching Lyzon administer punishment.

"She wanted more food," Wu Jan answered, glaring at Korra remorselessly. "She still seems to think she's more privileged than us worthless nonbenders. Isn't that right, ya little glutton?"

"I didn't do anything!" Korra wailed breathlessly, only to be slapped across her chubby cheek.

"What did I say about being too loud?!" Lyzon snapped.

"That's enough for now, Lyzon," Jakka said. "How about for tonight's punishment, she goes without her blanket or clothes? That should teach her something about wanting what's not hers to begin with."

Wu Jan and Lyzon both grinned in response while Korra quickly bunched herself into a fetal ball to try and protect her clothing.

—Water—Earth—Fire—Air—

That night…

She had her chi back. That was the only good thing about her situation at the moment. She was nestled in a corner, colder than normal, nude, and covered in even more bruises than normal. Using her chi, she channeled it through her body as a type of internal liquid fire, trying to stave off the cold and protect herself from freezing to death. This had become commonplace in recent times. She'd learned how to insulate and keep her body warm like this quite quickly, but she didn't dare use it during the 'day' and it had tired her out quite fast in the beginning. Yet now, she could perform this little trick all-night long.

Korra wasn't a master tactician or schemer by any means, but that didn't stop her from formulating a plan of escape. Korra knew that it was winter outside, which meant that she could easily disappear into the snow and her captors wouldn't be able to quickly find her. The problem was somehow being able to escape. Her first choice was to sneak out the door and slip out through the front door. But the obvious danger to that was if one of the men woke up and blocked her chi again. Sad as it was, she just didn't have the power, strength, or experience to fight her way to freedom. They'd inevitably catch her, throw her back into this prison cell, and start beating on her again.

Her next choice was to burrow through the cave wall and reach the outside that way. But because she still hadn't had the opportunity to actively practice her earthbending, the best she could do was move small stones around. If she tried to dig out the wall, it'd make a lot of noise and draw attention to her. But both of those choices of escape included her wearing clothes! They didn't include her being starved for almost three days. And they most definitely didn't include her being so hurt and bruised that she couldn't move hardly an inch without flinching in pain.

Why were they doing this to her? She hadn't done anything to them! She knew the reasons they always yelled at her. About how she'd grow up to become the pinnacle of all the ruling class bending regimes and how she'd enforce the Benders' wills over the nonbenders, suppressing their free wills, and controlling them through fear, threats, and violence. That she'd become the sword and shield of the Benders who sought to oppress those who had no bending powers. But while she knew the reasons they told her, her young childish mind just didn't understand them. All she knew was what and who she currently was and vaguely of what she was destined for. But that didn't mean that she knew who she'd become or what she'd do in the future. What did she care what she might do in the future? She wasn't guilty of doing anything wrong right now and that was all she cared about right now.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts lest she'd lose her concentration on her internal firebending, Korra returned her attention to just staring blankly at the darkness surrounding her. And it was because of the silence of the night that she heard it. A faint scraping sound was just audible to her. Turning her head in the direction the noise was coming from, Korra stared at the section of the wall that the scratching was emitting from. Crawling weakly over to it, she pressed her ear up against the cold stone and listened. It sounded like something or someone was digging, not very well or quickly, and…was that a whine? Was there an animal in there?

Reaching out, she knocked lightly on the stone wall, trying to get a reaction from within. And she most definitely got one, the scratching noise stopped momentarily. After a few moments, a slightly louder whine came out of the wall. Mimicking the noise as best she could, Korra let out a whine of her own, trying to reassure whatever was inside the wall. It seemed to work since the scratching noise started up again, more frantic than before.

Standing up on unsteady feet, Korra summoned her chi and took a strong stance. With a forceful yank backwards, she pulled a small section of the wall out of place. Tumbling out of the displaced rock with a small gust of cold air, a small, white creature dropped to the floor with a soft whine of pain. Coming forward with caution, Korra stared at the small creature in curiosity that overrode the pain in her body. Though it was small, even for a newborn puppy, Korra easily recognized it for what it was. It was a polar bear-dog puppy! The child in Korra that had somehow managed to survive this long bubbled to the surface and caused her to let out a small squeal of delight at the adorable creature in front of her.

Moving forward, she reached out a hand tentatively for the puppy. The puppy looked up at her with wide, frightful eyes. Korra merely smiled lovingly as she gingerly sat to the ground a short distance away from the puppy and whispered, "Hello there! My name's Korra and I'm the Avatar! Who are you?"

The puppy let out a pained whine as it tried to stand to its feet. But it's front left foreleg collapsed under the weight, causing the bear-dog puppy to let out another whine of pain. Panicking slightly at the loud noise, Korra reacted on instinct. With a waterbending move, she summoned some ice and snow out of the tunnel the puppy had made and brought it to her hands, liquefying it.

Crouching down before the puppy, she gently encased the injured foreleg with the cold water and started willing her chi into the wound. Almost instantly, the water started to glow faintly as it acquired healing properties and the puppy stopped whining in pain. Focusing on the wound, Korra pushed as much of her chi as she could into it, encouraging it close and heal itself. She didn't know how long it had taken, but by the end of the healing session, she was next to exhausted as nearly all of her chi was spent.

But her efforts weren't for naught, for the puppy made its pleasure of being healed known as it pounced on her and started licking her face lovingly. The bear-dog's wet tongue dragging across her brought out the first faint giggles of laughter that Korra had expressed since her capture. Hesitantly hugging the puppy, Korra, marveled at how incredibly warm the puppy was. Its fur was truly something she envied right now, nude as she was.

"I'm happy to help, little one," she said quietly, smiling faintly before it vanished as she remembered her sad reality. "But you really should leave now. I don't want you getting hurt because of me."

As she turned her attention back towards the tunnel, she stared at it blankly for a moment before it suddenly dawned on her. The puppy must've dug in from the outside to escape the cold blizzard! She's finally got an escape route! It took all of her self-control to prevent Korra from crying out in joy at this revelation. Looking back at the puppy she was still hugging, she gave it another slight squeeze as she buried her face in its warm fur. "Thank you, my friend! You've helped me so much! I finally can leave here!"

Later that night, she had eventually managed to push the poor puppy back into the tunnel it had made and replaced the rock with earthbending. She didn't expect the puppy to stay. It was a puppy after all, so it must've had a mother nearby that was looking for it. Plus, it was wild and she didn't have any food for it. Since it apparently couldn't really dig that well through solid rock, Korra was sure that it'd just go off in another direction to find a more suitable ground to hibernate in or something.

What Korra didn't realize at the time was that due to her selfless act of healing the female puppy, she'd earned its undying loyalty. A loyalty made even fiercer since her mother had been killed protecting her from an ambush of polar leopard a week earlier.

—Water—Earth—Fire—Air—

The next day…

Fafnir and Hiwon didn't return at the appointed time and it was really starting to worry Jakka. Did his friend and accomplice manage to make it to the Tribe safely? Did they get lost and freeze to death? Did they get captured by the White Lotus for questioning? What was taking them so long to get back?

The storm had miraculously let up sometime after noon somewhat. The winds were still bitter cold, but it was a major step up from what it had been. Climbing to the top of the rock cliff that the cave was nestled in, Jakka took out a telescope and carefully surveyed the surrounding snowy plains, searching for some sign of his companions. But there was none. 'Dammit, where are you, Fafnir?'

Thoughts about the potential hold-ups and danger, and worrying for his friend's safety accompanied Jakka all the way back into the cave. He and the others could still give them until tomorrow to return. But they'd be going without dinner and they'd have to leave or go hunting for real the next day. Hunting in winter was a very dangerous task, which is why the Tribe's usually stuck close to the shore where the tiger-seals stayed and fishing was much safer (though still quite dangerous).

Loud yells at the back of the cabin distracted Jakka from his thoughts. Growling in aggravation, he moved back to see what was happening back there now. Upon opening the door, he found something very different from the usual beatings taking place. Dressed in only a thin undershirt, the Avatar brat was being held to the ground by Wu Jan. She was yelling as loudly as she could, trying to stop Lyzon from hitting a small white creature that had bitten onto his hand. Lyzon was pulling at the creature's neck fur, but it wasn't enough to dislodge the teeth that were clamped down powerfully onto his wrist, which was bleeding quite heavily. It took only a moment, but Jakka recognized the little white fluff ball as a polar bear-dog puppy. Where did that come from?

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" Korra was yelling, fighting futilely against Wu Jan to reach the puppy. Jakka quickly moved forward and grabbed the puppy, prying the little beast off Lyzon's hand.

"What's going on here?!" Jakka demanded loudly, cutting off both Korra and Lyzon. "Where did this thing come from?!"

"I caught the little bitch sneaking it out through the hole in the wall!" Lyzon answered, cradling his hand as he gestured towards the wall. It was then that Jakka noticed the gaping hole that had been burrowed through it. Turning back to the Avatar with a fierce glare, Lyzon growled, "So, the great Avatar has finally decided to try and make her escape, eh?"

"Lyzon—" Jakka started.

"Go ahead and run!" Lyzon continued, blatantly ignoring Jakka in his anger. "You'll freeze to death in less than a day!"

"Lyzon!"

"And even if you did survive, nowhere you go will protect you from us! We'll always find you!"

"LYZON!" Jakka barked out forcefully. "Stow it! We won't get paid if we don't deliver the Avatar to Amon alive and in good health! Go walk it off!"

Lyzon glared heatedly at Jakka but made no reply. Turning his attention to little puppy that was growling at him despite the position he held it in, Jakka stared at the puppy for a moment. Then a sinister sneer spread across his face as he turned back to his companions. "Looks like we're lucky today, boys. Who wants roast polar bear-dog for dinner tonight?"

Lyzon's glare turned immediately into a sadistic sneer as he stared hungrily at the little puppy. Wu Jan just snorted but made no response. But it was Korra who had the most vocal response.

"NO!" she yelled, struggling even more frantically. "LEAVE HER ALONE! DON'T HURT HER!"

"Shut up, brat," Wu Jan said, slapping her to encourage her silence. Jakka ignored this as he moved to take the puppy further inside to start butchering and cooking the potential meal. But his coldhearted dismissal turned out to be fatal mistake. For it was with just a mere glance between Korra and the bear-dog puppy that the puppy seemed to understand its situation with crystal clarity. It let out a whined whimper, begging for help from the sole person who cared about it.

That was the straw that finally broke the camelephant's back. In that moment of emotional turmoil and constant physical pain, Korra lost her fear as she gave into an anger that was quite focused (if somewhat weak). With a cry of anger at her situation, despair for the puppy's fate, and hatred for her captors, Korra suddenly felt an alien but familiar presence wash over her. For the briefest of moments, she was scared of what it was. But when a surge of tremendous power erupted within her, blasting through the instinctive floodgates that every bender possessed as a means of self-control, Korra lost her fear of what had taken root inside her.

When that happened, her eyes suddenly lit up with a blinding white light as she entered the Avatar State. With a scream of fury, the instincts of thousands of past lives pumped into her, causing her to kick out with her feet. The earth immediately bent to her overpowering force of will, shooting upwards in a series of thick stakes of rock. The attack was so sudden and unexpected that neither Jakka nor Lyzon were prepared for it, which resulted in them getting impaled through their guts as they were lifted several feet off the ground. Jakka immediately dropped the puppy as he instinctively grasped for his wounds.

Wu Jan dropped Korra on reflex and surprise. This proved to be his final mistake as well. Korra jabbed an elbow backwards, launching another series of earth spikes up towards him. Though not caught by surprise, he was still unable to dodge or defend himself since he'd unintentionally been caught in a corner and thus unable to properly move. Like his companions, the spikes impaled him, keeping him suspended off of the ground as he slouched forward, dying relatively slowly and quite painfully.

Her deed done, the Avatar State slowly receded back into the recesses of her body and mind. Looking upon the carnage she'd just wrought, Korra started trembling violently as she tried to suppress her feelings. It wasn't until the bear-dog puppy came up to her and nudged her leg with its wet nose that she finally broke down, crying out loudly as tears fell down her eyes, cuddling into the soft and warm fur of her sole companion.

—Water—Earth—Fire—Air—

158 ASC
South Pole

It had been nearly two months since the attack on the perspective Avatar's home, eight long and painful weeks for the Order and Katara as they tried in vain to find the missing child. A child who they sadly still weren't entirely sure was actually the Avatar in the first place. But Katara knew it. She could feel it in her old bones. That missing child, little Korra, was most definitely the one. No matter if Korra was or not, the entire Southern Water Tribe was in an uproar. Katara wouldn't even be surprised if the rest of the world was in a similar state as them. But given just how limited they were in free transportation in winter, it was still a coin toss if news of the disappearance had reached that far yet.

It was too much of a coincidence to her. Katara had long ago accepted the fact that certain events that coincided with one another in unique and indiscernible patterns happened because they were being guided by the hands of fate. So, the fact that the home of a perspective Avatar candidate had been raided, the parents killed, the child kidnapped, and still no sign of her or who her kidnappers had been led Katara to believe that Korra was most assuredly the one. And if she truly was, Katara couldn't help but notice a curious trend that seemed to be taking shape in the line of the Avatar descendants. Which was, relatively early in their lives, they'd vanish from the world for unknown reasons, leaving the world to sort itself out during their absence. Katara only hoped that Korra wouldn't be gone for nearly as long as Aang's initial disappearance had been.

It was these thoughts that were drifting idly through her mind as she sat at the window of her home, staring out at the place that had once been her childhood home. How it had changed over the years, and still was!

Katara's home was located on an elevated mound of earth and ice, giving her a rather splendid view of the Tribe. Due to her considerable renown and profession during her younger years, Katara's home was one of the few who presently had glass-lined windows. The fire crackled, providing both heat and light as it steadily cooked the stew she was brewing. Wrapped up in a thick set of blue leather and white fur clothing and a blanket over her shoulders, she couldn't help but sigh in slight annoyance. As much as she loved her home, she had grown to quite dislike the sheer coldness that winters brought. Cold that was especially painful for her old bones and rickety joints.

"Where are you, Korra?" she asked herself, a frown on etched on her face as she stared out into the darkness. The sun had set a half hour ago, but there was still a sliver of light on the horizon. Though this may not have seemed like much, the faint amount of light caused the snow and ice to seemingly glow in the darkness, making travel surprisingly easy thanks to the low visibility. But Katara's attention wasn't focused on the Tribe below her. It was out towards the frozen tundra outside the protective walls of the Tribe. "Come back to us and please be safe."

—Water—Earth—Fire—Air—

Harbor

It was unfortunate for Katara. If she had turned her attention not out towards the plains, but towards the harbor, she'd have seen a small shadowed silhouette darting between the buildings. The silhouette was a young girl, dressed in a fur coats, boats, and leggings that were too large for her small frame. Korra kept the hood of the coat up, partially hiding her face as she scurried through the Tribe.

Most normal children, when getting out of a hostage situation, would've been compelled to rush home, to safety and security. But Korra, who had been taken from her home with her parents killed, had lost any perception of 'safety and security' in the comfortable walls of home. Her home had vanished with her parents. Not only that, but during her captivity, the men had at various times told her that they worked for someone named 'Amon' and that he had influence and power that was far outreaching. That nowhere she went would be safe for long.

Naïve though it might have been, Korra took those boastful threats to heart.

That was why she was sneaking through the Tribe for the harbor. She needed to get away from the South Pole, quickly, before Amon could send more men after her. Korra was not a scaredy-cat by any means, but this mysterious 'Amon' person filled her with an irrational fear. If he had the command of ruthless kidnappers and terrorists as those men had been, what else did he have? Who else worked for him and why?

Reaching the docks, she eyed the four ships that were presently in the harbor. Two of them were clearly cargo ships that were still in the process of unloading their wares for the Tribe. Another ship looked to be an old school fishing boat, if the numerous nets and ropes were anything to go by. The last ship was anchored offshore and its outline was a little vague from the distance. But unless her eyes were deceiving her, that ship seemed to be a warship.

"Oh no," Korra whispered quietly. "Is Amon already looking for me?!"

A small nudge on her side drew Korra's attention. It was the polar bear-dog puppy, still following her. Korra still wasn't sure why though. She had thought the little puppy would flee as soon as she saw that Korra was heading towards a human settlement. Against her expectations, the puppy had still accompanied her, albeit much closer than she had been.

"What is it, girl?" Korra asked quietly, looking down at her companion.

The puppy was biting on the hem of her coat, trying to pull her over towards something. Curious, Korra allowed herself to be pulled along. Seeing that her friend was no longer fighting against her, the puppy released her and bounced energetically over to a pile of boxed crates. Coming up to one in particular, the puppy sniffed it intently before looking back at Korra. Catching the hint, Korra climbed up atop the crate and pulled back the lid to see what was inside. There, much to the puppy's knowing joy, was a huge pile of tiger-seal meat carefully packed inside and frozen within thick chunks of ice.

Practically drooling, the polar bear-dog dropped down inside the crate and started scraping away at the ice, trying frantically to reach the juicy meat trapped therein. Korra couldn't help but giggle softly at the scene. Not for the first time, she found herself rather grateful she'd found a friend in the young puppy.

"How much more until we can call it a night?" a voice off the side said, attracting Korra's attention immediately.

"Psst!" Korra hissed to the puppy, trying to get its attention so she could grab it and run somewhere away. But the puppy ignored her, continuing the dig through the ice. Glancing fearfully over to where the voices were approaching from, Korra made a snap decision and climbed inside the crate herself, pulling the lid over the top. In the darkness, she waited quietly, grabbing onto the puppy and pulling it into her lap.

"This'll be the last load for tonight," a muffled voice from just outside the stack of crates said. "And tomorrow, the captain says it's onto Omashu."

The next fifteen minutes were quite stressful for the young Avatar hiding in the crate as her hiding place was lifted, among others, onto a truck and transported somewhere. After the truck ride was finished, the crates were then offloaded and placed somewhere. Waiting almost ten minutes after the voices had vanished, Korra released the puppy and carefully tipped the crate cover open. They were inside the cargo hold of one of the ships she'd been examining earlier.

Sighing heavily as relief washed through her, Korra sat back down on the ice. Igniting a small flame in the palm of her hand for light, Korra felt a small smile return to her face as she saw her furry companion. The polar bear-dog was once again digging through the ice, finally managing to pry one of the slabs of meat from icy confines and was attempting to chew it.

Taking the meat from the puppy, Korra focused on her Firebending into a small, controlled flame that encased the meat, thawing and cooking it within moments. Breaking off a chunk for herself, she handed the rest back to the puppy who happily started devouring.

"Well, at least we got plenty of meat now," Korra murmured to herself between bites. So much food so easily available was truly a blessing for the starved, fearful child as she unknowingly began her trek around the world.

(Author's Note) Eh, I was bored and have recently gotten interested in the new 'Legend of Korra' series. I've always been a fan of the original series, childish though it may have been, and I had high hopes for a more mature version given Korra's 5+ years in age over Aang at the start of their respective series. But, like many fans, I was pretty let down by how abruptly the numerous issues were resolved in canon. Granted, the producers weren't expecting the series to be a hit, but it's still kinda annoying.

This story is entirely a side-project of mine that I'll be working on whenever the whim strikes me...unless I get a lot of positive feedback and people want me to continue it quickly.

Regardless, this chapter and likely the next two are more a type of 'extended prologue' for establishing the differences in Korra's life from canon. I just ask that you be patient with me until I get to the real story.

Also, for those you who don't know, 'Shenling' is Chinese for 'Spirit'. But that'll be covered later on in the story.