Forgiveness, despite the sentiment, can sometimes be the hardest person to forgive. Accepting yourself is more arduous, whether it's from redeeming a close friend or adamant enemies. It takes more than just a simple call to action to fix what could potentially be years of regret. Korra probably knew that better than anyone else.
She should feel on top of the world. After all, she defeated the Great "Uniter" Kuvira, recovered her Avatar spirit in Raava, and is enjoying a well-deserved vacation with her "partner" Asami. Yet there's still a part of her, a small piece that is still looking back, still regretting what could have been. Almost like something was calling her. And if she was ever going to truly embrace this new chapter in her life, challenges and all, she had to grapple with another ghost from her path. Put some demons to rest.
So at "night," Korra decided to give a subtle kiss to Asami goodbye before setting out on her journey. Eventually, she reached the spirit portal of Republic City. However, this was much less a final destination and more of a shortcut. She was still unsure if this plan could even work, but as a former adversary once stated. The Avatar should be someone with no limits.
Through Raava and her newfound resolve, Korra went through the portal using her returned Avatar State. However, instead of returning home, Korra started to bend the spiritual energy surrounding her, rearranging her course till she beamed down to her destination: The Tree of Time. The sight of her greatest failure, the time she lost her connection to the Avatar Cycle forever.
Still stumbling over the near-unprecedented feat, it took some time before she got her bearings again. Her current sight didn't help at all, though. Just looking at the giant structure flooded her memories back towards Harmonic Convergence, a time when she felt more alone than ever. If she were a little stronger, a little bit faster, then maybe-.
She immediately shrugged off those thoughts. She didn't come here to stew in what-ifs. She came here to make amends and answer the call. Deciding to forge ahead, Korra eventually went back inside the Tree, hoping to find some answer. Unfortunately, Korra forgot to account for one essential thing. It may have been over three years since Harmonic Convergence, but the effects it's had are still fresh in a cosmic sense. Especially the excess cosmic energy that was still present in the area.
The minute that Korra touched the tree, that power started to flood back her, pushing her away as if she was shocked. With her now antsy, hurt, and anxious, she poured all her frustration into one word.
"OW," she said plainly.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you," a gentle voice said with an outstretched hand.
Noticing she now had an audience, Korra immediately backed up to a sight that left her speechless. Against all odds, the young woman now faced a living legend, the man who ended the hundred-year war, the founder of Airbender Island, and the father to her most sacred mentor, the Last Airbender: Avatar Aang.
Though a little smaller than she imagined. What replaced the adult she usually saw was now a young preteen. The image threw her off immensely, but the demeanor was very much the same, making her more nervous.
"Oh my God, Aang, how is it possible, how is this-."
"Honestly, I don't even know myself. I do know that you need some help and that I can do it in a way you understand."
"How are we going to do some meditating, play on an air scooter? I'm willing to do just about anything to move on from this finally."
"I'm glad that you said that," he said with a mischievous smile.
Korra soon regretted her words as she and Aang soon found themselves several feet apart in a stand-off position. While Aang entered a series of graceful motions, Korra was doing something similar to pro-bending like shadow boxing, given what she knew about the powerful pacifist she had to ask.
"Do you remember the rules?" Aang said as he finished limbering him.
"Of course, I do, spar till the other is incapacitated. It just doesn't feel like you," she said confusingly.
"True, but I think we both learned from Toph that different students and teachers require different methods. Trust me, by the end of this, you'll understand. I'll let you have the first move," he said calmly.
Korra's arms shook in hesitation, still grappling with the miraculous feat in front of her. She had already lost so much through both her own mistakes and by her enemies. Doing this in the first place was like a leap of faith, a storm of possibilities. A part of her wanted just to retreat, but Korra also knew that she had to stick this through, embrace the answers Aang might have.
So for a brief moment, Korra closed her eyes, steadied her breath, and then started the fight of legends.
She started with a strong offensive, seamlessly blending a barrage of fire, water, and earth. However, to the Airbender, this was an easy challenge. Using air Aang managed to avoid each attack gracefully, picking up enough speed to conjure an air scooter. Once he sped towards Korra she changed her format creating a small stone pillar that sent Aang upwards. Which left him on a collision course with two flying fireballs.
Godly evasion saves Aang again, though, using a flame-clad sweep kick to intercept both projectiles. Going on the offensive before landing, the Airbender created a mini earthquake. The collective force was more than enough to force Korra on her back. But the young woman persisted back up with growing determination. With an earthly stomp, she levitated several large rocks.
Like a Gatling gun, she fired them towards Aang, who blocked with an earthen wall. However, this move blocked his vision for the next pressing attack. Using the nearby stream, Korra unleashed a dangerous torrential shot that swung towards Aang, adamant about keeping pressure.
However, both opponents had the same waterbending teacher as Aang simply stopped and redirected the blast into a humongous whip toward Korra. Her heritage and training pulled through as Korra dispelled the whip before it connected, instead retooling it into a wave that launched her forwards.
Even Aang couldn't tag her before Korra got within contact, her superior physicality showing in a wild shoulder throw. Aang skidded across the ground at crushing speed, thrashing wildly while collecting numerous cuts and scrapes. Dazed and pained, Aang guided himself on instinct as Korra vengefully descended with a fiery axe kick.
Clutching the ground, Aang intercepted with a rocky gauntlet, gaining enough ground to peel himself out and form an earthen armor. Korra tried to keep up with the fire, using a series of blazing jabs. However, that quickly proved useless as he simply launched pieces of his armor towards his successor. Korra couldn't deflect them all at such close range, getting quickly overwhelmed by three hefty rocks that left her stunned.
Adding to the offensive, Aang also unleashed several air blades. Forcing Korra even more off-balanced as she narrowly dodged most, leaving Aang the opening to create a nigh-unstoppable gale. Korra tried to block it but got overwhelmed, eventually crashing into the large Tree of Time.
Huge welts grew across her entire body as Korra started to get out of breath. Recent years have made Korra temper her aggression. But there was only so much it would take before it ran wild. Her drive to win fueled her ever forward, flooding her body with the awesome power of the Avatar State. Raava's emblem started to glow from her body, along with her eyes, while her power increased monumentally.
With one violent punch to the ground, the entire landscape of the battle started to crumble away. Now outwardly scared, Aang used his firebending to launch himself away from the initial wave. Meaning that he had to watch in horror as Korra, upon jets of fire, physically lifted the rubble and morphed them into two boulders the size of mansions.
With nowhere left to run, Aang decided to take the teachings of Bumi and Toph and stand his ground. Using another air scooter, Aang started to zoom across the battlefield over and over again in a circle. Eventually, he started to pick up massive speed as wild winds whipped around him. Deciding he needed to think bigger, he also moved his mini-tornado towards the nearby stream, arming himself with two elements at once.
By the time Korra threw her boulders, they were already met with a massively controlled tornado! When the two elements collided, the young airbender got massively worried, wondering if his defensive strategy had paid off. Thankfully though, the massive gamble got rewarded as slowly but surely, the gigantic projectiles redirected towards his legendary opponent.
However, Korra refused to back down, telekinetically forcing her projectile's path against the mini storm. Keeping strong, Aang kept spinning even faster, redirecting the tornado's course to push the boulders back on Korra. Refusing to back down, Korra pushed herself even further. The young woman released a whirlwind of fire from her maw like a dragon.
Once it made contact with the boulders, the collision of four elements in such rawness created a massive explosion, enveloping all who witnessed it. Amid such power, Aang got completely crushed as he crashed into a river. With coldness on par with a predator, Korra proceeded to freeze the lake, a fitting fate for the boy once found in an iceberg.
From on high, Korra then descended victoriously while turning off her Avatar State. Yet despite the stunning achievement, she certainly didn't feel like a winner. Her feelings of regret, uncertainty, and dread still clouded over her. Nonetheless, Korra tried to retrieve Aang. However, that wouldn't exactly be necessary. Before she could even touch the frozen lake, a glowing hand launched out of it, grabbing Korra by the throat tightly.
Almost reflexively, Korra reactivated her State, which didn't dare do her any favors as the hand proceeded to force her back with a jet-like blast of wind. Using thrusters of fire, Korra could barely stabilize herself, leaving her as a mere witness to what could only get described as Divine. For a small flicker, she could see the past avatars from behind Aang, a living symbol of what she lost.
In a sphere of coursing air Aang rose out of the frozen lake, his tattoos and eyes glowing with a focus unlike any other. With only a simple flick of the wrist, the Avatar had a massive splash of water circle around the bubble. He immediately followed up by summoning the debris from Korra's boulders, molding a ring of high dense pebbles. Finally, to finish his elemental bubble, Aang let a roar of fire on par with the dragons, eventually letting it dance across his body.
Korra could do nothing but watch the event in awe, realizing that the battle may already get decided. How could one sheltered, shattered woman compare to the might and experience of masters who traded the world countless times? The comparison was enough for her to give up until she remembered nearly, that she wasn't alone. She still had Asami, Bolin, Mako, Naga, Tenzin and so many more people. And if she was going to help them all, she had to stand and fight.
Once again, Korra steeled herself as, using the height of her Avatar State, she flew towards the elemental master. Instinctively, Aang fired off his ring of rock, each armed with a cannonball velocity. Using a combination of fire and air, Korra managed to sidestep through them, eventually getting close enough to counterattack fully.
Through balling her fist Korra summoned a wave of rock, upheaving the ground and surprisingly pushing Aang back. Trying to regain control, he tried to count on his water ring, morphing it into a hydro hand. However, Korra evaporated it instantly in an intense fire bloom, causing an enormous smokescreen to occur, which caused the nomad to close in, rapidly crashing towards Korra and sending her upwards.
Before she could get shredded by the air, she responded with her compressed gale to brush herself off him. Aang tried to circle back vengefully, but Korra released her final ace in the hole at that point. Using a combination of water, earth, and air Korra created a grand crevasse that spewed water, dividing up both fighters enough for Korra to turn it into a violate torrent, hoping to submerge Aang fully.
Unfortunately for her, it just wasn't enough, as Aang responded, leaving with his ace in the hole. Through mixing all four elements, Aang fired off a swirling tempest of his own. The two blows clashed with a violent shockwave, trembling the entire landscape in its power. However, Aang finally won through, shredding through the blast and knocking Korra out of the sky.
Sapped of her strength, the great warrior crashed violently towards the ground, unable to fight any longer. And as Aang landed gracefully in return, Korra could only barely hold back her tears as she said.
"I'm sorry, Aang, I couldn't pass your test, just like how I couldn't succeed the torch you passed onto me," she said sorrowfully.
"That's funny because you just did," he said jokingly.
Utterly shocked at what she just heard, she could only say.
"Wait, what?!"
Aang then proceeded to help her up as the two started to make meditative stances. From there, Aang explained his true intentions.
"You've done nothing wrong, Korra frankly, I think you're in many ways stronger than me. The Avatar may serve the world, but at the end of the day, I think we are all that the world needs of us at the time. And maybe what the world needs is a fresh start from it all. Either way that it's not my place to say. All I can say is that you must also find the balance for yourself to maintain balance. You've been the Avatar for your entire life, maybe it's time Korra had a shot. That's more than any one of us had to bear. So take it from someone who's been you. If the cycle needs to restart, maybe you can, too. Maybe there's a place for Korra Understand?"
Realizing the depth of Aang's words, Korra amongst her scraps collected her thoughts enough to say.
"Yes, I think I do," she said warmly.
"Then my work is done, but remember Korra, just because you can't connect with us anymore doesn't mean you're alone. You're going to keep falling, but it's what you do after that's important. Either way, keep going. Enjoy your vacation."
"Thank you, Aang, for everything," she said with pure emotion.
"No problem," he said as he suddenly vanished in a gust of wind.
Thus Korra once again was left alone, at the sight of her biggest failure. Originally she came here, an aimless soul looking for answers, but now leaving that as a woman fully realized and ready to take on the world. Finally forgiving herself.