Omegas Gambit 1/4

Chapter 16: Epilogue

Whipping coils of wind lash her cheeks, her eyes, her nose. She struggles to move, to surge forward, but her muscles won't respond. She's frozen. Limp. Helpless. She can't even lift her head on her own. It's trapped in a soundless, silent, screaming place, and the only thing she can see is Zaheer's blank face.

Her burning lungs seize up, trying and failing to gasp in air. 'Breathe. I can't breathe—' But all the breath in her lungs rushes out, leaving her so empty it hurts. She can't cry, can't make a sound.

Somewhere deep beneath layers of anger and fear, some calm part of her realizes she is going to die. The power and connection of the Avatar State is flickering out, threatening to vanish and leave her body a hollow shell. She's going to die, the Avatar Cycle will end, and Asami will be left alone, just as she feared.

'Asami!'

Somehow, the swimming vision of Asami floating before her is a thousand times more frightening and painful than her visions of Amon, Unalaq, and Vaatu combined. The woman she loves, and the woman she's failed.

'Asami. I'm so sorry. I'm so...'

"There you go. All fixed up for a formal Avatar appearance."

Korra blinked the blurriness from her eyes, trying to get a handle on the suddenly shifting room without being obvious. As flashbacks went, this one hadn't been particularly bad. She was almost growing used to jolting in and out of her own nightmares, her own body. If it's even my own body anymore. At least I didn't fall out of the stupid chair this time.

A soft palm rested on her shoulder, but she didn't even react to the familiar, comforting weight of Asami's touch. Her eyes remained downcast, and she couldn't find the will to say anything.

"Here, Korra. Take a look?"

She flicked her gaze up just enough to see the mirror Asami's other hand was holding in front of her, but she barely glanced at her own reflection. The face in the mirror wasn't hers. It belonged to someone else. Someone who should have died on that mountaintop. Someone who had died on that mountaintop, even though her body hadn't gotten the message.

"It's great," she mumbled when she realized Asami was still expecting an answer. "Thanks."

Asami set the mirror aside, stepping out from behind her chair and kneeling on the floor in front of her. Korra couldn't avoid looking at her, and even though she felt empty inside, the brush of Asami's fingertips against her arm made her heart clench. Her face... staring at me when I was about to die... when I should have died...

"You know, nobody expects you to bounce back right away. It's only been two weeks. You need time to heal."

The warmth of Asami's hand wrapped around her lifeless fingers, but Korra couldn't find the strength to pull away. She remained silent, allowing the contact. You shouldn't be touching me. You shouldn't still care about me after everything that's happened. After I used you, left you, and almost died. You shouldn't—

"I want you to know that I'm here for you if you ever want to talk or anything. But let's just try to enjoy this today. For Jinora."

The strength pouring through Asami's grip and into her was enough, barely, to help her force back the awful thoughts. "You're right." She took a deep breath, straightening her shoulders with what felt like the very last of her energy. "Okay, let's go."

Anywhere, anything has to be better than here.

* * *

She runs, pushing past the airbenders in her way, skidding over the dirt as she sprints toward the dark figure falling from the sky. She can't make out many details, but she fixes on its shape: a hurtling body with a length of chain lashing out from its arm. A flash of glowing white light confirms who the body belongs to, but she already knows. She would have known no matter what.