It had taken only a few days for Kuvira to be transferred to Republic City's minimum security prison. Korra was not sure if she should be impressed or worried about how fast the papers went through. She tugged at the collar of her shirt, huffing as the sun beat on her face. The ferry was traveling too slow from the Air Temple Island to Republic City. Next to her, Kya kept glancing at her in concern but she showed no discomfort to the heat. Korra wondered how that was possible. It felt as if she were at the foot of an immense volcano, lava coming down to burn her. Stranger still was the fact that she showed no signs of the heat. Her skin wasn't clammy and no sweat was beading on her brow.
The only symptom that the others could count on was the fact that her head was constantly pounding. Her migraines were consistently growing worse and the littlest agitation set off one. Korra had nearly shouted at Wu when he started to hum one of his songs during an outing yesterday. She was too miserable to regret it even after he pouted and looked forlorn.
Korra was still tugging at her collar when she spied Lin Beifong waiting for her and Kya on the docks of Republic City. The Chief of Police had a grim look on her face and her arms crossed over her chest.
"Didn't she say she was going to wait for us in her patrol car?" Kya asked Korra, frowning.
"I guess she got impatient," Korra said with a shrug. She could understand Lin's fuse being short lately. She couldn't see Lin so willingly moving Kuvira to the prison so quickly. She didn't want to think of the conversations the chief must have had with Zhu Li and Suyin about the transfer.
The ferry docked and the two got off along with the Air Acolytes. "Took you two long enough," Lin said gruffly when Kya and Korra reached her.
"Nice to see you too, Lin," Korra said with as much of a grin as she could muster. She and Kya followed Lin to her patrol vehicle. Korra took the passenger seat while Kya settled in the back. The air felt refreshingly cool on Korra's face as Lin drove through the streets of Republic City.
"So, Lin," Kya had to raise her voice to be heard from the back of the vehicle and over the wind. "What's wrong with Kuvira?"
Korra frowned at the question, the relief she felt from the wind being downcast by the memory of Kya coming to her room earlier that day. Lin had called the Air Temple Island for Kya and Korra. Apparently, the transfer hadn't helped Kuvira's health much and the healers at the prison weren't having much luck healing Kuvira. Korra wondered how much the healers had actually tried helping Kuvira before giving up. She was wishing Kya good luck when the older woman had added that Kuvira specifically asked for her to come as well. Korra still wasn't positive of why her presence was requested. Maybe Kuvira didn't trust Kya to heal her properly or perhaps Kuvira thought that two healers were better than one. Either way, Korra wasn't sure of how much she could actually help.
"We don't know," Lin explained, her voice tense as she took a sharp turn. "Every healer said that nothing was wrong with her but something clearly is."
Korra definitely didn't want to know how that conversation went. She could feel Kya's eyes on her back but she ignored them. The conversation ended there and they drove in silence to the prison.
When they arrived at the prison, Korra almost laughed. It was the same one that Varrick was thrown into after he was arrested for trying to kidnap President Raiko years ago. For one absurd moment, she wondered if Kuvira was put into Varrick's old cell. The guards quickly waved them through once they saw it was the chief and the Avatar. Lin parked the car in a designated area and led the two through the prison. Korra was amazed how the guards snapped to attention when Lin marched past. Technically, the warden was their boss and Lin had no true authority here but not one guard spoke up about the chief's intrusion.
The trio took so many turns that Korra gave up trying to figure out where in the prison they were. Eventually, Lin stopped in front of a pair of double doors and she took a glance to make sure that they weren't followed. "I should warn you two, Kuvira does not look," she thought of the right word, "well."
Korra almost rolled her eyes at the wording. Of course she wasn't well. If she was, Korra and Kya would still be on Air Temple Island. Still, she nodded that she understood and Kya did as well.
Lin pushed open the double doors and the group went inside. The walls on either side of the room were lined with medical beds and there was a shallow healing tub carved into the floor at the far end of the room. Kuvira was laying in the tub and Korra's eyes fell at once to her. Korra should have taken Lin's words more seriously.
Kuvira's eyes were closed but Korra knew that she wasn't having a peaceful sleep. Her forehead was damp with sweat and her lips were cracked. She could see the cheekbones more sharply than she should. Kuvira wasn't starved but she was heading dangerously close to it. If someone had told her that this frail looking woman used to be the Great Uniter, Korra would have laughed.
Kya wasted no time to start filling the tub, careful to keep the level below Kuvira's head. She took a deep breath to center herself and lifted her arms, feeling the water react to her movement. She pushed and pulled her arms, watching the water start to glow and heal the woman in the tub. Soon she was frowning as she continued. Korra didn't miss the glance Kya gave her as she worked. She especially didn't like how Kuvira did not react to the healing water.
"This is bad," Kya muttered.
"How bad?" Lin asked. She would hand in her badge before she let this woman die on her watch.
"There's nothing physically wrong with her, like your healers said." Kya looked at Korra even as she continued to try to heal Kuvira. "She's like you, Korra." Her brow furrowed as if she felt something. She looked back down and focused on Kuvira's face for a long moment. After a minute, she let go of her control over the water and the glow died out. "You should try healing her. In your Avatar State."
Korra's eyebrows went up as her jaw slackened. "I never healed anyone in my Avatar State." She looked down at Kuvira. Korra could see Kuvira's eyes roam behind her closed eyelids. She wondered what nightmare Kuvira was having and decided that it was best if she didn't know. "I'll try."
Kya moved aside to give Korra space. Korra closed her eyes, reaching down deep within her to reach Raava. It was difficult for her finding the spirit. It was almost like another presence was there and was closer at hand than Raava. She hesitated for a moment before she reached for the power of the ancient spirit and pulled it to the surface. She let Raava's spiritual energy run rampant through her veins. She felt stronger than she had in weeks. Her eyes flashed open, glowing a blinding white as she took control of the water. It obeyed her commands at once and it moved back and forth across Kuvira's body, the glow dim compared to Korra's eyes.
"I think it's working," Korra said, seeing Kuvira shift in the tub for the first time. And she started to feel better too, Korra was confused and relieved to realize. The pang at the back of her head started to ebb away but perhaps that was because of her being in the Avatar State.
"Keep going," Kya encouraged. There was something strange happening in front of her, but Kya couldn't place her finger on what. Maybe as Korra healed Kuvira, it would become clear to her.
Korra nodded as she watched Kuvira shift again, her mouth opening just ever so slightly as if she was about to whisper something. The headache was mostly gone by now but there was something else. Korra searched inside herself and found the other presence again. It didn't take much searching. As the headache was leaving, the presence was growing although that didn't worry Korra as she knew it should have. It felt familiar somehow.
She cautiously began to explore the presence as she healed Kuvira. She wouldn't have been able to juggle the two tasks at once if she wasn't in her Avatar State. Korra pushed the presence softly and felt it do the same, almost playfully. Kuvira muttered something that was too low for Korra to hear so she ignored it.
Another spirit? Korra thought but quickly dismissed the idea. If it were another spirit, Raava would have surely have warned her. Could she warn Korra now that they were connected again?
Korra's musings were interrupted by the presence brushing against her subconscious. The light contact nearly snapped her out of the Avatar State. She felt as if it had fingers and was stroking her spirit, as curious about her as she was about it.
"Korra?" Kuvira murmured, so softly that Korra almost didn't hear her.
The pieces fell into place. Korra jerked away both her spirit and physically from the other presence. She groaned at the flare of pain in her chest, breaking out of her Avatar State. She gripped at her chest and stumbled another step back. Korra lost her balance and fell hard onto her knee. She could taste blood in her mouth where she had bitten her cheek. Swallowing, Korra struggled to get back on her feet, looking down at the tub in confusion. The water that was in the tub was gone and Kuvira was lying on her stomach in the tub, her arms pulled away from her body by metal cables. Korra glanced to the left and saw the cables were attached to Lin's uniform. The water that was in the tub was with Kya, two deadly icicles posed if Kuvira tried something.
"Stop," Korra groaned, swallowing again. Kya shot a glance at Korra and lowered her arms, the icicles melting into water and Lin reluctantly pulled the cables back into her uniform. Korra grit her teeth and looked down at Kuvira.
Kuvira managed to get on her knees in the tub. Green eyes met blue, Korra's accusing and Kuvira's sad. Korra jabbed a finger down at the woman. "What the fuck was that?" she growled.
When Kuvira didn't answer, Korra took a knee next to the tub and grabbed the front of Kuvira's shirt. She jerked Kuvira closer and repeated herself.
Kuvira didn't avert her eyes from Korra's gaze. She opened her mouth to answer but was cut off by Kya's gasp.
"Your auras!" Kya exclaimed, pointing at the two. "That's why they were so different! But how?"
Lin looked between the three women. It was clear that they knew something she didn't and she didn't like the worried look on Kya's face. "What?"
Kya kept her eyes on Kuvira in case the other woman attacked. "Their auras, their spirits! They're mixed!"
Korra had looked at Kya when she started talking but now her eyes shot to Kuvira. This time, Kuvira didn't meet her eyes, staring at the puddle of water at Kya's feet. She knew, Korra thought, incredulous. "What did you do?" she asked, anger and fear dripping from her voice.