The Code

Nightmares

The darkness swirled around her. Korra fought it, struggling to raise her head from the cold metal ground. She looked up, fighting the blackness. Mako... NO! He was going to take Mako's bending!

"No!" she cried, lurching to her feet. Her fist moved of its own accord, slamming with incredible force into the air. Amon looked up, his eyes widening with shock, before he was blasted backwards, slamming against the far wall.

Korra stared down at her trembling hands. Did... Did she just airbend?

The blackness swirled around her once more. Someone had her in an icy grip, pressing down at the vulnerable chi point at the back of her neck. Korra gasped, trying to struggle against the viselike hold, but her bones wouldn't cooperate. Her blood seemed frozen in her veins.

"Death," a voice hissed in her ear. "The Ultimate Equalizer."

The thumb found her forehead. Korra squeezed her eyes shut, feeling the power drain from her... her very core, her being, sucked away into a roiling oblivion...

She fell forward with a silent scream. The cold stone floor rushed up to meet her. She felt herself fading.

"I told you I would destroy you."

Korra's scream echoed off the walls of her bedroom. She leaped out of bed, sending a blast of fire at the wall. Naga yelped, scrambling back from her. It took her a moment to realize where she was. She stood, panting, on top of her mattress, staring at the fresh scorch mark on the wall. Her heart still hammered in her chest.

"Korra!" Footsteps thundered down the hallway. Seconds passed before Tenzin burst into the room, garbed in a long red sleep-tunic, his eyes wild with worry. He hand his fists raised, his feet planted in an airbending stance. His blue eyes swept the room, taking in the scorched wall, Korra's pale face, Naga's stunned posture. Slowly, he lowered his fists.

"Are you all right?"

Korra stared at him. Slowly, she lowered her own fists, shame heating her face. "Uh... yeah. I'm sorry I woke you." She swallowed, fighting to still her racing heart. "And sorry about the wall."

Tenzin sighed, running a hand over his clean shaven airbender tattoo. He moved to sit beside her on the bed, while Korra lowered herself down from where she stood, feet splayed, ready to fight.

"More nightmares?"

Korra glanced at him. "How did you know?"

Tenzin rested his hands on his knees, his face suddenly looking much older than his forty years. "My father used to have them, when he was your age. Sometimes they'd keep him up for nights on end."

Korra sighed, drawing her knees up to her chest. She rested her forehead against them. She reached up to brush her sweaty hair away from where it lay plastered against her cheeks.

"I don't know what's wrong with me," she whispered. "They won't go away."

"Sometimes the Avatar is blessed with a special gift," Tenzin explained. With a glance at her face, he amended, "Or a curse, to see things before they happen. Would you mind telling me what was in your dream?"

Korra hesitated, gnawing her lower lip. "I saw... Amon. He took my bending. He was going to take Mako's but...I think I stopped him. With airbending."

"Hmm." Tenzin stroke his sharp brown beard, his blue eyes deep with thought.

"What does it mean?"

"I don't know. Unlike your visions before, this isn't a replay of events that occurred in the past. Perhaps this is a revelation of what could happen in the future."