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There was a hole in Tenzin's wall. Again.
It was no surprise to him, honestly. The amount of times the poor house has been subject to invasions, attacks, and Korra’s lashing out was more than Tenzin cared to keep track. He just sighed and looked toward who he assumed was the perpetrator, who sat with her arms crossed and refused to look at anyone.
"...Korra," Tenzin asked, shoving down his visible rage. "Why is there yet another hole in my wall?"
"Wan started it," Korra pointed at an apparition of holy shit is that the First Avatar.
"YOU KNEW I WAS UP 30 PLUS ON CARDS," Wan exclaimed, "AND YOU STILL PLAYED THAT PLUS FOUR!"
"IT WAS THE ONLY CARD I COULD'VE PLAYED," Korra defended, "AND YOU THINK I'D WANT TO END UP DRAWING LIKE FIFTEEN MORE CARDS AFTER AANG PLAYED THAT RED SKIP?"
"Hold on, stop." Tenzin held out his hands, stopping the ensuing fight. "Plus Four? Skip? Aang??? What are you even talking about?"
"The card game that we were playing," Vaatu spoke up from the corner. Notably, she was draped with a cloth that had the word "BANNED" crudely written in bold letters. "Wan, I believe it was called. Funny that."
"You introduced them to that game?" Tenzin said indignantly. "Korra, we had that banned for a reason!"
"That was on me, actually," Asami raised a hand. "I didn’t think it’d be this bad. Like, Raava's refusing to come back out it was that bad."
"…Start from the beginning," Tenzin ordered.
***
"...What is this box of cards," Raava asked, holding up said box. "And why does it have Wan's name on it?"
"Oh, I know this one!" Asami reached over, to which Raava handed the box to her. "It's a card game that really took off with the public. Also caused a lot of fights to break down between players. It's famously known as the friend and relationship killer."
"I think Tenzin banned that game actually," Korra added, "after Ikki ended up blowing the roof off after one too many Draw Twos."
"...It is just a game," Raava tilted his head. "How would it cause a fight?"
"I for one would like to see this for myself," Vaatu pitched in. "It'd be interesting to see what chaos results from it."
"I swear, chaos is all that you think about," Asami deadpanned.
"I am the Spirit of Chaos, after all."
"...Wait a minute," Korra said, sitting down. "I have an idea." She crossed her legs, put her fists together, and closed her eyes. Moments later, two clouds of blue smoke appeared, forming the apparitions of Avatar Aang and First Avatar Wan, both in the same pose Korra was in.
"Hello Korra," Aang nodded. "What wisdom do you seek from us?"
"We're gonna play a card game," Korra replied. "Wanna play?"
Aang and Wan blinked at Korra, then at each other, then at Korra again.
"...Korra," Raava admonished, "did you seriously call upon two of your past lives just so they could play a card game with you?"
"Yup," Korra stated bluntly.
"I mean, not like I won't say no," Wan shrugged.
"I won't either," Aang agreed. "It gets rather boring in the Spirit World from time to time."
"See?" Korra threw her hands at Aang and Wan like she was presenting them. "They have no problems with it."
"You shouldn't be using-" Raava started.
"Come on, other half," Vaatu interjected, wrapping a tendril around Raava as if she was putting an arm on his shoulder. "We haven't seem Wan in ages, it would be fun to bring him along. Besides, you said that it's just a game. What's the worst that could happen?"
***
"...I have drawn," Vaatu began. "Seventeen cards. Not once have I drawn a red. What. The fuck."
"It is just a game, Vaatu," Raava said in a mocking tone.
"Genuinely, I would rather be stuck in the Tree of Time again than doing this shit. Actually, I'd rather be trapped anywhere than here."
"...Even Una-" Aang started.
"NO." Vaatu interrupted. "That piece of shit you call a 'man' is the only thing worse than this hell that you call a 'game.'"
***
"Wan out!" Wan said, putting down a yellow card.
"How the fuck?!" Korra threw her hand down, revealing her cards.
"It's quite simple, my dear student. I only let you think you knew what was in my hand, and thus you played right into my real hand."
"Wow," Asami noted. "No wonder he was revered as the First Avatar."
***
"HAHA! FINALLY!" Vaatu set down a green card, leaving only one card left in his hand. "NEXT TURN, I'LL PLAY MY FINAL CARD, AND I'LL TAKE ALL OF YOUR POINTS! THIS WORLD WILL RUE THE DAY THAT IT CROSSED VAATU, SPIRIT OF-"
"Vaatu," Raava interrupted. Vaatu sighed.
"What is it, other half?"
"You forgot to say wan."
"...what."
"When you reach one card, you're supposed to say the name of the game. That's what the rulebook says, at least."
"...That's made up. You made that up."
"No, I did not," Raava held up the rulebook with two tendrils, pointing at the rule with a third. "It says so right here."
"..."
***
"This is unfair," Vaatu complained as a cloth with the word "BANNED" crudely written on it was draped over her. "I make one complaint about the rules, and I'm subjected to this."
"That wasn't your only complaint about the rules," Asami countered. "Plus, you were about ready to destroy the room anyways, so it evens out."
"I still think that rule is stupid by the way."
"...Vaatu you think every rule is stupid."
"Yes, but that one especially."
***
"RAAVA YOU PIECE OF SHIT," Korra threw down her cards after Raava had placed down a blue Plus Two, the first Plus Two in a pile of Plus Twos that resulted in Korra drawing six. "YOU KNEW THAT WOULD HAPPEN."
"That was simply payback for when you Skip Carded me three turns in a row," Raava shot back.
"YOU HAVE THE LOWEST CARD COUNT, I'D BE CRAZY NOT TO."
***
"Raava, it's just a game," Asami said. "You said so yourself."
"Really?" Raava pointed at Wan. "You should tell it to that one before he WINS THE FUCKING GAME AGAIN."
"You're just mad that I'm better at this game than you," Wan put a hand on his chest.
Raava slams one of his tendrils onto the table. "YOU DON'T EVEN PLAY IT RIGHT, YOU CHEAT AND YOU STEAL EVERYONE ELSE'S POINTS."
"WHY WOULD I CHEAT AT A CARD GAME???"
"OKAY," Aang got between Raava and Wan, holding out hands to both of them. "How about we stop playing for a bit? Clearly everyone needs a break."
"No," Raava said, taking a deep breath. "We can keep going. Things just...got a little heated."
***
Asami looks at the card that was played in distraught. "A skip card?! Come on, I thought we had an alliance!"
"Sorry Asami," Aang rubbed the back of his head. "But that's the only card I could've played."
Asami pouts a little as she turns to Korra. "Looks like it's your turn love."
"Right," Korra looked at her cards. None of them are red. "...Shit." However, she does have a Wild Draw 4 in her hand. She looked toward Wan, who's struggling to hold his 30-something cards, and tenderly put down the +4. "Yellow."
"Wh-" Wan looked at the card that was just played. Then he looked toward Korra, who smiled innocently. "...A Draw Four. Really."
"It's the only card I could've played," Korra defended.
"YOU SEE MY HAND. I'M ALREADY NOT GONNA WIN. YOU DON'T HAVE TO RUB IT IN."
"I'M NOT TRYING TO RUB IT IN! I'M TRYING TO WIN AS MUCH AS YOU ARE! ...Oh wait."
"...You may be the current Avatar," Wan set his hand down, then stood and squared up. "But that ain't gonna stop me from beating the absolute shit out of you."
"BRING IT PRETTY BOY," Korra slammed her hand down and jumped up herself. "I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO SQUARE UP WITH YOU."
"Hey Raava," Vaatu said in her corner as Korra and Wan prepared to fight.
"...What is it, Vaatu?" Raava asked.
"You forgot to say wan."
"..."
Raava rose up slightly, slammed down her singular card with a tendril, and laser beamed the wall. After that, he went back inside Korra, the latter's chest glowing. Everyone stared at the new hole in the wall in shock and horror.
"...I do believe that's my cue to leave," Aang noted as he turned into blue smoke and vanished into Korra as well.
"...Tenzin's gonna kill me," Korra thought out loud.
***
"...And that's the jist of what happened." Asami looked away from Tenzin, rubbing her arms.
"And now do you see why we had that game banned?" Tenzin asked, crossing his own arms.
"You had it banned specifically when you were around," Korra pointed out.
"Well now I'm going to say this: From now on, Wan the Card Game is banned for all of you. Vaatu, Raava if you're still there, neither of you are allowed to even touch a card game again."
"This is bisonshit," Vaatu threw two of her tendrils in the air as if to throw up hands. "I didn't even do anything but consistently have the most cards."
"And also contribute to the yelling," Asami pointed out.
"Fair enough."
"So are we going to ignore that Korra started all of that?" Wan pointed out.
"I TOLD YOU-" Korra began.
"Alright, that is enough," Tenzin stepped in front. "All of you need to take a walk outside. Avatar Wan, you...you just...I don't know, just all of you walk outside."
Everyone begrudgingly stood up, with Vaatu disappearing inside Asami and Wan turning into blue smoke and vanishing into Korra, before Korra and Asami both walked outside.
"...Well, at least they didn't play Monopoly," Tenzin shuddered to himself. "I would be cleaning up that mess for days..."