"Hell Yeah!" I shouted, turning round to high five the green-eyed, 21 year old earth-bender, whom I have been working with for the past two years. Striking my palm with a loud whack, he playfully put his arms around my shoulder.
"That couldn't have gone better. Four crates of equipment seized, 7 prisoners taken, and enough food and drink for the next three months!". Beaming, he turned to me "Hey, we should have a party tonight - just you, me, mako and a whole lotta food! We could watch a movie, or we could even-".
"Mako? Who's that?" I asked skeptically; It's not that didn't like new people, but I was hesitant to include another person to our tight, be it small, group of friends.
"He's my brother, and he decided to join the resistance three days ago. He used to work as an undercover detective up top, but I convinced him to join. You'll love him, even if his eyebrows are kinda weird..". The idea did seem intriguing, especially since the last couple months have been particularly hard.
"A weirder, more stingy version of you, sounds great" I said laughing.
As we approached the mouth the cave, we arrived at the deck of an old, sunken boat with a 'UF' printed in large font on the side, which we had can come to call home. The air was a mixture of spicy, inciting smells that promised to relinquish our hunger that they we had bore for several days now, and a sticky sickly smell of oil and grease that came with mechanics. Despite this pungent smell, there was something I liked about it: the ability to manipulate metal components to create wondrous machines was something that I had admired from a young age; no doubt this came from years of growing up in a cold rural area where the pinnacle of technological achievement is the invention of skis: a form of transport that followed the mysterious introduction of penguin sledding.
"God dammit, this stupid thing won't, who even-" he struck the component with an abnormally large hammer, causing a small, futile puff of smoke to be emitted from the beeping device.
"Hey Baatar Jr, everything alright?" I asked with a half smile.
"Korra! Hey, I was just tinkering with some enemy technology. Very complex, requires a lot of skill to understand. But don't worry, with my insight I have no doubt we will discover their evil secrets within!". He flashed a wicked smile before promptly returning to whatever he was doing. He was always very odd, but ever since he had met this girl, he was acting particularly strange.
It was no secret that while the raids had been major successes, our engineering and technology department had been lacking to say the least. Before the whole city had collapsed last year, Amon had forcefully recruited all major mechanical and motoring firms, essentially draining anywhere else in the city of any skilled workers.
Before I could even see the main dining room, I was greeted by the sound of celebrations. By the time I was in the doorway, the deafening chant of 'Kor-ra! Kor-ra!' threatened to burst my ear drums. "Alright, alright!" I said acknowledging the sea of people that were surging towards me.
"To Korra! The women who has liberated us from the bastards who have have tried to rob us of our freedom! May the good food and wine never end and the cowards who call them selves heroes burn in hell!" toasted an unfamiliar voice in the crowd. It was immediately met with cheers and a moment of silence as everyone took a swig of drink. While I was humbled by their compliants, the harshness and the bitterness in the language was unsettling. We may be fighting a war, but there humans on both sides. Bolin noticed my less than delirious mask that everyone else seemed to be wearing and came over.
"Hey! Stop thinking so much, this is a time for celebrating out victories, not worrying about the future." He was right of course, I was glad for the interruption.
"Thanks Bolin, I needed that, now who wants to see the ancient art of beer bending?". That was the last thing I remembered before the whole party became a swirl of funny stories, bad impressions and even worse jokes.
"Get of me you silly dog!" I'm saying between fits of giggles. "Naga?" I ask as the sensations of her giant paws stop all of a sudden. "Naga where are you?!". I'm concerned now, where could she have gone?
A red sky, the sound of a an awful whine and bloodied white fur overwhelm my senses as I make out the diminishing image of my best friend. Darkness consumes me as I wake to a blood curdling scream that rattles the metal hallways. My throat is sore, and that is when I realise that the horrifying scream was coming from me.
"Korra! Are you okay?" asks a concerned voice. From the blurry image in front of me, I make it out to be Opal.
"Fine, never been better." I manage to spit out in-between laboured breaths. A rhythmic thud of someone wearing metal armour becomes apparent.
"Is everything okay avatar Korra? I heard an awful scream and-" he pours out.
"Fine, you can go now." I say without looking up.
"Are you sure? Because I can get Kya, or-"
"LEAVE" I bark, the pain and anger in my voice surprises me as he scampers out of the doorway. Opal gives me a sympathetic look.
"Come on, walk with me. You can't possibly go to sleep in this state. Besides, Chief has a job for you. But if you don't want to take it, you really don't have to, especially since it hasn't even been twenty four hours since that last raid."
"No, If she really does have a mission and she wants me to do it so soon, it must be important" I replied.
As she leads me up the stairs, I am reminded of how much of a friend Opal has been in the last few months. Don't get me wrong, Bolin is great for parties and I wouldn't want anyone else watching my back when we're fighting, but with Opal I feel as if I can expresses some of my problems without being met with "Hey we should have a party to cheer you up!". It's been hard for her. Ever since her brothers have been out on the from line, she's been more reserved. It was as if she had suddenly forgotten how to be happy.
"Here we are." She stated. The weight of the sea air seemed to weigh on me, like a snake slow suffocating any air out of my lungs. "Hey, it's gonna be fine, alright? You're the avatar remember?". I couldn't forget it.
"So you really think that they will be moving the all prisoners tomorrow night?" I asked. It seemed unlikely that they would risk transferring all the prisoners at one time.
"If the intel is right, and I think it is, then yes. I'm not gonna lie to you avatar," I winced at the title "but this might be our one chance of getting them out. After being transferred to the F.I headquarters, theres no getting them out. It won't be easy"
"It never is" I scoffed.
"But with the element of surprise, I have on doubt we can do it. Are you in avatar Korra?" she asked, poker faced.
"Did I ever have a choice?"
Meanwhile, in a darkened, musty office, there was a knock on the door.
"Come in" boomed a dark, authoritative voice. I paused, took a long painful breath, and strode into the office. On the desk stood a plaque, with the words 'Hiroshi Sato' scratched out. I took a seat in one of the large, comfortable, yet unnerving leather seats. "Ah yes, my protege. The time has come for you to prove yourself, to show to the world what we are capable of!" he announced as if talking to an audience. Even while wearing a mask, the sickly, foul-mouthed smile on his face was obvious to me. "They remain ignorant and in the dark about our ambush. They will attack on the border, anticipating the transfer of prisoners, and that is when we will show them why benders had inferior!". He looked at me expectantly.
"Yes, yes we will show them" I replied unconvincingly. Normally, I was quite the actress, but something about him left nothing to hide.
"Don't tell me the lioness has become rabbit hearted?" he laughed dangerously.
"Not at all, I was just lost in all my hate for them". It seemed that my answer was adequate as he continued.
"Then tomorrow night, you and six of our best men will go out to retrieve the devil that is the avatar! I've heard many tell of this disgusting being, but I have no doubt you will fell the brute. He will fall, and soon after they will all fall. Will you do my bidding and serve us all?" he asked. I knew that this was ceremonious.
"Yes. He will fall".