I arrived at the arena two hours before the start of the match. I showed my ticket to the ticket collector and was allowed to enter through the main entrance of the arena. I thought to myself, wow! This place is huge! It's absolutely everything I thought it would be and more! I took my time walking to my seat. I wanted to take in every bit of the arena from top to bottom. Before getting to my seat I had to pass through two security check points. They checked me from head to toe and allowed me to continue to my seat. Amon, leader of the Equalists, made a broadcast warning the city council to cancel the pro-bending championships or else. My heart almost broke when I heard this news but luckily Chief Beifong stepped in and said she would provide extra security at the match if it ran. There were security guards everywhere. They seemed on edge, as if they knew an Equalist attack was inevitable.
I looked around the arena. It was only me and about a hundred other people who had decided to arrive this early. Everyone who was there was dressed so nicely and I wondered if my outfit made the cut. It appeared to me that these people must be the wealth of the city. I wore what I always wore which was my mother's formfitting, sleeveless, deep crimson shirt with long, angular coattails and black leggings. I wore her black boots along with her decorative gold armband and tied back my hair into a ponytail with her long crimson ribbon. My outfit wasn't that of a peasant but it wasn't of the wealthy either. It was somewhere in the middle but it was traditional Fire Nation attire.
The crowd got bigger and bigger as the time approached game start. I was in the nose bleed section and even the seats around me were filling up fast. I was getting more and more excited and I was ecstatic that my favorite team had made it to the championships. The Fire Ferrets were the team I had been rooting for all season and tonight they were facing the Wolfbats. There was just something about the Fire Ferrets that drew me in to liking them. Was it that they had the avatar on their team or perhaps it was the bending brothers or maybe it's the fact that they were the underdogs all season? Either way they had made it this far and that was a bonus for me.
Soon the lights over the stands darkened and the announcer came on. "Introducing the White Falls Wolfbats and Future Industries Fire Ferrets!" screamed the announcer. With that, the bell dinged and the match started!
I couldn't believe what I was watching! The Fire Ferrets were trying their hardest and fighting with all their power but they just couldn't overpower the cheating Wolfbats. The Wolfbats had clearly paid off the refs because they were calling nothing against them. They were freezing the Fire Ferrets in place and putting earth in their water attacks. There was nothing the Fire Ferrets could do and I couldn't help but get furious! I didn't save up all this money to watch a match where the outcome was already decided by some political payoffs. I just focused on watching the Fire Ferrets. Even though they were getting hammered they still fought beautifully. Korra, the avatar, dodged attacks left and right and her waterbending technique looked flawless. Then I looked at Bolin the earthbender. I really looked at his face and something about him seemed strangely familiar. His earthbending was solid and he had great power behind his attacks. He was well-built and very muscular and threw his attacks with ease. His older brother Mako was the firebender of the team. His firebending was beautiful. Maybe he can teach me firebending, I thought. He made firebending look effortless and stunning. Mako spun around to dodge an attack and I got a good look at his face. Then it hit me! Mako and Bolin were orphans living on the street at the same time I was.
Mako is a year older then me and Bolin is a year younger than me. When I was living on the streets I saw them almost every day pulling tricks and scams in order to get money. I envied them because they actually had money but I knew what they were doing was wrong and never did it myself. When they got older they started working with the Triple Threats which earned them a lot of money but scared me a bit. I ran into the Triple Threats more frequently than I would have liked, but always somehow managed to escape with only minor injuries due to my basic firebending skills. I never knew their names while I lived on the street and they didn't know mine either. Homeless people always knew what other homeless people were up to and how they lived. I'm sure Mako and Bolin knew how I lived and pitied me since they lived pretty good lives for homeless people. But seeing Mako and Bolin now as famous pro-benders makes me almost proud of them I suppose. They really changed their lives around. I hope fate will be as kind to me as it was for them.
"One, two, three, hit! The avatar, Bolin and Mako have been thrown off the platform and into the water! This year's pro-bending champions are the Wolfbats!" cheered the announcer. I was so disappointment but had little time to relish in my frustration because out of the corner of my eye I saw the man next to me put on a mask and put on a metallic, robotic looking glove. My eyes widened with fear and I jolted when Amon crashed through the glass dome and onto the bending battle field. I looked around and wondered why the guards weren't doing anything about him, but all the guards had been stunned and were on the floor. Amon meant business when he said we would pay for having the championship match, I thought. I watched in terror as Amon stripped the Wolfbats of their bending. I looked at the Equalist next to me and made eye contact with him. "Are you looking for trouble girlie?" he threatened. "N-No. Of course not!" I defended. "Then sit still and don't move a muscle!" he bellowed. I did as he said but second guessed myself. The avatar chased Amon and Mako, Bolin, Beifong and about ten or so other benders from the crowd were helping to fight and bring down the Equalists.
I ran the scenario through my head. I'll almost definitely be captured by the Equalists and have my bending taken away but in the process I can help other benders and innocent people here escape. But I'm not sure if I want to take that chance and lose my bending. My firebending is all that I have left in life. It keeps me warm at night, it entertains me when I'm bored and it protects me when I'm in trouble. Protects me when I'm in trouble! Am I in trouble right now? I'm sure if I just stay here and remain calm and don't do anything rash I'll be fine. But other people are in trouble. Mako, Bolin… they're in trouble! They need help! How can I be a bystander when people are in need? I've been a bystander to crime my entire life, but it's time to change that!
I stood up and threw a punch at the Equalist next to me before he could even react. He was blown back by my fire blast into a group of Wolfbat fans. I jumped down several rows until I got to the first row. An Equalist was running at me and I panicked. I jumped up and spun around kicking out a glorious orange flame. The Equalist was fast and quickly dodged under the hot flames. The Equalist kept coming at me and I kept taking steps back while throwing flaming punches. The flames warmed my knuckles and gave me a sense of comfort. No matter how many punches I threw, the Equalist dodged them all. The Equalist was about to electrocute me when I took a step onto the railing and used all my power to push off and jump over the water far below. I blew fire out my fists to propel myself up. It gave me just enough boost to get me over the water and onto the bending platform.
On the platform, Mako was busy fighting five Equalists while Bolin had just been knocked off the platform and into the water. I landed behind one of the five Equalists and quickly knocked them over the side of the ring with one of my kicks. I then slashed out my hand horizontally and a brilliant flame arrow left my fingertips and hit an unsuspecting Equalists square in the back. The impact sent him flying forward and he hit the ground hard, leaving him unable to fight. I watched Mako take on the three remaining Equalists. His firebending attacks were powerful. More powerful then I could have ever imagined. He was holding strong but was tiring fast. He turned around to face an Equalist behind him. He blew him off the platform in a great ball of heat and light. It was then that we locked eyes. At first they seemed to say thank you for helping me. Then I saw a spark of realization. It was if all his memories of living on the street had flooded back into his mind. It seemed that he remembered who I was. The sight of me had distracted him and an Equalist was coming up fast behind him. I threw a punch and a river of flame left my knuckles and hit the Equalist in the stomach, knocking him off balance. Mako quickly turned around and finished the Equalist off in one hit.
Without knowing, the Equalist that dodged all my attacks before made it onto the platform where Mako and I were. Mako was finishing off his final Equalist and I was in a defensive stance watching in case Mako needed some backup. Out of nowhere I felt sharp jabs all over my back and my arms went completely limp. I let out an "ah" sound at the impact of the jabs and quickly turned around to face the Equalist. I jumped up and kicked some fire out of my foot but the Equalist was a lot faster than I was and dodged to the side and did three quick jabs down the side of my leg. I could no longer hold myself up and I collapsed hard onto the ground. With my one leg still mobile, I tried in vain to shoot the Equalist with some fire blasts. He brought a metallic hand down onto my shoulder and electrocuted me. It felt as though hot flames were dancing upon all my nerve endings and I let out a terrible scream. Mako turned in the direction of my scream and a scared look came on his face. We locked eyes once again and my eyes said, help me! My body was completely limp but I could still feel the pain of the electricity on every inch of my body. All I could do was helplessly look at Mako hoping that he would save me. Mako's expression changed within an instant. "Let her go!" he yelled, his face turning angry yet determined. He ran at the Equalist and shot some fire blasts at him that he easily dodged. He then paused and started to create lightning. The bolt grew and got brighter until it was time to unleash its fury. He lunged forward and pointed his two fingers directly at the Equalist. The bolt left his fingers but within seconds the Equalist had absorbed the bolt with his glove and shot it back at Mako. The Bolt struck the ground a few feet in front of him and caused a small explosion which sent Mako flying back. Mako flew back and hit a pole on the side of the platform rendering him unable to fight. He moaned in pain as blood dripped down his cheek from a gash on his temple.
The Equalists began to retreat, bringing with them the metalbending police officers that they had captured. I was lifted up and slung over the shoulder of the Equalist who had brought me down. The Equalists tried to collect as many benders as they could to give to Amon as tokens of their loyalty. Ropes dropped from the Equalist airship and one by one the Equalists and their captives were hoisted up to the ship. At that point I became so scared of the future. I knew this would be the end of my bending, the end of what made me so special. I was a green-eyed firebender! But without my firebending I'd just become a normal Earth Kingdom citizen.
I looked down at Mako as my captor was being raised up to the ship. Bolin and Korra had come to his side and were helping him up. He looked back at me and his eyes said it all. He was sorry he wasn't able to save me. A tear left my eye and fell down onto the platform. I think Mako, Korra, and Bolin noticed it since when I looked back at them they were still staring at me. The cable reached the airship and my captor stepped onto the ship. From there, the opening in the floor closed and my last glimpse of freedom and hope was gone.