so, my iPod had spoken. The song today is "this is war" by 30 seconds to mars. Let's do this. (;

"We're gonna kick some Wolfbat butt, right guys?" Bolin asked, rather pumped about tonight's match, even if we were the underdogs, we could still win this.

Korra nodded, holding her helmet between her hip and arm."I'm gonna make sure Tahno gets what I wanted to do to him the other night, knock every strand of stupid hair from his ignorant little head."

I didn't quite process this until I thought about it really hard. Since when were Tahno and Korra together? "Wait, what happened?"

Bolin and Korra exchanged frantic looks. "Well, you see," Bolin began, throwing his attention to putting a small outfit on Pabu. He stuttered a few times before giving up. "Korra, you explain."

Korra sighed, "It's nothing to freak out about," she assured me, eyebrows raised. She picked at her fingernails, a sign she was lying to me. "When Bolin and I went out to get food that one night, Tahno was there." It was already bad. Knowing how Bolin hated associating with Tahno during the season, I knew Korra must have been the one who did something to tip off Tahno.

"He was glaring at us, so I asked Bolin who he was. He came over to us, and insulted our team, so I stood up," She paused, contemplating something in her mind, opening the door "That's all. I'm going to the bathroom to.. freshen up."

Wait, 'freshen up'? When there was a match in less than ten minutes? I don't think so. "Nice try. Sit, now." I commanded, she wasn't leaving my sight until after the match. "Tell me the rest."

"So I called Naga in for help, she just let off a nice belch in his face, we didn't hit him or anything. The look on his face was priceless when his hair got screwed up."

I groaned. "Korra, that's not what I was worried about! I'm worried about you tipping off Tahno. He's known for his dirty work."

Korra shrugged. "I'll handle him."

"He's a waterbending master," I reminded her, fighting the temptation to slap my hand to my forehead.

"So am I. I learned from Katara, remember? The best waterbending teacher in the world."

As the bell rang, we stepped out onto the platform, readying ourselves for round one against the dreaded Wolfbats. "You're handling Tahno," I reminded her, "I hope he doesn't completely decapitate you." Inside, I added, because then I'd have to jump a few Wolfbats after the season.

As they entered, I watched wide-eyed as the lights turned out and then lit up, fire blasting from the stands, water shooting in the air, earth being lifted into the air.

"Guys, we're screwed," Bolin muttered, "So, so screwed."

Korra elbowed him for me, then took a waterbending stance.

The bell rang out in the silenced arena, then an explosion of elements began, Tahno making the first move toward Korra.

I couldn't keep an eye out for her, but I watched from the corner of my eye as Korra fell backwards, catching herself with barely centimeters between her and the line. I gasped, "Korra!"

A circular piece of earth hit me square in the stomach, knocking me into zone two. Pull it together, I reminded myself, watching Bolin fall into the pool with a loud splash!

Korra and Tahno were definitely equally matched, a surprise to me. She only focused on his movements, dodging until he slid the ice underneath her feet, pushing her back into zone three behind me. I fired up, that was a completely illegal move!

"That was an illegal ice move! I don't know what match the referees are watching, but it's definately not this one!"

I grunted as I fell with Korra, hitting the cold water harder than what I'd anticipated.

Korra made her way back to the platform, ears red. She shivered a bit, a unnoticeable amount of blood trickling down her knuckle.

"Round one goes to the Wolfbats! Will the Future Industry's Fire Ferrets pull through or not?"

Korra grumpled something under her breath, walking ahead of us toward the first zone. I pulled her back by her wrist, into a huddle.

"The refs are payed off, that's the only explanation."

"If they're going to play dirty, why shouldn't we?" Korra asked, blue eyes swimming with pure hatred toward Tahno, and to be honest, I didn't blame her.

"Because they're out for us. If we win, it's gotta be fair and square." Bolin nodded, trying not to get in the middle of a brewing argument between Korra and I.

To my luck, Korra reluctantly agreed. "I'm still going to end up making sure pretty boy gets what's comin' to him."

I chuckled, this is why we all loved Korra. Why I loved Korra. But despite that, I wondered what it would be like

It was almost exactly the same during this round, fast-paced and painful. An "almost-knockout" turned into my last lucky moment of the night. As we were about to fall, Korra gripped my shirt, holding onto the stage's floor, throwing me back on top.

I mentally thanked her, then surprised them all, shooting flames from my palms, achieving this round for the Fire Ferrets. Or so I thought. You could almost see the rage on Tahno's expression as he fell, though, which made my night. I hoped Korra had seen it, I could imagine the pure joy she'd experience.

As Bo and Korra ran to meet me at the centerline, I scowled at mostly Tahno, but at some point at Ming.

"A coin toss will decide the tiebreaker!" The ref yelled, his voice filled with impatience. I shook my head, knowing who'd be fighting way it would go either way. Tahno would corner Korra into a fight, and Korra would want to beat Tahno to a pulp, if nothing else.

I wanted to hand it to her, she'd held her ground well. Korra was smart, beautiful, strong, brave, and on, but if there was one thing she wasn't, it was strategic. She was as strategic as a cardboard box, and that might be saying alot.

"The Fire Ferrets win the coin toss! Which element do you choose?"

Korra smiled, "I've got this one."

I hesitated to step back. In Bolin's words, Tahno was a 'nasty dude'. In mine, he was a bastard. He had all these women, who he only used for one thing. He'd trained in the gym for the longest at a whooping twelve hours, but needed to cheat?

I shook my head, stepping back. The platform rose, and I heard an exchange of words which went like this.

"Well, uh-vatar, seems we've met again." I gritted my teeth, and watched Korra clentch her fists, breaking her stance.

"Oh, this time will be better. I get to actually smack you around this time," Korra said, "Although Naga seemed to scare you enough."

Tahno faked a laugh. "That mutt?"

"Don't call her a mutt!" Korra snarled, "Now get ready. Because I'm going to make sure you're unable to so much open your mouth without feeling it. That's a promise."

"Go for it, I'll giv you the first shot."

Korra took her opportunity. She sidetracked Tahno, but then surprised him, coming at him from below. She threw his head back and unrooted his planted feet for enough time to set him off balance. Falling from the platform, he made a thud, now missing his helmet.

My jaw dropped, she'd done it. We might actually win. As the platform lowered, Korra smiled at Bolin and I, as Bo wooted in victory.

"You, madam, are my hero!"

Korra nodded, the glory of finally getting a good smack at Tahno showing on her face, lips upturned into a smile.

"We might actually win this," I muttered, watching an angered Tahno throw his helmet back on, pushing his teammates to the side, probably planning on ganging up on one of us.

"Round two goes to the Future Industry's Fiiiire Ferrrrets!" The announcer boomed, "Just one more round to decide this year's champions!"

The bell tolled one last time, except this time we only got halfway through the match before Korra gasped, watching in the stands as people dropped like flies, being electrocuted. She blasted water at Bolin and I, knocking us off, along with Tahno's teammates, as the glass roof was broken. I watched from the water as Korra double kick-bended a few chi-blockers, but this time, they had fireproof suits.

I was brought back to the attention of a burning sensation that ran through my body, black spots dancing through my vision before I blacked out.

But Korra needs you, a small voice whispered, begging me to open my eyes. Bo and I were tyed to a post, underneath the arena's stage.

"It's okay, guys. I'm gonna get you outta here," Korra whispered, water whipping the rope, cutting it. "Amon took Tahno's bending. You guys have to promise me you'll run. No matter what."

"I won't make any such promise," I replied, twisting my wrists so I could move them better.

Glass broke again. Korra's stressed expression changed to surprised. "I'm going after Amon. Stay safe, Mr. Hat Trick."

"Be careful!" I yelled after her, and I could only watch as the small woman plummited into the water, creating a vortex to lift herself in the air. No matter how stubborn Korra always was, no matter how often she irritated me, she was beautiful, humorous, brave, more than the average woman. And even if I denied it, I'd love her forever.

I pulled off the helmet, tossing it to the side. I thought of the innocent lives being effected by this war. This was going to be just the beginning, and everyone here knew it. There was nothing equal about this, this was only the result of a few.. terrorists who wanted to wage war.

"Let's go, we need to be ready to help," I told Bo, running to the sidelines, searching frantically for Korra, and sadly, I found her falling.

Of course. The vortex could only go so high. My heart nearly stopped as a chord caught her around the waist, and of all people, Lin was the one who sent Korra flying up higher toward the airship. I could see fire erupting from the sky, and then it stopped abruptly.

Three bodies fell on the glass, causing small cracks to appear. Korra was nowhere in my sight, which should have made me feel better, because that means she wasn't hurt.. But by now would she be facing Amon?

"Damn it," I muttered, angry with myself as Lin slung herself through the roof, also. More fire lit the sky. "This is making me too anxious. Why'd we let her go?" I cried, kicking an empty popcorn box on the ground.

"We're all worried, Mako. Korra's the avatar, she'll protect herself, and run, if it's necessary," Asami whispered behind me. "We need to go."

"No, you need to. It's not safe for you. Go find your father, and run, please, Asami. I couldn't take it if you were hurt, too." I said, my voice lightening up once I saw Korra's feet hit the glass.

Three people followed her, three who weren't Lin. Lin was on the other side of the roof, four different chi-blockers cornering her. Korra's only option was firebending at this point, as it flickered every so often.

"No! I'm staying with you! Listen to me!" Asami said, angling my head so I looked at her piercing eyes.

"Bo," I said, nodding toward her. Bolin nodded, understanding. He slung Asami over his shoulder, carrying her out. I felt bad, but I couldn't live with myself if both Korra and Asami got hurt. I would blame myself over and over, without a doubt.

Leaving Korra on her own, Lin's chords connected with the airship, lifting herself up to deal with the equalists. But almost at the same time, Korra knocked the final chi-blocker, the one with the electric prongs, off the edge of the arena.

Then, the impossible happened. The glass, which had been progressively been cracking, broke. "Korra!" I could see that she was attempting to make a plan, to catch herself. I could even see from here that it wouldn't work out.

At the last second, Lin's chords outstretched to catch Korra once again. I exhaled the breath I'd been holding in this whole time. Korra was safe and sound. Lin and Korra fell into the stands a few yards from where I was standing. For a second, I was too relieved to move.

Korra had done this often, stressed me out over her being in danger. Though, Korra was the Avatar. She'd be in danger fifty percent of the time.

I wrapped my arms around her, her arms winding around my neck as I lifted her into a hug. "I'm so glad you're alright," I whispered into her hair, holding her waist closer and closer to my body. I could feel her heart fluttering underneath all the padding, the breath hitching. We stayed like this for what seemed like forever. But here's the only problem: forever isn't long enough for me. We inhaled each other's scents, making one another familiar with our bodies. "If they would have hurt you, Korra, I would have had to kill someone," I growled, her arms tightening around me.

I pressed a kiss blindly into her hair, still not over the shock of what happened. I held her to my chest, rocking us both back and forth. I was in pure bliss, but then remembered. Asami. Then, worse, I remembered Tenzin was behind us. We both quickly pulled away, flushing.

"I-I'll see you around, okay?" Korra said, her face burning crimson. "Tenzin and I should get home."

Right. The season was over. We really wouldn't be seeing each other all the time anymore. My stomach dropped even deeper than what it seemed it was before. "How about tomorrow? You can help us find a new place, the arena will be closed after this, I'm guessing."

"Tomorrow," Korra replied, her blue orbs lighting up. "Tomorrow it is."

"Oh, and Korra?" I murmured, watching her chest stop rising and falling. "Breathe."

"Right, thanks." She blushed deeper, taking a deep breath, exhaling slowly. "Bright and early tomorrow, city boy."

"Bright and early," I confirmed.

I replayed our embrace in my head, walking back to the attic. "So this is what love feels like," I muttered to Bolin.

"You love Asami?" Bolin asked, crossing his arms. "That's impossible. I saw the way you and Korra touched."

"No."

"So you.."

"Love Korra," I finished, "I feel like shit for saying that. What about Asami?"

"Mako and Korra sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Bolin snickered, climbing up the stairs to the attic. I rolled my eyes, hoping he'd keep it to himself. Even though it was slightly true. Maybe not.

Man, romance and a war seemed impossible.

A warning to the people,
The good and the evil,
This is war.

To the soldier, the civilian,
The martyr, the victim,
This is war.

It's the moment of truth, and the moment to lie,
The moment to live and the moment to die,
The moment to fight, the moment to fight
To fight, to fight, to fight!

note: because we all know Mako nearly had a heart attack when this happened.

There's that. I don't think it's my best, but I wrote this at like 4 o'clock in the morning, soo.