Hey, PepsiOD here. Sorry I haven't written in so long. Year 10 (Or as the American system would call it, 9th Grade) has been hecka busy and I've been damn short of time. And worse, writer's block too. That last part may also explain the possibly-inferior chapter this is and I humbly apologize if such is the case. I'll try and work on this a bit more often and as usual, let me know what to improve on or keep doing. :)
Yada yada, insert legal info, Avatar Korra (C) by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko.
Hope y'all enjoy, and please feel free to comment.
Chapter 3-Losing My noodles, literally-Bolin
Once we get to the stadium, I'm feeling a bit more lively and awake, but still shaky. Still it's enough to keep me going for the majority of the match. The enemy players looked pretty buff and mean, but I've dealt with guys like them on the streets… that didn't end well. I came out of it with no food, half a yuan note and a few broken ribs. Only really managed to get them fixed after Toza took us in.
The bell rang, and we all instantly sprung into action. The Buzzard wasps took the first shots and we dodged, taking our shots after. Korra and Mako both got pushed back into the second zone by the other water and fire benders. I followed a moment after. And just a second or two after Mako gets knocked back to the final zone.
This is bad. I thought. Still serves him right though. I shake my head. I need to focus.
Korra makes her move and I throw the earth coins. One of mine bursts into a cloud and another of theirs slams me right in the gut. My ribs… Oh. Oh, holy spirits. I immediately forget about my ribs as the half-digested remains of last night's noodle-binge start churning in my stomach. I slowly edge my way to the edge of the ring, throw my helmet off, all while trying desperately to keep my mouth shut, and I double over. It would've been nicer if I puked sooner or at least gone to the bathroom before the match, because everything came out. LITERALLY EVERYTHING. And not just that, it was all acidy and stung in my throat and mouth. I can't even keep my eyes open (fortunately), I'm just consumed with this feeling of pain and just how much is coming out of me, even through my nose, so I can't breathe.
I know I should probably call it quits but I decide to stay on. I've only got two seconds to catch my breath but it helps that the shock of being sick brought back my senses, and not having so much food in me means I'm lighter on my feet again.
Then again, maybe it's just so I have the luxury of seeing our team lose. The wasps just keep coming and coming at us until we're in the final zone, and just to rub it in our faces, Mako gets knocked out. Good thing for us the bell rings just when my toes are on the edge.
I'm panting like a polar bear dog in the Sandbender deserts, I'm sweating like a fish out of water (Okay, maybe they don't sweat, but you get what I mean), and Korra and I turn around to see Mako getting pulled out. Okay, at least we've got him back. I think, forgetting about earlier.
The bell rings again and the carnage starts all over again. Mako gets knocked back and I keep throwing the slabs, but for whatever reason Mako decides to hit me in the back of my head with his bending! Pissed off, I turn and tell him, "Hey! Watch it!" That was a mistake, seeing as I get hit again by waterbending. This time it's so hard I get thrown right into the water. Just as I start yelling I fall right into the freezing cold water, swallowing a mouthful of it. I'm shivering, and hoping I didn't swallow any of my leftover puke, that would be the last straw.
While I'm watching from below, Korra seems to be doing alright, but then she starts fooling around with the other waterbender, throwing her up with water. Gahhh! She knows she'll get a foul for that, but if that's not enough, she waterbends at the ref, getting a freaking yellow fan… Now I seriously consider trying to drown myself right now this is so embarrassing. All of this.. This could've been avoided if we practiced more… no. Wait. All of these problems wouldn't happen if we had worked together! If Mako didn't step on my heart and cheat on Asami with my crush, Korra! We'd all have been happily working as a team if this didn't happen, but no, Mako had to ruin it all, especially for me!
Anyway. I climb out, and I get on the lift, after I make my way drenched in cold water, back onto the fighting ground, it's the third round, and the only chance we'll win is a knockout. Like that'll happen.
"Well, I guess there's always next year." The traitor mumbles. How reassuring. Well, actually it is kinda, but not really.
"Come on, we still have a chance!" Korra says, "Even if it is a slim one."
Slim. More like non-existent. We're playing like we're just trying to keep ourselves alive, not the others. It isn't just Mako and Korra doing that, it's me too. I know they're personally part of my life but in the team it's supposed to be different. We're supposed to put all our problems aside and play 'one for all, and all for all, right?' Maybe that's just not gonna happen. Maybe our little gig is over. Maybe we'll just be a one hit wonder after all. Maybe going back to Shady Shin isn't such a bad thing after all, at least we'll be able to do that until we're both old, right? Maybe this is just another kid's fantasy that eventually dies with age. Maybe.
"The way we're playing, we don't even deserve to be in the finals." I tell her.
"Look, if we don't pull together and work as a team, we'll never forgive ourselves." Korra replies.
Mako simply tells her, "Let's get this over with." I respond saying, "The sooner, the better."
Actually, she does have a point. Maybe Mako would forget about it, but I'd never forgive myself, I'd never forget. I'd always remember this as my greatest failure. And maybe she knows that, but regardless, I can't let that happen. At least if I try, and we lose, I'll remember I didn't just give up.
After we're all done sulking, we get back into our positions, ready to take them on. I'm still nervous and skeptical, But remember. I remind myself, You've got one chance, just one chance to get it right. Show them what you're made of.
The bell rings and I get knocked back into Zone two, with Mako coming soon after. Then the other earthbender sends an earth coin rolling upside my shoulder, which at that speed, hurts a lot more than it sounds. I felt something shift in my shoulder and crack.
I yell in pain, Mako sees me and yells, but he's knocked back into the water. I try my luck with my good arm, but that doesn't help all too much. A few seconds later I get hit again, and land back in the water. The freezing temperature working against the hot pain of my shoulder really makes it sting, and its even more difficult to keep my head up, and this time I do not feel like drowning.
Swimming back up, I try to grab the ledge of the platform to the elevator, but every time I just fumble it, and its made worse by my not having any air. I finally grapple onto the ladder, but trying to pull myself up just hurts too much, my shoulder sending pulses of pain just right through me, and I'm actually kinda surprised that I can hold on for so long.
I looked up, and saw that Mako was kneeling down, with a smug little smile on his face and he's got a hand out for me. Now I've got two options here: Preferably I'd not take his hand, and just drown so I don't have to look at his ugly mug anymore. But then I would die, so there wouldn't be any Bolin to go around the world anymore, and I personally wouldn't like to drown on such an important match. I take the hand, and he pulls me up, making my shoulder feel like it's tearing apart, but I keep my mouth shut.
I try to stand up, and just when I'm about to, Mako decides to patronize me and pulls me up and keep me steady. I can go at my own pace, can't I?
"Are you okay?" He asks, "How's your shoulder?"
I grunt, "It's messed up pretty bad, but I think I'll be alright." We step unto the elevator and it starts going up. "Not like that matters."
"Look, I'm sorry." Mako moans, "We'll get through this mess."
I sigh, I just can't bother to listen to that guy's voice anymore. He thinks after all that last night that I'm suddenly gonna forgive him and say I'm sorry? C'mon!
Just when I'm in the middle of my moping, and just feeling sorry for myself, the elevator moves up past the edge of the playing ground, and I can't believe what I'm seein', but Korra's holding out against the Buzzard Wasps! They throw fire, water and earth all at her but she just straight-up dodges every single throw they make!
Now I know, there's only about ten seconds left, but I'm still just shocked at how well she's doing. She does a quick kick/cartwheel and a stream of water knocks the opposite waterbender back. Then, she gets a circle of water swirling around her, does a dramatic stance for a sec, and then the Buzzard wasps fall right into the trap: They move into a straight line, and bam! All three right in the water in one shot!
The crowd's cheering, Korra's waving to them, but I can't even hear myself think with how loud I'm just screeching my victory gloats. Wewon. I can't freaking believe it!
Everything's all fine and dandy, and Mako seems in a pretty good mood too, and then he gives me a bear hug and lifts me up. That just makes my perfect little bubble pop, and reality sinks in again. Man, get me outta here!
"Shoulder, Shoulder!" I cry, but that's of course not why I'm telling him to get his damn hands off me. Mako says sorry, not like he means it though.
Looking up, I see Korra in all her tan, slightly sweaty glory. I try and think of something cool to say, but being miserable does tend to hamper things a little, so all that comes out is; "That… was pretty much the coolest thing I've ever seen."
"Thanks for not giving up on us. We never would have made it this far without you. I owe you, big time." Mako cuts in.
"You're welcome." Korra pauses a moment, and looks to the other side. "So ... I know things are confusing right now, but I hope we can still be friends."
Just before I can try to say anything, Mako beats me to it and says, "Definitely." Ugh, can he ever give me a break?! I don't even think she was talking to him at all! Why would she apologize to him if I was the one hurt? Why does he always have to act like the bigger person who knows the world better? Even when I tried to save Pabu from the Pythonaconda, he didn't do anything until I was almost dead. Is that what brothers do? Try to one-up each other all the time?
And again, I'm cut off by something else: Tahno and the White Falls Wolfbats start walking into the locker room. The others just seem to mind their own business, but Tahno sniffs louder than one of those elephant rats from my kid years, and acts all grossed out and all.
"Ooh, oof. You boys smell something in here?" he sarcastically drones, with a smile going across his chops, "Wait, I know what that is; yeah, that's the scent of losers."
That just gets my inner-firebender angry, sending flames up my chest like it were Sozin's comet all year 'round, and I try and do my best to give him the best evil eye I've got… I'm not so good at it.
Korra seems to do a better job of it, "I hope we see you in the finals, then we'll know who the losers really are."
Tahno just stares at her, still walking to the stage, kinda backwards. Somehow he manages to defy my hopes of him falling straight into the water, and just to rub more salt in the wound, he tells her, in his usual losery style, "Yeah, I'm peeing my pants over here."
Once again, sorry this isn't so good, whenever I do this I always seem to stay up late. Again, I will try to work on this more often, because I've pretty much got the whole story planned out, and it might not be good to just leave this baby half-way out of its mother. (Nasty. I apologize, dear eating-and-reading multi-taskers)
Please let me know what I did alright so I can continue doing it, and what I can improve, as honestly as you can. Hope you enjoyed, and be sure to check the next chapter out, if Occupy Central does not escalate far enough ;)