Kyana

It had been a while since I'd last talked to Zane. When last I saw him, he carved the details into the cave for me, then disappeared. It wasn't surprising, he wasn't the type to stay in one place for too long. But we always knew how to find each other. It just so happened that he was at the old pro-bending arena that day.

"Kyana, long time no see."

"Yeah, it's been a while. You know why I'm here?"

"Is this about that vault?" He knew me well.

"What can I say? It has a certain lure."

"Well, for as long as I've known you, I know you won't stop until you get there so I might as well help you."

Good. "Glad to hear it. Tell me everything you know about a guy named Zero Abyss."

He stared at me for a second. "You've gotta be kidding me."

"Obviously not, he someone I should know about?"

Zane spent the next hour explaining every reason why I should've already known who this Abyss kid was, and why he was a key part in finding the Vault. Now Zero wasn't just someone to mess with. He was important. Great. Oh well, I'll find a way.

"He'll be looking for you," Zane followed up. "You can have that effect."

I didn't usually think about my appearance, only my goals. But when people pointed it out, it was just a slight boost to my day. Even if I didn't show it. I walked with Zane down to the river, just waiting for Zero to show up. It didn't take very long for that to happen, and I was thrilled. I loved to fight. He got out of his car, and the first thing he said was, "You still rolling on this bad girl stuff?"

"You still playing hero?" Being a smartass was also part of my nature.

"Oh, so you got jokes now?"

"Get used to it. Where is the vault of the Fire Lord Zero?"

His eyes narrowed, and he winced. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Did he think I was an idiot? "Zero this isn't a movie, playing dumb doesn't work here. Now you're going to tell me, or you can die."

I almost meant that, but part of me wasn't all into killing people. Hope he doesn't pick up on that. I looked over at his friend, who just stood there, looking like the type of person to go with the flow. The two looked at each other, and the other kid stepped out in front, taking a light-footed stance.

Airbender? Interesting. Zero's pointed fingers suggested lightning, which would not be a good combination with water. Good thing I had Zane. Knowing he could handle himself in a fight, I prepared myself with a huge swirl of water. This would definitely be fun.

In the time it took me to blink, I saw a pretty impressive amount of electricity aimed to hit my vortex of water. So he was at least smart enough to attempt to get the water to conduct. I simply adjusted where my water was spinning to dodge his shot. At this time of day, not too much after noon, his bending would be at near it's best. A shame that at best he still wouldn't be able to handle this. When Zero began to shoot a volley of fire blast, Zane's earth wall easily halted the attack. I returned with some ice disks. Zero melted those aimed at him, typical firebender move, but his friend did a mediocre job at dodging for someone who can move like the wind.

Zero looked at his friend, and then again returned to shooting at us.

Does he learn nothing?

Zane's earth wall again made a perfect defense, until I saw the fire start to break through.

What is Zane doing over there? Then I saw it. With every few shots Zero sent, the airbender boosted with a wave of wind. The oxygen had added strength to the fires. On the outside, nothing changed about me, but I was just a little surprised. It wouldn't save them though, it would only give me a slightly greater challenge. Anything was better than it just being overly easy. After the lecture Zane had given me earlier, I hoped this kid could live up to something.

I'd fought with Zane multiple times before, so our minds were always on the same level. Sometimes I forgot how smart he was. Wet pavement still equaled earth. A little extra water made it extra bendable. Once we had it around the airbender's feet, Zane turned it into a rock mold.

"What the hell?!"

"For an airbender, you're pretty slow," Zane remarked. I couldn't help but smile. Zero rolled his eyes.

"Really," he sounded annoyed.

"What can I say? We've been doing this for awhile."

I sent shards of ice his way, which he blocked with a fire kick.

"Zane, think you could take care of this for me?"

"No problem. Firebenders are my specialty."

I walked over to the airbender. He was trying to free himself from the rock.

"Having some trouble there?"

He just stood there staring for a minute, like a deer in the headlights. "Are you brain dead?"

I looked at his face, followed his eyes, and immediately became annoyed. I smiled, then kneed him where it counts.

He doubled over in pain, which was very satisfying. "Try looking at my eyes next time."

I considered my appearance for the second time that day. I was wearing a typical summer outfit, unusual looking for a waterbender. A black tank top paired with white shorts, along with a pair of gray basketball shoes. It's not like I looked like a stripper. I looked down at my chest again.

Well, not completely. I turned around to see that Zane still needed work, very worn down by Zero.

Seriously?

Zero through one more hit and Zane was down. I'd have to use alternate methods on this kid.

"So, it's just us again," he notes.

Yep.

I decided to go for his emotions. I started to cry, and with a gentle voice, asked, "why are you doing this to me?"