Hey guys! So I originally wanted to post this chapter as one, but it was really long so I decided to break it up into two parts. The next one will hopefully be up by tomorrow. Anyway, enjoy! :)
Kiara & Mako
The floors of the building creaked ominously as Kiara found herself, yet again, dreaming of the unknown monster. She watched helplessly every night as it savagely attacked and killed the same person, causing her to tremble and scream. Kiara could never make out the exact shape of the person or the monster, as their body was always covered by a shadow. However this time, as the nightmare began its terrible tale, many things were clearer. Kiara watched as the monster turn around and faced a trembling figure on the ground. Although the waterbender couldn't see who or what the monster was, Kiara let out a soundless wail as the person on the ground became clear to her. Just as she was about to move and save them, she became immobilized as ice suddenly trapped her against a wall. Kiara tried to break free but once she glanced at the ice, she thought her heart stopped; the ice was made out of blood. A shriek immediately turned her attention back on the person. The monster had leaped from its spot and was now using its long ice claws to tear the flesh of its victim. Blood spattered everywhere as the full moon turned blood red. Once the monster was done with its job, it turned its gaze on Kiara, lifted an arm and made a movement with one claw. The ice immediately melted and Kiara fell onto the floor with a smack; knocking the air out of her body. It let out a horrible laugh as she gasped for breath on the blood-stained floor before fading away slowly, it's eyes stayed there for a moment, staring at her with menace as it too disappeared.
Kiara lay there on the floor, and slowly looked up from her spot at the body that was touched by the moonlight. She crawled on the ground all the way to the body, with tears and blood on her face. Once Kiara reached the body, she stared at it with great anguish.
"Mako," she whispered as sobs shook her body.
Kiara walked into the dining hall slowly, and sat next to Asami as everyone began to eat breakfast.
"Hey Kiar—ahh!" Bolin's greeting cut short with a yelp as he stared at Kiara's face. Her eyes had a haunted look to them with dark circles underneath.
Korra stared at her sister in horror. "Kiara, are you okay?!"
She let out a dull laugh, "Yes, why wouldn't I be?"
"Are…are you sure?" Iroh asked hesitantly.
Kiara nodded and looked at Mako who was sitting across from her. The firebender stared at her with shock and worry and stiffened when her eyes turned from haunted to crazy.
"Here, let's go outside for a bit; get a bit of fresh air." He said as he helped her up.
Korra nodded. "Good idea Mako, watch her for a bit and do NOT let her leave the island."
Kiara hesitated before following Mako outside.
Once they were outside, he led her to the Meditation Pavilion.
"Why did you bring me out here?" Kiara asked, her eyes darting around wildly as if keeping a look out for any danger.
Mako shrugged. "Well, it seems like your favorite place out of the whole island and the Meditation Pavilion has the best view; on some nights me and Korra… not important." He managed to get a laugh out of the waterbender as she relaxed a little.
They looked out into the ocean for awhile as Kiara kept breathing in deeply, as though trying to relax her mind from the nightmare.
"Do you want to tell me what's wrong?" Mako asked eventually.
Kiara hesitated as the nightmare flooded her mind again. "Should I tell him? He'll probably just say it was a nightmare and that it means nothing." She sighed. "The truth is… I've been having dreams lately, well, maybe not dreams but rather nightmares. Every time I go to sleep, the same nightmare keeps showing up."
"What's the nightmare about?"
"There's this monster that keeps killing the same person over and over again. I know it's the same person because they're screams are always the same. All I can do is watch; I can't move or do anything to prevent it from happening…" she left out the part that he was the one being attacked.
The waterbender paused as the thoughts in her mind raged on like a storm.
"If you keep seeing it in your dreams, then maybe it means something?" Mako suggested.
"But the problem is, is that I don't know what it means!" Kiara wailed helplessly. "I'm too afraid to go to sleep now because I feel so helpless and terrified…"
Mako watched Kiara cry with pity in his amber eyes as he pulled her in closer, trying to do whatever it takes to comfort her.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" He asked.
"Yes, run and hide forever." Kiara thought. "No, I just want to be alone right now…"
Mako nodded, hugging her one last time before walking back into the temple.
Kiara stared out into the ocean, her thoughts still raging wildly. Isn't there anything I can do to prevent this from happening? Maybe I should look out for him? Just for a few days or so… well in the dream, it happened during the night of the full moon, right? So all I have to do… she paused for a moment. But it was JUST a dream, so it doesn't mean that it will happen.
Kiara relaxed. "It's just a dream, nothing else." She turned around and headed back into the Air Temple, but every step was a struggle and deep in her heart, she knew that it wasn't a dream, rather a vision of the future.
Kiara sat at the dinner table as others came and sat down with her, twirling her chopsticks in her bowl absentmindedly while they laughed and talked around her. Suddenly shouting caused her to look up at Korra and Tenzin who were outside the dining hall. Korra looked about ready to enter the avatar state while Tenzin's face was again, achieving all kinds of red.
"Korra, you have to go to the council meeting!" Tenzin insisted, trying to keep his voice calm and steady.
"Why?! I don't want to plus, I have a pro-bending match in half an hour!"
Tenzin took a deep breath. "As the avatar—"
"Enough with the 'as the avatar' crap! You don't have to tell me how to be a 'proper avatar'!" Korra interrupted.
Kiara sighed. Korra, think before you say things like that!
Right before Tenzin was about scream, Kiara interrupted their argument. "Enough!" She yelled. Everyone stopped talking and stared at her in surprise. "Look, Korra, it doesn't matter whether you want to go or not, you will have to eventually so just get it over with already!"
"But—"
"No! Don't you 'but' me sis! I know you have a match tonight, why don't I just take your place just for tonight? Just get the council meeting over with already or Tenzin will bug you about it non-stop!"
Korra was silent, staring at her sister with anger in her blue eyes, before letting out a sigh of defeat. She turned to Tenzin, "Alright, I'll go to the meeting with you."
Tenzin nodded, still somewhat annoyed, walked to the table where his family was and sat down.
Korra then walked toward Kiara's table and sat next to Mako. She glanced at Kiara for a second and looked down at her own bowl. "Thanks," Korra mumbled.
Bolin stared at Kiara. "So, are you really going to fill in for Korra? Or did you just say that so they'd both shut up?"
"Yeah, I'm going to fill in for her."
The earthbender hesitated for a moment. "Do you know how to play?"
"Um, not really, no."
Bolin and Mako glanced at each other. "Well, we better practice right now; the match starts in… 25 minutes…" Mako muttered.
"Okay, sure, just let me finish this…" just as Kiara reached for her bowl, Mako and Bolin got up and dragged her away.
"Nope, we don't have time to eat," Mako answered as she complained. "See you later Korra."
"Okay! Good luck, guys. I'll meet you there after the match!" Korra called.
"Let's go out and celebrate after the match when we win!" Bolin exclaimed.
Mako let out a sigh of exasperation. "Why don't we see if we win, first?"
"Wait, Kiara."
Kiara turned her head and stared at her sister. "Yeah?"
Korra hesitated. "Well, as we all know, you have wolf blood inside you… and that blood goes out of control once in awhile when it's a full moon."
Kiara nodded.
"Tonight is the night of the full moon
"Yeah, I know."
Korra stared at her, her eyes dark. "Be careful during the match, you might lose control of that blood."
Kiara rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, nothing will happen. Even if it does, it won't be too hard."
"You promise?"
Kiara was already leaving. "I promise."
Once they reached the pro-bending changing room, they only had 15 minutes before the match started.
"So, do you want me to just stand there and try to dodge all the attacks?" Kiara asked.
"Well, that would be the easiest thing to do, but after what happened in the beginning match with your sister for the first time, I think it's better to teach you a few things." Mako answered.
As Kiara put the uniform on, she listened to Mako as he went on about the rules.
"…never, and I mean NEVER knock opponents off the ring on the side, only by the back, uh, try not to cross the lines that lead to other zones, do NOT firebend. Also, if you have to attack, make sure that the water doesn't go on for more than a second."
Kiara tipped her head to one side. "What do you mean?"
Bolin answered. "You know, like don't send a continuous stream of water to an opponent."
The waterbender nodded.
"Alright, it's time to go out there, good luck guys," Mako replied while they stepped onto the platform as it moved closer to the ring.
"Introducing the first, the Future Industries Fire Ferrets!"
The crowd cheered wildly for a moment before realizing that they had another waterbender.
"Looks like the Fire Ferrets have got themselves a new waterbender for tonight, does that mean Avatar Korra is no longer on the team?" Shiro Shinobi questioned as the crowd booed.
Bolin glanced at Kiara with sympathy as she sighed. "Whatever, it's only for tonight."
"Introducing their opponents, The Ba Sing Se BadgerMoles!" The crowd cheered wildly as the other team stepped onto the ring.
Kiara looked around for a moment at the ring and the opposite team before the bell rang and the match began. Caught off guard, she was hit by an earth disc and sent her flying into zone 3.
"Looks like the Fire Ferrets replacement waterbender isn't as skilled as I thought," Shinobi commented as he watched Kiara being attacked by flying discs. "This reminds me of the time Avatar Korra first played for the team."
Kiara desperately tried to avoid everything that was thrown at her, preventing her from being able to attack.
"Kiara! I'll cover for you, try to land some attacks!" The waterbender looked up at Mako who was 2 zones ahead of her. She drew water from the grates and sent shots of water at the Ba Sing Se BadgerMoles.
"Hey!" Kiara opened her eyes and glanced at Bolin who was soaking wet.
"The replacement waterbender has accidently sent a blast of water at her teammate, Bolin. Fortunately, the other shots of water hit Nona (earthbender) hard and sent her to zone 2." Shinobi observed as Nona looked somewhat mad.
"Sorry!" Kiara called over to Bolin as he tried to dry himself.
A green light appeared on the center line and Mako and Bolin began to run into the 1st zone of the BadgerMoles' territory; Kiara followed them.
The bell rang again as Nona began to send a flurry of earth discs at Kiara. She ducked just in time and sent a quick shot of water. She dodged but right as she recovered Kiara jumped into the air and kicked a slash of water that smacked Nona on the ground before flying into the pool.
"Good job, Kiara!" Bolin called as he shot earth discs and sent the BadgerMoles' waterbender into zone 3. Mako landed a hit as their firebender got pushed back into zone 3 also.
"The Fire Ferrets win round 1!"
The crowd cheered while Bolin high-fived Kiara and Mako.
"Okay, this is good," Mako began, "We just need to keep this up and then we win the match!"
"So let's show them that when they mess with a fire ferret, they get the teeth and claws!" They cheered.
So far so good… Kiara thought as they moved back into their own territory. This is actually really fun! It's been awhile since I've been with both of them alone and having fun… She remembered back for a moment when they were still 3 young teens 4 years ago. Yes… everything is absolutely perfect... just like it should be
As the BadgerMoles stepped back onto the ring, Nona stood across from Kiara and stared at her with fury. Kiara smirked. The bell rang to begin the next match and the earthbender immediately sent a disc at her head. Kiara quickly bended backward, narrowly dodging the earth disc.
"That was an illegal headshot!" Kiara hissed at her. Nona smirked as the officials called a time-out.
"I'm sorry!" Nona quickly responded before the referee could say anything. "It was an honest mistake!" The earthbender had an innocent look on her face as the referee hesitated before nodding.
"Alright, I won't give you a yellow fan, just be careful next time, okay?"
She nodded and gave him a sweet smile. The officials kept talking about what had happened as both teams lined up Kiara glared at Nona.
"You're lucky you're pretty enough to be let off with a warning," Kiara growled at her, "But next time you try to do something like that, I'll rip that smirk right off your face and we'll see who'll be laughing now."
"Kiara!" Bolin stared at her with wide eyes.
"What? Me?" Nona pretended to look shock, then smirked. "I'd like to see you try newbie; you may think your good at this game but I will destroy you and your pathetic excuse for a team." She whispered the last few words and smirked as Kiara scowled at her.
Kiara waited for the bell to ring and when it did, Nona sent a single earth disc at her. She dodged it quickly and right as Kiara was about to attack, Nona quickly sent another one that hit Kiara in the stomach.
Kiara grunted as she smacked the ground.
"Kiara!" Bolin glanced at his teammate and the BadgerMoles' waterbender sent Bolin crashing into Kiara who was still lying on the ground.
"Oof, looks like replacement waterbender took a hard hit, she's not getting up from that attack so fast. Oh, Bolin crashes into her and Nona sends them into the pool. Mako is alone on the ring— hold the presses! The replacement waterbender is hanging onto the end of the ring!"
Kiara watched as Bolin fell into the pool with a big splash. She tried to heave herself back onto the ring when Mako dodged an earth disc. It bounced off the ropes of the side of the ring as Kiara widened her eyes with surprise when it was just a foot away and smacked her helmet, breaking the glass. Kiara let go of her grip and plunged into the pool.
"Oh! Another illegal headshot! Let's see Nona try to talk her way out of this one."
Mako was still on the ring when he heard what Shinobi said.
"You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Mako hissed at Nona.
"No I didn't!" She spat, though she had a smirk as she glanced past him. "Looks like your waterbender is out of the match for good."
Mako turned around as the bell rang for a time-out.
"It seems that the replacement waterbender, or Kiara as I heard, still hasn't come up from the pool. I don't like that red spot I'm seeing coming from the bottom of the pool."
Mako ran to the edge of the pool and saw the 'red spot' he was referring to.
"That's her blood!" Mako yelled. He glared at Nona who came up beside him and glanced over the edge. "Look what you did!"
She shrugged. "What did I do? These things happen anyway, just a simple accident."
"Accident?!" Fire was burning on Mako's hand as he tried to control himself from throwing it at Nona's smug face. "Why isn't anyone helping Kiara?!" Mako yelled at the officials. He whipped his head around when he heard a splash. Bolin had jumped down into the pool.
Kiara felt herself sinking and sinking to the bottom of the pool. Her eyes half closed as she stared up at the surface. Blood flowed upward from her head.
Is…is that my blood? Kiara thought. Seems like Nona was able to land a hard hit… It's so quiet down here, peaceful, almost. She smiled. It's kind of relaxing, actually. Away from everything, in your own quiet world. Kiara felt her eyes beginning to close and smiled when she touched the bottom of the pool.
"You idiot!" Kiara's eyes shot open and saw Bolin swimming toward her. He quickly grabbed her by the waist and held her close as he began to swim back upward. Once they reached the top, they gasped for breath. Bolin then glared at her. "What were you thinking?! Did you want to die?!"
Kiara stared at him and tried to say something, but couldn't think of anything.
Bolin sighed heavily and began swimming toward the elevator that would take them back to the changing room.
"Are you alright? Can you still play?"
Kiara kept staring at Bolin, she shook her head to clear it and nodded. "Yeah, I think so."
Bolin glanced at her wound. "Are you sure, it looks bad."
Once they got up to the changing room, the medical team began to swarm her, healing and bandaging the wound.
"Are you good enough to play?" One of them asked.
Kiara nodded, "Yeah, it doesn't hurt that bad."
Kiara put on a new helmet from the locker as she and Bolin stepped onto the plate form that took them to the arena.
"Are you sure you're alright? You keep wincing." Bolin asked as he stared at her with worry clouding his gaze.
"No, actually, it really hurts; the whole arena feels like its spinning and the pain is unbearable." Kiara admitted as she winced again.
"Then why are you out here?! You should go back and rest!" Bolin exclaimed. "Mako and I got this."
Kiara glanced at the ring and saw Nona scowling to see that she was coming back. "No, I'm not going back; there's something I need to settle."
Bolin followed her gaze and Nona winked at him. Kiara let out a small growl.
"Kiara, don't do anything you might regret," Bolin warned.
Kiara didn't seem to hear him, her glare fixed on the ring. Bolin stared at her with worry and glanced up at the glass panels that made up the ceiling. The moon had begun to peak over the edge. He grasped her hand gently.
"Just… be careful."
Kiara glanced at Bolin for a moment and pulled her hand away. She walked off the plate form and stood next to Mako on the ring. Bolin stared at her in surprise before standing on the other side of his brother. The bell rang and the match began. Kiara tried to dodge every attack that was sent by Nona, but the pain in her head distorted her vision. She stumbled for a moment when she hit the side of the ring and tried to defend herself. Kiara sent a poorly aimed shot and was sent reeling back by and earth disc into zone 2.
"Fire Ferret Kiara doesn't seem like she's fit to play after that injury. She's trying to defend herself but those shots are way off, and she's sent into zone 2!"
Kiara winced as the pain worsened. She closed her eyes tightly as another disc pelted her back into zone 3. She took a deep breath and began to feel the moon's power seep into her body. Still with her eyes closed Kiara listened for the quiet swish of the earth disc and dodged it. Nona stared in disbelief as none of her attacks were hitting Kiara.
"Just die already!" The earthbender shrieked and launched a flurry of earth discs at Kiara.
Kiara lunged forward and destroyed every earth disc, shattering them into small bits of rock and dust. Nona tried to see where Kiara was amongst all the dust. Suddenly, Kiara lunged forward, nearly passing the line into zone 1, and stared at her for a split second with red wolf eyes before smashing Nona into zone 3 with a blast of water. She landed behind her teammates who glanced at her and then at Kiara who smirked.
"Wow! Kiara has sent a huge blast of water at Nona! She lands into zone 3 with a loud smack behind her teammate!"
Mako and Bolin took the opportunity and sent them into the pool with multiple earth discs and fire blasts.
"It's a knock out, folks! The Fire Ferrets win the match!"
The crowd cheered loudly as Mako and Bolin hugged and high-fived each other. Kiara sighed with relief as the wolf eyes began to disappear and replaced with her normal icy-blue eyes. She suddenly felt a huge throb of pain at her wound. Kiara stumbled a little and felt the ground vanish underneath her feet.
"Wow! This is great! I can't believe we won the match, right Kiara?" Bolin exclaimed and turned his attention to the waterbender just in time to see her fall off the ring.
"Kiara!" Mako shrieked as both the bending brothers jumped off the ring and grabbed onto Kiara before plunging into the pool. They both gasped for breath as they hauled her onto dry land. Bolin grunted as he and his brother dragged her onto the elevator.
"Are you okay, Kiara?" Bolin asked and stared down worriedly at her when she groaned as another throb of pain shook her body.
Once they got up to the changing room, Korra was there to greet them.
"Kiara! What happened?" Korra exclaimed as they laid her on the bench.
Mako sighed. "I'll tell you later, let's just get back to the Air Temple first."
"No, tell me now!"
"That dumbass earthbender on the other team did this to her," Mako growled, remembering Nona's smug smirk.
Korra stopped for a moment and whipped around toward the door. "I need to do something."
"Korra, where are you going?" Mako asked, staring at his girlfriend. "Korra!" But she didn't seem to hear him and slammed the door behind her. Mako sighed and glanced at Bolin. He was bending down next to the bench, staring at Kiara; his eyes brimming with a mixture of emotions. Bolin lifted his hand and stroked her face gently. "Bolin."
Bolin lifted his head and stared at his brother. "Yes?"
"Why don't you go look for Korra and bring her back? I'll look after Kiara."
Bolin glanced at Kiara hesitatenly, not wanting to leave her side. "Where did Korra go?"
Mako let out another sigh. "My guess is looking for Nona."
The earthbender's eyes flared with fury. "Don't worry," he growled. "I'll bring back Korra after we 'accomplish' something."
"Bolin, don't—" Unfortunately, like Korra, Bolin didn't listen and stormed off after Korra.
Mako stared at the door, wondering whether he should go after them, but he glanced back at Kiara and didn't want to leave her. He walked over to the bench and bent down to gaze at her. Kiara's eyes flickered and stared back at Mako.
"They went after Nona, didn't they?" She asked.
Mako nodded. "How are you feeling?"
"A little better, mostly just headaches."
"Alright, let's bring you back to the Air Temple."
Kiara hesitated. "Actually, I'd rather just stay here."
Mako raised an eyebrow. "Really? It's not that comfortable lying here."
"Yeah, but you probably don't want to carry me all the way back to the Air Temple, right? Besides, we can wait for Korra and Bolin in the attic."
Kiara lay on the couch with Mako sitting next to her. Mako looked around, trying to think about a topic to talk about.
"Sooo…." He began.
"Yeah?"
The firebender glanced at the moon; it was glowing orange and was a lot bigger than normal as it rose up high into the night sky. "Do you always change into your 'wolf form' during the full moon?"
Kiara hesitated. It was the last thing she wanted to talk about. "No… not always. There are times I can control it, while other times…" She shuddered when she remembered killing the insane doctor years ago.
Mako glanced at her. "Oh yeah… but it wasn't your fault, you know. It was self-defense."
"That doesn't mean I should have killed him."
"What could you've done? If you didn't kill him, he would have killed you."
Kiara sighed, not wanting to remember the screams he had let out as she ripped at his body... She shuddered once again and glanced at one of her hands. Water was swirling around her fingers and ice was forming at the edge of her fingertips, beginning to form ice claws. "Sometimes I think it's better if I'd died in that hospital…" She whispered and felt her eyes closing and drifted into sleep.
Kiara opened her eyes, and she growled in frustration as she found out she was trapped in the nightmare. Her eyes darted wildly from side to side, to see where the monster was.
"No, don't do this, you're not a murderer!"
Kiara turned her head and saw Mako lying on the floor, shivering with fear as the monster approached him. She tried to run and save him, but was too late as the monster had already begun to rip him to shreds. Mako's screams once again pierced Kiara's ears as she sank onto her knees, her hands supporting her body as tears rolled down on her cheek. Mako's blood splattered everywhere and a few drops landed on her, but she didn't seem to notice them.
"Kiara!"
Kiara's head jerked up as Mako shrieked out her name. The monster laughed as it kept tearing at his body. Kiara's eyes widened when the shadow that had always blocked the monster lifted away and finally saw what kind of horrible thing it was… and it was her.
Kiara struggled to get up and ran over to them, screaming: "No!" and jerked awake. She swung her head around; her eyes had the wild look again as she saw Mako, Bolin, and Korra staring at her anxiously.
"Kiara, are you alright? You were muttering in your sleep and just screamed 'no.'" Korra asked, her cerulean eyes round with worry.
Before she was able to answer, Bolin stiffened a few feet away and quickly walked up to her. He gently touched her face. "You're bleeding," he murmured.
Kiara whipped her face with her hand and gazed at it. This isn't my blood… Her hand froze; it's his! From the nightmare! She stared at Bolin than at Mako, who was staring at her, his face unreadable.
"I'm fine." She told Bolin, trying to hide her fear.
"Does your head still hurt?"
Kiara lied and shook her head; she didn't want them to be fussing over her so much.
"Asami and Iroh invited us to go out to the nearby bar." Bolin began. "Can you come?"
Mako turned his attention to his brother. "Really, Bolin? She's recovering from a head injury, do you really think she can go out and party with us?"
Kiara sighed. "It's fine, really. You guys go out and party, I'll just stay here and rest."
"No. Bolin, Korra, you guys go out and party, I'll watch her." Mako answered.
The waterbender stared at Mako and the nightmare flashed back in her mind.
"No!" Everyone turned their gaze at her, surprised. "I mean, you guys go out to party, you don't have to worry about me, really. Go out and have fun."
Mako hesitated. "Okay, fine, but stay here until we get back."
Kiara nodded and let out a sigh of relief. She turned her attention back on Bolin, who was staring at her. He leaned forward and hugged her tightly, much to her surprise. He stayed there for a few moments before letting go and standing up.
"We'll be back soon." Bolin promised and turned around to follow Korra and Mako out.
So I'll try to post the next part tomorrow but will most likely be out by Sunday. And you'll have to find out the actual details of what happens to Mako in the next part!
Tell me whether you were surprised that the monster turned out to be Kiara!
Please R&R :) ;)
