•Thirteen•
Sikenna yawned with her eyes still closed, her back leaning against Bolin's in the hallway outside of Korra's room back on air temple island. The twins hadn't wanted to leave until they knew what happened to Korra, and that she was alright. Mako had been perched in a chair at her bedside the entire night, and Bolin had refused to go much further until Sikenna coaxed him out to guard the hallway with her. Exhaustion had won at one point, and the two fell asleep back to back, sitting on their bums, using each other's heads as pillows while they slept. It wasn't the most comfortable, but it was enough where Sikenna was able to get some rest for the upcoming day.
The sun was just peaking over the mountains of the island when Sikenna heard soft, gentle footsteps making their way down the hallway. She could tell it was Asami by what door she had heard open, and decided to keep her eyes shut to get a few more moments of rest. If Sikenna was being honest with herself, she would admit that she also didn't want to see Asami's face when she realized Mako still hadn't left Korra's side, but it was too early to make honesty a virtue. As the sun beaming in from Korra's window warmed her feet, Sikenna sighed to herself and peaked her eyes open. Just as she assumed she would be, Asami was leaning against the door frame with her bottom lip between her teeth, a heartbroken scowl set firmly on her pretty face.
"Asami." Sikenna whispered the girls name.
"Stop torturing yourself." She finished, this whisper a little louder and more hoarse.
"I'm not." Asami said back quietly. Sikenna rubbed her head against the back of Bolin's softly, hoping to gently wake him up. Last night before they had fallen asleep, Bolin told Sikenna that he let it slip to Asami that Mako and Korra kissed during the tournament.
"That's exactly what you're doing." Sikenna said with a sigh, closing her eyes again. Bolin choked on a snore behind her, making Sikenna smile in amusement.
"I just wanted to see if she was awake yet." Asami still hadn't looked over at her. She kept her eyes glued to the back of a sleeping Mako in the chair next to Korra's bed, his hand resting lazily next to hers on top of the blanket.
"Before the sun's barely up?" Sikenna scoffed. With a soft groan Sikenna readjusted herself from her slouching position against Bolin. The Earthbender stirred in his sleep slightly, but settled back in quickly once Sikenna was situated.
"Are you okay?" Sikenna muttered softly after a brief silence.
"I'm fine." Asami snapped dryly.
"Will you look at me?" Sikenna asked her, keeping her tone low and comforting despite getting snapped at. Asami grinded her jaw, annoyed, before finally turning to rest her eyes on Sikenna.
"Are you okay?" Sikenna asked again. It took a few seconds, but Asami's hard eyes softened, and her stone face fell.
"I don't really know… I don't know how to feel." She answered Sikenna with a sigh, turning back to look at Mako and Korra for a moment, then turned back to the girl on the floor.
"With everything going on it just feels like there's no time to deal with it."
Sikenna thought about what she said and nodded.
"You're probably more deadly during a fight with the angst." Sikenna smirked up at Asami as she tried to fight a smile.
"Do what you have to do to survive this. Whether that means talking about it now, or later."
Sikenna didn't really know what else to say. If she was in Asami's position, she would probably feel the same way, and just deal with it when everything calmed down. There was a war going on, and that was bigger than any personal problem she could possibly have. At the same time, she didn't want Asami to be strung along anymore, especially after knowing what she knows.
Just then, Kona turned the corner of the hallway. Asami looked at him and smiled gently before turning back to look at Korra and Mako, frowning when she saw their hands had somehow found each other.
"So, are we all just hanging out in the hallway watching them like weirdos?" Kona whispered. Sikenna shrugged and felt Bolin move behind her and yawn. She glanced over her shoulder at him and smiled.
"Good morning, sleepy head." She said with a giggle. Bolin sat up straighter against Sikenna's back and reached his hands above their heads as he stretched.
"Mornin'" he yawned, slapping his lips together when he was finished. Sikenna grimaced and looked over at Kona.
"Did you sleep there all night?" Kona asked, pointing to Bolin and Sikenna with a brow raised in confusion. Sikenna scoffed.
"If you can call that 'all night,' yeah."
Kona rolled his eyes at his sister but frowned when they landed on Asami. He walked over to the doorway and sighed when he realized why she looked so hurt. He looked over at Sikenna and Bolin, who were distracted in a borderline heated discussion over whether or not noodles were an acceptable breakfast food. He rested his hand on Asami's shoulder comfortingly to get her attention. Asami's eyes looked a little damp when he looked at him and his frown deepened, nodding to where he had walked into the hallway.
"Let's take a walk before breakfast."
"Korra?" Came Mako's voice from inside the room. Sikenna and Bolin scrambled across the floor to the bedroom door.
"Korra!" They said happily in unison, relieved that their friend was awake and okay. Asami looked from them back to Kona and nodded.
"Great idea."
•¥•
Sikenna's nose was pulled up into her face as she watched Korra stuff her face with food. She understood why she was hungry, of course, but the entire atmosphere at the table was already so awkward, Sikenna decided disgust at Korra's manners was the only reaction that wouldn't make it worse. Mako was watching Korra shove food into her mouth like she was the most beautiful thing in the world. Asami sat next to him, (or rather, behind him, as he was leaned forward towards Korra so much the only thing Asami could see was the back of his head,) looking at the two sadly. Her dark perfect brows pulled together in aggravation. Kona sat next to her, trying his best to comfort her without drawing attention to her mood.
"The food tastes amazing, Pema. I'm finally starting to feel like myself again!" Korra said to Pema gratefully through bites of food. Pema stood and started clearing the table of everyone else's plate.
"We're so thankful you're home safe." Pema said lovingly. Pema gave off the air of a mother, like she was born to be one and people gravitated towards her with motherly affection. Sikenna smiled politely and mouthed a quick "thank you" to Pema as she took her plate from in front of her.
"Let me help." Asami said cheerfully, finally seeing her escape from watching Mako and Korra. She took Kona's plate beside her with a small smile and followed Pema into the kitchen. Sikenna watched her leave and sighed- how were they going to be able to function as a team to stop this war if all this side drama was happening? She looked down at her fire stone bracelet and scoffed quietly, trying to hide it with her sleeve as she turned her attention back to the conversation.
"Korra," Tenzin spoke.
"I realize you've been through a lot, but I need to know everything that happened."
Korra took a deep breath and stabbed some food with her fork, waiving it around in front of her as she spoke.
"Well, first off, Tarrlok isn't who he says he is." She took a bite of the food from her fork and looked back at Tenzin.
"He's Yakone's son."
Tenzin and Lin looked at each other, shocked. Sikenna raised an eyebrow at Kona from across the table, completely lost in the story already, having no idea who Yakone was.
"The crime boss? Avatar Aang took his bending away, right?" Kona asked to clarify, mostly for Sikenna's sake. Damn him and his love of history. Korra nodded as she finished chewing her food, pointing her fork at him so he knew her nods were meant for him.
"It all makes sense now. That's how Tarrlok was able to bloodbend us without a full moon." Lin said more to herself out loud than to the group.
"But how did you escape? And where's Tarrlok?" Tenzin asked her curiously.
"Amon took him." Korra answered, then looked down at her plate.
"And took his bending."
Sikenna grimaced at the thought. She didn't like Tarrlok, but she still wasn't able to shake the thought of what it must feel like to have your element ripped out of your body.
"What?" Tenzin asked in shock.
"Yeah, he showed up out of nowhere. He almost got me, too."
Sikenna opened her eyes to look at Korra horrified only to be meet Mako's eyes, wide with horror. Sikenna smiled apologetically at him, feeling guilty for the countless times yesterday she told Mako that Amon wouldn't do that to Korra, not yet.
"This is very disturbing news. Amon is becoming emboldened. Taking out a councilman, almost capturing the Avatar ... I fear Amon is entering his endgame." Tenzin said with authority, and Sikenna knew he was right. If he was willing to take a councilman's bending, and get that close to Korra, he was definitely nearing his endgame. Tenzin turned towards Sikenna and Kona, his expression grim and serious, testing them to challenge what he was about to say.
"You two should stay here with the rest of Team Avatar until we get this under control."
Lin nodded once and looked over at the twins too.
"Tenzin is right. The last thing we need is Korra trying to save her friends instead of being where she's needed."
"Oh, thank the spirit's." Bolin let out a sigh of relief and leaned back in his chair. Sikenna raised an eyebrow at him.
"What?" He shrugged.
"You two were about to lose the apartment anyway, I started to get worried."
Sikenna's eyes widened in surprise. She had completely forgot about having to leave the apartment, and they had yet to find one. Kona laughed loudly when he realized that he had also forgotten, muttering an expletive as he did. Sikenna turned to look at Tenzin with a grateful smile.
"Thank you, Tenzin. Kona and I will go get our things."
"And Lotus!" Bolin added, holding up Pabu with a pout.
"But first, I think we all need some more tea." Tenzin smiled at Sikenna, Kona nodded to him appreciatively.
"Tea sounds great!" Korra muffled between more food.
"We're all out." Mako said, looking inside the tea pot.
"I'll go get some more water."
"And I'm going to go get sugar. I have a feeling I'm going to need lots and lots of sugar today." Sikenna said with a sigh, standing with Mako as she grabbed the sugar dish.
Mako swung the door to the kitchen open with Sikenna on his heels.
"Where's the sugar, Pema?" Sikenna asked politely, but Mako's voice cut through.
"Can I get some hot water? Korra needs more tea."
Pema smiled and pointed Sikenna to the sugar. She turned to start filling the dish just as Asami spat at Mako, her anger bubbling to the surface.
"You're a firebender. Boil it yourself." She said harshly to him, continuing to wash dishes. Sikenna winced, but smirked. Mako did deserve it, and Asami had every right to be angry with him.
"I'm- gonna step out in case you two want to talk." Pema grimaced as she moved past them.
"Kenna, are you done dear?" She hurriedly said to Sikenna.
"Yup!" Sikenna said awkwardly, practically jogging to get out of the room to avoid the confrontation.
"Is there something we need to talk about?" Came Mako's voice just as the door swung closed behind Sikenna. She sighed and relaxed her shoulders, grateful to get out of there.
"That's too bad. They were a lovely couple." Pema said next to Sikenna, who chuckled at the woman.
"They did look beautiful together, didn't they?"
She smiled at Pema as she tucked a hair behind her ear, suddenly feeling a strange uncomfortable sinking in her stomach.
•¥•
30 minutes later, Air Temple Island Docks.
"You're sure you don't want me to come with you guys?"
Sikenna rolled her eyes at Bolin as she walked down the dock. She turned around to face him, walking backwards as she spoke.
"We're just going to get our things and Lotus, Bolin. We'll be fine!" She laughed as she turned back around, meeting Kona at the boat.
"You know there's a whole war against Benders right now, right?" Bolin said to her sarcastically, crossing his arms over his wide chest.
"Yeah, I'm aware. I promise to keep my bending super duper top secret while I'm over there. It'll be hard, but I think I might be able to do it." Sikenna said dramatically, acting as if this would be the hardest thing she would ever have to do.
"I'm serious, Kin!" Bolin laughed at her despite his words.
"I am too! How will I survive an hour without bending?!"
"What are you two idiots doing?" Kona said, stepping next to Sikenna.
"Bolin thinks we need backup to pack." Sikenna chuckled out, crossing her arms.
"I just don't want anything to happen to you guys." Bolin said sheepishly, bringing his hand to the back of his neck.
"Awe, Bo!" Kona cooed sarcastically, reaching forward towards Bolin. He grabbed each side of Bolin's head and kissed his forehead with a loud "Muah!" And smiled brightly.
"You do care!" She fake wiped a tear from his eye as Bolin shoved him off, laughing.
"Just hurry back." Mako said as he walked up to the group. He met Sikenna's eyes for a moment, and she knew what he meant just by looking at him. He needed to talk to her, bad. So far, Sikenna was the only person he felt like he could openly talk to about his feelings for both Asami and Korra without much judgement, and he needed that now more than ever.
"We'll be quick." Sikenna smiled reassuringly at Mako and he nodded, relaxing his shoulders.
"See you soon, then! Kin." Kona said, bowing and motioning towards the boat. Sikenna scrunched her nose up at him and shoved him, forcing him to flail his arms to catch himself from falling. Sikenna ran up the ramp to the ferry laughing at her brother as he chased after her, trying to reach her to to get her back.
"Well at least some people are able to stay positive." Mako sighed as he watched the siblings playfully boarding the boat.
"Hey! I'm always positive!" Bolin said, slightly offended.
"Yeah but your positivity I'm used to. It's weird to have other people in my life that are able to act like that," he pointed to the twins, now on board the ship. Sikenna squealed loudly as Kona threw her over this shoulder and pretended he was going to throw her overboard.
"At a time like this."
Bolin laughed as he watched them and shrugged.
"Balls of joyful chaos." Bolin called them as he waved goodbye wildly back to the twins. Mako put his hand up for a few seconds to acknowledge their goodbye and sighed.
"I'm still not used to the fact that they knew mom and dad." He said quietly to Bolin.
"Yeah… you guys ever get to talk about that yet? You and Kin?" Bolin asked curiously, bringing his finger to his chin in thought.
"Nah, not yet. Been too busy. What is that, by the way? Why do you guys call her Kin?" Mako asked, turning to walk back to the temple. Bolin followed behind him laughing.
"It's a pretty good story! I guess Nicknames were Kenna's 'thing' growing up," Mako cringed thinking of the one she had given him as Bolin spoke.
"Well, I couldn't say her name when I was little so it came out as 'Kin' and you were so mad about your nickname, you tried to make a joke out of it for the rest of the summer. Anyway, long story short, it's better when they tell it, some other kids tried picking on her by calling her that, and you and Kona got so mad you ended up kind wrestling them. Then it turned into a term of endearment." Bolin finished the story and inhaled deeply, having rushed through explaining it.
"You're right, Bo. It probably is better when they tell it." Mako teased his brother with a smirk, nudging him with his elbow as they walked back inside.
•¥•
Republic City
The streets seemed quieter than usual. There were less cars, less people. The people that were out and about moved quietly and quickly, almost desperate to finish whatever business kept them out so they could get home. The energy of the whole city was off. Sikenna shivered as she walked briskly next to Kona to their apartment.
"This is creepy, right?" Kona whispered out of the corner of his mouth. Sikenna nodded and looked around, keeping aware of her surroundings.
"This is eerie. Let's be quick. Only take what we need." Kona nodded and looked both ways before pulling Sikenna across the street.
"Come on." He told her, taking off in a light jog in order to get out of the city and it's atmosphere as quick as possible.
Lotus squeaked happily in greeting as they walked through the door. Sikenna smiled widely at the Fire ferret as she squatted down to properly greet her pet.
"Hi baby! Want to go stay with Pabu for a while?" Lotus trilled as she hopped in a circle in answer. Sikenna giggled and started walking to her bedroom.
"Okay, let's go pack!"
"Remember, only what we need. And hurry up, I want to get out of here. Something's off." Kona called from his room across the hall. Sikenna nodded as Lotus perched herself around her shoulders.
As quick as she could, Sikenna emptied her drawer of her clothes and shoved them hastily into the one big bag she came to Republic city with. She made sure to grab her mother's silk robe and a couple of the books she had purchased since moving there just as Kona showed up in her doorway. He adjusted the strap to his bag over his shoulder and nodded at her.
"Ready?"
Sikenna fastened the large bag shut and slung the strap over her shoulder.
"Yeah. Let's head back-" she paused, hearing a loud whistling noise. Kona froze and looked around at where the sound could be coming from. The whistling started getting louder, as if it was coming closer, until finally-
BOOM.
One loud bang shook the ground before another whistle came through the air.
BOOM.
This one shook the whole apartment. Screams erupted around them as it did, Sikenna flung her hand out to her dresser to steady herself.
"What was that?!" She called out to Kona.
BOOM.
The apartment shook more violently than before. Sheetrock from the ceiling fell onto their heads and the siblings ducked.
BOOM.
"They're bombing the city!" Kona shouted just as another whistling could be heard. Kona's eyes widened and he reached for his sister's wrist, pulling her out of the bedroom and through the apartment. Lotus hid underneath Sikenna's hair, nuzzling into her neck in fear.
BOOM.
Chaos had broken out in the streets. People ran in every direction, buildings were in flames, some falling from the impact of the bombs. Kona wasted no time and pulled Sikenna down the stairs to race back to the ferry before they got destroyed.
Bombs set off all around them as they ran. Sikenna tried to follow the whistling noises to guess where they would be dropping, but there were too many, and it was starting to get hard to hear with the surrounding chaos. The police were out in full force trying to help the injured and usher people to some sort of safety. People screamed and cried, alarms of all kinds filled the streets in a terrifying symphony as the twins ran as fast as they could to the docks.
Just as their feet hit the wood of the dock, the ships lining the docks started erupting with bombs one by one. The ferries, all the rescue ships, some people's personal fishing boats, all went up into flames within a couple seconds.
Sikenna tried to blink through the dust and shake the ringing from her ears from her new position on the ground. Her fingers grinded into the pavement from the pain and she hissed through her teeth. Everything sounded like it was coming from underwater, somewhere far away from her. But she could feel the heat from the boats now enflamed around her and knew that it was close. Though she still couldn't hear herself, she screamed her brother's name, coughing from the dust she took in with each inhale. A strong arm found her bicep and pulled her to her feet. Her eyes met Kona's now soot covered face. His lips were moving but she still couldn't make out the words fully. Suddenly, as if the ringing was being sucked out of her ears with a vacuum, she heard him shouting.
"-WE HAVE TO GO! KENNA? KENNA!"
Sikenna blinked a few times, only just realizing she was in a daze.
"Tenzin!" She shouted at Kona with a gasp. Kona's eyes widened and he turned on his heel, dashing back through the crowded rubble filled streets to City Hall.
"If he's okay, he has Oogie! We can get back to the island that way!" Sikenna yelled to her brother as she kept up with him, their bags slamming against their bodies as they ran.
It took longer than usual to get to City Hall then they thought it would. Entire streets were blocked off or in absolute ruins, making it impossible for people on feet and vehicles to leave. Bombs continued to go off around them as they ran, weaving through other frantic, running bodies.
"There's people in metal suits at police headquarters!" Someone shouted as they ran past Sikenna. She grabbed Kona's shoulder and made him face her.
"Hiroshi's mechatanks! What if they have Tenzin?!" Terror raised up her spine at the thought of one of the last Air Benders on earth, Avatar Aang's only air bending heir, being captured by Amon and his Equalists.
"Then why are we stopped?!" Kona snapped at her and turned away to run towards Police headquarters instead of City hall.
The two made it to Police headquarters and found Oogie huddled behind the building, safely tucked away. They ran forward and tossed their bags up into his saddle with grunts.
"Lotus, stay with Oogie. I'll be back in a bit." Sikenna pulled the terrified ferret from her neck and put her on Oogie's foot so she could run and hide up in his saddle.
The building shook from an impact on the other side. The twins heard someone yell from the other side of the building and wasted no time. Now quicker without the weight of the bags and Lotus, they rounded the corner of the building and gasped. The rest of team Avatar was already there fighting both mechatanks and equalists. Mako screamed as a mechatank electrocuted him with a cord wrapped tightly around his waist. With a groan he managed to grab the cord and redirect the lightning back towards it. The mechatank shook wildly from the electric shot and the lights flickered as it slumped over, defeated. A warm, soft hand touched the skin on his neck as he breathed in deep. He heard Sikenna's voice in his ear and felt a sense of relief- he had been worried something would have happened to them when he saw the bombs starting to go off.
"Are you okay?!" She shouted to him quickly, her eyes wide. He nodded.
"I'm fine, good to see you guys are okay."
"Incoming!" Kona shouted over them. Mako and Sikenna ducked just in time to avoid a powerful blast of fire from Kona's foot. It collided with a mechatank that was coming towards them and it shot back into the wall behind it.
The three firebenders leapt into action. Kona ran to go help Bolin take down a tank, leaving Mako and Sikenna alone to team up against a few of their own.
Sikenna flipped forward, sending a huge arch of fire towards a tank. Her hit landed the target but not before it deployed a cord towards her. It wrapped around her ankle and pulled her onto her back. Sikenna gasped for the air that was forced from her body and groaned. The hair on her arms stood on end as the cord gathered it's electric charge and Sikenna gritted her teeth. She hated that electricity did this to her now, she hated that they had that power over her, and she hated that it reminded her exactly why she avoided using it as much as possible, feeling more at home with the flames.
"Kenna!" Mako shouted, releasing a combo of fire from his hands and feet at the mechatank so it would let her go. She decided to take a page from Mako's book and grabbed the cord by her ankle right as the electricity sparked, her other hand above her head. She waved it around once, grunting loudly as the electricity coursed through her body and up her arm and launched it forward. She hit the head of the mechatank and it exploded, slumping to the ground. Now free from the cord, Sikenna turned her focus back to the rest of the fight. An equalist ran forward towards Mako, who was distracted fighting another tank. Sikenna narrowed her eyes at the equalist and ran towards Mako as fast as her legs could carry her. She slid in front of Mako and slammed her foot down in a stance, raising a wall of fire between her and the charging equalist. With a shout she pushed it forward with her forearms, launching the equalists back. Their back slammed into the stairs of the building with a loud crack.
"I didn't know you could bend electricity!" Mako shouted out as he delivered another combo to a mechatank.
"Not the time, Mako!" Sikenna shouted, sending her own combo into the same mechatank. Just then Tenzin came out of nowhere, positioning himself under the mechatank Sikenna and Mako were fighting. With his knees shoulder width apart he shot his hands in the air, clapping them together loudly. Sikenna punched another combo at it to keep it distracted just as Tenzin shot his hands up in the air. The mechatank flung up into the sky before plummeting down on the dome of the Capitol building nearby.
Only three mechatanks remained, and team avatar had them outnumbered. The 6 teenagers and Tenzin finished them off easily. Sikenna leaned forward on her knees as she breathed heavy, trying to catch her breath.
"Are you alright?!" Korra asked Tenzin worriedly once the fight was over.
"I'm fine. Thank you, kids. Another moment later and I would have been on my way to Amon."
Sikenna looked up to make sure she could see Kona in one piece. She sighed when she saw him, his hands on his hips as he breathed heavy as well, sweat trickling down his forehead. His usually neat bun had unraveled during the fight and his hair flowed past his shoulders as his chest heaved. He looked painfully water tribe standing there, Sikenna couldn't help but smile.
"Uh, guys… look." Came Mako's voice. Sikenna stood, still breathing heavy as her eyes travelled to where Mako was pointing. She groaned and pouted at the sight of an Equalist airship pulling up to Air temple island.
"Oh no." Tenzin muttered.
"Oogie's hiding behind the building." Kona heaved through still heavy breaths. Without another word they all took off in a trot to the back of the building. Sikenna threw her head back so she was facing the sky, releasing a loud dramatic groan into the air.
"UGH I'm too out of shape for this!" She pouted before following everyone back to Oogie.
•¥•
The whole ride to air temple island was silent and tense. Tenzin rushed Oogie back over the city as quick as the bison could go as the kids looked over the saddle. It seemed like the whole city was on fire. Smoke and flames billowed everywhere, from every nook and cranny of the city you could see.
"A couple months ago, we were in a rush to see this city. Now look at it." Kona whispered next to her. Sikenna stayed quiet as she looked out over the city and couldn't help but think of the people she came here with. Was Raiko able to leave before this happened? Was he home? Safe, with Sumi? And as much as she hated to admit it, her mind wandered to Nero. Was he okay? Did he make it out of this? Would she ever see him again? She felt a sharp pain in her heart like a needle had pricked it as she thought crossed her mind. The city grew further away from them and she sighed. As bad as things may have gotten between them, she still cared about Nero, and even missed him sometimes. And she didn't know if she could handle the news that he didn't make it through this war.
"We're here." Tenzin said anxiously as Oogie started to descend. The bison groaned loudly to announce their arrival.
"Dad!" Sikenna heard Jinora shout just as Tenzin slipped off of Oogie's back. Sikenna followed her friends off the bison, her head still stuck on Nero.
"You let them fight? Do you realize what could have happened?!" Tenzin scolded Lin loudly, causing Sikenna to bring her mind back to the present.
"I would have been toast if it weren't for your kids. You should be proud. You taught them well." Lin watched the man she used to love look at his children proudly with a sad smile on her face.
"Go on, be with your wife." She finished. Tenzin looked at her confused, but ran into the house as quickly as he could when realization spread across his face.
"What happened to Pema?" Sikenna asked worriedly.
"Mommy is having the baby!" Ikki shouted excitedly.
"What?!" The teen's said in unison, looking back at Lin, who just shrugged at them.
"Yeah, stupid baby almost gave away our position!" Meelo protested angrily, like some sort of tiny, scorned war general.
"They're not stupid!" Ikki shouted at him angrily.
"Hey!" Jinora scolded at the same time Ikki shouted.
"Meelo!" Sikenna hissed at him.
"Okay! Okay, kids, why don't you follow your father and meet the baby." Lin interrupted with a wave of her hands. The three air bending kids ran off towards the house, Ikki and Jinora giggling with excitement over meeting their new sibling. Sikenna missed that kind of excitement and innocence of being a child. Of course, she had lost that at a young age still, but she still craved the simplicity of that time in her life.
Lin sighed loudly and looked back at the group of teens in front of her.
"Everyone watch the skies for more airships until they come back." She ordered, and they spread out across the courtyard of the air temple.
It only took about a minute before one of them saw something.
"We got company!" Bolin shouted down by the docks.
"Yup, some more coming this way, too!" Kona shouted down from a hill that faced Republic City.
"Let's go tell Tenzin." Korra said before turning towards the house. Mako and Lin followed her in just as Sikenna was flanked by Bolin and Kona. Asami, who's face seemed to be in a permanent scowl since they fought the mechatanks, walked up to the 4 of them confidently.
"If I know my father, those air ships can hold at least 100 men each at full capacity. There's no way we can fight them all, Avatar or not. we're going to have to run. Get your things ready."
Sikenna turned to look at the three airships that inched closer and closer to air temple island and realized she was right. They were massive, they would be overwhelmed before they would be able to get a couple shots in. Apparently Tenzin realized the same thing, because Sikenna could hear an absolutely appalled Korra on the catwalk behind them.
"I'm not giving up!"
She turned to look at the commotion as Kona ran off to get their things off of Oogie's saddle.
"I'm not asking you to." His calm voice reasoned with Korra.
"I sent word to the United Forces. They will be here soon. And once my family is safe, I will return. With the reinforcements, we can turn the tide in this war."
Sikenna didn't hear the rest of the conversation because she was too busy trying to hide her excitement. General Iroh, Prince Iroh, was quite the hot ticket to the girls back home. Sikenna used to gush about him with Sumi for hours when they were younger. He was an absolute dream; A handsome Prince with the voice that could probably shake Toph Beifong to her knees. He was an absolutely legendary bender and someone even the young men looked up to.
"General Iroh is coming here?" Sikenna couldn't help but ask when Mako and Korra rejoined the group, catching them all up to speed.
"Oh spirits. Not now, Kenna." Kona scolded next to her with a heavy eyeroll. Sikenna couldn't hide the blush that spread across her face then, it happened too quickly. Mako raised an eyebrow at her suspiciously while Bolin teasingly poked her shoulder.
"Uh, yes? I guess so, that's what Tenzin said. So we have to find a place to hide until he comes to help. Anyone have any ideas?" Korra rushed through quickly, looking at the group for help. Bolin and Kona both raised their hand quickly and waved them around as if they were waiting to get called on. Sikenna ignored them and spoke before anyone decided it was a good idea to call on one of them and make it a 'thing.'
"The homeless created a little community in the sewers. They face out towards the bay, it would be our best bet to spot General Iroh before Amon does."
Sikenna blushed again at his name, but cleared her throat to try to shake it off.
"Great idea Kenna. We'll head there. Let's go say bye to the airbenders."
Kona and Bolin groaned loudly as their hands dropped, pouting that they didn't get to share their ideas.
Kenna bounced off Bolin's shoulder absentmindedly as they waited for Korra to finish up her goodbyes. Mako watched her with a smirk. Her eyes zoned out to the Bay as she bounced, deep in thought. He wondered how she could look so calm during all of this, but looking at her now he could see she was battling internally. Mako might not be as close to her as Bolin was right now, but he understood why Bolin clung to her. She was honest, and genuine. She wasn't afraid of herself or any of her flaws and always had an air of confidence surrounding her. Despite not having her in his life for long, (for all he can remember, at least,) she felt stable, like she was home. Kona was a fun person to have around, and incredibly helpful, but Kenna was nothing but comfort, even when she was at her most chaotic. Mako thought back to last night. He had awoken with a jolt, having seen Korra get her bending taken from Amon in a dream. Bolin mumbled something out in the hallway with Sikenna, where they had decided to camp for the night, making her laugh. Mako relaxed hearing it, exhaling a slow breath as it rang through his head until he was able to fall back to sleep. She was also very pretty, but Mako chalked that up to her slight resemblance to Korra. Water tribe genes- they're something.
"Tenzin, if we're leaving, we'd better do it now." Lin's sharp voice cut through the haze and hurried the farewell. Sikenna and Mako both snapped out of their daydreaming state and looked forward as Tenzin airbended up onto Oogie.
"Oogie! Yip Yip!" He called, and the sky bison's took off into the sky. Two airships broke away from the swarm of them that came for the island to chase after the airbenders, and Sikenna gulped. This was it.
Almost as soon as she thought the thought, an airship sent a cord through the air. It slammed into the ground I front of Sikenna and she jumped back, her eyes wide. White Lotus sentry's surrounded the group of teens, their fighting stances at the ready.
"Go! We'll hold them off!" One of them called over his shoulder. Without hesitation, Korra ran over to Naga and leaped on her back.
"Everyone, climb on!" She called from on top of the polar bear dog. The group rushed over to the giant animal and scrambled onto her back with no time to worry if she could handle all of them or not; nobody had any other choice.
"Let's go girl." Korra commanded, and Naga leaped into action with an affirmative bark.
Equalist started deploying from airships all around them. Sikenna felt herself grab onto the back of Kona's shirt nervously as her eyes scanned the sky.
"Mustache guy!" Bolin shouted from behind her, pointing up the slope to their side. Amon's lieutenant slid towards them at incredible speed. Sikenna got ready to light her fire if need be, concentrating all of her energy into her forearms. Right as the lieutenant leaped off the slope towards them Naga jumped in the air and swatted the man from the sky with a roar. They landed with a thud and Korra took the time to praise her. Once they got to the pier of the Island Naga leaped off the dock and into the bay. Korra water bended a large bubble around them just before they fully submerged under the water, swimming the group of teens to safety.
"Woah." Bolin breathed into Sikenna's ear as he looked around them, the bubble Korra created around them blowing his mind.
"Water bending is so cool." Sikenna giggled at his amazement, happy to be directly out if harm's way.
Once they got to the sewer tunnel opening at the edge of the city, the first thing Sikenna did was check on Lotus, who had curled up in her bag safely tucked away and sighed gratefully. The group turned towards air temple island and watched as the equalist's completely took it over. The city burned behind them, people cried on the streets and alarms still sounded. Mako put a hand on Korra's shoulder comfortingly and steered her towards the sewer tunnel, pulling her into him as they walked. Asami scowled at the two as they walked past her and Sikenna frowned with a sigh.
Republic city had fallen. It was in control of the Equalists. And it looked like Team Avatar might not make it out of this together.
•¥•
Camp site, abandoned sewer tunnels.
Mako sighed to himself as he laid in his sleeping bag. He was uncomfortable, his senses were heightened and every sound seemed magnified. He was just waiting for the other shoe to drop, for the equalists attack down here, too. But the night went on, the people around him snored peacefully in their sleep, yet here he was, staring up at the ceiling like an idiot. An orange glow in his peripheral caught his attention. Furrowing his brows, Mako raised his head to look over at the glow quickly, immediately on the defense. He let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding when he saw that it was just Kenna. Mako relaxed his neck and put his head back down, keeping his eyes on the girl on the other side of the camp from him. She was half in her sleeping bag with her back against the wall, absentmindedly rolling a small ball of fire over her hands, switching it between them with fluid movements. Her hair hung over her, falling somewhere in her lap. Mako suddenly found himself wondering what Korra would look like with her hair down like that, and if she would look just as good as Kenna did. He watched her hands for a few minutes, finding it relaxing. Then, to even his surprise, Mako found his hand up in front of him. He lit a small flame on his finger tip and quickly extinguished it.
Kenna didn't stop rolling the ball or move her head an inch, but Mako could see her blue eyes shift over to him. A smile crept on her face, lit only by the firelight from the flame dancing on her finger tips. She jerked her head towards her shoulder to call him over as the smile grew. Mako ignored his stomach dropping and smiled, pleased that his "accidental" plan worked and it grabbed her attention. As quietly as he could, Mako slipped out of his sleeping bag and snuck over to the wall Kenna rested against. He ran his hand through his hair as his back met the wall and he sighed.
"Can't sleep either?" Kenna's soft voice rang through Mako's ears and he felt his shoulders relax.
"No. I don't know how anyone can." He complained quietly, gesturing a hand towards the sleeping figures of their friends.
Sikenna giggled as she rolled the flame in her palm to the top of her hand with a gentle wave.
"I'm pretty sure Kona and Bolin would have slept through the bombs dropping earlier if they had been asleep."
Mako looked over at her with his brows furrowed, slightly shocked she would make a joke about the bombing she had survived earlier today. She raised her brows back at him and pouted sarcastically.
"What? Too soon?" She scoffed and rolled her eyes, but smiled to make it clear she was teasing him.
"What did you want to talk about earlier?" She asked him after a few silent moments. The ball of fire still rolled around on her hands, Mako watched her for a few seconds before he answered her.
"Just stupid triangle shit. Don't worry about it, I'm pretty sure Asami will take care of it before this is over."
Sikenna laughed lightly and tossed the flame in front of her face and caught it again.
"Good, somebody better. Before it starts messing with our ability to work together as a group." Sikenna glanced sideways at Mako and started rolling the flame around her hands again.
"Are you going to be mean the whole time we talk?" Mako asked her, feeling slightly attacked. Sikenna sighed and extinguished the flame, turning at the waist to face him better.
"I'm not trying to be mean. I'm actually really worried about it effecting how we would work together as a group. We have three people distracted with each other, with complicated emotions involved, and no one has any closure or answers. It could be dangerous, for all of us. The Mako I knew would see that as a problem too, and fix it. Even if he was 7."
Mako cracked a smile and turned his eyes away from hers.
"Kenna, I don't even know the Mako you know." He teased quietly. Sikenna sighed and leaned her back against the wall again.
"Yeah, I know. Sorry we haven't been able to talk about that yet." She smiled apologetically at him, but he shook his head.
"It's okay. We have plenty of time." He smiled warmly at her but shoved her gently. She swayed in her spot with the push and smiled before she continued.
"He was pretty cool though, little Mako." She said to him matter of factly.
"Yeah?" Mako asked.
"I bet he was adorable too." He added.
"And extremely humble. At least that carried over." She joked. Mako laughed and turned away from her.
"You were very protective, like you are now. And you still have the same kind of humor, it's just a little dryer now. You were a little more reckless, though. It didn't matter what idea I came up with, you were ready to do it. One time I told you we should go cliff jumping like the big kids did, just as a joke, and I had to physically hold you back from running up to the landing." She laughed and glanced at him, resting the side of her head against the wall.
"I was like that up until I had something I was scared to lose." Mako said through his chuckle.
"What do you mean?" Sikenna asked, confused.
"When Bolin and I finally got our apartment. Up until then I was willing to do just about anything to make sure we survived. Once we got the apartment, I was so scared to lose it, I started to be more careful with my actions." He explained. Sikenna nodded, peeling her eyes from his face.
"I'm sorry you guys were alone out here." She said quietly, looking over at Lotus, asleep in a ball to her right.
"Don't be. I'm sorry you thought we hated you." Mako answered her as he rested a hand on her shoulder.
"I don't even know if it was that. I'm not sure exactly what it was. All I know, is I had my heart broken a lot that year. It's like it overwhelmed me so much then, that I just… carried it as I grew up, and couldn't let it go." Sikenna took a deep sigh and before she knew it, her mouth was moving again.
"We used to defend your house, Kona and I. It stayed abandoned, and people would try to steal stuff from it all the time, to sell it for some quick cash. Kona and I would try to get it all back." Sikenna rolled her lips together to stop her from talking as she blushed, already embarrassed by her oversharing.
"I guess every city has the same kind of hooligans." Mako laughed. He pulled his knees toward him to rest his forearms on them, feeling like he didn't know what to do with his hands. He smiled as he noticed her blush, enjoying the color on her cheek bones. Clearing his throat to shake his smile , he scolded himself mentally for his thoughts. Mako trained his eyes on his hands between his knees as he fiddled with his fingers.
"Yeah? You guys get anything back that was good?" He asked her.
"Oh! Yeah!" Sikenna said quickly. She reached for her bag with a groan and dug through it, pulling out something thin.
"This is how we found out you guys were from Republic City." She said, handing him a photo of him and his family. Mako's breath hitched in his throat when he saw it. It was a different one than the one he had already. Bolin was much younger in this one, swaddled in a blanket tightly in his mother's arms. Mako sat on his father's lap smiling widely, all his teeth showing. Sikenna giggled when she looked at his face in the picture and moved it closer to him.
"I forgot I brought it, I was using it as a bookmark." She reached forward to pull the book from her bag with her free hand. Mako took the opportunity while she wasn't looking and reached a shaky hand forward to take the picture from her gently, as if it would break. Sikenna plopped the book on her lap with a big exhale. Mako looked away from the picture to look at the book.
"Love Amongst the Dragons?" Mako asked with one eyebrow raised. Sikenna nodded with a smile.
"Mhm. Don't get be wrong, it's probably the best play The Ember Island Players perform, but they still don't do it any justice. The book is much better." Sikenna defended the story, tracing a finger lightly over the two dragons forming a heart on the cover of the book.
"Who? And what?" Mako asked her, genuinely confused with what she just said.
"Oh, yeah, memory. Uh, well the Ember Island Players are this group, that put on plays at the theater on Ember Island. This was Fire Lord Zuko's favorite story, and he vacationed on the island with his family for a few weeks every summer, so they do it a lot. Our moms used to bring us every year, Naoki loved this story. See? Look." Sikenna said, flipping the cover open. Mako craned his neck to see what she was pointing at. There, sprawled across the inside cover of the book, was his mother's fluid handwriting.
Happy Birthday, Kenna! May this story bring you as many dreams as it has me, my special girl. We love you so much- Naoki, San, Mako & Bolin.
Mako read it over and over again, amazed at seeing her handwriting again.
"You knew her pretty well, huh?" He asked Sikenna quietly, touching the writing on the cover. His mother had written that, her hand had rested right here before. Sikenna smiled as she watched his hand, and let her eyes wander up to his face. His chiseled, sharp features and arched eyebrows looked just like Naoki.
"Yeah, we were pretty close. I liked to be around you more than I liked to be around Kona at that age, so I was at your house a lot. Our moms were best friends, too, which helped. Plus, she had two boys, I was the closest thing she had gotten to her own daughter. She gave the best birthday presents, always made sure they were personal to us instead of the typical twin presents." Sikenna tried to tell him as much about her without overwhelming him. The energy surrounding him calmed and she could see his breathing slowing as she spoke, and hoped she was bringing him comfort instead of upsetting him. Mako gulped and forced himself to look up at her. His eyes met hers for a few moments before he spoke.
"What's it about?" He asked her gently.
"What?" Sikenna asked, pulling herself from the haze she had lost herself in when she made eye contact with Mako.
"The book. Love Amongst the Dragons." Mako said with a smirk, pointing at the book on her lap.
"Oh! Yeah! Uh-" Sikenna laughed at herself and looked down at the book to hide a blush.
"The uh, the Dragon emperor. He was cursed, by the evil water Spirit to live as a disgusting human mortal, like us." Sikenna motioned between her and Mako, making him smile.
"He ends up falling in love with another mortal and that unlocks secrets and all that, I don't want to give it away, but it's good! I promise." Sikenna blushed when Mako laughed at her.
"It sounds super cheesy." He said through laughs.
"Not as cheesy as you!" Sikenna said to him, sticking her tongue out at him. Mako reached forward and flicked her adorably scrunched up nose with a smirk. She jumped and pulled her tongue back into her mouth, rubbing the tip of her nose with a scowl.
Mako yawned and stretched out his legs after a few moments, rubbing one of his eyes.
"It's late. We should probably get some sleep." He muttered as he rubbed his eye still. Sikenna nodded, but gulped. This place made her nervous, and being alone with her thoughts wasn't something she wanted to do right now. All of her monsters seemed to come out at night, and her thoughts were constantly plagued by thoughts of Nero she wished she wouldn't have.
"What about dragging your sleeping bag over here and sleeping next to me?" She asked nervously.
"We can be paranoid sleepers together. Separately." Sikenna put her hands up in front of her as she clarified they were sleeping separately. Mako chuckled and stood.
"If it'll make you feel better." Mako winked at her with a smirk. Sikenna blushed once more and found herself grateful Mako had walked away before he could see how she reacted. She couldn't help but feel frustrated with herself. She had never been the type of person who craved the attention of another person, but the longer she wasn't with Nero, the lonelier she got. She missed the feeling of someone else's touch more than she thought she ever would. And in her mind, the result of that was her finding basically anything about her interactions with anyone that could mean getting that attention, and that's what she was doing with Mako. She ignored the fact that she didn't do that with Bolin, Asami, or Korra.
"Okay, where are you sleeping?" Mako asked when he came back with his sleeping bag. Without a word Sikenna skooched on her bum with the sleeping bag and turned, so her back could be against the wall if she slept on her side.
Mako laid out his sleeping bag a few feet away next to her and settled himself in, sighing contently once he was situated. Sikenna yawned next to him and he smiled as he looked at her. Her nose scrunched the same way she usually scrunches it. Mako decided he really liked it.
They laid there on their backs for a few more minutes talking about mundane things. Mako told her a few quick, funny stories about the days he lived on the street and the things he saw. He told her what the city was like when he was growing up, and how the street culture was with the other street children. Sikenna told him all about Ember island, and how they had the best Mango's, and all the festivals they had. She told him the story of how she got Lotus and how it was the first time she had actually gotten arrested for something she did. The fire ferret had crawled between them to sleep at the mention of her name, enjoying the warmth of two bodies on each side of her.
Exhaustion started setting in, and their eyes closed as their light conversation continued. There were a few moments of silence where Mako noticed Sikenna's breathing even out and her arms went limp.
"Hey, Kenna?" He said quietly, wanting to say something before she fell asleep.
"Mm?" She confirmed she was still awake, keeping her eyes and mouth closed.
"Thanks for never giving up on me and Bolin." He opened his eyes to look at her as he said it. Sikenna turned her head and opened her eyes slowly, staring back at Mako with tired eyes.
"I promised you I wouldn't. You were my best friend in the world, I wouldn't break that promise. Not to you." She answered honestly. Mako stared at her topaz eyes for a few moments, allowing himself to get lost in them in his tired state before answering her.
"I'll try to make it worth it." He said softly. Sikenna scoffed with a smile and closed her eyes, turning on her side in her sleeping bag so she was facing Mako and Lotus.
"You guys already have, Mako. Go to sleep, cheeseball." She yawned one more time and snuggled into her sleeping bag, peacefully falling asleep. Mako watched her as she fell into her slumber with a small smile on his lips. Her breathing leveled out and her usually busy energy finally calmed to its fullest as her body and mind relaxed. Mako soaked her aura in and felt himself relaxing just by being so close to her. He took a deep, cleansing inhale of breath from his nose and let his eyes slide closed, exhaustion finally winning now that he could get comfortable.