Don't Think Twice
Author's Note: Well, it didn't take me almost a whole year to give you guys one chapter this time!
Intro Music: Avatar: The Last Airbender Theme
Chapter 5: Flames
Well, airbending training was going well.
Just kidding, it wasn't.
While Bolin, Mako, Asami, Tails, and Knuckles were off probably enjoying good food, Sonic and Korra were getting their behinds handed to them by Tenzin in their airbending training. By the end of the training session, Tenzin looked at Sonic and Korra, who were currently laying on their backs from the beatdown they just received. Seeing how tired the two were, Tenzin decided to call it quits for the day.
"That's enough for today. Both of you couldn't go on even if you tried." Tenzin declared, walking away from his two students to get his own rest. Sonic and Korra looked miserable, every part of their bodies currently aching.
"Korra…" Sonic faintly said, but Korra could hear him.
"Yeah…?" she replied, the two of them looking at the sky.
"I know why you hate airbending training now…" Sonic told her, not single sign of his typical joking attitude being able to be found in his voice.
Korra groaned, before saying, "I'm glad somebody shares my pain now." She eventually got up, coming towards Sonic and put out her hand to help him up. Sonic grabbed Korra's hand, but as soon as he did, it's like his mind went crazy.
He started getting those visions again, events that may or may not occur yet. This was getting really tiresome for Sonic, especially since he could never really tell what this meant. The weirdest part, though? All of this happened as soon as Sonic grabbed Korra's hand.
After the visions came and went, it's like a sharp pain went throughout Sonic's body, his eyes widening as he let out a loud groan. Korra saw this happening right before her eyes, instantly becoming worried.
"Sonic!" she came closer and sat right next to him, holding him in place since she didn't know if he was going to fall or not. "You okay?" she asked in a concerned tone.
This was also weird. It's like as soon as the pain came, it went away. Sonic was taking deep breaths, trying his best to calm himself down. "Yeah… I guess airbending training is really getting to me, huh?" he joked, not only trying to calm himself down, but the situation down as well. He didn't want to tell Korra what happened, because at this point, he felt like he was really losing it.
Korra had a sigh of relief, and also laughed a little bit. "Guess so. I honestly don't know how long you're gonna last, it's only your first day."
"I'll make it through, because we're now destined to suffer together." Sonic told her, smirking. Korra had another laugh.
"Well then, suffering buddy, I think both of us have suffered enough for today." She then thought about something, raising her index finger while saying, "Aha! How about we check out the city and have some fun? That should relax us a bit."
While Sonic was listening to Korra, he had just now noticed how close they were together. Korra probably didn't even notice it, but she was still holding Sonic. A faint blush appeared on Sonic's face, not sure what to say or think since he wasn't fully focused. Something about Korra's touch… felt reassuring to him, like everything was going to be alright.
Knowing that he had to snap himself out of it before it became awkward, he cleared his throat, saying, "Yeah, uh… That sounds great. I could use some fun."
"Alright!" Korra said excitedly, finally letting go of Sonic and not noticing a single thing. Not the amount of time she was holding Sonic, not the amount of time Sonic was looking at her, absolutely nothing.
Sonic sighed heavily to himself, closing his eyes as his fingers met the bridge of his nose. "Pull yourself together, Sonic. Why the heck did you freeze up like that?" he thought to himself, shaking his head. Opening his eyes, he had an idea. He figured that he would make the trip to Republic City faster. Getting up, he ran to Korra, and literally less than a second afterwards, she was now in his arms bridal style.
Now it was Korra's turn to blush.
"S-Sonic?!" Korra said in a surprised tone, the blush being as apparent as ever. Safe to say that she wasn't expecting this. "What are you doing?!"
"I figured we could waste less time in getting to Republic City if I just ran, so that's what we're gonna do!" Giving her his reason, Sonic blasted off at high speeds to Republic City. This was Sonic only going at a casual speed for him, yet Korra felt like she was about to die. It was evident in her panicked face.
She'll get used to it, it's only her first time riding the Sonic Express.
Once they finally made it to Republic City, Sonic set Korra down. "Whatchya think about ride here?" he said, smirking.
Korra, still trying to get herself together, fixed her hair up as she also tried to get her blood pressure to go down.
With a deep breath, Korra intimidatingly, yet calmly said, "Next time you do that, I'm firebending you into next week." She exaggeratingly pointed at Sonic as she said this, signaling that she wasn't playing around.
Sonic raised his arms up, surrendering. "Okay, okay, I got you." Afterwards, the two went on into Republic City.
With Bolin, Mako, Asami, Tails, and Knuckles finding a place to eat, they still didn't realize that a particular someone was following them. They walked right into Kwong's Cuisine, Tails and Knuckles immediately getting impressed from the fancy vibe of this place.
"Wow, being here kinda makes me feel out of place…" Knuckles spoke his thoughts on the matter, Tails agreeing.
"Yeah, talk about fancy." Tails said, nodding. "We weren't dressed up for this occasion at all."
"Aw, don't worry about it guys. We didn't come in some fancy clothes either. Honestly, I think we're more concerned with getting a bite to eat." Asami assured them, smiling.
"You got that right, because I'm starving!" Bolin exclaimed, running to the host. "Table for five hungry people please!"
"Of course sir," the host replied, bowing in response. He would lead the group to a table, all of them sitting down. Even now, they still haven't noticed that anyone was following them. The person who had been following them continued to do so, sitting at a table by herself.
If Blaze was one thing, she was certainly persistent. Always has been. It took a minute for somebody to notice her. The person to notice her would be Knuckles. Once he did, Knuckles gave Tails a nudge, moving his head in the direction that Blaze was in.
Even in human form, there was no mistaking who that was.
Bolin turned to see Blaze, noticing that she's been staring at the group. "Uh… why is that girl staring at us like that?"
Bolin saying something got Mako's and Asami's attention. Considering everything that was going on in Republic City at the moment, Mako was on his guard. You don't know about people these days. They could be regular people, or they could be equalists.
"Excuse us for one second, guys," Tails said, getting up with Knuckles doing the same. The group looked at them walk over to Blaze, being confused for a second.
"Do they know her?" Mako asked.
Bolin shrugged, as Asami just watched to see what would happen.
"Blaze!" Tails said happily, with Knuckles smirking.
"Glad to see a familiar face around here." he told her.
Blaze could only shake her head, her no-nonsense attitude showing. Yes, she was happy to see Tails and Knuckles, but Blaze being Blaze, it was hard to tell.
"Spill it. What the heck happened that caused…" Blake paused, looking at the world around them, along with their new human forms. "All of this."
Tails scratched the back of his head. "You see, it's truly the wonderful tal-"
"Sonic was fighting Infinite and used Chaos Control." Knuckles said bluntly, with Tails giving him the side eye.
"I was getting to that!"
"You were gonna beat around the bush." Knuckles replied.
Blaze sighed when she heard the news. "Makes sense. Where is Sonic anyway?"
"He's probably getting his butt beat in some airbending training right now." Tails said, forgetting that Blaze didn't know what the four elements were, even though she could actually control one of them.
"Air what?" she replied, being baffled.
"Right, right, don't know about this world that much." Tails said, forgetting that fact for a moment and mentally facepalmed himself.
"We're still trying to figure out everything about this world too, so we can't really give a detailed, detailed explanation, but we can at least tell you some of the basics. Though, that might have to wait, considering that we have people waiting for us." Knuckles referred to Bolin, Asami, and Mako who were at the other table. Blaze looked at them, then back to Tails and Knuckles.
"You should join us. They're cool people." Tails told her, smiling. "Besides, you might as well stick with us, considering that we actually have a place to stay. That'll give us enough time to get things back to normal again."
Hearing this, Blaze considered her options. Tails did have point here. If she were to continue alone, chances are that she wouldn't get anywhere.
Best if she stuck with the group.
"Very well." she said, getting up as the trio walked back to the other table. Tails and Knuckles would have the job of introducing Blaze to them.
"Hey guys, this is our friend Blaze." Tails said, introducing her. He would then proceed to point to who everyone was. "The dude with the red scarf is Mako, next to him is his girlfriend Asami, and on the other side of Mako, that's his brother Bolin."
"Very nice to meet you all." Blaze politely said.
"Hiya, Blaze! I was wondering why you were looking at us, but I guess it makes sense now." Bolin told her, smiling.
"Nice to meet you, Blaze. Love the outfit. Very elegant." Asami complimented, a slight smile showing on Blaze's face.
"Thank you."
"Pleasure to meet you, Blaze." Mako said.
"You mind if she sits with us? She thinks she always has to be alone for some strange reason, I think we should change that." Knuckles grinned, with Blaze folding her arms and gave Knuckles an annoyed look.
"Of course. If she's friends with you two, then she's our friend as well." Asami said sweetly. Knuckles muttered, "Yes!" as it happened. They proceeded to sit with each other, and ordered their food.
BGM: Naruto Shippuden – Floating Dead Leaves
We transfer back to Sonic and Korra, who were walking in Republic City. This gave Sonic a lot of time to think. Looking at Republic City as a whole let him take everything in. He thought back to the first time that he, Tails, and Knuckles dropped in this place. He remembered that there was a guy with a microphone, talking about equality or whatever, and how benders were apparently the scum of the world.
If anybody would know more about this, it would be the person he's walking with.
"Hey Korra, mind if I ask you a question?"
Korra looked over to Sonic, wondering what he had to say. "What's up?"
"When me, Tails, and Knuckles first got here, there was this guy with a microphone saying that benders are pretty much the worst people ever, and that equality needs to be found or whatever. I had no idea what he was talking about, and still don't. You know anything about that?"
When Sonic asked his question, Korra's face visibly became more serious. "That's Republic City's main problem right now. Those people are called equalists, and they're followers of Amon."
There was that name he heard, but he couldn't put his finger on it since that first night. "Amon. That's the name."
Korra nodded. "Yeah. The equalists are people that are… Well, fighting for equality. They say that everything bad that's happened to the world in the past, and even now, all relates to bending."
Sonic remained silent. These people were fighting for a cause, apparently. Not the typical "I'm evil" thing. This really caught his attention as he started to think more about it.
"Well… What do you think? Do you think they have a point?"
Korra looked away, not entirely sure on what to say. It took her a minute to gather her thoughts. "I mean, looking at it as a whole, I can see why non benders would be mad after so many years, especially when you consider the amount of lives that were lost in the 100 year war." She looked up to the sky, almost like she was searching for answers. She wishes that she had her spiritual side down, because then she could talk to Aang or at least some other past life for advice.
"But the world needs benders too, even if the equalists don't want to accept it. This whole thing stresses me out, because I'm supposed to be the one to bring balance to the world since I'm the Avatar, yet I don't have a clue on what I'm supposed to do." She was venting a bit, Sonic now looking at her with concern.
"I just… I just wish that I was able to talk to Aang or somebody for advice. But I can't even do that because I suck at being spiritual!" Her frustration was visibly growing. This was supposed to be a fun time out, but Korra was getting stressed. For good reason, though.
Sonic put a hand on Korra's shoulder, telling her, "Hey, I may not be some past Avatar or some all powerful spirit, but you can always talk to me if you need advice. It's the least I could do for everything you've done to help me and my friends." He showed a sweet smile as he was speaking. "Besides, that's what friends are for, right?"
Korra, who couldn't help but to smile back at Sonic, said, "Thank you… That really means a lot to me, Sonic."
"Anytime. Besides," he continued, smirking. "What's Amon gonna do when he not only sees you, the all powerful Avatar, but me as well? We'd kick his butt so hard it wouldn't even be funny." Saying this, Korra laughed, the mood getting lighter again. This was on the assumption that Korra never faced Amon before… Which he was right on, by the way.
But Korra knew deep down, her confrontation with Amon was coming.
It was inevitable.
"Yeah." She said, forcing a small smile to come on her face. "Right."
"But enough of all this equalist stuff. Let's go have some fun!" Sonic exclaimed, pumping his fists in the air and sped off. Korra's eyes widened, yelling, "Hey, wait up!" She started running after Sonic. "Gah, he's gotta realize that nobody is as fast as him!"
"So Blaze, you come from this two tailed clan that Tails and Knuckles talked about?" Mako asked, Blaze instantly looking baffled at what was said to her. "Wha-"
"Yep!" Tails said with a grin, knowing that Blaze had no idea about the made up backstory that Sonic came up with on the fly. "We're all longtime friends. I guess she decided to travel the world too!"
Blaze's head turned to Tails, not knowing a thing about what the heck he just said. Knuckles came closer to her and whispered, "We'll explain everything soon, I promise. For now, just go with it."
Listening to Knuckles, Blaze sighed, but looked to Mako and said, "Yes. I'm from the Two Tailed Clan, and I couldn't help but to see my old friends again." She said, her eyes piercing both Tails' and Knuckles' souls. You could hear a collective gulp from the both of them.
"Neat." Asami replied. She knew about the backstory since Mako told her some time ago. "You miss home at all?"
"Ohhhh, I'm missing it with each passing second." Blaze calmly yet viciously said, the gulps of Tails and Knuckles getting louder. "But I'm sure that this city will treat me well. Can't beat everlasting friendship, am I right?"
She put her arms around Tails and Knuckles, bringing them closer to her. In a way, she was intentionally suffocating them, but of course she wouldn't kill them. Tails and Knuckles could feel the strength Blaze had, their eyes getting big as they were struggling to breathe.
"Y-Yep, everlasting friendship!" Tails replied.
"Y-You can't beat it!" Knuckles added, their faces now becoming blue. That's when Blaze let them go, allowing them to gasp for air freely.
"You got that right! Friendship is everything. When you have that true friendship, you know that your buddy will always have your back." Bolin then looked to Mako. "Like Mako, I know he always has my back!"
"Love you too, bro." Mako casually said, shaking his head at Bolin talking about the joys of friendship, but not in a disapproving manner. He couldn't help but to smile.
While he was smiling, though, Mako squinted his eyes out the large window of the restaurant. He could swear that something was… coming for them. The lights got closer and brighter, making Mako's eyes widen out of realization.
"Look out!"
Mako grabbed Asami and Bolin, diving to the floor as a speeding car crashed into the restaurant. Knuckles quickly grabbed Blaze and Tails to do the same, thankfully avoiding the car that almost slammed into them. Other people in the restaurant started to run and scream in fear, clearly not expecting a random car to crash in like that.
After that happened, Mako asked, "Is everybody alright?!"
"Still alive and kickin'," Knuckles replied, helping his friends up. Mako helped Bolin and Asami to their feet, looking at what crashed in.
On top of the car, an equalist was revealed holding somebody by the throat. Nobody would know who this person was, except for Mako and Bolin.
"Shady Shin?!" They said in unison. He was currently knocked out due to him fighting the equalist that had him by the throat. In mere moments, more equalists would arrive, surrounding the restaurant as people were running out the door.
"Equalists!" Bolin yelled, his face becoming determined as he got into a stance.
It was getting scary, though. More and more equalists started to appear. Sooner or later, it's like the whole restaurant was surrounded. Bolin's once determined eyes got a reality check rather quickly.
"Okay, that's a lot of fighting we have to do…" he said, visibly already looking tired.
"Asami, stay back. We got this." Mako told her. She was listening to Mako, but was more shocked at how many equalists showed up in the matter of moments.
Suddenly, with strong, slow steps, Blaze stepped forward. She let out a powerful yell, her arms becoming engulfed with flames as the whole area started to get hotter. Flames started to come around her body, and they grew bigger and bigger by the second. Being a firebender himself, Mako was in awe of how much control Blaze had over her fire. That includes Bolin and Asami. Tails and Knuckles were used to it at this point, really.
"Whoa…" Mako quietly said.
With her flames surrounding her, Blaze looked up to see all the people that they had to face.
She wasn't scared one bit.
"They're mine."
END OF CHAPTER 5: FLAMES
BGM: Sonic R – Number One
Mako: I had no idea Blaze was a firebender!
Blaze: Fire what?
Asami: Guys, look out!
Tails & Knuckles: Where's Sonic when you need him?!
Next time on Don't Think Twice!
I Will Destroy You
Sonic: You hear somethin', Korra?
Author's Note: There's chapter 5! If you like what you read, leave a follow and a favorite! And don't forget to READ AND REVIEW! See you guys in the next chapter!