Don't Think Twice
Intro: Avatar: The Last Airbender Theme
Author's Note: Chapter 11, hoo boy! Shout out to Hazlov, Shadow Joestar, Nightshade, Sunset, and Kaidhicksii for reviewing this story. Your guys' feedback is much appreciated!
Chapter 11: Turning Point Part 2
We go to the board room of Future Industries, with Hiroshi Sato explaining to the board the success of the company recently. "Everyone, today is a day for celebration. Future Industries has seen an overwhelming amount of success this year. Sales have gone through the roof, Satomobiles can be seen on every corner, and I can confidently say that Future Industries has never been at a higher point than where it's at right now." Hiroshi said, carrying a proud tone.
"That's great news, Hiroshi. In fact, it's the reason why we're selling the company." A board member replied, catching Hiroshi completely off guard. It was written all over his face.
"What?" Hiroshi replied, replaying what he heard in his head, but it didn't quite hit him yet.
"Yes, Cabbage Corp has recently bought Future Industries to form a merger. The only thing is that there will be no more Future Industries, but Cabbage Corp will remain. If you would have seen the offer, you would have made the deal as well."
"And you decide to tell me this now?" It was clear that Hiroshi was carrying venom in his voice, his anger growing by the second.
"We tell you this now because there would've been a power struggle if you had known earlier. However, the deal is off if you try to make yourself come along. The board expects your resignation in one week." Yet again, another board member knew about this, but Hiroshi didn't.
Hiroshi got up from his chair, his eyes carrying nothing but fire. "You can't do this to me…" He looked at the entire board, wanting to kill every last one of them, his breathing becoming heavier. "I started this company…"
That's when he took another look at the board, his rage fully unleashing with a powerful yell emitting from his vocals.
"YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I SACRIFICED?!"
After Hiroshi's powerful statement, he gave a death stare to the entire board, but that death stare would slowly turn into sadness. Everything he worked for, everything he sacrificed for the betterment of the company, was going to be seen as nothing but a waste of time.
"Oh Mike, please reconsider…" Hiroshi pleaded, but Mike could only shake his head. This would make Hiroshi turn to another board member.
"Bryan, come on… We've come so far together." Hiroshi pleaded once more, as Bryan can only sigh.
"I'm sorry, Hiroshi. This was the only way. We're announcing the sale after the pro-bending tournament is over." Bryan replied, sighing.
"You're out, Hiroshi." Mike told him, sipping his tea like nothing was wrong.
BGM: Spider-Man OST 2002 – Norman Gets The Boot
Hiroshi looked down, wiping his mouth slowly, now fully processing what was happening to him. He truly was about to lose everything.
At least, that's what the board thought.
"Am I?" Hiroshi muttered, taking one last look at the board. He was sad one minute, but now he looked downright terrifying. His smirk that would appear on his face would look sinister, and anyone that was able to see it had chills running down their spine.
Lately, it's been a difficult time for Korra. That's not stating the obvious thing on how she's trying to become a better Avatar, but it's more along the lines of her having so much on her plate when it came to her schedule. Airbending training, pro-bending, and Tarrlok's task force. Those are all three major things that she's in. Maybe in the beginning, she was able to handle it, but as time passed, this really started taking a physical and mental toll on her. Everyday, it was the same old song.
And that same old song was getting harder to listen to every time.
The worst part is that it was starting to become noticeable. She naturally looked tired. This caused her fighting to be sloppy, and it showed during her pro-bending practice with Mako and Bolin. Mako's fireblasts were noticeably harder to avoid with each passing second, as Korra would escape them by the skin of her teeth.
You could say that it's Mako getting better from his training with Blaze, which is most certainly a logical reason.
But it didn't change the fact that Korra was off her game. "Ah!" She yelled, ducking the fireblasts. While she was focusing on that, she let her guard down when it came to Bolin.
"Here comes Bolin!" he shouted, shooting multiple earth discs at Korra. All Korra could do was put her hands up to guard, but that didn't seem to do much. The earth discs hit right on the dot, knocking Korra to the ground.
"Ugh…" She muttered, Bolin and Mako giving each other a look. This wasn't the Korra they knew.
"You alright, Korra?" Mako asked.
Korra slowly got up, holding her head as she shook it. "I'm fine."
She was in denial.
"Are you sure?" Bolin added, his face and Mako's face expressing worry. "You just seem to be… I don't know… Off your game?"
"I wasn't prepared for your guys' attacks. You guys have been training really hard, so it's only natural for you guys to improve." Korra replied, still holding her head. It was at this moment she would look at the clock in the gym, her eyes widening when she realized what time it was.
She had somewhere else to be.
"Oh crap, the Task Force!" she exclaimed, quickly grabbing her things. As she was about to take off, she started waving bye to Mako and Bolin. "Task Force duties! Gotta go, bye!"
Before Mako and Bolin could even reply to Korra's bye, she had already left. The two brothers would turn to each other once more, frowning.
"She's doing too much." Mako said, folding his arms.
"I always thought she was doing too much, but now we're actually starting to see that it's affecting her." Bolin agreed. "Honestly, I'm surprised that it took this long. She's as tough as nails."
Mako listened to Bolin, looking back to the exit where Korra took off. There was a short silence before Mako replied.
"Yeah, she is."
We transfer our attention to the group on Air Temple Island, where Jinora could be seen in the library reading about the old Gaang and their adventures. As she was reading, she would hear a soft knock on the wall. She looked behind her to see Sonic, having his arms folded as he was leaning against the wall with a smirk.
"Hey!" Jinora said excitedly, smiling.
"Wassup?" Sonic replied, coming by Jinora and sat next to her.
"Just reading. You know, the usual." Jinora casually said, but then she had a light bulb moment. "Ohhh… So, you do keep your promises."
Sonic showed a smile. "Yeah, I did promise I was gonna read with you some more. I meant it when I said I always keep my promises." He told her, Jinora nodding. "But uh, I also want to talk to you about something, or someone for that matter."
This caught Jinora's attention. "Okay then. Who's this someone?"
"Your dad." Sonic replied, Jinora tilting her head. Before she could reply, Sonic would decide to explain more. "I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. A lot of conversations, a lot of wisdom has been given to me recently, and uh, I feel like I've been giving your dad a hard time with this whole airbending training thing. Like, a way harder time than I should be giving him. After going through these wisdom filled conversations, while also going back into my past a bit, I've realized that I've been too difficult with your dad when he's only trying to help me."
Jinora listened to Sonic, getting a better understanding on where he was coming from. "By wisdom filled conversations, I'm going to assume that you had a talk with my mom." She said jokingly, Sonic now scratching the back of his head.
"Something like that." Sonic confirmed.
Jinora giggled at that response. "Yeah, she can get to everybody. As far as my dad goes… I know he's not the easiest to deal with, but I always try to keep something in mind when it comes to him. He's the only airbender child, with my Uncle Bumi being a non-bender and Aunt Kya being a waterbender. The reason why this is an important piece of information, as you know or at least should remember from our last time reading," Jinora stopped, seeing Sonic trying to remember all the events. From all his talks with Korra, he remembered.
"I remember, I remember. Aang had his entire culture, his people, his nation wiped out." Sonic said, Jinora giving a nod.
"Yep. So, when grandpa realized that dad was an airbender, he made it his mission to train him in all the airbending ways to carry on the legacy of the Air Nation. In fact, grandpa may have given dad too much attention… At least, that's what I hear from my Aunt Kya and Uncle Bumi." She paused for a moment, frowning.
"Dad's been trying to rebuild the Air Nation for the longest time, because he wants to carry on grandpa's legacy. He puts a lot of pressure on himself by trying to do that, and it's probably the reason why you're stuck in airbending training. I personally don't think you're an airbender, but since you're able to control the wind in some capacity, like when you run really fast, dad instantly jumped to the conclusion that you were an airbender." Jinora explained, Sonic looking down at that.
"Oh man…" Sonic said sadly. "It must've been tough being Aang's son, always feeling like you have to live up to your father." Hearing this, he felt like he understood Tenzin more now. "He shouldn't have to put that much pressure on himself, though. I mean, Aang was the freaking Avatar. Tenzin is… you know… Tenzin." Sonic wasn't sure how to say it, his statement sounding like he was undermining Tenzin, but Jinora wouldn't take it that way.
"I know what you mean, don't worry." Jinora confirmed, Sonic having a sigh of relief.
"Well, that's good." Sonic said, showing a small smile.
"You're saying that dad should focus on just being himself, instead of trying to be like grandpa. I think that, mom thinks that, and even my brother and sister think that. He might be too far gone, though, given that he's been set in those ways for a long time." Jinora said sadly. Still, she wouldn't want to harp on it for too long, because she feels like this whole thing would turn into a ball of depression.
So, she would change the subject.
"Anyway… Wanna continue reading where we left off?" Jinora asked, Sonic being in his own thoughts as he thought about Tenzin.
He would snap out of it eventually, though.
"Yeah, that would be great." Sonic said, smiling.
The two would continue their reading for a good while.
After Sonic and Jinora finished reading, the blue blur was walking around Air Temple Island, seeing that Tenzin was alone trying to meditate in the meditation pavilion. Sonic looked down, but then smiled. He would try to make things right with Tenzin.
He walked closer to him, trying to catch his attention. "Hey, Tenzin."
Tenzin opened his eyes, turning around to see Sonic. "Ah, hello there, Sonic. Care to join me for some meditation?" he asked.
"I mean, I'll gladly join you in meditation after I get this off my chest real quick. You have a moment?" Sonic asked. Tenzin wasn't sure on what Sonic was about to say, so he was both afraid and curious.
"Um, sure." Tenzin replied, Sonic now sitting next to him. "What's this about?"
Sonic took a deep breath, and then he would begin. "I just want to tell you I'm sorry for how I've been acting in airbending training. I now see that you're only trying to help me improve, but I wasn't willing to accept it since I felt like I already knew everything." He wouldn't dive into that point further, but Sonic was talking about the amount times he's saved his world, which has been on numerous, numerous occasions.
And the way he's been treating Tenzin, reminds him of the same way he treated Uncle Chuck before he died.
Tenzin was surprised to hear Sonic talking like this. This was something that he wasn't expecting in the slightest, so it took him a minute to process everything. Eventually, he would come up with a response, sighing. It's clear that the master airbender has been doing some thinking as well.
"No, no. I'm in the wrong as well. I feel like I've been too hard on both you and Korra. Just like you guys, I'm learning as well. Or, at least trying to learn." Tenzin stated, stroking his beard.
"I need to become a better teacher and figure out the best way to train you guys. A student is only as good as his master." Tenzin added.
"And a student needs to take in what his master is trying to teach him seriously." Sonic said, smiling. That comment made a small smile appear on Tenzin's face.
"Well then, how about the student and the master meditate together in peace?" Tenzin brought up, Sonic's smile turning into a smirk.
"You read my mind."
With the two getting into meditation stances, it seems like Sonic and Tenzin finally saw eye to eye for the first time.
Back with Korra, we go to her, Tarrlok, and other members of the Task Force trying to invade an Equalist hideout. The Equalist hideout was underground, showing that there were chi-blockers in training. Best to deal with them now compared to dealing with them in the future. They looked through the basement window, waiting for Tarrlok's orders. "On my mark…" Tarrlok said, raising his hand in the air.
"NOW!" Tarrlok shouted, everyone crashing from above, landing right in the middle of the Equalist hideout. Some metalbenders from Lin's team were on the Task Force, and they would use their metal cables to tie up the Equalists that were trying to run.
Tarrlok was busy fighting off other Equalists that were coming for him, but he showed his waterbending prowess by effectively water whipping everything in sight. From the corner of his eye, he saw one Equalist that was trying to escape, trying to use the backway as his way out. "Korra! One of them is trying to get away!" Tarrlok told her, Korra giving a nod as she saw the Equalist run off.
"I got it covered!" Korra replied, now taking off after the Equalist that was running away. She was running at full speed… Well, the full speed that her body would allow her to go at this point. She even noticed this as well, her thoughts being, "Why am I so freaking slow?!"
Since it seemed like she couldn't completely catch up with the running Equalist, she decided to just send a water bullet at him. However, even that would fail, as it didn't even get to hit the Equalist. Her aim was completely off, and before she knew it, the Equalist got away.
Korra was breathing heavily, having her hands on her knees as she looked at the ground. Tarrlok had caught up with Korra, asking her, "Did you catch him?"
Korra would reply in between pants. "No… He… Got away…"
It didn't take a genius to realize that something was wrong with Korra. This is what Tarrlok was currently going through, looking down at the tired Avatar.
"Korra, I think it's best if you return to Air Temple Island. It's clear that you're not yourself." Tarrlok told her, Korra once again refuting the possibility.
"I… *pant* am… *pant* fine…*
"No, you are not fine. Anybody that has functioning eyes can see that." Tarrlok replied. "Go home. We'll continue when you're feeling better since it seems like you can't even take out one Equalist right now."
"But-" Korra was about to say something else until Tarrlok interjected.
"That is an order."
Ending on that note, Tarrlok would leave with his Task Force, leaving the exhausted Korra to herself.
After Korra embarrassed herself twice in one day, she returned to Air Temple Island because of Tarrlok's orders. She was not looking good at all, and now it was apparent in her walk. Yup, even her walk was lethargic now. It looked like if anybody hit her with a decent punch, that would be the only thing needed to take her down.
She saw Sonic and Tenzin, who were currently practicing some evasive airbending techniques. They would stop once they saw Korra, though. Sonic took a look at Korra and smiled. "Hey, you're back!" Sonic happily said.
Korra didn't have the energy to say anything back, so she tried to wave instead. That would end badly, because it's like the moment she tried to wave, that's when her vision went to black, losing consciousness as she began to fall backwards.
Sonic's eyes got big at this, yelling, "Korra!" With no hesitation, he immediately used his super speed to get close to Korra, catching her before she fell on the ground. "Korra! Korra! Come on, speak to me!"
Tenzin would run towards them, and once he got close enough, he felt Korra's head to see if she had a fever or anything. Nope, it certainly wasn't that.
Knowing the schedule that she has, there would be only one conclusion that Tenzin would come to. "She must be exhausted. That's the only thing I can think of, but it's the most logical one. Given her schedule, it's clear that she's been overworking herself."
Tenzin sighed at this fact, knowing that he was part of the reason why Korra was like this right now. "She needs rest. Take her to her room so she can fully recover."
Sonic gave a nod, blasting off and took Korra to her room. He laid her down on her bed and put the covers over her, wanting to make sure that she was as comfortable as possible. He would find a chair in her room, sitting next to her as he held her hand.
"You're trying so hard to be this all-world Avatar, and it's making you not even take your well-being into account." Sonic told Korra, who obviously couldn't hear him at this moment in time, but that didn't matter to him.
That's when he looked down, closing his eyes. "God, we really are similar…" he said, knowing good and well that he does the same thing, the whole putting others before yourself thing.
That trait was a dang disease. Toxic. Throwing your sanity out the window just so others can keep theirs, doing things for the greater good. It was mentally taxing.
Maybe that's what Infinite was trying to get at during their conversation on the rooftop.
But… Sonic can't stop himself, neither can Korra. Their kindhearted natures won't allow them to be any other way, as they'll always be there to be the so-called heroes. It's just what they were born to do, you know?
That's why the nickname for each other, suffering buddies, works so well for them.
It's debatable if that's fortunate or unfortunate.
During Korra's rest, she started to get these weird visions again, the same type of visions she got last time after Amon knocked her out. She saw Aang… almost like he was in trouble. She saw Toph, Sokka, and a bunch of people that looked like they were going through excruciating pain.
But that's as far as she got.
A Few Hours Later
After resting for a good few hours, Korra's eyes slowly started to open, her vision becoming clearer. When she looked around, she saw that she was in her room. Clearly, Korra had no idea how she got here. The last thing she remembered was her getting on Air Temple Island, and then suddenly everything went blank.
She sat up, taking a deep breath as she connected the dots. She hated to admit it, but Bolin, Mako, and Tarrlok were right. She wasn't herself, as much as she wanted to deny it.
Conclusion, being the Avatar was hard.
She looked down, staring at her covers for a long time until her door was opened. It revealed Sonic holding a cup of tea, and when he saw that Korra was finally awake, he smiled widely.
"You're up!" Sonic said, putting the tea down on the small table next to her bed. Once he did that, he came closer to Korra and hugged her. Korra would do the same, the two then separating from the hug.
Sonic's smile would then turn into a stern look. "You're pushing yourself too hard."
Korra would look away, still not wanting to accept it. "Oh goody, you're the fourth person that's brought this up to me today."
"I'm bringing it up not only because it's the truth, but I care for you, Korra. A lot." Sonic told her. He wouldn't define what that 'a lot' meant. Korra didn't seem to catch it. She thought it was just a 'I care for you a lot as a friend' thing.
"I appreciate you trying to help, but the truth is that it's not going to get any easier for me. I have jobs to do, and I can't let anyone down. Everyone is counting on me to make things right," Korra told him, Sonic being silent. The blue blur would sigh, but then something would come to his mind. He would grab the tea he brought into Korra's room, giving it to her.
"If you won't accept my help, then maybe you'll accept Pema's help. She made that tea for you."
Korra looked at the tea, as she just seemed to be staring at it for a moment before drinking it. It was good tea, but by her face, you wouldn't be able to tell. Her face was blank, emotionless. She would set the tea down back on the small table next to her bed, not really wanting to say anything.
Quite frankly, Sonic was getting tired of all this silence, especially since he knew that Korra needed help.
He would grab the chair by her bed, sitting next to her.
"Can I talk to you?" Sonic asked in a caring tone. A simple question, really. Korra wouldn't respond, but she would give Sonic her attention.
That's all he really needed as a yes.
BGM: Spider-Man 2002 OST – Getting Through
"You know what's the great thing about you, Korra?" Sonic asked, but his question wasn't aimed for getting a response. It was the start of his mini speech. "You're so selfless, probably too selfless for your own good. With the weight of the world on your shoulders, you want to make sure that everyone is happy. It's the reason why you fell unconscious in the first place, but even with me trying to tell you to take it easy, I know that you're not going to change."
Sonic paused for a moment, letting those words go into Korra's mind.
"But… that's what I admire about you, because I'm the same way. Every time I look at you, every time I look into your eyes, you're this fierce, adventurous go-getter that's ready to take on the entire world. Some people might say that you're the most powerful person on this planet because you're the Avatar, but I look at a different reason. While it's true that you can bend three elements at will, your real strength comes from your heart."
Korra would look at Sonic, almost like she was in a trance as he spoke to her.
"It's your passion, your heart that inspires others to do the right thing. You inspire me everyday in more ways than you know. You inspire me to improve each and everyday as a person. Whether it deals with helping others out, taking on every challenge and giving it your all every single time, or absolutely refusing to go down without a fight… Whenever I look at you, I know the kind of person that I want to be."
One more pause.
"That's what you've done for me, Korra, and I thank you for that."
This was a lot to take in for Korra. It took a long time to figure out how she felt, but when she finally reached a conclusion…
She felt happy.
Once again, Sonic made her happy.
She wouldn't respond with words, but she would respond by reaching for Sonic's hand, holding it as a smile could be seen on her face.
Now the two were holding hands. Sonic looked at this develop for himself, seeing their hands together and then looked into Korra's eyes.
Everything in this moment just felt right. If he wanted to make a move, like let's say… You know, kiss her, now would be the time.
He wanted to, oh he so wanted to, but everything started to come into his mind. The reason why he was here, what Knuckles and Tails told him about staying away from romance because it would only end badly with all the lies and being from a whole other world thing…
He was the reason why Tails, Knuckles, Blaze, and possibly many others are in this world right now. He was probably the reason why they were freaking humans, too.
He had a job to do, a responsibility, and that responsibility was to make sure everybody got back home.
That responsibility doesn't involve getting into relationships with a person you're inevitably going to leave in the end.
So, with everything that Sonic said, he would awkwardly transition to something else. "Anyway, uh… Make sure to drink the rest of your tea before it gets cold. Wouldn't want that happening." As he was saying this, it's like his face, his tone, his whole demeanor was somber. Korra wasn't stupid, she noticed the change in Sonic. Truth be told, this was the first time Korra felt weird talking to him. Like, instead of the usual friends talking to each other feeling, that feeling was something else, a feeling that she couldn't describe right now.
The conversation would end on Sonic getting up and leaving Korra's room, the blue blur not wanting to go any farther than he has.
Now being alone, Korra was in her own world as she tried to do some soul searching.
A Couple of Days Later…
"I sure hope Sonic's plan works. I had to literally pull my dad's teeth to get him to agree coming over here." Asami said, helping Pema out as she made sure the dinner table was extra clean and neat.
"Sonic's plans tend to have two things happen. They could really, really work out in the end, and by the time this dinner talk is over, your father could open up to you more." Tails replied, showing optimism and hopefulness.
"Or it could end up blowing up right in front of your face, as things turn out even worse than what they were before." Knuckles added, Tails turning to his friend with an annoyed look.
"Knuckles!"
"What?" Knuckles shrugged, not seeing what was wrong about him saying that. "It's the truth. We've known him a lot longer than anybody has, so I'm just giving a heads up."
"Knuckles! No more negative talk!" Pema told him, her tone being like she was talking to a child. Knuckles instantly straightened up.
"Yes ma'am!"
His response made Tails laugh, much to Knuckles' annoyance. Blaze was giggling a bit also, as she was helping Pema and Asami set everything up.
"Speaking of Sonic, where is he anyway?" Pema asked, the trio of Tails, Blaze, and Knuckles turning to each other. Blaze would be the first one to speak.
"I'm pretty sure he's getting his daily exercise in and running around Republic City. He'll be back in time when the food is made." Blaze said, Pema giving a nod. What Sonic was really trying to do was to find one of the Chaos Emeralds, since he thought it was time to take getting back home very seriously.
His conversation with Korra may have increased his seriousness about the situation.
"Boy, he sure likes running around and going fast all the time, huh?" Pema replied.
"Yep. He's always been like that." Blaze confirmed, but then the peace would be interrupted by Ikki and Meelo running into the kitchen with Pabu, messing up the neat and clean table that was set up.
"Oh no, the table!" Asami shouted.
After Ikki and Meelo ran inside, they were being chased by Mako and Bolin. They tried to keep them distracted due to Pema's request, but babysitting was easier said than done, especially when it came to those two.
"Get back here!" Mako yelled.
"You're gonna have to catch us!" Meelo and Ikki said in unison, continuing to run away from the two brothers.
"Why is taking care of children so hard?!" Bolin exclaimed, letting his frustration be known as he tripped, falling flat on his face. He didn't want to do this anymore. Mako could do the chasing from now on.
Outside of Republic City
BGM: Sonic CD – Stardust Speedway Bad Future
Sonic was running all over the place in a forest, trying to find any signs of a Chaos Emerald being here. The more he looked around, the angrier he got. This would be a whole lot easier if Tails had his Chaos Emerald radar, but Lord knows where that is right now. It also doesn't help that this world as a whole seems to be behind in the technology aspect of things, at least when it's compared to Sonic's world. He was used to fighting Egg Fleets, Metal Sonics, Death Eggs, Space Colony Arks, and a whole lot of other crap that was meant to destroy the planet.
Here? Well, things were a lot more grounded. As much of a genius that Tails was, he can't make another Emerald Radar out of nothing, and that's the source of Sonic's frustration right now.
"Darn it! Come on!" Sonic shouted, speeding around everywhere. But there was nothing, absolutely nothing.
Until there was something.
As he was running, he stopped himself, breaking immediately when he thought he heard something. He tried to listen intently on not only where the sound could be coming from, but what the sound was.
Strangely enough, it sounded mechanical.
"What the…?"
When he determined where the sound was coming from, he ran towards it. He was there in mere moments, and to his surprise, he saw a decently sized mech that looked like it was digging for something. First of all, he was surprised that he saw a mech of any kind, but this sight instantly made him go straight to Eggman. I mean, who else on this planet could make mechs?
But then he took a deeper look at it… Throughout all of his years in fighting Eggman's robots, this mech doesn't look like his style.
So if it isn't Eggman's mech, then whose could it be?
As he was thinking about this, that's when the mech dug deeper, the hand coming out the ground and revealing what Sonic has been searching for this whole time.
A Chaos Emerald.
The blue one, to be exact.
With his eyes widening when the mech found the Chaos Emerald, Sonic knew he had to do something fast.
Maybe he should try talking to it?
"Uh, greetings friend!" Sonic said, catching the mech's attention. The mech saw that Sonic was waving.
"Don't mean to bother you, but what you have there is actually my emerald that got lost a long time ago. If you don't mind, you think you could give it back to me so my family and I can have it again?" Sonic said, the lie not being a total lie. Hey, it was at least worth a shot.
The mech would stare at Sonic, before rushing over to him and suddenly punching the blue blur in the face, sending him crashing into tree after tree.
After that happened, Sonic got up, shaking his head. "Okay then, I guess I'll take that as a no. Then again, I wasn't expecting it to be that easy anyway."
He wouldn't have time to rest, though, because the Mech would charge at Sonic again, this time with electrically charged metal cables shooting out of its hands.
"Here we go!" Sonic said, using his speed to effectively and swiftly avoid the electric metal cables that were shot at him. During this time, he was also using his speed to get closer and closer to the mech.
You could say that he was moving like an airbender.
When he got close enough, Sonic charged up his power and spindashed right at the mech. The mech would use its hands to guard itself, holding back Sonic's spindash attack the best it could.
Sonic proved to be powerful, but the mech would prove to be powerful as well.
Grabbing Sonic in his spindash from, the mech would take his body and smash him into the ground, creating a small crater. The mech for sure thought Sonic was done with that attack, but it didn't realize that Sonic has been through a whole lot worse after all his years of fighting.
"You're a tough guy, aren't ya?!" Sonic shouted from inside the crater, beginning to charge up another attack. "Looks like I'm gonna have to hit you harder if I wanna get that emerald!" That's when Sonic blasted off, jumping out of the crater and started running around the mech at high speeds. The more he ran, a blue tornado started to form around the mech, making it be trapped and essentially helpless as it could only watch Sonic run in circles.
With the tornado getting bigger and bigger by the second, the mech was suddenly being lifted off the ground, the tornado now sending it in circles. "Up, over, and goooooone!"
The mech was sent high into the air, letting go of the blue Chaos Emerald as both were now in a free-fall. With the Chaos Emerald freely falling, Sonic casually put his hand out and caught it, feeling like he just got an S Rank due to him making quick work of the mech.
Looking up, he stepped to the side, avoiding the falling mech from smashing him. Instead, the mech would fall back into the crater it made, making a large boom sound because of its weight.
Sonic, who's curious about the mech overall, came back into the crater so he could take a closer look at it. When he came closer to it, it seemed part of the mech seemed to be open. It revealed a cockpit, which meant that this mech wasn't operating on its own.
Somebody was controlling it.
And that somebody apparently escaped before Sonic could see who it was.
Back on Air Temple Island
A tired looking Hiroshi could be seen entering Air Temple Island, and eventually made his way to the kitchen. Everyone was happy to see him actually show up. "Dad! You made it!" Asami exclaimed happily, getting up and giving him a hug. Hiroshi slightly hugged back, but then he would be greeted by the others.
"Sir," Mako said respectfully, putting his hand out for a handshake. Hiroshi accepted the handshake, as Tenzin was now walking over to him.
"Nice to see you, Hiroshi."
"Likewise, Tenzin." Hiroshi said, mainly wanting to get the introductions out of the way, and for this whole entire thing to be over with. Everyone sat down at the table, getting ready to eat. "So, how's training the Avatar coming along?" Hiroshi asked Tenzin curiously, having his own reasons for wanting to know.
"Oh, she's getting stronger every day. You love to see it." Tenzin replied, looking over to Korra who had a half-hearted smile on her face.
"Really? So, she's airbending now?" Hiroshi inquired, making Korra look down in shame. Great, that was the question he asked.
Tenzin sighed when he saw Korra's reaction, soon turning back to Hiroshi. "Well, no, but I feel like we're on the verge of a breakthrough. She will eventually get it."
"Oh, I'm sure she will." Hiroshi nodded, giving a look to Korra, but then at the family. "Why aren't we eating yet?"
"We're trying to wait for my friend Sonic. He went out earlier today for a run." Asami told her father.
"He might have to miss out on all this food, because I am starving!" Bolin yelled, barely being able to contain himself. At that moment, everyone would feel a gust of wind come into the kitchen.
BGM: Spider-Man 2002 OST – The Clues
"Speak of the devil, looks like he's here." Tails said, smirking. Sonic stretched and yawned, looking at everyone.
"Hey guys. Got lost for a second there. I don't think I'm too late, though, am I?" Sonic questioned.
"You're actually just in time." Pema said, her hand motioning to where Hiroshi was. "Sonic, this is Hiroshi."
Sonic looked to Hiroshi, showing a small smile. "So, this is Asami's father…" Sonic thought to himself. "Great honor to meet you, sir."
It was at this moment that Hiroshi looked like he was in a trance, realization setting in at who Sonic was. He was silent for a long time, his eyes getting wider and wider by the second.
It almost looked like he was frightened, in a way.
Hiroshi quickly got up, catching everybody off guard. "Actually, I just remembered that I have an important meeting to attend to." He told everyone. The entire family looked at each other in confusion. "Sorry for me suddenly leaving, but that's just business." Hiroshi then made his way out, but he wouldn't make his way out easily.
"Dad, wait!" Asami said, chasing after him. The two were now outside the kitchen, Asami getting in front of her dad to stop him. "Dad, do you know how rude it is to leave like that? You just got here! Can't you get your mind off your company for one second?"
"I'm sorry sweetie. I don't expect you to understand now, but you will understand when you're finally in my shoes." Hiroshi made another attempt to leave, but Asami stopped him again by grabbing his arm.
"Why can't you relax for once?"
"Relax? Relax?" Hiroshi repeated, his voice now carrying more weight. "How can I relax when you're dating a bender, but not just any bender, a firebender! Did you forget that firebenders are the ones that killed your mother?!"
"You can't generalize those firebenders with every other firebender! Mako is nothing like those people!" Asami shouted.
Hiroshi could only roll his eyes. "Oh please, Asami. Look at him. I know a street rat when I see one. You think someone like that is dating you because he wants love and companionship? If you were smart, you would realize he's only dating you because he wants your money, our money to fund his team so he can play in the pro-bending tournament with his street rat brother."
Asami was now becoming outraged at her father's comments. "You're wrong! You're just going off the wall again because you're letting mom's death cloud your judgement for the billionth time!"
"Well, maybe you didn't love her like I did." Hiroshi said coldly, the words almost sending Asami on the verge of tears. Hiroshi was about to leave again, but he turned around to say one last thing to his daughter.
"A word to the not so wise about your little boyfriend! Do what you need to with him, then broom him fast!"
Ending on that note, that's when Hiroshi left Air Temple Island. Asami closed her eyes, feeling utterly defeated due to everything that's transpired. Apparently, everybody was listening too, all their mouths being agape. They were outside the kitchen, watching everything just like Asami did.
Asami turned out, looking lifeless. Mako came close to her, telling her, "Thanks for sticking up for me, Asami. That was an idiot you were talking too."
That's when Asami looked up, her face carrying nothing but rage. Even after everything, Asami still loved her dad. You could call it blind love at this point. "The idiot you're talking about is my father, so I advise you to keep your mouth shut about things you don't understand!"
"Asami Sato!" Pema yelled, Asami looking on to everyone. She gritted her teeth, turning her head as tears were dropping from her face. Mako reached out his hand, trying to comfort Asami by touching her shoulder. That's when Asami turned around and yelled, "Leave me alone!"
Mako was shocked by this, taking some steps back. Emotions were running high right now. Asami couldn't be here anymore. She simply couldn't.
"I'm sorry, everyone..." That's when Asami ran off, everyone being left speechless.
END OF CHAPTER 11: TURNING POINT PART 2
BGM: Sonic R – Number One
Knuckles: Well, that sucked.
Tails: Knuckles, this is not the time!
Knuckles: I tried to warn everybody, but nobody listened to me!
Bolin: WOOOO, IT'S PRO-BENDING TIME!
Mako: Could you be any louder?
Tahno: I'm fabulous.
Next time on Don't Think Twice!
Superman Lover
Sonic: Who thought this title would be a good idea?!
Author's Note: Hoo boy, a lot happened in this chapter, huh? Knuckles did try to warn everybody, but nobody listened. Hiroshi and Asami are both at their breaking points because of Sonic's plan. Who the heck knows what's going to happen next? Haha. Next chapter, we're finally going to get into the pro-bending tournament mess, and I can't wait to touch on that. As always, if you like what you read, leave a follow and a favorite. Don't forget to READ AND REVIEW! See you guys in chapter 12!