I'm back, and I brought a new chapter. As it turns out I had one more transition chapter in the chamber. Things really will start to pick back up , and get more intense in the next few chapters. Anyway thanks you everyone who commented, or reviewed those always make my day. As usual I own nothing but the plot and the OC's; anything and everything else belongs to someone else. Now on with chapter 23.
23: Quid Pro Quo
("I hate you.") Vaatu growled.
("I know," Mako thought back smugly. "Your hatred makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.")
("We are the Dark Avatar. Carrying this thing is both degrading, and beneath us.") Vaatu complained further as Mako adjusted his grip.
("Why are you even complaining? It's not like you're the one carrying her, and besides you were the one who insisted that we keep going.") Mako mentally reminded the spirit of chaos, and grinned when he felt Vaatu's agitation increase.
("That was before I knew we would be reduced to a lowly pack animal.") Vaatu snapped irately.
("Oh come on Vaatu look on the bright side," Mako thought in an annoyingly cheerful way he knew would only irritate the dark spirit further. "We are actually making good time, and at least she's stopped talking.")
"No Meelo that's my cabbage." The sleeping Ikki mumbled as her grip around his neck tightened slightly, and she snuggled into his shoulder. Once the young girl was comfortable she began to snore lightly in the Dark Avatar's ear.
("I really hate you.") Vaatu stated again before receding back into the fire benders soul.
Mako just smiled, and continued following Ayeon while carrying Ikki piggyback. By now the sun had almost completely set, and it was nearly dark. Fortunately for them the aye-aye spirit had pretty good night vision.
Ayeon had originally estimated their journey to Wan Shi Tong's library would take a day and a half, bout between Ikki's seemingly boundless energy, and Mako and Kuvira's considerable stamina they were moving much more swiftly than he had anticipated. They were already three quarters of the way by the time the sun began to set. Rather than stopping, and making camp in the plains however Vaatu had insisted that they press on until they reached the forest.
Unlike the argument they had on whether, or not to bring Ikki with them; Ayeon completely supported Vaatu. Kuvira had initially argued that they stop and rest, but the hyperactive air bender insisted that she could keep going. Suffice to say after two more hours of traveling Mako wound up carrying her much to Vaatu's discontent.
"Hey how are you holding up?" Kuvira whispered as she came up beside him.
"Well Vaatu is still pissed about serving as a pack mule, and I have an air bender snoring in my ear. How do you think I'm holding up?" Mako replied sarcastically as he readjusted his grip under Ikki's legs again.
"Tired, pleased at pushing Vaatu's buttons, and possibly going deaf in one ear?" Kuvira answered with a small smile.
"Lucky guess," Mako said with a grin of his own. "Either way we're almost there."
"Actually this is all the farther we can go tonight." Ayeon said from a little ways ahead of them.
Once Mako and Kuvira caught up with the spirit; they realized what he meant. The plains they had been crossing had abruptly ended at a sheer cliff. While the gargantuan woods were only about a half mile from their current position; the ground from which the trees grew was far below them. As it turned out while they had been able to see the massive forest from clear across the plains; they had only been looking at the upper portion.
"It would be pointless to try to climb down in the dark. We can make camp here, and continue in the morning." Ayeon stated as he walked away from the edge.
"Sounds good to me," Mako said as he and Kuvira followed the spirit.
Once they were a safe distance from the cliff he carefully pried Ikki's arms from around his neck, and gently laid her on the soft grass. As he stood up; Kuvira wordlessly moved next to him, and bent two stone slabs out of the ground to form a tent over the sleeping air bender.
"Do you want one too?" She asked turning to Ayeon.
"No thank you dirt tosser; I prefer to sleep under the stars. I'll see you in the morning." Ayeon said as he walked a small distance away, and settled down to sleep.
Not quite ready to sleep themselves the two fugitives settled around a small fire. With no wood to burn the flames were sustained purely by Mako's bending.
"Any chance we have some spirit fruit left?' Mako asked after a moment of silence.
"Nope; Ikki cleaned us out." Kuvira answered as she began to rifle through their bag of supplies. "But we do have some seal jerky."
"Is that really all you brought?" Mako asked with mild disappointment as he took some of the offered jerky.
"A police station isn't exactly the best place to go grocery shopping Mako." Kuvira countered before taking a bite of the smoked seal meat.
Mako grunted in acceptance. "With any luck we'll find something a little more vegetarian friendly in the forest tomorrow for Ikki."
Kuvira nodded, and they continued to eat in silence. The only sound that could be heard was the soft snoring coming from Ikki's tent. While Mako watched the flames Kuvira was focusing on her seismic sense on the surrounding area. Aside from Ayeon sleeping nearby they were the only ones for miles.
"Quid pro quo?" Mako finally asked.
"What?" Kuvira asked as she turned her focus from the world around them to the fire bender sitting across from her.
"Quid pro quo," Mako said again meeting her curious emerald gaze from across the fire. "Do you want to play?"
"Well that depends; why do you want to play?" Kuvira asked with a raised eyebrow.
Mako shrugged. "Vaatu mentioned it earlier, and after mentioning Wu it got me thinking that aside from your subpar aim, and some unsavory news articles I don't know much about you."
"Unsavory news articles," Kuvira asked warily.
Mako nodded. "Yeah, but don't worry. The tabloids found someone else to chew on after a week. Anyway I figured if you're going to be watching my back I'd like to get a better idea of who you are. I was Wu's bodyguard for two and a half years, and by the end he barely knew anything about me. Hell he thought I was raised in the woods by a pack of cops."
Kuvira thought about his proposal for a moment. If she were being honest with herself after their talk earlier she wanted to know more about him too. "Alright, but I have two conditions."
"And those would be?" Mako asked.
"First and foremost childhoods are off limits." The metal bender said seriously.
"No arguments here," he conceded. "Those doors are closed and locked. What is your other condition?"
Kuvira grinned as she pulled Lin's fire whisky out of the bag. "We play with a little night cap."
Mako laughed and smiled right back. "Alright do you want to go first, or should I?"
"What is your favorite sport?" Kuvira started with a simple question as she handed him the bottle.
"Definitely pro bending," Mako answered as he took a small sip of the amber liquid, and handed it back. "Yours?"
"Honestly I've always loved interpretive dancing. I was even part of a dance troupe back in Zaofu a few years ago. It was fun, good exercise, and very creative; we were actually able to incorporate metal bending into our routines." Kuvira answered as she took a drink, and winced as the whisky left a smooth burning in her throat.
"That actually does sound pretty interesting." Mako admitted with mild surprise. "I'm not much of a dancer myself. I only learned enough to get me through all the galas, and political parties I've been dragged to. Have you ever tried pro bending?"
"No I haven't," Kuvira said with a shake of her head. "Zaofu has plenty of earth and metal related sports, but there's never been enough fire, or water benders in the clan to form any teams. I was actually a pretty big fan though about five years ago. I would listen to the matches, and cheered on my favorite team."
"Which team was that?" Mako asked as he took back the whisky.
"The fire ferrets." Kuvira admitted, and Mako's eyes widened in surprise, and nearly choked.
"You were a fire ferret fan?" he asked in disbelief.
"Are you kidding? The fire ferrets were the greatest under dogs of all time. They even had the Avatar on their team for a while. You sound surprised, do you not like them?" she asked.
"Like them? I was the team captain." Mako stated proudly.
"No way," Kuvira exclaimed as her eyes widened at the fire benders declaration. "The fire ferrets had Avatar Korra as their water bender, and"
"The fabulous bending brothers Mako and Bolin as the fire, and earth benders," Mako finished knowingly, and smiled at the surprised look on her face.
"Spirits how did I not put that together?" Kuvira asked disbelievingly.
"Didn't Bolin ever talk about, or even mention it?" Mako asked curiously.
"No he didn't; we were all so busy reuniting the earth kingdom and your brother and I weren't exactly close socially. Hell I haven't even given the fire ferrets a second thought since the team was disbanded. Now that I think back on it though; I had good money bet on you guys to win the championship. You owe me fifty Yuans." Kuvira said as her eyes narrowed at the fire bender.
"Hey come on; the wolfbats bribed the referee, and cheated." Mako said defensively. "Besides I'm a little strapped for cash at the moment, and I still owe Kai twenty Yuans."
"Fine, but you still owe me." Kuvira said with her eyes still narrowed, but a playful smirk on her lips. "So why'd the team disband anyway?"
Mako's smile faded, and was replaced with a more somber expression. He was silent for a moment as he remembered his pro bending days.
"Life I guess. After the Equalist revolution Korra began taking a more active role as the Avatar. Bolin tried to keep the team alive, but things weren't the same without us. He actually moved on to become a famous mover star."
"Oh yeah that's right; Bolin was Nuktuk wasn't he." Kuvira said with a smile. "Those movies were painfully ridiculous, but Bolin wasn't that bad actually."
"You've seen Varrick's Nuktuk movers?" Mako asked in surprise.
"I watched it the first time voluntarily," Kuvira admitted with a shrug. "The next three times Opal forced me to watch it with her. She had the biggest crush on 'Nuktuk'."
"You and Opal used to be close?" Mako asked as he passed her the bottle again.
Kuvira's smile faded, and she took another sip of fire whisky. "Before everything fell apart she was like a little sister to me."
Seeing that it was a sad subject for the metal bender he didn't press the conversation any further. After a few moments she looked back at him. "Okay so Korra was the Avatar, Bolin became a famous mover star, and what did you become?"
"I became a cop." Mako answered proudly.
"Really?" Kuvira asked as genuine interest sparked in her emerald eyes.
"Yes I was. After Amon's revolution Chief Beifong talked to me about what my plans for the future were, and the next thing I knew I was going through the police academy. I even managed to make detective after a year." Mako said as he took another sip of fire whisky. By this point the bottle was nearly half empty.
"Only a year!" Kuvira exclaimed in surprise, but quickly snapped her mouth shut when Ikki's snoring sputtered for a moment before returning to its steady rhythm.
"Only a year; that's incredible," She said more quietly this time with a light blush that could have been from either embarrassment, or the whisky. "When I was a kid I always wanted to be a cop. Suyin would tell me stories about her mom, and I loved listening to those old mystery stories on the radio."
"Did you become one?" Mako asked curiously. He himself loved mysteries, and had borrowed quite a few such books from Jinora over the years.
"No; the closest thing to a police force in Zaofu was the city guard. I made captain." She answered.
"I think Captain Kuvira sounds much better than the Great Uniter." Mako said honestly.
"Thanks, but that title hardly fits anymore detective." Kuvira said with a sad smile.
Mako chuckled as he took the bottle. "As far as the world is concerned detective Mako is as dead to them as the great Uniter is to you. To old titles." Mako toasted as he took one last sip, and handed it over to Kuvira who took it with an amused smile.
"You know Dark Avatar Mako has a nicer ring to it than detective Mako. To new titles." She said as she returned the toast, and then put the fire whisky back in the bag.
"I'll take first watch tonight." Mako said as he subtly watched her shed her armor, and create two more stone tents.
"Alright then; wake me up in a few hours and Mako" Kuvira began, but paused when she turned to find his Amber eyes locked with hers. The campfire was once again reflected in his eyes making it as though they were glowing, and it once again threw off her train of thought.
"Yes?" Mako asked after a moment; his voice snapping her back to reality.
"This was fun. We should play again sometime." She then quickly crawled into her tent before he could reply.
He stared at her tent for a few minutes going over everything he'd just learned about the mysterious metal bender.
("Be careful Mako." Vaatu warned from within. "The wench is dangerous in more ways than one.")
Mako heard the spirit of chaos's warning, and felt Vaatu's wariness, but he didn't respond. He merely turned back to the flames before him with a soft smile.
It was approaching midnight as Pema returned to the closed spirit portal in Republic City. Jinora had been gone all day searching for Ikki, and had yet to return. Rather than move her however a large tent had been set up around the meditating air nomad.
Pushing the tent flap aside Pema held up a lantern to find her eldest daughter still searching, and Kai passed out on the ground next to her. With a small smile she set down her lantern, and gently laid a blanket over Jinora's boyfriend before draping one over her shoulders.
"Please come home soon." Pema whispered as she kissed Jinora's temple, and slowly left the tent.
Stepping outside she took a deep calming breath of cool night air. She may not be able to help her daughters right now, but she could stay strong. She would stay strong, and be ready when she finally could help her family.
The air acolyte began her journey back home, but stopped when she met someone near the edge of the crater.
"How is she doing?" Lin asked as she offered Pema a hand out of the crater.
"I don't know," Pema said as she took Lin's hand, and climbed out of the crater. "She has been searching all day, and she still hasn't returned. What are you doing here? I thought you would be getting ready for that world meeting."
"It starts tomorrow afternoon," Lin replied as they continued walking towards air Temple Island. "I've actually been looking for Opal and Bolin. I've checked everywhere and yet nothing. Have you seen them?"
"Nope haven't seen them." Pema answered quickly; too quickly to not catch the chief of police's attention.
"Alright Pema let's try this again. Where are they?" Lin asked with narrowed eyes.
Pema held the older woman's steely glare for an astounding two minutes before cracking. "They're not in the United Republic anymore."
Lin came to an immediate halt, and turned a full force Beifong glare on the mother of four. "Where the flameo is my niece, and her lava brained boyfriend Pema, and if you even think about covering for them you and I will be taking a stroll down memory lane to that old interrogation room."
"Alright, alright Lin geeze; they are with your sister. Suyin arrived earlier today with an airship, and Opal and Bolin left with her. I don't know where they were going."
"Damnit Suyin," Lin swore under her breath. "Did they talk to anyone else about where they were going, or why?"
Pema shook her head. "No they didn't, and as to why I can only assume it has something to do with Mako. That's probably why they didn't tell you what they were doing."
Lin was just barely able to suppress a cringe at the back handed comment. She had tried to kill Mako, and now the people trying to actually save her detective didn't trust her.
"But if they were just going to go after Mako why would Suyin hide that from me?" the metal bender asked with a tired sigh.
"Pema shrugged. "Honestly I don't know. What kind of reason could your sister have to go behind your back?"
"Past experience would suggest personal reasons." Lin said with a frown.
"Again!" Suyin Beifong commanded as Opal stood back up, and faced one of the metal benders.
Bolin watched silently as his girlfriend trained alongside her mother's elite team of metal benders. They had been sparring for the last hour, and he was beginning to worry.
The lava bender was well aware of Opal, and her family's grudge against Kuvira, but for the last year it had only manifested as a smoldering anger. Now that they have a chance at revenge they were not going to let it slip by. This worried Bolin, because of not only the repercussions it could have for his beloved Opal, but because any situation including Vaatu was already volatile enough without adding a grudge into the mix.
All this was going through Bolin's head as Suyin stepped back by him, and watched as Opal faced off with one of the metal benders. "Is something wrong Bolin? If I remember right Mako was the one who did the brooding; not you."
"Besides my big brother being fused with the father of all dark spirits; I'm starting to worry about you and Opal." Bolin replied as the fight started.
Like most air benders Opal was swift, and nigh untouchable, but the soldier she was facing was nearly as quick as he lashed out with his metal cables, and stone training disks.
The metal bender was fast, but none of his attacks were able to connect as Opal bobbed and weaved like a leaf in the wind. With each strike she dodged Opal moved closer until she was close enough to sweep the legs out from under her opponent. Before he hit the ground however she lashed out with a powerful gust of wind slamming her opponent into a wall.
"What's to worry about? Opal has gotten a lot stronger in the last few years, and these six are some of the best metal benders I've ever trained. With you, and me working with them; Kuvira won't stand a chance." Suyin said as she watched her daughter rush over, and help her defeated opponent back up.
"It's that right there that I'm worried about," Bolin said as he turned to face the older woman. "This is supposed to be a rescue mission; not a hunting party. If I had wanted to be part of that I'd have stayed with Lin."
"Look Bolin you and Mako are practically family and we will do what we can to help you, but bringing Kuvira down is my primary concern. That monster must be stopped." Suyin stated.
"Stopped, or Killed?" Bolin asked seriously. "The air nomads don't condone vengeance, and taking part in an execution could get Opal excommunicated. She loves her life with the air benders; are you really prepared to throw her future away for petty revenge?"
"This is more than just petty revenge; this is justice. She deserves to pay for what she did, and if the world leader had listened to me things couldn't get any worse than they already are." Suyin snapped; taking Bolin aback with how cold her words were. "Vaatu returning, and your brother becoming the Dark Avatar is extremely bad, but Allowing Kuvira to roam free and unchecked can only make things worse. There are still hundreds of her supporters still in the southern earth kingdom, and if she rallies them there could be a civil war that could undo everything Wu and Korra have done. Not only that; she ripped my family apart and tried to kill us all. She will not get away again."
Seeing the hurt on the lava bender's face; Suyin calmed down, and sighed.
"I'm sorry Bolin; I didn't mean to snap at you," The metal bender apologized. "It is just that monster is the most powerful metal bender I've ever seen outside the Beifong family. I taught her everything she knows, and look what she did to the world. You don't have to worry about Opal being excommunicated; she is only going to help you to capture Mako. Putting Kuvira down is my responsibility."
With that Suyin returned to training her squad as Bolin continued to watch Opal no less worried about the woman he loved.
"How far down do you think it goes?" Ikki asked curiously as she leaned over the cliff.
The cliff that had stopped their progress last night was still posing a problem for them now. Even in broad daylight they were still unable to see how far down the ground was due to a thick fog that covered from the cliff face to half way to the forest.
In response to her question Kuvira exposed her foot and stomped the ground. "As far as I can't tell it goes down about fifty feet for sure. After that things get to fuzzy for me to see."
"What do you mean by fuzzy?" Vaatu asked as he joined the girls in looking over the cliff.
"My seismic sense allows me to use vibration to see the world around me kind of like a wolf-bat using its echolocation. I can sense through stone, and to a lesser degree metal, but terrain like swamp land, or sand is too soft to for the vibrations to travel through." Kuvira answered as she glanced over at the Dark Avatar. "Why are you out here anyway?"
"We've been traveling all day, and most of the night; I wanted to stretch my legs so to speak." Vaatu said as he glanced at her with a small smirk. "Why do you ask captain; were you hoping to watch the sunrise with the detective? How romantic."
Kuvira frowned at the chaos spirits remarks, but didn't respond and turned away to hide a light blush.
"So how do we get down there?" Ayeon asked as he joined the group as well.
"I'm not sure," Kuvira said as she stepped back from the edge. "Without knowing what's down there it could be tricky."
"So we need to figure out what's down there, and you are useless." Vaatu stated casually, and turned to look at Ikki who was still looking over the edge. "Child!"
Ikki jolted, and spun around. "Yes master Vaatu?"
"How would you like to actually be of some use to us?" Vaatu asked as he moved closer, and glanced casually over the edge.
"Sure," Ikki said with her hands clasped behind her back, and a nervous smile. "How can I help?"
"That thing over there," Vaatu said pointing down into the fog. "Can you tell me what that is?"
With a curious frown Ikki looked back into the fog, and tried to find what the dark spirit was talking about. "What thing?"
"Vaatu what are you planning?" Kuvira asked warily when to her shock Vaatu reached over, and lightly pushed the young air nomad off the cliff.
"Icky!" Ayeon exclaimed as he rushed over, and looked over the edge.
("What the hell did you just do!") "What the hell did you just do!" Both Mako and Kuvira yelled as the metal bender grabbed Vaatu by the front of his coat.
"Don't worry she's an air bender; I'm sure she is fine probably." Vaatu said reassuringly. As he looked from the furious woman to his own right hand pointed at his face with electricity beginning to gather around two extended fingers.
"For your sake she had better be." Kuvira growled.
("Stretch your legs. I let you stretch your legs, and you push Ikki over a cliff!") Mako continued to mentally berate Vaatu.
"Icky are you alright?" Ayeon called down into the fog before looking up at the vastly more powerful spirit. "Lord Vaatu was that truly necessary?"
"Was it necessary no; was it satisfying extremely." Vaatu said with a smirk that made Kuvira tighten her grip in warningly.
Before she could start yelling a massive funnel of air erupted out of the fog, and Ikki landed on the edge a few feet away from the group.
"That was so much fun; can I do it again?" Ikki asked excitedly seemingly oblivious to the fact she had just been pushed off a cliff.
"Maybe in a moment child; what did you find down there?" Vaatu asked as he shook off Kuvira, and discharged his gathered electricity into the sky.
"More importantly are you all right?" Kuvira asked as she leveled a glare at the indifferent dark spirit.
"Oh I'm alright. My brother Meelo and I do that to each other all the time." Ikki said with a wide smile. "As for what's down there it's like a very big swampy marsh down there. It looked like it went from the cliff to about twelve yards out. Then it seems like solid ground again. Does that help?"
"Yes, yes it does child." Vaatu said as he turned to Kuvira. "You see she is perfectly fine, and our problem is solved."
"Just don't do that again," Kuvira replied with a glare. "Now that we know what we are dealing with we can start climbing down."
"Perhaps," Vaatu muttered as he turned his attention to the aye-aye spirit. "Ayeon help the good captain would you."
"Yes lord Vaatu," Ayeon replied, and obediently joined Kuvira in scanning the cliff edge for a good spot to start climbing down.
While they were focused on that Vaatu drew Ikki back a few yards from the edge. "About twelve yards you said?" he asked.
"Yes master Vaatu." She replied somewhat nervous under his crimson gaze.
("What are you up to now Vaatu? What are you thinking?") Mako asked from within.
("I'm thinking that walking is one thing, but climbing is another. Rather than waste time getting down the wench's way; it will be faster to get down my way") Vaatu thought back before returning his attention to the young air nomad. "You can have one more jump before we leave. We will meet you down there, and don't keep me waiting."
Ikki cocked her head in confusion. "Um okay, but how are you going to"
Before she could finish her question Vaatu charged towards the oblivious Kuvira and Ayeon. As he passed between them he grabbed them around the waist, and unleashed a massive blast of fire from his feet launching them all away from the cliff.
Both the metal bender and the spirit yelled in surprise as Vaatu propelled them out into the thick fog. Unsure of how fast or how far they had already fallen; after several moments of free fall the Dark Avatar kicked out unleashing another massive jet of fire to slow their rapid descent.
Acting on instinct Kuvira reached out desperately with her bending, and once they were close enough she pulled the ground up towards them forming a sizeable mound of earth.
Unaware of what she had done; Vaatu touched down at an angle throwing off his balance and control. This caused him to release Ayeon as they pitched forward, and tumble down the newly formed hill. End over end they rolled until they came to a groaning halt.
"Ow. Why did I leave my oasis again?" Ayeon asked with a groan as he shakily stood up and rubbed his head.
"Because aside from saving you from becoming a chew toy there are few honors higher than being the trusted right hand of a grand spirit." Vaatu replied from where he lay on the ground struggling with a dazed Kuvira laying on top of him. "Now would you get her off me; she is rather heavy."
In response Kuvira pushed herself up, and upon meeting Vaatu's crimson gaze she punched him in the gut.
"I'm wearing metal armor you jackass, and if you ever do anything like that again I will hit you so hard your next incarnation will feel it." Kuvira said as she stood up, and looked at the fog that surrounding them.
"You mean you were holding back?" Vaatu asked when the air returned to his lungs.
"Just consider yourself lucky. If it wasn't for Mako I would have hit harder and lower." Kuvira said as she grabbed the dark spirits hand, and pulled him to his feet.
"Yes I'm lucky, and Mako is grateful beyond measure." Vaatu deadpanned as he glared back towards the cliff. "Where is that brat? I ordered her not to keep me waiting."
"Kuvira did you by any chance grab your bag before lord Vaatu generously brought us down here?" Ayeon asked as he brushed himself off.
"No I didn't; I was too busy being launched off a cliff." Kuvira responded irately as she glared daggers at the Dark Avatar's back.
("Tell me Vaatu have you ever heard of karma?") Mako asked from within.
Vaatu scoffed as he continued to look upwards. ("Please everyone has heard of karma; although I myself am skeptical of its legitimacy.")
("How about hog-monkey see; hog-monkey do?") Mako continued.
("No, but I assume it has something to do with primates.") Vaatu replied.
("Close, but no; it's when anyone usually children though sees someone do something, and then does it themselves. For example if a child sees someone use their bending to launch themselves from a cliff at high speed, and already has permission to jump off said cliff; what do you think is going to happen?")
Before Vaatu could respond a yell of excitement came from overhead. Everyone looked up to see Ikki come flying through the fog on an air scooter with the duffle bag in her arms. Kuvira and Ayeon quickly stepped aside, but as Vaatu was about to do the same his entire body locked up involuntarily. Crimson eyes widened in surprise right before the young air bender crashed into him, and knocked him back to the ground.
Ayeon was about to rush forward to help his chosen master, but Kuvira put a hand on his shoulder stopping him. "Are you alright Ikki?" She asked with a grin.
"Yes I'm fine thank you," Ikki replied quickly. "After Vaatu carried you guys down here I saw that you forgot your bag so I grabbed it. Since Vaatu flew that far I thought I'd try with an air scooter which as it turns out is hard to make, and harder to ride when you're holding a big, heavy bag, but I managed. I then backed up so that I could pick up some speed, and the next thing I know I'm sailing through the fog which is actually a lot like flying through a cloud, but I use my glider wings for that which I couldn't this time since I was still carrying the bag. Anyway I was going really fast, and I was actually about to crash, but then Mako was there to catch me so everything is okay now, and I have your bag."
By the end of Ikki's ridiculously long winded explanation Kuvira was barely holding back her laughter, and Ayeon was wondering how she was able to say everything she had with one breath.
After a few seconds Kuvira was able to regain her composure. "Um Ikki, Mako didn't catch you."
Confusion, closely followed by realization, and shock passed over Ikki's face, and looked down to see crimson eyes glaring back up at her.
"Get. Off. Now." Vaatu said through gritted teeth, and she quickly leapt off of him.
"I am really, really, really, really sorry master Vaatu. Please don't tie me to a tree." Ikki pleaded.
("You did that on purpose.") Vaatu mentally growled as he stood up, and brushed himself off.
("Of course I did, and it was incredibly satisfying.") Mako thought smugly.
("Alright lesson learned. Pushing the brat over a cliff equals karma; touché.") Vaatu thought with a sigh.
("So it won't be happening again?") Mako asked expectantly.
("I make no promises detective.") Vaatu said as he returned his attention to the people around him.
Ikki was looking at him nervously, and Kuvira and Ayeon were watching him warily as though waiting for something.
"Impressive jump brat," Vaatu said calmly as he picked up the bag, and tossed it to a surprised Ayeon. "We've wasted enough time here; let's get moving."
Without saying another word Vaatu began walking through the fog towards the massive forest barely a half mile away. After a moment, and a few confused glances at each other Ayeon, Ikki, and Kuvira followed suit.
("Honestly Vaatu I'm surprised. We were all expecting you to be a little more furious about being a child's landing pad.") Mako said curiously.
("Do you know what I like most about Volcanoes Mako? It's the anticipation of it all. You know it's going to erupt, but you just don't know when. Chaos is more than just destruction Mako; it is unpredictability.")
("So you would rather keep them on edge rather than get angry?") Mako asked skeptically.
("Of course not; I'd rather just wait until we get to the forest where I can incinerate something that you aren't emotionally attached to, and is not my servant.") Vaatu deadpanned.
("Yeah that figures," Mako thought with a sigh. "Just try to get it out of your system before we reach the library.")
Another chapter down, and God only knows how many it will take for me to finish this story. Once again please leave a comment, review, or even constructive criticism if you have any. I always look forward to what you readers think. until next time then stay tuned and enjoy.