Hi guys! From this moment forward, the years being listed won't really be necessary unless there's a flashback. We're essentially "caught up" to when the story begins, when the twins are 18 & they heard Mako & Bolin's name on the radio. I just wanted to mention that so no one gets confused. :)

Thanks for reading! And don't forget to follow/favorite/review!

*Disclaimer* I do not own Avatar or anything from that world. I only own my OC's.

•Four•

Ember island

Honestly, if Sikenna didn't have to leave this spot for the rest of the night, she would be the happiest girl across all four nations. Her feet dangled off the rock she was sitting on, the waves gently sloshing below her feet. The breeze was amazingly warm and smelled like sweet bread. Sikenna closed her eyes and took a deep breath, savoring the fact that the over zealous music she heard was in the background and not blasting in her face like it usually was. But the moment was over before she could even finish the thought. The sound of a heavy wooden door creaking open caused Sikenna to scrunch up her nose as sh pouted, keeping her eyes closed. The music from inside the building blared through the alley so loud, Sikenna's boss had to shout over it for her to hear him.

"Hey! Feisty flames!" His loud, gruff voice boomed at her. Sikenna growled and peeled her eyes open, looking up at the stars with annoyance.

"Breaks over! I'm not paying you to star gaze! GET INSIDE!" Her head whipped around to glare at him over her shoulder, but the door slammed heavily behind him before she could tell him off.

Defeated, Sikenna threw her head back and groaned loudly before getting up from the rock face, dusting herself off and stomping inside.

If this place smelled anymore like body odor and spilled drinks, it would be condemned. Sikenna's boss shoved a tray of food and drinks at her and pointed to a rowdy table, it's patrons singing along with the music loudly. She rolled her eyes and took the tray from him as roughly as he shoved it at her and walked over to the table, sneering at someone who looked like he was about to ask her for something on her way over.

"Spirits alive you're a sight to behold." Said one of the tables patrons to her as she put his new drink in front of him. Sikenna smiled and tried not to roll her eyes at him.

"Thanks, I hadn't noticed." She said sarcastically. People could say what they wanted about Sikenna, but ugly was not one of them. The man scowled at her, but his friends laughed at him being turned down. Sikenna couldn't help but smirk wickedly as she finished placing down their order.

"Alright, that should be it. If you need anything else, please, hesitate to ask."

A loud snort came from the table as she began to turn away. Sikenna stopped and looked at who it came from.

"You mean 'dont hesitate to ask'?" Said the man who tried to compliment her. He laughed at himself, clearly trying to embarrass her as payback for not accepting his compliment the way he wanted her to. Sikenna stared at him, waiting for him to finally look back at her. As their eyes met she held his gaze for a moment before saying, in the flattest, most serious tone she could,

"No."

The guy glared at her and raised his lip in a sneer, about to spit venomous words at her. Quickly, Sikenna looked across the table at one of the girls with them, who the guy was trying to get the attention of all night.

"Except for you. You don't have to hesitate." Sikenna winked at the girl, who blushed as she turned and walked away. There were some low chuckles and a long 'oooooooh!' from one of the mans friends as Sikenna made eye contact with Raiko at the bar.

"What the hell was that?!" Raiko asked her from behind the bar as she got to it. He was clearly annoyed, trying to avoid another bar fight, no doubt. Sikenna rolled her eyes and groaned, putting the tray on the bar harder than she had intended.

"He got pissy with me because I didn't Sumi out over his lame attempt of a compliment!" She spat out, letting out a sigh as she ran a hand through her hair. Sumi was sweet, and her best friend, but her confidence was low and she turned into a puddle whenever she was complimented by any man. It annoyed Sikenna for the longest time, but something told her Sumi's humbleness balanced out Sikenna's confidence, which was almost too much sometimes, and that was part of what made them such good friends.

"I hate this place." She mumbled. Raiko laughed at her from behind the bar as he poured a drink.

"It's only for a couple more months. Right?" He reasoned, keeping his eye on the drink.

"Kona doesn't mind his job." He offered, putting the drink on her tray. Sikenna narrowed her eyes at him.

"That's because Kona," she sneered, "Isnt out here getting hit on every 45 seconds. He's out back making salads!" A patron at the bar turned and eyed her up and down. Sikenna scrunched her face up at him in disgust and shook her head, putting her hand up at him so he wouldn't say what he was thinking of saying.

"See?" She said, turning to Raiko. He laughed at her and turned back to his bar, starting to make another drink.

"Use it to your advantage. The other girls do, and they get crazy tips. More tips, more money-" he put the second drink on her tray and smiled at her as she silently mocked him saying 'the other girls do.'

"The quicker we get to Republic City."

Sikenna groaned and threw her head back.

"Okay okay, Fine. Whatever. Where are these fancy pants drinks going to?" Sikenna eyed the drinks wearily. They were in fancy martini glasses, one a beautiful shade of light, swirly blue, the other a bright green that smelled like grass. Barely anyone ordered drinks like this here, it was generally a rougher establishment. This particular pub was several streets back from Ember Island's main strip, closest to the docks. More often than not, their customers were sailors and soldiers getting loud and obnoxious after being out at sea. Sikenna followed Raiko's pointing finger to a corner booth in the far back of the pub, furthest away from the music. Sikenna mumbled a thanks and took the tray, forcing a smile on her face for anyone who looked at her after Raiko's pep talk.

"Wow what a quiet little corner!" Sikenna smiled brightly at the two people sitting in the booth and laughed as feminine as she could, placing the drinks on the table.

"I'm Kenna, I'll be helping you as much as I can tonight. We're a little short staffed, I'm sorry if you wai-" the man cut her off with a flourish of his hand. Sikenna jerked her head back and furrowed her brows at him.

"No problem no problem at all Kessa. Hey liste-"

"Kenna." She corrected him, standing up properly and raising an eyebrow at the fast talking man. Well, 'perfect waitress Kenna' lasted all of 10 seconds.

"Yeah yeah right that's what I said. Anyway. Listen Karra, let me ask you a question."

"Ken-na" she said slowly, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Suresuresure. You wouldn't happen to know, oh, I don't know, any….angsty fire benders?"

"That depends. You wouldn't know how to, oh, I don't know, pronounce Kenna?" The man slapped the table loudly with a boisterous laugh. Sikenna jumped, making eye contact with the woman in the booth, who looked at her apologetically.

"That's what I like about Ember Island girls Zhu Li! Fierce, POWERFUL, they have spirit, am I right?!" He said excitedly. Sikenna actually might have gone into shock a little bit. The man talked so fast Sikenna felt like she was being sold something.

"Uh….sure. I guess…" Sikenna started, but she was cut off again with another loud laugh.

"That's right! SPIRIT! Listen kid, I've watched you giving these guys a run for the money all night, not taking their crap. I like that, I like that a lot. That's the kind of spunk we need for Varrick Interprises. Zhu Li!" The man snapped his fingers and in a flash, a business card was inbetween his fingers. He shoved it towards Sikenna's face, causing her to jerk her head backwards again.

"Names Varrick. You know, like Varrick interprises? That's me, that's my company. Here's my card. I'll be on the island for a few days, give me a shout if you know any angsty fire benders that need some quick cash." He winked at Sikenna as she yanked the card out of his hand to get it out of her face.

"Oh. Okay. Uh.. thanks?" She turned away from the table, eyes still down at the card in her hand as she walked back to the bar. What even just happened? She felt like she had whiplash from the conversation. Angsty fire benders? Did he mean her? She wasnt Angsty! Well, okay, maybe a litte. But how could he possibly know that?! The business card felt heavy in her fingers as she fiddled with it, and she chewed on her lip before looking back over her shoulder to the booth across the room. There he sat in his booth, one eyebrow cocked in interest, staring knowingly at her over the rim of his glass as he took a sip. Like he was expecting her to look back at him.

•¥•

"You're being a little dramatic, don't you think?" Raiko said to Sikenna as he wiped down the bar. The pub was closed, and it was just Sikenna, Kona, Raiko, and now Nero hanging out at the bar as Raiko finished cleaning up so they could leave.

"I'm really not. I know you love this place, and you and Kona enjoy this job and wouldn't mind doing it for a couple more months, but I honestly hate serving these people. It wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have to deal with the drunk sailors."

Raiko and Kona rolled their eyes at her.

"Kenna, it's just until we can pay for tickets."

"Okay, but I think I know a way to get the tickets even sooner, Kona."

"Oh yeah? Are we robbing people now?" Nero chuckled out beside Sikenna.

"No! It's a job! Some guy from the pub gave me his card, and-"

"Hold up." Raiko stopped wiping the counter and held his hand up to stop her. Nero stopped Sikenna from snapping at Raiko for interrupting her as Raiko continued.

"You hate this place, it's patrons, and how scummy the customers are, but you want to do a job for one of them?" He raised his eyebrows at her in a way that was asking her to confirm what he said. Sikenna looked around at the boys looking back at her.

"Well, yeah. But- Hey!" She shouted as the boys all groaned around her.

"Let me finish!" She licked her lips and leaned on the bar as they all finished their protests and looked towards her.

"It was the guy that bought those two fancy pants drinks. You remember, Raiko, the ones in the martini glasses we had hiding out back for what looked like years before you pulled them out? Those aren't the drinks we usually serve. The only people who buy drinks like that, are people with money. And! And, his question sounded very direct, like he had been waiting for me. I don't know, guys. Something tells me we need to at least talk to him. This could be our out!" She added enthusiastically at the end, trying to make them see that this was probably the easiest and quickest way to Republic City. Why wait months? They could have the money within days.

"Kenna," Nero spoke softly from next to her.

"Why would a guy with money be in here, of all the places on Ember Island, asking such direct questions, unless it was to do something illegal with a plan?"

Sikenna furrowed her brows and tossed her arms out to the side.

"When has something being illegal ever stopped us from doing anything?" Now she was getting annoyed. They do borderline or downright illegal things all the time. Why was this time an issue?

Kona shrugged and nodded his head as if he acknowledged that she had a point.

"Because we know it's something we can be smart about, and get out of, Kenna." Raiko argued back softly.

"Besides, what's the rush, babe? It's still summer. We can go when all the tourists leave." Sikenna felt a sharp pain in her chest when Nero said that, and she looked over at him.

"I just…. I've waited a long time to go to the mainland." She choked out. Mako was a long lost friend, but Nero had been increasingly jealous lately, and telling him she wanted to go so badly for another man, regardless of it not being in a romantic way, just felt like a fight waiting to happen. Nero searched her face for a few moments, deciding if it looked like she was telling the truth before smiling softly to her and nodding.

"So then, what's a few more weeks? Right?"

Everything. Sikenna thought.

She frowned at her usually very supportive boyfriend and turned to her brother and Raiko.

"I'm meeting him with or without you guys."

Kona groaned next to her and threw his head back.

"I hate when you do that. FINE. Fine. I can't let you meet a shady character alone, right?" Kona smiled warmly at his twin, Sikenna returned it with a grateful smile before turning to the other two.

"I'll let you know when I'm meeting with him. You two think about it. I'm going home." She slid off the bar stool, gave Kona's shoulder an appreciative squeeze, and walked out of the pub, leaving her boyfriend glaring at the back of her head.

•¥•

Republic City

For some reason, Mako felt like his chest was going to cave in if he didn't find her. The little boy had been looking for his friend since just after lunch, and the sun was starting to set. If Mako hadn't stayed back to yell at Kona for what he said to her, he probably wouldn't have lost her in the first place, and he felt awful about it.

In a last ditch effort he decided to check the docks again, for the third time, and that's when he found her. At the very end of the docks were a couple of old abandoned open face shacks, where merchants used to sell last minute odds and ends things.

"Hey, Kenna." Mako said softly as he rounded the corner. The little girl jumped and turned her head away quickly, rubbing her eye with her hand.

"Oh. Hi, Mako." Mako smiled and exhaled a breath he didn't know he was holding when he heard her talk.

"I've been looking everywhere for you.. can I come in?" Sikenna nodded and Mako sat beside her, their shoulders touching.

"I yelled at him for you." He said proudly with a smile. Sikenna tried to smile back.

"Thanks, Koko." Mako rolled his eyes at the stupid nickname and nudged her with his shoulder. She laughed lightly and shoved him back. They did this back and forth for a while before they found themselves leaning against each other.

"Are you okay, Kenna?" He asked after a silent couple of minutes.

"Yeah. Kona is just being mean. He's probably hungry." Mako laughed and looked at her. She had very pretty eyes, the color of his favorite paint back home. Or, maybe the paint was his favorite color because it was the same color as Kenna's eyes. Mako smiled brightly at her.

"Good. You're better than him anyway, but don't tell him I said that." Sikenna laughed whole heartedly and Mako felt himself melt into the floor board.

"You're just saying that to make me feel better." Sikenna smiled sadly at him when she was finished laughing at his joke.

"Nuh uh. You're quicker than Kona, and stronger! I've been hit by you both, I know."

"That was an accident!" Sikenna defended herself and pouted, but Mako laughed.

"You're also nicer than him. And smell better than him." They both laughed before he continued.

"And you're really smart, and a lot of fun, and make up really fun games, and you're really pretty, and you're funnier than him too. And less messy."

"You think I'm really pretty?" Mako's eyes went wide, not realizing he had said that out loud, and looked at her. Sikenna had her head tilted, looking at him with a smile on her face, her cheeks pink. Mako felt his hands start sweating when he noticed she was blushing, and he looked down at them.

"Uh. Yeah. I mean. You are… you know. Really pretty. Maybe the prettiest." He mumbled quietly. Sikenna giggled sweetly next to him and grabbed one of his hands. Mako laced his fingers between hers, liking how her hand felt in his. Mako and Sikenna had held hands loads of times, but this time it made his stomach feel fuzzy.

"OooooooOOOOOH, Mako likes Keeeennnaaaaa!" Kona teased from behind them. Mako ripped his hand from hers and stood up, glaring at a laughing Kona. Sikenna stood beside him, fists clenched, clearly mad at her brother.

"Kona!" Mako shouted.

"You're the worst!" Sikenna added. Mako took off to chase after Kona, who turned around and ran away from them, laughing like a maniac.

"Mako wait!" Mako's hand was grabbed and he was spun around to look at Kenna, who grabbed the side of his face and leaned in to kiss him. She got so close to his lips Mako felt his breath get caught in his throat. Then, she stopped, giggled, and ran off in the opposite direction of Kona, looking over her shoulder periodically to look at Mako.

The little boy smiled and took off at a sprint after her.

For the first time since he's started having these dreams, Mako woke up peacefully, without a jolt. He had been having enough of them that the girl seemed familiar now, even though he still had no idea who she really was or if she was even real.

Mako stretched and sat up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. It had been about a month since he started having these dreams. Before he realized they were the same kids every time, Mako thought he had just fallen asleep with the radio on while a story was playing. The 'him' in his dream was definitely him, but it baffled him why he was even having dreams from a young self point of view in the first place. He had mentioned it to Bolin, but Bolin went off on some ridiculous idea about something called "supressed memories" or some other hooplah someone told him about.

They felt real, but Mako knew for a fact he had never been to a place with a coast like the place in his dreams. He would remember that. Just like he would remember that laugh. The one from the girl in his dream. It sounded comforting, something that made Mako feel like he was home.

He would have remembered the girl with the same color eyes of his favorite paint growing up.

•¥•

Ember Island.

"Will you stop shuffling around? You're making me anxious." Sikenna scolded Kona through narrowed eyes.

"I'm anxious! Welcome to the club!" Sikenna rolled her eyes at her brother.

"There's nothing to be anxious about except your shuffling." She told him.

"Yeah. Except meeting a shady character at night under the pier about some job for big money." Nero spat sarcastically. Sikenna turned towards him.

"You didn't have to come with Raiko. And honestly if you're going to have an attitude the whole time, I'd have rather you didn't." She spat back at him. They haven't had a civil conversation since the conversation at the pub, and Sikenna was almost sure he only came because he found out Varrick was a man.

Nero was about to snap back at her before Raiko intervened.

"Guys stop, someone's coming." The four of them took a step back into the shadow the pier provided out of habit, waiting to see who was walking their way. Sikenna had hoped it was Sumi, caving in and deciding to join them, but deflated a bit when she saw that it was only Varrick.

"Wait here." Sikenna whispered to her friends before stepping out.

"AH! Kenna! You little weirdo, coming out of the shadows. Don't sneak up on me like that! Anyway." Varrick slapped his hands together and rubbed them excitedly.

"Angsty fire benders. You got em?!"

"I might... What's the job?" Sikenna crossed her arms over her chest and took a step towards Varrick and Zhu Li.

"Easy peasy for a couple of fire benders that like to hide in the shadows. Show me what I'm working with and I'll decide if I think you're cut out for it." Varrick answered her with a bright smile. Sikenna stared at him for a few moments before rolling her eyes with a sigh and waving the boys out from the shadows.

"Varrick, Zhu Li, this is Raiko, Nero, and my brother Kona." She said, pointing to each of them. Nero nodded and raised her hand.

"Her boyfriend." Sikenna sneered and looked back at him, her eyes narrowed.

"Cut the shit.". She mouthed at him. Nero shrugged and Kona laughed at him getting in trouble.

"Uh….okay. not interested in your love life kid. Let's get down to business. You're all fire benders?" Raiko raised his hand and shook his head. Varrick put his hands out to his side, confused, furrowing his eyebrows at Sikenna's friend.

"So why are you here?"

Sikenna raised her eye brows.

"Are you serious?" Varrick moved his attention onto her.

"Look at him. He's huge. He's strong, and a good fighter. You think I would bring him if he couldn't keep up?" Varrick smiled widly at her answer and clapped his hands together excitedly again.

"Excellent! Gather around, kids, this is what I need from you." The boys walked up to flank each side of Sikenna and waited for Varrick to explain.

"The reason I'm even here in the first place is because I'm tracking a small, but important, shipment that's been stolen from me. But I couldn't come with a whole mini army with me, I'd be found out! So I need you guys to steal it back for me. See! Easy peasy. Bing bang boom, you're in then you're out."

Sikenna raised her eyebrows at him.

"That's it? That's the plan? You didn't think this through at all." Varrick laughed at her.

"Oh, I have a plan! It's quite the plan too. But you can't know the plan until you tell me 100% that you're gonna do it. There's 2,000 yuan's each in it for you." Sikenna looked at each of the boys, reading their facial expressions after hearing the price before answering Varrick.

"We're here, aren't we? We'll do it." Varrick smirked a victorious smirk at them before explaining the plan.

In two days, they were to break into one of the ships and steal a couple of Varrick's packages stored inside. Bring them back to Varrick's getaway boat, meet his main boat around the cliffs edge, and bring it back to Republic City with him to make sure he stays protected on the seas. An extra 2,000 yuan's was in it for any firebender that burned the other cargo to reach them a lesson. In two days, they would be heading to Republic City with money to spend. In two days, she would be leaving for the main land. In two days, Sikenna would be one step closer to reuniting with Mako and Bolin.

•¥•

Two days later.

*Thump* Sikenna cringed and she turned around to glare at whatever idiot boy of hers was bumping into things when they were supposed to be silent. Raiko cringed and mouthed out a "sorry!" Before she shook her head and turned back to the hallway they were walking down. The boat swayed with the gentle waves outside as they rounded a corner to find the storage room with all the cargo. Sikenna waved the boys in after scanning the room for anyone guarding the cargo.

"Remember," Sikenna whispered before they got too far from her.

"3 packages, Varrick Industries, Satomobile stamp on the front. Okay?" The 4 of them nodded to each other before beginning to search for the packages.

Raiko found the first one, Kona found the second, and about 5 minutes later, Sikenna and Nero found the 3rd one. That one, however, was about half the size of Sikenna in a huge box. Sikenna rolled her eyes in annoyance. Of course Varrick wouldn't mention the size of this one.

"Right. Raiko, Nero, you take this one, Kona take the other two."

"What?! What are you carrying?!" Kona whispered back aggressively at his sister.

"We need a bender with hands free in case we get caught, stupid. And im better than both of you. Now shut up and check the hallway."

Kona narrowed his eyes at her and mumbled under his breath as he walked towards the door to check the hallway when they all froze. A door outside of the room creaked and they could hear footsteps coming their way. Without any of them saying anything, they quickly dashed in all directions of the room, ducking into their own hiding spots. A light shone into the room and scanned it for a few seconds and Sikenna held her breath. Kona hadn't been able to get too far away and was currently huddling awkwardly behind a crate too small for his size right next to the door. Kenna's heart jumped into her throat when the light stopped on Kona's crate a few seconds longer than was comfortable. Sikenna felt the warmth rush through her arms and down into her fingertips, ready to strike the second the guard saw her brother. Instead, the guard shrugged and walked on like everything was normal, and Sikenna relaxed her shoulders and let the warmth of her fire spread back out through her body. A few minutes after the guard walked away they all finally came out of their hiding spots.

"Let's get this over with." Nero said, clearly annoyed with almost being caught. Sikenna rolled her eyes as he brushed past her towards the crate she told him to carry.

Kona took the lead, helping Raiko and Nero quietly manuver the crate back up to the deck so they could get it onto the get away boat. Sikenna stayed behind them, making sure no one snuck up from that angle. Her big blue eyes looked up at the top of the stairs as the boys went up with the crate, and managed to successfully get it onto the getaway boat.

"Okay it's all loaded. Come on Kenna let's go." Sikenna stared at her brother from the bottom of the stairs.

"No." Kona shook his head. "No, Kenna, don't." He scolded when she didn't say anything.

"Kona…" she began.

"Kenna let's go!" He whispered urgently at his sister, but she shook her head.

"It's so much money." She said, before taking off back to the cargo room. Kona protested from the top of the stairs but she ignored him, walking in and finding the most flammable package. She decided it was all of it. Sikenna spread her legs into a stance and took a deep breath, bringing her arms around in a big circle a few times. Her hand movements fell in time with her breathing and a ring of fire appeared where her hands made the circle. Sikenna inhaled and thrusts her arms out in front of her, sending the ring of fire out through the whole room. The packages instantly caught flame, and she heard a large metal door creak open in front of her and the fire. Sikenna pulled the scarf over her face and took off backwards out of the room, back up the stairs, and jumped onto the getaway boat just as the crew on board started scrambling to put her fire out.

Back on Varrick's main boat, Lotus sat on Sikenna's shoulder as they sailed past the harbor, the boat still on fire from Sikenna's thirst for more money. Sikenna wrapped her arms around herself as she watched the ship burn, feeling bad about herself. She didn't destroy things unless it was to protect herself or the people she loved, this was the first time she had done something strictly for money. But what made her feel even worse, was that she didn't feel as bad as she thought she would have for the actual act. But it was so much money, and all the money they could get would help. They were about to be dropped off in a city, with no place to go, no jobs… they needed all the money they could get. A tall shadow appeared beside her, watching the boat in the harbor burn alongside her.

"Nice job, Feisty flames." Varrick said, handing her the extra 2,000 yuan's.

"I knew you'd do great. You'll get along just fine in Republic City, kid." He said. Sikenna took the money but didn't say anything, her eyes never leaving the boat.

"Rest up. We'll be in Republic City in the morning." Varrick walked away into his private room on his boat.

Tomorrow morning. She might see Mako as soon as tomorrow morning. Sikenna laughed and smiled, leaning against the railing happily, a huge smile plastered on her face now.

Tomorrow morning.