A/N: Ooof, sorry this one took so long, guys. There were a couple moments that were really emotionally draining for Kenna & I had to take a couple days to get that energy back up. I also had to rewrite it once or twice, and I'm still not sure if I got the emotion right in writing, lol.
Next few chapters are going to be CREATIVE FREEDOOOOM so get ready for some fun! ;)
Liltorgy: I'm going to be mainly sticking to Canon going forward, but there will be a little tweaking. ;) Gotta get our girl into the game soon, eh? Kona & Asami are adorable & I have some really wholesome plans for them I'm excited for you to read!
I hope this chapter was worth the wait!
•Fifteen•
It felt like hours on the back of Naga in silence looking for the airfield where Amon was hiding his new aircraft. Kona kept his eyes on the woods surrounding them as they ran, not wanting to be caught off guard from any equalists still on foot. The same deep, grumbling buzzing of the aircraft could be heard for the last few minutes, meaning they were close. Kona took a deep breath as he allowed himself to think about his sister, and wondered if she was still okay. A delicate hand squeezed his shoulder comfortingly.
"She'll be okay, Kona. Kenna can handle herself, and Mako and Korra won't let anything happen to her." Asami tried to comfort him, but it was little to no use. Korra had a job to do; Stop Amon. She didn't have time to worry about Kenna. And Mako? Mako was so love struck, Kona fully believed he would drop Kenna from his arms if it meant catching Korra. In the event that something happened and Kenna couldn't take care of herself, she was alone in that fight. Kona couldn't remember being this scared since his mom got sick.
"There!" Came Iroh's deep voice behind them, pointing up at the sky. An aircraft zoomed above them and weaved in the air, as if they were practicing dodges.
"We're almost there! Come on, Naga! Good girl!" Bolin cheered on the Polar bear dog.
Once they reached a ledge they stopped, jumping off of Naga onto the snowy ground below.
"I think we've found our secret airfield." Iroh said, pleased with how easy it actually was. He turned to Bolin and instantly went into general mode.
"Bolin, once we get down there, I need you to tear up those runways. We can't let those aircraft take off."
Bolin nodded and saluted him seriously.
"Aye aye, captain! Ooh, general… general." He winced at his mistake, but Iroh just laughed, turning to find a way down the slope. Kona followed him beside Asami silently, his mind still stuck on his sister and her wellbeing.
At the bottom of the slope were tall, thick fence posts with nothing in between them as the fence. Kona raised an eyebrow as they approached, instantly suspicious of Hiroshi and his quick invention production lately. He stopped at a pole and admired it for a moment before feeling his hair stand on end on his arm, and that's when he realized what this fence was.
"Why would there be fence posts but no fence?" Asami said suspiciously. But the other three didn't stop walking, they moved like they were about to go right through the fence posts.
"Asami, wait!" Kona said, reaching towards her wrist to pull her away from the fence, but it was too late. The second he grabbed her wrist, she walked between the fence posts like the other two, and got electrocuted, taking Kona down with her in the process. The world went black around him as he collapsed, electrocuted from contact, and passed out.
"Oh, my head." Came Bolin's voice, stirring Kona awake. He tried to move his arms but realized they were tied down to his sides, his back pressed up against a warm body. He groaned loudly from his spot on the floor and closed his eyes tightly, trying to stop the room they were in from spinning.
"Did we really get caught?" Kona mumbled from the floor.
"Yes. Foolish kids. Now hush, I have to have a talk with my daughter." Hiroshi's voice came from behind him. Kona's eyes shot open and a growl escaped his mouth before he could help it. He heard Asami groan from behind him and shift her weight.
"It's okay." Kona cooed quietly over his shoulder at her, sitting up with her as she still woke up.
"Asami, I know I have hurt you... and I am sorry. But I believe that one day, you will come to your senses and we can be a family again."
Kona rolled his eyes as Hiroshi spoke to his daughter.
"Are you insane?!" Asami spat at him.
"How can we be a family after everything you've done?! Mom would hate you for what you've become."
Kona smirked when she was finished, happy she was finally able to get this off her chest and say these things to her father instead of just him. The smirk didn't last long, though, as Hiroshi lost his temper on the girl.
"How dare you?! I am avenging her death!" Hiroshi barked at his daughter. Kona growled again and glared over his shoulder at Hiroshi through the bars. The sense of needing to protect her was almost overwhelming.
"The airplanes are ready for take off, sir." Came an obedient voice from behind Hiroshi. He took a moment from his anger to look over at the masked equalists with a new sense of determination.
"Good. annihilate the fleet." He commanded. The captured part of team Avatar gasped and looked at each other in shock. Hiroshi let out a low, menacing chuckle.
"That's right, general. I intercepted your message to Commander Bumi. I know exactly where they're hiding." He said to Iroh coldly before walking away. Asami struggled against the bindings a bit before turning to look at Bolin and Iroh.
"How are we going to get out of here?" She asked them, her eyes wide and full of concern.
"I don't suppose you know how to metal bend?" Iroh asked Bolin, who hissed through his teeth for dramatic effect, not that it was needed.
"That is, a negative, sir."
"Hey." Kona said over his shoulder to Asami quietly as Bolin and Iroh spoke among themselves. Asami turned her head towards his voice, and Kona continued.
"I'm really proud of you for sticking up to your dad like that. It couldn't have been easy."
She sighed and leaned her head back against Kona's affectionately.
"Thanks, Kona. You always say what I need to hear."
"I'm not saying that because you need to hear it. I'm saying it because I mean it. I'm proud of you, Asami. You should be proud of yourself, too."
Asami smiled to herself and felt Kona relax against her shoulders, moving his head against hers to try and imitate a comforting rub of one's shoulder. Asami loved this side of Kona; the quietly supportive one, the extremely affectionate, humble Kona. He had helped her a lot with Mako and Korra, and had been her main shoulder to cry on throughout the whole ordeal.
"Couldn't have done it without you." She whispered quietly to him with a smile.
"You can do anything without anyone if you wanted to." Kona chuckled out, but she knew he was serious.
BANG
They all jumped as Naga burst into the room with Pabu and Lotus riding her neck.
"Naga!" Bolin whispered hoarsely.
"Naga! Over here!" He said to the massive dog. With a wag of her tail Naga trotted over to the cell, prying it open with her front paws. Pabu hopped over to Bolin to help untie them, Lotus ran up to Kona with a happy chirp, rubbing her head all over his chin and cheeks happily.
"Who needs a metal bender? We got Naga! Yeah!"
Kona kissed the side of Lotus's head and called her a good girl, then told her to untie him and Asami. She did as she was told, and for once, Kona felt bad for picking on Kenna for spending so much time training her Fire ferret.
•¥•
Pro-Bending arena, Amon's Rally.
Sikenna took a deep breath as she weaved through the crowded hallways of her once beloved Pro-Bending arena. She shook off the flashbacks from the bombing that felt so long ago, and tried to ignore the twist in her stomach as they walked past the area in the Arena where she sat during the attack. In truth, she was on autopilot following Mako and Korra to the place they planned to call out Amon, trying to align her chi's like her father had taught her to do so long ago. She focused on her breathing- in through the nose, out the mouth- as they stood on the private platform Mako snuck them onto.
The crowd was massive. How were there so many people agreeing with him? Wanting to hurt people because they were born with an ability out of their control? Completely oblivious to the fact that their leader was a hypocrite, a bender himself. Sikenna felt her shoulders tense at the thought of everything Amon and his henchmen have done, how many people they had hurt. What if Amon had gotten a hold of Korra that day? What would the world be like right now? Her hands started shaking in anger the more she thought about it, the more she pictured her loved ones getting their element torn out from their soul. Mako nudged her side with his elbow gently.
"We got this, Kenna." His voice breathed in her ear. She exhaled a breath she didn't realize she was holding and relaxed her shoulders, nodding.
The crowd below them started to hush, and Amon took the stage. Instinctively, Kenna took a step forward, but Mako grabbed her elbow and shook his head. With a heavy sigh, she stepped back to her spot next to Mako, but narrowed her still masked eyes at the man on stage as he began to speak.
Lie after lie spilled out of his mouth. He had them so rehearsed, so fluid, that if Kenna hadn't heard what she did from Tarrlok, she would swear he was telling the truth, too.
Apparently, Korra was sick of hearing the lies as well. With a scoff, Korra took a step forward and spoke loudly to the stage.
"That's a lie, Amon!" She shouted, ripping her mask off her face as all eyes turned to the balcony. Sikenna pulled her mask off with Mako as well I solidarity- there was no turning back now.
"Or should I call you Noatak?"
Sikenna couldn't help but smirk when she heard the low rumble of the crowd whispering below them. Doubt; that's what they wanted. They wanted to create doubt within his followers, they needed that in order to win this war, and it had already started to root. Amon put his hand up to stop his mustached Lieutenant from doing anything, but turned his eyes back to the crowd of followers.
"Everyone calm down, we have nothing to fear from the Avatar. Let's hear what she has to say."
Korra turned to the crowd confidently, her shoulders back and her stance strong.
"Amon has been lying to you. The spirits didn't give him the power to take people's bending away. He uses bloodbending to do it. Amon is a waterbender!"
Gasps erupted from the crowd. Kenna looked up to Mako with a smile, and they shared a knowing look. This is working- this could actually work. The lieutenant on stage mumbled something to Amon, but he was ignored.
"You're desperate, Avatar. Making up stories about me is a pathetic last resort."
His voice was equally as confident, but the fact that he ignored his lieutenant and answered so quickly was a sign of panic, and Kenna knew it.
"Keep going, Korra. He's losing it." She encouraged her friend, not taking her eyes off of the masked man on stage.
"Your family wasn't killed by a firebender…" Korra said to him, then turned back to his followers.
"His father was Yakone, and his brother... is Councilman Tarrlok!"
More gasps erupted around the arena.
"Hmph, an amusing tale, but I will show you the truth." Amon reached for his mask, and Kenna could tell by his tone that he had prepared for this moment. Somehow, he knew this moment would come, he was still one step ahead.
"Fuck." She mumbled under her breath. Amon tore the mask off his face to reveal a dark, red scarf twisting over his face, pulling his lip up unnaturally. He pointed to his scarred face and shouted to the crowd.
"This is what a firebender did to me!"
"What?!" Korra gasped, turning to look at Mako and Kenna. Mako was just as taken aback as Korra was, but Kenna shook her head.
"Benders get scars all the time, it doesn't mean he's not a water bender." She reasoned with her friends. Through the whisperers and gasps in the crowd a shout could be heard.
"The Avatar is lying!"
In a panic, Korra looked back out at the crowd and pointed a sturdy finger to the stage.
"I'm telling you! He's a waterbender!" She said to them desperately, but it was getting them nowhere. The crowd had made up their mind- Korra was the enemy. She looked towards Mako and Kenna in disbelief.
"They don't believe me. It didn't work!"
"We said what we had to. Let's get out of here." Mako said to Korra, keeping his eyes on hers to try to keep her calm. Kenna nodded in agreement and took a step back towards the exit.
"He's right Korra. We need to leave, now." But it was too late. Just as she turned to leave the balcony, a group of equalists walked towards them from their exit, spinning their weapons around intimidatingly. With narrowed eyes, Kenna squatted down into a fighting stance, ready to release all of her pent up anger on them.
"I wouldn't leave yet, Avatar. You'll miss the main event." came the suave, cocky voice of Amon behind them on the stage. Taking a glance over her shoulder with the other two, she gasped loudly. There, tied up on their knees on stage, were Tenzin, Jinora, Ikki and Meelo- the last air benders.
"What?" Kenna breathed as she broke her stance, standing up straight.
"No... they got away." Korra said, dumbfounded. She turned back towards her friends then, panic evident in her voice again.
"We saw them get away!"
Kenna went to say something, but nothing came out. She closed her mouth and looked back at the airbenders on the stage. She didn't want anyone to lose their bending, she had even felt bad for Tahno. But this? This was too much. These were the only air benders left. They were Avatar Aang's legacy, his family. They were too precious.
"Where's Beifong? How did she let this happen?!" Mako hissed through his teeth. Kenna ignored him, not wanting to get caught up in the details of why. She just wanted to focus on how. How were they going to save them? Because they had to. There was no other option, even if it meant prolonging the ending to this war- they had to stop Amon from taking away their bending.
"Tonight, I rid the world of airbending, forever." Amon announced proudly, sending shivers down Kenna's spine. Korra growled and tightened her fist at her side angrily.
"Amon, let them go!"
Amon looked back up at the three teenagers, the smile evident in his tone of voice.
"You're welcome to come down here and try to stop me."
Mako licked his lips and reached forward, grabbing Korra's arm gently.
"He's trying to bait you." He said, trying to keep her thinking clearly.
"I don't care! We have to save them!" She snapped at him, looking back at the family of airbenders she had grown so close to.
"Mako, she's right." Kenna whispered next to him, her eyes still on the stage. Mako turned towards her in shock, and Kenna finally turned to look him in the eye. With a shaky breath, she whispered out to him.
"These aren't just any benders. These are airbenders. The last airbenders." She said to him. She gulped and leaned towards him more.
"At the very least, I have a duty as fire nation to stop him. They disappeared because of my ancestors originally. I can't watch them get wiped out." Her whisper was desperate, hoarse. Mako knew what she meant- if they didn't do something, she would. With or without them. Mako felt fear rise in his chest at the thought of watching her take Amon alone. He promised Kona and Bolin he would protect Kenna, but he realized at that moment he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he let her do this and something happened to her- promise or not.
"The Avatar needs to be reminded of the power I possess!" Amon said, turning towards the airbenders.
Without a word Mako turned towards the stage and waved his hand in the air, and shot it forward. A bright bolt of electricity flew over Korra's shoulder towards the stage. It collided with the wood with a loud crack. The crowd below them screamed, but Amon had skillfully dodged the attack, rolling out of the way.
"Nice shot!" Kenna looked at him proudly. With a few leaps onto the wall, all three teenagers shot fire from their hands as their feet touched the cement wall, keeping them vertical as they ran along the wall to the stage. They dodged the bola's that equalist threw at them as they charged, each sending their own barrage of attacks on the equalists as they landed. Mako fought alongside Kenna as Korra ran forward to the family of airbenders while the two kept the equalists busy and distracted.
"Tenzin!" Kenna shouted happily as she kicked an equalist in the best, flinging him off the stage with more force than she knew she had in her. But he was too busy to respond, releasing a huge gust of air at Amon as he dodged one of Mako's attacks, flinging him into the air away from them and off the stage.
"Kenna go help Korra!" Mako yelled over his shoulder to Kenna. She opened her mouth to protest but Mako turned to her, his golden eyes fierce.
"Go!"
With worry in her eyes about leaving him to fight on his own, Kenna turned and ran towards Korra and the kids with Tenzin.
"Follow me, kids." Korra said to them, running off the stage through a door. Kenna followed them out into the hallway and started to run with them, but grabbed Korra's shoulder and spun her around.
"I'll get them to safety, go help Mako." She said to Korra desperately, dreading the idea of anything happening to him. Korra nodded understandingly and looked towards Tenzin.
"Kenna is going to help you guys get out. Mako and I will create a diversion. Go!"
And with that, they split. Korra turned around to go assist Mako and create a distraction, and Kenna looked at the airbenders she was supposed to help get out of the building.
"Let's go get your mother and the baby." Tenzin said to the kids with a nod.
"Prison break!" Meelo shouted with his fist in the air before the five of them dashed off towards where Pema and Rohan were being kept.
As they ran to where they were holding Pema and the baby, dodging attacks and taking out equalist, Kenna couldn't help the nagging feeling in her stomach. She had to go back and help Mako and Korra, she had to make sure they were okay. The airbenders were handling themselves, they would make it out without her- especially with Tenzin's rage. She waited until they got Pema and the baby out of their cell safely to tell them she couldn't take them all the way.
"Wait," she said, catching her breath. Tenzin stopped and looked back at her questioningly.
"I have to help them." She said, her eyes fierce. Tenzin nodded to her in understanding.
"Go. We can get out from here."
With one last nod Sikenna turned on her heel and ran as fast as she could back through the building, looking for any signs of her friends. It had been a while since she let her emotion fully rule over her bending, and even though she knew how dangerous and reckless she was truly being with the element, she had to admit that it felt good. Her fire was hotter, quicker, bigger, her flames only became more vicious with her inner evil spirits dancing along with every blast she sent hurtling forward. Every emotion she had felt in the last few months flowed freely through her as she took out any equalist she encountered in her search. She took one out with a loud crack against the wall before sliding around a corner to the hall and froze.
Standing in front of a door, was Amon's mustached lieutenant. Rage once again rose in her chest and radiated down her arms as she narrowed her eyes at him. It was just him down here- alone, in a hallway, with no back up. He was foolish. Kenna lit her palms on fire and began stalking towards him with determination.
He didn't move his eyes from the window on the door he was standing in front of, but he put his hand up. Shocking herself, Sikenna stopped, and looked at him confused, her flames still swirling around her hands, alert and as ready as she was.
He turned slowly to her and raised a finger to his lips, telling her to stay quiet, then pointed to the door. Something in the back of her mind, probably the more sane Kenna, told her to shut up and listen to him. After taking a moment to breathe, Kenna extinguished the fire in her hands and slowly made her way over to the door. The lieutenant moved over enough for Kenna to see through the window, his face pulled into a tight scowl. Sikenna gasped quietly and brought her hand to her mouth at what she saw. Amon had Korra in the air, blood bending her. She twisted in unnatural ways and moaned loudly in pain, trying to fight against Amon's hold. Kenna's hand reached forward to dive into the room just as Mako emerged, sending balls of flame at Amon, telling him to let her go. The lieutenant grabbed her arm and pulled her back and into a squatting position on the floor.
"No. If you barge in now, he'll just take all three of you. You have the element of surprise, use it. I'll confront him." He said to her, his voice strong. There was a loud slam of flesh on the floor, followed by groans of pain from Korra and Mako inside the room. Kenna went to stand and save them with tears in her eyes, but the Lieutenant pulled her back down again.
"No! You can't help them if you die!" He hissed at her. Kenna gulped and nodded. He was right. He had some sort of plan to reveal Amon, she could feel it, and she needed to listen to him in order to help her friends.
"No!" Korra's shrill voice penetrated through the heavy doors. Kenna cringed and looked up at the door worriedly.
"KORRA!" Mako screamed. The devastation in his voice made it clear what was about to happen. With shaky knees, Kenna slowly stood from the floor and looked in just as a blood curdling scream tore from Korra's mouth. Kenna felt the world around her slow down as she watched the Avatar's body slam to the floor from her knees. Why did she listen to him? To this man? She had let him convince her to wait and now Korra, her friend, the Avatar, had lost her bending at the hands of Amon, and she watched. With her eyes glared at the lieutenant, Kenna reached for the door again, but he slammed her back against the wall next to the door and pointed to her face.
"No! She's not dead, you can still save her! Follow my lead, stay down, and out of sight. No matter what happens- get them out."
Kenna breathed heavy as she glared back at him, her eyes filled with unshed tears of fury at both the man and herself.
"Finally, you are powerless…" came Amon's voice through the door. The lieutenant looked through the window again, then back at the seething teenager still against the wall.
"He's going to the other kid now." He said. Sikenna felt her throat tighten as horror filled her.
"No, not him. I can't- you have to- please-" Kenna tried to get out a sentence, but she didn't even know what to say. The lieutenant brought a finger to his lips again to shush her and looked at her with sad eyes.
"I'm going in. Keep the door open, stay below the window, listen for my cue."
"What's your cue?" She questioned.
"When I start fighting him. Get in, get them out, and run." He looked at her seriously, making sure she understood the gravity of his words. She needed to get them out, they had failed to end the war, they had to get to safety. Kenna was still frantically nodding her head when the Lieutenant swung open the door and stepped in.
"Amon!" He called out to his leader. Kenna sunk into a squat quickly and leaned against the door, keeping it propped open so she would be ready.
"Everything the Avatar said is true, isn't it? I just saw you bloodbend her! You traitor! I dedicated my life to you!"
The electric wave of the lieutenant's stick made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end and she heard his feet dash away from the door for a few seconds. She readied herself to stand and run in to grab her friends and go, but she froze. Kenna shut her eyes tightly as she heard it- his voice caught in his throat like he was choking on his vocal chords as Amon blood bent him, too.
"You've served me well, Lieutenant." Amon said coldly. With a loud crash, Kenna watched as the lieutenant slammed against a pile of wood next to the door with a loud snap of his back, and he went limp. Kenna covered her mouth to stifle her gasp as she stared at him.
Then the rage came again. Every cell in her body vibrated with anger, her veins grew warm from their friction. The last person in the room was Mako. She, for whatever reason, let herself be persuaded to stand aside as Korra lost her bending, as the lieutenant was killed, and there was no way she would stand by and let this happen to Mako. She would rather die.
Knowing that she was breaking her promise to Kona, Sikenna stood quickly and waved one arm in a circle in the air, shooting her other arm forward. Amon turned to look at her as she did with a smirk.
Mako tried to break from Amon's blood bending hold. He was so close, he could feel the spark travelling down to his fingertips through his veins when Amon turned, and chuckled. Shifting his eyes towards the door, Mako saw Kenna shoot a bolt of lightning towards Amon, who shifted only slightly to avoid it.
No. Not her, too.
Mako thought to himself. With new determination, Mako thrusted his hand upward at Amon, breaking the hold he had on his blood. Amon flew across the room into the wall, sliding down it with a thud. With quick reflexes, Mako shot two blasts of fire at some wood surrounding Amon's landing, crashing it into him. He knew it wouldn't hold him long, but it bought them some time.
Kenna let out a deep breath as Mako ran to Korra and scooped her up into his arms, running towards her.
"Kenna RUN." Mako barked at her as he ran to the door, cradling Korra.
The two of them sped down the hallway as quick as their feet could carry them.
"Mako…" Korra whispered weakly from his arms.
"My bending…" she muttered sadly.
"Everything will be alright. We just need to get out of here." Mako said to her, trying his best to sound comforting through his panic.
"I'm so sorry, Korra. I should have-AH!" Kenna started to apologize as they ran, but she was cut off by every muscle in her body seizing up against their will. Mako screamed in pain and stumbled to a stop, dropping Korra hard onto the floor. She slid to a stop in front of them with her eyes closed.
Kenna watched in horror as Amon flung Mako from wall to wall like a ragdoll.
"Mako!" She tried to yell, still unable to gain control of her own body. She tried to fight off the hold, hoping he would put too much energy into controlling Mako and slip up on her own so she could save him, but Amon was too strong.
"STOP!" She cried out, her eyes filled to the brim again with tears as Amon slammed Mako into the ceiling before bringing her friend to his knees before him.
"I'm impressed. No one has ever gotten the better of me like that." Amon said emotionlessly. Kenna was able to fight off the hold enough to crawl forward a step before her muscles spasmed again.
"It is almost a shame to take the bending of someone so talented…" She heard Amon say, and this time you could hear the sadistic smirk behind the mask, the amusement he was getting out of this.
"No! Mako! NO!" Kenna shouted again. She reached out towards Mako and Amon, hoping she could muster up even a flicker of a flame, anything to help.
"Almost." Amon said evilly. His hand reached down to press his thumb to Mako's forehead. Kenna screamed for him until she felt her own vocal cords cut out on her, tears flowing freely down her face as she watched in agony.
The scream must have woken up Korra, because before Kenna knew it, Korra stood beside her.
"NO!" Korra shouted, instinctively punching at Amon. To both of their surprise, it worked. A strong burst of air shot out from Korra's fist, knocking Amon back and away from Mako. Kenna felt the hold lift from her body and looked up, amazed.
"I can air bend? I can air bend!" Korra shouted triumphantly, reinvigorated with hope.
Kenna stood on wobbly knees as Korra fought with Amon with her new found air bending. She felt like a baby deer walking for the first time as she made her way over to where Mako had landed from Korra's blast, but she had to get to him. She had to make sure he was okay. He had to be okay.
"Mako! Mako get up. Please get up." She muttered, running a hand through his hair as she kneeled on the floor next to him. Tears still fell down her cheeks as she tried to get him to open his eyes.
"Mako please you have to wake up…" she choked out. His eyes fluttered open and met hers with a small smile and she choked on a sob, flinging her arms around him.
"I'm so sorry." She sobbed into him.
"I'm okay." He breathed into her hair, taking in the comforting mango scent.
"I wouldn't forgive myself if you weren't." She whispered as she pulled back from him.
"No…. You… DONT!" They both heard Korra say, making them look over at her just as she broke through another blood bending hold, kicking Amon in the chest out the grand circular window of the arena.
Mako went to move towards her and grimaced, holding his bruised ribs.
"Come on, tough guy. I got you." Kenna said with a smirk, wrapping his arm around her shoulder so she could help lift him to his feet.
"You always have so far." He said with a pained laugh as he gained his balance.
"Always will." She answered him quietly, walking him over to the window where Korra stood, looking out the window she kicked Amon from.
"Did you see where he landed?" Kenna asked as she reached the window, steadying Mako on his own feet before letting him go. Korra pointed to the water below.
"Right around there." The two turned towards where Korra was pointing just in time to see his mask rise to the surface. Gasps of horror and shock erupted from the crowd around the arena below them.
"You bending tyrant!" One of the voices shouted.
"Evil Avatar!" Another one screamed.
Just then, an enormous water spout emerged from the water with Amon, or Noatak, riding it up high above the crowd. His mask off, the firebending scar erased from his face. Now, the crowd below them sang a different tune.
"He's waterbending!"
"The scar is fake!'
"The Avatar was telling the truth!"
The three teens in the broken window ignored them, focusing on the glare they were receiving from the man in the water. They glared back at him, Kenna instinctively going into a stance in case he was looking to fight again, despite her body protesting it. But he didn't. He dove back into the water and took off and away under it.
"Oh, so now he wants to be a coward?!" Kenna spat angrily, shooting a ball of fire at his trail. Mako joined in next to her, shooting his own fire at Amon's retreating stream of water, but they missed every shot after what their bodies had just gone through.
"Guys stop." Korra muttered, putting a hand on their shoulders.
"He's gone." She said. Kenna did as she was told, and let her shoulders relax. She ignored Mako and Korra hugging next to her and closed her eyes, exhaling a long, slow breath from her mouth. It was over. They had won.
•¥•
Air temple island.
"KENNA!" The pounding of feet on the wood dock back at air temple island made Sikenna look up right before Kona's body collided with hers. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, glad to see she had kept her promise.
"Are you okay?" He asked her as he pulled away, keeping her at arms length to inspect her. Kenna kept her eyes over his shoulder as Bolin helped Mako bring Korra back to the shore. Bolin looked over his shoulder at Kenna sadly, hearing about what happened to Korra.
Korra.
Tears welled up in her eyes watching them walk back up the dock.
"Kenna? Kin, what happened?" Kona asked, grabbing the sides of her face gently to make his sister look at him. She sniffed, holding back her tears when she made eye contact with him.
"Korra.. she… Amon.. and I didn't… Kona, i didn't stop it. I didn't help her. I was right there… I could have… I could have stopped him from-from taking it-" She let out a loud sob, losing her ability to form words. Kona's eyes widened at the realization of what she was trying to say. He pulled Kenna to his chest and let her sob into his shirt, resting his chin on the top of her head as he comforted her. He eyed his friends back on shore, circling around Korra and Mako as they told everyone what had happened.
Eventually, Kona was able to coax Kenna way from his shirt and her tears enough to walk back to shore with everyone else. Kenna kept her eyes on the ground as she walked, letting her guilt eat at every bit of flesh it wanted; she deserved it. Instead of stopping to see everyone else, like Kona had intended, Kenna slipped under his arm and walked herself past everyone to be alone for a while. She walked to the cliff she had once found Korra at, the night they became "The New Team Avatar." Before Korra got kidnapped, before the bombs dropped, before the Republic City government fell into Amon's control, back when Korra still had her bending.
"Hey." Came a voice from behind her. She had only been alone with her emotions for a few minutes. She wiped the tears from her face quickly, annoyed by being disturbed.
"Spirits, a girl can't get a couple minutes alone anymore?" She spat out as she cleared her eyes of moisture.
"Not if they're crying with their legs dangling off a cliff." Bolin joked quietly, sitting down on the ledge next to her.
"I'm fine." She said sharply to him, looking out at the now ruined landscape of the city. Buildings were in shambles, the normal glow of the city and the hustle and bustle now dark, quiet and eerie.
"Sure doesn't look like you're fine." Bolin said softly to her. She ignored him, keeping her eyes across the bay. They sat in silence for a few minutes, letting the events of the day wash over them. Bolin watched his best friend with sad eyes. Her long hair swirled around her wildly with the wind, a fitting image for the care free spirit he had originally met a few months ago. She was very different from the girl next to him. She was still Kenna, the funny, witty girl who would sit for hours when he gushed about Korra. But she seemed almost colder now, more secretive. She had walls up that Bolin didn't have to climb over before.
"I miss you, Kin." He said to her finally, scooting closer to her. She scoffed and turned her face away from him, clenching her jaw.
"Yeah, I miss me too." She hissed. Bolin furrowed his brows at her in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know who the girl was back there, but I don't like her. She was weak when it came down to it. I could have stopped him, Bolin." She exploded, looking back to the city.
"I was right there. My blood wasn't being bent, my bending was the best it had been in months and I did nothing. I hid behind a door. That isn't me. That's not something I would do, and I hate that I turned into someone who let that happen." She looked at Bolin, her jaw set tightly. There were no tears in her eyes now, just anger. Her hands were tightly clenched against the stone. Bolin could almost feel her shaking in anger at herself from where he was sitting.
"Korra and Mako told us what happened. There was nothing anybody could do." Bolin tried to reason with her calmly. She shook her head furiously at him.
"No, you don't understand. You don't get it." She said, frustrated tears forming in her eyes. She was so tired of crying.
"Then help me understand, Kenna! Please." Bolin said to her desperately now, not used to seeing her like this.
"I was RIGHT THERE, Bo! I listened to his lieutenant instead of going in to help them when I knew I should have, and now Korra lost her bending. I'm the reason the Avatar, had 3 elements ripped out of her." She looked at him, her blue eyes fierce. Bolin took a deep breath as he looked at her, not sure what to say. He wasn't there with them, he truly didn't know what happened, and wasn't sure how to console her.
"We're both glad you didn't, though." Came Mako's voice from behind her. Kenna jumped in surprise at the sound of his voice, but clenched her jaw in annoyance. How long had he been there listening to a conversation she wasn't ready to have with him?
"Oh! Hey, Mako..." Bolin sputtered awkwardly. Mako ignored him, keeping his eyes on Kenna's profile.
"Kenna, all three of us would have lost our bending if you came in then. You coming in when you did gave me enough time to get Amon away from me, so we could get Korra out of there. We're taking Korra home, to the southern water tribe, to be healed by Katara. She'll be okay, we'll figure this out. There was nothing you could have done to stop him today." Mako took the remaining steps over to where Kenna sat and squatted down, resting his hand on her shoulder.
"I'm glad I didn't have to watch both of you lose your bending today." He said to her quietly. With a scoff, Kenna shook his hand off her shoulder and stood, stalking away from both of them.
"Neither of you are going to get it." She spat, walking back down along the mountain side. They wouldn't get it, she was the only one who would. They wouldn't even be having this problem had she gone in and ended it when she saw that Amon was blood bending Korra.
"Kenna, stop." Mako caught up to her with a painful grunt, his ribs still bruised from the fight. Kenna grimaced at his painful grunt and came to a halt, looking at him apologetically.
"Why are you so hard on yourself all the time?" He asked her when he caught his breath, annoyed.
"I'm not!" She defended herself.
"You are! Korra wasn't even able to fight him! The only reason I did, was because you bought me a few more seconds. What the spirits makes you think that you would have been the one to stop him from taking Korra's bending? Little too cocky, don't you think?" He asked her, his voice still gruff with annoyance. Kenna opened her mouth to say something, but closed it slowly, not exactly sure how to answer him.
"Don't get me wrong, Kin, you're a powerful bender, but none of us stood a chance against him one on one. None of us were going to be able to stop him." His temper was getting the best of him as he lectured her. Kenna tilted her head at him hearing her nickname leaving his lips for the first time before he continued.
"And! And- I already watched Korra get her bending taken, I didn't really want to watch both of you lose it. Not only would Kona and Bolin kill me, but I can't have both of you this upset. I can't handle that-"
"You called me Kin." She interrupted his ranting with a smirk. Mako blinked at her in confusion.
"What? What are you-"
"You just did. You called me Kin." She laughed lightly.
"That's what you're pulling from this?!" Mako asked her in shock, both of his sharp eyebrows pulled into his forehead. She giggled and shrugged a bit.
"I don't know. I guess… you're right?" She sighed, relaxing her shoulders in defeat. Even when he was lecturing her, Mako's energy just didn't allow for Kenna to stay angry. It calmed her enough to be able to start to think properly, to put things into perspective. His graceful (albeit blunt) way of humbling her helped, too, she was sure. Mako sighed and shook his head at her, pinching the bridge of his nose. Kenna bit her lip and looked down, now embarrassed to be so annoying.
"I just don't want you to beat yourself up about something we're all glad you did. Something I'm glad you did. I wouldn't have made it out of there today without you." He said to her gently, pulling her to his chest. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and hugged her as tight as his bruised body would allow him to.
"Thank you, for that." He mumbled into the air above her head. Kenna sighed as his chest rumbled with a chuckle and nodded into his shirt, soaking in the hug she didn't know she needed.
"Let's check on Korra and get some rest. We can figure everything out tomorrow. You coming, Bo?"
"Yup!" Bolin said cheerfully, popping out from behind a tree. He walked over to the two of them and wrapped an arm around Kenna's shoulders as they walked down the mountain side, pulling her to him and kissing the side of her head.
"Glad you're able to make our breakfast noodles date, Kin." Bolin chuckled, ignoring her protests against them being a suitable breakfast choice.
•¥•
Southern Water Tribe, 2 days later.
"What do you mean, 'she can't help her'?!" Kenna whispered harshly to Bolin. It had been 2 days since they landed in the southern water tribe, and no progress with getting Korra's bending back had been made. Maybe it was the cold making her more irritable, but Kenna found that hard to believe. Katara was the best healer around. If anyone would have been able to do something, it would be her.
Bolin looked at Kenna sadly and shrugged.
"She said she's done everything she could, but that her connection to the other elements was gone."
"That's bullshit." Kenna hissed, turning towards Kona.
"Last night when I did the thing dad used to do to calm us down, I felt it. It was like a wall, I couldn't get to some of her chi points to calm her down. If it has something to do with those then it should be easy for Katara. She's not trying hard enough!"
Kona put his hands out in front of him as he looked at his sister.
"She's doing everything she can, Kin-"
"No she's not!" Kenna shouted. If Korra didn't get her bending back, she wouldn't be able to forgive herself. Sure, Mako was right the other day- Kenna wouldn't have stood a chance against Amon. But she would have sacrificed her bending if it meant Korra could have gotten away with hers.
"She's- she's old, now. And-and tired. Maybe she's just not as good as she used to be." Kenna tried, looking at the boys in front of her desperately. Bolin offered her another apologetic smile and reached for her shoulder.
"Kya has been helping, too. There's nothing they can do."
"Korra, wait!" Mako's voice travelled past the warm hut the three were talking in following a quick moving shadow.
"Go away." Korra's shadow answered him angrily.
"Oh, Mako." Kenna breathed, briskly walking towards the door to stop him from chasing an upset Korra. She swung the door open and looked around for her two friends. They were arguing out in the distance, or, at least, Korra was. Her arms were out by her sides as she shouted something at Mako, who only took a step towards her and reached for her face gently. Kenna felt her stomach tug at the look in his eyes. He was so determined to have Korra's back through this, determined to show her how he felt regardless of her being able to bend. She tried to shake the image of Nero looking at her like that back in the day, back when he thought she was perfect, right as Korra ran away from Mako.
"Korra!"
Kenna grabbed his elbow as he moved to chase after her again.
"Mako, let her go." She said softly to him.
"What? No!" He said to her, confused by her words.
"Yes. Give her some time alone. She knows these lands better than you could, she'll be fine." Kenna sent her warm chi up through his arms to calm Mako and he sighed, defeated.
"We need to be patient with her. It will take time for her to accept what has happened." Tenzin said as he walked up to the two teenagers.
"She shouldn't be alone right now…" Mako said, his eyes scanning where Korra had disappeared.
"She needs to be alone right now. She'll come to you when she's ready." Kenna spoke softly to him, taking another step closer. Mako raked his hand through his hair impatiently, ignoring his instincts to follow after Korra.
"I think I fucked up." He muttered. Kenna furrowed her brows and looked over her shoulder, making sure Tenzin was busy talking to Kona, Asami and Bolin.
"What do you mean?" She asked him with a tilt of her head. Mako gulped and looked at her, glancing over at Asami before leaning down to Kenna's face to whisper to her.
"I told her I loved her."
Kenna couldn't stop her face turning into a frown at his words. Luckily Mako misread her expression, his eyes widening in a panic.
"I did, didn't I? Spirits, I'm such an idiot!" He panicked, looking around him for a place he could hide.
"What?! No! No- I just, I don't know, Mako, I just don't think that's what she needed to hear right now. That's not going to fix the fact that she lost elements." Kenna cleared her throat, grateful that she was handed an excuse for her frown. That wasn't something she wanted to tackle at the moment.
"I have to talk to her. I have to apologize, and make sure she's okay." Mako breathed out, flustered with the rush of emotions going through him. Kenna shook her head.
"No, you need to give her time. Korra's strong, she'll be okay."
"Would you leave me alone right now if i was in the state she's in?" He asked her, locking his tangerine eyes onto her Topaz ones. They looked so much like Korra's, Mako couldn't help but feel comforted by her gaze.
"What?" She blinked, stunned to be used in the comparison since he had just told Korra he was in love with her.
"Or Bolin? Kona? Asami? Spirits, anyone you cared about?"
Kenna tilted her head back and sighed into the frigid air.
"No…" she said, looking back at him, trying to hold back a smirk.
"I wouldn't. Look what happened the last time I didn't listen to myself…" she nodded her head in the direction Korra ran. Mako looked at her sadly and went to go say something, but she stopped him.
"Go." She said, looking over her shoulder once more at the people outside, still distracted by their own conversations.
"I'll make sure they leave you two alone." She said, trying her best to offer him an understanding smile. Mako smiled brightly at her.
"Thanks, Kin. You're the best." He said before running off after her. Kenna sighed as she watched him go.
"But never enough." She said to herself quietly. With sad eyes she turned to the people now calling after Mako.
•¥•
Kenna lazily blew raspberries with her lips, her head on Bolin's lap as they sat in the hut waiting for Mako and Korra to come back.
"I can't believe you let him chase after her." Bolin chuckled to her quietly, tossing a ball for Lotus and Pabu to chase and wrestle over.
"What was I supposed to do? Stop a grown man from making his own decisions about his relationship?" Kenna defended herself harshly, throwing her hands up in the air. Bolin jerked his head back to avoid her flailing hands and laughed at her.
"I mean, kind of, yeah. But when you put it that way…" Kenna sighed and rested her hands on her stomach, looking up at Bolin's face.
"He told her he loved her. And then she ran away."
Bolin released a long, low whistle as a response.
"Looks like Ol' Bolin is going to have to do some damage control tonight. Poor Mako."
Kenna scoffed and turned her eyes to the ceiling.
"Yes. Poor Mako." She said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.
"I mean he only broke up with Asami like, 5 minutes ago. It's perfectly reasonable for him to be confessing his love for Korra before they even become official." Her sarcastic tone carried over from before. She was aware she was being dramatic and probably a bit unfair, but she was frustrated by her own emotions, and it was easier to just turn those frustrations back to Mako at the moment. Her fingers fiddled with the fire stone bracelet instinctively, a habit she had picked up since she put it on. Bolin sighed and flicked her fingers to get her to stop, resting his hand over the bracelet so she couldn't get to it anymore.
"He has to figure this out on his own." He said to her knowingly. Kenna gulped and shifted uncomfortably, not sure what to do since she couldn't access the bracelet.
"I get what you're hinting at, but that's not-"
"They're back!" Kona interrupted them loudly as he burst into the hut. Kenna shot up out of Bolin's lap and scrambled to her feet, grateful that the conversation was cut short. She was still putting on her coat when she ran out of the hut, squinting her eyes to see an approaching Mako and Korra in the distance.
"Are they… laughing?" Kenna asked no one in particular.
"Hey, at least she's smiling again." Kona said from behind her. Ignoring him, Kenna started walking towards the pair with a smile creeping along her face the closer she got. They were laughing, and smiling a lot, they even shoved each other playfully as if nothing was wrong at all.
"You two okay or did you crack your head on an iceberg?!" She called out to them with a laugh. Korra and Mako looked up to meet her face and their smiles broadened.
"Look alive, Kenna!" Korra shouted happily, swirling her arms out to her sides and thrusting them towards the firebender. Kenna froze in shock and let the snowballs hit her. Did Korra just…?
"Did you…." She said to Korra, pointing a finger at her. Korra stood proudly and crossed her arms over her chest, raising an eyebrow at her friend. Kenna took in what just happened and let the smile spread across her lips.
"Did you just WATER BEND?!" she shouted happily, throwing her arms out to her side. A chorus of questions erupted from the people waiting for them patiently at the healing hut as Kenna laughed boisterously, a sound Mako was grateful to hear.
"You got it BACK!" Kenna laughed loudly, running to Korra and jumping onto her in a hug, wrapping her legs around her torso. Korra laughed loudly as she caught her and spun once before dropping her onto her feet in the snow.
"I got it back!" She said to Kenna. Her smile was confident and full of meaning; Kenna didn't have to beat herself up about it anymore. Korra didn't want her to.
"I can bend again!" Korra shouted to the rest of the group happily before running to them. Kenna avoided Mako's eyes as they walked back, her hand fiddling with the stupid, absolutely cheesy firestone bracelet on her wrist.