Lending a hand to my uncle I was overseeing a practice session with a group of air benders when Kai came running in, making me drop my arms and look over to him and seeing something in his face which made my stomach drop with nerves. "Guys, we got an emergency. We're evacuating the temple. Come on!"
"Everybody move, no dawdling!" I instructed, making sure everybody got moving quickly in order to follow Kai but as I turned, I saw the ground begin to grow intensely hot with the heat waves rippling before the ground suddenly turned into molten lava so I dove forwards, hand reaching to grab Kai. "Look out Kai!" Using my other hand to pull water from the air I let it drop on the lava, causing it to hiss and steam as the cold cooled the lava but it wasn't enough, it just turned back into lava again as I brought Kai back, holding him protectively as I looked up.
Above us on the roof stood a guy with long hair and greenish clothing. Was he making that lava? I didn't even know that was a thing. Was it a sub from of earth bending? That's crazy! For a while we all just froze, Kai and me glowering at him as he dropped down to the ground in front of us, the lava rising intensely so we began to back up. The air benders behind me tried to run the other way but more lava blocked off their exit, trapping us with this stranger.
"Who are you?" I demanded, pushing Kai behind me in order to take a stand, quickly looking around to try and figure a way out and how I could maybe distract this guy long enough to get Kai and the others away.
"Does it matter? Don't do anything stupid girl, or you'll end up getting hurt. Do as you're told and there won't be any trouble." He instructed us but I was still hesitant to move, wanting to try and grasp for more time in case someone came along who could help.
"Are you with Zaheer? The guy who suddenly became an air bender and tried to kidnap Korra." The guy smirked at me.
"Smart girl." Call me girl one more time you punk and I'll show you just what this girl can do. "Now get moving." Lifting his arms with closed fists in a stance ready to strike, I took a deep breath and finally relaxed. Deciding that it wasn't risking people getting hurt until we knew exactly what we were dealing with.
"Everyone? I want you to stay calm and do exactly as this man says. Don't fight, and don't cause trouble. I promise we're all going to be just fine." I said, putting my hand on Kai's shoulder, knowing that he was the one most likely to cause trouble since that's just the kind of kid he was. He wasn't exactly one to follow orders, especially from a guy like this who was threatening us. "Be patient." Catching my meaning, Kai nodded his head acceptingly. We obeyed and followed the guy who stopped melting the floor with lava, allowing us a safe way to cross as we were all brought to the same courtyard where everyone else had been brought.
My entire family was there as well as the rest of the air benders. The lava bender made to push Kai forwards but I caught him and pulled him out of the way, shooting a glare at the guy before I gently guided Kai over to the others then sat him down by Jinora before I then joined them, keeping a hand on my little cousin who looked more than a little afraid. I have to think and think fast, what can I do? What are my options? There were too many risks, especially with the kids here, Pema and the baby being the most vulnerable. This situation isn't exactly looking good. I watched as a guy with a shaved head and a scar over his right eyebrow walked forwards, looking down at my uncle as he approached. "It's a pleasure to finally meet a true air bending master."
"What is it you want from us?" Was this guy Zaheer? He must be. He had an air bender's staff in his hand so it made the most logical sense.
"Nothing at all. In fact, if everyone cooperates, you will all walk out of this situation unharmed." That just sounded like it depended on a lot of outside variables and whether or not everybody acted according to his demands.
"Then what are you doing here?"
"I want Korra, and I'm tired of chasing her." Instantly I stiffened, eyes widening but I didn't give myself away by looking at Zaheer or moving too much. If he wanted Korra, then he planned on using us as a bargaining tool.
"You're using us as leverage?" Tenzin guessed as well, and after Zaheer confirmed that this was his intention, my uncle stood up in order to face Zaheer head on. "I will never let you get to Korra."
"Unfortunately, you don't have a choice." I could feel the shift in tension in the air, the gathering of energy as my uncle mentally prepared himself for what he was about to do. Knowing what was coming next, I gripped onto Jinora and Kai, silently warning them to get ready to run.
"Yes, I do." Never had I thought of my uncle as being so awesome as he was now. With just a single movement, he air blasted all three attackers with so much force they flew back and slammed against the walls of the courtyard in a powerful display of the capabilities of an air bending master. "Jinora, get everyone out of here! Bumi, Kya, Kanna, help me hold them off." Surprised that my uncle would ask for me to stay and help too, it was only after a combustion shot fired down on us from above that I realised why. So there were actually four of these guys. Makes more sense. Tenzin air bended himself out of the line of fire as I quickly got everybody up onto their feet. "And stay out of her line of sight. Go. Go!"
"Come on move! Hustle people, hurry up!" Jinora led the way as I made sure everybody got out before I turned around in order to face what was going on. Those combustion blasts are going to be a huge problem, the only reason I recognised them was because of how distinctive they sounded and because Great Uncle Sokka used to tell me the story about how he and his boomerang took out an assassin called Combustion Man many years ago. That one had been one of Korra's favourite stories.
Mom and I pulled water out of the nearby fountain as we stood close to one another, naturally adopting similar stances being mother and daughter and having been taught by gran-gran. For a moment everybody was still, eyes flickering to one another to size one another up. Tenzin and Zaheer focused on each other, fighting with their air bending whilst my mom took on the weird arm tentacle lady, so I focused on the lava bender with Uncle Bumi. This guy was terrifying, not gonan lie. He literally made lava out of the floor but I guess we're just going to have to work with it.
Problem was, I couldn't bend enough water to cool down the rock fast enough, because the more I tried to bend and pull from the fountain, the more I started to panic. My pulse quickened, soaring to unparalleled levels as my mind began to fracture as the fear took hold. Bumi could only evade the guy and keep him busy, leading him on a wild goose chase whilst I fired ice projectiles at him. One finally landed, hitting him in the head and several more followed so the lava bender turned and growled at me before bending the ground beneath my feet.
The moment I felt it growing hot I jumped, darting out of the way as a lava plume burst upwards where I'd just been standing. Sucking in a panicked breath, I slid across the floor on my knees in order to turn, shooting a water whip at the guy who was still trying to catch my Uncle Bumi. I grabbed hold of his wrist before he could make a punching motion and dragged him down with a yell, swinging with all my might and directed him at the tentacle lady so that they collided. "Nice one Kanna!" My mom praised and I couldn't help but give a breathless smile in her direction.
That brief moment was quickly over as a tentacle came shooting towards me, the lady now severely pissed and I had to quickly redirect the water but then it turned into an ace scythe, curling back around and going straight for my head. I threw my weight backwards, balancing on my foot to avoid the weapon as I moved my hands underneath it, taking command of the ice in order to break it off then reshaped it into a four pronged wheel like object with curved ice blades. I threw it in a circle, letting it curve through the air and it sliced through several tentacles which were launched at my mom in order to stall the lady whilst also snatching up more water and causing a geyser explosion, the water shooting upwards as it seemed to naturally reject me trying to control too much at once and the moment it showered over the lava bender, I froze it.
His feet froze to the floor, forcing him to stop as Bumi launched himself off the wall in order to dodge him. The lava bender gave an infuriated growl like a half shout before breaking himself free and coming at us again. This time it was ordinary rock that came at me, forcing me to try and deflect and defend but then a tentacle wrapped around my foot without me realising and I was dragged off the ground into the air, making me cry out in alarm as mom quickly looked at me. "Kanna!"
"Mom!" She quickly sliced through the water, making me drop but another tentacle came and grabbed me, this time throwing me at a wall where I crashed into the fountain and the force of the blow knocked the air out of my lungs and I blacked out for a while. I just about heard my mom rage in fury, going all out on the creepy tentacle woman as Bumi wrestled with the lava bender. I coughed, blinking blearily.
Everyone had gone, and I was in water. Instinctively I screamed and panicked, flailing as I pulled myself out and fell to the ground, soaking wet. I bent the water off me, breathing erratically as my heart hammered and I looked around desperately. "Mom? Uncle Bumi?" Not even those Red Lotus guys were here, that's what Korra called them, right? Oh no, please don't tell me…no! "Mom! Bumi!" Hearing some explosions still going on, I dragged myself up and onto my feet, staggering slightly as I winced, clutching my ribs where they ached from getting the breath knocked out of them, but otherwise I was okay.
I ran towards the sounds of fighting, knowing that I had to make sure my family were okay and they got away safely and thinking maybe my mom and uncles had just pushed Zaheer and his followers elsewhere. When I came upon the seen, I arrived at the very moment that my Uncle Tenzin air bending like crazy, keeping Zaheer, lava man and tentacle lady off of him but then the combustion bender fired a blast down at him which exploded with so much force, he was knocked off his feet and hit a pillar, causing him to grunt with pain at the blow before he fell to the ground. I quickly covered my mouth to keep from crying out and alerting them to my presence. Uncle Tenzin looked bad, he was really hurt and I'd never seen him like that before.
As he struggled to get up he was clutching one shoulder and I could see one of his eyes was bruised almost shut and was still swelling. "Give up. It's over." Zaheer announced as I looked at my uncle, seeing him still trying to stand.
"As long as I'm breathing, it's not over." He had no strength left in him, and this time Zaheer effortlessly dodged his attack and retaliated by throwing Tenzin back against the pillar with a blast of air to keep him pinned. All three of them started to attack, striking him with water whips, chucks of earth and air which made my heart clench in horror, seeing my uncle being so beat up before I couldn't hold it in anymore. With tears falling from my eyes, I rushed forwards and landed in a moving stance, hands moving of their own accord as I released all my feelings into a single shout.
"STOP IT!" They all froze. Their bodies stiffened, tensing up and twitching slightly, but not of their own accord. I felt a powerful will bending itself inside me as I breathed, brow furrowing dangerously as I began to pull at their bodies, making them turn to face me as my uncle slumped into unconsciousness. Zaheer stared, immediately recognising what I was doing whilst the other two took a moment to catch up. "That's my uncle. If you hurt him anymore…I'll kill you." And I meant every word, blood bending as I did. The sheer force of my rage and fury fuelled the ability I had secretly studied on my own, though everything had just been in theory, never practiced. Until now.
"Blood bender. You're a blood bender." Zaheer realised with a grunt, none of them able to move their own bodies as I controlled every ounce of moisture and water in their bodies, holding them down as I tried to think of what next to do, but right now I was quite happy holding them in pain, wanting them to feel the same way my uncle must be feeling. In agony. "If you are who I think you are, then your grandmother would be ashamed of you right now."
"Gran-gran's not here, unfortunately for you." I responded icily then dragged my hand across, forcing Zaheer's body to twist so that his arms moved behind his back and his body arched, making him howl slightly from the contortion as the other lady and lava man both hissed, struggling against my bond as I held them both with one hand focused at them, primarily concentrating on Zaheer at the moment as he was the main source of my rage right now. "Why are you after Korra? Why did you try to kidnap her when we were little? What do you want with her? Tell me!" Zaheer gasped for breath, struggling against the pain and was beginning to open his mouth when without warning, a combustion blast struck from above. Damn. I totally forgot about that one.
The shot wasn't close enough to hit me directly, but it was close enough that the aftershock knocked me off my feet and I lost concentration, which meant all three of them were now free. Within a heartbeat I was being held by the throat by the tentacle lady, ice freezing around my neck as she created a sharply pointed lance with the other and began to drive it towards me, my eyes widening in terror as I figured I was about to die. "Ming-Hua, stop!" The lady froze, listening to Zaheer who recovered on his knees for a moment, dusting himself off before unsteadily getting himself up. "We need her as a hostage. The Avatar will not be able to refuse us if we hold the air benders and her oldest friend in our grasps."
"But she's dangerous, Zaheer. She could try blood bending again. We have the air benders, that's enough!"
"No Ghazan. If we kill her and the Avatar finds out, then there will be no hope of a trade." Zaheer spoke as he walked towards me as my feet struggled to find the ground, choking on the ice as it held me in the air though Ming-Hua lowered me slightly so that Zaheer could look me in the eye. "You have a rare and wonderful gift, it would be a shame to cut you down and put such a gift to waste." Finding the last few remnants of my courage, I glowered at him.
"Korra won't lose to you. You've just sealed your own fate."
"No, it is the Avatar's fate who is sealed. Ming-Hua, Ghazan, let's finish here. Bring her with us, but make sure she is properly secured." Then before I knew it, I was knocked out and I saw a bright flash of light before everything went blank.
