The Legend of Korra - Book One: Air

by pavop

During her travel to the Republic City, Korra saves a mysterious man with dark past from drowning. Unknowingly for her it will lead to the events on Multiversal scales. They will be refencered and mentioned other characters, places and events outside ATLA/LOK Universe and even they will appear into the story.

5. The Spirit of Competion

It has been a few days since Korra's encounter with Amon at the Aang Memorial Island. Korra returned to her Pro-Bending training, of course accompanied by Patrick, but this time she did not mind at all. Furthermore, Patrick insisted on going with her. She thought he wanted to make sure she was safe but Patrick wanted to keep a close eye on her because of his nightmares.

It has started to get cold and snowy in the Republic City. Patrick inferred that local winter has come. He checked the data from his bracelet and found out that winter time had also come to his Universe.

So, both Universes have the same Time Zone, he thought.

The Multiverse was very varied in the matter of time itself. Some Parallel Universes had a completely different times than the others. For example, in one Universe one day lasted 4 years. In another Universe, day lasted a half-hour. So, travelers had to be careful where they spent their time. Fortunately, most of the visited Universes shared the same time.

Due to the cold, Korra took out her coat made from fur and the same color as the Water Tribe. And Pema borrowed Patrick some winter clothes, so he did not need to buy any.

Now Patrick was standing in the gym and watched as members of Fire Ferrets was training. Today they trained their defense and attacks.

Korra, using her Waterbending, created a water blob. Then she, on the sign from Mako, started launching water at him and Bolin. Bolin used an Earth Disc as a shield and Mako fire against the water attack. Then Mako fired some fire blasts against Korra and Bolin. Bolin counter-attacked with an Earth Disc and Korra with water. And so, it went over and over again.

Patrick started to be bored by watching it but luckily Pabu's bothering kept him company. Then something better came.

"How goes their training?" asked a female voice behind him.

Patrick turned around and saw Asami standing at the entrance to the gym. She had a black-red elegant jacket on and a skirt. There was a handcart standing next to her full of uniforms of the Fire Ferrets color.

"It goes well," Patrick replied.

"And how is she?" She motioned to Korra. "I heard about that thing with Amon."

Patrick looked at Korra, who continued in training. "She is alright now." He turned back to Asami. "And what do you bring?"

"Some uniforms with the logo of the Future Indrusties as the Fire Ferrets sponsor." Asami took one of the uniforms from the handcart and showed it to Patrick. It was the exact same uniform as the Fire Ferrets wore, just the logo was added in the middle of it. "I designed it myself. It was much cheaper than making new uniforms."

"Smart," Patrick remarked. She is not just beautiful and smart. She is also a fashion designer.

Asami returned the uniform back to the handcart. "And I want to apologize."

"For what?" Patrick wondered.

"We agreed to talk about batteries in Satomobiles the next time we meet. But I have lunch with Mako today."

"It is alright, Asami. Next time."

"I promise," she said with a smile.

Then those two watched the trio's training. Minutes slowly passed and those two sometimes glanced at each other. Asami looked at Patrick with nervousness. But Patrick was cool. He then noticed a golden hair clip in her hair. It was hidden well, but Patrick managed to spot it. He then remembered that this hair clip was worn by her mother in that picture from the newspapers.

Training of the Fire Ferrets went well until Mako hit his brother with a fire blast and he fell on the ground. But Bolin managed to send an Earth Disc, which hit Korra. And in this chain reaction, Korra managed to knockout Mako with a water. All three were now on the ground. After a few seconds, they started to laugh.

Mako stood up and took off his helmet. "It is great to have you back at training, Korra."

Korra took off her helmet. "I am also glad to be back. Even though Tarrlok is not happy about my departure from his task force."

"Hey, you joined the Fire Ferrets before you joined his task force," Bolin said. "So, that is his problem."

"Good then, team huddle time!" Mako announced.

The trio huddled up. Bolin gave Korra a flirting smile and she nervously smiled back at him. Then she flirty smiled at Mako and he looked at her discomforted. Then he started giving a speech about tonight's match.

"Tonight, we will have our first match of the Tournament. I know the three of us have not been a team for very long, but the Fire Ferrets have never been this great. Are we ready?"

"We are ready!" Bolin and Korra yelled simultaneously.

In the meantime, Asami pushed the handcart towards them. Patrick was right behind her. "Not quite. You will need these," she announced. She then presented them their new uniforms.

Mako smiled at her. "Hey, Asami."

"Good morning, sweetie," she replied.

Korra looked at them both annoyed. She was not happy that there was another woman in Mako's life other than her.

Mako took one of the new uniforms and looked at it. "It looks great."

"You look great," Asami replied.

Then they both did an Eskimo Kiss. Patrick was ignoring it, Bolin watched it with interest, and Korra showed disgust. But when Mako turned around, she quickly acted normal.

"Well, see you in tonight's match," Mako said. "Asami and I go for lunch." And they both walked out of the gym.

Before they left Patrick noticed that Asami gave him a quick smile.

Bolin waved at them. "Good, see you tonight."

Meanwhile, Korra picked up her bag and planned to change clothes and return to the Air Temple with Patrick. But Bolin had other plans.

He leaned in to her. "So, Korra. They are gone and we are here. Both alone. Just you and me."

Patrick looked at Bolin with disbelief. Did he just forget that I am here too when he came up with that terrible pick-up line?

Korra did not know what to say. "Well…" She paused for a moment. "I have to come back to the island with Patrick. Tenzin is expecting us soon."

Bolin nervously turned to Patrick and waved at him. Fool. You just forgot that he is here too.

Patrick just shook his head."I will wait for you outside," he said Korra and left the gym.

A few hours before the match, Mako and Bolin were in their room in the attic of the Arena. Mako started making dinner in the pan and Bolin struggled with getting Pabu into the bath.

"Come on, Pabu!" Bolin ordered. "Do you want to look nice in the new outfit, no?" But Pabu still protested. Eventually, Bolin managed to dip him.

So, when Pabu's bath was almost done, Bolin decided to ask his brother about some very particular matter.

"So, what do you think about Korra? I mean dating and stuff."

"Well…" Mako paused for a moment. "She is great, but it makes sense for me to be with Asami."

That quite annoyed Bolin. Mako was his older brother and a great protector, but sometimes he had a big ego. "I mean dating for me! Leave something for the rest of us!"

Mako was now a little embarrassed by his brother's statement. "I know what you meant," he tried to dodge it.

"So?" Bolin asked.

"I do not know, Bolin. It does not look like a good idea for you to date Korra."

"You just said she is great two seconds ago," Bolin reacted on Mako's change of opinion.

"Yes, Korra is a great athlete and the Avatar and other stuff. But she is not "girlfriend" type. She is more like a friend."

"You are a fool, Mako!" Bolin barfed. "Korra and I are perfect for each other. She is strong, I am strong. She is funny, I am funny. She is beautiful, I am gorgeous." Bolin noticed that Pabu was trying to escape from the bath, so he quickly caught him and put him back. "And I do not care what you think! I am going to ask Korra out."

Mako had to chuckle at that. "You forgot one thing. Korra already has a boyfriend: Patrick."

"Ohhh... there is nothing serious between them," Bolin said.

"Are you serious?" Mako turned his head towards him. "You do not remember how close they were to each other at that gala a few days ago? Or how is he watching her during our trainings lately?"

"He was her plus one at that gala, nothing more, and like she said before, he is her escort instead of a bunch of guys from the White Lotus."

Mako frustratedly shook his head. When his brother puts something into his own head, he can be pretty stubborn. Sometimes it is useful, sometimes not. "Whatever, but I just want to tell you that it is not smart to date a teammate during the Tournament. You need a clear head and focus."

"Good, good," Bolin whispered. He completely ignored what Mako told him and continued to bathe Pabu, while in the meantime he was putting together how he would ask Korra out.

At the Air Temple Island Korra and Patrick were helping Jinora, Ikki and Pema to fill the feeders for animals known as Ring-Tailed Winged Lemurs. To make that quick before the evening, they decided to split up. Korra went with Jinora and Ikki and Patrick went with Pema.

"So, what about winter clothes? Are they warm enough?" Pema asked while Patrick was putting fruits into the feeder while he was standing on a step ladder. Due to her pregnancy, it was up to Patrick to fill the feeders.

"Yes, it is," Patrick answered and climbed down. "And thank you by the way, for the clothes."

"You are welcome," Pema replied with a smile and accompanied him to the next feeder. "So, you have been with us more than two months."

"Time passes quickly," Patrick said.

"And do you plan to go somewhere?" Pema inquired.

Patrick knew that she would ask him about this. "Honestly… I do not know, but maybe I will stay here for pretty much a long time." He turned his head to her. "I hope that is not a problem."

Pema smiled at him. "No, it does not. On the contrary. I just wanted to know."

They came to the next feeder, and Patrick prepared the step ladder. After he climbed to the top, Pema handed him over a basket full of fruits for the Lemurs. She then turned to the cliff.

"Nice view, is it not?" she commented.

"Hmmmm," he murmured.

"Do you have a family, Patrick?"

"Yes… but we are not in touch much." He filled the feeder with fruits.

Pema turned to him worriedly. "What happened?"

"We…" Patrick did not want to fully answer. "We do not see eye to eye."

Pema sighed. "I know what you mean."

Patrick climbed down from the step ladder and, with interest, looked at her. "Your parents did not approve your marriage with Tenzin?"

"Kind of… yes. They thought I should marry better. But we worked it out. And I believe that one day you will be able to do it with your family as well."

If only it were that easy, he thought. Pema did not know nothing about his family.

"Well, that was our last feeder," Pema said. "Let's go check girls."

And they both went to the other side of the island. As they walked, Patrick looked at the snow-covered area. It quite reminded him of home and hence the fact that in a few weeks, his family in his Universe, will celebrate another Christmas without him. The fifth in a row. But he will not miss anything special.

He remembered one occurrence that happened a years ago before Christmas.

He was ten and he was in the room of his elder sister, repairing her broken clock. He was doing that in her bed because his sister occupied the rest of the space.

Her name was Tara and she had long black hair in a ponytail. She wore a loose azure t-shirt and ripped jeans on, which she was proving that she was a "rebel". She had an MP3 player attached to her belt and for the fifth time listened to Everybody by the Backstreet Boys and danced. Her entire room was full of posters of boy bands.

She exclaimed loudly lyrics of the song as she performed a dance move. She completely ignored that Patrick was with her in a room. She was in her world.

Patrick just shook his head in embarrassment and continued in a repairing. It would be much easier if he was doing that on Tara's table, but she will not let him use any of her stuff in her room as long as she is present.

Then he noticed that the door, on the side wall at the end of the bed, opened. An old woman entered, accompanied by another woman.

That old woman was their Grandmother. She had short-combed grey hair. Today she had a white blouse on with grey pants. She looked around the room with her arms crossed until she spotted Patrick. Her brown eyes strictly glared at him, so Patrick lowered his head back to work.

The other woman who was with their Grandmother was Clarissa, their nanny and governess. She was a middle-aged woman of medium build with auburn hair in a ponytail and always dressed into her grey clothes. She was cold, the coldest person Patrick known except for his grandparents.

Tara had her back to them and continued to listen and dance, not noticing their presence.

Grandmother came to her and tapped on her shoulder. Surprised Tara turned around and when she saw who was standing in front of her, she quickly took off her headphones.

"Grandma?" she asked confusedly.

"You missed ten minutes of your ballet lesson," Grandmother said in a cold tone.

On Tara's face appeared a shock. A great shock. "Oh, I am so sorry… I just lost the track of time. I will –"

Her Grandmother did not let her finish the sentence and slapped her hard. Tara had to hold on to the table to keep her balance.

"You missed out very important time."

Tara wanted to assure her that she would make it right. "Do not worry-"

Grandmother slapped her again and waited for Tara to recover herself. "Oh, I am not worried. I know you will work hard, but I want you to remember your duties, young lady. So, go to your ballet lesson or I will slap you so long until you get there. Understand?"

Tara held her affected part of the face and nodded that she understood. She placed the MP3 player on the table. She quickly looked at Patrick. "Do not touch my stuff, shithead, while I am gone!" And she quickly left the room, passing Clarissa by.

Grandmother then turned to Patrick. "Dinner will be soon. Until then, you will finish repairing that clock and you will not leave the room until you are done," she ordered.

"Yes," Patrick replied.

"Good. Clarissa will make sure of that." She motioned to the governess and left the room.

Patrick was now alone with Clarissa watching him. Time passed slowly, so he decided to make it easier and finally took the work to Tara's table. After a half hour he was almost done but he needed one crucial part. Part that he had in his own room.

So, he turned around and wanted to head to his room to get that part, but Clarissa quickly blocked the entrance. Patrick almost forgot that she was with him in the room.

"Where do you think you are going, young man?" she asked in a cold tone.

"I am almost finished. I just need one part from my room and the clock will be repaired," he explained.

"No."

"But I need that part."

"Your Grandmother said that you do not leave this room until you are done."

Patrick made a gesture of open arms in anger. "Where should I get that part?"

"Be resourceful, young man. Be resourceful."

Patrik shook his head, turned around and came back to the table. He started to think about what to do. He could make that part but he did not have the necessary tools and he could not get rid of Clarissa, otherwise she could tell that to Grandmother. Then he spotted Tara's MP3 player.

He sighed. He knew that Tara would beat him after this but he was more afraid of Grandmother. So, he took an MP3 player and started to dismantle it. After a few minutes, he managed to repair the clock. He then showed his work to Clarissa.

She nodded in satisfaction. "Good. Go eat."

Their dining table was large and made of the finest wood in the world. It was designed for a great feast and for many people. Patrick was eating soup from a very decorative dish, which was part of a very expansive set of porcelain his family possessed.

Next to him was sitting his Uncle Martin. He was a man in his 30s with short raven hair. He was wearing a blue dressing gown and strong sunglasses. He just took a few pills to help him fight his hangover.

"Hey, Pat," he said after a moment of silence. "Where is your brother and sister?" He looked around the vast, empty dining hall. "And the rest of our family?"

"Tara is at her ballet lesson and Felix is training with the twins outside," Patrick answered after taking a sip of soup. "Mom is with Uncle Anton abroad. And I do not know about the rest."

"Oh…," Uncle Martin commented aloud. He still looked confused. "I should probably stop drinking."

I think it is high time, Patrick thought and took another sip of soup. Then somebody or something took his chair in a quick motion and he fell hard to the stone floor. He almost lost consciousness from that fall.

He quickly looked up and saw Tara standing above his head. She was dressed in her ballet outfit and had a chair in her hand. She was very angry. Patrick knew what that was for.

"I told you: Do not touch my stuff!" she screamed. She stepped over him so she was standing in front of him. She sat down on his chest and the pressure started to choke Patrick. She grabbed him by the throat and squeezed.

Patrick wanted to fight, but he knew that Tara was stronger than him. He was only ten years old.

"Hey, let him be!" Uncle Martin protested.

Tara turned her head to him and pointed at him. "Stay out of this, drunkard!" She turned back to Patrick. "This is between me and this little shit!"

Patrick lost track of time. It was probably a few seconds since Tara started choking him, but for him it was minutes. His brain was losing oxygen and he was about to blackout when he heard his savior.

"Tara!" Grandmother screamed.

Tara quickly stood up and backed away from Patrick. He started gasping for air.

Grandmother was standing at entrance to the dining hall and looked at that affair with anger. She then angrily gazed at Uncle Martin, who quickly stood up and looked down to avoid eye contact with her.

"Mom," he said nervously.

Grandmother shook her head angrily and turned back to Tara.

"He destroyed my MP3 player!" Tara exclaimed.

"You mean that thing that distracted you from performing your duties?" Tara did not say a word, instead she was looking away. Grandmother took a step closer to her. "That thing that made you look and act like some common whore?" She once again took a step closer. "Maybe it is a good thing that thing is gone. But you, young lady, you need a lecture. But this time your Mother will handle it."

Tara looked scared. "You cannot tell-"

"Go to your room, young lady," Grandmother ordered in a cold tone.

Tara with no more words left the dining hall. Grave silence has come. Grandmother then turned to her son.

"You are not even capable of the simplest job!" She then turned to Patrick, who was still on the ground and trying to recover. "And you get up and finish your meal!" She left the dining hall in a hurry.

Patrick stood up, took the chair and sat back down.

"I am sorry, boy," Uncle Martin said in a downcast tone. "I should have done something."

Patrick continued to eat. He was trying to hold back the tears. "It is alright, Uncle. Go back to your drinking. That is where you are best."

Uncle Martin looked downcast at Patrick and left the dining hall rather than be reminded how great a failure he was himself.

Patrick finished the rest of the dinner alone in the dining hall.

It was a deep night when Patrick was sleeping in his room. Then he felt that somebody was gently shaking him. He opened his eyes and saw that his clock showed 3 a.m. He turned around, still sleepy, to see a female figure sitting on his bed. It was his Mother. She came back from her journey.

She had medium-length raven hair and light blue eyes. She was dressed in all black. And even though the only source of light was coming through the opened door, he could see that she had dried blood on her hands. Her journey was not without complications. And he knew that that person, to whom that blood belonged, did not end well.

"Mom?" Patrick asked.

"Hey sweetheart," she said while smiling at him. "Can you go with me?"

"Where?"

"You will see."

Patrick reluctantly got off the bed and, still in his pyjamas, followed his Mother. As they were walking, he slowly started waking up.

A few minutes later, fully awake, he could see where they were headed. Into the training room. The doors were wide open and he could hear that there were some people there.

As they entered the large stone room filled with all kinds of weapons, Patrick immediately noticed that his Grandfather and Grandmother were standing aside by the wall. To their left, a huge man with an unkempt beard was sitting on the bench while another woman was tending to his wounds. It was Patrick's Uncle Anton and that woman was his wife, Maria. And in the middle of the room was Tara, in a t-shirt and shorts, standing in the small arena. She looked very nervous.

Patrick did not often visit this training room. It was built by his ancestors so that his family could learn and practice all the possible combat techniques. But Patrick was one of the few in their family who never spent almost all day there, unlike Tara or Felix.

"Wait here and watch," his Mother said.

Patrick obeyed and watched as his mother went to a stand at the arena and pulled out two pairs of Kali sticks. One pair she threw at Tara's feet.

"Take it and prepare yourself," she commanded Tara.

"Mom," Tara replied. "Can we please talk about it instead?" Her voice was shaking.

"Oh, yes, we will talk but first take it and prepare yourself." Tara did not say a word; she just stood and nervously looked away. Her mother took off her black jacket, revealing her black undershirt. "I said: Take it and prepare yourself for a fight!"

"Come on, young lady," Grandmother said. "Do not make us wait."

Tara nervously picked up Kali sticks from the ground and went into fighting position.

"Good," Mother said. After a few seconds, she attacked her.

Tara barely covered the attacks.

"Good. You know the basics. Let's go advanced." Mother attacked her again. Tara managed to block her few hits. But her mother quickly hit her in the thigh.

Tara screamed in pain, dropped the Kali stick to hold her affected thigh.

"You are not focusing at all. Pick up the stick and let's go again."

"Mom, I do not want to!" Tara protested.

"Really?" Mother asked sarcastically. "I thought you were practicing while I was gone. But no, you ignored your duties and attacked your brother. So, let's go again!"

She attacked Tara with full fury. For Tara, with a Kali stick in one hand and the other hand on her thigh, it was quite hard to block all her attacks. In less than five seconds, her Mother hit her in the stomach and full force in her face. Tara fell to the ground.

"Enough!" Tara yelled and spit the blood out of her mouth. She then started crying. "Please."

Her Mother grabbed her up by the hair and looked into her crying face. "You have enough?! So, for the next time, young lady, never ignore your duties and never touch your brother. Do we understand each other?"

"But… but he is a bastard…"

"What did you say?"

"That he is a bastard." Tara looked at the rest of the family in the training room. "Everybody here is calling him a bastard child."

Her Mother was about to slap her when suddenly Grandfather decided to finally speak out. "Hold on!" Tara's mother put her hand down and he turned his gaze on his granddaughter. "Tara, look at our family's crest."

Tara looked at him baffled, then her Mother pulled her hair and turned her towards where Patrick was standing. The young boy turned around and saw their family crest carved into the wall above the entrance.

"Our family is like a very well-oiled machine," Grandfather said and walked to Tara. "And every member is a cog wheel. Each contributes to the whole, in one way or another. If we fought among ourselves, that machine would break. So, even if your brother is a bastard, he can still contribute to us in the future, and hurting him is like hurting us, hurting yourself."

Patrick observed how his mother did not react this time when Grandfather used the word "bastard". She had always acted coldly in front of Grandfather.

Grandfather grabbed Tara by the chin and make her look into his eyes. "So, remember what I just told you or you will get punished. Worse, much worse. Are we clear, young lady?"

"Yes," Tara answered.

"I did not hear you."

"Yes!" Tara raised her voice.

Her Mother released her. "Go see Aunt Maria to patch you up and then take your brother back to his room," she ordered.

Later, when Patrick was waiting for Tara, he saw that his Mother brought out a big bag to Grandfather, who stood in the back of the training room. When Grandfather opened it up, Patrick could see a bunch of relics that belonged to their family. Then they tried to speak about them silently, but Patrick was able to read their lips.

"Did everything go well?" Grandfather asked, inspecting the relics.

"He wanted double. Then his men had shown up and that is why Anton is looking like this. But we got him and made him give it to us for free." Mother gestured to her bloodied hands. "He screamed a lot."

Grandfather smiled. "Good. Let them know not to double-cross us."

As Patrick was reading from their lips, Tara came and grabbed him by the collar. "Let's go, shithead." She then pulled him to herself.

Patrick broke free from her grip. "I think I can walk on my own!"

"Fine, but go!"

As they were walking back to their rooms, Patrick could see that a big bruise was starting to appear on Tara's face.

"Do not look, shithead!" she barked out.

Patrick obeyed and when he reached his room, Tara slammed door behind him. He went back to bed and then he noticed a calendar on his table. Christmas was a few weeks away.

His further remembering was interrupted by Pema's voice. "Patrick, are you alright?"

"What?" Patrick reacted.

"One second you stopped and the next you just looked at the snow," Pema explained.

"Oh… When we talked about family earlier, I just remembered something."

Pema nodded with a smile. "Yes, I know this reminiscing. You are not the only one. But let's go see the girls."

In the meantime, on the other side of the island, Korra stood up on the step ladder and filled the feeder.

"So, how is it going with your tall Firebender?" Jinora suddenly asked. "You two have been spending a lot of time together lately."

"What?" Korra asked in surprise.

"Or what about you and Patrick?" Jinora changed the question with a smile. "The way he carried you back to the island back then was so romantic." She blushed. "And you two… spent a night together."

"Really?" Ikki yelled. "Tell us what you two have been doing there!"

Korra climbed down. "We have not done anything, and there is no great love between me and Patrick. And the same goes for Mako. Besides, he now has that elegant, rich girl." Korra put down the basket and innocently looked at the girls. "But if I were interested in Mako, what would I do?"

"Ohh," Jinora said with interest. "I just read a historical saga where the heroine fell in love with an enemy general's son, who was supposed to marry a princess. You should do what she did!"

Korra leaned towards her. "Tell me!" She was excited that she was about to hear Jinora's suggestion.

"Well…she rode a dragon into a battle and burned the whole country. And then she jumped into a volcano. It was so romantic."

Korra's excitement quickly disappeared. This was not what she wanted to hear. She did not even have a dragon to begin with. "Uhh…"

"No,no,no," Ikki yelled quickly. "The best way to win a boy's heart is to brew a love potion of rainbows and sunsets that will give the lovers wings and they will fly to the magic castle in the sky. Then they both get married there and then eat clouds with a spoon and use stars as ice cubes in their moonlight punch. And forever and ever!" Ikki then used her Airbending to get in the air for a moment in excitement.

Korra did not know what to say to this either. "Well… the volcano now seems to me more logical."

Then they heard Pema's laugh behind Korra. All three of them turned around and saw Pema with Patrick standing a few meters from them.

Korra nervously smiled. "Hey, Pema… Patrick. How long are you two standing there?"

"Long enough," Patrick replied.

Korra knew that he meant that he and Pema heard when she spoke with Jinora and Ikki about love between her and Patrick. So, she widened her nervous smile. "Ohh… This is so embarrassing," she said through her teeth, while she heard how Jinora and Ikki giggled behind her back.

Patrick turned to Pema. "I think I should go." He took an empty basket from her.

Pema nodded in understanding. "Yes, you should. This is between girls," she said with a smile. She waited for Patrick to leave, and then she turned to Korra. "I know what you are going through. Many years ago, I was in exactly the same position with Tenzin."

Ikki's giggle disappeared. "Dad was in love with someone else before you?"

Pema turned to her youngest daughter. "That is right."

"So, what did you do?" Korra asked.

"To be honest, I did nothing for a long time," Pema answered. "I was so shy and scared of rejection, but watching the love of my life spend his life with the wrong woman became too painful, but it also gave me enough courage to confess my love to Tenzin." Pema placed her hands on the pregnant belly. "And you know the rest."

Korra, Jinora and Ikki clasped their hands and tilted their heads to the left. "Wooow!" Pema's story was so romantic. Then Korra got the idea that she could do the same with Mako. Maybe it will work.

A few hours later, the Pro-Bending Arena was booming with people. Everyone came to see the first match in the Pro-Bending Tournament. Patrick was seated down in some sort of box that was for the prominent citizens of the Republic City. It was a favor from Butakha, who perhaps believed that Patrick could again help him with betting.

Patrick did not mind that Butakha wanted to use him, it was much better than standing or sitting around so many loud-mouthed people. He then spotted that someone was waving at him in the opposite box. It was an Asami with Pabu on her shoulder. Bolin probably asked her to keep watch over his pet during a match. Patrick waved her back.

After a few minutes, the lights in the Arena went off and the lights on the ceiling above the Playing Field on. The match was about to begin.

"Ladies and gentlemen, with great pleasure I can announce that after a year of waiting, the Pro-Bending Tournament is here!" The Announcer said into the mic. "And I can tell you that this year we have here the most tenacious and talented Pro-Bending teams!"

Sliding bridges from both sides of the Arena started to move to the Playing Field with both teams on them.

"Tonight, we have the Future Industries Fire Ferrets vs. the Red Sands Rabaroos!"

Rabaroos? Patrick almost wanted to laugh.

After a few seconds the both teams got into fighting stances and waited for the bell. The bell rang, and it started. Both teams started to exchange the attacks or evade them. Korra managed to dodge two Earth Discs. Then, she with the assistance of Bolin, blasted away one of the Rabaroos, which allowed the Fire Ferrets to move to the next zone.

"What an explosive opening volley!" the Announcer described. "The Fire Ferrets made an excellent improvement, mainly the Avatar. No wonder we have not seen her lately, she probably trained days and nights at the gym, and thanks to that the Fire Ferrets advance."

The Fire Ferrets kept up with the attacks at Rabaroos. Mako sent some fire fists and dodged the water attack. Bolin sent an Earth Disc at a member of the Rabaroos in the middle. Rabaroos member in the last minute dodged it. In the meantime, the member of Rabaroos on the left was taken down by a water attack from Korra.

"Mako just showed us a nice dodge," the Announcer kept on describing. "Bolin sends an Earth Disc at Ula, but she dodges it."

Ula and her teammate were bombarded with attacks and few seconds later, both fell down.

"All three Rabaroos are down! The Fire Ferrets won the first round!"

The rest of the match went smoothly. The Fire Ferrets won all three rounds without any problems. The Announcer called the trio "a well-oiled Bending machine".

After the bell rang, the crowd and fans began to cheer for the victorious Fire Ferrets.

"The Fire Ferrets won the opening match of the Tournament!" the Announcer yelled.

"That is what I am talking about!" Bolin said to the team. After Korra and Mako left the Playing Field for the team changing area, he stayed and waved at people. "Thank you all. You are the greatest fans!"

At the changing area, Mako took off his helmet. "We were really awesome together in the ring!" he yelled happily. Korra was right behind him.

"Yes!" Korra began to blush as she was about to begin her plan to confess her feelings to Mako. "You…know, we could also be awesome together outside of the Playing Field."

Mako opened his locker and put his helmet inside. He then slowly realized what Korra meant. "Sure…" he replied nervously.

"I think we could spend some time together."

"We have been spending a lot of time together."

"I mean the time when we are not training, looking for kidnapped brothers or fighting Chi-Blockers."

Mako turned to her. "I do not know. Asami and I-"

Suddenly, Korra rushed to him. "Look, I really like you and I think we are meant for each other!" she said quickly.

At that moment, Patrick entered the changing area and witnessed the whole thing. Korra and Mako slowly turned to him, with shock on their faces.

After a few seconds of embarrassing silence, Patrick decided to speak. "I…think I will go wait outside just for a moment longer." He quickly abandoned the room. He did not want to be part of this love drama.

When he disappeared, Mako turned to his locker and started to think about what to say to Korra . She, on the other hand, quickly turned around and tried to hide her blushing but also to hide how embarrassed she felt right now.

What have I done?! she thought.

"Korra…" Mako tried to find words. He did not want to hurt her. "I am really sorry, but I do not feel that same way."

"Forget everything I said…" Korra replied in embarrassment. She went to the bench and placed the helmet on it. Her "confession" did not turn out the way she imagined. She made it worse.

On the other side of closed doors, Patrick slowly counted the seconds. Well, for the next time, do not be so in a hurry, he thought. He then spotted Asami approaching.

"Why do you stand here?" she asked. "Are they changing or something?"

"I think they deserve more time to celebrate with each other after this perfect victory," he answered. He did not want to tell her what he saw. In the end, it was nothing, and Korra has a bad habit of talking first and thinking later.

"Oh…" Asami put her hand on her hip and waited for a few seconds. "I think we can now congratulate them." She opened the doors and entered. Patrick went right behind her.

"Congratulations!" Asami said and walked over to Mako. Pabu, meanwhile, left her shoulder and ran to Bolin. And Korra was standing alone by the bench. "You were so amazing out there!" Asami kissed Mako on the cheek.

Mako should be happy that Asami kissed him, but he was not. Instead, he looked uncomfortable at Korra, and she gave him the same look. No one noticed except Patrick.

So, Mako went a few steps away with Asami. Maybe it will ease the situation.

But Korra was not the only one who gathered the courage to confess to their feelings tonight. Bolin immediately approached her with a smug smile.

"So, Korra… I was thinking we should go to dinner together," he suggested.

"Oh, that is really sweet, Bolin. But I am no type for dinners." She was not in the mood at all for something like this.

"Are you kidding me? You are the smartest, funniest, buffest, talentedest, incrediblest girl I know!"

You really practiced it in front of the mirror, did not you? Patrick thought, but he was also surprised at how Bolin was completely ignoring his presence.

Bolin saw that his sweet compliments did not move Korra. So, he decided to change his tactics a little bit. "How about you, me and Patrick go together to Narook's Seaweed Noodlery? To celebrate our victory." He turned to Patrick. "I still owe you after how you saved me from Amon. And I will not take no as an answer this time."

Patrick shrugged off. "So be it. At least I will eat something else than a vegetable." Then they both glanced at Korra and waited for her answer.

"I promise that we will have so much fun," Bolin added.

Korra smiled. Maybe Bolin's offer could not be so bad. In the end, she should celebrate tonight's victory and not drown in sorrow. "Yes."

"Yes! Who is the luckiest guy in the world right now? Me!" Bolin said excitedly.

Mako watched as the trio left the changing area. He wanted to watch further but Asami made him to look into her eyes. Then she placed her head on his shoulder and embraced him. But Mako could not focus on her. He still needed to think about Korra.

Narook's Seaweed Noodlery was a ground-floor restaurant located in one narrow alley in the Republic City. It got its popularity among the people thanks to its fair prices.

The restaurant was a Water Tribe themed and included the food. But sadly, the bigger animals were not allowed inside, so Naga had to stay out.

Korra did not know that this type of restaurant existed in the Republic City and she was glad that her favorite foods were on the menu, even though she doubted they would taste the same as from her mother or Ama.

The trio ordered a bowl of noodles. After a few seconds, Patrick witnessed how Bolin and Korra were gulping down the noodles. He almost lost his appetite.

"So, how do you like it?" Bolin asked while he slurped his own noodles.

"It is delicious!" Korra answered with a full mouth. "I almost forgot how much I missed the food of the Water Tribe. But still, it does not compare to the food from Ama."

"Really?" Bolin wondered. "And who is that Ama?"

"Yes," Patrik joined the conversation. "This is the third time you mentioned her."

Korra started slurping another noodle. "Ama is our neighbor in the Southern Water Tribe. She helped my parents a lot during my childhood, and sometimes she babysat me. She is a great woman. Maybe I should one day write her and invite her here." She then glanced at Patrick's bowl. "And how do you like it?"

"Well…" Patrick started eating. "It is good. Maybe I should try more often the food of the Water Tribe."

Bolin decided to take the initiative. "My favorite food is also from the Water Tribe." He looked at eating Korra. "See! We have something in common!"

Really, Bolin? Patrick thought.

Korra slurped a noodle and then she looked behind Bolin. "Hey… who is that boy, glaring at us?"

Bolin and Patrick turned their heads and saw a group of young people sitting a few tables away from them. Three girls and three boys. All of them were looking at them. But who Korra probably meant was the boy in the middle.

He had lighter skin and a black coiffured hairstyle with a side fringe. He was dressed in elegant clothes, and two of the three girls in the group were fawning over him.

Bolin sighed in frustration. Such a nice evening gone wrong. "That is Tahno and his team, the Wolfbats, Champions of the Tournament. Three times in a row." Bolin made a gesture number three and worriedly looked at Korra. "Do not make eye contact with him."

Patrick closely looked at Tahno. Wolfbats? He looks like a K-pop star.

Korra ignored Bolin's warning and kept eye contact with Tahno. One of the girls then whispered something into his ear, and then she and the other girl started giggling. Tahno grandiosely stood up and, with others of his crew, started walking to the trio's table.

Bolin quickly turned back to Korra. "Here he comes! Please, do not mess with this guy. He is quite…" He did not even finish the sentence and started eating noodles out of nervousness.

"Well, well, well. The Fire Ferrets in person," Tahno said in an arrogant tone. "The most pitiful excuse of Pro-Bending in entire history." He turned his head to Bolin, who continued to eat. "How in the spirits could you two amateurs get into the Tournament?" His glance then turned to Korra. "And how did you get the Avatar on your team?"

Korra snorted in anger. She did not like Tahno's attitude.

Tahno leaned toward her. "If you want to be among professionals and be a real Pro-Bender, I could give you some private lessons," he suggested in a slimy, seductive tone.

Korra was about to respond to him, when the silence was broken by hysterical laugh. Everybody at the table turned to see that it was coming from Patrick. He was laughing so loudly.

"Is something funny to you?" Tahno asked in outrage.

"Just…" Patrick was trying to answer while he kept laughing. "Just… If that is your pickup line, then I feel sorry for the ladies." He paused for a moment to catch his breath. "I have never heard anything that pathetic in my entire life."

Tahno straightened up and looked at Patrick with a threatening expression. "Are you saying that I am pathetic."

"Well… if you say so," Patrick responded with a smile.

At that moment, Korra started to chuckle a little. Tahno became even angrier.

"You dare?!" he exclaimed.

"Yes, I dare," Patrick said in a cold tone. "So, how about you take your friends and these three ladies, who only came with you because you are famous, and go back to your table? We have a dinner here."

Tahno turned to his group, to his bootlickers. He could see that neither of them could help him in this situation, and he should probably go, but his ego was too big. He quickly turned back to Patrick. "Do you want to fight?" He got into a fighting stance.

Korra wanted to step in, but Bolin stopped her. "You cannot hit him, Korra! If you do that, we are out of the Tournament."

Patrick understood what Bolin meant. The Pro-Bending rules prohibit players from attacking each other outside the Playing Field under the punishment of disqualification.

"But I can hit him, Bolin. In the end, I am no member of the Fire Ferrets." Patrick stood up and walked around the table to face Tahno. "So, show us how big a pro you are," he challenged him.

"You will be going to regret that!" Tahno smirked. "But as a team player, I will give you the first shot."

Patrick shook his head. "No, no. I think you should go first. After all, I only need one hit to take you down. So, go first."

Tahno started using his Waterbending and, with water from nearby bowls of the other guests, created a water blob.

Bolin looked at that whole situation scared, just like the other guests at the restaurant. Tahno's teammates had an amused expression. They expected that Tahno will mop the floor with Patrick. And Korra could see that Patrick had just his hands in the pocket and did not move a muscle. And then she remembered that he had the same posture when he fought the Chi-Blockers a few weeks ago.

Tahno launched a water spring at Patrick with enormous speed, but still Patrick did not move a bit. Then it happened. Water did not hit Patrick at all; instead, a transparent blue wall came up and a water projectile came back at Tahno. It threw the surprised Waterbender back several meters to the ground.

Bolin and Korra looked at Patrick with surprise. But more shocked was Tahno's group.

"You…You attacked me!" he yelled as he was trying to get back on his feet.

"I did not. You attacked first. And everybody saw it." Patrick gestured to the guests of the restaurant. "So, how about you sit back down at your place and enjoy this evening?" Without looking at him any further, Patrick sat down back on his seat at the table.

One of the girls that fawned over him tried to help Tahno, but he quickly pushed her away. After a few seconds, he decided to let it go. There will be enough opportunities for him to get revenge. He motioned to his crew that they were leaving.

As Patrick watched the group leave, he noticed that one of the girls, the one with the green dress and black hair, was looking at him and gave him a small smile. So he smiled back at her. She then turned back to the group and left the restaurant with them.

"I must say, you have quickly become my personal HERO!" Bolin said excitedly. "First Amon and now Tahno!"

"Well, Bolin," Patrick said. "Just like you said: You are the luckiest guy in the world."

"I hope so," Bolin whispered, glancing at Korra for a moment.

"I wanted to stand up and use Naga's roar," Korra said. "But your approach was much more…stylish."

"I think Naga's roar would do the job as well," Patrick remarked. "But you are right. My approach was more stylish."

Korra shook her head with a smile at Patrick's vanity. This evening, except for that debacle with confession to Mako, was going well.

"Want to go another round?" Patrick suggested. "I will pay for that one. And even some extra because of that show a minute ago."

Bolin put his hands on his belly. "Bring it on!"

"Same," Korra added.

After another round of bowls of noodles, Patrick excused himself to go to Air Temple Island. Leaving Bolin and Korra alone.

"Have fun, kids," he said and went to the owner of the restaurant, Narook, to pay the bill for the noodles and something extra for that situation with Tahno. Narook, without problems, accepted yuans and said to Patrick that he could come back anytime.

Bolin was glad to have Korra for himself for the rest of the night. He did not mind Patrick at all, but still, he was much happier that he was with Korra alone. After Narook's restaurant, they both went to some local bar where they competed with each other to see who could drink up cocktails faster. During that Bolin managed to burp loudly. He felt ashamed in front of Korra, but she decided to burp as well so he would not feel bad. Bolin took it as a challenge and burped even louder. Eventually, Korra won with the loudest burp, which even scared and disgusted some guests at the bar. Bolin and Korra only laughed at it.

Bolin then took Korra to a metal tower called the Harmony Tower, which was the tallest tower in the Republic City and provided its visitors an unforgettable view. Korra eventually found out herself while Bolin was amorously looking at her.

Tonight is going so well and tomorrow night will be even better! he thought.

Meanwhile, in his room on the Air Temple Island, Patrick pulled a small device from his pocket. This thing can detect and record any psychic activity in the area. Patrick had it activated all day. Maybe it could give him an answer if Korra is responsible for his nightmares. But the device showed nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Fuck, he sighed. He was back again at the start but he knew he was on the right track. He looked at his bed and mentally prepared himself for another nightmare.

The next day, he accompanied Korra to the Arena for the next match. Since he was still sleepy, his nightmare from the last night was very intense, Korra had a head start. So, he told her that he would take a walk before going to the Arena, so she would not have to wait for him.

Korra continued to the official entrance to the Arena. As she got closer, she spotted Mako sitting down on the stairs. He was looking angry at her.

Mako stood up. "What kind of game are you playing?"

Korra was quite confused by his question. "Pro-Bending? We are about to have a quarterfinal match."

"No, I mean with Bolin. You are using him to get back at me."

Korra could not believe that Mako would accuse her of something like that. "No. We were just having fun last night. And why do you care, anyway?"

"I am looking out for my little brother. I do not want his heart to be broken," Mako explained.

"Wait a second…" Then something occurred to Korra. Maybe her confession from the last night really worked. "You are jealous! You do have feelings for me!"

"What? Jealous?" Mako asked irritably. "Pheew. That is a joke, right?"

Korra smirked. "Admit it! You like me."

"No. I am with Asami."

"But when you are with her, you are thinking about me," Korra corrected him.

"Get over yourself!" Mako replied in anger.

"I am the only one honest here!"

"You are quite crazy!"

"You are a liar!"

Mako and Korra then exchanged angry glances before they walked each separately into the Arena.

Worse than Patrick! Korra thought as she walked inside.

Patrick watched that whole thing from afar. Thanks to the reading of lips, he knew what they were talking about. Luckily, I do not have to deal with all this romance bullshit. But honestly, he was on Korra's side. She was not the type of girl, who would use someone to get what she wanted.

Somebody then tapped on his shoulder. Patrick turned around and saw Asami in front of him.

"Hey!" she greeted.

"Hi," Patrick replied. "I thought you would be in the Arena already."

"Well… I thought I would take a walk before the next match." She looked at the sea. "Nice view, no?"

"From the Air Temple Island is also great."

"And how about we finally go to lunch and discuss that design of the battery? We cannot put it off forever." She smiled.

Patrick nodded. "Agreed."

"Do you know any good place?"

Patrick smirked. "Actually… I do."

They both sat down at one of the tables at Narook's restaurant. The restaurant was almost empty, so the waitress quickly came to them. They both ordered some specials on the menu. The waitress took their orders and left.

Asami looked around. "Nice place. I never knew this restaurant existed in the Republic City." She chuckled. "Actually, it will be the first time I eat some Water Tribe cooking."

"Mine too." He paused for a moment. "And how is the daughter of the most famous industrialist in the Republic City?"

Asami smiled at him. "Are you really asking me that?"

"We cannot just talk about batteries all day, can we?" Patrick remarked with a smile.

Asami chuckled. "You are right. Yes, I am doing fine. Me and my father are about to open a new factory in the city."

"Really?"

"I am not just a pretty face, Patrick. In the last few months, I have been helping my father run the company. And now I spend quite a lot of time in his office instead of him."

"I believe you. Where I come from, companies are already owned by much younger people than us. And your father is doing what instead of running a company?"

"He is working on something at home. I do not know what exactly, but he told me that it will change everything. So, I am letting his inner genius go."

"That is nice of you," Patrick commented.

The waitress brought the bowls and the duo started eating.

"Hmmm… I must say, it does taste good," Asami remarked.

"I agree," Patrick added.

After they were done eating, they finally started talking about the new kind of batteries for the Satomobiles. They talked about how to make them smaller and how to store more power in them. Asami was amazed at how smart Patrick was. And he was amazed at how her intelligence matched her beauty.

What was supposedly to be only one hour of talking, stretched into several hours of fruitful conversation between them. In the process, they ordered some more food.

"I think we can manage to make this type of battery in less than six months. It would need some more testing, but I think we could make it through," Asami said. She only regretted that she did not bring any paper to draw the designs that she had talked about with Patrick.

"I believe you do," Patrick smiled.

"What time is it?" she asked.

Patrick looked at his bracelet. "Late afternoon." Then they both realized what that meant.

"We missed the match."

"I am so sorry. I talked too much."

"No, it is alright," Asami assured him. "I was the one who kept asking the questions. Even though you always managed to explain it to me. And… If I can be honest, I do not mind that I missed the match. Tomorrow there will be another one, and this was quite a helpful conversation."

"I am glad that you see this way."

"But I should go home and make some drafts before I forget everything we discussed."

Asami stood up. "See you next time, Patrick," she said with a smile and left the restaurant.

See you too, Patrick thought, and fully leaned his back against the chair.

A waitress came to him and asked him if he wanted anything else.

"Actually, I would…" And he started to order dinner.

Korra stood at the dock outside the Arena. She was unhappy. Today's match with Boar-q-Pines did not go well. Yesterday's well-oiled Bending machine has started grinding. She and Mako were completely out of rhythm and focus because they could not stop thinking about themselves. They almost lost the match if Bolin had not won the tiebreaker. But despite what happened, she still could not get over her feelings for Mako and that made her feel sad and angry.

Young Firebender approached her. "We need to talk about it. Sometimes you can be so infuriating. But I-"

"Save your breath," Korra interrupted him. "You have already made it clear how you feel about me."

"No, I have not," Mako replied. "What I am trying to say is: As much as you drive me crazy, I also think you are pretty amazing."

Korra pricked up her ears and quickly turned to him. "So, you do like me?"

Mako wanted to correct her. "Yes, but I like Asami too." He sighed in frustration. "I do not know. Things are complicated. And I am really confused a-"

At that moment, Korra passionately kissed him. She turned off her thinking and let her instincts take over. It was her first kiss and it felt great. For a short moment, she thought that Mako would push her away, but no, he kissed her back. She started to blush. She opened her eyes and saw something that she hoped she would never see. She did not want this to happen. She broke the kiss and looked down, fully ashamed.

Mako did not understand why she did that or why she had this expression. Then he turned around and saw why.

It was a Bolin, standing a few meters away from them, holding flowers. Tonight, he planned to confess his love to Korra. After two victories in the Tournament, in which he saved the day in the last one, he thought fate was on his side. He even took Pabu with him to have courage. But now, when he saw Mako and Korra kissing, he did not know what to do.

A cold breeze blew over him one second, and in the next he was crying.

Mako tried to calm him down. "Bolin, it is not what you think!" But Bolin ignored him, threw the flowers away and ran away. Mako, in anger, turned to Korra. "Look, what have you done!"

"You are blaming me?" she asked.

"You kissed me!"

"And you kissed me back!" Korra added.

Mako growled in anger. He knew she was right about the last part. He messed up big time. He needed to find Bolin quickly and explain the whole situation to him. Without a word, he ran after him.

Korra shook her head. She messed up big time. "Well played, Korra. Well played. What would Patrick have said to you on this?"

Patrick was about to leave the Narook's restaurant when Bolin rushed in. He was crying a lot.

"Patrick…" he whined.

"Bolin, what happened?"

"Mako… Korra…" Bolin could not say more words without crying.

"Come and sit down," Patrick invited him to the table.

Bolin sat down at the table without hesitation. Patrick sat beside him and Pabu climbed off Bolin's shoulder onto the table.

Patrick waited for a few seconds and then decided to ask the sobbing Earthbender again. "What happened?"

"They..they…" Bolin kept crying. "You are my only true friend, Patrick, right now. You and Pabu."

Patrick sighed. He called the waitress to the table and ordered something to eat and drink for Bolin. After an hour and many bowls and drinks, Bolin finally started to talk.

"And then… and then I saw them kissing each other in the dock," Bolin finished a story in a drunken state. "He betrayed me. My own brother. At least I have you and Pabu."

Patrick rubbed his eyes from tiredness. "Bolin…"

"After that gala. I honestly thought that I did not have a chance with her because of you."

Patrick knew what Bolin was talking about. "I was just her plus one at that gala, Bolin. Nothing more."

"That was exactly what I told Mako, but he insisted that Korra was with you." Bolin now looked angry at the opposite wall of the restaurant. "Probably to keep her for himself!"

Fuck. Patrick knew from Bolin's story that this situation was Korra's fault. She again acted before thinking, as always. But also, Mako was guilty; he should have ended it from the beginning. Patrick sighed in frustration. Why do I have to deal with this bullshit?

Hours passed quickly and empty bowls kept piling up. Narook did not protest that those two stayed in his restaurant overnight. In the end, they will pay him a good amount of money for that.

It was early morning when Mako came through the entrance of the restaurant. He was looking for Bolin all over Republic City and this place was last on the list. He turned to the old Narook.

"Morning, Narook. Is my brother here?" he asked.

Narook pointed at the table where Bolin and Patrick were sitting down. Mako bowed in thanks and approached the table.

Patrick turned to him. "Oh…Our ladies' man is here," he commented on Mako's arrival.

"What are you doing here?"

"Let's see..." Patrick paused for a moment to formulate his cynical response. "Oh, yes… eat here. That was my plan from yesterday, but your brother rushed here and needed care."

Mako glanced at his brother, who was resting his head on the table. "Bo," he called out to him, but his brother did not react at all. "Bo, wake up!" He then looked at the empty bowls and glasses all over the table. "How much did he eat and drink?"

"Surpassingly a lot," Patrick answered. "Your brother has quite the stomach."

"And you let him?!" Mako asked furiously. But Patrick, instead of an answer just shrugged it off. But Mako did not have time for rage anymore. He had to prepare his brother for today's match. "Bolin! Wake up!"

Bolin finally raised his head. He looked terrible. "Leave me be!"

"You are a mess and today we are about to have the greatest match of our lives. So, I am taking you home, brother." He put his hand around Bolin's shoulder and wanted to lead him home.

But Bolin slapped his hand away. "I am not going anywhere and you are not my brother! My true brothers are Pabu and Patrick here!" He gestured to Pabu, who was lying in one of the empty bowls, and Patrick. "You are nothing more than a traitor!"

Mako lost his patience. "Very well. We are going to do this the hard way." He picked up Bolin and hauled him onto his back. He then started to walk out of the restaurant with his brother. You are going home, like it or not.

"Put me down!" Bolin yelled.

"I told you dating a teammate was a bad idea," Mako replied.

This was the moment that Patrick decided to join the conversation. "Really? But when Korra kissed you, you did not resist," he remarked.

Mako stopped and turned back to him. "What do you mean by that?"

"That you set the rules for others but break them yourself."

"You do know nothing about me. You were not there!"

"No, but Bolin was there and watched that whole thing. Korra kissed you first, but you kissed her back. Without hesitation." Patrick turned his gaze to the table. "Asami is very lucky girl to have such a loyal boyfriend."

Mako seated Bolin on one of the empty chairs. He did not want him to get hurt during the fight that was about to begin. He turned to Patrick and clenched his fists. Fire started coming out of them.

Patrick reacted to it by standing up and leaning his back against the table with his hands in his pocket. His gauntlets were activated and he was ready.

"Are you implying that I wanted to cheat on Asami?" Mako asked in an angry tone.

"I am not implying anything," Patrick answered with a smirk. "I am just stating the fact."

Mako got into a fighting stance. "You know what? You have been getting on my nerves since we met. It is time to settle this once and for all."

"Go on, try your best. It will be the last thing you do."

"You have a really big ego, but unlike you, I have been fighting all my life. I will not go down without a fight." And even though Mako remembered how Patrick dealt with those Chi-Blockers a few weeks ago, he did not care. He just wanted to silence Patrick.

And I fought beings you cannot possibly imagine, Patrick thought.

They both waited for the other one to make the first move. The fight would have eventually begun if Narook had not intervened.

"No fighting in my restaurant or in my street! It was enough for once!" yelled the owner of the restaurant.

Patrick just kept smiling at Mako. "Do not worry. There will be no fighting today," he addressed to Narook and sat back down at the table. "See you at the Arena, Mako."

"I cannot wait," Mako replied and picked up Bolin. They both left the restaurant.

Patrick waited at the restaurant for a half hour and then he went back to the Air Temple Island. At the front of the temple, Korra was waiting.

"I ran into Bolin yesterday. He told me everything," he said to her.

"How is he?" she asked worriedly.

"He has a broken heart and he is pretty messed up."

Korra looked downcast. She felt really bad right now.

"And another advice for the next time: Think before you act," Patrick added. "It will save a lot of trouble."

"I did not mean for this to happen," she said downcast.

"Korra… If you had not noticed, Bolin has had a crush on you ever since we met him. Why do you think he brought you that cake and flower? Why do you think he invited you… us to dinner at Narook's? And I bet that he probably took you to some romantic place after that."

Korra placed the palm of her hand on her face. "I am so stupid."

"Yes, you are," Patrick confirmed. Korra looked at him downcast. "Did you expect me to be in "Tenzin mode" all the time and say it is going to be alright? You made a mistake, because you are a human being, Korra. And human beings are not perfect." He paused for a moment. "The most important thing right now is that you three will talk about it tonight."

"You are right."

"Well, and if you excuse me, I will go to have a nap." Patrick headed to the temple. "I was taking care of one very naive Earthbender last night. And I must say, it was not a pleasant experience."

Tonight, the Arena was overcrowded. Tonight, it will decide which two teams will face each other in the final match of the Tournament. Patrick accompanied Korra through the hallway to the changing area. She asked him to be her emotional support if anything happened in the changing area.

When they entered, there was a cold and silent atmosphere. Mako was nearly done with equipping his uniform. Bolin was sitting down on a bench dejectedly. None of the brothers greeted them.

"See you after the match," Patrick said and left.

Korra sighed in spirit and went to her locker to change.

Patrick again sat down in the box with a great view of the Playing Field and again it was filled with prominent citizens of the Republic City.

"Hello, Patrick," the Butahka's voice said above his head.

Patrick raised his head and saw the big man of the Pro-Bending League. "Butahka? Did you come to watch the match?"

"Yes, and also wanted to ask you what is going on with the Fire Ferrets. Earlier today, when I encountered the boys, Bolin looked so unwell, and yesterday was not almost great either."

"In a nutshell: Trouble with love." Patrick paused for a moment. "Did you bet a lot?"

Butukha sighed and sat down. "Yes. And even more tonight. My sixth sense told me that they were going to win."

Patrick turned back to the view. "Let's hope that your sixth sense will be right."

In the following minute, the Fire Ferrets lined up against their opponents, Bau Ling Buzzard Wasps. At first glance, the Fire Ferrets looked perfectly ready, but Patrick knew that inside were problems.

"You cannot find two teams perfectly matched in age, size and strength than the Fire Ferrets and the Buzzard Wasps!" the Announcer said. "And believe me ladies and gentlemen, I have looked! We have a very exciting semi-final ahead of us!"

The bell announced the start of the match. The first minute went well for the Fire Ferrets. They successfully dodged and covered the attacks from the Buzzard Wasps. But shortly, their defense started to fall and they were pushed to zone two.

"The Buzzard Wasps started the match with a flawlessly excellent and pushed the Fire Ferrets into Zone Two," the Announcer commented.

Mako tried to send a fire blast, but a water stream from the Buzzard Wasps pushed him to the edge of the Playing Field.

"Mako is in Zone Three! It looks like the Fire Ferrets are trying to stay alive since the opening bell. They are out of sync tonight."

Bolin kept sending the Earth Discs when one of the Discs from the Buzzard Wasps hit him in the stomach. He immediately took off his helmet and began vomiting. Luckily for him, he aimed his vomit into the trench. But the audience was not so lucky when they had to watch it.

"And Bolin loses his… noodles!" the Announcer said. "Literally."

Patrick turned to Butahka. "Was there any serious injury during the Pro-Bending?"

"Well… we have several… dozens of cases of unconsciousness," Butahka answered nervously and put a fake smile. "But nothing serious!"

"Oh…" Patrick turned back to the view. He did not believe Butahka at all.

In the following minute, the Buzzard Wasps pushed the rest of the Fire Ferrets into the last zone. In the next one, they managed to knockout Mako with the Earth Discs over the edge. Now their full attention was on Bolin and Korra, who were trying to stay on the Playing Field at any cost. Luckily, the bell rang just in time.

"The bell just saved the Fire Ferrets. They have to pull themselves together, otherwise it is over for them."

The second round started and both sides traded attacks with each other. The Earth Discs pushed Mako a zone back, but he was about to retaliate with a fire blast, but instead he managed to hit Bolin in the back.

His brother quickly turned to him. "Hey! I am on your side!" But before he could turn back, he was blasted out of the Playing Field by a water stream.

"The Buzzard Wasps took advantage of Mako's mistake and Bolin is out."

A frustrated Korra had had enough. She started attacking one of the Buzzard Wasps with Waterbending. She even used some prohibited Bending moves.

The Referee started to whistle. "Unnecessary roughness! One Zone back!"

Korra angrily blasted water at him. "Here is your unnecessary roughness!" And with anger she went to zone two.

The Referee, who slightly dodged the water, did not like her attitude at all and pulled up a yellow fan.

"The Fire Ferrets got a yellow fan! It looks like they are their own worst enemies tonight. I must say, ladies and gentlemen, it is very sad to watch."

Patrick heard how Butakha loudly sighed behind him. He probably bet a large sum of yuans on tonight's match.

The third round was about to start and both teams had a team huddle.

"The Buzzard Wasps are leading two rounds," the Announcer commented. "The Fire Ferrets have only one chance of winning: a knockout."

Mako did not know what to say to the team. They were completely losing it, and there was no way they could turn the game around. "Well, I guess we could go next year," he said in a defeated tone to his teammates. He could not believe it, but he would welcome some of Patrick's advice right now.

But Korra, unlike him, was not ready to give up. "Come on! We still have a chance even if it is small!"

"Korra, the way we are playing, we do not even deserve to be in the finals," Bolin replied.

But Korra still kept her positive attitude. "Look, if we can pull together as a team, we can win this."

Mako sighed and headed to the starting line. "Let's just get this over with." He gave up.

Bolin joined him. "The sooner, the better."

Korra eventually joined the brothers and waited for the bell to ring.

The third round of the match began and the Fire Ferrets were trying to fight. But Bolin and Mako were quickly pushed back into zone two. Then an Earth Disc struck Bolin in the shoulder. He fell to his knees and cried out in pain.

Mako ignored everything and turned to his brother. "Bolin!" But that was a mistake. He was blasted out of the Playing Field by the fire.

Bolin quickly got back on his feet and tried to block the incoming attacks with his one hand.

"Mako is out but Bolin is still playing with only one good arm. I must say, he has grit. But for how long?" the Announcer said.

Bolin could not keep fighting with only one hand forever, and very soon he was knocked out of the Playing Field.

"And Bolin is out too! The Avatar is now the only remaining member of the Fire Ferrets on the Playing Field. On her shoulders are right now the hopes and dreams of the entire team."

Meanwhile, Bolin struggled to swim to the platform. His entire shoulder was in so much pain. When he was close, he noticed that Mako was offering him a hand to get on the platform. Bolin accepted it.

"How is your shoulder?" Mako asked.

"It is pretty messed up, but I think it will be alright," Bolin answered. Then they both stepped up to the moving platform. "But what about us?"

"We will be alright. We are brothers, and we will get through this. As always." Mako paused for a moment. "And I am sorry."

"Me too." Bolin snorted. "Girls…"

"Seriously."

As the moving platform slowly took them up, they could see that Korra was still in the Playing Field and she was fighting with all her heart. With ease, she managed to dodge all attacks from the Buzzard Wasps. She was no longer a newbie. She was now a true Pro-Bending athlete.

"Ladies and gentlemen, what an incredible effort by Korra!" the Announcer commented. "She is dodging every element her opponents throw at her!"

Korra pushed one of the Buzzard Wasps into zone three, and with ease, she was still dodging all attacks from the rest of the Buzzard Wasps.

As Patrick watched, he noticed that Korra pushed each member of the Buzzard Wasps into each zone separately with her dodges and attacks. Then he noticed that she angled herself up to line them up in front of her. He knew what she planned.

Finally, you started to think before you act, he thought as he smiled.

Korra used her Waterbending to create one big water stream and blasted all the Buzzard Wasps out of the Playing Field, thus winning by "knockout".

"What a knockout by the Avatar!" the Announcer yelled. "And it was only ten seconds remaining before the end!"

The entire Arena cheered Korra on upon this unseen victory. They thought the Fire Ferrets were about to lose, but it looks like this team is not about to give up.

"Yes! She did it!" Bolin yelled in excitement.

"Yes!" Mako yelled as well, and all happy, he hugged Bolin.

"Be careful!" Bolin screamed because of his wounded shoulder, but Mako ignored him and kept hugging him in celebration. So, Bolin gritted his teeth due to the pain and let his brother celebrate. Eventually, they not only won the match but also restored their sibling bond.

"That girl is truly a savior," Butakha commented to Patrick and wiped his forehead full of sweat. It looks like yet again, fortune smiled upon him.

"Yes, she is," Patrick said. He then stood up and went to the changing area.

Korra took off her helmet and joined the brothers in the changing area.

"That was the most awesome thing I have ever seen!" Bolin said to her.

"Thank you very much for not giving up on us," Mako said. "We would never get this far without you. I owe you."

"It is alright," Korra replied. "I know everything is complicated right now, but I hope we can be still be friends."

Mako smiled at her. "Definitely."

Tahno and his team entered the changing area, fully geared for the match. Tahno inhaled deeply and with an expression of disgust. "Do you feel it, boys? That is the scent of losers."

The Fire Ferrets looked at them with anger. "I hope you will get into the finals," Korra said. "Then we will know who the real losers really are."

"I cannot wait," Tahno said and he put his helmet on.

"And now comes the defending champions – The White Falls Wolfbots!" the Announcer said.

Asami ran to Mako and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Great job!" Then she turned her head to Korra. "What a comeback, Korra. I have never seen such a hattrick."

"Thanks," Korra replied. "But without you and your father, we would not be here. So, thank you."

"If you are all done with "thank you" exchanges, I need some medical attention over here," Bolin said while sitting on the bench and holding his wounded shoulder.

Korra came to him to check how bad it was. "Let me help."

She gently placed her hands on his shoulder and Bolin started screaming in pain. "Owww! Have you not hurt me enough?"

"Be calm, I am a healer," Korra replied with a smile and started to Bend water from the bucket. She then put it on Bolin's shoulder. "I learned from Katara herself." The water started to glow.

"No, no, no," Bolin reacted with panic, but one second later he started to feel great. "That's the stuff!"

"Be careful. You could end up even more injured than before," Patrick said as he entered the changing area.

Bolin turned to him in a panic. "What?"

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, very funny," Korra replied. Patrick had to remind her that the day they both first met, she had failed to heal him. "You know, I have been practicing lately."

"Tell it to my ribs," Patrick said.

But Korra ignored his remark and instead focused on healing Bolin's shoulder. "Bolin, I am so sorry I hurt your feelings. I did not mean to let things get so out of hands."

Bolin smiled at her. "It is alright, Korra. But we had fun together, did not we?"

"I had a great time! You are one of a kind, Bolin."

"Please go on, I enjoy the praise," Bolin said with a smirk.

Korra shook her head with a smile. She was almost done with healing Bolin's shoulder when that thing happened.

"The winners are – The Wolfbats!" the Announcer said.

Bolin and Korra were shocked. It was not even five minutes when they saw Tahno and his team go into the Playing Field.

"What? How is it over already?" Korra asked.

She and Bolin quickly joined Mako and Asami at the railing. Patrick was right behind them, to see if that was true. And it was. Tahno and his team won.

"With a brutal round-one knockout, the defending champions secured their place in the finals," the Announcer said. "I hope the Fire Ferrets will have their luck again because they are going to need it."

Korra then spotted that the healers were pulling the team of Mo Ce Moongose Lizards out of the trench and putting them on stretchers. They looked horribly beaten, and she started to think about the words she said to Tahno a few minutes ago.