Ambush

Chapter 5: Declaration of War Part 2

It was as if everything was happening in slow motion. Mako heard Skoochy yell at him to look out. He turned to see, but before he could, Skoochy had shoved him to the side. He crashed into Korra and the two fell. Mako untangled himself from Korra and looked up. He heard Skoochy ask him if he was alright. He sounded strange. Mako told him he was fine. Then Skoochy fell to his knees. Mako's eyes widened as he saw the dagger.

No…

He rushed toward Skoochy as his friend began to fall backward.

No…

He caught Skoochy before he hit the ground.

"SKOOCHY!"

He was dead. His face was serene and his lips turned up into a slight smirk. But his eyes held no sparkle. They were dark and empty.

You can't be dead.

Mako felt the tears sting his eyes as he looked into the face of his dead friend.

You can't be dead.

His hand shook as he closed his friend's eyes for the last time and removed the dagger from his heart. It was stained red.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Mako let out a primal scream of grief and anguish. Memories flooded his mind. He thought about Skoochy's dreams and how they would never come true. He thought about the gang. He didn't know how he would tell them. He cradled Skoochy's lifeless body and wept.

Korra couldn't move as she saw Mako rush for his friend. She was shaken to the core. She watched as he carefully removed the dagger. It was red almost to the hilt. Korra felt the tears begin to flow as she realized there was no way that he could have survived. Mako threw his head back and let out an anguished scream. He sounded so hurt, so angry, so lost, it shattered Korra's very being. She watched the man she loved weep over his fallen friend. She felt so useless. She tried to speak, but nothing came out. The grieving pair were brought back to reality by the sound of scurrying. It was too loud to be rats, and if it were, there were thousands of them. Chi blockers began to fall from the darkness. They seemed to come from all directions. There were about sixty of them. There was no possible way that they would escape. Four of them charged forward, easily capturing Korra due to her surprise. Another four came at Mako. Korra saw Mako explode, his very being becoming surrounded in flame. The chi blockers backed off, momentarily stunned by the sheer intensity of the flames. Korra shielded herself from the glare. Mako stood after laying Skoochy on the ground gently. He turned to survey the room. Korra looked in his eyes and froze. Tears continued to flow, but his eyes showed pure hatred and anger. He looked at every chi blocker with his gaze.

"One step closer…and I will kill you ALL."

A few chi blockers actually backed away a few steps. The braver ones advanced. They leapt at Mako and threw their bolas. Mako moved as gracefully as Korra had ever seen him. He disintegrated the bolas and, with a whirling kick, sent all four chi blockers into the wall. They did not get up. The others advanced, a silent mass of unarmed strikes. Mako launched himself into a dance of flame. Several of the chi blockers went down before two managed to penetrate his defenses and disabled his bending. Even though he couldn't bend, Mako still fought. He threw punches, kicked and even bit a few chi blockers before he was bound. He lay there, panting. The group of chi blockers parted as a battered, bruised, and extremely angry Kayne hobbled through. Korra saw, with a twinge of satisfaction, that he was bleeding heavily. He gazed upon the three escapees, his eyes holding none of his usual cruel mirth. They were colder than Korra had ever seen them, full of nothing but hatred. Kayne spat a mouthful of blood on Skoochy's corpse as he passed him.

"Insolent brat…"

Korra felt an uncontrollable rage begin to rise in her, along with something else. She couldn't exactly tell what it was but it felt powerful. Kayne reached Mako. He looked at the fallen chi blockers, who were standing, but very badly burned. He leveled his gaze at Mako.

"Be very, very happy that Amon is on his way. Otherwise, you would not be breathing, just like your other friend."

Korra felt the rage grow and she felt herself getting closer to breaking the barrier to that unknown power.

"There is only one thing I regret; not being able to see the look on his face as he died."

Mako's voice shook, thick with rage, hate, and sorrow.

"Skoochy was twice the man you'll ever be, and only a coward would kill him the way you did."

Kayne turned and picked up the knife, still covered in Skoochy's blood. He licked the blood off of the tip.

"Did you know…The average human body can withstand up to 45 Del units of pain?"

He whirled; his arm traveling so fast, Korra could barely keep track of it. She heard Mako cry out in pain as a large gash opened up on his chest. Kayne shambled up to him and lifted his index finger. His next words were a growl of psychotic joy,

"Here's 75."

He plunged his finger into the wound. Mako screamed. His voice echoed off the walls. Korra watched as he writhed in agony. Then he did something that pushed Korra over the edge. He began begging.

"PLEASE! MAKE THE PAIN STOP! AAAH! I'LL DO ANYTHING! JUST PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!"

Korra's rage overflowed and the barrier that held that mysterious power broke. She felt energy like she'd never felt before flow throughout her body and swirl around her. The chi blockers nearest to her noticed something happening and quickly moved to incapacitate her. Korra thought, "No." The chi blockers were blasted away by an incredibly strong burst of air. Korra rose into the air, and the air around her began to swirl faster and faster, until she was encased in a pulsing sphere of wind. She had never felt so alive in her life. He looked down at the scene before her. Kayne had removed his finger and was staring up at her, dumbfounded. The chi blockers were scrambling into battle positions or were backing away quickly. Mako lay on the floor, twitching. Korra turned her gaze towards Kayne. The madman looked frightened for the first time. He started to back away. Korra wouldn't have any of that. With an easy flick of her wrist, a pillar of earth slammed into Kayne's back and sent him flying towards her. She punched out hard and sent a solid jet of wind to meet him. It hit him head on and sent him flying into the back wall. The chi blockers sprang into action. Forty bolas came whipping at her, only to be destroyed by whirling pillars of flame. Korra felt her rage grow along with her power. Chi blocker after chi blocker fell to her power. Soon, they stopped fighting back. It turned from a fight into a massacre. With every one Korra struck down, she felt her power grow along with her rage. She let out a roar, and flames erupted from her mouth. Her voice wasn't the only one that sounded. Among it was the voice of thousands of year's worth of power. A blue hand grabbed her shoulder.

"Korra!"

It was Aang.

"Don't let the power consume you! If you let it, it will grow beyond your control! You must calm down!"

Korra could see her reflection in his eyes. It was terrifying. Her hair had become undone and it flowed out behind her. Her face was twisted in an expression of hatred, and her eyes were glowing bright blue. Korra knew she should calm down….But the power felt so good, the rage felt so right. She needed it…She needed to destroy, punish, make the one's who did wrong pay! Her eyes fell on Mako. He was looking at her with a shocked expression. There was fear in his eyes. Korra felt a pang.

He…He's afraid…Of me.

Slowly, Korra felt the rage drain from her. She drifted slowly to the ground. She felt drained. The last thing she saw before she passed out was Aang shaking his head and looking on her with sad eyes.

The pain was unbearable. Mako never felt a pain like this in his life. He couldn't help but scream. He needed the pain to stop. He would die if it didn't. He did the only thing he could think of to get the pain to stop; he started begging. As much as he hated it, he was at Kayne's mercy. If begging would spare his life, then he would do so. It seemed that it worked. The pain suddenly stopped. Mako found himself twitching uncontrollably. He took several deep breaths to try to calm himself down. Suddenly, there was a roar of wind. Mako looked up and his eyes went wide. Korra was floating about five feet off the ground, encased in a swirling sphere of air. Her hair had become undone and was flowing around her wildly. Her face was contorted into a look of pure rage and her eyes glowed a bright blue. She bore down on Kayne, who was backing away with a look of genuine fear on his face. Korra struck out at him and the next thing Mako knew, Kayne was slammed against the back wall. Leaving Mako on the ground, forgotten, the rest of the chi blockers charged at Korra. Their charge quickly became a rush for cover. Mako had never seen anyone bend like this. Korra was a never-ending flow of raw power as chi blocker after chi blocker fell. When she roared, Mako didn't hear her voice. He heard a power, as ancient as time itself, escape from her mouth. It was like she wasn't even Korra anymore. He looked at her and, for the first time ever, he was afraid of her.

"That…That can't be Korra…"

Images of her flashed before his mind: The smile on her face as they won their first pro-bending match together. How beautiful she looked in her traditional water tribe gown at Tarrlok's party. The shy smile she gave him after they kissed for the first time…The alien look of pure rage etched into her features. Mako realized that she was looking right at him. Something changed in her face. The rage seemed to drain from her along with her energy as she descended slowly. She touched the ground and the sphere of air dissipated. All of her strength seemed to leave her and she collapsed to the ground.

"Korra!"

Mako struggled against his bonds. They loosened enough that he could twitch his wrist and burned through the ropes. He shakily stood, wincing as the deep cut in his chest throbbed. He looked around at the scene before him. Chi blockers lay everywhere. Whether or not they were dead, Mako didn't feel to inclined to see. He also noticed that Kayne was missing. He stumbled over to Korra to check to see if she was alright. She wasn't moving. He breathed a sigh of relief as he saw her chest rise and fall rhythmically. She was unconscious, nothing more. There was a loud clang and a grinding noise. Mako looked around to see an elevator coming down. He was tired, and hurt. He was in no condition to fight. Even so…

"I need to protect Korra…"

He assumed a fighting stance as best he could. The elevator doors opened. Six Metalbender cops swarmed in, creating a perimeter. Chief Beifong and Tenzin followed them closely. Bolin and Asami were close behind them. Bolin and Asami instantly rushed towards Mako. Mako finally relaxed. His strength finally left him as he collapsed. Asami was there to catch him. He saw there were tears in her eyes. He vaguely felt her stroking his face.

"Oh, Mako…"

Bolin stood nearby, looking at Skoochy's body. And then he looked at Mako.

"Mako…Is…is he?…"

Mako nodded gently.

Bolin fell to his knees, his eyes filling with tears.

"No…"

Tenzin and Lin hurried over to them. Tenzin tended to Korra as Lin strode over to Mako.

"Are you alright? What happened here?"

Mako tried to answer her, but found that his voice wouldn't work. All that came out was a strained sob. Fresh tears began to fall as he fully realized his situation. Asami held him close, barely keeping her own tears back. Lin's usual steely face softened.

"We'll talk about this later, right now, we need to get you out of here."

A Metalbender officer helped Mako to his feet along with his brother, and the two helped him onto the elevator. Tenzin was carrying Korra. Two Metalbenders had Skoochy's body on a stretcher. The party turned to leave…and saw Amon standing in the doorway to the storage unit. He was alone. All of the police force entered a ready position. Amon held up his hands, a sign of non-action. The Metalbenders remained at the ready. For a moment, no one moved. Then, Chief Beifong gave the order.

"Take him!"

The Metalbenders sprang into action. Amon easily avoided all of their attacks. Using their strength against each other, he effortlessly took down the officers, throwing them back into the elevator one by one. Tenzin, who had lain Korra down gently, assumed a fighting stance. Amon raised his hands once more. One of them held a remote.

"I have been called many things. A murderer will never be one of them."

He pressed a button on the remote and the elevator doors slammed shut. As the elevator began to move to the surface, Chief Beifong slammed her fist into the door in frustration.

Mako stood, staring at the headstone. Everyone else had already left, except for him and Bolin. Mako thought back to the funeral. No one had much to say, except for them. There were plenty of tears. Jinora took it especially hard, although Mako wasn't quite sure why. To his knowledge, he didn't even know the two had met. Asami was at his side the whole time, her fingers interwoven with his. His gaze was constantly drawn to Korra. She stood as still as a statue, silent tears falling down her face. Even when she was crying she looked beautiful. Mako felt guilty thinking it, but he couldn't deny that it was true. He felt even more guilty because he shouldn't be thinking about these things after what had happened. Mako felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. Turning, he was slightly surprised to see, not Asami, but Korra. Mako noticed that Bolin had left. They were alone. His eyes met hers. A thousand unspoken things passed between them. He pulled her into a warm embrace. They stayed that way for a long while. When she spoke, her words were slightly muffled against his shoulder.

"I honestly didn't believe you would come for me."

Mako felt slightly shocked.

"What made you think that?"

"Well…After all those things I said to you…I thought…"

He pulled away. Her eyes glistened with tears as she looked up into his. Her lips were parted slightly. Mako brushed her face gently with his fingertips.

"You thought wrong…"

Korra closed her eyes and leaned forward. Their lips met in a gentle kiss. Mako pulled away quickly and turned away from her. His heart was pounding, but his words were steady and true.

"I can't….WE can't…"

Her voice was filled with pain.

"I…You're right…I'm sorry…Won't happen again."

He turned to see Korra run away. He felt terrible, but he knew that it was the right thing to do. A small voice spoke in the back of his head.

"Was it?"

He heard a rustle coming from some near by bushes. He could have sworn he saw Asami's dark hair whip around the corner and vanish from sight.

The doors to City Hall were closed as Chief Beifong, Tenzin, and the remaining council members discussed what further action needed to be taken. Bolin, Mako, Korra, and Asami waited outside. Korra had just finished briefing the council on her experience. Mako hadn't spoken to her or even made eye contact since the funeral. Even Bolin was less cheery than usual. He somberly bended a rock around for Pabu to play with as all four of them Waited for Tenzin. An hour later, the doors opened and Tenzin walked out. He looked grave.

"The council has decided that an immediate rescue force be put together to rescue Tarrlok and the other Task Force members."

The four teens looked at each other. Korra gave Tenzin a quizzical look.

"Isn't that good news? Why the long face then?"

Tenzin sighed.

"It has been officially declared that the young boys death was an act against the bending citizens of Republic City, and according to the law, should be considered a Declaration Of War…As of today, Republic City has entered Civil War."

End Chapter 5 Part 2

Please review and tell me what you think.

Also, as a small request from me, I have invented 2 new characters. I'm curious to see what my readers think about them. Please comment on them as well.

Next: Chapter 6-Call to Battle