The Revelation - Part 1

It had been a few days since Tenzin had caught Korra and Elira at the arena and agreed to let them continue going. Things had been running smoothly since then and El had been sticking to the agreement she had with her father. Airbender training in the morning after breakfast, then accompanying Korra to the arena and spending the rest of the day with her friends before heading home in the evening for dinner.  

As of right now, it was early in the morning, and the Ferrets were once again in the gym training while Elira watched from the sidelines. 

"What's the big idea with making me train this early in the morning?" Korra complained, catching a ball thrown at her 

"I completely agree. The morning is evil," Elira groaned, sitting on the floor watching with Pabu on her lap while making small air balls with her bending for Pichi to chase after

"We're the rookies", Bolin replied, catching the ball Korra tossed to him", so we get the worst time slot in the gym." 

" And you're the rookiest of us all", Mako added, catching the ball from Bolin " We gotta get you up to speed if we wanna survive in the tournament. Deal with it." 

He threw the ball at Korra, annoyed 

"You deal with it!" Korra aggressively tossed the ball back to Mako, hitting him hard in the stomach, flinging him backwards in a flip, and causing him to land hard on his back, groaning. 

"And that, my friend, is why you should never give attitude to the Avatar", Elira breathed out a small laugh. 

"There are my little hard-working street urchins." A man then walked into the gym, smirking 

Elira got up from the floor as the man walked over to them. Pichi and Pabu followed her, the fire ferret climbing onto Bolin's shoulder while Pichi perched herself on El's. 

 The man finally noticed El's presence with the group and smiled "Hey, my favourite cheerleader! How you been, kid? Heard you got into a little trouble with the cops couple days ago." 

Elira returned the smile "I'm doing alright. My dad managed to clear it up, thankfully." 

The man then turned to Korra placing his hand on her shoulder. "It's an honour to finally meet you, Avatar." 

"And you are ...?" Korra asked

"Butakha. I run this whole pro-bending shebang," The man introduced, tipping his hat off in greeting.

Korra then walked away looking annoyed as Buthakha took a wad of cash out of his inner pocket "Here's your winnings from the last match" 

He placed it into the outstretched hand of an eager Mako. The firebender moved to put it away, but Butakha raised a finger "Ah ah ah, not so fast. First, you owe me for the Avatar's new gear." 

He took some money from the pile in Mako's hand 

"Gym and equipment rentals from last month" He took more money

"Rent on your apartment" Elira watched, dismayed as the pile got smaller and smaller 

"And a personal loan for groceries" Butakha took the last of the money from Mako's hand 

Mako stared sadly at his empty hand before he and El turned to look accusingly at Bolin. 

"What? I'm a growing boy!" He rubbed his stomach 

"Oh, and one more small item of business: The Fire Ferrets need to ante up thirty thousand Yuans for the championship pot," Butakha explained 

"30,000 Yuans?!" Elira and Bolin gasped 

"Sorry, kids", Butakha placed a hand on Mako's shoulder " You got 'til the end of the week to come up with the dough, or else, you're out of the tournament." 

Bolin feebly reached after Butakha as he walked away, and Korra came back over to them, seeing their downcast expressions. 

"You wouldn't happen to have a secret Avatar bank account overflowing with gold, would you?" Bolin asked the Avatar 

"I got nothing" Korra pulled out her empty pockets "I've never really needed money. I've always had people taking care of me." 

Elira winced at her words. 

"Then I wouldn't say you have nothing." Mako snapped, picking up the ball and putting it in a bag. 

 Korra suddenly looked somewhat guilty" Sorry, I didn't mean —" 

"No, it's all right. It's just ever since we lost our parents, we've been on our own." Bolin explained sadly, and Elira took his hand to comfort him.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't know." Korra apologised "But why didn't you ever go to stay with El? I'm sure Tenzin wouldn't have minded."  

"Believe me, Korra, I tried. Multiple times. But would they accept my help--No," Elira crossed her arms, sending pointed looks at her friends. 

"You were doing so much for us already", Bolin replied. "We didn't want to overstep." 

"Oh, so giving you food and blankets was fine? But offering you a warm safe place to stay, that was too much?" She questioned, looking a little annoyed by their stubbornness. 

"Whatever. So, anyway, how are we gonna come up with the money?" Mako changed the subject, standing up while swinging the ball bag over his shoulder 

"Oh, oh, I got it! I got it!" Bolin exclaimed, holding up Pabu " El and I have been training Pabu to do circus tricks. Now people would pay good money to see that!" 

Bolin, excitedly and hopefully, turned to Mako, but both he and Korra looked at him with a "you cannot be serious" expression while Elira was smiling. Clearly a fan of the idea. 

"Come on, you Bolin. We need serious ideas," Mako huffed, and Elira's shoulders slumped in disappointment. 

"I was serious," Bolin muttered, looking downcast 

"Don't worry about it. I'll figure something out. I always do." 

Bolin stood up as they watched Mako walk out of the gym. Elira placed a hand on his shoulder. 

"I think it's a great idea, Bo. Come on, Pichi, and I will help." 

"You will?!" Bolin grinned 

"Sure. Besides, it sounds like fun" The airbender smiled. 

*

Later that day, the best friend duo were at Central City Station, in front of Fire Lord Zuko's statue. Bolin was wearing a flashy jacket and a fake moustache, while Elira had a red jacket over her airbender attire along with a matching bow in her hair. Pichi was once again perched on Elira's shoulder, also with a matching red bow around her neck. They had a small bridge set up in front of where they were sat, with Pabu standing on a little can, cleaning himself, wearing a bright lime green jacket. 

"Come one, come all." Bolin called out excitedly to the passers-by while making wide motions with his arms, "See Pabu, the fantastic fire ferret, as he crosses the Ladder of Peril upside down!" 

 Pabu continued to clean himself by licking his paws. 

"Psst, psst" Bolin gestured for Pabu to go, and the ferret jumped on the plank, walking across it on his front paws. 

Bolin softly cheered him on as Elira looked around at the bustling crowd, humming a tune to herself. 

 " Big finish, buddy. Stick the landing." 

 Pabu flipped off and landed on one front paw "Ta-da!" 

Someone walking passed tossed a coin into their cup

 "Thank you, ladies and gentlemen! You are too kind! Seriously, too kind! You can come back here and put money right in this- "Bolin shook his cup, and his excitement vanished when he heard that there was little money inside it " Okay, that's fine, that's fine. One yuan down, 29,999 to go." 

The earthbender sighed in defeat. This wasn't working. But he perked up suddenly, hearing Elira's soft humming beside him, and grinned as he got another idea. 

"Hey, El, whatcha humming there?" He asked 

"Hm? Oh, just an old song," The airbender replied nonchalantly 

"Can you sing it for me?" 

"Sing?" Elira raised an eyebrow questionably 

"Yeah, come on, El. I've heard you sing before. You're really good at it," Bolin encouraged. "Pleeeassee? I'll be your bestest friend" 

"You are my bestest friend, dirt brain", Elira laughed before sighing. "But okay, if you insist." 

Elira cleared her throat, sitting up properly before she began to sing 

"It's a long, long way to Ba Sing Se. But the girls in the city, they look so pretty." 

Her voice was so smooth and captivating that many passers-by stopped and stared. 

"And they kiss so sweet that you've really got to meet the girls from Ba Sing Se." 

Seeing it was catching people's attention, Elira sang louder and stood up to properly project her voice. 

"It's a long, long way to Ba Sing Se. But the girls in the city, they look so pretty!"

 A small crowd had gathered around them now, all watching, awed by the young airbender. 

"And they kiss so sweet that you've really got to meet the girls from Ba Sing Se!" 

The small crowd applauded and cheered as Elira finished, giving a small bashful bow. The crowd then dispersed to continue their day, with many tossing coins into the cup as they passed. 

"El, that was amazing!" Bolin grinned, hugging the girl as she knelt beside him again. "And look how much money we earned!" 

He picked up the cup, smiling in excitement at the larger pile of coins sitting at the bottom. 

"Think you could do that again?" He looked up hopefully at his best friend 

"I think I got a few more up here", Elira chuckled, tapping her temple 

But before the duo could do anything else, the typical red car used by the Triple Treat Triad pulled up beside them. 

Elira's grin fell into a distrustful scowl as the driver rolled down the window.

"Hey, Bolin. Is that you?" 

"Oh, hey there, Shady Shin." Bolin greeted 

The gangster then finally noticed Elira, who was still scowling. "And hey to you too, little missy." 

"Hello", She replied sharply.

"Heard you're a big-time pro-bending player now. Not bad." Shady Shin said, getting out of his car. 

Pichi hissed at him, warning him not to get any closer to the duo. 

"Uh, thanks." Bolin scratched the back of his head 

"So listen. I got an offer for ya. Lightning Bolt Zolt is lookin' to hire some extra muscle." The gangster offered 

Bolin glanced at Elira, who shook her head at him. " Uh, I don't know, Shin. Mako told me to stay away from the Triple Threats." 

"Pfuh, your brother ain't the boss of you. It's just a little security work. Nothin' crooked" 

Shady Shin reached into his pocket, took out a wad of cash, and tossed it into the duo's coin cup. The two teens stared at the money with wide eyes, and Bolin gasped in awe. 

"You game?" Shady Shin grinned. "The little lady's welcome to come along, too. So long as she doesn't cause any unnecessary trouble." 

Bolin looked at Elira, pleadingly making the airbender sigh. 

*

That evening, Mako walked up the stairs to his and Bolin's apartment with a bag of food in his hand. 

" Bo, I'm back! Picked up your favourite dumplings!" He called out, holding up the bag he was carrying before collapsing exhaustedly on the couch. "Hey, I found some work down at the power plant." 

He reached into the bag for a dumpling. "Made some decent money." 

Eating the tasty food, the firebender glanced around the silent apartment 

"Bolin? You here, bro?" He called out, his mouth still full. 

He looked over his shoulder at Air Temple Island and smirked, amused " Huh, I bet the little lovebird is making a house call." 

On the island,  Jinora and Ikki directed a gust of wind at the airbending gates to make them spin for Korra, who was waiting on the other side. She then elegantly weaved her way through the spinning panels, twirling around and avoiding every contact.

" Good. Light on your feet!" Jinora called out 

Korra spun out on the other side without being touched once by the gates, landing before the two sisters and resting her hands on her knees to catch her breath. The kids smiled at her before suddenly leaning a bit to their left to look behind her, spotting Mako approaching them. 

"Ooh, he's cute. Korra, is that the handsome firebender boy that drives you crazy?" Jinora smirked 

Korra looked wide-eyed at the girls before glancing back and seeing Mako. 

" Does he drive you crazy in a bad way" Ikki teased as Korra then glared at the sisters with embarrassment.

"Or does he drive you crazy like you like him?" 

Korra quickly raised the earth underneath the sisters, catapulting them in the air as Mako pulled up to her. She quickly turned to face him and cleared her throat as behind her a giggling Jinora and Ikki softly landed behind her using airbending.

"Ahem. Oh. Hey, Mako," She greeted, trying to act cool 

"You seen Bolin?" Mako asked, getting straight to the point 

" Nice to see you, too." Korra scoffed sarcastically. "And no. I haven't seen him or El since practice. Think something's wrong?" 

"I don't know. Those two have a knack for getting into stupid situations" Mako shook his head, sighing, " See you later." 

"Wait!" Korra called after him, " I'm coming with you to look for them." 

"Nah. I got it." Mako brushed her off 

Korra grabbed his arm softly before he could walk away again." Hey, cool guy, let me help you. Bolin may be your brother, but he's my friend, and so is El. If they're missing, I'm helping you find them." 

"El's missing?" Korra jumped and turned around, finding Ikki and Jinora looking worried. 

"Yes, but don't worry. "The avatar knelt in front of them, placing a hand on their shoulders reassuringly. "I'm going out to find her." 

"I'm coming, too!" Jinora declared 

"No, Jinora. Stay here, and let your parents know what's happening. I won't be long, okay?"  Korra smiled softly at the young girl, who looked downcast but nodded in understanding. 

Getting back up, Korra turned to Mako again. "Let's get going. We can take Naga." 

"Who's Naga?" Mako asked 

"My best friend. And a great tracker." Korra grinned proudly. 

*

"Your best friend is a ... polar bear dog. Somehow, that makes perfect sense," Mako said, riding behind Korra in Naga's saddle that night. 

"I'll take that as a compliment, city boy." Korra smiled before taking off into the city. 

They soon arrived at Central City Station and began looking around in front of Fire Lord Zuko's statue.

"Well, this is their usual hangout," Mako explained before getting off Naga and walking up to some street kids pushing each other around and laughing by the statue. 

"You guys seen my brother and El around here today?" He asked them 

"Perhaps. My memory's a little ...foggy" One of the boys leaned closer while casually rubbing his nose. "Maybe you can help "clear it up".

The kids held out a casual but suggestive hand, asking silently for money.

"You're good, Skoochy. Humph, a real pro," Mako sighed, digging into his back pocket as Korra came up behind him. 

Mako retrieved a yuan bill and handed it to Skoochy, who immediately put it away in the inner pocket of his jacket. A shocked and disapproving Korra eyed the entire scene.

"Yeah, I seen 'em." 

"When?" 

"About noon." 

"What were they doing?" 

"T-they was performing some kind of monkey rat circus/ street performance. And then ..." Skoochy held his hand out to Mako again.

The firebender rolled his eyes in annoyance but took out another yuan bill handing it to the boy. "And then what? Why did they leave?" 

Skoochy leaned in closer with a hand at the side of his mouth. "Shady Shin showed up and flashed some serious cash. Bo and El took off with him in his hot rod. The Triple Threats? The Red Monsoons? The Agni Kais? All the triads are muscling up for something real big. Now that's all you're getting outta me!" 

Skoochy promptly turned around and ran off with his friends hurrying after him.

"What's he talking about?" Korra asked Mako, who looked visibly worried 

" Sounds like there's a turf war brewing. And those two idiots are about to get caught right in the middle of it" Mako frowned.

*

"So where're we headed?" Korra asked as they rode Naga through the city 

"The Triple Threat Triad's headquarters. Hopefully, Bolin and El are there, and nothing's gone down yet," Mako explained as they crossed over a bridge 

Korra looked over her shoulder at him. "The Triple Threat Triad? El and I beat up some of those yahoos when I got into town. El made it pretty clear she doesn't trust those guys. So why would she and Bo get tangled up wit —" 

The rest of Korra's sentence was cut off when Naga suddenly shot forward. Dashing through the street and taking a sharp right turn in pursuit of a running fire ferret and flying lemur. 

"Whoa, Naga!" Korra pulled the reins to halt her mount, to no avail. 

 Naga turned around the corner of a building, the ferret and lemur waiting for them before the two critters bolted down a street and up a street light as Naga approached. 

"That's Pabu and Pichi!" Mako realised 

"No, Naga! Pabu's a friend, not a snack." Korra told her pet as Pichi landed on her shoulder chittering 

 Naga calmed down and started panting, her tongue out of her mouth. Pabu slid down the pole and brought his nose forward to touch Naga's before jumping on her head and running down her back to climb onto Mako's shoulder, who briefly smiled at the animal.

"We gotta hurry." He then said urgently 

*

Sometime later, they were outside the Triple Threat Triad headquarters.

"Something's not right" Mako approached the door cautiously with Pabu still on his shoulders " There're usually thugs posted out front. We better be cautious." 

He pressed his back against the doorpost and peered into the door window while signalling to Korra that it was safe to come up. 

As he slunk back into the shadows, Korra, with Pichi on her shoulder, casually strolled toward the door, forsaking any sneaking up and kicked out of the door's hinges. 

The small party entered the empty room, looking around. The building was strangely empty, and the furniture was broken.

"Bolin? El? You in here?" Mako called out

Pichi suddenly jumped off Korra's shoulder to something lying on the floor. She looked up at the two benders as they noticed what she had spotted. 

 A glider and a torn hair ribbon! 

Korra shared a concerned glance with Mako as she picked up the airbending equipment from the floor. 

Suddenly, a truck's engine roared outside, catching their attention. 

The duo promptly run out the back, crashing through the door. 

They were just in time to witness a truck, and five motorcycles drive off. The truck's doors were still open, giving the pair a clear view of Bolin and Elira, both tied down and gagged, sitting inside the truck with Elira's head on Bolin's shoulder, passed out cold. Her hair was down and messily covering part of her face. 

A masked individual shut the doors as Bolin noticed the pair, crying out for them behind his gag. 

 "Bolin! Elira!" Mako and Korra looked shocked for a moment before quickly running after the strangers.

As Mako and Korra ran after the vehicles, two masked figures on motorcycles pulled out smoke grenades and tossed them at the incoming duo. 

The grenades exploded with a bright flash and produced thick, heavy, green smoke, effectively halting their pursuit for some seconds.

The masked figures took notice of the grenade's effects and drove off with screeching tires.

Korra and Mako emerged from the smoke, coughing heavily and covering their mouths. Looking frantic to see the vehicles had gone. 

"Naga, come!" Korra called 

Korra started running in the direction the motorcyclists took off in as Naga raced after her. As she passed, Mako started to run after them as well. 

Naga, now with Mako and Korra on board, dashed out of the smoke-filled alley, chasing after the truck and motorcycles. Pabu was clinging to Naga's fur as she ran while Pichi was flying beside them, screeching out for her owner. 

Mako sent a fire blast at the masked motorcyclists, who swerved to avoid it. 

 Korra brought up her arms before following the cracks in the earth her earthbending move had produced. 

A motorcyclist avoided the first big crack before being catapulted into the air by an earth ramp created by Korra. 

The rider landed safely and continued to follow the rest of the escaping party. 

They dashed out of the alley and swarmed into an open square. 

Two of the motorcyclists fell back, one swerving to the left and the other bringing their motor to a spinning halt while throwing a bola at the incoming Naga, whose feet were then tied together by the rope. 

She crashed to the ground, sending her riders flying through the air and onto the ground as well.

Korra got up on her knees while Mako slid on his back to a halt near her with a groan. They looked up to see the two masked motorcyclists elegantly twist in the air to land at opposite sides of them. 

One rider wasted no time and ran for Korra, who ignited her right fist and sent a large fire blast at the incoming attacker. 

The rider elegantly avoided the blast by jumping over it, twisting several times in the air, and continued their run for the Avatar,  initiating hand-to-hand combat with Korra. 

The rider aimed for Korra's head, but the Avatar averted the course with her left hand. 

She retaliated with a fire blast, which her opponent ducked under. 

The rider then locked arms with Korra, and the Avatar threw another fire punch with her left hand, but the rider leaned back to dodge it, knocking Korra's hand to the side. 

Korra used her sideways moment to spin around in a full moon fire kick, though the masked fighter evaded the blast by moving to their left. 

 Korra aimed a high-fire kick at the rider's head, who reciprocated that move and curled her leg around the Avatar's, pulling it down, creating an unguarded opening to Korra's right side. 

They delivered about four punches to the Avatar's side and arm before backing away. 

Korra staggered with a grunt as her right side went numb. She grabbed hold of her right arm with her left one, her eye big in wonder about what just happened to her.

But her look quickly changed to one of determination before she madly charged the masked figure with her left hand ablaze. 

The masked fighter avoided the blast, flipped over a low-aimed fire arc, and jumped to avoid a fire blast aimed at her feet. 

The two ran at each other again, and Korra aimed two more fire blasts at her attacker, but to no avail as they dodged. 

Fighting the second rider,  Mako grunted in pain as he found his right arm immobilized. He briefly clutched it but quickly focused again on his attacker as they came at him again. 

Mako aimed a wide fire-fuelled swing at his opponent, who easily ducked under it, twirled behind Mako's back, and quickly delivered several punches to his unguarded left side.

Korra received the same quick punches to her left side.

Korra's attacker jumped up and kicked the staggering Avatar back with two feet to the chest. 

Korra fell backwards, and so did Mako, landing roughly on the ground with a heavy thud and a groan. Korra landed right before him with a similar grunt of pain.

 Naga began growling at the scene that developed before her, and she started to tug at her restraints. Pichi climbed over her and began helping chew on the rope binding Naga's leg, with Pabu soon coming over as well. 

One of the riders began approaching Mako and Korra on the ground while twirling their bola around menacingly, and their counterpart did the same action. 

 As one of the masked figures prepared to throw the bola, their concentration was broken by a loud growl. 

Naga jumped up through the air, teeth bare and growling, successfully driving off the attackers from her owner and friend.

She growled viciously as Pabu jumped off her back and ran before her, following Naga's example and squeaking at the attackers. Pichi landed beside him, hissing and screeching, warning them to try and get closer. 

Both riders briefly made eye contact with each other before jumping up and hurling more smoke grenades to cover their exit as they rode off on their motorcycles. 

Korra and Mako slowly pushed themselves up. Pabu crawled up Mako's leg and onto his shoulder while Korra draped her arm around Naga's head and allowed her pet to pull her to her feet. 

Pichi chittered on Naga's head as Korra curiously eyed her hands and raised her arms, punching out in an attempt to bend.

Nothing happened, causing her to gasp. 

"Ugh, I can't bend." She tried again, desperately and slightly panicking" I can't bend!" 

"Calm down. It'll wear off," Mako said, looking calm but stern as he pulled his glove tighter" Those guys were chi blockers. They're Amon's henchmen." 

"Amon? That anti-bending guy with a mask?" Korra questioned 

"Yeah, he's the leader of the Equalists," Mako replied 

"What do they want with the Triple Threats?" Korra wondered 

"Whatever it is, can't be good", Mako then groaned in frustration"  Urgh, can't believe Bolin and Elira got themselves into this mess!" 

"Mako", Korra put a reassuring hand on his shoulder as he crossed his arms. "We are going to save them. I promise you that." 

*

That very same night on the island, Jinora was in her room staring out her window with visible concern on her face. A knock came at her door, but the ten-year-old's gaze didn't waver as the door slid open, and her mother poked her head in.

"Jinora, it's passed your bedtime, sweetie."

Jinora nodded and moved over to her bed, tucking herself beneath the blankets as Pema walked over and kissed her head.

"Goodnight, sweetie", She whispered, tucking her daughter in more.

"Mom?... El's gonna be okay, right? Korra's gonna find her?" Jinora asked

Pema paused for a second. She was obviously worried sick about her daughter but didn't want to worry the younger ones. She knew how much they admired and looked up to their older sister.

"...Yes. Don't worry. She'll be back home before you know it" She smiled softly. "Try and get some sleep, okay, sweetie."

Pema got up from the bed and left the room. Sighing, she let a few tears slip from her eyes as she continued down the hall.

But as soon as she had turned the corner, Jinora's bedroom door slid open again, and the ten-year-old poked her head out. She waited till her mother was out of sight before sneaking out of her room, down the hall and into her big sister's.

The room was eerily quiet and bare, even with Elira's knickknacks and other personal items scattered about the room. It felt...empty.

No Pichi. And no Elira.

Silently, Jinora climbed into her sister's bed, tucking herself in once again.

"Goodnight, El" She whispered before shutting her eyes.