I rub my eyes tiredly as the Fire Ferrets train.
"What's the big idea with making me train this early in the morning? The morning is evil." Korra yawns as she catches a ball.
"And yet you thought it'd be a good idea to drag me along" I sigh as my eyes try to close yet again.
"We're the rookies, so we get the worst time slot in the gym." Bolin explains as he catches the ball Korra tosses.
After catching the ball, Mako responds with "And you're the rookiest of us all. We gotta get you up to speed if we wanna survive in the tournament. Deal with it.". Then he throws the ball at Korra, who looks annoyed.
"You deal with it!" Korra hisses before throwing the ball at Mako, hitting him right in the stomach and sending him backwards.
"There are my little hard-working street urchins. It's an honor to finally meet you, Avatar." a man spoke as he walks up to Korra and puts his hand on her shoulder.
"And you are ...?" Korra asks, her tone annoyed.
"Butakha. I run this whole pro-bending shebang. Here's your winnings from the last match. Ah ah ah, not so fast. , you owe me for the Avatar's new gear, gym and equipment rentals from last month, rent on your apartment, and a personal loan for groceries." Butakha says, leaving Mako with an empty hand.
With a frown, Mako closes his hand.
Mako then glares at Bolin, who rubs his stomach "What? I'm a growing boy!"
"Oh, and one more small item of business: The Fire Ferrets need to ante up thirty thousand yuans for the championship pot." Butakha states, causing Bolin's mouth to hang.
"Thirty thousand yuans?!" he exclaims, as the small red animal hangs for dear life on his arm.
"Sorry, kids. You got 'til the end of the week to come up with the dough, or else, you're out of the tournament." he states before walking away.
"You wouldn't happen to have a secret Avatar bank account overflowing with gold, would you?" Bolin asks, causing Korra to pull out her pockets.
"I got nothing. I've never really needed money. I've always had people taking care of me." Korra states, making Mako look angry.
"Then I wouldn't say you have nothing." Mako says as he puts the ball they were throwing into a bag.
"Sorry, I didn't mean —" Korra says, but Bolin interrupts. "No, it's all right. It's just ever since we lost our parents, we've been on our own." he says, making me look down.
"I lost mine too, never even got to meet them" I sigh as my hand clutches the boomerang Grandma gave me.
"I'm sorry" Bolin says, a frown on his face as he puts a hand on my shoulder. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know." Korra says as she also puts a hand on Bolin's shoulder.
"So, anyway, how are we gonna come up with the money?" Mako says as he swings the bag over his shoulder.
"Oh, oh, I got it! I've been training Pabu to do circus tricks. Now people would pay good money to see that!" Bolin cheers, before holding up his red friend, Pabu, making me smile.
"Come on, Bolin. We need serious ideas." Mako sneers, making Bolin look saddened.
"I was serious." Bolin states as he hold Pabu close to him.
"Don't worry about it. I'll figure something out. I always do." Mako states, making Bolin get angry. Putting a hand on his arm, I whisper "I'll help you out."
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"Come one, come all. See Pabu the fantastic fire ferret as he crosses the Ladder of Peril, upside down! Psst, psst. Big finish, buddy. Stick the landing. Ta da!" Bolin cheers as Pabu does a series of tricks, making me laugh.
Luckily, someone threw a coin into his cup "Thank you, ladies and gentlemen! You are too kind! Seriously, too kind! You can come back here and put money right in this- Okay, that's fine, that's fine. One yuan down, 29,999 to go." Bolin cheers as he smiles at me.
Suddenly, a car pulls up, and a window rolls down, revealing a man.
"Hey, Bolin. Is that you?" the man smirks, making Bolin look down.
"Oh, hey there, Shady Shin." Bolin sighs as he and Pabu walk up to me. "Heard you're a big time pro-bending player now. Not bad." Shady Shin nods, making Bolin scratch the back of his neck. "Uh thanks" he mumbles, clearly uncomfortable.
"So listen. I got an offer for ya. Lightning Bolt Zolt is lookin' to hire some extra muscle." Shady Shin says, making Bolin shake his head.
"Uh, I don't know, Shin. Mako told me to stay away from the Triple Threats." Bolin states making me glare at the man. I think that was the gang Korra beat up.
"Pfuh, your brother ain't the boss of you. It's just a little security work. Nothin' crooked." Shady Shin says slyly before adding "And your girl can come too".
I look at Bolin, but he looks at his cup, where Shady Shin has thrown a large wad of cash into.
"You game?" Shady Shin says, causing Bolin to nod. With a few steps, he opens the car door and lets me inside before climbing in himself.
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"Bolin, I don't like this" I sneer as we stand in the alleyway.
Grunting, he lifts another crate into a truck that Shady Shin needed filled.
"It's alright Dakota, we'll be fine" he says, before pushing the crate to the back of the truck.
Along with a few other men, they lifted crates into a truck, carrying spirit knows what.
Suddenly, I hear a buzz, sounding like electricity. I turn just in time to see a man with a glove, aimed right at my back. With a flick of my hand, I pull water out of the air and I shove it onto his face before freezing it.
Then, other men jump from the roofs, and start electrocuting the others, or jabbing them.
"Bolin!" I scream as I jab another guy with ice, sending him flying.
"Dakota! Behind you!" Bolin screams, but he's too late. Hands jab into my sides, causing my eyes to widen.
Quickly I move to bend, but I can't.
Worry fills me, they did something to me, something I can't figure out.
Quickly taking a breath, and my body starting to numb.
Bolin's hands find my shoulders and I look at him, fear lacing my vision.
"Dakota! Dakota!" he screams, but it sounds like a whisper. My eyes droop and darkness starts to cover my surroundings.
Then, a hand is pressed to my neck before releasing an electric shock upon me, making me scream out in pain before the darkness sweeps over me.