Chapter 7

Bright blue eyes

Bolin wasn't kidding… She thought, as she stared at the captain of the Royals. His thick body was rippling with muscle, and she guessed he weighed 400 pounds. Yet, he moved as quickly and as gracefully as a cat. Korra glanced at the rest of the team, where a smaller, but still massive man, stood next to the tallest woman Korra had ever seen.

Bolin nodded towards the woman, "She's their Waterbender, the other one is their Earthbender."

The Referee called the two captains to the middle of the arena, and asked them to shake hands. Korra noticed that Bolin's entire hand disappeared into his opponent's massive palm. When Bolin came back, the team converged into a brief huddle, "Alright guys," he said, "we have to strike fast. You can see how big they are, but don't be deceived, they'll be quicker than you think. Korra, take point, you're the only person who can match Fao in strength. Kat, play support, try and drive them back, but if Korra's in trouble then start putting out the fire. I'll see if I can slip a shots in while things are chaotic. If we get pushed back, play defensive and let the round run out. They're too big to take on in close quarters. Ready? Break!"

The Fire Ferrets lined up alone the middle of the arena and stood face to face with the royals. Korra had to lean her head up, to look into Fao's face.

"I want a clean match." The Referee stated, "Earth and fire, no head shots, water you can bend a stream for one second, and not a moment longer. Ferrets ready?" Bolin nodded, "Royals ready?" Fao gave a thumbs up, "alright, ready, set…" The sound of the bell dinged loudly.

Immediately, Korra hurled a bolt of flame directly at Fao's chest, but it was dissolved with a circular flick of his arm. He returned by jumping into the air, and with a hard round kick, sending a blade of flame horizontally at all three of the Ferrets. Korra and Kat easily dodged it, but Bolin, who was in the midst of sending a disk at the Royal's Earthbender, was struck square in the chest, and fell onto his back. Capitalizing on the momentary weakness, the Royals' Earthbender sent two disks spinning for Bolin. The first struck him in the shoulder as he hurried to get his footing, causing him to lose his balance again. The second, sent him flying into the next zone with a loud, 'CRACK'. A loud buzzer went off, signaling that the Ferrets had lost ground.

Without letting up, Fao began to send a torrent of fireballs the size of tires towards Korra. She dissolved the first, dodged the second, and was nicked by the third on her shoulder, scorching her left side and knocking her onto her back. Despite the wind being knocked from her lungs, she knew she had to move. She quickly rolled to her left, narrowly missing two more fireballs. "Kat, cover me!" She managed to yell, still catching her breath, before diving into a roll to avoid another fireball.

Kat, who was exchanging bolts of water with the Royals' Waterbender, skipped into the air, and with a pair of spinning kicks, sent two streams of water to collide with Fao's fireballs, before returning to her foe.

When Kat's stream and Fao's fire collided, a cloud of steam obscured the air, causing Fao to pause for a moment. Realizing the opportunity, Korra leapt towards him, and pitched her own series of fireballs, to switch the roles of the fight. Fao fought to maintain control, but unable to match the Avatar's power, was forced to play defense. She continued to bombard him again, and again, with an onslaught of flame, not giving a single moment for Fao to turn the tide. He took a step backwards, then another one, and another one, unable to hold ground against the Avatar's attack. With a last burst of power, Korra took two steps forward, jumped. With a double-footed kick, she sent an enormous blast of fire whirling towards the Firebender. Fao tried to dive away, but was wasn't fast enough, and with an angry cry, tumbled strait through the last two zones, splashing into the water below.

The rest of Fao's team looked shocked, that their leader was overtaken, and turned to focus their efforts on Korra. Their Waterbender sent a bolt of water at the Avatar, clipping her ankle as she tried to dodge, putting her wildly off balance. Before she could recover, the Royals' Earthbender hurled a disk at her chest. Korra watched the disk spin closer and closed her eyes, bracing for the impact. But instead of a blow from the disk, Korra heard a loud, 'crack,' as Bolin intercepted the disk with one of his own. Without missing a beat, Korra regained her balance, and, with Bolin, attacked the Earthbender. With a quick blast of fire, backed by several disks they sent him flying into the last zone. Korra turned to strike at the lone Waterbender, readying a blast of flame. But before she could deliver the blow, the bell sounded, signaling the end of the round.

"The first round goes to the Fire Ferrets!" Blared the announcer.

Korra let the fire slip from her grasp, and moved to Bolin, who brought the team into a huddle. "Good job Ferrets, we're dominating them. But we need to keep the pressure on." He said with an aura of authority. Korra noticed that Probending brought out the leader in Bolin. The person on the arena floor barley resembled the soft, easy going, friend she knows normally. "Korra, lets mix it up. After the bell, strike at their Waterbender, I'll do the same and we'll push her towards the ropes. I'll be able to finish her form there. Kat, cover Fao's blasts. I suspect that Earthbender will be have it out for Korra and I, so we'll manage keeping him distracted. Any Questions?" The two girls shook their heads, "Alright, ready? BREAK!" The Ferrets lined up against the Royals, and the bell sounded again.

Without waiting, Fao leapt into the air, again, sending a blade of flame towards the three Ferrets. Kat, predicting his move, brought a stream of water up from the grate in the ground, and, with a graceful flourish, extinguished Fao's attack. A counter attack from the young Waterbender put Fao on the defensive. Korra and Bolin immediately fired everything they could at the Royal's Waterbender, who, overwhelmed by the assault, was forced to dive towards the ropes for safety, where Bolin continued to hammer her with attacks. With a surprising display of dexterity for such a large man, the Royal's Earthbender sent a volley of disks spinning wide to the left and the right. They sailed through the air, and arched towards Korra, who rolled forward, to avoid the blunt of the assault.

The buzzer went off, signaling to Korra that Bolin had succeeded in pushing the Royal's Waterbender into the second zone. Hoping to catch her off guard, Korra jumped backwards, dodging a disk, and fired a small, but precise, shot directly at the Waterbender. The shot sailed past her teammates, and found its mark on the bender's collarbone, sending her teetering into the third zone, setting off the buzzer. The woman staggered, her hand cradling where Korra had struck her, tried to regain her balance, but it was too late. Bolin's next attack sent her flying into the water.

Kat and Fao exchanged blows until the space between them was obscured by steam and smoke. Despite his ferocity, not a single bolt of Fao's fire could make it past Kat, who was extinguishing everything he managed to throw at her. With the air still opaque, Kat fired four sequential bolts of water, and struck Fao across his chest and face. Although the attack left him standing, it pushed him back enough to cross into the second zone, again setting off the buzzer.

Seeing that his team was losing, the Royals' Earthbender sent a desperate volley of disks towards the Ferrets. Before they could cross the halfway line on the arena, Kat had jets of water it the air to intercept them. "Korra, Bolin," Kat yelled over her shoulder, "leap frog."

Korra understood, and smiled at Bolin. It was a play they had run in training dozens of times before. Kat continued to deflect the disks from the Earthbender, advancing towards the front line as she did, while Bolin engaged Fao. Korra positioned herself behind Kat, and with a running start, she leapt towards her teammate, planting a foot on Kat's back. Pushing with all her might, she flew into the air, high above the match. She looked down and could see Fao's eye grow wide, as if he knew what was coming, and that it was too late. She hit the ground, pouring every bit of energy she could muster into the attack, shooting an enormous semi-circle of fire towards the Royals. Sending what remained of the team sailing off the arena floor, and deep into the pool below.

Three dings of the bell sounded, signaling the end of the match. The crowed erupted into cheers, their chant of "AV-A-TAR, AV-A-TAR," began to echo through the arena again.

Kat jumped on Korra's back and kissed her cheek, "Knockout! What a shot!" she squealed, pumping her fist into the air and cheering.

With Kat still on her back, Korra threw her hands into the air and waved at the crowd, relishing in the win. The announcer rose from his platform and spoke into his microphone, "By knockout, this match goes to…" he made an exaggerated gesture towards the team, "The Future Industries Fire Ferrets!" The crowed boomed with more excitement than ever, their chant echoing with a thunderous roar.

Korra turned to the owner's box, where she knew Asami would be seated. Though when she saw her, Korra's smile fell from her face. Asami was pale white, and appeared to be shouting something to Tenzin and Beifong. Asami was too far away for Korra to hear, but her body language told Korra that something was wrong. Asami grabbed Tenzin's attention, and pointed at something behind Korra. Tenzin turned pale as well, and sprang into action, airbending himself past the barrier that marked the last row of seats, and towards the arena floor. Korra turned to see for herself, but before she could, something hard rammed into her and Kat, knocking them to the ground. While she fell, she thought she heard a small thump in the background.

The moment she landed, she rolled away from her teammate and sprang to her feet. Turning to where the impact had come from, she took a strong stance, ready for a fight. She saw a man on the retracted arena platform, a bow was in his hand, and a gasmask covered his face. For a moment, they made eye contact, a pair of bright blue eyes stared into her soul. Then the man vanished into the prep room. Korra looked down, before her, laid a motionless grey and red body. A red stain was spreading from a long wooden arrow, which was buried deep into it's side. Korra's blood ran cold, and her heart sank. No... she thought, as she dropped to the ground by her friend. "Bolin!" she yelled, "Can you hear me?" she shook his shoulders, "Bolin!" desperation and panic were evident in her voice. She pressed her ear to his chest, but heard nothing. Tears welled in her eyes. The red stain had stretched to the ground, where a puddle of crimson blood was forming. Korra grabbed him, and shook again, hard, "BOLIN!" But there was no response, Bolin continued to lie there, bloody and motionless.