3

"So, what are we doing again?" Tate asks me.

"Finding my friend Nengyuan," I tell him, still walking ahead, looking for street signs.

The streets were always crowded at this late time of day. I had to cover my head to not be recognized while Tate could go free and show his face. I just didn't want to get mobbed or anything.

It was late and the sun had started to set in the sky.

It was why I didn't get why most people decided to get up and go at this time of day. Maybe last minute decisions. I don't know, I've never really understood.

But Tate was at my side and I felt the need not to think and worry to bad about much. True, Mindbenders wandered throughout the town but i could be less concerned, as long as I watch my back and didn't let my guard down. Those were my main thoughts at this point.

To calm my self I look at Tate and smile. He seems to feel my eyes on him and smiles back. It was good to have a friend on my side and helping me with something important.

Something catches my eye and I turn in the other direction. Two Mindbenders and a Firebender are talking to two non-benders. Smiling

This should be interesting.

I turn on my heels, Tate Following right after me towards the trio.

"Having fun threatening the innocent?" I ask with an inconsiderate tone.

They glance at me, a girl who looked helpless and weak, and they laughed. Then they see Tate, then they hold their sides and fall down laughing. I glare anger flaring up in my hothead.

Tate does look harmless, innocent and incredibly vulnerable. I could help but feel bad and glance at him. He's looking straight ahead, obviously pissed and ready to use his air. Sure he looked all harmless, but he was anything but when it came fighting.

The pair they were talking to a second ago slowly back away until they were clear to run.

Tate could use the extent of his power which was using his air to create a sharp blade almost. It could kill at it's fast rate. I admired him for his skill.

He looked at me with that signal and I nodded and got ready to attack.

But I was too eager to wait for his patience.

Using my hands, I constructed light for them to see, I let it glow and they looked up at me. I pointed my hands toward them and they looked on into the light as though they were mesmerized by it.

Slowly the light grew and before I knew it, I shot the fire out.

That's when I knew things were about to go down.

Tate, almost on autopilot shot up on a tornado and tossed some air currents in my direction carefully. I waited and dodged each one letting it strike the enemy below me.

Tate hit all three, but it proved not to be enough.

My eyes became clouded with other visions and I could not tell what was exactly happening other than the fact that the Mindbenders were playing tricks on me.

Now I was mad.

Becoming the hot head I usually was, I inhaled, inflaming my lungs with fire, then I exhaled a long breath, breathing a large amount of fire everywhere.

That's when my mind was cleared a bit and I inflamed myself so that now I was on fire. My hair blazed, giving me that feeling of authority and my hood fell down so that my face was revealed. Tate gasp from up about, being able to see most likely.

I lifted my arms and waved a huge amount of fire at the other Firebender who seemed astonished at who I was and why he seemed to be caught up in a fight with me. He tried to block with his fire, but it wasn't enough.

I was a bit too strong.

It almost seemed unfair.

Almost.

He leveled up his fire power and shielded from my fire like a coward. A gust of wind flew directly at the shield and broke it. I was there for the opening when I saw him and blew another breath of fire at him.

He was burned immediately and fell down. I laughed at him.

I was getting cocky.

What's that saying? You can't fight fire with fire? You'll just get burned?

That's what seemed to happen to this guy.

But I was just mad.

But I felt that that wasn't the end and how correct I was. In a rush, he gathered himself onto his feet. I created fire balls in my hands and threw them in a rushed surprise. He dodged two then got hit by a third one I had lying around.

He fell to the ground once again on his butt, but seemed to not be able to take a hint.

I kicked hard and huge amount of fire came from my feet.

The man was slammed back into a cement wall, an indent of him buried into him. Something he wouldn't be coming back from, I was sure. May be he was dead.

'Where had that come from?' I wondered to myself.

I had to think for a moment about something I might have been--

Tate! I had forgotten about him while I was concentrated on my fight.

I looked up. The skies had turned gray, and lightning was brewing; an electrical storm.

Perfect.

I look in Tate's direction and I see him there, using his Energybending.

Nengyuan

I smile. He and Tate are holding up but not well enough and Mindbenders seem to be breaking through Tate's self balance. I know that lightning is for me and I use it's advantage as a sneak attack. I know sneak attacks are low and weak, but I need a way to get them out.

Quickly, using my fingers I pull the lightning in my direction and pull it in.

It circles around me and encases me in a ring. Almost of fire. I aim and I shoot.

And it hits.

One of the Mindbenders drops to the ground like a sack and his buddy stares leaving Tate open for an attack which the guy realizes and turns to dodge his heavy sharp air attack.

But he forgets me and I use another electric current and hit him with it. He looks as though he's having a seizure.

The other guy gets up and I zap his friend with the remain electricity that I have. He ceases to move, signaling that he's possibly dead so I burn him, just to be sure. His friend seems determined to see himself out.

I smile at his determination. It's sad, he wouldn't win.

I'd make sure of that.

There's on thing he doesn't seem to get as he gets into my distracted mind to screw up my vision and my hearing.

I don't let my self down when it comes to a fight. I won't let myself die if it's important.

Without another thought as to where the fire would end up i jump into a spinning kick in a circle of fire with my foot. I have no idea where I'm going or what's going on with my sight clouded up like it is. I rely on Tate and Nengyuan to get me out of this one.

Suddenly, I feel all the energy in the air being put out around us and I feel weakened. I know Nengyuan knows what he's doing so I in case myself in a circular shield of fire and I begin to get my vision back to normal, burning the tainted from myself. It works and I move through the shield, fire ready and straight to the Mindbender, who is dazed and lost in a tornado of air.

"Nice going Tate!" I shout out to him. Nengyuan smiles at me.

"He's been doing good since you were up against sparky over there," he says.

I smile and then use fire to rocket up to the Mindbender and use fire to slap him.

It burns his cheek and he looks pissed and I stayed determined.

I know, kinda silly but hey, he was hurting my people, he deserved it.

In an entire whirlwind of a fire sphere, I in case him in it so it's just me and him, one on one.

"This is your last chance to surrender what you have started," I say, armed, (almost literally, because fire is spreading across my arms) with fire. He narrows his eyes in to slits and the tornado that was holding him collapses and he falls to the ground made of fire. I cool it down so he doesn't get burned fighting me.

Of course, he will anyway.

He runs at me, using his Mindbending to create ripples in my vision and I fling the fire on my arms into his eyes.

He falls to the ground, withering around in pain. I let gravity take place and fall down as well, right on my feet.

By now, he's crying as I walk over to him.

"Stop crying," I say icily. He continues to cry.

I am angry at this point, at his weakness, so I slash fire at him and release the cage of fire, letting him fall to the ground, injuring him. I stay afloat with an air current from Tate letting me slowly drift to the ground.

When I do finally reach the ground, Nengyuan lifts his arms and drains the energy from the bender to prevent him from getting up.

"How weak do I look now?" Tate ask the man before using his Airbending to slice his throat.

I take a deep breath and suck in all the fire still surrounding us. It's cleared in a matter of seconds and I breath out.

"We were coming to look for you I say to Nengyuan. He blushes.

"Well I was around shopping and thought I'd come see you as well."

"It's been a while," I half whisper. He nods.

"We should get out of here if we don't want another fight guys," Tate says. I look at him and nod.

"Wait, one more thing," Tate says grabbing a rope. I see where he's going with this and sit back and watch as he ties the Mindbender I shocked and the Firebender I slammed into the wall together. Just to make sure that if their dead, they won't be able to move.

I nod at him and he finishes up.

Soon, we hog tail it back to the palace and call it a day, deciding to invite Maya over so we could all sleep over basically.

Maya gratefully accepted my offer and said she would be here in a couple minutes as she was in the Water Fortress.

We took the time to go over what had happened and when Nengyuan had shown up.

"So guys, how did we get wrapped up in that?" Nengyuan asks tiredly. I shrug.

"Two goons were torturing a shop couple and Tate and I decided to step in and save them," I started off.

"The guys took one look at us and then laughed their asses off like we were nothing," Tate says

"We would have been almost nothing without Nengyuan using his Energybending to create that lightning. Fire and Air wouldn't have been enough. Plus, you would have been over powered by them with two there," I point out. Tate nods.

"Thanks, man," he tells Nengyuan. I smile at my friends getting along so well.

Aiden....

The name whispered through my mind and my smile faltered.

Tate noticed it and looked at me with concern.

"Are you thinking about Aiden again?" he asked, seemingly reading my mind. I nod and look down.

Nengyuan frowns. "Aiden? I though you two were best friends. What happened that you looked so down?"

Before Tate or I could speak, another voice interrupted.

"Sorry I'm really late! I couldn't remember how to do the water current thing my mother showed me. I'm not usually rushed to get over here and it was a faster way."

Maya.

"Maya, it's ok, really," I assured her. She smiled at me and I smiled back. But I'm not really good with the smiling thing so it probably just looked like an ugly mess of my face.

"So what's going on?" she asked. I think it was then when I realized how Nengyuan was looking at her. I smiled knowingly at him. He noticed it and blushed. Love was so cute. If only I could solve my own problems with it.

But I don't wanna talk about that right now.

"Well for starters, Ky and I saw some goons causing trouble in town," Tate said.

Maya smiled at him then me. "Really? I should of been there."

"Yeah," I agree. "We could of used some water on two Mindbenders. It was crazy. I had to deal with a firebender by myself, accidentally forgetting about Tate, and Nengyuan showed up-"

"Wait who's Nenguwan?" Maya asked.

I pointed him out and she blushed, not having noticed him before.

"First of all, it's Nen-guu-on. Second, He's over there, next to the door way and third, he's an Energybender." I leaned over towards her. " And he sorta likes you," I whisper in her ear.

She giggles, and Nengyuan looks at me weird.

"Well any ways, I used lightning to hit the Mindbenders. I killed one but just to be sure we tied him and the Firebender who I slammed into a cement wall up together and then book it."

"Ahem, you forgot to mention the part where I slashed the other Mindbender's neck with my air," Tate threw in.

I giggled. "Yeah that too, but it wasn't before Nen drained the power out of him! Don't forget that." I smiled.

Tate blushed furiously and turned his head away. I chuckled a bit and rubbed his shoulder. I'm not perfect but I know how easily we can all be embarrassed or in my case angered.

Sometimes.

"Man, I wish I would have been there to see that," Maya says dreamily.

I yawn. "Maybe we should get some sleep and talk in the morning. Everyone else agrees.

We go to my closets and grab several blankets to lay on the floor and sleep.

My dreams were blank and consisted of screaming. Aiden's, Maya's, Avani's and even mine.

When I finally woke up I hear a voice speaking. It sounds mad.

"She's just mad that I said I loved her as a joke."

It was Aiden's voice.

"That's not cool dude, and you know that. You shouldn't play with feelings," Tate says angrily.

I took a breath in, but it wasn't enough. Fire raged throughout my body and I burst into flames. Tate and Nengyuan immediately move away. Anger coursed through my veins. Maya moves away quickly.

"What are you doing here!?" I yell at Aiden. He looks scared, worried and conflicted all in one.

"I came to say I'm sorry and--"

"No!" I raged. "I told you, I don't want to be friends, now go away.

Ignoring my request and my flames of fury, he came in anyway and held me by the wrist, right over to Maya.

She looked a bit startled.

"Cool her off," Aiden demanded.

"Why do I -" Maya was interrupted.

"Just do it!" Aiden yelled. Quickly she took in the water molecules from the air and used it to put out my fire.

Now I was angry but I couldn't do any thing to get out of Aiden's fierce grip. Now my breathing was heavy and erratic. I couldn't ignite my flame again.

Aiden stormed off away from Maya, her face still confused and scared. She had always been so easily timid and modest. Which is why I liked her best out my friends at this moment.

Aiden dragged me into an empty room that had nothing but a desk inside of it. He let me sit on the floor while he paced around.

Why was he doing this? Didn't he know I didn't want him by me, to be friends with me?

"Why did you bring me here?" I asked

"I just, don't know."

"Oh you don't do you?" I raged at him.

"Well, I-I...." he trailed off.

"You what, Aiden!?"

"I don't know how to explain it."

"Well you better figure it out before i tear you to peices!"

"Will you calm down?"

"No! you just dragged me into a room for a reason you don't even know and against my will. Of course I'm mad."

"When you put it like that... ok you can be mad, I don't blame you"

"Don't make me call the guards to escort you out."

"No, no, that won't be necessary. I just...."

"What Aiden!? Finish your damn sentence and stop trailing off!"

He look taken aback but cleared his expression and took a deep breath.

"We need... to talk," he said. I stared at him, my mouth opened slightly.

"About us."

Uh oh.

This was going to be a long day.

A/N

I don't know.

This part go deleted because either my iPod is really stupid or my computer's stupid.

I don't know. I'll update soon.

SUNWAVE