Chapter I: Out Of The Ashes A Phoenix Shall Rise
May 6th, 2215
Vio: Outside Sector 12
Korra laid down in a field of grass, staring up at the sky has her mind raced with thoughts from the previous event. There was a small crisp breeze in the air that reminded her how summer was coming soon. It seemed like a normal day, to anyone else; it would be. But not to her or her friends who sat there in silence next to her, wondering the same thing: 'How did it end up like this?'They were just a bunch of normal high school kids- okay, normal is what it was to everyone else but they all had their issues and past that ultimately made them a perfect target for something like this. Family history and rivalry that was inflicted onto them after many generations. They had no part of it but isn't that how most of these things start? No one would give them a benefit of a doubt, simply because they fit the profile and the history of them.
Sam was the first one to break the silence when he spoke "We need to do something" He remained staring up at the sky as he talked. "Sitting here and wondering why, isn't going to solve anything."
There was another long pause of silence before Korra she sat up to face her friend. "He's right. Spending our day hiding in this field won't Do any good."
Mike; the oldest one of the group decided to take charge of the situation. "Okay, let's think this over" He replied and nudged Sam to sit up. "We can’t go back, that's out of the question. So we should get off of Vio, but how?" He glanced around before the redhead beside him spoke up.
"Military." She said simply "They're in dire need of troops and it's a free ticket to Earth" She grinned widely, proud of her idea.
"Hey, that's not a bad idea 'A'." Sam said, a plan already forming in his head. Mentally working out all the bugs in his head. "It wouldn't be hard to bypass security." His voice was distance as his thought began to already form a plan
Korra frowned at the thought of joining. She had siblings that needed her at home and the thought of being in combat and fighting wasn't what she wanted. She liked to avoid violence and was always the nice one; she just wasn't suited for combat. "No, we need to figure out another plan." her voice was stern yet a subtle tone of fear hid behind it.
Mike sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "What other option is there?"
She looked down, picking at the grass as she spoke "I don't know. But I'm not doing it" She said as if a parent was making a three year-old do her chores.
"We have no other option Korra." He no longer tried to bother with hiding his frustration from them. He took it out on the first person he got remotely annoyed that at; which was her.
Andria and Sam continued to stay quiet, not bothering to jump in just yet. As their relationship goes, this was a frequent thing. Both Korra and Mike tended to get into fights about their disagreements.
Korra was pissed off by now from Mike snapping at her. She had shot up, staring down at him with her blue eyes. She was normally a calm person, even when they fought but right now, she was anything but. The stress of the day taking a toll on her. Her voice was low and she clenched her fist "I have my family that I need to take care of. Joining isn't something I can do." her eyes continued to stare down at Mike. She didn't bother to brush the pieces of short brown hair that was in her face.
"And could you do that from prison?"
Korra inwardly cursed at Mike for the statement, not wanting to admit defeat. "No."
"Exactly." He replied, standing up. He put his hand on her shoulder, knowing that it would be hard. It would be hard for everyone but it would be especially hard for her. "It's the best option" He said in his usual calm tone of voice
"You're asking me to do the selfish thing and leave them." Her eyes began to water at the thought of leaving her family. She shifted her gaze to the ground, letting her hair hide her face.
His voice was just above a whisper as he spoke "And is going to prison for something you didn't do, the right thing..?"
She opened her mouth as if to speak but stopped herself, shaking her head. "Alright. I'll do it.." her voice was still soft and sad but he couldn't blame her. He even hated it but he needed to stay strong for her.
Andria rested her arm on Sam's shoulder, having to stand a bit straighter due his height, wearing a small smirk as she looked between the two. "Do I need to break you guys up before you start making out?" She teased, knowing full well they both hated it when she did that. Making a suddenly shy korra; blush.
Mike simply rolled his eyes and took a step away from the blushing girl. "Alright, Sam. What's this 'plan' you have" clearly, he had little faith that Sam had come up with an even, decent plan.
"Glad you finally asked" Sam said with a cheeky grin. "Military does background checks but they're also desperate. That makes them more willing to let people in" He paused for a moment, thinking his words over before continuing. "I can temporarily wipe out the last seventy-two hours of any police report in sector Twelve." He said as if it was as simple as shutting down a computer. It probably was too him. "It would take some time to set it up but that's the hardest part. We get in and we sign up"
Korra; still hating the fact that they had to do it, had some questions. "Won’t they know someone wipe the data out? And couldn't they trace the source back to you?"
Sam just smirked; knowing he already fool proofed the plan. "Yes and no. They will realize it and eventually bring it back up but trust me, tracing the source would be nearly impossible. We're good."
Korra huffed and crossed her arms at the new found knowledge.
"Good. How long will it take?" Mike cut in.
"Not sure, it all depends on how complex it is. I should start working on it now"
Mike nodded and looked at both Andria and Korra. "We can’t go back to our homes. We're staying here for the night"
They were lucky that Sam had decided to bring his laptop with him today, it made the complicated task, much easier. Andria and Mike crowded around him, sitting on the soft green grass that surrounded them, watching him as he breached Sector twelve’s firewall, giddy as children who walked into a candy store. From Korra's perspective you would think they actually want to go out and murder people. But then again, it was Andria and Mike; the two most psychotic people she knew.
She laid down, staring up at the star filled sky. The full moon lighting up the night sky. She stayed quiet, deep in thought and just listening to the usual calmness that filled the air. They were so far out from Sector twelve that the only thing that surrounded them was just the rare sounds of distant animals and trees, blowing in the breeze. She was pulled back to reality when someone lightly brushed her arm, making her shiver
"I apologize for earlier" a soft male voice whispered. Mike. Of course, who else would do that?
"Its fine" She shifted her body to lie on her side to face him. Mike in a similar position, his short black hair obscuring part of his face as he studied her for a while, trying to read her but after a few minutes ticked by, he gave up.
"You want to talk about it?" He saw her body tense as she clenched her jaw before she spoke with a defiant 'No'
He sighed softly before he spoke again. "Okay, let me rephrase that. Talk"
She raised a brow at how demanding he was being. "And what if I don't?" She tried to maintain a serious tone but Mike noticed the teasing hint in her voice and smirked
"We’ll see" was all he cared to speak.
Korra rolled her eyes and shifted back on to her back, staring up at the stars once again. Her mind wandered absently to different memories and thoughts of the past; the life that was so easily destroyed in one simple moment... Or maybe that was never her life, just a small portion of it that will forever remain a memory... in that moment; she made a decision, an inner vowel to herself. Knowing things were not going to be even remotely the same, she forced herself to forget, her family, friends, past, all of it. It would be easier for her to pretend it didn't happen like none of it existed. A harsh step but she felt like it was the only thing keeping her from breaking down and being emotionally compromised, something they couldn't afford to be at this moment.
"Remember when we used to stargaze?" Sam asked. She must have dozed off because she didn't realize he had put up his laptop or that he and Andria were lying beside her.
"Remember when we had a life besides school?" Mike cut in, still laying beside her.
Andria snorted "It's called summer"
"No one asked you" Both Mike and Sam replied an unison.
Korra couldn't help but smile, shaking her head at the two who still acted like children when they bickered. Andria seemed to enjoy pushing their buttons. Mike learned to dodge them while Sam actively retaliated with a witty remark, starting an all out brawl that would last for hours with insults. Korra found it amusing how they have yet to realize that they have mutual feelings of interest with each other. Mike would tease them for such, making subtle hints of their flirtatious behavior while Andria did the same with him and Korra.
She sighed and shut her eyes. Hoping to catch some sleep before the dawn began to creep in too the night's sky.
Mike groaned at the sun shining into his eye's, not aware of where he was at. His hand moved to grab his covers but there was none. His eye's flew open at the realization of where he was at and the events of the previous day came rushing back to him. He sat up, rubbing his eyes and looked around as the golden light of the dawn slowly overtook the night. The grass surrounding him was damp with the morning due and he found Korra beside him, her head resting against her school bag, using her jacket as a blanket. He smiled to himself at the sight.
Andria was laying right by Korra, using part of her bag as a pillow as well, her bright red hair covering her face as some of the long locks blew in the cool breeze. He looked around for Sam but there was no sign of him. "Sam?" He whispered. He stood up, stretching out his sore muscles from sleeping on the ground, before he called out his friends name again. He heard a rustle behind him and he spun on his heels to find Sam.
Mike rose a brow "Where were you?"
"I've been up for a while, was wandering around." Sam gestured to the Forrest not too far behind him. "I've never been outside the Sector before"
"Their's more wildlife out here than in the Sectors." Mike looked up ahead as he spoke, watching the birds fly over his head.
"I've noticed." Sam's eye's drifted to the two who were still asleep on the grass. He shook his head chuckling. "You would think they'd be awake by now"
It took a moment for Mike to realize what he was talking about, glancing down at Korra and Andria. "Oh, yeah. It's been a rough day for them.." His mind drifted off as he spoke, wondering how everything was going to play out.
"Y'know" Sam looked away from the sleeping girls to Mike who seemed to be off in space. "We are now their guardians." Mike gave him and odd look, Arching his brow. "We're going to be on our own. Two teenage girl's wandering around isn't safe and no matter how good Andria is, she can't hold her own compared to a grown man."
Mike nodded, understanding what he meant. "We protect each other now."
"I call dips on A. " Sam whispered. 'A' was the nickname Sam gave Andria, despite it annoying her.
Mike let out a loud laugh. "I knew you liked her"
Sam shooshed him, not wanting her or Korra to here. They would be up at any moment now that the sun was well over the horizon.
Mike nodded to his request, changing the subject. "Is everything in place?"
Sam bent down to grab his backpack, throwing it over his shoulder. "Yep, just have to activate it" He gently nudged Korra and Andria with his foot to wake them. He stretched, running a hand through his shaggy brown hair.
Andria groaned and sat up "What are we doing now?" She spoke as she began to stretch.
"We're ready to recruit. Get up, there's a recruiting center about an hour walking distance from here" Mike said flatly as he helped Korra onto her feet and handed her backpack to her.
Not another word was spoken as they began to walk. The shock of what had happened the day before was now gone and the realization crept in. Mike knew this was probably one for the craziest thing's they will ever do. He just hoped that it didn't come back to haunt him, he didn't want to lose any of them because of the choice they made. Going to prison wasn't something they were willing to do and if they had another way out, why not take it? Make a new life, a better place... For everyone.
