Into the Dark Realm
The large mountain casted a massive shadow over the land, the kids felt as if their necks would break just by looking at it. The sky around it was light gray with matching clouds hovering above.
"So, that's the entrance to the Dark Spirit Realm, huh?" Hiro said, looking up at it like everyone else. "Doesn't look so bad."
"Wait until you see it from the inside." Iris said. "From what I've heard, it's not the ideal place where you would want to have a spirit world vacation."
"Are we seriously going to climb that thing?" Nori asked, optioning her finger at the massive rock. "It'll take us at least six more hours to--" Nori blinked when a flash of magic suddenly engulfed them and they arrived at the very top of the mounting, standing on a slat surface. Iris and Akari both folded their arms, giving her matching smug grins. "Ooooh, right. Alicorns."
The winds started to pick up and Iris looked over the horizon of the vast spirit world. They did it. They finally reached their destination. Now, was the moment of truth. Iris took in a deep breath, her hands trembled but willed her right hand to grip her father's scarf. Memories from when he would wrap it around her neck when she was cold flooded her mind. Sometimes, when she was scared, both parents would calm her with a song. Her father's soft ballads accompanied by his acoustic guitar was always enough to ease her worries.
She focused on the sound, relaxing her tense muscles. "I'm coming mom and dad. Just hang on." she whispered to herself.
"Uh, if you're gonna start singing, can you save it for after we save everyone?" Hiro said, ruining the tranquil moment. Either way, Iris was more relaxed now than she was before, now it was time to focus on the mission at hand.
She traced her hand through her long high ponytail. "Okay. This is it you guys. Are you ready?"
"Ready!" everyone nodded in agreement.
"So, not seeing an entrance." Mai said, looking around for any sign of it.
"Yes." Akari nodded her head. Her voice becoming ominously lower as she loomed over the firebender and the rest of the group. "Because it only appears after a human sacrifice…." she added an extra hissing effect at the end, while the others all blinked in bewilderment. Akari bursted out laughing. "Ha! Oh, come on! Why so serious?"
Gallant rolled his eyes and proceeded to airbend the dust away. His friends coughed and fanned the dust away, revealing a circular door beneath them. Each one carried the symbol of each Element's cutie mark. Iris nodded her head towards it. At the same time, they all placed their hands over the symbols. Hiro over the symbol of a ballon, Mai over the symbol of the Apple, Gallant over the butterfly, Nori over the diamond, Chi over the lighting bolt, Akari over the star and Iris over the heart.
The kids stepped back once the ground started to tremble and the door opened up to reveal a dark, purple glowing tunnel that looked almost like the size of a pebble from above. Hiro spit down into the tunnel, waiting to hear a splash o some kind, but it never came.
"That's a loooooooooong way down." he said into it. An echo followed shortly after.
Chi rolled up her sleeves and pulled her should length hair into a ponytail. "Well, muscle up, buttercups. Time for action! Yeah Hooooooooooooooo!!" Chi cannon balled herself into the hole, cheering loudly, which faded as she fell farther and farther down.
"I'm still falling!" her voice echoed.
"Okay. We can do this." Iris took Akari and Hiro's hands, who in turn took Gallant's, who took Nori's, and Akari took Mai's free hand.
"Go!"
The children all jumped into the tunnel at the exact same time, the doorway closing behind them. The kids screamed as they fell downwards into the darkened tunnel, which shifted from purple coloring to a bloody color. Iris adjusted herself and fell, head first with her hands outstretched as if she were diving into the ocean. Akari followed her example, while the others just screamed in terror.
Chi was closest to the bottom and emerged out first, grabbing a nearby brown colored vine, flipped herself, did an twirl into the air before landing back on her feet.
"And she sticks the landing!" Chi bowed before the imaginary crowd. "Thank you, thank you, you're too kind."
More screaming was heard and she saw the rest of her friends falling down towards her. Transforming herself into a trampoline, Hiro, Mai, Nori and Gallant all bounced right off, back on their feet, while Akari and Iris safely landed by flapping their wings.
Chi changed herself back into her blue wisp self, loosening her hair once more. "Well, that was a fun work out."
"I think I saw my whole life flash before my eyes!" Gallant exclaimed, pulling on his hair, which he then ruffled. "Man, that haircut back in fifth grade was a huge mistake."
Mai patted him on the back. "We've been telling you that for years."
"Guys…we're here."
Everyone turned their attention to Iris before shifting it towards the realm before them. The Dark Spirit Realm was a nightmare come to life. Clouds of black, brown and red swirled overhead beneath a darkened red sky. White lightning flashed overhead, and trees that resembled sickly, bony hands with dead vegetation hanging from their branches, unsure if they were about to fall off or not. Rows and rows of mountains surrounded the area, each one with a separated row of forests all wrapped up in a perfect circle, back to back, side by side.
Iris gasped when a cockroach-like creature crawled over her foot, which Akari swatted away with her tail. It landed on a nearby brown colored pond and swam off without a care.
The atmosphere was cold, matching with its dark autumn-like coloring. Sounds of screeching and howling were heard from all areas.
"Your mom seriously made all of this?" Nori asked in astonished disbelief.
"Not exactly." Iris replied. "This place was always here, my mom and the others just converted it to be more like a prison."
"Tartarus 2.0." Chi concluded.
"Why are those forests positioned like that?" Gallant asked, pointing at the trees that formed a perfect circle.
"Think of them as individual jail cells." Iris said. "Each one is a smaller pocket dimension where they place criminal spirits depending on their crimes. It's kind of like the district rings back in the old days of Ba Sing Sea. These are of the lower rings."
"What are these guys in for?" Chi asked, hearing the sounds of agonized screeching from afar. The sound made her cringe.
"More common crimes, like theft, attempted murder, destruction of public property with no regards to the safety of anyone within a hundred yards, that kind of stuff." Iris turned her attention towards her younger cousin. "So, which way do we go?"
"Uh. I think we may have a problem." Mai gently shook her geo-slate, moving it around in hopes of getting better results. The image was static, unclear and fuzzy. She slapped on the side, but nothing worked. She couldn't even access the system preferences or any other feature on there. It was as if it were frozen on the same distorted screen.
"The electromagnetic pull of this place is interfering with my geo-slate. I can't get a good reading on their location!"
Nori waved her arms, "Oh great, so we're lost now?" she said, only to suddenly feel her cutie mark glowing. Hiro looked at his arm, the same symbol from before manifested. The same happened to Mai and Chi's arms, while Gallant, Iris, and Akari's cutie marks started to glow.
A strange, yet familiar sensation stirred inside their chests, and what sounded like music echoed in their ears. Iris closed her eyes and, as if by instinct, she pressed her hand onto the surface of a nearby tree trunk. In her mind, she saw a pathway of gold, outstretching all the way across the Dark Realm, bypassing several forests and dark spirits, including one cave, going downwards underground until it reached a green glowing opening, where Iris saw an image of her mother's face, eyes closed and a green aura surrounding her.
She gasped once she opened her eyes and quickly removed her hand from the tree. The rest of her friends looked just as stunned as she was.
"Did… did you guys see what I just saw?"
"We know where they are!" Akari said with a wide grin. "Great job, Iris!"
Iris gave a light, shy chuckle and looked at the path before them. "Come on."
(~)
It didn't seem possible that a place filled with, literally, dark energy, couldn't possibly get any creepier, or unsettling. But this land managed to find a way. The children continued on the pathway they saw in their shared vision. No doubt the energy of the older Elements were calling out to them, which only reassured them that Korra and the others were indeed in this place. Hopefully, they were in better shape than they were in.
Chi kept her arm as a sword, hovering around her friends in a protective manner, her eyes and ears open at all times. Mai and Nori only cringed and shuddered in disgust at the many small abnormalities the realm had to offer. One strange little feature was a black rock with purple glowing markings on its surface. Nori was entranced by the illuminating aura and patterns but her opinion quickly shifted and she yelped in repulse as she stepped back, gripping Mai's arm as the rock suddenly grew arm-like legs and started crawling away, with two hands wiggling like worms. The merpony felt as if she would vomit, but covered her mouth and willed herself to composure.
"Gesh, makes ya wonder why Pinkie Pie hasn't done anything to lighten up the joint." Hiro said, though not so much as shuddering in disgust at whatever it was he saw, although one disturbing looking frog-like creature with long eyeballs did make him feel as though he would pee his pants on the spot before walking quickly past it, trying not to look back. It was so horrifying to look at, and yet he was somewhat tempted to turn his head once more. Thankfully, he didn't.
"I stand corrected."
They walked by a row of enclosed forests, where they heard echos of various voices. Some animalistic, while others sounded more human. Their voices were muffled, but managed to slip a few audible known words here and there. Some of which the children knew that if their parents ever caught them saying they would undoubtedly get their mouths washed with soap… literally.
"Everyone, keep your eyes open. There's no telling what could pop up." Akari said, her fists clenched and judging by the fire in her bright blue eyes, the alicorn princess was prepared for anything that came their way.
"Yeah, because we haven't had enough unwelcome surprises already." Nori said sarcastically.
"Wait!" Iris abruptly stopped, extending her arm to stop her friends from going any further while her eyes looked around the area. "Do you guys hear that?"
The team kept quiet, catching the faint sound of humming, which quickly escalated to the sound of rapidly flapping wings, followed by faint growls and hissing.
"Oh, no." Gallant muttered, "Not again."
The group looked up to see tall, scary hand-like trees, where five changeling wolves hunched over, hissing at them, while their wings flapped rapidly. The wolves charged at the children, which rather than run, their first instinct was to fight. Chi used her supper speed to zoom around the changelings, kicking and punching them in the faces and stomach. Akari and Iris unleashed their fire at the changeling wolves, while Hiro bended the earth around him, hurling the rocks at the wolves. They flew out of the way, avoiding the hit and charged at him, only to get blocked when Nori stepped in with her pearl shields.
Seeing her using her powers gave Hiro an idea as he looked down at his gloved hands. Levitating more rocks from the ground, he gripped them with his now ungloved hand and threw them at the changelings. The stones all exploded, which knocked the changelings down one by one.
Bending water from a nearby stream, Nori froze the changelings in place. "Come on! It won't hold them for much longer!"
The team ran off away from the changeling wolves as fast as they could, going through one area of the dark realm that was shrouded with long, dark colored vines, twigs and branches. Chi and Akari used their respected swords (or sword hand in Chi's case) to slice their way through.
With each vine they sliced, they began to take life and started wrapping themselves around their wrists, waists and legs. Hiro couldn't reach for any rocks and even their fire proved useless. It only angered the vines and before long, each of the kids were enwrapped in the dark vines.
Everything became black until they were suddenly, and completely unexplained, were freed. No longer were they in the forest, but in some kind of deep abyss. The opening was right above their heads, when all of a sudden the opening suddenly grew and enclosed them.
Before they could ask any questions, various other openings around their stone prison opened and black liquid tar began pouring out, filling the floor with it. Iris and Akari attempted to fly up towards the now enclosed opening, only to realize their feet were trapped in the tar. When they shot their magic it was too far to reach the tall top.
More and more tar kept spilling out, filling the room with the kids still trapped inside. They screamed and desperately tried to break free, but their magic didn't have any affect.
Mai kept on blasting fire, but the flame just evaporated into nothing. "Our powers aren't working!"
"If we don't get out of here we'll be buried in tar and rock!" Akari exclaimed in horror.
Mai tried pulling her legs out, only to realizes something….
"We're not sinking." Mai said, more to herself in surprise. When the room was filling with tar, while it prevented the kids from escaping, they were rising up along with the tar. Looking up at the opening, she could see that it was made out of rock and wood apparently. Given it was the spirit world, anything was possible.
Mai's amber eyes widened as an idea formed in her mind. "Akari, Iris! I need you to blast at those openings where the tar is coming from!"
"Are you crazy?!" Iris shouted. "That'll fill this place up faster!"
"That's what I'm counting on."
"Did the tar get into your brain too?" Hiro said, keeping his arms up as the tar kept lifting them all up.
"Guys, you have to trust me on this. I promise we'll be alright."
"How can you be sure?"
"Iris, do you trust me?"
"I--"
"Do you trust me?" Mai repeated. Iris briefly closed her eyes shut before nodding her head. "Then blast those openings! All of em!"
Akari and Iris shared concerned looks but did as Mai had requested. They blasted at the opening, causing the tar to rise even faster than before to the point where they were almost sky rocketing towards the surface. No doubt they would get crushed upon impact.
Mai clenched her fists tightly and, at just the right moment, she threw the mightiest punch she had ever thrown directly at the opening. With her supper strength, it broke apart like it was nothing, and with the tar being used as somewhat like an elevator, the kids were out in the open, alive and in one piece. Spotting a tree branch nearby, Mai pulled onto it and yanked herself out of the tar, then knocked the tree itself down, helping the others out of it by using the tree trunk as a bridge and using her strength to yank them all out in one piece.
Their cloths were covered in the disgusting much, but at least they were all alive and well. They all panted, not so much from exhaustion, but from the suspenseful experience. Iris turned to Mai, who wiped the tar off of her older cousin's hair.
"See? I would never lie to you guys." Mai was surpassed when Iris hugged her tightly.
"Great job, Mai."
"No problem… uh, Iris… you're getting tar all over my shirt."
"Oops, sorry."
Of course, that didn't stop the rest of the group from hugging Mai. "Okay, I love you guys too. But seriously, this stuff reeks."
(~)
After cleaning themselves off of the tar, the kids carried forward to their next destination. Once again, they found themselves in a forest, though not in one of the prison ones. The ground continued to make squishing sounds with every step they took. Thankfully, the majority of them wore sneakers and or boots, while Chi simply floated above it all. As if Nori didn't already regret wearing flat shoes on this trip.
"Whoever it was that took Rarity and the others must really hold a grudge to keep them in a place like this." she said, looking at the muddy remands under her shoes. She stuck out her tongue in disgust.
"And we still have no idea who it is." Akari said, pushing aside a random tree branch in her path. "Seriously, half of any potential villain on our list of suspects is either dead or reformed."
"Maybe it's somebody new." Hiro suggested.
Iris remained quiet. Her mind replaying the scenes from her dream the previous night. That large shadow looming over her, eyes piercing green that looked as if they stared directly into Iris's frightened teenage mind, the very idea send a shiver up and down her spine. Her laughter taunted her, her fists clenching around the strap of her backpack, and the voice of that frightened girl echoed in her ears.
"Help… help me… please."
There was no denying it was that of a teenage girl, but no one Iris recognized. She sounded so frightened, as if she had been crying for who knows how long, while that shadow tried desperately to silence her.
"Iris!"
The Avatar shoo her head, snapping herself awake from her thoughts. "You're zoning our again." Akari said with deep concern, having stopped right in front of Iris, placing both hands on her shoulders. She studied her friend's eyes, taking notice that they looked rather puffy. Akari instinctively wiped away the tears that rolled down her eyes.
"Hey, it's gonna be okay."
"What?" Iris then wiped her own face, surprised to see that tears that been rolling down her cheeks. "When did that happen?"
"What were you crying about?" Chi asked.
"I wasn't. I was just thinking about my dream and, all of a sudden I'm shedding tears I didn't even know I had." Iris cleaned her face of the tears. She wasn't crying, nor did she even feel the salty water on her face. It was as if they were reacting to whatever it was she was thinking.
"What about these dreams?" Akari asked, sensing that something was off with her friend. Everyone surrounded Iris, visibly concerned and curious. Knowing they were not going to let this go, Iris gave in.
"Okay. I don't remember that much, but I do recall this large shadow with glowing green eyes. She kept laughing at me, saying that I will fail. Then, there was this voice. A girl's voice. She was crying out for help."
"Do you think it was a vision?" Akari asked.
"Vision?"
"Your mom would often have premonitions in the form of dreams. Sometimes, simultaneously with her prophesies."
"You mean those times where Aunt Korra will go into this trance-like stare and say those vague rhymes that predict the future?" Hiro questioned.
"Exactly! Maybe you have the same power!"
"You did see visions of Ronin back when you were a kid, remember?" Chi said, placing a hand on Iris's shoulder.
"I guess." Iris shrugged. "Honestly, a lot of the dream stuff that happened during the whole Ronin thing is kind of blurry. I was only seven when it happened."
"What else did you see?" Gallant asked curiously.
"Well, I remember seeing Harmony City, a large storm cloud, and my parents but… that's it. There wasn't really anything else aside from the shadow of that voice."
"Could it have been your mom? Or my mom?" Akari said hopefully. "Maybe one of the Mane Six?"
"Was it Rarity?" Nori asked, looking as equally hopeful as the alicorn princess.
Iris regretfully shook her head. "I'm sorry, guys." her heart sank at seeing both of her friends look so distraught.
Hiro then snapped his fingers, "Hey! What if you meditate? You know, work some of that Avatar mumbo jumbo stuff and maybe one of the past Avatars can help you."
"It doesn't work like that anymore. Now, the Avatars just show up when they're needed, or when my mom asks."
"So, try that." Hiro cupped his hands together, "Hey! Avatars of the past! Think you can give us a hand?"
Mai quickly caught both his hands and Gallant covered his mouth. "Bro, would you please keep your voice down?" his sister said through gritted teeth. "What if one of those changeling wolves heard us? Or the dark spirits?"
Hiro removed Gallant's hand from his mouth. "Oh, relax. We're miles away from those wolves and the dark spirits are locked up tight in these forest jail thingies. As long as we stay away from them, we'll be perfectly sa--AAAHHHH!!!"
"Hiro!"
During the entire conversation, a black vine emerged from one of the forest prisons, wrapping around Hiro's ankle and dragging him into it. Gallant and Akari quickly grabbed hold of both hands, while the others helped in pulling him back. Mai used her super strength to grab the vines and rip them into two, only for the two halves to grow rapidly and wrap around her and the others, dragging them all into the forest.
The kids screamed as the vines rapidly catapulted back into the forest, stopping at what appeared to be some kind of dump with nothing but rotten fruit, dead roaches and even a few dead spirit animals, with nothing remaining but the skeletons.
Akari screamed and scattered away, quickly gripping Iris's arm for protection. If there was anything that horrified her more, it was the skeletons of dead animals. They were just too creepy for her to look at, with their empty sockets making her shudder in disgust.
The inside of the forest looked very much like the outside, but larger in comparison. going by spirit world logic, these forest prisons were more so their own smaller pocket dimensions within the forests where a variety of criminal spirits resided.
The children stood their ground when they heard laughter coming from all sides. They created a circle around one another, shielding each other's backs. Mai, Akari and Iris ignited the fire in their hands, Hiro took an earthbending stance, Nori manifested a few of her pearl shields, Chi manifested both arms into swords and Gallant took an airbending stance.
At the sound of something rustling in the trees nearby, Gallant reacted and unleashed a whip of air directly at whoever was behind the bushes. Am incredibly loud and irritable "Ouch!" was heard.
A aviary spirit emerged, it had the head of a goose, but the long neck and body of a crane, added with black webbed feet and a long feathery tail.
"Hey! What's the big idea?!" he yelled, stepping out fully to reveal his black and white plumage. A few feathers were falling off of his tail and onto the ground. "Didn't your mother teach you that it's rude to blow away somebody's feathers? Oh great, just great! These were my favorite feathers!"
"Oh, come on, Gil! You ruined our entrance, Man!" another voice called out from the bushes. It was another animal hybrid spirit. It was a monkey with feathers sticking out of its arms, making them look more like wings, with a crown of feathers sticking out of his head. He resembled a cross between some kind of macaw and a spider monkey.
"What's the point of ambushing em if you're not gonna stick to the script?"
"Oh, well excuse me Mr. Show-and-tell if I just had my feathers blown off!"
"Whatever, they'll grow back. Quit being so dramatic." A third voice came out, revealing to be a bear-shaped spirit, complete with the paws to match, but his head resembled that of a rhino, and his body was colored gray with brown spots. He was the largest of the trio, with a more tamped voice compared to the annoyingly exaggeratedly loud voice of the crane bird.
Upon seeing the strange, yet not necessarily intimidating spirits, the kids kept their stances but stared at them in confusion. They didn't look like criminal spirits, just some guys trying, pathetically, to be seen as bad. What could they have done to get thrown in here?
"Nobody asked you, Roy!" the crane-goose, Gil, exclaimed, shoving his now fallen feathers at his face, which hardly reached him due to how tall he was. Roy didn't give much thought about it and merely rolled his eyes.
"Okay, then let's improvise. Don't worry boys, I got this!" the monkey-bird rubbed his monkey paws together, smiling evilly at the children, which only made him look more desperate than menacing. He puffed up his chest and stood tall before the children.
"Alright you trespassers! What business do you have in our lair?"
"Lair?" Akari cockedher head.
"Yes, lair!"
The kids darted their eyes at one another before looking back at the monkey-bird. "This is a prison." Iris pointed out.
"We know it's a prison!" Gil shouted, his loud voice causing them to flinch. "Oy, Zeen would you stop with the Bridleway performance already? It never worked then, it doesn't work now."
"How else are we supposed to command respect around here?" the monkey-bird, Zeen, said.
"Respect? Who's gonna respect us?"
"Uh, can I say something?" Iris rose her hand to speak. The three spirits stared at her. "Who exactly are you guys and what beef do you have with mom?"
"Don't speak, prisoner!" Zeen said dramatically while pointing a finger at her, to which she arched an eyebrow at, completely unfazed. Throughout the entire time, Hiro couldn't keep himself from snickering. He covered his mouth in hopes sustaining himself.
Iris gently removed his finger from her face. "Yeah, okay. Look, we don't want any trouble--"
"Yeah? Well too bad." Roy said, towering over the princess and sneered in her direction. "'Cause you've got trouble, little Princess. Yeah, we know who you are. Your mother was the one who locked us in here in the first place."
"And all because we were just having a little bit of fun." Zeen said, his arms dangling in disappointment.
"Fun?" Iris repeated. "Wait a second." she blinked, their faces suddenly triggering a lost memory. "I remember you three. You were the spirits who were running amok, possessing humans and turning them into hybrids."
"I thought spirits didn't have that power anymore." Mai said.
"A lot of spirits from Wan's time did, but it's become a near extinct ability by Avatar Aang's time. There are still a few out there, but it's a relatively small number."
"I remember that." Akari said, her ears lowering as she recalled the event. "Aunt Korra spent weeks healing those poor people."
"Good thing that glowing healing water trick she does and Mika's personalized spirit medicine fix that nasty side effect right up." Chi said with a snap of her finger.
"Yeah, and we winded up here after your mom took away our powers." Roy said, poking Iris on the chest.
"Just like she did to Koh!" Zeen said, trying to sound as intimidating as Roy did. He then lowered his voice and whispered to Iris like they were friends. "In case it wasn't clear, we were a part of his gang." he said before zipping away.
"She had no choice!" Iris exclaimed, clenching her fists as she spoke directly at the rhino-bear spirit with narrowed eyes. "He was stealing people's faces left and right! And what you did wasn't any better!"
Gil was leaning against some random tree, casually folding his wings over his chest. "Yeah. I remember Koh. He was pretty cool. You know, before he had his breakdown and is pretty much a shell of his former self. Now he's a loon."
"And now, we're gonna get our revenge." Roy said, pointing a threatening claw at Iris, lifting her chip up, to which she showed no visible signs of fear whatsoever. "You're gonna restore our powers, little Princess."
Iris angrily slapped his paw away, surprising even Roy himself. "I can't! It doesn't work that way! My mother can't just remove powers whenever she wants. It's only when you don't deserve to have them."
"Who is she to decide what we deserve?"
"Well, she is the Queen of Friendship. Not to mention she's got like an army of ponies and humans rallying behind her, and…." Zeen trailed off upon seeing Roy's deadpan expression.
"It was a rhetorical question, Zeen."
"Oh… well then warn me next time!"
"I'm sorry, but I can't restore your powers." Iris said. "It's your own fault for using them to hurt people! It was your own choice to wind up here!"
"Choice? Are you an idiot?" Gil said, waving his wings around in an overly dramatic manner. "Why would I choose to live in this damp, lifeless, boring old forest prison, with a brain-dead monkey and a temperamental giant with the personality of a rock? While you, and your pretty little pony friends are living in fancy apartments and or palaces, sipping tea! I'm telling ya, you have no idea what I have to put up with every single day!"
Mai pointed her thumb at Gil, "Is he always like this?" she asked Roy.
"You get used to it."
Zeen slapped his knee in laughter. "Ha, ha, ha! He called you a brain dead monkey!"
"He was talking about you, you moron!" Roy said, looking down at Zeen with flaring nostrils, his patience wearing dangerously thin.
"Hey, who you calling a moron?"
"You! I'm calling you a moron!"
"I'm not the moron, he is!" Zeen pointed at Gil.
"Oh, it always comes back to me doesn't it? You two would be nothing without me!"
"If it weren't for us, you'd still be living with your sister and brother-in-law sleeping in their nest like a bum!" Roy stated, poking his claw at Gil's chest. While the three of them bickered, the kids, rather than feel even the slightest bit intimidated, were now trying their hardest not to burst out laughing. Compared with their funny voices, exaggerative characteristics and overall dynamic, it was hard not to find something humorous about the three.
"How is that any different than what you do all day, hairy baboon butt!" Gill yelled, his feathers buffing, followed by him making a honking sound.
"That doesn't even make any sense!" Roy exclaimed, his normally monotone voice now gaining more emotion and volume.
"You don't make any sense!" Zeen said, poking at Roy's large fur. "You-You-fat ball of pudding!"
"I'm not fat! I'm poofy! And why are you yelling at me for? You're supposed to be yelling at him!" Roy pointed his claw to Gil.
"Don't tell me who I can or can't yell at." Zeen said, poking again at Roy's squishy stomach.
"I'LL YELL AT WHOEVER I WANT AND YOU CAN'T STOP ME!!" Gil yelled at the top of his lungs, making his feathers even more ruffled, only to choke when Roy grabbed hold of his incredibly long neck, nary suffocating him. "Good grip."
Roy face palmed himself with his own paw, still holding Gil with his other one. "You're both an embarrassment to nature, you know that?"
"I'm not an embarrassment to nature you are--" Zeen stopped dead in his tracks when Roy snarled at the monkey-bird spirit, baring his teeth. Zeen slowly took a couple steps back. "Okay, okay, I'll stop now."
Out of everyone, Hiro was the first one to finally burst out into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. The rest of the kids followed shortly after, each one hugging their stomachs, almost finding it difficult to breath on how hard they were laughing. Even the normally composed Mai couldn't help rolling in her back, kicking her legs up into the air. Akari and Iris leaned against one another, wiping away the tears that had formed. Chi pounded hard against the side of a tree, while Gallant covered his face against the trunk, also unable to stop himself from laughing.
Gil, Roy and Zeen stared at the children, confused and rather afraid for they had never seen this kind of reaction before. At least, not from humans and ponies. This wasn't the kind of taunting laughter they were already accustomed to from the other spirits. This was more… well, they honestly didn't know what it was. They looked almost… happy?
“Yo, are they alright?” Zeen asked, partly shielding the side of his mouth, whispering to his two companions.
“I’m not sure.” Gil replied, scratching his feathery head. “I think their faces are cracking or something, I don't know.”
“Is it contagious?" Zeen asked, cowardly hiding behind Roy.
“Hey! What's with you kids?" Roy asked.
Hiro continued to laugh, hugging his stomach and inhaling deeply while wiping away his tears. “We’re-We’re laughing!!”
“Nobody laughs at us!” Roy exclaimed in anger and annoyance.
“Actually, everybody does.” Zen said, earning a smack in the head, courtesy of Roy. The monkey-bird’s irises rolled around in his sockets like pinballs, which only made the kids laugh harder.
“Oh my Celestia! I-I can't remember the last time I laughed this hard!” Nori said between laughs.
“Stop it! It's not funny!” Roy shouted, his anger boiling, but the kid's never stopped laughing.
Gil rolled his eyes and sighed. “Oh, boy. They've cracked. They've gone nuts. Hey, maybe we'll get respect by tickling them to death!” He said, making sarcastic jazzhands to compliment his equally sarcastic tone.
“Can that work?” Zeen asked, his eyes back to normal after he had slapped his own face, a gesture that only made the kids laugh harder. One by one, the kids slowly calmed down, but continued to giggle and or chucks and snicker at the three spirits’ antics.
Roy started at the kids with a deadpan expression before sighing in defeat. He retreated to a nearby rock to mope. Hiro finally stopped laughing and looked sadly at the distraught rhino-bear. The other kids equally looked concerned and maybe even a tad guilty. Hiro was the first one to approach the rhino-bear, who huffed when Hiro came near him.
“Hey man, we didn't mean to make you feel bad.”
“It doesn't matter.” Roy said, sounding even more depressed than before. “You kids aren't wrong. We're nothing but a joke. Without our powers, what good are we?”
Hiro folded his arms and leaned against Roy’s large shoulder, to which he paid little mind to. “You know, you and your buddies are pretty hilarious.”
“Thanks for pointing out the obvious.” Roy said sarcastically before shoving Hiro off of him.
“No, I mean that in a good way. Why did you even team up with Koh in the first place?”
“Because, he's the baddest, most feared spirit in the spirit world. Or, rather he used to be. If it weren't for the Avatar we'd be living the life.”
“You know, my dad and uncle used to be part of a gang when they were kids.” Hiro said, finding some subtle similarities between the two stories.
“What is he doing?” Gil asked.
Iris only smiled. “Let's just let him talk.”
“We’re in trouble.” Mai said, face palming herself.
Hiro patted Roy in the back. “They only did it to survive in the harsh urban jungle world. My uncle found it hard to stay positive. But, my dad always manage to find a reason to perk up! Eventually, they left that gang of thugs and started off on the road to where they would eventually find the lives they always wanted.”
“Cute story kid, but what's that got to do with us?”
Zeen and Gil suddenly heard something fill the air. “Where's that music coming from?” Gil asked. To answer his question, Hiro broke out into song.
(Parody of Streets of Gold from Oliver and Company)
Hiro:
Now listen up
I've got something you should learn
My old man learned from the street
Roy sat, while listening reluctantly to the teenage human boy’s singing. He tried covering his ears with his large paws, but his voice was somehow able to penetrate through.
Hiro:
Yeah, life is tough
And sometimes a downright mess
You gotta earn your right to eat
Roy growled and tried to slice the boy’s face with his claw. Hiro narrowly dodged, effortlessly sliding away as if he were doing the electric slide on the dance floor, with all the smoothness and charisma he inherited from his father. Roy tried to strike again, but Hiro just kept on dodging, doing a dance move with every strike he avoided, all the while he continued to sing.
At the final swing, Hiro flipped and landed in between Gil and Zeen, wrapping his arms around them as if they were his friends, tugging on Zeen’s cheeks to make him laugh while tickling Gil, causing him to laugh.
Hiro:
But when the darkness tries to get you down
What did my father do?
He said; I guarantee
You're gonna see how the best survive
We make an art out of staying alive
Give a smile, smile and behold
These are streets of gold
The three spirits stared at the singing boy in confusion, his friends only smiled and shrugged. They didn't even question Hiro’s methods, mainly because they knew what he was doing.
Hiro:
Every friend’s laugh is a miracle of life
Just go and share a joke and you're lessen all the strife
Give a smile, smile and behold
These are streets of gold
Hiro took Zeen by the hands and the two started to dance. At first, Zeen was into it, until Hiro picked a few pebbles nearby and, using his new powers, threw them into the air where they exploded into tiny little pieces, which didn't hurt when they fell, and in fact resembled more confetti Ethan anything else. Zeen couldn't resist laughing, only to quickly cover up his mouth when Roy sneered at him.
“Alright kid, enough! You're making a fool out of yourself!” Roy said, but was ignored when Hiro kept on singing without a care.
Hiro:
Koh told you his
Own ways to get ahead
Now here you are in the dull and dread
“He's not wrong.” Gil said.
“Shut up!” Roy demanded.
Hiro:
Maybe it's time to change the path you've set
You're worth so much more than this, don't fret
“We are?” Zeen asked.
“How?” Gil asked.
“Don't ask him questions, he'll just keep going!” Roy said, trying to slice at the boy again, who, yet again, escaped his grasp with flair and, by the looks of it, with a lot of fun.
“I'm not quite following here.” Gill scratched his head. “What can we do?”
“You made me and my friends laugh.” Hiro said, “Didn't you?”
“Yeah, but we weren't trying to be funny.”
“That's because there's nothing funny about laughing at someone!” Roy said, folding his arms.
Hiro nodded in agreement. “That's true. But there's a difference between laughing at someone and making people laugh.”
“Why would we want to make people laugh?” Zeen asked.
“To make them happy!”
“I'm not happy.” Roy said bitterly.
“Were you happy before?”
“Not really.” Zeen said, this time ignoring Roy’s angry snarls. “I thought I wanted it because they said I did.”
“I was only in it for the free food and publicity.” Gil said. “I didn't even like getting into those filthy humans.” Gil shuddered. “They're so...fleshy!”
“Well, maybe possessing humans and turning them into mutants just wasn't what you were meant to do.” Hiro said.
“And you think we have a career at making snot nosed kids like you laugh?” Roy asked, more bitterly and sarcastically than anything. Hiro picked up on it, but behaved as if he didn't.
“Maybe you guys just needed the right friends to help you see what you're really made of.”
Hiro:
Embrace the joy, you don't have to hide
Remember we are always on your side
Hiro pulled Iris, Chi and Mai with him. The three girls danced alongside him as he sang.
Hiro:
You're gonna see how the best survive
We make an art out of staying alive
Give a smile, smile and behold
These are streets of gold
Using his earthbending, Hiro levitated fragments of the earth and, using his new powers, caused them to explode like confetti, and even grabbed a few random leafs and twigs, making funny faces with them, which Iris and the others did so as well, making Gil and Zeen stiffer with laughter. Zeen was the first to burst out laughing.
Hiro:
Every friend’s laugh is a miracle of life
Just go and share a joke and you're lessen all the strife
Give a smile, smile and behold
These are streets of gold
“Come, Gil!” Chi surprised the crane-goose by grabbing his wings, without warning and spun him around, colliding with Zeen. The two spun simultaneously before stopping with Zeen dipping Gil.
“This is awkward.” Gil said, narrowing his eyes in annoyance, to which Zeen only laughed and let his friend go. The monkey bird became inspired to dance along with the kids. He couldn't remember the last time he felt this happy. The kids cleared a path for him and Zeen started to break dance. The kids cheered on, but Gil walked in and shoved him aside.
“Ameture. Watch this.” Gil then started to riverdance, which made the kids laugh, but in all honesty, he was really good. Zeen shook his head and continued to breakdance, which eventually prompted Gil to participate and the two went freestyle. Their animated movements only made the scene all the more enjoyable. Gil and Zeen started to realize they...actually liked seeing the kids smile and cheer them on.
Both spirits forcibly pulled Roy to join in the fun. At first, the rhino bear refused to participate, but seeing as these children have lost any hopes of finding them even remotely frightening, he gave in.
“Fine. Might as well lose my dignity to.”
“How can you lose what you never had?” Gil said before he and Zeen bursted out laughing, giving each other a high five.
Roy sighed and, to everyone’s surprise… he was an incredibly good dancer. Despite his large size, Roy moved with the flexibility, speed and weightlessness of a professional dancer. Everyone watched, jaws dropped, but with smiles all around.
The three spirits rallied together and continued to dance, pulling out a few top hats and canes, tap dancing in synchronization. Zeen break danced again, Gil river danced, and for the finale, the trio did the can can, earning a round of applauds from the kids, as well as a few more laughs out of pure enjoyment. Hiro slid on over and danced with the trio, performing each do their dances until the rest of his friends joined in, doing the same wacky dances as the spirits. Even Roy was having a fun time.
Hiro:
There's nothing more worthwhile than a smile filled of glee
Watch how you do things, oooh, I guarantee
Everyone:
You're gonna see how the best survive
We make an art out of staying alive
Give a smile, smile and behold
These are streets of gold
Every friend’s laugh is a miracle of life
Just go and share a joke and you're lessen all the strife
Give a smile, smile and behold
These are streets of gold
Oh, oh, oh, yeah
These are streets of gold!
For the big finish, Zeen and Gil leaped onto Roy’s shoulders, throwing their hats into the air. The kids all applauded for their entertaining performance.
“That was awesome!” Akari said, clapping loudly.
“Really? You mean it?” Zeen asked hopefully, clapping his hands together.
“Of course!”
“That was the best performance I've seen.” Mai said, “Pinkie Pie would be impressed.”
Hiro snapped his fingers in realization. “That's a great idea!”
“What is?” Roy asked.
“Our friends Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich are professional party ponies. I'm positive they can find a job for you guys.”
“You mean we get to do that whole song and dance thing again?” Gil said, “As a living?”
“I think that's a great idea!” Iris said, nodding in agreement with her cousin.
Zeen climbed up Roy’s shoulder, pleading, “Can we Roy? That was so much fun!”
“Yeah, I could get used to a gig like this.” Gil said, motioning to the rest of the dull and gray looking forest. “I mean, it's better than being stuck in this boring old place.”
“There's only one problem.” Roy said, “We can't leave this forest unless Avatar Korra breaks us out.”
“Wait! Are you saying there is only one way into these things?!” Nori exclaimed in terror.
“No, you kids can leave just fine, but we can't leave unless the Avatar lets us out.”
“Unless you know it.” Zeen said to Iris, who sadly shook her head.
“Sorry. I'm still mastering my Avatar powers, I don't know the jail break spell my mom needs to set you free.” The three spirits looked dejected, until Iris kindly ruffled Zeen’s feathery head. “But, I'm more than positive she'll give you guys a second chance once we get her back.”
“Back?”
“That's why we’re here.” Hiro explained to his new friends. “The Elements of Harmony and the Alicorn have been kidnapped. We don't know who did it, but we're more than sure that they're somewhere in the Dark Realm.”
“I'm afraid you kids are looking for a needle in a haystack.” Said Gil, “This place is huge!” He spread out his wings to empathize his point. “Your mom could be anywhere.”
“Actually, we have an idea as to where they are.” Akari said, “But, we have to get past Koh first.”
The three spirits gasped in horror. “Oh, man, you kids are digging up a very, very deep hole.” Zeen said.
Gil intertwined, standing between the monkey-bird and the princess. “But, um, if you do break Korra out, you'll get us out of here?”
“You have word.” Iris promised. Hiro cleared his threat to get her attention, which broke into an all out cough. He did a familiar hand gesture, to which me everyone else quickly got the gist.
“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”
“What does that mean?” Roy asked.
“It's a Pinkie Promise.” Hiro said, “And you never break a Pinkie Promise. You guys have the 100% Hiro Sato guarantee that you will be out of this joint and start your new lives!!”
“We all promise.” Gallant said. Everyone else nodded in agreement. Zeen was literally tearing up and hugged Hiro tightly.
“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! We promise, we won't let you down!”
“If you kids stick with your side of the bargain.” Roy warned, looming over the kids threateningly, specifically Iris. He looked into her eyes, noticing shimmering rainbow colors. They were the same colors he heard were often seen in the eyes of the Avatar. A sense of security overwhelmed him and he slowly stepped back. He was still reluctant to believe they would come back for them, but it was clear she couldn't restore their powers, and being criminal spirits just wasn't what he wanted anymore, so… maybe it wouldn't hurt for him to hope just this once.
He sighed and motioned to one side of the forest. “Keep going in that direction. That's where Koh’s cave is.”
Hiro surprised the rhino bear with a warm hug. “Thanks, buddy.”
Roy uncomfortably patted the boy’s back before shoving him away. “Alright, alright, enough with the kissy, kissy, lovey dovey stuff already. Just go before I get a tooth ache.”
“Thanks you guys! We’ll see you soon!” Hiro gave them a salute before he and the others exited the forest, while Gil and Zeen waved farewell for now.
“Good luck! Be sure not to die!” Zeen shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth. “Oh, and if you see a fish faced spirit named John, tell him he still owes me fifty yuans!”
“Why would you tell em that?” Gil asked, “It would actually do us no good here, we're in jail, what do we need money for? What are we gonna do, buy gum?”
Once the kids were out, Hiro laughed in once more. “I love those guys! I'm telling ya, they're skits practically write themselves!”
“Then let's go find Koh’s cave so we can keep that Pinkie Promise.” Iris said, leading her friends down the path where they would soon run into a darkened cave with a dead tree nearby.
The same cave Avatar Aang once entered to face one of the most horrifying and malevolent spirits in the entire realm.
(~)