Hope's Successor

Chapter One: the Portal

It was dark, the sun had gone down over an hour ago. When the team started running the sun was still high in the sky. "Run, don't stop running until you're safe!" The words of their master echoed in Hiroku's head. She and the team had been running for hours, but there still was no safe place to stop. Hiroku quickly glanced over her shoulder behind her, the monastery was nowhere in sight. She began to slow down and put her hand up for the others to stop as well. She slid to a stop and turned to face the others. Jasper immediately fell on his face, his breathing was rapid and his gi soaked in perspiration. Conner fell to his knees and began to pant. Korra sat down on the ground and began pulling back her hair that clung to hear wet cheeks. Julia was fine, she was a nindroid after-all, she probably could have run for miles longer before being close to giving out. As for Hiroku, she had enough adrenaline that the running didn't bother her much, but now that she had stopped the exhaustion was setting in. She fell to her knees and gripped the ground, her breathing heavy and rapid. "H-How long have we been running?" She asked.

"We've been running for precisely two hours, twenty-seven minutes, and nine seconds." Julia said.

"That's...a long...time." Conner said in-between breaths.

"That's longer than all of our records combined," Korra said.

Hiroku looked at the sky, it was pitch black. Clouds covered the moon and stars, leaving no light. "Julia, can your scanner pick up on any structures nearby?" She said.

Julia's eyes scanned the surrounding area. After a few minutes she stopped and pointed in a direction. "My scanners have picked up a large structure near the side of that mountain," she said. "It should take about seven minutes and twenty-seconds to reach."

"Any signs of life inside it?" Hiroku asked.

Julia scanned again, "there does not appear to be anyone near."

Hiroku forced her self to stand, "then that will be our shelter for tonight," She said.

"Cant we just make camp right here?" Jasper spoke without moving his head, his voice was muffled by the dirt.

"No we can't. I know everyone is exhausted, but we can't stay in the open like this." Hiroku helped Korra to stand. "We're too exposed to the elements out here, besides it's about to rain."

Conner stood up and began helping Jasper up. "Come on buddy, just a little longer." Conner said.

"Go on ahead...I'll be there shortly." Jasper said, nearly breathless.

Conner took Jaspers arm and pulled it over his shoulders, allowing Jasper to lean on him for support. "You owe me one Jasp," Conner joked.

Jasper forced a smile, "thanks Connie."

The team made their way through the wooded area and toward the structure. The further they went the thicker the vegetation had become. Hiroku pulled out her katana and started chopping a way through the heavy brush. She had been swinging her sword for several minutes when the structure finally came into sight. It was an old abandoned monastery by the looks of it. The team made their way to the building and quickly hid inside. "This place should keep us protected for the night," Hiroku said, "Everyone get some sleep, we need to head out at first light."

"Head out to where exactly?" Korra asked.

Everyone stared at Hiroku, waiting for her to answer. "Umm...We can discuss it in the morning." She said. Hiroku was supposed to be the team leader, but she wasn't prepared to take on the responsibility so soon and unexpected.

Everyone found a place to lie down and sleep except Julia who had offered to keep watch, she didn't need sleep anyways. Hiroku tried to sleep, but she was restless. The battle that happened earlier that day played over and over in her mind. What could she have done differently? Could she have stopped him and saved the others? She was supposed to be the most powerful one of the group. How could she be the most powerful if she couldn't even stop him? Hiroku finally gave up trying too sleep and began to wander through the halls of the monastery. The place was old and dusty, no one had been there for years it seemed. "So you can't sleep either." Hiroku was startled by a voice behind her, she quickly drew her katana and pointed to where the voice came. "Hey, its only me, its okay." The voice belonged to Jasper. Hiroku sighed and put her katana away, "How many times do I have to tell you Jasper, don't sneak up on people," she said exasperated.