The smell of fresh and warm cookies made her sick to her stomach.

Tiffany was seated at the kitchen table, her eyes staying glued to the wooden piece of furniture as her stomach swarmed with butterflies. felt bitter as she heard the other figure in the room move about, the air was so thick with tension Tiffany felt it almost affect her breathing. Her mother used to be her absolute favorite person in the world - but now the girl was simply terrified of what she had become.  At the beginning of their encounter, she could have sworn the rich dark curls were healthy looking and her skin was radiant and smooth. The female was absolutely identical to the one she had spent her childhood with. However, as more time passed, the electricity bender seemed to notice the woman was beginning to transition into something completely different and monstorous.

Her mother was currently baking several batches of cookies yet they were all the same kind - chocolate chip with assorted nuts, Tiffany's favorite. The cooking had the same exact sequence and it had been repeated so many times that the girl had come to memorize it. The crack of the egg, the rustling of the flour and sugar, the stirring noises, and finally the pan clanging when being placed into the oven. Multiple plates of the treat were strewn throughout the kitchen, residing on every available counter surface and the female couldn't help but wonder where the next trays would be placed. 

Her stomach dropped and she could feel an icy sensation at the pit of her tummy as she cleared and her voice spoke up.

"Mom, why are you baking so many cookies?"

The whisking noises stopped altogether and the two were plunged into a moment of silence before the woman decided to answer her daughter. "The house gets very empty without you here Stephanie, maybe if you came home to see me then it wouldn't be like this." 

A sigh merely escaped the girl's lips as she ran a hand through her hair due to the frustration, shaking her head at how absurd this whole idea was. Her mother would honestly never act like this, and the idea that she was absolutely guilt tripping her made the bender very angry and confused. The woman valued her daughter and her education before anything else, even her health. Tiffany was actually becoming quite suspicious of her surroundings due to the fact none of it made sense. For starters, she was with her deceased mother in their house in the town Chimera - which they had sold after her mother's passing.

"Was that attitude Hwang Stephanie?"

It was as if a light was switched, and the bender could immediately tell that the woman across from her was furious now. Her neck snapped faster than Tiffany had ever seen a human being react, and a strange source of courage ignited within the female. 

"Don't call me that name." 

It was like adding fuel to the fire. Tiffany had been quite calm and composed when her voice stood up for herself, but the reaction from her mother almost resulted in the female to let down her cold exterior. The woman screeched loudly and before the protagonist could comprehend what was going on, the metal bowl of batter was suddenly being flung at her face. Without even thinking, she ducked and raised her hands to cover her head,  feeling the baking utensil barely graze the skin of her fingers. Her heart skidded to a stop as she crouched under the table to avoid the glass plates and cookies being propelled with force at her body. 

She could hear yells of "How dare you!" and "You despicable brat!" as well as the sound of glass shattering and cookies breaking on the floor. From underneath the table, the girl could then hear fists colliding with the wood above her, and that was her cue to slide out to the other side - barely missing the woman throwing a vase of flowers on the spot her body previously occupied. Shoving a chair which would ultimately end up on its side out of the way, Tiffany stumbled to her feet and turned around to back up against the wall while facing someone that did not look anything like her mother used to.

The figure standing before her had grown much taller than before, her back hunched and her eyes black and hollow. Her fingers weren't polished any longer, instead there were sharp claws adorning the tips as well as a toothy grin dominating her face. Her skin was not only sagging this time, but now there were visible black veins and cracks atop of the skin. A shiver ran down the bender's spine at the monster before her and the urge to vomit from the stench wasn't easily fought. However, it was at this time that the girl realized in her mind and became fully aware of the fact this creature was not her mother. Even if at first the daughter was fooled by the warm hugs and smiles that were so identical to her real mother, this woman was simply an imposter - and she was more than positive she was correct.

 "You're not my mother."

Her voice tore through the silence and a hiss escaped the thing across from her as well as steam coming from her skin, "Don't say that!" Her long arms reached across the table for Tiffany's body, her claws raking the surface and leaving behind thin lines from the impact as the electricity bender chanted the three words over and over again. The effect was visible as the hideious organism shriveled and trembled before crumbling and becoming dust on the floor before her very eyes.

And that was how the girl was left in an empty kitchen with dust, broken cookies, and shards of glass decorating the floor.

Looking down at her bare feet, it was then that Tiffany noticed a tear of the skin on her foot and a few drops of blood dripping onto the floor. Due to the adrenaline from being attacked, she must have not noticed but now the sting of the pain was beginning to be felt. A frown grew on her face before the girl had to tip-toe through the room and attempt to locate the medicine cabinet in the hallway on the other side of the house. Walking out of the lit room and into the darkened hallway, the female was about to open the first-aid kit when suddenly she heard a voice and her heart stopped from the fear - what know?

It was coming from her old room and it was a soft whisper, but after facing that monster, Tiffany was brave enough to open the door slightly and peek in - almost gasping out loud from what she found.

The room was dimly lit by a night light and the cheap plastic glow in the dark stars that were taped to the ceiling with care. There was a small girl wrapped up in warm blankets on a pink bed with a woman sitting next to her in a chair, reading her a bedtime story. Tiffany was well aware of the book that was being read alooud and her heart felt as though it had been stepped on as she listened with tears on the brink of falling. It was a book that was read to her every night when she was younger, and it was about a tree and a small boy. The tree and the boy used to play together everyday until the boy aged and eventually needed certain things from the tree. At first, the boy needed it's apples to sell them for money, then the branches for building a home, and then the trunk of the tree for a boat. It was at the end of the book that the tree was merely now a stump, and it had absolutely nothing yet was happy because the boy was happy.

The boy was much older when he finally returned to what was left of the tree, and the tree offered up anything for the boy, but all the boy wanted was to be with the tree so he sat on the stump and the book ended. Every night after the reading, the young bender would exclaim how upset she was that glory the tree used to have was gone and now the young boy had it, but every night her mother would reassure her.

"Stephanie," the soft and silky voice of her mother would speak to her as her gentle hands toyed with the soft locks of hair, "The tree was more than happy because the boy was happy - it's just like you and me. I love you more than anything in this world, even myself. I want to give you everything because when you're happy and your wishes are fulfilled, mine are too. Please don't be upset, because I will be, okay? Sweet dreams honey." A kiss would be pressed to the girl's forehead and her mother would rise from her spot before she would be stopped in her tracks as the young bender's voice would speak up - and the older version of Tiffany standing in the doorway found herself saying the same thing as she did when she was younger in her vision.

"I love you too Mom." 

When her eyes opened, she wasn't at peace anymore.

The sound of rushing water was the only thing she could hear, and it felt like reality was crashing down on her all at once. Her back was laid against a large boulder and the air was moist and cold. Opening her eyes, the girl whimpered when she saw how dark and grey the clouds were and how strange it smelled - for some reason the overpowering scent reminded her of the ocean or when Suho flooded the bathroom on accident that one time. She turned her head and laid her eyes on a figure that was soaked to the bone with water, and Tiffany immediately attempted to sit up, which alarmed the male who was keeping her company and revealed his identity as Sehun.

"T-Tiffany." He sounded nervous and couldn't help the stutter that came out of his mouth, which was definitely not anything like the wind bender. He was a natural born liar with stoic facial features and a calm demeanor, the female only saw him skittish or afraid once, and that was when he accidentally broke her favorite barbie doll and was forced to fess up. "What's wrong?" She immediately demanded, almost not wanting to know what happened but at the same time feeling a need to attempt to take control of the situation due to the fact she was the older one in the scenario. 

She could tell that he wanted to hide their surroundings to her at first, but the female easily pushed him aside and looked down only to feel a sudden wave of despair.

They were in the middle of a flood and the others were nowhere to be found.

-

"I'm going crazy."

Yoona would cry, but it would be pointless - just like any action her body could preform. Pointless.

The female explored the land outside the empty house for a bit once she had stopped crying before giving up as it got darker and darker, turning around to find that there were lights in the sole building. Her heart leaped with joy and without a second thought, Yoona began sprinting towards the dot on the horizon without giving her legs a break. Someone was in that house and the girl couldn't hide her excitement, she honestly didn't care just who it happened to be, the bender was more than happy to know that she wouldn't be alone anymore.

Her lungs felt like they were being crushed and her stomach was doing flip flops as the stairs and front door came closer and closer before her hand wrapped around the knob and she flung the door open. The house wasn't empty anymore and the girl was about to either collapse from the relief or cry - either was fine with her. She barely managed to make it through to the first room with wobbly legs and folding knees when she spotted all the important people in her life in white dresses and white suits chatting and drinking from wine glasses.

A smile immediately blossomed upon her face and she felt her heart squeeze with delight as she marched herself up to Jessica and called her name. Her smile froze as the snow bender continued talking to Soojung, her younger sister, and ignore her. Yoona tapped her shoulder and ended up shoving her gently, yet Jessica refused to interact. Yoona's smile disappeared and she desperately went around to everyone who was currently inside the house. She screamed at them,  spoke to them, stood in front of their faces, and as a last resort, she ended up hitting Kai's chest with her fists repeatedly from the horror and frustration.

The girl found herself entering every single room in that house only to find the exact same thing, her friends and family didn't know that she was alive and it made her feel even more alone then when she was physically isolated. Her hand landed upon the smooth wood of the railing as her bare feet carried her down the massive staircase, her eyes were blank and there were no thoughts entering her mind whatsoever. Her father and mother were arm and arm, laughing with glee as they ascended the stairs and brushed past their youngest daughter as if she was air. Tears slid down her cheeks as she didn't even bother to excuse herself as her body crashed into the guests and continued through the crowd to the door.

Pushing the door open, Yoona stumbled down the steps just like she had earlier in the day when she first woke up. Her body brought her over to the grass, a good distance away from the house where she slowly sat down and brought her body to a lying position. The girl bitterly thought to herself that just a few days ago when she was in the same position on the beach with the other benders and everything was perfect. Her eyes stared up at the night sky and she skimmed the black blanket of twinkiling stars. What had she done wrong and how could she fix it? The female felt as though she had broken glass or something she couldn't put back together perfectly - she just wanted to go back to how things used to be.

"Am I crazy?" She phrased her words as a question this time instead of a statement, targeting it at no one in particular - however, due to the fact she was alone, Yoona was the only one who could answer that question until a familiar voice spoke up from behind her.

"Depends on what you define crazy as."

Never in her entire life had the girl sit up so quickly (and she had attempted to beat Yuri at a curl-up race) and scramble to a standing position in order to face a dashing young male wearing a black suit. She couldn't see any of his facial features due to the fact the upper part of his body was coated in the shadows of the house, but there was someone who was aware of the fact she was a living human being with emotions and a personality. "Hello?" Her voice cracked as she called out but the only response she was rewarded with was a few chuckles and then she watched as the stranger mounted the steps to the house and entered.

The female ran as quickly as she could in order to get back inside the house, not caring about the fact her feet and white dress were probably tainted with dirt and grass stains by now. Flinging the door open, Yoona quickly hurried into the main room and wasn't surprised to find the sea of people in white once again. Surely the male cloaked in all black had to be present, it would be extremely easy to find him because he would stick out like a sore thumb. Shifting through the random bodies that were continuing to converse and sip from their glasses, the bender eagerly looked in all directions and began to call out for the figure because she now knew that he would hear her.

After examining the first floor, the girl mounted the staircase and surveyed the second floor only to have no luck. The third floor was the attic however she doubted he would have made it up there in that short amount of time - plus she was too scared of attics, especially because of the fact Tiffany and her watched too many scary movies. It was then, in an empty and small room on the second floor that music started to play downstairs. A piano started off with classical music and then violins began to join in, creating a soft and mellow harmony. Yoona approached the stairwell only to find that below her, the groups had turned into couples swaying along to the melody and twirling with grace.

She approached the people and shuffled around them, gasping when finally her eyes landed on a figure in black pouring himself a glass of red wine at a table. His back was turned to her but now she could identify the fact he was tall with broad shoulders and chestnut hair slicked up. It felt as though she was moving through jello as bodies around her swung along to the beat and cleared the path for her to walk up behind the stranger and place a hand on his shoulder. His own hand placed the bottle of wine down in order to turn around while drinking a bit of his beverage, and Yoona's eyes widened from who the man just happened to be.

"You?" She demanded with disappointment written all over her face once she took note of who he was. The male choked on the wine he was sipping due to her reaction and a fit of laughter escaped his tart lips once he swallowed. His teeth were white as he grinned and placed the glass down in order to listen and talk to her once she asked quite an important question. "But why you, of all people?"

"If you dance with me, I'll tell you everything." His eyes sparkled as one of his eyebrows quirked upwards and his hand reached out in order for the female to place her palm atop of his. Yoona bit her lip because she knew it was wrong, but then again, she needed answers and he was the only person on the planet they were currently on who knew she existed.

She placed her smaller hand into his and a smirk adorned his face as he led her to the dance floor and put one of his palms on her hip while the other raised their intertwined fingers into the air. She placed her free hand onto his shoulder and the two moved smoothly to the music and she felt her eyes wander from their feet to his gaze. Yoona then furrowed her eyebrows together and tilted her head slightly, encouraging the male to explain the situation they were now both involved in. He however, seemed to be a bit too distracted at their close proximity and the fact their eyes were staring deep into each other. After clearing , the bender snapped out of it with one of his angelic smiles and began to give the girl her end of the deal.

"Do you remember me, Yoona?" his silky voice produced a question the female was absolutely not expecting, and she scoffed while shaking her head. "Yeah, I saw you the last day things were normal -"

"That's not what I meant. Do you remember me before you were scouted as a bender?"

That question caught her even more off guard and the girl shook her head no once again, doubting and absolutely rejecting the fact that they could have ever been previously acquainted. Her reply caused the male to roll his eyes with a few chortles of amusement and spin her gently, bringing their bodies back together with a few "tsk tsks"

"And I thought we used to be close Yoona, but then again, back then you only knew me as 哥哥 (gēgē)"

Yoona attempted to withdraw her hands from his body due to the fact she was so shocked and she felt the need to cover her gaping mouth with her palm, but the man from her past merely held on tighter to her when she attempted to separate their bodies. 

GeGe was a boy who lived down the street from her and her older sister, who was friends with him. He was all the way from China, and due to the fact her sister went to a different school which got out at a later time, GeGe was the one who would pick Yoona up at the bus stop and bring her home everyday to wait for her sister to arrive. He would entertain her with different stories of China and legends that occurred there, he even taught her how to play football and told her to call him GeGe, which translated to Older Brother in Chinese. Gege was only about 2 years older than her yet he taught her so much and really looked after her due to the fact both of her parents worked busy jobs. She was honestly sad to know that she never learned his real name or remembered it because one day he was gone. Her older sister said he was scouted for something and she never saw him again.

"Oh my gosh - what happened?" Her vision blurred because she couldn't believe that her precious GeGe had transformed into someone she barely knew anymore. Someone who ended lives.

"You wouldn't understand, I'll tell you when the time is right." His voice was soft but stern as he spun around and sighed softly before changing the subject, "Now let's get to the matter at hand."

"You see, there is a man named Kris and his ability is to make people fall into acoma and the only way to wake up is to face your greatest fear." The male cleared his throat and shrugged his shoulders to signal their current location, "That's where we are right now, you're dreaming and you're in your dystopia. Your ability is to disappear into thin air, correct? due to that you've conjured up a fear of never reappearing. You're afraid people will forget you exist and you'll simply be gone like that." The male removed his warm hand from her waist in order to snap before he placed it back and continued, "My ability has to do with brains, you see, I can go into anyone's mind when they're dreaming, awake, thinking, etc. I can hear their thoughts and read them like a book. That's why I'm here, Kris isn't entirely happy but I don't care, I'm just strolling through your dystopia, don't mind me."

Yoona listened intently with a frown that only grew as she felt sadder and sadder. 

"GeGe," She spoke up, felt thick from all the emotions she was feeling, "I have to wake up, I can't stay here any longer - it's dangerous, my body is just sleeping and open for attack." The male merely clicked his tongue, "Then face your fear." He announced, speaking as though it was something easy.

"But I'm afraid that it will happ-"

"Don't be, you're never alone. I came here to save you right? why should you be afraid when Prince Charming will come to save the day?" He asked, a smile lighting up his face as he nodded, pleased with himself.

And this time she said his real name because it suddenly came to her.

"Luhan."

"YOONA!"

The scream was urgent was the girl felt a hand swatting at her face, the immediate smell of salt invaded her senses and the fact her entire body was wet and cold was also brought to her attention. The concerned faces of Suho and Yuri came into focus as she opened her eyes and began to spit out heaps of water.

"Thank god." She heard one of them whisper as a hand pat her back.

What happened?

name: xi luhan

nickname: gege (used only by Im Yoona) 

family members: unidentified

age: 19

first appearance: 12

occupation: villain

weakness: weak side for yoona

ability: mind manipulation

credit