The candle flames remained burning fiercely as Seulgi now glared at the still grinning girl.

"You have five seconds to get out of my office," said the admiral sternly, not breaking eye contact with the girl who challengingly looked at her with an expression that says, Make me.

Seulgi only intensified her glare and put out the flame of one of the candles.

"One."

The firebender took one step closer. The girl just continued grinning.

"Two."

Another candle flame was extinguished.

"Three."

The admiral created a fire dagger in her right hand, preparing to attack.

"Four."

The last candle flame was snuffed as she took the last step.

"Five."

Seulgi cracked her neck and strengthened her fire, about to attack the girl when suddenly—

"Stop!" Seungwan yelled out. The admiral backed off from the girl but didn't extinguish her fire dagger, illuminating the now dimmed room with sunlight streaming through a small window as the only other light source. Seungwan then turned to the still sitting girl.

"General Bae, please."

The general pouted at Seulgi, "You didn't even let me talk, hot stuff."

Seulgi was again about to attack the girl when Seungwan held her back and once more intervened.

"I think you two would be in better terms if you didn't call her using that nickname, General Bae.

"Psh," the general let out then looked at Wendy. "Just call me Irene. We'll be working together from now on anyway."

At this, Seulgi's eyes widened and her fire dagger was forgotten, darkening the office even more.

"Wait, what?" the admiral questioned. "What do you mean 'working together from now on'?"

Irene rolled her eyes and looked at Seulgi, "Weren't you listening earlier? I thought they told you that you'll have help from the United Forces in capturing those smugglers.

Seungwan stifled her laugh as the firebending prodigy could only stare blankly.

"Well, Gene—I mean Irene, she's known to space out at the oddest of times so..." Seungwan chuckled.

"Really?" Irene asked, her curiosity piqued. "How are you even an admiral..." she laughed.

Feeling her pride be attacked, the admiral huffed haughtily and addressed the general, "Excuse me? And what can you say for yourself, General Bae?"

Irene quirked an eyebrow in amusement while Seungwan just facepalmed herself, embarrassed for her friend.

"Seulgi-yah, see, this is why I tell you to go out and leave the ship at times. You're basically clueless about the world besides things that concern your military exploits," Seungwan sighed. "Don't you know that Irene's the General Bae?"

Seulgi's mouth slightly fell open at what Seungwan implied, "The General Bae?" Her jaw dropped more as both Irene and Seungwan nodded their heads. "The General Bae who almost single-handedly apprehended the members of that notorious group who tried to attack the avatar and her wife?" Irene and Seungwan nodded their heads once again.

The admiral could only stare at Irene in amazement and awe while the general just smirked back at Seulgi. However, that smirk was wiped off from her face at Seulgi's next words:

"I just never thought that the General Bae would look like you, and a ert at that."

Irene's eyebrows furrowed at this and it was her turn to glare at Seulgi, "Oh yeah?"

"Want to go and see for yourself, hot stuff?" the general, whose pride was also wounded, challenged the admiral.

Seulgi, being someone who never backed down from a challenge, nodded at Irene.

"Okay then," the girl who still sat on Seulgi's office chair smiled. "Lead the way, admiral." Irene ended with a smirk.

Seulgi and Irene then went out of the office, leaving Seungwan alone.

"I swear, who knew that those two such great military leaders could act so childish?" she mumbled to herself.

The crew stared at the two officers who just came out of the doors, their admiral looking determined while the United Forces general looked smug. It was just a short while before their commander also came out, looking aggravated and like she was done with the world.

Seulgi, who led the way, suddenly stopped and turned to face Irene.

"How..." the admiral trailed off, once again distracted by the radiant beauty of the general. The United Forces officer just cocked her head to the side, still smirking. Later, the admiral thought to herself and continued her question.

"How do you like this to be?" Seulgi asked as she slowly crossed her arms, referring to their little skirmish.

Irene looked around thoughtfully and noticed the crew who murmured amongst themselves. She then smiled, as if she just thought of a great idea.

"How about we take this to a more suitable place?" the general suggested. "I wouldn't want to humiliate you in front of your subordinates," the girl taunted.

Seulgi huffed but nonetheless relented, "Fine."

"Excellent!" Irene beamed. "Follow me," the general said as she unfurled the wingsuit incorporated into her United Forces uniform. "If you can."

Then the airbender pushed herself up in the air, leaving a strong gust of wind in her wake as she glided towards Air Temple Island.

"Oh, I sure can." Seulgi scoffed before she let out jets of fire and propelled herself, quickly catching up with Irene.

Seungwan was once again left behind, a bitter smile in place as she exasperatedly said, "Great! Just great." The commander clucked her tongue once before she proceeded to follow the two.

Irene and Seulgi landed in an open space not too far from the temple, surrounded by numerous trees and shrubbery. Seungwan dropped down a few moments later and chose to sit down a few meters away from the two.

They then had a short staring glaring contest, only to be broken by Irene when she asked, "What do I get from this?"

Seulgi blew out a breath and said, "How are you so sure you'll win?"

"Oh, I just feel it," the general simply smiled. "So?"

The admiral looked to the side and shrugged, "Whatever."

Irene smiled at that and once again asked, "What about you?"

Seulgi thought for a while before grinning, "How about you keeping your mouth shut for a week?"

The general hummed before she said, "Fair enough," she smirked. "I'll win anyways."

Then she raised her right hand and urged Seulgi with two fingers, "Come at me, hot stuff."

The admiral let out a growl as she charged towards Irene and threw a quick punch with her right hand, producing a fireball which the general deftly avoided without even using her bending.

However, Seulgi was unfazed and swiftly kicked in Irene's direction, letting out a blazing arc of fire, unfortunately missing her opponent who turned to the side at the last second.

Unperturbed, the firebender her foot down in an explosive burst of flame and felt a sudden whoosh of air as the general somersaulted and landed behind her.

Seulgi turned around and was immediately greeted by a strong blast of air that knocked her off her feet and onto a nearby tree, making leaves and some loose twigs fall on her and catch in her hair.

Irene let out a short giggle at the sight but promptly stopped when the admiral breathed out fire, requiring her to hastily block it with a shield of air, deflecting it to her sides.

Seulgi used this opportunity to fleetly propel herself towards Irene with a short jet of fire, bringing them to close quarters.

As someone not involved in the duel, Seungwan just looked pitifully at her friend whose efforts were in vain against the airbender. No matter how much flaming punches and kicks were skillfully thrown at her, the general managed to evade them and block them if necessary. To Wendy, Irene looked like she was merely dancing, moving in languid circular motions while incorporating intricate footwork.

As if she had enough, Irene let out a slow breath and created an air vortex, shifting her limbs in a spherical fashion. Irene successfully captured Seulgi in it and let her hover a few feet from the ground. The admiral tried to break free from the wind's strong hold, but to no avail.

The general finally let the firebender down and walked to the admiral who refused to face her. Meanwhile, Seungwan's claps could be heard as she cheered for Irene then laughed at her best friend's embarrassing defeat.

Irene stopped in front of Seulgi and brought a finger to the latter's chin. The former tipped the admiral's head up, which made the firebender look at her, bringing their heads close together.

"You see, hot stuff," Irene smiled as she stared into Seulgi's eyes. "Sometimes, you have to calm down and take it slow."

The two looked at each other more for a while, before Irene broke it and stepped back. She then smirked at Seulgi and asked, "Ready?"

The firebender only looked confused and let out, "Huh?

"When I asked you earlier what I get from this, you said and I quote 'Whatever.'" the general finished while motioning quotation marks with her fingers.

"And so?" Seulgi asked.

"And so I'm claiming my reward," Irene grinned. "I'm taking you out to the city."

The admiral's eyes widened at this, as what Irene just said was totally unexpected. 

The general then turned around and started walking away, but stopped when she noticed Seulgi wasn't following.

"Are you coming, bear?" Irene asked, turning slightly to face Seulgi.

The admiral pressed her lips together into a straight line and looked to Seungwan who just smiled at her encouragingly.

Seulgi could only sigh, resigned to the fact that she really can't get rid of Irene, and sprinted to catch up with the girl.

author's note:

so, this chapter became longer than planned and contained much more dialogue and even action, two things i'm afraid of writing. good thing i watched kung fu panda 3 before i wrote hehe :D such a great movie tbh i might have even cried. kidding aside, let me know what you guys think! i truly appreciate and thank all those who subscribed, commented, and even upvoted ㅠ ㅅ ㅠ you all made me so happy and motivated me, so thank you so much! see you on the next chapter!! :D