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[center][sub][sub][sub][sub][sub][img]https://i.imgur.com/DHKvx27.png[/img][/sub][/sub][/sub][/sub][center][color=2e2c2c]Badgermole Stadium  ·   [&Exit][/color]Badgermole Stadium  ·   [@Exit][/center][/sub][/center][/color][quote][sub][color=2e2c2c]_[/color]
[color=9f9f9f]The game stopped in the middle of an intense play. Chu Hua slowed to a halt in the opposing team’s zone, panting as she came to such a sudden stop, her stick clutched in her right arm. She stared into the sky with the others.  [color=firebrick]“The fuck…”[/color] A blast of pink light shot into the sky, followed by the sounds of an explosion. Her eyes widened, glancing back and forth. [color=firebrick]“No idea,”[/color] she answered Li, furrowing her brows. [color=firebrick]“Maybe firewo-”[/color]

Chu Hua gasped so sharply she felt her ribs might break. [color=firebrick]No. Nononono. Not here, not here, not here, please-[/color]

Li’s eyes snapped over to Chu. The star player looked like she was exerting herself, which of course they all were, but none more so than Chu. They’d barely begun and she was already kicking ass. However, the gasp was telling.

[color=white]“You alright?”[/color]

A sensation that Chu Hua could only describe as [i]fire[/i] filled her body. She never, ever used firebending- even the very thought filled her with dread and terror- but this was… it was all-consuming. She felt the fragility of her surroundings, the heat building in her body begging to release, to destroy, and said fuck no. What was happening to her? It was still uncontrollable. Her head swimmed as she tried to rein herself in, to avoid ruining her life. An unbearable heat built in her skin, a deadly fever, and she moaned, grappling onto the nearest person as she tried her best to keep from toppling over onto the ground. Sweat dripped from her temples as a look of abject  terror filled her face.

[color=firebrick]“I don’t… I don’t feel well,”[/color] she whispered.

[color=white]“Holy..!”[/color] Li struggled with the girl for only a moment as she readjusted herself to better balance the both of them. What surprised her more than anything, however, was the heat coming off of her. It was so intense she could feel it bleeding through the girl's protective gear. [color=white]“You’re burning up!”[/color] She exclaimed. Taking Chu's arm, she threw it over her shoulder to take her weight, but when she grabbed her forearm, Chu's skin immediately scalded her.

[color=white]“Aah!”[/color]

Li screamed, recoiling from the pain and nearly sending them both toppling to the ground, but she was quick to react. She kicked out and caught them both before either of them had leaned too far, righting herself and Chu. Looking back at her in surprise, she could see now the beads of sweat that had formed on her brow and how quickly they were beginning to fall. There was a very obvious pained look on Chu's face and it was clear something was very wrong with her. Ignoring the burning coming on her hand and being mindful of Chu's exposed skin, she tried again to support the girl's weight and found a position that was successful albeit somewhat awkward. One hand was on her shoulder and over her shirt, which was still uncomfortably hot. The second was pressed into Chu's gut in an attempt to support her midsection. It was even hotter here.

[color=white]"What is happening to you?!"[/color] She asked, turning Chu around and beginning to guide her to the bench near the nurse's station. By now a second player had noticed the two and moved to help. [color=white]"Don't touch her skin!"[/color] Li warned. [color=white]"She's crazy hot right now and I don't know what's going on. Just help me get her to the nurse's station."[/color]

[color=white]"Okay!"[/color]

In the stands, a commotion had begun around a singular individual who, after a moment of looking rather uncomfortable, was suddenly launched fifty feet into the air. They flailed about wildly for a brief moment before they fell back to the ground, landing particularly hard against a guardrail and snapping their neck. Immediately, screams erupted from the crowd and people began scrambling from their seats, jumping over fencing and other people to get as far away from the freak accident as they could. Both Li and the other player stopped in shock.

Chu Hua immediately tried to remove her hand from Li’s bare skin. [color=firebrick]“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry-”[/color] but she was practically scooped up by Li and another Badgermole, and had no choice but to comply with their ministrations. She continued to make small noises of pain and, frankly, fear. It couldn’t end like this. She had worked so hard to this end. She couldn’t allow herself to be revealed now, in a stadium with thousands watching her and even more millions watching on the TV. The RSF would execute her in a moment, no matter if she was famous or not. It would all be over.

Her concentration subsided for a moment as the screaming began and a body hit the field. She wasn’t stupid- that was a bender. Something awful was happening. She let out a scream of pain as fire flared in her once more, this time nearly uncontrollable. At the last moment, though, she managed to rein it in, although not without her body temperature spiking and her muscles spasming. Chu Hua gasped, panting. She distinctly felt the soles of her shoes burning and smelled the burning rubber.

At this point, the heat pouring from Chu was too much for either girl to bear. The pain of their proximity was enough to pull them out of their momentary shock and they both backed away, stumbling to the ground on either side of her and leaving Chu to support herself in her suffering. Li scrambled backwards to cooler air as blades of grass beneath Chu began to wither and the air around her began to tremble.

[color=white]“Chu?”[/color]

Around them, players were running off the field now as yet another man on the opposite end of the stadium had erupted in flames.

By now, she was breathing hard, panting on hands and knees on the field. What was happening to her? What was happening to everyone? Chu Hua only faintly registered others experiencing what she was, but she saw enough to know that something was wrong. She had never felt like this before, and… she couldn’t control it. She screamed in agony as her insides were boiling. Just then, as she clutched her head in her hands, Chu Hua burst into flames, lighting much of the grass field on fire with her. 

The feeling of relief was almost instantaneous. But just as that came, despair did too. As soon as she could stand, Chu Hua stood, dumbfounded, staring at the spectator box where her family sat. A feminine figure in a yellow dress came running down the stairs, followed by those she knew to be her parents and sisters. Her entire life had just fallen apart. She didn’t know what to do but run. She started bolting towards the emergency exit, bringing flames with her.

Li swung hard, slamming the flat end of her stick into Chu’s shoulder and sending the girl toppling sideways to the ground.

[color=white]“Y- You’re fucking ONE OF THEM?!”[/color] She screamed, stepping up to the downed girl. The look in her eyes was changing wildly, from a rage filled hate to one of confusion and hesitation. Of sadness but also one of disgust. Her lip quivered slightly as she raised her paddle into the air above her head and stared down at the women. It took a moment, but the same look of determination she’d worn for Chu at the start of the game found her again as a decision was made.

A loud crack rang out and Li’s head was suddenly tilted violently forward. As her eyes rolled back, she dropped the paddle harmlessly behind her and fell face first to the ground. Standing behind her was Kanna, who immediately reached for Chu and pulled her up by the hand. Wrapped protectively around her own was her bandanna which had previously been holding up her hair.

[color=white]“Fucking GO!”[/color] She said, shoving her toward the exit and following after her.

By now the rest of the stadium had descended into complete chaos as Chu was not the only person suddenly starting to bend. Fearing for their lives, many began making for the exits while others attempted to subdue the danger themselves. RSF security had already converged on a number of benders closest to them, but a few had entered the field and were now moving toward Chu. Their weapons were raised and they were shouting at her to stop and although they were moving fast, it was obvious they were not going to intercept the athlete before she made it off the field.

Chu Hua took Kanna’s hand, a dazed look on her face. Everything had happened so fast. Li… She stared at the eighteen-year-old girl on the ground for a heartbeat, still registering the pain in her shoulder from where she had hit her so hard. There wasn’t a minute to contemplate the girl who had looked up to her so much, though, because Kanna was shoving her and screaming at her to run. Kanna, who hated her. There would be time to think about that later- for now, she had to run! 

Although they were being followed by men with many guns, Chu Hua and Kanna were still athletes in the prime of their careers- namely, they could run fast. Chu dashed after Kanna, through her own quickly spreading flames and past panicked crowds. The adrenaline from the game and from her own bending was still present in Chu Hua’s system, as she barely felt the awful burns of her own making. The fire trailed past her, as she was still unable to control her own bending, consuming the stadium in a fiery blaze.

As they were running, Kanna spotted an extra ball lying on the side of the field. Without breaking her stride, she shoved the flat end of her paddle underneath and knocked the ball into the air ahead of her. She then carried her forward momentum into a horizontal swing, smashing the paddle into the ball and sending it careening toward the nearest officer. It collided with the center of his face, breaking his nose and causing him to trip over himself and crash into the ground.

It was a small victory that would buy them a sliver of time to lose security in the halls. All they had to do now was get away from the fire that Chu was dragging behind her and they could easily blend into the crowd. As soon as they stepped under the concrete of the stadium and were in the halls, Kanna eyed and yanked one of the wall mounted fire alarms. The sound of ringing bells filled the air and water burst from pipes in the ceilings, sprinkling down around them and putting out the fire trail Chu had been leaving behind. It also had the added benefit of forcing people to shield their eyes and look more down at the ground. Those who didn't already know would never be the wiser and the ones that did were too busy running away. Of course there was the mist coming off of Chu’s heated body from the quickly evaporating water, but this was the better of their two options. Now, with the noise and the chaos and the confusion an effective camouflage, Kanna took the opportunity to lead Chu to relative safety. They turned down a few corridors until Kanna eventually found a door that would be familiar to them both. A little known storage room, partially forgotten, that had often been used in the past by the two for private trysts. Kanna opened the door and pulled Chu inside, closing it behind them both.

[color=white]“FUCK!”[/color]

Chu Hua stood for a moment, shell-shocked. Then she collapsed against the wall as everything hit her all at once. She shook, bringing her knees to her chest. She wasn’t crying- the tears evaporated so fast she couldn’t. Everything was gone. Everything she had worked for, everything she had dreamed of having, every relationship she had ever built- burnt to ashes. She had tried so hard for so long to keep this secret and… had failed. She would not be getting married in two weeks, or winning a championship, or being inducted into the Hall of Fame. It was all over. Chu Hua clutched her hand around a dusty piece of paper, startling as it lit on fire. It brought her back a bit.

Kanna. Chu Hua looked at her with hooded lids. Her ex-girlfriend, her fiercest rival, the girl who had punched her in the face earlier. [color=firebrick]“Why… why did you save me?”[/color] Her voice was hollow. [color=firebrick]“You hate me. You should have let me die- my life is over.”[/color]

Kanna stepped away from the door she was leaning against. She had been trying to listen to footsteps on the other side to gauge what was happening and as far as she could tell, for now, they were safe. However, there was no telling how in control Chu could remain in the enclosed space and to make matters worse, water was beginning to seep in from the outside. As she turned around, it splashed under her cleats.

[color=white]"Yeah. You’re right. I fucking hate you. Your face irritates me and what you said about my mo-...”[/color] She paused, collecting herself in the moment so as to not go off on an unnecessary tangent. [color=white]“Look… I don’t hate what you are."[/color] A frustrated sigh escaped her lips as she closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead, her mind finally realizing just how deep a hole she'd dug herself. It all happened so quickly and she'd barely had time to register the split second decision she'd made. Now, it was too late to go back and she had to commit. She opened her eyes and knelt in front of the defeated girl, being sure to give her enough space to breathe. [color=white]"You're not the only bender I know..."[/color] She glanced at the corner of her eye as an odd expression passed over face. [color=white]"... And your life isn't over."[/color] 

[color=firebrick]“Easy for you to say. Do you know how hard I’ve worked for all this, Kanna? It’s all gone.”[/color] Chu Hua planted her fingers in the trickling water, allowing herself to create a flame which immediately fizzled out. [color=firebrick]“I was supposed to get married in two weeks. I was gonna win fucking Nationals today. But now… well, unless we miraculously get out of here and I live some pathetic, lonely life in the Lower Ring or the Outskirts, I’m only destined to die by firing squad- or worse. Just because you’re some fucking secret rebel sympathizer or something doesn’t fix that.”[/color] 

[color=white]“No. It doesn't help because I'm not a 'rebel sympathizer'. I just also happened to have [i]had[/i] a firebending mother that they took from me because she refused to listen. I don't expect you to understand what it's like for people on the other side because you haven't lost that yet. You don't even have them. Not really. You haven't made your own family to abandon. You haven't made promises that you break. You haven't told someone that you know what the fuck you're doing when you really fucking don't. I bet you think you're fucking clever too, don't you? Just like she did. That if it wasn't for whatever the fuck happened today, you'd live the rest of your life just fucking fine, except you're not! One fucking mistake and that's it! She's gone! Two fucking weeks ago. So fuck you! You’re still here and you have a chance.

You love An don't you? Don't put her through what my mother put me through. I know a place you can go away from all of this. I know who to talk to and how much they want and that they do most of the leg work. All you have to do is want to do it. You could take An along too. It might cost some but your family will be fine. I’m your proof of that.” [/color]

Chu Hua was quiet for a moment. It made sense why Kanna had reacted so awfully earlier; she would have too. [color=firebrick]“I’m sorry about your mom. But I did everything right. I kept my mouth shut, I acted normal, and… still.”[/color] She gestured to the stadium and the fire alarm’s roaring.

[color=firebrick]“Huh? What are you talking about? Where the fuck would I go?! You can’t escape the RSF without going into the Wilds, and there’s nothing out there.”[/color]  

[color=white]"There is. I mean..."[/color] She bit her lip. [color=white]"...I've been told. Apparently it's another thing they like to sweep under the rug. Not all benders are crazy murder psychopaths [i]and[/i]... People live outside the walls. I don't know how but it's a big world out there. It's not that hard to believe. And people are always showing up from outside the walls so I've heard. Maybe they all look like they've been through hell but anything's gotta be better than dying.

Apparently there's a town that you can get to and supposedly, they don't care if you're a bender. Supposedly. I admit it’s not one hundred percent, but I do know one hundred percent your life here [i]is[/i] over… but it’s not done. You can get out of here."[/color] 

Chu Hua looked momentarily in disbelief. That was impossible; Ba Sing Se was the only city left in the world! Everything else was irradiated to shit. [color=firebrick]“That sounds like total bullshit, but… well. You’re right.”[/color] It seemed to cause her physical pain to admit this. [color=firebrick]“I don’t have any more options.”[/color] A tear came unbidden to her eye, and she wiped it away. Damnit. She didn’t like crying in front of Kanna, or anyone for that matter.

[color=firebrick]“You’ll probably enjoy having me gone, huh? You’ll win all your matches without me there to fuck your plays.”[/color] 

[color=white]”Don’t kid yourself, sweetheart.”[/color] Kanna said, rising to her feet. She was standing now in water a few inches deep. [color=white]”You were never going to get to win nationals…. Not that it matters.”[/color] She half laughed as she stared at the door. [color=white]”I won’t be winning any more trophies anytime soon either. I’m as good as a bender for helping you out, but at least this way… maybe someone gets to live this time.”[/color] 

Chu Hua stood too, the water still steaming at her feet. She frowned- they should probably leave, but Kanna’s comment was more concerning. [color=firebrick]“So you’re just gonna stay here and die?”[/color]  

[color=white]”No. The plan is to get you to An so you two can get somewhere safe.”[/color] Kanna answered, half ignoring the real question. She knew what she was asking but if she were being honest with herself, she wasn’t entirely sure what she was going to do. 
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