[table= //////= EXIT'S POST DESIGN v5 =\\\\\\][row][sub][h1][sub][sub][sub][sub][sub][sub][sub][img=/// TOPIMAGE \\\]https://i.imgur.com/8GpiUcc.png[/img][/sub][/sub][/sub][/sub][/sub][/sub][/sub][sub][color=white][sub][sub][color=2e2c2c][sub]...[/sub][/color][sup][b]▇▇▇[/b][/sup][/sub][/sub][color=2e2c2c]_[/color][sub][color=a187be][sup]Jin[/sup] T A K A S H I[/color][/sub][sub][sub][color=2e2c2c]__[/color][sup][b]▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇[/b][/sup][/sub][/sub][/color][/sub]
[color=2e2c2c]__________[/color][sup][sub][sup][sub][color=555555][color=888888]@ a small apartment in the Middle Ring. SE+4[/color][/color][/sub][/sup][/sub][/sup][/h1][/sub][/row][row][cell][sup][center][b][color=white][sup][h2][sup]█[/sup]
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Jin didn't fully remember leaving the Underground. Nelu, Zhen and themself staggering through one dust caked, stuffy tunnel after another. One foot after the other. A distant wheezing voice stating that they lost their shoes. The grinding drag of metal on dirt as they carried the grim trophy of a prosthetic arm.

What they did remember was the three of them hitting the slightly fresher air of the Lower Ring and damn near collapsing from relief. From the few glances and wry smirks cast in their direction, they probably looked the Upper Ring weekend walk of shame to the average person. Visible and yet anonymous. No one would recall their faces by dawn.

Jin used to point and laugh at people like this, before.

Zhen peeled off as the houses got bigger and farther apart, and things were a vague mash of memory before they reached Nelu’s apartment. He waved Jin inside hurriedly. The next clear recollection was Nelu gently but firmly lifting them from the floor by the elbow.

[color=bca346]“-in? Jin! Up. Don’t sleep here.”[/color] He deposited them on a chair, and started asking questions. The day, the month, the name of the current emperor. After a few of these, Jin recalled that he was making sure they hadn’t been concussed in the blast. His touch, shifting their head left to right, checking the imprint of a metal hand starting to bloom against their throat, was impersonal. When they shut their eyes, it was a stranger’s hand.

[color=bca346]“Hey.”[/color]

Jin opened their eyes and sought the source of his voice, looking up to be dismissed by the captain at the end of a very long mission.

Instead, they met Nelu’s eyes. Exhausted staring brown flickering gold spilling over with want – Jin felt the press of bass and bodies, a dance in the dark and the shades of an alley and his taste and the ghost of his hands and vanilla and jasmine and his mouth all but begging for -

Jin blinked and scrubbed a grimy hand over their face. It came back smeared dirty with blue makeup, icy as a cold bath.

Tarnelu Dermok wanted a woman, one who did not exist. Stupid of Jin to forget. They may have gotten back to clean air but clearly that hadn’t helped their delusion.

They rose and staggered, mumbling. [color=a187be]“-gotta crash.”[/color] Thank the spirits, a couch. Their body gave out the second they lay down - darkness followed.

The next thing they remembered was choking. They couldn't breathe, they were going to die, this metal armed no balls prick killed Nelu and was going to kill them and there was so much they hadn’t learned or done they weren’t ready yet no no NO-

[color=a187be]“NO!”[/color] They startled awake as they fell on the floor, tangled in a blanket that hadn't been there before. Jin threw it off with panicked relief as they coughed and gulped air. It tasted like stale perfume and grave dirt failng to bury BO. Slowly, they raised an arm and sniffed themselves. [color=a187be]“Oof! Shower.”[/color]

Nelu's apartment was small enough that getting lost was impossible. They heard snoring coming from one closed door, so decided to open the other. A sparse, but tidy bathroom greeted them. Immediately, they abandoned the blue dress, brown wig, and the rest of the kit, kicking the whole mess vengefully into the corner. The remaining blue contact was happily flushed down the toilet after a quick pee. Then they stepped into the shower, and turned the water to full heat.

The first few seconds were spent basking in the hot water. His shower was steaming in seconds rather than minutes. Having money to spare on good plumbing must be nice. They found a rag shortly after, soaped up and started scrubbing, watching makeup, dirt, sweat and blood vanish down the drain. The water was tepid by the time they came out, but Jin was blissfully clean. 

Jin stared at their nude body in the mirror. No more makeup, no more scent of perfume. Their damp black hair was starting to curl in the humidity, their eyes were puffy and bloodshot. There was a knot on the side of their face where Shao had hit them. Their body was worse. Bruises and cuts and an ugly ring of broken blood vessels collaring their neck. A line of irritation under their breasts where the bra had wrestled them into an appealing shape. More irritation rounding their narrow, bony hips where the unfamiliar silk had chafed them. Jin had actually refused a first iteration of the blue dress, demanding to cover cleavage that they hated showing almost as much as they hated having it. The doc had adjusted the neckline and added a detachable interior padding. She said it'd help if they got punched, but Jin knew a binder when they saw one. They'd keep it and burn the rest in a trash can.

Nelu's voice soft in their ear, the rough warmth of his hand brushing away their tears…

[color=bca346]"...You [i]are[/i] beautiful... I'm the idiot."[/color]

Just thinking about it stirred up an ache, pleasant in comparison to their tired muscles.

[color=bca346]”...You are beautiful...”[/color]

He hadn't been in his right mind by that time. But hours had passed since then. Predawn light was starting to paint the bathroom walls. They could ask. Even when he answered no, or didn't remember... well, at least that door could be closed.

After wrapping up in a clean towel from the shelf, Jin went to the other door and knocked lightly. The snoring stopped short with a mumbled answer, so they turned the knob and entered. Nelu sat up slow, clearly groggy.
[sub][sub][u][b][color=bca346]Exit   [/color][/b][/u][/sub][/sub]
[color=bca346]“Jin?”[/color] His eyes tracked and found their voice through squeezed eye lids and although slow at first, his body quickly caught up with his brain. Evidently he was remembering he had a guest. He shook his head, both in an attempt to clear the fog from his head and in disappointment at himself. [color=bca346]“Jin… hey, sorry. I uh-... Are you alright?”[/color] It hadn’t yet registered that they were standing in his room in little more than a bath towel.
[sub][sub][u][b][color=a187be]Mistress Dizzy   [/color][/b][/u][/sub][/sub]
Jin tried to remember lessons given in poise and seduction. What to say, how to say it, posture and bearing. None of it came to mind. [color=a187be]"Last night, you made me feel something I've never felt before. Like you chose me on purpose, like you wanted me."[/color]

They approached the bed slow, steps uncertain. The words were just as unsure, hoarse and unpractied, but real.
[sub][sub][u][b][color=bca346]Exit   [/color][/b][/u][/sub][/sub]
By now, whatever fluster Nelu had been feeling had dissolved to a slow caution. It was only then that he noticed them. Noticed what they were wearing, where they were and more importantly that there was nothing standing in between the both of them now. No poisoned air, no mission, no doubt.
[sub][sub][u][b][color=a187be]Mistress Dizzy   [/color][/b][/u][/sub][/sub]
[color=a187be]"You called me beautiful. And then you told me to ask how you feel when we got out."[/color] They inhaled in a shudder and breathed out. [color=a187be]"This is me asking. This… is me."[/color] While Jin would never call themselves ugly, their body was just a place to live in. Sturdy, but plain. Nothing fancy that anyone would pay to see.
 
Their fingers clumsily worked the knot from the towel and then let it drop on Nelu's bedroom floor.

[color=a187be]"Am I still what you want?"[/color]
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[indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][color=bca346]“Your heart flutters briefly, right before the moment. When you pull the trigger. It’s so subtle you probably don’t even notice it’s happening. But it also happens when your mind is running. When it’s thinking faster than any man or woman possibly can. I’ve listened to you parse the displacement of a bullet against the wind and the rain and the rotation of the planet in real time. And every time, your heart whispers.”[/color][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent]
[table= //////= EXIT'S POST DESIGN v5 =\\\\\\][row][sub][h1][sub][sub][sub][sub][sub][sub][sub][img=/// TOPIMAGE \\\]https://i.imgur.com/YxTzOL9.png[/img][/sub][/sub][/sub][/sub][/sub][/sub][/sub][sub][color=0f191c][sub][sub][color=2e2c2c][sub]...[/sub][/color][sup][b]▇▇▇[/b][/sup][/sub][/sub][color=2e2c2c]_[/color][sub][color=bca346][sup]Tarnelu[/sup] D E R M O K[/color][/sub][sub][sub][color=2e2c2c]__[/color][sup][b]▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇[/b][/sup][/sub][/sub][/color][/sub]
[color=2e2c2c]___________[/color][sup][sub][sup][sub][color=555555][color=888888]@ the Dermok residence. SE+6[/color][/color][/sub][/sup][/sub][/sup][/h1][/sub][/row][row][cell][sup][center][b][color=0f191c][sup][h2][sup]█[/sup]
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It had been years of this. Years of questions and assumptions and their inability to accept that the man in their home was both a part of the problem and their only solution. They pressured him to deliver. Threatened him to do better. Placed the weight of their fears and their judgement on his shoulders and expected something lesser than themselves to perform perfectly. On any normal day, this wouldn’t be a problem. Their words would roll off his back. Enter in one ear and out the other. Today, however, was different. Years had been condensed to the span of half an hour and now their words were sticking to him like barbs. They dug themselves into this skin and repeated themselves in his head over and over and over again. And their voices were loud. They always were.

And yet, somewhere deep down inside him, Nelu recognized this as ‘home’. The two people in front of him, both somehow smaller in stature and yet taking up all the space in the room, were his family. His blood.

The Dermok household was not dressed in luxury like those of the Upper Ring. Though they were better off than most in Ba Sing Se, their home was more a form of function than an indication of their wealth. A part of that was because they were not from it, as Nelu understood it. It was sheer luck that his mother and father had brought a bender into the world, and it was only because he was a Bender that a unique opportunity was placed in their hands. Finding favor with the LSF went a long way, they realized. Giving up that which they did not want pulled them from the depths of the city where so many drowned, and gave them something to stand on. Then Vasra entered the picture and excelled in ways Nelu was never allowed to, further elevating their family name to the position they were now. They had standing. They were known. They had a comfortable home and food and water and clean air. The nook, carved for them by their children, was theirs alone and far enough away from the walls that they never had to concern themselves with the outside world or even the Lower Ring for that matter.

It was a privilege that few tasted, especially those who came from lesser and it was one they were not keen to lose. So when their [i]only[/i] child was in danger of going missing leaving behind the sole stain on their name, their entire world was under threat of collapse, and they expressed it the only way they knew how.

[color=white]”And now she's what? Dead?! That's what you're trying to tell us?!”[/color]

[color=white]”Why did you let this happen?”[/color]

[color=white]”That was your only job, Tarnelu. We let you live so you could protect us. We let you live and you let her die?! And now you have NO ONE!”[/color][/color][/cell][/row][/table][table= //////= EXIT'S POST DESIGN v5 =\\\\\\][row][sub][h1][sub][sub][sub][sub][sub][sub][sub][img=/// TOPIMAGE \\\]https://i.imgur.com/6zuqAK2.png[/img][/sub][/sub][/sub][/sub][/sub][/sub][/sub][sub][color=010a02][sub][sub][color=2e2c2c][sub]...[/sub][/color][sup][b]▇▇▇[/b][/sup][/sub][/sub][color=2e2c2c]_[/color][sub][color=bca346] 0 6 : 0 0[/color][/sub][sub][sub][color=2e2c2c]__[/color][sup][b]▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇[/b][/sup][/sub][/sub][/color][/sub]
[color=2e2c2c]_______[/color][sup][sub][sup][sub][color=555555][color=888888]@ a small apartment in the Middle Ring. SE+5[/color][/color][/sub][/sup][/sub][/sup][/h1][/sub][/row][row][cell][sup][center][b][color=010a02][sup][h2][sup]█[/sup]
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Tarenlu pressed two fingers against his chest, gingerly tracing the fading outline of the bruise stamped on his skin. In its center was a scar like a singular eye that leered at him; a semi-permanent gift from his time in the Underground and a burning reminder of his failure. And he [i]had[/i] failed. Failed to do little more than lie unconscious on the floor of that cavern. Failed to stop a man who could not bend. Failed Jin, who once again had to step in to cover for his inexperience. A recurring theme it seemed in the Underground. He’d failed Zhen and not least of all, failed Kata. So much had gone wrong in so little time and Nelu hadn’t done what he could to stop it. Maybe if he had, if he’d paid more attention, been more strict, maybe he would have been able to prevent one of their own from leaving. But he hadn’t and now his team was all the lesser for it. This scar on his chest was one he deserved. Same as the others.

Across his body, splitting tattoos or covered by them, were the stories of his life that had been carved into skin. Long healed lacerations across his back. A thin line that had been drawn across his chest by the point of a knife. There was the smooth, pin-point crater near his shoulder where a gunman had found their mark and a second just above his hip. On his left arm just below the elbow was a now obscured burn mark, covered by the body of a snake coiling across his forearm, outlined in black ink. Long forgotten cuts and bruises and broken bones healed and broken and healed again. Pieces of himself, both physical and mental, taken by others that he could never recover again.

And then there was the scar under his rib. A long gash, well hidden which at the time seemed like it’d been a stroke of luck, at least until the blood began to soak through his shirt. Nelu was sure he was dead. Not from the wound itself but from him having to explain the ‘how’ he’d gotten it to people whose trust with him was already running thin. He knew why. He knew what he was. It was a miracle that his mother and father allowed him to live, let alone visit home [i]and[/i] spend any amount of time with his sister. A part of that was pragmatic, he was sure. Despite their distaste for him, having favor with the RSF was far more preferable than nothing gained from a child lost. The other part of it was Vasra herself who longed to spend time with him, regardless of whatever it was about her older brother they kept feeding her. But she was young and neither a child’s wants nor rationality was enough to protect him forever. Nelu knew there would be no way to convince them that he was still safe to be around, especially when it was his idea to allow Vasra to ride on handlebars while going down hill. There was no good way to slice it. It had been irresponsible of him and could have led to her being seriously injured if he hadn’t been able to grab her during their bail.

At the time, he had thoughts of clotting the wound himself and tossing the shirt. Or burning the shirt and tossing the bike. Anything just to be sure there was no evidence of an accident. Maybe he could buy a new one, he posited. There was a bike store not far from where they lived and they were sure to still carry the same model as it was fairly new. But as his mind began to race, parsing through every possible way he could avoid the inevitable, a worried little sister would interrupt. He could still remember exactly where she placed her hand and the warmth that spread from there. Even now as he traced the scar with the edge of his finger could he feel it.
[sub][sub][u][b][color=d7d0e7]Mistress Dizzy   [/color][/b][/u][/sub][/sub]
[color=d7d0e7]"Hey Nelu?"[/color] A soft knock broke the silence. [color=d7d0e7]"Is my binder in there?"[/color] Jin's voice echoed through the barrier of the bathroom door. 
[sub][sub][u][b][color=bca346]Exit   [/color][/b][/u][/sub][/sub]
Nelu tore himself away from the well of thoughts opening beneath him and allowed himself a brief moment of shame for having forgotten he had company. So lost in his thoughts was he that he’d practically left the apartment altogether. He did a passing scan of the bathroom, which was rather quick considering its small size, and noticed on the ground the binder in question. [color=bca346]”Yeah. You can come in,”[/color] he said, bending down to pick it out of the pile of clothing it was tangled among.
[sub][sub][u][b][color=d7d0e7]Mistress Dizzy   [/color][/b][/u][/sub][/sub]
[color=d7d0e7]"Thanks."[/color] Jin slipped in the bathroom behind him with a half smile, wearing a loose shirt and shorts that served as pajamas. They took the binder and tucked it under their arm before peering up at him. [color=d7d0e7]"...I left you some tea. Still hot, probably."[/color] A soft but distinct worried gaze met his. 

[color=d7d0e7]"You look wiped."[/color] Jin subtracted what little space the bathroom had left, pressing their body against his side. Their hand found his, and squeezed. "Are you still hurting?" Jin's own scars were not as obvious, but the borrowed shirt half sliding down their shoulder showed the dun plum of half healed bruises and covered cuts. Most alarming was the distinct mark of a smooth metal hand, around Jin's throat. The mark of survival was still an irritated red against their brown skin, bothering them when they spoke or ate.

It was ugly and it hurt. But they were still alive. 

[color=d7d0e7]"Oh! I could get you some CCC - the cans with whatsername's face on it are 50% off. They're trying to clear out all her merch, after all the firebending shit. The caffeine still works though."[/color]
[sub][sub][u][b][color=bca346]Exit   [/color][/b][/u][/sub][/sub]
[color=bca346]“I don’t need it,”[/color] he replied with a small smile, his eyes holding onto Jin but very gradually gliding to the parts of them that were exposed. [color=bca346]”And definitely not from her. I’ll take the tea.”[/color]
[sub][sub][u][b][color=d7d0e7]Mistress Dizzy   [/color][/b][/u][/sub][/sub]
[color=d7d0e7]"Eh, doesn't matter to me who's face is on it. A sale's a sale."[/color] They shrugged indifferently, but a flinch and hiss of pain marred the gesture.
[sub][sub][u][b][color=bca346]Exit   [/color][/b][/u][/sub][/sub]
Under white fluorescent lights, he could clearly see the parts of them that had been marked. The bruises left by the hurt they had endured. Again, his mind lingered on what could have been had he done more. How much pain could he have saved them from? Why were they so quick to forgive? To stand in that small space with him and press their bruised and broken body against his?

He let go of their hand and brought his up to the edge of their chin, pressing gently against it to tilt their head slightly up and to the side. Their closeness was making the angle awkward, but he refused to create space even if it meant getting a better look. [color=bca346]”What about you?”[/color] he asked, very carefully tracing the edge of the handprint that had been left behind. [color=bca346]”This still looks pretty bad…”[/color] 
[sub][sub][u][b][color=d7d0e7]Mistress Dizzy   [/color][/b][/u][/sub][/sub]
Jin leaned their face into Nelu's palm, clearly savoring the warmth of his touch. [color=d7d0e7]"It's not the worst injury I've ever had."[/color] The statement was true, but not the answer that they knew Nelu wanted. The story came out anyway. [color=d7d0e7]"When I was 10, I broke my ankle trying to climb the ring wall. Missed a handhold and fell three stories into a trash cart. Surgeon said I shoulda broken my neck falling that far."[/color] A weary smile crossed their face at the memory. [color=d7d0e7]"Once I was upright, Lady Cho beat my scrawny ass raw in front of all the spirits and whores with her iron fan. Said her night hours were way too expensive to sit up worrying about an idiot kid. My ankle still hurts in the winter. That was the worst injury I've ever had."[/color]
[sub][sub][u][b][color=bca346]Exit   [/color][/b][/u][/sub][/sub]
[color=bca346]”And this one?”[/color]
[sub][sub][u][b][color=d7d0e7]Mistress Dizzy   [/color][/b][/u][/sub][/sub]
[color=d7d0e7]"This is the second. Feels like his hand is still there - but I'm here and he ain't. I'll heal."[/color] Their green eyes strayed, lingering on Nelu's chest. Then they leaned forward and pressed a kiss just shy of the wound that Shao had left him. [color=d7d0e7]"M'sorry. If I was half as smart as you tell people I am, I would have realized we were walkin' into that. That we should have been terrified of Hunang."[/color] Softly, Jin pressed their forehead against his chest. Whether it was to feel his solid warmth, or to hide the shame on their face, Jin couldn't say. 

[color=d7d0e7]"The Lower Ring, the Underground. That's supposed to be my turf, but I nearly got us both killed."[/color] Their voice shook as they swallowed painfully. [color=d7d0e7]"I… If I had…"[/color] The weight of confession hung in the space between them.


[color=d7d0e7]"I know you wanted me to leave and call for backup. But I didn't think it'd work so I ignored your plan. Thought I could make my own. And I was wrong, and we almost died, I failed, I failed you-"[/color] The sudden onset of tears made speaking impossible. Jin's confession had been reduced to a wheezing whisper.
[sub][sub][u][b][color=bca346]Exit   [/color][/b][/u][/sub][/sub]
Nelu’s hand moved from the bruise around their neck to their cheek where he scraped away a tear. [color=bca346]”Jin…”[/color] he began, carefully cupping their head in his hands and tilting their head back just enough so they could meet his eyes. [color=bca346]”We are [i]only[/i] alive because you did what you did. If you had listened to me… odds are…”[/color] Nelu leaned in slowly, his eyes dropping from theirs and lingering on their slightly parted lips. [color=bca346]”I wouldn’t be able to do this…”[/color] he whispered, pressing his lips against theirs.
[sub][sub][u][b][color=d7d0e7]Mistress Dizzy   [/color][/b][/u][/sub][/sub]
Jin raised up on their toes to receive his kiss, guilt and desire twisting together in their belly.
[sub][sub][u][b][color=bca346]Exit   [/color][/b][/u][/sub][/sub]
It was a gentle exchange, not hungry but earnest in his desire to appreciate them, especially now that he had the chance. He wanted them to understand that they were only given that chance because events unfolded the way they did. He’d nearly been robbed of this, and knowing what he knew now, of the experience given to him for simply allowing himself to want, he knew he wouldn’t have changed anything.

Nelu was loath to allow Jin to feel any amount of guilt, but when they’d finally allowed each other a moment to breathe, Nelu expressed his own. [color=bca346]”I’m sorry I let him hurt you. I should have been better. I will be better.”[/color]
[sub][sub][u][b][color=d7d0e7]Mistress Dizzy   [/color][/b][/u][/sub][/sub]
He was right. In the end, how they survived didn't matter so much as that they had. 

[color=d7d0e7]"I will be too. I promise."[/color] They let their fingers trace the lines of his tattoos, as if reminding themselves that he was here, and real. [color=d7d0e7]"I've got a lot to do today. Business with Doctor Li, got to see a man about a horse, some other stuff. But once I'm done,"[/color] The question was uncertain. [color=d7d0e7]"Can… can I come back?"[/color]
[center][color=2e2c2c]______________________________________[/color][color=3E5151][sub][i]”Come back?”[/i][/sub][/color][/center]
[sub][sub][u][b][color=bca346]Exit   [/color][/b][/u][/sub][/sub]
[color=bca346]”A horse?”[/color][center][color=2e2c2c]_________[/color][color=3E5151][sub][i]”When are you coming back?”[/i][/sub][/color][/center]
[sub][sub][u][b][color=d7d0e7]Mistress Dizzy   [/color][/b][/u][/sub][/sub]
Jin winked at him. [color=d7d0e7]"You'll find out."[/color][/color][/cell][cell][sup][center][b][color=2e2c2c][sup][h2][sub]█[/sub]
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[sub]█[/sub][/h2][/sup][/color][/b][/center][/sup][/cell][cell][color=888888][color=white]”Why are you doing this? To what? Hurt us? After everything we’ve given you?”[/color]

Even from a young age, Nelu could hear the difference. It was slight, but while his father was ever the aggressive one, his mother had always been very intentional with her words. Shaping them into something that sounded true even when every word was a lie. Drawing connections based off the absence of information and spinning for herself a narrative all her own. It was easier to recognize it now as an adult. Vasra going missing wasn't an accident. The chaos unfolding in the city. The numerous people falling through the cracks as the Lower Ring fell into turmoil. None of it mattered. Vasra going missing was deliberate. An disparate attack meant to harm in a way that only a Bender knew how.

Somewhere in their words Nelu could still recognize genuine worry. Beneath the screams and anger and tears was a mother and a father who were desperately searching for answers or anything to latch on to. Nelu just happened to be the closest and easiest target for them to lash out at, or at least that’s what he kept telling himself. In a way he understood. Theirs were fears more nuanced than most could ever know, layered in dangerous secrets that they were forced to keep. The most obvious fear of course was that Vasra was missing, the only silver lining being that at least for now, missing meant there was a slim chance Vasra could still turn up. Their lesser known fear was the more concerning of the two and was almost entirely dependent on where she turned up if she did. It was also the fear that weighed most heavily on Nelu’s shoulders. Like a shadow he could not shake or a lingering thought in the back of his mind that was ever present.

[color=white]"Why are you here wasting your time? Are you even trying to find her?!"[/color][/color][/cell][/row][/table][table= //////= EXIT'S POST DESIGN v5 =\\\\\\][row][sub][h1][sub][sub][sub][sub][sub][sub][sub][img=/// TOPIMAGE \\\]https://i.imgur.com/XkSX9Wr.png[/img][/sub][/sub][/sub][/sub][/sub][/sub][/sub][sub][color=1a1f20][sub][sub][color=2e2c2c][sub]...[/sub][/color][sup][b]▇▇▇[/b][/sup][/sub][/sub][color=2e2c2c]_[/color][sub][color=bca346] 1 1 : 0 0[/color][/sub][sub][sub][color=2e2c2c]__[/color][sup][b]▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇[/b][/sup][/sub][/sub][/color][/sub]
[color=2e2c2c]_______[/color][sup][sub][sup][sub][color=555555][color=888888]@ the LSF interrogation room. SE+5[/color][/color][/sub][/sup][/sub][/sup][/h1][/sub][/row][row][cell][sup][center][b][color=1a1f20][sup][h2][sup]█[/sup]
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[sub]█[/sub][/h2][/sup][/color][/b][/center][/sup][/cell][cell][color=888888][sup][color=2e2c2c]__________________________________________________________________________________________________________[/color][/sup]
It was a small room that Nelu found himself in. Plain gray walls surrounded him on all sides save for one with a long rectangular mirror built into it. There were no tables in the room. Not a couch or a chair. There was a single door with no latch and embedded into the wall across from him were chains. These were attached to the wall itself and were not currently being used, even as there were two prisoners in the room with him.

One was in his late twenties. Dirty and matted dark hair. Dirt smudged into his skin and collected under his nails. Chapped lips and pale skin that looked as though it had been starved of the sun. When he smiled,  Some were missing. The rest were piss yellow and jagged and chipped and pointing at odd angles like the teeth of a shirshu. Nelu recognized the look. He’d spent the better half of an entire day surviving beneath the city only a few days ago. The tunnel systems were filled with people who looked just like him. Desperate. Scared. Benders.

But the look in man’s eyes said differently. Above ground was unfamiliar, sure, but trapped as he was now was not so different than it was back home. [i]He[/i] was not so easily shaken, it seemed. He was merely unlucky having been plucked from the life he’d led in the dark. But like any roach, he was no stranger to loss. To finding an exit where there wasn’t one. To surviving long past when his time was up. Nelu was sure that he thought this moment would be no different.

[color=white]”You’re doing me a favor,”[/color] he said, pointing at the room around him. [color=white]”This is better than what I have back home. I’ve got lights. Real food.”[/color] He lifted an empty paper cup in his hand. [color=white]”Clean water.”[/color]

[color=bca346]”Can I get you anymore?”[/color]

The man seemed surprised but didn’t turn down the offer. [color=white]”Sure.”[/color]

Nelu took the cup from him and walked to the back corner of the room where there was a simple water dispenser. It was of an older design from many decades ago. The kind with a water filled jug poured into the top and a spigot on the side. Simple. Reliable. Easy to see what it was you were getting. There was no lie here. He refilled the cup and returned it to the man who drank it down greedily.

[color=bca346]”Your name is Lohu, correct?”[/color]

[color=white]”Yes.”[/color]

[color=bca346]”Earthbender.”[/color] Nelu stated rather than asked, to which Lohu paused. There was uncertainty in his eyes that Nelu directly addressed. [color=bca346]”It’s rhetorical. We already know.”[/color]

[color=white]”Then tell me what it is you people want. Why am I still alive? …And who is that?”[/color] Tamin nodded toward the second person in the room, an elderly looking individual who was all skin and bones and looked as if they had been beaten and burned, though the signs of which seemed long healed over. They were doubled over with their face in their knees and an arm wrapped tightly around themselves. The only sign of life was the subtle rising and falling of their silhouette with every shallow breath they took. [color=white]”What happened to them?”[/color]

Nelu ignored the question. [color=bca346]”I need to ask you about events in the Underground that happened a few days ago... You were picked up near The Core?”[/color]

[color=white]”Yes.”[/color]

[color=bca346]”On your way to see Hunang?”[/color]

Another small pause before the man committed to answering. [color=white]”Yes.”[/color]

[color=bca346]”We understand they were organizing an exodus from the city. Do you know where they were going?”[/color]

[color=white]”No,”[/color] the man stated quickly.

[color=bca346]”No?”[/color]

[color=white]”They never said.”[/color]

[color=bca346]”You never asked?”[/color]

[color=white]”I just needed to get out. I didn’t care where to.”[/color]

Nelu turned Lohu’s answers and mannerisms over in his head and searched his eyes for anything else he could use before resorting to what he knew to be more effective. But there was nothing there. There never was when it came to roaches protecting one another. He shook his head as he crouched in front of the man, meeting him at eye level. The fingers in his right hand spiraled slowly into themselves as they wrapped into a fist, as if he were cracking his knuckles. [color=bca346]”I’m going to be honest with you, Lohu. You are going to die today, but the method of your death is determined by you. Now I can make your death instant. Painless. You wouldn’t feel a thing or even know it’s coming. It’ll be over just like [i]that[/i].”[/color] Nelu snapped the fingers in his left hand. [color=bca346]”Or…”[/color] With the same hand, Nelu pointed toward the doubled over individual. [color=bca346]”[i]That[/i] is what happens when you’re dishonest and when I say I know you’re being dishonest, that is not a lie.”[/color]

Lohu turned to the other person in the room again.

[color=bca346]”Where was Hunang going to take you?”[/color]

There was no answer at first. Just silence as Lohu considered his options. It didn’t take him long to understand the futility of his situation but there was also a spark of recognition in his eyes as he continued to observe the other individual.

[color=white]”Is that-?”[/color]

[color=bca346]”Where, Lohu?”[/color] Nelu interrupted. Lohu turned to him.

[color=white]”I-I told you. I don’t kno-...”[/color] he had begun to say. Mid sentence, he stopped suddenly and fell silent, the look on his face turning from mild surprise to a deep confusion. His eyes dropped to the ground as he began rubbing his lips together, licking them and pulling them into his mouth as if he were trying to taste something. He pressed a hand to his throat and coughed.

[color=bca346]”Lohu?”[/color]

[color=white]”I uh....”[/color] Lohu looked at the crumpled paper cup in his hand and then to the water dispenser in the corner of the room and gulped hard. While he didn’t have the healthiest appearance, in the short time that he had been in the room with Nelu, his eyes had taken on a more sunken appearance and his skin seemed slightly more dry. [color=white]”C-can I… more water?”[/color] Lohu croaked.

[color=bca346]”Where. Were. They. Going?”[/color]

Lohu was opening and closing his jaw now, licking the inside of his mouth and his lips as he eyed the jug of water nearby. Eventually, some hidden need took over and he began to crawl over to it. It was slow at first, weak and clumsy and almost unsure until some desperation took hold and he quickened his pace. Nelu followed silently after him, watching as he tripped over himself as he shuffled across the floor on his hands and knees. He stopped in his shadow as he reached the base of the water dispenser and began to clamor up to the spigot. Shaking hands held a cup to it and tried the tap but nothing came out. Desperate, he dropped the cup and held his mouth to it instead and tried again.

[color=bca346]”Answer the question, Lohu,”[/color] Nelu said, watching him give up and collapse on the ground, exhausted and very clearly dehydrated. He took a few careful breaths and then turned to Nelu. This time, his confused and tired eyes were pleading.

[color=white]”I… don’t… know....”[/color]

Nelu wasn’t looking at his eyes, however. He was staring through his chest and the look of disappointment on his face as Lohu gave his answer was clear as day.

Lohu rolled on to his hands and knees once more, intent on trying to sit up, but as he lifted himself off the ground, he suddenly froze. He was hunched over with his mouth held open as if he were about to say something, but the only thing to leave his lips was a shallow wheeze, barely audible, and then tiny droplets of water. They floated from his open mouth, fell from his nostrils and leaked from the corner of his eyes, collecting into a miniscule ball of liquid in front of him. His skin began to shrivel.

[color=bca346]”Are. You. Sure?”[/color][/color][/cell][cell][sup][center][b][color=2e2c2c][sup][h2][sub]█[/sub]
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[sub]█[/sub][/h2][/sup][/color][/b][/center][/sup][/cell][cell][color=888888][color=white]”You shut the fuck up. You don't know shit. If you [i]had[/i] leads, you’d be out there searching for her. You would have found her. But you haven't because you can't even do your job! You don't give a damn about her!”[/color]

[color=white]"I thought you loved her but I guess that was a lie too."[/color]

[color=bca346]"I ha-"[/color]

[color=white]"I swear on the King's name if you open your lying mouth again I'll fucking kill you. You keep your mouth shut, Understand?! Nothing good EVER comes out of it!...'[i]Leads[/i]' Tarnelu?!... WHERE IS SHE?!"[/color][/color][/cell][/row][/table][table= //////= EXIT'S POST DESIGN v5 =\\\\\\][row][sub][h1][sub][sub][sub][sub][sub][sub][sub][img=/// TOPIMAGE \\\]https://i.imgur.com/Y4SRH3m.png[/img][/sub][/sub][/sub][/sub][/sub][/sub][/sub][sub][color=030406][sub][sub][color=2e2c2c][sub]...[/sub][/color][sup][b]▇▇▇[/b][/sup][/sub][/sub][color=2e2c2c]_[/color][sub][color=bca346] 1 5 : 0 0[/color][/sub][sub][sub][color=2e2c2c]__[/color][sup][b]▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇[/b][/sup][/sub][/sub][/color][/sub]
[color=2e2c2c]_______[/color][sup][sub][sup][sub][color=555555][color=888888]@ Xuoshi Enterprises. SE+5[/color][/color][/sub][/sup][/sub][/sup][/h1][/sub][/row][row][cell][sup][center][b][color=030406][sup][h2][sup]█[/sup]
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Kaye moved slowly around a central display situated in the middle of a large empty room. Over her shoulder, a miniature drone-like device was hovering with a single dot of light at its center. It was focused curiously on Nelu.

[color=bca346]”What am I looking at?”[/color]

[color=white]”Images taken of the area in question.”[/color] Kaye’s voice carried easily in that dark quiet space. [color=white]“The last study of the planet’s topography was done about ten years after the war. This image is dated 257 AG.”[/color]

Nelu stood near the edge of a three dimensional render of the image in question. Miniscule dots of light described the edge of buildings and the rolling surrounding landscape in the immediate area, painting for him a vague picture of Tu Zin nearly a century ago. In it, there were a number of solid, rectangular shapes that stood out at the edge of the desert. Some of them were in disrepair while others seemed structurally sound enough to house squatters or anyone looking for shelter from the elements.

[color=bca346]”And there is no further data for this area?”[/color]

Kaye shook her head. [color=white]”In compliance with executive orders, which ultimately aligned with the interests of our company at the time, we retired all satellites and shuttered any projects in regards to extensive study of the effects of the war.”[/color]

[color=bca346]”No operational satellites?”[/color]

[color=white]”Not currently, but we are in the process of rebooting our older systems and we’ll be looking to see if any are still communicating. Most of our reconnaissance satellites’ will have dropped out of orbit long ago, but there were a few launched before the war to establish what would have been a global positioning system. These are more likely to have survived till today.”[/color]

[color=bca346]”How long before you know?”[/color]

Kaye turned to the drone hovering over her shoulder. [color=white]”Mova?”[/color]

The single point of light blinked twice. [color=white][i]”Approximately eleven hours.”[/i][/color]

[color=bca346]”Tomorrow then.”[/color]

[color=white]”I can have MOVA forward to your office any information we find as soon as we find it.”[/color]

Nelu nodded. [color=bca346]”There is one other thing I’d like to talk to you about before I go.”[/color] From inside his jacket he produced a small notebook and began thumbing through the pages. [color=white]”We've been trying to catch up on our missing persons list since the accident and I believe…”[/color] He stopped somewhere in the middle. [color=bca346]”I believe your brother’s name came up. Reman?”[/color] He asked, looking up from the notebook. [color=bca346]”Last name listed here is Xuoshi.”[/color]

It was like Kaye had been holding her breath, what with the way she’d suddenly sighed. It was subtle, but there was worry in her eyes. [color=white]”Yes, um. I reported it a couple days after the explosion. None in the family have heard from him since then and it’s been nearly a week now.”[/color]

[color=bca346]”I know. I do apologize, Miss Xuoshi. We’re buried under a pile of similar reports, but I want you to know that I’m taking this very seriously. Do you know where he was during the time of the accident?”[/color]

Kaye nodded. [color=white]”Scheduled for a meeting at the SynEn Storage Facility. The Moons were in the beginning stages of phasing out their Piperunners and hoped that our drones would make viable replacements. I sent my brother there to that end.”[/color]

[color=bca346]”And no word since then?”[/color]

Kaye shook her head. [color=white]”According to Vyska, he had not yet arrived by the time the accident happened.”[/color] Nelu, who had been jotting something down in his notebook suddenly stopped and his eyes snapped to Kaye’s. He remained focused on her as she continued. [color=white]”She speculated that if he had been in the area, the blast would have shut down his aerosato. He would have crash landed in the streets and the ensuing chaos would have swallowed him up.”[/color]

A silence followed that hung heavy in the air between the two. In that silence, Nelu seemed as if he were concentrating on something that wasn’t obviously in the room. There was a strange look in his eyes, one that was hard to place.

[color=white]”Officer Dermok?”[/color]

He blinked and then shook his head. [color=bca346]”Sorry. Did she tell you anything else?”[/color]

[color=white]”No.”[/color]

There was another short pause before Nelu spoke again. [color=bca346]”Okay.”[/color][/color][/cell][cell][sup][center][b][color=2e2c2c][sup][h2][sub]█[/sub]
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[sub]█[/sub][/h2][/sup][/color][/b][/center][/sup][/cell][cell][color=888888]Nelu watched them pace around the room for the hundredth time. Like ants trapped in a death march walking the same circle over and over again. It was the same circle they walked with Nelu, forever stuck in a loop of hate and necessity. They were never going anywhere, he knew. And he knew that there was nothing he could do to help or change their minds. The only thing he could do was exactly what they wanted: Protect their family. But was the worth of the family before him if Vasra were not in it? How much was his life worth if there was nothing left to protect?

[color=white]”What is going to become of us if she's...”[/color]

[color=white]”Stop. Please.”[/color]

[color=white]”Who were those people, that Upper Ring family that just lost everything?”[/color]

[color=white]”...The Sorens.”[/color]
[/color][/cell][/row][/table][table= //////= EXIT'S POST DESIGN v5 =\\\\\\][row][sub][h1][sub][sub][sub][sub][sub][sub][sub][img=/// TOPIMAGE \\\]https://i.imgur.com/8YpDedK.png[/img][/sub][/sub][/sub][/sub][/sub][/sub][/sub][sub][color=0f1823][sub][sub][color=2e2c2c][sub]...[/sub][/color][sup][b]▇▇▇[/b][/sup][/sub][/sub][color=2e2c2c]_[/color][sub][color=bca346] 2 0 : 0 0[/color][/sub][sub][sub][color=2e2c2c]__[/color][sup][b]▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇[/b][/sup][/sub][/sub][/color][/sub]
[color=2e2c2c]_______[/color][sup][sub][sup][sub][color=555555][color=888888]@ RSF HQ. SE+5[/color][/color][/sub][/sup][/sub][/sup][/h1][/sub][/row][row][cell][sup][center][b][color=0f1823][sup][h2][sup]█[/sup]
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[sub]█[/sub][/h2][/sup][/color][/b][/center][/sup][/cell][cell][color=888888][sup][color=2e2c2c]__________________________________________________________________________________________________________[/color][/sup]
Nelu had been, stalling, staring at a monitor cluttered in images and notes covering the team’s most recent assignments. On one half was the Gala, sectioned off with every important attendee’s identification, information and a picture, all of it laid out somewhat neatly for him to see. There were some small additional notes attached to each person attributed to observations made by Zhen during her time attending. Some of those notes were supplemented by Katakuri’s contributions as well. Opposite them were surveillance images and a record of activity in the Underground corroborating reports of suspicious movement that had drastically increased following the synergy explosion. There weren’t any images attached, just names. Names, labels and predictions based on relatively recent historical patterns. Beneath both columns were the LSF agents attached to each: Tarnelu and Jin for the Underground and Zhen and Katakuri for the Gala.

Nelu was meant to clean most of the board off. He’d already spent ample time crosschecking the information given to him from debriefs on both assignments. Much of the names and faces and information they had were no longer pertinent and the broader investigation had become much more focused, honing in on only a dozen or so individuals. But he was stuck.

Katakuri’s portrait was a ghost that returned his gaze, paralyzing him. Holding him as it wedged itself into his subconscious next to growing fears and dangerous thoughts. Collecting onto a pile of buried memories and discarded dreams, all of which sat at the bottom of a well in his chest. When Nelu stared at Katakuri, he could see it. See the dark emptiness opening up below him. See himself standing on the edge and peering down at everything he’d ever known beyond his false life. Every last fleeting memory. Every last genuine emotion. Every face he’d glimpsed of the people who meant more to him than he was ever willing to admit. It was all there, just out of reach. But he also knew that if he really wanted to, he [i]could[/i] reach it. All he had to do was bend down and touch it. To step off that edge and drown himself in every experience he’d ever had. If he wanted it, if he allowed it to happen, he could let it all in.

[center][color=b64040][i][i]”I hope that when it comes time for you to decide, the choice is made easier.”[/i][/i][/color][color=2e2c2c]____________________________[/color]

[color=2e2c2c]______________________________________[/color][color=3E5151][sub][i]”Where are you going?”[/i][/sub][/color][/center]
With a wave of his hand, Katakuri disappeared from the monitor, and soon after, half the board had been cleared. Of the many names and faces at the Gala, only a few remained, including Vyska Moon, An Tamura and Kaye Xuoshi. New faces were added as well, most notably Vyska’s father Mynwa and Jack, the latter of which was at the moment simply an image of an enigmatic individual standing off-center and in Vyska’s shadow. There was no name or further information on the man attached. Additionally, a few members of the council were added as well. All of this was moved under a new assignment group with a new label: ‘Internal’. Two more groups were created next to the first, one labeled ‘Tu Zin’ and the other ‘SynEn Power Plant’.

Nelu spent the next half hour again pouring through the information that had been collected over the past few days, compiling it and further crosschecking it against what they already had. Whatever was useful or important was added to the board while the rest was shelved. He left space between notes in anticipation of it being filled at a later time. He still had meetings and calls he had to make that were meant to connect more dots or work toward that end. The LSF had dealings with the Moons and the situation with them was only becoming more complicated given recent details that were coming to light. Regardless, he was meant to contact them and inquire about one of their Piperunners in the hopes they could make use of him. There was also the energy plant that was still shut down. With communication between the city and it now seemingly completely cut off, investigation into why had become a top priority for the LSF. There were follow-ups necessary for every new person of interest from the Gala and finally, there were the numerous clues and confessions pointing to a place far beyond the walls of the city where Benders were gathering. All of this needed the attention of him and his team and none of the problems they were meant to fix had quick and easy solutions. Nelu figured it’d be a long time before things returned to any sense of normalcy, and judging by how drastically the last few missions had an effect on himself and those around him, he wasn’t sure he’d be the same Nelu when it was all said and done.

A notification popped up in the corner of the monitor and Nelu tapped it, pulling up a short message:

[indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][table=bordered][row][cell][color=white]Per your request, here are the last batch of photos taken by the Firefly from the outpost. Apologies for the quality. [right]-Yi[/right][/color][/cell][/row][/table][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent]
Below it were the photos in question, 8 in total. All of them had been taken from a similar angle and were focused on the same object of interest. Nelu recognized it as an SGA Kyoshi RS, a vehicle model belonging nearly exclusively to SynEn’s Piperunners. In each photo, a different person had been singled out. At the driver side door was a young looking male with greyish-white hair. Near him was a woman who was wearing what looked to be some kind of single-horned helmet although Nelu couldn’t place what animal or ‘thing’ it was meant to emulate. Near the rear of the vehicle were the slightly out of focus images of two very recognizable pro-Stickball players, confirming Nelu’s suspicion days ago. Standing near them had been the already apprehended Chae-won and a boy with frazzled hair. The last two images were what caught Nelu off guard. The first was a man holding a briefcase in his hands. The still image showed him frozen in a moment of time where he’d bashed it against another man’s head, yet another show of extreme violence from that day. Nelu recognized him as Reman Xuoshi, Kaye’s misplaced brother. The very last image was taken some time later from an entirely different angle when the Firefly had completed a loop and was coming down to drop off Nelu and Katakuri at the time. The doors of the Kyoshi had been pulled open and many of the photographed individuals were clamoring inside. However, already inside, barely visible below the frame of the car door and the door itself was a woman Nelu immediately recognized.

[center][color=2e2c2c]______________________________________[/color][color=3E5151][sub][i]”I miss you...”[/i][/sub][/color][/center]
[color=bca346]”FUCK!”[/color][/color][/cell][cell][sup][center][b][color=2e2c2c][sup][h2][sub]█[/sub]
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