Exit

{ ᴀ ᴛʀᴀɪʟ ᴏꜰ ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ & ᴛᴇᴀʀꜱ }

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_{...^▇▇▇_AVITI YGNIS__^{▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇}}

^{_{& Illaria----------------‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎}}

█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █	_ Illaria’s eyes betrayed her long before Brigitte had posed the question for she too had noticed along with the others that at some point since leaving her cover, Aviti’s hood had fallen revealing her horns to all. In the moment she noticed, her mind had taken it upon itself to escape to some other place where she was not the charge for a woman who had zero sense of self preservation. It took the Northerner’s voice to snap her out of the pleasant daydream. ”T- Uh… We were headed to Blackpebble in the hopes of acquiring some… protection, although it seems you may have absconded with the lot of them, or the best of them,” Illaria replied quickly, looking again at the others in the group. She was more sure of their skill now than she had been earlier when observing them from a distance. She was also sure that a few of them were gawking curiously at the woman standing next to her. The both of them would have to burn that bridge any moment now. Aviti herself was smiling, oddly enough, as if the seriousness of the encounter they’d just survived or that of the situation she and Illaria were in was lost on her. This odd smile she began sharing with those around her. With Brigitte and Nika. Siegfried. Eirún. Aslan and Soren and the larger woman Alessa. She kept smiling at Alessa. ”Hi,” she said, not shying away from the woman’s presence or her physique. There was a familiarity there that was known only to her. ”May I ask why you are out here with the… ‘tough and tumble’ as it were?” Illaria asked, desperate to keep the conversation moving forward and as far away from the obvious question that was looming over them. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________	Interactions. Haha & Taka Summary. Illaria attempts to explain themselves and to learn more. Aviti is reminiscing. Links. Aviti current attire. Illaria current attire. Character Sheet. ____________________________.......... _ _

{ ᴀ ᴛʀᴀɪʟ ᴏꜰ ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ & ᴛᴇᴀʀꜱ }

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_{...^▇▇▇_AVITI YGNIS__^{▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇}}

^{_{& Illaria----------------‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎}}

█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █	_ Illaria had been standing sentry as the battle wound down, counting heads and returning glances. She’d already cleaned the dagger off on the dead mage, returned it to her cloak and was intent on announcing herself when Nika addressed her first. "So… You trav'lers jus' happened t'be around and figured you'd jump in t'help when you saw the fight? Suppose there's some thanks t'be given, then." ”A stroke of luck.” Illaria replied, returning the knight’s smile. ”Although the circumstances are quite… strange.” Her eyes bounced from Nika to Brigette who was sat beside him. ”I am certain that we are in the company of Lady Fenris, daughter of The Black Wolf, Lord Kurt Fenris.” Her eyes moved from her to the others in attendance. ”Although I do not recognize the colors of your house or see your house’s banners among… your men…” It was then that she noticed Siegfried eyeing her and then watched his eyes drift to something to her right. She hadn’t realized until then that there was someone standing nearby, and with a quick head snap to the side, she turned to see Aviti already standing next to her in the snow. Illaria’s eyes widened. ”L-lady Avi! W-when did yo- Why are you standing out in the open?!” ”Is the battle not over?” ”No. Where people can-” Illaria shook her head and sighed. ”Forget it. We are already here. There is no putting things back to the way they were.” Conversation nearby drew Aviti’s and Illaria’s attention and they both paused to listen. ”-It has been a long time since I had the opportunity to study magekind, and it would be an opportunity I can’t merely go to waste. Once you are done picking over their bodies for whatever valuables it is you seek, I merely ask I may take the remains for myself.” "Study. You want to peel them open and see what makes them tick. Because it's an 'opportunity.” Both Aviti and Illaria watched as Siegfried stepped closer to the other man, still addressing him, but while Aviti was simply curious, Illaria for her part was as ever a font of information. She nodded toward the one with dark hair and scars across his face and whispered to Aviti. ”That one is the only one I recognize aside from Lady Fenris and her knight. A mercenary well known for killing mages. I can only assume the others here are mercenaries as well. Perhaps the best that Blackpebble had to offer.” ”The living one is for questioning. The dead ones get buried or burned. You touch them with a scalpel, doctor, and I'll see how interesting your insides are." "Burn them.” Came the third voice. The dark haired male that Illaria witnessed approach the group after the fight, much like herself. ”Easier than burying them." Illaria continued to voice her thoughts aloud, mostly to herself and to her ward. ”Although I cannot tell if all of these men are bound by the Lady Fenris’s coin. They do not seem to be of the same mind.” _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________	Interactions. Haha, Yankee, xAlter & Theyra Summary. Aviti and Illaria gather with the others. Although they intend to announce themselves, conversation between Siegfried and Soren distract them. Links. Aviti current attire. Illaria current attire. Character Sheet. ____________________________.......... _ _

ᵀʰᵉ Last Avatar & ᵀʰᵉ Red Lotus.

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_{...^▇▇▇_^{RSF Commander} T A O X U__^{▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇}}

^{_{A @FunnyGuy & @Exit Collaboration ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎}}

█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █	FunnyGuy    Not a word escaped Tao Xu the moment he set his eyes on the scene inside. Observing the aftermath of the successful raid firsthand was not the same as having the battle damage assessment briefed to you in transit or within his office. It’s how he preferred it. To be so close to the action on the ground… To manipulate a scene with your own actions… “Heh…” He scoffed beneath his mask as he stared down the closed-off chamber used as a desperate escape. He yearned for an outcome that saw the low-life rats who slipped away caught beneath his boot, but he couldn’t help but be overcome with pride. The perfectionist in him would have to settle for this clear victory over those who threatened the status quo. Patience was a virtue, but he would not simply remain passive after a victory like this. A success like this one would be replicated… again and again until there was no place or direction to flee toward. “You there!” Tao called to the man in the hard hat. “What is this, exactly?” He motioned a hand toward the red glow of the blocked-off path. Exit    ”Inner chamber, Commander Xu. Sealed off by a cave-in, and considering the clear signs of earthbending here–” He pointed to where the concrete pathway had been torn up. ”We can assume the cave-in was intentional. The heat and the red you’re seeing inside corroborate reports of active lava flow in the area. It seems whoever was down here was quite formidable, if the multiple pathways carved into the ground below us are any indication.” FunnyGuy    “Formidable, yes, but I’d surmise they were as resourceful as they were desperate,” Tao commented before peering down at what the man was holding. Exit    In his hand was a small device. His fingers danced across its flat surface, and a three-dimensional render of a scan of the immediate area appeared above it. Thin, bright red lines described the shallow survey taken of the ground immediately beneath them, but even if the sample was shallow, the network of tunnels visible to them was immense. Numerous paths with open ends that could lead to anywhere and with no rhyme or reason to their position or direction. Trying to map that would be futile. ”No LSF were present when we arrived.” FunnyGuy    “Tch!” Exit    ”We got a body!” From beyond the cleared path, there was a flurry of motion and dust through which beams of light could be seen dancing in the dark and along the walls of collapsed rock. FunnyGuy    “You heard him! Focus!” Tao commanded as a brief jolt of exhilaration pulsed through his nerves. There was something to be had, and his troops would not let it go to waste. Exit    After only a few minutes, a crew of RSF exited from the rubble, carrying between them a deceased male. The individual was heavily burned and was practically naked, the small pieces of torn and destroyed fabric still clinging to his body a clear sign that the rest had burned off. What was left of was enough black hair on his head and striking facial features to identify the body of Katakuri Soren. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________	Time. Late Night, SE+3 Location. The Core in the Underground, Ba Sing Se ____________________________.......... FunnyGuy as Tao Xu Exit as various NPCs

“Good morning and welcome to seven o’clocks on Shinobi News. Our top stories this morning…”

"Criminal elements in the Underground have been left in ruins after the successful raid by the RSF a few days ago. Led by Commander Tao Xu, the raid saw the apprehending and the execution of Katakuri Soran, a dangerous bender from the Upper Ring who was responsible for the murder of his entire family, and the enigmatic leader of the Dìjī, Hunang. Hunang is widely believed to have been the Kingpin of the Underground and has been responsible for numerous killings, kidnappings and attacks on the City itself over the past few decades. With them removed, the powerful Dìjī have splintered and the Underground as a whole has been left leaderless, leading to a steep decline in organized crime across all of Ba Sing Se."

"However, there is concern that with the RSF pulling out of the Underground completely, the opportunity for another radicalized group of criminals to fill the vacuum of power has been left open. Many are led to believe the validity of these concerns due in part to similar circumstances some years ago when the RSF discovered and dismantled a small bending militia that had been growing beneath the City. Despite this loss, Hunang remained in power for many years after."

"In other news, the King has not yet recovered from what is now being reported as a severe illness. King Wu, who has not been seen or heard from since his controversial announcement during the Gala, originally fell ill that night to what was thought to have been a mild flu. Although his symptoms have seemingly progressed, there is as of yet, no word on the specifics of his illness. We here at Shinobi news are hoping for his swift recovery and hopefully soon, he can shed some light on his recent decisions.”

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^{_{A @Canaryrose & @Exit Collaboration}}

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He turned to look out the window and check on the woman outside. Below them, pacing back and forth in the driveway was Vyska. She seemed focused on the conversation she was having. ”You wouldn’t happen to recognize any of those names, would you?” canaryrose    An leaned back in her chair and sighed, ever so slightly. This was around the fourth time they’d watched the video, trying to catch every small detail they could, but she wasn’t bored. It was just all so much. She tried to keep an eye on Vyska as she paced the driveway below, but instead, her gaze remained caught on the notes in front of her- on the list of names, enumerated, separate. T.Jin.F.157 X.Hui.W.138 L.Wu.F.201 C.Bai.A.195 H.Xinyue.E.149 Q.Yong.E.210 Each one laid out, stark, in front of her. Deformed. Violated. An could surmise what the letters, what the numbers meant. Benders, each of them. It was unlike her, but she held her right knuckle to her mouth, gnawing on it. She didn’t know what to do with this. She wasn’t sure anyone did. Quietly, she zoomed back, frame by frame, going back to one particular shot. Her eyes didn’t leave the screen. The woman in the selected frame was middle-aged- not old, not young, maybe early 50s, late 40s. Her hair was white, though An knew it was natural, not from age. She was sleeping. She looked healthy, well, even, if not for the thin antlers sprouting from her left brow. An pointed at the screen, getting Jack’s attention. “That’s Lisa Wu,” she said, her voice betraying her shock but retaining its confident tenor. “Kanna Wu’s mother.” She let her words hang, the both of them staring at the screen in shock. Absently, An stroked the dark wood grain of her new desk. The office was an extravagance, one not lost on her. It overlooked the front of the Moon estate, the long driveway, the gate, and the street beyond. In the morning, sunlight would stream through the window, warming her workspace, but, now, in the afternoon, she had her desk lamp lit to illuminate her laptop. The office, with the exception of her desk, was nearly empty. Her desk was set in a corner of the room, her computer not visible from the window, and there was a green armchair in one corner, a large plant in the other. There were a few paintings hung on the wall. It was nice. She liked it… but it made her uncomfortable all the same. How long was Vyska expecting her to remain here? She understood the practicality of it all, but it didn’t change the fact that An wanted to go home. An opened another tab on her computer, but left the search bar empty. She glanced at Jack. “Kanna Wu told me,” she said, slow, “that her mother died two weeks ago. Was killed. Because she was a firebender.” An clicked back on the video, and gestured again to Lisa Wu. Her voice dropped. “Jack, they did this to her in two weeks.” Exit    ”Yeah.” Jack turned back to the monitor and looked again at the still image of a woman trapped in blissful sleep. It was impossible to ignore the unnatural growth sprouting from the edges of her face, but when he tried to look past it at just her features, he did indeed recognize the woman An identified. The story she gave too checked out as he remembered briefly hearing about Lisa going missing a few weeks ago. The thing was, he already knew that disappearances could mean the Republic removing a Bender. It happened all the time. He never in a million years thought they were keeping them for… this. And Lisa Wu wasn’t just anyone. She had connections. She was known. She had championed her path forward in life to the top of the Stickball world on her own and even she was not spared such treatment. ”I liked it better when I thought they were killing them.” His mind began to wander to thoughts of Vyska and what might happen to her should her secret be discovered. There had been a peace in knowing that the worse case scenario was a quick death. Experimentation was something else entirely and it was clear that status was no guarantee of anything. It also begged the question: Who were the others? ”The big guy. H Xinyue I believe it was. The only other… thing I’ve seen with that physique was the agent from yesterday. No one is naturally that large.” canaryrose    “Same,” An said, and left it there. She had her own person to worry about. Chu. Was it possible that she was down there? That she’d never made it out of the city, and they’d just never told her? An knew the thought was ridiculous, so she didn’t voice it, but it stayed in the back of her mind, a worry poking out at her like a stubborn splinter. She drummed her fingers against the desk, another nervous habit of hers, and rewound the footage to where it said H. Xinyue. He was indeed large. The man was bulging out of his own skin, half of his body out of the frame. Scars lined his skin- surgical scars. “The agent from yesterday,” she said. “Maybe they’re making them. The agents.” It was a dark musing, but not impossible. “Maybe that’s how they made it. It was alive. I heard it breathing. It could’ve been a person… at some point.” By the spirits, An felt like a conspiracy theorist. She had never been one to question, but this, now, was making her do it. Turning her attention back to the computer, An opened her browser again and tapped a few keys, opening up another program. She typed a password, some keywords, and… well, it didn’t look any different, but she hoped that it would conceal her searches from anyone monitoring her. She had no doubt they were. “There’s got to be some record of these people,” she told Jack. “There’s records of Lisa Wu, at least. Maybe this H. Xinyue still has people looking for him.” Exit    ”We can start with known missing persons. The RSF keeps an updated list, but considering the amount of people that went missing after the synergy accident, we might be dealing with a needle in a haystack situation. Although…” There was a small pause as Jack turned his thoughts over in his head. ”...There’s no way to know for sure, but the numbers could be chronological if we’re lucky, meaning most of the people we’re seeing here were taken before the accident.” Jack shrugged. ”Maybe we’ll get lucky.” He turned to the window again in time to catch Vyska returning to the house. canaryrose    “Maybe,” An said. Taking a breath, she searched for that list, and typed the first name into the search bar. T. Jin. She took note of Vyska’s return to the house, but didn’t wait for her. She just pressed Enter. Exit    No Results. There was half muffled huff from somewhere over An’s shoulder. “Or incredibly unlucky. Try the next one…” canaryrose    “That tracks,” An mumbled, under her breath. But really, what had she been hoping for? Of course some of them would be lost causes. She crossed out Jin from her list. Onto the next one- Hui. The keyboard tapped it out in a staccato rhythm before An pressed enter again. Exit    The screen filled with several names: Xiang Hui 79yo Missing for 8 years. Disappeared from her hospice located in the Middle Ring. Preliminary investigation into the disappearances noted a canal system situated just outside the facility beyond a chain-link fence. No body was recovered or person found. Investigation ongoing. Xiong Hui 14yo Missing for 22 years. High school student who was last seen leaving her school campus on foot. No witnesses and no deviation from normal route to and from school according to interviews done with parents and friends. The case was never solved. Investigation has been closed. Xu Hui 36yo Missing for 10 years. Delivery driver for Republic Restaurant Supply Co. Business located in the Lower Ring. Remains of the vandalized truck was found in an alleyway, gutted and set on fire. The driver was never found and the passenger had been shot twice in the chest. Xu was never found and the details of his disappearance are still under investigation. Xun Hui 27yo. Missing for 5 years. Servant for a prominent family in the Upper Ring. A missing persons report was filed by the woman’s family who reside in the Lower Ring. Employers of Xun adamant they have no idea what happened to her. Investigation ongoing. canaryrose    Goddamn. There sure were a lot of X. Huis. An, facing an overload of information, clicked back to the video. She was female, which immediately got rid of at least one option. Certainly not 88 years old… which eliminated another. She swapped over to the database again, looking over her options. Xiong Hui, 36 years old now, missing for 22 years. Xun Hui, 32 now, missing for 5. She wrote down both names. She wasn’t sure. 22 years... it seemed unlikely, that they’d have someone for so long, while Lisa Wu had only been there two weeks and was in her condition. Still. “Jack,” she said. “Does she look more like the servant? I think it seems more likely.” An tapped her pencil against the desk, briefly switching between the video and the database- again- to let him see the photos. “22 years seems like a stretch,” she admitted. Exit    ”No I agree. It’s the servant.” He studied the girl closely. This one had gone under his radar and most likely the radars of everyone besides her own family. And it wasn’t uncommon for the hired help for the more powerful families to be subject to abuse or strange situations and the news rarely covered the controversy unless it was attached to a particularly wealthy family in the public eye. This woman had no such luck. She’d been discovered a Bender and was turned in and Jack was sure there had never been closure for the family. ”Who's next?” He asked. As the two of them continued, the dread he’d been holding in was spilling into his gut. He didn’t like any of this. canaryrose    An sighed, and crossed out the name of the schoolgirl. Xun Hui it was. How long had she been there? Had she suffered? An was sure she had. In the video, her skin had been tinged a blue-green- an unnatural color, even for someone as unnatural as a bender. She had to stop thinking like that, An thought to herself, shortly after the thought entered her head. Benders… well, she had been taught that it was wrong, but everything in front of her now was telling her that she was the one who was misled. Still, 28 years of propaganda was hard to shake. An moved a lock of her long black hair out of her eyes, and looked to Jack behind her, and then the door, waiting for Vyska. “We know about Lisa. Let’s try and find this C Bai person.” Again, she turned her attention to the computer and typed in the name. Exit    C. Bai fielded no results and so the pair moved on to the next, H Xinyue. Again, a number of names began to populate the screen: Hao Xinyue 35yo Missing for 4 years. Miner at the Northwest Extraction Zones. Reported missing when Hao did not return with his crew from their assigned shaft. Preliminary investigations reported tunnel collapses a common occurrence due to a lack of adherence to safety regulation. No body was recovered and the investigation is ongoing. Huo Xinyue 24yo Missing for 2 years. SynEn Piperunner. SynEn lost communication with their runner and sent one of their own to investigate. Vehicle was recovered. Nothing was stolen from the vehicle and there were no signs of a struggle. Investigation is ongoing. Hu Xinyue 29yo Missing for 15 years. Escort. Last seen leaving a bar with an unidentified man. A missing persons report was filed by the victim’s roommate the next day. No body was ever recovered nor has the man she was last seen with been found or identified. Investigation has been closed. Huang Xinyue 7yo Missing for 40 years. A Huang was registered as an orphan at Lana’s Little Home, located in the Lower Ring. The orphanage was shut down and no further records can be found regarding his or the other children’s relocation after their removal. It is recommended to consult with Lana Cheng for more information. Case has been closed. Han Xinyue 8yo Missing for 5 months. Resident of slums outside of the Lower Ring wall, according to a report filed by the father. Investigation closed. canaryrose    An stared at the computer screen for a longer time than she had before. This one was harder. “Not the escort,” she mused, “and not the eight-year-old.” She almost ruled out the boy who had been missing for 40 years, but something about that gave her pause. Lana Cheng? Didn’t she know that name? Lana Cheng… the woman at the gala, who had been carting around that little boy? The profession and the name fit, but the Lana Cheng that An had met had certainly not been 50 years old. That was strange. And the other two weren’t promising, either. A piperunner and a miner, both operating out of the city- it wasn’t like the RSF paid attention to those sorts. Piperunners went into the wilds all the time, and the miner had probably just died in some sort of collapse. “This one doesn’t make any sense,” she said, out loud. “Jack, look. The pipe runner and the miner, the kid from 40 years ago… piperunners and miners don’t seem likely, but that kid disappeared so long ago. What do you think?” She flipped back to the video, scrutinizing what little she could see of the man. Exit    It was at this time that Vyska stepped into the room, her face fixed although there was clear exhaustion behind her eyes. The lingering conversation in the room didn’t help either. ”I’m already hearing something about a child…” Jack glanced up at Vyska, noting the way she was still trying to project someone in control. Someone who still had a grasp despite everything falling apart around them. ”A child that went missing some forty years ago.” He nodded toward the screen as Vyska stepped around the desk. ”None of the others really stand out but this one. Not only is he similar to the man we saw yesterday, the potential information we dug up doesn’t make any sense.” Vyska studied the monitor and then looked down at An’s notes. There were some crossed out names, lines about a girl in the Upper Ring and then a name with a circle around it that was very recognizable. ”Mrs Cheng? Why is she in your notes?” canaryrose    An turned to face Vyska when she opened the door, trying to assess the woman’s body language. She looked… tired. Scared? Without speaking, An gestured for Jack to drag the armchair over to the desk so she could sit. Exit    He complied without skipping a beat, fetching the chair and moving it near An’s and facing the monitor. Vyska gave him a thankful nod and took a seat. canaryrose    “Lana Cheng…” An shook her head, and pulled up the file for the boy again. “We found this missing boy while looking for one of the people in the video,” An explained, showing Vyska the file. “We think he is one of the people in the video, actually. But the missing persons database says this kid disappeared forty years ago… from Lana Cheng’s orphanage in the Lower Ring. It even says to contact her. But Lana Cheng- well, I don’t know how old she is, really- certainly wasn’t running any orphanages forty years ago. And for this kid to have disappeared, seemingly with no searching, forty years ago and to show up again now as a bender experiment… I don’t know. Maybe Lana Cheng has something to do with it. We should look into Lana’s Little Home and see what we find, look into any other missing kids from her care.” An then shook her head, yet again, and put it in her hands. “Gods,” she groaned. “I sound like some kind of nut job. It’s just all so weird, no? This whole thing is weird. Lisa Wu, all these poor people…” She trailed off, unable to articulate how awful this whole mess was. Children. 7 was the age the bending test became accurate… Exit    The breath that left Vyska’s body was heavy, as if the weight of the past few days had built up in her lungs. Lana Cheng had been a bright spot in a dreary world. One of the few bright spots in a position of power and with the means to do real good. If she too was involved in whatever nightmare was unfolding beneath the city, if a woman like her was involved in the kidnapping and experimentation of children, what real hope was there in trying to wake everyone up. The people behind this were still hidden. The why was still unknown. They could feel some of the pieces but it was starting to feel like putting a puzzle together in the dark. But she knew they had to try. If not them, she knew no one else would and she knew that although it would likely never come to light, her family’s name would be marred by its involvement in human atrocities. Vyska pressed a finger to her temple and turned the information over and over in her head. They had names. They had faces. There had to be a way forward. ”How stupid of an idea would it be to set a meeting with Lana and ask her directly?” She asked, not really believing in her own idea. The absurdity was not lost on her, but a part of her didn’t want to believe what they were all thinking. canaryrose    An jerked her head up to look at Vyska. “Awful,” she intoned, blunt as a hammer to the head… and a bit incredulous too. Sometimes she forgot Vyska was only 20 years old, so grown-up and authoritative she seemed. “If she really is involved,” An said, trying to ease her tone, “she wouldn’t be alone in this. I guarantee you she’s no mastermind. And I doubt she’d want to be found out. They’d wonder why you’re investigating, and…” An didn’t need to say the rest. She knew that Vyska knew the risks, felt them in her bones. An and Jack could anticipate quick deaths- well, torture first, but quick- but Vyska couldn’t. “If you’re interested in Lana specifically, I can try and see what I can dig up… or, if you’re feeling really interested, you could have her tailed, or have someone go to the site of her orphanage. Maybe you could even talk to her yourself… without mentioning it. You and I could befriend her.” An sighed, and drummed her hands on the table. It was all too much, but she wasn’t really convinced that Lana Cheng was a central piece in it all. Maybe she was a piece, but not the central one. She returned to her notes, frowning. “Is there anyone else we know has a hand in all this?” she asked. “We saw the monsters, we saw the strange agents… but Lana Cheng can’t be the first actual name we have.” Exit    ”Mynwa.” Vyska slumped back in her chair, defeated. ”Which is what I wanted to talk to you both about.” She glanced first at An to her left and then turned to Jack who was standing to her right. ”It’s been confirmed. Communication with the power plant is down. My father is in the dark.” Jack shook his head. ”Shit.” canaryrose    “Mynwa,” An repeated, slow. Vyska’s father. It was strange that she was referring to him only by his first name- An’s father would have hit her for the same offense. She had only met Mynwa Moon once, and had very little feeling about him. But the way Jack and Vyska had been talking about him the last few days… An leaned forward, her elbows on her knees. An ominous feeling formed in her chest. “I think it’s time you two filled me in on this. Are you saying… Vyska, are you saying your father is involved? In all this? What’s been confirmed?” Exit    Vyska turned back to An. Where there had once been a weariness in her eyes, that weariness had turned to uncertainty. She struggled to find the exact words she wanted to say, still not entirely sure where the piece most dear to her fit into the puzzle. More than anything else, she was afraid that saying her thoughts on the matter out loud would make them a reality, but she couldn’t deny the evidence. After what she’d been through that morning, there was only more of it being piled up in front of her. She clasped her hands together in her lap as if she were trying to grab the truth out of the air and took a deep breath. Straightening out, she assumed the role she had been for the past few days. There were things that needed to be done and it wouldn’t help for her to sit and ruminate on something she knew so little about. ”...The news of my father going missing has officially put me in a position I wasn’t yet supposed to be in. And it’s not a temporary position like it was while we thought he was ‘away’. I have all of his responsibilities now.” She shook her head and took another deep breath. Every conversation she had that morning was repeating itself in her head. Words and voices collided with each other until it was little more than a net of white noise. ”I’ve been in calls all day. Most of it I was expecting but…” She turned to Jack. ”Whoever these people are that have been contacting me, the people those ‘agents’ work for, they’ve scheduled a face to face with me to work out the details of their ‘ongoing relationship’ with SynEn. With my father.” She then turned to An. ”I can’t deny what that means, An.” An sat with that for a moment, turning it over in her mind. Her father had been involved with these people. An didn’t feel it necessary to repeat it out loud. It seemed obvious. That was the word they were using, that involved, but it implied so much more… so much worse than simply being involved. “I’m sorry,” she said, finally, looking at Vyska. There was no comforting touch- An could tell, somehow, that she didn’t want that- but there was real empathy in her eyes. How did it feel, to know that your own father had helped murder people who were just like you? “A relationship,” she repeated. “Did the person on the phone give you a name? The people who have been contacting you, who are they?” An turned back to her computer and her notes, turning something over in her head. ”A representative of the LSF, although I still don’t know what that stands for. It’s the same acronym every time though. LSF.” “Something Security Forces, maybe? Like the RSF… but what does the L stand for?” An thought for a moment before she continued. “We could use this,” she said. Her dark eyes filled with determination. “We need information, and if you have this relationship with them- well, we certainly won’t be able to ask them too many questions, and you’d need to play it safe, but we could use it to find out what we can. This,” she gestured to the computer screen, “is something, but it’s not enough. We’re in the dark. Maybe working with them, for now, could get us enough information to achieve our goal. To help people. Try to undo it all.” ”It’s dangerous, but I was thinking the same thing. It’s our only play, at least until we can get more information and, more importantly, more friends on our side. There’s no way we can solve this and survive it with just the two of us. Oh, and speaking of…” Vyska got up from her chair and began walking back around to the other side of the desk. “Kaye Xuoshi will be here shortly. She has something she’d like to talk to us about.” “The three of us,” An corrected, gentle, eyes flicking to Jack. “I agree. Unfortunately… friends are in short supply, and I might not be around to help much longer. It’s dangerous, and it won’t make us any friends, but if it doesn’t get you killed it’ll work to our advantage.” “Do you think Ms. Xuoshi could be a friend?” She looked pointedly at Vyska. “She seemed upset about her brother’s disappearance- do you think he could have turned into a bender?” ”No he uh… He didn’t turn into a Bender when he was here.” Vyska answered, realizing she’d never discussed this with An. ”I was meeting with him at the time of the accident, discussing purchasing some of their drones for patrolling the wall. I can imagine there are a few things she wants to talk about, not least of which would be her brother.” Her eyes froze on An as recent events caught up to her. There was actually a lot she hadn’t discussed, most of it having been buried by everything else that came after. ”Did I tell you I was at the storage facility when it exploded?” An straightened at this new information. “No, you did not,” she said, curious. “I mean, I knew you were at the storage station, Jack told me that’s where those people came to ask about Chu. You were with Reman Xuoshi? Did you…” She glanced at Jack, and then his holster, meaningfully. There was no way they had killed him, right? Vyska caught An eyeing Jack and the holster hanging from under his shoulder and smiled. ”He didn’t.” ”I tried.” Vyska nodded. ”Yeah, he did try. As soon as I started randomly firebending he tried to kill everyone in that room but we learned pretty quickly that anything ‘synergy’ was dead. Guns didn’t work. And then we learned that one of my Piperunners was an Airbender and also my operator plays favorites with the runners under her watch. Given the situation and everything that was coming to light, we agreed it was better for everyone if they left the city and Jack and I forgot anything we saw. Reman was the one that…” Suddenly there was a light in her eyes. ”Wait… I know you were hesitant before to tell me how you got Chu out but who came up with your plan? Where was Chu supposed to go?” An’s eyes lit up with something resembling hope. Out of the city? Could it be? Could Chu be with… Reman Xuoshi? She smiled at the thought. It was unlikely, sure, but was it possible? “The place they were going was called Tu Zin,” An said, hesitant to believe it. But her heart was pumping all the same. “Kanna came up with the whole thing. She found out about it when she was trying to get her mother out, somehow. I have no idea how she found out, or how she was even planning to get there. We just went, it was the only option. I… do you think Reman and this piperunner were going there, too? Do you think you might be able to get in contact with them?” ”Tu Zin.” Vyska repeated. ”Tu Zin was where Reman said they could go to be safe.” ”There’s a car entering the driveway.” Jack said, a finger to his ear as he turned to face the window. Outside, an Aerosato was pulling up the driveway heading toward the front door. One of the staff of the house was already out there to greet them. Vyska nodded toward Jack and began fixing her appearance. ”My Piperunners are probably the only thing from the city that can survive the desert, and if what my operator says about this particular Piperunner is true, then he made it to this Tu Zin. If somehow Chu crossed paths with him, it’s a pretty safe bet she made it too.” “I hope she did,” An said, able to feel her heart beating in her chest. She felt her cheeks get warm with hope, a smile spread on her lips. It was so little, but it was something. Kanna and Chu might- might, she had to remind herself- be with Reman Xuoshi and this Piperunner. “I know it’s a long shot, but if you get in contact with him… ask. Please.” An glanced to the window as Jack spoke… and looked down at herself. “Shit,” she said. She was not dressed for a meeting at all, in her University of Ba Sing Se sweatshirt and her gray sweatpants. “You couldn’t tell me about the meetings you schedule, Vys? I’ve gotta go change, I’ll be quick. Keep her busy for me?” _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________	Time. Noon, SE+5 Location. Moon Residence in the Upper Ring, Ba Sing Se. ____________________________.......... Canaryrose as An Tamura Exit as Jack and Vyska Moon Summary. An, Jack and Vyska review the footage captured from the facility under the palace. Using visual clues and recent events, they make some very disturbing discoveries. Vyska learns that SynEn has lost all contact with her father. His sudden absence forces her into his role prematurely. Prompt. Taken from the drone footage: The facility beneath the palace was large and despite the appearance of the exterior, the interior was actually much more clean and modernized. The drone managed to get access to a single large room. There were multiple doors to other areas that remained locked when not in use and none of them had windows, viewports or any way to see what was on the other side. Most of the doors remained unmarked as well. The inhabitants wore lab coats with no markings. The specific area the drone gained access to looked to be where they held their subjects, though for how long it was impossible to tell. All subjects being held were alive and at least from first glance seemed fine. Upon closer inspection however, the drone picked up some interesting details. First off, there were displays next to each person being held. There was a plethora of information regarding their vitals. Numbers, percentages and levels all indicating the variations in their health. Above this data were letters and numbers that seemed somehow important. H.Xinyue.E.149 Seemingly male. Long auburn hair. Light bronze skin. Is so large that only the edge of his chin is visible in the window. Although it’s obvious the man has been through a vigorous physical regimen, it’s also very apparent his body has been cut open many times. Scar tissue, although well healed, is seemingly scrawled across the visible parts of his chest. T.Jin.F.157 Seemingly male. Bald. Pale skin. Scar across his nose. X.Hui.W.183 Seemingly female. Long black hair. Beige skin that bleeds into an odd blue-green. C.Bai.A.195 Seemingly male. Short black hair. Umber skin that seems too rough. Jagged even as if it were made of actual rock. L.Wu.F.201 Seemingly female. Long white hair though not from age. Light skin with a hint of peach. Sprouting from the corners of her eyes and the edge of her brow, and only on the left side of her face, is what looks like thin antlers. Q.Yong.E.210 Seemingly female. Long blonde hair. Pale skin that’s tinged purple and seems slightly translucent. For the duration that the drone was in that room, it observed scientists exiting and entering through the various other doors and using only one of the elevators. At the back of the room was what looked to be a second elevator that was very different from the first. There were no buttons. Only a camera or similar device above it. None of the personnel approached it during the entire video.

ᵗʰᵉ Last Avatar.

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^{_{A TLA Collaboration-----------------------‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎}}

█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █	. shylarah    "What's under the last tarp?" she called, her voice easily carrying over the sound of the crowd. Exit    Tan-ming’s eyes immediately snapped over to the woman. ”Ah. That.” Setting aside his other trinkets, he made his way over to her and stood between her and the covered box in question. ”This,” he began, holding his hand up to it with mock reverence. ”This took great pains to capture. A sacrifice, in fact and as such, it is quite valuable. I’d let you see it, maybe even take it off my hands… but first I’d like you to answer a question.” ”Is it true that a large number of Benders have recently arrived here?” shylarah    “Most of your wares are fairy-tales and wishes,” Ziotea said, with narrowed eyes. “How do I know this is any different?” She immediately did not trust this peddler -- not only were his mystical goods questionable, but he wanted to know about benders. For all she knew, he was reporting to Ba Sing Se. Then again, just walking around town would reveal the answer, by way of gossip. “How do I know it’s worth any information at all?” Exit    ”It is, I can assure you…” he replied quickly, his eyes suddenly fixated on her hair. ”But more importantly, where are you from?” shylarah    “Nope, you get one question,” Ziotea said. “I’ll answer about the benders, or I’ll answer about me, but you have to pick which one you want to know more.” Exit    Tan-ming's eyebrow raised as the corner of his lip twitched upward comically. ”You sound like you’ve done your fair share of haggling.” shylarah    Ziotea shrugged. “Pick.” She wasn’t going to volunteer unnecessary information. Exit    Tan-ming turned the mic in his hand off and with a subtle flourish, it disappeared. ”The truth is, I want to hire a Bender. I need to hire a Bender. For protection, but also because they would make me so. Much. Money. Word is, some have recently arrived here, many in fact. If you happen to know one, well… I can pay them very well.” shylarah    Ziotea considered. “Yeah, okay. A bunch of benders recently came into town. Ask around; I’m sure you can find one that will sign on with you.” She smiled slightly, a slim curve of her mouth. “Now: what’s under the tarp?” Exit    Tan-ming remained silent for a moment, but his eyes on Ziotea’s hair spoke volumes. He was fascinated. He was also beholden to their agreement, so although he kept his eyes on her, he moved to where the mystery item was still concealed beneath the tarp. ”Tell me, have you ever been to the great cities of the past? Seen with your own eyes the deepest scars the war of the world left behind?” He placed his hands over the corner of the tarp and curled his fingers underneath. shylarah    She folded her arms. “Can’t say I have. You saying this came from there?” Exit    ”That’s right. There are untold mysteries hidden among the ruins of the old world. Treasures buried beneath the rubble and guarded by death itself. Exclusion zones. Every bit as dangerous as you’ve been told, but I, Tan-ming, have braved the depths of the unknown to bring to you–!” Falling again into his overly-dramatic performance, Tan prepared to pull back the tarp, but as he yanked on the edge, a strap caught on the clasp it was resting against. ”Ah–... One moment…” He reached down and began prying the two apart just as a young girl approached, shadowed by two strange looking dogs. Ziotea would recognize them as having been in the same group of refugees she had escaped Ba Sing Se with. Chosah, the girl, ignored the other two and simply stared at the drone curiously. shylarah    Ziotea stifled a laugh as the dramatic reveal was foiled by a recalcitrant strap. The sound of soft footsteps to the side had her glancing over her shoulder. It was the child who’d been at the front of the escaping group, and the two dogs. The girl seemed interested in the wasteland drone. Ziotea didn’t really care about the kid, or her attendant dogs. She stiffened as the thing under the tarp made a noise. It almost sounded like it said “Die” -- was there a person under there? Despite her caution, Ziotea took a step closer. canaryrose    Standing a few feet from Ziotea, a quiet Chu Hua ran her fingers over the fraudulently signed stickball sticks. Despite it all, they brought a smile to her face- even the one signed Kanna Wu. Her fingers ran over that name, although it wasn’t her penmanship, particularly reverently. She might have bought it, if she had the money to waste on these outrageously priced fakes. But she didn’t. Her stores of cash had been running preciously low- and so had people’s generosity. Chu had what she could earn with her two hands, which wasn’t much… her marketable skills were few and far between. Being a celebrity didn’t net you much when no one recognized you. Chu had been broke before, though it had been a long time, and she hadn’t missed the feeling. She either needed work- or she needed to get out of here. The expedition they were going on would fulfill both. So she hoped. So she really should’ve been looking at the guns (not that she knew how to use one) or the food. But here she was. Sticks and dead women. She sighed, and her eyes wandered to the red-haired woman and the tarp. And the man struggling with the tarp. She snorted. “Need some help with that?” she asked the man, putting her hands on her hips. Exit    ”Oh no, it’s quite alright. This happens all the time and is an easy– fix–” he said, grunting the last two words as he tried to tug at the strap on each syllable. It would not budge. ”But also, it is probably best if you keep a little bit of distance.” Theyra    Reman was in the crowd, watching from afar and while he was initially curious about the old drone. Wondering if he could get to work or get something from it. He moved closer to it, to get a better look. Just about in the front row and he knew what the drone was. A old drone that is no longer in service but maybe still useful to him. If he can afford it that is. But, as he was done inspecting the drone, Reman’s eyes wondered to the last remaining tarp still covering something. Curiosity got the better of him and he was curious what else this merchant had. Which he heard a familiar voice and found Chu. It was nice to see her and he has not seen much of her or the rest of the group since being kicked from the tavern. Still, he stayed where he was but kept a eye on the tarp. So far, this merchant had some valuable goods. Even if a snake oil salesman and waited to see what was under the last tarp. Exit    ”I saw one at the museum. My dad took me,” Chosah said. She was standing near Reman but did not linger long and began to approach the old drone. ”He said they kill monsters.” ”...SC–zzrttt–rRRING…” A single miniscule bulb of light began blinking rapidly and from beneath its metal shell, the muted sounds of shifting gears could be heard, barely audible among the noise of the crowd. Tan-ming immediately stopped what he was doing and looked at the machine curiously. shylarah    Ziotea heard the little girl’s statement, and the noise of the drone. Her heart dropped. “Those drones kill benders -- kid, get back!” She lunged for the child and scooped her up just as the drone chimed a confirmation. It sounded awfully similar to the chime used by the Vanguard units in the City. Exit    ”FIR–Zzzzrkkkaaa–DET–zzttzzt.” Because of the way the drone was laying on its side, the mounted gun that was supposed to be ‘beneath’ it was actually positioned to its left. The barrel was angled slightly up and away from the crowd but was also pointing directly at the edge of the still concealed shape. So when it suddenly discharged a single round, the bullet it fired tore through the canvas tarp and severed the troublesome strap. The bark of the shot was loud enough to silence the crowd. Tan-ming hit the ground as did much of the crowd. shylarah    Ziotea swiftly moved away from the drone, far enough that it wouldn’t detect them. Only then did she set the child down. “You okay, kid?” Exit    Chosah was about to reply when blurred movement from right behind Ziotea caught her eye. She quickly threw out a hand signal at Archer and Dutchess and both of them stopped in their tracks only a foot or two away from the woman. Their teeth were bared and a growl bubbled in their throats but they remained where they were. ”I-... Th-thank you,” she said, trying to catch her breath. Her rescue had been so sudden, Ziotea’s movement so quick and sudden that by the time Chosah had heard the warning and understood it, she’d already found herself in the air with her world spinning unnaturally around her. She barely had time to register what was happening before her feet found the ground again and it was only when she realized the loud sound she’d heard was a gunshot that she recognized the danger she had been in. ”I’m sorry, I didn’t know it was–” Her voice caught in her throat. shylarah    “S’okay, kid. You’re safe; that’s what matters.” Exit    With little else holding it in place, the tarp slid easily off its mysterious cargo revealing to the crowd a cage. Within it stood several individuals that, although not dead, looked as though they had not slept in ages. Their eyes were blood shot and rolled into the back of their heads. Their jaws were slack and their heads hung at awkward angles. Even more strange were their clothes: Torn, caked in many layers of dirt and of a style and design unfamiliar to anyone surviving in the wilds. Despite the grime, the clothing itself was impractical anywhere in the wilds, even within the settlement itself. One of them wore an orange jumpsuit and was bound in hand and ankle cuffs with a chain linking the two. Another was in a skirt and a half torn shirt. Another was a large man with jeans and no shirt at all. The last three were a trio of men in faded business attire, each one of them covered in dirt and mud and dried brown stains. shylarah    Ziotea’s eyes widened at the sight of the cage’s contents. “You keep people in there?!” she cried in disgust. canaryrose    “HOLY SHIT!” Chu’s shout was loud. She backed a few steps away from the cage, her mind reeling. He had people in there?! In the cage?! Her first instinct was to be sympathetic to their plight, but then… she saw that cold look in their eyes. She shivered. vietmyke    Jin, who had been looking through the selection of weapons and ammunition with Sumire, turned as he heard the commotion. Jin didn’t know what he expected to be under this fancy secret tarp, but he certainly wasn’t expecting people. Jin thought he’d imagined it before, but now that he was looking at them- he remembered. Back at the SynEn headquarters, when the operators went crazy and attacked Sumire- when he had to reveal his airbending. Their eyes were glazed over, vacant. Theyra    The thing Reman did not expect was more of those, How… Luckly, Reman did have his pistol on him. When he saw the cage, he felt like doing something but once he saw their eyes. He had a flashback to the SynEn HQ. Exit    Those slightly more perceptive would have noticed that the locking mechanism to the cage had been destroyed by the mounted gun going off. The cage door very slowly began to swing open and although Tan-ming was rather quick to scramble to his feet and attempt to shut it, the first of these things managed to throw itself into the door and knock the man onto his back. When the door swung open again, the chained one fell on top of him. The other's heads suddenly straightened, their eyes snapped to people in the crowd and they immediately began clambering out of the cage. vietmyke    ”Woah! Back, back, back!” Jin called out to anyone in earshot, pushing Sumire behind him. He gathered his hands together and threw them forward, airbending a massive gust of wind to slam the cage shut. Exit    It closed in time to catch the last of the creatures as it tried to escape with enough force to throw it onto its back. The rest spread out while the one in the orange jumpsuit found Tan-ming's throat and began to squeeze the air out of his lungs. "DiiiIIEEEEEEE!" vietmyke    ”Shit- Reman! Shoot him!” Jin said as he gestured with his chin towards the one on top of Tan-ming. ”It’s like those weirdos back at SynEn HQ. They got this weird- uh- aura about them!” shylarah    Ziotea hadn’t noticed more than their abysmal state, at least not until the chained prisoner attacked Tan-ming. The way he moved was wrong. Damn, and her without her spear! “Kid?” she said slowly. “Run.” canaryrose    Chu Hua's eyes snapped to Jin Wei. … And then to the little girl and the redhead woman behind her. Shoot him. It was quick, her reaction. Chu braced herself and moved her hands, wide, in an imitation of what she had done with the worm. She felt heat in her core and hands, and then she released a stream of fire at the cage, and the man on top of that stupid fucking trader. “WATCH OUT!” A belated warning. Theyra    Reman went for his pistol as he heard Jin’s command. As he was going to aim for the man on top of the merchant, he heard Chu’s warning and he saw the fire she was unleashing. He was safe where he was and simply watched while keeping his pistol aimed at the man on the merchant. Exit    The fire engulfed the cage, the chained man and every one of the strange and violent individuals that had leapt from the cage. Despite the heat and the flames, they continued to charge forward with an unhinged desperation, ignoring completely the flames licking at their pallid flesh and chewing away at their clothes. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________	Time. Early Morning, SE+11 Location. Settlement Square, Tu Zin. ____________________________.......... canaryrose as Chu Hua shylarah as Ziotea theyra as Reman Xuoshi vietmyke as Jin Wei and Sumire Exit as Sonam, Chosah and Tan-ming.

_Prompt:

One of the 'crazies' in a suit is trapped in the cage and is burning up. It's currently thrashing about, throwing itself against the bars of the cage angrily and screaming loudly but is currently unable to escape. Theyra: The orange jumpsuit is ignoring the fire and continues to press into Tan-Ming's neck. The merchant is struggling to remove the hands choking him out. His legs are thrashing about. He's not on fire and as of now, it doesn't look like he's running out of oxygen... yet. Canary & Shylarah: Two have charged through the fire in Chu Hua's direction, though one is really aiming for Ziotea. The closest one to Chua Hua, the second 'crazy' in a suit, is knocked to the side by a blast of air from Sonam. It's thrown against the side of the trailer and is currently trying to scramble to its feet. Flames are eating away the top half of his suit. The second 'crazy', this one wearing a skirt and torn shirt, throws itself at Ziotea in an attempt to tackle her to the ground. Vietmyke: The third suit scrambles beneath the trailer to get to the otherside and pops up near Jin and Sumire. Just like all things in the desert, its clearly focused on getting to Sumire. This one has flames licking at his left leg. It throws itself slightly to the side of Jin in Sumire's direction with its arms out hoping to grab her. Everyone: The largest 'crazy' is the slowest and most cumbersome. It originally rolls out of the cage first, effectively slowing the escape of the others and allowing Chu Hua to hit all of them with her fire attack. When it finally manages to find its feet after landing awkwardly on the ground, it begins lumbering toward the crowd. It takes the brunt of Chu Hua's attack, and although it is not engulfed in flames, its clear it's been severely burned. Flames lick at open wounds though it does not spread quickly across its body. Attacks on these assailants are auto hits and do not require checks from me. However, the result of each attack will need to be described by me. If you decide to post directly to the thread this round, please leave the result of your attack open ended. Also keep in mind that these 'zombies' are not slow. They are fast and violent but their attacks are heavily telegraphed.

{ ᴀ ᴛʀᴀɪʟ ᴏꜰ ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ & ᴛᴇᴀʀꜱ }

_{^_}

_{...^▇▇▇_AVITI YGNIS__^{▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇}}

^{_{& Illaria----------------‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎}}

█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █	_ "Nika!" ”You said we needed skilled fighters. Maybe this is them?” Aviti inquired. She turned toward her companion, only to find Illaria’s face once again covered in a fresh layer of tossed snow. As unfortunate as it may have been for the woman, Aviti found Brigette’s parting gift rather amusing and was having difficulty stifling the giggle that curled the edge of her lip. For a mercy, Illaria could not see regardless, and by the time she’d wiped her face, Aviti had already fixed hers. "Fucking mutt, get off!" Illaria spit out a mouthful of half-melted ice from between her lips before answering her curious ward. ”I also said that we must not draw attention to ourselves. Travelling with the lady of the North would invite all eyes upon us,” she replied somewhat hushed. Her stern words barely carried over the nearby sound of striking steel and thrown aura, but the implications were clear and not just from Illaria’s wise council. They had barely, accidentally, stepped within Brigette’s orbit and had already found themselves in the middle of a fight. And this was a real threat. Not the opportunistic thief Aviti was constantly finding herself at the mercy of. "Somethin's strange w'this one. This bastard doesn't bleed!" Aviti, however, gave her a look and nodded toward the skirmish. Outside their now inadequate cover and on the far side of the road were all of Brigette’s men locked in combat with their aggressors. It was easy to tell, with one of the mage-knights dead and another mage-knight’s magic having been so quickly disrupted, that the fight was not in their favor. ”They’ve already seen us and the fights soon to be over. Would it not be in our best interest to gain favor with the Fenris woman before she finds reason to question us without it?” ”You are not wrong. She has already seen us and she’s not like to forget it easily.” ”Lend her your dagger, Illaria.” Illaria sighed. ”As you wish, Lady Avi.” "All yours, Brig!" WIth little hesitation she burst from the snow, though her exit was less graceful than that of Brigette’s. Unlike many in the fight, she was not native to the North. She did not move through snow with a natural lithe that she could take advantage of nor could she adequately use the surrounding terrain to mask her movement. She was, however, well trained in keeping as small a footprint as possible when moving swiftly. So while she was at a disadvantage in the snow, she could remain somewhat inconspicuous as she moved. She was also trained to choose amongst many targets, the one she could take down the quickest or the one with whom she could leverage the greatest advantage. The other mage-knights seemed tied up with fighters that were more or less their better, save for one. Illaria flitted over ice and dirt, running with the wind on her back and with a step that remained light so as to make the least amount of noise as possible. She kept low and carved a path that saw her dash behind the knight facing off with Eirún, quick enough that even if he’d noticed her on approach, he would be too late to react. There was a glint of light as the blade in her hand hit the sun just before it disappeared behind the man’s leg and reappeared on the other side, drawing what looked like a thin red line in the air like a string. Blood splattered the snow and turned to red mist like a hot breath and Illaria slid out of the way, leaving little behind but her blood offering to the North and a plume of disturbed snow. The mage-knight’s reaction was more physical than audible. Not just because he was attacked but because he was attacked twice. His eyes widened as a bolt found purchase in his flesh and when pain tore through the back of his ankle and then shot up his legs, which buckled involuntarily. His knees folded, his guard dropped and a window opened up for what was certain to Illaria to be a final, fatal strike from a certain dancing assassin. "What in the hells...? KEEP ONE ALIVE FOR QUESTIONING! THEY'RE REANIMATING THE DEAD!" ...Or maybe not so fatal... _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________	Interactions. 13org & Theyra Summary. Aviti convinces Illaria the importance of joining the fight. Illaria reluctantly agrees and attacks the mage-knight fighting Eirún, cutting his ankles, bringing him to his knees and opening him up to a follow up attack. Links. Aviti current attire. Illaria current attire. Character Sheet. ____________________________.......... _ _

ᵗʰᵉ Last Avatar.

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_{...^▇▇▇_T U Z I N__^{▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇}}

^{_{----------------‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎}}

█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █	. The arrival of a second wave of refugees from the city put a strain on the already delicate balance of survival within Tu Zin. Supplies were stretched well beyond the settlement’s usual capacity, surplus had been chewed through and space to quarter the refugees had very quickly dwindled. A few found room with those willing to accept them into their homes. The rest, or those who chose it, were given a recently rebuilt building near the tavern with enough rooms to house everyone who had arrived, including those a day or two after the first. In total, ten people shared the same roof, making for a somewhat crowded situation and a complicated resource problem. There was never really enough to go around as good will from those who were more accepting of Benders could only go so far. Thankfully, for those who sought it, there were opportunities in abundance to earn yuan or favor and use either for trade. For nearly a week, that was all anyone was up to. Learning, working and surviving, and when time allowed, some would sit and ponder. Ponder the life they had left behind and the life that lay ahead of them. Ponder the ‘why’ everything had happened and why, out of hundreds of Benders who had attempted to leave the city, only they survived. A few days later, a peculiar trading caravan pulled into Tu Zin, and given how stretched supplies had become in recent days, many saw it as a stroke of good luck. Three vehicles entered the settlement in the early morning hours and headed toward the center, coming to a stop near the shops lining the square. Of the three vehicles, the one in the center drew the most attention. While the lead and rear vehicles were escorts, made obvious by the mounted guns and their improvised armor improvements, the vehicle in the center was very different. It was a hodgepodge of rusted metal plates, rivets and wields that vaguely described the shape of a semi’s cab, on top of which was mounted yet another gun. It pulled behind it a trailer covered by a large canvas tarp, beneath which were a series of obscured shapes. These prodded at the imagination which was only further fueled by the strange noises coming from within. Odd squawks and moans and the rattling of chains drew in the curious. They flocked with interest, or concern, while many more approached out of necessity. A dark haired man stepped out of the semi, his eyes sweeping the surrounding settlement with a hunger and focus that was easily recognizable. He wore clothing less typical of those who wandered the Wilds. Clothing that provided less protection from the elements and was significantly less durable but was compensated by the extra layer he put on. Beneath the protective shell of a sand-stained and torn poncho was a faded, old-world suit and tie. Beneath that, the man wore a pair of dark jeans and a pair of brown boots, both of which were caked in dried mud. Oddly enough, however, the gold buckle on his belt shone as if it never knew the shame of a blemish. The man himself gave an air of someone who knew comfortability in a world without it, or at the very least of someone who clung desperately to the idea of it. Not to mention he had the energy to match. The seriousness in his eyes became more of a grin or a smirk, as if he were satisfied with the town that had been laid at his feet. He jumped down ahead of the approaching crowd and began signalling to his crew. “Let’s go let’s go!” he shouted, clapping his hands loudly in an attempt to spur his people into action. ”We haven’t got all day and these people have waited long enough!” Five men and a woman, all dressed less glamorously than he, though very clearly more comfortable in the elements, clamored out of the vehicles and set about their practiced work. Signage was retrieved while several others began undoing the straps that tied the tarp to the trailer. “Milo! I want that there… Right there!…No a- A little to the right… Perfect. Mira! Where are my lights?!” The more limber member of the group climbed up and behind the semi and opened a half concealed box to a tangled mass of wires. What was to anyone else an impossible and incomprehensible mess would take her no more than one or two wire swaps to redirect power. A series of lights lining the semi immediately turned on and began blinking on and off in an alternating pattern. “That’s great, thank you! Now! Get that tarp removed and let’s get this show started!” The excitable man turned around to face the crowd and produced from seemingly nowhere a small microphone. He held it a little too close to his lips. ”Good morning, Tuuuuuu Ziiiiiin!” he yelled into the mic, as if it would not otherwise pick up his voice. If he had been loud before, the speaker attached to the side of the semi made it louder still. It threw his voice across the entire square and well beyond, until his excitement echoed against the nearby mountains. ”Allow me to introduce ourselves!” He placed a hand on his chest. ”We are the Travelling Troupe of Trinkets, Treasures and Timeless Things! That’s trademarked, baby! And today, we bring to you–” He pointed into the crowd. “For your wonder and amazement, and your business of course, the four corners of the world!” As he continued to speak, he began pacing around while work to loosen the straps on the tarp continued behind him. ”Maybe you’ve lived here your whole life. All you’ve known is the desert wind and sand that’s coarse and gets everywhere. Maybe you just don’t have the time to travel. Who does?! But worry not because I, Tan-ming the Traveller, will be your guide.” ”Tan-ming the Traveller of the Travelling Troupe of Trinkets, Treasure and Timeless Things…” Sonam, who was standing just inside Sarah’s office by her front door, sighed in defeat. ”I think I want to go back to the city now.” Standing next to her was Vasra who was watching the settlement square with her. ”Behold!” With an overexaggerated flourish of his hand, and as if meticulously timed, the tarp was pulled most of the way back revealing, as told, a plethora of odd wares and wonders, some of which were indeed not recognized as having been from the immediate area. Tan-ming started on the left, framing with his hands and arms a series of shelves holding peculiar looking vials of clear liquid. They seemed reminiscent of vials of spirit water found within the City, though they lacked its subtle luminescence. ”Water from the shifting continents of the far North! The purest found anywhere in the world, untouched by the war that tore it apart and blessed by the spirits themselves. Unlike the over-processed, over-priced rubbish from the City, this water is all natural. It’s crisp. It’s clean and it’s guaranteed to remove all toxins from your body and last but not least, it’s available to all!” Sonam had a feeling, but that didn’t stop her from looking over at Vasra and then Sarah just to be sure. Sarah, who was seated in what would have been her reception area, rolled her eyes and shook her head. ”It’s just water. I don’t even need to see it.” ”I want to see…” Sonam looked down at Chosah who was trying to peer through the dense crowd of onlookers in front of them. An impossible task for the little girl. Since leaving the City, Chosah had been on the move, with little to no time allowed for her to process how quickly her life was changing. Taken from her family and everything she knew within the walls. Dragged through the desert with storms and monsters on her tail. And now she was surrounded every day by nothing but strangers and the harshness of a world that did not care for her. She was weary. Anyone could tell. So when Sonam noticed the curious spark in her eyes, she knew she had to nurture it. It was the first signs of light on a face that had known nothing but grief for days. ”Alright. We can go take a look but you have to stay close to Vasra and me.” Chosah nodded and followed the two women as they stepped into the crowd. Archer and Dutchess followed silently behind, and like every day before, began drawing eyes. The show in the square continued with Tan-ming moving from the vials to a series of jagged black rocks. He picked one up and held it in front of the crowd, attempting to explain to them the rock’s ability to retain heat and how each one was infused with the cleansing fires from the land they hailed from. ”Mined in the far West where the ground erupts in fire that can never be extinguished!” or so he claimed. They were warm to the touch, flammable and would ward off dark spirits if kept within your home. Then there were the canisters of air, collected and compressed directly from the source: the top of a ruined air temple in the South. And finally, from a place that many simply wanted to forget, or go back to as a different person: Signed stickballs from some of the most famous players in the league, Chua Hua included. There were also a couple synergy batteries, which did seem legitimate enough. However, it didn’t take a genius to recognize that most of these ‘wonderous’ items, as Tan-ming called them, were anything but absolutely worthless, and it didn’t take long for the more level-headed survivors to move on. Specifically to the other side of the trailer where on display were more of the usual fare as far as trade was concerned. There was a wide variety of dried meat from what looked to be recent hunts, though it was difficult to tell how recent. There was a selection of weapons, both ballistic and melee, and ammunition. Some body armor and clothing and tools as well as a plethora of other useful items that looked as though they were scavenged from previous owners. All in all, onlookers began to gather here, trading with the guards standing nearby for various supplies in the hopes they could recoup much of what was lost in recent days. But Tan-ming was not one to allow the mundane to outshine what he knew to be extraordinary. Before the rest of the crowd could disperse or decide to find a better way to spend their time, he signaled for his men to pull back more of the tarp unveiling two more items of interest. The first was a somewhat large mechanical device that would immediately be recognizable to Reman or anyone who’d spent time travelling the Wilds years prior. It was mostly spherical in shape with a large gun attached to the chassis beneath it and there were markings denoting it as having once belonged to the RSF. The second was something very few had seen and even fewer had experience with. In a cage near the rear of the trailer was a large, four legged animal. Pastel teal in color with skin that seemed calloused and rough, almost stone-like with bony protrusions around its joints. Its appendages were tipped in talons and fanned in a near complete circle. Its tail curled up behind it and its bulbous eyes refused to focus on any one thing. They continued to shift, independent of each other, to different faces in the crowd. “From a land of mud and darkness to the North. Clinging to the roots of the Great Dying Tree. The last of its kind! I present to you: The Chameleon Water Bear! This amazing beast of burden is nigh impervious to physical trauma. Can climb anything. Glows in the dark and, best of all, can turn invisible!” _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________	Time. Early Morning, SE+11 Location. Settlement Center, Tu Zin. ____________________________.......... Exit as Sonam, Chosah and Tan-ming. Tan-ming. The drone on display. A chameleon water bear.

_Prompt:

The trailer has not been entirely unveiled. At the end is a square shape that is still covered. There is the odd sound of strained moaning coming from within as well as the shuffling of feet and the scraping of metal against metal. The guards are all armed with automatic rifles but they’re slung across their backs and are not holding them in such a way that implies they mean to use them. After nearly a week in Tu Zin, all player characters have ‘currency’ enough to take one item from the trader, unless it is the Chameleon Water Bear, a trade for which may need to be discussed with Tan-ming himself. If there is something you would like, this is your opportunity to describe what it is to me and see about procuring it. This can be rations for a number of days, or a special type of tool. Keep in mind that there is still a planned expedition starting the next day, SE+12. Reman. You recognize the drone as the earliest model purchased from the Xuoshi family by the Moons and deployed into the Wilds to patrol it. Compared to later models, these were quite durable and long-lived but highly inefficient on resources. None are still in active use. They operate in much the same way as drones in the Wilds do today. They run on synergy, operate a conventional high caliber rifle, and will scan for Benders beyond the walls while directing those who are not Benders back to the City. Chu Hua. Those signed stickballs are most definitely counterfeit. Jin. You see a strange shadow hanging over the back end of trailer, right above the still concealed 'box' beneath the tarp. This is only visible to you. It's also vaguely familiar to the shadow you saw on the day of the explosion.

ᵗʰᵉ Last Avatar.

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Update 022226.20:25 This roleplay's soft chapter reset will begin here. All interaction and posts for the current chapter made previous this post will be treated as having happened after the following event, with changes being made if necessary. ______________________________

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ᵀʰᵉ Last Avatar. & ᵀʰᵉ Red Lotus. Player Handbook

_{character concept by shylarahC10}

Age. 24 Gender. Female Residence. Lower Ring Occupation. Scrapper Element. Fire Form. Fire Level. • Chi. • ________________________________.....	. Who are you? I'm a scavenger by trade, living on the edge of the city in the shadow of the outer wall, in the area near the southwest gate. I go around the Lower Ring, and sometimes outside the walls, searching for valuable scrap. After the disaster four days ago, I found that I could bend fire. Three days ago, a refugee camp just outside the walls was attacked. Slaughtered. Yesterday, I started hearing about people going missing. It's just like when my parents were taken and killed. I'm not going to wait for the heat to settle on me. I've got only one option, though I don't like it. Hunang is a bender. Maybe...maybe she knows of somewhere I can go, somewhere across the desert...somewhere they won't kill me just for being what I am. What is your opinion on Benders? "Benders are trouble. They're not evil, not like popular opinion would have you believe, but many of them are misguided. Just keep your head down and don't use your powers, and maybe trouble will stay away. I hope." ____________________________________________________________________	. Ryo. Ziotea's closest friend and her lover. He works as a repair technician, fixing just about any device that the folks in the Lower Ring bring him. He's quiet, but brilliant. _________________________________........

{ ᴀ ᴛʀᴀɪʟ ᴏꜰ ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ & ᴛᴇᴀʀꜱ }

_{^_}

_{...^▇▇▇_AVITI YGNIS__^{▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇}}

^{_{& Illaria----------------‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎}}

█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █	_ By some stroke of luck, or unluck, Brigette had thrown herself into the snowbank… right next to a woman who was already concealed in the exact same spot. When the flurry of powder and dirt had finally settled, Brigette would notice first Aviti, half buried in the snow right next to her and partially concealed by the white slush of ice. She was wearing clothing typical in the North, obvious even with her lying prone on her stomach. A slate cape with a hood lined in thick layered fur was pulled up over her head. A thick outer layer of dark gray clung to her form but seemed flexible and durable and was embellished with deep red patterns and teal accents. And although mostly obscure, there looked to be a leather strap over her shoulder that ran under the cape and disappeared beneath her. Red hair like ribbons poured from her hood and gathered beneath her chin and in the snow and framed the look of a woman that was more curious and excited than surprised or afraid. Oddly enough, despite the flurry of Brigette’s entrance, Aviti’s face remained free of any blemish or powder or even a kiss of pink upon her pale skin as though the cold could not find her. Aviti would flash the Northerner a wide smile, the kind that squinted her eyes and creased her cheeks and tried to convey a sense of harmlessness. The kind of smile that brightened the dark green of her eyes and drew attention to the striking colors beneath the irises. If Brigette stared for over long, she'd feel as though she were peering into a deep forest. ”Hi.” ”I told you, Lady Avi. We should not have remained here.” Also flanking Brigette on the side opposite Aviti, was a second woman whose face was completely covered in freshly tossed snow, thanks in no small part to the Fenris woman’s swift arrival. Illaria, as she was known, wore much of the same winter clothing as her companion, but unlike her companion, the cold clung to her much more easily it seemed. Ice stuck to her eyelids and lips in oddly shaped clumps that jumped off her face when she blinked and spoke. ”Lady Fenris. It would seem you’re in need of assistance,” she said through her ice mask. ”This... is the Lady Fenris? This woman here? I thought you said they looked dangerous.” ”Because they do.” Illaria moved herself forward ever so slightly, sliding easily across compacted snow until she was positioned just past the other two women. There was enough room inside their shared cover that she could slide her right arm up past her head and extend her hand through a small gap in the mound of snow. Through it, Illaria was given a clear view past the cart toward the formation of mage-knights on the other side. Of the four, she chose the most imposing one on the far right, the one seemingly clad head to toe in iron and was now locked in combat with one of Brigette's men. She lined her arm up with the mage-knight. ”Why has nobility from the North surrounded herself with such company.” Barely visible on her sleeve was the faint outline of a rectangular shape that ran half the length of her forearm. As Illaria spoke, she moved a hand over it and pressed a finger against the edge. ”And why are these men after you?” The last bit was spoken as a whisper as the last of the air in her lungs became a hot breath escaping her lips. Illaria knew well that any of the targets she chose were standing at the very end of its effective range. She’d be hard pressed to hit her mark unless she chose to close the distance and secure for herself a more effective shot. However, doing so would compromise everyone’s concealment, not least of all Aviti’s and that was out of the question. So there she would remain, hoping that if she did not hurt or kill the man, some slight distraction on her part would aid the other fighter. The bolt the contraption threw across the road flew straight and true but remained weak and slow at distance. It did little more than lodge itself in the knight's helmet. Illaria had to hope that that would be enough. If it came to it, her only option left would be to leave Avitit's side and join the fray herself as whoever designed the silly contraption on her wrist made it so compact as to limit its ability to fire only once. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________.	Interactions. Haha & Yankee Summary. Brigette lands in the snow next to Aviti and Illaria who are also hiding in the same spot. Maintaining cover, Illaria fires a bolt at Silent Knight but only manages to lodge the bolt in his helmet. No damage. Links. Aviti current attire. Illaria current attire. Character Sheet. ____________________________.......... _ _

ᵀʰᵉ Last Avatar & ᵀʰᵉ Red Lotus.

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^{_{a @Fiber, @Mistress Dizzy & @Exit collaboration----------------‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎}}

█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █	Mistress Dizzy    Jin stared at the most powerful boss in the Underground, on her knees. Still defiant, still fighting, to the last. "...we can't keep her? If she's this strong, wouldn't she be an asset?" It was a minor shock to hear their own voice. All the while, they kept scratching numbers into the dirt. Exit    ”She’s too powerful and knows too much. This one has to die.” Nelu said, still holding the woman in place. Mistress Dizzy    Jin paused and looked down. Ran the equation again. "I have it. 2107." Fiber    Zhen walked with a limp, tired from the low oxygen, exhausted from the fight and still straining her brain with the last part of the calculation. She never would’ve been able to finish it without Jin. As she got close to Jin and Nelu, close enough that Nelu maybe, just maybe might be able to shield them, she thought that all of this was a risk, a calculated one, but a bet all the same. A bet that the rock dust in the air was small enough. A bet that the structure was neither too strong nor too weak. A bet that Jin did the math right, a bet that Nelu would know what to do next, a bet that she had enough resolve to remain conscious and see this through, to live to tell the tale. It was exciting in a perverse way, actually getting to do this theoretical exercise for real. No LSF member in living memory had seen this, and if it failed, it would remain that way. “Nelu, we’re about to go thermobaric. We need every drop of moisture, here, now.” Zhen took the breath that might be her last, and gathered her arms in front of her. Then she made one sweeping motion and threw a gust so large it caught all the dust and turned the other side of the room into a cloud of silhouettes. Exit    At the exact same time, Nelu dropped his concentration on Hunang and began focusing on the very small. Like running his fingers carefully through grains of sand did he peer at the finer world that lay beneath all things. It was a technique he’d been forced to hone for nearly as long as he could remember and the basis for his minute manipulation of water. Of bloodbending. There was moisture in the room. Not much, but it was there if one knew where to look, or in Nelu’s case, wherever it was he could feel it. It was this water that began to draw itself toward him from everywhere in the room, coaxed by the circular motion he was drawing in the air with his arms. Water as sweat that peeled off Hunang’s forehead or water pulled from the air that had burned off of Katakuri as his own sweat evaporated from the heat of his flame. Water from a water bottle left behind by a refugee. Blood from 141. It twisted through the air like a ribbon stretched across the chamber and spun itself into a red hued orb in front of Nelu about the size of a stickball. Fiber    Zhen followed by doing something she almost never did, she screamed at the top of her lungs, screamed til she could breathe no more. “EVERYONE, BREATHE OUT, NOW!“ Mistress Dizzy    Jin wasn't sure what they expected of their last moments. They were too tired for fear, too wound up for relief. Still so much left to do, but at least… at least the kids would make it out. They could still feel Hunang’s defiance, through the smoke and stone. Still feel that iron gaze. "... I'm sorry." Jin exhaled. Nelu did as well. Fiber    Zhen had no more words, no more air left in her lungs as she staggered to be next to Nelu. She just stared at the figures in the dust, at Hunang who still clearly held to her determination despite her situation, at Object 141, a crumpled mass on the ground, and at Kata’s fire engulfed form, who she knew was staring right back at her wordlessly through the cloud. She felt bad about the way it would end for them, wondering if it would be their lungs rupturing from the inside, or their bodies pulverized by the pressure wave, or the blinding heat of the blast that did them in. In this moment, she wished she could have given them a painless death, but there was much about the world that stubbornly insisted on learning lessons in a much more gruesome fashion. The last thing she said was not a word, but a stream of data: MAX YIELD OVERRIDE SAFETY Y TERMINATION NOW EXEC Exit    It was a last ditch effort from both Hunang and Katakuri that saw them make their final moves in their last moments. Spurned by the actions of the trio opposite them, or as Zhen would later confirm, drawn out by them. The water, the dust and her careful maneuvering toward Jin and Nelu hadn’t been lost on Katakuri. Nor was it lost on Hunang, who from the ground and on her knees, threw her arms up and brought them down swiftly to her chest. It was much the same as her previous move when she dropped a block of dirt on top of 141, only this time, she intended to bring down the entire ceiling. Jagged lines formed cracks that carved themselves into the earthen dome above them until these lines began to intersect and large sections of earth began to fall away. They tore the lights from the walls and pulled apart the industrial fans embedded in the ceiling, filling the enclosed space with the deafening sound of metal ripping itself apart. Katakuri had reacted too, having catapulted himself toward the trio in an attempt to stop a conceptual plan he vaguely recognized. But it was too late. The metal capsules attached to Nelu’s belt exploded, releasing an enormous amount of water that he immediately shaped around Jin, Zhen and himself. It would harden into ice long before Katakuri could reach them. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________	Time. Late Night, SE+3 Location. The Core in The Underground, Ba Sing Se. ____________________________.......... Mistress Dizzy as Jin Takashi Fiber as Zhen Mie Lun Exit as Tarnelu Dermok, Katakuri Soran, Object-141 and Hunang. _ _

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. There was a brief moment of clarity found beneath all the pain and fire and noise. A moment when 141’s mind found his body once more and for the first time in a long time, he could think for himself. In that moment of clarity, he realized that he’d done it. Done exactly what he’d been told to do as a boy if ever he wanted to be accepted. As a friend. By the world. Into a good family. He’d helped them. Helped all of them. MAX YIELD OVERRIDE SAFETY Y TERMINATION NOW EXEC This next thing he did was meant to keep it, and once they were safe, he could rest. 141’s mix of synapses and wires got enough of Zhen’s command to burn bright for one final time, pushing the system to accept that critical value that Jin had so helpfully calculated. But while it was the machine 141 that received and ran it, it was something else that replied back. 2107. I dun really get et, but if et helps mah friends, I'd be happy tuh. 141 near lifeless body seemed to swell and then glow for a half second before detonating. All at once, all of the dust and oxygen became one great fireball. The heat and the blast spread so fast and engulfed so much that it didn’t matter where the explosion came from, everything was caught in it all the same. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_Prompt:

Jin. Right before the ball of water and ice closes around you, you notice Hunang is smiling at you. End Chapter Three.