Game-Changers & Grudge Matches

V"...Goodnight."
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*The taxi cab from earlier pulls over.*

<So, where to?>
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[i]<For those of you just tuning in, I'm about to sit down with Chief Beifong, who was nice enough to give us a few minutes for some questions. It's a pleasure to have you here, Chief.>

Lin<I just hope I might put some of the public's worries to rest.>
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*Mortale arrives at Harmony Tower. After a trip up the elevator, they come to a restaurant with a similar coloration to that of the outside; a soft gold for the seat cushions & walls & a more burnished/black for the overhanging light fixtures, windowsills, chairs, & other "seams" of the rooms. The actual lampshades are stain glass, while the table cloths are white. At a podium, a tuxedo'd man with a little moustache & black hair looks up at them.*

"That's under "Mortal & Euryale."

*He gathers some menus & gestures with his arm.*

<Right this way, please.>

*Yadda yadda, leads them to a table by the window & sets the menus down for them before telling them their server will be with them in a moment.*

"You know Cyprus Cafe, in Yue Bay?" Stefan asked, climbing in.

Dalia listened, sipping her tea.

Mortal feels vaguely like a fish out of water, not used to being in a ritzy place like the restaurant at all. After taking her seat she thanks the host, and looks at Euryale, "This is a nice place, huh? I hope the food is good."

--

Noct goes to bed.

*Euryale is used to neither that nor closed toed shoes. She fidgets her legs under the table. She spots a small [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] on the table, but with only a volume nob, which she turns up slightly.*

"Yeah, me too. So, what are you thinking of ordering?"
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<Yeah, I picked a couple of guys up there earlier. You wanna go there? That'll be 15 Yuans.>
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<So, as you know, we mainly brought you hear to ask you about the rash of police car bombings that have occurred over this afternoon. Is it true this is the work of the Agni Kais?>

Lin<It is true that is what we suspected initially, but we now believe the Purists to be more likely.>

<The Purists? They've been very active lately. Is this part of some larger plan?>

Lin<Aside from the indiscriminate murder of police officers? I cannot say.>

"I'm not sure," Mortal said as she opened the menu. A few seconds later and she answered, "The roast duck looks really good, maybe with a glass of red wine."

"Yes, please," Stefan nodded and handed over almost all of the money in his pocket except for a single Yuan.

Dalia creased her brow a little, but relaxed with another sip of tea.

"I think I'll just stick with tea. Not sure what kind, though. Have you ever had koala sheep? Do you think it's any good?"
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*And so he begins driving Stefan to the cafe.*

<That's a little out of the way just for a spot of tea, isn't it?>
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<So why suddenly attack police? Is this related to the capture of Senthose? Or perhaps the corruption?>

Lin<As I told you before, I don't know. They don't seem to be targeting the prison, so it doesn't seem likely that this is an attempt to get to the Red Monsoon leaders. I suppose it's possible that they don't believe that we've cleared the corrupt officers from the streets, but that is no excuse for these murders.>

<No, of course it's not.>

"I'm seeing a friend," Stefan replied. "I haven't seen him in a while."

"It's wanton destruction," Dalia mumbled before taking another calming sip of tea.

Mortal shook her head, "No, I haven't. Do you want to try it?"

Tirea:<Guys.....I'm sorry for being a bitch earlier.>

*Tirea stares down at her feet*

<I just....I don't know...>
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<Oh, them? I think they might be family or something. There were here last night.>
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*Eve continues to work*

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

*The man appears amidst them, a towering figure in a dark suit, white undershirt, & dark tie. They have to look up to see what looks like a white pod coming out of its neck. Out of its back come a quartet of tentacles, same color as the suit. Roatha jumps back & punches fire at it, but it doesn't seem to do anything.*

R"Holy crap, a monster!"
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"I think I will."

*A waiter walks up to their table.*

<May I start you off with something to drink?>
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*The woman takes a sip of her tea.*

<Oh, really? Do you know where they are now? They sound like some guys I have some unfinished business with.>
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<I see. Well, we're here.>
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*I've no idea what Eve is looking to find.*
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<But on that subject, you have the officers in question?>

Lin<We took every suspect off of active duty. Scheduling a trial has been difficult, but we're looking for the week after Senthose's.>

<So this will have been a very productive couple of months for law enforcement.>

*Tirea sends any nearby plants to tie the man down*

<I KNEW IT!>
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<Well, I saw one of them earlier. Friends of yours? I could ask Mr. Sidon about them for you.>
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*Eve's looking for anything else of interest*

"Everyone, get out of here," Gabe said, shooting a steady stream of fire at Slendy while backing away.

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Mortal orders the in universe version of a Zinfandel red wine, because fuck yea, wine.

*A shitton of grass around them flies up & wraps itself around the thing. Though it appears to be held, the bottom of its face splits open into a grimace of sharp, non-uniformly sized teeth. At being blasted with a stream of fire, the thing seems to sink into the ground & emerge behind Gabe, lashing out at her with tentacles.*

R"Gabe, follow your own advice!"

*As he says this, he's running to one side, drawing the first 2 fingers of his right hand up from the ground, now crackling with electric discharge. He begins to do the same with his other fingers.*
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*Peering at the menu.*

E"'So delicious it's heartbreaking'? Well, now you know I'm gonna have to have some of that."

<One red wine and one white dragon tea. I will return with those in a moment.>
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<Oh, would you be a dear? You'd be doing me a real big favor.>
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*Eve finds she has enough data to chart the path of the moon over the next several weeks, but not for the sun.*

<Of course!>

*Monu smiles then goes off to find Sidon*
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*Eve sighs, since it's night*

I'll have to come back during the day to get that information.
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<NO YOU DON'T!>

*Tirea pulls the water from the plants, bends it into ice needles, and fires them at the thing*

Astarte was rapidly backing off when she tripped and fell onto her bottom. She jerked an arm upwards and flung the tiny remains of her butterfly at it in the form of needles.

He would find Sidon trying to read some tiny text on the side of a carton.

"Thanks," Stefan nodded to the driver after he climbed out, and looked around for Hector.

Dalia sipped some more tea.

Gabe literally jets the fuck out of there, "What is that thing?!" She turned and shot another ball of flame at Slendy. Scoping out the area, she rushes towards Astarte, and helps her up. "I say screw this thing, run!"

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Mortal took a second to just enjoy her reality at that moment, and found herself smiling.

*Roatha lets loose with 2 streams of lightning at the thing. They impact its shoulder & carve a narrow gash in it. Soon afterwards, dark tendrils snake up from inside of it, stitching the wound back together. They bubble over &, in a manner of seconds, even its suit has been restored. It takes a step forward, but is stabbed by a bunch of needles, & sinks into the ground, the needles pushing out of it as it sinks.*

R"...Yeah, I second that. Let's run before it comes back."

*A young boy's voice echoes from somewhere in the fog.*

<Heeeelp meeeee!>
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*The man comes back with their drinks.*

<Will you be needing more time?>
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<No problem.>

*Presumably, Stefan can see Selena standing in the cafe, drinking tea.*
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<Do you have any other news on the Purist case?>

Lin<We have been unable to locate the Purist Leader. We believe she's slipped back into hiding, & is being treated by Aamon Avici. The few Purists we did manage to arrest have been unidentifiable, we believe them to have been homeless drifters before joining. The one exception is Ivan, a former United Forces officer, discharged for attacking his own comrades.>

<Because they were Benders?>

Lin<They were Benders, and in line to become his superiors. We do not know if that was his motive. He said nothing in his defense, took his punishment, and disappeared from the public eye once the fleet made landfall in Republic City.>

"A Spirit...?" Astarte stammered before she heard the voice. She looked around for a source. "What was that?"

Stefan stared for a few moments, wondering if that might be the one who took out Hector and Eduj. His thoughts were interrupted a few moments later as Hector called his name from the neighbouring doorway.
"Oh, hey man," Stefan replied, turning towards him.
"Come on inside," Hector said, gesturing for him to come over. "You want tea?"
Stefan hurried over to the doorway and lowered his voice, "Not to alarm you, but there's a beautiful woman in your Cafe."
"It isn't my cafe, and what?"
"Wearing all blue with a black bob."
Hector sighed deeply and walked inside. Stefan followed him.

Dalia finished her tea and placed it to one side. She took mental note of the name 'Ivan'.

"Where are you?" Gabe called out to the voice.

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"No, I think we're ready to order," Mortal said, looking up at him, "I'll take the roast duck."

*Euryale orders her koala sheep chop, he asks them what they would like on their salads, which come with the meal, & while they're answering that, someone else comes & puts down a thing of complimentary bread.*

<Will that be all for now, ladies?>
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<In the forest...deep in the park....>

R"There's like...a tiny clump of trees in the middle of the park. I don't like whatever's going on, here."

*For a while, Astarte only sees fog, until the Spirit rises up in front of her & tries to wrap its tentacles around her.*
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<Is that all?>

Lin<About the Purists? Yes.>

<What about the Red Monsoons, the Agni Kais, and the Triple Threats?>

Lin<No new information has come up regarding any of those groups. We believe the Agni Kais may have disbanded, due to their dwindling numbers.>

Astarte shrieked and tried to escape.

Inside, Eduj was quickly packing up their bedding.
"So, are we gonna' take her out?" Stefan asked.
"No."
"What? Come on, there's three of us," Stefan frowned. "She might be good but--"
"She used Bloodbending on me before the full moon," Hector shook his head, looking around the window blinds. "She might be able to do it afterwards, too. Besides, it isn't our job right now, and fighting here might wreck Sid's cafe."
"So, we're just running away?"
"Yes."
Hector grabbed some money and headed for the door as Eduj finished cleaning up after them.
"You head out first and make sure she isn't out smoking or something," Hector pointed Stefan to the door. He stepped out.

Dalia furrowed her brow, "I hadn't heard anything about that."

Mortal looks back up at him after downing half a slice of bread. She swallows, and says, "I believe so, thank you."

--

"The best thing we can do is call the police," Gabe said, "We'll just get lost ourselves looking to help." Suddenly Slender Spirit, which causes Gabe to rush back over to Astarte, and try to pull her away from the monster before she is wrapped up in a bunch of tentacles.

*They both wind up wrapped up in tentacles as the creature sprouts about half a dozen more. Roatha quickly generates a flame dagger, rushing in & cutting one away. One of the new tentacles whips out at him while the rest try to wrap around Astarte & Gabe more severely.*
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<Enjoy your evening, ladies.>

*He nods & sets off. Euryale is buttering some bread of her own.*
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*Selena has taken to leaning against the counter, watching out the front window, & across the street.*
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*The radio, of course, does not talk back to her.*

<Well, thank you for your time. In other news, the Council seems to be getting into the spirit of competition. Delegate Noctis Talea has agreed to sponsor the Dancing Dragons, now officially known as "Night's Dancing Dragons." Mysteries surround who will be playing the role of their Earthbender this time.>

Gabe tries to cut away at the tentacles with a flame dagger, like Roatha. She puts another hand on Slendy's neck, and tries to push his creepy mug away, shooting a stream of fire with that hand as well.

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Mortal finishes off her bread, and has another one, because she doesn't know not to ruin her appetite, or how to eat like a lady.