Game-Changers & Grudge Matches

Gabe nodded, "Yeah, lets go."

--

Mortal tried to set the vines on fire with jets of flame. She takes care to avoid directly setting her feet on fire like an idiot.

*This is successful. Good thing, too, because Mortal can see a python that was lazing around in the swamp swim off, scared by the fire blast. The Foggy Swamp benders run through a doorway to the back rooms & disappear.*
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*They are led up onto the arena. The [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] enter from the other side.*
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"Practice...yeah...a couple of years, I guess."

*Astarte & Roatha arrive outside of the Pro-Bending Arena.*
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*He raises an eyebrow.*

<So there was a Red Monsoon? And where did this attack take place?>
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*Vanessa bloody dropkicks her. Standing on her back, she raises one of her machetes.*

"Hey, you're under arrest for assaulting a police officer!" She shouted standing back up, "Get your asses back here!" Mortal chased after them.

--

"Remember, focus on the game and you'll do just fine," Gabe said to Ven.

"Well, shall find seats first or get snacks?" Astarte asked.

"Just up the road," Hector make a vague inclination of direction with his right hand. "Attacked without warning and said some bullshit about a plan. There was a lot of Red Monsoon activity that night, as I'm sure you know."
"She was very skilled," Eduj added.
"We ended up frozen, and didn't thaw out until the next morning."

"How about you find us some seats, & I'll get us food & drinks? I just need to know what you want."
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<Hmm...well, of course, there's no way to individually verify your story....>
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*Mortal thinks she's gaining on someone, but it turns out that there are actually a series of masks on the wall. One with massive teeth & no eyes; another with a trio of horns in its forehead, squinted eyes, & a wide-open, pointed jaw with sharp teeth; one with an anguished expression & red markings "oozing" from its eyeholes; & one with eye holes wide open & its mouth stitched up. She winds up in a hallway with 3 other doors. It's not clear where the real people actually went.*
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<Greetings, folks, Shiro Shinobi again. The quarterfinal match between Night's Dancing Dragons & the Mo Ce Mongoose Lizards is set to begin in just a few moments. I don't know what happened to Syn, but it looks as though the rumors about the Dragons recruiting a new Earthbender are true. She has dark skin, but she is not the same as the substitute from the last match, as identified by her dark braid.>

*At this, a boo erupts from a group of fans behind them holding a banner with Euryale's name & little hearts made out of rocks. Ven cannot help but look back.*

<I believe that she is probably new to the sport altogether. The poor girl looks like she's about to be sick.>

"Um, maybe some sizzle-crisps and iced tea?" Astarte seemed to ponder her decision, but then just made off towards the seating. "I'll see you inside."

Hector sighed, "Well, you have a witness- my ex employee- and by the way, I have no home. That place was literally everything I own. The insurance might cover reconstruction, but I've lost a lot more. Also, if I were in this to steal insurance money, I wouldn't have bombed it like a pro and left myself without a verifiable alibi. This has left me in a really bad situation. Is there anything I can do about it?"

Gabe rubbed Ven's shoulders and pointed to the other team, "The game, Ven. Just focus on the game."

--

She boots the first door on the left, and sends in a ball of fire to light up the room.

"Alright."

*Roatha sets off for the concession stand.*

<Gabe tries to console her new teammate, but I can already see that the Mongoose Lizards plan to take advantage of the weak link. No sir, I do NOT envy that girl tonight.>
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<There's nothing we can really do for you, without better evidence. And we need to clear this scene, it's a public safety hazard.>
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*It appears to be a bedroom, with a simple cot, end table, & dresser. The dresser has a shrine kind of like Euryale's, but all of the candles are black, & most are twisted. Additionally, beside it is a pair of dolls made from straw twisted together in human form & dressed in little mittens & boots. One had a shock of red fabric threads on its head. The other had a shock of white threads, tied up in a ponytail. Both were dressed in little suits made from pieces of tin cans folded around them, & full of little pins.*

Noticin' all kinds of fucked up voodoo magic shit going on Mortal takes the dolls and pockets them. For evidence, she tells herself, but leaving something that reminded her of Euryale and herself in that room seemed wrong. Content that the room was clear she moved quickly and repeated the process on the other two doors.

--

"Just the game," Gabe said, "Prove them wrong. Show them that you're capable of holding your own."

I will not be killed by a bloody hypocrite!

*Eve rolls on to her back before sending a fire bomb directly at Vanessa. If she can, Eve then stands up*
---
Tirea:<And, if not, we'll still your friends and a team!>

*Tirea smiles warmly*

*Ven smiles back weakly.*

<I'm just now being told that the new player's name is "Venezuela." At any rate, the Dragons better get in position, because the match is going to start with or without them.>
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*Vanessa jumps back, blocking with her blades.*

<I knew you were a stinkin' Bender! Fire, too...the worst kind!>
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*She finds a bathroom & a kind of porch type area with a screen door to the outside. On the other hand, she also hears the sound of the front door opening & the floorboards in the main room creaking.*

Gabe pats her shoulder one last time, and gets into position.

--

She tries to peek into the main hall without getting noticed.

<Barely. I thought you knew that, or do you just go around attacking people?>

*Eve creates a fire whip, and sends it flying at Vanessa's right wrist, while stepping back*
---
*Tirea gives her a thumbs up before getting into position*

<And they're off! As predicted, each Mongoose Lizard takes a shot at Ven.>
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*She is noticed. A man in a suit stomps slowly towards her. He's so tall that she can't quite catch his facial features with her light.*
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*She rolls under the whip, running towards Eve.*

<Benders and sympathizers are all the same to me!>

*Eve sends a stream of fire at Vanessa before continuing to move backward*

<So, you have to be bigoted, ah?>
---
*In the cafe, Monu turns on a radio if there is one*
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*Tirea sends a few blasts at the opponent earth bender*

"RCPD, stop right there," Mortal said.

--

Gabe decided to try to defend Ven, and tried to peg as many of the attacks out of the air as possible.

--

Noct frowned as a bunch of assholes tried to jump her friend.

<Looks as though it doesn't even occur to Ven to get out of the way or defend herself. Luckily, the Mongoose Lizards were not expecting their attacks to be shot away. Their Earthbender is knocked back a zone, and they don't even have anything to show for it.>

*Ven thrusts out both fists, & a pair of earth discs fly over the zone. However, they are wobbling, which eventually causes them to fly into each other & smash apart.*

<Ven's first strike self-terminates. While the Mongoose Lizard Earthbender pulls himself to his feet, the Waterbender slips in front of him, kicking 3 quick water whips at Tirea. Their Firebender swings her hand, sending a firescreen at Gabe...but it's a faint! She slips to the side, firing 3 quick blasts at Ven!>

*Completely unamused, the crowd boos, & they distinctly hear the phrase, "Save us all the trouble & take a dive in the drink!"*
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*He does not stop. As he gets closer, Mortal gets the impression that his suit isn't pure black, but she's not quite sure what color it really is. Also as he gets closer, he reaches out towards her, & that's when she realizes 3 things: First, what she thought were gloves is actually smooth, ghost-white skin. Second, he has claws. Third, the room is filling up with fog from the open doorway.*
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*The first channel that Monu comes from is Shiro Shinobi's live commentary on the Pro-Bending match.*
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*Vanessa again rolls, this time pulling a bomb out & throwing it towards Eve. It passes close enough to the fire that its fuse, under a centimeter long, is lit before it lands underneath her.*

Astarte had presumably found a seat and was viewing the match. She felt bad for Venezuala, and frowned as the crowd started booing.

"Tch, fine," Hector set off down the road at a brisk pace, the way he had been originally going, frowning. Eduj and Stefan followed.

*Eve jumps back, then runs as far as she can away from the bomb*
---
*Monu starts sweeping the floor while listening to the commentary*
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*Tirea moves out of the way, then sends 3 arcs back at the water bender*

Gabe dived out of the way of the screen and shot out her fists to try and catch the fireballs sent after Ven, and spin them back at the water bender. "Ven, try to remember what Euryale taught you. Control the disks, and shoot them at anyone who is not paying attention to you."

--

Mortal frowns, and lets an uncharacteristically meek, "Oh shit..." slip from her mouth. She takes a step back and was about to shoot a stream of fire out at him, but remembered that she was in a very flammable structure. Instead, she turned on her heels and tried to find a back door out of the place.

*There is that back door that was literally just mentioned.*
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*Gabe's position on the floor does not give her enough leverage to do this, & Ven is blasted back a zone.*

<Gabe hits the deck to escape the blaze as Ven goes back to Zone 2. The Mongoose Lizard Earthbender takes advantage of Gabe's compromising position to hurl a zinger at her ribcage. And the Waterbenders are in a duel.>

*Sure enough, the Waterbender rolls out of the way of the water arcs & flings a hand out, sending a miniature wave of water rolling towards Tirea's ankles. He reaches behind his back with his other hand.*
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*Roatha takes a seat next to Astarte. In addition to her food, he has a hotdog, a bag of chips, & an egg cream.*

"It's not going too well down there, is it...how much did I miss?"
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*This turns out to be not too far. The concussion of the blast knocks Eve over & she can feel blood running from her forehead, for whatever reason. Before she knows it, Vanessa is on top of her, straddling her back, with her machetes stabbed into the ground. She aims 2 blows with her knuckles at each of Eve's shoulders.*
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*They notice the officer give a hand signal, & the truck begins bulldozing the wreckage out of the way.*

*Eve starts struggling, and uses another fire bomb, aiming at Vanessa' s face*
---
*Tirea jumps over the wave, and sends a few blasts of water back at the opponent water bender*

"Poor Ven's first attack self-terminated," Astarte replied, accepting her food with a thank you. "Gabe is really trying to support her, but the other team is being pretty relentless."

The trio continued on, watching out for suspicious people and checking down alley ways.

Noct frowns again as people beat up her friend.

--

Gabe uses a quick blast of jet propulsion to get out of the way, then quickly gets to her feet and hurls a double fisted blast at the firebender.

--

She kicks it the fuck down and heads outside then.

<Gabe launches a fiery getaway, but the Mongoose Lizards stay hot on her heels.>

*The Waterbender rolls & throws an arc of water out from behind his back. Instead of aiming at Tirea, he sends it as a surprise attack to Gabe's side, whose opponent has blocked with a fire shield & returned with a jab.*

<Meanwhile, the Earthbenders engage in long range warfare. It's all Ven can do to evade the attacks, but hers just can't seem to hit the mark. She stumbles, & takes one to the chest. She lands on her feet in Zone 3. She has guts, I'll give her that, but it's gonna take more than that to stay in the game!>
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*The crowd is now yelling furiously around them. Roatha angrily chews & swallows hotdog.*

"This is completely unfair! If she could use Sandbending, she'd cream them. Why did no one think about that when they were making the rules?"
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*She is now on the system of docks between the 6 identical house structures. When she looks back, the Spirit is nowhere in sight, although there's still fog pouring out of the door, & from around the house.*
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*Eve does not have that leverage. However, before her shoulders are Chi Blocked, the fire bomb blasts the wall behind her. Vanessa turns tail & runs as she sees the crack getting bigger, & soon 2 floors' worth of broken bricks fall on top of Eve.*
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*Nothing immediately pops out at them.*