Game-Changers & Grudge Matches

"Where are we?" Mortal asked.

Once she had settled her breathing, Astarte went silent.

Dalia sat in the living room and turned on the radio.

*Tirea approaches the tree*

<I think it wants this tree healed.>

*Tirea starts trying to heal this tree, using the same technique that worked before*

*When the bark is patched up, its fucking head splits open, the insides unfolding into a bright purple lotus flower with red accents. The Spirit breaks apart & scatters into the wind as a bunch of petals, disappearing into the copse along with the fog. Once it clears, it's revealed to be early dusk. Then about half a dozen kids wander out of the copse. They don't look scared or sad, mostly just confused.*

E"Wait a second...these are all children, but some of the missing persons were adults. Does this mean that they weren't all the Spirit's doing?"
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*One of the men glares down at her.*

<You know, all the trouble you've given us, I'd love to really rough you up. But we all agreed, we can't do nothin' to our bargainin' chip.>
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A slight rain storm will be coming in over the next few hours. The full moon is coming in a few weeks, & rumor has it that there will be a Solar Eclipse before that.

"Who does that leave responsible?" Mortal asked, "Monsoons in vengeance for Senthose? The Purists?"

Gabe didn't really think about that and just let out a long sigh, "Oh man... we're safe. Good job, Tirea!"

Astarte avoided eye contact with the man and stuttered out an apology.

*Tirea smiles tiredly*

<Glad I could help.>

*She turns to the children*

<Are you all alright?>

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*He grabs her by the hair & forces her to look at him.*

<What kind of apology is that? Didn't your mother ever teach you your manners, girl?>
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*They look at Tirea like "who the Hell are you."*

"We'll have to review the cases for clues later. For now, let's get all of them home."
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*And so they do just that. The last call has them head to Astarte's cafe, to respond to a call about her kidnapping.*

"Alright, Mr. Cyprus, let us see the ransom note."

<You think you an just humiliate me like that? That I'd let you get away with it?>

*Euryale turns & raises her fists, upon seeing the Purist Leader in the doorway.*

"Holy crap! You're under arrest!"

<I don't think so.>

*She raises a gun, leveling it at Tenzin's chest. Seeing this, Euryale tackles Tenzin & Tirea, forcing them to the ground as the Purist Leader fires 6 times into the room, before fleeing.*
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We interrupt this broadcast to bring you an important news bulletin: Explosions have just gone off all over the city! The reports so far are the prison at Police Headquarters, "Lightning Bolt" Zolt's estate, & the home of the Chief of Police, Lin Beifong.
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*Hector, Eduj, & Stefan are on the scene when the prison is shaken by a loud blast. It's close enough that the roof of their cell cracks & begins sinking ominously. Outside they can hear sirens & panicked metal footsteps clanging across the corridor.*
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*Ven rushes into Noct's room, eyes wild.*

"I knew something was wrong! Are you listening to the radio?!"

*Monu ducks under the counter, while Tirea is pulled to the groun by Euryale*

Monu:<What's going on?>

Tirea:<I don't know!>
---
*Eve sits in the hospital, listening to the radio*

I wish there was something i could do.......something that does not involve ending up in the hospital....

Mortal took Gabe and Roatha to the ground, then rushed out the door after Vanessa the Purist Leader, "Hey, get back here! You're under arrest!"

--

Gabe stood on the floor where she was for a second before standing up slowly, and cautiously, "What in the hell is going on?"

--

Noct hand a hand over her mouth as she sat at her desk, listening to the broadcast. She was hiding a smile, wondering if Senthose would use this as an opportunity to escape. She wiped away her smile and turned around to look at Ven, who had just walked in, "Yes, I've heard, but there is no reason to assume Gabe and Tirea are in any danger." Regardless, she stood up, and grabbed a coat from her closet, "We should see if there is something we can do to help the injured."

*Tenzin stands up, brushing himself off.*

Tenzin<I'd heard that her leg was broken in an accident while confronting some of the Air Acolytes, but I didn't think she'd try to assassinate me over it.>

*Euryale stands, helping Roatha up.*

E"I'm afraid we're dealing with a very disturbed individual...oh no."

*She looks aside & notices that Sidon is on the ground with an arrow sticking out of his chest.*
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*The Purist Leader runs into an alley, which of course turns out to be a trap. As Mortal follows, she turns, & then Vanessa emerges out of a doorway behind Mortal. Since the gun is empty & therefore useless, the Leader just chucks it at Mortal's head. Meanwhile, Vanessa pulls out her machetes & rushes Mortal from behind.*
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Information is slow to come in, but we have confirmed that the Police Chief was in her home when the bombs went off.
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"Where are we going?"

*Monu runs over*

<Mr. Sidon! Is anyone here a healer?!>

Tirea:<I'm a water bender, but I can't heal people.>

*Tirea looks very upset, and shakily stands up*
---
The purist who attacked me, she doesn't really need punishment, what she needs is help. Are there mental health facilities in Republic City?

*Eve stares at the radio, deep in though*

The gun sails over Mortal's head as she ducks under it and uses a Jet Boost to propel her after the leader.

--

"I imagine that the cops will flood the prison to keep everything from escalating over there, it will also probably be dangerous," Noct said, "I have no intension of getting too close to Lightning Bolt Zolt's place, so that leaves the Chief's house. She might be hurt, same for her neighbors. If we can offer some help, we must."

--

Gabe runs to a phone and calls up the cops, "We need an ambulance at... uh... <insert address of Astarte's Cafe>. A man has been shot in the chest with an arrow."

"Lead the way."
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*The Purist Leader does not care, drawing her sword. She hopes to use Mortal's momentum to stab it into her side.*
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*Euryale is holding pressure on the wound. A red stain spreads under her hands.*
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We can't get a hold of police, but many of our callers are suggesting this is a retaliatory attack by the Purists. If anyone has any knowledge of what may be their overall goal, do not hesitate to call. The number is ###-####.

Mortal puts her hands in front of her, using one to slow her approach with a jet blast, and the other to send out a stream of fire at the Leader.

--

Assuming they are not stopped along the way Noct gets to her car, and heads over to Beifong's.

*Monu crouches beside her*

<Is there anything I can do?>

"Sorry! Sorry!" Astarte cried, looking at him only for a moment or two before she teared up and started crying again.

Sidon, not in a state to do or say much, spluttered something about looking after Astarte.

Dalia frowned deeply, "I wonder if I could do anything in this situation."

"Hey, get us outta' here, the roof's falling in!" Hector yelled, running to the door of the cell. Eduj and Stefan were on their feet, looking up at the roof.

*She moves across Mortal's front, so that she can't continue spraying fire without burning her own arm. As she goes, she maneuvers her hands, tilting the blade.*

<Why don't we make the other eye match, hm?>

*She swings the sword upward, aiming for Mortal's face. Meanwhile, a pair of long bolas wrap around Mortal's waist & neck, held from behind her like lassos.*
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E"Mr. Cyprus, don't try to move or talk, it'll just accelerate the bleeding! Everything's going to be alright!"

*She looks at Roatha.*

E"We don't have any healers, so I'm going to need you to cauterize the wound!"

R"W-what? I don't know, that sounds kinda dangerous...."

E"I wouldn't be asking if we had other options! We don't have enough time to wait for this ambulance!"

*So Roatha scrambles down, generating a flame dagger at his 2 fingers.*

E"This might sting a little, bear with us, okay?"
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1<Yeah, that's right you are!>

*He drops her & another one of the cultists comes in.*

2<Funny story, the broad's old man just got shot.>

1<You serious? So they didn't even get the ransom note?>

2<Nah, he managed to do that much just before he got iced. I hear it was the Top She-Dog herself, wot done him in.>
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Another report is coming in about a shooting at a cafe down by the Bay. Details are unknown, but ambulances are heading to the scene. Eyewitness reports of the fleeing suspect closely match those of the Purist Leader. It's assumed that she came out of hiding in an attempt to assassinate Council Delegate Tenzin, who was also rumored to be at the establishment, at the time of the incident.
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*When they get out of the car, they find police walking over what is little more than a pile of wreckage, turning over slabs of concrete. The site is tightly surrounded by police cars & trucks. A black-haired cop approaches a brown haired one, who seems to be overseeing the investigation.*

1<She's dead, Sir.>

2<Did you find the body?>

1<No, but look at this mess. No one could survive this.>

*He gestures to the pile of rubble.*

2<Keep looking until you find it! She's not dead until we find a body!>

*The cop nods, & heads back to work. The overseer crosses his arms tightly & scowls.*
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*The door opens. Before they can do anything, water spews out of the broken roof, spraying hard enough to push them into the wall. It then freezes over their bodies, from feet to neck, anchoring them in place. Senthose walks in, twirling a key ring on his finger.*

<Were you expecting someone else?>

Astarte suddenly stopped crying and looked up at them, though her vision was still misty, "What? What did you say?"

"Well, yeah," Hector said after recovering from the shock of being suddenly frozen to a wall. "Did you blow this place to Hell? Pretty flashy escape."

Sidon nodded and closed his eyes.

*Monu steps back to give them room*

<Good luck.>
---
*Eve continues to listen to the radio*

Noctis gets out of the car and walks over to the brunette, "Hello, I heard about what happened over the radio, is there anything we can do to help?"

--

Mortal leans back to avoid the blade firing a quick blast at the leader's face. Since she was already leaning back, the force of the bolas puts Mortal on her ass. She quickly reaches behind herself and grabs the wires and tries to burn through them while getting up.

E"The blood has stopped flowing. That isn't good."

*At that moment, Thiera rushes in, & stoops down to examine the body. She runs some water over his chest, then turns to Roatha.*

<Can you generate lightning?>

R"Y-yeah."

<I need you to use a pulse that you might use to stun someone.>

R"Uh...okay, if you're sure...."

*He positions his fingers over Sidon's chest & an arc of electricity fires out. Sidon's body jerks & flops around, & Roatha shouts in shock.*

<No, that's fine, keep doing that!>

*So, reluctantly, he does it again. Since Euryale has no more job to do here, she rushes out after Mortal.*
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*They go back to their time-honored past-time of ignoring Astarte.*
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<Wouldn't you like to know who did it?>

*Senthose turns & leaves.*
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As might be expected, we're getting reports of prisoners attempting to escape. It's unknown how many have been successful so far.
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*The Leader jerks her head to avoid the flames. While Mortal is successful in burning through the bolas, the Leader forces her to stay down by stepping on her chest. She then positions the point of the blade above her face.*

Leader<Looks like this is the end of the line.>

"Mortal! Where are you?!"

*They ignore the sound of Euryale's yelling from the street, & the Purist Leader stabs down at Mortal.*
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<You can stay out of our way. This is police business.>

Astarte took a deep breath and tried to Plantbend for the first time in her life.

Hector tried to free the three of them from the ice.

Dalia put on a coat and roused her father, who she had drive her towards the prison. They would stop when they had a good view of the prison and any escapees but would not go close.

Mortal used her forearms to pin the Leader's foot to her chest, then twisted and scrambled to stand up. The sharp and sudden turn, along with Mortal keeping the foot pinned, even as the position of her chest moved should mean that the Purist Leader goes toppling over with a hyperextended knee. "I'm over here!" Mortal yelled, hoping Euryale could follow her voice.

--

"It isn't my intention to interfere," Noct said, "My name is Noctis Talea, I'm a water bender. I merely wish to help in any way I can."

--

Gabe tries not to stare at the scene but finds it hard not to, despite how horrified she was by it.

*Thiera eventually shakes her head. She heads to the doorway where 2 large male healers are carrying a stretcher.*

<We're too late. The time of death is 9:41 PM.>

*Roatha stumbles back, staring at the now-corpse.*

Tenzin<All of you stay here, where it's safe. I will pursue the Purist Leader.>

R"Hey, don't give me that! He's dead because she was aiming at you!"

*Tenzin's attention snaps up, & he looks at Roatha, speechless.*

R"That isn't what I...look, you'll just be giving her what she wants. If for no other reason...you're the last person who should go after her."
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*He stares at her for a while. Behind her, the cops have gotten off of the rock pile, gathering around it. They each stamp their feet & thrust their palms outwards, causing slabs of rubble to lift into the air. Then they motion, directing them to the side.*

<...If we find any wounded, would you be able to heal them? And what about you?>

"Hm? I'm a Sandbender. I can maybe help you move the rocks?"

<Only experienced Earthbenders should be clearing the rubble. We don't want anyone getting accidentally crushed.>

*And so Ven just stares at the floor.*
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*Euryale arrives near Vanessa. She aims a punch at her, then when she dodges, Euryale turns her foot so that the ground under Vanessa jolts up & smacks her into the wall. Unfortunately, there is then a shot from the roof, & Euryale jerks suddenly & falls down. The Leader rolls, dropping a smoke bomb as she goes, causing the alley to fill up with black smog.*
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*It only takes Hector a few seconds to free them, during which time they can see truncheon-armed police fighting rioting prisoners outside. Several are blown back by waves of fire. The remaining ones raise their arms &, with them, a short wall of metal. Crossbow bolts, throwing knives, & the like can be heard plinking off of it.*
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Hold on a second, folks, we just got an anonymous tip about a group of Purists sneaking into City Hall. If this is true, it was a lot more subtle than everything else going on tonight. Could everything else be a distraction, or is this claim just a prank?

*This puts Dalia basically outside of the parking lot of police HQ. Senthose drives by her in a stolen cop car, giving a jaunty little wave as he goes.*
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*Unsurprisingly, it fails.*