Making A Comeback

"Hey, it isn't that bad," Gabe said, "At least you tried."

--

Noct just kind of gave him a look, "We don't even know where the team is, and you heard Euryale just now. We should leave while we have a chance, lest something bad happens because of a panicking triad."

--

"You were great, babe," Mortal said with a smile.

"I think Noctis is right."

Thiera<I think I'll be okay.>

*Sirens can be heard outside.*
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*Roatha crosses his arms. Sirens can be heard outside of this bickering, too.*

"Well, I still don't like it."
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*Euryale smiles brightly.*

"Thanks! Oh, hold on a sec."

*She bends over, putting her left hand on the ground. With her other hand, she rears back, making a fist, before punching the floor as hard as she can.*

"Hmm...Gabby, Tirea, & Ven are nearby. They're with some of the council delegates--Tarrlok, Franz, & Saxeus. And I can't tell exactly, but I don't think Saxeus looks very good. There's an officer with them, I think it's Kane. He's in his armor, so it's kind of a blurry image."
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*Tarrlok sits in Saxeus's now-abandoned seat, spinning around to look at them. Franz leans against the wall.*

Tarrlok<I guess there's nothing to do now except wait for rescue workers to arrive.>

<Someone else is going to die because I can't heal...>

*Tirea buries her face in Gabe's shoulder*
===
*Monu grins, and offers her a hand up*

<I'm glad. Shall we follow the mob out?>

"There's nothing to like, but we have to do something," Astarte looked to Roatha, suppressing her shaking hands in an attempt to seem calm. "And I just don't think we are in a good position to go in by ourselves right now..."

"T-that isn't true..." Gabe said, "He is going to be fine."

--

"Oh really? Perhaps you should direct an EMT over to them when they arrive," Mortal said, "That way they can get there faster."

--

Noct just leaned against the wall, "Cops are already here."

V"...He doesn't look fine to me."
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E"Yeah, I guess I should go help with that I hate to keep leaving you, though."
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Thiera<I suppose so.>

*And so they pace through a gap in a blockade of police cars & ambulances. The police watch people go through, but don't stop anyone.*
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*The Metalbending Police quickly sweep through the door with their hands posed all mantis-like & at the ready. Judging the scene to look pretty safe, most of them fan out into the halls & staircase, the highest ranking officer gesturing to one guy & then to Noctis as he disappears up the stairs. Said guy walks over to Noctis.*

<Is everything under control here, Ma'am? No one around here is Triad?>

"You're not helping, Ven..." Gabe said.

--

"You're not the only one, but we have to do our jobs," Mortal said, "Plus there is nothing better than you coming back to me."

--

She gestured to the knocked out mental patients, "These poor patients were under the control of Aamon. There is also a female Purist we managed to apprehend somewhere around here. Other than that, everything is fine with us."

*Thanks to Ven, Tirea starts crying even more*

<I...I said I would learn healing, but I never had time...>
===
*Monu smiles at Thiera as they walk*

<Is your friend alright?>

"Hey, you have time now," Gabe said, "You can, uh, train in the off season."

<Though the situation outside is grim, she feels honor-bound to go back to help those in need. That courage could be a lesson to us all. As they gaze into each other's eyes, one can't help but feel that there is a deeper significance to-->

"You're not on the air anymore! Stop making announcements about everything you see!"

<...Sorry.>

*Euryale sighs, & heads out.*
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*Ven shrugs.*

V"Well, I didn't say it was her fault."

*Moments later, a handful of police & Healers enter the room. One of the cops turns to Gabe.*

<Euryale sent us. She wants you to meet her out in the hallway. Mortal will be joining you once she gets a team to the comment box to relieve her.>
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Thiera<Oh no, I forgot about Aroma!>

*She looks around frantically, but sees Aroma exiting behind them, the last to leave.*
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<I see. Well, if everything here is under...wait, under his control? How? Were they coerced or threatened?>

Mortal giggled a bit at Shiro's shenanigans.

--

Gabe looked up at the cop, "Oh, sure." Gabe pats Tirea on the shoulder, and says, "I'm going to go and see what Euryale needs." With that, she heads out into the hall.

--

"Some kind of medical experiment. He said he used his lobotomy procedure to control them," Noct said.

*Monu waves at Aroma*

<Glad you're not hurt!
===
*Tirea settles on the floor, arms around her legs*

<See, this is why I don't trust science.>
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Aroma<Thanks, you too.>
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*Ven looks between Tirea & the door. The healers crouch around Saxeus.*

Healer<It doesn't look good...SOMEONE GET A STRETCHER IN HERE!>

*The healers pull at the air, drawing the water from the puddles around the area, leaving only red stains behind. After twirling it to make sure they have it filtered, they press it to the wounds & the water begins to glow.*
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*A moment later, another group of cops & healers come into the room. They look at Shiro.*

Shiro<I'm fine, just getting over being Chi Blocked. Help her.>

*He points to Keter's unconscious body. And so they head over there, one of the cops turning to Mortal.*

<What happened?>
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*Euryale waves, calling out to her.*

"Hey, over here, Gabby! Once everyone's together, we'll get out of here & go home. I've already given my report, & I'm sure they'll ask Mortal to do the same before they send her off. Oh, do you know what happened to Roatha, Astarte, & Noctis?"

*Monu grins, then holds out his hand*

<I don't thnk we were ever introduced. I'm Monu.>
===
*Tirea stands up and wipes the tears from her face*

"A man with a white mask, most likely the one on the flyers, apparently came in and attacked Shiro, and Keter with Chi-Blocking when they refused to comply with his demands," Mortal said.

--

"It isn't all bad," Noct said, "Just don't trust bad scientist."

--

Gabe looked a bit horrified, "No, I have no idea. I thought you would know."

Astarte didn't really know what to do with the water she was holding, as she didn't have any flask or anything, so she just lowered it to the floor to the side of the room.

*Euryale screws up her brow in thought.*

E"Ah, right, I guess Mortal was the last one to have seen them. Well, we can ask her. It's been pretty crazy."
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*Ven scratches the back of her head & looks at the floor.*

V"You--ah--wanna go with them?"
================================
*He looks at the Healers, one of whom notices him & perks up.*

Healer<Looks like the back of her head was knocked into this window hard enough to break it. It knocked her unconscious. She should recover quickly.>

*He looks back to Mortal.*

Cop<And do you know anything about the situation in general?>
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<Science never gives us anything worthwhile, just pollution & loss of spirituality.>

"I would love to stay & hear the rest of this argument, but I think Astarte left the stove on. I should take her home."

*He heads for the door.*
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*Thiera & Aroma shake, & introduce themselves, in turn. They specify that they are a Healer & a Non-Bending Healer, respectively.*

Astarte hurried after him, coming up to walk close by his side and folding her arms tightly.

Outside, the Terrible Trio would have made their way close by to the Arena by taxi, having probably heard the broadcast in one of the bars they were going through. They just watched the activity around it, Hector half hoping to see the Purist Leader coming away alive.

*Tirea nods, her eyes still red*

<Let's go.>

*She exits*
===
*Monu looks around*

<So, I wonder if we are supposed to do anything now.>

"Ven and Tirea are still in the room," Gabe said, "Should I go get them? Oh, Tirea, hello there."

--

"It seems like this was supposed to be an attack by both the Purists and the Red Monsoons, no idea why they were working together," Mortal said, "Regardless my partner and I were attacked shortly after the close of the game by Purist. We were able to fend them off, and tracked down the Purist leader. In the ensuing fight she was knocked out a window. We came here shortly after only to hear the man in the white mask's speech about the Equalist."

--

Noctis wondered why he would use Astarte as an excuse to leave, seeing that as pretty rude, but shrugged, "Well, regardless, that is all I know. If there is anything you think I can help with, please let me know."

<Equalist? What's that?>
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<That should be all, Ma'am.>

*Roatha & Astarte head out of the door.*
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E"Hello. Good to see that you're both safe."

V"You too."
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Thiera<I don't think so. They probably think it would be too difficult to question everyone on what happened.>
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*It's kind of hard to see much of anything over the blockade of police & medical vehicles. Also they're stuck in an alley as a large crowd of people passes.*

She picked up a flyer and handed it to the officer, "Apparently he aims to bring justice, though that entails taking down our 'tyrannical bending regime'."

--

Since everything was fine she decides to go and find Ven so they can go home.

--

"Should we go looking for the others?" Gabe asked.

*Tirea waves at Euryale*

<Thanks for your help.>
===
<Oh? You're probably right.>

*Monu rubs the back o his head, looking rather awkward*

"So, how do you feel? Where you got hit?" Astarte asked quietly.

They look at the passing crowd, seeing if they can spot anybody that looks like a fleeing Purist or Monsoon.