Endgame

<Just basic supplies for him.>

*Tirea cuddles her new pet*

Mortal tried to run over to Euryale to make sure she was okay, "Euryale!" Even as she is bound by cables she continues to try and make her way over to her, crawling if she has to, "Are you okay?!"

--

"She isn't going to stop being your friend," Noct said, "Changes in the work place happen all the time. I'm not saying you shouldn't be upset. I'm saying there are much worse things that could have happened. She isn't exiled in shame, and you can talk about whatever you want with her because she isn't dead and gone. She just won't be giving you a pep talk between rounds."

Hector continued cutting at the bars as Stefan kept Firebending at nothing until his Bending was back to full strength. Meanwhile, Eduj stepped out from behind them and kicked the entrance hard.

Dalia ignored him and turned the page again.

*They finally knock the bars out.*
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E"Yeah!"

*Mortal is grabbed with a cable around each upper arm & leg. Meanwhile, a cable wraps around Euryale's torso, pinning her arms & causing her to fall forward, but not before another gets her around the neck.*

E"Gh--too strong--can't stop 'im--eclipse--over!"
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V"But that's half of what kept me going!"
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<Alright, so I can get you a cage, some litter, possibly a heat lamp & a few spider-rats. Depending on your preferences, that'll run you another 40-200 Yuans.>
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*This page has 2 stories: "Dragons Blaze Through Pro-Bending Finals, But Not Without Controversy" & "Final Election Results: Tarrlok, Noctis, & Tenzin Win."*

*Tirea grins*

<I'll take all of that, please!>
---
*Monu drinks a soda while sitting outside*

Noct frowns and crosses her arms, "Well, I'm sorry to hear that, but there is little that can be done now. I suppose if you really can't go on you could leave the team as well, and cheer along with Gabe in the stands."

--

Mortal uses jet propulsion, hoping to over power those trying to hold her down. She aims herself at Kain, shooting a stream of fire from her mouth, before shoulder charging him.

Hector motioned for Stefan to head out first and followed after, leaving Eduj to take up the rear.

Dalia went to the results of the election.

"I don't know...."

*Ven stares at her half-finished food, feeling worse than before.*
=====================
The morning after the vote was collected, we ran a story stating that the new candidates that were voted in were Tenzin, Tarrlok, Saxeus, and Noctis. Of course, we had to announce a correction after Saxeus died of his injuries, and run the story in yesterday's paper. As a precaution, the votes were all recounted, and the result is confirmed: Bar Saxeus, who died of his injuries, the candidates who were voted in are Tenzin, Tarrlok, and Noctis, with Tarrlok being voted chairman. Tenzin remarked that Saxeus's death was a terrible tragedy, Tarrlok added that he would see that Senthose was brought to justice for the murder, and Noctis could not be reached for comment.
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*She gathers up some boxes & takes them to the counter. The cage boasts at having built-in sections for food, water, & litter, as well as bars for climbing on, an exercise wheel, a transparent plastic lid, & padded bars that double as scratching posts. The heat lamp is apparently pose-able with 5 settings, black & blue to match the cage. The litter is high-grade, odor absorbent. The food is recommended by the Ba Sing Se Zoo. All told, it runs her 225 Yuans.>
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*Mortal's fire is back enough to provide a decent distraction. With the difficulty of holding her & Kane having to step aside, Euryale manages to kick up a large slab of rock with her feet & toss it at the other cop holding her, allowing her to break free & break Kane's cable off of her neck. However, at this point, Triad staff are surrounding them.*
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*When they get to the top of the stairs, they recognize from the decor & maps on the wall with coded references to racketeering targets & their due dates that they were imprisoned in a Triple Threat hideout.*
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*Monu notices the sun become progressively brighter as the eclipse finally ends.*

"Then just give it time, and see how it goes," Noct said, "There is no sense stressing yourself out over things you can't change, so just try to make the best of it."

--

Mortal looks around at the staff, and lets out a sigh, "This isn't going to be good."

"What is this shit?" Stefan demanded, looking around. "Who put us here?"
"I think I'm starting to understand what's going on," Hector said, looking for a phone. "Those piece of shit cops."

"Hmm..." Dalia thought about the article for a few moments, and then moved on to the Pro-Bending article.

V"I guess...but what do I do in the meantime?"
===========================
*The story features a photo of the Dancing Dragons in their winning moment, as they are all group hugging.*

We already ran a story about how the Dancing Dragons won the recent Pro-Bending Tournament. What was lost when we reported the incidents that followed is that Shiro Shinobi, popular commentator, has accused the opposing team, the White Falls Wolfbats of cheating and bribing the referees not to report it. Unsurprisingly, both the Wolfbats and the Pro-Bending officials deny the claim. They say that, while the match was rough, the fouls that people claim to have seen were "likely misinterpreted," and that calling fouls "should be left to the experts." The Wolfbats have threatened to sue anyone who publicly accuses them of cheating. Shiro Shinobi made several comments about it during the match, but says that the Wolfbats have not approached him about the matter yet. There was discussion about barring him from commenting on future matches, but the officials decided to drop any talk about penalizing the commentator for unspecified reasons.
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*The nearest phone has been frozen solid. There is a pile of snow below with Senthose's name written in it, along with a little smiley face.*
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E"Let's just get Zolt & get out of here!"

*She stands up, deflecting most of the cables & rocks that come her way without touching them, using only quick hand motions, but Kane's cable strikes her in the chest & leaves a gash in her armor.*

Hector tried to bend all of the ice and moisture off of it, and out of its workings. Stefan looked around for anybody else, alive or not, inside the establishment.

Dalia made another slightly annoyed noise and turned the page.

"Eat cake, and hope it gets better," Noct said.

--

Mortal fires a bolt of lighting out at Kane, while trying to make it over to where Euryale was.

*It falls apart & Hector's an idiot. There are gashes on the walls & broken furniture, but anyone occupying the place has been removed. The only evidence of who did the attack is frankly no evidence at all--puddles & water stains throughout the dwelling.*
=========================
*Kane is shockingly (heh) unaffected by it. Euryale grabs Zolt with 1 cable, grabs Mortal, & causes a section of the floor to jerk up like a springboard, launching them out of the window just as their boots are pulled into the ground below by the cops. The asphalt they land on blows apart into powder just before they hit it.*

Kane<Get them, you fools!>
==========================
*And so Ven forces herself to eat cake.*
==========================
*The last story is "Progress Made in Stopping Bending Triads."*

Noct pats her back, "Sorry I can't be more help. I'm not good at cheering up..."

--

"How was he completely unmoved by that?" Mortal asked, feeling deflated. She then looked around, "Should we take the car?"

"Let's blow this place," Hector said, heading for where he supposed the back entrance/exit to be. "Come on."

Dalia read it.

*As the eclipse ends, Eve gets up from her hunched position and stretches*
===
*Monu goes back inside, and lays down*
===
*Tirea pays, scratching her little buddy on the head*

<The only question is how I get this stuff home without a car.>

E"I don't know. And no, I think we should leave it. Kane's already made it abundantly clear that he's a better Metalbender than I am, &, well, the car is made of metal."

*Some of the guards race through the door, while portions of the wall open & the cops dive through.*

Kane<...Who opened the gates?!>

*If they look to the entrance, they can see the protesters charging the hospital.*
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*When the trio emerge into the streets, no one is waiting to jump them. However, a nearby cop spots them coming out of the alleyway.*

<You there! What were you doing back there?>
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*It makes some kind of chirping noise & flicks its tongue.*

<There's always a taxi. Or we could deliver, for an extra fee.>
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V"I've finished my cake & milk. What do we do next?"
===============================
The public has been concerned about the recent high-profile Triad crimes, but the police say the plan to wipe them off of the streets is in the final stage. "They're just desperate," says interim chief Saikhan, "We were catching so many Purists that they felt they had to stop us at any cost, and then their leader died. Since then, the remaining Purists have been desperate to make ends meet and flee law enforcement, making poorly planned crimes that just get themselves caught, or worse. Aamon Avici was found dead last night at the scene of a botched robbery at the Talea Estate, with 2 women from the force in attendance. It's the same idea." There may be some truth to this claim. The Red Monsoons, long thought untraceable, have had 12 of their bases raided and shut down. The high profile, Bloodbending members are still evading capture, but many of their basic grunts were taken prisoner during their attack on the Pro-Bending Arena. New evidence that has emerged has painted a popular "Waterbending Club" as a front for the Monsoons, making many of their members prime suspects. The Triple Threats haven't been heard from since Zolt went missing, following the failed attempt on his life. All that remains are the Agni Kais, which Officer Kane noted, "Are nobodies. The ones who escaped us will be back in jail in no time." Still, some have expressed concern that pushing the Triads to desperation will make the public less safe. To that, Councilman Tarrlok responds, "We can never completely stop violent crime, but if you look at the numbers, despite the grandiose nature of the attacks, there have been less than 10 casualties altogether. The threat that the Triads posed has never been death, but widespread loss of public and private property through illegal scams. The illegally traded Yuans that we've recirculated is really boosting the economy." Not everyone would agree. Councilman Tenzin criticized the recent police action as "an over-reactionary crackdown that leads to unnecessary tension and control over the public's liberties." It is known that Councilman Tenzin is an old friend of Chief Beifong's, but he declined to elaborate on how he felt about Lin Beifong's presumed death. Another critic is the anti-bending protestors, who claim that restriction on Bending Triads in predominately non-bending areas, like the Dragon Flats, have been too lax, while known non-benders are constantly being harassed and searched under suspicion of being "Purist Remnants." Compounding the problem is that some protests have been distributing "Equalist" propaganda collected from the Arena attack, which has lead to a high-profile court case over whether or not ownership of this material should be considered reasonable suspicion of organized terrorist activity. The verdict on this case is expected to be received within the next few days. Finally, recently released prisoners have stated that this is just more overreach by law enforcement, and they'll have a big mess to clean up when it turns out that the perpetrators "were innocent the whole time, just like they said." Tarrlok adds the correction, "Legally innocent." Saikhan says that internal affairs has found no recent evidence of misconduct.

Mortal nodded, "Right... well, lets get going then."

--

"I don't know," Noct said, taking the dishes, "What would you like to do?"

"Taking a short cut, sir," Hector replied, mostly preoccupied with looking around for a public telephone. Stefan turned to Eduj, pretending to be engaging in casual conversation.

Dalia glanced at her overseeing police officer, and then folded up the newspaper.

<Anything in there interest you...Dalia?>
=========================
<There's nothing down that way, unless you hopped the fence. Plus it's a crime-ridden area. And why are those 2 obviously faking a conversation?>
=========================
Kane<[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]! Guards, keep the protestors back!>

*They fire cables at them, but Euryale ducks, punching the ground & causing a chunk of rock to shoot up & block them. It isn't long before this piece of earth is demolished, though.*

E"We'd be home free by now, if I could only sink into the ground!"

*She hefts Zolt onto her shoulder & tries to jog backwards, flinging rocks with her free hand, which all crumble apart before they hit anything.*

E"Rgh! Earthbending isn't as much fun when it's used on you!"
==============================
V"I'm not sure."

Noct takes the dishes to the kitchen, and returns with another slice of cake, "I'm not really sure what to do either." She then takes a bite of her cake.

--

"Tell me about it," Mortal said, shooting a blast of fire back at her aggressors. "Do you want me to take Zolt?" She asked.

"What?" Hector looked confused.
"Huh?" Stefan looked over at Hector and then at the cop.
"I was hoping to find a public telephone," Hector went on without waiting for another response. "I have a relative in the city I'm trying to meet. Is there one nearby?"

Dalia looked sharply up at the overseer, "Why are you really here?"

<I'll pay the extra fee for delivery.>

*Tirea pats her buddy on the head*

*One stomps, raising a square of rock to defend against the attack. As more cables fly at them, Euryale wraps them up with her own cable & then breaks it off.*

E"No. They can't use their Bending on your attacks. Run!"

*As the guards start trying to beat back the crowd nearby, Euryale stomps the ground, causing a cloud of black dust to fly up. She then starts running in the closest path to the fence. Water whips & ice spikes fly in their direction.*
==============================
<I already told you...Dalia. You seem rather paranoid. Is there something on your mind?>
==============================
<Don't avoid my questions, boy!>
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<I'll just take this stuff in the back, then.>
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V"I don't know...didn't you say you wanted me to buy more clothes, or something?"
==============================
*People on Harmony Tower start asking each other what's going on at "that hospital."*