Endgame

*While Stefan continues senselessly heating a lock, Hector eventually succeeds in cutting through a few of the bars only to realize that they are also mounted in the floor.*
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Cop<Very well. Will that be all?>
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*Keter doesn't have a zipper, so take that. Instead of returning the kiss, she pulls Noct's dress over her head, chuckling. Once she has it off, she tosses it aside & rather quickly pushes out of her own. When she places her hands back on Noct's waist, they're warmer than room temperature.*
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*She leads Tirea over to a tank full of furry weasel things with 2 front legs ending in paws, & snake tails starting where the back legs should be. One opens its mouth & hisses, showing fangs & a forked tongue. Whether they have mammal or reptile eyes seems to vary.*

<That one is a bit mean.>
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*The cop smiles smugly at Dalia. Aroma heads off to do whatever.*
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<And how can we trust you?>

*Euryale points to the badge on her chest.*

"Listen, I don't have time to explain the law to you. If you have any questions, call headquarters. Or you can not let us in, & go there yourself. Which is it going to be?"

*The guards look at each other warily before unlocking the gate. By this time, the sky is at its darkest, as the corona has not yet appeared. In the window up above, they can see flashes of orange light inside of the hospital, growing increasingly dimmer. Euryale runs through the gate.*

Mortal chases after her.

--

Noct lets out a soft moan at the warm touch, "I could get used to that."

Hector knelt down and started hacking through the bars closer to the floor.

*Eve nods*

<Good day!>

*Eve heads off to get a taxi to Harmony Tower*
---
<Maybe he's just sad...how much are they anyway?>

*This, too, would take a damn long time.*
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Taxi<Where to?>
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<45 Yuans, just for the animal itself.>
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*Once they get into the lobby, some asshole immediately throws a chunk of rock at them. People scream & run out as Euryale punches it into oblivion. Euryale stomps, causing chunks of rock to break out of the floor & smack into the 2 guards at the end of the hall. Down but not out, they break off the top of one of the "stonespikes" & chuck it at them. Meanwhile, the receptionist jumps over her desk, throwing her water bottle at them. She then jerks her hands, causing it to explode into several ice spikes flying towards them.*
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V"So...did she go back to the Fire Nation after all?"

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

<Harmony Tower please.>
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*Tirea thinks for a minute then nods*

<I'll take one. What all do I need?>

"Sadly, she did," Noctis said, "We left on good terms though, so I assume we'll be seeing more of each other."

--

Mortal dives out of the way of the maelstrom of bullshit flying at her. She tries to retaliate with a blast of fire at one of the guards, but remembers the eclipse. With an aggravated groan, she picks up a chair and throws it at one, then tries to make her way over the desk so she can put a beating on the receptionist.

"My Bending is dying," Stefan sounded slightly panicked. "What's going on?"
"I don't know," Hector said, still cutting. "I'm fine. Do you feel ill?"

Dalia looked for a newspaper to read in the lobby.

*She finds today's newspaper. The front story is "Keter Retires: City Says, 'God Riddance.'"*
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*The eclipse isn't quite complete yet, so she does manage to get off a weak fire blast that doesn't really do anything. When she hits the dude with the chair, she can see the light of the corona outside. Euryale captures the Earthbenders with cables as the receptionist tries to run away.*

E"Come on, we have to get to Zolt's room, quickly!"
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*By the time the taxi drops her off at the foot of the tower, the eclipse is already in full swing.*

<That'll be 25 Yuans.>
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<A cage & heat lamp are recommended. They can eat many things, but the recommended diet is a live spider-rat once a week. You'll also need litter. The good news is that our animals have all of their shots, & you can get them fixed or unfixed.>
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V"That sounds good."

*Eve hands him a bit more than 30 yuans and runs into the tower*

Stupid police officer...

*When she gets to the observation deck, Eve starts setting up. She gets out her larger telescope and puts on the solar filter, and gets out her eclipse glasses. She does on put them on, instead leaving them beside her. Eve then starts looking though the telescope, taking notes*
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<That doesn't seem to hard. I guess I should pick one out first...>

*Tirea stares into the cage, looking at the different weaselsnakes*

<(Hey there little guys, you're all so cute.)>

Mortal hops back over, and makes way for Zolt's room.

--

Noctis nods with a smile, "Oh, I made cake, by the way. Would you like some?"

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

*They quickly make their way up the stairs, only for assholes to start shooting ice spikes from every which way.*

E"Ugh, this is going nowhere slowly. Hold on."

*She puts an arm around Mortal's waist & uses her earthbending to run across the walls, holding herself steady with her free hand. She jumps from wall to wall & slides up the railings, eventually making it to Zolt's floor. 3 of the 6 officers, including Kane, are already in the hall, surrounding the entrance they came through.*

Kane<I was hoping you'd be stopped before you got this far. Oh well. With enemies all around you, it will be easy to make sure your deaths can't be traced back to us.>
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V"I suppose that would be nice. Thank you very much."
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*It takes quite a while to get set up &, as it turns out, eclipses don't last very long. By the time she looks through her telescope, the shape of the corona is becoming irregular.*
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<Are there any traits in particular that you're looking for?>

Mortal tries her hardest not to swoon, and was dangerously close to failing, but Kane brought her back to reality, "You, I should have known you'd make dumb decisions. It's in your character."

--

"Think nothing of it," Noct said, standing and walking off to the kitchen. A few minutes later she comes back with a warm slice of chocolate cake, and a glass of milk, "Here you go. So, did you sleep well?"

Astarte was up again by now, looking out of her front window at the eclipse.

Hector continued cutting into the bars. Stefan's bending presumably became entirely useless at some point and he looked at his hands, brow furrowing, "Maybe there's an eclipse or something."

"Shame, I didn't mind her," Dalia took a seat at began reading.

Kane<Mortal, you have no idea how deeply stupid you both are.>

E"We don't have time for this. Zolt is the prime witness to your crimes, we can't allow you to assassinate him."

*She thrusts her palms out towards him, but nothing happens.*

Kane<Surprise, surprise: You are not the best Earthbender in the world.>

*With that, he returns the gesture, thrusting Euryale into the wall. The other cops move towards Mortal, producing rods of metal from their wrists & swinging at her. Of course, there are footsteps thundering up the staircase.*
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Keter Aurora, once a star of Republic City, was dealt 2 humiliating defeats 2 nights ago. After losing the election by a landslide, she was beaten into unconsciousness by a new anti-bending criminal calling himself "Amon," and had to be rushed to the emergency room. What fewer people are aware of is that word from the Fire Nation has recommended her retirement. Keter and her staff would not answer comments, but it is widely believed that she returned to Ember Island to live out the rest of her days in shame, and that the previous night's light show was her "temper tantrum," as some residents put it. Our polls have produced a mostly negative response, with statements that she "is a public menace" and "no doubt an enemy of the spirits." One commenter even went so far as to state that "Franz was right about her, even if none of you media sissies want to hear it." People who objected to the decision were in the extreme minority, and mostly indifferent. "It's a shame what happened," says one, "but I don't see why she had to leave. Oh well, I guess it's her decision." The one exception so far has been popular Pro-Bending commentator Shiro Shinobi, who praised her "guts for taking on that no-good bully Amon," and notes that he "regrets not voting for her." Councilman Tarrlok has suggested that we should be "looking into the few politicians who supported her," but did not elaborate.
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V"Well...not really. I slept for a long time, but when I woke up, I felt like I hadn't slept at all."

*She takes a bite of cake & then stares into her milk.*

V"...We couldn't replace Gabe even if we wanted to. We don't have a Captain anymore."

Noctis frowned, "Gabe was a great player, but you shouldn't let her leaving get you so down. There are plenty of fire benders in Republic City, and I'm sure there is one who would love to be on the team. Besides, Gabe isn't leaving forever, she can still give you support."

--

Mortal ducks one of the swings, and tackles one of the cops. Once on top of him she presses her knee down onto his bicep, shoots a pathetic blast into his face, and pries the metal rod from his hand.

*Eve curses under her breath, but continues to record her observations anyway*
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<One that likes to play.>

*She picks one up that has white fur & a black stripe down its back, with a tail that is black with a white stripe down it. It coils around her hand & nibbles on her fingers.*

<This is the most playful of the bunch, but as you'll note, he's also kind of bitey. You should note that we don't carry any envenomed weaselsnakes.>
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*Turns out the rod is attached to his wrist. The fire is too weak to even really be annoying. The other 2 start beating on her back. Since she can't get loose from Kane, Euryale just touches the wall & drops some rocks on Kane. He lifts his hands to stop them, then pelts Euryale with them as she runs to help Mortal. Euryale manages to reduce a couple to dust with swings of her hands, but is hit in the stomach & then the face & goes down. A trio of guards emerge from the staircase.*

Kane<They tried to kill "Lightning Bolt" Zolt! Help me arrest them!>
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*And then the moon begins to slide away from the sun, the corona vanishing.*
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V"It's not the same. And we still don't have a Captain."

<Aw. He's so cute!>

*Tirea holds out her arms*

<Can I hold him?>
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*Eve continues to record observations*
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*Monu stands outside, enjoying the eclipse*

"Bullshit," Mortal yelled, "It is the other way around. Arrest Kane, and these guys!" To punctuate who she meant by 'these guys' Mortal punches the guy she was over in the face.

--

"So you won't have a captain for a season or two," Noct said, "That doesn't mean you'll lose, it just means you'll have to fight harder. It really isn't so bad Ven, besides, by the end of next season you could probably be captain if you keep improving like you are now."

"We can't make any team decisions without a captain. It's in the rules."
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*She holds him out. He sniffs Tirea's fingers a bit, then half-crawls-half-slithers onto her arm.*
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*The other cops grab Mortal by the shoulders & pull her off.*

Kane<Ha, they won't believe that.>

*One cop aims a shot at Mortal's face as the waterbenders start freezing Euryale to the ground.*

*Tirea starts to pet him*

<You're such a little cutey. I'll take him!>

"No there isn't... Is there? Either way, there will be three of you," Noct said, "You can just put it up to a vote."

--

Mortal sidestepped the shot, and kicked in the knee of whoever puller her up, "If we were going to kill Zolt why would we do it in a room full of officers?"

Hector kept cutting away at the bars while Stefan repeatedly tried to make his Bending work properly.

"'Enemy of the spirits', tch," Dalia shook her head and turned a page.

*Stefan's firebending slowly begins to return.*
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[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]. This image was shot by an amateur photographer the night of the attack on the Pro-Bending Arena. Just who are they? A new division of the Red Monsoons? Are their masks some sort of diving equipment? Are they the henchmen of this mysterious new Purist, Amon? Perhaps they were some form of secret police? Our investigations have turned up no leads. If you have any information, please send it in. We will pay for any information we print.

Cop<Isn't she? Firebenders nearly burned the Earth Kingdom, starting with these territories. Or have you forgotten that?>
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*Euryale decides that she doesn't want to be frozen alive, so she just collapses the whole damn floor. She gets onto her hands & knees & speaks between coughing fits. Mortal lands next to Zolt, unconscious with several bleeding cuts in his suit, his eyes bruised & swollen. The guards land at various points of the room, turning the ground into powder in the hopes of softening their falls. The hospital bed crashes in the far corner with a loud clanging.*

E"...Sorry...Mortal...."

*The cops drop around them moments later, landing on their feet. They launch their cables at the "suspects" as Kane mocks them.*

Kane<I guess now we can add destruction of property & public endangerment to your list of crimes. Keep on going, maybe we'll even be able to prove treason.>
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<Well, that's good to hear! And I'm sure he'll agree. Will you be needing anything else today?>
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V"...Why is everyone telling me that I shouldn't be upset? She was one of my first friends, how am I supposed to just...work with a total stranger? Like nothing's changed."