Triads, Try-Outs, & Tours

*Senthose flicks his wrist, diverting her arm just enough that the lightning carves a gash in the road beside him. Fortunately, Voland is indeed out cold.*

Senthose<Like I didn't expect you to do that.>

*Roatha thrusts forward with his other fist, sending a fireball at Senthose, which he blocks by swinging his weapon, causing a pillar of water to rise up & take it. Now free from his hold, Euryale dampens Mortal's efforts by running up & clinging to her.*

E"Mortal! Mortal! We can't fight him! Don't you see? He's riding a dragon! A REAL dragon! ...Oh no, you're on fire!"

*She begins frantically batting at Mortal's hair with one of her hands, heedless of the fact that her gloves are made of steel.*

R"Oh no, he made Euryale retarded with bloodbending! The fiend!"
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*She addresses a server behind the counter.*

"I would like...a sandwich & a tea, please."

<Okay...what kinds?>

"Umm...something really cheap?"

<Alright. Just grab a table, I'll be with you in a moment.>

*The girl shrugs, & heads off to get "something really cheap."*
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<I suppose. Pay attention, and you may even learn some master-level techniques.>

*Eve nods*

<I hope so, thank you.>

*Eve walks over to stand beside Keter, waiting to see where they were going to go next*
---
*Tirea nods and looks reassured. Her expression shows that she had only wanted to go help the new arrival, if it appeared she needed it*

Noct contemplates whether or not she should help the girl out, and get her a nice meal. She is snapped from her thoughts when she hears Gabe.

"So, an earth bender..." She let out a small sigh, "I mean, we don't need a great one. Just... one."

--

"Get out of here, Roatha!" Mortal said, trying to push Euryale off her, "Its too dangerous. Dammit, Euryale, you're patting my head hard!"

*The customer stops on her way to a table, & turns.*

<For what? And does a sandbender count?>
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R"I can't leave you. And I'm not saying that just to be manly. I saw how this fight is going, if someone doesn't help you, he's going to kill you."

<Yeah, and if you stay here, I'll just do you in too. Didn't figure that into your Grand Master Plan, did you?>

R"You can't fully control 2 determined Firebenders attacking you from opposite sides."

<I didn't become head of the Red Monsoons for my bloodbending, kid.>

*He holds up a hand, causing it to "rain upward." Once the water has gathered in the sky, it all suddenly flash-freezes into ice spikes, & begins raining down over the area. Of course, anything that gets close to Senthose automatically blows apart into harmless snowflakes.*
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*When she's walking down the alley, a quartet of assailants dressed like the first corners them, 2 at each end.*

1<Evenin', ladies. 'Fraid there's a toll on this street. And I don't mean Yuans.>

2<Are you insane? Senthose will kill you when he finds out!>

1<Then we'll just make sure that he doesn't find out.>

"Um, I suppose so, yea," Gabe said, "We're an earthbender short of a full Pro-bending team. Why, do you know a skilled earthbender?"

"I think she might be one herself," Noct said. "That looks like something someone from the sand bending tribes would wear. Is that where you hail from?"

--

Mortal grits her teeth, "Dammit." She extends a hand upward and creates a disk of fire above Euryale and herself to defend against the ice.

*Eve looks at Keter, then gets into a better stance*

[I wonder if they mean kill us....]
---
*Tirea waves in greeting*

Tirea:<A sand bender? Wow, I've never met one before.>

Spoiler:

*Keter kicks upward, erecting a wall of blue flames. She spins around, bringing her heel down and sending a jet of fire at one of the assailants from behind. The other one draws a glob of water out of his water skin & fires a series of ice spikes at Keter, but she flicks her wrist, and a haze of pure heat melts them. By now, the wall of flames has dissipated, and the shocked assailants each swing a water whip at one of the girls.*
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*Roatha does something similar, before he's hit by 3 unconscious armored bodies flying through the air. Senthose spreads his arms & twitches his fingers, causing half a dozen Metalbender Cops to fly towards him & assemble around him, moving jerkily, heads lolling about. Euryale shrieks & starts trying to pull Mortal away from the scene.*

<Now he has evil spirits!>
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"There aren't Sandbenders outside of Si Wong?"

"Not many, as far as I know," Gabe said. "So, you're an earthbender. Do you have any experience with the sport of Pro-bending?"

--

"Euryale, snap out of it!" Mortal said, giving her a slap. "I need you to concentrate, those aren't spirits, they're our colleagues!"

"Well, that's all you need to know, I guess," Sidon said, looking around the room as though looking for something he might have forgotten. He set his eyes back on Monu and smiled. "Yep. Would you like to take your first shift tonight, or start tomorrow? It won't be much of a shift right now, but there is some cleaning to do."

Hector helped Eduj out of the raft and then melted it before they moved to Sidon's cafe as quickly as possible. Hector considered the puddles with some suspicion.

"Uh, yes," Dalia replied. She hated this.

*Eve counters with a fire whip*
---
Monu:<I'd be happy to take it tonight.>
---
Tirea:<Do you have much experience bending solid rock?>

<No and no...does it pay a lot?>
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*Because the Water Whip had attacked first, it struck first, & the fire whip flailed off-target. Meanwhile, Keter moves her arms in slow circles, like a dance, gathering fire around her that tints the walls sapphire. The water whips can't reach her through it. She strikes out with one hand, letting it all fly at the Monsoons in a vortex of flame. Once they're down for the count, she turns to the other pair.*
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<Can you come in for an interview tomorrow?>
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*Euryale backs up, holding her face & staring at Mortal with an expression of horrified shock. She tries to run for it, but doesn't get far before Senthose glares in her direction, stopping her in her tracks.*

<Ah, no, I can't let you leave. Even under the influence of the Juice, you could still let something important slip.>

*Roatha shoots a two-fisted blast of fire at the feet of one of the Metalbenders, essentially welding his shoes to the ground.*

*Tirea stands up, and walks over to find the nearest unused chair, then drags it back*

Tirea:<I suppose so, yeah! Come sit down.>
---
*Eve uses another fire whip on one of the two remaining Monsoons*

"Well, then, could you please wash up the dishes there next to the sink? When you are done with that, you could probably have a little break, then help Astarte clear the tables and close up the cafe," Sidon said, heading for the door. "I will be doing my taxes back home, so--"
After opening the door into the main room, Sidon saw Hector and Eduj standing across the counter from a concerned looking Astarte.
"What are you doing here?" Sidon asked, stepping out to stand by Astarte's side and sounding guarded. "You look terrible."
Hector rubbed the back of his head and looked Sidon up and down, "Nice to see you too, uncle Sid. Not that I don't understand you being kind of worried about us turning up at your establishment, but I must ask for your help. As you can see, we are pretty tired and injured, and we need a place to lie low and get patched up. I promise I'll explain everything in detail, but we are kind of in the middle of your cafe right now."

"Sure, what time?" Dalia asked.

"It pays if you win," Gabe said, a bit defeated, "Do you think you'd be willing to learn how to bend solid earth?"

"Planning on having that sub from yesterday help you out?" Noct asked, wondering why not being able to bend earth disks wasn't an automatic disqualification for the girl.

"Yea, she said she would help out," Gabe said. "Oh, I'm Gabriel, by the way. What is your name?"

--

Mortal hopes Euryale doesn't hold that against her later, and takes the opportunity to fire a bolt of lightning out at Senthose. I'm assuming that with all the ice and water and snow, Senthose has created something of a puddle at his feet, so Mortal directs her bolt there, hoping to use science to zap the fucker.

Neo Bahamut wrote:

*During the short trip through the tunnels, the Purists head off in about a dozen different directions. A group consisting of the Leader, Ivan, Heide, & 3 others emerge in a small, abandoned factory. Next, they ascend a staircase that takes them to the roof, which overlooks the back of Zolt's headquarters. From this vantage point, they can see what looks like a tidal wave roaring down the streets to the front door, bowling over Metalbending Police as it goes.*

She followed the Leader and when they were on the roof she took a good look at the surroundings. For some reason she found the wave bowling over the Metalbending Police morbidly funny, maybe because they were the proud earthbenders and seemed as they had no chance against the wave. But what she thought didn't show on her face which, by the way, was covered by a black cloth which also covered her hair. This was to prevent her paleness from shining in the night.
- Would it be correct to assume Senthose is also in this area? I mean, with all the water around...
She said in a low voice.

"Venezuela. I would be glad to do it, then."
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*Roatha takes several steps back, as there's water pretty much everywhere. The bolt strikes near Senthose's feet, producing a loud sizzling noise a fraction of a second before electric discharge runs through Senthose & all of the Metalbenders, a thin filament of energy shooting off into the sky. Senthose goes down on his knees, but manages to keep control of his captives, with the exception of Euryale, who runs off into an alley. Once his hand touches the ground, he causes the water to instantly vaporize, assuring that Mortal can't repeat that shit. Roatha takes this opportunity to fire a couple quick punches of flame at a Metalbender's chest, knocking him out of the way, & then kicks an arc of flame at Senthose, who blocks with his weapon. Oddly enough, the trio seem to hear a second blast of thunder nearby at this point.*
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<How does noon sound?>
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*Eve manages to knock the guy down. The other tries to snare Keter's leg with a water whip, but she lifts her ankles slightly & a jet of blue flame appears on her heels. Leaning, she speeds around Tirea, & produces another jet from her hand that allows her to move a few feet up the wall. From there, she lashes out with both fists, producing a blast of fire large enough to hurl the guy out of the alley & cause him to bounce across the road before crash landing on top of a dumpster. Keter fires a pulse of flame out of her feet just before she lands to cushion her descent. A low rumble can be heard in the distance.*
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Leader<I am certain that is him down there. He is the only person in the Red Monsoons who stands a decent chance of killing Zolt.>

*She snaps her fingers, & a Purist hands her a pair of binoculars, which she looks through, before handing off to Heide. She can see that a very old Waterbender has been knocked out, & Senthose is fighting 2 Firebenders--a cop & a civilian--using the unconscious metalbenders as puppets. She can also see that he's currently down on his knees. But the Leader is now looking at the sky.*

Leader<Why is that cloud getting closer?>

*Everyone is knocked over as an elephant-sized, six-legged flying white bison with a platypus-like tail makes a heavy landing on the rooftop & lets out a roar. Riding the bison is a pair of bald men & a woman with her bangs shaved away, all dressed in orange robes with a thick belt of white rope, bearing a staff, & a quartet of gold-colored bracelets on each wrist.*

*Eve turns in the direction of the noise*

Eve:<Did you hear that?>
---
Tirea:<I'm Tirea, nice to meet you!>

*Tirea looks at Gabe and Noctis, then back to Venezuela*

<Can we see what you can do?>
---
*Monu starts doing that, not really paying attention to the new arrives*

Noct looks around, "I... don't see any sand."

--

Mortal doesn't relent. Seeing as Senthose was weakened, Mortal fires another blast of lightning at Senthose. "Roatha! Go after Euryale, make sure she is alright. And she is high, not retarded!"

R"Euryale does drugs? She doesn't really seem like the type."

*Senthose moves one of his meat puppets to intercept the lightning.*

R"You should probably stop doing that. And are you sure you'll be okay alone with him?"
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Keter<It is most likely a Flying Bison. All of the delegates who could be reached were informed of the situation.>

*The guy gets up & launches an ice spike before Keter flicks her wrist & extends her 2 fingers, firing a bolt of lightning that shatters it in midair & strikes the guy in the chest, causing him to slump forward on his face, unconscious..*

Keter<The first rule of Firebending is to never ignore smoldering embers.>
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V"Or earth. Also, shouldn't I meet with my Earthbending teacher for this?"

Tirea:<Well...we need to see your skills before we give you the job.....>
---
*Eve nods*

<I see. Shall we move on? I believe these are finished.>

*Eve gestures at fallen Monsoons*

"I'll just keep firing lightning until he has no one else to put in front of it."

"I'll be fine, and don't ask questions, just get Euryale!" Mortal said. Using a quick jet burst to close the distance fast, Mortal sends a haymaker of a fire blast at Senthose.

--

"Uh, yea," Gabe said, "We can do that tomorrow when she is free. She is a police officer, and she is busy right now." She then looked at Tirea, "I'm not saying we're desperate and without options, but I'm willing to wait a day to see how well she takes to the art." Gabe then leaned a bit forward, "Where do you live, Ven? We can come and get you whenever you're free."

Noct waited patiently for Ven to say she was homeless.

*Tirea shrugs, her face not really showing any emotion*

<You know best, Gabe.>

*Roatha nods & runs off after Euryale. Senthose blocks with his metalbenders, but this is stilll a lot of fire, so he ends up being thrown back, landing clustered in a bunch of unconscious police. He quickly uses his bloodbending to scatter them throughout the battlefield & calls back his weapon, standing up to face Mortal.*
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"Funny you should mention that. In the Si Wong desert, it is customary for all tribes to house outsiders, and assist them in building a dwelling to call their very own. Evidently, that is not how it works in this country."
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*Keter turns her head at a loud screech, observing a pair of police cars & an armored truck moving down the street behind them.*

Keter<The police force seems to be getting this area under control. I will be continuing to Zolt's. Do me a favor, alert them with an aerial flare.>

*She continues down the alley.*

Sidon grimaced at Hector and walked back to the open door of the kitchen, "Monu, I must ask you to leave the dishes for now and take the register. Astarte and I need to take these guys home. I will be back as soon as I can be."
Without waiting for a reply he grabbed his coat and with Astarte, he escorted Hector and Eduj next door into their home.
"I really appreciate this, Sid," Hector said as they went inside.
"Yeah, yeah," Sidon grumbled. Astarte continued to be silent, content to let her father do the talking. "You guys stay in the living room. Toss a coin for the couch, or something. Astarte can get you some tea and food, and get onto healing your injuries, and I want a thorough, reasonable explanation of why you are here when I get back, or you will be out of this house."
"Got it," Hector replied, reclining on the couch. Eduj sat on a chair and yawned.

"That should be fine," Dalia nodded uselessly. "I'll see you then."

Noct smiled, which was the best she could do to hold back a laugh, "Yes, you'll find that people here are a bit cold. If it doesn't concern them, they'll usually look the other way."

Gabe shook her head, "That isn't always true."

"Not always, but lets not pretend to be blind to the injustice around us," Noct said. She then looked at Ven, "I imagine Gabriel, or Tirea would be kind enough to house you, but you'll have more space at my place, and you're more than welcome to stay."

"How do you know that?" Gabe asked.

"Your rise and fall was far from secret," Noct answered.

--

Mortal takes a step forward and launches a backflip kick at Senthose, complete with all the fancy fire that you've come to expect.