Making A Comeback

Keter<In answer to your questions, I will see to it that the flames I fan warm this city, giving it life, while burning those who seek to abuse it.>

*To punctuate that statement, she holds out her hand, blue flames burning across her palm & fingers, & folds a fist to extinguish them.*

Keter<I'm afraid I must also depart. I will see you again at the Finals, and the vote afterwards.>

*She turns to the Dragons with a blank stare & inclines her head.*

Keter<I wish you luck. You may keep the things you've taken out of my mansion. Farewell.>

*Then she sets off to the gate, the soldiers opening it for her. She ignores the obligatory slew of camera flashes & murmurs of rapid-fire questions.*

<This was kinda a waste of time wasn't it?>

Astarte looked at Roatha, "I feel bad for them."

"Even worse, it probably had the opposite effect than what Keter intended," Gabe said. She let out a small sigh as she followed Noctis and Mortal out of the gates and towards the cars.

OOC: Firefox recognizes "showman," but not "showwoman." Fucking sexist.

*Of course, ever the showwoman, Keter disappears in a pillar of blue fire. By now it's getting close to time for the finals, so our ineffectual heroes next find themselves united at the Pro-Bending Arena.*
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"Yeah, that was pretty brutal. And on the day of the final match, too...oh, that reminds me, it's almost time for that. We'd better get going, if we're going to catch it."
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*If Dalia looks at a clock, she will notice that her shift is ending.*

*Tirea lets her hair down, gets dressed in her uniform, then ties her hair back up*

Gabe gets ready as well.

--

Noct invites the ladies back to her owner's box. Mortal takes her up on the invite.

"Oh, yes, just excuse me for a minute," Astarte said before disappearing into the hallway and into another room. She came back a couple of minutes later in nicer clothes, with her hair brushed and tied up in a ponytail and wearing citrus-orange scented perfume.

Dalia finished her shift and caught a taxi home, where she would prepare to attend the game.

The trio headed out of Stefan's place and went straight to the nearest bar.

R"Wow, you look nice. Okay, let's go."

~Later~

*Roatha & Astarte enter the owner's box.*
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*Out in the ring, the 2 teams assemble.*

{Well, folks, who'd have thought it would come down to this? Both of the teams in this final match were this season's underdogs. Newcomers the Wolfbats vs. the Dancing Dragons, a team featuring the return of Gabe & a seemingly ever-shifting line-up. But enough backstory, let's begin!}

*The bell rings & Tahno fires a shot at Gabe's chest, the Firebender sends 2 jabs at Ven, & the Earthbender raises a trio of discs & just waits.*

{The Wolfbats send out a few feeble punches...they seem to be testing the Dragons' mettle.}
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*The nearest bar is the one they were at before, the Blue Spirit.*

*Tirea sends a few arcs at the firebender, then turns and sends another at the earthbender*

Noctis gives the latecomers a slight nod, and Mortal waves hello and said, "Hey, how are you two?"

--

Gabe dodges to the side, then sends a double volley of blasts at Tahno, having wanted to beat up on him for quite a while now.

{The Dragons retaliate in force, but the Wolfbats are not impressed by what they see. Tahno cartwheels out of Gabe's assault & swings a kick of water into her side. Shazou uses a quick burst of fire to block Tirea's attacks, then siphons off some of Gabe's to retaliate. With a flick of his wrist, he redirects the blast at Ven, who just barely twists out of the way. Ming lets his discs fly, then raises the discs under himself and his comrades! They push off as he fires them, & Ming & Shazou each fire another trio of blasts at their target, what a move!}
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R"Oh, I'm fine. How's it going out there?"

*He walks up to the window.*

E"Well, it seems to be escalating quickly."

"Alright," Astarte said.

As they had already asked once and they suspected the answer would be similar, they went to a different bar.

Dalia was watching the game, intending to meet with the Agni Kais immediately afterwards.

*Tirea moves out of the way, then sends a few blasts to intercept whatever is coming in her direction. Then she starts to send more arcs at Shazou*

OOC: To quell the angst.

Gabe would have been impressed too, were she not being attacked. Since her little take to the sky routine got her pegged out of the sky last time, she didn't want to try that again, and instead erects a wall of flame to tank some of the blasts, as well as obscure her movements so that she can dive to one side without fear of another attack. As she rolls back up to her feet she adds a blast of fire to join Tirea's attack, adding an extra oomph to it, hoping to make it harder to snatch out of the sky and redirect.

--

"Quite," Noct said.

Mortal was on the edge of her seat, "C'mooooooooon... they came so close, I don't want them to lose during the finals."

{Gabe tries to erect a defensive wall, but she's hit in the side, & it fizzles out. Ven goes back a zone, while Tirea destroys several targets, & attacks Shazou. Shazou twists & ducks, firing a two-fisted blast at Tirea. Tahno grabs the ropes, springing into the air, & kicks a quartet of arcs at aimed at Gabe & Ven, with Ming letting loose a flurry of discs to add pressure on Tirea.}
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E"They can beat the Wolfbats, right? I mean, they've gotten out of stickier situations before...haven't they?"

*Roatha watches, mouth clenched gravely.*
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*They pass close to the alley where the secret Purist bar is &/or was. The road has since been repaired & repaved, but the stairwell is still heavily damaged from big fucking rocks smashing into it in places.*

*Tirea kicks up to create water arcs to intercept the disks, then ducks under the blast and fires at Shazou*

Astarte watched.

They walked down the opposite side of the street, looking at the bar to see if it looked like it was still in use and if the bouncers were still out front.

"Of course they're gonna win!" Mortal said, on the edge of her seat.

Noct just saw a frontrunner's political career die right in front of her eyes, so she kept her mouth shut as to whether they could win or lose.

--

Gabe saw Tahno take to the sky, and decided to show him why she was so cautious about taking to the sky. After diving out of the way she called out, "Ven! Knock him out of the sky!" Gabe waited for Ven to attack Tahno, rolling to her feet, and charging up a blast either to add to Ven's attack, or to use should Tahno try to dodge midair with the help of a teammate.

{Gabe calls to Ven for assistance, but Ven is already in the drink. Shazou goes back to Zone 3, but uses the chance to deflect Gabe's attack. Tahno must be wary, because he lands & calls a time-out to talk to the ref.}

*Tahno looks back at the Dragons as the ref whistles.*

Tahno<We'll send you to a watery grave!>

Ref<Resume!>

{The water under Gabe smacks her in the stomach & knocks her back a Zone! Certainly a gift from Tahno that will elicit a penalty.}

*Shazou fires several fireballs at Tirea's head while Ming raises some discs behind her to fly at her back.*

{Or...not. The Wolfbats keep Bending sources outside of their Zone, & now they're adding illegal headshots to the mix, but still no call.}
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*Roatha is shaking Euryale by her shoulder, pointing at the ring.*

R"Can't you see that they're breaking the rules?! Arrest them, or something!"

E"I can't...did you pay ANY attention in government studies?!"
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*There is no one stationed outside, but the door is shut.*

*Tirea hits the deck, then kicks up at sends two arcs each at the Wolfbats attacking her*

<You're all pathetic!>

Noct just leans back in her chair and lets out a long, tired sigh, "They're not going to cheat, are they?"

"Who, Gabe, and them?!" Mortal asked, "Of course not!"

"Well, then there might be a problem," Noct said.

Mortal frowns, sits up, and begins to boo the Wolfbats.

--

Gabe grinds her teeth in anger, and funnels that energy into a blast launched at Shazou as if it was an oversized fastball.

Tahno<At least I'm not hugging the ground like a scared child!>

{Shazou sprawls & fires 2 quick blasts at Gabe, Tahno fires a blast under her feet that turns to ice, & Ming tries to pelt the downed Waterbender with rock discs. With the Dragons down a member, I don't know if they can last the other half of the match.}
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R"They can't hear you, you know. You're behind glass."

E"Tahno must have paid the refs off. If they even look like they might break a rule, they'll give them a penalty."

<Yeah, at least I'm not cheating!>

*Tirea gets out of the way before firing repeated shots at Ming*

Gabe winds her foot back and kicks the blasts back at Shazou.

--

Mortal looks at Roatha, "I don't have anything else to do!"