City of the Lost
Chapter One: A Thief's Word
"Okay guys, seriously, hear me out," Bolin began, "I been doing some serious thinking; how can we improve the Fire Ferret's image for next year's tournament? Then it came to me! We need to get Pabu a lady friend, you know, get some real love going. Next thing you know it, we have a whole adorable family of fire ferrets for our opening act! What do you think? It's genius, am I right?"
Mako, as usual, shot down another one of his brother's hare-brained ideas. "Come off of it Bolin, we don't need any more ferrets. Tenzin already has trouble tolerating Pabu, let alone an entire family of the little devils."
"Aw, don't listen to him Pabu;" Bolin whispered to the ferret on his shoulder, "He's just still mad about waking up with you sitting on his face."
It was another bustling day in Republic City; Satomoblies drove down the streets, people made their way to their various jobs, and everywhere vendors were attempting to sell their wares before the winter cold set in. Today they were lucky; the day was much warmer considering that winter was well on its way.
Deciding to make use of the nice unexpected weather, Korra; Mako; Bolin; and Asami had left Air Temple Island early in the morning to spend the day in the city. They had decided to take turns on deciding where to go and what to do. Korra had chosen to go to the park; Mako had taken the group to the museum beneath the Avatar Aang Memorial Statue; Bolin took them all to Narook's Seaweed Noodlery for lunch; and last of all Asami chose to shop in Central City Station.
At present, the friends were currently finishing their shopping excursion. Asami had several shopping bags hanging from both of her arms containing various perfumes, cosmetics, and jewelry. With the almost through, it was time to return to Air Temple Island where Asami, Bolin, and Mako were residing due to some unpleasantness at their previous lodgings.
Mako had his arm around Asami's waist, chatting with her as teenage couples do. Walking behind them, Bolin and Korra were trying to hold in witty remarks and gagging, respectively.
Korra, snapping away from making disgusted faces behind the couple's back, heard something. "Hey guys! Hold up; I think I hear something."
"What is it?" asked Mako, turning around to face the avatar.
"It sounds like shouting," Korra responded. "Someone could be in trouble!"
"It's probably nothing. You know how busy the markets can get. Besides, kids love to play in the station," Asami pointed out.
"Hold up pretty, rich lady," replied Bolin, putting a cupped hand around his ear. "I think I hear something too."
"Well, we don't have anywhere to be; it couldn't hurt just to check it out," said Mako. "Where's the noise coming from.
Asami put her hands up in defeat. "Okay, I'm coming. I just have run my bags to the car." When the brunette returned, the group followed Bolin and Korra to where they thought the sounds where coming from.
The noise led them to a side alley. The brick apartment buildings on either side seemed to sag in on the alley while the tenants' laundry could be seen hanging up above. The cobblestone road of the alley was also slightly damp, casting an eerie feel to it. From further up the alley, the crew could make out four shapes. Their voices carried down the alley. The setting sun made an impossible to make out anything but their silhouettes.
The first voice was low and gruff without a hint of humor. "I'll ask you again kid: how much did the punk pay you for the information?"
Another voice chuckled. It was higher pitched than the first and seemed to find everything amusing. "What's the matter, boy? Lizard-cat got your tongue." The second voice cackled in its high tone.
One of the shapes, far smaller than the other three silhouettes, was lifted and pinned against the wall by one of the others. The third voice was soft, yet it seemed to carry down the alley menacingly. "Now, now boy," it began threateningly, "Speak up, please." The shadow could be seen drawing an object, presumably a knife. "If you don't talk little man, than we have ways to make you sing."
A fourth voice spoke up, panicked and higher than the others. Clearly, it was the voice of a child. Most likely, it belonged to smallest shadow now held against the alley wall. "Listen, fellas," it began nervously, "Surely we can work something out. Yeah, I might've sold some dirt on you guys, but we all gotta eat, right?"
The soft, gentle voice ignored the boy's words. "How much did he pay you?"
"Gee, I can't seem to remember; I gotta a lot of clients, you see."
The second voice spoke again. "I think I hear the pretty little sound of clinking yuans in the boy's pocket." It laughed again at nothing in particular. "Why not just rob the child and be done with it?"
"Sounds like a good idea to me," the first voice agreed.
The shape pinning the boy's silhouette to the wall turned to the other two. "In time, gentlemen; first, I have to find out how much the boy thought we were worth."
"Eleven yuans!" the kid yelped, choking for breath. Apparently, his captives were pressing harder.
"Eleven damn yuans?!" the first voice shouted, clearly enraged. "We ought to kill you for that!"
"Guys I think we've heard enough," Mako said to his friends at the alley entrance.
"You're right," Korra agreed, cracking her knuckles. "Let's go crack some heads."
"Woo-hoo!" exclaimed Bolin. "Team Avatar's gonna lay down some vigilante justice!"
The four made their way down the alley until the other group came into clear view. As they had guessed, the figure against the wall was indeed a boy, no older than 12. His clothes were full of holes and tears and he had no shoes to speak of. On his head was a military cap. The other three were dressed quite nicely. One was broad and muscular with straight black hair and an orderly trimmed beard. Another was tall and lean, a brown ponytail on his head; his smile was wicked and cruel. The last man was the one holding the child against the alley side. He was neither muscular nor particularly lean. His hair was black, long, and greasy. He looked odd in his nice red outfit.
Said man turned to face the four newcomers. "What's this," his gentle yet menacing voice started, "A bunch of teenagers come to watch. You'll want to run along and forget what you saw, children. This is Triple Threat business."
"Yeah, well, I'm the avatar, so a bunch of gangsters beating up a little kid is my business too," announced Korra, stepping forward in a fighting stance.
"Hey! I am not a little kid," the boy piped up. "I'm eleven, I think-agghh!" He was cut off by the greasy-haired man pressing his forearm to the kid's throat.
The man, having silenced his captive, pondered the avatar's words. "The avatar, eh? My, my, that certainly does complicate the matter. I believe it's time we took our leave gentlemen." With that, the man reached inside the boy's vest and withdrew a small pouch, making the metallic clattering of coins. He dropped the boy, who fell to the ground, gasping for air. The tall man bended a great amount of water out of one the manholes in the alley. The greasy-haired triad member revealed himself to be a Firebender by creating a ball of flame and hurling it at the lean man's mass of water. The impact caused a great release of steam, obscuring everyone's vision. By the time the steam cleared, the Triple Threats were gone.
"Hey kid, you okay?" Mako asked the boy.
The boy was sitting against the wall still trying to regain his breath. He looked up at Mako. Something seemed to surprise him as he got a good look at Mako, but it was gone was soon as it appeared. "Oh, me? I'm fine, just fine." The kid slowly made his way to his feet. It was evident that the triads had been interrogating the boy for quite some time; he was bruised and had a black eye. "Anyways, thanks for saving my neck and all. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've gotta go rustle up some cash."
Mako reached out and grabbed the kid on the shoulder as he tried to leave. "Wait up, kid. How do you plan on 'rustling up some cash'?"
The child simple smiled, revealing a mouth full of crooked teeth. "I have my ways, Mr. Mako."
Mako withdrew his hand in surprise. "How do you know my name?"
"Please, everybody knows you. You're Mako, the captain of the up and coming Fire Ferrets. If I'm right, that guy over there is your brother Bolin and the lady in the Water Tribe outfit is Avatar Korra. I made quite a few yuans betting against you in the tournament finals."
"Wow, that's cold," Bolin said. "I mean, that last part about us losing wasn't even necessary."
The boy smiled again and began walking away. Unexpectedly, he seemed to lose his balance. His left foot crossed his right, causing him to trip. His eyes widened in alarm while his arm reached out, searching for something grab on to. The boy's arm found Asami's waist, stopping his fall.
As soon as he regained his balance, the boy unwrapped his arm from around Asami's waist. He looked up at the brunette, slightly embarrassed. "Sorry about that, miss." With that, he ran off, leaving Team Avatar alone in the alley.
"For some reason that kid seems familiar," said Mako.
"You know, he kind of reminds me of that one kid from the station; the kid that you paid for information the night Bolin was kidnapped by the Equalists," Korra remarked.
"Thanks for the reminder, Korra," Bolin responded glumly.
Mako's eyes immediately flashed with recognition. "Crap! That's where I know him from! He's one of Skoochy's crew. Everyone check their pockets."
The avatar turned her empty pockets inside-out. "I never have any cash on me."
Bolin pointed at Mako. "Don't look at me, bro. You're the one who handles all our money."
"Well, my wallet is still on me," Mako confirmed as felt it in his jacket pocket. "What about you, Asami?"
The daughter of Republic City's most brilliant innovator was checking all of the many pockets on her coat. "Ugh! I can't find my coin purse! The kid must've nabbed it when he stopped his fall."
"Darn it!" exclaimed Mako. "We need to find him. Quick! He might still be in the station."
Team Avatar burst from the alley in hopes of finding the thief. The station was still teeming with activity with the poorer folks returning from their jobs on the evening trains. Despite the commotion, the boy wasn't hard to find. When the group caught sight of him, his hand was hovering just outside of a wealthy merchant's pocket.
Korra was the first to act. "Hey kid! Where's Asami's money? Is this how you repay people who help you?"
He froze with his hand just outside the man's pocket. Hearing the avatar's shouts, the merchant turned to face the pickpocket. Enraged, the wealthy man smacked the thief hard across the face. The force of the blow sent the boy reeling.
The shock of the man's strike didn't last long, however. As soon as the bot caught sight of Korra and her friends, he bolted into the crowd. His small frame worked to his advantage as he skillfully weaved in and out of the crowd. Team Avatar wasted no time pushing through the hoard of people in pursuit. They, unfortunately, did not possess the physique of a prepubescent boy, making the chase considerably more difficult.
At last, the crowd thinned out until the only thing between the teens and the thief was a wide stretch of cobblestone. Despite his thinness, the boy was clearly no athlete. Already it was evident how tired he was, both from the chase and the beating. On the other hand, Korra; Bolin; and Mako were all experienced athletes while Asami had been training in martial arts since she was little.
The lad must've also noticed the shortening gap between him and his pursuers. Acting quickly, he turned to face them. He brought his arm a wide, low arch. Immediately, a small wall of displaced stone, about a foot high, sprung from the ground. Most of the group made it over fine, but Bolin was not so lucky. The wall caught his foot, resulting in the Earthbender landing face first on the market square.
"Watch out, he's an Earthbender!" Mako called out.
"Yeah, I see that," Boling shouted back while getting back on his feet. "Thanks for pointing out the obvious."
The chase continued into one of the many narrow alleys that wound between the buildings of Republic City. Given the alleys' width, only two people could travel abreast through them. The child didn't seem to know part of town particularly well. Whenever he came to an intersection of alleyways, he'd give the slightest pause before rushing down one way or the other. Pausing was taking its toll, however; Korra and her friends were catching up.
Eventually, they all came to a dead end among the maze of alleys. As Team Avatar came around the corner, the boy was already staring at the brick wall of the dead end. Wasting little time, the kid adopted a wide stance and brought both to chamber at his waist. He then pushed both arms out palm first. Immediately, several bricks along the alley's end jutted forward. The boy meant to climb the building.
He had hardly gotten off the ground when his pursuers had caught up with him. Korra quickly withdrew water from the pouch she had grown accustomed to wearing. Before the boy was too far off the ground, Korra had bound his hands and bare feet in cold ice. The child landed unceremoniously on his rear.
"Great job, Korra," praised Mako as the rest of the group caught up with her.
"Aw, it was nothing. The kid had no chance."
"Hey! This 'kid' is still over here." The boy had spoken up.
Mako pushed ahead of his friends to confront the lad. "Listen kid. We know you robbed us. Just come clean and hand over the cash."
"I think I'd be able to do just that if you'd get this bloody ice off of me."
"You really think we're that stupid?"
The boy gave a wide, toothy grin. "Can't blame a street monkey-rat for trying."
"Cut the crap! Tell us where you have the yuans."
"Fine, sheesh. They're inside my left vest pocket." Strangely, the boy didn't seem to down about being apprehended.
"Bolin, get the yuans please."
"Aye, aye, captain!" Bolin stepped forward and began searching the kid's right vest pocket.
The child sighed. "My left, Bolin. Not yours."
"Oh yeah, I knew that! I was just checking you for weapons," Bolin said with a slight blush of embarrassment. After switching to the boy's left pocket, Bolin withdrew a small velvet coin purse and tossed it to Asami.
"Thank you very much Bolin," Asami said to the Earthbender.
"No problem, rich lady." Bolin received a sharp elbow to the arm from his brother for the last remark.
"So what're we going to do with the kid?" asked Korra.
"How about we let him on his merry way?" suggested the boy.
Mako ignored him. "I don't really know. I suppose we should report him to the police."
That got the boy anxious. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Let's not be hasty. I still owe Avatar Korra a favor for saving my hide back there."
"You repaid us by robbing us," Asami pointed out.
The boy turned awkwardly on his rear to face the brunette. "No, I robbed you. If my memory is right, it was the avatar that scared away the triads, not you. Anyone besides the avatar was fair game. I only went after you because you had the look of a rich lady about you." He turned again to face Korra. "So, what do you say? Get let me out of this mess, and I'll owe you two favors."
"Why should I trust you?" questioned Korra.
"To be honest, I can't give you a reason. You'll have to trust me on my honor as a thief." The boy again gave the avatar another smile.
Crossing his arms, Mako scowled at the boy's proposal. He was clearly not impressed. "Kid, what's your name?"
"Well, would you look at that? You need information and I need money. Maybe we can work something out."
A yuan hit the ground in front of the boy. "Seriously, we'll get nowhere with this back and forth bickering," said Asami. "Just tell us your name, kid."
"Ragga, the name's Ragga.
"See, wasn't that simple? Now, why did you rob me?"
Honesty seemed to be a staple of Ragga's "You can never have too much money."
"And what do use the money for?"
Ragga answered with another question. "Why do you care?"
"There's another yuan in it for you if you tell us."
The lad's face lit up. "This lady speaks my language. So, what do I spend my money on? Rice, usually. Sometimes I get bread, and vegetables depending what's in season. Now where's the money?" Another yuan hit the cobblestone before the boy.
Asami continued her questions. "So you don't directly steal your food?"
"Another question means another yuan. That's how it works, lady."
The brunette withdrew another coin form her wallet. It soon joined the other yuans at on the ground. Satisfied, Ragga continued, "No, I don't steal food if I can help it. Skoochy taught me that it's easier to nab a few yuans than it is to steal food from a vendor."
Now it was Mako's turn to ask a question of the boy. "You are one of Skoochy's gang then?"
"Yeah. I'm surprised you didn't recognize me sooner, Mako. When you and Bolin were on the street, you guys ran into us from time to time. I was real little then and you two were working for the Triple Threats. Speaking of, are you still chummy with the folks who robbed me? I'd really like my money back."
"That money wasn't yours any more than it was theirs."
"I'm guessing that's a 'no', then? Have you reformed from your days of working for gangsters?"
Mako stiffened at that. "It wasn't like that. I just ran numbers for them."
"Whatever you say, now can we please get back around to getting me out of these cuffs?"
"Let's just let him go," Korra decided.
"The kid's a thief, Korra. We have no reason to trust him," Mako warned the avatar.
"Don't worry; I've got something figured out." In one fluid motion of her arms, the avatar melted the ice on Ragga's wrists and ankles and stored the water in her pouch. His limbs finally free, the child began rubbing where the ice had restrained him.
"I don't I could trouble you for a fire, eh Mako?" he asked.
"Just be on your way kid. And don't let me catch you stealing from any of us again."
"You have my word." Ragga made his way to his feet after securing the three yuans on the ground in front of him. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be on my way. I've got a lot of work to catch up on."
Before the boy could walk off, Korra stopped him by putting her hand on his shoulder. "Hold on buster. While you're still here, I'd like to cash in on one of my two favors."
"Well, you're smarter than I thought. What can I do you for?"
"Come home with us. Consider yourself invited to dinner."
Mako was clearly weary of inviting the child. "Korra are you sure that's wise? Pema already had plenty of extra people to cook for, and I doubt her husband would want unexpected guests."
"Don't worry about it; I've thought it all out. If worse comes to worse, Bolin can just give the kid his seconds," Korra explained.
That drew Bolin into the argument. "Whoa, Korra, let's not get ahead of ourselves. Perhaps Mako is right."
Korra grinned cockily. "I've already made up my mind. What do you say, Ragga?"
Ragga scrunched his forehead up in mick thought. "Let me think about; a free hot meal, lovely dinner company, and I get to fulfill a promise. Doesn't sound half bad. So, where do you live?"
"With Councilman Tenzin, on Air Temple Island," replied Korra.
That was when the boy tried to run again.
A/N: Well, writing this was quite a doozy. Anyone familiar with my work knows that it's usually only s third of this size. So yeah, I've been bitten by the Legend of Korra bug. If there are any readers who are following my other story, Simple Words, don't worry; it takes precedence over this. If you haven't checked out Simple Words, feel free to! A word of warning though, it is a pony fan fiction. If you aren't into that sort of thing, steer clear. That's enough self-advertising. I hope you enjoyed my first foray into the Legend of Korra. Reviews are most appreciated. Until next time.