Chapter 2: Catching the Thief

BlueTiger321: Hi, and welcome to the next chapter. Now Katara is going to get her ticket, but Vicky thinks otherwise. Let's see how things will turn out.

Katara was now walking to her destined area. She was only a few yards away and it was just within reach. To her, it would only be a matter of time until she would get what she needed to achieve her deepest desire.

As she walked, she looked on ahead to see the large, semi-circular building. It stood out with its stone pillars and banners gently flapping against the wind. Windows were placed around the sides, and its roof had been partially opened. A line-up of people was standing in front of a booth where a woman named Selma Bouvier (The Simpsons) sat with an indifferent look on her face behind the window.

Katara knew that she was at the Toon City Mega-Dome. What made her even more content was seeing the line-up didn't have a lot of people, so she would be able to buy her ticket much faster.

This is it, she thought.

Hastening her pace, the girl got into the line-up and waited patiently for her turn. She soon breathed a sigh of relief knowing that all her efforts for this moment would finally be worth all the hard work.

What should've been only a few minutes seemed like an eternity to Katara as she slowly made her way up the line. Tilting her head to the side, she saw that only two people were in front of her. Her excitement could barely be contained as a wide grin formed on her face. Soon she would have her ticket, and all she needed to do was to remain patient for a little while longer.

Out from behind one of the Mega-Dome's many pillars sprang Vicky. The wicked girl had managed to follow Katara to the spot and was now keeping her distance. Vicky looked on through her narrowed eyes, seeing that the girl she suddenly despised was now close to acquiring her ticket.

Stepping back behind the pillar, she rubbed her hands together and said, "Perfect. That little brat doesn't suspect a thing, which means I can smash her dreams to pieces flawlessly! And I know just how to do it."

Vicky then reached behind her back to pull out a white hooded robe. It would be the ideal way to conceal herself in order to initiate her plan. She placed the robe over herself and then brought the hood over her head. Underneath the hood, Vicky formed a mischievous smile while she walked over to the line-up.

Meanwhile, Katara was now the second person in the line. At that moment, all the stress and worrying seemed to vanish and she would now get to see Pearl Jam.

The person in front of her was now leaving, and Selma said into the mouthpiece, "Next."

Katara walked forward, but was suddenly forced backward when a figure dressed in a white hooded robe walked up and pushed her out of the way.

The figure turned its head, saying in a deep voice, "Watch where you're going!" The person then left, leaving Katara with an annoyed look on her face.

"What a jerk," Katara said, watching the figure leave.

The girl soon realised it was her turn to buy a ticket, so she brushed away her anger and approached the booth.

Selma sat there while lighting a cigarette in her mouth. Blowing the smoke out, she asked, "Whaddya want?"

"One ticket to the Pearl Jam concert, please," replied Katara.

"I can see that," Selma said, referring to Katara's T-shirt. "That'll be a hundred and fifty bucks."

Katara then reached into her pocket to pull out her wallet. Just then, a look of fear was frozen on her face when she felt it was empty. She looked frantically in her pockets in an attempt to find it, but it was to no avail.

"Oh no!" said Katara. "I don't have my wallet!"

"Too bad, sweetie," Selma said, unbothered by the news. "No money, no ticket. Next!"

Katara was forced to move out of the line. Despair was now filling up inside her as she was denied her ticket, but what got her more upset was something she couldn't understand.

"How can this be?" said Katara. "I know I brought my wallet with me, so how could I–"

A realisation struck Katara. Now she understood how her wallet had suddenly disappeared. Thinking back, she remembered how a mysterious figure had bumped into her. She thought it must've been at that time when the person had snatched her wallet without her ever knowing.

Now Katara was filled with rage. She would see to it to find this person and get back her wallet by any means.

"That jerk is gonna pay!" she said in a determined tone.

Running off, Katara was now in pursuit of the one who stole her wallet, and hoped she would get it back in time to buy her ticket.

Not far from the Mega-Dome, Vicky was still wearing her hooded robe. She was now smiling after her latest scheme. The only thing she ever regretted was not seeing the look on the girl's face after her dreams were crushed.

As Vicky contemplated this, she brought out Katara's wallet and held it close to her face. Her lips formed into a nasty smile as she held it in her hands.

"Poor sap," she said. "Making someone else unhappy always brightens my day. And since I've got this money, I might as well spend it on something useful."

Vicky soon entered her imagination as to what she was going to do now, but was jolted back to reality when she heard someone say, "Hey, you!"

The wicked girl turned her head around to see Katara a few feet away. Anger was displayed on her face and she was now running in her direction. Vicky was fortunate enough to still have the hood over her face for it hid her surprised expression. Thinking fast, she took off away from Katara.

Now Katara was more determined than ever to chase after the thief. Her legs pushed her forward into a sprint. Sweat beaded from her brow as she ran. Nothing was going to stop her from exacting justice.

Vicky continued running, often pushing past people in her way. She was forced to slow down when she had unexpectedly run into a large crowd. Her instincts were telling her that the girl chasing her wasn't far away, but the people in front of her could work to her advantage. She then slipped into the crowd quietly as the perfect way to escape.

Katara soon came upon the crowd, and took in a few deep breaths after all the running she had done. She had lost sight of the thief, but luckily, she was able to see the figure go into the crowd. It would be difficult, but it wouldn't stop her from finding that person.

The girl walked into the crowd and set her eyes into focus. All she had to do was find a person wearing a white hooded robe. The only problem was that so many people were walking around that it made it hard to find someone matching that description. Still, she kept her focus until she saw someone in a white hooded robe walking slowly from her left. Quickening her pace, she went after the figure. Katara smiled as she thought she had the right person. She was now so close that she reached out her hand and caught the person in the arm.

"Ah-ha!" she cried out.

Katara was happy when she had thought her troubles were over, but she soon looked at the person she had grasped. The person in the white hooded robe was a man who was much taller than Katara with a sword around his waist and leather guards on his forearms (Altaïr from Assassin's Creed). A snarl formed on his face as he looked at the girl who grabbed him.

Looking up at the man, Katara had now gulped while she looked at him with a horrified expression. It changed when her eyes looked away to find another person in a white hooded robe running into the crowd.

Katara let go of the man and said, "Sorry." She then ran off to catch the real thief.

Both Vicky and Katara kept running through the streets. Their legs strained as they pushed onward, but the pain would have to be ignored until they were finished.

"Get back here!" shouted Katara.

The shouting only prompted Vicky to run faster from her pursuer.

As Katara tried to keep up with the figure, another realisation had come to her. "Hold on," she said, "I'm a waterbender! I could just use my bending to stop that slimeball!"

The girl then saw her opportunity. There in the distance sat a fire hydrant ahead of the hooded figure. Concentrating hard, Katara stopped in her tracks and got into her waterbending stance. Getting water out from a hydrant would require all her focus.

Vicky looked back and saw that Katara had stopped chasing her. Laughing, she said, "I guess this means she's giving up! Lucky me!"

All of a sudden, Katara thrust her arms forward just as the hooded thief ran in front of the fire hydrant. Water then came gushing out at an alarming rate and hit Vicky in the side, causing her to scream and be thrown into an alley. Katara smiled and shouted triumphantly as she threw her fist into the air. After congratulating herself, she made her way over to get back what was stolen from her.

In the alley, Vicky stood up after the sudden attack. Her robe was washed away from her and she groaned as she stumbled to her feet. Her eyes narrowed as she saw stars spinning around her head. What she didn't realise was that she had dropped Katara's wallet. Vicky soon snapped out of her daze when she heard footsteps. Thinking fast, she ran down the other side of the alley and vanished from sight.

Katara ran into the alley, desperately trying to find the thief. All she saw was the hooded robe lying on the ground, but sitting next to it comforted the girl. She picked up her wallet and was glad to see all her money was still inside it.

"That jerk got away..." Katara said in a disappointed tone. Then she realised why she was chasing the thief and she changed her back to her cheerful self. "But the important thing is that I got my wallet back. I better get back and hope there are still tickets left."

Katara ran back the way she came, unaware that a figure stepped out from the shadows in the alley. It was Vicky, and she scowled after seeing her plan had failed. Now she would have to follow Katara and think of another way of getting even with her.

Back at the Toon City Mega-Dome, Katara had gotten back into the line-up. Now she was even more annoyed after waiting for her turn to buy her ticket once again, but she was at least certain that she would get it this time.

It took a long time, but Katara was now at the booth. She looked around to make sure no one else would try to steal from her and then she made her way over to Selma, who took a long puff from her cigarette and exhaled a cloud of smoke.

"One ticket to the Pearl Jam concert, please," said Katara.

Selma only laughed, leaving the girl with an odd look on her face. Something didn't seem right from her laughter but she didn't know what it was.

"Sorry, sweetie," said Selma. "We're sold out."

Katara widened her eyes in shock upon hearing those words. "What?!" she said. "This... this can't be!"

"Yeah, well, better luck next time. I need to go on my coffee break." Selma then brought up her arms and lowered a board with the word Closed written in black letters down over the window.

Katara could only stand there and feel sadness take hold of her. She desperately tried to get her ticket, and now she had lost her chance. Walking away from the booth, she felt a single tear roll down her cheek.

BlueTiger321: Oh no! Poor Katara! Now she'll never get her ticket!

Katara: It's not fair! Why did you have to end the chapter this way?!

BlueTiger321: Don't worry. I promise you that things will start to look up for you in the later chapters.

Katara: You'd better, because if I don't get to see Pearl Jam, things won't be pretty!

BlueTiger321: So folks, stay tuned for the next chapter and until then, read and review!