Massak kicked the door open in one go. Dust flew every which way as the heavy piece of wood thudded to the ground. Upon inspection it would seem as though the building had long been abandoned. But Massak had a knack for spotting the minor details in things. Rags of torn clothing pieces hung listlessly on a window seal. There the window was broken in and unevenly wielded back together. Stray cans of food were lying about untouched. And that smell. The smell of fire pricked his nose.

"They are here." He said. "Search the entire flat."

Massak walked through the house. The floor boards creaked under his silent steps. His men were storming the complex and doors from there hinges, further ransacking disheveled rooms. He preferred to take his time. His father had taught him the importance of patience in these matters. That was how they'd win the war. Massak would treat their enemies like a Pai Sho game, waiting for the opportune time to strike.

Another floor board squealed under the weight of his heels. He tapped the wood plank several times. These buildings were abandoned but they weren't that old for the floors to sound so...weak. He walked to the end of an intruding floor board and stomped on it. The board flew into the air along with several others. They landed at the other side of the room. The missing planks left a large gaping hole in the floor and he stared down into the darkness.

Then, there was light.

A haze of fire shot out of the floor. The rickety floorboards rushed upwards and burned in the air. Fire benders jumped out of their hiding spots. Massak flipped up. His body twisting over the lick of flames and landed on the ground gracefully. There were more than ten people and he proceeded to chi block the first one he saw.

"Benders" He heard his Equalist party yell from down a hall. "Their in there." A group of his men rushed into the living quarter. Flames went in every direction. It was such a small space. They had less room to avoid getting burned. He had to take this fight to the streets.

Massak kicked a man through the front entrance where the door had fallen in. The bender tumbled down the steps and into the street. Massak took advantage of his quickly blocked his chi and tied him up. The next assailant propelled himself through a window and jumped over at him. This man, another fire bender, was harder to take down. Hot flames licked against his mask and body. Massak weaved away before more damage could be done.

As quickly as the fight started it ended in the same fashion. The assailants were dragged out of the flat in black dense cord. The group of elevan had been lane out in the street in rows. Dirt caked the faces of the women, men, and children. Hair had matted and holes occupied their clothes. By the look of their attire he could tell they use to be Fire had drove these fire nation runaways to his city? From the looks of it they had been living on streets for quite sometime. Massak smiled to himself, pleased at his capture. They're hadn't been many benders who dared come to New Republic city since the Equalist claimed it for their own.

"She's trying to escape!" One of his lead men, shouted out to him.

He spotted a small figure zipping around an alley way.

"I have this one." He said. "Secure the others in the back of the van."

Massak followed the child. He rounded the corner into a dead end alley where she had ran. Three buildings stood connected together in an unfinished rectangle. There a girl with short inky black hair stood. Her hands clung to her side in fists. The look on her face an anguish filled snarl. Massak was all to familiar with that look for he had seen it before. Defeat.

The girl was young. She looked about six or seven. The kid should have been in a school or somewhere other than here. He was empathetic to the younger ones. How hard it was to deal with living in a fractured society seeing their parents hauled off and carted away or worse. He had a duty to his people which was to protect them from benders like this girl. Children were not the exception.

"Surrender now child and your family will go unharmed" He said.

"You already harmed us..." The child spat bitterly. "I have no family left."

"Well then you understand how important it is to give up this fruitless battle."

Fear gleamed in the girls eyes but there was something else, something resilient lurking behind her gaze. Determination. "Never." Her fists turned to blazing balls of fire."Will I stop fighting for my people."

He always liked the ones that wouldn't go down without a fight. "Neither." He continued in the same tone. "Will I."

A train of fire was sent racing towards Massak. He dodged the first attack twisting his torso away from the flames.

The girl was strictly offense, sending in waves of fire whenever he got in to close. She was strong for her youth. He'd give her that. However, It was clear to him through her approach at fighting that the girl knew absolutely nothing about correct formation when using her element. An untrained and undisciplined bender can only go so far.

That didn't mean she didn't give it her all. And give it her all she did. Massak had to pace himself if not she'd burn him to a crisp. Her attacks sped towards him with such rigor. She was fast so much so that he couldn't avoid the back tail of his jacket from the flames.

Searing heat rushed in through his mask, causing him to sweat. Massak managed to evade the brunt of flames. The alley way itself had not been so lucky. The ground was peppered in patches of flames and sides of buildings were scorched black.

This had been a good battle for him but he was tired of playing games. Like a wolf closing in on it's prey, he sped forward. The girls eyes widened, sensing how the mood in the air had changed. She flexed her wrists up and out. Orange flames spread around his body. The child had created a barricade of some sort between her and him.

A clever little girl she was.

This move made her safe for a few seconds. He had to figure out how to get through it without causing himself significant harm. Massak's body vaulted over the wall of flames. He watched the look in her eyes shift to one of imminent threat. He was too close now. Too close. She was just a kid and had expended all her energy. She needed time to recuperate. Time she did not have. The young child thrust ed her fists towards him ill prepared. Massak grabbed them both and twisted them away so the flames could not harm him.

"Why are you doing this." She looked up at him angrily and exasperated.

Massak didn't answer her. Instead he made haste chi blocking moves on her right and left had started to run freely down her face. She dropped to her knees. The girl did not see his eyes raise in curiosity. It took a few seconds for his brain to register that the little girl was crying.

"Wh-what are-" She heaved. The child struggled to get a hold of her speech. "-are you going to do with us?"

The sight of the girl in such a vulnerable state made him feel...dare he say it bad. A war was no place for a child. Then again was he not nearly a child himself? Yes, he was. The difference though was he had been training all his life for this. At fifteen years of age Massak commanded a squadron of young Equalist's. He actively took down dangerous benders twice his age. He even lead some facility operations when his father was away. The girl had not prepared for such a thing. She was just a child born into unfortunate circumstances. For this reason he would allow a modicum of compassion to fester inside him. But, that was as far as he'd allow his sympathy to extend. This was war and this girl was fighting on the opposite side. The wrong side.

Massak looked directly into her wide frightened eyes through the slits of his mask. "You will be cleansed of your impurity."

He quickly jabbed at a certain pressure point in her neck. Her small body hit the ground. He picked her up and threw her over his shoulders and carried her back to the prisoners van. Mission accomplished.