Chapter 10
The Metal Guitarist
"Well...I want to say this is the first time that two people came into my house blooded and beaten, but that would be a lie," Xinzang snickered as she continued to apply bandages on Qishi's body, no doubt they were in the main staying room of Xinzang house as Shesh yawned.
To say that Shesh and Qishi had a long night would be insulting what they had just been through, meeting an Air bender was nothing to simply dismiss or scoff at, though even Xinzang had a rather difficult time believing in such things.
"Are you two sure you fought an Air bender?" Xinzang asked as she put the last bandage on Qishi's arm before patting it down. "I mean...it's pretty hard to fight dead people, and from what I understand most of the Air benders are dead," Xinzang made a rather good point, the only living Air benders were the Avatar's Aang son and his family,
"Perhaps it was one of councilman's Tenzin children, I've never met his family personally so maybe he had one young," Qishi stated, showing how little she knew about the people that run, as Shesh simply shook her head.
She didn't know much about Tenzin or his family, after all he was Korra's teacher not hers, but Shesh did know that his children were rather young, none of them being older than the age of 12. The woman that both Shesh and Qishi met was no doubt in her late twenties or maybe early thirties. This isn't even going into the fact that Tenzin's wife was actually a bit younger than him.
"I doubt it, I have some connections to his family, all of his kids are really young, I doubt the woman has any relations to him...well other than being an Air bender," Shesh stated leaning back on the sofa, no doubt her wounds were almost completely healed, perhaps Xinzang training was paying off as Qishi struggled to her feet, before yawning.
"It such an annoyance, the Speed Machine is still at the Warehouse where we left it, and the Inn is completely empty," Qishi stated, no doubt annoyed at the entire situation, the sun had risen, signaling that both Shesh and Qishi had stayed up the entire night, though Qishi words did remind Xinzang that she had to tell the duo something.
"Oh, that's right, I went to the inn last night looking for you two, but you obviously weren't there, so I let myself in," Xinzang said that, as if she didn't just admitted to breaking into Qishi's home, before standing up, no doubt to leave the room to get something. There was a moment of silence as both Shesh and Qishi awkwardly waited it what appeared to be Xinzang living room before the 33 year old came back, holding a familiar cage.
No doubt it was Pet Show, stuck in the same prison as Xinzang lifted it before giving a warm smile, "I found you pet Raven Eagle trying to get out of its cage, you know it's not very nice to leave your pets unintended, especially if it's without water,"
Xinzang was giving pet owner advice as both Shesh and Qishi gave a small grumble, both of them noticed Pet Show giving them his signature hateful glare. Though worrying about a bird that isn't truly their pet was the least of the women's problems.
"He's not our pet, and you could have let it starved," Shesh said bluntly, causing Xinzang to lower the cage on the floor before she took a seat.
No doubt all three of them were thinking about their next move, if you could even call it that, though it was obvious that Shesh was fine where she was, after all whether it was the inn or Xinzang house, as long as she was able to do what she wanted Shesh was perfectly fine. However the same could not be said for Qishi, as she stood up, ignoring the obvious pain she was in, though such pain was natural for someone who was blown through a solid wall to feel.
"We...must head back to the Warehouse and pick up the Speed Machine No. 1, then we must head back to the inn, from there we shall find that horrid woman and make her pay," No doubt about it, the look in Qishi eyes showed her anger, in all honestly it was odd for Shesh to see Qishi without her glasses
Those words however, caused Shesh to frown, before replying, her feet and shoes on Xinzang furniture, to much of the 33 year old displeasure. "That might not be the best idea, I mean if we go back to the inn, they are just going to send more assassins after us, and that's really annoying. I say we lay low here for awhile and let other people handle it, it's not like it's our job to take down the gangs in the city, and even if you want to get rid of rival gangs. Weren't you the one that said that doing gang activity now was stupid? Right now we should just relax and yet everyone kill each other, I doubt anyone is going to attack the inn unless we show up there," Shesh pointed this fact out, as Xinzang remained silent.
The tall woman knew what she was about to say was illogical, something that was completely based on her emotions, but Qishi still had to say it.
"That is unacceptable, as the daughter of the current leader of the Agni Kai gang, I cannot hide like a coward, perhaps if it was my own pride on the line, however as long as I'm my mother's daughter, I must uphold her pride," Once again Qishi was going on about her mother, in all honestly Shesh still couldn't see how one person could look up to another so deeply.
"Well, that's just stupid," Shesh's response was blunt as Qishi gave a rather large frown, obviously the gang leader wasn't please with Shesh's choice of words.
"I mean, your mom isn't here right now, so who cares what she thinks or what other people think of her. If we head back to the inn now, it'll just cause us more problems, I mean out of the two of us I always thought of you as the logical one...with me being the pretty one of course," Shesh smirked as she placed her hand on her chest at her comment.
Qishi eyes simply narrowed, there was two things that Qishi disliked about Shesh's statement, and so the woman had to point such things out.
"First of all, everyone loves tall woman, second of all...just because your family has no expectations of you Shesh doesn't mean my mother doesn't," Qishi said such a harsh thing as Shesh simply sighed, to be honest Qishi was expecting Shesh to display far more anger at such a comment, though perhaps Shesh's reaction was because she really couldn't deny the truth.
"Man, saying something like that might hurt someones feelings...I think I'm about to cry," Shesh gave a half-heart sniffle as Qishi grumbled, however before the tall woman could speak once again Shesh lifted herself from her seat.
"But...I don't have anything better to do, I still think it's best that we stay here for awhile, though we can still look into the gangs if you really want, then again it's not really my choice," Shesh shrugged as Qishi expression faltered even if it was only an inch.
"Perhaps it is best if we stay out of the public eye for awhile, even if it's merely for a day," Qishi didn't like to admit to such things, but they would be able gain far more information with their identities somewhat hidden then if they went around parading they were apart of the Agni Kai gang.
"W-wait, it's rude to just invite yourself to stay at someones home," Xinzang pointed that out, it wasn't that she minded such a thing, but there were certain things that needed to be established. Like where they would be sleeping, the amount of food they would be eating while they stayed there and if they were going to be bringing money in.
"Please, do not complain, it is the job of the old to take care of the young, so it's only natural for you to take care of us without thinking to hard about it," Qishi smiled as Xinzang eye twitched, once again her age was being insulted, the 33 year old took deep breaths, no doubt to calm her impending rage before speaking.
"I'll pretend you didn't say that, I guess I'll simply figure out living arrangements for you two for the time being," Xinzang sighed, perhaps it was her own fault for getting involved, but at the same time it was better than being home alone...
"Good!" Shesh smiled before relaxing all the muscles in her body, no doubt she was about to fall asleep as she felt a rather harsh slam on the nearby table, no doubt it was Qishi who did the slamming, leaving a rather large mark on the beautiful wooden table that Xinzang had paid for.
"Shesh, even if we stayed up all night last night, we are still looking for more info today, we need to figure out who that woman was, and what she was doing at a Cabbage Corp warehouse," Qishi stated as she grabbed Shesh's arm, slowly forcing the water tribe woman to stand, to much of her discomfort.
Shesh's expression was a mixture of exhaustion and irritation, but it would be a lie if she had said it was the first time she stayed up over 24 hours, and complaining about it would have probably lead to more headaches, though that brought up a few questions.
"That's nice and all, but we still don't have an automobile, and even if we did, going around asking people about the gangs seems like a silly way of doing this, especially if we want to stay hidden.," Shesh stretched, already knowing that Qishi would no doubt have an answer to such small snags in her perfectly made quilt of a plan.
"Simple, we are going to be using Xinzang's Satomobile..." Qishi smiled not noticing the rather nervous look the 33 year old named Xinzang.
Perhaps Xinzang simply knew on that fine summer day, that if Qishi borrowed her vehicle she probably wouldn't have been getting it back without some sort of damage, normally she wouldn't have minded such a thing, but the fact that Xinzang needed the vehicle for devilries, otherwise known as her job. It would become a problem.
"Now hold on, you really can't just be going around saying something like that, while it's true I don't have anything to deliver today, I just got it replaced, if something were to happen to it..." Xinzang voice trailed, no doubt it would have been bad, it was not a position that the 33 year old enjoyed being in.
"Oh..."Qishi simply crossed her arms, her voice almost sounding innocent, it seemed she was preparing to bring something up that happened not too long ago.
"I guess helping out a friend in need isn't something the elderly do, I mean, I selflessly allowed you to borrow the Speed Machine No. 1, even driving you from place to place and missing one of the greatest pro-bending matches of the season all because I wanted to do something nice for you...of course I wouldn't expect you to do such a thing..." If guilt was gravy Qishi would be laying it on thick, as Xinzang lips changed into a frown.
Xinzang did not wish to be known as one of those people, the kind of people that asked to hold five yuans and takes it, or borrows something permanently. So in the end, it was impossible for Xinzang to deny them use of her vehicle.
"Okay...but please, young women, don't destroy it or damage it, it was hard enough to get it fixed in the first place," The pale woman said as Shesh gave a small smile.
"I guess we finally get to see Xinzang ride," Shesh always wondered what kind Satomobile Xinzang drive, considering her taste in decoration fitted someone with an aged taste it was hard to see Xinzang driving in a sleek Satomobile everyone else was.
It only took a few minutes for the three to walk to the back side of the house, of course along the way Xinzang picked up a spare pair of glasses for Qishi, though one would wonder why she would have glasses hanging around in storage such a thing wasn't important what was important was the vehicle that Shesh, Qishi and Xinzang was standing before.
In all honesty, Shesh and Qishi expected something similar to what they were seeing, it was a Cabbage truck, the giant metal hall attached to a rather short front was rather brutish to say the least. It did not look like something a lady would drive, and of course both Shesh and Qishi had to point that out.
"This...this is rather unfashionable," Qishi said, no doubt embarrassed to be on the same block of the rather worthless looking, Shesh then took the time to chime in her opinion of the vehicle.
"A lame car for a lame job," Shesh groaned no doubt insulting Xinzang choice of profession, as Xinzang gave a rather harsh cough no doubt telling them both, that she was indeed still standing next to them.
"I apologize if my lowly Cabbage Car is not up to your standards, but you must understand that not all of us have money to gorge on things as luxury Satomobiles," No doubt Xinzang was being sarcastic, as Qishi simply smiled.
"Please, I know how hard it is to be poor and single...actually I don't, but there is no need to apologize," Once again, either Qishi was playing stupid or missed the sarcasm and walked up to the large truck, noticing the closer she got the smaller the front of the truck got.
Actually, Qishi was nearly standing over it, no doubt a testament to her height as she looked at the ceiling of the Cabbage Car which was actually a truck, Qishi then turned to face Xinzang no doubt asking a rather interesting question.
"Can the top come up?" Qishi was still examining the dull gray truck as Xinzang simply shook her head.
"I'm sorry young woman, but this vehicle is mostly for delivering things like I said before, you'll just have to make due. I doubt it will be too tight a fit," Xinzang put her hands together and smiled, no doubt she was enjoying the look on Qishi's face.
Xinzang then rummaged through one of the side pockets of her dress, pulling out a single key, no doubt it was probably just the spare as she placed them in Qishi's had. "Now if you two young woman excuse me, I have things I need to sort out," With those words Xinzang entered her home, leaving both Qishi and Shesh to stare at the giant piece of metal.
"Well...I guess there is no use complaining," Shesh smiled as she walked towards the passenger side door opening it, as she tucked her head underneath the top, Qishi gained a rather pronounced frown as she went to the drivers side.
To say it took quite a bit of work to fit her rather tall body into the seat would be an understatement, rather that put her behind in first Qishi had to awkwardly put her legs in, then followed by the rest of her body. Though she noticed there was far more room inside the seat than it had first appeared, it didn't stop her head from nearly touching the ceiling of the car.
Shesh simply looked at Qishi who buckled her seat belt, no doubt she was going to say something rahter simple.
"...Fuck you're tall," Shesh often forgot that fact as Qishi gave a small grumble. It was bad enough that she had to drive such an unfashionable car, but the fact that said car was cramped and uncomfortable was just icing on the garbage cake.
"Please Shesh, I do not wish to be reminded of that," Qishi started the truck, as it slowly crept to a decent speed before finally going on the roads of downtown Republic city, no doubt the gang leader hoped no one would see her.
As the two woman drove down the street, the thought of what they were doing today entered their head, or rather the lack of knowledge of what they were going to do that day, it was still early day at the very least and them just riding around seemed rather pointless.
"So... do you have a plan on gathering information?" That was a good question Shesh presented as Qishi paused for a moment turning softly and being careful not to hit any bumps on the rocky road before Qishi finally reveling her plan.
"I can't very well go to my informant, he can't be trusted with a lot of information, so we are going to the poorest street in downtown Republic city, you know the place where people dump unwanted kids," Qishi said that in a casual tone as Shesh leaned back into her seat, no doubt admiring the slowly degenerating quality of the houses on the street.
Even though the sun was shining it was obvious that the streets were getting shadier and shadier before Qishi stopped the car in front of what appeared to be a gang outside a broken down house. The words appeared was used because it was obvious that most of the members were kids that were under thirteen as Qishi whispered into Shesh's ear no doubt about to tell her some valuable information.
"Put your wallet in your shoe, these might seem like kids, but no doubt they are harden criminals," Qishi said that as Shesh turned towards her window once again, looking at the kids, they looked shady, but harden criminals...
Though perhaps she shouldn't understatement kids, after all just because someone is young does not mean they were stupid, though it was no doubt best to approach with caution. After all neither Shesh or Qishi knew if these kids were homeless, there parents were around the corner, or if they had a vicious guard dog ready to rip out their neck.
Shesh opened the truck door, as both she and Shesh exited the vehicle, it was a rather silly scene, as Qishi slowly walked towards the children with a rather large smile on her face, a little too large in fact, it was rather creepy.
It was obvious that Qishi wasn't use to dealing with kids, at least not ones that were poor and on the street, Shesh no doubt was about to stop Qishi from speaking, alas the Watertribe woman was too late as the tall imposing woman spoke.
"Hello, my dirt poor neighbors, I know this may come to a shock for your tiny little minds, but I require some assistance in figuring out the current activities of gangs, if you assist us I'll reward you handsomely," Qishis said that, her chest puffed out as Shesh sighed, no doubt that was probably the wrong way to go about it, but Shesh didn't really know how to say it either.
The children stared at the two of them as, Shesh stood there, Qishi gave them work and it seemed that a far majority of them were thinking it over, no doubt wondering if the pay was worth the information, or perhaps the kids themselves were wondering if they even had such information.
"Well, ladies, that mostly depends on how much you are willing to give us," No doubt it was a small girl, no older than ten as Shesh grumbled slightly, it was all about money of course, but Shesh wasn't about to take out her wallet since they were just probably going to try to steal it.
Qishi crossed her arms, no doubt thinking about what was an acceptable price for the street urchins, as the tall woman smirked before taking out what appeared to be pocket change, though it probably wasn't pocket change at all.
"How does...five-hundred yuan for anyone who retrieves the information for me?" Qishi said such a large number so casually as all the kids eyes widened, no doubt they were about to chock each other for the chance to tell Qishi anything, even if it wasn't the truth.
In less than a second the street children started to crowd the two, as Qishi held the money above her head, careful not to drop, after all the moment she dropped it, the children would no doubt be on it like flies to a carcass.
Despite the large reward it seemed that neither of them were going to get any information out of them, though there was a simple solution to this as Shesh gave a large cough, no doubt trying to gain everyones attention.
"It's a simple solution really, whoever is giving us the information will just go with us to the location, if it checks out then they can keep the money, if it doesn't we can just drop them in the river or something," Shesh snickered as the crowd of children slowly stopped spouting information, it seemed that putting themselves in danger was far to steep of a price, after all what good is money if they were dead, and even children understood that much.
In the end they really were just liars, as Shesh scoffed taking the kids faces as a signal that they weren't willing to enter what was probably gang territory.
"What a waste of time..." Shesh sighed as she put her hands behind her head, "Why would you think a bunch of kids would know about the current condition of gangs, it's obvious that they have more important things to do like standing on sidewalks not making money," Shesh words were rather harsh as Qishi sighed before putting the large sum of yuans back into her shoe, somewhat disappointed.
"Such a shame, I truly expected that we would get something valuable out of this, perhaps I overestimated poor people," Qishi said, as all the kids grumbled, it was obvious that they were getting more and more offended, though no matter how offended they got, it didn't change the fact that they were indeed poor.
As Shesh and Qishi were about to go back to the worthless beat-up truck, there was another voice, a voice that both Shesh and Qishi recognized, a voice of a street urchin that had an annoying habit of not being able to keep their mouth shut,
"Oh...I thought you two ladies would be a little more savvy with the way you spend money," It was grating no doubt, as a boy with a hat pushed his way through the crowd of kids who all glared at him, perhaps he wasn't very popular with the other street kids, though they all were in competition with one another. It is after all hard to call someone your friend when they can just as easily steal your next meal.
"Oh, it's you, I thought it was someone important," Shesh said rather casually causing the street urchin known as Skoochy to laugh, even if was just to himself.
"Well, then I guess I'll keep what I know about the Red Monsoon Tirade to myself," Of course Skoochy wasn't going to keep the info to himself, for five-hundred yuans, him telling them something so trivial and traveling to the destination was nothing.
"Oh...so you do have some info...tell me you poor child," Qishi no doubt could have worded such a thing better as Skoochy eyes then looked at Qishi's shoe, no doubt waiting for the five-hundred yuans to show itself.
Qishi rolled smiled as she pulled the money from her shoe once again, no doubt causing Skoochy to smile and all the other street kids to grumble silently to themselves.
"Okay, don't say you heard this from me, but yesterday some lady was talking about attacking the Red Monsoon's hideout, talking about getting rid of some competition you know," Skoochy smiled, though he knew that probably wasn't going to be enough to assure him the yuans as Shesh and Qishi talked amongst themselves.
"Getting rid of the competition...do you think it might be the Triple Threat Tirade?" Shesh tapped he lip as Qishi gave a small nod.
"No doubt about it, I do not think the equalist would say something like getting rid of the competition, so it's probably another gang...If it is the Triple Threat Tirade, then we might be able to get more information on that Air-bending woman," Qishi adjusted her glasses before turning to Skoochy.
"Poor child, I already know where the Red Monsoons hideout is, however..."Qishi looked at Skoochy as he shrugged. No doubt Skoochy expected that he would have to go with them, as he simply jumped in the metal haul of the truck.
Shesh and Qishi simply gave a light shrug, they doubted that anything of note was going to happen, probably just shake down a few goons to gain info at worst. Taking Skoochy along probably wasn't going to be life-threatening in anyway...
At least that is what they thought as the once again got back into the large truck, Qishi putting her feet on the gas and speeding down the dirt road, or as fast as they could go in such a horrid vehicle.
The trip itself was short, the Red Monsson's hideout was no doubt a building, made mostly of metal, it was odd that a gang that used waterbending exclusively was caught in a place where there probably wasn't that much water to bend.
There was no windows, and the building over all looked half finished, no doubt something that was abandoned midway through construction. The loose wiring didn't help it look any better as Qishi and Shesh got out of the truck looking up at the building, though it only had one floor.
"This is...their hideout?" Shesh frowned, it was the very definition of what a dump looked like as Qishi crossed her arms and smirked.
"Yep, fitting for one of the weakest of the three biggest gangs in the city, but..." Qishi scanned the outside of the building, usually they would have been thugs or members guarding outside, but everything was quite. As the sound of someone jumping off the haul of the truck was heard, no doubt it was Skoochy.
"Well, I'll be taking my pay if you don't mind," Skoochy smiled as Qishi no doubt thought for a moment before speaking.
"You'll get the yuans once we are done what we have to do, it's simple really. I can assure that we will not stiff you, or whatever the word you would use," As Qishi said that, it was rather obvious that there was an alternative reason to why she wanted to take Skoochy along, and both Shesh and the street urchin could see that much.
"I don't really have much of a choice now do I lady?" There really wasn't much point to complaining as Skoochy waited for both Shesh and Qishi to walk forward before following behind them, once again if things got too dicey he would simply leave, even if he wasted his time no amount of yuans was worth his life.
The space between the two woman and Skoochy was large enough that Shesh and Qishi could carry a conversation without him hearing, which was rather good since Shesh had a question that needed to be answered.
"Hey...I'm all for child endangerment and all...but why does Skoochy have to come with us, wouldn't it be easier for him to just wait in the truck?" Shesh brought up a good point, as Qishi crossed her arms and adjusted her glasses once more.
"Normally I would agree with you, but that boy knows quite a bit about us and what we do, in all honesty this is just killing two birds with one stone, since I'm not going to allow him to walk around freely," Qishi said, her tone sounding far darker than before, to put it bluntly Shesh really didn't like what Qishi was implying.
"You want to kill him or something?" Shesh said bluntly as Qishi gained a rather shocked expression, no doubt slightly offended that Shesh would say such a thing.
"N-no, of course not, I saying we should probably kidnap him and throw him somewhere so he can't tell anyone about us...I mean who's going to look for him? His parents?" Perhaps the joke was in slightly poor taste as Qishi smiled, Shesh then looked back at Skoochy.
"Can it really be called kidnapping if he really doesn't have any parents...bah, I guess it's not really my concern," Shesh shrugged, as both she and Qishi pushed open the metal doors.
It wasn't pitch black like the warehouse they entered before, it was actually quite bright, mostly due to the foundation being more of a skeleton than a full body. So the light from the sun was easily able the shine through. The first thing that came to mind was the sheer amount of sand and shells on the ground, like someone just carried a large amount of sand and dumped all over the place.
"It looks like some kind of fake beach in here or something," Shesh grumbled, no doubt getting sand in her shoes as she took note of the sheer amount of cut wires dangling freely, from the looks of it power wasn't even running through the building.
"They probably take the sand from places they find and make it look like a beach, they are waterbenders after all, and the port is far too crowded with police activity for them to set up there, it's annoying, but it's one of the odd things the gang does," Qishi stated as Shesh took a moment to think.
"Now that I think about it, every single gang had something odd about them, though I guess that makes sense, the bland ones probably just end up being kicked out," Shesh thought to herself, after all Lightning Bolt Zolt was taken out rather easily, mostly because he really didn't have anything to distinguish himself from others.
He was a guy that happened to lightning bend rather well, he flaunted something so simple around without care which ultimately meant that he got unwanted attention from a certain group of people which ultimately ended up with him falling hard.
Though that wasn't here or there as the smell of something that was no doubt burnt entered all of their noses.
"It smells like burnt clothing, did something happen?" Shesh wondered, there really wasn't many doors or even what someone would call rooms as the pushed past the door to see a rather disturbing sight. There were people face down in the dirt, though using the term person would be an insult to those that still had a pulse, it was obvious that they were dead, you could tell that much simply by looking at them.
Shesh paused for a moment, it was unexpected to say the least there were about five corpses in the area, all lying on the floor as Shesh grumbled. It was to be expected that her trip to Republic City was going to also involve murder of some sort, things never could be simple for her.
Qishi was no doubt calm about walking up to one of the bodies as Skoochy went pale for only a moment before letting out a small cough, no doubt he was nervous about the entire thing as Shesh walked next to the kneeling Qishi who was examining the corpse.
"I'm no doctor, but it seems that they were electrocuted, such a horrid manner as well, oh well we should investigate further," Qishi was oddly calm about the whole thing as Shesh spoke.
"Hey, I'm no expert, but we don't want to be blamed for this right? Maybe it would be better if we just left this as is..." Shesh made a good point noticing something strange about the bodies, even if they were electrocuted, there were multiple burnt mark and strikes on each and everyone of them. However that wasn't the only odd thing, there were patches of glass where sand should be, it was odd to say the least.
"Hey, can we get out of here...you two ladies might like staring at bodies, but this kind of thing isn't really for me," Skoochy said that as he took a few steps towards the two woman who were still looking around.
Alas, Skoochy didn't notice one of the many loose wires hanging about starting to twitch, as it slowly started to creep up on the trio.
BZZZT
No doubt all three of them heard that noise as the wire flared with blue electricity no doubt preparing to strike.
"Wah-" That was the only thing that Skoochy said before he felt something wrap around his body and fling him into a nearby pillar rather casually, with a rather loud thud Skoochy hit one of the many metal beams supporting the warehouse causing him to cough.
"Shit..." Shesh grumbled as her fingers opened up, she then sent a small barrage of what appeared to be red ice towards the living wire, no doubt cutting it to pieces in that instant.
Qishi eye twitched as she looked at Skoochy, who was still recovering from the rather sudden blow as a rather loud noise unlike anything that either Shesh or Qishi heard, it sounded like some sort of instrument, something loud and obnoxious.
"Heyyyy, I didn't expect any cats like you to be hanging around these parts," The voice was female, but it wasn't one that either Shesh or Qishi recognized, as both turned their attention to one of the many metal beams that were attached to the ceiling.
It was a woman no doubt, in an odd getup, her hair messy and an instrument that appeared to be an odd cross between a banjo and something differently entirely different, her eyes were a pale green and her black hair showed the kind of person she was. No doubt about it, Shesh was about to encounter another freak on the ever growing list of weirdos that inhabited the city.
"So...I assume you are the one that ended the lives of these members of the Monsoons?" Qishi asked as the woman flicked a string on her instrument, her hands turning blue with lightning, no doubt she was able to make such sounds because of her bending.
"What a rather Uncool way to say that, I preferred murderfied, straight up deceased, I'm talking about having tea with Koh, heartbeat stopped, body cold dead!" The woman smiled as she continued to play such an odd instrument, it was rather weird, but it was hard for Shesh to picture the person in front of her as a cold blooded killer, however she better than anyone knew not to underestimate others based on looks.
Though at the same time, there was still something irritating about the woman, or rather the fact that the woman would not stop playing her instrument no matter what, the moment that she showed herself on the beams she did not stop moving her hands and generating electricity.
"Listen, you can hear me right? Can you stop playing that shitty thing? I can't even hear myself over here!" No doubt Shesh tried to be as rude as possible, just to make the woman angry, it seemed it worked as the woman's eye twitched no doubt in anger, it seemed she was going to educate Shesh and her friends on such things.
"I have you know, uncool cat, that this thing is known as a guitar, an instrument that is no doubt fit for a fly lady such as myself, it shakes those around it to its very core as the screams of their souls echos through the night sky, you should know better than to challenge the Super Guitarist Yánshí," The woman laughed as both Shesh and Qishi gained a rather irritated look, no doubt Shesh response would match the situation.
"You...you did not just say that," Shesh face was of an expression of shock, shock that a line could be spoken out of someone's mouth with a complete straight face.
No doubt Skoochy was on his feet, slowly heading towards the exit, once again he wasn't going to stand around waiting for something to happen, actually the less that did happen the better as Skoochy realized that he was inches away from the open door.
However another loud noise came from the instrument known as a guitar as wires hanging from the ceiling fell, like a wall of strings they blocked the path, no doubt all of them electrified. It was impossible to pass through, at least no without getting quite a painful and deadly shock.
"Hey, uncool guy, it's pretty rude to leave in the middle of a concert, especially one that is just starting. Didn't your mother ever teach you any manners," Yanshi smiled as she continued to play on her guitar, Shesh examined the instrument, it was metal with strings the attached to it. It was similar to a banjo in quite a few places, but in all honesty, Shesh actually never saw a guitar before, nor did she know how it worked.
"To be fair," Shesh smirked "You are pretty bad at playing, I mean it just sounds like noise..." Once again Shesh was just saying things to irritate and once again it worked as Yanshi eyes widened she lifted her arm and with a heavy motion slammed the strings on the instrument, what happened next was rather strange.
A large stream of electricity was sent from the instrument as it slammed into the sand covered floor, however the stream did not stop as it traveled against the ground targeting both Shesh and Qishi, however the oddest thing about the entire thing was the speed the lighting was moving...it was rather slow. At least compared to other lightning strikes as it did another strange thing, it zigzag unnaturally.
Shesh grumbled as she wrapped her right arm around Shesh as she used her left to make red ropes come out of her fingers, in less than a second Shesh's blood wrapped around one of the many metal beams as they were flung in a random direction, any one would do as long as it wasn't directly backwards. After all, lightning can't suddenly change direction, however it seemed that the lightning that was generated from the guitar didn't follow such rules
The lightning turned, no doubt trying to track both Shesh and Qishi who were moving quite quickly, for every movement the stream made Yanshi played another string on her guitar, it was at that moment that Shesh noticed, still pulling her and Qishi from beam to beam that the lightning never actually left Yanshi, it was still attached to her.
No doubt that was the reason why the lightning was trailing them, the movements were based on the instrument and the source of power was based on the guitarist known as Yanshi.
A simple solution to this would just douse Yanshi with water and cut the guitar strings, however there wasn't any water nearby, at least not enough to stop Yanshi and even if Shesh sent shards of ice towards the woman they would probably have melted.
"Shit...I need to find another way to attack her, it doesn't help that she's on a higher beam," Shesh thoughts raced as she noticed as certain street with his back against the corner of the room, no doubt trying to avoid the lightning.
She smiled, without hesitation Shesh pinky opened as blood red rope wrapped around Skoochy, leaving Shesh's other four fingers to continue swinging about the room avoiding the lighting that Yanshi was controlling.
"H-hey wait a moment!" Skoochy snapped, no doubt he dislike being dragged into something once again, as the lighting that was following the trio started to shake, before exploding into sparks, causing a large amount of sand to be blown into the air, no doubt reducing the visibility of the bottom floor to near zero, to much of Yanshi's irritation.
"How annoying, it looks like I lost track of the uncool cats... well it's probably for the best, I need to charge this baby up," The woman smirked as electricity flowed through her fingers, she was no doubt playing what one would call a riff, not realizing that Shesh, Qishi and Skoochy was hiding under one of the many metal support beams, no doubt whispering and coming up with an amazing plan.
"Please Shesh...please warn a girl before you grab her like that, I feel rather nauseous," Qishi stated, being happy that her glasses was still on her face as Skoochy sighed.
"You know...I'm starting to think that taking this job was a bad idea..." Skoochy made on off hand comment as Shesh scanned the ground.
No doubt she would have to give directions quickly, as Shesh gave a small cough trying to keep her voice low.
"Qishi, I need you to make some glass using some of the sand around us, kid I need to make some stones...you can do that much can you?" Shesh asked no doubt wondering Skoochy limit as an earthbender, then again Shesh really didn't understand how earthbending worked in the first place so perhaps asking that was kind of pointless.
"Yeah, yeah, I can do that much," Skoochy sighed, as Qishi gained a rather confused look on her face.
"Well, Shesh I do not know what glass will do in this situation, but very well...I shall make a few shards of glass, put I expect you to by me some lotion, sand is quite rough..." Qishi picked up a large amount of sand, no doubt heating it until it was a clear solid like material as Skoochy made a dozen of small stones.
Shesh, then grabbed the items and drenched them in her blood, completely, so much so that they were completely stained, the color of the objects were simply red as Shesh smirked. No doubt this would would be quick, as she made a large bubble of blood containing the glass and stones, before running from her hiding space, to much of Skoochy's and Qishi's confusion.
"Ah, there you are, you uncool cat!" Yanshi smirked before her fingers speed increased no doubt she was about to launch another attack as took a deep breath as she turned the blood into shards, no doubt containing the glass and the stones before sending it at high speed towards Yanshi.
The woman with the guitar simply smirked as she played a rift, no doubt shattering the ice shards and turning them into a fine mist, this caused a large amount of glass and pieces of rock to fall next to the music loving woman.
"Gahahaa, what a lame attack that was, it's like your heart wasn't in it at all, don't worry though I'll show you something shocking!" Yanshi lifted her arm, no doubt prepared to play another note, but alas that note never came as she was violently pelted with stones and glass, cutting the strings to her guitar and breaking her fingers.
The force of these blows was enough to send her off the metal beam and into the sand below with a rather loud thud. Of course the super guitarist wasn't knocked out just yet, as she staggered to her feet, for no other reason to stand, desperately trying to play a cord.
"Y-you..." Yanshi voice was shacking as she tried to get the strings to her guitar to function not noticing that Shesh was walking towards.
"Hey..." Yanshi nearly jumped, her bruises no doubt showing as Shesh looked at the woman, the watertribe woman had a hand on her hip as her hand twitched, whips stained red appearing from her hand.
Yanshi did not respond, as Shesh said one last thing to her.
"Your music is rather... Ungreat," At that moment Yanshi was violently whipped, someone would lose count from the amount of strikes before Shesh gave a light shrug, and stopping. Yanshi was still standing after the torrent of blows, but it seemed that she lost consciousness.
It was rather funny though, the guitarist looked like a statue of some sort, as Shesh eye twitched, no doubt she forgot about something important, the entire reason they were looking for information in the first place.
"Shit, I forgot to ask her about that Airbender!" Shesh grumbled, before she sighed, she noticed Qishi and Skoochy walked towards her, either sliding on the glass or walking in the sand, as both of them examined the unconscious Yanshi, who was marked and bruised.
"Well...we can assume she's an assassin, but I don't think she will be waking up anytime soon," Qishi said as she adjusted her glasses. "It my be best if we leave here, there are still a large amount of corpses here and if someone would to walk in right now, we would be blamed for it," Qishi made a rather good point as Skoochy gave a rather small cough, before looking to Qishi, expecting the 500 yuans he was promised.
Qishi then simply took her wallet out of her shoe, and removed a few bills, before finally giving Skoochy the money that he pretty much risked his life for, it entire thing was strange really, as Skoochy simply tipped his hat before smiling.
He was going to walk away, perhaps run, as far away from the two as possible, Shesh wondered if this would be a good time to stop him, as Qishi eye cut to Shesh, after all Skoochy did know a little too much, and until the whole assassin ordeal was taken care of he was a liability to let wander around.
Shesh grumbled, no doubt there was going to be a large amount of arrangements that needed to be made, but at the same time.
"Hey, kid, would you like to work for us full time?" No doubt the job offer sparked interest in Skoochy, as he turned around to listen to Shesh's offer.
"I mean...it has to be better than going around picking pockets and what not, plus I can promise that the pay is good!" Shesh smiled as Qishi glared at the Watertribe woman, knowing full well that she would have to be the one paying Skoochy if they do supposedly hire them, which also meant that she would have to go to her mothers bank account due to the lack of gang activity bringing her money.
Skoochy no doubt thought about for a moment, though it really wasn't a big deal if he declined, they would simply kidnap him by force if necessary. Though obviously that wasn't necessary as Skoochy gave a small shrug before finally responding.
"You know, it seems like you two ladies are rather professional about these sort of things, sure why not. After all, if you two do most of the work, I'll happily take a smaller cut," Skoochy smiled, no doubt he was irritating, but the entire thing probably couldn't have been avoided.
The problem would probably arise from trying to explain things to Xinzang...
"Bah, I'm sure she'll be cool with it," Shesh's thoughts no doubt mimicked her attitude, someone who didn't mind spending money or time as long as it wasn't her own.
Author note
Sorry for the delay, but this chapter...was rather annoying to write, and also the longest chapter this far.
Also, it seems like it's going to be impossible to complete the first part in thirteen chapters, and I'm actually going to have to use all 20. Though, it's nice to actually have the story pick up, also you may notice the lack of romance...well that's because I don't think this story needs too much romance, or really any.
I think it would somewhat distract from the main point, and kind of put more filler in to a story that I feel already has a lot of it.