Last time in ILMiRC:

Ume, Jetta, and Kili, three seemingly down on their luck earthbenders all find themselves in Republic City, searching for some missing part of themselves and their lives. Through what seems to be fate's intervention, Jetta and Kili meet up in an oh- so- strange exchange of dumplings, starting what we think is a firm friendship. Ume, on the other hand, just has a worse and worse week, metalbending a steel pole into an unsuspecting girl's noodle shop, running away before she was caught. And then there's Ru Li, our resident fourth wheel, who seems to be heading in the same direction, straight to the heart of Republic City. Will the four girls find what they are looking for? Will Ume break her Pai Sho addiction? COULD THE FORESHADOWING WITH FOUR BEDS IN KILI'S LOFT GET ANY MORE OBVIOUS? Tune in to this episode to find out!

. . .

Ume

. . .

Rumbling. Steady and low, like animal footsteps, yet not heavy enough to be anything but human, coming ever closer to the small, makeshift fort that concealed a young earthbender for the night. It didn't stop, but grew in rhythm, its pace quickening as the distance closed. The girl inside continued to sleep soundly, even as the pattering surrounded the rock figure. And then suddenly, silence. . .

CRRRRRRAACKKKKK-

The walls of the fort crumbled in, broken to bits by the muscled hands of men cloaked in black. Ume awoke, stumbling back, stunned by the unexpected noise, futilely attempting to ward off her assailants under the still intoxicating lull of sleep. Looking around her, she gazed into the sickly green eyes of what her drowsy mind saw as monsters. Frightened, she screamed, and began to run out from the still dark alley, not yet touched by the first glowing rays of the new morning sun.

She threw her hands out to her sides, taking the rock from the ground and trying to close off the advance of the shadows trailing her, but to no avail. They simply catapulted themselves over every obstacle she threw at them, moving quick, fast, and light. Even faster than the Metalbending Police Force, and she definitely knew how much of a light step they had.

"Agh!"

Ume barely dodged a bright flash of blue light that had suddenly flew out of the darkness from in front of her. Suddenly unbalanced, she tripped hard onto the ground, tumbling head over heels, eventually coming down awkwardly onto her left ankle.

That was the only mistake that her assailants needed.

With an almost savage like flourish, the men were on top of the screaming girl, hitting her in rapid succession, arms, back, chest, legs, cutting off her bending. Completely out of breath, and her muscles on fire, Ume didn't resist, and couldn't find the strength even to scream. Her limbs going rigid, only her eyes darted back and forth, staring into the pale green eyes of the men around her. One pulled out his kali stick, barely touching her, yet electrifying every cell in her body. A perpetual pain emanated through her being. They dropped her onto the ground then, all retaining their circle around her, almost like they were waiting for someone. Ume laid there, a single tear rolling down her bruised cheek, just hoping that they would get it over with. She was certain she was going to die.

Swish!

Two of the men in front of her parted then.

Suddenly, another black figure appeared on the rooftop in front of her. It stayed there for a moment, hunched over, then flung itself over the edge, landing in front of her in a catlike posture. This one was different, she could tell. Instead of the standard moss green and red uniform, he was a pure black shadow, cloaked in material that could have further darkened the blackest of nights. He had no mask or goggles, and his hair was swaying in the cool breeze of the morning. Coming into the small slip of light that donned the narrow alley, he sauntered forward, revealing his tanned face. Ume's eyes opened in shock, sweat dripping in translucent beads down her face and neck.

He smiled, teeth reflecting the light in a sinister white, and then suddenly, she could see nothing.

. . .

Kili + Jetta

. . .

"Oh man, I can't even begin to tell you how great this is Kili!" Jetta exclaimed.

She laughed, rolling her eyes, having heard this phrase from Jetta at least fifty times now. After the previous night, she had decided to ask Jetta if she would like to stay in the loft with her, maybe working part time at the shop instead of giving her rent. Jetta's eyes had gotten larger than the biggest bowl of soup she had to offer, and the girl had begun to squeal, throwing her arms around Kili, hopping up and down in excitement. It had taken a good ten minutes just to stop Jetta from screaming 'thank you' in her ear, and then another ten to pry her off of her, after which she continued to hobble back and forth on her feet, probably perpetually killing her facial muscles with the smile she was wearing. The amount of gratitude could kill someone.

"I mean, one minute I'm on the street, the next I've got an awesome place to stay, and a roommate to boot!"

She slurped up some more noodles from the bowl that she'd been working on for the past thirty minutes.

"Plus, you know; the service is to die for."

"You do know that you're not going to get off totally free, right?" Kili asked.

Jetta raised the ceramic bowl to her face, downing the last of her lunch. She made a gratifying noise, burped, and then wiped her face with her sleeve.

Kili gave her a fairly steely glance, furrowing up her lip and staring her down.

". . .Please, continue to bellow in the manner of a foul cretin. . ."

Jetta shifted back, surprised that such a mild tempered girl could have the glare of an eagle- hawk. Donning a rather indecisive expression, she laughed nervously.

"Yeah, uh. . . I get that. . . will you quit that look, though. . . Kili. . .Kili, I'm serious. . .Kili. . .KIIILIIIIIIII-"

"BOO!"

"GAAAAAAGH!"

Jetta flew backwards and out of her chair, hitting the ground with a satisfactory thud. Kili broke out into a fit of laughter, clutching her sides, attempting to breathe, but with little avail. Soon, she too collapsed onto the ground, and both the girls couldn't help themselves.

"You're way too impressionable, Jetta, you know that?"

Jetta wiped her eyes, stemming the flow of tears that were gushing out from under her palms.

"You're way too ridiculous, Kili, you know that?"

"Yeah, yeah."

"You do realize that was the second time in two days that you've had an uncontrollable fit of laughter?"

"I'm a comedian, do not judge me."

"Oh, I'll judge."

"All right then. . . I am a four- hundred foot tall purple platypus bear with pink horns and silver wings."

". . ."

". . .That was historical humor."

"Not a clue."

Shccccccccccchhhhhhhhhhhhh-

Both Kili and Jetta slowly raised themselves off the floor, looking around the room for the source of the strange noise.

"What the heck was that?" said Kili as she moved to the window, looking out onto the street below.

"I have no idea, but wha-"

Good evening, citizens of Republic City.

A cold chill filled the room. The girls turned to the radio that had been sitting silently on the kitchen counter just moments before. A shiver rippled through both of their spines, knowing that nothing good could come from the static noise of the small box. Kili ran to it, turning the volume knob to maximum, then setting it back onto its former resting place.

I, Amon, come to you tonight to bring most important news of the glorious rebellion. Let us skip all the formalities, shall we?

The two girls sat down onto the couch, shaking.

Just this morning, my most trusted team of Chi- Blockers found something most interesting down by the disgusting 'monument' to the oppressor, Firelord Zuko.. A young girl, no older than sixteen, that had been playing Pai Sho there the previous day. Harmless? No. Let me rephrase my earlier statement; an insolent earthbending girl had been at the monument stealing money from unsuspecting, non bending citizens, and using her skills to rob them blind. When they would refuse to give her their money, she secured them to the ground with her bending and simply took what wasn't hers. This girl. This 'scum' of the world is why we Equalists exist. To stop benders from abusing those who were not born with the 'gift.' To stop ordinary people from experiencing the injustice they so frequently take. . . So we took this earthbender, and tonight. . . Well, Republic City. . . What do you think we should do to her?

Click.

The radio shut off.

Silence.

Neither girl could speak. They had heard of people being taken by the Chi- Blockers before, but. . .something just felt wrong. After a few beats, Kili stood. Jetta looked at her.

"What do you think they'll do to that poor kid?"

Having still been walking toward the only other door in the room besides the entrance, Kili stopped and turned, eyes radiating a sort of aloof anger.

"I don't intend to let anyone find out."

She bounded off once again in the direction of the door, she put both hands on it, clenching her hands, then turning. Bending the door, she opened it, sliding it into the wall. Inside, it was dark. Kili walked into the blackness, leaving Jetta staring toward it, unaware of what was within. But not for long. Flipping a switch on the wall, bright yellow light flooded the small room, revealing the long, square table within, along with the various charts and equipment lining the wall. Jetta stood, stunned, not expecting what she saw.

"Uh, Kili. . . what's with the mysterious, secretive back room?"

Kili talked back from within.

"This," she said, "is what I do for my other job."

"And. . . what exactly is that?"

Stepping out from the room, Kili joined her again in the main room, having donned a pair of dark green pauldrons, along with both arm and knee bracers. A thicker robe accompanied the additions, reaching almost past her knees. She had suddenly gone from being a simple shop owner, to looking like she was about to engage in epic combat. Slipping on a pair of black gloves that had been pulled from her side pocket, Kili answered her.

"I don't just own a noodle shop."

Jetta's eyebrow twitched.

"Well, I don't think that was in question at the moment."

"You don't understand. Not only do I own a noodle shop, I run my own anti- Equalist organization."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Back up. You have a team of Equalist fighting earthbenders all wearing kick butt outfits and doing the deeds they do for the common good?"

A pause.

"Actually. . .it's more like I have a very small squadron of one that just so happens to be able to inadvertently throw pebbles in the general direction of Equalists, and does so because she dearly misses her mobile noodle cart."

She disappeared back into the room, this time Jetta hot on her trail.

"So, you have this whole room. . .just for one person. Hold on, are you going after that girl Amon mentioned.?"

". . ."

"Kili, no, that's crazy. A suicide mission! Even if you were able to FIND them, you just said that you were no magnificent earthbender!

"I don't have to be; I can't just sit here and do nothing. . .I'll be back. Just don't let someone burn down the shop while I'm gone."

She sighed, tying the last string on her gloves and picking up a brown leather bag, readying herself to move out. Stepping past the still stunned Jetta, she made her way to the front door, opening it. Before she could leave, though, a confident voice called out to her, making her stop in her tracks.

"In that case, you now have a relatively small squadron of two."

Jetta stood up, running over to the door and pushing Kili out of it before she could do anything to protest.

"WHAT? No, Jetta I didn't ask you to do this with me."

She stopped, looking down at Kili from higher on the staircase, looking at her with a gleam in her eyes.

"You never would have had to."

The two girls, understanding the situation, both smirked, resuming their bounding steps down the staircase and out of the front door. Who could argue with a statement like that? The day was cool, and though the sun just barely broke through the wall of white, puffy clouds above their heads, they sweated in anticipation. Pausing only now and then to ask a question or two to passer- bys, they steadily made their way toward Firelord Zuko Memorial Square. Once there, they began asking everyone they could if they had seen anything suspicious earlier that morning, finding the most interesting amount of information.

"NOTHING. Absolutely nothing at all!"

Jetta growled in frustration, kicking a small rock into the street in front of her. The two had been at it for hours; so long that the only sun left was no bigger than a squinting eye. No one they asked had seen anything unusual the day before, and barely anyone claimed that they even knew what a Chi- Blocker was. Countless people had walked past the statue, but still, no avail. Now there were only the two girls.

"You would think that at least someone would have seen something, right? I mean, who doesn't notice a young girl being attacked by a notorious criminal organization in the middle of a public square?"

Kili shook her head.

"It doesn't make any sense, I know. Maybe it was just so early that no one was out at all, eh?"

"Mm."

"Let's go back, Jetta. We can start again tomorrow. . ."

"Yeah. . . I guess."

With solemn faces, the two gathered their things from the base of the statue, slowly moving out, admitting defeat for the day.

Jetta looked over at Kili, throwing her a look of desperation. She stopped walking, taking one look back at the statue.

"What is it, Kili?"

She clenched her fist.

"Don't you just hope that she's okay? I mean, I don't know her or anything, but she's just like you and me. Practically the same age. I think it's horrible what these Equalists assume they have the right to get away with. They just kidnapped a child."

"Of course."

Jetta clasped her hand onto Kili's shoulder.

"I bet that girl was a fighter, or Amon wouldn't have bothered to keep her alive. I bet she went down, taking a couple of Chi- Blockers with her."

"Actually. . ."

Jetta gasped, hearing a voice behind her. The girls wheeled around, suddenly looking into the smirking, tanned face of a man cloaked in black, darker than night.

"She cried herself into submission. Poor little thing tripped onto her tear streaked face, crushing her ankle in the middle of trying to earthbend. It was quite beautiful, actually."

"Who the hell do you think you are, and what kind of soulle—umph!"

The boy struck Jetta in the stomach, causing her to instantly black out from the pain. Kili's eyes opened wide. She realized just who this man was.

"Soulless?" He remarked.

"If I didn't have a soul, I'd have no emotions. . ." he smiled, rushing at Kili, too quickly, grabbing both of Kili's arms and twisting them around her, bringing her to her knees and crying out in pain. He leaned down, then, putting his lips close to her ear, hair itching the nape of her neck. Laughing once, a dark, disturbing sound, he spoke in a hushed tone, ". . . and I wouldn't have had nearly that much fun."

. . .

PHEW! Chapter Two, down for the count. Really like how I'm setting this whole story up. I apologize if any of you were really wanting more info on Ru Li, I just felt really in tune with Kili and Jetta's story today!

On a side note: no, the tanned, mysterious gentleman will not have any romantic relationship with Kili. He's just being a butt turd.

That ship will be reserved for another one of the main characters.

MUAHAHA!

Mojo- out!