Last time in ILMiRC:
Our two earthbenders find themselves in a sour pickle as they come toe to toe with a mysterious boy in black. With Jetta out for the count, and Kili being impinged upon, how will the two manage to get themselves out of this sticky situation.
Meanwhile, Ume faces sure peril as Amon announces what seems to be her demise over the Republic City airwaves. Will anyone come to her rescue? Will she be saved in time? And just what does Amon have in store for her?
And finally, we have Ru Li. Where has she gone to now; will we get more information about this feisty girl? Will she get her revenge, or just a bittersweet replacement for the pain that she feels?
Tune in to this chapter of "I lost Myself in Republic City" to find out!
. . .
Somewhere in Republic City
. . .
Night bled out into the city like an ink stain, reaching into every corner and crevice of the metropolis, from the skyscrapers to the alleyways. Like a plague, it seeped into the hearts of unsuspecting citizens, chilling them to the core. As of late, the people of Republic City had taken to their fear of the dark, barely anyone removing themselves from their homes in time to see the last russet rays of the sun sink down past the skyline. But for those that did, there was a distinct change. They didn't just feel the typical apprehensions; thugs, murderers, thieves. No. People were afraid of a whole new evil. A criminal could take away your possessions, homes, money. . .but now a part of your physical being was being targeted. Bending. One could get another yuan, but one could not get back their bending once it was gone.
And that was the fear that fed him.
The fear that drove him to do what he did; what made him enjoy the thrill of the hunt.
Why he had joined Amon.
Wearing nothing but a black pair of pants, he looked out into the sleeping city, past countless windows, houses, buildings, wondering if anyone knew that he was watching; wondering if anyone knew him as anything but a shadow. He smirked, throwing his hands behind his head, furrowing his eyebrows. Of course not. He wasn't anything but the monster that children told their parents about at night. He was the shadow that you noticed out of the corner of your eye. Fear was a part of him, and essentially, he had become a part of fear.
"Sir, they're ready." Said a Chi- Blocker, coming out to him on the balcony of the house.
Completely ignoring the man's remark, he sighed.
"Do you ever think about the people in this city? I mean, really think about them. Take away everyone's bending and we all become the same breed of everyday folk, save for your murderers and petty criminals. Everybody that we've targeted has been the same as you; they all have family, friends. . . a home." He moved away from the balcony, stepping back into his room, slipping on another dark tunic from his gloomy collection. Tugging on the rest of his garments- gloves, shoes, light armor- a throat was cleared by the window.
"Ehem—I said. . . they are ready for you, sir."
"I heard you the first time lieutenant. . ." he paused. "Aren't you one for idle chat in the morning? Personally, I find that it works better than any tea or remedy. Although I could really go for a good cup of jas-"
"SIR."
A flash of light.
The faint sickly sweet smell of blood began to intermingle with the heavy incense that had filled the room, creating a nauseating combination. A single, thin line of red dripped down the exposed neck of a quivering man. Pale and not having seen the sun in a long while, the contrast was almost poetic; white flesh against ruby. Final shakes disturbed the still air around the lieutenant, turbulent to only those who looked for it. Slowly the body came to floor, slumping into a dead mass of cloth and man. Legs, torso, arms. . . then the eyes, the light wrenched out of them in a swift flick of a toned wrist; one that was meant for killing. Dropping the body, he flicked the small and few droplets off of the fingertips that had so delicately brushed the nape of the Chi- blocker's neck. He pushed himself forward over the shape, pupils dilated into black moons. Grabbing his jacked on the way out of the room, he nonchalantly shut off the light and closed the door behind him. Walking down the lavish hallway, he moved his eyes back over his shoulder.
"I heard you the first time."
. . .
Ru Li
. . .
Sweat fell in salty, sticky beads down my brow as I let my ostrich horse drink from the small stream. It was the beginning of summer, and I knew the heat would be ridiculous this season. The rays of the sun easily burst through the little shade that the petty, shriveled trees offered. Dotting the lonely road, the only foliage was suffering harshly from the intense draught that the Earth Kingdom was experiencing this year. Normally, water benders would have been called in to the country side to redirect some water here, irrigating the parched land. But these obviously weren't normal times with the Equalists and all. They had opposed any water benders that had come to help this season, turning them away with a harsh word. Instead, they had taken it upon themselves to work out the problem, hiring cheap labor to try and dig their way to the various lakes that dotted the region. It didn't work out, obviously.
It would have been ten times more convenient for everyone if they had just let the water benders do their thing here.
I looked up at the hot sun, shielding my eyes from the intensity.
What does a girl have to do to get some shade here?
Flicking a bit of perspiration off my face, I cracked my knuckles, walking a bit away from the water, getting ready to create a bit of natural shade. I rolled my neck, then my arms, and took up a very simple earth bending stance, one taught within the first few lessons at the earth bender academy. Yes, I go to earth bending school. . . Well, I did. My father, the great 'Rock Sho' was a great earth bender who had won the regional pro- bending championship for seven years. Naturally, when he had me, he expected me to be cut from the same cloth, and become a successful earth bender like him.
Not so much.
See, its kind of funny, actually, because even though I went to the world's most prestigious earth bending academy, even though my dad was a world famous bender, even though all I've known for the past ten years is stances and forms and breathing and exercises. . .
Never mind all that, just do what you know you can, Ru!
I shook the nonsense out of my mind. Steadying my feet, I bent my knees and curled my hands into formation. Taking a deep breath, finding my center, I brought my right hand back slowly, and then. . .
Pfff.
Nothing.
Nada.
The wind rustled, and that was pretty much it.
The funny thing? I've never once been able to earth bend.
I sighed, and fell back onto my rear, silently cursing the gods that had decided to withhold the gift of pebble moving from my generation. No matter how many times, or how hard I'd tried, I've never once been able to. My father was convinced, though, that I was a bender, and I never really knew why.
The ostrich horse bounded over to me, done with its stop. Satisfied, it crouched down, nestling my cheek with its beak. I got up, not wishing to be slobbered on, and patted it on its side.
"The day I bend is the day that Amon is bested by a team of giddy teenage girls."
It cocked its head, looking at me almost quizzically with its brown eyes.
"Yeah, that's what I thought too."
I stretched one final time, then climbed onto its back, directing him back onto the dirt road. We hadn't passed anyone all day, so I took the liberty of taking out my coin purse, counting how many yuan I had left for my journey; I had more than what I expected. When I first bought the ostrich horse, I had spent all the money I had on him, knowing that having a riding animal could sometimes be more important than anything else in the hot summer months. I had expected that I'd need to swipe a cabbage or two along the way to feed myself, but I had found something better. On the animals collar had been a gold plated nametag, which I had discreetly removed and sold in a nearby town. After all, I had renamed him anyway; his original name was pretty strange. I furrowed my eyebrows and leaned down to speak to the animal.
"What kind of name is 'Foo Foo Cuddlypoops' anyway?"
A blank stare.
"Also, why do I keep talking to you?"
PHURRRMPH.
"Don't you give me that lip!" I said, flicking him softly on his side. His ears moved back pointedly. "That's what I thought."
Geez, I need to quit talking to this thing.
I blew a few strands of loose hair out of my face.
Is the sun really getting to me that much? Maybe I should think about getting a straw hat in the next town, don't want to g—
OOMPTH!
"Hey! You watch your step!"
Coming around the bend, I hadn't noticed that there was anyone in front of me. Suddenly, there was a whole caravan of people along the road. Steadying the ostrich- horse after the unexpected bump, I looked at the faces of at least ten people, all looking nervous. They all held themselves like they had something to hide.
"Did you hear me?"
"Eh?"
I finally spoke to the angry voice in front of me. A small, fat man had been walking along the road, and I had unintentionally ran into him as he headed up the back of the train of travelers. He wore common clothing, tans, browns, creams. Not anything indicating any loyalties to the nations. It was almost. . . too normal? I spoke again.
"I'm sorry, I didn't notice you coming around the bend. I wasn't expecting to run into anyone else, especially along this road, it being pretty out of the way and all. Speaking of which, why is there this big of a group all the way out here?" I motioned to the long caravan. The chubby man suddenly lost all of his defensive nature, suddenly hunching in on himself, nervously rubbing his hands together.
"Oh! Oh, well, ehem. No reason! None at all! We are just, uhm. . . shoe. . . salesmen. . ."
. . .
He laughed nervously, and I raised up my eyebrows, giving him a quick smirk.
"I'm not an earth official, nor am I a highway raider if that's what you're thinking."
He let out a quick breath, obviously assured by my words.
"Ah, well! In that case. I thought you were. . . were. . ."
"Were WHAT?"
He paused again, suddenly donning a serious look. His mood changes almost scared me. The look that he had now was strange, almost like he was about to attack me.
"I thought you were an earth bender that had come to stop the caravan, actually. See, we got wind that there was someone on our trail, and we've all been waiting for an attack, so you see, naturally were jumpy around strangers."
I looked back at the rest of the caravan. I hadn't noticed it before, but I saw it now: they were all carrying some sort of gauntlet, or glove on their arms. They emitted a strange glow, almost like an electric charge. All at once, I realized what they were. I began to shake. Equalists. Knowing it would be a bad idea to say anything to the heavily armed troupe, I decided to ignore their status, despite how sickening the thought of a group of their kind was to me.
"I see now; you are a group of Equalists, not wanting a bender to catch your band."
He tensed.
"You catch on pretty quickly for a lone, traveling girl from the earth kingdom."
Moving back the long sleeves on his tunic, he revealed the long knife that had been concealed the duration of the conversation. At the sight of the gleaming steel, the ostrich- horse moved nervously underneath me, the gleam of the metal startling him. I reighned him in, knowing that the situation was. . . probably not going to turn out very well in my favor.
Let's see; twelve, shock glove wielding Equalists against a girl with her very own Foo Foo Cuddlypoops?. . . The odds are obviously not in my favor at the moment. Thank you, bending spirits, yet again!
Knowing that I was going to have to do something, and fast, I let the first words I could think of fly out of my mouth.
"Of course I caught on. Actually, I'm headed to an Equalist rally in Republic City."
I am an idiot.
His hand resting on the hilt of his knife, I held my breath waiting to see what he would do.
"You know about the rally, girl? That was a secret only passed through the official members of the Equalist movement; no normal kid could have known about it."
Let me rephrase: I am a HUGE idiot. . . wait a second. . .
I reached down into my pant pocket, bringing out the crumpled red flyer displaying the advertisement for the next Equalist rally in Republic City. I unfolded it and showed it to him, the time and place obvious for him to see.
"This is how I know."
Moving forward, he snatched it out of my hand.
NO! That was my only chance of getting in to the rally!
Glancing over the paper, he quickly read the advertisement and. . . laughed?
"HAHAHAHA! I see now; you come from one of the remote towns we go to! You've been recruited. That clears up a lot. Here I thought you were lying and wanting to kill us! Bahahaha!"
"Oh, uh. . . heh. . . heh."
I laughed along with him, not wanting to let on my true intentions.
A recruit? Sure dumpling roll, let's go with that.
"Of course I am. Well, if that's settled, then I'll just be on my way to that rally now."
"Wait!"
He stepped in front of me, blocking my path.
"That rally has been cancelled, did you not know that?"
"WHAT?" I cried out.
I've come all this way. And for nothing? UGH! This was my chance!
"What do you mean, cancelled?"
"I suppose that you haven't heard on account of you've been travelling some time by the look of it. Amon has cancelled the rally and instead decided to do something more. . . inspiring."
"Like. . .?"
"Like taking the life of a young earth bender that he caught stealing money from other non- bending folk. The little rat." He spat onto the dirt. "It's all happening in the same place, though, in front of the biggest crowd of Equalists yet. Apparently she had been unfairly playing them at Pai Sho, bending extra pieces under the table and such. Well, he figured that the street girl wouldn't be missed anyway, so he had his chi- blockers take her. He's going to take her right in front of the crowd and first, take her bending away. Then he's going to kill her for everyone to see."
My eyes flew open in shock.
"But I thought that Amon wasn't planning to resort to killing. Wouldn't it make more of an impression if he just left everyone helpless instead of dead?
The man sighed next to me.
"You would think so. But previous measures just weren't getting through to the masses. Amon wants to show his power. All of it. He wants to show Republic City that he holds complete power over them. Spiritually, mentally, physically."
". . . Well then," I said.
I have to help her. I can't. . . I can't let Amon kill anyone else. This will not happen, I won't let it. No one else is going to be taken by that monster. Not while I can help it.
"Well then, indeed, young girl. You should hurry if you want to be a part of this step of the glorious revolution; the event is tonight, after all."
"Tonight?"
The man moved to my right, motioning forward with his hand, the knife once again hidden away within the cream colored confines of his simple tunic.
"I shall see you there, I hope. May the spirits smile upon you and grant you strength, power, and good fortune. May the future be bright for the world, as one day, we shall no longer be oppressed by the heathenish benders."
I straightened my eyes forward, kicking the side of the ostrich- horse, not responding to the man. I moved out in front of the caravan, glaring at all of the men and women with a sweetly surreptitious glance. I continued ahead, eventually rounding out the curve in the road. Around the last leg, the rock face suddenly made way to a wide valley, the ocean sparkling ahead of me. I looked out, seeing spiraling towers and white skyscrapers reaching up into the sky. Republic City. I had reached my goal. Restless, I kicked on my ride harder, urging him forward, faster, and with more urgency. I smiled.
I hope I do see you all tonight. I really do.
. . .
As the girl with the ostrich- horse moved forward, the small, fattened man frowned. He was not stupid, and he knew exactly who the girl was. The daughter of the pro- bender that had been killed weeks ago, the Equalists had all known that she would come.
After all, Amon is never wrong, and he knew she would want revenge.
Signaling to the front of the caravan with a whistle, the group started to move out again. He climbed into the back of the cart nearest to him, rustling about. Locating what he was looking for, he ripped off the canvas cover of a metal device. Taking up the speaker, he adjusted the various dials on the metal box until he reached the frequency that he wanted. Flipping a switch, he turned on the device, it flaring up with various squeaks and lights. He pushed a button in on the speaker, about to radio in a message to headquarters and smiled, his narrow lips scraping against the metal mesh.
"She's coming."
. . .
At the Equalist Headquarters, Republic City
. . .
He moved away from the large wall of machinery, exiting the room. Walking into a separate corridor, he reached a shiny metal door, a guard posted in front of it. Signaling to the chi- blocker, the sentry moved aside, allowing the man to enter the room. In the middle of the darkened place was a small stream of sunlight, a young girl laying in its glow. She lazily opened her eyes at the sight of the man, then scrambled back into the corner, trying in desperation to evade his presence. He laughed.
"You really going to keep doing that every time? I figured you would have learned by now."
He took a chair from the wall, and turned it opposite of her, laying his arms along the back of it.
"Do you know what tonight is?"
She didn't look at him. Staring at the wall, she hugged her legs in her arms, not saying a word nor making a sound.
"I want to ask you something. It's not personal or anything, but it's been killing me to ask you. . . You mind?"
Still no response from her. He sighed, leaning back from the chair.
"You obviously realize that you'll probably die tonight."
A soft whimper came from the girl.
". . .But what if I could help you with that?"
She looked at him, tearing her gaze from the bleak walls, utterly shocked. Her lips mumbled something unintelligible, and realizing he couldn't hear her, she cleared her throat, scraping the words past her chapped lips.
"Why would you do that? You're an Equalist, a Chi- Blocker. . . You hate me."
He laughed, and then got up from the chair. Leaving her there, he walked out of the room, exiting for a short moment. Coming back, he had two other girls with him, both dressed in distressed clothing. They looked leery, and seeing Ume, they came over to her, helping her to her feet. She looked at them, completely dumbstruck. One she didn't recognize, but the other. . .
"Wait, you're the girl whose pottery I broke! You own the noodle shop!"
"Yes, and you owe me 820 yuan in decorative expenses. But we can talk about that later," said Kili.
The man leaned himself against the wall, arms crossed.
"So, how confused are all of you?"
The girls got the chair and placed it in front of Ume, setting her down.
"Very." They all responded.
He smirked.
"I bet you're wondering why a Chi- Blocker is saving your life, what's your name? Ume?"
"Considering that you've kept me prisoner here for days without food or water, yes, I am wondering why you are offering to save my life."
Ume gave him a long glance, narrowing her eyes at him. The girls did the same, looking at him quizzically.
"Better yet, I'm wondering why I'm here in the first place when you were just going to save me, apparently." Said Ume.
He shook his head, moving off of the wall, coming toward her. He crouched down, looking her in the eyes.
"I wasn't. When I brought you here. . ." he looked at Kili and Jetta. "When I brought all of you here, that was my intention. I hated each of you. I wanted you dead. I starved you, shut you in rooms of solid platinum, and let you all think about all the various ways that I could kill you. But I woke up this morning, and suddenly realized something."
He got up, turning his back to the girls. Looking out the small window on the door, he tapped twice on the glass, the guard leaving his post and disappearing out into the black corridor. His back still turned to them, he spoke again.
"You three can help me. And help. . ." he looked over his shoulder at them. "Is something that I just so happen to need."
Jetta spoke now, clearing her throat, and putting her hand onto Ume's shoulder.
"And what kind of help do you expect from us. We don't trust you. Not one bit."
"That's wise, I suppose." He said. ". . . Come with me."
He walked out of the room then, looking to make sure that the guard had left. Motioning to the girls, they all shuffled out of the tiny space after him, following him down the hall and into another room. Dark, they could see nothing. The man moved past them, disappearing into the blackness; he seemed to just melt into shadow, Jetta noticed. Suddenly a light flipped on, and in the center of the room there were. . . bodies.
Three young girls lay in the middle of the floor, drowning in a shallow pool of their own blood. The man moved around the pile, crossing his arms.
"These three were my personal pet project, something Amon just learned about today. These three have been deployed into various government factions and offices, scrambling information, and preventing the potential resistance that Republic City has."
The girls looked at the bodies, not even sure what to think of the man's words. Kili spoke first.
"So what does this have to do with us?"
"Tonight Amon was going to present these three as a crowning achievement of his regime. Infiltration of the government and all is sort of a big deal, don't you think? Anyway, he hasn't seen them; in fact, no one but I has."
Blank stares were shot at him as the girls still didn't know what was going on.
"You still don't get it, do you?" He sighed. "Let me give you the short story." He moved in front of them. "You three are going to pose as these three over here, tonight, in their place. I killed them, and no one else even knows that they are here. I will put their bodies in your cells in your places, and tell no one of what I've done. Don't worry: I have a reputation for unnecessarily killing prisoners anyhow. You girls are going to play their role tonight in front of the crowd of Equalists, gathered to see the 'great surprise' Amon has promised Republic City. You will brag about your accomplishments, what you've done; hell, just act ruthless and despicable."
Kili licked her lips, and asked him, "So you want us to act like your special 'project' tonight, instead of them? That's it?"
"That's pretty much it."
He put his hands in his pockets, rocking back on his heels.
"Oh, and one more thing. . . You're going to attack Amon tonight. And kill him."
Surprised expressions filled the girls' faces. They looked at each other, questioning the words and motives of their mysterious captor. . . or friend?
"Kill Amon? . . . why ask us to do it. Why do you want him dead, anyway?" Ume asked.
"Well," He said, "It all started when a fire bender killed my family. . . and I won't say anything more than that."
He clenched his fists, unbeknownst to the trio. His past. . . was something that he would reveal in due time.
They looked at each other, wondering if they could trust him; wondering if they even had a choice in the matter. Coming to a silent agreement, they nodded at each other, Jetta stepping forward toward him, one last question on her mind.
"Fine, we'll do this for you. But only because I suppose we'll die otherwise. . . and by the way. . . what's your name?"
"My name," he responded, walking out of the room, back toward the original place of their conversation.
"My name is Loki."
. . .
PHEW. OH MY JESUS. This took forever to get done. Sorry for all the time discrepancy, guys, but something was going crazy with my FanFiction account and I couldn't get any of the chapters up. I fixed it, so its all good now! Anywho, This chapter gives us more insight into the world of Ru Li, and introduces her, finally, into Republic City. She's not just the angsty Mary Sue you thought she was! And just what is the motive behind our mysteriously named man, Loki?
Catch the story next time to find out!
Toodles!