Kya and Khai
I couldn't help but to curse at it all. My mind in utter darkness, my fears coming to life, that's was it. It was all coming in now. No, I wouldn't drag her to my level, I wouldn't get her involved. My sole duty was to get her out of here know matter what the case. I was already running towards the front entrance, not even noticing that Kya had been clawing at my hand, trying to break free. I couldn't stop, I wouldn't let my guard down again.
"Khai stop! What the hell is the matter with you?" She demanded.
I couldn't blame her for being furious with me. The fact that I was pulling her from a night that was unforgettable was completely unacceptable. At least not without some level of information on what was going on.
"Kya please, I'll tell you everything but now we have to get your outta here. I don't want you to end up like me." I said.
I pushed my way through guests, darted down halls and through corridor, nearly toppling over the waiters. Silver trays of food would crash to the ground, sending little bits of food everywhere. I was cursed at as I past further down but their "common courtesy" was the least of my problems.
"Excuse me, pardon me, move, get out of my way!" I shouted running down the halls.
"Khai stop!"
"Kya, you must understand!"
"Understand what? Your not telling me anything!"
Heads turned even before they could hear us yelling. Seeing a couple of people running down the hall in a party as formal as this one wasn't really normal. If anything, it could cause a real problem for security.
I made my way through through crowds, passing by the grand dining hall where Porter and his team ate in "celebration" of the new task force.
Dammit! I forgot about Johnathon! I thought, cursing to myself.
Truth was, I just wanted to get Kya to safety but I had completely forgotten about him. I could have used his help. I had finally gotten to the front entrance when Kya and tugged her hand free of my grasp, causing me to panic in thought that she had been pulled away.
"NO! Tell me, what the fuck is going on Khai?" She asked.
My head turned rapidly toward the door and to Kya, not sure what was more important. Seeing as I hadn't had much of a choice, I had to tell her something.
"Alright look, I can't tell you much but here the basics. People are coming to kill me, Equalist, The clan, my family, EVERYBODY! I don't want you around to endure such a bloodbath. I need to know that your one hundred percent safe at all times, I can't have you evolved in this!"
By the time I had finished, I had found my hands around her arms, pressing down hard. I instantly let go. Kya's face went pale at the news, her eyes dimmed and I could feel her fear, see it in her eyes. I wrapped my arms around her, and her head buried into my chest.
"I can't loose you. I don't want to see you get involved in my battles." I whispered to her.
"Khai. We can get solve this together, we don't need to.."
"No!" I interrupted her, pulling her directly in front of me, our eyes locked with the same amount of fear and confusion.
"Out of the question, I'm in to deep to bring someone else down here. Especially not you."
A few more seconds and we were still frozen, I waited for her reply which resulted in a mild head nod. We rushed towards the door again, finally out of the building and out of the Gala. We hopped down the steps, our breath nearly visible from the cold air. It was late and yet there were still people trying to get in. Our mild disturbance seem to get the securities attention. Just enough for some other unwanted guests to run in the building, but they wouldn't last long.
"Taxi! Hey Taxi! Damn, they're never around when you actually need one. Hey, hey!" I shouted.
The air turned into a misty white, as my breath shot into the air like fire benders dragon breath technique. Her eyes brightened up, taking it as a good omen. Eventually after a few more times of nearly destroying my voice, a green and black satomobile pulled up. The driver was a thin man, wearing a tattered brown jacket, a brown beret, and a green scarf.
"Where can I take ya?" The man asked.
I opened the door for Kya, instantly slammed with the smell of dark tobacco, her thoughts were as good as mine. Her face quivered at the stench, it was unbearable but the man looked like he needed the money.
I got in and Kya had already told the man her address.
"Wait, that's pretty far, do we have enough money?" Kya asked me.
I slammed my fist on my legs in anger, we had been in such a rush, I had forgot about the cash. I looked up, seeing the man's dark, aggravated eyes starring at me. I could tell he didn't give joyrides, he needed full compensation.
"Well, do ya bud?" He asked, just as aggravated as I predicted.
I searched through my pockets, picking out quite a few yuans. "How far can you get to the address with 52 yuans?" I asked, holding the money out.
The man's eyes, reflected the payment. Snapping out of the trance he took the yuans and looked forward. The satomobile started up, the engine growled to life, sending a puff of black smoke our of the rear exhaust pipe.
"Let's find out."
Captain Sven stood sourly as he watched his whole career drive off in some busted up taxi satomobile. Seeing an Equalist at the party made him sick and disrespect all that he worked for. He walked down a couple of steps and pulled a young private, metal bender, to the side.
"Private, what is protocol for all guests?"
"Sir, protocol states that all guests must be under watch, until acceptance unto the event has occurred, sir." He explained nicely.
"And if they're absent from the Gala?" Sven added.
"Sir, then all regulations apply to civilian life, sir!"
"Then gather your squad and get after that taxi, there's a damn Equalist in our district!"
Delun and Monna (15 minutes before the accident)
The two clans members walked side by side. Rooftops on rooftops, they casually walked along the cities skies, finally reaching a dead end. They hadn't been wearing their traditional clothes but rather a large brown coat. Snow coats, that covered their head in a white, comfortable polar bear fur. It was a thick hood that protected against the most dangerous of blizzards, traditionally worn by water benders.
They wore face masks to protect themselves of the stinging wind that nipped at them fro such a high altitude. Monna had worn goggles, while Delun was to stubborn to put them out, saying it had mess with his "field of vision".
The freezing cold air had sliced at their coats, just as vicious as any blade. Monna wouldn't lie, being a fire bender sounded much more comfortable and had wished that she had gone with Mao or Geming, even though they both creep her out just as equally. She had never worked with Delun before, he was always off by himself. All she knew was that he was a water bender, nothing more. No history, no info on his friends or family, if he had any at all. Or even where exactly he came from. He was a closed book.
She often found him talking to himself, either praying or communicating with someone else. Thing was, they were the only two climbing the skyscrapers of Republic City.
They both had stopped at a dead end. Monna put one foot on the ledge of the building and looked over at the traffic of a four way intersection. It seemed like miles below them, a chasm that only ended with the scum of the city.
Monna snapped around at Delun and yanked down her black face mask.
"What the hell, I thought this was it?" She asked. Delun calmly pull down his mask as well.
"It is" He replied.
"Oh really? Sure doesn't look like it." She stopped to look down at the oncoming traffic, the sounds of horns honking at one another had occasionally blasted back and forth. Another way of giving someone the middle finger.
"I thought you had a good informant?" She said, questioning him again.
"Patience. My informant is well informed of this guys location."
"How come nobody else of The Pride has met him?"
Delun hated it when others questioned him. His ability to contact the spirit world was hard to explain, he had always been able to do it from birth but he needed complete concentration.
"My client is, hard to reach. I need to get a hold of him when my bodies at its most neutral state." Delun finished and breathed in. His eyes close he began to contact his spirit, he had summoned a long time ago. His whole body felt numb, he was reaching his state of peace. The only sound was of the wind whistling and slicing the sides of his coat.
"So where is he?" Monna said, completely braking the silence.
"He'll get here when certain others learn to shut up."
Monna snuffed him out. If she hadn't been wearing the goggles, he could probably see her dark glare she was giving him. Delun had regained his state of mind, his mouthed moved but no words came out. However something more serious did.
His body warmed to an amazing temperature. His eyes changed from a dark brown to a dark yellow, his breath had changed from an icy cold to a desert hot, and at that point, Monna could plainly see that Delun wasn't with her anymore. The demon had taken over Delun but with very little power as he would be in a human body. Monna's heart raced as the consumed man pulled up his face mask, over his blood curdling grin.
Remember, your powerless until we get what we want. So don't think about taking my body for a joyride, Delun said. Communicating within the same mind was a better way to achieve pure privacy from the world. The demon closed his eyes, now locked inside Delun's mind, they could basically see one another.
I'm very where of my abilities human, now why are we here? Do I have to remind you of our purpose, the reason you keep calling out to me. The Demon replied.
Yes, we both have the same goal. Right now, I'm just killing two birds with one stone. Delun said.
This scroll was written by the thirteenth Avatar! The ability for demon to reenter the human world and do whatever the hell it wants. That! Is our goal, Delun.
Monna watched in confusion as the demon had a continuous conversation with itself or at least that's what she saw from her point of view. She looked down, out in the traffic. Satomobiles buzzed by, horns blared over the sounds of one another, just to tick each other off. Monna actually saw some humor in this. A slight chuckle and a devilish grin, it would be fun to go down and cause some havoc.
The argument was over, the demon was in slight control but Delun could pull itself back into his own body whenever he needed to. Delun's body walked over to the edge, starring at the illuminated streets below, he spotted his goal and pointed.
"What?" Monna said, trying to find what he was pointing at.
"That vehicle, I want it! Get it!"
"Uh, sure. Crashed? Pulled over? Hijacked? We have a special today on total pile ups, would that work?" Monna asked sarcastically. She had completely forgotten about their main goal was capturing Khai. She just wanted to destroy stuff, to have a little fun and reminisce about her old job with drugs.
"Anything! Just don't destroy its cargo!" The demon demanded.
The scroll of purging was his goal. It was like a priceless artifact, scavenged by explorers at the southern air temple. It's powers were unknown but for any spirit that wanted power, this was it. The ability to clash forces of good and evil, to combine the real world with the spirit world and to recreate a hell on earth. When the demon was actually alive, he fought against the thirteenth Avatar but failed to defeat him, causing him his life. The demon, when in human form, had the same abilities as Delun. He contacted the spirit world and had been corrupted by another spirit, and when the avatar found out, he forbid the ability. Banishing him from his service and from the town that would eventually become the fire nation capitol. When the avatar had asked for guidance from the good spirits, he was given an option to seal the demon in a scroll or to kill its possessed victim. The Avatar immediately chose the scroll in time for the final fight but the demon had latched on to tightly to the man's soul, dragging both of them in their eternal imprisonment in a blinding blue flash. All that remained was a hollow corpse of the man, that is now the demon, that lies within Delun.
Monna jumped from the building. The speeds of wind would had fogged up her goggles but she had used her water bending to deteriorate that effect. Her speeds increased but she stayed in form. Her body, absorbed in a stream of water that she had conquered up from just the air, had taken her in. Absorbing the affects that would have caused her to originally crash into the pavement.
Shooting herself out, the water froze underneath her feet and she slid down the flattened ice, until reaching the streets. From that point, she was pretty concealed. There were no people on the sidewalk, no sirens going off, and no metal benders. Reaching the edge of the street, her plans were already set. The white beat up van, approached at a rapid pace. The driver was clueless on what was going to happen.
At the same time, the demon inside Delun looked outward, seeing a green and black cab in the middle of intercepting traffic, going head on with the van. He was truly going to kill two birds tonight.
Khai and Kya
The stench of the tobacco was unbearable. Part of me wished that we had actually been walking with a giant sign over us saying "Equalists here!" I could see the pain on Kya's face, her night had been ruined, and I couldn't blame her. She had been starring out the window in oblivion, the buildings and pedestrians walked by but her eyes didn't move. She actually took awhile to blink, which was incredible because the odor had been burning my eyes.
She didn't make a sound and neither did I. The fury of it all and I and planted that seed inside her. I felt horrible, my only option was to take her home and hope that this all blows over, if I'm still alive.
"Hey do ya guys mind if I smoke?" The driver asked.
"NO!" We both barked.
The simultaneous shout had seem to wake us up. The cab drivers eyes could be seen on the rear view mirror, almost as if in a panic. His worried eyes drifted off us and back onto the rode. Kya seem to noticed me again, felt like it was the first time we had ever met and we both cracked a smile.
"Uh, right. So, you guys at a party or somethin'? Dressed like it." The driver asked.
"Yea we were at the Gala Event." Kya responded.
"No kiddin'? What are you two some sort of politicians or sometin'? Can't be just regular ole folk, now can ya?" He asked. His speech began to get sloppy. It mimicked those, especially those of a lower class.
Amazing. He has no idea who I am? I thought. It was amazing, poor or not, this guy had not recognized me. He was young, too young to be on his own like this and yet here he was, making a living.
"Do you not recognize me?" I asked.
"Should I?" He responded.
Kya looked at me in concern, she didn't know what I was up to specifically but she had an idea. The kids eyes appeared in the rear view mirror again, squinting to get a good look at me. They were a misty blue color, nearly white. They looked like they wanted something more, something greater then his life now, his eye looked sad but her personality said otherwise.
I didn't know how he would react when I told him who I was. A thought went through my head, telling me I was crazy for even acknowledging him but another thought had prevented that idea from becoming an action. The intercepting thought told me that ignoring the man, was a sign of cruelty. A sign that my father would have given me if I had encountered anyone less then professional, no matter what occurrence.
"I am Khai, the Equalist."
Five simple words that would have put anyone into a state of shock. Even the words to me had a slight fear effect on people, including myself. I didn't like saying them but it was the truth. If I needed help, I need to know that they have my back. They need to know that we can trust each other. Truth was the most valuable thing in times of great deception. However, truth was always the first casualty of war.
Kya turned to me, as if she was about to speak. Her mouth opened to intercept my sentence but said nothing, no words had escaped her mouth. We only waited for his response.
"Who?" The man said plainly.
"Uh. Khai the Equalist. The "fugitive of the Equalist party", that one."
The man looked back at me, his eyes still squinting, back tracking off to watch the road. After a couple seconds of driver over potholes and manholes in the ground he began to chuckle.
"I'm sorry man, but I don't know who you are, never heard of ya nor seen ya. As for the Equalist thing, ah could really care less. It your choice, it's not what ya choose that makes ya a bad person, if that was what you were gettin' at. It's how you effect others. Same goes for different nations, religions, philosophies, ways of thinking, or if ya human or not. It's how ya put yourself out there that determines your output on life."
I was shocked out of my mind. So many people, famous people, powerful people, hated me for what I stood for. I was never an Equalist to begin with, but yet people still judged me on my past. Yet here's this young man, poor and working hours for scraps and he still views me as a human. He's not obsessed with money or he would have never let me ride for the pocket change I was carrying. He wasn't with the Equalists nor against them. Out of all the major people in this city, this guy, a taxi driver, was the symbol of peace that I had wanted for everyone. Is this really whats become of true peace?
"Oh by the way, names Hakku, how are ya two this evening?" Hakku asked.
Kya and I starred at each other for a brief second, our ears couldn't believe what we had been hearing. Our faces lit up, our minds were one and we could probably speak through them, they were so alike.
"We're good." Kya said.
"Nice, nice." He responded.
The night went on in peaceful silence. Our hands held tightly together as we scooted closer to one another. We talked with the driver more, finding out he was actually fifteen years old, working for his family, whose father had died years ago. Hakku was a kind and compassionate man, he explained to us his life with ease, as if his was perfect. Now that I look back on mine, I feel as if I had been selfish. I should be glad I was even given a life to begin with, that's how Hakku saw it. Yet he hadn't had the greatest job in the world but he was happy. He changed the way I saw things, even the way I saw Porter. When we had fist met, I had judged him to be some arrogant man, here to change the lives in our city. My feelings had changed for him over time, seeing as how he helped me with so much, basically surviving! Yet I still saw him as a different person, and that right there needed to change. It's time I made emends.
A shrill scream in the night had paralyzed me. Soon enough we were swerving left and right, it was like we were riding on ice. A large white van had smashed hard in the satomobile in front of us. Horns blaring in the night, people shouting, and death laughing. The family like satomobile in front of us had been absorbed in flames. Leaving the white armored van, with mere dents. He had no control, as his car pushed what was left of the satomobile into the front entrance of a nearby bookshop. Flames began to erupt, as other cars began to swerve and crash.
"Shit!" Hakku shouted.
"Khai!" Kya said, trying to latch onto my arm.
The vehicle was tossed around like nothing, our head constantly hit the back of our seats. Soon after the sirens of other cars had stopped, our world had just begun to turn. Hakku had lost complete control, our taxi had flipped over, skidding on the roof of the car. Spinning and dizziness, was my new world. Darkness had covered the sky, the intersection was in mass chaos. Flames had began to erupt from other cars, the satomobiles had been seeping flames from under the hood, followed by black smoke. The screams of others, trying to get out of there cars through their smashed car windows, had been silence by a bigger eruption of flames. Soon enough, after their engine had exploded, there corpses had remained to cook underneath the fire.
When our taxi had stopped rolling, it was like everything happened at once. My stomach churned, my body aches with cuts from broken glass. I couldn't even check on Kya, I wanted to but my body wouldn't move. My vision blurred and the only thing I could hear was the crackling of flames. Soon enough our engine would spark and that would be everything needed set us off from this world.
I moaned in great pain, I could barely move my body. My left arm was completely numb, I could someone move it, considering all it went through but its feeling was gone. I unhooked my seat belt and fell to what had used to be the roof.
I cursed under my breathe, a stinging pain had shot up my leg.
"Kya. Are you alright?" I asked. My breath was nearly suck out of my lungs, I often found myself gagging for air that had just not been there.
I couldn't understand what I was hearing, nor could I see. I tried to move but I pinned underneath something, something moving, something groaning. Before I had realized it was Kya, I thought it was the seat of the satomobile had fallen back and pinned me but unless the seat could breathe and moan, I realized my error.
I tried to slide out gently, my hands had been pressed against the shattered, bits of glass. Each time I tried to pull myself out, the glass dug hard and cut deep into my hands. It was either pain or death, and I wasn't going to let my poor choice kill Kya.
My hands pulled through tiny pools of blood, my hands scraped against the shards, leaving behind a light crimson smear, stained to the palms of my hands. They ached for freedom but as far as I could see there was none. Our windows hadn't been completely shattered, leaving a row of jagged razors to anyone who would try to climb out. Leaving the vehicle would only kill myself, I would tear my own torso to shreds. From the position I was in, I couldn't kick out the glass, my hands bled and begged for freedom, and the air began to thin, as smoke filled into the satomobile.
Hakku moaned for medical attention. His body laid, still in his seat, like a rag doll. His lifeless arms and crushed legs drooped down into a position of ultimate pain. I was in no position to move with Kya on top of me and the glass underneath. Hakku let out little cries of pain. Smoke had brushed up again his cheek to the point of it leaving behind a black burn stain. His cries got louder, then they would die out. His limbs dangled in pain, begging for freedom, I hadn't even noticed the large gash on the far side of his face. He looked at me through the rear view mirror, his dying spirit. lingered from this world and the next.
The car rocked, slowly it began to turn over with the violent intentions of having the glass fall onto me, and for me to fall on Kya. I couldn't do anything but let out a loud, yelp of relieving pain. Kya had done the same, she seemed to be regaining consciousness but her body still slumped against the door. The car rotated right side up, Hakku slumped back down, instead of hanging up side down from his seat beat.
I pulled myself onto the middle seat, my suit was shredded, stained, and full of smoke. Kya's was the same. I had a hard time pulling her up, her pale, motionless body laid against the car door and blood ran from her shoulders.
I could say the same for myself, I tried to get Kya back to me, positioning her face towards mine, I constantly called for her name. I hadn't realized that I had been leaving my bloody hand prints on her face and clothes but at this point I doubted she would care.
"Kya, please come back to me." I begged. Almost in the form of an argument between me and the unconscious body.
The car jerked again, throwing me to the middle seat. Horror grew in my eyes as the front windshield was completely gone but instead water had been rushing in. A painful speed that through itself all other the car, across my lap, covering Hakku's lifeless legs and Kya. The pressure of the water rocked the car, and we began to shake. The water had positioned itself perfectly around where the windshield had been and forcibly pushed outward, leaving behind a great big whole in the front of the car. I immediately recognized this as the bending of someone of great skill.
Seconds later, what seem to be a giant brown blob had been on the car hood. My vision was cloudy, spotted with both dressiness and water droplets.
"Well, I imagined much more of a fight for someone who's taken out two of us."
The distorted image in front of my had been clear. A member of the pride, a water bender, wearing a think brown blizzard jacket had been the only difference of life or death. As the water that flooded nearly half the car got colder, I could feel my heart trying to pump more and more blood.
"Please, don't." Hakku begged painfully.
His life was nearly gone, yet his heart wanted to pull through. His breathing became irregular, his heart often pounded in different rhythms, as if it was confused on its primary function in his body.
The clan member turned toward him and she knelt down and raised her hand. Se put her finger to her own lips and hushed quietly, as a coat of ice began to cover Hakku's face. He had convulsed violently, the ice had nearly drawn over his head like a mask. This mask however couldn't be removed. Soon enough his shaking body had stopped, it seemed like the worlds last bit of peace had been murdered. As the ice masked his face, his chest stopped moving. Eventually lowering back into his lifeless body, as he sat there and died.
I couldn't help but a single tear rush down the side of my face. It seemed the only bit of warmth I had felt since the water had entered. My breathing became heavy and visible.
"I'll, kill. You." I muttered. Trying to save any strength that the cold hadn't taken away from me.
"Khai. Your that little fucker that didn't want to stay out of our way. It's a shame, that your friend didn't die, you'll have to excuse Mao's incompetence. He's not the most skilled person of The Pride. More of a scout then anything."
My breathing strained my lungs. Seemed like every time I exhaled, I burned the inside of my throat. Felt like frost bite against my lips when it did come out.
"Who are you?" I choked out.
"Seems kind of like a pointless question in your position. However, it does seem appropriate to tell you, seeing as your not in any position to retaliate. My name is Monna of The Pride, and it's a pleasure to finally meet you." She said.
Her voice sound evil and cynical, her sarcastic greeting was just nerve aching to listen to as any other. However she was right, my body seemed lifeless with only my head to move. I could barely see as is and I just felt torn in general. Yet, all I could do was watch as she finally executed me.
The car shook again but this time it was Monna who look confused and scared. The water boiled under my lap, it was unbelievable how fast it heated up. It felt good, as if life was reentering my body. I could slowly begin to feel my toes as the water on my lap began to glow in a healing sense.
Violently, the water rushed out. Faster then any arrow or any heavy artillery I had ever seen. Monna hadn't been expecting it as he was literally smashed in the gut by the rushing water. It was almost like a fist that moved at impossible speeds, Monna flew backwards, her body disappearing into the night. I tured my head to an angry, rage filled Kya. Both arms forced up, her hair was split, she look psychotic. Blood ran down her lip, but the healing water underneath seem to be helping us both. Her arms dropped of exhaustion and she fell back against the door of the car, letting out a slight grin.
"Pleasures all mine, bitch."