Compound Safe house (The Morning After The Gala)

My body felt broken, torn in fact but I shouldn't be to picky about my comfort, after all, I should be dead. I didn't regain consciousness until noon the next day, fighting the war in my dreams. Call it a round two if you will, but this time, I lost the fight, I lost Kya, I lost my friends.

To be fairly honest the next morning felt amazing, and it wasn't the good nights rest, I surely deserved. No, the blue glow of a water bender emitted calmly from Kya's hands. I had never been at such physical peace before and Kya hadn't even noticed my consciousness. She look stressed and tired, half asleep, and completely zoned out.

It was kind of humorous actually. I tried to form a smile or at least a half grin but even my face felt like it was pulsing and swollen. A second heart beat in my noes, the pain was like that of a charlie horse in my leg. My vision was perfectly fine surprisingly. Nothing more then a first mornings blur. Kya sat beside the bed, healing me while being half conscious. She had been leaning over me, her head rested on my bare chest, and her silky black hair sprawled out across my body.

This had been the first time I had noticed a noise coming from her hands as she healed. A sort of "whirring" sound, that neither changed it volume nor pitch. I had also noticed that my shirt had been removed, my suit was gone and replaced with khaki shorts and socks.

She took off my clothes and I wasn't even conscious? I thought to myself.

I barely moved my hand an inch before my tendons began to strain. I've taken a lot of shots before this from Bo, but this time I took more then I could handle. I reached out again, attempting to move Kya beautiful black hair out of her eyes. Underestimation was a problem with myself and with what I could physically do. For example; I had attempted to remove strands of hair out of Kya's eyes but the tendons had begged to hard for me to surrender. I ended up dropping my arm and smacking Kya on the head.

"Sorry sweetie, my bad" I moaned, trying to force the untranslatable words out of my mouth. Kya yawned and fluttered her eyes multiple times, unaware of what happened. The night she spent on my chest hadn't really been her choice of comfort.

Her eyes finally opened, and her face went bright red. She moved in, resting her hand on my cheeks and finally brushing her lips against mine. They were soft and welcoming. Her lipstick had faded from last night and it didn't seem like she had changed from the party. A tear brushed up and started to roll down my cheek. She paused from our moment and rested her forehead against mine. Our faces entwined had never felt so comforting.

"Don't do that ever again okay?" Kya said, innocently.

"What's that? Nearly freezing to death or taking you on a date to a formal party where half of the guests there want to kill me" I replied sarcastically. It had taken me a while to put the words together but I think she understood.

Kya leaned in again, gently brushing her lips against mine. Feeling the warm presence of her cheek against mine made my whole body shutter. Not out of agitation but out of exhilaration. Her kiss was the devotion that motivated me to help relinquish this city of the tyrannical hold by Amon and my family.

"Leaving me" She said, out of the gentleness of her breath.

I had wondered what she had meant by this. I remember being with her just before passing out due to my wounds. I had asked Kya what had happened and she briefly clarified what had happened after my "sudden blackout". She told me about Johnathon, who had come to our rescue, covered in blood. She said she never felt any more terrified by the look in his eye in her life. Although she hadn't really spoken to Johnathon about his recent events and encounters with the Capitalist Tyrant, Robertson, she had still considered him a friend and has nothing but the utmost respect for him. He had saved her life.

She continued to tell me that they were separated, special forces had taken her back to the compound safe house, while Johnathon and some of his men took me back at a later time. Kya had insisted on staying with me, but she said Johnathon's logic about the enemy knowing that they'd be together and would surely kill them both or at least get a good chance at it, was a far superior argument. After some heavy hesitation, she conceded with John.

Minutes went by and Kya looked more fatigued then ever.

"Hey, Kya. I loved that you stayed with me and protected me, but you need to worry about your condition as well"

Kya shot me a disappointing look, she didn't want to leave and it sounded like I wanted her to. As expected, I immediately felt guilty but it was true. She needed to worry about her physical condition just as much as I did.

"I love you"

Her last words to me before she left. I would have offered for her to sleep here and regain some strength but I hadn't noticed the entire left side of the bed was covered in medical instruments, gauze, and bandages. Not to mention the countless empty syringes that toppled over one another. Taken into consideration that it had been Preditorian Doctors that came to my attention, I knew that I would be feeling better soon. Probably more sleep to pass the time would be the best assumption. At least before I could walk again.

Kya was nearly out the door when a reoccurring thought had entered my head.

"Hey Kya. Did you undress me?"

She didn't say anything. She laughed and shook her head in disbelief, disgusted but still laughing at the consideration that I thought she took off my clothes. The fact that she hadn't given me a straight answer, annoyed me and put me on edge. I thought about it a little longer before shouting out another question.

"It wasn't Ruan was it?"

Come to think, hadn't seen the bastard in quite some time.

Later that afternoon

It dawned on me that since Republic City had been going through its civil war, that the vast amount of medical supplies going to each side could mean all the difference. Now it's pretty obvious that one side would conquer the other if its medical tech was far superior but with stuff John's team had come up with, it's a whole other war.

The physical condition that battle had put me through left me in pieces. Would've left me in a coma or at least in a vegetative state with nothing better to do then to sit and drool on myself.

There goes my chances of stopping my family.

Not only was I ambulatory again but I had also gained some lost color in my face. I wasn't ready to go out and fight another war, unless I planned to die. I'd decided to take it slow, get back on my feet and probably peruse the city, Yang Chen district of course.

The only shirt available for me was a green t-shirt with the words URBAN on the front and in similar font on the right sleeve. It had been clean and pressed, until I put it on. I had no idea where it came from and I clearly don't remember buying it. It was a forest green color with a silver star over lapping the top right part of a green star that rested underneath it, both of which, had been in between two brown parallel bars. Which had laid just above heart.

I thought nothing of it. Dismissing the origin of the shirt, I had simply put it on, thankful to have it.

"Hey there sunshine, how was your date?"

"Damn, you're the last person I'd expect see tonight" I said.

Ruan had walked in unnoticed, wearing a tan t-shirt, dark jeans, and black shoes. I was surprised he hadn't been in anything that was of send bender origin, but then again Ruan wasn't the most traditional of the tribe. Those who were natives of the sand usually taken their appearance and bloodline seriously, always making sure to dress right and honor their family. That was before the stereotype that all sand benders were nothing but thieves and drunks of course. Each bender had their stereotypical weight, always eager to show others they could lift it off, and make a difference.

But that's how wars start.

We got reacquainted and talked about last night. Apparently he had gone to some local club called "MoonRise Tide" and hung out with some of the locals around the district, I've heard some talk about it but never actually been. Never had time.

I told Ruan, in full detail about the Gala event and the "party" that proceeded afterwards. The guy just sat there like a mindless zombie, waiting to here what came. His eyes were fixed, only blinking twice throughout my tale, I wasn't surprised he hadn't stopped.

"Your kidding, you took on Equalists, The Pride, and the MB's?" He asked.

"The Equalists were killed off my Monna of The Pride, who had committed suicide minutes after being shot by Johnathon."

Ruan fell back on the bed, his hands rested behind his head as he tried and put together everything I just said.

"That's pretty bad ass man."

"Yeah, well.."

He sat back up, concerned, and said 'Well what?"

My mind wandered off into a state of infinite what-ifs. What if I were to loose everything I've earned so far. Which to me, was surprisingly a lot. I don't understand how he could be so calm after being put through such terror in his life. Maybe it was because he wasn't in my position, but then again I'd rather not have him pity me. I didn't want to kill people, that wasn't my plan for my future. However, my father, my brother are pulling my strings in the wrong direction. They're driving my bloodlust.

"Forget it, I need a drink is all"

I never saw Ruan's eyes lit up before as I did today, he bounced himself off the bed and walked over to the door. He was all giddy, I could tell by the spring in his step and the massive grin on his face.

"Now that's what I'm talking about man!"

"Whats that?"

"Just get your jacket and meet me in the compound, trust me you need this bro!" Ruan exlaimed as he walked out the door.

I laughed, shaking my head at Ruan and tried to run my fingers through my brown hair, only to meet a thick layer of grease. Very attractive, I thought to myself. I was glad to see that I had some level of sarcasm in me, even though nobody was around to hear me.

I didn't want to keep Ruan waiting so I washed my hair out in the sink. The warm water rushing through my scalp felt nice, almost like a massage. The next few moments went by pretty passively as I got ready. Moments where I'd stop to think of Kya, and others where I would remember my life before the chaos. The intolerable odor of your typical body odor irradiated from myself like a smokestack, realizing that I hadn't bathed in quite some time, I decided it was best to hold off on it for tonight, as I didn't want to keep Ruan waiting.

It was comical how much I covered myself with deodorant. Almost like another shirt under what I woke up in. It didn't matter, the fumes of rotting fish were gone and now I could breathe without having to choke because of my own bad hygiene The glimmer off my katana had caught my eye. I had left it here for the Gala, and now I almost feel like I missed it. Upon approach a yellow note business card for Yang's yellow chicken had been tied to the handle. On the other side it read "Intimidation is the worst way to make friends - Ruan" and below that in parenthesis, he wrote "Don't bring the sword!"

"I hadn't planned to" I said aloud.

Although the feel of the handle gave me a sort of jolt of excitement. It felt right to hold it, I felt a new urge to have it in my hands. I held it outward and positioned it as an extension of my arm. The light gleamed down the blade until it passed onto my hands.

With the training I had with this weapon, I felt like a whole different person. I didn't like that person.

I wasn't planning on bringing it.

I rejoined Ruan in the compound lot. He had been twirling a set of keys clumsily around his finger until dropping it onto the dirt. Hoping I that didn't see, he continued to do it again.

"Hey bro, ya ready?" He said, pushing the clumsiness aside.

"What are those for?" I asked, nodding to the keys.

Ruan looked at me with a 'your-going-to-hate-me-for-this' grin and jerked his head to the side. Then urged me to follow. Ruan had changed clothes, he wore a cyan collar button-down with khaki pants. He looked as if he was going on vacation, he needed flowers and a camera and he would already be half way.

We walked over to a garage, at this point Ruan was literally hopping he was so excited. The garages sheet metal door had already been unlock and was slightly opened for some to do the rest.

"Alright, so what's up?" I asked, concerned with Ruan's odd behavior.

Ruan's next motion was unsuspected, lifting the sheet metal door, all darkness had been beamed away by the rays of sun. In the center laid what seemed to be a brand new black satomobile. Chrome tires, red interior, and just one thick layer of shine. It's roof was collapsible and that's how we rode in it. Ruan screamed like a mad man, screaming and hollering as the wind smashed into his face and passing through our hair.

"Holy shit Ruan, where did you find this thing?" I shouted, trying to raise my voice over the passing traffic.

"These compound garages were filled with tons of shit. Everything that was off limits to us except for Johnathon and his Predi-whaty-ians, was marked, except this garage!"

"Preditorians" I corrected him.

"Right, Right"

We drove down the roads and into the main city of the Yang Chen district. At some points we'd have to slow down as we merged into traffic or to avoid being cited by the police. Other times we'd come to a screeching halt, leaving nothing but the black stains of rubber from our tires and the smell of it. It was interesting flying though the city, watching hundreds of people pass in a matter of seconds as they went about their lives on the streets. It would had been more fun if they hadn't been looking at me most of the time but it was Ruan who wouldn't stop cursing at the vehicle in front of us, going under the speed limit.

"Alright man, we're almost there!" He shouted.

And indeed we were. The "MoonRise Tide" had been on the shoreline, giving a nice view of the beach and if we got there earlier, we could have seen a beautiful sunset. However, we weren't really into that as much as the drinking part. Every window was blacked out. The slightly tinted windows, kept all light from shining in and you could only make out silhouettes.

As we parked I could see that it was a very popular spot to hand out. The wealthy would never be caught dead in such a place, it was a more of a lower class hang out. However, those who hung out in their satomobiles were completely under dress, even though Ruan told me it was a pretty low-class place. With their bending insignia's tattooed on their arms and painted on their rides.

"These are pretty interesting looking people" I said. Ruan finally parked the car after circling around twice and took a look around. People dressed in all types of clothes; some dressed in traditional bending clothes, while others dressed in rags and thug type clothing. Many men and women had tattoo's up and down their arms. Some of the men wore shaggy t-shirts and baggy pants, while others dressed pretty classy. Blazers and collar shirts of all kinds rested on the torso's of men and women.

"Yeah, some used to work for gangs, such as the three Triad gangs" Ruan said as if it was nothing to worry about.

"Used to?" I asked.

"Or still are apart, all I know is that people come here for a good time"

Great, this should be cool, I thought.

It wasn't as bad as we thought. A lot of the men their had long black beard and acted like as if they spent their whole income on this place. The women there hadn't even acknowledged my existence, which I didn't mind.

We'd entered the Tide and was instantly met with an aurora of blue and purple lights. Simple flames, behind colored glass had illuminated such wonderful and peaceful colors, it had mimicked the northern lights perfectly. The rest of the place felt ominous, as the lights lid up the ceiling and booths, other area's had been almost pitch black. This place insured such privacy, I had only seen silhouettes of the bodies of people enjoying themselves, while their faces were only dimmed with such distorted color, caused by the lighting.

"Hey! Over here!" Ruan cried out.

The sudden outburst had made me jump a bit. In a place so dark and mysterious, I could feel as if I were being watched. As if everyone could see through the darkness and stare straight at me. I followed Ruan into a booth, upon further inspection I could see two others sitting there. It was such a weird illusion, sitting at the table and being surrounded by darkness. Only when I had entered the booth, could I make out the faces of the couple.

"Ruan ma' man! What's going on buddy?" A man said.

"Nothing much bro, hey, I'd like you to meet my friend Khai"

So apparently the story goes that Ruan got into a bit of trouble with the gambling halls that are located down in the basements of the Tide and this man had come down and saved him from being beaten to a pulp, and have been coming here ever since to hang out.

Ruan had introduced the couple. The man at the other side of the table was named Hotak. He was 23 and had black hair that spiked downwards from underneath his blue ball cap, a black shirt with a single red star on it, and wore simple blue jeans. The women at the other side was his fiancee, Tanai. She was 21 and was quite beautiful. She had long brown hair, and wore a simple red shirt and blue skinny jeans. She also had a small purple piercing that went right on the bottom lip. She had hazel colored eyes, that seemed to pour out into anyone who looked at her.

"So your nearly beaten up by some ex gang thugs after stupidly loosing money, you probably never had or at least borrowed from Johnathon and now you come back to hang out?" I said, recapping the story in a smart ass like way.

"Not true, they weren't ex. The three that threatened me were still in gangs" Ruan said, correcting me.

"Well, we still have to look after him like a child; changing his diaper, making sure his liquor doesn't dribble down his chin, and wiping his noes" Tanai said.

"And occasionally we burp him" Hotak added.

We all laughed and eventually a man came by, shrouded in complete darkness and gave us some drinks that Hotak had already ordered. Ruan shot me a glace and jerked his head upward. "Go ahead, give it a shot" Ruan said, sliding me the ale in a glass, that seemed to be so dirty that even mold would refuse to grow on it.

So I felt the brown sludge pass down my throat, burning hotter as it got further down my throat. I gagged and choked on the slime, chunks had been stuck in between my teeth, and my breath had instantly gone sour. I put down the archaic drinking glass, and gagged on what was said to be ale.

"Ah, so do we have another baby? One that can't handle his alcohol?" Tanai said tauntingly.

The three of them laughed as I tried to get a grip on what had just entered my mouth.

"The hell was that?" I asked, trying to choke out a sentence. Even my words felt disgusting, I said "That was fucking wrong man, I'd rather have cactus juice then this shit"

The others roared out with more laughter, not only was it obvious that it was my first time drinking the shit, I had been the one to react the loudest out of all three of them.

"It's called "Rat's Brew" but don't let the name fool ya, it's actually got quite a kick to it" Hotak said, chugging down a quarter of his drink.

"Yea, a kick to the gut" I replied. Ruan's head was in his arms, trying to rid the tears of laughter that swelled up in his eyes.

The night went on with tales about the tales of bars fights in the past and how the Tide became one of the most alchemistic places in the Yang Chen district. It had apparently been a old illegal gambling hall when Republic City was first built but due to the high crime rate in the city, officials target such places and burned them down. However, this one began to rise again, and basically became the same thing but in a time of civil war, nobody really cares.

Then things began to get tense. Hotak seemed to stare at me as if for the first time. He sized me up, shifted his glance of to Tanai. She had been listening to Ruan's story of Kyoshi High, when she caught Hotak's signal. She looked over at me and then suddenly things got awkward.

I had been horrified that they had just realized my past as a family of high Equalist politicians, but that wasn't the case. Ruan shifted slightly in his seat and starred at me as well. Unlike Hotak and Tanai, he had no idea what was going on.

"You militia kid?" Hotak asked.

My heart started to ease up, hopefully I had gotten the wrong signal from them.

"Excuse me?" I asked, looking just as confused as Ruan was. Hotak smiled and glanced at Tanai who had been starring at my chest, or rather my shirt.

"That symbol, do you represent them?" She asked nodding to the two stars right above my heart.

The shirt, that's what they were talking about. My green shirt that came out of nowhere that read URBAN on it in bold letters.

"I-uh"

"Listen buddy, we're not upset. We're asking do you know what your at stake here by wearing that symbol so brightly on your chest?" Hotak said.

They clearly had known other Khai's in the lifetime, or rather Kai if they were from the city. If they knew who I was and what bloodline I was from, then they wouldn't be asking that question.

"No, I just found it and-" I continued but the sound of the ale being downed by Hotak had cut me off. It was so loud and disturbing, made me want to gag.

"Look friend, relax" He said, lifting up his ball cap to show off the same two-stared symbol underneath his bill. Tanai did something similar; pushing her long brown hair away from her neck, the same symbol had been tattooed on the side of her neck.

"What is this symbol?" I asked, pushing the Rat's Brew far away from me as possible.

"It's a target, a symbol of freedom, and a death sentence" Tanai said, taking a sip of her brown sludge. "A new government reform militia, built on the purpose of ending both the White Lotus Party and eliminating such threats as the Equalists" She said. She rested her chin on her hand and repeatedly tapped away with her fingers, as if paranoid to be talking about such treachery.

She continued anyway, "Look our problem isn't that someone like you wears it, it's when you wear it out in public that makes us loose our credibility and secrecy, understand?"

"yeah" I replied.

I had no idea that these types of people were into politics. They'd seem so laid back that I wouldn't expect them to be in such a scuzzy place like this.

"Have you been acquainted with the Preditorians?" Hotak asked. A grin appeared over Ruan's face but he remained silent. Drinking away at his brown filth.

"Yeah, you could say that" I replied.

"Good. Seems like they're doing us a favor and bringing a sort of peace to this city. At least there's somewhat stability and control over the cities crime. Hear one of them massacred an entire Red Monsoon Triad house. That's pretty bad ass" Hotak finished.

I didn't know what he meant by that but I wouldn't think any less of them. Better to wipe out crime then let it spread and cause more chaos.

"What do you think about them, Tanai?" Ruan asked.

Tanai put down her grime covered glass. She cleared her throat of the residue and said "I think they're cool, getting the dirty work done for us. Trouble is; are they gonna stay and take over or they gonna cool things down and restore order to the right people" She took another deep disgusting sip and spoke again, "I heard their gonna strip the districts and make it all nice and organized"

I liked that idea. Smooth out the segregation of each bender and make it an equal community. Not like there's rules against one nation of benders, but I feel like these districts are cutting us apart.

Hotak dipped two fingers into his sludge and flicked whatever residue he had at me to obtain my attention, and said "Before you leave, I'd suggest you turn that shirt inside out. Makes you look less conspicuous. True were not as famous as The Pride or The Equalists but those two factions know about us and would do anything to kill us. There aren't many of us ya know, and if they eliminate what they can, our dream of an organized city will be ruined"

"You better watch your shit kid, because your life if about to become like this Rat's Brew, terrible and unfulfilling"

I only smiled at his words. He knew nothing of me.