Thank you for the lovely reviews. Enjoy number 6.
Society.
As if to spite the predictions of millions, the world did not end in fire or ice. There was no zombie apocalypse (much to the disappointment to the die-hard Walking Dead fans) or outbreak of a deadly disease or nuclear warfare. Instead, the world ended when an underground group full of anti-society fanatics grew so large in numbers, their riots destroyed cities. And once they had successfully taken over, they became hypocrites and established a dictatorship that controlled the masses by fear. Just as corrupt as its predecessor. They called themselves Equalists.
They replaced the faulty social classes, religions, and currency systems with different social classes, a system in which necessities are distributed according to social class (something people always illegally worked around because no matter who takes over the world, food is too delicious for the common man to eat the same thing every day), and instead of religion, the Equalist leader, Amon, was worshipped as God until he died, and the red and white mask was passed on to his successor and said successor took on the name and image of Amon.
This system had been in play for centuries before anyone dared to rebel. Protesting, peaceful or not, were a thing of "old society." Now it was considered more terrible than murder, which ran rampant in every social class, along with every other crime considered punishable by incarceration in the old society. Now, there were few laws. People hashed things out for themselves, without involvement of the Equalist police.
So when Asami Sato, a young woman from a higher social class found herself in one of the new world slums because there was a certain noodle stand there she had a weakness for, and a man decided Asami would be a tasty treat for him, no one was concerned by her screams.
"No one's coming you little bitch, just shut your mouth," the offender said. He towered above her, and Asami could barely see his spiky hairline in the dark. She remembered catching sight of him early and refraining from laughing at his oddly flame-shaped eyebrows, but conceding that otherwise, he was rather handsome.
He raised a pocketknife to her neck. And in defiant response Asami kicked him between the legs, and he dropped to the cracked pavement. She began to run, but he desperately reached up and slashed her forearm. Blood gushed from the wound, but she barely noticed, taking off down the street.
After about half a mile, she began to get woozy. She looked down, realizing she'd lost much more blood than she realized. She collapsed on the shallow porch of a nearby building. The last thing she heard before blacking out was the opening of a door, and a girl yelling, "Holy shit!"
0o0o0
Asami awoke to warmth and the smell of stew. She was in a small one room dwelling with white cracked walls. She sat up and was immediately hit with a wave of dizziness.
"Whoa," a female voice said, "Take it easy. Lay back down."
Asami's eyes darted in the direction of the voice. Her gaze was met with one of a caramel skinned girl with startling blue eyes. Her hair was in a high ponytail, she had on a blue sleeveless shirt and fur pants. She couldn't have been older than Asami, who was seventeen.
"Who are you?" Asami asked.
"Korra, and you?" the girl replied.
"Asami. Why did you help me?"
"I wanted to. Why were you bleeding to death on my doorstep?"
"Because no one else wanted to help me. Helping people is a pretty abnormal behavior. Especially around here."
Korra smiled wryly, "I'm known for being abnormal. Now what is someone in such nice clothes doing in a slum like this?"
Asami grinned sheepishly. "Narook's seaweed noodles."
"Ah," Korra laughed, "I understand."
There was a moment of silence before Korra asked, "So do you want some food? You'll be here a while before you can get back on your feet and go home."
As if on cue, Asami's stomach growled audibly, and Korra smirked and brought her a bowl.
As Asami wolfed down the surprisingly tasty stew, Korra asked, "So where are you from?"
When Asami stopped to take a breath, she said, "Near the heart of the city. My father is Hiroshi Sato."
Korra's eyebrows raised comically, "Rich Daddy's girl eh?"
Asami chuckled. "Something like that. What about you?"
"My parents are... Gone."
"Equalist police?"
"How'd you guess?"
"My mother... Was taken also," Asami said slowly.
"What did she do?"
"They thought she was conspiring with rebels because she made frequent trips down here. I don't know if she actually did. I just know she always brought back noodles from Narook's. Yours?"
"Well," Korra said, "they were rebel leaders. Equalists cut them down. When I was young."
Asami wasn't surprised. Rebels were everywhere. They were loud amongst themselves and quiet around equalists. It was more admirable amongst those under Equalist control.
"And what about you?" Asami asked. "Orphan children don't last long out here."
"I swore up and down to take over my farher's position, and in exchange they swore up and down they would take care of me. I'm supposed to keep it secret, but everyone around here has already figured it out. And by the time you've recovered, our plan will have been acted out, so you don't have anyone you can tell."
"Plan?" Asami said through a mouthful of potato. She was more intrigued than she seemed.
"I'm going to take down Amon."
0o0o0
After falling asleep, the next time Asami woke up, Korra was gone. There was a major ruckus outside, screams filling the streets. Asami rushed out the door, ignoring the dizziness, to see a crowd converging around the dead body of a young girl.
Asami felt her stomach drop. As she pushed her way closer, she saw. The caramel skin, the blue shirt, the high ponytail, all stained with blood.
The plan must have failed.
A bald man with an arrow tattoo stood next to her body, and seemed to be making a speech.
"We all knew Korra!" He yelled. "She was kind, helpful, and brave! Her parents were killed due to speculation, and now she, an innocent citizen, is now gone! Amon's tyranny cannot continue! We must rise up! Carry the essence of Korra with us! Let her spirit be our guide!"
The crowd roared their compliance.
Asami whirled around, overwhelmed. She didn't know what to do or say. She was upset that Korra was just there and gone in the blink of an eye.
She suddenly felt a tap on the shoulder. A figure in dark clothing pulled aside a hood, and Asami was met with familiar blue eyes.
"Hey!" Korra smirked.
"But you were- And now you're- How?" Asami spluttered.
"Shhhh! Don't worry. It might not seem honest, but every inferno starts with a spark. You didn't think I was just going to charge into City Hall and try to assassinate Amon? I'm not that stupid."
It occurred to Asami that if they went through with this plan, they would just end up in another faulty society. But, then, it seemed that was the best humans could do. And since Asami was quite taken with Korra, and had deemed her rather kind. Anything had to be better than now.
Beggars can't be choosers.
She didn't know if Korra would allow her to work with her. But it couldn't hurt to try.