Post by Deleted on Dec 29, 2013 18:30:56 GMT -6
tag: OPEN
*The pond insde Republic City Park - Night Time*
Oh, done her good they had, these damned Galgori or whatever. It was the first time Lykka ever found herself in such a serious life or death predicament. The last encounter with the Equalists didn't even begin to compare, especially since at the time she was accompanied by Hangetsu who, as a cop, could protect the young girl, and also because she was more of a victim back then. Whereas in this situation... well, while not the one to instigate it per say, Lykka definitely had a hand in the conflict that was surrounding her. And sadly, those guys who called themselves Galgori were all about conflict.
It really sucked for her that, after nine months of utter calm in her life, despite the number of riots and rallies happening around the city, as well as those skirmishes with benders that brought the Galgori to public light - all of which seemed to just pass by Lykka's happy bubble of a life - she had to stumble upon the one stupid event that would throw her in the middle of precisely the kind of action she'd been lucky to avoid so far: After strolling around town with her Earth soccer ball at her feet, and walking just beyond the Triads' turf, or at least what she knew was a local Triads depot, the quiet evening was interrupted by the sound of fighting and shouting in a nearby alley. Curious as her age drove her to be, Lykka grabbed her prized item and rushed cautiously to the source of the ruckus, hoping it wasn't anything that would require calling the police - which was perhaps going to be her next move regardless.
Hiding behind a street corner, the young girl saw it all. Out the back of a fruit merchant's store, a number of hooded figures were battling it out with three people who appeared to be benders, and somehow despite tearing up part of the street, the benders were losing. Both the Firebender and Waterbender had just been taken down - as the water attack was about to hit its target, one of the assailants brilliantly pushed the Firebender in its way while avoiding a jet of fire, effectively neutralizing his attacks for a moment and grounding him, while at the same time the Waterbender was grabbed by a physically superior foe and tossed on top of his friend - but the last person started running away before such a clear difference in power, much to his misfortune because he was grabbed by the throat by the last of the hooded villains. Definitely her cue to calling the cops, and yet Lykka didn't move a muscle, feeling an unstoppable tremor of fury growing from within her gut.
"You-...'re going to pay for this !! Y'don't... know who y're messin'wiff- grhh !!" The Triad Earthbender tried saying with a chokehold on his throat. The guy who had him glanced behind him at the two benders as they were being stood up and lined up against the wall. A lightning strike tore the cloudy sky in half, making both Lykka and the triad member shiver and gasp - the young girl's voice being concealed by thunder. The remaining hooded man said something in return, which seemed to frighten the gangster even more, but in a voice too low to reach the hidden girl's ears. A drop of rain fell on her face, as if signifying that this scene was about to come to an end in a tragic way. "...You benders are over." Lykka could now hear again - and spot some sort of glitter near the bad guy's hand. "The promise of the Galgori will be met."
"STOP !!!"
The young Earthbender's body acted on its own, driven by the rush of fear and sadness that was flowing in her head, having realized what horrible scene seemed to be about to unfold. Her muscles were tense, and she'd instinctively grabbed a chunk of the building wall while dashing into view. The ball was bouncing in an almost dramatic manner in front of her. Her cheeks were now a lot more watery, as the rain proceeded to fall, but her heavy breath still betrayed the fact that she was about to cry. In fact, all those adults who had turned their heads towards her when she screamed were likely seeing was the frightened, impulsive and frail figure of a brown and green dressed powerless little girl. But she was not afraid at the moment. It was a rare occurrence to see Lykka angry, and at the moment, she was absolutely furious. "WHY ?" She cried out in rage "How can you justify taking someone's life with something as false as a 'better future' ?! All that because he's a bender ?? No... it's because you're not."
They all stared at one another, while the rain seemed to make the Fire and Water benders regain consciousness. Putting on her most threatening look, the young girl made a step forward. "This. Is all. Wrong." She stated, before making another step "This is not the kind of past... That children will want to hear about !!" Her feet moved ever so forward, and her hand started trembling from the restraint to punch the chunk at them. "My grandfather did not go through so much just so you could kill people with such obscure reasons !! And I'm not going to just let it happen in front of my eyes !!" In the face of this evil, she felt all-powerful and ready for a scuffle. "There shouldn't be any need for this. So let me give you-"
She didn't have time to finish her sentence. Her green eyes saw the glittering thing stab into the Earthbender's abdomen, although some electric shock reaction occurred in the background of his shout of pain, instead of what Lykka was dreading. Somewhat stunned - in a good way - she failed to react to the burly man jumping onto her with an armed punch. But instead of giving her a hook or a direct punch, he swung his arm at her side, knocking her against the wall and making her fall to the ground. The youngster shook her head, undeterred by the strength of his attack, yet aware that another one like that might put her to sleep, and lifted up the chunk of wall she'd been holding onto. The big man's left punch crashed into it as the sound of struggle and fire rang behind him. As the chunk crumbled to pieces from receiving the guy's brute force, Lykka noticed the two gangsters running away in separate directions, and abandoning not only her, but also their fallen comrade.
Which was probably her cue to doing the same, since they were now as safe as she could help. But the big man grabbed her by the collar of her green jacket and lifted her up high. From up there, she could see the other guys standing up from what seemed to be a puddle of frozen water - probably the trick used by the Waterbender to get away. "What should we do ?" One of them asked. The one with a slightly burnt hood did the replying "Let them run. One is all we need. Today is only about sending a message... for what's to come." As two of the six people shuffled over to the downed gangster, the big man shook his hand. "What about her ?" He asked nonchalantly. Lykka began struggling to break free, without result. If at least she could see his face, though... "Oh, she's a spirited one. Let's not underestimate her potential, she just managed to be a pain afterall... Break her will, this instant."
About two seconds later, the sound of a chain reached her ears, and looking down she could spot something like a bat in another one's hand. Now was the time to make full haste. Lifting her right leg up, she made the leather ball bounce high enough that it diverted their attention for a moment, and then she lifted her left leg to send a pillar into the big guy's stomach. It wasn't enough to make him let go, surprisingly, but it managed to knock him back and, using the sheer fury that was still there, she pushed off him with both legs. That tore up her jacket and freed her from his hold. As she landed, her body remained low and she pushed the pillar towards the one with the bat. As this guy got hit, his chain friend started whipping at her. The first lash hit her face, at which point she nearly lost consciousness. The second hit her left knee as she made the ground beneath her slide out of the way. The situation seemed desperate at this point, now that the big guy was getting up again.
Then, as if an angel had swooped down to give her strength, lightning struck again and she managed to raise and cover them with a wall of mud - a real, thick wall made thanks to the water used by that gangster - that grounded and stunned them for a moment. When they finally recovered, she was gone. And so, the adventures that ensued involved a lot of running and a lot of pain. The dark skinned girl had no idea when she lost them, but after coming into the park and hiding in a bush, she finally felt safe.
Now, she was at the edge of the pond, using the rags that had become of her jacket to tend to the injuries on her knee and on her face. It had taken her a very long time to calm down, and to accept the fact that these guys meant serious business. She viewed the gangs in a new, shinier light now. They were all about threats with kids, but would most likely never harm a child for real. On the other hand, these Galgori... as much as she hated being treated as a kid, she definitely did not expect that they'd go so far against someone as young, it was as if they were trying to kill her... Still, the good news was that she was not bleeding nor lethally injured. Some swelling, a lot of pain and drenched clothes were all. Her blood was boiling, and her tears were mixing with the raindrops, everything else was fine. The bad news were, she was on her own and didn't know what to do at the moment. That, and the jacket had been a present from her aunt, for her fourteenth birthday eight months earlier.
"Oh, crap !!" She suddenly yelled. Her golden soccer ball, her prized treasure... she'd left it with the hoodlums. This night was not going to get better, was it ?...
