Bent Realities [Active/Open]
Characters: Katara, anyone who wants to find the poor girl.
Content: Katara finds herself atop a skyscraper and makes her way down. She meets Lucrecia on the way down, also just coming in.
Location: Skyscraper near Lafayete Street, near Chinatown
Time of day: Late Morning
Warnings: None unless you're Fire Nation.
( Yet the wind was just the same... )
Content: Katara finds herself atop a skyscraper and makes her way down. She meets Lucrecia on the way down, also just coming in.
Location: Skyscraper near Lafayete Street, near Chinatown
Time of day: Late Morning
Warnings: None unless you're Fire Nation.
( Yet the wind was just the same... )
... The edge of the mako crystal never came and the pit of Lucrecia's stomach dropped. She wasn't where she'd been yesterday. She'd heard Vincent leave her cave, known she would never hear his beloved voice again and now she was waking up. What kind of cruel world was this?
But she deserved it... she deserved it all. She'd done so much to him.. so so much...
Her hand dropped to her side and came to rest on what felt like a stair. She had yet to try to open her eyes and wasn't sure she wanted to try yet. But she felt around this.. floor... with her hand before she finally did try to pry her eyes open. It hurt, by gods it hurt, but she finally managed it. She was inside a dark stairwell with no idea where she was or how she had gotten here. Even this small amount of sight hurt her eyes beyond comprehension. Of course it would. She hadn't used them in thirty years. Why wouldn't they hurt?
Scooting forward, she pressed her hands against the wall in front of her and attempted to use that leverage to help herself stand. Her legs, weak from thirty years of inactivity, gave out under her and she sank back down in a heap. Tears began streaming down her cheeks then and she wondered if she would be stuck here forever, or until she starved. Would she finally be able to die and let go of things?
No... she was doomed... forever lost.
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She rushed to the woman. "Hey! Are you okay? Did you fall down?" Katara knelt beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder.
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Another day, another patrol. It was pretty much routine at this point.
Vincent adjusted the lance he had taken from the museum on his shoulder, making it more comfortable to carry. It really was more effective to kill crabs with a longer staff than a knife, he realized. It was stronger, and he could spear more than one at a time. Very nice.
The street was very quiet, and he could barely make out voices and footsteps coming from the nearby skyscraper. The Ex-Turk's curiousity had never failed to get the better of him, and he walked in. Someone might need help, after all.
Vincent climbed a few more flights of stairs, following the voice that seemed to be getting louder. And it was on the fourth flight or so that he'd nearly fallen back down in absolute shock. The Ex-Turk quickly looked to the dark-haired girl, then back to the woman on the floor. His breath quickened, and he felt himself shake. He couldn't believe it. Here. Here, of all places. It was...
"...L-L-Lucrecia...?" He choked on his own trembling voice, but couldn't bring himself to say more.
She was here. She was here and she was alive, but... she was hurt. The red-cloaked man cautiously stepped forward.
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The scientist tried to smile reassuringly, but the action took effort, painful effort. She hadn't used that expression for a long time before she'd sealed herself away and then, to be pulled out of the thing she had grown used to and be forced to use things she hadn't used or done in thirty years... it was a bit frustrating.
"I'm -"
Her voice was easily covered by another one, one she never would have forgotten no matter how many years had passed. At first she didn't believe what she heard, but then it sunk in that not only was the voice insanely familiar, but he had said her name. Chocolate brown eyes widened in a combination of shock and amazement and her head whipped around to see if her ears were deceiving her. Eyesight spinning for a second, she finally focused her vision on the figure to her other side.
He... didn't look like anyone she knew, yet that voice. Her eyes traveled upwards to rest on the face hidden behind the high collar and the hair. Brown eyes locked with red and the realization hit her stomach, making her breath catch in her throat. Her heart began hammering in her chest as she. searched those eyes. She knew those eyes; she'd never be able to forget them.
He was here. He looked completely different from what she remembered, but he was here. Her brown eyes slid shut out of exhaustion and not having been used for so long and her head swiveled back around to face Katara, or where the other girl had been.
"Is this... a dream?" she asked, addressing her fellow female. "Please don't say it is... but I have to know..."
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Zuko had a lot on his mind. Mai was here, as was his sister. Needless to say, Azula wasn't very happy about Zuko's switching of sides, but she wasn't happy with Mai, either. The former prince was trying to think of a way to get his ex (or maybe still...?) out of harm's way.
He had been scouting on his own when he caught a glimpse of a familiar face. It was that Waterbender...Katara. The one who'd offered to heal his scar in the cavern. He felt a pang of guilt. He was probably the last person she wanted to see.
However, Aang and Sokka would never forgive him if he let anything happen to her. He followed her, at a safe distance, as she discovered the woman who seemed to be hurt. He heard another person approach. The man must have known the woman.
Zuko sighed and decided to come out of hiding. It was probably a death wish, but...
"Katara."
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The woman's pained smile was reassuring. At least she was responsive.
However, when the new figure appeared, Katara shrank back slightly, reaching for her waterskin only to find it wasn't there. With no water in sight, she was defenseless.
When he said her name, however, it was obvious they knew each other. Despite his appearance, he wasn't going to be a threat. Probably. Her head turned when addressed.
"Far as I know we're both awake. Though it does seem pretty strange." She gave the man an odd look. "Don't worry," she told Lucrecia, "there's h--"
She stopped short when Zuko appeared from the shadows. She was wrong, not only was it a dream, it was a nightmare.
"ZUKO!" she cried. After a few seconds hesitation, she rushed the man, hoping to pin him however briefly to the landing of the stairs. If someone here was injured, this was the last place she wanted the Firebender.
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And she was hurt. She was hurt bad. Another kick to the Ex-Turk's stomach.
He was supposed to protect her. He was supposed to make sure she was happy.
As the dark-haired girl lunged towards the other boy, the red-cloaked saw this as hs chance and knelt down in front of the brunette; inspecting her, checking for a pulse, fever, or even crab bites. Luckily, no bites were present, but she did have a bit of a fever and she was cold. Very cold. Was this because of being trapped in the crystal for so long? Her clothes had pretty much deteorated, he knew that much. There were no change of clothes in the museum he and Cloud were at, but maybe Sora or the others had some back where they were.
Vincent stepped back and lifted his own heavy, crimson cloak off his shoulders with shaky hands, and tucked it around the woman in place of a blanket. It wasn't much, but it would keep her warm for now. It was the least he could do after so very long.
Shortly afterwards, without thinking about it in the least, the Ex-Turk swamped the brunette in a gentle hug, still shaking with amazement and disbelief. He was touching her. This wasn't an illusion or a hallucination like all of those other times. She was real. She was here. ...she was alive. At long last. "...it'll be okay. We'll be okay."
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She'd been expecting to be left alone until she could gather herself enough to look up again, but she sensed something coming nearer and so her eyes opened again to see what was going on. Her arms slid to her sides out of exhaustion as she looked at Vincent, watching as he examined her. Chocolate brown eyes followed his every movement, even though she wasn't sure what he was doing or looking for. Her expression melded into a bit of a frown as he began fiddling with his cloak, melting into a look of surprise as said cloak was laid around her like a blanket, spread around her to keep her warm.
Something inside her snapped then and she looked up to meet his eyes, her own sparkling with the silent tears now pouring down her cheeks. She wasn't alone. This.. whatever it was, was real. She was covered in this red cloak he was now wearing and -
Her train of thought was abruptly cut off as he leaned closer and wrapped his arms around her. She broke down sobbing then, unable to comprehend this. The last time she'd heard his voice, it was through the crystal. Hers had been distorted and difficult to hear, though at least she had been able to communicate. Now, though.. now was a whole other matter..
She could touch him. Only cloth stood between them now.
Her arms quickly pulled themselves out from the blanket, hastily wrapping around Vincent's back, clinging to him as if her life depended on it as she buried her head in his chest. She couldn't believe it, couldn't begin to understand. Where had this chance come from? She didn't deserve it, not in a million years, but she wasn't going to question it.
This was real...
"Vincent... Please... I'm... I'm so sorry!"
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He didn't want to fight her, mostly because he didn't have his bending. She might not either...he didn't want to take any chances, though.
Zuko outstretched his arms into a gesture of surrender. "I don't want to fight. I just want to get you to your brother and the rest."
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"Oh, I'm sure you do!" she spat. "What did you do with them?!"
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He wanted to thank the dark-haired girl, but she seemed busy. ...later, then.
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No... that couldn't be...
Her arms slid back to rest in her lap and she let her eyes slide shut. Wherever he took here, whatever he wanted to do with her, she would deal with it. Her head turned in the direction of the yelling girl and she tried to smile, though she didn't know if Katara was looking her way or not. "Thank you," came the murmur before she returned to resting her head against Vincent's chest.
When she was awake again, she would need to make a point of finding out who this girl was and properly thanking her. But for now, she was too exhausted to even comprehend anything.
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He didn't make any attempt to push her off, even though he probably could easily overpower her. Mostly, he didn't want to anger her further. So, he took a calm approach.
"I didn't do anything," he replied softly. "You can ask Miss Bei F-I mean, Toph. She's here, too. I don't want your brother angry at me for letting you get lost."
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Her back was exposed like this. If this was an ambush... She glanced back. Katara backed off of him, cautiously, and took a defensive stance.
She looked back to Lucrecia and the man. "I have some healing powers. I can at least soothe her," Katara offered, still on guard. "I need some water."
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Vincent hesitated for a bit, looking down at the unconscious woman in his arms, then back to the dark haired girl. Could he trust her? What if she was trying to poison her? He'd never seen her around before... but, then again, if she wanted to hurt them, she would have done so already.
Sighing, the Ex-Turk caved in and looked around for any water, also trying to remain very quiet to listen for the source. It was on the ceiling he saw it; a broken pipe jutting out of the plaster. Hopefully the water inside hadn't all dried up. Nodding to the source, the red-cloaked man replied, "Up there."
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