[Korra pauses when she's next to him, gaze flicking over him in a check for visible injuries--it's a habitual, subconscious gesture, as Mako might notice.]
[cooler looking than he actually is. He pushes off the wall, and offers her something of a smile when she first starts talking, but then quickly drops to serious. He could probably guess what the store was after wandering around Haven for a bit, but just in case..]
[immediately he wonders if she'd clashed with it already-- he didn't really know her to avoid anything. That combined with the look she'd just given him... It was hard to believe, but he was starting to think that it was possible she'd been there for awhile. The changes were too obvious to him.
She didn't need to tell him to avoid undue trouble,
[and one suspicion confirmed. He follows her lead on this, keeping apace of her.
And he really, really wished writing worked. He knew the people in his building were definitely not lying by this point. And it was throwing him off, since there was so much to remember.]
Yeah. The store's the way into their headquarters. The door acts kind of like a portal, and what you see inside depends on who you are.
The people who work for Yao see a regular room with one of those big screens inside. Apparently Kite and other higher ups use it to give them orders. There's a bunch of weapons in there, too. [She scowls.] Pyramid Head won't attack the employees, so they can just go in and grab stuff whenever they want.
[Korra sighs, rolling her shoulders back.] The rest of us see whatever the store wants us to see. It can show you exactly what you fear and mess with your head.
[But how? He frowns at that statement. There must be something about it-- some sort of spiritual thing? But they couldn't be in the spirit world. And while spirits were what you made of them, he had yet to see anything quite that dark outside of Vaatu.
Another thing to try and figure out-- but it brings up his next question, which is innocent enough.
For now.]
Someone told me people worked with them. Do you know who?
[She makes a face.] Oh--yeah. I should have told you that the first day. I'll point them out to you, since we can't write this down.
[Korra reaches for her phone, pulling up the contacts list. The first pictures she points out are Junko, Hyobu, and Yomiel, saying each of their names as she shows him.]
These three are the worst of them. They're dangerous enough on their own, but now they've also got whatever rewards Yao gives them for doing their dirty work.
I don't know about the others, but Cecil's pretty harmless. He talks about Yao on these phones a lot, but his broadcasts are...uh, kind of long-winded. He's a radio host back in his world, or something.
[Korra frowns down at the phone one last time, then pockets it.]
There's one more, I think. His name's Nicodemus. I...don't know what he looks like yet, but when we were down in the maze [she touches the "I" mark on her cheek, feeling something unpleasant stir up in her again at the reminder] Matilda gave him a special mention when she was taunting us. Even if he's not an employee, he's probably someone we should keep an eye on anyway.
[You don't have to be an employee to be dangerous around here.]
She's lower on the ladder than Kite, that's for sure. There used to be someone else, Su Geming, before Kite took over completely.
But he, uh, might be dead. Or demoted. [Korra just looks sort of uncomfortable about the whole thing.] I'm not sure which one--with Yao Corp it could be either.
Kite thinks he was too nice to us. [Can you hear the scoff in her voice?]
Something happened when I first got here. People started getting sick, losing control of their powers... Geming sent some scientists in with medicine.
[Now there's definitely some tension in Korra's shoulders, made more obvious by the way she crosses her arms.]
Some of the people in here took the scientists hostage, tortured them for information, and then used them as bargaining chips for Yao. They had a list of demands, and Geming gave us most of them.
We didn't used to have running water in the apartments, and Pyramid Head just sort of wandered around the place instead of staying right by the store. Stuff like that.
Kite took over right after that, said Geming messed up. And we haven't seen him since.
[he looks concerned-- and he wants to ask who was involved, but it sounded like there were a few. And who even knew if they were still around, based off what he'd heard about leaving.
And based off what he'd heard about Yao Corp, he'd be even more surprised.
Still, he hesitates before placing a hand on her shoulder]
I'm sorry.
[for what? he's not sure, but it looked like she could use the words.]
[She gives him a fleeting smile, putting her hand on his briefly and taking some comfort from it. Whatever had happened between them in that year she's missing, he still cares about her--and that's good enough for her.]
You said...it's been a year since the Equalist thing.
[Though she's a little hesitant to ask, she's also extremely curious.]
[he pauses-- remembering what Wan asked him. So he'd just... avoid that, unless she asked him directly. He pulled his hand back and shrugged slightly]
Asami managed to turn Future Industries around, Bolin's a mover star, and I'm a cop.
There's new airbenders everywhere, and we were helping you find them. I tracked down reports all over the Earth Kingdom, though I'm thinking Ba Sing Se might be the hardest place to find anything yet.
They slammed the door right in his face. The only thing that's managed to work so far was Bo's showmanship idea-- and that's because the airbender we caught was trying to escape from the law.
[as a cop and former street rat, Mako has Issues with Kai.
Also, Kai stole his wallet and he had a lot of money in that thing.]
He must be disappointed. [Thinking about her mentor brings a sad smile to her face. She's missed him, and everyone else, in this place.] But...that's why we're still out there looking for more people, right?
[Enough about the air benders, though. Mako had said something that caught her interest earlier.]
Sooo you're a cop now. What happened to probending? And what's a mover star supposed to be?
Movers are this new invention-- they're basically walking, talking pictures on a big screen. Bolin got picked to star in these movies... Nuktuk, hero of the south. [can you hear the sarcasm dripping off his voice?
Oh man, there's so much sarcasm dripping off his voice about his brother pretending to be a Southern Water Tribe waterbender on the silver screen.]
And-- well... You saw how it was. It was a great job [and that's all it ever was, to him] but it wasn't stable. Beifong offered me a job as a beat cop, and the pay was enough to get a place for me in Bo and have enough money left over for food.
I'm pretty good at it-- I got promoted to detective recently.
So...sort of like the video functions on these phones. [Korra pats the pocket with the phone, frowning a little. She doesn't really understand what a mover is supposed to look like, but it all sounds interesting. Nuktuk, Hero of the South is a dramatic enough title to keep Bolin's interest, at least.]
I'm glad. [Korra speaks up suddenly, smiling a little.] I admit, I'm sorta disappointed we're not probending together anymore, but it sounds like you and Bolin are doing really, really well. I'm happy for you.
[After being in Haven for a while, Korra's learned to take the good news as they come.]
[he gives her a similar smile. It was kind of sad, but at the same time, he preferred the stability being a cop provided, and Lin Beifong was the best boss he'd ever had.
She allowed just the right amount of BS, which was none at all.]
We couldn't keep the Avatar on our team forever.
... And you're right. Just think on a bigger scale.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
browbeater) wrote2014-07-21 06:39 pm
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Hey. You got here early.
[Korra pauses when she's next to him, gaze flicking over him in a check for visible injuries--it's a habitual, subconscious gesture, as Mako might notice.]
I'll show you the store first, since it's closer.
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Alright. Is that where the monster is?
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We're not going anywhere near it--I just wanted to show you what it looks like.
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She didn't need to tell him to avoid undue trouble,
He nods]
Alright. Do you know what this monster is?
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Korra looks down, thoughtful, before she answers.]
It's called Pyramid Head. We're not...actually sure what it is. All we know is nothing keeps him down for long, no matter what you throw at him.
Yao Corp wants that thing alive to guard the store. That means its going to stay alive.
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[and one suspicion confirmed. He follows her lead on this, keeping apace of her.
And he really, really wished writing worked. He knew the people in his building were definitely not lying by this point. And it was throwing him off, since there was so much to remember.]
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The people who work for Yao see a regular room with one of those big screens inside. Apparently Kite and other higher ups use it to give them orders. There's a bunch of weapons in there, too. [She scowls.] Pyramid Head won't attack the employees, so they can just go in and grab stuff whenever they want.
[Korra sighs, rolling her shoulders back.] The rest of us see whatever the store wants us to see. It can show you exactly what you fear and mess with your head.
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Another thing to try and figure out-- but it brings up his next question, which is innocent enough.
For now.]
Someone told me people worked with them. Do you know who?
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[Korra reaches for her phone, pulling up the contacts list. The first pictures she points out are Junko, Hyobu, and Yomiel, saying each of their names as she shows him.]
These three are the worst of them. They're dangerous enough on their own, but now they've also got whatever rewards Yao gives them for doing their dirty work.
[Next, she points out Cecil, Kida, Xerxes, and Warren.]
I don't know about the others, but Cecil's pretty harmless. He talks about Yao on these phones a lot, but his broadcasts are...uh, kind of long-winded. He's a radio host back in his world, or something.
[Korra frowns down at the phone one last time, then pockets it.]
There's one more, I think. His name's Nicodemus. I...don't know what he looks like yet, but when we were down in the maze [she touches the "I" mark on her cheek, feeling something unpleasant stir up in her again at the reminder] Matilda gave him a special mention when she was taunting us. Even if he's not an employee, he's probably someone we should keep an eye on anyway.
[You don't have to be an employee to be dangerous around here.]
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And that brought up the next question]
Matilda is one of the people in charge, like Kite?
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But he, uh, might be dead. Or demoted. [Korra just looks sort of uncomfortable about the whole thing.] I'm not sure which one--with Yao Corp it could be either.
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Something happened when I first got here. People started getting sick, losing control of their powers... Geming sent some scientists in with medicine.
[Now there's definitely some tension in Korra's shoulders, made more obvious by the way she crosses her arms.]
Some of the people in here took the scientists hostage, tortured them for information, and then used them as bargaining chips for Yao. They had a list of demands, and Geming gave us most of them.
We didn't used to have running water in the apartments, and Pyramid Head just sort of wandered around the place instead of staying right by the store. Stuff like that.
Kite took over right after that, said Geming messed up. And we haven't seen him since.
no subject
And based off what he'd heard about Yao Corp, he'd be even more surprised.
Still, he hesitates before placing a hand on her shoulder]
I'm sorry.
[for what? he's not sure, but it looked like she could use the words.]
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You said...it's been a year since the Equalist thing.
[Though she's a little hesitant to ask, she's also extremely curious.]
What's everyone been doing?
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[he pauses-- remembering what Wan asked him. So he'd just... avoid that, unless she asked him directly. He pulled his hand back and shrugged slightly]
Asami managed to turn Future Industries around, Bolin's a mover star, and I'm a cop.
There's new airbenders everywhere, and we were helping you find them. I tracked down reports all over the Earth Kingdom, though I'm thinking Ba Sing Se might be the hardest place to find anything yet.
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So I do get to travel! [Instantly perking up here. Just like the Avatars before her!]
And new air benders? That's...amazing! I--I bet Aang's going to be excited when we tell him. How's Tenzin taking it all?
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He tried to bribe one of them into becoming an air nomad by telling him they'd have an air bison as a best friend.
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That's Tenzin for you. It didn't work, did it?
[But it totally should have. Air bison are awesome.]
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[as a cop and former street rat, Mako has Issues with Kai.
Also, Kai stole his wallet and he had a lot of money in that thing.]
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[Enough about the air benders, though. Mako had said something that caught her interest earlier.]
Sooo you're a cop now. What happened to probending? And what's a mover star supposed to be?
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Oh man, there's so much sarcasm dripping off his voice about his brother pretending to be a Southern Water Tribe waterbender on the silver screen.]
And-- well... You saw how it was. It was a great job [and that's all it ever was, to him] but it wasn't stable. Beifong offered me a job as a beat cop, and the pay was enough to get a place for me in Bo and have enough money left over for food.
I'm pretty good at it-- I got promoted to detective recently.
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I'm glad. [Korra speaks up suddenly, smiling a little.] I admit, I'm sorta disappointed we're not probending together anymore, but it sounds like you and Bolin are doing really, really well. I'm happy for you.
[After being in Haven for a while, Korra's learned to take the good news as they come.]
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[he gives her a similar smile. It was kind of sad, but at the same time, he preferred the stability being a cop provided, and Lin Beifong was the best boss he'd ever had.
She allowed just the right amount of BS, which was none at all.]
We couldn't keep the Avatar on our team forever.
... And you're right. Just think on a bigger scale.
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[Until Amon blew up the arena, that is.
She doesn't say anything more a little while, but stops short when the store comes into view.]
We're here. You can see it right by the entrance.
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