Regrets (Complete)

Chapter Ten

Rei was bored.

There was really no other word for it. When she had first learned the truth of her past and identity she was angry, ready to confront her captors. But now it had been 2 days and she hadn't had any contact with another person aside from the food and water that was shoved into her cell twice a day.

She was somewhat glad she had been left alone because if she had reacted the way she was feeling 2 days ago she very likely would have gotten herself killed. Now she had a plan. They obviously wanted her for something and if she followed along with whatever they had planned she just might be able to stay alive long enough to find someone to help her.

Another part of her time in solitude was spent thinking about her parents. Her apparently very famous parents. She had seen Chief Beifong in the papers dozens of times but always glossed over the articles. She didn't care much for the politics of Republic City and it seemed most of the city's current reporters were more interested in gossip than real news. She would have given anything to read some of those articles right now.

And then there was her father. She didn't even know the former councilman had been in a relationship with the Chief of Police. If they had even been together in the first place. Maybe her mother kidnapping her had been a blessing in disguise to the pair of them because they were having an adulterous love affair. It would explain why no one had ever gone looking for her. But she had a feeling there was a different explanation for that particular mystery.

She let out a long sigh as she stared up at the wooden ceiling. There was a movement outside the door and she immediately sat up. Her dinner had already been delivered and nobody ever came to visit her. She heard a jingling of metal keys and she cursed herself for not prioritizing her bending training more over the years. Her mother was a waterbender and she had never felt much need to hone her earthbending skills. And metalbending had never even crossed her mind.

"Good evening, Rei."

She faced the man from before, crossing her arms in defiance as she tried desperately to keep her face from betraying the new information she had discovered.

"You drop a bombshell like that and then I don't see you for two days, great hospitality."

He chuckled and she felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickle.

"I apologize for that. I had to step away for an important meeting and it took a little longer than expected. But I'm here now. I'm sure you have questions."

"You told me the Avatar murdered my parents, of course I have questions."

He held his hand out in front of him as if gesturing her to continue.

"Um, well... I guess my main question is what do you want with me? Why did you kidnap me?"

He smiled again, taking a few steps towards her. Every instinct told her to back away but she held steady, not breaking eye contact with him.

"We need your help. The Avatar has gone unchecked for too long and the people deserve to know the truth. You can help us reveal that truth."

She started to get a little clarity as the pieces began to fall into place. They wanted the Avatar. They didn't care about her or even her true family. They were using her ignorance to their advantage so they could capture the Avatar and... and... she had an idea.

"What are you going to do to the Avatar?"

"We're going to make her tell the world the truth of what the Avatar represents. And then we'll pass judgement on her."

"No."

"Rei, I know it's difficult to understand-"

"No, you don't understand. The Avatar killed my parents. I don't care about the truth, I want to kill her."

The man's face grew into a wicked smile as he turned to look over his shoulder at his cohort. He turned back to her, walking closer and wrapping an arm around her neck. Once again, she fought the urge to recoil as she let herself be led to the door and out of the cell.

The hallway was dark and narrow and she figured they must be somewhere underground. Once she stepped out of the wooden cell she could fell the vague thrum of the earth somewhere beneath her feet. She felt her heartrate quicken as she rapidly tried to come up with plan. She had never had any combat training and her bending was mediocre at best. The only thing she knew for sure was that she in way over her head.

They rounded a corner and she caught sight of a door at the end of the hallway. A door with a bright white light shining through the small glass window. They turned another corner and entered a different hallway, a hallway with a stone floor. It wasn't like her to launch herself into a crazy, reckless idea so readily but before she knew what she was doing she stomped her foot on the ground and tripped both the men who accompanied her by launching sections of the floor up in front of their feet.

They hit the ground hard and she didn't hesitate before she turned back down the other hallway and towards the door to freedom.

Except the door didn't lead to the outside world.

She pushed it open and found herself in a large alcove with bright white lights hanging from the ceiling. As soon as she launched her body through the door she realized she was completely surrounded by at least 2 dozen people. Oh, she was in big trouble now. Panicking she darted to the side, running as fast as she could towards another door across the room.

"Stop her!"

Her captors had caught up with her and before she had time to react she heard an odd sizzling sound before something connected with her middle and the world once again went dark.

______________

Kurai yelled in frustration.

They had thrown the girl back in her wooden cell to rot and he was now trashing the small room he had been using as an office. He just didn't understand what had happened. His story had been a risky move and there were definitely some holes in his timeline but the way she reacted was so extreme. As if she had learned the truth. He just didn't know how...

"Boss, what should we do now?"

Good question. If the girl knew the truth then maybe the police Chief and her band of heroes did too. It was time for a shift in strategy.

"Bring me a pen and paper."

He carefully scribbled the simple note before passing it to Lao to deliver.

"Bring us the Avatar if you ever want the chance to meet your daughter"

Maybe their problem had been that they had spent too long operating in the shadows. It was time to put it all out in the open and make a direct move.