Element Academy: The Light of the Avatar

No Chaos in the Lobby...Crystal

"The Bending Underground has found you; they are in the lobby. The lobby is the only place you can exit from this elevator. You must run the moment you get there."

There was no way Crystal would tell the others what the bodyguard really said, they would want to turn back and hide away and that is something she just can't do. Instead, she held them in ignorance.

They have to get out of here otherwise the Underground would tear this building apart trying to find her...Crystal just hates that she has to drag her friends into this too...

"Run!" 

Crystal doesn't even have time to breathe a sigh of relief about saving Page when the chaos reaches the elevator's threshold.

"Keep Jake safe, now go!" Crystal shouts over to Mahoney when Page and Demetri are the only ones to take off.

"But-" Mahoney protests.

"No buts! I'll be right behind you, I promise!" Crystal turns to Jacob. "Go with them, keep each other safe!"

"You better be right behind us!" Jake shouts over the sound of war cries.

"I will! I'll open a pathway for you!" Crystal steps from the elevator and stomps on the ground. She clenches her fists and punches forward before spreading her arms apart. The ground quakes and shoots up, jutting out and creating a straight path to the door. "Run!"

"Could you be any more obvious?!" Mahoney shouts, not waiting for an answer before he and Jacob drag Jake away.

Her brother fights and tugs against them, wanting to make sure Crystal comes with them but they won't let him stick around.

The moment they make it through the doors, Crystal drops the earth and stands before the stunned crowd.

"Stop fighting! This is not going to make anything better, just make it worse!"

"Yeah? What would you know?" An Underground member asks.

"I've seen both sides; I know that you guys thing the Camp members hate you but it's not true! We don't have to fight!"

"Stand down Crystal, we can handle this," Stephan says.

"All you guys are doing is fighting," Crystal retorts. "We don't need more of that."

"Well, what do you want us to do then?" Someone asks.

"Let's talk this out, the more we keep making scenes like this the more we put both sides at risk of exposure and the government stepping in. I don't know about any of you, but I don't want to be used or locked up by the government. Stand down and let's talk."

"The time for talking is done Avatar."

Everyone turns at the dangerous click of a gun that fills the quiet air. A man dressed in a gray suit enters in from another elevator with Talula locked by the neck in his arm and a gun pointed directly at Crystal.

"Nobody moves or the Avatar gets it. Come with me girl, and if you try anything..." He aims the gun at Talula before pointing it back at Crystal. "Let's just say I don't mind getting this suit dirty."

More men pour from a door in the back of the lobby, decked out in guns all aimed at the benders. Everyone instantly puts their hands up, fear a universal emotional felt by them all.

"Now here's how this is going to work, I'm going to take your precious little Avatar and if anyone tries to stop me I'll have you shot. Any objections?" He pauses and waits for a response everyone knows won't be coming. "Great! Take the girl and let's get going. There are big plans in the works kids and by the time its through this little ordeal will looking like nothing more than a tantrum!"

Two of the men take Crystal by either arm and lift her up so her feet can't touch the ground. Every fiber of her body tells her to resist, but she can't risk getting Talula killed.

Benders on both sides take a step towards her, but she instantly tells them to stand down. They shouldn't risk their lives. She'll be okay...she hopes.

The men bring her to the sleek dressed man with his annoying fluffy hair. He doesn't look like the bad guy type, more like a slightly older bad boy model type guy, but seeing that gun in his hand and Talula's look of fear at being locked in his arm tells a very different story.

The guy continues to hold Talula close as he steps back, all the while keeping his gun trained on Crystal. "Remember kids, no stunts. Pleasure doing business with you all."

They start to back away, dragging Crystal towards the back lobby door they entered from. Their guns never swaying from their potential targets.

The sound of moving feet are the only ones ringing out into the terror thick air. This is one twist none of them seems to have seen coming.