Prison ‘Break’ (2)
The wind blew past Aang's face—or rather, he blew past them by leisurely utilizing his glider and bending air to fly. Over the past few days, since his awakening, he had gone through various states of thought and mind, from the readiness to ride Elephant Koi Fishes and Otter Penguins to the sadness of his entire culture passing on and even uncertainty towards the future.
Nothing like the first-hand sight of cruelty to bring him to reality—Aang realized.
He got advice from everyone, including Nik, Sokka, Katara, Suki, and the Kyoshi Chieftain. Harsh or soft or contemplative, almost everyone meant the same thing.
To take it easy.
Well, aside from facing the Unagi, that is.
But Aang realized something crucial yesterday as he scouted the prison rig and met the sheer despondence of the prisoners who still had their families waiting for them, at least those left of them. He realized he would have wanted to help them even if he wasn’t the Avatar!
The Dawn was brightening by the minute, and seeing the four posts still erected with large lamps, Aang cleverly maneuvered his glider to fly up towards the clouds instead and rotate gleefully. He only had to land once the group took care of one of the said lighthouses, and till then—
He could fly and shake off his nervousness.
---
"Come on, hurry! Or do you want the last item stolen, too?" Sokka whispered as he tightened his grip on the back of the soldier's neck. Suki stayed her hand this time, and Nik didn't immediately remove everything from the man's body. The dark-haired middle-aged man shivered and walked with a slight nod. The group walked in a single line, but the guard didn’t take the lead.
Cautious of the man leading them into a trap somehow, Haru took the lead as he looked back to inquire about the directions gestured by the man's hands tied in the front. On the other hand, Sokka, Suki, Nik, and Katara stayed behind.
Soon, they reached their destination. It was one of the entrances to the four lighthouses erected on the rig.
"You know the plan," Sokka looked back at Nik. Their plan needed a drastic distraction to free the prisoners, a role Nik could accept without issues since he could bypass metal doors. They also needed someone who knew the prisoners, and Haru fit that role perfectly. However, still being on the fence about Haru, Suki accompanied the two. On the other hand, alongside Aang, Sokka and Katara will keep others busy.
Touching the metal door, Nik gave a silent prayer. Those at the top of the watchtower would fall, and it was a surety that the guards would survive but not without any injuries, something that would prove advantageous to Katara and Sokka.
With a thought, Nik restrained to devour only the watchtower, his AP increasing considerably.
[Authority Rank: 0 (12.8982→17.4392/100)]
It was honestly gratifying. Nik had yet to experience the other advantages of the authority ranks, but at least he had the goal to work towards.
As the tower suddenly disappeared, the few guards came crashing down while Haru grabbed the shocked guard and pulled him away. Other guards would come rushing into their spot, so they needed to prepare themselves. The earthbender’s threats to curb the restricted guard’s resistance were even more fierce than Sokka's. Meanwhile, Suki joined Nik as they rushed away. Aang's figure was already a little visible when they divided themselves.
"I need a rock!" Haru exclaimed. They had just gotten a little away when they heard the sound of sharp footsteps across the metal floor. With the restrained guard facing the direction of the arrival of other guards, he failed to see Nik retrieving a giant rock from his personal space as he and Suki sidestepped. Kicking the guard down, Haru stomped his feet and punched forward before letting out a soft grunt and squeezing his elbows together.
The boulder shot forward, blocking the narrow turn ahead as Haru picked the grunting guard from the ground and ran instantly. Nik and Suki followed silently.
"A rock?!"
"Hey! Wake up the benders! That's why I say that benders should patrol alongside us!"
"Call the warden! Quick, I saw someone run past from the corner!"
*Ting-ding-Ting*
Loud bells soon rang while the trio, alongside the guard, reached the first prison door.
Nik and others peeked in cautiously once he devoured the metal gate.
"H-Hey! Fuck off!" A shout echoed as the trio hurriedly pulled back. Suki blushed a storm while glancing away.
"Fuck you, Old Ken! Nobody wanted to see you rub one out! We're breaking you out!" Haru shouted in return. Nik and Suki meanwhile looked at each other. They failed to expect such a situation.
"Wasn't the bell loud enough?" Suki whispered, a bit embarrassed, while Nik took a moment to think and found a reasonable conclusion, "Maybe it's because of the sound of the bell itself?"
"That's... weird. Men, I mean," Suki pursed her lips. She found Nik's words a bit eerie in themselves. Who could ever get erect by sound? As Suki's suspicious gaze irked Nik, he frowned slightly and shook his head, "It was a joke."
"Really? You seemed dead serious..." Suki mumbled, still a little doubtful.
"That was the joke," Nik rolled his eyes. He may be good at some things, but humor may not be one of them.
"Alright, what's going on?" The bearded grey-haired man finally stumbled out with a deep scowl as his eyes focused on Haru. Confusion filled his face before he blinked, "Haru... Haru? It's you? Grown into a fine lad, have ‘ya?" The man suddenly chuckled, his arms spreading to give Haru a bear hug as the youth quickly retreated while pushing the half-naked guard in front.
There was no way Haru was giving the man any hugs after the display of solo affection.
The guard paled as his body shuddered. Old Ken pushed the guard away, grumbling, "Hey, you barged in! Don't complain if you got a good look at da goods!"
"We need to move on," Nik glanced at the man before walking past the prison, only for Suki to stick close to him this time, more than concerned about their situation.
"Old Ken, do you know where the others are?"
"Yeah," the man smiled.
Haru nodded. But he kept the guard for back-up. They found other prison rooms and started breaking others out.
However, this time, they knocked on the metal door to notify their arrival before Nik devoured it. Each metal door effortlessly brought him 0.2 AP, furthering Nik's expectations for the giant prison rig, not to mention the two ships that patrol the surrounding waters. Each Ship should be worth 10 AP.
---
*Fsshhh*
Aang hurriedly tilted his body to the left on his toes, almost comically, avoiding a blow of fire that stretched from the fists of the masked guards while the warden crackled a flaming whip only to catch Sokka's spear.
A dozen firebenders were enough to back Sokka, Katara, and Aang into a corner.
These were the men who controlled and created flames. The danger regarding these men was clear to anyone as the trio sweated.
"Aang... isn't it time you bring some more avatar stuff? Maybe a past avatar? Go crazy?" Sokka gasped a whisper while clenching his club.
With a grunt, Aang waved his staff, only for the flames from three Firebenders to curb his attack. Katara gritted and waved her hands to eject a thin water stream to support Aang. It only ended up evaporating at a pace visible to the naked eye.
"I'm sorry, I don't have the written guides on the way of Avatar. All Kyoshi told me was to look deep!" Aang snorted. The past Avatar were as cryptic as they came.
"Then look deep!" Sokka groaned.
"Where?!" Aang glared at the youth.
"Both of you!" Katara pursed her lips. It wasn't the right time to snap at each other.
"An Airbender," the balding warden smiled as he eyed Aang with a cold expression, "Boy, could you perhaps be the Avatar?"
The warden raised his hands to stop the guards for a moment. The firebenders were potent and decisive, and only because of Aang did the two siblings avoid the fate of a cooked chicken.
Aang looked at the warden. He suddenly shook his head. His mind came up with a prank almost instinctively.
"No, he is," Aang pointed behind the warden as the group looked back. Even Sokka focused on looking back to encourage the opponents that someone was behind them.
The warden and the group of firebenders looked back only to find a brown-skinned youth blinking, his dark eyes capable of attracting plenty of the fairer gender when coupled with his handsome features.
*Whoosh*
Taking the chance of the distraction, Aang once again swept in with a large and forceful gust of wind with a mischievous grin as it struck the group.
"Now!"
A shout echoed behind Nik as a mind-boggling wave of shooting rocks consumed the area where the lighthouse once stood, catching the warden and firebenders off guard.
"Alright, now we take over the ships." Sokka sighs in relief.
While the number of boulders for others to bend wasn’t near enough for every Earthbender, th truth was more grim—only a few could Earthbend again on the fly. Not only did most prisoners lose hope and the will to live, but their skills rusted beyond belief. There were a few who maintained their positivity. But these men were always eccentric and odd among their peers, their positivity unable to keep their regular counterparts more hopeful in such situations. If it wasn’t for Haru explaining the state of their village, Nik and Suki wondered if half of the prisoners would even want to escape the prison. But the news of the village’s children snatched away by the Fire Nation did the trick.
It was only a matter of time before the escapees captured the Warden and the group of firebenders before taking over the remaining guards as prisoners.
Not wanting to flaunt his abilities uselessly, Nik had everyone help him strip the guards before collecting their effects and letting them remain in the rig. The group silently returned to the coast, only for Aang and Nik to return on Appa.
"Heh, easy, right?" Nik smiled through his tension. The worst part ended with little to no casualties. "And you were so worried."
Rolling his eyes, Aang stayed silent. It certainly wasn’t as easy, but Nik’s confidence surged after lending a helping hand the second time. Aang was similar to Nik in that regard. While they stood on different planes of skill and technique, their inexperience in combat allowed them to empathize with each other. And now both feel less tense about any future confrontations.
"I still don't get why didn’t you make the rig disappear before we left with Haru’s friends and family?" Aang mumbled, "It's not like they will betray us."
"Who knows?” Nik replied guardedly. “But it's not wise to show the ability to the Fire Nation, right? If one or two soldiers say I can make things disappear, their words will only be considered a fool's rambling. But it will paint me as a bigger target once an entire group of soldiers testify against my ability," he shrugged. Appa only had to hover beside the rig for Nik to touch it, and everything vanished instantly.
Nik instantly looked at his information screen.
[Name: Nik Faran
Age: 20 (80)
Code: GC—EHG—98034
Authority Rank: 0 (17.4392→69.4207/100)
Paradise: Transmigration
Bloodline: Adonis' Ember (Common)]
The two ships had gained him 20 AP, and the rig got him more than 30 AP alongside all the spare armors of the fire nation guards and soldiers.
"Woah!" Aang gaped again. It was a strange bending ability if nothing else.
"Let's go," Nik snickered.
The duo was surprised to sense the tense environment within Haru’s village since they were feeling peppy due to their most recent accomplishment. Aang and Nik entered the Village to find two men facing off against each other, surrounded by a few malnourished Earth Benders. Haru and Sokka stood beside them as the feeble and older villagers, alongside Katara and Suki, stood by the sidelines as they were simply not allowed to enter.
Finally, a small portion of Earthbenders kept a watchful eye on the group of Fire Nation prisoners as they methodically imprisoned the guards by erecting earthen prisons.
***
Alternate Title: The Bell Kink; Sound Gets One’s Motor Running; Nik’s Jokes Are Dry As Fuck!; Suki Got The Look Of An Earthen Pole, And It’s Not The One In Nik’s Hand; The Perfect Plan?; Riled Prisoners; Sokka: Look Deep! *Aang Closes His Eyes, and Everyone Dies, The End*; Past Avatar: We Can Help You, Of Course! *Offer The Barely Teen Avatar Riddles That Will Destroy Riddler Himself*; Past Avatars: Why Give Straight Answers When We Can Cook Rhymes In The Spirit Realm?; Boosted Confidence; AP Boost; Rescued; Prison Escape; Cautious; Devoured Prison; Captured Guards; Tables Turned