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Paradise of Infinity: 34
🕑 Added 2021-10-09 10:11:03 +0000 UTCTitle: Prison 'Break' (2)
The wind blew past Aang's face as he leisurely utilized his glider to bend the wind around him passively and make use of the contraption to fly. Nothing like the first-hand sight of cruelty to bring him to reality, Aang realized. Over the past few days, since his awakening, he had gone through a various state 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.
He had heard advice. Not only from Nik, but even Sokka, Katara, Suki, and the Chieftain of the Kyoshi Village. Harsh or soft or contemplative, almost everyone meant the same thing.
To take it easy.
Well, aside from facing the Unagi, that is. But yesterday, as he scouted the prison rig and gazed at the sheer... despondency of the prisoners who still have their families waiting for them, at least, those left of them, Aang realized something crucial.
He would have wanted to help even if he wasn't the Avatar. Taught to be kind to strangers, the act of sharing, and being patient with others' thoughts and reasons, Aang had yet to exhibit almost all of those qualities. But now he had begun to at least understand the slightest intent behind those teachings.
The Dawn was lightening by the minute and seeing the four corners 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 one of the said lighthouses are removed and till then...
He could fly!
---
"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. This time Suki had kept control of her skills and Nik, too, didn't 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 wasn't in the front.
Cautious of the man leading them into a trap somehow, Haru took the lead as he would look back to inquire 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 target in the form of one of the entrances to the four lighthouses erected on the rig.
"You know the plan," Sokka looked back at Nik. They needed a drastic distraction to free the prisoners. For that, they needed someone who could easily bypass metal doors, a role filled by Nik. Then they needed someone in the know with the prisoners— a role accepted by Haru. 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 will 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 and his AP increased at an amazing pace.
[Authority Rank: 0 (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. His threats were even more fierce than Sokka's while 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 guard facing the direction of the arrival of the 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*
Sounds of bell soon rang while the trio alongside the guard reached the first prison door.
Removing the door instantly, Nik and others peeked in cautiously.
"Hey! Fuck off!" A shout echoed as the trio hurriedly pulled back.
"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 clearly 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 a... hardening 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 in some things, but he lacked far too much in cracking jokes just yet.
"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 and his body shuddered. Struggling, the guard could only be pushed away by the prisoner as the man shouted, "Hey, you barged in so 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 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 still kept the guard close at hand while the group began breaking out every prisoner in the rig.
This time, however, they knocked on the metal door before Nik devoured it. Each metal door easily brought him 0.2 AP and this only increased Nik's expectations for the giant prison rig not to mention two ships that patrol the surrounding waters. Each ship is 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 have caught Sokka's spear.
Backed into a corner, the trio was surrounded by a dozen firebenders.
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 blow of air to be curbed by three firebenders instantly letting out forceful jets of fire as Katara gritted and waved her hands to eject a thin trail of water 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 I am told is to look deep!" Aang snorted. These were the cryptic words that Kyoshi left him.
"Then look deep!" Sokka groaned.
"Where?!" Aang glared at the youth.
"Both of you!" Katara pursed her lips. It really 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 clearly potent and decisive and it has only been because of Aang that the two siblings have could avoid the fate of a cooked chicken.
Aang looked at the warden. He suddenly shook his head.
"No, he is," Aang pointed behind the warden as the group looked back. Even Sokka focused to look back to encourage the opponents that there really is something behind them.
The warden and the group of firebenders looked back only to find a brown-skinned youth blinking. Dark eyes and a handsome visage with short black hair.
*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 the area of the disappeared lighthouse was suddenly swept by a large wave of smaller rocks and it instantly caught the group of firebenders and the warden by surprise.
"Alright, now only taking over the ships remain."
The quantity of 'earth' brought by Haru wasn't enough for all the Earthbenders to use. But then again, the way the prisoners had been demotivated made sure that they simply lost their will to escape. There were a few oddballs amongst the prisoners who didn't lose out hope because of turning eccentric but only Haru could have explained the situation of the villages and in fact, aside from the news of young children being taken away, nothing else could have broken them out of their spell.
It was only a matter of time after the Warden's and the group of firebenders to he captured by surprise that the entire rig was swept and all the guards were taken in as prisoners.
Not wanting to flaunt his abilities uselessly, Nik instead only had everyone help in stripping 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, "And you were so worried."
Rolling his eyes, Aang stayed silent. It wasn't as easy as Nik made it out to be. But after helping for the second time, it was clear that Nik's confidence had risen a little more while Aang's fear of the unknown had been lowered quite a bit, too.
"I still don't get it why not just make the entire rig vanish right there and then?" Aang mumbled, "It's not like they will betray us."
"Who knows? But it's not really wise to show the ability to the Fire Nation, right? If one or two soldiers say that I can make things disappear, their words will only be considered a fool's rambling but if the entire group says that then it will paint me as a bigger target," Nik shrugged. Appa only had to merely hover beside the rig for Nik to touch it and everything vanished instantly.
Nik instantly looked at his own information screen.
[Name: Nik Faran
Age: 20 (80)
Code: GC—EHG—98034
Authority Rank: 0 (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. This was definitely a strange ability if nothing else. At first, he felt like this must be a very rare form of bending... but then again, Nik wasn't performing any form of martial arts to bend the elements.
"Let's go," Nik snickered.
Once Nik and Aang returned, Nik being in a particularly good mood, they were a little surprised to find Haru's village wrought with a tense environment as two men faced off each other while the few Earthbenders surrounded the duo. 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, the group of fire soldier prisoners was kept under the watchful eyes of a small portion of the Earthbenders who continued to create earthen cages and return the favor this time around as the fire guards revealed desperate expressions.
