Chapter 51: Kind Outburst (1)
{A/N: Two things you guys need to know cause these are the assumptions I'm considering while writing.
1) Aang said he never kills but most of the actions reveal brutal damages to his opponent and their lives unknown... so he may never directly kill, but Aang's abilities have left fatal collateral damage.
2) Bumi has shown the ability to bend without moving his body when the team tries to save him in Omashu. This leaves me with a headcanon that all benders have a chance to bend without moving their body in a martial technique but needs a lot of experience but this also depends on the element. Earth is usually bent in a solid state which means that maybe, to bend something solid, the accompanying movement of the body is required with the rare exceptions being Bumi. On the other hand, fire doesn't need the additional movement of the body to generate but to turn it into projectiles. So yeah, experience and the element itself determine if the user can bend without movement of the body or not.
Another example is that crippled waterbender from Korra. How does she even attach water to her body as an extension when waterbending has shown to be more accepted by the flowing motion of the body, generally limbs due to their flexibility.}
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"— aaagh," the suppressed but haunting scream could be heard again. The sound was too familiar. He had screamed quite a bit already but those with keener senses, such as Suki, felt that the scream was losing out.
"That should just be the stick at this moment. Sir Zhao likes to use a specific type of wood that causes the body's function to respond since its surface has a medical effect. Too little to be good, however," the silent man standing guard on them finally let out a soft chuckle, enjoying the reaction of the boy who allowed them to capture this group in one swoop.
Hearing him, Sokka's head lowered further as he remained crouched on the corner of the prison with Katara and Suki helpless, too. They had understood everything from Sokka. This made the guards snatch Katara's pouch of water, too.
"Is there... anything we can do to escape?" Katara whispered to Suki. They had put off their exploration of the catacombs and now realized that things wouldn't have gone much differently if they had entered this location eventually.
"We're stuck... there is nothing to do," Suki replied with a stoic expression as her gaze turned gloomier with every passing second. She felt stifled that a friend of hers was subjected to such pain but the more pressing gloom came from being helpless.
She glanced at Katara secretly. A bender.
If she was an Airbender, or a waterbender, or an earthbender, or even a firebender, she could have tried. But again, these were merely empty thoughts festering from a discontented mind at one's own usefulness when things truly mattered. If they were anywhere else but here then this kind of thought wouldn't even be a part of her top 100 food for thought.
'If only...'
Suki didn't know how much time had passed. The trio had remained entirely silent. Guilt-ridden, Sokka didn't dare speak further as he realized how boastful his claims were.
To free children...
'What a joke... I said then... Tamashi must have felt like this, too... worse, maybe. He gave up his kid, after all...' Sokka hugged his head. At the time they were motivated to help. They had assisted Suki's village regarding Unagi, and with the time given to him for retrospection, he realized that again, they were impudent. Suki and Nik may have died if Kyoshi didn't appear so suddenly.
Their assistance in helping the prisoners escape would have a greater chance to go in hell if Nik couldn't make the entire rig disappear.
And now...
'In their minds... they probably think they have no parents,' Sokka felt even worse.
"Hey! Get here quickly! The Avatar is wrecking the whole place—"
A guard screamed loudly near the end of the hallway when the entirety of the wall suddenly crashed against him, leaving his fate unknown.
"What?" The guard gasped.
---
"Stay still, you rat maggot!" Zhao growled, his body moving quickly with flames acting on his will as they tried to reach Aang only for it to bask his body in its glow as the young Avatar dodged.
"Dodge like the wind! Hehe, cause he's an Airbender," Bumi chuckled.
'Oh, incoming,' Nik saw an odd ball of flames reaching his direction as he prepared to time his own escape when suddenly, a portion of the floor in front of him rose in the form of an earthen slab that absorbed the impact and heat of the fire.
'Who?' Nik looked around when he heard Bumi's cackle, "Just lie still."
'He really isn't helpless... just an unsuspecting earthen spike is enough to kill any of these firebenders...' Nik's lips twitched. This really made him feel frustrated. Such an assistance would have been nice when he was being given the stick in an even more painful manner than most have known to take it.
*Whoosh*
Aang blasted another volley of flames but it was clear that the Young Airbender was being suppressed. In this day and age, Airbender might be a rare form of ability but the sheer force hidden in firebending isn't easily escaped from 100%.
"I can't take them all!" Aang skirted a bit closer to Nik with a depressed expression covered by darkness soon dissipated by another wave of projectiles let out in a sync.
"Then bring Kyoshi out, she knew what to do," Nik mumbled, his voice barely audible when wind screeched and flames crackled all over.
"If I knew how to do that, I would have done so already," the boy rolled his eyes.
"Just think. Try begging. Strong women sometimes like groveling," Nik hastily added.
"What?" Aang gaped.
"Wow-weee-wooo!" Bumi whistled.
"Again," Zhao spat coldly as the firebenders launched an attack once again.
Aang's body jumped forward carrying the momentum of wind as he spiraled with waves and waves of wind crashing forward in quick succession. However, being the Avatar didn't grant the boy unlimited power. As it has always been, bending sapped on the body's strength overall and high physical and spiritual qualities are needed to achieve greatness in the art. Aang was wise for his age, very much so, but his body left too much to be considered adequate.
One of the attacks hit the boy on his back as he rotated on the spot, causing him to crash and slide across the ground on his chest.
"Aang? Aang?! Hey," Nik called out. For what it was worth, Nik truly worried for Aang at this moment.
"I'm... fine," Aang groaned while sitting up. Shaking his head, the boy jumped to his feet and gazed at numerous fists of the firebenders light up in fire once again, leaving a bitter taste in his mouth.
'Any past Avatar... can you hear me?' Aang tried in vain. Kyoshi taking over Aang had opened his mind to various possibilities instinctively so he couldn't help but hope to gain assistance from his past selves. But seeing pillars of flame targetting him and Nik through his own eyes, Aang sighed softly.
'If only I had my staff...' Aang thought silently before jumping in between Nik and almost slapping his own bald head, "Nik, give me the fans!"
He pushed his palms out forcefully before slapping them against each other. A sphere of wind instantly dispensed quite a bit of fire directed at them while the rest were deflected as dust rose in the middle, causing Nik to cough while he took out his pair of war fans.
Just as he took them out, Aang flipped back and snatched the weapons from his hands.
*Thck*
The metal frames of the fan slid open as Aang twisted his waist and flapped the fans in the direction of his opponents. All of it took only a few seconds and all the dust was cleared up with a humongous force of wind instantly crashing into the bodies of the firebenders.
"Woah..." Aang gaped.
"I did that?"
He gazed at the crashed wall as Zhao and others were thrown out of the room.
"-- course, not--" He heard the faintest of a whisper from a very familiar voice but he wasn't given more time to pursue this direction of thinking when another guard came rushing in. Aang attacked again, channeling his bending skills through the war fans, however, the attack this time felt barely enhanced. It was better. Precise, too... but it lacked the raw, untamed force of nature that he seemed to have unleashed.
"Let's go," Aang finally saw Nik's condition properly as the lightened hallway gave quite a bit of glow inside the previously dark room, too. His expression turned worse once he saw the marks on Nik's chest and shoulders that bulged due to the raw beating and now tinged purple.
Aang held Nik's hands and tried pulling him until his face turned red before using his airbending to push Nik off of the surface and reduce the burden of his weight temporarily.
Looking up, Aang called out to Bumi, "Bumi, wait, I'm going to get you out—"
"Nah, don't," Bumi chuckled.
"What?"
"There's no point in saving someone who cannot walk or use his arms, Aang. My limbs are cut off... said that I'm too much of a threat. Damn right I am," Bumi grinned, "And Omashu will not fall easily. No need to put more burden, old friend. Just go. Save your friends."
"They... cut your arms off?" Aang's expression turned pale and he accidentally let go of Nik, making him fall face first with a pained grunt.
"And legs," Zhao walked in while patting his robes with a scowl. His hair was disheveled and a trace of smudged blood could be seen from the corner of his lips trailing down his shaven chin but otherwise bearded face.
Aang's attack was great, but it wasn't dealt with the intent to keep Zhao 'down' and in the end, Zhao's persistence was greater than his subordinates, revealing that despite his lack of values, the man was extraordinary when it came to a more primal manner of life— battles.
"Young Avatar, Mad King Bumi cannot survive without our pieces of equipment... well, he can, technically. But we already gave him a good home and unlike your other nomad counterparts, at least, he still lives," Zhao smiled coldly, "You cannot escape. A boy, a couple of young misfits challenging the Supreme Ruler of the world... even the—"
Zhao came to a slow stop as he realized that the boy in front of him was still not looking back. Instead, Aang continued to gaze at Bumi who kept a happy smile. This always irked Zhao. To be able to smile and joke and laugh even with such a fate... he felt annoyed by how resilient the man was. He admired and envy such resilience alongside fearing it.
"I... really am sorry, Bumi... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry," Aang croaked, his tone shaking with each word. Aang had now come to accept that he would be facing a tough life ahead, possibly, far more than what the past Avatars could imagine. Dead heritage, broken promises, betrayed trusts, and now the sight of an old friend... torn.
Next to the boy, lying on his chest, Nik felt the wind rising around Aang.
"What is going on?" Nik heard Zhao speak in surprise as he struggled to tilt his head sideways and look up from the corner of his eyes only to find Aang's body 'glow.' From his eyeballs to the arrow-shaped tattoos over his body. They gave a soft white glow that seemed piercing in this moment of darkness.
Again, Aang seemed to have heard a voice full of guiding and nurturing intentions. He had heard it before— when Kyoshi took over.
"Look deep inside... we will guide you and help you..." the statement was a bit longer and clearer than before but it was soon blurred by the piercing noise that buzzed within his head that only stoked his anger usually buried by his pacifist teachings.
"Why must you hurt?" Aang spoke up. Or at least, he found his body out of control while he spoke. His voice was no longer his own but seemed to be fused by many other voices as if they were buried deep inside of him from the very beginning.
"Why must we hurt?" Zhao reiterated the question before chuckling, "Why must you stand in our way—"
*Swoosh*
The wind raged all around Aang as it caused Bumi's casket to rattle and even sent Nik flying away and soon he struck the wall with a depressed groan.
Why?
Nik felt truly depressed. Power is meant to be controlled, and to not let it control oneself. This is one of the things Suki taught him in the beginning but right now Aang looked unhinged. His orange scarf tied around his neck whipped alongside the hems of his tunic while he began to float in the middle of the room.
"Ooh- Kah! Kah!" Bumi coughed while his casket rattled further as the wind whipped his face.
However, aside from the first few seconds of lucidity where Aang confronted Zhao with words, he didn't look like wanting to do anything with peaceful debate anymore.
"Take your positions!" Zhao screamed, the hint of panic in his voice all too relevant at this point and he quickly relayed orders when he saw many guards attracted by the destruction of the wall by Aang's previous attack.
At this moment, Nik coincidentally observed the old earthbender who was about to hypnotize Aang, already unconscious, caught by ground covering his body and simply swallowing him.
On the other hand, Aang's lips parted slightly and he stretched his hands out.
*Drrr*
The entirety of the catacombs began to vibrate dangerously. No, it was shaking. The tremors caused cracks to spread in the many corners of not only this site of heritage destroyed to create prisons and dungeons but also to the palace overall and soon, the entire Omashu shook as if something within it was deeply, and incorrigibly enraged.
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