Because I have met them, and gained some understanding and insight, they are no longer abstract concepts of people to me, they are individuals. To a degree, I know them.)
I decide to gamble anyway. One last, hard yank to all of their throats, in particular Gorou's and I let go.
...
Just because I value them more than I do the pirates does not mean that the pirates do not also deserve to live. And, if I made the decision to end their lives based on moral compasses and likability I'd have to slit my own throat along with theirs. (To live is to kill, but you don't need to be excessive about it.)
They haven't touched anyone of mine, yet. None of the girls, or even the brat, are mine. If they had, every single one of these fuckers would be dead. (But mine are dead already, and so, I will never have to kill for vengeance again.)
Sagging against the doorframe, I see that three are still suspended on the ground, while Gorou is already struggling to his knees, along with another. It seems even that extra bit of pain wasn't enough to keep him down. Well, I certainly hope Mai can deal with whatever he's got for her, because above me, I hear choking noises, hacking and coughing.
Mai has delivered her brother into Azula's arms for her to cut Circus Girl's rope bindings. The princess is shackled as we were. We'll have to locate those keys.
Taking deep breaths, thankful for the reprieve while the pirates gather themselves, I ready myself for some precision bending. Exerting control over the water around the ship, I gather enough for plenty of water whips for each of them. They slither up the sides of the ship, over the deck, and gather in puddles where I want them.
I'm banking on the fact that they're still distracted, and in pain.
I've not used this trick since a particularly gruelling spar with Pakku. Controlling water not attached to yourself is immensely hard and requires perfect control. I don't have the stamina for it at the moment, so I do the next best thing. A thin thread-like tendril of water attached to my skin wherever it reaches allows me to use the whips individually, so long as I can imagine it, and exert my will over so many.
I manage only five tonight. The rest I must leave to the girls.
Taking a step outside, I launch myself upwards, onto the upper deck of the stern. My attack is swift, and effective. Two go immediately over board.
The captain and another remain. It's the man with the chain.
Ah, sweet revenge. On the back of my tongue, I taste vanilla ice cream.
He's good. Even without being able to breathe properly, bruised throat and all, he wields his chain expertly. His captain's waiting, sabres drawn.
Thing is, my opponent only has one chain. I've got three whips and the moon on my side. Not a fair fight. He too goes over the railing, and only the captain is left.
Against this man, for ordering our capture, I use no whip. The water will slice if it hits.
Violence, I realise, is a very real addiction for me.
I'm not sure I care.
His arms are soon cut to meaty shreds, and the look on his face is one I've seen before. It's the realisation that, against a proficient bender, the usual fare of steel with a sharp edge isn't enough.
I wonder, considering the state of his arms, bloody fingers barely clinging to his weapons whether it would be a mercy to end it now. Kill him. Chances are he'll never get to move them properly again. But who am I to decide whether he might like to live anyway?
I'm not his judge. And taking more lives really doesn't sit well with me.
Him I leave on board. He can't swim with those arms, and who is to say that his crew will save him from drowning? No, I bend him to the planks of his own ship.
Turning, I see what Mai is up against. That earthbender uses two discs that look like frisbees to keep her on the defensive and herd her towards the stern. They spin at a velocity that he controls to widen or sharpen their arcs of flight. Mai is dodging them rather well, considering she has to look out for the other pirates behind her.
Circus Girl is locked in a hand-to-hand battle with the other pirate, and gaining a bit of ground.
Mai clearly needs a bit of help.
The lovely thing about the moon is that it gives me strength.
The strength to concentrate. To use precision enough to destroy the discs, and the next two, too. The ability to knock him out fully, this time. Circus Girl uses the distraction Gorou's defeat provides and delivers a jab to the side her opponent's throat that leaves him unconscious on his feet. He lands on his face. I half hope that his nose is broken.
Our eyes meet. An expression of fear crosses her features, and had I npr had the opportunity to take my anger out on several pirates whom I assume tp be human traffickers, her fear would be rightly placed. As it is now, I care little for her emotions. I do not think that they will be relevant to me for much longer.
My eyes shift to regard Azula, who is cowering defensively beside the cabin boy, brat clutched tightly in her fingers. Even without proper control of her bending, she has never been this vulnerable before. Chained and unable to fight to rely on individuals she's pissed off royally. I do not find it within myself to worry.
Currently, she matters to me insofar that I made her a promise and that, given her recent experiences, she could prove to become an ally against her father. But for that, the man himself must condemn her, exile her as he has her brother, and as of now, I see no likelihood of that happening any time soon. After all, with her mind still this young she would prove especially malleable to him and his manipulations.
However, the same could be said for me. If I can manage to gain her trust, and care, she might prove to be a worthwhile ally. This can only happen if I genuinely desire her to be on our side. If I care for her in turn.
I do not think I do. Cannot. I have become cautious whom I allow myself to feel anything but detachment for. That it is possible at all, is testament to how hard she is to like. I miss Aang's easy affection. Sokka's quick wit. Even Katara's intense dislike towards me.
I am more concerned for the child in Azula's hands than her.
Circus Girl, however, already loves her. But she is unlikely to ever be on my side. So, even as I move to search Gorou for the keys to Azula's shackles, I give up on the idea of her fighting by my side. I release the thought of her as anything other than a Fire Nation princess. Too much hangs in the balance. And it is not only my life I am worried by now.
The brat in her arms is another story. His loyalties are the ones I must determine. Whether he can stomach what has happened here, and worse. Because if he cannot, my hopes of finding an equal, and someone to understand me, are futile.
It's an odd thing, hoping to find bloodlust in a child.
Child, though, he might not be. Then again, his situation may be very different from my own. He might not have lived as an adult. Instead, died young. If that is the case, he could very well be far worse off than I.
While both traumatised, broken beyond repair, I function.
But it is of no use to dwell. I cannot know until we have spoken.
My fingers find the keys on Gorou in a hidden pouch on the inside of his belt.
Azula is wary at my approach. Her grip on the child tightens. He makes a noise of protest.
Before I unlock her shackles, I pry him from her fingers, and hand him off to Mai, who has appeared at my shoulder. She takes him hastily, checks him over for injuries. Judging by her relieved sigh, there are none.
As the key slots into the lock of Azula's wrist's shackle our eyes meet once more. This close I can see there is still panic in hers. Her body is coiled like a particularly pyromaniac spring.
"Just me," I tell her, and I don't know why. Perhaps it's because even I don't wish for her to have been molested.
...
Don't forget to throw some power stones :)
...
If you want to read ahead of the public release, or just want to support me.
you can join my p atreon :
[email protected]/Numera