Chapter 4

Morning came quicker than expected but Aroh could do nothing about it. He had stayed up all night preparing everything he would need for them to make their escape.

This was exactly why he was making his way to Katara's cell despite it not being nighttime. He had made one last stop at the storage, picking up more food than he usually did and continuing on his way.

With how often he had to stealthily make his way there, it was no surprise that the skill leveled up. Entering the cell and closing it behind him, he looked at Katara who looked healthier than the first time he saw her here.

Two weeks had passed since that day and a week had passed since he explained his plan to her.

"You're here early…I think." Katara commented unsurely, still not fully aware of how time passed in the dark cell.

"It's not like I have any other choice." Aroh replied as he got out the food which she noticed was bigger than normal.

Within the next few minutes, Aroh had fed most of the food to Katara who simply continued scarfing it down.

"Not that I'm complaining but is there any particular reason you're feeding me this much food?" She asked a bit warily.

Aroh paused his hand that extended a piece of bread to her mouth for a moment before continuing.

"We're making our move today." He answered simply, causing her eyes to open wide in surprise.

"I'm feeding you this much so that you'll have enough energy by nightfall for us to begin our escape. Waterbenders grow stronger with the moon which gives us even more reason to wait till then." He continued explaining, Katara nodding at the logic in it.

"When it's time to make our move, I'll come and get you. Don't do anything until then." He said, Katara giving him a dry look as she gestured to her bound limbs.

He chuckled a bit at that as he continued feeding her. There wasn't much she could do while bound but it was a formality just in case of anything.

All he had to do was be patient and by morning, he should be a slightly freer man.

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Nighttime was getting closer with each passing minute and Aroh was performing his shift as quiet as usual.

"You know I'm pretty curious." The other person who was his assigned partner for his shift started speaking.

"I've asked around and nobody on board has ever seen you without that helmet on. You shy or something?" The man poked in a joking manner as he let out a laugh.

"Who knows." Aroh answered vaguely, not bothering to go further than that, cutting the man's laughter short.

"They're right about you. You're no fun." The man started speaking again to Aroh's growing annoyance.

"Makes me wonder where you run off to most of the time." The man finished, turning to Aroh whose eyes narrowed dangerously under the helmet.

'I guess it was only a matter of time before they started noticing my 'random' absences. It can't be helped.' Aroh thought as he looked up, ignoring the man and observing the water which shone slightly from the moonlight.

"I just like to be alone. Is there anything wrong with that?" He replied, which was partially true.

"Is that so? I wonder what it's like. Having some alone time with all that food…" The man trailed off Aroh's eyes widened a bit under the helmet.

"I could understand if you're hungry but that gives you no right to steal from us." The man spoke as he walked towards Aroh.

"I heard you're a non bender so I'll give you a chance to explain yourself. Where do you disappear to?" The man asked in a threatening manner as he brought up his palm that lit up with fire above it.

Aroh on the other hand was simply thinking about how to proceed with this development, not at all scared by the man's attempt.

Seeing that he wasn't responding to him, the man reeled his hand back in rage before thrusting it forward with intent to burn the soldier in front of him.

Before his arm could come forward, it was cleanly amputated by a quick blur of motion, the useless arm flying into the sea below.

The man made to cry in pain but his screams were muffled but the hand covering his mouth. He quickly found himself at the edge of the ship with his only arm held in an armlock and his mouth covered.

He tried to struggle but that was proved futile as his attackers grip didn't budge in the slightest. He managed to look behind him from the corner of his eyes only for it to widen as he saw the soldier he was threatening being his assailant.

His screams hadn't fully stopped but they were muffled by the hand on his mouth and drowned out by the loud waves of the sea.

"How many people know about your inquiries of me?" Aroh's calm voice asked in his ear.

The man tried to struggle but made zero progress as Aroh was much stronger than he looked.

"I'll remove my hand and you're going to answer my question. Anything other than that and I'll kill you." Aroh said simply as the man's struggling ceased.

Slowly, Aroh's hand left the man's mouth, allowing him to speak. Immediately, the man took a deep breath as he attempted to scream. The moment the first sound left his mouth, his head was sent flying into the sea, his body following suit.

'I guess it's time.' He thought as dashed towards the cell area as fast as he could before anyone would notice their absence.

On his way there, he saw two soldiers opening up the cell. Just as they unlocked it, Aroh's unsheathed his sword, decapitating both of them in an instant.

Quickly opening the cell, he was greeted by Katara's surprised expression.

"It's time." He spoke before she could ask her question. With strong swings, he cut through the chain bindings, once again thankful for the good quality blade.

"It's only a matter of time before they notice. Let's go." He said in a hurried manner as he quickly ushered her out of the cell.

Upon leaving the cell, she froze at the bloody corpses at the entrance.

"Did you do this?" She asked as she wobbled on her feet, still getting used to walking after all this time.

"Yeah. What of it?" He asked as he lead her up towards the deck of the ship.

Upon reaching there, they were met with a few soldiers readily waiting for them. Seeing the freed prisoner behind him they were assaulted with bursts of flames that threatened to burn them.

Quickly picking Katara up in his arms, he blurred away from their position, appearing behind the farthest soldier, delivering a strong kick to his head, a satisfying crack sounding out.

"Ack-!" *CRACK!*

Surprised by his display of speed, they were left unguarded as Aroh took down three more soldiers. Snapping back to their senses, they thrust their arms forward, fire shooting from their palms to burn the two.

"Don't hold back." One of the soldiers shouted as the others agreed in numerous battle cries.

'This isn't how I expected things to go!' Aroh thought as he dodged a torrent of flames that was aimed at his head. Katara yelped in his hands as they dodged another blast.

"Can you bend now?" Aroh asked her as he got behind another one, smashing his foot into the side of their head.

"I-I think so!" She managed to answer.

Truthfully, she wasn't sure how well she could bend at the moment but by now, she had realized that she was holding him back from fighting properly.

Pulling out a black marble, he threw it to the ground as it exploded, releasing a large mass of smoke that covered the area.

Less than a second later, he emerged, jumping out of the smoke as blasts of fire shot out randomly along with pained cries, the soldiers trying to find him within themselves.

"Whatever you're going to do, do it fast. I'm very sure the other ships have noticed us by now." He reminded, dropping her to her feet as he turned to face the mass of soldiers in front of him.

The smoke had barely died down but with his hands now free, he wanted to take the opportunity to cull most of them down.

Unsheathing his sword, he dashed into the smoke at high speed, relying on his enhanced senses to aid him in the blindness.