The days passed.
Nothing in the usual routine changed. The guards' conversations continued in the same inattentive manner as before, and they seemed to know nothing about the commander's visit. They complained about him and the pirates as if nothing had changed because, for them, nothing had.
Inside the cell, however, the atmosphere was different. It was worse than ever. With each unworthy day that passed, the negative emotions intensified. The suffering from before the agent's visit seemed minuscule in comparison.
There was not much Kuzou could do to help them. With a member of the Dai Li present, he could not afford to make mistakes, nor allow his friends to do so. He did his best to calm them down, but his options were limited.
And so, the days, filled with painful silence, went on.
Until the sound of change finally came, in the form of screams.
Kuzou opened his eyes immediately. His colleagues continued to sleep.
The shouting was followed by the noise of conflict. The guards were not at their usual spots. The chance of these facts being unrelated was minimal.
Certain that was a signal, Kuzou finally acted. He waved his arms and the chains that held him fell down. He had disassembled that joke of a handcuff on the first day he came back to consciousness, keeping them on his wrists so as not to arouse suspicion.
The noise of the chains woke his friends. Ignoring their shock, he crossed the cell and started to free Ember.
"No time for questions," interrupted the former agent, before they started. "Ember, as soon as I release you, melt Yan's chains, I'll deal with the cuffs on his wrists afterwards. Rohan, you can break the chains yourself."
Following the instructions, soon everyone was free. Kuzou went to the door and grabbed the bars. Nonchalant, he lifted the door, forcing the joints, exposing the lock's connection to the wall.
"Rohan, give this a kick, will you," he asked. "Don't hold back."
Although confused, the giant did as instructed. The door opened with such force it almost left its axis.
"Ember, Yan," called the former agent, alerting them. "We're counting on you."
Luckily, they understood. They were the only ones who could bend in that situation. Although nervous, they both nodded, focused.
Without further ado, Kuzou moved on, with his friends close behind.
Their deck was deserted. The table where his captors once avoided their duties was a mess, making it clear that whoever had been there had left in a hurry. The muffled sounds of confusion on the upper decks echoed through the empty space, vibrating the utensils scattered around the place.
These same sounds confirmed Kuzou's suspicions: they were below sea level. They would have a lively climb ahead of them.
They ran up the stairs at the end of the corridor in an awkward formation that the former agent had no time to fix. As they climbed the steps, the sound grew louder, bringing the chaos closer.
With an obvious gesture, Kuzou told them to stop. He hid in the corner of the exit of one of the corridors. A second later, a man entered the flight of stairs.
It was one of the cell guards.
Panting, he stopped when he saw the fugitives. Before he could react, Kuzou, out of sight, grabbed him from behind, choking him. His attempts to remove the arm from his neck stopped as he lost consciousness. As soon as he felt the guard go limp, the former agent dropped him against the stairs and, without looking twice, went back up the steps. Fearful of being left behind, the colleagues followed, dodging the unconscious person.
They kept going up, ignoring the mess that now surrounded them on the upper decks. They couldn't avoid conflict forever, though. The staircase ended before it reached the main deck, forcing them to change course, straight to the heart of the chaos.
Between them and the nearest exit, pirates fought, among themselves and against some lost guards. The deck above them seemed no less troubled, considering the noise. No one had noticed them yet.
"Yan," called the former agent, impassive. "Make a path," he ordered to a frightened nomad.
Kuzou didn't wait for him to reason, leaving for the stairs.
Desperate, the nomad let out as much wind as he could, throwing all the people nearby away. Rohan didn't even let him appreciate his feat, dragging him to the exit.
The night received them for the first time in days. But the stars were not visible. Little was. A heavy fog covered them, its thickness such that not even the edges of the ship were in sight. Clashes took place all around, but only their sounds reached them.
Kuzou ran to starboard, avoiding conflicts. He leaned over the edge, looking out to sea. Only the fog could be seen.
"Yan," he said when his friends reached him. "Can you open the mist a little?"
"Er, I think... so?" He replied, unsure.
"Try it, please. If possible, only at sea level."
Cursing the former agent mentally, the nomad did the best he could.
The dark sea appeared against the hull of the vessel. From bow to stern, the waves revealed themselves, their lack of order indicating the ship was not moving.
Screams closer than they should be caught the attention of the group. Some pirates had spotted them. Yan exaggerated on the force of the air he had used to dispel the fog and now they were more exposed.
"Port, now," said Kuzou, ignoring the visitors.
Rohan took the lead, tossing one of the pirates out of sight with a strong movement of his arm. The other barely had time to scream before he was also thrown back into the fog. Kuzou went on as if nothing had happened.
The path to the other side of the ship was more hectic than they expected. Several pirates ended up running into them, even if accidentally. The former agent, however, did not slow down for a second, as if he expected them to take care of the threats that arose. Yan, for his part, was baffled that they were doing just that. Fire, air and pure muscle alternated themselves intercepting enemies, with a coordination and efficiency that none of those present thought they were capable of. Out of sight, Kuzou smiled slightly.
When they reached the edge, the former agent again asked to dispel the fog. The group then finally understood the reason for the friend's request.
Floating, tied to the side of the pirate ship, was a small motorboat.
"What the..." began Ember, confused.
"Yan, can you cushion our fall?" Interrupted Kuzou.
"Uh, what... Ah, y-yes, I think so!" Said the nomad, running over the words.
"Rohan," was all the former agent said.
Nodding, the giant jumped over the railing, towards the sea.
Fuck! Cursed the nomad, surprised, fumbling to try to prevent the colossus from getting hurt. The friend's weight didn't help, but he managed to keep him from face-planting.
Ember was next. Although she was clearly nervous, she did not hesitate nor complain. Rohan helped her land.
Kuzou waved to the nomad and then jumped. Yan wasted no time in following him. As soon as his feet touched the floor, the boat started at full speed.
Everyone watched in silence as the ship was engulfed by mist as they left their prison behind.
Yan threw himself against the hard floor of the boat and let out a hoarse scream, releasing all the pressure on his body and mind. It was as if all that time he was suffocating. Which had some truth to it.
Ember followed suit, her scream even louder, tears streaming down through her closed eyelids. Rohan just sighed heavily as he lay down, exhaling his tension in a more unobtrusive, but no less intense, way.
"Well said," agreed Kuzou, in the wheel.
"I thought I would never leave that place," sobbed Ember.
Everyone consented in silence.
"I didn't even understand what happened in the end, but what matters is that we are safe" exasperated the nomad.
"I will never again take the beautiful sight of the stars for granted" said the girl, admiring the lights in the sky.
"Indeed," nodded the airbender.
"I didn't even notice the fog disappear," Rohan realized.
"Good, that means we are far away from that hell."
"It didn't seem like that much time have passed," said Ember.
"This little boat is faster than we imagined, then," added the nomad, sitting down to watch the horizon.
Despite the darkness, the fog was still visible in the distance.
"Is it normal for fogs to do that?" Yan was surprised.
The friends sat down to observe as well.
As they moved away, the tiny size of the mist became more evident. The way it concentrated on just one specific point on the horizon didn't seem natural.
"Now that you mention it..." noticed the giant.
"It's artificial," said Kuzou, finally breaking his silence.
Everyone looked at him. The former agent remained with his back to them, piloting the boat.
"You mean..." began the nomad.
"Yes, made by a waterbender" completed. "A widely used tactic, in fact."
A brief stillness took over the night.
"That explains why the fog was so... humid," released the airbender, resigned to the fact.
"Do you think it was this Kuro you mentioned before doing the fog?" Asked the giant.
"Perhaps. Pirates also love to use this ability. Probably both were using it," replied the former agent.
"I'm even more confused," complained the girl.
"That makes two of us," Yan agreed.
"I think we're all pretty lost in the matter," said the giant. "Could you help us, Kuzou?"
The friend was slow to answer.
"What do you want to know?"
"Well, mostly, how we got away," replied the nomad.
"Yes," Rohan said. "It seemed so... easy. I suppose the... agent... has something to do with it?"
"Indeed. He set up our escape."
"Bullshit! We did everything!" Exclaimed Yan, outraged.
"He did enough to create the possibility of escape. If we were not able to seize the opportunity, we did not deserve to escape; we would have no use for him. The conflict, the boat; everything planned. Or did you think it was just a coincidence?
"Ah, well... n-no, but..." stammered the nomad.
"Not even I was aware of the situation. I had to stay alert and ready to go if something happened."
"Wait," reasoned the airbender. "If? You mean to tell me that nothing could have happened? That we could have been waiting there indefinitely?"
"Yes, he not accepting the proposal was a possibility."
The nomad fell silent, absorbing that information.
"To tell you the truth, I'm still surprised he accepted," said the giant. "It seemed obvious it was a bluff."
"It was quite advantageous, even if it was."
"Really?" Ember was surprised. "I thought that part was a bluff too. I can't see the benefits."
Kuzou gave a slight sour smile that his friends could not see.
"I think this makes sense when you don't see the whole picture. Let me explain" he said, still without leaving his position on the wheel.
"First of all, I need to mention the fact that the members of the Dai Li are extremely proud. They consider themselves the elite. The fear people feel when they hear the name of the organization makes them intoxicated; to the point they cultivate it in their favor. You are living proof. A 'mere civil war' won't change that.
Now think about the situation: a mercenary, along with a bunch of simple pirates, captured not only the most wanted being on the planet, who despite always being Dai Li's top priority, never came close to falling into the hands of the organization; but a fugitive from Dai Li itself as well, an event that, according to them, never happened. My mere existence is of the highest confidentiality, considering the threat to their reputation. I am obviously not the only person who tried to escape, but it is not information they let out. There is nothing wrong with the Dai Li. The Dai Li is perfect, unable to make mistakes.
Are you beginning to understand? In a single stroke, their 'flawless' reputation would suffer an irreversible blow.
My proposal was the perfect way out. The idea of the incompetence of others to deal with such a situation would be reinforced, the supposed Abomination would be in the hands of the organization, and the fugitive, who never existed in the first place, would be back as if he had never left. All Xeng Lao had to do was to release himself from the responsibility for the escape and it would all fall into his lap. He would even get our help in the civil war as a bonus, however insignificant it could be."
The sounds of the sea took over the environment. A long time passed before anyone dared to interrupt that symphony.
"Damn..." Yan sighed, not knowing how to answer.
"You never stop surprising, Kuzou," smiled Rohan.
"Indeed! You tricked a Dai Li agent!" Exclaimed Ember cheerfully.
Kuzou did not answer.
His hand was injured, such was the strength with which he gripped the helm. His fingers were trembling slightly. He was not being able to control his emotions as efficiently as he used to.
"You... overestimate me too much..." he whispered.
"W-What do you mean?" Stammered the nomad, caught off guard by his friend's tone.
Kuzou took a deep breath, composing himself.
"I didn't do any miracles," he said, turning to face his friends for the first time since they started sailing. "Nor did I lie. The deal is done, and we are going to have to do our part. Whether we want it or not.
The former agent saw the confusion in the eyes of his teammates as they tried to understand the facts. Soon the fear began to appear.
Sorry. It was the only alternative I could find, he thought, feeling guilty.
"I-I see." Rohan hesitated slightly.
"I don't," Yan said, startled. "How is this different from the other times? Not even the D-Dai Li is omnipotent. Let's just run away..."
"Can you tell me where we are, Yan?" Interrupted Kuzou.
"Uh... in the middle of the sea... more than that it's kind of hard to say with this darkness..." he tried, caught off guard by the question.
"Can you see that?" He asked, pointing northeast.
His friends focused on the indicated direction.
"Er... see what, exactly?" Asked the nomad.
"Maybe this will help" and then all the lights on the boat went out, throwing them in complete pitch.
"Was that supposed to help...?" Asked Ember, barely able to see her colleagues.
"I was going to turn off the lights anyway so as not to attract attention. Get your eyes used to the darkness" requested the former agent.
"Now I don't even know where to look..." complained the airbender.
His complaint was interrupted when he finally noticed something. A gleam appeared on the horizon, distinct in the surrounding sea of darkness.
"Light...?" Rohan had seen it too.
"What could produce such light to brighten a horizon?" inquired Kuzou.
"A big city, I imagine..." began Ember.
"We are on the East Lake," Yan said, realizing then.
"Yes" Kuzou nodded.
The silence joined the darkness, as a feeling of dread began to manifest itself in the ambiance.
"We are not at sea," said the former agent. "Land surrounds us, not the other way around. We are not here by chance. The limits of this lake are our limit."
"Are you saying... we have no choice?" Asked the giant.
Kuzou did not answer.
No one seemed to want to speak anymore.
The former agent looked at the brightness in the distance. His wrists were heavy. The weight of the handcuffs was still there, despite having left them behind with the pirate ship. Now he knew, though, that the chains he felt were not those of metal. What was binding him was something older, something he thought he got rid of; but no, he had just gotten used to the presence. Now that the chain was pulling again, it made it clear that it had never disappeared; it was just loosened. Reminding him that the shackle would never open.
Now the chains pulled even his friends. Dragging them into the lights of Ba Sing Se.