Here is the fourteenth chapter in Book 4, late but with its release I am officially caught up with the schedule much sooner than I thought possible. Given the length of this chapter as it is currently, but not expected to remain, the longest chapter of Book 4 to date, I didn't expect to get this done this early but I had the time, and insomnia, to somehow get it done and get back on track with my upload cycle. The next chapter's actual scheduled date is soon and it is a shorter chapter, 6-7k words post edits, so I should get it out on the correct date for the first time since chapter 6 was released. I will basically be on my computer for the next 2 weeks straight so I should find some time to hopefully finish the edits. However, I may be late on at least one more chapter, I shouldn't be late again unless there are similar circumstances to the recent delays. That is all the administrative stuff for now, there were no questions to address so sit back and enjoy the 14th chapter in the fourth installment of Avatar: The Tale of Harry. Book 4: Family.
Disclaimer : As always I own nothing related to these two great works of fiction.
Chapter 14
The warship cut through the still, open ocean with ease barely feeling the waves. The top of the line vessel was the latest by Varrick Industries and built in secret in preparation for their global revolution. That had occurred yesterday with the near simultaneous attacks on all nations except the Northern Water Tribe where the Princeps had ordered an assassination attempt that not even his Uniques knew about to keep them preoccupied. It had been a near perfect success for the Principate.
True, numerous high valued targets had either escaped or chosen to die rather than have the dignity to be captured but plenty of mid-range ones had been taken out and one very high-profile target had been caught alive. They had control over the vast majority of the planet, more than they had expected, so the preparation and training had paid off. That control was tightening to the point of absolute in the areas they had incorporated into the Principate. In all honesty, it could not have gone any better.
However, none of that was on the mind of the stunning, buxom, blond, woman who stood alone at the bow of the ship looking out to the horizon. The woman wore a form fitting dark blue outfit that was favored by female waterbenders who specialized in more acrobatic styles though the woman had accented it with platinum shin guards and greaves. In keeping with many waterbenders, she had a machete strapped to her back and a water skin at her hip though if she had to use either it was a bad sign. The only odd thing about her appearance was the gold laurel wreath of the Principate on her chest with a blood red waterbending symbol marking her as a Unique.
Pulling out a collapsible, hand-held telescope she raised it to her right eye and could just about make out their destination as a speck on the horizon, it was the only man-made structure for miles around. They were fast approaching it and would be at it soon.
She smiled, that structure was where her love was, it was where the visionary who she had pledged her eternal loyalty and service to 16 years ago when he spared her from both arrest for a charge that carried an automatic life sentence without parole by cleaning up her own mess was. That was where the Princeps, their leader was waiting for his most faithful Unique to come and get him and bring him back to his Global Principate.
The plan for their global revolution to unite the world and achieve balance had been almost 20 years in the making. It had finally culminated yesterday after the Princeps had given the go order via Arncliffe and her abilities. Only a man with the vision, foresight, fortitude, power, patience, and intellect that the Princeps had could have pulled it off and the woman was honored to serve him and his noble cause. He and he alone knew what was right for the world and she would follow him until the end and give everything, even her own life, to see him succeed. After what he had done for her, she owed him more than she could ever repay.
She had met him during her last year at the Elemental Academy when she was at her lowest and on a path destined to lead to her destruction. She was the quintessential trouble child. Broken home, extreme sexual abuse from a relative from a young age, poor, covered in tattoos done to mask her pain, exotic hair dyes to show her difference, anger, petty crime, substance abuse, the whole nine yards. She was the textbook case of a future inmate and she didn't care.
Her only saving grace had been the fact that she was a gifted waterbender who hailed from the slums of Harbor City. It was because of this that she had made her way to the Elemental Academy despite her numerous problems. Once there did enough to avoid being expelled knowing that this was her last chance to make something of her life. Then she had discovered both her greatest strength and what was almost her downfall given her mental state, bloodbending.
Only 7th year students are allowed to even study it and only after passing a multiple psychological tests and evaluations. When allowed to study it, students were limited to its defensive and internal capacities and even then all they could learn was the theory. It was the toughest course to get into and had the greatest restrictions to it because of the dangers that bloodbending had on the users mind, hence the need for making sure only mentally healthy students were allowed to take it.
With her already damaged mind at the time, she should have never been allowed to learn it but she had lied her way through all the tests and evaluations to get into the course and take it despite everything. The power that bloodbending offered out weighted the cautionary tales of the effects of abusing it. Tales of Amon, Tarrlok, Voldemort and most recently Delphine who's abuse had been documented the year before the woman studied did nothing to dissuade her interest in it. She had to take bloodbending and nothing would stop her from doing so.
As with anything unhealthy for her, the woman began to indulge in it beyond what she was supposed to do. First it was just during the full moon and on small animals who couldn't challenge her will. However soon she needed to do it more and more and on larger animals. She knew that she was addicted to it, that she was getting to the point of dependency on the power but she didn't care, she wanted to do it a fuck the consequences.
There was one other reason why she kept it up despite already feeling the effects of it after mere weeks of using it. She was good at it, very good. Within months she no longer needed the full moon to bloodbend, just the moon, then it was no moon, and finally by the time graduation was approaching she could bloodbend anyone at any time. The madness had her and that was when she met him, that was when she met the Princeps. Her bloodbending was the reason but it was tied to her other problems at the time.
Thanks to her upbringing, she had a long history of problems and run ins with the law, she even had a sealed juvenile record in the Southern Water Tribe, but she had always avoided anything extreme that would land her in prison for a long time until her bloodbending problem. That was when she had thought her life would end forever.
One of her many issues had been promiscuity. It stemmed from the years of sexual abuse she had suffered at the hands of her aunt growing up. That abuse, which came with affection from her abuser, had cause her young mind to twist itself into thinking she needed it to get affection from people. As such, she became a slut and one with a reputation at the Academy.
It had of course led to more problems as many guys, and a few girls, took advantage of her for it, expecting her never to say no because, well, she never did. So, when she finally said no to a firebender in her year who wanted to fuck her in the ass, a firebender who happened to be the son of a high-ranking member of the Fire Parliament, he had lashed out at her to get what he wanted.
Closing her eyes as the smell of ocean washed over her and thought back to that fateful day 16 years ago. It was a memory, both bad and good, that she would never forget and right now, as she was nearing the Princeps, she needed that memory more than anything and once again it came back to her as if it was yesterday.
It was a warm, sunny, day behind a building in a far, secluded, corner of the Earth House. She had gone there with him because he was a major drug dealer of high-quality drugs at the Academy. She had a substance abuse problem, made worse by her bloodbending abuse as she used the drugs to keep her from bloodbending during the day and it she was getting the urge to bloodbend so she needed to get high to prolong the bloodbending need. She was a poor gutter rat so she had no money but she was a slut so she was going to blow him for payment, she'd done it before so and was planning on doing it again.
However today he wanted more from her for his drugs. She was already on her knees ready to blow him when he announced he wanted her ass, her only off limits area, so for the first time in years she said no. Instantly he punched her in the face, kicked her in the stomach while on the ground and then bent down and ripped her shirt away to get to her breasts as she tried to get away. He was about to beat her and then rape her in the ass before leaving with the drugs she needed.
It was all too much for her and she finally snapped. Bloodbending had been a release and a power trip that gave her control over others, something she had never had. Still, she had promised to never use it on a human but now, after everything she had been through in her life, all the abuse, all the pain, all the numbing of it with illegal substances and sex, she couldn't take it anymore and gave into her demons. The only regret she had was that she hadn't made it to graduation before she reached her breaking point.
As she heard his belt being undone in preparation for raping her, she reached back and grabbed him in a blood hold and threw him off her. Standing slowly and letting her ripped shirt fall away, exposing her large breasts and toned body, she grabbed him in a blood hold again and began to toy with him. She had him where she wanted him and grinned sadistically at him as his eyes went wide with fear at her power.
He was clearly shocked that she could bloodbend without a moon let alone without a full moon and was not related to Yakone but she didn't let him off that easy as she lifted him off the ground to hover immobile in the air, his pants falling off in the process. Then in a swift move, she grabbed his still hard cock with her bending and ripped it off in one smooth movement before tossing it away, only preventing his screaming by using her bending to close his throat. It was justice in her eyes for what he had been about to do to her.
It was also extremely illegal what she was doing. She would have been able to mitigate some charges on self-defense, even killing him by mutilating him but that didn't work for bloodbending. Bloodbending, due to its nature and history of abuse and mental corruption, was a strict liability crime with a mandatory life sentence without parole in the White Lotus Waterbending Supermax Prison's bloodbender wing.
The only people who were allowed to bloodbend were the few licensed White Lotus Bloodbenders and they could use it and only in an emergency. The qualification process took a decade and required the most extensive mental evaluation known to man to ensure that the chance of corruption was almost nonexistent so few ever passed it.
The woman was not qualified so she knew that she was fucked. However, if she was going to go away for the rest of her life then she was going to make sure that this dickless bastard died to make her sentence worth it. Of course that was when her life changed forever because that was the moment he arrived to save her.
She knew who he was immediately, everyone did. He was Head Boy, the gold standard of the school and already a bona fide hero. He was tall, strong, handsome, and powerful beyond anyone she knew in the school. He was the top bender in his element, a skilled and feared fighter with both his bending and weapons who hadn't been bested in years, even by older students.
He was also set to graduate as top of their class and already had a place at the premier military college in the world, a place he earned despite having a guaranteed spot if he wanted to take that option. He was going to become the finest officer the world had ever seen, a military leader worthy of story. He was going places and yet here he was with her, a damaged girl who was about to go to jail for the rest of her life.
"Now what do we have here?" The man who would become the Princeps asked as he casually surveyed the scene as if it was normal sight to him. "Do either of you care to explain?"
"What do you think? This cunt attacked me with her fucking bloodbending and ripped my cock off." The firebender yelled, only kept alive by the fact that she was keeping his blood in his body with her bloodbending though she did lower him enough that he was touching the ground as he spoke. "I need immediate medical attention now or are you not the hero everyone claims you are asshole."
"I know your reputation and I saw what you were about to do to her." The Princeps said simply but his voice becoming dangerous as he spoke. "Plus everyone knows that I can truth see so I know you're a lying sack of shit, not that I needed my abilities to tell me that. It is clear that you were taking advantage of this poor woman her and about to rape her. She acted in self-defense."
"She's fucking bloodbending, that is not a defense." The rapist yelled; she was impressed he could talk through the pain but apparently his anger was greater than his pain. "I was only taking what was owed to me by this fucking whore and she used an illegal bending art on me for it."
"Not in my book." The Princeps said with a smirk. "She is well within her rights. I think your time has come; you will not harm another person ever again. Release him from your blood hold so I can deal with him personally."
She did not know what to expect when he ordered her to release him but she did so without question. The Princeps had a charisma and magnetism that she had never seen before so she listened to him and released the would-be rapist on his command. The asshole's blood began to flow and a scream grew in his throat as he clasped his ruined crotch. Before he could let it out though, the Princeps had gotten behind the rapist and broke his neck it a clean, quick snap without getting a speck of blood on him. Without a sound, the rapist's body fell lifeless to the ground to splash into the growing pool of his blood.
She just stared at the golden boy of the Academy her jaw hanging open, her eyes wide in pure shock. The Princeps had just killed someone with his bare hands as if it was nothing and he looked like nothing was amiss with his actions. He walked over to her, looking at her eyes and not exposed tits and offered his hand. Without hesitation she took it and he helped her up with a smile on his face.
"Wh-why?" She asked him as he let go of her hand, something she wished he hadn't for some reason. "Why did you help me? I, I'm nothing to you, just a bloodbender who should be in prison now. You have n-no reason to help me, let alone put your own future at risk."
"Because everyone is more than they seem and you are no exception, in fact you are the very reason why I am here." He said kindly. "And you are someone special with a gift that is unique in this world. Come with me and I will open your eyes. Join me and I will show you the truth of the world and teach you how to be the best you can be. Follow me and I will unleash your full potential, Sylvia."
Sylvia opened her eyes as she came back from her trip down memory lane smiling happily as she repeated the nod she had done that day and gone with the Princeps. Well she went with him after he had cleared up and made sure that no one would find the body. Since that moment she had never looked back. He had cleaner her up, gotten her the help she needed to kick her substance dependency, and the therapy she desperately required to deal with all her issues. Then, when she was stable for the first time in her life, he unleashed her on those who had abused her.
That had been the final thing she had needed to go forward with her life as one of the Princeps's Uniques. It had exercised her demons and allowed her to follow the path that the Princeps laid out for her. With all of that done she was able to truly be herself for the first time ever.
Sylvia let her natural blond hair return, she stopped wearing thick makeup and classed herself up though her accent still bore traces of her youth in poverty. She also stopped sleeping around immediately, there was only one man she wanted anyway, and she stopped taking drugs after getting the help she needed on that front. She even had all her tattoos painfully but expertly removed so that all traces of her past were wiped away.
Sylvia became a civilized member of society and she even got her bloodbending addiction under control thanks to the Princeps. That had been the final thing she needed to be fully brought into his fold and learn all of his plans, plans she immediately agreed with and pledged her life to.
She learned that the Princeps had singled her out as the second of his Uniques because of what he had seen at the Academy. He had discovered her abilities back when Sylvia was just starting out, he was very observant, and he had used the attack as the excuse he needed to meet her and bring her into his movement. That day she had proven to him that she was Unique when she bloodbent a human during the day. She had passed the test and he had recruited her right away.
Of course because of the corrupting effects of bloodbending Sylvia had to first get control of her budding blood madness and show that she had the mental fortitude to use bloodbending regularly without fear of insanity. Once she had accomplished that, with the Princeps's aid, she had been made the Blood Unique and accepted into his inner circle.
That had also been the day that she had first made love to the Princeps. It turned out, much to Sylvia's joy, that the Princeps had fallen for her as hard as she had for him and though he was busy he always found time for her whenever they were near each other. He just wanted her to be fully stable and able to consent to their relationship, and fully take part in his plans, before he entered into a relationship with her.
Sylvia had taken a few years to clean her act up before she could take part in his plans but as soon as she was able to, she did by becoming a paralegal working for a lawyer who was also a devout follower of the Princeps at the Princeps's direct orders. This position gave her a lot of access to files and places that were important to their revolution, especially because she was based in Republic City.
It was because of her access that Sylvia was the person tasked with planting the bomb that had killed President Romilda and Chief Beifong in the RCPD headquarters, planting them days prior when she had been in that office with her boss making a deal for a client with Chief Beifong. It was her actions that had ensured the United Republic fell to them.
She didn't see her bomb go off though because by that point she had already boarded this ship to get the Princeps and personally let him know of the situation. The Global Principate had begun and she would be the one to tell the Princeps that his dream was a reality.
The only problem had been the fact that the she hadn't seen her love in years and he hadn't been able to witness his plans come to fruition. There had been an incident that had left the Princeps indisposed but still able, through two proxies, to give orders and further the revolution so that even without his physical presence, they would still succeed.
There had been a silver lining though, one that the Princeps had seen from the start, the incident had allowed them to increase their recruiting by splitting up the loyalists to many places and spread their views. It had forced the Uniques to step up and prove themselves to the Princeps, her in particular as she had become the de facto deputy leader due to her close relationship with the Princeps, though few knew how close it was. This had also meant finding the last Uniques and ensuring their loyalty without the Princeps though that hadn't been too hard and one, Arncliffe, had sought them out instead and she'd been the biggest boon to them of all.
In the end it had worked better than they could have hoped to the point that they had been able to accelerate their plans and launch the attacks a good 5 years earlier than originally anticipated. Now it was time to grab the Princeps so that he could lead them into the glorious future he had foreseen for the world.
Sylvia put the telescope up to her eye again and looked out towards their destination as it began to take form for her. As she looked at it, she noticed a new, much smaller, speck by their destination and this one was coming towards her and fast. Good, there was an update from their mole at their destination, maybe even words from the Princeps himself. Collapsing the telescope, she waited for the arrival of the other Unique who had been sent on the most important mission of the entire revolution.
A few minutes later a man in a skintight green glider suit that showed off a strong physic flew into view, literally. As with all loyal to the Principate he had the golden laurel wreath of the Principate emblazoned on the chest of his uniform though his had the airbending symbol in the center of it denoting his statis as a Unique. Unlike most airbenders, and the other Uniques who were all younger than him, the man had long graying hair, that was tied back so that his tattoo was clear, and a matching beard that fluttered in the wind..
Dhillon was a Unique of the rarest caliber, he could fly making him only the third known airbender to achieve the feat. There was no one like him in the world and his recruitment had been a boon for them just before the Princeps was temporarily put out of commission. His skills were truly unique and the Principate was lucky to have him, even if his history was as painful as many of Sylvia's brothers and sisters amongst their ranks.
Dhillon, as with many airbenders, had been trained in his gifts from a young age and then sent to the Elemental Academy to further his education there, attending it 3 years after the Avatar graduated. It was at the Academy where he had fallen in love with a nonbender who showed him that there was more to the world than being a monk in the Air Nation.
As such, despite being a master who earned his tattoos at the age of 13, Dhillon voluntarily left the Air Nation after graduating and started an international shipping company for small businesses with his now wife. It was a profitable business with several airships and a great reputation and had nothing happened Dhillon would have lived the rest of his days as a successful small businessman with his wife and hopefully a family but alas fate had other plans for him that set him on the path that had ultimately led him to the Princeps.
It was 14 years ago when the infamous Air Pirates, a gang of outlaws who targeted airships, attacked and destroyed his entire fleet during a Dhillon's largest delivery, taking valuable minerals from Yi to Ba Sing Se. They had downed all his ships to loot with the exception of his flagship which they boarded to get the truly valuable gems he kept there.
Dhillon knew it was lost and decided to not surrender to his captors and face torture to find all his valuables hidden on his flagship. He was forced to kill his wife so that she wasn't captured and subjected to horrific abuses at pirates' hands while they made him watch. Then, as the pirates were closing in on him in the cargo bay, Dhillon leapt out of the airship intending to kill himself as all his earthly ties, his wife, ships, friends, and business, were now gone so he had nothing left to live for.
That was when something amazing happened. Instead of falling to his death he just hovered in the air as his flagship flew away, the pirates believing him dead. His severing of ties to the earth had allowed him to unlocked the ability to fly. It was in that moment that he swore his vengeance upon the Air Pirates.
It would take almost 7 years but with Dhillon attacking them as a vigilante and the determined actions of a young but skilled United Air Force Captain called Quirke the Air Pirates were eventually destroyed. Dhillon, who hadn't been discovered but had done more than enough to ensure that if he was captured he would spend the rest of his life in prison, fled but not before the Princeps noticed him. It took some persuading and a promise to let Dhillon quietly retire once the Principate was fully in charge but in the end he accepted the Princeps's offer and became the 7th of the 10 Uniques.
Due to his past, Dhillon never touched the earth, he always flew or hovered, and he had been essential in this part of the revolution hence why he was the other Unique chosen for it. His abilities had enabled him to get close to their destination and get an update from their contact there without being spotted. He was now coming to deliver his final report as they approached the Princeps.
"What is the report?" Sylvia asked as Dhillon floated down to the deck and hovered next to her. "Is everything in order for when we reach it?"
Due to their status, they had the deck to themselves for this meeting, something afforded to them as Uniques rather than safety as everyone on the ship was devoutly loyal to the Princeps. The troops would come out when the time came, until then they could get ready below decks.
"We are all set, the Princeps knows we are on the way and our contact is in position." Dhillon said, his voice soft like a whisper of air as he seldom spoke unless spoken to. "To avoid problems, he hasn't been moved, we will have to go to him once we get there."
"And the radio equipment, is it destroyed?" Sylvia asked seriously covering all bases, she knew they would have to go to her love but she wanted to make sure it was as easy as possible, they were too close to fuck up now. "And the patrols? Are the boats sabotaged?"
"It has been taken care of, not that it will matter in the end." Dhillon replied without emotion. "The shit going on in the rest of the world has their order stretched thin, especially give our own subversions within it. The patrols have been called off so that all hands are on deck just in case someone uses the chaos to attack. It is a wise move given who is there."
"Oh, it's even more than just subversions that we have been doing." Sylvia said with a wide smirk. "Remember, their Undermaster is on our side and has already killed the Grand Master in preparation for the emergence of the Principate. It was he who ensured that all of his enemies are stationed here to thin out the members loyal to the Avatar. We are to kill them all of them who are stationed here but our contact on the inside. It will solidify our ties to their organization and ensure that they won't fuck with us as we consolidate our power but actually endorse the Princeps."
"Good but as you know I am not in this for power or money or anything else that y'all are here for." Dhillon pointed out. "I am here because I have no ties to anyone. I believe in the Princeps's message, especially what he went through, but that is it. Once this is over I will retire from this world knowing that it is in capable hands for the future."
"I know but your abilities are second to none and right now we need you more than any other Unique." Sylvia pointed out. "We all have our responsibilities in this revolution as Uniques and we will serve the Princeps faithfully until the end, be it victory or death."
"I know and right now my place is here." Dhillon said simply. "Now what is the deal with the others here? What are we going to do once we control the platform? Unlike the Princeps, most deserve to be here so surely the Princeps will want to keep them where they can't get in the way."
"We can do with them as we please." Sylvia said. "Part of the deal we struck with the Undermaster regarding our attack and the Princeps is fine with that. We need the Princeps and in order to do that we will have to address the others. We'll evaluate them based on their past and decide if they are worthy of joining the Principate. Those who are will be given the chance, those who aren't will be killed it's as simple as that."
"What about the other facilities?" Dhillon asked not fazed by the idea of killing in cold blood, he had long since given up his humanity after his wife's death. "They also exist and might be within the Principate."
"One is located under a glacier near the Northern Water Tribe and another on an island of the north west of the Fire Nation." Sylvia shaking her head. "Both are in territories we do not control so we have to leave them for now. They are also staffed by loyalists to the Avatar so they aren't a threat to use anyway."
"There are still two more facilities that will be within our territory then." Dhillon said. "Are we dealing with them the same as this one?"
"We can't do anything to them." Sylvia said not that she wanted to anyway, this was the only one she cared about. "One of the two other facilities is on permanently neutral land that has a deal with the Spirits who aid in running it and the Princeps will not violate a treaty with the Spirits. The other one is within our territory as it is in the United Republic and just outside of Republic City but we cannot strike it because of its location so we will leave it but staff it with members loyal to us. Our contact allowed us to get the Princeps and kill his enemies here but that is it, we leave the final facility alone."
"Good, that is where those who have abused my element are, I do not want them out." Dhillon said firmly. "Or else I may have to resume my justice upon those who deserve it."
"Makes no difference to me, there isn't anyone we need there." Sylvia said with a shrug. "Not many end up there and none are worthy of the Uniques so it's not worth it."
"Good, leave them there to rot, it's what's best for them." Dhillon said darkly as the ship came within the range of the patrols had they not been called off. "I was also told that the Princeps wants to know if we have his shit. His words, not mine."
"Everything is here, it will be brought to him once we have control of the facility." Sylvia confirmed. "I personally made sure that we had everything before we left. I will give him his symbol of office, you will give him the accessory he personally requested be made 7 years ago when I last saw him before he was brought here, and the troops will bring his uniform."
"I still can't believe that you were able to be there when he was at his worst." Dhillon said shaking his head. "I thought only authorized people had been allowed and last I checked; a lowly paralegal wasn't one of those people."
"My boss has been on our side since he first met with the Princeps back when they were both still active in the army." Sylvia said as she began to stretch for the upcoming attack, her formfitting outfit specially designed for her abilities and style. "After what went down I needed to be there for him before he went away, I knew I would see him again until he gave the order so I wanted one last moment with our leader to get my orders for the intervening years. He gave me the info I needed going forward. Fortunately, my boss can see him every month so we have contact that way."
"Well soon we will have the Princeps back cos we are almost there." Dhillon said as he looked out. "We will need his leadership now more than ever so as to hold our gains from yesterday."
Sylvia looked as well and smiled; the large wooden structure was now visible to them as they bore down upon the offending facility. They would be there in minutes. With that, Sylvia pulled out a radio that she had on her hip and activated it.
"Captain, we are almost here." Sylvia said into the radio. "Send up the assault team for final orders."
She didn't wait for a reply before dropping the radio, she wouldn't need it during the assault, and walking to the middle of the deck, Dhillon floating just behind her. Less than a minute later 10 special forces troops, all who had served with the Princeps and were better than any unit sent to take down their priority targets, were standing in full uniform in the center of the deck. The only thing they didn't have was any metal except platinum weapons, they couldn't bring anything else with them on their assault. In addition to them there were three normal soldiers chosen for their loyalty who were holding items that would follow them on once they took over the facility.
"Listen up ladies, this is the moment that we have all been preparing for, that we have spent almost 7 years training for." Sylvia called out to the gathered men who were the best of the best that weren't Uniques and loyal to the Princeps since the early days of his plans. "We all know who is waiting for us to get him. We all know that our glorious leader, the Princeps, is here. Everything else that we have accomplished will be for naught if we do not get him now. Our mission success is paramount, not even our lives are more important than succeeding because the world needs him. We need him. Are you with me?"
"Sir yes sir." The entire force said in unison without an ounce of hesitation. "We live to serve the Princeps."
"Good." Sylvia said with a grin at their utter loyalty to their righteous cause. "We are almost there so it is time for the assault plan that the Princeps himself came up with. Given our abilities, Dhillon and myself will lead the attack, you will follow and mop up after us to ensure that all of our enemies who stand in the way of the Principate are slain. Once we give the all clear and the facility is ours, bring the gear on. You know the signal; it is time for the Princeps to return to the wider world and usher in the age of the Principate."
Sylvia didn't wait for a response, though there wasn't one as the soldiers were professionals and ready for the fight. She turned and walked back to the bow, Dhillon following her. It was time to retrieve the Princeps.
"As soon as I jump, go high and take down the watch towers without any mercy." Sylvia said as she closed her eyes and breathed deep drawing on all of her waterbending in preparation for what she would have to do. "They will know we are coming by now as we are well within visual range and will be prepared but they cannot stop us or call for reinforcements. They will fight to stop us but they cannot stop a Unique."
Dhillon didn't respond, there was no need to. The time for talk was done, the time for action was upon them. With an expert grace, Sylvia leapt onto the railing on the bow, easily maintain her balance on it, and waited for the ship to begin to slow. As soon as she felt it slowing, Sylvia raised her arms and jumped.
Sylvia gracefully flipped and twist in the air as she fell and called up the water into a vortex to catch her before she hit the water. As soon as her feet hit her element, she leant forward took off towards the facility at breakneck speeds. She wasn't a gifted waterbender for nothing.
As she approached she let a manic grin form on her face as the alarms began being blaring their useless warning. As she drew closer, fire blasts rained down upon her from the watchtowers but she easily dodged them as she navigated her vortex towards the facility. They weren't a challenge to her. Then Dhillon hit at full force.
A near hurricane slammed into the nearest watchtower destroying its roof and sending the two men manning it flying and into the ocean. Dhillon just passed through the debris and hit the second watchtower even harder. He never landed in them, just using their limited space to focus his attacks and easily destroy them. Still it was nothing compared to what Sylvia was going to do.
Raising her arms, Sylvia created a massive wave of water behind her as she circled the facility increasing its power. It kept building until she was ready. Then she launched herself in front of the wave as it broadsided into the facility with enough force to rock it, right at the same time that Dhillon hit and destroyed the third watchtower. The assault on the White Lotus Earthbending Supermax Prison had begun.
Sylvia landed on the roof of the nearest row of cells, rolled across the flat surface to avoid injury, flipped off it with a twist and landed in a crouch on the deck of the prison. There were two white Lotus firebenders preparing to incinerate her from either side as she landed, she didn't give them a chance.
Grabbing both of them in blood holds she yanked them towards her, ripping the blood out of their bodies in the process and splattering the deck, herself, and the now hollering inmates with it as the bodies skidded to a halt a few feet from her. It was a move created by Voldemort that had taken her years to replicate without destroying her mind in the process but once she had mastered it, it was damned effective.
Taking off, she ran deeper into the prison to kill all the guards as was her first priority, Sylvia let the bloodbending take over her as she temporarily embraced the madness that her ability was famous for. She fell into a meditative trance where she could see what was going on and nudge herself in the right direction but wasn't actively thinking of what she was doing. It was how she was able to control her unique ability without it corrupting her. By letting it take over she could use it without affecting her mind, at least not in the way that it had other notable practitioners. It was effective and efficient and when it was done she wouldn't be any less sane.
Sylvia was a force to be reckoned with and skilled benders of the White Lotus were learning that first hand. She easily flipped, dodged, and ducked all of their attacks while using her bending to grab hold of them and kill them as fast as possible whenever. Some died from broken necks, others died from massive internal injuries, some from blunt force trauma of being hurled into objects and many more had their blood ripped from their bodies where it stained the deck. It was an orgy of bloodbending not seen since the days of Voldemort and Sylvia was at the center of it, a whirling tornado of blood and death.
While she was doing all of this, Dhillon had been supplementing her with his airbending, hitting areas she hadn't been able to hit. He was taking out all of those who weren't near Sylvia to make sure they were done earlier. Any who somehow survived would be killed when the troops landed and swept the facility to ensure that it was under their control.
Their contact had told them that the prison had 40 highly trained guards to deal with the number of criminals they had there. They stood no chance against a pair of Uniques who had been preparing for this very attack for years. Within 5 minutes of landing the number of guards had been cut down to 7 and they were being hunted as they had tried to flee or radio for help but their spy within the White Lotus had ensured that neither would happen. Sylvia found in the boat bay and eliminated them in quick, extremely bloody, order.
As the last White Lotus guard fell to the deck of one of the speedboats kept out of range of the prison's metalbenders missing his head and drenching the boat in blood, Sylvia came out of her blood furry, her body covered with the blood of her enemies. It had taken years to train herself to this point but she could leave the trance as soon as she was done with minimal ill effects. It always left her exhilarated, filled with adrenaline and exceptionally horny, the latter would be dealt with soon enough as it had been 7 years since she'd had that ultimate pleasure. First she had to get her Princeps.
As she left the enclosed boat bay, their forces had just landed and were disembarking to sweep the prison for survivors to eliminate. They were also making sure the prisoners who were still now yelling at what they had seen were under control in their cells and helping those who were bringing the special supplies off the ship once it was clear. A woman in a White Lotus uniform came that Sylvia hadn't met before came running towards. She must be their spy.
"Ma'am, the prison is clear, you may go to the Princeps now." The woman said as she came up to Sylvia and bowed deeply. "I expect my payment as soon as I am off this festering raft."
"Thank you, you have been a great service to us." Sylvia said coolly as Dhillon floated down to join them after making sure that the watchtowers were clear. "I relieve you of the service we bought from you."
The woman just blinked stupidly at her before she yelled in pain as Sylvia took her in a blood hold and lifted her into the air, smiling the entire time. They were not going to let any of the White Lotus survive, not even the spy that they had been forced to buy. The new Grand Master of the White Lotus knew that the woman was their spy but he also knew that she was loyal only to money and had asked that she be killed to prevent her betraying them for coin as well. Sylvia obliged by ripping her blood out, her smile never faltering even as the woman's blood hit her full in the face.
"You know that is disgusting what you do, right?" Dhillon said with a hint of revulsion in his voice as the spy's body crashed to the deck. "I got no problem with killing, my own hands are filthy, but that is just wrong."
"Whatever." Sylvia said with a shrug as a soldier came up to her with a towel to clean herself off a little. "It works and that's all that matters. Now come one, we have to get the Princeps."
James, eldest child of Avatar Harry, former Imperial Military rising star and now the most infamous killer since Hermione, sat cross legged in his cell meditating. At long last the time for his revolution had come. He had given the order to hit all nations, including the assassination attempt on Sirius, a week ago when Fleet had visited him for their monthly attorney-client meeting. It should have all been carried out by now.
That meant that his freedom was close at hand. The plan had called for the attacks first and then his freedom as the latter was secondary to ensuring the successful capture of as much territory as possible. Once that had happened, then James would be free to lead his new Principate.
James had first had the idea for the Principate when his father had spoken at his uncle Ron's first inauguration as President of the United Republic, though it hadn't been called that back then. As good as James had been growing up, he had always been in his father's shadow and yearned to surpass the Avatar but he had not known how to do that until his father had spoken about global unity. That was when James had realized that that was his destiny, to unite the world under one nation and one leader and bring about everlasting peace and balance.
It had taken time, patience, and carefully planning but James had steadily built his network of loyal followers, spies, dupes, and other parties in preparation for his plans. He was a charismatic and powerful bender from a prestigious family and he had parlayed all of that into his recruiting and his ideas for the world. Any who couldn't be trusted, and as a truth seer James could tell, were killed right away so that only the devout followed. James was a soldier; he knew that the world wasn't pretty and was willing to make the necessary sacrifices for his goals.
Once his core had been built, it hadn't been hard to put the next phase of his plan into action. The military had given him structure, as well as a lot of people who would follow orders easily and who knew how to make the world a better place, had been his starting point. It had also allowed him to infiltrate other areas of the world, to find his Uniques and to sow seeds of doubts around the world for when the time came to seize control.
He had used his connections to create a global collection of scoundrels and criminals who would cause such havoc that a strong leader would not only be needed but demanded so as to bring stability and security back to the world. Little did the criminals know that they were being used and once James had power they would be slaughtered like the animals they were.
Over time his infiltration deepened until, thanks to exploiting desires, dreams, and the fuck ups od the Imperial Military, it went all the way to the top. It was a long, patient plan but James had studied the writings of Pyrites in preparation for building his network and planning his revolution. He knew what he was doing and that in the end it would work so long as he wasn't discovered before the attack happened.
The world needed a strong leader to unite it and end all its problems and he would be that person just as his father had wanted after the destruction of the last remnants of the Purist and Enlightened movements. James knew that it would be a hard and bloody change and would take good men like him to do bad things to create it but it was a sacrifice that James was willing to make for the sake of the world, he already made plenty so what were a few more anyway. He would unite the world under one banner, the banner of the Principate, and usher in a new golden age.
Then he had gone and done something that appeared asininely stupid but was actually planned, well planned after it became clear that he couldn't hide what he'd done this time. The blood madness had been there at first, it had been why he'd attacked that village after all, but after they were all dead James had regained control. He knew that he had gone too far so he planned on getting caught when his father came for him, he just had to make it convincing. It would be worth it in the end, no matter what he lost in the process.
His arrest and the splitting up of his Terra Team, his most fanatical followers outside of the Uniques he'd gathered by that point, would be able to recruit more and expand his network further than he had ever thought possible. It would also give him deniability as he would be out of the picture in prison, just a reminder of how far a hero could fall. The network was built so that it didn't need him, his sacrifice would only aid it in the long run. The bonus of damaging his father reputation had just been icing on the cake
The sacrifice of his hand and his freedom had been worth it for the cause. James knew that his father would do everything he could to save him from the death penalty and James took the deal as soon as it was offered. As for the hand, well he had a replacement for it in mind and it would show the world just how gifted a bender he truly was. James was a Unique in his own right, he wouldn't ask them to join him unless he too was one of them after all.
Now, it was all about waiting for his freedom. It was at close. After the spy they had bought amongst the guards had given him the subtle signal to let him know that they were almost here. All James could do was slowly counted the minutes until it happened.
He heard the alarms first. Then the wind indicating that Dhillon, who he knew would have already made contact with their spy, had hit. Then he felt the wave hit with such force that he almost lost his balance but years of mediation allowed it to happen. His Sylvia had led the attack just as he knew she would even if he hadn't requested her to. The time for freedom was now.
"What the fuck just happened?" An old, annoying voice called out from the cell across the gap between the rows of cells him causing James to sigh as the man addressed him. "Hey, pureblood spawn of evil, what is going on? Why would someone attack the prison? All my allies are either dead or in prison themselves and no one else here is important enough or has any support willing to risk attacking this shithole."
James ignored the voice. The prison was set out with the higher the profile of the prisoner the closer the center of the prison you were. That had meant that James was placed right in the very center as you couldn't get higher profile then him, well Hermione could but she wasn't a bender so she didn't count.
It had also meant that he was opposite the previous highest profile inmate who had been in prison for about 33 years when James had arrived. The man was the Chosen who was supposed to be Hermione's puppet in the Earth Kingdom when they took it as well, the son of a former Grand Secretariat that James knew as Justin.
The dude had been pissing James off for almost 7 years now, basically ever since the day James had been left here and the sadistic guards reveals his family connection. Justin seemed to take pleasure in annoying James but then again when you spent 40 years of your life on this glorified wooden raft you may as well take what little pleasure you could get. At least the man wouldn't be James problem much longer.
"Hey asshole I asked you a fucking question." Justin yelled from his cell as guards began to scream around them and inmates started hollering at the chaos. "What the fuck is going on? There's some attack I think going on but I don't know why."
"What is going happening, Justin." James said back softly as the fighting and screaming ended and footsteps began approaching his cell. "Is the fucking future."
James didn't say anything more, he didn't even open his eyes, as the footsteps stopped outside his cell. Then the lock on the door was then shattered and it was yanked open. Only then did James open his eyes and slowly stand up to greet his freer.
Standing in the doorway to his cell was Sylvia, his blond beauty. She was in her Unique's outfit, a formfitting dark blue outfit with the golden laurel in the center of her chest and a blood red waterbending symbol in the center of the wreath. She was smiling, splattered in blood and slightly out of breath but that was to be expected after fighting so many guards while pushing her impressive bending talents to near their limits. He had missed her but they couldn't have a proper reunion, there was more to do right now and they had to be professional.
Sylvia didn't say anything as she stepped back and let James walk out of his cell for the first time without restraints in 7 years. James inhaled deeply as he took his first breath of freedom, it felt good to finally be done with his confinement. He had been gone to long, it was time to return to the new world he had just birthed with blood.
He turned to see Sylvia standing with a floating Dhillon and Thaxted, a high-ranking member of his original Terra Team and his former tactical officer, on either side of her. Thaxted would now be a general in the Principate but that could wait until they got away from here. First James had to deal with the items they were holding. The Uniques had cases and Thaxted had his new uniform.
"My clothes first." James said as he stripped off his prison pants, he wasn't wearing a shirt given the temperature where the prison was located and stood naked in front of them as he noticed Sylvia admiring his still chiseled form. "Then the rest of the items."
"But your stump..." Sylvia began but James raised his remaining hand to stop her.
"Do you have it?" James asked.
"I do." Dhillon said as he floated forward and opened his case so that James could inspect the contents.
James smiled at what lay in the ornate box. Inside was a shining silver left hand on a velvet lining, perfectly measured to replace the hand he had lost and expertly crafted by the finest metalsmith loyal to the Principate. There was also a cuff next to the hand to prevent chaffing on his stump and keep the hand in place with straps that would secure the cuff to James's arm. The interior of the straps and cuff were soft fur and the exterior made out of leather with platinum buckles to prevent bending.
Picking up the cuff with his right hand, James placed it over his stump and then motioned to one of his troops to attach the straps to his forearm so that it stayed on. Once it was attached, James picked up the hand and attached it to the locking mechanism inside the cuff. It was a beautiful design made in Zaofu for just this purpose though the creator had no idea who it was for as he was the only one who could make such a mechanism and not loyal to the Principate. It kept the hand in place and made it like his wrist would have worked, though it could spin around for extra versatility.
With the hand attached, James raised it to his eyes. It was time to prove his abilities to everyone, to show them that he was truly the greatest metalbender to ever live. With a little more concertation than usual due to his years of being unable to bend, James made it move. It was a twitch at first but within a moment he had it fully articulate albeit a little too stiff to use reliably yet. It would take a little bit to break it in but it was perfect.
"I told y'all I could do it." James said with a grin as he looked at the open-mouthed faces of his followers. "I told y'all that I could bend pure platinum."
The hand had indeed been made out of pure platinum with no other metal added to it. It was the one metal so pure that no metalbender could bend, until now. James was no simple metalbender, he was the best of the best, he was unique when it came to metal. He had trained for years to get to reach this point, it was why he was a Unique, he could sense even the barest impurity in metal and that was why he could bend platinum.
With his new hand attached, James gestured to his Thaxted to approach him and he finally got dressed. It was practically the same clothes he had worn as a Captain in the Imperial Army except that the pants were black with a green stripe and he had added a metal breastplate made out platinum with his crest on it just as all his soldiers and Uniques wore. In addition, a grappling system using the latest in the technology was attached to the back of his breastplate with the wires running down his arm so that it could be set up with the ankle length green greatcoat he was now wearing.
Once James was dressed, his weapons were brought to him by the soldiers present. His duel axes were placed at his hips and his throwing axes at the small of his back. Finally he was kitted out again and feeling normal again. It was almost time to go.
"There are two things that I need to do before I take what you have brought for me Sylvia." James said seriously. "The first is to check this puppy out."
With that, James turned, made a fist with his new artificial left hand and punched the lock on Justin's cell, shattering it like kindling. Grabbing the wooden latticed door with the new hand, James ripped it back and off its hinges and threw it behind him. He had been working out every day to keep up his strength so it wasn't a hard task, well that and wood was weaker then metal.
"What you going to do pureblood?" Justin spat at him as he stood his ground and glared at James, an act he had to respect, clearly Justin wasn't going to cower before him. "Kill me like the monster you are?"
"Precisely." James said with a wide, predatory, smile at Justin. "You should have been executed decades ago, long before I was born, for your heinous crimes but you were spared because my father convinced the Firelord to spare Hermione so that meant no one could be executed. At long last your day of reckoning has come. I will give you the punishment you richly deserved all those years ago. The rest of the inmates here will get the chance to join me or die but not you, you get death. The Chosen are long gone with few of their number still alive, the world won't miss another one dying, especially one who has been forgotten about for four decades."
Before Justin could say anything, James lashed out and grabbed him around the throat with his metal hand, easily lifting the older man off the floor. The man was scrawny and lighter than he should be but prison does that to you, especially decades inside one. Justin thrashed and clawed at the hand but it was in no use, he couldn't bend platinum like James could. James calmly and slowly closed his fist crushing everything in Justin's neck in the vicelike grip of his new hand.
In short order there was a loud cracking sound from Justin's neck and his thrashing stopped as he went limp in James's grip. James dropped the body to the ground of the cell and left it there in a lifeless heap. At last the fucker was silent.
Stepping out of the cell, James looked at his followers who had just watched him execute a man in cold blood with his bare hand. None of them were phased. Good. They all knew what it would take to win the coming war and ensure the success of the Principate. They could not show mercy, not until the world was his and then they could set about perfecting it the way only James could.
"Report." James barked asking for his second request.
"It went off as better than planned." Sylvia said right away snapping to attention at his orders and speaking at once. "We have almost all of the ISEK, as well as taking Southern and Foggy Swamp Water Tribes, the United Republic on their entirety. We also got all but the Northern Air Temple from the Air Nation and the southern half of the Fire Nation fell to us before the Firelord's forces halted out progress. We failed to take Royal Caldera City so that is why the Fire Nation still resists us."
"Almost all of the ISEK?" James asked raising an eyebrow. "We were aiming for all of it but anticipated at least a few holdouts so only one is good. The rest was as expected. The Fire Nation is a distraction, I have a plan for that but I will discuss it with the full Unique Council before it can begin, we always knew it would be a war of attrition there. The Northern Air Temple was always a stretch but it will be easy to take when the time comes, the other Temples fell as planned though, as I predicted. Which Imperial state is left?
"The Imperial State of Cymru is the only hold out." Sylvia answered. "They are too close knit to infiltrate the way we did the others, their border issues with Kuei during the Purity Wars ensured that. Once consolidation is done and the forces are ready, we can take it at your command."
"I intend to and I will personally lead us to victory there." James said with a nod. "Very well, territorially we are as set as we could be and by the time I return to civilization I will make sure that we have absolute control. Our Governor-Generals will ensure that but they have always known the score. Now do what is the status of the World Leaders?"
"5 out of 7 were killed, none were captured as per your orders." Sylvia reported. "Druzok is alive but isolated in the Fire Nation Capital, we didn't even get close to him, and the surprise assassination attempt on Sirius failed but reports from Arncliffe indicate that he was wounded in the attempt though. The rest are dead."
"Good, more than I thought possible." James said pleased. "How did they die? Who deserves the praise and honors for eliminating 5 of our highest priority targets?"
"I planted the bomb that took out Romilda, though that was incidental as it was designed for Chief Beifong and I got lucky that they were together at the time of explosion." Sylvia said clearly downplaying her role. "As for the others, Gupta shot Bill with a crossbow when he was distracted by Molly's betrayal. Zhan sacrificed himself to take down the Imperial Palace to let your brother Albus escape as he was present for some reason, he is unaccounted for. Arncliffe killed Filius in the Southern Air Temple after she was freed though she won't say how. As for the Foggy Swamp Tribe, Chief Kartik was killed but it's the Foggy Swamp so it wasn't hard to do."
"That is great news, well done to all involved." James said and he meant it, they had exceeded his expectations with the former World Leaders but they weren't the only high priority targets. "Now what about our other targets? What is the status of them other than Albus escaping, my brother is a slippery one after all so that doesn't surprise me. I hadn't expected to get the chance to catch him to begin with so having that opportunity was a blessing, even if we failed."
"Dominique, Lily, Luna, and Ron all escaped despite out best efforts to take them." Sylvia reported with a wince at their failure to capture them. "Though other than Dominique, who we thought we had a good chance to take, that was within operation expectations. Dominique managed to flee before Gupta and Pocklington could catch her but she was the only person to escape the South. Regulus was killed, we learned that after the fact as he or Neville killed everyone sent after him other than Oakham. Oh and we have Lord Neville in custody."
"Wait we caught Neville, one of Team Avatar?" James asked clearly shocked. "That was a longshot one, how did we capture him?"
"He stayed in Republic City to allow everyone else escape into the Spirit World." Sylvia said smiling at James's shock. "His wife was killed by Oakham at the Academy and he seemed to decide to remain to let the others get away. It wasn't easy to take him though. He destroyed 5 mecha suits and killed a total of 56 soldiers directly or indirectly before Alixan defeated him in an Agni Kai of all things. He injured Neville in the duel but took him in alive. The fight also saw Darius take shrapnel to his back right at the start but he was evacuated before Neville could reach him. He is being patched up as we speak and he will be out of action for a few weeks at least but he will be fine afterwards."
"Good to know, we have done better than I could have ever expected, just what I want from my Uniques." James said his shock gone and professional again as Sylvia beamed at his praise. "Everything is in place for a quick consolidation of our power once I get back to the capital but Neville's capture will speed thing up, I have a special role for him. What of the other Uniques? How are they holding up?"
"Darius was the only one who needed medical attention but there were a few scrapes here and there." Sylvia said. "Tate, Pocklington, Oakham and Gupta had a few bruises and cuts from the fights they had and Alixan has a fresh scar from his duel with Neville but that is it. Arncliffe avoided anything as she was in the Southern Air Temple and projecting her astral spirit to Republic City and Rohit avoided any injuries. All but Arncliffe are now either in or on their way to the capital and waiting for your arrival."
"Just as I planned." James said with a nod. "Arncliffe spoke with me during my last rec hour and knows where to go but I will personally greet the others when we get back. That is all I wanted to know so that means that it is time. Bring me your box Sylvia."
Sylvia bowed at James's command and bent down on one knee, raising the box above her head her arms straight as she present it to him. As she went down on one knee, the others followed suit, Dhillon doing so with a few inches of air between him and the deck. Even the nearby inmates did knowing that something big was about to happen as James had clearly orchestrated the attack from the prison.
With reverence, James opened the simple wooden box that Sylvia was holding up to him. Inside, on a green velvet cushion, was a laurel wreath just like on their breastplates or chests if they weren't wearing one. It was exquisitely crafted made out of pure platinum and like the designs on their uniforms the wreath did not connect but had an opening at the front. The only difference was that it was designed to look like it was wrapped around the person with the flats of the leaves pressed against the skin.
Carefully, James removed the wreath and Sylvia lowered the box to the deck but kept her head bowed to him. Holding it in his hands James spoke words he had dreamed of saying for years:
"The old world is no more. It is time for the new, better, world order. With this I officially declare an end to all nations, an end to all borders, a unification of the world under one banner. One nation under one ruler for the betterment of all. I hereby declare a new ruler; I declare the end of the old order and the beginning of a new one. I officially declare the creation of the Global Principate."
With that James raised the laurel wreath high above his head before he lowered it onto himself so that it circled his forehead with the gap in the center. It would fit better once his hair was cut but it still fit well just as it was supposed to. It was a crown made for him after all.
"Rise my faithful followers." James intoned and all of his troops rose to stand, or in Dhillon's case hover, before him. "And embrace the Global Principate."
Then in unison they snapped to attention and slammed a closed fist over their hearts right where the laurel wreath was on their breastplates was. Then, led by Sylvia, they all said in unison what they all had wanted to say for years and could finally say to James's face.
"All hail the Princeps!"
Well there he is, as I expect many of y'all guessed, the Princeps's identity has been revealed and it was James, not that I was subtle about it despite trying to appear so. He still has to reveal himself to the world which will come in the coming chapters as the main story of Book 4, the Principate War, begins. Other than that major reveal the last 2 Uniques have been revealed and like the others their names come from the wikia with Sylvia being on the Slytherin page and Dhillon the Ravenclaw one. That is all I have for this note and this long chapter, hopefully I will actually get the next one out on time. As always please follow and favorite both this and myself so that you can stay up to date with new releases (chapters and stories) and please keep the reviews coming. Until next time.
Stringdog