Chapter Eight: Breakout

The echoes of clattering metal, and doors slamming woke Ronan up. Nearly several hours have passed since he was attacked and captured. He found himself confined in a small chamber, chain linked to the side opposite of the door. Everything was made out of platinum. His head was spinning as he regained his bearings. He pulled on his restraints, and was met with a devastating electrical shock. It took every fiber of his being not to scream out at the pain. But his stirring caught the attention to two guardsmen. They peered in through the small barred window on the door.

"Ah, so it appears our exalted Avatar has awakened."

"Yes, it seems that way."

"W-Where am I?" Ronan asked as he regained his breath, head hanging down.

"If you must know, you are currently residing in the catacombs under the city."

"Hah... You'll fit right in once I get out..."

"Highly unlikely you swine."

"I know we just met and all," Ronan said, raising his head to see his captors, "but do you have a superiority complex or something?"

"Hmph. Locked up tight and still acting all high and mighty."

"I sometimes tend to be sarcastic when I'm pissed off."

Both guards rolled their eyes as they turned and walked away. When they reached the far end of the room, they began whispering to each other. Ronan was still able to hear their conversation fluently.

"That cage is quite handy, don't you think?"

"It surely is. It was meant for Avatar Korra, but that whole solar flare set back our plans."

"So, is the invasion ready?"

Ronan perked his head up. "Invasion?" he whispered to himself.

"Yes. With the reports of the strategic attacks in the south reaching President Rinn, Zhong made sure that all the Republic City forces mobilize out of the city void of the roads that our forces are taking to the city. Once we know that we are in the clear, which should be in a few hours or so, our attack will begin, and Republic City, and its bending citizens, will fall and we will be in control. Just like it was back over ten thousand years ago."

"And having the Avatar is just like the icing on a cake."

"Most certainly."

"What happens if Rinn escapes?"

"It wouldn't matter. Our victory will make his presidency null and void. And besides, Zhong said he made a surprise for Rinn for when the attack begins. It'll be... quite explosive to quote him."

"Republic City won't know what hit them. Their precious Avatar is gone, over half of their troops are gone, their President will be dead; it'll be a massive blow!"

"The platinum bullets will be a nice touch too."

Ronan dropped his head back down. "Zhong was their inside man to make the perfect attack plan happen..." He looked up at his restraints. Any form of harsh movement will activate the electrical surge. "Maybe I can use that to my advantage."

Aki and Xue woke up in a cell holding the other abductees. All were shackled to the walls (not to the extreme of Ronan's confinement) by their wrists. Everyone was is bad shape, mainly from malnutrition from long captivity. The dank atmosphere in the catacombs didn't help the situation either.

"X-Xue?" Aki said.

"Ugh... Yeah?" he replied back groggily.

"What's going to happen?"

"Just... Hold on. I can get us out of here... Damn I'm sore."

"Are you okay?"

"I've been through worse. More importantly, are you okay?"

"Ehh... Yeah."

"Good, otherwise, Ronan would end me."

"...Xue!" a voice echoed in Xue's mind. It was Ronan's.

"Ronan!" Xue said aloud.

"Ronan?" Aki asked. "Is he here?"

"Xue, where are you? Are you safe?"

"Not exactly. Erm.. Aki and I have been captured too..."

"...What?!"

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I fucked up."

"Listen, we need to get out of here as soon as possible."

"Yeah, I didn't plan on staying long in this luxurious destination."

"Everything has been set up. These guys are about to invade to wreck this city. We need to warn Rinn. Zhong was these guys' inside man."

"Any ideas?"

"This cage I'm in is virtually inescapable. Maybe I can get out of here within an inch of life."

"That bad?"

"Yeah. Should I try anything, I get electrocuted harshly. Listen, just do your thing okay. I'm most likely going to need help to get out of here."

"Alright. I'll see you soon."

Their connection broke off.

"Xue, were you talking with Ronan?" Aki asked.

"Yeah. We need to hurry up and escape. I'll get us out."

A guard walked by, keeping watch over the captives. He held the keys to the shackles.

"Hey!" Xue yelled. "Hey jerkoff! Word on the street is your mother gives people a good time!"

The guard turned his head to Xue, frowning intensely. "What the hell did you just say?"

"Oh nothing, just that you are so good looking. And by good looking, I actually mean grotesquely disgusting!"

By the time Xue finished his insult, the guard raised his hand to hit Xue. Xue smirked, and as soon as the man's hand reached Xue's face, he teleported behind the guard, and plowed his head into the steel wall. Two other guards ran over, weapons ready. The one raised his rifle to aimed, but Xue teleported right in front of him, and knocked off the gun's aim to the other guard. The impact made the guard fire the gun, and the bullet ripped through the other guard's bicep. As he fell, Xue grabbed the gun away from the guard, swung it around, the slammed the butt of the rifle into his temple, knocking him out instantly. Xue flew back to the first guard, picked up the keys, and unlocked Aki's shackles.

"You can teleport?"

"Yeah, short distances." He continued to unlock the shackles, freeing the other captives.

Aki walked over to the table the guardsmen were using. There was a closed pouch full of water that can be tied around a person's waist. She wrapped the strap around, and tied it off. She pulled the cap off, and bended out a stream of water. She moved it around herself, then bended it back into the pouch and closed it.

As Xue freed the last captive he asked, "Why were they kidnapping everyone?"

"Two reasons," an older man grunted, "Leverage, and getting benders off the street once their attack begins. Less resistance."

"That's some dirty-ass tactic." Xue turned to Aki. "Alright, we need to go and fast."

"Where do we go?" she asked.

"Anywhere but here. We need to find Ronan, and bust him out of his cell."

Ronan gained most of his strength back. He controlled his breathing, preparing himself for what he is about to do. He exhaled one last time.

"Hey! Come here!"

The two men didn't stir.

"Oi! I have a question!"

"Oh, you are detestable." the guard with the superiority complex said aloud as he walked to the door. "What is it?"

"I'm just curios: What are your plans for me, once your precious invasion is finished?"

The man smirked evilly. "Finish what the Red Lotus started. Kill the Avatar once and for all."

"Oh jeez man, that's really harsh. It'd be a shame if I got out of here, and lived a longer than you, wouldn't you say."

"It would be, but highly unlikely."

Ronan closed his eyes and smiled. "No... Very likely."

Ronan pulled hard on all the shackles, sending a deadly stream of electricity coursing through his body. He began to smoke.

"What are you doing?!"

Ronan's eyes shot open as he surged his chest forward. He screamed out as a large bolt of electricity exited his chest, and shot through the man's abdomen. The bolt continued, and struck the other guard in the head. The first man fell, with a giant hole in his gut. The second man fell with his eye blown out. Ronan's body slumped down once the conductors behind the cell blew up from the overload.

"Oh shit... That didn't feel as bad in my head..."

The door to the room blew open, and Xue flew inside. He was in a battle ready stance, and looked around the room, ready to fight. He eased up when he saw the two dead guards. He turned to Ronan's cell, and peeked inside.

"What the hell did you do?"

"Augh... Nothing. Just had a shockingly good time, y'know."

Xue shook his head as he unlocked the door. Aki walked in, and once her gaze looked over the gory scene, she closed her eyes.

"R-Ronan?"

"Yeah? I'm right here."

Xue got the cell door open.

"Alright, how do we undo these shackles?"

"Empty stomach over there has a key."

Xue flew over to the dead guard, and removed the key from his waist pocket. He flew back to Ronan, and unlocked the shackles. Ronan stumbled out of the room, rubbing his wrists. He walked to Aki, who still had her eyes closed.

"You alright?" Ronan asked as he guided Aki out of the room.

"Yes," she said, opening her eyes, "Is everything going to okay?"

"Honestly, I don't know." He turned to Xue. "We need to hurry, and fast."

The trio, followed by the other prisoners, ran out through the secret entrance within the catacombs, and ran up the flight of stairs to reach outside.

"Alright, Xue, I need to you to hurry and reach the legion of troops that are heading away from the city, and get them to come back. Do whatever you must."

"Right." Xue flew high up, and soared away fast to the path that leads out of the city.

Ronan grabbed Aki's hand, and pulled her up onto his back.

"Hold on tight."

She hugged him tight as he began to sprint to the main street that leads to the Presidential building. As he neared the building, Jade ran in front of him.

"Jade?!" Ronan yelled on impulse.

"Ronan," she said grimly, "On my way out, I saw the non-bending army in full force heading straight here."

"I know, we need to hurry, and tell Rinn. Zhong was their inside man."

They began running once more. They bashed through the main door. Ronan put Aki down.

"You two take the elevator."

"What about you?" Jade asked.

"I'm taking the express route."

He ran to the stairwell. He jumped up to the railing, and kicked off to the next floor railing. He continued jumping up from floor to floor. Once he reached the top floor, he sped to Rinn's office where he was sitting behind his desk working on paperwork.

"Ronan?" Rinn said. "You look terrible. What's happened?"

As Ronan opened his mouth, he heard a faint beep. His pupils dilated as he thought back to what the guard said about an explosive surprise for Rinn was the invasion begins.

Ronan threw his hands towards Rinn to envelope his with air, and pulled him back. As Rinn cleared past his desk, his chair exploded. The two were thrown out into the hallway. As they regained their bearings, they stood up.

"Listen! Zhong is the non-benders inside man. He's betrayed the city. Their army is right outside the city limits, and are about to lay waste."

Rinn was at a complete loss for words.

"I sent my friend Xue to bring your forces back, but we need to do something."

"... I must warn the city and mobilize whatever forces we have left to fend off the city."

Ronan nodded, and ran off to his quarters. He grabbed his scimitars, and ran back to Rinn. At that time, Aki and Jade stepped out of the elevator.

"What happened?" Jade asked.

"Bomb. Listen, get Aki far away from the action, alright?"

"But-" Aki blurted out before Jade cut her off.

"Okay, but what about you?"

He grimaced. "I need to slow them down."

And with that, he ran into the blown out office, and jumped out through the large gaping hole. He shot fire from all his limbs to propel himself forward. From the height, he could see the mass of men heading towards the city. There had to be at least over 50,000 men, not including those that are already in the city, ready to strike. He grazed a building, and began running along the wall before kicking off to the next building further down the street.

Ronan was ready for a fight...