The journey down the corridor was agonizingly slow, all four men walking in single file with Ren leading them in front, a small flame in his hand lighting the way, the group stopping and flinching at every small sound with Ren raising a hand up and looking about cautiously before urging the others to continue on behind him.
Never before did they notice just how loud the sound of their shoes coming in contact with the metal ship was, but now, in the dead of the night with hardly any sound to distract from such trivial noises, the men flinched to hear it. Though their nerves were steeled they knew that, if they were caught wandering around by themselves with no excuse, suspicion would be drawn to them and they may never get another chance to fulfill their plan. It was now or never.
As they approached the door to Prince Zuko's quarters, Ren motioned the other men to stand by as he gently laid his weight down on the handle and pushed the door open as carefully as he could, cringing at the distinct sound of creaking metal. However, hearing no response, he pushed onward, until he was able to fit his head and part of his shoulder inside.
His gaze fell upon the prince, who slept soundly in his bed. Ren could see from the boy's closed eyes, and the steady, slow rise and fall of his chest that he had not been disturbed by the door's creaking. Thank every god in existence, thought Ren as he pushed the door open just far enough to fit himself inside, and motioned for the other men to enter the room along with him.
Gently, Li closed the door behind him agonizingly slowly, and cringed as Ren had with every small creak the metal made.
After the door finally closed shut, the four men stood and stared at the sleeping form of Prince Zuko, who looked so peaceful, so calm, so unaware of what was about to happen to him. Mao almost wanted to smile thinking of it.
Ren noted the snuffed out candle on the desk which stood against the far wall and quickly lit it before extinguishing the fire in his hand. He then nodded at Mao, who produced once more the soaked lengths of rope on his person, and handed one to Ren. Taking it, Ren moved into position by the prince's head, ready to gag him. Mao stood near the middle of the bed, prepared to bind Prince Zuko's hands. Li and in stood by the foot of the bed, Li prepared to rip the blanket off, and Qin to grab the prince's feet.
For several moments they simply stood there, tense, the sound of all their breathing filling their ears until they were sure there was nothing else in the world.
Then, Ren nodded at the men.
"Now," he said in a loud whisper.
In a flash, Li grabbed the blanket and snapped it off, leaving the prince exposed as Mao reached and wrapped the rope around Zuko's head, the soaked fabric settling tight in the boy's open mouth as his eyes shot open and he began to wrestle about. Mao had caught him just before he was able to make a sound.
Before the prince could think to use his bending, Qin had grabbed both of his ankles, one in each hand, and held them so tightly that one could be assured his very life depended on it, and, in a way, it did. As the boy began to squirm, Li grabbed one of his wrists, and Ren the other as they forced Zuko onto his side, and Mao tied the rope tightly around his forearms with great effort. The prince was grunting and growling and kicking and fighting like he was being murdered, and the men feared slipping up should he think to use his bending against them.
Zuko quickly found that he could not move his limbs to bend with them, and smoke began to steadily stream from his nostrils as he prepared to breathe fire and burn through the rope in his mouth. However, Mao caught on as he struggled to tie the rope behind the boy's head and said, making his voice much deeper and rougher so it could not be recognized, "Oh, Prince Zuko, I would advise against doing that. If you were to set fire to that rope, the best part of your face would be burnt off along with it."
Li moved to help Qin hold Zuko's legs, and Ren stood, pressing as much weight as he could onto the boy's arms to prevent him from moving.
Zuko's eyes were open wide, and he still continued to try and struggle. Finding that he could move neither his arms nor his legs, he tried harder and harder and harder still, and the men heard his muffled screams from beyond the gag, nonstop, and, despite being only a fraction of how loud they were normally, almost managed to make them shudder from their intensity.
The men tried waiting for him to calm down and stop fighting, but he seemed as though he'd go on forever without end, and the men would grow tired of holding him long before he got tired of shouting and squirming.
"Flip him over," ordered Ren in a fake voice, and they did so. Li held down the boy's left leg, and Qin his right. Ren now put all of his weight down onto Zuko's arms and back, effectively crushing him where he lay. Yet the prince did not cease his yelling, nor his struggling, as futile as all of it was.
"How boring it would be," said Mao as he gazed at the prince's hateful expression, "if he gave in without a proper struggle. All the better that he fights so hard."
Ren smiled as he motioned down to the floor, and the men understood his wordless command as they dragged the writhing prince from his bed onto the cold metal floor. Li and Qin had his legs pinned down to the floor, Ren resumed putting all his force on the boy, and Mao pressed Zuko's head down so his cheek was forced flat against the floor.
Another exceptionally loud muffled scream and the men were almost worried that someone would hear them through the thick metal walls. He really was a stubborn one.
"Who wants to go first?" asked Ren.
No answer.
After a few moments, Ren went on, "Well, if none of you will do it, then I will." He then motioned for Mao to take his place as he moved near Qin and Li.
Mao did not bother with leaning his weight on the prince, and instead sat on his back. The muffled screams were far weaker now that the boy had significant trouble breathing, and within seconds, great big breaths flared in and out of his nostrils as he struggled to find enough air.
Behind him, Ren lifted the boy's robes, earning a sharp but pained intake of breath from the boy. Then, he grabbed the hem of his pants with rough fingers and yanked them downward to his knees. A confused yelp sounded as Zuko struggled to turn his head. Mao drove it back into the floor with one hand, flattening his cheek against the metal once more.
Ren moved his own tunic out of the way and released his cock, which was already standing erect. He began to stroke it with one hand as he placed the other on the prince's buttock. Zuko whimpered at the feeling, a sound that none of the men ever thought they would hear.
Zuko's breathing became more and more erratic and pained as Ren spread the boy's buttocks apart and aligned himself so he could thrust inside. The boy struggled to move his legs, his arms, lift his head, anything. If he could only speak or breathe he might be able to make all of this end.
His thoughts were suddenly cut off when the man behind him, with great effort, forced his organ deep inside.
His eyes shot open wider than he'd ever thought possible, and for a long while, no thoughts crossed his mind, not even fear. There was only blankness. No sound save for erratic whimpering left his lips.
Ren began to move himself back and forth, muttering, "It's so tight" as he thrust himself in and out. Everything to Zuko was white noise as his mind suddenly started working again and he released scream after scream, clearly straining himself and his lungs, coughing and sputtering and struggling and fighting.
But, as always, it was no use.
He was completely and utterly helpless.
His screams slowly died down until they were little more than pained chokes and sobs.
Mao released his head but the boy didn't try and lift it up again.
The pain grew more and more intense as the men laughed and jeered and said things that became only static in his ears. No more thoughts of "how dare they do this to a prince" crossed his mind, only "when will this stop, I want it to stop".
He felt the first of a great surge of hot tears roll down his cheeks as he felt the man grow still and release inside him.
"Haha, he's crying. Look at him. Look how pathetic he is! Like a little girl!" laughed Mao as he watched the tears stream down, and the snot pour from his nostrils, and the sweat drip down his face.
Also Zuko could hear was his mind screaming to him, 'It hurts, it hurts, please stop' over and over and over.
The next man moved to take Ren's place, but by then, the pain had already become too much, and the boy's world slowly faded into pure black.