Howl knew he was done for the moment he told the Avatar and her friends to leave; that the White Lotus guards would hold off the Equalists. It was going to be a losing battle anyway. There were too many Equalists and so few guards. Nevertheless, the avatar was much more important than Howl and his companions, and even if it meant giving up their bending – and maybe even more – they would use themselves as a temporary barricade.
And yes, the moment finally came when one of the guards went down, slammed onto the cold marble steps by a weighted whip, then electrocuted. Another guard, earthbending, didn’t notice the whip about to wrap around his feet. Howl himself was caught by some chiblocking and a punch to the head. His eyesight wavered, and he was quickly tied up and thrown onto an Equalist airship, along with his comrades. Against the wooziness seeping into his head, he felt an upwelling of panic rise in his his chest. His bending was going to be taken away. He couldn’t move. He wasn’t able to fight his way out of this. His third arm, his identity, his confidence, they would all be ripped away from him in the time it took to touch a finger to a forehead. But as the airship took off, his eyelids drooped, weary from the desperation that seized him. With this, he calmed down. Amon would be stopped. The Equalists would be brought to justice. The Avatar would come.
Not in vain, Howl thought, as his eyes finally shut, blacking out his world.
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"I shall not live in vain" - Emily Dickinson: A Korra Fanfic
FanfictionA Legend of Korra fanfic. If you don't know who Howl is, he's the sentry in the first episode that let Korra out of the White Lotus compound for her run with Naga. He turns up later in episode ten, saying that the guards will hold the Equalists off...
