Bloodbending Prodigy
3
This morning I got up quickly, very excited about my day with Hama. I've never meet another bender from my tribe. I quickly changed into my fire nation outfit and ran out the door to meet up with Hama. It was early in the morning and everyone was still asleep.
We walked to an open area, not far from town and talked about our home. She explained how easy it was to bend back home because we are surrounded by our element. Here in the fire nation it's almost impossible to find a resourceful lake or pond. I told her about the time we went to the desert and had no water. I felt so defenseless out there, not being able to bend. And about that one time I used my own sweat to bend us out of a prison. She was quit proud of me.
"Did you know you can even pull water out of thin air?" She demonstrated by making one quick motion of her arm, around her head and out again.
"There's water in places you never think about." She took the water and covered her hand in it, then froze it to her fingers, flinging it towards a tree. The razor sharp blades stuck into its bark. It was fascinating to know I would be doing that one day.
Hama then took me to an open meadow, covered in pinkish red like flowers. They were really beautiful.
"They're called fire lilies." Hama told me. Fire lilies. I've never considered the fire nation to be a beautiful place until now.
"Like all living things, these plants are filled with water." She bended the water out of the flowers, making there color turn a dead one and swirled the water around her and into a rock, now sliced in five individual pieces.
"That was incredible." I looked beneath me at the dead flowers. "It's a shame about the lilies though." I explained.
"There just flowers, they'll grow back." I frowned, feeling bad for the poor things. "When you a water bender in a strange land, you do whatever you can to survive. Tonight I will teach you the ultimate technique of water bending. It can only be done during a full moon, when you bending is at its peak." I was a little worried at first. Hadn't see told us about the strange things that happened to people during the full moon? She laughed reminding me of who we were. Two master water benders.
Zuko
I walked with the gang (everyone but Katara) to a man called 'Old man Ding'. We wandered around town earlier asking people about the strange things that happened during the full moon. One man told us about this crazy old man. He was a victim of the spirit but survived and came back to tell his story. He walked through town until we found an old man boarding up his windows.
"Old man Ding?" Aang asked the old man. He was caught of guard and mistakenly smashed his own thumb with his hammer. I laughed, not because his pain was funny, but because I remember doing the same thing in a small earth kingdom town. Toph punched my arm, hard. I apologized and rubbed my sore arm.
"Why does everyone call me that? I'm not that old!" He tried picking up one of the boards, but was obviously too weak to handle it. I rolled my eyes and went over to pick it up for him and Sokka came with the hammer and nails boarding it up.
"I'm not getting snatched up by some moon monster. It's a full moon out tonight!"
"We wanted to ask you about that. Did you get a good look at whoever took you?" Aang asked handing Sokka more nails.
He told us the story of how he felt his limbs had a mind of there own. He just started to walk up towards the mountain. It was forcing him to. He tried to fight it but couldn't gain control. It was bringing him to a cave. He thought his last glimpse of light would be the moon. But then the sun started to rise, and he gained control again and 'high-tailed' his way out of the forest. Sokka was a bit frightened by his tale.
"Why would a spirit want to take people to a mountain?" Suki asked hiding behind her boyfriend.
"Oh no!" Toph scared us all. "I did hear people under the mountain! The missing villagers must still be there." We all looked at the mountain that, we now knew, contained missing victims. Who knew maybe even dead bodies? It was too frightening to think about.
We made our way back to the forest, running towards the mountain. We found an opening to the cave and made our way down there. It was completely dark. Toph had to lead the way. Just ahead, there was a lit hall way and a metal door. Toph bended the door and we ran in surprised to see all of the missing villagers. They were tied with their hands above their heads. They looked awful, like they had been here for days, some weeks.
"We're saved!" One man barley said. Toph ran up to one of them, making a key with her bracelet, and got to work. Sokka and I used our swords to chop of some of the chains so they could put their arms down while they waited for Toph.
"I didn't know spirit's made prisons like this. Who brought you here?" Aang asked them.
"It was no spirit. It was a witch." One man said.
"A witch?" Suki asked puzzled.
"What do you mean?"
"She seems like a normal old woman." One woman explained. "But she controls people. Like some dark puppet master." She said as she rubbed her sore wrists. Sokka soon knew who was behind it all.
"Hama!" He growled. And as soon as he said the name I stopped and realized.
"Katara!" Everyone soon caught on.
"I'll get these people out of here. You go!" Toph told us unlocking more chains.
"I'll stay here with Toph." Suki said, pulling out a small dagger to pick the locks on the chains. I didn't wait for anyone. I just ran back out of the door back to the forest and looked for them.
Katara
"Can you feel the power the full moon brings?" She looked up at the moon, gaining its power. I looked at her confused. She used to be this nice old woman. But now she looked power crazed. Her veins stood out as she felt her powers rise.
"I've never felt more alive." She smiled.
"What I'm about to show you, I learned in that reached fire nation prison." That's when she told me everything. How this really all came about. She was locked away. It made her angry and more power hunger then ever before. She forced herself to learn a new bending: Bloodbending. My eyes were wide. Is that would I was doing that night at camp? As she explained it more I felt sick. I was doing that to my friends?
"Once you've perfected this technique, you could control anything." She glanced at me. "Or anyone." Did she know? I looked away from her, ashamed. "I have a feeling you've already come across this technique haven't you?" She asked. I looked up in shock. Yup, she knows. "Let's perfect it then, shall we?"
She turned sharply to face me and raised her arms. My arm suddenly grew a mind of its own, twisting in pain. I screamed. I was defenseless. I didn't know what to do. I grabbed the uncontrolled arm with my other, trying to hold it in place. Suddenly I was standing straight, as if I had binds tied around me, struggling to get free of her grip. She flung me around until I was dizzy, and then brought me to the ground, where I could bow down to her, to give in and give up.
"Stop. Please. I don't want to bloodbend anymore." Her smile grew even more wicked then before and caused me to feel what my friends felt. It was infuriating not being able to control yourself. I tried so hard but I couldn't break free. If I wanted to get out of this I would have to give up a lot. I had to bloodbend again no matter how much I didn't want to. She laughed as I concentrated on the moon, gaining more and more power. I slowly stood up to her astonishment.
"You're not the only one who draws power from the moon." I said as I fully stood up and bended water from the grass beneath me and whipped it at her. She bended it back with more force and more water, but I stopped it, creating it to rain down on us. She was amazed at how equally matched she was.
I bended more water from the trees and tripped her and spun her around until she hit the ground with a great 'THUD'. I breathed heavily and suddenly got the wind knocked out of me when Zuko tackled me into a hug.. I saw Aang and Sokka run up from behind him.
"We know what you've been doing Hama." Sokka said.
"Give up! You're out numbered." Aang took a fighting stance.
"No! You have only outnumbered yourselves." She said. And with the flick of her writs, she had Sokka and Aang standing straight with no control of there limbs. Zuko's grasp was suddenly tighter on me.
"I'm not doing that!" He told me. I tried to get out of Hama's forced grasp.
"I kind of like this." Zuko said.
"Not now Zuko!" I said bending water between us and at him so he would let go.
"You're forgiven." He called out as I ran back towards the fight. Hama flung Sokka and Aang at me, but I dodged them and took water from the grass to throw at Hama. She put up a spinning force field that soon broke.
"Katara look out!" Sokka said behind me, unwillingly drawing his sword and gliding towards me with the weapon pointed right at me.
"It's like my brain has a mind of its own!" Sokka swung his sword at me. "Stop it arm!" I bended my brother away from me and Aang came from behind to hit me and I froze him to a tree.
"I'm sorry Aang."
"It's okay."
Zuko suddenly rose from his spot with his duel swords. It was difficult, but I managed to dodge them both and splashed the water his way, knocking him down.
"Don't hurt your friends Katara. And don't let them hurt each other!" Hama screamed as she crossed her arms causing the three boys to come each other. Sokka and Zuko both had their swords out. If I didn't do something, they would all be pierced by their own weapons.
"No!"
They screamed as they were drawn quickly towards one another but then it all stopped. Inches away from death. They looked at each other then at Hama. She was now straight up, being controlled. And it was by me. I slowly brought her to her knees. I closed my eyes, ashamed that I had bloodbended yet again.
Toph and Suki came from behind with the villagers ready to arrest the evil woman.
"You're going to be locked away forever." One man said.
"My work here is done." Hama said coldly. "Congratulations Katara. You're on the road to becoming a master bloodbender. I hope you had fun doing it again." She laughed. I covered my hand with my mouth. What have I done? I'm a monster. I feel into Zuko's embrace and sobbed, ashamed of what I have become. And it'll only get worse, I know it.
