Chapter 3 Agents of Khaos

–So, we are going to train while we are lost. – Said Necie while practicing some basic waterbending in a little lake they found.

–No, we are not lost… not quite; the sun and the stars can guide us. And we are going to train while we are in our journey. So, show me what you know. I've seen your ice and bloodbending but let's start from the beginning, real waterbending. I want to see how you do, see the waterfall? Try grabbing a sphere of water.

–I don't think…

–I'm not asking, Let's see your technique

Necie glared and then in long heavy steps approached to the waterfall

–If you keep those steps and that attitude you'll earthbend before you can waterbend properly.– said Nashida with a laugh

Necie glared again. Then concentrated on the waterfall, she thought of her bloodbending. She positioned her feet, then moved her hands. The waterfall moved violently, splashing at all directions. Necie went from slightly annoyed to pure rage when the waterfall splashed in her face again and again.

–You have the impatience of avatar Korra, and a very static movement, just as Kyoshi.

–I'm not the avatar! – Necie roared and moved the water, but it wasn't what Nashida expected. The waves were little. She could move small quantities of water up and down, just as the water she took from the ground in the island but aside taking it from the ground it was a very basic move, when it finally formed like a little blob, it collapsed.

–Ok… um…

–I told you! I can bend ice and blood without problem… but water is different. It's not solid; it's not contained in a solid body. Since I was little I've lived in Earth Kingdom's cities. Ice was a bit similar to earthbending, I copied the technique and adapted it. When talking about water, well, the best masters live in south and North Pole. I've never had a waterbending master, my father was an earthbender, my mother, even if she had waterbending heritage, wasn't one. They are both dead now, and I never trained my talents. What I know about waterbending comes from instinct; this is as far as I could get in all these years.

– Yeah, I see your problem, you'll never waterbend like that. You are used to bend water contained or rigid water. Your technique in bloodbending is very clean and perfect, because you can coordinate with the body natural flow of the blood through the veins. That's why when you bloodbend it doesn't hurt. I suspect you also had a bloodbending teacher.

–Yes. Her name was Lava Maere, an earthbender. She could find metals, no matter how deep they were beyond the ground, she could even bend them no matter how little of them they were.

–Oh my…

–Yes, she could bloodbend the iron of the blood. She taught me those two techniques; again, I adapted them to water.

Nashida was speechless.

–So she trained your bloodbending in the ways of a very skilled and exceptional earthbender?

–Yes. Also later on, after Lava Maere passed away I found a book on healing and after mastering it; I also made my own technique to control the water in the brain to erase memories

–Well, that's very impressive but you have to understand they are very different from each other, even dealing with the same element. You are letting the water flow, you can change its speed and direction but you can't let it still. It's your bending coming from earthbending that is also messing up with you. Your movements are stiff, as rock is, but water is more disperse, less rigid, harder to keep together.

–So what do I do?

–You are lucky– said Nashida with a smile– We, avatar finders, have a very strange training, we train just like the avatar would train. We learn the forms of each element even if we can't control them or use them, so when any of us find the avatar, we can be a substitute master while we reach a true master in the elements. Now, I'm a firebender, which is opposite to water, so I may not be a good teacher but I also have a friend, a waterbender who's also part of the "Avatar Finders" he is probably around Roku's Island by now. Anyway, we grew together and I saw his training until we were 15 years old, so I guess I don't suck either.

–Well it sounds very strange, but I won't miss a chance to see this. – Necie laughed, relaxing a bit.

–First of all, position. – Said Nashida approaching to her, moving her feet closer, moving her hands in a graceful circle dance rather than what looked like punches or puppeteer movement. – This is how you move, fluent, tranquil, relaxed. Respiration is very important too. When you bloodbend, you coordinate your respiration with your "victim". It's a bit like that, but instead you control it depending on what you want to do. I know you can ice bend, I suspect you use icebending when you practiced with your master. Ice is rigid, just as your technique. When you form waves, you must breath as little waves on the beach or as big angry waves of a storm. To make a sphere of water –explained Nashida now taking a position and moving just as she showed Necie. You breath calmly, you think peacefully, you feel like floating and also think of your own hands caressing the sphere so it takes the shape.

Necie stepped next to Nashida and moved just as her, there was an advance, but the sphere moved a bit violently.

–Your thoughts are disturbed. You keep so much pressure inside of you, never taking it out and it's making your waterbend kind of explosive and unstable.

–I'm really trying. – Muttered Necie between teeth, and then the sphere broke in a splash, just as a water balloon.

Nashida walked next to her, close to the edge and sat on the floor.

–You are very aware of the physical body– she said– it's functions, it's rhythm. Keep this awareness with the waterfall, with the lake. You look very stiff! Loosen up! Ok, that looks better, now think of the water and think of its coolness. Ok let's try to make a water whip out of the sphere. It's a bit like the flow of irregular water you take from the ground but think about the viscosity of water, unite it you could cool it a little at first so it will be easier.

Necie formed a very irregular whip, it floated it but the water dropped from it.

–There, you stopped breathing, loosen up, chin up, the hand, and relax it!

The whip became a body of less water but it looked better.

–Ok now move slowly, back and forth, think of the waves, and don't stop breathing! Again, the hand! There…

–Wow, this is really happening… – said Necie

–Now you'll concentrate your movement in your arm, pull with your body and move the arm fast as you feel the recoil.

Necie did it. The water did a bit of a whip and then exploded.

–Oh! Can't believe that just happened! –Said Necie as she jumped up and down – you are a good waterbending teacher even if you are a firebender, I can't believe you paid so much attention to your friend… wait a minute, you saw every move– Necie smiled –you liked him!

Nashida was as red as a tomato.

–Does he know?

–Necie!

–He doesn't!

–Shut up!

–We could go there, to Roku's Island after we visit the western air temple if you want…

–Yes… but just because you need a teacher, and he is closer than the poles!

–Yeah, yeah, whatever you say. Anyway, I feel like a breakthrough, we should rest, I'm tired, keep picturing Koh, haven't been able to sleep.

They slept but a noise woke them up, they were surrounded. They looked like villagers, but their eyes were completely white. They captured them, before any could move and the one holding Nashida was also a firebender, and he seemed to know about her "body in flames" technique

–Is she? – Asked one looking at Nashida and comparing her to a poster.

–Yes. Master Khaos will be pleased.

They threw them at the back of a car covered in metal.

–What's going on?! – Asked Necie as she freed her mouth from a cloth.

–This is bad. This is very bad! – Said Nashida as she freed herself too –People from around the world, from around the four nations are looking for us, the avatar finders!

–But why? Nobody even thinks it's possible to find the avatar! And what's with their eyes!?

–Because they have a piece of Khaos controlling their spirits! And if we don't find a way to get out and get lost, we are going to be next! One of the guys you saw, I recognized him, years ago he was one of us! We are trying to find the avatar, to bring balance to the world and Khaos is afraid that we may find it.

–But Khaos defeated the avatar! – Said Necie

–Defeated Avatar Jun, but the avatar gain experience from their past lives and spirits lose power by each year they spend in the human world.

–So, finding the avatar would actually change everything!

–Yeah, but not if you get zombified! We have to get out!

–Ok, I have an idea, these cuffs are metal and a chain unites them, right?

–Yeah

–Well, try to heat the chain with your breath in my cuffs to the point they almost melt.

–That will burn you! No, that would cook your hands.

–No, silly. I'll just need some saliva… yeah, I know it's gross, but I don't want to be an agent of Khaos. I'll surround my hands in ice made of our saliva and keep my blood very cold.

–Oh! Then you could cut my chain with the ice! But what about this metal box?

–We will wait until they open it. We have to act quickly. You'll control them, freeze the firebender and I'll make a wall of fire so they won't follow us.

They freed themselves from the cuffs and waited.