Time marched on, and mastering new elements, healing the sick, conquering bloodbending, and visiting the South Pole had all become a pleasant routine.
Less than six months had passed when my earthbending reached an intermediate level. Along with that, I refined the techniques I'd already mastered, adding the creation of stone shields and armor.
I managed to find the necessary points of contact in bloodbending that control movement. Now, I can command a dozen rats. Trying to deepen my understanding of this ability, I achieved the ability to assign different movements to each rat. It seems I've found the key—or at least a basic understanding—of manipulating blood. The rats no longer offered quick progress, so I ventured into the tundra to try controlling larger animals, which wasn't too difficult. It just required a bit more energy, but the principles were similar. Now, I need to find test subjects—er, I mean, scoundrels—to experiment with bloodbending on.
The entire Northern Water Tribe experienced a baby boom. When injuries are no longer a concern, your perspective on life shifts. It seems there's been a reevaluation of values. Now, it's common to see women walking around with rounded bellies or carrying their infants in slings. It's time to consider expanding the city's borders and establishing our own farms for fish and livestock. The city—and all nearby tribes—still rely on nature for sustenance, which isn't bad, but with the recent surge in births, we risk disrupting the ecosystem for food.
Apparently, this issue is already under control, heh. Still, I should probably pay more attention during meetings instead of dozing off with my eyes open. Wouldn't want to miss something truly significant.
Yue has become determined to be the first female waterbender master in the Northern Water Tribe. Given her progress in mastering the art, there's no doubt she'll succeed. I think I'll manage to lift the ban on women practicing waterbending before this momentous event. The process is already underway; a document outlining all the details is being drafted. It's already clear that no one will send them to the frontlines. Maybe later, they'll allow it for waterbending masters, but for now, it's only about training the female population in waterbending on a voluntary basis. After all, there's no harm in our city's fairer half being ready to defend our children if needed.
*
During my next visit to the South Pole, the first thing that caught my eye was the completely destroyed old village. Even from a distance, I could see the smoldering remains of the tents.
"F*ck," I muttered. I knew this would happen eventually, but I still hoped to avoid breaking the canon. Every time, I asked myself, "What if?" What if Sokka and Katara hadn't been here? The Avatar might never have appeared. In my attempt to preserve the timeline I needed, I'd endangered those close to me. By now, I could easily transport up to two large animals through portals, but not seeing an immediate threat, I'd decided to wait. I should have moved the entire tribe north immediately.
Quickly creating a water platform, I flew toward the new settlement, catching a glimpse of the Fire Nation soldiers lying dead on the old village grounds, caught in our traps. Some were still alive, but judging by the pooling blood, not for long. Right by the settlement, two ships stood with ice sliced open nearby. I sensed life aboard, but they weren't my priority now.
In the next second, I was halfway to the settlement, spotting more soldiers who would never leave these snows. I hoped everything was alright in the tribe, though the screams suggested otherwise.
Slamming to a halt above the settlement, I took in the scene unfolding below. The villagers' bodies were nowhere to be seen, but Fire Nation soldiers were everywhere.
"There's a waterbender here! Bring him to me alive or dead!" shouted one of the warriors who spotted me first. He hurled a fireball at me, setting an example for the others.
"There he is!" the soldiers echoed, emerging from the houses.
"You're not getting away!" roared one of the firebenders, launching a blade of fire at me. That was dangerous, but I had no time. I heard familiar voices at the far end of the settlement.
Taking control of the earth beneath the soldiers' feet and bending it into water, I ensnared all the firebenders in an instant. Once they were trapped, I refroze the water, leaving them immobilized. No powerful benders here, so they'd be stuck for a while.
"That girl's a waterbender!" someone shouted from the side.
At the edge of the settlement, near the hidden tunnel entrance, I saw the remaining warriors approaching Kya, who was shielding Sokka and Katara with water.
"Take the girl alive! Kill anyone who gets in the way!" one of them shouted, his uniform distinct from the others.
My heart raced. I was about to immobilize them when several things happened at once. The firebenders readied themselves, and flames began to gather in their hands.
"Nooooo!" Kya's cry matched mine. Acting on instinct, honed from controlling rats, I took command of the firebenders' chi, redirecting their attacks upward.
Kya, eyes closed, raised her hands in front of her, clearly not expecting water to surge forth, creating a shield. It wasn't me—Katara looked just as surprised. While the firebenders struggled with their own hands, I encased them in ice.
"That seems to be it," I said. My spirit sense was silent, meaning only those on the ships remained, and I could deal with them later. Katara saw me first, tears in her eyes as she rushed toward me. Sokka and Kya followed, and we embraced, calming Katara, who was facing such a situation for the first time. Sokka seemed to remember something from his early childhood, reacting with clenched fists and a grim determination.
Once everyone had calmed down, I asked them to gather the other villagers while I transported the prisoners to one of the houses, adding an extra layer of compressed ice for security. Not knowing what to do with the ships yet, I simply sealed all exits with ice.
Now, there are definitely volunteers willing to travel from the South Pole to the North. Those who hadn't died from their injuries, even after some time, I completely froze, hoping they'd survive long enough for me to heal them using waterbending combined with bloodbending. Nothing personal—we're just on opposite sides. If they were in my position, they wouldn't hesitate about what to do with me.
That night, after everything was settled and the people were calm, I learned the full sequence of events. Katara began the story.
"Today, Sokka and I were by the ocean, where I was trying to waterbend. I didn't want to show you my abilities until I could use them well," she said, looking away. The conspirator didn't even tell anyone about it. "When we were heading back, we saw several Fire Nation warriors following us. I don't know how they got there," she added. I knew—they'd sent scouts, finding no signs of life in the old village. "They saw me waterbending, and when they ran toward us, I sent a water wave at them out of fear."
"The wave pushed them away. While they were getting up, I grabbed Katara's hand, and we ran toward the settlement," Sokka continued, seeing Katara fall silent, head down. The fool thought she was to blame for the attack, but they wouldn't have left us alone anyway. I'd have to explain that to her later.
"Meanwhile, one of the patrols encountered Fire Nation warriors caught in the traps. People started running to the bunker, but I didn't see my children, so I went looking for them," Kya continued. "We met on the way to the settlement and, nearing the tunnel entrance, realized we were already surrounded by warriors."
"I think it's time to move everyone to the Northern Water Tribe. Soon, I'll be able to transport you to the other pole. The Fire Nation won't rest until they find their missing soldiers, digging through the snow," I said seriously. Kya nodded in agreement, and Katara looked slightly happier. Being with me seven days a week was definitely better than two.
"Kya, congratulations on becoming a waterbender," I said to the trembling Kya, who still couldn't believe it. She didn't seem to trust her own abilities, so I asked her to try lifting some water from a glass, which she did successfully. Once she believed in her gift, she became inseparable from waterbending, levitating water with glowing eyes like a child. Even Katara and Sokka watched her in disbelief—they'd never seen this side of her calm and collected personality.
As soon as everyone fell asleep, I took to the air, scouring the nearby waters and lands for any surprises—new ships or unseen soldiers. There were none.
Stopping by the Fire Nation ships, I pondered deeply. These were people, with the same blood and problems as anyone else. For a full minute, the 21st-century part of me struggled, but the new me, shaped by this world's realities, won out. I live here now, in a world where war isn't just dry lines about casualties in some distant conflict. I can't afford to be weak. Clearing my conscience, I began clearing the ships. It would be easier if people dissolved into the world's energy like spirits, and benders gave you their energy. That would make it much easier to accept, but that would be too convenient. Besides, I'll likely absorb some of them in the Spirit World anyway. It's no coincidence that so many spirits of the main quartet are there—I suspect they're the souls of dead benders, though anything's possible. For now, I'll stick to that theory.
Tonight would be very long. I'd need to interrogate the soldiers about their arrival. I had suspicions, but I needed the exact details. There were also a few soldiers in critical condition on whom I wanted to test healing through waterbending and chi.
I never thought I'd have to interrogate anyone. I had no experience in such specific skills, but having watched countless movies, I had plenty of options to choose from. Luckily, I didn't have to conduct a real interrogation this time. I created the necessary atmosphere of a torture chamber, prepared the tools—all made of ice, of course. I love waterbending. It only took minutes with this art.
Next, I began whispering loudly about what I'd do to the poor Fire Nation soldier. Within two minutes, he was ready to talk. Maybe I got a particularly impressionable one, but he spilled everything, even going into too much detail at times.
They were sent to investigate the prolonged silence from the Southern Raiders. It turns out the Fire Nation has supply bases in certain parts of the world, and the Southern Raiders were assigned to one such base. When they hadn't been seen for a year, a letter was sent to the capital. But, as he knew, the bureaucratic apparatus was too bloated, and the letter might have gotten lost, which is why they only arrived now. It all made sense. If they lost these men too, the higher-ups would definitely be concerned. Whether to stay or leave was no longer a question.
The next few hours, I spent combining healing with bloodbending. The result was unexpected. Healing turned out to be a milder form of what happens when bloodbending and chi are combined. In simple healing, water acts as a filter for your chi. I used to think it was hard to adapt to the sick in simple healing, but even then, water helped me do it more easily. Here, you need to alter your chi without any filter, directly affecting a person's blood—the concentration of their life forces. One tiny mistake, and you lose the person. I didn't want that, but the first Fire Nation warrior met the same fate as my first fish. It was horrible, but I found an unexpected upside left over from being a spirit: intense negative emotions are smoothed out. Without that, I'd have had another battle with my conscience.
What's the effect? It's already clear that it's possible, but difficult… The last injured Fire Nation soldier, I healed—or rather, fully regrew his lost leg, which he'd left in a trap. Of course, he died of exhaustion afterward, but that was a side effect that didn't impact the result. His body consumed itself to fulfill the task.
Blood has everything—that's what I realized. I programmed my chi, adapted to him, to return his body to its ideal state. The process was stable as long as I sent him my chi. Once I stopped, his body began seeking external resources to complete the task, and those resources were within his own body. The program didn't care if the person died in the end; it needed to fulfill the task. The limb appeared thanks to my energy, but beyond that, I'm not sure what the ideal state is for blood. The body's resources were drained in about five seconds, and the only change was near the soldier's eyes—the wrinkles disappeared. How much chi is needed for complete rejuvenation?! Though that question will be answered eventually. The important thing is that it's possible!
It was like a weight lifted from my soul. Even the soldiers involved in my experiments didn't concern me as much now. After all, they'd participated in a discovery that not even Wan Shi Tong would know about. Something like that should only be shown to those close to me. Some don't even need to know how it happens.
Too many impressions for one day—like a rollercoaster. Sunrise was approaching, so I should get some sleep. Tomorrow, there's still much to do: test portal transitions with people and, of course, spend time with Kya's family. Children's psyches are resilient, but lifting their spirits is always welcome. I just remembered a story—I'll have to share it with all the tribe's children. Spending several hours confined in a bunker is also quite an experience.
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