50 The Compassion of The Ocean

- AAAAAAAHHHHHH! - Yoshie screamed and pushed Haru backwards.

The earthbender didn't understand what had just happened, he just felt an unfamiliar pain in his body, as if he were sick.

- What the hell! Is she some kind of monster? - Haru asked, bending the earth of the pillar so that two 2-meter boulders stood next to it. - I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!

The stones were thrown as fast as Haru could at that moment, the force of the blow was so strong that even some people were caught by the stones and easily crushed in the crossfire.

Yoshie realized that Haru's attack would hit her boyfriend's corpse and acted intuitively to try and create some kind of ice barrier.

The blood spilled on the platform by the corpses or victims of the confrontation began to be manipulated like conventional water, acting as a solid barrier to protect Yoshie and Yuto's bodies.

Several of the fighters noticed the unusual technique that had just taken place, especially Katara, who was stunned to see how the plan had gone wrong, but also incredulous to see the blood being manipulated as an extension of the body.

Katara had been a lover of life and peace like Aang, and for the first time in her life, she was terrified.

Some prisoners who had a grudge against Yoshie advanced against her with their own earth techniques, but their hopes of killing the Water bender were completely dashed when their bodies simply wouldn't obey their orders and were impaled by other guards' spears.

The battle was at a point where it would soon be over; most of the soldiers had been killed by the tornado, and there weren't many left to hold the formation.

Sokka and Suki, despite not being benders, had the greatest advantage on the battlefield, thanks to their more developed physical strength for prolonged combat.

As a Kyoshi warrior, Suki wasn't afraid to kill, having been trained from childhood to protect the weak. Her metal fans protected her from fireballs and she countered with precise cuts in lethal areas such as the throat, wrist or legs.

As much as Sokka disliked killing, his hatred for the Fire Nation and the adrenaline coursing through his body made him ignore the disaster that had become the battlefield.

By sheer luck, Katara was the one who was most physically intact from the situation and managed to reach the unconscious Avatar, worried about his injuries. With tears and despair in her eyes, she saw the Bison Whistle, a tool she could call Appa, Aang's best friend. Feeling a glimmer of hope, she paid for the whistle and blew with all her might, not wanting to see more dead people in every direction she looked.

Appa, who had been waiting for her 100-year-old companion's call, flew close to the battlefield, attracting the attention of some firebenders.

- Appa! - Katara said with tears in her eyes. - We've got to get him out of here!

The giant flying bison just nodded, realizing that they couldn't stay in this position for long.

- YOU! Stop it! - said a bloodied soldier with a fireball ready to shoot.

This soldier was accompanied by two more firebenders, each ready to kill the flying bison if necessary to prevent the Avatar's escape.

- You're surrounded! If you resist...

Before the soldier could finish, Suki appeared and kicked him in the head, hard enough to break his neck. The other soldiers tried to fire their fireballs at Suki to kill her, but their attempts were thwarted when the metal fans deflected the flames, each in the opposite direction to Suki.

One of the soldiers managed to duck low enough to avoid his face being burned by his own deflected attack, but his companion wasn't so lucky, being hit directly in the face, charring it instantly; with any luck, he might survive, but he would probably be blind for the rest of his life.

The soldier doubled his fire in sync with a few kicks, firing three bursts of fire that were deflected by Suki as if she were dancing on the battlefield.

Suki finally reached her strike zone and punched the soldier in the groin, followed by a right hook to the chin, knocking the soldier to the ground. Still buzzing with adrenaline, a direct kick to the soldier's neck followed, breaking his jugular.

- How is he? - asked Suki when she saw that Aang was unconscious.

- I... I think he's okay... - Katara was still in shock and looked at Suki with some fear.

- Good, get him out of here. - Suki helped Katara pick Aang up and carry him to her bison.

- What are you going to do?

- We can't get the survivors out of here with that monster. - Suki looked at Yoshie who was struggling to get to her feet. - Somehow, that demon...

- Bending blood... - Katara whispered, her body trembling with fear.

As the battle entered its final phase, the prisoners and the Avatar team were heading for victory.

Haru was desperately trying to fight against Bloodbending, attempting to use his Earthbending to launch attacks against Yoshie, which were unfortunately deflected as his arms and legs supernaturally contorted themselves.

Yoshie's body and mind were practically at the limit of their strength, with only the desire for revenge keeping her on her feet. With every step she took, her blood-bending control improved unconsciously.

- You damned monster... I'm going to... kill you! - Haru was lifted into the air with his arms and legs fully extended. - AHHHHHHGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!

Haru felt his whole body slowly start to twitch in an unnatural position, but suddenly his body stopped twitching painfully.

Yoshie's eyes were wide open, with blood pouring out of her mouth. He looked directly at his stomach and saw a spear piercing his organs.

The metallic taste in Yoshie's mouth didn't even seem to bother her, but the cold she felt with the weapon practically lodged inside her was quite strange.

Suki, who had just stabbed Yoshie with the spear, drove it further into the waterbender's body, causing Haru to slowly descend from the air, a clear sign that the elemental power was unraveling.

Haru finally fell to the ground, feeling how sore his joints were, not knowing how close they were to breaking, which would be a painful death for him.

Catching his breath, Haru bent several pieces of rock on the battlefield, creating what looked like a pillar. Suki moved away quickly, clearing the way for Haru to finish his business with the woman.

With all the strength he had left, Haru fired the pillar with extreme force at the practically static Yoshie, who was still staring at the spear in her belly. Yoshie's body was hit with extreme force, so much force that her most damaged leg was torn off at the start of the impact.

The pillar supporting Yoshie's body broke through the metal wall of the prison, and what was left of the waterbender's body fell into the sea.

- This is for my father! - said Haru, losing his balance and falling to the ground, his breathing completely out of control.

- We won... - said Suki, her hands and legs aching.

- Yes, but at what cost! - said Sokka as he approached her, holding her arm which had burnt skin.

- Sokka! - Suki approached Sokka, worried about his injuries. - You really need to see a doctor.

- Don't worry, it's just a scratch. - joked Sokka. - Where's my sister?

- She's up there! - Suki pointed to the sky as she saw the giant bison flying over the battlefield.

- I'm relieved...

Within seconds, the giant flying bison descended on the Avatar team, and they all noticed the panic in Katara's eyes.

- Guys, we have to run now! - said Katara worriedly.

- Calm down Katara, there shouldn't be any Fire Nation left here! - said Haru, catching his breath.

- No! You don't understand, there are many Fire Nation ships coming here!

The revelation left everyone in shock, none of them had expected more soldiers to arrive. Fear and anxiety gripped the survivors of this violent battle.

Sokka, realizing that he had underestimated the Fire Nation's communications network, looked around and finally saw the disastrous outcome of what should have been a comfortable victory for the prisoners against the Fire Nation.

Several men had charred skin and exposed flesh, and a young woman was walking disoriented, holding the arm that had been amputated in the tornado. This example was repeated for all the prisoners who miraculously survived to fight against the oppression of the Fire Nation.

The end result was 23 survivors out of 89 earthbenders. Ironically, the Avatar team suffered the least damage.

- We have to use a ship to escape with these people. - said Sokka, quickly realizing that it would be impossible to save everyone with Appa.

- Can't we ride the bison? - Haru asked, looking closely at the great flying bison.

- There's no way we can take all these people at once, and Appa would take a long time to carry a lot of people back here. - Sokka replied, practically biting his lip to find a solution.

Suki looked at the wounded, suddenly realizing from her fighting training that the vast majority of them wouldn't survive more than a day.

A mission of freedom, a victory achieved, but it was only an illusion to the real defeat.

- Not all of them will survive. - said Suki bitterly, closing her eyes in shame.

Sokka opened his eyes and saw how frustrated his girlfriend was. Her gaze went over all the people, some of whom seemed to be standing only by sheer force of will, but that was all.

- Haru... we can only save a few people. - Sokka said, looking at Haru, who seemed to understand the weight of Sokka and Suki's words.

- This can't have been in vain... - muttered Haru, biting his lip so hard that it began to bleed. - We can't abandon these people.

As soon as Haru spoke, the sky darkened and soot fell like snow, a clear sign that they had to make an extremely important decision in this situation.

- Katara, get Appa ready. - Sokka looked at his sister with regret. - Let's decide who stays and who comes with us.

- Is this it... all so we can die and be abandoned? - An old man with the left side of his face practically burnt off and part of his mouth exposed. - All this for nothing... nothing...

The survivors watched Haru with hatred, because, like it or not, they had all gone into battle because of the first attack Haru had provoked. The fear of being killed motivated them to fight, but regret practically covered their hearts.

Katara held Appa's reins with trembling hands, lost in the memory of how her mother had sacrificed herself to save them. Today, it seemed, the same decision would be made again, the weight of life completely under the control of one choice.

***

While the most important decision of Team Avatar's life was being made, at the bottom of the sea, Yoshie's dismembered body was slowly sinking, leaving a trail of blood as it descended.

In Yoshie's vision, she could only see the glint of sunlight above, and every second, the light seemed to disappear, reflecting how far she was from the surface.

Her body had practically stopped functioning, with only the faintest trace of consciousness left, and she didn't care if she was going to drown or die from her injuries, she simply didn't care.

Yoshie wasn't afraid, perhaps she was even relieved, because in her heart she believed that she couldn't live without her other half, Yuto. The hope of being reunited with Yuto in the afterlife was her only wish in life.

The sea creatures surrounded Yoshie's body, practically preparing to devour her flesh, a normal and unprejudiced act, just nature doing its job.

The legends of the water tribes follow this crucial logic: the ocean gives a person life, and the moon gives elemental power. Both are like father and mother, one teaching, the other guiding.

Earth, air, fire and water, four basic elements that can act in different ways in this world. Many people believe that the elements are equally important and that there is no one element that is stronger than the others. This is a false teaching, because even if water, earth or air ceased to exist, it wouldn't make any difference to fire or the sun itself.

The reality is that the elements depend on another, more powerful element in order to exist and manifest to their full potential. The sun provides the ultimate stability for life to exist, but the one who provides life depends on water. Water is the symbol of flexibility, change and, above all, life.

The spirits of air and earth only came into existence when life was born at the beginning of time. Unlike them, the spirits of the ocean and the moon, La and Tui, are the only ones who hold the title of primordial spirits, just like the spirit of fire and its predecessors.

When Yoshie's body sank into darkness, the animals that wanted to devour her body moved away. The seabed began to glow in a unique way, revealing colors that had never been seen by human eyes.

Animals and algae glowed with various bright and captivating colors in an inviting way.

The unconscious Yoshie was surrounded by a kind of heavenly-colored glowing vortex, and her whole body seemed to be healing, except for her missing arm and leg. A layer of translucent water protruded in a way that seemed to replace the missing limbs; her fingers and toes looked like they were made of ice. The details of the ice seemed to create a delicate and graceful touch.

Yoshie's eyes opened in confusion, at first she was upset and frightened, but that feeling disappeared as if she understood what was happening.

A whisper from a soft voice calmed her senses, as if she was surrounded by a feeling that was both strange and familiar at the same time.

Her blue eyes seemed to become more intense and half of her hair turned white, the other half retaining its natural color.

The spirit of the sea, La, a being who deeply understood the feeling of protection and love, a being who couldn't live without her other half.

When Yoshie fell into the sea, the only feeling in her heart was the loss of the one she considered her soulmate.

In the spirit world, dragons are believed to be the only beings who understand the true feeling of love, but only a couple can feel such intensity in this powerful feeling. La and Tui have been dancing since the creation of the Earth, and their dance is practically a demonstration of the love they feel for each other.

La's spirit was infected by the strong emotions inside the Waterbender, so he decided to donate a small part of himself to Yoshie, just as his other half did for a child at the North Pole.

***

The Avatar team had made a difficult decision, taking only the prisoners with the best chance of survival and leaving the others behind.

Even if they could use a ship to escape, it would take time to prepare a ship and manpower to keep it running in order to outrun the Fire Nation ships. The only solution left was to escape on the Flying Bison, the fastest transportation the world had ever seen.

The prisoners left behind were those who would probably die within a few hours, most of them practically without the strength to stand up. Some hoped to die as soon as possible before the Fire Nation arrived.

- We should have listened to Yoshie... - said one of the prisoners, with one of his legs charred to the waist.

- I think you're right... - said a woman with several wounds on her body and a grotesquely swollen face.

Some of the prisoners talked, probably to distract themselves from the pain in their bodies, while others, silent, lost consciousness or died after a few minutes.

From one hour to the next, an icy front hit them, making some wonder if it was the freezing cold of death itself.

A pillar of ice more than 100 meters high instantly emerged from the sea, along with what looked like a blizzard of snow, frightening people.

Part of the iceberg began to collapse towards the platform, but before the huge block of ice fell, it simply changed from solid to liquid, creating a bridge that ended just a few meters from the prisoners.

The stunned benders saw a woman walking calmly towards them; some of the more observant recognized who the woman was.

- Lady Yoshie? - The earthbender shivered with fear and cold.

Everyone was terrified, not because of Yoshie's new appearance, but because of her predatory gaze.

Yoshie's eyes searched each of the survivors, realizing that the one she wanted to kill was no longer on the iron platform. With an indifferent sigh, Yoshie made a single movement with her water-ice arm, using the water in the atmosphere to freeze all the prisoners to absolute zero, an almost instantaneous death.

Yoshie seemed a little impressed by the new scope of his powers, but put his thoughts aside when he saw Yuto's body on the ground. With every step he took, his heart grew heavier, but this time, no tears fell from his face, as if he had gotten over the fact of Yuto's death.

Yoshie sighed and caressed her boyfriend's face one last time, freezing every atom of his body into an ice sculpture.

Yoshie lifted the block of ice like a simple bend of water and carried it slowly to the sea, giving the ice statue one last kiss and letting it fall into the sea like a funeral.

- Now you're part of the ocean. - Yoshie smiled sadly and looked up at the sky, trying to locate the Avatar team with the water in the clouds. - No matter how long it takes, I'll find you, Haru.

Next chapter: Eclipse Ruins