The Moment of Change Part 4

Suki was completely tense as she lay on the recovery table, feeling a strange sensation running through her body. The sensation was similar to that of a normal, unarmed person in a cave, cornered by a deadly predator.

Yoshie was simply silent as Yagoda supervised the treatment, unable to help but be impressed by the almost godlike healing power she was witnessing.

Yoshie's bloodbending combined with the healing power of waterbending caused the body's cells to virtually regenerate back to their original state. Conventional and widely known waterbending is a healing ability that requires time and coordination, while bloodbending can act with greater speed and precision without many conventional steps.

In just 5 minutes, Suki felt her body light and relaxed, as if she had had a good night's sleep. Even though she was afraid of Yoshie, she mentally admitted that she was impressed.

"Impressive, I have never seen such skill." Yagoda was dumbfounded, for decades as the chief physician of the Northern Water Tribe, she had never witnessed such healing ability. "Your mastery of the healing skill is practically unsurpassed."

"It's not that impressive, I'm just using Suki's own body to heal her." Yoshie said and finally finished healing Suki. "Her body is fully restored."

Suki stood up and moved her body and did some fighting moves she was used to, feeling like she was completely restored. "This is amazing..."

Yagoda opened her eyes in surprise at the Kyoshi warrior's quick recovery. "Impressive..."

All the women who had learned from Yagoda or were already considered masters in the art of healing felt the same amazement at Suki's own demonstration, proving that she had been completely healed by Yoshie.

Suki looks at her hands for a moment, then at Yoshie. "What are your real intentions?"

"I'm just trying to avoid an unnecessary fight, if your little Avatar sees me, he'll practically freak out and destroy the city, so I will show a truce between us." Yoshie said, crossing her arms with a clear disinterest on her face.

"A truce..." Suki stared at Yoshie, looking for a lie in her body language, but unfortunately for her, there wasn't one. "Just because you healed me doesn't mean that what happened is forgotten."

"I could have killed you all if I wanted to, I have more reason to kill you myself, considering you were the one who stuck a spear in my stomach." Yoshie scoffed, trying to irritate the Kyoshi warrior.

Yagoda and the sisters became tense with the direction of the conversation, they even took a few steps back for fear of a fight.

Suki clenched her fists, feeling completely cornered, only able to control her emotions and not provoke a fight she could not win.

"I have to assume that you only healed me so that I could talk to Aang and the others about this truce, but why did you choose me?" Suki asked, taking more care with the tone of her voice.

"Warrior Kyoshis like you have a reputation for being disciplined in the art of combat, almost on a similar level as the Fire Nation, you are the wisest option for this dialog." Yoshie walked out of the infirmary, ignoring the doubtful looks that followed her. "Then I suggest you cooperate while I'm in a good mood, otherwise, I will make sure your boyfriend is the next to have an explosive experience." Yoshie raised her artificial fist and transformed the fingers of her hand into ice claws.

Suki felt a chill in her stomach, the feeling of silent oppression directed at her, making her legs tremble slightly.

Yoshie walked to an alley to avoid people's eyes, taking a deep breath to calm her emotions, almost wanting to explode Suki from the inside for a moment. "I think it's an evolution because I didn't kill her..."

Suki decided to walk through the northern water tribe with her trusty weapons strapped to her waist. She couldn't even enjoy the beauty of the place because of the fear that lingered in her heart.

The difference in power between them was almost incomparable, Suki had never in her life felt jealous of benders, but she truly felt that even if she were a bender, she could never be on par with someone like Yoshie.

[I have to warn Sokka and the others, but... I have to prepare myself to calm Aang's emotions when he finds out Yoshie is here.] Suki thought, feeling her back getting heavier with each step.

Suki walked until she reached the main palace of the Water Tribe, since the Avatar had finally arrived, people were working double time to please him and prepare the party in celebration. When she finally entered the palace, she was completely surprised by the amount of people running everywhere, it looked like a sea of people.

Meanwhile, Aang, Katara, and Sokka were in a private meeting with Arnook, Yue, and Pakku as everyone prepared the final details for the party to celebrate the Avatar's arrival.

"I can't even imagine..." Pakku said, surprised and frightened at the news he had just heard from Sokka's own mouth.

Sokka thought it wise to waste no time in the celebration and tell Arnook and Pakku of the disaster at the South Pole. The two men responsible for the safety of the Northern Tribe were filled with frustration, anger and sympathy. The report of the complete extinction of the South Pole had a powerful effect on them and could seriously affect the morale of the Northern Tribe.

Yue remained silent, listening to the report with an expression of feigned surprise. She was well aware of the disaster the Celestial Dragons had caused in the sister village. As much as she disapproved of the violence, she understood that the dragons were completely enraged by the possibility of the near extinction of their race and the balance of the universe.

Yue, as the receptacle for Tui's soul, understood the mentality of beings with essentially divine positions in their world; what happened was a punishment directly linked to the Avatar and his friends for directly and indirectly causing the various events that catalyzed an eternal dragon's invasion of the mortal world. Fortunately, the souls of those who died in this attack were not hindered in their reincarnation cycle, and they were all able to choose to reincarnate or join La in the ocean.

Seeing the pain reflected in Sokka and Katara's eyes, Arnook couldn't help but feel compassion for them, unable to help but fear this fate for his home and daughter. "Sokka and Katara, as the leader of the Northern Water Tribe and as a human being, I want you to stay with us, because it is at moments like this that we need to be together to protect our families."

Katara felt a slight warmth in her heart, but the longing and the thought that she would never see her family, friends, and grandmother again made the comfort of Arnook's words cool that feeling.

"We have seen many things, we have seen how dangerous the Fire Nation is at its core, but I believe we can still affect its structure and deal a sure blow." Sokka said, more determined than ever to defeat the Fire Nation. "We only need one chance to win the war, and to do that, we must kill the Fire Lord."

Pakku nodded, keeping his composure. "Killing the Fire Lord could have a huge impact on the Fire Nation. Currently, we know that as long as the Fire Nation has an established military organization, it will be difficult to defeat them, but if the Fire Lord dies, greedy people might try to seize the opportunity to rise up."

"Create a civil war that would hinder the Fire Nation's military progress and weaken its capital city as a result." Sokka continued his reasoning, visualizing and dreaming about the idea of avenging his home.

Aang listened to the conversation in silence, part of him believing that the solution of just one person's death would not solve the real problem, but part of him believing that there was no other viable solution.

"I am not one to condone violence, but the past few weeks have proven to me that the world I once knew no longer exists." Aang said, remembering the intense journey and the people who had died. "I don't know if the Fire Lord's death is the answer."

"Maybe not, but that demon Ozai won't stop even if the Fire Nation is in a critical situation." Arnook said.

Katara looked at her hands for a moment, remembering her grandmother and how she had encouraged her to follow this path where she could use her powers for the greatest good. She wondered if she had been so naive to believe that a war like this could be ended without casualties.

"Aang, Katara, and Sokka, you have traveled all over the world, witnessing and experiencing difficult times. Now that you are here, you need a break, even though none of us are in a festive mood, there is still something to celebrate and party about." Arnook said in a serious yet gentle voice. "Even though it may not seem like it, you have defeated the Fire Nation by coming here, sometimes small steps are necessary for a great victory."

The moment Arnook finished his speech, the door that had been closed to give them privacy in the meeting opened, revealing Suki finally healed to everyone's eyes, making Sokka run to her and hug her with great relief in his heart.

Sokka was excited to see Suki walk, he couldn't help but kiss her as everyone watched his performance, making Suki herself feel embarrassed for a moment.

Suki put her hand over Sokka's mouth to pull away from him, her face as red as a tomato. "Sokka, this is no place for this."

Katara and Aang couldn't help but smile when they saw that Suki was finally okay, which was now a great and true victory for them.

"It's good to see you finally okay." Katara said.

"It's good to be back, but we need to talk privately." Suki turned serious and looked at Aang.

Arnook, Pakku and Yue decided to leave the room when they understood that it was a more private matter, especially Yue who already imagined what the conversation would be about.

Suki sighed tiredly, knowing that her words could be quite stressful for her friends, especially Aang, but it was necessary for them to know that the woman who killed Haru was at the North Pole.

 Next chapter: The Moment of Change Part 5

Author's note: The new fanfic already has 11 chapters, maybe I'll start releasing them for you this month.