Chapter 16: Sand Adaptability

Cast off the vices of society and refuse the depravity of your surroundings. Killing the benders in this camp right now could cost me my pact with Wan Shi Tong, the chance to access any book from his collection and continue my education. I wasn't being cornered; I was the one who went looking for trouble. Therefore, I couldn't shrug off the responsibility by claiming the rare instances of self-defense permitted to the Air Nomads. Hovering in the center of the Fire Nation camp, my eyes darting from side to side, I realized I had to act non-lethally. I didn't hesitate. My hands sent a sand cyclone in each of the four cardinal directions, exhausting every last grain of sand in my gourd. The soldiers, poised to attack, never expected their bodies to be swept aside by mere sand, and they expected even less for that sand to begin flaying their exposed skin with a thousand tiny cuts.

As for the Captain, for whom I had reserved a specific vortex, he managed to leap nimbly from his tent. With a single burst of fire-propulsion, he closed the gap, landing a few dozen meters away. Our eyes met for a split second. He was visibly stunned to see the element I was wielding. I, in turn, calculated several ways to dismantle this camp and focused my will on the stones I had scattered earlier.

"I’ve never encountered a Sandbender before! But it’s just a pile of pathetic dust," the man barked. Taking a swift step forward, he began throwing a rapid-fire succession of punches, unleashing a machine-gun volley of fireballs. Precise and explosive. I didn't need to know the secrets of their forms to recognize the danger. It was natural for Firebenders to strain their muscles so violently during an attack, but to me, this style was entirely alien. Turning part of my sand armor into a lash, I lunged out of the way and hurled a pre-prepared stone at him.

CRACK!

The Captain leaped high, using a blast from his foot to redirect the stone into a steel plate, where it shattered instantly. He landed on the debris, staring at me with a smirk.

"Break those stones! Don't give this dust-collector any real projectiles to throw!" A squad of Firebenders appeared, unable to close in because of the cyclones, but they managed to rain fireballs down on the rocks. It seemed like simple fire, nothing should have happened, but the force of the impact pulverized the boulders into gravel. These attacks were infused with high energy, designed to destroy any viable ammunition.

"Surround him! Don't let him escape!" other soldiers shouted, beginning to channel streams of fire toward me. Their movements were swift; these warriors were highly trained. The fireballs streaked toward me like vulture-wasps, countless and closing in from every side.

WHOOSH!

Diving forward flat against the ground, I ducked under the high and low shots. Without touching the earth, I used the sand grains to push off the ground, evading the swarm of concentrated attacks. For a heartbeat, I even hovered in the air: spreading my arms wide, I clenched my fingers. At that moment, the Captain unleashed a dense pillar of flame. He didn't understand how quickly sand could be manipulated. Using the sand from my armor, I formed a blade and thrust it into the path of the attack. The pillar of fire was cleaved in two, while the stone armor on my back shielded me from strikes from behind.

"How is he moving like that?" voices hissed around me. Then, the soldiers realized all four storms had vanished. The sand had transformed into long tentacles, coiling around me like a living creature. The tips of this "octopus" touched the shattered stones, gathered the gravel together, and forced them back into their original, solid forms.

"Impossible," the Captain gasped, his jaw dropping. Perhaps ordinary Earthbenders would be limited by the materials within this iron camp. My control, however, allowed me to restore the stones no matter how badly they were broken. Anchoring the boulders to the ends of the tentacles, I began to swing them in slow, heavy arcs.

"Run! GAH!" The sweeps of the tentacles sent benders flying, breaking their concentration. I wasn't hitting them with the stones, at that speed and with that kind of leverage, it would have crushed them instantly. Instead, I lashed out with the tentacles themselves while simultaneously smashing the catapults and snapping the supports of the watchtowers. I had to adopt the rooted power-stance of an Earthbender to manage sand weighted with something so heavy. The stones couldn't withstand too many impacts, and the soldiers tried to close the distance, breaking everything in their path. But my element allowed me to repair the damage as quickly as it occurred.

"How can this be..." the Captain whispered in awe as thunderous crashes echoed throughout the base. It was a matter of control and an understanding of centrifugal force: by giving the stones an initial magical acceleration, I continued the momentum with my tentacles until the soldiers backed away, terrified of being driven into the iron floor like common rivets. When everything around me lay in ruin, I stopped and looked at the livid Captain. The stones settled into the ground, and I began a slow, deliberate walk toward him. "You..."

"I won't kill you. But I will ensure you never lead an army again."

"A single bender... and a Sandbender at that..." His face twisted in pure rage. Dropping into a firebending stance, he was clearly ready to die rather than surrender. Evidently, he believed that without the stones I’d left behind, I was no longer a threat. Just sand. Why fear it? that was the thought written in his eyes.

Stopping a few meters apart, he exhaled a thin stream of flame from his nose and roared, lunging forward with a double-fisted strike.

"Attack from behind!" he commanded, proving he wasn't a fool by calling for the obvious tactic. His flame reached me, only to be halted by a shifting shield of sand. It was time for Waterbending techniques; as soon as his attacks punched holes in the shield, they were instantly mended. Taking a split second to scan the encroaching Firebenders, I fashioned sand projectiles, fluid spheres that struck the benders and instantly solidified. Unlike the Waterbending equivalent that encases a foe in ice, stone cannot be melted away with fiery breath. "Useless idiots!"

"I’m still not great at the hardening part; I need more practice." I stood half-turned to the Captain, unnerving him with my gaze. He tried to strike a few more times, and a few attacks even came from the sidelines, but every burst of bending was met by the regenerating shield. This technique could only be overcome by superior force or sheer numbers. The latter was sorely lacking, as the core of the army was gone. Everyone else was paralyzed with fear.

And if anyone still had an ounce of courage left, I corrected them. Creating a sand-scooter, I maneuvered between the flashes of fire to reach the Captain. His long leaps didn't help him; I was far faster than anyone in this camp. Suddenly pinning him to the ground with sand, I reached out and touched his exposed neck. I looked around at the sea of shocked and terrified faces.

"...I order you to run."

"R-aaagh! Don't listen to him!" the Captain screamed, unleashing a torrent of fire from his mouth.

"Otherwise, what happened to him will happen to you." Applying just a fraction of my power, I began to drain his body. The roar turned into a scream, and the bending spewing from his mouth rapidly diminished. His Chi was forced to degrade, to vanish. His body transformed into that of a withered old man, barely able to move.

Stepping back, I heard a profound silence fall over the camp. Everyone stared in horror at the Captain, who began to claw at the ground with shriveled hands. By some miracle, he managed to stand, clutching his throat as he wheezed for water.

A whisper began to ripple through the crowd.

"Monster."

"Is he really an Earthbender?"

"Could it be the Ava... no, definitely not."

"Ah..." Not a single word could escape his lips. Consumed by a rage so absolute it overcame even the fear of death, the Captain looked at me and tried to summon fire from his hand. Obviously, with his Chi system decimated, he could no longer use it. Perhaps only a Master Waterbender could help him now, but his body was beyond saving. He would likely live longer than he should, but it would hardly be a life.

[Choose:]

[1 — Continue the training and destroy everyone except the Captain (No one will learn of your power. The enemy will resist so fiercely that you will gain valuable practice. The bodies will serve as a warning to the returning army; the surviving Captain won't be able to say much, but he will spread terror.)]

[2 — Release them all (Your power will become known, and a bounty will be placed on your head. It will be much easier to become famous among the Earth Kingdom people, and cities will open to you. You will not break your promise to Wan Shi Tong, but you will feel guilt for letting your enemies go. The enemy will retreat in fear.)]

[3 — Encase the enemies in stone (You’ve learned to choose the least 'noble' options. The trapped enemies can be found by Earth Kingdom soldiers, who will deal with them. It’s unknown when this will happen, a day or a week. The Fire Nation won't learn of your power if you capture everyone; the promise to the owl will be kept. Low chance of increased reputation with the Earth Kingdom. Training for speed, tracking, and compression.)]

The consequences of these choices were described much more thoroughly now, as their impact on the story was far broader. The only question on my mind was what to do with the army that had marched toward Omashu. They would return, and the third option would be pointless... but it wasn't Anubis who answered. The little fox appeared beside me and pointed toward the returning army! Apparently, they had received some kind of signal.

"So, I have to fight everyone," I realized. Anubis had kept quiet about that. Had I destroyed the army earlier, it wouldn't be this difficult now. He wanted exactly this, a situation that maximized the pressure to train.

Unfortunately, I wasn't strong enough to choose the third option. My strength was already waning after the Airbending-inspired maneuvers I’d been mimicking; hunting down and tracking every single soldier, as Anubis suggested, would be too much.

My only regret would be the guilt of letting the army live...

Standing my ground, I simply watched as the people scattered. The Captain tried to scream something at them, but in the end, he too hobbled away like a frail old man. When they met the returning army, they didn't turn back to finish me off; I continued to rampage for show, using the stones to level everything in sight. The Captain was defeated, the camp was gone, there was no longer any point in defending it. Just as Anubis said... they retreated in fear.

"Well then."

Looking at my hands, I was surprised. The blend of techniques from three nations I had used was adaptable to any situation. As for the high-speed maneuvers of the Air Nomads... I would have died here in seconds without them. They were the only reason I could maneuver, and the sand shields protected me from the volleys. I finally understood why the Avatar, wielding four elements, is so powerful.

Though... the Avatar relies less on defense, and the Air Nomads only dodge. That was their downfall. I am more adaptable.

"So... what about metal?" Looking down like a curious child and touching the material that could potentially be mine to command, I saw text appear before my eyes.

[Don't get your hopes up, weakling.]

"Tch..."