Balance | Old Version

Chapter 96

Elua's POV.

Sokka, Aang, Toph, and I run through the forest, towards the mountain where Toph had heard the screaming from a few nights ago.
"I can hear them, they're this way," Toph says as she points to our right and we continuing running. "This is the place," She says as we run-up to a dark cave.
"I can't see anything down there," Sokka states.
"That's why you have me, let's go," Toph says as we follow her into the cave and begin to walk through it. We stop walking as we come up to a metal door with two torches on either side of the doorway. Toph bends the door away while Sokka and Aang grab the torches and we find a bunch of people chained to the walls. 

"We're saved!" A man shouts in relief.
"I didn't know that spirits made prisons like this," Aang says in shock.
"They don't," I say with a frown of confusion. "who brought you here?" I ask the people in front of me as Aang begins to unlock all of the chains on their wrists.
"It was no spirit," A woman says angrily.
"It was a witch," A man states.
"A witch, what do you mean?" Sokka asks in confusion.
"She seems like a normal old woman, but she controls people like some dark puppetmaster," The woman says as she rubs her wrists.
"Hama!" Sokka says angrily.

"Yes, the innkeeper," A man says nodding.
"I knew there was something creepy about her," Sokka says shaking his head.
"We have to stop Hama!" Aang exclaims.
"I'll get these people out of here, you go," Toph tells us. I nod and we run out of the cave, quickly making our way through the forest until we come across a field with dead grass and flowers, Katara and Hama standing in the middle of it.
"We know what you've been doing, Hama!" Sokka shouts as he glares at the old woman. I quickly run over to Katara, who had tears in her eyes.
"Are you okay?" I ask her worriedly, she nods shakingly.
"Give up, you're outnumbered," Aang tells Hama as he takes a bending stance.

"No. You've outnumbered yourselves," Hama says as she raises both arms, Aang and Sokka's bodies stiffen and Hama somehow throws them at Katara and I. We dodge them and Katara gathers water from the grass and bends it at Hama, who extracts the water from another tree and creates a spinning wheel of water in front of her body, blocking the attack.
"Elua, look out!" I hear Sokka shout from behind me. I whip my head around and see him running at me with his sword in hand. "It's like my brain has a mind of its own. Stop it, arm, stop it!" He shouts as he swings his sword at me and I dodge each attack.
"This feels weird," Aang exclaims as he attacks Katara unwillingly. Katara waterbends at Aang, sending him crashing into a tree and freezing him to it.

"I'm sorry, Aang," Katara says.
"It's ok," Aang tells her. Sokka continues to swing at me and I continue to dodge. I look around for any kind of water but I see known. I look down at the grass, I have no idea how Katara was getting water out of the plants, but it's worth a try. I bend the water out of the grass and send it at Sokka, freeze him to a tree-like Katara did Aang.
"Sorry!" I say shout to Sokka.
"Don't worry about it!" He shouts back.
"Don't hurt your friends, Katara...and don't let them hurt each other," Hama says smirking as she pulls Aang and Sokka off the trees and sends them flying towards each other.

Sokka's sword is pointed forward, intended to impale Aang. Both of them scream in terror.
"No!" Katara and I shout in fear and anger. Katara suddenly holds her hands out in a waterbending move and does whatever Hama has been doing to Aang and Sokka, to Hama herself and making Sokka and Aang stop. I look at Katara in surprise, she seems to be bending Hama's blood. Katara lowers Hama to her knees as the prisoners and Toph run over to us.
"You're going to be locked away, forever," A man says angrily as he puts metal cuffs on Hama's wrist and lifts her to her feet.
"My work is done," Hama says with a smirk. "Congratulations, Katara. You're a bloodbender," She says with an evil laugh as she is dragged away, leaving a heartbroken and crying Katara behind her.