"This guy is really annoying," Sokka grumbled after Kudan dodged another one of his spear attacks. Ever since the fight began, Kudan had dodged every single one of Sokka's attacks. The spirit hadn't given Sokka a chance to land a hit.
Normally, this would be exactly what you'd want in a fight. But it wasn't just happening to Sokka; it was happening to everyone else, too. Kudan dodged attacks from Mai, Ty Lee, Suki, Katara, and Toph. Nothing could touch him. The worst part? He was constantly laughing and mocking the group's inability to touch him.
Seeing the future was undoubtedly an extremely annoying ability! They all came to this realization unanimously, but it didn't mean their teamwork had improved or that they could suddenly touch Kudan. In fact, they were very far from achieving that.
"We really need a good plan..." Katara muttered. But her sister-in-law, Suki, who was standing next to her, shook her head and pointed at the dark spirit.
"It can anticipate our actions and act accordingly. Any plan is useless. But why isn't it attacking?" the Kyoshi warrior asked.
Sokka's eyes lit up.
He was about to speak, but he held his tongue. He bit it hard, filling his mouth with blood, but a smile appeared on his face.
"I have a plan! Attack with everything you've got. Don't stop. Don't hold back!" Sokka shouted before channeling chi through his body, strengthening his frame and causing his muscles to swell slightly.
Up until now, he had chosen to fight without expending too much energy, testing his enemy's capabilities. Though he didn't know how resilient Kudan was or how powerful his attacks were, Kudan's speed and infuriating foresight were already clear.
"It seems our warrior has gone mad. Is it desperation and helplessness that are driving you to act so foolishly?" Kudan's voice was full of sarcasm and mockery, and his face contorted into constant grimaces as he dodged Sokka. Sokka remained silent, attacking relentlessly with every spear technique he knew.
"Well! Since you're such a nuisance, we might as well train with you. I doubt that you'll be so calm when Shisui arrives and sees you dodging our attacks," Ty Lee said with a smile, not at all discouraged by the situation. In fact, there was a gleam of interest in her eyes.
'I'm sure our resident all-knowing sage would have a way to deal with this ugly cow. But it looks like Sokka has come up with something, so why not give it a try?' Ty Lee thought, as the chi in her body gradually gathered in her palms, forming two golden spheres of light that spun at high speed.
She devised this technique based on stories that Shisui told them years ago. The waterbender always came up with bizarre plots, but many of them were inspiring because they contained concepts that could be applied.
Ty Lee became interested in the signature technique of the "Naru-Naru" fellow who could shape his energy into a constantly spinning sphere, achieving devastating effects. This suited Ty Lee, who was always looking to explore applications of chi.
She didn't like the cliché ending where he ended up with a girl instead of the red-eyed young man who had a spirit in armor as his guardian, but she decided to replicate the technique and achieved some success.
She wasn't the only one who trusted Sokka at that moment. Katara didn't know what her brother had come up with or why he thought it would work. However, seeing the confidence on his face and how hard he was trying convinced the Waterbender to support him without hesitation.
Katara took advantage of their location in a village by drawing water from the underground springs. However, she also drew water from the beach, which was quite a distance away. If she was going to go all out, she would need a lot of water.
If she had to submerge the entire village to help her brother, she would do it! Everyone could see a massive river of water forming under the Waterbender's control. Despite everything, Kudan didn't seem surprised. However, his mocking expression softened slightly as he watched Katara cautiously.
To avoid the water, Kudan demonstrated his ability to fly. He wasn't fast, nor could he fly high, but it allowed him to dodge the constant jets of water and ice Katara hurled at him. But how would the others fight in such an environment?
Everything was in Toph's hands. She held back from attacking, not because she didn't want to; in fact, she was perhaps the second person there who most wanted to strike Kudan, but she wasn't going to give up that easily, either.
So she began to play the part of an earthbender. Earthbenders make the terrain suitable. But what if there was no terrain at all? Well, they'd create it themselves! Toph created rock platforms to support the whole team and even made aerial paths or had them float on a mound.
The fight was no longer confined to the ground. It had spread into the airspace of the village. The villagers, kept at a distance by the Fire Nation soldiers' evacuation order, watched the conflict in awe. When had they ever seen such a display of skill? The non-benders in the group were giving it their all!
Since Toph was handling the group's three-dimensional mobility, Petra decided to use sniper tactics. She drew all the metal objects in the village toward her, shaping them into metal spikes.
Unlike Katara, who was in charge of harassment tactics and threw them constantly, she waited for the right moment to hurl a metal spike at Kudan, aiming for a single, devastating strike. Of course, that entity's foresight was truly annoying.
Mai, on the other hand, constantly threw poisoned daggers. She wasn't looking to harass; rather, she wanted to guide the enemy's movements through her attacks, serving as support.
If you weren't paying attention, it seemed as though she had an infinite supply, but there were fine threads of chi tied to each weapon, ensuring they returned to her at just the right moment and keeping them at her mercy.
Moreover, she was always trying to trip up and hinder Kudan. Had he not been able to foresee her insidious traps, he would have fallen victim to them. But Mai was unfazed. As an assassin, she knew patience was her greatest virtue.
Guide him, distract him, deceive him, trap him. She was extremely methodical in her actions. At times, she came quite close to wounding the spirit, but she never rushed. Her eyes always drifted toward Sokka, waiting for the opportunity he was sure to get.
Besides, daggers weren't her only weapon. That was a surprise she was saving for a significant enemy, not a dark spirit who only knew how to evade attacks.
Suki joined Sokka in the constant attacks, enhancing her body with Chi, too. Although it would hurt later, would a warrior let future pain impede her actions? No!
Thus, the duo harassed Kudan using the platforms created by Toph. They capitalized on Katara and Mai's attacks and created space for Ty Lee and Petra, who were looking to land a powerful blow. Silently, without speaking or shouting instructions, the group acted in sync, each understanding their role and knowing what to do and when.
But fighting with such effort and under such pressure without accomplishing anything took a toll on them. It was as if no matter how hard they tried, they could never reach their goal of laying a hand on Kudan.
Perhaps that was why Sokka stumbled as he prepared to leap toward Kudan, falling into the water his sister had brought to the village. This snapped them out of the trance-like state they had all unconsciously fallen into while fighting.
It was as if everyone's coordination suddenly hit unexpected snags. Attacks collided with one another, positioning went awry, and even Toph's platforms were out of sync, moving either too slowly or too quickly without considering the big picture.
Kudan smiled; he knew he had succeeded. He wasn't a dark spirit for nothing. Even though he hadn't attacked, his powerful aura affected everyone present, whether they wanted it to or not. It was subtle, but the darkness permeated them, exacerbating their negative emotions.
Spirits know how to get inside the human mind, and Kudan was an expert in that regard due to his abilities. He knew how to blend the corrupt energy Vaatu used with his own skills and knowledge to achieve a superior effect than what he could accomplish in his original form.
Although surprised by the strange mental state everyone had fallen into and sensing there was more to it, Kudan knew the groundwork had been laid. He would have liked to target Katara first, but he knew Sokka was the best option.
He didn't know why this simple nonbender carried so much weight in the group. However, Kudan, an expert in social dynamics, could see that this young man was quite charismatic and possessed considerable wisdom. Therefore, if he managed to wound or kill Sokka, getting rid of the others would be easy.
While Sokka clung to a mound of earth that Toph had created to help him out of the water, Kudan changed direction in midair, accelerating toward Sokka with his two horns pointing straight at the warrior's chest.
Sokka didn't need to be warned; his experience allowed him to sense the imminent danger. Even though he didn't seem ready to defend himself and was without his spear, there was no trace of apprehension on his face.
"Die, human!" Kudan exclaimed. His sharp horns were mere moments away from piercing the warrior when two calloused hands grabbed his antlers. As his feet stumbled backward from the impact, Sokka flashed a smile.
"Your vision of the future has many limitations that you tried to hide, but your little evasion act made everything clear, didn't it? Hehe, but I'm not going to tell you how I figured it out, you bastard," Sokka growled. He was quite annoyed because he'd had to put on a show for a while to lure this spirit out.
"What!? Human, let me go!" Kudan shouted, striking Sokka with his front paws. He soon screamed in pain when Suki arrived just in time and used her sharp fans to sever one of the entity's limbs.
Katara froze the other and took the opportunity to trap the spirit in a large block of ice, leaving only its head intact. However, none of them had any intention of letting the fight end there.
They were going to make this spirit pay for wasting their time and for all the rude things it had shouted at them throughout this whole charade. Ty Lee, for example, attacked its childish face with a ball of chi spinning wildly in her palm.
Mai gouged out its eyes. Meanwhile, Toph and Petra created a wall of rock, which they used to shatter the ice and Kudan's body into pieces. Only an amorphous mass of spiritual energy remained. Was this purification? Appeasement? No way! Ever since Kudan got involved in manipulating an entire village, death had been his only option.
Aang had approached Raava and wanted to say a few words about it, but remained silent. Not all humans were good, and neither were all spirits. Even though Kudan was empowered by Vaatu's energy, his words and actions suggested that he had sought this out on his own.
Moreover, humanity and the spirits had never truly been at peace with each other. They generally didn't encounter each other, and when they did, it was always under bad circumstances.
It was no coincidence that the term 'touched by the spirits' was never used positively. While there were peaceful encounters with these beings, for example, many lost travelers found their way under the spirits' guidance, it was abundantly clear that both groups should keep their distance.
Unless trust gradually develops between both sides or an event or threat arises that warrants their union, one could expect contact to remain limited.
Only time will tell what the future holds.
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AN: 20 hours without energy.... LATAM!