Chapter III

Katara arose out of her torpor with a blinding headache. She sat up, reaching a hand to her head, trying to palliate the thudding pain. Chains clinked at her movement, shocking her. She looked down.

Her hands and feet were shackled. She looked around, noticing that she was in a metal cell. She had been captured! The events of the past day raced through her mind as she remembered it all. She let out a sigh. She should have listened to Sokka. As much as she hated to admit it Sokka had been right. If she had just swallowed her pride and had listened to him for once she would not be in her current situation, chained in a metal box with a corpse suspended not three feet away.

Katara let out a small shriek. There was a body in her cell! She put her hands over her mouth, looking at the skeletal frame. Skin clung tightly to massive bones. Obviously when he had been alive this was a large man; his bones protruded out, displaying his girth. Large round knobs stuck near his neck, revealing what must have been his broad shoulders. Legs sat chained, the meat that was left clinging on to dear life to his thick thigh-bones. His feet and hands were covered with metal, as well as a mask over his mouth. His head was large and ghastly, a skeleton face wrapped with skin, his hair all but gone and what few strands he was in possession of merely wiry wisps. His eye sockets were hollow and empty, black circling around it. The eyelids fluttered open, revealing sharp blue eyes.

Katara screamed again, clasping her mouth shut. The corpse slowly moved, the eyes looking her over. She now noticed that this poor wretched soul was actually a living being, bereft of any signs of health. His lungs rasped against his ribs, fighting for every breath, the skin across his chest wrapped tight. His nose was narrow and lacking in any shape, just a point. The only thing that remained human was his eyes. Blue, opulent eyes, sparkling with a wealth of life and energy that was not reflected in his appearance. He scanned over Katara, viewing every inch of her. She felt naked, pierced by those brilliant blue sparks residing in a hollow skull. She felt as if he was absorbing every single thought, every feeling and secret she had ever had, and storing it away in his mind. Slowly he lifted a languid arm, a stick with flesh wrapped about it. The weight of the chain was almost too much for him to bear, but he managed, somehow. It looked as if his arm would snap at the exertion, but eventually he raised it all the way. A bony, fetid finger stretched out, pointing at Katara's forehead. Katara stared, scared of the person before her. She did not realize that he was trying to bring attention to the bump on her head, he was trying to help her, but she only saw a forlorn creature in front of her. It would be a mercy if death found him.

Slowly the figure lowered his arm, resting it back by his side. Katara then realized that only his index fingers were exposed on his hand. She found this perplexing. On his feet only his big toes were uncovered as well, a strange arrangement to say the least. She starred at the figure, pity quickly replacing her fear.

What had happened to this wretched soul that he should wind up like this? Surely he had paid the price for his crime, if indeed he had even committed a crime. Tears began to well in her eyes as her empathy turned into physical action. She wished she could move over, to embrace the poor soul, but she was bound to the wall, barely having enough slack to shift positions. The figure looked at her, his eyes softening. Katara could not tell for certain, but she was sure that beneath the mask there was a gentle smile.

For a time Katara sat there, staring at the stranger in her cell, overwhelmed with pity. Then the desperation of her situation overcame her, bringing her back to the fact that right now the others were probably looking for her, walking straight into a trap. Tears began to spring into her eyes as she realized what a fool she had been. Now they were all in danger, not just her. She had been so selfish, and now everyone else would pay the price.

Katara began to weep into her arms, forgetting about her cell mate and thinking only of the horrid trap that Azula was setting. She thought about how Aang would charge head on into it, looking to save her. It would be useless though, avatar or not there was no way Aang could succeed. Azula had all the advantages. Besides, who knew if they even knew she was missing by now? They could have assumed she was still in the village. Then Azula would have her forces sneak up on the camp, surrounding them. Maybe Toph would be able to warn them in time and they would manage to escape, but then again maybe she would not. Katara's head hurt and with her sobbing and troubled thoughts it just made it worse. She wished she was unconscious again, out of the grasp of her imagination.

She cried to herself softly for a while, unaware of a noise that had begun across from her. Eventually she noticed the noise, pausing to look up. Her face was red and splotchy from her tears. She peered through blurred eyes and saw the figure across from her clinking his chains against the floor, softly, trying to get her attention. She looked at him, confused. He looked at her with those kind blue eyes, white glinting underneath the mask. He was smiling at her. His lips slowly moved, creating a crack of a voice, a soft whisper on the wind.

"Don't cry." He said, the voice almost drowned out by the air between them. Katara blinked, surprise that the figure could speak in his state.

"Don't cry." He said again, his voice losing strength. Katara felt ashamed, having been wallowing in self-pity when this dejected form sat straight across from her, apparently still in good humor. She wanted to reach out to him, to comfort him and nurse him back to health, but the sound of boots striding down the hall made the figure's smile disappear, if it had truly even been there in the first place and not just a figment of Katara's imagination. His eyes dropped to narrow slits, barely open as a key was inserted into the lock. The door swung open noisily, grinding on rusted hinges. Azula stepped in, shaking her head.

"I thought that I told someone to fix that!" She said, barking at a guard behind her. The guard cowered in fear.

"Sorry princess, we'll have it fixed, you have my word." Azula fixed a strand of hair that had fallen out of place.

"You better, least you wish to see yourself in one of these cells." The guard bowed, mumbling his sincerest apologies. He backed away, striding quickly down the hall, probably searching for a new set of hinges. Azula turned back to the occupants, shaking her head.

"It's so hard to find good help these days." She said, as if the prisoners actually cared. Katara noticed that Azula held a large platter of food, steaming rice, vegetables, and chicken dosed in some sort of fragrant sauce. Katara felt her stomach rumble. She had not eaten anything besides breakfast and that pastry the day she was captured, whenever that was, and her hunger was now beginning to become apparent. She tried to hide her hunger though, not wanting to seem weak in front of her captor. Besides, the poor man in the cell with her needed the food far more desperately than she did. Why did she bring the food with, was it to torment the poor soul? Katara frowned, if Azula started to eat in front of that wretched being she would lose it. She did not care if she was chained up she would thrash and kick so violently that she would force Azula to leave. No one deserved to be treated like that.

Azula did not even bother to look at her, rather walking straight over to the gaunt figure.

"This one is quite stubborn here." She said. Katara realized that Azula had directed it at her. She looked up at her with as much malevolence she could muster. Azula laughed at her.

"Ohh please peasant, as if I would feel concerned being judged by you. Besides, I didn't do this to him, he did it too himself." She said, setting the platter down. "He refused to eat any more unless we took the mask off. I told him that we already freed two fingers and two toes and that he was asking too much, but he insisted. For the past four weeks he has held true to his word, and now, to demonstrate that I am not the monster you have probably projected me to be inside your mind I shall make a deal with him." At this she turned to the figure. "I will let you have the mask off four days a week, the other three you must have it on, the only catch is that the days you have it on you have to promise to still eat." She said. The figure took one look at the platter of food and then turned his eye back to Azula, he shook his head slowly. Azula grinned.

"Good." She said, taking out a key and undoing the mask. It dropped to the floor with a clang. She then scooted the platter over to within his reach, allowing him to eat. To Katara's surprise the man showed much restraint, taking his time to grasp the food between his two, boney, exposed fingers, lifting it to his mouth and chewing slowly. Azula watched him eat, her eyes encouraging him to devour every morsel. It took half an hour for him to eat it all, eating at a nice slow pace, but he eventually forced himself to consume the food set before him, his belly bloating out for what must have been the first time in months. A satisfied grin came to his face as he leaned his head back against the wall. He eyed the mask suspiciously, seeing if Azula would be true to her word. Azula frowned after she tracked his gaze.

"Ohh come now, you now that I'm true to my word, as long as I'm not talking to Zuko." She added, snickering. To make her point she kicked the mask off to the side, showing him that she did not intend on putting it back on him. The figure gave a slow, satisfied nod and let his head rest against the wall, his eyes closing as he fell into deep sleep. Azula smiled to herself, amused with his behavior.

"I'll tell Ty-Lee that you enjoyed her cooking." She said, kicking the plate out of the cell. Katara had sat quiet the whole time, watching the strange dance unfold before her. She did not know much about Azula, but she was pretty sure that this was not how she acted. Azula had taken a pot shot at the old man Zuko traveled with, his uncle according to Toph, which would make him Azula's uncle as well, since her and Zuko were siblings. It did not make any sense; why would she show such animosity to her own flesh and blood yet treat a prisoner so tenderly?

Azula turned to Katara, disrupting her thoughts. She smiled menacingly at her, turning Katara's blood to ice.

"Now it's our turn to spend some time together." She said, walking out of the cell. A few seconds later two guards came in, cuffing her hands behind her back then unshackling her from the wall. The yanked her up gruffly, leading her out into the hall. For the first time Katara noticed that she was in nothing but her undergarments, having been stripped of everything else. She felt embarrassed, exposed, she wanted to hide herself, feeling as if everyone was staring at her in her underwear. Almost everyone was.

The other prisoners leaned out of their cells, staring at Katara as she was marched past. Some hooted or hollered, reaching out hands to grab her, but after Azula broke one of them with a swift kick the hands receded, more afraid of Azula than attracted to Katara. They took her down the corridor, down ten flights of stairs, and into a room in the basement. Katara caught her breath as she saw the room.

In the room sat every conceivable utensil of torture devised by man, and some that were not. Racks, knives, ropes, screws, pikes, needles, whips, salt, and so many other foul and horrendous things that Katara could not even keep track of them. Azula picked her way through the debris with a disgusted look, brushing back some of the bloody tools.

"I am not a big of a fan of physical torture, it is rather tiresome and trying. Blood gets everywhere, and to be honest it's rather cruel at times, but it gets the job done." Katara had a hard time believing that Azula cringed at the sight of other people's pain. The guards pushed her into a wooden chair, wires running around on it. They tied down her feet and hands with leather straps then left, leaving Katara and Azula alone. Azula circled her, watching her closely.

"I don't usually come here, there's really no need to, except on special occasions such as this." She said, her teeth shining. "I've tried my hand on some earthbenders, the occasional firebender, but never a waterbender." She said, her smile nefarious. "You see, by now the only waterbenders left are from the northern water-tribe, but they stay hunkered down in their little ice palace, ignoring the rest of the world. Zhao was stupid enough to try and disturb them when the avatar was with them, but when I go back there to finish the job I'll make sure it's done right." She said. Katara stared straight ahead, trying not to make eye contact. Azula continued on.

"You're the first waterbender I've actually ran into, so this is going to be quite fun." Azula walked over to a strap of leather, slapping it firmly against her palm, then left it on the table.

"Tell me peasant, do you know how to break an earthbender?" She asked. Katara ignored her, determined to give her the same silent treatment that the man in her cell gave her. Azula ignored the silence, taking it as a sign to continue on.

"You study their element. Earth is steadfast and firm, unchanging and durable. How do you break such a substance? You can't just smash it, you'll just make it crumble to pieces, and those aren't very useful. No." She said, looking at Katara. "You must find its opposite. Earthbenders hate uncertainty, it's in their nature. Their element is firm and predictable, it does not flow like water or change with the breeze like air. So what do you do with that, hmm?" She asked Katara. Icy silence was her only reply.

"You give them random intervals. You start by waking them up at random times, sometimes early in the morning, sometimes not at all. You let them sleep all the way through the night, then you keep them up all night long with endless noise. You deafen them with bells and gongs, then you let them rot in silence. After you have begun to chip away at them you use something like that chair you're sitting in." Katara looked at the chair, the frayed wiring looking very perilous. Azula smiled.

"That chair will deliver extremely painful electric jolts for a random interval of time, like this." She said, pressing a button. A surge of electricity ran through the wires, coursing through Katara's system. She creamed out in pain, her nerves feeling as if they were on fire. The current stopped, leaving Katara to slouch over in the chair, tears trickling down her cheeks.

"We'll sit here and talk to them, just talk to them, bringing up whatever we can think of. Sometimes in a session the subject can be electrified almost every other second, but then sometimes they are not shocked at all. This goes through their mind as we bring them down here, and sometimes they just break down crying at the mere sight of that chair, begging us to do anything else but the chair." Katara looked up at Azula. She sat there, smirking at her.

"So, peasant, tell me, how do you break a firebender?" She asked. Katara kept her mouth shut, staring at her defiantly. Azula clucked her tongue.

"Come now, can't we be cordial?" She asked, her finger reaching for the button. Katara wanted to cry out, to stop the shock from coming, but her pride did not let her, so she braced herself. The shock came again, worse this time and longer, like a thousand flames sparking up within her body and burning her from the inside out. By the time the current had stopped running through her body she smelled like burnt flesh, tears streaming down her face.

"Come now, tell me peasant, are you really this thick? Just answer my question." Katara looked up, seeing Azula's finger hover above the button. Before she knew what she was doing she cried out.

"Wait!" Azula smiled sinisterly at her.

"That's more like it. It's really a bother when I have to resort to such brutish tactics just to have a conversation with someone." Katara was mad that she had called out, but she reasoned with herself that it was not that bad, she did not have to be stubborn. Who knows, perhaps Azula was not as evil as she had thought. Ya, and maybe water isn't wet.

"So, peasant, what's the answer to my question?" Katara thought for a moment, recalling her conversations she had with Sokka about fire-nation soldiers.

"Ice, cold, water." She said, her tongue not feeling right in her mouth. Azula frowned.

"Well yes, those are ingredients." She said. "I was looking for more of a process really, but I guess I can't hold my hopes too high, you are just a peasant." She said, ruffling Katara's hair with a mocking smirk on her face.

"Freeze them, drown them, strip them of everything that makes them fire-nation. That is how you break a firebender." Said Azula.

"Would it break you?" Asked Katara. Azula paused, giving it half a moment's thought.

"Let's just say that by some magical series of events someone manages to capture me, I do not think it would work, as I am much stronger than any normal firebender." It was Katara's turn to smirk.

"Well then there's something wrong with your logic, as it is supposed to break any bender." Azula frowned, annoyed at the turn the conversation was taking.

"Why don't we switch spots and we'll see just how long you last." Continued Katara. Azula laughed at her, breaking Katara's spirit, as she had believed she was pressing her buttons.

"Please, as if I would switch places with you." Said Azula, waving her off. "Anyways, continuing on with our lesson." She said, waltzing across the room.

"I am certain that by now even you get the pattern here. So I won't even bother telling you what one does to break a waterbender." Katara swallowed hard at the thought, voicing it out loud.

"Heat." She said. Azula grins at her with a sadistic tinge.

"Why yes peasant, that is correct, heat. I cannot imagine why you would hate the heat, but it seems that you do. It is probably because you spend your whole miserable lives stuck in an ice cube to live in." Katara tried not to think of all the tortuous devices that could be associated with this path. Hot blades, fire rooms, scorching bricks, dehydration, there were ohh so many ways that Azula could use heat to break her that Katara cringed just at the thought, no doubt Azula's intention.

Azula strode across the room, Katara unaware of her path. She was soon shocked back into attention though, after Azula sent an agonizing current of electricity through the chair. Katara let out a muffled scream, shaking violently. After the current abated Katara slumped forward, her energy gone from enduring such acute pain. Her breath was ragged and beads of sweat poured down her face. She wanted to be free, to be away from the pain, but there was nothing she could do, she was strapped to a chair with a maniac not five feet away from her. Katara fought the urge to cry, not wanting to seem weak before her adversary. She would not give her the satisfaction of knowing how much pain she was really in. She forced herself to sit straight up, blinking away any tears that tried to accumulate in her eyes. She stared straight ahead, ignoring Azula's movements.

"Well, I do believe that we have had enough fun for the day." Said Azula, walking over to the door. Katara looked at her, perplexed. They had barely been in there for half an hour, and she had only been shocked a few times. They were done already? If this is what torture was like then it really was not that bad. Azula looked back at her, sensing her thoughts.

"Don't worry peasant, there will be plenty more where that came from, I just wanted to give you a quick taste. I'm rather busy at the moment and so I'm afraid we'll have to cut our time together short for the day, but I promise that tomorrow it will be different." She was right, the next day was a lot different.

For three hours Katara was in that room with Azula as she practiced different methods that she claimed to have never used before, such as the rack, compression suits, and the whip. Katara seriously doubted that she had never tried those methods before as the pain was excruciating. While on the rack she could feel her bones slowly being ground out of place, popping out and back in like some demented game of whack a mole-bird. Next came the compression suit. A tight leather suit that was filled with air until one could hardly breathe. It pressed against her body with such force that she thought her ribs were cracking, which several actually did. Azula would then force her to have petty conversations. Talking about the most absurd things like what she thought of her shoes at the moment, were they to pointy or did they not seem sinister enough? What was her favorite hairstyle, should she wear her hair up or down? Was it better to tell a boy that you like him straight up or play hard to get? If she did not participate in the conversations there was always a button to send electrical shocks through the suit, so Katara played along, each sentence a tax on her strength, as it was an arduous tax to refill her lungs. The worst torture, however, was the whip. It was not merely the physical pain as it sliced through the back of her flesh with such animosity, but rather it was the shame and humiliation it brought with it. Being tied up with ropes, with nothing but your undergarments on, then being whipped across the back, again and again and again, as if you were some sort of criminal, it was absolutely humiliating, even though Azula was the only one there to see it. Katara did not know how one could endure being whipped in public, she would die of embarrassment long before blood lost.

At the end of their time together AZULA rubbed salt in her wounds, causing Katara to scream with such force that she thought her lungs would burst. At the end of it all she was dumped back in her cell, a feeble sack of meat, battered and torn apart.

After sobbing quietly to herself for a while Katara managed to force herself to a sitting position. She looked over at her cellmate. He had improved much in the last two days alone, but he was still barely more than a skeleton. The times when he was not eating he was asleep, and the times he was not sleeping he was eating. If, on the occasion, Katara caught him in a respite from both activities the figure merely whistled. At first his whistling was short and ragged, causing him extreme exhaustion which would then put him to sleep, but as the days began to pass, as Katara was left in her cell without interruption for the next four days, his strands became longer and more intricate. Beautiful melodies, bouncing around the walls, reverberating in her ears. Only once before had she heard such strong and passionate whistles, and that was the one time she had caught Aang whistling, by himself in the early morning. When she asked him why he did not whistle around the others he told her that it reminded him too much of his people. Katara was surprised that she had found another who could contend, if not surpass Aang's own musical talents. He would whistle for hours, not stopping or pausing for anything save a breath every now and again.

Katara had tried several times to speak with him, but every time he looked at her with those stoic blue eyes and kept on whistling, ignoring her questions. It had annoyed Katara at first, but later on she realized that if she had been starving for the past month she might not be in all that great of a mood to speak either, so she left him alone, instead resting and listening to his wonderful melodies.

Eventually the time came when Azula came back. Once her footsteps began to echo down the hall the figure stopped whistling, his eyes becoming sullen and weak. Katara looked at him befuddled. It seemed as if all the strength that he had been accumulating over the past several day shad vanished all at once. He was the weak, tired skeleton of a man that he was the first time Katara had seen him.

The cell door opened, this time on noiseless hinges. Azula did not even notice. She looked once at Katara then nodded her head at the guards, marching of down the hall. The guards came in, once again cuffing Katara. Katara began to panic, fear passing through her mind as she thought of all the things they were going to do to her. She did not want to go back to that place, she never even wanted to think about it again. The figure across from her let out a low, three note melody. She looked at him, fear jumping from her eyes. He gave her a reassuring nod, his strength and vigor returned. Katara did not know why but she was comforted by that. She arose with the guards, going down the hallway without incident.

She WAS taken back to the room, this time being brought to the center which had been cleared out. The guards attach her cuffs to a chain from the ceiling, then they walk away, leaving her alone with Azula. Azula stalks around her for a few moments, something obviously bothering her.

"Your friends have as yet to show their faces." She says. Katara grins; good, they had figured out that it was a trap and avoided the village. That means they were probably devising some scheme to break her out at this very minute. Azula struck her across the face.

"Don't look so pleased. You will never escape from here. Besides, every second the avatar eludes me is another second my ire rises." Katara spat out a mouthful of blood. Azula raises a disgusted eyebrow, appalled.

"Truly you were never taught manners." She said, walking over to a winch. She starts to turn it, raising Katara off the ground. Katara grunts as the pull on her wrists becomes more severe, but the pain is not too bad. When Azula finally stops she is roughly ten feet off the ground, half the distance of the vaulted ceiling above. Azula then drags a large metal pipe in place directly beneath her. Katara looks at it confused. It stands on metal support rods, roughly three feet off the ground. Azula then throws coals into the pipe, which is about six inches in diameter, filling it to the brim and packing it tight. She then lights the coals on fire with a snap of her fingers, the heat immediately apparent. Katara swallows hard; it was time for heat therapy.

Azula walked back over to the winch, dusting off the coal powder that had gotten on her hands. She looks up at Katara, a weary look on her face.

"Well now, I guess we get to the fun part hmm?" She says. Katara looks at her, then the burning pipe beneath her. Already she can feel the heat rising, even though she is seven feet above it. The pipe is slowly turning red as the coals within it heats up more and more. Azula sighs.

"Just to let you know, I have never asked you about the avatar because I know that there is no way you would break over him in time. I would merely be wasting my time. I know how loyal you are, so I will not pretend to try and force information out of you about him." Katara grounded her teeth. If she was not going to torture her because of Aang why was she doing this? For the fun of it?! Azula fingered the winch gingerly, looking back up at Katara.

"My father is not pleased with me. I have had three opportunities so far to capture the avatar, and have failed every time. He told me in his last letter that I was becoming like Zuko, a disgrace to the family" She spoke this with bitterness in her voice, obviously hurt. Katara had a tough time feeling sorry for her though, with the burning pipe below her and all. Azula looked back up at her.

"I have to capture the avatar, and since he has avoided the village the only place he'll come next is here, for you." She said. Katara already knew that they were coming for her, there was no way they were going to leave her there to rot. The only problem was that any plan they hash out is going to be so ridiculous that they were liable to get themselves captured. Azula probably knew this as well, thus explaining why she was in here with Katara. When the others did show up, they would come for her, and Azula would be waiting for them.

Azula sighed.

"So, now all we have to do is pass the time until they show up. So, how about we play word for word. You tell me something and I'll tell you something."

"About what?" Asked Katara, sweat beginning to drip down her face. Azula thought about it for a moment, pulling up a chair and sitting down. Katara noticed that it was the electric chair she had been strapped in a few days ago.

"How about this, you tell me something about the avatar, and I'll tell you something about your cellmate?" Katara froze, she did want to know about her cellmate, and besides, there were plenty of things she could tell Azula that would be no harm, right? Katara nodded her head, her wrist getting slick with perspiration.

"Very well, what shall we exchange first?" Asked Azula, turning the winch. Katara dropped about five inches, the heat rolling up to her, making her feet tingle with its warmth. She thought for a moment.

"Name?" She said. Azula shrugged.

"Sure." She said, waiting for Katara to go.

"Aang." She said.

"Jack." Responds Azula. Katara looks down at her. Azula laughs.

"Ya, I know, it's a strange name, but I swear that it is his." She moves the winch again, dropping her another five inches. This time she can feel the burning begin in her feet. She starts to shift about, trying not to get caught up in the pain.

"Age?" Azula nods her head, waiting for Katara again.

"Technically he's one-hundred and twelve, but really, he's twelve." Says Katara.

"Sixteen." She says. Katara looks at her again, shocked. Azula smacks her head.

"Whoops sorry, that's not right. He's seventeen, just had his birthday a few days ago." Katara thought about it. Seventeen? That man in her cell was only seventeen? Sure he had been starving, but he looked as if he was ancient, over a hundred years old. She had guessed that if he was well fed he might be in his late forties or fifties, but seventeen? The more Katara learned about this person the more confusing he became. Katara felt the chains give out, lowering her within three inches of the pipe. She began to shake with the pain. Sweat was pouring off of her in waves. The heat was unbearable, and she did not know how much longer she could last.

"Nation?" Says Katara, trying to distract her mind with anything. Azula thinks about if for a second.

"Well, I already know what the avatar is but, heck, why not." She says. Again Katara is supposed to go first.

"Air nomad." She blurts out, the heat crawling through her body and slowly cooking her alive.

Azula opens her mouth to speak but she's interrupted by the door swinging open. Ty-Lee stands in the doorway, excitement on her face. Azula whips around, annoyance on her face.

"Ty-Lee, you know I don't like to be disturbed when with a prisoner!" Ty-Lee ignores the rebuke and smiles broadly.

"Forget about her Azula, we got the avatar." Katara's heart freezes. They had Aang? Azula looked just as confused.

"The avatar?" She says. Ty-Lee nods her head.

"Ya, at the front gate, come on!" She says, waving her over. Azula immediately strides out of the room, leaving Katara to hang directly above the pipe. Ty-Lee stops, turning back to come over to Katara. She looks at her with a malevolent glare. Katara can see that the cut on her cheek had gotten infected, puffing up. Katara smiled. Good, she was always too pretty.

Ty-Lee walked over to the winch, looking at Katara once, then kicking it. It spun loudly as it released its slack. It caught, just before Katara had landed on the pipe, leaving her to hold her legs right above it, the heat unbearable. Ty-Lee nods, then leaves the room, leaving Katara to slowly roast alive.