"Hey, Sokka, manage to catch an animal?" I called to him as he came back from foraging with his food sack, which looked only slightly heavier than before. Aang had insisted on a strictly no-hunting diet while we were traveling, which made Sokka very unhappy. Sokka hunted anyway when he could, but his forest hunting skills meant that most of our meat came from the market.

We were camped out in the forest, somewhere near civilization, but not close enough to get caught... or get to a market. As I had expected, Sokka didn't have a single corpse on him. He looked depressed.

"I didn't," he sighed. "But I got us a few options for tonight's dinner." We crowded around to see what awaited us. From the sack he produced a nut. "We have round-shaped nuts, and, look here, there's some oval-shaped nuts, and this is a- a- well, it's a rock-shaped nut."

"Sokka, I think that's a rock," I said. He looked at it, then threw it over his shoulder. Momo looked at it, picked it up, and sniffed it suspiciously. He tapped it on a boulder, and I stifled a laugh. "Momo approves, Sokka." He turned around, and his face got a little red.

"So, what else you got?" Katara said hopefully. He rummaged around the sack, but there wasn't even a differently shaped nut. All of the sudden, a huge BOOM! resounded around the clearing.

"I'm hoping that wasn't our stomachs," I said. Sokka gave me a dirty look. Hey, I was getting better at this 'teasing' stuff!

"Come on!" Aang shouted as he and Katara ran toward the source of the sound.

"Oh, joy," Sokka and I said at the same time. We looked at each other, then ran after Katara and Aang.


The Earthbender was throwing rocks around like they were pebbles. Only without touching them. They flew around the gorge, bringing clouds of dust with every impact.

"What's an Earthbender doing out here?" I thought aloud.

"He looks dangerous," Sokka said. "We should be careful, and approach cau-"

"Hello, there!" Katara shouted to the Earthbender as she stood out in the gorge. How did she even get over there without me noticing? Note to self: Be more vigilant when watching the children. "My name's Katara! What's yours?" The Earthbender gasped when he saw her. He ran off, bringing boulders down behind him to block the way.

"Lovely." I muttered. Katara looked crestfallen.

"I was just being friendly," she said. Aang ran up to her.

"Hey, that guy has to be going somewhere!" he exclaimed. It dawned on the rest of us.

"That's the way to civilization!" I shouted, and we all got excited. "No nuts for dinner!" We all cheered, except for Sokka.

"Hey, I worked hard to find those!" he protested. Momo flew past him as we all ran in the direction the Earthbender had gone. "Yeah, I hate 'em, too."


"Nice hat," I said to a man standing on the street. "I'll trade you these nuts for it." He handed it over to me without a word, which was kind of disconcerting, but, nonetheless, I took it. "Aang, put this on." I said to Aang, and wedged it onto his head.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, but Katara grabbed his arm.

"Look!" she said, and pointed to a door, closing behind the Earthbender we had seen. We all rushed over, and entered the building. He stood by a counter, behind which was a woman whose eyes were deep and sad, set in wrinkles that seemed more hard-won then aged.

"Hey," Katara said to him. "You're the kid from the gorge. Why did you run away?" He looked alarmed, and I began to wonder if this was the best idea.

"You must have me confused with some other kid," he said nervously.

"No, she doesn't," said Aang, who doesn't know how to keep his mouth shut. "We saw you Earthbending!" At that, both the Earthbender and the woman gasped. The woman quickly closed the shutters and all the windows.

"They saw you doing what?" she exclaimed.

"They're crazy, Mom!" he replied, pointing at us. I stuck my tongue out at him. "I mean, look at how they're dressed!" We all glanced down at ourselves, and I realized I still hadn't changed my Water Tribe clothing for something lighter. I was tempted to bend water onto his clothes just so he'd see how he was dressed. But that was a no-go because my arm was still in a sling.

"You know how dangerous that is!" the woman said. "What if they had caught you Earthbending?" Before the Earthbender could retort, a pounding came from the door.

"Open up!" a gruff voice said. Sokka peered through the shutters.

"Fire Nation!" he hissed. "Act natural!" The woman went to open the door. When the soldiers walked in, we were all in, ahem, natural poses. Aang was leaning against a barrel, which broke under his weight and sloshed the contents on him. I remained in my, ahem, natural pose.

"What is the meaning of this?" the woman demanded. "I've paid already!" The lead soldier smiled wickedly.

"The tax just doubled," the soldier said, creating a ball of flame in his hands. "We wouldn't want any... accidents, would we? Fire. Sometimes so hard to control." I wish I could've socked him then and there, but even if he hadn't had a ball of fire in his hands, there was the small matter of the sling on my arm. The woman glared at him in defiance, then sighed as she got out a box. She opened it up, revealing a pathetically small amount of coins. She handed him the due.

"You can have the copper ones," the soldier said, tossing them on the floor. The woman stooped to pick them up as the soldier and the guards with him left.

"Nice guy," Sokka commented once they were gone.

"How long has the Fire Nation been here?" I asked.

"Five years," the woman said grimly. "Our town's coal mines fuel their ships."

"They're thieves," the Earthbender said. "They steal from us, and everyone here is too much of a coward to do anything."

"Quiet, Haru!" the woman hushed him. "You get hurt for talk like that."

"But Haru can Earthbend!" Katara exclaimed. "Can't he help?" The woman shook her head.

"Earthbending has caused naught but misery for us. He mustn't Earthbend." Katara was shocked. The look on her face said she was going to protest, but the woman continued. "You don't understand."

"What could the Fire Nation do that they haven't done already?" The woman looked away, her eyes even sadder.

"They could take Haru away, like they took his father."


I accompanied Haru and Katara on their walk. Haru told us the story of how his father fought back, but was taken. I hung back while they talked about their parents and how they missed them. It made me wonder if my mother ever missed me. If she knew I existed. Although how you miss having a child, I don't know.

On the way back, we heard an explosion. A mine had collapsed, and an old man was trapped. I wished that my cast was off, so I could bend better; my left arm and legs could still be used, but with my bending being what it was, I needed a two-arm technique to clear the mine. Even then, who knew how reliable my bending would be? But Katara didn't know about that. It didn't matter, because we had Haru.

"Haru, you can help him," Katara pleaded.

"I can't," he protested.

"Yes, you can!" Haru took a deep breath, positioned himself in a bending stance, and Earthbended all the mine's debris into the black hole of the mine. I had to admit, it looked impressive.

"You did it!" Katara exclaimed, and hugged him. Then we all helped the old man up and on his way.


Aang, Katara, and Sokka talked about how brave Haru was, how Katara must have inspired him, and how fireballs were tastier than nuts. I lay by myself, still thinking. I did a lot of that these days, it seemed. Especially when it came to Zuko. Always Zuko. If only he wasn't who he was! But wishing never helped anything. Then again, neither did not wishing. After I had worked myself into a state once again, I squeezed my eyes shut and forced myself to sleep.


"They took him! They took him away!" Katara exclaimed as she burst into the barn. I knew instantly what she meant.

"It was the old man, wasn't it?" I said quietly. She nodded. Ugh! This was all my fault! If I hadn't fallen off Omashu, I could have saved the man! They would've come after me! I would be able to break out in no time! But Haru...

"I know how we can save him," I said matter-of-factly. Everyone turned to me. I took a deep breath. "Katara, you and I are going to get arrested for Earthbending."


Katara and I huddled together in the mine cart. Sokka and Aang watched us go off. Our plan had worked perfectly: with a little Airbending help and serious grit from me and my arm, Katara and I had a little Earthbending spat, which the soldiers bought easily.

"You didn't have to do this," Katara said to me quietly.

"Yes, I did," I responded. "But my motives don't matter right now. What matters is that we have twelve hours to save Haru." She nodded, and we both looked to see what awaits us. It didn't look pretty.

An old guy, our "warden", went on and on about how "enjoyable" this could be if we would just "work together", we should show him the same respect he shows us, blah blah blah. When an elderly Earthbender coughed, he sent him into solitary to "improve his manners". Working together? Same respect? No wonder the Fire Nation was at war.

When we got to the prisoner's holding area, we were greeted with the sight of dozens of broken, sad old people. But then a voice spoke.

"Katara? What are you doing here?" Haru exclaimed. Katara ran up to him and hugged him. Then she looked him in the eye.

"It's my fault you're here. So I'm going to get you out." Haru looked both shocked and impressed.

"So you got yourself arrested? You've got guts," he said admiringly. Thank you, I am invisible. It's not like it was my plan or anything. "Come one. There's someone I want you to meet."

So we met Tyro. He was kind, and offered us dinner. Well, the mush that they called dinner. He was a leader. When a minor came with news or a complaint, he dealt with it quickly and quietly, making sure the weakest were taken care of. In all, he was a father to be proud of. Except for one thing.

"How can you say that?" Katara said. "Have you already given up? You have to escape! You can't just put up with the Fire Nation's treatment of you!" I agreed with her, but Tyro clearly firmly believed that he was doing the right thing. Katara got a glint in her eye. She grabbed a pan and a spoon and went to an over turned box to stand on. I could only watch.

"Earthbenders!" she called out, banging the pan with the spoon. "You don't know me, but I know of you. I was rocked to sleep at night with stories of your bravery and courage. You can't give up!" She paused, then began again.

"You know it won't get warmer, but at least you're not alone. The world is without color, and there's so much you should want. They think they've got the best of you, they think they've had the last laugh, made you think everything good is gone. They think they've left you broken down, but you can strike back, they don't know you; prove them dead wrong... What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, stand a little taller, you can still fight back 'cause you're not alone. What doesn't kill you makes you fight it, come around and bite it, it shouldn't be over, you're not gone. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger-, stronger-, you and I can fight-, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, stand a little taller. You know you should fight back; you're not alone." Katara looked with hope at the faces before her, but they remained depressed and blank. I couldn't stand to see her like that, so I joined her on the box.

"You know you can start over, start anew-, don't just keep trudgin' on, you know you- you should turn around and bite back, come back swingin', they tried to break you, but you see," Katara smiled at me, and joined in, and I grabbed her hand, holding it as we told them:

"What doesn't kill you makes you makes you stronger, stand a little taller, you can still fight back, 'cause you're not alone. What doesn't kill you makes you fight it, come around and bite it, it shouldn't be over, you're not gone. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger-, stronger-, you and I can fight-, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, stand a little taller, you can still fight back 'cause you're not alone. Me and you can get a new thing started. They can't break you, they can't break your heart and- With you, we can make them see. In the end, there'll be a new beginning... In the end-... What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, stand a little taller, you can still fight back, 'cause you're not alone. What doesn't kill you makes you fight it, come around and bite it, it shouldn't be over, you're not gone. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger-, stronger-, you and I can fight-, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, stand a little taller, you can still fight back, 'cause you're not alone. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger-, stronger-, you and I can fight-, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, stand a little taller, you can still fight back, 'cause you're not alone. You're not alone..."

"You are not alone, Earthbenders!" Katara declared. "The Avatar has returned! The time to fight back is now! The Fire Nation will fear your courage! Let us fight for our freedom!" After that, I felt a rush of excitement. They had to understand now! I mean, come on; nothing says courage like a song and two teenage girls. But as our speech ended, the faces just turned away, with no new light. I felt Katara's hand slip from mine.

"You did your best," I said to her. But the sadness on her face was too much. She looked at me, and shook her head.

"I failed," she whispered.

"No," I whispered fiercely. "You never fail when you have done what you can." But Katara looked away, and I knew she blamed herself for this. I wished there was a way to tell her I was the one at fault. But I believed my secret was for Aang's ears alone.


Aang woke us with a light tap to the shoulder each. Or rather, he woke Katara. I hadn't been able to fall asleep, and I had sensed him coming.

"Time's up," Sokka whispered. "Where's Haru? We have to go!" Katara looked at Sokka, then at Aang, and finally at me.

"I'm not leaving," she said. "I will not abandon these people." Aang began to argue, but I silenced him with a look. I understood how she felt. She needed to bring hope to the sad sight we had seen.

"I agree," I said, and with that, I believe we decided to help. "The simple solution is to get the Earthbenders to fight back. But they need bendables." Sokka scoffed.

"Where are we going to get some rocks for them to toss?" he said critically. "This place is made of metal. It reeks of smog!"

"Smog..." I mused. Then it hit me. "They're burning coal! In other words - earth."


It was over. Although I would've liked to have been thanked by Tyro and Haru, I didn't need the attention that Katara got. All I needed was to remember how the hopeless people on the rig had become fierce benders to save their kin, and the priceless expression on the warden's face. It amazed me. Once more, I felt a bit empty inside thinking about my mother. And when I thought about her, I could only dread having to tell Aang.

Should I regret only telling him I was his sister? At the Air Temples, girls and boys were raised separately, so he wouldn't have been shocked to meet me. And because all Air Nomads can bend, he naturally assumed I could Airbend. But he had no idea what else I could do...

If only Katara and Sokka weren't along! Katara no longer resented me, since after the prison breakout, I had quietly told her I had no feelings for Aang and never would other than sisterly love - which should have been obvious, since he was my brother, but I think I knew how she felt - and Sokka was at least comic relief, if nothing else. But how could I reveal my secret with them around? It wasn't that I didn't trust them - okay, maybe a little - but news of a half-Avatar could be squeezed out of them, or could even just pop out! And I needed help. With my Waterbending being so erratic, I needed a healer or a teacher, and having a teacher when I came to teach Aang would be somewhat redundant. At least the North Pole was our destination; healers and teachers would be plenty there! But until we got there, I had a long journey to look forward to... and I was just going to have to be a little bit stronger.