A/N Chapter 14 everybody. (:

Yearly exams are over…I'm so happy!

After it – school's going to be a massive bludge.

I don't own anyone x

Chapter Fourteen – Puppeteer

I hesitated before reaching for the back door's handle. Was I ready for whatever was coming?

I must be kidding. I'm a water-bender. Of course I am.

I stepped out of the backyard, a fresh gush of wind blowing my hair. It really was windy outside…which reminded me of Aang. The sun was setting in the horizon – had I been here that long? The orange sky was starting to dim, and Sokka is going to kill me if I don't come back soon.

"Katara, there you are. Come over here, 'round the back." A voice called out. I jumped down from the porch, not bothering with the stairs, and ran towards the voice.

Hama was sitting on the rusty old green garden swing grandpa had built for Gran-Gran years ago. She patted a seat next to her, and I took it obediently.

"What are we going to learn next?" I tried to sound eager, as if I didn't know her true identity.

"You'll see," Her voice was soft, "It takes time, you know." Her blue eyes stared at the sunset, gleaming. It was really hard to believe that this woman is a convict.

"The sun is a fascinating object, don't you think?" She looked at me then, smiling warmly. I smiled back, and she turned her head back around to stare at the setting ball of fire.

"Such a powerful element could only associate with the sun, fire-benders. Just like the saying, 'We rise with the moon, they rise with the sun.' And with 'we,' I meant us water-benders." Her eyes never left the orange horizon.

"Do you catch my drift, Katara?"

"No, not really," I shook my head, following the traces of orange tints in the sky, soon to be overcome by the velvet night.

"Would you like an explanation?"

"Please."

It was silent at first, before Hama exhaled. "It's quite simple, really," She said, "What is the sun?"

This is turning into some kind of a science lesson. I held back a groan. "It's really a great ball of fire," I answered.

"Good. And what is the moon?"

"A giant white thing that hangs in the night sky."

"Close. What does it do?"

"…I don't know, it acts as a satellite around Earth, I guess?"

"Think harder, Katara. What does it do?"

"Oh!" I snapped my fingers, "It controls the tides."

"Excellent. Clarify tides a little more."

"Clarify? Tides…well that term is used to describe high and low tides of the ocean…" And it hit me.

"The moon controls the water!" I exclaimed. Hama chuckled lightly.

"Yes. Many say that the moon is the first water-bender, just as dragons were the first fire-benders. All elements originate from something."

Dragons? I didn't even want to know.

"And the sun, being a great ball of fire, is basically a fire-bender's source of energy. Of course, they can still fire bend at night, but not as good as they can in a cloudless, hot day.

"And us water-benders, we are best at night, especially when the moon is out."

The sun finally sunk, the cold chilly night's air causing my goose bumps to appear on both my arms. I shivered, rubbing both of them hastily.

"When was the last time you looked at the lunar calendar, Katara?"

"Ages ago."

"Do you know what the moon is tonight?"

I couldn't remember anything. "No."

She stared me down for a moment, before looking up. The corner of her lips twitched into a smile.

"Look up, Katara."

And so I did, and witnessed the great big sphere hanging on top of us. A few clouds covered it, but only a fraction. It was enormous and…beautiful.

It is going to be a full moon tonight.

"It's a full moon," I whispered. My eyes met hers. "What does it mean?"

"Don't you see, Katara? A full moon. Only now we can harness its full power. Only now we can reach our bending's true potential."

She stood up and walked to the middle of the yard. I trotted behind her.

"The moon is our source of energy, Katara, and if something blocks it, we can't bend at all. Temporarily, anyway. The same goes for the sun, and the fire-benders."

"Eclipses," I realized, "Solar and Lunar eclipses."

"Yes. And apparently there is going to be a world-wide solar eclipse soon." Her grin grew wider. "This is our chance to overthrow the Fire Nation, Katara! We finally have the chance to taste victory! And with two powerful benders like us, we're unstoppable."

"But I'm new to this whole thing, I'm not sure I'm ready…" Even so, the thought of the fire lord 'bendless' is not a bad thought at all.

"That is why I will make you ready!" Hama's voice was full of power as she inhaled. "This technique is special on its own – I learnt it whilst at prison." I tried not to show reaction when she mentioned the word.

"We are water-benders right? We manipulate water. But if you think about it…there is water around us, even in places we don't know."

With a brief sweep of her hand, water vanished out of nowhere and appeared as a tiny bubble that levitated above her palms. She smiled at my astonished expression.

"With enough practice, we can make water out of thin air. It's very resourceful, really."

"Very," I agreed. I didn't care if she was a convict – these techniques could really help me.

"That's not all." Her eyes seemed to blacken as she spoke, "There is this very important technique that you must know, Katara…A special move that can only be made under a full moon – when a water bender's power is at their peak.

"Tell me, Katara. Our bodies consist of mostly…?"

"Water?"

"Yes, that's right. And another liquid substance, which is…?"

"Blood," My voice lowered in volume. I don't like what this conversation is getting to.

"So we can manipulate water," Hama's innocent grin turned into a wicked one, "Why not blood?"

And after that, I wasn't in control of my own body anymore. My eyes widened in shock as I felt…saw…my own hands move by itself beneath me. I tried to control them, but they just moved around by themselves. My feet seemed to have a mind of its own as well, leading me towards Hama with tiny steps. I tried to stop them, but I couldn't.

It felt horrible, not being able to control of one thing you might only be able to for the rest of your life, whoever you were.

"Stop, please!" I cried. My feet stopped when I was a few centimeters away from Hama. I tried to avoid her gaze but my head jerked up, meeting her evil eyes. Tears trailed down my cheeks.

"Why cry, Katara?" She whispered, and with a flick of her hands, my tears vanished, falling to the ground. I glared straight at her.

"This is wrong," I growled, "You have no right to take control of someone's body!"

"But you got to admit, this is a very good technique! You can manipulate your enemies – even Ozai himself." Without releasing her bending hold, she lifted my chin higher with her right hand.

"Don't you want to control a man that's controlled too many?"

"I don't care!" I yelled, "This is sick! Stop it, now!"

"I knew it," She stepped away from me, looking disappointed, "You really are weak."

My body seemed to throw itself against a tree. I slammed it pretty hard, causing me to cry in pain. But it wasn't the pain from my back that's hit the trunk of the tree. It was the pain knowing that I was not able to regain control of my body.

"You want to be free, Katara?!" Hama shouted, throwing my body back to the ground, "Then bloodbend! Resist me!"

She made me kneel to the ground, hands behind my back, chin up looking at her.

"Bloodbend, Katara. Make me proud." She hissed.

I grinded my teeth together. "No."

She shrugged. "Fine."

The next thing I remember was hitting something cold and hard then falling unconscious.

-x-

"Katara? Katara, are you okay?"

"Do it again. I think she's regaining her consciousness."

I felt strong wind blowing onto my face. I soon had the energy to open my eyes a little bit, two grey shadows casting themselves in front of me.

"She's awake!"

"Are you okay?"

I tried to stand up but my head suddenly felt like it weighed a million tons. Two strong but gentle hands pushed me down lightly.

"Try to relax – you hit your head pretty hard."

"Who…" I managed to croak out, "Where…"

"Open your eyes."

I opened them again, and my vision improved slightly. Two guys were looking down on me, worried, anxious…

"Zuko? Aang?"

"Hey, she didn't get amnesia after all," Zuko chuckled. I hit him exhaustedly, causing a few more chuckles from him.

"How are you feeling, Katara?" Aang slipped his arms behind my back to help me sit up properly. I shut my eyes tightly and opened them again, hoping to relieve the pain.

"Woozy," I replied, "What happened?"

"Well, Zuko here got worried because you weren't at school today, so we went to your grandmother's place."

"And how did you know the address?" I said to Zuko. He shrugged.

"Uncle."

"Ah, of course."

"Then, we found you on the floor, unconscious," Aang continued, "You hit a rock fairly hard."

"Why would I hit a…Hama!" I cried out, trying to stand up. I fell down, outbalanced, and strong arms caught me.

"You should really be more careful," Zuko whispered. My cheeks felt a little hot…and was it just me, or did Aang just glare at Zuko? I felt Zuko's chest stiffen a laugh.

Hana's smirking face suddenly flashed in my mind. I gasped. "What happened to Hama?"

"You mean that woman who locked us in here?"

"No, the woman who….wait, what?"

"Katara," Aang sighed, "Look around you."

Sitting up from Zuko's arms, I turned my body around to look at my surroundings. We were in a metal cage…have I only just realized now?

"No," I whispered, gripping the metal bars and trying to yank them out helplessly, "No! We have to get out!"

"We've been trying," Aang's voice was defeated, "But unfortunately, the metal is too strong for air."

"Fire-proof," Zuko muttered.

"And I still haven't learnt metal bending," Aang finished, "So basically, we're trapped."

"…Unless water can do anything…?" Zuko looked at the bars then at me, then back at the bars again.

"If air, let alone fire can't do anything, then water is pretty much useless."

"Ice!" Aang exclaimed, "Katara, you can use ice to freeze the metal and we can smash our way out!" Zuko and I looked at each other in confusion then back at the young avatar.

"Gee, I'd love to…" I scratched the back of my head, embarrassed, "But I'm new to this bending thing. I haven't even learnt most of the techniques. Besides Aang, you're the avatar. Have you learnt how to produce ice?"

He shook his head and my face fell.

"Well, this is great," Zuko mumbled sarcastically, leaning back at the bars, arms behind his head, "Now what?"

I suddenly remembered everything that happened before I hit the rock…the technique Hama used on me…bloodbending, she called it.

It was the worst thing I have ever witnessed.

"Guys?" I was surprised at my little, scared voice. The two looked at me, anxiously.

"Katara?"

"Did Hama do anything to you…unusual?"

"You mean by controlling us against our will?"

"Yes!" I pointed my index finger towards Aang, who said it.

"How does she do that?" Zuko wondered aloud. I sighed.

"Have you looked outside the sky tonight?"

"Yes, it was a full moon – you and Hama should be feeling a strong surge of power…" Zuko mused, "But how is that connected to her… 'puppeteer' abilities?"

"Logic, Zuko," At a time like this, I tried to actually sound logical, but it was hard with my quivering voice. "She's a water bender, right? Blood is liquid, right? Most of our bodies consist of water, correct?"

"She controlled us through water bending?!" Aang snapped, "How…when?!"

"Bloodbending," My voice was hardly a whisper now as I mentioned the word, "I don't know when it originated from. Do you, Aang? Since you've lived ages before me." I glanced at Zuko to see if he had a confused expression about what I was on about, but he looked satisfied enough. I'm guessing Aang told him everything.

"No, Katara, I've never heard of bloodbending before," Aang whispered, looking through the bars. His grey eyes scanned the area.

"Whoever she is," Zuko said in a quiet voice, "She's dangerous. Not just to us, but to everyone." His gaze met mine, his gold eyes filled with concern.

"If we don't find her now, not only will she kill a lot of innocent people, but place our hidden secrecy to jeopardy."

I nodded. "You're absolutely right. But how do we get out?"

"I don't know," Aang said, "But somehow, we need to get out of here."

He gripped onto one of the metal bars so tight that his veins were popping out of his wrists.

"We have to stop her."

The previous chapter was meant to be called, 'Healers and Puppeteers.'

Yes, next chapter is going to be full of action (:

Thanks for R&R-ing. (:

x