We continue on and find ourselves next to a very polluted river. And of course, Aang goes and jumps around in it, despite how gross it looks. He pops back out. "Momo!" He pops down under the surface again, only to pop back out again. "Oh Momo!" Momo flies down to him and Aang laughs. "Hahahahahaha! You found me buddy!" And when he comes back up on Appa, I slide down to Appa's head and press myself against his fur as Aang airbends all of the sludge off, narrowly missing hitting me with it, and covering Katara, Toph and Sokka with it. "Hey guys, I think this river's polluted."

I scrunch up my sensitive nose. "No kidding, it smells terrible." Toph spits some sludge out of her mouth.

Sokka holds up his fishing line. "Well that explains why I can't catch a fish around here, because normally, my fishing skills are off the hook!" He dangles the hook in front of his face. "Get it? Like a fishing hook?"

Toph smirks. "Too bad your skills aren't on the hook."

I groan again. "Ugh, these jokes are terrible."

Katara sighs. "It looks like we'll need to go somewhere else to get food, assuming it'll fit into Sokka's master schedule."

And I stay out of Sokka's way when he brings out the master schedule that he came up with. "Hm…it's doable. But that means only two potty breaks today."

Then I point ahead of us. "Hey you guys, there's a town ahead, if you're really that hungry."

"Alright, land us." Aang sits down as I bring us down for a landing.

"So, how about this. The four of you go to the town and try to find something to eat, and I'll see if there is anything around here worth hunting. That way, we maximize our chances of getting something to eat. Agreed?" I look at Aang and Sokka, who nod.

So, after covering up Appa, we split up and I head into the hills to try and find something to eat. I spend all day hunting, and I finally come across some kind of boar that I've never seen before. So I bring it down and bleed it, then cover the blood with dirt so that it won't attract any wild animals. Then I heft it onto my back and haul it back to camp.

Once I get back to camp with it, I skin and gut it, chop it up, and hand all of the meat to Katara, who turns it into stew by using some of the water that she, Aang and Toph purified using waterbending and earthbending.

"Our detour into town today has completely thrown off our schedule. It's gonna take some serious finagling to get us back on track." Sokka's eyes dart over his schedule quickly.

"Finagle away, oh schedule master." Toph sounds bored and tired. Obviously, she doesn't like river towns much.

Sokka finishes looking at the schedule. "Well, for starters, it looks like we'll need to wake up forty-three minutes earlier every day."

"Forty-three minutes?" Katara is shocked at her brother's math.

"Look, we only have a few weeks to get to the Fire Lord in time for the invasion and the eclipse, which, by the way, only lasts for eight minutes. And we just lost a whole day. So if we want to make up the time and stay on schedule, we have to wake up early!"

I roll my eyes. "Come on Sokka, we've got a flying bison. Besides, if it really comes down to it, we can pull a last-minute all-nighter, and I'll fly Appa there while the rest of you sleep. I mean, it's not like Appa is going to be participating in most the battle, so flying longer won't be a big problem. And it's not like we haven't done it before. We always manage to get where we're going with time to spare, so stop worrying about it."

Toph agrees with me. "Yeah, I'm not waking up early."

"Or we could cut out all of our eating breaks." Sokka's suggestion is met by complete opposition, so he comes up with another solution. "I got it, how's this from now on, we'll take food breaks and potty breaks at the same time." Of course that disgusts us all. "Hey, it might be gross, but it's efficient. Either way, we have to leave here first thing tomorrow morning."

In the morning, not all is well, because Appa's tongue has turned purple and he's acting like he's sick. Of course, Sokka's main concern is that now, our schedule is off. Though I do notice that most of the stew from last night is now gone. And I also noticed that Katara came back early in the morning after sneaking out. The perks of being the one who gets up first every morning, as well as the one on night watch, I know if anything is weird before everyone else.

So, since we're out of food again, I go out to the same place as last time and track down another boar so that we can make another pot of stew. I also find some herbs and spices growing wild that I can add to the food to make it taste better.

Late in the night, I see Katara sneak out, and I confront her just outside the camp. "So, where are you sneaking off to?"

She cringes and turns around and I see her disguise. "I was going to the village with food for the hungry, and to heal their sick and injured."

I tap my foot, and then smile. "So that's where the stew went."

She looks like a kid who has been caught doing something naughty. "I'm sorry, I just-"

"No, it's fine." I smile brightly at her. "We couldn't have eaten it all ourselves, and this place needs help. So please, if you're going to help these people…my people…then thank you." A flutter of warmth passes through my skin as I say that they're my people. It's a notion I've only entertained recently.

Her eyes widen. "Your people?" Then she gasps. "That's right; you said that you were the princess of the islands in the eastern Fire Nation. So these really are your people." She nods quickly. "So that's why you're fine with this."

I nod. "Of course I am. I would help you, but I don't really see any way that I could, apart from continuing to hunt for food. Healing is not my specialty."

"Of course. But the fact that you care means that you should be the one looking after them." Katara looks at me seriously. "The Fire Nation is going to need a leader after the war is over. So why don't you do it?"

I blink, and then gaze out at the night sky. "Maybe, if I survive all this. You know the metal spikes in my back? They're killing me, and I don't know how much time I have left. I should be able to make it to the final battle, and maybe even to the end of the summer. If I'm really lucky, I might have years left. But I have no way of knowing how much longer I'm going to live. So rather than think about the future, I want to think about the present. I want to do what I can now and let the rest figure itself out."

Katara nods at me sadly. "I guess that's all any of us can do."

I wave her off. "Alright, go, you have work to do."

She nods and runs off, sliding across the river and out of sight. And I go back to sleep, thinking hard about what Katara said. If I survive this war, who will lead the Fire Nation? Should it be me? Or should I find someone else?

And as usual, while the others go into town, I go out on a day long hunting trip. This time, I bring back a couple of boars, and I get started on the stew since Katara already prepared a pot of water for me. And the food is ready by the time they get back.

I go to sleep early, and I wake up early. And I'm the first to notice that Katara and Aang are gone. I look over towards the factory, and I have a sneaking suspicion that, since it's the source of all the trouble for the village, Katara probably went to destroy it, and Aang caught her, and then decided to go along as well. Smoke coming from that direction only enhances my suspicion. Then, I find straw in Katara's sleeping bag, and then, I hear a footstep behind me.

"Where did Katara go?" I turn around to see Sokka glaring at me. "Tell me where she went."

I sigh and sit down. "She probably went to help the villagers again. She's been bringing them food and healing them every night."

The Toph gets up from her sleeping bag. "Katara has been sneaking out? Weird."

Sokka then shoves a bag in my face. "And do you know what this is?"

I glance at it. "Nope, but I assume that you're going to tell me, based on your tone."

He opens the bag to reveal purple berries. He tries eating one and his tongue turns purple. "This is how she's been making Appa seem sick. So how long have you known about her being the Painted Lady?"

I frown. "Painted Lady? Is that what the villagers call her? And hey, I've only known since a day and a half ago."

Sokka glares at me. "Now where is she?"

My eyes twitches, then I relent. "Probably on her way back with Aang. They probably went to destroy that factory."

And right on time, Katara and Aang walk back into camp, hoping not to wake us all up. "Shhh! We don't wanna wake Sokka." The two of them walk over, and notice that we're up. "Hi Sokka, we were just out on a morning walk."

Sokka gets really mad at his sister and Aang for sneaking off in the middle of the night. "Oh, really? A morning walk?" He dumps all of the straw out of the sleeping bag. " I know you're the Painted Lady. I know you've been sneaking out at night. And I know you've been lying about Appa and been feeding him purpleising tongue berries." He and Toph stick out their tongues and show the purple color of them. "Katara, what you did put out whole mission in jeopardy. We're leaving right now!" Then Sokka turns on Aang. "And how long did you know about this?"

Aang gets defensive. "Hey, I just found out this morning!"

So I turn on Sokka. "I know that this probably means nothing to you, but it means a lot to me. Katara helped my people. She helped them when I couldn't. So don't go and get mad at her for doing something good."

"These aren't your people!" Sokka glares at me angrily. "They're just a small fishing village that's fallen on hard times."

So I get right back in his face. "They're from the islands, which makes them my people. That truth is burned into my blood; it's why my golden fire exists. Don't you even try denying it, because people keep pushing me back into this, and now, I'm not going to just run away from what I am. I declared my existence to Azula and Zuko, so now; there is no running away from who I really am. So by the end of this war, either we win, or I die, it's that simple for me. So in light of that, I have to consider my position. And that means that I have to consider what I can do for my people."

Sokka opens his mouth to argue, but we're interrupted by boats passing by on the river, and we race to the edge of the cliff, where Aang cringes. "Fire Nation soldiers are heading towards the village."

Sokka turns on Katara. "What did you do?"

"I kind of destroyed their factory."

"You what!?"

Katara turns back on Sokka. "It was your idea!" And then the two of them get into an argument over who was right and who was wrong and whether or not it was a good idea to destroy the factory.

They continue to argue until I finally lose my temper. "Alright, that's it! I'm going down there to help them!"

Katara touches my shoulder. "I'm going too. I'm going to go with you to the village and I'm going to do whatever I can."

And as the two of us start walking down the cliff, Sokka stops us. "Wait! I'm coming too."

Katara turns on her brother. "I thought you didn't want to help."

Sokka sighs. "You need me, and I will never turn my back on you." Then his eyes flick to me. "Either of you."

"Sokka, you really do have a heart." Katara hugs her big brother happily.

Aang wipes away happy tears. "He really does have a heart, doesn't he?" Toph elbows him and I roll my eyes. "Then let's go."

Sokka nods. "And I have a plan. We're going to make the Painted Lady take down the soldiers."

So we move into action. Katara and I make a steamy mist, and Sokka plays the flute eerily, while Toph smacks a boulder on the ground and Appa growls rhythmically. It's a spooky atmosphere for the Painted Lady. And Aang provides all of the bending effects for her, making it all seem very spirit-like.

It scares them so much that the guards drive off in the boats, and Aang lifts Katara above a blast of fire. Then, Katara knocks the captain into the water. "Leave this village and never come back" And when we all gather together in the village, the villagers thank Katara, thinking that she's the Painted Lady.

But one old man approaches her. "Me and my brothers really owe you a lot." But then, he frowns. "Hey, wait a minute! I know you! You're not the Painted Lady, you're that colonial girl!"

But her makeup starts to run, and a little boy recognizes her. "Yeah, you're the lady that gave me a fish."

"You've been tricking us. You're a waterbender!"

They're not so happy to find out that she's been impersonating their guardian spirit. So Sokka intervenes and sticks up for his sister. "Maybe she is a waterbender, but she was just trying to help you. Because of her, that factory won't be polluting your river, and the army is gone. You should be down on your knees thanking her!"

Katara stops her brother. "Sokka, it's okay." Then she addresses the villagers. "I shouldn't have acted like someone I wasn't, and I shouldn't have tricked you. But I felt like I had to do something. It doesn't matter if the Painted Lady is real or not. Because your problems are real, and this river is can't wait around for someone to help you. You have to help yourself."

The old man scratches his head. "She's right, but what should we do?"

Toph plays the part of a villager from the back. "Maybe we can clean the river!"

"Yeah, we can clean the river!" The crowd starts cheering. "Thank you, you know, you're no so bad for a waterbender."

I edge away from the weird old man, and I start examining the river. After Aang, Toph and Katara have a chance to check out the river, we get to work. Toph and Aang earthbend the sludge from the river, and Katara waterbends the clean water into a huge basket. And Sokka brings the sludge to me on the other end of the village so that I can torch it and make it into something less harmful for nature. The work goes on all day, but soon, the water is clean, and the village is happy again.