Aang stuck his head out of the muck. "Momo!"
The lemur flew to where Aang's head just was.
The Avatar stuck his head out further away. "Oh, Momo!" He ducked again, but when he re-emerged further away, Momo flew quickly to him. Aang laughed. "You found me, buddy!" He jumped out, landing on Appa's saddle. "Hey, guys, I think this river's polluted." He informed, looking over himself as he dripped mud. He airbended it off of him, splashing everyone else with it. "Whoops. Sorry." He muttered, bending air again to get it off.
"Well, that explains why I can't catch a fish around here." Sokka started. "Because, normally-"
"Please don't." You mumbled.
"My fishing skills are off the hook!" He finished, a giant grin on his face as he held up the hook. "Get it!? Like a fishing hook!"
"Too bad your skills aren't on the hook." Toph grumbled.
You all laughed, except for Sokka.
"It looks like we'll need to go somewhere else to get food." Katara voiced, looking around. "Assuming that will fit into Sokka's master schedule." She added once she saw the paper roll passed her.
"Hm. It's do-able." Sokka informed. "But that means only two potty breaks, today." He declared, holding up a finger.
"Hey! Then maybe we can get food there!" Aang exclaimed, pointing at a small town in the middle of the sludge.
"Now you look just like a little hill with horns!" Aang told his bison as he looked him over.
You turned, seeing that Aang had covered Appa with a moss blanket.
"Bye, buddy!" He yelled, following the rest of the group away.
You faintly heard Appa groan quietly back.
"I don't feel anything. Where is this village?" Toph asked as you all reached the end of the island you were on.
"It's in the middle of the river!" Sokka exclaimed, pointing.
"Sure is!" A voice called.
You looked around, seeing an old man wearing a hat below you.
"My name is Doc. Mind if I ask who you are?"
"We're, um… from the Earth Kingdom colonies." Katara told him.
"Wow, colonials. Well, hop on. I'll give you a ride into town."
You all carefully stepped on the man's boat.
"Why do you guys live on the river?" Katara questioned.
"Because we're a fishing town." He explained, swinging the stick he was using to paddle with to the other side.
You ducked to avoid it. "Doesn't look like you get much fish." You noted, looking at the mucky water.
"Well, that's how it was before the factory moved in." Doc elaborated. "The army makes their metal, there. They moved in a few years ago and have been gunking up out river. And now our little village is struggling to survive."
"Thanks for the ride!" Aang called as you helped Toph out of the boat and onto the dock.
You all began walking through the town, looking around. Everyone had a dull expression on their face, and they all just sat around.
"Look at this place. It's so sad." Katara muttered. She stopped walking. "We have to do something to help."
Sokka doubled back. "No, we can't waste our time, here. We have a bigger mission that we need to stay focused on. These people are on their own." He said, turning and walking away.
Katara stalked towards him, grabbing him by the shoulder and turning him around. "These people are starving, but you turn your back on them? How can you be so cold and heartless?"
"I'm not 'turning my back', I'm just being realistic!" Sokka argued. He threw his arms up in the air, exasperated. "We can't just go around helping every rinky-dink town we wander into! We'll be helping them all by taking out the Firelord!"
"Hey, loudmouth!" Toph yelled, throwing her hand over Sokka's mouth. "Maybe we should be a little quieter when we talk about taking out the Firelord." She whispered, dropping her hand back to her side.
"Come on, Katara, be reasonable about this." Sokka pleaded quietly. "You know our mission has to come first."
"I guess so." She mumbled, looking away.
"Let's just get what we need, and go." Aang suggested.
You all followed, looking around for anything useful.
"Over here!" Sokka exclaimed, rushing over. He tapped a little bell that sat on the counter. "Hey, Doc. You work here, too?" He asked as the man turned around.
"I'm not Doc. I'm Shu. Doc's my brother."
"But we just saw you." Aang reminded, pointing at him. "You're even wearing the same clothes. The only difference is your hat."
"Doc works on the dock. That's why they call him 'Doc'."
"Not because it's his name?" You asked, crossing your arms and raising an eyebrow.
The man shook his head. "I work in the shop. That's why they call me 'Shu'."
"I don't get it." Aang said after a while.
"Me neither." Do- Shu… ducked down, lifting a container and placing it on the counter. "What can I get ya?"
You closed your eyes, holding your nose as your face scrunched in disgust.
"Hey, I'll give you a special deal. If you buy three fish, I'll throw in a clam for free!"
Katara and Aang made noises of disapproval.
"We'll just take the fish." Sokka told him. "Do you mind telling your brother we need a ride back to shore?"
You turned around, seeing Shu duck, then re-emerge, wearing Doc's hat.
"Hey, colonials! My brother says you need a lift!"
You all shared glances.
"Our detour into town today has completely thrown off our schedule!" Sokka noted, looking over the paper as he dipped a bowl into the cauldron. "This is going to take some serious finagling to get us back on track." He declared, walking away.
"Finagle away, oh, schedule master." Toph deadpanned, walking over.
The rest followed.
"Well, for starters, it looks like we'll need to wake up forty-three minutes earlier every day."
You groaned.
"Forty-three minutes?" Katara echoed.
"Look, we only have a few weeks to get to the Firelord before the invasion and eclipse." Sokka defended as Katara passed out bowls of soup. "Which by the way, only lasts for eight minutes."
You spat out the soup that was in your mouth. "Eight minutes! That's no time at all!"
"I know, but it's what we've got. 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."
"Well, I'm not waking up early." Toph insisted, laying down.
"Or, we could just cut out all of our eating breaks."
"What?" Aang questioned.
"No way!" Katara denied.
"Forget it!" Toph exclaimed, sitting up.
You shook your head.
"I got it!" Sokka shouted, turning to the group. "How's this? From now on, we take food breaks and potty breaks at the same time!"
"Absolutely not!" You rejected.
Aang spat out a mouthful of soup.
"Hey, it might be gross, but it's efficient." Sokka insisted.
"It's really not." You mumbled.
"Either way, we have to leave here first thing tomorrow morning." He declared, picking up his schedule and stalking away.
"What's the matter, Katara?" Aang asked, hopping down from the rock he was on.
"I think Appa's sick."
"What!? Appa's sick!? That's awful!" Sokka shouted, rushing over.
"Wow, Sokka. I didn't realize you cared so much." Toph mumbled, still riddled with sleep.
"Of course I care. I might as well just throw our schedule away, now!" He exclaimed, reaching into his shirt and pulling out the long roll of parchment.
You all glared at him.
"And, I'm concerned because my big furry friend doesn't feel well." He added, rubbing Appa's face lovingly.
"He must have gotten sick from being in the filthy water." Toph mused.
"He doesn't look sick." Aang noted. "You okay, buddy?" He asked, turning to his bison.
Appa opened his mouth to roar in response, and Aang pulled out the creature's tongue.
"His tongue is purple." He said, falling over because of the weight of the tongue. "That can't be good. Katara, can you heal him?"
"It looks like he needs some medicine. Maybe we can find the right herbs in town." She suggested.
Your eyes narrowed suspiciously, but you followed them all into town nonetheless.
"Is it just me, or does this place seem different?" Toph remarked, following behind Sokka.
"Yeah. Are the people… happier?" Aang wondered.
You turned, seeing a girl walk by, juggling a ball between her feet.
"Hey, Shu; what's going on with everyone today?" Sokka asked the man as he leaned on the counter.
Shu slurped something out of a ladle before turning to answer Sokka. "Ah, something amazing happened last night. Food was delivered to our village by a mysterious and wonderful person. The Painted Lady."
"The Painted- who, now?" Katara asked.
"The Painted Lady." Shu pulled out a small statue and sat it on the counter. "She's part of our town's lore. They say she's a river spirit who watches over our town in times of need."
"Shu, how long has this town been… in need?" You wondered, crossing your arms.
"Oh, years."
"And The Painted Lady only just showed up last night?"
"That's right."
"Well, that's lucky." You said, though it sounded strained and forced. You glanced at Katara out of the corner of your eye.
"It sure is. I always thought she was just a legend! Until now." He gestured around at the happier townsfolk.
"See? We don't need to help these people. Someone's already helping them." Sokka voiced.
Katara placed a hand on her hip in disapproval.
"All we need is medicine for our sick friend." Sokka told Shu.
"Medicine? Sorry. All the medicine we have goes to the factory. That's why there's so many sick people in our village." Shu explained.
"Looks like we need to stay another night so Appa can rest." Katara reasoned.
Sokka sighed heavily. "I guess you're right." He turned to Shu. "You got any more food to sell?"
Shu reached down, pulling out a fish in each hand. "Would you like the one-headed fish, or the two-headed fish?"
"Two-headed!" Sokka exclaimed, grabbing it.
You gagged.
"What?" He asked, turning around. "You get more for your money that way."
"I've just decided that I'm not eating supper today." You mumbled.
You lay awake, hungry. There wasn't really anything for you to eat, and since it was the middle of the night, you couldn't exactly go over to the town and get a regular fish. You sighed, pushing yourself to your feet.
Maybe you could find some berries, or something.
You crept away, making sure to not disturb your still-sleeping friends. Except, there was one missing.
Katara.
You walked to the edge of the cliff, where you first saw Doc. Looking below, you could make out a figure venturing into the water.
You waterbended, bringing up a wave in front of the figure and freezing it, blocking their path.
You jumped down, bending the water so only your feet were in the water.
"I thought so."
The figure tilted her hat so that you couldn't see her face.
You rolled your eyes. "Drop the act, Katara, I know it's you." You insisted, pulling the hat off her head.
Her head snapped up instinctively as she reached for the hat.
You crossed your arms, handing it over to her as you used your other hand to melt the ice wall. "What are you doing?"
She sighed, holding the hat at her waist. "Someone has to help these people." She insisted. "It's not my fault my brother's too stubborn to see it."
"Sokka's right." You countered calmly. "The invasion plan is more important. We can help these people later."
"But by then it might be too late." Katara sighed again, closing her eyes.
"Appa's not even sick, is he?" You asked.
Katara looked over at you sheepishly. "No. I just needed a reason to stay here for a little longer and help."
"And the getup?"
"Well, they already thought I was The Painted Lady, so…" She trailed off, looking away.
"I see." You placed your hands on your hips. "And if this little detour causes us to miss the eclipse?"
Katara didn't say anything.
"I know that you're trying to do the right thing, but this was wrong. And, honestly, kind of selfish."
"I know." She admitted, hanging her head. "I just wanted to help."
You sighed. "I hope you know that the others will hear about this."
Katara's blue eyes snapped to your e/c ones. "What? They can't."
"They should." You insisted. "Katara, we can't stay here."
"What if you helped me?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"If you helped me tonight, then we can do double the amount that I did yesterday. We'll be that much closer to leaving, and then there'd be no reason to tell the others."
You considered her for a few moments. You were surprised at first that Katara had asked for your help, but upon realizing that it was only to save her neck, you became less shocked. "Fine. I'll help you tonight, but that's it."
Katara grinned, putting her hat back on.
You both waterbended to the town, Katara leading you into the building where all of the sick people were.
Your eyes widened at the number of people as Katara set to work.
The smoke-screen she had created was making it harder to see, but she assured you that it was for the best.
You joined Katara, healing everyone in the room before leaving.
A child that was inside rushed out.
You, having heard the footsteps, slipped quietly into the water to avoid being seen.
"Thank you, Painted Lady." The kid spoke.
Katara, not having expected the witness, became rigid before stepping into the water and heading back.
You waterbended so that you were under the surface of the water, unseen as you followed Katara.
"Hi, Doc. Is Shu around?" Sokka asked the man at the counter.
"Let me check." Doc whistled as he walked away, ducking down and walked back around, with Shu's hat on. "Hey there. Back again, are ya?"
"We need more food." Toph explained, walking forward and shoving Sokka away. "Our friend is still sick and we can't leave until he's better." She said, slamming some coins on the counter.
"Oh, well, that's too bad." Shu replied, placing a plate of oozing clams on the counter. "Maybe if you guys are lucky, The Painted Lady will visit you in the night and heal your friend."
You and Katara shared glances.
"And maybe she'll cook us a midnight snack, and we'll all have a sing-a-long." Sokka suggested sarcastically, picking up the plate.
"Yeah, maybe!" Shu agreed. "You know, last night she visited us again? Healed most of our sick folks."
"Is that why this place seems so festive?" Aang asked.
You turned, seeing kids run by with kites. Behind them several people were putting up a Painted Lady statue.
"Yep. It's all because of The Painted Lady." Shu answered.
"Can you believe how much an entire village can be affected by one lady?" Katara asked excitedly. "I mean, spirit."
You placed a hand on your hip.
"Well, I hope she returns every night, because otherwise, this place would go right back to the way it was." Sokka voiced.
"Why would you say that?" Katara asked, turning around to face her brother. "Look how much better off these people are."
"Yeah, now. But without her, they wouldn't be able to fend for themselves." Sokka defended. "If she really wanted to help, she would use her spirit magic to blow up that factory." He then proceeded to make explosion noises.
"Spirit magic doesn't work that way, Sokka." Aang told him. "It's more like-" He then also made noises, though his were softer.
You chuckled softly while Katara stormed off.
"I know what you're doing."
Katara turned to you. "I have to do this. Sokka was right." She said, painting lines on her face. "Destroying the factory is the only way to fix this for good."
"I'll help you."
"I don't want to drag you into this." She said, standing and putting on her hat.
"It's a bit late for that."
"I shouldn't be long. Just stay here and make sure everything's okay. Or, go to the village and heal anyone that we might have missed."
You tilted your head slightly. "And if you encounter trouble?"
"I can manage." She assured, smiling to ease your anxiety. She created a smoke trail behind her, rushing away.
You shook your head, watching her leave.
Hearing a shout, you turned, seeing Aang chasing after her.
"Oh, boy." You mumbled.
"Hi, Sokka." Katara greeted nervously.
You looked over, having been rolling up your sleeping bag, seeing Katara and Aang standing in front of Toph and Sokka, both of which had their hands on their hips.
"We were just out for a… morning… walk." Katara offered weakly.
"Oh, really?" Sokka challenged. "A morning walk!?" He dumped out Katara's sleeping bag, a bunch of hay falling out. He dropped it on the ground to point at her. "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 feeding him purpleeyzingtongueberries!" He accused, pointing at Toph.
Toph stuck out her tongue, revealing that it was purple as she held up a bag of berries.
"Katara, what you did put our whole mission in jeopardy. We're leaving right now."
Katara walked passed him sadly, Aang following.
"And how long did you know about this?" Sokka probed Aang.
"Hey, I just found out this morning." Aang defended before rushing away.
"What's going on?" Toph asked as you both approached the others who were crouched behind a little hill.
"Firenation soldiers are heading towards the village." Aang filled in.
Katara closed her eyes, bowing her head.
"What did you do?" Sokka snapped at his sister.
"I… kind of destroyed their factory?" She offered weakly.
"You what!?"
"It was your idea!"
"I was joking!" Sokka yelled back. "I also said to use 'spirit magic' and made funny noises!" Sokka face-palmed, letting out a small noise.
You shook your head. Siblings.
"Did you even think this through?" Sokka demanded, turning to Katara. "The soldiers are going to blame the villagers. They're headed there right now to get revenge." He crossed his arms.
"Well, what was I supposed to do?"
"Leave! Do nothing."
"No!" Katara snapped.
You and Aang shared worried glances.
"I will never, ever, turn my back on people who need me!"
Sokka looked alarmed.
Katara stood. "I'm going down to the village. And I am going to do whatever I can." She declared, beginning to walk away.
Sokka closed his eyes in thought before standing, chasing after her. He grabbed her shoulder, stopping her. "Wait! I'm coming, too."
"I thought you didn't want to help."
"You need me. And I will never turn my back on you."
"Sokka, you really do have a heart." Katara spoke softly, hugging him.
He hugged her back as the rest of you walked over.
"He really does have a heart, doesn't he?" Aang asked softly.
You turned, seeing him wipe away tears. "So, what's the plan?" You questioned, looking over at Sokka.
You could see Aang blowing out fires from your spot with Appa and Toph.
You drew up lots of steam, sending it around the village to unnerve the firenation soldiers.
Toph lifted and dropped a large chunk of rock while Appa roared to scare them even more.
Sokka played an instrument softly a little further away to create atmosphere.
You watched as Katara stood on the dock in front of the soldiers.
She lifted up two of their boats using waterbending and shot them into the side of the cliff, blowing them up.
Two of the boats sped away, the other soldiers running away.
The leader, you assumed, shot a fire whip at Katara, but Aang, who was under her, blew her into the air, dodging the blow.
Aang shot another gust of wind at the man, sending him into the mucky water as Katara came back down.
She rushed over to him, and before you knew it, he was swimming away as fast as he could.
"Come on, guys." You said, grabbing Toph and Sokka.
"Where are we- ahh!" Sokka yelled as you jumped into the water.
Toph let out a gasp.
You bended the water under you into an ice platform. "Hold on." You instructed.
Sokka grabbed onto you, sandwiching Toph between you.
You bended the water, shooting you all towards the village.
You all climbed out of the water, after melting the ice, as Katara came back to face the group.
"I knew you'd come." The same kid from before told her.
"Thank you." Doc said, walking towards her.
"Painted Lady, you're the best!" Another man shouted.
"Me and my brothers really owe you a lot." Doc told her.
"He has more?" You mumbled.
"Hey. Wait a minute. I know you." Doc said. "You're not The Painted Lady. You're that colonial girl!"
Katara reached up, wiping her face and looking at it. Her makeup was coming off.
"Yeah. You're the lady that gave me a fish." The child voiced.
"You've been tricking us! You're a waterbender!"
"She's a waterbender!" Another man from the crowd yelled.
"How dare you act like our Painted Lady!" Another one accused.
They all stepped forward, yelling.
Sokka rushed forward, standing in front of his sister with his arms extended on either side of him. "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!" He said sharply, pointing at the ground.
"Sokka, it's okay." Katara told him, stepping around him. She took off her hat and hood, facing 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 real. You can't wait around for someone to help you. You have to help yourselves."
"She's right." Doc voiced. "But, what should we do?"
"Maybe we could clean the river!" Toph said from among the crowd, disguising her voice.
You hid a smirk.
"Yeah! We can clean the river!" Doc agreed.
Everyone cheered, walking away to prepare.
"Thank you." Doc said, walking over to Katara. "You know, you're not so bad for a waterbender."
You looked at him incredulously. What was that supposed to mean?
"You wouldn't mind keeping that a secret by the way, would you?" Sokka requested.
"No problem. Keeping my mouth shut is a personal specialty." Doc assured. "My brother Shu on the other hand, now he's a blabber mouth."
Sokka face palmed, leaving another red mark.
"So, Doc, are you gonna help us clean?" Katara asked.
"No, ma'am. I'm going to get my other brother, Bushi. He loves cleaning rivers." He ripped off his hat, revealing a different one underneath. "Alright, I'm Bushi. Let's get some river cleaning done!"
"Ah ha. I knew it." Aang declared, walking over and pointing at Do- Bushi. "I knew you were the same guy. The shop owner, and the boat guy." Aang said, counting on his fingers.
"Oh, you must be talking about my brothers, Doc and Shu."
"No, I just saw you! You switched hats and called yourself a different name!"
"Oh, you know who does that?"
"You?" You offered, crossing your arms.
"My brother, Doc." Bushi leaned forward to whisper. "He's crazy." He began to laugh.
You all looked at him in disbelief.
The river was finally clean.
"I'm so tired." You grumbled, flopping down on Appa's tail.
"We're never stopping in another village again." Sokka declared, his voice exhausted.
"Agreed."