Chapter 7 - The Painted Lady Is Missing
"This place is so depressing," Sokka commented as the group of four walked the rickety planks of the wooden walkways of Jang Hui. It was the next settlement they had come across on their northwest heading journey of island hopping, a crumbling fishing village built in the middle of the river, it's fortunes fading fast because of the pollution of the river that had made fishing near impossible.
"It's a good thing we stockpiled so much food on our previous stop, that was a good idea, Zuko," Katara nodded at the exiled prince. "I don't think I could swallow a single bite of that horrific looking two-headed fish, I'm going to see it in my nightmares tonight."
"Well, the sooner we can ditch this place, the better, and it seems like we have no reason to stay," Toph sighed, sounding annoyed. "Once again, no solid ground under my feet, I just can't stand it!"
"I'm surprised that Katara isn't already demanding for us to remain until we've helped all these poor, oppressed people," Sokka chuckled, rolling his eyes.
"Don't be ridiculous," Katara snapped at him. "I've learned my lesson when it comes to showing compassion. It would probably end up biting us in the backside somehow, anyway. So don't worry, Sokka, I can keep my eyes on our main goal just fine."
"Glad to hear it," Sokka gave her an approving nod, then looking back at Zuko, their new friend and ally lingering a little behind, staring in the distance downriver. "Anything interesting there, Zuko?"
"Perhaps," Zuko shrugged, pointing in the distance. "Unless I'm mistaken, there's a factory down that way. It's probably responsible for all this pollution."
"That's all very sad, Zuko, and once you've taken over from your crazy dad, I'm sure you'll be able to do something about it," Sokka spoke, putting his hand on Zuko's shoulder and trying to pull him away. "But right now, we probably should be away from a place where we have no hope of restocking our supplies."
"You don't get it, Sokka," Zuko removed Sokka's hand from his shoulder. "It's not just any factory. It's a factory that produces ammunition for the Fire Nation military."
"Hmm, so... what you're saying is... that it would be a real shame if something happened to it?" Sokka blinked in realization.
"I like where this is going," Katara's smile turned slightly predatory once again. "Toph, how would you like to cause some major property damage?"
"I'm definitely in the mood for some destruction, Sweetness," Toph grinned.
"Well, then it's decided," Sokka rubbed his hands, looking excited. "Let's grab a boat and get back to the camp, we can talk details there as we wait for the nightfall."
"It would probably make sense to attack under the cover of the night," Zuko sighed.
"Aww, cheer up Sparky, don't feel so sad about never getting to impress Katara with your firebending at its most powerful!" Toph laughed.
"What's she talking about now?" Sokka blinked.
"Nothing," Zuko shrugged.
"Exactly, Toph is just being Toph," Katara sighed. "Now, where's that crazy ferryman... it's time we got back to the camp."
"Step this way, step this way!" right on cue, the crazy old ferryman who had introduced himself as Dock appeared, welcoming them onto his rickety boat. Fortunately, they didn't have to deal with the presence of the eccentric old man for too long, quickly reaching the shore. Sokka threw a coin at Dock before they retreated back to their carefully chosen campsite, well away from the eyes of the Jang Hui villagers.
"Right!" Sokka called out for everyone's attention once they were back in the safety of their camp. "So, as soon as the night falls, we're hitting that factory! And immediately after that, we'll be packing up and moving on, so... that can mean only one thing!"
"Nap time!" Toph exclaimed, letting out a huge yawn. Toph never found it easy to fall asleep on Appa's back during flight, so she was clearly glad for an opportunity to sleep on solid ground.
"I'm honestly not at all sleepy right now," Katara shrugged. "I think I'll stay up a bit."
"Well, that sounds like your problem, Sweetness," Toph shrugged at her. "Sweet dreams, you lot!" the smaller girl called out as she disappeared behind the flap of her tent.
"I'm off too, and you two make sure to get some rest as well," Sokka said sternly to both Katara and Zuko. "I want us to be well rested for the next leg of our journey, we have a schedule to maintain!"
"Ah yes, the ever important schedule, obviously," Katara rolled her eyes.
Zuko felt himself full of hesitation. Sokka was right, they all needed sleep ahead of another exhausting night of traveling, and yet, suddenly he couldn't think of sleeping when he knew that Katara would be staying up all by herself. Still, he wasn't sure that she even wanted his company, so Zuko found himself caught in two minds, lingering by his tent indecisively.
"If you're not sleepy, you can keep me company," Katara looked at him, speaking with the faintest of smiles.
"Thanks," Zuko replied with a smile of his own, relief washing over him. "I don't think I would have been able to sleep, but I... wasn't sure if you wanted to be alone or not."
"I don't mind either way," Katara shrugged. She was about to say more, but Toph's voice coming from the tent interrupted her.
"Keep it down, you two! Some of us are trying to sleep here!" Toph shouted.
"Let's go down to the riverbank?" Katara asked, Zuko giving her a quick nod as they took the only path leading away from the camp, a steep climb that took them right down to the sandy bank. Katara immediately made herself comfortable sitting on her knees in the sand, while Zuko distracted himself by throwing small pebbles into the thick, soup-like water, watching them getting swallowed by the polluted water with a squelchy, sucking sound, almost like being thrown into thick mud.
Bored of this futile activity, Zuko eventually came to sit next to Katara, both of them remaining silent and contemplative until she spoke up again. "Today makes exactly one month since that fateful night in Ba Sing Se," Katara said slowly, revealing the reason for her moodiness. "I can hardly believe that. Feels like it happened only yesterday."
"I know what you mean," Zuko sighed deeply. "I can see you still miss him terribly. I mean... I'm sure the others do as well, but you're taking it especially hard, aren't you?"
"Well," Katara gave him a slightly incredulous stare. "My decision got him killed, didn't it?"
Zuko felt his face flush with embarrassment. "No, I... I meant beyond that," he stammered. "I mean... you loved him, did you not?"
"Don't you remember what I said at the funeral?" Katara exclaimed sharply. "We all loved him in our own way."
"I may have phrased that wrong," Zuko sighed. "What I meant to ask was something else. Were you in love with Aang?"
Katara didn't answer for the longest time, making Zuko fear that he had overstepped his bounds. Just before he could apologize, however, she spoke up again. "I'm not sure... and maybe that's an answer in itself?" Katara wondered aloud. "I think I could have loved him. I probably would have ended up in love with Aang."
"Maybe... maybe it's a small mercy that you didn't," Zuko said quietly. "It would have probably hurt even more than it does now."
"I can't imagine how it could hurt worse, but you're probably right," Katara nodded. "Zuko?" she glanced at him following a lengthier pause, causing him to look at her. "Sokka told me a few things recently... something that you probably told him in confidence, but I'm still glad he told me. He said that you still thought that I hate you or something."
"Shouldn't you?" Zuko asked bitterly.
"No, I shouldn't. Not anymore, anyway," Katara shook her head. "And I don't. If there's someone I hate and am still angry at, then it's me."
"That... makes me really sad to think about, Katara," Zuko said quietly. "Because when I look at you, I only see things worth admiring."
"Admiring? About me? Like what?" Katara chuckled darkly.
"There's plenty to admire about you, Katara," Zuko gave her an earnest smile. "You're probably the strongest person I've ever known. I realize that the more I learn about you and your past. I don't know anyone who has been through so much while still being so young."
Katara gave him a strange look, filled with so many conflicting emotions, that Zuko wasn't sure how to interpret it. "It's kind of you to say so, Zuko," she gave him a pained, bitter smile. "I only wish I could believe it myself."
"I'm not going to stop trying to make you realize how worthy of admiration you are, Katara," Zuko said, surprising himself with his boldness.
"Why does that matter so much to you?" Katara asked.
"I don't know," Zuko shrugged. "No... I think I do know. I think it's because I feel that I'm also responsible for what happened with Aang. And I feel that it is so unfair and undeserved that it's tearing you up like this. And I want to do what I can to make this burden easier on you, Katara."
"That's... that's very sweet of you, Zuko," she suddenly blushed deep scarlet. "I... really appreciate that, thank you. You're a good friend."
"Do you truly mean that?" Zuko asked, appearing surprised. Katara peered at him, unsure of what he had meant. "You called me a friend. Are we... are we truly friends? I would love that, but I wasn't sure... I guess Sokka and Toph saw me as a friend already, but since I thought you were still angry with me..."
"Zuko," Katara spoke up firmly. "Don't be silly. Of course, we are friends. You've proven more than worthy of my friendship, don't doubt that." Zuko looked immensely grateful at hearing her words. "But now, I feel slightly exhausted," Katara continued, rising from her place in the sand. "I think I'm ready to head back and try to get some sleep."
Zuko nodded in agreement as they proceeded up the path. As they bumped slightly into each other during the steep climb, Zuko reached out and boldly took her hand in his. Katara's cheeks flushed slightly pinkish as she stole a shy glance at him, but she never pulled away, allowing him to hold her hand all the way back to the campsite where they disappeared into their respective tents without a further word.
Shortly after the nightfall, the group of four made their flight upriver on Appa's back, quickly reaching the Fire Nation munitions factory. Appa flew them close by the massive pipes through which industrial waste was being pumped into the river, and they quickly dismounted, making good use of the fact that this side of the factory did not appear to be guarded. It only made sense, since there was no entrance to guard, but the Fire Nation soldiers had not accounted for a metalbender, and in short order Toph had created a large enough hole in the factory's wall for all of them to squeeze through.
Inside, the giant furnaces still emitted intense heat, even if they had been shut down a few hours earlier, the production being halted overnight. There didn't seem to be any guards inside the factory either, as nobody came running to investigate the creaking sounds of Toph metalbending the walls.
"There's so much earth and metal to work with, here!" Toph cheered excitedly. "It's like being in a candy store!"
"Just don't bury us with the entire factory, Toph," Sokka warned.
"It's really up to you, Toph, I mean... there's not much I can do here with either my firebending or my swords," Zuko added. "Looks like Sokka and I will be contributing by cheering you girls on."
"Well, we do like to have a captive audience," Katara smiled as together with Toph they set to their task. In short order, broken and bent metal pipes began crashing down all around them, Katara aiding Toph by drawing water from the river and then lashing out with her bending to slice some of the machinery into inoperable pieces.
"Ugh, this is taking too much time and effort," Toph grunted with annoyance. "To really metalbend all this into a smoldering pile, I'd need to get down to the lower levels and work from there."
"It's too risky, Toph, try something else!" Sokka called out to her.
"Yeah, no kidding, Snoozles!" Toph shouted back at him. "I can sense a lot of molten iron down there, so I'd rather not do that!"
"Those guards might be asleep on their watch, but sooner or later they'll take notice of something being very wrong," Zuko mused, watching with worry how the entire structure of the large factory was rocked by the occasional tremor.
"Don't worry, I've got it all figured out, guys!" Toph called out to them. "I don't know why I'm so focused on trying to metalbend all the time, it's not like earthbending is suddenly useless. This is going to be easy! I can just shift the earth under the foundations of the factory. It'll collapse on itself!"
"Wait, that sounds a little unsafe!" Sokka cried out in warning.
"Pfft, you have legs to run with, don't you?" Toph scowled and bent to her task. Massive chunks of rock rose from the earth and immediately began to tear the carcass of the entire factory at the seams. Toph let the previously elevated rocks fall and raised them in a different corner of the factory, putting even more strain on the by now irreversibly crumbling structure.
"Everyone, get out!" Zuko shouted, pushing Sokka towards the hole in the wall. Katara seemed so preoccupied not to be outdone by Toph that she was unaware of the danger, and Zuko had to grab her a little roughly, pushing her towards Sokka, her brother catching Katara and helping her through the opening in the wall.
"Time to go, Toph!" Zuko cried, rushing after the overexcited earthbender, cackling like a madwoman as she methodically reduced the massive factory into chunks of metal and rubble. Without giving Toph any advanced warning, Zuko simply scooped her up into his arms and quickly dashed towards the exit. Thankfully, Appa was hovering in the air close by, and a jump later, Zuko found himself on the back of the sky bison, in relative safety, watching the factory slowly collapse in on itself.
"Jealous much, Katara?" Toph giggled as Zuko carefully lowered her onto Appa's back. "Bet you want to trade places."
"You're so ridiculous, Toph," Katara groaned in frustration.
"Sure, that was impressive, Toph, but Katara's waterbending is pretty powerful too, I doubt she's really jealous," Sokka completely missed the point of Toph's teasing, earning a facepalm from her.
"Speaking of my waterbending, I'd like to add a finishing touch to our work," Katara commented. With Appa still hovering over the polluted river and close by the collapsing factory, Katara used her bending to gather massive quantities of water, shaping it into a giant wave and then sending it crashing over the remains of the factory. With its structure bent all out of shape and now lying under several feet of water, the factory appeared well and truly out of commission.
"I think that's a very emphatic finishing touch," Sokka laughed. "Job done, guys! Time to head back, pack up our tents and get out of here!"
"Finally, we can be away from this place!" Toph cheered once they had reached their camp, using Appa's tail like a slide to dismount, then quickly starting to gather her things, the rest of them following the earthbender's example.
It took them about a quarter of an hour to dismantle the camp and cram all their belongings onto Appa's back. As soon as the sky bison had taken off, however, they immediately became aware of some sort of activity on the river. Multiple red dots were moving in the dark, quickly traveling downriver from the ruined factory towards the fishing village.
"Fire Nation jet skis," Zuko explained curtly.
"Wait... are those Fire Nation soldiers, moving in on the village?" Sokka asked. Zuko nodded simply. "Do they honestly think that it was the villagers who did that to their factory?"
"I'm not sure they've even stopped to think about that, Sokka," Zuko explained. "They're angry and they are seeking retribution. They don't care about who really did it. They just want someone to pay." As on cue, a massive flame flared up and torched a pair of the village hovels, a firebender unleashing their destructive powers upon the unsuspecting villagers. Soon enough, their screams echoed into the night as more and more buildings were set on fire.
"I, uh... shouldn't we... do something..." Sokka appeared greatly distraught at the sight, looking at Katara in particular, expecting his far more compassionate sister to immediately jump into action. This time, however, he found Katara unmoving, staring at the burning village with a resigned look in her eyes.
"Would it be wise to reveal our presence to the Fire Nation military?" Zuko asked. "We would have to kill them all, and I'm sure one or two would slip away in the dark." Sokka cursed inwardly, knowing that Zuko was right.
"Anyway, Snoozles," Toph remarked innocently. "Helping the villagers probably isn't on our schedule, right?"
"Nor was destroying that factory, Toph," Sokka sighed deeply. "This feels so wrong... normally, I'd expect myself to now be trying to talk Katara down from rushing to help those people."
"Not this time," Katara shrugged. "Eyes on the prize, Sokka. Fire Lord Ozai and Princess Azula must die. We can't allow anything to distract us from that goal. Anything."
"Did you know that the Fire Nation soldiers would react like this, Zuko?" Sokka asked, still unable to let go and give Appa the command to take them away to safety.
"Sokka, the truth is that I simply didn't think about it," Zuko admitted. "I probably should have... and then I probably would have seen these consequences coming."
"Now I'm starting to really regret touching that factory," Sokka sighed.
"Nah, I'm pretty sure it was the right thing to do, Snoozles," Toph replied firmly. "This whole thing reminds me of something my father once told me when he ordered our estate guards to chase away some do-gooders seeking donations. He told me that no good deed goes unpunished. I'm starting to see what he meant!"
"You guys are a really depressing bunch," Sokka frowned, petting Momo as the lemur sat on his shoulder as if to offer comfort. "You're just making me miss Aang all the more."
"I'm sorry, Sokka," Zuko placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "But you know that leaving is the right thing to do."
"Yeah," Sokka eventually gave in with a sigh. "It's just that... right now I'm feeling really awful about doing this supposedly right thing."