Flashback/Dream:

Katara's POV:

It's been a week since I've been here, I refuse to give up hope that Aang, Toph and Sokka will come rescue me. It hasn't been the easiest thing I've gone through but I think I can handle whatever they try on me. Even so, I can't imagine being here my whole life or even for a few years, this place is horrible. There is a woman in the cell beside me, it took her some time to talk to me, she used to stay on the opposite side of her cell without even a simple word said towards me, I noticed almost immediately that she had a baby with her. I can't imagine being stuck here with a child let alone being stuck here and having a baby in my cell. Once she started talking to me I learned that here name is Amani and that she has also been taken here recently. She's told me things that are honestly hard to believe, there is a place, a jail that holds people of different nations and doesn't allow the benders to bend. These people have been told that they are the last of their kind and that the war has been won by the fire nation. To them the Avatar was killed and has never reincarnated, the fire nation is ruler of the world and if you are seen bending anything other than fire you are going to be severely punished. These places let the citizens live out their natural lives but are just told they cannot bend and are watched almost 24/7. If you are seen as a traitor or rebellious then you are sent here, where we are now and you are severely punished for your crimes. All of this depends on who has claimed you are rebellious; the fire nation will believe their guards more than they would believe anyone else, which means corrupted guards will take it out on prisoners when having a bad day.

A lot of the benders in these cells end up losing their bending because they haven't used it in so long. If you are caught bending they give you something to block stop your bending or they block your chi so that you can't. Being a bender, myself bending is everything to me and I can't imagine being forced to give it up. The people in these prisons are living semi normal lives, they may not know that there is a world outside of these walls that is still going through a war but they are doing the best they can. Apparently, there aren't many of them but there is enough for them to reproduce, as for the prison I'm currently in everyone knows the truth but cannot leave, they are brought here right off the bat and forced to live their lives in a cell, being abused and starved and never seeing the light of day again.

"Katara…" I look over to Amani as she holds her baby close, "Please…If something happens to me, take care of Maria." She looks at me desperately, lately the guards have been harsher with her and have given her no food, she's weak but still has a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

"Amani…You will be fine and so will Maria. Aang will be here soon and if not, I will break us out myself." I look to her with pure determination in my eyes, nearly glaring at her as she stares back at me.

"Katara…I don't think you understand. They plan on taking me away, this time it won't be to another prison. The Avatar, if he really exists, needs to find us first but how will he do that if he doesn't know about this place, like you said no one in the outside world knows just like we didn't know about the outside world so how will it be possible for him to come in time?" She looks away while saying this, clearly, she has no hope for her own future and I hate to see her this way, she has been such a big help to me since I first got here and has shared with me so much about her life and the things that go on in these places no one ever knew about.

"Amani…Aang will come! He always does, he's the Avatar and he will help us, I know he will, not just because he's the Avatar but because he's my friend" I look to my hands and make them into fists in determination.

"Katara like you said he was gone for so long, he abandoned the world when it needed him most, him being your friend won't help him find us. He's just a kid, he won't know where to look!" There was a bitterness in her voice, I can tell that this is a touchy subject and I can understand why, she has learned from me about the outside world and is angry about being locked away for so long, she was born in one of the nicer prisons but was told she could not use her bending and that she must bow down to an oppressor, "If you ever do get out, take Maria with you, change her name and protect her from the very nation she is from. No one can ever find out who she really is so please do what you can to help her and protect her."

With the Gaang…

Aang's POV:

We all headed back to the residence we have been staying in. Smellerbee and Longshot has joined us so that we can discuss what they know and if they can help us find Katara. Once we arrived Sokka, being the only one who can somewhat cook, unsurprisingly, had quickly gotten to work getting ready for cooking our meals. Since Katara has been gone he has stepped up, not a big shock considering he is the only one who is constantly hungry and Katara was our best and only cook. Over the time we have been traveling together it seems he has been watching his sister cook and has learned a thing or two that he has been putting into practice since she has been taken. He quickly learned that there is no other way if he wants to a hot meal, I'm a terrible cook and Toph can't see so…

Toph and I sit with Smellerbee and Longshot at a table set up in the middle of the room, "So now that we are here and out of public eye, could you tell us what you know? Do you know where Katara could be?"

Smellerbee nodded, "Well I guess I should start at the beginning. When we got here we already knew that General Iroh and Zuko were here, they came here the same time as us and we talked on the ship. One day, Jet being Jet started to go a little crazy, trying to convince everyone that they were fire benders. Eventually that led to a fight and the customers of the tea shop stood up for Zuko and his uncle which led to Jet being taken by the Dai Li, we haven't seen him since." Everyone listened intently to her words as she spoke but one thing didn't seem right.

I decided to ask, "Wait, so you knew who they were? You didn't tell Jet you believed him?"

Smellerbee shook her head, "No we didn't know until after Jet was taken. We were walking around town one night and caught Zuko fire bending for some refugee girl. They didn't see us but boy did we see them."

Sokka stopped his chopping to look at them and pointed the knife at them and said, "Wait…Are you telling me Zuko, scar face, prince of the land of fire was on a date with a simple refugee girl from a different nation and he used his magical fire hands to impress her?" Sokka as he was speaking he was making these ridiculous faces, he clearly was trying to connect things in his mind, not fully believing what was being said.

Both Smellerbee and Longshot nodded before Smellerbee continued, "General Iroh and Zuko have been pretending to be refugees since we have been here and now they have been able to own their own tea shop in the upper ring. They serve high class citizens and were given an apartment to boot. No one suspects anything, they're living a cushioned life even in a place where they shouldn't be, a place that will eventually be taken over by their own nation."

Toph scoffed, "What do you mean a cushioned life? They are probably always looking over their shoulders and they can't bend so it must be hard to be in hiding in a city like this especially coming from royalty. It's almost as if the roles have reversed, they are now the ones worried about the people behind them worried that someone will find out and come after them."

Smellerbee shrugged, "It's better than losing your life and being imprisoned for being traitors of the very army that started this war and took out thousands of people to be powerful. Anyways its been a while since we've went to see them but I think you may find Katara there."

Everything in the room stopped, it was completely silent as we all stared at her with wide unbelieving eyes. I was the first to snap out of my shock as I gap at her, "What do you mean? Katara escaped why would she go to them? She knows where to find us and is strong so if anyone was following her I'm sure she could take them on. She hates the fire nation, why would she trust them of all people? Are they holding her captive as well to lure me in?"

With Zuko, Katara and Uncle Iroh…

Zuko's POV:

Last night was a late night for all of us. Katara, uncle and I stayed up talking about Katara's experiences, which wasn't easy on Katara's part. Uncle confessed that he knew about these prisons but also admitted that he did not know exactly what type of horrors and injustice laid inside. He told us that he was sworn to not say anything and if he were to say something to someone he would be executed immediately. He also said that he wanted to tell me for a while but wasn't sure how or if I would believe him. Our conversation led us to what happened to both of our mothers and we did bond over the fact that we were both affected by this war because of my nation, the fire nation. Since last night Katara has been opening up even more than before, she is weary of others but does not seem affected by my uncle and I any longer considering the fact that I told her I no longer want to chase the Avatar and that I am just looking for my place in this world. Hearing me say that my uncle had himself a little celebration saying he finally got through to his stubborn nephew and ended up making his rarest of teas that he saves for special occasions. He's always wanted me to see the error of our family's ways and has been trying to teach me how to do better since I've been banished.

As Katara and I prepared for our day of shopping I couldn't help but wonder why she never wanted to go back with the Avatar, I know snippets from her flashback she had the other day but that doesn't explain the complete reluctance to find him and her brother so that her life would go back to the way it was and she would be protected once more by them even though being with them is what led to her capture I know it must have been a rare occurrence for her to not be protected by the Avatar.

As I finish I decide to sit with uncle and Jia to wait for Katara, with her injuries doing things seems to take her a bit of time, understandably. I smile as Jia giggles and reaches out one of her hands that is currently holding the same spoon she has been play with since we first took her in. From what I had heard from Katara poor Jia never really had any toys because she was stuck in a cell with her mother, and not a nice cell. The guards didn't care and just need to keep poor Jia alive for leverage in the war.

I take the spoon from her little hand and wave it at her, she smiles and looks to uncle who is currently holding her. She smiles as he smiles back at her and I smirk giving the spoon back as Katara walks into the room. I wave at Jia and nod to uncle and stand up to meet Katara. She nervously smiles at me clearly uncertain about this whole thing. I give her a coy smile, "Don't worry you'll be fine, I'll be right there and lord knows what I would come back with for you if I go on my own." This made her giggle shyly behind her hand, we both waved to uncle and Jia as we headed out, uncle winking at me as I closed the door.

A/N: Hope you all enjoyed! Don't forget to tell me what you think I love hearing from you all.