Disclaimer: All rights belong to Nickelodeon, Bryan Konietzko, Michael Dante DiMartino, and all the men and women that created the A:TLA show, books, and comics. I take no credit, and I do not mean to break any copyright rules. This is simply a work of fiction made for enjoyment. No money is being made. The lyrics are from the song "Escape" By Kongos
Rating: General Audiences. Warning: some scenes contain dark themes and minor violence
Chapter 10 - Preparations
Why don't you stay by me
And when the time comes
We'll escape
Katara wakes up to the sound of the guards' boots pounding down the hall. There are a set of them for both Katara and Hama's cells. They open the doors, tie their hands behind their backs, and hold them tight as they feed them. Katara hates every second of it. It hasn't lost its humiliation.
When they leave, Katara sits by the bars separating her and Hama. "They secured you, too," she says. "Do they secure every prisoner? I thought I was special because I was a Waterbender."
Hama shakes her head. "You're right. They only secure Waterbenders."
Katara feels her heart leap. "Wait. You're a Waterbender, too?"
Hama smiles tiredly. "I was, back before they brought me here."
"But how is that possible? The Fire Nation destroyed the Water Tribes one hundred years ago."
"There were a few survivors. A few kids who weren't benders were allowed to escape. They journeyed to the Earth Kingdom and assimilated. My mother was one of those children. She married a man from the Earth Kingdom and a few years later I was born. As I grew older, I learned that I could waterbend. I tried keeping it a secret but the Fire Nation found out. They arrested me because they didn't want any Waterbenders to be able to train the next Avatar."
"That's horrible," Katara says. She reaches a hand through the bars and lays it on Hama's hand. "I'm so sorry."
"I'm just glad I finally get to meet you. Knowing that there's someone out there who will kill the Fire Lord and end his terrible reign makes this all bearable."
Katara still isn't sure about the whole "killing the Fire Lord" part, but Hama's faith in her gives her hope. One day, she will get out of this prison. She and Hama together. And they'll put a stop to the Fire Nation.
"What tribe did your mother come from?" Katara asks.
"The Southern Water Tribe."
She feels excitement build up. "That's where I came from! Maybe I knew your mother!"
"Her name was Faaria. She was one of the younger children to escape. Only eight years old."
Katara tries to think. The name sounds familiar, but a lot of people in the Water Tribes have family names that are passed down from generation to generation.
"I'm sorry. I recognize the name, but I don't think I knew your mother well."
"That's quite all right, dear. I'm just happy that I have the chance to meet you now."
Katara tightens her hand around Hama's. "The honor is completely mine. I thought I would never meet another Waterbender. I thought I was the last. Being the last is a lot of pressure."
"Yes, it is," Hama agrees. "But I have faith in us. We're going to escape this prison together. And then I'm going to teach you everything I know. Although my mother wasn't a Waterbender, her grandmother was, and she learned a lot of Southern traditions. I'd like to teach you some of them."
Katara's eyes widen. "Wait. Your mother's grandmother was a Waterbender? She wasn't named Imani by any chance, was she?"
Hama smiles widely. "Yes, she was. You knew her?"
"She was the last Waterbender in the Southern Tribe before me! When I first found out I was a Waterbender she taught me some things. She mostly used her Waterbending for healing, though, and I wanted to learn to fight so I travelled to the North Pole for more training. But I loved Imani."
Hama looks pleased. "Yes. Imani was a great woman. But she had a secret that I think even you don't know."
"What?" Katara remembers Imani being a sweet older woman. She taught Katara the very basics of Waterbending. She smiled often and never grew impatient or upset with Katara.
"Fighting and using waterbending for more...aggressive uses was highly looked down upon for female Waterbenders, as you most likely know. The Water Tribes were great in many ways, but a bit behind in terms of sexism. Imani knew that. She wrote many scrolls, some of which my mother was able to take with her when she escaped. In the scrolls, she wrote the other waterbending techniques she learned in secret."
Wow. Katara suddenly admires Imani more than ever. She remembers arriving at the North Pole only to learn that they would only teach her healing, like the other women. She'd had to literally fight for her spot in the fighting waterbending classes. Her parents and brother had always been supportive of her learning waterbending in any form; apparently Imani was not as lucky.
She just wishes Imani would have admitted what she learned. But Katara can't blame her for being too scared.
"I would be honored if you would teach me more when we escape," she tells Hama. "I'll need to completely master waterbending if I want even a shot at ending this war and defeating the Fire Nation."
"I'm glad to hear that." Hama stands and stretches. "These cells aren't big enough to get a workout in, but I've kept in shape by doing some of my waterbending stretches. Would you like to join me today?"
They stand in the middle of their cells and go through the motions of waterbending together. Often times, Katara's hands scrape the walls or bars, but she ignores it and just keeps moving with the flow of the movements. If she closes her eyes, she can almost pretend she's home.
"Growing up in the South Pole, Waterbenders are always surrounded by ice and snow," Hama begins. "But as you travel, that isn't always the case."
"Like here," Katara points out.
"Exactly. You must learn to control water in whatever form it exists."
"Before they put me in this cell I was in a bigger one, closer to the surface. I used my own sweat to cut through the bars and make an escape attempt."
Hama grins. "That's very resourceful. But there are other ways to get water. When I was in the Earth Kingdom, I learned that water resides in every life form - in every field of grass, in every flower, in every tree. You can summon that water from them quite easily."
"That's amazing!" Katara can just picture all the opportunities in front of her. "But...wouldn't they die? They need the water to live and I'd be taking it from them."
"Yes, it is a shame. But they're just flowers and you're a human being. When you're a Waterbender in a foreign land, you do what you must to survive."
She does have a point, Katara admits to herself. Flowers can grow back. People don't come back to life. And sometimes in life, you have to make hard decisions to survive.
That makes her think of Zuko. He thought he had to betray her to survive. He was wrong, of course, which is why Katara is still so angry at him, but it was his thought process.
She doesn't want to think of him any more so she pushes those thoughts out of her mind.
A pattering sound breaks through Katara's concentration. She opens her eyes and sees a rat scampering across the floor outside the cell.
Hama is also staring at it. "Look deep inside yourself, Katara. Can you feel it?"
Katara frowns. "Feel what?"
"Concentrate."
Katara doesn't know what she's supposed to be concentrating on, but she closes her eyes. She can feel her heart beating; she can hear her even breaths; she can feel her hair against her shoulders; and she can feel something strange, something that she normally doesn't feel. She can't put her finger on exactly what it is.
"I feel something," she admits. "But what is it?"
"Waterbenders are at their strongest during the full moon. What you feel is that extra strength starting to build. At night, you won't be able to ignore it. You'll be at your strongest."
"When I was a child, I would always have more energy on days with a full moon. My parents always joked about it. I guess I never realized it was a waterbending thing."
"It is. Tonight we make our escape attempt."
Katara feels her eyes widening. Tonight? "But that's so soon! How are we going to get out? There's no water anywhere for us."
Hama smiles. It's almost a sinister smile. "Tonight I'll teach you the ultimate waterbending technique. It can only work during the full moon, when we're at our strongest."
"Why haven't you tried it before if you know how to get out?"
"Because I need someone else to help me. And with two of us, we'll be unstoppable." Hama walks away from the bars and lays down on her bench. "I'm tired now. I'm going to get some rest before tonight. I recommend you to do the same thing."
Katara is a little anxious for tonight, but she trusts Hama. They are family, after all. The only survivors left of a horrible tragedy. The last Southern Waterbenders.
She lays down on her bench and tries to find a comfortable position. Escaping tonight does sound good. Then she can learn more waterbending from Hama and go look to see if Sokka survived or not.
Katara can hardly wait until evening.
Sokka is just finishing packing his bag when Suki knocks on his door. She's already dressed in her uniform and has her own bag slung over her shoulder.
"Ready?"
He closes his bag and picks it up. "Yeah."
When they emerge from the house, a large group of villagers are waiting for them. Oyaji is standing at the front.
"Are you sure you have to leave?" he asks Suki. "We need you."
She smiles. "I'll only be gone a couple weeks. Eiko will take my place in leading the girls. She's ready for it. And if you need more help, the Kyoshi Warriors from Nagiso are only a couple hours away."
He sighs, then pulls Suki into a big hug. "We'll miss you. I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you, too."
"Bring us back news from the outside. Don't get into any trouble."
She gives him a knowing look. "We're about to make a prison break in the Fire Nation. I don't exactly think I can avoid trouble."
Sokka watches their exchange with a tinge of sadness. Their relationship is like that of a grandfather and his granddaughter. It reminds him of his Nana. He misses her.
The other villages crowd around and hug Suki, giving her well wishes. Another huge family dynamic that Sokka misses. This is why he has to go and find Katara. He's started to get to know the villagers here, but he needs Katara, too. They're all that's left of their own family.
Oyaji grasps Sokka's arm tightly. "Take care of her," he says.
Sokka nods. "She doesn't need it. But I will."
"Suki is strong. She is a good leader. But she's not used to being on her own. She's always had a group of warriors at her back. You have to take that place now."
It's a big responsibility. But Sokka is ready for it. He was always trying to prove himself in the Water Tribe. His first big "test" was when he escorted Katara to and from the North Pole. He had felt so proud. Since running away from the battle that destroyed their town, he's felt like he needs to prove himself again. This is it.
"I will," he promises.
Suki finally emerges from the crowd. She grabs Sokka's elbow and starts pulling him towards the shore. The villagers follow them until they push their boat off. Suki looks behind and waves goodbye.
When they're out of sight, she settles down.
"Are you sad to be leaving them?" Sokka asks.
She thinks about it. "A little. But I've lived there my whole life. In some ways, I feel as though I've never had the chance to see what else is out there in the world. And it's not like I'm going to be gone forever - just a few weeks."
He understands. This is for her what his North Pole trip was to him. Of course, this is a bit more dangerous.
He pulls out the map. "Okay, so we're going to the port here," he says, pointing to the coast of a section of the map labeled "The Swamp." "We want to steer clear of the swamp, so we'll cut across this section to Omashu, then travel along Omashu's coast. Then we'll cut through Hei Bei's forest to the port at Mount Makapu. From there we'll take a ship to the Fire Nation palace."
"That will takes weeks on foot," Suki says. "We should be able to pick up a pair of either eelhounds or ostrich horses."
Sokka has never heard of either one of them. "Are they fast?"
"The eelhounds are faster but the ostrich horses can travel a longer distance without needing rest. Plus they're cheaper to feed."
"Cheaper sounds good," he says. She smiles.
"Oyaji gave us some money to help us along our quest. We should be okay."
Sokka returns to looking at the map. "The hardest part is going to be getting into the Fire Nation unnoticed. We're going to have to get disguises for sure."
"I'm sure we can ask around a bit in the Northern Earth Kingdom. They've been on the front lines of the war since it began. A lot of Fire Nation colonies are there, too." Suki rolls up the map. "You've planned enough. We'll be fine. Let's just enjoy this for a moment."
He stuffs the map back in his bag. "I guess I'm just a little worried," he admits. "It is my sister, after all."
"It'll be fine. I've got your back. And I'm sure your sister is just as brave and strong as you are. Once we break her out, she can help us escape."
Sokka thinks back to when they were in the North Pole and she fought the Waterbending master to secure a spot in the combat class. "Yeah. She's even stronger than me."
"See? You have nothing to worry about."
"But she's also really trusting and compassionate. And those aren't bad things," he amends quickly, "but in prison they can be. She's not meant for being locked up with criminals."
Suki reaches over and puts a hand on his. "We're getting there as fast as we can. There's no point in worrying about things we can't change."
She's right. Katara will be okay. She's strong and independent. She'll probably break out herself before they even get to the Fire Nation. He needs to relax.
"You know what always makes me feel better?" he asks. Then he rifles through the bags and pulls out a handful of jerky. "Food!"
Suki rolls her eyes. "Whatever makes you feel better." She picks up the spyglass and monitors the horizon. "We should be making landfall before night."
They settle in for the journey, Sokka snacking and Suki taking a nap. In just a few weeks Sokka will be back here with Katara and everything will be okay again.
He can feel it.