Originally published August 20, 2012
Song: "A Change in Me" from the Broadway musical Beauty and the Beast
"Ultimatum"
But in other points, as well as this, I was growing very lenient to my master: I was forgetting all his faults, for which I had once kept a sharp look-out. It had formerly been my endeavour to study all sides of his character: to take the bad with the good; and from the just weighing of both, to form an equitable judgment. Now I saw no bad. ~ Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre
Sokka was sure he was dying. Wasn't it a sign of hypothermia when you felt warm? And hallucinations were a sure sign of it: he though he saw Appa and Katara. And now he was warmer than he'd ever been in his life. And it seemed he was still hallucinating: he thought he heard Katara calling him, trying to wake him up on a morning when he overslept …
"Are you done hibernating? Winter is almost over, after all," Katara's voice said distantly.
Sokka started; Katara looked and sounded surprisingly real. "What … Katara?"
She smiled at him. "Hey, Sokka."
Sokka's head was spinning, and being so tired didn't help. "What … happened?"
"You were caught in a storm, in the forest. When I found you, you were almost unconscious. We're home now."
Sokka sat up slowly, and realized that they were in their house, back in the village. He remembered leaving here … "Hold up. Was it all a dream? The castle, the firebender guy in a mask …"
Katara's smile widened, but somehow her eyes were sad. "No, Sokka. That really happened. I stayed there for two, almost three months."
"Oh, man, Katara …"
The two siblings embraced, and held each other tightly. It occurred to Katara that the separation must have been twice as hard for Sokka as it had been for her; at least she had had company, Zuko and the servants. Sokka had had no one, and hadn't known that she was well cared for.
After a moment Sokka drew away, still looking confused. "But – how did you escape?"
"I didn't escape," Katara said gently, "he let me go."
Sokka looked at her in disbelief. "That mad spirit-esque firebender?"
"He's not mad. He's different now, Sokka – he's changed, somehow." She was about to say more, to try to explain, when she heard something. A muffled "Ow!" followed by "Sorry!"
A moment later, a teacup and a porcelain doll rolled out of the shoulder bag that Katara had set on the bed.
"Stowaways!" Katara said, sounding both accusing and amused.
Aang laughed nervously. "Hehe. Hi, Katara."
"Hey, I remember you," Sokka said, surprised but pleased. "I never thought I'd see you again," he commented.
Meng stood and cleared her throat.
"Sokka, this is Meng, the castle decorator," Katara introduced. "Meng, this is my brother, Sokka of the Water Tribe."
Meng nodded. "Nice to meet you. Katara, why did you leave?"
"Don't you like us anymore?" Aang asked.
Katara felt her heart melt at this. "Oh, guys, of course I do. It's just …" Her mouth moved to answer, but then they heard a knock on the door.
Katara stood and went to see who it was. When she opened the door halfway, she found a stern-looking man whom she had never seen before. "Um, yes?"
"I'm Long Feng, head of the Dai Li."
"What can I do for you?"
"I've come to collect your brother."
Katara's hand gripped the door, trying to steady herself. "My brother?"
"Don't worry. We'll take good care of him." Long Feng stepped back, and Katara saw a prison carriage on the dirt path below. A group of the townspeople had come, ostensibly to see what was going on. Katara's mouth dropped open when she read the characters written on the carriage: Dai Li Asylum.
"My brother's not crazy!" Katara burst out.
"He was raving like a lunatic!" Sneers insisted. "We all heard him, didn't we?"
"Yeah!" The Freedom Fighters and other bystanders chorused in agreement.
"No, I won't let you!" Katara exclaimed. There was snow on the ground, she could fight if she had to.
Sokka came up behind her, peeking outside. "Katara? What's going on?"
"Hey, Ponytail Boy." Smellerbee came to the front of the small crowd. "Tell us again, what did the spirit look like?"
Sokka and Katara exchanged frightened, bewildered glances. Sokka cleared his throat. "He—I think he wore a mask, just to look like a spirit. It was blue, with white fangs …"
"And what did he do to you?"
"Okay, first, he had a bunch of servants wait on me. Then, he threw me in a dungeon. And when Katara came looking for me, he had her take my place. That was the last I saw of him." He wisely chose not to mention that the servants were household objects that would think, talk, and move on their own; that would sound crazy.
"And did you say this guy is a bender, or some kind of warrior?"
"Yes! A firebender. And he dresses like a ninja, and fights with dual swords too."
"Enough!" Long Feng said, and threw a rock glove at Sokka; his hands were bound together by the small stones.
"Hey!" Two Dai Li earthbenders came up and seized Sokka, leading him down the steps. "Let me go!"
"No!" Katara bent some snow from the ground, but stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Katara. Are you okay?"
Katara thought she felt her heart stop for a second when she heard that voice; she didn't know if it meant more danger or possible rescue. She turned and saw Jet standing before her, his expression unreadable.
"Jet, I wouldn't come to you for help unless it was absolutely necessary. Please, don't let them do this!"
"Hmm." Jet chewed the piece of straw in his mouth. "I might be able to do something … but it'd cost you."
"Cost me what?" Katara looked at him with suspicion.
Jet shrugged. "You'd owe me a favor."
Katara had some inkling of what kind of "favor" he might mean. She didn't think she could agree to something so vague. She looked out at the small crowd that had gathered to watch the scene. Now she recognized the Freedom Fighters among the crowd. Jet could tell them to stop, and they would obey him; but he was doing nothing.
Jet went on, "I mean, I asked you for something once, and you refused … so I don't know …"
Katara interrupted him. "You planned this." Her voice rose with incredulity, making it sound like a question, though she knew at once that it was the truth. Jet froze, like a criminal caught in the act. "So since you couldn't woo me into marrying you, you decided to blackmail me?"
"That's a harsh way of putting it," Jet muttered.
"How dare you!"
"Katara, I'm offering to help you right now."
"I don't want your help! You never help anyone unless you can benefit from it!"
"I'm not crazy!" Sokka was almost shouting as they forced him into the carriage.
There were simply too many earthbenders to fight. A thought occurred to Katara. She knew it was a bit reckless, and the very idea seemed like the collision of her two worlds, but it might save Sokka.
"WAIT!" she shouted. I can prove it's true!"
The Dai Li paused in chaining Sokka to the carriage interior.
"Just—wait a second!" Katara cast a glare over her shoulder at Jet. "Do not let them leave," she hissed, making it more of a threat than an instruction. She dashed into the house, and found the magic mirror where she had left it, in her Water Tribe bag. It glowed when she picked it up. Katara brought it outside, and stood on the porch above everyone else.
"The firebender is real, and I can prove it!" She looked into the mirror. "Show me the Blue Spirit." The glass shone brightly, and she turned it so the crowd could see. Though she knew they were looking at the mirror, it felt like they were all staring at her, shocked, horrified, and frightened. Was that how she and Sokka had looked at the Blue Spirit?
Finally Katara looked at the mirror herself, and was startled to see Zuko, in his mask, training in the arena. It was obvious that his firebending was fueled by rage, as he cried out several times and set some of the grass on fire.
Had she caused him to become that angry?
"Is he dangerous?" someone in the crowd asked, breaking the murmuring silence.
"Oh, no," Katara reassured her, trying to sound convincing. It was true, even if it was hard to believe. "He'd never hurt anyone. He's my friend." Her voice was softer at these last words; she knew it must sound ridiculous to the others, but it was the truth, and she spoke them with a tender feeling.
Jet looked at her and scoffed. "If I didn't know you better, I'd say you have feelings for the monster."
Katara held the mirror away, looking at him with disgust and hatred. "He's no monster, Jet, you are!"
Jet's black eyes widened at this. Katara felt uneasy when she saw what might have been a flash of understanding in his eyes. Then his expression darkened. "A firebender? Really, Katara?"
"Shut up."
Suddenly Jet wrestled the mirror away from her, and turned to address the others. "Do you see what's happening here? He took these two prisoner, and now they're defending him for it! What if he does the same to others here? He's a threat!"
Jet made a good demagogue; within moments he roused the people's fear and solidified it into righteous anger. The Freedom Fighters had seen it before, even experienced it themselves.
"I say we find this guy, and teach him a lesson!" Jet declared. "Who's with me?" The people cheered in agreement.
"No!" Katara protested. "I won't let you do this!"
Jet grabbed her roughly. "If you're not with us, you're against us."
Katara moved her hand, trying to bend some snow as a weapon, but Jet grabbed both of her hands and forced them behind her back.
"Lock 'em up!" Sneers said. "We can't let them warn the firebender!" Two Freedom Fighters forced Sokka toward the bulkhead that led to the basement. Jet followed them with a struggling Katara.
"Jet, if you have any sense of morality, you won't do this!" Katara exclaimed furiously.
"I'm doing this for you, Katara." And with that, he shoved her back into the hatch, and closed the door with a bang.
Aang and Meng watched the whole thing from the window of the house. Sound traveled through the door that Katara had left open. They saw Jet hold up the mirror and say, "Show us the way to this castle." Then he led the crowd down the road, with a flying bison in tow.
"They're going to try to kill Zuko!" Aang exclaimed in horror.
"Aang, we have to do something!" Meng cried desperately.
Aang turned and looked around the small kitchen. He spotted some spark rocks on the counter. Then he looked over at Meng. "If Sokka's an inventor … do you think he'd have any blasting jelly on hand?"
There was no water in the basement laboratory, and Katara couldn't bend the snow nearest to the bulkhead entrance.
"If I had my boomerang," Sokka said through gritted teeth, trying to budge the door, "I'd have this lock picked by now. Or I'd just wedge the door open."
Katara beat her fists against the wood. "I've got to warn Zuko! This is all my fault," Katara moaned.
Sokka patted her awkwardly on the back. "Don't worry, we'll think of something," he said, hoping that he wasn't lying. "This Blue Spirit—"
"The Blue Spirit has a name," Katara said. "Zuko."
"Right. I think Zuko's proven he can hold his own."
"You don't understand!" Katara sat on a crate and buried her face in her hands, stifling a sob. "I—I tried to run away, that first night. I got lost in the Foggy Swamp, but Zuko saved me. And he saved my life another time, when I was trying to rescue Aang in freezing water … He gave me so much, and I left him. That's why he's angry now."
Sokka looked at Katara intently. He remembered how Katara had defended the firebender, to him, and to the others. He let me go. He's changed, somehow.
"Are you in love with him?" His tone demanded an answer, but it was not harsh, more curious.
Katara considered, uncertain. "I don't know," she said finally, sounding helpless.
Sokka merely looked at her, with something that might have been sympathy. Then suddenly he looked out the small window. "What's that sound?" He squinted, trying to make out the shapes in the darkness. "Is someone out there?"
Katara stood on a crate to look outside. She could see small shapes moving just outside, arranging small boxes on and around the bulkhead.
"It's Aang and Meng!" Katara exclaimed.
"What are they doing?"
Aang seemed to be trying to tell them something. Then Meng cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, "Get away from the window! We're going to blow it up!"
"WHAT?" Katara and Sokka cried.
Meng raised her voice, wishing she had Azula's volume capacity. "I SAID –"
"Never mind, we heard you!" Katara and Sokka scrambled away from the window, going as far back into the cellar as they could.
Meng struck the spark rocks together, igniting the rope that led to the first box.
"Run, Meng!" Aang shouted, watching from a safe distance. The doll picked up her skirt and ran as fast as her porcelain legs could carry her.
Sokka had created larger, louder explosions in this very laboratory; but he found himself trying to shield Katara as they hid in the far corner of the basement. They both felt the vibrations of the blast, and debris hit their backs. Then there was just smoke—and the fresh air of night.
The wooden entrance was broken. They were free.
"Guys? Are you here?" Katara called out.
"MENG!" Aang shouted, unable to see her in the smoke pouring onto the yard.
"I'm here!" Katara ran over and found Meng lying facedown on the ground. Her hands were cracked and her silk dress was smudged with dirt and ash.
Meng hung her head shamefully. "I am simply not going to look at myself," she murmured.
Katara laughed, picking the doll up. "Meng, you saved us!"
"You're heroes!" Sokka said.
"Yup, that's us," Aang said proudly. Meng smiled, pleased with the praise.
"We have to get back to the castle!" Katara said.
"I'm worried we won't make it in time," Sokka said seriously. "They took Appa. We need some other means of transportation …" He stopped, the word transportation still on his tongue, reminding him of something.
He spoke up casually. "Katara, what happened to my invention? Remember, the day I found the castle? I meant to bring it to the fair …"
Katara gasped. "I hid it!"
"You're a genius!" Sokka and Katara said at the same time.
Aang and Meng exchanged glances, wondering what they had gotten themselves into.