Thanks again to Elvira & Alena for your awesome help.

Ghazan's lavabending practices were fascinating to watch, from a safe distance, of course. As time went by, he became skilled in ways none of them ever imagined. Lava was a beautiful and dangerous liquid, much like water. Sometimes she noticed he was using a few of her own bending moves in order to manipulate it, and he performed it brilliantly. If she had arms, she couldn't have done it any better herself.

"Ming Hua? Your father let me in. I hope you don't mind." A voice tore her from her blissful slumber. She blinked a few times, re-adjusting to the harsh reality. She tried sitting up, only to remember how difficult it is without arms.

She never saw that man in person before. Only his haircut and clothes gave his identity away.

"Hello, Chief Sokka," she said in a sleepy voice. It's only been a few days since she returned from the healer's. Sleep was her only sanctuary, and she resented him for pulling her out of it.

"I heard about what happened to you, so I wanted to make sure you're okay. Your daddy told us you went out on a late-night trip and got caught in some ice. It must have been a terrible night."

Her father was a liar. It was all his fault she lost her arms. He's the one who left her to freeze all night long, ignoring her cries for help until she was too weak to scream. She would have told the truth if he hadn't warned her in advance.

If anyone ever asks you how it happened, lie. Otherwise they'll take me to jail, and then you'll be all alone. Who would ever agree to take care of a worthless child like you? You'll starve to death out on the street, if the cold won't get you first.

"I got lost and I was so scared," she lowered her eyes. Lying didn't come naturally to her.

"The healer also told me you were covered in bruises. Is everything okay at home? Does your father take good care of you?"

Before the 'accident' she was always bruised and beaten. The spars against him constantly resulted in a few nasty hits. She used to love him. He took care of her, trained her and wanted her to be the best waterbender in the world, but she knew by now he was a bad man. He really did deserve to go to prison, but if he does, what will happen to her?

"I slipped on ice and fell downhill. It wasn't his fault, he's the best daddy in the world."

The Chief didn't ask any more questions. Maybe he was dumb enough to believe her; maybe he just didn't care.

"Don't you love it when he's in the Spirit World?" Ghazan took a bite of his dinner, glancing at Zaheer's motionless body. "This is the only time when he doesn't talk about the Spirit World."

"Come on, he's just enthusiastic. I think it's cute," P'li defended him.

"Maybe he'll spare us today's story if we pretend to be asleep," Ming Hua suggested. Zaheer has always been talkative, to say the least, but he couldn't keep his mouth shut ever since he found his way in.

"When has it ever worked?" Ghazan laughed.

"Can we just set up camp elsewhere and leave him? It's – "

"There's something I must tell you," Zaheer cut her off as he finally joined them in the physical world.

"You're back," P'li said in relief, hugging him closely. She's always been paranoid while he was away.

"I am," he smiled at her, "and I've met a fascinating person."

"Fascinating by your standards or normal people's?" Ghazan rolled his eyes.

"Both. His name is Xai Bau, and we've had a long talk. We have many things in common – his perception of freedom is identical to Guru Laghima's. Not only that, he's also made it his life's work to achieve this freedom for the entire world. He founded a secret organization to achieve this goal."

"Riveting."

"You don't grasp the full meaning of it," he said excitedly. "Xai Bau offered me to join, and I can't do it without the three of you. Think about it – complete freedom. Every person free to do as they choose, no laws to bind us, no stupid kings, dictators or leaders, no corrupted police officers. No prisons," he looked at P'li. "We can help bring freedom to the world."

"That's actually not a bad idea," Ghazan raised an eyebrow.

"That's a great idea. Freedom should be a given to everyone. No one should have to fight for it or have it taken away, no matter what," P'li's eyes glistened with enthusiasm. "It should be our life's work too."

"Ming Hua?"

All three of them looked at her, waiting for her decision.

Leaders are just as useless as families. They never care for the little citizen, the one who truly needs their help. All they want is power, fame, or money. Sokka never wanted to help her; he only wanted everyone to think he did. In reality, no one will ever help her but herself.

On the outside, she was a helpless crippled girl, with no one to take care of her but a drunken bum; everyone knew about his drinking habits, felt sorry for her, and then looked the other way. How could Sokka do the same and let her live this way? Why hasn't he seen through the lies she was forced to tell when she was young and defenseless? His job as Chief was to help his tribe and its citizens. Was her life so pathetic and unimportant for him to lift a finger and interfere?

She resented him for that brief, useless visit and hated him nearly as much as she hated her deceased father. He was the one man who could have saved her from a life of insults and neglect, yet he did nothing. All he's ever done was dedicate fifteen minutes of his precious time for a worthless visitation.

If Sokka wasn't so damn famous, she would have killed him too. Maybe now she'll finally get the chance.

"I'm in."