Chapter 6 Jailbreak.
The three friends had entered territory occupied by the Fire Nation at night, and set up a camp upstream from the coast, where they found a spring. Korra was using one of Sokka's whetstones to sharpen the sword she'd kept from Kyoshi, as Katara finished putting the girl's tent on Appa's saddle. Sokka came back to camp, and dropped his bag. "Got dinner." He said.
"Sweet, I'm starving." Korra said, as she put her blade in it's scabbed, and dropped down off the fallen tree she was sitting on to stand in a circle with Katara, Momo and Sokka, her Kyoshi overcoat fluttering after her. The coat having become a regular part of her wardrobe.
"Ok, so I've got some round nuts." Sokka said, as he dumped out his bag. "Some oval shaped nuts… And some rock shaped nuts."
"Sokka, this is actually just a rock." Korra said, picking up a small smooth stone.
"Seriously, this was all you could find?" Katara asked, as Korra tossed the rock off into the woods, only second before a loud thud came from the direction she tossed the rock in.
"What the heck was that?" Katara asked, as both she and Korra took off towards the sound, Momo flying after them.
"Shouldn't we be running away from strange loud noises?" Sokka asked.
"Oh, grow a pair, and live a little." Korra said, as Sokka chased after the two girls.
"Hey, I have a…" Sokka started, before huffing as he turned a little red.
The three crested a slope, and Katara ducked down, as the three came to find a young man in green pulling boulders from the riverbend with bending alone. "Hey, it's an earthbender." Katara said. "Do you know who he is?" She asked Korra, who just shrugged.
"He could be dangerous, we should approach with a little bit of caution." Sokka said, crouching down.
Korra put her pinkies in her mouth and whistled sharply to catch the boy's attention. "Hey down there! What's up?!" She said with a wave. The earth bender dropped the rock he was lifting as he looked over his shoulder at the group, before running off down the river bend and collapsing the sides in as he went to block the path. "Well that was rude." Korra said, as she dropped down into the thin stream. Katara and Sokka followed after.
"You did kind of yell at him." Sokka said.
"I was just saying hi." Korra shrugged.
"You're also carrying a sword." Katara said.
Korra looked down at the stowed sword in her left hand. "Right…" She muttered before an idea sprang to mind. "Hey, he's gotta be running somewhere right? Maybe there's a town where we can get some food." Korra said, as she started walking, stuffing her sword between her pants and blue cloth belt.
"Which means we won't have to eat nuts for dinner." Katara said with a smile, taking off in a jog.
"Hey, I worked hard for those nuts." Sokka said, as she followed Korra and his sister.
"I'm sure you did Sokka." Korra said with a smirk as she looked back at the younger teen.
The three followed the stream, and a short walk later, they found a village nestled in a valley, with a mine not too far away.
In the market, Korra traded the nuts Sokka had foraged for a straw conical sun hat, as Katara wandered off into a store. Korra and Sokka followed Katara, and caught the beginning of a conversation.
"Hey, you're that kid I saw earlier. Why'd you run away?" Katara asked, as Korra held the door open for Sokka.
"You must have confused me for someone else." The young man said, before turning back to the woman behind the counter, just as Korra let the door close behind her.
"Uh, no I definitely remember you earth bending." Korra said, resting her wrist on the handle of her sword.
"They saw you, what?" The woman behind the counter asked, as she quickly moved to close the shutters of the storefront, and lock the door.
"They're crazy, mom." The young man said, pointing at Korra. "Look at how she's dressed."
Korra looked up at her hat, before pouting at the young man. "I thought this kind of hat was in style for the era." She muttered to herself.
The woman turned to her son. "You know how dangerous that is." She said before there was a knock at the door. Sokka peeked through the shutters, and cringed. "Fire Nation." He said quietly.
Korra pulled her sword closer to her so it was horizontal along her leg, before throwing her coat over it to hide the weapon, as Sokka and Katara turned to look at fruit that was on sale. After the woman unlocked the door, a soldier entered the room, and eyed it's five occupants.
"What do you want? I've already paid you this week." The woman asked.
The older soldier looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "The tax just doubled." He said, before pooling fire in his hands. "We wouldn't want an accident would we?" As everyone else stepped back, Korra stood firm, as she looked at the small blaze. "Fire is sometimes hard to controle." He said, before snuffing the flame.
Ceding defeat, the woman returned to the counter, and took out a lock box from under it. The soldier frowned at the meager amount of coins he was handed, and dropped three coins. "You can keep the copper ones." He said, before leaving the store.
Korra felt her fist unclenched, not realizing she'd balled it in the first place. "What a dick." She said.
"How long's the Fire Nation been here?" Sokka asked Haru and his mother.
"Five years." She said, coming around the counter to pick up the coins the soldier dropped. "They use our coal mines to fuel their steam engines."
"They're thugs, and they only get away with stealing from us because everyone is too much of a coward to do anything about it." Haru said.
"Quiet, Haru. Don't talk like that." His mother said.
"Wh-No! You're son's right. They can't just get away with a racket like that." Korra said.
"What's a racket?" Sokka asked.
"Organized consistent extortion. It happens all the time in the big city." Korra said with a shrug. "But that's not the point. Why is nobody here fighting them?"
"Yeah, Haru's an earth bender." Katara said. "He can help."
"Earth bending is forbidden. It's caused nothing but trouble for this village. He must never use his abilities." The woman said.
"How can you say that? Telling him not to earth bend is like telling me not to water bend. It's a part of who we are." Katara asked, before being interrupted.
"You don't understand. They'll take him away, like they did his father, like they do everyone who can earth bend." The woman said.
Katar held a hand over her mouth, as Haru closed his eyes. Korra grit her teeth. It was like the equalists all over again. "I hate to ask..." Korra said, turning to face the woman. "But you wouldn't happen to have someplace we can stay for the night?"
The gang was given shelter in a barn behind Haru's house, and as Katara went on a walk with the young earth bender, Korra sat down with Sokka and planned their next trip.
"I think we should go East tomorrow." Sokka said. "Keeping off the coast might be the best way to avoid more encounters with the Fire Nation."
Korra shook her head. "Na, I'm pretty sure The Fire Nation's already like halfway to Ba Sing Se at this point in the war."
"So what, it'd just be a waste of time?" Sokka asked.
"Pretty much…" Korra said, as she slipped out of her jacket and folded it up into a pillow, before climbing into Appa's saddle, left against the barn's wall. "Personally I want to kick the Fire Nation out of this village, but I have a feeling that's not going to be anywhere near as easy as I'm making it sound." She said, before slipping off her boots and socks, sniffing them curiously. "Then again, it'll be nice to get further North. This equator heat sucks."
Not paying attention to Korra, as she took off her fur pelt three quarter skirt, cloth belt, and full thigh skirt, Sokka looked over his map. "This forest to the North should be pretty much devoid of any Fire Nation activity." He said.
"So you think we should stop there for a day?" Korra asked, as she took off her tank top, arm band, and forearm sleeves.
"Actually I was thinking we should fly out at dawn and-" Sokka cut himself off short, as he looked over and saw Korra in just her baggy pants and what looked like a cloth tube that was wrapped around her breasts. Clearing his throat, Sokka continued. "And use the forest as a sort of easy flying route, since it'll be clear."
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." Korra said, as she laid back onto Appa's saddle, before a thought came to mind, as her arm bumped into Aang's staff beside her. "Hey, Sokka?" Korra asked, getting a hum in response. "With all the timeline bullshit that's going on… Do you think that maybe destiny really exists?"
"Where's this coming from?" Sokka asked, folding up his map.
Korra shrugged. "I don't know, it's just… I mean. Spirit journey aside, what if everything that changes in your time because of me can't be undone? You said it yourself, that me just being here would affect my time right? So what if, because Aang never returned, all our lives are different now, and that was how it was supposed to be?"
Sokka raised an eyebrow. "I don't believe in destiny, so I don't really know how to respond to that… But…" Sokka stood up and pulled his bed roll from Appa's saddle pack. "I guess since I don't know what the future's going to be, like you do, I'll just have to take it in stride." He laid out his sleeping mat on top of a nearby hay bale, and then tossed a light blanket over it. "There is no fate but what we make, I guess."
"No fate…" Korra said to herself. "Then nothing matters."
In the morning, as Korra got dressed, and Sokka packed their thing's onto Appa's back, Katara came bursting into the barn. "They took Haru!" She shouted.
"Who took Haru?" Korra asked.
"Soldiers, Fire Nation soldiers came last night while we were asleep, and took Haru away." Katara said. "His mother told me everything. The old man Haru saved yesterday turned him in. Oh, this is all my fault, I forced Haru to earth bend."
"Slow down, Katara." Sokka said, as he approached and put a hand on his sister's shoulder. "If they came last night, then they're probably long gone. There's no point throwing a fit about it."
"Yes there is." Korra said, as she grabbed her sword. "The Fire Nation just snatched someone we know."
"We don't know him that well." Sokka argued.
"Sokka, Haru and his mother gave us shelter for the night. This is our fault." Katara said, pulling out of her brother's grip. "And we're not going to repay them by just abandoning Haru, and leaving his mother like that."
"Then how do you suggest we get him back?" Sokka asked.
"Easy." Katara said. "One of us is going to get arrested for earth bending."
"This is the dumbest idea you've ever come up with." Sokka said, as his sister quickly ran up the mountain path to Korra and her brother.
"I thought the entire point of us sneaking around was to keep the Fire Nation from capturing me." Korra said, as she stood beside a 200 pound stone.
"You're the only one who could convincingly pull this off though." Katara said, as she looked over her shoulder, spotting the Fire Nation soldiers jogging up the trail behind her. "They're here!" She said, as Korra sighed. Squatting down, Korra picked up the 200 pound stone and lifted it up, raising it over her head, before holding it there with only her right hand, making it look easy with her incredible strength. "See, I told you all, earth bending!" Katara said, pointing to Korra as she spoke to the soldiers.
"That's not earth bending! This is some sort of trick. That rock must be made of paper mache." One of the soldiers said, before Korra put both hands on the boulder, and hurled it at the three soldier's feet, where it dug into the ground. All of them looked at the rock before them, before looking back up at Korra.
"Paper mache, huh?" Korra asked.
The foremost soldier spoke to his juniors. "Seize her!" He ordered, before Sokka and Katara both grabbed one of Korra's arms, the two soldiers running forward tackled her to the ground.
With a grunt, Korra rolled her eyes. "I swear I'll get you back for this!" Korra said, only half threatening Katara, half playing the part.
After she was tied at the wrists, marched down the mountain, and loaded onto a cart, Korra took a cart ride to the coast, where she was put on a ferry, and steamed out to sea. Looking out to the horizon Korra could see a rig of iron and steel backed by the setting sun. "Oh you've gotta be kidding me." Looking up, she could see Appa disappear behind another cloud, keeping himself as well as Katara and Sokka safely out of sight.
Once she stepped off the ferry, Korra could tell at a glance that the rig was a labor camp for building Fire Nation ships, as several cruisers were in various stages of completion. Lining up with the other prisoners all dressed in brown rags, Korra watched as a gray haired man approached.
"Earth benders…" His voice was deep and unsettling. "It is my pleasure to welcome you aboard my modest shipyard. I am your warden. I prefer to think of you not as prisoners, but as honored guests." Korra resisted the urge to blow him over with an air blast. "And I hope you come to think of me as your humble and caring host."
Korra only half paid attention to the Warden's rant. The warden had an outburst and used his firebending to intimidate the other prisoner's after one coughed, before sending the man to solitary confinement for a week. Being marched along. Korra took in the sights of the prison rig, and sighed, wishing she'd learned how to metal bend sooner, not that it would help much given her current inability to bend any other element besides air.
Once inside of the prisoner's yard, Korra's head was on a swivel as she looked for Haru, only to hear her name. "Korra?" Snapping her attention to her left, Korra saw Harua getting up from the metal floor of the yard. "What are you doing here?" He asked as he approached her.
Korra put her hands on her hips. "Oh you know, just saving you."
"Saving me how? You're in the same prison I'm in right now." Haru asked.
"Hey, it was Katara's plan." Korra said, holding a hand to her chest. "She figured getting arrested was the fastest way to find you."
"Well she was right, it's only been a day." Haru said, before he turned and started walking to the edge of the yard. "Hey, there's someone I want you to meet." Korra followed Haru to what appeared to be a kitchen run by the prisoners. "This is my father, Tyro." An elderly man with a graying long beard turned and looked over his shoulder at his son. "Dad, this is Korra."
"Sir." Korra said with a nod.
"A friend of yours?" Tyro asked, as he held a metal bowl of stew out to Korra, a spoon stuck in the goop.
"In a way, I met her a few days ago in the woods." Haru said, as Korra took the bowl of stew, and put a spoonful in her mouth.
Korra raised an eyebrow, finding that it tasted like the street gruel she'd eaten with Republic City's homeless during Amon's short rule over the city. "Either Chicken pig, or chicken cow." Korra said mostly to herself, taking another spoon full. "With… What is that sea biscuit crumbs?" She asked Tyro.
"Close, it's mantaray cow, and yes, the bread base is just flour and water." Tyro said, before another prisoner approached Tyro.
"Some of the other's are complaining there's not enough blankets to go around." The stranger said.
Tyro set down his bowl, and crossed his arms. "I'll talk with the guards about it. Make sure the elderly are taken care of… The rest of us will just have to hope the weather keeps warm."
Korra looked between Tyro and Haru. "So… What's the plan?" Korra asked.
"Plan?" Tyro asked.
"You know, the plan." Korra said. "How're we getting everyone off this rig? I mean, originally I was just going to wait for Katara and Sokka to swing by on Appa, and fly Haru out of here, but this place is kind of… Well, a giant shit hole. So I kinda want to help if you've got an escape plan lined up already. Are we thinking of an uprising, or sneaking out a few people at a time? Maybe signaling for help?"
"The plan is to survive. Wait out this war. Hope that someday, some of us can get back home, and forget this ever happened." Tyro said, as Korra ate another spoon full of gruel and set her bowl down.
"Yeah, well that's bullshit." Korra said, as she looked at Haru. "Are you leaving with me later tonight?" She asked.
Haru sat down. "I can't just leave my father here."
Korra nodded. "Right… Well, I've got my work cut out for me then."
Later, just before dawn, Korra poked her head out of the prisoner hut she'd slept in, and made her way to the edge of the rig under the cover of darkness, dodging a spotlight as it roamed across the yard. Sharply but shortly whistling, Korra heard the call returned from the edge of the prison yard, just overlooking the sea. Slipping through the bars of the platform, Korra found Katara and Sokka on Appa's back. "Where's Haru?" Katara asked, not seeing the earthbender with Korra, as Sokka passed the Avatar her sword.
"He's not coming… Which is why I'm not going." Korra said.
"What?!" Sokka asked in a hushed yell.
Korra knelt down. "Haru's dad's on the rig, and… Look, these people are eating garbage that only the homeless enjoy, the warden's a raging psychopath, and none of them have a plan to escape."
"That's horrible." Katara said quietly.
"I know, so I say, we stay and help them escape somehow." Korra said.
Both Korra and Katara looked at Sokka. "What?" He asked.
"You're the plan maker." Katara said. "Don't you have some idea for how we can free these poor people?"
"I've never broken anyone out of jail before!" Sokka said, only slightly louder than a whisper.
"Your sister's right Sokka, you are the plan maker. Kind of a spoiler, but this wouldn't be the worst thing you've gotten out of." Korra said.
"Really?" Sokka asked, earning a nod from Korra.
"Yeah, you turn out to be a great strategist in the future." Korra said.
Sokka raised an eyebrow as he held his chin. "Alright… I've got a few ideas." He said, joining Korra on the prison rig, as his sister took her hand and was pulled up.
"Oh good, I was hoping so, otherwise, my plan was going to be, just find the warden, beat the crap out of him, and steal his keys." Korra said, holding up her sword, as Appa flew off. "Which, is hopefully still an option."
The three hid behind a stack of crates in the corner of the rig, out of sight from the three guard towers. "So those ideas?" Korra asked Sokka.
"The prison rig itself has basically everything we need to get everyone off of it." Sokka said. "Those ferries you came in on, weapons, the easy access to the water, and everyone here should be an earth bender too, so most probably have some experience fighting if they were just going to create an uprising. The problem is, there's no earth around, so no one thinks they have the power to fight back. The prison isn't what's keeping them in, it's their mind locking them here."
"We just need a way to help these people see that they can help themselves." Katara said.
"Well they'd need earth for that." Sokka said.
"And this entire place is made of metal." Katara added.
"Which actually wouldn't be a problem if metal bending was already invented." Korra said.
"Metal bending?" Sokka asked skeptically.
"Yeah." Korra said. "I mean, I didn't learn how to do it, but it's a subset of earth bending. Basically metal still has earth in it, and you can bend the metal by bending the earth in the metal."
"Any chance one of these prisoner's could figure that out?" Sokka asked.
"Unless for some reason one of them happens to be a living legend, not likely." Korra said. "And I doubt they'd even believe that it's possible since it just hasn't been done yet." She looked over her shoulder, then raised an eyebrow. "Buuuut… I don't think that'll be a problem." Korra said with a smirk, as she pointed to the smoke coming from the stacks protruding from the rig.
Sokka looked up at where Korra was pointing, and he grinned. "Coal burning steam power… Earth. This entire rig's loaded up with coal, the earth bender's just never have access to it."
"But what if we could get the coal to them?" Korra asked.
"Then there'd be an army of earth benders outnumbering the guards five to one." Katara said.
"Are you sure this will work?" Katara asked her brother as the two looked down one of the rig's ventilation shafts, as the sun began to rise in the east.
"This vent connects to the rig's boiler room. If Korra can sneak in, and create a strong enough air flow with her bending, then she can force coal up the shaft, and the earth bender's can arm themselves." Sokka said.
Deep inside of the rig, Korra came sliding out of the vent that led to the boiler room, and sat up to face the two engineers manning the giant steam engine. "Uuuuuh. This isn't the bathroom." Korra said with a nervous grin, that faded as one of the engineers grabbed a shovel. "Ok, fine, we do this the hard way." She said, before kicking a blast of air at the unarmed man, sending him flying into a pile of coal.
In the prison yard, over a dozen soldiers, several of them fire benders, came rushing into the yard to surround Katara and Sokka. "Intruders! Stop where you are!" The warden shouted.
"Stay back! I'm warning you!" Sokka said, as he pulled out his boomerang, earning a chuckle from the warden.
"Katara, what are you doing?!" Haru asked.
"I-I came to help." She said, as Haru stepped forward to save Katara.
"Be at ease child, you can't win this fight." Tyro said, as he put a hand on his son's shoulder.
In the engine room, Korra drew her sword, and sliced the wooden handle of the engineer's shovel in half, before elbowing him in the head, sending teeth flying, as his friend pulled himself out of the coal pile, just in time to catch a kick to the gut which caused him to double over and throw up. Standing over the two defeated men, Korra took the remains of the shovel handle and jammed it through the handle of the door to the room, barring it for the time.
The warden stepped forward towards Katara and Sokka. "I would heed the old man's advice, children. You are all one mistake away from dying where you stand." He said with a scowl, before he felt the metal floor below him begin to shake.
At first the sound of air could be heard moving through the nearby vent, before a cloud of black dust spewed out of the opening, and following it, an eruption of black rocks, which came raining down around the vent, forming a massive ring in the center of the prison yard. Only a few seconds later did Korra jump out of the opening, landing atop the pile, covered in coal dust.
She blew a puff of air which sent a cloud of dust flying off her head, before she fanned herself with her hand forcefully blowing away a majority of the black crud. "Great, black lung." She said to herself, as Katara joined her on the top of the pile of stone, grabbing a lump of coal.
"Everyone, this is your chance! Take fate into your own hands, and fight!" Katara said, holding the dusty rock over her head, though it seemed nobody was willing to jump into action.
The warden laughed from behind Katara. "Foolish girl." The Warden said, crossing his arms and shaking his head. "You thought a few inspirational words and some coal was going to change these people? Look at them. Blank, hopeless faces… Their spirits were broken long ago." Korra and Katara both turned to find the somber looks of the earth benders around them, Korra seeing the same empty eyes of despair that plagued everyone who had lost their bending to the hands of Amon. "It's quite sweet how you believe in them, but they're a waste of your energy. They can do nothing to change their fate." The Warden said, as he turned and walked away.
Korra looked down at the sword in her hand, a hand that could no longer bend earth, just like the rest of the prisoners, before she grit her teeth, and spoke under her breath. "There is no fate but what we make." Korra turned and looked at the warden. "Nothing matters!" That caught the warden's attention, as he looked over his shoulder at Korra. "In the grand scheme of things, there's no such thing as fate, only what actions you're willing to take to create your own future." Korra said, raising her blade, pointing it at the warden with one hand. "So really, it doesn't mean anything if these people decide to fight you or not…" She gripped her with both hands, and held the blade over her shoulder. "Because I've decided, I'm gonna' kick. Your. Ass."
Jumping towards the warden, Korra was intercepted by two spearmen. The first, she swatted away with only her airbending, before spinning and slicing the head of the spear clean off. Using the man's shoulder as a springboard, Korra jumped up and slammed her blade into the helmet of a firebender before he could effectively attack her, denting the helmet, and causing the man inside it to yell in pain, as he fell to his knees.
The Warden after only a second, threw a fireball at Korra, who rolled out of the way. "Insolent girl. You think you can hurt my men and get away with it?" As the warden was distracted, he paid no attention to the rock that was sent flying at his head. Staggering, as his caved in head injury bled, the warden fell over limp.
Everyone turned to see Katara holding her hand over her mouth, surprised that a simple thrown rock had done so much. Looking between Katara and the warden, Haru quickly grabbed a handful of coal, and began hurling the stones with his earth bending at a greater speed than he could with his arm alone, pelting a fire bender in his chest plate, causing him to fall over.
Seeing his son fight for his freedom, Tyro took hold of a small pile of coal, and threw it at two more soldiers, knocking both of them over. "FOR THE EARTH KINGDOM!" Tyro shouted, garnering a shout of support from several other prisoners who all began taking the lumps of coal, and fighting back against the soldiers.
Korra grinned, as she spun, and kicked a fire bender with a blast of air, both snuffing out his attack, and sending him flying into a crate, which splinted as he hit it.
Soon the entire yard had erupted into fighting, and before long, the prisoners had broken free of the yard, battling their way down to the ferries docked at the rig's small port. Once everyone had been accounted for, Tyro got everyone aboard, and the ferries set a course for the coast again.
As Korra stood on the ferry with the rest of the prisoners, she looked over to Sokka who was sitting on Appa's head as he flew just above the water.
"I can't thank you enough for what you've done Korra." Haru said, catching the taller girl's attention. "You saved us."
Korra shrugged. "Just doing what I do best… Really, it's Katara you should be thanking…" Korra said, as she put her arm around the shorter girl and pulled her in. Katara blushed as she made eye contact with Haru. "I was going to fight the soldier's either way, but she was the first one to pick up a rock." Korra said.
"Oh please don't remind me about that." Katara said, both in embarrassment and disgust.
"What? The warden lived… I think…" Korra said.
Tyro stepped forward. "Either way, I thank you for helping me find my courage, Katara and Avatar Korra of the Water Tribe."
"How did you…?" Korra started to ask.
"You bent both earth and air today… That's something only an avatar should be capable of." Tyro said. "I'd heard the stories that you'd been born into the world again, but didn't believe them until I saw you toss that soldier across the yard like a rag doll. I'd fight by your side any time."
Korra laughed nervously, knowing she hadn't actually bent earth at all. "So much for laying low." She said, before looking at Katara and noticed something was wrong. "Hey, Katara, where'd your betrothal necklace go?"
"My betrothal, what?" Katara asked, as she put her hand to her throat to feel the only necklace she'd ever worn. "My mother's necklace!" She said, realizing that it was gone.
Standing in the abandoned prison yard at Sunset, Zuko knelt down, as he saw something he recognized. Picking up the blue stained whale bone pendant and the cloth wrap attached to it, Zuko clenched it in his fist, and looked up to the sky.