Disclaimer: Avatar the Last Airbender is created by Michael DiMartino & Brian Konzieko and owned by Nickelodeon.
Rewrite of "The Puppetmaster" originally written by Tim Hedrick.
"Previously on Avatar, Katara revealed she was the last waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe. Yue explained the first waterbenders learned how to bend by watching the moon pull the tides, and Katara noticed her bending was stronger at night. Katara was able to make her own water using sweat to waterbend and escape prison," said Avatar Roku.
The group sat around a fire, while Sokka tried to tell a scary story about the blade of Wing Fun.
They aren't impressed.
"No, wait, I've got one, and this is a true Southern Water Tribe story," said Katara.
"Is this one of those 'a friend of my cousin knew some guy that this happened to' stories?" Sokka asked skeptical.
"No, it happened to Mom," Katara replied, and everyone focused their attention on her. "One winter, when Mom was a girl, a snowstorm buried the whole village for weeks. A month later, Mom realized she hadn't seen her friend Nini since the storm. So mom and some others went to check on Nini's family. When they got there, no one was home, just a fire flickering in the fireplace. While the men went out to search, Mom stayed in the house. When she was alone, she heard a voice, (Katara imitated a little girl's voice) 'It's so cold and I can't get warm.' Mom turned and saw Nini standing by the fire. She was blue, like she was frozen. Mom ran outside for help, but... when everyone came back, Nini was gone."
Aang wrapped Momo's ears around his head nervously, while Sokka hid behind a tree trunk and peered over.
"Where'd she go?" Sokka asked.
"No one knows. Nini's house stands empty to this day. But sometimes, people see smoke coming up from the chimney, like little Nini is still trying to get warm," said Katara.
Toph gasped and placed a hand to the ground.
"Wait. Guys, did you hear that? I hear people under the mountain, and they're screaming," said Toph.
Aang, Momo, and Sokka hugged Katara and they all went wide with fear.
Sokka regained his composure and said, "Pfft, nice try."
"I think I heard it, too," said Zuko in a serious tone.
"You're probably just jumpy from the story," said Katara.
"It stopped," said Toph.
"Alright, now I'm scared," said Aang.
Hama appeared behind Aang, Katara, and Sokka.
"Hello children," said Hama.
Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Momo screamed and ran. Aang and Sokka grabbed Toph, while Katara and Momo huddled against Zuko.
Hama walked into the firelight.
"Sorry to frighten you. My name is Hama. You children shouldn't be out in the forest by yourselves at night. I have an inn nearby. Why don't you come by for some spiced tea and warm beds?" Hama offered.
"Yes, please," said Sokka in a higher pitch than normal.
Everyone gathered around the dining room table at the inn.
"Thanks for letting us stay. You have a lovely inn," said Katara.
"Aren't you sweet? You should be careful. People have been disappearing in those woods you were camping in," said Hama.
"What do you mean disappearing?" Sokka asked concerned.
"When the moon turns full, people walk in, and they don't come out," said Hama in an eerie tone. Then she cheerfully offered, "Who wants more tea?" She noticed the kids worried expressions. "Don't worry you're completely safe here."
She showed them to their rooms.
The next morning, Hama escorted them to the market place.
Toph carried a large clay bowl filled with food against the top of her head with one hand, while Sokka used a carrying pole. Katara and Aang each carried a basket by the handle, and Zuko carried a larger basket that did not have handles.
"Why don't you take all this back to the inn? I have a couple of errands to run. I'll be back in a little while," said Hama.
"This is a mysterious town you've got here," said Sokka.
Hama smiled and said cryptically, "Mysterious town for mysterious children."
The group returned to the inn, where Zuko and Sokka unloaded the groceries in the kitchen.
"That Hama seems a little strange," said Sokka.
"Like she knows something," said Zuko.
"Or she's hiding something," said Sokka.
"That's ridiculous. She's a nice old woman who took us in and gave us a place to stay. She kind of reminds me of Gran Gran," said Katara. Her eyes narrowed at Zuko and she said to him, "That's the old woman you grabbed thinking she was old enough to be the Avatar."
Zuko put his hands up defensively, "Sorry."
"It's okay," said Katara.
"What did she mean by 'Mysterious Children'?" Sokka asked.
"Gee, I don't know. Maybe because she found some strange kids camping in the woods? Isn't that a little mysterious?" Katara replied sarcastically.
"I'm going to take a look around," said Sokka.
Sokka snooped around. He found marionettes. Zuko was unphased by the dolls. They found Hama's chest and Toph attempted to use her bracelet to open it.
Hama appeared in the doorway. "I'll tell you what's in the box."
Sokka, Aang and Katara are surprised and fearful. Hama opened the box and revealed an old whale tooth comb.
"An old comb?" Sokka asked in disbelief.
"It's my greatest treasure. It's the last thing I own from growing up in the Southern Water Tribe," said Hama.
Sokka and Katara were shocked. Zuko furrowed his brow and thought.
"You're from the Southern Water Tribe?" Katara asked.
"Just like you," Hama replied.
"How did you know?" Katara asked.
"I heard you talking around your campfire," said Hama.
Sokka and Zuko exchanged glances. "Why didn't you tell us?"
"I wanted to surprise you. I bought all this food so I could fix you a big Water Tribe dinner. I can't get all the ingredients, but if you stew ocean kumquats long enough, they taste like sea prunes," Hama replied.
"Great," said Aang as he grimaced.
"I knew I felt a bond with you right away," said Katara.
"And I knew you were keeping a secret, so I guess we were both right," said Sokka. Katara punched his arm. "But I'm sorry we were sneaking around."
"Apology accepted. Now let's get cooking," said Hama.
Zuko and Aang took care of and visited Appa and Momo.
After everyone sat down to dinner, Hama used waterbending to serve the soup into bowls. Zuko's eyes widened, then narrowed at Hama suspiciously.
"You're a waterbender! I've never met another waterbender from our tribe," said Katara.
"That's because the Fire Nation wiped them all out," said Hama sadly. Zuko looked down, ashamed, but listened intently. Hama continued, "I was the last one."
"So how'd you end up here?" Sokka asked.
"I was stolen from my home. It was sixty years ago, when the raids started. They came again and again, rounding up waterbenders each time. We did our best, but our numbers dwindled as the raids continued. Finally I too was captured. I was led away in chains. The Last Waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe," Hama said. She cried and continued, "They put us in terrible prisons here in the Fire Nation. I was the only one who managed to escape."
"How did you get away? And why did you stay in the Fire Nation?" Sokka asked. Zuko looked up at Sokka as he questioned Hama.
"I'm sorry. It's too painful to talk about anymore," Hama replied. Zuko looked at her as she replied, then looked at the floor.
"We completely understand. We lost our mother in a raid," said Katara.
Hama patted Katara's head, "Oh you poor things."
Aang, Sokka, and Zuko lowered their heads solemnly.
"I can't tell you what it means to meet you. It's an honor. You're a hero," said Katara.
"I never thought I'd meet another Southern Waterbender. I'd like to teach you what I know, so you can carry on the Southern Tradition when I'm gone," said Hama.
"Yes, yes of course!To learn about my heritage, it would mean everything to me," Katara said excitedly.
Hama smiled.
The next day...
"Growing up at the South Pole, waterbenders are totally at home surrounded by snow, ice, and seas. But, as you probably noticed on your travels, that isn't the case wherever you go," Hama explained.
"I know, when we were stranded in the desert, I felt like there was almost nothing I could do," Katara replied.
"That's why you have to learn to control water wherever it exists," said Hama.
"I've even used my own sweat for waterbending," said Katara.
"That's very resourceful, Katara. You're thinking like a true master. But did you know you can pull water about of thin air?" Hama threw her hands up and created a circle over her head and collected moisture from the air. "You've got to keep an open mind, Katara." Hama turned the water into ice daggers. "There's water in places you never even think about." Hama threw the ice daggers and hit a tree trunk. Katara stood behind Hama and smiled.
Meanwhile, Aang, Sokka, Toph, and Zuko went around trying to figure out why people were disappearing.
"This has gotta be the nicest natural setting in the Fire Nation, I don't see anything that would make a spirit mad around here," said Aang.
"Maybe the Moon Spirit turned mean," said Toph.
Sokka took a whiff of some yellow flowers before he turned to Toph.
"The Moon Spirit is a gentle, loving lady. She rules the sky with compassion and...lunar goodness," Sokka replied angrily.
"Maybe it's not a spirit," said Zuko.
Aang and Sokka exchanged confused looks.
"What do you mean?" Aang asked.
"I'm not sure," said Zuko as he thought. He furrowed his brow.
A traveler walked by and Aang turned to him.
"Excuse me sir. Can you tell us anything about the spirit that's been stealing people?" Aang asked.
"Only one man ever saw it and lived, that's Old Man Ding," the traveler replied.
"Where does Old Man Ding live?" Toph asked.
To Be Continued...
AN: It's been a few chapters since I had Roku, so I thought it would be a nice touch to recap.