Author's Note:I hope you all enjoy this chapter! This was one of the harder ones for me, whenever there is a special episode dedicated to a specific canon character and their development. I also love how honest this episode is on repercussions and best intentions leading awry. I wanted to do it justice and to be honest, I have improved a lot since even the first chapter was posted. I have never in my life posted a story for this long, consistently, or reached this far into one before. This is a huge learning experience for me and I am so thankful you all decided to join me for the ride.

I have plans to rewrite this, change a few things, and make it more solid. But for now, I need to finish a story before I can even think of a rewrite. I have had a few questions regarding pregnancy and want to say that what will happen is already planned so you will have to wait and see. No this isn't a confirmation, but neither is it a denial. I will not be forcing anything either, so I hope you enjoy what I have planned.

~Chapter 3 Start~

It was surprising how often we found ourselves resorting to using Appa for travel. This time though, we were riding him through the swampy muck that our map called a river. Poor guy, it must stink something fierce to be swimming through...whatever it was full of. Speaking of swimming, Aang was also neck deep in the sludge. He seemed to be playing a game with Momo, unbothered by filth. My nose wrinkled at the thought of even touching the water as I watched him giggle unbothered.

"Momo?" Aang called as he popped out from the water.

Mom flew back towards the sound of Aang's voice as he ducked into the water. Coming up a few feet behind Momo he called out again. Sokka twitched as he clasped his fishing rod tightly, attempting to focus on his task of getting us dinner. I lazily turned to look at Toph who was picking something out of her toes. Heaving a sigh I sat up to look at the clouds; at least today was boring. Boring meant safe, something I used to hate.

"Oh, Momo?" Aang called out again before ducking back into the water.

As he came out near Appa, Momo flew onto his head, catching him. Once Aang was caught, Momo let out several trills and chittering songs. Crawling around Aang's head before settling around his neck, Momo let out a happy yawn. I couldn't stop myself from smiling at how adorable Momo was.

"Heh heh heh heh! You found me buddy!" Aang chuckled as he jumped back into the saddle.

"Ew..." I muttered, holding my nose, my mirth destroyed.

"Hey, guys, I think this river's polluted." Aang explained as he dropped sludge onto the saddle.

He bent the muck off hitting the rest of us with it instead. I stared at him as I began to twitch. Did he notice it was polluted before or after he swam in it. Actually, did he realize he got it over everyone and Appa's saddle.

"Ugh, really?" I cried.

Aang took that moment to blow the muck off of us as well. I was thankful for that, but I could still feel whatever was crawling in the muck on my skin. Suppressing a shiver of disgust I looked out towards the skyline to ignore the muck I could still hear hitting Appa's legs. With a small wince I took a deep gulp of mostly fresh air to get the stench out of my nose.

"Sorry." Aang said sheepishly.

"Well, that explains why I can't catch a fish around here. Because normally my fishing skills are...off the hook." Sokka joked as he pulled his line out of the water.

"Boo!" I said as I cupped my mouth in his direction.

"Get it? Like a fishing hook?" Sokka tried again, pointing towards his hook.

"Too bad your skills aren't on the hook." Toph said, causing us all to laugh.

Sokka pouted, clearly unhappy that his joke fell flat while Toph's was on point, pun intended. He turned back towards his bag, packing up his fishing rod with a huff. Despite his irritation, I could tell Sokka was enjoying himself all the same. Well, as much as he could enjoy himself as he laboured over our schedule and supplies.

"It looks like we'll need to go somewhere else to get food. Assuming that'll fit into Sokka's master schedule." Katara said as Sokka rolled out our itinerary.

"Hmm...it's doable. But that means only two potty breaks today." Sokka said, holding up two fingers.

"Hey, maybe we can get food there." Aang said pointing towards a town built over the water.

We parked Appa near the shoreline and covered him with foliage once we had removed his saddle. It was funny how despite Appa's large size, he was capable of waiting quietly and patiently for us to come back. He was actually hard to spot unless you knew where to look. Sokka, Toph, Katara, and I began to head towards the shoreline that led to the town as Aang hung back with Appa.

"Now you look like a little hill with horns. Bye, buddy." Aang called out to Appa as he rushed after us.

We found the town not far out in the middle of what appeared to be a lake. The leaking was even worse than the river somehow. The stench was more pungent here and I had to curl my nose to avoid gagging. Several shells oozed some unknown substance as they stuck out from the darkened sand. It was obvious the shellfish were long dead.

"I don't feel anything. Where's this village?" Toph asked.

"It's in the middle of the river." Sokka answered as he pointed towards the town despite Toph being blind.

"Sure is," we heard someone say, "my name's Dock. Mind if I ask who you are?"

"We're from the Earth Kingdom colonies." Katara answered for us.

"Wow, colonials. Hop on, I'll give you a ride into town." Dock offered.

We all shrugged and got onto the small raft without complaint. I wasn't sure it was a sound idea, and the smell wasn't any better, but one for all and all for one I suppose. Besides, it's not like we had another option to get to the town, not without giving away who we were.

"Why do you guys live on the river?" Katara asked once we started to move.

"Because we're a fishing town. At least that's how it was before the factory moved in. Army makes their metal there. Moved in a few years ago and started gumming up our river. Now our little village is struggling to survive." Dock explained as we reached the town.

We hopped off as he began to tie his raft to the docks. It was strange how nonchalant he was about something so horrible. Just how many towns like these had the future's progress pushed out?

"Thanks for the ride!" Aang waved with a smile despite our situation, and theirs.

The town was silent and filled with sick and emancipated people. I could smell the putrid scent of pollution everywhere we went. I frowned at the state these people were in, not an ounce of body fat between them. Seeing the children was the worst part, watching as they followed us with almost dead eyes. Whenever I got a little too close to someone, I could smell the scent of unwashed bodies. Like, not a week of not having a bath, more like months. Guess when clean water was sparse, wasting on washing seemed foolish.

"Look at this place. It's so sad. We have to do something to help." Katara said looking around.

"No, we can't waste our time here. We have a bigger mission to focus on. These people are on their own." Sokka said, cutting off her train of thought.

"These people are starving, but you turn your back on them? How can you be so cold and heartless?" Katara seethed as she grabbed Sokka's shoulder.

"I'm not turning by back, I'm just being realistic. We can't go around helping every rinky-dink town we wander into! We'll help them all by taking out the Fire Lord."

"Hey loudmouth! Maybe we should be a little quieter when we talk about taking out the Fire Lord." Toph hissed.

"Come on, Katara, be reasonable. You know our mission has to come first." Sokka said softer this time.

"I guess so..." Katara relented, although she didn't seem convinced.

"For the record, I'm on Katara's side. I don't see how our big mission can save these people if the person who takes the Fire Lord's place is just as tyrannical and cruel." I sighed as I walked towards Katara.

"Thank you, Mira." She smiled at me before clasping my shoulder.

"Let's just get what we need and go." Aang declared, ending the argument there.

"Ok, sure," Katara agreed, but as everyone turned to leave, she grabbed my sleeve and pulled me back. "Did you mean what you said, about agreeing with me?"

"I did." I whispered.

"Good, let's catch up to the others." She smiled as she jogged after them.

I watched as she left, feeled with a feeling of purpose. My heart quickened as a smile crossed my face. I had someone I could depend on who wanted the same things I did. I wanted to help people, I wanted to make a difference.

And so did Katara.

~Break~

We entered the market to find Dock there with his back turned to us. Sokka rang the bell and he turned around with a toothy grin. He was wearing the same outfit as before, except he had appeared to have changed his hat. I looked around realizing that this tiny town was really just a few run down docks with huts strewn across them. I could see the grime caked into the creases of Dock's eyes, noticing that his appearance mirrored almost everyone else's. Not even his clothing seemed clean, carrying the stench of the river wherever he went.

"Hey, Dock, you work here too?" Sokka asked.

"I'm not Dock, I'm Shoe. Dock's my brother." Shoe said, completely serious.

"But we just saw you. You're even wearing the same clothes, except for your hat." Aang questioned.

"Dock works on the docks, that's why they call him Dock. And I work in the shop that's why they call me Shoe." Shoe explained.

"I don't get it." Aang blinked, also completely serious.

"Me neither," Shoe admitted as he dropped below the counter and popped back out. "What can I get ya?"

He placed a box of rotten smelling shellfish and seafood before us. I recoiled at the stench feeling like I'd rather starve than eat that. The clams reminded me of the dead and oozing ones on the beach, except these didn't smell quite as bad. I wasn't sure if they were even safe to eat fresh, and I wasn't willing to risk finding out. Getting food poisoning was sure to mess with Sokka's schedule.

"Hey, I'll give you a special deal. If you buy three fish, I'll throw in a clam for free." Shoe offered.

Sokka squished one of the clams and it gave way slushing out muck. We all recoiled as Sokka turned to Shoe. I could only pray that Sokka wouldn't consider the offer as I was sure only the spirits could help us if we actually ate them. The clam let out a sucking sound as Sokka removed his finger from it. I winced at the noise trying not to think about what that meant for the meat.

"We'll just take the fish. Mind telling your brother we need a ride back to shore?" Sokka asked.

We all let out a collective sigh of relief at Sokka's reply. Shoe finished wrapping up our fish and ducked back under the counter. He popped back out wearing a different hat and I assumed he was now Deck, or Dock, whichever. He didn't even seem to bother changing his vest. It honestly wasn't any of my business, whatever got the man through his day. I couldn't really blame him for finding small escapes, even if the escape was being a fictional brother.

"Hey colonials. My brother says you need a lift." He smiled.

"Your brother...Shoe?" I asked.

"Yes indeedy! I'm his brother, Dock!" Dock smiled.

Well, that answered my name question at least. Dock jumped over the counter and walked past us, heading towards his raft. We went to follow after them when Katara was stopped by a little boy. He was clearly an older child, but was so incredibly small he appeared much younger. He was dirtier than Dock/Shoe was, clearly one of the poorer families of this village. He didn't even have proper clothing, just a pair of pants. I could hear his bare feet slap against the docks before he had even reached us.

"Can you spare some food?" He asked with wide sunken eyes.

Katara knelt down and handed him one of our fish. She smiled at the boy, despite her eyes showing nothing but sorrow. It hurt, seeing how deeply affected everyone was by this war. Up until now it had seemed as if the Fire Nation seemed to care for its own, but that simply wasn't true. This war was hurting every single nation in some way, this was such a fractured world.

"I wish I could help more..." Katara whispered with a sad smile.

We watched as the little boy ran up to his sick mother to show her what he had got. She beamed down at him proudly as she pet his oily hair. I turned towards Katara and placed a hand on her shoulder, leading her towards the raft and away from the heartbreaking scene.

"I promise we will do something." I whispered into her ear.

"Can you do something for me once we get back to camp?" She asked in a hushed tone.

"Sure, what is it?" I agreed without hesitation.

"I need you to get me some purple berries, specific ones." Katara began to explain.

She told me about the berries she needed as well as their specific colouring. Making a mental note I looked for a nearby bush I could collect from later. We got onto the raft and headed back towards the shore, and Appa. Hopefully whatever Katara had planned wouldn't be too obvious, nor upset anyone.

~Break~

Back at camp Katara and Toph were busy removing the mud and dirt from the water, as Aang and I bent the clean water into a large pot to boil. It was arduous work, but work I was happy to be doing. It was different from working a job, it seemed almost fulfilling in a way. Perhaps if I ever got home, or had a new one, I could pick up gardening or something similar.

"Our detour into town today has completely thrown off our schedule. It's going to take some serious finagling to get us back on track." Sokka complained as he paced back and forth.

"Finagle away, oh schedule master." Toph mocked.

"Well, for starters, it looks like we'll need to wake up forty-three minutes earlier every day." Sokka began to explain.

"Forty-three minutes?" Katara deadpanned.

"Look, we only have a few weeks to get to the Fire Lord in time for the invasion and the eclipse, which, by the way, only lasts for eight minutes. And we just lost a whole day. So if we want to make up the time and stay on schedule, we have to wake up early." Sokka declared.

"Well, I'm not waking up early." Toph argued as she laid down.

"Or we could just cut out all of our eating breaks." Sokka countered.

"What?" Katara gasped.

"No way." Aang disagreed.

"Are you serious?" I growled.

"Forget it!" Toph said as she sat up.

"I got it, how's this? From now on we'll take our food breaks and potty breaks at the same time."

"Ew, no!" We all shouted as Aang spat out his water.

"Hey, it might be gross, but it's efficient," Sokka defended as he picked up his itinerary. "Either way, we have to leave here first thing tomorrow morning."

Katara and I exchanged looks as we got ready for bed. I handed her the berries she had asked for earlier and she gave me a thankful smile. Sokka's warning about how much time we had made me anxious, but I wasn't sure if I could live with myself if I walked away from people in need again.

"Thanks." Katara whispered as she stood up.

~Break~

Morning came much too quickly and we awoke feeling dirty and sore. As I was returning from going to the bathroom I found everyone seated around the fire. Appa was groaning as I reached Katara who had a panicked expression on her face.

"What's the matter, Katara?" Aang asked as Appa lay on his side and let out another groan.

"I think Appa's sick." Katara declared as she inspected him.

"What? Appa's sick? That's awful!" Sokka shouted as he rushed over.

"Wow, Sokka, I didn't realize you cared so much." Toph said in surprise.

"Of course I care. I might as well just throw our schedule away now." Sokka whined.

We all gave him different glares and stern looks causing him to recoil.

"And I'm concerned because my big, furry friend doesn't feel well." Sokka said as he started hugging Appa and stroked his fur.

Nice save, although none of us truly believed him we had better things to do than argue that point. So we turned back to Katara, our resident healer for help and guidance.

"He must have gotten sick from being in the polluted water." Toph mused.

"He doesn't look sick. Are you okay, buddy?" Aang asked as he opened Appa's mouth.

Appa relented with a small groan and stuck out a purple tongue. Aang pulled it out and began to inspect it. The shade of purple was familiar and I looked at Katara with a raised brow. Could his purple tongue be caused by those berries I had found? If so, it was safe to assume Appa would be fine, Katara would never put Appa in danger.

"His tongue is purple. That can't be good. Katara, can you heal him?" Aang gasped.

"It looks like he needs some medicine. Maybe we can find the right herbs in town." Katara answered.

Momo took that moment to dive onto Appa's tongue and licked at the purple portion. Aang grabbed him and lifted him up with a small glare. I couldn't believe Katara's plan had worked, considering we both could heal Appa using waterbending, I think. I really needed to ask Katara the extent of our healing abilities. We headed back to Dock and headed back into town. Once we reached the docks, we headed into the main portion to look for herbs. The dock was a flurry of noise and motion, which was a far cry from yesterday.

"Is it just me, or does this place seem different?" Toph asked.

"Yeah, are the people happier?" Aang observed as he looked around.

A little girl rushed by playing with a ball, another vaulted across two docks. Everyone was full of smiles, and strangest of all, energy. In fact, I could smell oatmeal cooking somewhere on the docks. The air was filled with laughter and mirth, it was like an entirely different place.

"Hey, Shoe, what's going on with everyone today?" Sokka asked as we reached his counter.

"Ah, something amazing happened last night. Food was delivered to our village by a mysterious and wonderful person. The Painted Lady." Shoe explained.

"The painted who now?" Katara asked.

"The Painted Lady. She's part of our town's lore. They say she's a river spirit who watches over our town in times of need," Shoe explained as he placed a figure down in front of us. "I always thought she was just a legend. Until now."

"See, we don't need to help these people, they have someone to help them. All we need is medicine for our friend." Sokka said.

"Medicine?" Shoe asked, "Sorry, all the medicine we have goes to the factory. That's why there's so many sick people in our village."

His words reminded me of Sadar's men in the Earth Kingdom. I swallowed hard, willing those memories to stay buried, this was a different town. In fact, this was an actual Fire Nation town. It just felt surreal to think that they cared so little for almost every single person in the world.

"Looks like we need to stay another night so Appa can rest." Katara spoke first.

"Ah...I guess you're right. You got any more food to sell?" Sokka relented.

"Would you like the one-headed-fish to the two-headed-fish?" Dock/Shoe asked.

"Two-headed!" Sokka said as he snatched it. "What? You get more for your money that way."

"Eughh..." We all groaned as we rushed away from the foul smelling fish.

I took the commotion to grab Katara's arm and pull her close to me. She gave me a questioning look as I moved towards her ear.

"Was this you?" I whispered.

Her answer as a simple nod and a soft smile. I'd have to ask her later in private what her plan was, because we couldn't stay here forever. It also didn't answer how and where Katara had gotten fresh food.

~Break~

I found my moment to ask Katara her plan when everyone was busy cooking for dinner. I found Katara sitting along by the fire, stirring the pot with her bending. She gave me a soft smile as she looked around to see if we were alone. I could see the determination reflect in her eyes and knew no matter what, I wouldn't be able to turn my back on her or the people of this village.

"Are you still with me?" Katara asked in hushed tones.

"Yeah, but I still need to ask you what your plan is. We can't stay here forever." I whispered back.

"I know, it's just...I needed to do something," Katara explained, her eyes pleading with me. "At least until I can think of a way to permanently help these people."

We both looked out at the village which sat in the distance, still lit up with happy families. I wasn't sure if there was a permanent solution, at least not until we defeated the Fire Lord. But that wouldn't help anyone now, and with how sick and frail those children were...Katara's help could be the difference between survival and death for them.

"Well, if the lake is their livelihood it's not going to be an easy fix." I answered as I turned back to her.

"I know, I just need you to help keep it a secret, even from Aang," Katara said with a small sigh. "I'm not sure he would feel comfortable with what I'm doing."

"What is it you're doing?" I asked.

"Taking whatever supplies I need from the people responsible for this pollution." Katara said simply.

It didn't take a genius to understand she meant the Fire Nation. The petty part of me was proud of Katara's action, but the anxious part of me was wary. The Fire Nation wouldn't leave this alone, there would be retaliation. I could only hope we could come up with a plan before that.

~Break~

"Hi, Dock, is Shoe around?" Sokka asked as we found ourselves in town for a third time.

"Let me check." Dock said as he tossed the rag he was holding and walked away.

He ran behind the stall and came back out with a different hat on. The town seemed happier today than yesterday, some people were even singing. It seemed Katara was making a difference, and so far the Fire Nation hadn't gotten wise yet. I could only hope we wouldn't lose any more time nor our cover before we came up with a plan.

"Hey there, back again, are you?" Shoe asked.

"We need more food. Our friend is still sick and we can't leave until he's better." Toph declared as she pushed Sokka away and placed money on the counter.

"Oh, well, that's too bad. Maybe if you guys are lucky the Painted Lady will visit you in the night and heal your friend." Shoe said as he placed a basket of clams down for us.

"And maybe she'll cook us a midnight snack and we'll all have a sing-along." Sokka said sarcastically.

"Yeah, maybe. You know, last night she visited us again. Healed most of our sick folk." Shoe agreed, missing the sarcasm.

It was funny how little it took to make these people happy. They had no idea it was Katara, a waterbender, who was helping them, and neither did Sokka or anyone else. I didn't miss how Aang's lit up at the mention of the Painted Lady, the name the village seemed to dub Katara.

"Is that why this place seems festive?" Aang asked.

"Yep, it's all because of the Painted Lady." Shoe said as the town finished erecting a statue of her.

Shoe motioned towards the effigy and gave us a beaming smile. The Painted Lady must be a local myth around here, based on how much memorabilia the town had, I noticed several children holding little dolls with painted faces as they played with them, acting out imaginary scenarios we couldn't hear.

"Can you believe how much an entire village can be affected by one lady?" Katara gushed, "I mean, spirit?"

"Well, I hope she returns every night, otherwise this place would go right back to the way it was." Sokka replied nonchalantly as he focused on shopping for food.

"Why would you say that? Look how much better off these people are." Katara defended as she smacked his shoulder.

"Yeah, now. But without her, they wouldn't be able to fend for themselves. If she really wanted to help, she would use her spirit magic to blow up that factory. Oooo boom." Sokka explained as he waved his sister off.

It was rather blunt of him to say, but Sokka was right. Once Katara left, the village would return to the way it was. But, with proper planning, we were hoping to fix the Fire Nation factory issue as well.

"Spirit magic doesn't work that way, Sokka. It's more like...wooo ooo pfffhooo." Aang joked back with a wave of his arms.

Sokka walked over and gave him a high five as Katara stalked away. It was clear she didn't enjoy being dismissed, even if everyone thought they were talking about the Painted Lady. I watched as her shoulders hunched towards her ears as she crossed her arms with a huff.

"Man you guys have no idea what idiots you sound like." I said with a shake of my head before I followed after Katara.

"Woooo!" Aang continued causing Sokka to laugh.

The two of them continued to howl and make ghost noises while flailing their arms wildly. I caught up to Katara at the end of one of the docks. She was staring intently out at the factory with angry eyes. I followed her gaze and watched as a large pipe pumped garbage and muck into the lake. Sokka was right about the Painted Lady and Katara and I knew it. The only thing left to do was to take out the factory. It was going to be a tall order that was for sure, but something told me nothing was going to stop Katara.

"Please tell me you aren't thinking of doing what I'm thinking you're going to do." I sighed, knowing full well that she was.

"I am, are you going to stop me?" She asked, her face finally turning to look at me.

"No, I'm going to help you." I said with a grin.

~Break~

We were back at camp and everyone had settled in for bed as the campfire died down. Dinner was had in a comfortable silence as Sokka complained about our schedule. It didn't take long for everyone to grow tired and head to bed. Once everyone was soundly asleep, Katara and I slipped out from our beds. I followed Katara as we filled our sleeping bags with leaves and went to get changed. She dressed herself up as the Painted Lady, adding in the painted touches we had seen on the statue earlier today. I changed into darker tight fitted clothes and pulled a scarf around my face to obscure my identity. We fled towards the factory when we heard Aang running after us, shouting.

"Hello, Painted Lady spirit!" Aang waved as we stopped to look at him.

Katara pulled her clothing tighter and motioned for me to follow her. We rushed out into the shadows of the night attempting to lose Aang. but he simply began following us, using his airbending to keep up. I wanted to curse at how easy it was for Aang to follow us, but didn't want to blow our cover.

"Excuse me, I don't mean to bother you, but my friend's sick and we're on kind and of a tight schedule." Aang continued to plead.

Is that what Aang was trying to do, get us to heal Appa? I wasn't sure it was wise to chase after spirits in the middle of the night, but I wasn't about to be caught as a fake one. We reached the water and bent it beneath us so we could travel. Katara whipped up some fog as cover as we tried to escape Aang. Neither of us acknowledged his pleas as we expertly dodged his attempts to get close.

"Wait, but I'm the great bridge between your world and mine." He shouted after us.

He continued to jump from ice block to ice block as Katara left a cover of fog behind us. He was determined, that was for sure. I was beginning to build up a sweat trying to avoid Aang and wanted to laugh at the irony. I had spent so long chasing him, I hadn't thought that Aang would be a formidable pursuer as well.

"I know Hei Bai, we're close personal friends." Aang continued.

Hei Bai? I had no idea who that was and felt even more lost. It felt like something I should know, considering I was also the bridge between this world and the Spirit World. We surfed through the town, jumping onto the docks to lose Aang. He was now yelling down to us from one of the roofs, waving excitedly. He was so focused on us he didn't seem to be watching where he was going anymore.

"Hey!" He cheered before he fell into a hole between the buildings.

I winced in sympathy as we bolted across the rest of the water making it to the shore near the factory. Breathing heavily we looked at each other wondering if we had actually lost Aang. Our answer came when his head popped down from above us. I let out a small squeak of surprise as I recoiled back.

"My name's Aang, I'm the Avatar." He explained showing off his arrow as he jumped down.

"Well, hello, Avatar. I wish we could talk, but I am very busy." Katara spoke, disguising her voice.

"Yeah, me too. I hate that. You know, you're really pretty for a spirit. I don't get to meet too many spirits, but the ones I do meet...not very attractive." Aang continued to talk.

"Ah ha ha...thank you, but..." Katara attempted to dissuade Aang.

It was probably better I stayed quiet, I wasn't so sure Aang was buying Katara's act anymore.

"You seem familiar, too...actually you both do." Aang said, trying to look under Katara's hat.

"A lot of people say that." Katara deflected as she pulled her hat down to obscure her face.

"No, you both seem really familiar." Aang said with a raised brow.

"Look, we really should get going." Katara said, motioning for me to follow.

Aang watched us go before sending out a gust of wind blowing up Katara's disguise and pulling away at my scarf. She grabbed her hat quickly pulling it back on, but I didn't bother with my scarf knowing we were caught.

"Katara? Mira?" He asked.

"Hi, Aang." Katara sighed.

"Hello." I waved.

"You're the Painted Lady? But how?" Aang asked.

"I wasn't at first, I was just trying to help the village. But since everyone thought that's who I was anyway, I guess I just kind of became her." Katara explained, dropping her hat.

"So you've both been sneaking out at night? Wait, is Appa even sick?" Aang accused.

"He might be sick of the purple berries I've been feeding him, but other than that, he's fine" Katara admitted, "But it was only me who was going out. Mira just helped me get the berries, until tonight that is."

"Sorry." I apologized sheepishly.

"I can't believe you lied to everyone so you could help these people." Aang sighed.

"I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't have." Katara spoke, hanging her head in shame.

"I'm sorry as well, but I've seen the future this kind of pollution causes. I couldn't stand by either." I admitted.

"No, I think it's great. You're like secret heroes." Aang gushed.

"Well, if you want to help, there's one more thing we have to do." Katara smiled.

I couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. Guess our worries were for naught, Aang was 100% on our side.

~Break~

We approached the factory from below. We were near the pipes that were pumping the sewage into the river. I stared up at the large rocky wall that separated us from the factory. It was bigger than it appeared from our camp, and smelled twice as bad.

"You want to destroy this factory?" Aang asked.

"Yes, Sokka was just kidding, but he was right. Getting rid of this factory is the only way to help these people permanently." Katara said as she ran into the factory.

"There's no denying that kind of logic, although I suppose this wasn't quite what Sokka meant." I said as I followed after Katara.

Aang followed us into the red lite halls of the building. We headed left down the halls once we hit a sign for the smelters. We entered what looked to be the smelting part of the factory and I could begin to feel my shirt stick to my back with sweat. The air was hot and smelled of oils and burning metal, much worse than the river. We moved to take out the smelting units first, using water to cut through the steel. The molten metal hit the water causing massive amounts of condensation and sizzling sounds.

Aang bent the earth below us to kick out several of the pipes and infrastructure, so I followed suit. My earthbending was a bit clumsier, but I was getting better and better each time. Katara bent water from the river through the windows of the building, filling it up and causing as much damage as she could. Explosions started sounding off and we fled the way we came, stopping to watch as the pipes stopped spewing. We exchanged grins as alarms began to go off.

Taking that as a sign to leave, we bolted back towards our camp using the remaining darkness as cover. When we reached our camp it was fully morning. We quickly changed out of our disguises, except for Aang who cleaned the soot off himself. We walked back into camp full of smiles and accomplished feelings, returning to our unaware companions.

"Ha ha! Pskewww" Aang giggled.

"Shh, we don't want to wake Sokka." Katara warned.

"Uh, guys? I think we're a little late for that." I pointed out as we found Sokka and Toph standing around waiting for us.

"Hi, Sokka," Katara greeted, "we were just out on a morning walk."

"Oh really, a morning walk?" Sokka asked as he shook out our sleeping bags.

"Yeah, that doesn't look good for us." I coughed as I stared at a pile of leaves.

"I know you're the Painted Lady, I know you've been sneaking out at night, and I know you've been lying about Appa and feeding him purple-izing-tongue berries." Sokka shouted as he pointed at Toph who stuck out a purple tongue.

"Ahh." She said, holding the bag as Momo started stuffing his face.

"Katara, what you did put our whole mission in jeopardy. We're leaving right now." Sokka demanded.

"Hey, it wasn't all Katara." I tried to defend.

"No, he's right. It's ok, lets go." She said as she grabbed my shoulder.

"And how long did you know about this?" Sokka asked, turning to Aang and I.

"The whole time." I shrugged.

"Hey, I just found out this morning." Aang said before rushing to pack his stuff.

~Break~

As we finished tearing down our camp, we heard the sound of motorized boats. Looking into the river I saw several Fire Nation soldiers racing along the water and towards the town. We rushed towards the edge of the cliff and looked down. I squinted through the sun to follow their movements, but lost them around a bend.

"What's going on?" Toph asked.

"Fire Nation soldiers are heading to the village." Aang explained.

"What did you do?" Sokka demanded as he turned towards Katara and I.

"We kind of destroyed their factory..." Katara admitted.

"You what?!" Sokka shouted.

"It was your idea!" Katara yelled back.

"I was joking! I also said to use spirit magic and made funny noises. Ugh," Sokka said, slapping his forehead. "Did you even think this through? The army's going to blame the villagers. They're headed there right now to get revenge."

"Well, what was I supposed to do?" Katara continued bickering

"Leave! Do nothing." Sokka shouted, clearly exasperated.

"Guys, I really don't think now is the time." I muttered, knowing that each second we spent arguing was another second the Fire Nation had to hurt someone.

"No!" Katara shouted, "I will never, ever turn my back on people who need me! I'm going down to the village and I am gonna do whatever I can."

"Sorry, Sokka, I'm with Katara on this." I said, standing to follow her.

"Wait," Sokka said as he caught up to us. "I'm coming too."

"I thought you didn't want to help." Katara said as she turned around.

"You need me, and I will never turn my back on you." Sokka explained.

"Sokka, you really do have a heart." She said hugging him.

Aang and Toph reached us as the siblings separated from their embrace. I couldn't help but feel warmth blossom in my chest, feeling proud to be part of a group, part of this group.

"He really does have a heart, doesn't he." Aang said, wiping away his tears.

Toph responded by knocking Aang over and crossing her arms.

~Break~

The army was tearing down the docks now and setting their homes on fire once we reached the town. We got there just as they were about to set a barrel of oil on fire, cutting it way too close for comfort. Aang used his airbending to put out the flames each time they attempted to light it. I watched as the soldiers grew increasingly frustrated, swearing under their breaths.

"Light it again!" One soldier shouted as Aang just put it out once more.

They attempted a third time, but Aang blew it out as soon as it was lit. After attempting a fourth time the two soldiers turned to one another with frowns.

"Look at that, where's it coming from?" One of the soldiers asked.

"I don't know," The other answered as fog started creeping in. "Something strange is going on."

"It's the Painted Lady," A little boy whispered as Appa let out a roar. "She's coming."

The little boy had a sing-song tone that sent shivers up my spine. What was it with kids being creepy in situations like this. If I didn't know what was going to happen next, I might have been as frightened as the soldiers were.

"There is no Painted Lady." The soldier demanded, trying to convince himself more than anything.

The fog took over the entire city as Appa continued to roar. Toph and I were bending large slabs of stone to mimic footsteps as Sokka played creepy music on a flute. The fog was courtesy of Katara of course. I could see her silhouette slowly disappear as the fog grew thicker.

"What is that sound?" A soldier asked.

"Maybe it is her." Another whispered in a panicked tone.

I heard Katara attack, flying through the water towards the town. I caught sight of her as she jumped onto the docks, before losing her again. The mist seemed to swirl and follow her, no doubt listening to her bending. I heard a shriek from someone, as well as several hurried footsteps. Katara eventually stopped swooping around to startle the soldiers, and stopped before the lot of them.

"Do something!" A soldier shouted as he threw two others in front of him as protection.

They walked towards Katara, nervous in their steps. Aang let out a shoot of air from below the docks causing them to run away screaming. Katara continued to stand there dismissively, allowing the air to cause her to hover for a few seconds. It was a frightening display if I had ever seen one.

"Stand your ground!" The soldier demanded, his eyes wide with fear.

Katara bent one of their ships up into the air before thrusting it into the cliffside. IT shattered into pieces letting out a horrible sound of metal groaning. She turned to the remaining soldiers and raised one single hand causing them to scatter. All of the soldiers, except for one, boarded their motorized boats and fled.

"I'll take care of you myself!" The remaining soldier shouted.

He sent out a burst of flame and Aang sent out a breath of air causing Katara to become momentarily airborne. With one last blade he was sent scattering away into the polluted river. She followed after him, bursting forth from the river like an angry deity. She floated over him, arms outstretched as if offering him one last act of mercy.

"Leave this village and never come back." Katara demanded as the soldier swam away.

The soldier was eventually picked up by one of the others, and hauled onto their boat. Sokka sailed us out in a small boat, Toph sitting in the rear with me. We arrived at the village just as it erupted in cheers. Katara soon joined us as Aang climbed out from under the docks. It was strange to get recognition like this, and I couldn't help but let out a pained smile. No matter what we did, the truth of who we were was bound to come out. It was going to be a bittersweet victory for us all.

"I knew you'd come." The little boy said as he waddled up to Katara.

"Thank you!" Someone shouted.

"Painted Lady you're the best!" Another gushed.

"Me and my brothers really owe you a lot," Shoe/Dock said, "hey, wait a minute, I know you. You're not the Painted Lady. You're that colonial girl."

Sure enough, Katara's face paint was beginning to wash away from all her waterbending. I watched Shoe/Dock warily, eyeing him to gauge his reaction. If things turned south we were going to need to flee, and fast.

"Yeah, you're the lady that gave me a fish." The little boy agreed.

"You've been tricking us. You're a waterbender!" Shoe/Dock said as he crossed his arms.

"She's a waterbender!" Someone shouted.

"How dare you act like our Painted Lady!" Another berated.

The cheers soon became jeers as the crowd drew closer. Sokka ran over to defend his sister, stepping before Shoe/Dock. I raised my hands towards my swords, getting ready to fight our way out if need be. I wasn't sure Sokka was going to be able to win over this angry crowd. I hadn't known anyone from the Fire Nation to be the understanding sort, other than Iroh. But he was a special case, I wasn't so sure he was pro Fire Nation anymore.

"Maybe she is a waterbender, but she was just trying to help you. Because of her that factory wont be polluting your river and the army is gone. You should be down on your knees, thanking her!" Sokka vented.

"Sokka, it's okay. I shouldn't have acted like someone I wasn't and I shouldn't have tricked you. But I felt like I had to do something. It doesn't matter if the Painted Lady is real or not. Because your problems are real and this river is real. You can't wait around for someone to help you. You have to help yourself." Katara apologized as she turned to the crowd and pleaded with them.

"She's right, but what should we do?" Shoe/Dock asked as he turned to the other villagers.

"Maybe we can clean the river." Toph said, poking her head out from the crowd.

"Yeah, we can clean the river!" Shoe/Dock declared as everyone began to cheer again. "Thank you. You know, you're not so bad for a waterbender."

"You wouldn't mind keeping that a secret by the way, would you?" Sokka asked.

"No problem Keeping my mouth shut is a personal specialty. My brother Shoe, on the other hand, he's a blabbermouth." Dock explained as Sokka slapped his forehead.

"So, Dock, are you gonna help us clean?" Katara asked.

"No, ma'am, I'm doing to get my other brother, Bushi. He loves cleaning rivers," Dock said as he switched his hat once again. "All right, I'm Bushi. Let's get some river cleaning done."

"Aha, I knew it! I knew you were the same guy. You're the shop owner and the boat guy." Aang accused, pointing at the old man.

"Ooo you must be talking about my brothers, Dock and Shoe." Bushi said, tipping his hat.

"No, I just saw you. You switched hats and called yourself a different name." Aang tried to say.

"Oh, you know who does that? My brother Dock. He's crazy." Bushi explained.

"I think it's better to just let this one go, Aang." I laughed as I patted his shoulder.

"But he, and I, we just saw him!" Aang complained as I steered him away from Bushi/Dock/Shoe.

We spent the rest of the day cleaning the river. I helped Katara bend the water as Aang and Toph bent the mud and earth. Sokka worked with the rest of the villagers using nets to scour the water for trash. Slowly, but surely, we got the river clean. We set up camp for one more night to get some much needed rest. I fell asleep that night feeling accomplished and fuller than I had before. It felt good being true to myself, to follow my heart, and make a difference. I just hoped it would last.

~Chapter 3 End~