Happy New Years! I'm glad to be back!

Night had descended on the prison yard. One could see the youths and elderly shivering from the biting cold it resulted in. The guards didn't even provide them with proper blankets, just thin sheets that did nothing for them. So the most common sight was people huddling together for any semblance of warmth.

He was sure that the guards had plenty of blankets to give; they did this just to bully the earthbenders.

These scumbags were laughing at that.

Ayaan could see them laughing from the tops of the lookout, even having the audacity to point while doing so. From what he'd heard from the constant grumbles and complaints from the prisoners, some of the older ones here had already succumbed to the harsh environment, simply much too old to persevere.

Not every elderly was like Tyro. Most had been simple merchants, having long since retired from earthbending outside of teaching their younger generation. And the other half of the prisoners here were too young to truly do much, only beginning their journeys into their element.

Ayaan did not reveal any of his thoughts in his expression, but his eyes gave off a cold hue.

'I have more faces to remember.'

The cold did not bother him and Katara, as they spent their entire lives surrounded by ice caps and frozen rivers. Heck, Ayaan braved blizzards when he hunted in the southern pole. This? It was nothing but a cool breeze in comparison. Plus, being waterbenders, they had a natural resistance to the cold.

These people weren't like that, and he could see it at a glance. Even the hardened warriors he saw were nothing but humans in the face of nature, some doing better than others.

"I assume the little ghosts informed you of the plan," Yon asked, breaking Ayaan from his thoughts. "What are we working with from the outside?"

"Escape path, secured. The base will be secured in three days' time. All that's left is this place and the other prisons along the coast."

Yon's feral grin returned, "Excellent."

"Do you have the coal location?" He asked.

"Damn right I do. I have for months now." Yon grumbled. "They didn't do that great a job of hiding it. No, they were deliberately flaunting it just to tease the earthbenders. Sick fucks."

"Coal?" Katara spoke up, as this was her first time hearing about it. "There is earth here?"

"Yes, Katara. This place is powered by coal. We get that, the benders here will have a viable weapon."

Katara whipped around to the older man sitting with them, "Tyro, you can fight! There is a way you guys can fight back!"

Ayaan frowned, "It isn't that simple."

"O-oh..." Katara wisely decided to be quiet. She could tell that he was still very much upset with her. That look in his eyes... he was replanning their training (torture) again, as he had after Omashu.

She sent her prayers up to the spirits right then, she knew she was not making it through.

"That..." Tyro, who decided to sit with them, was stunned. It was his first time hearing of such a plan. "This is what you've been up to every time you antagonized the warden, Lady Yon?"

"Damn right I was. You thought I was just going to sit in this shit hole like some docile flower?" If possible, Yon grimaced at the thought. "Fuck that."

"He would scald your arms as a show!"

"Scald? With those baby flames?" Yon scoffed at the man, "He couldn't light a candle with that. You may not see it yet, but he's the littlest bitch out there. Probably has a dick the size of my pinky."

"L-Lady Yon!" Tyro wanted to cover the children's pure ears at Yon's vulgarity, "You shouldn't say stuff like that around them! They're kids!"

"It's the truth though." Yon was unbothered.

"Pfft—" Katara was trying to hold it in. She was still in trouble, but this lady was a riot!

"Oh. Wow." Haru was stunned, before he found himself sputtering in laughter, too, "That's rich."

Ayaan was the only one that seemed to be lost in the humor. Though he said nothing to let anyone know that, simply sitting quietly and listening.

"Besides, it's fun to tease him."

"How is that fun?!"

"I love seeing the terror in his eyes when he realizes I'm not a bitch he can fuck over. You noticed he hasn't come near me since, right?"

Tyro went silent at that. She was right. The Warden, after that incident, didn't come near her again. The other guards who hadn't known about her were trying her, but the warden and his men didn't anymore.

'Yon might be more sadistic than that warden could ever be.'

"Still... Don't you have any sense of self-presevation?" Tyro whispered in frustration. "You're covered in bandages due to your 'teasing'."

"He ain't hurt me, Tyro. Don't worry." The lady undid the bandages on her arms just a bit, showing that they were just fine. There wasn't even a sign that they were ever burned in the first place. "That pussy ran away when he saw his little intimidation ain't do shit to me."

"B-but how?" Tyro was surprised that she wasn't injured at all. The warden was a sadistic prick, and he made sure that everyone knew it. He'd seen him shoot fire at the earthbenders who even looked at him defiantly, and Yon was one of the main ones who did. So, how...?

"That is my secret to reveal later, old man." She answered mysteriously, a devious smile painting her full lips. It was a wicked thing that promised pain. He could feel it.

He mentally denied being scared of her smile.

"Lady Yon..." Tyro was absolutely exasperated with this woman. He had been since the moment this woman showed up at the prison.

"Yes, that's my name. Though you don't have to add 'Lady'." She answered, amused by his exasperation. It was a favorite pastime for her to mess with Tyro like this when she wasn't antagonizing the warden.

"Sigh..." He decided leaving Yon be about that was the best choice, and didn't ask more. Honestly... while that woman was the strongest person he'd ever seen, she was a trouble magnet something serious.

Her gaze left the entertaining old man to scout the rest of the otherwise quiet yard. For the past few months, she had infiltrated this prison, which was where all of the taken earthbenders congregated. It was the largest prison on this side of the continent.

She teamed up with the phantoms who were already stationed in the area; they were trying to find a way to rescue the prisoners. It was a delicate mission she wasn't used to. No part of her was 'delicate'. Usually, she could just get on with her job laying waste to every single fly in her path.

But this mission was a rescue and destroy mission, and before she could get to her job, rescue came first.

To do that, they needed a person on the inside to assess the situation. That meant she had to piss off some firebenders. And that was a job she was more than willing to accept.

She was disappointed with the ease with which she got in though. These fire nation scum had no backbone, no technique, and no fucking brain cells. The complete stupidity it took to challenge her, of all people, to a fight just because she was female blew her mind.

It actually impressed her that they were that dumb.

No, scratch that. The stupidest thing they did was believe that she would not retaliate. Did they not see her at all? She was two times their size. Heck, she was sure that if she had one down there, it'd be three times the size of theirs.

What package could they possibly have if they were midget, pussy-willed bastards?

Did they want to prove their manhood to her? Show her whose superior? Heh. Nothing pissed her off more than a snake thinking it was a dragon. So, she nipped it in the bud as her way of getting to the prison.

They weren't going to be flaunting their 'manhood' to any women ever again. What's worse? She didn't even need her earthbending to make them her bitches.

It was pathetic.

"How did you get information from here to the outside?" Katara asked, budding with curiosity.

"With Bella."

"Bella?"

She took out a little stick. It was strange, hidden on the shirt she wore beneath the patchwork overalls they were forced to wear. She turned it, gently blowing into it. No sound came out, but in the distance, one could hear a cute little squeak.

"Bii!"

"Huh?" Katara was confused as the little black dot in the distance got bigger. "What's that?"

"Oh?" Ayaan's eyes subtly widened as he saw it the black dot take shape.

It was a bat cub, but it looked a little odd. A butterfly and a bat mix? Its mouth wasn't a snout, but a curled tube, like a butterfly's. Its wings were larger than it was, with patterns that resembled eyes. Very odd. Its body was small because it was young, a little black fuzzball with round, pink eyes.

"How are you feeling, girl? Is your tummy ache better?" She said softly. It was a stark contrast to how she'd been just a few minutes ago.

"Byu~" The little bat-like creature nuzzled into Yon's cheek affectionately. The fuzz tickled her skin, making her chuckle lightly.

There was a sparkle in Ayaan's eyes that everyone could see, even if he did not smile. "What is she?"

'She looks so fluffy...'

"This cute girl is Bella! She's my Flutterbat companion."

"Flutterbat?"

"Yeah. You aren't going to find them anywhere around here. Trust me."

There was a mysterious pressure in her smile. Did she mean that they were rare? No one was sure.

"Anyway!" And then it went away as soon as it came, giving those who noticed it whiplash, "Bella, say hi! These guys are gonna help me beat some flame bitches!"

'So vicious.'

"Bii! Bii!" Bella squeaked, excited at the prospect of violence.

'Her pet is equally vicious, it seems...'

She seemed like a very smart girl, looking at each of them in greeting. And then her eyes landed on Ayaan, widening by visible margins. "Byu?" There was a trill in her calls that just made her more endearing. Her round eyes began to sparkle, "BYUIII!"

The flutterbat cub immediately flew over to him at a speed that surprised everyone, nuzzling into his unscared cheek even more fervently than she had Yon's.

"Oh?" The watertribe warrior was taken off guard before being delighted. Ayaan's hand betrayed him once more, already petting the creature. Just as he thought, she was the softest thing on this planet. How was she this soft? "Hello, little one. It's nice to meet you, too."

"Byii~" She seemed to love the gentle pats.

She made a decision at that moment.

She gave Yon a look, intensity burning in her round, pink eyes. "Byu."

'I am keeping him.'

"Bells." Yon could see the interaction clear as day. She knew that look on her partner's face. "Even if you love him, you can not keep him."

Bella looked shocked, "Bi-Byuii?!"

"No Bella." She responded, as if understanding her pet perfectly, "You can not keep him."

"Bu...Byu!" Bella was defiant, clinging even closer to Ayaan.

Ayaan was just enjoying the softness of her fuzz. It tickled.

"Don't you argue with me, missy." Yon was firm, though amusement could clearly be seen in her eyes. "Come on."

Bella, with a heartbroken expression, fluttered her way back to Yon. "Bii..."

Katara was bewildered by the display even though it was adorable. "Do you have some magical thing with animals, Brother? Cause this isn't the first time that's happened."

When she took the time to think about it, it was often that animals did that with Ayaan, especially the domestic ones. Every time they've stopped to rest, the little animals seem to like being around him. Birds, squirrels, and even cubs of bigger animals seem to not have any apprehension towards Ayaan.

Maybe it was because Ayaan was especially quiet when he walked, or that he gives off a different presence outside of hunting... but animals seemed to always like Ayaan. Even Appa had been like that when they first met Aang.

"I do not know."

Even so, he wasn't complaining.

"Oh," Yon pointed at Ayaan, "that is because you are a blessed child. Specifically, one blessed by water." She informed. "Water is life, vitality, and animals can sense that."

This got Ayaan's attention. "How is it that you know that? The Phantom Unit knew it too, they said it was an Asrar trait."

"Yes." Yon answered, "We are very spiritual people."

"Spiritual?" Katara had a difficult time believing that, "You seem more... um, the warrior type than the spiritual type."

When one thought 'spiritual', one thought of Aang, a monk. Yon looked nothing like a monk. This woman spoke of razing prisons and beating officers with a smile on her face, none of that spoke 'spiritual'.

"I-I mean no offense."

"None was taken, kid." Yon laughed. "I'm really not one to preach about that stuff. You're right. What I meant by spiritual is that we can sort of 'feel' it." Yon decided to simplify it, turning to Ayaan again, "You feel the water below us, right, blessed child?"

The question caught both of them off guard. After taking a moment, Ayaan answered. "...Yes. I can."

He's always been able to feel when water was near, but he never consciously thought about it.

"You can feel the water, Ayaan?" Katara could barely feel anything but the cold breeze. Light was shining in her eyes as she discovered something new about his bending. It was always a thrill for her to discover things about it since Ayaan rarely spoke of his bending.

Though he was willing to teach her what he figured out how to do, speaking about it outside of that was a no-go.

"Yes?" Ayaan was confused by the question. "Could you not?"

He always felt it, so he thought it was normal.

"No! It would be awesome if I could!" She exclaimed, wonder flooding her tone, "What's it feel like?" She asked. She wanted to know everything she could when it came to their bending.

"Hm..." He never really thought about that before. Searching through his mind, he could only find one word to describe what he felt when around water. "Home."

"Home? It feels like the south pole?"

"No, different than that. But still, home." It didn't feel like home in regards to a place. It felt like safety. It felt calming. Around water, he could think clearly, and all of his negativity washed away, down the river until he left its embrace.

And when he was by it under the full moon, he swore he could hear something. Singing, laughing. It was like living in a memory of peaceful times that were long gone.

He never knew why he felt like that, and it wasn't in his nature to dwell on things he knew he wouldn't understand just by thinking about it. So, he didn't. He let the calmness wash over him and allowed himself to escape from his own turmoil, just for a bit.

He could only think of such a feeling as 'home'.

Katara sighed, not understanding at all. She'd forgotten that when it came to words, Ayaan was not good at describing his thoughts and feelings. While he'd recently gotten better at it, there were still times she was left frustrated like this.

Yon, however, was able to understand perfectly. "That feeling is similar to what we feel when around those blessed by spirits. Some are more attuned to it than others, I'm sure you've met one."

"Yes. Qī. He said I had an 'aura' that he could see."

"Exactly." She nodded. "That's how we can tell, in the most basic of terms. Its in our senses. Animals can tell this even easier, hence the reason they love you."

"Wow..." Katara was in awe. Yet another thing that made her brother amazing.

His gaze found his way back to the little flutterbat cub. He made a conclusion about her, "She is how you've been getting messages in and out, correct?"

Yon nodded, scratching the little bat beneath her chin, "She became too ill to fly after trying to eat the trash they try to pass off as food. She was being a little shit when I told her not to eat it, and it cost her."

"B-Byu!" Bella looked embarrassed, knowing that her partner was speaking about her. She hid, giving off an air of denial.

"Yes you were, don't lie." Yon chided, amused by the embarrassed cub. "It didn't matter much by then though. I'd gotten them everything there was to know about this dump before that happen. I just couldn't receive any info from the outside, and getting to the coal is a bit tricky without that information."

"What about Fleet?" That was the name of the little sparrowkeet messenger they had.

"They have hawks here." Yon grimaced, "While Bella can easily hide amid the darkness, that bright little bird can't. Plus, they love sparrowkeet meat, apparently." She'd seen them tear into a flock of them as they were coming back from delivering reports. It was gruesome.

"Ah." The thought of the little bird being eaten didn't sit well with him, either.

"Yeah. So, it was just Bella going in and out... until she got sick and had to rest."

"Byuii..." The little bat was dejected.

"You're fine, girl. I'm not mad at you."

"So, this great plan of yours," Haru spoke up, determination in his gaze as he met the eyes of the imposing woman, "Can you explain it to us a bit more?"

"It's real simple, kid." Yon's feral grin returned. "We are going to get the coal, and then we're going to beat the shit out of some bitch flames and get the hell off this metal piece of junk."

They sweatdropped. That was... one way to put it.

"You...are making that sound a lot simpler than it actually is, Lady Yon." Tyro rubbed his throbbing temples. "How are we supposed to get the coal in the first place?"

"I have that covered," Ayaan says. "My little brothers should be here within the hour with everything we need."

Katara felt her heart tickle at his phrasing. He always included Aang in their little family whenever it was mentioned. Ayaan had basically adopted the kid. And she knew how much that meant to him.

Sometimes, Aang would feel lonely, often thinking of his people. She often see him looking out into the distance when they were flying, a pensive and thoughtful expression on his face. It didn't take a genius to know what he was thinking of. In moments like that, Ayaan would always do something that made him feel less alone. Drying his clothes with theirs, paying special care to his food since he didn't eat meat, simple things like that.

Those simple things meant the world to Aang, he'd told her that. He was too embarrassed to say that to Ayaan though, but she always got this feeling that he already knew. Some nights, she could see him tuck him in after they fell asleep, wishing him sweet dreams. He did so for them too, every night.

It was both heartwarming and bittersweet.

'Mom used to do that for us, every night without fail, just like he does.'

Katara found herself absentmindedly touching her necklace, bringing her back to the conversation at hand.

"When the coal is up... who is going to fight? Knowing this, knowing that there truly is a way for us to fight for our freedom, I would be an embarrassment of a father and husband not to take that chance. But..."

At that, Yon's smile dropped a bit. "Yeah. Only my group and yours can truly fight. The rest? If they aren't too young, they're too old. If they aren't too old, they're fucking cowards."

"Lady Yon! You can't—"

"Don't give me that shit." Yon's tone was sharp. "I'm right and you fucking know it."

At this, Tyro remained silent. He could not refute what she said. Heck, when Katara had given her speech about fighting for their freedom just the other day, he too had been silent. He was thinking of the others, of the children and the elders even older than him. Fighting back would mean that they got hurt, or worse.

He had seen it happen, and he never wanted it to happen again. Most of the others who listened to him were of the same mindset. But there were those who were like Yon, and others who were too cowardly to even attempt to fight back.

But when Yon got here, things steadily started changing.

She didn't give a speech like Katara. No, She was much more hands-on with her rallying. Antagonizing the guards, the warden, and taking whatever punishment they threw at her without so much as one fuck to give. Her will was as sturdy as the metal that surrounded them, unshakable. She reminded them what it meant to be an earthbender, to be of the earth kingdom, and what their element required.

Earth only yields to a will that won't break against its weight. You can not hold on to fear and hesitance while trying to hold the boulders of the mountain. The wind may blow, the rain may fall, and the ground may shake, but no matter what, you must stand firm against them all.

Yon was the personification of this.

Slowly, as days became weeks and bled into months, more and more people began to follow her example. While they certainly didn't cause as much trouble for the guards as Yon did, they didn't have forlorn looks in their eyes anymore.

But that didn't mean that everyone was like that.

On the rig, three factions exist. Tyro's group tried to keep the peace while protecting the children and elderly. Yon's group was defiant yet strong. And then, there were the others, those who'd been here for too long and were too used to being afraid.

Yon's group and theirs usually fought with each other, especially after one incident occurred.

"If they fight, then they fight." Yon said, "But if they won't, then I ain't saving them."

"B-But their your people!" Katara was alarmed and confused by Yon's words, "You would just leave them to die if they don't fight with you? What about the ones that can't? Are you just gonna leave them too?!"

"Katara!" Ayaan wanted her to stop, but she was too far gone to hear him.

"They are still people! You can't just give up on them for being scared—"

"Do you not know that difference between 'can't' and 'won't?" Yon interrupted her, voice sharp and clear, "Let's have a lesson on that since you clearly do not know the world, child."

Katara flinched at being called that. The way in which she said it left her feeling bitter. It was like she was talking to a baby, no... she could feel this was exactly what was happening.

"Being scared is normal, and people can make mistakes due to being scared, oppressed, or misguided. But every choice has a consequence, no matter how good the intentions are."

Katara flinched again at that, sending a glance to Ayaan who was especially silent. She knew why Yon was saying that. It was a jab at her choice to get captured alone trying to save Haru. Her plan wasn't thought out enough, or even at all, and it caused ripples to happen in the plan that Ayaan and the others had been making. It was her choice and the consequence that followed it.

Yon continued, not changing her tone in the slightest at Katara's obvious discomfort. "Most people can be redeemed if they try hard enough to rectify something stupid they did. I've come across many people like this. Some people just want to survive in this harsh world, and that isn't something to be ashamed of."

Her gaze became hard, "But there is a fucking line, kid. You don't just forgive and protect those that cross it. My line? It's very specific, and really simple: Do not betray, degrade, or cause intentional harm to your own. And they fucking crossed it, many times, to save their own ass or make themselves more comfortable. It fucking disgusts me."

To that, Katara no longer had anything to say. She'd been here for a few days, so she could guess what had happened. She had seen people fighting for simple blankets or extra food, even going as far as to go after the elderly and kids because they were weaker. Though Tyro was quick to nip those in the bud, along with his people and those that she now knows were a part of Yon's faction.

If Tyro was a mediator, Yon was a guardian. She made her views clear to them, and now she was making them clear to Katara.

"If they fight, then they fight. Good for them to gain a fucking spine. They may even be able to apologize to the families they'd forsaken just to save their own asses. But if not, then I don't think anyone is going to cry about the results."

She took a breath, resolved in her opinion. "At the end of the day, it won't be that they 'could not' fight. It would be that they 'would not' fight. They will have chosen to abandon everyone for themselves when everything goes down. And someone like that?"

Yon looked Katara in the eyes, saying her next lines very slowly so that child could understand them, "They are not my people."

Ayaan could respect her thoughts. Honestly, he felt the same. He was the type of person that could hold a grudge for a very, very long time. Though he doesn't hold grudges over something petty. No. It has to be significant for him to be angry enough to do so.

Why he didn't stop Yon when Katara was obviously uncomfortable? It was simple, she was the one that started it, and she should finish it. He tried to stop her already. Sometimes she has to deal with things on her own.

Now, he wondered how she was going to handle Yon's thoughts. What would be her response?

Katara took a while to think. She hadn't really thought about how people coped here or the things they did to survive. She didn't think about how someone else might see those actions, or how everyone felt from a mental standpoint.

She was a person with a strong will and clear goals. Nothing could tear her from them even if the world was ending around her. Giving up? She barely knew what that meant. But she was young and naive, which led to her being reckless. Ayaan had made this perfectly clear for her in their brief argument.

She was thinking like a child, and was being treated like a child. It left a bitter taste in her mouth to know that she deserved it.

So, Katara formulated her next words carefully, taking her time to think them through. "I'm sorry you had to experience something like that, and I pity those that were the victims of it. I don't think I would easily forgive someone if they did that to me or my family. But..."

She looked Yon in the eye this time, her stance unwavering, "No one deserves a life where they feel they have to make decisions like that. Everyone should be free to be themselves, to bend their element how they want, and to be happy at home with their families. I don't want to abandon anyone. Everyone deserves a life better than this, even those that have made mistakes."

There was silence for a long while before Yon broke it with a small laugh and a calm smile. "You got one hell of a backbone, kid, I'll give you that. Naive, but that's to be expected of a kid." She reached over and ruffled the top of Katara's head, "I'll make a deal with you then: If they change their stance, I'll change mine. But they will only get one chance to do so."

Katara lit up. While Yon wasn't one to beat around bushes, she was far from a bad person. "Of course!"

With that, the tense atmosphere lightened up.

"They're here." Right on cue, Appa arrived, Sokka and Aang hopping off of him with everything they'd need for their plan. They were in a blindspot on the deck, big enough to hide Appa from view for a bit. While there were still guards at night, it was much laxer and a lot easier to move about.

"We got everything you asked for, Ayaan Bro!"

"Yeah! Operation: Prison Break is ready to begin!"

Yon's grin was the most feral thing anyone had seen, "Time to wreak some havoc."

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The next chapter is available on my : Jhstories101