Chapter Text
“Is this really necessary?”
“Of course, it is. We can’t have them knowing you’re the Avatar.” Zuko tried ignoring the whining behind him and focused on not tripping into the polluted waters.
“But I already have a disguise for that!”
It was already tricky to navigate the upriver without any natural source of light, and Aang’s questions have only been a distraction. “This is a disguise for your disguise.”
Silence. “... So this is to prevent them from knowing my first disguise isn’t a criminal?”
His foot almost hooked on a rock. “Huh? No! Where did you even get that idea?”
“Because I look like a bandit right now!”
A sigh escaped Zuko’s lips and he finally turned around. The former Prince had to admit, Aang did have a point. With the cloths tied around Aang’s head and mouth, the young boy looked a lot like he was about to rob someone in the middle of the night.
“Don’t be ridiculous, we’re both wearing the same outfit.” he needed to put this conversation to rest. Narrow grey eyes was all the firebender needed to see to know that his attempt had failed.
“That makes us both bandits! And why does Katara get to remain as the Painted Lady?!”
The temptation to roll amber eyes is just oh so strong. Instead, he just raised his eyebrow. “Because that's her disguise.”
“Quiet!” Katara’s stage whisper interrupted the bickering duo behind her. “We're here.”
Zuko turned his attention back towards the dark metallic building of a factory. It towered ominously over them with how close they were. The former Prince could see the clouds of smoke blacker than the night bellowing from its multiple tall s that somehow look like they were close to touching the sky.
A part of him wondered if the smoke was the reason the air he was breathing smelt like burning metal.
Amber eyes scanned the entrance, a glow of red light that gave Zuko the equally haunting impression of the mouth of a demon from an old horror play. Another part of him was eerily reminded of the Fire Nation Throne Room. He quickly pushed down those thoughts.
“I don't see any guards patrolling the perimeter,” he stated. “We still need to be careful– hey!”
Katara and Aang had bolted straight for the entrance at his first sentence, and Zuko internally sighed before chasing his two compatriots. By the time he caught up to them, they were already split off into different directions with purpose in their steps. Realizing it was pointless to tell them to wait, he grabbed the nearest wrench and made his way towards the piping systems.
oOo
The sun was starting to rise behind them by the time the trio had made their way back to camp as the trio returned to their campsite.
“Hahaha!” Aang laughed before mimicking the sound of an explosion. Zuko raised an eyebrow at that. For a pacifist, the airbender seemed rather pleased with himself for blowing up an entire factory. Well, the smile he noticed Aang wearing as he overturned several barrels of magma onto the factory floor definitely strengthened that notion.
Katara placed a finger on her mouth and quietly shushed the young teen. “We don’t want to wake Sokka up.”
Amber orbs looked over the large rock sheltering their camp’s presence. “About that…”
Confused, Katara turned around and her body stiffened. Standing several feet from them with his hands placed on his hips was Sokka. Next to him, a rather disinterested looking Toph (though from Zuko’s experience, the earthbender looked disinterested most of the time).
“Hi! Sokka!” Katara tried for a casual greeting. The disgruntled scowl on her brother’s face caused her to twirl her fingers as she searched for a reasonable excuse. “We were just out of a… morning walk.”
Zukoe thought it was a lame lie. And based on how Sokka narrowed his eyes, the Water Tribesman wasn't buying into it. “Oh really, a morning walk?!”
He pulled up a sleeping bag and shook it, letting dried grass fall to the ground.
Two pairs of eyes darted to the ground, unable to meet their friend's gaze having been caught red-handed.
“I know you're the Painted Lady! I know you've been sneaking out at night!” He jabbed an accusatory finger at his sister at every sentence, his demeanor getting more animated the angrier he got. He lifted a bag and opened it, revealing purple berries inside. “And I know you've been lying about Appa and feeding him purpleising tongue berries!”
He pointed at Toph at that, and the earthbender stuck her tongue out. It was purple, the same shade as Appa’s was. Momo, enticed by the scent, hopped onto Sokka’s shoulder and began eating some of the berries. His face fell into one of disappointment. “Katara, what you did just jeopardized our entire mission. We're leaving right now!”
Katara heard the hard-edge in her brother’s tone that offered no room for debate and dejectedly walked back into camp. Aang and Zuko followed suit, but not before Sokka stuck his face right in front of the airbender. “And how long did you know about this?”
“Hey! I just found out this morning! Ask Zuko, he knew about it before I did!”
Zuko found himself nodding. “Yeah, I– WHAT?!” Amber eyes widened in shock when realization dawned on him. By the time he whirled around to glare at Aang, the airbender had left nothing but a cloud of dust behind. He turned back, Sokka was glaring at him with an expectant eyebrow raised.
“It's not that I knew– I just had my suspicions– ugh… ” he slapped a palm onto his forehead, frustrated by his ridiculous stammering. His ears picked up the faint sound of water swishing. “Do you hear that?”
“Now, don't you try to change the topic, young man!” Sokka began wiggling a finger in front of Zuko. “You still owe me an explanation!”
Zuko swatted the offending digit away and ignored Sokka’s affronted gasp to run towards the edge of the cliff. He quickly scanned the waters around the village, and amber eyes darted towards the factory when he noticed nothing amiss around the small town.
“What is it?” Sokka asked as he joined Zuko, dropping his incessant need for an explanation to focus on the fact their Fire Nation companion was looking distressed.
“Jet skis. Seven of them,” Zuko explained. He spared a glance towards the Water Tribesman and noticed that the rest of Team Avatar was joining them by the edge of the cliff. “The Army is heading towards the village.”
Sokka whirled around to face Katara, indignant rage on his face. “What did you do?!”
“We–” Katara’s voice was barely above a whisper. “We kinda destroyed the village.”
“You what?!”
“We destroyed the factory,” Zuko rolled his eyes in exasperation.
“I heard her the first time!”
“Hey! It was your idea!” Katara was practically competing with Sokka with how loud she was.
Sokka threw his hands in the air with all the dramatic flair of a stage player. “I was joking! I also said to use spirit magic and made funny noises!” He facepalmed. “Did you even think this through? The army is blaming the villagers and are heading over right now to get their revenge!”
“Well, what was I supposed to do?”
“Leave! Do nothing!”
Katara slammed her eyes shut, her body trembling as she attempted to reel in the anger threatening to boil over. She gave in.
“No!” She yelled as she shot up from her hiding spot. “I will never, ever turn my back on people who need me!” She turned to leave. “I'm going down to the village, and I'm gonna do whatever I can to help.”
“Wait!” A firm grip on her wrist kept her in place. Katara turned to see Sokka getting up. “I’m coming, too!” Noticing the confused look on his sister's face, Sokka elaborated, “You need me, and I won't turn my back on you. Ever.”
“Sokka, you do have a heart.”
“He really does,” Aang wiped a tear forming at the tip of his eye. He turned to Toph. “Doesn't he?”
Instead of giving a verbal reply, the earthbender promptly elbowed Aang in the chest, knocking the Avatar to the ground with a thump .
Zuko watched the byplay with a raised eyebrow, before turning to the Water Tribe siblings. “That's good and all. But how do you think we're gonna help? It's not like we can expose ourselves to them.”
“Now, now, my good hotman,” Sokka brought up a triumphant finger. “I just have the idea, and my dear sister should have the disguise ready.” He turned towards Katara. “You do have the disguise ready, right?”
Zuko wasn't sure if he should be impressed or concerned.
oOo
General Mung was unimpressed with the crowd that had gathered at the front of the village. He stared them down as his men and women searched each and every house.
“I thought we could live together as neighbours, in peace. But clearly I was wrong.” He pointed an accusatory finger. “First, you steal our food. Then our medicine.” His eyes narrowed dangerously. “Now you destroy our factory.”
“No, we didn't!” One of the villagers protested. Mung recognized the voice belonging to one of the senile old men.
“Yeah,” Xu, or was it Dock – the general couldn't be bothered to keep track at this point – agreed. “The Painted Lady brought us food and healed our sick. Not your medicine.”
“Oh, right, the mysterious ‘Painted Lady’ did it.” Mung drawled derisively as he lifted the small statuette of the supposed mythical figure. “ He gestured towards the crates that his men and women had gathered from the village. “I guess she drew the army emblem on your containers, too.”
He smashed the statuette onto the top of the crate, watching with no less satisfaction as he watched the clay shatter into smithereens while the crowd gasped at his perceived insolence. “This is a town of thieves and liars! And I’ll be damned if we do not cure this world of this wretched village!”
The man cocked his arm back. With a heave, he leaped forward and thrusted his arm in the same direction, sending a torrent of fire towards the nearest hut in the village corner. More gasps from the crowd. “Where’s your Painted Lady now?”
On cue, Mung’s soldiers proceeded with their demolition work. A jet ski began circling the village like a predator would its wounded prey. The back rider swung her chain and wrapped it around one of the stilts of a house. The wooden pillar snapped in half from the pressure and the house sunk into the sludgy water.
She reeled her chain back to her, and was just about to swing when a strong foot kicked her in the back. The force knocked her off her seat, and she lost grip of her chain just as she fell into the water.
“Huh– Oof! ” Her rider barely had time to process what had just happened as a fist connected with his jaw and he too fell into the river.
The soldiers gathered around the dock whirled around, searching for the source of the commotion. “Look!” one of them pointed at the hijacked jet ski, and everyone turned to see that it was making a beeline straight for the dock where they were standing. They scattered just as the jet ski crashed into the dock, barely avoiding being thrown into the water.
“Who dares?!”
General Mung caught sight of movement just above him, and he raised his head in time to see that an extended foot aimed for his face. The kick landed square on his face, and Mung was sent tumbling backwards as the figure propelled back into the air. Two of his soldiers directed fireballs at the assailant, who somehow was able to twirl mid-air and dodge the two-pronged attack.
Mung rubbed his swollen cheek, his tongue tasting iron from his busted lips as he studied the figure who just landed on the undamaged part of the dock with practiced grace. The black cloth concealed the lower half of the figure’s face. “You call yourselves soldiers of the Fire Nation?” The figure spoke, his voice confirming that to Mung that he was male, perhaps on the younger side. The assailant didn’t seem fazed by the fact that Mung’s squad had surrounded him and were in their battle stances. Defiant amber eyes met vexed brown. “What soldier antagonizes the people they were meant to protect?”
Mung felt a vein in his forehead pop. “I am protecting the Fire Nation!” He punched the air in front of him, sending a fireball at his assailant. “From these diseased villagers and from you! Who are you to lecture me?!”
As one, his squad fired at the figure, who dashed forward with a sword in each hand. He closed in on the first pair of soldiers and slapped them in the face with the flat side of his blades. The two soldiers crumpled to the ground, groaning in pain as they cupped their swollen cheeks.
Another two more soldiers were taken out before Mung issued his orders. “Defensive positions!” The remaining soldiers filed together and they attacked in sync, sending fireballs onto the ground rather than directly at their assailant. It gave him no room to exploit and eventually he was placed on the defensive, forced to resort to constant dodges to not be turned into roasted human at the expense of maneuvering ground. Their relentless barrage of attacks bore fruit in the end, as the figure’s foot hooked on a wooden plank and the fire blast that landed right in front of him knocked him off his feet. He fell to the ground with a thud, and soldiers wasted no time to detain their assailant. One soldier pulled the figure’s arms behind his back while the burlier one placed his weight atop their captive to prevent any attempts at escaping.
Mung marched forward in triumph. He stretched his jaw, feeling the muscles in his cheek sting from being exerted despite being bruised. “You have a lot of guts thinking you could take on the might of the Army.” He couldn’t hold back his taunt. “Now you’ll get a front row seat as our Might wipes this wretched place off the face of the map!”
“No!” The figure protested, struggling against his restraints to no avail as two other soldiers lit a flammable ball perched on a buoy with their firebending. It was put off by a strong gust of wind. Mung turned to the duo, who were sharing confused looks with each other. His face contorted into one of annoyance.
“Light it again!”
They did as they were ordered. And just as quickly as the ball was lit, the wind once again blew out the flames.
“That wind,” one of the soldiers pointed out. “Where is it coming from?”
“I dunno,” the other replied. He eyed the heavy fog that was enveloping the outskirts of the village. “Something strange is going on.” The air was filled with a barely audible eerie tune that sent goosebumps up his skin, followed by a dangerously low growl.
“It’s the Painted Lady!” A little boy whispered excitedly. His lips curled into a sly grin. “She’s coming!”
“There is no Painted Lady!” Mung quickly debunked. There was a scoff, and Mung realized it came from their captive. He spared a glance, and realized with a start that the captive was smiling at him
“Are you sure about that?” The question was nothing but mocking. Amber eyes glistened in an instigating manner, as if challenging Mung to prove his point.
The general didn’t have time to come up with a reply as he noticed the mist in front of his part ways to reveal a figure with a straw hat standing at the other side of the river.
“Maybe it is her,” The first soldier considered. Before anyone could process the sight, the Painted Lady dashed forward, moving faster than the jet skis ever could. She leapt into the air and landed on the dock without even making a sound.
“Do something!” Mung demanded, and the two unoccupied soldiers cautiously approached the Painted Lady with their weapons drawn. They only took two steps forward when she lifted her head slightly, and a strong gust of wind blew their headbands away. They stood frozen in their spot.
The Painted Lady then raised her hand, and a pair of water pillars shot into the air, carrying a jet ski each with it. The water then shot the jet ski towards the cliff behind them, and the soldiers watched in shock as their means of transport exploded on impact. They turned their attention back to the Lady. She raised her hand again, albeit slowly this time. It was all that the soldiers needed to turn tail and run.
“Leave this place, and never return!” The Lady commanded.
General Mung stood alone as he faced down his new enemy. It didn’t matter that the others deserted him – he’ll deal with their transgressions later. He had a bigger, mythical fish to fry. “I’ll deal with you myself!” He spun around and unleashed an arc of fire at the Painted Lady, but the clouds underneath her lifted her into the air and she avoided the attack entirely. The docks exploded again, and Mung found himself flung into the air he tumbled backwards. The crowd had begun cheering at this point. A strong hand gripped him by the collar of his shirt. He opened his eyes and he found himself face to face with the earlier assailant, now set free after Mung’s soldiers had run away.
The figure pulled his mask down, and Mung’s brown eyes widened in shock. The blood in his veins froze, and his lips trembled in fear as if he had just seen a ghost.
He may as well be.
“Y-you… You– you’re…”
“The Fire Nation prides itself in being the greatest nation,” Zuko, the firstborn of Fire Lord Ozai pulled Mung face-to–face. With how close they were, Mung noticed for the first time that the red scar of the Banished Prince face had closed his left eye and reached his ear “Your actions here prove not only that you are not worthy of the title General, but also that we've strayed into a path of violence and fear. It's time that ends.”
Summoning his strength to his arms, back and legs, Zuko threw Mung over him and across the river. The General unceremoniously fell into the waters. Zuko watched as Mung popped his head up from the water surface, his limbs floundering around like a lost young puma goat in order to stay afloat. A jet ski passed by, its rider offering a hand to Mung which the man quickly clambered on before they propelled away.
The former-Prince picked up the sound of footsteps closing in on him. “I dunno,” Aang commented as he joined Zuko at the edge of the dock. “Do we truly end an era of violence and fear by throwing a guy into the river?”
Zuko blanched. He scratched the back of his neck. “I– I was trying to get my point across?” He explained, though the tone made it more of a question than an explanation.
“Oh you certainly got something across, alright,” Sokka added as he rowed a boat towards the dock. “Also, next time can you give us a head's up before you go leaping into a fight like a maniac? You nearly messed up our presentation.”
Zuko rolled his eyes, but offered his arms to pull both Sokka and Toph onto the wooden platform of the village. Watching the Fire Nation Army wrecking the village reminded him of the time he witnessed a squad of Earth Kingdom soldiers terrorize the town they were meant to protect. He didn't stay back idly then, he wasn't gonna do the opposite now.
“I was buying time for you guys,” the former Prince said as they began walking towards Katara. “Besides, it's not like I was much help with your preparations anyway.”
“So, you had Toph launch you into the air like a catapult to join the fight?” Sokka raised a skeptical eyebrow at him. Zuko had no response to that, luckily for him though he didn't have to.
“I had fun with it,” Toph shrugged. She socked Zuko in the shoulder. “Though, if you order me around like that again I will toss a boulder at your head first.”
Zuko rubbed his shoulder, but couldn't fight the small smile crawling up his lips. “Wouldn't dream of it.”
“Wait!” Zuko turned to the crowd when he noticed the cheering had died down. Dock was standing in front of Katara, who was in her full Painted Lady regalia. The old man was looking at her with inquisitive narrow eyes. “You're not the Painted Lady! You're that colonial girl!”
A little boy – who wore the sly grin earlier – nodded. “Yeah, you're the one who gave me a fish.”
“You've been tricking us!” Dock pointed at Katara, his face filled with outrage. “You’re a waterbender!”
The rest of the adults soon followed Dock's example, and the joyous atmosphere within the crowd quickly turned acrimonious. Words were said, curses thrown out as the crowd turned into a mob angry at the girl who dared made a fool of them.
Zuko clenched his teeth and his hands balled into fists. It was the plains village Southern Earth Kingdom all over again. The villagers then casted him out after he helped them for his heritage, now the ones here were about to do the same to Katara. He took a step forward, ready to give these ungrateful villagers a piece of his mind when Sokka placed himself between his sister and the angry mob.
“Maybe she is a waterbender, but she was only trying to help you!” the Water Tribesman started, his tone a lot more amicable than the former Prince would have used. It still contained a firm edge that commanded respect from its audience. “Because of her, that factory will no longer pollute your river and the army is gone. You should be on your knees thanking her!”
Okay, maybe the ending was a bit extreme but Zuko could see where Sokka was coming from.
“It's okay, Sokka,” Katara placed a calming hand on her brother's shoulder. Sokka turned to face her, and the siblings had a silent conversation which the brother eventually relented. He moved aside, allowing Katara to step forward and face the villagers herself. “I shouldn't have pretended to be someone I wasn’t, and I was wrong for tricking you. But I felt I had to do something.”
“It doesn't matter if the Painted Lady was real or not. Because your problems are real.” She gestured towards the river surrounding the village. “This river is real. You can't wait around for someone else to solve your problems for you.”
The crowd, by then, placated at that. Amber eyes noted that some villagers were wearing sheepish expressions for their outburst, others sharing looks of shame.
“She’s right,” Dock agreed easily, “But what should we do?”
Toph, who had somehow blended into the crowd, stuck her head out and cupped her mouth with a palm. “Maybe we can clean the river.”
“Yeah,” Dock began nodding excitedly. “We can clean the river.” He turned to Katara, his friendly smile back on full display “You know, you're not so bad for a waterbender.”
“Think you can keep that a secret?” Zuko asked, his arms folded in front of his chest. “We don't want it to be public knowledge.”
“No problem! Keeping my mouth shut is a personal specialty,” the old man replied with a thumbs up. He brought a hand to his chin as his expression turned thoughtful. “My brother Xu on the other hand, ohh, he's a blabbermouth.”
It suddenly didn't sound that reassuring to Zuko, and Sokka must have felt the same with the way he facepalmed.
“So, Dock,” Katara ignored the byplay. “Will you be helping us clean?”
Dock shook his head. “No, ma’am. I'm going to get my other brother, Bushi. He loves cleaning rivers.” Then, he replaced his hat with a large straw hat. “Alright, I'm Bushi, let's get some river cleaning done!”
“Aha! I knew it!” Aang declared triumphantly as he pushed his way to the front to face Bushi. “I knew you were the same guy. You're the shop owner and boat guy.”
Bushi – Dock? Xu? – didn't falter the slightest in his smile. “Oh you must be talking about my brothers, Dock and Xu.”
“No, I just saw you!” Aang’s eyes twitched. “You switched hats and called yourself a different name!”
Bushi’s annoyed expression matched Aang’s. “You know who does that? My brother, Dock.” He looked to his sides, as if making sure no one was listening before leaning forward and stage whispering “He’s crazy.”
On any other day, Zuko would have been concerned by the sight of steam rolling out of the head of one fuming Aang, but he was preoccupied by the notion that he may not want to fully trust Dock’s words.
But first, he had to help the villagers clean the river off its pollutants. It’s the least he could do.