Fleeting moments

I turned and saw haru standing several feet away. "Haru!" I said as I ran to get closer.

"You had me worried. Where'd they take you? Are you alright?" he asked, concerned.

"I'm fine. I'm fine" I assured "The warden wanted to speak with me, and I was stuck in a confined room for hours. He only asked dumb questions" I explained dismissively.

"There's someone I want you to meet" he said, leading me to a group of earthbenders where a tall man with white hair and beard was speaking with the ones around him. Haru was looking at him with admiringly and led me forward to him. It wasn't until we got closer, I noticed a girl sitting next to him with a bowel of watery stew. I could never mistake those hair loops for someone else.

"Katara?" I said in disbelief.

She turned her head at the sound of her name, and lunged at me with hug. "Wrathos, thank goodness!" she said, 'Wow the guilt must have gotten to her pulling away blushing. I finally allowing me to breathe in some air. "Haru told me the firebenders took you away. I was worried"

"I'm fine" I assured coolly for the second time.

She squeezed my hand. "You were right about that old man. I'm really sorry" she said guiltily.

I put my hand on her shoulder. "I'll save the 'I told you so' until we get out of here. But why are you wearing prison clothes?" I asked to play along.

She told me everything about how they found out we were missing ,and how she staged an act to make herself look like an earthbender.That was how she got herself arrested. When she finished, I was staring at her shaking my head.

"I think aangs craziness is rubbing off on us " I said lightheartedly and she smiled. Haru tapped my shoulder and he gestured to the tall man with a white beard.

"Wrathos, I'd like you to meet my father Tyro. Dad, this is Wrathos" he introduced.

I raised both my eyebrows. This was Haru's father? Tyro smiled at me and, I held my hand out politely as I sat down. "I'm honored to meet you, sir. Haru has told me so much about you" I said kindly. Tyro shook my hand. "I'm a friend of his, we actually met yesterday"

He chuckled. "It is an honor to meet you as well. Please call me Tyro" he said, reaching for an extra bowel of stew. "Have some food. You look a little ill" my lip twitch at that 'Racist against ghosts are we.' I ran my fingers underneath my eyes. "I'll be fine, just a little tired is all" I said, before taking the bowel.

"Be careful" Katara warned as she sat next to me. "They aren't exactly stewed sea prunes"

She was right, it was disgusting. At first I thought I could maybe trick myself into thinking they're like stewed sea prunes, but I ended up using genjutsu on it so people thought I was eating it when they look at the bowl.

"So what's the plan, sir?" Katara asked, looking around at Tyro.

"Plan?" he said "The plan is to try to stay alive"

I blinked. "Wait, you're not planning to escape?"

"There is no way to escape. Once you come in here, you can't get out"

I glanced at Haru who had his head bowed. Apparently he had asked the same thing and received the same response.

"You can't really believe that! The people in my village always told us stories about you courageous earthbenders. They say it runs in your blood" Katara said and I nodded in agreement.

"I'd like to think so" he admitted "However, that's all they were. They were stories. But in our situation there's nothing we can do" he said dismally.

"But you have to try" I said then bowed my head. "I've seen too many of my people get dragged away by the Fire Nation.The least we should do is try" I said firmly and Katara agreed.

"I understand that you and your friends feel the need to fight against the Fire Nation, but there are times when there's nothing we can do" Tyro answered.

"We'll see about that" Katara said as she stood up.

"Katara, what're you doing?" I said lowly. She didn't answer me and walked over to the table in the middle of the courtyard. She picked up a spoon and a pan and banged on it. It echoed throughout the courtyard and many people turned their heads to look at her.

"Earthbenders! You don't know me, but I know you. I'm from the Water Tribe and every night children are rocked to sleep with stories about all of you courageous people who guard your homes"

More people turned to listen to her, but so did the warden who was staring down at her intently. I got a bad feeling and slowly stood up, not taking my eyes off him. He was going to attack her, I just knew it.

"…But they can't take away your courage!" she continued, "And that's what they truly should be afraid of because it runs deeper than any mine you've been forced to dig, any ocean that keeps you far from home. It is the strength of your hearts that make you who you are. Hearts that will remain unbroken when all rock and stone has eroded away. The time to fight back is now! I can tell you the Avatar has returned! So remember your courage, earthbenders. Let us fight for our freedom!" she said with her fist in the air.

Any earthbender that had been listening in on her, turned back to their watery soup. Katara glanced around the courtyard. Disappointment etched across her face. I walked over to her to console her ,as she stepped down from the table.

"It was worth a try" I whispered, glancing at the top of the wall. The warden stared at us for a brief moment then turned and walked away.

"I can't believe how hopeless they all are" she said sadly.

The guards told us our break was over and to get back to work. I could hardly concentrate as I hit a hammer against a nail. These earthbenders. These poor people had lost hope. I tried talking to others, but they were even more morbid than Tyro.

We both began to walk towards our bunker. "Do you have any ideas how to get them out of here?" Katara whispered.

I shook my head. "That would use too much energy I'll have to leave tomorrow" I whispered as a guard passed us. "Where are Sokka and Aang?" I asked as I sat down in front of a blanket and pillow. That was all we had for a bed. I couldn't ask her about the guys earlier because of so many Fire Nation soldiers watching us.

"They gave me twelve hours to find you and Haru otherwise we leave" she told me

"Wait, so that's it? We're just going to leave these people?" I asked in shock I was sure of all people aang would want to do something.I mean this is how the show goes but still. I didn't know if I could turn my back and leave these people with that terrible warden. I didn't want to leave them behind. "I'm not. I'm staying here" I said, covering myself with the blanket. "You and Sokka have to get Aang to the North Pole so he can practice waterbending. I'll do whatever I can to help here"

"We will talk about this tommorow" she opened her mouth to object.

Out of the corner of my eye, someone put a hand on Katara's shoulder. It was Aang. He beckoned us to follow him. Katara and I quietly crept outside and stepped on the edge of the deck where Appa and Sokka were waiting for us.

"Glad to see you're alright, Wrathos. Where's Haru? We've gotta get out of here" he said

Aang jumped on Appa's head and grabbed the reins. Katara and I exchanged looks. "We can't" Katara said

Sokka ignored her. "We don't have much time. There are guards everywhere. Come on" he said, holding his hand out to us. I stepped back behind the metal bars.

"Guys, what's wrong?" Aang asked.

"We're staying here. We're not giving up on them" Katara said firmly.

Sokka and Aang exchanged looks and stepped on the edge of the deck with us. We moved farther so we wouldn't be seen by the guards and crouched near the bars. Appa stayed close to the edge with us.. "What do you mean you're not leaving?" Sokka demanded

"We can't abandon these people. There has to be a way to help them" Katara replied

"You guys should've seen the look on all their faces. They've lost all hope" I told them

Aang looked hesitant. "Maybe they're right" he said, then looked to Sokka "What do you think?"

"I say you three have lost your mind!" he said a little too loudly. A light glowed over our heads and we ducked. I exhaled when it passed. "Last chance, we need to leave. Now"

"No" Katara said firmly.

Sokka shook his head in defeat. "I hate when you get like this" he said, another lights glowed close by. "Come on we better hide" he said. Appa flew away and the four of us ran to find a better place to stay hidden. Two guards shined their light in the sky, barely missing Appa. We knelt behind a stack of crates as I kept watch and listened. "We don't have much time. What're we gonna do?" he said

"Wrathos can you make a hurricane?" Aang said.

I raised an eyebrow and looked at him. "How would that help us?" I asked.

"The warden will run away and we'd steal his keys" he explained.

"Wouldn't he just take the keys with him?" Sokka pointed out.

"I'm just tossing ideas around" he said, raising his hands as if he was surrendering

"Wrathos and I tried talking to the earthbenders into fighting back, but it didn't work. If there was just a way to help them help themselves" she said, mainly to herself. 'Really I didnt really do anything' I hid behind one of the boxes as a guard passed.

"For that they'd need some kind of earth. Something they can bend" Sokka said quietly.

"But this entire place is made of metal" his sister said, touching the ground.

"Wait a minute, look!" Aang said, pointing above him. We turned and watched black smoke fill the sky. "I bet they're burning coal. In other words, earth"

We exchanged looks. "Okay, but how do we get that up here?" I said.

Katara, Sokka, and I knelt down in front of a vent. "It's almost dawn. We're running out of time. Are you sure this is going to work?" Katara asked her brother.

"It should" he said confidently "These vents remind of our little trick back at the village. We're gonna do the same thing, but on a much bigger scale. There's a huge deposit of coal at the base of the island and the whole system is ventilated. Aang closed off all the vents except one. When he does his airbending, the coal only has one place to go"

I stood up. "I'll gather as many earthbenders as I can and tell them all to meet here. Make sure Aang tries to bring up as much coal as he can. They'll need it" I said lowly, and told them good luck before running to find the earthbenders.

I ran through the corridor and the earthbenders were already coming in this direction. Tyro and Haru were in front. "What's going on?" Haru asked.

"I don't have time to explain. You have to come with me, now!" I said, running off. Several earthbenders were already there, but Katara and Sokka were cornered by guards that had their spears pointed at them.

"Stay back! I'm warning you!" Sokka said threateningly, holding out his weapon

Tyro ran ahead of me and Haru and stood in front of us. "Katara, stop! You can't win this fight!" he said.

I slipped my kunai in my hand. Haru squeezed my shoulder and held me back. I had to help them. The warden walked towards them. "You would do well to listen to him, child. You're one mistake away from dying where you stand" he said.

One of the guards advanced towards Katara with his spear. I grabbed the end of the spear and thrust my kunai upward using chakra to cloak it, cutting off the sharp end of the guard's weapon and stood in front of Katara, glaring at the warden.

"Not if I have anything to say about it" I snapped, holding my kunia in front of me. The insignia covered by my hand.

"Warthos, enough! Surrender now!" Tyro shouted

I didn't say anything and the vent in front of me began to rumble. The cover blew off as the coal surfaced on the deck in front of the earthbenders. Several guards stumbled backwards. Aang came out after, covered in soot. Katara ran up the pile of coal. "Here's your chance, earthbenders. Take it! Your fate is in your own hands!"

I looked around. Tyro stopped his son from walking forward and the other earthbenders stepped back several feet.The warden laughed merrily as if Katara had just told a good joke. "Foolish girl! You thought a few inspirational words and some coal would change these people? Look at these blank hopeless faces. Their spirits were broken a long time ago, but you still believed in them. How sweet. They're a waste of your energy. You failed" he said

He turned to walk away. Before I could even move, someone had thrown a rock at his head, causing him to stagger. Haru was standing next to me, spinning three rocks above his hand. The warden threw a flame of fire towards us, but a wall of coal deflected it. It was Tyro. The firebenders took a fighting stance and blasted more fire. Earthbenders gathered coals in front of them.

"For the Earth Kingdom! Attack!" Tyro yelled.

I smiled at Katara as all the earthbenders attacked the guards.I then use a large chunk of the pile and form it into a giant sledgehammer bonking people unconscious. 'I so do like whack a mole' A firebender came at me with his spear. I moved to the right and kicked the firebender in the face. Tyro and Haru formed a boulder and threw it at the wall, making the firebenders above fall off. I cut off another end of a spear as it came towards my head.

"Get to the ship. We'll hold them off!" Tyro shouted.

I glanced at Haru and he nodded at me. Sokka grabbed my shoulder. "Come on, we have to get out of here" he said.Katara, Aang and I ran behind him as he grabbed spears and cut off the ends with his weapon like I had.

"Do not let them escape!" the warden shouted.

Aang stopped running and created some kind of air funnel. "Guys! Throw me some coal!" he shouted. I grabbed the rocks and floated them to aang as he needed them.Right into the funnel. It hit the firebenders like bullets and they fell on the ground.

The earthbenders gathered the coal together, making it into some kind of rock platform with the warden and guards on it. They hovered all of the coal above the water.

"No, please, I can't swim" the warden said.

"Don't worry. I hear cowards float" Tyro replied and they fell in the water.

The earthbenders cheered. Katara and I laughed. Haru ran towards us . "You did it! They all did!" I laughed. And Katara hugged him.

"Thank you. Both of you" he said.

"All it took was a little hope…and coal" I added and he smiled. Katara looked at me then to Haru and gave me a smug smile before walking towards Aang and Sokka who were helping people get on the ship. "We should probably go help" I said and we followed Katara.

We managed to safely board every earthbender on the ship. I stared back at the rig. No one was going to be using that anymore. Haru, Tyro, and Katara were talking down on the deck. The ship sailed towards the Earth Kingdom village. It didn't seem like we would be staying for long. All we needed was a few supplies and we'd be on our way. I felt a familiar hand on my shoulder and turned to smile at Haru.

"I'm glad you're okay" he said and.

"The Fire Nation will regret the day they set foot on our land!" I heard Tyro yell

"I can't find my mother's necklace anywhere!" Katara said stressfully "I searched the entire ship, but couldn't find anything!"

"Maybe you dropped it somewhere on the rig" Sokka told her.

I sat on the edge of the dirt and cleaned off the extra mud from the handle of my kunai. "We can't go back. Look" I said, pointing my kunai at the rig. The sun was setting and I could still see the rig. A black ship was harbored next to it.

"Zuko" Aang said, stating the obvious.

I stood up and brushed off my robes. "We better leave right away so he can't follow us" I said. Tyro and his wife came walking toward us with a bag of food and a small pouch. I looked inside. It was several copper pieces and a few silver ones. "We can't take your money" I said.

"Think of it as a token of our gratitude" she said, looking up at her husband adoringly "You brought my husband back to me and I am truly grateful for that. Thank you all"

"Don't mention it" Sokka said, waving his hand dismissively.

I snatched the small brown pouch from his hand. "But what if you need it?" I pointed out.

"We will be fine. We owe you" Haru said

I sighed. It was now or never. I had to say it whether or not I liked it. I gave Sokka back the pouch of coins along with the bag of food. I tried to ignore it and approached Haru.Aang, Katara, and Sokka were already waiting on Appa's back. Haru's parents watched as we came through the trees. Haru was there as well. "Goodbye" he said.

I nodded. "Goodbye Haru" I said and walked towards Appa. I climbed onto the bison's head. I gave him a smile. "Thank you again for your hospitality" I told all of them. "Yip yip!"

They waved goodbye and Appa soared through the clouds.I turn to the group with a serious expression on my face as they notice.

Aang says "What's wrong"

"I can feel that it's almost my time to leave. I'm not sure how long exactly but its nearing."

Everyone had sad expressions on their faces and everything went silent. Then aang spoke up.

"Then we will just have to make sure our next stop is extra fun" everyone else gains a happy face and laughs.I then decide to speak up.

"I dont doubt it because your fun ,is mostly what I consider crazy. Also we always find crazy things happening to us" I say as I'm laughing with the rest.