"Suddenly they heard something down the hall in the dark. Whoooo. It came into the torch light.... and they knew the blade of Wing Fun was haunted! Ahhhauugh!" Sokka screamed like it was a song as he unsheathed his sword.

I hadn't told a story, my mind was to caught up in what was coming.

"I think I like the man with the sword for a hand better." Aang commented, not pleased at all.

"Water Tribe slumber parties must stink." Toph scoffed as she laid back down.

"No wait, I've got one, and this is a true southern water tribe story." Katara looked around to get reactions.

"Is this one of those a friend of my cousin knew some guy that this happened to stories?" Sokka asked, not enthused.

"No, it happened to mom." Sokka then popped his eye wide and listened. "One winter, when mom was a girl a snow storm buried the whole village for weeks. A month later mom realized she hadn't seen Nene since the storm. She and some others went to go check on Nene's family, when they got there no one was home, just a fire flickering in the fire place. While the men went out to search mom stayed in the house. When she was alone she heard a voice. 'It's so cold, and I can't get warm.' Mom turned to see Nene standing by the fire. She was blue like she was frozen, mom ran outside for help but when everyone came back Nene was gone." She looked around to see scared faces and on the edge. (Except Zuko, who just looked interested.)

"Where she go?" Sokka asked popping out from under a tree root.

"No one knows, Nene's house stands empty to this day but sometimes people see smoke coming from the chimney like little Mene is still trying to get warm."

"Wait guys did you hear that?" Toph asked making all of us cling together even Zuko, as she put a hand on the ground.

"I heard people under the mountain, and they're screaming." She added making everyone think she was joking, but I knew and it gave me a eerie feeling again.

My mind would always trail off on what would happen if Hama found out if Zuko was a fire bender. She never got fire benders on her hands, let alone the Prince.

"Nice try." Sokka remarked with a scoff.

"No I'm serious, I hear something." She replied with her eyes wide.

"You're probably just jumpy from the ghost stories." Katara tried to reassure more to herself.

"It just stopped." Toph stated with a confused tone.

"Alright, now I'm getting scared." Aang said, we were still hugging each other.

"Hello children." We all screamed and ran to each other to turn and see it was Hama.

The creepiest woman alive, well next to Azula that is. I still can't believe she mind controlled me like Manchurian Candidate.

"Sorry to frighten you, my name is Hama, you children shouldn't be out in the forest by yourself at night. I have an inn near by why don't you come back there for some spiced tea and warm beds." She suggested in a warm friendly old lady voice, but I knew better.

"Yes please." Sokka squealed.

"Thanks for letting us stay here tonight. You have a lovely inn." Katara complimented as we sat at her table. I tried not to look at Hama with suspicious eyes, but I couldn't help but think of what she does. What she could do to Zuko, I couldn't let her know.

"Aren't you sweet? You know you should be careful, people have been disappearing in those woods you were camping in." She casually stated as she sipped on her tea.

"What do you mean disappearing?" Zuko asked, with a concern for this town.

"When the moon turns full people walk in and they don't come out. Who wants more tea?" She asked after scaring everyone there, even I was on edge.

But mainly because I knew who was really doing it. The worst part was I couldn't do anything, I would be powerless. "Don't worry you'll all be completely safe here. Why don't I show you to your rooms and you can get a good nights rest."

——————

That night when I laid in my bed, every little sound made me wide awake. Every little creak could mean Hama walking down the hallway to Zuko's room.

I heard the wind blow out of my open window, it wasn't a full moon, it was a little comfort. Down the hallway I was sure I heard foot steps. I quickly jumped off my bed and slide the door open desperately looking down the hallway with wide awake eyes.

As I held my breath I saw that there was no one. I sighed and held my face, I was going to do this all night, it would be best to be with Zuko.

I slowly but carefully walked to his room that was at the end of the dark hallway. I slid the door open as quietly as I could, I looked around for his bed in the medium sized room.

I then saw him laying there with his eyes closed, I sighed, seeing he was untouched. I sat beside his bed with my sword at hand, putting my haed against the sofa.

"Mia?" He asked in a tired voice, I looked up to see him with one eye open and lightly scratching the back of his head.

"Go to sleep." I forced a smile, still holding the hilt of my sword.

"What are you doing in here?" He squinted.

"You don't need to worry." I whispered looking down at the wood floor.

"Couldn't sleep?" He asked, softly petting my hair.

"Yeah." I sighed under my breath.

"Why?" His voice still sounded raw in a whisper.

"It's a feeling." I shrugged trying not to talk about it.

"You can tell me." He tightly smiled as I looked back up at him. I then saw his hair was messy but still beautiful, he was shirtless and looked tired.

"Just go to sleep." I looked at the door as I heard a crack.

"Afraid Katara will come in the middle of the night and steal me?" He smirked, I slightly chuckled shaking my head.

"It's not that." I sighed.

"Than why are you holding that sword like your waiting for something?" He asked, with a dead serious tone.

I sighed, there was no fooling this gorgeous cunning boy.

"It's this place. It just isn't right." I stated trying not to mention Hama.

"I feel it too, there's something off here. I'm sure we'll find out in the morning. But right now you need to sleep." He put his hand through my hair as I looked up at his gold eyes gleaming from the moonlight.

"Okay." I looked to the side, not moving. I wasn't going to, I couldn't trust Hama.

"Mia? You plan on sleeping there all night?" He asked, with an eyebrow raised, I was usually the one correcting him.

"Yeah." I groaned at the thought of being sore the next day.

"If your gonna sleep here than sleep on the bed." He said, moving to the other side. I slowly stood up and looked at the bed, at this point I was dizzy from staying up too late.

"Just lay down." He patted the bed as he sunk in the pillows.

I slowly crawled in the bed not letting go of my sword and closed my eyes. Only to open them to hear a creak in the room.

It was Zuko leaning over and grabbing the sheath of my sword. I grabbed it back as soon as it slipped from my fingers.

"You can't sleep like that." He grinned like I was being ridiculous, but he didn't know the half of it.

He let go and put a hand on my shoulder and the other in my hair, leaning over and kissed my cheek, making them turn hard pink. "Just do it for me." He whispered in my ear, feeling the heat made my spin tingle.

I stiffly let the hilt go, but just in reach. He tightly smiled at me, 'okay now I'm glad I did that.' I thought as I stared at him showing a little happiness.

He closed his eyes as he put a warm hand around my waist and leaned back in the pillows. At first I didn't want to close my eyes, but in Zuko's arms I felt safe. As softly as I could I touched his dark brown hair. He slowly put his face to mine putting the hand on my waist to my cheek.

I watched as he gently put his lips to mine, suddenly I didn't hear the creaking in the hallway, or the wind outside, just my heartbeat raising.

He pulled away and smiled before putting his head to my neck. I found my eyes closed before long, sending me to sleep.

———————

The next morning we went shopping, and of course Katara and Hama hit it off. "You won't have any ash bananas till next week?!" A costumer asked an owner as we walked by.

"Well, I have to send the boy to Han Wa Island to get them and it's a two day trip." The owner answered with a suspicious tone.

"Oh right, tomorrow's the full moon."

"Exactly, I can't lose another delivery boy in the woods." Those people were getting used to Hama's work, I knew staying as far way from Hama much as possibly was the key.

"People disappearing in the woods, weird stuff during full moons this just reeks of Spirit world shanagins." Sokka stated as we walked through the streets.

"I bet if we take a little walk around town we'll find what these people did to the environment to make the spirits mad." Aang said, as we all looked around.

"And then you can sow up the total mystery lickity split, Avatar style." Sokka said, putting an arm around Aang.

"Helping people that's what we do." Aang stated with a content smile.

"Why don't you all take those things back to the inn, I just have to run a few more errands. I'll be back in a little while." Hama said as we all walked closer to her and Katara.

"This is a mysterious town you have here," Sokka fished.

"Mysterious town for mysterious children." Hama remarked with a suspicious grin.

———————

"That Hama seems a little strange, like she knows something. Or she's hiding something." Sokka thought out loud as we got back to the inn.

"I agreed, there's more to her." Zuko said, with a hand on his chin.

"That's ridiculous, she's a nice woman who took us in and gave us a place to stay. She kind of reminds me of Gran Gran." Katara said as she unpacked the groceries.

"But what did she mean by that comment, 'mysterious children?'" Sokka asked as he began to look around.

"Ge I don't know, maybe because she found six strange kids camping in the woods at night. Isn't that a little mysterious?" Katara replied with an annoyed tone.

"I'm gonna take a look around." Sokka said before him and Zuko walked up stairs.

"Sokka! Zuko! What are you doing? You can't just snoop around someone's house." Katara whisper shouted as we walked up the dark narrow stairs.

"It will be fine." Sokka reassured before we moved closer in.

As we walked through the up stairs Katara kept nagging us, I felt like we were in goonies and Katara was the kid who always ate.

"Come on." Sokka said as he tried to get a closed door open. When he pulled it open puppets fell out and made us all jump.

"Oh okay, that's pretty creepy." Aang stated as Katara shoved them back in. Zuko just kept on moving.

"So she's got a hobby, there's nothing weird about that. Sokka you've looked enough, Hama will be back soon!" Katara demanded.

"Just an ordinary puppet loving inn keeper huh? Than why does she have a lock for up here?" Sokka asked, trying to open it.

"Probably to keep people like you from snooping through her stuff." Katara annoyingly replied, she did not get it.

"We'll see. It's empty except for a little chest." Sokka said as he looked in the key hole.

"Maybe it's treasure!" Toph smiled.

"Step back." Zuko warned as he bashed in the door with his shoulder.

"Zuko, what are you doing?! You're breaking into a private room." Katara gasped.

"I don't trust her, Katara, she's hiding something." He replied as we all began to walk in, and indeed he was right.

"We shouldn't be doing this." Aang added to the already creepy room.

"Maybe there's a key here somewhere." Sokka asked, looking around.

"Oh hand it over." Toph reached over and grabbed it.

"Come on, come on!" Sokka said not able to keep in his excitement.

"This isn't as easy as it looks." Toph replied as she changed the metal to fit in the key hole.

"Guys, I don't know about this."

"This is crazy, I'm leaving!" Katara and Aang warned.

"Suit yourself,"

"Do it, Toph." Sokka and Zuko said finishing each other's sentences, before she unlocked it, making everyone there run up and try to look in, except Toph.

"I'll tell you what's in the box." Hama said, from the doorway making all of us scream in fear from her coming out of nowhere, while I hated to even hear her voice.

She slowly walked up and pulled out a Water Tribe comb. "An old comb?!" Sokka sighed.

"It's my greatest treasure. It's the last thing I own from growing up in the Southern Water Tribe."

Hama explained everything and got dinner ready, though I wasn't looking forward to it. "I'd stay clear of the sea prunes." Aang whispered over to Toph.

"I thought they were ocean com quads." Toph responded with a frown.

"Close enough."

"Who wants five flavor soup?" Hama asked before water bending it into our bowls. I didn't even want to eat what she bends.

"You're a water bender! I've never met another water bender from our tribe!" Katara gasped enthusiastically, falling for her old lady act.

"That's because the Fire Nation wiped them all out." She replied not looking at any of us.

Zuko asked her every question only her secret would be the answer to, and when she answered how she was held she said no more. "I'm sorry It's too painful to talk about anymore."

"We completely understand. We lost our mother in a raid." Katara said comforting her with a hug.

"Oh you poor thing."

"I can't tell you what it means to meet you. It's an honor. You're a hero."

I narrowed my eyes, she was anything but that.

"I never thought I'd meet another Southern Water Bender. I'd like to teach you what I know so you can carry on the southern traditions when I'm gone."

"Yes! Yes of course! To learn about my heritage it would mean everything to me." Katara replied with too much excitement.

"I can't believe you've lived like this your whole life." Zuko stated, sounding sorry for her.

"It isn't all that bad." She shrugged.

"My father should be helping my people not putting people in jail just for being another type of bender." He sighed making me tense, he might have just spilt his identity to the worst person in this world.

"You sound like you know the Fire Lord?" Hama asked, with a raised eyebrow making me hide a gasp.

"Yeah, Zuko here is the Prince of the Fire Na—!"

"Aang! you mind passing the stuff!" I yelled nervously trying to drown Aang out.

He passed it with a unsure manner and I grabbed it with shaking hands.

She couldn't know who he was.

I looked over to see her glaring at me, like she knew I knew. I was slipping.

———————

The next day we went out to try and figure out what was happening in the town. It was night fall when we were about to head out to old man Ding's place. As we walked we heard foots steps coming up, we all turned to see it was Hama alone.

"Where's Katara?" Aang asked with a smile.

"Oh she's back taking a walk. Zuko, I need you to help me with something. It requires a fire bender's touch." She smiled making me freeze, She was up to something.

"Sure." He replied without question.

My eyes widen as he and her began to walk away, was she about to kidnap him? Without thought I grabbed his arm. I was about to warn him but he wouldn't listen and I would look ridiculous.

"Can I come?" I awkwardly asked, stiffly moving my eyes to Hama, who was glaring at me.

She slowly shook her head, she clearly didn't want me to come.

Each step back to her inn was torture, I never knew when she could turn around to blood bend us. She quickly opened the door to the inn and waited for us to step in. I had my hand ready at any time to draw my sword. Aa we stepped in she slammed the door behind us and walked in front going down to the basement.

My heart was racing, I had no doubt what this was about to lead to. She walked to the center of the basement before turning to us.

Zuko looked over to me with suspicious eyes, I think he finally got that this was the place for the crime scene to her.

"Are you Prince of the Fire Nation?" She asked with narrowed eyes, staring at him.

"What is this?" he asked, narrowing his eyes as well.

"Are you?" She asked again, the worst part of this was I didn't know how to stop it.

"Yes." Zuko stated before she somehow formed a water whip and shot it at the door to close it. It ran back to her as Zuko and I drew swords.

"Hama, stop! We're on the same side?!" Zuko yelled as she threw another water whip.

"You will never be on our side! And you will die for protecting this wretch!" She growled as I ran up only to block a water whip.

"Stop it now, Hama!" Zuko ordered before running closer. She threw up a wall of water and sent it at him, having no bending he couldn't block it.

I stood straight again and swung at her back, she quickly threw a water whip behind herself knocking me down. I used my sword to get back up and ran right back at her, I had to take her out before the moon came out and luckily I couldn't see outside with a tiny window.

She was laying a water whip on Zuko were I almost got close enough to strike, only to get ice knives pointed at me.

"Mia, go get help!" Zuko ordered, but I couldn't do that and leave him alone. I ignored it and kept at Hama.

I thrust my blade at her side as Zuko swung at her arms, she completely blocked both by used water to grab me and Zuko by the necks and throwing us to each side of the room.

I growled at her before lunged straight at her, Zuko had the same idea.

Only as we did we were stopped in mid air. I tried to move my arms but I got no response, my eyes widened as I looked out the tiny window to see it was now nighttime.

She manically laughed at me before throwing me to the end of the room like a rag doll. I looked up to see she was still holding Zuko up as he tried his best to get free.

"What is this?!" He demanded to know as she was still laughing.

"No...!" I rose to my feet before she blood bended me again. She pushed me against the wall so I could see Zuko perfectly.

I began to watch as Zuko screamed in horror of the pain in him, twisting and controlling him. His chest moved up and down before his arms moved in an awkward position. Each move she made he yelled from the pain.

I couldn't scream for help, I wanted to beg her to stop, but I knew she wouldn't, and I knew no one would hear me, I was powerless.

She twisted his spin and his rib cage leaned upward making him yell unlike before, it was becoming more and more painful. I tried to get free, only to feel her tighten her grasp on me.

"What you see here, I found in that wretched Fire Nation prison, this is your doing! You made your own demise!" She explained with a hiss.

"I wasn't even alive then! Stop this now, Hama!" Zuko yelled before crying in pain.

"So demanding, just like the spoiled prince you are!" She grinned before twisting his back to where I was sure he would break something.

I screamed at the sight, I couldn't do a thing. She looked over her shoulder at me and a wide smile grew across her old face, as she saw my cheeks completely wet with tears, struggling all I could.

"Stop!" I yelled as I couldn't contain my thoughts anymore.

She only laughed and did it more. He yelled his lungs out as his ribs were pulled on, I looked away from the sight. I was shaking in fear that she'd kill him, that she was putting him through this.

"No! Please! He can't even bend!!!" I tried to plead.

"All Fire Nation people deserve no less than what you see right now!" She replied before throwing him to the side of the room hard. "I'm going to make you wish you hadn't been born." She growled at him as she walked closer.

"There's nothing you can do to me that can make me wish that." He replied with a tired beaten up voice, I chocked on a sob before trying to clear my vision.

As I did I saw she was looking at me, "Oh I think there is." She smirked before lifting me and pulling at my arm sockets.

"No! Not her!" Zuko begged as she bended us both.

I fixed my eyes on Zuko, he was just as afraid as me, but I could see he wasn't afraid for himself, and deep down neither was I. All that was in my head was hoping she wouldn't kill him, hoping that what little good in her if there was any, kept him alive.

Maybe Zuko wasn't meant to be here, maybe Zuko was there in the Capital for a reason, maybe it's because he might die here.

I tried my best to not think like that but it's harder than you think when the person you love is being blood bended before your eyes.

As I chocked from tears I realized I was right above my sword, I felt a pull on me before I felt completely loose. With all my strength I jumped down and grabbed it as quickly as possible and was about to strike right at her when I got lifted off my feet.

I felt the sword stay in my fingers holding the blade still as my arm was being moved closer to Zuko.

"No!" I gasped as I realized what she was about to do, she only laughed and kept moving me closer.

"No, no, no!" I repeated as it only got closer, I looked up at Zuko who tried his best not to look afraid— we both knew this wasn't going to end well.

I tightened my fingers around the hilt hoping to gain control somehow before the tip of the blade reached his gut. It stopped making me gasp before she sent it straight through.

Zuko exhaled before the blade hit the ground along with him.

I found myself speechless as I saw him bleeding out on the floor, the worst part wasn't that it was my sword that had just gave him the cut that would kill him, it was that this was a picture of a man dying.

She twisted my back making me scream before I looked down to see Zuko reached out to me. "Stop." He tried to say as he was gasping for air.

I looked down at him, he still looked good even when he was about to die, he looked horrified at the sight of my pain, I tried to smile at him if this was it, I didn't want him to remember me like this. If this was the end I was just glad I got to meet him and spent time with him.

A few mouths ago I wouldn't thought he could be real in a dream, but I knew this was more than a dream. I was glad I was there for him, I was glad he actually liked me, glad to have been his.

As my feet touched the ground I ran to his side, he tried to smile as I tightly held his bloody hand. He stroked my check from tears leaving blood.

"Aw." Hama mocked— then I remembered who did all this to him. I looked up as I could hear him grasping for air.

"You have no soul, Hama!" I snarled, my eyes were sore and red from crying.

Just then the door burst open to reveal the Gaang, even Katara was there.

"Hama!" Sokka hissed before Toph threw a boulder while Katara threw a water whip.

Toph's boulder sent Hama flying out the house and into the grassy plans just outside. They all ran after her, my only concern was Zuko.

"Mia?" He asked, still holding my hand.

"I'm here." I breathed before I felt a sharp pain.

"I love you." He grinned sending my heart to drop.

"...don't talk like that, you're not going to die. You can't!" I held his hand too tight as I began to cry once again.

"It's okay, I'm glad I met you before I did." He chocked, easing up on the hand.

"No, no." I shook my head thinking out loud.

He put his hand on my cheek—my whole body shook. "Promise me you'll make sure the war ends." He stared in my eyes, I felt so unworthy of him, like I didn't give him enough to die now. To die any time now.

I nodded my head, making him sigh. He looked at me before his grip loosened and his eyes began to zone out.

"No, no, no, Zuko please don't! Don't! Zuko!" I yelled as I shook his shoulder.

I got no reaction, his eyes were shut, that was it, he wasn't breathing and had no heart beat. I squeezed his hand before I heard them fighting outside.

I grabbed the sword she used to kill Zuko and ran out after her. I realized she had her back to me because she was bending Aang, Toph and Sokka against Katara I knew she couldn't see me coming.

As quietly and quickly as I could I ran behind her and without hesitation I stabbed the sword through her gut. She exhaled and fell to the ground as I pulled the blade out.

I put my foot on the wound making her gasp, continuing and swiftly slit her throat, before she could do a thing.

I stepped back and cleaned the blood off the sword and sheathing it. Everyone looked at me in horror, I suppose they didn't think I'd kill someone.

"Katara, I need you now!" I ordered before running back to the house.

"Oh no!" She gasped as she knelt at Zuko's side, there had to be some way she could heal him. "Mia..." she looked up at me with dread, I knew she was about to say.

"You have to bend his blood and start his heart up again!" I yelled with my arms clenched to keep them from shaking.

"I can't do that." She muttered.

"Yes, you can! do it!" I shouted making her jump, before closing her eyes and moving her hands around his heart area.

"Mia I don't know about this." She said, stopping whatever she was doing.

"It's Zuko's life or your pride!! What will it be?!" I snapped without thought.

She didn't reply and closed her eyes again moving her hands in blood bending positions. The blood on the floor move back to his body like a reverse river and Katara held her hands out high. Zuko's pale skin became life like again as Katara began to move her hands all twisting like. For someone completely new to blood bending it seemed to being going well.

As she continued a loud gasp came from Zuko.

I exhaled in relief as he sat up. I immediately knelt next to him and gently held him.

"Mia?" He asked, looking up at me.

"It's okay, you're here now!" I smiled with a sob, holding him tight.

I wouldn't let anything like this happen to him again. But for now, I was just glad he was alive.