"Suddenly, they heard something down the hall in the dark." Sokka said in what he believed to be a spooky voice as the group sat around their fire among the trees that night, "Oooh...It came into the torchlight and they knew..." He quickly drew his sword and stood up, pointing it at the fire as he yelled dramatically, "That the blade of Wing Fung was haunted! Ooo-wheee-oohh!'

Xiaodan looked up from the pieces of cloth she was stitching together and stared blankly at the Water Tribe boy then she glanced around at Aang, Katara, and Toph, all of them with equally unamused expressions on their faces.

"I think I like 'the man with a sword for a hand' better." Aang commented in an unimpressed tone as he lounged on his back.

Toph stretched her legs out in front of her and leaned back against Xiaodan's side, "Water Tribe slumber parties must stink."

"No, wait!" Katara suddenly spoke up from her hunched over position across the fire from Xiaodan and Toph, "I've got one! And this is a true Southern Water Tribe story."

Sokka sighed and sat back down in front of the fire, "Is this one of those 'a friend of my cousin knew some guy that this happened to' stories?"

"No," Katara replied ominously and she cast her brother a sidelong glance before looking back into the fire, "It happened to Mom."

Sokka stiffened, while Aang sat up and Xiaodan put the needle she was sewing with down in her lap. Katara looked at the others with a serious expression, "One winter when Mom was a girl, a snowstorm buried the entire village for weeks. A month later, Mom noticed she hadn't seen her friend Nini since the storm.

"So Mom and some others went to check on Nini's family. When they got there, no one was home." Katara paused and stared into the fire for a moment before continuing in a dark tone, "Just a fire flickering in the fireplace. While the men went out to search, Mom stayed in the house. When she was alone she heard a voice." Katara pitched her voice so it was high and squeaky and she looked at Sokka with a wide-eyed expression, "'It's so cold and I can't get warm!'"

Sokka stiffened and edged away from his sister slightly, while Aang, Toph, and Xiaodan leaned forward slightly. Katara looked back to the fire as she continued, "Mom turned and saw Nini standing by the fire. She was blue like she was frozen. Mom ran outside for help, but when everyone came back, Nini was gone."

Aang swallowed thickly and grabbed Momo, who was curled up in the back of his shirt, and he used the lemur's ears to cover his face in fear while Sokka hid behind the gnarled tree root he'd been sitting in front of. Toph pulled her legs up to her chest and leaned further against Xiaodan, who shifted to drape an arm around the younger girl.

Sokka peeked over the tree root, "Where'd she go?"

"No one knows." Katara replied with a shrug and she glanced at her brother, "Nini's house stands empty to this day, but sometimes, people see smoke coming from the chimney, like little Nini is still trying to get warm."

Suddenly, Toph straightened and gasped, placing her hands on the ground, "Wait! Guys did you hear that?"

Xiaodan twisted to look at the younger girl in concern while Sokka and Aang lunged over to sit on either side of Katara, the three clutching each other tightly. "What is it, Toph?" Xiaodan asked as Toph stood up and turned slightly, "I hear people under the mountain. And they're screaming."

"Pfft!" Sokka relaxed and let go of his sister with a smirk, "Nice try, Toph."

"No, I'm serious." Toph insisted and she frowned slightly as she stood up, "I hear something."

"You're probably just jumpy from the ghost stories." Katara rationalized, but Toph frowned harder.

"It just...stopped."

Xiaodan placed her sewing aside and stood up warily beside Toph, "Well...that's suitably creepy..."

"Alright," Aang squeaked, still hugging Katara tightly, "Now, I'm getting scared."

"Hello, children."

Sokka, Aang and Katara screamed at the strange woman's voice and they scrambled to their feet, rushing over to huddle against Toph, while Xiaodan moved to stand protectively in front of them with her arms outstretched, the camp fire flaring briefly with her sudden spike of fear and tension.

They watched as an elderly woman stepped out from the shadows, a small smile on her wrinkled face. "Sorry to frighten you. My name is Hama." The woman apologized and introduced herself gently as she stepped closer to the fire, her gaze resting on Xiaodan with a strange look in her gray eyes before they shifted to the other teens, "You children shouldn't be out in the forest by yourselves at night. I have an inn nearby. Why don't you come back there for some spiced tea and warm beds?"

Xiaodan tensed slightly, but Sokka stepped up beside her and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, "Yes, please."

Hama smiled at them again, glancing briefly at Xiaodan again, then she gestured for the teens to follow her as she walked away.

"Thanks for letting us stay here tonight." Katara said gratefully as the group sat around the kitchen table in Hama's inn, "You have a lovely inn."

"Aren't you sweet?" Hama murmured as she sat the teapot she was carrying down after pouring everyone a cup of spiced tea then she sat down at the head of the table, "You know you should be careful. People have been disappearing in those woods you were camping in."

Sokka's eyes narrowed and he rested an arm on the table as he leaned forward, "What do you mean 'disappearing?'"

Hama sat the teacup she was about to take a sip from down and stated ominously, "When the moon turns full, people walk in and they don't come out." She stood up abruptly and held up her teapot, smiling at the silent teens cheerfully, "Who wants more tea?" When they remained silent she set the teapot back down and clasped her hands together, "Don't worry, you'll be completely safe here. Why don't I show you to your rooms and you can get a good night's rest."

Xiaodan stood carefully from her seat and nodded, "That would be nice, thank you."

Xiaodan walked around the moonlit room Hama had taken her to, inspecting it curiously before wandering back over to the bed and taking a seat. Despite the late hour, she wasn't tired yet so she reached into the satchel she'd brought with her and pulled out the needlework she'd been working on early. She tucked the bone needle Katara had given her behind her ear and held up the yellow and orange cloth, scrutinizing it critically before taking the needle from behind her ear and setting to work.

Sokka bit his lip as he laid in bed in his room before he rolled over onto his side. A creaking noise suddenly came from outside and he bolted upright with a start, drawing his sword and looking around while Momo squeaked and crawled under his covers.

"I know, Momo." Sokka muttered worriedly as he resheathed his sword and set it back down, "This place is creepy!" He glanced around warily then laid back down and pulled the blankets over his head, "I don't know if I'm gonna be able to fall asleep!"

Only an hour later, he passed out fast asleep, drool pooling on his pillow while loud snores escaped him.

"Wakey, wakey!"

Sokka opened his eyes and yelped girlishly when he saw Hama standing over him with a bright smile on her wrinkled face. Hama's smile widened and she closed her eyes as she leaned down slightly, "Time to go shopping!"

Katara suddenly appeared beside the older woman, fully dressed and smiling brightly.

Xiaodan yawned lightly as she walked between Sokka and Toph, a basket of goods balanced on one hip, while she, Sokka, Toph, and Aang waited slightly behind Katara and Hama as the old innkeeper made her purchase at one of the market stalls in town.

Katara giggled quietly as the old man behind the stall smiled and waved at Hama as she and Katara walked away, "That Mr. Yao seems to have a thing for you. Maybe we should go back and see if he'll give us some free komodo sausages?"

"You would have me use my feminine charms to take advantage of that poor man?" Hama asked seriously then she smiled cheerfully at Katara, "I think you and I are going to get along swimmingly!"

Xiaodan snorted quietly and adjusted the basket on her hip as she, Sokka, Aang, and Toph followed after the old woman and Katara. A conversation between two villagers standing by a market stall suddenly caught her attention and she paused near them to listen curiously.

"You won't have any ash bananas till next week?" The villager asked in a disappointed tone and the shop owner shrugged as he replied, "Well, I have to send the boy to Hing Wa Island to get them, and it's a two day trip."

"Oh, right." The villager said nervously, "Tomorrow's the full moon."

The shop owner nodded and lowered his voice, "Exactly. I can't lose another delivery boy in the woods."

Xiaodan frowned slightly before hurrying after the others, who had managed to get ahead of her. She slipped back into her original space walking between Sokka and Toph and, in a quiet voice, explained what she'd overheard.

Sokka pursed his lips, "People disappearing in the woods, weird stuff happening during full moons? This just reeks of Spirit World shenanigans."

"I bet if we take a little walk around town, we'll find out what these people did to the environment to make the spirit mad." Aang suggested as he adjusted his grip on the basket slung over his shoulder.

Sokka wrapped his arm more firmly around his sword, which was resting against his shoulder and smirked over at Aang, "And then you can sew up this little mystery lickety-split, Avatar style!"

"Sokka!" Xiaodan hissed and she poked him in the side, "Why don't you say that a little louder, I'm sure they didn't hear you all the way in the Earth Kingdom!"

"Ow!" Sokka whined and he shied away from the exasperated female Airbender, nearly dropping the basket he and Aang were holding together, "Sorry, sorry, geez."

Aang laughed then tilted his chin up proudly, "Helping people...that's what I do."

Xiaodan rolled her eyes and shook her head at the two before coming to a stop in front of Hama and Katara. Hama smiled at the four teens, "Why don't you take all those things back to the inn? I just have to run a couple more errands. I'll be back in a little while."

Sokka strutted up to her and leaned down slightly, "This is a mysterious little town you have here."

Hama continued to smile at him even as her tone became strangely ominous, "Mysterious town for mysterious children." She smiled in a creepy manner, her gaze once more resting on Xiaodan, then she sauntered away, leaving Sokka to stare at her back suspiciously.

Xiaodan shook her head in an attempt to rid herself of the chill that had skittered down her spin at the old woman's words then she nodded her head back the way they'd come, "C'mon, let's get back to the inn. This thing is heavy." She turned and began heading back to the inn, Toph with her own large basket balanced on her head following after her a moment later.

Sokka continued to eye the spot Hama had stood for a moment before Katara sighed, "Come on, Sokka."

"That Hama seems a little strange." Sokka commented as he set his basket down on a counter in the kitchen after the group had gotten back to the inn, "Like she knows something, or she's hiding something."

"I think she's just creepy." Xiaodan stated as she sat her basket down beside Sokka's then took the one Toph was balancing on her head and handed it to Aang to set down, "She keeps staring at me. Like she wants to eat me or something."

"That's ridiculous." Katara rebuked the two older teens sternly as she unpacked her basket, "She's a nice woman who took us in and gave us a place to stay." She picked up a cabbage and smiled slightly, "She kinda reminds of Gran-Gran."

"Except your grandmother isn't creepy." Xiaodan pointed out idly as she hopped up onto the counter across from Katara and rested her elbows on her thighs.

"Yeah," Sokka agreed as he leaned back on the counter next to the female Airbender and he rubbed his chin, "And what did she mean by that comment, 'mysterious children'?"

Katara scoffed, "Gee, I don't know. Maybe because she found five strange kids camping in the woods at night? Isn't that a little mysterious?"

"Okay." Xiaodan conceded as she slipped off the counter, "You have a point there. She still gives me the willies."

Sokka shook his head and started to walk away, "I'm gonna take a look around."

"Sokka!" Katara protested as she followed her brother and stood at the bottom of the stairwell he was walking up with the other three, "Sokka, what are you doing?" She hurried up the stairs as Sokka began looking around the upstairs, "You can't just snoop around someone's house!"

"It'll be fine." Sokka replied dismissively as he walked further down the hall. He peered into one of the room as Aang called out from the stairwell, "She could be home any minute, Sokka."

"He's right, Sokka." Xiaodan agreed as she and the others stepped into the hallway, "This definitely isn't one of your brighter plans."

"You're gonna get us all in trouble." Katara added as she walked down the hall towards her brother with a stern scowl, "And this is just plain rude!"

"I'm not finished." Sokka muttered at his sister and Xiaodan as he began tugging on a cupboard door, "C'mon." He grunted as he tried to pull it free. Suddenly the cupboard swung open and the teens gasped as several wooden puppets fell out, held together only by there strings. Sokka withdrew his sword and pointed it at the puppets as he backed up warily.

"See!" Xiaodan exclaimed as she pointed at the puppets with a smug expression, "Creepy."

"Yeah, okay..." Aang agreed warily as he stared at the puppets, "That is pretty creepy."

"So she's got a hobby." Katara retorted in an attempt to disguise how weirded out she was as she walked over and closed the cupboard, "There's nothing weird about that." She turned to look at her brother with a stern expression, "Sokka, you've looked enough. Hama will be back soon."

Sokka ignored her as he ascended rickety wooden staircase into the attic, "Just an ordinary puppet-loving innkeeper, huh?" He called back as he walked towards the door at the back of the attic and tried the knob, "Well then why does she have a locked door up here?"

"Probably to keep people like you from snooping through her stuff!" Katara retorted waspishly as she followed her brother into the attic, Xiaodan, Aang, and Toph trailing after her.

"We'll see." Sokka replied skeptically as he kneeled down and peered through the keyhole, staring into the small room with a chest lying on the ground in the middle of the room, "It's empty, except for a little chest."

Toph perked up and she grinned, "Maybe it's treasure!"

Sokka's eyes widened with excitement and he unsheathed his sword, using the tip to pick the door's lock. Katara walked up behind him with a disapproving expression, "Sokka, what are you doing? You're breaking into a private room!"

"I have to see what's in there." Sokka muttered as the lock finally clicked and the door creaked open. Sokka cautiously stepped inside, followed by Xiaodan, Aang, Katara, and Toph. He looked around quickly then sheathed his sword and hurried towards the small chest in the middle of the room.

"We shouldn't be doing this." Aang uttered nervously as he looked around and Xiaodan nodded, fidgeting uncomfortably as she watched Sokka try to pry open the chest, "We really, really shouldn't."

Sokka waved the two Airbenders' concern away and looked around the room, "Maybe there's a key here somewhere..."

"Ooh!" Toph exclaimed excitedly and she held her hand out for the chest, "Hand it over." Sokka placed the chest in her hand and she removed her meteor place, earthbending it into the shape of a small key, which she inserted into the keyhole of the chest.

"Come on, come on." Sokka urged the Earthbender eagerly as he bounced around her and Toph gritted her teeth, "This isn't as easy as it looks."

"Guys," Aang muttered nervously as he fidgeted beside Xiaodan, "I don't know about this..."

Finally fed up, Katara turned away to leave the room, "This is crazy! I'm leaving!"

"Suit yourself!" Sokka snapped at his sister then he looked at Toph with an eager expression, "Do it, Toph!"

Katara scowled and turned to leave, but the chest suddenly clicked opened and Toph grinned, giving a thumbs up at her success. The four other teens instantly surrounded the blind girl and stared with anticipation as Sokka prepared to lift the lid.

"I'll tell you what's in the box!"

Aang, Sokka, Katara, and Xiaodan screamed in surprise and spun around sharply to find Hama standing in the doorway with her hands folded in front of her. With the exception of Toph, the teens guiltily turned to face the old woman fully and Sokka held the box out to Hama with his head bowed. Hama stepped fully into the room and took the box, lifting the lid and reaching inside.

Sokka watched with wide, anxious eyes as Hama lifted her hand, holding up a blue, whale tooth comb for them to see. He stared at the comb with a dumbfounded expression, "An old comb?"

"It's my greatest treasure." Hama explained and she looked at the comb fondly, "It's the last thing I own from growing up in the Southern Water Tribe."

Katara and Sokka's expressions went blank for a second before their jaws dropped and they stared at Hama in astonishment. Xiaodan shifted and stood beside Aang, eying the old woman curiously.

"You're from the Southern Water Tribe?" Katara asked in a stunned whisper and Hama set the comb back into the chest with a small smile, "Just like you."

"How did you know?" Katara asked excitedly.

"I heard you talking around your campfire."

Sokka frowned and crossed his arms over his chest, "But why didn't you tell us?"

"I wanted to surprise you!" Hama explained with a cheerful smile, "I bought all this food today so I could fix you a big Water Tribe dinner. Of course, I can't get all the ingredients I need here, but ocean kumquats are a lot like sea prunes if you stew them long enough."

Aang cringed and stuck his tongue out in disgust, "Great."

Xiaodan bit her lip to keep from giggling at the expression on his face, remembering the story he'd told her about Sokka and Katara's father's friend Bato and the sea prunes he'd made for them.

"I knew I felt a bond with you right away." Katara said with a happy smile and Sokka crossed his arms with a smug look, "And I knew you were keeping a secret, so I guess we're both right." Katara glared and punched him in the arm, causing him to grimace and apologize to Hama, "But, I'm sorry we were sneaking around."

"Apology accepted." Hama smiled cordially then she turned away and motioned for the teens to follow her, "Now, let's get cooking!"

Xiaodan sat at the table between Sokka and Toph and eyed Hama guardedly as she waited for Aang to return from feeding Appa and Momo, who were resting in the barn located at the back of the inn. The elderly innkeeper was smiling cheerfully as she sat a large bowl of soup on the table, but something about the woman was making Xiaodan's skin crawl.

Once the younger Airbender returned, Hama took her seat at the head of the table, directly opposite from Xiaodan's seat and she gestured at the food on the table with a smile, "Dig in, everyone."

Sokka grinned and eagerly began shoveling food into his mouth while Aang leaned towards Toph and Xiaodan, using a hand to hide his mouth as he whispered to the two girls, "I'd steer clear of the sea prunes."

Toph tilted her head towards the younger Airbender, "I thought they were ocean kumquats.

"Close enough." Aang muttered back, a disgusted frown tugging at his lips.

Hama suddenly stood from her seat and smiled at the group, "Who wants five flavor soup?"

All five of the teens raised their hands in acceptance and Hama smiled again as she held her hand over the bowl of soup before thrusting her fingers outward, waterbending the soup into a large globule which she then bended into each of the bowls resting in front of the teens.

"You're a Waterbender!" Katara gasped in delight and she stared at Hama in amazement, "I've never met another Waterbender from our tribe!"

Hama smiled sadly as she sat back down and stared into her bowl of soup, "That's because the Fire Nation wiped them all out. I was the last one..."

Xiaodan shifted in her seat, staring at the elderly woman sympathetically while Katara clasped her hands to her chest, a pitying expression on her face. Sokka frowned slightly and stared at Hama curiously, "So how did you end up out here?"

"I was stolen from my home." Hama replied grimly and she closed her eyes, "It was over sixty years ago when the raids started..."

'A much younger Hama smiled serenely as she sauntered through her village, towards her friend Kana. She smiled at the other young woman and they giggled quietly, but their laughter was cut short when they noticed ashen snow drifting down from the sky. Hama glanced at Kanna briefly then the two raced towards the large wall surrounding the Southern Water Tribe village. They stared in distress and horror at the five rapidly approaching Fire Navy ships. Several fireballs were suddenly launched from the trebuchets and they struck the village, destroying some of the igloos and tents...'

"They came again and again, each time rounding up more of our Waterbenders and taking them captive." Hama whispered, remembered how each Fire Nation raid resulted in another of her fellow Waterbenders being taken despite their desperate attempts to fend them off, "We did our best to fend them off, but our numbers dwindled as the raids continued."

Xiaodan bit her lip and leaned forward along with her friends as Hama slowly opened her eyes, but her gaze remained on her bowl of soup.

"Finally, I too was captured. I was led away in chains. The last Waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe." Hama swallowed quietly and Katara walked over to the older Waterbender, wrapping her arms around her shoulders comfortingly, "They put us in terrible prisons here in the Fire Nation. I was the only one who managed to escape."

"How did you get away?" Sokka asked curiously and he furrowed his brows slightly as he eyed the woman, "And why did you stay in the Fire Nation?"

"I'm sorry." Hama whispered and she closed her eyes again, "It's too painful to talk about anymore."

"We completely understand." Katara murmured and she looked away for second, "We lost our mother in a raid."

Hama reached up and touched Katara's cheek gently, "Oh, you poor things."

Aang, Katara, and Sokka looked down at the table solemnly while Katara straightened, smiling softly at Hama.

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

"I'd never thought I'd meet another Southern Waterbender." Hama replied with her own small smile, "I'd like to teach you what I know so you can carry on the Southern traditions when I'm gone."

"Yes!" Katara agreed instantly and she clasped her hands to her chest with an excited expression, "Yes, of course. To learn about my heritage, it would mean everything to me!" She bowed to the older Waterbender, who smiled warmly in reply.

Xiaodan shifted slightly in her seat, feeling slightly guilty yet unable to ignore the tingle of dread that caused her stomach to tie itself in knots.

The next morning, Xiaodan watched Hama and Katara walk down the path that led to the village from her window before she turned away and headed downstairs to the kitchen where Aang, Toph, and Sokka were sitting around the kitchen table eating breakfast. She sat down in the seat next to Toph, folded her arms on the tabletop, and rested her chin on them, "So what are you guys doing today?"

"We're gonna investigate the disappearances we heard about." Aang replied and he tossed her breadroll, "You know, see if we can find out if the villagers have done something to anger the spirits."

Xiaodan caught the roll and took a bite, glancing over at Sokka when he stopped shoveling food into his mouth and looked at her with a curious expression.

"Aren't you coming with us?" He asked through a mouthful of food, his words slightly muffled.

The female Airbender made a face at him then shook her head, "I was actually thinking about practicing my firebending." Her nonchalant expression became defensive at the scandalized look Sokka was giving her, "What? It's not a bad idea!"

"Of course it's a bad idea!" Sokka squawked, gesturing wildly as he spoke, "It is a very, very bad idea!"

"Not practicing is an even worse idea!" Xiaodan retorted and she crossed her arms over her chest stubbornly, "Or do I need to remind you how many times I've almost accidentally firebended and lit something on fire?"

Sokka opened and closed his mouth several times then he scowled and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms and looking at the wall with a sullen expression. Aang glanced between the two older teens then he settled his gaze on Xiaodan, who was scowling angrily at the table.

"Well, I think it's a good idea." He said and he quickly hurried to explain when Sokka turned to stare at him in outrage, "You have to admit she's right, Sokka. I mean, can you even count just how many times she's almost lit you on fire these past few weeks?"

"That's not the-" Sokka started to protest, but Toph cut him off abruptly, "Oh suck it up, Sokka. You're pretty much outvoted."

Sokka huffed and looked at the wall again, his lower lip jutting out petulantly. Aang and Xiaodan exchanged mildly exasperated looks before the white-haired girl stood up. She pressed a sisterly kiss to the top of Toph's head, murmuring a quick 'thank you' for her support then she addressed Aang, "I'll be practicing behind the barn. Come get me when if you find anything, yeah?"

"Alright." Aang agreed with a nod and a smile, "Be careful."

Xiaodan waved over her shoulder as she exited the kitchen, "I will. Stay safe you three!"

Hama smiled slightly as she led Katara out of the village towards the outskirts, "Growing up in the South Pole, Waterbenders are totally at home surrounded by snow and ice and seas. But as you probably noticed on your travels, that isn't the case wherever you go."

"I know!" Katara exclaimed in agreement and she looked off to the side in remembrance, "When we were stranded in the desert, I felt like there was almost nothing I could do."

"That's why you have to learn to control water wherever it exists." Hama replied with a smile as she stopped walking and turned to look at the younger Waterbender.

Katara smiled somewhat embarrassedly as she turned to look at the elderly woman, "I've even used my own sweat for Waterbending."

"That's very resourceful, Katara." Hama praised with a warm smile, "You're thinking like a true master. But did you know you could even pull water out of thin air?" She made a quick movement with her right arm, using her bending to liquify the water vapor in the air and coat her finger tips, "You have got to keep an open mind, Katara." She smiled in an almost sinister manner as she froze the water coating her fingertips into ice claws, "There's water in places you'd never think to look."

Katara watched in awe and amazement as Hama flung her arm outward, sending the small ice daggers into a nearby tree.

Xiaodan stood in a horse stance in the clear space just beyond the barn behind Hama's inn, her elbows bent and her hips resting at hip level with her eyes shut.

Inhale. One, two, three. Exhale.

She continued breathing deeply and steadily then she shifted into a basic firebending stance she remembered Iroh teaching Zuko during her time as a prisoner on his ship. She slowly exhaled the breath she'd just taken, then abruptly snapped her eyes open and thrust her fist forward. A small spark shot from her closed fist before dissipating and Xiaodan gave a wordless growl of frustration, glaring at her fist as if it was the source of her problems.

She punched her fist outward again, this time a cloud of smoke wisping from her knuckles before being blown away by the slight breeze, "Arrg!" She twisted around and swung her arms almost violently, bending the air around her into a circle then she thrust her arms outward and sent the circle of air away from her, shaking several of the nearby trees violently.

Panting heavily, Xiaodan dropped to her hands and knees, "Why can't I get this right?" She growled and hit the ground with an open palm, "What am I doing wrong?"

She hung her head and closed her eyes tightly, her hands clenching into fists in the grass as she breathed harshly through her mouth. Two hours she'd been practicing as many of the forms she could remember Iroh teaching Zuko and in that time she'd only managed to create a tiny spark and that was only if she didn't accidentally airbend instead.

"Breathe, child..."

The words reverberated through her mind and a sense of calm washed over her, allowing her to even out her breathing. Gradually, the tension in her body loosened and Xiaodan slowly opened her eyes, relaxing the stranglehold she had on the grass.

"Okay..." She muttered quietly to herself as she continued to take deep, even breaths, "Breathe...Just breathe."

She took another deep, deep breath and exhaled steadily then she pushed herself to her feet, shifting back into the basic firebending stance she'd used since she started.

'I can do this...I hope.'

On the other side of the village, Aang, Toph, and Sokka wandered around the landscape that surrounded the village. Aang exhaled heavily and put one hand on his hip, staring out at the vast, sprawling forest in front of him with a perplexed expression.

"This has got to be the nicest natural setting in the Fire Nation." He commented and he scratched his head idly, "I don't see anything that would make a spirit mad around here."

Standing behind him, Toph tilted her head in Aang's direction while Sokka crouched beside a bundle of flowers, inhaling their aroma deeply.

"Maybe the Moon Spirit just turned mean." Toph suggested with a small shrug. Sokka stopped sniffing the flowers and whirled around to glare angrily at the blind girl, "The Moon Spirit is a gentle, loving lady! She rules the sky with compassion and..." He faltered and practically shouted, "And lunar goodness!"

Aang gave Sokka a weird look before a passing villager caught his eye and he rushed towards the man, "Excuse me, sir! Can you tell us anything about the spirit that's been stealing people?"

The man touched his chin thoughtfully with his knuckles, "Only one man ever saw it and lived and that's Old Man Ding."

Toph walked up to the man and tucked lightly on his sleeve, "Where does Old Man Ding live exactly?"

Katara followed Hama into the middle of a large field of reddish-pink flowers, "Wow, these flowers are beautiful."

"They're called fire lilies." Hama replied with a close-eyed smile as she leaned down to smell the flowers, "They only bloom a few weeks a year, but they're one of my favorite things about living here." She straightened slightly and looked over her shoulder at Katara, "And like all plants and all living things, they're filled with water."

"I met a Waterbender who lived in a swamp," Katara commented with a fond smile, "And he could control the vines by bending the water inside."

"You can take it even further." Hama explained, then she made a sharp swiveling motion, drawing the water from dozens of the surrounding fire lilies. She used the water she pulled from the plants to slice a rock clean through in several places.

"That was incredible!" Katara exclaimed in amazement then she looked at the wilted lilies sadly, "It's a shame about the lilies, though."

"They're just flowers." Hama stated with a dismissive flick of her wrist, "When you're a Waterbender in a strange land, you do what you must to survive." She walked over to Katara and touched her shoulder with a smile, "Tonight, I'll teach you the ultimate technique of waterbending. It can only be during the full moon, when your bending is at its peak."

"But isn't that dangerous?" Katara asked cautiously with a small frown, "I thought people have been disappearing around here during the full moon."

"Oh, Katara. Two master Waterbenders beneath a full moon?" Hama chortled and began walking out of the field, "I don't think we have anything to worry about."

Katara frowned slightly but shrugged and followed Hama out of the field to continue her tutelage under the older Waterbender.

Xiaodan's chest heaved with her heavy breathing as she stood with her feet firmly planted and her left arm outstretched. Sweat beaded at her forehead and slid down her face, her sweaty, dyed hair sticking to the exposed skin of her neck and shoulders.

"Xia! Xia!"

Xiaodan whirled around at Aang's voice calling her name and she wiped her brow as she ran around the barn just as Aang, Sokka, and Toph appeared around the inn. She reached them half way between the two buildings, "What is it? Is something wrong?"

"No, no." Aang said hurriedly and he waved her concern away, "Well, nothing's wrong with us, but we did find something out."

"Yeah," Sokka piped in eagerly, "We found someone who's seen the spirit that's behind the disappearances."

Xiaodan quickly began to plait her sweaty hair out of her face as she walked past the trio, "Well then what are we waiting for? Let's go find this person!"

Aang, Sokka, and Toph hurried after her with Sokka quickly taking the lead as the sun began to set behind them.

Night had fallen by the time Xiaodan, Aang, Sokka, and Toph found Old Man Ding standing in front of his home, boarding up his windows.

"Old Man Ding?" Aang called just as the old man when to hammer a nail into one of the boards.

"Huh?" Ding muttered distractedly and he glanced over his shoulder at the teens, accidentally hammering his thumb, "Ow, dang blame it!" He cradled his injured hand to his chest and turned to glare at the four teens sourly, "What? Can't you see I'm busy? Got a full moon rising. And why does everyone call me that? I'm not that old!"

He grumbled frustratedly to himself in as he crouched down and attempted to lift a wooden plank of the ground. He strained for a few moments then sighed in resignation, "Well, I'm young at heart."

Taking pity on the old man, Aang and Xiaodan approached the him, the young woman gently shooing Ding away then picking up the board along with Aang. The two held the wooden plank up against the window while Old Man Ding stepped away and rubbed his back, "Not ready to get snapped up by some moon monster yet at least."

Sokka picked up the hammer from the ground and proceeded to nail the board the two Airbenders were holding up to the window frame as he addressed Ding, "We wanted to ask you about that."

"Did you get a good look at the spirit that took you?" Aang asked, peering around Sokka to stare at Ding curiously while the Water Tribe boy finished nailing the wooden plank into place.

"Didn't see no spirit, just felt something come over me like I was possessed." Old Man Ding replied and he pointed towards the mountain looming in the distance, "Forced me to start walking towards the mouth. I tried to fight it, but I couldn't control my own limbs." He imitated a walking puppet as he spoke, "It just about had me into the cave up there. And I looked up at the moon for what I thought was my last glimpse of light.

"But then!" He exclaimed as he stopped imitating a puppet, oblivious to the way Sokka huddled against Xiaodan, quivering with fear, "The sun started to rise and I got control of myselg again! I just high-tailed it away from that mountain as quick as I could!"

Xiaodan pushed Sokka away from her slightly and folded her right arm over her chest, resting her left elbow on it and rubbing at her mouth curiously, "That's strange."

"Yeah." Sokka agreed as he straightened and dusted his tunic off, "Why would a spirit want to take people to a mountain?"

"Oh no!" Toph suddenly gasped in realization, unintentionally causing Sokka and Aang to assume defensive positions while Xiaodan sighed at them. Toph turned towards the other tree, "I did hear people screaming under the mountain. The missing villagers must still be there!"

The four turned towards the mountain and Xiaodan narrowed her eyes, then gestured for the others to follow her, "Let's go."

The four friends raced through the dark forest that surrounded the village, heading towards the mountain as fast as they could. Toph skidded to a stop and kneeled, touching her hand to the ground, "I can hear them." She leapt to her feet and started running slightly to the left of their original path, "They're this way!"

"Can you feel the power the full moon brings?" Hama asked as she led Katara through the moonlit forest before pausing in a small clearing. She inhaled deeply and stretched her arms outward, flexing her limbs until the veins bulged out, "For generations it has blessed Waterbenders with its glow, allowing us to do incredible things!" She smiled and her voice became sinister, "I've never felt more alive."

Katara swallowed and took a quiet step back, staring at the bulging veins in the older woman's arms in disgust and trepidation.

Xiaodan skidded to a stop beside Toph in front of the mouth of a cave near the base of the mountain, Sokka and Aang stumbling to a stop on either side of the two girls. Toph stood still for a moment then nodded confidently, "This is the place."

"I can't see anything down there." Sokka muttered as he peered into the pitch blackness of the cave. Toph reached out and grasped the Water Tribe boy's hand, "That's why you have me."

Quickly, the four leapt into the dark cave and Toph led them deep into the mountain until they came upon a metal door with two lit torches on either side. Toph rushed ahead of the other three and metalbended the door, punching it into the opposite wall of the tunnel the door led into. Sokka and Aang each grabbed one of the torches while Toph and Xiaodan made their way into the tunnel ahead of them.

They'd only ran a few yards when the light of the torches suddenly illuminated the beginning of large cavern, where several of the missing villagers were chained to the walls.

"We're saved!" One of the men called out in relief.

"I didn't know spirits made prisons like this." Aang commented in confusion as Toph took her meteor bracelet and earthbended it into a key, "Who brought you here?"

"It was no spirit." A female prisoner replied bitterly.

"It was a witch!" Another prisoner called out as Toph unlocked his shackles before moving on.

"A witch?" Sokka questioned and he stepped around Aang, "What do you mean?"

"She seems like a normal old woman," The female prisoner said as Toph unlocked her shackles and she was carefully lowered to the floor by Xiaodan, "But she controls people like some dark puppetmaster."

"Hama." Sokka and Xiaodan stated at the same time, sharing a meaningful look before she went back to helping Toph free the prisoners.

"Yes!" the male prisoner confirmed, "The innkeeper!"

"I knew there was something creepy about her!" Sokka exclaimed with a frown. Aang looked at him with wide eyes, "We have to stop Hama!"

"I'll get these people out of here." Toph called out as she freed another prisoner, "You three go!"

Aang and Sokka handed their torches to two of the prisoners then raced back the way they'd come, but Xiaodan hesitated a moment and addressed Toph, "Be safe."

"I'll be fine." Toph replied swiftly, "Go, Xia!"

Xiaodan didn't need to be told a third time. She quickly spun on her heel and raced out of the cavern, using airbending to increase her speed once she was out of sight of the villagers. She caught up with Sokka and Aang at the entrance to the cavern and together the three raced through the woods in search of Hama and Katara.

Hama stood across the small clearing from Katara with her back turned and her face lifted towards the moon, "What I'm about to show you, I learned in thatwretched Fire Nation prison.

"The guards were always extremely careful to keep any water away from us. They piped in dry air and had us suspended from the ground." Hama explained in a menacing voice, "Before giving us any water, they would bind our hands and feet so we couldn't bend. Any sign of trouble was met with merciless retribution. And yet," The elderly Waterbender smiled coldly and closed her eyes, basking in the moon's glow, "And yet, each month I felt the full moon enriching me with its energy. There had to be something I could do to escape."

Katara swallowed thickly and shifted uncomfortably as she stared at Hama's back, uncertainty and trepidation forming a knot in her belly as the elderly woman continued to speak.

"Then I realized that where there is life, there is water. The rats that scurried across the floor of my cage were nothing more than skins filled with liquid and I passed the years developing the skill that would lead to my escape." Hama smiled sinisterly and opened her eyes slowly, "Bloodbending."

Katara breathed shallowly, staring in terrified silence at Hama's back.

"Controlling the water in another body, enforcing your own will over theirs. Once I had mastered the rats, I was ready for the men." Hama's voice was almost frantic with excitement, "And during the next full moon, I walked free for the first time in decades. My cell unlocked by the very guards assigned to keep me in. Once you perfect this technique, you can control anything or..." Hama paused and glanced at Katara from the corner of her eye, a sadistic gleam in her gray orbs, "Anyone."

"But..." Katara faltered unsurely and she wrung her hands slightly in front of her, "To reach inside someone and control them?" She glanced unsurely off to the side and bit her lip, "I don't know if I want that kind of power."

"The choice is not yours. The power exists." Hama replied sharply as she turned to face Katara, "And it's your duty to use the gifts you've been given to win this war. Katara, they tried to wipe us out, our entire culture, your mother!"

Katara looked away, "I know."

"Then you should understand what I'm talking about! We're the last two Waterbenders of the Southern Tribe. We have to fight these people whenever we can, wherever they are, with any means necessary!"

"It's you..." Katara whispered as her eyes suddenly widened in realization and she looked up to glare at Hama angrily, "You're the one who's been making people disappear during the full moons!"

"They threw me in prison to rot, along with my brothers and sisters!" Hama snarled back at the younger Waterbender, "They deserve the same! Youmust carry on my work!"

"I won't!" Katara shouted defiantly and she shifted into a bending stance with her left hand outstretched, "I won't use bloodbending and I won't allow you to keep terrorizing this town!"

Suddenly, Katara's hand twisted to the side. She gasped and tried desperately to stop it, but was unable to do so as Hama continued to subdue her using bloodbending.

"You should have learned the technique before you turned against me!" Hama shouted maniacally as she forced Katara into a strained position, "It's impossible to fight your way out of my grip! I control every muscle, every vein in your body!"

With several swift motions of her hands and arms, Hama bloodbended Katara around and threw her from side-to-side. Smiling sinisterly, she then positioned Katara directly before her and made a downward motion with her hands to force the younger Waterbender onto her hands and knees submissively.

"Stop!" Katara begged tearfully from the ground and she stared up at Hama pleadingly, "Please!"

Hama merely laughed cruelly and kept Katara subdued. Tears slipped silently down Katara's cheeks as she bowed her head, breathing heavily. The moonlight shone down on her and she took a deep breath, drawing power from the moon and using it to begin breaking free of Hama's grip. Hama stared in shock as Katara inhaled deeply and rose to her feet, completely free from the older woman's grasp.

"You're not the only one who draws power from the moon!" Katara hissed at Hama as she shifted into a fighting stance, "My bending is more powerful than yours, Hama. Your technique is useless on me!"

Katara pulled a ring of water up from the grass surrounding her and launched the stream at Hama, who managed to stop the assault and send it back at Katara. In a swift spinning motion, Katara redirected the stream right back at the older woman. Hama quickly bended the water from two nearby trees, launching the two streams at the younger Waterbender to distract her then she manipulated the stream Katara had attacked her with and turned it into a highly pressurized water jet which she launched at the other bender.

Katara shifted her stance and brought her hand forward, blocking the jet with her palm and disintegrating the water into droplets. Hama's eyes widened and she gaped at Katara with a slackened jaw. Katara used the older woman's momentary distraction to pull water from the air on either side of Hama and slam the two streams into the elderly woman, knocking her to the ground.

"Ahh!" Hama shouted as she hit the ground with a thud and after a moment she struggled to her knees just as Sokka, Aang, and Xiaodan approached the battle.

"We know what you've been doing, Hama!" Sokka yelled as skidded to a stop beside Aang and Xiaodan.

"Give up!" Aang demanded as he and Xiaodan shifted into bending stances, "You're outnumbered!"

"No!" Hama hissed as she rose to her feet, "You've outnumbered yourselves!"

Xiaodan yelped in shock and fear as her body suddenly stiffened against her will and she, along with Aang and Sokka were yanked over Hama's head and thrown in Katara's direction. Katara gasped quietly and twisted her body out of the way, pushing them past her. She quickly bended the water from the ground and fired the stream at Hama, who in turn drew water from a tree and created a wheel of water to deflect Katara's attack.

"Katara, look out!" Sokka shouted from behind his sister as he unwillingly drew his sword from its sheath on his back. He struggled uselessly against Hama's control as he was forced to walk like a puppet after his sister while waving his blade back and forth rapidly, "It's like my brain has a mind of its own! Stop it arm, stop it!"

Katara quickly dodged her brother's sword and bended up another ring of water around herself, using it to push Sokka away from. Aang unwillingly approached Katara from behind and he yelped, "This feels weird!"

Katara twisted around, bending the water she'd just used to knock her brother away from her to slam Aang into a tree. When he was forcefully brought to his feet, she sent the stream of water at him again and froze him to the tree.

"Katara!"

The high-pitched yell had Katara whirling around and ducking just in time to avoid the tanned fist aimed for her head. Katara pulled water from the grass again and used it to shove Xiaodan away from her.

"I'm sorry, you guys!" Katara apologized as she froze Xiaodan to another tree.

"It's okay!" The two Airbenders called out weakly then Xiaodan shouted, "Look out!"

At the other girl's shout, Katara caught sight of Sokka, still under Hama's control, unwillingly prepared to strike her with his sword. She quickly bended the water from a nearby tree and launched it at his sword hand. She manipulated the water around Sokka's hand and sent him flying towards tree, freezing his hand and sword to the trunk.

"Don't hurt you're friends, Katara!" Hama called out sinisterly and she smiled sadistically, "And don't let them hurt each other!" She jerked her hands towards one another, using bloodbending to break Aang and Sokka free from the ice encasing them then she sent them flying straight towards each other with Sokka's sword pointed straight at Aang.

"Aang!"

"No!"

Abruptly, Aang and Sokka stopped in their tracks and dropped back to their feet. They both stared at their hands in confusion before a sudden noise grabbed their attention and they turned to stare at Hama, who had made the strangled sound as she stiffened.

Xiaodan stared open-mouthed at Hama then slowly moved her gaze towards Katara, who was holding her hands out to the older woman with a look of shock on her face. Dismay replaced the shocked expression on the dark-haired girl's face and she closed her eyes as she slowly made a downward motion with her hands, using bloodbending to bring Hama to her knees. The ice encasing Xiaodan's body shattered and she lurched forward, first embracing Aang tightly then moving over to stand beside Katara.

Hama grunted in discomfort as she strained against Katara's control, but she stopped when the sound of multiple footsteps reached her ears. She glanced over her shoulder just in time to witness the villagers she'd imprisoned racing towards the clearing with Toph in the lead.

Moments later formerly imprisoned villagers surrounded the elderly woman and pulled her to her feet, placing a pair of shackles they'd brought from the cave around her wrists. The male villager locked the shackles in place and stared down at Hama coldly, "You're going to be locked away for ever."

"My work is done." Hama uttered with satisfaction and she turned slightly towards Katara with a smirk, "Congratulations, Katara. You're a bloodbender."

Distressed, Katara swallowed thickly and covered her mouth with a hand as she broke down in sobs. Instantly Xiaodan, Sokka, and Aang surrounded her, wrapping their arms around her in an effort to comfort her. Hama's evil laughter ringing in their ears as she was led away by the villagers she'd imprisoned.