༉˚*ೃ ¹². 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐌𝐘 𝐅𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑, 𝐏𝐓. 𝐈𝐈!

𝐀𝐓 𝐌𝐈𝐃𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓, 𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐀 swept down towards the ocean on his six legs and currents of air, remarkably more graceful than a giant ten-ton bison should be. Luli's plaits rippled around her head as the wind rushed past the three mounted in the animal's saddle. The moon glinted in a wink of a crescent over their heads. It bathed the entire scene in a cold shade of blue.

          The sky bison drew up to a stop alongside the prison—hovering right beside the bars to the courtyard, in which Luli could see a variety of earthbenders, mostly older people, sleeping on the floor. A frown pressed onto her features. "Those poor people," she murmured, quiet in the night's wind.

          Out of all of them, Aang was the one to stand. "I'll go get her," he whispered to them, before jumping nimbly up onto the platform with his airbending. He squeezed through the poorly placed bamboo bars and disappeared into the night. It left Sokka and Luli to sit in wait, with Momo tucked against the firebender's warm chest. He was sleeping soundly despite the current prison break that was underway. The small creature shivered a bit in the cold air—Luli drew him closer towards her firebender heart, wrapping him up in her sleeves.

          They waited in silence for the other two kids to return. Lights from a watchtower swung periodically past them, just shooting too far to spot Appa, and trailing across the roiling black ocean. Luli's heart was thudding palpably. Her first prison break.

          A few moments passed before footsteps came towards where the sky bison was positioned. Luli and Sokka shared a quick glance before he grabbed his boomerang from his back, and Luli pointed her fists towards the shapes coming into clarity through the darkness. Despite expecting a fight, it was only Aang and Katara. "Thank Agni, you're alright," said Luli, despite herself. Katara wasn't roughed up, not even a little.

          "Your twelve hours are up, where's Haru?" asked Sokka, gesturing with his arms. "We've got to get out of here." Aang hopped through the bars onto Appa's saddle, squashing in beside Luli and Momo—who had still not woken up—but Katara didn't budge.

          Her lips were twisted downwards, eyebrows curved up in worry. "I can't."

          Sokka held out a hand to his sister. "We don't have much time. Get on!"

          "This place is crawling with guards," added Luli, watching as the searchlights came dangerously close to where they were stood. Yet, she inched towards Katara at the ledge. "Where's Haru? Is he not here?"

          It was nearly a surprise when Katara spoke directly to her without malice, "No, he is." Her face scrunched, she closed her eyes. "But I'm not leaving everyone behind. I'm not giving up on these people."

        Luli didn't even ask before she was propping her left foot up on the raised edge of Appa's saddle, and pulling herself up on the metal ledge where Katara stood. "Have you scoped out some kind of escape plan? There seem to be a lot of prisoners." The 'I agree with you' in Luli's tone was unspoken. Then she turned back towards the sky bison, who had his brown eyes turned towards the firebender with curiosity. "I don't think they'll all fit on Appa," she worried softly, fingers clasping together.

          "I don't know yet." Katara's face looked much younger in this light. Younger because she wasn't scowling. "There are guards everywhere, but I thought if we could get the earthbenders to help fight for their freedom that we might have a chance."

          Thoughtfully, Luli nodded. "Then we have to find them some earth."

          "Wait, wait, wait, what do you mean you're not leaving?" Sokka was pulling himself up onto the ledge too, having a tougher time of it than Luli. He grunted as he braced his elbows on the ledge, trying to bring up his right leg. Luli reached out a hand, so the nonbender and the firebender clasped each other by the wrist, and helped to drag him up.

          As Aang hopped up behind them with a small gust of air, Katara elaborated, "I said I'm not leaving these people behind. We can't just abandon them." Her brows stitched together in determination. "There has to be a way to help them. All of them."

          Luli, in solidarity, nodded. In this moonlight, her irises had been cast into a deep obsidian black, volcanic-coloured stones against the whites of her eyes. She was crouched beside Katara facing the boys. "We're here now. We can't leave them." Apparently Katara couldn't find a way to glare at Luli in this situation—when Luli was on her side—so she just looked away.

          Sokka gestured his hands wildly out in front of him. "This sounds crazy. There must be hundreds of prisoners in there. What are we supposed to do?"

          "Look," asserted Luli towards Sokka, who was staring at her like she was nuts. "We saw a dock with warships from the sky. All we have to do is get all of the prisoners onto said warships and steer them out of here."

          Aang, though looking a bit conflicted, nodded sincerely at that. "I like that plan. I think they're right." He turned to face the eldest boy in their group. "What do you say, Sokka?"

          With his nose scrunching, the Water Tribe boy asked her accusingly, "Do you even know how to steer a warship?"

          She crossed her arms. "I've sailed a boat. How hard can it be?"

          One of the spotlights swung dangerously close over them, and all four kids ducked to the ground, stomachs pressing against metal flooring. It missed Katara by a few inches, and Luli breathed out. They had to move. They were just sitting turtleducks out here. "Last chance," said Sokka. "We need to leave now."

          Katara had turned her face towards the prison courtyard, but at her older brother's words, she snapped her head back towards them. "No." The spotlight came close again. It cast a yellow glow over their features—Luli's eyes shined momentarily orange. Then it was gone.

          A light caught in the corner of her vision—she made a soft noise in the back of her throat and turned her head to see two guards coming along the perimeter towards them. "We have to hide." The others followed where her finger pointed, and instantly Sokka was alert.

          "Come on." He turned to squeeze between the bars, and Luli quickly followed him. For a girl of sixteen, it was a bit of a tight squeeze—but clearly the cell was made for a grown adult, not for children. She slipped through, turning back to watch Katara do the same. Aang was whispering something to his sky bison, and then Appa took to the sky as Aang dashed back through the courtyard bars towards them. The lamp of the soldiers grew closer; Sokka grabbed Luli's sleeve and pulled her behind a stack of wooden crates with the others.

          She'd barely realised that Momo was still tucked against her chest, curled up in a blanket of her sleeve, until he awoke with a purr. His mouth opened in an 'o' with a tiny yawn and she patted his giant ears with her hand. They all crouched around in a circle, surrounded on either side by boxes that hid them from vision.

          "We don't have much time," Sokka said. "What are we going to do?" For now, they were shielded by the darkness, but as soon as the sun showed its face, there would be nowhere to hide. Aang lifted his index finger to his mouth in deep thought; Katara and Sokka had the same matching frowned expression. All of them were aware of the ticking time limit as the moon passed through the sky.

          An idea snapped into Luli's head. She clasped her hands together excitedly, looking up with wide, shimmering eyes. "Ooh!" In the dark, all the other kids' faces turned towards her. "I could start a really big fire as a distraction! Burning the perimeter bars, maybe. Then the guards would be distracted and come running." Unlacing her fingers, Luli shrugged. "That way the courtyard will probably be free of soldiers."

          Looking thoughtful, Sokka stroked his chin with his fingers, eyes narrowed at her. "Hey, that's actually a good idea."

          Shrugging, Luli shot him a deadpan look with pouted lips and an unimpressed gaze. "I actually come up with a lot of great ideas." Her arms crossed over her chest. Then the expression slid off her face, and she was back to wide-eyed again. Enthusiastically, she waved one of her hands towards her right in gesture. "So, if all the guards are preoccupied with me, surely you guys can figure out a way to smuggle out the Earth Kingdom prisoners."

          Aang's finger shot into the air as he got an idea of his own. "Hey! If Luli can get all of the guards to the perimeter like she said, then maybe you, Katara, could sweep them all into the sea with a big water wave!"

          He pointed sharply at Katara. The girl winced. "I don't know if my waterbending is that good yet." Her arms came to hug around her own body, hands gripping each opposite bicep. "I might be able to get a few of them in, but I don't think I'm at summoning waves level yet." She thought intensely. "We'll need the earthbenders on our side. Even if Luli does give us a clear shot to the warships, I don't know if any of them will actually come. They're all way too scared."

          "But you inspired Haru," voiced Luli, her tone soft.

          Katara's expression pinched in shame. "Yeah, and it got him arrested."

          Adamantly, Luli shook her head. Her black eyes were rounded. "That part doesn't matter—we're going to get him out. What I mean is that you inspired him to do something when he was really afraid." Luli's gaze was sincere when she said, "I'm sure if anyone can inspire the prisoners to liberate themselves, it's you." For a moment, Katara just stared—really stared—at the firebender with a shocked kind of expression. Lips parted, eyes large.

          "She's right, Katara." Now Aang, too, was addressing the young waterbender—and she turned her head towards him. His young face was so sincere. When he saw her gaze on him, Aang beamed in response. "I know you can do it."

           Sokka tapped his fingers against his chin and lower lip in consideration. "Even if that does work, we need some kind of earth for the prisoners to bend. Luli won't be able to distract the guards forever." Then he snapped his fingers. He looked excitedly towards Luli, a wide grin stretching across his face. "I've got it! What's this rig powered on?"

          Luli glanced up at the sky, where she knew smoke was being pumped up, even invisible in the darkness as it was. Was this a trick question? Her eyes flickered back down to his. "Uh... coal?"

          "Exactly! Coal." As he waved his arms around, the plan began formulate in Luli's head too, infectious with all of Sokka's energy. He pointed excitedly at Aang as if it was a sudden interrogation. "What is coal?"

          "Earth!" exclaimed Aang. Then he paused, pouting in thought. "But how are we supposed to get the coal up to the prison yard?"

          Sokka grinned smugly. "Easy. All we have to do is repeat what we did back at the mines."

          With her entire face lighting up like the sun on Summer Solstice, Katara exclaimed, "Sokka, you're a genius!" Though Luli was sure that Katara would regret the kind words to her brother later, it seemed to slip the waterbender's mind now. "This could work."

          "I'm liking our odds," was Luli's addition, with a smile.

          "I can get into the vents," Aang affirmed, scratching Momo's shoulders as he cast his gaze up to where the great smokestacks were pumping poisonous black plumes into the sky. It was already starting to lighten. They needed to do this quick, or they were going to be totally out of time. "Then if I shut off all the other pathways except for a vent in the courtyard, I'm sure I can blast some deposits of coal straight out of it."

         Nodding, Luli shared a glance with each other member of their small team. "I'll distract the guards for as long as I can. If you have time, get everyone on the ship. Otherwise, if something goes wrong—I don't know, improvise."

          "The Fire Nation guards won't stand a chance against a hundred rock-wielding earthbenders!" Excitement bled into Katara's voice, and hope. Her toothy grin slipped as she tilted her head back to stare right at the sky. It was alarmingly almost dawn. "We better get started. We'll have a better chance of getting everyone out before it gets too light."

          Aang stood up, clutching his staff in one hand. "I'll get to where the coal is. Sokka and Katara, you two get to the vent. Signal to Luli when it's time to start the distraction." He flicked out the glider on his staff.

          It was Sokka who was the next to stand too, astoundingly taller than Aang by comparison. His sister joined him—then Luli. "I'll make a bird call when we're in position. Then start setting stuff on fire."

          "I can do that." She cracked her knuckles, looking at them with wide eyes. Aang nodded seriously and took off into the air. He stealthily glided up towards the great chimneys spewing out ash. The two Water Tribe siblings took off towards the main section of the courtyard, sticking to the shadows. Luli, on the other hand, crouched with a searching gaze for any soldiers that might raise the alarm before she was ready. Her feet and fingers were braced against the metal floor. Amber eyes darted across the walkway, both ways. No guards in sight. "Come on, Momo!" Luli placed the lemur atop her head as she sprinted out of her crouch ran off into the darkness.

          Her feet flew nimbly across the metal floor as she rounded the crates and jogged for the outer perimeter. There lay the fence she was going to burn. It stretched to the outer edges of the rig on either side. Perfect. A couple of moments of waiting passed before she heard her signal. "Hoot hoot!" came Sokka's terrible impression of a bird. "Hoot hoot!" What was he trying to be anyway? A catowl? An owlbuzzard? A canaryhen? Ah, whatever. Luli turned her back on the spot where he and Katara were positioned, and rubbed her hands together for good luck.

          Agni, let this all go smoothly. She kissed the tips of her fingers and then conjured a fire within both of her hands. It flickered, an orange ball of light amongst the darkness and the slowly rising sun. Luli pressed it to one of the wooden sticks of the outer perimeter fence. It caught immediately. Flame whooshed up the dry material, a single pyre in the darkness. Then it started to spread. Like a match in a haystack. Luli turned to her right and began to run across the perimeter, sending fire blasts every few meters with both of her fists. It spread better than she hoped. Soon the flames where gushing down on their own accord to both her left and right, bringing the entire fence-line up in flame. The orange glow stood out against the dawn.

          "Fire!" shouted a guard, and somewhere nearby, a loud bell started to clang. "Fire!" Which wouldn't have been much of a problem on a rig full of firebenders except that Luli's blaze had caught on exceptionally fast and was growing into a gigantic bonfire stretching half of the prison perimeter. The sound of footsteps at all corners, and even soldiers leaving their guard-posts, indicated to Luli that it was probably time to get out of there.

          With Momo clutching tightly to her hair, Luli took off in a sprint along the perimeter. The first guard that she ran into was about thirty seconds later. His face was covered by a helmet, but he seemed to look at her strangely even under that. Maybe it was her Earth Kingdom clothes not a prison uniform, or her amber eyes, or her black plaited hair, or the fire blazing behind her, because he seemed to know something was up. "You're not an earthbender!" he declared, pointing at her accusingly. Momo on her head chirruped.

          Sheepishly, Luli grinned. She shrugged and raised her hands. "Whoops?" Twin flames sprouted to life in her fingers—there it was, that surprise in his eyes, flickering with the orange glow of her fire—before she punched them forward. The soldier had a bit of semblancy because he managed to dodge and shoot his own flame towards her. She kicked an arc him.

          Distract, she thought to herself easily as she fought the single firebender soldier. Distract. Easy. Then there was another one, called by the shout of alarm and the blazing fire of the fence beside them. Another. Another. She was fighting four at once. The fire they sent her way was hot, and Luli began to sweat.

          Hurry up, Aang, she thought, praying to any spirits that would listen that he'd already gotten the coal up and that Katara and the others were leading the earthbenders out of here. One she kicked into the ocean. The third guard Luli knocked to the floor, his head clanging hard on the metal deck. Then she turned to the last one who wasn't groaning. Other guards were shouting a small distance away, on either side of her, trying to figure out what had caused the fence's impromptu blaze. "I need backup over here!" the guard's cry echoed out before Luli could stop him.

          She turned to see more coming her way from both directions. They were shouting orders amongst themselves. Plan success? Time to run. Or apparently not, because despite her battling one-on-one with one particularly good firebender, another unexpected burst of flames came from her left. She redirected the fire, but its impact hit her straight on. Luli was thrown back.

          "Oof." Licks of flame kissed over her fingertips in a violent sting. Luli caught herself mostly in a backwards roll, bracing off of her knees and launching back into a defensive stance just in time to redirect some fire coming her way. She was quickly becoming surrounded. Behind her, to her left, in front of her— oh, there was someone to her right. They layered up around her.

          Well, at least it seemed like she'd done an effective job at getting all of the guards in the compound to come to her.

          Luli somersaulted forward to avoid a blast of fire, and threw herself to the right for the same reason. Momo had taken to the air and was harassing some poor soldier by gripping onto his helmet and turning it around. Dropping into a solid stance, Luli sent a flaming kick towards one guard. He was knocked back, but was replaced by two more. It was quickly become a game where Luli felt like a dancing batmonkey, doing everything in her power to not become toast: which included a list of weaving, ducking, flipping, somersaulting, diving, and bending. Sweat beaded over her, but she couldn't find a break in their formation. The burns on her skin that she was continuously getting were really beginning to hurt.

          Momo knocked the guard over and the soldier to his right looked over in alarm. There it was. An opportunity. Luli sprinted for the distracted soldier and slid under his legs, sending him crashing down to the ground. She was out of the circle. "Time to run!" The girl grabbed Momo out of the air by one of his tiny hands, pulled him after her as she sprinted away from the guards.

          "After her!" one of them shouted. She ran across the burning perimeter, that was beginning to crumble into ash. Wood and bamboo splintering and falling to the impenetrable metal beneath. Dozens and dozens of clanking armoured footsteps pursued her.

          An unknowing soldier stepped out from a corner in front of her, and ducked on instinct as Luli did a leapfrog move over his head. She kicked back as she did so—her foot connected with his shoulderblades and he was sent crashing into the mass of soldiers pursuing her. A lot of them fell.

          Behind her, the soldiers' shots of flames warmed her heels—much too close for comfort. Daylight had struck. One blast of fire caught on her sleeve and she hastily put it out. Momo soared in front of her with panicked chittering. It's light, thought Luli panickily. Sun risen. Moon gone. Surely, surely, Katara and Sokka and Aang have gotten everyone out. But she was extremely aware that it was wishful thinking. More guards on burning-perimeter-inspecting duty stepped out unbeknownst in front of her, and she shoved them all to the side. One unlucky one took a fall into the ocean.

          "A firebender's gone rogue!" yelled another guard in explanation as they took up the chase. Spirits be damned. She really just should have stolen a soldier uniform like she'd initially suggested to Sokka. Alright, this has to be the whole prison. Honestly, if Aang and Katara and Sokka weren't pulling their weight at this moment, Luli was going to be seriously annoyed. There was a rather bad burn on the inside of her calf that she really wanted to put some lotion on.

          She must have done an entire lap of the prison rig at this point, because she was starting to become exhausted. Panting and sweating, Luli glanced behind her. How were they still in pursuit? Maybe if she lined them all up she could blast them all off into the sea. No way she'd get that lucky, one would catch her fire. She hadn't stopped running. When her head snapped back, she noticed in alarm that some of the soldiers had looped back around and were now sprinting at her head-on.

          Panic shocked through her system, and in a split-second decision, Luli cursed at Agni and ducked left, sprinting towards the prison courtyard. Surely Katara had inspired the earthbenders to leave by now.

           She was caught off guard by a burst of fire that came from her left, and Luli instinctively fell to her knees, sliding. Her head looked up as she slid beneath the line of flame, a grimace lighting up her features. Then she was on the other side, staggering to her feet in a sprint, and glancing back. The man who had taken her by surprise and almost gotten her—almost—wore no helmet. He must have been the prison's warden. Despite his age, his hair white, he looked fearsome. "Where do you think you're going?" Ignoring him, Luli continued running, fleeing out into the main courtyard, towards the figures of Sokka and Katara.

          Who, to her dismay, were surrounded by Earth Kingdom prisoners and no coal. Luli sprinted over to them. She weaved between the inmates and skidded to a stop on the other side of the vent, behind Sokka.

          "What, they couldn't be convinced?" she panted to Sokka, sweat beading off of her forehead and throat.

          He tilted his head discreetly towards her, looking worried, "They won't listen—they're too afraid. They saw the fire and thought it was a threat." All that for nothing?

          "Aang hasn't gotten the coal yet? I just ran, like, two laps of this place!" She bent at her hips, bracing her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. "Why is the Fire Nation girl the only one pulling any weight?" It was said mostly playfully, but her lungs felt like they were on fire and her legs burned with exertion. She wiped sweat from her face.

          All the Fire Nation guards that had been pursuing her poured out into the courtyard, surrounding the three intruder children. They were panting and out of breath, looking reluctant to put up a good fight in their hot and heavy armour after that workout—but there was no fighting their way of this situation now. Not with three kids surrounded by dozens of grown soldiers.

          Luli groaned, "I thought I was doing a good job."

          "Katara," exclaimed a man—with an uncanny resemblance to Haru standing beside him, that led Luli to the conclusion that he was the boy's father—, "stop! You can't win this fight." Haru and Katara were sharing a similar wide-eyed, parted-lips look. Meanwhile, Luli positioned herself for a fight. She was back-to-back with the Water Tribe siblings, just across the vent from them. There were a lot of guards.

         The warden who Luli had run into just moments before approached with his own flank of soldiers, a smug grin curling the edges of his face. "Listen to him well, child." Sokka and Katara's heads turned to face him, where Luli was already staring at him front on. The firebender girl was covered in soot and ash, had burns speckling bits of her pale skin, but she had still placed her body in a defensive form. Where is Aang? The warden spoke to Katara. "You are one mistake away from dying where you stand."

          Despite the circle of guards pointing spears at them, Luli glared at the firebending warden with stern eyes and said, "Maybe that's you."

          He frowned at her impudence, his face growing into a scowl. It was considered punishable in the Fire Nation to disrespect authority in such a way. But there was something else there—perhaps the only reason why he didn't burn her to a crisp right then and there. Like he was mulling something over; trying to piece a few clues together. Like he thought he recognised her. Luli did not loosen her stance of offense, dressed in her deep green Earth Kingdom uniform and with that red scale glinting at her neck. Her eyes were alight like two bright flames.

          There was a rumble deep in the structure beneath their feet. The ground started to shake. Luli, Katara and Sokka all glanced back at the vent by their legs, just as a gust of wind barrelled through. There were tiny shards of black coal that began to rise—as if defying gravity. Then the rest of it burst upwards, a canon of soot and coal breaking through the vent's grate and shooting towards the sky. Luli was quick to duck out of the way as the mountain of coal fell back towards the ground, created a heap in front of the earthbenders.

          From the now-open vent launched Aang, gracefully flipping into the air and then landing on the pile with his skin and clothes covered in soot. Katara slipped a little as she ran up the pile, closer to Luli now. "Here's your chance, earthbenders!" she shouted. Her fingers grasped a hunk of coal and she lifted it above her like a victory stance. "Take it! Your fate is in your own hands!" Luli watched as Haru went to step forward. She smiled. Then his father held an arm out over the young earthbender's chest, halting him—and that smile fell.

          Some of the earthbenders backed away in fright, worried about what would become of them if they did take that chance. If they lost.

          Behind Luli and her friends, the warden began to laugh. It was a cruel laugh, knowing, and full of malice—Luli turned back around towards the sight with a worried glare. He had his hands clasped to his chest with the mighty chuckling. "Foolish girl. Foolish children, all of you." Luli's fists were clenched defensively at her side, body tense with the readiness for a battle. "You thought a few inspirational words and some coal would change these people?" The smile carved into his old face was smug and pompous. "Look at these blank, hopeless faces. Their spirits were broken a long time ago." Luli did not turn to look at the earthbenders who had been broken in—instead, she was standing on a few measly chunks of coal and stared down the warden in an act of defiance. It was always frowned upon in the Fire Nation for a child glaring at one of their elders in that way. An act of impudence that would be punished.

          Now, the warden's eyes turned towards Luli. They locked gazes, and he had that same expression. Like there was something pushing at the back of his mind. Like he was just trying to put her face to the person.

          "Oh, but you still believed in them." He spoke it to Luli with a smug grin. Their gazes did not pull away from one another, fierce and unyielding. "How sweet." The warden looked triumphant, and Luli despised it. There was nothing proud or honourable in breaking souls. The longer she stared back at him, the more his smug grin began to turn into an angry scowl. It was that Fire Nation rule of a child showing a lack of respect to those older than them, again. "They're a waste of your energy, little girl." It was hard to distinguish whether he was addressing Luli or Katara, now, because the two Fire Nation members refused to unlock eyes. "You failed."

          For a moment, there was silence, and he did not move. It was a staring match. Then he turned in dismissal—disregarding her as a worthless child—and walked away from them. His guards closed in on the group of kids. Luli's fists were clenched, air starting to waver with lines of heat, and she was really about to punch the warden in the back of the head before someone else beat her to it.

          A hunk of coal arced gracefully over Luli's head and struck the warden in the back of the skull with a 'thunk'. It clearly hurt, his head was knocked forward for a moment before he reeled back and turned towards them with a growl. His long grey hair whipped behind him. His first instinct was to glare towards Luli, but it was clear that she wasn't the culprit, unmoved and with her fingers clear of soot.

          She let her face tilt and her eyes flickered back to learn who the perpetrator was too. Haru stood there with a defiant expression on his face, hand raised in front of him and swirling two chunks of coal in the air above his fingers. Luli had been expecting another snide comment from the warden. Instead, what happened was the firebender turned with a furious yell, thrust both of his fists out towards the young boy, and sprung flames from the air in front of his knuckles.

          Without even really thinking—muscles running off of pure instincts—Luli jumped in front of Haru, her feet sliding on the coal. Her hands whipped up, prepared to cast the flames away with her own, but before she could, even as she felt Haru's breath on the back of her hair, a great wall of coal rose in front of her and the young boy. As both she and Haru flinched back, the flames bounced harmlessly off. The coal sizzled. It turned orange at the edges.

          Luli spun around and saw Haru's father positioned with his hands in the Arching Mountain pose, fingers posed gracefully towards the sky. He dropped the wall of coal as the warden's guards got into a line. "Show no mercy!" exclaimed the prison warden. His face was dripping with fury. Each of the firebenders adopted a mirroring offensive stance—and they simultaneously sent plumes of fire towards Luli and the earthbender prisoners. All Luli did was step back as a group of earthbenders raised their arms. The coal ran across the ground and raised into a great shield, easily dismissing the flames.

          Their stances were immaculate. Perhaps Luli could use to learn from earthbenders too. Their arms stretched towards the sky, bodies arched, and they were posed on a single left leg. Their right was raised with a curled knee towards their chest. As they reached up higher towards the clouds, the coal stretched out larger and larger. "For the Earth Kingdom..." grunted Haru's father, and Luli ducked into her own firebending stance, fingers pointed dangerously in front of her. "Attack!" Their open palms slammed down onto the metal floor and the wave of coal launched forward. It shattered down into the warden and his soldiers, sent them flying back. Then it was a free-for-all fight. Earthbenders swarmed forward, launching hunks of coal at any Fire Nation guard that came in their path.

          Luli went for the warden.

          She leapt past two earthbenders taking down a Fire Nation soldier with a fury of coal pellets, hands and knees drawing up as if she was a crane about to take fight, landed swift on her toes, dodged a whip of fire by spinning beneath it, and flew at the warden with a snarling scowl and a flying fist. Luli landed on her feet in front of him. For just a few seconds they were at a stand-off. Where his fists were held angrily out in front of him, smug, hers were drawn cautiously back with spread fingers. The difference in their form was astounding. The warden was a brutish old man, with hair as white as his beard and wrinkles on his face that formed a constant scowl. "Are you going to hurt me, little girl?" It was spoken with a pompous drawl.

          Luli uttered out a grated, "Yes," and flung herself forward as he blasted hot flames towards her with a clenched fists. It was a surprise to him when she—who he must have thought was just an unusual Earth Kingdom girl who simply had an easy to mistake face—caught the fire in her own open palms, orange and flowing, and sent it reeling off to either side of her.

          He stumbled back and a potent look of recognition passed over the warden's face, though Luli could not say she recalled him specifically. So it had clicked. His pointed finger swept sharply towards her, brows arched high as a surprise kind of scowl formed on his features, "That's—!"

          Before he could say another word, Luli's leg swung up and launched a pyre of flame, sharply cutting the man off as he threw up a late wall to defend himself and was thrown backwards. He tumbled back across the metal deck, Luli followed him with a leap and a fiery kick. Her orange flames licked across the metal rig's deck. She would have struck him while he was down, but his guards had flanked in on either side. They had their arms set out in a position that meant to blast her into ash. There must have been seven of them or so.

          Just as Luli thought she was about to be in for the fight of her life, Haru was jumping up beside her. The thrust of his arms sent a small wave of coal soaring. It took out three soldiers in a line in one go, and Luli leapt forward to plant her feet and launch a two-handed pyre of flame the Fire Nation soldier in front of her, with her hands tucked together at the palms. Haru's coal knocked another guard out with a solid hit to the face.

          Before the remaining soldiers could blast them, more coal was flying. The other earthbenders flanked behind Luli and Haru, protecting the youngest of their group. She found them working alongside each other. Luli fell into form after form—all the moves her old teachers had told her running through her head; even as she stumbled and improvised through some of the more difficult movements in a less than satisfactory display—ducking and weaving to avoid whatever coal the earthbenders behind her were throwing. This was more firebenders than she typically fought at one time. She punted one to his backside with a double fist of fire, dodged—spinning—underneath another's wreath of flame, and was knocked back by a third soldier's fiery arch of a kick. Haru got that guy with a painful coal uppercut to the helmet.

          She slashed with the intensity of her father, and controlled her flames with the grace of her mother.

          It was the first time she'd worked along earthbenders like this. Her first time out of hiding. In public. Aiding the Avatar—Luli of the Fire Nation. Not just some mysterious girl with a fake name who drifted from town to town in search of something. Now she was going to be Luli. And she was going to make herself known. She hoped that the Fire Nation would come to fear her.

           Someone, someday, would remember her.

          Earthbenders used a significantly different style of bending than the forms she did: they stood strong, firm, with stances and punches as strong as boulders. Luli weaved and kicked and flipped dynamically, never standing in one place for longer than a second. Burns on her fingers and arms, and even one along her jaw, stung. And yet, as she and the other older earthbenders shoved the warden and his private guards back and back, they seemed to work in a kind of sync. She took the short and quick jabs, while they eliminated the larger threats. Luli was shoulder to shoulder with Haru as, together, they sent the warden reeling back with a fiery blow to his face and a shot of coal to the back of his knee.

          One day, Luli thought, if I find an earthbender to sync with, we'll be unstoppable.

          A hole had been blown open in the prison yard's door—but Luli was so focused on attacking the warden that he couldn't even take a breath to shout at his guards to pursue the fleeing prisoners. She was honing in on him, everything she had going into this one man, as the other earthbenders focused on his guards. Vaguely, out of the corner of her vision, Luli saw Aang air-blast a group of soldiers off their feet and Sokka knock one out with his boomerang. The warden kicked fire across the ground at her and she jumped, struck back with her own. Staggering to his feet, the bitter man made one last stand against her. His teeth were bared with drawn-back lips, and his eyes—although black—held that same kind of firebending intensity as hers.

          He was knocked over by a wave of black coal. Luli turned to see Aang with a funnel of whirling air aimed right at where the warden had been standing, and Katara and Sokka with blackened hands from where they'd been loading it up. She tilted her head back to face the warden and his crew—who she and the earthbenders had battled right to the edge of the prison rig. There was no longer a perimeter fence; Luli had burned it into ash.

          Attempting to get to his feet, the warden glared up at Luli on his elbows, face bruised and glaring like just his eyes could strike her down. Then, coal across the floor began to shift. The earthbenders on either side and just behind Luli moved their arms as the hunks of black earth collected under the remaining firebender soldiers—including the warden—and lifted them into the air. It formed a charcoal platform and carried the Fire Nation delegates far out from the rig, hovering them over water.

          The soldiers were peering over the edge, their worry apparent even through their thick helmets, but the warden's eyes were focused on Luli. It was no guess that he knew exactly who Luli was, now. His face was carved into a deep, furious scowl, eyes cutting and lips twisted. "Traitor," he scoffed, with poison indignance dripping from his words. "Your father would not be pleased to hear about this." He looked rather pathetic, on his hands and knees and peppered with black streaks of coal, trying to trade insults that were weak even by Luli's standards. Luli supposed that all Fire Nation soldiers were pathetic, when you stripped their illusions of grandeur and power away.

          "Oh," replied Luli scornfully, "let him." And then the earthbenders on either side of her dropped their raised arms. The coal fell out from under the soldiers and they plummeted into the rocky sea below. Splashes punctured the certainty of their fall.

          Luli watched for a moment as the soldiers and warden struggled to stay afloat, long hair flopping in front of their faces, when someone excitedly tackled her from behind. It was Aang, hugging her tightly and looking up at her with a wide, crooked grin. "Woah, that was great!" he beamed. His arms were constricted tight around her waist. Momo glided down and landed atop her head. "We just took out an entire prison!"

          Behind Aang, Sokka slung his arm around his sister, who punched his shoulder—fondly—in return. Haru's father shouted, clearly having become the leader of the inmates in their years spent here, "Everyone to the ships! We're going home!" A cheer rose up among the inmates, their fists pumped towards the air. Luli couldn't help but to grin—the energy infectious. She was glad that they'd stopped in Haru's town.

          His father led the masses of earthbenders out of the broken doors to the metal docks, where unguarded warships towered in all their fearsome glory, blocking out the sun. There were continuous cheers as they walked free for the first time in years. Free from the tyranny of a cruel warden.

          Somehow, through the dock's crowd, Haru found her. His long brown hair whipped around his face and shoulders. It reminded her a bit of— Nope. "So you're a firebender," said Haru, his green eyes wide. Ahead of them, Sokka was helping an elderly man with a limp walk down the dock, the man's arm over the younger boy's shoulders. Haru was staring at Luli with curiosity. "I've never met a good firebender before."

          Luli frowned, touching her fingers to her lips and looking over to Haru nervously. "Yeah, we're not a very nice bunch." When he didn't look like he hated her, her expression loosened up. "Well, it's nice to meet you. Properly, this time. I'm Luli." She smiled at him, and bowed at the waist in a traditional Fire Nation motion—one hand clasped into a fist, other raised straight, just above it. He did the Earth Kingdom one in turn, which had its only difference in the positioning of the hands.

          "It's nice to meet you too." The ships that the prisoners were using to escape were large and mostly impenetrable. Once they got on, they'd have no problem going back to shore. There must have been hundreds of them, mostly grey-haired, piling on board. Aang was helping direct them onto different ships with Katara. "That's him, isn't it?" asked Haru, and Luli looked at him. "The Avatar."

          She smiled, turned back towards where the bald kid was waving off a ship. "Yeah, that's him."

          "He's so... young."

          Luli's expression softened even further. "I know. It was a shock to me. But he's a powerful kid. I really think he'll be able to take down the Firelord." It was a day Luli eagerly awaited. She'd always tried to keep a lid on a want for vengeance, but Luli could not convey how deeply she wanted to see the Firelord put in the dirt. He terrified her, but Luli would really like to do it herself. For personal reasons. "I'm going to teach him firebending."

          "Oh, really?" Haru's eyes were wide. "You're good. I'll give you that. Glad you're not on their side."

          Luli snorted in a small laugh, eyes crinkling. "You can thank my father and the Firelord for that." Through the crowd, Haru's father called his name. The man, with his white hair and beard, smiling, was gesturing towards his son. "I think that's your cue to go."

          Haru glanced towards his dad, then back at the firebender in front of him. "Come back to our town at some point in the future, Luli of the Fire Nation," said Haru with a smile. "There'll always be a safe barn for you and the Avatar's group in the Earth Kingdom." He bowed to her, fist and palm pressed together.

          Luli bowed back, fist and palm separated by verticality. "I'll make sure we do, Haru of the Earth Kingdom. Goodbye." She grinned up at him as they straightened, and went their separate ways. Perhaps meeting interesting individuals across this journey to master Aang's four elements was going to be a regular occurrence. There were so many people in the world she'd never even seen before.

          The rest of the prisoners boarded the Fire Nation warships, four boats in total, and Luli and the other three kids hopped onto Appa's back as they all set off from the rig. Soon, its ashen plumes and metal walls were far behind them. Luli fed Momo leftover lychee nuts, and offered a couple of measly ones to Appa as she balanced stomach-down on his fluffy head—as the sky bison floated in the cool water.

          Someone came up behind her and sat down. When Luli turned, she saw that it was Katara, the girl sat behind her, body facing the ocean but not looking hostile. A bit stiffened up was all. Taking it as an invitation, Luli turned herself around and sat with her legs crossed towards the waterbender.

          "Hey, you really showed those Fire Nation soldiers back there," commented Katara reproachfully, almost hesitantly, with her arms still crossed. It was like she had to have her guard up at all times around Luli—even when they weren't near danger. Luli felt bad about that. But she seemed a bit softer now. Her steely expression had fallen a little.

          Luli's eyes were big and wide as she looked over at Katara. There was a moment of silence as she struggled for words, stretched out between them like a long spool of wool, as the firebender tried to think of a possible response. "Oh... yeah." Luli was just staring at Katara's turned face, trying to figure out what to say. Was that a peace offering? She was about to continue, lips parting, when Katara's eyes turned towards the red-scale necklace roped around Luli's throat, and her fingers reached for her own. The firebender noticed at about the same time that Katara did.

          The Water Tribe girl looked down, eyes wide in desperate alarm, fingers clutching on empty air. "My mother's necklace!" Her neck was bare. She grasped desperately at the skin there. "It's gone!" In panic, Katara looked at the saddle around them. Her hands upturned the gang's various items on Appa's back: Luli's pack, Sokka's sleeping bag, even their sacks of food that they'd gotten from Haru's mother. And Luli helped her. So the necklace was from her mother. Luli upended Sokka's pack—much to his confusion. The Fire Nation girl even lifted up Sokka's foot to make sure he wasn't perched on it, but to no avail. The necklace had vanished.

          "What's going on?" asked Sokka, eyes narrowed at the way Luli still had his boot up in the air. He pulled his foot out of her hand.

          "Katara's necklace is missing." There was a change in his eyes. They went wide, and shocked, and then vulnerable, and he was jumping to search for it too. Soon, there were four kids practically tearing up Appa's saddle to find one small necklace.

          Nothing was turning up. Katara looked wounded. "I'm sure we'll find it, Katara," assured Luli. "Maybe it's just in Sokka's stuff. I'll check again." She dumped all of his pack onto the saddle. Boomerang, his sword, jerky. No blue necklace. Luli chucked stuff from side to side. There was no sign of it.

          "Hey! That was organised!" Sokka scrambled for his things that she'd thrown all across Appa's saddle.

          Katara seemed so be slipping more and more into worry. Her face was pinched, her eyes large, and her hands were clutching her blank throat with desperation. Sensing her nerves, Aang crept forward. "A Fire Nation soldier might have it," he offered, his eyes large. "We fought off a lot of them." But that wasn't much of a help. If a soldier had it, it might be long gone by now. Or it could have fallen into the ocean. Or been burned up. There were a lot of unpleasant options: none of which boded well for an item of such importance.

          Luli, instinctively, clutched the own material at her neck, making sure it was still there. It was indeed. That thin strip of leather and small red scale that shone in the day's sun. It was always warm.

          Luli's anger may have come from her father, but this... was not.

༉*ೃ༄

if luli was a tarot card she'd be justice

she is earning her keep as a member of team avatar 😁 😁

this story hit 121,000 words !!

the two sides of a coin metaphor represents more than just zuko and luli's relationship, but also each character themselves. good and evil fighting inside both of them. anger and calmness. for both characters, it's a constant war within themselves

hey! the title of this chapter (and a line from the last) was inspired by a poem i read that really resonates with luli's character, by rupi kaur (i didn't know it was by her before googling this GSKJDSDF i just love this line): "but that rage, your mother doesn't wear that anger. you're right, this rage is the one thing i get from my father". it's very LULI, i love it

yes this is insanely long let's not talk about it

there won't be another chapter until after the new year so this is me saying happy new year in advanced !! i hope 2021 gives everyone a break, and i'm proud of you for making it this far in 2020 :) it's been a terrible year and really mentally tolling but i hope next year will be better ! wishing you all loads of love <3 <3

word count: 8,266

28.12.2020.