A/N, Okay, all the 'sorry I haven't updated recently', and stuff, but I have something important to tell you. The third in Twenty Ways seems to take place directly after the season finally, while some others seem to take place before then. So, instead, I'm using the fourth, and doing the third at the end. Just FYI, sorry for any confusion.

And also, I accidentally used a different quote than the one Alaska Angel gave. Since I'm too lazy to go back and change it, just live with it, okay?

By the way, like Lara, General Vahe's name has a meaning. It means 'known lecturer'.

4: When you walk into the War Room, look around with tears in your eyes. When someone asks you what's wrong, say 'nothing, it's just so stinkingly hot in here and it's really heightening the aromas.'

Ozai does many inadvisable things. For example, I would not advise you to burn your son to a crisp and then banish him. That's just nasty.

I would not advise you to alienate your only brother if he is as cool as Iroh is, because doing that would make for a very boring life.

I would not advise you to favor your daughter if she is as evil as Zula is, because that will make her a spoiled brat, and anyways, she's a jerk.

I would not advise you to start a war with the rest of the world, even if you can win it, because that won't do much for your popularity. Well, it will, but not the way you want it to.

And most especially, I would not advise you to allow a General to invite your younger sister to the War Council, whether or not she has 'valuable information', if you have just ignored my advice and done all of the above.

But Fire Lord Ozai does not often take my advice.

Lara was very, very happy. She had a plan. The fact that her plan was very, very evil didn't really upset her that much. After all, she was Fire Nation. Not only that, but she was Fire Nation royalty. No surprise that she was evil.

General Vahe also had a plan, but it was a very different plan. Lara's plan involved tormenting her older brother. Vahe's plan involved defeating Earth Kingdom. Very different.

The Earth Kingdom people had planted a spy. And the spy had known information, as many spies do.

But the Fire Nation people had also planted a spy. And that spy had known information about the other spy, such as the information that he was a spy. So he killed him.

Unfortunately, the Earth Kingdom people's spy who had been killed by the Fire Nation people's spy had sent information to the Earth Kingdom people who had employed him as a spy before he had been killed by another spy.

And while Lara (obviously) hadn't known that the Earth Kingdom people's spy was a spy, she had known what he had known, just not that the Earth Kingdom people had also known it.

General Vahe's plan hinged on exactly how much the Earth Kingdom people's spy had known. And Lara knew that.

So Lara was being summoned to the War Room.

There, she planned to do something hilarious. She wasn't quite sure what, but it would definitely be hilarious.

Suddenly, Lara remembered something from her childhood, when times were much less difficult, and she had had a brother to help her with her pranks.

"You know what sucks?" Iroh asked suddenly, looking up.

The Fire Nation princes and their younger sister had been sent up to the library while their parents were attending a social-gathering-designed-to-remind-the-populace-who-their-leader-was-and-to-improve-confidence-in-the-governing-body/useless-waste-of-time/fun/party.

Lara was twelve at the time, and had never been allowed to attend one of these. Iroh and Ozai both had, but their sister had not, and right now, she wanted nothing more than to be downstairs, having grown-up conversations with grown-ups and eating really good foods instead of the regular sandwich-type stuff that the children had been sent.

Ozai glanced at his brother, momentarily pausing in his reading. "What sucks?"

Lara peered at the two over the top of her dolls. "Yes, Iroh, tell us!" she pleaded, knowing that Iroh would be much more likely to tell them if he was begged, and knowing also that Ozai never would.

"Well…" Iroh paused a moment for dramatic effect. "We're all Fire Benders here, right?"

Ozai puffed himself up with pride and nodded while Lara bobbed her head excitedly.

"Even, and especially, you, brother," Iroh added, nodding at Ozai.

The prince puffed himself up a little bit more and nodded.

"Well, as Fire Benders, we have more body heat than other people, right?"

That made Ozai pause for a moment, as he obviously hadn't been paying attention during that, or any other lesson in school. Lara nodded happily, glad to know something that her older brother didn't.

"So Ozai, you are a Fire Bender. The increased body heat that you get from that also increases others' perception of one of your greatest qualities. Do you know what it is?"

"My amazing skills?" asked Ozai. Iroh shook his head.

"His extreme vanity?" muttered Lara. Again, Iroh shook his head.

"Nope!" the younger boy exclaimed gleefully. "His overpowering…"

"Sense of power?" suggested Ozai.

"Nope," Iroh said again. "Stench!"

Lara grinned. Now she knew what she was going to do.

"Where have you been?" hissed Ozai as he intercepted his sister outside of the War Room. "You're late!"

"Chill out, brother," Lara told him, gloating mentally in the chance to annoy him even before the pranks began. "You did only tell me two minutes ago that I was supposed to be here. Considering the circumstances, I'd rather say I'm early."

"Whatever," Ozai retorted. He yanked a twig out of her hair, muttering something about how he'd never let his sister out in public looking like an Earth Bender. "Don't mess this up, okay, Lara?" he snapped.

Lara looked at him with big eyes. "Wow, Ozai," she whispered. "You know my name!"

"Shut up."

The two of them entered the War Room together. Ozai, busy looking silent and imposing didn't notice the signs until it was too late.

The signs were thus:

Lara's eyebrows creased in concentration.

One of the more easily aggravated Generals started playing with fire.

Lara pursed her lips, trying not to smile.

All of these signs showed an impending prank, and if Ozai hadn't been so preoccupied, he might have prevented a disaster. Aren't we lucky that he didn't?

"Lady Lara," General Vahe began in the tone that said 'I'm lecturing you here, pay attention!'

"We have heard that you were consorting with the Earth Kingdom spy before his demise. You could not possibly have known that he was Earth Kingdom, as he did not tell you, and, as it is, you may have gained the Fire Nation a valuable advantage. But you have done so at a great risk to yourself. I must beg you never to do such a thing again.

"Had the spy been as crafty or as powerful as a Fire Nation spy, he would have instantly recognized you for what you are. The sister to the Fire Lord himself, as well as the Dragon of the West. The aunt to the Heir to the Throne, Fire Nation royalty, and a very powerful person. There is no information to show that he did not realize any of this. You are lucky that he did not kill you on sight, which would have severely weakened our government. Not in truth, of course, the Fire Nation will always persevere, but the Earth Kingdom fools think that we would be weakened, and you would be dead.

"As it is, we do not know exactly how much of the information that he gathered was sent off to the Earth Kingdom traitors before we killed him. If he had sent off information about, say, how the Fire Lord's younger sister was liable to become friendly with random strangers off the street, you would be severely endangered.

"And so, I must warn you, Lady Lara, never to do such a thing again. The Earth Kingdom fools may have other spies that we have not rooted out yet. The Water Tribe barbarians might as well, if the word 'spy' registers in their tiny brains. And, although you were lucky this time, either of these peoples might be very, very glad to see you killed.

"I feel much guilt for telling you this, as the knowledge that someone wants to kill you will severely mar your innocence. You are young, Lady Lara, but that does not prevent these terrible people from trying to kill you. Be wary! Be aware! And avoid making friends with people you do not know. Spies can be everywhere, Lady Lara. Know that, act on that, and you will be safe."

By now, Ozai and the Generals who weren't too busy lecturing to notice anything had noticed that Lara wasn't paying much attention to Vahe. In fact, she was looking around, tears in her eyes, squinting terribly against her tears.

His lecture done, Vahe tuned in to the real world again and noticed that the girl he had been lecturing looked as if she was about to cry.

"Lady Lara?" one of the Generals, a younger man she hadn't met yet, asked tentatively. "Is something wrong?"

Vahe braced himself for his head to be chopped off if it turned out that he had made the Fire Lord's sister cry.

"Nothing," Lara sniffed. "It's just…" She looked up, and the tone of her voice changed to one that those who knew her well were more likely to recognize.

"It's so stinking hot in here that the odors are much worse than they usually are."

Ozai glared at his sister angrily. Hadn't he just expressly asked her not to embarrass him or herself in front of some of the most prominent men in the Fire Nation?

The Fire Lord was getting angrier and angrier. She had undermined his authority for the last time!

"LARA!" he roared.

Lara blinked at him innocently. "What?"