Disclaimer: I do not own A:TLA or any of it's characters. The only thing I own is my OC.
The Six Rules:
Rule Number One: Alec won't warn the Gaang about things in advance or solve their problems for them, with a few rare exceptions.
Rule Number Two: Only Alec has the right to tell people his true origins, and he will mostly limit this to group members. He will tell new group members his secret as soon as they join the Gaang.
Rule Number Three: There are some changes Alec wants to make, and he will use his knowledge of the future to make those changes.
Rule Number Four: Sometimes, to make a change, Alec will act in a way that doesn't make sense. If that's necessary, he'll tell the Gaang "I need you to absolutely trust me." After he says that, the Gaang has to either do whatever he asks or leave him to do what he needs to do.
Rule Number Five: After a change happens, Alec will tell the Gaang what happened in the original story, in the interest of transparency.
Rule Number Six: If a major change happens that Alec doesn't expect, the Gaang will have a meeting ASAP. In this meeting, Alec will break Rule One and tell them all relevant information that will help them figure out how to respond to the change.
Chapter 4:
The Warriors of Kyoshi
Alec POV
We were flying over in the middle of the ocean, with no land in sight. Aang was steering Appa while Momo sat on his shoulder. I was just enjoying the flight. Katara was busy mending a hole in Sokka's pants. Sokka was staring at the map, trying to figure out where we were.
"You have no idea where you're going, do you?" Sokka asked our pilot with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, I know it's near water." Aang said sheepishly.
"I guess we're getting close, then." Sokka replied sarcastically. I rolled my eyes, then a thought occurred to me.
"Hey guys," I spoke up, "There's something I need to tell you."
Sokka looked at me. Katara stopped sewing. Aang turned around. "What is it?" He asked.
"Well," I said, "I have good news and bad news. Aang, remember when you went into the Avatar State at the Southern Air Temple?"
Aang's eyes turned sad at the memory. "What about it?" he asked quietly.
"Well," I said, "When that happened, Katara and I were in the sanctuary with the Avatar statues. When you went into the Avatar State, the statues started glowing."
Sokka raised an eyebrow. "Okay, so there was a light show. I don't exactly get why that's important."
"It wasn't just the statues at the Southern Air Temple." I said shaking my head. "I know for a fact that there are temples all over the world that depict the Avatars, and all of them started glowing too."
Katara looked at me intently. "So what does that mean?" She asked.
"The good news is that the world now knows the Avatar has returned, and people can begin to hope again." I said. Aang gave a small smile at this. Katara looked confused.
"So what's the bad news?" She questioned. "People have hope again. Isn't that a good thing?"
"I said the temples are all over the world." I replied grimly. "That includes the Fire Nation. The Fire Lord officially knows that the Avatar is back. Now the whole Fire Nation will be after us, not just an angsty prince with only one ship."
Everyone's face fell at that piece of news. "So, what should we do?" Sokka asked seriously.
"We just need to be careful." I replied. "It's not all that bad. Keep in mind, we can fly and they can't." "Yet." I added in my head. That seemed to reassure them. Everyone went back to what they were doing. Aang turned his head and stared at Katara with a smile on his face.
"Momo, marbles please." He said to the lemur. Momo dove into Aang's shirt and retrieved a small marble which he handed to the Avatar.
"Hey Katara, check out this airbending trick!" Aang said brightly. He spun the marble rapidly with a cheesy smile on his face.
"That's great, Aang." Katara said plainly, still focused on her sewing. Aang looked crestfallen.
"You didn't even look." He said. Katara turned to look at him.
"That's great!" She said with fake brightness.
"But I'm not doing it now." Aang said. It was at this point that Sokka decided to speak up. Now, when I say 'speak up' I mean 'put his foot in his mouth.'
"Stop bugging her, airhead." My adopted brother said with a dismissive hand wave. "You need to give girls space when they do their sewing."
"What does me being a girl have to do with sewing?" Katara asked lowly, giving our brother a dangerous glare. Sokka somehow missed all of the signs and kept talking.
"Simple." He said. "Girls are better at fixing pants than guys, and guys are better at hunting and fighting and stuff like that. It's just the natural order of things." Sokka had no idea how lucky he was that Katara wasn't a master waterbender yet.
"All done with your pants! And look what a great job I did." She said sarcastically before throwing the pants back to Sokka. They still had a hole big enough to fit his arm through.
"Wait! I was just kidding!" Sokka desperately tried to backtrack. "I can't wear these! Katara, please!"
"Relax Sokka." Aang said from atop Appa's head. "Where we're going, you won't need any pants."
"Might want to rephrase that, Aang." I said.
A Few Hours Later
We landed on a crescent shaped beach on a small island. Sokka had persuaded Katara to fix his pants after several apologies. Aang was staring out at the water while using his hand as a makeshift visor.
"We just made a pit stop yesterday." Sokka pointed out. "Shouldn't we get a little more flying done today before we camp out?" he asked.
Katara turned to face Aang. "He's right." she agreed. "At this rate, we won't get to the North Pole until Spring."
"But Appa's tired already," Aang lied, "Aren't you boy?" the bison gave a barely audible grunt. "I said, aren't you boy?" Aang prompted him with an elbow. Appa gave a fake yawn.
"Yeah, that was real convincing." Sokka said sarcastically. "Still, hard to argue with a ten-ton magical monster." he admitted.
Aang pointed out to sea. "Look!" He exclaimed. I looked out at the horizon and saw the biggest koi fish I had ever seen break the surface of the water in the distance. Animals in the Avatar world were weird. Aang immediately stripped down to his underwear.
"That's why we're here. Elephant koi." The airbender explained excitedly. "And I'm gonna ride it. Katara you've gotta watch me."
I just rolled my eyes. This kid was already at the 'doing stupid stunts to impress my crush' phase. It was pretty scary that someone this immature had the power of the Avatar. Then again, he did get more serious over time.
Aang jumped into the water before almost immediately jumping out and screaming about how cold the water was. Well, what did he expect? It was early winter. The mountains near the beach were covered in snow. Aang made his way over to the back of the giant fish, and grabbed on to its fin. He held on like he was wind surfing. Katara smiled in amazement. I was pretty impressed. Sokka wasn't amused.
Suddenly, we noticed a shadow lurking in the water behind the fish Aang was riding.
"There's something in the water!" Sokka shouted.
"Aang! Get out of there!" Katara yelled.
"Come back to shore!" I yelled.
We all started waving our arms urgently. Aang misunderstood us and tried to wave back. The fish he was surfing on was pulled under, and Aang was launched forward. Then, a dark fin about three times as big as the others emerged from the water. Aang screamed and literally ran on water back to shore. He couldn't stop his momentum and tackled Sokka.
Sokka was sitting against the tree that Aang tackled him into.
"What was that thing?" Katara asked.
"I don't know." Aang replied while getting dressed.
"It's called the Unagi." I explained. They all looked at me. "It's a giant eel that feeds on the elephant koi in these waters."
"Well," Sokka said and stood up, "Time to hit the road."
Suddenly, four green shapes dropped down from the trees and surrounded us. Sokka tried to reach for his club but was pulled to the ground instantly. Katara and Aang were also taken down before they could react. Momo ended up getting captured in a small sack. I put my hands up as fast as I could.
"I surrender." I said quickly and urgently.
"Alec!" Sokka yelled accusingly.
"What?" I said shamelessly. "I know when I'm beaten."
Like the others. I was tied up and blindfolded. Unlike the others, I was placed on the ground gently, instead of thrown. I guess this was mercy for my cooperation.
"You know," Sokka said, "Maybe we could stay a while."
The four of us ended up tied to a big wooden post. We were still blindfolded.
"You four have some explaining to do." A man's voice said.
"And if you don't answer all our questions, we're throwing you back in the water with the Unagi." A young female voice added.
Sokka was not pleased. "Show yourselves, cowards!" he yelled.
Our blindfolds were removed and we got our first look at our captors, a man and five teenage girls. The man was wearing a blue outfit trimmed with white fur. The girls were wearing elaborate green robes, with black armor over the torso, black gloves, and black vambraces with gold insignias on them. They each had a pair of war fans tucked into their belt. Their faces were painted white, with red lipstick and red eye-shadow. Each of them was wearing a green headband with a gold insignia and gold tassels, except the leader, who wore a gold headdress that almost looked like a tiara.
"Who are you?" Sokka asked. "Where are the men who ambushed us?"
"There were no men." the leader said sharply. "We ambushed you. Now tell us, who are you and what are you doing here?"
"Wait a second. There's no way a bunch of girls took us down." Sokka scoffed. I groaned. My brother was not doing us any favors right now.
"A bunch of girls, huh." The leader said, grabbing Sokka by the scruff of his neck. "The Unagi's gonna eat well tonight."
"No, don't hurt him!" Katara begged. "He didn't mean it! My brother's just an idiot sometimes."
"Katara," I said, "Our brother's an idiot almost all the time."
The leader let go of Sokka and walked up to me. "You don't look like those two, yet you claim to be their brother? Are you a spy for the Fire Nation? Are you a firebender?"
I kept my face neutral, but Aang flinched at the last question. Unfortunately, she saw this, then took one of her fans and placed its edge against my throat. "It looks like I was right about that last one. Who are you? Talk!" She said sharply.
I took a deep breath. "I'm their adopted brother." I said. "I'm originally from the Fire Nation colonies in the Earth Kingdom. My home burned down and my boat crashed into the South Pole four months ago. Katara and Sokka found me and nursed me back to health, before adopting me into their family. I am a firebender, but I will never serve Fire Lord Ozai. My siblings and I are traveling with the Avatar to help him save the world."
Her eyes narrowed. "That's impossible, the last Avatar was an airbender who disappeared a hundred years ago."
"That's me!" Aang said brightly.
The old man didn't believe him. "Throw the imposter and the firebender to the Unagi."
The rest of the girls drew their fans and walked towards us. "Aang, do some airbending." Katara said urgently. Aang jumped up twenty feet in the air, breaking his bindings in the process, and slowly levitated back to the ground.
"It's true." The old man said in awe. "You are the Avatar."
"Now, check this out." Aang said. He pulled out the marble from his tunic and did his stupid spinning marble trick, but with an even cheesier grin this time. It was the dumbest bending trick ever, but the people ate it up. One man even passed out, foaming at the mouth.
"Why are they so happy to see him?" Katara asked me.
"This is Kyoshi Island," I explained, "The home of Avatar Kyoshi. The girls that beat us are called the Kyoshi Warriors, and even dress like her. These people revere the Avatar more than most."
The Warriors cut us loose.
The islanders gave us the royal treatment. They set us up in the biggest house in the village. Even Appa got spoiled. He was given a brushing, his horns were polished, and he got a nice helping of hay to eat.
Inside the house, the Gaang and I sat in front of a long table that was completely covered with different desserts. Well, most of us sat in front of the table. Momo sat on the table, and Sokka sat in the corner with a frown on his face and his arms folded. He was grumbling angrily.
"All right! Dessert for breakfast!" Aang exclaimed, grabbing a pastry in each hand and stuffing them into his face. "These people sure know how to treat an Avatar." He said with a slight muffle due to the fact his mouth was full. "Mm, Katara, you've gotta try these!" He said, indicating one of the many kinds of pastry in front of us.
"Well," she said reluctantly, "Maybe just a bite." Then she gave in and also grabbed a pastry in each hand.
I loved all of the food, and ate with gusto. I had a massive sweet tooth, and I hadn't tasted a good dessert since before I arrived at the South Pole. Momo was also snatching various pastries from the table. Aang suddenly noticed Sokka's mood.
"Sokka, what's your problem?" Aang asked. "Eat!" He insisted.
"I'm not hungry." My brother grumbled.
"But you're always hungry!" Aang replied with shock.
Katara knew exactly what was wrong. "He's just upset because a bunch of girls kicked his butt yesterday." She said smugly.
"They snuck up on me!" He insisted.
"Right," Katara replied, turning to face Sokka with a triumphant grin, "And then they kicked your butt."
Sokka was still in denial. "Sneak attacks don't count." He objected.
I raised an eyebrow at this. "Sneak attacks are a perfectly valid tactic." I said. "What do you call our 'Distract and Attack' combo?" I pointed out.
Sokka ignored me, still deep in denial. "Tie me up with ropes. I'll show them a thing or two. I'm not scared of any girls." He grumbled. He stood up, grabbed several pastries, and started leaving the room. "Who do they think they are anyway? Mm, this is tasty." He continued his rant.
I stood up to follow him. "Where are you going?" Katara asked.
I turned to her and smiled. "I'm going after him." I said. "Something's about to happen that I've waited months to see." And with that, I went after my brother.
I followed Sokka to the dojo of the Kyoshi Warriors. I wasn't about miss what happened next. Sokka and I stopped at the door just outside the dojo. We looked inside and saw the Warriors practicing various katas with their fans. I was impressed by their skill. Sokka, on the other hand, couldn't see past their gender. He got a smug grin on his face and walked into the room. I kept my face neutral and followed.
"Sorry ladies, didn't mean to interrupt your dance lesson," Sokka began, "I was just looking for somewhere to get a little workout." He began stretching. I pinched the bridge of my nose and shook my head.
The Warriors stopped doing katas and turned to face us. "Well, you're in the right place." She replied. "My name is Suki. I'm sorry about yesterday. I didn't know you two were friends with the Avatar." She turned to me. "I'm sorry about your neck. I didn't cut you, did I?"
I shook my head. "No, I'm fine, Suki." I insisted. "I'm just glad you let me talk instead of cutting my throat."
"It's fine," Sokka said, continuing his stretches. "I mean, normally I'd hold a grudge, but seeing as you guys are a bunch of girls, I'll make an exception."
"I should hope so." Suki replied. "A big, strong man like you, we wouldn't stand a chance." She said in a tone that sounded seductive, but I knew was entirely sarcastic. Sokka, being Sokka, missed the signals.
"True, but don't feel bad. After all, I'm the best warrior in my village." He bragged.
I rolled my eyes. "Whenever we sparred, I won half the time." I pointed out.
"You're a firebender, it doesn't count." He said quickly. That was a load of Appa shit, and I was quick to call him out on it.
"That was before I even knew I was a firebender." I retorted.
"Well, now your the best firebender in our village, I'm still the best warrior." He insisted.
"Wow, 'best warrior', huh? In your whole village?" Suki placed her hands on her hips. "Maybe you'd be kind enough to give us a little demonstration." She said in the same seductive, secretly-mocking tone. She was playing Sokka like a fiddle, and he deserved every bit of it.
"Oh, well, I mean, I…" Sokka hemmed and hawed.
Suki turned around and addressed the Warriors. "Come on, girls. Wouldn't you like him to show us some moves?" The Warriors nodded and chuckled. They knew exactly what was gonna happen.
"Well, if that's what you want, I'd be happy to." Sokka said with a shrug, before getting into a stance in front of Suki. "Now," He said, "This may be a little tough, but try to block me." He tried to hit Suki with a haymaker that even I could've stopped. Suki saw right through his telegraphed move and simply raised up her arm and hit Sokka's shoulder with her closed fan.
"Ow!" Sokka yelped. He backed off and held his shoulder in obvious discomfort. He tried to recover his pride. "Good." He said. "Of course, I was going easy on you." He said.
"Of course." Suki replied with a mocking smile.
"Let's see if you can handle this!" Sokka tried to kick her, but Suki ducked and knocked Sokka off balance. My brother fell and landed on his back. Suki took out her fan and started lightly fanning herself. I held my hand in front of my mouth, desperately holding in my laughter. The self-proclaimed 'greatest warrior in the Southern Water Tribe' got back to his feet.
"That does it!" Sokka yelled and charged Suki. The Warrior grabbed Sokka by his arm and spun him around several times before grabbing his belt and tying his left arm to his right foot. Sokka hopped around a few times before falling down to the floor.
"Anything else you want to teach us?" Suki asked with her hands on her hips. I laughed along with the rest of the Warriors. I untied Sokka. He left the tent thoroughly humbled. I turned and gave Suki a respectful bow.
"Thank you." I said. "I've been waiting a long time for a girl to kick his ass. My brother's not a bad guy, he just has some misconceptions about women."
"I noticed." Suki said with an amused tone. "I was wondering, since you're a firebender, is there anything you know that can help us defend ourselves against them?"
I shook my head. "I just learned about my firebending less than a month ago." I admitted. "I don't know any specific moves. I know more about the theory."
"Anything could help." Suki prompted.
I stroked my chin in thought, wracking my brain for anything I could remember about firebending's weaknesses. "Well, firebending is a very aggressive style that doesn't have many defensive moves." I said. "If you can get close to a firebender and get inside their guard, you might be able to take them down."
Suki nodded. "Anything else?" She asked.
"Firebending requires breath control and takes a lot of energy." I said. "If they get tired and run out of breath, they won't be able to control their fire well. If you can keep your distance and keep dodging, you might get an opening when they get tired."
"Thanks." Suki said. "You have no idea how much that helps."
"Keep in mind," I warned, "This advice will work mostly on average soldiers. More powerful firebenders will have mastered breath control to the point where they can fight for hours."
"I'll remember that. And thank you." Suki said with a bow.
I returned her bow and left the dojo.
I found Sokka grumbling outside and kicking the snow. He looked like he was deep in thought. I didn't want to interrupt him, so I kept walking back to the house.
I found Katara bending some water in a bowl. Once I sat down in the corner of the room, Aang walked in looking smug.
"Katara, remember how the Unagi almost got me yesterday?" He asked coyly with his hands behind his back.
Katara rolled her eyes, but Aang didn't see it. "Yeah." She responded.
"Well, I'm gonna go ride it now. It's gonna be real dangerous." Aang said.
Katara didn't take the bait. "Good for you." She said unenthusiastically.
Aang looked surprised. "You're not gonna stop me?" He asked.
"Nope, have fun." She was still trying to ignore him.
"I will." He said petulantly.
"Great." She replied just as immaturely as he did.
"I know it's great."
"Well, I'm glad you know."
"I'm glad you're glad."
"Good!"
"Fine!"
I rolled my eyes at their argument. Seriously, were those two teens or toddlers? Aang left the room in a huff. Both of them hesitated and looked guiltily at the other, but they did it at different times, so they didn't see.
"I can't believe he's doing something so stupid!" She exclaimed to me. "Can't he get enough attention from those girls without risking his life?"
"Maybe he's not after their attention." I speculated, putting emphasis on 'their'.
"What do you mean by that?" She asked, confused.
"Now, sister." I chided. "That would be telling."
Katara gave me a glare, before grabbing her coat and storming out of the house.
I left the house and walked up the hill. I was greeted with something I didn't particularly enjoy seeing. Zuko's ship was landing on the shore in the distance. I saw the ramp deploy, and got a headcount of the soldiers before running back to the village. I ran into Oyaji's (the village leader) house without bothering to knock.
"Oyaji!" I yelled urgently. "The Fire Nation has landed onshore!"
"What!" He yelled. "How many?"
"Three spearmen, four firebenders and four rhinos." I said seriously. "Everyone needs to take cover. I'll distract them to buy you some time."
He nodded. "I'll notify the Kyoshi Warriors."
I hid behind some crates near the edge of town. I saw four rhinos walking steadily towards the village. Three of the rhinos had two people, one spearman and one firebender. The last one only had one rider: Prince Daddy-Issues himself. I waited until the three in front walked past me. Then I jumped out and shot a fireball at Zuko. He saw it coming, put his arms up in an 'x' shape, and brushed the fireball away as soon as it made contact.
"Traitor." He said lowly.
I rolled my eyes. "How many times do I have to say it?" I asked exasperatedly. "I've. Never. Set. Foot. In. The. Fire. Nation." I said every word slowly. I noticed that the other rhinos had turned to face me. I was completely surrounded.
"Where's the Avatar?" Zuko asked sharply.
I just shrugged. "Somewhere on this planet, I suppose." That pissed him off. He threw a punch, shooting a fireball at me. I mimicked his moves from earlier, hoping that I wouldn't get burned. I diffused the fireball just like Zuko had earlier.
The prince narrowed his eyes. "I see you've picked up a new trick." He said. Suddenly there were sounds of a fight coming from behind me. I spun around and saw that the Kyoshi Warriors had engaged Zuko's men. Several had already been knocked off their rhinos. I got a wicked idea. I shot a fireball at a riderless rhino and hit it right in the ass. The rhino shrieked and charged out of the village. One less rhino to deal with.
I saw Suki charge at Zuko. She managed to dodge two fire blasts, but Zuko's rhino spun around and knocked her down with its tail. Zuko shot a fireball at Suki before she could get to her feet. Luckily, Sokka, in full Kyoshi Warrior garb, jumped in front of it and deflected the fireball with his war fan. Before Zuko could fire off another shot, one of the Warriors jumped on top of him from a roof, knocking him off his rhino.
Zuko was on his back, with a Kyoshi Warrior, Sokka, Suki, and myself standing over him. Zuko did a break-dancing move and knocked us all to the ground. Zuko jumped back into the street.
"Nice try, Avatar," He said. "But these little girls can't save you."
"Hey, over here!" Aang's voice shouted in the distance. Zuko turned to face him and immediately shot two fireballs at him. Aang deflected both of them with his staff, then he spun his staff like a helicopter and levitated until he was a few feet away from the prince. Zuko knocked the staff out of his hand. Aang picked up the war fans that Suki dropped earlier. Using the fans, Aang bent a massive wave of air that knocked Zuko clean through a house. I winced. That had to hurt.
Aang picked up his glider and took off into the air, surveying the damage from above. I went to help Katara get the civilians to safety. Aang landed in front of us.
"Look what I brought to this place." He said sadly.
"It's not your fault." Katara assured him.
"Yes it is!" He insisted. "These people got their town destroyed trying to protect me."
"Then let's get out of here." Katara said. "Zuko will leave Kyoshi to follow us. I know it feels wrong to run, but I think it's the only way."
Aang hung his head. "I'll call Appa."
Aang, Katara, Sokka, Momo and I climbed onto Appa and took off. We made sure to fly directly over the village so that Zuko would notice us. Aang looked over his shoulder at the burning village several times. Katara noticed and tried to console him.
"I know it's hard, but you did the right thing." She said to him. "Zuko would've destroyed the whole place if we stayed. They're gonna be okay, Aang."
Aang suddenly jumped off of Appa…without his glider. "What are you doing?!" Katara yelled.
Aang dove into the water, and then reemerged on the head of a giant eel. "The Unagi." I whispered. Seeing it in a cartoon was one thing. Seeing the Avatar equivalent of the Loch Ness Monster in real life was awe inspiring. But, as amazing as the creature was, I had no desire to get any closer.
Aang stood on its back and pulled back the two barbels he was holding. The Unagi opened its mouth and a massive spray of water doused the village, extinguishing all the fires. The Unagi threw up its head, tossing Aang into the air. Appa flew down and caught the airbender in his front paws. Aang climbed back into the saddle.
"I know, I know, that was stupid and dangerous." He said.
"Yes. It was." Katara chided, but without any hint of anger. She threw her arms around Aang in a tight hug. Aang's face broke out in the biggest smile I've ever seen.
We flew off into the sunset towards our next adventure.
AN: A short chapter. Most of the filler will be shorter than the rest. Please Read and Review. This is my first fanfic, and I welcome constructive criticism.
