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 7:

Avatar Roku

Alec POV

I had snuck out of our room in the village and slept in Appa's saddle that night. I knew Aang was going to try and sneak out. Why do protagonists think they need to do everything on their own? I got a few good hours of sleep. Eventually, I was woken up by Aang's voice.

"Let's go, Appa! Come on, boy!" Aang pulled on Appa's reins, but the bison dug his heels in and groaned. Aang stopped pulling.

"Look, I'm sorry, but Katara, Sokka and Alec aren't coming to the Fire Nation with us." Aang explained. "If they got hurt, I'd never forgive myself."

Aang raised his voice again. "So get your big butt off the ground and let's go!" I heard him try to pull Appa again, but the bison didn't move an inch.

I heard Sokka's voice. "I think his big butt is trying to tell you something." He quipped.

Katara spoke next. "Please don't go Aang." She begged. "The world can't afford to lose you to the Fire Nation. Neither can I."

"But I have to talk to Avatar Roku to find out what my vision means." Aang objected.

"You could just ask Alec." Katara said.

I poked my head over the saddle. "I'm not talking." I said. "Besides, Aang needs to make contact with Roku."

They all jumped and looked up at me. "Why are you up there?" Aang asked.

"I knew you'd do something stupid, and I didn't want to wake up in the middle of the night. So, I just slept in the saddle instead." I explained.

"But how did you-" I cut him off with a look.

"Oh, right." Aang said sheepishly.

"Look." I said. "You're going to go to the island. But we're not letting you go unless you take us with you. We're not going to abandon you."

Aang looked touched. "You guys care about me that much?"

I smiled. Katara ran up and hugged him. Sokka gave him a nod. "We've got your back."

Aang teared up a little. "Thanks, guys."

We got some last-minute supplies from the village, hopped on Appa, and took off.


As soon as we hit the sky, Sokka turned towards me. "Where is this island, exactly?"

"Luckily, it's right on the edge of the Fire Nation, and almost directly west of Senlin Village." I said. "If we keep flying straight west, we'll find it."

"I still think it would be better if you just told Aang what Roku wants to tell him." Katara stated.

"I considered it at one point, but I decided against it." I admitted. "Aang needs to make contact with Roku to be able to connect with his other past lives. After he contacts Roku, he should be able to contact the others more easily."

"Is that really that important?" She asked.

"Yes." I replied. "The Avatar can learn a lot of lessons from his past lives. Aang needs to be able to do that."


A few hours later, Katara spotted something in the ocean behind us.

"Aang, we got trouble!" She stated.

"Yeah, and it's gaining fast!" Sokka added.

"What is it?" Aang asked.

"It's Zuko." I said with a groan.

"Doesn't he ever give up?!" Sokka yelled in exasperation. I knew how Sokka felt. Honestly, I admired Zuko's persistence when I saw the show for the first time. Now that I was living in it, I found his tenacity extremely annoying. Suddenly, I heard a noise. I looked over the edge of the saddle and saw a massive fireball shooting straight at us.

"Fireball!" Katara screamed. Aang heard her and managed to move Appa out of the way. We smelled the fireball after it shot past us. It was rancid. My nose burned and eyes watered from the stench.

"We have to get out of Zuko's range before he shoots another hot stinker at us!" Katara yelled while holding her nose.

"Can't you make Appa go any faster?!" Sokka inquired, barely suppressing a gag.

"Yeah, but there's just one little problem." Aang pointed ahead. A blockade of Fire Nation ships sat in front of us. Lovely.

"Maybe it's not so bad." Sokka said optimistically. "They can't shoot at us without putting Zuko in danger."

"Yeah, about that," I said, "They don't care. Get ready to dodge."

"Could we fly north and avoid the blockade?" Aang asked.

"There's no time!" Katara shouted.

"This is exactly why I didn't want you to come." Aang turned and faced us. "It's too dangerous."

"That's exactly why we're here." Katara replied.

"Let's run this blockade." Sokka said with determination.

"Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!" I yelled with a maniacal grin on my face. Everyone turned and stared at me. I realized how crazy I must have looked. "Sorry." I said sheepishly.

Aang shrugged and turned around. "Appa, yip yip!"


About ten seconds after we decided to run the blockade, they shot a huge volley of fireballs at us from the ship. Thankfully, we were a small, highly-mobile target, so we didn't get hit directly. Two of the fireballs collided right in front of us, and a little of Appa's fur got lightly singed, but we managed to put him out.

We ascended above the clouds, hoping to use them for cover. This had mixed results. On the plus side, the blockade couldn't aim at us well if they couldn't see us. The downside is that we couldn't see the fireballs until it was almost too late to dodge. Two fireballs collided in front of us again, much closer than last time. The shockwave from the impact bumped Appa and Sokka was thrown out of the saddle! Appa immediately dove after him. Katara and I barely managed to pull Sokka back into the saddle in time.

We stayed low, Appa's feet almost skimming the surface of the water. The blockade didn't shoot at us for a few seconds. Suddenly, a massive fireball shot directly at us! Aang jumped up and kicked a massive column of air at the sphere, detonating it before it could hit us. Aang fell back onto Appa's head, and the three of us held him down so he wouldn't fall off.

We sped through a gap between two of the ships in the blockade. We were safe, for now.

Aang pumped his fist into the air. "We made it!" He shouted in triumph.

My siblings weren't so happy. "We got into the Fire Nation…great." Sokka said with fear.


Several hours later, we were still flying west. It was pretty close to sunset. Aang and Momo rested on Appa's head, while my siblings and I sat in the saddle. Sokka turned to me and spoke.

"What was that thing you said about 'Damn the torpedoes'?"

I smiled. "It's something one of my ancestors said almost 130 years before I was born. He was an officer in my country's navy. There was a war, and during one battle there was a field of torpedoes, or explosives, between his ship and his objective. He allegedly said, 'Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!' or something close to that. He and his men successfully made it through the field and won the battle."

Sokka stared at me, open-mouthed. "He just rammed through? Was he crazy?!"

"We can't judge. We just got past a Fire Nation blockade with nothing but a sky bison, a lemur, and four people younger than sixteen." I pointed out.

"I still can't believe that worked." Sokka said, shaking his head.

"There it is! The island where Roku's dragon took me!" Aang exclaimed from Appa's head. We turned and looked. We saw a small, rocky, crescent-shaped island. An active volcano stood in the center, rivulets of lava flowing down from it. An elevated road led to a tower near the volcano.

We had arrived.


We landed near the start of the road, in a place where Appa could rest and remain hidden. Aang gave the bison a pat.

"You did it buddy. Nice flying." He praised.

I rubbed Appa's head, too. "Thank's Appa. I don't know what we'd do without you." I said warmly. Appa groaned and flopped over on his side, completely exhausted. Katara walked over and began rubbing his belly.

"Aw, you must be tired." She said affectionately.

Sokka, mistakenly thinking she was referring to him, replied. "No, I'm good. Refreshed and ready to fight some firebenders." He stretched and flexed.

Katara glared at him. "I was talking to Appa."

Sokka desperately tried to cover up his mistake. "Well, I was talking to Momo." He insisted petulantly. I just rolled my eyes.


Four humans and one lemur followed the road up to the structure. Once we reached the end, we saw the temple in detail. It was a massive pagoda. Each level had a red roof, with gold painted on the underside. Gold and red flame accents were everywhere. Seriously, are red and gold the only colors in this nation? Iron Man called, he wants his paint job back. The five of us hid behind a ledge and looked at the temple for signs of life. We saw nobody outside the temple.

"I don't see any guards." Sokka observed.

"The Fire Nation must've abandoned the temple when Avatar Roku died." Katara guessed.

Aang jumped over the ledge and approached the temple. "It's almost sundown. We'd better hurry."

We entered the temple and ran through the obsidian hallways until we came into a central chamber. We snuck through on tiptoe until we heard a noise. We turned around and saw five men. They wore red robes, and conical hats that reminded me a little of what Catholic cardinals sometimes wore. Given that they were also creepy-looking old men, the hats didn't help reduce the 'bad touch' vibes they were giving off.

The man in the center spoke. "We are the fire sages, guardians of the temple of the Avatar."

Aang perked up. "Great! I am the Avatar."

"We know." The man replied. Then they shot three fireballs at us. Aang blocked two of them. I managed to deflect the third.

Aang turned to the rest of us. "I'll hold them off. Run!"

My siblings and Momo ran for it, but I stayed with Aang. Aang did a leg sweep and tripped the fire sages with airbending. I shot a fireball at them for good measure. Aang and I took the opening and ran for it.

"Do you know where to go?" He asked me.

I shook my head. "The story didn't give a map of this place. I'm as lost as you."

"Monkey feathers!"

We kept running. Eventually we joined up with my brother and sister. "Follow me!" Aang commanded.

"Do you know where you're going?" Sokka asked.

"Nope!" Aang replied. He rounded a corner before doubling back, with a sage in hot pursuit. We ran through several more hallways, before we hit a dead end. We turned around and saw a sage standing right in the hallway, blocking our path.

He raised up his hands in a placating gesture. "I don't want to fight you. I am a friend." He said.

"Firebenders aren't our friends." Sokka spat back. I didn't bother to correct him this time. We had more important things to worry about.

The sage stepped forward and prostrated himself before Aang. "My name is Shyu. I know why you're here, Avatar."

"You do?" Aang replied.

He stood up. "Yes. You wish to speak to Avatar Roku. I can take you to him."

"How?" Aang asked.

Shyu moved to the wall and grabbed one of the lamps. He twisted it, revealing a small hole. He firebended into the hole, opening a secret passageway. "This way." He said.

I stepped forward, but Aang and the others didn't move. We heard movement coming from down the hall. "Time is running out! Quickly!" Shyu insisted.

The five of us followed Shyu into the passage. Shyu closed the passage behind us.


The passage led into a cavern filled with cooled magma. "Avatar Roku once called this temple his home." Shyu explained. "He formed these secret passages out of the magma."

"Did you know Avatar Roku?" Aang asked.

I rolled my eyes. "Aang, Roku died 112 years ago." I said. "How old do you think Shyu is?"

"Oh, right." Aang said with embarrassment.

"My grandfather knew him." Shyu said while leading us to a spiral staircase. "Many generations of fire sages guarded this temple long before me. We all have a strong spiritual connection to this place."

"Is that how you knew I was coming?" Aang asked.

"A few weeks ago, an amazing thing occurred. The statue of Avatar Roku: it's eyes began to glow." Shyu said.

"That's when we were at the Southern Air Temple." Katara realized. "Avatar Roku's eyes were glowing there, too."

"At that moment, we knew you had returned to the world." Shyu finished.

"If this is the Avatar's temple, why did the sages attack me?" Aang inquired.

"Things have changed." Shyu replied. "In the past, the sages were loyal only to the Avatar. When Roku died, the sages eagerly awaited for the next Avatar to return, but he never came."

Aang lowered his head. "They were waiting for me." He said sadly.

Sokka put his hand on Aang's shoulder. "Hey, don't feel bad. You're only a hundred years late." He tried to joke. The joke fell flat.

"They lost hope that the Avatar would ever return." Shyu continued. "When Fire Lord Sozin began the war, my grandfather and the other sages were forced to follow him. I never wanted to serve the Fire Lord. When I learned you were coming, I knew I would have to betray the other sages."

Aang bowed. "Thank you for helping me."

Shyu smiled. "Once you're inside the sanctuary, wait for the light to hit Avatar Roku's statue. Only then will you be able to speak with him."

We reached the top of the stairs. Shyu opened a trapdoor and let us up. We came upon a large metal door with five dragon heads. Shyu gasped. "No!"

"Shyu, what's wrong?" Aang inquired.

"The sanctuary doors: they're closed." He said.

Aang stepped forward and tried to pry the doors open, but to no avail. Katara looked at Shyu. "Can't you just open them with firebending, like you opened that other door?"

Shyu shook his head. "No. Only a fully realized Avatar is powerful enough to open this door alone. Otherwise, the sages must open the doors together with five simultaneous fire blasts."

"And we only have two firebenders here." Aang despaired.

Sokka put his hand on his chin. "Five fire blasts, huh?" He looked like he had an idea. "I think I can help you out."


Sokka made five amateur explosives and shoved them in the mouths on the door. Shyu lit them, and they exploded with a flash. It was a pretty clever idea. Too bad it didn't work.

Aang tried to pull the doors open. "They're still locked!" He yelled in frustration. He started throwing air blasts at the door in anger. "Why! Won't! It! Open! Ugh!"

Katara grabbed him by the shoulder. "Aang, stop! There's nothing else we can do."

Aang hung his head. "I'm sorry I put you through all this for nothing." He apologized.

Sokka stepped over to the door and examined the scorch marks. "I don't get it. That blast looked as strong as any firebending I've seen." He said.

Katara's eyes brightened. "Sokka, you're a genius!" She exclaimed.

Aang looked completely confused. "Wait. How is Sokka a genius? His plan didn't even work."

"Come on Aang, let her dream." Sokka said.

"You're right, Sokka's plan didn't work." Katara said with a smile. "But it looks like it did."

Aang still didn't get it. "Did the definition of 'genius' change in the last hundred years?"

Katara smiled mischievously. "I have an idea."


We all took our places for the plan. I chose to hide in a corner behind the staircase leading up to our level. I had a small part to play here. Once everyone was ready, Shyu left the room, then returned with four other sages, including the Head Sage.

"Come quickly!" Shyu yelled. "The Avatar has entered the sanctuary!"

"How did he get in?" The Head Sage asked sternly.

"I don't know." Shyu replied. "But look at the scorch marks, and down there!" He pointed at the floor and saw a shadow coming from underneath the door.

"He's inside!" The Head Sage exclaimed. "Open the doors immediately, before he contacts Roku!"

I noticed a shadow coming from the staircase. Right on time. Zuko came into the room. He hid behind a pillar, keeping his eyes on Aang. The sages shot fireballs at the door. The mechanism moved, and the doors opened to reveal…Momo.

"It's the Avatar's lemur. He must have crawled through the pipes!" The Head Sage realized. "We've been tricked!"

Everyone sprung into action. Sokka and Katara each pulled a sage's clothes up and covered their eyes, catching them off guard. Momo jumped on the Head Sage and crawled over his face, before stealing his hat. Shyu put the last sage in a headlock. Zuko tried to run and grab Aang, but I ran up and tackled him from behind, doing my best to keep the prince pinned down. Aang heard the noise and turned around. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw Zuko.

I looked at Aang. "Don't just stand there, RUN!" I screamed. Aang took off, and made it through the doors. I knew he would most likely have made it without my help, but I wanted to be sure. The doors sealed behind Aang with a flash of blue light. Right on time.

The sages managed to subdue Shyu and my siblings. Zuko overpowered me and flipped me over, slamming me hard onto the floor. He looked me in the eyes. I got a close look at the scar on his face. It was terrible, and definitely agonizing when it happened. Even three years later, it still looked raw. I spoke before I could stop myself.

"What kind of father does that to his own son?" I whispered in horror. I immediately cursed my big mouth. What the fuck was I thinking?! I said way too much!

Zuko's eyes widened briefly in shock. Then they narrowed. "You know nothing, traitor." He spat. He held my arms behind my back and forced me over to the pillar where my siblings were chained up. I got chained up next to them. Zuko and the four sages shot fire blasts into the door, but it didn't open.

"Why isn't it working? It's sealed shut!" A frustrated prince yelled.

"It must have been the light." The Head Sage said. "Avatar Roku doesn't want us inside."

"That's understandable." I quipped. "After all, every one of you but Shyu here has been a very bad boy." I got a glare for my trouble.

The sages hauled Shyu over to Zuko on his knees. "Why did you help the Avatar?" Zuko interrogated.

"Because it was once the sage's duty." Shyu explained calmly. "It is still our duty."

I had nothing but respect for Shyu. He knew that he would be imprisoned or worse for his actions, but he did the right thing without hesitation. If only the Fire Nation had more people like him.

My thoughts were interrupted by a slow clapping sound. I turned my head to the source of the noise. Several Fire Nation soldiers had entered the room. The commander looked familiar.

Sideburns? Check.

Early signs of male-pattern baldness? Check.

Smug as fuck grin on his face? Big check.

Zhao. The man so arrogant he thought he could kill the moon without repercussions. Living proof that Fire Nation military promotions aren't awarded based on competence.

Zhao spoke. "What a moving and heartfelt performance." He said sarcastically. "I'm certain the Fire Lord will understand when you explain why you betrayed him."

The Head Sage bowed. "Commander Zhao."

Zhao turned to face the scarred prince. "And, Prince Zuko, it was a noble effort, but your little smokescreen didn't work. Two traitors in one day. The Fire Lord will be pleased." He said smugly.

He turned and walked over to me. "Or, perhaps, three traitors." He said. "I heard rumors that a rogue firebender was traveling with the Avatar and two Water Tribe savages. It appears those rumors are true."

My siblings and I glared harshly at him. This guy shot at his own people so he could have all the glory of capturing Aang, and he called us savages?! Oh, fuck that! I decided to hit him where it hurts.

"You know, speaking of rumors," I said, looking the smug bastard directly in the eye, "I heard one a few towns ago about an overconfident Commander who lost an Agni Kai to a teenager. Any truth to that?" I knew I probably shouldn't have said anything about that, but I wanted to embarrass him.

It was very brief, and it might have just been a trick of the light, but I could swear I saw the ghost of a smirk on Zuko's face.

Zhao scowled and got directly in my face. "I'll enjoy leaving you to rot in the Boiling Rock for the rest of your days." He growled.

"You're too late, Zhao!" Zuko said. "The Avatar's inside and the doors are sealed."

"No matter." Zhao replied, glancing at the door. "Sooner or later, he has to come out."

I scoffed. "You're no match for the Avatar."

Zhao rolled his eyes. "Please. I think I can handle a child."

I smirked. I was going to enjoy the look of pants-shitting fear on his face when that door opened. After all, I didn't mention Aang by name, did I?


Sokka, Katara, Shyu, and I were chained against one column. Zuko was chained against another. Zhao and his men faced the door and took stances.

"When those doors open, unleash all your firepower!" Zhao ordered.

"How's Aang gonna make it out of this?" Katara whispered.

"How are we gonna make it out of this?" Sokka replied.

I remained silent, staring at Zhao's face. There was a flash of blue light, and the doors slowly slid open. The only thing I could see in the darkness was a glowing pair of eyes.

"Ready…FIRE!" Zhao ordered.

Zhao and his men shot streams of fire at the eyes. Instead of connecting, however, the fire swirled around a figure, illuminating him. It was a tall, old man with long, white hair and red robes. His eyes glowed with power. Zhao's jaw dropped in shock and terror.

"It was at this moment that Zhao knew," I thought with a smirk, "He fucked up."

Shyu's eyes widened in awe. "Avatar Roku." He whispered.

Roku thrust his arms forward, and a wave of fire shot through the room. It knocked back Zhao and the soldiers. When it reached us, instead of burning us, it disintegrated the chains holding us to the pillar. It did the same for Zuko. It was awe inspiring how much power and control Roku had over his fire. Once the wave hit the wall, it blasted a massive hole in it.

Roku turned and glared at the fire sages, who wisely chose to run away. Roku chopped his hand down, and a massive gouge melted through the floor.

"Avatar Roku is going to destroy the temple!" Shyu shouted. "We have to get out of here!"

"Not without Aang!" Katara insisted.

Roku raised his hand, and a massive geyser of lava shot up through the temple, bursting through the roof. Roku dropped his hand, and exhaled. A massive cloud of dust and smoke swirled around him. When the cloud disappeared, Roku was gone, leaving Aang in his place. Aang collapsed down to one knee. The Avatar State still took a lot out of him. My siblings and I ran over to him. Katara and Sokka each grabbed an arm and pulled him up.

"We got your back." Sokka said.

"Thanks." Aang replied. "Where's Shyu?" He asked.

"I don't know." Katara said.

We made our way over to the hole in the wall. The building was sinking under us. Suddenly, we noticed something coming our way. Momo and Appa flew towards us. The lemur still had the Head Sage's hat on his head. We jumped through the hole, and slid down the roof. We climbed on the bison and took off, making a beeline for the east.


A few hours later, we all were sitting in the back of Appa's saddle. Aang looked worried.

"What did Avatar Roku tell you?" Katara asked.

"It's bad." Aang admitted. "A hundred years ago, a comet came that made firebenders stronger. Fire Lord Sozin used it to start the war and wipe out my people."

Sokka raised an eyebrow. "What does that have to do with us now?"

"The comet's coming back." Aang said grimly. "I have to master all the elements and beat the Fire Lord before it does. If I don't, the Fire Nation will use it to end the war."

"How long do we have?" Katara asked.

"We have until the end of the summer." I said. Everyone turned and stared at me.

"You knew?" Aang asked quietly.

I nodded. "Yeah."

Aang shot up and crawled over to me. "Why didn't you tell me?!" He asked.

I raised my hands up. "You needed to contact Roku. The Avatar needs to be able to connect with his past lives. Also, if I told you and you made a beeline for the north pole, it would throw off the story so much that my knowledge would become useless overnight."

Aang didn't buy it. "I could've figured something else out! Because of you, we wasted so much time!"

I bristled. Because of me? I wasn't going to let that fly. I narrowed my eyes. "Even though you didn't know about Sozin's Comet, you still had enough reasons to not waste time." I growled.

"What do you mean?" Katara asked.

I looked the airbender directly in the eyes. "Aang, when you woke up, you learned about the war. You saw the state of the Southern Water Tribe. You saw Gyatso's skeleton in the Southern Air Temple." I said. "You saw all of it."

"What was the first thing you did when we left the Southern Air Temple? Did you go straight north to find a waterbending master?" I asked rhetorically. Aang flinched. He knew I had a point. We'd spent several days zigzagging east and west so Aang could ride hopping llamas, hog monkeys, and giant koi fish.

I didn't want to go too harshly against him. I knew that if I ranted about how much time Aang wasted it would only make things worse. He had enough guilt and regrets already. I softened my voice and my expression. "Look, Aang. I understand why you want to just have fun and be a kid. You're twelve, and you never wanted to be the Avatar. You never wanted the responsibility. But now the world needs the Avatar to save it."

He looked up at me. "I don't think I can save the world by myself." He admitted.

I smiled. "That's why we're here. We're not gonna let you do this alone."

Katara and Sokka each put a hand on his shoulder. "We won't abandon you, Aang." She said.

"We've always got your back." Sokka added with a nod.

Aang smiled. "Thanks guys." We all embraced in a massive group hug.

AN: So, Alec slipped up by letting those two pieces of info spill. First, he revealed to Zuko that he knew the origins of his scar. Then, in anger he revealed his knowledge of Zhao's loss to Zuko. How will this come back to bite him? Stay tuned to find out!