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 21:

Strategies, Rhinos and Festivals

Alec POV

We flew for hours, trying to keep some distance between us and Azula. I just sat in the saddle, thinking about what to do with what I knew now.

Ty Lee. My soulmate. What could I do? Nothing would happen as long as we were on opposite sides. I needed to fix that, but how?

I shook it off. I had time to think about this later, we had more pressing concerns now. We were about to head to Chin Village. I had a few plans for that place.

I noticed Appa descending. I looked towards Aang. "You taking us down?" I asked.

He nodded. "I found a good campsite close to a river." He reported. "I think we can all do some training tomorrow and then move southwest again the day after."

I nodded. That made sense. We hadn't trained in a few days. We needed to get more training done. Especially considering Aang would soon be splitting his training between two elements.

Katara looked at me. "Have you figured out what to do about Ty Lee?" She asked gently.

I frowned. "Yes and no." I admitted. "I know how to fight her without anyone getting hurt, but I haven't figured out what to do about us being on opposite sides."

"What, wanna defect?" Sokka snarked. I rolled my eyes. Then I started. "That's it!" I exclaimed.

Everyone looked completely lost. "What's it?" Katara asked.

"What Sokka said!" I explained excitedly. "Maybe I can convince her to defect!"

They all looked at me like I was crazy. "How?" Sokka asked in complete disbelief.

I gave a small smile. "Ty Lee's a nice person, and she does have a sense of right and wrong." I said. "She doesn't know the horrible things that the Fire Lord and the two Fire Lords before him have done."

Katara looked confused. "How could she not know?"

I shook my head sadly. "The Fire Nation schools lie and tell the students that the war is justified." I scoffed. "They say that the Fire Nation is bringing civilization and progress to the world."

Sokka gave me a flat look. "You've got to be kidding."

I snorted bitterly. "Unfortunately no." I said. "The higher-ups in the Fire Nation tell the people that the war is justified. The people don't question it, and the soldiers are so indoctrinated that they'll follow most orders without question." I looked around the group. "I mean, Jeong Jeong was the first person to successfully defect from the Fire Nation military, and that was ten years ago." I pointed out. "The war had been going on for ninety years before anybody successfully defected."

Aang gave me a curious look. "What does that have to do with convincing her to defect?"

I looked him in the eye. "I just have to tell her some of the things that the Fire Nation has done in the war. That might shake her up and get her to question her loyalties." I said.

Katara narrowed her eyes. "Might?"

I shrugged. "It's a long shot." I confessed.

Aang looked up at me. "Um, there might be a problem. How do you know she'll believe you?"

I smiled. "Remember her ability to see auras?" Everyone nodded. "When we first met, I was still having nightmares about Jet. She asked me if I was feeling okay. I said I was, and she immediately called me out for lying. She could tell from my aura that I wasn't okay." I took a breath. "If she could tell I was lying back then, maybe she can tell if I'm telling the truth."

Katara raised an eyebrow. "Do you really think that will convince her to leave Azula?"

I frowned. "I'm not sure." I admitted. "One of the reasons she's staying with Azula is because she's afraid of her. Azula's probably stronger than any of us individually."

Katara looked surprised by this. "You think so?"

I nodded seriously. "At our current skill levels, at least." I clarified. "But, at your current rate of progress, you'll be on equal footing with her in a month or two, and Aang will be able to fight her evenly once he learns some earthbending."

Sokka raised an eyebrow. "Do you think either of those things will happen before we run into Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee again?"

I tilted my head questioningly. Where was he going with this? "Not likely, why?"

He shook his head. "I figured if we could show that we're stronger than Azula, that might help convince Ty Lee to join us." He threw up his hands in frustration. "How can we do that if none of us can take her on our own?! I mean, she probably knows every firebending move you know!"

If this had been a cartoon, a lightbulb would have appeared over my head. I grabbed Sokka by his shoulders. "That's it!" I exclaimed.

Everyone looked totally lost. "What is it this time?" Sokka asked, slightly irritated.

I realized how ridiculous I was acting, and I let go of Sokka sheepishly. "You just gave me an idea for the next time we encounter Azula." I explained. "I have something that I can use to fight her. Something she doesn't have."

"What do you have?" Katara inquired.

I shook my head. If I told Katara what my plan was, she would never let me do it. "I can't tell you that. I just need you to trust me."

Katara narrowed her eyes. "Fine. I don't like it, but fine."

Appa landed, and we set up camp.


The next morning, Katara, Aang and I set up by the river. Aang and I were shirtless and shoeless, and Katara was in her swimwear. Time to get back to training. I did my stretches, and I spent extra time on the lightning redirection stretch. Once I was warmed up, I got out my scroll box, and looked at the next scroll. Fire pinwheel, it was called. A spinning disc of fire that could be used as a ranged attack. I handed the scroll to Aang. He looked at the name and raised an eyebrow.

"Fire pinwheel?" He asked. "That doesn't sound intimidating."

I smirked. "Maybe you'll think differently after you see what it does."

Katara put her hands on her hips. "Less talking, more learning." She ordered sternly. "Aang still has a waterbending move to learn, so you need to do this quickly."

I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly. "Sorry." I looked over the moves with Aang. I had to form the wheel by spinning my arms and then push it forward to launch it. I spun my arms in the motion depicted in the scroll.

After a few minutes, Aang shook his head. "You're too stiff."

I frowned. "Weird. I was trying to be less stiff than normal. I need to be even looser than that?"

He nodded, and looked over at Katara. "Could you show him that water pinwheel move?"

Katara smiled. "Sure!" She waded into the water until it was up to her knees. She took a stance and slowly spun her hands in front of her. A cylinder of water formed around her like a hamster wheel. Rivulets of water ran through her hair and over her skin. I looked at the movement in her hands. It didn't look any different than what I had been doing. I looked at Aang, trying to figure out what he saw that I didn't. Aang was staring at Katara in awe and adoration.

Suddenly, everything clicked. Aang hadn't seen me do the movement wrong! He just wanted to watch Katara in the water! Part of me was impressed, but the other part of me was annoyed with the waste of time.

I smirked. "I get it." I said loud enough for Katara to hear. She stopped and dropped the water. "Yeah, I know exactly what you wanted to see, Aang." I said in a light teasing tone.

Aang turned to me with wide eyes and gulped. Busted. "Relax," I whispered so only he could hear, "I'm not gonna sell you out, just don't do this again." He relaxed.

Katara made her way back over to us. "What are you two talking about?" She inquired.

"My movements compared to yours." I lied. "He was pointing out that I need to be more fluid."

She nodded. "That makes sense. You gonna try again?"

I nodded. I tried spinning my hands again. Aang nodded. "That looks good."

I barely suppressed a smile. I didn't change my movements at all from my first try. Aang looked at me. "You wanna try it with fire?"

I nodded and turned to my sister. "Katara, can I get some targets?" Katara made some elaborate motions and raised her arms. Several man-shaped ice targets rose from the river. She and Aang took a few steps back.

I took aim at one of the targets. I twirled my hands, creating an orange disc of fire. Once the disc stabilized, I shoved my right hand forward, intending to push it. The disc bent, and then it buckled and the pinwheel dispersed. I messed up.

Aang looked at the scroll, and back to me. He furrowed his brow in a thoughtful pose. "I think you made it too flexible, and didn't put enough power in it." He posited. "Maybe try to make it less like a fire whip, and more like a fire lash."

I was impressed. Aang had studied the scrolls so much that he had an excellent grasp of firebending theory. Hopefully it would help him learn faster when we got his teacher to join us.

I nodded and took aim again. I swirled my hands, and put more power into it. The disc was bigger this time, and I could feel the power behind it. I shoved my arm forward. This time the disc bent, then it shot forward like a rocket. It hit the target and continued to plow ahead to the other side of the river. It obliterated several trees and finally came to a stop when it hit a large boulder. There was a long, black scar on the ground along the path the pinwheel had traveled. Several trees in the path looked like a rabid, flaming beaver had torn through them, and the boulder that stopped the pinwheel was charred black.

That wasn't the only problem. I had set a few other trees on fire! My eyes widened in horror. "Katara!" I shouted.

Katara nodded. "I'm on it!" She barked. She started moving her hands back and forth, and created a massive wave. She shoved her arms in front of her, dumping the wave on the other side of the river, extinguishing all the fires. I breathed a sigh of relief. Crisis averted.

The water flowed back into the river. I turned to my sister. "Thanks." I said in relief. I had no desire to start a forest fire. She nodded in acknowledgment.

Aang surveyed the devastation. "I think you might want to keep that as a last resort." He opined.

I nodded. "Yeah, I don't think I'd use that unless everything in front of me was a target and there were no innocent people behind the targets." That move looked like something with a high chance of collateral damage.

Aang got a questioning look on his face. "Wait, what happened to the target?" He wondered.

"It melted when the pinwheel hit it." Katara reported. "I was watching the target the whole time."

My eyes widened. "Yeah, I'm definitely keeping that as a last resort."

"Even compared to lightning?" Katara asked.

"When you get struck by lightning, death is pretty quick." I explained. "This wouldn't kill you instantly and it would hurt the whole time. You tell me which is worse."

"Yikes." Aang said succinctly.

"You know, I think one firebending scroll is enough for today." I said. "I think it's time for some waterbending."

Aang beamed. He loved learning from Katara.


Aang and Katara waded into the water until it was up to their knees. I stood off on the side, observing them.

Katara got into teacher mode. "This technique is called the water spout." She lifted her arms and spun them around. A swirling vortex of water surrounded her and lifted her twenty feet into the air. Her upper body was still exposed to the air.

Aang and I stared up at her in awe. Katara raised her voice so we could hear her. "You can move the spout with your legs to dodge attacks, and you can still attack by bending with your arms." She looked down at me. "Alec, shoot a fireball at me."

"Are you sure?" I shouted back at her.

"Yes!" She insisted.

I shrugged, briefly took aim, and shot a beach ball sized fireball at her. The vortex twisted, and moved her out of the way before returning to an upright position. She sank back down to our level, and the vortex disappeared. She gave Aang an encouraging smile. "Now you try."

Aang mimicked her movements from earlier and formed a water spout. It wasn't as tall as Katara's and wasn't nearly as stable. Aang was swaying back and forth quite a bit. A few seconds later, the vortex destabilized completely and collapsed, dropping Aang into the water.

I sat down. I could tell this was going to take a while.


A few hours later, Aang finally stabilized the vortex enough to use it in combat. Just in time for dinner. Good thing, too. It was starting to get dark, and we were hungry. After dinner, we went straight to sleep.

The sound of Sokka coughing and spitting woke me up, along with Momo's chattering. "What are you doing in my mouth?!" Sokka angrily yelled at the lemur. "Momo, you need to be a little more sensitive to my boundaries."

Wait, I recognized that line. I sat up quickly. I felt the ground rumbling, almost like an earthquake. But this was no earthquake. Aang and Katara woke up and sat up as well. Four komodo rhinos emerged from the woods and began circling around us. A fifth stood on a hill overlooking our campsite.

Aang and Katara gasped in surprise. I clenched my fists in anger. It was them. The Rough Rhinos. I looked over all of them in turn. The first one was partially bald, but had a long, braided beard. He carried a guan dao. Kahchi. The next one was dark-skinned, and had a long braid and big sideburns. His weapon was the bolo. Ogodei. The third one was an archer. Judging by his facepaint, he was one of the Yuyan Archers. Vachir. I couldn't tell what the fourth one looked like. He was wearing a helmet that completely covered his face, and he had several bombs strapped to his belt. Yeh-Lu. The one on top of the hill was fair-skinned, and was bald except for a topknot and a fu manchu mustache and beard. Mongke. I also noticed that their armor was pristine, like they'd never been in a serious fight.

"Give up!" Mongke shouted. "You're completely surrounded!"

Sokka inched like a worm towards Appa. Vachir shot two flaming arrows towards him. The arrows pinned down the sleeping bag, but Sokka was able to wriggle free and run for it. Aang jumped on Appa's head, preparing for takeoff. I ran for Aang. Katara and Sokka were about to climb aboard, but then they stopped in their tracks. Katara turned around back to the stump she'd been sleeping on. "My scrolls!" She exclaimed.

Aang realized he was missing something, too. "My staff!" He shouted.

Kahchi stopped his rhino next to the stump and buried his guan dao in the stump next to Katara's scroll box. Katara opened her waterskin and shot a stream of water at the guan dao, freezing it into the stump. She ran up and grabbed her scroll box while Kahchi struggled to break the ice, and ran back to Appa.

Aang ran towards his staff. Ogodei swung his bolo and wrapped it around a tree, pulling it down in an attempt to block Aang's path. It had no effect. Aang just somersaulted over the tree without missing a beat.

Yeh-Lu ignited one of his grenades and threw it. It landed right next to Aang, but the fuse was still burning. Aang swirled his staff and knocked the explosive into the woods, where it detonated without hurting anyone.

I ran off towards where Sokka had been sleeping. Luckily, I kept my supplies on Appa, so my scroll box was already safe. I saw Sokka's boomerang lying on the ground. I picked it up and turned towards Appa. I saw Yeh-Lu getting ready to prep another grenade. I wasn't about to let him do that. I shot a fireball at him, aiming for his belt.

BOOOOOOOOOM!

Yeh-Lu and his rhino disappeared, and in their place was a massive, charred crater. I didn't waste time. I jet-stepped over to Appa, and jumped into the saddle. Luckily, Aang was already on Appa's head. Aang was staring at me, wide-eyed. "GO!" I shouted. That snapped him out of it. "Yip yip!" He cried, cracking the reins. We took off into the sky. Right before we were clear, I noticed Mongke shoot a fireball up towards us. I jumped up into a standing position and blocked it.

I sat down and breathed a sigh of relief. We'd escaped the Rough Rhinos.


After we got clear, I looked at my siblings. They were looking at me with surprise and slight fear. Aang jumped back into the saddle and gave me a similar look. I had some explaining to do.

I handed Sokka his boomerang. "You dropped this." I said awkwardly. He took it and nodded in thanks, but his eyes didn't change.

Katara was the first of them to speak. "Why did you do that?" She asked in a whisper.

I took a deep breath. "Because I know who those guys are, and what they've done." I answered quietly.

Their expressions became more calm, but still cautious. Aang bit his lip before he spoke. "Don't you feel bad about it?"

I thought about it for a few seconds before I responded. "I feel bad for the rhino, but not the man." I answered honestly. Aang's expression softened slightly.

Sokka raised an eyebrow. "Who are those guys?"

"They're called the Rough Rhinos." I explained. "They're an 'elite' Fire Nation cavalry unit of five men. Well, I guess four men, now." I added air quotes around 'elite'.

Sokka cocked his head questioningly. "You saying they're not that good?"

I narrowed my eyes in anger. "Every time they fought someone with actual skill in the original story, they either lost, or their target escaped unharmed. The only time I ever saw them succeed was when they were burning down villages that couldn't fight back. I think if you put them up against our home village, the village would win." I explained. "As long as Hakoda and the rest of the warriors had returned to the village, that is." I clarified.

Sokka raised an eyebrow. "You could just call him 'Dad', you know?"

I shrugged. "I'll do that if he says it's okay once I meet him in person."

Katara looked at me. "There's more to it than that, isn't there?" She inquired with a gentle voice. I had to give her credit, she could read us pretty well.

I nodded. "Eight years ago, they burned down a village, and Colonel Mongke, the firebender, personally set the home of an eight-year-old boy on fire." I said quietly. "That boy's name was Jet."

Eyes widened around the group. "So you're saying they're the reason…" Katara trailed off.

"That Jet went crazy and tortured me, yes." I said bluntly. The memory was still painful.

Aang still looked uncomfortable. "I see." He took a deep breath. "Are you sure this isn't about revenge?"

I thought about it. "I don't think it is, but I'm not sure." I admitted. "I wanted to stop at least one of them from ever hurting anyone else, but I am angrier at them than I would be if Jet hadn't tortured me."

Aang nodded. "Just be careful. The monks taught me that vengeance is a dark path."

I looked him in the eye. "I'm not going to go out of my way to hunt them down, but if they show up, I won't hold back."

There was silence for a few seconds. I decided to change the subject. "We left some of our stuff back there, right? What did we lose?" I asked Katara. She was the one who kept us organized.

Katara looked at our supplies for a few seconds. She turned back to us. "We lost our sleeping bags and our food." She reported. "We have everything else."

Sokka sighed in relief. "At least we didn't lose anything we can't replace." Suddenly he narrowed his eyes and turned to me. "Why did you go back for my boomerang?" He questioned.

I smirked. "Because if you lost it, you'd whine until you got it back."

Aang and Katara laughed. Sokka pouted.


We found a general store outside of a village on the edge of a cliff by the ocean. Aang and I decided to go incognito. Aang wore a straw hat, and I just did my cloak and scarf combo. Thankfully, we had enough money to replace our three sleeping bags (Aang never used one) and the produce we lost. I took a look browsing around the supplies. I came across a set of scroll paper, ink, a brush, and a wax sealing kit. Next to it was a small frame. That gave me an idea. I grabbed the set and the frame and took them over to the shopkeeper. "How much for these?" I inquired.

He looked at it and shrugged. "You can have them." He said. "Travelers normally don't carry that stuff, and I need the shelf space for other things."

I gave an appreciative bow. "Thanks!" I said brightly. I put the items in my bag. Katara looked at me. "What do you need that for?" She inquired with a raised eyebrow.

I winked. "You'll see."

She rolled her eyes. Sokka walked over to pick up the produce that he bought. The shopkeeper handed him a basket of fruits and vegetables. "Here's your produce, boomerang guy." He said politely.

Katara handed the merchant some money. The merchant stared down at the coins. "Hey, Water Tribe money!" He said in surprise.

"I hope that's okay." Katara responded.

The shopkeeper shrugged. "As long as it's money."

That gave me an idea. This guy accepted Water Tribe money, but it would be a good idea to exchange it for Earth Kingdom coins. I approached the merchant. "You wouldn't happen to know about a place where we could exchange the Water Tribe money for Earth Kingdom money, would you?" I asked.

He nodded. "Sure, there's a coin exchange in Gaoling, but it's pretty far away from here."

I smiled to myself. I was looking forward to going to that place. Well, I was looking forward to meeting a certain someone in that place, anyway. "Thanks." I replied.

The merchant finished closing his shop. "No problem." He started walking down the road towards the village. "Have a nice Avatar Day!"

Aang perked up. "Avatar Day?" He asked, clearly interested.

The merchant waved but kept walking towards the village. "You guys are going to the festival, right?" He asked.

Aang and Katara smiled at each other.


We made our way to Chin Village. There were a bunch of green, festive lanterns hanging over the busy streets. We made sure to stick together, which was pretty easy, considering that most of the villagers dressed in similar white robe garments. Aang took everything in. "There's a holiday for the Avatar. Who knew?"

I barely suppressed a chuckle. Was it a little mean not telling them? Yes. Were their faces going to be priceless? Also yes. We saw a shadow fall over us. Katara turned and pointed. "Look! They made a giant Kyoshi float!"

We ran to the parade route to get a better look. Sokka looked down the street. "And here comes Avatar Roku!" A Roku float rolled by us. I looked in the main square. The Kyoshi and Roku floats were set up in a line in the center of the village.

"Having a huge festival in your honor is great, but frankly, it's just nice to be appreciated." Aang said.

"And it's nice to appreciate their deep-fried festival food!" Sokka added happily before taking a bite of something that was probably clogging his arteries as he spoke.

Katara pointed down the street. "Aang, look!"

Sure enough, there was a giant Aang float coming down the street. "That's the biggest me I've ever seen!" Aang said excitedly.

Aang's float pulled up next to the other two floats. Then we saw a shirtless man running down the street holding a lit torch. That didn't seem very safe. I would think that running with torches would be this world's equivalent of running with scissors.

Sokka looked at the torch-holder. "Nice prop."

Katara realized something was amiss. "What's he doing?"

The runner gave a loud scream, and jumped through the Kyoshi float, tearing a hole in it and setting it on fire. He then set the Roku float on fire. The villagers began chanting "Down with the Avatar!" I turned and looked at my companions. Oh yeah, priceless. All three of their mouths hung open in shock, and food spilled out of Sokka's mouth as a result.

The torch-bearer jumped on the roof of a building. One man in green robes, who I knew was Mayor Tong, raised his arm and beckoned the torch-bearer. He swung his arm back, and threw the torch, hitting the Aang float in the eye and setting it on fire. Aang cringed. Katara had enough, and sprung into action. She sprinted into the square, pulled water from two large pots nearby, and doused the flames.

A villager pointed angrily at my sister. "That party-pooper's ruining Avatar Day!"

Aang jumped from the crowd and onto his float's shoulder. "That party-pooper's my friend!" He stated angrily. He took off his hat, revealing his arrow.

Tong pointed at Aang in shock. "It's the Avatar himself!"

The 'party-pooper' villager pointed. "It's going to kill us with its awesome Avatar powers."

Aang put his hand up to try to calm them down. "No, I'm not. I…" The villagers cowered in terror. Aang looked at his hand and quickly hid it behind his back.

Mayor Tong picked himself up from his cowering position. "I suggest you leave. You're not welcome here, Avatar."

Katara rounded on him. "Why not? Aang helps people."

Aang dropped down from the float and landed by her side. "It's true!" He insisted. "I'm on your side."

"I find that hard to swallow, considering what you did to us in your past life!" Tong retorted. "It was Avatar Kyoshi; she murdered our glorious leader, Chin the Great."

Aang's eyes widened in horror. "You think that I…murdered someone?"

An old man who could best be described as 'ugly as fuck' decided to throw in his opinion. "We used to be a great society before you killed our leader." He said with a lisp with enough spittle to flood the Great Divide. He pointed his thumb at his chest. "Now look at us!"

Aang recoiled at the man's appearance. I put my hand to my chin in mock though. "You know, maybe he has a point." I said, winding up for the punchline.

My companions turned to me in shock. "What?" Katara whispered.

I turned and looked her in the eye. I moved my arm, indicating the villagers. "Well, they do look like shit." I said bluntly. Katara gave me a deadpan stare that screamed 'Now isn't the time!'.

"I know!" Mayor Tong agreed. It took all my self-control to not laugh.

Katara looked at Mayor Tong, then back to me, confused. "Wait, didn't you just…"

"Give him a second." I interrupted. Sure enough, a few seconds later, Tong's face contorted in rage. "HEY!"

Katara tried to take control of the situation. "Aang would never do something like that." She insisted. "No Avatar would."

"Kuruk might have." I muttered.

"Not helping." Katara hissed. She pointed an accusing finger at the villagers. "It's not fair for you all to question his honor!"

"Let's tell her what we think of the Avatar's honor!" A villager shouted. Then he turned around, pointed his ass at us, and blew a raspberry with all the maturity of a five-year-old. The villagers cheered in approval.

Aang took a few steps forward and raised his voice. "Give me a chance to clear my name!"

"The only way to prove your innocence is to stand trial." Tong explained.

"I'll gladly stand trial!" Aang declared confidently.

"You'll have to follow all our rules." Tong continued. "That includes paying bail."

"No problem." Aang replied.


A Few Moments Later

"How was I supposed to know they wouldn't take Water Tribe money?" Aang said apologetically.

Aang was in an open-air cell, with his arms and head locked in a pillory that was so big he could easily slip out. Katara, Sokka, and I stood on the other side of the bars. Katara was facepalming, Sokka had his arms folded and just shook his head. I gave a heavy sigh. Aang was too good for his own good, sometimes.

Katara took her hand away from her face and gave me a blood-chilling glare. "Maybe you would've if someone had given you a heads-up." She growled angrily. Dear spirits, that woman was scary when she was mad.

I held up my hands in surrender. "I have a reason for this."

Katara raised an angry eyebrow. "Oh, this should be good."

I took a breath. "I'm thinking about the future of the Avatar." I said. "Aang's successor will be born in the Water Tribe, then the Avatar after that will be born in the Earth Kingdom. There's a chance, even though it's slim, that the next Earth Kingdom Avatar will be born in this village."

Sokka shrugged. "So what? They don't tell the world who the Avatar is until they're sixteen, so the kid should be fine."

"They announce the Avatar's identity at sixteen, but most of the time, they've figured it out long before then." I pointed out. "The monks knew Aang was the Avatar by the time he was four or five." I shook my head sadly. "This village is out for the Avatar's blood. What do you think they would do if they found out that the object of their hatred was now a kid that they could easily kill?"

Katara looked horrified. "Do you think they would?"

I shrugged. "It's possible, which is disturbing enough." I looked Aang in the eye. "I admit, that scenario is very unlikely, but you're the best person to deal with this problem right now."

Katara looked uncertain. "I don't know." She looked at Aang. "You're supposed to be out saving the world. You can't do that locked up in here."

Aang looked down sadly. "I can't do that with people thinking I'm a murderer, either." He looked at us. "I need you guys to help prove my innocence."

"How're we gonna do that?" Sokka asked. "The crime happened three hundred years ago."

I kept my mouth shut. I needed things to play out like they did in the show.

"That's okay, Sokka." Aang got a cunning look on his face. "For some reason, I thought you were an expert detective."

"Well," Sokka said in a content voice. "I guess I could be classified as such."

Katara knew exactly what Aang was up to. "Yeah! Back home, he was famous for solving the mystery of the missing seal jerky." She added, playing Sokka's ego.

"Everyone wanted to blame it on the polar leopard, but I figured out it was Old Man Jarko wearing polar leopard boots!" He bragged. "See, a real eight hundred pound polar leopard would've left much deeper tracks." While he continued his monologue, Aang was pantomiming outside his field of view, mocking him. Katara held her hand to her mouth, trying not to laugh. Those two were so cute together. "Okay," Sokka bragged, "I guess I am pretty good."

"So, you'll help me with my case?" Aang asked hopefully.

Sokka held his hand to his chin for a few seconds. Katara stared at him with a raised eyebrow, wondering what he was thinking. "Fine. But I'm gonna need some new props." Sokka said. He ran off into the village.

A few minutes later, Sokka returned, wearing a detective hat with an attached bronze monocle. "I'm ready." He said seriously. Katara and I burst out laughing. He pointed the monocle at us and zoomed in. "What?"


Mayor Tong led us to a small amphitheater with a statue of Chin that was definitely larger-than-life. I knew the guy was barely over five feet tall, but this statue was well over six feet, not counting the pedestal. Beyond the statue was a small pagoda shrine near the edge of the cliff. "This is the crime scene." He declared. Sokka looked over the temple, making use of his monocle. Tong walked over to the cliff's edge and pointed at something on the ground. "This is the footprint of the killer, Kyoshi." I looked at the footprint, which appeared to be a small, left foot. I put my left foot next to it for comparison. Sure enough, my foot was bigger by several inches.

I got an idea. "Katara, could you come over here?"

My sister walked over to me. "What is it?" She asked curiously.

I pointed to where I put my foot. "Could you put your left foot here for a second?"

She raised an eyebrow, but shrugged and did it anyway. I had to keep myself from laughing out loud. Katara's foot was bigger than the footprint by a large amount. "Thanks." I said.

Mayor Tong continued his presentation. "It was at sunset, 370 years ago today, that she emerged from the temple and struck down Chin the Great. After that tragic day, we built this statue to immortalize our great leader." He indicated the statue with his hand. "Feel free to appreciate it."

With that, Tong left us. Sokka observed the statue with his monocle. Then a flash of inspiration crossed his face. He ran back to the temple and examined it further. "This temple and this statue were cut from the same stone." He stated. He ran back to Chin's statue. "And we know that the statue was build after Chin died."

Katara drew her conclusions. "So, if they were built at the same time, that means…"

Sokka interrupted her. "I wanna solve it!" He shouted with the maturity of a toddler. "That means Kyoshi never set foot in this temple!" He declared with a dramatic point of his finger.

"That's a big hole in the mayor's story." Katara realized. "But it's not enough to prove Aang's innocence."

"I got another hole." I added. "That's not Kyoshi's footprint."

Katara turned to me. "It's not?"

I shook my head. "Kyoshi was over six feet tall. That footprint is too small to be hers. It's probably Chin's."

Sokka raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think it's Chin's?"

I pointed at the statue. "That statue isn't to scale. Chin was five feet tall at most."

Katara narrowed her eyes. "You know the answer, don't you?" She growled.

I nodded and braced myself. "I can't tell the story without evidence without blowing my cover." I pointed out.

That calmed her down. She pinched her nose. "You're right. That's annoying. We need more proof."

Sokka pulled a dragon-shaped pipe out of his bag and started blowing soap bubbles through it. "We need to go to Kyoshi Island."

Katara looked at the pipe in surprise. "Where did you get that?"

I shrugged. "I'll stay here and make sure nobody tries to make a move on Aang before the trial."

Katara looked at me. "Is that likely?" She whispered fearfully.

I shook my head. "It didn't happen last time, but I trust these people about as far as I can throw them." I leaned closer so only she could hear. "Besides, I've had about enough of Detective Sokka already." I whispered.

She laughed.


I walked over to the jail to keep guard. Once I got to where Aang was being held, I saw Aang sitting in a circle with a bunch of the other inmates. One of the inmates spoke. "This girl your talking about? She'll come around. You just gotta hang in there." He assured Aang.

Aang took his hands and head out of the pillory and leaned against it. "You think so?" He asked hopefully.

The prisoners all murmured their agreement, but Aang didn't seem convinced. "I don't know…"

The first inmate spoke up. "Hey, you're smart, handsome, funny. Not to mention you're the Avatar."

Aang smiled. "You guys are great."

Another prisoner spoke up with tears in his eyes. "Don't be afraid to tell her how you feel." He dried his eyes and sniffled.

I sat down outside the cell, smiling under my mask at the strangely heartwarming scene.


Hours later, darkness fell, and my siblings returned from Kyoshi Island. The summoned Tong when they arrived. "Honorable Mayor," Katara started politely, "We've prepared a solid defense for the Avatar. We did an investigation and found some very strong evidence."

Sokka smiled at Aang and pointed at himself, taking all the credit. Aang smiled back at him.

Tong scoffed. "Evidence? Hmph! That's not how our court system works."

"Then how can I prove my innocence?" Aang asked.

"Simple." Tong replied. "I say what happened, then you say what happened, and then I decide who's right."

This horrified Aang and my siblings, who gasped. I didn't blame them. I'm pretty sure Salem, Massachusetts had a better justice system in the 1690's than this place.

"That's why we call it justice." Tong continued. "Because it's 'just us'." He left the jail laughing maniacally.

"If they believed in justice, they'd execute him for that pun." I grumbled. I turned to Katara and Sokka. "What did you find, anyway?"

Katara looked despondent. "Does it matter?" She asked quietly.

I nodded. "Just because we can't present evidence, doesn't mean Aang can't say what you found." I pointed out.

Katara brightened at this. "We brought back Kyoshi's outfit to show that her boots are bigger than the footprint, and we found proof that Kyoshi was on Kyoshi Island on the day of the murder, not here."

"Well, she was technically at both places." I thought to myself. I nodded. "So, you can stay up and help Aang memorize the evidence."

Aang seemed to perk up at that idea. Katara nodded. "Okay, you and Detective Sokka get some sleep." She said.


The next morning, the entire village had assembled in the amphitheater for the trial. Aang, a bailiff, and Mayor Tong stood in the center, while everyone else sat in the seats.

Mayor Tong spoke first. "Everyone loved Chin the Great because he was so great." He pointed at Aang. "Then the Avatar showed up and killed him. And that's how it happened." He walked to his seat in the amphitheater with a huge shit-eating grin on his smug face.

The bailiff raised his head. "The accused will now present its argument." He declared in a deep, monotone voice.

"You can do it, Aang." Sokka said encouragingly. "Just remember the evidence."

"Right…evidence." Aang said uncertainly. "Ladies and gentlemen…I'm about to tell you what really happened. And I will prove it with facts. Fact number one." He raised a finger to count along, but he drew a blank. "Uhhh…"

"The footprint!" Sokka stage-whispered ugently.

"Oh, yeah." Aang remembered. "You see…I have very large feet. Furthermore…your temple matches your statue. But…I was in a painting at sunset." He gave a big, hopeful smile. "So, there you have it, I'm not guilty."

Sokka and Katara wore massive fake smiles at Aang's pathetic argument. I was thankful that I was still wearing my mask, because my mouth was hanging open in disbelief. How did he blow it this badly if he studied all night? I turned to Katara. "How did this happen?" I asked. "Was he not paying attention last night?"

She kept her fake smile. "I don't know!" She whispered. "He looked like he was, he was looking in my eyes the entire time we were going over the evidence."

I nearly facepalmed. Of course. Aang had been studying, but he was more interested in the teacher than the subject. A flash of inspiration crossed Katara's face. She stood up and looked at Mayor Tong. "Can I have a minute with the defendant?"

Tong shrugged. "Do what you want, just don't take long."

Katara led Aang into the temple. Sokka looked totally lost. I checked my bag to make sure everything was ready for my plans.

Paper? Check.

Ink? Check.

Brush? Check.

Wax Seal? Check.

Frame? Check.

I was ready.


Katara came back out of the temple. "Mayor Tong, I'd like the court to hear one last testimony." She stated.

"I've already told you, it's just me and the accused." Tong replied. "You can't call any witnesses!"

"This isn't just any witness." Katara retorted. "I'm going to call…Avatar Kyoshi herself!" She spread her arms dramatically.

The villagers began murmuring among themselves. The bailiff led someone out of the temple. It was Aang, and he was wearing Kyoshi's outfit, complete with makeup. It was way too big for him. It would've been hilarious if the situation weren't serious.

Katara sat back down between me and Sokka. "What are you doing?" Sokka whispered.

"Well, she is Aang's past life." Katara said hopefully. "Maybe wearing her stuff will trigger something."

Sokka nodded. "I do believe in the power of stuff."

"This is a mockery of Chin law!" Tong said angrily.

"Chin law is a mockery of justice." I thought to myself.

"Please!" Katara begged. "If you could just wait one more second, I'm sure Kyoshi will be here!"

Aang waved his fan and batted his eyes. "Hey everybody! Avatar Kyoshi here!" He tried to say in a female voice, which sounded more like the old man voice he used the first time we went to Omashu.

Tong had enough. He stood up and walked over to Aang. "This is ridiculous." He declared. He pointed at Aang and addressed the audience. "For the murder of Chin the Great, this court finds the Avatar…"

He was interrupted by Aang being engulfed in a tornado of dirt. The sky darkened. A few seconds later, the tornado died down, and Aang was gone. But in his place stood a very tall, imposing woman. I grinned under my mask. There she was.

The woman.

The myth.

The legend.

Avatar Kyoshi was in the house.

"I killed Chin the Conqueror." She declared. Suddenly, a cloud appeared over her head that morphed and shaped into a sort of video for the audience to see. The first thing it depicted was Chin earthbending an earth column beneath one of his subjects as he was offering something to Chin. "A horrible tyrant, Chin was expanding his army to all corners of the continent."

The vision shifted, depicting Chin at the head of his army. "When they came to the neck of the peninsula where we lived, he demanded our immediate surrender." Kyoshi calmly walked toward him to face his challenge. "I warned him that I would not sit passively while he took our home. But he did not back down."

Chin and Kyoshi stood face to face. Kyoshi was at least a foot bigger than him. Chin took a fighting stance, but Kyoshi wasn't impressed. She grabbed one of her fans and pointed it at him. A powerful gust of wind washed over the surprised Chin and stripped him of all his clothes, except for his underwear.

"On that day, we split from the mainland."

Kyoshi's eyes glowed for a second, signaling the Avatar State. She jumped up and stretched one of her fans to the left as she landed. A powerful fissure ripped through the earth and exploded at the edge of the cliff. She repeated that move to the right with the same effect. Kyoshi calmly closed her fans and slammed them into the ground, causing the whole peninsula to shake. Chin still maintained his earthbending stance.

The ground opened up to reveal how Kyoshi made a large crack in the earth. With a series of wide arm movements, she bended the lava up from underneath the landmass to sever it completely. As the wall of lava died down, chunks of rock fell to the ground. Kyoshi spun around and created a powerful gale right beside Chin, blowing part of his army away and making the rest run away in fear. The island began moving away from the mainland. Chin held on to his hat as he watches the island go. He screams in anger while the rocks under him start to cave. He fell to his death in the water below. The vision faded.

"I created Kyoshi Island so my people could be safe from invaders." She concluded.

I stood up, it was time to make my move. "Avatar Kyoshi!" I said loudly to get her attention. She looked at me. I ran over and took off my mask, revealing my face to her. "Could I ask you for two quick favors?" I asked.

The former Avatar raised a curious eyebrow. "I'm listening."

I beckoned her to lean over so I could whisper to her. "Could you stick around for a few more minutes? We're about to be attacked, and these idiots might forgive you if you save their village. I'll ask you about the other favor when the attack is over."

She straightened back up, and nodded. I grinned. I was about to see Avatar Kyoshi in action.

Suddenly, her eyes narrowed and she pushed me out of the way with one hand, while bringing up one of her fans with her other hand in a vertical motion to deflect an arrow. So, they were here already. Perfect.

Colonel Mongke and the rest of the Rough Rhinos had arrived. "We've come to claim this village for the Fire Lord." He declared. "Now show me your leader so that I may…" Kahchi swung his guan dao back and forth, destroying the Chin statue. "Dethrone him."

One villager pointed at Tong. "That's him over there!"

Tong squealed and tried to hide behind Kyoshi. "Avatar! Do something!" He begged.

Kyoshi raised an eyebrow. "What's this I hear about you putting my successor on trial?" She asked in a mocking tone.

Tong got the message. "Fine! I find the Avatar not guilty! Now please, help us!"

Kyoshi smirked and stepped forward, drawing her fans. The civilians ran for safety, but Sokka and Katara stood up and ran over next to me. They took battle stances, but I shook my head. "She's got this." I explained. My siblings got out of their stances. I raised my voice. "Kyoshi, could you please leave their leader alive?"

She nodded. She waved her fan at Mongke, throwing him off his rhino and into a stone wall with a blast of air, knocking him out. She stomped a foot on the ground, tearing out part of the road and launching it into the air, creating a deep hole in the ground. She waved her fans again, blowing the remaining Rough Rhinos into the hole.

Then the boulder landed perfectly into the hole with a sickening crunch. The road was perfectly repaired, as if nothing had happened.

My siblings and I stared wide-eyed at how brutally efficient Kyoshi was. "Did she bury them, or mush them into paste?" Sokka asked fearfully.

"Yes." I replied bluntly.

Kyoshi put her fans back in her belt and walked back over to us. She looked at me. "You said you had two favors to ask of me. What was the second?"

I pulled out the paper, ink, and brush from my bag. "Can I have your autograph?" I asked hopefully.

Sokka and Katara looked at me like I'd grown a second head. Kyoshi chuckled. "Sure." She planted her foot on the ground, creating a desk out of rock. She put a piece of paper on the desk and wrote Avatar Kyoshi on the paper. She used a small gust of wind to dry the ink. I took the paper and put it in the frame.

"Thank you!" I gushed. "I'll cherish this forever."

She laughed. "Goodbye." She looked all three of us in the eye. "Take good care of my successor." She said with a smile.

She was enveloped in a swirl of dirt. She disappeared, leaving Aang in her place, swaying from side to side, nearly unconscious. Katara ran over and caught him before he fell.

"What happened?" He asked, totally confused.

"Kyoshi kind of confessed." Katara started. "But then the Rough Rhinos showed up and Kyoshi…" She grimaced. "Took care of them." She glared at me. "Then Alec asked for her autograph and got it."

I grinned and hugged the frame to my chest. "I regret nothing!"

Sokka looked at the unconscious Mongke. "What are we gonna do with him?"

I took out another piece of paper and began writing. "I have an idea."


We dragged Mongke to an empty cell in the jail. I went into the cell with him, while the others stood outside. He woke up a few minutes after we got him into the cell. He was in pretty bad shape, and didn't stand up right away. I looked down at him. "Your men are dead. We need you to deliver a message." I said with narrowed eyes.

Mongke didn't like that. He lunged up at me and tried to throw a fireball. I blocked it. He kept swinging wildly. I knew he wouldn't stop, and I couldn't let him bend or risk letting him burn down another village. So I did what I had to do.

I grabbed his wrists and cut them off with fire daggers.

He screamed in agony and dropped to his knees, then he passed out again. Katara ran into the cell and attempted to heal the burned stumps of his wrists. She was able to heal the burns and prevent the wounds from getting worse. She looked at me. "Why did you do that?" She asked, slightly scared.

I met her gaze. "He attacked me, and this way, he won't ever burn down another village. His fighting days are over."

She met my gaze for a few seconds, then she nodded. She rejoined Aang and Sokka outside. A few minutes later, Mongke woke up again. He looked down at the stumps on his hands in horror.

"Let's try this again, shall we?" I said. "We need you to deliver a message."

He looked up at me, scared. "To whom?"

"Princess Azula." I replied. "She's in the Earth Kingdom, and probably not that far away. I think she's following us." I pulled a scroll sealed with wax out of my bag and tucked it into Mongke's belt. "We have your rhino, so you can use that to find Azula quickly."

He held up his arms. "How can I control my rhino without hands?"

I shrugged. "That sounds like a whole lot of 'not my fucking problem'."


We ended up tying Mongke's stumps to the reins of his rhino so he could control it, before sending him out of the village. That night, the villagers threw us a party, with fireworks and confetti. Mayor Tong handed each of us a bowl, containing some doughy cookies depicting Aang and Kyoshi.

"From now on, we'll celebrate a new Avatar Day in honor of the day the Avatar saved us from the Rough Rhino invasion!" He announced happily. The villagers cheered.

Katara looked questioningly into the bowl. "What is this?"

"That's our new festival food!" Tong replied. "Un-fried dough. May we eat it and be reminded of how the Avatar saved our village from burning to the ground."

The four of us gave each other uncertain looks. We each picked up a cookie. "Happy Avatar Day, everyone!" Katara said with false cheer.

I took a bite. Now, cookie dough is normally tasty, if you make it with the right amount of sugar. This just tasted bland, and the texture made it even worse. I managed to swallow a bite.

"This is by far the worst town we've ever been to." Sokka declared.

"You said it." I agreed.


The next morning, we packed up Appa and took off. "Where should we head next?" Aang asked.

Katara turned to me. "When you spoke to that merchant a few days ago, where did he say the currency exchange was?"

I grinned. "Gaoling. It's a city to the east of here."

Katara nodded. "Then we should go there. We found out the hard way that not everyone will take Water Tribe money."

Sokka noticed that I was grinning. "What are you so happy about?" He inquired.

My grin didn't leave my face. "You'll see."

Katara gave me a look. "What exactly was the note you sent to Azula?"

My smile dropped. "I know that Azula doesn't fight as well when she's angry, so I sent her a letter to make her mad."

Katara pinched the bridge of her nose. "I know I'm going to regret asking, but what did you write?"

I smirked. "Well…"


Ty Lee POV

Azula, Mai, and I had been heading east after Alec and his friends since Omashu. I was conflicted. Alec was a nice guy, but why was he fighting against the Fire Nation? I wanted to know. I needed to ask him when we caught up with him. As long as Azula didn't kill him first. The thought made me shudder. Azula was my friend, but she was terrifying.

We'd been traveling in some kind of metal vehicle that traveled fast along the ground. There were four cabins: The main cabin with the controls, Azula's quarters, the quarters that Mai and I shared, and a stable for three mongoose lizards. Right now, we were stopped, and making camp for the day. I could tell from Azula's aura that she was getting irritated.

"Something wrong?" I asked her.

She frowned. "I saw how fast that bison could fly. This vehicle is much faster. We should have found some kind of trail by now, but we haven't found anything."

I thought back to what Alec said to her in Omashu. "Is that the only thing bothering you?"

Azula gave me a glare. "Yes."

I could tell she was lying. She was fixating on what Alec said in Omashu. He'd really gotten under her skin. I wondered what made him think that, and what made Azula believe him.

Suddenly, we heard a bird shriek above us. We looked up. A messenger hawk came down and landed in front of us. Azula opened the scroll on its back and read it. She stood up abruptly. "Let's pack up and go, we have a lead."


We traveled southwest for a few hours at high speed. We eventually reached a Fire Nation military camp. As soon as the vehicle stopped, Azula stepped out and walked toward the command tent. She burst in without warning. "Where is he? Take me to him." She demanded.

The commander quickly stood up and bowed. "Of course, Princess Azula. Right this way." He led us to another tent. He opened the flap and revealed another man. He was mostly bald, except for a topknot and a mustache and beard. His aura revealed that he was nervous and scared, and traumatized. The thing that stood out most about him was the fact that his hands were missing. My eyes widened. Did Alec do that? Why?

The man saw Azula and kneeled. "Princess Azula."

Azula raised an eyebrow. "Where are the rest of the Rough Rhinos?"

He looked down. "Dead."

Azula narrowed her eyes. "What happened?" She growled.

The man told us his story. How they tried to ambush the Avatar and his allies while they slept, but Alec killed one of them. How they were about to burn down a village for the Fire Nation but a tall woman with makeup stopped them. How he tried to attack Alec again, but Alec cut his hands off. Finally, how Alec gave him a note to give to Azula.

One part of the story stuck out to me. Why would the Fire Nation burn down a village? Was it common?

Mai suddenly narrowed her eyes. "That's strange." She observed.

Azula turned to face her. "What's strange?"

"That tall woman with makeup sounds like Avatar Kyoshi, I read books about her when we were in school." Mai recalled. "It's strange because Kyoshi's been dead for almost two hundred years."

Azula looked thoughtful. "I think I know what happened."

I was curious. "What do you mean?"

"During the last winter solstice, the Avatar and his friends somehow got past our blockade and infiltrated the Avatar's temple near the border." She explained. "The sages cornered the Avatar, who locked himself in the sanctuary. The Avatar eventually came out, but he had transformed into Avatar Roku. I think he did the same thing here." She narrowed her eyes. "We'll need to be careful when we face him."

Azula turned back to the man. "Where is the note?"

The man motioned his head towards a small table. Azula picked up the note, and unsealed the wax. She read the note. Her face didn't show anything, but her aura flared with anger. She turned to the camp commander. "Send a hawk to the Fire Nation bounty office." She ordered. "Tell them to increase the bounty on Alec 'the Hand Slicer' to ten thousand gold, and add charges of assault and blasphemy." She turned to us. "Let's go, ladies."

She dropped the note on the table and left the tent. I walked over to it curiously and picked it up. What could Alec have said to earn blasphemy charges? I picked up the note and unfurled it. Mai and I read it quietly.

"This is will happen when the Fire Nation burns down innocent villages. Do not test us.

-Alec

Postscript:"

There was a drawing of something I hadn't seen since my parents told me and my sisters the facts of life, but this one was extremely small. It was even smaller than my pinky. There was a caption under the drawing.

"Ozai's cock. Actual size. Fully erect."

I put down the note, wide-eyed. I ran back to the vehicle as fast as I could, with Mai hot on my heels. I used every ounce of self-control to keep my mouth shut, and I covered my mouth with my hands for good measure. I got back into my cabin. Mai walked in and closed the door behind us. She looked at me with an amused eyebrow. "Are you okay?"

I shook my head.

"Do you need a pillow?"

I nodded.

She picked up one of the pillows from my bed and handed it to me. I buried my face into the pillow and laughed. I hadn't laughed so hard in my life. That joke was so bold, so immature, so completely stupid, but it made me laugh. I kept laughing while the vehicle started moving, heading out to pursue the Avatar and his friends.


Alec POV

Sokka and Aang laughed out loud. Katara gave me a deadpan look. "You had time to plan this in advance, and that's what you came up with?"

I grinned. "I think it'll work."

Sokka managed to stop laughing and looked at me. "You realize that you made a mistake, right?"

I tilted my head curiously. "What mistake?"

Sokka grinned. "Because of what you did to Mongke, you're probably stuck with the 'Hand Slicer' nickname forever."

My blood ran cold. I hadn't thought of that. That cringe-inducing nickname was stuck. I reacted the only way I knew how. I tilted my head back.

"FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!"

AN: Sorry this took so long. I didn't like this episode that much, but I needed it for the story. Next one will hopefully come out quicker.

Next time: The moment you've all been waiting for. The girl, the myth, the legend. The Blind Bandit!