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 41:

The Painted Lady

Alec POV

We spent the next day flying across the archipelago, making our way east from Tokido Island to Jang Hui. We stopped on a small island after flying for several hours and went to the market to look for food and supplies, leaving the animals in a nearby cave.

The market was large, with roads of paved stone, beautiful stalls, and plenty of people milling about. We separated into two groups to avoid attracting attention. Aang, Katara, Azula, Ty Lee, and I formed one group, while Sokka, Suki, Toph, Mai, and Zuko formed the other. Immediately after we finished buying food, my group heard something that grabbed our attention.

"Gossip Monger here! Get your news from all parts of the Fire Nation and the colonies for only one ban!"

That sounded interesting. Maybe we could get some information after sifting through the pro-Fire Nation bias. I turned to the others. "Could be worth a listen," I reasoned with a shrug.

The Gossip Monger was a middle-aged man with black hair, wearing an expensive-looking red outfit with gold trim. His hair was slicked back, which was unusual as most people in the Fire Nation had a topknot of some kind. He had knowing smile on his face that reminded me of a used-car salesman.

We went up to him and I placed a ban on the table of his stall. He gave me a smile showing a lot of teeth. I was impressed that his teeth looked as good as they did, considering the toothbrushes and toothpaste in this world were rather…primitive compared to what I had in my old world. "Welcome!" he said with practiced enthusiasm. "What news would you like to know?"

"How are things in the Earth Kingdom colonies?" I asked. "I have a brother stationed there. I want to know what he's up against."

The Gossip Monger nodded. "It depends on if he's stationed in a major city or if he's part of a patrol pattern," he said thoughtfully. "I've heard that patrol patterns are regularly ambushed by earthbenders."

I nodded. "That's good. He's stationed in Ba Sing Se."

The Gossip Monger's face turned sad. "It's terrible what happened there," he said in a low voice. "Our nation's kind and gentle princess taken from us at such a young age."

That was an odd choice of words. "Kind and gentle?" Azula asked with a raised eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"She was said to have loved small animals and spent time volunteering at orphanages around the Fire Nation," the man replied with a kind smile.

There are no words to describe how hard it was to keep myself from laughing. Aang and Katara covered their mouths with their hands, trying to look sad instead of amused. Ty Lee grabbed my hand tightly, and buried her head into the crook of my neck to hide her laughter. Azula's mouth was wide enough to catch a fish, and she was blinking rapidly. "Is that right?" I asked, trying my hardest to remain casual.

The man nodded. "Such a tragedy that her life was taken by the Avatar."

"Thanks for the information," I replied. We all left and made our way back to camp, trying to hold it together.


"Kind and gentle?" Mai snorted.

Azula was horrified by her new reputation as some kind of Fire Nation Florence Nightingale. "This is humiliating," she said with a scowl.

"Why?" Toph teased. "Afraid of people knowing what a softie you are?"

Everyone laughed again. Azula crossed her arms over her chest. "It's not funny!" she insisted. "I'll have to spend some time fixing this after we win."

"When will you have time?" Aang asked. "You'll be busy searching for more dragons, and breeding dragons." He smiled. "Plus, you need to make time for your daily visits to local orphanages to read to the little children!"

Azula narrowed her eyes at him while everyone else laughed. She looked at Zuko. "Zuzu, how is Aang's firebending coming?"

Zuko raised an eyebrow. "Fairly well, why?"

Azula tapped her chin in mock thought. "It occurs to me that Father will likely have guards with him when Aang faces him. We need Aang to be prepared to fight multiple opponents." She grinned wickedly. "I'm going to spar against him with you from now on."

Aang gulped, probably wishing he'd kept his mouth shut.


Ty Lee POV

Azula and Zuko spent the next day 'training' with Aang. Well, Zuko was training him, but it seemed like Azula was trying to terrorize him. Katara stepped in after one particularly large fireball missed Aang only by a foot or two.

"Was that really necessary, Azula?" Katara glared at the firebender. "You could have killed him!"

Azula shrugged. "He dodged, didn't he?"

"You threw a fireball the size of Appa at him!"

"Do you think the Fire Lord will go easy on him?" Azula challenged. "If we don't prepare him, he'll die."

Katara turned to me and Alec. We were sitting with Sokka, Suki, and Mai, going over the prison records. Alec didn't seem to be paying attention. "Alec, back me up here," Katara said.

Alec blinked and looked at her. "Sorry, what?"

"Tell Azula to go easy on Aang!" She insisted, stomping her foot for emphasis. "You saw how much fire she just threw at him."

Alec shook his head. "Actually, I didn't," he said. "I wasn't paying attention."

Sokka raised an eyebrow. "How did you not notice a giant fireball?"

"I was thinking about something," he admitted, furrowing his brow. His aura was bluish gray, the color of concentration.

"What?" Sokka asked. "You haven't said anything since breakfast."

"I've been thinking about what Lady Ài said in that note," he said. "Something else changed in the past, and I'm trying to figure out what it is."

I had almost forgotten about that after everything that happened since. "Didn't she say that the change wasn't a danger to us?" I recalled.

Alec nodded. "She did, but that leaves a lot of room for interpretation. It could be something that's a danger to other people. It could be something that isn't a danger to us now, but could become one later. I don't like loose ends." He turned to Azula and Zuko, who were giving Aang a break. "Hey, what are the odds that Ozai has a bastard child running around somewhere?"

"Slim to none," Zuko replied, wiping his forehead with a towel. "Ever since the Camellia-Peony War, the Fire Nation Royal Family has had a rule that they've abided by for generations."

"If you're not married to her, pour Moon Tea down her throat when you're done," Azula quoted.

Alec raised an eyebrow. "Kind of a crude way of putting it."

"That's probably just Ozai's way of saying it," Azula speculated with a shrug.

Alec shrugged. "Well that probably rules that out, but we should check when we win just to be safe." He rubbed his forehead. "The weird thing is, I have this gut feeling that I have enough information to know what the change is, or at least make a guess. It feels like I have all the pieces, but I don't know what they are or how they fit together." He huffed. "This is giving me a headache."

I hated seeing him like that. Ved put his head in Alec's lap, trying to comfort him. I slid behind him and rubbed his temples with my fingers. "Stop worrying so much," I said in the most soothing voice I could muster.

Alec sighed. "You're right," he admitted. He grabbed my right hand from his temple and kissed it. "Thank you."

I smiled and wrapped my arms around him from behind, putting my chin on his shoulder. "You're welcome."

"We've got other things to worry about," Sokka said. "Like finding a good staging point for the prison breaks."

Azula pointed at a spot on the map. "Try this island," she suggested. "It's centrally located between the prisons, and I know it's been abandoned for decades. It used to be an old refueling port, but improvements in the efficiency of Fire Nation engines made it redundant."

Katara looked at where she was pointing. Her eyes widened. "That's the Sacred Island," she whispered.

Aang looked at her. "The what?"

"It's an island halfway between the North and South Poles," Katara elaborated. "The Water Tribes used it as a meeting place for generations, then the Fire Nation took it."

Zuko and Alec locked eyes. "Put it on the list to give the Sacred Island back to the Water Tribes?" Alec asked.

Zuko nodded. "You read my mind."

Alec grinned. "I'm your Grand Advisor, it's my job."

"Using a Water Tribe Island to really twist the knife against Ozai seems appropriate," Mai noted.

"Okay, we can use it," Sokka said. "We should have everyone gather there a few days before the eclipse. But what do we do with all those prisoners once we break them out?"

"Normally, I'd suggest sending the ones who can't fight back to their homes, but the Fire Nation took over most of those places," Alec said. "And that's a very bad idea for the Water Tribe prisoners."

"Why them, specifically?" Azula asked.

"If we send them back home, the Fire Nation will attack the South Pole to either get them back or kill them," Alec said, shaking his head. "Our village couldn't fend off Zuko's ship when he showed up. They wouldn't stand a chance against a serious raid right now. And those prisoners from Water's Wail won't be in any shape to fight. They've been kept in horrible conditions for decades."

"We need a place that's defensible, and that can provide for a massive amount of people," Suki said.

Alec smiled. "I know a place. We'll have to send a few letters before we leave tomorrow."


The Next Day, Alec POV

After Sokka sent a few notes to our allies, we made our way to the Jang Hui river. Appa was lazily drifting along the filthy river. The river was more toxic sludge than water at this point. It was the kind of river that you couldn't drown in, but you could suffocate.

Aang didn't seem to mind. He was playing a version of Marco Polo with Momo. How he could stand swimming in that river was beyond me. Sokka was trying to fish, but coming up empty. Aang jumped back into the saddle, covered in muck. "You weren't kidding when you said this river's polluted," he said to Azula.

Aang made to bend the muck off of himself, but I held my hand up in a 'stop' motion. "If you're gonna do that, at least point it away from us," I said. Aang nodded, turned away from us, and bent the mud off his body.

"That explains why I can't catch a fish around here," Sokka said. He turned around and pulled the empty hook out of the water. "Because normally my fishing skills are…off the hook!" he finished with a cheesy grin. Nobody wanted to dignify that awful pun with a response. "Get it?! Like a fishing hook?!"

"Too bad your skills aren't on the hook," Toph countered, making everyone chuckle except Sokka, who grumbled.

"That looks like the village over there," Mai said, pointing at something in the distance. We looked at what looked like a group of ramshackle wooden structures in the middle of the lake.

"We need to make camp and check it out," Katara said. "Hopefully this problem won't take too long to fix."

"We should be fine," Suki said. "We have about two months. We just need to get to the Sacred Island four days before the eclipse."


We made camp in a cave near the riverbank. We left Appa, Momo, and the dragons there and made our way to the edge of a cliff overlooking the village. At first glance, it was the second worst village I'd ever seen (the worst being our home in the South Pole). A series of wooden huts on platforms connected by a web of bridges. The central platform of the village was the largest. It was probably a market of some kind.

Toph frowned. "I don't feel anything," she said. "Where's this village?"

Sokka pointed. "It's in the middle of the river," he explained.

"Sure is!" A bright voice said from below. We looked down and saw a small dock at the edge of the river. On the dock, looking up at us, was a man. He was short and wiry, but somehow had a pot belly. His hair was gray, and looked a little bit like Doc Brown's from Back to the Future. He wore a red hat, and a sleeveless orange vest with no shirt. "My name's Dock!" he introduced himself. "Mind if I ask who you are?"

"We're um… from the Earth Kingdom colonies," Katara said after a second.

"Wow, colonials!" Dock noted with a smile. He waved us over. "Hop on, I can give you a ride into town."

We climbed into Dock's small boat and he pushed off towards the village.

Katara looked at the town. "Why do you guys live on the water?" she asked Dock.

"Because we're a fishing town," Dock replied. He pointed his paddle in a direction. "At least, that's how it was before the factory moved in."

We looked in the direction his paddle was pointing. Along the riverbank was a massive factory, built with the unmistakable steel of the Fire Nation army. A series of pipes ran from the factory and dumped sludge into the river. For fucks sake, the Fire Nation army was so lazy that they couldn't even dig a pit to dump their refuse in.

"Army makes their metal there," Dock continued. "Moved in a few years ago and started gunking up our river. Now our little village is struggling to survive."

Azula looked at the factory with a calculating eye.


If the village looked poor from the outside, it looked downright pitiful up close. Sick and starving people sat around the village with dead looks in their eyes. It was so depressing that I wouldn't have been shocked if Sarah McLachlan music started playing in the background. We walked around the village for a little while, figuring out the full extent of the problems. I even noticed Azula asking questions to the locals. She even bought something from a small stall for a few ban.

"This place is so sad," Ty Lee said quietly.

After an hour, we'd seen all we needed to. Team Avatar regrouped and made our way over to a stall where Dock stood behind the counter. He was wearing a yellow hat now. Sokka rang the bell at the front of the stall. "Hey, Dock," Sokka greeted. "You work here, too?"

"I'm not Dock, I'm Xu," he replied. "Dock's my brother."

Most of us stared blankly at him. "But we just saw you," Aang said. He pulled at his shirt. "You're even wearing the same clothes. The only difference is your hat."

Xu pointed at the docks. "Dock works on the docks. That's why they call him, 'Dock'." He spread his arms to indicate his stall. "And I work in the shop. That's why they call me, 'Xu'."

Aang raised an eyebrow. "I don't get it."

"Me neither," Xu admitted. He pulled out a crate of disgusting brown fish and clams filled with mud from under the stall and put it in front of us. "Now, what can I get you?"

We examined the fish, trying to hide our disgust. "I'll give you a special deal," Xu said, holding up three fingers. "If you buy three fish, I'll throw in a clam for free!"

Sokka poked one of the clams and muddy water spewed out, making Aang and Katara recoil. "We'll take it," Suki said diplomatically, hiding her disgust. We didn't need to eat the food, but we needed it for something else.

Xu wrapped some fish for us along with one clam, and handed the package to Ty Lee after we paid him. "Mind telling your brother we need a ride back to shore?" Zuko asked, playing along with the man's split personality.

Xu dropped behind the counter, then emerged, having changed his hat back to the red one he wore with his ferryman persona. "Hey colonials!" he said cheerfully. "My brother says you need a lift." He hopped over the counter and started leading us towards his boat.

Just after we began walking, a small boy ran up and tugged on Ty Lee's pant leg to get her attention. He was small, with messy brown hair and brown eyes. He had a red mark on his chest and left shoulder. Whether it was a birth mark or the remnant of some infection, I couldn't say. He looked up at Ty Lee. "Can you spare some food?" the boy asked with puppy-dog eyes. "For my mom?"

Ty Lee unwrapped the fish and handed two of them to the boy. "One for you, and one for your mom," she said quietly with a gentle smile. The boy smiled back and grabbed the fish. He made a move to bow, but Ty Lee wrapped him in a quick hug instead. The boy blushed, said a quiet "Thank you," and ran off. He stopped on a small platform with a thatched roof and handed the fish to a thin woman lying down under a blanket with a cloth over her head.


Ty Lee didn't say a single word until we made it back to camp. Once there, she sat at the mouth of the cave, looking at the village in the distance. Ved flew over and put his head in her lap. She petted him absently, never taking her eyes off the village in the distance. I walked over and sat next to her. "Do you want to talk about it?" I asked gently.

She kept looking ahead. "I just realized how lucky I was, and how selfish I've been," she said quietly. I kept silent so she could continue. "I was born to a noble family. I never had to worry about where my next meal would come from, or if my next meal would make me sick. I threw that away because I wanted attention and adventure. If I didn't give that boy two fish, he would have gone hungry to feed his mom." She looked at me. "Am I a bad person? Would I be a bad mom if I had kids?"

I laced my fingers together with hers. "Remember when I told you that I met our kid from the future in a magic swamp?" I said.

She smiled. "It's still surprising that you're not making that up," she replied.

"When I saw him, he seemed really happy and healthy," I said with a smile. "If that's the case, you must be an amazing mom."

Ved purred a little in her lap and nuzzled into her. I chuckled. "See? Ved thinks so, too."

She giggled, then she looked thoughtful. "I think I should apologize to my parents after we win," she said. "I want to see them again."

I nodded. "If you think that's the right move," I said.


Ty Lee and I walked back to the camp. Sokka and Katara were gutting the fish, and Mai pried open the clam with a knife. "How do they look?" I dared to ask.

Sokka poked the meat with a knife and examined it closely. "The fish meat looks mostly normal," he said with a hint of surprise. "If the people cooked it enough, it should be okay to eat."

"The clams, on the other hand, are unusable." Mai said, not even bothering to hide her disgust. "All the muck has tainted the meat all the way through. Even if you boiled them in clean water, it's too risky to eat."

"So, they're probably not cooking the fish enough, or eating the clams. Probably both," Katara said.

"Wait," Sokka held up a finger. "The fish heads are infected. But, as long as they don't eat them, they should be fine."

That earned him a series of pointed looks from the rest of the group. Even in the South Pole, where there wasn't a huge variety of food, fish heads weren't usually eaten by people. Most of the time, we used them as hunting bait.

"Sokka, why would you eat fish heads?" I asked.

Sokka crossed his arms. "Well, you know how long hunting trips can take," he said defensively. "Sometimes, I needed a little pick-me-up."

I turned to Zuko. "Remember that idea we came up with to have guest lecturers from other nations to show schoolchildren that the other nations aren't savages?" I asked.

He picked up on my thoughts. "Don't use Sokka?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

I nodded. "Definitely don't use Sokka."

"If you're done picking on Sokka," Azula interrupted. "I have an idea of how we can fix this."

Mai gave Azula a knowing look. "Let me guess, blow up the factory?"

"That's part of the plan," Azula admitted. "It's not the entire plan."

I was curious. "What are you thinking?"

Azula pulled out a small wooden figurine from her pocket. It depicted a woman in a flowing dress with a large hat and red markings on her face and arms. "I bought this in the village earlier. I think this might be the answer to our problems."

"What are you talking about?" Aang asked.

"I spoke to the local villagers," Azula elaborated. "This river has a guardian spirit called the Painted Lady. According to local legends, she protects the village and has the power to heal the sick." Azula gave Katara a look. "Who do we know who can do that?"

Katara's eyes widened. "You want me to impersonate a spirit?"

"Couldn't we just ask the actual Painted Lady for help?" Suki suggested.

"The spirit was driven off by all the water pollution," I said. "She's too weak to act right now. It's up to us to fix this mess."

Everyone turned to me. Azula shook her head. "Why am I not surprised you know that?"

"So, what should we do?" Sokka asked. "Just dress Katara up as the Painted Lady and have her blow up the factory?"

"Our best bet would be to help the villagers first, to make it look like the Painted Lady is growing in power." Azula said. "Disguise Katara as the Painted Lady, have her help the village every night for a few nights, and then destroy the factory. After that, Katara, Toph, and Aang can use their bending to get all the muck out of the river. If the army suspects a spirit, they won't destroy the village in retaliation after we leave."

"That's not a bad plan," Katara admitted. "What should I do the first few nights to help?"

"We need to get these people some uncontaminated food," Azula said. "We could steal food from the factory."

"Or give them some of ours," I suggested. "We can keep the meat for the dragons, but we can give them the rice, fruits, and vegetables we have."

"We can't afford to replace all that food," Zuko said, "We ran out of money stocking up on salted meat for the dragons."

Azula nodded. "Zuko's right. Unless you know someone in the Fire Nation who's both wealthy enough to give us enough supplies to last until the eclipse, and also on our side."

I stroked my chin in thought. "Actually…"

Azula gaped at me. "You're joking."

"I'm not joking," I said with a shit-eating grin. "I know someone who fits the bill, and I think he lives on an island near here."

"Who?" Zuko asked.

I turned to him. "One of your uncle's old Pai Sho friends."


Iroh POV

I sat in my cell, deep in thought. I hadn't been able to make contact with the White Lotus since my arrest. On the bright side, the guards were clearly buying my 'insane old prisoner' act. That would make it easier to escape. I needed to regroup with Zuko and the others. They probably wouldn't go forward with the invasion, now that they knew Ozai knew about it. But where would I find them?

Thinking of Zuko made me feel a pang in my heart for Azula. She was dead. Cast aside by my brother because she failed to capture the Avatar. If only I had been there for her as I had been for Zuko. Maybe she would still be alive.

"Coo!"

I turned my head and saw a dove perched just outside the window bars of my cell. I saw a small scroll attached to its leg. Was the White Lotus making contact? I held out my hand and the dove hopped through the bars and onto my hand. I took the scroll from it and it flew away. I unraveled the scroll and began to read.

"Tea Maker,

This is The Source. I hope this letter finds you as well as can be hoped for in prison. I have quite a few things to tell you, and not a lot of space. Destroy this letter after you read it.

First, the invasion has been called off. Instead, Cold Dagger came up with a plan to coordinate a series of escapes from the Fire Nation's War Prisons. I know you have the means to escape, so on the day of the eclipse, break yourself out and rendezvous with us in Monarch's city.

Second, After your capture, I met personally with Foul Mouth. He told me his secret. Yes, that secret. He provided enough proof for me to believe him.

Third, Bright Fire is alive and well. South Hope healed her with Spirit Water from the North Pole. Tyrant is unaware, and still believes her dead. Bright Fire has defected to Team Arrow and turned over a new leaf. According to Exile and Foul Mouth, the Masters deemed her worthy and gave her the third and final hatchling, whom she spoils rotten. I know that you two didn't have the best relationship, but I hope that, in light of this information, you will be willing to give her another chance.

I realize that the third item must be a shock, particularly because I'm willing to trust Bright Fire so quickly. But you must understand, nobody understands a daughter better than her mother.

Yes, you read that correctly. I did just tell you who I am.

We can catch up after the eclipse.

Sincerely,

Ursa, also known as The Source"

I had to read the letter multiple times to make sure my 'insane old prisoner' act was truly still an act. I felt my eyes wet with tears of happiness. Azula had found her way! To my shame, I hadn't thought it was possible. I quickly used a brief amount of firebending to destroy all traces of the note. Now I knew where I had to go.

I cracked my knuckles. It was time to put aside the old Tea Maker, and become the Dragon of the West once again.

I started doing pushups.


Katara POV

We set aside a large amount of our supplies to give to the village. I looked at Alec. "Are you sure we can afford to give them all our fruits and vegetables?" I asked. "What about Appa and Momo?"

"There should be some purple berries nearby," Alec said. "They're safe to eat for humans, lemurs, and bison."

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yeah, you fed them to Appa to give him a purple tongue in the original story so Appa would look sick, then you convinced him to act sick so you would have more time to help the village."

Toph, who was right next to me, shook her head. "I swear, if I couldn't feel you were telling the truth, I'd say you were lying, Hand Slicer."

He nodded. "Yeah, out of context, some of the stuff I know sounds pretty unbelievable."

"Speaking of, do you know what's up with Dock?" Aang asked.

"You mean the multiple personalities?" Alec asked. Aang nodded. "I know Dock and Xu are the same person, but I'm not sure if he's just pulling a big joke or if he's really insane." Alec frowned. "Personally, I think it's the second one. Maybe something went wrong with his brain after eating dirty food and drinking from that river."

I felt a twinge in my heart for Dock. "That's sad." I said quietly.

"Remember, I don't know this for certain," Alec clarified. "That's just my interpretation."

A few minutes later, we'd finished packing up the care package for the village. Suki turned to me. "Time to give you a makeover," she said with a smile.


Suki and Ty Lee helped me dress up to look like the statue of the Painted Lady. Suki helped me put on the red striped makeup and the yellow crescent moon on my forehead. Ty Lee rearranged my clothes and wove a crude hat out of reeds. Once they were done, I froze a puddle of water into a mirror so I could look at myself. I definitely looked like the statue, so hopefully that would be enough to convince the people I was a spirit, not a waterbender.

After I was done, I walked out of the cave to join the others. "What do you think?" I asked, a little self-conscious.

Aang looked at me and his eyes brightened. "You look beautiful," he whispered.

My heart melted. "Thanks," I said with a smile. He made a move to kiss me, but I put my finger on his lips to stop him. "We might smear the makeup," I said, "This isn't Suki's warrior makeup, after all."

He pulled back and nodded sheepishly. I leaned over and put my mouth close to his ear. "I'll give you one when we get back, I promise," I whispered, making him smile.

I used waterbending to make a thick fog between our camp and the village. I floated the food package on the river and used waterbending to glide across the surface. Once I made it to the village, I lifted the package and placed it on the dock. I turned around to leave, when I heard a voice.

"Is that for us?"

I turned around and saw a little girl, walking alone. She was thin and looked paler than she should. "It's for the village," I said, trying my best to make my voice sound mysterious. "Tell the villagers that the clams are too dangerous to eat. They're making them sick. The fish are okay if you cook them enough."

The girl looked up at me with a bright smile. "I will. Thank you, Painted Lady!"


Alec POV

The first thing Katara did when she got back was wrap her arms around Aang's neck and give him a big kiss. After they broke apart, she took a cloth and started wiping off her makeup.

"How did it go?" Azula prompted.

"A little girl saw me, but called me the Painted Lady," Katara said. "The disguise worked."

Azula nodded. "That's good. Let's go back to the village tomorrow and see how they react."


The next day, the mood in the village seemed to be a lot brighter. Children were playing instead of sitting around hopelessly. There was more hustle and bustle in the market, as well. We walked over to Dock/Xu's stall. Judging by the yellow hat, Xu was the dominant personality right now.

"Hi, Xu," Sokka greeted, "What's going on with everyone today?"

Xu drank some filthy water from a ladle. "Ah, something amazing happened last night. Food was delivered to our village by a mysterious and wonderful person…the Painted Lady!"

"So, things are better?" Katara prompted.

Xu nodded. "Yes, but many of our villagers are still sick."

Katara nodded thoughtfully.


When Katara got back from her outing to the village that night, she looked relieved. "Those people were even sicker than they looked," she said, sitting down and taking off her hat. "A few more days and some of them wouldn't have made it."

"We've treated the symptoms," Azula said, turning to look towards the factory. "Tomorrow night we deal with the cause."

"Are you sure the army won't just attack the village after we blow up the factory?" Suki asked.

"Yeah," Sokka agreed. "Do you really think they'll believe a spirit did it? That she just used her spirit magic to blow up a factory?" He made a show of waving his arms around and making mysterious noises before pantomiming an explosion.

"Spirit magic doesn't work that way, Sokka," Aang corrected, "It's more like…" Now it was Aang's turn to wave his arms around and make weird noises. Then Sokka joined in and they started laughing at each other's antics.

Azula's eyebrow twitched. "Are they for real?"

"You know, it's strange," I mused. "Individually, they're pretty smart. But for some reason, when you put them together they get dumber."

Azula pinched the bridge of her nose. "Maybe I should have stayed dead."

"And miss out on all the fun?" I teased.

She gave me a glare. "Are you volunteering to spar with me?"

"Maybe some other time," I said quickly.


We stayed away from the village the next day to make it look like we'd already left. That night, the benders went to destroy the factory. Toph assured us that the place was empty of people. Once inside, we started wrecking the place. Toph crumpled support columns like they were made of paper. Katara and Aang broke canisters full of molten steel and poured hot liquid metal all over the place. Zuko, Azula, and I blew up pipes with fire bombs.

By the time we finished, the factory was a smoldering ruin, and the pipes stopped dumping waste into the river. "That was fun," Azula said with a small smile. "Tomorrow, we can clean up the river and leave this place."


Katara POV

The next morning, I was gathering berries on the cliff near the village when I saw something that made my blood run cold. A group of speedboats was sailing from the wrecked factory, headed straight towards the village!

I ran back to camp as fast as I could. "I think the army is attacking the village!" I exclaimed.

We all ran towards the cliff. "Why would they do that?" Ty Lee asked.

"They must think that the village is responsible," Alec said. "Even though you guys didn't steal food from them this time, they're probably just blaming the village anyway."

"I guess they don't believe in the power of the Painted Lady," Mai snarked.

"We probably should have had the Painted Lady threaten them in person, or something," Zuko said.

"It's too late for that now," Suki said.

"Maybe not," Azula realized. "Maybe we just need to make them believe." She turned to Zuko. "Remember those awful plays that the Ember Island Players put on."

Zuko looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, the acting was terrible."

"But the effects were pretty good," Azula added. She looked at the village. "Let's put on a play."


Azula POV

"Are you sure this'll work?" Mai asked.

I smirked. "Don't forget that mind games are my specialty, Mai."

I looked over the rest of the group. We had moved from our spot at the top of the cliff to a cave right along the water's edge. Everyone was getting into position. Katara was in her disguise, and Aang was with her.

"Is everyone ready?" Aang asked urgently. "The soldiers just destroyed a home and set another on fire. We need to move, now!"

I nodded. "Let's give them a show."

Katara and Aang used waterbending to form a thick fog over the river. Toph began slamming a pillar down on the cave floor rhythmically. Sokka played a creepy-sounding tune on his flute. Appa groaned in the background. Zuko and Ty Lee had Druk and Ved add their screeching roars to the bison's groans. Shul was still too little to make intimidating noises. Suki and Mai sharpened their weapons against the rocks, the noise adding more to the atmosphere. It was good, but there was still something missing.

I got an idea. I turned to Alec. "Give them a light show?" I suggested.

He nodded and grinned. "Creepy lightning would add a certain feel to the place," he agreed.

We got out of the cave, still in the cover of the fog, and shot lightning bolts into the sky every few seconds.

"Now, it's up to Katara and Aang," I said.


Katara POV

Azula certainly had a flair for the dramatic. It seemed to be working. The soldiers had stopped destroying the village, at least. Aang used the cover of the fog to sneak to the village and hide under a pier. We allowed the fog to disperse enough so I could be seen. It was time.

I used waterbending to glide over to the village and stepped onto the pier. About half a dozen soldiers stood there, with the entire population of the village huddled together behind them. One of the soldiers was larger than the others, and had a diagonal scar across his face. Probably the commander. He pushed two of the other soldiers towards me. "Do something!" he ordered.

The soldiers drew their swords and slowly advanced towards me. When they got right over the small gap where Aang was, I gave them a glare. Right on cue, Aang blew a column of air through the wooden boards of the pier and startled them. They got the message and ran away, terrified.

"Stand your ground!" the commander ordered.

Two more soldiers advanced. I picked up two of the boats with a water spout and threw them into the cliffside, destroying them. I then raised my hand towards the soldiers. All of them but the commander ran, got in their remaining boats, and sped away.

The commander took a stance. "I'll take care of you myself!"

He kicked two blazing arcs at me. Before I could respond, Aang launched me into the air above the arcs and blew the commander into the water. I appreciated Aang's help, but I would need to have a word with him about launching me into the air without asking.

I glided over the water and stopped in front of the commander. I spread my arms. "Leave this village, and never come back!" I ordered.

The commander turned and swam away. One of his boats came and picked him up, before sailing away.

I breathed a sigh of relief. We won!


Back at the village, the others had sailed up to join me. I stopped in front of the villagers. They shouted various words of thanks, then Dock stepped forward. "Me and my brothers really owe you a lot!" he said with a smile. Then his smile fell. "Hey, wait a minute! I know you! You're not the Painted Lady, you're that colonial girl!" he shouted.

How did he recognize me?! He balled his fists angrily. "You've been tricking us! You're a waterbender!"

Uh oh.

"She's a waterbender!" a villager shouted.

"How dare you act like our Painted Lady!" another added.

It looked like an angry mob was starting to form. Sokka ran forward and stepped in front of me. "Maybe she is a waterbender, but she was just trying to help you!" he shouted. "Because of her, that factory won't be polluting your river, and the army is gone. You should be down on your knees thanking her!"

"Not to mention, we gave you all most of our food so you wouldn't get sick from infected clams," Alec added.

Dock looked at him. "You all knew about this?"

Azula stepped forward. "It was my idea," she said. "If there's anyone to blame here, it's me. Don't get angry with her for going along with my idea. If you want to hate someone, hate me." She looked down. "I'm used to it." Ty Lee put a comforting hand on Azula's shoulder.

I stepped forward. "I shouldn't have acted like someone I wasn't, and we shouldn't have tricked you. We felt like we had to do something to help you. It doesn't matter if the Painted Lady is real or not. Because your problems are real, and this river is real. You can't wait around for someone to help you. You have to help yourself."

A look of realization flashed across Dock's face. "She's right," he said. "But what should we do?"

Toph popped out from a spot in the crowd and lowered the pitch of her voice. "Maybe we can clean the river!"

"Yeah!" Dock agreed. "We can clean the river!"

The villagers cheered and started wandering towards the boats. Dock came forward. "You know, you're not so bad for a waterbender."

I kept myself from wincing. Alec, Zuko, Mai, Ty Lee, and Azula didn't manage. "You wouldn't mind keeping that a secret, would you?" Sokka asked.

"No problem," Dock agreed. "Keeping my mouth shut is a personal specialty. My brother Xu, on the other hand, ohh, he's a blabbermouth."

Sokka facepalmed. Alec just shook his head. "Could you ask Xu to make an exception for us this time?" he asked, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Dock nodded. "I will."

I looked at him. "So, Dock, are you gonna help us clean?"

"No, ma'am," Dock replied. "I'm going to get my other brother, Bushi. He loves cleaning rivers." Dock then pulled off his red hat, revealing a straw hat underneath it. "All right, I'm Bushi! Let's get some river cleaning done!"

Aang looked like he was about to say something, but then shook his head.


It took most of the day to clean the river. The villagers sifted the pollution out of the lake using massive nets. Aang and Toph pulled the muck out with earthbending, and I separated the water with waterbending. Finally, after the sun set, we were finished.

That evening, when I went to get some water to fill up my waterskins, a fog appeared over the now crystal clear water. I looked up and saw a woman in a white robe and a straw hat, with red markings on her face and arms. I gasped. The real Painted Lady!

She smiled at me. "Thank you."

She disappeared.


Alec POV

The next morning, we packed up and got ready to leave. The days were getting hotter. By mid-morning, most of us were beginning to sweat a little. Luckily, flying high up inside a cloud helped a little.

Sokka turned to me. "Where are we going next?" he asked. "Where does this mystery ally of ours live?"

I looked around the group. "Does anyone know where Piandao lives?"

Zuko looked surprised. "I know where he lives. Are you saying he's in the White Lotus, too?"

I nodded. "He is. Where is he?"

Zuko pointed at the map. "He's on the next major island in the chain. We can get there by nightfall."

Sokka, who was at the reins, steered Appa to the southwest. "Yip yip!"

Nobody noticed that the hot weather was causing Appa to shed again…


Third Person POV

Rezok knelt on the floor of the throne room. Ozai sat on his throne, pissed as always. "Rezok, are you saying that there have been no sightings of the Avatar or his group?"

Rezok remained calm. "Yes, my lord. We suspect they might be working with an underground group of earthbenders and using tunnels to travel from place to place, but that's just a theory, we don't have any evidence."

Ozai nodded. "I see. Now, assuming that their little invasion still proceeds as planned, we'll be rid of them soon, but I would rather not deal with the risk. Send Nergüi after them."

Rezok swallowed. Nergüi was the best assassin in the Fire Nation. Fortunately though… "He's unavailable, my lord."

Ozai raised an eyebrow. "Unavailable?"

"On his last assignment, he received some bad information. He believed he was dealing with a nonbender when his target was a master earthbender. His leg was broken in three places, and he won't fully recover until after the scheduled invasion."

Ozai frowned. "Pity." A thought occurred to him. "Wait, what about that mercenary?"

Rezok frowned. "Which mercenary, my lord?"

"His name escapes me, but his look is unmistakeable. He has a metal arm and leg, and a tattoo on his forehead. He won a series of very quick Agni Kai. He's expensive, but he always gets the job done."

Rezok swallowed. "I'll summon him, my lord."

This was bad. Rezok was under orders from Ursa not to communicate with her until after the eclipse. He just had to hope that the mercenary didn't find the Avatar. Or, that he would fail if he did.


A few hours later, the mercenary was in the throne room, kneeling before the Fire Lord. "I've heard of your reputation, and your discretion. I have a task for you. I want you to find the Avatar, and kill him before the first day of the eighth month. If you succeed, you will never have to work again." Flames shot up around the room. "But if you fail, you will be banished. Now go."

The mercenary said nothing, but stood up and turned to leave the throne room. The Fire Lord called in the next person before he even made it halfway to the door. A man with a diagonal scar across his face. The man knelt before the Fire Lord. "My lord, the metal factory at Jang Hui has been destroyed."

Flames shot up again. "What?! How?!"

"It was the river spirit, my lord! I saw it with my own eyes!"

That piqued the mercenary's interest. He got enough education to know that where spirits were involved, the Avatar might also be involved. He had a possible lead. He left the throne room.

Rezok quickly put two and two together as well. Why would the Avatar risk his cover for something like this? He had to think quickly.

Ozai was fuming. "Send soldiers to hunt the spirit down and destroy it!" he told Rezok.

Rezok knelt respectfully. "My lord, perhaps that isn't necessary."

"Not necessary?" Ozai repeated.

"The factory in question produced a mere one percent of the steel in the Fire Nation. The production rates of the factories in Yu Dao can easily compensate for the loss," Rezok argued. "Besides, this river spirit probably isn't interested in anything outside of its river, so is it really worth wasting soldiers on?"

The flames in the throne room shrank. "Sensible." Ozai turned to the former commander of the factory. "Get out of my sight."

Rezok hid his relief. Crisis averted. For now.

AN: I'm sorry this took so long. A combination of a busy work schedule and writer's block made this the longest gap between chapters I've ever had. I'll try to release chapters every two weeks at the latest.

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