Momo crouched in front of Sokka's upside down head and stared down into the sleeping boy's open mouth, completely entranced by the spider that had set up its web there. The lemur watched with great interest as a fly landed on web and he dove his hand into Sokka's mouth in an attempt to grab the fly before the spider could.

"Hm!" Sokka yelped around Momo's hand and sat up, flinging Momo over his head and spitting out the lemur's hand, "What are doing in my mouth!"

Momo chittered happily as he ate the fly and stared at Sokka while lying upside down on his stomach.

"Momo, you need to be a little more sensitive to my boundaries." Sokka stated just as the lemur noticed something on his left and stared.

Momo flipped back onto his feet and climbed onto Sokka's face, completely ignoring the boy's comment as he perched on his head and pricked his ears curiously to determine what it was that he heard. The lemur chittered loudly which caused Katara, who was sleeping a few feet away on a sawed off tree trunk to start awake, while Xiaodan and Aang remained peacefully asleep on Appa's forearm.

The two Airbenders jerked away when the ground suddenly began to tremble. Xiaodan turned her head and gasped when she saw in man in Fire Nation garb sitting atop a rhino jump out of the thicket of bushes that surrounded the clearing they had made came in. Katara and Aang both gasped as three more men on rhinos emerged from the bushes, completely surrounded the four teens and Appa.

"Give up!" A man from the rock above the camp his rhino was standing on as the other four riders began to circle the teens and sky bison, "You're completely surrounded."

One of the riders, an archer, suddenly shot two flaming arrows at Sokka, who had been attempting to crawl away in his sleeping bag like a caterpillar. The two arrows pinned the sleeping back to the ground and Sokka managed to lurch out of it just in time to avoid a third flaming arrow that pinned the top of the sleeping bag, his boomerang slipping off his shoulder as he got away.

"Come on! Come on! Come on!" Sokka shouted as he ran towards Appa, where Aang and Xiaodan were already waiting on Appa's head.

Xiaodan grabbed Sokka's arm and pulled him up onto Appa's neck then she turned around to help Katara, who was running towards them. Katara suddenly stopped and spun around, her blue eyes wide as she stared at her box of scrolls.

"My scrolls!" Katara cried out as one of the men spun a guan dao then slammed it into the sawed off tree trunk Katara had been sleeping on.

"My staff!" Aang and Xiaodan squawked simultaneously when they caught sight of several of some of their supplies a few feet away from the sawed off tree trunk, along with both of their staves.

Katara ran back towards the sawed off tree trunk, creating a water-whip from the water in her flask which she used to freeze the guan dao solidly to the trunk. Katara snatched up her box of scrolls and ran back towards Appa while the man was staring at his frozen blade in mild surprise just before he managed to break it free of the ice while Xiaodan jumped off Appa's head and somersaulted through the air along with Aang. The two landing lightly on the ground then they ran towards their staffs. One of the rhino riders wrapped a chain around a tree and pulled it down in front of the two Airbenders to stop them from reaching their staves, but Xiaodan and Aang merely somersaulted over the fallen tree and continued running towards their gliders. The two had just reached their gliders when one of the riders threw a hand grenade, which landed right beside Aang and Xiaodan, the fuse still burning.

"Whoa!" Xiaodan yelped then grabbed her staff and twirled it around, knocking the hand grenade back into the forest behind her and Aang.

Aang and Xiaodan then quickly propelled themselves into the air using Airbending just as the grenade exploded behind them, both of them landing on Appa's head.

"Yip-yip!" Aang shouted urgently as he grabbed the reins and Appa growled lowly, smacking his tail against the ground as he jumped into the air.

The man that was sitting on the rock above the camp shot a fireball at them as they fly over his head and Katara and Sokka quickly ducked, covering their heads as the fireball just missed them. Sokka straightened and his eyes went wide when he noticed his boomerang lying on the ground in front of the charred remains of his sleeping bag.

"Wait, my boomerang!" Sokka shouted as he stretched his arm over the saddle as if to grab it.

"There's no time!" Katara said, grabbing her brother's arm and Sokka turned to glare at her.

"Oh, I see!" He snapped as he looked at his sister then at Aang and Xiaodan, "So there's time to get your scrolls and time to get your staves, but no time for my boomerang?"

"That's correct." Katara confirmed cheerfully as she smiled at her brother.

Sokka bowed his head in defeat at the totally honest answer, "Oh..."

"Sorry about your boomerang, Sokka." Aang apologized to a sulking Sokka as he crouched in front of the small, wooden house they had stopped at to get more supplies, which Katara and Xiaodan were currently buying.

"I feel like I've lost a part of identity..." Sokka muttered sadly then he jumped up and tilted the straw hat Aang was wearing back so he could point at his arrow tattoo, "Imagine if you lost your arrow or Xia lost her tattoos, or Katara lost her...hair loopies."

Sokka pouted as he shuffled over to the stall dejectedly. Katara gave her brother a comforting hug while Xiaodan patted his shoulder consolingly.

"Here's your produce, ponytail guy." The merchant said cheerfully as he put the basket of supplies on the stall's counter.

"I used to be boomerang guy..." Sokka sighed dejected as he picked up the basket of supplies and walked over to Appa, Katara watching with a sympathetic expression as Aang and Xiaodan followed him.

The merchant walked around the stall and approached Katara, who started slightly then smiled as she handed him some money.

"Hey, Water Tribe money!" the merchant stated in surprise as he inspected the blue coins.

"I hope that's okay." Katara said with a worried look and the merchant nodded.

"So long as it's money." The merchant replied as he tucked the coins away then began closing down his small shop as Katara walked over to her friends, "Have a nice Avatar Day!"

Aang turned around and looked at the merchant, who was walking away, interestedly, "Avatar Day?"

"You guys are going to the festival, right?" The merchant asked as he turned around to face the teens as he walked backwards for a few moments then faced forward again as he continued to walk away.

The four teens looked at each other curiously for a moment, trying to figure out what to do. Katara, Aang and Xiaodan grin at each other while tears ran down Sokka's face.

"Wow..." Xiaodan muttered as she and her friends looked around the busy street of Chin Village, taking in all the green decorations.

"There's a holiday for the Avatar." Aang said with a grin as he shrugged his shoulders slightly, "Who knew?"

"Look!" Katara said and the four teens turned around as Katara gestured behind her as a large effigy of Avatar Kyoshi rolled past, "They made a giant Kyoshi float!"

Aang, Sokka, Xiaodan and Katara ran down the street then they ran down a side street until they found a less crowd spot where they could watch the other floats.

"And here comes Avatar Roku!" Sokka stated as he pointed at the large wooden statue of Avatar Roku as it rolled by.

"Having a huge festival in your honor is great," Aang commented happily, "But, frankly, it's just nice to be appreciated!"

"And it's nice to appreciate their deep-friend festival food!" Sokka said as he took a large bite of the fried pasty in his hand.

"Aang, look!" Katara exclaimed as she pointed at a giant float of Aang coming down the street.

"That's the biggest me I've ever seen!" The younger Airbender said as the float rolled past the four teens.

Xiaodan, Aang, Katara, and Sokka watched as the Aang effigy was pulled alongside other two Avatar floats in the main square then they watched as a man with long hair and wearing a green loincloth ran down the street a lit torch.

"Now a torch, that's a nice prop. It's bright, dangerous..." Sokka praised as he sniffed the air, "Smells manly. But I'm not sure I could carry it off."

"You're not the only one who thinks so." Xiaodan quipped with a snicker and Sokka made a face at her, then took another bite of his food as Katara pointed at the running man.

"Hey, what's that guy doing?" She asked curiously as the man reached the effigy of Kyoshi.

The runner gave a loud shout as he jumped through the bottom of the effigy of Kyoshi, causing it to catch fire which spread rapidly until it completely engulfed the whole float. The runner backflipped onto the effigy of Roku and set it on fire next.

"Down with the Avatar! Down with the Avatar!" the crowd chanted loudly.

Xiaodan, Aang, Sokka, and Katara stared in complete shock at the turn events, food dripping out of Sokka's open mouth.

The Blue Spirit ran across the rooftop along the quiet street, where a man and woman were walking. He quickly leapt from the roof and landed in front of the two people, unsheathing his dual dao swords. The Blue Spirit lunged at the man carrying two baskets that were suspended on a long pole, swiftly cutting the both baskets off in a single fluid motion. The terrified man cowered back as the Blue Spirit swung the baskets onto his shoulders then approached the woman, who was carrying a large piece of fruit on her head. The thief snatched the fruit from her head and disappeared as quickly as he had appeared, leaving the man and woman staring in confusion.

Zuko walked through a thicket in the forest surrounding the small village and paused in front of a large tree. The banished prince removed the Blue Spirit mask and placed it in a hollow part at the base of the tree then he peeked around the trunk where his uncle was sitting in a small cavern made or rocks.

Iroh looked up from fire he was staring at when his nephew dropped the baskets of food at his feet.

"Where did you get these?" Iroh asked curiously as he looked at the food.

"What does it matter where they came from?" Zuko retorted angrily as he walked away from his uncle.

Iroh watched his nephew leave with a serious expression on his face then picked up one of the pastries from one of the baskets and took a bite, jam dripping down him chin, "Mmm!"

Xiaodan, Aang, Katara, and Sokka watched as the crowd continued to chant and the mayor of the village signaled to the runner, who was now standing on the roof of a build. The runner smirked then threw the lit torch with a grunt, right into the left eye of the Aang effigy, causing the crowd to cheer in approval.

Xiaodan's jaw dropped and Aang stared at his own burning effigy with pained look on his face. Katara scowled and ran to the front of the crowd, bending the water from two large pots nearby to extinguish the flames.

"That party pooper's ruined Avatar Day!" One of the villagers shouted accusingly as he pointed Katara angrily.

Aang glared at the man then Airbended himself to the top of his own float, landing on the left shoulder of the still smoking effigy.

"That party pooper's my friend!" Aang shouted angrily at the crowd then he took of his straw hat and threw it to the ground, revealing his arrow.

"It's the Avatar himself!" The mayor of the village exclaimed as he pointed up at Aang in horror.

"It's going to kill us with its awesome Avatar powers!" A village cried out in fear as the crowd stared up at Aang in terror.

"No, I'm not, I..." Aang said quickly as he raised his hand, causing several of the villagers to cower in fear, while the villager that had spoken earlier threw himself into the crowd.

Aang looked at his hand then quickly hid it behind his back as he stared wide-eyed at the villagers below.

"I suggest you leave!" the village mayor shouted up at Aang then began waving them away with a gesture of his hand, "You're not welcome here, Avatar!"

"Why not?" Katara demanded as she turned to face the mayor, "Aang helps people!"

"It's true!" Aang stated desperately as he landed beside Katara, "I'm on your side."

Xiaodan walked over to Aang and stood beside him, her arms folded over her chest as she stared at the mayor.

"I find that hard to swallow," the man commented calmly then his voice rose to nearly a shout, "Considering what you did to us in your past life!"

Xiaodan quirked a brow and tilted her head slightly as the mayor began to rant.

"It was Avatar Kyoshi, she murdered our glorious leader, Chin the Great!"

"You think that I...murdered someone?" Aang asked in complete shock as he stared at the mayor with wide eyes.

"We used to be a great society before you killed our leader." An old man with a lisp slurred angrily then he pointed at his haggard-looking face, "Now look at us!"

The villagers next to him looked at him in disgust while Katara, Xiaodan, and Aang cringed slightly at his appearance.

"Huh!" Aang yelped, completely frightened by the old man's appearance.

"You're insane." Xiaodan stated drily as she looked at the mayor then gestured at her brother, "Aang wouldn't murder anyone. I don't think he even could."

"Yeah, Aang would never do something like that. No Avatar would" Katara agreed as she placed her hands on the younger Airbender's shoulders then she shook in head in disapproval and pointed an accusing finger at the villagers, "And it's not fair for you all to question his honor!"

"Let's tell her what we all think of the Avatar's 'honor!'" A third villager shouted as he raised his arm to emphasize his words.

The man turned around and shook his rear at Aang, blowing a raspberry as he did so and the villagers cheered loudly in approval.

"Give me a chance to clear my name!" Aang pleaded as he took a few steps forward.

"The only way to prove your innocence is to stand trial." The mayor stated coolly with a haughty expression on his face.

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

The mayor smirked, "You'll have to follow all our rules. That includes paying bail."

"No problem." Aang said with a nod with confident expression.

"How was I supposed to know they wouldn't take Water Tribe money?" Aang said apologetically as he looked between Xiaodan, Katara, and Sokka from behind metal bars, his head and hands cuffed in a wooden panel.

Xiaodan sighed and shook her head with her arms crossed over her chest as she leaned against the wall opposite the bars while Katara covered her eyes with a hand in shame and Sokka leaned against the prison bars, his arms crossed and an annoyed look on his face.

"So some people don't like you, big deal!" Sokka ranted exasperatedly, "There's a whole nation of Firebenders who hate you. Now let's bust you out of here!"

"I can't."

"Sure you can!" Sokka said, sounding surprisingly upbeat as he jumped away from the bars and began imitation Airbending moves with his arms while Katara just looked ashamed for her brother, "A little swish-swish-swish! Airbending slice!"

Xiaodan quirked a brow as Sokka finished his weird arm gestures and resumed his place beside Katara, who was still looking at him in annoyance, as he made a circular motion with his hands and pointed towards the door.

"And we're on our way!"

"Oi..." Xiaodan muttered and slapped a hand to her forehead, looking at the ceiling in exasperation while Aang just gave Sokka a weird look.

"I think what 'Master Swish' is trying to say," Katara said slightly mockingly as she looked at her brother then her tone turned serious as she looked back at Aang, "Is that you're supposed be saving the world. You can't do that locked up in here."

"I can't do that with people thinking I'm a murderer either." Aang retorted unhappily, "I need you guys to help prove my innocence."

"How're we gonna do that?" Sokka asked drily as he crossed his arms over his chest, "The crime happened over three hundred years ago."

A sly smile appeared on Aang's face as he looked at the older boy, "That's okay, Sokka. For some reason, I thought you were an expert detective."

"Well, I guess I could be classified as such." Sokka replied contented as he practically preened.

"Smooth, little brother, very smooth." Xiaodan murmured quietly with a small snicker as she glanced at Aang from the corner of her eye and the younger Airbender grinned widely at her.

"Yeah!" Katara said, helping Aang by playing Sokka's ego, "Back home, he was famous for solving the mystery of the missing seal jerky."

"Everyone wanted to blame it on a polar leopard, but I figured out it was Old Man Jarko wearing polar leopard boots!" Sokka bragged, oblivious to the way Katara was holding her hand to her brow in annoyance as he continued to monologue, "See, a real eight hundred-pound polar leopard would have left much deeper tracks. Okay, I guess I am pretty good."

Xiaodan and Katara covered their mouths to refrain from bursting into laughter as Aang made fun of Sokka as he spoke.

"So, you'll help me with my case?" Aang asked after Sokka had finished talking.

Sokka pondered the question for a moment, Katara and Xiaodan giving him weird looks as they tried to figure out what he was doing.

"Fine." Sokka agreed as he put his hands on his hips, "But I'm going to need some new props."

Sokka spun around quickly then turned back around wearing a blue hat with a monocle attached to it. Xiaodan and Katara stared at him in surprise then the two girls started to giggle at him.

"What?" Sokka demanded, extending his monocle to inspect the two girls as they turned away from his slightly and giggled harder behind their hands.

"Where in the world were you keeping that?" Xiaodan asked in amusement then fell into another fit of giggles and Sokka huffed in annoyance.

A small wagon being pulled by an ostrich-horse drove through the forest, an Earth Kingdom solider holding the reins while a wealthy Earth Kingdom nobleman sat inside the wagon. The wealthy man smiled gleefully as he played with his chest full of gold pieces, picking up the gold pieces then letting them fall back into the chest. Suddenly the cart stopped and he was thrown to the front, his hat falling off his head as he clutched held tightly to the chest. The wealthy man quickly closed the chest and clutched it to his chest, his scared eyes flickering from side-to-side when he heard rumbling noises coming from outside his carriage and a cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

A relieved sigh escaped him when the noise died down, but his relief was short-lived as he yelped and cowered back in fear as two swords slashed through the top of his carriage. A fist came crashing down through the ceiling of the carriage and the aghast man looked up, his expression becoming horrified when he saw the Blue Spirit standing on the wrecked roof of his carriage. The wealthy man trembled and held his chest of gold out to the Blue Spirit while trying to stay as far from the thief as possible.

The Blue Spirit snatched the chest from the man and disappeared, leaving the wealthy man staring at the spot he had been standing in surprise. The wealthy man stood up slightly and peered from the hole in the roof of his carriage, his jaw dropping when he saw his guards lying unconscious on the ground on either side of the carriage. The Blue Spirit was nowhere in sight.

"This is the crime scene." The mayor of the village, Tong, said as he lead Sokka, Katara, and Xiaodan towards a small shrine surrounded by sand on the cliff just outside of walls of Chin Village.

Sokka looked around the area inquisitively, his left eye appearing huge behind the monocle as he approached the shine and began inspecting the walls while Tong stood near the cliff's edge, staring down at something.

"This is the footprint of the killer, Kyoshi." Tong stated as he pointed at the footprint that was embedded in the ground at the very edge of the cliff.

Sokka hurried forward and crouched down beside the footprint, his monocle extending so he could take a closer look. Katara and Xiaodan exchanged amused and vaguely exasperated looks at the Water Tribe boy's antics then they walked over to stand behind him while Tong began walking back towards the shrine.

"It was at sunset three hundred and seventy years ago today, that she emerged from the temple and struck down Chin the Great. After that tragic day, we built this stature to immortalize our great leader." Tong explained as gestured towards the shrine then towards a statue of Chin the Great, whose left hand was raised in triumph, "Feel free to appreciate it."

Xiaodan made a face and stuck her tongue out at the mayor's back as the man walked away, leaving the three teens to investigate things further. Sokka walked over to the statue and began to examine it from every possible angle while the two girls watched him curiously. Sokka crouched down and began examining the base of the statue when something caught his attention and he looked through his magnifying monocle in order to get a better look at the right foot of the statue. His eyes widened and he quickly ran over to the shrine that was facing the statue then he began to examine the stone it was made from while Katara and Xiaodan watched him interestedly.

"This temple and this statue were cut from the same stone." Sokka stated then he ran back over to the statue and began inspecting it again, "And we now that the statue was built after Chin died."

Katara and Xiaodan exchanged excited looks as they both began drawing their own conclusions.

"So, if they were built at the same time, that mean-"

"Shh! I wanna solve it!" Sokka cut his sister off quickly before she could finish then he pointed at the small temple, "That means Kyoshi never set foot in this temple."

"That's a mighty big hole in the mayor's story." Xiaodan commented as she crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head to the side.

"But it's not enough to prove Aang's innocence." Katara said as she frowned slightly.

"You're right." Sokka agreed then whipped out a dragon-shaped pipe and began blowing soap bubbles as he thought about their next course of action, "We need to go to Kyoshi Island."

Katara and Xiaodan walked over to him, their eyes glued to the pipe.

"Where did you get that?" Katara asked in surprise and Xiaodan quirked a brow as she looked at Sokka strangely.

Aang, still cuffed with the wooden panel, leaned dispiritedly against the wall of the prison as he watched an elephant-rat sniff at an acorn before it picked the nut up and jumped away.

"You got a bald head..." A low voice said from the shadows at the other side of the prison and Aang looked up curiously to see who was talking, but he could only make out a vague outline of a man in the shadows.

"Some nice tattoos." The mysterious man continued then stepped out of the shadows.

Aang's eyes went wide as he stared at large man. The man had earrings in both of his ears and a large, green snake tattoo that covered the top of his bare chest and wrapped around his right arm. The man suddenly growled suddenly and charged at Aang, but was stopped in his tracks by the chains attached to a collar around his neck. Aang slide down the wall in fear and stared up at the large man warily.

"You're gonna fit in real well around here." The man commented calmly as he looked down at Aang, who smiled awkwardly as the man clenched his fists.

A man in the watchtower on Kyoshi Island's stared in awe when he saw a familiar flying bison soaring towards the village and he hurriedly began ringing the bell to signal the Avatar's arrival. Oyaji sat on the porch in front of his house, a small platter of food in front of him when a shadow suddenly slid over his house and Oyaji looked up, a smile appearing on his face as two laughing children ran past him on their way to greet Appa and his riders. Oyaji quickly stood and hurried to the center of the village where Avatar Kyoshi's statue was.

Xiaodan grinned widely as she landed Appa in of the large, wooden statue of Kyoshi which had been rebuilt and she smiled at the villagers that had gathered around Appa. The villagers clapped happily and waved, while one man pushed his way to the front and began squealing. The man began gesturing wildly at Appa then squealed loudly again and began foaming at the mouth before collapsing in a dead faint. Some of the villagers stared at the man awkwardly then looked back at Appa, where Sokka was waving at the villagers from his spot beside Katara in the saddle. Koko cheered loudly from her place at the front of the ground before she noticed something was wrong.

"Where's Aangy?" The young girl demanded and angrily stomped her foot on the ground.

Katara hopped off Appa's saddle and smiled gently at the young girl, "He couldn't be here, Koko."

The villagers sighed in disappointment and began whispering quietly to each other as Koko pouted.

"I wanted to see Aangy..." She whined then huffed in annoyance as the man that had fainted staggered to his feet.

The foaming at the mouth guy glanced around him then whipped the foam from his face and pulled his tunic of her head before subtly sneaking away. Still grumbling, the rest of the villagers turned away from the three teens and headed back towards the village, with the exception of Oyaji, who approached Sokka, Katara, and Xiaodan.

"Oyaji!" Katara said in relief as the man walked over to them, "Aang is in jail. The town of Chin says he murdered their leader in a past life!"

"They say it was Kyoshi." Sokka added as he looked at his dragon-shaped pipe, his monocle covering his left eye.

"Kyoshi? That's crazy talk!" Oyaji exclaimed in shock, "I'll take you to her shrine. Maybe something there will help you clear her name."

The three teens followed the leader of Kyoshi Island Village up a gentle slope, passing the Kyoshi Warriors' training dojo as they headed towards the shrine. Sokka paused and stared at the dojo as they past then hurried after Oyaji.

"So, uh...What's Suki up to?" Sokka asked with feigned casualness as he looked around curiously, "Is she around?"

Katara and Xiaodan exchanged amused glance then the dark-haired girl gave her brother a fond smile.

"Actually, she and the other warriors left to fight in the war." Oyaji replied as he glanced over his shoulder at Sokka then looked forward again, "You kids had a big impact on Suki. She said you inspired her and she wanted to help change the world."

"Oh," Sokka said as he looked to the side in disappointment, "Well...that's great."

Xiaodan bumped him with her hip gently then gave him a reassuring smile when he looked at her. Sokka gave the white-haired girl a weak smile in return as the foursome walked under a paifang gate and towards a temple at the top of the hill.

"This temple was converted into a shrine to Kyoshi." Oyaji explained as he led the three teens into the shrine, "The clerics tell us these relics are still connected to her spirit. That's her kimono."

Katara nodded her head approvingly as she gently touched the kimono hanging on the wall, "She had exquisite touch."

"Please don't touch!" Oyaji said reproachfully and Katara jerked her hand away from the kimono and turned to look at the village leader sheepishly.

"These fans..." Sokka addressed Oyaji as he picked up one of Kyoshi's gold, metal fans and held it with two fingers, "They were her weapons, no?"

"Also refrain from touching the fans." Oyaji said sternly as he glared slightly at Sokka.

Xiaodan crouched beside a large pair of brown boots that were resting under the kimono, Katara at her side.

"These were her boots?" The white-haired girl questioned curiously as she took in the size of the boots then turned to look at Oyaji over her shoulder

"Her feet must have been enormous!" Katara said in awe, her expression turning to one of surprise when Momo suddenly peeked out of one of them.

"The biggest of any Avatar." Oyaji replied proudly as he smiled at the two girls.

"Wait a minute...Big feet?" Katara muttered as she realized something and she remembered the much smaller footprint they saw at the edge of the cliff outside Chin Village, "Little foot print?"

Xiaodan's eyes widened as she followed the dark-haired girl's train of thought, "There's no way-"

Sokka cleared his throat, cutting off the white-haired girl and the two girls turned to face him exasperatedly.

"Special outfit? Hat and pipe?" Sokka asked rhetorically as he gestured to himself, "These things mean anything to you two?"

"I apologize, O Great Detective Sokka." Xiaodan drawled sarcastically then bowed mockingly at him, "Please, go head."

Katara giggled quietly behind her hand and Xiaodan crossed her arms over chest as Sokka took over the explanation.

"Aha!" Sokka exclaimed as he dramatically raised his hand in the air then showed his own boots to Oyaji, "There's no way Kyoshi could have made that footprint. And therefore there is nothing linking her to the crime scene!"

"Brilliant, Sokka." Katara said in an unimpressed tone, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes as her brother walked around the room.

Xiaodan merely shook her head in amusement.

"This girl you're talking about? She'll come around." The scary prisoner with the green snake tattoos stated in a friendly voice as he sat with two other prisoners and Aang, "You just gotta hang in there."

Aang removed his head and hands from the wood panel and rested them in top of it as he looked at the scary prisoner with a hopeful expression, "You think so?"

"Sure." The scary prisoner said with a nod.

"Yeah." A second prisoner agreed.

"You're a catch." A third, larger prisoner added with a grin.

"I don't know..." Aang said doubtfully as he looked off to the side.

"Hey! You're smart, handsome, funny." The scary prisoner commented, gesturing slightly with his hands, "Not to mention you're the Avatar!"

"You guys are great." Aang said with a sincere smile on his young face.

"Don't be afraid to tell her how you feel." The third prisoner advised in a soft voice as he wiped a tear from his eye and sniffed.

"This piece is called 'The Birth of Kyoshi.'" Oyaji explained as the three teens stood in front of a large painting that depicted Kyoshi and some villagers standing on the island, "It was painted at sunrise on this day this island was founded. Why, it was today in face, three hundred and seventy years ago."

Sokka spat out some bubbles he had swallowed in shock then he whirled around to face Oyaji, "Three hundred and seventy years?"

"Wait," Sokka muttered and grabbed Oyaji by his collar, "Are you sure it was today?"

"Oh, seeing how it's Kyoshi Day, yes." Oyaji replied drily as he pulled himself free from Sokka's grasp and pushed him away, "I'm sure."

"This ceremony didn't take place at sunrise. It took place at sunset." Sokka commented as he inspected the painting again then addressed Katara and Xiaodan, "Look at the shadows."

The two girls approached the paintings and looked painted villagers' shadows curiously.

"They point east." Katara said excitedly then pointed to the corner of the painting, "So the sun must have been in the west."

"So what?" Oyaji asked in confusion.

Katara opened her mouth but Sokka shoved her out of the way so that he could explain. Xiaodan rolled her eyes at the Water Tribe boy and walked over to help Katara back to her feet as Sokka began talking.

"If Kyoshi was in the ceremony at sunset, she couldn't have been in Chin committing the crime!" Sokka exclaimed as he pointed his pipe at Katara and Xiaodan, "She has an alibi."

Katara scowled and snatched the pipe from her brother's hand then slammed him hard on the head with it, causing Xiaodan to snicker.

"Honorable Mayor, we've prepared a solid defense for the Avatar." Katara said respectfully as she, Sokka, and Xiaodan stood in front of Tong inside the prison while Aang listened from behind the bars, "We did an investigation and found some very strong evidence."

While Katara spoke, Sokka grinned broadly and leaned towards Aang, pointing at himself to emphasize that he was the one that discovered the evidence and Aang grinned back at him happily.

"Evidence?" Tong questioned then waved his hand dismissively, "Hmph! That's not how our court system works."

"Then how can I prove my innocence?" Aang asked curiously and Tong leaned towards him slightly.

"Simple. I saw what happened," Tong explained and pointed at himself then he pointed at Aang, "Then you say what happened, and then I decide who's right."

The four teens gasped simultaneously and stared at the mayor with horrified expressions.

"That's why we call it justice." Tong continued smugly, "Because it's 'just us.'"

The mayor laughed manically as he left the room, leaving Sokka, Katara, Aang, and Xiaodan standing there with their mouths wide open in shock. Xiaodan's snapped her mouth shut, her shocked expression morphing into one of anger.

"Oh, I'm gonna hurt him." Xiaodan growled and made to step forward but Sokka grabbed her arm, shaking his head when the white-haired girl turned her head to look at him.

Xiaodan stared at Sokka for a moment then huffed and crossed her arms, fuming silently.

"Everyone loved Chin the Great because he was so great." Tong said emotionally as he stood in the center of the small amphitheater where the statue of Chin and temple where on the edge of the cliff, "Then the Avatar showed up and killed him, and that's how it happened."

Xiaodan felt her eyebrow twitch slightly at the smug smile on the mayor's face as he walked away and sat down in the front row of the amphitheater.

"The accused will now present its argument." The guard drawled in a very deep monotone.

"You can do it, Aang." Sokka encouraged quietly, his hand cupped around his mouth, "Just remember the evidence."

"Right...evidence." Aang muttered, his head and hands back in the wooden panel as he looked to his left and tried to remember what to say, then he cleared his throat.

"Ladies and gentlemen...I'm about to tell you what really happened! And I will prove it with facts. Fact number one!" Aang said enthusiastically and raised his finger, but his mind goes blank, "Uh..."

"The footprint!" Sokka whispered urgently from the front row opposite from the mayor's seat.

"Oh, yeah! You see...I have very large feet." Aang said then glanced down at his small feet at the villagers stared at him, unimpressed by his argument so far.

"Furthermore...your temple matches your statue!" Aang continued and the villagers looked from the statue to the temple, clearly unsure where the young Avatar was going with his argument, "But...I, uh, was in a painting at sunset. So, there you have it, I'm not guilty!"

Aang quickly ended his argument with a large smile on his face and the unimpressed villagers stared at him blankly. Xiaodan sighed and covered her eyes with her hand, shaking her head slightly while Katara and Sokka smiled widely, their eyes giving away their nervousness as Sokka gave Aang a thumbs up. Momo chittered in confusion from his spot on Xiaodan's lap, his ears pinned back.

"He's dead..." Sokka muttered to the two girls as he and Katara continued to smile widely.

Xiaodan snorted quietly and shook her head again in exasperation.

"Looks like you did some serious shopping." Iroh commented as he walked into the cave and sat in front of a fancy new tea set then he picked up the large, gold-colored teapot, "But where did you get the money?"

"Do you like your new teapot?" Zuko asked, evading his uncle's question as he lounged lazily against a tree trunk in front of the fire.

"To be honest with you, the best tea tastes delicious whether it comes in a porcelain pot or a tin cup." Iroh stated as he put down the fancy teapot then walked over to his nephew and kneeled beside him, "I know we've had some difficult times lately. We've had to struggle just to get by."

Iroh reached out and put a hand on Zuko's shoulder, the scarred teen closing his eyes as if he was holding something back.

"But it's nothing to be ashamed of." Iroh continued gently, "There is a simple honor in poverty."

"There's no honor for me without the Avatar."

"Zuko..." Iroh started then sighed quietly, "Even if you did capture the Avatar, I'm not so sure it would solve our problems. Not now."

Zuko turned away from his uncle, his eyes downcast, "Then there is no hope at all."

The banished prince made to stand up and walk away but Iroh grabbed him by the shoulders and sat him down again.

"No, Zuko! You must never give in to despair." Iroh chided gently in a paternal tone of voice, "Allow yourself to slip down that road and you surrender to your lowest instincts."

Zuko bowed his head and closed his eyes as he listened to his uncle's words of wisdom.

"In the darkest times, hope is something you give yourself. That is the meaning of inner strength."

The scarred teen glanced over his shoulder at his uncle and Iroh stared back at him with a sad look upon his lined face. Abruptly Zuko jerked himself free from Iroh's grasp and headed back out into the forest, leaving Iroh to stare after him sorrowfully.

"Mayor Tong, I'd like for the court to hear one last testimony." Katara said as she stood in front of the seated villagers.

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

"This isn't just any witness. I'm going to call..." Katara paused and spread her arms out slightly, "Avatar Kyoshi herself!"

The villagers began to murmur quietly to themselves as someone exited the shrine. The guard walked forward, escorting Aang, dressed in Kyoshi's clothes, towards the front of the amphitheater. The mayor looked on skeptically while Katara walked back to her seat and sat between Sokka and Xiaodan.

"What are you doing?" Sokka asked in a whisper as he leaned towards his sister and pointed Aang.

"Well, she is Aang's past life." Katara replied, her expression and tone hopeful, "Maybe wearing her stuff will trigger something."

"Well, it's definitely worth a shot." Xiaodan mused as she began to scratch behind Momo's ears, causing the lemur to purr happily.

Sokka began playing with his magnifying monocle as he leaned back in his seat, "I do believe in the power of stuff."

Tong looked at the dressed up Aang angrily, "This is a mockery of Chin Law!"

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

Aang stood in the middle of the square, hiding behind one of the Kyoshi's fans then he peeked over the fan.

"Hey, everybody!" he called out in a high-pitched voice, "Avatar Kyoshi here!"

"Oi..." Xiaodan muttered and clapped her hands over her face, shaking her head in dismay.

"This is ridiculous!" Tong shouted as he walked over to Aang and pointed at the young Avatar while he addressed the villagers and Aang looked down in defeat, "For the murder of Chin the Great, this court finds the Avatar-"

Tong's words were cut off suddenly when a defeated looking again was suddenly engulfed in a tornado of earth and Tong held onto his hat tightly, to prevent it from flying away as he stared up at the tornado fearfully. The sky darkened dramatically and the tornado disappeared, revealing that Aang was gone and in his place was the spirit of Avatar Kyoshi.

"I killed Chin the Conqueror." Avatar Kyoshi said calmly, "A horrible tyrant, Chin was expanding his army to call corners of the continent..."

"When they came to the neck of the peninsula where we lived, he demanded our immediate surrender." Kyoshi continued, "I warned him that I would not sit passively while he took our home. But he did not back down. On that day we split from the mainland."

"I created Kyoshi Island so my people could be safe from invaders." Kyoshi all but growled and her eyes narrowed dangerously as the tornado of earth engulfed her once again.

Tong yelped quietly and kneeled on the ground beside the tornado, his arms covering his head. The tornado continued to spin around Kyoshi and the darkness that had suddenly appeared lifted, the sky brightening once again. Sokka held Katara protectively in his arms and Xiaodan cradled Momo to her chest with one arm while she used the other to shield her eyes.

The tornado disappeared and Aang is standing in the middle of the amphitheater once again, swaying from side-to-side. Xiaodan quickly put Momo down and rushed over to her brother, catching him before he collapsed, Katara only steps behind her.

"So, what just happened?" Aang asked in confusion as he looked from Xiaodan to Katara.

"Uhhh...you kind of confessed." Katara replied awkwardly, "Sorry."

Tong stood up from his crouched position on the ground and turned to face the three teens.

"And I find you..." He paused to brush himself off then he pointed accusingly at Aang, "Guilty!" Bring out the Wheel of Punishment!"

Xiaodan pursed her lips angrily as the villagers broke out into cheers, her orange eyes narrowing angrily. Momo looked behind him at the cheering villagers then couched down and covered his eyes with his tail.

Iroh bent over some of their supplies, sifting through them idly.

"Uncle..." Zuko called out and Iroh straightened but didn't turn around, "I thought a lot about what you said."

"You did?" Iroh stated, his sad expression morphing into one of content as he continued to sift through the supplies, "Good, good."

"It helped me realize something." Zuko continued calmly as he bowed his head slightly, "We no longer have anything to gain by traveling together. I need to find my own way."

Iroh's brightened expression disappeared and he bowed his head sorrowfully his eyes closing. Zuko looked at his uncle's back for a moment then grabbed his pack and began walking back into the forest.

"Wait!"

Zuko stopped and turned around, watching as his uncle led the ostrich-horse over to him. Iroh handed his nephew the reins, staring sadly as Zuko mounted the ostrich-horse. The scarred prince looked back at his uncle one last time then started off, leaving a despondent Iroh behind.

Iroh watched his nephew disappear into the forest and sighed, suddenly wishing for the company of a certain Pai Sho loving white-haired Airbender.

"The accused will now spin the Wheel of Punishment to determine his sentence." The guard said in his deep monotone as he stood beside the large wheel that depicted various forms of punishment.

Aang turned to look at Xiaodan, Sokka, and Katara, who are watching him sympathetically, or in Xiaodan's case, glaring angrily at the mayor of Chin Village. Aang smiled slightly then turned back to the face the Wheel of Punishment.

"I said I would face justice, so I will." He said then took a deep breath and spun the wheel, waiting with bated breath to see what it would land on.

"Come, on torture machine." One village said hopefully as the wheel spun around.

"Eaten by bears!" Another villager called out, just as hopeful.

"Razor pit!"

Xiaodan twitched and twisted around in her seat to glare at the villagers furiously.

"SHUT UP!" She snarled fiercely, using Airbending to amplify her voice slightly.

The villagers recoiled slightly and fell silent. Xiaodan huffed once and turned back around so she was once again facing the center of the amphitheater.

"Community service!" Katara begged quietly, her fists held up to her chin as she watched the Wheel nervously, "Please stop on community service!"

Sokka, Katara, and Xiaodan all watched worriedly as the wheel started to slow down. The Wheel of Punishment bypassed 'strangled by a platypus-bear' and 'eaten by sharks', Aang staring up at the wheel anxiously as it came to a halt.

The guard peered at the wheel then turned back to the crowd and spoke in his monotone, "Looks like it's 'boiled in oil.'"

The villagers cheered loudly, many of them throwing their arms in the air. Aang whirled around and stared in terror at Katara, Sokka, and Xiaodan, who stare back in horrified shock. Suddenly, a small grenade bounced into the amphitheater and exploded inside the temple, completely destroying it and making the whole amphitheater shake. Sokka and Katara raised their arms to protect their faces from the blast and debris while Xiaodan spun around, holding Momo protectively to her chest. Everyone looked up and stared at the five Fire Nation men sitting atop five rhinos.

"We've come to claim this village for the Fire Lord. Now show me the leader so I may..." The leader paused with a smirk as one of his men sliced through the statue of Chin the Great with his guan dao, "Dethrone him!"

One of the villagers pointed at Tong, "That's him over there!"

Tong squealed in terror and dove behind the Wheel of Punishment.

"Ahh!" Tong squeaked as he peeked out from behind the wheel and he addressed Aang in a commanding tone, "You, Avatar, do something!"

"Gee, I'd love to help," Aang replied apathetically as he stared in front of him, "But I'm supposed to be boiled in oil."

The mayor gave Aang a panicked look then quickly shifted the wheel one slot over so it rested on the picture of a man sweeping.

"There, community service!" Tong said and pointed at the five men on rhinos, "Now serve our community and get rid of those rhinos!"

Aang smirked slightly then rushed forward and jumped out of his Kyoshi costume, heading straight for the rhino-rider wielding the guan dao. The man readied his weapon and charged Aang, who snapped open Kyoshi's fans. Aang quickly spun out of the rhino's path and swung the fans, using Airbending to lift the guan dao wielder right out of his saddle then Aang tossed him off the cliff with another gust of air.

The man's rhino continued its charge, heading straight for the mayor, who was peeping over the wheel again. Tong squealed again and quickly ducked back down behind the Wheel of Punishment when he saw the rhino coming towards him. A squeak of fear escaped him when the rhino's horned embedded themselves into the wheel, missing the mayor's arms and vital bits by merely inches.

Aang spun around to face the leader of the rhino gang and the man glared down at Aang with a displeased look on his face.

"Rough Rhinos, to the town!" the man ordered as he pointed back to the village.

The remaining Rough Rhinos charged back to the village, the archer shooting three flaming arrows at the buildings, setting fire to the roofs of several buildings while the leader began blasting other buildings with Firebending. Another of Rough Rhinos rode through the village, dropping several lit bombs into a hay wagon as he rode past while a third man used his chains to pull down the support beams of a house.

The man screamed wordlessly as he swung his chains above his head. Katara ran into the street and the man threw his chains at her but Katara easily deflected them with a water-whip and the chains wrapped themselves around the man instead. Katara smirked slightly then hit the rhino on the rear with her water-whip and the animal dashed away.

Xiaodan and Sokka snuck down some stairs and onto the street between two members of the Rough Rhinos. Sokka grinned and adjusted his monocle so that is reflected the sunlight right into the eyes of the Rough Rhinos' archer. The archer turned and blindly shot a burning arrow at the two teen. Xiaodan ducked down quickly and Sokka gasped as the flaming arrow pierced his hat then embedded itself into the saddlebag of the bomb-happy Rough Rhino. Xiaodan and Sokka grinned at each other and ducked down for cover just as the other man noticed the flaming arrow embedded in his bomb-filled saddlebag. The man quickly grabbed the bag and tossed it away, but it was too late and the force of the blast caused him and his rhino to smack into the wall of a nearby building.

Xiaodan laughed madly as she and Sokka covered their heads from the flying debris and the man's helmet rolled past them while another bag landed right in front of Sokka, his boomerang sticking out.

"Boomerang!" Sokka exclaimed happily as he grabbed the weapon and waved it around enthusiastically, "You do always come back!"

"Duck!" Xiaodan shouted, interrupting Sokka's happy reunion with his boomerang as she yanked him down beside her, a flaming arrow flying over their heads.

The white-haired girl snatched Sokka's dragon-shaped pipe from his belt and threw it at the archer, who had notched another burning arrow. The mouth of the pipe slid over the burning arrow and extinguished the fire. The archer stared at his extinguished arrow in surprise and Katara used that moment to sneak up behind him and cut his saddle cord with a water-whip. The archer slid of the rhino with a gasp, his foot getting caught in the stirrup and Katara struck the rhino's backside with her water-whip. The rhino reared back with a growl and charged down the street, dragging the flailing archer away.

Aang snapped his fans closed and held them behind his back as he stopped at the mouth of an alley in the village where the leader of the Rough Rhinos had appeared at the other end of the alleyway. The two stared at each other for a moment then the leader urged his rhino forward, using Firebending to increase his speed. Aang ran forward and jumped, pushing off the wall of the alley and he swung his fans, dispersing the flames that the leader of the Rough Rhinos shot at him as he backflipped over the man.

Aang landed behind the man in a crouch, sliding back a few feet as Kyoshi's headdress and fans landed beside him. The young Airbender quickly created an air scooter and the two charged at each other again, Aang avoiding the Firebender's blast by zooming under the rhino's belly and emerging behind the man. Aang twisted around and shot a powerful stream of air at the man, but the Firebender avoided it by sliding to the side of his saddle.

Aang dispersed his air scooter and turned to face the man again, the two of them staring silently at each other again from opposite ends of the alley. A beat of silence past then the two were charging at each other for a third time. The leader of the Rough Rhinos fired a powerful blast of fire that consumed the whole alley and Aang jumped into the air, propelling himself right through the blast feet first as he surrounded himself with an air shield. Aang's feet slammed into the Firebender, knocking him right off his rhino and straight through a wooden fence. Aang landed lightly on his feet in a defensive position as he stared at the downed man warily then he straightened when he realized the leader of the Rough Rhinos wouldn't be getting up anytime soon.

"From now on, we'll celebrate a new Avatar Day in honor of the day Avatar Aang saved us from the Rough Rhino Invasion!" Mayor Tong exclaimed grandly later that night as fireworks went off in the village and he gestured towards Aang, Xiaodan, Katara, and Sokka, each holding a bowl and grinning happily.

"What is this?" Sokka asked as he looked curiously into his bowl, staring at the Aang-shaped pieces of dough.

"That's our new festival food!" Tong said gleefully, his hands clasped in front of him, "Un-fried dough. May we eat it and be reminded of how on this day the Avatar was not boiled in oil."

The villagers cheered happily but the four teens stared at each other uncertainly and each of them picked up a dough cookie.

Xiaodan made a face as the cookie in her hand drooped and she sighed.

"Might as well get it over with..." She muttered and popped the dough cookie into her mouth then swallowed it a moment later, scrunching her nose up as she stared down at her bowl.

"Happy Avatar Day, everyone." Katara said with a weak smile then she followed Xiaodan's example and ate the cookie.

The dark-haired girl looked down at her bowl after she had swallowed the dough cookie, uncertain of what to make of it. Aang glanced at his sister and Katara then stuck a cookie in his mouth, half of it still dangling out of his mouth as he made a face.

"This is by far the worst town we've ever been to." Sokka stated as he stared at the dough cookie in his hand skeptically.

Aang slurped the rest of his cookie into his mouth and made another face. Sokka finally ate his own cookie then picked up another one and stared at it skeptically again.