You're Invited (Avatar: TLoK Fic)
The Avatar had come after all.
Amon was pleasantly surprised.
He had worried several times that his clue was too obvious, but the puzzle map had apparently served its purpose well - providing a blatant, easily-spotted signpost to the destination while still appearing to be a hidden, encrypted message. She evidently never suspected it was meant first and foremost for her eyes.
Revealing the magnificent extent of his power and of his following to the Avatar became his greatest desire the day she announced her arrival in Republic City. It was only fair that she know that she and her kind were no longer welcome in his world of Equality, that the fate of the world was in his hands now instead of hers, and that she was powerless to hinder him. But it had to be done in style.
Planning the secret meeting where all of his followers would witness the great Revelation was easily done, but how to invite the guest of honor? Sending a straightforward message, either anonymous and cryptic or signed and direct, would be too suspicious; it was unlikely the impulsive girl would turn it down, but she would be on her guard, perhaps with her mentor or any number of her body guards either by her side or hidden until they could interrupt at the worst possible time for him. Kidnapping her and forcing her to watch was too risky, no matter how much he trusted his chi blockers. The truth was that he didn’t trust the skills of any of his soldiers enough - not when it came to stealth and trickery - to help him with this plan; they would all have to remain uninformed.
Yes, trickery it would have to be.
None of his lieutenants questioned his method of concealing the location on the fliers; it struck them all as a perfectly reasonable precaution. They didn’t know to expect the most hated human being in the world to arrive; she would have safe passage to a perfect view of him in all his glory as he demonstrated his mighty power. The plan was only missing one crucial component.
Every trap needed bait.
But what bait could he get his hands on? The Airbender and his family, safe beyond the city on Air Temple Island, now crawling with White Lotus sentries, were out of the question. What else did the Avatar value? His surveillance revealed two Pro-Benders were the only other people with whom she regularly associated. Perhaps one of them would do.
Nothing seemed more logical to his spies than to extend their surveillance to the Avatar’s new companions. Now all he had to do was wait for the perfect opportunity. He found it the day they reported that the Earthbender was just hired by Lightning Bolt Zolt.
He had hoped to use the Firebender, but he was too foolish to consider passing up the chance before him now for the sake of waiting for a chance to indulge a petty grudge. He must seize this opportunity and be patient; all Firebenders would pay for how they made him and others suffer soon enough.
He had kept his chosen date for the Revelation and his chosen examples secret from even his closest followers - because he never knew himself what and who they should be until now. He had kept his eyes open for the perfect timing and targets until all the components of his plan were in place. Nobody had any reason to question his sudden instructions to print the fliers with tomorrow’s date in time to start distributing them tomorrow morning; the smaller the window, the less chance of interference. Nor was there anything the least bit curious about his plan to kidnap the infamous Triple Thread Triad tonight; he was simply fulfilling his promise to rid the city of the tyranny of its Bending oppressors.
The crowd was bigger than even he had anticipated. He had to speak extra slowly to give himself enough time to scan the multitude for the right face. The look of shock and horror when he disclosed his power gave her away.
Let her run.
The night had been a complete success.