Apparently, there were concerns that United Republic would cost more than originally thought and would not be completed according to the timetable they had set. Since the council wanted to make substantial changes from the treaty that created the country, they would need to amend the treaty in order to go forward with their new plans.
The beginning was mostly a status update on what they had already done. It was pretty straightforward and Azula's progress reports outlined most of this anyway. At the heart of the matter, however, were the derogations that the council wanted to make: changing the tax structure, building more high rises, investing in even more technology. This was a massive undertaking and some were weary as to if it was even possible. Would this just be a waste of money at the end?
The first day was a long one. It felt like information overload. Zuko was ready to go lie down when Aang found him after the meeting.
"Can we talk?" he asked Zuko.
"I was on my way back to the inn."
Mai and Suki were with them.
"It involves all of you, or it can. I think Katara needs an intervention!"
For obvious reasons, they continued this conversation in the privacy of Zuko's inn suite.
"Why would Katara need an intervention?" Suki questioned.
"She's been using marijuana for months and she's showing obvious symptoms of abuse."
"WHAT?" Zuko questioned.
"Azula gave her some during their trip to Ember Island. Katara insisted it helped with her anxiety, but I thought she should see a doctor. She did see one, well she saw Azula's doctor who gave her a prescription and she's been using it ever since."
"Let me guess, she gets it auto refilled and hasn't gone back to see the doctor."
"Exactly." Actually, Aang was wrong. She went back two more times at her lawyer's behest, so he could record her progress for their counterclaim.
Zuko sighed. "I knew medical marijuana was a bad idea."
"I wouldn't go that far," Mai said. "Your sister was completely crazy and she hasn't tried to kill you in almost four years now. I think it has some legitimate use."
Suki said, "She has a point. That doesn't mean, however, that Katara doesn't have a problem."
Aang described her paranoia, how she would lash out at him and her decision to start a relationship with Azula.
"She what?" They all yelled.
"They've been dating since November, and of course Katara wants to be with her; she's her enabler."
It seemed quite unbelievable that Katara would pursue a relationship with Azula without being under the influence of something. They hadn't, however, been able to observe Katara's recovery or how supportive Azula had been. They just took Aang's word that Azula was keeping Katara high and finagled her way into the waterbender's pants.
"Have you tried talking to her about this?"
"She won't listen to me at all," Aang said, which was true, but that's because he was part of the reason she smoked in the first place.
"She needs to be evaluated by a new doctor," Zuko decided, like he could decide that for her.
"We can't just make her go in," Mai pointed out.
"And when we brought a doctor to her, she flipped out," Suki recalled.
Aang brought them some book about staging interventions. "If we all go together, then maybe she'll see that she needs help, help that Azula nor a green plant can provide her."
Suki and Zuko agreed right away. Mai wanted to consult Ty Lee before committing to anything.
The next day, she found Ty Lee doing early morning yoga on the rooftop of the apartment building she lived in.
"Hey Mai," Ty Lee said looking at her upside down.
"Do you have a minute?"
"For you, of course." Ty Lee continued to stretch.
"How long have you known about Azula and Katara?"
"Oh since June."
"June?"
"I mean they weren't together then, but I could see Katara's aura turning pink when Azula was around. It was only a matter of time before they got together."
"And do you think Katara's recovered enough for a relationship?"
Ty Lee nodded. "They're so good together. When we got Katara in June, she was skin and bones. You could tell she didn't sleep. She was too frightened to really function, but we got her eating. Azula helped her with her sleeping, and we were able to help her get her bending back."
"She lost it?"
"She was so anxious, her bending was pretty much gone. I gave her some chi massages and we took her to Guru Pathik so she could reopen her chakras. Once she could bend again, she could resume working."
This was night and day from the story Aang had told them.
"Do you think she maybe uses her prescription too much?"
"For cannabis? I don't think so. She hasn't shown any signs of dependency."
"No paranoia or short term memory loss."
"No. Why?"
"Just making sure things are alright."
When Mai went to tell Zuko what she had heard, Zuko wasn't surprised. "Ty Lee's a sweetheart, but she's a little batty. I wouldn't be surprised if she missed the warning signs."
"Or Aang made them up in his mind because he's a jealous ex who's been chasing Katara for well over a year just to get nowhere, and he can't accept that Katara want's Azula and not him."
Zuko frowned. "We're just going to talk to her. If it's all made up like Ty Lee thinks, we'll find out then."
When Suki asked Sokka about Katara's stability, he admitted, "I haven't really been around for her. She seemed well when I saw her and Azula, well until Aang proposed."
"He proposed?"
"Yeah and she was pretty upset. She couldn't believe he tried after they've been broken up for so long. It was pretty painful to listen to."
"You were there?"
"I was, and so was Azula. He didn't realize they were together when he asked. He must have felt really stupid."
Suki started to get a bad feeling in her stomach, was this just a bitter ex?
Aang and Zuko, however, seemed convinced that cannabis was the problem. To make sure Katara was in her apartment, they had a delivery slip sent to her, telling her that a delivery was coming between 7 and 10 on Thursday night, guaranteeing that she would have to stay in the apartment until they got there.
Katara wondered what it could be and assumed that Azula had ordered some kind of present for her.
"Why don't we go to my place on Thursday?"
"Okay, Baby."
The others met up to discuss the intervention, well absent Ty Lee who didn't know about it and absent Mai who was convinced that this was a waste of time.
Zuko, Aang, Sokka and Suki all met to go over the plan. "The book says we need to have clear examples of when her drug use has been a problem."
"I don't know of any," Sokka admitted. Neither Suki nor Zuko knew of any either.
Aang had a list of times when he thought that her cannabis use was responsible for her unruly behavior. Most of these times, however, she had been sober and just mad at him.
"It is important that we speak one at a time, so she doesn't feel overwhelmed."
He went through the rules and then they headed over to her apartment.
It was 7:30 and Katara and Azula were enjoying the night on Katara's couch.
"You're clothed," Katara complained.
"I thought the no clothes rule was for my apartment."
"Nope. Both of them."
"Then take them off."
Katara eagerly took off Azula's clothes, starting with her jacket and making her way down to her gorgeous body.
Azula picked her up and carried her to the kitchen table. "This table is the perfect height for me to fuck you while standing," Azula smirked as she began pulling off Katara's pants.
The waterbender arched her back for more contact as Azula took her time, lavishing the woman with kisses and poker-hot touches with her fingertips.
"I have a surprise," Azula said when she went to her purse. Inside, was a glass phallus, one with a smaller phallus coming out at an angle. It was designed so that one woman could have the smaller end inside herself while fucking her lover with the larger end.
Katara's eyes widened at the surprise. Azula buried her head between her lover's legs, getting her nice and wet before fucking her senseless.
The closer they got to the apartment, the more Sokka and Suki doubted whether this was a good idea. Sokka told her, "Sometimes, you have to serve the king, even when he's wrong."
Suki accepted that logic, for some reason and they continued. When Aang knocked on the door, there was no answer.
Maybe she wasn't home. Sokka was ready to leave when Aang produced a key from his pocket. He still had a key to her place? Before he could object to the intrusion, Aang opened the door and his jaw dropped. Katara was clutching the table, holding on for dear life as Azula pounded the daylights out of her. Moans and grunts filled the room while they were well, rutting.
Sokka was traumatized beyond relief. He ran without any care if he had been spotted or not. Zuko ran after him. Aang ran third and Suki was the only one composed enough to tiptoe and close the door. Aang had left his key inside. Suki kept it. "He does not need this at all!"
She would have locked the door, but she thought that might have given them away. Now she had to track down her stupid boyfriend and his stupid friends. Serving the king even though he's wrong. Who the fuck came up with that?
She found them in the same bar where Sokka and Aang had drunken themselves into a stupor the night Katara was attacked.
Sokka ordered vodka and used it to purify his eyes. Zuko ordered a whisky neat and chugged the whole thing. Aang just beat his head on the table. Apparently, Azula had no trouble fucking Katara like a man. He and Katara never made it past missionary or out of the bedroom. Was that what she wanted? Someone who could dominate her in the bedroom or on the kitchen table.
"I can't believe I ate on that table!" Sokka whimpered as he ordered a shot to drink this time.
Zuko wished he had Mai's common sense and stayed out of it.
Aang wished he had thought to distract Azula during the intervention. "Next time, we need to make sure Azula is elsewhere else."
"NEXT TIME!" Sokka yelled at him. "There won't be any next time. I refuse to be apart of whatever tonight was."
"Me too!"
"Me three!" Suki said as she ordered a beer.
They would be drinking the pain away for some time.
Azula ravished Katara all over the apartment. She had her pinned against the wall, bent over the couch, and at one point pinned down as Azula hammered her on the floor. Katara had unleashed a dragon, and she was the prey.
"OH FUCK! OH FFFFFUUUUUUCCCCKKKKKK!"
The more Katara screamed, the stronger Azula's lust became. Her inner fire was blazing hot. She had never felt such an unquenchable hunger overtake her body. She kissed Katara hard, mauling her mouth as she conquered her body again and again.
One after another, they came and came until they collapsed in a rapturous bliss. Sweat soaked and fatigued, they had a wild night, and it was still young.
"That package never came," Katara lamented.
"What package?"
"The one you ordered."
"I didn't order anything."
Katara found the package slip.
Azula frowned. "This is Zuko's handwriting."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive."
"Why would he (do that)?"
"I don't know, but you know who would know?"
When Mai opened the door, she thought Zuko had forgotten his key.
She was surprised to see Azula and Katara, but when she held up the phony package slip, Mai sighed. "So you want to know what gives."
"That we do."
Mai said, "I need a drink first." She poured herself a whiskey and juice before she began. "Aang found us after the treaty negotiations and insisted that Katara needed an intervention."
"For what?" Azula questioned.
"He said she was dependent on her cannabis and when we got to the inn, he told us that you were her enabler. That you kept her high so you could seduce her."
"WHAT?" Katara was pissed.
"I know, I know, it sounded crazy, so I asked Ty Lee about you two and she said pretty much the total opposite. I suspected that Aang was a jealous ex, but Zuko believed him, mainly because he thinks you get high for fun, and it's not real medicine, anyway.
Zuko and Aang started planning an intervention. Suki got Sokka who told her about the failed proposal. Suki started to suspect that Aang was just bonkers and even though Sokka seemed to doubt him as well, they decided to show up and see what happens.
They made up the package slip so you would be in your own apartment, figuring Azula just wouldn't let them into hers, and I refused to go, because the more I thought about it, the more I thought Aang was the one acting crazy. He swore you were paranoid and had short-term memory loss, which are signs of cannabis abuse, but Sokka and Ty Lee didn't see any of that, which seemed odd to me. How could Katara have symptoms that only manifested with Aang? It made more sense that he was overreacting.
Anyway, if you didn't see them tonight, then maybe they got some sense and called it off." Mai finished her drink.
"An intervention?" Katara couldn't believe it. "Was this revenge because I said no?"
"He probably convinced himself it was the weed talking and once you're sober, you'll want him again."
"Out of all of the arrogant and condescending bullshit that I put up with in my life, he takes the cake! How dare he assume I am not capable of making my own choices and try to convince my friends and family that I have a drug problem to placate his bruised ego. The next time I see him, his balls will be bruised!"
Mai shook her head. "I don't know what to say. Maybe I should have tried harder to get Zuko to see how crazy this all was, but I've been telling Zuko to stop placating Aang's obsession with you since last December. He seemed to think that there was some hope, and he couldn't tell his friend to move on, even though it was clearly hopeless."
"And what were Sokka and Suki thinking?"
"Let me think," Azula tried, "Aang's my bro, Suki's my girlfriend, Zuko's her boss and let's just go with them even if it sounds totally stupid!"
Katara was mad. "I am so mad right now."
Mai had an idea. "I know what can make you feel better."
They went and defenestrated everything of Aang's that had been in Katara's apartment: his clothes, his shoes, and his spare glider. It was all in the street.
"That did feel pretty good," Katara admitted.
When the drunkards headed home, they passed Katara's building on the way to the inn.
"Isn't that a glider?" Sokka questioned, broken and in the street.
"It's my glider!" He looked further. "These are my clothes!"
Zuko gasped. "She threw it all out the window."
Furious, Aang stormed up to Katara's apartment, demanding an explanation. He pounded on the door. He would have used the key, but he couldn't find it.
"KATARA OPEN THIS DOOR!"
She did and once it was open, Aang came inside just to get a hose to the face and chest, blasting him back out of the apartment and into the opposing neighbor's door.
"What the FUCK?"
"IS WRONG WITH YOU?" Katara screamed at him. "How dare you make up stories about me having drug dependency because your ego and your wiener were too small to accept the fact that I dumped you? I do NOT have paranoia. I do NOT have short-term memory loss. Half of the time when I did get high it was because your unrelenting obsession with me was stressing me out!
How dare you lie to our friends and our family to convince them to intrude upon my privacy and stage an intervention? How dare you refuse to do the one thing I ask and let me go? Until you get over your issues, you need to stay out of my life. Don't write to me. Don't visit me. Don't talk to me when you see me passing by and stay away from my job and my girlfriend you psychopath!" She slammed the door in his face.
Neighbors had heard the commotion and opened their doors to see the Avatar soaking wet being berated by his ex-girlfriend. The rumor mills were going to go crazy with this story. In the hallway were the Fire Lord, his bodyguard and her boyfriend, a notable member of the city government. Why were they here? What was their role in the chaos?
Zuko, Suki and Sokka were too drunk to understand exactly what Katara had said. They could, however, tell she was really, really, mad!
Mai watched from the inside of the apartment. She was at a loss for words. Eventually, she left the apartment and took a carriage back to the inn, not saying a word to anyone.
Suki got a carriage and told it to take Aang home.
Sokka was staying in her inn room with her tonight, so they all went back to the inn.
When Zuko got to bed, he was surprised to see Mai was still up. "You were right."
"Oh I know, but tell me anyway about how wrong you were!"
As Zuko relayed the events in Katara's apartment, Mai tried so hard not to burst out laughing. Actually, she didn't try hard at all. She cackled as he described their sprint to the bar and subsequent drunkenness. "This is too good!"
"My head hurts!"
"Well it should, dum-dum!"
Zuko grumbled as he tried to fall asleep.
Sokka and Suki got into bed. "I'm never going to be apart of an intervention again!"
"I don't know if that was the lesson," Suki said, "But there is a lesson somewhere in here."
"Never listen to Aang again?"
"Maybe that's it."
They went to sleep.
Aang left his stuff. He could have heatbended himself dry, but he walked home in the winter while soaking wet. This was a terrible idea and woke up with an awful cold the next day.
He wondered why he was here. He moved for Katara. She obviously wanted him gone, so he'd go. She better not need him anytime soon because it would be a long time before he would want to see her again.
Sokka and Suki went over to apologize to Katara the next day for their role in the "intervention."
"We didn't realize how bonkers Aang had become."
Suki also gave Katara her key back. "I don't think Aang has any legitimate use for this."
Ty Lee wanted for everyone to get dim sum before Zuko and co. were leaving. They went on Saturday before Zuko's deposition.
"Isn't this fun?" She said as she poured some tea.
This had to be the most awkward gathering of people, ever.
Zuko refused to look into Azula's eyes or Katara's for that matter. He was still too traumatized.
Mai had no problem talking, even if everyone else stayed silent.
Sokka was half-expecting Aang to show up and act crazy.
Suki figured if she kept eating, then she didn't have to talk.
Finally, Zuko said something, "out of all the people in the world, why her?"
"Is that addressed to me or Azula?" Katara questioned.
"You."
"She was the only one who could deserve me," Katara told him. The answer didn't make any sense to him, but it did to her.
Katara was selfish, impatient and a little insecure. She made mistakes, could be out of control and at times hard to handle. Aang wanted to love her, but he couldn't handle her at her worst, then her sure as hell didn't deserve her at her best. Azula was the one who could bring light when Katara was surrounded by darkness. Her love gave Katara strength and it took a great courage for her to be able to open her heart after it had been battered and bruised so many times.
After eating too many dumplings, Zuko went with Mai and Suki to see this lawyer.
"Who are they?" The lawyer questioned.
"My girlfriend and my bodyguard, respectively."
"Whatever?" He asked Zuko what happened the morning after the attack.
"Aang said he had to cancel our meeting because Katara was in the hospital. We got there and she was just waking up. Her brother was already there."
"Was it just you four?"
"No, my sister came with me. The doctor came in and took out her IV. Katara asked how Yakone was doing and they said he had to go back into surgery. The room was crowded so Azula and I went for a walk where we found Yakone's wife, but we didn't know it was here. She was crying about her husband, and Azula tried to make her feel better.
When we left, Azula told me she thought that was the wife of the man who attacked Katara and we debated whether or not we should tell her that the guy was married and his wife was pregnant. We got breakfast. We brought something back for Katara, but I don't remember what exactly it was and Azula told her about the wife. Katara started freaking out, which I kind of expected that, but since she got sued, I guess she would have had to find out anyway.
We took turns visiting her. She was pretty shaken up. Azula and I had to go home, so Sokka was the only one who lived in the city with her.
"What about Aang?"
"He moved there when Sokka said she wasn't doing too well. He had been living in the Southern Air Temple."
"What if any correspondence did you have with Katara?"
"None really, well not that I remember."
"Do you remember anything about her?"
"Uh, Sokka said she had to take time off work because she was too stressed out. Azula wrote back suggesting she go on vacation with her and Ty Lee."
"Who?"
"Azula's best friend and current bodyguard. Katara went. I wasn't there, and I didn't see or hear anything until I came back here."
"And what happened when you got here?"
"Uh, Aang insisted Katara was addicted to her medication. He tried to stage an intervention, but apparently he was just bitter that she rejected his proposal. They fought. Katara had defenestrated his clothes because she was mad at him and I think that's it."
"So according to you, Aang made up her drug dependency issues?"
"He's the only one who ever saw them. Her doctor didn't. Her friends haven't. According to everyone, including Katara, she's fine. I don't know what he was talking about."
That didn't help with their theory that Katara was just paranoid and convinced herself Yakone was trying to rape her, but now they had Ty Lee, a name they had not heard before. They would try to depose her next.
March 104AG
Katara's lawyer deposed Yakone's wife. For some reason, she brought her baby, Yakone II.
"He has no father!"
"Um, I'm only going to write down answers to the questions."
He asked her where her husband said he was going that night. He said he was going to the market.
"Did he often go at night?"
"Sometimes, we'd run out of milk or something."
"And how long would he be gone?"
"An hour."
"And how far away is the market from your house?"
"10 minutes."
"Didn't you find it odd that it would take an hour to buy milk?"
[OBJECTION]
"There was a line!"
"At night, out the door? Did it ever occur to you he was lying?"
[Objection]
"He IS NOT A RAPIST!"
"I'll take that as a no. Has he ever been violent with you?"
"NO!"
"Has he ever been accused of violence as far as you know?"
"NO!"
"What about his arrest for being in a drunken brawl last year?"
"That was just trumped up nonsense!"
"But it was an accusation. Were there any others?"
"I don't know!"
"Have you ever been admitted to the hospital for injuries?"
"Yeah once."
"Why?"
"My arm was broken."
"Was Yakone involved?"
"I tripped into the door."
"On your arm?"
"She said she tripped," her lawyer interrupted.
"Have you ever had any women claim that Yakone fathered their babies?"
"One, but she was lying?"
"How do you know?"
"He told me."
"What was her name?"
"Jina!"
"Was Yakone a bloodbender?"
"Objection!"
"I don't know."
"Was he a waterbender?"
"Yes!"
"A masterbender!"
"Yes!"
"He would have heard of bloodbending?"
"Probably."
"Did he ever bloodbend you?" He did when he broke her arm.
"NO!"
She refused to answer any more questions.
Over the next month, he deposed various other people. He was able to find witnesses who saw Yakone bloodbend people into walls, sometimes breaking their bones. He could do this on any day of the month.
He was also trying to track down Jina. Maybe she could say something of interest.
Once Aang recovered from his cold, which might have been pneumonia, he moved back to the Southern Air Temple. The Acolytes were glad to see him return and even happier when he said he was done with Republic City and Katara. "We'll show you a good time," Hei-Won promised as she raked her nails along his chest.
The girls had a single Aang and they all considered him prey.
The girls had some wine that they had brought with them when they moved to the temple.
"Maybe you could enjoy it with us?" one of the girls asked with a carnal smile.
Aang grinned. If Katara didn't want him, there were plenty of girls who did.
That night, he was drunk. They all were, but he was drunk enough not to remember the next day.
The girls took turn kissing him. He could really get used to this. Avatar business could wait.
When Aang fell off the grid, those who knew of his blunder with Katara were not surprised. Those who didn't wondered where he had gone.
One of them was Toph. They had sent correspondence to him in Republic City, but he didn't forward the mail, so he never got it. Suspicious, Toph eventually went to his apartment to find it empty.
When Toph went to Katara's apartment, she didn't find anyone there either.
She tried Sokka at city hall and learned, Katara moved in with Azula and Aang moved away, presumably back to the Southern Air Temple.
"He didn't tell anyone. What happened?"
"He kept trying to get Katara back and when he couldn't, he convinced himself that she was addicted to her medication and tried to stage an intervention. It went badly. Katara flipped out on him and he ran off. He couldn't let her go and she couldn't take it anymore, so she said if you can't respect my choice not to be with you, we're not friends anymore, go away."
"Whoa!" Sugar Queen threw the hammer down!
"Yeah, it was pretty bad, but the situation was totally out of control. He had a key to her apartment. He'd just let himself in, and I don't think Katara realized he still had the key. She certainly didn't want him walking in while she and Azula were …"
"Whoa!"
"Yeah, I'd rather forget that ever happened."
"You were there?"
"I didn't realize he'd just open the door. I thought he'd wait for her to come out."
"Poor Snoozles! Well, I guess I have to go to the Air Temple."
Sokka took the day off to go with her, since she wouldn't be able to see off the ground. They got there on a sky ship and the place reeked of booze.
There were empty bottles of wine on the ground.
"Watch out," Sokka guided Toph away from the broken glass. He should have made her wear shoes.
"TWINKLE TOES!" She called his name over and over.
Aang stumbled out, half naked and hung over. He had been drinking heavily for weeks. A little booze would loosen him up a little, make it easier to flirt, but once he had too much, he would start rambling about Katara and how Azula ruined everything. "If I could have saved her from this, she would have chosen me." But Azula got in the way. All of his past good deeds counted for nothing in the end.
He would go on and on, as he would get drunker and drunker. He was a broken man who kept reopening his own wounds because he would rather bleed over Katara than move on with out her.
The acolytes stopped drinking with him, but he'd just get on Appa, buy booze and come back. He'd drink it all himself. He was fading away.
"You look like shit!" Sokka told him, clothes dirty, eyes sunken in.
"Thanks."
"Seriously, what happened to you?"
"We just had some fun." He belched.
The acolytes came to see their visitors.
"What brings you here?"
"I tried to reach Aang in Republic City, but I hadn't realized he moved."
"Well, when Katara tells you to go away, you go away." He fell to the ground.
"How much did he drink last night?"
The girls shrugged. "A bottle and a half?"
"No wonder he sounds like a hot mess."
When he woke up again, Toph tried to explain why they had been trying to reach him. There was growing discontent with the nobles in the Earth Kingdom about the taxes. Some were just hiding their money, but others were contemplating staging a coup. They wanted to get ahead of the problem before the palace got attacked, but they needed more help.
Aang only said, "when I try to help people, I get told that I'm overbearing and psychotic."
"So let me get this straight, Sugar Queen dumped you well over a year ago, instead of moving on you kept chasing her, you drove her to the point where she literally hosed you down and defenestrated your stuff because your desire for her was completely out of control, and now you've given up on your duty to the world and your life because you'd rather be a drunken, depressing lump on a log. I can't believe this. You're pathetic and not only was she right to dump you, but no one will ever love you if this is what you choose to become. I can't believe I ever had a crush on you. I'm embarrassed!"
Toph stormed off.
Sokka followed her. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think he needs an intervention."
Aang shrugged of Toph's words. What does she know anyway? She's never fallen in love. She's never given her life to someone just to be cruelly turned away. He refused to accept that he was overreacting, that he was giving up on a chance to be happy as a way of trying to punish Katara for spurning him. He refused to see that she had wanted him to be happy, that she had mentioned those other girls to encourage him to move forward. Instead of looking for life, he decided to sink into darkness.
That night, he just got drunk again.
