Thanks so much to the new reviewers! Oh, and Dante Alighieri1308, just a quick little clarification. It was probably not very clear, but Mai asked Ty Lee something. That will be important later on, so just thought I'd give it a mention. :)

Thank you again! And please enjoy!

(Oh, I should mention, because November is right around the bend, my updates may be a bit more staggered. With November comes NaNoWriMo and a lot of my writing juices go into that, but I'll definitely keep writing this. Just maybe at a bit of a slower pace.)

Ba Sing Se looked nothing like Zuko remembered. When he'd lived there with Uncle it had been quite a peaceful- almost disturbingly so- city, with hundreds of people all going about daily lives. There had been little to no war-related violence, limiting all crimes to solely the usual ones of thievery, mobbing, and the occasional drunken brawl.

Now, though, everything was different. The war that had been so successfully kept outside the city walls by Long Feng and his agents had finally, one hundred years later, made its way into the city. As old neighbours, friends, and business owners revealed Fire Nation blood in their past, the people of the Earth Kingdom were suddenly much less inclined to deal with them in a friendly manner, if at all.

Likewise, those of Fire Nation descent who had escaped as refugees from their own country balked at the prospect of returning to the Fire Nation and let the authorities know that clearly. They fought back against the deportation organizations, and the Earth King himself. They started riots in influential squares and streets that were snuffed out only after a fight between the police, the rioters, and whoever else got caught up in the hard feelings.

It was one of these riots that they arrived in the middle of. They climbed out of the earth tunnel that Toph created, since going through the gates like an ordinary person was impossible. Aang tensed noticeably under his cloak and hood, and Toph put a hand on his shoulder hissing, "Don't, it's not the right time."

Aang glanced her way in annoyance, but ceded to her judgement for truly, who knew the rights and wrongs of timing like Toph did? The way she listened to the earth seemed to give her an uncanny way of listening to things separate than the earth as well.

At the head of the riot was a young woman. She was distinctly Fire Nation with the pitch black hair and blazing fire in her eyes. Her hair was short, cut to just above her ears, and stuck out in an unmanageable way. She was standing on the top of a wall, yelling at the top of her lungs. "Will we be driven away because of our evil nation?"

"NO!" The crowd replied.

"Will we allow the Earth King to sentence us to a life of tyranny in the Fire Nation? That Nation that we grew up in fear of?"

"NO!"

"But YOU'RE Fire Nation," another cried. "Go back where you belong!"

"I'm Earth Kingdom," The girl shouted back. "I've lived here all my life and don't intend to stop now! Am I going to let some puny boy with an arrow head force me somewhere I don't want to go? You bet not!"

Roaring erupted from the crowd, both in booing and cheering.

"Go back home, dirty slugs!"

"Who are ya callin' dirty?"

One yelled, someone pushed, and just like that swords were drawn, flames erupted, and chunks of earth came shooting out from all directions.

"Okay," Toph said, digging her feet in, and spitting in her hands. "Now!"

In a flash, Team Avatar threw back their cloaks. They fought, but not to hurt or kill, only to disable.

"There he is!" The girl's voice rose to hysterical levels. "Kill him! Tyrant! The new Ozai! Kill him!"

Despite her angry pleas, there was something about the Avatar's presence that caused the riot to break up, and for people to run. Whispers could be heard saying, "don't get close. He'll take away your bending if he catches you doing something wrong!"

In the end only a few people were left, the girl being one of them. She still stood on the wall, eyes filled with hate and she glared down at Aang who created a ball of wind to roll up the side of the wall.

"Don't come near me," she growled. "You filthy mutt. You're no better than any of the people who destroyed this world." The second part was directed at Zuko who, with his scar, was easily recognizable.

"Wait!" Aang called as she jumped down on the other side of the wall. "Why are you so mad? Talk to us!"

She just glanced back at them with one more sneer, and then jogged off, shooting some random fire balls behind her.

"So," Mai said. "A couple of measly riots. It was easily dealt with."

"That's not it," Katara murmured, bending down beside Aang who had sat on the ground, his knees to his chest.

"Did you hear what she said? She said I was like Ozai. How am I like Ozai?"

"You're not," Zuko said. "I should know."

"But that was a bad one," Toph said, kneeling in the ground picking up some hot debris. "The riots are getting bigger and worse. People were hurt, I think."

"Yeah, but they were cleared away when we showed our faces, because now I'm going to take everyone's bending away." Aang hit his hand against his head. "I did it once... or twice, but they needed it. It wasn't safe to have Ozai or Azula keeping their bending."

"I'm sure if any of the people actually thought about it they'd realize that, Aang," Katara said.

"It's just that things are changing and they need someone to blame. As a new figure of power, you're an obvious choice," Sokka put in, earning a few elbows in the side.

Toph paused mid hit and the expression on her face became increasingly concerned. "Oh, no, no."

"What?" Aang jumped up, ready for action. "What is it?"

"Zuko, your Uncle's tea shop is around here, right?"

"Yeah..." as he translated the panicked look in her eyes, he took off running in the direction of it, following some sounds of shouting and smashing.

"Oh no," Mai exclaimed, causing the others to stare at her for a moment in astonishment before bursting after Zuko themselves.

They could smell and hear the trouble before they actually saw it. A few screams, plenty of angry yells, and the smell of burning wood, as well as the bitter smell of burning cloth. "Burn the Fire Nation Prince's house!" "Burn!" "Burn!" "It's fitting for a lousy former prince of the Fire Nation, isn't it old man?"

The sight was worse than they could have imagined. Even Toph could sense the hatred in the air.

"You tried to take Ba Sing Se from us!"

"I took it back for you," Iroh said simply, no affectations or defensive qualities in his tone.

"That's what you say. But you were Ozai's very own brother. You expect us to believe your peaceful protestations?"

"Now that we're free from the Fire Nation, it's time to eradicate all traces from our land!"

"That," Aang muttered to the group, "Is exactly what we're trying to do."

Zuko and Mai shared a look of discomfort, but chose not to disagree at the moment, since Iroh was by far more important.

"I say we execute him. As the Avatar should have done to Ozai, we will bring justice by destroying this member of the family that tore our world apart."

"Why doesn't he fight?" Mai asked Zuko, confused as Iroh just held his head high and allowed the angry tormentors to crowd him.

"If he fights he proves them right. He can't do that, Uncle isn't like that. But there's nothing wrong with us fighting for him." With that, he drew his hood low on his face, hiding his scar through the first layer of hair, and then the second layer of cloth, and then leaped into the fray, planting a careful kick to the back of the one of the attacker's head. This attacker in particular had a broad sword- one weapon Zuko would be able to use. That way he wouldn't have to reveal himself as fire bender and Fire Lord. The rioter stumbled and dropped the sword he'd held, which Zuko snatched up quickly.

"What!?" An outraged rioter yelled, turning from where he'd been threatening Iroh to Zuko. Zuko readied his stance, lifting the sword in preparation for a fight. As he'd expected, the leader of this group, a middle aged man, dropped the issue of Iroh and focused solely on Zuko. He began bending rocks, sending them flying towards Zuko's face, looking with surprise as Zuko ducked, and then blocked some with his sword. The sort of swordplay that took years to master, which it had. It had been an indulgence of his as a child. He'd always felt it wise to have something other than his firebending. His father hadn't disagreed per se, but then, he hadn't told him either.

Mai and Sokka also jumped into the group, readying sword and shuriken. Toph growled, "Blast it, I'm gonna fight too! I like that old man!" She banged her foot down onto the ground and sent a pillar of earth shooting into one of the people.

"If she can fight, I can fight," Aang said. "If I use earth bending, no one will know I'm the Avatar."

"I dunno..." Katara said, glancing around. "But, I guess."

The two of them joined the rest. Talented benders that they were, it didn't take long for them to send the rioters packing. As usual, their barks and had been louder than their bites.

"Uncle," Zuko bent down next to his uncle who was still sitting.

"Zuko," Iroh smiled at his nephew, and then winced. "Could you, uh, give me a hand here?"

Iroh had been tied down, the ropes cutting into his wrists. Using one of Mai's shurikens, they soon cut the bonds away and then Katara put her wet hands on Iroh's wrists, soothing the rope burns there.

"Come," Iroh said, rising as soon as she was finished. "We've got to leave this place."

"Yeah," Aang agreed, crossing his arms. "We're going back to the cave for the night. We can continue showing Zuko and Mai the countryside tomorrow. We spent more time here than I thought I would."

"Do you want us to stop by the shop first, Uncle? Get some of your things?"

"No," Iroh said, sadness etched into the old wrinkles that lined his face. "No use. Let's just go."

The group went as quickly as they were able until they came to the edge of the city, right next to the inner wall. They were in shadows, so far unseen by the Earth Kingdom warriors and guards. Toph steadied herself and then dug away into the wall, creating a path for them that was covered up as quickly as they passed through it.

In about an hour or so, they were back at the cave with a fire on the go, and tea in a pot that Iroh had carried with him on his person. He was always prepared, that one. At least, for a tea party.

For the first minutes the Gaang had sat in heavy silence, but then Iroh began to speak. "I suppose, Fire Lord, I should tell you of the things transpiring in Ba Sing Se."

"Yes," Zuko said with a nod. "And don't call me Fire Lord."

"Well," Iroh began slowly, twisting his mug in his hands, obviously reluctant to speak. "It started awhile back, after the initial joy of the end of the war, rumblings of the cities and colonies began. They simmered for a while, but it seems like they're on the verge of coming to a full boil." He sighed, took a sip of tea, and then continued. "It all began with little things. Citizens waking up from the stupor they'd lived in, believing in no war. All of a sudden neighbours remembered that the people they had known for these years had roots in the Fire Nation, or had been refugees from there. Hatred sprung up, and the Earth Kingdom began to torment those of the Fire Nation descent. All the while the movement to return people to their original homes was taking place, and Fire Nation families that had their roots in Earth soil dug in, refusing to go. Some of them were intermarried with one child a fire bender, and one an earth bender. What in idea seemed so simple became increasingly complicated."

Aang nodded soberly. "I'm seeing that, but don't the Fire Nation people have to return home to restore balance?"

Iroh shrugged. "I wish I could tell you the answer, Avatar, but I don't know. In this case, there is no simple right or wrong."

"But what about you, Uncle? What's been happening to you?"

"Obviously, the brother of Ozai was the logical target. It started with little things; stealing from shop, crashing the windows, but escalated until they began lighting it on fire, threatening me, starting riots in the shop and hurting the customers. Business dwindled to nothing, and soon all my day was spent re-fixing the shop and barring it from the people who hated so- both the Earth people and those of the Fire Nation."

Iroh tugged on his beard, and then said in little more than a whisper. "Other Fire Nation people have not come out as favourably as I have. There have been murders, whole families set to die because they've been fired from jobs, had their food stolen away, and their houses smashed to pieces."

Tears sprung up in Katara's eyes. "It's getting worse every single day."

Even Mai showed emotion. "Those are our people, even if they don't believe it themselves. We have to do something, Zuko."

"But what?" Zuko and Aang had mirrored looks of responsibility and grief. "How can we eliminate a hundred years worth of prejudice and hate?"

"We need to show the two types of people that neither are wrong," Aang said. "We need to show the Earth people that the Fire Nation colonies are good. And we need to provide a way for the people who have lived here for over a century to stay in their homes, but there's no way it'll be accepted by the Earth King or by the Water Tribe chiefs. They both want complete separation. So do I, but it looks like it won't be possible."

"We need to talk to them," Sokka said, his mind racing ahead with ideas. "We need to set up a council between the four nations and explain the problem. But we need to make sure Ba Sing Se is stable. I vote that Zuko and Aang try to set up a council, with Katara and Mai for help, while Toph, Iroh, and I try to keep things level here."

"Hmm," Katara said, fiddling thoughtfully with one of her hair loopies. "We should sleep on the idea, then see the colonies and towns tomorrow. After that we can decide what needs to be done. Your plan might be a good one Sokka. We'll see."

Toph yawned. "I'm with the whole sleeping on the idea. "I'm exhausted."

Many heads nodded in agreement, and the ordeal of setting up bedrolls and blankets began. Mai quietly came over to Sokka and tapped him on the shoulder. "Could I borrow your messenger hawk to send a message back home to the palace? I left Ty Lee with some instructions and would like to know how she's faring."

"Sure," Sokka said with a shrug. "Do you need paper?"

"No, I'm fine." With that she took the messenger hawk from his roost and carried him over to the mouth of the cave. She slipped out a rolled piece of paper that she'd already found time to write on. "Fire Nation palace, Ty Lee," she whispered to the bird, and then watched as he soared up through the sky, flying in the direction of home.