The recess only helped some. The world leaders were still in disagreement as to what to do.
"We have to depose her," Hakoda insisted. "She's much too dangerous."
"How?" Arnook questioned. "If we invade, she could accuse us of restarting the war, and if she won, she would be well within her right to suspend all the reparation payments. She would disavow herself of everything Zuko signed, saying that it was meaningless since we didn't uphold our end of the deal."
"How is leaving a war criminal in charge apart of our deal?"
"We had two goals when we ended the war," Arnook said, "preventing future wars and making the other nations whole. If we restart a war with her, then she'll say the peace treaty was null and void. She's already attacking some of the provisions, apparently the ones on the military sanctions. She might extricate herself from the whole thing leaving us at our starting point.
Can you afford another war right now? I can't!"
"She also has home court advantage," Iroh said. "The capital city is well guarded, and I'm sure my niece didn't move without making sure she had the means of defending herself.
Everything was carefully planned. She knew when Zuko was leaving the country. She knew when we'd all be here. I wouldn't be surprised if she got coronated while Zuko was in the air, his sky ship just leaving visibility from the port.
She'll know if we come back, and she'll be ready. I'm not coming out in support of her. I am strongly suggesting, however, that we are very careful with the idea of using military force with her. It could be disastrous and given our nation's hesitation when it comes to the other nations, it could be outright dangerous for every foreigner who lives there right now."
Aang also had something to say. "The Fire Nation is hanging by its last thread. We all know it. It's why Zuko was so desperate to find her before she could oust him, and if we remove her and try to force the people to take Zuko back, we could ruin the country. They might just kill him and have whoever wants it fight for the crown.
I have a responsibility to make sure that doesn't happen, which has to be superior to my personal opinion of her. At the very least, I want to accept her offer of free passage, and see what's going on from the inside.
I can't commit to using force without it. If I did, I'd effectively be telling the world, don't trust me, I'm full of lies, and I'm nullifying everything I've put my name to since the war ended."
"Who are we sending on this diplomatic mission?" Iroh questioned. "We clearly can't all go. If things go sour, we could all find ourselves in Fire Nation jail."
"I say we send the people Azula is least likely to attack," Sokka said, "which means not her brother or Mai."
They ultimately decided that Aang, Toph, Sokka, and King Bumi would go. Aang wrote back to her himself saying that they accepted her invitation for free diplomatic passage, but this was not a recognition of her right to rule, rather it was an acknowledgement that she is currently ruling.
Toph was unsure of whether she wanted to slap Azula or kiss her when she arrived to the palace, maybe both!
One week later, the agreed upon people flew to the Palace where Lo and Li were waiting for them. "Please come in and welcome. Do you require any food or drink before we get started."
They heard ramblings about food, drink, and a bathroom. They got everyone comfortable and then Azula came out to introduce herself.
"Sorry I didn't greet you when you first arrived. I had well a bit of a wardrobe malfunction."
Toph snickered. "Your boobs were too big for your shirt again, weren't they?"
The men blushed. Resist the urge to stare at her boobs!
"Yes Miss Gossip. I had to find a new one at the last minute. Anyway, I trust Lo and Li took adequate care of you."
"They did, but I'm dying to know, how did you take over so quickly?" Sokka had to know.
"Well, I rehired the Dai Li, and they told me when everyone would be in Ba Sing Se, and I waited for Zuko to leave. I was just in Fire Fountain City."
Bumi snorted. "I knew Kuei should have disbanded them."
"Yeah he should have, but he didn't. Any more matters of curiosity?"
No one had anything.
"Great, let's get started. We'll go to my office first, since that's where I do most of my planning."
Sokka guided Toph since they were on wooden floors.
"You can walk barefoot," Azula told her. "I put metal in the finish."
Toph took off her shoes. "I can see! Awesome!"
"Everyone, feel free to take a seat, and I'll briefly explain what's been going on here."
Azula had more seating put in the room. She rearranged the furniture so they were sitting in a circle.
"When I got here, the city was a mess. People were dumpster diving, breaking into storefronts and looting. We had high taxes, high unemployment, a lot of black market activity, and high food costs, pretty much a perfect storm for disaster.
In response, I offered a food program that gave out food to the needy starting the day after my coronation. I started a tax rebate program the first Monday after my coronation, which went to everyone who paid taxes in the last year.
I am just about to pass a second tax bill to offer incentives to those who open businesses in the nation and those who hire more workers and I have redefined the priorities of the police such that they will be more aggressive with violent crime even if it means we let some of the financial criminals get away."
"How are you paying for all of this?" Bumi questioned. If Zuko could have afforded it, he would have done it.
"Downsizing the police force, selling government bonds, and a new partnership with Lao Bei Fong. He and his partners will be financing much of the recovery for the city, and in exchange, he will get a variety of business benefits."
"What kind of benefits?" Toph questioned. She would make a deal with my dad.
"Mainly, he will have exclusive rights to some of our more lucrative coal mines, and he will have the first option for opening a new sky ship cruise line. Currently, there is only one option and the prices are very high. He will offer more competition, which will lower the prices and should attract businesses to move to the nation."
"Where do I come into this?"
"What do you mean?"
"How did you get him to emancipate me?"
"Oh I told him that if he wanted to make money we should talk, and if he didn't emancipate you, I'd seize his assets. He has a number of accounts here."
"You blackmailed him?"
"I'd like to say I negotiated fairly but firmly to our mutual benefit."
"You're a bitch."
"I thought you liked that about me."
Toph smirked. She does use her evilness for good, well sometimes.
"Alright, so you found some people to pay to fix the city. How do we know you're not going to try to take over the world again?" Bumi questioned.
"You don't know for sure, but I can't afford it. I'm barely treading water. I can however show you what the Capital City is like now. I have nothing to hide."
They started their tour at government center. Azula had one lawyer, three professors and a slew of interns working on legislation.
"I come up with ideas. It's their job to anticipate any pitfalls and fix them before I sign the bill."
"So you don't write them yourself."
"Oh no. That requires an expertise that I know I don't have. I could tell Zuko drafted his bills themselves. They didn't make any sense."
"How is the tax bill coming?" She asked her lawyer.
"Doing the final read through now. It should be ready for you by noon."
"I'll come back before the end of the day. Feel free to ask them any questions."
"Do they pay you?" Aang asked the interns.
"During the summer, we're full time employees, but in the fall, we go back to university and only work part time. We get a weekly stipend, which of course is reduced during the school year."
Sokka frowned. "What kind of question is that?"
"What?" He wanted to make sure they weren't being exploited.
There weren't many more questions. Bumi asked if they had done anything about military authority and they said it wasn't their purview. "We do more economic and social policy. Acts of military authority belong to the Fire Lord and aren't always bills. They're often edicts."
"We'll visit the military next."
Azula took them downtown.
"Why are we here?" Bumi questioned.
"Because, I had to do something with all of the men Zuko enlisted to hunt for me, so I am using them to clean up the city."
They were picking up trash, helping storeowners install new windows, and putting up streetlights.
"I don't have to pay them as much for domestic work as I do for combative work, so they're my new city crew until I figure out what to do with them."
"What do you want to do with them?" Sokka questioned.
"Our tax bill will offer a benefit to those who hire veterans. I'm hoping to get a number of them in the private sector, so I don't have to pay them anymore."
That would be the best of both worlds for Azula. They would be trained and accessible if she wanted to rehire them, but she wouldn't have to pay them to do not much work.
As they toured the city, they saw the military all over the place: giving out food, working as crossing guards outside the schools, and apparently standing guard.
"Why are they standing there?" Bumi asked.
"I don't know."
Azula went up to him. "What are you guarding?"
"We're community officers. Our presence discourages crime."
"Who's paying you for this?"
"Mr. Qin my Lord."
"Ah. Very well then."
"They're not guarding anything. They just make people less likely to steal."
"What? You're paying them to stand there?" Toph questioned.
"I'm not paying them. Nobles who are sick of crime in their neighborhood are paying them," and by nobles, she means crime lords.
"When did your people get all proactive?" Aang questioned.
"They've always been proactive. They will go where the Fire Lord leads them. Once I said fighting crime was my priority, they joined in."
"It seems like they just behave better for you," Sokka retorted.
"They do. I don't doubt that they were acting much worse for Zuko than they do for me, but he failed to get to the root of the problem. When people can't afford food, find what little money they have going to the government, and can't walk down the street without someone trying to mug them, they tend to act badly. From day one, I said I was here to fix their problems, but I'm only one person. If they wanted a better country, they'd have to help me with it."
Their final stop, before dim sum was the police force.
They had crime boards, portraits, and evidence lists. It looked rather busy.
"Who's in charge here?"
Everyone pointed to the Captain at the front of the room.
"Very well. I would like you to explain to my guests here what all you do."
"Of course my Lord. This is the Major Crimes Division. We are in charge of dealing with the gnarly crimes that occur in the city, rape, murder, kidnappings, and such.
Right now, we are preparing a case against a serial rapist for the DA. He was arrested two days ago after a neighbor snitched on him, and three different victims have identified him in a line up.
The judge just denied him bail this morning and now we are getting ready for his indictment."
"Feel free to ask him any questions?"
"How long have you had this post?" Aang asked
"One year."
"And would you say this government change affected your job significantly."
"Oh yes. Ex-Fire Lord Zuko?" How was he supposed to address him? "Had designated drug trafficking, money laundering, and tax evasion as major crimes. My work is totally different now."
"A good different?" Sokka questioned.
"Well, I am more likely to lose my lunch with these cases, but this is more suitable for my training. I had no idea how to handle money laundering. You need a forensic accountant for that, and I can't say I'm any good at math. I am, however, good at finding scumbags."
"Who deals with those other crimes now?" Aang asked him.
"Um, I think they are doing administrative remedies instead of criminal prosecutions."
"What?"
"Fining people instead of jailing them. It's much easier to just send someone a slip of paper that says 'pay by ex date or we'll sue you instead.'"
"Do those work?" Sokka questioned. It sounded too easy
"I don't know."
Just then, a group of young men were lead into the station in cuffs. They looked like hell, black eyes, busted lips, and some had missing teeth.
"What did you do to them?" Sokka demanded to know.
"This wasn't us," the officer insisted. "These men having been robbing houses for months. When we went to arrest them, some of the victims heard what the charges were and attacked. We had to save them from the homeowners."
"Make sure they get any needed medical attention before they go to pre-trial detention."
"Of course my Lord."
"Are you ready for dim sum?"
Azula took them to her favorite restaurant. She had them prepare a vegetarian cart for Aang to choose from as it would be difficult to tell from the outside what all had meat.
Sokka started stockpiling his plate. He was hungry from walking around and snooping all day.
Toph was right there with him.
Bumi was a bit more suspicious of the food in front of him. He had always been weary of Fire Nation food.
His attitude changed, however, when Azula ordered the Sichuan dumplings.
"They have Sichuan dumplings here?"
"The best in Capital City."
The King's eyes lit up when a large bowl of dumplings came to the center of the table.
Everyone else was in Ba Sing Se, wondering what was happening in the Fire Nation.
"I bet they're eating dumplings," Zuko said. "Azula took them to dim sum and is going to feed them until they forget why they're there."
"I want dumplings," Mai said.
Zuko looked at her.
"What? You mentioned them, and now I'm hungry."
Katara folded her arms. "This is ridiculous. Azula leads another coup, and we're just sitting here doing nothing."
"I'm doing something," Hahn said.
"What are you doing?"
"Writing smutty poetry to my wife."
Everyone stared at him.
"What? Y'all are doing nothing. I'm getting laid when I get home."
"I don't even have a home," Zuko said. "I don't want to go in exile again!"
Mai groaned. She hates it when Zuko sounds pathetic.
"With whining like that, you'll never get laid," Hahn told him.
Zuko stared at him. Mai kept a neutral face.
Iroh was at his teashop. He saw no reason to meet without any intelligence, and he offered what help he could. He had been preparing to beg the other nations for forgiveness, not trying to stop his niece who stole the country.
She always was so sneaky. Iroh used to think she was like Ozai, but she was really like Fire Lady Ilah. The woman was such a good liar; you never knew what was fact and what was fiction and she had this air of superiority, like she was smarter asleep than you were awake. She and Azula would have liked each other.