After the ship docked at Chameleon Bay, Suki and the other delegates were escorted to Ba Sing Se in ostrich-horse drawn carriages. She and "the young ones" sat in one together. Sokka, who was sitting next to her in the backwards facing seat, seemed stressed over the Summit which would run over the next few days. He hadn't said anything for a while.

Through the window she could now see the great walls of the Ba Sing Se looming over the land. It was so large it looked near, but there was still a lot of distance left to cover.

"I can't believe I'm going to Ba Sing Se," she said.

"Worst city ever," declared Toph. She sounded nauseous and sat facing forwards by the opposite window. She patted Momo who was curled up on her lap.

Suki shrugged. "I've kept hearing about the city from travellers and from the Legends of Avatar Kyoshi the elders would tell." However, the stories did not compare to seeing it in person.

"How do the legends go?" asked Katara, her hand gloved in water over Toph's forehead.

Suki was sceptical that anyone was interested, but everyone seemed to be paying attention. "Long ago, the villages that are in what is now the Earth Kingdom were built upon mountain tops or underground to hide it from hostile villages and towns. The village that became Ba Sing Se was originally an underground city supported by aboveground farmlands.

"As their farmlands grew more successful, they became targets. To defend against the attacks, they used earthbending to build great walls around the farmlands. The also cleared out the surrounding land so that they could see any incoming troops from atop the walls. They were so successful that they swallowed up other villages and expanded their territories. It became a stronghold and then eventually became the seat of power for the Earth Kingdom."

"Why aren't there more great walled cities?" asked Sokka.

"I don't actually know."

"I think I do," offered Toph, sitting up slightly. "I know I make earthbending look easy, but it's not. Building a wall to that scale is really hard. Firstly, you need the right type of earth. Secondly, to build the wall, you have to either raise it out of the ground, meaning you need to ensure it doesn't collapse where you're taking it from, or you build it from materials somewhere else."

"To build a wall like that would take a mountain," he commented.

"Sounds about right." She returned to resting her head by the open window. "Okay, that's enough from me."

"What about Avatar Kyoshi?" asked Katara.

"Well, Ba Sing Se grew so large that it started to have infighting. Avatar Kyoshi established an elite force to bring order to the city."

"Do you mean the Dai Li?" She and her friends looked very disturbed. Even Momo's ears pricked up.

"Yes?" Suki didn't understand the reaction. The Kyoshi Warriors had the same roots, but her friends didn't have any issues with them.

Sokka turned to Aang, who was sitting opposite Suki, and pointed. "Your past-self created the Dai Li?"

He raised his hands. "I'm sorry?"

"But the Dai Li ended the civil unrest and kept the city peaceful for centuries," defended Ton-That to Suki's surprise. He hardly said something without being prompted to.

"Peaceful?" asked Katara. "If everyone is living in fear, is there really peace?"

He crossed his arms. "With so many people in the one space, sometimes a stone fist is required to control the population."

"Did the White Lotus remove the Dai Li at least?"

Sokka shook his head. He had been in frequent contact with the White Lotus. "They left their structures intact. Ton-That has a point. Removing the Dai Li without a suitable replacement will cause damage especially with the Earth King still missing. It would be kind of like building a wall with no foundation."

"I guess."

"They apparently stopped the Joo Dee program though."

"What's that?" asked Suki.

He looked around before whispering, "Brainwashed minders of the state, also controlled by the Dai Li."

That created more questions for her, but before she could ask, Katara spoke.

"What did they do with all the Joo Dees?"

"The letter didn't say. It sounds as if most of their resources has been allocated to organising the Summit and managing the population. The city is large, but there's too many refugees, especially in the Lower Ring."

"Can't the Middle and Upper rings take them in?"

"They won't, because they're scared."

"Toph, probably has a point," he said. "They're trying to return the refugees to their homelands, but many of the places are difficult to get to. Some are also uninhabitable or still habited by the Fire Nation."

"Still?" asked Katara.

"You know nearly better than anyone why this issue isn't so simple. It's not as if Zuko can just issue out an order that will solve everything."

"Yeah."

"It's still worth discussing this with him. What time was he due to arrive?"

"He wrote that'd he'd arrive just in time for the banquet." She then turned her attention to Ton-That. "Are you okay?"

He sat up. "Oh, I guess I'm a little bit nervous," he stammered, "about the Summit and Ba Sing Se."

"We'll make sure that nothing happens to you." She smiled, but likely only in a friendly way. Katara could be sometimes be quite dense when it came to noticing when someone was interested in her.

"But where's the fun in that?" joked Aang.

Sokka slapped his own forehead. "We're not here to have fun. We have a job to do."

Suki put a hand on his arm. "We're here because we ended the war. We deserve a bit of fun, don't you think?"

He let out a deep breath. "Alright."

"And think about all of the banquet food," she teased.

He grinned and kissed her.

"Wait, are you two kissing again?" complained Toph. "I know I'm blind, but can you not? I already feel sick!"


Music floated through the air and Aang was once again following his friend Bumi through the crowd, only now they weren't both kids wandering Omashu, but were the Avatar and King in the great hall of Ba Sing Se.

As the Avatar, he was supposed to be the bridge between people. He had to talk to everyone, but hadn't even talked to Katara and apologise to her yet. There was always someone around. The Summit was about building peace. He shouldn't wait any longer to make peace between them. He spotted her talking to Zuko by a wall.

"Avat-"

"Excuse me," said Aang, bowing, "I need to talk with Master Katara and Fire Lord Zuko."

He was afraid that he'd be dragged back to the conversation, but Bumi distracted whoever it was that was trying to talk to him.

Zuko's guards parted as he approached. He heard Katara laugh.

"What's so funny?"

She smiled. She was so breathtakingly beautiful. "Lee can tell you."

"Lee?"

Zuko sighed. "When I was hiding in the Earth Kingdom, I went by the name Lee. My uncle had a teashop in the Upper Ring and that busboy was one of the waiters working there."

"It's a shame he left so quickly," added Katara, "he seemed to have many stories of Lee and his many admirers."

"Wow, Lee." Aang grinned at Zuko's embarrassment. "You must've been really popular!"

His face turned bright red. "It was all of my uncle's meddling, I swear."

Aang managed to catch Katara's eye and they both burst into laughter.

"That's enough!" He commanded using his teaching voice. "We have to be on our guard. The security is weak here."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"The busboys." His eyes flickered his old colleague. "They can't have been working here for that long. How do the organisers know that they can trust them?"

"That is a fair point," admitted Aang. "I mean, Sokka and I once snuck into a party here by dressing up as them," he trailed off and panicked at Katara's pointed expression. "Katara and Toph snuck in dressed up as nobles."

"And that worked?" He looked at her.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She put her hands on her hips. "If I can master waterbending in a couple months, then surely I can master high society mannerisms."

"N-no! I mean that all the nobles know each other. The only other way to get in these events is with an invitation." He groaned. "Their security is worse than I thought."

Aang and Katara exchanged a look.

"I think they knew who we were from the start," she said slowly. She eyed the Dai Li lining the walls. "We are in the city of walls and secrets after all."

The gong sounded summoning them to dinner.

King Bumi, called Aang to the head of the table. He pointed to the seat at his right hand.

Before Aang could say something to Katara, she was ushered away to the other end near the rest of their friends and Momo?! The flying lemur was supposed to be outside with Appa. At least they were having fun and his vegetarian meal looked good.

Just before he was about to sit down, the man to his right stood up and bowed.

"I am King Dongqi of Hu Xin. I have been meaning to speak to you all evening."

"Nice to meet you," he greeted with a bow. They both sat down in their seats. "How may I help you?"

"I heard that you defeated Fire Lord Ozai by taking away his firebending."

He suddenly lost his appetite. "Yes."

"How?"

"I removed his bending with spiritbending."

"Teach it to me."

"Uhh, I don't think I can. A lion-turtle taught it to me so it's probably only an Avatar thing." Truthfully, he wasn't sure he could do it again, nor did he want to. He felt as if he nearly lost his sense of self.

He couldn't even enter the Avatar State anymore. He was able to during the fight with Fire Lord Ozai but had no idea why he couldn't now.

Everyone else seemed to have an idea on how he could, but the more he listened, the less the advice made sense. Guru Pathik had told him to let go of his earthly attachments, but Avatar Yangchen told him that it was impossible for the Avatar to achieve spiritual enlightenment. She also said that he had to sacrifice his own spiritual needs, but the lion-turtle told him that he had to have an unbendable spirit otherwise he would be corrupted or destroyed. The Fire Sages and Southern Water Tribe elders just advised him to continue with his training, but it's not as if any of them had any experience with being the Avatar. He had tried all of the advice, but he still couldn't enter the Avatar State.

"Then remove firebending from the world."

"What?"

He chewed his food before answering. "Firebenders are clearly are the cause of all this destruction."

"Surely, not all firebenders –"

"Therefore, all firebenders must be punished!"

"But -!"

"You are the Avatar!"

He had enough of everyone telling him this. "And what would you have me do?"

"And it's your duty to bring balance to the world by punishing wrongdoers."

"No! That's enough!" If the king did not stop, Aang would show him punishment, with or without the Avatar State. He could hear the blood rushing in his ears.

Everyone else was silent.

King Bumi stood up. "The Avatar is right. We have waited enough for the dessert! Bring it out!"

He clapped his hands and the food in the middle was replaced.

"Breathe, Aang," whispered Bumi.

He tried to. Zuko would've told him to breathe too. So would Monk Gyatso. Jeong Jeong did too, but when Aang didn't follow his instruction, he ended up hurting Katara.

He felt ashamed. Hurting others was against the Air Nomad teaching and he was the Avatar. He had to bring balance to the world. He had to be balanced.


It took all of Sokka's willpower to not bang his head on the table.

Earlier, King Dongqi, of the north-western Earth Kingdom of Hu Xin, had interrupted Chief Hakoda's updates on the Southern Water Tribes stating that the allotted time for the Water Tribe update had already elapsed.

"I'm Chief Hakoda from the Southern Water Tribes, not the Northern Water Tribes."

"What's the difference?"

Sokka wasn't sure if he was being serious or sarcastic, and it didn't seem as if his father knew either.

"The Southern Water Tribes are located here," he stated, pointing to the South Pole on the giant map in the middle of the Council of Five room they were all sitting around, "and the Northern Water Tribes are there."

"Yeah, but the world is round and the northern edge of the map is actually joined to the southern edge."

Sokka checked with Toph but she hadn't tapped her fingers to signal that the king was lying. Either he is a really good liar or he's delusional.

If he was delusional, wasn't anyone going to correct him? If it was that easy to travel from the South to the North pole, then he, Katara and Aang did all of those months of travelling for nothing.

What did he think about the eastern and western edges of the map?

Chief Arnook interrupted the awkward silence and informed everyone that Chief Hakoda was going to give update on the Southern Water Tribes. It was the best option that could've happened, but it was also insulting. It made them look inferior to the Northern Water Tribes.

Adding to the insult, King Dongqi had no issues with Kyoshi Island and Gia Dinh giving their own updates. Why did the Southern Water Tribes have to be endorsed to be recognised as a separate entity but these smaller Earth Kingdom territories didn't have to?

"I think we are all in agreement that the Fire Nation is the cause of this war and should be punished," declared King Dongqi after all the Earth Kingdom representatives had given their updates.

"Now wait a minute," said King Bumi, "as per the agenda, it is the Fire Lord's turn to give the update on the Fire Nation, followed by a reading and discussion on the proposed Declaration of Peace."

"I declare that there can never be peace while the Hu Xin province and other Earth Kingdom territories are inhabited by Fire Nation colonies! The Fire Nation must leave!"

Hu Xin, if Sokka correctly remembered Toph's lessons, was destroyed by during the war a few decades ago.

Chief Arnook seconded the motion and so did the majority of the other representatives. King Bumi tried to bring everyone back to the agenda. Aang, rang the gong but wasn't able to command their attention. Momo squawked loudly. Without the Earth King, the Earth Kingdom was fractured.

King Dongqi pointed at Zuko. "The Fire Nation must pay for the destruction of Earth Kingdom land!"

"The Fire Nation citizens have the right to defend themselves," stated Fire Lord Zuko. "It was Hu Xin who instigated the attacks when they attacked Yu Dao."

"Who were forced under Fire Nation control."

Sokka had to give Zuko some credit for being able to cool his hothead and remain articulate when responding to the remarks. He stated the peninsula had a history being overrun by bandits, and the Fire Nation people, who frequently traded at the fishing port, offered to provide stability in the region where Ba Sing Se's power did not reach. In exchange, the citizens of the region gave them land to set up their colony and set up a trade agreement for coal.

It did not seem to pacify the room.

The Fire Lord raised his voice above the clamour. "The Earth Kingdom AND the Northern Water Tribes are not in a position to make further demands. They have not honoured the previous agreements to return Fire Nation prisoners from their camps."

"How dare you lump Hu Xin with the Water Tribe. They did not even bother to help their neighbours!"

Chief Arnook began to protest.

"Don't you dare," Sokka warned his sister who was next to him. They could not risk her Southern Water Tribe pride resulting in another outburst, especially if she accidentally contradicted their father. As the three of them previously discussed, they needed to show that the Water Tribes were united and whole.

"The men of the Southern Water Tribes were defending Chameleon Bay," said Chief Hakoda, "and our sister tribe had sent aid to the South even while they were grieving from the siege in the North and the death of their princess."

Princess Yue.

"Fire Lord Zuko has saved my daughter and strived to restore peace. However, bringing peace and balance to the world is not the responsibility of only one man or one nation. Each and every single person around the world has a role to play. As the heads of our communities and nations, it is our job to lead them through change. This war was not started by us, but we can end it."

His words managed to calm the room enough to enable Zuko to proceed with the Fire Nation updates.

Sokka aspired to reach his father's level of charisma, however, he tended to get caught up in his head about whether or not he was saying wrong thing like on the Day of Black Sun. He didn't think he would be able to say anything if he was in his father's place now.

He had to master the skill of public speaking for after the Summit though. He and his sister were going to the North Pole to strengthen the relationship with their sister tribe. Katara was a natural public speaker, but sometimes lacked tack and ended up butting heads with people. But he was the son of Chief Hakoda and was expected to speak. He had to make his father proud.

"LIES!" King Dongqi interjected. "The Fire Nation do not want peace."

Sokka's head hurt. The king was distracting everyone from the main issues. It was going to be a long and tedious summit.


Zuko closed his eyes and imagined his uncle telling him to breathe like when he had to deal with an insubordinate minister. He had to be patient. Trust and respect required time build.

"If the Fire Nation did want peace, they would hand over Fire Lord Ozai!"

He stared directly at King Dongqi. "He has already been tried and serving punishment according to Fire Nation law."

"He has committed war crimes."

"And is serving punishment for them," Zuko countered. "As per the armistice agreement, the Fire Nation is working to return all Earth Kingdom soldiers, while the Earth Kingdom has not reciprocated."

"Your soldiers have also committed crimes. They shall be tried according to Earth Kingdom law."

If this was the Fire Nation, an Agni Kai would be declared by now. "The agreement was the safe return of all citizens. The Fire Nation have honoured our side of the agreement, and are releasing the Earth Kingdom citizens in our custody, regardless of the laws that they have broken."

"Lies! You have not released your colonies on Earth Kingdom soil. Our citizens are still in your custody."

Zuko winced. Accidentally saying "Earth Kingdom citizens" instead of "soldiers" gave King Dongqi an opening to bring up the colonies again. He took another breath.

"Many of the colonies predate the Hundred Year War and are largely governed by local citizens. And," Zuko added, before he could be interrupted, "Yu Dao has reported that there have been attacked by Earth Kingdom soldiers."

The gong was rung. The flying-lemur shrieked.

"Your time is up," explained Aang. "Ouch."

The flying lemur had scratched his hand that was holding the gong stick.

"Because I was interrupted." He glared at the culprit.

"O-okay."

King Dongqi boomed with laughter and then pointed at Aang. "First the Avatar refuses punish the Fire Nation by removing all firebending, now he is allowing the Fire Lord to speak more than his allotted time. Clearly, the Avatar is conspiring with the West."

"That's-!"

"His is inexperienced. He is nothing but a puppet. He has failed to bring balance to the world."

Aang tried to defend himself.

"He is weak like the rest of his kind."

"That's enough!" He slammed his hand on the table, and it sent cracks through to the Fire Nation on the maps.

"Do you see this? He's attacking me. Guards!"

The Earth Kingdom generals and Dai Li stepped forward. The royal guards got into position around him and his aides.

"That's not true!"

"Prove it!" When he did nothing, the king laughed. "See, you can't, airbenders are nothing but a –"

Aang's arrows and eyes lit up. Everyone, the flying-lemur, and everything were blown back. King Dongqi stomped a boulder into the air. The earthbender guards followed suit.

"For the Earth Kingdom! For Hu Xin!"

The Avatar deflected the boulders. The room shook.

Zuko saw people scramble towards the exits, but the paths were soon cut off by cracks. His guards stayed in position and defended against any incoming projectiles. He shed his cape and searched for a way to end this.

Sokka and Suki seemed to have the Water Tribes and most people out of the conflict. The only people fighting were King Dongqi, his men, and the Avatar. They surrounded him. Sharp rocks were launched. A flash of blue rushed forward directly into the pathway.

"Katara!"

The rocks shattered. The dust revealed a stone dome. It crumbled to reveal Katara and Toph.

Zuko made his way over. "What are you doing?" he asked her.

"I'm okay."

"You're bleeding."

She wiped it with her hand. "It's just a cut."

"I'm fine too," announced Toph. She pushed back against an earthen wall. "Thanks for asking. Oh what? We have an angry Avatar and crazy king to deal with and shouldn't be chatting? I agree."

Katara looked away and towards the Avatar. He had trapped King Dongqi in air. She appealed to him to stop fighting.

He had cocooned himself in swirling wind that deflected anything that was aimed. A flick of his hand sent soldiers flying.

There was no way for them to win against the Avatar. Zuko had witnessed the raw power unleashed on his ship in the South Pole, and came face to face with it during his duel with General Zhao in the north. Only Azula's lightning had stopped him, but that wasn't even an option now.

"Kneel!" he ordered. "Kneel to the Avatar!"

Zuko knelt down, so did Toph, Sokka, Suki, the Water Tribe Chiefs, and King Bumi. The generals ordered at the Dai Li to stand down. Everyone bowed, except Katara.

"Aang. Avatar Aang. Please, give them all a chance to find peace," she pleaded. Her voice was barely audible above the roar of the wind. "A hundred years of fighting won't end in a single day."

He didn't listen. "King Dongqi, you have refused to cooperate with efforts to build true peace." The voices of the Avatar were clear. "You shall be punished with the removal of your earthbending."

"Don't!" She shuffled forward against the wind. "If you remove another person's bending, if you inflict more suffering, the foundation of peace will be weak."

The flying-lemur flew to her shoulder and started yelling. Toph did too from the other side of the room.

Zuko remembered the state his father was in. He wasn't going to give up. "No more! No one else should have to be punished or suffer anymore."

"Is more violence the solution?" added Sokka.

Everyone was pleading with the Avatar. The winds began to subside. Katara managed to touch him on his arm. He turned and for a heart stopping moment Zuko thought that the Avatar was going to strike her.

The winds died down. King Dongqi and the Avatar landed on the ground.

"King Dongqi, you have a choice. Do you choose to cooperate with the people who have pleaded on your behalf, or do you choose for everything you, Hu Xin and your ancestors worked for to come to nothing?"

"That's hardly a fair choice," he said from his hands and knees.

"Consider yourself lucky to have a choice."

He spat to the side. "I'll cooperate."

Avatar Aang leapt to his seat, and sat down. The glow faded, and he slumped in his seat.

Zuko watched Katara run to Aang. Her brother and Toph ran to her too. She and the others had things under control there. He took a breath and scanned the room.

"Fire Lord Zuko," said his head guard, "are you okay, sir?"

"Yes. Is everyone okay?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. You and the others go around and see if the other nations need help."

"Yes, sir."

The gong rang out.

"If everyone could please evacuate," announced King Bumi. "We will break until after lunch and then reconvene in the throne room. Ouch, Momo!"

Zuko exhaled. Now that King Dongqi has been subdued, the Summit should run more smoothly. Whether or not they would able to build peace in the face of fear remained to be seen.


Azula went to the spa. Not because her uncle told her to, but because she was the princess and deserved to be pampered. And as the princess she should always be presentable.

"How may we serve you today, princess?"

"A haircut," she replied. Earlier she had caught a glimpse of her reflection. She regretted her slip in control, but she decided it would never happen again.

She sat in the chair and watched the servants as they washed, combed, cut, and dried her hair. Any attempts to harm her would result in their instant banishment.

A mirror was brought out and Azula apprehensively looked at the image. She hated it. The fringe made her look like that traitor.

"Pin up my fringe."

"Yes, princess."

It didn't look horrendous anymore.

"Is there anything else we can do for you, princess?"

She contemplated for a moment then lifted up a foot. "Scrub my feet."

Azula was getting her feet massaged when an earthquake hit. It made the room sway and various pots break. She was ushered underneath a nearby table.

"The Earth Kingdom is attacking us!" whispered a servant also taking cover underneath the table.

"No way," said another. "It's the spirits punishing us."

"Guards," called Azula. "What's going on. Are we being attacked?"

A couple guards stumbled in. "No, princess, it looks like an earthquake. Please stay where you are until the shaking has stopped."

When it stopped a few moments later, the guards ordered them to evacuate down the stairs instead of the pneumatic lifts. The spas were high up the palace tower, above the caldera rim to catch the sea breeze and view the ocean.

She passed by a window and observed the destruction below. The newer buildings in the centre of the capital were designed to withstand an earthquake, but the many of the older buildings had collapsed. Land slipped from the caldera walls, damaging structures. Beyond the caldera, the seas had receded from the coastline.

"Princess, we need to go."

"Look!" exclaimed a servant.

A large wave, visible from this distance, appeared and swept over the highly populated western coastline.

"I told you, the spirts were seeking revenge," said a servant. "It's what we deserved."


Author's Notes:

I am really sorry that the updates have been so slow. One of the reasons that this chapter is so late is because of how much international politics it contains. I wanted it to be logical for history and setting of the Avatar world, and to keep in mind the limited perspectives of the young protagonists.

The idea of Zuko being paranoid about security and also an old co-worker recognizing him came from some things I read on Tumblr.

In terms of real-life inspiration, there is certainly one character based on a real-life figure who doesn't deserve to be named, and I drew a lot from the international declarations and statements made towards the end of World War 2, in particular the Atlantic Charter.

There is one more politics driven chapter where hopefully they'll find some common ground, and then we'll get to more character driven plot lines (and faster updates?). Bear with me.