Mako rapped his fingers on the glass table inside the tea restaurant The Napolitano. He was in the Middle Ring, having been in Ba Sing Sae for four days by now. He was waiting for Wu, but Wu was at least fifteen minutes late. Mako looked out the window to the cold November evening, and sighed, about get up to check if Wu was near. Luckily for him though, Wu strode through the doors that very instant, two Dai Li agents flanking him on either side.
He spotted Mako in the corner instantly, and practically hopped over to his former bodyguard, squealing in delight. Mako braced himself, and put on his best smile. Wu wrapped Mako in hug for a few seconds, before speaking.
"Mako!" Wu exclaimed, not letting go. "My old friend! How's it going, buddy?"
"Not too bad," Mako answered, pushing Wu off himself. "You?"
"Oh, you wouldn't believe," Wu started, and Mako kept looking at Wu's face to show a bit of attention, as Wu started going over what had happened in the last month. It was painfully boring, but it'd look really shallow if Mako asked for help right off the bat. So he listened, until a waiter came up to them, asking for their orders.
"I'll have a sprinkling of bloe-dust, on tea with leaves from the Fong Tree and a teaspoon amount of white sugar, thank you," Wu ordered immediately.
He clearly hasn't changed much, Mako thought. Mako just ordered plain tea.
"Of course, Mayor, sir," the waiter said, and bowed before going back to the kitchen.
"Mayor?" Mako repeated. "I thought you'd gotten rid of the monarchy."
"Ah, yes," Wu said, slowing down a bit. "You see, my advisors told me that ripping away all the power at once wouldn't be great for stability. So, to counter that, we'll slowly lease it out over time. There's a Prime Minister of Ba Sing Sae, and then there's me, the Mayor of Ba Sing Sae. But guess what?"
"What?" Mako played along, and Wu leaned right next to Mako's ear.
"I don't have to do any work!" Wu whispered gleefully. "All my advisors are more than happy to divide it among themselves! I let them tell me what to say at meetings nowadays, it's so boring otherwise. By the way, the Mayor thing only applies to Ba Sing Sae, the rest of the Earth Kingdom was never too connected with the monarchy anyway."
Mako wanted to slap himself on the forehead, but resisted the urge. Instead, he just vented all his frustration out in one exhalation through his nose.
He's a puppet, Mako thought, but didn't dare say that in front of the Dai Li. So he just continued the conversation, trying to agree with Wu as much as possible on whatever dilemma the Mayor of Ba Sing Sae had in his personal life. Mako, as much as he hated to be using Wu, figured he was due at least one big favour in return for all the shopping trips alone.
"So, anyway, what brings you to Ba Sing Sae in the first place?" Wu asked. "It's not like you just decided to come on a whim, especially after all those times you rejected coming here to guard me."
"Yeah… sorry about that," Mako said, not sure how to respond to that, but thankfully, Wu didn't mean it in a bad way.
"Oh, it's fine, it's just that you're much more fun to talk to than all of the other bodyguards I've been with," Wu brushed it off. "You guys are always so quiet!"
"I came here because Bolin has a project that he's doing here," Mako revealed, deciding that now was as good a time as any. He quickly glanced over to the Dai Li agents, but they just kept on looking the other way for any potential threats.
"Can I help?" Wu offered. "Bolin and I were great friends."
"You probably could, actually," Mako said nonchalantly, but inside he was silently rejoicing at the offer. "What's the general opinion on lavabending, do you know?"
"Lavabending?" Wu repeated, and thought about the question for a second. "I suppose that people wouldn't really be fond of. Because it's so crowded in a lot of Ba Sing Sae, people don't really do it due to obvious dangers."
"Isn't it illegal?" Mako prodded.
"Illegal… Yeah, actually you're right!" Wu exclaimed, sitting up. "That's why people generally don't do it! I don't remember any major incidents to do with lavabending since, well, in my entire life."
"See, Bolin is a lavabender, as you know, and he thinks that there's a lot of potential for the general public of Ba Sing Sae when it comes to lavabending, as there are millions upon millions of people that live here," Mako told Wu. "But the main problem is that it's illegal, and, I'm gonna be honest, I came here because we need your help in decriminalising it."
"Hmm," Wu muttered, going quiet for the first time in nearly an hour. "I mean, how big do you intend it to be?"
"There'll only be four instructors, including Bolin," Mako said immediately. "And in their previous classes in Zaofu, they only had three or four people each, mainly."
"Mako," Wu started, "to be honest, you'll probably meet a lot of opposition from the council. These guys never budge on anything! Due to our history together, I'd be willing to lend my support as a favour, but I can't guarantee anything."
"That's brilliant!" Mako exclaimed, jumping out of his seat. "Yes, thank you so much, that's all we need. When can we get a hearing?"
"The usual waiting list is a few months-" Wu said, but panicked at the look of dismay that suddenly appeared on Mako's face, "-but the next meeting is tomorrow, and I'm obliged to come! You guys can come with me tomorrow as my guests, I promise!"
"Yes!" Mako nearly shouted, grabbing Wu's shoulders, then saw the look he got from one of the Dai Li, and cleared his throat audibly. "Yeah, that'd be unreal," he said quietly, letting go.
"Perfect!" Wu agreed. Both of them had finished their tea long ago. "How about we elaborate on it while we go to the spa, huh? Tough guys like you need to freshen up once in a while."
"Mayor, sir," one of the Dai Li interrupted, coming up to them. "Are you sure it's ok to be heading to a spa with someone who you haven't met for over a year?"
"Mako and I go way back, isn't that right, buddy?" Wu said, putting an arm around Mako's shoulder as he stood up, like they were lifelong friends.
"The spa… Yeah, that, that sounds great," Mako agreed, but in truth he was dreading it. Spa days had been some of the worst back when he was guarding Wu, but now he'd have to be completely friendly as well. He took a deep breath, and started walking with Wu.
"Ready, guys?" Mako asked Ling and Nel. They both nodded nervously, the occasion getting to them slightly. All three had rented smart clothes, and were currently sitting outside the debating hall for the council. One Dai Li agent stood in front of them the entire time, never moving. Wu had already been in there for two hours, as they were given a time slot to put forward their case.
"I'm not sure if I can do it!" Nel blurted out, sweating in his already-tight suit.
"Look, Nel," Ling said, putting a hand on the huge man's shoulder. "It's natural that you're excited. We all are. This is the day we've been working towards for a while now, don't worry about it."
"I don't think I should be giving a speech in there," Nel said. "I'm not used to addressing groups of more than six people, there's supposed to be ninety in there."
"What's there to be afraid of?" Ling asked. "You're the most powerful lavabender I know, if anyone in this city had to fight you one-on-one, I know for a fact that they'd be shitting themselves."
"This isn't a fight!" Nel argued.
"Nel, you're one of the smartest people I know," Ling told the huge man. "We've got a dream, and there's nothing that can stop us from winning over the people on the other side of the door, if we keep that in perspective." It sounded cheesy, but Nel actually calmed down, and smiled at Ling.
"Thanks," he said.
"I'm gonna be the one thanking you after we're heading back to tell Mo and Bolin the good news," Ling replied, and Nel laughed, relaxing.
Mako was amazed at how good Ling was at giving advice. He was a natural at it, this was the third time in the space of two hours that he'd reassured Nel that everything was going to be fine. Nel was pretty difficult to persuade in general when he had something set in his mind, but Ling barely thought twice about it.
"You're really good at talking to people," Mako complemented. "You should be a therapist."
"Thanks," Ling laughed. "I'm fairly jittery as well, but I learnt long ago that your mind is your own worst enemy. Life isn't always easy, but if you can certainly make it harder on yourself. I accept that I'm excited, but I know I won't mess up." He projected an air of confidence.
"How?" Mako asked. "How are you so sure of yourself?"
"This is the day I've been waiting for!" Ling told Mako enthusiastically. "Why would I be unhappy?"
"I guess so," Mako said. Still though, how is he so positive? he repeated in his mind.
Ling was secretly a wreck as well, but he knew that moods were infectious. They would all support each other if they kept the right mind-set.
"You may put forward your proposal," a man popping his head through the door said, and Ling shot up. The others followed his lead and made their way into the debating hall.
The hall was a grand, circular room, with nearly a hundred seats circling around the centre. In the centre, there was a podium with ten seats, and a detachable microphone in between them. There was a man facing the door at the far end as Mako walked in with a hammer on his own special chair, of whom Mako assumed was the person who shouted 'order', if it ever got too loud. Above that man, there were two different boxes, one with Wu, who hadn't noticed Mako, Ling and Nel coming. He had five advisors sitting beside him, actually paying attention, and leaning forward to get a good look at these newcomers.
Beside Wu's box, there was a man resting his elbows on the railing, two of his advisors sitting silently behind him. He had a bald patch and greyish hair, but he gave off a menacing vibe. He stared at Mako, reading everything he could from Mako's appearance. It took all of Mako's willpower not to shoot back a dirty look. Instead, he just briefly looked him as he took in the room. Above his box, it read in capital letters – PRIME MINISTER.
Compose yourself, Mako urged himself mentally as he made sure he had all his papers in order. He did, as he'd spent an hour constantly rechecking them in the hallway. He heard Nel gulp as him and Ling sat down. Mako was the one who was to open their case.
"Good evening, good politicians of Ba Sing Sae," he greeted into the microphone. "My name is Mako, and these fine men with me here today are called Ling and Nel. I am extremely grateful for the time you have graciously allowed us." In his mind, he was cringing, but he knew the best way to please people who thought highly of themselves. Judging by their outfits, he wasn't wrong.
"What do you want to bring before the council?" the person with the hammer – the mediator? – asked.
"These men have come to Ba Sing Sae with the ability to lavabend," Mako started, "and they would like to start a course for lavabenders, so that everyone with the power can learn to properly control their ability. The only problem is that it is currently illegal here in Ba Sing Sae to lavabend, so we are asking you to decriminalise it so they can spread their teachings."
"And why should the council do that?" the mediator asked. "Why should we allow the practice of a completely unnecessary form of bending when there is no harm leaving it be?"
"That is where Ling comes in, good sir," Mako said. "He is deeply passionate about lavabending, being a lavabender himself, and has many strong arguments that I would ask you to consider." Mako turned to Ling and nodded. Ling stood up curtly and walked up to Mako. He took the microphone, inhaled deeply, and began to speak:
"When I was growing up, I accidentally realised that I could use lavabending at eight years old," Ling started. "At first, I thought it was awesome, having this power that no-one else, or at least very few people, had. But I soon realised that wasn't the case.
"Because lavabending was, and is, the ugly duckling of earthbending, I found a lot of people going out of their way to avoid me. I grew up in Zaofu, where the vast majority of earthbenders can metal-"
"ZAOFU?!" a random man in the audience spoke up. "That's in the East, very close to Omashu! They probably intend to spring an attack on Ba Sing Sae as soon as we leave our guard down!"
"It's exactly people like you who are making the situation worse!" a man on the other side of the room spoke up, pointing a finger at the first man to interrupt. "We'd have resolved the tensions peacefully by now if you Conservatives didn't have to butt in every time!"
"You Liberals are going to let Omashu walk all over us as they please, because you're all too afraid to take decisive action!" the first man retorted.
Soon, insults and arguments were flying across the room. It seemed that one side was where the Liberals sat, and one where the Conservatives sat. Wu remained uninterested the entire time, sitting back and rocking on his chair.
The only person who stayed calm was the Prime Minister. He didn't engage in the constant berating, but instead, whispered with his advisors. The mediator started to bang his hammer repeatedly, but only two thirds of the arguments stopped. Some of the councillors were ready to climb over to the other side and started brawling.
"QUIET!" the Prime Minister shouted, and almost immediately, the backchat stopped. Ling, who had been standing uncomfortably, widened his eyes. This man clearly had earned authority in this room.
"But, Prime Minister-" one Conservative started.
"We will hear out these visitors from Zaofu! I am interested in what they have to say." With that declaration, any form of protest stopped. Ling cleared his throat and started to continue:
"Thank you, sir," Ling said. "As I was saying, there is a huge prejudice in Zaofu, a relatively new city, against lavabending, and I know that there is the same to some degree here. As a result of that, many lavabenders have been outcast from society and resorted to crime. When my friends and I were running a class in Zaofu, we eventually had over a hundred students. But when the law decided to run background checks on all of us, which was completely fine, we lost well over two thirds of our students. We don't view this as a reflection on the individuals though, rather the surroundings they grew up with."
"An objection," a man on the Conservative side announced, raising his hand. Ling allowed him with a nod.
"Are you suggesting that the way to get rid of criminals is to remove the punishment of the crime altogether?" he asked. "I'd hope not."
"Of course not, sir," Ling answered. "What I want to say is that lavabenders are often marginalised because of their ability, and that if we were allowed to run these classes, it would go a long way in making ordinary people who were born with this subset of bending feel accepted."
"So what if we legalise it for the sake of an argument," one of the Liberals spoke up. "Do we release everyone who has been detained over the years still in prison?"
"We ran into a similar problem in Zaofu," Ling replied. "And the answer is no." That brought a lot of curious looks from around the hall, including Mako. "We did a lot of research into convictions and accusations around lavabending in Ba Sing Sae, and we couldn't find anyone who had been purely arrested for the sole act of lavabending. Of course, we could only work off what we had, which wasn't much, but every case we found included another crime like vandalism, murder or assault. The people who we found to be lavabenders in prison are guilty of other charges too. I can't speak for all lavabenders in prison, because that's only a select few, but you get the idea."
"There are bound to be thousands of applicants if your idea does get off the ground," one politician stated. "How do you suppose we filter the good ones?"
"We had a very good system back in Zaofu," Ling answered. "Anyone who wants to attend will have to undergo a series of background checks. That'll turn away anyone with a record immediately, and we have no problem being supervised by the law. There are many finer details that we would be happy to get into if you're all interested."
"There are still people who have evaded the law," a Liberal said. "So that process of elimination would have holes in it immediately."
"Miss, I do understand where you're coming from," Ling started, "but it's impossible to know if someone with a clean record has committed any crimes. It would be the same as asking anyone in this very room. I can only go off the fact that you have no criminal record to decide whether or not you're worthy of debating in this hall." With those last two sentences, both parties sent glares across the room. It was evident that they didn't trust each other, anyway.
The appeal went on for another hour. Both parties asked plenty of reasonable questions, which were all answered. Ling got a little worn out after a while, and Nel took over. He wasn't as good as Ling at elaborating on his answers, but he grew into it more and more, until he was countering every question with undeniable logic. The only time Mako spoke to the hall again was when their credibility was questioned, to which Mako had revealed his work guarding Wu. It was back-and-forth for most of the time, until the very end;
"Your slot is about to run out," the mediator stated. "Are there any more pressing points you feel that you need to mention?"
Nel looked back to Ling and Mako, but they both just shrugged, having gone through all their prepared notes. "No," he answered.
"We will put it to a vote," the mediator declared. "Everyone against decriminalising lavabending, raise your hand. Everyone in favour of decriminalising lavabending, raise your hand when I tell you to do so."
Mako shifted nervously in his seat. This was it. Now, they would find out if all their efforts had been in vain or not.
"All those against legalising lavabending, raise your hand."
A large number of hands from the Conservative side, but also a fair few from the Liberals too, went up. The mediator counted them all by asking for them to call out their name if they had their hand up, then slowly wrote them down on a piece of paper. It took a few minutes, until the mediator repeated the process with whoever was in favour of legalising it. It looked significantly smaller than those against it, worryingly. The mediator checked, then rechecked his paper. When he was done, he cleared his throat.
"After carefully calculating the results of the vote and checking them, there is a clear majority of 47 to 36 against legalising lavabending."
Mako, Ling and Nels' hearts all sunk. Ling let out a sigh of frustration, and Nel's head dropped. Mako ran his hands through his short hair, wondering where they had gone wrong.
We shouldn't have mentioned we were from Zaofu, he chastised mentally, although he knew that realistically, they never would've been able to avoid bringing it up.
"This appeal is dismissed!" the mediator declared, and brought his hand up to hit his hammer. All three of them watched solemnly as he brought it down.
"Wait," the Prime Minister called out, and the mediator just about stopped his hammer in time. Mako, Ling and Nel all perked up simultaneously.
"I didn't vote there, because I was undecided," he stated, every pair of eyes on him. "But I do have one question, or rather, condition, which I think could change the outcome. If you don't mind, men?"
"Of course, what is it?" Nel asked enthusiastically, but Mako only tensed up. This man had silently observed during the fat majority of the appeal, only whispering a few words to his advisors from time to time. It seemed very odd that he wanted to ask a question now.
"We would allow you to go about with your course, and teach lavabending after various finer points have been discussed," he started. "But if a war breaks out with Omashu, or any other state, for that matter, you will all be conscripted and teach lavabending as part of a regiment in our army."
"Join… the army?" Nel asked, unsure how to react.
"Precisely," the Prime Minister confirmed. Mako sat back, not having expected such a condition. He brooded over it;
On one hand, war probably wasn't going to break out, and it would help make Bolin's fantasy a reality. On the other hand, by agreeing to this, they'd be forcing themselves into a corner. A general murmur started going around the room, especially in the Conservative party.
The snake, Mako thought, referring to the Prime Minister. I bet he had that question planned for a while.
"Absolutely not!" Ling shouted, standing up, his friendly demeanour gone. "We're not going to fight your war for you!"
"Ling, let me handle this," Nel whispered, seemingly a lot calmer than both Mako and Ling combined.
"You're not going to accept that, are you!?" Ling challenged Nel, pointing in the direction of the Prime Minister. "We're not his puppets!"
"I know that," Nel whispered back. "But I had a feeling that this might come up. I'm never going to fight a war using lavabending, that'll only make things worse for lavabenders. We'll just be seen as tools for war for generations to come otherwise. I've got a response for this." Ling wanted to argue, but accepted what his friend had to say, and sat back down.
"Is that a no?" the Prime Minister asked, gazing at Nel. Nel, however, didn't back down. He returned the stare equally.
"I thought this question would come up," Nel announced. "But the driving force behind our decision to teach lavabenders how to control their power was not for military use. We want to change the stigma around lavabending, and we don't think helping fight a potential war, practically as mercenaries, would do that. So we will have to decline that condition, unfortunately."
"That's quite a shame," the Prime Minister said. "But let me alter the terms of the condition. There will be many lavabenders that will be disqualified due to their criminal records when they show up. But perhaps we can offer an alternative. It won't be forcing anything on anyone, and conscription won't be a part of it."
Mako bit his lower lip in anger. Someone as intimating as this man didn't give off the vibe of someone who just gave in at the first sign of resistance.
"We're listening," Nel said. If he'd been told him two hours ago that he would be arguing against the government for legalising lavabending, he would've laughed. But he was in no joking mood right now.
"Not all crimes are equally bad," the Prime Minister began. "And it could be quite unfortunate for some that a petty crime they had committed be held in the same light as something like assault, or rape. Therefore, I propose that if an applicant's record isn't deemed too serious, then we let them train on one condition."
This doesn't sound good, Mako thought.
"This condition," the Prime Minister continued, "would make them be obliged to join the army if war were to break out, to prove their worth as a good citizen of Ba Sing Sae. What do you think?"
Shouts of approval met the Prime Minister's suggestion, but Nel, Mako and Ling all went quiet. They thought about it deeply themselves for a minute, before turning to each other.
"What do you guys think?" Nel asked. "If it's a completely voluntary choice which is made obvious to them, then I think it's our best shot. Listen to all the people shouting behind us. If we get a political party backing us, then we're guaranteed success. Guaranteed!"
"I don't know," Ling responded, frowning. "If they were to supposedly kill someone in a potential war, then that person's blood would be on our hands!"
"If somebody buys a knife off of you, is it your fault that they stab someone with it later?" Nel posed the question, but it was rhetorical. "Of course not! This is a golden opportunity, this is what we've been waiting for!" Ling and Nel bickered for a little bit more, before Ling looked at Mako.
"Well, what do you think?" Ling asked. "You haven't said anything yet."
"I'm not a lavabender," Mako said. "I don't have the right to have an opinion on this."
"Bollocks!" Ling protested. "You're a part of this just as much as any one of us. We couldn't have made it in here without you, and you're literally in the huddle right now! So, we want your opinion, Mako. It does matter." Nel backed Ling up on this with a simple nod.
"We should ask them to postpone the hearing," Mako suggested after a moment of hesitation. "We need Bolin and Mo to have a say in this as well."
"That's a good idea," Nel agreed. He turned and went back to the microphone. "I'm sorry to be requesting this of you, but could we please postpone the hearing? We need to consult the other two co-founders on this matter."
"They should have come with you then," the Prime Minister countered. "We've already voted, it's only my generosity that has thrown you a lifeline." Nel looked back to the others. Ling shook his head, but Mako stayed still, thinking hard about it.
They wouldn't get a better opportunity, he was sure of that. He thought it was a very sticky term, but in truth, he agreed wholeheartedly with Nel. He didn't know if they would have any more success with the other states. He only had credit here in Ba Sing Sae, and he would do anything to help realise Bolin's dream.
He nodded at Nel, resulting in Ling's shoulders sagging, but Ling didn't say anything. Mako marched up to the microphone, and gently took it from Nel. He had one thing he wanted to negotiate with the Prime Minister still.
"We've voted to accept your term," Mako started. "But there's one rule in it that could turn out to be quite problematic; how long does the conscription still hold even after a lavabender who has agreed to the condition has left the class, for whatever reason?"
"Ten years," the Prime Minister informed Mako calmly. "The standard."
"That's not going to work," Mako denied. "Make it two years." Laughter erupted around the hall at that statement. The Prime Minister barely chuckled though, and resumed his emotionless look from before a moment later.
"Ten years," the Prime Minister repeated.
"That's not going to work!" Mako replied, and the advisors to the Prime Minister snarled. They clearly didn't like his word being questioned.
"Seven years," the Prime Minister relented after a moment of consideration. "I'm not going to go any lower. Take it or leave it."
"Four years," Mako haggled, but then turned around, surprised, to see Nel giving him a look of desperation while shaking his shoulder.
"Mako," he whispered. "Take his offer. We're in no position to barter. Please Mako, if you really care about the project, just accept it!" Mako was about to argue, then remembered his place.
He was a firebender. He'd come here to help Bolin. He couldn't dare trample on Bolin's idea, especially when a lavabender was arguing against him. He sighed, defeated.
"Fine," Mako consigned. "We graciously accept your offer."
"Good," the Prime Minister responded, satisfied. "Any objections?" The hall went quiet. "Excellent. May we please have another vote?"
"Very well," the mediator allowed. "All those in favour of decriminalising lavabending, please raise your hand." Nearly the entire Conservative side raised their hands, bar one or two. Most who'd votes for the lavabenders in the first vote on the Liberal side raised their hand too. The Prime Minister also raised his hand.
A clear majority voted in favour for Ling, Mako and Nel. The ones who were still against it were outnumbered 1 to 4 now. The mediator didn't bother counting individually, and raised her hammer.
The whack of the hammer on the wood echoed throughout the hall, but as the mediator continued to speak, none of Mako, Nel or Ling started celebrating. They all just sat there, wondering if they had just done something terribly wrong.
"The change will not be instated until the finer details have been fleshed out," the mediator announced. "We will see you again in two weeks to organise everything. Nothing too small is to be left out, remember that. The secretary will give you your official paper, stating the appointment. You are dismissed."
Mako thanked the hall, although there was no real conviction behind it, and followed his two friends out the hall. All three of them were wordless until the door had shut. They looked at each other, grimacing.
"Let's go tell Bolin and Mo the good news," Ling grumbled sarcastically.
"It's a voluntary decision," Nel argued, trying to lift the mood. "That means everyone who is bound by the condition will know what they're doing. We should be happy, guys!"
"Sure," Mako replied. He agreed with Nel in his head, but he couldn't help but feel a bottomless pit in his stomach. He tried to ignore it, but it wouldn't go away.
Everything will be fine, he tried to reassure himself.