Disclaimer: All rights belong to Nickelodeon, Bryan Konietzko, Michael Dante DiMartino, and all the men and women that created the A:TLA show, books, and comics. I take no credit, and I do not mean to break any copyright rules. This is simply a work of fiction made for enjoyment. No money is being made. The lyrics are from the song "Who We Are" by Imagine Dragons
Rating: General Audiences. Warning: some scenes contain dark themes and minor violence
Author's Note: Yesterday I binged watched the Netflix show Never Have I Ever and I literally can't recommend it more. If you have free time, do yourself a favor and watch it
Chapter 14: City of Walls and Secrets
We were never welcome here
We were never welcome here at all
It's who we are
Doesn't matter if we've gone too far
Doesn't matter if it's all okay
Doesn't matter if it's not okay
Doesn't matter if it's not our 's a knock on the door of their house in the morning. Katara sets down her hair brush and walks slowly to the door, a ring of water already circling her. Sokka stands on the other side, his boomerang held back in his hand. Toph sets herself in her bending position and Aang holds his staff out in front of him.
The knock sounds again. Katara nods Aang and he throws in open quickly, his staff coming back up into position.
A woman wearing a green dress stands at the door, a huge smile on her face. "Hello!" she chirps, ignoring their battle stances and distrustful looks. "My name is Joo Dee."
Katara lets the water flow back into her water skin but leaves the cap off. Aang lowers his staff. Only Sokka and Toph remain ready to fight.
"I have been given the great honor of showing the Avatar around the city," the woman continues. "And you must be Sokka, Aang, and Toph. Welcome to Ba Sing Se."
Katara exchanges looks with the others and everyone regains normal stances. They don't trust this woman, but she's also not an active threat. At least, not yet. Katara reminds herself that the Fire Nation isn't in Ba Sing Se, so no one here wants to kill her. Abuse her power, maybe, but not kill or capture her.
Still, she's not letting her guard down.
"Shall we get started?" Joo Dee asks again, her smile remaining just as big as ever.
Sokka secures his boomerang back in its sheath and steps forward. "Yes. We need to talk to the Earth King immediately. We have important information about the Fire Nation."
"Great! Let's begin our tour. You've already been shown your new home here, obviously. How do you like it?"
Joo Dee turns and starts walking out. Sokka throws his arms down in disgust and follows at her heels.
"Maybe you missed what I said. We need to talk to the king about the war. It's important."
"You're in Ba Sing Se now. Everything is safe here." Joo Dee smiles.
Sokka turns back to the others, sharing weird looks. Katara doesn't like how this woman is dismissing them. She knows they look like children, but they saved the city! And she's the Avatar! Normally kings can't wait to see her!
"Let's follow her for now," Katara says quietly to the others. "But keep your eyes open. I have a bad feeling."
"Me too," Toph agrees. "I can't detect a lie from her heartbeat, but her voice is strange."
Joo Dee leads them to a carriage. They get in and begin driving around the city.
"This is the lower ring," she says when they get to the edge of the outer wall and start returning.
"What's that wall for?" Katara asks, looking at a wall not outside of the city but rather inside.
"Oh, Ba Sing Se has many walls. There are the ones outside, protecting us, and the ones inside, that help maintain order."
Katara doesn't like the sound of that. Looking at the others, she gets the feeling they are thinking the same thing. Maybe it's a cultural thing, though. Growing up in the South Pole, the only wall they had was outside the village to protect them from harsh winds and occasional wild animals. Inside the village, they were a close knit community where everyone worked together and shared everything. There was no need for walls inside the village to "maintain order".
"Here is where our newest arrivals live," Joo Dee continues as they drive through a dirty, cramped, and busy street, "as well as our craftsmen and artisans, people that work with their hands. It's so quaint and lively."
More like dangerous and unsanitary, Katara thinks as she sees a man seated on a hay bale in an alley, a long knife glinting in his hand while he grins and talks to a nervous looking man.
Joo Dee's smile drops for the first time since meeting them. "You do want to watch your step, though," she warns.
"Why are all the poor people blocked off in one part of the city?" Katara asks, tearing her gaze away from the scene.
"This is why I never wanted to come here before," Aang says sadly. "It's so different from the way the monks taught us to live."
"This is the middle ring of Ba Sing Se," Joo Dee says, the enthusiasm returning to her voice. They cross a gate into a much nicer area with white marble houses and green and yellow tiled roofs. Little stone bridges like the one Katara and Toph walked across yesterday span small canals and pink flowers and green ivy climb up the sides of all the stone work. "Home to the financial district, shops, restaurants, and the university."
"And here's one of the oldest buildings in the middle ring, town hall." The carriage stops and Joo Dee steps out. "Come!"
"Is it just me or does she only seem to hear every other word we say?" Sokka asks.
"It's called being handled." Toph crosses her arms. "Get used to it."
After the tour of the town hall they get back into the carriage. Katara had been hoping they'd learn a little bit more about the city, but Joo Dee just gave them boring facts about the building and construction and told them stories about mayors from centuries ago. As they continued moving, they all caught a good glance of a group of men wearing dark green robes and hats, watching them suspiciously from the shadows.
"Who are the mean looking guys in robes?" Sokka asks.
"Inside that wall is the royal palace. Those men are agents of the Dai Li, the cultural authority of Ba Sing Se. They are the guardians of all our traditions."
"Can we see the king now?" Aang asks.
"Oh, no," Joo Dee laughs. "One doesn't just pop in on the Earth King."
A collective sigh comes out of the others. Katara watches them for a moment before looking back out of the window. Her bad feeling is only getting worse.
"And here we are! Back at your new home!" Joo Dee smiles as the carriage stops back in front of the house. The kids get out, ready to drop her and discuss their thoughts about the city. Then a man runs up and hands a scroll to their guide.
"More good news!" Joo Dee looks up from the scroll and beams at them. "Your request to see the Earth King is being processed. It should be put through in about a month! Much more quickly than usual."
Sokka's jaw drops. "A MONTH?"
"Six to eight weeks, actually." Joo Dee clasps her hands behind her back and smiles, almost looking self-satisfied. "Isn't Ba Sing Se nice? I think you'll really enjoy it here."
"Maybe we'd enjoy it more if we weren't staying for so long! Can't we see the king any sooner?"
"The Earth King is very busy running the finest city in the world. But he will see you as soon as time permits."
"If we're going to be here for a month, we better use that time to learn more about the Fire Lord and train."
Aang crosses his arms and turns his back on them. Katara feels the urge to go over and lay a hand on his shoulder. She knows how upsetting this city must be to him. It's a prison, designed to support the rich and abandon the poor. It goes against everything he believes in. He wanted to explore the world, but all he's seen so far is suffering and pain.
"I'd be happy to escort you anywhere you'd like to go." Joo Dee bows deeply to them.
"We don't need a babysitter," Toph says in a flat tone.
"Oh, I won't get in the way," Joo Dee assures them. "And to leave you alone would make me a bad host. Where should we start?"
Katara wants nothing more than to get rid of Joo Dee and talk to the others honestly, but apparently they aren't so lucky. Suddenly she understands Toph and her frustrations with her old life. Katara is having trouble living one day like this; she can't imagine years under this kind of handling.
But she also doesn't trust Joo Dee. They have to pretend to go along with this or else they'll raise suspicion. So instead of fighting, she puts her own smile on her face.
"Great! Thank you so much." She turns to the others. "Where should we go first? The university?"
They all give her confused looks. She'll try to find a way to explain when Joo Dee isn't paying attention. For now, she's going to have to do all the talking.
"Okay then. The university." She turns to Joo Dee. "We'd like to do some learning."
Joo Dee smiles. "What a good choice! Learning is always good."
They find a young student sitting against a statue in the courtyard of the university. He's reading a book, but when they walk up to him he glances up and then his eyes widen in surprise. He adjusts his glasses as if he can't believe the Avatar is there.
"Ah, hello. How can I help you?"
"We're trying to do some research," Katara says. "Do you know where the library is?"
"Yeah." He turns and points to the building behind him. "Straight forward, take a left at the statue of the Earth King, and it's the room with the huge dome."
"Great. And do you know any professors we can ask about the war with the Fire Nation?" Sokka leans in close.
"Uh…" The boy trails off. He glances over Sokka's shoulder. Katara notices Joo Dee shaking her head at him, the ever-present smile still covering her face. "Uh, I don't know, I'm not a political science student." He stands up, gathering his things frantically. "I've got to get to class."
In his hurry to leave, he trips and drops his scrolls all over the ground. He grabs them up and half-walks, half-runs away.
Katara glances back at Joo Dee, who is waving goodbye. Katara waits until they're all in the library until taking action. As Sokka is scanning scroll casings, she grabs him and pulls him into an abandoned section, covering his mouth with his hand so he doesn't make a sound.
"What the heck, Katara?" he exclaims when she releases him. "What are you doing?"
She lifts a finger to her mouth, motioning for him to be quiet. "We can't trust Joo Dee. I don't know who she's working for or what they want, but she's keeping things from us. She totally just intimidated that boy out there. And she's ignoring our important questions."
"I've noticed that too. But we can't seem to lose her! She follows us everywhere."
"And she will continue to do so unless she thinks that we're no longer a threat. We have to play along, pretend that we don't notice anything wrong. We need to stop pushing to see the Earth King."
Sokka's face lights up. "Now I know what your were doing earlier. Smart."
"But we also can't waste any time. We thwarted the Fire Nation once, but if I know one thing about Azula and her friends, it's that they'll never stop hunting us. Eventually they're going to find a way to break in to the city. We need to try and keep learning more about what the Fire Nation wants to do or if they have any weaknesses."
"I'll see if there's anything in this library. Can you keep Joo Dee off my back?"
Katara nods. "I'll see what I can do. But be careful, Sokka. We have no idea what we're up against."
They split up, Katara walking back into the main section and Sokka slinking behind a set of shelves, already scanning scroll titles.
Aang and Toph are sitting at a desk by the first row of shelves. Toph is sitting with her arms crossed over her chest, looking immensely bored. Aang is reading a scroll, a confused look on his face. Joo Dee is watching them with a smile.
When she sees Katara, her smile somehow widens. "Katara! Good to see you again. Where is your brother?"
Katara waves her hand absently. "Oh, you know him. Such a big reader. He's got his nose deep in Earth Kingdom history books."
Joo Dee glances towards the shelves. Katara walks over to Aang.
"What are you reading about?" she asks, slightly louder than normal. It works; Joo Dee diverts her attention.
Aang looks up, his face wrinkled in confusion. "Ahh...it's about the history of animal breeding in Ba Sing Se."
"What a good selection!" Joo Dee exclaims. "Animal breeding is an important part of our history and culture."
Katara slides into the seat next to Aang. "Why don't you read a bit aloud for us? I'm sure Toph would also like to learn."
"Actually, I'm okay," Toph says. Katara shoots her a glare. If anyone should understand what she's trying to do here, it's Toph. Toph is the master at tricking her "handlers".
Aang gives her another weird look. "Katara, are you sure -"
She grabs the scroll from him and begins to read aloud herself.
"The Ba Sing Se Zoo originally began as an animal breeding facility. When the city was first founded, the first king of Ba Sing Se invested much money into scientific research, including that of animals. The hogmonkey was the first successful fusion of two species…"
Katara continues reading. She manages two pages before even Joo Dee seems to get bored.
"Wouldn't Sokka like to also hear about some of this exciting information?" she asks, glancing a little anxiously at the shelves. As she begins to take a step, Katara swipes her hand across the scrolls on the table, letting them fall to the floor. Joo Dee whirls around.
"Oops," Katara says, already kneeling down to gather them up. "I can be so clumsy sometimes."
Joo Dee gathers a few that are wider thrown. When she has their back to them, Katara motions at Aang. He kneels next to her on the ground and picks up a scroll.
"What's going on with you?" he asks. "You're acting really weird."
"We have to pretend to go along with Joo Dee. She can't know that we suspect something is going on. Sokka is looking around for anything that might help us, but we have to keep Joo Dee distracted until he comes back."
Aang nods. "I'm sure Toph and I can come up with something to help."
They return the scrolls to the table. After scanning through them (and asking Joo Dee a million questions about every possible boring topic covered in them) they then decide to try and figure out where to return them - of course asking Joo Dee to help them. There's a close call once where Sokka has his nose in a scroll at the end of an aisle that Joo Dee is heading towards. Aang practically knocks down a bookshelf to divert her attention.
Finally Sokka returns to the main section. Joo Dee smiles at him, but the smile doesn't reach her eyes.
"Have a good time in the library?" she asks.
"Uh...yeah. Got distracted by a good book, you know how it goes."
"Oh! What book?"
"Uh...it was about…" Sokka looks lost for a minute. "...the architectural history of Ba Sing Se?"
Joo Dee claps her hands together. "A wonderful selection! I'm always in awe of the engineering genius behind the bridges in the Middle Ring."
"Yeah. I like that too!"
Before Joo Dee can talk more and catch Sokka in his lie, Toph jumps in.
"I'm pretty tired. Can we go back home now? All that learning has left me wiped."
"What a good idea! Let's call a carriage."
The ride home is silent and tense. Sokka gives Katara a look that shows he might have found something, but she dares not ask in front of Joo Dee. She just hopes the guide lets them have some time to themselves.
Luckily Joo Dee just lets them out in front of the house. "Why don't you get some rest? Someone will be over with dinner later."
They put on fake smiles and wave to her. As soon as she's out of sight, they hover around Sokka.
"The library was full of fluff," he admits. "There wasn't a single reference to the Fire Nation outside of general ancient history. Most of the stories were historical archives about the city itself or the Earth Kingdom. I did find a section on fables and myths, however." He rolls up his sleeve to reveal a scroll tucked in. Suddenly he looks over their shoulders and across the street. His eyes narrow. "Come with me."
They all follow him to the house across from theirs, somewhat confused. Sokka knocks lightly on the door. An old man with a white beard slides the door open and smiles widely. Too widely.
"You're the Avatar!" he says when he sees Katara. "I heard you were in town. I'm Pao."
"Nice to meet you, Pao."
"So, Pao," Sokka cuts in. "What's going on with this city? Why is everyone here so scared to talk about the war?"
"War? Scared? What do you mean?"
"I can feel you shaking," Toph snaps.
"Look, I'm just a minor government official," he says with a lowered voice. "I've waited years to get this house. I don't want to get into trouble."
"Get in trouble with who?" Katara asks, her bad feeling returning.
"Shh, listen, you can't mention the war here. And whatever you do, stay away from the Dai Li."
He slams the door shut. They stand there, mouths agape, and look at each other in shock.
"Let's go back inside," Sokka suggests. "I'm getting the feeling that we're not safe here."
"Me too," Aang agrees.
"Something's fishy," Toph says.
They return to their house. Katara pulls all the shades closed. When they're sure they're safe, Sokka pulls the scroll back out.
"It's a book of fables," he says.
"How are fairy tales going to help us?" Toph asks.
"There's one about the Fire Nation. Story number six. Either they thought it was harmless and left it in or they made a mistake. Either way, it's interesting."
"The Day the Fires Burned Out," Katara reads the title out loud and then looks around at the others. "This sounds interesting."
"Read further," Sokka urges.
"There was once a boy by the name of Cheng Su…" Katara skims farther down and summarizes the story out loud for the others. "One day he found himself in a dangerous alley in a foreign city. Gang members surrounded him. He didn't know the lay of the city and he had no weapons. Some of the criminals were Firebenders. They demanded he give them all his money and valuables. He had only a small handful of copper coins with him. They didn't believe him and thought he was lying, so they began to attack him. But even as the flames left their hands, something strange happened: the sunlight disappeared. Everything was bathed in a strange darkness. The flames disintegrated. The thieves tried to summon more fire, but it didn't come. Cheng Su took advantage of the strange phenomenon to run away to safety. And the story goes on about how he gets home." She looks back at Sokka. "It's an interesting story, but it's just a myth."
"All tales are somewhat based on facts. What if the basis of the story is real?" Sokka leans forward, his voice getting higher in excitement. "What if solar eclipses - that's the phenomenon of the sun being covered up - cause Firebenders to lose their power?"
Katara sits up straight. "It's like what happened at the North Pole! Waterbenders derive their power from the moon, and when the moon spirit died and the moon with it, we lost our powers to waterbend! Until Yue replaced the moon spirit, that is."
Sokka's face darkens for a second at the mention of his earlier girlfriend. "Yeah. Waterbenders need the moon, Firebenders need the sun. That makes sense."
"But if Firebenders need the sun then why can they firebend at night?" Aang asks.
"Same thing with Waterbenders in the daylight. The sun and moon are still there, even if we can't see them. But in a solar eclipse the paths of the moon and the sun cross - and the moon comes between the earth and the sun, weakening the sun energy."
"And if the Firebenders can't use their powers, we have a huge advantage over them," Toph continues.
"Not just over Firebenders - over the Fire Lord." Sokka looks over at Katara. "You wouldn't even need to finish mastering the elements. Ozai would be powerless."
Katara isn't sure how she feels about taking on a powerless opponent. Of course she's scared to fight the Fire Lord and Azula when they have full power, but fighting them without their powers feels like cheating somehow.
Of course, Azula is still a fair match even without her firebending - no doubt is her father, too.
"We don't even know when an eclipse would happen," Katara points out. "They're super rare. It seems like a small chance to put our hopes on."
Sokka turns the scroll over. She can see that he's scribbled on the back in charcoal pencil. "Actually, I also took the opportunity to find some astronomy scrolls. The next predicted eclipse isn't too far away." He points to his scribbles. "It's a recurring celestial event. The next time it should happen is on the first day of the eighth month - this year."
Only a few months ago. Katara always thought she'd have enough time as she needed to master the elements. She thought she'd have a couple years. A few months suddenly seems like no time at all.
"This could be your best chance at beating the Fire Lord with few casualties," Aang points out. "We could take prisoners instead of having to fight them."
He has a point. Katara takes a deep breath. This is her destiny. And she's lucky enough to have an opportunity as convenient as a celestial event that only happens once every millenium.
"Alright. We should talk to the king about this when we finally get an audience with him. He'll know what to do." She nods to her brother. "Good work."
"Hey, what's this?" Toph asks, holding up a piece of paper. "It was laying on the table. I don't know what it says but it smells like ink, so I know something's written on it."
Sokka walks over and retrieves it from her. "It's from Suki," he says. "Dear Katara, Sokka, Aang and Toph, we have been invited to the palace for a special commencement ceremony honoring our bravery in the battle for Ba Sing Se against the Fire Nation. I do not know how long we will be gone, so don't worry about us. Love, Suki."
"They get a special ceremony and we don't?" Aang exclaims. "We helped destroy the drill, too!"
Toph frowns. "That sounds suspicious to me. Didn't Joo Dee tell us that we can't just pop in on the Earth King." She mocks the guide at the end of the sentence.
"Why would the Avatar have a month long wait and the Kyoshi Warriors get invited right away?" Sokka frowns. "Something's not right."
"Is that Suki's handwriting?" Katara asks.
"I have no idea," her brother admits. "But I definitely am worried."
"We need to get into the palace soon."
"How do we do that?" Aang wraps his arms around his legs. "Those Dai Li agents are everywhere. And Pao warned us about staying away from them."
"We'll find a way in." Katara looks them all in the eyes. "We'll find Suki. And we'll figure out what's going on in the city. I just need some time to think."
"We could all use some rest," Sokka agrees. "We'll have better ideas when we're not so tired."
Katara wants to sleep that night. She wants to forget about solar eclipses and fighting Fire Lords and mysteriously missing friends and creepy tour guides. She wants to enjoy her time in the city like she did the first day with Toph. Ever since she's been out of the ice she's been fighting something.
But rest doesn't come easy to her. In the morning she gets up earlier than the others and goes out on the porch. She sits on the steps of their house and breathes in the air, wondering how such a beautiful city can feel so dangerous.
A scroll tucked into the slot on the porch catches her attention. Curious, she retrieves it and reads. Then she runs back into the house, filled with hope and nervous excitement.
"I've got it! I know how we're going to see the Earth King!"
"What do you want from me?" Suki struggles against her bonds. She's tied up against a post in a barn somewhere. She's not sure if she's still in Ba Sing Se or if she's been moved outside the city. She woke up not long ago in this dim room that smells like hay and stale water. She's totally alone, except for the three girls in front of her.
"Not much. Just your identity." The girl directly in front of her leans into the light smiles cruelly. Suki knows the face too well. Azula.
"The Avatar and her friends are going to pick you out from a mile away. No amount of make-up in the world can trick them into thinking that you're me."
Azula sighs. "I'm not stupid. They're not the ones I'm trying to trick." She pats Suki's face condescendingly. "I have higher ambitions than just capturing a few kids. This is a war, after all."
Suki isn't sure who she's going to deceive, but she hates that the other girl is going to steal her identity to do it. "They're going to find me. My friends won't abandon me."
"I'm counting on it." Azula leans back. "But by the time they discover where you are, you'll be on the other side of the earth."
Suki's eyes widen. The other side of the earth is the Fire Nation. They're taking her to a prison. And if Sokka tries to follow her there, he'll be right in the heart of enemy territory…
"Where are my other warriors?" she demands.
"They're already on their way. It's never a good idea to leave a leader with her troops. That's how rebellions happen." Azula makes a motion and another girl - Mai - cuts the bonds securing her to the post and pulls her to her feet. As she escorts her out, Azula reaches over and pulls the headband off her head.
"I'll just be taking that. Have a safe journey."
Suki narrows her eyes at the other girl. The last thing she sees before being blindfolded is the princess of the Fire Nation's cold smirk.