I Do Not Own Avatar or Miraculous.
Thirty-Two: The City of Walls and Secrets.
"Look! The inner wall! I can't believe we finally made it to Ba Sing Se!" Katara exclaimed.
"Hey! Don't jinx it!" Sokka warned, "We could still be attacked by some giant exploding Fire Nation spoon, or find the city's been submerged in an ocean full of killer shrimp!"
"Uh, Sokka. Have you gotten ahold of cactus juice again?" Rin asked. The blue clad teen crossed his arms.
"I'm just saying. Weird stuff happens to us." Hard to argue with that logic. She looked over at Aang, who seemed distracted.
"Don't worry Aang. We'll find Appa." Reassured.
"It's such a big city though." Aang replied.
"He's a giant bison. Where could someone possibly hide him… oh." Sokka trailed off, staring wide eyed put the window. His jaw dropped just as quickly as his heart sank. The city outside was huge. It was practically an entire country inside of several walls. How on earth were they going to find Cat and Appa in all of that? Beside him, Toph sighed loudly.
"Back in the city… great." Toph complained.
"What's the problem? It's amazing!" Sokka cried.
"It's just a bunch of walls and rules. You wait. You'll get sick of it in a couple of days." Toph promised. Sokka didn't doubt that. In a city as big as Ba Sing Se, there had to be a lot of laws in place to try and keep the peace. The monorail came to a stop and Team Avatar got off. Waiting for them was the creepiest lady Sokka had ever seen.
She was a beautiful woman with long, dark hair and a light green kimono that was probably more expensive than his father's war ship. What unnerved Sokka about the woman was her wide, brilliant smile. It seemed unnatural and forced. It was scary.
"Hello, my name is Joo Dee. I have been given the great honor of showing the Avatar around Ba Sing Se. And you must be Rin, Sokka, Katara, and Toph. Welcome to our wonderful city! Shall we get started?" She introduced.
"Yes." Sokka said immediately, waving one of his scrolls at her, "We have information about the Fire Nation army that we need to deliver to the Earth King immediately." Joo Dee's smile only widened, which should have been completely impossible.
"Great! Let's begin our tour, and then I'll show you to your new home here." she said. Uh… did Joo Dee just ignore him? But only Katara had the power to ignore him!
"Maybe you missed what I said, we need to talk to the King. It's very important. It's about the war." Sokka repeated.
"You're in Ba Sing Se now. Everyone is safe here." Beside him, Rin snorted.
"I doubt that." She scoffed. Joo Dee's eyes darte over to Rin, slightly annoyed with the girl's interruption, but managed to smile even wider, ignoring Rin's remark. Sokka gave up and they all followed Joo Dee. She began to explain the city's history. Sokka was more distracted wondering how he was going to warn about the eclipse if no one in the city wanted to hear him. She first showed them the lower ring by getting them a ostrich horse drawn carriage to ride quickly through the city in. .
"So what's the wall here for?" Katara asked.
"Oh, Ba Sing Se has many walls. There are the ones outside protecting us, and the ones inside that help maintain order. This is where our newest arrivals live, along with our craftsmen and artisans. People who work with their hands. It's always so quaint and lively. Sokka looked out, seeing a few shady men watching the carriage closely. Yeah. Lively.
"You do have to watch your step though." Joo Dee admitted.
"Why do they have all these poor people blocked off in one part of the city?" Katara asked.
"This is why I never came here before. I always heard it was so different from the way the monks taught us to live." Aang said.
"Mmm. I'm used to it." Rin said. They all looked over at her in surprise.
"How?" Sokka asked.
"Paris was pretty big. All big cities are like this. My parents worked hard for years to get a place in the middle of the city. I'm going to have to work just as hard with the clothes I make if I want to ever make it as a clothing designer. Poorer people usually live on the edge of a big city, because that's all they can afford. Richer people are more towards the center or near famous works of art or architecture like this tower we had in Paris. It's sad, but that's usually how cities this large work." She said, shaking her head.
"If Paris is so big, why haven't we heard of it then?" Toph asked. Rin paused.
"We are… really disconnected from the rest of the world we don't have benders, so you wouldn't know about it." She replied softly. Toph shrugged.
"Whatever." They moved one to the next ring.
"This is the middle ring, home to the financial district, shops, and restaurants… and of course the university." Sokka perked up. Now was his chance to bring the eclipse up.
"We met a professor from Ba Sing Se University. He took us to an ancient underground library were we discovered information about the war that is absolutely crucial for the King to hear!" He growled, leaning in close to her to prove his point. Her creepy smile only widened.
"It's history fascinating? Look, here's one of the oldest buildings in the middle ring, Town Hall." Sokka resisted the urge to pull his ponytail out and running around the carriage screaming, 'Why won't anyone listen to the watertribe guy! I totally have important stuff to say!' While waving his boomerang around like a madman. He didn't. But he wanted to pretty badly. The carriage stopped and Joo Dee immediately got out and began leading ahead.
"Is that woman deaf? She seems to only hear every other word I say!" He growled.
"It's called being handled. Bet used to it." Toph snapped. Sokka was starting to get why she hated big cities. Joo Dee was being ridiculous!
"And here is the Upper Ring. The Upper Ring is home to our most important citizens. Your house is not to far from here." Joo Dee continued. They passed by yet another wall that was heavily guarded my men in black and green robes.
"What's inside those walls?" Rin asked.
"Yeah, and who are the mean looking guys in robes?" Sokka asked.
"Inside there is the Royal Palace. Those men are the agents of the Dai Li. the cultural authority of Ba Sing Se. They are the guardians of all our traditions." Joo Dee explained.
"Yeah, yeah. Can we see the King now?" Aang asked impatiently. He understood the Avatar's struggles. This was going a lot harder than it should have been going.
"Oh, no!" Joo Dee exclaimed, "One doesn't just pop in on the Earth King." Huh. For once she answered their actually important question.
Finally, Joo Dee brought them to a huge house.
"Here we are. Your new home." She said as a messenger came up to her with a letter, which she promptly opened, "More good news! Your request for an audience with the Earth King has been processed, and should be put through in about a month. Much more quickly than usual." Sokka's expression fell. He was seriously annoyed now.
"A months!" He cried. They didn't have a months. They needed to get this to the Earth King soon, so they could properly plan the invasion on the eclipse. Was this lady crazy?
"Six to eight weeks actually." Her grin only growing. She motioned for them to enter the house despite the team's numerous complaints and objections. Finally, they gave up. They obviously wouldn't get to see the Earth King until they said, so they would have to just deal with it.
"Isn't it nice here?" Joo Dee asked.
"Yeah, but I think we'd enjoy it more if we weren't staying so long. Can't we see the Earth King any sooner?" Sokka tried.
"The Earth King is very busy running the finest city in the world, but he will see you as soon as time permits." That wasn't a no…
"If we are going to be here for a month, we should spend our time looking for Appa and Cat Noir." Aang decided.
"I'd be happy to escort you anywhere you would like to go." Joo Dee said cheerfully with a bow.
"We don't need a babysitter." Toph huffed, immediately attempting to brush past Joo Dee and leave. The creepy lady stepped in the blind girl's path.
"Oh, I won't get in the way. And to leave you alone would make me a bad host. Where shall we start?"
"Jeesh. This must be how Adrien felt. His father wouldn't let him leave the house without an escort. I think this whole thing is dumb. I'm sorry, Joo Dee, but you should leave. We appreciate the tour, but there a fine line between being a proper host and flat out invading our privacy." Rin said in annoyance.
"I'm sorry Rin, but I can't do that. You are simply too important to leave unattended."
"I can take care of myself." Rin snapped, "So can the rest of us. We don't need your help. Thanks, but we are fine."
"I'm am to escort you, or you will not leave the building at all."
"Oh, who made this a prison and you the warden?" Rin growled, "We are free to do as we please, if you have anything wrong with that, you should just leave." Joo Dee's smile faltered. Give it to Rin to stand up to the adult wronging them without an ounce of shame to her doing so while still somehow being pretty polite for a person throwing out insults.
"There are rules to be followed in Ba Sing Se-"
"There are rules back in Paris too. A lot if them. None of those rule blatantly kept me from walking around town without an escort. It is a very reasonable thing to ask. We just want to get used to the city without someone leaning over our shoulder everytime we take a step. I know you are trying to be helpful, but sometimes it is better to leave a matter be."
"You are right. It is better to leave a matter be. That is why I will hear no objections to me escorting you again." Joo Dee replied. Rin growled, clearly losing her temper over the whole matter. Sokka decided no one wanted to see that.
"An escort would be nice… for today... I suppose! We'll figure the whole thing out tomorrow." Sokka deiced, "Besides, she knows the city and can help lead us around until we find Cat or Appa." Rin scowled, but didn't object. Joo Dee escorted them all around town. Rin looked more and more frustrated with the situation as they went. They asked everyone they could about Appa and Cat, but for whatever bizarre reason, no one would say anything. They got to the lower ring and resorted to knocking on doors around a neighborhood in the middle ring. Suddenly Joo Dee spoke up.
"I don't think this neighborhood is the best to-"
"We are checking here." Rin said firmly.
"But-" Joo Dee began.
"That's final." Rin walked up to a door and knocked on it hard. A woman around her twenties opened it.
"Hello?" She asked.
"Hi, I'm Rin. Me and my friends are searching for a young man named Cat Noir or a flying bison named Appa. Do you have any-"
"How do you know about Chaton?" The woman asked. The team stared at the woman in wide eyes.
"...He is my partner. Have you met him? If you have, he would have referred to me as Ladybug." Rin said.
"Oh… oh my gosh. You're her! He talked a lot about you! He said that you were gone, after his village was attacked. It was amazing and terrifying when he appeared, in a flash of green light like a spirit. But he was terrible injured and covered in sword wounds, he had cracked ribs, and his ankle was broken. He had a spirit with him called Plagg. The spirit said he brought Chaton to us so we could help him. He began to get better… but several weeks ago… A man came to the house asking for him. A week later, the man approached us again in the market and took him away, to the upper ring. He promised he'd come back and visit, promised he'd be okay… but I think he was lying. I haven't seen your friend since." Rin stood there stunned.
"So he's gone now?" Rin asked.
"I'm sorry. If you'd come in I would tell you more about what happened and how much he healed since he appeared to me-"
"That will be enough, Mingal!" Joo Dee said quickly. Mingal looked over, noticing Joo Dee and paled.
"I'm sorry! I didn't know! I'm sorry, you have to go Miss. Ladybug. I don't want to get you taken like Chaton was. You must leave. I'm sorry." Mingal suddenly said quickly, her eyes never leaving Joo Dee. She slammed the door in their face. Rin's gaze stared at the door as if Mingal was still at the door. Suddenly she was frantically banging on it.
"No! There has to be more! Did he say anything or give any clues as to who took him and why!? Please! That could have been Hawkmoth! He could be in danger! I need to know!" Rin yelled. Katara pulled Rin away from the door, who at this point was crying. Sokka scowled at Joo Dee. This was her fault. Joo Dee had somehow scared that woman, the only woman who could probably help Rin, away. He didn't know why everyone was being so scared around Joo Dee, but he intended to find out. After that Team Avatar decided to return to the house. No one had any effort left in them to search for that day. Thankfully Joo Dee left for the night, leaving them some privacy for rest. They slept and in the morning, Katara woke up everyone with a plan in mind.
"I know how we are going to see the Earth King!" She declared, waving a flyer at them.
"Uh, how are we supposed to do that? 'One doesn't just pop in on the Earth King'" Toph asked.
"The King is having a party at the palace for his pet bear tonight." Katara explained.
"You mena platypus-bear?" Aang asked.
"No, it just says bear."
"Certainly you mean his skunk-bear." Sokka imputed.
"Or his armadillo-bear?" Toph asked.
"Just… bear."
"Finally! A normal animal!" Rin cheered. Yeah. Rin was weird.
"Anyways, the palace will be packed. We can sneak in with the crowd." Toph laid doan.
"Yeah, it won't work." She said.
"And why not?" Katara asked.
"Well, no offense to you simple country folk, but a real society crowd would spot you from a mile away. You've got no manners… well.. Rin does, but she is apparently from a city."
"Excuse me? I've got no manners? You're not exactly lady fancy fingers."
Toph burped, proving Katara's point.
"I learned proper society behavior and chose to leave it. You never learned anything. And frankly, it's a little too late." Toph pointed out.
"Ah-Ha! But you've learned it. You could teach us!" Sokka announced.
"Yeah, I'm already mastering every element. How hard could manners be?" Aang asked before draping a curtain over himself and bowing to Sokka, "Good evening Mr. Sokka Watertribe. Miss. Katara Watertribe. Miss. Rin Ladybug. Lord Momo of the Momo Dynasty, your Momo-ness." Sokka laughed and joined in.
"Avatar Aang, how do you? Go on." The two bowed at each other repeatedly before knocking heads.
"Okay, Katara, Rin, and I could pull it off, but you two would be lucky to pass as busboys." And that was how Aang and Sokka wound up dressed as bust boys in the Earth King's palace searching for the Earth King while serving food. They had no idea were Toph, Rin, and Katara were, but he was annoyed since they were supposed to be letting them into the party, not the other way around. Suddenly a girl next to him asked for a crab puff. It took him a second to recognize it was Toph.
"You found us!" Aang said in surprise.
"I know you're little footsteps anywhere, Twinkletoes." Toph replied.
"Thanks for letting us in." Sokka said sarcastically.
"Sorry." Rin said, "But the guy who escorted us in won't let us out of his sight."
Sokka glanced around.
"Uh… What guy?" They looked around and realised Joo Dee was walking up to them. How the heck did she know they were there? Oh, well… at least the creepy smile was gone.
"What are you doing here? You have to leave immediately, or we'll all be in terrible trouble."
"Not until we see the King!" Sokka objected.
"You don't understand!" She started trying to push them out, "You must go!" Aang tripped due to Joo Dee's pushing and spilled his jug all over a guest. Aang yelped, immediately airbending the drink off of her, only further ruining her dress.
"The Avatar. Ooh, I didn't know the Avatar would be here." Joo Dee wasn't smiling at all. Everyone's eyes was on Aang. Sokka got an idea.
"You keep their attention while I look for the King." He said. Aang nodded. Sokka and the others began searching while Aang distracted them. Eventually many guards entered carrying a curtained platform where the Earth King's silhouette could be seen.
"The Earth King." Sokka warned. As he did two men in Dai Li uniforms came up and grabbed him. He struggled, but they succeed in taking him. They brought him to a small library where a man in grand robes stood. His friends were there too.
"Why won't you let us talk to the Earth King!" He immediately asked the man, "We have information that could defeat the Fire Nation!"
"The Earth King has no time to get involved with political squabbles and the day to day minutia of military activities." The man growled.
"But this could be the most important thing he's ever heard." Aang insisted.
"What's most important to his royal majesty is maintaining the culture heritage of Ba Sing Se. All his duties relate to issuing decrees on such matters. It's my job to oversee the rest of the city's resources, including the military."
"So the king is just a figurehead!" Katara exclaimed.
"He's your puppet!" Toph agreed.
"Oh, no, no! His majesty is an icon, a god to his people. He can't sully his hands with the hourly change of an endless war."
"But we found out about a solar eclipse that will leave the Fire Nation defenseless. You could lead an invasion-"
"Enough! I don't want to hear your ridiculous plan!" Long Feng roared. Sokka took offense to that. He was plan guy number one! "It is a strict policy of Ba Sing Se that the war not be mentioned within the walls. Constant news of an escalating war will throw the citizens of Ba Sing Se into a state of panic. Our economy would be ruined. Our peaceful way of life, our traditions would disappear. In silencing talk of conflict, Ba Sing Se remains a peaceful, orderly utopia. The last one on Earth." Long Feng explained.
"There no such thing as a real utopia, Long Feng. You can't keep the truth from all these people. They have to know." Rin growled.
"I'd watch your tongue, Ladybug." Long Feng said, motioning to a figure who had apparently been standing behind them. He was a man in a purple kimono with a silver conical hat and a mask. A staff was in his hands. Rin paled upon seeing him.
"Hawkmoth." She breathed. The man smirked.
"So you are Ladybug. All this time, and it was the baker's daughter." The Hawkmoth said.
"This was a trap!" She said, covering her ears.
"Not quite, Ladybug. I still need you to get back to Paris. Only you can bring me there. But your partner is not so fortinue." Hawkmoth said simply.
"Until now, you've been treated as our honored guests. From now on, you'll be watched every moment by the Dai Li agents. If you mention the war to anyone, all but Ladybug will be expelled from the city. I understand you've been looking for your Bison and she's been searching for her partner. It would be a shame if you weren't able to complete your quest." Long Feng threatened. Rin glared at the two villainous men.
"You won't get away with this." She growled. Long Feng ignored them.
"Now Joo Dee will take you home." The team turned to see a girl who wasn't Joo Dee waiting for them.
"Come with me please." She said.
"What happened to Joo Dee?" Katara asked.
"I'm Joo Dee. I'll be your host as long as you're in our wonderful city." Then she smiled widely and just as creepy as Joo Dee number one.
Rosetrang628, you pointed out a pretty valid plot hole in my story I neglected to address. I had meant to mention it in, like, chapter three, but I didn't. I actually wrote it in my notebook then thought I wrote it in the actual story. Why aren't LB and CN simply using their weapons to call or track each other? I have two reasons why they can't do that.
1. The Avatar world is not a modern world like the Miraculous. They don't have cell phones, wifi, and things like that. They wouldn't have a signal for their weapons to bounce off of (Assuming the weapons need that).
2. The Miraculous holders have pretty much transformed into the ancient Chinese versions of themselves in order to blend in. I'm going to say this pretty bluntly. Miraculous holders from ancient China did not use cell phones. They did not use tracking devices. They more than likely used their Kwami's to sense other Miraculous holders if they really needed to make contact. As a result, the Miraculous holder taking on Chinese forms to blend in actually cut off that way of communicating with each other, because the last time that from was used, they Miraculous holders didn't need phones.
I hope this sorta helps answer your question. I am sorry that I didn't point these things out earlier.