King Kuei sat in his lavish office in the hope he keeps in Yu Dao for "international business" and waited for his guest to arrive. She was late, which he usually tolerated, but today it set his temper on edge. He reached over and stroked Bosco's back and listened to the bear's gentle snoring.
"So sorry I'm late. It took a lot of convincing to catch a ride with the Avatar."
The king looked up as his guest entered. "And I thought you were a good spy, Hei-Won." He allowed his tone to convey his sheer disappointment in her lack of progress.
"I ran into some issues, which I reported as soon as they came up." The Acolyte stood before the king's desk, her expression neutral, but her eyes shone with defiance.
"You were successful in intercepting any correspondence from the temple to the Avatar, but you did not sway Teo to our cause." Kuei did not have to read the documents in front of him. He committed Hei-Won's letters to memory.
"I tried, but he was so… focused on certain other things. He does not know what to do when a woman flirts with him," she sighed and brushed her bangs out of her eyes. "I even tried to drug him to make him more pliable."
"And how did that go?" Kuei raised an eyebrow, not remembering that from the report.
"Terrible. He fell asleep! I was throwing myself at him and he passed out before I could even get to suggesting turning the land over to you." She crossed her arms, obviously upset that her usual tactics hadn't worked.
"So in the two years you've been there, you haven't been able to get close to him?"
"No. I actually thought he preferred boys until Princess Azula showed up."
Kuei raised his hand to stop the girl's rambling. "Either way, he is in custody now. He will be conveniently lost until the vote is cast and that land is mine. I'm not taking any more chances on your haphazard intelligence, Hei-Won. If you want your brother out of jail, then you would be wise to make sure that your next words are respectful, as befitting a man of my position."
The girl straightened her stance and removed a scroll from the bag at her hip. "I did magage to find these in Teo's room. A contract with Princess Azula." Hei-Won looked pleased with herself and handed over a large envelope as well. "These are the Mechanist's records from the hospital. They are complete with a full description of the state of the room he was in and the fact that he was removed from the hospital under false pretenses. Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe told the staff he was the Mechanist's son." She stepped up to the desk to hand the roll of papers to the king.
"Excellent. No one will allow this man to claim leadership, and with Teo out of the picture, the temple dwellers will have to scramble to find someone to represent them." At least his spy had succeeded in this instance. "How many Acolytes follow you? Believe that the temple should be given back to the Air Nation?"
"We all believe that the temple should be given back to its rightful owners. Aang is the only one that wants the refugees to stay. I believe he feels guilt over the whole thing. He bears their fate on his shoulders as if they were Air Nomads, but they are not. They are squatters and rogues." Hei-Won spoke with such force, it was almost as if she hated the temple more than the Fire Nation Princess that corrupted her brother, a young Dai Li recruit that was imprisoned after his return from the Fire Nation.
"They reject my authority and will be taken care of in due time." Keui rose from his chair, causing Hei-Won to drop into a bow. "I need to be going. Keep your eyes on the Avatar, I am sure he is up to something."
"I demand to be heard!" The Mechanist shouted as three Earth Kingdom soldiers drug him from the council room. Aang watched in horror as the inventor struggle and clawed at the men like a feral animal. "You put me there you Spiritsforsaken dictator!"
Aang looked from the scene to the Earth King. "King Kuei, is this true? Did you have the Mechanist institutionalized?"
From beside him, Zuko frowned, obviously unsettled as well.
"It had to be done. While he was working on designs for Republic City, I received word from the chief architect and city planners that his mental state was deteriorating. His ideas were just… absurd. Too much like the hallucinations of a man on cactus juice. Besides, Avatar Aang, it was your associate that convinced Teo Sr. to remove himself from the institution under false pretenses. Mister Sokka is in no way Mister Teo's son." King Kuei passed a sheaf of documents around the table to the other world leaders.
"There's nothing wrong with being mad," Bumi, King of Omashu laughed. "But what do you propose, Kuei? Do you want to give the temple back to Aang or claim it as your territory?"
Aang watched his old friend, then focued on the Earth King. He was wary now more than ever.
"That is what I convened this council for, it is a matter that is long overdue." Kuei stood and looked around the room at the other world leaders and their assistants. "Since the lands used for the Republic of Nations were taken from lands owned by the Earth Kingdom, I propose that the lands of and surrounding the Northern Air Temple be granted to the Earth Kingdom."
A hush fell over the occupants of the room. Arnook of the Norhern Water Tribe stood. "King Kuei, do you not have enough lands? The Earth Kingdom is vast as it is. Do you really need the land that the old temple resides on?"
"The lands the Avatar took to create the Republic were the most resource-rich lands in my nation. Since we are now importing most of our coal and crystals, we need to raise the taxes to the people, who have to pay more for goods that used to be easy to procure." Kuei's gaze lingered on Zuko then shifted to Aang, who met his gaze wearily. "Besides, citizens of the Earth Kingdom have inhabited the temple and land for almost twenty years now. Surely the Avatar would not want to remove these people from their homes?"
From under the table, Katara, who had been silent the entire time, put her hand on Aang's knee to quiet him. "King Kuei, the Avatar wants to work this out fairly. What about lowering the import tax for certain items imported from the Republic?"
"The lands that the Northern Temple sit on have plenty of resources that we would not have to import. In fact, such things can be refined in the factories just outside of Ba Sing Se faster than any raw shipment of ore. It would vastly improve people's struggling economy. The war was financially taxing on us all." Kuei sent another poignant look at Zuko, who looked down. Aang knew the Fire Nation was also struggling under the harsh reparation demands set by the other countries.
"Please," Aang stood and held up his hands to quiet the murmurs throughout the room. "The Northern Air Temple is historically part of the Air Nomad lands. It was built on the site where a great Lion Turtle sat." Aang took a calming breath and let it out slowly before he continued. "As the last living Air Nomad, it is my duty to preserve my culture. If Kuei takes the temple, then a great part of Air Nomad culture is lost."
"Ahh but Aang, the temple is but an earthly attachment. If I understand Air Nomad culture correctly, attachments are bad things. Besides, have you had any communication with those living in the temple since after the war ended?" Kuei folded his arms across his chest.
"No. Only Hei-Won, an Acolyte that decided to make the temple her home. I did not receive any letters from either the Mechanist or Teo." Aang felt a sinking feeling in his stomach.
"And you allowed the Mechanist to alter the temple's structure significantly? For frivolous reasons like an indoor bathhouse, tearing down priceless paintings and statues so that pipes could feed some sort of heating system? If you do take over the temple, I expect you to start restoring such a significantly important structure to its original design." Kuei leaned forward and Aang reluctantly met his eyes. "Right Avatar Aang?"
"Yes. If the land were mine, I would find a way to restore the temple in a way to both preserve Air Nomad culture and still fit the needs of those living there."
Hakoda stood and cleared his throat. "I think we will need to discuss and vote. Aang, King Kuei, you both need to leave, since you both are too biased to be able to make any decisions."
Sokka paced in hallway of the council building. "They've been in there for hours! I can't take it anymore!"
Katara looked over at her brother, "Why don't you find where they took the Mechanist? Fill him in on the details?" She glanced from her brother to her boyfriend, a frown crossing her face as she watched Aang attempt to meditate.
"Aang… do you want to talk about it?"
The young Avatar opened his eyes and sighed. "I'm afraid that no matter what happens, the people that live at the temple… their lives are going to be disrupted again. I'm worried about Teo and where he was taken. And the Mechanist, I've never seen anyone act out like that."
Katara nodded, she had suspecting something wasn't right with the Mechanist since Teo's arrest. "He's just worried about Teo. We all are."
The council doors opened and Zuko stuck his head out into the hall. "We've made a decision." Zuko looked tired, but that seemed to be his usual state these days.
The water master stood and straightened her dress then took Aang's arm as they walked back into the council room. The council members looked as beaten down as Zuko did, their robes in disarray. Servants were ferrying out trays of food. King Bumi had disrobed for some reason. Katara smiled at her father and sat down in the seats she and Aang vacated earlier that day. King Kuei walked in and sat as well, looking much more calm and collected as ever.
She wanted to drown him, then smash his face in for all the chaos this man caused. No matter how much Zuko tried to make up for the damage his nation caused, Kuei was always there to point out some other slight that Zuko needed to make up for.
Hakoda stood when the council was ready and cleared his throat. "Okay. After much debate… we had two votes for Kuei and two votes for Aang with one tiebreaker." Katara leaned forward, waiting for her father to get out with it. "The temple and land belong to the Air Nation. But, due to its historical significance, it should be reasonably restored to its original state. Those that live there must renounce their Earth Kingdom citizenship and become Air Acolytes."
Katara turned towards the sound of the heavy door and watched her brother chase after the Mechanist. But wasn't this a good thing? They could keep their home.
A nervous looking messenger came through the swinging doors and ran up to Kuei. The earth king unfolded his message and stood, for the first time that day, his alarm showed on his face. "Ba Sing Se is rioting."
Aang stood, taking his glider staff in hand. "I will take you to Ba Sing Se, King Kuei."
With Aang's words, every person in the room jumped into action, King Bumi pulled on his robe and Zuko picked up his swords. Hakoda and Arnook declined to join in the fray; not that Katara could blame them.
Just before Appa took off, Sokka jumped aboard his saddle. "I couldn't… get him… in time. So… what's going on here?"
"My people are rioting in the streets." Kuei sat regally towards the back of Appa's saddle; Zuko was already removing his royal robes towards the front. Bumi refused to sit.
"Oh. That sounds a lot more pressing than the Mechanist being left alone. Let's go help with that." Sokka said as Aang guided Appa into the air and towards the city.