Somehow they'd made it to Iroh's home in Ba Sing Se's upper ring. Teo sat in a comfortable chair in front of the warm hearth. Someone had pressed a cup of tea in his hands. He looked up at the people gathered in front of him, knowing that at least the former prince was concerned about his state of mind. "I'm… I'm okay. They didn't hurt me. They just locked me up."

"But they didn't feed you and they left you there to die." Toph crossed her arms and blew her bangs out of her eyes. "Yeah that's not hurting you at all."

"He called me a traitor. That general said there would be a trial. When the Earth King got back." Teo brought the teacup to his lips and sipped it. "Where did the Earth King go? Why is everyone going insane?" He looked over at Iroh, who looked worried, Toph just looked stubborn and Azula… well, it was hard to tell what she was thinking.

"You know Kuei is trying to save face. He doesn't care if all the peasants kill each other, so long as the nobles are safe and out of it." Azula sat down on the arm of his chair. "You should stay put until the riot is over."

He looked up at Azula, searching her golden eyes. "What about you? Where will you go?"

"Wherever I have to. In case you haven't noticed, Teo, I'm the most wanted criminal in the world I need to leave now before more of you end up in prison as traitors."

"Aww, she actually cares what happens to you, Flyboy." Toph grinned, sitting on the edge of her chair.

Teo looked from Toph back to Azula. He wasn't sure how to respond to Toph's observation. Of course Azula was going to leave. He just didn't know why he felt so upset about that fact. She was a war criminal, a crazy princess that escaped her brother's custody when she should be in an asylum. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, feeling exhausted now that he thought about all that had happened since Azula showed up at his home.

A loud knocking at the door made them all jump. Iroh hushed them all and went to answer the door. Azula tried to run, but Teo caught her arm. She wasn't going to get away again.

Sokka, Katara and Aang followed King Kuei to his throne room. The flight over the city was troubling. Aang wanted to jump in the midst and stop the people from fighting, but Sokka felt it would be better to see what Kuei was going to do. It wouldn't look good if the Avatar had to fix the Earth Kingdom's problems. Especially after the Earth King just lost his bid on the Northern Air Temple. Sokka watched Kuei sit down on his throne and gesture to a waiting servant.

"Dinner?" The young king asked. The warrior could hardly believe he'd heard that right. How could a man eat when his people wanted to kill each other?

"What about the riot?" Aang asked, clutching his staff tightly.

"I've sent out the city guard to take care of it. I'm sure the'll calm down now that I am back in the city."

"Maybe instead of eating, we should try to figure out why they're so mad in the lower ring." Aang shifted his weight, unsure of how to proceed. Kuei was a tough one; after having been a puppet ruler most of his life, he took his freedom after the war by being too headstrong and only caring about his image. It was a situation that felt all too familiar, a cocky ruler that just wanted power and didn't care about his citizens… Ozai had let whole villages die as long as they fed the war effort.

"The people are upset because the Republic, as you call it, is stealing resources that were once ours. And now, when I tried to secure alternate sources for coal and fuel, my efforts have been blocked. So Avatar Aang… why do you think the people are rioting?" Kuei pressed his fingers together. "Will you steal land from the Water Tribes next?"

"The Air Temple belongs to my people." Aang had been thrown by the accusation, hurt written all over his face.

"And whose people were living there? How do you think the Mechanist will take the news?"

Sokka frowned, worried over his friend. He'd never seen the man so upset, not even when he had to confess to Teo that he'd been a Fire Nation collaborator during the war. Something about the ruling tugged at the back of his mind, but… it was not important now. "If you say you've got the riots handled… you don't mind if we make sure a friend of ours is safe, King Kuei?" Aang and Katara both looked at the warrior as if he'd grown another head.

"Do as you wish, just do not interfere with the city guard. Perhaps your friend would be kind enough to shelter you after the curfew."

The warrior bowed and all but pulled Aang and Katara out of the throne room.

"Sokka! What was that for?" Katara put her fists on her hips and glared at him.

"He's not going to help us. We need to find Iroh. If anyone knows what's going on here, it's him."

Aang sagged against his staff and nodded. "You're right. If we're going to get a level head around here, it will be Iroh."

Azula treats Teo with her most terrifying glare, but she does not pull her arm away. Every fiber of her being wants to run. Flee. Escape. She knew she could easily pull free. All she had to do was tug her arm back and send the cripple face-first into the floor. But she just… couldn't.

Why? Why couldn't she just hurt him? She's done it before. Was he just so pitiful being half-starved and still damp from his near drowning?

"Let me go," she hissed, her golden eyes flicking towards the door where she saw Iroh's back.

"No." His grip on her wrist didn't waver; the calloused fingers scratched the skin on her wrist.

"Teo…"

"Teo?" a familiar and annoying voice broke the strange tension in the room. The next thing she knew, an orange and yellow streak all but tackled Teo and she was finally able to reclaim her hand.

She almost smirked at the pained noise Teo made as Aang bounced around the chair and grabbed him in a tight hug that knocked the air out of him. "Aang! Get off me."

Azula stepped back into the shadows of the room, hoping to remain unnoticed while the Avatar and his friends were occupied.

"But Teo… we thought you were in jail. How did you end up here?"

"How did I…? You knew I was in jail for no reason and you still didn't do anything about it? Did you at least take care of things at the temple?" Teo glared at Aang, then flicked his gaze to Sokka and Katara. Azula was about to sneak further towards the door, but Toph blocked her escape.

"Oh, about that. The council of nations decided that the Temple is Air Nomad land," Aang shuffled his feet. "But don't worry, all you have to do is join the Acolytes and then you'll all get to stay!"

"Did my father get to argue his case at all? That that's been our home for decades and we don't want to join any nation? Or did you just ignore him like you ignored all my letters?" Teo's voice held a coldness that Azula hadn't heard from anyone since she last spoke to Zuzu.

"I didn't get your letters, Teo! I told you that."

"No. You told Toph, who told me. You let us stay, then you sent your spy to live with us, to try to change the way we live. Then you ignore our asking for help… and this is help?"

"Actually the Mechanist was thrown out of the meeting. Because of his mental state," Sokka added in, though Azula could see that the warrior had no real argument in his words. He also felt the ruling unfair. Interesting.

"What? Where is he now?" Teo was livid, exhausted and stretched far past his limit. He was probably also in pain, cold and in ill health from General Fong's wonderful treatment.

"We lost track of him in Republic City." Katara finally realized the state Teo was in and pressed her hands against his forehead. "You're burning up."

"I need to get back. I need to find him." Teo tried to fend off the overly-helpful healer. "I want to go home before it's taken from me!"

As much fun as it would be to see Katara smacked in the face, it was an inefficient waste of time. "Teo, calm down." She stepped up behind him and wrapped her arm around his shoulder, bending down to whisper in his ear. "This isn't helping."

"Uhh… excuse me… who are you?"

"What? Did all of you go blind? That's Azula." Toph laughed from her seat in the corner.

"Wh- what? But you're… dressed like a man… and… oh, it's a disguise." Sokka's brain seemed to catch up with his mouth finally.

"Yes. It is useful when you're the worlds most wanted criminal. Now." She leveled her gaze on the stunned Avatar. "You will take us back to the Northern Air Temple. You will find the Mechanist. And we will negotiate the terms that will let Teo's people stay at the temple without you forcing your beliefs on them."

Those that wanted to leave the temple had gone out through secret escape tunnels that lead to the farmland below. Those that were willing and able to defend the temple from the Earth King's forces were in position. The bridge that usually welcomed visitors was burning. Gliders circled in the sky, their bombs much more deadly than slime and stink. The Mechanist sat atop a large trebuchet, a large metal ball sitting in its sling.

"Come no closer, Earth Army. If you cross into our home, we will defend ourselves!"

Green armor moved.

The trebuchet fired, sending scattershot amongst the troops. Gliders from above dodged thrown rocks and dropped exploding bombs that smelled of black powder and the Fire Nation.

The Acolytes, in their orange and yellow robes stood silently behind the army, not getting involved, but not helping either.

The Mechanist fired a red flare into the air and the large metal cannon were wheeled out. As far as he knew, Toph Bei Fong was the only metalbender in the Earth Kingdom… surely they could use such things now without them being turned against them.

For the first time, he was glad that Teo was safe and out of harm's way. But he would die before giving up the home he and his people worked so hard to create. Everyone was supposed to be equal. They were supposed to be free in the air. But no… the world just wanted to strike them down.

He loaded the trebuchet again, round metal shells filled with gunpowder. Explosions deafened him and scattered the Acolytes on the mountainside.

How dare they try to tell him his life was wrong! He was not going to be silenced. The Earth King was wrong. The Avatar was wrong. Why does there have to be a separation between elements and nations? Why couldn't earth-born people life in the skies? Why did the Avatar have to tell him his machines were bad when they were used for both war and peace? The lifts that helped his son and the airships that each nation was starting to build for themselves.

He would not let another thing be taken from him.

He would save his home.

Then he would get his son back.

Or he would die trying.

He let loose another round of fire, then went flying as an earthbent boulder collapsed the structure from underneath his feet.