A few days before the signing of the Peace Accords...
"I never realized the Fire Nation built so many colonies in the Earth Kingdom," said Aang peering at a map of the world. The western coast of the Earth Kingdom was dotted with the Fire Nation national emblem.
"Yes," said Kuei, "For the Earth People, they're a constant reminder of the war, like an old scar. Oh, I...I-Fire Lord Zuko, I meant nothing personal!"
"No, Earth King Kuei. You're right," said Zuko who looked like he was a man on a mission. "After all the pain my father has caused, it's my duty to bring healing to the world. I'll remove those colonies. I'll do whatever it takes."
"But removing the colonies won't be easy," interjected Aang. "A lot of people's lives are gonna be disrupted. We need someone to oversee everything, to make sure it all goes peacefully. Someone like me!"
"Really? You'd want to do that?" Zuko asked incredulously.
"Yeah, I'm the Avatar! Making stuff go peacefully is kind of my thing!"
"Wonderful!" exclaimed Kuei, "The Avatar's personal involvement will give the entire process an air of hope!"
"Sokka and I can help!" added Katara, excited to be useful.
"Aw. I was gonna visit Kyoshi Island," whined Sokka. For a young warrior he still has his childish habits.
"It'll be a movement - a movement towards Harmony!" said Kuei excitedly. "We'll call it...We'll call it..." the earth king pondered.
"The Harmony Restoration Movement!" exclaimed Sokka excitedly.
"Yes! The Harmony Restoration Movement! I like it!"
"What's with you and your goofy names for everything?" asked Toph to Sokka.
"It's a gift," grinned Sokka.
"It would certainly be a big step towards peace," said Chief Arnook of the Northern Water Tribe. "The water tribes will be willing to help in the process by sending ships."
"No, I think that would not be necessary," said Zuko. "I appreciate your offer though Chief Arnook."
"So when should we get started?" asked Kuei, the tone in his voice betrayed his impatience.
"Then I propose that we should make this proposal official," assuaged Chief Arnook, "with each of the heads of states of the four nations signing a peace accord. The Harmony Restoration Movement will officially begin with all of our signatures. The Earth Kingdom, the Water Tribes, the Fire Nation, and the Air Nomads."
"Wait. I thought that the Air Nomads don't have a king?" asked Katara.
"Not since the last Khan abdicated and handed all of his power to Avatar Yangchen and her later incarnations wiped away the last vestiges of their old empire. Which makes the Avatar, no matter what their nationality is, to be their head of state."
"And Aang just happens to be an Air Nomad. It's perfect!" Sokka thought aloud.
As they left the room through the double doors, they were welcomed by a familiar young man clad in black robes.
"Oh, I see that everyone was early," a surprised Mao incorrectly observed. "Did you start without me?"
"No. No, you're late. We just got done," said Toph a little puzzled. She just realized that Mao was usually very punctual, and that it was odd that he was not present in such an important meeting.
Mao looked over her shoulder to see King Kuei, Chief Arnook, Fire Lord Zuko, and Avatar Aang as they made their way down the hall. Mao mentally raise an eyebrow.
"I was told the meeting was to start fifteen minutes from now," continued Mao. "What did you all talk about?"
The day after the signing of the Peace Accords...
Mao awoke at dawn, like the people of the Fire Nation, he was early to bed and early to rise. It was a habit that he learned at Kanto's Fire Nation Colonial Academy for Boys - whose teachers stressed the merits of their customs even among its non-Fire Nation pupils. At the time he first started school, Mao was only ten years old.
After his mother died, and his father wandering the land in a vain effort to finding the Avatar, Mao was sent away to become a hostage of the Honda clan. His grandfather agreed to the hostage exchange, in order for his grandson and heir, to be safely under the watchful eye of the great General Honda. It was also a political move. The Honda clan are Air Nomads like the Hojo. And even though they were only a handful of them who could Airbend, they had powerful Earthbenders, and have established themselves as a military family of talented officers during the war.
Ironically, the Honda were able to advance in Earth Kingdom society, by serving in the Royal Earth Kingdom Army during the war. When the war first broke out, the Honda were defeated by the Fire Nation. Then the Earth Kingdom came and subjugated the Honda, by the order of the King's Ten Attendants. The Honda resented the Ten Attendants, who they knew were vile and corrupt men who were taking advantage of King Keui, who was just an infant then. The Honda were stripped all of their lands, and they were forced to live in slums, and worked like slaves. The only way they could escape poverty was by joining the army. With their martial skills and their bravery in battle, they distinguished themselves as disciplined soldiers. And later as talented officers that separated them from the rank and file.
Promoted through the ranks, General Honda eventually became the commander of the Royal Earth Kingdom Volunteer Forces in Kanto. He later became the de facto supreme commander of forces in the region, after the Royal Earth Kingdom Army withdrew and abandoned Kanto to the Fire Nation. With the help of the Kazekage and local insurgents, "Honda's Volunteers" liberated Emerald City, now the Air Nomad Kingdom of Kanto's city capital.
Relentless in war, generous in peace, the good general allowed the Fire Nation colonists to live and work in peace, while his soldiers maintained order. By the time Sozin's Comet came, General Honda was already putting the Fire Nation army to flight, and who would never again set foot in Kanto.
It was under the tutelage of this excellent general, that Mao received his formal military training in the Air Nomads' military traditions. And now arriving to the capital of the Fire Nation was Mao's teacher and mentor. Mao could not help but smirk when he saw the ship of which Honda stood at the bow of, as his figure came into view.
It was a Fire Nation dreadnaught battleship with the flag of the Air Nomad Kingdom of Kanto on it. He had heard that the Kazekage captured a few ships that were at anchor near Kanto. But evidently they had outdone themselves. It appealed to Mao's audacity and bravado, that the Air Nomads should arrive in the Fire Nation, in one of their ship of war that they captured to sign the peace accords. It would certainly have been a dramatic statement had they arrived on time however.
Asano Saito, Mao's adopted cousin and lifelong friend stood beside him. He is a head taller than Mao, and is solidly built as an Earthbender. He is very reserved, patient, and is very even tempered. Saito is the rock that everyone relied on.
"Now that's traveling in style." Saito chuckled.
"General Honda had outdone himself," agreed Yumiko.
The men at the docks were Fire Nation, and they none too happy to see one of their ships in the hands of nomads, as they took their time to raise the gangplank, and pretended to have difficulty tying the ship to the dock. Mao could see that his mentor was getting a little impatient, but his face was placid. Compared with the man had to face, with countless sleepless nights, and having spent a lifetime in the army, a few stubborn delays would not kill him. Nor did it matter.
"Mao, my boy," said Honda as he walked down the gangplank. "I just received you messenger hawk an hour ago, it's a pity that we weren't able to make the ceremony."
Mao and Saito stood at rigid attention and bowed low in the Air Nomad fashion. Palms pressed at their sides, bending at the waist, and looking at the floor. Yumiko walked past them and went over to a young man and hugged him.
"Big brother!" Yumiko cried.
"My sincerest apologies," Mao said to Honda. "I was not able to delay the ceremonies until your arrival. I have no excuse."
"Raise you head Mao," Honda said gruffly, "You're not a child anymore."
Mao obeyed reluctantly.
"But sir, the terms of the treaty had already been decided and it has already been signed."
Honda frowned.
"Wait," interjected the young man as he detached himself from Yumiko. The young man is a few years Mao's senior. "They've already negotiated the treaty and signed it?"
"Yes. They did so without telling us. And with Aang-sama there, the rest of the three nations did the deed, and had him sign the treaty," said Saito simply.
The young lord who interjected blanched.
"Asuma-san. Why're you so pale? Aang-sama is the Avatar. Surely he will have our best interests at heart," asked a noblewoman to the young man.
"Aang-sama is my uncle. And given that he's the Avatar, his word is just as good as law in our clan, so I'm obligated to whatever he agrees to."
"But I'm sure that there nothing to worry about Asuma-san. Things will go back to the way were before the war. If there is an misunderstanding, I'm sure that something can be worked out."
"That's right," interjected another nobleman. "Don't forget, the Avatar may be young. But he is still an Air Nomad. We have the good fortune of having the Avatar as one of our own. It could be the best thing for us."
Asuma did not reply but glanced at Lord Shingen, as he and Jet stepped off of the gangplank, and onto the dock. Asuma and Shingen exchanged glances, but it was enough for them to read each other's thoughts.
"Come," said Shingen in his soft, deep voice. "We should not crowd the docks. Mao-kun, Lord Honda and I need to speak to you about something."
Shingen and Honda walked ahead with Mao. As Saito and Jet were about to catch up to them, Shingen stopped them, "I wish to speak to Mao alone. It concerns the future of his clan."
Mao led the two older gentlemen to a nearby park that had a pond, along the edge of the water were cherry blossoms, that made for a good place to have a picnic. It was also a popular meeting place for those who wished to have some privacy.
"Mao-kun," said Honda when he stopped, prompting the young man to turn and face him. "You probably haven't heard yet. It was very sudden and I did not want to tell you through a messenger hawk or through anyone else. I wanted to tell you myself. I'm sorry to tell you that your grandfather has recently passed away."
Mao stared at Honda for a few moments and turned away. If he was to cry, he would not show it. His grandfather was in failing health when he left to defeat the Fire Nation on the day of Sozin's Comet. At the time, he never gave it any thought of doing it. He had to leave. He had to abandoned his grandfather at his sickbed. It was inevitable.
When he was just eight years old, he painfully watch his mother slowly die of the coughing death in front of him, until her last breath. He had never left her side. When his father died, Mao had only the comfort in the knowledge that he had died a warrior's death. Hojo Naomasa died at the walls of Ba Sing Se, when the Dragon of the West was breaching its outer walls, at the Earth Kingdom's greatest hour of need at the time. What had hit Mao the hardest however, was when he killed his little brother. It was an act of self-defense on Mao's part, and he had convinced himself that his little brother was misled, and he greatly mourned his death.
But this time, death has claimed his grandfather, and Mao felt nothing but shame. What made it worse that nothing that he would say or do can wash it all away.
"If you need time to grieve..." offered Shingen.
"No," Mao said sharply turning to face his peers. "I cannot afford time to mourn. I have long neglected my duties as Lord of the Hojo clan. And as the last heir, I must take up that mantle."
Later when the delegation had assembled, Mao read the treaty to them. It was long and lengthy documents, with legal speech that a layman would be hard pressed to understand. But the overall message was clear. Because the Air Nomad nobility were left completely left out of the peace negotiations, the peace accords would not satisfactorily reward them, for their loss in lives and treasure. The Northern Water Tribe, that only had to endure a week long siege, were paid more in war reparations than they were. The so-called Harmony Restoration Movement, greatly suited the interests of the Earth Kingdom, in which the Fire Lord would unilaterally remove his imperial subjects from the colonies. And in doing so would restore the lands to the Earth Kingdom.
But no lands on the main continent were to be rewarded or partitioned to the Air Nomads, which they have legal claim to. Nor did the treaty refer to any agreements or promises that were made to them by both sides of the conflict. Instead, it would simply restore the lands that were controlled by the Air Nomads' monk council, that are now being controlled by the Fire Nation. As if to rub more salt to the wound, the treaty made no mention of the individual Air Nomad countries that took part in the war. Instead these independent countries were referred as, "Allies of His Majesty who fought in the defense, and in the service of their lord and land," or simply as "Allies," for short. Though the document did express the wrongs, committed by the Fire Lord's predecessors, but it did little to quell the frustration of the noblemen.
"…The undersigned do hereby agree to all the terms and conditions of the Harmony Restoration Peace Accords," Mao was finish reading the document. "His Majesty, King Keui, Rightful Ruler of the Earth Kingdom, Emperor and Lord Protector of the Air Nomads. His Royal Attendant, Lord-"
"What?!" Exclaimed Asuma as he rose to his feet. "What did you just call him?"
"King Keui?"
"Yes, him!"
"Rightful King of the Earth Kingdom, and Emperor and Lord Protector of the Air Nomads," Mao looked at Asuma straight in the eye. A good number of noblemen immediately rose to their feet.
"Lord Hojo," they bowed to Mao before they left the room.
"Shall I continue my lords and ladies?"
"Please continue Mao," said Lord Shingen, Asuma bowed curtly to Mao before briskly leaving the room.
After reading the names of the people who signed the accord ending with Aang, the Avatar himself stepped beside Mao as though he was summoned. He was not at all expecting Aang to show up, whose sudden appearance prompted Mao to raise a curious eyebrow. The room that was a moment ago was filled with murmurs and whispers were now silent to see what Aang was going to do.
"My lords and ladies," Aang bowed before them in the Earth Kingdom manner - with his fist and palm together in front of him - instead of his arms and palms pressed against his sides as he bowed. This polite gesture was wholly out of place to the nobles' conservative nature.
"I know that you have fought bravely in the war, and that the treaty does not give you the monetary rewards that you may have desired. But all of the other nations have to make sacrifices as we begin to rebuild our world. And King Keui has personally promised me that he will support us in our efforts to rebuild your countries, and to rebuild our people. And if the war taught us one thing, we need the protection of the Earth Kingdom if we are to survive and prosper. The Harmony Restoration Movement is not only to remove the scars of the war and restore balance to the world. It is also to secure the future of our people and our culture. And as the Avatar, I promise to work tirelessly to that future."
The room was deathly quiet as Aang finished. No one moved, no one spoke, no one seemed to breath which made Mao a little nervous. Until a lone solitary noise echoed through the room from the corner, making a few people jump as someone began to clap. As the person in the corner continued to clap, more people joined in as the room slowly was filled with polite applause.
Aang smiled weakly as Mao joined in and beamed at Aang, but when in fact he wanted to strangle him. The foolish Avatar had just handed them over to the Earth Kingdom. What is worse is that he let the world shun and humiliate them, and he did not do anything to stop it.
A few days later, the celebrations moved to Ba Sing Se. In which it was the Earth King's turn to host another banquet. The various noblemen of the Fire Nation, as well as the dignitaries from the other nations also attended the banquet. The Air Nomad lords and ladies who attended were polite, and were on the whole made small talk, on safe subjects that had nothing to do with politics, or the world situation.
Jet, or Hajime, was there with his uncle, Lord Shingen. Meeting his uncle for the first time a year ago, Jet was immediately drawn to him. His uncle is a big, powerful man, whose voice was deep and commanding. Not at all like the stuffy noblemen of the Earth Kingdom, who sent other men to fight their battles. His uncle is an Air Nomad, Lord of the Takeda clan, and always led from the front of his men; earning him the nickname the Tiger of the Takeda. But living with his newfound uncle did require a lot of adjusting on Jet's part. Whenever he was with his uncle and around the city, he was called Hajime, or Hajime-san. Which he never really appreciated, but he had to accept it. His uncle is a lord and he was expected to dress, and act the part as the dutiful, and well-behaved nephew. At least in public. Whenever he was among his friends, the freedom fighters, he always insisted that they call each other by their nicknames.
Finding an opportunity to excuse himself, Jet walked about the room looking for some familiar faces. Instead all he saw was a room full of nobility. His stomach growled.
Time to eat, thought Jet as he made his way to the appetizer table his hand brushed against another.
"Oh, sorry!" said Jet hastily.
"Oh no, it's my fault…"
Jet stared at the person next to him. By the way she was dressed; she was evidently an Air Nomad, probably a nobleman's daughter, and she was cute. What struck him were her eyes and her high forehead. He decided that she was especially cute when she looked flustered at the sight of him, and averted her eyes.
"Umm… what's your name?" asked Jet.
"Oh, you don't recognize me?" The girl's big bright eyes widened in her puzzlement.
"No, I don't think we've met before."
"Oh. I have an idea. Let's play a game."
"What sort of game?"
"A game of questions. You have to ask a question each time you talk. At the end of five questions, you have to guess my name."
"Don't you need to guess my name?"
"Oh, I already knows yours, but do you remember mine? Xuande Hajime, the Tiger Cub of the Takeda. And by the way. You can't ask 'what's your name?' So. Do you wanna play?"
"How do you know my name then?"
"Be careful now," the young woman smiled as she took Jet's arm and led him to the balcony outside. If they looked down, they would be able to see a certain Avatar with his sweetheart from the Southern Water Tribe in a passionate embrace. "The game has already started. You have four more questions. Now. What took you and uncle so long in getting here?"
"We got here as fast as we could. But it looks like everything is wrapping up."
"…You need to ask another question," said the young woman prompted.
"Oh! Umm…where did we meet?"
"…The last time we met it was at your uncle's palace. Don't you remember?" The young woman smiled.
Jet crossed his arms and looked up at the sky. It was a habit that he acquired from his uncle when he was deep in thought.
The girl is messing with me, thought Jet.
"It's been a while. It feels so long ago. What were you wearing?"
"I was wearing your adopted-cousin's clothes. My clothes were ruined, but we were the same size. But you paid more attention to her. Do you like her? Or, do you still love her since then?"
"…What did we do together?"
"…We went horseback riding and hunting, along with a large party, just before you left with your uncle. I never forgot that. We had to go our separate ways. Do you remember me yet?" The young woman smiled slyly.
"I had a lot of fun then. …I'm sorry I just can't put my finger on it. Where…" Jet was flustered, he felt he met this girl before. "Ummm…separate ways… How well do you know my cousin?" Jet asked in desperation, causing her to frown.
"I know her well enough that she really likes you," the girl said evenly but her voice began to break, "I know that I could never measure up to her. And that you like her more, and that you never had eyes for me. Even as for as long as we've known each other. In fact…I…I…" the young woman eyes began to swell. But someone brushed past her from behind her back and flung herself at Jet.
"Hajime!" The other young woman exclaimed and kissed him.
"Yatsuha," said Jet.
"Sorry I was late. I had trouble finding my way over here."
"No worries. Uncle Shingen and I had trouble too. By the way, have you seen my friends?"
"Yes, last I check, they were helping themselves to the appetizers. But I haven't seen Chigusa-chan. Have you seen her?"
"No, I haven't. I could ask someone," Jet looked around and saw a valet walking about with a tray of empty glasses. "Excuse, have you seen a short, tomboyish girl, who likes to always wear boys' clothes, has a short temper, and-?"
"Hits like a ton of bricks?" Deadpanned the young woman in a low voice.
"Chigusa-chan?" said Yatsuha who was completely surprised. Jet looked from her to the young woman he was talking to earlier, and then in that moment everything clicked into place.
"Smeller-"
Smellerbee kicked as hard as she could in Jet's family jewels, immediately causing him to double over in pain. She did an about face and walked briskly away, brushing past Long Shot who watched her retreating form. He saw the whole thing happen, and he could have sworn that he saw tears in her eyes.
"Chigusa-chan!" Yatsuha ran after her.
"Are you alright?" asked the valet.
"No."
Long Shot put a hand on his best friend and cousin's shoulder. He looked sternly at Jet.
"Yeah, I know I really screwed this time."
Long Shot frowned.
"I don't know what I said. All I did was describe her, not knowing that she could look...so cute!"
Long Shot crossed his arms in front of him.
"Okay, it's been awhile since I've saw her. And...I didn't expect for her to be so dolled-up!"
Long Shot squinted his eyes.
"Fine. I'll apologize. But I still don't really know what I did wrong." Jet rose to his feet to go after Smellerbee and Yatsuha.
Shingen watched as his nephew run after the two girls from a balcony overlooking them. After smiling appreciatively at Jet's retreating back, he turned to face his compatriots who were drinking vodka, and smoking tobacco with their pipes. They sat in a tight circle around the room on mattresses on the rug floor. The heads of the most powerful clans sat around the inner circle, while those with lesser influence sat behind them. Mao and Honda sat next to each other, while Shingen was content in sitting by the balcony looking out into Ba Sing Se.
"It's your fault Mao. If you had delayed them just a few more days we wouldn't be in this mess," said a middle aged Air Nomad nobleman.
"Lord Tadayasu," said Shingen. "There was not much that Lord Mao could have done to prevent them from signing the treaty. With Avatar Aang on their side, it was as good as signed."
"My lords," interjected a lady tentatively. "All is not lost. We still have friends in the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribe seem like good people. And-"
"I'm sorry Lady Yodo," interrupted Tadayasu dismissively. "But the treaty is binding. We have little power and even less influence now. Many of the clans have already been more or less subjugated by the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation. Our people are scattered all over the world. What good is it if they became our friends when they are grabbing up our lands? In my country, there is a man named Dong Zhuo who is taking all of the best grazing lands. Soon my clan's herds will starve and so will we unless we take those lands back somehow."
"You could learn how to farm," suggested a monk who had the same tattoo patterns as Aang and was dressed in priestly robes. "Our people are not just nomadic herders. Our people have been able to continue to live on the highest mountains, without ever taking any life, or engage ourselves in useless rivalries."
"Become farmers?" blurted out Tadayasu in outrage. "Farmers are just pests who take up too much room. How are we supposed to make a living if we stay in only one spot?"
"Yeah, I'm not about to let some farmers steal our land out from under us," shouted a young man in the back in agreement.
"But with the war over, we can rebuild. There is no need to fight. All this talk about dividing up the land is pointless, not when there is so much to learn from the rest of the world. We finally have peace and now here we are conspiring, in the heart of Ba Sing Se, and against our host."
"I summoned you all here, not to conspire, but so that we may discuss how we should deal with the Harmony Restoration Movement," said Honda. "The recent events only makes it even more imperative that we should put aside our differences, and unite our clans."
"No way am I going to allow my clan, the Minamoto, work with the Taira," said a young nobleman angrily.
"I feel the same way," said a young man from the opposite side of the room. "There's still bad blood between the Taira and the Minamoto."
"And let us not forget that there are a few who support the Earth Kingdom," Yumiko said and was sitting beside Asuma. "My clan, the Tachibana, is aligned with the Earth Kingdom because of Aang-sama. The Date clan's princess is married to the Earth King. And the Honda and Satsuma have had talented officers serve in the Earth Kingdom Royal Army."
"Then what if we appeal to the king?" Offered the monk. "The council still has considerable influence. You are not without allies in the king's court."
"Says a monk who was appointed to the council by the king and his stooges," said a young man in the back loudly.
"Who said that?" demanded the monk. But no one replied and everyone exchanged glances. "I demand to know who said that."
Mao was visibly bored and rested his head on his hand.
"Is there something that you wish to add, Lord Mao?" asked Asuma who sat across from him.
"None Lord Asuma. Only that the situation is becoming bleaker by the minute."
"There is still hope," offered Lady Yodo who spoke earlier. "I'm not about to give up, if you won't."
"Hope?" replied Mao as he straightened up. "Hope for what? Hope only blinds people. It does not comfort. It does not offer any promises, ratifies treaties, or bring justice. The only thing that we know for certain when we hope, is that though we wish for the best, and it is more important that we prepare for the worst. God cannot help those who cannot help themselves. So Lord Honda is right, we need to unite or work towards our common purpose of curbing foreign influences."
"Those foreign influences that you speak of are our friends and allies," replied the monk. "We should also be listening to Lady Yodo. We should embrace the path of peace when the way is clear. Our people have endured enough hardship to last a hundred generations."
"But Kosai-sensei," Mao said patiently. "We should not confuse peace with harmony. Even though it is inherently good that we keep the peace. But we can never sustain peace if there is disharmony. A tyrant can easily validate protecting a status quo, that creates disharmony, all in the name of maintaining the peace."
"That is why we have the Avatar. Who reincarnates and keep the world balanced. And who is dedicated to the cause of justice."
"And yet Kyoshi-sama did not side with the people in ousting the Earth King, instead she created the Dai Li who became the king's secret police. And they served to drown out the voice of the people and perpetuate injustice. Our people were nearly wiped out from existence when the Avatar was nowhere to be found, when the world needed him the most and to save us. Kosai-sensei. I have come to the conclusion that it is in God that I trust. Not the Avatar. So long as we allow the Earth Kingdom and the Avatar to do whatever they want. So long as we continue to let ourselves be ruled by the corrupt and unjust. We shall never control our destiny."
The room was silent as they let the young man's words sink in. The brief silence was interrupted by the fireworks display outside over Ba Sing Se. The streets were filled with wild shouts and cheers. The room then slowly emptied out as the lords and ladies got up and left. Mao went to the balcony window to stand beside Shingen to look at the wild throngs of people. Using his Airbending, Mao could hear the King's Herald shout the proclamation of the Harmony Restoration Movement. The people were whipped into such a frenzy that they cheered for anything and everything that the Herald said.
"And what is worse, is that they have the will of the people behind them," commented Mao.
Shingen looked at his young lord's profile. He was handsome to be sure. But his demeanor was distant it was as though he seeing something in the future. It can be confused as being obnoxious.
"The will of the people, huh?" stated Shingen. "Why is that important?"
"Because, once the excitement is over with, eventually they will become scared and confused as their personal problems begin to overwhelm them again. Eventually they will wake one day and realize everything is more or less the same. And their leaders do not meet their expectations. And if things don't improve quickly in the Earth Kingdom, they will turn their attention to the colonies, and then to us."
"...The king has approached me, to offer up my allegiance to him," said Shingen, his voice a little louder than he wanted to be. "If I swear loyalty and fealty, I will become an Earth Lord and my lands will fall under the protection of the king's dominion. I would be joining the Earth Kingdom as their equal."
This time it was Mao's turn to look at Shingen's profile. The middle-aged man was bald to hide his thinning hair and grew a magnificent mustache. He would make a good lord and he is a good man, but his declaration just now made Mao to question his judgement.
"By joining the dominion, it will give them the power to station garrisons in your country. Control all your trade and commerce. And you will not have the legal authority to represent yourselves to the outside world. It would be like surrendering yourself and betraying your country," Mao said darkly.
"It's either that or we go to war," said Shingen. "But all is not bleak as you say Mao. The king is a reasonable man."
"Reasonable enough to allow himself to be bullied in his own court. We can count on him to be pressured into using us as a punching bag, or he will see as a means to get his country out of trouble. But most likely he will use us as scapegoats for all of his country's ill."
"Then what choice do we have? We have to compromise."
"Then we unite. Otherwise, we will fall into the trap of mistaking appeasement as compromise."
Meanwhile Aang and his friends were flying over the city on Appa taking steep dives and then pulling up. It was thrilling as they flew through the warm summer sky. Aang had looked for Mao and his cousins but they were nowhere to be found. So it was just his best friends and he. Aang, Katara, Sokka and Suki were all having a blast as they threw their hands up in the air as Appa dove. Toph and Zuko who did not like flying as much held on for dear life to Appa's saddle. They were now watching the fireworks display that were exploding in front of them. They had the best seats of the house. Toph was not pleased since she was blind and could not fully appreciated the visual spectacle. But she could still hear the explosions which was not at all pleasing for a blind Earthbender who had extra sensitive hearing.
"Hey, wanna know what fireworks are like for me?" asked Toph to Sokka, who for some reason was always close to her. "Close your eyes," she ordered Sokka who obeyed. And then creeping up real close to him she shouted in his ear, "BOOOOM!"
"Ouch!" shouted Sokka who was rolling around in the saddle, as Suki giggled in amusement, though she did feel sorry for her boyfriend to be a victim of Toph's friendly prank.
"Oh, Toph!" Katara hugged Toph. "Don't be such a grump! You're out with friends on a beautiful night, celebrating the fact that we saved the world!"
"True," Toph replied simply.
"You, too, your new Majesty Fire Lord Zuko sir! Turn that frown upside down! It's happy time."
Zuko turned to face Aang, whose look in his eye was that he wanted to discuss something very important, something that he wanted to confide only in his closest friends.
"Zuko...?"
"I visited my father in prison the other day...I've been meaning to ask you for a favor, Aang."
"Sure. Anything."
"If you ever see me turning into my father, I want to...I want you to end me."
"What?!" breathed Aang.
"Now, after everything that's happened, my family's legacy is still a part of me. "That's why it's my duty to heal the scars that the Fire Nation has left on the world. But the Fire Lord's throne comes with a lot of pressures. And if I'm honest with myself...I need a safety net. The world needs a safety net. That's what I need you to be, Aang. The safety net."
"Zuko, you're not your dad! And You're my friend! How can you expect me-"
"As your friend, I'm asking you- if you ever see me go bad, end me. Promise me, Aang."
"...Fine. I promise," Aang said reluctantly.