Before anything else, I own nothing but the original characters, and content therein related to them. Avatar: The Last Airbender is owned by Nickelodeon, and any mentioned creator's work belongs to them, and them alone.
Chapter 15 Revolution, Part One.
At the break of dawn, Azula, Mai and Ty Lee, had knocked on every door, spread word to every citizen of the middle class, backed by a mob of the denizens of the lower ring, "liberty or death," became their rallying cry, as an army of angry peasants and the disgruntled workers marched with her towards the upper ring, joined by educators and intellectuals alike. The city's security forces had retreated as the masses gathered, pushing through checkpoints in the walls of the city until finally they reached the inner wall. As the crowd roared, Azula smirked from within.
The only thing that stopped them was the army and Dai Li standing in their way. The rioters stopped just beyond a low wall erected by the earth benders opposing them, and the lead agent stepped forward. "Subjects of the Earth Kingdom, disperse at once, or we will use force to break up this riot!" The agent shouted.
Over the noise around him, a young man, the son of one of the many blacksmith's in the lower ring, struck a slow burning match against the ground, and pushed his way through the crowd as quietly as he could. Making his way to the front of the mob, he raised the metal tube nestled into wood in his hand, and held it out towards the lead agent of the Dai Li, who couldn't see him in the sea of people. "WE ARE SUBJECTS NO MORE!" He set the slow burning match against a hole in the side of the home made gun, and there was a flash of firework powder, and a plume of smoke, before a bag rang out into the night.
Flakes of scrap metal were blown into the lead agent's chest, and as he stumbled over, bleeding into the street, the rest of the rioters surged forth.
Aang had Appa land on an island in the middle of the lake not long after take off. Connor, as it seemed, had discovered that he didn't much like being in the air. Between the light headedness, and nausea, he needed a minute.
As Connor threw up into the lake, Sokka, Katara and Toph dismounted Appa, putting distance between them and the redhead, to talk between each other in private. "Ok, so we escaped the Dai Li, and got Appa back. I think we should go to the Earth King and tell him our plan." Sokka said.
"What about Connor? He's with the Fire Nation. Do you seriously trust him to honor his deal? Or to let the Earth King live?" Katara asked. "Besides, what about…" Katara checked to see if Connor was still throwing up, which he was. "What about the invasion?" She whispered.
"Hey, he never said anything about being there when we tell the Earth King that. Besides, we'll be right there with him. I mean, if anything, the peace talks might work out, and if they don't, it'll give the King time to prepare for the eclipse." Sokka said.
"What makes you think he's going to believe any of what we tell him? If you haven't noticed, thing's don't exactly go smoothly for our little gang." Toph said, from her seat on top of a rock.
"I've got a good feeling about this." Sokka said with a shrug.
Katara crossed her arms. "Sokka, Long Feng is in complete control of the city. The Dai Li is too powerful, and we have no idea how deep the conspiracy with them goes. I think we should just get on Appa, and leave this horrible place behind."
Connor finally got it all out, blowing phlegm from either nostril, and splashed some of the lake water on his face, before standing up.
"I'm with Sugar Queen." Toph said. "I've seen enough of Ba Sing Se, and I can't even see." She held her arms up over her head.
Connor approached them as he spit into the lake one last time, having heard only the last two or three sentences. "I wouldn't count on the Dai Li being too much of a problem. Half the city's out to put them in a hangman's knot."
"Besides now that we have Appa back, Long Feng doesn't have anything he can hold against us. We can tell the king about the conspiracy, and the war." Aang said, as he jumped off of Appa and landed beside the rest of his team.
"The city can be free, and the war can end. Count me in." Connor said.
"See, The Avatar, and the bad guys are both agreeing with me." Sokka said with a grin.
"I don't trust the new positive Sokka. Long Feng brainwashed you, didn't he!?" Toph shouted in jest.
Connor didn't find it to be funny, as he translated the words in his head over again "ˈbreɪn wɒʃt? Wait no, breɪn kənˈtrəʊl? Long Feng was controlling people's minds? He tried putting me in a trance or something?!"
"Long Feng actually tried brainwashing you? Wait, is that how he had you with him?!" Aang asked, pointing at the large red head.
"No, I was trying to bide my time until I was alone so I could escape. I thought the lantern thing was some sort of torture implement that they tried using on fire benders or something, so I ignored it." Connor said, holding a hand to his chest. "Long Feng offered me a deal, and I saw it as my way out."
"Well, why'd it work on Jet, and all those women we saw, but not on you?" Sokka asked.
Connor raised an eyebrow in thought. "I mean… Common speech isn't my first language… There are still words I miss sometimes. When I read and speak and all that, I'm thinking in my native English. Maybe some words got lost in translation?"
"You speak another language?" Aang asked.
"juː miːn tuː tɛl miː, ðæt nɒt ə ˈsɪŋɡl taɪm aɪv ˈspəʊkən laɪk ðɪs ɪts ˈsaʊndɪd wɪəd ɪˈnʌf fɔː juː tuː θɪŋk ˈɛnɪθɪŋ ˈʌðə ðæn; heɪ lʊk æt ðæt ˈɪdɪət?" Connor asked quickly, getting weird looks from the others. "That is another language from my homeland."
"Wow…" Toph said, having felt Connor's heart beat steadily through his speech. "That makes sense actually. If you have to constantly think about what you're being told, you're less susceptible to suggestions." Toph shrugged.
"Sug-what?" Connor asked, not catching the word.
"You know, suggestions, making someone think they want to do something. It's an old political trick." Toph shrugged again.
"We're getting off topic here." Katara cut in. "If everyone else is in agreement?" She asked, getting head nods from the team. "Then let's fly."
Connor held on for dear life, as Appa soared through the sky at breakneck speeds. Toph seemed like the only one who hated flying just as much as him, as she kept her head buried into Appa's fur. "Can we please buy a new saddle! Riding bareback is terrifying!" She said only peeking her head up to say her peace before putting her face back into Appa's fur.
"Seriously, this is madness!" Connor said, from beside her, fighting the urge to puke.
Looking over Appa's hump, Sokka saw their landing zone. "There it is! That's the Earth King's Palace. The throne room is probably in the center somewhere."
"We need to be careful, Long Feng could have warned the Earth King that we're coming by now." Katara said, crawling up to her brother.
Aang spotted something flying towards Appa and promptly pulled him to the side. "HANG ON!" Appa jerked left, narrowly avoiding a flying rock.
"ˈʤiːzəs eɪʧ kraɪst, ɡɛt miː ɒf ðɪs θɪŋ!" Connor shouted.
"How about a little help!" Katara yelled.
"FINE!" Connor said loudly as he raised an arm up, and punched the air, shattering a rock before it could hit Appa. Aang performed a similar move, though with his staff, to split an incoming rock in half, as Appa dove toward the ground.
Aang jumped off of Appa's head, and lunged towards the ground, slamming his staff into the stone tile, which created a wave along the ground, sending earth benders of the palace guard flying off their feet.
Appa landed just behind him, and Connor was the first to slide off the bison, dispelling his nausea. The Irishman drew his sword as a man with a spear on an ostrich-horse charge him, Conner went inside of the man's attack, and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him off his mount, and tossing him to the ground, hard. The ostrich horse stopped without it's rider. Connor ran over to it, and jumped up into it's saddle. "Hya!" He shouted, steering the creature around, and rushing toward the palace with the others.
More palace guards created two lines along the main walkway, and pulled square stones up from the ground and surrounding pillars to throw at the gang. As Aang and Toph blocked and redirected the flying stone, Connor swatted the hunks of rock out of the air with his sword, shattering the missiles.
In a stroke of brilliance, Connor swirled his sword over his head, before cutting horizontally at the right flank, causing the top halves of the pillars that the guards were using as cover to split, and fall over. Diverting their attention to the pillars falling from overhead, the earth palace guards were whipped back and away from their posts by the water in Katara's pouch.
Charging ahead, Connor veered off to the left of the incoming unit of palace guard, and leaned off the side of the ostrich horse to drag his blade along ground, creating a fissure of earth behind him. Lifting himself away from the ground, the fissure broke and fell inwards towards the guards. The heavy stone cracked apart and shattered once it landed, sufficiently trapping the soldiers under the rocks.
"Sorry!" Katara apologized as she ran by them.
On the other side of the Palace's interior moat, several guards used their bending to lift, and throw two badger mole statues at the intruding Team Avatar, plus one. Toph and Aang both lifted the heavy stone blocks that made up the road, and created cover large enough for even Appa to hide behind. Katara rushed out from behind the shield, and Connor nearly went after her, before Aang stopped him. "She's got this." Was all he said, before after another few seconds everyone followed him out of the improvised cover.
They crossed a bridge, Aang jumping over it to freeze the water that a few guards had been knocked into by Katara, and at the base of the stairs, the gang stopped. Toph stepped forward, and raised her hands. Connor watched in amazement, as the ground rumbled beneath him, and as she brought her hands down, the stone steps up to the palace collapsed to make a completely smooth surface. The soldier's that had been coming down to fight them, all beginning to slide to the bottom. Without wasting time, Toph and Aang used the section of ground they were on to create an elevator to ride all the way to the palace's front door.
As soldiers slid by, Connor laughed. Sokka cringed. "We're seriously on your guy's side, I swear!" The Water Tribe boy apologized.
"I'm not!' Connor said as he continued to cackle at his opponent's misfortune.
Once at the top of the formerly recognizable stairs, the team pushed forward, Aang and Toph shoving some more soldiers to the sides. They entered the palace itself, and were confronted with more guards. Connor jumped off his stolen ostrich-horse, and drove his left fist into the ground when he landed, sending a quake through the floor that knocked over all of the men advancing on them.
"You've gotten a lot better at this." Toph complemented Connor.
"Ah, I'm a quick learner." Connor said with a shrug, not telling her that he was mostly adapting what he knew of fire bending, boxing, and swordsmanship to suit his needs.
Though the rioters had fought well, the earth benders of the army, city security, and Dai Lee were able to push them back from the wall of the lower ring. Azula however, was not finished yet, as she found something in the street after the fighting. A very simple hand cannon, three of them actually, much closer in form to the ancient Fire Nation design. Returning to the lower ring via the monorail, she, Mai, and Ty Lee spread out with hastily created blueprints for the hand cannon, and sought out every blacksmith they could find…
As Sokka searched around, the rest of the team got a good sweat worked up, facing off against the rest of the palace guard that came to greet them. Finally after causing an untold amount of property damage, Sokka crawled over a rubble pile and spotted a huge door. "Now that's gotta lead somewhere." Aang blew the door down with a massive blast of air, and as the metal fell to the floor, the team rushed in.
There, standing between the Earth King on his throne, was Long Feng, and five Dai Li, who took up defensive positions in front of them.
"We need to talk to you." Aang said.
"They're here to overthrow you. This man here with the fiery hair is the insurrectionist I told you of."
"No, we're on your side. We're just here to help." Sokka said.
"You need to trust us." Katara pleaded.
"You invade my palace, lay waste to all my guard, break down my fancy door, and you expect me to trust you?!" The Earth King shouted.
"Ok, he does make a good point." Toph pointed out.
"If you're on my side you'll drop your weapons, and stand down." The King said.
Everyone looked between each other, and Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph put their weapons and respective elements down. Connor hesitated, though sheathed his sword, and held his hands up. Not a second later did Long Feng smirk. "Arrest them."
Rock gloves were sent flying at the wrists of everyone on the team, and Connor grumbled as he rolled his eyes. "Why am I not surprised?"
"Wha- We put our weapons down. We're your allies." Sokka said.
"Ah save your breath Indian. Long Feng's a tyrant, what deal would he honor." Connor said, as the Dai Li surged forward on shoes made of earth.
"Make sure The Avatar and his friends never see the light of day again. As for the rebel. See to it he is executed, along with his compatriots in the middle ring." Long Feng said.
The Earth King turned his attention to his advisor. "The Avatar? You're The Avatar?" He asked, pointing at Sokka.
"Uh, no, that would be him." Sokka said, jerking his head at Aang.
"Hello." Aang said, casually breaking his cuffs, before putting them back together peaceably.
"What does it matter, your highness? They are enemies of the state. This one has called for your removal from the throne." Long Feng said, pointing to Connor again.
"Milk that for all it's worth." Connor commented, before out of the corner of his eye he saw the largest brown bear he'd ever laid eyes on, approaching him wearing what looked like an over-sized shirt and hat. Eyes wide in recognition of a clear predator, Connor backed into the Dai Li nearest him.
"Perhaps you're right…" The King said, before the bear licked Connor's face, causing him to shudder. "Bosco seems to like them though. I'll hear what they have to say."
Aang stepped forward. "Well sir, there's a war going on right now. For the past one hundred years in fact. The Dai Li's kept it a secret from you, in a conspiracy to control you, and the city."
"A secret war? That's crazy." The King said.
"Completely." Long Feng added.
"Long Feng didn't want us to tell you, so he kidnapped our sky bison and held him hostage. But that's the least of his crimes. He killed our friend!" Aang said.
"All lies." Long Feng said blandly. "I've never even seen a sky bison, your majesty. Frankly, I thought they were extinct."
"Your claims are hard to believe." The King said as he sat down. "Even from an Avatar."
Long Feng leaned in to whisper to the King. "These rebels are from an anarchist cell that my agents have been tracking for weeks. If you listen to them, you'll be playing right into their hands."
"OOOH! The Postmaster Press newspaper in my pocket has a copy of that thesis." Connor said excitedly.
"Thesis? What thesis?" The King asked.
Connor stepped around Bosco carefully. "Your city, no, your entire kingdom is in an uproar, over how Long Feng has been running things with your authority. About a week ago a friend of mine drew up a list of complaints, and had them printed off by the newspapers in the lower ring. Taxation, a refugee crisis, representation, importation restriction, foreign incursion, unjust persecution, and abject poverty have the entire lower ring in a state of revolt." Connor said.
The King looked at Long Feng. "I thought you said that the protesters were controlled."
"They were controlled, your majesty, until he showed up." Long Feng said.
"And why might there be such protests in the first place?" Connor asked, catching Long Feng in his lie.
"To my knowledge there was flooding from heavy rainfall that destroyed parts of the city a few years ago, and the past year's harvest was scarce. The increase on taxes was to generate relief for those affected by the damage." The King said, before he hummed. "Bring me this thesis."
A Dai Li agent pulled the folded paper form Connor's pant's pocket, and carried it to the king.
Adjusting his glasses, the king's eyes scanned across the page and with every new sentence he read. He grew more shocked with each word. "The Lower Ring believes that I'm a poor ruler? If my people are to hold such beliefs, then something tremendously wrong must be happening. Avatar, given the circumstance, I believe that further investigation into this conspiracy is warranted, though I can't so quickly rush to blame my advisor." Aang jumped in place at the King's consideration, as Sokka nodded.
Long Feng narrowed his eyes at the group, before skulking off.
Shortly after their trip to the lower ring, Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee returned to the middle ring for a visit to Ba Sing Se University's library. The Public records section contained a vast archive on the city's infrastructure history. Unrolling both an eighty year old, and a modern copy of a five thousand year old scroll, Azula laid the papers flat against the nearest table, displaying to her companions Ba Sing Se's sewer system, and where it connected to the abandoned subterranean catacombs of the old city, below the inner ring.
The Earth King, under armed escort, followed the gang out of the palace, and to the nearest train station. The scenic trip through the upper ring was spent mostly in silence. "So this is a train… I didn't realize it would be this… Public." He said, looking around at other nobles who were riding the rail with him.
"So you've never been outside the upper ring before?" Sokka asked.
"I've never been outside the palace grounds before." The King admitted freely.
"That's… Sad actually…" Connor said, before the train went through the wall and into the middle ring.
The King looked out the window, and saw the aftermath of the riot that had besieged the inner wall. Building's crumbled, sections of the wall were pitted, and trash littered the normally clean street of the middle ring. "What happened?" The King asked, as Connor looked out the window with him.
"That would be the work of the people's frustration." Connor said.
The King leaned over to Sokka. "May I ask where we're going?"
"The outer wall. A giant piece of Fire Nation war machinery was being used to siege the city." Sokka said. "Since I figured Long Feng wouldn't be honest enough to not have the Dai Li clear out all the evidence from their own headquarters under Lake Laogai, we're going to show you the most damning piece of evidence we can. Something not even they could cover up that fast." Sokka said.
Having found an alchemist sympathetic to their cause, as well as several producers of fireworks within both the lower and middle ring, Azula requested from each of them as much explosive material as they could make.
Receiving grins, and affirmations of support for the rebellion against the Earth King, Azula and all present company spread a message by word of mouth. "The walls must fall."
After the train came to a stop, everyone rode an earth elevator to the top of the outer wall. The King was led to the edge of the wall, and there he looked down. "What is that?" He asked.
"A drill. A drill used to break through your walls and besiege your city." Sokka said, as the king looked at the massive metal monster that bore the Fire Nation Army insignia.
"I can't believe I never knew." The King said, questioning what else he had been uninformed about.
The scraping of the earth elevator from beside them drew the attention of everyone gathered near the edge. Long Feng and two Dai Li had come to visit. "I can explain this, your majesty. This is merely a construction project."
"Oh for the love of God." Connor muttered in English. "Why would you need a drill to go through a wall made of rocks, when you've got earth benders who could do it for cheaper?" He asked the king.
The Earth King took a moment to process everything he'd just heard, and suddenly it clicked. "Dai Li, arrest Long Feng for crimes against the Earth Kingdom."
The Dai Li looked between each other before they acted. Their loyalties having been quickly decided.
"What?!" Long Feng asked, as the Dai Lee beside him cuffed his hands behind his back with iron shackles. "You can't do this to me! You believe these lunatics over your own advisor!" Long Feng shouted, as he was dragged away by the Dai Li.
Connor turned to the gang. Taking a deep breath, he addressed Aang directly. "Now. You might be a little demon child, but I'm not the one calling the shots on my side of things, and I sure ain't strong enough or dumb enough to take all of you at once… If you drop me off in the middle ring, I'll talk with my people, and we can meet at the palace to negotiate peace." Connor said, before extending his hand to The Avatar.
Now that Long Feng was out of the picture, Aang looked up at Connor, and assessed the situation. Connor, an earth bender representing the Fire Nation, the country that had invaded this young man's own, said that he, and not just he, but the Fire Nation, wanted peace of all things. It was hard to believe, but if Connor was willing to take their side and uproot the corruption in Ba Sing Se for the benefit of its people, then Aang had to believe that the Fire Nation, even so twisted since he'd visited it in what felt like only a few years ago, could be redeemed.
Aang, having only experienced the gesture of an outstretched hand from the Water Tribes, grabbed Connor's forearm and shook it as he would any other tribesman. Connor gave him a confused look, but a nod all the same.
"It would be an honor." Aang said.
Azula, Mai and Ty Lee were in the apartment, going over the finishing touches of their plan to finally break through to the inner ring, when the grumbling of an animal came from outside, and the apartment shook. Rushing to the entryway, Azula flung the door open, and found Connor standing in the street, waving to what appeared to be The Avatar's sky bison as it flew off. Azula remained standing in the doorway, stunned at what she was seeing, as Mai and Ty Lee both came to see what was going on.
"Hey girls, I'm back." Connor said, as he started walking towards the door, noticing his friends.
"Connor!" Ty Lee said loudly as she slipped under Azula's arm, and practically leapt down the stairs to embrace the larger man. "I was so worried. What happened to you!?" She asked, releasing him. "The Dai Li took you, and you've been gone an entire day, and oh my goodness, your wrists are bruised!" Ty Lee babbled, before Azula stepped out of the apartment.
"I'm fine, Ty Lee. The handcuffs they had me in were tight is all." Connor said, as he ruffled her hair lightly. "So…" He looked at Azula. "What happened while I was gone?"
"I think I should be asking you a similar question instead…" Azula said, narrowing her eyes. "Why were you waving to The Avatar's bison?"
Connor exhaled. "It's a long story."
After the team had sat down, Connor recounted his time in captivity, and his meeting with the Avatar. He explained how the Earth King was a puppet of Long Feng, and that since the corruption of the Dai Lee was put to rest, The King was willing to negotiate to end the war with Azula acting as the Fire Nation's representative.
Azula took a moment to think. In the back of her mind she knew that the revolution she'd sparked was not going to simply vanish overnight. The people of Ba Sing Se wanted their king and his government replaced, and not much was going to get in their way after all the preparations Azula had made for them. However, as the King was the legitimate ruler of the Earth Kingdom, she'd meet with him and negotiate peace on the Fire Nation's behalf until such a time came that the new government took over. More prominently, the opportunity to talk of peace was the perfect way to get within arm's distance of The Avatar once again. Connor's own good nature was perhaps worth more than she'd realized. "Well, when do we meet the King?"
Earth King Kuei sat on his throne, the weight of the past few hours finally bearing down. The Avatar and his friends had gathered before him. "All this time, one hundred years, we've been at war with the Fire Nation." He said, holding either side of his eyes between his thumb and middle finger.
"That's why we came to Ba Sing Se in the first place, your highness." Sokka said, before King Kuei looked down at him. "I don't want to brush off the peace talks… But a part of my gut is telling me they aren't going to do as much as we might want. Which is why we think there's another way to end the war." Sokka said, stepping forward. "We have a window of opportunity. There's a solar eclipse coming. The sun will be entirely blocked out by the moon, and fire benders will lose their ability to bend."
"Are you suggesting that the Earth Kingdom attack the Fire Nation during this eclipse?" King Kuei asked.
"I am, your majesty. The day of black sun is going to be the only time that we'll have a level playing field, and can invade the Fire Nation Capital. The Avatar can defeat the Fire Lord, and once the city is ours the Fire Nation's entire hierarchy of rule will fall apart." Sokka explained.
"I don't know, attacking the Fire Nation would mean diverting soldiers away from Ba Sing Se. We'd be defenseless." King Kuei said, sitting up straighter on his throne.
"The city is already defenseless." Sokka said, sweeping his arm out to point to the door. "The Fire Nation already has people inside your walls, and they won't stop coming if this ceasefire falls apart. Your majesty, if you want peace, you need to be prepared for conflict, which is why I think that instead of sitting back and waiting for your city to fall, you should make preparations to go on the offensive, and give yourself a fighting chance."
The King rubbed his chin for a second. "Alright. You've convinced me. I'll have my generals make plans in the event this peace conference doesn't go well."
Team Avatar gave a round of cheers, before General How entered the throne room.
The four members of Team Avatar sat in a circle, having been given letters and intelligence reports, all of which were intercepted by Long Feng.
"I can't believe it, there's a man living at the Eastern Air Temple. He says he's a guru." Aang said, as he re-read the confiscated letter he'd been given from the King.
"Is that some sort of poisonous blowfish?" Sokka asked.
"No, he's a spiritual expert. He wants to help me take the next step on my journey as The Avatar." Aang explained. "He says he can teach me to control The Avatar State."
"I can't believe that we know where dad is now." Katara said, looking at her brother.
"I know what you mean. My mom's in the city… And I think she understands me now." Toph said, holding on to the letter addressed to her.
"This is huge news." Sokka said. "Where do we start?"
"I… I hate to say this, but maybe we should split up." Katara offered.
"Split up? We just found Appa, and the family's back together. Why should we split up?" Aang asked.
"You have to see this guru Aang. If we're invading the Fire Nation, you need to be able to face the Fire Lord at your full strength." Katara reasoned.
"Well… If I'm going to the Eastern Air Temple, I can drop you and Sokka off to see your dad." Aang offered.
"As much as I want to see dad, I think that at least one of us should stay with the King to keep an eye on the others. I don't trust Connor that much, and I really don't trust Azula. They've tried to kill us too many times, and I wouldn't be surprised if the moment we leave, one of them attempts to assassinate the Earth King." Sokka said, as he stood up. "I guess I'll stay."
Katara got to her feet as well. "I know how much you want to help dad. I'll stay with the Earth King."
Sokka felt a single tear well up, before he hugged Katara. "You are the best sister ever."
"I know." Katara said with a smirk.
Two days later.
Earth King Kuei stood outside of the palace, with Katara by his side, as the four acting ambassadors from the Fire Nation were escorted up the front walkway. "Princess Azula of the Fire Nation. Lady Mai of Omashu. Their companions Ty Lee, and Connor Campbell. Welcome."
"Greetings, your highness." Azula said, giving a small bow in acknowledgment of the King's age and position, hiding her smirk with it. "I hope that our meeting is productive towards the common goal of ending the war between our nations."
Author's note.
Edited because spell check can't detect the difference between Dai Lee, Dai Lee, Di Li, and Di Lee.
Connor can in fact not be brainwashed at this point via the Dai Li method, for a number of reasons.
First, the biggest one, is he has to translate words from common into english in his head, and has to actually think about what he's hearing long enough for the suggestive commands get lost in that translation.
Topping that, Connor ignored the lantern. It's hard to be hypnotized when you don't focus on the watch... And hypnotism in your world wouldn't even be a coined word until the 1820s. Similarly Toph can't be Brain Washed by the Dai Li either because she can't actually see and focus the lantern glow.
Thirdly (this is more of an add-on lore type thing) Connor is almost completely deaf in his right from all the head injuries and gunfire that he has been exposed to, which makes communication of the suggestive message even harder since he can just be loud and drown out the Dai Li speaking to him what would be a normal amount of volume. He actually tells the Dai Li this (as well as the fact he could break out any moment and is just waiting for the opportunity, his mother's maiden name, and the fact he's with the fire nation) when they were trying to brainwash him, but obviously they didn't understand.
Long Feng's comment that everyone breaks eventually is uttered under the assumption that everyone understands what's being said to begin with, and isn't disabled.
In other news.
Someone said it in a review. "[Azula] doesn't just play both sides against each other, and both sides against the middle, but also the middle against both sides."
At this point Azula is pitting the people of Ba Sing Se against their government on the surface, Long Feng below it, Aang's team to an even deeper extent since he has no control over the civilians, but still has to deal with the consequences of the Earth Kingdom imploding and disrupting the invasion plan. She's also putting Aang and the surface level government against Long Feng thanks to the uprising fueling people to help Aang find Appa, as the Fire Nation is still a looming threat to everyone off in the distance.
Nobody even really knew she was there, or who she really was and the threat she posed until Connor met the gang, but by then, every single card in the deck had been arranged to her liking, with Connor being slipped in as the joker, setting up a peace negotiation for her.
I said it before, canon Azula had her victory handed to her. In my story, she doesn't set herself up to win, she just sets everyone else up to fail.