Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It had only been a week since the war had ended. Since Ozai had been defeated, since Zuko had taken his place, since Aang felt he had reached a goal, his only goal. 

For a moment, he had almost though he would finally have peace. Perhaps have the chance to settle down somewhere with Katara - with whom his relationship with has begun to grow into something more - and, heck, maybe ride some otter penguins. Enjoy life. Find a new purpose now that he was done saving the world.

His first mistake was thinking that he was done.

The world still needed him. Katara knew this better than anyone. So, when she found Aang on Appa's back, deep into the night airbending packs of things to bring to the Southern Water Tribe as gifts, she knew she couldn't let him go. As much as her heart was telling her to take a break, to revisit her village and finally breathe for a few days after everything they had been through, she knew Aang couldn't just leave. Everyone still needed him. As much as she hated to admit, Zuko needed Aang by his side more than anyone. She knew he would figure everything out eventually, but he still needed Aang's help to get on his feet. There were too many different factors, too many ways this could go very wrong very quickly. 

Sure, Ozai had been defeated. The world was now at peace. There was a new Fire Lord, and this one, much like Sozin before he made his (many) mistakes, was best friends with the Avatar. There was hope for unity to return to their world. 

But that couldn't happen so long as Fire Nation soldiers remained stationed throughout the world, oblivious to the battle that had occurred and who had come out on top. There were still people who would laugh in their faces when they told them that Ozai had fallen, that he was now a permanent prisoner of the Fire Nation rather than the leader he once was. Katara thought of the few villages they had been able to help during their journey. The fishing village that had gone hungry for years because the Fire Nation's war factory had polluted their waters, for example. How many villages like that were still out there? Ones that were still occupied by war soldiers, ones who hadn't even heard that the Avatar was alive?

If only they could somehow send out a mass message to every person in the world, Katara thought. Then all of their problems would be solved. But even if they could, who would believe them? No. They needed proof. They needed to show everyone that the war was over. They needed everyone to see Zuko in full Fire Lord gear, Aang standing by his side. 

But Zuko was needed here, in the Fire Nation. Everything was too... volatile. With Ozai's reign of terror ended, people were just beginning to adjust to a ruler who didn't control through fear and destruction, but with tolerance and generosity. One who didn't try to wipe out other nations and conquer the world. 

One who simply wanted to be left alone to work through his thoughts, and perhaps to spend an evening with his girlfriend, who thankfully no longer hated him. It appeared Mai had finally come around, and was happy with who Zuko had become - which, thank the dragons, because what was the point of being Fire Lord if you couldn't have the girl you liked? 

Of course, Zuko found himself suddenly busier and more stressed than ever before. At least his life was no longer on the line - at least, not in immediate danger, and if it was then he wasn't aware that someone was out to get him - but now he was responsible for the entire Fire Nation. A nation that had long learned to fear its Fire Lord. Many of his people had been happy to see him take the throne, but others, particularly those outside of the main city who knew nothing besides the fact that he had Ozai's blood, probably wouldn't react with such excitement. 

Zuko could already see that the admirals and generals were not happy with this change in rule. As quickly became apparent to Zuko, they had been receiving incentives from the Fire Lord for years to continue to push their soldiers as hard as they could to win the war. The adjustment was not exactly easy. A quick look through the few documents recording the transaction history between the Fire Nation and the high ranking officers showed that Ozai was paying them far more than the nation could realistically afford, while at the same time entirely neglecting any of the villages and cities outside of the capital and fully ignoring the colonies. Determined to fix his father's mistakes, Zuko immediately rerouted the extra funds that were being paid towards the admirals and generals to funding a plan he was putting in place to spread the word throughout the Fire Nation of the end of the war and reconnect everyone after so many towns had been left to fend for themselves. 

The colonies were an entirely different issue - Zuko had no idea what the right thing to do was. They had been occupied by Fire Nation soldiers and citizens for so long - could he just relocate all of those people back within the Fire Nation's borders? Or was it better to let them stay where they were, as they had likely already adjusted to their new homes?

The entire job of Fire Lord was one big headache. His father had ruled with an iron fist, doing whatever he wanted and ignoring the people who didn't directly help him and his war efforts. Zuko had no idea what the right thing to do was. No one had ever taught him how to help a nation recover from a war, both socially and economically. When he was young, his duty was always to help his father. To help the Fire Nation win the war. To eliminate anyone who might get in their way. 

He had never considered that he would fail to complete that task, much less that he would be one of the people to make him fail. He had never prepared for the world where his father lost - it had just never been an option.

The war had lasted a hundred years. Even Zuko's advisors couldn't remember what life without war had been like - they had never lived through such a time. The plus side of this was that they were all in this together, everyone figuring out how to run a nation the right way for the first time. But everyone looked to Zuko for the answers. No matter how young he was, no matter what he had been through, at the end of the day, he was the one who had to make sure that everything went the way it should. 

The pressure was nearly as great as the pressure to find the Avatar had been. 

Thankfully, Aang was by his side through it all. 

Zuko knew that the Avatar was needed everywhere in the world to help the four nations - well, the three and himself as the last airbender - recover from the war. He knew he was being selfish in hogging the Avatar all to himself. But he needed Aang. He had no idea how to run the Fire Nation under normal circumstances, much less how to help it return to the way it was pre-war. He was terrified that he would go down the same road as his great grandfather and his father. He knew the similarities between himself and Sozin - best friends with the Avatar, Fire Lord, all of that. He knew the story of Sozin's power-hungry descent into tyranny. 

He was well aware that the same could happen to him without him even realizing it - and if it did, he wanted Aang to be there to stop him. To end him. To do whatever it took to protect the newfound peace he had brought the world. 

It was quite possible that Aang trusted Zuko more than Zuko trusted himself. Aang knew that he could trust Zuko, even after their long history. Even so, it felt wrong to leave so soon. There was so much good Aang could still do in the Fire Nation, by Zuko's side. Of course, there was good he could do all around the world. People needed to hear from the Avatar himself that the war had been won, that the Fire Nation soldiers could return to their families and homes. That all the fighting had come to an end. But would the Fire Nation soldiers even believe him? Would they even let him talk for long enough to hear that the war was over?

Aang wasn't sure. 

He needed a plan. They all needed a plan. 

So, on the eighth day after the war had ended, he called a meeting between himself, Zuko, Katara, Sokka, and Toph. They met in one of the old war planning rooms that the top admirals had used, where they knew they would have privacy. 

"Is something wrong?" Katara asked as soon as the door had shut behind Sokka. 

"No. Well, maybe. I don't know. We need to make a game plan. The war has been won, but there's so much left to do... I just, I don't even know where to start..." Aang said, running a hand over his hairless head. 

Katara sat next to him at the big table as the others took their seats, resting a hand on his shoulder. "Okay. Let's do it. We can all help to guide everyone. All of the extra soldiers that were hired during the war can help us reach different areas of the world. People will trust us if they can see that Fire Nation soldiers are on our side."

"Right," Sokka said, going into full planning mode. "Our first job is to spread the word. I vote that we run around shouting, 'war is over!', but when I suggested this to one of the admirals, he didn't look very happy, and that might take a while..." 

Toph rolled her eyes. "Obviously we're not going to do that. That would take ages, if anyone would even believe us. They would probably just think we had lost our minds." 

Zuko placed a hand on the table. "I've got it. We can split the soldiers into groups, each led by a general, captain, commander, or colonel. Maybe... let's say groups of four, plus the leader so five total. They'll have more trust than one random person going around shouting that the war has ended. They can make announcements in the centers of towns, and we can let word of mouth handle the rest." 

Aang nodded. "That could work. At least, it'll work for towns within the Fire Nation. But what about in the Earth Kingdom? Or the Water Tribes? I can't imagine any of them would welcome a group of Fire Nation soldiers, much less hear out what they have to say." 

"You're right." Zuko lowered his head slightly, eyebrows drawn together. "They would never trust Fire Nation. Not after everything that has happened."

"What if we have soldiers from each respective nation spread the word?" Katara suggested. "We can go to Ba Sing Se personally and tell them the news and make sure there is a new Earth King in power, one who can help the Earth Kingdom recover. And Sokka and I can take care of the Water Tribes - you know the Southern Water Tribe will trust us, and the Northern Water Tribe is small - if we go there and tell their chief that the war has ended, all he has to do is announce it to his people and we can be on our way."

"That's all swell, but what about the Fire Nation colonies? And the troops still stationed in the Earth Kingdom who have no idea that the war has ended? We can personally take care of the ones within Ba Sing Se, but outside of that? There's just too many. They would only fight against Earth Kingdom soldiers if we asked their army to spread the word - they would never accept it as truth." Aang said. He hated how pessimistic he sounded - this wasn't who he was. But what could they do? He knew better than anyone how vast the world was, how many people there were who had no idea of the events that had occurred in the Fire Nation. 

"So we spread the word as much as we can while the Earth Army soldiers are doing that. Let me map it out for you," Sokka said, clearly in his element.

He tore off a sheet of parchment on a pad on the table, each sheet containing ink-sketched maps of the world, coloured in red, blue, grey, and green for each nation. Dipping a brush into the pot of ink next to them, he started drawing arrows, first one out from the Fire Nation capital and pointing towards Ba Sing Se. 

"The four of us can take Appa to Ba Sing Se while Zuko stays here and makes sure the soldiers spread the word throughout the Fire Nation. They can tackle the colonies, too - the soldiers stationed there will trust Fire Army people more than Earth Army. Once we restore the Earth King to power in Ba Sing Se, we can stay for a day or two to make sure he instructs everyone properly to spread the word and help him where needed." Sokka drew a new arrow from Ba Sing Se to the Northern Water Tribe. "Ba Sing Se is to the north of the Earth Kingdom, so next will be the Northern Water Tribe. We tell Chief Arnook the good news, and he makes sure all his people know. People who trade with the Northern Water Tribe will learn from word of mouth too, so that should take care of most of it. Then we make a stop back home, say hi to Dad and Grandma and everyone, tell them the news, maybe stay for a little while and help them rebuild where needed..." Sokka trailed off, lost in thought. 

"Sokka, you can stay there and help them. Once we leave the Northern Water Tribe, there is no need for us all to go to the Southern Water Tribe. Aang can take you there to see everyone and help them. He can drop you off and pick you up whenever you want. Me and Toph can come back here and help Zuko." Katara suggested.

Zuko shook his head. "I won't let you do that. You must want to visit home. I'll be fine here. If anything, you and Sokka should take a ship to the Southern Water Tribe and see your family. I'll send a crew to help you, and you can stay as long as you like." 

Katara bit her lip. "But Aang..." 

"I'll be fine, Katara. Toph can come with me, and we can visit her family in the Earth Kingdom on our way to Ba Sing Se. Then we'll hit the Northern Water Tribe, and then come back to help you, Zuko." Aang said, Zuko nodding along.

Toph shrugged. "Works for me." 

"Then all that's left is the Air Temples," Zuko said. "They'll have to be restored. We'll need new airbenders to take care of them. Aang, that should be your job. You can teach a new generation airbending." 

Aang shook his head. "All of the airbenders are long dead. I can't just teach any random person how to airbend, you have to be born with it." 

"Then teach them the ways," Katara suggested, her voice soft. "Teach them how to care for the temples and live as monks. Teach them your traditions. We can restore the Air Temples to accommodate non-airbenders, and maybe someday they will be occupied by real ones again." 

"Then after you visit the Northern Water Tribe, check in back here and then go to each Air Temple. It'll give me a chance to adjust to being Fire Lord anyways." Zuko said.

Seeing Aang's hesitation, Toph slammed her hand down on the table, making everyone jump. "C'mon, Aang, it's a good plan and you know it. We need to get started. The faster we get all of this done, the better."

Aang straightened, nodding. "Okay. Then let's begin." 

Chapter Text

And so it had begun. After much discussion - Aang reluctant to let the group split up - Aang and Toph set off on Appa first to visit the Beifong estate before going to Ba Sing Se.

The Beifong estate was - thankfully - between the Fire Nation capital and Ba Sing Se, so they didn't have to terribly delay their journey. The moment that Appa landed outside Toph's childhood home, they were surrounded by guards, weapons drawn. Aang held up his hands, and the moment that Toph's feet hit the ground, the guards' attention immediately shifted from him to her as they flocked around her.

"And this is why I never visit home," Toph grumbled, though the guards didn't pay her any mind.

One of the guards ordered another one to alert her parents, while three of the others quickly surrounded Appa, weapons drawn. Appa, of course, was not impressed. Having been surrounded by weapons many times by now, he was ready to tear these people apart, but calmed with Aang's touch while Aang slid down and faced the guards. 

"We brought Toph here to visit her parents. We're not here to hurt anybody." 

One of the guards, who had a slightly different uniform from the rest, stepped forward. "And who might you be, exactly?"

"This is the Avatar, you idiots." Toph said, and although Aang couldn't see her, he could practical hear the eye roll in her tone. 

"The... the Avatar?" The guards still sounded suspicious, but when the other one came back and whispered something into the leader's ear, they motioned for Aang to follow them, walking closely by him and Appa, weapons still drawn.

And here Aang had thought that maybe, just maybe, the Beifong family would learn by now what he looked like and that he wasn't out to hurt their daughter. Some things never changed.

Thankfully, when they reached the front doors and were ushered in (with Appa left to wait outside with two of the guards), Toph's parents recognized him immediately. He supposed he should have been more worried if they hadn't recognized him - after all, he had a pretty distinct appearance. The guards, upon seeing the Beifongs' reaction, finally gave Aang some space. He stood awkwardly in the room as Toph hugged her family and caught up with them, before their attention turned back to him. 

"So. The Avatar is back for another visit," Toph's father said, but there was a smile on his face. "I'm not sure that I ever properly apologized for how I treated you when we first met. It seems you have kept my daughter safe." 

"No worries, Mr. Beifong sir," Aang said, scratching the back of his neck. "I would never want to see Toph get hurt."

At that Toph made a gagging motion. "Can we get on with this already? I can't stay for long, so let's eat. Me and Aang have lots to tell you, and I'm starving." 

Toph's father motioned to the guards, and they walked into the dining room as servers began bringing out trays of bread and glasses of water. Toph and Aang told them the entire story: everything that happened since the last time Toph had been able to write to her parents, the Fire Lord's defeat, and the new Fire Lord who was going to restore peace to the world. Toph's parents let them speak, rarely interrupting besides to ask some questions about their daughter - did Toph fight? Was she injured? Were you there making sure she stayed safe? - and it seemed they were genuinely happy to be able to catch up. Certainly an improvement from the first time that they had all had dinner together. 

They decided to stay the night at Toph's parent's house. After all, while the Order of the White Lotus had regained control of Ba Sing Se, they had no idea what they would be walking into. The city was huge, and the majority of Fire Nation troops were still unaware that the war had ended, as far as Aang knew. It would be nice to rest for the night before dealing with whatever surprises Ba Sing Se had waiting for them. 

They took full advantage, eating a heavy breakfast the next morning and packing some food for their trip, just in case. And maybe also because Aang really, really liked the bean curd puffs that the cooks at the Beifong estate made for them. When they finally left, Aang had to resist the urge to eat all of them on the flight over to Ba Sing Se. After all, who knew when he would find ones this good again? Toph said they were sold in the Middle Ring of Ba Sing Se, but Aang was convinced they couldn't possibly be as good as these ones. He saved as many as he could, though by the time they could see the city walls, at least half of the ones he had packed had disappeared. 

The walls looked... rough, to say the least. The signs of battle were clear. Aang had known that the Order of the White Lotus would have faced resistance when they took back the city, but he assumed that resistance wouldn't be met at the outer wall. Chunks of it were missing, and people were actively repairing it, which was at least a good sign that the city was beginning to reorganize itself.

They flew right over the great wall, passing over the Lower Ring, then the Middle Ring, and finally entering into the Upper Ring. Aang forgot how depressing the setup of the city was: people separated by walls, certain areas clearly prospering while others were filled with shacks that were falling apart. Someday, he would fix Ba Sing Se. No one should have to live so deeply in poverty when, just on the other side of a wall, people live happily with not a care in the world. There was something wrong with this city, something Aang just couldn't ignore. As much as possible, he tried not to push the values of the Air Nomads onto other civilizations, but it was just so hard when so many people were suffering for no clear reason. He knew there had to be some way that the people in the Lower Ring could pull themselves up, earn more resources to fix their homes and live better lives without having to work as hard, just as the people in the Middle and especially in the Upper Rings did. Their system was broken beyond repair if it left people living like this with no hope for improvement; Aang had to fix it, had to help these people.

But this wasn't the time. He knew he had to move on, help the world recover from the war, maybe even start rebuilding the Air Temples, and then he could turn his attention to Ba Sing Se. He and Toph had come with a clear goal: make sure everyone in Ba Sing Se was informed that the war had ended, help them put an Earth King back on the throne, and figure out a plan to inform everyone in the Earth Kingdom of the good news. There wasn't any time for city structure reformations, at least not yet. 

As they flew over the Upper Ring, close to the palace, Aang could see no clear space to land on the ground. They decided to land on top of the wall dividing the Upper Ring and the Middle Ring, and, of course, were immediately met with soldiers when they did. The soldiers were all wearing Earth Kingdom uniforms, giving Aang the final confirmation that the Fire Nation had not won the battle here. It was a relief. Despite the letter that Iroh had written informing him of the Order of the White Lotus' success, he knew that anything was possible. He had prepared himself for the worst. 

Unlike the guards at the Beifong estate, these soldiers recognized the Avatar immediately. They immediately instructed them to fly Appa down to the bottom, as the air bison wouldn't fit in the stairwell, and Aang watched from the air as the soldiers cleared all of the people out of a spot on the ground before landing. 

The soldiers didn't even ask what they were there for. It was as though everyone had been expecting them to come. The people surrounding them, high-class citizens of Ba Sing Se, were watching them with interest, but none of them seemed surprised to see them. The crowd simply parted as the soldiers led them towards the palace with nothing more than a "this way." 

It was starting to put Aang on edge. Almost as though they knew something he didn't know. Everyone was too... quiet. He expected them to be asking questions. To be curious about what exactly had happened when Aang and Ozai had fought. He wondered if they even knew that the two of them had fought. Or perhaps they already did, and had somehow found out about his victory. 

Luckily, the soldiers brought him precisely where he needed to go. Leaving Appa in the front hall, Aang entered the throne room cautiously, unsure of what to expect. The throne was occupied by the Earth King, who smiled upon seeing Aang and Toph. He was surrounded by Dai Li agents, like usual, but Aang recognized none of them. Still, he felt uncomfortably just seeing their uniforms, having experienced first hand just how corrupt they had become. 

"The Avatar has returned! It is truly, truly wonderful to see you, Aang. Please, do make yourselves comfortable. Actually, you know what? Let's move to my strategy table. There's more seats; then you'll be able to talk to the others, too." The Earth King said, standing as the Dai Li made a formation around him, expanding their circle to include Aang and Toph as they walked from the throne room to a slightly smaller (but still extremely large) room a few doors down the hallway.

Aang didn't think much of the Earth King's comment that they would be able to "talk to the others," but he really had been serious. When they entered the strategy room, around ten or so others were already seated at the table. 

Aang felt immediately relieved as he noticed that each one of them wore the uniform of the Order of the White Lotus, and even more so when his eyes landed upon Iroh. A handful of Dai Li agents remained in the room, standing silently along the walls and in the corners, two of them standing behind the chair that the Earth King sat down in. Aang and Toph sat across from him, next to Iroh and the other Order of the White Lotus members. 

"Let's begin," the Earth King said. "Sorry to interrupt your group, Iroh, but I was sure that you would want to hear whatever news it is that the Avatar is bringing to us." 

Iroh bowed his head. "We are happy to be in his presence, Your Majesty." 

"Right. Okay. This was easy. I do actually need to talk to all of you, so... perfect." Aang said.

He had thought he would have more time to prepare. He definitely hadn't expected to have so many eyes on him at once. What happened to the disorganized man that the Earth King used to be? 

No time for stage fright. He simply had to continue.

"We have officially won this war." Aang paused, expecting cheers, but they never came.

If anything, everyone looked... worried. 

"Is something wrong?"

"We have a long ways to go until we will have truly won this war," Iroh offered, his mouth set in a deep frown, eyebrows creased. "There is still much to be done." 

"Well, yeah, but that will be easy. The hard part is over. Ozai and Azula are in prison. Ozai can no longer firebend. Zuko is the new Fire Lord, and he will make sure that we can restore the world back to what it once was." Aang said, hoping that would ease their worries.

It did not. Iroh perked up at the news about Zuko, but fell back into his frown. 

"Avatar Aang, we know you are excited to have defeated Ozai," one of the White Lotus members said, "but you must understand. The world is not prepared. There will still be many battles before we can return to how we were before the Fire Nation began their invasions." The man spoke softly, and Aang got the faint impression that he was being treated like a small child.

"Of course, I know that. That is why we are here. But we can celebrate! Or at least be a little happy. After Ozai's defeat, and with Zuko in control of the Fire Nation, we are practically guaranteed to restore peace to the world. There may be some small battles as everyone adjusts, yes, but in the end, we will have won. Everything is going to work out now." 

"You may think that now, Avatar Aang, but we can hardly get the people to even listen to us. Even if we won it back, we allowed the great city of Ba Sing Se to fall into the hands of the Fire Nation. It will take more than the imprisonment of the previous Fire Lord to regain their trust." One of the Dai Li agents said.

"Right. Remind me why the Dai Li are back, again? I thought we learned our lesson with them." Toph said, glaring in the direction of the man's voice. 

The King turned to Toph. "They can be trusted now. Everyone who was even remotely involved in the operations at Lake Laogi have been questioned and either imprisoned or banished from the city. The Dai Li are a much smaller group now, it would be much harder for another situation like that to happen again." 

"I see." Toph said, but looking into the set of her eyebrows, Aang could tell she didn't trust him.

Could it be that he was lying? Toph would be able to tell. Or was this just another scenario where Toph was being stubborn and didn't want to accept the Dai Li? 

"So what do you suggest we do? You say it will take more than the defeat of the Fire Lord to regain the trust of the people. But what else can we do?" Aang said, looking to the Earth King.

Of course, Aang himself had some ideas, and knew that, as the Avatar, this would likely end up falling on him as his responsibility, but he wanted to see if the King was self-sufficient yet or if he still relied on the others around him. After all, if the latter was the case, then maybe the people really shouldn't trust him, and it was time to find a new ruler for the Earth Kingdom. 

But surprisingly, the King did have a response. "We must find a way to talk with the people directly. After we took down the majority of the Dai Li, we found out that they were having soldiers and guards walked around the three rings and spread the fake news that there was no war. If anyone tried to disagree... well, let's just say that after a while, no one was willing to stand up to them." The King looked down at his hands, fiddling with the gold rings on his fingers. "It must have been scary. They had grown to fear the soldiers, when really, they should have been relying on them to protect them. I believe that is where the mistrust begins, so that's how we have to fix it. We need to give the people a place where they can speak directly with me, and have the opportunity to ask any questions or voice any concerns that they may have." 

Aang considered this. It wasn't a half-bad idea, but... "To allow every citizens to speak with you could take ages. Not to mention, to truly earn their trust, when they voice their concerns you have to actually make an effort to solve their problems. We don't have that kind of time." 

"I think it is a great idea," Iroh pitched in. "Aang, you do not have to stay for the entire time. Perhaps you could oversee the first few people, make sure it is working, and then move on your way."

"That would be fine if Ba Sing Se was the only civilization in the Earth Kingdom. But the Earth Kingdom is huge. I will help in any way I can, of course, but we at least need to make a plan here to spread the news to all of the towns and help them recover from the war." Aang pointed out. 

"So we split into two teams," another of the White Lotus members pitched in. "A group of us can be in charge of handling the other towns. His Majesty does not need to be directly involved in that; it is more important that he meet with the people and regain their trust. The Dai Li agents should also remain here, along with a few of us, in case anything goes wrong. The rest of us and some of the soldiers can split up and cover everywhere outside of the walls." 

Aang nodded. "It's a good idea. Appa, Toph and I can stay here for the first few people, make sure everyone is being civil, and then join some of you in the outer towns..."

"I don't think that will be necessary," Iroh said, a soft smile on his face. "There are places that need you more than we do, Avatar Aang. The Earth Kingdom is in good hands. Leave those to us."

Normally Aang would be annoyed at the interruption, but he was grateful for Iroh. They needed to cover as much ground as they could as quickly as possible. Even after they helped the Earth Kingdom, even after they visited the Northern Water Tribe, they still needed to return to the Fire Nation as quickly as possible to help Zuko. Aang could only hope and pray to the spirits that Zuko was able to handle everything while they were gone. He trusted him to do the right thing, but he was only one person, and so many of the high ranking officials who had benefitted from Ozai's madness in the form of extra pay for performing immoral orders were not happy with their new Fire Lord. Aang only hoped that Mai and Ty Lee would be able to protect him while the rest of them were gone. 

As soon as they made a more concrete plan - dividing up the people, deciding exactly where everyone would go - they began prepping the throne room. Aang and the other earthbenders created a raised dais upon which people could stand so that they were on eye level with the king, hoping to avoid any riots by separating the person speaking from the line of others and to help make the citizens feel more equal and, hopefully, trust them more. 

It didn't take long, with so many earthbenders in the room. Soon, they felt ready. The Dai Li agents rolled out green and gold decadent carpets on the raised section that the people would stand on in an attempt to make them feel more comfortable and less like they were, as Toph put it, "standing trial". It was time. All they had left to do was get the people to come. 

"I'm sure lots of people will have things to say," Aang said. "Especially in the lower... the lower ring." He coughed. The setup of Ba Sing Se, with its divided rings, was so different from how he was brought up in the air temples - he wasn't sure he would ever feel comfortable with the concept of separating people by economic standing like the Earth Capital did. 

"We should, of course, start with the Upper Ring and work our way down. That way we can see how it goes and stop if it gets too... aggressive." One of the Dai Li agents said.

Aang immediately shook his head. "No. We need to do the opposite. The citizens living in the Lower Ring are the ones who need help the most - we should address their needs first to show that we want to actually make a difference."

The Earth King smiled at Aang, but not in a way he liked. It instantly felt... condescending. Like he was a silly child who didn't know any better. 

"Oh, Aang," the King said, "we have to start with the Upper Ring. Can you imagine what the people would say if we began with the Lower Ring? They would trust us even less.” 

“How can you say that?” Aang said, struggling to keep his temper in check. “If anything, they’ll trust us less if we do begin with the Upper Ring. The people in the Lower Ring, the ones who are refugees, the ones who struggle every day to get by, those are the people that we need to help first. Those are the people who knew the truth about the war and stayed here, even when they knew that the guards were lying to them. They should be our top priority.” 

“But, Aang,” the King said, his eyebrows pinching together, “you must understand. The people in the Upper Ring are the ones who have the power to start a revolution, if they so choose. If we get them on our side first, then the rest will come in time. It is simply more efficient.” 

“You know what else is efficient?” Aang replied. “Letting the Fire Nation win. Allowing Ba Sing Se to fall as a city, telling Zuko to restart the war, and to surrender everything. If we’re doing what is most efficient, then let’s just give up now.” 

The Earth King sighed. “Aang, you really must understand-”

“No!” Aang interrupted. He was done with controlling his temper. “You are the one who must understand. The people in the Lower Ring actually need help. The people in the Upper Ring do not. This city is already messed up as it is, with everyone separated by status, people not willing to help others depending on where they live or how much money they make. I saw the Lower Ring when I was here during the war, and I saw it again as I was distributing flyers. No one should have to live as those people do, with no space to breathe and not enough food or money to go around.” 

“But I cannot help them with that,” the Earth King replied, his voice rising to match Aang’s tone. “Ba Sing Se is not a charity. We allow the refugees to find safety within our walls; after that, it is up to them to make a living.” 

“But how can you say that when they cannot even access the same things that those in the Upper Ring can?” Aang asked. “I saw the difference between the three rings. The people in the Upper Ring have sprawling homes, and wear more jewelry than any one person could possibly need. In the Upper Ring, I didn’t see a single person working - everyone was strolling around, drinking tea and laughing. And it was clear, who belonged there and who didn’t. People wearing rags were carrying the fancy luggage of women decked out in fancy gowns. They work hard for the people in the Upper Ring, and then have to stand in line at food stalls in the Lower Ring and hope there is enough to go around!”

The Earth King’s mouth hung open. “But… that simply isn’t true. Long Feng always told me that-”

“I thought we learned our lesson about trusting anything that Long Feng says,” Toph interrupted. “I can’t think of a single time that he told the truth.”

The Earth King lowered his head. “We will do as you say, Avatar. We will begin with the Lower Ring.”

---

They split up to cover more ground. Aang took Appa, dropping flyers over the crowded streets of the Lower Ring inviting everyone to come voice their concerns and questions to the Earth King at any point over the next few days. After much convincing, Aang had the monorail fee dropped during that time, so that anyone, regardless of their economic status, would be able to come. Toph and some of the soldiers walked through the streets of the Lower Ring, pinning flyers to billboards and handing them directly to some curious passersby as they walked. The Dai Li also split into groups, doing the same in the Middle and Upper Rings, though the Middle and Upper Rings would not be allowed to start coming until the following day. 

By the time Aang returned to the palace, the soldiers were already struggling to direct the crowd. Thankfully, most of the people seemed calm, but there were certainly ones who looked… angry, to say the least. Why they would be angry to have an opportunity to speak with their king, Aang had no idea. He was certain that everyone would be grateful for this, but that clearly wasn’t the case. He landed quickly, the people clearing a space and gawking at Appa as Aang jumped down. 

One of the soldiers rushed over. 

“You shouldn’t be here, Avatar Aang! You must go inside. It is too risky to be this close to the people.” The soldier said.

“And it is that exact mindset that makes the people not trust you,” Aang replied. “You can’t even trust them.” 

The soldier stood there, mouth wide open as if to say something more, but after a moment, he shut it. Aang walked deeper into the crowd of people, some of them asking questions as he passed. Is this real? Are we being tricked? Will the Earth King actually help us? 

Are you here to save us? 

When Aang heard that one, he stopped, turning to the young girl who had asked him that question. 

“Save you?” He repeated.

“Yes,” she replied. The girl couldn’t have been more than eight or nine years old. “Will you save us? Mama has been working in the Upper Ring for the past year. I saw her a few weeks ago, but… well, she had changed. She didn’t recognize me.” 

This puzzled Aang. What kind of mother wouldn’t recognize her own daughter, especially after less than a year of seeing her? 

And then it hit him. 

A few weeks ago could have been before they imprisoned Long Feng. Before Lake Laogi had been destroyed. 

Before Long Feng and the Dai Li could no longer manipulate people. Brainwash them into believing lies, or even making them forget that their own children existed. 

He turned back to the girl. “Yes. Your mother will be home soon. Can you come with me?” 

He held out his hand, and the girl took it. He marched them through the line, past jealous eyes who reached out to him, asking him to take them to the front of the line. My needs are more urgent… I have an emergency… Please, Avatar, I need your help the most…

He ignored them all. He had something important to discuss with the Earth King.