"Ok but you have to at least admit that getting the actor who played Zuko to play General Iroh in this play was freaking sweet" June said.
"Well yeah no one's arguing against that" Aang agreed. "But anyway, back to business." June laughed. "You mean you didn't just come here to debate theatre?"
"Nope" Aang said with a chuckle. "I'd like to hire you for a very important job."
"All right but I should warn you I don't come cheap" June replied. "Especially after that last little job your friends recruited me for to prevent 'the end of the world' or something like that. I totally got ripped off on that one."
Aang laughed again. "Hey you didn't die in a burning inferno like you would have if you didn't help."
June acted as if this was a very minor detail. "Whatever kid, drinks don't buy themselves. No more freebies."
Aang had expected this. "Well, that's fine. Thanks to the Earth King I have plenty of funds for this mission."
June finally seemed surprised. "Really the Earth King? This must be a big deal. What are you getting yourself into this time Avatar?"
Aang reached inside his robe and pulled out the piece of cloth he had recovered with Long Feng's
seal on it. "I'm looking for someone called Long Feng he's…"
June quickly interrupted. "Everyone knows who he is kid" she said. "He's the one stirring up all that trouble in the west, convincing people to rebel against the King. Why do you think I'm here in the east? I don't want to get caught in the middle of all that mess. "
"Well do you think you can help me find Long Feng?" Aang asked.
June shrugged. "Getting killed is bad for business kid. I may not know exactly what's happening in the west but I know this guy is dangerous."
Aang remained polite. "I'm not asking you to help me fight him, just find him. Just point me in the right direction and I'll handle the rest."
June seemed less than enthusiastic. "I'd still probably have to take you into the war zone. That doesn't sound like fun."
Aang began pleading. "Aw come on! Pretty please! I've got 500 gold pieces here!" He held up a money purse the Earth King had given him before he left.
The joy and surprise was evident on June's face; she was ecstatic. "500 gold…you've got a deal kid!" She snatched the purse out of his hand. "You got something with his scent on it?"
Aang handed the cloth he had found to June. "I know this cloth belongs to him because it has his seal. He used to be the Grand Secretariat of Ba Sing Se."
June examined it closely. "Where did you find this?"
"Near the Si Wong desert; it looked like one of his abandoned bases." Surprisingly June tossed the cloth aside. "Sorry kid can't help ya."
Aang was completely shocked as he picked up the cloth from the floor. "What? Why?!" "Personal responsibility" June answered calmly.
"What do you mean? I told you that you wouldn't have to do anything dangerous" Aang reminded.
"That's not what I mean. I think it would be unethical to lead one of my customers to his own death, especially since that means I would lose his business." Aang's confusion must have registered on his face because she continued to explain. "Look at this thing. You just happened to find it exactly where you're looking and it just happens to belong to him? It's even labeled to make sure you know it's his."
Aang didn't understand her reservation. "Exactly it's perfect!"
June sounded like he had proven her point for her. "Exactly, it's too perfect. In my business finding a sample this good should never be so easy. There's only one explanation; Long Feng wanted you to find it."
"Huh?" Aang asked.
To June the explanation was rather simple. "He managed to slip your trail for this long. Someone as smart as him wouldn't make a mistake as obvious as this. My only theory, he didn't want you to find him until he was ready and now, he is. You're walking straight into a trap kid."
It made perfect sense. Aang was surprised he didn't see it before. It was probably because he had been so excited about finally stopping Long Feng and making Katara safe again. He remained quiet for brief moment but it didn't take him very long to decide how he felt about this news. "It doesn't matter" he said.
June was confused. "What?"
"If Long Feng is challenging me then I happily accept" Aang said. "Please take me to him."
June replied, "You might wanna think this through kid. You won't know what to expect and he'll be ready for you."
"No, he won't" Aang replied. "He can't be. I've mastered the Four Elements and the Avatar State. I defeated Fire Lord Ozai, even when he was empowered by Sozin's Comet. It doesn't matter what Long Feng's plan is he can't defeat me." June looked like she was about to object again but he then added. "Besides I don't have any other choice. Long Feng has conquered the entire western Earth Kingdom and is heading for Ba Sing Se. It won't be long before he finds his way here. If you really think you're safe hiding in the east you aren't. It won't be long before no one in the Earth Kingdom is safe. If you want me to stop this war then the only choice is to take me to him."
His argument clearly had gotten through to June. She looked paralyzed with indecision. "I don't know…"
Aang let out another weary sigh. He knew there was only one more thing he could bribe her with even though to do so would sacrifice every principal he held dear. He bowed his head in shame and said, "If you do this I'll talk to the writers of the play and convince them to write a chapter that reveals Tenzin and Lin had an extramarital affair."
"Sold!" June said almost instantly.
Aang groaned, "Man some fans are just weird."
June stood up. "While you're at it convince them to release the next book of this play sometime before we die of old age it's been over a year. But anyway, we'd better get going. Oh, and one more thing Avatar, don't say I didn't warn you."
King Bumi stood at the edge of his royal palace as he watched thousands of men march across the land on the outskirts of his city Omashu. Captain Yung, the leader of Omashu's military stood next to him as the large crowd filed passed them in the distance. Omashu had largely been restored to the state it was in before its occupation by the Fire Nation. Some of the buildings that were destroyed when King Bumi ousted the Fire Nation soldiers needed to be rebuilt but all of the citizens had moved back in and normal life had otherwise resumed, even before the war had ended in the rest of the Earth Kingdom. Anyone who visited Omashu now would never be able to tell it had ever been conquered. A major reason for this was that none of Omashu's citizens had died as a result of the conquest. Thanks to Bumi's immediate unconditional surrender to the original attack and single-handed reconquering of his city none of his soldiers had to be killed resisting the Fire Nation.
"What do you think we should do about this Your Majesty?" asked the captain obediently.
King Bumi held his hand to his chin and stroked his beard thoughtfully. After many profound moments spent in deep thought he answered, "We will do…nothing!" He began laughing maniacally.
Yung sighed with weariness. This was practically the same thing Bumi said on the day Omashu
was conquered. Yung had strongly disagreed with his decision and had formed the Omashu Resistance in an attempt to go rectify the situation. He then led his people in a mass evacuation out of the city at Aang's insistence to preserve their safety. He was completely flabbergasted when he heard King Bumi had reclaimed Omashu during the Day of Black Sun. "Are you sure King Bumi?" he asked insistently.
"As sure as I am old!" Bumi proclaimed proudly. "And that's really sure! Haha!"
Yung tried to remain patient but his sense of duty compelled him to object. "With all due respect Your Majesty the Earth King's scouts have informed us that army is currently heading to Ba Sing Se with the full intention of sacking it."
Bumi's goofy demeanor was hardly phased by this. "Oh, and they might do it too! That is one BIG army!"
Yung was getting annoyed. "King Bumi…"
"Captain!" Bumi interrupted, holding one hand up. He then reached into his robe and pulled out a piece of jennamite from his sleeve. "Pretend this piece of rock candy is us, not just the two of us but the entire city of Omashu."
"Ok…" the captain responded with confusion.
Bumi continued, "Now pretend my mouth is that army." He then pointed to the crowd of in the distance. "Now observe what happens." He took a large bite out of the creeping crystal and munched on it voraciously, spilling many fragments out of the sides of his mouth.
Yung flinched in disgust. "What is your point Sir?"
"What is the current military strength of this city Captain?" Bumi asked. Suddenly his voice was very rational and intelligent.
Yung was thrown off briefly by the saneness of his voice. "Um…at any given time we have about 2,000 soldiers available. If we collect volunteers, we could probably muster another 500, possibly another 1,000 if we put a draft in place."
"Precisely" Bumi replied. "At most we have 3,000 able-bodied fighters at our disposal. How large would you say that force out there is?"
Yung was starting to see where Bumi was going with this. He calmly answered, "According to reports from General Fong's base it is at least 5,000 men strong."
Bumi calmly nodded. "Unfortunately, it's grown since that report was sent to us." Yung was shocked. "What? How?!"
Bumi's voice turned grave. "General Fong's forces will have joined with Long Feng's by now. There will be many well-trained soldiers added to than mix of disgruntled peasants and Earthbenders."
Now Yung was indignant. "What?! How do you know Fong will have joined Long Feng?! Did you receive word of it?"
Bumi shook his head. "Not yet but given everything Aang told me about him it's obvious Long Feng will be able to manipulate him. He's an extremist willing to go to any lengths to achieve his goals and he is very bitter about the war with the Fire Nation. He will have feeling of resentment
for the Earth King and for Aang that Long Feng will be able to take advantage of."
Yung was very angered by the idea of anyone betraying the Earth King. "Even if that's true what about his men?! Surely, they won't allow him to betray their kingdom without protest!"
Bumi responded sadly. "They obeyed Fong's orders to kill the Avatar and his friends without protest. They won't defy him now."
Yung was completely outraged now and no longer able to contain himself. "In that case it's all the more reason to attack those traitors! They've turned against the Earth Kingdom! It's our duty to stop them!"
Bumi shook his head again. "No Captain. An army of that size would chew up our army and spit it out. As King of Omashu I cannot throw my people's lives away like that."
The seriousness of King Bumi's voice calmed Yung slightly. "I know as King of Omashu your duty is to its citizens. But like every other citizen of the Earth Kingdom and as a regent king directly below King Kuei your first duty is to Ba Sing Se and the Earth King."
Bumi nodded his head calmly. "Of course, that's why I can't throw away our power to help him now." Yung raised an eyebrow at this statement. "We cannot defeat that force in an all-out battle. However, from inside our city we could outlast them for several weeks with our fortifications and food supplies. For that reason, they won't waste time attacking us while they're still gathering troops for the siege of Ba Sing Se."
Yung was calm again. "So, they will leave us alone?"
"For now," Bumi replied. "I doubt someone like Long Feng will like the idea of such a powerful city existing outside of his control. His plan is probably to come back for us later, after conquering Ba Sing Se. Fortunately this will leave over 2,000 soldiers still loyal to the King poised and waiting for the right time to strike in the meantime."
Yung's voice now became slightly hopeful. "So, we will help the Earth King."
Bumi nodded. "Yes, but have patience Captain. We must employ neutral jing; wait and listen for the right time to strike. We will attack at the time when our help will be most effective and useful not a moment sooner." His lighthearted smile returned. "Would you like some rock candy Captain?" He held out a piece of blue jennamite.
Captain Yung smiled. Bumi may have been eccentric, downright mad in fact but he was a genius. There was no questioning that. When the Captain had doubted him before he had always been proven wrong. This time he wouldn't waste time with doubts. He would have faith in his King. He smiled and reached out to grab the candy. "Sure, Your Highness."
King Bumi quickly retracted his hand and guarded the precious piece of candy in his robes acting as if Yung had tried to steal his own child from him. "Well, you can't have any! It's MINE!"
Yung's annoyance quickly registered on his face with a sarcastic scowl. Bumi smiled again. "Just kidding." He held out the piece again.
Yung chuckled and took the crystal. "If I may say so sir, you are a mad genius." Bumi snorted again. "I must be! I think that's the first time I've ever seen you laugh!"