A/N

Another disclaimer (because I know some authors put one on EVERY chapter):

I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender, its plot, or its characters. I own their minds. (muahaha)

I'm stuck in a bit of writer's block, so I'm just posting chapters I've written previously. They're still my fic-writin' best, but I've only got a couple "in stock", so after these, I'm hoping to get out of this rut.

I'll stop rambling now.

Oh, wait, one more thing: I have to address an issue that has risen recently.

… steps onto soap box….

Zuko's not going soft!

… steps off of soap box…

xxx

"I can see it!" Aang shouted from above the group.

"Well don't spoil the surprise and just get down here!" Katara teased.

"We'll see it before long." Iroh said. "It's too grand to miss."

Aang flew back down from his glider and landed gracefully in the dirt. "It's huge! I've never seen a city so big!"

"How far away is it? I'm ready for a meal and a bed." Sokka grumbled.

"Not too far," Aang's smile stretched from one ear to the other. He turned to Iroh. "Do you think I'll find a teacher here?"

"I think you'll find too many teachers to count. The best earth benders are trained in this very city."

They mounted a hill in the road, and at the crest, their eyes beheld a colossal wall, extending from one mountain side to the other. Even from afar, they found themselves blinking in the light that washed from its sides.

"I thought you said it was 'big'." Zuko muttered.

"Isn't it?" Aang gasped.

"No… It's gigantic." Zuko countered.

Iroh smiled down on his nephew. "I told you it was magnificent, didn't I?"

xxx

"Is that… a bison?" A soldier asked his companion.

The two squinted into the sprawling landscape below them. The top of the wall allowed for a sight line that extended a great length, but the clarity of their view was skewed.

"It looks like it."

"Do you think it's him?"

"Who else would have a flying bison? Alert his majesty at once!"

xxx

Iroh dismounted from Appa and felt the ground beneath his feet. It had been years since he'd been here, years since he'd cradled his dying son's head in his lap.

Zuko caught the retrospective, grim look on his uncle's face. He wanted to comfort him in some way but wasn't sure how to give it.

Iroh walked the opposite way, to stand alone beneath the shadow of Ba Seng Se. "You keep going. I'm just going to take a moment."

Aang glanced over his shoulder. "That's okay. We can wait for you."

Zuko shook his head violently. Sokka caught the sign and turned to Aang.

"Actually, I'm really hungry. Iroh can catch up." Sokka offered.

Once they were out of Iroh's ear shot, three pairs of curious eyes focused on Zuko expectantly.

"Uncle has some bad memories here."

"Such as?" Sokka pressed.

"His son lost his life here."

"Lu ten?" Katara asked.

Zuko nodded.

Sokka snapped at Katara, "How did you know that?"

"We do hold conversations, you know." She replied haughtily.

"How did he die?" Aang asked.

Zuko raised an eyebrow. "Are you kidding?"

"He was trapped in an iceberg for a hundred years, Zuko." Katara said. "He was kind of out of touch with the world for awhile."

"Oh. Right… My uncle led a battle here, to conquer Ba Seng Se. Once Lu ten was killed, Uncle called off the battle."

Their chatter subsided into thoughtful silence.

"Should we say anything to him?" Aang asked.

"No," Zuko answered, glancing over his shoulder, "It would be better to just let it pass."

Iroh was kneeling over the ground, one hand pressed to his forehead, murmuring a quiet prayer to his lost boy.

xxx

The group paused for Iroh to catch up, wanting to go into Ba Seng Se with a man that knew the interior a little better than they.

"Do you think anyone will recognize Iroh?" Sokka asked.

Zuko shrugged. "Does it matter? We're with the avatar. I thought that was kind of a free ride into anywhere, regardless."

Aang snorted. "Not really. And if anyone recognizes you, I'll bet we'll all be in trouble. You two should probably wear a disguise."

"And you all will… what? Go into there dressed like that?" Zuko scoffed.

They exchanged glances.

"What's wrong with this?" Katara asked.

"You don't realize that your attire is how I found you most of the time, do you? Your outfits peg you as Water Tribe citizens and an air monk. Don't you think you should be a little more incognito?"

"We're with the avatar," Sokka smirked. "That's kind of a 'free ride'. Besides, the only person we have to watch out for anymore is Azula."

"What about bounty hunters?" Zuko asked.

"We won't have a problem in Ba Seng Se." Aang said.

"Do any of you ever worry about anything?" Zuko snarled.

Katara smiled. "Do you ever not worry about everything?"

Iroh finally reached them once again. "What are you arguing about now?"

"They say we should wear disguises." Zuko said.

"Yes, that is a good plan." Iroh nodded.

Zuko growled, "Where are we going to get disguises?"

"I don't know." Aang said, and fixed Zuko with a spiteful grin, "You've always seemed to manage before."

Zuko shook his head but refused to honor that statement any more.

"Aang can make a disguise out pretty much anything." Katara said.

"His own clothes… Appa's fur…" Sokka listed.

Iroh and Zuko cringed.

"I know…" Katara said and fished around in their packs, producing two black cloaks, "You guys can wear these. Iroh… this may be a little bit of a squeeze, but I think it'll work."

Sokka frowned. "I was really hoping to dress Zuko up in a fake beard made of bison fur, too. You just ruin all the fun, Katara."

Zuko tugged the cloak over his head. He scowled. "Is this yours?" He turned to Katara.

"Yes. Why?"

"It's a girl's. I can't-."

"Zuko… Show your appreciation. She's trying to save you from being strung by your toes in the royal prison." Iroh chided. He himself had managed to fit into Sokka's cloak without too much stretching on the cloth's part.

"Well, now you're all disguised. Let's go!" Aang called cheerily.

xxx

The gates of the city were hauled open for the incoming avatar and his party. A wall of soldiers greeted them, some with excitement, and some with skeptical glares.

A higher-ranking guard pushed his way forth.

"Who wishes to pass into Ba Seng Se?"

Sokka leaned towards Zuko. "I thought that was apparent because he looked like such an 'air monk'."

"Shut up." Zuko growled.

"I do. I'm Aang, the avatar."

The guard craned his neck to peer into the other faces. "Who else?"

"My companions." Aang said firmly.

The guard returned to him a challenging stare. "Oh? And who might they be?"

"Rin," A booming voice thundered from beyond the other soldiers. "Do not interrogate the avatar. Whomever he wishes to bring to our city, he may."

An older, stooped man emerged. Iroh sucked in his breath, tugging his hood further down on his face.

"What a pleasure, Avatar Aang. My name is Ken Wu, ruler of Ba Seng Se. I was just settling down to lunch, and I would be honored should you and your friends wish to join me." The man said, bowing.

Aang bowed back. "We would gladly share your lunch."

xxx

The gang followed the king and his guards to the palace, far into the inner sanctum of the city. Their journey was not without some pleasant sightseeing, however.

Sokka, Aang, and Zuko stared, mouths agape, at the beauty that resided in the faces of the Earth Kingdom's finest women. Aang, however attached he was to Katara, could not help the wide-eyed stare he was so freely passing out. Sokka attempted a few grins and waves, but received snorts and eye-rolling in return. Zuko had never been truly interested in girls. He had no time. But seeing as he had no current missions to accomplish, his mind slipped from its normal, disciplined, soldier-like focus into something more like Sokka's mind. He was somewhat carefree and absentminded, which he hadn't been since before his mother disappeared.

Zuko let his gaze drift from one face to the other, realizing that he didn't much care if any of them knew he was staring. His gawk finally stopped at a brunette rolling her eyes at him.

"What?" He snapped at Katara.

"Nothing."

Iroh, given any other circumstance, would have gladly made fun of his nephew or flashed smiles at the local women, but the times at hand called for plotting.

"Zuko…" he muttered.

Zuko tore his eyes from a pink-clad girl with shining green eyes. "What, Uncle?"

"Don't you think we should be concentrating on how we can get past the king? Royalty is bound to recognize royalty…"

"I am concentrating."

Katara scoffed. "You can tell by his glazed look and gaping mouth."

Iroh laughed.

Sokka, who had overheard their conversation, jerked Aang's attention from Momo to their Fire Nation comrades' dilemma.

"What do you want me to do?" Aang muttered after Sokka explained. "I can't exactly tell Ken Wu that they don't want to see him because they're afraid he'll recognize them!"

"Come on, Aang. You've always been good at making something up to save someone's hide. I'm sure you'll find a way." Katara encouraged.

"Is that a joke? Because I'm pretty sure he's right; there's no way." Sokka stated.

Katara elbowed him, and gave Aang a praising smile.

"Well…" Aang glanced at the king. "I'll try and bluff our way out of this…" Aang hopped from Appa and skipped to the king's side. "Uh… Excuse me, Sir, but may I have a word?"

"Of course."

"My friends are tired from so much traveling, and they'd really appreciate some rest. So, would it be possible for them to just find somewhere to nap? A royal feast would just wear them out."

"Certainly. I'll have a room made up for them and some food sent. Would that satisfy your restless companions?"

Aang nodded appreciatively. "Yes, your majesty, thank you."

Sokka heard 'food' and flashed a broad grin at Katara. "Did you hear that? He's giving us food!"

Aang returned to the gang's ranks. "Who's going to eat with me and the king? Iroh and Zuko are going to the room, what about you, Katara, Sokka?"

"I'll go with you Aang." Katara said.

Sokka scratched his chin. "Who's got the better food? The king or the room?"

"Sokka…" Katara admonished.

"Well? Who does?" Sokka asked.

Aang frowned. "I guess they both have about the same food, Sokka."

"Please go with him," Zuko muttered.

Iroh chuckled. "It would be nice to have a quiet moment, wouldn't it Prince Zuko?"

Katara snarled at Sokka, "You're going with Aang. Stop being so… Sokka-ish."

"Well, what should I be?"

"Be a-."

"We're here!" The king announced, raising his arms to present a grand, towering temple. "I welcome you to the royal palace of Ba Seng Se."

A/N

These chapters are super short, I realize. I'm willing to deal with your frustrations. (more muahahaha)

I'm going to do a lot of time lapses. I want to get to the good stuff. These first four chapters have lacked excitement. So sigh I'm off to time lapse.