Responses to Reviews:

RonaldM40196867: I don't know, I can't really remember. There must be many funny lines scattered throughout though.

Zigzagdoublezee: Yes! This is a part I've been waiting for for a while, the introduction of Toph Beifong to the story. And I thought having the mystery backer be her mother would be an interesting way of doing it that gave Poppy a little more to do than she has in canon.

As Always, Please Review!

The sky above Ba Sing Se was thick with sky-bison as the group of actors, Zuko and Mai in their midst, made their way towards the upper ring.

The entire air nation, it seemed, had come to the city. Squadrons of them swooped overhead, some quite high up, others only just clearing the rooftops. Sky-bison and gliders raced across the city, go ghe whoops and cheers of people below, who appreciated the distraction. They were keeping well away from the outer walls, where the army was still fighting to keep the Fire Nation at bay, but over the city itself they were quite the sight.

"I've never seen so many in one place!" Riku said wonderingly. The others all nodded in agreement.

As they approached the centre of the city, passing under railway bridges and passing large warehouses, the streets began to widen. They began passing through squares, with fountains stood in the centre. The buildings became nicer, as the overcrowded tenement blocks of the outer ring vanished and were replaced by pleasant detached houses and bungalows. A little further on, they even encountered their first villa. All the while, the nomads circled above them.

Eventually though, they came to a gate, ornately decorated and painted. At either side, men in green robes and wide brimmed hats stood with their hands behind their backs, staring at the floor and barely appearing to move. Zuko didn't have time to pay them much attention though. On the other side of the gate, a large building made of bricks had been constructed, with chimneys that spewed black smoke. Halfway up one of those chimneys, a walkway had been set up with a railing, and on it a lone figure could be seen. He looked like he was watching the nomads and writing something down in a notebook. A sign above the gate bore the words Royal Mechanical Factory.

Zuko looked at it for a moment, intrigued but not willing to show it too much in case it drew suspicion. He had always been told the Earth Kingdom was primitive, and yet here this was. Was the Earth King trying to copy the Fire Nation?

But the factory wasn't their goal. A little further on another gate led into the upper ring, guarded by soldiers wearing the uniforms of the Earth King's Palace Guard. Chikao stepped forwards and handed one of them a piece of paper, a letter he had been given with strict instructions not to open it until today, and a moment later they were being waved through.

And so Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation found himself stepping into the upper ring of Ba Sing Se, a place coveted by the rest of his family.

The place was crowded, and not just with the rich and powerful of Ba Sing Se. It was also full of air nomads, Monks and Nuns who Zuko presumed were from all four temples. They rushed around them, some of them laughing with friends, some having serious geopolitical discussions, and others having mock arguments with one another. Their group passed a Monk from the northern temple and a nun from the eastern temple having a seemingly bitter argument about whether Aang or Yangchen, the two most recent Avatars coming from their nation, was better.

Several of them stared curiously at the group of actors, just as curiously as the actors were staring at them. Zuko didn't know about the others, but he wasn't a stranger to the sight of air nomads. Many of them had graced his father's royal court, after all. But he had never visited one of their temples.

Just as the actors were staring curiously at the nomads, though, many nomads were staring just as curiously right back. Maybe they had never actually been to Ba Sing Se before, Zuko wondered. The vast city was overawing to newcomers, which he knew from personal experience, and he supposed this would apply to an Air Nomad as much as to him.

"So where are we actually going?" Mai asked. "You never said."

Everyone turned to look at her. Then they turned to look at Chikao.

The director looked down at the letter he'd been given.

"It says we're going to..." he trailed off.

"What?"

"It says we're going to the palace."

There was a pause, and then the squealing and jumping up and down excitedly started.

"The palace!" Riku exclaimed. "This is it! We'll make it!"

"Think of what it'll look like on the posters!" Sachiko said.

"Everyone will want to see us!" Makio added.

Zuko and Mai, meanwhile, stood slightly back from the excitement. Mai did not look so amused.

"The palace?" She hissed. "You'll be recognised!"

Zuko looked around desperately.

"I don't see what choice we have," he hissed back. "I can't just leave now, that would be far more suspicious. We have to do nothing."

He sighed.

"Besides, we'll be backstsge, won't we? No reason for either of us to be seen."

Mai folded her arms.

"I hope you're right," she said. "Or we're both going to prison."

Zuko put his hand on her arm.

"It'll be fine," he said. "It has to be."

Mai softened, and smiled at him. A moment later the sea of orange parted, and he saw Master Tsering, the one who had recruited them, walking towards them, his glider staff over his shoulder. A few more nomads trailed behind him. He grinned as he approached.

"My friends!" He said. "I'm so glad you could make it!"

The actors bowed hurriedly.

"We're glad to be here," Chikao told him.

One of the nomads passed Tsering a bag, and the master passed it on to Chikao.

"Your scripts," he said.

Chikao curiously opened the bag and pulled out a scroll.

"It's only a short play," Tsering said. "A traditional Air Nomad story. About a Nomad who falls in love with a man from Omashu."

Chikao looked around.

"To be honest," he said, "none of us have played Air Nomads before."

"That's fine," Tsering shrugged. "You'll have a lot of us to consult as you rehearse. And if you're that uncomfortable, I'm sure I know someone who wouldn't mind stepping in to play that role."

Chikao nodded and put the script back in his bag.

"We'll see how we go," he said. "So when are we performing?"

"The day after tomorrow," Tsering told him. "In front of the leaders of all four temples."

"They day after tomorrow?" Chikao squeaked. "That's quite... short notice."

"You'll be fine!" Tsering slapped him on the shoulder. "You're good actors, and this is a simple play. But you'll want to start rehearsing straight away. Don't worry, I'll take you there. Follow me."

He gestured, and then turned. Zuko followed him, further and further into the heart of his nation's greatest enemy.