Hey gaang! I was watching EIP for like, the billionth time the other day and decided that I HAD to write a sequel to it! So, this is what I came up with: a four-part fic about the detailed adventures of the gaang throughout season three. This is post-finale, so Mai's with them too! Enjoy
"Remind me, why are we here again?" Mai complained as the group waited in line for tickets.
Aang turned around. "Because Zuzu's a sucker for plays?"
"And he has to drag us along," Sokka added grumpily.
"The last play here was terrible," Katara told Mai.
"Then why are you seeing another one?"
Everyone paused and thought about it. "We're not sure," they replied in unison.
"Got the tickets," Zuko said excitedly as he came around a corner. "Let's go."
Toph and Sokka stuck their tongues out when his back was turned, but followed him anyways. The group of seven returned to the same balcony they sat in the last time they had seen an Ember Island Players' production. Sokka, Suki, Aang, and Katara took the bottom row, while Mai and Zuko took the top.
Mai leaned against Zuko's shoulder, while the girls in the other row snuggled comfortably next to their dates as well.
Completely oblivious, Zuko called out to the blind earthbender. "Hey Toph! You can sit next to Mai and me."
Toph eagerly jumped down and sat next to him. Mai sat up and glared at Zuko, who was still unaware that she had preferred for them to sit alone.
"The Ember Island Players' present: Into the Inferno," Suki was reading off of the program. "It's a detailed play about the Avatar's journey into the Fire Nation and eventual triumph over Phoenix King Ozai. Doesn't sound too bad…"
"At least they don't show him losing again," Katara said angrily.
Finally, the theater went dark, and the music began playing as the curtains opened.
"Is that…us?" Mai asked Zuko, pointing to the two actors standing on a ship.
Suddenly wishing that he hadn't chosen to see another one of the Ember Island Players' plays, Zuko nodded numbly.
"I've been away for a long time, dearest Mai," the actor was saying. He wore a dark black cloak, and his scar was still on the wrong side.
"But, I have chosen to come back, for you!"
"Oh kiss me, Prince Zuko!"
Mai and Zuko gagged. Below them, Suki, Sokka, Katara, and Aang were all laughing manically.
"Oh kiss me, Avatar Aang!" Katara mocked them; she received a small peck on the lips in return from Aang.
Toph was also laughing; Mai glared at Zuko for forcing her to come and watch this horrible play.
"Oh Zuko…"
"Oh Mai…"
The actors were still making out in a completely unromantic and disgusting way, somehow managing to breathe and speak their lines in between.
Finally, they moved on to the next scene. Mai was quite angry with Zuko, and had scooted down the bench so as to sit as far away from him as she could.
The spotlight was now on Aang. She was supposedly floating on a piece of driftwood at sea, when suddenly, she woke up.
"Oh my, that lightning really hurt!" the actress whined to the audience. "But I have to get back to saving the world!"
She dramatically "flew" off with her glider, landing just a few feet away, where the rest of the gang was waiting for her.
"Oh Aang! You're aliiiiive…" Katara's actress broke out into a fresh chorus of sobbing, something the real Katara was hoping wouldn't happen this time.
"Oh give me a break," Katara said exasperatedly.
The scene changed again, as though Katara herself had commanded it. It looked like a prison, and Iroh's actor was sitting in the middle of the stage. Offstage, a cup of tea went flying at him, nailing the actor in the head. Tea dribbled down his face and clothing, but he remained in the same position.
"How do you like that, old man?" Zuko's actor said arrogantly as he appeared onstage. He then walked over and poured an entire tea pot onto Iroh's head.
The real Zuko looked away. That was just ridiculous, he never did anything like that…besides, Iroh had forgiven him for being a jerk, right?
Now the scene had changed yet again, and Aang's actress was dressed in Fire Nation clothing. She was surrounded by several young Fire Nation children, with the rest of the gang off to the side.
Music erupted around the theater and the actress began singing.
"It's fun to stay at the R.F.A.B." She was shrieking, rather than singing, using her arms to make the letters for the audience.
"It's fun to stay at the R.F.A.B" the kids around her echoed as they also made similar movements with their arms. Even the audience below was joining in on the fun song.
"They have everything for young men to enjoy; you can hang out with all the boys…"
"R.F.A.B?" Aang wondered what in the world that was. And that was a Fire Nation dance party, not karaoke night.
"Sounds like 'Royal Fire Academy for Boys,'" Mai commented.
Aang sniffed. "Stupid song…"
xXxXxXxXx
"I'm so sorry for your suffering!" Katara's actress was sobbing to a mass of weary-looking people. She was dressed in a crude costume that vaguely resembled the Painted Lady. The real Katara groaned inwardly, not at all anticipating what would come next.
"Here, take my food…" the actress cried harder with every word she spoke. "My medicine…my dignity…my clothes…"
At once, Mai, Suki, and Katara covered their boys' eyes.
"Stop it Suki!" Sokka was trying to squirm free of her hand. "I wanna see!"
The girls fought against the boys for several minutes; it seemed as though the hysterical actress would never leave the stage!
Finally, she disappeared in a cloud of fog, and Sokka's actor came on stage. Zuko, Aang, and Sokka all glared at the girls for obstructing their view of that potentially good scene back there, but none of the girls felt sorry for doing so.
"I need to feel special!" Sokka's actor was whining to the crowd.
"Why don't you make a sword, little boy?" Piandao's actor appeared onstage. "I have lots of swords for you."
"No! I want a special sword! But what should I make it with? Wait! I know!" Sokka's actor, strangely sounding more and more like Zuko's actor, ran offstage, and reappeared moments later. "I have the perfect stuff for making a sword!"
"What IS that?" Piandao asked dramatically as he looked at his young student's hands. Sokka had gotten some sort of black rock.
"It's bison dung!" Sokka shouted proudly. "The finest there is!"
"It will make a fine sword, my young pupil," Piandao said slightly perversely, as he led Sokka offstage.
"My sword wasn't made from Appa's poop!" the real Sokka complained loudly. Suki tried calming him down, but he shook her off and stood up defiantly. "It was a meteor from space!"
xXxXxXxXx
The stage was now covered in sand. A beautiful painting of the ocean was in the background, and Zuko's actor stood alone on stage.
Oh great, Zuko thought gloomily.
"I feel emo and angsty today, and I don't know why. Grrrr, I need to take out my anger in a constructive and nonviolent way."
The real Zuko hammered his head into the wooden railing in front of him. Something about his actor's strange accent made him sound worse than before…
"How about VOLLEYBALL?" Azula's actress asked in a spookily evil voice as she appeared onstage.
Zuko's actor nodded tersely. Ty Lee and Mai's actresses ran on stage, and they began a rather violent-looking game of volleyball against padded dummies. Each actor had several balls, which they chucked to the other side, not expecting any to actually come back. Azula's actress was the most aggressive, while Ty Lee's actress couldn't even get a ball over the net. Mai's actress, on the other hand, gave up halfway into it and sat down to play in the sand.
The other team was beaten down and viciously attacked, but one of the dummies actually held its position and sent one of the balls flying back to the other side.
It hit Ty Lee right in the chest. Suddenly, one side of her chest began deflating. The actors paused for a moment; that was clearly not in the script.
The rest of the real gaang sat in shock, almost wanting to laugh, but not sure if that was appropriate at the moment.
"Balloons?" Mai choked, trying desperately to hide her first snort of laughter in fifteen years.
The entire audience was silent as well. The other actors were making feeble attempts to return to the scripted action, but they were too confused about what to do next. Ty Lee's actress was still gawking at her bathing suit.
"We're uh…going to take a short intermission," a voice boomed over the theater as the curtains fell, shielding the astonished actors from the equally stunned audience.
Did you guys like it?Any reviews are appreciated, and stay tuned for the next chapter, which will have "The Avatar and the Firelord" through "Day of Black Sun: The Eclipse"