"I'm so excited to spend the weekend on Ember Island." Azula and Ty Lee standing on the deck, with Zuko and Mai sitting in the shade nearby. Ty Lee is looking of onto the deck further at Cadi and Ari. They were told they had to go to mingle with their new allies. "It's gonna be great to hang out on the beach and do nothing."
Ty Lee rests her hands behind her head and closes her eyes with a satisfied smile.
"Doing nothing is a waste of time." Zuko stands up, "We're being sent away on a forced vacation." Zuko walks over to the balustrade, leans on it and stares out to sea. "I feel like a child."
"Lighten up. So dad wants to meet with his advisors alone...without anyone else around. Don't take it personally."
"Doesn't your family have a house on Ember Island?" Cadi asked Azula walking over to Ty Lee with Ari.
"We used to come every summer when we were kids. How do you know that?" Azula asked.
"I know many different things on many subjects of different things." Cadi said slight poetically.
"That was a long time ago." Zuko said.
…
"Welcome to Ember Island, kids." Lo and Li said.
The six teens look displeased and skeptical. Azula walks skeptically into the room followed by Ty lee. Zuko and Mai are standing together, with Ari and Cadi off to the side. Ari is looking at Ty Lee with slight lust and Cadi is looking at Mai and Zuko with disgust.
What the hell happened to cuddling me at night? Is this how it's been the entire time? What a jackass, she can have him. I'll find me a hot guy. He's probably having sex with her; I'll have sex with someone too. Cadi thought as she turned away.
"It smells like old lady in here." Zuko said.
"Gee, I wonder why." Mai said.
Ty Lee is looking at a painting of two young twins, twins standing back to back in a symmetrical seductive pose. Li and Lo approach her.
"Who are these two beautiful women?"
"Can't you tell?" The elderly twins strike the identical seductive pose from the painting. "It's Lo and me."
Zuko covers his mouth to prevent himself from getting sick. Ty Lee lies back on to the bedspread. Ari can't stop looking at her and Ty Lee notices this. She's only teasing him because she likes it.
"Ooh, I love this seashell bedspread!"
"Are you serious? It looks like the beach threw up all over it." Cadi said.
"We know you're upset that you were forced to come here this weekend. But Ember Island is a magical place. Keep an open mind." Li said.
"Give it a chance..." Lo Said.
"...and it can help you understand yourselves and each other." They said together. Li grabbed one of the smooth stones resting on table. Li passes the smooth stone to her sister. "The beach has a special way of smoothing even the most ragged edges."
In an identical series of motions, they clap and strip off their robes, revealing their elderly bodies in swimwear. "Time to hit the beach!" Mai covers Zuko's eyes, and Ty Lee covers Ari's. Azula looks disgusted before turning away and Cadi is having a laughing fit before walking away.
...
The six of them are walking along the beach, through crowds of beach-goers. Mai and Zuko share an umbrella. Cadi looks horrified at how close he is with her and she walks off to find someone.
"Hey, you need some help unpacking?"
"Sure, thanks." Ty Lee dumps her enormous bag into the teens awaiting arms, knocking him to the ground. He quickly throws every item out one at a time, lastly pulling out Ty Lee's pink towel. He hastens to make her towel perfectly straight as Azula turns away in jealousy.
Ari walks over and sits next to Ty Lee and she snuggles up to him. "Thanks dude." He said and the boy turned and walks away angrily.
"Here, this is for you." Zuko said handing Mai a seashell.
"Why would I want that?"
"I saw it and I thought it was pretty. Don't girls like stuff like this?"
"Maybe stupid girls."
"Forget it!"
…
Zuko walks up holding two ice-cream cones and joins her under the umbrella.
"I thought since it's so hot... here" He hands her an ice cream cone, but the scoop of ice cream falls off the cone into Mai's lap.
"Thanks. This is really refreshing."
…
A Fire Nation girl flies forward toward a ball and hits it with her hand.
Azula stands looking at the game; Mai and Ty Lee sit under the umbrella behind her. In the background Ty Lee is being fanned and worshipped by three Fire Nation Teen Boys. "Hey, beach bums, we're playing next. Ty lee, get over here now!"
Ty Lee rolls off her towel into a handstand and walks over on her hands, smiling. Zuko stands up suddenly and throwing off his shirt. The wind blows his hair and a flock of birds fly.
"See that girl with the silly pigtails?" Azula and the others look up toward the volleyball players.
Cadi walks up to their small group huddle and buts in. "When she runs towards the ball, there's just the slightest hesitation of her left foot. I'm willing to bet a childhood injury has weakened her." Azula watched her as she walked away with another guy then smirked and looked at Zuko to see him staring as well.
Azula, Mai, Ty Lee and Zuko are now playing volleyball as a team on one side of the net, the pig tailed girl and her team are on the other side. "Keep serving the ball to her left and we'll destroy her and the rest of her team."
Azula throws the ball up toward the sun and then launches it toward the other team, who miss it completely. Zuko slides for the ball and kicks it up into the air. Azula runs toward it, spins around and smacks it toward the pig-tailed girl. The pig-tailed girl dives but misses the ball completely. The ball flies over a crowd of Fire Nation teens and lands next to two Fire Nation Teen boys, Ruon Jian and Chan, who now notice the game.
Ty Lee is zooming through the air toward the ball. She kicks it and then lands like a tight ropewalker on the net. Mai is running toward the ball and hitting it with her knee. Azula runs up Zuko's back, propelling herself into the air, kicking the ball with all her power. The ball zooms toward the ground catching flame. The ball lands in a fiery explosion, setting fire to the net.
"Well, that was fun." Azula said to her team.
Ari walked over to Ty Lee in amusement and hugged her. "You did great, babe." He smiled and kissed her head.
Azula and her team are joined by Chan and Ruon Jian. They approach Ty lee and Mai.
"I'm having a party tonight. You should come by."
"Sure...I love parties!"
"Your friend can come, too."
"What about me and my brother?" Crossing her arms in displeasure. "Aren't you going to invite us? You don't know who we are, do you?"
"Don't you know who we are? We're Chan and Ruon Jian. Fine, you're invited. Just so you know though, some of the most important teenagers in the Fire Nation are gonna be at this party so...try and act normal."
Cadi walks over and stands next to Ari.
"Hey cutie. You coming to the party tonight?" Chan asked.
"Will you be there?" Cadi asked semi-seductively to piss Zuko off.
"Of course." He gave a big smile.
"Then yes, I will." They nodded and walked off. "What an idiot." Cadi said turning back to Ari. "I swear, every guy on this beach is a complete moron. A dude gave me a seashell. What the hell?" She crushed it in her hand as a guy walked over to her.
"Is that the seashell I gave you?" He asked.
"Oh yea, sorry. Those guys crushed it. They said it was ugly garbage and then they walked off." Cadi looked at her brother and winked.
"It's fine. Let's go get one just as beautiful as you." He smiled. "I'll even let you kiss me for it."
They walked off and Cadi turned around and mouthed them, "Complete moron." She smiled and walked off. Zuko's hands unclenched for the first time in over 2 minutes.
…
Lo, Li, Zuko, Cadi, Ari, Azula, Mai and Ty Lee are all sitting around an octagonal table on the balcony outside. They are eating an elaborate meal.
"Why didn't you tell those guys who we were?" Zuko asked Azula.
"I guess I was intrigued. I'm so used to people worshipping us. For once, I just wanted to see how people would treat us if they didn't know who we were."
"Like waves washing away the footprints on the sand," Zuko and Mai are eating and leaning against one another. "Ember Island gives everyone a clean slate. Ember Island reveals the true you." The twins both stand up and clap twice. They then raise one arm in excitement. "To the party!"
…
A hand taps on a large wooden door. The door opens to reveal Chan looking displeased.
"Um... You're a little early. No one's here yet."
"I heard you telling someone you'd be partying from dusk till dawn. It's dusk so we're here."
"But that's just an expression."
"We are the perfect party guests. We arrive right on time because we are very punctual." Azula makes a chopping motion with her left hand, hitting her right hand as she says 'punctual'. Cadi and Ari look at Azula like she's crazy and Chan notices then smiles at Cadi who slightly blushes.
He shrugs and gestures for them to come inside. "All right, listen, my dad's an admiral. He has no idea I'm having this party, so don't mess anything up."
That's a sharp outfit, Chan...Careful, you could puncture the hull of an Empire-Class Fire Nation Battleship, leaving thousands to drown at sea... because it's so sharp."
"Thanks." He said awkwardly. Cadi laughs and walks off.
"Hey, first ones here, huh?"
Zuko and Mai are walking side by side. "He thinks he's so great. Well, what do you think of him?"
"I don't have any opinion about him. I hardly know him."
"You like him, don't you?" Mai sighs and walks away, as Zuko looks angrily in the direction of Ruon Jian.
"Jealous." Cadi said walking slowly beside Zuko. "Better watch that temper, it'll get the best of you one day." She said before walking over to Ruon Jian.
Zuko glares at him worse than before.
…
"Ok, look, if you want a boy to like you just look at him and smile a lot and laugh at everything he says, even if it's not funny." Ty Lee told Azula.
"Well, that sounds really shallow and stupid. Let's try it."
…
Mai and Zuko are sitting together on a bench. Mai's arms are crossed and she looks displeased.
"I'm bored."
"I know."
"I'm hungry"
"So what?"
"So, find me some food."
"Sure." He gets up and walks away.
…
Zuko is preparing a plate of food. One of the guests accidentally knocks his plate to the ground with an over- zealous gesture.
"Hey, watch it! That food was for my cranky girlfriend."
Cadi walks up. "Girlfriend, huh? Glad to know you decided. Looks like she's having fun without you." Cadi looks away and finds a guy to dance with. "Good luck, jerk." She walks away and begins to semi-grind on the guy.
Zuko watches for a second before turning to Mai. Ruon Jian is leaning over Mai. Zuko rushes toward them angrily and pushes Ruon Jian away from her.
"Whoa. What are you doing?"
"Stop talking to my girlfriend!"
"Relax, it's just a party." Zuko pushes Ruon Jian hard, sending him flying across the room, breaking a giant vase.
Mai stands up and grabs Zuko's shoulder. He turns towards her. "Zuko, what is wrong with you?"
"What's wrong with me?"
"Your temper's out of control. You blow up over every little thing. You're so impatient and hot-headed and angry."
"Well, at least I feel something...as opposed to you. You have no passion for anything. You're just a big "blah"."
"It's over, Zuko. We're done."
"Good! I chose the wrong girl anyways." Zuko said before walking out of the house.
…
Zuko is sitting on the steps holding his childhood handprint.
"I thought I'd find you here."
"Those summers we spent here seem so long ago. So much has changed."
"Come down to the beach with me. This place is depressing."
Zuko and Azula are walking side by side toward Mai and Ty Lee.
…
"It's a painting of your family."
"You think I care?"
"I think you do."
"You don't know me, so why don't you just mind your own business!"
"Zuko, leave her alone."
"Circus freak!"
"Yes, I'm a circus freak. Go ahead and laugh all you want. You wanna know why I joined the circus? Do you have any idea what my home life was like, growing up with six sisters who look exactly like me? It was like; I didn't even have my own name."
She falls to the ground crying. "I joined the circus because I was scared of spending the rest of my life as part of a matched set. At least, I'm different now. Circus freak is a compliment!"
"Guess that explains why you need 10 boyfriends, too." Mai said.
"She has me and that's all." Ari said walking up and cuddling Ty Lee as she cried.
"I'm probably the one with 10 at the moment. Dumb boys these days." Cadi said sitting on Mai's log.
"Attention issues. She couldn't get enough attention when she was a kid, so she's trying to make up for it now."
"Well, what's your excuse, Mai? You were an only child for 15 years, but even with all that attention, your aura is this dingy, pasty, gray..."
"I don't believe in auras."
"Yeah, you don't believe in anything."
"Oh, well, I'm sorry I can't be as high-strung and crazy as the rest of you."
"I'm sorry, too. I wish you would be high-strung and crazy for once, instead of keeping all your feelings bottled up inside. She just called your aura dingy. Are you gonna take that?"
"What do you want from me? You want a teary confession about how hard my childhood was well, it wasn't. I was a rich only child who got anything I wanted. As long as I behaved... and sat still...and didn't speak unless spoken to. My mother said I had to keep out of trouble. We had my Dad's political career to think about."
"Well, that's it, then. You had a controlling mother who had certain expectations, and if you strayed from them you were shut down. That's why you're afraid to care about anything, and why you can't express yourself."
"You want me to express myself? Leave me alone!"
"Calm down, you guys. This much negative energy is bad for your skin. You'll totally break out."
"Bad skin? Normal teenagers worry about bad skin. I don't have that luxury. My father decided to teach me a permanent lesson on my face. For so long, I thought that if my dad accepted me, I'd be happy. I'm back home, now my dad talks to me. Huh, he even thinks I'm a hero. Everything should be perfect, right I should be happy now, but I'm not. I'm angrier than ever and I don't know why."
"There's a simple question you need to answer then. Who are you angry at?"
"No one, I'm just angry."
"Yeah, who are you angry at, Zuko?"
"Everyone... I don't know."
"Come on, answer the question."
"I'm angry at myself!" He yells. "I'm angry at all of you!"
"Why?"
"I'm confused. Because I'm not sure I know the difference between right and wrong anymore. You're rude and selfish. Mai is boring and mean when she doesn't need to be, Ty Lee is an ignorant little girl."
"What about them?" Azula said pointing to Cadi and Ari.
"I'm mad at Ari for being rude because he thinks I hurt his stupid precious sister and I'm mad at her for everything she makes me feel. I hate loving someone who cannot love me back."
"You're pathetic." Mai said before walking off.
"I know one thing I can do... I can love you." Cadi and Zuko kiss. Azula claps, causing them to separate and turn toward Azula.
"Well, those were wonderful performances, everyone." Azula said.
"I guess you wouldn't understand would you, Azula?" He said sarcastically pulling Cadi towards him.
"Because you're just so perfect."
"Well, yes, I guess you're right. I don't have sob stories like all of you. I could sit here and complain how our mom liked Zuko more than me, but I don't really care. My own mother... thought I was a monster. She was right, of course, but it still hurt."
"What Lo and Li said came true. The beach did help us learn about ourselves. I feel all smoothed. I'll always remember this."
"You know what would make this trip really memorable?"
…
"We've got some bad news, Chan."
"Party's over."
Zuko is kicking a table full of food in half as party-goers run away screaming.
Mai joined back up with them after slightly getting over the fact Zuko never loved her the same way and took he anger out by throwing a knife down a wall cutting five tapestries in half.
Ty Lee is crouched in the rafters. She swings down and pulls down two chandeliers which come crashing to the floor.
Azula, Ty Lee, Mai, Ari, Cadi and Zuko are linked arm in arm very pleased with themselves. A wall of flame right behind them.