Fire and Aether

Chapter 39: The Ember Island Players

   Team Avatar sat around the fire, laughing and joking, when they were suddenly attacked! They quickly got into defensive positions, fighting off Azula who had, apparently, followed Rose, Zuko, Sokka, and the people they'd brought home with them from the Boiling Rock.
    "Azula! What are you doing?"
    "Isn't it obvious? I'm celebrating becoming an only child!"
    With that, she attacked Zuko. He fought back, buying time for the rest of Team Avatar to get away with their friends. At the last moment, as he fell, Crystal caught him and Rose hugged him as they watched Azula catch herself on the side of the mountain.
   That night, they commented on how their situation had changed a lot and Zuko joked that if Rose missed the old days so much, he'd be more than happy to chase her around. Again, Katara ruined the moment.
   Zuko, determined to show Katara that she could trust him, took her to the man who killed her mother so that she could get her revenge. When the time came however, she spared him as she realized he was nothing but an empty shell of a man. The trip did its work regardless though and now everyone was getting along.
    They found a new hideout a few days later on Ember Island. One morning, Rose and Zuko lay together, basking in the light filtering through the windows, as they cuddled. "I'm so proud of you. You know that, don't you?" Rose said, as she cuddled closer to her lover.
    "Why's that?"
    "Hmm...you came back, saved all our lives multiple times, saved my mom, helped me learn firebending, saved my brothers, saved Sokka and Katara's dad, and helped Katara even after how she treated you. I love the man you've become, Zuko, and I can't wait to see what you do in the future."
    "Me neither." He agreed, holding one of her hands in his. "I want a future with you."
    She kissed him, caressing him as they rolled over.
              **SMUT WARNING***
    Rose laid atop Zuko, stroking his chest as she slowly kissed along his body, worshipping him with her gentle kisses, caresses, and kitten licks. As she reached his waistline, she stroked along his shaft slowly, giving a few gentle squeezes before she enveloped him in her mouth.
    His eyes rolled to the back of his head, a sexy moan escaping his lips. "Love, please--"
    "This is your reward, my prince." She teased, continuing her work.
    After awhile, his fingers locked in her hair, guiding her over him again and again until she pulled away. She rubbed herself against him, slowly sinking down onto him, the sounds of their joining staining the walls.
    They moved as if in a graceful dance, their fluid motions causing them to join again and again until they finally finished together. Laying together, they held one another, kissing and taking turns worshipping one another until the sun fully rose in the sky.
               **end of smut***
   Later that morning found Rose practicing each of the elements with each of her teachers: aetherbending with Aurora, airbending with Aang, waterbending with Katara, earthbending with Toph, and finally, firebending with Zuko.
   Sometime during the practice sessions, Katara spoke up, "Doesn't it seem kinda weird that we're hiding from the Fire Lord in his own house?"
   Zuko explained his dad would never think to look there as he barely left his palace after their family became unhappy. After his session with Rose, he bowed in the customary way to her. "Impressive work today, love. I'm very proud."
   At that moment, Sokka appeared with Suki trailing behind. "You guys are not gonna believe this! There's a play about us."
   Sokka pulled out a poster showing the faces of Team Avatar with a flourish. "Listen to this: The Boy and Girl In the Iceberg is a new production from acclaimed playwright Puan Tin who scoured the globe, gathering information on the Avatar and her Guardian, from the icy South Pole to the heart of Ba Sing Se. His sources include singing nomads, pirates, prisoners of war, witches, and a surprisingly knowledgeable merchant of cabbage."
   Suki concluded, "Brought to you by the critically acclaimed Ember Island Players."
   Zuko groaned. "My mother used to take us to see them. They butchered "Love Amongst the Dragons" every year."
   "Sokka, do you really think it's a good idea for us to attend a play about ourselves?"
   "Come on. A day at the theater? This is the kind of wacky, time-wasting nonsense I've been missing."
   "He makes a point." Rose said. "We could use a pick-me-up. Besides, we have nothing better to do right now."
    "Thank you very much." Sokka said. "I always knew I liked you."
    Zuko shot Sokka a dirty glare. Everyone but Sokka groaned.
                    * * * * *
    Team Avatar, dressed in their disguises, headed to the theater and found their seats. Aurora took her spot, Toph and Katara beside her, then Zuko and Rose next to them, and Aang on Rose's other side, Sokka and Suki behind the rest of the group.
   Aang cleared his throat as he looked at Zuko. "Hey, uh, I wanted to sit there." He said, gesturing to where Zuko was sitting beside Katara.
   "What? You don't wanna sit next to me, little brother?" Rose teased. "That hurts my feelings." She giggled then to show she was joking.
    "Just sit next to her." Zuko added. "What's the big deal?"
    Aang reluctantly did so, groaning at the idea of seeing his sister flirting with her boyfriend and not being able to make the moves on Katara.
    The theater was silent and the curtain opened on the first scene of the play.
    An overly curvy woman sat in a boat with a thin, awkward looking guy, the two of them portraying Katara and Sokka. "Oh Sokka, my only brother," fake Katara began in an overly emotional and terrible acting voice, "we roam these icy South Pole seas and, yet, never do we find anything fulfilling."
    "All I want is a full feeling in my stomach." Fake Sokka said. "I'm starving."
    The theater filled with laughter. Katara and Sokka sent each other uncomfortable looks.
    "Is food the only thing on your mind?"
    "Well, I'm trying to get it out of my mind and into my mouth. I'm starving." More laughter.
    "This is pathetic!" The real Sokka said. "My jokes are way funny than this."
    Toph laughed. "I think he's got you pegged."
    Fake Katara continued, "Everyday, the world awaits a beacon to guide us, yet none appears. Still, we cannot give up hope, for hope is all we have and we must never relinquish it even...even to our dying breath." She threw herself on a the ground of the boat, sobbing.
    Katara scoffed as everyone else laughed around her. "Well that's just silly. I don't sound like that."
    "Oh man. This writer's a genius!" Toph laughed.
    Onstage, a bright light appeared, causing the fake Katara to look up. A poorly sculpted iceberg that looked more like a snow globe housed two figures.
    "It appears to be someone frozen in ice, perhaps for 100 years."
    Rose and Aang looked at each other in excitement. 
    Fake Katara yelled, "Waterbending, hiya!" This caused the fake iceberg to split, revealing the two figures...and they were just as bad as fake Katara and Sokka.
   Fake Aang was basically a woman in a bald cap, laughing and giggling. Fake Rose was worse as an overly curvy woman (again) with overly exaggerated white skin decorated with body glitter, a ridiculously bright red wig, even more ridiculous rainbow colored eye contacts, dressed in the most revealing outfit imaginable, the top barely covering the middle of her chest, the thin skirt barely covering her hips and butt.
   Rose and Aang did a double take.
   "Who are you, frozen boy and girl?"
   Fake Rose giggled. "I'm the Avatar, silly." She said in an overly seductive voice. "And I'm here to make all your dreams come true."
    "And I'm her Guardian." Fake Aang giggled. "Here to help spread joy and fun."
    "Wait is that a woman playing me?" The real Aang asked.
    "Why are all my features so over exaggerated?" The real Rose asked. "And I don't dress like that."
    Zuko held her hand gently.
    Two terrible animatronics popped up, serving as fake Appa and fake Crystal. Fake Katara made another speech and burst into tears. Fake Aang showed off that "he" was an incurable prankster while fake Rose began flirting with everyone onstage.
    "Oh they nailed both of you, twinkle toes and tiny dancer." Toph said as she burst into laughter.
    At the next scene, they showed an overly fat man as fake Iroh and a reasonable buff man as fake Zuko though his scar was on the wrong side of his face. His character was shown to be overly angry and mean.
    "They make me look totally stiff and humorless." The real Zuko griped.
    "Actually, I think that actor's pretty spot on." Katara smirked.
    Zuko sank in his seat, holding Rose's hand tighter as the play continued.
    The next several scenes were embarrassing to say the least, showing fake Aang as overly annoying, fake Rose as overly horny, fake Katara as giving way too many speeches, and so on.
   At the scene with the Blue Spirit, the fake Blue Spirit, which was shown as just a mask with arms and legs, attacked the fake Zuko, rescuing the fake Rose who immediately jumped on him and implied that something else happened between them.
    Rose and Zuko gave each other a look, blushing afterwards. Aang looked at them, leaned forward, and asked, "What did happen there?"
    Rose bit her lip. "All we did was kiss, not...that."
    When it came time to show Aurora, the fake Aurora was shown as a random spirit ball that talked, used magic, and would disappear into Crystal when she was no longer needed. The real Aurora simply scoffed.
   At the scene depicting Katara's relationship with Jet, the real Katara looked very uncomfortable.
   "Don't go, Yue." Fake Sokka said in another scene. "You're the only woman who's ever taken my mind off food." They kissed. "Wait. Did you have pickled fish for dinner?"
   "Goodbye, Sokka." Fake Yue said as she was lifted into the air. "I have important moon duties to take care of. And, yes, I did have pickled fish."
    The real Sokka cried. "You never told me you made out with the moon spirit." The real Suki commented.
    As the play reached the end of the events of the first third of their lives, fake Aang used the power of special effects to jump on Fire Nation soldiers while fake Rose flirted with them.
    The curtain dropped, causing cheers to break out, Toph to laugh, and the rest of Team Avatar to groan in frustration.
    Zuko sat with Rose in his lap as he griped, "So far, this intermission is the best part of the play."
   Soon, they were all gripping about their situations, Sokka about the bad jokes his actor told to Aang about the weird nature of his actor to Rose about the over exaggeration of her features and flirting, making her appear to want to make moves on everyone.
    "I didn't flirt with that many people."
    Katara tried to smooth things over by explaining that it's just a play that focuses on certain aspects of each character and over exaggerates them. Toph simply laughed. "Its obvious the playwright did his reasearch. It might hurt but what you guys are seeing up there is the truth."
    The next part of the play opened on Team Avatar in the Earth Kingdom.
    "This must be where I come in." The real Toph said, excitedly.
    A fake rock was moved out of the way, revealing a ridiculously buff man. "You can't find an earthbending master in the sky. You have to look underground." Fake Toph said.
    Everyone laughed.
    "Who are you?" Fake Rose said as she began flirting with fake Toph. "My name is Toph because it sounds like tough and that's just what I am."
    "Wait a minute." The real Toph said. "I sound like a guy. A really buff guy."
    "Well, Toph," the real Katara said, "what you hear up there is the truth. It hurts, doesn't it?"
    "Are you kidding me? I wouldn't have cast it any other way."
    The next scene showed fake Zuko sporting loreal hair and a ridiculously hilarious version of Zuko's splitting up with his uncle. The rest of act two was mostly ridiculous and far fetched, losing the attention of its audience.
    The only other notable part was making fake Katara make moves on fake Zuko while fake Rose flirted with everyone else.
    This caused Aang to walk out as his insecurities of whether Katara really liked him came boiling to the surface. Rose, meanwhile, found herself glancing sideways at Zuko who seemed especially displeased with this part of the play.
    The words spoken by fake Zuko towards fake Iroh caused the real Katara to turn to the real Zuko. "You didn't really say that, did you?"
    "I might as well have." Zuko said, solemnly.
    Rose got up and walked out before the scene showing her near demise came up.
    During the second intermission, Suki said, "It seems like everytime there's a big battle, you guys barely make it out alive."
    Toph added, "Geez...everyone seems so upset about their characters." She turned to Zuko. "Even you seem more down on yourself than usual and that's saying something."
    "You don't get it." He said. "It's different for you. You get a muscly version of yourself taking down 10 bad guys at once and making sassy remarks."
    "Yea. That's pretty great."
    "But, for me, it takes all the mistakes I've made in my life and shoves them back in my face. Rose, the only woman I've ever loved, is portrayed as a succubus who would make a move on anyone and it makes me wonder if she truly loves me.
   "Then... my uncle, he's always been on my side, even when things were bad. He's taught me so much and how do I repay him? With a knife in his back. It's my greatest regret next to betraying Rose, and worse than that one, I may never get to redeem myself like I did with her."
    "You have redeemed yourself to both of them. First of all, when it comes to Rose, you know she's not truly like they portray her. Sure, she can be flirty at times but she loves you and only you. You make her happy and you're her soulmate. If you can't see that by now, you're an idiot."
    "I can't help but worry."
    "Well she loves you you big idiot!" Toph shouted. "Anyone with eyes can see you're crazy about each other."
    "And how you do know my uncle?"
    "Because I once had a long conversation with the guy and all he would talk about was you. It was kind of annoying but sweet. All your uncle wanted was for you to find your own path and see the light. Now you're here with us. He'd be proud."
    Rose appeared then. "She's right you know."
    Zuko stood and kissed her, pulling her into his arms. "You're mine. Please don't ever leave."
    "I never will."
    A kid came running through the hall. "Hey, your Zuko costume is pretty good but the scar's on the wrong side."
    Suko growled. "The scar's not on the wrong side!" He shouted, pulling his hood back up.
    Meanwhile, Aang and Katara argued, Aang believing they should've gotten together by now but Katara saying that they were in the middle of a war and some things were more important. Aang didn't return inside until halfway through their adventures in the Fire Nation when the invasion was about to take place.
    With the jokes Sokka told the actor version of him to say, much more laughter filled the theater. During the invasion scene, fake Zuko joined fake Rose and the rest of Team Avatar. Fake Rose kissed fake Zuko, causing the actors to announce out loud to the audience that they were together now.
    "Well, that's it." Sokka said. "The play's caught up to the present."
    "It's not over yet." Suki warned.
    "But it is over, unless this is the future."
    Onstage, fake Ozai and fake Azula prepared for war. "You take care of Zuko. I shall face the Avatar myself." The scene continued, showing fake Azula squaring up against fake Zuko. Fake Zuko was killed in a fiery blast, screaming, "HONOR!!"
    The next scene showed fake Ozai fighting fake Rose and fake Aang, killing them both in a sweep of fire.
    In the final scene, fake Ozai made a speech, ending it by announcing how the world belonged to him now. The theater burst into applause while Team Avatar looked very uncomfortable.
    "That wasn't a good play." Zuko said as they walked out.
    Everyone quickly agreed, Sokka adding, "But at least the effects were decent."
   Everyone just sent him a dirty look.