Me: okay you guys ready?

Aang: no.

Katara: not really.

Sokka: it's LAKE LAOGAI.

Toph: creepiest place.

Zuko: yeah.

Suki: I'll take their word for it.

Me: okay well Lets start.

_

BOOK 2: EARTH

CHAPTER 17: LAKE LAOGAI.

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All: yikes.

_

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

(The Scene opens on the house in the upper ring the heroes have been using in Ba Sing Se. It shifts inside, to show a series of childishly drawn pictures of Appa lying on the floor. )

_

Zuko: do you guys have a 6 year-old there?

Sokka: NO.

Zuko: then who's drawing?

Sokka:😤😤😤

_

(We see Sokka lying on his stomach, working intently on yet another sketch. A more distant shot shows Toph reclining on the floor nearby, while Momo licks her foot. Katara and Aang rush in through the front door.)

Zuko: oh.

Sokka: yeah.

Toph laughs.

_

We found a printer to make our posters. (holds up a poster with an expert rendition of Appa, picture of Aang, and dense script, while Aang smiles and points to it)

Zuko: ah I see.

_

Hey, I thought designing "the lost Appa poster" was my job. I've been working all day on my Appa. (holds up a crude drawing with a proud smile)

(perplexed) Sokka, the arrow is on Appa's head. (Katara struggles to contain her laughter)

(pointing to the sketch) This IS his head.

(taking it to study up close) Why are feet coming out of it?

(snatching the sketch back indignantly) Those are his horns! (hangs his head) I haven't seen him awhile ok?!

_

they all chuckle.

_

(ironically) It looks just like him to me.

(flattered) Thank you, I worked really... (realization sets in) Why do you feel the need to do that?

_

they all chuckle but toph laughs.

Toph: HAHAHAHAHA.

Sokka: 😤😤😤

_

Let's just stick with the professional version.

Grrrr! (violently rips the drawing to tiny shreds)

(enthusiastically) Come on, let's get busy! (holds up two stacks of leaflets)

(Cut to show Aang and Momo soaring at rooftop level over Ba Sing Se, dropping a stream of leaflets behind them into the city streets. We are then shown the tiny Tea Shop wherein Iroh and Zuko have been working. Inside Iroh is pouring tea for a wealthily dressed man and his bodyguards. As Iroh walks away, they sip the tea and smile, then rise to approach him.)

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

So you're the genius behind this incredible brew. The whole city is buzzing about you. (holds up the teacup in a hand glittering with jeweled rings) I hope Pao pays you well.

(smiling) Good tea is its own reward.

But it doesn't have to be the only reward. How would you like to have your own tea shop?

(stunned) My own tea shop? This is a dream come true.

_

Suki: The jasmine dragon.

Zuko: yup.

_

(scampering to join conversation) What's going on here? Are you trying to poach my tea maker? (throws himself protectively between Iroh and Quon)

Sorry Pao, that's business for you, am I right?

(increasingly desperate) Mushie, if you stay, I will make you Assistant Manager. Wait, Senior Assistant manager.

I'll provide you with a new apartment in the upper ring. The Tea shop is yours to do whatever you want. (Zuko glances over from busing a table) Complete creative freedom.

(elated) I even get to name the shop?

Of course!

(pleading) Uh, Senior Executive Assistant Manager?

_

Sokka: the pao guy can't compete with owning a tea shop an even better in the upper ring.

_

(Iroh sets the teapot into the hands of shop owner Pao, who grimaces in pain. Pao walks off as Iroh and Quon exchange respectful bows. Zuko crosses in the foreground, pausing as Iroh speaks to him.)

(excitedly) Did you hear nephew? This man wants to give us our own tea shop in the upper ring of the city.

That's right young man. Your life is about to change for the better.

(Zuko continues to walk away towards the front door, setting down the tray of cups)

(gravely) I'll try to contain my joy. (steps outside)

_

they all chuckle.

_

(Closing the door behind him, Zuko steps out to lean against the front of the teashop. One of the Appa leaflets flutters out of the sky, Zuko catches it out of the air and reads it. Realizing the import of it, he begins scanning the sky for the source of the paper. He climbs to the roof of the shop just as another scattering of them settle to the street. Looking at the leaflet once more, his face becomes set with determination.

_

All but zuko: ohhhhhh.

_

(starts 0:55)

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

Cut to the interior of the upper ring house, where Katara and Sokka are playing a card game on a wooden table. Toph lies on her back nearby, bouncing a small ball off of a wall. Aang and Momo burst though the front door. Both approach the table.)

I just finished dropping all the leaflets. Has anyone come in with news about Appa?

(studying her cards) It's only been a day, just be patient.

(Aang settles to rest his chin on the table dejectedly. A moment later there is a rapping on the front door.)

(popping up eagerly) Wow, you're right! Patience really pays off. (rushes to open the door) Joo Dee?!

_

SUki: now it's that first joo dee.

_

(with usual eerie grin and careful speech) Hello, Aang and Katara and Sokka and Toph. (the other three gather to talk to her)

What happened to you? Did the Dai Li throw you in jail?

(dismissively) What, jail? Of course not. The Dai Li are the protectors of our cultural heritage.

But you disappeared at the Earth King's party.

: Oh, I simply took a short vacation to Lake Laogai, out in the country. It was quite relaxing. (Sokka's face shows clear suspicion)

_

Suki: Lake laogai.

_

But then they replaced you with some other woman who also said her name was Joo Dee.

I'm Joo Dee.

Why are you here?

(pulling out leaflet) Dropping flyers and putting up posters isn't permitted within the city. Not without proper clearance.

(annoyed) We can't wait around to get permission for everything.

(cheerfully grinning) You are absolutely forbidden by the rules of the city to continue putting up posters.

(red faced and steaming with frustration, shouting) WE DON'T CARE ABOUT THE RULES, AND WE'RE NOT ASKING PERMISSON!! (flails his arms in outrage, starts backing an alarmed Joo Dee out the front door) We're finding Appa on our own and you should just stay out of our way! (slams door shut)

Suki and zuko: oop.

Suki: well you got mad.

Aang: not my best moment but it was for appa.

_

(glaring at the door) I don't care. From now on we do whatever it takes to find Appa.

(raising arms in the air) YEAH! Let's break some rules!

(Toph turns and blasts out the nearest wall with earthbending.

_

all:🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

Zuko: you had to break the house.

Toph(nodding): yeah. It was worth it.

_

Cut to the outside. As the dust clears from the destroyed wall, the heroes leave out the front door. Panning back, we see a pair of Dai Li agents watching from atop a roof across the street. They lie on their stomachs, peering down over the peak of the tile rooftop, then slip away.

_

Suki: oh and there is the dai li

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[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

Shift to the exterior of the Dai Li headquarters, then to the fire lit interior of Long Feng's private audience chamber. Feng sits on a small chair, while Joo Dee kneels before him.)

(calmly) I am very disappointed in your work with the Avatar and his friends, Joo Dee. I had hoped that you would be able to control this situation.

(distressed) I'm so sorry, but they don't trust me anymore. I don't think I can keep working like this. (covers her mouth, terribly upset)

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All: poor joo dee.

_

(softly) Joo Dee, the Earth King has invited you to Lake Laogai. (she looks up, and her pupils dilate)

(calmly) I am honored to accept his invitation.

(nods) Good. Now go await further orders.

(she rises and exits past two Dai Li)

_

Suki: YIKES. Yeah that is real creepy.

_

(rising and pacing) If the Avatar keeps searching for his bison, it could upset the delicate balance we worked so hard to achieve in this city. (picks up a scroll from a stand) It could even cost us control of the Earth King. (he stops to gaze into the green flames of the fireplace)

Should we take care of him?

(holding the scroll, gazes into the fire) No. It's much too dangerous to confront him directly. Let's see if we can still handle this... quietly.

_

Sokka: yeah no.

_

(starts 1:42)

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

(Cut to the cramped apartment complex where Zuko and Iroh live, then inside, where Iroh is packing into a chest. The door slides open and Zuko enters.)

So, I was thinking about names for my new tea shop. How ;bout the Jasmine Dragon? It's dramatic, poetic, has a nice ring to it.

_

Sokka: yeah! the jasmine dragon.

_

The Avatar's here in Ba Sing Se. (holds out the leaflet) And he's lost his bison.

(takes the leaflet) We have a chance for a new life here. (Zuko walks to stare out a window) If you start stirring up trouble, we could lose all the good things that are happening for us.

(spins around to face Iroh, clearly irate) Good things that are happening for you. Have you ever thought that I want more from life than a nice apartment and a job serving tea?

(earnestly) There is nothing wrong with a life of peace and prosperity. I suggest you think about what it is that you want for your life, and why.

_

Aang: yes there is nothing wrong with that.

Zuko: I know that.....now.

_

: (turning to look outside again) I want my destiny.

What that means is up to you. (Zuko walks away from the window) The Tea Weevil! (shakes his head in disgust) No, that's stupid.

_

Sokka: yeah that sounds stupid.

_

(starts 0:52)

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

(Cut to Sokka brushing paste onto a stone wall, and plastering up an Appa Poster. In a narrow alley, Katara and Aang are pasting more of them up. Toph leans against the wall with arms crossed, near Sokka. Momo perches above their heads.)

Well split up to cover more area. Toph, I guess you should just come with me.

(peevishly)Why because you think I can't put up posters on my own?

_

Zuko: yes.

_

(grabbing his brush, she slashes glue across the wall, then slams a poster against it, face down)

(dolefully) It's upside-down isn't it? I'll just go with Sokka. (she hands him back the brush, and they all split up)

(Cut to an open square, where Katara is affixing another poster to a stone plinth near a flowing water stream. Behind her, a familiar voice calls out.)

Katara?

(Jet is seen emerging from an alleyway at the edge of the square. Katara wheels around with a startled gasp, as Jet walks strides toward her.)