A/N: My new story! I just think that pirates are pretty cool, and if you type in 'pirates' in the search engine and look under avatar, only one story comes up ('Bad People' by Lyralocke)! I had to fix that. So here is my new, fantabulous story, "Perfectly Piratical". LIGHTS… CAMERA… DISCLAIMER!
Sokka: No! I am NOT gonna do the disclaimer!
Me: But you HAVE to!
Sokka: And just WHY is that?
Me: Because kasplosion says we're the funniness of Avatar! Despite the fact that I don't work there or own it or anything… AND you're my buddy!
Sokka: But-
Me: DO IT!
Sokka: -sigh- Fine… Tangy does not own "Avatar: The Last Airbender" or anything on it.
Me: See, THAT'S my buddy! –gives Sokka noogie-
Sokka: AAH! The noogie-ness!
Perfectly Piratical
The waves crashed against the side of the ship. The salt in the air was easy to taste. The shades of blue and green in the sea were bright and vibrant. The sun shone down on the world for all.
Captain Avatar Aang was at the helm, his winged lemur, Momo, on his shoulder, steering his ship, Appa, to wherever the wind happened to take them. But hopefully it would take them straight to the pirates of the seven seas.
Captain Aang was on a mission. As the avatar, he was to protect the world from all its dangers, and the pirates would at least make the top five list. There were many pirates of the ocean, and Aang was to take them all down. But his main priority was putting the crew of the Boomerang and the Black Sun into custody.
Captain Ozai and his crew on the Black Sun were the fiercest pirates of the deep blue. Legend had it that Agni himself could not defeat him. The sails were said to be a blood red color, the wood painted black. The colors contrasted like that of an eclipse. Though, no one knew if these rumors were true, seeing as anyone who saw the ship perished.
The crew on the Boomerang was nearly as bad. Any ship that came in its path was destroyed, taking no prisoners. No one quite knew the reason to these actions. Captain Sokka, the leader of the ship, was said to be vicious and bloodthirsty, his only competition being Ozai, or Lord Ozai as some liked to call him.
Captain Aang, on the other hand, was known everywhere for his kindness and caring nature. He was treated with the utmost respect wherever he went and people considered him part of the high society. And though Aang was not yet a fully realized avatar and only knew airbending, he was expected by all to defeat the foes of the world. And he tried as hard as he could to fulfill his duty.
Aang looked about the ship at his crew of Earth Kingdom-ers. "C'mon guys," he bellowed for all to hear. "Don't get lazy on me!" The men immediately picked up their pace and the ship began moving faster.
"Oi!" yelled the lookout. "A ship to the east! Coming towards us!"
The avatar ran to the side of the ship. He pulled his telescope out of his belt and looked where the man was pointing. A ship with white sails was sailing towards them, sprouting a jet black flag. The flag bore a skull on fire. This was Pirate Captain Zhao and his ship, the Agni Kai.
Captain Zhao was a well-known pirate, said to be good friends with Lord Ozai. Aang knew this would be difficult, seeing as Ozai lent crewmembers to Zhao, but it had to be done for the good of the world.
"Prepare to board!" Aang yelled. "Captain Zhao will rue the day he became a thief!"
The crew gathered guns and swords. Those that could bend filled pouches with water or grabbed a satchel full of rocks. Metal grappling hooks were held ready so they could board ship.
The Agni Kai was very close, but not bothering to fire the cannons. Aang pondered on this fact for a moment before quickly realizing that Zhao's crew was boarding his ship!
Yes, a bunch of burly men were climbing aboard his ship. The crew was shocked to say the least, but quickly reacted with weapons. Many cries were heard, blood was already covering the floor of the ship, and some men had already fallen. "Don't give up!" yelled Aang, giving encouragement to his crew.
But encouragement, unfortunately, wasn't good enough. The crew of Appa was fast losing, over half the men already dead. Aang could not very well hold up against all these men with just his own and a few others. Aang stabbed the man he had engaged in fight just minutes earlier with in the chest and moved on to another man with a long mustache.
Before he could fight with the mustached man, though, he heard someone say behind him, "It seems that I've found you, Avatar."
Aang turned around, sword in hand, to find a monkey-faced man with long sideburns, a fire dagger in each fist. "I'm Captain Zhao, Avatar, and I believe you're dead meat."
"I don't think so," said Aang. He plunged his sword forward, which Zhao quickly deflected with his firebending. While Aang was getting over the small burn in his wrist, Zhao brought his leg around and pulled his leg towards him, bringing Aang crashing to the ground. A sharp pain ran through his middle.
"I'll surely get a good price for you, Avatar," said Zhao, menacingly, bringing his fist down.
Aang saw this, and time moved slowly for a moment. Zhao's fist full of flame, headed directly for his chest, Aang lying on the ground waiting for impact, not even able to roll out of the way due to the fact the edge of the boat was to his left, the pirate to his right. This has got to be the shortest fight of my life, he thought. And to think, I will lose it to a pirate.
Aang closed his eyes, ready for the end to come (very slowly seeing as his life had not come out of slow motion yet). A few moments passed, and still there was no burning sensation where his heart should be.
Maybe this is what it felt like to die. If it was done immediately, you wouldn't feel any pain. But still, to Aang it didn't seem right. He chanced peeking open his eyes. Still, things were going on very slowly. But what he saw in slow motion was nothing like he had expected.
Another ship, a pirate ship no less, was floating on the other side of Appa. And a pirate, a pirate, swung from the riggings of said pirate ship and deliberately rammed into Zhao, Captain Zhao. Not only was a pirate helping him, but this pirate was a girl! A girl probably around the same age as himself, which was only 17 years old.
The girl swooped to the left, still clinging to the ropes, and let go, turning to face the evil pirate. "Who in blazes -" Aang heard Zhao exclaim. Said man turned to face the mysterious female terror, and stopped his ranting.
"So," he said, realizing who he was being attacked by. "Miss Katara, we meet again. I'm afraid we haven't seen each other in quite some time. How have you been?"
"Better since our ship hasn't seen the likes of your ugly face," said the girl, Katara supposedly.
"Now, now," said Zhao, attempting charm but failing miserably. "I don't appreciate that kind of talk, Miss Katara. It's not appropriate for a lady such as yourself."
"Enough of this false kindness, Zhao," said Katara. "Would you like to face defeat by my sword, or my bending?"
So she's a bender, Aang couldn't help but think.
"Whichever you prefer, Miss Katara," said Zhao, bowing. He stood upright, and he quickly lit fire to his hand and headed straight for Katara.
Aang was horrified. Trying to move, perhaps to save this woman that had saved him in turn, he found he could not. The middle of him was still in pain, and Aang let out a strangled cry.
The two pirates, though, did not hear. Katara ducked out of Zhao's way, and the captain nearly fell overboard. He righted himself just in time, and turned to find Katara with her sword drawn.
Swords clashed, metal clanged, and Aang could do nothing. This is what he was supposed to do as Avatar, save people, and yet, here he was, lying on the ground, blinded by pain and unable to see the details of the fight occurring.
What he finally saw once more, was a silver sword plunging into a certain Captain Zhao, lying helpless on the deck. The figure did not move after.
Aang, astonished, could not get over the fact that a female pirate had just killed the infamous Captain Zhao. Perhaps, if he could play his cards right, she would join him on his quest to hunt down Captains Ozai and Sokka.
Said girl strode over to him. She knelt down to him, and Aang finally got a good look at her. Her skin was tanned a dark brown, and her dark hair was tied in a long braid. Two strands of hair were tied to the back of her head forming two loops, and Aang noticed that her big, blue eyes were the most gorgeous he had ever seen.
"Are you alright?" Katara asked him, her voice full of concern. Odd for a pirate.
"Perfect," said Aang. Sarcastically, of course.
Katara smirked. "Humors a good sign. You'll be good as new in no time." She stood up and looked around. "Right now, though, I have to finish taking your ship captive. I'll be back in a flash!"
Aang's eyes became large and round. Taking his ship captive? She saves his life and then steals his ship?! What kind of cruel, sick irony was this?
Lying there on the ground, he could only hear what was going on. Swords, fire, water, it was all there. A fearsome battle it seemed to be. The thuds on the deck made it clear enough.
The beautiful pirate came back over to him, calm as can be.
"I can't believe it!" Aang exclaimed. "You kill all my men but spare me? This is the cruelest –"
"Oh, relax, Captain Aang," said Katara. "We killed none of your men. Captain Zhao's men? They we killed. Your men, on the other hand, are tied to the mast until we gather up all the cargo from this ship to our ship."
"But…"
"Oh, please shut up for just a moment. If I'm going to heal this, I need to concentrate."
Katara bended some fresh water from a barrel on the deck and into her hands. It stayed there for a few seconds before it glowed. Aang gasped inwardly. She applied the water to his wound. Expecting pain, he cringed, but no agony came. It felt oddly soothing, and before he knew it, she took her hand off his middle and there was nothing but a scar left.
"How did you –"
Katara interrupted him. "I really don't think this is the time, Captain. Now, if you'll please come with me, we can be on our way." She walked towards the side of the ship, where her own was waiting.
Aang was, in simple terms, shocked. "You expect me to go with you?"
Katara turned around. She looked thoughtful for a minute before answering. "Well, yes, quite frankly. Your crew will be released and they can be on their way while you accompany us."
"And if I refuse?"
She looked thoughtful once more. "I suppose we won't do anything, really. We were just requesting your assistance is all. Not a big deal. But if you'd rather go on sailing the seas with your crew on a fruitless pirate hunt, I guess you can stay here."
She turned around and started to head to her ship once more. Aang thought about it for a minute. If he were to go with them, these pirates could help lead him to Sokka and Ozai! I mean, who knew pirates better than pirates themselves?
"Wait," he said suddenly.
Katara stopped and looked over her shoulder. "Yes?"
"I'll… assist you."
She grinned. "Excellent! Step this way please." She nodded towards the ship.
Aang strut towards her. Katara looked expectantly at him. Aang, confused, asked, "What?"
Katara rolled her eyes. "I guess you civilized people don't know how to actually live," she said, smiling. Aang, though resenting the comment, said nothing. "Just grab the rope here, okay?"
Aang looked at the rope Katara had indicated. Odd as it was, he decided to grab it. Nothing happened.
"Well, shouldn't something –"
But Aang never got to finish the sentence, because at that moment, the rope decided to fly into the air. Aang, gripping for his life, let out a scream of surprise. He found himself swinging onto the pirate ship, and with a thud, he landed rather painfully on his bum.
"Ooh…" he moaned. Looking up, he saw Katara swing very gracefully and rather beautifully, from Appa and land perfectly and daintily beside him.
"Oh, you'll get used to it with time," she said to Aang.
"I should hope so," mumbled Aang, still in a bit of pain.
Katara giggled. Aang found it a rather lovely giggle, rather than those of girls in high power who squeaked more than laughed. He grinned, rather proud of himself that he got such a noise out of such a gorgeous person.
Aang suddenly remembered that he was on a pirate ship. A pirate ship! He immediately went back to business. "If you don't mind my asking, where's your captain?"
Katara's eyes rolled and she sighed. "My brother, you mean?" she asked.
"Your brother is the captain?" Aang asked, surprised. "And your brother allows you to pirate?"
Katara scowled in a way Aang thought impossible for her to do. "If you're suggesting that I shouldn't be allowed to sail the seas because of my gender, than you are not the person I thought you were, Captain."
Her voice was like ice, and the stung Aang. "No, that's not what I meant at all," said Aang, quickly. "It's just, I would think your brother, of all people, would find it hard to put his sister into such danger."
Katara sighed. "Oh. Well, when you put it that way, he doesn't exactly like the fact that I pirate with the rest of the crew… but he knows he can't stop me – and he knows this out of experience – so he doesn't really bother anymore. He still tries to protect me from the rest of the crew, though. After all, I'm the only woman on board, so it would only seem fit he'd be so worried."
"Ah," said Aang, in only somewhat understanding. "And where is he, again?"
"Sleeping," sighed Katara.
"Sleeping?" asked Aang. "But it's past noon!"
"Oh, don't we know it!" said Katara. "But he's made it a rule that we're not allowed to wake him up, so there's nothing we can do about it."
"But you're a relation to him," said Aang, simply. "Isn't there some way…"
Katara wasn't looking at him anymore. She was looking past him. Aang turned around to see a man only a year or two older than Katara and himself. His hair was in a ponytail, and he looked amazingly like Katara. He was storming over towards them and Katara didn't look too happy about it.
"Katara!" he exclaimed. "I cannot believe you led a raid without me! You have no right whatsoever!"
"I'm second in command," Katara said. "That means that when you're not there to lead, I get to do it. And because we're not allowed to wake up his majesty, that meant I got to lead!"
"Well…" the man, who Aang guessed was Katara's brother and captain, "Still! I didn't get to do anything! AND you killed Zhao! I wanted to do that!" He looked at the ground, upset.
This was supposed to be the captain?
Katara's brother looked up and finally noticed Aang.
"Who's this?" he asked, outraged. Aang stepped back a little. "You brought a boy onto the ship?! I thought I made it clear, Katara! No boys!!"
Aang blushed a little at the thought of he and Katara being a couple. Not that he couldn't see it happening…
Katara ignored the comment, and said, "Sokka, this is Captain Aang of the Appa, and the Avatar."
Sokka?!
"Aang, this is Captain Sokka."
CAPTAIN SOKKA?!
"Well, hi there, Aang!" said Sokka, much more gleeful now. "Welcome to the Boomerang!"
A/N: Dun dun DUNN!! Aang just willingly stepped onto his supposed enemy's ship! WHAT WILL HE DO?! Just read and find out!
REVIEW OR… hold on… REVIEW OR… OR ELSE I'LL END SUMMER EARLY!! MWAHAHAHAHA!
Wait, I wouldn't like that either…
Tangy :D
