Katara and Suki sat, watching Zach chip away at tree with his axe. He wiped the sweat off his brow with his forearm, "Are you two sure you want to just sit there and watch me do this?" They both nodded stupidly, not taking their eyes of him. He grunted every time he hit the tree.

"I wish Sokka would chop trees," Suki sighed happily, "…shirtless." It was true, Zach was shirtless, his tan skin was nearly covered in sweat. He was only in camo shorts and his shoes. His abs were something that would make the Gods jealous. Like Aang, Zach also had a buzzed head.

Katara nodded in agreement, "I think I might love Ember Island." The tree started to crack and it fell down in an open space.

"That took forever, but I finally have nice view, don't ya think?" He looked out towards the ocean.

"I love the view," Suki mumbled, still looking at his body. The ground shook below them as the tree moved across the ground until it was by a pile of wood. "Wait, you're an Earth Bender?" He nodded. "Well why didn't you just take the whole tree out of the ground?"

"Did that question just come out of your mouth?" Katara muttered.

"Because I wouldn't get as much of a work out," Zach told her, "Also so I can do this." He got into a stance and stomped on the ground, shooting the stump of out the ground and across the island and into the bay. Both of the girls were amazed at the distance the stump went. "You should have seen when I was new to Earth Bending, I could barely make it down the hill…poor Miss Jones's dog never walked the same after…" Zach grabbed a towel that next to them and wiped off the sweat. "Sorry girls, I hope I'm not making you uncomfortable."

Suki shook her head, "You're perfectly fine, you can even take off more clothes."

"Wow, that's not weird or anything," Zach laughed.

"Suki? Katara?" Sokka's voice called from the front yard. Zach looked at both of the girls.

"Someone you know hopefully?"

Katara got up, "Back here Sokka! Okay, now my brother is REALLY over protective and might threaten you if he finds you to be…well, threatening."

Sokka came around the corner and saw the Earth Bender, shirtless, in front of his sister and girlfriend, "Uh, what's happening here?"

Zach put the towel around his neck and stuck out his hand, "Hi there, I'm Zach Tyler, it's nice to meet you, Sokka is it?"

"Yeah, I'm Sokka, Katara's brother and Suki's boyfriend," Sokka's eyes narrowed.

"I heard you were a quarterback for your high school, what's your pass completion?" Zach asked, taking everyone by surprise.

"Uh, I completed about 97% of my passes."

Zach looked surprised, "Wow man, that's great! You going to play for Ba Sing Se? It would be nice to see an actual good season this year."

"I'm going to try out in August, but I don't know if I can make the team, I'm probably not even good enough for 3rd string," Sokka said.

"You would at least make 2nd string or it would even be a good idea to red shirt a season," Zach offered. "I'll be right back man; I need to get a shirt." He jogged to his house as Sokka turned towards the girls.

"He's awesome!"

Suki scoffed, "You only think that because he was kissing your ass so much, if he continued he probably would have jacked you off."

"That was a little mean Suki," Katara said, "I thought you were going to jack him off if he gave you the right smile."

She scoffed a little, but was silent for a second, "I probably would have blown him."

Sokka angrily fumed, "Thanks, babe."

"Oh come on, you know I love you Sokka…now, let's go back and you can chop down a tree for me," Suki grabbed his hand and left him Sokka in tow. Zach came out of the house and looked around for Sokka.

"Where did he go?" Zach asked.

Katara shook her head, "You don't want to know. I can't believe you were that smooth with my brother."

He shrugged, "I guess it's a gift. So what do you want to do now?" Before Katara could answer, a loud horn filled the air, making both of them cover their ears until the noise stopped.

"What was that?" Katara shouted; a little deaf after the loud noise.

Zach scowled, "It's the god damn Southern Raiders. They started as a biker gang, but evolved to a pirate like group, sailing around the Southern Coast line of California. They made their headquarters here on the island about a month ago, officially making themselves known. The police have tried to stop them, but have no way to tie them to their crimes. Anyone that tried to stop them…have ended up in the harbor…"

Katara gasped, "Why am I just hearing about this now? Aang could fight them!"

"There's a reason why no one has heard of them Katara, they are ruthless. The stuff they do is so explicit that they can't even briefly mention it in the newspaper. No one has tried to mess with them because…they found a way to take away benders abilities," He whispered the last part.

"H-how?!"

"They made an elixir from a root in the middle of the forest on an island a few miles out in the ocean that if they inject you with it, you lose for bending…forever," He told her.

Katara thought about it for a second, "Well what if we all ganged up on them?"

Zach shook his head, "Even if we did Katara, we would be outnumbered, if one of them gets a hold of you…it's done, I've seen it happen before. A group attacked them, only to have one of the girls be injected with the elixir, then her boyfriend tried to save her…then they got him. Katara, even if we only met yesterday, I don't want you to attack them…you couldn't do that to Aang…or me."

She huffed angrily, "I can take care of myself Zach." Katara stormed off his property.

Zach just shook his head, "She's going to go do it…"


Aang sat in a big recliner eating a bowl of cereal while Zuko sat on the couch beside him, watching TV. Jin, Toph and Ty Lee went into town for food while Sokka and Suki were outside, Sokka still confused on why Suki wanted him to chop down a tree. "So how was last night?" Aang asked, eating another spoonful of cereal.

"Good after we left the club," Zuko yawned, "How about you? Did you and Katara make up?"

"Kind of, we aren't back together though," Aang sadly reported.

The King laughed, "Isn't it pretty much your fault that you aren't together?"

"Who asked you?" He shot him an evil look. The front door opened and slammed shut; Katara stormed into the living room and angrily huffed as she sat down.

"What did Aang do this time?"

Aang shot Zuko a look, "I wasn't even near her today!"

"It wasn't Aang, it was Zach." Katara told them, her angry pout still on her face.

"What did he do?"

"He was talking about the Southern Raiders, a local pirate group that has been terrorizing people. Apparently they have been killing people and looting stuff around the Southern California shore. I suggested that Aang could take care of them, but they have this elixir thing that takes away people's bending forever. I said that we could take care of them if we all teamed up, but didn't think we could do it. He has no faith in us at all!" She huffed again, crossing her arms in front of her.

Aang put his bowl down, "Katara? Aren't you just over reacting just a little bit? It sounds like Zach is just trying to make sure we don't get hurt…and most importantly you."

She looked at him, "You don't have faith in me either?"

"Don't even start this for the love of the spirits," Zuko stopped them, "It's obvious that if we were going to fight them, we should make sure we do some recon if we are going to take care of them. If it gets worse, they will be messing with the Spirits and The Painted Lady should take care of them."

Both of them looked at Zuko, "The Painted what?"

"The Painted Lady. She is the Spirit that watches over this island. If anything is out of order, she will take care of them," Zuko explained, he got up from his seat and went over to the TV and grabbed something from behind the back of the stand. A dusty picture came into view and he brushed it away. "Here, look at this." He handed it to Aang and Katara came over and sat on the arm chair to look at it. A lady was in the center, she had a giant straw hat and veil over her face. From what they could see through the veil was red markings on her face with a yellow 'U' shaped symbol on her forehead. She had a long flowing dress that hung off of her and was only held up by two straps of fabric that went around her neck. "My Father hid this picture behind the TV because it freaked him out. It was funnier when Azula actually dressed like her one year. She bought one of the hats from town, took some fabric from my Mom's fabric box. As soon as he saw her, he took it off her, and threw everything in the attic. I'm surprised he didn't burn it up right there."

Katara looked at the picture more; there was a crowd in front of her, bowing to her. She was curious about this Spirit, she definitely looked familiar. "Well I'm getting something to eat, I haven't eaten all day."

Aang watched as she left the room then looked at Zuko, "I didn't forget that comment you made earlier…"

He shrugged, "What are you going to do about it?"

"…shut up," Aang picked up his bowl and continued eating.


It was silent as Aang sat on a rock pillar he bent in the front lawn. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and began to meditate. What if this group was too much for him and his friends? If he lost his bending abilities then there wouldn't be another Avatar. What he also didn't understand was the prophecy said that if he defeated the King, there would be peace, but now there was a gang of 'pirates' killing people. It didn't help that if there wasn't peace that was promised, that he would have to go around the world, making sure there was peace…leaving Katara here. He felt someone walking up the drive way and he opened his eyes. Aang bent the Earth down as the visitor came closer. "You must be Aang," the guy said, he reminded Aang of himself, a warm smile on his face. Aang stood up and extended his hand, which the visitor met.

"Uh yeah, who are you?"

"I'm Zach, I left the club with Katara last night," Aang tried not to listen to the voice inside his head to punch the guy in the face. "I would have met you all last night, but I didn't want it to look like I was trying to get with her."

"It's cool," Aang lied, "So what can I help you with Zach?"

Zach took a deep breath, "Well I came here to talk to you about…Katara. After her and I talked, she seemed to…I don't know how to say this without being rude…"

"Over react?"

"Yeah, did she tell you what we talked about?"

Aang nodded, "I was actually just thinking about it. My friend Zuko and I were talking about getting some recon on them before we did anything, but she seems determined to do something about it soon."

"Avatar, I don't mean to doubt your powers are anything, but these men are ruthless, if you have at least one misstep, they will capitalize and take your powers away," Zach cautioned him. The door shut behind Aang and they both turned to look at who is was.

"Well isn't it a party out here?" Zita said as she came down the steps. She eyed Zach as she came over to them, "Hey, you're that guy that left with his ex last night."

Zach nervously laughed, "Yeah…that's me." Zita smiled and leaned in, whispering into Aang's ear. He gave her a look for a second then nodded.

She grabbed onto Zach's arm, "Here, let's take a walk, you and me." Aang smiled and waved at them as they walked down the driveway, Zita looked back at him and gave him a wink.


Katara smiled as Toph drunkenly made her way through the living room, she, Ty Lee, Jin and Sokka had started a drinking contest which Toph obviously won. Sokka was passed out on the table while Zuko had put Jin and Ty Lee in their beds. Aang and Suki were nowhere to seen, but Katara didn't seem to mind as she read her book. It felt nice to take some time to herself. After being in a 9 month relationship, it was nice to be her own person. She sighed, who was she kidding? She missed being in his arms. As if on cue, the front door opened and Aang and Suki came through, she was carrying a whole bunch of bags. "Thank you Aang," Suki said and gave him a kiss on the cheek, almost making Katara jump at her.

He smiled sadly, "Your welcome Suki, what do you need that stuff for anyways?"

"Well sometimes Sokka and I like to-"

"And that's all I need to know," Aang stopped her in disgust, making Katara giggle. His eyes shot to her and back to Suki, "I'll see you tomorrow Suki." He climbed the stairs as Suki came into the living with her stuff.

She smiled at Katara, "How are you doing Katara?"

"Did you just kiss Aang?" Katara asked.

"It's not like I kissed him on the lips or somewhere more sexual…" Suki started emptying her bags, "Check out the clothes I got!"

The Water Bender put down her book, "Don't change the subject Suki, why did you just kiss him?"

"Why does it matter?" Katara froze. She had a point. Aang and her weren't together, so Katara shouldn't have a problem. Even if it was a just a peck on the cheek, it still angered Katara. "I mean, unless he gets a girlfriend again soon, I'm sure it shouldn't be a problem if someone kissed him on the cheek." Her eyes narrowed at her friend. "Now if we can go back to the shopping stuff…" She handed Katara a bag, "There's the stuff you wanted."

Katara checked the bag, "What's with the other stuff?"

"I'm coming with you!" Suki happily exclaimed.

She gave her a weird look, "Suki, you can't come with me."

"And why not?"

"How are you going to do it? The Painted Lady is a Spirit that does her work by herself, how can you help? What are you going to be, the Chalked Girl?" Katara sarcastically asked.

Suki smiled as she took out a metal fan, "Close."


Zuko walked down the road, enjoying the night air. With Jin tucked in for the night, he was on his way to see Zita. He felt a little bad that he didn't tell her that he was going there, but how could he when she drifting in and out of consciousness and mumbling about nothing. Zuko climbed up her steps and knocked on the door. "Who is it?"

"It's Zuko, can I come in?" He wasn't sure, but he thought he could hear her curse as she went through the house. Her figure came into view through the glass of the door. The door opened and her head poked out.

"Hey Zuko, what can I do for you?"

"Can I come in?" He asked. She looked back inside.

"Umm, sure," Zita opened the door more, letting him inside. Zuko stepped in and realized that Zita was only in her maroon bra and panties. "What can I do for you Zuzu?"

He turned his face away from her toned body, "First, could you put on some clothes? If Jin finds out I was with you alone in a house while you were in your bra and panties…she'll either flip or ask why she wasn't invited."

Zita laughed, "You really must know how to choose them Zuzu…also that would be an interesting night; she is pretty attractive now that I think about it…"

"Please put on some clothes!" Zuko said louder.

Zita huffed, "You're no fun Zuzu," She started walking down the hall, swaying her hips a little bit, "Also…we're not alone in this house." Zuko wasn't surprised; Zita did have a habit of sleeping with people…a lot, sometimes even girls. He walked into her living room and looked around a bit. There was a blue mask with crossed broadswords behind it hanging above her fireplace, which she had no use for. Zuko easily recognized it as the Blue Spirit's mask; Zita had told him stories about The Blue Spirit watching over warriors. "Admiring my decorating Zuzu?" Zita came back into the room in a red robe that matched her underwear.

"Yeah, I have one exactly like that one…but Jin usually makes me wear it during sex," He chuckled slightly, remembering when Aang came in and talked to him and Jin.

"You really like freaky girls, don't ya Zuko?" Zita asked playfully.

Zuko shook his head, "Nope, just you and Jin. So who is your guest?"

"You know the guy that left my club with Aang's ex-girlfriend?" He nodded, "That's whose here."

"I'm guessing you did that for Aang then?"

Zita smiled, "I'm not thatevil Zuko, I remember a time when I took someone away from their girlfriend and had sex with them. And then that someone turned out to be the leader of our nation." She was now up against Zuko, her fingers tracing along his scar. "You know, that scar would usually ruin someone's face, but it makes you look so manly."

Zuko pushed her back a little, "You know that I love my girlfriend, right?"

"Oh relax Zuko, it's just harmless flirting, you know as well as I that feelings don't just go away," She lightly kissed him on the cheek, "But I've got a hot stud in my room whose sex drive is that of a 16 year old who just found out how to take the parental controls off of the internet."

"That's just disgusting," He scowled.

Zita smiled, "What are you here for Zuko?"

"I came here to catch up with you, but I can obviously see that you vagina needs attention right now," Zuko joked, she chuckled slightly, "You're going to be at your club tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah."

"I'll just meet up with you then," Zuko's phone buzzed. He opened it up and opened the text on his screen.

Aang: Katara and Suki are gone; I think they're going after The Southern Raiders.

"Zita, where are The Southern Raiders?"

"They're in a hidden part of the harbor," Zach's voice scared them a little bit, but they turned towards him, "If you go to Zita's club and go down the street to the beach, walk to the right until you reach a thicket, then you're there."

Zuko: Meet me at Zita's club, bring a disguise.

Zuko put his phone back in his pocket, "Thanks…um, what's your name?"

"Zach, I'm guessing you're the King that Katara was talking about?" He nodded, "Huh, you don't seem as angry as she described you."

Zuko scowled while Zita laughed, he walked over to Zita and put an arm around her waist, "Don't worry about him Zach, he's just a little crabby."

"Just go back to having sex," He angrily muttered.

"Gladly, bye Zuzu," She took Zach's hand and took him to her bedroom. Zuko just shook his head and started to leave, but stopped.

"Hopefully she won't miss this…"


The crew of criminals unloaded their bounty into their hideout. In the hidden bay, The Southern Raider's hideout was propped up by logs and was attached to the rocky shore line. A dock went out into the water and the many boats of The Southern Raiders. "Man, I hate being one of the ones who has to unload, why can't we be one of the pirates that get's stuff and kills people?" One of the pirates muttered as he carried the heavy boxes.

"Just shut up man, they will kill us if they hear us talking ill of them," Another of the pirates whispered as he walked with him. The first pirate groaned as he continued to walk, but stopped when he looked out at the water. A woman stood in the middle of the lake. The pirate put down the box and rubbed his eyes.

"Hey, do you see that? A woman is in the lake?" He asked his fellow pirate.

He turned and looked, "What the hell?" The woman talked towards the hideout, ice forming under below her feet as she got closer. Mist surrounded her form as the pirates' started to freak out. "I didn't sign up for weird shit like this." Both of them started to run up the dock but were stopped by a woman dressed in a green kimono with a gold metal headdress. Her eyes were white and anger displayed on her face.

"You have disrupted the balance of our world, you must pay!" The woman spoke as if she was possessed. The two pirates turned again and started to run the other way, but the woman from the lake stood in their way.

She rose her arms up and the water rose with them. "Prepare to pay!" The two of them fainted onto the dock. Both of the girls looked at each other and laughed. "I thought it was going to be a little bit harder than that."

Suki took out her contacts, "These things hurt, but it scared the shit out of them…maybe I can use these whenever Sokka pisses me off."

"Sokka isn't that gullible…but it would be funny to try. But first, let's hide these guys before someone comes by," Katara grabbed one of the pirates and started dragging him towards the end of the dock.


Zuko hid in the shadows, waiting for Aang to show up. He was dressed in the Blue Spirit's mask, the swords on his back and he was now dressed in a black gi. Zuko was half thankful that no one saw him when he made his way to the club, but also was pissed since it was about 90 degrees and he didn't think about it. "I should have just changed," He muttered as he pulled at the gi, peeling it off his skin. A thud caught his attention; he turned to see Aang landed right by him. "What the hell are you dressed in?" Aang was dressed in orange and yellow robes with brown pants and shoes.

"What? You said wear a disguise and I found one," Aang exclaimed. "It's original Air Bending clothing."

"Well if you wear that, people are going to know who you are Aang," Zuko nearly yelled at the Air Bender.

"How about when I go into the Avatar State, that won't do it for them?" He sarcastically asked.

Zuko was about to say something back to him but stopped himself, "Whatever, let's just go help the girls." He led the way, with Aang following to the hidden harbor.


"What do you mean you saw 'The Painted Lady'?" Yon Rha asked the lower pirate.

He nervously shook, "I saw her Sir, I swear. She took out the bottom crew, her and…Avatar Kyoshi."

Yon Rha narrowed his eyes at him, "You are seeing things, Avatar Kyoshi died years ago and The Painted Lady is a myth, get back to work or you'll end up like them." The pirate left the room as quickly as he could. Yon Rha went behind his desk and took out his syringe gun, loading it up with bending elixir. He put it in his back pocket and left the room, making his way down to the boat dock. Everything seemed to be going normal, some of them counting money, some watching over the guns. He heard a cry from outside the warehouse, some of the crew looked at where the noise came from, then to Yon Rha. "Well just don't stand there, let's go!" He led a group outside behind him, but nothing seemed out of place. They looked around, but couldn't find a thing.

"It's The Painted Lady; she's going to kill us all!" One of them cried out.

"She's taking us to the Spirit Realm because of the things we've done!" Another cried.

Yon Rha turned around, "Will you all shut up! It's nothing, go back inside!" They ran back inside as fast as they could, but Yon Rha stayed, looking around a little more. He heard a light thud behind him. Yon Rha turned around and shot fire chains at the person behind him. Suki cried out as her arms were caught in the chains. "So, you're the 'Avatar Kyoshi' that has been scaring my crew, well we have 'special' plans for you." He caught her feet up in the chains and hog tied her. "You'll be my crew's new whore, they like the younger girls." Suki's eyes widened in fear and tried to get away.

"KATARA!" She shouted as she did her best to get away.

Yon Rha smirked, "Your friend's can't help you now, you're now property of The Southern Raiders." He felt something cold against his throat.

"Let her go or the next breath you take will be your last," Katara whispered in his ear, she pressed her ice dagger against his throat.

"The Painted Lady I presume?" Yon Rha asked, "I suggest you let me go because I have a bender's worst nightmare in my pocket."

He heard Katara chuckle, "You mean this," The syringe gun was tossed to the ground near Suki. "Well you don't have shit now." In the quickest motion, he got out of her grasp, got behind Katara, twisting her arm and held a fire dagger to her throat.

"Neither do you Water Bender," He laughed, "You get to suffer the same fate as you're 'Avatar' friend here, I hope you two aren't broken in yet, the men love screamers."

Katara struggled to get out of his grasp but couldn't, she felt warm tears slide down her cheeks as she thought about what was in store for Suki and herself. "Let her go," She heard behind her and the pirate. Once Yon Rha let her go Katara turned to see two swords around his neck, a person in a blue mask behind him. "You're lucky I won't let you suffer like the Avatar would let you."

Yon Rha laughed, "Didn't your parents ever teach you to respect your elders?" He kicked Zuko in the knee making him hyper extend in. Zuko cried out and fell to the ground, holding his leg. "Got anymore people who want to try to mess with me." Yon Rha felt a needle pierce his back.

"I'll give it a shot," Aang said and pulled the trigger, flooding his veins with the elixir. He fell to the ground as he felt a piercing feeling fill him. "How about a swim?" Aang sent a blast of air at him, sending clear out into the harbor. He put the fire chains out around Suki. "You two need to get Zuko out of here."

"But what about you?" Katara asked; tears still wet on her face.

"Katara, go now!" Aang yelled, she nodded and her and Suki helped Zuko get up and out of the docks. His eyes lit up and he began to rise into the air. Air currents started to surround him. He turned towards the water and bent the water back out of the harbor, almost making it bare. With his free hand, he bent the earth in the harbor down, creating a giant hole. Aang then pushed the rocks under the hideout up, making it fall into the hole; the cries of the pirates were heard as they leapt from the building as it crashed in the hole. Aang let go of the water and it spilled into the hole. All there was left were the wreckage of the ships. He slowly floated down, he saw Yon Rha floating on some broken wood as the cops came out of the thicket to arrest the remaining pirates. Aang used his Water Bending to push Yon Rha towards the shore before he disappeared into the night.


It was at least 3 in the morning; Katara was sitting in the living room, waiting for Aang to get home. The doctor in the E.R said that Zuko hyper extended his knee, not enough to need surgery, but the doctor told him to use the crutches he gave him and to ice it regularly. Katara offered to heal it, but the doctor said to let it heal naturally. Suki and Zuko had gone to bed as soon as they got back, too tired to stay up with her. Katara didn't even change out of her Painted Lady outfit; she was glued to the couch as soon as she got home. She pulled up the top of her dress, because she followed exactly what the image showed, all she wore on her torso was the dress, which wasn't giving her much warmth. Her head shot up as soon as she heard the door open. Katara stood up as Aang shut the door and walked into the room. She threw her arms around him, "Thank the Spirits you're okay Aang! I was so worried about you!"

He hugged her back, enjoying the familiar feeling of holding her, "No need to worry about me Katara."

She let go to wipe her eyes, he finally got an actual good look at her. Aang could tell she had nothing below the long dress she wore. Her hair was up in a top knot and flowed down her back. Her red eye shadow and face paint brought out her clear blue eyes. "Aang?" She asked, "Are you okay?"

Aang nodded, "Yeah…" His face got closer, "I'm…perfectly…" Their faces were an inch apart, "Fine." Their lips crashed together, his arms wrapped tight around her again. Katara was caught by surprise, but enjoyed what she had been missing since they began fighting. Aang picked her up by her legs and wrapped them around his waist. She felt him harden and she moaned against his lips. They made their way to his room, not breaking their kiss. Aang kicked the door shut behind them and put Katara on his bed. They broke the kiss as they both stripped down. Aang was the first one down and got on the bed as Katara pulled off her underwear and tossed them to the side. He captured her lips again as he got in between her legs. Aang put himself as her wet entrance, "How bad do you want this?"

"So bad," She moaned, "I've never wanted you so bad." Aang smiled and slowly entered her. He felt her stiffen and cry out as he fully put himself in her.

"I love you," He pulled out and thrusted back in. Katara was in pure bliss as Aang drove in and out of her. Aang trailed kisses on her jaw line, making Katara moan even louder.

"Please, go faster," She breathlessly said and then he did something she didn't suspect. Aang pulled out and put the back of her knees on his shoulders and thrusted back in. Katara put a pillow over her mouth as she screamed in pleasure.

"I'm gunna cum Katara," He groaned. She pulled him out and got on her knees. Katara stroked whatever wasn't in her mouth. Aang moaned her name as he shot inside her mouth. He slumped back on the bed as Katara cleaned up whatever was left and swallowed it. She crawled up with him and put her head in the crook of his neck, they both drifted off to sleep in each others arms.

-SDB