Ok? So how is everyone? Good I hope! Well, there's not really any other introduction for this chapter, since it hasn't been that long since the last one! So here you go...

Chapter Ten

Aang and Suko had been looking for Katara for more than two weeks. No one in any of the villages they had visited had seen her or heard news about her. It was as if she had dropped off the face of the planet. But the boys knew better than that. If Prince Zuko hadn't taken her, someone else had. Although, who else would feel the need to abduct her was a mystery to the young men. They weren't really focused on the whys, though, but the whos.

After riding around from village to village, and solving the people's problems who lived there, the boys settled down on the coast of one ocean or another to stay the night. They were tired, they couldn't ignore or deny that fact any longer. So they landed Appa and began to set up camp for the night. Aang was designated the task of collecting branches for a fire. He departed slowly and forlornly from his friend and started off into the wilderness surrounding the small beach they had landed on. He tried to stay focused on the task at hand, but he couldn't do it. His head was too full and he was too young for the wide range of emotions he was feeling. The amount of stress was beginning to be too much, so he dropped the bundle of branches he had found, stripped off his clothes, and ran to the water. Aang let himself just coast through the waves, trying to clear his head. Trying to get her face to leave his mind, if only for a moment.

As his eyes closed, pictures of Katara rushed past like snapshots. There she was sleeping softly not long after they first met. There she was just beginning to master her water bending skill. There she was kissing him. She just kept appearing in his mind like she was imprinted on his brain! Aang threw himself under the water and swam down, down, further and further into the water. He kept swimming deeper into the black nothing until he could feel the pressure on his head. That was what he wanted; the sweet relief of the one he loved, even if it was replaced by an annoying pound. Was it possible to love someone too much?

Aang sent out a burst of air and soared out of the water and into the sky. Ahh, he thought to himself happily. He had begun to forget how wonderful it felt to be free. Ever since Katara disappeared, he had become quite serious and devoted only to the cause of finding her. His normally carefree self had been discarded for the time being. But then, as he thought of it, he had been pretty serious even before his girlfriend disappeared. He just loved her so deeply and wanted her so much. For the last week or two before her disappearance, she had begun to grow sort of distant. She kissed him less often and less passionately. At first he wondered if his thoughts of her being The One for him, the only one he was meant to love, were wrong. But he soon discarded the idea, more out of dislike for it then for lack of evidence, however. He chocked it up to Katara wanting to take the relationship to the next level. When he mentioned that, though, she seemed to balk. Aang just assumed she was nervous and maybe not ready, because even though she was two years older than him didn't mean she was ready to make love.

Floating on the surface of the water, Aang began to drift closer and closer to the shore. Before long he found himself laying nude on a sandy bank. He got up lazily and bent the water to rinse him off. It didn't occur to him until he saw a pretty green bottle sticking out of the sand that he hadn't directly thought of Katara for a good half hour at least. He gave a strange triumphant whoop and blasted the bottle out of the sand that held it. He noticed at once that there was a note enclosed in it. Aang realized that the note was likely private and not for his eyes, but he popped off the stopper and pulled it out anyway. His eyes immediately bulged when he read it, for it said:

Dear Aang,

I'm not sure when and if you'll find this, but I thought I had to try to contact you. Prince Zuko has me on his ship. It's ok, though, I'm not hurt. I've actually been treated quite well, really. I've had better food than I have in a while! But enough of me making light of the situation. I'm still being held captive. It's been four days and I have no idea where we are. I can tell you that it is very warm. I haven't seen any land for over a day, but the last piece I saw had palm trees and white sandy beaches. I don't know if that will help you find me, but I hope it does. Tell Sokka I'm alright,because I know he worries about me. I love and miss you both so much.

Until I see you two again,

Katara

Aang's heart leapt and he took off for Sokka immediately. He only noticed when he was almost to his friend that he was completely naked, and had to take offback in the other direction for his clothes.Once he wascovered he took offonce more and found Sokka.

"Sokka! Sokka, look what I just found! It was sticking up out of the sand and I knew I shouldn't read it, but I read it anyway, and oh! Thank the gods I did! It's from Katara! She's-"

"Aang, shut up. You're talking so fast I can barely understand what you're saying. Give me the letter and I'll see for myself," Sokka said, irritated but amused at his younger friend.

Sokka took the letter and read it quickly, twice. He wanted to be sure that it was indeed his sister that wrote it, not Zuko as a farce.

"So it is that fire bending scum that has her. I knew it. Well, Aang, we're heading south as soon as the sun rises in the morning. I would prepare us tonight, but I don't think any of us are fit for the journey. Let's get a quick bite and then go to sleep. I don't want any delays."

Aang agreed and went to sit by the fire that Sokka had prepared, knowing full well that Aang would probably get sidetracked. The boys ate quickly and went off to bed, but sleep wouldn't come as quickly for Sokka as it obviously had for Aang. For, as Aang lay snoring, Sokka couldn't help but wonder what was happening on that boat. He and his sister fought constantly, but he still knew her better than anyone, even Aang. He knew that she wouldn't speak so lightly of her situation even if she wanted to pacify their fears. An ill word or ten towards Prince Zuko would have slipped out of her. He wondered if they had her drugged, or worse, if they had her brainwashed. However, an idea that was partly even worse edged into his mind. What if she was starting to fall for the fire prince? He knew it was an impossible pairing, but he had long watched the looks the prince gave his sister. Katara of course was blind to them, not realizing her own beauty, but Sokka saw them. He knew that Zuko held some form of affection for the girl, but he didn't know how much. He also knew that Katara was confused about love and her feelings for Aang, and was therefore much more likely to naively fall in love with another. And in addition, he was probably the only man on the ship anywhere near her age, and people reacted out of character when put in close quarters. The idiot prince might even appear appealing to her...

Sokka knew all this, and was not naive like Aang. He knew that sometimes you had to expect the worse, but he knew also that he would not tell his friend his theory. If it was true, it would kill him. If it wasn't, it would still eat him up till he knew. No, Sokka would bare the burden of this knowlege alone. And with that thought, he fell into a troubled sleep plagued with visions of his sister in the arms of their enemy. He stayed that way till dawn.

"Aang, wake up," Sokka told his friend.

"Is it dawn already?" Aang yawned, his old character apparently back now that they knew where Katara was.

"Yes. Hurry up, we need to pack and leave now. We have no idea where Zuko's fortress is and it might takes months to find out. We don't have time to dawdle."

"Ah, Sokka, don't worry quite so much. At least we know she's safe. And we know who she's with. Granted," the Avatar frowned, "that's not necessarily a good thing. But at least we know she's safe. And he won't hurt her if he is using her as bait. Right?" he asked a bit uncertainly.

"Of course, that's right. But I personally don't want her in the arms-er hands-of the enemy for any longer than absolutely necessary."

"Yeah, that's true. Let's get packin'! Hey, Sokka?"

"Yeah?"

"What was that thing about 'the arms of the enemy'?"

"Nothing. I totally meant hands."