Chapter 12: Shocking News
Quick responses to reviews:
Hhaileynichholee: Oh yeah, I get it. I just thought that I would let you know that I wasn't planning on it. I might if I see a situation that would make it right, but otherwise I'll just have to wait and see. I'm glad that you've been enjoying it, though. Oh yeah, Azula's not quite done with the Gaang just yet. And thank you! That's really nice of you to recommend me.
TheRaccoon13: Yep. Not to give away anything, but it's kind of the calm before the storm, so you'll just have to see how it unfolds. And don't worry, Sukka will definitely be official in this one.
Natec183: Lol, sorry for the cliffhanger. I've got a bad habit of doing those. Thanks! I'm glad that you like it.
Wil02: Aye, I agree. Action is all well and good, but even heroes need to have some relaxing time too, right? ;)
UGudBroXD: I guess you'll have to see. ;)
Ashley Barbosa: Thanks! And you're right, I am grateful to the authors who helped influence my writing, but it wouldn't be as descriptive if it weren't for your suggestion. So, thank you. :)
Twoturtleducks: Well, thank you for reading them! I love hearing that you enjoy my stories so much. Thank you for letting me know that you enjoy them. :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Aang and Katara could only stare at the billowing smoke rising in the sky in horror. They had such a fun and peaceful day, they hadn't even entertained the notion that Azula would have found them, but they supposed that they should have known. From what Zuko had told them, Azula was not only crazy, but a master tracker and a keen warrior. She would be hard to get off of their trail.
Slowly but surely, the rest of the villagers and pirates seemed to smell the smoke too, and all turned and gasped to find that the village was indeed on fire. If they hadn't been in shock from seeing this, they likely would have gotten up immediately, but it took them several moments before they managed to snap out of it.
Sharing a nod of agreement, the Captain and the Quartermaster turned towards the rest of the people on the beach as Katara prepared herself to speak. "Okay, everyone! Gather your clothes and weapons and get ready. We're likely going to be going into a fight. Follow us!"
With that, they all got dressed as quickly as they could and made sure they had their weapons with them before breaking out into a run, knowing that every second wasted was another second that their village and the villagers who had stayed behind would be in danger.
Katara and Aang felt horrible about coming to the island, however. The only reason Azula had started burning their village was because she was trying to draw them out, and if they had never come there, then this would never have been their problem. Though Aang blamed himself the most, knowing that it was his idea to go there in the first place.
But, despite the fact that they both felt rather guilty at the moment, they put it aside and focused on getting to the village. The sooner they could assess the damage and how to deal with Azula, the sooner they could begin fixing things.
Normally, Aang would just use some airbending to get them to the village quicker, but despite the fact that he was the Avatar, he wouldn't be able to protect them all if he sent them up in a burst of air. Instead, he decided that it would be best to just run as fast as he could without leaving them in the dust. Though he was a skilled pirate, he imagined that Azula had a miniature army with her, and did not like his odds against them on his own.
After what felt like forever, the Captain and the Quartermaster finally reached the entrance to the village, both of them becoming alarmed as they saw a couple buildings on fire along with the large Kyoshi Statue in the center of the town.
Both of them sharing a nod, Aang watched as Katara reached inside her waterskins and brought out a good amount of water while Aang drew the water out of the humid air. Most waterbenders wouldn't be able to get a lot of it out of the air, but it appeared that his Avatar abilities helped him with that.
Working together, they used their collective water to put out what fires they could, and when they ran out of water, Aang finished off the remaining fires with some quick airbending, saving the village from receiving any more damage.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Aang turned around and looked at the people behind them, a look of worry on his face. "Is everyone okay?"
"You won't be soon, Avatar," a familiar voice called out to him from the main building, making him whip around again and get in a defensive stance as the Gaang did the same, watching as Azula came walking out with guards on each side. "Surrender, and I'll spare these pitiful villagers their lives."
"Over my dead body!" Katara snarled as she pulled out her sword, making Azula smile evilly as she shrugged simply.
"Don't say I didn't try to compromise. Guards, take care of them!" she called out, watching her troops start moving forward to capture their enemies.
Knowing that they didn't have much time left, Aang turned around quickly and looked at the villagers. "Everyone, get out of here! We'll take care of them!"
"We'll help!" Suki told him as she and her warriors stood up, having put their armor back on, but not having had enough time to put their warrior face paint back on as well.
Although he didn't want anyone else risking their necks because of his mistakes, he knew that they would be a great help against the small army Azula had brought and reluctantly nodded. "Alright, everyone else go!"
The remaining villagers did as they were told and retreated while the rest ran up to meet the approaching enemy. Though they were certainly outnumbered, the skill of the small army marching towards them was not even close to the collection of rogues, pirates, and warriors that faced them. Something that was clearly shown as the battle began.
Katara decided to strike first, taking some water from a nearby fountain and using it to push some of the Fire Nation troops back before jumping into the fray, using her waterbending and mastery of the sword in equal measure as she cut through the enemy line.
Aang, knowing that he would never let her fight alone, stayed as close to her as he possibly could, knocking people out and using airbending to scatter them. He also used some firebending to break any incoming flames, but only used it for defense. These people might have been trying to kill him, but he would rather die than take a life. It was just who he was, no matter how inconvenient it seemed at the moment.
While those two were busy, Suki, Toph, and Sokka worked together to mount an attack on each side with their crewmates, making their way through the small army to meet their friends in the middle. Zuko and Mai, however, hadn't hesitated to jump directly into the fray, taking on the soldiers with ease as they did their best to pin them down. They understood why the others save for Aang, Iroh, and Suki were killing, but they wouldn't kill their own people. Even if their people were trying to kill them at the moment.
Iroh of course still refused to fight, but he managed to help defend his friends and occasionally would knock them out if he thought they would be in danger. As much as he didn't want to fight, he would not allow innocent people to get hurt. Least of all his own nephew.
The Kyoshi Warriors were also helping quite a bit. Due to their years of training and their quick movements, they easily subdued whoever came in their path and helped even the odds. In fact, thanks to their help in the battle, the fight was much quicker than they had thought it would be, as it wasn't long before the last few soldiers left stood guard by Azula who did not look very pleased with how everything had turned out.
Under normal circumstances, she would likely have tried to take them on, but she was smart enough to know that she was outnumbered, even with the few remaining guards left. "Imbeciles," she muttered crossly beneath her breath before looking around for something to use as a distraction. Upon seeing the large statue that she had previously set on fire to get their attention, she smiled wickedly and shot a strong burst of flames at it, making Aang and Katara immediately panic as they saw the town get more damaged than it already had been.
With them being distracted putting it out, the rest of the group looked back from the statue to where Azula had been, but she and her guards were already gone.
"B-but… she was just there!" Sokka couldn't help but exclaim in surprise as he moved his arms wildly in the air before pointing to where she had previously been standing. "How did she get away so quickly?!"
"That's Azula," Zuko sighed sadly, feeling bad that the villagers' home had been partially burned because of his crazy family. Though he felt a little better knowing that they had managed to stop it from being completely burned down. "Don't worry, Sokka. She'll be back."
"I'd rather that she didn't come back," was Sokka's only reply, making Zuko frown as he found that he agreed with him. He never should have had to think such a thing about his own sister, but it was clear that she was nothing but trouble at this point. Still though, trouble or not, he didn't want her to die.
Deciding to stop thinking about this, he turned back to the statue to see Aang and Katara working together to put out the fire with some waterbending, not noticing as the villagers came walking back to their home with awe all over their faces.
Once the two lovers had finally finished, they both managed to get back down from their vantage point and looked at the villagers awed faces, sharing a look of confusion as they noticed this. Fortunately for them, they didn't have to wonder about it for long, as the leader of the village came up to the front of the group and spoke.
"That lady… she called you the Avatar," he couldn't keep the awe from his voice, making Aang's eyes widen as he realized that they had been around for that. "Are you really the Avatar?"
Sharing another look with Katara, he knew that he had been caught anyway and decided to be honest as he looked back to the village leader. "Aye, I am the Avatar."
The villagers all gasped, the awe on their faces only increasing as they looked upon him before they all fell to their knees and bowed, making him once again uncomfortable as he saw them all treat him like this. Most people would probably enjoy it, but not him.
"It is the honor of a lifetime to meet you, Avatar," the leader of the village said as he kept his head bowed, making Aang laugh nervously as he rubbed his neck.
"You all don't have to bow. I'm nothing special."
"You're special enough to have the princess of the Fire Nation come hunting you down," Sokka added, making Katara give him a glare that instantly shut him up.
"We are very honored to have you here, Avatar Aang. Thank you for stopping the Firebenders from burning down our home," the leader told him as he and the rest of his people stood up.
At this, Aang frowned, knowing that it was his fault that Azula had nearly burned down their village. "You shouldn't thank me, mate. I'm the reason that they came here in the first place," he informed him sadly.
"That may be so, but you and your friends are the reason why we still have a home," the leader easily replied. "You cannot be held responsible for the actions of others."
Seeing Katara give him a smile and a look that said 'he's right', he let out a deep breath and nodded slowly, still feeling a little guilty, but knowing that there was nothing he could have done about it. "Aye, I guess you're right. Well, thank you so much for allowing me and my crewmates to be here today, and I'm sorry for everything that happened. I think it's best if we leave now to make sure that Azula doesn't try to attack your home again."
"Aye, Aang's right," Katara spoke up as she addressed the leader. "Thank you for letting us stay here." Turning to her crew, she then ordered. "Get your things and make your way back to the ship. We're setting sail as soon as everyone's on board."
The crew did as they were told as Katara looked back to Aang, watching as various villagers came up to him to meet him, noticing that he still looked uncomfortable with the way that they were treating him. But, knowing that he would likely have to get used to this eventually, she allowed the villagers to talk to him for a while before making an excuse for them to go, for which he was very grateful for.
As they said their goodbyes to the villagers, they started walking back to their ship when they heard a familiar voice. "Wait!"
They all looked over their shoulders and were surprised to find Suki come running up to them, making them wonder what she had to say. When she finally stopped in front of them, they noticed that she had a bag slung over her shoulder and had changed into her regular clothes, once again making Sokka's jaw drop as he took in her natural beauty.
"I want to come with you," she finally said as she looked directly at Aang and Katara, despite knowing that Katara was the one in charge. Of course she respected that, but Aang was her friend, and she wanted his approval to let her tag along as well as Katara's.
"Really?" Katara couldn't help but ask in surprise, clearly not having expected her to ask this in a million years. "Why?"
At this, Suki grinned, a clear look of challenge and excitement on her face. "I want to pay back that crazy princess for burning my home," she told her simply, making Katara smile appreciatively at this.
"Well… we could always use another person to help us take her down," she began thoughtfully as she looked at Aang before looking back to Suki. "But we're not hunting her down. Zuko here doesn't want us to kill her," she told the warrior as she gestured to the scarred prince.
"That's fine. I can wait. Besides, what fun would killing her be? I'd much rather wipe the smug smirk off her face," Suki replied easily, making Katara laugh and Toph snort.
"You've got the stuff, Fan Girl," Toph grinned at her before looking over to Katara. "Let her join, Sugar Queen. She sounds like fun."
"She would be a good part of the team," Katara mused on it as she looked down at the ground. "But what about your village? I thought that you lead the Kyoshi Warriors here?"
"I left my second in charge while I'm away," Suki informed her with a smile, making Katara laugh a little, clearly being impressed.
"Wow. You've definitely thought of everything. What do you think, Aang?" she asked as she turned to her love, making him smile as he looked back at her.
"Whatever you think is best, Captain," he simply said, making her smile as well as he saw that he completely trusted her judgement. Feeling encouraged by this, and seeing no real reason to deny the Kyoshi Warrior, she turned back to their new friend and nodded.
"Aye, then. You can come with us if you want, but just so you know, we have our own mission that we're going on. It won't be quite like what you're probably thinking," Katara advised her.
Suki shrugged a little, a bit of a smirk on her face as she responded. "When is anything what I'm probably thinking?" she joked, making the rest of them save for Zuko and Mai laugh. "I'm ready for anything."
"Well, then welcome to the crew, Suki." Katara told her with a smile, making Suki smile back at her as she bowed to her. Katara, not having bowed to anyone since she had left the South Pole, appeared confused for a moment before remembering that it was custom with the rest of the world and did the same.
"Hey, I'm glad that you're joining us," Sokka whispered to her with a smile, making her smile back at him as she kissed his cheek.
"Thanks. I'm glad that I'm joining you, too," she whispered back to him, becoming amused as she saw the blush coloring Sokka's cheeks from where she had kissed him.
Finding herself amused at seeing her brother looking embarrassed, Katara took Aang's hand in hers and gestured for everyone to follow her. "Come on, guys! It's time to set sail!" Needing no more convincing, the pirates made their way back to the ship, feeling a new sense of excitement with their new crew mate and what the future would bring.
Azula paced across the deck of her ship as it started sailing the opposite direction of the island, knowing that she didn't have enough manpower to take them on at the moment. As strong as she was, she had been far too outnumbered, and she wasn't foolish enough to try to take them all on. Even if she felt as if she could outsmart them with ease.
"Princess, we have finally lost sight of their ship. They shouldn't be able to find us now," her captain said as he came walking up to her.
"Good work, captain. Make sure it stays that way," she ordered mindlessly, surprising the captain as he saw that she had actually complimented him.
"Thank you, Princess," he bowed to her before walking away, leaving her alone to her thoughts as she looked out to the sea.
Feeling herself get angry at her failure thus far, she couldn't help but let out a bit of it as she thought aloud. "That stupid Avatar and his friends. They have made me look foolish not once, but twice! This is unacceptable. I will not allow myself to have another failure!"
Knowing that her anger wouldn't help her to think, she forced herself to take a deep breath and let it out, her mind clearing as she tried to think. "What can I do to get them? I'll kill them all if I have to. I'm sure father will understand. He'd rather have them dead than free to do as they please. What can I do to make sure that the Avatar and my traitorous brother never get away again?"
Thinking about it for a few moments, a lightbulb seemed to go off in her head as a wicked smile crossed onto her face, making her laugh as she thought of something that would work perfectly. "Captain!" she called to him from her spot below the captain's room. "Set our course due West. I have an important meeting to attend."
A couple months later, the pirates found themselves getting ready for the day. As per his usual, Aang had the crew scrubbing the deck and making sure that their weapons were sharpened as they made their way through Earth Kingdom waters.
They had been back to hunting down other pirates while also training Aang in the rest of the elements, and had been quite successful with both objectives. Many pirates had fallen to Katara's crew over the time since they had left Kyoshi Island, and Aang had almost mastered all of the elements. Well, she supposed that he had mastered firebending and earthbending, but she had drawn out her waterbending lessons a little longer than she really needed.
Of course, she knew that this probably wasn't a good idea, as Aang needed to know everything as soon as possible if he was going to defeat the Fire Lord, but she couldn't quite help it. After Toph and Zuko had declared him to be a master of their elements, their training had been just the two of them, which Katara had enjoyed a great deal. Still though, as much as she knew that she enjoyed spending time alone with him like that, she knew that she needed to ensure that he was ready for his upcoming fight.
Though she had noticed that Aang had been nervous at the prospect of his upcoming battle with the Fire Lord. From what Zuko had told him of it, and from what they had seen of Azula's crazy tactics and powerful firebending, he knew that Ozai would not be easy to defeat.
Not only that, but being the pacifist man that he was at heart, he had no desire to take the Fire Lord's life if he could help it. She understood this, of course, but she didn't know any other way to defeat the world's most psychotic man, and if he couldn't finish the job, then she would. There was no way that she was going to let Aang die because he didn't want to kill anyone.
At any rate, she would make sure that she and her friends would be ready to help him with his fight when it came to that. Though she had to admit that she was a little scared, too. It was only a month until it was the end of Summer, the deadline that Avatar Roku had given Aang, and she couldn't help but feel nervous about how the battle would go.
But, knowing that Aang was pretty much fully trained in all of the elements and knowing that they had friends to back them up, she decided not to worry too much about it. They would be just fine.
Azula might prove to be a problem when Aang eventually faced the Fire Lord, she knew, but she wasn't really sure what she could do about it. The crazy princess was far too elusive for them to capture her, and frankly, she wasn't sure she'd want to keep her prisoner, anyway. The last thing she needed was for some insane firebender to burn down her ship while they kept her locked up.
Not that it would completely matter if she did, to be fair. It was clear that her time as a pirate was drawing to a close with Aang's upcoming battle getting closer, but she had still hoped that she would have enough time to at least take out most of the pirates roaming these waters. There was one in particular that she had been hoping to come across: Yon Rha. The man who had killed her parents.
She had been so focused on trying to wipe out the majority of pirates over the years that she hadn't even thought to get Yon Rha out of the way. Though, to be fair, she hadn't quite expected to have the Avatar join her crew and for there to be an upcoming battle that said Avatar needed to fight in to make sure that war didn't break out throughout the world.
Despite this, the young captain had tried to find her number one enemy in the region that he had been said to haunt, but had no luck in her search. And, knowing that there were other pirates to hunt, she had given up for the time being, knowing that she would have to come back to it later.
But time was running out for her cause, and she became fearful that she wouldn't be able to avenge her parents' deaths before Aang had to face his destiny. She knew that her parents wouldn't want her to avenge them, but she couldn't help it. If it hadn't been for Yon Rha, her parents would still be alive. Granted, she might not have ever met Aang nor discovered her potential as a pirate captain, but she would not let him get away with the murder of her family.
"Captain?"
Snapping out of her thoughts, she looked over and was not so surprised to find Aang at her side, a look of concern on his face. Clearing her throat, she then replied. "Yeah?"
"Are you alright? You seem a little… sad…" he trailed off, not sure of what exactly to say. He didn't want to make her more upset, but he also wanted to find out what was making her unhappy so he could fix it.
Deciding that it wouldn't do her any good to keep it secret, she let out a little sigh and looked back out to the sea, clutching onto the wheel tightly as she finally decided to let it out. "I… I was just thinking about my parents and Yon Rah," she finally admitted, making his eyes widen and a look of horror come across his face.
"Oh, Katara. I'm so sorry, I-"
"It's okay, Aang," she assured him with a kiss on the cheek, smiling a little as she saw him blush from her kiss. "I just don't know what to do. We don't have a lot of time left, and I want to keep hunting down other pirates to make sure that the world is safe from them, but I also want to find him and avenge my family."
Aang remained silent for a few moments, knowing that she wasn't going to like what he was about to say, but knowing that he wouldn't be doing his job as her boyfriend if he didn't. "Katara, I know that you want to avenge your parents, but revenge doesn't help anyone." He paused thoughtfully as he tried to think about the best thing to say to her. "There was a saying that my parents taught me when I was younger that they learned from the monks back when they were Air Nomads. 'Revenge is like a two-headed rat-viper. While you're watching your enemy go down, you're being poisoned yourself'."
Katara squeezed her eyes tightly as her grip tightened on the wheel as well, not wanting to argue with the man she loved, but not wanting to agree with him, either. "It's easy for you to say, Aang. You haven't lost anyone like I have before."
"But I have, Katara," Aang told her simply as he moved closer to her and looked her in the eye, seeing the surprise on her face as he did so. "My parents died a few years ago. They were killed by pirates during a raid."
"I'm so sorry, Aang," she couldn't help but look at him with pity, having had no clue that he too had lost his parents to pirates. "I had no idea-"
"It's okay, Kat. I understand," he assured her, making her sigh a little in relief. "The reason why I told you this is because I want you to understand what I went through when I saw my parents die. I was just like you. I wanted to avenge their deaths, too, but I knew that it wasn't what they would want from me." He paused and looked back to her. "And I don't think your parents would have wanted you to, either."
After a few moments of silence, staring at the wheel and thinking over all that he had said, she let out a long sigh and nodded slowly. "Aye, I guess you're right," she reluctantly admitted, making him smile a little as she looked up to him. "I still want to. Really badly, but my parents wouldn't want me to choose revenge." She looked away from him for a moment. "But I still need to face him, Aang. I need to make sure that he won't ever hurt anyone ever again."
Although this wasn't quite what he had been hoping for, he could see in her eyes that he wouldn't be able to talk her out of it, and decided that he would drop it. As much as he knew that revenge wasn't the right way to handle things, he respected that she could make her own decisions, even if he didn't agree with them.
"Aye, Captain. As you wish," he nodded before walking away, making Katara watch him go with sad eyes. She didn't want to do anything to drive a wedge between them, but even if she knew that revenge wasn't going to bring her parents back, she still had a mission to complete. And if her mission also happened to avenge her parents' deaths, then all the better.
Still though, she didn't like seeing Aang get upset with her, which she could tell that he was. He wasn't very upset, but she could see that he wasn't happy that she was going to continue on with her personal vendetta.
Knowing that she couldn't allow this to continue, she looked down at the people below her and spotted her brother. "Sokka, come take the wheel!"
Becoming surprised at this, Sokka did as he was told and quickly made his way up to the wheel, barely hearing a mutter that sounded like 'thank you' from his sister before she started walking down the stairs, making him wonder what was going on.
Making her way over to the airbender, she nearly pushed her way through her crew until she found him leaning up against a mast, sharpening his sword with a stone as he lay back. Though she wasn't sure why, as he never used the blade part of his weapon.
Finally reaching him, she decided to just get into it as she stood in front of him, knowing that she couldn't let him continue to be upset. "Aang, I'm sorry that you're upset about this, but I-"
"I'm not upset about your decision, Captain," Aang interrupted her as he continued scraping his sword with the stone, keeping his focus on it as he spoke. "I understand well why you feel like you have to. My only concern is for your well-being."
Taking a deep breath, he set the stone aside on a nearby barrel and put his sword back into its sheath, making himself be calm and reasonable before he allowed himself to look back up to her. "I know what it's like to want revenge. To want to have some kind of payment for something that was stolen from you, but I can tell you that it won't be what you're expecting."
"But Aang, this isn't about revenge anymore," Katara objected.
"But it is," Aang replied simply as he looked up at her. "I know that you have your mission to make sure that no one else has to go through what you and your brother went through, but there are other ways to make sure that Yon Rha never hurts anyone ever again."
"Like what?" Katara asked with a raised brow.
"Like capture him and make him spend the rest of his days in a prison," Aang told her easily, making Katara frown as she saw that he was right. "But you still want to kill him, don't you?" She remained silent, knowing that he was right as he sighed. "I thought so."
Standing up all the way, he walked over to her and cupped her cheek in his hand, forcing her to look up at him as he put on a weak smile. "I understand why you want revenge, Katara. And I'm not going to stand in your way, but I'm also not going to pretend like this is going to be good for you. Because it's not."
Looking into her eyes, he forced himself to say everything that was on his mind, no matter how much he wished that they could just be happy as they usually were at the moment. "Revenge isn't going to bring your parents back, and it's not going to bring you closure. It's just going to be some temporary relief that you'll feel until you spend the rest of your life wondering if you should have spared him or not."
Deep down, Katara knew that he was right, but she still couldn't help but feel the anger burn within her as she remembered her parents. She had loved them both dearly, and she wanted so badly for them to be avenged.
Seeing this, Aang sighed a little and leaned down to give her a kiss. "No matter what you decide, Katara, I'll always be here for you. I just know that if you choose revenge, you'll end up regretting it. All I want is the best for you."
"I know," Katara whispered back to him, resting her head against his chest as she wrapped her arms around his neck as he rested his head on top of hers.
"Just… think it over," he murmured to her, making her sigh contently as she enjoyed being in his arms. "Whatever you decide, I'll support you, even if I won't like it."
"I know," Katara murmured back to him. "And that's why I… like you.""
Aang couldn't hold back the beginnings of a grin as he heard this, knowing how she truly felt for him, but not willing to tell her about it just yet. Now was not the time for him to tell her how he felt, even if he really would like to.
Instead, he decided to just enjoy having her in his arms, even if he still wished that she would just choose to leave the past in the past. But, he knew that she wasn't exactly like him, and understood that she had her own reasons for wanting revenge. He had meant what he said when he told her that he would support her decision. He would be there for her as long as she wanted to be with him.
Unfortunately for them, their hug was interrupted by the sound of a bell going off, making their eyes snap open as they knew what it meant.
"Katara!" Sokka called from the wheel and motioned for her to come up, which she and Aang did quickly as they saw that there was trouble. When they finally reached the wheel, Sokka took out his spyglass and showed them what he had seen, which happened to be none other than the ship they were currently looking for.
"Thanks, Sokka," she thanked him before turning back to the crew. "Get ready, everyone! The sooner that we take care of these pirates, the sooner we can move onto the next!" The crew cheered in reply, making her smile as she retook her place at the wheel as Sokka and Aang stood at each side of her.
Before long, the two ships had lined up next to each other as Katara waited to see who would attack first. After a few moments of silence, she decided that she would be the first one to attack. "Firebenders! Take up the line!"
The firebenders did as they were told and moved forward, waiting for her signal to attack and, upon having gotten her signal, they shot a strong burst of fire at the ship, all of them becoming surprised as they were met with no resistance. The fire immediately started burning the ship, making the enemy pirates too busy trying to put it out to be able to fire back.
"This is going to be too easy!" Toph called to her captain from below with a grin, making Katara smile as she saw that she was right.
"Aye. Let's finish this, then!" The crew cheered again and got their grapple hooks ready, winding them up for a few moments before throwing them out and getting them stuck on the railing of the enemy ship. With that taken care of, they all worked together to pull the ships closer and, when they were close enough, they all jumped aboard the enemy vessel.
Katara had to admit, she was a bit surprised that incapacitating the enemy ship had been so easy, but upon looking at the pirates on the ship and seeing nothing but green, she thought she understood why. It was rare to have a pirate crew that only bent one element, but judging by the sea of green around her, this pirate crew was purely earthbenders.
Though she didn't see how this would be a wise idea, she decided to ignore it, knowing that it didn't matter. These people were pirates, and whether they were earthbenders or not, they would all be drawing their last breath today.
With that, she forced herself to focus on the task at hand and fought ferociously, taking out enemies with ease while simultaneously making sure that Aang was okay. Of course she knew that he could handle himself just fine, but she wouldn't allow him to get hurt. Even if it meant that she got hurt in his stead.
Narrowly ducking a swipe of the sword, she kicked the sword out of the pirate's hand and stuck her own through his rib cage, allowing it to rest there for a moment before she pulled it out and moved onto the next.
She didn't enjoy killing these people, but she saw no other option. If she allowed them to continue being pirates, they would keep ruining lives that didn't deserve to be ruined, only making her determination to see her mission through increase as she thought about it.
Thankfully for her, the battle did not last very long, as their enemy was simply far too outskilled to be able to take them on. The only problem she found, however, was that the captain of the ship had not come out to fight, making her annoyed that she would have to go find them to end this.
But, knowing that she was already close, she gestured for Aang to follow her and walked over to the Captain's cabin, not being very surprised to find that it was locked. Sharing a nod of agreement, they both took a side of the door and worked together to bust it down, finally succeeding after a few failed attempts as they looked into the large room.
The enemy captain appeared to be sitting at his desk, counting his gold coin as he looked up to them. "Why couldn't you lot just leave me alone?" he barked angrily as he stood up.
"Because you're a pirate!" Katara snarled at him before walking quickly into the room, not giving him the chance to draw his sword as she knocked him to the ground and kept her sword pointed at his chest.
"If you had left me alone, I would have stopped being a pirate by a week from now!" he growled back at her, making Katara and Aang share a look of confusion. Having noticed this, the captain snickered and looked at them with hate in his eyes. "What? You lot don't know?"
"Don't know what?" Aang asked curiously, seeing that the enemy captain was genuinely surprised that he knew something they didn't.
Despite having a blade pointed at his chest, he didn't appear to be very scared, though neither the Captain nor her Quartermaster could figure out why. "Didn't you hear? There's a pardon."