Yeah so Avatar doesn't belong to me. Thanks for all the reviews y'all! And this chapter is dedicated to the ever faithful, dependable, Attalla-The-Hun! Fear her mighty power! Haha... riiight. Oh oh oh! I'm so excited, I finally finished the story! As in, I've finished writing all the chapters... I just need to upload them. So, next Tuesday will be another update, and the next Tuesday and so on... Until chapter 30! Be prepared to give feedback on something... now... On with the story!

We sailed slowly up the river all day without a sign of the Avatar and his friends. I was completely bored. Not to mention nervous with the pirates around. Their ship was behind us only a little ways down the river.

After nightfall we still hadn't found anything and Zuko was growing increasingly grumpy and … well, moody. Everyone except Iroh chose to avoid him. Eventually, Iroh convinced Zuko to pull the ship over to shore and anchor there for the rest of the night.

"I doubt the Avatar will be moving about at this time of night." He said, sipping some tea.

Mmm… Tea. Think I might want some of that stuff.

I got my wish after we set up camp. Iroh started a small fire and heated up another batch of water, then poured me a small cup.

"Thanks." I cupped my chilly hands around the steaming tea. I took in a deep breath, looking up at the stars. "Wow… I haven't really noticed those yet." I automatically looked for the Big Dipper, Orion, and Andromeda. "I can't find- oh."

Iroh looked at me oddly, then up at the stars. He realized what I was looking for. "Shall I point out some of our own constellations?" I sighed.

"Nah, no thanks. I'm going to… go for a little walk."

"Don't go too far." I smiled, he sounded like my parents.

"Yes dad." I grinned at him as he laughed.

I set off along the bank, sipping the hot drink slowly. I'd gone a fair distance, and could faintly see the glow of the campfires through the bushes and small plants along the shore. I sat down in the sand, looking at the unfamiliar star formations.

Suddenly, I heard a faint swishing, like water rippling over stones and I looked around. There were only bushes, trees, and the river but no little stream.

Maybe it's on the other side of the bushes.

I got up to see when I heard a faint voice.

"No! It's all wrong, work!" again I heard a splash. I walked very quietly over to the bushes and paused, listening. The pirates at their camp a little ways down suddenly started laughing and talking loudly about something. The noises stopped behind the bush.

I moved my hands to part a hole in the bush, when suddenly small hands from the other side parted them and a girl's face was looking at mine, shocked.

We stared at each other for a few seconds. I noticed she had a pretty, tan, round face, dark hair pulled back in some odd hairstyle, and blue clothes…

Wait! She's the girl from the village! That … Waterbender! My eyes widened slightly. She seemed to recognize me at the same time, but gasped and turned to run away.

"Oof!"

She collided with one of the pirate watches, who had been patrolling.

She backed away and pulled some water from the river, throwing it at the man. Then she turned to run in the opposite direction only to collide with Zuko. Before she could run away or defend herself he had grabbed her hands in a fierce grip and I knew there was no way she would be getting away.

The girl looked up at him, her eyes wide in fear and defiance. I got up to see if I could convince him to be easy on her; hopefully there would be no burning. However, Zuko had quickly grabbed some rope from one of the pirates and bound her to a small tree in the clearing. Pretty soon everyone was gathered around their captive, watching as Zuko began pacing around her.

Katara… I think that was her name.

I noticed her watching me every now and then. I suddenly realized how odd it must be for me to be traveling with these guys. I really don't fit in here, do I?

"Isn't it a little late to be off by yourself in the woods?" Zuko taunted her. "There might be bad people around." She held her head higher, defiantly. The pirates laughed.

"So tell me. Where is the Avatar?"

"I would never tell you." Katara glared at him, with such hatred it startled me.

"Be reasonable… I will spare you and your brother if you tell me where he is." He circled her, tied to the tree. I hadn't seen this side of Zuko before, and it really confused and scared me. Though I had seen him this way once before…

and when he burned me. He can be pretty ruthless.

"Hmph!" She turned her head away.

Zuko pulled something from his belt, and dangled it in front of her face. It looked like…

"My necklace!" Katara's eyes widened in shock.

Zuko smirked, and withdrew it, swinging it around nonchalantly.

"Ah I thought this was yours. So careless of you to lose it."

"Please… give it back." She said it so quietly and pleadingly I almost thought Zuko would give it to her.

He leaned in close to her. "Where is the Avatar?"

Katara sighed, and lowered her head. "I'll never tell."

Zuko backed away, looking at her. Then he signaled to the pirates who had stood by, watching the whole thing.

"Search the woods. The Avatar and his friend must be nearby." The prince left his prisoner tied dejectedly to the tree, as did the pirates who set off through the woods. Soon it was just Katara and myself.

I stood there facing her silently for a long while, until she finally looked up. I could see unshed tears in her eyes.

"What."

"I'm sorry… I – I wish I could have stopped him." I really did wish I could have stopped Zuko.

"Why didn't you?" She asked accusingly.

I let out a half laugh, sadly. "Well… being burned more than once isn't exactly fun. And… he's not all bad ya know, though that's the side he mostly shows."

"You aren't his… "

Girlfriend? She thinks I'm his girlfriend!

"No, no! No it's just… " I blushed a bit. "He's usually nice to me, and he gave me somewhere to stay."

She looked at me oddly. "I thought the Firebenders were after you when we first met you."

"Well, they were. They thought I was with you guys." She smirked slightly. "But I finally convinced Zuko to believe I wasn't, that I wasn't even from around here."

"Where are you from?"

I paused awkwardly. I didn't know if I should tell her, or not. I looked away.

"Somewhere… really far away. You wouldn't have heard of it."

We lapsed into silence after that. Every now and then we'd find something to talk about for a few minutes, but I was too embarrassed and felt sorry for her, and she was too sad and not to mention tied to a tree. Pretty soon the sun was rising, tingeing the landscape a light pink and orange.

Not long afterwards, there was a loud commotion further up the bank and the pirates emerged, dragging two bound figures amongst them. Zuko, Iroh and their crew approached and stood beside Katara and me as we waited for them to arrive.

The two groups paused only a few yards apart, eyeing each other.

"Hand over the Avatar."

"Give us our scroll."

More eyeing.

"We'll pass them off at the same time."

The older boy, who I supposed was Katara's brother, spoke up. "Wait, you're trading the Avatar for a stupid Waterbending scroll? Jeez you could get a lot more for him somewhere else!" Everyone turned to stare at him.

The pirates, however, seemed to like what they were hearing. They crowded around the boy, listening intently. (A/N: Again, I haven't seen this episode in a long time so I don't remember the words. Spare me!)

"I mean, he's the Avatar! There's only one of those! You could write a new scroll any time."

"Enough!" Zuko held out the scroll. "Hand over the Avatar, now."

The pirates looked at each other, then at their captain. He nodded, smiling evilly at them. Then he drew his sword and pointed it in our direction.

"We're taking the Avatar."

Zuko glared, his fists began smoking again. He pointed at the Pirates.

"Get the Avatar!" He shouted at his men, who surged forward drawing weapons. The pirates surrounded the Avatar and Katara's brother, and began fighting with the Fire Nation soldiers. I leapt to my feat, and drew my sword to keep Katara safe, but saw a strange monkey creature had chewed through her ropes and she was freed from the tree. She looked at me silently, and I smiled at her. I wasn't going to recapture her. She smiled gratefully back, then ran off.

I turned back to the battle but couldn't discern anything through the thick cloud of dirt or sand that had risen during the conflict. I tried to find my way to Zuko or Iroh, but I couldn't see a thing. I could hear the little boy, Aang and Katara's brother trying to find each other in the confusion.

Suddenly, I felt someone behind me and ducked just in time to avoid being knocked out cold by a blow to the head. I turned around, raising my sword and blocked another attack from one of the pirates. He was grinning at me, toothlessly.

I spun to the side quickly as he took a lunge at me with his weapon, and as he pass me I hit him strongly across his back; I knew it was a fatal hit. As he dropped to the ground, I spotted another pirate heading toward me and leapt toward him, catching the tip of his spear with my sword and slicing it off the wooden shaft. Before I could react, he had knocked my legs from under me with what remained of his weapon and brought the other end crashing down on my head. I lay on the ground stunned and too dizzy to move.

So that's why they wear helmets…

I saw another pirate approach, and they smirked at each other.

"She'll bring a pretty penny on the market."

"Aye, quite a rarity."

Slave market… no.

Still I couldn't move to defend myself as one bound my hands and threw me over his back as the two left the battle and climbed aboard ship.

But it looked like the battle had moved to the ship as well. The Avatar's group had climbed on board and was fighting off the pirates there. Katara and the Avatar were using Waterbending to take out their attackers effectively, while the oldest boy used a strange boomerang.

My captors had scarcely set foot on deck before they tossed me roughly aside and rushed the three friends. After only a few seconds, powerful Waterbending had washed them over the edge and into the river.

Wait a second… the shore was right there. I struggled to see over the edge of the ship with my hands tied, and managed to sit up. No… the ship's sailing away! I tried to stand up, but got dizzy again and collapsed, sitting down again. I watched the riverbank, as well as Zuko and Iroh, grow smaller and smaller. Then I noticed another ship was following us, and catching up.

A roaring noise began to fill the air, and I could feel the water in the air steadily increasing.

"A waterfall!" I heard the boy's voice shout above the noise.

Katara and the Avatar made a silent decision between each other. They took a Waterbending pose, and began making pushing and pulling movements with their arms. All of a sudden the ship began to slow, just barely turning away from the incoming waterfall. As they continued, the ship kept turning and slowing until it had stopped sideways in the water, just on the edge.

The friends smiled, and laughed among each other relieved. Katara noticed me for the first time and her eyes widened. I was still dizzy, my head hurt, and I couldn't stand up.

"What are you doing here?" She took a step toward me, then saw something behind me that made her stop and eyes widen even more in fear. The others turned to look as well, having the same reaction.

I looked behind me in time to see the tip of the ship chasing ours collide with the side, pushing our stolen boat over the edge of the waterfall. Everything seemed in slow motion as I slid toward the opposite railing, as did the others. Then as our ship fell over the edge, we fell off and plummeted, so slowly it seemed, toward the churning waters below us.

Suddenly a huge white blur swooped beneath the three friends, and I saw them pull up and stop falling. I kept falling… my head hurting, the world spinning around me. Then out of nowhere an arm wrapped around my waist and I stopped plunging toward the water. I looked around to see Katara's brother, holding onto me as the white thing we were riding on kept flying high over the trees. The Avatar and Katara were there too, looking very shaken. I'm sure we all looked shaken. Then I lost consciousness.