I'm back! And so is Five Elements! I know I said it would be a while before I posted another chapter for this story, but I had some time to kill. Thank you all for your reviews, questions, and suggestions. They're what encourage me to continue writing. Now it's time to go on with the story. There's also a little surprise in this chapter.
Disclaimer- I do not own Dragon Ball or Avatar the Last Airbender
Chapter 9
It was just another day traveling to the North Pole for the and Icarus flew through the mountains with Sokka and Gohan steering, respectively. The Avatar, who was usually driving the bison, was frantically pacing back and forth on Appa's saddle. Ever since their visit to the former fire temple, Aang had been constantly worried about his destiny. "Would you settle down?!" said Sokka as he looked back at Aang. "If we hit a bump, you'll go flying off! What's bugging you anyway?"
"It's what Avatar Roku said," explained Aang. "I'm supposed to master the four elements before that Comet arrives!"
"Well let's see, you pretty much mastered Airbending and that only took you a hundred and fourteen years," said Sokka jokingly. "I'm sure you can master three more elements by next summer."
"I haven't even started Waterbending and we're still weeks away from the North Pole!" said Aang as he resumed pacing. "What am I gonna do?!"
"Calm down, it's gonna be ok!" Katara assured Aang as she grabbed his wrist and sat him down. "If you want, I can try and teach you some of the stuff I know."
"You'd do that?" asked Aang.
Katara nodded before saying, "We'll need to find a good source of water first."
The two benders looked over Appa's saddle as they tried to find a good place for Waterbending. "Maybe we can find a puddle for you to splash in," joked Sokka. The four teens and their pets soon found themselves taking refuge at a large river and waterfall. "Big puddle," said Sokka as he frowned while his sister and Aang smiled widely. "This place is perfect," said Gohan. Appa jumped into the air and landed in the water, creating a big wave that drenched Momo. The Bison rolled onto his back in relaxation. Gohan quickly stripped to his undergarment and jumped into the water as well.
"Yeah! Don't start without me, guys!" shouted Aang as he took off his clothes and prepared to join them.
"Remember the reason we're here, Aang," said Katara.
"Oh right, time to practice Waterbending," said Aang as he put his pants back on.
"Great. So what am I supposed to do?" asked Sokka.
"You could… clean the gunk out of Appa's toes," offered Aang as he held a tree branch to Sokka.
"So, while you guys are playing in the water, I'm supposed to be hard at work picking mud out of a giant bison's feet?" asked the tribesman.
"Mud and bugs," Aang clarified.
Sokka thought about it for a moment before saying, "Ok," and grabbing the tree branch. "You must really be bored," said Gohan as Appa grumbled and sank in the water.
Elsewhere, Zuko's fire navy ship was sailing across the sea while sparks of fire and ki flew off the deck. The fire princes were training by dueling two fire benders. Zuko blocked a fire strike from his opponent and fired three attacks while Trunks dodged two attacks and fired two of his own. The ship suddenly swayed to the side, causing the four benders to slide to the edge of the ship. "Someone's changed our course!" said Zuko. The Princes went inside the ship to where the captain was steering and Iroh was playing pai sho with some men.
"What's the meaning of this mutiny?!" asked Zuko to the Captain. "No one told you to change our course!"
"Actually, someone did," said General Iroh, getting his pupils' attention. "I assure you, it is a matter of utmost importance, Prince Zuko."
"Is it something to do with the Avatar?" asked Zuko.
"Even more urgent. It seems I-I've lost my lotus tile," replied Iroh.
"Lotus tile?" asked Zuko.
"It's a piece for his Pai Sho game," explained Trunks.
"Correct, Prince Trunks," said Iroh. "Most people think the lotus tile is insignificant, but it is essential for the unusual strategy I employ."
"You changed our course for a stupid lotus tile?" asked the Son of Ozai.
"See, you, like most people, underestimate its value," replied Iroh. "Just give me ten minutes to check the merchants. Hopefully, they'll have the lotus tile in stock and I can get on with my life."
Although he didn't say no to Iroh's request, Zuko was clearly angry. He took a deep breath and exhaled fire at the ceiling, filling the whole room with smoke. "I'm lucky to have such an understanding nephew," said Iroh as he smiled.
Back at the waterfall, Appa was floating on his back as Sokka scrubbed in between his toes. The bison moaned happily and Sokka said, "Yeah well, don't get too happy! You've gotta do me next!" On land, Katara was demonstrating her waterbending while Aang sat down and observed. "This is a pretty basic move but it still took me months to perfect," said Katara as she took a stance. "So don't be frustrated if you don't get it right away." Aang nodded in obedience. "Just push and pull the water like this. The key is getting the wrists movement right," explained Katara as she used her hands to push the water back and forth.
The Avatar stood up to join his new mentor. "Like this?" asked Aang as he started copying Katara's movements.
"That's almost right," complemented Katara. "If you keep practicing, I'm sure eventually…"
"Hey, I'm bending it already!" interrupted Aang as he started to push and pull the water.
"Wow, I can't believe you got that so quickly," said Katara. "It took me two months to learn that move."
"Well, you had to figure it out all on your own," said Aang. "I'm lucky enough to have a great teacher."
"Thanks," smiled Katara.
"So what's next?" asked the new Waterbender.
"This is a more difficult move; I call it streaming the water," explained Katara. She then pulled some water out of the river and bent it through the air. "It's harder than it looks, so don't be disappointed if…" she stopped talking when she saw her pupil pulling water from the river. Aang moved the water through the air playfully; Katara dropped her water back into the river while frowning before Aang placed his water back gently. "Nice work, though the over the head flare was unnecessary," said Katara, slightly annoyed. "Sorry," apologized the monk. "Well, don't stop now. Keep 'em coming."
"I kinda know this one other move," said the Waterbender. "I haven't even totally figured it out yet. The idea is to create a big powerful wave." Katara raised her arms as she tried to demonstrate her next move; the water slowly emerged from the river before dispersing quickly. "So, like this?" asked the Avatar as he raised his arms. A giant wave of water suddenly shot out of the river and headed towards Gohan, Sokka, and Appa.
"Whoa!" said Gohan when he saw the wave.
"Aang!" said Sokka when he saw the wave.
The wave splashed against the bison. Appa looked on his stomach and saw Sokka was gone. The wave knocked Sokka into the water and Gohan to the shore. The Water Tribesman emerged from the river with an angry face, his sister's face was equally angry. "Looks like I got the hang of that move," said Aang. "What else you got?" "That's enough practicing for today!" said Katara. "I'll say. You just practiced our supplies down the river," complained Sokka as their supplies floated away. "Uh, sorry. I'm sure we can find somewhere to replace all this stuff," said Aang.
"My life was hard enough when you were just an Airbender," said Sokka as he sank back underwater.
"Wait. Before we go, I want to try out this new move," said Gohan as he stepped back into the river. The Energybender took a stance and cupped his hands together. Aang and Katara watched as Gohan concentrated his energy into a single point and chanted, "KA…ME…HA…ME…HA!" Gohan shot his hands forward and fire a blue beam of ki at the river. It splashed against the water and created a second giant wave of water. Sokka emerged from the river in time to see the wave coming at him; he quickly dived back under and the wave splashed down without harming him.
"Whoa!" said Katara and Aang as they stared at Gohan with wide eyes.
Gohan looked at his hands in astonishment before he noticed Sokka glaring at him from the river. "Heh heh! Guess I need to work on controlling that move, huh?" said Gohan sheepishly.
"I take it back, my life was pretty much over the day I met you and Aang," said Sokka.
The Gang eventually made their way to a market that was full of people and ships with goods. The four teens wandered around and saw multiple people trying to sell items and thugs trying to swindle customers. The Water Tribe Siblings had disturbed looks while Aang had a look of joy and Gohan just held a look of curiosity. Sokka eventually went inside a shop to restock on supplies while his companions waited by the sidelines.
"We've got exactly three copper pieces left from the money that King Bumi gave us," said Sokka as he came out of the store with a bag full of supplies. "Let's spend it wisely."
"Uh, make that two copper pieces, Sokka," confessed Aang. "I couldn't say no to this whistle."
The young monk brought out a whistle shaped like a sky bison; he took a deep breath and blew into it. Sokka covered his ears, expecting to hear a loud sound, but was surprised by the whistle's quiet noise. "It doesn't even work," said Sokka. Momo shrieked at Aang when he stopped blowing the whistle. "See, even Momo thinks it's a piece of junk," said Sokka.
"No offense Aang, but I'll hold onto the money from now on," said Katara. The Airbender shamefully handed the money to the Waterbender.
At one of the Ships near the docks, a man with long hair, a mustache, and red lips was trying to draw customers toward his shop with fancy words. "Water Nation, Earth Nation, Fire Nation, so long as bargains are your inclination, you're welcome here! Don't be shy, come on by!" When no one paid him any attention, he looked around and noticed the Gang walking close by. "Oh, you there! I can see from your clothing that you're world traveling types! Perhaps I can interest you in some exotic curios?!" Gohan, Katara, and Sokka ignored him, but Aang turned to him.
"Sure!" said Aang before asking, "What are curios?"
The man blinked and said, "I'm not entirely sure, but we got 'em!"
The Gang was then led onto a ship full of rare exotic items. Aang stared at some of the merchandise with curiosity. Katara stared wondrously at a small statue of a primate with rubies for eyes and around its body. The Airbender continued to scavenge when he heard a stern voice behind him say, "I've never seen such a fine specimen of lemur." He turned around and saw the Captain of the ship with a Lizard Parrot on his shoulder "That beast would fetch me a hefty sum if you'd be interested in bartering." The Parrot screeched at Momo, who hissed back in response. "Momo's not for sale," said Aang as he hugged his pet.
Gohan looked around until he stumbled upon two special merchandise. His eyes fell onto two gold spheres; the first one had four stars in them while the second one had one star on it. The Energy Bender picked up the four stared ball and examined it. "Why does this sphere seem familiar to me?" thought Gohan. He then picked up the one-star ball and compared it to the four-star ball. "They both seem familiar to me, but this one with four stars seems more personal." The young fighter placed the two orbs together, causing them to glow a bit.
Katara eventually came across a shelf full of scrolls; she spotted one with the Water Nation insignia on it and picked it up. When she opened it, she saw drawings of a Waterbender performing some moves step by step. "Look at this, Aang; it's a waterbending scroll!" said Katara excitedly. "Check out these crazy moves!" The Avatar saw the scroll and asked the Captain, "Where did you get a waterbending scroll?" The Captain quickly placed his hand on the scroll and closed it as he replied, "Let's just say I got it up North, at the most reasonable price…free!"
Katara eyed the scroll as the Captain placed it back on the shelf.
"Wait a minute," said Sokka as he started putting clues together. "Sea-loving traders, with suspiciously acquired merchandise, and pet reptile birds? You guys are pirates!"
"We prefer to think of ourselves as high-risk traders," said the red-lipped man.
Katara held out their money leftover and skeptically asked, "So, how much for the, uh, traded scroll?"
"I've already got a buyer, a nobleman in the Earth Kingdom," replied the Captain. "Unless of course, you kids have two hundred gold pieces on you right now?"
"I know how to deal with these guys, Katara. Pirates love to haggle," whispered Aang as he held out his hand for Katara to give him the money. "Watch and learn." The monk then turned to the Captain and held one coin as he said, "What say to the price of… one copper piece?" The Captain laughed before answering, "The price is two hundred gold pieces. I don't haggle on items this rare." "Ok, two copper pieces!" said Aang as he offered two coins. "It's not as amusing the second time, boy!" said the Captain.
Katara then came up to Aang and said, "Aang, can we get out of here? I feel like we're getting weird looks." The Airbender grabbed his staff and said, "Aye, we be casting off now!" Aang, Katara, and Sokka headed toward the exit when they saw Gohan placing the one star ball back on the shelf. "Come on Gohan, let's go!" said Katara as she grabbed his wrist and dragged him away before he could say anything. His hand accidently knocked the one star ball onto the ground.
"What was that all about, Katara?" asked Aang as they left the ship.
"Yeah, I was just starting to browse through their boomerang collection," said Sokka.
"I'll just feel a lot better once we get away from here," replied the Waterbender as she continued to drag Gohan.
Just then one of the Pirates ran out the ship and cried out to the Gang. "Hey, you! Get back here!" Aang turned around expectantly and said, "Well well, look who's come to their senses. Told you the haggling would pay off," A whole gang of Pirates suddenly jumped off the boat armed with weapons, which shocked the monk.
"There they are!" said one Pirate.
"Get 'em!" said another.
"Nobody's going nowhere!" said another.
All the Pirates stood with their weapons ready in case the four teens tried to escape. "I don't think these Pirates are here to trade with us," said Katara just as the Gang started to run. "Get back here!" cried one of the Pirates as they chased after the teens. A few Pirates followed the Gang around the corner while one of them stopped the rest and said, "This way! Let's cut 'em off!" as they took another turn. As the Gang ran, Katara spilled some water and froze it which made one of the Pirates slip and crash; the others jumped over the ice and pursued.
The Cabbage Merchant from Omashu was admiring his cabbages when Sokka bumped into his cart and knocked off some. The merchant quickly caught them just as Katara passed by and knocked over a few more. The merchant caught them again as Gohan jumped over the whole cart and continued to run. The merchant sighed in relief just as Aang jumped through the cart and used his staff to toss the cart at the Pirates. "My cabbages! This place is worse than Omashu!" said the merchant as he walked away. The Pirates lay defeated in a cart of cabbages.
The Gang continued to run until their path was intercepted by three more Pirates; they quickly turned to flee and the Pirates ran after them. "I hope that Lemur of yours has nine lives!" said one of the Pirates. The four travelers eventually ran into a dead end in an alley where the Pirates had them trapped. "Now, who gets to taste the steel of my blade first?" asked the red lipped Pirate as he swung his knives. "No thanks!" replied Aang. He then swung his staff at the ground, creating a dust cloud that blinded the Pirates.
"Hang on tight!" instructed Aang as he opened his glider and ran towards the Pirates with his friends close behind.
"Aang, I thought we were running away from the Pirates!" said Katara as she and Sokka grabbed onto Aang's glider.
"Just hang on!" repeated Aang.
The Gang suddenly jumped over the Pirates' heads and took off into the air (Gohan, Momo, and Aang, who was carrying the Water Tribe siblings). The Pirates watched as their targets flew away from the market. The four teens and their lemur landed back at their waterfall campsite.
"I used to kind of look up to Pirates, but those guys are terrible!" said Aang as he closed his glider.
"I know; that's why I took… this!" said Katara as she revealed the stolen waterbending scroll.
"No way!" said Aang in disbelief.
"Isn't it great?!" asked Katara.
"No wonder they were trying to hack us up; you stole their waterbending scroll!" said Sokka.
"I prefer to think of it as, high risk trading," joked Katara.
"Good one, Katara," laughed Aang.
"I thought they were after us because I had this," said Gohan as he revealed the four star orb.
"Whoa! What is that?" asked Aang as he stared at the orb.
"I don't know, but it feels like I've seen this somewhere before," said Gohan. "There was another one with one star at that Pirate shop that looked familiar as well."
"And you stole that from them too," said Sokka disapprovingly.
"Hey! I didn't steal it on purpose!" explained Gohan defensively. "Katara rushed me out of there before I could put it back, and I forgot that I still had it when we ran from those Pirates in panic."
"Besides, where do you think they got this scroll from?" Katara asked her brother. "They stole it from a Waterbender!"
"It doesn't matter! You put all our lives in danger just so you could learn some stupid fancy splashes," complained Sokka.
"These are real waterbending forms!" argued Katara. "You know how crucial it is for Aang to learn waterbending."
"Whatever," scoffed Sokka as he walked away.
"Well, what's done is done," said Aang. "We have it; we might as well learn from it."
Back at the market, Zuko's Ship was at the docks while General Iroh searched the market for a lotus tile with his pupils. Trunks and Zuko stood outside the market as they waited for Iroh to return. "I've checked all the shops on this pier," said Iroh as he returned. "Not a lotus tile in the entire market place."
"Sorry to hear that, Iroh," said Trunks.
"It's good to know that this trip was a complete waste of time for everyone!" said Zuko as he glared at his uncle.
"Quite the contrary," argued Iroh. "I always say the only thing better than finding something you're looking for, is finding something you weren't looking for at a great bargain!"
Some fire soldiers passed by them carrying some just purchased merchandise; one of them was carrying a giant twisted horn.
"That's a lot of stuff you weren't looking for," commented Trunks.
"You bought a sungi horn?" asked Zuko.
"For music night on the ship," explained Iroh. "Now if we only had some woodwinds." He then wandered off with Trunks and Zuko close behind. "Oh, this place looks promising!" said Iroh as he pointed to the Pirate ship. The three entered the ship, where Iroh saw the primate statue covered with rubies. "Oh, that is handsome! Wouldn't it look magnificent in the gallery?" asked Iroh as he picked up the statue. Trunks looked around until he stepped on something round and hard. He looked down and saw a gold orb with one star in the center. The lavender haired Prince picked up the sphere and examined it. "Where have I seen this before?" thought Trunks. He then turned to ship's Captain and asked, "How much for this orb?"
The Captain looked at the one star ball and replied, "Fifty gold pieces, kid." Trunks pulled out a bag full of money and opened it; he laid out fifty gold coins for the captain to see. The Captain collected the money and said, "Ya know, we have a second sphere just like that one but with four stars. We'd be happy to sell it to ya once we get it back; that is if you're interested in buying it?" "So there's more, huh?" thought Trunks before he said, "Sure, I'll buy the second one too." Just then, the Captain's second in command entered the ship to give his report.
"We lost the Water Tribe girl and the little bald monk she was traveling with," said the Pirate. This information captured the Fire Princes' interest. "Doesn't that sound like someone we know?" asked Trunks. "This monk, did he have an arrow on his head?" Zuko asked the Pirates while Iroh was playing with the Primate statue.
Back at the waterfall, Gohan continued to examine the four star ball while Katara and Aang were studying the waterbending scroll. "I know I should probably return this to the Pirates, but I feel so attached to it that I can't let it go so easily!" the young fighter thought. He then placed the orb in a small pouch and watched his brother and Katara practice with the scroll. "I just want to try this one move first and then it's all yours," said Katara as she pointed to one of the moves on the scroll. "Here, hold it open for me." Katara gave the scroll to Aang and took a few steps back.
She took a bending stance as she examined the scroll. "The single Water Whip," said Katara as she looked at the steps. "Looks doable." She gently pulled water out of the river and tried to use it as a whip, but the water suddenly smacked her in the forehead. Sokka laughed at his sister's failed attempt.
"What's so funny?" asked Katara.
"I'm sorry, but you deserve that," answered Sokka before he spoke to Aang. "You've been duped; she's only interested in teaching herself."
"Aang will get his turn once I figure out the Water Whip!" argued Katara.
She tried once more to perform the Water Whip, but the water slipped from her control once more, this time smacking Momo in the rear, making him screech. "Ugh, why can't I get the stupid move?!" Katara asked furiously. "You'll get it," said Aang encouragingly, but Katara only frowned at him. The Avatar placed the scroll down and took a stance. "You just gotta shift your weight through the stances," advised Aang as he performed the Water Whip perfectly. "There, see? The key to bending is…"
"WILL YOU PLEASE SHUT YOUR AIRHOLE?! BELIEVE IT OR NOT, YOUR INFINITE WISDOM GETS A LITTLE OLD SOMETIMES! WHY DON'T WE JUST THROW THE SCROLL AWAY SINCE YOU'RE SO NATURALLY GIFTED?!" Katara yelled at Aang's face. She glanced at her brother, who was frowning at her. "What?!" she asked. The Waterbender looked back at Aang and saw the expression of hurt on his face.
"That was uncalled for, Katara," said Gohan.
"Oh my gosh Aang, I'm so sorry," said Katara sincerely. "I don't know what came over me. But you know what, it won't happen again." She closed the scroll and handed it to the Airbender. "Here, this is yours. I don't wanna have anything to do with it anymore!"
"It's ok, Katara," said Aang.
"What about Gohan? It's his brother you were yelling at," mentioned Sokka.
"I'm sorry, Gohan," said Katara.
"Apology accepted," replied Gohan.
"What about Momo? He's the real victim here," said Sokka as the lemur was rubbing his rear.
"I'm sorry, Momo," said Katara as she petted the lemur.
"And what about me? There was that time you…" Sokka started to say
"No more apologies!" said Katara.
At the market place, Zuko's ship was still docked when the boat was lowered into the water. The Pirates and Zuko's crew were sailing the river together in search of the Gang. "Shouldn't we stop to search the woods?" asked the Pirate Captain. "We don't need to stop," said Zuko. "They stole a waterbending scroll right?" "Mm hmm," replied the Captain. "Then they'll be on the water," said Zuko.
Night had finally fallen. The Gang was resting on the ground around a campfire fast asleep, except for a certain Water Tribe girl. Katara got out of her sleeping bag and pulled the waterbending scroll out of Sokka's sack. She quietly stepped away before turning around to face the curious eyes of the Lemur bat. Momo cooed at the Waterbender until she shushed him and whispered, "Momo, go back to sleep." Katara walked past the lemur who cooed again until she shushed him a second time. She hurried off with the scroll so quickly she didn't notice Gohan's sleeping bag was also empty.
Katara stood by the river with the scroll opened up on a stump as she tried to master the Water Whip. She pulled water out of the river, only for it to collapse back into the river. "Shoot! Come on water, work with me here!" Katara cried in frustration before trying again. "Ok, what if I just… Ow! Stupid scroll!"
On their boats, Zuko and the Pirate Captain heard Katara's yelling and looked to each other. "Ok Katara, shift your weight through the stances," the Waterbender instructed herself, only to fail again. "HA!" a battle cry was heard seconds before a blue beam splashed against the river, creating a wave that drenched Katara. She quickly grabbed the scroll and hid herself when she heard a familiar voice. "Wow! I almost had it that time!" said Gohan. "Gohan?! What are you doing out here?!" asked Katara as she revealed herself.
"Trying to master controlling that move I used earlier," replied Gohan. "I'm so close to perfecting the Kamehameha."
"I'm sure you are," said Katara sarcastically.
"Wait a minute, what are you doing out here, Katara?" Gohan asked his friend.
"Me? Well, I-I was just…" Katara stammered as she sweatdropped nervously.
Gohan looked behind her and saw the waterbending scroll hidden behind her back. He raised an eyebrow as he asked, "I thought you said you wanted nothing to do with that scroll?" Katara sighed as she lowered her head in shame and replied, "I didn't mean that, I just want to get this move down and prove that I'm a capable Waterbender." Katara sat down on the stump and stared at the river. Gohan stood next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Just because you can't do any fancy waterbending moves doesn't mean you're not a capable Waterbender," said Gohan. "You shouldn't let your jealousy of Aang stop you from thinking clearly."
"I'm not jealous of Aang!" argued Katara.
"Yes, you are," said Gohan calmly.
Katara was about to deny it but she stopped when she realized she couldn't convince her friend. "I just don't understand how he can be better than me at Waterbending. I know he's the Avatar but I never thought he would get it down so fast; we were supposed to learn together," said Katara. "You don't know what it's like Gohan, you're an Energybender."
"So what? That means I don't understand how it feels to be less talented than someone?" asked Gohan. "I've seen two Energy benders who are clearly better than me, so I know what it means to be jealous of someone better than me, but I don't let that get to me. It just motivates me to work harder and get stronger so that one day I'll be better than them."
Katara looked towards the spiky haired teen, who was smiling at her. "Aang maybe better at waterbending than you now, but you should remember that you're the one who taught him waterbending in the first place. Instead of focusing on beating Aang, you should strive to master waterbending at your own pace." Katara smiled at her friend and hugged him. "Thanks for the pep talk, Gohan."
The two teens suddenly heard something wash against the shore; they looked through the bushes and saw Zuko's boat docked by the river. Katara backed away and bumped into one of the Pirates, who grabbed her. "No, let go of me!" cried Katara. "Katara!" cried Gohan. The young fighter charged at the big Pirate but was grabbed by two more Pirates. Katara pulled water out of the river and slapped the Pirate's face with it, forcing him to let her go. She tried to run but ended up bumping into Prince Zuko.
"I'll save you from the Pirates," said Zuko.
"Let her go!" cried Gohan as he broke away from the Pirates. He charged at Zuko with his fist fueled with his ki. Just as he was about to nail Zuko, he was suddenly struck in the back by a yellow energy blast from Prince Trunks. The black haired fighter crashed into the ground before he was restrained by the Pirates. "Hello Gohan, nice to see you again." greeted Trunks. He then noticed the small pouch around Gohan's waist that was glowing a bit. "What's this?"
The lavender haired Prince grabbed the pouch from the young fighter and opened it; his eyes widened when he saw the four starred orb. "Hey, give that back!" ordered Gohan. "I don't think so," replied Trunks as he pulled out the four star ball.
Pretty soon, both benders were tied to a tree surrounded by Fire Soldiers and Pirates. "Tell me where he is, and I won't hurt you or your brother," said Zuko as he questioned Katara about the Avatar. "Go jump in the river!" Katara yelled back at the prince. "Try to understand, I need to capture him to restore something I've lost: my honor," said Zuko as he approached the girl and spoke calmly. Katara just turned her head away from the Firebender. "Perhaps in exchange I can restore something you've lost." The Fire Prince placed Katara's necklace by her neck for her to see. "My mother's necklace!" said Katara as Zuko walked away from her. "How did you get that?!"
"I didn't steal it if that's what you're wondering," replied Zuko. "Tell me where he is!"
"No!" answered Katara.
"This isn't working," said Trunks. "They won't tell us anything,"
"Listen Trunks," said Gohan. "There's something I need to tell you!"
"Is it something to do with the Avatar?" asked Trunks.
"No! But it's really important; you just need to trust me!" urged Gohan.
"Then you can tell me about it once we have the Avatar," replied Trunks.
"What are you talking about, Gohan? What's so important that you need to tell someone from the Fire Nation?" asked Katara.
"I'll explain later," answered Gohan.
"Enough of this nonsense," said the Pirate Captain. "You promised the scroll!"
Prince Zuko brought the waterbending scroll and held over a hand of fire. "I wonder how much money this is worth," said the Prince. The Pirates' faces held looks of distress which answered the prince's question. "A lot, apparently. Now you help me find what I want, you'll get this back, and everyone goes home happy. Search the woods for the boy and meet back here!"
"Fine," agreed the Captain before he and his men left.
The next morning, Sokka woke up to see that his sister wasn't in her sleeping bag. "Where did she go?" asked the Tribesman. He looked into his sack as the Avatar stirred awake. "I don't believe it, and Gohan's gone too?" complained Sokka when he noticed a certain scroll was missing from his bag. "What's wrong?" yawned Aang. "She took the scroll!" said Sokka. "She's obsessed with that thing; it's just a matter of time before she gets us all in deep—AAH!"
The Oldest boy screamed as his hands were tied by a whip and he was pulled towards a Pirate. The Pirate swung his whip at Sokka who rolled away and grabbed his war club to fight back. Another Pirate showed up for the ambush carrying a crossbow with a large net; he fired said net at the Airbender. Aang launched an airball at the net but it didn't deflect it and he was captured by it. "I've got em, come on!" cried the Pirate that grabbed the captured monk. The one fighting Sokka knocked him down and ran away with the one dragging Aang. "Oh what? I'm not good enough to kidnap?" asked Sokka seconds before he was caught with a net and dragged away.
The Pirates brought Aang and Sokka back to where the Fire Soldiers were keeping Gohan and Katara. The boys had their hands restrained as they were presented to Prince Zuko. "Nice work," Zuko complimented. Sokka struggled against his restraints as did Gohan while Aang and Katara looked toward each other.
"Aang, this is all my fault," said Katara.
"No Katara, it isn't," argued Aang.
"Yeah, it kind of is," said Iroh.
"Give me the boy!" commanded Zuko.
"You give us the scroll!" the Captain countered.
"You're really gonna hand over the Avatar for some stupid piece of parchment?" asked Sokka in disbelief.
"Don't listen to him; he's trying to turn us against each other!" Zuko warned.
"Your friend is the Avatar?" asked the Captain as he turned to Aang with curiosity.
"Sure is, and I'll bet he'll fetch a lot more on the black market than that fancy scroll," said Sokka.
"Shut your mouth, you Water Tribe peasant!" Zuko yelled to Sokka.
"This isn't going to end too well," muttered Trunks.
"Yeah Sokka, you really should shut your mouth," advised Aang.
"Whose side are you on anyway?" asked Gohan.
"I'm just saying, it's bad business sense," said Sokka as he continued to sway the Pirates to breaking the deal. "Just imagine how much the Fire Lord would pay for the Avatar. You guys would be set for life!"
Now convinced, the Captain said, "Keep the Scroll! We can buy a hundred with the reward we'll get for the kid!" and began to walk away with his crew, taking Aang and Sokka with them. "You'll regret breaking a deal with me!" said Zuko. He and two other Firebenders kicked fireballs at the Pirates. The Sea loving traders jumped back while their lieutenant ran forward and threw three smoke bombs at the Firebenders at the same time ducking another fire attack. Zuko and his men were blinded by the smoke as the red lipped Pirate jumped at them with his knives out.
Some of the Fire soldiers ran through the smoke and charged at Aang and Sokka with spears, but the remaining Pirates blocked their paths and threw more smoke bombs on the ground. The Soldiers stopped in front of the smoke cloud but were pulled in by the Pirates. Momo suddenly appeared and chewed through the restraints of Katara and Gohan. "Thanks Momo, we owe you a bushel of Apples," said Katara once they were free. Inside the smoke, Aang was coughing as he wandered through it. He suddenly bent backward to avoid a disk that cut the ropes around his wrists and followed up by avoiding a spear that sliced the rest of his binds.
Prince Zuko suddenly jumped out of the smoke while holding the waterbending scroll. He placed it right in his belt as he glanced behind himself, and he immediately ducked to avoid a sword slash from the Pirate Captain. The Captain drew back his blade while Zuko took a fighting stance. He threw three fire attacks at the Captain, but the Pirate blocked them and thrust his sword forward which Zuko blocked with his wrist guard. He then threw another fire attack that the Captain ducked before grabbing Zuko's arm while Zuko grabbed his arm. The scroll was suddenly snatched by a whip from another Pirate, but the Lemur bat flew by and grabbed it with his feet. The reptile bird saw Momo flying and rammed into him, causing the scroll to fall into the giant smoke cloud.
Gohan ran through the smoke while knocking out any Pirate and Fire soldier he saw. He then stopped when he saw Trunks fighting off a few Pirates with the pouch by his waist. He charged at the lavender haired Prince with his fist ready; Trunks noticed him and blocked the attack by grabbing Gohan's fist. The two were soon moved out of the smoke as they glared at each other; they backed away from each other while still glaring.
"You have something I want," said Gohan.
The Prince pulled out the four star ball and asked, "You mean this?"
"Give it to me Trunks, now!" ordered Gohan.
"You want it? You're gonna have to take it from me!" challenged Trunks.
"Challenge accepted!" said Gohan as he took a stance.
"I'll even give you an advantage," said Trunks as he grasped the four starred ball with his left hand. "I'll only use one arm for this fight."
"What?! There's no way; you're trying to trick me!" accused Gohan.
"Nope, dead serious!" Trunks assured his opponent.
"Come on, Trunks, you know that's impossible," urged Gohan. "You can't beat me with one arm!"
"We'll see about that!" said Trunks as he charged at Gohan. The older fighter tried to hit his foe with a hand chop attack but it was blocked by Gohan's arm. The spiky haired boy attempted to kick Trunks but the Prince dodged it and tried to punch Gohan. The two Energy benders were locked in combat; although they seemed evenly matched, Gohan continuously gained the upper hand since Trunks was fighting with one arm. Gohan skull bashed Trunks in the face; the Prince quickly recovered and punched Gohan in the right cheek. The two continued to duke it out inside the smoke screen while avoiding weapons from Pirates and Fire Soldiers. Gohan punched Trunks' stomach before kicking his face and the Prince countered by punching Gohan's chest.
Trunks was being pushed back as Gohan fought with more unrelenting force than himself. With every punch he gave, Gohan would counter with a punch and a kick, every elbow bash was countered with a skull bash and a palm strike, every kick was blocked and countered with a knuckle blow.
Eventually, Gohan managed to catch Trunks off guard by restraining his limbs and attempted to punch his face. In desperation, Trunks tossed the four starred ball into the air and blocked Gohan's attack with his left arm; he then caught the orb with his right arm and skull bashed his enemy in the face. Gohan broke away from the Prince and rubbed his face; he glared at Trunks who was taking deep breaths.
"Hey! You said you'd only use one arm!" complained Gohan.
"And I still am!" replied Trunks. "I never specified which arm I would use! If I switch arms, it still counts as one arm!"
"That's cheating!" said Gohan.
"Call it what you want, but you're not gonna get this sphere if you don't beat me!" said Trunks.
"Fine!" cried Gohan as he charged at Trunks furiously. The two Energy benders resumed their fight. Gohan continued to overtake his opponent while trying to swipe the four starred ball from him. Trunks had hand chopped Gohan, but he shook it off and elbow bashed the Prince. Trunks attempted to hand chop Gohan again but the younger fighter blocked his strike as he said, "Gotcha now! FACE KICK!" The lavender haired fighter was hit hard in the face by Gohan's foot. The black haired boy quickly shouted, "FACE PUNCH!" as he struck Trunks right in the head, disorienting him a bit.
Trunks staggered away from his opponent as he tried to overcome his dizziness. When his vision came back and he saw Gohan smirking, he gritted his teeth as he fired an energy blast at the boy's chest.
Gohan flew backward and landed on his side. Trunks fired another energy attack at him but he quickly jumped into the air to avoid further damage. The Prince jumped after him and appeared above him and knocked him to the ground before rapidly firing multiple Ki blasts. When he stopped firing for a moment, Gohan jumped into the air with his hands cupped together. "KA… ME… HA… ME…" the younger fighter chanted as he focused his energy in between his palms. A blue star of ki started to form and expand in his hands.
"Now you lose!" cried Trunks as he concentrated ki into his left hand; he shot his hand toward Gohan and yelled, "BURNING BLAST!" as he fired a large gold beam at his foe. "HAA!" cried Gohan as he fired his own blue beam to counter Trunks' attack. The two beams collided and pushed against each other. Trunks' beam started to expand as it got closer to Gohan. "MORE POWER!" cried Gohan as he forced every bit of his energy into the blast and the Kamehameha grew more, immediately consuming Trunks' attack seconds before crashing into Trunks.
The Prince was thrown into the air and landed on his back as he fell unconscious. Gohan was breathing very heavily as he slowly approached Trunks and said, "Sorry it had to come to this, but I can't let anyone have this orb!" as he grabbed the four star ball from Trunks' hand and left to find his friends.
Inside the smoke field, fire continuously flew in all directions as did knives and spears. Sokka was crawling on the ground when a knife suddenly landed in front of him. He used it to cut the ropes around his wrists as he called out to his friend, "Aang, are you there?!"
"I'm over here! Follow my voice!" replied Aang as he jumped into the air.
"Where? I can't find you!" cried Sokka.
"I'm right here!" yelled the Airbender. He then blew all the smoke around him away and found himself surrounded by armed Fire Soldiers and Pirates. Aang quickly recovered himself in smoke and said, "Uh, never mind, I'll find you!" Sokka crawled out of the smoke just as Aang jumped out of it and yelled, "Run!" The two ran over to where their female companion was pushing against the Pirate ship; there, they met up with Gohan. "Katara, you're ok!" said Aang. "Help me get this boat back in the water so we can get out of here!" said Katara. The four teens pushed against the boat but it didn't budge at all.
"We need a team of Rhinos to budge this ship," suggested Sokka.
"A team of Rhinos, or two Waterbenders," said Aang as he looked at Katara, who smiled at him.
Aang and Katara moved their hands back and forth as they pulled the water from the river under the ship, and the water eventually lifted the ship off the shore and Katara said, "Everybody in!"
Prince Zuko and the Pirate Captain were still fighting when Iroh grabbed both of them and asked, "Are you so busy fighting you cannot see your own ship has set sail?!"
"We have no time for your proverbs, uncle," said Zuko.
"It's no proverb!" said Iroh. He pointed toward the Pirate ship which was drifting away with the Gang inside. "Bleeding Hog Monkeys!" cried the Captain as he ran after his ship. Zuko laughed at the Captain until he saw his own boat sailing after the ship with the Pirates on board. "Hey, that's my boat!" cried Zuko as he ran after his boat.
"Maybe it should be a proverb," Iroh mused to himself.
"Come on, uncle!" ordered Zuko.
Zuko's boat was gaining on the Pirate ship. Aang saw this and called out to his friend who was at the steering wheel, "Sokka, can't you make it go any faster?!" "I don't know how!" replied Sokka "This thing wasn't made by the Water Tribe!" Pretty soon, Zuko's boat sailed right next to the Pirate ship, allowing the Pirates to jump onto the ship. Acting quickly, Aang made a giant wave to wash the Pirates off the ship, though one of the Pirates managed to stay onboard. Katara took him out by trying out the Water Whip, which she finally perfected.
"Hey, you did the Water Whip!" said Aang.
"I couldn't have done it without your help!" thanked Katara.
"Will you two quit congratulating each other and help me out?!" asked Sokka as he struggled against two Pirates. Meanwhile, Momo was still having his own battle against the Lizard Parrot; the two pets flew through the air with the Parrot following the Lemur's every move. Eventually they climbed up the mast to the flagpole and Momo used the flag to tie up the Reptile Bird.
Gohan had encountered three more Pirates. He kicked the first one into the water. The second one swung a whip at him, but he quickly dodged it and used a Ki wave to knock the man off the ship. The last one tried to jab Gohan with a spear, but he quickly grabbed the weapon and used it as a lever to propel the Pirate into the river.
The Pirates that Sokka was tussling with managed to get the best of him as one of them threw him into the Ship's mast. Aang appeared behind one of the Pirates and blasted him away with an air strike; he then knocked the second one off his feet and used his airbending to launch him off the ship before going to check on Sokka. "Aang, look!" cried Katara as she pointed ahead. The Avatar saw that their ship was headed toward a waterfall and said, "Oh no." The remaining Pirate came up to Aang holding a knife. The monk pulled out his bison whistle and blew hard into it; the Pirate looked at the boy in confusion and prepared to strike, but Sokka kicked his knife out of his hand before kicking him into the river. "Have you lost your mind?! This is no time for flute practice!" Sokka cried to Aang.
The Gang watched with fear as the ship got closer to the waterfall. "We can stop the boat! Aang, together! Push and pull the water!" instructed Katara. The two Waterbenders moved their hands from side to side as they concentrated on controlling the waves. "It's working, it's slowing down!" cried Katara as the water pushed against the ship. The two continued to bend the river, creating two whirlpools that stopped the ship at the edge of the waterfall. "We're doing it!" exclaimed Katara.
"But we got another problem!" said Sokka as he pointed to Zuko's boat that was still headed toward them.
"I got it!" cried Gohan as he turned toward the boat and cupped his hands together. "Kamehameha!" cried the Energy bender, but instead of a giant blue beam like he wanted, a small puff of ki exploded from his hands.
"What was that?!" asked Sokka.
"That was me with no energy left to do anything but scream!" replied Gohan.
Zuko's boat rammed into the Pirate ship, tipping it over and pushing it toward the waterfall. The Gang slid to the edge of the ship as it started to go over the waterfall; they all held hands and yelled, "JUMP!" The four jumped off the ship and began to plummet down the river when suddenly Appa appeared and flew under the teens, catching them in his saddle just as the boats fell to the bottom of the waterfall. Appa flew off into the air away from the waterfall as the boats smashed against the water.
"I knew a bison whistle would come in handy," said Aang as he held up the whistle. "Thanks Appa!"
"Yeah, we owe you one," agreed Sokka as Momo rested on his shoulder.
Icarus then flew up to Appa's saddle and licked Gohan's cheek, making the boy smile. "Hey Icarus," greeted Gohan as he jumped onto his dragon's back.
Back on the shore, Zuko had reached the end of the Waterfall just after his boat went over it. "My boat!" cried the teenage Firebender. His Uncle and lieutenant finally caught up to him and stopped to catch their breath. "Prince Zuko, you're really gonna get a kick out of this," chuckled Iroh as he pulled something out of his sleeve. "The lotus tile was in my sleeve the whole time!" Trunks fell over anime style while Zuko took a few huffs; he then grabbed the lotus tile from Iroh and threw it over the waterfall. It bopped one of the Pirates who was at the bottom on the head.
"Aang, I still owe you an apology," said Katara as the Gang flew above the clouds. "You were just so good at Waterbending without really trying; I got so competitive that I put us all in danger. I'm sorry."
"That's ok, Katara," said Aang.
"Besides, who needs that stupid scroll anyway?" asked Katara.
"Is that really how you feel?" asked Sokka as he waved said scroll at his sister.
"The Scroll!" said Katara as she reached for it, but her brother put up his hand to stop her.
"First, what did you learn?" asked Sokka.
"Stealing is wrong…" replied Katara. Her brother smiled and put his hand down; Katara then snatched the scroll and finished her sentence. "… unless it's from Pirates!"
"Good one, Katara," laughed Aang.
Gohan then pulled out the four starred ball and stared at it; the ball glowed repeatedly as he looked at it in a trance. "Hey Gohan, whatcha got there?" asked Aang. Gohan snapped out of his trance and replied, "Just this strange orb."
"You mean the one you stole from the Pirates?" asked Sokka.
"I didn't steal… oh, forget it," said Gohan. "Yes, that one." He then held it out for his friends to see, and they all stared at the sphere in wonder. "It's beautiful," said Katara as she took it to hold. She passed it to Aang, who examined it and said, "I've never seen anything like it before." The monk then gave it to Sokka, who stared at it with little interest and asked, "What's so special about this ball anyway?" "I'm not sure, but I feel like I'm connected to this thing somehow," said Gohan as he took it back. "I feel like I shouldn't let it fall into the wrong hands."
"What would happen if it does?" asked Aang.
"Not sure, but it can't be good!" replied Gohan as he glanced at the ball one last time and thought, "What secrets do you hold?"
A/N: There, how'd you like that one? Now it's time to move on and continue this story. Thank you all for your patience and your reviews/suggestions. Don't worry, all secrets will be revealed in time. Until then TTFN AntiHero out!