Chapter 4: A New Perspective
Quick responses to reviews:
AnonymousKataang: Yeesh, you must be either an early riser or a night owl, because I can't do either. The earliest I can get up is seven and the latest I can stay up is three. And yeah, the website appeared to have some bugs, but it sounds like they've been fixed now. Glad to hear you liked it. Hope all is well with you and your family!
lalaanddiki: Glad to hear that you like it so far. Thanks for reading and reviewing!
UGoodBroXD: All in good time, my friend. All in good time. Even if it's rather tempting to make them do it now.
Bingbong17: Sorry, mate. Cliffhangers are one of my bad habits. I'll try not to end this chapter on another one if I remember. And to answer your other question… Well, you probably don't want to know how many. ;)
Kataang forever: Awesome! I'm glad to hear I did the fight sequence decently. I'm always afraid I'm going to mess that portion of it up since I don't write it as much as other parts of stories. Stay safe!
Hhaileyynicholee: Yeah, I don't what exactly was going on with the website, but whatever it was seems to have gone away. Though I've found that I like using the app as well, so it wasn't a complete waste of time for me at least. I'm glad to hear that you liked my use of Iroh in the story. He's one of my favorite characters on the show, and I'm always happy to put him in if I remember to. I'm also glad to hear that you like the way I've handled the Avatar stuff. The funny thing about when I write is that I don't really think far ahead to where my stories are going, which is another bad habit of mine, but I just tend to go with the wind so to speak. Just another reason that I consider myself to be like Aang. And I agree. I can't wait to write the scene where Sokka finds out about his Quartermaster dating his little sister. Stay safe!
Ashley Barbosa: Well, I'm glad to hear that you/re still enjoying my story. That part is actually going to be tricky for me to write, as Aang is going to be conflicted between his duties as the Avatar and his selfish desire to remain a pirate, but hopefully I'll be able to get it just the right way.
Stegosaurus1412: Glad to hear that you like it so far. Yeah, you're probably right. Running away from his responsibilities came back to bite him in the butt in the canon show, so I agree. Ha ha! Very clever. I haven't heard a lot of pirate jokes before. Thanks for the laugh. Oh, and I'll just leave what they're going to come across as a secret. Why spoil the fun? ;)
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Aang and Katara immediately ran out of the captain's cabin, knowing that whatever was going on, their crew would need their help. They both recognized what that bell meant, and that meant that it was all hands on deck.
"Does this happen often?" Aang couldn't help but ask as the two started jogging their way up the stairs to take their positions.
"Not anymore than the next pirate," Katara shrugged simply as she took her place at the wheel, making Aang raise a brow at her as she shrugged simply. "When we're in battle, I prefer to pilot the ship myself. Didn't you?"
"Well, I didn't really need to," he too shrugged as he tried to get a good look at their approaching enemy, but couldn't see much from the distance the two ships were apart. "I had a great helmsman who did everything for me."
Before they could talk about this more, the quickly approaching ship started turning on its side, making Katara's eyes widen. "They're about to attack!" Looking to Toph, she pointed toward the ship and yelled. "Get your line of defense! We're not going down today!"
"Aye Aye, Captain!" Toph nodded and motioned for several of the people around her to come with her. From what Aang could see, about ten people lined up next to the tough Earthbender on the side of the ship as Katara turned it to meet the other ship. Once the two ships were perfectly lined up, Katara waited for the other ship to make its move. It didn't for several moments, likely waiting for them to make the first move, but eventually sent forward a wave towards them.
Being surprised at this, Katara called out. "Waterbenders! Take the line!" The Earthbenders backed up as the Waterbenders moved forward and managed to stop the wave, sending it back at the other ship who had intended to drown them with it.
Once the wave had reached the other ship, the wave simply disappeared, making Katara look at them with a bit of annoyance. "We're evenly matched for Waterbenders. Earthbenders! Back to the line!"
The Waterbenders retreated and the Earthbenders once again took their spot on the line as they awaited Katara's signal, which she was more than happy to provide. "Sink their ship!" she yelled over the sound of both the ships' crews cheering.
Not wasting a moment, the Earthbenders took the large boulders that had been set there for this very purpose and simultaneously stomped on the ground, lifting the boulders in the air and shooting them out to the ship.
Aang could only watch in amazement as the barrage of boulders went flying towards the enemy ship, but he had become a bit disappointed to find that most of them had been stopped save for a few that had managed to puncture the hull.
Seeing that they weren't matched in Earthbenders, but also knowing that those were the last boulders they had, she then yelled. "Firebenders! Your turn!"
Watching as the Earthbenders retreated once more and about seven or eight Firebenders moved forward, Aang could only watch in amazement as Katara shouted for them to attack, seeing a large amount of fire go barreling towards the other ship.
To his great surprise, there didn't appear to be anyone on the ship who could stop the incoming attack, and the entire ship was set ablaze as they did so.
Katara grinned, feeling happy that they had finally gotten them where she wanted them. "The enemy is disoriented!" she called over the crew's cheering. "Pull us in! It's time to take their ship for our own!"
The crew cheered even louder at this, but they didn't cheer for long as they all ran around quickly as and gathered the gear they would need for this next part. Aang watched the familiar scene of the crew getting their grapple hooks and swinging them for a few moments before letting them go, letting them sink into the already pretty heavily damaged hull.
Normally, Katara would be a bit worried that the other ship would try to cut off the ropes, but they appeared to be too busy trying to put the fire out from their ship, making her smile. This was almost too easy.
Once they had finally managed to pull the ships close enough together, Katara moved from the wheel and drew her sword, pointing it at the enemy crew. "Leave none alive!"
Cheering once more, the crew didn't waste a moment and jumped from the railing to the enemy's deck, beginning the fight immediately. The enemy crew, who were still busy trying to put out the fire that their enemies had made, were too distracted to do anything until the first few enemy pirates landed on their ship. As much as they wanted to make sure their ship would survive, they knew that they needed to make sure that they survived first and foremost.
Aang was a bit hesitant to join in the fight as he watched everyone else go. He was the only non-killing pirate on the crew, and had never worked with pirates who actually took lives before. But, as much as he didn't like the idea of watching all of these lives be snuffed out, he at least took comfort in the fact that they were evil pirates and decided to use that.
Besides, just because they would kill didn't mean that he would. He would do what he could to help incapacitate them, but if their enemies were going to die, it would not be by his hand. He would not have their blood on his hands if he could help it.
Feeling satisfied with this, he finally decided to join the fight and ran up to the railing, grabbing onto the rope and swinging his way over to the other deck. Pulling his sword out at the last minute, he used a small bit of airbending to get himself behind two enemies and knocked them both out with the hilt of his sword, watching as they crumpled to the floor immediately from his actions.
Seeing that they were taken care of, he noticed someone charging towards him and easily side stepped them, watching as they went barreling towards the rail of the ship and, with a swift kick to their backside, Aang sent them over the rail and into the sea. Being pirates, he assumed that they could swim. And if not, then… he supposed it was in self defense, so he felt okay with that.
Turning around, he was amazed to see just how good of a crew Katara had managed to procure. They seemed to take on their enemies with ease, something that he had only seen his own crew have an easy time with. Though he supposed that it was most likely because most pirates had expected his crew to use lethal means, but had found that they had just been trying to subdue them.
Though he couldn't hide his disdain as he witnessed one of the enemy pirates get stabbed in the back by one of his crewmates, blood trickling down from his gut as they removed the sword and kicked them to the ground. He was sure that he would get used to them killing eventually, but he certainly wasn't there yet.
Deciding to just shake off his disgust, he forced himself to focus and got back into the fight, disarming his enemies and knocking them out in equal measure as he found himself enjoying this. It had been a few days since he had had a proper fight. Other than the duel with Sokka, of course, but this was a real fight. One that could leave him dead if he wasn't careful.
But as much as it didn't make sense, that seemed to add to the thrill of it. Not knowing whether you would live or die, just knowing that you had to give it your all. This was one of the things that he loved about being a pirate. And Avatar or not, he had every intention of living this way until the world needed him.
He hadn't had much time to think about this new discovery before they had been forced into battle, but he supposed that he didn't really need it. Katara was right. The world did need its Avatar, but it didn't need it now. As long as no one else knew that he was the Avatar and the world didn't need him yet, he was going to continue living the life he loved.
Even if he greatly wished that his crewmates wouldn't take lives as they did.
Of course, he understood well where Katara was coming from in her hatred of pirates. After all, his parents had been killed by pirates, too. Pirates, save for a few, were vicious, mean, cruel, and all around horrible people. They only thought of themselves, and didn't care about the lives they took. All they cared about was building up their own personal fortunes, even if it meant they would eventually pay for it with their lives.
Despite understanding the appeal of wanting to amass a fortune for yourself, he also knew that there was a better way to do it. Rather than rob innocent merchants who were just trying to make a living for their families, his entire tenure as captain of his ship had been spent attacking the other Nations' ships, which were filled with riches that the rulers of each of the nations would simply hoard and never use.
Aang found this fact very annoying, as he had heard that the rulers of the Nations were supposed to be just and fair. How could a ruler be just and fair if they demanded taxes from their subjects and just kept it locked up somewhere it wouldn't be of any use to anyone? How many lives could be made better with the money that was being hoarded in each of the Nations' treasuries? How many people could have a good home, warm food, and overall a better life because the Nations' leaders were greedy?
Other than the fact that he did not want to attack innocents, this was the main reason why he went after the Royal convoys instead of other ships. The rulers of the world had more wealth than they knew what to do with, and he figured that if they wouldn't give it back to their people, they would have to share it with him.
And he was happy that even though he was being forced to stay on a crew that he didn't want to be on, he had at least gotten a captain who was mostly like-minded to his ideals. Of course, there was the 'to kill or not to kill' difference between them, but Katara had been raised differently than he had. Not to mention that she had a personal vendetta against pirates, which he understood well.
One way or another, despite still wanting to captain his own ship, he was at least grateful that he had been saved by a captain who thought mostly like him. If it had been another pirate crew, he either would have had to fight them all or flee, neither of which would have been ideal for him.
Shaking his head of these thoughts as he noticed Katara fighting two people at once, he became amazed as he saw her speed and precision in action, easily taking them on for a few moments. From what he could see, she appeared to be toying with them, making him smile appreciatively. A girl who liked to have fun with her opponents just like he did? She was beginning to sound more and more like the girl for him.
He blinked in surprise as he knocked out a pirate with the hilt of his sword. Did he really just think that? Sure, it had been obvious from the beginning that he found her attractive, but who other than her own brother wouldn't? But now he was starting to like her for more than her looks.
Though he didn't understand this, as he had just met her that day. He hardly knew anything about her. How could he possibly have gotten real feelings for her? Thinking about it as he mindlessly fought another pirate, he decided that it was possible. Despite the little time they had spent together, he had learned a great deal about what kind of person she was from her actions and her words.
From what he could see, she was a strong, confident woman who made for a great captain. There was another side to her, however, that not many people had seen. The real her. The her that she had likely kept hidden ever since she had decided to be a pirate.
The whole reason she had begun her reign as a pirate captain was because she wanted to avenge her parents deaths, showing that she deeply loved her family and wanted the chance to bring her parents' killer to justice. He had also seen the kindness that was in her heart that she let a rare few see. When he had been at his worst moment finding out that he could bend more than one element and being utterly confused, she had taken the time and effort to bring him to a place where he could calm down and get some clarity. Something that he would never expect from a normal person, let alone one of the most notorious pirate captains in the world.
Not only that, but she cared greatly for people in general. So much so that she had vowed to eliminate every last pirate who wasn't like them to ensure that no one would have to go through what she and her brother had gone through. He couldn't quite believe that someone could be so selfless, but she was proof that it was possible.
Add all of that with her beauty and her confidence and what a great fighter she was, he found that he could fall for a girl like her. But this was silly. What were the odds of her liking him back? Sure, he had seen that she liked how he looked, but that wasn't real feelings. And as far as he was concerned, why would she? He didn't think that he was a catch or anything. He was just some guy who lost his ship and wound up being stuck with a responsibility that he never in a million years would have imagined being given. What exactly did he have to offer?
Shaking his head at himself as he kicked his opponent back into the mast, he quickly shut these thoughts out of his mind. It didn't matter. There was no way she would ever like him like that, and knowing that he was only allowing himself to be distracted by these thoughts, tried his best to remove them.
Finishing off his opponent with a swift kick to the head, knocking them out instantly, he turned back to look at his captain and was not so surprised to find that she had defeated her opponents. What he hadn't expected, however, was for an enemy to start sneaking up on her, his intentions clear as he lifted a dagger towards the unsuspecting Waterbender's neck.
Panicking a little, Aang gathered some air around his feet and burst up into the air, using the wind around him to guide him to the top deck where his captain currently was taking a breather. As he landed, he gathered the winds around his sword and pointed it at the stealthy pirate, sending an especially strong gust of wind that he sent straight towards his enemy.
Just as the pirate raised his dagger to end the captain's life, the strong gust of wind knocked him off his feet, making him scream as he was flung out into the sea.
Katara, who hadn't seen any of this coming, blinked in surprise for a few moments before turning to Aang with an appreciative smile. "Thanks. I can't believe I didn't see that coming."
Aang smiled, and just as he was about to tease her about it, a group of enemies came surging towards them, making them both look quickly at each other and nod as they lined up back to back. The two did well keep their enemies at bay. When one was defending, the other was attacking. When Aang ducked a swing from a sword, Katara would take advantage of this and end the pirate who had swung at him. When Katara missed a strike, Aang blocked another incoming strike for her and threw the pirate over the ledge and into the sea.
Eventually, the two became almost synchronized, picking up the other's slack with ease as if they had been doing this their whole lives. Before very long, the last large group of pirates had been defeated, leaving only a few stragglers that their crew made short work of.
Aang still refused to watch these people be killed, but he understood that it was what needed to be done and had decided that he would help take the enemy's cargo, finding that he would prefer heavy lifting to finishing off those who remained.
But, once all of the cargo had been taken and Katara was satisfied that all of the enemy pirates were dead, she made sure that her crew were safely back on the ship and had one of her firebenders light a fuse that she had set up on the enemy ship. Despite seeing that all of the enemy pirates were dead, she wanted to be sure that there was no chance they would survive, and had decided to sink the ship.
Watching as the fuse burned all the way over to the barrel of powder, Aang's ears rang as the barrel finally went off, a big shockwave coming from the direction of where the ship once was as the victorious crew began sailing away.
"Well, it looks like we got quite the take today!" Katara announced to her crew, smiling as they all cheered in response. "You all did well. To those of you who got hurt, go down to Iroh and get patched up. The rest of you can go down to the mess and enjoy a nice lunch! You've earned it!"
Cheering once more, the crew all started going below deck, though Katara couldn't help but notice that a lot of her crew had been injured in the battle. It looked like Iroh might need her help today, after all.
"Captain?" a familiar voice brought her out of her thoughts, making her turn to see none other than her Quartermaster giving her a concerned look. "Is everything alright?"
Unable to hold back a bit of a smile, she let out a little sigh and nodded. "Aye, I'm fine, 'Ghost'. I just don't like seeing my crew with so many wounds."
Aang chuckled a little and watched as the last of the crew went below deck. "Aye, I think I know what you mean. I was never a happy man when any of my crew had been hurt. Luckily, I had a pretty good second who had been a healer before he had decided to become a pirate." He paused and glanced at her. "And you know you can call me 'Aang', right?"
Katara couldn't help but blink in surprise at this. "Really?" He nodded with a laugh, making her look at him in even more surprise. "You haven't even known me a full day and you're okay with me calling you by your real name?"
"Of course," Aang assured her with a warm smile. "I'm not the captain anymore, and I'm not one to be held back by formalities." He stopped for a moment and looked at her with gratitude in his eyes. "And more importantly, mate, you helped me when I found out I could waterbend. You gave me a quiet place I could think and helped me understand what I am. I really appreciate that."
Katara couldn't help but blush a little as she found his gaze completely focused on her, his face showing as much gratitude as he felt. "Well, you're welcome then, Aang," she finally murmured back to him, getting lost in his eyes as they continued staring at each other.
The two started leaning in ever so slightly, not knowing what they were doing but unable to deny the rapid beating of their hearts as they did so. But, as they got within a few inches of each other, Aang finally seemed to realize what he was doing and, reminding himself that she would never think of him in that way, cleared his throat awkwardly and pulled back, not noticing a frown that found its way onto the young captain's face as he turned away.
"Well, I should get going. I'm sure the crew will be drinking, and we don't want any trouble," he sighed a bit as he refused to look at her, silently scolding himself for being stupid.
After a few moments of finding that she wished he hadn't moved and being a little surprised at this, despite the obvious attraction she knew she had for him, she shook it off and nodded her agreement. "Aye, that'd be a good idea. Try to keep them from getting drunk before I get there," she joked, making him laugh a little, but she could see that there was still a bit of sadness in his eyes.
"Yes, Captain," he finally nodded to her quickly before walking down the stairs and making his way below deck, leaving Katara standing there with a look of disappointment on her face.
"Sugar Queen, Sugar Queen," her friend's familiar voice came from behind her, making her turn around quickly with wide eyes before realizing that it was just Toph. Seeing that Toph had been leaning up against the doors to the captain's quarters, she couldn't help but notice as Toph had adorned a smug smirk on her face. "You really shouldn't be so obvious about what you're feeling."
Katara scoffed and rolled her eyes, but she couldn't hold back a little blush. "What do you mean?" she tried to sound annoyed, but fear of being discovered seeped through her voice.
Toph just snickered and shrugged simply. "You know exactly what I mean, Sugar Queen. I saw everything."
Letting out a sigh of defeat, Katara slumped back against the doors of her cabin and was silent for a few moments, not really knowing what to say. "I don't understand it," she finally spoke aloud, her voice full of defeat. "No one's ever made me feel this way before." She then looked at her friend with a raised brow. "You're not going to say any of this to him, right?"
At this, a wolfish grin spread across Toph's face, making Katara instantly begin to worry that her friend was going to do something that would make her not very happy. "Eh. We'll see," her grin turned into a smirk as she finally removed herself from the door and made her way below deck, making Katara watch her angrily before she finally disappeared out of sight.
"Great," she sighed in annoyance. "As if I didn't have enough to worry about, now I have to worry about Toph telling Aang that I-" she cut herself off as she realized she was speaking her thoughts aloud. Looking around to make sure no one had heard her, she made sure that her mouth was closed and started making her way below deck, knowing that Iroh would need help and knowing that being alone with her thoughts wouldn't do her any good. Though she knew that Iroh needed help, she couldn't help but wish she could have a good pint of beer at the moment.
The young airbender walked into the mess with a downtrodden look on his face, still silently reprimanding himself for almost doing something that would get him in trouble when the sound of a loud cheer erupted amongst the people in the room.
To his surprise, Sokka appeared to be at the front of the room, a bottle of beer in one hand as he used the other to gesture for him to come up to the front. Not knowing what to do at first, Aang decided that his best bet would be to go along with what Sokka was doing, not wanting to get on his bad side anymore than he already had.
Sure, he figured that not everyone would like him, but that didn't mean he wanted to make enemies on the ship, either.
Finally reaching the front, he stood next to Sokka and became surprised as Sokka wrapped an arm around his shoulder, drunkenly raising his beer in the air as he smiled widely to his fellow crewmates. "My friends! As with every victory, we celebrate the defeat of our enemies, but tonight I want to do something special!"
As if things couldn't get any weirder for Aang, Sokka then turned to look at him with a big, drunken smile. "I'll admit, I didn't really like this guy at first," he admitted, making the crew laugh around him. "But the truth is he is a great fighter, and I think that he'll make a great Quartermaster. Cheers! To The Ghost!"
"To The Ghost!" all the crew members cheered in response as they raised their glasses in the air before taking a swig, making Aang actually smile a little. Though he certainly hadn't been expecting this, it was nice to see that Sokka and the rest of the crew were starting to accept him. Not that he would've had much problem with the crew accepting him, he knew, as they had all practically worshipped him when they had found out that he was the Avatar.
But now they had seemed to get over the awe of who he truly was, and were treating him just like he was a part of the crew. Something that he appreciated greatly. His whole life, he had always felt like he stood out. Whether that was because he had been born and raised a pirate, or if it was because some part of him had known that he was more than just an airbender, he had always felt as if he didn't belong. But, seeing these people celebrating and acting like a big family, he couldn't help but smile as he found himself enjoying the lively party.
"Aang!" Sokka practically yelled in his ear despite being only a foot away. "Come meet some friends of mine!"
Allowing Sokka to drunkenly pull him towards a table in the back of the room, he became surprised almost immediately as he saw two rather intimidating people. He wasn't scared of them, but the looks on their faces made it seem like they would kill him in an instant and not think twice about it.
"Aang, this is Zuko and Mai. Zuko and Mai, this is Aang!" he slurred a little, showing that he had quite a few drinks before Aang had gotten there. Then, leaning in to the other two as if he was going to tell them a secret, he glanced around and finally whispered. "He's the Avatar."
Mai rolled her eyes and Zuko snickered, his arm never leaving Mai's shoulder as they leaned back against a crate of beer. "Nice to meet you," Mai uncaringly yawned.
Zuko, deciding to be nice, stuck his hand out to him. "Nice to meet you, Avatar. It's actually funny meeting you now."
"And why's that?" Aang asked with a raised brow as he shook his hand.
The young scarred boy smiled a bit sheepishly. "Years ago, my father actually ordered me to hunt you down, but I never found you. I looked for you for years, but I never found you, so I gave up and went back home. It's… a long story…" he finally finished awkwardly, clearly not wanting to get into detail about what had happened in his past.
Aang nodded in understanding, knowing that there were just some things that others didn't want to talk about. "Aye. Well, whatever happened, I'm glad that you're not hunting me down anymore. Who knows? Maybe we'll be friends."
Zuko raised a brow at him, but simply shrugged before taking a sip of his beer. "Sure. Stranger things have happened."
"Aang!"
Turning around quickly as he heard the somehow already familiar voice, he became surprised as he saw that Katara was waving him over as she walked in with an elderly gentleman next to her. Deciding it would be best not to keep her waiting, he bid the new people goodbye and made his way over to her, watching as she smiled as he walked up to her.
"Aang, this is Iroh," she told him with a smile as she gestured to him. "He's the cook and the healer of the ship."
"It's very nice to meet you, young Avatar," Iroh bowed to him.
"It's nice to meet you, mate, but you can call me Aang," he easily replied, making Iroh laugh a hearty chuckle.
"Very well then, 'Aang'. I look forward to getting to know you more. Please let me know if you would like to talk and have some tea," he grinned, excited at the prospect of having a new tea buddy.
"Of course, sir," Aang nodded respectfully to him, watching as he then walked over to the dull couple and started a conversation with them.
After a few moments of blinking in disbelief, he looked over to Katara with a question in his eyes. He didn't get the chance to ask what was on his mind, as she could already see it on his face. "Iroh is Zuko's Uncle. That's how he knows them," she explained.
"Wow. I never would have guessed," Aang laughed a little, making her laugh as well. "It doesn't seem like they have anything in common." Looking around at the party that had appeared to become even louder, he became surprised as his ears perked up, the tune of a familiar song drifting into his ears as he looked to see a little band that was playing music.
"You guys sure know how to throw a party," he smiled as he looked around, making Katara laugh as she nodded her agreement.
"Aye, the crew does know how to have a good time." Walking over to the bar that was in the center of the room, she gestured for him to follow and led the way over to the barkeep, who gave them each a large glass of beer.
Raising her glass up in the air, she gave him a warm smile. "To victory."
"And to the many more that'll come," Aang agreed as he raised his, their smiles never faltering as they clinked their glasses together and took a big swig out of it, letting out relaxed sighs as they did so.
And though Aang was content just staying there, watching the lively atmosphere of the party while he enjoyed his drink, he noticed as a few of his crewmates had started dancing and got an idea.
Setting his drink down on the counter behind him, he turned to the unsuspecting captain and stuck out his hand to her, watching as she blinked in surprise after having taken another swig of her drink and looked at him with wide eyes as she looked between his playful smile and the hand stretched out to her.
"Care to dance?"
