A/N: I suddenly remembered I had posted the first chapter of this story, and I thought, "Huh… I feel like typing up the next one!" So that's what I did! Because I really like this story! :D Yay me!
Sokka: C'mon, hurry it up already, I don't feel like waiting around for you to type up those super long Author Notes that you always do! I wanna be a PIRATE!
Me: T.T I don't make them THAT long –
Sokka: Pfft, whatever you say!
Me: Fine! Then YOU can say the disclaimer!
Sokka: As long as it gets the job done faster, then I WILL! Tangy doesn't own Avatar: The Last Airbender, now let's MOVE IT!
Me: T.T
Perfectly PiraticalChapter 2!
Aang stumbled back in shock. T-This couldn't be right! He was dreaming. That's what this was, of course that's what it was! Beautiful girl, evil, buffoon, pirate captains, himself going onto a rival ship willingly? What else could this be but some sickening nightmare?
Aang let out a slow laugh. "Right. A-And I'm supposed to believe that you are the dreaded Captain Sokka?"
Katara laughed. "I didn't believe it either."
"Well!" Sokka scoffed. "I resent that! I am a great captain! And I'm supposed to believe you're the almighty avatar?"
"I could show you if you want," Aang growled. He got into a fighting stance as Sokka got into a funky pose, a supposed threatening position.
Aang was ready to defend his people. "Prepare to-"
He felt his feet being slid from under him. He let out a shout of surprise, thudding to the ground.
"I didn't bring you here to fight," said Katara. "You're supposed to be helping us, not fighting with our captain!"
Meanwhile, Sokka was chuckling hysterically. "She didn't even have to use bending to trip you! Some avatar you are!"
Aang glared at him. "And just why would I help you? You may have spared my ship, but you didn't exactly do that with any others!"
Katara rolled her eyes. "If you'll just let us explain-"
"Yeah, just give us a chance, airhead!" Sokka shouted.
Aang stood up, brushing himself off in the process. "Fine. I'll give you time to explain, but I'm warning you…"
"Whatever you say," Katara giggled. Apparently, she was finding this whole ordeal amusing!
"Alright," started Sokka. "Let me just start out by saying that we are rather friendly. Never killed an innocent person in our lives!"
"Friendly?!" Aang, appalled, yelled. "Never killed innocent?! What are you going on about?!"
"The truth," said Katara simply. "It's true. You see, our father was once the captain of this pirate ship, back then called The Warrior. But our father hated being a pirate. He only was one to keep his honor in the eyes of his father. And when he was on his deathbed after a battle, he told Sokka to keep running the ship however he wanted to."
"Yup," said Sokka. "That's the whole, sad story…"
"But," said Aang, noticing the flaw in their story, "your father said you could run the ship however you wanted to. If you don't like being pirates why not stop?"
"This is the only life we know of!" Katara said defensively. "Our father and our grandfather and our great-grandfather were all pirates. We've lived on a pirate ship all of our lives. We wouldn't exactly know what to do if we left!"
Sokka sighed. "We know it's wrong. We were at least taught that. But since we don't like being pirates… we pretend!"
Aang's eyes widened. "You… pretend to be pirates?"
"Yessiree!" exclaimed Sokka. "We're kind of like… well, have you ever heard of the Dread Pirates Roberts?"
"Er… no."
"Well, that's good, because I have no idea who he is either!"
"What Sokka means is," Katara interrupted, "is that we don't go looking for fights or anything. We fly a pirate flag. If someone decides to come and fight us, we fight back. We steal their things, but only if we're running low on supplies. We only kill if they're other pirates."
"See?" questioned Sokka. "We're perfectly piratical. We're just… really nice about it! We pretend!"
Katara and Sokka looked at Aang with questioning eyes. Aang had heard many stories of how pirates were evil, no matter what. And yet here were two of the supposedly most evil pirates known, saying they were good. And oddly, Aang believed them. He saw in their eyes as they gazed at him that they were honest. The way they looked at him… they were yearning to be accepted as who they really were.
"I…" Aang said slowly. "…believe you."
Aang suddenly felt arms being wrapped around him. It was Katara's arms, squeezing him tightly. The avatar felt a warm sensation spread through him, and he smiled, putting his arms around her as well, returning the hug.
"Thank you," he heard Katara whisper.
The waterbender pulled away from the embrace, and Sokka glared at she and Aang in turn. "I bet you enjoyed that, didn't you," he growled at Aang.
Katara slapped her brother and captain in the shoulder. "Stop it!"
Sokka rubbed the place of pain. "Okay, jeez! Stupid girls…"
Katara rolled her eyes but did nothing else as Sokka went on.
"Okay, so the reason I'm guessing Katara brought you here is because… well we only kill pirates, right? So in order to save the world and stuff, we decided to get rid of the worst of them all: Ozai."
Katara nodded. "We had heard you were on a pirate hunt, so when I found that it was your ship being attacked by Zhao-"
"Who was not killed by me," Sokka muttered.
"I decided that we could use your help. I mean, you're already supposed to be going after him, so why not with a gang of friendly rebels?"
Aang laughed a bit. "Okay, I'll help you."
"Great!" shouted Sokka. "We have the avatar on our side, now. Ozai better watch out!" He punched the air in his enthusiasm, before quickly bringing it down, grabbing his shoulder. "Ow…" he muttered. "I hit the air too hard…"
Katara and Aang both laughed, not paying attention to Sokka's complaints of, "Hey! You do not laugh at your captain!" in the background.
"C'mon, Aang," said Katara after stopping her laughter. "Why don't I show you around the ship and introduce you to the crew?"
Aang was about to reply with a yes, but Sokka got to answering first, exclaiming, "Oh no you don't!"
Sokka turned to his sister. "I don't want you showing some boy around the ship by yourself! You don't know what could-"
"Could he really be worse than Jet?" Katara interrupted.
Sokka thought for a moment. "Go ahead," he finally answered, giving in. "I'll be in my cabin looking over some maps. But I'm warning you, Avatar…" He turned to look Aang in the eye. He poked him in the chest. "No funny business, got that?"
"Understood, Captain," Katara sighed, answering for the airbender. Sokka glared at each of them in turn before swiftly turning and walking into the captain's quarters.
"Alright, so let's start!" Katara said. "Over there, where Sokka just went into, is where the captain sleeps and studies. The top, here is the deck, of course… c'mon, I'll introduce you to some of the crew here."
The two benders walked over to a boy with long hair, wearing a green headband round his head. He seemed to be checking the ropes and riggings. "Haru!" Katara called, and the boy turned around to see her.
"Hey, Katara," he said. "Err…" Haru looked oddly at Aang. "Who's your friend here?"
"Haru," said Katara, "this is Captain Avatar Aang. He'll be joining us. Aang, this is Haru. He's and earthbender, and he's been with us on this ship ever since Sokka took over."
"Nice to meet you," said Aang, nodding his head.
"Mm," muttered Haru, looking at Aang suspiciously. He grabbed Katara's arm and pulled her towards him.
"Katara," he whispered. "Are you sure that the avatar, of all people, should be helping us?"
"I trust him," Katara told Haru.
"Well…" said Haru. "I'm just… worried about you, that's all."
Tearing her arm from his grip, Katara said, "Thank you, but I believe I can make decisions myself."
Katara walked off, and Aang decided he should follow, despite the sad look Haru was giving Katara's back.
"What was that about?" asked Aang.
"Don't worry yourself over it," Katara said. "Now up there," Katara pointed up towards the crow's nest where a boy with funny goggle things looked through a telescope, "is where Teo is most of the time. He's the lookout. You can meet him later at dinner, when he finally comes down."
Katara sighed. "I guess everyone else is down below playing cards, as usual." She rolled her eyes. "They're a bit rowdy," she told Aang. "If you want, you can meet Iroh. He's probably the only cook around that makes good food."
"Alright," Aang answered simply. Walking across the deck, he asked the first question the sprang to mind.
"So… do you like being a pirate?"
Katara answered, "Sokka and I told you, didn't we?" Aang stuttered, realizing that they had, in fact, already answered this question.
Katara giggled at his stuttering. "It's alright. I don't like being a pirate or anything, but I do like fighting. It's so exhilarating! And the fact that getting rid of these pirates helps people… well, I normally don't like to kill, but I suppose that there's an exception to everything."
Aang nodded in acknowledgment. He knew the feeling. He loved the idea of bending. It was so… he didn't know if there was a word for it. Whether with sword or with elements, he loved the action. But… was it ever okay to kill?
They walked below the deck and Katara led him through the first door on the right.
"This is the kitchens," Katara said. "If you ever want a midnight snack, Iroh usually bends the rules a bit and lets you."
They walked to the back of the tiny kitchen, finding an old, somewhat plump man by the stove. He turned at the sound of footsteps.
"Ah, Katara," he said, smiling at her. "Come for an afternoon snack?"
"No thank you, Iroh," Katara smiled back. "I just wanted to introduce you to Aang, here. He's the avatar and he'll be joining us on our voyage."
"Avatar Aang," said Iroh, turning to the young airbender. "It is an honor." Iroh bowed his head, and Katara stifled her laugh.
"That's really not necessary," said Aang, nervously. "And you can just call me 'Aang'."
"Very well," said Iroh, returning to his regular pose. "If you will excuse me, I must finish making supper for tonight."
"Thank you, Iroh," said Katara, and she led Aang out of the kitchens.
"You let an old man on the ship?" Aang asked. "How does he defend himself?"
"Trust me," said Katara, laughing. "He doesn't need protecting."
Aang just nodded and followed her down the hall to the last door on the left.
"This is where the crew sleeps. It's also where they play never-ending rounds of poker." Katara rolled her eyes as she opened the door.
The waterbender strolled inside, not bothered by the hideous odor filling the room. Aang tried not to gag as he trailed behind her.
"What are you doing?" Katara questioned the men. "We just finished with a raid and you're already gambling!?"
"Yes," said a boy with dark hair wearing green garments. He was rather pale, despite the fact that he was probably outside most of the time.
Katara rolled her eyes, which she seemed to do a lot, and put her hand on her hip as she said, "So who's winning?"
Aang stepped back a little in surprise. Wasn't she saying just a minute ago how they shouldn't be playing this game in the first place?
"We're about to find out," said the pale boy. "Watch and learn, Katara. Royal flush!"
The boy laid down his cards to reveal that, it was in fact, a royal flush. The four others looked on in shock, mouths gaping.
"Toph, how come you always get the good cards?" a rather short boy exclaimed as the boy, named Toph apparently, gathered all the money in the center of the table, laughing somewhat maniacally as he did so.
A huge boy, both horizontally and vertically, said, "Yeah, no fair! I want a rematch!"
"Sorry guys," said Toph. "You get what you get!"
A tall, muscular boy with shaggy hair and a single piece of straw shooting from his mouth, threw down his cards. "That's it! I'm never playing cards with you again, Toph. You're blind and I still lose!"
"Like I said, you get what you get. Now suck it up, Haystack, and deal the cards!"
The shaggy haired boy, grumbling, took up all the cards and handed them to a somewhat gangly boy in a large hat. The boy in the hat began to shuffle the cards as Jet turned in his seat to look at Katara.
"Hey Katara," he said. "Looking as beautiful as ever, I see. Y'know, you should come visit down here more often."
"Whatever, Jet," said Katara, scowling. "It's not gonna happen!"
"Aw, Katara," said Jet in fake sadness. He put his hand over his heart. "You wound me!"
"Oh, cry me a river, Jet. That way, I can drown you in it."
"Hey, hey, no need to get violent!" Jet turned to the boy in the hat. "Cards ready yet, Longshot?"
Longshot nodded, and started dealing. While doing so, Jet seemed to finally notice the avatar. "Kay, who's your friend? New boyfriend? Do I have to beat him up?"
Aang blushed a bit at being called Katara's boyfriend. Why did he keep reacting like that, anyways?
Katara glared at Jet. "I told you, do not call me 'Kay'! And no, he's not my boyfriend, you will not beat him up, and his name is Aang. He's joining us."
"Woah," said Toph. "Aang? As in Avatar Aang? Why the heck is he here with us?"
"To help us kill Ozai," said Katara simply.
Everyone was quiet for a minute. "Sweet!" said Toph, breaking the silence.
"Aang, this is Toph," said Katara, motioning to the boy he had already concluded as Toph. "He's a blind earthbender and sees things through vibrations in the ground.
"That's Longshot." She gestured to the tall boy in the hat. "He doesn't talk much. And instead of using swords and stuff, he uses a bow and arrow.
"That over there is the Duke." She pointed to the short boy. "He's the cabin boy on the ship.
"That's Pipsqueak," nodding towards the gigantic boy. Aang was a tad confused at the name, but didn't say anything.
Katara sighed. "And this is Jet," she grumbled.
"C'mon Katara, don't be like that," said Jet charismatically. "Don't you remember that moonlight walk we had? Just the two of us, strolling…"
"When'd that happen, in your dreams?" asked Katara. "What could possibly possess you to make something like that up?"
Katara walked away, grabbing Aang's arm as she went, but even then still heard Jet's yell of, "Doesn't matter! It was real to me!"
Katara slammed the door on her way out. "I can't believe that jerk," she mumbled. "Stupid, idiotic Jet! Who does he think he is?"
Aang stood there awkwardly. What was he supposed to do? Comfort her, or something?
"Um, it's okay," he said, patting her shoulder. "I mean, it's not like he's gonna get away with anything with your brother around."
Aang felt like slapping himself. How would that possibly help at all?! But to his surprise, Katara laughed and said, "Yeah, probably!"
Aang smiled. He said something right! …But why did he care what he said to Katara anyway?
His thoughts were interrupted by Katara saying, "You'll be sleeping in there with them." Aang mentally gagged, remembering the awful stench in the room. "Oh, and if you ever need me, I'm right across the hall.
"If you'll excuse me, though," she continued, "I have to go help Sokka with those maps. We're trying to track Ozai, and it's not exactly easy. Feel free to do whatever you want, okay?"
Aang nodded. "Thank you for the tour. I enjoyed it."
Katara grinned. "No problem, Aang!" And with that, she walked into he brother's cabin.
Aang sighed, a soft smiled evident on his face. With her around, maybe being on a pirate ship wouldn't be so bad.
A/N: Phew! Finished! Okay, so a couple of notes…
No Smellerbee. I originally had her there, but I wanted Katara to be the only girl on the ship. It helped with a plot point in the story, so she's not there! In her place, though, are the Duke and Pipsqueak who originally weren't there at all.
Teo's not paralyzed… yet. :O
Yeah, you probably noticed that Toph is a guy. There's a reason for that, okay? You'll find out in later chapters!
Toph is able to see the cards because they have bumps in them to make numbers and stuff (like Braille, you know?)
For all you Zuko fans, he's gonna come into the story eventually. I got him all planned out, 'kay?
Yeah, so… yeah! I'm really excited about this story, actually. It's probably the first story in which I have lots of plot points and stuff PLANNED! So I know what's going on and I'm not just improvising like I usually do with my stories! YAY! So I have lots of kewl ideas for this story, and I can't WAIT to type them up!
REVIEW OR OZAI WILL MAKE OUT WITH YOU, WHETHER YOU'RE A GIRL OR NOT!!
Ozai: -supposed to be seductive but not working- Who wants some sugar? -puckers lips-
Woah… I'm scared, and I'm not the one being threatened here…
Tangy :D