Aang was used to being in the sky, but this was a new viewpoint. He wasn't easily nauseated, but the sight of the sea spinning over the clouds spinning over the sea was starting to make his stomach turn.

He closed his eyes, gripping his staff tighter in his hand, and tried to will the disorientation away. He hadn't succumbed to those feelings since he was a kid learning airbending for the first time. Why was he spinning anyway?

Just a few seconds ago he'd been... flying... diving towards the ocean! Aang forced his eyes open, panic rushing through his veins. He instinctively twisted in the air, stabilizing his falling to stop the nauseating spinning. The waters were rushing up towards him, there wasn't much time. Aang twisted and fought to get his glider open. It had been damaged in the fall, the tail burned to a crisp.

His breath quickened. He could die if he hit the water at this speed. Would Gyatso even know what happened to him? Had the captain shot down Rou Li?

A thousand images flashed through his head as he forced the catch on his glider. All his friends and adopted family. The sliver of land on the edge of his vision. An unfamiliar bearded man in red. The foam on the water below.

The gilder's wings unfurled with a snap, wings pulling against his momentum. The ocean was right there.

Aang struggled to center his weight. Without the tail to rest his feet on, he was just barely hanging on.

But his downward momentum had started to be transferred into horizontal. He was gonna make it. Aang felt a grin rising up as a cloud shadow moved over him.

His toes skimmed the surface of the water. Aang immediately pulled his legs up, casting a glance back. It would be bad news for him if the golden eyed captain was-

Aang's stomach twisted. That... was a rather sizable wave.

It overwhelmed him, ripping the glider out of his hands. Something hard hit his elbow and he yelled in pain. Water rushed in his mouth, choking him as the wave turned his head over his feet. The disorienting feeling returned and he struggled to remember which way was up. Whenever he thought he could see light above him, saltwater stinging his eyes, the rolling waters destroyed all sense of direction the next moment.

His lungs burned and shadows curled in at the corners of his vision.

Sky. He needed to get to the sky.

His flight gear felt heavy and waterlogged, his movements sluggish. Aang focused on his gloved hand in bleary curiosity. It seemed lighter for some reason, as though his skin was glowing below the triple layered cloth.

He never did find out where that light was coming from as his eyes closed and he felt himself fade away for the second time that day.

x x x

"How is this happening?"

Sokka laughed, "Brilliant engineering courtesy of a certain water tribe genius."

Katara snorted, "I'm sure he's modest too."

They were flying, literally. Sokka could not and did not resist the grin that overwhelmed his face. He hadn't thought to get to this point for another month of testing, but necessity called. He glanced at Katara. She wasn't even as tired as he assumed she'd be, even after the testing they'd done earlier that day.

The grin faded as the reason they were racing back at full speed forced its way back into his mind. Sokka bit his lip. As fantastic as the wind in his hair felt The patrols had certainly spotted the pirates and alerted the village... right? Sokka closed his eyes and struggled to recall the patrol map and schedule he'd drawn up earlier this week. It seemed fuzzy now, and the hastily scribbled characters and arrows pointed to all the wrong places.

What if the patrols hadn't sighted the pirates in time to notify the village? All the elation he felt at the Kannerk's successful first flight had sunk into his gut, replaced by a vaguely nauseating feeling of dread.

His mood had bled out onto Katara as well, who'd quieted as well, just concentrating on bending the engine to maximum capacity.

What if the patrols hadn't spotted the pirates? What if the pirates caught them by surprise? What if everyone was dead when they got there? What if what if what if. He felt a bead of sweat run down his back.

"... I'll be right back."

He disappeared into his small cabin and started stripping off his university jacket. As comfortable and practical as it was (at either pole), it offered little defense.

Sokka rifled through the chest at the foot of the small bed he had there until he found the warrior garb his father had gifted him on his seventeenth birthday. It was the regalia of a man, not a child's warrior getup. He'd only worn it once, not even taking it out of the trunk since he left for the university in the Northern Water Tribe.

If there was danger, it would be far better to be caught in this than in his high collared, furred university coat.

He changed quickly, then considered his weapons before selecting the boomerang and club. He had a few more exotic selections from the North Pole, but he wasn't as practiced with them as he was with his childhood picks.

He slung the boomerang case over his shoulder and fastened the club at his hip before rejoining Katara outside. She glanced at him, but said nothing.

Sokka took his spyglass from the box he kept it in on deck and looked southward. Smoke rising. He bit his lip. Of course the Summer Solstice festival involved burning sacrifices to the spirits (Sokka saw it as man's desire to set things on fire, silly, but still fun), so there would be plenty of flammables lying around.

"Almost there," she stated his own thoughts.

He nodded grimly as he moved to steer them in to dock at the airship port on the northwest side of the village.

They rounded the last iceburg and he could see the pirate's skyship clearly. They were in the village, struggling against the last of the guard.

Sokka docked the Kannerk hastily before jumping off her, drawing his club as he went. He vaguely heard Katara's footsteps behind him as she tiredly (but determinedly) followed, a stream of water at the ready.

x x x

A strange dream to be sure, last he checked he was drowning.

Instead, now he was surrounded by a strange light with no discernible source. It almost seemed as though the water around him was being lit by some dim blue light coming from his own body, though the color might just be due to the water's natural hue.

His dream-self spun around once before suddenly propelling himself to the surface. He took a great breath of air before diving back down again, this time however, the ocean currents seemed to aid his progress rather than stifle it; each stroke he took pulled him along the length of ten of his normal strokes.

Weird dream, he'd never had one about waterbending before.

He swam quickly, the power in this dream body made Aang feel almost awake, it was so vivid. Every stroke he made, the water that flowed and bent to his every movement, and finally the way the air spun about him as he made the last leap from the water, landing on the beach.

Then the energy seemed to fade, draining out of his body reluctantly. He fell to his knees and vaguely sensed the strange light go out before his face hit the sand.

x x x

His feet were cold and wet. Obviously those new issue boots they'd imported from the Earth Kingdom weren't worth the money they'd paid for them, especially considering the shipping and trading difficulties involved.

Another wave washed up, this time reaching to his knees. Aang felt the vague sense that he should move. The sun was setting and high tide was rising. The golden caramel sky to his left warmed his eyes just as the creeping ocean tides, freezing even to the start of summer, chilled his legs and sent goosebumps up his back.

Aang groaned and struggled to push himself up. Flashes of a strange dream kept coming to him, but there was no time to think about that. High tide would come quickly enough and he needed to move.

Just one arm. Just need to start myself moving. Aang forced his right arm forward and started trying to push himself up. His shoulder ached in protest, vigorously. Everything hurt. His legs were sore and his torso felt bruised.

Next arm. Figure out the bearded guy in the other dream later. He shifted and attempted to move his left arm, but was stopped by a sharp pain from his forearm. He muttered a few of Rou Li's more select curses under his breath.

Broken arm. Just what he needed.

Another wave broke, this time reaching mid-thigh. Aang bit his lip and moved the arm anyway, slowly and painfully dragging himself up the beach.

It would be really pathetic to somehow have survived that crash and end up drowning on the beach because he couldn't escape high tide.

... How had he survived that crash anyway? Everything got kind of fuzzy once he hit the water... but he'd obviously washed up on the beach. Aang shrugged mentally. Don't question the spirits' kindness, as Gyatso had always said. He'd probably clung to driftwood and floated ashore or something.

The waves were back down to his shins. He probably wouldn't drown, that was nice. Drowning wasn't nice that first time.

He reached the seaweed line and allowed himself a moment's rest. His left arm was throbbing even more so than the rest of his body. He'd need to splint it if he didn't want to hurt it any more than it aleady was. He cast a look around, praying to the spirits there would be a piece of driftwood nearby. He'd need to find it quickly in this fading light.

Sand, seaweed, more sand, shells, a suspiciously person-shaped shadow?

Aang followed the shadow upward and squinted.

"H-hello?"

An irreverent female voice answered him, "Hey there."

Aang felt a pang of irritation. "Uh, how long have you been there?"

The shadow shrugged and its owner started to move forward casually, revealing a somewhat short girl about his age. "Here on this estate? About two years. Here on this beach? About twenty minutes."

He struggled and found the energy to sit up, now squinting in the near dark to make out more of the girl's features. "Why didn't you help me? Didn't you see me struggling there?" The last fifteen minutes of his struggle to barely drag himself across fifteen feet of sand seemed pointless now.

She shrugged again and the goggles on her head glinted in the fading light. "I guess it just didn't occur to me," she stated, "besides, you didn't ask for help."

He was silent for several moments. Was she serious? "... I could have died!"

She moved closer and sat on the sand in front of him, but still didn't look quite at him, instead seeming to tilt her head in the direction of whatever sound she was focused on. "But you didn't, Sandpants. And you didn't cry or yell for help, you just helped yourself." She flashed a smile in his general direction. "I like that. You're not a complete wuss, so I won't throw you off my property immediately."

He blinked. Her property? She couldn't be any older than him, and he didn't see any walls or markings indicating this was anyone's estate. "Um, okay?"

"Come on, I'll get your arm splinted before I kick you out at least." She stood up and stretched. "Can you walk?"

Aang leaned on his right arm and tried to push himself to his feet. The sun had disappeared behind a mountain in the distance and he was disoriented by the complete darkness. He made it to his feet, but it was a struggle. Everything still hurt and he felt completely drained.

She regarded him for a moment. "Hm. If you try you'll just slow me down. And watching you barely drag yourself out of the ocean was painful enough, I'll carry you back."

He gave her a weird look, though she didn't look at him much. Standing up he could tell that while she was well muscled, he had at least a head of height on her.

"Um, you'll what?"

She stomped the ground and caused a slab of earth to pull from the ground. She patted it comfortably. "Come on, sit, fall, jump, just get on. As great as this chat is, I want you to go away, and I'm not so cruel as to send you off with a broken arm. Just get on so you can get going."

An earthbender. That explained a bit. He hesitated, then sat down on the portable bench. She immediately started walking, presumably towards her house, and the slab followed along beside her. It wasn't incredibly smooth, but he'd been on far more uncomfortable rides in his life.

As they fell into silence, Aang's weariness caught back up with him and he found himself lying down on his right side. He struggled to stay awake, telling himself he was just resting his eyes for a few moments before he fell into a deep, restful sleep.

x x x

"Ataaaackkkkk!"

Sokka charged at the nearest pirate with his club, striking him in the back of the head. He fell to his knees with a yell of pain, clutching his wound.

Sokka didn't pause, ducking a fireblast and taking in the situation as his bloody club glanced against a pirate's sword and Katara's water whip snapped in the background. The pirates seemed to have just about subdued the tribe. The charred, half set up decorations and the comical costumes of the villagers who had been herded into a group in the center square made it look like a performance, as though the pirate attack was just a drama, like the Fall of the Blue Spirit play.

Sokka swung his club hard, knocking the pirate's sword out of his hand. He couldn't identify the captain yet. Most of the pirates were occupied keeping the villages in line while some others were looting the houses. His next blow connected with the side of the man's head, knocking him to the ground unconscious.

He started trying to fight his way over to the tribe. They had the element of surprise. He could see a few of the warriors in the group and one waterbender, if he could rally them into a group, then maybe they could-

"Stop!" a harsh voice rang out. Authority filled it and as he turned around, Sokka became sure he'd found the captain.

A pirate with a large feathered hat, undoubtedly the captain, stood next to another who was holding a knife to the neck of a water tribe child. Sokka froze. The boy was crying softly. He was... Anya's son.

Katara froze too, pulling her water back in close to herself. Her eyes widened in horror and he remembered that the kid was one of Katara's waterbending students, he couldn't have been older than six.

The captain paused, assured they had stopped fighting, before speaking again. His voice rang out harshly as he walked forward. "Good. Make another move and the child will die." He gestured to the cruel looking man holding the boy... Arnak was his name, who jerked the knife closer to Arnak's neck.

Katara was shaking in anger. Sokka tried to shoot her a look, but her eyes were fixed on the captain.

He met her look in return, walking closer. The man holding Arnak stayed near the pirates' ship. Everyone's eyes, Sokka's included, followed the captain's slow gait towards Katara. From this angle, Sokka could only see the side of his face covered by a large eyepatch. He had about a hand's span of height on Katara and held himself proudly.

"You're taking them for the slave trade, aren't you?"

Katara's angry voice pierced the silence. Sokka frantically looked back towards the group of villagers, looking for the faces of Katara's young class. He saw kids, but none of the waterbenders. Bile rose in his throat as he realized what his sister had noticed first.

The captain tilted his head to the side. "You must be the 'Katara' they kept crying about. You're hopefully not the mother of all of them, so I'm assuming you're their teacher"

The water between her hands shifted and she glared at him. "And if I am?"

The captain's hand trailed over the hilt of his sword as the braid that hung between his shoulderblades drifted in the breeze. "I may have an offer for you. You've been trained to bend for steam engines already, haven't you?"

She hesitated a moment before responding, "I have..."

The captain nodded to himself, as though just confirming his suspicions instead of recieving the answer to a question. "I thought so."

He raised his voice now so everyone present could hear. "I have a deal to make you, water tribe peasant. You've been trained already. You're the prime age for the slave trade. If you come, peacefully, then I will release all the children already taken in return."

Whispers immediately erupted, from the pirates as well as the villagers, as the captain raised his right hand, two fingers pointing to the sky, and lit a small flame above them. "Agni take me if I lie."

Katara looked at him doubtfully, then at Arnak crying softly with a knife to his neck. Sokka felt fire rush through his veins as she looked back at the captain and extended her hand.

"Katara! No!" He charged forward, raising his club to strike the captain in the jaw. If he hit right, he could break the man's jaw and neck in one stroke.

Before he could hit, at least two pirate lackeys intercepted him, throwing him to the ground and pinning him there by his shoulders.

"Katara! Don't do it! No! You can't!"

He shouted at her until one of them wrestled his club out of his grip and shoved it between his teeth.

Sokka saw more than heard the captain tell his men not to kill him, then accept Katara's agreement. Another pirate moved forward and immediately put a pair of metal cuffs on her, securing her arms behind her back, and started guiding her to the ship.

She struggled against him slightly, craning her neck back to see the captain. "Your oath! Fufill it!"

He looked back towards her and tilted his head as though considering her words carefully.

Her eyes teared up and she struggled against her captor more before he spoke.

"Release the children."

The relief on her face was ill matched with the image of her being dragged onto the pirates' ship.

Sokka closed his eyes, not allowing a single tear to escape as the sound of relieved children running off the ship reached his ears. His stupid, stupid sister.

He felt the blood pounding in his ears as the men pinning him to the ground got up, moving with the rest of the pirates back to the ship.

Sokka rose to his feet to glare at the captain, who stood a dozen feet away. The golden eyed man met his gaze evenly.

"I'm going to get her back," he said quietly.

The man raised the eyebrow not covered by the patch. "Oh really?"

"I'll see you dead before I give up on my sister." Sokka resisted the urge to tackle the man to the ground. He couldn't win here, not now.

The man gave a short, mirthless laugh. "Family is worthless. Find a better way to spend your life; you'll never catch me."

Then the captain turned around and stalked back to his ship. As the pirates took off, Sokka saw the golden eyed captain launch a fireblast at the Kannerk, setting it aflame.


This chapter has been brought to you by Fig Newtons.

I'm not quite as happy with this chapter, but that may be because Zekey wasn't around to beta it. I'll see about bugging someone else to beta for me next time she can't get online or something. So forgive me for whatever mistakes I've made, point them out and I'll fix them.

I'm really embarrassed about the first chapter too, I screwed it up so much. .;;; I've fixed the mistakes through, so if you read through it you'll find that my scene breaks, which I normally do with asterisks that apparently doesn't like, have been replaced by the -friendly X's you see in this chapter. It makes it much easier to read and I'm sorry for any inconvenience it may have caused you last chapter.

Anyway, who could the golden eyed captain be? (again) Who's the earthbender Aang met? The answers to all these mysteries will be revealed next chapter!

Oh, and links to sketches and art I'm doing for this can be found in my profile. I'm doing a page of drawings/doodles for each chapter (a bit delayed usually) so I can link to here from my dA account since I'm not posting here. See an image of the "mysterious" golden eyed captain (from this chapter) there!

See you next Friday,

Kia