Waterbending Scroll

Though it was somewhat cloudy day, the sun still shone through the clouds as Appa flew near the tops of a mountain range. As the bison passed between a gap in the mountains, most of the group was sitting with Appa.
"Will you sit down already? If we hit a bump, you'll go flying off. What's bugging you anyway?" Gray asked as he's driving Appa.
"It's what Avatar Roku said. I'm supposed to master the four elements before the comet arrives." Aang said with anxiety.
"Well, let's see, you've pretty much mastered Airbending and that only took you a hundred-twelve years. I'm sure you can master the other three elements by next summer." Sokka joked as Erza punched him in the head.
"How is this helping him?!" Erza demanded.
"Sorry..." Sokka said rubbing his head.
"I haven't even mastered Waterbending yet and we're still weeks away from the North Pole! Not to mention Lucy is still learning Airbending and she hasn't learned Waterbending either and she still hasn't decided the third element to learn to bend! What're we gonna do?!" Aang asked frightened.
Lucy and Katara grab Aang's wrist and pull him down.
"You need to relax old friend." Aang glanced over at Ray, who was laying on his back staring at the clouds. "There's still plenty of time for you to learn the other three elements."
"Calm down, Aang. You're gonna be okay." Natsu said.
"Aye. We know you can master the other elements before that comet arrives." Happy said.
"If you like, Aang, I can teach you and Lucy some of the stuff I know." Katara offered, looking into his distressed eyes.
"You'd do that?" Aang perked up and asked.
"First, we need to find a good source of water." Katara said.
"As much as I like your idea, Katara, I'm not sure if I'm ready to learn Waterbending yet." Lucy admitted.
"But, Lucy, you'll have to learn it at some point." Wendy pointed out.
"She's right. As what King Bumi said, you must master three elements of your choosing and you chose to learn Airbending and Waterbending, but you still must choose the third element." Carla added.
"I know, but...what if something bad happens?" Lucy asked and Natsu places his hand on her shoulder.
"Nothin' bad will happen, Luce. You're a smart girl and if anyone can master three elements, you can." Natsu said grinning.
"Aye! You just gotta believe in yourself." Happy said.
"Don't worry, Lucy. It'll be easy." Katara said.
"If you say so." Lucy said.
"Maybe we can find a puddle for you guys to splash in." Sokka said.
"Can we find a shark for Sokka to be eaten by?" Lucy asked.
"That can be arranged if he opens his mouth ONE more time." Erza said giving Sokka her evil eye and he flinches.
"I'll be quiet." Sokka said covering his mouth with his hands.
"Good boy." Erza said.
The gang later arrive at a left bank and they see a huge waterfall followed by a rapid zoom and on the bottom of the fall is a river and Katara, Lucy, and Wendy look excitedly at the giant waterfall while Erza, Natsu, and Gray look amazed while Sokka has a sour expression on his face.
"Nice puddle." Happy said as they head over to the catch basin of the waterfall.
Appa swoops in overhead while grunting loudly and he drops himself into the water causing a wave of water from Appa's dive crash over Momo and Happy and they are now soaked while Appa is rolling over in the water relaxing and Aang removes his clothes except his underwear and he starts to run at the water.
"Wait for me, boy!" Aang said as he's still running at the water.
"Aang, remember why we're here." Katara said stopping Aang and he looks back.
"Oh, right. Practice Waterbending." Aang remembered as he pulls his pants back up.
"What're we supposed to do exactly?" Gray asked.
"You can clean the gunk off of Appa's toes." Aang suggested as he picks up a leafy branch and holds it in front of Gray who crosses his arms with an annoyed look.
"So while you three are playing in the water, we're supposed to be hard at work picking mud out of a giant bison's feet?" Sokka asked as he crossed his arms.
"First of all, we're learning Waterbending and that's WORK as well, you moron." Lucy said.
"Second of all, mud and bugs too." Aang clarified.
"Very well." Erza said as she takes the branch shocking Sokka, Natsu, and Gray. 
Natasha placed a hand on Sokka's shoulder and suggested, "Steve and I are about to practice our combat drills. The three of you could train with us." But she looked to Steve before whispering, "But I have to warn you, Steve can hit really hard. Even without the shield."
Hearing this caused Sokka, Natsu and Gray to become scared. Then they took the less painful route and grabbed the stick.
Erza smirked to herself while Natasha laughed as they walked away, making sure to steer clear of Steve as they went by. This caused Steve to give Natasha a questioning look. She only shrugged as Appa deeply grunted after having turned over and made bubbles in the water with his mouth. 
Meanwhile Zuko's ship is still sailing through water and Zuko is on the main deck Fire Sparring with Aiko but while they're sparring the ship tilts to the starboard knocking them both off balance.
"Someone's changing our course!" Zuko realized.
Zuko and Aiko enter the bridge area and Zuko marches over to the helmsman.
"What's the meaning of this mutiny?! No one told you to change course!" Zuko yelled.
"Actually, someone did." Iroh said from behind and he's playing what looks like Pai Sho with some crewmen.
"It is a matter of utmost importance, Prince Zuko." He added with a hand on his chin.
"Does it have something to do with the Avatar and the Celestial Mage?" Zuko asked, his patience being trifled.
"Even more urgent. It seems I've lost my lotus tile." Iroh said, becoming distraught.
"Lotus tile?" Zuko asked, confused over the situation.
"For my Pai Sho game. Most people think the lotus tile is insignificant, but it is essential for the unusual strategy that I employ." Iroh explained.
"You changed our course just for a stupid lotus tile?" Zuko asked in disbelief and aggravation.
"See, you, like most people underestimate its true value. Just give me ten minutes to check the merchants at this port of call. Hopefully, they do have the lotus tile in stock and I can get on with my life." Iroh said.
Zuko tries to control his anger while Aiko tries to help but he releases a gout of flame from his mouth at the ceiling causing smoke to fill the room.
"Oh, dear." Aiko said face palming.
"Not to worry. I'm lucky to have an understanding nephew." Iroh said smiling.
Meanwhile Sokka, Erza, Natsu, and Gray work hard at Appa's toes while he's floating on his back and Gray flosses on Appa's gaps between his toes with his leaf branch and Appa grunts happily.
"Yeah, don't get too happy, Fuzzball. You'll do me next when this is over." Gray said.
"Nope. He's doin' me next." Natsu said.
"I call dibs first!" Gray yelled.
"No! I call dibs!" Natsu yelled back.
"Both of you shut up or I'll toss all three of you to the river and we'll just leave you three behind!" Erza said.
"Yes, ma'am." Gray and Natsu said at the same time.
"But I didn't even do anything." Sokka argued.
"Shut your mouth, Sokka unless I'll throw only you to the river and we'll leave only you." Erza said.
"I'll shut up." Sokka said.
Meanwhile Lucy, Aang, and Katara are on the river bank and Katara shows the two how to perform Waterbending. Ray stood a few feet away from them while Wendy, Happy and Carla watched the lesson.
"This is a pretty basic move, but it took me months to prefect it so don't get frustrated if you don't get it right away. Just push and pull the water like this." Katara said as she gracefully moves her hands back and forth and the water is moving back and forth with her. "The key is to get the wrist movement right." Katara said.
Aang then starts to do what Katara did and he gracefully moves his hands back and forth.
"Like this?" Aang asked.
"That's almost right. If you keep practicing, then you'll..." Katara was cut off by Aang.
"Hey! I'm bending it already!" Aang said with a smile moving a large wave of water around surprising Katara.
"Wow. I can't believe you got that so quickly. It only took me two months to learn that move." Katara said a little unhappy.
"Well, you had to figure it out on your own. I'm lucky enough to have a great teacher." Aang said humbly.
"Thanks. Okay, Lucy. It's your turn now." Katara said.
"Okay. I'll do my best." Lucy said as she gracefully moves her hands back and forth and she sees the water moving back and forth with her. "Hey, I think I'm doing it!" Lucy said.
"Good job, Lucy." Katara said.
"You're starting to Waterbend now." Wendy said but then Lucy accidentally moves her hands a little too far and makes the water lunge at Katara.
"Oops. Sorry about that." Lucy said sweat dropping.
"Don't worry about it. Keep in mind, this is still practice so you'll get the hang of this." Katara said.
"So what's next?" Aang asked.
"This is a more difficult move. I call it the 'streaming water'." Katara said as she moves her hands and pulls out a stream of water from the river and starts to loop it around. "It's harder than it looks so don't be disappointed if..." Katara cuts herself off as she sees Aang moving his own stream of water around and does an over the head flare and Katara makes a sour look and drops her water and Aang plays with his water until he puts it back into the river. "Good work, but the over the head flare was kind of unnecessary." Katara said.
"Oh, sorry." Aang said.
"Your turn, Lucy." Katara said.
"Okay. Here goes." Lucy said as she moves her hands, pulls out a stream of water and starts moving it around her body gracefully and then circles it around in front of her and then she puts the water back into the river.
"Excellent work." Katara said.
"Thanks." Lucy said.
"C'mon! Don't stop now. Keep 'em coming!" Aang said.
"Well, I kind of know this one move, but it's pretty hard. I haven't even figured it out yet. The idea is to create a huge wave." Katara said as she raises a blob of water out of the river but she loses her concentration and the water falls back into the river.
"So like this?" Lucy asked as she raises her hand and a huge wall of water shoots up into the air.
While Sokka, Natsu, Gray, and Erza are still cleaning Appa they hear a wave coming behind them and they turn to see Lucy's wave coming at them. Natsu and Sokka's eyes widen.
"Uh oh!" Sokka and Natsu said at the same time as the wave breaks over them and Appa and they all get soaked.
Sokka, Erza, Natsu, and Gray rise out of the water due to being washed off.
"If only I could've frozen it sooner." Gray said.
"Wow. That was one big powerful wave." Wendy said.
"Looks like Juvia's gonna be more jealous of Lucy. I think a new rivalry will commence." Happy said.
"Looks like you got the hang of it, Lucy." Aang said.
"Yeah. Is there any else we need to learn?" Lucy asked.
"I think that's enough practice for today." Katara said crossly.
"Yeah. I'll say! Lucy, you just practiced our supplies down the river!" Sokka yelled pointing at the bags of stuff floating down the river making Lucy have a regretful look.
"I'm really sorry about that." Lucy said.
"It doesn't matter. We can easily replace that stuff." Ray informed her.
"Let's go." Erza said.
The gang arrive at a port village and they walk around a market street filled with tough looking sailors, merchants, and shady types and while walking around the market street they go to a shop and Erza and Sokka go in while others sit in a shop window and wait until later on the two exit the shop.
"We've exactly got three copper pieces left from the money that King Bumi gave us. We must spend it wisely." Erza advised.
"Uh, make that two copper pieces, Erza." Aang confessed.
"What did you spend?" Katara asked.
Aang brought out a white whistle shaped like a bison.
"I couldn't say no to this whistle." Aang admitted as he brought out what he purchased and took a breath.
"It doesn't even work." Gray said as Momo chitters at Aang making him stop blowing.
"See? Even Momo thinks it's a piece of junk." Sokka said.
"Your brain's a piece of junk." Happy said.
"Watch yourself, Cat!" Sokka threatened.
"Ohhhh, I'm SOOOOOOO scared of a junk-brained whiner." Happy said and Sokka was about lunge at Happy but Natsu puts his hand on Sokka's face causing him to run in place while trying to get to Happy.
"You two stop it." Lucy said and then turns to Aang.
"No offense, Aang, but I'll hold on to the money from now on." She instructed and Aang gives her the money.
At the dock a man was soliciting customers.
"Earth Nation! Fire Nation! Water Nation! So long as bargains are your inclination, you're welcome here! Don't be shy! Come on by!" The man calls out and then he sees the gang walking by the ship and so he runs over to them but they keep walking. "Oh! You there! I can see by your clothes that you're world travelers. Perhaps I can interest you in some exotic curios?" The man offered making Natsu stop.
"Sure! What're exotic curios?" Natsu asked.
"I'm not entirely sure, but we got 'em!" The man admitted as he led the gang to the ship.
The gang looks around in what looks like a pirate ship and are looking at what the ship has and Aang is momentarily mesmerized by a stone monkey with large red rubies for eyes.
"I've never seen such fine specimen of lemur and two cats." A voice said they turn to see another man who is dressed like a pirate captain with a green parrot creature on his shoulder walking out of a dark doorway. "Those beasts would fetch me a hefty sum if you three'd be interested in bartering." The man said as the parrot creature screams several times at Momo, Happy, and Carla.
"I don't wanna be with that guy!" Happy said as he hides behind Natsu.
"Neither do I." Carla said as Wendy hugs her protectively.
"Sorry. Carla's not for sale." Wendy said.
"Neither is Happy." Natsu said.
"Same for Momo." Aang said hugging the lemur protectively too.
Katara walks over to a scroll rack and she sees that one of them is thinner and has a Water symbol at the end and so she opens it and looks at how to perform some moves with water.
"No way." Katara gasped as Gray approached her.
"Whatcha looking at?" Gray asked.
"Look at this." Katara said handing the scroll to Gray, who then looked at it.
"These almost look like the moves you did, Katara." Gray said.
"Yeah. You know what this means?" Katara asked.
"What?" Gray asked.
"It's a Waterbending scroll." Katara said excitedly.
"Waterbending scroll?" Lucy asked joining the two.
"Yeah! Look at these crazy moves." Katara said.
"Where did you get a Waterbending scroll?" Sokka asked as the man takes the scroll and closes it.
"Let's just say I got it up north at a most reasonable price...free!" The man said as he slammed his hand on the scroll and started to put it away.
While Erza is looking at the merchandise she turns around to the man after she heard what the man just said about getting the Waterbending scroll. She connects the pieces while studying the scroll
"Erza, what's wrong?" Lucy asked.
"Wait a minute...sea loving traders, suspiciously acquired merchandise, and pet birds..." It then dawned on her.
"You people are pirates!" Erza yelled pointing her finger at the man.
"Oh, we prefer to think of ourselves as high risk traders." The other man from before said but Erza gave him a evil eye and made him back off.
"So how much for the 'traded' scroll'?" Katara asked.
"I've already got a buyer. A nobleman in the Earth Kingdom...unless of course, you kids have two hundred gold pieces on ya right now?" The man asked.
"I think I know how to handle these guys. Pirates love to haggle." Natsu said.
"Natsu, how do you know this will even work?" Lucy asked.
"Just follow my lead. C'mon." Natsu said and Lucy sighs and gives him the two copper pieces. "Watch and learn." Natsu said as he walks over to the man.
"What say you to the price of...one copper piece?" Natsu offered as he holds one copper piece to the man with a wide grin on his face and the man laughs.
"The price is two hundred gold pieces. I don't haggle with an item this rare." The man said.
"Okay...two copper pieces!" Natsu tried again now holding the two copper pieces to the man.
"Not as amusing the second time." The man glared at him.
"Natsu, can we get out here? I feel like we're getting weird looks." Katara said.
"Aye! We be castin' off now!" Aang said.
"Aye aye!" Natsu added.
"Don't talk like that EVER again, idiots." Gray said as they leave the ship.
"What was that all about, Katara?" Lucy asked.
"Yeah. I was just starting to browse through their boomerang collection." Sokka said in agreement.
"I'll just feel better once we get away from here." Katara said as they walked away from the ship.
Just then the pirate that solicited them earlier runs across the deck.
"Hey you! Get back here!" The pirate shouted and the gang turn around.
"Well, well. Look who's come to their senses. Told ya hagglin' would pay off." Natsu said.
Just then a group of pirates exit the ship and go for the gang who are now surrounded and faced with well armed and angry pirates and the gang prepare themselves for a fight.
"Uh, I don't think these pirates are here to trade with us." Sokka said.
"I second that." Wendy added as she blew the pirates away with Sky Dragon Roar.
"Run!" Lucy shouted as the gang start running from the pirates.
"Hey! Get back here!" A pirate shouted as they get up and chase after the gang.
The gang run down an alley while the pirates are still chasing them and the pirates decide to split into two groups and one group goes after the gang.
"This way! We'll cut them off!" The pirate in green stopped and told the others.
Seeing a bowl of water, Katara grunted as she raised her arms to send it on the ground. Then acting quickly, she froze the puddle.
"Ice-Make: Floor." Gray froze the ground causing the pirates to slip and fall. The other pirates jump over the frozen ground and continue the chase.
The cabbage merchant from Omashu stood by his new cart as he happily sighed while hugging a head of cabbage. He set the head down with the others and was about to move the cart when Sokka bumped into it. The cabbage merchant was quick to catch three falling cabbage heads before they hit the ground. Lucy, Erza and Wendy accidentally bumped into the cart and made two more fall, which the man caught. Aang and Natsu then jumped through the cart. When they landed on their feet, Aang used his staff to send the cart flying at the pirates. The men see the cart coming and turn the other way, but the cart crashes into them nonetheless
"MY CABBAGES! This place is worse than Omashu!" The cabbage merchant said in annoyance as he walks away.
The gang run down another alley but as they were about to turn the next corner they face the pirate salesman and his men and so the gang run back to where they came but they see the pirates that were still chasing them confronting the gang.
The group continued running through the streets as the fled from the pirates. But the pirate in green and his side of the crew came upon them. The green pirate laughed, "Ha-ha!"
"I hope that lemur and those cats have nine lives." One of the pirates said.
"Now who would like to take the steel of my blade first?" The pirate salesman asked, preparing his weapons.
"Perhaps you'd like to taste the steel of my blades, lousy pirate." Ray challenged, drawing his own swords and igniting them with white fire.
"We'll pass." Lucy sent a huge blast of wind at the pirates, blinding and confusing them. Ray then sheathed his swords and ignited the bottom of his bare feet.
"Hold on tight!" Aang shouted.
"Aang, I thought we were running away from the pirates!" Sokka exclaimed.
"Just hang on!" Aang repeated.
"I used to kinda look up to pirates, but those guys were terrible." Aang said.
"All pirates are terrible no matter what." Lucy muttered.
"I know. That's why I took...this!" Katara said as she revealed the waterbending scroll.
"No way." Lucy said in disbelief.
"Isn't this great?" Katara asked.
"No it's not. That was probably the reason why they were trying to hack us. You stole their Waterbending scroll." Sokka accused.
"I'd like to think of it as 'high risk trading'." Katara joked mocking the pirate salesman making Aang laugh.
"Good one, Katara." Aang laughed.
"Sokka, where do you think they got it? They stole it from a Waterbender." Katara questioned her brother.
"That doesn't matter." Sokka argued.
"For once, I agree with Sokka. You put all of our lives in danger just so you could learn some stupid fancy splashes." Gray agreed.
"What do you mean 'for once'?" Sokka asked but Gray ignores the question.
"These are real Waterbending forms, Gray. You know how crucial it is for Aang and Lucy to learn Waterbending." Katara argued back.
"I know, but still, you shouldn't have taken it. Erza, help me out here." Gray said.
"Well, Katara does have a point. It is crucial for Aang and Lucy to learn Waterbending, but Katara, Gray is also right. You shouldn't have stolen that scroll from those pirates so they wouldn't have to chase us out." Erza said.
"Well, what's done is done. We have it now." Aang said.
"Whatever." Sokka said walking off.
"I guess we'll have to start learning from that thing now." Lucy said.
"Aye aye!" Happy said.
"What did I say about talking like that?!" Gray asked.
Meanwhile Zuko's ship is docked at the port village and Zuko, Iroh, Aiko, and Flannery are in the marketplace and Zuko's arms are crossed as he is obviously unhappy and Aiko sees Iroh coming to them.
"I checked all the shops on this pier. Not a lotus tile in the entire marketplace." Iroh said.
"Well, it's good to know that this trip was a complete WASTE OF TIME FOR EVERYONE!" Zuko retorted, crossing his arms.
"Calm down, Zuko." Aiko said.
"Quite the contrary. I always say the only thing better than finding something you were looking for is finding something you weren't looking for at a great bargain!" Iroh beamed as the Fire soldiers walk by carrying armloads of stuff that Iroh bought and one of them is a brass instrument.
"You bought a tsungi horn, Father?" Flannery asked.
"For music night on the ship. Now if only we had some woodwinds." Iroh explainedas they walk down the market street and they see a pirate ship. "Oh, that looks promising!" Iroh said as they enter the ship and while looking around Iroh looks at the ruby eyed monkey. 
"This is handsome! Wouldn't it look nice in the galley?" Iroh suggested.
As Zuko is looking around the shop he sees the pirate barker talking to the pirate captain while Iroh picks up the ruby eyed monkey.
"We lost the Water Tribe girl, the yellow haired girl, and the bald monk she was traveling with." A pirate stated.
"This monk and this yellow haired girl. Did the monk have an arrow on his head and did the yellow haired girl have keys with her?" Zuko inquired.
Meanwhile back at the river bank Katara, Aang, and Lucy are by the river while Wendy is with them and she's holding open the Waterbending scroll.
"I just want to try this one move out first and then you two will practice." Katara said as she reads the scroll move. "'The single water whip'? Looks doable." Katara said as she gets into a Waterbending stance prescribed in the scroll and she raises her hand to pick up a stream of water and starts whipping around around but the water hits her forehead making Sokka laugh. 
"What's so funny?" Katara asked crossly.
"I'm sorry, but you deserved that. You've both been duped. She's only interested in teaching herself." Sokka said with a smug grin.
"Aang and Lucy will get their turn once I figure out the water whip!" Katara said in frustration as she tries again but then her water whip goes erratically and it accidentally whips Happy in his behind causing him to cry in pain and fly off and Katara grunts in frustration. 
"Why can't I get this stupid move?!" Katara cried out.
"You'll get it." Aang said earning a glare from Katara.
"Let me try it." Lucy said as she walks over to the river and she raises her hand lifting a stream of water and she makes the water whip correctly and she uses it to hit a tree.
"Wow. You're a fast learner at bending, Luce." Natsu said.
"Not bad." Gray said.
"I've seen better." Sokka said who gets whipped in the head by Lucy's water whip. "I deserved that." Sokka said.
"Yeah you did." Natsu said as Lucy drops the water back into the river.
"Okay, Aang. You try." Lucy said.
"No problem." Aang said as he walks to the river and he also makes a water whip correctly. "I got it! You see, Katara, you just gotta shift your weight through the stances." Aang said as he freely and gracefully manipulates the water whip as he also hits the tree Lucy struck and then puts the water back into the river. "There. You see, the key to bending is..." Aang was then cut off by Katara's outburst.
"Will you PLEASE SHUT YOUR AIR HOLE?! Believe it or not, your infinite wisdom is getting old sometimes! Why don't we just throw the scroll away since you and Lucy are naturally gifted!" Katara yelled in bitterness and frustration.
"Seriously?" Ray asked her with a raised eyebrow. "I swear, that scroll is driving you crazy."
He then went back to practicing swinging his sword.
"What's that supposed to-" She turned to Aang and her expression changed. Katara saw his lower lip start to tremble and realized exactly what he meant.
"Oh my gosh Aang, I'm so sorry." Katara said 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 okay, Katara." Aang said, trying to cheer her up.
"Happy, I'm sorry I whipped you unintentionally." Katara said while Happy is rubbing his sore behind.
"It's okay, Katara." Happy said.
"Hey. What about me? Ya know, the time when you..." Sokka was cut off when Lucy kicked him in the face.
"NO more apologies!" Lucy shouted.
"And I'm NOT apologizing for that. You deserved that." She added.
Meanwhile Zuko's ship deploys a small cutter craft and the cutter craft and the pirate ship both move up on the river and Zuko and the pirate captain are on the deck of one of the ships.
"Shouldn't we search the woods?" The pirate captain asked.
"We don't need to. They stole a Waterbending scroll right?" Zuko asked.
"That's right." The pirate captain nodded.
"Then they'll be on the water." Zuko explained looking out to the river.
It is now nighttime and the gang are asleep but Katara is still awake and so she gets up from her sleeping bag and silently takes the Waterbending scroll from Aang's bag and she starts to walk away while looking back guiltily from the camp but as she turns back to see Momo confronting her while he's sitting on a tree trunk and he chitters at Katara.
"Quiet, Momo! Go back to sleep!" Katara whispered and Momo chitters again but she shushes him again and walks off.
Katara is near the river and she's trying to learn the Water Whip again but she's failing to produce it and she gets frustrated again.
"Come on, water! Work with me here!" Katara said as she lifts another glob of water and tries to manipulate it but she's still having trouble.
"Looks like you're still having trouble." A voice behind Katara she turns to see Lucy, Erza, and Wendy.
"Sorry. I just want to learn this stupid move." Katara said.
"Well, you are practicing. You just need to keep trying until you get it." Erza said.
"I know. Are you three here to watch me fail?" Katara asked.
"No. I just thought I could work more on Waterbending and Erza and Wendy asked me if they could watch." Lucy said.
"Okay then." Katara said.
Lucy raises water from the river and she starts manipulating successfully and twirls it around her until she makes it into another water whip and then strikes another tree with it and she drops the water back into the river.
"Very good. You're actually better than me." Katara said.
"You gonna yell at me for it just like you yelled at Aang?" Lucy asked.
"I just got a little jealous because you two were getting better at Waterbending than I am." Katara said.
"I don't blame you." Lucy said.
"Everyone does get jealous of something." Wendy said.
"Don't be disappointed. You're still a great teacher." Erza said.
"Thanks." Katara said.
"I'd like to learn more, but I'll be going back to sleep now." Lucy said.
"Would you like to come with us?" Wendy asked.
"No thanks. I still need to get this stupid move and then I'll sleep." Katara said.
"Very well then. Good night, Katara." Erza said as she, Lucy, and Wendy walk out.
"Good night." Katara said.
While Katara is still working the Water Whip move Zuko and the pirate captain hear noises and they look at each other to assume if it's someone they're after and Katara picks up another stream of water.
"Okay, Katara. Shift your weight through the stance." Katara said to herself as she tries it but the stream of water falls back into the river and she grunts.
Just then Katara hears a noise of grinding metal and so she goes over to a row of bushes and looks over them to see Zuko's cutter craft on the river bank and she gasps and runs but a pirate is standing in front of her and grabs her.
"No! Let go of me!" Katara yelled as she water whips the pirate making him let go and she runs again but this time Zuko is in front of her and he grabs her
"I'll save you from the pirates." Zuko exclaimed.
Later on Katara is now tied to a small tree trunk and her hands are tied behind the trunk while being surrounded by Zuko, his Fire soldiers, and the pirates.
"Tell me where they are and I won't hurt you or your brother." Zuko told Katara.
"Go jump in a river!" Katara snapped in defiance.
"Try to understand. I need to capture them to restore something I've lost. My honor. Maybe in exchange I can restore something you've lost." Zuko explained, holding up the necklace he found.
"My mother's necklace! How did you get that?!" Katara demanded.
"I didn't steal it if that's what you're wondering. Tell where they are." Zuko said.
"No!" Katara yelled.
"Enough with this necklace garbage. You promised the scroll." The pirate captain insisted, fed up with waiting.
Zuko takes out the scroll but he then he makes fire in his palm and it's dancing under the scroll Zuko is holding in the air.
"I wonder how much this is worth?" Zuko trailed off, creating a fireball and placing the scroll near it.
"A lot apparently. Now help me find what I want, you'll get this back, and everyone goes home happy. Search the woods for the boy and the girl and meet back here." Zuko ordered.
"Fine." They sighed.
Meanwhile the gang are still sleeping until Sokka starts to wake up and he notices Katara's empty sleeping bag.
"Huh? Where did she go?" Sokka asked as he starts searching everyone's bags. 
"I don't believe it!" Sokka said as everyone else wakes up.
"What're you crying about now?" Lucy asked.
"She took the scroll!" Sokka said.
"Who cares?" Lucy asked.
"I do! She probably took it so she could learn those moves." Sokka said.
"Oh, no. What a nightmare! Oh, poor Sokka. Whatever shall we do?" Lucy mocked earning a glare from Sokka.
"This isn't funny!" Sokka said.
"Listen, Lucy, Wendy, and I already knew she took the scroll to learn those moves. We saw her doing that." Erza said.
"You didn't bother stopping her?" Sokka asked.
"She just wanted to learn how to Waterbend better." Wendy said.
"So we decided to keep her company and I also wanted to work more on Waterbending." Lucy said.
"How're you on that, Luce?" Natsu asked.
"I'm getting better." Lucy answered.
"This isn't the point." Sokka said.
"No one cares what you say, Sokka." Lucy said.
"Look, I'm just saying she's obsessed with that thing. It's just a matter of time before she gets us into deep..." Sokka was cut off by sling thrown at his hands wrapping them up and then he gets pulled screaming.
He lands in front of a pirate who throws another sling at him but he rolls out of the way allowing Gray to use Ice Make:Sword and he charges at the pirate and Erza follows him to help and while this is happening the others turn to see a huge beefy pirate with two crossbows with nets tied between them and he aims at Aang and Lucy and he fires at the two but Aang bends airballs but the net passes through them and the nets get Aang and Lucy rolling them up into nice neat bundles and they are thrown backwards onto the ground and another pirate drags them away leaving the others.
"Aang! Lucy!" Happy said.
"Oh, what? I'm not good enough to kidnap?" Sokka asked and another net gets him along with Natsu, Gray, Erza, Wendy, Happy, and Carla and they get dragged as well.
"You really are an idiot, Sokka." Gray said.
"What?" Sokka asked.
"We were supposed to SAVE Lucy and Aang from being kidnapped! Not get kidnapped with them, you big oaf!" Erza yelled.
"Do you guys ever give me a break?" Sokka asked.
"I'll break your face if you're not careful." Gray threatened.
Everyone is on the other part of the river bank and Zuko and his men face the pirates as Zuko is still holding the scroll while the pirates are holding Aang, Lucy, Natsu, Gray, Erza, Wendy, Happy, and Carla while Katara is still tied against the tree and Iroh, Aiko, and Flannery are standing next to her.
"Nice work." Zuko said.
"Guys, I'm sorry. This is my fault." Katara said.
"No, Katara. It isn't." Aang said.
"Yeah. It kind of is." Flannery said earning a glare from Katara.
"Give me those two." Zuko said pointing at Aang and Lucy.
"You give us the scroll first." The pirate captain said.
"You're really gonna hand over the Celestial Mage and the Avatar over some stupid piece of parchment?" Gray asked.
"Don't listen to him! He's just trying to turn us against each other!" Zuko said and the pirate captain looks at Lucy and Aang.
"Your friends are the Celestial Mage and the Avatar?" The pirate captain asked.
"Sure are and I'll bet they'll fetch a lot more on the black market than that fancy scroll." Gray said.
"Shut your mouth, you half-naked imbecile!" Zuko yelled.
"Yeah, Gray. You should REALLY shut your mouth." Aang insisted.
"And maybe KEEP it shut?" Lucy warned.
"Hey. I'm just sayin', it's bad business sense. Just imagine how much the Fire Lord would pay for the Celestial Mage and the Avatar. You guys would be set for life." Gray announced.
"Keep the scroll! We can buy a hundred with the reward we will get for these children." The pirate captain stated as he and his men walk away and take the gang.
"You'll regret breaking a deal with me!" Zuko retorted as he and his soldiers unleash a torrent of flame at the ground where the pirates are walking on but the pirates jump out of the way.
The pirates then charge at the Fire soldiers and combat ensues between them.
"I must say, Gray, you're a genius." Aang said.
"I knew taking advantage of their greed would pay off." Gray said.
"But we're still bound." Lucy said.
"Not for long, we won't." Erza said.
Zuko and his men charge at the gang but as they get near four pirates jump in to defend their captives and they drop smoke bombs surrounding the battlefield with fog and while the Fire soldiers remain still the pirates pull them in and they continue to fight and while this is happening Katara is still tied against the tree but Momo bites on her bonds to free her.
"Thanks, Momo. I owe you a bushel of apples." Katara said.
In the smoke while the Fire soldiers and the pirates are fighting Lucy is running through the smoke while coughing and she sees a throwing star and spear but she misses and she uses the spear to cut her bonds free and while this is happening Zuko escapes from the smoke while putting the Waterbending scroll on his waistband but then he sees the pirate captain attacking him with his sword but Zuko moves and gets into his Firebending stance and the two begin to fight and while they are fighting a pirate throws a sling that removes the scroll from Zuko but Momo, Happy, and Carla intercept the sling and it returns to the pirate and Carla takes the scroll and she flies with Momo and Happy but then they are being chased by the pirate captain's parrot creature and it tackles Carla making her drop the scroll into the smoke filled battlefield and during the fight Sokka and Natsu crawl on the ground and out of the smoke a knife buries itself on the ground in front of them shocking the two but they use its blade to cut their bonds free.
"Aang! Are you there?" Sokka called.
"Luce! Where are you?!" Natsu called.
"I'm over here! Just follow my voice!" Aang called back while jumping out of the smoke cloud and coming back down.
"Where?! We can't find you!" Sokka called back.
"I'm right here!" Aang called back as he bends the air to blow away the smoke making it clear but then he sees the Fire soldiers and pirates still fighting and they look at him but he quickly closes the smoke around them. 
"Uh, never mind! I'll find you guys!" Aang said.
Sokka, Natsu, Gray, Erza, and Wendy crawl out of the smoke and Lucy and Aang jump out of it over Sokka's head.
"Run!" Lucy said as they run where they see Katara pushing the pirate ship off the bank.
"Katara! You're okay!" Wendy said.
"Help me push this thing back into the water so we can get out of here!" Katara said as they help her push but to no avail.
"We need a team of rhinos to budge this ship." Sokka said.
"A team of rhinos..." Aang stops talking.
"Or three Waterbenders?" Lucy asked looking at Katara who smiles.
Lucy, Aang, and Katara are pulling the river back and forth slowly raising the water level making the ship float.
"Everybody in!" Erza said.
Zuko and the pirate captain are still fighting but then Iroh and Aiko break them up.
"Are you so busy fighting you cannot see your own ship set sail?" Iroh questioned.
"We don't have time for your proverbs, Uncle." Zuko retorted.
"It's no proverb." Aiko said pointing at the pirate that's sailing down the river much to the pirate captain's shock.
"Bleedin' hog-monkeys!" The pirate captain cried as he runs after the ship and Zuko laughs.
They then see Zuko's own ship being loaded with pirates who are taunting Zuko and one of the pirates moon him making him infuriated.
"Hey! That's MY boat!" Zuko exclaimed as he runs after them.
"Or maybe it should be a proverb." Iroh wondered.
"Come on, Uncle!" Zuko called and Iroh, Aiko, and Flannery run after Zuko.
On the pirate ship Wendy is looking astern at Zuko's ship filled with pirates chasing after the pirate ship.
"Sokka, can't you make this thing go any faster?" Wendy asked Sokka who is standing at the wheel of the ship.
"I don't know how. This ship wasn't made by the Water Tribe." Sokka said.
Just then on Wendy's side the cutter craft is passing them and when they draw parallel the pirates start jumping onto the pirate ship and they attack but Erza uses Requip and enters Water Empress Armor and casts Water Magic to knock pirates overboard while Gray shoots his ice to do the same thing while Natsu fire kicks at a pirate to knock him overboard as well but then two pirates approach Katara who backs away and Aang and Lucy both bend water into a huge wave onto the deck and washes one pirate overboard but while the second is still gaining on Katara she successfully creates a water whip and smacks the other pirate knocking him overboard but another pirate is behind her but Wendy uses her Sky Magic to knock him overboard.
"Thanks, Wendy." Katara said.
"No problem." Wendy said.
"Katara, you just did the water whip move." Lucy said.
"Good job." Aang said.
"I couldn't have done it without you two." Katara said.
"Will you three stop congratulating each other and help me out?!" Sokka yelled as he's being held by the beefy pirate and the pirate barker.
"Will you stop acting like you're three-years-old?" Lucy asked.
Momo, Happy, and Carla are still flying while still being chased by the parrot creature but then Momo and Happy distract it making it charge at the two but Carla successfully traps the bird by wrapping it around with the pirate ship's flag.
"Stupid bird." Carla said.
The beefy pirate then throws Sokka into the sail in front of him as he screams while being thrown and he falls to the deck below.
"Oh, yeah! That's good!" The pirate barker said but then Lucy drops in front of them and she summons Taurus to help her and the beefy pirate attacks but Taurus grabs the beefy pirate and holds him in the air spinning him around like a pizza dough until Taurus throws the beefy pirate in the air allowing Lucy to deliver a spin kick sending the beefy pirate into the water.
While Sokka gets up after being thrown everyone is on the bridge deck but then Katara and Erza look at something in front of them.
"Guys, look!" Katara pointing forward at the end of the river which means they are nearing a huge waterfall.
"Oh, no!" Aang said as the pirate barker is behind him drawing his blade and Aang turns to face him and he takes out his bison whistle and he starts to blow with no effect confusing the pirate barker but then Erza punches and roundhouse kicks the pirate barker knocking him overboard and Sokka takes the whistle from Aang.
"Have you lost your mind?! This is no time for flute practice!" Sokka yelled but Lucy whacks him and she gives Aang his whistle back.
Lucy and Katara are looking over the starboard railing of the ship at the rapidly approaching waterfall.
"What're we gonna do?" Natsu asked.
"We can try and stop this boat." Lucy said.
"You're right. Let's push and pull the water together." Katara said.
"Hurry before we're all in for a huge fall." Gray said.
Lucy and Katara begin pushing and pulling the water as the ship is getting close to the waterfall but Lucy's and Katara's Waterbending is making the ship stop.
"We're doing it!" Katara said.
"But we have another problem!" Natsu said pointing at the cutter craft getting closer.
The cutter craft is bearing down on the pirate ship while the pirate ship is hovering at the edge of the fall and the left of the cutter craft enters the scream and rams the pirate ship making the gang scream at the impact that's lifting the starboard side of the pirate ship out of the water and making the ship list badly to port and the list becomes so bad that the gang fall from the ship and over the falls and the pirate ship is falling behind them and while the gang are falling Appa swoops in just in time and they land on his back and Appa flies away from the falling pirate ship which gets destroyed as it hits the bottom in a cloud of water and debris and while Appa is flying Aang looks at his bison whistle happily.
"I knew a bison whistle would come in handy." Aang said.
"And you said it was a piece of junk. That's what your brain still is." Happy said.
"Shut up!" Sokka replied.
"Thanks, Appa." Aang said.
"Yeah. Great timing." Lucy said and Appa grunts in response.
Zuko, Iroh, Aiko, and Flannery run up to the river bank near the waterfall.
"My boat!" Zuko yelled.
"Prince Zuko, you're going to get a kick out of this. The missing lotus tile was in my sleeve the whole time!" Iroh said taking out his lotus tile out of his sleeve with a big grin on his face.
Zuko is trying to control his temper and while Iroh is still holding onto his lotus tile Zuko quickly snatches it from him and Zuko throws it as far away from them as possible and it lands on one of the pirates' heads while they are floating downstream.
Appa is still flying through the sky and everyone is on the saddle and Katara is kneeling down with a downcast look.
"Aang, I'm sorry. You and Lucy were just so good at Waterbending without even trying, I got too competitive that I put us all in danger. I'm sorry." Katara said.
"It's okay, Katara." Aang said.
"Besides, who needs that stupid scroll anyway." Katara said.
"Is that REALLY how you feel?" Lucy asked showing her the scroll.
"The scroll!" Katara said shocked.
"How did you get that? I thought I'd lost it when that bird was chasing me, Happy, and Momo." Carla said.
"I found it in that smoke cloud while trying to avoid getting killed during the fight." Lucy answered and she sees Katara reaching for the scroll but Lucy pulls it away and she uses her other hand to stop Katara.
"Not so fast, Katara. What did you learn?" Lucy asked.
"Stealing is wrong." Katara answered.
"That's right. Unless it's from pirates." Lucy said smirking while giving Katara the scroll and Natsu and Aang laugh.
"Good one, Luce!" Natsu said.
"Thanks, Lucy." Katara said.
"You're welcome." Lucy said.
"What about thieves?" Gray asked.
"That too." Lucy said.
"Thugs?" Happy asked.
"That too." Lucy said.
"Different guilds?" Natsu asked.
"If they steal from us, it's war." Lucy said.
"Oh, you guys." Erza said and Lucy, Natsu, Happy, Aang, Katara, and Wendy laugh.