According to Reina, my stories rock. Therefore, since they come from my mind, I rock! Yeah? Reina, this one is for and because of you.

Her head hurt. That was the first thing she was aware of she came to. Not just a little ache. Oh, no. More like a badger-mole had taken residence in her head and was rearranging things to make the space more comfortable to live in. Nevermind that she'd been using it to think and function.

She forced her eyes to open. Then opened them wider. Either she was blind, or it was just dark. Wait, there was light coming through a crack in the bottom of the dark. A door? Looking around, she could see that she was in a metal room, like on a ship. Why was she on a ship?

Oh, yeah.

She had been kidnapped.

In a grand hall of the Imperial Palace, the young Fire Lord's breath came in short bursts that produced fire from his mouth.

"Zuko, calm down," Katara held up her hands in a placating gesture. The Fire Lord was not having any of that.

"Don't tell me what to do!" he growled out.

"Oh, that's mature," Sokka rolled his eyes.

Zuko rounded on the warrior.

"Why don't we let your wife get abducted by pirates and see how you react?"

"Well, for one thing, that already happened but they weren't pirates. Secondly, Suki's my bethrothed."

Zuko reared back his head and shot fire twenty feet straight into the air and scorched the ceiling.

"Sokka, if you're not going to say anything useful, kindly shut up," his sister reprimanded him while glaring at him.

Sokka stood in front of the firebender and put his hands on his shoulders, forcing him to look him in the eye.

"I know you're worried about her. I get that you're mad and want to bust some heads. But reacting the way you are now is not going to help her or anyone else. You have to keep your head. All right?"

Zuko stepped back and heaved a deep breath of air and slowly let it out, calming his fire and then one more.

"You're right. Sorry."

"Forget about it. Now if you think that you can keep yourself from burning down the crime scene, follow me."

Sokka started off down the hall with Katara and Zuko flanking him.

"We're going to find her, Zuko," Katara put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I know."

A/N: And this is why you review. So the writers feel encouraged and come up with new stories to entertain you. It's the circle of life…circle of writing…same thing. And you may even get a story dedicated to you. And everyone wants a story dedicated to them. And I use 'and' at the beginning of all these sentences because all of the English teachers said not to. ^_^

I do believe this is the shortest thing I've ever posted. Consider it a prologue. This is post-war, about three years, maybe.

YO HO YO HO! A PIRATE'S LIFE FOR ME! We pillage and plunder and don't give a hoot! Stand up me harties, YO HO! We – 'kay, I'll stop now.

I have no idea when I'll update this one. This chapter is basically just to get it out there…here. Whatever.