This is just something I thought of and decided to write. =)
I've also posted it on ... Go check it out there. =)
And, lastly... I do not own the characters or the setting or the scroll. I only own the story idea. =)

Chapter 1

There had to be other ways to capture the Avatar. He always got out of his grasp somehow. Force didn't seem to work. Everytime he caught the Avatar, his little friends would come and rescue him.

His friends... He knew that the Avatar's friends were both children from the Southern Water Tribe, siblings. Would they give away the Avatar's location if they were threatened? The boy... If he remembered right, he was the one who went everywhere with a boomerang. A puny excuse for a soldier. And the girl was a waterbender, but barely.

He had her necklace.

Would she disclose the location of the Avatar if he offered to give it back to her? Maybe if he separated one of them and caught her brother and showed him the necklace, he'd believe that his sister had been captured and tell him where the Avatar was. If he caught her, then he'd show her the necklace and...

But would that be enough? Would he have to threaten them? Would that be enough?

They were the Avatar's friends. He had no idea how loyal they were; he had had no friends of his own, ever. He had seen Azula's friends, Mai and Ty Lee, but he didn't think they would be her friends if it weren't for her power, or how frightening she was.

But how loyal were the Avatar's friends? How loyal was the Avatar to his friends? If one of them happened to be... kidnapped, would he try to get them back?

It would definitely work. All he had to wait for was the perfect oppurtunity.

Prince Zuko walked on the upper deck of his ship with a small smirk on his face. The smirk was wiped off his face immediately as the ship turned abruptly, sending him hurtling onto the edge of the ship.

The first thought in his mind was that someone had bribed the crew to steer the ship and him away from the Avatar. Zhao.

His eyes narrowed to slits as he strode over to the wheelhouse of the ship and faced the helmsman.

"What's the meaning of this mutiny? No one told you to change the course." He barked at the helmsman, who leaned away from Zuko a little, no expression on his face. No fear, Zuko noticed with some frustration.

"Actually, someone did." Uncle Iroh said, from where he was sitting near a board of Pai Sho. "I assure you, it is a matter of utmost importance, Prince Zuko." He continued, seriously. Zuko's eyes gleamed, importance directly translating to Avatar in his mind. Had uncle spotted the Avatar's flying monster and changed the course to follow him?

"Is it something to do with the Avatar?" Zuko asked, his eyes wide.

"Even more urgent. It seems I - I've lost my Lotus tile." Iroh said, placing one hand on his head, rubbing it. Zuko shook his head. It didn't sound at all important. Uncle had changed their course for a Lotus tile?

With a stab of annoyance, he realized he didn't even know what a Lotus tile was.

"A Lotus tile?" He asked, frowning.

"For my Pai Sho game. Most people think the Lotus tile insignificant, but it is essential for the unusual strategy that I employ." Iroh said, explanatorily. Zuko's anger rose inside him.

"You've changed our course for a stupid Lotus Tile?" He asked, frustrated at his uncle.

"See, you, like most people, underestimate it's value. Just give me ten minutes to check the merchants at the port of call. Hopefully they'll have a Lotus tile in stock and I can get on with my life." Iroh said, and Zuko shook his head, exhaling loudly, then looking up and breathing out a flame.

"I'm happy to have such an understanding nephew."

Zuko waited impatiently as Iroh walked around the ship, looking at the wares and occasionally commenting on them. His attention was suddenly caught by something the pirates were saying, standing in the corner.

" - girl and the little bald monk she was travelling with." A girl and a little bald monk? That had to be them. Zuko walked over to the pirates and asked,

"This monk, did he have an arrow on his head?"

Katara knew she'd said that the scroll was all Aang's, but she just wanted to be able to do that one move. It wasn't fair that Aang was so good at this, even if he was the Avatar. She knew she shouldn't be jealous of her friend, but... It wasn't fair.

And she was just going to try to do that one move.

She unrolled the Waterbending Scroll and placed it on a rock, then turned to face the water. She made slow motions with her hands, willing the water to move with her.

Slowly... Slowly...

The water rose, and, just as she smiled, thinking she had finally done it!, it fell back in the river with a loud splash.

"Shoot! Come on water, work with me!" She urged, frustrated that just when she thought she had it, she had failed. Again. Just as she was about to try again, she head something that sounded like grinding metal, like...

No.

Katara ran over to the nearby bushes and parted them, peeking through, and saw a too familiar metal ship and a smaller boat next to it. "Oh no." She whispered under her breath and backed away from the ship, turning to run back to where Aang and Sokka were still asleep - only to be faced with the smirking face of a pirate, who grabbed her.

"No, let me go!" She shouted, creating a succesful water whip without even noticing and hitting the pirate with it, then ran from him, hoping to get to Aang and Sokka for help, running straight into a solid chest.

His hands caught her wrists, preventing her from bending, and Zuko said, smirking,

"I'll save you from the pirates."

"Tell me where he is and I won't hurt you or your brother." Zuko said, leaning in closer to the girl's face. He wasn't sure what her name was, but by the expression on her face, she was obviously going to take more than that.

"Go jump in the river!" She shouted, and he shook his head, circling the tree she was bound to. He had been right. She had probably seen it was an empty threat; he wouldn't hurt her. He wasn't the kind to hurt a girl.

"Try to understand," he said in the most coaxing voice he could, "I need to capture the Avatar to restore something I've lost: my honour. Perhaps in exchange I can restore something you've lost." He was moving on to his second idea. Maybe it would work. And if it didn't, he had another plan.

He wasn't losing this time.

He slid the necklace on her neck, then moved his hands and the necklace away from her and faced her.

"My mother's necklace!" She said, shocked. "How did you get that?" Zuko turned around, moving the necklace over in his hand, then turned back to face her, smirking. It was working.

"I didn't steal it, if that's what you're wondering. Tell me where he is." He nearly snarled out the last part, leaning closer to her again. Defiance crossed her features. "No!" Stupid girl, Zuko thought.

Would there be enough time for them to still have the advantage of surprise over the Avatar, or would they be looking for them already? Zuko didn't want to take his chances; the Avatar with his friends had slipped out of his fingers before.

"Enough of this necklace garbage. You promised the scroll!" The captain of the pirates said, walking forward, and an idea entered Zuko's mind. He smirked. This was suddenly much easier.

He produced the scroll from his back and created a flame in his palm, holding the scroll over it.

"I wonder how much money this is worth?" He said, mock wondering out loud to himself. Gasps and small cries of "No!" from the pirates gave him his answer. "A lot, apparently. Now you help me find what I want, you'll get this back and everyone goes home happy. Search the woods for the boy and meet back here." He said, and a sullen look came on the pirate captain's face.

"Fine." The captain said, and Zuko watched the pirates all walk into the forest, smirking. These pirates were going back without a scroll. He knew there were chances they would find the Avatar, but he didn't want to take chances. He had to be sure of everything this time. The Avatar could get away, he had gotten away before. But if he had the girl, and he did have the girl, then he would have the Avatar too, soon.

They were loyal friends, he thought, almost bitterly.

As soon as the pirates were all out of sight, Zuko burned the rope that had bound the girl's wrists to the tree, and dragged her to the ship. She looked up at him, then back at the forest, then at the ship.

"What are you doing?" She shrieked, and he didn't reply, instead shouting to his uncle,

"Uncle, come. We have to leave before the pirates are back." He said, and Iroh raised his eyebrows, then shrugged and followed Zuko onto the ship. The girl struggled against Zuko, but she couldn't get away; her hands were tied so she couldn't bend, and he was physically stronger than she was.

He smirked as they entered a small room and closed the door behind him.

"Uncle, tell them to start moving. We're leaving."

"I don't believe it." Sokka said, making Aang blink blearily. He had just woken up to Sokka looking into his bag with a frown on his face. Sokka set the bag down on the grass and shook his head.

Aang yawned. "What's wrong?" He asked, stifling another yawn and sitting up.

"She took the scroll! She's obsessed with that thing. It's just a matter of time before she gets us all into deep - " but Sokka couldn't complete his sentence, because just then, a sling shot from somewhere in the bushes pulled his hands behind him. Sokka screamed as he was pulled of his sleeping bag. Another sling was thrown towards him, which he dodged by rolling away and picking up a spear, throwing it towards the pirate in the bushes.

Aang stood up with a jump and turned to face a beefy pirate firing a crossbow with a net tied in it towards him. He panicked and jumped back, sending an air ball towards the net. Stupid move, Aang, he chided himself in his brain as the air ball passed clean through the net, and he was trapped in the net and thrown to the ground.

Another pirate picked him up off the ground, saying, "I got him, come on!" and all the other's quickly started following them, leaving Sokka alone. Sokka stared after them, looking offended.

"Oh, what? I'm not good enough for you to kidnap?" He said, glaring, when another net scooped him up. And then he screamed; another net had scooped him up and the other pirates dragged him along.

"They're gone!" A pirate roared as they entered an empty clearing near the river.

"Who's gone?" Aang asked, and was answered when another pirate said, most likely not to Aang, "The scarred boy took the scroll and left!"

At this, Aang and Sokka looked at each other. Scroll? Did that mean Katara? And the scarred boy... Zuko.

''Did they... Did they take Katara as well?" Sokka asked, his voice breaking a little in the end, however much he tried to hide it. One pirate turned to face Sokka with a stupid smirk on his face, as if Sokka's misery made their loss any better.

"They took the girl."

Review please? Thanks. =)