Rescue

Sokka was growing impatient. They had waited long enough, now was the time to strike. "Katara." His lips hardly moved, air barely pushed from his lungs. But it did the trick. His younger sister looked up, eyebrows drawn together. "Tell Aang we need to attack now, before they spot us. I'm tired of waiting." He told her. She nodded, turning to the bald monk to relay Sokka's words.

His eyes wandered back to the camp. It was small, the exact size of the force that had created it. He had been surprised, seeing the small numbers of the fire nation soldiers. He had assumed they traveled in large numbers, but this group had proved him wrong.

Then again, they weren't all fire benders, there were also prisoners. Four, from the look of it. The oldest was a girl, perhaps a year or so younger than him. She was dressed in traditional earth bending garments. The second oldest was a boy, who was cloaked in robes of the Northern water tribe. The other two were small girls, one close to Toph's age, the other at least four years younger, if not five.

He shifted his attention to Katara as she nudged him. "Aang's ready. Get your boomerang." She told him. He nodded stiffly, loosening the weapon on his back. He breathed a sigh of relief, realizing he would only have to watch his back. Toph was back at their makeshift camp, so they wouldn't have to worry about her getting hurt because of her being blind. She had been rebellious, refusing to listen. It had taken a lot of discussion and disagreement to get her to stay. But she finally had agreed.

Inhaling slowly, he gripped his boomerang and moved it to the sand beside him. There was a breeze to his right, a signal for him to attack. Sokka raised into a crouch, fixing his grip on his boomerang. Winding his arm back, he exhaled and let his weapon fly. It cut through the air, a whistling sound accompanying it.

The oldest girl suddenly looked up, locking eyes with him. Sokka froze, paying no mind to the fire benders that cried out in surprise. She smiled at him, mouthing a thanks. He nodded and stood, catching his boomerang as it returned. He looked sideways, watching Katara and Aang rush forward, using their element to fight. He threw his boomerang again, this time for a different path. It cut through the girls bonds, setting her free. She grinned, running to the aid of her friends.

Sokka gripped his boomerang and ran down the hill, joining the battle of his friends. He quickly took down a soldier in hand-to-hand combat, turning sharply as a hand was laid on his shoulder. He hurled his fist, halting it at the stomach of his opponent. He looked up, eyes widening. It was the girl he had freed.

"If you help me get our weapons, we can fight." She told him.

"Why can't you get them?" Sokka asked, suspicion entering his voice.

"Their leader has the key. And I'm not strong enough to fight him." He knew she was telling the truth, but he also knew there was more than she let on.

"Point him out." She turned, pointing to the only one that wasn't wearing armor. He was currently fighting Katara, who was clearly struggling to fight back. He nodded, throwing his boomerang toward the man. The man jerked his head up just in time, sidestepping. Katara took advantage of the distraction, nailing him with a water whip. He turned, shooting fire at her. A wall of sand shot up, shielding her.

Sokka turned his head, seeing a boy close to his age climbing from the back of the wagon. He leaped down, running to him and the earth bending girl. "Kaitlyn, you okay?" He asked.

"We need to get the key from Rai. I want my weapons back." She told him.

"Right. Got a plan, leader?" He smirked.

"Um, I have one." Sokka inserted. "Distract him. I'll sneak up and get the key. It's hanging from his belt, easy grab."

"Good idea. Kait, can you help me a little?" The other boy asked. The girl, Kaitlyn, hesitated.

"I-I don't know…what if I pass out again?" There was fear in her voice.

"You can do it. All you need to do is shift it beneath his feet. I'll do the rest." The boy assured.

"Can we get a move on?" Sokka didn't like the way the boy they called Rai was eyeing his sister. In fact, he wanted to shove his fist down the boy's throat and rip his eyes out.

"Right." Kaitlyn nodded, splaying her fingers. She took a deep breath, and the sand began to shift. It slithered like a snake until it was beneath Rai. Then it rocked beneath his feet, knocking him off balance. The boy took a stance beside Kaitlyn, blasting sand attacks at the fire bender. Sokka ran around the shifting sand, until he was a few feet from Rai. He lunged forward, fingers closing around the key. He jerked, ripping the weak link that attached it to his belt. Rai spun, thrusting fire toward Sokka. A wall of sand rose up, shielding him from the blow. Sokka turned his head, expecting to see the boy helping. But it was Kaitlyn, who was falling to her knees. The wall fell, and Sokka darted to her side.

"You all right?" He knelt, concern in his eyes.

"I'll be…fine…" She was gasping for breath, body quivering. Sweat rolled down her face. "In the wagon….there's a cabinet with a lock….open it and you'll see our stuff…." She grimaced, pressing her palms flat to the sand to keep her up.

"Are you sure you'll be-"

"She said go!" The boy growled, glaring at Sokka. "She'll be fine." Sokka nodded, darting to the wagon to do as told.

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"You're a pretty little thing. It's a shame I'm already betrothed." Rai sneered.

"I pity the girl who has to marry you." Katara shot back, sidestepping his attack.

"She actually has no choice in the matter. Which is why we have to capture you lot. I can't allow you to free my prisoners, that would just ruin everything." Rai spun, unleashing another jet of fire. It was avoided once more by the determined water bender.

"That's who you're marrying? One of your prisoners?" Katara scowled, thrusting her water whip forward again.

"We've met countless times. I made a….a proposition, one she couldn't resist." The fire rushed forward again, wrapping around her wrist. She cried out in alarm, cringing as he tugged, pulling her into his arms.

"Let me go! Aang!" Katara struggled against the tight hold.

"You smell nice. Floral. Lilies and warm springs I would say. You probably bend a lot. I wonder if you're any better with more of your element than you are with that flimsy little flask?" He mused. "You fit perfectly in my arms you know." Rai added, nuzzling his face against her neck.

"Let her go!" Sokka yelled, throwing his boomerang toward the pair. Rai threw them both to the ground, rolling over so that he kept Katara pinned beneath him.

"You've made the wrong choice! Your sister will have to pay for your outburst!" Rai smirked, running his thumb over Katara's cheek.

"Sokka!" She squirmed, fearfully looking at her older brother.

"Katara!" Aang looked over, his expression anguished. He took a step forward, only to be attacked by another soldier.

"Let her go!" Kaitlyn shouted, standing beside the older boy who she appeared to be friends with.

"Afraid not, Kaitlyn. You'll get her back once you-"

"NO!" Kaitlyn shouted. Rai cried out as sand wrapped around his ankles, dragging him under it slowly. Katara escaped his hold, running to Sokka. Aang leaped back from his battle, watching in horror and fascination as the sand below the fire benders quaked. It began slowly dragging them under, until only their heads were visible. Then it stopped. A dust cloud rose up, blinding them all briefly. Once the cloud had cleared and they could see, the fire benders were gone. They saw the sand ripple as it began to move, carrying its load under the surface.

"That was amazing…." Aang breathed, looking toward the girl responsible. He watched her fall to the sand as if in slow motion, then realized what was happening and ran to help.

"Kaitlyn!" The boy beside her fell to his knees, bringing her into his arms.

"Kait!" The youngest girl cried, running over to her. Katara and Sokka followed, both filled with gratitude and fear.

"What's wrong with her?" Aang asked.

"Sand bending is…difficult for Kaitlyn." The boy holding her whispered. "It drains her energy easily, she can't manage it for long. And she was injured this morning, she shouldn't have tried so hard…" He whispered, shaking his head. "Kaitlyn, you idiot." He muttered under his breath.

"Will she be okay?" Katara asked, biting her lip.

"Hopefully." He murmured in reply. "I'm sorry, I'm forgetful sometimes." He looked up, forcing a smile. "Thank you for helping us. My name's Cade."

"I'm Aang. That's Katara and her brother Sokka." The Avatar introduced.

"Aang…your name sounds familiar. I think Rai mentioned it once or twice…" Cade muttered.

"Maybe because Aang's the Avatar and the Fire Nation's looking to kill him?" Sokka suggested.

"You're the Avatar?" This time it was the little girl that spoke. She peeked around Cade, looking curiously at the strangers. She was small, only about eight. Her blue eyes shone with curiosity as she studied Aang.

"Sure am!" Aang grinned.

"That's Kyra. The other two are Aiwyn and Jericho, or Jeri as we call him." Cade pointed to the other children, who were fiercely arguing in hushed tones. "They fight a lot. Jeri…he's a little stubborn. And he doesn't always look to the bright side of things. It bothers Aiwyn, so she attacks him for it." He smiled. "Aiwyn and Kyra are sisters." He added.

"They're water benders, right? All three of them?" Katara asked.

"Aiwyn and Kyra are from the Southern Tribe, Jeri from the Northern." Cade replied. "And myself and Kaitlyn are earth benders. Well, I'm better at bending sand, and I taught her how to do it." He chuckled.

"Do you guys know how we can get to Ba Sing Se?" Katara asked.

"Or find nice, stable ground." Sokka added.

"No, but I can try. Earth benders can see how far away obstacles are. I can get us going in the direction of better land." Cade offered.

"Great!" Aang grinned. "Want to come with us?"

"Could we? We really don't have anymore else to go." Cade admitted.

"Well, you're more than welcome to travel with us." Katara smiled. Cade nodded and stood, holding Kaitlyn to his chest. "She's a great person. You seem to care for her deeply." She said, smiling.

"Nothing deeper than friendship I assure you. Kaitlyn's like a little sister to me. She's probably one of the reasons I'm still alive today." Cade mused. "She's done a lot for us. She took in Aiwyn and Kyra first after finding them somewhere in the east. I don't know much about how that met." He told them. "But they found me next, a prisoner of the Fire Nation. I was leading rallies in my village, trying to convince them to fight back. Kaitlyn rescued me from the ship I was held on. Then we met Jeri, who was caught up in a fight with some thieves. He always was a fiery little thing." He smiled thinly. "We need to head east." He added, turning to his left.

"First, we have to go back and get a friend of ours." Katara corrected.

"Of course." Cade nodded, turning his direction. The group quickly trudged to the west, going to find Toph. Sokka and Katara hung back, talking with Cade to find out more about Kaitlyn and whether she would be okay. Both wanted to thank her for her help.

A/N: This chapter is a little rough, I know. Next chapter they'll be heading for the Serpent's Pass, where they meet Suki and the couple and all that fun stuff. Reviews are love. Ideas, helpful advice, or questions, feel free to talk to me.