Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender and am making no profit from this story.

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"Your move," the first voice said.

"I know," bit back the second.

"Could have fooled me."

"Just shut up and play!" Toph yelled at the boys.

Sokka and Zuko were in the middle of a fierce game of . . . Katara could not even remember the name. She didn't care to either. Whatever it was, Sokka was addicted and had been since Zuko introduced him to the game two days ago. She could hardly get her brother to pull his own weight without any distractions. Now it was almost impossible.

She glanced over at their makeshift table. Sokka lifted his hand as if to move a tile then stilled, bringing clasped hands back together in front of him as his eyes darted across the board, pondering his move.

This whole mess had started with Zuko trying to teach Aang after finding the game in town one night . . . something about strategy and patience and knowing your opponent . . . It had all sounded well and good, and Katara had been a full supporter of his attempts. Until Aang decided one night that everyone else should watch a game and help him "get the hang of it."

Half an hour in, Sokka had become enthralled by the game's intricacies, and Aang was all too happy to let Sokka take his place. Sokka had become even more attached to the game when he realized the tile Piandao had given him after training was a piece from the game. Even Toph was entertained, although she preferred to watch instead of play; she could see the pieces on the board, but details like colors were lost on her, and symbols as well, unless they were etched into the tiles.

They could hardly be torn away for dinner, and definitely not to help clean up afterwards.

Aang was being more helpful than usual, but she guessed it was because the game was keeping Zuko from noticing that he was not firebending in his free time as often as he should.

Katara had noticed though.

She frowned as she continued putting away their dishes from dinner. "Are you guys going to play that game all night?"

"It's called Pai Sho, Katara, not that game," Sokka retorted, not moving his gaze from the board. "And the Pai Sho game will end when it ends. You can't rush perfection."

"Or loosing," Zuko added, making his next move.

"We'll see," came Sokka's vague reply.

Katara rolled her eyes and walked over to Aang.

"Why don't you put some practice time in while they're busy?"

Aang's eyes lit up.

"Ya, let's do some waterbending," he said enthusiastically.

Katara hesitated.

"Actually, Aang, I think you should practice firebending." She hurriedly continued when his face fell, "It's just more important to work on right now," she added.

"I know, I know," he mumbled.

He stood up unenthusiastically.

"I'm sorry," Katara attempted. "I know you're having a hard time with it still . . . but earthbending was tough at first too, remember?"

"I know," Aang repeated.

Katara smiled wryly.

"You know Aang," she began, hoping to lift his spirits some, "I talked a little with Sokka and Zuko, and we're thinking we should get a bigger group together once you master firebending."

"What?" he asked curiously. "Why?"

"Well, I don't think the five of us storming into the Fire Nation is the best option, no matter how familiar Zuko is with it," she said with a small laugh. "It makes no sense for us to be on our own when this war is so much bigger than just us." Her brows furrowed as she thought of the thousands of people who had been - and still were - struggling to live normal lives and fighting in a war that had been waged for far too long. "We'll need help, and they deserve to help end this war once and for all."

Aang shifted back and forth on his feet. "But . . . who?"

"I don't know," she replied honestly. "I don't know who they are or how we'll do it, but I do know that you won't be facing whatever happens in the rest of this war alone. We'll all be there," she gestured to the other three members of their group, "and hopefully, with many others."

Aang nodded slowly, processing what she said. Katara let the moment of silence linger as she watched emotions dance across his eyes.

"Okay," he said finally. His voice held more determination than it had in a while. Katara smiled.

"Okay," she repeated. "Now practice those firebending forms - I know you've been slacking off," she teased.

Aang made his way to a small clearing not far from the campsite to do just that, leaving Katara with a grin that reminded her again how young - and innocent - he was.

xxxxxx

"Who are you?"

Zuko saw Katara shoot a meaningful glance at Aang that told him not to say anything to the men in front of them. His green-clad arm twitched in readiness. Zuko glanced over the rest of the group and was thankful they'd changed clothing before leaving their last campsite.

"We're travelers," Katara answered the tall man in front. "Who are you?" she challenged, taking in the weapons strapped conveniently to each of the six men in front of her and their nondescript clothing - although they looked Earth Kingdom, there was nothing about them that could connect them to it.

Zuko stood in the back of their group, observing the mens' ready fighting stance. There had never been a time he had despised his height more. He tried to look as unimposing as possible, slumping his shoulders and keeping his head and eyes down, turing his face so his scar would not be visible. His heart beat rapidly.

"That doesn't answer our question," the first man responded. His rough voice grew louder. "Who are you?"

"We're travelers from Gaoling," Katara tried again, naming Toph's hometown.

"You're from the Earth Kingdom," the man stated skeptically, narrowing his eyes. "You don't all look like you're from the Earth Kingdom."

"We-"

"They are my guides," Toph spoke up from next to Zuko.

He cursed the attention so close to him and kept his eyes heavy-lidded, hoping their bright gold would remain unnoticed. He was glad when Toph slowly made her way to the front of the group, stumbling a little to emphasize her blindness. Zuko was sure she was hiding a smirk.

"Do you know who I am?" she demanded, purposely staring at the empty space beside the speaker. "I am Toph Beifong. My parents hired these people to keep me safe." She pulled out a paper from her bag and held it intentionally away from the men. "See?"

The man stalked forward and Zuko held back a groan at his proximity. He and Sokka shared a covert glance. If Toph's ruse didn't work, they would have to fight their way out of this one.

The man grabbed the paper and perused it. "This is extremely vague," he said.

"Well, we weren't expecting to be interrogated," Toph responded, crossing her arms stubbornly.

Toph snatched back the paper and the man looked surprised at the blind girl's precision for a second before hiding it.

Uh oh, Zuko thought. Sometimes Toph was too reactionary for her own good.

The man gave a covert nod to those with him, and in a second, their stances changed and weapons were pulled.

"Wait! What's going on?" Sokka called out.

"You are lying," the first man said evenly, not advancing yet. "You are certainly not all from the Earth Kingdom, the Beifongs would never have hired such young protectors for their daughter," Katara frowned and Sokka looked like he was going to protest to this as well, until the man's final statement, "and Miss Beifong's parents have reported her kidnapped."

"What?"

Toph's outburst was followed by Katara shifting into a fighting stance, followed by Sokka and Zuko.

"Wait!" called Aang, "I'm th-"

The rest of his sentence was muffled by Zuko's hand.

"Not now," he whispered in his ear. "We don't know enough to be able to trust them."

Taking his eyes away from the action had been a mistake; when he looked back, the leader was lifting Toph into the air by the back of her shirt. Without her feet on the ground, her eyes widened and her limbs flailed out at the man holding her.

"Put me down!"

"Not yet," the man smirked. One of his companions stepped forward and pressed his unsheathed sword to Toph's neck. "Back down. Now," he called to them.

Zuko could see Katara's wide eyes and her hands holding her water falter at Toph's predicament. She glanced at him and he nodded slowly, then turned to Sokka and did the same.

"Drop your weapons." The order was followed by the clang of his and Sokka's swords on the ground. "You too, Waterbender."

Katara slowly siphoned her water back into its container and yelped as the man closest to her grabbed her roughly, twisting her arms behind her back. Zuko stiffened and held out a hand to stop Sokka from running over to her. At this point it wouldn't do any good.

The sword at Toph's neck was pulled away and Katara yanked against her attacker, tears springing to her eyes at the strain on her arm.

"Run!" she yelled at Zuko, Aang and Sokka.

Before she could take another breath, a hand came up around her throat. Her mouth dropped open, seeking air, and her eyes, now forced to stare straight up, darted frantically.

Zuko's other arm prevented Aang's rush to her defense. Holding the shirts of both boys tightly, he heard the leader draw his sword.

"On your knees."

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A/N: Many thanks to my readers and reviewers!

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