disclaimer: I don't own ATLA but I do own the OCs

Haruki's vision blurred as he slowly gained consciousness. He groaned when he felt his head throb painfully.

"My head." he groaned. He tried to raise a hand to rub the big bump from where the rock hit but realized he was tied up. His vision became more clear and he found himself tied to a tree.

He struggled to free himself but he was bound tight. He looked around to see where he was. He was in a forest and was near a camp filled with people in dark armor. He began to

remember what had happened before he was knocked out and kicked himself mentally.

Idiot! How could you have gotten yourself captured like that? He mentally berated himself, You should have trained more!

"Don't bother struggling." said a voice, "It won't work."

Haruki looked to the right and saw a man leaning against a tree. The man wore the black Chikara Army armor. He had a pair of hookswords for weapons. His face was hidden in the shadows but Haruki could tell he was chewing on a piece of wheat.

"Funny," said the man, "You look so much like him."

The man stepped out of the shadows and the airbender was able to see what he looked like.

The man looked to be around his Uncle Sokka's age, if not a year or two more, and had shaggy brown hair that had bits of gray in it. The man started walking towards Haruki but the airbender just blew air at him. The blast of air knocked the man off his feet and sent him sprawling on the ground. The man stood up and raised his hands in surrender.

"Take it easy, kid." said the man, "I'm a friend."

"Chikara Army soldiers aren't my friends!" growled Haruki.

"Listen, I'm gonna get you outta here."

Haruki scoffed

"Yeah. Right."

"No. Really." The man cautiously walked back over to Haruki in case he would airbend at him again. "I'm gonna help you."

"How do I know I can trust you."

The man chuckled softly.

"You remind me of Katara." said the man.

"How do you know my mom?" asked Haruki, both shocked and still suspicious.

"Now's not the right time-"

"Looks like our little guest is finally awake."

Haruki and the man named Jet both looked at an approaching young woman. Behind her was the man who tied Haruki up.

"This kid giving you any trouble Jet?" asked the young woman

The name sounded familiar to Haruki. He couldn't recall where he had heard the name before.

"Nah," Jet answered, "It looks like our little guest knows some manners."

"Nothing like hitting a kid on the head to teach him about respect." said the man behind the woman.

Haruki glared daggers at him and he smirked back.

"You know, I'm surprised no one has come to rescue you yet." The woman approached Haruki. She bent over slightly so her gold eyes were level with Haruki's blue ones.

"I know you're traveling with the Avatar," said the woman, "And you are going to tell me where he is."

Haruki spat in the woman's face and she staggered backwards. She wiped the spit out of her eye with a look of disgust on her face mixed with fury. Haruki had noticed Jet trying to suppress a smile before getting punched in the face by the man that tied him up. His head hurt even worse now because of the second hit. The man pulled back his fist to hit Haruki again but the woman grabbed his arm.

"He's not worth it Cari." said the woman. She took a few steps toward Haruki, grabbed him by his hair, and hit his head back against the tree. She raised a warning finger at him.

"Be grateful that I'm letting you live, kid." she told Haruki in a deadly whisper, "You're lucky I need you alive or I would have let him do far worse than a punch in the face." She released Haruki and walked back to camp, Cari followed.

Jet waited until they were out of earshot before speaking.

"You okay, kid?" he asked.

Haruki didn't answer. His head hurt so much and his eyes were watering.

"Don't fall asleep, you might get a concussion." Jet looked at the camp behind him and back at Haruki.

"I need to get back to camp, my shift's over. Don't let the next guy provoke you, he'll just want you to give him a reason to hit you."

He looked back and saw a man walking over to the two and spoke in an undertone, "I've got the first watch tonight, when everyone's sleeping I'll come back and get you out of here."

"Hang on, how do I know I can trust you?" Haruki asked again.

"You don't." answered Jet. "Do you have a choice?" He smirked when Haruki didn't answer and left.

Despite getting hit in the head three times that day and not getting much sleep, Haruki felt wide awake. His eyes scanned the dark forest for Jet. When he was about to give up waiting around for the man and think of a different way out of there, he heard footsteps and looked up to see a man sneaking over to the airbender.

"Jet?" whispered Haruki.

The man brought his finger to his lips and shushed Haruki. He cupped his hands and made a whistle like a birdcall. There was a short silence then there was a reply birdcall. Haruki couldn't help but be impressed. Jet hurried over to Haruki and pulled out a knife. The knife sliced through the bonds easily and Haruki was free. Haruki rubbed where the ropes chafed his skin.

"I got some friends that can help you out of here." whispered Jet. He handed Haruki a package and a water pouch. "Here's some rations that will last you a few days. By then maybe you'll be with your friends again."

"Why are you helping me?" asked Haruki.

"I'm actually a spy against the Chikara Army. This is Longshot and Smellerbee." He added, gesturing at two people that appeared behind Haruki.

One of the people, a man, wore blue clothes and a paddy-hat. He had a bow and some arrows with him. The other person, a woman, had face paint and had a headband around her head. A sword was slung across her back. Her brown hair was long and shaggy. Haruki recognized those names too.

"You don't know some guys named Pipsqueak and The Duke, do you?" he asked Jet.

Jet chuckled.

"No doubt your mom told you about me and my Freedom Fighters." said Jet.

"She said that you died in Lake Laogai."

"Nah. I got hurt pretty bad but now's not the time for stories. Now's the time for you to get out of here. The others are waiting for you."

The woman grabbed Haruki's arm and she and the man started leading Haruki deeper into the forest. They stopped when Jet started talking again.

"Hey kid..." Haruki looked back at Jet, "Next time you see your mom, tell her Jet said 'Hey.'"

Haruki nodded and followed Smellerbee and Longshot again.