A/N: Hey:) Sorry about the long wait for this update…I was busy. Hopefully the length of this chapter will make up for it. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, though!

Avatar and all its characters belong to Mike and Bryan. (Except for Zuko, who belongs to Mai XD)

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The only thing Zuko could feel when he first awoke was the horrible, searing pain in his head.

A low groan escaped his lips as he began to regain consciousness, his golden eyes cracking open with effort to take in his unfamiliar surroundings.

Four blank, windowless steel walls hemmed him in from all sides, leaving the small room completely covered in shadow save for the thin sliver of light that had slipped through the crack under the heavy metal door in front of him. He could feel the floor beneath him vibrating, bumping every now and then as if he were riding in some sort of machine. Zuko blinked tiredly, trying to rouse himself, his legs heavy and almost unresponsive as he pushed himself back slightly, leaning his shoulders against the icy metal wall behind him. What had happened? Where was he now? His eyes squeezed shut briefly, his head aching with pain. He tried to lift a hand to his throbbing head, but something prevented his arm from moving. Confused, he glanced to the side, wondering what was wrong.

His wrists were bound tightly in thick metal chains that had been screwed into the wall, pinning them securely in place. His almond-shaped eyes widened. What was going on?

Then he remembered, all of the events that had brought him into this situation washing over him at once. The three strangers, one of them oddly familiar. How they had attacked him out of the blue. Being unable to use firebending to protect himself. Getting pinned to a tree and falling unconscious soon after. He grimaced, attempting to clear his head, which was still pulsating with pain. They must have captured him. But why would they do that? Why wouldn't they have just killed him?

Fast, resounding footsteps broke into his thoughts, causing his head to snap up, eyes wary. Someone was coming.

The approaching footfalls stopped just outside the door, a looming shadow blocking out some of the light that had been shining from underneath it. He heard the rattling of keys, heard the familiar click of a lock as the stranger turned the handle, swinging the door open on well-oiled hinges and stepping inside.

Zuko glowered at the man in front of him reproachfully, vaguely recognizing him as one of the three that had attacked him. Even through the darkness, Zuko was able to see that the man was short and trimly built, standing arrogantly before his captive with a wide, sick grin spread across his face, his rotting teeth glimmering in the pale light. Zuko wouldn't have been able to tell that he was one of the three had it not been for the bandages wrapped tightly around his left shoulder, exactly where Zuko had thrown his dagger during the fight.

"Enjoying your stay?" the man began conversationally, his tone mockingly bright.

Zuko ignored him, gritting his teeth. "Who are you?" he demanded, his expression fierce. "Where am I? And why are you doing this?"

The man before him gave an exasperated sigh, leaning back on the door frame in an exaggerated casual manner. "One question at a time," he smirked, his dark eyes glittering with unsuppressed glee. "My name is Rend. And you are?"

Zuko's face stiffened, not bothering to hide his anger. "You know who I am. Now why are you doing this?" he repeated, his voice lowering dangerously.

Rend rolled his eyes at his question in light annoyance, a triumphant smile still playing on his thin lips. "The Fire Lord sent us after you. We were offered quite a reward." His grin widened with greed.

Zuko's mouth twitched slightly as he glared hatefully at him. "Then why didn't you just kill me? What's the point of taking me captive?"

To Zuko's surprise, Rend's grin widened even more, so much so that the corners of his mouth seemed to reach his glimmering eyes. He put a thin finger to his chin, his expression set in fake contemplation. "Well…" he began, gazing at Zuko out of the corner of his eye suggestively. "You never know who might try and come for you…"

Zuko's eyes widened in horror. They couldn't possibly be after Mai, could they? Panic gripped him tightly, his heart drumming wildly in his chest. What could he do? He couldn't let them capture her. He couldn't…

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. He had to remember that everyone thought Mai was dead. He glared back up at Rend, his expression hard and guarded. "I don't know what you're talking about," he stated firmly, trying his best to be convincing.

Rend sent him a darkly playful look. "Don't you?" he pressed skeptically, folding his arms over his chest as he raised an eyebrow tauntingly.

"No." Zuko shifted his gaze to the side, wondering if his fear had crept onto his features.

"I think you do," Rend muttered precociously, his words piercing into Zuko's defenses. "I think you know exactly who I'm talking about."

Zuko remained silent, his jaw set as he stubbornly avoided the man's eyes, refusing to give any information away.

Rend stiffened, clearly annoyed at Zuko's lack of cooperation. What was the fun of taunting someone if they didn't even give a decent reaction? "Stop pretending," Rend snarled, his voice losing its lighter, teasing tone so that it was harsh and cold. "You and I both know that Mai is alive, so stop acting like it's not true."

Zuko only barely kept his expression from contorting in terror as his gaze flashed up to Rend, his heart clamoring loudly in his chest. Did the man really know that Mai was still alive? Panic filled Zuko up once more, and again he shoved it back with difficulty. "No, she's not!" Zuko denied, probably a bit too strongly. "She was hit with a poisoned dart." He swallowed hard, a lump beginning to form in his throat as he continued, "She's…dead." Even though he knew that wasn't true, the words still stung as they left his lips.

"Don't lie to me," Rend snapped, a touch of anger still marring his features. "I saw her. I know she's alive." Zuko gulped, unable to hide his fear anymore as Rend moved toward him slowly, each step amplified in the quiet of the small room. He leaned down, his face mere inches from Zuko's. "And when she comes for you…well…" His voice trailed off, making it obvious that he was looking forward to that point in time.

Zuko stiffened, his pale hands clenching into fists as he pushed slightly against his bindings, hoping to find a weak spot in the metal. "She won't come," Zuko shot back grimly, hoping that he was speaking the truth.

Rend smirked, straightening as his horrible grin returned. "Oh, she'll come alright. And I'll be waiting," he finished triumphantly. Zuko's face was screwed up in hatred, rage burning intensely inside him as Rend spun on his heel to exit the room. His muscles flexed, Zuko strained full-force against his bindings. He couldn't let this happen, not to Mai…

Unable to free himself, Zuko let out his rage by spewing a huge ball of fire out of his mouth, the flames smacking right against Rend's back and thrusting him through the doorway, leaving him sprawled out on the metal floor, a thin trail of smoke rising up from his scorched shirt.

Zuko gritted his teeth, bracing himself for an attack as Rend got slowly back up to his feet, wiping ashes off of the back of his charred shirt. But instead of twisting around to attack him, Rend just laughed, a sick, terrible laugh that made Zuko's throat close up. "It's too late for that," Rend snarled, still chuckling coldly. "I've already won." And with that, he slammed the door shut, leaving Zuko alone once more in the darkness.

Tears rolled down Zuko's angular cheek as he hung his head helplessly. Mai was in danger. And once again, it was all because of him. His face hardened painfully. The only thing he could do now was sit and hope. Hope that she wouldn't come.

Mai was coming.

By the time she had arrived where Zuko must have been the night before, he and the assassins had already disappeared. In fact, the only proof that they had ever been there at all were the puddles of blood that had been mixed in with the rain and a certain, all-too-familiar dagger. Mai fingered it absently, reading the characters embellished upon the flat of the blade for about the fiftieth time in a row.

Never give up without a fight.

She bit her lips, trying to hold back the tears that stung at her pale gold eyes. It couldn't have been more obvious that the dagger was Zuko's. Even if she hadn't seen him use it once before, she still would've known. That phrase just suited him too well for it to belong to anyone else.

Her eyebrows knotted together as a faint smudge of red on the otherwise silver dagger caught her eye. Carefully she pinched the blade, rubbing the speck off lightly with her thumb. She must have missed it from the night before, when the entire blade had been coated in ruby-red blood. Mai grimaced at the memory. She could only hope that it hadn't been Zuko's blood.

She shook her head roughly. She needed to stay focused. Mai quickened her pace, heading through the trees as fast as possible. Surprisingly, it hadn't been difficult at all to follow the assassins. They must have been riding in some sort of machine, for thick, deep tracks had been imprinted in the dirt, leaving a path that she could follow with ease.

It was all too simple. Suspiciously simple.

Mai knew she was probably heading right into a trap. She still remembered when that one man—Rend—had glanced in her direction while she had been eavesdropping. She was pretty sure he had seen her. And if so, it would only make sense that he would want to capture her as well. She glanced down at the ground, biting her lips as she examined the tracks she was following. It probably wasn't even worth the risk to go after them. After all, she didn't even know if Zuko was still alive.

Her pale hands tightened into fists, her nails cutting into the soft skin of her palms. Even so, she couldn't give up on him. She wouldn't.

Never give up without a fight.

She broke into a run.

The bright golden sun had only just begun to dip below the horizon, shedding a reddish-orange light over the thinning forest, when Rend brought their metal, tank-like vehicle to a halt.

"Isn't it a little early to make camp?" Kero asked curiously, raising a bushy eyebrow as his leader hopped lightly onto the ground, the moist soil squelching beneath his feet.

"Normally, yes." Rend rubbed his injured shoulder, grimacing as he tried to shake off the pain. That fire brat had definitely left his mark. His brow furrowed in anger, hatred glittering in his dark eyes. He took a deep breath, calming himself as best as he could. He just needed to be patient. The prince would pay for it soon enough. Not just with his own life, but with his girlfriend's, too. Rend's features lightened at the thought, a sickly pleased smile playing on his lips as Vince jumped off the medium-sized machine, landing silently by his side. Vince had always been like that, wordless, soundless, like a ghostly apparition. But that only made him more valuable.

"What makes tonight so special?" Kero grumbled, climbing grudgingly off of the vehicle to tower over the other two. Rend let out a breath, impatiently rolling his eyes in annoyance. Kero was a handy guy to have around when brute strength was needed, but he asked way too many questions.

"Tonight we are awaiting our second prisoner," Rend answered in a carefully controlled tone, trying to hide his irritation. "We need to stop early so as to give her enough time to catch up with us."

"So, you're saying that we'll wait for the girl to show up, and then we'll attack?" Kero questioned eagerly, flexing his bulging arm muscles in anticipation.

"Sort of," Rend sighed. Every conversation he had with Kero seemed more like an interrogation. "It'll be more organized than that." Kero opened his mouth to spurt out yet another question, but Rend managed to cut him off. "We're going to set up an ambush."

"How?" Kero wondered aloud, as if Rend wouldn't have explained the plan without his prompting.

Rend rolled his eyes again, shifting his gaze over to Vince, who had been listening in a thoughtful silence the entire time. Rend grinned slyly. "It all starts with you," he began, pointing meaningfully at the archer.

Mai peered over the scraggly branches of the thorn bush she was ducked behind, gripping a few of her knives tightly between her slender fingers as she tried to summon the courage to move forward.

She had found the group camped out in a small clearing close to the edge of the forest just after the sun had set, the sky cloaking the world in a deep navy blanket. The large machine that they had been riding in, where Zuko was undoubtedly being kept, was parked off to the side, its door left wide open, tempting her to sneak inside. The huge man, who Mai remembered vaguely as being named Kero, was hunched around a small fire next to Rend, who was chewing contentedly on a rather large piece of meat. With their backs facing her, she had an easy dash to the vehicle to save Zuko. But something held her back. Something was missing, strangely out of place…

Mai let out a low breath, trying to settle her nerves. She needed to relax. Here was the perfect opportunity to rescue Zuko, with the lowest possible amount of risk. Why not take it? With that final thought, she readied her knives, standing up slowly and carefully. Creeping on her tiptoes around the bush, she entered the clearing with caution, preparing to sprint across the short distance that separated her from Zuko as fast as possible.

She had only gone a few feet when her ears prickled with the frighteningly recognizable twang of a bow string on her left. Gasping, she snapped her head around just in time to see a flurry of arrows raining down on her.

Quickly Mai threw herself down on the ground, laying flat over the earth so that the arrows whizzed over her harmlessly. She gritted her teeth, cursing silently at her own stupidity. How could she have forgotten about that Vince guy? She should've known he'd be waiting for her when she hadn't seen him around the campfire with the other two. Groaning loudly, she jumped back up to her feet, her knives held out in front of herself defensively. Ready to throw her weapons at any moment, she scanned the foliage at the edge of the clearing, inspecting it for any signs of the archer.

Mai yelped suddenly, jumping back as a huge ball of fire was shot directly in front of her, throwing her out of her daze as it caught onto the dry grass and spread at an unbelievably fast rate to form a tall wall of flames, preventing her from running off. Her pale gold eyes widened in horror, her head twisting around to face the direction the fire blast had come from.

Rend was standing about ten feet away from her, his fists raised, smoke billowing off of his hands in slate grey clouds as he grinned, the firelight dancing in his menacing eyes. Mai gulped, stunned. She hadn't known he was a firebender.

She shook her head, refocusing on her target. Bender or not, she had to face him. Without another moment's hesitation, she swung her arm around, sending three of her knives cutting through the air towards Rend, aimed at his apparently injured shoulder. It was a low blow, but then again, she was up against three men. She didn't have much of a choice.

Rend sidestepped quickly, only one of the knives managing to make contact with his skin. The sharp blade sliced into the muscles in his upper arm, making him hiss with pain as he drew back, clutching at the bloodied cut. Mai pulled a few stilettos out of their casings around her wrists, about to take full advantage of her opponent's current weakness, but before she could even move, two massive hands clamped onto her shoulders, the grip so tight it felt like her bones were breaking. She cried out, trying to pull away, to stop the terrible pain, but Kero's hold was firm. He shoved her to the ground with excess force, her face burying in the dirt as he effortlessly yanked her arms behind her back, keeping her from using her weapons. Mai grunted angrily, struggling desperately against him, then lashed out backward with her leg, planting a hard kick right in the man's abdomen. Kero, being as overly muscular as he was, hardly recoiled at all, but his iron hard grip lost some of its tension out of surprise. Mai slipped her thin arms out of his thick, stubby fingers hurriedly, grabbing two knives from her sleeves in the process, then rolled over to the side and hopped agilely onto her feet. Beads of sweat dripping down her forehead, she glared defensively at her attackers, knives poised.

All three of them had surrounded her by then. Vince had come out of his hiding place in the shadows, his long bow held out in front of him, three arrows already notched onto the thin string. Rend must have recovered from Mai's attack, because he was now standing before her, his fists raised and already burning with flames. Kero was the only one that seemed casual, not bothering to put up any defenses against the comparatively scrawny girl; his size alone was enough to keep her back. Mai's eyes swiveled madly in their sockets in an attempt to keep tabs on all of them at once. There was no way she could beat these guys, and her only escape route had been blocked off completely. Even if she managed to slip past the trio, the huge wall of fire that Rend had created earlier would stop her anyway.

Rend grinned, realizing the same thing Mai just had. "Drop your weapons," he snarled, his happiness practically glowing on his grisly face. "It's over."

The second that the sound of footsteps reached Zuko's ears, his head snapped up, internal flames already beginning to burn inside him once more with unsuppressed rage. His nostrils flared angrily as he remembered Rend's plans for Mai. If he was the one outside the door, Zuko was going to burn him to a crisp no matter what the consequence.

But when the metal door swung open, he was surprised to see that it wasn't Rend. In his place was the hulking form of Kero with what looked like a large sac, at least in the current lighting, held in his arms. He threw the bundle carelessly to the floor, and as the thing rolled into Zuko's span of vision, his eyes widened in horrified recognition.

Now that it was closer, he could faintly make out the slim, softly curved figure of a girl sprawled out on the cold metal surface of the floor, silky black hair spilled elegantly over her face, shielding it from view.

"There's your girlfriend," Kero spat, his gruff voice dripping with spite as Zuko gaped at the painstakingly familiar girl in front of him, his mouth wide open in shock.

"Mai?" Zuko whispered, his question nearly inaudible from his terror. This couldn't be happening, it had to be a mistake…

But as Kero left the room, slamming the heavy door shut behind him, the girl propped herself up on her elbows, lifting her head and swiping her beautiful hair away from her face, allowing Zuko to see her clearly for the first time. A pair of pale gold eyes widened as they met his, the delicate features lifting in horror as she gazed at him through the shadows. He stared back, his expression mirroring hers.

Zuko was the first one to break the deathly silence that filled the room.

"Mai," he murmured softly, his heart clenching in his chest. "You shouldn't have come…"

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A/N: Hooray, they're back together :) Probably not in the circumstances most of you would like them to be, but whatever.

The next update should come sooner than last. Please review!!