When he woke up, Zuko was on his side in a tent. The canvas was thick and the air inside was hot and stale, meaning they had been in there for a while. The sunlight that glowed on the other side put them around early afternoon. So they had been unconscious for a long time.

The pain in his head made him think that this was not the first time he had come to since being taken from the garden.

How the people had gotten both of them, unconscious and heavy, over two walls and past a number of guards, Zuko had no idea. They may have been known to the guards, welcomed even, since they had moved on the house with some sinister intent.

Perhaps they had gone to assassinate his mother. It would make sense, since the leader had instructed her crew to take Zuko.

Twisting uncomfortably, Zuko burned away the rope around his ankles, then rolled his shoulders to get his bound wrists in front of him. He couldn't yet breathe fire the way the rest of his family could so he fell onto his back, put a foot on the rope, and hoped for the best.

He kept the fire burst short, meaning he burnt his shoe like a child, but his wrists were safe. Turning around, he saw Katara lying close to where he had been. Her face was sweaty since she was still wearing her furs. Zuko made sure she was breathing, undid her ties, and sat back on his heels.

Their abductors couldn't be Fire Nation. They would have known that he could bend without drawing much attention to himself, and that using rope was pretty useless on a Firebender anyway. It still didn't rule out an assassination attempt, but it oddly comforted him that righteously angry rebels were doing this instead of his own people.

Now he had to figure out what they wanted and if they were going to kill him.

Heading to the flap of the tent, Zuko leaned as close as he could. He heard some noises, all people and no animals. As they were camped, it meant that they were a comfortable distance away from Junhae, so the mounts had to be somewhere.

Small group, able to travel, not great at gathering intel, and willing to take hostages.

Zuko stood and patted the dirt from his pants.

Bandits.

Opening the flap, Zuko was temporarily blinded by the sunlight. The people outside didn't immediately notice him, yet by the time he was done rubbing his eyes, they were all staring at them.

All seven people were young women about his own age.

The leader stood.

"Suki!" Zuko jolted forward and Suki leaned back, the other women sweeping in to guard her.

"How did you get free?" One of them demanded. In her hand was a closed fan.

They were Kyoshi Warriors. Zuko nearly cried.

"I am so glad to see you." He said, with far more emotion than he intended. The women glanced at each other, confused, and Suki pushed past them.

"How do you know my name?" She questioned.

"It's literally an unbelievable story. But I am so happy you're alive." Zuko paused and looked back at the tent. "Man, I really wish Sokka was here. It would make things so much easier."

Relaxed, Zuko didn't brace as Suki jammed her fan into his knee, staggering him. He looked up, his face twisted in pain, and groaned.

"Okay, that's fair." He said. Suki advanced on him, elegantly opening her fan. The metal shimmered in the light and rippled as the other warriors opened theirs.

"Who is your spy?" She asked. Zuko looked up at her, met her gaze, and shrugged.

"Me." He said.

"Zuko!"

Suki didn't look up and Zuko didn't look away but from the corner of his vision, he saw the others shift.

"I'm fine Katara." He said. Still, there was the sound of a whip, and Suki brought up her other fan to deflect the cord of water. Zuko blinked as some of the drops hit his eye.

"Someone restrain her." Suki ordered, still staring at him. There was the sound of running.

"How do you know my name and why do you have a Waterbender with you?" She asked. He almost didn't answer, as they both clearly heard the sounds of exertion and water splashing around them.

"I know your name because in another timeline we were friends." Zuko paused, knowing how angry Suki already was, but pushed through it. "After I tried to burn down Kyoshi to get the Avatar."

Suki sneered.

"You're mad." She said. Zuko shrugged again.

"I don't really know what to tell you." He flinched as a woman was launched past them in a deluge of water.

Suki's jaw clenched, her lips tightened, and finally she snapped her fans shut.

"Alright!" She shouted and jammed her fans into her belt. "Stop drowning my team, there's not many of us left."

Suki held out her hand and Zuko took it. His knee throbbed as he put weight on it, but Suki only frowned at him.

"And you did burn Kyoshi." She stated with disgust and tossed his hand out of hers. With a small sigh, Zuko rubbed his knee before limply following after her. Katara came to him and looked down at his leg.

"I'll be okay." He said.

"I can heal that." She said, looking up at him. He stumbled and Katara caught him, moving his arm around her shoulder.

There was thunder in Zuko's head and he couldn't even feel his body any more, let alone the pain in his knee.

She had tried to heal him once. And then she did, at the end.

"Thank you." He said hoarsely, leaning away from her, his hand gripping the front of his shirt. Katara looked at him with suspicion.

"Over here you two." Suki called. She stood by the small cook fire, fists at her hips. "You can eat something while you tell me exactly what's going on here."

Katara rolled a rude noise in the back of her throat, making Zuko chuckle.

"You don't happen to know her mother's name do you?" She asked as they walked over.

"All I know is that in my timeline, she and your brother are in love." Zuko said.

Now Katara stumbled, and Zuko nearly fell on her as his knee buckled when he grabbed her. At least he knew they were both disasters.