Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar.

Chapter 13

Guardian Angel

The speed that Angel was moving was unsettling. After approaching him at Jiayi's diner and asked for his help, she had not said anything else to Zuko. Even through the full length beige coat that she was wearing Zuko could tell by Angel's body language was that whatever was going on was freaking her out. Though she seemed entirely serious and all business, Zuko could read the undertones of panic in her movements as she led him through the back alleys of Serpent's Pass.

"Angel, what's wrong?" he asked between breaths.

"Have you ever fought for your life?" she replied. "I mean really actually fought for your life?"

"No," Zuko answered. "But if you're asking if I'm prepared to then-"

"You're not," Angel cut him off. "Trust me, you're not. No one is ever prepared to fight for their life. I'm sorry to say that you're going to though."

"What's going on?" Zuko finally demanded.

"I'm trading you for Alex."

The response almost caused Zuko to miss a step, but he continued following after his friend. Trading him for her brother? The image played out in his mind as a hostage exchange. She was going to get her brother from the Fire Lord's people with him as the payoff. After what she just said though she was clearly expecting him to fight, but who? Was she expecting him to fight her, or the Fire Lord's people? Then there was the nagging feeling in his mind that kept telling him something was wrong with the whole picture. Before he could fully wrap his mind around what could be amiss, Angel came to a quick stop and placed her hand over his mouth.

"This is it," she whispered.

Zuko took a quick glance at the rusty metal coated building and his good eye widened.

"An old warehouse?" Zuko whispered back. "Really? Have they all been on an old school action show binge?"

"I'm pretty grateful they picked this place, actually," Angel told him as she shed her long coat.

From beneath the coverings of the coat Angel revealed an outfit as dark as night itself. The fabric she wore clung so tightly to her skin from her neck to her fingers and toes so tightly that Zuko could make out every raise, dip and curve of her entire body. It was not long before Zuko realized he was staring a few seconds longer than he really should have been and mentally kicked himself back into the situation.

"So what's the plan?" he asked.

"No real plan," she replied. "You go in front like you're my prisoner and we get my brother. After that we make it up as we go."

"And you have no idea how many people are in there, do you?"

"Not a clue," she answered. "I do know that it's a gang called The Blades though. They all knife and pointy object fetishes."

"Have you ever done anything like this before?"

"Not exactly. I've broken into plenty of other gangs' headquarters before, but nothing quite like this."

"Any advice for the first-timer?"

"Try not to get shot." After a short pause she added "Don't die."

"I'll try to keep that in mind."

With a reassuring nod from Angel, Zuko took the few remaining steps that took him into the large building. He tucked his arms behind his back in an attempt to appear as though he was being restrained, but if they had anyone waiting at the doors then it would be a wasted attempt. He felt Angel's hand rest upon his overlapping wrists and hoped it would be enough to convince anyone who saw.

The interior of the warehouse was dimly lit by the flickering, fading bulbs that hung on from the ceiling. Large steel crates lined the walls and rafters concealing who-knows-what inside if anything at all. The warehouse's stores must have been abandoned years ago judging from the amount of wear and rust stains on the majority of the inventory. Near the center of the open building stood three young men surrounding a fourth who was sitting in a chair with a sack over his head.

"That him?" Zuko whispered.

"Probably," Angel replied. "I don't think these guys would be smart enough to use a decoy. Keep an eye out though. If they're in the middle of the place, there's a good chance we're already surrounded."

Zuko's eyes were already scanning the area for any signs of other people. So far he could only catch glimpses of a few trying to sneak around behind them. They were so clumsy with their stealth attempts there was no way Angel had not already picked them out as well. The only thing that concerned Zuko at the moment was however many people might be either in those metal crates or hiding closer to .

"I'm impressed," one of the three men chuckled. "Didn't think Angel would turn on one of her friends so fast."

"Send him over," another ordered.

"Screw you," Angel replied. "Lemme see his face first."

Smart, Zuko thought.

The sack was removed to reveal a face around the same age as Zuko's. Short black hair was matted down and messy from being covered up for so long, but two defiant amber eyes blinked out the confusion as they adjusted to the sudden change in light before settling in a glare on the man with the sack.

That's her brother alright.

"We do this my way," Angel said. "We send them both over at the same time."

"No, you're gonna send Zuko over first," the Blade member ordered. "Unless you want me to send your baby brother back with a few cuts taken out."

"If you so much as lay your hands on him, I will bury you and every member of your gang."

A chill went down Zuko's spine. That was no threat. That was an oath. Zuko could see the cogs turning in the mind of his opponent for a moment before a blade was produced and was cut free.

"At the same time," he said as he gave the young man a shove forward.

Zuko began to march towards enemy lines with fast approaching. He had to make sure that the hostage made it back to his sister's side before any of the fighting took place. He hoped Angel would keep her patience as each step echoed in the warehouse and each second began to slow down. His own hands itched to take up a defensive position, but Zuko made sure that he kept them behind his back where the enemy thought they were restrained. He was almost face to face with now. Halfway there.

And that was when everything went completely crazy.

apparently did not like the idea of having his life traded for someone else's. He took hold of Zuko's arm as they met in the center of the exchange and ran at full speed towards his sister with Zuko in tow. However impressed Zuko was with the boldness of the young man, he had to put those thoughts aside as the three Blade members charged at them along with four more who had been hiding behind some of the crates. All of them armed with knives or crudely made swords fashioned from sharpened scrap metal.

Zuko turned to Angel and found she was already locked in combat with the few people that had circled behind them. She danced between blades and struck each opening without mercy as she fought for her life. Watching her in that one short moment Zuko realized just how big a gap there was between the two of them. As skilled a fighter as he was, this battle was on a completely different level than anything he had ever been a part of before. He tore his arm loose from and prepared himself for the flurry of sharp objects that were coming his way.

Fighting for his life was nothing like what Zuko had expected. He did not entertain the thought that he would be able to keep himself calm and composed, but he did not expect his first thoughts and reactions to be those of panic either. The only thing that played through his mind when the first swing came at him was "I'm going to die! I'm going to die! I'm going to die!" Because of this his body reacted sluggishly and sloppily. What was supposed to be a balanced sway backwards away from the swing ended up being him tripping over his own feet as he fell back into .

"What do we do?" he heard Alex ask.

"Not die!" Zuko replied as he pushed himself and farther back to avoid another makeshift sword.

"Don't you have a gun on that uniform?" the man asked.

Zuko had completely forgotten he was even in uniform. He reached for the holster on his hip and began to draw his weapon. It was a good thing these Blades were idiots or they would have noticed that Angel had not relieved him of it when they first arrived. Unfortunately, one of his assailants was either very lucky or more skilled than Zuko gave him credit for. A sharp edge grazed his weapon hand and his gun fell to the ground. Blood began to poor from the wound and Zuko found he could not form a tight fist any longer. Even if he risked recovering the weapon, there was probably no way he would be able to grip it let alone pull the trigger.

A scream sounded behind him and Zuko turned to see running frantically from two attackers. Angel was trying to get away from her opponents long enough to help him, but fighting off that many blades was taking her full attention. As Zuko continued trying to evade his own group of thugs he knew that he was going to have to do something if all of them were going to get out of there alive. When a decent enough opening presented itself, Zuko pushed one of the Blades down and took off in a full sprint after .

I know I saw him leading them around these crates! Zuko thought. I have to get there in time!

Upon rounding the metal crates Zuko could hear the yelling of the two men attacking . When they came into view all he could see was the young man they were trying to save struggling to get to his feet and two men out for blood. A blade was raised and poised to strike. He had to move faster!

It was the most odd sensation he had ever experienced. Zuko was so overwhelmed by contradicting emotions that he was surprised he was able to feel them all. He was proud of himself for what he had done, he did not regret it in the slightest. At the same time he was more than a little scared. On top of that was worry. Not just for Angel and her brother, but for Katara, Azula, his uncle, and all of his other friends. There were so many thoughts, emotions, and memories flooding to the front of his consciousness that he did not even feel pain. Not the slightest amount of discomfort even though he knew that blade was slicing down his back as he dove on top of . His uniform and vest were both cut fairly cleanly and he could feel the tell tale trail of his own blood as it started to pool and trickle down his body.

Angel's brother's face was pale. Funny. He really should know the guy's name since he came to help save him and all, but for some reason he could not remember it. He knew that Angel had mentioned it before. He was saying something now. And he was trying to move. What was it? Why was he not able to hear him? And why was he moving so slow? Zuko turned to see the two Blade members poising to strike again, but it was like they were moving in slow motion. What was going on?

Oh, Zuko thought. I must be dying.

He watched impatiently as the sword began its slow decent towards his body. If he was dying and they were going to kill him, why could they not speed it up? As his impatience mounted, so did Zuko's anger. He was tempted to reach up there and just bring the sword down on himself if time would just get back to normal. Irritation finally got the better of him and he reached for his attacker. Much to Zuko's surprise, whatever seemed to be slowing the rest of the world down was not affecting him. His good fist plowed into the stomach of one of the Blades. Before the man even had a chance to fall over, Zuko swept the legs out from under the other one.

There was no time to think. Whatever this was - adrenaline, endorfins, his death rattle, whatever – this was his chance to save Angel and her brother. He ran as fast as his body would carry him back to where he had seen her. The first thing he was met with were the seven men he ran from earlier, each still eager for his blood. He moved between their sword and knife swings easily, dispatching each one as he went. Was this the type of sensation that Aang experienced when he fought in the tournament last year? Was this how Aang and Angel saw every fight? It was incredible!

As Zuko rounded the metal crates that separated him from Angel, he found her still fending off three attackers. As fast as she was, even she seemed to be moving at a snail's pace. It was remarkable how fast her reaction time was though. She moved considerably faster than all of her attackers, but even that was not enough to keep her from harm. Zuko saw it clear as day. Three simultaneous attacks were about to strike Angel from above, below, and near her center. There was no way she was going to be able to dodge or defend all three of them. He ran towards her as quickly as he could. Fear gripped him. He was not going to be fast enough.

A white blur appeared on the outskirts of Zuko's peripheral vision. Where four people had just been standing, now there were five. In less than an instant all three Blades were floating in the air as they slowly descended to the ground. A white haired man with dark skin and two matching scars running down over his right eye stared intently at Zuko. Sound was beginning to reach his ears again and the world was returning to its normal speed. The three bodies landed with thuds and groans as the man walked up to Zuko and slapped him across the face.

"What did I tell you?" he asked. "I told you to stay out of Serpent's Pass! Did you listen? Of course not!"

"Jeong Jeong?" Zuko asked in a tired voice. His legs finally gave out as he fell forward. He could hear his commissioner saying something to the affect of getting him to a hospital. After that he just let the darkness cover his senses. He could really go for the rest right about now.