Hey there readers! So I'm not gonna' lie, I was pissed because I had written the third chapter, this very chapter… and it disappeared. I looked effing everywhere but nope, what I had written was GONE-GONE-GONE. In a grump, I put off re-doing it because I am petty that way, haha.

Just also thought I should advise – this isn't going to be just a 2-3 part special. Yes, now I know I said that it would be in the first chapter….. but I have realised that there is no way everything will fit into 3 measly chapters. It is turning into a monster fic, I have no control over this, the gods have spoken.

Edit: So you've all probably heard of Writers Block, but how about Writers Drought? Being blocked to me implies that there is a bunch of writing that just can't come out, well the drought is when I've got a plan but there isn't anything in the watering hole. I'm sorry if you have suffered by annual-long-intervals. Forgive me.

On with the show now– hope you all enjoyed the last chapter. APOLOGIES FOR SPELLING AND GRAMMAR MISTAKES. I will never learn. That's a lie, I will learn, I try I promise.

Warning: Boy love. Jet and Zuko. Shonen-ai. YAOI.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or the world, they're just my guilty pleasure.

ENJOY!

*x*

The bag over the head was weird –but at least they weren't parading him around as Zuko, the banished fire-nation prince. No, he was something they wanted to keep secret, which meant that they probably knew who he was… or they had no idea at all and just didn't want to disturb the market.

Whoever they were, they had walked him into a tiny quiet building somewhere down many twists and turns. He tried to keep track in his mind about how many lefts and rights were taken, but in the end it was hopeless. It felt a little intentional.

The sound of the festivities were muffled by the enclosed area, and the vegetable-sack was only removed from Zuko's head once he had been thoroughly tied to a chair. He shook his head to clear the hair from his eyes –this long mop was becoming an inconvenience. Three identically dressed and painted women stood before him –and they all glowered. He would recognise that face paint anywhere; the origin still a mar on his pride from earlier in the year on that damn island, where a tribe of fan-wielding young women drove a fire nation warship and it's soldiers back into the sea –and yes, it was a small war ship, admittedly, but still an impressive feat. But one question was what the hell were they doing way out here, on the main land, away from their precious island, and getting in the way of Zuko's business?

One of them looked to each of her companions. "Go and find what's taking Su-mi so long, I've got this."

"Are you sure, Suki?" One asked, and Suki nodded. The girls left, and the remaining girl re-placed the blockade in front of the door. It was really a sketchy looking place they had him tied up –in the back-burners of the town. Zuko gathered as much information of the layout as he could from his dimly-lit vantage point almost in the centre of the room. The floorboards creaked with each step the painted woman took, adding to the clues about the age and isolation of the building. It smelled damp and a little sour; and the room was practically empty. The only furnishings appeared to be two chairs –albeit rickety and unkempt with their splinters and unsteady nature. Zuko wondered why even bother trying him to one, it might break apart if he moved even slightly to one side or the other. But no, he needed to ignore the splinters biting into his bare wrists. He needed to assess the situation. All in all; a tiny room with two doors and a window, and it sounded so old and unkempt that he could probably punch a hole through the rotting wall.

It was dark in the tiny room. The only light came from a hole in the boarded up window –the only window. The beam of light split the room in two, and the painted woman dragged a chair and sat opposite Zuko. She was far enough away to be safe, in case he tried any tricks.

"You're going to answer my questions. Any funny business, and you'll regret it." She warned. Zuko glared back at her in irritation at first, but then he settled for begrudgingly gritting hit teeth. He was at war with himself –part of him wanted to do ultimate battle and damage, fighting his way out of here, but the other part knew she was friends with the Avatar, and may be able to assist him in his quest. Although, judging by her attitude, help was a far cry from what he could expect so readily. Even if he did escape, he had seen how these girls work. They would only hunt him down, and he wouldn't have time to find Jet. Also, they had taken his weapons and the pathetically small number of items he had, such as the rolled up map the Kiyoshi Warrior currently flaunted before him, like it was incriminating evidence.

Zuko eyed the map, and then her stern featured. "Alright." He said –controlling his breathing. He was going to co-operate, even though giving in went strongly against his nature. He was already feeling a little sick of it; being so helpless these days.

Suki noticeably cocked an eyebrow at his compliance. "What are you doing here?" She almost spat venom at him.

Zuko locked eyes with her. "I was… procuring some supplies." He said carefully, almost wincing at the map.

Suki's eyebrow remained arched and judgmental. "Oh really? I see. Getting a lay of this land and all its vulnerable towns? For your fire nation soldiers? Where are they? Nearby?" She growled. Her eyes were narrowed, daring the fire-bending to answer with lies.

Zuko leant forward in his restraints, the chair giving an audible creak: "I don't have any soldiers… I'm not exactly on speaking terms with my nation. I was stripped of even my crew in the North Pole by a tyrant of the name Xhao." He said, rather bitterly. He was trying to stress that he was alone, so very much alone. No fire-benders. No fire-nation. No harm.

Suki raised her chin, speculating and accusing him all at once: "You're still hunting the Avatar, aren't you?" Her glower deepened and she held up the tiny parchment of his original shitty map, and in the other hand she clenched the scroll of the map he had planned to steal.

Zuko's eye flickered to both very briefly before meeting her eyes again: "It's not like that anymore," He raised his voice and then grit his teeth, watching Suki's expression sour. He carried on. "I need… to… find him… to teach him fire-bending. I need to get to him... before… before anyone else does." He tried to sound resolute, but even it still sounded weird to him, and he struggled to find his words for some reason. How could he make this sound convincing? It just sounded so bad right now.

Suki's face dropped into bitter astonishment. "You actually expect me to believe you? After everything you've done to Aang, and Sokka and Katara… after everything you've done to my friends and my home and my nation…. You want me to believe that you are just looking to say sorry and teach Aang fire bending? What the hell made you have a change of heart?" Her tone was set in stone and Zuko felt like wincing. It was pointless answering her last question, it was clearly rhetorical. He really was trying to convince her, though, hence the small snippet of truth about Xhao.

It wasn't working, because Suki threw the maps to the side and resumed her seating position, upright and ready to beat his ass. Her immediate chilled attitude was only thanks to her training, and she resisted slapping the fire-bender before her for more information. "Where is your spy? Did he go to tell your soldiers about the festival? You should know that this town is under the protection of Kiyoshi Warriors, and we will not lose. We have reinforcements from Ba Sing Se arriving every day."

Zuko felt a flitter of panic in his chest at the thought of Jet, and wherever the hell he was: "I told you already that I don't have any soldiers! And my friend, isn't a spy. He's not fire nation. He's… he-" Zuko stopped himself. He was getting too worked up and his chest felt like it was going to expand and explode. Jet might not know that Zuko is being held hostage, about to be handed over to Earth Nation authorities –otherwise he would have busted in here already, hook swords in hand. Zuko had only made one promise to Jet– not to leave his sight. Jet doesn't know where he is. What if he thinks the worst; that Zuko has fled for one reason or another? The fire-bender had to snap himself out of those thoughts and actually shook his head to concentrate. Jet shouldn't jump to that self-destructive conclusion. Not after what they've been through. At least, he better fucking not. The panic attack subsided in the awkward silence, and he soon felt his cheeks burning. That's right, Jet wasn't just a friend.

Suki snorted. "You have a friend?" It was expressed dryly and with as much conviction as all her other questions.

Zuko grit his teeth for a moment. Jet was someone he loved, who would be in much more danger than anyone else if the Fire Lord got in control. He got a stomach churning chill at the thought of it. "Just… trust me. I'm not looking to hunt Aang for any other reason than to train him-"

Suki blinked at him and interrupted. "Did I just hear you say `Trust me`? Do I look like a fool?" She asked. "After Ba Sing Se fell, a lot of refugees turned up here, and lots of them are still struggling to survive here. If I trust you, then they are all as good as dead. I'm handing you into the Earth-Nation authorities." She said, matter-of-factly.

Zuko met her glare. "If I don't find Aang, and train him in fire bending, then they are as good as dead anyway. There are things a lot worse than me and my journey that the Earth-Nation have to worry about. And if it's any consolation, I had nothing to do with Ba Sing Se. The city was taken by Azula. And trust me when I say this –you do not want her finding Aang before I do. She will kill him." He said.

This seemed to finally strike a bone in Suki and her perception visible shifted. It was like she was remembering something, and she was seriously looking Zuko up and down for a moment.

Suki touched a hand to her chin, and finally averted her pressuring gaze to the floor in thought. Zuko felt like he could breathe again. She looked pained now, and glanced up to look at the fire bender. "Ok… Let's say that I can fathom you having a change of heart… but; see this from my perspective. Need I give examples of how your story would be hard to comprehend?" She asked. Zuko slouched; boy did he understand.

"You have to give me something." Suki said, thin lipped. The fire-bender glanced at her face again. She was…. She was giving him a chance. He took a few moments of silence to try and better get his story straight. "I was in the city when it happened. I, too, had fled there for….reasons. Even though only months before hand, I was desperate to find him… I had actually given up on the Avatar by this point… I was tired after so many defeats… and wanted a simple life in the safest place imaginable. You want to know the reason I need to help the Avatar?" He asked quietly. Suki nodded once, waiting for his answer.

Zuko let out a breath. "I have things I want to protect… I have… people… that I want to protect. And with my entire nation laying siege to the only safe places left, I have to help make the world safe again. And that means I have to find the Avatar and I have to help him. I know I'm the only one who can."

It was silent several minutes after he stopped talking. Suki wasn't giving anything away on her face, he had no idea what she was thinking, and then she spoke with a heavy heart. "I have seen what your sister can do." Suki said. "I was in Ba Sing Se up until the attack. Aang had inspired us to leave our island and make a change to the world too… so the Kiyoshi warriors and I travelled to where help was needed the most. Many of my friends were still trapped in the city when I fell during battle… and when I woke up I found that a few of my warriors had escaped and taken me with them. I continued to protect who I could...But… It broke me, leaving them behind." Her fists tightened, and she clenched her jaw for a moment to compose herself. "I know what it means to want to fight, to want to protect. And… I know it when I see it. My duty as a Kiyoshi Warrior is to serve and protect… and my judgement cannot fail and put others at stake," She said, and relaxed her tense hands and revealed Zuko's dual swords, standing and drawing them apart. Again, it was impossible to read if she was going to untie him, or cut him up, her mood was so intense it could have gone either way. She stood. "However…I also understand… that people have a change of heart,"

Suddenly, the door and its pathetic barricade splintered to pieces and a body tumbled in. It was a Kiyoshi warrior, and she coughed upon landing hard. Suki dropped the swords and whipped around to see three large figures in the doorway. "Su-Mi!" She cried, and the girl weakly began to gather herself and move towards Suki.

Focused on the door, Suki snarled. "You there, who are you?!" She demanded of the strangers.

An Earth-Nation soldier stumbled in, red-faced and bleary eyed. "Saw you little girls playing soldier with someone… suspicious…" The drunken eyes fell onto Zuko, who unconsciously swallowed at being pinned with the gaze. Suki suddenly stepped in front to block their line of sight. "Your business is with me then, I presume." The Warrior snapped her fans open, and received an expected bout of laughter from the three men. "Hey little girl, we're soldiers, and if that there is the fella' you snagged during that ruckus in town, then hand him over to us. He stepped on my damn face." The man growled, his words slurring. The three of them had been enjoying way too much booze at the event.

Suki eyed them up and down. "You're not fit to do anything, soldier." She took a commanding tone, which confused the three men in their drunken state. The questions were clear on their face, like dogs who felt as though the command should be followed. Was she supposed to give orders? Could she even do that? She looked kind of serious… but she was just a girl. No way could she actually be giving them orders. "Excuse me…?" The second soldier growled, and barged forward, finger pointing. "I better arrest you before you say something stupid and get into some real trouble, kid!" He was not so intoxicated, but drunk enough to be sluggish in comparison to an agile Kiyoshi Warrior –who promptly grabbed his prodding finger and twisted his arm, turning him around and kicking him back the way he came. The man was confused by the direction he was now facing, and his arm hurt an awful lot too.

"None of you are suitable for your positions. You attacked a Kiyoshi Warrior and are imposing authority to a situation you are not fit to reasonably handle. If you engage, I will be forced to defend myself." Suki was a force to be reckoned with right now. Her friend managed to get to her feet and draw her fans as well. She spoke to her friend next. "Su-Mi, where are the others?" She asked. The girl shook her head. "I don't know. These three chased me down before I could get any real help, and there were more behind them but they're not here yet…"

The girl looked back toward Zuko, the cause of all this fuss. He was still bound to the chair, but was eyeing up his broad swords; he didn't seem to look terribly nervous. He had also noticed his items were in a pathetic pile in the corner next to the door. Getting them and then getting out of here was going to be troublesome. Already he had begun trying to work the knots from his bindings, but not with much success. The Warriors had done a good job. The first man barked a bitter laugh. "I ain't ever heard of no ky-what-ever warrior, but whatever the case, they don't have any authority in this town." He snarled. Suki resisted the urge to roll her eyes; upon arrival in the town, it had been made public knowledge that the Kiyoshi Warriors were going to assist the community, but clearly these men were going to think otherwise regardless.

There was tension in the room again until the three men charged; a little out of sync; and one was so inebriated it looked like he forgot where he was and what he was supposed to be doing for a moment, but ran into a fight regardless.

Suki's movements were controlled and she disarmed the first two men she encountered in under half a minute; but they were persistent and unclean in their actions. One would think a stumbling idiot would be easy to floor, but somehow they were in an alcohol-fuelled frenzy and managed to scramble back onto their feet as quickly as they were knocked down.

The third; almost lost soldier charged Zuko, tackling him. But Zuko kicked out his feet and hit the man in the stomach. The force of the assault had the chair flying backwards and though the fire bender winced at the pain of landing on his arms –with the added weight of the large man –the chair splintered to pieces and the ropes no longer restrained him. He was still tied up, though, and managed a backwards roll after kicking off the third soldier who had knocked himself out. He paused to assess in a crouched position; and took to the opening in the cramped and confusing fight to roll across the room and grab his swords. He went to manoeuvre his wrist to cut part of the binding but felt a sharp pain shoot through his arm and he dropped one sword. What the hell was that? He tried picking up the sword with that arm but couldn't manage it, and grabbed it with his other busy hand.

He then rolled into the corner with all his belongings when a soldier stumbled back and nearly landed on him. Suki spotted Zuko rolling around the floor with his weapons, but the man who was fighting her friend had gained the upper hand; Su-Mi had sprained her ankle earlier and it crippled her for a moment and she was struck down; unconscious. The man she fought was about to deliver a fatal blow, but Zuko dropped his sword, darted and jumped; bringing both his heels to strike the soldier in the chest. The flying kick made the soldier land in the street and strike the wall opposite the house; and then fall comatose; not dead but not waking up any time soon either.

Zuko had landed hard on his arm again and struggled to stand. He paused when he looked up and found around six to ten other soldiers rushing by at the end of the narrow. The last few soldiers noticed him and scrambled to a stop, pointing and declaring something; but it was in another drunk slur. "Who goes there?" They sort of eventually managed. Zuko flinched when Suki grabbed his shoulder. "Are no soldiers in this damn town sober?" She growled.

Suddenly the men at the end of the narrow started howling and pointing and corralling the other soldiers who had gone too far ahead. Suki sighed and yanked Zuko back inside. There was no door to close to buy them time. Suki scooped up her friend and placed her over her shoulders. "This leads out into another street, let's hope there's nobody waiting," She said, destroying the planks of wood which barred the window with one single strike of her foot. "Just one thing… no fire bending. They might not know who you are, but don't give them any reason to execute you. You're scar is enough to give you away under the right circumstances. Understand?" Suki was telling him, not asking him.

Zuko nodded and didn't ask questions or hesitate; scrambling out of the window after the young woman. He followed her step for step but her unconscious friend was slowing them down. Two soldiers stumbled out of a side alley and Suki skittered to a stop and ducked as they swung their weapons. Zuko jumped over Suki and delivered a heavy kick, and used his momentum to step off the first man and knee the second guy in the face.

Suki lead him down another narrow where they barely avoided two other sets of soldiers. The maze of empty huts on the outskirts of this large, mountain-pass town were strange and a little spooky. Zuko might have found himself asking why they were all empty, had he not been running for his life. Unfortunately, they encountered a blockade of old wagons just taking up the thin alley. Suki spared no time in jumping up and then scrambling awkwardly onto the roof, all the while ensuring she didn't bang her friends head. Zuko leapt up, but he wasn't fast enough, and someone grabbed him by the leg. He fell hard into a wagon and had to immediately roll to one side to avoid being skewered. He kicked up, knocking the soldier in the chin and they fall away. Another soldier narrowly missed stabbing him in the shoulder as Zuko rolled to the other side of the wagon. Zuko blinked when something hit the soldiers head and he fell away too, and he looked up to see Suki had pelted him in the helmet with a roof tile.

She had to dive down and lay flat as an arrow flew past where her head had been. Zuko jostled himself quickly backwards and the arrow landed between his legs. He stared at it for a moment, horrified, and then he flinched when a hand grabbed at his leg again. "C'mere you!" The guy he kicked in the chin was looking furious, and the guy who had taken the roof tile to the head was also grabbing at him. He didn't get the opportunity to kick in defence as they dragged him out of the wagon and onto the ground –his swords ripped from his only good hand. He grunted at the impact as his arms remained tied behind his back, breaking his fall. Pain burned and pinched along his arm, and he knew what a broken bone felt like. He was punched in the gut once and kicked in the face, and then in the dull light of the alleyway, someone jumped over him and took out his attackers. He had been paralysed by the pain in his arm, winded by the strike to his stomach, and blinded momentarily but the kick to the face, so he couldn't be sure what was going on right now.

"I leave you alone for half an hour," A voice said in a huff. Zuko peered up, bleary-eyed and possibly concussed, seeing nothing but stars. Strong arms shuffled under his shoulders to sit him up; he blinked a few times to focus. Jet was huffing hard; his expression was mostly relief, but there were a few other emotions storming. "Jet," Zuko wheezed, feeling some blood dribble down his chin. Shit, the inside of his cheek was split and it stung like a fucker, but he almost didn't notice it compared to the blinding pain in his arm. "Arm!" He urged. They were un-done and he achingly tried to move it, gritting his teeth in a daze. He was definitely concussed, and he couldn't deal with the broken bone in this state, or the fact that he was seeing so many stars he couldn't see Jets face properly.

A ringing in his ear settled in and muted out the world and his eyes closed involuntarily; but he could feel himself being hefted up and moved. It was a little bit of Deja-vu if he was honest. He knew he might have fought the concussion a little harder had he been alone. And though Jet was a comforting sound and smell… the fact that Zuko just allowed the injuries to take hold of him and be protected… the submission scared him awake and he stirred with a panic. He was disoriented now; in a place he didn't know. He sat up, leant on his broken arm, and landed with a thump when the pain finally bit into his senses. The ringing in his ears returned when the agony shot through his arm; and every time he blinked he found himself back in the North Pole, after Xhao tried to fucking blow him up, and the ringing that plagued his senses for months. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried not to tense his bandaged arm. Counting and controlling his breathing were all he could do, but he was thinking it was a miracle he remembered to do even that. His discomfort didn't subside by much, but he came around enough to sense a presence. He didn't feel in danger, though, and immediately relaxed when a deep whisper penetrated the ringing. "Hey… hey… it's ok, you're safe,"

Jet whispered, gently touching Zuko's bare shoulder. He had been startled away by the panicked huffing and the thump the fire bender was making in the dark. Zuko was also groaning very quietly to the point it was almost a wheeze. Jet had been sitting and guarding for most of the evening, and now it was nearly midnight. Zuko rolled slowly onto his back, still bleary eyed. "Jet?" He was more asking where Jet was, rather than who was speaking.

"Yeah, I'm here," Jet whispered again and slowly and carefully spooned right up against Zuko, gently placing a hand on the bandages around the broken arm. "It looks like you've got no broken bones but don't push it, and your neck and face are a little swollen, so don't move around, ok?" He breathed; his words a deep and soothing murmur as he grazed light little circled up Zuko's exposed forearm. Zuko let out a long, relieved breath himself and nodded a little, not saying anything. His voice was raspy and everything hurt up the back of his head. Jet nuzzled gently into the crook of the pale neck and huffed. "There is some medicine that the painted girls brought us," He said and Zuko felt a moment of cold as Jet moved away, vaguely wondering why the hell he wasn't wearing any damn clothes on his upper body. He found the energy to sit up and felt all his muscles tense; he hissed as he moved.

The medicine was bitter and made Zuko's lips numb almost immediately. He made a sour expression but didn't feel the pull of the split inside his mouth. He didn't complain verbally, though, and he finished the whole damn bowl. Jet let out a dry snicker. "Tastes that good, huh?" He tried a grin, but couldn't manage it. There was a single candle –small but alight, and in the glow it cast, he could see the swelling on Zuko's face. It wasn't horrendous but it was noticeable, and the scar tissue on his cheek and eye looked uncomfortable. He reached out to touch Zuko in some way, resting his hand on his thigh. Berating himself couldn't change what had happened, but he cursed at how he hadn't noticed Zuko was missing immediately –he was too caught up in moving that even just twenty seconds later, he turned and Zuko was gone and the crowds were too heavy to see where he could have been taken. There had been too many damn mysterious figures wearing indistinguishable cloaks and robes –all of which he grabbed and yanked the hood down on and then moved on.

He took to stalking the roof tops where he could, getting more and more nervous and then he saw a young painted woman – Su-Mi –racing through the back alleys with staggering drunks in tow. At first he thought that it might have been just some soldiers looking for some woman to torment, and saving a damsel in distress was not on his list, because he was too distressed himself. What the hell was even happening right now, and why? This could have all been avoided. It was so stupid, the plan to steal the map.

Jet could have probably just sweet talked it away, but Zuko was impulsive –a trait he was finding hard to admire right now. Zuko said something that took Jet several moments to translate and it was a notification that his mouth was numb and he was feeling dizzy.

Zuko squeezed his eyes shut as he lay down again, and when he opened them, he found Jet's face right in front of him – or at least the blurry outline of it. Jet touched his forehead to the bandage that wrapped around Zuko's head. "Zuko… we are never following your plans again if it winds up in a mess like this," He said bluntly.

Erm... so yeah I'm ashamed that it took a while to upload this. I was re-writing some other fan-fics I have up on here already and time escapes me. So we will be moving onward at a slow -and apparently annual- pace with this. I want to include as much as I can for everyone to enjoy too, so hang tight while I dig deep into my pockets for UMPH and inspiration!

Thanks for reading : D