A/N: Long chapter for a long wait x_x. Enjoy! And again thanks to Jaxrond for being my beta inspite of her busy schedule! :)

-22-

RESISTANCE

Slowly doubling over on his cot, trying to avoid any painful moves with his torso, he pressed his cold, shaky hands against his face, then shoved his fingers through his long, unkempt hair until they were stuck in the tousled strands. Sleep deprivation was beginning to take its toll on him. What kept him from falling asleep was... well, to some extent it definitely was his inability to lie down in a somewhat not painful way and to find a somewhat not painful position on his narrow, uncomfortable cot. But what was more - the longer he involuntarily stayed awake, unable to stop his trains of thought, the more they turned into a spiraling, nerve-wrecking vortex. And the bigger that vortex grew, the farther decreased his chances to find some much needed sleep.

It all had begun when he'd first met his cell mate. What kept his thoughts reeling mainly was the insight that was beginning to dawn on him every time he watched the old man.

It had taken Hakoda a while to proceed what was happening. The shock of being separated from the others, of being handcuffed while helplessly watching his men and Sureen being led away drowned out his every thought. Only after being shoved into one of the many cells and being left to himself for hours did he eventually begin to take in his surroundings. Only then did he notice the elder man crouching on the cot across from his.

The way the man had his knees pulled to his chest, his emaciated fingers clinging to his shins, his forehead pressed against his knees made it impossible to guess his age, his looks or his whereabouts. In fact, his appearance made him look more like a crippled ghost than an actual human being. The way the creature steadily rocked back and forth on his cot, some unintelligible muttering spilling from his lips every so often didn't help to change that impression. The man didn't even seem to notice that another prisoner was sharing his cell. He didn't seem to notice Hakoda's attempts to start a conversation, either. All he did was to keep on swaying back and forth, muttering weird nonsense.

So that's what happens to prisoners that have to languish behind these walls for too long. That's what insanity looks like.

The thought suddenly shot through Hakoda's mind, making his blood run cold and his fists clench around his hair strands. The elder man's form began to melt before his eyes, and in his stead Hakoda saw his men and Sureen, hopelessly vegetating in their lifelong miserable existence as prisoners.

It's my fault. All my fault. I made them join me, I brought them here. My responsibility.

He clenched his fists even harder, his fingernails painfully digging into his scalp. While he pressed his eyes shut, he desperately tried to steady his erratic breaths that had somehow turned into choked, toneless sobs.

Suddenly, though, he came across a different thought. Or more like a voice, a young woman's voice, resounding in his head. Initially low and insecure, then slowly turning into a loud and determined speech:

'… This isn't your fault, Sir. It's not your responsibility. If we decide to go for something and then things go wrong… it's our collective fault. It can't be attributed to only one person, 'cause that's… it's just not true.'
'You asked us to join you, sure… but WE agreed. We volunteered for this!'
'Because we wanted to join you! Otherwise none of us would be here right now. None of us would've gone to jail. None of us would be in this situation. I don't care about your 'role in this invasion'. I don't care about roles at all, to be honest! Right now, I only care about THE FACTS. And the facts are that we made this decision by ourselves,…'
'Everyone in the invasion force will only blame themselves for the consequences. N-no one will ever blame… you.'

There was no doubt those words had been genuine and heartfelt… yet they couldn't take the weight off his shoulders. They couldn't ease the feeling of having left his men high and dry. They couldn't drown out the guilt. But they were enough to make him calm his breath and to blink away the tears stinging in the corners of his eyes.

They won't give in. They won't break like this guy, Hakoda decided, throwing his cell mate another pitying glance. We all have somebody waiting for us outside this prison. We still are the invasion force and I still am their leader. I won't let them down any worse than I already did. This isn't over yet. If they won't resign, so won't I.

If only he could get in touch with them somehow, find out where they'd been brought; receive any sign of life from them. After all, they all were still alive and in the same place, or at least as close to each other as they could be in the present circumstances. There had to be a way.

x-x-x

After travelling the world for years, after getting to know all sorts of feelings by secretly seeing foreign things through her own eyes, secretly sharing everyone's emotions, Sureen had almost been sure that she'd seen it all, felt it all. That there was no state of mind she hadn't yet been familiar with. It turned out to be just another error in reasoning. Sharing other people's emotions could get nowhere near the intensity of truly feeling them oneself. And for the first time in her life did she ever truly feel rage. All-consuming, helpless, desperate, boiling rage. And hatred. Larger and deeper than the ocean, as black and fathomless as the night sky.

It made her tremble, made her clench her teeth so hard it hurt, made her bite the inside of her cheek until she felt the metallic taste of blood in her mouth; it made her hectically pace up and down the small cell, only to sometimes stop at the door and hit it with a series of kicks, until her shins and feet were bruised. It made her eyes flare up ferociously every time the guards dared look her way.

And sometimes, when Zuko wasn't around, when they'd taken him outside the cell to play their sick, gruesome torture games with him… when she was all alone yet chased by the waves of his agony, the raging maelstrom within her made her collapse with violent sobs, made her eyes brim over with hot, desperate tears.

If those damn guards would only for once treat her like shit, too! If only for once they'd insult her, slap her in the face; try to touch her, do no matter what… just anything! Anything so she could snap back, spit in their faces, hit them with her kicks instead of the cell door, yell at them, smash her fists into their ever sneering mouths… do whatever… just something, anything. If only for once they'd shove her outside that cell and drag her along to whatever place they took Zuko. If only they treated her as though she were actually present, as though they knew how much she hated them. If only for once they'd stop ignoring her. But they didn't.

They kept on torturing her by torturing Zuko, and not even casting her a glance.

Because she was a different sort of tool for them.

While they used Zuko for their sick entertainment, for the sake of their sensationalism, to give their twisted minds exactly what they were greedily craving for, they needed Sureen for an entirely different purpose: because their new toy was meant to survive. So they could keep on playing their games with him forever, and because those had been the Fire Lord's orders. To keep his son alive and make sure he'd experience a life in hell. So they had to make sure his body would always recover, no matter what they'd do to him. His wounds needed to heal so they could do harm to him again and again.

And soon Sureen figured that the only reason they needed her, the only reason why they'd put her in a cell with Zuko must have been something like your average cliché: girl sees injured boy who obviously is in pain - girl feels sorry for boy - girl tries to help injured boy to get back on his feet. And Sureen beautifully confirmed that cliché.

The only thing they didn't know was that her behavior, in fact, had nothing to do with any sort of cliché. What the guards were unaware of altogether was their friendship. Bonds way stronger than any average cliché could ever be. And by no means would they ever reveal those bonds. Their friendship was their secret connection, something the guards would never discover.

And so Sureen learned about the extent of helplessness the human mind could reach and the state of desperate rage the human heart could endure. And endure she did. Because how could she dare give in while Zuko was focused on nothing but survival, with each fiber of his being? Compared to him, she was in no position to complain. No one ever inflicted violence on her. After all, she was nothing but a bystander. Watching things from the sidelines like so many times before. And as a bystander, she didn't have the right to break. Not again.

The only way to keep the guards from feeling like the winners of their sick game was to deny them any sort of triumph, to just not respond to anything they did. And after more or less adopting Zuko's behavior - at least when it came to the guards - Sureen realized that it was far more than just a survival strategy. It was the only form of resistance that was left for the both of them.

x-x-x

When he finally saw their faces again, he genuinely felt like crying.

It had taken him a while to find them in the crowd. Especially since he could hardly bring himself to take a closer look at that crowd, let alone merge with them. He didn't want to take in their colorless appearances, their dull, resigned features. Even the air seemed to be thick with resignation. And he didn't have the slightest interest in sharing any of those sensations. Because for him, it was the first day – the very first day since he'd been imprisoned – that held a tiny ray of hope.

For the first time he was allowed to join the other prisoners on their daily trip to the court yard – their daily hour of "free time", when everyone was allowed to breathe some fresh air, to take a walk and to have some small-talk with their fellow prisoners. Of course, everything under strict surveillance by the guards steadily patrolling up and down the court yard, ready to intervene at any point. Therefore, the "fresh air" didn't bring any relief, "taking a walk" only took you from one sad, pitiful creature to another, and any "small-talk" was interrupted by a guard as soon as they considered the subject inappropriate. But most of the prisoners had long fallen silent anyway.

But for him, things were different. At least for the time being, he couldn't care less about the hopeless mood surrounding him. Almost as though he lived in a different world, inside an invisible bubble… and he knew among all those sad faces there were a few beings coming from the same world like him. He only had to find th

After his first day in prison, when the shock of being separated from his men had subsided, Hakoda soon concluded that the guards' behavior towards him probably was their usual way to make new prisoners more compliant. Not only by separating them from their comrades (in case they'd been brought to this place in a group), but also from everything else. Apparently, every prisoner had some sort of job – they were helping in the kitchen, repairing things in the workshop, or doing maintenance jobs such as cleaning up the cells. But Hakoda wasn't given any job at all. He wasn't even allowed to join the other prisoners in the large hall where they had their meals.

Not that he was missing his cell mate during the day. The old man stayed as unresponsive as ever when he wasn't at work, and Hakoda found no way to talk to him or to make him react in any other way. Yet he couldn't deny that he soon began to envy the man. Envy him because he spent his days with an actual task, because he was a part of a daily routine, a part of anything at all, giving his existence some sort of shape and structure. And because working certainly kept the man distracted. From the vortex of thoughts, questions, accusations, guilt. Hakoda wanted to escape from that downwards spiral more than anything. But there was no way. As long as there was nothing to do for him but to stare at the wet, dirty cell walls, every day and every night, the hours passing by in slow-motion, there was no escape from his own thoughts, no escape from himself.

So when he was finally assigned to a job at the workshop - after more or less being ignored for three days straight - he was almost shocked and ashamed by how grateful he felt about it. After another three days of silently repairing broken furniture and other items, without permission to talk to or even look at anyone while he worked, he was finally allowed to visit "public places" and get in touch with the other prisoners in the dining hall… and the court yard.

After thoroughly scanning the place, slowly walking from one end to the other in order to not miss anything or anyone, he eventually made them out in a corner – standing together in a circle, trying hard to not look suspicious, to not give away their identity just by the way they acted, finally having found each other again. Yet Hakoda sensed their relief, the load taken off their minds by knowing they all were – more or less – safe and sound.

And Hakoda's heart, too, skipped a beat seeing his men – his friends – again after everything that had happened. He, too, could barely keep it to himself, could barely stop himself from running to the place they stood. Luckily, he still was in no physical condition to move any faster.

No one said a word when he approached, when they recognized him and the realization hit them. But everyone's faces spoke volumes.

After doing nothing but savoring the moment for a while, overwhelmed by the wave of relief that was washing over them, Hakoda was the first to snap out of it. Slightly alarmed, he broke the silence:

"Where's Sureen?"

As they slowly shook their heads one by one, signaling that they'd neither seen nor heard anything of her, the relief abruptly ebbed away, being replaced with anxious tension.

"No worries. We'll find her," the fleet captain ground out, determinedly clenching his fists. After he'd made sure that no prison guards were around, he carefully continued, "I'll figure something out. You all were assigned to a job during the last couple of days, right?"

Everyone nodded as unremarkably as possible.

"Good. So we all work at different places, plus we'll be able to meet here every day. For the time being, I want you to keep your eyes and ears open and to report to me on a daily basis. Maybe by uniting the information each of us will gain, we'll be able to find out about Sureen's whereabouts. Apart from that…" again he carefully turned around to make sure the guards weren't listening. "… I can't believe that this really is a perfect prison without a single weak spot. That there's really no way to escape from here. So, as I just told you – keep your eyes and ears open. At this point, collecting information and then putting two and two together is the only trump up our sleeve. So let's use it."

x-x-x

"Zuko… hey, you know, this won't last forever. Because we won't stay here forever. I- I didn't come here alone. We were separated when we arrived… but… nevertheless, they're somewhere in here. I don't know where but… they're around. And they aren't the ones to give up just like that, you know. So this will come to an end soon."

Sureen did what she always did when she was at the end of her rope: talk. Because at least talking made her believe that she was actually doing something. At least it made her feel a little less useless. So talking became her last resort whenever Zuko was too unapproachable after the guards had brought him back or too desperate for space and distance.

While a part of Zuko always tried to reach out for the support Sureen could offer, a million other parts of him silently screamed "Danger!", "Life threatening!", "Not one step closer!". And she'd gotten to know the effects; she'd learned what would happen once those warnings would take over his mind. Her cheek still hadn't healed completely. Plus she had no interest in pushing Zuko over the edge, knowing that he was only inches away from his breaking point, trying all he could to keep his composure.

It felt like walking on broken glass, as though her own and Zuko's feet would get slashed as soon as she'd make a single wrong decision.

It was a tightrope walk. Figuring out how far exactly she could go, how close she could get to his defensive walls without either breaking them entirely, or Zuko pushing her away entirely. Judging whether he'd let her take a look behind his shield of indifference or whether his walls were left too shaky after the guards were done with him was a tricky job. Even when she focused on her abilities and, for a change, tried to really use them instead of suppressing them, which almost felt like committing some sort of crime. It truly made her feel like a spy - Azula had nailed it back in the Crystal Catacombs. But Sureen tried to shake off the thought and determine the next safe step on her imaginary tightrope instead.

Sometimes it would be a safe step to sit down beside the prince, so she could hear his hectic breaths, could feel him tremble while he was coiled up on his cot. Sometimes she could risk reaching out and rubbing little comforting circles into his shoulder. And sometimes he'd even move closer towards her to diminish the distance - as unremarkably as possible of course.

Cleaning and patching up his wounds almost never was a safe step, but they both knew it was a necessary evil and had to be done anyway. Zuko would usually escape even deeper into his emptiness of mind and Sureen would do her work as quickly as possible.

But sometimes, just as today, she couldn't approach him an inch. He didn't even want her in the same cell. On those days her mere presence seemed hassling enough to pierce through the thin remains of his shield.

But even then she couldn't hurt him by talking to him. By staying at the farthest corner of their cell and doing nothing but enveloping him with a constant flow of innocuous words. Because even if he wouldn't listen, even if he couldn't bring himself close enough to reality to understand the words' meaning, at least he'd still notice Sureen's rambling like some gentle background noise. At least she could still reach him somehow. And he'd know they were still in touch somehow.

"Who are... 'they'?"

His voice was as low and indifferent as always, yet it made Sureen lift her head with a start. Because Zuko's hardly audible question was proof that he'd listened to her, that her words had gotten through to him enough so he wanted to find out more. For a split second, a smile flashed over her face... only to fade away the very next moment - when she realized what she'd reveal by truly answering the question, by telling him the reasons that had brought her to this prison. Sureen swallowed hard. But he deserves to know the truth. Hugging her knees with both arms she tried to brace herself, and eventually, she replied.

"They are... the invasion force. Or more like, what's left of it. After we'd fallen into the Fire Nation's trap on our way to the palace, the soldiers shoved all of us into a cargo ship. While we were lying shackled in the darkness of that freighter, I guess they took us from prison to prison... because whenever we stopped, the soldiers picked a handful of our men and led them away. So our group became smaller and smaller. In the end, they brought us here. Only to separate us the moment we arrived. In total, there are six of us... the five fleet captains that were leading the invasion submarines... and me." Sureen let out a shuddering breath, knowing that the toughest bit of her explanation was lying straight ahead.

"I decided to take sides, Zuko. I decided that the only way for the world to ever wake up from this nightmare, to ever recover and find peace is to end this war, to stop the Fire Nation. And I decided I'd do my share to make it happen. During the Day of the Black Sun, I was one of the assailants that attacked the Fire Palace. Although I knew you were in there, too. I knew that place was your home. So... when you said I was a traitor back then, down in the Crystal Catacombs... I - I guess you were right. You chose sides down there... and shortly after, so did I. And I can't even say I'm sorry. Well, I know you don't want me to apologize anyway - I still remember what you told me, no worries - but this time, I genuinely can't apologize. Because I did it on purpose. I joined the invasion force and followed Captain Hakoda with all the conviction I was capable of. So I guess... I betrayed you and I'm not even sorry."

The thick silence following Sureen's explanation was heavily weighing down on her shoulders. There was no other sound but her own racing heartbeat. It resounded in her head that loudly she wondered if Zuko, too, could hear it.

"You aren't more of a traitor than I am myself."

"Huh...?!" As Zuko's message sank in, Sureen's eyes widened and her eyebrows shot up so high they left her forehead squeezed and wrinkled.

"I... when your invasion hit the palace, I'd already switched sides."

"W-wait. You... did what?"

"I recognized my f- ... the Fire Lord's true motives. I, too, decided he needed to be stopped and that I'd no longer play my part by following his rules. I went to see him and confronted him with... everything. The final thing I told him was that I... I'd join the avatar to support him on his mission. My plan was to leave the palace and set out to find him... and you. Because I thought you'd joined the avatar, too. I thought you'd be with him."

Sureen could only gasp for air while her mind went blank. Zuko had... switched sides... spoken his mind to his father... wanted to join the avatar. Wanted to join her.

"But I hadn't expected Ozai's response," the prince continued. "First he shot a blue lightning bolt at me which I managed to redirect. Then he sent his soldiers after me... and imprisoned me. Since 'one who refuses to learn respect deserves nothing but a life in hell, suffering forevermore.'"

Zuko's voice had involuntarily turned into a whisper - he could hardly bring himself to recall that day, let alone put its events into words. Yet his confession made Sureen's heart race even more; it made her thoughts reel, and her stomach turn. The Fire Lord had-

"The Fire Lord sent you here. The guards treat you like they do because HE told them to. And it's all because... you wanted to join the avatar. You wanted to support our cause. You made up your mind and switched sides... and in turn, that's what he did to you."

The lump in her throat almost choked her. She'd had no idea. This couldn't be true. The fathomless, desperate hatred she felt towards the guards was plain nothing compared to the extent of hatred that consumed her when thinking of Fire Lord Ozai and what he'd done to his own son.

"H-He won't succeed with this, Zuko," Sureen eventually ground out through clenched teeth. "I - I have no idea how we could beat him... but we will. He won't win. Neither with further enslaving the world... nor with breaking his son. I swear to all the spirits of the Spirit World. He. Will not. Succeed."

Maybe she subconsciously wanted to emphasize those last words, or maybe she somehow sensed a subtle change of the mood. Either way, Sureen's body had begun to move on its own. She found herself slowly walking towards her cell mate as though she were approaching a shy, wild animal. Zuko's walls... they still screamed for distance, they were still as fragile and broken as before. But the one he had to fend off for better or worse no longer was Sureen. His true enemy was way more powerful, ruthless and cold-blooded. But he wasn't here. The one who was with him right now... she was on his side, fighting for the same cause. So who was he to try and push her away?

Carefully, Sureen alighted on the edge of Zuko's cot, waiting for him to feel less uncomfortable and to gradually relax. In a soothing tone, another flood of words began to spill from her lips.

"But just because I don't have a plan... doesn't mean they don't have a plan, too. Maybe Hakoda already is figuring something out. Maybe they're already on their way... because they're good at that. Trust me, Zuko. If there's anything Hakoda is good at, it's making up plans, getting them across to everyone involved, and seeing it through. Making everyone go for it. So he'll find this cell eventually. He'll find us. And then we'll escape from this place. We will."

"I don't know the man you're talking about. But even if he did that... even if he found us... he'd come here for you. He'd free you. Only you. Because... I'm the Fire Prince, I'm their enemy, Sureen. I can't change who I was. And they won't see me for anything else but who I was. So even if the guy popped in here tomorrow with the perfect escape plan up his sleeve, I wouldn't be a part of it." Zuko pulled his knees close, hugging them with one hand and pinching the bridge of his nose with the other. As if he wanted to push away the realization hitting him as he spoke. "Because why would he want me to ever leave this cell again?"

Determinedly, Sureen clenched her fists.

"Because... he will. I will make him. Because the only way we'll leave this prison is together, Zuko. I won't go anywhere without you. So if he wants me to come with him... he'll have to take you along, too. As in, he'll be free to either turn around and leave... or escape with the both of us. Period."

That being said, she fell silent again. She had no doubts the prince had gotten her point... and she'd said enough. Enough for him and his crumbling walls to come to terms with. Sureen slowly reached out her hand and carefully placed it on Zuko's arm, hoping her touch wouldn't so much make him flinch but reassure him in the first place.

Zuko could only shake his head in sad disbelief. Why would she say that, why would she really do that? But then again, why would she try to keep his hopes up if she didn't mean it? He let his head sink down on his knees; it suddenly felt as heavy as lead. Yet he let the hand that had pinched the bridge of his nose mere seconds ago wander towards the girl's hand... towards the weight he felt on his arm.

Hesitantly squeezing her dainty fingers, he hoped she'd understand his awkward gesture like she had last time. Because again, in the face of his breaking shield, he was defenseless and more than just alarmed. Analyzing his instable state, knowing Sureen had her own means to analyze it as well still made his stomach cramp. But he also knew that she wouldn't take advantage of it. If anything at all, she'd use the gaping holes to try and provide him with some more stability instead of further tearing down his walls. As the opposing sensations - panic on the one hand and reassurance on the other - both washed over him with identical intensity, he was lost for words, and all he could do was to grab for Sureen's hand as though it was his lifeline.

Still it couldn't ease the hopelessness. He couldn't believe in an escape plan, he couldn't spare a thought for... some other prisoners that perhaps were on their way to free the both of them. It just didn't feel real. More like a nice dream, a shiny bubble. But he couldn't afford the luxury of delving into wishful thinking. Hope was a dangerous thing, because it could get destroyed way too easily. When he heard Sureen's deep-drawn sigh, though, he knew that she knew.

"It's okay, Zuko. I know I can't... compete. My hope isn't yours, and I guess I can't change that. But it's okay, you don't need to believe anything. Just don't... don't always push me that far away from where you are."

And again the only thing he could do was to tighten his grip around her fingers. For it was the only answer he knew.

x-x-x

Song for this chapter: "Cut" by Plumb (Um... TRIGGER WARNING or something I guess. Cause that's a song about self-harm. And although no one in my story is self-harming... because luckily everyone found slightly different ways to struggle their way through their mess... I still think the song describes the overall atmosphere and the way everyone's feeling in this chapter pretty well.)

A/N: Aaawwwwwww MY BABIES again! Zuko and Sureen... um... now I seriously was about to type "I could write a novel about them" - but yeah, no shit Sherlock - I guess that's what I'm doing, right xD? But I totally love their friendship and the way they manage to put up with each other, even when things are super hopeless :').

Apart from that - taadaaa, I proudly present the explanation for why Zuko and Sureen are sharing a cell! Did you notice? Haha! Because I still owed you that explanation. And now I hope it makes sense :P... because I honestly think it's the only thing that could make sense in the given circumstances.^^

Anything else... oh... right! Of course! GAAAAAAHHH oh wow guys, you know what... whether Zuko believes in it or not - but THE ESCAPE PLAN EXISTS! I figured it out! Because I need them to escape eventually (okay, I guess that was a spoiler, but oh well, not a surprising one really :P)... and I can't and don't want to use the original-canon-escape-plan-thing. Sooo... I came up with my own idea! Omg I'm so proud of myself xD! I hope Sokka would be proud, too... because I made a drawing and everything.^^ Or more like, SIX drawings. No kidding. The first one is an overall map of The Boiling Rock... and the drawings two to six are the actual escape plan, which is divided into five steps. Holy shit. I almost feel like a criminal now xD.
But yeah... as Hakoda definitely WON'T pop in tomorrow with the perfect escape plan up his sleeve... it's still gonna take a while until everyone gets there. But they will. So don't worry, there's some more ACTION lying ahead x]... because as much as I love describing everyone's current situation and the way they think and feel... I'm also aware that this story could use some more action again. But we're getting there eventually. :)

Either way, I'd love to hear from you, like, how YOU GUYS think and feel about everything, I'm a sucker for knowing how ppl feel about stuff xD... so... the review box is all yours, as always!