Summer had shaded into autumn, and Song had come to terms with her growing feelings for the Firelord.  She rather suspected that it was a form of Yè-Yīng Lénsī Syndrome — after all, she had helped nurse Zuko back to health.  So long as she didn't actually act on her feelings, and nobody ever figured out that the massages had become an excuse to touch him, she would be in the clear.

Zuko, for his part, was too generally exhausted to act on his reciprocating feelings — which he was glad of. He didn't want to face rejection, and Mai's death was still a little too close.

None of this, however, stopped their afternoon meetings by the turtleduck pond.

One such afternoon, Zuko arrived before Song, so, when she got there, she found him in his usual spot, frowning down at his papers. The characters, as had become their highly irritating habit over the last several weeks, kept sliding in and out of focus. Chasing them just made his headache worse.

Something settled down over his nose and ears, and the characters swam into visibility.  Startled, and slightly confused, he looked up.

Song had a satisfied look on her face.  "Does that help?"

"…yes," he admitted, a little sullenly.

"I thought so."

"Glasses?" He did not sound pleased.

"Yes, Lord Zuko."

"Great."

"You've probably needed them for a long time," Song told him.

He didn't have an answer for that. Truth to tell, characters had been getting blurry for years, but it hadn't caused him problems until he took the throne.

"Probably the poor lighting and the poor handwriting have been making it more noticeable," she added.

"…Oh."

She looked at him for a long moment.  "You look really handsome in them."

"Really?" He looked up.

She smiled and nodded.  "Yeah."

He almost smiled.

Song laughed and sat down in front of him.  "It won't be so bad, Lord Zuko."

"I suppose not." Unless someone jumps me while I'm reading and smashes these and the glass gets in my eyes.

She smiled again and moved behind him to start the usual massage.

Mere seconds later, chains flew out of nowhere, grasping both Song and Zuko around wrists and ankles.  The ones attached to the girl jerked, pulling her into Zuko so that he couldn't firebend.  "Let her go!" he shouted, assuming that he was the primary target.

Song was struggling against her restraints, trying to get free.  "Lee, run!" she yelled, forgetting in her panic that he couldn't.

"Leave her alone!" he shouted, ignoring Song and struggling against his own chains.

The guards came running, but were halted by two men in the same green uniforms as the body Song had found near Zuko and his sister the night of the final battle.  "LEE!" screamed the girl as she was pulled away from him now.  There was a grunt; one of the guards was down, possibly dead to judge from the speed of the blow to the head.

"LET HER G — " A small thunk, and the Firelord was knocked unconscious.

Song was pulled to her feet as she fought her restraints.  "Let go of him!  Lee!"

"We don't want to hurt you, miss," one of the men in green said, quietly.

"I didn't say anything about me," she snapped, then looked past him and paled.  All the guards were down now, unconscious or dead, some with their limbs twisted in unnatural positions.

"But if you continue to resist," he continued, ignoring her objection, "we will. And then who will help when we hurt him?"

Song froze, her brown eyes going wide in horror.

"Will you behave?"

Her eyes drifted to the unconscious Firelord.  After a moment, she nodded.

"Good." He and his companions dragged the two teenagers off of the palace grounds, carrying them to a compound a ways from the palace, confusing their trail with earthbending.  As she'd promised silently, Song behaved; however, she kept looking for possible ways to get away.  She doubted this would be like the time she and Yì Suì had been kidnapped, unfortunately.

Once they arrived in the compound, Zuko and Song were tossed into a small metal cell, and locked in.  The doctor promptly checked Zuko's head, hoping he hadn't been concussed during the short fight.  Thankfully, he didn't seem to be, and he woke up within ten minutes of their being tossed into the cell.

"You okay?" he asked, as soon as he had reoriented himself.

"Yes," she said softly.  "They didn't hurt me."

"Good," he said, fiercely.

Unexpectedly, she hugged him tightly and hid her face in his shoulder.  She was shaking.

"We'll get out of here," he reassured her, though he wasn't entirely certain of that. I can't melt our way out, too confined, and my fine control's never been great, and it got worse after I lost my arm…

"We have to," she whispered.

"Yeah…"

"I… I'm not a fighter, Lee," she told him.  It was easier to call him Lee than Zuko, especially now that they were prisoners.  "But I'll do what I can to help."

He nodded. "We need to figure out how this cell's put together."

"Right."  Song took a deep breath and let go of him.  He stood up, and started examining the cell walls, inch by inch.  The girl moved to the door and began looking it over carefully as well.

"Any luck?" he asked, after about an hour.

"No," she said sadly.  "What about you?"

"I'm not sure. I think one of these panels is loose. If we could find something to pry — "

The door opened, and chains shot out and grabbed the monarch.

"Lee!" Song gasped, lunging for him.  He slipped out of her grasp, though, and the door was slammed behind him.

"No!  Lee!  Lee!  Lee!"

 

*       *          *

 

"…something's not right," Haru said.

"What's wrong?" Ty Lee asked.

"Song hasn't passed by yet.  Usually she's gone back to work by now."

Ty Lee frowned, and ran off towards the turtleduck pond.  Haru was right on her heels.  They quickly found the downed guards, as well as the injuries that put them down. "Oh, no!" Ty Lee cried.

"Check for a pulse!" Haru ordered, then turned his attention to inspecting the ground for hints.

There were several, but they all seemed to point in different directions.

"…They're all alive, just unconscious," Ty Lee called, relieved. "You got anything?"

"I have a lot of things," said Haru.  His voice had changed, holding barely-controlled anger.  "And they all lead to one conclusion."

She knew only one thing made him that angry. "The Dai Li," she breathed.

"Guess we didn't get all of them after all."

"She didn't bring the entire force back with her," Ty Lee said quietly. "And not all of 'em were stationed around the capital, anyway."

"I'm going after them," Haru replied, getting to his feet.

"I'm coming with you."

"I need you to do something first." He turned to her.  "You're faster than I am, I know you can catch up.  You've gotta tell the General."

She nodded, and ran off into the palace.

Haru closed his eyes and put both of his hands on the ground, hoping that he'd be able to pick up a trail with earthbending.  He found the trail, but it was tangled up by  other earthbending.

It was enough.

He pushed himself to his feet and began to run.

Ty Lee caught up with him twenty minutes later.  He nodded a greeting from where he was kneeling, trying to make sense of this next junction.  The earthbender had a feeling that this might take them awhile.

 

*          *          *

 

After two hours, Zuko was tossed back into the cell, soaking wet.

"Lee…?" Song knelt beside him, and gasped when she realised that he was also freezing cold.  There were no blankets in the cell, so the doctor considered her options, then very carefully laid down on top of him, trying to use her body heat to help warm him up.  After a few minutes, he warmed up enough to start shaking uncontrollably.  That's good, she thought, relieved, and reached for his hand.  Drawing it to her lips, she slowly exhaled, hoping the heat of her breath would help.

He closed his eyes and huddled a little close to her for warmth. "D-dunno h-how l-l-long…"

"How long what?" she asked.

"T-til th-th-they c-come b-back…"

Song nodded.  "Right.  I guess we can only wait."  She laid her head down on his shoulder, still breathing on his fingers.

He kept shivering. "G-got a l-l-look around, i-if w-we c-can g-get out th-the b-back…"

"We'll be in the clear?"  Carefully, Song shifted, quite deliberately pressing her breasts against him in a way that would hopefully help to heat him.

"Y-yeah…"

"Then we just need a way to get out of this cell."  She pressed his hand between both of hers and let out a slow breath against his neck.

He nodded. His tremors were slowing.  Once he stopped trembling entirely, Song rolled off of him and drew the young Firelord into a sitting position, leaning him against her. 

Less than five minutes later, the door opened again and chains shot in again to grab the young Firelord for more of whatever they were doing to him.  Desperately, Song tried to keep hold of him, but he was pulled through her grasp.  "No, wait!"

Rough hands shoved her back into the cell, which was locked again.

Song cried out in frustration and slammed her fists against the door helplessly. 

 

Zuko was gone longer this time, and returned just as wet and frozen as the first time, with obvious restraint marks on his wrists and ankles.  Again she lay down on top of him, trying to warm him up.  "We'll get out of this," she murmured, lips almost brushing his palm as she tried to warm his hand again.  Extremities first, trick the body into thinking it was warmer than it actually was.

He nodded, though there was a slightly haunted look on his eyes. "'C-c-course w-we w-will…"

"…Lee?"

"Y-y-yeah…?"

"Are you all right?"

"F-f-f-fine…"

Song didn't believe him, but she wasn't willing to argue the point.  She laid her head down again, closing her eyes and making sure to remain between him and the door this time.  She had less than an hour to warm him up when the door opened a third time.

Deliberately, she kept her back to the door, wrapping her arms around Zuko's torso and hiding her face in his shirt.  The same rough hands as before pulled her off of him, and he was chained again.  "No!  Leave him alone!" screamed the girl, struggling against her captor.

"L-let go of her!" Zuko shouted at the same time.

In the ensuing struggle, he managed to get a small dagger kicked into the cell. The agents didn't seem to notice when they tossed her back in and dragged the young Firelord off again.

As soon as the door was closed, Song retrieved the dagger and hid it in her clothing, then promptly tried to find the loose panel Zuko had mentioned.  It took a couple hours, especially with the complications of working around damp, sticky clothes, but she managed to prise the panel off. Sure enough, the hole it left was wide enough for the two teenagers to slip through the ventilation shaft beyond — but barely.  They'd only be able to make it because neither Firelord nor doctor had reached their full growth just yet.

Carefully, she replaced the cover.  Getting out was not going to be easy, especially if they continued to throw Zuko in half-frozen, which they did, an hour and a half after she finally got the panel off.  This time, as she warmed him, she told him quietly of her accomplishment and what lay behind the metal.

"L-l-l-let's g-go," he said, as soon as he was warm enough to talk.

As a doctor, Song would have recommended they wait just a bit longer, but they didn't have that kind of time.  "Yes."

He dragged himself up, shivering, and dragged the panel off. "Q-quick, b-b-before th-they c-come b-back…"

Obediently, Song crawled in.

He followed, and the two of them made their way out of the compound. Pursuit was oddly slow, but the doctor wasn't going to question good fortune.  Zuko went as quickly as he could, which, given that he was only half-thawed, wasn't very fast.

"Lord Sparky!" called a familiar voice.  "Doctor!"

Song looked up.  "Angelface!  Ty Lee!"

"Are you guys okay? What happened?" Ty Lee asked all in a rush.

"F-f-f-fine," Zuko assured her, teeth chattering.

"Liar," said Haru, stripping off his overshirt and wrapping it around Zuko's shoulders.  "Ty Lee, get them both back to the palace.  I'll watch for the Dai Li."

"If you haven't caught up in fifteen minutes, I'm coming back for you," Ty Lee said.

Haru kissed her quickly.  "Get them safe first.  I won't raid the place, I promise."

She kissed back, but didn't agree. "Come on, Song, Zuzu. Let's go home."

"Right," whispered Song.  She was still holding onto Zuko desperately.

He wasn't hugging her back, but he wasn't asking her to let go either.

Ty Lee led them back to the palace, glancing back every so often for Haru.

Fourteen minutes later, he was back.  "Nothing from them," he reported.  "Not even a message."

"That's weird," she said.

"Yeah.  Come on.  I don't trust this."

"Me neither," she said, frowning.

When they got back to the palace, Haru said, "I'm going to have a chat with the general.  Ty Lee, you get him somewhere warm."

"Of course," she said. "C'mon, Song, let's get him to his room."

"Okay," the doctor agreed instantly.

"Let's go, Zuzu, come on, you need to warm up…"

Once they were inside, Song pulled Zuko over to his head, saying to the acrobat, "Can you build up a fire?"

She nodded, and knelt by the fireplace to do so.  Song carefully got the Firelord into his bed and pulled the blankets over him, then searched the room for more to pile on him.  He was shaking violently now, huddled under the blankets.  Worried, she checked his temperature.  "We may need to get Doctor Chang if he doesn't warm up soon," she said.

Ty Lee nodded, biting her lip.

Song closed her eyes.  "What… what did they want…?"

"C-c-condition m-me…" Zuko whispered from the bed.

Song turned.  "What…?"

"Th-they w-wanted t-to c-c-condition m-me…d-dunno h-how m-m-much…"

Horrified, the doctor glanced over at Ty Lee.

"That's what the Dai Li do," she said, sounding angry. "They brainwash people."

"…does Angelface know that?"

"Yes. That's what he went to talk to the General about."

"Right," Song said, testing Zuko's temperature again.

He was a little warmer, but still too cold.

The doctor debated climbing in with him, then decided to just send Ty Lee for Doctor Chang.  Ty Lee didn't go — she poked her head out and sent a page for Chang.  In the end, the result was the same, so Song knelt by Zuko's bed and held his hand in hers.

 

"General," said Haru, leaning against the door frame.  His trophy chain was no longer tied around his waist, but hanging loose off his shoulders.

"Did you find them?"

"Yes.  They managed to get free on their own.  Sparky was half-frozen, though."  Green eyes narrowed.  "And there was no sign of pursuit."

"…none at all?" Iroh frowned.

"Yeah.  I dunno about you, but that makes me all jumpy and paranoid."

"Me as well."

Haru sighed.  "I got the location of the place, though."  He set a piece of paper down on the old man's desk.

"Thank you," Iroh said, scanning it briefly.

The earthbender hesitated.  He knew what he wanted to ask, but was now the best time?

"What's on your mind?" Apparently, the old man seemed to think so.

"…I want to go with whoever you send to take them out."

Iroh considered for a moment, then nodded. "Fine."

Haru bowed, Fire Nation style.  "Thank you, general."

"Of course." The old man bowed back.

"Any orders for me in the meantime?"

He shook his head. "None specific, no."

"All right."  Haru bowed a second time, then took his leave.

 

The search team was quickly assembled, and went out within hours.

They found the compound deserted. Several documents had been left behind, and there were other signs that the agents' leavetaking had been abrupt.  Haru, however, seemed determined to search the entire place from top to bottom, inch by inch, to be sure nobody was left.

One other member of the strike team, the captain, stayed behind with him.  This annoyed the earthbender, as there were some things he wanted to do, but he took it in stride, and even found some more documents.  He read every one of them before turning them into his current partner.

"Time to head back, I think," the older man said when they'd searched literally every inch of the facility. In addition to the cell in which Zuko and Song had been held, there was a room with a table, with leather straps clearly designed to hold someone down to it, and a tank of water.

"I'll be right behind you.  There's some things I want to check out."

"Not leaving anyone behind, kid. Sorry."

Well, it had been worth a shot.  "All right."

"Let's go," he said, clearly intending the younger man should leave first.

That made Haru bristle slightly.  What, he couldn’t be trusted to follow orders now?  Annoyed, he stalked out.

He could always come back after night fell.

Which, if the older man knew anything about just how personally Haru took the Dai Li, was probably why he was bringing up the rear.

Together, they made it back to the palace.  The older man left to deliver his report and the papers to the General, and Haru waited until an hour after total darkness fell before sneaking out of the palace.

Ty Lee followed him, though he seemed to have anticipated this: about halfway there, he stopped and waited for her to catch up.

"You're not going without backup," she said flatly.

He gave her a rueful smile.  "I know that.  That would be why I'm waiting."

She grinned back, perking up immediately when she realized he wasn't going to do the Stupidly Chivalrous thing and try to send her back. "Let's go, then."

He offered her his hand and, when she took it, led her back to the place.  "I know I need someone to watch my back, love.  Also to drag me back to the palace when I'm done here."

"You're going to smash it?"

"To hell and gone," he replied.

"Okay."

Together, the two of them made one last search of the compound, then Haru sent Ty Lee outside while he began to weaken the structure.  She paced outside, not liking the idea of him being alone in a building that was about to collapse.  Soon, however, he slipped outside, looking exhausted.  "Almost got it," he murmured, kneeling and putting his hands on the ground.  "You might want to hold on to something."

"…You sure you're okay to do more?" she asked, biting her lip and clinging to a nearby tree.

"Just this much," he replied, then raised his hands and slammed them into the ground.

A jagged crack ran from the point of impact to the metal building as the ground heaved violently, and the compound collapsed in on itself.  Ty Lee watched it crumple, and part of her — the vicious part that she never ever listened to — wished that there had been some of those Dai Li bastards who fucked with her heart-brother's head in there.

Haru slumped to the ground, spent.  Ty Lee let him rest there for a few minutes, then silently helped him up and back to the palace.  Once there, he ate like an ostrich-horse and then dragged himself off to his room after a tired kiss goodnight.  Ty Lee went back to Zuko's room — she'd privately assigned herself the task of babysitting Song until a better bodyguard could be given the task, and that was where she expected to find the doctor.

Sure enough, that's where she was, sleeping with her head resting on the bed beside Zuko.

Ty Lee smiled a little at the sight, then settled herself in a chair she dragged by the door.