My wings beat the air and caused me to zip through the sky. My speed caused tears to fly out of my eyes and by my ears. I gritted my teeth when I heard another sob from Max dart across the empty air between us. I knew tears were falling from her eyes as well but they would fall despite our flight.

I scanned the ground beneath us, watching dust float up into the crevices between the red cliffs and mountains. My wings beat the dusty, humid air with a gentle beat. 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4.

I forced my mind to become contaminated with the beat, repeating it over and over again. I didn't think of anything else.

I knew it was a simple and stupid task but if it kept my mind off what we were being forced to do, it was worth it. We were being forced to lead the whitecoats- who were maybe a hundred feet under us following in a van- to where the flock was. If we led them anywhere else or went off course one of us would be tortured and the other would have to watch.

I turned slowly and darted over so our wing tips touched and I reached out to grab her hand. She was shaking, terrified and miserable from what she had to do. She was taking more of the blame then I was but I knew the flock would hate both of us.

A small part of me was hoping they had changed location and would be long gone by the time we reached the caves but I knew they would be there. They'd figure we would show up eventually. They didn't think we would tell the location. But we had.

Max squeezed my hand. "What are they going to do? What are they going to do when we find out what…what I did?" She cried.

"I don't know, I-I don't know," I said, feeling helpless and guilty. I turned back to the sky ahead of me and looked up, seeing endless blue above me, looking like a beautiful ocean. I wish it was an ocean. I wished I could be anywhere besides here.

Finally, I made out the caverns in the mountains. "Come on," I hissed and banked down to catapult myself down to where the boxy van was still following us. I stopped about a hundred yards in front of it, causing the driver to skid the van sideways across the dirty, unbeaten road.

One of the white coats jumped out of the car, anger emanating off his face and body. "What the hell are you doing kid? We could've hit you!"

I didn't say anything. "The cave's up there," I told him, looking back at Max. He looked taken aback by the straight answer.

"Alright. You will go up there and get them. I swear, if you all aren't down here within fifteen minutes…" He pulled out his gun and cocked it menacingly. "You'll regret it."

We nodded and spread out our wings. "Ready?" I asked.

Max didn't meet my eyes but sighed. She reached out her hand and intertwined her fingers in mine. "As I'll ever be," she finally said. And with that, we pushed off the ground and jumped into the air.

Dust exploded off the ground as our wings flapped in rhythmic beats. It took us a minute to get up to the cave and, as we flew up the side of the tall mountains, I wondered what we would find. Max and I had been gone for almost a week but would everyone stay here and wait for us? I wondered if they'd left and we didn't know where they were. What would happen then? I sucked in a breath and closed my eyes as we landed without a sound in the cave.

"They're gone," Max said, a sob crashing from her throat. "They're gone. Zuko, where'd they go?"

I shook my head. "I-I don't know."

"What are we going to do?"

"I don't know!" I said, my angry words echoing off the walls of the cavern. "I don't know, Max! Why are you asking me? This is all your fault anyway!" I didn't mean for it to come out but it did. I wanted to take it back immediately but I couldn't.

Max's eyes turned to tears and she stepped away from me. She shook her head and retreated into the cave. "Max!" I yelled after her, but she didn't turn. "Max, damn it!" I clenched my fists and hit the wall in frustration.

Suddenly, I heard a muffled yell come from the dark cavern. "Zuko!" Without thinking, I dashed into the cave, my arms pumping at my side. I could barely see but I could tell it was getting bigger as I ran. I found myself in a dimly lit cavern, maybe twenty feet tall with a small river running along it. I looked around, sure Max was in here somewhere.

I had my back turned to the entrance I had just run through, when a dark figure swopped in to my side and sent me sprawling to the ground. Gasping for air, I hit the ground with a thud. Looking up, I found a boy standing over me. I couldn't make out his face. I heard muffled talking from across the room and slowly pushed myself up. The boy kicked my back, forcing me down onto the ground again. My lip hit the ground and started bleeding. "Fang!" I heard Max's voice cry out, shocked and pained.

I shot up and, seeing as my eyes were now adjusted to the dark cavern, I could make out Fang's dark features. He glared down at me but allowed me to sit up. "How dare you?" He growled down at me. I blinked, confused. "Katara, keep her over there!"

I looked over to see Katara maintaining a block of ice around Max, keeping her from running over to Fang and me. "What the hell are you doing?" I yelled at him, finally standing. I felt blood drip down my mouth and chin.

"You took her! You took her in the night!" Fang cried. "You left us without a clue. And now you've got the white coats running around here after us!"

"He didn't! Fang, he never did that!" Max screamed. "I was captured because I was being stupid! He was just trying to find me! He loves me!" I stared at her and her eyes bore into mine.

Fang turned and faced me; his eyes alight with fire and hatred. "Is that true!" I didn't answer, but stared at him defiantly. Without warning, Fang lashed out his leg and sent me flying back against the wall. I braced myself as he hit me, but still hit my head against the rock. Gasping in pain, I gripped my throbbing head and readied myself for another hit from Fang.

"And I love him!" Max continued, her scream echoing off the walls. "I love him, Fang!" He looked over at her, his eyes wide. He moved very slowly, his eyes dashing from me back to Max.

"I understand now," he said finally.

"Fang?" I heard Angel call. I looked over and saw the rest of the group huddled in the shadows, their eyes wide with fear and confusion.

"You brought them here…" he paused and looked over at me, his eyes portraying emptiness with a sparkle of recklessness. "You brought the whitecoats here so you and Max could run away together. You could run away together and have a life and never think about us, the people who you've known your whole life, ever again!"

He was yelling now, striding toward me with such angry force that I couldn't help but back in. "Calm down," I told him, holding up my hands in surrender. "That's not it, Fang. Calm down!"

He grabbed me by my shoulders and pushed me against the wall. I was unable to move, even though we had been an even match in our fight before. I grunted and turned my head, looking at him from the corner of my eye. He was staring at me with such hatred and insanity that I almost felt guilty.

"FANG!" Max screamed. Suddenly, I saw her body begin to shake and her eyes scrunched up in pain.

"Fang!" I muttered, looking at him. Max's fists were clenched and I could see something was very, very wrong. "Fang!" I yelled, finally able to push him away. I sprinted across the cave and grabbed Katara by her arm. "Let her go!" She looked over at Fang, who nodded. She retracted the water from Max and let it splash back into her pouch.

Max fell to the ground, spasms running through her body. She was crying and moaning, like her body was revolting against her. "Stop, please," she begged quietly to no one. Pain contorted her face and I knelt down beside her, terror running through my body and making me feel useless.

"Max, what's wrong? Please, talk to me!" I said, pushing her hair back from her slick, wet forehead.

"This is all your fault!" Fang cried, leaning over me. I turned and saw Angel bury her head into Gazzy's shoulder, her face a mask of fear and sadness. "I knew we shouldn't have trusted you since the moment you came flying into our lives!"

"Will you stop thinking about yourself for one minute!" I stood up and yelled, pushing him away from me. "If you were smart you'd see that Max is in pain right now! If you really loved her, like you claim you do, you'd see that!" I could tell he understood but I didn't back down. "Yes, maybe you were right about me! But if it wasn't for me, Max would be dead right now! I brought Katara here and she healed Max! But if you don't let me actually see to Max and stop whining about how horrible I am, that might all be a waste!"

Without waiting for a reaction, I knelt back down to Max and pulled her into my arms. She still shook but it was less now. I wasn't sure if this was good or bad but when I pulled her into my arms, I my hand ran by her chest and I realized her heartbeat was getting weaker and weaker.

"I need to get her down there!" I said, getting an idea. "The white coats are controlling Max somehow. They're hurting her…they hurt her when those wolf things attacked…it wasn't the physical damage. The scientists were hurting her and it wasn't Katara who healed her." I looked at all of them to see if they were following. "Max has something implanted in her…something that's allowing the white coats to hurt her when they want to."

"I've got an idea!" Aang suddenly said. "Follow me!" With that, he shot down the corridor toward the entrance to the cave. After a second of hesitation, I held Max closer and sprinted behind him. I heard Fang restrain Nudge as she tried to run after him.

I caught up with Aang at the mouth of the cave. "Pretend I'm a bird kid. I'll fly down there. They'll assume I have wings and hopefully stop hurting Max." She stirred a little at her name. "I'll take it from there, once she's okay."

I nodded and dove off the cliff, my wings snapping out and slowing my jaw dropping descent. Max groaned again and shushed her quietly. "It's okay," I whispered. "It'll be okay."

We reached the ground behind a large pillar of rock. Suddenly, Nudge landed next to us. "Nudge!" Aang cried, his eyes widening. "What are you doing here?"

"They're going to ask to see your wings! When they do, let me spread mine so it looks like they're those." It was a good plan and I nodded. "Just blow up a lot of dust so they don't see me landing with you." We both nodded and took off from the shadow of the cliff.

We flew close to the ground, dust and dirt blowing up from our updraft and covering our skin. It also created a long trial of dust clouds following us. We stopped beside the truck, billowing clouds of dust flying around us. I knew Aang was helping it along but it looked believable that we'd created them ourselves.

The white coats stood out on the desert floor, guns in their hands. They seemed surprised by the dramatic appearance but didn't sway. "What took you so long?" The first one yelled at us.

"That doesn't matter!" I shouted back, trying to keep my voice even. "We're here now, aren't we? Now stop this! Stop hurting her!" My voice rose at the end and I gestured down at Max, pain in my words. "The rest will come when he gives the signal. Just do it!"

"You're an experiment?" One of the men asked, looking over at Aang. He nodded. These obviously weren't the first generation of scientists because they looked at each other and nodded. "Where are your wings?"

Nudge leaned against Aangs back and spread out her wings, extending them to their full length. The white coats stepped back but nodded at each other. A man near the front of the van walked around to the back and crawled into the trunk.

As soon as it had started, Max's eyes opened and the pain was gone. She blinked slightly and leaned up to my cheek. "What's happening?" She whispered, not showing any sign of surprise.

"Stay calm and play along," I whispered playfully. She smiled but looked back at the white coats.

"Where are the rest of them?" They shouted, cocking their guns threateningly.

I sat Max down on the ground and pretended to be tending to her. Suddenly, without warning, I sent huge flames shooting out, making a large circle around the white coats. They screamed but I didn't let the flames consume them (although I wanted to).

"Go!" I told Aang, Nudge and Max. "I'll follow you in a minute!"

"No you won't," Max stated, knowing me too well. "I'm staying with you." I stared at her but nodded at Nudge and Aang, waiting idly a few feet away.

They flew off back to the cave. I stared back at the flames, burning bright against the blue desert sky. "What are we going to do?" I asked, looking over at her.

"I don't know," she admitted.

The flames, without any fuel to fee them, died down slightly. I could see the white coats now, learned of the fact that the flames won't hurt them. "We'll stop hurting her!" One of them screamed over the roar of fire. My head snapped to the sound. I stared at the man who yelled it. He spoke again. "We'll stop hurting her if you give yourself up!"

Silence passed between us. "Zuko," Max finally whispered. "Zuko, don't even think about it!"

I stared at the fire, not really seeing it. I knew Max would never forgive me if I gave myself up but she would live. But if we ran off together…Max would die. It wasn't worth to have a little time together to see her suffer and leave me.

"We need to go," I said, moving my lips as little as possible. "We need to go, now."

"What?" Max said, not taking her eyes off of me.

I shot around and saw the flying figures getting closer. Turning back to the white coats I realized they knew what was coming. This was an ambush. I should've known; there was no way they could've fit us all in the back of the truck. They didn't mean to take us on by themselves. They had back up. Back up that was flying towards us at fifty miles an hour. Erasers.