Lacking
By xannychan
Disclaimer: Characters belong to Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino.
Short A/N: I've been out for a while, so I decided to post up a small one-shot to let you all know I'm alive and well. A little out of my normal style, so it took some time to write; I came up with the idea a little while back and never actually wrote anything, so here it is. Sorry for the wait.
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"Be strong," he was told, "for the ones you love, for the ones you most desire to protect."
Blood dribbles out of the corner of his father's mouth, down down down onto Jet's face.
His eyes swirling, he looks up into the darkening sky, the darkening eyes, blackness claiming all the world around him in ashes.
"Yes, Father, I will."
And in the darkness, a sea of faces comes, around and around his own, whispering, "Be strong, be strong, be strong…"
And their thousands of hands point down accusing fingers, the wind screaming, "Protect, protect, protect…"
And their blood rains down, onto his face, into his eyes like tears, the fire that burns his world howling, "Loved ones, loved ones, loved ones, they will all die someday."
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Blinding light comes filtering into his eyes. He can't help his first thought:
Holy shit, dying hurts like a bitch…
But he has to thank Long Feng, dirty fuckin' bastard.
"Jet? Holy—Jet, you're alive! Oh crap, he's fuckin' alive! Longshot, Duke, Pipsqueak, everyone, come HERE! He's ALIVE!"
"Are you alright? How do you feel? Did you see the bright light and all that?"
"You're ALIVE!"
"No way, Duke, I just SAID THAT."
Jet proceeds to his second thought:
Well…fuck me, I'm alive.
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Hands reach from the weeping sky above, down down down onto Jet's face. Something brilliant smiles from the sky amidst the howls and screams; a new promise has been made.
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"Be strong," you were told, "for the ones you love, for the ones you most desire to protect."
Be strong to protect loved ones—though, one day, they will all die, just as you will. And when you find that you can no longer be strong, when you are weak and weary and afraid, we will be here, strong and ready to protect you.