(Bloopers) Chapter 60 – The Last Monday of Winter, Part 2

-Boy Leaves Girl-

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar – the Last Airbender

—Nobody Told Me About It!—

(Lin, Zhong, and Yuu had to leave Yoku behind as they escaped their pursuers; only to have the soldiers caught up to them as they reached Lin's ship.)

"There's the ship!" Yuu heaved, pointing at the skiff that was parked on the edge of the beach.

He and the two others had been on the run for approximately an hour after they had to leave Yoku behind. They were tired but they had no time to waste. Led by Yuu, they pushed the vehicle back to the water, leaving a trail on the sandy beach. Just as they got to the water ankle deep, a shout from the beach snapped them of their work.

"You there! Stop!" a uniformed soldier shouted; he was leading a small group of people towards them.

"Get on", Zhong ordered Lin; Lin complied. Yuu drew Petal from his sheath while Zhong readied his Viper on his waist; Lin, however, was stricken by the fact that there were some soldiers who managed to get to them even with Yoku staying behind holding the line. They must be a different group, he frantically convinced himself. There is no way Yoku would lose to anyone, right…?

"Lin, go!" Yuu exclaimed; looking back, he grinned at Lin. "And don't worry about us. Just go and don't look back."

"I'm sorry, guys", Lin choked. He knew he had to go but leaving his friends just like that felt so… wrong.

But there was nothing more he could do; he could only trust. And besides, he had a much much more important thing to do. Steeling his heart against his conscience, Lin set the course away from the shore, leaving his two companions standing between him and the myriad of enemies. And, just as Yuu told him to, he didn't look back…

It felt wrong…

"Oh, and Liiiiinnnn!" Yuu's voice traveled through the distance to his ear. "We'll say goodbye to Oboro for yooooouuu!"

—BOOM—

"What the— Zhong, you idiot! You said that ship has no weapon!"

—The Forgotten—

(General Kargai and his army of a hundred had Piandao, Shin, Ren, and Fat surrounded.)

"You are heavily outnumbered! I have a hundred men on my side and you only have four! Surrender at once!" Kargai spat.

"Hmm, speaking of which, Master", Ren frowned, appeared to be in deep thought. "Didn't you defeat a hundred elite Royal Procession all by yourself five years ago?"

Eh…? Kargai felt a punch on his gut. He had forgotten this fact…

"Right", Shin concurred. "And this is winter too, the season when firebenders are at their weakest."

Oh, right… another jolt on Kargai's gut, this time accompanied by cold sweat and a sudden realization.

"And now, I have both of you on my side, two of my best students", Piandao added proudly. Turning to Kargai, he flashed the dumbstruck general a subtle threatening gaze. "Still think you can take us on?"

And while he and his two students stood tall and proud, basking in a glorified light that was randomly there, Fat was on a dark corner somewhere, sulking…

"Master, what about me?" the butler sniffed. "I'm your student too, right…?"

—The One-Eyed Dragon—

(Midnight, in her room, Young Lady Mai contemplated…)

It was night, midnight. The temperature went down a few degrees since that evening when she finally arrived home, enough to turn her breath into vapor. Rarely did Mai feel so glad being in her boring but properly heated room, that night was one of those rare occasions. She was sitting absentmindedly on her bed, twirling a sharp throwing knives (that she kept hidden from her mom) almost lazily; already in her sleeping robe and her blanket, her usual hair buns untied, her long hair flowed freely over her shoulder. But she couldn't sleep. That afternoon in Piandao's School of Swordsmanship had been the closest she had ever got to a real fight. She had actually spotted the black-hooded figure before anybody did and what had she done about it? She froze…

Why did she freeze? She had had his weapons with her, she was proud of her skill, she knew her skill was for real. She could hit a fly on the wall with one shot of her throwing knife, her ten-shots-ten-hits record still stood unbroken. And when it came to the real fight, she froze!

A rattling sound from one of her opened window snapped her of her thought momentarily. Though it was stormy outside, with wind blowing strong enough to blow a mid-sized child away, she let one of her windows opened. She liked it that way; the cold wind on one side of the room and the warm heater on the other side. She remembered how Ty Lee once mentioned that it was probably one of the reasons why Mai was so cold, because she always had the inclination towards 'cold stuffs' like stormy winds, ice cream, or bathing with cold water in the morning. The fact that she was actually born in winter only reinforced the idea; heck, even Lin thought so when he learnt Mai's birthday from Ty Lee and Azula.

And as she noticed the dark shadow creeping on the corner of her room, she threw her knife without the slightest of hesitation!

—STABBED—

"My eye!"

—Unnecessarily Detailed—

(It was the goodbye, probably the last, between a father and his son… Jiang and Lin.)

"Not even a game before you go?" he offered, patting the folded Pai Sho board on the table.

"I can't, Dad", Lin shook his head. "I have things to do before I go. I'm just here to say goodbye."

"…Son, sit down", Jiang ordered. He looked more solemn.

"Dad, I—"

"No buts. Sit down."

Lin frowned a little at his father before he sat down again. Jiang spent the next few seconds in silence scrutinizing his son, noticing how older and more mature he had become; no longer the snotty ten year old brat who could always made him feel proud and irritated at the same time. No longer his son he had abandoned for ten years, ten years he had been lost forever. And now that he thought he finally got his chance to make up for those lost ten years, ten years that he could never get back, his son was taken away from him. It wasn't fair…

"Son, listen to me", Jiang started, sounded unusually tired. "I know that I have not always been there for you. You had to grow up without knowing how it feels like to be loved by your father and it was all my fault—no, let me finish!"

Lin closed his mouth, respecting his father's order. Jiang continued.

"And just when I thought I could make up for it, you have to leave", Jiang sighed. "You don't know how sorry I feel, how useless I think of myself as your father. I cannot protect you from the world anymore, nor have I prepared you enough for it, I am very very sorry, son…"

He waited for Lin's respond but the boy had none to offer.

"The only one you can depend on now is General Iroh", Jiang continued. Was it an angry flame that just passed his son's eyes…? I must be sleepy, Jiang told himself. I'm starting to hallucinate. "I don't know why but I think he's on our side. My father trusts him, my mother did too. Personally, I don't know him very well but I know that I can trust him too. And now, he's the only one with enough power to keep you safe. So, I guess, you should trust him too."

"I do, Dad", Lin replied. Was he growling…?

"Good", Jiang rose from his seat. Towering over his son, he continued more snappishly this time; his resemblance to Jeong Jeong became more pronounced. "Remember your training. It is your greatest weapon against any adversaries you might come across along this path."

Lin got up and bowed, bowed as a student should to his master. Jiang still didn't know about Lin losing his connection to his inner fire…

"Don't forget to brush your teeth every night before going to sleep", Jiang choked. "Don't forget to pray for your mother and grandmother, too."

Lin didn't raise his head, he felt his own tears swelling up on her eyes.

"And if one day you found girls around you suddenly seem so attractive, don't you worry about it. It's normal", Jiang chuckled, turning away so that Lin wouldn't see his tears. "Remember to fight well, live well, go through your teenage years well, and then age well so that you can grow old and go bald well, get sick well, and if you could, die well long after me."

A tear drop fell on the floor below, Lin still didn't look up.

"Don't forget to save some money for your future; you'll need it. And don't spend it carelessly."

"…"

"Stay away from alcohol. Stay away from smoking, too. Don't even touch cactus juice."

"…"

"Stay away from delinquents. Don't join any gangs. Don't dye your hair or change your hairstyle into those weird boar-q-pine hairstyle or something. And don't you dare get any tattoos."

"… *yawned*…"

An hour later…

"—most of all, stay away from easy girls."

"…eh…?"

"And when you get married, don't have a kid until you're thirty, use protection."

"…huh…?"

"Don't worry about it, you'll learn more soon enough."

"Learn what?"

"And remember: I want my first grandchild to be a girl. If it's a boy, that'll mean that your mother won the second round too."

"…what…?"

"And remember, this is important: name her 'Mei Mei'. Send her to college, art faculty should do fine; there's a good prospect for artists in this era", nodded Jiang sagely. "And then, when she turned… I don't know, twenty-something, find a good— son, you're listening?"

"Just kill me…"

—Are you going to do it?—

(Lin was confronting Iroh in his room…)

"I have made my decision, Young Dragon", Iroh said, clenching his jaw. "It is time you do as well."

"Then you live me no choice…"

Lin reached out to Nightshade and with a smooth motion pulled the blade free; Iroh, as impressive as it sounds, remained as calm as before.

"You told me that my dreams and vision are real, that they mean something", said Lin calmly. "I have this vision, General, of her. I saw her happy."

Lin smiled as he replayed the vision he had once had… of a raven haired angel he knew now was Azula running across a white sandy beaches, smiling and laughing, as breeze grazed her hair, the wave swept her feet; saw her kicking the sand, laughing, saw her spreading her arms and closing her eyes, breathing in the warm sea breeze. And it brought inexplicable warmth inside Lin and a smile on his face.

"I know that it is my… destiny to make sure it comes true", Lin, still smiling, brought Nightshade to his own neck; the blade pressing against the skin of his jugular. "I don't know if I can do that if she go through that fall. And if I cannot fulfill this destiny of mine, what other reason do I have to keep on living."

And when someone was holding a sword against his own neck, the first thing to do is to remain calm; and so Iroh did…

"…"

"…"

Fifteen minutes later…

"…"

"…"

An hour later…

"…"

"…"

"… Are you going to do it?"

"You're ruining my dramatic moment."

—The Wrath of a Fire Princess—

(Lin was saying goodbye to Azula…)

It was four in the morning; yep, four in the morning. At least according to Azula's hourglass. Lin crept into the room through the window he pried open with a knife. He tiptoed into the center of the room where a large bed was located, the bed that housed a sleeping princess. Azula was lying on her side; it seemed that she had had a nightmare or something. Her blanket that was a pile of wrinkled cloth after being kicked away, her messy hair that cover her face, her hand that had obviously been gripping the bed cover, and as Lin got closer, he noticed traces of dried tears on her cheek. Poor girl… must be a nightmare. Lin carefully pulled the blanket over her shoulder and softly pulled her hair away from her face. He would do something about the tears but that might wake her up so he didn't. And besides, he didn't want her to be awake; this would be a lot easier if she was asleep.

Lin knelt down and stared at Azula's sleeping face… yeah, she had been crying. He stayed like that for a minute or two before he pulled from his robe, a pouch, and took from it a beaded bracelet; the very same one that he had given to the princess long time ago. He put it on the bed near the princess's hand. He then pulled again from his robe the rose he had, erm… acquired from Lady Wen's room and placed it next to the bracelet.

Lin stared again into Azula's face; she shifted a little but did not wake up. She looked so peaceful and Lin would have done anything to keep it that way. Strange… why did he feel something like this for Azula, like he'd be willing to go to the end of the world just for her. Maybe because they were engaged, although only one of them knew that fact; but, nah… what does a thirteen your old brat like him know about love anyway? And besides, Azula was still nine; that's just… wrong. Because Azula was his student? Yeah, that actually sounded nicer, more decent. But, even so, Lin could not deny that it was more than just that, but he just couldn't put his finger on it.

He sighed, knowing that he could not stay any longer. This would be their goodbye. Not the last goodbye, of course; spirits, no! His duel earlier with Iroh had made him realized something important. First, destiny cannot be changed. And second… well, let's save the second one for later.

"Azula… I—", he started but stopped suddenly, speechless; he didn't know any way to say this nicely. Clearing his throat, he started again. "I… I can't save you, Azula. I'm sorry…"

The princess shifted again and let out a low grunt, still asleep.

"I can't do anything, your uncle can't do anything, either", Lin continued, whispering. "Don't blame him. He cares for you… in his own way. I'm really sorry."

He paused, trying to string words together to express his thought. It is actually harder than we might think, granted that it had been a rough night for Lin.

"I would want nothing more than to take you away from here, away from the Fire Nation, away from the Fire Lord, away from the war… but—", he snickered. "You'd probably kill me before I could even drag you to the front yard."

Azula moved again but still deep in her slumber.

"Listen, Azula", Lin whispered again. "You will rise far above everybody else; I know you will. You will be remembered as many things; as a Fire Princess, as a conqueror, a prodigy… but, sadly, also as a failure. You will rise above the heavens, soar higher and higher like a dragon, so high that when you fall, it will hurt you so much you'll just fall apart. It is understandable; the higher you are, the harder you fall, right?"

Azula did not respond… but Lin knew that had she been awake, she'd have understood.

"But, don't worry", Lin whispered again. "Because when you do fall… I will be there to pick you up."

He leaned closer to the princess and rested his head on the bed, smiling sadly. He knew his smile was sad but, strangely enough, what he felt inside was a certain warmth nobody could associate with sadness. Such is human's emotion: simply incomprehensible.

"I will be there for you at the end, when the whole world is against you, you can always find me standing in front of you, facing the whole world for you", swore Lin. "I promise."

He moved closer and landed a peck on the princess's cheek; it felt warm…

And that was when the groggy amber eyes looked back at him…

"ARRGGH! THIEF!"

"Wh— wait, wait! It's—"

"Take this! Royal Family Secret Firebending Style: Flaming Phoenix Soaring to the Heaven! Hiyah!"

"Argghh! My other eye!"

—Butt-nakedity—

(Morning came in the Lin Family Estate.)

And not so far away from the palace, in the Lin Family's Estate, Jiang was sitting solemnly in his room. He still could not believe it… his son was really gone. He had known that this would happen ever since the boy was recruited into the Secret Royal Squad of Espionage and Assassination. But, never in his wildest dream had he thought that Lin would be taken away this soon.

He glanced at his hourglass; it was already five in the morning yet the sky was still as muddy as it had been last night. Oh well… he shrugged. He got up, grabbed a fresh towel from his wardrobe, and headed to his personal bathroom. He took his bath that morning longer than he usually would; the feeling of water on his skin as he dipped his whole body into the bathtub, it felt somewhat rejuvenating. When he got out, it was almost seven in the morning; the sky was still dark and Young Lady Wen was sitting in his room, eyes baggy and red and she was holding a Lin Family traditional beaded bracelet close to her heart.

Their eyes met… silence ensued between them, broken only by the Young Lady's snigger.

"…You… um, forgot to put your clothes on…"

Author's Note:

Not sure when the next one will come out. Enjoy!