Avatar: The Warring Earth
Book One—Fire
By Twins of the Pen
Disclaimer: Avatar in itself belongs to Nickelodeon and Bryan Konietzko/Michael DiMartino. The only things that belong to Twins of the Pen are the original characters.
Syaoran woke when he could no longer ignore the loud hustle and bustle around him. It felt like he had just gone to sleep, and his eyes had to be forced open. Sitting up slowly, he was surprised to find most of the cavern gone, only a few regiments still present.
"Get enough sleep, Avatar?"
He turned to find the lieutenant using her cot to hold up her foot as she pulled on a pair of military grade boots. Much unlike the last he'd seen her, she was dressed in full military garb, and so were many of the AKs moving about the cave.
"Yeah…" he managed to answer. Syaoran didn't bother to ask her the same; he could tell she hadn't by the bags that rested beneath her eyes. "What's going on?"
"We're moving out in twenty minutes. We're taking back Omashu."
Tiki, who had been awake for some time but did not want to get up just yet, sat bolt upright at the news.
"You mean…" she began, her voice rough from sleep and all the wailing she did yesterday, "…we're fighting?"
Tiki did not like this idea in the slightest. The only time she ever permitted herself to fight was when she was backed into a corner by Neo-Equalists. And now they were apparently looking for a fight with all the nonbenders that inhabited Omashu? This plan spelled doom to her. Sure, she had been very gung-ho about fighting with the Resistance when she first arrived with Syaoran, but after the close shave the night before, to say that Tiki was nervous about having to take on the whole capital was quite an understatement.
"What do you think about this, Shun?" Tiki turned to ask, hoping she was not alone in her misgivings—but Shun was not in the cot next to her. In fact, as she turned to look around, she could not see the large waterbender anywhere. "Where did Shun go?"
"I'm right here, Teeks."
Tiki turned around to find Shun behind her in military garb that looked two sizes too small for him. He kept tugging at the neckline at the black t-shirt he wore and looked uncomfortable.
"I needed to change clothes," he replied to her questioning look, "I ripped my shirt yesterday, and one of the more… enthusiastic officers insisted that I be dressed properly so I wouldn't disgrace the name of the Resistance." Shun cringed. How he wished he had time to grab his satchel, or even his beloved motorcycle, which was probably being abused as he thought of her… poor Ai…
Shaking his head, Shun returned his attention to Tiki and Syaoran. "You should start getting ready," he suggested to the two as he strode over to ZanYi, "We only have twenty minutes until deployment, right, Lieutenant?"
Shun's joking smile faded when he noticed the bags under ZanYi's eyes.
"Rough night?" he asked in an undertone. He hoped she would be up to the monumental task they were trying to accomplish today. The burden of victory did lie most heavily on her shoulders, after all.
"Not rough, just long," the lieutenant responded, just as hushed. She paused in her movements to give him a mirthful look. "Nice outfit, Big Guy," she scoffed with a smirk. Finishing lacing up her boots, ZanYi stood upright and looked over the confused Syaoran and panicked Tiki. "You are not required to fight if you do not wish. However, you are required to still come along the AKs and myself. That much is for your own safety."
Syaoran took a deep breath, and seeing as how ZanYi and Shun seemed prepared to fight, it gave him a bit of incentive. "No, I'll fight," he complied, rising from his cot. He looked at ZanYi with a determined glaze. "I may not be a great firebender yet, but I can at least earthbend."
ZanYi nodded to him, pleased. "You will still have to stick close to me," she told him, warning him. "You and Tiki get dressed and prepare yourselves the best you can. We have the most important role today and I will not stand for failure."
As she walked away to secure the rest of her unit, Syaoran stood to find a pair of fresh clothes at the foot of the cot. "I'm going to go changed real fast," he told Shun and Tiki, grabbing the clothes and running off down to one of the tunnels.
Tiki watched him go, and then turned her troubled gray eyes onto Shun.
"When was this decided? Did I sleep through the whole debate?"
Shun shrugged. "All I know is that when I woke up this morning, half the base was gone. Apparently this decision was made the night before, since all the waterbenders are gone," he explained. Tiki groaned and sank back down onto her cot, her head in her hands.
"I don't know if I can do this," she whispered to her fingers. Though the little airbender was relieved to hear that she did not have to fight, once caught in the fray, would she have a choice? Could she really cower behind others as they fought for Omashu—for their lives?
Something heavy dropped down on Tiki's head, and she looked up in surprise: Shun was standing over her, his hand outstretched over her head, where he had dropped his too small military jacket onto her head. Now that the jacket was out of the way, Tiki could tell just how tightly that t-shirt was fitting on Shun. He gave her an encouraging grin when she raised her eyes to his.
"Now what kind of attitude is that?" Shun asked, kneeling down so that he was only towering over Tiki by a couple inches. "Where is the Tiki who's always smiling and manages to make a joke out of anything? Where's the Tiki that's always bursting with energy and wants to be involved with everything? Where's the Tiki we all know and love?"
Tiki frowned at the large waterbender. His words were sweet, but some of them rang insincere. "I get on everyone's nerves," she pointed out in a rare moment of honesty. Shun could not help but laugh at this.
"Maybe so, but the way you're always cheerful makes it impossible to hate you, Teeks," he assured her, ruffling her hair with the jacket on her head. "Come on, give me a smile."
Slowly, Tiki gave Shun a tremulous smile, which he returned ten-fold.
"That's my girl. Now go get dressed. Whatever happens today, I promise to protect you."
"Cross your heart?"
Shun drew his index finger across his chest, making an X over his heart. "Waterbender's honor," he promised her with a grin. Tiki returned the grin, gave Shun a hug, and then dashed off with her spare clothes in hand to change. Sitting down on the cot she just vacated, Shun reached over and scratched a still-slumbering Lili behind the ears.
"She'll be all right, won't she, Lili?" Shun asked the lemur softly. The sudden lack of confidence in the little airbender worried him, but he hoped that she would not be disheartened further by today's battle. It would be a long and hard one, so Tiki could not afford to be down on herself. None of them could.
Syaoran walked up to the large man, freshly clothed. "Who are you talking about, Shun?" he asked, zipping up his military jacket as he did so. Tiki was missing, so he assumed that she was going to change as well. If they had any clothes to fit a girl as tiny as her, it was going to be a miracle. After all, it was quite apparent they held no clothes for a man the size of Shun.
"I'm sure the lieutenant will be just fine. She's the lieutenant," Syaoran repeated, as if her title was any inclination of what that meant. He looked to the lemur Shun was petting and thought of the other girl in their group. "As for Tiki…"
He was going to say she would be fine, since she was Tiki. But considering the airbender's meltdown the day before, Syaoran could not say so definitively. However, he said with what honesty he could muster, "She will be safe. She's got you, me, and even Lieutenant Tsong won't let something happen to her."
His eyes drifted to the lieutenant, who was rushing amongst the AKs and ordering them about. ZanYi would not let anything happen to him; he was also the Avatar. But Tiki was part of Team Avatar, and therefore under the same rights, as far he considered it. Syaoran tightened the boots he was given, securing them tightly. "Tiki will be safe."
Shun smiled at the Avatar's reassurances.
"Yeah. I guess it makes no sense to worry. It is Tiki, after all," he agreed, voicing Syaoran's unspoken thoughts out loud. He followed Syaoran's gaze and spotted ZanYi, appearing as if she were in her element as she gave commands to her soldiers. His smile widening, Shun turned back to adjust his ponytail.
"ZanYi's quite remarkable herself, as you've already noticed," Shun said, a wickedly playful note in his tone as he grinned at the Avatar. If Syaoran had understood what Shun was indicating, he never got the chance to reply: Tiki had popped up again.
"TA-DAH!" he reinvigorated airbender sang, presenting herself with a fantastic pose. "What do you think?"
Shun gaped. Tiki, it appeared, had chosen to opt out of the standard issue military outfit both he and Syaoran donned, in favor of what appeared to be a makeshift Chinese style mini dress created out of the jacket Shun had discarded. She gave a twirl, her twin tails whipping at the air.
"Isn't it cute? I thought the pants, jacket and t-shirt ensemble was too boring: everyone's wearing them, and they all look too much alike! So I thought I'd add a little pizzazz to—hey, what's so funny?" Tiki ranted at Shun, who had burst into laughter.
"Oh, nothing," he finally gasped, a wide grin spread across his face as he ruffled Tiki's hair. "It's just good to have the old Tiki back."
Tiki stuck her tongue out at him and turned to Syaoran. "What do you think, Syaoran? I can make you one, if you want!"
This suggestion made Shun laugh so hard he almost fell off of Tiki's cot. Lili awoke with a shriek and flew off to perch on her master's head, throwing the highly amused Shun indignant looks.
Syaoran just looked at her, marveled at levels of outrageousness that the airbender constantly achieved. They were about to be a part of a take-over plan, and she was worried about making a fashion statement. He slapped a hand against his forehead. "Yes, Tiki is going to be just fine," he muttered under his breath. To her, he said, "I'm going to pass, though if you want to make one big enough for Shun, I'm sure he'd appreciate it."
He looked away from his two comrades as the lieutenant started to stride over. As Shun had said, she was remarkable. Syaoran thought that was a given. What he was implying by that, he was not entirely sure. But her air of confidence as she walked over was enough to stop his thinking and hone in only on her.
"Are we good to leave over here?" she asked, looking at each of them singularly. "We're ready for deployment, and the sooner we get a move on, the better it is for everyone already out there fighting."
Syaoran nodded, and ZanYi appreciated the acknowledgment, though she did find the look he was giving her a bit odd. She turned to Tiki as she pranced about in her non-military attire and gave her a look that expressed how bizarre she thought the child was. So instead, she said nothing to the airbender and looked finally at Shun. "You ready to get going?"
Finally sobering up—though there was still a grin on his face—the large waterbender stood up and saluted ZanYi.
"Yes ma'am, Lieutenant," he replied at once, making sure his full canteen was strapped tightly to him.
"I'm ready to go too!" Tiki chimed in, pushing herself in between Shun and Syaoran to be acknowledged. "And I'm keeping a firm grip on Lili this time. They won't be able to get away with the same stunt twice!"
Indeed, Tiki had made sure Lili would not stray from her by tying the unfortunate lemur to her waist with one of the arms of the jacket-dress she wore. Lili did not look pleased with this turn of events. Lastly, Tiki grabbed her jacket glider and secured the sleeves around her neck.
"Let's do this," she said, small face set with determination. No matter what happened today, Tiki was going to make sure that she harbored no regrets after the battle.
Assured that the team was ready to go, ZanYi acknowledged all of them and registered each of their reactions. Shun seemed pleasant, but she noticed his secure hold on his canteen of water. Tiki was perky and exuberant, but even she held determination in her gaze. It was the lighter version of the set on Syaoran's face. Either way, whether they fully realized the gravity of the situation, they were as ready as they were going to be.
"Everyone!" she beckoned, and the room fell silent, all eyes upon her. Syaoran looked around the room and noticed the grave set on each of their faces as they looked to the lieutenant. They were full of determination, full of respect, pride, fire. ZanYi had told him he had to stop thinking like an earthbender and more like a firebender. He was starting to understand more and more what that meant.
"This is our time!" ZanYi continued, her voice echoing through the cavern, firm and strong. "Omashu was founded by the benders, but we have been outlawed within our own homes! Today is the first step to reclaiming our rights! We are going to take back this city!"
Her soldiers cheered in agreement, but Syaoran found himself silent. The words may not have been profound, but there was fire in her voice, passion and conviction. There was heart. And it resonated within everyone in the room. Syaoran could feel the heat rise within him and almost feel the flames dance between his fingertips. Is this what it meant to be a firebender?
His eyes only fell on ZanYi. Remarkable, indeed she was. "Now," the lieutenant continued, "let's move out!"
Silence. That was all Team Avatar could hear as they strode in the midst of the AKs through the Omashu palace. Truly, it was grandeur, though like stepping into the past. It was richly furnished and decoratively green. But that didn't erase the dirty footsteps everywhere, the war-scarred walls, the high pillars cracked and burnt.
The palace seemed deserted: since their easy infiltration that was much too easy, they had not seen a soul. Shun was tensed, his eyes searching for any quick movements and ears straining to hear any stealthy approaches by enemies, but unless both his eyes and ears were failing him, there was no one around. This fact did not assure him; it put him on a sharper edge than the one he was already occupying when they left.
"Something isn't right…" he mumbled from ZanYi's left. Where were all the Neo-Equalists? Why did they not emerge to defend the palace? Were they that self-assured that the palace was in so strong a grip that no one could liberate it? Or was Team Avatar and the AKs headed straight for a trap?
Tiki didn't like the odd silence either. She kept glancing around, as if expecting the Boogey Man to pop out and scare they daylights out of her. She stayed close to Syaoran and managed to resist the urge to cling onto the sleeve of his jacket like a child; if she was to be taken seriously, she would have to behave her age… at least for right now.
Every now and then, the little airbender would sneak a guilty glance down at her restrained lemur that, once it appeared her patience ran out, had begun shrieking quite loudly for her release. It was with chagrin that Tiki gagged Lili with a spare ribbon, and the lemur kept giving her master disgruntled looks, as if protesting the injustice of the situation.
"Where is everyone…?" she could not help but ask Syaoran, looking nervous as her eyes darted about. This unnatural silence was ominous, and it made her skin crawl. What was waiting for them just around the corner, she wondered?
Syaoran was as tense as Tiki. So far, everything had gone off without a hitch. They'd made it quietly through the tunnels, into the city, and infiltrated the palace. And yet, as key a component as the landmark was, there was no resistance whatsoever. "I don't know, Tiki," he answered honestly, keeping his voice low, as if anything louder would bring havoc raining down on them.
Everyone around them was tense, their footsteps light as could be on the soiled, expensive carpets. ZanYi could feel it in the air. She did not need Shun's words to know that. Her golden eyes surveyed the grand surroundings. "There's no way they moved all of the troops to the front," she muttered to herself. That meant someone had to have been left to guard the palace.
With quiet, swift hand gestures, she split her troops in two opposite directions to surround the area and check it room by room. Team Avatar and a select number stayed with ZanYi. Coming up on the throne room, she halted them. Gesturing to the AKs again, they parted the doors and ZanYi lead the soldiers in, guard up.
And for good measure. Because that was when enemy soldiers finally came into sight—right before the bomb went off at their feet.
Shun's eyes widened. He had been half a step behind ZanYi, and was therefore blasted back along with her and a couple of the AKs. Ignoring the screaming pain of his flesh, Shun reached out and grabbed ZanYi, pulling her into the shelter of his arms before they hit the wall opposite the entrance of the throne room. Shun, who had only been concerned about ZanYi's safety at the time, absorbed the full brunt of the impact in the worst way possible: his head cracked against the stone of the hall very hard. Shun saw a fleeting image of the rest of the AKs rushing in to engage Neo-Equalists in combat before everything went dark.
"SHUN!" Tiki screamed, looking frightened as the large waterbender's eyes rolled back into his head, which lolled to the side. But Tiki had no time to check on whether he was unconscious or worse: a Neo-Equalist headed straight for her, striking swiftly and determinedly. Tiki's reflexes reacted; she jumped up into the air, landed hard on the enemy's head, forcing him into the ground, and flipped gracefully over his fallen body, landing on her feet.
Anger was overtaking her fear now. Seeing Shun being taken out by such an underhanded trick fueled her indignation, and she threw herself into the midst of the battle, blasting air attacks at their enemies and avoiding being blocked and captured with flips and kicks.
'You've got this, Tiki,' the little airbender assured herself as she ducked low and tripped up another enemy soldier, 'You've always been good at this game. This is just a bigger version of Keep-Away, and you're still it… along with a dozen other people. I hope Syaoran's doing okay.'
Tiki could not look around for the Avatar to assuage her fears: if she lost focus for one second during this game, someone would get hurt… and that someone would most likely be her.
ZanYi felt herself cut from shrapnel, but it could have been so much worse. "Shun!" she called out to the man, feeling his grasp fall limp. She saw his eyes roll back and his eyes close softly. The lieutenant checked quickly to his neck, and, finding him still breathing, she exhaled. As long as he was alive. Now to focus on other things.
Finding Tiki standing on her own, she looked for the other member of their smaller group. And soon she found the earthbender. Or more like, he found her. She felt the floor beneath her shake and move. Syaoran uprooted a slab of tile to create a wall against the oncoming soldiers. "Lieutenant!" he cried out, seeing her at Shun's side.
"He's out cold, but he's okay!" she called out. Quickly rising to her feet, she flew some fire discs past him, burning a Neo-Equalist coming up on his side. Speaking into her communication unit, she ordered, "All AKs, report to the throne room! We have an ambush!"
"What do we do?" Syaoran shouted down to her, watching as ZanYi quickly moved to stand next to him.
Her golden eyes were serious as they grazed him. "Build up a wall to protect Shun while he's out," she ordered him, and Syaoran did as such. "Now, keep track of Tiki and watch her back. I'll take the soldiers."
As ZanYi leapt back into the fray, Syaoran found Tiki flipping all over the place. And if there was one thing he learned, it was to obey orders. So he ran over to join her. With a firm stomp, he raised a wall in the face of some of her offenders, keeping them at bay. "I've got you, Tiki!"
Tiki was grateful for the sudden emergence of stone in between her and her attackers. She turned back to thank Syaoran when she noticed the Neo-Equalist creeping up behind him.
"Oh no you don't!" she spat, jumping up over Syaoran and using his shoulders as a push off as she donkey kicked the approaching soldier in the face. Blood gushed from his broken nose as he lay moaning on the ground. Tiki shot the Avatar a grin and a thumbs-up over her shoulder. "And I've got you, Syaoran!"
They worked that way, back-to-back, taking out any soldiers that were foolish enough to cross their paths. Though the elements the commanded were as different as night and day, they were able to make up for each other's weaknesses as well as play up each other's strengths. It was a surprisingly effective combination.
"Is Shun all right?" Tiki had to ask as she kicked a chi blocker in his privates, her kitty grin on full display as he went down with a moan. She had noticed that there was a large stone wall concealing the giant waterbender from view, and hoped fervently that it was to keep him from further harm rather than from a desire to preserve his body.
Earthbending a few stones at the guts of some Neo-Equalists, Syaoran managed to grunt a reply to his combat partner. "Shun's going to be fine," he relayed, turning to kick back another soldier. "Lieutenant says he's out cold, but he's okay."
And while fighting with Tiki was somehow extremely effective, it made his eyes drift away. Fire was everywhere, the Agni-Kais doing their best to repel the enemy. And more were flooding into the room, the rest of the unit now serving as their reinforcements. By numbers, they were doing well. But he couldn't find what he was looking for.
Until, out of the corner of his eye, Syaoran saw blue flames erupt in a wave against several soldiers. That's when he found ZanYi. She was fighting at her utmost best, whirling like a tornado of fire. The Neo-Equalists around her went down one after another in quick succession.
It was then she found the man responsible for this attack standing at the top of the steps by the throne. He was a middle-aged man, his mustache frowning just as much as his grim and scarred face was. With a strong leap, ZanYi struck a fiery drop kick down upon him. Despite his age, he jumped back quickly. From there it was a battle of blows, narrowly avoiding each other as they danced amongst the chaos.
After knocking down another enemy solider at Tiki's back, he turned to find another coming up behind ZanYi with what resembled a hippo cow prod. This stick, however, was surging with lightning. "Lieutenant!" he called out to warn her. That was when the incredible happened, or at least it seemed so to him.
ZanYi turned as the electricity jabbed her side and coursed through her violently. With strain, her hand gripped the prod, her teeth grit, and she pointed her other hand to the foreign leader. The full force of the lightning zapped him hard and back into the wall. Giving a solid fire blast to her assailant, ZanYi sprinted over to the fallen man.
Lifting him up, she slammed him against the wall, holding him up with one hand and blue flames engulfing her pulled back fist. "Tell them to stand down," she demanded, looking deadly into his eyes.
Doing well under the circumstances, the man merely stared straight at her, trying to control the rising anxiety in him. "We will never give in to your bullying!" he told her. ZanYi frowned.
"Take away our rights and we're the bullies. Right. Tell your men to stand down or I will show you bullying."
The general opened his mouth—to hurl more abuse, by the looks of his expression—when something quite unexpected happened.
The walls of the throne room had been greatly weakened by the battle, so as they began to crumble, so too did the water pipes built just beyond the walls. With a great groan that reverberated through the room, the big pipes burst, pooling water rapidly into the room. It was then, in the confusion, that a rapid chill spread through the air. Before anyone knew it, the water soaking the floor had turned to ice. Combatants both friend and foe alike were either trapped or slipped on the treacherous new flooring, but this soon became no problem for the AKs, who promptly freed themselves from the icy prisons and leaving their foes to their fates.
Shun was striding through the room, perfectly at ease on the icy floor, but wobbling a little from his recent head injury. His ponytail had come undone, and his long brown hair fell around his shoulders, soaked with blood. A steady stream of blood was pouring down the left side of his face as well, but Shun just blinked it away, hardly seeming to notice. Tiki stared open-mouthed at him as he made his way over to where she and Syaoran stood frozen, consenting to return the ice that encased their feet and shins back into water.
"Shun, you're bleeding!" Tiki burst out once she was free, eying the large waterbender with great concern. "You should hurry up and heal yourself!"
Shun gave the little airbender a faint smile and a pat on the head, but otherwise did not acknowledge her. He passed by ZanYi and the enemy leader and headed straight for the throne, sinking down onto it as if he belonged there. He propped his throbbing head up on his fist and eyed the general as if he were an interesting television show.
"Not to steal your thunder," Shun smiled at his feeble joke, "but his men are taken care of, ZanYi. Maybe you should try getting some useful information out of him instead."
The back of his head throbbed in agony, but he made an enormous effort to ignore it. His head would have to be dealt with later; there were more important issues at hand.
Syaoran could only stare at the amount of effort Shun was exerting. He had gotten blown up, knocked out, and was bleeding from a head wound as he froze the entire enemy regiment and managed to save the day. If he did not think so before, between the lieutenant and Shun alone, they were in very safe hands.
All he could say to Tiki was, "I told you he'd be okay." It was as he walked over towards them that he heard his teacher.
"Syaoran, mind giving me some shackles?" ZanYi suggested. Obediently, the earthbender raised some fallen stones, morphing them to manacle the general to the wall. At last, ZanYi could drop her hand from holding the man, if only to set both fists ablaze. "Well, looks like we've got our pest problem squared away."
"You all are the pests!" he exerted, thrashing violently against the wall, but to no avail. Syaoran grimaced as the man shot a look so vile towards him. Even in the encampments, normally the looks were of mockery, not of such pure hatred. It made him broil and revolt a little inside.
Exhausting one hand, ZanYi backhanded the man without a flinch, the sound echoing louder then the booted footsteps of her soldiers gathering. "Enough with your crap," she cut him off, precise with her words. "You're going to tell me what I want to know."
"And why would I do that? I'm no traitor!" the foe barked again, spitting into her face. Her face riled in revulsion and there was a synchronous flurry of fireballs—courtesy of very loyal AKs—that attacked and marked around his head, the heat almost singing him. The lieutenant simply wiped away the spit as she glowered at him, and Syaoran found it surprising that she had not blown off his head yet.
"You're going to tell me what I want to know," she continued, as if nothing had even happened, "because that's the difference between you becoming a prisoner-of-war and having a chance return home after this war or becoming fresh barbeque right now."
The man looked from the blue fire that fluttered between her fingers and the armed fists of the Agni-Kais surrounding them. He stared at the lieutenant, but he said nothing, ceasing to run his mouth. ZanYi took this as a sign to continue.
"Tell me: who is the leader of your forces?"
Syaoran found that to be a simple question, but then he realized he knew not the answer. No one ever mentioned the leader of the nonbender forces. There was no public figure, like the Avatar to the benders, or, generations back, Amon of the nonbenders. There was nothing. And his father had always told him once a name can be put to something, there was no longer anything to fear.
The leader seemed to weigh his options before answering, eying Shun, Syaoran, Tiki, ZanYi, and each and every AK in the room. "And if I answer," he started slowly, looking only to ZanYi, "I will not be killed on the spot?"
"You will not, unless you lie to me."
This seemed satisfactory to him because then his shoulders dropped a bit. "No one knows his name," he said, and his eyes widened as the flames grew around ZanYi's fists.
"That's not good enough."
"Wait!" he halted her, watching as ZanYi pulled a fist back. "No one knows his real name. But we call him WeiTai."
WeiTai? Tiki had never heard of such a name. It sounded like a name a formidable man would have, though…
Shun got to his feet with some difficulty; he stumbled a little, but managed to make his way over to ZanYi's side. He watched as the leader's eyes widened as he took in the large waterbender's full height. Sometimes it was good to be a giant.
"Think he's telling the truth?" he asked ZanYi, his eyes never leaving the man's face. ZanYi had threatened the man that she would show no mercy if he lied to her. In the dimness of his concussed mind, Shun wondered if she had some internal radar that allowed her to sense when others were not being truthful with her.
ZanYi's gaze filtered over the soldier's expression, his eyes, his body tension. She saw it all, absorbed it, and mulled over it. "I do," she told Shun, never leaving the eyes of their captive. ZanYi exhausted her hand and stepped back. Smirking, she added, "And if not, we'll find out soon enough."
Nodding to her soldiers, ZanYi allowed them to rush forward and break the stone manacles, only to cuff him themselves. "Take him and the others away to be shipped off to the POW camp," she ordered, and they did just that. The Agni-Kais scattered to obey their lieutenant's demands and she then turned to Shun, frowning. "You need to get checked out," ZanYi told him, eying his head wound.
Syaoran watched as she tugged the large man back over to the throne and gently shoved him back in the seat. He walked over to join them as the lieutenant sat herself on the arm of the throne, peering closely at Shun. The earthbender watched with the mild thought that Shun was a bit lucky. Then he was reminded that Shun got injured saving her from a bomb and of course deserved the uncharacteristic soft touch.
"How's it look?" he asked, coming closer to the pair. He knew Tiki was fine, as he'd had her back the entire fight. Neither of them were worse for wear. Jade green eyes of his scanned over the lieutenant, seeing the bits of blood that leaked through her jacket. "You should probably get checked out too, Lieutenant Tsong," Syaoran suggested.
However, the woman waved him off, gaze never leaving Shun's head. "Shrapnel can be dealt with later," she told him. Her hand moved to gently brush back some of Shun's fallen locks behind his ear, giving her a better view of the head injury. Syaoran found his stomach run foul at the sight of so much blood, but he could not bear to look away. A part of him supposed he should get used to it.
"This is Lieutenant Tsong," he heard her start speaking into her comm, still looking at Shun's injury intently. "The AKs have secured the palace. I repeat, we have secured the palace. POWs being sent your way and requesting a healer, stat. We've got a head injury in response to a bomb."
ZanYi undid her jacket, only to tear off a scrap of her underlying tee. With the shred of fabric, she gently applied it to Shun's head, doing her utmost best not to give him more pressure and pain than the wound required. "We need to get it to start clotting, unless you feel you're up to being able to heal yourself sufficiently," ZanYi told him, looking then to meet Shun's oceanic eyes.
"Mmm," Shun could only hum, his eyes glazing over. He was fighting to stay conscious, but the idea of sleep was so inviting, now that the fight was over… He blinked, attempting to focus on ZanYi. She looked troubled.
"Sorry to be so much trouble," he apologized meekly with an even meeker smile. They really should be celebrating their victory right now. If only he had absorbed the impact of the wall properly…
Another face appeared over ZanYi's shoulder; now Tiki was giving him an exaggerated look to the one ZanYi already wore.
"You're not allowed to die on us, Shun!" she declared, her voice fierce and scared. Shun couldn't help but chuckle a little.
"I'm not dying, Teeks," he assured the little airbender, "the room's just spinning a little… hey, since when have there been four of you, Teeks?"
Tiki looked alarmed for a brief moment before Shun laughed again.
"I'm only joking, Teeks, relax… I only see two of you…"
Tiki scowled now, not appreciating Shun's jokes. "That isn't funny," she informed him as she crossed her arms and glared at him. Shun's grin turned sheepish.
"Sorry, sorry," he apologized again, "I'm only trying to keep myself awake. It's bad for people with concussions to sleep, you know…"
Worried again, Tiki said, "Then I'll sing a song to help you stay awake!" With a slight clearing of her throat, the little airbender opened her mouth wide and began to sing in a loud, off-key voice, "I know a song that gets on EVERYBODY'S nerves! EVERBODY'S nerves! EVERBODY'S nerves! I know a song that gets on EVERYBODY'S nerves, and THIS is how it goes!"
Tiki drew another deep breath and repeated the refrain—or the whole, as it were—of the song, causing Shun to cringe. It was definitely certain that he could not fall asleep now, not with Tiki's obnoxious singing filling the chamber.
It took all of ZanYi's military discipline not to strike the small airbender where she sang. The last time she had heard such an awful sound was when one of her soldiers had gotten drunk and tried yodeling. So she grit her teeth, keeping focused on keeping the scrap of fabric on Shun's wound. She could feel the blood start to soak through and her eyes flickered to Shun's cringing face. It was uncertain whether it was the wound or Tiki's singing that was responsible.
Syaoran was guessing the singing. He had clapped his hands over his ears as the painful voice started to shriek. Yet, it still was not enough. And the Avatar did not have the abounding patience that Shun had or the self-control of his teacher. Coming up behind Tiki, he wrapped one arm around her to hold her down and put the other hand on her mouth, effectively silencing her. "Shun already got blown up," Syaoran chastised with a roll of his eyes. "He doesn't need to go deaf as well."
Tiki glared up at Syaoran as she struggled against his grip.
"Hrrm mrrrm!" was what was heard, by which Tiki meant, "How rude!" Her parents always assured her that she was a wonderful singer! Maybe Syaoran and ZanYi just could not appreciate her brand of talent?
ZanYi's muscles loosened a bit as Syaoran took care of Tiki's singing. "Thank-you," she told him, and Syaoran gave her a thumbs-up before she turned back to Shun. "The rest of us don't want to go deaf," ZanYi told him as she applied a bit more pressure to the wound regrettably, "so you're just going to have to keep talking to me, okay, Shun? Just stay with me."
The lieutenant put a hand to her earpiece, listening intentionally and purposefully to whatever was being said to her. It was with a nod that she yanked it out of her ear, letting it drop to hang around her neck. "They're sending a healer up to us. Sikka will be here soon, and she's the best we have aside from you." ZanYi took a deep breath, a small curl to the corner of her lips. "They were successful on the mountain as well. We've officially taken back Omashu."
Shun let out a comforted sigh. They had taken back the city of Omashu. It was a glorious day to be alive, even if the room was tilted peculiarly in his vision.
"That's great," he enthused with a grin, "I would have hated to have my skull cracked open in vain."
There were a pair of swift footsteps echoing down the hall towards the throne room, and a minute later, Sikka appeared, slightly out of breath. As she entered the room, her eyes searched for the injured person, and once they alighted on Shun, they widened.
"You were hurt?" she asked, incredulous. Shun spared her a sheepish grin.
"I know. Ironic, isn't it?"
"Very. Thank you, Lieutenant Tsong. I'll take it from here," Sikka assured ZanYi, removing the bloodied strip she held to Shun's head wound. Sikka had seen plenty worse in her line of work, but a small hiss still escaped her at the sight. "What in the world did you do?"
"I had a slight disagreement with one of the walls," Shun replied dryly. Sikka shook her head, but was smiling. Drawing water from the sack she carried everywhere, Sikka set to work closing the wound on Shun's head. As an added service, she managed to wash out most of the blood from his hair. "There we go. Feel better?"
The pain in Shun's head lessened, and he felt less dizzy. The large waterbender sighed in relief. "Much better," he agreed, looking up and giving a grateful smile to Sikka. "Thank you, Sikka."
The waterbending woman became rather pink in the face, and she dropped her gaze from him to look at her shoes. "No problem," she mumbled. Shun raised an eyebrow at Sikka's sudden change in behavior. She looked embarrassed, but as to why he could not fathom. Perhaps she was not used to being gratified for her healing skills?
Sikka quickly snapped out of it, however, and was all business once again a moment later. "Are there any more injuries that need attending to before I return?" she asked, critical eyes roving over the other three.
When her gaze reached Syaoran and Tiki, Syaoran replied for the both of them. "We're good," he assured her. His clothes were tattered and he was dirty, but that kind of came with the territory of being an earthbender. Syaoran leaned to look over Tiki, to verify her assumed state. He found her just like him and Syaoran nodded. "Yeah, we're okay," he said again.
But then his eyes drifted over to the lieutenant, still perched next to Shun and snickering. ZanYi found it amusing as to how Sikka had reacted to Shun's manners, musing as to how Ransik would react if he found out. However, her thoughts were cut short when Syaoran called her out. "But I think the lieutenant had a run-in with some shrapnel."
Sikka whirled to look over at ZanYi, scrutiny in her eyes. Then her gaze noticed the same blood spots that Syaoran had noticed and she frowned at the lieutenant. "Take off your jacket," the healer demanded instantly, marching over to the firebender in a motherly fashion. ZanYi groaned, but heeded the woman's demands, shooting a dirty look at Syaoran as she did so. Her arms were impeccably cut up by foreign objects, a singed burn on her side from the electrical prod. "Just what happened to you two?" Sikka asked, looking back to Shun before further analyzing ZanYi.
"We got blown up. Bomb." And ZanYi cursed herself for it. She knew something was wrong, and she'd walked them right into a bomb. Thankfully not many of her other AKs had been injured by that, since she and Shun had been at the head, but that did not excuse her actions.
Sikka took a deep breath before setting to work on the lieutenant, lips tight. "You know this is going to hurt when I pull these out?" she asked ZanYi.
"We've gone over this quite a few times, Sikka. You know how much I love shrapnel," the lieutenant quipped, entirely not looking forward to the next few minutes. It was sad to say that this had happened enough times that ZanYi was at least getting used to the fact that it was going to hurt. However, that did not make the pain any easier to bear.
Syaoran watched ZanYi's face scrunch up and her teeth grit impossibly tight as Sikka began to use her water and tug out the shrapnel from her skin as she healed each wound, drying and cleaning the blood. It then became no wonder why she'd given Syaoran such a look before; it was quite clear how much the lieutenant did not love shrapnel.
"I'm glad we didn't get hit by the bomb right about now," he muttered to Tiki. It looked downright painful between their two companions.
"Poor ZanYi," Tiki whispered back after managing to pull Syaoran's hand from her mouth. The lieutenant was, hands down, the toughest woman Tiki had ever met. But seeing her there, her face twisted in pain as Sikka took painstaking measures to heal her, Tiki could not help but pity ZanYi, just a little bit.
Shun felt even worse than Tiki did. True, he did his best to make sure ZanYi did not come to further harm after being caught by surprise by that bomb, but he had been too late to do anything against to the shrapnel that embedded itself into the lieutenant's skin. The sarcasm in her comment about loving shrapnel was made even more evident by the way she grit her teeth. Shun was very grateful that Sikka was here to heal the lieutenant—he was not sure he could stand to put ZanYi through any more pain.
"Here," the large waterbender found himself saying, reaching over and taking one of ZanYi's hands, his eyes finding hers. "Just squeeze when it hurts."
Shun had discovered this method of comfort when he was younger and his baby sister had to get shots for the first time. She had cried in fear all afternoon, and when the time came, Shun had taken her hand and instructed her to squeeze tight whenever it hurt. His sister clenched his hand tightly until it was over, and then informed him delightedly on their way home from the doctor that it had barely hurt at all. Since then, Shun believed that even a simple thing as holding someone's hand when they were in pain was all they needed to feel just a little bit better.
Sikka quirked a brow. Not many men dared to touch the lieutenant so familiarly, but it seemed that Shun had no qualms about doing so. Just who was this man, and why was he so sweet?
Tiki used Syaoran's hand to muffle her giggling. She had not missed the blush on Sikka's face earlier when Shun had smiled at her, and now he was holding ZanYi's hand. Was he aware of the potential havoc he was wreaking? Probably not, since he was a good-natured guy. But it was still rather amusing to watch.
Syaoran, however, did not find it nearly as amusing. He understood that Shun was trying to placate the lieutenant's pain—which she seemed to be going through a decent deal of. Shun was no doubt a great guy, just trying to help out. The Avatar, however, could only frown a little, disappointed with himself. Syaoran was too hesitant to even try to touch her shoulder, let alone her hand. Shun seemed to have a lot more bravery than he, and as a man, that hit low.
On the other hand, ZanYi managed to glance through her pain at Shun, finding those light blue eyes focused tight on her. She also found his hand around hers to be unnecessary, but at the present moment, she could not find the words to say so, since her teeth were grit tight to keep from crying out.
As Sikka pulled another piece out of her skin, ZanYi found herself gripping the throne arm and Shun's hand quite tight, clenching her eyes shut again. She didn't have the strain in her in that instance to pull away from the waterbender. So instead, she focused all of her effort into staying still so that Sikka could do her job.
Syaoran continued to watch as his teacher battled the pain she felt. Her face was one of concentration, of focus. By the look in her eyes alone, he would have thought she was blasting fireballs at him. "That is one tough woman," he muttered, watching as Sikka pulled out a particularly large scrap out of her arm. ZanYi's mouth opened to cry out, but she bit back quickly, remaining silent.
Eventually Sikka took a deep breath and smiled at her. "Okay, Lieutenant, that's all of the shrapnel," she announced for ZanYi's benefit. "Just got to heal up all of the scarring now."
ZanYi exhaled deeply, taking her time to let the air go slowly. "Aw, and here I thought the shrapnel would visit a bit longer this time," she finally managed to say, only wincing now as Sikka did her job.
"Just be thankful that your brother is not here," Sikka mentioned offhandedly. Her eyes drifted to her and Shun's grasped hands briefly before focusing her gaze back on all of the lieutenant's injuries. "You would think Sergeant Major Tsong had been the one to get hit, the way he acts."
ZanYi pushed through a smirk.
"Isn't that natural for siblings?" Shun suggested lightly as he glanced over at Sikka. "If it was my sister who was hurt, I would be pretty upset too."
Sikka spared him a glance, almost marveling at him. It was becoming clearer and clearer that his heart was just as large as the rest of him. But she almost smirked at the naivety of his words.
"You haven't seen Sergeant Major Tsong upset," she chided, "if you ever do, you'll understand what I'm talking about."
Shun turned a confused expression onto ZanYi. As a big brother himself, Shun could imagine all-too-clearly how he would feel if harm ever came to his little sister, or anyone else in his family, for that matter. But the way Sikka talked about it made it sound like Zaron's grief would be so much worse than any other big brother in the world… maybe it was because his sister was always risking herself as one of the higher officers of the military? Shun supposed Sikka was right: he wouldn't fully understand it unless he saw it for himself.
"Finished," Sikka finally said in satisfaction, and Shun released his hold on ZanYi's hand now that she did not need it anymore.
"Good job," Shun complimented the waterbending woman, viewing her nearly flawless work. Sikka blushed again, but otherwise shook off his compliment.
"I should go and report to Ransik," she said briskly; with a nod to the lieutenant, Sikka exited the throne room. After she was gone, Shun stood up slowly, testing his balance. He was still a bit groggy, but the room stayed where it should, at least. Becoming irritated with the long hair in his face, Shun tore off a piece of cloth from one of the sleeves squeezing his bicep and held the fabric between his teeth as he gathered his wayward hair into his hands.
"Should we be reporting to anyone, Lieutenant?" he asked once he had successfully tied his hair back, looking expectantly to ZanYi for their next instructions.
ZanYi rose to her feet, feeling quite a load better than she had previously. There was no more inhibition to her arms and the pain was almost gone, just a mere tickle in comparison. "We have no one to report to," she told the waterbender. "I will have to send a report in to General Chen by tonight, but you all have no such obligation, so when we return to the camp, you all will be given the rest of the day off to rest." However, she did not mention the most important report she'd have to give: the one to her brother. Sikka was not exaggerating when she had announced his protectiveness.
She moved out to the hall, seeing the morning sun had risen, bringing a clean, new day. It almost felt as if it had brought the victory with it, though that was just poetic thought. ZanYi turned to the trio that was left standing there with her. "Syaoran," she called out, and the young man looked back, waiting on her every word, "If you are feeling rested by the afternoon, then we will continue your training then. There will be no training with the AKs today, in lieu of this morning's combat."
Syaoran was thankful for that, certainly. While his mind was racing ever still from the battle, his eyes were then growing weary, tired. He nodded to her, acknowledging this premise before he followed after her. Turning, he motioned to Tiki. "Let's go," he told her, feeling that if she didn't hurry, the lieutenant would quite accidentally—or perhaps purposefully—leave her behind in the palace.
Tiki hurried to scurry after Syaoran, but not before grabbing Shun's arm and pulling him along after her.
"If you feel dizzy, just let me know, okay?" she assured him, "you can lean on me until we get to base!"
Shun chuckled at this suggestion. "Tiki, if I were to lean on you, I'd squash you flat," he pointed out, popping Tiki's helpful bubble. Before she could pout about it, however, he said, "There is something you can do for me once we get back to the base, though…"
A/N from DJ: Oh dear! What is this favor that Shun is asking? Guess you've got to wait a week xD On another note, thanks again for coming out and reading! Things are moving, developing, and getting messy. Then again, with any Team Avatar, when are things not messy? Now, let us move on out to our shout-outs!
R.A.T.G: Ah ha! Always the first reviewer xD We love responding to our readers, no joke. It's always fun to have feedback and wit~ So ship away, ship away! You must not be dictated what we say! I'm such a rhyme master xD I hope you enjoyed the action again!
Japaneserockerchick: It's okay! Eva and I have been known to avoid our workloads for the sake of writing this, so you're the same as we are! Just don't let it get out of hand like we did sometimes xP Shun has lots of trials ahead of him, I'll give you that. He's trying though! Him and his helpful self~ And again, I shalt not say what is becoming of our characters! xD However, you may ship characters as you please~