She stumbled several times, her head growing lighter and lighter and her vision becoming blurry. Her heart was still pounding rapidly in her chest, but her body didn't seem to share the same strength or will. She passed by unnoticed along the outskirts until she reached a familiar place, not too far from her home. Her wound fired up with pain again and she fell to the side so she was leaning against the wall of one of the houses and she closed her eyes. "I can't go any further..." she breathed painfully. "Too tired... too tired..."
"You're almost there!" replied Azula's voice somewhere in the depths of her mind. "Zuko and Iroh's apartment it the next building. Hide yourself inside there, and I'll keep you safe, I promise. No one will be able to touch you there." Jin picked her head up lazily and took in a deep breath. Barely having the strength to make it, she stumbled to the next building and found that the front door was locked. "You have to climb through the window, remember?" said Azula.
Jin groaned, knowing this would not help her injuries at all, but made her way to the window she'd snuck in through twice before. Her mind wandered back to her last visit there and she remembered the group of kids trying to rob whatever was in Zuko's room. She could only hope they weren't here again. Gritting her teeth through the pain she forced herself through the window and crashed onto the floor on the other side. She felt her stab wound rip open a little more and gave a cry of pain as new blood began to flow. Slowly, she got up to her feet and looked around.
Zuko's bedroom was right down the hall, and the one place she wanted to be now to claim sanctuary. Everything inside smelled of him and felt like him, so it would be like he was with her until they were finally reunited. She struggled with the door, but once it was open, she flung herself on his bed, not bothering to close the door behind her and shut her eyes as pain over took her body again.
"Hurry... Zuko..." the whispered. "Please hurry"
----
"She went into that apartment!" shouted Mai, running for it, but when she heard the footsteps behind her vanish she turned around. "What are you waiting for?"
Long Feng stepped forward and shook his head. "This is where we leave you now. You're of no further use to us and there's no longer a point in continuing this ridiculous goose chase."
"But-"
"When the Firelord dies what can we possibly gain? And even your family will not be able to give us a... worth while price." Mai stared at him in utter disbelief, but knew there was no time to argue with them.
"Fine!" she shouted. "I'll do this myself then!" And with that, she turned and headed into the apartment.
----
Zuko's eyes suddenly snapped wide and he looked around curiously. "What is it?" asked Katara.
"That voice..." he whispered. "I heard a voice..."
"Great! Jin's been stabbed and vanished, we've got a crazy woman trying to kill us, and now he's hearing voices!" cried Sokka. "Is it too much to as to have something normal happen to our little gang?"
"Would you be quiet?" snapped Katara.
"I know where Jin is!" burst Zuko suddenly. "I know where she went! We've got to hurry"
----
The door slammed shut. Jin's eyes slitted open a little as she picked up her head to see what had happened, and found that the bedroom door had slammed shut. "Stay quiet!" hissed Azula's voice, and Jin's blood ran cold. Mai was coming! She had reached her before Zuko! And now Jin knew she was going to die before Zuko ever saw her again. In her mind, Azula seemed to sense this and quickly said, "Don't you think that for a minute! You're not going to die Jin so don't you dare give up, you hear me?" But Azula's voice was panicked and Jin knew that was not a good sign.
"I know you're here!" shouted a voice from outside. "Whether or not you reveal yourself I'll find you and I swear I'll kill you!" It was Mai, and she sounded angrier than before.
"No you won't!" came a voice, and her heart skipped. It was Zuko.
----
Mai turned to Zuko angrily and the others looked around. "Where's the Dai Li?" asked Aang.
"They must have left her," said Katara.
"Probably got sick of taking orders from a nut job," said Sokka.
"That's not true!" shouted Mai, but Toph smiled.
"She's lying."
"You can't win this," said Zuko darkly. "You know... I pitied you before... but after what you've done... I can't forgive you!" Mai looked dumbfounded but quickly overcame it, firing an army of blue flaming darts at them. They were all deflected and Zuko made to charge at Mai, but stopped when he passed his bedroom door. He could feel something inside... something strong...
Jin made a sudden gasp and fell face forward off the bed, clutching her wound. "I'm... going to die..." she whispered. "...Zuko..."
"JIN!" he screamed, and made a sharp turn for his door, throwing it open and running inside just in time to catch her before she hit the ground. Mai looked inside and saw the two, but before she could reach them, the door slammed shut and would not be opened.
Zuko turned his full attention to Jin as she looked up at him with half-glazed eyes. "Jin!" he cried. "Jin, no! Don't do this! Jin!"
"Zuko..." she whispered and placed a hand on his cheek, giving him a sad smile. "I'm sorry... my love..." Her hand dropped to the floor with a dull but deafening thud, and the world stopped.
"Jin? JIN"
----
Mai tried to open the door, but it would not budge. Aang fire a blast of wind at her, knocking her away and Katara fired shards of ice at her. Mai dodged the attack and shot Katara in the arm with a dark. Katara fell back with a scream and Aang fired up with anger. "Don't touch her!" he shouted angrily, and fired another blast of wind at her, sending her crashing into the wall behind her.
"JIN!!!"
The scream made them all stop and turn to the door. Sokka was the first to run to it and try to open it, but the door would not budge. "It must be locked," he said.
"There's no lock!" pointed out Aang. "Zuko! Are you all right?" There was no answer.
"Something's gone horribly wrong!" cried Katara and she ran to the door, trying it as well but to no avail.
Inside the room Zuko looked up from Jin's face to the door and his heart stopped at what he saw. Azula stood there, holding the door shut, not using much effort it looked like, but it was enough that no one could open that door. No one except for he and Jin.
"I told you, I'm watching out for you," she said softly. Zuko smiled a little and glanced down at Jin again, checking for a pulse.
"She's still alive," he said softly. "But barely. If she doesn't get healed soon she'll die!" He looked up at Azula pleadingly and she frowned.
"I'm doing all I can. And don't underestimate her. Her will to live is strong."
Zuko nodded, but clung to Jin tighter, listening to the battle outside.
----
Mai fired a large blast of uncontrolled blue flames at them and they all scattered to the back of the apartment to avoid getting burned. "She's going for Zuko's door!" shouted Katara. "Zuko! Look out!"
There was a loud blast, and the door was blown away to pieces. Zuko looked up at her and held Jin close and protectively. "If you kill her, you'll have to kill me too!" he warned. Mai looked at him angrily, then raised her hand slowly, blue flames engulfing it. "I'll watch you both burn slowly and you'll rot in hell for what you've done to me!"
"You mean what you've done to yourself!" said a voice. Zuko made a surprised face and glanced down at Jin. Her lips had moved to say the words, but he voice had not been her own. Her eyes were glowing a bright blue and she extended a hand to Mai, flames suddenly sparking from them.
"Jin?" asked Zuko confused.
"If you come a step closer to them I will kill you myself!" she said. Only then did Zuko recognize the voice.
"Its-"
"Azula?!" cried Aang, pointing at Jin.
Katara looked at him confused and said, "That's Jin, Aang."
"Not it's not! It's Azula! Azula's inside of her! Can't you see it?!" he cried. None of them could, not even Zuko.
"I don't see-" Sokka started to say, but Katara interrupted him.
"Of course!" cried Katara. "Since Aang is the bridge between us and the spirit world, only he can see her." Then, with tears in her eyes she added, "She's... trying to save her brother!"
Mai stared at Jin/Azula in surprise and all at once she seemed to lose whatever was driving her in the first place. "A-Azula? But they told me you were d-"
"Don't come anywhere near my brother or Jin again!" she snapped, ignoring whatever it was Mai was about to say.
Mai's face was pale and she was trembling. The fire from her hand vanished and she took a step back. Zuko looked up at her nervously, trying to figure out what on earth she was doing. "You're against me too, then?" she asked Azula. "And you-" she added to Zuko. "I drove you away... with my own hands..." She looked down at Jin and said, "You... he chose you..." She backed away, igniting her hands again and looked down to the ground. "He chose you... not me..." Zuko's eyes widened.
"Mai, NO!" he shouted, but it was too late. To the complete shock and horror of everyone in the room, Mai ignited herself on fire, engulfing her entire body in blue flames, and the horrid stench of burning flesh filled the room. Within minutes she was gone and a charred skeleton remained on the ground. And that was the end of Mai.
----
(A/N: Yeah so, trailer 3... Zuko and Mai??? To be honest I saw it coming and I'm actually kinda happy about it, but it totally ruins what I'm writing here, that's for sure, lol. Can't believe it, but this fic is drawing to it's close! Just a chapter and an epilogue left! And this'll probably end the Jinko or Zujin series, whichever you'd like to call it so I can pursure the new Kenshin fic, something I haven't been able to give much attention to. And as for Mai's death scene... I had that planned out from chapter one and I hope I was able to get it to work right. Well, R&R!)