Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or its characters.

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Chapter 7: The Moment

Because the water felt cool against her skin, Mai gave in to the urge and splashed her face a second time, inhaling deeply. Her throat felt sore and dry from weeks of silence, but she didn't think drinking from a bucket in a bathroom was the best idea.

Her body ached and throbbed as if she'd fought Ozai herself. Her ribs in particular were sore and made breathing a little difficult, in the place where the man she'd killed the other night had struck her. Mai ran a hand through her hair and shook her head like a dog, sending droplets of water through the air. Grimacing, she braced her arm against the wall and staggered to her feet, barely keeping from falling flat on her face.

"Um, ow. Ow, ow, ow."

It bothered her a little, how she'd gone from being perfectly coordinated in her animal state of mind to stumbling over her feet like Tom-Tom with her clarity restored. Perhaps that had been because she hadn't been totally aware of herself. Mai wasn't completely sure.

Taking a deep breath, Mai came to the conclusion that what she was going to depend on from now on was luck, stubborn will, and a desperate, driving urge to find Zuko. Narrowing her eyes she gripped the side of the sink with her free hand and took tentative baby steps out of the bathroom, moving slowly so her body could get reacquainted with itself. The process was slow and painful, but Mai discovered she was satisfied to take every small victory her body was willing to give her.

Slowly, cautiously stepping through the broken shadows of the hallway, her confidence returned; gradually her arm slid down from the wall to dangle in its natural place at her side, and while her muscles still ached and throbbed from time to time it had ebbed into something she could easily ignore. She swallowed a few times, wincing a little as her throat burned in protest, and ran her tongue over her dry lips.

In time she found herself in what seemed to be the kitchen of the small house; she stood in the doorway for a moment, staring at the open space blankly as her mind failed her for a moment, and her eyes narrowed as she scrambled to recall exactly what a kitchen was used for in the still-murky depths of her mind.

Oh. Right. The kitchen was the place where food was made and eaten. Meals with family and friends were eaten around a large table. Yes. She remembered now.

It looked as if some things would still return to her slower than others. It didn't bother her, though. She was starting to remember, and she remembered who she was and the life she had led, and that was all that really mattered.

A headache beginning to form behind her temples made Mai mutter unintelligently as pain hammered against her skull, and with a tired sigh she shuffled across the floor and settled on one of the chairs, leaning back and closing her eyes. Giving in to her emotions for a rare moment she leaned forward, slumping against the table, and pounded a clenched fist against her knees as her eyes stung.

Her headache only grew worse, and she realized that if she didn't give the pain in her head some kind of release it would only increase.

The restoration of her memories and her sudden clarity had done nothing to dim the memories, nothing to dull the sharp edge of them. In fact, her new peace of mind made them even stronger than before. She remembered every detail; the darkness of the shadows, the taste of the food, the sound and squeaks of the rats, the different sounds of footsteps. The laughter, the babbling.

And Ozai.

She remembered Ozai.

The silky smoothness of his voice as he tried to bribe the answers out of her, smooth talk his way through her defenses. The force of his backhand, the cold fire that could flare to life in his eyes.

She could still feel the throbbing from the bruises on her neck, bruises inflicted by his hand. But that wasn't the only place where she ached, no.

Between her legs.

She burned between her legs, like fire, like something was intent on entering her and burning her alive from the inside out merely for the pleasure of hearing her screams, feeling her struggle, the pleasure of seeing the life slowly but surely drain from her eyes.

Oh, Agni…

The tears fell; Mai wasn't even completely aware of the fact that the ragged, hoarse sobs of anguish were her own. The grief, the self-hatred was like a hurricane, sweeping ruthlessly through her system and battering everything, ripping her apart and crushing her in its fury. Now that she remembered, now that she was Mai again, she had to grieve. She had to grieve, even if only for a little while, for the loss of her innocence, for what she had been robbed of and for the shattered illusion of the woman she could never be again.

As quickly as the grief came, it also passed. In her customary way, despite her pain, she accepted what had happened to her wordlessly. She didn't ask why, she didn't rage; she simply accepted and locked it away, like her parents had taught her. She accepted it because she knew if she didn't, it would destroy her again.

With that her sobs slowly faded away into soft sniffles, and it was in that moment that she was aware of a warm, soft hand on her shoulder. Blinking, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand, Mai looked up.

"Here, little one." The old woman's eyes were impossibly gentle, the cup she held in her hand warm from the tea she'd just finished brewing; she held it out to Mai. "Drink. It will soothe your throat."

Wordlessly Mai nodded, not trusting herself to speak; she mouthed a silent thank you as she cradled the cup in her hands, bringing it to her lips and drinking the warm liquid within gratefully. The tea sipped quietly down her throat and soothed the ache. She drank deeply, and when she lowered the cup back to the table the warmth had drowned out the pain.

The old woman had turned away, washing some dishes from last night; swallowing, Mai cleared her throat and asked, "Where is Zuko?"

"Ah, yes, your young man, am I right?"

"Um…" Oh, what the heck. "That's one way of putting it, I guess."

Her older companion chuckled softly. "Is that so? Well, I sent him out to get some water from the river. It isn't far from here if you want to look for him."

Nodding, Mai stood. "Thanks for the tea."

The hoarseness was fading from her voice, the strength slowly returning; the old woman heard rather than saw her leave, and her lips curved in a silent smile.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXThe sunlight felt warm and gentle against her skin, and Mai lifted her hand for a moment, shielding her eyes as she scanned the land.

The old woman's words had been true; the river wasn't very far from the house at all. All the dark-haired girl had to do to reach it was wander through a small, thin group of trees. She listened to the quiet crunch of leaves beneath her feet and ran her fingers along the worn bark of a tree, breathing in the forest scents.

And then the trees parted, and she saw Zuko.

He knelt by the stream, carefully running a bucket through the water to get as much of it as he could without spilling much. He'd rolled his sleeves up to keep them from getting wet, and water dripped from his fingers. His eyes were narrow with concentration.

Ozai's blood ran through his veins. But he was, and always would be, just Zuko.

The revelation that she could see Zuko, know that part of him came from Ozai, and not feel that terrifying fear, that dark hatred made something warm and gentle bloom in Mai's chest and seep into her blood. Her eyes softened slightly even as her lips quirked, an evil idea taking form.

Stepping lightly to keep quiet, the dark-haired girl moved closer to Zuko and, in one smooth motion, pushed him into the river.

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Zuko's first thought as he plunged into the cold, clear water with a yelp was that it had been the kid who had done it; the boy, Riu, the grandson of the woman who had been kind enough to take him and Mai in. He shot through the surface with revenge on his mind, swallowing water as he dragged in a breath.

And froze, on his knees and dripping wet, when he saw Mai standing there.

There was a clearness in her gaze, a certainty in the way she stood that told him something had changed; but his throat closed up and all the words he wanted to say were trapped. Mai's gaze slowly swept over him, and he could have sworn he saw her lips twitch. Remembering himself he lurched to his feet, nearly slipping on the wet rocks and falling again. "Mai."

Her eyes flickered when he said her name, and this time her lips curved in a smile that was almost timid but undeniably sad. "It's been a long time," she murmured.

His eyes widened; he stared dumbly. Her voice was rough and hoarse, sounding only faintly as he remembered, but he didn't care. Mai had spoken. She had spoken. Which meant…

Slowly, cautiously, he waded out of the river and walked to her, aware of the water dripping from his hair and running down his face, the wet clothes that clung to him like a second skin, but he ignored it and stood before her. She watched him quietly but did not back away, and that soothed him.

Still moving slowly, Zuko lifted his arms and gently wrapped them around Mai; he felt her stiffen slightly and tremble before her hands came up against his chest, but she met his gaze evenly. Zuko kept his grip light and loose, giving Mai the choice to escape if she needed to. Slowly the stiffness melted away, though she didn't lean against him like she'd done in the past, and the tremors faded as she grew accustomed to the feeling of being held. Her fingers fisted in his shirt and held on as she quietly nuzzled into his neck, though she still kept a measured distance between her body and his.

Zuko smiled against her hair. "I missed you."

Mai laughed softly. "I missed you, too." She sighed. "And I missed me."

But now she was back. And she wasn't going away ever again.

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Next chapter's the epilogue, folks.

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