Avatar: The Warring Earth

Book Three—Water

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.

"Don't you have your own room now, Sora?"

"Yes!"

"Then why are you in here instead of there?"

"Because I can," Sora quipped back at her grumpy brother, sticking her tongue out. Syaoran groaned with a roll of his eyes. It had only been two weeks and things were already getting back to normal—normal being that his sister loved to antagonize him because she can.

"Okay, well can you just get out? I'd like to put some clothes on before dinner," Syaoran urged her, a firm grip on his towel. Making a sour face at him, but jumping off of his bed anyway, Sora sauntered on out of his underground room, giving the door a hefty slam behind her. Syaoran could only shake his head; was he still that childish at thirteen? He surely hoped not.

Finally getting a chance to put some clean clothes on, he did. Ever since he'd started airbending—at last!—him and Tiki have kept up training every day. He may be airbending, and it helped that he'd long memorized all of the forms, but that didn't mean the Avatar couldn't improve. Besides, he still had some difficulty with a few moves. Thankfully in last week or so he'd gotten his own space back on base. After a couple days of sharing with his sister while she and their mother waited for their own rooms on base, she'd already started grating on him. It was nice to come back from training most days and be able to have five minutes of calm and quiet.

Finally clothed, Syaoran walked out and closed his door with a soft click that echoed in the empty stone hall. Chances were that Tiki was either still showering or dressing—either way, he wasn't going near her door. Not again. And Shun would already be at dinner, probably, hoping ZanYi would show up…

His green eyes turned to look at the closed door just a few paces down the cold hallway from him. It had been closed for a very long time, the familiar face of the lieutenant equally distant. No one had really seen her at all since they got back. Ever since they returned from the battle that left her brother dead, ZanYi had vacated her room, it seemed. She was always working, the team only getting to catch glimpses of her surrounded by her AKs or working alongside some of the other team leaders. Rumor had it she was sleeping over in the sergeant major's quarters, but that was assuming she was sleeping at all…

Syaoran sighed. As good as things were with training, it felt like the other half of their team was falling apart. ZanYi was almost nonexistent. Shun was always stewing over what to do about it. And yet, him and Tiki were peachy keen. Well, aside from the distracting thoughts about her lately.

Either way, Team Avatar just wasn't the same. And none of them knew what to do about it.

When he got into the dining hall, he grabbed his food, crossed the stone floor, and sat at the table Shun was already at. "Any sightings today?" he asked as gingerly as he could.

Shun sighed heavily. That was a 'no'.

These past two weeks had been… difficult for the giant waterbender. ZanYi was persistently avoiding him, and it was a struggle to be able to remain patient, to wait for her. Once or twice, Shun thought about barreling into her room and just holding her, just to remind her that she was still thought about, that she was still loved… that she still mattered. He could see it in the brief glimpses he always caught of her—ZanYi was slowly killing herself. And it broke his heart.

Shun's large hand closed around ZanYi's dogtags—he wore them openly now, his 'collar' on display for the world. Even if ZanYi seemed to have forgotten that he was hers, he never would. He couldn't. His thumb stroking the cool, flat metal, the giant waterbender finally spoke to Syaoran. "…Some of her AKs approached me," he revealed, he himself still surprised by the encounter. "They're… worried about her, to say the least. They want me to help her. I want to help her. I just… I don't know how."

In a rare moment of frustration, Shun shoved his barely touched tray away from him, to the side. Tiki, who had just entered the dining hall and gotten food, frowned at this display as soon as she sat down. "Shun, eat something," she scolded him, airbending his tray to sit back in front of him. "Just because ZanYi isn't taking care of herself like she should doesn't mean you should follow her example."

"I'm not hungry," Shun protested, a hand raised to his temple. Really, he was feeling too sick to eat. How could he just sit there eating when ZanYi needed him more than ever? But Tiki outright scowled. Standing up again, she reached over the table and yanked the collar of Shun's shirt with surprising force, causing the giant waterbender to meet her eyes in alarm.

"Listen to me: do not get sucked into ZanYi's despair," Tiki spoke slowly and deliberately. "I know you're already… attuned to her, but don't let it get so bad that she starts consuming your life, because your life is not all about ZanYi, Shun. You exist as yourself: don't forget that." With that, Tiki released his shirt and sat back down, quite close to Syaoran. Rethinking that move, she scooted down an inch or two. Shun watched her, half exasperated and half amused. Tiki possessed all the wisdom of her people, all the firmness of a leader… and all the subtlety of a gun. And she and Syaoran had been behaving quite strangely around each other lately—Shun had not been so distracted as to miss that. He just wasn't sure what it meant.

"Is your family eating with us, Syaoran?" Tiki ventured to ask, her eyes on her food; it was becoming harder and harder for her to meet the Avatar's eyes lately. His progress in airbending had increased exponentially, something the tiny airbender was smugly proud of. She tended to avoid the hugs nowadays, though, because physical contact with Syaoran embarrassed her. Tiki kind of wished she could just forget about these feelings—they made her life awkward, and it took a near-death experience for her to finally realize they were there.

And they were one-sided, she was sure: Syaoran had been attracted to ZanYi, a woman who was the exact opposite of who Tiki was… and who people actually believed she was a woman. No one mistook her for a child. Tiki just couldn't measure up. But she was fine with that—mostly. Tiki didn't want to be ZanYi. She was finally starting to accept herself as a person, and that kind of peace made her really happy. She changed for herself, but she wouldn't do it for anyone else. Not even for Syaoran, feelings or no feelings.

Syaoran grimaced and shushed her, looking around him warily, expecting Sora to show up just at the mention. "Don't say that," he urged Tiki in a low voice. "You'll jinx me." Granted, Syaoran was not one for superstition or anything otherworldly. But he did believe in his bad luck, as it was proven to exist time and time again. "I just shook Sora before coming to dinner. I'd like at least one meal in peace."

What was being the Avatar like? Was fire hot? Was air cold? Did he get the forms confused a lot? Had he killed anybody lately? Anybody on accident?

That was just an inkling of the kinds of questions Sora would spout off in succession. The Avatar loved his sister. He really did. And he was beyond relieved that her and his mother were safe and sound. But without his father around to balance things out, those two females grated on him quick, between his sister's chattiness and never-ending questions, and his mother's relentless and rigid opinions.

From his seat, Syaoran was able to see to the dining hall doors, and it was by sure luck that he saw the flash of the familiar raven ponytail as the lieutenant bustled down the hall. "Sighting!" he declared quickly, a miracle. ZanYi was certainly doing a great job of being elusive, and she certainly hadn't been seen around the dining hall. It was like a triumph in and of itself just to spot her.

Tiki was about to scold Syaoran for his lack of desire to be with his mother and sister—family was family—when his sudden exclamation startled her. She had whipped her head around, but too late: ZanYi was already gone.

"You talking about Lieutenant Tsong?"

Syaoran turned to the gruff voice behind him, finding Ransik. When the Avatar nodded, the elder waterbender frowned. "If you guys were looking for her," Ransik continued somberly, "she's probably off to clean out her brother's office. The new sergeant major was officially appointed today."

Tiki turned to Ransik then, surprised. "Already?" she questioned, frowning in concern. It had only been two weeks… how had they found a replacement that quickly? Ransik shrugged a shoulder, but his eyes were tight.

"It's war, kid, and two weeks is a long time in a war. Time stands still for no one," he reminded her before moving on to where Sikka waited for him. Tiki shook her head.

"That's terrible," she sighed, turning back to their table. "But I guess he's right—they needed someone to take Zaron's place… I wonder who the new sergeant major will be." Tiki looked up to ask Shun what he thought, only to realize that Shun was no longer sitting at the table. Swiveling her head about once more, the tiny airbender spotted him as he was leaving the dining hall. "He's nothing if not dedicated…" she mumbled with another sigh before looking up at Syaoran. "What do you think will happen to ZanYi now? Do you think she'll… leave Team Avatar?" Tiki really, really hoped not. If ZanYi decided that she no longer wanted to be a part of Team Avatar, Shun would die.

Syaoran put down his fork and sighed, conflicted. "Honestly, Tiki? I have no idea," he told her truthfully, looking at the door Shun had just hustled out of. It always seemed like it was ZanYi walking away, leaving them behind. They all knew she cared—in various capacities—but she was the one most willing to make that walk.

The lieutenant was accustomed to a military life, where everything changed in a matter of minutes. She was fine with moving from place to place. But this time… this time wasn't like before, when she left feeling she was needed more elsewhere. This time she was just… slipping away from them.

"She only stayed because she was wanted for treason and could be of the most help to us. But now with Sergeant Major Tsong gone and the general working on fixing the problem concerning her arrest…" Syaoran turned to face Tiki, a bit disheartened, "I don't know where she's going to go."

Tiki's gray eyes turned stormy. This was an unfortunate situation all around. It felt like every life-changing decision was happening at once these days, decisions that had to be quick and firm, with little room for doubt. Too many things were changing, and she didn't like it at all.

…Well… she didn't like most of it. Her new, strange feelings towards Syaoran were… difficult, but she could not bring herself to regret having them.

The tiny airbender reached up to touch her amulet, the artifact resting in the palm of her hand as she contemplated it. Tiki had duties that she needed to attend to as well, duties that made her think about her position on the team. She would be sad to leave Team Avatar—especially since they seemed to already be losing ZanYi—but her people did need her. From what Tiki knew of the letters she received from Kaze on Southern Air Island, the temporary council that had been put in place was fairly successful in their endeavors. However, the absence of a proper figurehead was obvious, and Kaze was constantly asking her when she would be able to take her mother's place as councilwoman. Tiki had put it off because Syaoran still had yet to learn airbending, and she had a prior duty to him.

But very soon, Syaoran would be airbending like a pro, and he wouldn't need her help anymore. Which led Tiki to her next question: would it be better for her to return to her people after the Avatar's airbending training was complete? Just how long could they wait for her before their flimsy government collapsed and chaos erupted?

How long could Tiki justify staying by Syaoran's side?

Syaoran watched as Tiki's face clouded over, furrowed in thought. When her face looked like that, it was never a good thing. It usually meant either something was bothering her… or something was going to bother her. Either way, it wasn't good.

"You've got something on your mind," he observed the obvious, turning his body so that way he was fully facing the airbender. He propped an elbow up on the table to rest his cheek on his fist. Eyes roaming her face, they searched for the answer, like it should be obvious as well. Then again, Tiki was usually pretty obvious. "What're you thinking about? Is this because ZanYi might leave? What's up?"

Tiki sighed, closing her fingers around the amulet. To confide, or not to confide…?

"I'm thinking about… the future," she explained vaguely, glancing up at Syaoran and then away. "I feel like… everything's changing. It's making me think about where I am… and where I should be."

Stay or go? Avatar or airbenders? Her desires or her duty? The two extremes in Tiki's life sadly had no balance, something she would have preferred. It was either one or the other… and such a decision was not that easy to make. She would need more time to seriously consider it… if she could let go of her feelings long enough.

Syaoran almost rolled his eyes. After all, last time she'd been thinking about 'the future', she was buying into her aunt's ravings about getting married and having airbender babies. If everything lately hadn't been so shell-shocking, he would have assumed it was that again. But Tiki was right this time: everything was changing. For good and bad. It was hard to grapple with. Nothing was like how it was in the beginning. They had been a rag-tag team thrown together by circumstances. Since then so much has changed. Tiki lost her parents. Shun found love. ZanYi lost the last of her family. They were not the same team that had started off together.

"Well, it's your life. You get to choose," the Avatar told her with a shrug. "But no matter what you choose, you've got Shun and I to back you up. And you know if you were ever in trouble, even ZanYi would come. So don't sweat it. You've got back-up."

Tiki smiled faintly. She appreciated the support, but it wasn't what she needed at the moment. What she needed was answers. Syaoran was both right and wrong—it was Tiki's life, but it was her life to dedicate to something, be it the Avatar or her duties as councilwoman. She considered herself a servant to the world—the hard part was figuring out where her services were most needed: with Syaoran? or with her people?

As Tiki had told his mother, Syaoran had the might of the Resistance on his side. He was well protected, even when he didn't want to be. Even if Tiki left, he would remain that way… as long as someone kept an eye on him to make sure something like him being strangled never happened again…

But the airbenders did not have that kind of support. Without a proper leader, their voices could not be heard. A council without a leader could only last so long before people would begin to wonder where their true leader was. The airbenders needed Tiki, and Tiki alone.

The tiny airbender sighed. She wasn't thrilled, but she supposed she had her answer now. "Then I know what I have to do, I guess," she mumbled, swinging her legs over the bench she sat on to stand up. Glancing at Syaoran, she asked, "Do you think Ransik would know if they keep messenger hawks on base? I need to send a letter to Kaze."

Kaze? The Avatar's brow puckered. That distant relative of hers they'd run into at her old home? What did he have to do with anything? Unless the future Tiki had been talking about was along the lines of the airbenders…?

Syaoran was almost reluctant to even ask what decision she had just made. Anything having to do with the airbenders usually meant she was sacrificing her own freedom, her own will. And Syaoran didn't like that at all. Instead of bringing that up, he answered her, "I doubt they would. Only Master Fei is archaic enough to still use those things, aside from ZanYi and her brother…" Syaoran wasn't even going to suggest that she ask ZanYi to borrow Xie Xie. That just sounded like a bad idea on so many levels. "Besides," he pushed on, standing up himself, stretching his arms, "even if they did, I don't think they'd let you use one, not tonight. We saw that big storm rolling in earlier, remember? Even the guards are reducing their rounds tonight to stay out of it as much as possible."

Which meant that whatever decision she had come to, it had to wait. That would give her more time to think. She had to think. She couldn't make big decisions so fast. Not without talking to the rest of the team about it, right?

Tiki groaned. She hated waiting to make a decision—it gave her too much time to second-guess herself. She hated second-guessing herself even more than sitting on decisions. Once she wrote the letter and sent it to Kaze, it was out of her hands and she could not go back—she would be bound to her word. But the storm could not be denied after all; Tiki heard the rumbling above and sighed. It would have to wait, then.

"Doesn't mean I can't still write him the letter…" she speculated to herself, a finger tapping her chin. "I just need some paper and a pen…" And she had those items. She had used them as doodle pages to entertain Kei and herself; now they would be put to a greater purpose.

"I'll see you later, Syaoran," Tiki told the Avatar, flashing him a brief smile before she left the dining hall, headed to her own room. If she put her reply down on paper, she would be less inclined to change her mind, since that would be a waste of ink and paper. And this gave her time to actually articulate what she wanted to express.

Kaze would be pleased: as soon as Syaoran had satisfactorily completed his airbending training, she would return to the airbenders and become the councilwoman they had all been waiting for.

The giant waterbender made his way through the halls, beating the familiar path to the sergeant major's office. The last time he had been here had been a marginally happier time, despite him re-telling another one of his worst nightmares. Zaron had still been alive, and ZanYi had been almost happy…

Shun paused outside the former sergeant major's office, but only briefly. He could hear shuffling inside—ZanYi was inside all right. And she had avoided him long enough. Gathering his nerve, the giant waterbender grasped the handle, opened the door, and stepped inside the office that once belonged to Zaron Tsong.

The entrance seemed to startle ZanYi, because she sat up straight really fast, whirling to face the door. She hadn't expected anyone, and it was enough to cause flames to almost rise to her hands instinctually. But she kept it at bay, her control tighter than ever. There was no excuse for her to lose control; ZanYi refused to. Not again.

She wasn't sure what to think about the intruder being Shun, but not even acknowledging him further, the lieutenant went back to cleaning out her brother's drawers. ZanYi piled everything that his replacement wouldn't need in a box on his desk. She had to get this done and over with. The new sergeant major would have to settle into the office soon, and she did not want her time in the room to overlap with that. Besides, she had plenty of work she could get back to.

Shun quietly shut the door behind him, this scene in no way familiar in any sense of the word. Really, he would have preferred ZanYi being angry at him for something he had said; he could always apologize or justify himself if it was something like that. He would take anything but this… aloofness, this awkwardness between them. It made him feel hollow inside.

"…Do you need help?" he offered, taking a hesitant step forward. The office now had a strange, clean, sterile look to it. Being vacated in preparation for its new owner… Shun's heart clenched at the thought. He didn't want ZanYi to be alone as she did this, at least. Even if she wore a mask nowadays to hide her pain, Shun knew she still felt it. The raw anger she felt that day when she burned him was evidence enough.

The concern was obvious in Shun's voice. It was a tone she knew all too well. It used to bother her. Now… now she wasn't sure if it made her feel anything at all.

But that was okay. That just meant that she wasn't hurting, wasn't weak. She accepted that Zaron was gone. Nothing was going to change that. She had been upset initially, but now the lieutenant had everything under control. There was no need for Shun's worry.

"No," ZanYi answered simply, continuing to pack things up off the desk then.

Shun frowned. ZanYi hadn't even bothered to look at him… and that cut deep.

"All right: new question." Shun crossed the room, keeping the desk between them as he stared at ZanYi. "Are you ever going to speak to me again? Or even look at me?"

Shun wasn't stupid: he knew something was wrong with them as much as it was with ZanYi personally. He thought, if he gave her the space she wanted, that ZanYi would come and talk to him when she was ready. Two weeks had gone by: she either still wasn't ready, or she didn't want to talk to him at all. Shun had to know what was going on. This was affecting him so much that he was having trouble sleeping, and he could barely eat.

Tiki was right: ZanYi WAS consuming his life.

The question made her falter, but only for half a second. ZanYi could not allow her feelings to rear back up, to take the reigns. If they did… she was almost afraid they'd swallow her whole.

"I am talking to you," she told him. Her gold eyes lifted from the desk to meet Shun's gaze. And the lieutenant instantly regretted it. But ZanYi refused to flinch. She could see everything he was feeling on his face, in his eyes. Dark circles were starting to shadow under his gaze. He looked hurt. He looked anxious. He looked concerned.

And ZanYi couldn't deal with that right now.

"And now I've looked at you," she continued, finishing up Zaron's desk. ZanYi turned away to reach for the remnants on the desktop, finding the sole thing remaining was the one picture frame in the entire room. Zaron had never been sentimental. But the only picture was the day she'd finished basic training. He'd managed to get off rotation to come for that…

Roughly shoving the picture into the box, ZanYi closed it up quick and picked it up, heading for the door. "Now, I've got things to do."

Reflex reaction: Shun reached out, grasping ZanYi's upper arm before she could leave. But the fiery reminder of what happened last time he had dared to touch her flashed through his mind. Slowly, reluctantly, Shun let his hand drop to his side, his defeated gaze going to the floor. ZanYi may have been standing right in front of him, but she felt like she was a million miles away from him, always walking forward, never looking back, even when he called her name. It didn't matter how hard he tried to get through to her—he just couldn't reach her.

ZanYi flinched and froze at the touch.

"GET DOWN!" Zaron's shout echoed in her ears, brought her back to right before the grenade had hit them, when he'd grabbed her to get her out of the way. It made her shudder and she almost dropped the box in her arms.

His voice was always ringing in her head, haunting her every waking moment—and when she would try to sleep. One of the many reasons she wasn't really sleeping anymore. But Zaron's room was more isolated from everything else; no one could hear her up in the night there.

Thunder rolled above the ground around them and it made her stiffen, forcing her face to remain impassive. Every loud sound could make her jump right now—everything sounded like the grenade blowing up, blasting them back, killing Zaron…

She had to go. Had to get away from Shun's sight. He would be able to tell. He would think something was wrong. And nothing could be wrong with her. Zaron was dead. That was a fact. She would get over it just fine. She was fine.

Taking a deep breath, ZanYi hurried out of the office, making quick steps to go put the box in her brother's room. After that… well, maybe it was time to get some get more physical, get some training in.

And Shun let her go. He just… let her go. There was nothing he could do. ZanYi wanted nothing to do with him. It was pointless to try and reach her. It was hopeless.

Now feeling thoroughly depressed, the giant waterbender decided that now would be a good time to go to bed, before the storm kicked in full swing. He just wanted this day to be over.

The rain showered in a thunderous downpour in the tempest night. Every drop felt like a bullet, racing to the ground, heavy and hard. But that didn't matter to ZanYi. It was a warm rain that drenched her body, flames causing the forest to steam up around her and crawl the earth. But it felt good. It felt normal.

She executed every move with a deadly precision. Control. That's what she needed. She needed control. In some ways, she had more now than ever. Every inch of her body was under her mastery, every step and movement purposeful and accurate. And doing it all out there in the storm? It made her feel like everything was normal.

It had been so long since the last time she'd been out to practice in the rain—even longer since the last storm. But it made her work, made her work harder to fan her fire into reality. Oh, how she wished she could have been out in that last gale, but Shun had needed her…

ZanYi let out a growl. No. She couldn't think about him. Wouldn't think about him. Wouldn't think of the way he'd looked so discouraged when he'd finally seen her earlier, how he seemed at a loss for words.

It made her think of him all the more and she had to stop, just let the rain fall down on her. Pulling it out from her drenched tank-top, the lieutenant looked at the fang around her neck. Shun said he'd always be there for her, would never leave her side. She believed him. It was Shun.

But Zaron had broken his promise. He had promised her similar things. And he broke that promise. Her brother was the only person in the world that she trusted without hesitation or thought—now he wasn't even in this world.

Feeling the emotions swell back up, threatening to escape from her throat, ZanYi pushed the thoughts away. No. She had to be in control. If she was in control, she was okay. And she had to be okay, had to keep going, had to keep on fighting…

The need to step things up, to focus more, became evident. So ZanYi went to the next level after firebending.

Lightning.

Trying to focus the chi in her hands, the lieutenant could feel the electrical current slowly building, as if amplified by the storm: the rain, the lightning. Clapping her hands together, ZanYi slowly began to pull them apart, concentrating on the cackling and crackling lightning growing between her hands. More power. More lightning. More focus. More control.

Less Zaron.

And that's when it all fell apart. ZanYi couldn't even get out a scream as the lightning broke free and shot her. Her entire body felt like it was on fire from the inside, the water drenching her clothes and skin making it hurt all the more. It was so painful, and she wretched and writhed under its wrath.

With what little concentration she had left, the lieutenant redirected some of the lightning, striking a nearby tree and causing it to crack down. She did the same thing. ZanYi crumbled down as the lightning left her, falling to sprawl across the ground with a heavy sound. And she didn't get back up.

The storm outside was raging. Shun could see it through the small window in the even smaller room they kept him in. He had never seen a storm this bad before. It intrigued as well as terrified him. And he knew his share of terror…

The lock on the door clicked open. Oh no. They were coming for him again. They would run 'tests' on him, jab his skin with needles, inject him with liquids that would make him sick for days, torture him until he couldn't take any more, until he begged for death… no, no… stay back… STAY BACK!

The giant waterbender jerked awake, the move so violent that he ended up crashing to the floor. Slowly, he sat up, panting and swallowing convulsively. Another dream—no, a nightmare. No. A reliving of a horrible memory. They were coming more frequently now, but Shun couldn't figure out what the cause was… maybe it was his general unhappiness.

His face was wet. Had he been crying in his sleep again? Or was this sweat? Either way, Shun had to get out of there. He couldn't stay in his room for another minute or it would drive him mad. Struggling to his feet, the giant waterbender hurried out as fast as he could, getting careless and hitting his head on the doorframe, harder than he ever had. Other than an audible hiss, Shun barely acknowledged it, stumbling his way to the entrance of the base. There was only one guard there for the moment, something Shun would have found strange, if he were in his right mind.

"Let me out," he said the guard, who eyed him suspiciously.

"Are you daft? It's pouring out there! Waterbender or not—!" the guard's judgment was cut short; Shun had him by the collar of his uniform, bringing the man closer so that they were almost nose-to-nose.

"I said," Shun growled, his voice dangerously low, "let me out."

The guard must have seen something in Shun's eyes to convince him—or perhaps it was simply sheer terror—for a couple stomps later, Shun was exactly where he wanted to be: out in the downpour. It was pitch black outside, save for the occasional lightning streak, but Shun didn't mind. He didn't need to see. He just needed to move, to bend, to do something other than think for a while. His body automatically fell into the familiar patterns of his bending, the feeling natural. As Shun weaved the rain into something greater, he felt powerful, like a spirit, like he was capable of absolutely anything…

…Except for when it came to getting his life together.

And it all rushed back: ZanYi's rejection, his hellish childhood, his MIA family, his freakish abilities, even as a bender… everything came crashing down at once on the giant waterbender's shoulders. His concentration broken, the water he was bending fell down in a torrent on him, forcing him to the ground. Not that he minded, not that he even cared anymore. He was already lower than low. Sitting on the ground made no difference. Shun drew in a shuddering breath, running his hands through his soaked hair to fold and rest at the base of his neck, letting the rain pound at his back and head. What the waterbender would not give to be free from his emotions for just a little while, to not be able to feel anything at all. The deceased had it so easy.

A sharp sound in the trees had started Shun out of his mental spiral. What was that? Had lightning struck down one of the trees in the forest? That wasn't good. Come to think of it, wasn't it dangerous for him to be sitting outside during a thunderstorm? What was he thinking?

Shun shook his head, feeling waterlogged. He shouldn't be out here. It was time to go inside, or he would be the next one to be struck by lightning.

The giant waterbender got up, and was on his way back into the base when a commotion began behind him. Turning in mild interest, Shun paused to see a guard he had never seen before rush out of the forest, his arms laden with something… or someone…

As soon as Shun's eyes set on ZanYi's face, his heart ceased to beat.

"Somebody, get the healers!" the guard shouted to his fellow guard.

"What?!"

"Wake up some of the healers! Immediately!" the guard yelled again to the one who stood sentinel at the entrance to the base. "Lieutenant Tsong is down. She's barely breathing!"

The guard, an earthbender, and a new guy in town at that, looked speechless. He'd drawn the short straw, be the one that had to go out in the storm to do rounds. He didn't expect this. Training didn't allow for situations like this. He looked down at ZanYi in his grasp, struggling to carry her from where he'd found her. She was deadweight, and her pulse almost impossible to find. Her breathing was nearly nonexistent. And there was this awful, sprawling burn on the left side of her chest bone, right above where her heart was…

"Hurry! She's not going to last much longer!" the earthbender urged his teammate again, rushing try to get the lieutenant inside. She needed emergency help. Bad. Or else.

Shun was in shock. What happened? Why was ZanYi out here? Why did she look like that? Why was she barely breathing?! He closed in on the guard, his sudden appearance startling the poor man. "Give her to me!" Shun demanded, already summoning water to aid him. Looking equally relieved and frightened, the guard handed ZanYi over. Her face was pale, her body too still. And she was barely breathing, just like the guard had said…

Shun rushed ZanYi inside, moving her to the ground as soon as they were in a dry place. His hands still encased in water, Shun ran them over the terrible burn on ZanYi's chest, willing the water particles to go deeper than flesh. His hands glowed with an unearthly blue, and Shun managed to heal the burn over her heart. But still, that was only skin deep. Shun spread his healing deeper into the wound, to reach the stuttering heart that was ZanYi's. She could not die, she would not die. Shun had worked too hard to keep her alive—sometimes even having to save her from herself—for her to die of such a reckless mistake now. He would get her heart beating again. She had to breathe. She had to live.

And at first, nothing was happening. Her pulse was still weak, fading faster and faster…

But then, just when it was almost gone, it kept going. One beat. Two beats. Three beats. ZanYi's heart slowly started to pump again, slow and small, but purposeful and consistent. Her breathing started to even out, a cough sputtering here and there. Her eyes wouldn't open, but she was alive, creeping back to life. As soon as he felt her pulse growing stronger, Shun let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. The two guards who were anxiously standing over him physically relaxed at the rise and fall of the lieutenant's chest.

"Is she—?"

"She's going to be okay," Shun affirmed it, his eyes never leaving ZanYi's face. That had been close… too close. WAY too close. And Shun was not happy about it whatsoever.

"Thank goodness," one guard mumbled to the other. "One of the Tsongs is already dead. If the other one had passed away on our watch—"

"ZanYi," Shun spoke over the guards, his tone measured… for now. "Wake up."

She didn't wake up. Her eyes didn't open. But she was alive; her heart was beating and she was breathing. Her brow wrinkled a bit.

And tears started to leak from those closed eyes.

"You promised…" she muttered, her words but a rough whisper coming from a coarse throat and breaking heart, her head lolling to the side. "You promised, Zar…"

Shun frowned. Oh, that was not fair. She had to go and be vulnerable just when Shun was ready to remind her that she should have more sense that she displayed tonight. Heaving a sigh from his core, the giant waterbender scooped ZanYi into his arms. "I'll take it from here," he assured the guards before turning away, heading back to ZanYi's room. He knew she hadn't been sleeping here the past two weeks, but it was the first thing he thought of, since he had no idea where Zaron's room was. Shun laid the lieutenant on her bed, ready to tuck her in for the night when he remembered that her clothes were soaked through. That wasn't good; he couldn't let her sleep in wet clothes. But at the thought of changing her, the giant waterbender's face grew bright red. No, he couldn't do that either. No way.

But he didn't want her to get sick either…

Shun sighed again. He was going to need help.

Knock knock knock!

Tiki groaned, pulling the covers over her head. It wasn't time to get up yet, her internal alarm clock told her so. And yet, someone was knocking on her door. Why?

"Tiki!" Shun's voice whispered through the door. "Wake up, please! I need your help!"

With another groan, the tiny airbender threw the covers off of her and got out of bed, padding her way over to open the door. A drenched and anxious-looking Shun stood there, his expression becoming relieved once she'd opened the door. Tiki stared blearily up at him, her mind still foggy with sleep.

"What the heck, Shun?" she wanted to know, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "What's going on that you had to wake me in the middle of the night?"

"It's ZanYi," Shun replied, "I need you to undress her for me."

That cleared Tiki's head really fast. "What?"

"She was out in the storm doing something stupid—" Shun had to pause to regain control of his tone; Tiki's eyebrows were beginning to quirk. "To make a long story short, she's soaked to the bone. I… don't feel comfortable undressing her." Tiki almost smirked as Shun coughed and looked away with a faint flush on his face. Such a big man to be so intimidated by female flesh… Tiki pulled her door shut behind her with a sigh.

"All right, I'll help you. Just quit panicking."

As Tiki obligingly assisted him with that embarrassing task, Shun returned to his own room to change. He was just tugging on a dry shirt when Tiki tapped on his door.

"All done," she announced once Shun had pulled the door open.

"Thank you," he replied with a sigh of relief.

"Don't mention it." Tiki smiled briefly before a look of curiosity overtook her features. "Now, are you going to tell me what happened?"

Shun sighed, raising a hand to his forehead. If he got into this now, he was going to get mad all over again, and that anger was better saved for when ZanYi was conscious. "Tomorrow, okay? Then I can tell Syaoran too. I just don't want to leave her alone tonight."

Tiki seemed to contemplate him for a moment before she finally shrugged. "All right. I'll expect that explanation tomorrow, then. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to go back to bed. Good night."

Shun thanked Tiki once again as she headed back to her room; she waved him off. As her door closed, Shun moved to head back into ZanYi's room. It hadn't changed since the last time he was in here really. It just looked like it hadn't been touched in a couple weeks. ZanYi was now wearing a tank top and shorts Tiki had rustled up from the lieutenant's drawers, looking peaceful in her sleep, save for the few tears that escaped her shut eyes. She was also shivering. Taking pity on her, Shun revised his original plan to sit on the floor next to her all night and chose to share the bed with her once again.

It was bittersweet, having ZanYi in his arms again, finally getting to hold her, but knowing that he could only have this because she was not awake to push him away again. He stroked her raven hair, which was still damp, though Tiki had dried it as best she could at Shun's request. The giant waterbender's gaze fell on his fanged necklace, fastened securely around ZanYi's neck. At this, he managed a tiny smile.

So she still wore the necklace he'd given her. Maybe it was out of pity—maybe she just didn't notice it anymore. Either way, it made Shun believe that maybe, just maybe, there was hope after all.

A/N from Eva: Hi there! Been a while, hasn't it? :P Well, now we're back with our brand-new book, Water! It is my understanding that you guys have been demanding this update for a while, so you can relax now, because we have a nice long update to brighten up your weekend! You're welcome!

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Whew! Okay, that's all for now. I could ramble on, but this thank you list is long enough, and you guys have waited long enough for this chapter. XD So, thank you once again for everyone's continued love and support, and we hope, as always, that you've enjoyed this chapter! Please review! Have an amazing weekend! See you next week!