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.

Ow.

That was the only coherent thought that ZanYi had at first. The sensation of pain rippled through her body, but in a different way than being blown up. This pain was internal, like everything inside her was stinging, aching, burning. She grimaced. It was not a good feeling. And there was something tight around her, something warm too. But it was comfortable, almost familiar…

Opening her eyes slowly, ZanYi came face to face with Shun. Literally. Which meant…

The lieutenant looked around her. She was in her own room. In bed. With Shun. His arms around her. What was going on? She didn't remember getting here, didn't remember anything. All she remembered was practicing out in the rain last night—everything else was blank. The last time she'd been like this with Shun was…

…was before Zaron died.

Able to at least move her arms, ZanYi gripped her head, almost hoping it would stop it all—the physical pain and the emotional. "Just another dream," she muttered, closing her eyes. "It's just another dream…"

A dream. It had to be. A memory, before things had gone wrong. Dreams like this always ended the same. Sure, they started great, normal. But ZanYi could never save her brother, could never fix things. Going back to that morning before wouldn't help either. It was just a dream.

But then why did she feel like she'd been hit by a truck? Nothing was making sense.

Shun slumbered on, oblivious—for the moment—to ZanYi's anguish. He had meant to stay up all night, to make sure ZanYi would not escape in the night before he had gotten a chance to talk to her… but the giant waterbender was more comfortable than he had been in weeks, and knowing ZanYi was safe in his arms was enough to relax him enough for surrender to sleep's sweet embrace. Shun sighed in his sleep, his head inching a little closer to ZanYi's. It would be very, very nice if he could just not move for a while and stay like this for a few weeks, or a month… or two.

ZanYi opened her eyes again and stared at the sleeping giant. If this were a dream or a memory, Shun would already be awake. He was probably the one person in the world who could wake up before her consistently. So since she had never seen this before, this had to be reality.

Which meant the lieutenant was more confused than ever.

She tried to move, only to hiss in pain. Everything hurt, and with such an intensity. What happened last night? What brought her to this point? ZanYi didn't know and she hated that. But one thing she did know was that she was going to have to get out of there. Struggling, ZanYi tried to free herself from Shun's embrace. That was a difficult task on a normal day. But right now? It was impossible. It only made ZanYi gasp out in pain even trying.

Her struggles did nothing for her attempted stealthy escape—as soon as she began to move, Shun awoke immediately. He stared at the lieutenant for a minute or two in confusion: how did he get here? Was he dreaming? ZanYi was wearing a pained look on her face, and she was fighting to free herself of his grasp. Definitely not a dream, then—in his dreams, ZanYi didn't try to escape him with such determination. It was reality, then. Fantastic.

"…" Did ZanYi even remember last night? Judging from the look on her face, she was definitely feeling the aftermath. Was she attempting to escape before Shun could yell at her? Her actions of the night before caused the giant waterbender to give her a significantly dark look. Now that it was morning, ZanYi was in the doghouse with him, for a change.

Seeing Shun was awake, ZanYi froze, as if when she stopped moving, that he might fall back asleep. No such thing happened. And the giant waterbender was giving her a look she'd never seen before directed at her—unless she counted that incident with his night terrors.

Either way, Shun was upset about something. And ZanYi had no idea what was going on, let alone why he would be upset.

Taking a deep breath, she tried to push her feelings back again, harder when every shift cost her a bit of pain. She just stared back at Shun, frowning a bit, and keeping quiet. And when the silence dragged on, she dropped the silence. "What's going on?" ZanYi asked him slowly and deliberately, watching him closely. He wanted her attention? Fine. He had it now.

Shun ignored her question. He had a more pressing one. "How sore are you?" he asked her as he eyed her expression. He could understand her confusion—she probably didn't remember anything after her asinine attempt of training with lightning during a thunderstorm. Shun was trying to keep his cool, however, to build up to that. There was no need to jump down her throat just yet. Shun wanted to know just how much she remembered from the night before.

And then he would jump down her throat.

ZanYi deadpanned in response. He was ignoring the question. She didn't even know what was going on and he wasn't telling her. It was irksome. But she held that back, adding it to the pile of other things she kept there. If it weren't for the fact that he was blatantly calling her out on the pain, the lieutenant wouldn't have answered that either. "I feel like I was hit by a truck," she answered bluntly, reminiscent of herself. "Now what is going on?"

"You tell me," Shun shot back, "since when is it ever a good idea to practice your lightning techniques in the rain? Do you know what could have happened if I hadn't been there? You could have been in the morgue right now, ZanYi! I thought you had more sense than that! Are you crazy?!" Shun realized too late that his voice was getting louder with every word he uttered. He closed his eyes and breathed, trying to calm himself down. It didn't work. "Explain that brilliant move to me, please," he demanded of ZanYi, the 'please' sardonic, "because I have to say, I am stumped." Did she have a death wish? Was that where that recklessness was coming from? Had she suddenly become suicidal? Shun didn't know. And that's what bothered him the most—he had no idea what was going on with her anymore.

And the even scarier part? ZanYi didn't either.

The lieutenant just kind of stared at him at first, almost uncomprehending. Was that what happened? ZanYi closed her eyes, trying to piece everything she remembered together. She'd gone out in the storm to practice a bit, push herself, exert herself. It had been firebending. There was a cracking sound in her memory. A bright light. Okay, maybe she had done lightning in the storm. But she never lost control with her lightning, not even in storms…

"I can't…" she mumbled, almost as confused about the answer as Shun would be. Her eyes looked around, as if there would be some answer that could come to her. Nothing did. "I… I don't know."

Had it just been an accident in the storm?

...Or had it been on purpose?

ZanYi didn't remember; she didn't know. And that was a frightening question not to have an answer to.

"You don't know? You don't know?"

Was she serious right now? Obviously she had to know what she was doing to produce the lightning, didn't she? And now she was going to lie there and tell him that she didn't know what she was doing?

With an angry growl, Shun pulled away from ZanYi and sat up, his hands moving to massage his temples. Why was he in love with this woman? All she did was cause him heartaches and headaches, and he couldn't even stay mad at her for them. Even now, he could feel his anger slipping away, pity and love beginning to take over. He didn't want that—no way was he about to let ZanYi off the hook that easily.

Expelling a huff, Shun turned to scowl at ZanYi. "You're either going to be the death of me or you if you keep this up," he threatened darkly. "What possessed you to go out in the middle of a thunderstorm in the first place?" Granted, Shun had been out there as well… but he wasn't the one under suspicion of suicidal tendencies right now.

ZanYi sat up slowly, grimacing at the pain that ricocheted through every part of her being. Getting struck by lightning. That would do this, yeah. So she knew Shun was right that she had been working with lightning. "I…" ZanYi had to think; everything felt so scrambled in her head. It was getting hard to tell between the reality and the dreams. Everything felt like that these days. "I do that all the time during storms…" she mused to herself, holding her forehead in a hand to try and steady it, force it to work. "I was just practicing."

"Just practicing nearly got you killed," Shun spat bitterly. Had Zaron known she did things like this? Maybe, maybe not—either way, Shun wasn't sure the late sergeant major would have approved. What Shun wouldn't give right now to have him here, scolding ZanYi in his place for such dangerous behavior…

"Is this your way of getting back at him?" the giant waterbender found himself saying. It was a low blow, Shun knew it. But he was speaking in anger, and could not bring himself to stop. He had to get through to ZanYi somehow—it seemed he was only able to do it when he was making her mad. "Now that he's not here to be overprotective, you just decide to endanger your life to punish him for leaving you? Do you think Zaron would be proud of you right now?"

That was it. That was the last straw.

It didn't matter that every fiber of her being hurt. ZanYi grabbed Shun and shoved him back down on the bed roughly. She'd climbed on in an instant, ready to give him a good fiery punch. But her hands were trembling. Everything she'd been holding back was bubbling up. There was too much. Too much for her to stop it.

"Shut-up!" she yelled at him. "Shut-up, shut-up, SHUT-UP!"

Her eyes looked right into his, almost wild, desperate. Broken.

"I'm not trying to do anything but hold it all together!" ZanYi started to spat at him, glaring down at him. "I hear his voice everywhere I go! I wake up screaming at night because all I can see is him dying in front of me over and over! The line of reality and memories and dreams are so blurred sometimes, I don't even know what's going on! I know he's not proud of me, but I'm just trying to get past all of this!"

Her breath was ragged, her shoulders heaving as if she'd just hauled a heavy load. In a way, she had. ZanYi couldn't lie to herself, not any longer. She was cracking. And there was nothing she could seem to do about it.

Shun knew he had crossed the line with the unfair things he'd said. He knew he had upset ZanYi worse than he ever had before. But as he stared up at her, watching the tightly controlled mask she wore split down the middle, all he could think was: finally.

The giant waterbender reached up, his hands closing around ZanYi's wrists, not caring if she burned him this time. He needed to say this while he still could get through to her, before she brought that mask back. "ZanYi, you can't do this by yourself," he pointed out, his voice quiet and calm now that she had adopted the yelling bit. "I know you're having a terrible time right now, with everything that's happened, but I can help you. I can support you when the days get too long. I can hold you when the nightmares haunt you. When you're lost, I can help bring you back to Earth. I'd do anything for you, ZanYi, because…"

Shun's hands tightened around ZanYi's wrists, his eyes boring into her, desperate for her to understand why he was constantly worried about her, why she drove him crazy and he always came back anyway, why he was not willing to give her up to the darkness in her life.

"…Because I love you, ZanYi."

Her mouth opened a little, but no words came out. Her brow was furrowed, but she wasn't sure if she was angry. She was shaking, but she didn't even know why anymore.

She could hear Zaron again, speaking softly to her.

"That man cares about you… more than you realize."

Had Zaron known? Had this been common knowledge? ZanYi didn't even know what to do with that information. And right now, she couldn't think straight to begin with, let alone process that. She ripped her wrists away from Shun to hold her head, as if that would make the voice and the thrum of pain and memories go away.

When it didn't work, still clenching her head, she allowed it to fall on Shun's chest. She could hear his heart beat violently in his chest. It made everything worse, instead of making it better to rest her head. So she ignored that tidbit for now. ZanYi couldn't add that up.

"So let him make you happy… He won't leave you… not like me."

There was Zaron again, echoing in her ears. Wanting it to stop, she tried to talk, to drown out the voice. "How do I know that you'll be there?" she asked him, almost daringly. "Zaron… Zaron promised me he wouldn't leave me alone… What's going to stop you from breaking your promises?" She started shaking again, and ZanYi hated that she was feeling all of this, hated feeling like she was out of control. This wasn't her. She didn't know who this woman was, but it wasn't her, not Lieutenant ZanYi Tsong. "How do I know I won't count on you to be there and then you'll just leave too?"

Shun's heart was beating too quickly in his chest, and he was further embarrassed of the fact when ZanYi laid her head down right over it. Nevertheless, he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. He hated that she was shaking; all he wanted to do was to reassure her, to make her feel safe again. But how was he supposed to answer her question? It wasn't like Zaron chose to leave her: once death claimed someone, there was no going back. Was ZanYi asking him to never die? He couldn't do that—he was mortal, after all. He could not dodge death forever. That, and they were kind of in the middle of a war. So how could he erase her fears and doubts without making empty promises?

"Wild ostrich horses couldn't tear me away from you," he quoted himself, remembering the words he had spoken to her from what seemed like a lifetime ago. But those words were even truer now than they were back on Southern Air Island. Those were happier times, even if the two of them were just getting over episodes of sickness. Now, in the light of the first hardship their relationship had ever faced, he was still saying those words. That had to count for something, didn't it?

"…You hear that, don't you?" he asked after a quiet moment, "How my heart sounds like it's trying to pound its way out of my chest? It only beats like that when you're around." It was a little ridiculous, frankly. Shun chuckled, still plenty embarrassed by it. But it was a good embarrassed. Moving on, the giant waterbender fell silent for a few more minutes, trying to figure out how to articulate his argument of 'presence' to ZanYi. "…What you have to understand, ZanYi, is that love isn't just a physical or emotional thing. It's also a spiritual thing. I don't just love you with my heart: I love you with my soul, too. As long as that remains true—and it will—I'll never truly leave you. My body might be gone one day… and trust me when I say that I'll do everything in my power to make sure I put up one heck of a fight before it's my time to go. But even if my body's gone, I'll still live on through the memories we've made together. You'll never be alone—my spirit will live on through you… just as Zaron's spirit does."

Shun remembered his first encounter with the death of a loved one: his grandpa, his father's father, passed away when he was five. His mother, pregnant with their sister at the time, sat him and his brothers down to explain to them that, even when a person was physically gone, they could still continue to live through memories and happy times they shared with friends and loved ones. That life was his 'spirit', his mother said. As long as they remembered Grandpa, he would never really be gone. To this day, Shun still remembered his grandfather, so he hoped that ZanYi could take some sort of solace from the teachings of a waterbending tribe mother. It might be difficult for her to understand, though—waterbenders and firebenders were very different in how they did things. Still, that didn't mean they couldn't get along, if they were of mind to.

Shun and ZanYi were proof enough of that, even when they fought.

ZanYi wanted to say that wasn't enough. It wasn't enough. She didn't want temporary; she wanted—needed something permanent, someone permanent. Zaron had been permanent to her; he wasn't going to leave her alone. Even when they were apart for long periods of time, she always knew she'd see him again, even if she worried in the mean time. Because he had never broken his word to her before; he'd never lied to her.

And now that was gone. He was gone. Zaron had been her one rock to lean on, her home. With neither of those, she was left swaying in the breeze, dependent on herself. It more than angered her that she couldn't even manage to do that right anymore. A 'spirit' was not enough for ZanYi; the haunting nightmares and echoing voices were not enough. She needed the physical being.

She needed her big brother.

And as much as she wanted to hurl all of that at Shun, to prove him wrong, the lieutenant didn't. Couldn't. Because ZanYi wanted to believe Shun. She wanted to put her trust back in him, wanted to try and lean on him. He was always there—even last night apparently, even after she'd pushed him farther and farther. ZanYi wanted a rock. She wanted it to be Shun.

And deeper still, ZanYi wanted to believe the idea of Zaron being alive, even in the small capacity of a spirit inside her. It was so appealing. That part that still couldn't let go of Zaron, couldn't accept that he was gone for good this time—that part wanted to believe Shun's words rang true. She wanted her brother was alive, even in part.

Frustrated, ZanYi let out a small roar into Shun's chest. Her world was spinning upside down, her thoughts didn't make sense, and the lieutenant felt like the ground had opened up and swallowed her whole. ZanYi wanted to be stable, surefooted. Everything in her life had been structured and controlled; that life made sense. This didn't. Being so unsure of everything was such a hateful feeling, so foreign to her. It made her wonder who was really left.

"I want to believe you…" ZanYi reluctantly responded, "but I don't know if I can…"

Shun stroked ZanYi's hair as he did last night, wanting to give her comfort and reassurance. "I know it's not an easy concept to accept," he readily admitted, "but you don't have to believe right away. I'm right here, ZanYi. I'm here with you now. As long as I breathe, I'll stay by your side. Even when you try to push me away, I'll be there for you, like I was last night. So even when you feel like you're lost, just remember: I'm here, and I love you."

She could be the most frustrating creature on the planet, but Shun didn't care. He loved ZanYi, more than she could ever imagine. It felt so liberating to be able to tell her so at last, after months of keeping it hushed up. It was a shame that she couldn't have been the first to know, but life didn't always go the way one planned it to. All that mattered was that she knew now. And Shun was happy with that alone.

"I love you, Zaza…"

The lieutenant stiffened at the sound of the voice, her insides welled up at the words. It wasn't something he'd said often; it was understood between them. Zaron was the only one who said that to her—which was fine by her—and they weren't exactly the most forthcoming with affection. This was all so intimate for her, then. And it was coming from Shun, something she wasn't exactly equipped to handle right now. She couldn't even handle some of this before everything had happened…

Slowly, hesitantly, she dropped her hands from her head, looking up to see Shun's eyes. They said the same things his lips were uttering to her. Half of her wanted to wretch away from him; the other half wanted to embrace those vows and promises. But ZanYi knew she was not in any position to try making the rational decisions she usually did.

So she nodded to him, acknowledging his words, saying nothing. But the lieutenant pulled away from him, attempting to move off of the bed—she had soldiers to train, work to do. And she did know that she needed that. Needed some semblance of normalcy, needed things to go back to routine.

However, moving freely did not seem to be the best idea; sitting up, ZanYi keeled over, clutching her core as she hissed. Everything hurt. Lightning strikes were always bad, but it had been so long since she had been struck like that. No wonder she didn't remember it as a child. It was incredibly painful, and not an experience she was going to care to repeat.

Shun sat up in alarm, his hands going to ZanYi's shoulders. "Whoa—maybe you shouldn't move today," he suggested, frowning in concern as ZanYi leaned forward, an agonized expression on her face. Shun had healed her to save her life; there wasn't much he could do about the soreness, though. That ZanYi would have to tough out on her own. "Here, lie back down," Shun urged her, standing up to give her room. He had a feeling ZanYi wouldn't be so compliant however, seeing as how the lieutenant had a nasty habit of ignoring her own needs. It was obvious she was in pain, but if the giant waterbender knew ZanYi like he thought he did, she would put on her brave face and tough it out. It was one of those often frustrating quirks that he loved about her.

And true to form, she was indeed not compliant. ZanYi just sucked it up as much as she could. When she tried to climb out of bed, it hurt, and when her feet touched the floor, it was impossibly painful. It was hard to stand up straight. But she did it. She could deal with this. Physical pain was easier to manage; it was something she was accustomed to dealing with.

"I'm fine," she told him simply. Moving slowly past Shun, ZanYi dug through her drawer, finding one of her spare uniforms. She pulled it on over her top and shorts gingerly, trying to minimize certain movements. It was when she pulled on her jacket that she knocked into her left collarbone. The pain right there was very acute, and it made her grimace and lose her breath for a moment, falling back against the dresser. That must've been where she'd been struck. Right over her heart.

ZanYi looked down now, trying to find the scarred tissue there. But there was nothing. Shun really have must've acted fast, or at least hard. A blow like that really would have left scarring, let alone could have killed her…

A hand resting over the spot, holding down the pain, she looked to Shun again, with a furrowed brow, a mix of confusion and contemplation. He really had saved her life—again. There was something so reassuring, so normal about that that ZanYi almost sighed in relief.

Shun met her gaze with a searching look of his own. Despite the stiffness of her movements and the obvious winces on her face, she did seem okay. Still, he was afraid to leave her to her own devices—last night had scared him so much that he yelled at ZanYi about it. He never yelled at ZanYi… except for last night and that one time on Roku's Island. Both times were because she had driven him out of his mind with worry.

It also worried him a bit that she had not responded to him telling her that he loved her. Did he scare her off? He couldn't really tell; he wasn't sure what her expression meant. The hand over her heart struck a chord with him, though. Crossing over to her, Shun carefully embraced the lieutenant, mindful of her soreness. He sighed, knocking his forehead against hers. If he hadn't been as stupid as her to go out into that storm last night… the giant waterbender shuddered to think what could have happened.

"Please," he begged ZanYi, anxious, terrified eyes meeting hers, "don't ever scare me like that again. If I had lost you…"

If Shun had lost ZanYi, he was not sure what he would have done… but he wasn't so sure that he wouldn't want to follow her into the afterlife.

ZanYi stared at Shun, as if still trying to pick apart the pieces of the puzzle. Knowing now that he loved her, she supposed things were starting to make more sense—the attachment was deeper for him than the mutual attraction she'd thought they had. His concern. The necklace. It made more sense.

But she didn't know what to do with that. What was she supposed to do about that? The lieutenant was struggling just to hang onto reality…

"Look… there is more than this war. I know you've come to know this..."

"So let him make you happy…"

For once, she didn't flinch away at the ghostly sound. Is this what Zaron had meant? Is this what Zaron wanted for her? ZanYi didn't know. More questions. Less answers. But she did know she couldn't make any decisions regarding Shun when it seemed like he hung to her every word; right now, that's the last thing she should do.

The lieutenant looked up at those big blue eyes she knew and took a deep breath, looking away from the waterbender. "…I'll try," ZanYi answered him at last.

Shun let out a breath. That was going to have to be the best he could hope for, for right now. Placing a tender kiss on ZanYi's forehead, he released her at last, giving her space. He still wasn't sure if he had turned her off with his confession, so he did not want to push her when she was already broken. "I'll see you later?"

It was a question, rather than a statement—Shun didn't know where this left them now, whether ZanYi was going to return to her anti-social behavior or not. He fervently hoped she would not, but he had said his peace: that he was here when she needed him, and here even when she didn't. He would just have to pray that she kept that in the back of her mind, whenever she was struggling. Shun would make good on his promises. He would make her believe in him again.

ZanYi had to think about that. She was talking to him again—for the moment. And he'd saved her life last night. Parts of this felt closer to normal for her: his embraces, his kiss, his concern. Waking up in his arms, hadn't she liked that? Or at least, she had before all of this…

But nothing was the same as it used to be. Zaron was gone. Even if—and it would've been a rare thing—she had made a mistake about Shun, at the end of the day, she always had her brother to fall back on. There was no safety net now. It was just her. And when Shun was making the promises she wanted to hear, but the very ones Zaron had broken, it was hard to figure out what to do.

ZanYi just wanted this period of mourning to pass. She wanted to be herself, wanted to be secure and confident and not feel like her emotions were going to eat her from the inside out. Now Shun knew everything, and still was adamant about never leaving her side. All the lieutenant wanted was to be left alone, to figure this all out and pretend it never happened.

And then there was Shun. He always seemed to be the exception.

Looking back to Shun's face, she pursed her lips. "Maybe…" ZanYi allowed, thinking she could give him that much.

A corner of Shun's lips pulled up into a hesitant smile. For now, it was enough.

"Then you know where to find me," he said, heading to the door. "I'm gonna go take a nap—I'm exhausted." On top of not being able to sleep well the past couple of weeks, he had been shocked out of sleep from a nightmare, and then stayed up half the night worrying about ZanYi. 'Exhausted' was a bit of an understatement. Pausing in the doorway, the giant waterbender turned to gaze at ZanYi. "Don't push yourself too hard today, okay?" he requested. But, knowing she would do whatever she wanted anyway, he smirked. "The less you get hurt, the less you'll have me fussing over you when I have to heal you. I'll see you later."

Shun entered his own room and immediately collapsed on the bed. It was cold from not being occupied the night before; the giant waterbender shivered. Everything was going to be okay… maybe not right away, but they would be. His hope had been renewed—despite him yelling at her and hurting her feelings, some part of him had gotten through to ZanYi. What happened from there, only time could tell.

It was time to get up. Tiki knew that, and yet, her body would not move. She was way too comfortable at the moment to bear getting up and facing the day. Even after she had gone back to bed after Shun had awakened her, the tiny airbender had difficulty going back to sleep, wondering just what in the world last night had been about. Shun had seemed more upset than usual, and ZanYi was out cold—the woman never stirred as Tiki helped her change. And from what Tiki understood from both Syaoran and Shun, ZanYi could be awakened and set off with just a slight touch. Just what had happened last night?

Tiki let out a huge yawn, snuggling deeper into her covers. Her internal alarm clock was raging at her, telling her that it was past time to get up. So Tiki did something she had never done before—she smashed the snooze button, silencing the instinct that told her she would regret not getting up if she didn't do it now. Just a few more minutes… Syaoran had gotten to the point where he could meditate without her encouragements. He would be fine on his own for just a few minutes, wouldn't he?

No. No, he would not.

He actually went up to see if Tiki had already beaten him topside. Not only was she not up there, but the guards on duty wouldn't even let him up. Apparently it was still raining some and they had decided to take 'extra precautions'. Syaoran didn't even want to know what that meant. The more pressing issue was that Tiki hadn't appeared. Normally she was up before him—frankly, Syaoran was always the last one up on Team Avatar if there wasn't training. How had he ended up with so many morning people on this team?

Syaoran stood outside Tiki's door, frowning. While he figured it would probably be safe to go in if the door was unlocked, the Avatar was still wary. He just did not want to risk such embarrassment and awkwardness again, not with Tiki. He much preferred their functioning relationship—friendship! It was friendship!

To distract himself from his thoughts, Syaoran began to pound on the door. "Tiki?" he called. "Are you awake?"

Tiki groaned, pulling the covers over her head. This could not be happening to her for a second time today.

"No. Go away," she mumbled, hugging her pillow to her. She was desperate to get back to sleep, to steal a few more minutes of slumber before she had to leave the comfort of her bed. She had done a good deed last night—she had rescued a friend from possible pneumonia. Didn't that count for anything? Wasn't she allowed just a few more minutes of sleep for that?

Tiki rolled over so that her back was to the door. Maybe if she feigned sleep, Syaoran would go away. There was no way he would dare to venture into her room after the last time he had burst in unannounced…

Tiki's face flushed red at the reminder, and she burrowed deeper under her covers. No way did she want to face Syaoran now.

Syaoran rested his fist against the door, giving it a look that was surely meant for Tiki. It was confused and agitated. Why on earth was she not getting up? Tiki was always up in the morning; she admonished him all the time for even just being a few minutes late! What hypocrisy was this? "Tiki, get up already! We have to find a new place to train today. They aren't letting anyone topside right now. So c'mon and get up already!"

Seriously, the airbender was never like this. So why today?

A long, drawn-out groan escaped the tiny airbender. Clearly, sleep was not going to happen for her this morning. "Syaoran," she growled, pulling the covers from over her head and sitting up, "just come in!" He was nearly breaking down her door anyway—what was the difference from him just barging in? Jeez!

Tiki looked down at herself and belatedly realized that she was a mess from sleeping. Her hair probably resembled a haystack, she was wearing a shirt that was so big that it kept sliding down one shoulder, and she wasn't wearing a bra. That was just an awkward moment waiting to happen.

The tiny airbender jumped up, suddenly frantic. She couldn't let Syaoran see her like this! Granted, the Avatar probably would not care what she looked like, but even so, her pride was at stake! "Wait, hold on! Don't come in yet!" she shouted, rushing over to her drawers to change into something more suitable. As she rushed around her room akin to a mini tornado, the letter she had written for Kaze was blown off her desk without her notice. It floated to the ground under her chair, the one she sat in a second later to inspect her reflection as she hastily ran a brush through her long hair. Once she felt she was presentable, Tiki summoned Syaoran once again.

"Okay, you can come in now!"

There was a moment of hesitation, as if Syaoran hadn't heard her. But he had, and he was taking a moment to process it. He was not about to barge in again. Nope. Avoiding that at all costs.

So when the door did open, it was with a slow creak, and Syaoran warily peered around the door, about ready to jump back and slam the door if need be. Thankfully, there seemed no need to be afraid, because Tiki sitting fully clothed and oddly presentable for someone who was just in bed. Upon that reassurance, the Avatar entered the room completely, the door ajar behind him.

"Someone's having a late start," he observed the obvious. "Did you hear me? We have to find somewhere else to train today."

"I heard you," Tiki affirmed before she frowned, "but before that, do you mind if we go and find Shun first? He woke me up last night to ask me to change ZanYi out of her wet clothes—apparently they were out in the storm last night for whatever reason, and something happened. She was out cold when I went to help her."

Seriously, what had that been about? Why were Shun and ZanYi outside during a thunderstorm? What sense did that make? Tiki had lost sleep over it, and now that it was morning, she wanted to know what had been going on. She helped Shun without too much question last night—the tiny airbender felt she was owed an explanation.

Syaoran then frowned. That he hadn't known about. How had he slept through all of it? If the Avatar was ever attacked in his sleep, he'd be a dead man, that's what he was learning here. But that was besides the point.

"The guards said it was still raining up there and they weren't letting anyone up because they were taking 'extra precautions'," Syaoran informed the airbender, now a bit worried himself. Nothing about this situation was good. First, ZanYi had been with Shun; as of late, that was a huge irregularity. They'd been out in a storm; also not smart. And ZanYi had been out cold? The lieutenant woke up over just about anything—and torched the offender. He could attest to that. Yet, she didn't even wake up when Tiki was changing her?

"Something's wrong," he concluded with a firm nod. "Let's go find Shun."

Tiki nodded, standing up. "All right, then. Just let me run to the bathroom really quick first. Wait here, okay?" Tiki passed Syaoran and left the room, thinking hard as she headed to the restroom. So the guards weren't letting anyone else out because they were taking 'extra precautions'? What did that mean? Surely they would not deter people from heading to the surface because of a little rain? Tiki loved rain—she enjoyed dancing in it. Something else must have happened the night before—something a lot more serious. And as soon as she returned, she and Syaoran were going to find out what.

Syaoran waved her off as she passed, then starting to just amble around her floor space. It's not like it was a very personalized room. It looked the same as everyone else's, aside from the lieutenant who had a bigger room to accommodate for the mock office space. Though, he did note, it still looked very much like it was Tiki who lived there. After all, no one else here would have such an assortment of stuff for hair as she did on her desk.

It was as he was looking over the desk that something small and white caught his eye. Gaze going to the ground, Syaoran noted the paper that sat under her chair. The Avatar reached down to pick it up, pulling back up only to see her distant relative's name addressed on it.

Syaoran looked to the door. Nothing. He preened his ears. Nothing. So it was with absolute swiftness and quietness that he opened up the letter. Syaoran was not a nosy person. He really wasn't. But considering Tiki's secrecy of her decision-making the night before, he felt like he had to know.

As his jade eyes read her printed words, the Avatar didn't regret this decision to snoop. Tiki couldn't go back. She was a part of Team Avatar. Even ZanYi was—okay, maybe that wasn't a good example in light of recent events and considering the lieutenant had already tried to leave them after he finished firebending. But seriously, the way things were going, the team needed to stay together. If Tiki left, it would be him stuck with the other two. Bad idea. If both of the females left, it would just be him and Shun… That just sounded kind of weird. Either way, this team needed to stay the way it was: four of them. It wasn't a team with any less. It wasn't their team with any less. Syaoran knew he couldn't do this alone, and at this point, there was no others that he would pick over any of them. Especially Tiki, since she had never given up on him…

Quickly pocketing the letter deep, Syaoran decided he wasn't going to let her mail this. He was determined. Tiki belonged with Team Avatar. End of story. The airbenders couldn't dictate her life, not when she was needed elsewhere. All of the other benders were getting by; so could the airbenders. And Syaoran was tired of watching Tiki feel trapped into decisions just because of her lineage.

Tiki finished up as quickly as she could to head back to her room. It was always a bad idea to keep Syaoran waiting, especially because he tended to get grouchy about it. "Ready to go?" Tiki asked, pausing in her doorframe to see Syaoran with his back to her, at her desk. What was he doing, admiring her hair clips? "What are you doing?" she asked, approaching him. There was nothing on her desk he would find interesting… had he just gotten bored waiting for her?

Thankful that he'd already stuffed the letter down in his pocket, he turned at looked at Tiki, putting on a deadpan as always. "I'm waiting. Like you said."

He let his eyes linger on Tiki, despite his aggravation. This was abandonment was a move he'd expect from the lieutenant, not the airbender. ZanYi was the one who always pushed forward. Tiki was the one that was more sentimental, held on to the important things in life, like Team Avatar. And yet, she thought she could just walk away from them all?

Not if Syaoran had anything to say about it. But if she hadn't noticed anything, then he would keep quiet on this for now.

"Now, can we get a move on and go find out what they're hiding from us this time?" he persisted, with a roll of his eyes.

Tiki frowned at him. What was wrong with him all of a sudden?

"You're crankier than usual this morning," she noted, but then shrugged her tiny shoulders. It was Syaoran, after all: if he wasn't surly about something, there was bound to be something even worse going on. "Come on—let's go." Tiki led the way out of her room, pausing just before Shun's door, contemplating it. "Knowing Shun, he should be up already having breakfast…" the tiny airbender's brows furrowed. "But do you think we should check his room first, just in case?"

"Let's go ahead and check his room," Syaoran agreed, moving over to Shun's door. "If he's here, we're not wasting time looking elsewhere." So then Syaoran started to pound on Shun's door. "Shun? You in there? Open up," he called out to the waterbender, should the giant be in his room at such a late morning hour—well, at least by this team's standards it was late.

Tiki rolled her eyes at this. "Will you stop pounding on doors? If you just knock like a normal person, you'll get the same point across," she admonished him. Where was his mother when Tiki needed her? Tiki did not know much about Shima, but she knew enough to know that the woman was not afraid to scold Syaoran in front of his peers. It was actually kind of amusing.

A second later, the door swung open to reveal Shun, looking as if he had just woken up. "Hey guys," he greeted, stifling a yawn and managing a smile. "What's up?"

Was everyone but Syaoran sleeping late today? What kind of upside-down world was this? Tiki folded her arms and eyed Shun. She felt a little bad for interrupting his sleep—she completely sympathized, in fact—but she wanted answers, and the sooner, the better.

"That's what we wanted to ask you. Mind if we come in?" the tiny airbender inquired. Shun seemed a little surprised, but he stepped to the side to allow them passage.

"Sure. Come on in."

Syaoran nodded and slipped past Shun, entering the waterbender's room. This was one he hadn't been in it—once again, not that it made a difference. They were all the same. Rectangular slabs of earth casing quarters with a bed and dresser. The Resistance surely was uniform in almost everything they did, construction included. Leaning against the desk in the room, Syaoran mounted his hands behind him to hold him up, looking at Shun curiously. The man seemed very tired, and surely had to be if he wasn't up yet. From what Syaoran could tell, normally he was the first one up out of all of them.

If Syaoran had known he could sleep in for once, he totally would have. How did he miss the memo?

"So, care to tell us what happened last night?" he asked, eying the pile of wet clothes in the corner before going back to peer at Shun.

Shun grimaced. "Ah." So that's what they wanted to talk about. He should have known. Looking to Tiki, the giant waterbender commented, "I did say I would explain everything today, didn't I?"

"Yep." Tiki moved next to Syaoran, jumping up to sit on the desk and fixing Shun with a focused stare. "So start talking, Shun."

Shun gave a sigh. How to begin…

"Well, last night I had, um, a nightmare," he admitted, only blushing a little. "I decided to go out into the rain, hoping to clear my head with a little bending. All I did was get wet… but anyway, as I was heading back inside, I heard this weird crash, and then a guard rushes over out of nowhere carrying ZanYi." Shun's eyes tightened at the memory of the lieutenant, limp and helpless in the guard's arms. That had to be one of the scariest moments of his life, and he had grown up as an experiment in an anti-bending institution. "Apparently, she had been practicing her lightning techniques—"

"—During a thunderstorm?!" Tiki interjected, gaping a little. There was no way ZanYi could have been that stupid… right?

Shun's gaze was solemn as he nodded, confirming Tiki's words. "Yes, during a thunderstorm… and she almost died last night."

Tiki sucked in a breath. She hadn't known that—she thought it was something less severe. No wonder Shun hadn't wanted to leave the lieutenant alone last night. "…Is she okay?"

"She's breathing," Shun replied. Honestly, he had no idea whether or not ZanYi was okay. Things were getting marginally better, he thought, but other than that, he couldn't know what was going on in the lieutenant's head… other than the fact that she was apparently hearing her dead brother's voice in her ear. But that Shun kept to himself.

Syaoran was stock-still, unable to move. "She almost…?" Syaoran couldn't finish. This wouldn't have made sense normally. ZanYi was smart. She wouldn't do such a thing. But in light of recent events and her behavior...

"ZanYi would have known better," he noted, eyes tight on the ground then. "She didn't even teach me lightning techniques because of how volatile it is; you need complete peace of mind." The lieutenant knew that incredibly well. According to Master Fei, she'd already had a brush with lightning when she was little—one with a similar result. There was no way that she was of peace of mind right now either. Which led him to an even more frightening question.

"Shun…" the Avatar started, raising his eyes up to the waterbender's, grave. "Do you think she did that… on purpose?"

Tiki gasped, shocked that Syaoran would even insinuate such a thing. "Don't say that," she said emphatically, her brows creasing. "Of course ZanYi wouldn't—!"

"I'm not sure."

Tiki turned to stare at Shun, wide-eyed. "What…?"

"I'm not sure," Shun repeated with a slow shake of her head. "I even asked her. She barely remembers that it happened, so she couldn't tell me whether she meant to do it or not. But apparently she practices in the rain all the time."

"There, you see?" Tiki said, seizing onto that one claim. "It wasn't on purpose, then."

Shun remained silent at this. To be frank, he had his doubts: ZanYi was going through a rough time, and keeping it all bottled up inside with no outlet for her emotions. When you felt all alone in the world like that, it was natural to believe that giving up was the only option…

Tiki looked between Syaoran and Shun, her scowl becoming more pronounced. "What? You think that just because ZanYi's going through a hard time that she'd actually consider suicide?"

Shun winced as the word was spoken out loud. "You didn't see her last night, Tiki," he pointed out, "she was—"

"I did see her last night," the tiny airbender asserted, "and all I saw was an unconscious woman in pain. I know you two are used to her being strong, but ZanYi just lost her brother. He was the only family she had left! Can you imagine the pain she must be going through? Knowing that nothing will ever be the same again? How the people she relied on to always be there are suddenly ripped from her, and she has no idea which way is up anymore? Can you imagine living like that?"

Tears were gathering in Tiki's eyes, and Shun felt a jolt to his system. Suddenly, he didn't think they were solely discussing ZanYi anymore.

Syaoran looked sharply over to Tiki as well, knowing exactly where this was leading. This wasn't just ZanYi; Tiki had lost her family too. And that kind of pain wasn't going away any time soon.

With a sigh, Syaoran reached over to the airbender sitting up next to him and wrapped an arm around her. "It's going to be okay, Tiki," he mumbled to her, giving her a sideways squeeze. Tiki had a difficult time holding back her emotions, but she always let them out in the end.

Tiki immediately clung to Syaoran, realizing she needed the support. As she sniffled, trying to get herself together, Shun just watched the pair of them for a moment or two. He was almost envious: Syaoran and Tiki definitely had their differences, but at least they seemed to have a reliable support system. Shun wanted that with ZanYi as well.

The same could not be said of the lieutenant, and maybe that was the problem.

"Okay, so we don't know right now whether ZanYi did it on purpose or not," Syaoran conceded, finding the middle ground for all of them on the matter. Tiki seemed convinced that ZanYi wouldn't do such a thing; Shun seemed almost ready to accept that she had. Syaoran was also inclined to agree, but he just didn't know. ZanYi could have just been pushing herself too hard—normal—or she could have thought about offing herself—possible. "So what do we do now?" Syaoran asked the group, keeping his arm around Tiki tight, trying to be reassuring as his eyes went elsewhere, gazing at Shun.

"I talked to her a little this morning," Shun responded to Syaoran's question. With a cringe, he admitted, "I, uh, kind of yelled at her, too. I think I hurt her feelings."

Tiki turned her head out of Syaoran's shoulder to give Shun a watery eye. "Was this as bad as the time you reamed her out on Roku's Island?" she asked. A corner of Shun's mouth turned down.

"Worse. I said some awful things I'll have to apologize for later, if she ever speaks to me again." The giant waterbender heaved a sigh. He had no one to blame but himself, after all. "So I guess we're right back to square one: we watch and wait." It wasn't a perfect solution, but it was the only thing they had to go on at the moment.

Syaoran was not enthused. "Well, clearly that hasn't been working out for us so far if she managed to almost get herself killed last night," he said sharply. This just wasn't good. ZanYi had tried to leave them before, and it took him and Shun to bring her back. Now she was slipping farther than ever, and on top of that, Tiki was trying to leave them?

His arm tightened around the airbender. Why did this all have to happen? Syaoran had most of his family back; they were safe and sound under the Resistance's protective eye. So why did Team Avatar have to fall apart? He couldn't have both? Apparently not: who knows if any of this would have happened if they hadn't had to add Tiki, Syaoran, and Shun into the battle… Did all of the last minute adjustments to accommodate them and WeiTai cause this? Syaoran almost didn't want to know.

"We can't just sit here and wait for her anymore. Because if we keep waiting, she's not going to come back this time, and we may just lose her for good this time."

"But if we push too hard," Shun commented calmly, "we run the risk of breaking her further. I don't want that. ZanYi just needs to know that we're there for her, even when she feels like she's alone."

Tiki scrubbed at her eyes, rubbing away the moisture with some annoyance. This wasn't about her right now; it was about ZanYi, and how they could help her. "I could talk to her," the tiny airbender offered. "ZanYi may not… appreciate it. But she was there for me once. I can return the favor."

Shun nodded in approval. "I think that'll help. I believe I got through to her a little this morning, but ZanYi needs to know that the whole of Team Avatar is there for her as well. She's still an important part of this team, after all."

Tiki squirmed a bit, suddenly uncomfortable. Here they were, discussing how to best support one of their teammates, and Tiki was considering leaving. That gave her no small amount of guilt. But, she had already decided: she had to be there for her fellow airbenders. She had already written the letter and everything…

…The letter. Where was it? Come to think of it, Tiki hadn't seen it on her desk this morning. Where had it gotten to?

Unease settling in the pit of her stomach, the tiny airbender shrugged out from under Syaoran's grasp. "I, uh, need to go check on something…" she explained vaguely, dashing off to her room. Her desk was just as she had left it, save for one exception—the letter she had written to Kaze was gone. The unsettling feeling growing, Tiki searched all around her desk area, checking behind, around, and under it before she moved on to the rest of her room, searching for the vanishing letter. Where could it have gone? She finished it last night and left it on her desk! And no one else had been in her room except for—

Tiki's eyes widened in realization. Oh no. Surely, he didn't…?

The tiny airbender tore back to Shun's room, her eyes fierce as she approached Syaoran. "Syaoran. Did you take something from my desk this morning? A letter addressed to Kaze?" He better not have. Tiki would be more assured to think that the letter simply vanished rather than the Avatar rustling through her personal property. The former was a much more comforting thought.

Syaoran stiffened, feeling the weight of the letter in his pocket. But since he was already caught, there was no point in denying anything; he wasn't a liar. "No, I didn't," he said evenly, "but I did pick something up off the floor this morning." Then the Avatar fixed Tiki was an angry look, now able to just let it rip at the airbender. "Just when were you planning on telling the team that you were going to ditch us, huh? Or were you even going to tell us at all?"

Syaoran was mad. And at all of them, at this point. It was like everything was crumbling apart, and Syaoran wasn't about to stand by and just watch this happen. They had gone through far too much already to break apart now.

"You can't go, Tiki," he told her forcefully, trying to convey every word with his face as heavily as his tone. "This team is already falling apart!" Syaoran stood up straight then, hands clenched at his sides. "ZanYi just lost her only family and is quickly slipping beyond any of our reaches! Shun here can't even think straight most days because he's so worried about her! And now you want to just up and leave us? No way, Tiki! Not a chance!"

His jade eyes flickered between both Tiki and Shun, trying to keep his outrage down. It wasn't working. Maybe he was starting to panic a little. "I don't know if you guys have forgotten, but we're a team! If we don't stick together, then no one's there for any of us! We were all thrown into this together, but somehow it all works. And I'm tired of sitting here watching you guys fall to pieces! We're a team, and we're a family!"

His breath was coming out in puffs, his anger evident and prevalent. But Syaoran couldn't take it anymore. Something had to stop this from all coming undone before his eyes; it was time to step up and do something about it.

Tiki's face turned a blotchy red. So he did read the letter. That was an invasion of her privacy! How could he? Tiki didn't care that he was getting upset—by now, she was just as angry as he was.

"You had no business going through my stuff, Syaoran," she told him with a severe look, "and for the record, yes, I was going to tell you as soon as I got a response from Kaze. I thought you of all people would understand: my people need me! I have a destiny to fulfill just like you do, and once you're finished with your training, there won't be a reason for me to stick around! I'm not 'ditching' you! This is something I have to do, as councilwoman of the airbenders! I can't expect them to just deal while I run around with you guys, nor will I ask them to! And I will not apologize for doing what I think is right! I care about all of you, but my people need me more, and I can't justify leaving them in the lurch anymore! It's not fair to them, and I refuse to do it! I made my decision, Syaoran, and nothing you say or do is going to change my mind! Now give me back my letter!"

"Tiki—" Shun spoke up, the most shocked by the news: Tiki, Syaoran's own personal cheerleader, was leaving Team Avatar? The giant waterbender supposed he shouldn't have been surprised: the burden weighing on Tiki's shoulders was just a little less heavy than the one Syaoran had to carry. Shun just didn't think that she would choose to leave of her own free will. He had always pictured her distant cousin Kaze coming along to drag her back to the airbenders by force, not… this.

"Stay out of this, Shun!" Tiki cut him off, her stormy eyes focused on Syaoran and Syaoran alone. Shun thought about telling the tiny airbender that since they were in his room, he could not, in fact, "stay out of it"… but he didn't believe that would help matters at all. So Shun chose the wise road and kept his mouth shut.

"No, I won't!" Syaoran told Tiki point blank, stepping closer to her, glaring down at the small airbender. He didn't care how mad she was or how mad she was going to get. Syaoran was tired of taking the backseat when it came down to this team. Every single decision on this team seemed to happen either as a whole or without him even knowing. Not anymore.

"Guess what, Tiki? Your people are not the only people out there! In fact, they're only a small portion! And yet you're going to throw away Team Avatar just for that? This isn't just about the four of us! I can't do anything without you guys to make sure I don't screw up, and I've got everybody riding on me! Earthbenders, waterbenders, firebenders, nonbenders, and—yes—airbenders! So if this is really about helping airbenders, you're help is better served at ending the war!"

He took another step forward, towering over her now, rigid and tall. "And you know what's not fair? Making a commitment to us, to promise to be with us, to promise to be there for me and just throw it all away! You're a lot of things, Tiki, but dishonest and unfaithful is not one of them! Your people are alive, have families and an island to call their own! We're the ones barely scraping by day to day, and yet it's them that you want to return to?"

Tiki was infuriating him with this decision. And he was not going to apologize for anything this time. She was the one betraying them. Syaoran gave her a dark look. "You're not getting this letter back. I refuse to let everything the four of us have worked so hard for fall apart now." He brushed by her roughly and walked on out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Tiki stared at the door, her chest heaving. She could no longer articulate her anger—instead, she just wanted to hit something. Syaoran was being so unfair! This was not his decision to make! He made it sound like she had it so easy, like she was simply choosing to leave on a whim. This was not a decision she was making lightly, and it killed her to know she had to leave them, but she had to do it! Yes, the Avatar was the emissary for all people, but right now, Tiki's people were suffering, despite what Syaoran thought he knew. He wanted to be that way? Fine. It wasn't like the letter he took could not be rewritten. And that was exactly what she was going to go do.

As Tiki moved to the door, a quiet, worried voice called her back. "Tiki."

"Don't," she said severely, whipping around to glare at Shun. The giant waterbender fell silent again, but his gaze spoke volumes. Remembering that it was not Shun she was angry with, the tiny airbender heaved a deep sigh. "Just… don't," she said again, but more gently this time. Her mind was made up. This was something she had to do. And Syaoran's temper was not going to sway her.

As she left, Shun heaved a sigh himself. Team Avatar was ripping at the seams right before his very eyes. There was no way he was going to sleep now.

A/N from DJ: Messy, messy, messy... Clearly we're back in action if we're dropping bombs every week xP Good luck dodging them~ Also, WOW! The amount of love we've gotten from you guys last week was just awesome! We're so glad you're enjoying the story, and now, to the personal acknowledgements!

EnterprisingSmoo: First, we thank-you for your favorite and watch right off the bat! I also am relieved you now have another outlet to share your reactions that don't involve slamming me into doors with love or outrage xD As you can see, the storm abounds for all of our characters now, which I know you will rage at. Enjoy xD Also, if you're feeling like these guys are canon, then that means we're doing something right. Thank-you!

Puttekara: Thank-you so much for continuing to read and for the Story Alert~! I hope you enjoy Water as much you enjoyed Fire and Air!

Ozai37: Wow! Thanks so much for favoriting us, Water, and the Story Alert! We're so glad you changed your mind on this story! It's so hard to fit a real description in the little space we're given, so we just try to do enough justice to get people in! Once you're hooked, then we're good to go! xD I'm so happy you love Tiki and ZanYi - all of our characters have their own story and background, and those two are especially rich~

Masseffect321: Thanks for the Author Alert, Story Alert, and favorite right off the bat! Was the wake-up all the awkward you hoped for? I hope so xD You were a little late, but it's all good! Now you'll never be behind on an update again! xD

Same Guest: Hooray! You live! Dude, I know how work goes, so it's all good! We're just happy you're still with us! I'm so glad the finale for Air completely enraptured you, because that means we wrote it as intensely as it deserved to be. Good job picking up on our little cues of the elements in the writing! We try to capture the right themes at the right times! As for what happens to the team... well, you'll just have to wait and see! xP

AndreasBruckert: Hey there! That's a name I recognize as a long-time reader! Thanks so much for your continued support, this time through a Story Alert and Favorite! Hope you enjoy Water!

ANewbutOldGuest: Glad to know we have another old fan! Thanks so much for sticking with us for so long! We do love enthusiasm from our readers, but this is no replacement for real life. We want you to enjoy both, so we hope that you do!

Wow! So much to go through xD Hope you guys enjoyed this week's chappie! Also, a quick shout-out to my co-writer, Eva, because she had a birthday this week! She survived another year, HOORAY! Now, that's a wrap! See you next week!