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.
Shun was back in his room. ZanYi could hear the door beside her room open and close. After she'd left to deal with Syaoran, she didn't know where he'd gone to find Tiki, or where he'd gone since. Not that she had to know. What she did have to know was if the two younger members had made up. That's why she was here: to make sure the team was running smoothly. It was better than having nothing.
And yet, that's exactly what she had right now. Nothing. She couldn't train with any of the soldiers. She couldn't do paperwork. ZanYi literally had nothing to do while Team Avatar went about its business.
Which made everything worse.
It was when Zaron's voice would feel the loudest. She couldn't nap, for she couldn't risk falling into another night terror when others around were close enough to hear her. This is exactly what she had been trying to avoid, been dreading. And it made things so much worse, made the feelings threaten to overflow, made the reality so much sharper…
ZanYi couldn't do this. Couldn't just sit here in her room. Her options were limited, backed into the proverbial corner by her orders. But as much as she didn't want to do what she was about to, the lieutenant had to escape the void somehow.
Leaving her room, she leaned against Shun's doorframe, knocking. It was barely a courtesy. ZanYi then entered the room, shutting it behind her. She leaned back against the door, with a cross of her arms. "Did you talk to Tiki?" she asked the waterbender, getting right to the point of the matter.
However, Shun was just back from a shower. Which means he was not yet clothed. Shun nearly dropped his towel in shock, whirling around to stare at ZanYi in horror. Usually, he would have been happy that she had come to call on him on her own. But right now, he was not. "I appreciate the fact that you knocked," he began, turning his back on the lieutenant to secure his towel and hide his blush, "but isn't the courtesy of a knock useless if you just come in anyway?" Though Shun wasn't exactly surprised: that was just ZanYi's way. Still, he could not talk to her like this.
"I can tell you about it," he began in answer to her question, turning his head to look at her from his peripheral vision, "but could you give me a few minutes? I'm… indecent."
Was she seriously not bothered at all by the fact that he was currently only in a towel? The giant waterbender's insecurity flared once again. Perhaps ZanYi had just been toying with him, all those nights they held each other…? No, Shun did not want to believe that. How could he? She still wore his necklace—that had to mean something… even if he wasn't quite sure what it was.
Shun's discomfort and embarrassment was so familiar to ZanYi, as was the sight of his bare chest and back. Here was a man that she had trusted with almost everything, one that she had been fond of, one that she had cared about. And if the lieutenant let herself consider it, she knew that most of that was still true.
But she'd lost the trust. It wasn't Shun's fault. It was Zaron's. It was WeiTai's. It was her own. And even knowing that he loves her wasn't enough to push her to make that leap again.
It had been a bad decision to come in here. Shun may just be thinking of the logistics of it all; after all, he was almost stark naked. But ZanYi knew she couldn't do this right now, couldn't talk to Shun, as much as there was still a part of her that wanted to. But ZanYi was too far gone right now, too messed up. She had to find her way back, and on her own.
"Don't worry about it," the lieutenant told Shun in a neutral tone, pushing off the door. "As long as you talked to her. I'll speak with them later."
She left the room and shut the door behind her, going back to her own room. ZanYi sat down on her bed and leaned over, holding her head. The two necklaces she wore tumbled out of her top: Zaron's and Shun's. The lieutenant looked at them and growled. That day she'd lost Zaron, she'd also lost her brother, her best friend, her rock. And each day, ZanYi could only see how it had messed her up, knocked her off her feet. Like this, she couldn't be around Shun, around his kindness and his support and his love.
It just wouldn't be fair to anyone. And that meant she lost both of them that day in the raid.
And while Shun was relieved when ZanYi left, that bothered him. He knew it was not that he wanted her to go; he just didn't want her to see him like this: naked. But now that she was gone, he wanted to call her back, to hold her and tell her that everything was going to be all right. These days, though she tried her hardest to keep her expressions under control, Shun could see her through the mask. And she was hurting.
Dressing as quickly as he could and hastily drying his hair, the giant waterbender left his room to go speak with ZanYi. He almost knocked… but then he decided he did not want to give ZanYi the chance to deny him entry and just walked in, shutting the door behind him. ZanYi sat on the bed, her head in her hands, looking utterly defeated. And that hurt Shun to see. He sat down next to her, a careful hand on her back. "Are you all right?" he asked softly, feeling that it was an idiotic question, but needing to ask it anyway. He hated to see ZanYi looking so lost, and he would do anything to help her. Despite whatever feelings—or lack there of—she may harbor for him, his love for her was not going to go away, nor could he forget about it. He had already tried.
ZanYi had stiffened when she heard her door open, though she knew in all likelihood who it was that would just come in. When the intruder sat down beside her, touched her back, expressed his concern, the lieutenant knew it was Shun. It made her want to run, to push away again. But this was her room. And right now, she didn't have anywhere else to go; all of the training rooms were being used by troops right now. She'd have to wait for even those to free up. In the meantime, ZanYi was just going to have to make do here.
"I'm fine," the lieutenant asserted, rising to her feet to stand. Turning and looking down to Shun, she put on the most neutral look she could, refusing to relent. "Did you need something?"
Shun held back his sigh. There she was, being distant again. It was all he could do not to pull her into her arms and hold her until she believed nothing in the world would go wrong ever again. It killed him to see her so unhappy… but he knew she would not appreciate him coddling her. ZanYi wanted to deal with this herself, so Shun would respect her wishes… for now.
"I wanted to ask you if you think we should worry about Tiki and Syaoran," he asked after casting about for a topic that would interest the lieutenant. "They've been fighting much more recently, and it's beginning to worry me. What are your thoughts?" Shun had his thoughts about the issue, of course, but he wanted to know what ZanYi thought before he spouted them. It would be nice to know whether or not he was the only one thinking that the two youngest members of Team Avatar only fought so hard against each other to keep each other's attention.
"I don't think it's anything to worry about," ZanYi said after a deep breath. This was a topic that ZanYi could work with—it was work. Team Avatar was back to being her job. She had to focus on that. Right now, it seemed that Tiki and Syaoran were the focus of the issue. Rare, but it was easy to work with. "Syaoran wasn't thinking about why they were fighting, just about her leaving him alo—"
"I'll never leave you alone."
No. No. Not again. Not right now. The voice made her stiffen and cut off, startled. Why couldn't Zaron go? Why? If this kept up, ZanYi was never going to be able to focus, never be able to get better…
The lieutenant took a deep breath and then continued, ignoring the echoes in the recesses of her mind. "If they just talk things out and say what they both mean, they'll be fine," she finished, concluding her take on the situation.
Shun stared at ZanYi, scrutinizing her. She had stiffened mid-sentence, the word 'alone' tripping her up. What was going through her mind? The giant waterbender reached out to take one of her hands. "I'll ask you again," he said, "are you all right?" Why did he bother asking? She would just assert that she was fine again and push him away further. But Shun wasn't going to let her this time around. Even if he made a nuisance of himself, he would help her.
ZanYi grit her teeth, but she didn't pull her hand away. The touch was soft, was gentle, was very much 'Shun'. Before all of this, she couldn't understand his tenderness, couldn't grasp it. It would make her embarrassed, sometimes uncomfortable. But now? Now it made her want to crumble, made her want to let go of everything and take it.
But if she let it all go… would she get back up? Would she be able to rein it all back in?
Not being able to answer that question was one of the things that always stopped her from deciding. But ZanYi wanted to believe Shun, wanted him to be there. She'd finally started to try that before all of this. He was still here. Shouldn't she at least try?
Before the voice could come back again, before she could talk herself back out of it, ZanYi tried. "Maybe not. Maybe not, Shun…" she answered him as honestly as she could bring herself too. Just his name on her mouth filled her with some kind of assurance. Shun was still here. And whether she wanted to admit it or not, the lieutenant needed that.
The admittance both surprised Shun as much as it encouraged him. So she was willing to admit that she wasn't as put-together as she pretended to be. Shun would take what he could get. "Tell me what's on your mind," he encouraged her, taking her other hand as well. His eyes were earnest as he looked up at her. "I'm right here, ZanYi. Just talk to me."
She could manage that much, couldn't she? All he wanted was for her to confide in him, to feel comfortable enough to share her sorrows with him. Shun knew he could never replace the late sergeant major, nor did he want to. He just wanted ZanYi to believe that she was not alone, that she would never be alone as long as he was around.
ZanYi didn't mean to encourage him, but what was she expecting with an answer like that? Then again, he wasn't asking much of her. She knew that. He just wanted her to talk to him. Doing that had never failed her before either. Shun kept her secrets, never judged her. So why: why was it so hard for her to take that step towards him again? Why couldn't the lieutenant go to him, rely on him? She trusted him with her life, didn't she? It frustrated her to feel like something she'd once had was missing, was lost. And ZanYi couldn't find it.
In the end, the lieutenant didn't take that step. But she did find it in herself to answer. Her golden eyes met Shun's earnest blues, furrowed. "I'm on suspension… and I think it's because General Chen thinks I'm losing it. That I'm going crazy." ZanYi grit her teeth, the irritation and insult coming up to her throat. In the end, however, she couldn't allow it up. Because… "He might be right." Eyes narrowed, she bore her eyes into Shun's, as if gauging him, waiting for his response to that. "What do you have to say to that, Shun Jiang?"
Shun did sigh this time. She thought she was going crazy? Standing up, Shun let go of ZanYi's hands only to take her face in his hands instead. "Listen to me," he implored her, his eyes serious. "You are not going crazy. You're grieving. Everyone grieves in different ways. The only thing I'm worried about is that you're trying to hold it all in, so that all your grief is turned inwards. That might make you feel like you're crazy." Shun searched ZanYi's face. She looked… something. A mixture of exhaustion, irritation, hurt, and loneliness. It hurt Shun to look at her, but he could never take his eyes off of her. "What can I do to help?" he found himself asking. "These are feelings you need to release. I'll spar with you if that helps. Just tell me what you need."
This is how ZanYi knew things were bad: Shun just volunteered himself to spar with her. He'd tried almost everything to get out of it the one time she'd suggested it. Yet here he was, putting it up as his own idea. Just how far was ZanYi falling, to where Shun was willing to put that on the table to just try and help her?
"…I might be open to that," she considered, knowing that if she was feeling desperate, she actually would. If she wasn't allowed to work with the other soldiers, that left no one else. But Shun didn't count as a soldier. Was that a loophole in General Chen's orders? ZanYi couldn't tell. "But you can't help, Shun. You can't take away—"
Zaron's voice?
The night terrors?
The broken promises?
Just what was ZanYi trying to fill into that blank? She didn't know. She didn't know what she was trying to say. And she hated this, hated not knowing anything in her own head, her own mouth. Frustrated, she tore away from Shun, pacing away with a growl. Her life was about structure, order. She could make others organize like that; why wouldn't her mind work the same? Why was it that she suddenly asked so many questions? Why was her every thought consumed by that day? By what she'd could've done better? By Zaron's voice?
"Don't let this war consume you like it did to me…"
The echo was enough to send her over. With a roar of irritation, ZanYi hit the nearest thing she could: the picture of her and Zaron on her desk. It flew across the room to crack and splatter against the floor. Glass shattered into tiny diamonds, glistening on the earth. And then all was silent. All was still. ZanYi rested her hands on her desk, hunched over as she tried to breathe, to regain control. She was losing it again and now she had an audience. Another reason she hadn't wanted to come back over here. "You can't help me, Shun. No one can…"
Shun did not want to believe that. In fact, he rejected it with every fiber of his being. He could help ZanYi—he could help her help herself. He just… didn't know how, at the moment. Unwilling to let her temper deter him, he crossed the room to stand in front of her once again.
"Maybe, maybe not," he stated diplomatically. He tilted his head, leaning a little to meet ZanYi's eyes once more. "But it won't stop me from trying," he assured her, a small smile on his face. "No matter how 'crazy' you think you're going to get, I'll still be here. I love you too much to bear walking away now."
Ah, how the giant waterbender relished being able to tell ZanYi he loved her. She may not be able to appreciate it at the moment, but he enjoyed saying it. And he would say it again and again until the stubborn lieutenant actually believed him. It was a little pushy, almost to the point of forcing his feelings on her. But ZanYi had not told him yet to stop saying it—and even if she asked him not to, he probably would not comply. Why deny the truth?
"I love you, Zaza..."
ZanYi wanted to clench her head, to block out the sound. She settled for her eyes. There were those words again. Sure, she'd heard them from Zaron. But this was Shun. Shun was not Zaron. And even though their voices melded in the back of her mind, ZanYi still fought to distinguish them. Because Shun was still here. Shun was here and fighting to keep her sane, to just let him be let in on her world right now—even if it was hellish.
"Shun," the lieutenant finally spoke up, opening her eyes and lifting them upward to meet Shun's. She was frowning. "Don't do this to yourself. I can't answer your feelings right now—maybe before all this, maybe in the future. But right now I can't even get myself together. Things aren't like before; I'm a wreck. I won't let my problems tear you down."
Shun almost laughed. Don't do this to himself? As if he meant to fall in love with her—things would be so much easier if he hadn't. But decidedly much less meaningful. "I don't want you to answer my feelings right now," he said, "I just don't want you to forget. And… I've been holding back from saying it so long that I just want to say it all the time now. Forgive me if it annoys you; I just like telling you that I love you." Shun reached out to touch ZanYi's face again, to stroke her cheek with his thumb. "It's okay to be a wreck. You recognize that fact, and you're trying to work through it. That's fine. Just know that I'm here to support you, no matter what. Like it or not, your problems are already my problems. And I'm just fine with that."
ZanYi could only look at him with confusion and perhaps a bit of awe. Through her furrowed brow, she only expressed the former. But the lieutenant could hardly believe the waterbender. Not because she was just not being trusting. No, because for even Shun, this seemed so far out there. Since when had he felt like this? When had things become like this?
Unable to answer either question should have irked her. But right then, ZanYi found herself wanting to take everything he had to offer, to depend on him again. She wanted one thing that wouldn't change anymore. It came in the form of Shun.
"So let him make you happy… He won't leave you… not like me."
Zaron's voice came again, but it was like he was trying to answer her questions this time, trying to urge her forward. It still haunted her. But the little sister she was wanted to believe her big brother's words, even if his word was already broken.
"And what if I do depend on you? What happens then?"
Shun wanted to shrug. Who could say? But that wasn't the answer ZanYi was looking for, not with those serious amber eyes, so he thought a little harder. If ZanYi were able to trust him, to be able to depend on him, what happened then? The answer came to him in a manner of seconds.
"Then I become your rock."
Realizing how that might come off, he rushed to correct himself. "Don't get me wrong—I'm not trying to replace your brother. I just want to become a new pillar of strength for you, someone you can always rely on when times get hard. All I ask in return is that you offer the same support to me, should things in my life end up in shambles… well, more than usual." A corner of Shun's mouth quirked upwards at this. Out of everyone in Team Avatar, he was the only one without personal drama going on at the moment, issues with ZanYi notwithstanding. Karma was bound to turn its evil eye upon him eventually.
"This could be an equal partnership, if you want to think of it that way: we'll lend each other strength in times of need. And if a situation ever occurs where we both need support at the same time, we'll just lean on each other." Shun raised ZanYi's chin to give her a smile. "What do you think? Sound good to you?"
ZanYi didn't want to think about it. She wanted to be confident in her decision, and be able to make that confident decision in a matter of moments. She wished she had that certainty again to do that. Faced with nothing less than Shun's steady gaze, the lieutenant let herself think that she could do that again. She just might need a little help.
"…You've got a deal," ZanYi told Shun with a slight incline of her head. "Don't make me regret this, Shun Jiang."
Shun smirked at her warning. Where had he heard those words before? It was so nostalgic. He just hoped that he had not given her any reasons to doubt him so far.
But if prior experiences were still of note, the lieutenant knew he wouldn't. And she would be more than willing to pay every bit of that back to Shun. ZanYi never wanted handouts, never wanted coddling. This would just be another part of the job: Shun.
"Guess this means you're still mine?" ZanYi managed to ask, and maybe, just a bit, there was a ghost of her smirk on her lips.
Shun dangled her dogtags, the metal clinking together. "I'm still wearing my 'collar'. What does that tell you?" he teased. His eyes were intense, however. "I've always been yours, ZanYi. For longer than you realize, in fact. It's just… taken me a while to tell you." He hoped she would not ask why. He couldn't tell her. Syaoran may have given Shun permission to pursue ZanYi, but the giant waterbender would still keep the Avatar's secret. There seemed to be no sense in opening up that can of worms.
And she didn't ask. ZanYi chocked it up to Shun being, well, Shun: embarrassed and shy about it all. It's the way he was with most things concerning the two of them. But she hadn't missed the dogtags—he'd been quite obvious wearing them as of late. If she hadn't been doing her best to avoid him, the lieutenant would have admonished him for it. But there was nothing she could now about that. She could, however, take relief that he still wore them, that he hadn't taken them off.
That would have meant he'd given up on her.
At the prompting, ZanYi looked down to the fang around her neck. Reluctantly, she confided, "I didn't take it off." The lieutenant lifted the necklace, almost frowning at it. "I just… didn't want to."
"I'm glad." Shun's fingers touched the fang briefly. "I had hoped you were keeping it safe for me, even if you hadn't exactly wanted to talk to me for the past few weeks." And the fact that she still wore it gave Shun even more hope. She may not feel for him the way he felt for her, but she at least cared enough to still wear his necklace, even if it was kept tucked away under her shirt and jacket. She was still wearing it—that was all that mattered.
The mood right now was so nice—nothing had been solved just yet, but they were at least taking steps towards it. Shun would hate to ruin it by being greedy. And yet…
"…You can call me weird for asking first," he began with a slight smile, "but… can I hug you? Just for a little bit?" He had already been too touchy-feely with her today; he did not want to push her past her limit. But his arms were aching for her, missing her warmth. If she said no, he wouldn't take it personally. At least he asked instead of surprising her with the contact.
Giving the man a flat look, ZanYi immediately called him, "Weird."
Since when did Shun ever ask for permission? The answer was never. But ZanYi knew things were not like they were before. She'd made that fact very clear. Things weren't going to right back to how they were. But Shun seemed quite intent on staying, despite that.
ZanYi didn't want to push him away this time. Not with everything he was putting forth for her. And for the time being anyway, she was firmly rooted in reality. She wasn't afraid of burning him again. So she relented.
"Go ahead," she told him.
Not needing to be told twice, Shun immediately embraced ZanYi, sighing in content. He had missed this so much. At least not much had changed—she still carried her smoky scent, and she still fit perfectly into his arms.
…Too perfectly, in fact.
"You've lost weight," Shun noted, though he supposed he shouldn't be surprised. ZanYi probably shared his lack of appetite during this trying time. That worried the giant waterbender. "Are you going to be having dinner with us tonight?" Shun would be able to eat if ZanYi did. And if she planned to stay in her room, he could resume his meal delivery service and eat with her. If he could see with his own eyes that she was getting the nourishment she needed, he would be happy.
ZanYi sighed. She supposed she would have to deal with this now too. Shun was too observant; he'd make her eat, some way or other. If anything, he would pester her until she did. And while she didn't exactly want to go, she had to make sure Tiki and Syaoran had sorted things out. That was the main reason for her mandated transfer back to Team Avatar.
"I'll be at dinner tonight," she told him begrudgingly. But if she started having any kind of mental break, the lieutenant would be out of there faster than anyone would even be able to stop her. "Team Avatar's my job again." Though, and she would never admit this to anyone, Shun wasn't necessarily a bad thing to have with her. Unlike her usual self, the back of her mind was still pestering her, questioning whether this was the right decision, to start letting Shun back in. But for once, Zaron's voice was quiet. So ZanYi would take what she could get.
Like Shun's embrace. The way he was holding onto her, ZanYi would have thought that he thought he would never get to do this again. Though the lieutenant did suppose it was warranted; she had nearly killed herself a couple days ago, unable to even tell him whether it was purposeful or not. Okay. His worry was kind of justified this time.
"Good. We might need crowd control, after the scene Tiki and Syaoran apparently caused at lunch today," Shun joked, though the situation was less than amusing. He really hoped the two youngest members of Team Avatar had worked out their differences—the rest of the base was already gossiping about Team Avatar as it was.
Shun sighed, the sound heavier this time. He did not want to let ZanYi go. But he knew that if he did not release her soon, he would get greedier, and he could not afford that. So it was with great reluctance that the giant waterbender relinquished his hold on the lieutenant, taking a step back for good measure. "Thank you," he was sure to tell ZanYi, a smile beginning to stretch across his features. "I know I can get a little… intense. So thank you for putting up with me… and I love you." Shun's face colored a little this time, inexplicably embarrassed, although he had told ZanYi that he loved her a few times before already. Perhaps it was the intimacy of the moment that was making him embarrassed. Either way, the fact that he was embarrassed was making him even more embarrassed, and he fidgeted, averting his eyes.
"Um… I'll, uh, see you at dinner, then," he dismissed himself, turning and walking quickly to ZanYi's door. He needed to be alone to calm down, and he felt comfortable enough with the talk he had with ZanYi to let her be until dinner. He wouldn't hover over her and make a nuisance of himself, but if she ever needed him, he was always right next door.
When the door clicked shut, ZanYi released a sigh, though of its origin, she could not ascertain. The very fabric of her mind and control had been pushed to its limits as of late, almost impossible to handle. And then came Shun. It was enough to make Zaron quiet in her mind, and even this small break of peace was something she wanted to hang on to.
The lieutenant almost went to sit on the bed, but seeing the shattered glass of the frame she'd thrown across the floor, ZanYi knew she had clean up to do. What she was going to do about Shun and his feelings for her could wait. She had a job to do, things to do, and even maybe a bit of hope that she wouldn't completely lose her mind after all.
Sleep.
It was supposed to be a good thing, wasn't it? A time of rest and recuperation, of preparation for the coming day. And yet, ZanYi found herself almost dreading it each night. Because rest, recuperation, and preparation? None of those had come for her in a while now. Every night, it was the same song and dance. Sometimes she was lucky—she could wake herself up every once in a while, stop the dreams.
But after a day of dealing with Team Avatar, in various respects, as well as a good several hours working out in the training room, that night was not going to be a lucky night.
Late into the night, she tossed and turned, fidgeting in her sleep. The dreams started as flashes. Zaron and her on the island. Bootcamp. On the job together. But the train of memories always came to the same station: the day he died.
Things grew more vivid. The confidence as he caught up to her. The look on his face as they saw the grenade drop down. The fire. The heat. The shrapnel. Dust exploding up around them. Zaron's still body.
"No… No, Zar…"
He was wounded. He was coughing blood. He didn't think he was going to make it…
"No. Shun can fix it... he'll fix it..."
Slipping away. Slipping away. Slowly. Then faster. Zaron's eyes glazed over. They closed. His fire went out.
"No… Zaron! Zaron, don't go! ZARON!" the lieutenant bellowed in her sleep, panicked, frantic. He wasn't gone. He couldn't be gone. And yet, the memory would rewind.
He fell. He was coughing blood again. And again. And again…
"ZAROOON!"
Next door, Shun jerked away from his covers, the sound of distress coming from ZanYi's room piercing through his dreamless sleep. He stared around in confusion in the dark for a second, feeling as if he, too, were reliving the death of the late sergeant major. But when he looked around and remembered where he was, ZanYi's cries reached him again. Two words sprang to Shun's mind: night terrors.
Pausing only to grab his canteen, the giant waterbender rushed out of his room and burst into ZanYi's, thankful that the door was unlocked and he wouldn't have to kick it down. There the lieutenant was, thrashing around and tangling herself in her sheets, agony clear on her face. Shun shut the door before he approached her, popping the top off of his canteen as a precaution. He grabbed ZanYi by the upper arms, firmly shaking her.
"ZanYi! ZanYi, wake up!"
Something was touching her, grabbing her. Someone was calling out to her.
"GET DOWN!"
Zaron cried in her dreams, his arms and body shoving her to the ground. The command made her fight harder, scrambling to get to Zaron. His body was still, so still. She had to get to him, had to make sure he was okay. Zaron was hurt. His blood was everywhere. There was shrapnel in him. He needed help. Where was help?
"Ransik, I need Shun. Now!" ZanYi cried out, hoping as if this time it would be different, this time Shun would get there in time, Zaron would hold on this time…
But nothing changed. He was slipping away again. "Zaron!" the lieutenant called out again, trying to wake him up. "You promised me. YOU PROMISED!"
Shun began to panic. He knew all too well what it felt like to lose the distinction between dreams and reality, when the horrors of reality came to haunt him in his dreams. He could not even reassure ZanYi that it was only a dream—that would be a lie. She was reliving the worst moments of her life, over and over again. There had to be some way he could help. There had to be.
Pulling the tortured woman into his arms, Shun held her tightly, rocking back and forth. "I'm here, ZanYi," he murmured into her ear. "I'm right here. Wake up. Please, wake up." Shun hated seeing ZanYi like this, to have to witness her fall. He hurt when she hurt, and right now, her night terrors were killing them both. He had to wake her up, he had to help her escape that hellish loop of events she seemed to be reliving in her sleep. "Open your eyes, ZanYi. Wake up."
She felt something warm and comforting wrap around her. It was a feeling she knew well, from someone she knew well.
"I'm the only one here, and I won't judge you. I'm here for you," came Shun's voice this time, in her ear. But ZanYi couldn't tear her gaze from the fire, its pyre her brother. He was gone. Zaron was really gone. He was actually dead.
"Zar…"
"...You don't have to look," Shun's voice came again, urging her. And this time, she changed the game. ZanYi closed her eyes, tearing her gaze from the burning body. But the voice didn't stop.
"I'm here, ZanYi. I'm right here. Wake up. Please, wake up. Open your eyes, ZanYi. Wake up."
Wasn't Zaron still burning? Wasn't he still dead in front of her eyes? But the voice was so anxious, so desperate to get to her. Shun's voice shouldn't sound like that. It was supposed to sound happy, was supposed to laugh. Something had to be wrong for him to sound like that.
So ZanYi listened. She stopped struggling. She opened her eyes, slowly, hesitantly. But when the golden gaze saw her surroundings, it was not Zaron's dying day, and he wasn't burning. There was a solid chest in front of her eyes, one that the lieutenant knew better than any other. Her breathing started to slow back down, but ZanYi wouldn't lift her eyes, knowing this was reality. Which meant Shun was actually holding her again, had come in the night for her.
This was mortifying to the lieutenant. She was a woman who did not embarrass easily, was never ashamed. And yet, in that moment, ZanYi was. The night terrors had struck again, and now, back in the team's wing, there was someone who heard her. How far had she fallen from grace that she could not hold herself together?
ZanYi couldn't answer herself and thus remained still and silent.
Her sudden silence both relieved and worried Shun. She had become too still in his arms as well. "ZanYi?" Shun pulled back a bit, looking down. ZanYi's eyes were open, and she hadn't attacked him, which must mean she knew where she was. Shun sighed in relief, hugging her again. "Thank goodness. I was so worried." The giant waterbender said nothing more, simply content to hold ZanYi. She must be feeling terrible, and he did not want to make it worse by saying or asking anything. He hoped his physical presence would be enough, a hand running down her back as he held her.
He wanted to ask if she was all right, though. But that would be a stupid question: of course ZanYi wasn't all right. Her pain over her brother's death was hounding her relentlessly, even in her sleep… and Shun knew what it felt like to not be able to have a moment's rest when he needed it most. He knew what it felt like to have the world closing in around him, as if he had no hope of being happy ever again.
"…It wasn't your fault," he felt he had to say, despite his better judgment. If he knew ZanYi like he swore he did, he knew the reason she kept revisiting her brother's dying day: survivor's guilt. There was always something she could have done differently, something that might have saved him if only she had thought of it back then…
Shun hated to see her tearing at herself from the inside: if she needed someone to blame, it might as well be him. He hadn't gotten there in time because he got the message too late. If he had focused and not allowed his comm device to short out, maybe things would have turned out differently.
"Yes, it is my fault."
ZanYi's voice was quiet but certain as she refuted him. His words were not like his arms. The latter of those two was warm, comfortable, familiar. The former were lies, piercing and twisting. ZanYi knew the truth, knew whom to blame. Sure, WeiTai had dropped that grenade; sure, Shun hadn't gotten there in time. But one person was there the whole time and didn't stop it.
Herself.
"If I hadn't lost sight of WeiTai, I would've seen the grenade sooner," ZanYi explained, against her own will. "If I had been paying attention to my surroundings, he wouldn't have had to push me down and could've saved himself. If I hadn't put you purposefully away from the fighting, you could've helped him. If I hadn't agreed to include the take-down of WeiTai in the plans, there wouldn't have even been fighting."
ZanYi had thought about it from every single perspective. There was not a single angle where the fault didn't lie with her.
"ZanYi," Shun sighed, moving his hand from her back to tilt her chin up, forcing her eyes to meet his earnest ones. "You couldn't have known what would happen. It's war: no matter how hard we try, no plan can be perfect… nor can any human. You can't blame yourself for something no one saw coming."
The circles under ZanYi's eyes were as dark as ever. Shun ran a thumb over them, his brow furrowing. Just how long was she going to torture herself with this misplaced guilt? The way she described it, it almost sounded as if she had purposefully led her brother to his death, which was unheard of. "You did your job, ZanYi. It's unfair for you, or anyone else, to ask any more of you. It's okay to miss Zaron, and it's okay to grieve for him. Just, please, quit torturing yourself. No matter how much we wish it, we can't turn back time. You did everything you could do. I know that thought is frustrating, and you feel like you could have done more, but you really are only human."
Zaron's death was a terrible accident, and Shun understood that all ZanYi wanted was a do-over, a chance to save her brother. But if the giant waterbender had to be brutally honest with her—and he hoped it would not come to that—he would tell her that nothing could be done now. They could not go back in the past. They could not save her brother. They were only human. She was only human. ZanYi had to understand this fact.
She understood it. She understood it all too well. And that made it all the more painful. ZanYi was a woman who strove for perfection, didn't stop until she got it. She was relentless, and she didn't give up even when the odds were against her—which they had been, so many times.
Yet, it was when she needed that perfection, needed to have no mistakes, that it cost her. It had cost her Zaron.
"Doing my job wasn't enough," the lieutenant told Shun, staring up into those concerned blue eyes. ZanYi's hand went to the cold dogtags around her neck, clenching it tight. "Now I have to live with the consequences of that mistake, no matter what Zaron says…" The last bit she had muttered, but it was too late when she realized that it had come out at all. ZanYi turned away to stare at the wall—or more importantly, away from Shun. First he had to hear her night terrors; now she was talking about hearing her dead brother. How Shun could believe she wasn't crazy, ZanYi couldn't fathom.
Shun couldn't pretend that he wasn't worried that ZanYi was still hearing Zaron's voice in her head. But he wasn't going to judge her for it, either. He just held her tighter. "…What does Zaron say?" the giant waterbender wanted to know, unsure if this would hinder or help the tortured lieutenant. It was unnatural, but Shun was actually curious as to what the late sergeant major seemed to be saying to his sister. As long as the voice of her brother wasn't encouraging her to do anything dangerous, Shun would not fret. He was no counselor, but even he knew that the voices in your head that told you to harm yourself were the bad voices.
ZanYi looked at Shun through the corner of her eyes long enough to give him a sharp look. She didn't want him patronizing her, but it seemed as if he wasn't. In fact, Shun not only seemed sincere, but almost curious about it. The lieutenant wasn't sure how to take that. But—and with great reluctance—ZanYi figured that if he hadn't jumped ship by now, a little more couldn't hurt. He kept saying he was there, no matter how crazy she got… And he was there, in the middle of the night.
Taking a deep breath, the lieutenant decided to answer Shun. "It's all just… things he said before he died, things I remember him saying since we were little," ZanYi started slowly, still looking away from Shun. "…Telling me he loves me, that he wouldn't leave me alone, that I should trust you."
Shun smiled a little. "Smart man," he complimented the late sergeant major, "may the spirits watch over him." Looking down at ZanYi, Shun tilted his head so that he intruded upon the lieutenant's line of vision. "And he says these things a lot? If so, I think the reason you're hearing these words so much is because you don't yet believe them, and he's still trying to convince you." Shun's smile softened. "You should believe him. He did love you, and he didn't leave you alone—I'm sitting right here." Feeling as if this point was inadequate by itself, Shun decided to delve further. "You remember the day Zaron and I sparred? That morning, he dragged me into his office and demanded to know what was up with us. I told him there was nothing, but he didn't believe me… imagine the look on his face when I told him I was in love with his little sister."
Shun chuckled, the once terrifying moment an amusing memory now. "So, of course, he immediately challenges me to a duel. I got the impression that he's had to scare a couple knuckleheads away from you once or twice. And that's why we were sparring that day, ZanYi: I had to prove to him, and to myself, that he could trust me with you. I couldn't tell you this before, because you didn't know anything about my feelings. I even made Zaron promise not to tell. But I like to think that, even though Zaron never meant to die, that he died peacefully, knowing you were in good hands." Shun's hand had found its way back to ZanYi's back, stroking it, when the giant waterbender paused, considering his own words. "I'm sorry. That sounded arrogant," he realized, frowning. And then he sighed. "I won't pretend I knew Zaron well enough to know what he was thinking, but he was a man of his word, and I suspect he felt I was, too."
Slowly, ZanYi looked at Shun again, actually meeting his gaze of her own will now. That was what had happened between the two men? Certainly, Zaron had played the card before, but ZanYi hadn't necessarily thought anything unusual about it. So Zaron had known that Shun loves her. And fought about it. And Shun had won.
No wonder it seemed like some sense had been knocked into her brother. Perhaps some had…
"He told me that you cared about me… more than I realized. Told me that I should… let you make me happy, that you wouldn't leave me…"
ZanYi almost started to see Shun a bit differently. Her brother had known. Shun had fought the way he had because he loved her, not because Zaron was pushing him around. And then Zaron, at his last moments—and still now as his voice echoed in her mind—was pushing her towards the waterbender. Of all the times Zaron had meddled in her life, never had he come out satisfied with anyone. But he had with Shun, right before he died.
The lieutenant didn't know what to make of that. But perhaps leaning on Shun wasn't a bad idea… If Zaron really had known the whole story, and pushed her forward anyway…
In theory, Shun should have been shouting his agreements with Zaron, because there was nothing he wanted to do more than make ZanYi happy.
But that admission of Zaron's slip of the tongue had the giant waterbender flushing bright red. "Wha—he—I—!" Shun paused to stop tripping over his own tongue for a second, "He told you?"
This wasn't fair: Shun wanted to be the one to tell ZanYi that he was in love with her! But it seemed that the giant waterbender was beaten to the punch. Dang his loyalty to Syaoran for making him wait so long.
Shun wanted to be irritated with the late sergeant major, but found that he couldn't, and not because the man was dead. It was because he really had been rooting for Shun—well, ZanYi's happiness, anyway—and had used his dying breaths to say so. Deep down under his mortification, Shun was touched. Right now, however, the giant waterbender wanted to bury his head in the sand somewhere. He sufficed with running a hand down his face and heaving an embarrassed sigh. Glancing toward ZanYi, the giant waterbender had to ask, "If you knew, why did you seem so surprised when I told you?"
"I didn't know," ZanYi told him, brow furrowing a little bit. "It didn't make sense until you told me how you felt. I had just figured he meant that you cared more than I thought, not that you love me."
And she stopped for a moment. It was the first time she'd actually said that aloud—that Shun loves her. It was enough to make her pause for a minute. Letting go of her brother's dogtags, she reached for Shun's fang, remembering how Zaron had brushed over it as he spoke to her in his last moments. Everything made sense in hindsight, knowing the whole picture, including Shun's actions and her brother's words.
There was a rustle in the air, and ZanYi looked away from the necklace to find Xie Xie perched on her shoulder. As the dragonhawk nuzzled ZanYi's face, the lieutenant could only think of how quiet the bird had been. Certainly, Zaron's passing had affected Xie Xie, but still, it wasn't even acting vicious towards Shun, like he always did when the waterbender was near her—and here was Shun completely enveloping her.
In fact, the dragonhawk peered at Shun, as if debating what to do concerning the waterbender. Then he spread his wings and made the hop over to Shun's shoulder, knocking his beak gently into the waterbender's flushed face.
"He's not attacking you…" ZanYi muttered, brow puckered as she watched in mild astonishment. Xie Xie didn't like just about everyone. Even though Master Fei was the one who had hatched him, it was the Tsong siblings that he actually attached to. And the lieutenant hadn't had been around Xie Xie enough to admonish the bird for his treatment of Shun. So how…?
"Zaron…"
Shun had flinched initially when Xie Xie hopped towards him, expecting a mass of pecking for daring to touch his master. That did not happen, however, something that surprised the giant waterbender greatly. Where was the shrieking? The clawing? The pecking? Nothing hostile at all from the bird… it was actually working to be accepting towards Shun. Hesitantly, he raised a hand to pat the bird's head, and it did not slice his fingers open like he expected to. A slow smirk began to form on the giant waterbender's features.
"Maybe you're not so bad," he commented to the bird. Xie Xie clucked its beak at him—Shun wasn't sure what to make of that. He turned to ZanYi for an explanation, both for the bird and the name she'd just spoken. "What about Zaron?" he asked curiously. Yes, they were talking about him, but how did he factor into Xie Xie's sudden attitude change towards Shun?
ZanYi looked slowly away from Xie Xie to Shun, as if the answer should be obvious: an obvious answer that was still awing. "Shun, I didn't train Xie Xie not to attack you," she explained, looking back to the dragonhawk. The lieutenant reached up a hand to it, and Xie Xie bumped his beak into her hand with a soft scrawl. "And he doesn't just warm up to anyone. Ever. So if he's not trying to bite at you, it's because he was trained not to…"
Since she hadn't done it, that only left one person in the world that could have done it: Zaron.
Shun took a moment to take this in, hiding his surprise, for the most part. He hadn't expected that Zaron would even bother to train the bird not to attack him… though, in retrospect, the giant waterbender was very grateful to the late sergeant major for doing so. If he hadn't, Xie Xie would be quite a pain to deal with these days. But then, Shun realized it was not for his sake that the bird was trained.
"See? He really wanted you to be happy," Shun claimed, as if Xie Xie's new behavior proved everything. Smiling down at the lieutenant, he added, "And I'd love the chance to make you happy. Again, I'm not pushing you to make a decision right now. I just want you to remember that I'm here for you. Always."
Daring to risk it, Shun placed a gentle kiss on ZanYi's forehead. Xie Xie didn't attack him for such an act, so Shun thought it was safe to believe that he and the bird could get along from then on… of course, nothing was set in stone. ZanYi's mood towards him would also be a great factor, he suspected. Shun would have to watch out for the bird whenever ZanYi seemed to be in a temper with him.
For ZanYi, this was all getting to be almost a bit too unbelievable. How had Zaron set all of this up? How had it all managed to happen, leaving it neatly wrapped for ZanYi to figure out as she went on without him? Though Shun had seemed mortified that Zaron had told her that the waterbender had stronger feelings for her, ZanYi was actually a bit satisfied that her brother had known. It had led him to accepting Shun, retraining Xie Xie, and everything pushing her forward.
It meant leaving Zaron in the past, dead. But knowing that Zaron wanted all of this for her, that he was—in a way—still looking out for her… it lifted some of the sadness she'd been carrying around. And it meant she actually wasn't alone, not completely.
There was a bit of resignation in her exhale as the lieutenant looked at Shun. "I still can't answer you right now," ZanYi started, serious. Then, hesitantly, she added the clause, "But give me some time and I just might."
Some of her former confidence returning, before she could stop herself and overthink it, ZanYi slipped her hand behind Shun's neck and pulled him down to meet her lips. Despite everything that had happened, despite the changes in their lives, the lieutenant still liked the feel of her lips on his. Pulling away, ZanYi looked into his blue eyes with a phantom smirk on the corner of her mouth.
"Just hang in there, Big Guy."
Shun's face flushed red, a hesitant hand going to his lips, as if he could not believe it. "It's… going to be hard, if you do that out of the blue…" he pointed out, already struggling to restrain himself. He could definitely respect that ZanYi needed more time before she could give him a proper answer, but to just kiss him like that… Shun enjoyed kissing ZanYi, but having her randomly kiss him as she was still making up her mind was going to cause him all kinds of confusing feelings and frustrations. He didn't need that right now… but he would not exactly be adverse to it… ugh, he was struggling to make up his mind on whether or not he wanted ZanYi to kiss him in such a trying time in her life. It was aggravating.
Shun shook his head, displacing all thoughts that didn't revolve around ZanYi's happiness—with some difficulty. Their talk tonight seemed to do her some good—seemed to. Only in the morning would Shun be able to tell whether or not ZanYi was legitimately feeling better. And there was still plenty of the night left for her to change her mind…
"Do you want me to stay with you tonight?" the giant waterbender offered, fingertips brushing against ZanYi's face. He would not stay if she didn't want him to—he just wanted to make sure she felt safe as she slept, to try and beat back the night terrors that plagued her. She had been his safety net when he felt like he was falling through insanity… now it was his turn to be that net for her.
ZanYi had to think on that offer. She was dangerous enough when she was woken up prematurely; couple that with night terrors, and that just sounded like a terrible combination. It was a miracle that she hadn't tried to torch Shun for coming in already. And if the dreams started back up in her sleep while Shun stayed with her…
But at the same time, the two of them almost seemed okay. For the first time in weeks—since Zaron's death—ZanYi almost felt like she had her feet firm on the ground. That was on Shun, with a bit of Zaron's hand from beyond the grave. Right now, in that moment, the lieutenant was feeling more confident, feeling steadier.
In the end, she decided she didn't want to lose that again.
"I don't know what'll happen if I go back to sleep," ZanYi warned him, staring him straight in the eyes. "But… if you decide to stay, I won't stop you."
Shun grinned, despite knowing that the warning was very real. "I think I'll take my chances," he stated, picking up his sloshing canteen to demonstrate that he was prepared for the worst-case scenario. He knew this probably would not become a habit, however—he made it a point not to stay in ZanYi's room overnight unless she needed him to. But tonight, he would stay because he wanted to.
There was just one problem he had to conquer first.
"Hey, bir—uhm, Xie Xie," Shun addressed the bird by name. "I appreciate that you're much nicer to me now, but, do you think you could, uh, you know, shoo? I can't sleep with you on my shoulder." Xie Xie merely peered at Shun, its raptor gaze fixed on him. It was kind of creeping the giant waterbender out. "How do I get him to leave me alone?" Shun asked ZanYi, giving her a martyred look. "It's cool that he's nice and all, but I'm not sure if I'm really a bird person."
Xie Xie clicked its beak—Shun had the sinking suspicion that the bird could understand him when he spoke. That added to its creepiness.
Shun's ineptitude with the dragonhawk was enough make ZanYi snicker for the first time in weeks. It felt good, even if at Shun's expense. "We may have to train you now," she told him, but nonetheless reaching her arm out to Xie Xie. The bird eagerly landed back on the lieutenant's arm with a coo. Clicking her teeth, ZanYi raised her arm up in the air for Xie Xie to rise up. Obediently, the dragonhawk flew back over to his roost across the room without complaint. He did, however, keep its gaze squarely on Shun for another minute before settling back in to go back to sleep.
Turning back to Shun, she said, "That's how you do it." Which got rid of Xie Xie, but left just ZanYi and Shun. He still had an arm wrapped around her, a hand on her back to support her. Even to the point of coming in there in the middle of the night, talking to her, leaving the comfort of his own sleep and about to resume it in there with her just so she wouldn't be alone, Shun was constantly supporting her. If she were to take Shun's take on Zaron's promise, she wasn't really left alone. Because she had Shun. All of this, and she still had Shun.
There was a feeling of overwhelming relief, knowing that, in an unconventional way, Zaron had not broken his promise. He wasn't the one to be there for her anymore, but he'd left someone that would step up. As long as Shun was Shun, ZanYi wouldn't be alone.
Somber, ZanYi had a scrutinous expression on her face as she gaze up at Shun. "You know you can't walk away now, right? You promised you wouldn't leave me alone… Don't make a liar out of yourself and Zaron. Otherwise, I…"
She didn't know what she would do. But whatever it was, ZanYi almost felt like it would be something like she'd been going through the past couple weeks. It was not something she wanted to continue to endure—or ever again.
Shun tore his gaze away from the creepy bird to focus on ZanYi. She did not need to finish that sentence for him to realize what she meant. Telling himself sternly that this was the last time for now, Shun leaned over and briefly met ZanYi's lips with his before pulling her completely into the shelter of his arms again. "I'd never do that to you," he promised her, his voice low. "I couldn't walk away, even if I wanted to. I love you."
Even now, she had doubts? Or was she trying to warn him? Shun almost laughed at that; he firmly believed that it had been too late to ever leave her alone the moment he realized she had a penchant for being reckless. Love or not, Shun was sure that he would still be watching over her—just maybe with less fervor if he wasn't in love with her. Shun's problem was that he cared about people too much, so he couldn't help it when he put his whole heart into things. He just had to give it his all and hope for the best.
ZanYi could take that. It was still hard to just take him at his word, but the lieutenant more than wanted to at this point. If there was going to be someone in her life now that she was going to have to depend on, to lean on, it was going to be Shun. There was no one else.
Face in his chest again, the firebender almost had the inkling feeling that this was right, that this was how she was supposed to be. Morning would come. Another day would pass knowing that Zaron was gone, that she would never see him again. And it would be so hard. But with Shun? In all of his determination and patience and fervor for her? Maybe, just maybe, the guilt and pain would at least start to fade.
"Good," was all she said, "Because you're mine, Shun Jiang."
Shun smirked. Though he would not dare to claim ZanYi as his own—at least not yet—it was still nice to know that she wanted him enough to claim him. "And I'll belong only to you," he promised her, hugging her to him as he eased them back on the bed so that he was lying on his side, ZanYi still held securely in his arms. "Rest easy, ZanYi. I'll be here when you wake up." It was an easy promise to fulfill, but a promise nonetheless. Shun was going to start making it a point to follow through on his promises to her, come what may. He could certainly talk the talk, but even he knew that would not be enough for ZanYi: he would have to walk the walk as well.
Fine by Shun. He could step up to the challenge, if it meant he got to hold ZanYi like this more often. To have never known this kind of love before, and yet to be so desperately in it… it was an odd feeling. But it was not unpleasant. Not at all.
ZanYi settled into him further, content where she lay. Normally such affection of this variety between them was for Shun's benefit. But tonight, the lieutenant found herself taking her own satisfaction from it. She could not pinpoint the rhyme or reason, but she did. It's not like her and Zaron were exactly the most affectionate of siblings; hugs had been a rarity, with kisses on the cheek appearing never. They'd always been content in sharing their fire.
With Shun, she could not do that; ZanYi would burn him. But if it meant exchanging flames for nights like this, where he held her tight in those rippling arms of his, the lieutenant could work with that.
"I'm going to hold you to that…" ZanYi muttered sternly, but she was exhausted. Weeks upon weeks were crashing down upon her, and the emotional rollercoasters that she was not accustomed to were finally slowing down. Her eyes drifted to a close, the last thing she remembered seeing was the crook of Shun's shoulder, where she nestled her head.
Shun chuckled to himself. For all her fire, ZanYi was still as docile as anyone else when she slept. It was adorable how her mountain-tiger persona devolved into that of a kitten when her defenses were let down while she slumbered. Shun gently stroked her dark hair, letting his fingers trail through it. It had gotten a lot longer—he was surprised ZanYi hadn't cut it by now. Then again, her mind had been occupied elsewhere for the past few weeks…
Shun liked her hair longer. He hoped she would never cut it. Settling his head down on the pillow, Shun closed his eyes, taking comfort in the fact that he would be there if ZanYi's night terrors came for her again. It was a good thing he had switched rooms with Syaoran after all—even if they had a wall between them, Shun could be there for ZanYi in a flash when she needed him. And he would continue to be there for her, until… well, who knew? Shun was hoping for the rest of their lives, but he shouldn't get ahead of himself; ZanYi had yet to decide her feelings for him. There was something between them, sure, but was it simply attraction for her? Or was it something more that the lieutenant had yet to delve into…?
Whatever it may be, Shun was not going to prod her. He wanted ZanYi to be absolutely sure of her decision before she committed to it, because, like she said, there was no way either of them could walk away, once their decisions were made. After falling in love with ZanYi, Shun would never be the same again.
A/N from Eva: D'aww. ALL the ShunYi in this chapter! Loving it. XD Seems like things are starting to get better for Team Avatar...let's hope they stay that way! (No promises, though.)
Revolution but Civilization: ...I almost wanna say you slipped in another reference in your review right under our noses. Unfortunately, I cannot be sure. XP We're glad Tiki's POV entertains you, as well as our picking on Syaoran. XD It seems like we're always cruel to him, but things DO get better for the Avatar...eventually. XP Thank you for your continued support!
japaneserockergirl: Hahaha, sorry for continuously adding to your mountain! XD I know what readjusting to college life is like after break, so I don't blame you one bit! XD We hope you're pleased with the way Team Avatar is progressing now, though! Thanks for adding us to your Author Alert, and also for adding Water to your Story Alert! We appreciate you and your love for our work so much! :D
ozai37: You're welcome! :D We like to acknowledge all of our fans, because the support means so much to us. We try to update once a week, but sometimes, like last week, life gets in the way. :P Thanks for your continued support and patience!
TrojanHalks2012: Thank you so much for adding all three of our books to your Favorite Story list, as well as for the Author Alert and the Story Alert adds! You rock! We hope you continue to enjoy Book Three! :D
Same Guest: Yep, Team Avatar sure is something, whether they mean to be or not. :P The general isn't new, though; he's been working above ZanYi for quite some time now, which is why he's so concerned about her. And yeah, Tiki is a bit of a handful as well, but it looks like she and Syaoran are gonna be alright. :) We're so pleased that you're enjoying the character development! Our characters are like our children, and seeing others enjoy them and watching them bloom is just too awesome for words! Thank you!
ANewbutOldGuest: O.O Oh my goodness, if this fic got a fan base...I don't even think I can imagine that, it would be way too awesome for words. XD DJ and I just refer to the series as 'War', but hey, far be it from us to tell the fans what they can and can't call it. Feel free to refer to it as TWE if you'd like. :D We humbly thank you, as always, for your continued love and support!
Wiechcheu1925: Thanks for favoriting Fire! :D We hope you're enjoying the rest of the series as well! :D
Puttekara: Why hello, friend from Sweden! Glad you could join us! :3 And WOW, we are so very honored that you enjoy our story so much! I like your analogy with the table, very applicable to Team Avatar. XD I get what you mean with the OC and AU stories, because you never really know what you'll get with them. :P We're so glad our story is the exception to your rule! Thank you for your support, and we hope we continue to make your weekends! :D
xavierfincher: Sorry, FF won't let me add the dot in your name. :( But thanks for the Story Alert for Fire! We hope you've found your way to the rest of the series as well, and are continuing to enjoy it! :D
Masseffect321: Ha ha, we hope you haven't been hit yet! The hole idea sounds like a good idea, though bombs have stopped raining for now. XD ZanYi's working her way back to normal-ish with Shun's help, so we'll see how goes! Thanks as always, and we hope you continue to read and enjoy!
So much love~! I just want to roll around and wrap me and DJ in it as armor as we do battle with the real world, hahaha. XD With your support, dear readers, we can face and conquer anything! Thank you so much, and we'll see you next week!