Chapter 27: Impending Doom
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It took them less time than they'd expected to find her, unconscious and pitiful, curled up at the foot of another tree, hair messed up and partially soaked in her own blood.
That was all Zuko needed. He let out a short cry before practically collapsing over her. "What happened?" he asked himself. Shaking his head, he switched subjects. "Mai! Mai, wake up! This is Zuko! Wake up!"
-.-.-.-.-.-
Lin heard something distant, like someone calling her. The name was wrong, but somehow she knew the words were meant for her. "I'm working on it," she muttered.
-.-.-.-.-.-
Sura and Katara were far more practical than Zuko, and bent over Mai.
"Poison. It's been in her system for several hours," Sura concluded.
"It caused delirium," Katara added, "so she wandered off in some kind of hallucination."
-.-.-.-.-.-
Lin thought that matched up. The words were becoming more and more distant. As she faded into unconsciousness, the blur came back, and her mind was free of the brainwashing. Mai was suddenly aware of what had happened to her. She also realized that Katara and Sura were trying their best to heal her. If she could help, she might be able to keep her brain together long enough to actually talk to Zuko.
-.-.-.-.-.-
Zuko was shaking his head, trying to make this stop. He'd known for a few years now that the world just loved destroying everything he cared about. But he'd thought his relationship with Mai was something he'd be able to hold on to. She was always going to be there. But time and time again, he was being proved wrong. "Are you going to sit there and diagnose or can you actually heal her?"
"I think it'll be okay," Katara said.
"You think?" Zuko started pulling at his own hair.
"Calm down, Zuko!" The waterbenders and the handmaiden yelled.
"Lin, I need you to wake up," Sura said firmly.
"I said I'm trying," came the weak response, "and I wish you wouldn't call me that."
"Make up your mind." Sura almost laughed.
"Wish I could." Mai almost smiled.
"Wait, you're actually answering to Mai now?" Zuko came closer.
"Yes, Zuko, I am."
"Oh, thank Agni." Zuko put a hand over his heart.
"How are you feeling, Mai?" Katara asked.
"Like I might have a fever." Mai's voice was starting to sound a bit more confident.
"She's right," Sura said after checking Mai's forehead.
"Would light help you?" Topekaia asked, knowing the Fire Lord's thoughts would be much less useful.
"It might be nice if we had some, thanks," Sura responded.
Topekaia lit a flame in her palm.
"Argh!" Mai's inarticulate yelp was accompanied by her shaky hands flying to cover her eyes. "Stop that!"
Topekaia put the light out. "What's wrong with a little light?"
"It hurts," Mai mumbled, not wanting to admit another problem her body was giving her.
"Maybe her eyes just need to adjust," Katara suggested.
"No, I don't think so," Mai said. "It was more like that light was going to kill me. By the way, I'm not afraid of fire."
"Probably a side effect," Sura hypothesized. "Katara, could you—"
"Sure." Katara started healing Mai's cuts and bruises, allowing Sura to move to Mai's eyes.
"I think we've got everything," Sura concluded. "Mai, are you still feeling something wrong?"
"No, thanks." Mai's face started twitching. "Have you checked… um… the…" Mai's voice trailed off, her eyes drifting shut.
"The what?" Sura shook Mai's shoulder a little.
"I think she's asking about the baby," Zuko offered, taking a moment to be sane.
"Ah. From what I can tell, the baby is fine," Katara assured her. "You should get some rest."
"No." Mai shook her head violently, her eyes shooting open. "If I go to sleep now, I'll wake up as Lin. It's pointless!"
"You have to sleep eventually," Topekaia pointed out.
"I know," Mai said irritably.
"We'll deal with Lin," Sura said. "Just go to sleep."
Mai looked around at her friends. "If I have to." A sleepy film was already glossing over her eyes. "I'll see you all in the morning," she muttered as she started to let go of consciousness.
"Wait." Zuko gave Katara and Sura both a pleading look, and when they had moved out of the way, he scooped Mai into his arms. "Can I kiss you first?" he asked.
"Do you even have to ask?" Mai muttered.
Katara and Topekaia sighed happily as Zuko was finally allowed to kiss the real Mai.
Sura smirked a bit, thinking of the things Mai had said in her sleep during the past weeks. It was all starting to make sense now.