OMG...it's an update!

I am so sorry to have kept you waiting but life has been very busy. i managed to put together a chapter so you know that i am still going to continue this story! so sorry...

hope ppl are still reading this! please review!

-TSA

Chapter 25:

"Courage consists not in blindly overlooking danger, but in seeing it, and conquering it." -Jean Paul

He still hated hot weather, but he wasn't going to complain much as he sat under the shade of an umbrella with Mai. Every so often, he'd glance over at her to see that she was trying to hide a smile. Inching a little closer to her, arm extended around her shoulders, he silently cheered his victory as she snuggled against him, head resting on his shoulder. He twirled his fingers absentmindedly in her hair, admiring the smooth texture and the way it glided out of his hands.

Staring out across the practically empty beach, he watched the waves roll against the rocky shore, though all he could think about was the way Mai closed her eyes and sighed against him. He wasn't sure at what point she may have dozed off, but he was glad that she found a comfort in his embrace. As he watched the groups of people go by, he swore he saw a familiar looking figure ducking behind groups of people, making his way down the shore until he was hidden by the small cliff that separated the more private sector of the beach.

But that didn't make sense. Maybe he was simply seeing things since it wouldn't make sense to see an earth bender on this island. Anyone could wear green, though it seemed a bit odd…or just plain stupid… Nalren was careful not to shift around too much for fear of disturbing Mai, but when that figure appeared again, this time seeming to be waving his way, he felt panic wash over him. That couldn't be…he wouldn't do that…that would just be dumb…

Chronos wasn't stupid enough to show up on Ember Island…Was he?

Jumping to his feet at the realization that Chronos was indeed trying to flag him down, he began to run off until he heard Mai shout out a curse. He gave her an apologetic smile as she glared at him for having moved, though she looked cute with sand tangled in her hair. He muttered something along the lines of being right back before sprinting off down the shoreline. When he came to the cliff, he was grabbed by the back of his shorts and launched across the rocks and into the sand.

Pushing his hair from his eyes, he glowered to see Toph laughing at him, though what he found more amusing was the look on Chronos faced as he smiled down at her. What a creep…? Dusting the sand from his body, he rose to his feet while trying not to start shouting at the prince for his bad timing.

But that proved fruitless.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Nalren shouted, seizing Chronos by the collar of his tunic.

"I had an idea."

"That's a lousy response…You could be killed!"

Chronos was grinning from ear to ear, "I have a plan."

Nalren let him go, shaking his head with a laugh, "Where do we begin, My Lord?"

. . . .

Briar couldn't help the smile on her face as she sat on her bed, Zuko's head on her lap while he slept soundly. She kept running her fingers through his hair, admiring how peaceful he looked. So many emotions in so little time…She wasn't sure how both of them hadn't imploded yet. Laughing to herself, she picked up the letter Azula had given her earlier. She stared at where the envelope was sealed; looking for any trace of breakage, since she figured Azula was lying.

She was walking on thin ice at this point.

Feeling Zuko shift and yawn, she glanced back down at him to see his eyes flutter open a moment before he nestled himself against her lap again. She leaned down and kissed his brow, setting her letter aside, but Zuko quickly seized it. Jumping up as he rolled off her, he started to open it, but she tackled him into the sheets to prevent him from doing so. He held the letter above his head, though it was futile when she grabbed his wrist and yanked the letter from his hand.

She straddled him as she sat up taller, laughing at that smile on his face, "You should ask before you take something that's not yours."

"You shouldn't keep so many secrets from me," he retorted.

She finally decided to open the letter, skimming over its contents. It was from Chronos, detailing that there was a breach in their correspondence that almost had him captured. He was questioning how the Fire Nation discovered him, though he wasn't blaming her. He just wanted answers. Briar clambered off Zuko, walking into the bathroom and burning the letter so that the ashes fell into the sink. Washing them down the drain, she looked into the mirror where her grim reflection stared back at her. Only so much time left…

When she closed her eyes, she felt a pair of hands grapple her, one around her mouth, the other around her waist. Eyes wide in alarm, she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Nalren was the one holding her. He released her slowly, gesturing for her to be quiet as they walked out of the bathroom.

"Nalren, what is the meaning of this-?" Briar stopped moving when she saw Chronos sitting on the windowsill and Zuko incapacitated on the floor where Toph stared down at him. She sighed impatiently, "You've got my attention…"

Chronos strolled over to her, giving a curt bow, "I apologize for the tactic, but I need to speak with you."

Briar nodded, but as soon as he seemed to relax, she punched him across the jaw, which sent him into the floor. Adjusting the bosom of her sheer white dress, she glanced at Nalren as if to warn him that he'd be next before she hissed, "You idiot! You're fixing to get killed and then everything I've done will crumble!"

Chronos rubbed his swollen jaw, listening to Toph's quiet snicker, "I realize this was a gutsy move, but I can make it work. If I take Ember Island, I have a base of operations to work with to take back Ba Sing Se."

"I admire your candor, but if I'm spotted with you, then I'm dead!"

"I did think that part through…" Chronos stood up and walked over to Zuko, giving him a little shove to see if he could wake him, "That's why I have a plan, but I need your boyfriend to come back around."

Briar rolled her eyes, "He's not my boyfriend…"

"Alright, fair enough." Chronos shrugged, "How about fuck buddy?"

"Don't give me a reason to kill you."

Chronos couldn't help a laugh, "Ah, but then your plan wouldn't work."

"I'm already starting to improvise."

As soon as Zuko regained consciousness, Chronos covered his mouth to silence him before he went to shout, "Listen closely, Prince Zuko. I need to keep Briar alive, so I advise you not to call for your guards." He gave that a thought, "Or your sister… Anyway, if you hope to keep going at whatever relationship it is you have with Briar then I suggest you follow my plan."

Zuko stood up as soon as Chronos did, sizing himself up against Briar's once betrothed and Earth Kingdom lord, "Depends on what your plan is."

"Trust me, your part is easy."

Zuko glanced over at Briar, "What the hell is going on?"

Well, it figured that he would want to know… She shook her head, "If I could explain it, I would. We don't have the time right now, but trust that I'm not really the 'bad guy'."

The sound of footsteps and voices was a relief to her, though she noticed Zuko was still looking at her. She was glad that her expressions were practically unreadable, but that didn't make her feel any better as Chronos began talking fast through his plan. Zuko walked over to the door, pressing his back against it while watching Nalren disappear out the window. He braced himself as Chronos pulled out a knife. As soon as the voices grew louder and a hand touched the knob, Zuko put his arms in front of his face as a block of stone sent him through the door and into the hallway.

Jumping to his feet, he fired back at Chronos, being mindful about how close his attacks reached Briar. There was another slab of stone that he merely dodged, but he stopped moving, just as Chronos said, when he saw Azula and Ty Lee pinned to the floor, encased in rocks. He tried not to look impressed, feigning anger that Chronos had a knife pressed to Briar's throat.

"Kill him, Zuko!" Azula hissed.

Chronos laughed, "That's difficult when I've got a hold on our beautiful betrayer…"

Zuko cringed at that. It reminded him of everything in Ba Sing Se, every tangle, every confession, every lie… She was still responsible for King Kuei's death, she sold him out to his sister, she betrayed her nation for what? His hands clenched into fists, "Let her go."

"Here's the deal." Chronos stepped onto the stone encasing Azula and Ty Lee to release them, backing away with Briar as his shield, "Ember Island is mine. You can leave with your lives. As for Briar, she's staying here until you're gone-"

"How naïve of you…?" Azula scoffed, "This island is under the control of the Fire Nation."

Chronos shrugged, moving back into Briar's room to point to the window. Outside, chaos had ensued. Earth benders were stationed around the beach, moving up along the island. People were fleeing to the harbor, clearly not prepared for a fight. He smiled, "I suggest you join them. Ember Island is mine."

Azula grinned, "Oh, I don't think so."

Chronos' grip on Briar tightened. He knew Azula would try to attack him through Briar. As soon as that stream of fire burst from her hand, he pushed Briar down into the floor while throwing his knife. There was a piercing scream, a mix between Azula, who had been pinned in the shoulder with the knife, and Briar, whose arms were burnt. He drew his sword, pressing the edge to Briar's neck as she laid there on the ground. He glanced out the window as soon as the sound of victory cheers erupted.

"You'd best be on your way." Chronos picked Briar up, tossing her over to Zuko, "Before I change my mind…"

Azula opened her mouth to yell at him, but she was thrown through the wall and out onto the beach by a slab of stone sent by Toph, who climbed in through the window.

Zuko picked Briar up, gesturing for Ty Lee to follow as they ran from the house down to the dock where their ship was the only one in port. He set Briar on the deck while watching as Azula hobbled on shouting curses with Ty Lee trying to calm her. Nalren soon appeared, Mai striding behind him as if completely unfazed by what was happening. As the ship moved across the water, he stared at the shores where Earth benders, proudly dressed in greens and yellows, cheered on their victory. He sighed; slumping to lean on the side of the ship, but Briar grabbed hold of his robe and yanked him into a seat beside her.

"Are you ok?" she asked, hands tenderly running across his skin in search of bruises or cuts.

He took her hand, lifting her arm up to examine the burnt skin of her underarms. It was much worse than when he'd hurt her, "I'll go look for something to clean that up with…"

She didn't argue, watching him stand and leave. Bowing her head, she tried to think through all that was happening. Chronos had taken Ember Island and was moving into Ba Sing Se before the eclipse? Three more days… She needed to figure out how to get into the throne room. She let out a sigh of frustration – Why was she trying to make it seem so easy? It would take more than sneaking into the throne room to kill him. She had to use the element of surprise and she needed to wait until he couldn't defend himself. There was also the issue of being caught…Without his bending, he was surely stronger than her-

"Let me see your arms."

She blushed while Zuko sat in front of her, "Could we go somewhere more private?"

The question made his face turn red, earning a giggle from her, "Um…why?"

"We need to talk."

He stood and picked her up off the ground, bringing her below deck where they could hide amongst the shadows. She took a seat at a table where the men would usually play dice games; he knelt in front of her and rested his head against her lap. Her fingers wove through his hair.

"What am I doing?" he muttered.

She stooped and kissed his brow, "I didn't want you to become so involved in this…"

"What are you trying to do?"

She sniffled, "If I tell you, you'll be in grave danger."

He looked up at her, those amber eyes tearing away her façade. He reached up for her face and brought her lips down against his. The sigh that left her mouth sent shivers down his spine as he pulled her onto the floor. Pulling her up onto his lap, grinning when her thighs settled around his hips, he kissed the tattoo across her neckline. Her arms loosely hung around his neck, but she seemed to have forgotten about the burns. She showered him with kisses, hardly leaving herself with a moment to breathe.

He nestled his head against her chest, listening to her heart, laughing each time it skipped a beat. When she tapped his chin to bring his lips back to hers, he saw a tear trickle down her cheek. Holding her even tighter, he kissed away the next tear, tasting sweet saltiness as he moved along her eyelids. Her hands shakily held his face, her lips burying themselves into his. Rolling overtop of her, he felt her legs entwined with his, chests pressed tightly together. It wasn't entirely sure where she ended and he began.

"What's wrong?" he asked, propping himself up on his elbows to see her teary eyes.

"I'm afraid." She closed her eyes for a moment, "I don't want to lose any of this."

"Then let's forgot the war. Let's run away. We could survive anywhere in this world." He smiled, "We could start all over…forget this ever happened and let the world decide when it's done living in fear."

She laughed a little, reaching up to brush his hair from his eyes, "If only it were that easy."

"It could be, if we wanted it to be."

She slid herself out from under him, sitting up and tucking her knees to her chest and staring off to her right, "We'd never be able to start over…I've done too much to be forgiven or forgotten."

Zuko couldn't help his outburst, "If you hadn't been plotting with Azula, this would work!" She didn't look at him, but her body gave a shiver. He grumbled to himself for being insensible and crawled over to her. Arms enveloping her, he kissed her shoulders and her neck, feeling the still wet trails of her tears, "I'm sorry…"

"You're right...you know?" Her voice cracked and she sniffled.

"Why did you do it?" He leveled his gaze on her as she soon as she looked over at him, "This has nothing to do with your kingdom, does it?"

She choked down a laugh, "It has everything to do with my kingdom."

"How so?"

She grinned, figuring she could explain what had happened so far, "My kingdom is suffering because the Fire Nation has blockaded all of our ports and Ba Sing Se thought it was would be too difficult to give us supplies without angering the Fire Nation. It started with a plan to reinstate power in the Earth King, but that required removing the current government. When I found out that Chronos was slated to take Ba Sing Se's throne should the Earth king produce no heirs, I did everything in my power to prevent him from marrying me."

"Why?"

"Because if he did, then the Earth Kingdom wouldn't have agreed with him having control over the Southern Earth Kingdom and Ba Sing Se. They probably wouldn't have let him take the throne. As for the Earth King, I had a run in with your sister who enlisted my help to find and capture you. When I 'lost' you, I told her that I needed my kingdom to be reimbursed with food supplies for the year while I 'chased' after you and 'captured' you."

"What about killing the Earth King?"

Briar sighed, "That wasn't intended, but it came into light when I realized that Long Feng had complete control over him. The only way to truly remove power would have been to remove Kuei. It all seemed to flow easy since Azula wanted Ba Sing Se for the Fire Nation. When Chronos came after me, it was safest to have him arrested to keep him from trouble."

"How did Jet get involved?"

The name stung her ears, "He found out you were Fire Benders because of my error and I couldn't risk him turning you in because of the role you played for me. He was a pawn…" Her hands clenched into fists, "…expendable…"

Zuko was trying to take this all in, "What role did I play?"

"Your capture by my hands and Kuei's death were the only way to help my kingdom…" She bit her lip, "I needed…control over you…"

The warmth of his embrace left her as he stood and paced around, "That's why you seduced me-"

"Zuko, damn it!" She was on her feet fast, slapping him viciously, "I never seduced you! It was all real for me!"

He pressed a hand to the red mark on his face, trying to soothe the sting, "I played into your hands that easily?"

She rolled her eyes, "If that's how you want to look at it." She tiptoed her fingers around his chest, waiting for when he'd embrace her. Her body melted as he enveloped her in a hug, tucking her head beneath his chin, "Hurt me, heal me, remember?"

"I'm trying to…" His chest rose and fell in a deep sigh, but the way she smiled took his breath away. Her eyes fluttered to a close as she listened to his heart while they swayed to the push and pull of the ocean, "What's going to happen now?"

She shook her head, refusing to answer. Everything was too peaceful and she didn't want to talk anymore. Let the silence speak for her. If only she could run away and live the remainder of her life in this one embrace. She would ask for nothing more, she'd never get ambitious, never think that she didn't have enough if it meant she could live this moment over and over. Three days left…

Only three days to make up for hurting him so many times.