Avatar: The Warring Earth
Book Two—Air
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.
Syaoran walked through the halls below the deck. Clearly designed to Master Fei's tastes, they were just as ornate as the rest of the ship, rich in crimson and gold. Another plus: there were plenty of quarters for them to have chosen, unlike their ride across to Roku's Island on the freighter. It allowed for the continued privacy they had finally been given on the island.
He paused in his walk to look at the door to ZanYi's room, wondering. However, if she was asleep still, Syaoran knew he was not going to be the one to wake her. He'd accidentally made that mistake before—never again. So he left the door alone, continuing down the hall.
Upon coming to the lieutenant's planning room, he found the door ajar, pools of light slipping from the crack. Cautiously he crept towards it, only for a slam to reach his ears. Moving a bit quicker, Syaoran peeked his head into the room. It was there he found the lieutenant, quite awake and quite frustrated. His gaze found a heavy book discarded on the floor, haphazardly lying near the wall. The safe conclusion was that ZanYi had thrown it. "Everything okay in here?" he ventured to ask, slowly, daringly, stepping into her war room. ZanYi looked up at him from the maps on her desk with heat in her gaze. Controlling her aggravation, the lieutenant closed her eyes and took a deep breath, releasing it slowly.
"Just fine," she answered, opening her eyes to look at him more calmly. Agitated hands on her sides, ZanYi raised an eyebrow. "What is it, Syaoran?"
Said earthbender shifted uncomfortably. "I was just coming to see if you were awake or not—which, clearly you are," he answered. Internally, he wanted to smack himself for how ridiculous he sounded. So the Avatar cleared his throat and tried again, "I'm surprised you're not asleep. You're taking the night shift again, right?"
ZanYi just waved him off, turning back to her series of maps splayed all over her table. "I'm fine, Syaoran," she dismissed, focusing her hands along the lines that trailed on the pages. There was a silence, but Syaoran took a breath and did not leave. He was determined to stick this moment out. Walking over beside the lieutenant, he glanced at her work.
"Is this Republic City?" he asked over her shoulder.
ZanYi nodded. "Yes," she answered, turning to glance over at Syaoran. He was surprised when this brought them almost nose-to-nose—it was made worse by the fact that she seemed unperturbed by it. "Have you been there?"
Syaoran couldn't answer for a moment, and he was certain he felt his cheeks flush a bit. But the question in her curious golden gaze was too much to ignore. "Um, no," he replied belatedly, which was only rewarded with a dejected huff.
"That doesn't help me," ZanYi refuted, looking back to her maps. Syaoran felt a bit disappointed, but also a bit relieved as she turned away. This sort of proximity could not be good for his cardiovascular health. But then again, he'd gotten a pretty good look at her lips…
He knocked that thought away. The lieutenant would have killed Syaoran if he'd voiced such thoughts. He may like her, but that did not mean he was going to sacrifice his health. Nope. It was not worth that.
"Why do you ask?" he inquired instead, trying to keep the conversation going.
"I don't like relying solely on maps. Not current enough to fully keep up with industrial progress."
That made sense to Syaoran. She wanted them to be as current as they could be, since it would help them with their rescue plans. First he nodded, agreeing with it, then, boldly, he rested a hand on her shoulder; Syaoran was elated and thankful when she didn't attack him. "Anything I can do to help, ZanYi?"
"Yes," she said immediately and Syaoran's hopes rose. When ZanYi looked to him again, it was serious. "Go practice your firebending forms, and get to bed at a decent hour tonight. You need to be well-rested, and this might be one of your better chances."
There it was: the moment the Avatar's hopes were dashed. But when ZanYi expressed her direct requests, Syaoran was not about to go against them. No way. He'd seen Shun in the doghouse enough times to know better. "All right," Syaoran submitted. He let go of her shoulder, and when his hand fell, it trailed down the lieutenant's back a bit. It was enough to make him cough uncomfortably, and ZanYi gave him an inquiring look in turn.
Syaoran made his way quickly out of the room, only to pause in the frame and look back at the lieutenant, her eyes trained on him. "If it's any consolation," Syaoran started, maintaining their stare as much as he could, "if there's one person I think can get us all out of this alive, it's you, ZanYi."
And that's when he was rewarded with a small curl to the corner of her lips, a smirk. "Get out of here, Syaoran," she told him. A small smile on his own lips, he did just that.
The night was a long, quiet one. Of the two, ZanYi was thankful for the latter. It seemed the island skirmish had discouraged the enemy forces from floating in those waters—good. With a mission where anything and everything could go wrong, each moment of peace was a gratuitous blessing. But the former was a problem. Generally the lieutenant was a woman who did not find qualm in being alone for extended periods of time. Usually, that was a blessing as well in its own right. Yet on this cloudless night, it was giving her far too much idle time to think. And the only words that she found herself reflecting on were Shun's. That bothered her.
By the time the first glint of pink began to show over the horizon line, ZanYi had been practicing her own forms for a good while. Sweat dripped from her brow, every movement one of concentration and focus. The familiar movements were almost calming to her, and the complexity of them helped her keep her mind off of the waterbender's words. Her forms were much more intricate than the ones she had taught Syaoran. But even that did not cease all thought.
Shun's concern was not necessarily unwarranted. ZanYi knew that. If it came down to any dangerous situation, the lieutenant would be the first to volunteer to stay behind and hold back forces if it meant keeping the others safe. It was her duty, her choice. But the way Shun openly disagreed with that—even to the point of purposefully defying her wishes for them—was not only frustrating from a planning standpoint: it was also something very new to her entirely.
Which made her think back to everything Master Fei had tried to tell her in concerns to Shun. And that rubbed her entirely the wrong way.
ZanYi messed up on the movement she was making and it caused her to hiss as the flames came back to scorch her arm. The lieutenant gripped her arm, irritated and disappointed with herself. It stung, but she ignored that message of pain and redid the movement, continuing her forms to perfection.
It was around this time that Shun exited his room, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. It was about time for him to take the next shift, though today he was a bit disgruntled about it. He had slept horribly during the night, and felt that it was too soon when his internal alarm woke him up. But Shun had a responsibility to keep watch as much as everyone else, and he could not afford to sleep in just because he was exhausted.
Still half-asleep, the giant waterbender bumped his head on the ceiling as he climbed the stairs to the deck, and he was still rubbing his head and wincing in pain by the time he caught sight of ZanYi. "Mornin'," he mumbled, stifling a yawn. When he opened his eyes again, he took note of the fact that ZanYi seemed to be practicing her forms, though something wasn't quite right with her expression…
As soon as he saw the burn on ZanYi's arm, all drowsiness was cleared from the giant waterbender's mind.
"What happened?" he demanded to know, pointing at the burn. His eyes scanned the waters around them, searching for anything out of the ordinary… but all was still. Which made no sense… unless… "Did you… burn yourself?" Shun asked, frowning at the thought. Now that was a ridiculous notion. Why would ZanYi burn herself? This explanation didn't make any sense either. Shun would have believed more easily that there were invisible Neo-Equalists on board that had injured ZanYi rather than her making a mistake and injuring herself.
ZanYi finished her form with an irritable huff, the flames sparking blue with the excess force. She panted, her shoulders rising and falling with every breath. The workout had served its purpose, despite the injury. She needed her own practice to maintain herself, and it had been a better way to spend her time than just thinking.
The lieutenant turned to the waterbender, a look in those amber eyes as if it was his fault that she had managed to make such a careless mistake. But while her thoughts had been on him, ZanYi blamed no one but herself. And there were few things more humiliating to her than being burned by her own fire. "I made a mistake," she answered simply, not without having to mat down her pride. The admission cost her a bit of that. ZanYi walked over to the rail of the boat and grabbed a small towel, wiping her brow. Taking a swig of water, the lieutenant eyed Shun, agitated with him still.
However, despite her inner protests, ZanYi held out her arm. "Go ahead," she irritably permitted, "We both know you're going to hound me about it until I let you heal it anyway."
Shun frowned. She was definitely still upset with him. Great.
"Well, I should hope you wouldn't want to walk around with a huge scorch mark on your arm. Then you'd have to explain to Syaoran and Tiki why it's there as well," he pointed out as he approached, unscrewing the cap of his canteen. They were surrounded by water, yes, but Shun preferred to heal with water that did not have any salt in it.
Ignoring her blatant irritation with him, Shun took ZanYi's wrist and stretched out her arm, using the other hand to bend water from his canteen. He was silent as he weaved the water around her burn mark, running his hand over her arm to smooth and heal the blistered skin. The silence was loaded, and he was a little afraid to speak, lest that be enough to pull the trigger. Shun was tired of arguing with ZanYi, so if she wanted to be mad at him, he wasn't going to push the issue. Either way, she would need him to get through this mission.
ZanYi, too, let the silence be. She watched him set to work on her burn, just as he always did. However, normally, when Shun was healing her, it was not a self-inflicted wound. Bitter again, the lieutenant drank some more of her water. Even if she was irritated with him, he had a point. And she did not want to be explaining to everyone else the idiocy of her mistake. "Thanks," she said gruffly, not even looking at the man. Her gaze rested only on her burn, sore that she had allowed herself to slip in such a fashion. ZanYi had high expectations, and even higher ones of herself. It was a rookie move to be distracted like that while working with fire.
Which then brought her back to what—or who—had distracted her: Shun.
The firebender then looked at him, as if weighing the pros and cons of what she was about to do. But if she could get distracted from her own training, then it had the potential to mess her up on this rescue mission. With stakes already soaring, that was something the lieutenant was not willing to risk.
"Shun," she started, reluctant, "I've been thinking about what you said." And ZanYi didn't like that at all. But it had happened, and it was messing with her. Air had to be cleared between them, for the sake of Tiki, her parents, and this entire mess. "And I've gone over what I know about our task a million times. It's not going to be easy no matter what way we cut it." ZanYi turned away from Shun then, choosing to focus her gaze elsewhere. "But if there's nothing I can do to change your mind, then I will do my best not to put you in a situation like that."
Shun nearly dropped her arm; he was so startled by ZanYi's words. He searched her profile, but it gave nothing away. Bending his water back into his canteen so he could have his hands free—he was done healing her arm anyway—Shun reached over, using a finger to tilt ZanYi's face back towards him. She was definitely still irritated with him; he could see it in her eyes. But besides the agitation, he could see determination—ZanYi meant what she said. This assurance was enough to make Shun smile warmly at her.
"Thank you, ZanYi," he thanked her, dropping his hand. Just then, the sun broke over the horizon, bathing them in golden light. Shun squinted against the rays, turning to watch the ocean waves sparkle. Today's sunrise was especially beautiful to him, for some reason. Maybe it was because he realized he was finally getting somewhere with ZanYi. Perhaps he should learn to stand his ground more often.
But that relief was not bound to last long. "Don't thank me yet," ZanYi warned him, looking at the large waterbender. He wasn't going to keep smiling in a minute, if she knew him like she thought she was starting to. The lieutenant put her hands on her sides. "I said I will do my best, which means I will do everything in my power to leave with the team if things go wrong. You have my word on that," she reiterated first and foremost, trying to make that clear. After all, he wasn't going to like the conditions she put on it. "But, if the absolute worst scenario happens and someone has to stay behind to fend them off, it's going to be me."
This is where she thought, briefly, another argument would spark back up. But ZanYi wanted this established, wanted them to clear this out. So even if they had to fight it out one last time, she was going to do it.
"Shun, I need you to promise me that if I tell you to take them and run, that you can make the decision to do it. There won't be time to argue this out when it's happening. I'm not going to make you do it unless I see absolutely no other way out. I promise that. But can you at least be able to make that decision?" ZanYi's eyes stared at Shun, unyielding and determined. "Please, Shun."
True to form, Shun's smile dropped at the next words ZanYi uttered. Really, were they about to have the same fight again? How many times did they have to go through it before ZanYi realized he was not about to leave her behind?
He turned to her and was about to put his foot down—yet again—when he registered the fact that she had just said 'please'. She was actually asking him to heed her wishes instead of trying to order him around. That must have cost a lot of pride for ZanYi, but the fact that she was asking for his support hit home. And the way she was looking at him…
Shun looked away, covering his mouth as his cheeks grew hot—he hoped the brightness of the sun would mask the rosiness of his face. This was so unsettling and unfair. But what else could he do?
With a long, drawn out sigh, Shun turned back to ZanYi, moving his hand so he could speak. "Fine. I promise." He wasn't happy about it, but if ZanYi could compromise, then so could he. It rebelled against everything he was, but the issue was done. There was no sense in beating a dead ostrich horse.
"Then we have an accord," the lieutenant finalized. ZanYi sighed as well, but hers was out of relief that this was finally settled. This was the best the two were going to get out of this—she knew that. And if ZanYi could at least trust Shun to get the other two to safety if the worst happened, then that would have to be enough for her. If Shun promised her this, he would keep it. That was assurance enough.
The lieutenant plopped down on the deck, leaning back against the railings as she breathed. Her knees propped up, arms draped over them, ZanYi saw the dawning light start to filter over the boat. If her timing was right, they would reach Republic City by midday—meaning there was no use in her going back to her quarters. That seemed like a dangerous idea for her comrades to have to wake her again when she was bone-tired like she was in that moment.
"You can keep watch until Syaoran and Tiki get up, right, Shun?" she asked him, closing her eyes and resting her head back as she did so. Even a small nap seemed so welcoming at the moment. ZanYi had to force her eyes back open, to stare up at Shun, who seemed even larger from her vantage point on the deck.
Shun glanced down at ZanYi, finding her question unnecessary. He was about to say so when he saw just how tired she was. Quirking a brow, but deciding not to question it, Shun slid down so that he was sitting next to the exhausted lieutenant. He was sitting quite close, silently offering his support, should she slip sideways in her slumber. Propping up an arm on one knee, Shun turned his head slightly to peer down at ZanYi.
"Go to sleep, ZanYi. I've got this," he assured her, a corner of his mouth lifting. He may have been tired as well, but he was not about to fall asleep and leave them all vulnerable to the slightest possibility of attack. Especially not with ZanYi sitting there, defenseless in her sleep. He was tall enough to still have a vantage point around the boat, even sitting down. He could handle things, and he silently found it ridiculous that the lieutenant even felt the need to ask.
ZanYi glanced over at Shun when he slid down beside her. Why he would choose to keep her company on the deck, she had no idea. But the lieutenant kept her curiosity to herself and leaned her head back again, settled.
"I'll be able to wake myself up here," she told him. Between the rising sun and the voices that would accompany when Tiki and Syaoran came up, ZanYi knew she would be able to wake up on her own. This reduced the risks of her completely clocking out in her quarters and someone having to come in again. Such actions were not safe for anyone when she was this exhausted.
As she closed her eyes, ZanYi could already feel the promise of sweet sleep beckoning to her. Before she slipped off, she added, "Thanks, Shun." And as her breathing evened out, she fell quickly into much needed rest.
Shun smiled, content with the thanks. They truly were making progress, and it pleased him.
…Not that he could get too excited. Pretty soon, ZanYi would be gone from his life, and he would probably never cross paths with her again… not to mention that his feelings were forbidden, since Syaoran had fallen for the lieutenant first, and was already suspicious of his relationship with ZanYi. Shun sighed. This situation was far too complicated, and he didn't like it. He would have to learn to exercise more control over his emotions if he didn't want the bottom falling out of everything Team Avatar had worked for thus far.
A soft thump on Shun's shoulder pulled him out of his depressing musings, and the giant waterbender looked over to find ZanYi's head resting on his broad shoulder. Her eyes were closed and she was breathing deeply; sleep had claimed her tired body. Shun's smile returned. He could allow himself to enjoy this brief peace with ZanYi, couldn't he? And then it was back to treating her like a comrade, a friend. Just as it should be.
Tiki stared all around her, trying to make sense of what she was seeing. She had been to Republic City once or twice when she was a kid, her parents having to bring her to work with them when a babysitter was not available. But much had changed since she was a kid. Skyscrapers surrounded the entire city, many with humongous flat screens mounted on all four surfaces. They were broadcasting a lot of the same thing: her parents, urging the bender community to lay down their arms and surrender to the Neo-Equalists. Every time their message aired was another wound in Tiki's heart; she clutched her amulet to keep herself from smashing every single one of those flat screens.
Sneaking into the city had not been easy; security had increased ten-fold, and the Neo-Equalists walked freely through the streets, intimidating any unfortunate, weary benders who happened to cross their paths. Tiki's blood boiled, but she could do nothing: Shun had a firm hand on her shoulder to keep her in check.
"Your face is everywhere, Teeks," the giant waterbender commented, glancing around uneasily from the alleyway Team Avatar had taken shelter in. Sure enough, dozens and dozens of wanted posters were plastered all over the city, half of them displaying Tiki's face from a decade ago. There was a hefty sum for her capture, just as ZanYi said. It was these posters that prompted them to hide, and it was these posters that prevented Tiki from doing what she came here to do. It was unbelievably frustrating.
The tiny airbender reached over to the wall next to them and ripped down one of her posters from the dark brick, intending to destroy it. But as she was debating whether to rip it up or simply scrunch it into a ball and ask Syaoran or ZanYi to set it on fire, another wanted poster caught her attention. It had been hidden behind her own infamous poster, but now Tiki tore this one down too, her gray eyes widening, hardly daring to believe it.
"Um, ZanYi…" Tiki spoke up, holding up the poster for the rest of Team Avatar to see, "I think we have a problem."
Syaoran turned from overlooking the street to see what Tiki held in her hand. "Yes, Tiki, we know you're wanted," he attempted to placate her, with a small roll of his eyes. But then the earthbender looked closer at the poster. Those jade eyes widened. "Oh crap."
ZanYi looked over to see what the big fuss was. And then she saw the wanted poster. "You've got to be kidding me…" the lieutenant mumbled, snatching the paper from Tiki. It was to her horror that ZanYi saw her own face mirrored back at her. Wanted. "This cannot be happening."
Syaoran looked over her shoulder, trying to get a better look at the poster. "Wanted: ZanYi Tsong, lieutenant of the Resistance Agni Kai Special Forces," he read aloud, as if trying to verify that what he was seeing was real. "Bounty set at…" Syaoran trailed, eyes widening at the amount on the page. "That's a lot of money. You're rivaling Tiki there."
ZanYi sent a glare his direction before looking back at the poster. "Charming. How did they even get this information?" she questioned, though no one would have the answer. "This photo is my military ID. No one should have access to that outside of the Resistance…" And yet, her identity was now out for the consumption of the Republic City. If any of the soldiers caught a good look at her, that would be extremely bad news.
Shun moved closer to ZanYi to see the poster. His brows furrowed.
"This complicates things," he mumbled unhappily.
"As if it wasn't already complicated," Tiki pointed out, frowning. She frowned at the back of the poster, thinking hard. "The question is: how did they find out about you, ZanYi?"
Shun was wondering the exact same thing. He turned his head, almost nose to nose with ZanYi. Under normal circumstances, the giant waterbender would have blushed and backed away. But the situation demanded that they all remain close, so as not to be overheard.
"Is it possible that the NEs have infiltrated the Resistance?" he asked, his expression darkening. This was war, after all: treachery was almost to be expected.
ZanYi shook her head. "Absolutely not. Anyone who would be able to get a hold of this information is a high-level bender," she refuted, scanning over the poster. None of this made sense to her, and it was only going to complicate matters even further if she couldn't even be out on the street. "How they got this, I just don't—"
She cut herself and Syaoran looked up from the poster to see the gears working in her mind, churning in her eyes. "What?" he asked, searching her face for the answer to her silence. To his surprise, it was there. ZanYi's face grew dark with bemusement, outrage, and betrayal.
"These posters are fakes," she muttered, her voice betraying the same emotions. Syaoran gave her a quizzical look.
"Uh, I'm pretty sure they aren't, since we're looking at it."
"No, Syaoran," ZanYi said with exasperation, "I mean these aren't made by the Neo-Equalists. The tip number is different…"
Syaoran stared at the lieutenant as she stiffened and grew grim. ZanYi's answer was tight and clipped, as if she did not even want to believe it. "The tip-line is one of ours. These were made by the Resistance."
Tiki's eyes widened at the proverbial bomb that was just dropped.
"What? But… that's impossible!" she denied, not wanting to believe that ZanYi's only allies—other than the members of Team Avatar—would turn on her. "You're one of their most valued soldiers! And your brother is part of the Resistance! Why would they turn on you?"
Shun was still trying to process the fact that the poster was made by the Resistance. He, like Tiki, had trouble believing that the Resistance would put a bounty on one of their own. And yet, what explanation was there for such a phenomenon?
"…Zhao," Shun muttered, eventually pinpointing the other firebending lieutenant as the only one who could have done such a thing. Tiki gave him a questioning look, but Shun's attention was on ZanYi once again. "Is it possible that Zhao had enough clearance to be able to access your photo and make this poster? Because he's the only culprit I can think of who's definitely malicious enough to do something like this."
And it made Shun angry. He was tempted to snatch the poster from ZanYi' hands and rip it to shreds… but no, he had to stay calm. Now was not a good time for him to lose his cool—right now, he needed a level head to think up a strategy that allowed ZanYi and Tiki to move about freely without being recognized as fugitives.
ZanYi clenched her teeth tight, holding the poster even tighter. "Zhao… would certainly have high enough clearance," she admitted, but then she shook her head. "But as much as he hates my guts, it doesn't make sense that he would pull a stunt like this, just to out me. He would get in serious trouble for doing that. None of this makes any sense…"
She'd certainly made enemies in her time in the military. But they were all fighting for the same cause. Despite their personal issues, this crossed lines. ZanYi wanted to say that even Zhao was above something this low, but the lieutenant found herself unable to.
Dropping the poster and pacing away a few steps, she put her hand to her head, trying to make sense of this. When the paper fluttered from her grasp, Syaoran took a hold of it and turned away from the street. Covertly, the Avatar burned the paper to ashes. He then looked to the firebender again, watching her as she turned away from them. "ZanYi?" he called to her, walking over and venturing to touch her shoulder again.
The lieutenant looked at him, and for a brief moment, Syaoran could see just how confused and betrayed the woman looked. But she masked it over quickly, doing her best to swallow it down. "Don't worry about it, Syaoran," ZanYi told him, turning back around to face all of them. "After all of this over, I'll get back in touch with the military, find out if we can get an investigation started on this. But right now, we need to focus our attention on what to do next."
"First things first," Shun began, folding his arms as he looked down at Tiki and ZanYi, "you ladies need disguises."
"Normally I'm all for dress-up, but your timing sucks, Shun," Tiki deadpanned at him. Shun gave her a look before continuing.
"With Neo-Equalists hounding the streets, it'll be risky for you two to walk around as yourselves. We need to figure out how you can disguise yourselves so we don't have to worry about—Tiki, are you listening to me?"
Tiki was not listening to Shun. She had frozen in place because, right next door, someone was exiting the building. Thankfully, the woman seemed not to have heard Shun's voice. After flipping what looked like a sign on the front door, the woman went about her business, heading down the street and away from them. Cautiously, Tiki poked her head out to get a good look at the building next to them. There were mannequins in the display window, modeling all kinds of fashions, and writing on the glass labeled the place 'Duds', a brand she recognized as a famous clothing store. Underneath that, there was a sign that hung on the door, which read, "Lunch Break! Back in 30 minutes!"
"I have an idea," Tiki announced, sidestepping Shun and Syaoran to creep further down the alleyway. As she hoped, there was a side door to the clothing store. Tiki tried the handle—it was locked. This did not deter the airbender, however. Pulling a bobby pin from her hair, Tiki set to work on the lock, her tongue clenched between her teeth. Three minutes later, she heard a click and tried the handle again. The door swung open with a squeak.
"How about ZanYi and I just get a new wardrobe?" Tiki suggested, smirking at the open-mouthed look Shun was giving her.
"…Should I be worried that you know how to pick locks?" the giant waterbender inquired after he had regained his composure. Tiki's smirk evolved into her kitty grin.
"How do you think I survived for a decade?" she pointed out.
Syaoran smacked his forehead. There was the Tiki that he was more accustomed to—which meant headaches were going to abound. But for Tiki's sake, he hoped it would continue. If it helped the airbender's nerves, then that was worth the headaches. "She's got a point," Syaoran reluctantly agreed, looking to ZanYi and Shun. "There's no way that we can walk around with an obvious airbender and soldier." He gave the lieutenant a grimace of apology. "We have to disguise you two."
ZanYi frowned. Her stare went from the door Tiki had picked to the two men around her. She wasn't thrilled with the idea, but it was the only thing they could do to keep them under the radar.
"Fine," the lieutenant agreed with a small huff, "but we can't get caught in there. Otherwise it will all be for nothing."
"I saw who I think is the owner leave," Tiki said, her anxiousness returning with the threat of capture. "Assuming nothing goes wrong, we have about a half-hour."
"Be quick, then," Shun urged the women, edging his way back to the mouth of the alleyway. "Syaoran and I will keep watch out here while you two go get changed. If anything happens, I'll whistle."
"Got it," Tiki agreed, disappearing within the store. She snuck looks around every corner, making sure that the store was indeed empty before she proceeded. "Come on, ZanYi! Coast is clear!"
"Get sunglasses, if you can," the giant waterbender suggested to ZanYi, his eyes on the roads and sidewalks surrounding Duds. "Your eyes are pretty distinctive. It wouldn't hurt to hide them."
Syaoran nodded, moving over towards Shun. "He's right. Even if people don't recognize you, your eyes are a dead giveaway," he told ZanYi. The lieutenant sighed a little in irritation, but knew the two men were right. It wasn't like this was her first time during covert operations. It was just the first time she'd had a bounty on her head while doing it and little to no back-up.
"I'll try," she told the two of them, moving to go inside the store. Syaoran watched her follow Tiki in before turning to watch the street. He felt a bit uncomfortable with Shun still, but it was easier when they had a task at hand. It was up to them to make sure that the ladies of their group weren't compromised any more than their group already was.
How long this was going to take, however, was based on two things: Tiki's urge to literally play dress-up and ZanYi's irritation of Tiki wanting to play dress-up. And what was sad was that Syaoran was not quite sure which side was going to win.
Twenty minutes were already up, and Shun was getting anxious. What was taking them so long? If he had to venture a guess, it would be that Tiki actually was playing dress-up, and ZanYi was having a hard time getting the tiny airbender to calm down. Despite Tiki's solemn mood as of late, Shun wouldn't put it past her to make the most of this opportunity.
"Ahem!"
At the self-announcing cough, Shun turned.
Tiki was standing before him and Syaoran in an outfit the giant waterbender never expected: purple platform shoes, bell-bottom jeans, a tie-dye t-shirt accented with a jean vest, and an over-sized denim hat fitted over her long hair. Rose-colored glasses were perched on Tiki's tiny nose, and her amulet was hidden away, only to be replaced with a peace symbol that hung over her chest. Shun had to slap a hand over his mouth to smother the laughter that was threatening to spill over.
"You're very… psychedelic, Teeks," he complimented once the urge to laugh subsides, though his grin was broad. Tiki winked at him.
"It's retro… and the only thing I could find that fit me perfectly. But I figured we were gonna get stared at anyway, with you being so tall, so why not?"
Shun shook his head, amused at her logic. His smile faded soon after, however. "Where's ZanYi?" he asked, not seeing the lieutenant anywhere.
Tiki nodded to the building. "She's putting on the final touches, but she should be done, I think." The tiny airbender clopped back over to the side door—the platform shoes were heavier than she thought—and whispered, "ZanYi, are you ready?"
Shun wondered how the lieutenant had allowed Tiki to leave the clothing shop dressed the way she was. Perhaps ZanYi had just ended up not caring what Tiki wore. The giant waterbender took comfort in the fact that ZanYi would dress to blend in, at least.
Syaoran looked at Tiki in disbelief. It was almost like watching a child dress herself for the first time, in his opinion. Why he had wanted this part of Tiki back, the Avatar almost couldn't fathom. They were going to stand out enough with Shun's height, like she had mentioned; certainly they didn't need Tiki to make them stand out further. However, all of those thoughts went away when he heard ZanYi's voice. "I'm coming," she said, and a moment later, the lieutenant came back out into the alleyway. And Syaoran was in for a pleasant surprise. A surprise that left his face on fire like one of her kicks.
ZanYi came out with her hair down, hanging at her shoulder blades. Instead of her military jacket, she wore a tightly fitted black leather jacket, the zipper off-center. As if it wasn't snug enough, it also left a bit of midriff to show her bare navel.
And if that wasn't enough to send the Avatar into a bit of a tizzy, she was showing quite a bit of leg, her shorts very high up on her thigh. There was a streak of red scarring that wrapped around one thigh, but Syaoran paid it no attention as he took in all of her. Her combat boots were gone, replaced with slender boots that hugged her calves, all the way up to her knees. When Syaoran finally looked back to the lieutenant's face, he noticed that her eyes were no longer the amber he had become accustomed to, but a warm brown. The woman must have found some colored contacts in there. Syaoran couldn't say a word, just gape. ZanYi almost looked like an entirely different woman. A very sexy one, at that.
ZanYi's new attire had a heavy effect on Shun. He felt like he couldn't breathe. Did she dress like that on purpose, just to torment him? It was almost like she was saying, "Look at how hot I am! Too bad you can't have me! Can't touch this!"
Tiki giggled at the looks on both Syaoran's and Shun's faces. "Feel free to pick your jaws up off the ground at any time, guys," she teased, finding their drooling hilarious. ZanYi was definitely a pretty woman, and it was rare that she put such a fact on display. If Tiki had any regrets, it was that she lacked the womanly curves that ZanYi possessed.
After a moment, Shun seemed to snap out of his stupor. He hastily looked away from ZanYi's enticing wardrobe change, a hand moving over his mouth and burning cheeks once more.
"Uh… we should… um," the giant waterbender struggled, his mind in a fog. Tiki raised her eyebrows at him before deciding to help him out.
"Get going?" she suggested mildly. Shun nodded, sending her a grateful look.
"Yes. We need to get going." With a slight cough, Shun turned to survey the street again, waiting for a moment where the four of them could exit the alleyway without looking suspicious… well, more than usual. "Where are we headed, ZanYi?" Shun asked, keeping his back to her because he was afraid that if he looked at the sexy lieutenant, he would lose his train of thought again.
Syaoran eventually snapped out of it himself, looking away from the woman as well. The Avatar was sure ZanYi had some rational thought process behind her clothing choices, he knew it. It just wasn't apparent to him at the moment. "Yeah, where do we go from here?" he echoed Shun, just trying to get his mind back on track.
ZanYi rolled her eyes at the two men, but nonetheless answered them. "We need to do some reconnaissance. Right now, I'm operating only on our shooter's information. We need to know what's going on in the crowds, what the people are saying right now," she told them, putting a hand on her hip.
That didn't help Syaoran at all, and he forced himself to look at the lieutenant's newly brown eyes. That was also disconcerting, but more so because it was not the gaze he was used to seeing. "So where does that take us?" he asked her.
"We need places where people talk a lot, and about everything going on. Social hubs, public places."
"Like the park?" Tiki suggested, remembering the park in the center of Republic City that was overlooked by the statue of Avatar Aang. "I'm not sure how many people would be willing to talk to us there, though."
"How about a bar?" Shun offered, still gazing out at the street. Tiki followed his gaze to a building down the block with tinted windows and a sign displaying all the specialty drinks the bar had to offer. "Alcohol loosens lips… it might get some people to talk to us more easily than normal."
"Cool!" Tiki enthused, ready to head over… when once again, the collar of her shirt was gripped, and she was dragged backwards. Tiki looked up to shoot Shun a confused look. Why was he holding her up? They needed to gather information, didn't they?
"Remind me, Teeks," Shun began, a slight smile on his rugged features, "how old are you?"
"Nineteen," Tiki replied obediently, though evidently confused on where this conversation was going.
"And what is the legal drinking age?"
Ah. So that's where he was going with this. "…Twenty," Tiki grumbled, looking unhappy.
"No entry, then. For you or Syaoran," Shun asserted with a smirk.
"Oh come on!" Tiki protested, glaring up at the giant waterbender. "Syaoran and I can help! We can't just sit outside while you and ZanYi do all the work!"
"They wouldn't let you in, Teeks," Shun told the tiny airbender, his smirk fading, "they require ID as soon as you get in the door. You and Syaoran aren't old enough, so they'd kick you out."
"Well then what are we supposed to do?" Tiki demanded, finding this situation to be very unfair. It was her parents they were trying to rescue! If Shun insisted that she sit still and be a good girl while the adults did all the work, she would pitch a fit.
"Tiki, calm down," ZanYi told her with a warning look. Syaoran hoped the airbender would take the not-so-subtle hint. They all needed to work together on this, and lately that seemed to be harder than normal to begin with. "Shun's right; there's no way either of you are getting in there. You're underage and we don't need you busting out an ID in there anyway."
Syaoran agreed and found this curious as he looked at ZanYi. "Then how are you planning on getting in?" he asked of the lieutenant. She gave him a brief look before turning back to Tiki.
"I have my ways," ZanYi answered dismissively, end of discussion. To Tiki, she said, "But you and Syaoran can be of use out here on the street. Listen to what people are saying, eavesdrop. And, if you can: newsstands. Find out what's current, what's going on."
Syaoran nodded, thinking this to be a fair trade-off. "We can still help out from outside, Tiki. There's plenty out on the street that we can do," he tried to assure her. ZanYi gave him a stern look.
"Syaoran, you and Tiki need to stay close to each other. If anything suspicious happens, hide. Do not take matters into your own hands other than escape."
He nodded and then looked to Tiki again, just as ZanYi did: with expectation. "Sound like a plan, Tiki?" he queried.
Tiki took a deep, calming breath. It was something she could do, and therefore, she was happy.
"Yeah, sounds good," the tiny airbender agreed, looking determined. There was no guarantee that they would find what they were looking for, but it was a start, at least.
"Then let's meet back in this alleyway in an hour," Shun suggested, glancing at a nearby clock for confirmation. "We should meet back up before it gets dark to figure out where we're going to be staying for the next few days. After we get somewhere secure, we can discuss what we've found."
"Let's go, then!" Tiki asserted, grabbing a hold of Syaoran's hand and darting out from the alleyway, making an effort to blend… though people stared at her odd attire as she passed nonetheless. Tiki glanced up at Syaoran, and was pleasantly surprised that she was almost on eye-level with him, thanks to the platform shoes she had 'borrowed'. "Where should we start?" she asked him, keeping an eye out for newsstands. She had to make an effort to ignore the huge screens high above them, unwilling to see her parents' faces in such a manner.
Syaoran wasn't thrilled with holding Tiki's hand, and especially dressed the way she was. It was like walking around with someone cut loose from the circus. But he was just going to have to bear with it; he certainly wasn't going to grin about it. Rather, the earthbender was completely content to keep his disgruntled expression. "First off, until we find some newsstands, slow down," he told her. And Syaoran forced her to do so. He dug his heels in a little, which yanked the eager airbender back a bit, but then he kept a slow, steady walk. Reluctantly he held Tiki's hand still in his, walking close to her. "If we're going to eavesdrop, we need to actually, oh, I don't know… listen?" Syaoran reminded her sarcastically, leaning in close to her ear.
People were chatting all around them. Someone had to know something.
Despite a shiver that ran down her spine from nowhere, Tiki nodded, accepting that the Avatar had a point. She was walking much too fast to be able to eavesdrop effectively. She matched her pace with Syaoran's as they reached a crosswalk. People were chatting in front of them as they waited for the light to turn, gesturing to one of the giant screens on the skyscrapers, and Tiki strained her ears to listen through the rumbling streets.
"Wish they'd stop playing the stupid airbender couple's 'message' over and over," a man was grumbling to his female companion, "Everyone knows the benders are finished anyway."
"I'm surprised they let the airbenders have screen-time," the man's female companion agreed, "but I guess it's all right since they're fueling the anti-bender agenda."
"They're probably gonna get rid of them as soon as they crush what's left of the Resistance," the man noted, sneering at the image of Tiki's parents, "No loose ends, you know? Just because they're helping us doesn't mean we should keep'em around forever. Bloody benders…"
Tiki was clutching Syaoran's hand very hard, fighting with everything she had not to pounce on the hateful man in front of her. But how could he be so cruel, so… so heartless? Did all nonbenders think this way? Was the only hope of the benders to destroy every single nonbender that was anti-bender? Could one truly not exist as long as the other existed? It was a very grim future for all of them, if that was the case.
Syaoran knew it was taking every bit of Tiki's self-restraint not to attack the man in front of them. It was hard enough for him not to lunge at him; he couldn't imagine what it was like for Tiki since it was her parents they were talking about. "Easy there, Tiki," he warned her under his breath, giving her hand a squeeze back. Knowing she couldn't stand listening to the couple another minute, Syaoran led her to the front of the pack when the crosswalk light allowed them to move. "We've just got to play it cool for right now."
Thankfully, up ahead, he found a newsstand. He hoped that would be better than listening to the everyday passerby, but Syaoran found that he was mistaken. Halting them, he dropped Tiki's hand to take a look at the headlines. "Resistance Driven From City: Freedom From Benders At Last?" he read aloud, frowning. That didn't sound good for them. If the Resistance was gone from the city, then that meant that not only could ZanYi not find last minute back-up, but it meant there was no one left for Tiki's parents to discourage.
Tiki grabbed a newspaper and tore it open to read the full story.
" 'This past week, our saviors, the Neo-Equalists, were successful in their endeavors of driving out the bender menace from the streets of Republic City…' I don't believe this," she grumbled, her anger beginning to boil to the surface, "It was because of my great-great-grandfather—a bender—that this city was even formed!"
The injustice infuriated Tiki, but she could not make a scene, lest she attract even more stares. So instead, she continued to read on. " 'In regards to LingShi and YinXiang Chouko, the only remaining benders in the city, officials had this to say: 'The Choukos have seemed to turn over a new leaf, and are cooperating with us to end the war between benders and non-benders everywhere. If they keep up this attitude, we predict they will be a long-time asset to our esteemed leader, WeiTai.' When asked about the wanted status of the Choukos' only child, Tiki, officials refused to comment, though it is rumored that Tiki Chouko is one of the leaders of the Resistance, and is considered dangerous'."
Tiki looked up at Syaoran, a forbidden hope beginning to blossom in her heart. "They said… if my parents continued to cooperate, that they would be spared. There's nothing in here about executing them…"
Had the shooter fed them false information? Had they come to the city on a wild goose chase? True, Tiki desperately wanted her parents to be freed from such tyranny, but was the two-week deadline made up? Had they rushed to Republic City, ill-prepared and under-informed… for nothing?
Syaoran was reading it over her shoulder and frowned even further. Republic City was founded by benders. It was his predecessors, Avatar Aang, that created the city, and Avatar Korra that had fought to bring balance back to the city. And yet, here it was in turmoil again. He considered himself lucky for not having come to this city before; it did not seem to be a safe place for any bender. But the hope in Tiki's voice was also a problem. He understood why she would want such a thing, but Syaoran didn't think she had a reason to. "They didn't put in the newspaper that your parents are being blackmailed into everything they've said. I don't think they'd put their execution in there either," he muttered to Tiki, trying to keep things in perspective for her.
The Avatar allowed himself to snicker for a brief moment, albeit sardonic. "They're already feeding lies. This paper says you're dangerous and a Resistance leader. The latter, at least, is not true." Dangerous, however, Syaoran kept to himself. Tiki certainly killed his patience enough for him to consider her dangerous.
Tiki, however, did not miss the distinction Syaoran made. She gave him a brief look before sighing and tucking the newspaper under her arm.
"Shun and ZanYi will want a look at this," she mumbled, nudging the rose-colored glasses she wore further up the bridge of her nose. "For now, let's keep going."
As they continued on their way, Tiki continued to listen to the snatches of conversation she and Syaoran got close enough to hear, but not much was as revealing as the newspaper they picked up. Tiki was about to give up in her frustration when she noticed something very odd.
They were by the harbor now, and Tiki could see the water from where they stood. However, something was wrong, out of place. An important statue that was supposed to be there was not, and Tiki stared. There were ruins at the bottom of the islet where Avatar Aang's likeness once stood. The tiny airbender could make out the stone head of her great-great-grandfather, staring blithely up at the sky, where the statue once stood proud and tall. Tiki gripped the fence she and Syaoran were standing next to, horror causing her body to shake.
"They… tore it down…" she whispered, heartbreak in every word. The symbol of peace in Republic City, of harmony… and the nonbenders tore it down like it was nothing. Tiki wanted to throw up, she felt so sick. How could they? First her parents, and now the memory of her ancestor… how could they?!
Tiki was gripping the fence for support now, feeling as if her knees would give way. To her further horror and frustration, tears were swimming in her eyes. This was the last straw, in her book. The people of Republic City would pay. She did not know how, and she did not know when, but when the time came, she would make sure each and every individual who was responsible for such disgrace would suffer ten-fold the pain Tiki had to endure.
Syaoran saw Tiki's overwhelmed reaction and knew she was near her breaking point. Which was not a good thing. In fact, that was the last thing the team needed. And Shun was elsewhere with ZanYi, which meant there was no one else to help calm her down. Syaoran cursed his luck.
He moved to stand behind Tiki, putting his hands on either side of hers on the fence. If she was going to collapse, he was going to be there to make sure it didn't turn into a scene. Tiki as herself was bad enough; a Tiki past breaking point sounded so much worse. "It's okay, Tiki," Syaoran said in hushed tones in her ear. "It's going to be okay." Eventually, it would be. Or at least, the Avatar hoped. This war was striking hard everywhere, and it just seemed that for every success they had, there was a failure with it. But that was the last opinion Tiki needed to hear, so he wracked his brain for something more comforting. "We're going to save your parents. ZanYi's going to come up with a plan, we're going to rescue them, I'm going to learn the other elements, and with the Resistance, we're going to win this war," he coaxed her, trying to give her some semblance of hope. "When the war is over, the statue will be put back up. So just calm down, okay?"
The comforting voice in her ear, saying all the things she wanted to hear at that moment, only made Tiki want to cry more. She whirled around and clutched at Syaoran's shirt, burying her face into his chest. Her tiny frame trembled, but though a few tears managed to escape her eyes, she was fighting for control. Tiki worked to make herself inhale slowly, breathing in Syaoran's earthy scent, like healthy soil after a refreshing rainfall. For some reason, it soothed her, and she found herself calming down a lot faster than usual. With a sniffle, Tiki loosened her hold on Syaoran's shirt, just resting her palms on his chest.
"Can… can we stay like this for a minute? Please?" she asked, her voice quivering with unshed tears. The tiny airbender felt as if she did not have the strength to stand on her own, and if Syaoran moved away, her knees would certainly give way.
Syaoran twisted his lip in a disgruntled fashion. Unlike their big waterbender, the earthbender was not used to being a comforting, reassuring rock. So all of this was so very out of his territory. But it was clear he had at least done something right, since Tiki seemed to find some sort of solace—albeit it was in his chest. The Avatar wondered how wet his shirt was going to get from this.
Despite his concerns being elsewhere but involving Tiki, Syaoran was not going to push her away. "Sure, we can stay like this," he agreed, feeling as if Tiki needed any and all support. But then he looked down at the small airbender with a semi-stern look. "But just for a minute." And as he let Tiki cling onto him, he tried to wrack his brain for something else that would work to speed up the process. Syaoran thought of what Shun would do, and what he himself had done when she'd broken down after the surprise attack at Omashu.
So Syaoran, finding a solution, started to pat her back, although a bit awkwardly. He made soothing circles on the airbender's back, muttering over and over, "It's going to be okay." He could only hope that would work.
Tiki took another deep breath and let it out slowly. She could kind of tell that Syaoran was a bit out of his element, but it was okay. The fact that he was trying was enough for Tiki. Steadily, she felt the sick feeling in her stomach disappearing, and strength returned to her legs. Raising a hand to wipe away the rest of her tears, Tiki looked up to meet Syaoran's eyes.
"Thank you, Syaoran," she expressed with a grateful smile. "I'm fine, now." Tiki dropped her hands and stepped away from Syaoran, turning to glance at the empty islet, eyes burning. She took Syaoran's promises to rebuild the statue to heart, and it was only remembering his words that she was able to turn away again, steeling herself.
"Let's go. Our time is almost up," Tiki said, glancing at a nearby clock. She picked up the newspaper she had dropped and looked around her. "Um… where were we again?" she asked, suddenly realizing that she had no idea where they were because they had wandered so far from the alleyway they had started in.
Syaoran rolled his eyes and smacked his head. This girl could bounce back from a whole range of feelings—like an emotional rubberband. And she was an airhead as well as an airbender, that was for sure. He looked at the same clock as Tiki and nodded. "We need to get back." But before he did, Syaoran eyed the little airbender again and how she seemed to have to force herself to turn away from the islet. As much of an airhead as she was, at least she could pull herself together for this. "And don't thank me, Tiki. I didn't do anything. It was all you."
Turning, he grabbed Tiki's hand this time and started off the way they came. "We need to go this way," the earthbender instructed Tiki. He held tight to the girl's hand, fearing that if he let go, Tiki would find some way to get lost. "Let's just hope Shun and ZanYi found something out too."
Tiki remained silent, allowing herself to be led by the hand. She certainly did hope Shun and ZanYi were able to get more information; all they had was a newspaper that was full of lies.
Silently contemplating, Tiki peered at the back of Syaoran's head. Even when he was putout with her, he still managed to be able to take care of her when she couldn't figure out which way was up. How funny it was that he had become such an important part of her life. Yet, it also felt strange. As she followed Syaoran through the crowds, her hand clasped firmly within his, she tried to pinpoint the weird feeling. The anxiety was still there, yes, as it constantly was these days. Her heartbreak was still present, though it was muted. And she was no closer to rescuing her parents than they were when they started gathering information.
But even under such oppressive facts… why did Tiki feel a little happy? The emotion was out of place, and though she tried to ferret out the source, the tiny airbender was at a loss. Maybe the rollercoaster of emotions she had been riding lately was just messing with her head. After all, what other explanation was there?
A/N from Eva: D'awww, Tiki and Syaoran are just precious~ X3 Could this be the start of something special? You'll have to keep reading to find out! :D
Batmanbane77: First and foremost, DJ and I would like to express how awesome we think your username is. XD Second of all, thank you very much for your support! We love these characters like they were our children (except we keep putting them through torturous situations, which makes us the worst parents ever. XD) so it thrills us when others love them too. We hope you continue to read and enjoy!
DJ would like you all to know that Master Fei is up on her deviantArt account! Go take a look! The link is on our profile! 'Till next week!