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.
"Ah, there you are, Tiki!" YinLi greeted once her niece had reappeared with the Avatar, coming inside the island home. Bright light from the sun's warm rays filtered through the windows, lighting the dining room with a warm glow. "We were wondering where you had gotten to!" Shun was setting the table, and when he noticed Tiki with Syaoran, he quirked an eyebrow, as if to question whether being with him in her… condition, was wise. Tiki gave him a look that told him to keep his mouth shut. "Where's Ping?" YinLi wanted to know as Tiki took a seat on her left, "I thought he'd be with you."
"He's giving a lesson over at the dojo," Tiki replied, keeping her poker face in play. There was no need to rehash what had just happened…
…But YinLi, however, seemed to think otherwise. "So, how was your first meditation practice, Avatar Syaoran?" she inquired quite cheerfully, charging forward without abandon.
"Auntie," Tiki began with a warning voice; YinLi glanced over at her curiously.
"What? I want to hear how it went!"
"Aunt Li," Tiki tried again, "please, drop it."
YinLi frowned now. "What's wrong with you, Tiki? I'm just asking the Avatar how—"
"It went badly," Tiki finally illuminated her busybody aunt, enunciating each word, "Syaoran and Ping had a… disagreement."
YinLi looked as if Tiki had slapped her. "What… but Ping never disagrees with anyone!" she denied, looking at Tiki as if she was surely joking. But Tiki was not joking—she kept her gaze steady as she met YinLi's eyes.
"Today he did. Now please, Aunt Li… let it go."
YinLi still looked mightily confused, but did as her niece requested. When she saw Tiki wince as she moved to bring her fork to her mouth, however, the concerned aunt proceeded to put her foot in her mouth once again. "Are your arms sore, sweetheart? Maybe you should get Shun to—"
"I'm fine," Tiki said, the sound distorted because she was gritting her teeth. YinLi seemed to realize she had said too much again, and proceeded to send apologetic glances to her niece in between bites of her omelet.
"…So… nice weather we're having," Shun eventually spoke up, making a lame joke in an attempt to lighten the atmosphere. Unfortunately, the joke fell flat the moment it left his lips. Perhaps it would have been better if he had stayed silent. From the opposite side of the hardwood table, Syaoran was starting to think that perhaps breakfast was only good for healthy eating. Despite all of the arguments and disputes over meals past, at least they hadn't been this tense before. He looked across the table, feeling it was empty there beside Shun. The Avatar knew why it felt that way but said not a word, just continuing to eat his breakfast.
Between Tiki's new behavior since the death of her parents, and the lieutenant's departure, Team Avatar was not the same any more. It made Syaoran a bit lonely, a bit disgruntled. They still had to work together, but it was the first day and already nothing about their dynamic was right.
A soft knock came to the nearby front door, and quietly, a middle-aged woman slipped inside. She peered into the room, and Syaoran thought he might have seen her somewhere in the crowd last night. Perhaps she was their neighbor. "I hate to intrude so early," the woman said, looking contrite, "but there's a Resistance soldier outside to return your boat key. And…" her gaze trailed to Syaoran and his company, a bit uncertain, "he's asking if the Avatar is here."
To Syaoran, that was a confusing mixed bag of news. The key meant that ZanYi indeed had reached her destination, whichever island it had been. But why would the soldier want to speak with him? Did that mean the lieutenant was sending a message to them? A bit of hope rose in his throat, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to squash it. "Did he say his name?" he ventured to ask, curious now. The woman nodded.
"He said his name was Lee, and that he was an… AK?" The neighbor paused, as if she was bemused by that bit of information. "He said that the Avatar and his friends would know what that meant."
Shun dropped his fork to his plate with a clatter. Lee? The upstart that had burned ZanYi was here? "What's he want with Syaoran?" Shun asked, an uneasy feeling he could not fathom settling in the pit of his stomach. If ZanYi was back amongst the Agni-Kais, what did Lee need to seek out Syaoran for?
Tiki rose from the table, shaking her head at the questions in her aunt's eyes. "We should go see him," she said, though she too sounded uncertain. Her eyes met Shun's, and she knew they were thinking the same thing: if one of the AKs was looking for the Avatar, something must be wrong. As one, the airbender and the waterbender turned to the earthbender in their midst, awaiting his decision.
But Syaoran didn't wait to make a decision, didn't even think about it. He rose too from the table, nodding to the woman in the doorway. "We'll see him," he answered easily. The neighbor, while still uncertain, nodded and went back outside, Syaoran and the others in tow. Stepping out into the front, the Avatar was still a little surprised to find the woman's words true. Right outside, shifting uncomfortably on the stony walkway, was Lee; the same Lee that he'd sparred with during his stay with the Agni Kais. The one that had almost torched him if ZanYi had not been there to take and block the blow.
Lee looked up, and the relief was clear on his face. "So you are here, Avatar Syaoran," he breathed, as if this was excellent news. Seeing Shun coming up behind him, the soldier cowered a little, wincing. "I'm sorry again for that time during training."
"It's whatever, man," Syaoran cut him off, not needing his apology. It was long ago and done with, as far as Syaoran was concerned. Their group had gone through much worse since that mild training accident. But the Avatar did see the anxiety on Lee's face. It made him antsy. "Is something wrong, Lee?"
Lee nodded, looking about carefully as if paranoid, furtive. "There's a lot of things wrong and I need your help," the soldier confessed, "I came because there's a problem, and Lieutenant Tsong is in trouble."
Syaoran's jade eyes widened and his pulse quickened. "What?" he found himself asking, disbelieving. That was not good news. That was terrible news. "What kind of trouble is she in?"
Gulping, Lee looked to each of them, as if hoping that he as the messenger would not be shot. "Lieutenant Tsong has been arrested under the charges of kidnapping the Avatar and treason. And right now, a dishonorable discharge for going AWOL would be the least of her problems."
Shun was in Lee's face before he had finished speaking his peace.
"What do you mean she was arrested?" Shun demanded, the question coming out as a growl.
"Shun, let go!" Tiki cried, sounding terrified; the giant waterbender looked down to find that his hands were on Lee's collar, lifting him up into the air. Shun hastily did as Tiki asked and set the poor soldier back down on his feet.
"Sorry," Shun apologized curtly, though Lee now looked even more terrified of the giant waterbender now.
"I don't understand, Lee," Tiki admitted softly, surreptitiously nudging Shun back as she moved in front of Lee. "Why would ZanYi be arrested for kidnapping Syaoran? He's obviously safe and sound, so why would the Resistance assume she kidnapped him?"
None of this made sense to the tiny airbender at all. What was the basis for the military to arrest one of their own on charges of treason? Surely Zaron would not have allowed that, right? What was going on?
Syaoran couldn't breathe for a minute, couldn't even think. He was in the same boat as Tiki. "Clearly I'm fine," Syaoran reiterated, looking at Lee, now frowning in confusion. "Just what is going on?"
Lee, eyeing Shun, stepped back a little, as if hoping that he was not about to get pummeled. Syaoran took that to mean the news was going to get worse. And it did. "Things have changed since you guys disappeared," he answered, his gaze absorbing all of them. "The morning we left Omashu, a message was received that the base had been compromised, that they had been attacked and everyone either killed or taken as a POW. The message was received before we left. They're saying that Lietuenant Tsong sent her notice of our return to a destroyed base, basically telling the Neo-Equalists that we were coming and purposefully walking everyone into that ambush."
"That's insane!" Syaoran shouted, disagreeing immediately. His anger was beginning to rise inside him in outrage. Lee nodded, completely serious and grim.
"It gets worse. Almost nobody made it out of the ambush. Most of the AKs were taken captive by those NEs we were fighting. And the few of us who did get out can only say that the last time they saw the lieutenant, she was riding away from the battle with you guys. Between the notice she sent a ransacked base saying you were coming and her prolonged desertion, Lieutenant Zhao had enough to paint her a traitor."
Syaoran paced away a little, a hand ruffling through his messy hair in anger. This couldn't be happening. How could all of this had gone down in their absence? How had things gone so wrong? ZanYi had just tried to help them, keep them safe after the attack. "Nobody believes Zhao though, right?" Syaoran said, almost pleading with Lee, imploring. He could not understand that anyone would choose to believe the irate man, especially with the history he had with ZanYi.
"There's a lot of us that don't. We know Lieutenant Tsong wouldn't do that," Lee persisted, shaking his head a little. "But when the base was initially attacked, General Chen was taken prisoner. The interim guy can't vouch for her and with the facts given, she's been out for arrest. And as of last night, she just delivered herself to them."
Shun let out a slow breath, trying to calm himself down. It did not work. As he wrung his hands, Tiki could only stare at Lee, horrified. How could this have happened? It seemed like it was just disaster after disaster after disaster, and they were always on the losing side.
"What are we going to do?" Tiki whispered, turning her terrified gaze onto the men next to her. Something had to be done, absolutely, but what?
Shun gave Tiki a look, as if she had just said the most asinine thing in the world—which was normal, but not the case this time. "You have to ask?" he questioned her before rounding on Lee. "Where are they holding her?" he demanded to know, his face set in rigid lines, all traces of laugh lines gone from his face.
He should have known Zhao would pull such a dirty trick, just to get the upper hand and watch ZanYi fall. The man was a jealous heathen, maliciously contenting himself with others' failures instead of working proactively to be considered worth notice. Shun had a thing or two to say to that man, should they come across him during their mission to liberate ZanYi—and they both involved his fists.
Lee gulped subtly at the waterbender's stern tone. Shun was growing more and more intimidating by the minute and Lee almost feared for his life. But he'd known this might happen when he came to see them, so he just stomached the intimidation. "On our base nearby," the soldier answered boldly, "on Whale Tail Island. At least, she is for now."
"For now?" Syaoran repeated, coming forward next to Shun then, glowering at Lee. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Lieutenant Tsong is scheduled to be transferred to a POW camp tomorrow. Lieutenant Zhao should be coming in to oversee the exchange himself. But for now, she's being held on base."
"How is she?" Syaoran could not help but ask, his outrage also colored with concern for the lieutenant's well being. Lee tightened his lips and took a deep breath. Syaoran almost rolled his eyes; this just kept getting worse and worse.
"They've been keeping her chi blocked around the clock," Lee answered, and a smile almost went to his mouth then. "Lieutenant Tsong took out several soldiers when they apprehended her last night." But then he grew serious again, a painful look on his face. "They've been alternating her between the prison cells and the coolers."
"Coolers?" Syaoran asked, confused. "Why would they put her in a cooler?"
Lee looked at him gravely. "It's an old Fire Nation punishment. They would put firebenders in these cell-like freezers them to… cool them off." Syaoran met the soldier's gaze, and the look in Lee's eyes as almost accusatory. "They're torturing her because she won't tell anybody where you are, not even to clear her name. I only found you all because I was the one to find the boat and it had the symbol of the Air Nomads on it."
Syaoran grit his teeth impossibly tight, and he did not stop himself when he felt the flames rise in his fists. ZanYi was arrested for crimes she did not commit, and being tortured because she was trying to keep them safe. The injustice and fury swelled inside of him. It was hard to keep himself together.
Tiki heard a slam behind her and she jumped. Turning, the tiny airbender was alarmed to find that Shun had punched one of the support beams on her aunt's porch. What was even more frightening was that, when Shun pulled his fist back, a crack was now visible in the support beam, running all the way up to the top and winding around the side at the bottom.
They were torturing her? One of their own?! If this was what the Resistance was like, Shun was fervently glad that he had not joined up when he was offered the chance. He would not be able to stomach this kind of treatment of someone he considered to be an ally and had no ironclad reason to doubt.
"We need to go," he growled, turning to Lee. "Take us to this island now."
"But—!" Lee stammered, looking surprised at being asked for so much so soon. But unluckily for him, Shun had just run out of patience.
"I said take us to the island! You know where it is, don't you? Then take us there, get us in, and get us out with ZanYi, or I'm gonna—"
SLAP!
Shun blinked a couple times in the deafening silence, unsure of what had just happened. All he knew was that his cheek was stinging something fierce, and Tiki was standing on the porch rail in front of him, lowering a raised hand to grasp the giant's shoulders.
"Shun, calm down," Tiki demanded, her gray eyes stern; the humor of this reversal of roles was not lost on Shun, though he couldn't quite bring himself to laugh right now. "Nothing will be solved if you just rush out of here without a plan. I know you're worried, but you have to remember that the rest of us are too. Now, we have an advantage: Lee. He's the only one who knows Syaoran's here, and he can help us—but we need to ask him calmly and nicely. So I need your well of patience to come back right now, Shun. Can you handle that?"
Shun steadily came back to himself, looking chagrined. His shame at losing his temper like that stung him almost as much as his cheek did. He rubbed the sore spot while shooting Tiki a look. "That slap hurt, Teeks."
"Believe me, it hurt me worse," Tiki countered, shaking her bandaged hand for emphasis and wincing, "but I had to get your attention before you did something stupid."
Shun had to smirk then. Since when had Tiki gotten so wise? She almost sounded like ZanYi just then. And she was right: he would not be of any help to ZanYi whatsoever if he just went kicking down doors all willy-nilly. With a sigh, Shun turned once more to Lee.
"…I'm sorry," he apologized, allowing the regret to show on his face, "I didn't mean to take my anger out on you; I know you're on our side. And we need your help now. It might be dangerous, and you would be putting yourself at risk, but you're the best shot we have." Shun met Lee's gaze, appraising him not as an upstart now, but as an equal. "Will you help us, Lee?"
"If I didn't plan on helping Lieutenant Tsong, I wouldn't be here," Lee answered resolutely. "She's my commanding officer. Most of us who support her have been separated to various bases. But I'm here, and I'm not going to let her down."
Syaoran was fiercely grateful for the soldier's loyalty. It was going to go a long way to helping them get ZanYi back safe. "Then we're glad that you ended up on the base down here," Syaoran thanked him, determined. "So when's the best time to strike?"
"Tonight," Lee immediately answered the Avatar, focusing on him instead of Shun. The waterbender was much harder to look at, despite his demeanor shifting to such apology. "I can get you guys on the island and to where they're holding Lieutenant Tsong. You guys will have to book it out of there after that. Remember: no one down here knows her like we do. This branch is not your friend."
Syaoran nodded, his determination helping him grow more and more focused. "Understood," he concurred. They had a chance to bring ZanYi back to them and get her out of dangerous hands. He was going to take it. Turning then to look at his comrades, he glanced at Tiki's hand. "Tiki, are you going to be able to be part of this?"
Tiki opened her mouth to reply that, of course she was going to be a part of it, why was he even asking?
But then she followed his gaze to her bandaged hands, and suddenly she understood: her 'rite of passage' was not finished yet. Therefore, she could not afford to leave the island. This made her sad.
"No," she replied with a sigh, jumping down from the porch rail. "I'm not well enough to run or fight—I'd only slow you all down." Far from discouraging her, this fact caused Tiki's gaze to grow more determined as she surveyed the three men in front of her. "That means it's up to you three to make sure ZanYi returns safe and sound," she reminded them needlessly, meeting each of their gazes one by one. "ZanYi is counting on you… and so am I." Tiki strode back to the door, opening it for Shun, Syaoran and Lee. "Come inside," she invited them, propping the door open with her back. "You can plan in the living room."
Shun had never been so thankful for Tiki being able to keep her cool. Normally, he would have expected the tiny airbender to insist on coming along despite her 'delicate' condition, and then throw a tantrum when Shun finally asserted that she could not come. The fact that she was being so mature was a relief, but at the same time, it made Shun feel lonely. He was beginning to feel as if he didn't know Tiki anymore.
Syaoran felt the same, looking at Tiki. It was as if the airbender was not even the girl they'd just spent the last month and a half with. But a lot had happened in that time, especially in the past couple days alone. And he didn't have time to dwell on Tiki's well-being. ZanYi needed them and soon.
"Let's go," the Avatar encouraged them, ushering a gesture to Lee. The soldier nodded, following suit behind him. They had a lot to do and only a little bit of time to do it. And they couldn't mess this up. ZanYi needed them to get this right.
Night had fallen and the moon was still low on the horizon, reflecting moonstreams across the oceanic waters. All was quiet as Lee cut the motor to the boat, allowing them to drift gently up to the shore. The Resistance base was above ground here, a stark upshot of metal from the ground of the island.
When the boat settled onto the sandy shore, Lee hopped out, landing gently. He jogged up to the door, pulling out his ID card. It lit up green, the door sliding open. He ushered Syaoran and Shun in quickly before the metal slid back down. "Okay," Lee said, looking at the two men after scouring the hall for any soldiers. "If they're going by the same schedule they were when I left this morning, Lieutenant Tsong should be in the coolers right now."
"Which are… where?" Syaoran asked, looking around at the cold, metal hallways, dimly lit due to the hour.
"Up two floors and down at the far end," the soldier told him, pressing the key card into Syaoran's hand. "There's a set of service stairs right here. I'll keep watch down here to keep anyone from going up."
Shun nodded, memorizing the directions Lee had given them. It was supposed to be an in and out job, so hopefully they would not come across any complications. As much as Shun felt that he needed to blow off steam, he would prefer a simple mission for a change. "Let's go," Shun urged the Avatar, turning and taking the stairs four at a time; he could get away with it, with how long his legs were. Two flights up, Shun waited for Syaoran to catch up before heading down the end of the long hall Lee had mentioned. A large, formidable-looking door blocked further entry. Shun placed a hand on it and shivered. It was colder than a windy Northern Water Tribe day. "Are you sure you want to come inside?" Shun wanted to check with Syaoran, frowning. "If we stay in there too long, there's a good chance you'd freeze up too."
And that was the last thing they needed—the lieutenant, weak from torture, and the Avatar, frostbitten. Shun would not be thrilled if he had to lug them both out of the freezers; he could handle the cold, having grown up in it all his life. But that sort of resistance to cold took years to build up… Shun wasn't really sure how Syaoran was going to fare, and it worried him.
Syaoran looked at the door as well, leading to the freezers. If that was how cold the section of the hall that lead to the freezers was, he couldn't imagine how cold the actual cells were. And ZanYi was in one of them.
As much as the Avatar wanted to go after her in that moment, to make sure that they got her out of there, Syaoran didn't know if it was the best idea. He looked back down the hall again, then to the door, and then to Shun. And he was about to argue his way into going with the waterbender, but then he realized how pointless that would be. ZanYi would play them to their strengths in a mission; they had to think like her to get her out.
"Fine. You go in there and I'll keep watch out here," Syaoran reluctantly agreed, bitter. But he had to swallow it for her sake. "Get ZanYi and get out fast," he warned the man, his words a bit edgier and stare a bit narrower than he intended.
"Of course," Shun assented, grasping the key card. He took no offense at Syaoran's sharpened tone: he knew better than anyone how the Avatar was feeling at that moment. Shun pulled the freezer door open, the cold an unwelcome blast on his face. It had been years since he'd been in the cold, so normally he would have allowed his body time to readjust. But time was a luxury he could not afford at the moment—ZanYi needed him now.
Shutting the door behind him, Shun drew his leather jacket tighter around him, his breath coming out in puffs of fog. There were a dozen freezer cells in here, all of the glass frosted over from the inside as well as the outside… how was he supposed to know which cell the lieutenant was trapped in?
"ZanYi?" Shun called, not daring to raise his voice higher than a muted call, "ZanYi, where are you? If you can hear me, pound on your cell door or something." As he waited, Shun tried a couple of the cells, but the ones he tried were empty. Would he have to check each and every one, wasting precious time, before he found ZanYi? The seconds passed and Shun was getting desperate. It was cold, and he did not know where ZanYi was. So the giant waterbender resigned himself to checking each and every freezer cell, determined not to leave until he found ZanYi.
And find her he did—in the last possible cell he could have found her in, of course. Within her cell, ZanYi had heard the door to the hall open and close, followed by a series of opening and closing doors. There was a voice, she'd heard, but it was far too muted for her to understand it. Not that it mattered to her very much.
Shaking, frozen, the lieutenant rose to her feet in her cell. The chains that bound her hands loosely to the icy walls jingled and clattered as she did so. Taking a deep breath of the frigid air, she tried to see if she could warm her hands. Just like all of the other times today, she could not. Her chi was still very sufficiently blocked. So instead, she shifted again, putting herself in a fighting stance. If someone came through that freezer door, ZanYi was going to strike them. Defending herself was all she had left. They'd already beat her and struck her—the bruises and cuts trailed all along her body. They'd taken her bending from her temporarily. She didn't care if they were military anymore or whose orders they were under.
ZanYi Tsong was not about to let them take anything else from her. And so she raised her fists and planted her frozen feet, breathing as much of the cold air as she dared to. Whoever was coming, she would be ready.
A wave of relief flowed through Shun as he peeled open the door, seeing those golden eyes again. They were weary and bruised, but they were still the eyes he knew. "ZanYi," Shun sighed in relief; in his elation at seeing her again, he embraced the lieutenant, not caring if he was allowed to touch her or not. He missed her, so he was going to hug her and not care who saw!
…Okay, realistically, he was only allowing himself to hug her because Syaoran was not there to witness it, but Shun did not have to admit that to anyone, so as far as he was concerned, it was all good.
ZanYi didn't even think when that door flew open though. When the large body suddenly moved toward her, the reaction finally kicked in. Using what little strength she had left, the lieutenant lashed out, doing her best to kick away at her aggressor. But it was cold; she was numb. Her attack fell flat, aside from the fact that she could no longer strike with the mountainous grasp she was then under. Still, ZanYi did her best to thrash against it, using every bit of strength she had left.
"I… told you… I won't… tell you… where they… are," she panted and choked, her voice raspy and dry. It hurt to speak, but she was going to nip the questions in the bud.
Shun pulled back, startled. Was ZanYi… trying to attack him? If she was, he barely felt the blows, though there certainly was still some fire left in her. The fact that mighty ZanYi Tsong had been reduced to this… it almost made Shun want to cry. How could they do this to her?
"ZanYi, ZanYi, it's okay, it's me, it's Shun!" he tried to soothe her, moving his hands up to her face so she would look him in the eye. There was determination in that jaded gaze—ZanYi would rather die than give them up. The fact that she would go so far touched Shun further, and his eyes actually became cloudy. "It's me," he insisted once again, his thumbs stroking her cheeks. Didn't she recognize him? Didn't she remember that the last thing Shun would ever do was hurt her? Didn't she realize that hurting her would kill him as well, that he was already feeling every beating she had to endure in the last twenty-four hours? Shun could be considered an empathist, sure, but he felt everything so much stronger when it was ZanYi. She had become an irreversible part of him.
And that's when Shun finally realized that it was too late to convince himself that he and ZanYi were never meant to be: he had already fallen in love with her.
Her teeth were grit impossibly tight, and her gaze glowered at the one ahead of her. But then ZanYi really looked at those eyes, seeing the deep blues that had become quite familiar to her over the past several weeks. And his voice swept over her like a wave of relief on her ears.
It was Shun. Not another soldier. Shun. And right now, he was still the best back-up plan ZanYi had ever had.
The flailing ceased and she did her best not to shiver. Everywhere he touched her was some semblance of warm for the first time in who knows how long. ZanYi almost had to resist the urge to move closer to him, just to feel the warmth. She missed the warmth, the heat at her fingertips.
"Shun," she finally croaked, allowing the realization to come out of her parched throat and her frozen body. "What are you… doing here?" Her brow puckered, more confused than anything else. "You… shouldn't be here…"
Shun almost wanted to laugh; the first thing she said after realizing he was not going to hurt her was not "thank you" or any sentiment of the sort: she wanted to know why he was there, rescuing her. "Syaoran's here too; it's a long story, but Lee came to get us when you were arrested, and now we're breaking you out," Shun filled her in, shrugging out of his fur-lined leather jacket and wrapping it around ZanYi. It was huge on her, of course, but it would do. As for the chains binding her…
Shun took ZanYi's wrists, inspecting the shackles. If ZanYi's hands were a bit smaller, she could slide them right through… or she could dislocate her thumbs for the same result. But no, Shun did not want to cause her any more pain. The chains that held her looked old, and were rusted in some places. One good yank might be all they needed…
To be sure, Shun melted some of the ice on the walls, bending it to surround ZanYi's shackles. He refroze the water, placed his hands on either side of the frozen bits and pulled: with a snap, they broke, falling to the ground. Triumphant, Shun brought ZanYi into the shelter of his arms once again, running his hands up and down her back and arms in an attempt to warm her. "Let's get you out of here," he said, touching her face briefly. "Can you run?" Shun would have picked her up and ran with her—they were pressed for time—but he wanted to make sure she was unable to run by herself first. He had almost learned that lesson the hard way as well.
"Maybe," she rasped. ZanYi appreciated the warmth that was bestowed on her, courtesy of Shun. And while she was not normally one for personal affection of the hugging variety, it was difficult for the firebender to refuse when she was so frigid. All of her being was just so cold; it was difficult to feel anything at that point.
Although she now had Shun's jacket, and even some of his body heat, ZanYi couldn't help but shiver, her teeth chattering a bit. Every breath came out as frost in the cold. And try as she might, ZanYi could not warm herself, despite wrapping her arms around each other.
"I won't… be of any help… to you guys," she warned him. Her golden gaze was frosted, and it was difficult to keep staring at Shun. "My chi is blocked." Even in her difficult state, ZanYi had it in her to have irritation seep into her words. It frustrated her to no end. She could hardly feel own limbs and she couldn't even firebend. Never had she ever felt this vulnerable.
At ZanYi's shuddering, Shun held her closer. "It's fine," he assured her, "hopefully we won't have to fight. We just need to get out of here, and fast."
Shun brought ZanYi over to the end of the hall, keeping his arms around her until he had to pull the heavy door open. He wanted to get ZanYi out of the cold as soon as possible. "I've got her," Shun called to Syaoran, pushing ZanYi through the door first to escape the cold. "Now let's book it."
Syaoran rushed forward to ZanYi, hands awkwardly out, as if to catch the wavering the lieutenant. "ZanYi," he breathed, relieved. It had taken Shun so long, the Avatar had had half a mind to go in after him. "Are you okay?" Syaoran asked her, looking directly into her eyes. The gaze that stared back was a bit foggy, weakened, but as they narrowed at him, it still resembled her flames.
"Let's just go," she told him through grit teeth and chapped lips, trying not to shake. This part of the hall was much warmer, but it was only slowly starting to help her. ZanYi still couldn't feel much. But she was going to try. She was not about to drag them down when they were risking so much to get her out of there.
Syaoran gave her another worried look, but nodded. "We'll go," he assured her. "Can you move on your own?"
"Can you shut-up and get going?"
The response was enough to make Syaoran roll his eyes. ZanYi, as bad as she looked, was not broken. She was still very much herself, the lieutenant that he cared about and admired. Turning, Syaoran started to jog down the hallway, going for the stairwell door. ZanYi did her best to quicken her steps and follow after him, but she could barely move her joints in such a way. So when the firebender attempted to run, instead she began to fall. Luckily, Shun was right behind her, watching to make sure she would be all right. So when ZanYi lost her balance, his arms were around her immediately.
"Okay," Shun sighed, leaning down to swoop her up into his arms, "I'm thinking this counts as 'being unable to walk on your own', Lieutenant." Shun made sure he had a secure hold on her before jogging after Syaoran. "Open the door, please, Syaoran. My hands are full, and we've been here way too long." Shun looked around, feeling a tad paranoid. They had gotten in, rescued ZanYi, and were about to get out… it was almost too easy. The longer they stayed here, the edgier the giant waterbender was going to get. At least until they were back on Southern Air Island safe and sound.
Syaoran looked back just as Shun picked her up and frowned. It was another moment he had a bit of disdain for Shun's large stature, able to accomplish such a feat without batting a lash. The Avatar knew it would have been a bit of a struggle for him; ZanYi was a tall, muscled soldier. She was no Tiki, by any stretch of the imagination.
Giving the waterbender a dirty look, Syaoran did as Shun asked, holding the door so that the waterbender could pass by with ZanYi in his arms. Said woman was giving Shun a similar look. ZanYi wanted to contradict him and tell him that if she could, she would scorch him for belittling her in such a way. But she did remember her own words, the ones that had told him never to do this again unless she could not move on her own. Clearly she couldn't move fast enough on her own.
The stairwell was dim as they hurried back down, and at the bottom, Syaoran held the door again for Shun. But when they entered the hall, something wasn't right. "Where's Lee?" he asked, looking to Shun worriedly, noting immediately the absence of the ally.
"Officer Lee has been detained under the charges of aiding in the escape of a dangerous traitor to the Resistance," answered another voice entirely. And it was one that Syaoran had hoped that they wouldn't encounter.
Flanked by several firebenders, Zhao stepped into the grim light of the hallway, smirking. It made Syaoran's fists clench and ZanYi tense up unwillingly. "Crap. No…" she muttered, bundled in Shun's tight grasp. Lieutenant Zhao eyed her menacingly.
"Aren't you glad I came early to pick you up, Princess?" he asked, haughty.
"Not particularly, Zhao," she bit through her teeth, feeling even more vulnerable. Things were about to get a lot messier and she couldn't even fight him off. This was going to get bad. Real fast.
Shun's grasp on ZanYi tightened. It was only her presence in his arms that kept him from lunging at Zhao. "You're not taking Lieutenant Tsong anywhere," he asserted, emphasizing ZanYi's preferred title, "not when you're holding her under false charges."
"And what makes you so sure that they're false?" Zhao asked, turning his superior smirk onto Shun.
Shun's eyes narrowed. "You mean, besides the fact that it's clear you're a bitter, small man who has always been jealous of ZanYi's success—which, by the way, she earned through her own hard work rather than through lies and slander."
That shot wiped the smirk right off of Zhao's face.
Syaoran inched himself between his two comrades and Zhao. His jade eyes were dark and glowering at the man in their way. "ZanYi isn't going to go anywhere with you, man," Syaoran told him, standing his ground. There was no way they were just going to hand her over to Zhao. That was just about the worst idea possible; if she was already in bad shape after twenty-four hours, Syaoran didn't want to know how much worse it could get for her directly under Zhao.
The other lieutenant, however, merely snickered. "You act as if I'm giving you a choice," Zhao mocked the Avatar. "Hand her over before we take her from you."
ZanYi was growing more and more tense with every passing minute. These guys were going to get into it like she was the last slice of pie. And it made her feel even stiffer. Syaoran and Shun were risking their necks for her; Lee was already going to pay for helping them. Feeling like the damsel in distress did not sit well by ZanYi, especially when it was only going to endanger everyone around her.
"Put me down, Shun," the lieutenant said, done with this. She had to stand on her own and try and fight alongside them.
"Don't do it, Shun," contradicted Syaoran, never looking back at the waterbender and the lieutenant. His gaze was square on Zhao, watching in anticipation. "She can't fight right now."
"Aw, how sweet. You must tell me, Princess, how it feels to have everyone do your every wish and bidding," Zhao cooed, but it came out like a sick drawl that made ZanYi clench her fists. Or at least, she wanted to. She could not be sure she was actually doing it, considering little feeling had returned and she couldn't see her hands.
"Shut-up, Zhao."
"Tsk, tsk," he clicked, shaking his head. "I would have thought some time in the cooler would have helped that attitude of yours. I guess you'll need more time to chill out." Zhao gestured a hand towards the firebenders that surrounded him. The soldiers stepped forward, stooping into a familiar fighting stance. "Release the princess into my custody or they will attack, Avatar or not."
Shun glared fiercely at Zhao. Did he really think that he was going to intimidate them into doing whatever he pleased? Shun was so ready to prove the ego-maniac wrong… but he needed his hands free first.
Turning, Shun set ZanYi down onto her feet, just like she wanted—but behind him. Holding her face in his hands, Shun met her gaze sternly. "Please: stay put." The tone of Shun's voice implied that he had said 'please' only as a formality; ZanYi didn't really have a choice, as far as he was concerned. Turning back around, Shun clapped Syaoran's shoulder and moved him backward, jerking his head back towards ZanYi. His eyes said what his lips would not: protect ZanYi.
"All right, Zhao," Shun began, stepping up to the group of firebenders in front of him, "you want a fight? You've got one. Though, I have to say, I'm disappointed that you need six other men with you to bring in one chi-blocked woman. What's the matter? Can't fight your own battles?" Shun popped the top off his canteen, taking a defensive stance. He was purposefully baiting Zhao to give Syaoran a chance to escape with ZanYi. If all attention was on him, it would be easier for them to slip away behind Shun's large silhouette.
ZanYi was not pleased to have gotten what she wanted. Not in the way she got it. "Shun," she tried to call him back, a growl to her already dry voice, moving a step forward, but Syaoran was already there, pushing her back.
"ZanYi, we've gotta go," he muttered to the lieutenant. There was no time for hesitation. If Shun was going to stand up and fight, Syaoran was going to get her out of there. It didn't matter if ZanYi wanted to go or not. This fight was not hers this time.
That was the opposite of Zhao's thinking, however. He frowned a little, but his lips remained tightly curled. "I can fight my own battles just fine. However, this is a matter on behalf of the whole military and therefore I brought along extra precautions. And rightly so," he attempted to explain, his voice forcefully assertive. He jerked his head towards Shun, saying then to his men, "Get her."
And that was when his six men jumped forward in a flurry of flames.
Shun reacted instantly: he had water ready to douse the flames closest to him, causing a heap of steam to be expelled into the atmosphere. "Syaoran, get ZanYi out of here!" Shun called; his position given away in the steam, there were several flaming fists and kicks aimed at him. Shun did his best to dodge and douse these attacks, but a few made contact, burning holes in his shirt. One fist made contact with Shun's cheek, and he winced as the fire scorched his skin. Moving with the punch, Shun ducked as another flaming kick was aimed at him. The giant waterbender manipulated the steam as long as he could, always having a fresh batch when one of the firebenders attempted an attack. He made it so that they could not see him, and if they could not see him, they could not attack without running into the problem of striking their own teammates.
"What are you fools doing?" Shun heard Zhao's angry voice from quite nearby, "Stop playing and get her already!"
Shun knew he really should be getting out of there… but why not? He took a chance and lashed out where he believed Zhao—his fist connected with something solid, and a grunt of pain was enough to satisfy the giant waterbender. Feeling his way to the exit, Shun used what was left of his water to create an ice barrier, deciding that it would buy them a little more time while the firebenders found their way out of the steam. Hoping fervently that Syaoran and ZanYi had made it out on time, Shun booked it from the base and out into the night.
Syaoran had half-dragged, half-pushed ZanYi out of the building. The Avatar felt a little guilty, considering there was almost nothing the lieutenant could do to fight back against him. Her skin was as cold as ice… He would have wondered how long they had put her in there, but that was something that had to wait until they were safe.
Reaching the beach, they found the boat, but ZanYi refused to get on. She practically dug her feet into the sand, adamant. "ZanYi, c'mon, we've got to get on the boat!" Syaoran urged her. But the lieutenant would not move.
"We are not leaving him," ZanYi debated, starting for the base with uneasy steps. Syaoran tugged at her arm, giving furtive glances between her and the building.
"ZanYi, let's go," he said again, firmer. But she continued to struggle against him, as if she could do something, despite the fact that she could hardly stand on her own. With a dismayed sigh, Syaoran grabbed her around the waist, hating that he had to manhandle her like that. "Time to go," he reiterated, carrying the woman onto the boat.
Just as he did so, there was a loud explosion behind them, and smoke billowed from the doors of the Resistance base. "Shun!" ZanYi croaked angrily, the strength of her voice lost.
Shun was already running to the boat when he heard the explosion from the firebender's pushing through his wall, the resulting blast throwing him into the sand of the beach. Knowing they only had seconds, he scrambled to his feet and poured on the speed, hopping into the boat as soon as he was near enough. He started the motor engine and they had pulled away from the beach just as Zhao's firebenders stormed out, sending flames after them. "Get down!" Shun ordered, pushing Syaoran and ZanYi down to the floor of the boat. A particularly nasty fire blast scorched through Shun's shirt and burned his back, but that did not stop the giant waterbender from throwing up a wall of water to block the rest of the blasts. He kept a firm hand on the steering handle of the boat, and when they were far enough away, Shun dropped the protective wall and sighed.
"Everyone all right?" he wanted to check, glancing first at Syaoran before his gaze went to ZanYi. His eyes burned, his mouth was dried out by the sand he swallowed, and his burns stung, but as long as Syaoran and ZanYi were okay, Shun would live.
"Fine!" Syaoran called back to Shun, rising to at least sit up before looking at the woman that he'd been pushed down to cover. ZanYi sat up slowly, coughing from the harsh blow to the floor on her sore lungs.
"I'm okay," she rasped, choking a bit. Syaoran breathed a sigh of relief and rested his head back. They were alive, ZanYi was okay, and she was back with them. It felt like things were finally going to be okay. But the lieutenant didn't quite feel the same.
ZanYi struggled to rise up on her feet, trying to stand upright. Her golden gaze fell on Shun, narrow. "You're burnt, Shun," she remarked, eyes drawn to the burns that littered his body and face. The lieutenant attempted a step forward, only to stumble. Syaoran got quickly to his feet and caught her, sitting her down on a cushioned seat on the boat.
"Hey, easy there, ZanYi. Don't push yourself," he told her, concerned eyes roaming over her. But she merely gave him a deadpan.
"Both of you guys cut this out, or when I get my firebending back, I will torch both of you—!" ZanYi's ragged threat was cut off by another series of vicious coughs. The lieutenant tugged Shun's jacket around her tighter, still trying to warm up.
Shun smirked a little at her threats. Typical ZanYi: she was in worse shape than Shun was, and yet she was concerned about him. She was hopeless. "Syaoran's right, ZanYi: if you keep overexerting yourself, you're not going to get better." He reached over, running his hand up and down ZanYi's back. "Let's talk about torching people when you actually get warm enough."
A little voice in Shun's mind reminded him that he was not supposed to be touching ZanYi—especially when Syaoran was watching—but he blocked it out, insisting that his touch was innocent… mostly.
But this brought up an unfortunate problem: now that Shun had realized his feelings for ZanYi were deeper than infatuation, everything had changed. He could no longer pretend that this was just something that would go away, nor did he think he could pretend that there was nothing going on.
Eventually, and Shun was dreading it, but he was going to have to tell Syaoran about his feelings for ZanYi. It would not be pretty or pleasant, but like tossing his beloved Ai into a ravine, it had to be done.
ZanYi rolled her eyes at Shun though. She could care less about overexerting herself. If she could take what the military that trained her dished out, then ZanYi would heal up just fine soon enough. "But you need to take care of those burns," her rough voice said, eyeing the injuries. Her shivering was finally starting to decrease, and the warmth of Shun's hand on her back helped with that.
Syaoran stared on, the adrenaline and relief fading as the envy and speculation set in. It was getting harder and harder to see the two of them as just friends, completely platonic. Even as protective as Shun could get about the group of them, the whole day just seemed so different than normal, they way he was specifically reacting to ZanYi. And he did not like it.
With heavy steps, the Avatar moved over to sit next to ZanYi, inching close to her. "He can take care of them when we get back. Right now, Shun's got to drive the boat," Syaoran said, giving the waterbender a pointed look. Still emboldened by the whole evening, the Avatar risked wrapping an arm around ZanYi, bringing her close to his warmth. "You just focus on warming up, ZanYi."
The lieutenant looked at him skeptically, watching his movements suspiciously. Syaoran was not very physical—until as of late, it seemed. "Since when do you think you know best, Syaoran?" she asked him.
"Since you started ignoring what you know is best?" he quipped in return.
Shun raised an eyebrow, knowing what was causing the look on Syaoran's face. The worst part was, Shun could not even bring himself to blame the Avatar. He moved his hand as Syaoran desired, returning his attention to driving the boat.
"Tiki will be glad to see you again, ZanYi," he said, in an attempt to distract himself. "She was sad when she found out you left without saying goodbye."
In the distance, Shun could see the outline of Southern Air Island, though they still had a ways to go before they reached it. Tiki indeed would be relieved to see them—even if a lot of her personality had changed, her loyalty to her friends had not.
A/N from DJ: BAM! There's the drop! I don't know if you guys missed ZanYi last week, but now she's back... Guess we know why those wanted posters were gunning for her xP Still, this chapter was a doozy, and this is a big moment for Shun, which will soon enough start changing the team... But for now: shout-outs!
The-new-avatar: Always glad to answer questions! And we're sticking to the philosophy of the original series, which always was that Katara could heal wounds, but the more severe ones took trouble, and old ones impossible without Spirit Water. This is why Shun was unable to erase ZanYi's old scars from her childhood, but can heal the wounds these guys so often get. Also, Shun's healing is above average, just like his bending. However, that will come more into play later.
Japaneserockergirl: And so you're catching up at last! It's so great to be hearing from you, you have no idear. So first off, the obvious: thanks for the alert! And yes, clearly so much has happened that the dynamic of the characters is shifted in accordance to the crap and feelings that happen to them. Tiki is going to have a particularly hard road this book, though no one is spared! xP Hope to see you all the way caught up soon!
Halfaleader: Hey! Great to hear from you again! And I'm so happy to hear you are pleased with the current progression of things. What ends up happening, well, Eva and I decide! But ship how you will and let us know!
On a side note, inquiring minds want to know: who's your ship in this so far? Get a sweet tooth for some ShunKi [ShunxTiki]? The awkward, but adorkable TiRan [TikixSyaoran]? The steamy ShunYi [ShunxZanYi]? Or perhaps the grumptastic ZanRan [ZanYixSyaoran]? Let us know! We love to hear who you guys love... and what pairings you guys are loving!
Until next week, see ya!