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.

The base seemed busier than a hive, the soldiers rushing about every which way and talking in rushed tones. It was like the place had transformed overnight, bringing about a new sense of urgency. No one could be spared. Tiki and Syaoran weren't even allowed topside to practice since the guards were needed elsewhere. Every possible room was being used for briefings and trainings today too.

"Why do I get the feeling we've been left out of something really important again?" Syaoran asked, poking at his lunch. Normally he would have already eaten it quickly, but something just didn't sit right with him about how everyone was acting. It was supposed to be some easy mission, from the way ZanYi had put it last week. Everyone had been pretty lax, even excited about it. But now there was a look of somber and sobriety on everyone's faces, grim and dark. Something had happened. And no one was telling them.

Tiki herself sighed, her own lunch left untouched. The tension in the air was palpable, and it was tensing her senses to sing at the slightest touch. She didn't like it. "I don't know…" Tiki fixed Syaoran with a significant look. "But you know that feeling I had back on Roku's Island, a few days before you made the volcano erupt? It's back." And it was stronger than ever. The feeling was more definite this time around, though: Tiki could sense that whatever was going to happen, it was going to be bad. She just did not want to speak on such a foreboding feeling—no need to worry everyone else, right?

Kei, who was content enough to eat his lunch, threw a curious glance at the harried faces all around him. "It looks like everyone's planning on going to war," he mused.

"…Well, yeah. That's why the Resistance was formed," Tiki pointed out, giving Kei an odd look. He chuckled.

"You know what I mean—oh hey, there's your larger-than-life friend over there."

Tiki looked to where Kei was pointing. Indeed, Shun had just entered the dining hall along with Ransik, Sikka, and a few other waterbenders. He was concentrating on something Ransik was saying to him, nodding at intervals. Finally, Ransik clapped him on the shoulder and went on to sit with the other waterbenders, Sikka at his side. Shun, however, after grabbing a tray of food, made a beeline straight for Team Avatar across the stone floor. "Hey, gang," he greeted them with a smile, as always. As he took a seat next to Syaoran, Tiki eyed the giant waterbender shrewdly.

"Where have you been all morning?"

Shun had to finish chewing his food before he could answer. It seemed, to Tiki, to take him longer than usual. "Training with Ransik and the other waterbenders."

Tiki gave him a strange look. "Training?" she repeated, "Has your waterbending gotten that rusty?"

Shun's face slipped into a frown as he stared down at his tray. "Not exactly…"

Tiki's eyes narrowed, her intuition flaring. "You know what's going on, don't you?" she called Shun out. The giant waterbender looked mightily uncomfortable at this point.

"Well… yeah," he admitted with a sigh. Tiki waited, but it didn't seem as if he was willing to say any more on his own.

"Well?"

Shun sighed. He supposed they would find out eventually… "Tomorrow the Resistance is attempting a rescue mission from a POW camp they've located, as well as mobilizing an attack brigade. There have been confirmed rumors floating around, that WeiTai himself will be visiting the camp."

Tiki's eyes widened, her bad feeling spiking. They were actually going to mount an attack against the WeiTai, the leader of the Neo-Equalists, and the person fronting the war against benders? The Resistance had guts, she was willing to give them that.

Syaoran was glad he hadn't been eating when Shun said that; he would've choked on his food. "WeiTai?" he repeated, incredulous. It sounded foolhardy to him, for them to try and attempt a rescue mission with the head of the Neo-Equalists right there. Opportune, but foolhardy. This base was already understaffed compared to some of the others they'd been to. ZanYi was wanted by both sides at this point, and they were going to let her go on an assault that would put her in the middle of it all? Of course, seeing as that was a very risky move, the pieces started to fall into place and Syaoran eyed Shun. "And you get to go with them." It wasn't a question; it was a statement. Sure, ZanYi might have told Shun what was going on, but the waterbender would only be training with Ransik's troop if he was planning on going with them. Turning to look at Tiki, the Avatar deadpanned, "I told you we were getting left out again."

Indeed they were. But Tiki was less concerned about them being left out of the battle and more concerned about the people who were going into battle. "Shun—"

As if he knew what she was about to say, Shun raised a large hand, causing Tiki to fall silent. "I know what I'm doing," he reassured her with a smile, "so don't try to talk me out of it, okay? They'll need all the healing help they can get, and I fought too hard to be let in on this operation to back down now."

Tiki shook her head in disbelief. "Yeah, you had to get through ZanYi first… I can't imagine what you said to her for her to actually put you on the mission."

Shun grimaced, "It wasn't easy, believe me."

"What I want to know," Kei butted in, a slight frown marring his handsome features, "is how you all plan on taking down WeiTai? Everyone calls him the 'Ghost Leader'—no one knows what he looks like, not even many of his own men, I've heard."

Tiki peered over at Kei, pondering something, but not wanting to be rude enough to ask. Kei caught the look and his eyebrows rose. "No, not even my father has seen him," Kei told her, interpreting her look correctly. The tiny airbender blushed and looked away.

"I was just wondering…"

Kei shrugged, appearing unperturbed. "Don't worry 'bout it. I was expecting one of you to ask sooner or later… though I'm glad it was going to be you."

Tiki smiled at the nonbender briefly before she turned an anxious expression onto Shun. "So while all of you are out there attempting a rescue mission and an assassination, what are the rest of us supposed to do?"

"Wait patiently?" Shun replied uncertainly—truthfully, he didn't know the plan for those left behind, though he felt it was safe to assume that they would only be needed to watch and wait.

Syaoran groaned in frustration, hanging his head back irritably. "So what good is being the Avatar if I'm not even allowed to fight?" he growled, looking back to his team and Kei with aggravation. The whole point of him trying to learn the elements was so that he could end the war, save the benders, and establish peace between the two sides. And every single time, he's treated like something to protect. He was becoming more of a symbol than a savior, and that bothered him.

"Right now, you aren't in full control of being an Avatar, so that's why you're staying behind," a voice came from behind him. Turning to the sound, Syaoran found ZanYi hustling over, her AKs quickly rushing to get their lunches, as if the food was going to be gone if they didn't hurry. The lieutenant then continued, "You, Tiki, Kei, and a couple of the guards will stay on base and wait."

"ZanYi—!" the Avatar cried out in protest, but she was already gone, moving to talk with several other team leaders. Syaoran growled again, scratching his head. "I can't win!" He watched the woman jump from table to table, her lunch only being what she could fit in her hand and eat while she talked. And then ZanYi was gone about as quickly as she came, the AKs disappearing from the dining hall just about as quickly as she had. "She's worse than ever today…" Which did not bode well for arguing the point with her. Looking back to his table, Syaoran grumbled, "I guess we're staying here and being babysat."

Shun frowned, concerned by Syaoran's attitude. "It isn't like that," he insisted, "We're just stretched very thin right now—it's going to be extremely dangerous for everyone. And you're the Avatar. You—"

"—You can't die," Tiki finished for Shun, reaching over to place her hand over Syaoran's. Her gray eyes were worried as she peered up at Syaoran. "Please don't take it personally. ZanYi just wants to keep you safe. I know how powerful you are, Syaoran, but in this situation, I really don't want you to take the chance either."

Shun's eyebrows raised. Hold on… something was different here. Very different. Were Tiki and Syaoran closer now? The giant waterbender supposed he shouldn't be surprised; they spend most of their days in each other's company anyway. Still, there was something between them that wasn't there before… or was Shun imagining it? Maybe not—Kei was pointedly looking away at the moment, his expression quite sour. Had something happened between the two remaining members of Team Avatar while Shun was involved in his own love life? Apparently.

Syaoran gave his airbending teacher a look, but only had to look once at Tiki to know it was best to drop the matter. She wasn't threatening him to, but he knew it would be better for him to, what with the concern in her stormy gaze. With a resigned growl, he grumbled, "Fine. I'll stop—"

But before he could say anything more, the Avatar caught a snippet of the conversation at the table next to theirs. Perhaps it was selective hearing. Perhaps it was luck—good and bad. The words he heard, though, shook him to his core.

"What's WeiTai doing at the camp anyway?"

"I talked to the guys who were on the recon team. Apparently he's coming to talk to some of the prisoners."

"Must be really important prisoners! Any of our guys?"

"No, that's what's weird. It's just two nonbenders from a nearby concentration camp. A woman and her teenaged daughter."

Syaoran's breath chilled and his heart stopped. No. No way they could be talking about… It couldn't be…

"No…" he breathed, whirling over to look at the two men conversing. "Is that true?" Syaoran pushed urgently, hoping against hope it wasn't true.

The two soldiers looked at each other and shrugged to each other before looking back at the Avatar. "Yeah, that's what the recon team said, anyway," one of them finally answered Syaoran, confused as to why he would be so desperate about that bit of information.

Immediately, Syaoran was out of his seat and flying out of the dining hall. ZanYi. He had to find ZanYi.

"Syaoran!" Shun and Tiki called after him, both wearing varying expressions of concern. Shun had no idea what was going on—he had heard the conversation the two men were having as well, but he had thought nothing of it. Why was Syaoran in such a flurry over the matter? Tiki had also overheard the conversation, but only by chance, since Syaoran had abruptly stopped talking. And she had a very good idea on why the Avatar was behaving in such a way. Immediately, she jumped up from the table.

"ZanYi's in her room, right?" she asked Shun. He nodded, still looking nonplussed.

"She should be—"

"Keep Kei company," the tiny airbender requested, dashing out of the dining hall. If Syaoran was thinking what she thought he was thinking, things were about to escalate very quickly.

Syaoran raced down the halls, pausing for no one as he sprinted by. Wide passages of stone and bright overhead lights zipped past in his wake, his feet racing and heart pacing. He had to talk to ZanYi. He had to know the truth. When he got to her door, all manners and hesitation were gone and he barged in without any warning. ZanYi abruptly looked up, completely tensed, as were the handful of AKs that were around her and her desk. "Syaoran!" she bellowed, agitated and already on edge. "Not now. Go."

"No!" Syaoran argued back against her, in a voice of anger and desperation that was not normal for him. He marched over to the desk, not caring that he was standing in the midst of firebenders that could torch him in seconds for acting this indignant and insubordinate towards their leader. But he didn't care. He didn't care about anything but one thing right now. "Who is WeiTai visiting?"

ZanYi scowled. "Syaoran, that's not your prob—"

"Yes it is!" he cut her off for once, which was enough to merit him a darker look than ever. But Syaoran had to know. He had to know. "The two prisoners might be my family!"

And then ZanYi grew still, as did the rest of the room. Syaoran's breath was ragged, but his eyes were determined, frantic. It was more emotion than the lieutenant had ever seen in him. Her voice quieter and more level, ZanYi noted, "The two prisoners are a woman and her teenaged daughter, and neither are benders."

"Which fits the description of my mom and sister!"

The frown on ZanYi's face was then one of serious contemplation. Swiftly, she started to go through the files on her desk, searching the reconnaissance report. When she did, after a flurry of ruffling pages of information, the lieutenant found the surveillance photos taken of the prison yard. She handed the picture to Syaoran, serious as ever. "Do you see them in there?" she asked.

Syaoran's eyes scanned the picture, trying to find the familiar faces. It didn't take him long. Even though it felt so long since he had last seen either of them, the Avatar knew the dirt-streaked faces of his mother and younger sister anywhere. His mother scowled about, as if daring anyone to approach, brown locks tied back tightly, and Sora clung near to her, her hair matted down with dirt grime. Sora was like Tiki in that she normally would pitch a fit about her hair, but Syaoran didn't care. They were alive, and Syaoran was determined to keep them that way. "That's them. That's my mom and sister," he told her urgently, pointing them out to ZanYi.

She let out a low string of curses. The visitation made so much more sense: WeiTai wasn't coming to talk to some traitorous nonbenders. He was coming to interrogate Syaoran's family. "If he knows that's your family," ZanYi muttered, "then that must mean he knows who the Avatar is." ZanYi and Syaoran's gazes met, both with varying intense emotions. "KanRi, go get Sergeant Major Tsong," she ordered the closest AK to her, never leaving the Avatar's eyes. "Tell him Syaoran's been compromised, that WeiTai has his family."

Tiki's short legs hadn't been fast enough to catch up with Syaoran, so she had to summon her air scooter as a last ditch effort. ZanYi's door was open, so the tiny airbender dispelled her scooter and approached the doorway, arriving just in time to hear the bomb that had just been dropped. Her eyes widening in horror, Tiki entered the room, squeezing past an AK who was rushing by. "WeiTai has his family...?" Tiki questioned, staring at ZanYi as she approached the lieutenant's desk. Just when she thought things could not get any worse, something like this happened. It was her parents all over again, and Tiki did not like the reminder. Reaching out, she took Syaoran's hand and squeezed it: she knew all-too-well what he must be going through right now. "What's our next plan of action, then?"

"For you two: nothing," ZanYi immediately said, fixing them both with stern looks. "We continue with the original plan, and we ensure that they are among the prisoners rescued."

"That's not good enough!" Syaoran snarled, slipping out of Tiki's grasp to slam both hands down on the lieutenant's desk. How could she expect him to sit there and do nothing while they knew that his family was in the grasp of the mad man who'd launched this war? "I'm going out there, ZanYi! I have to get my family back!"

"No, Syaoran!" she fought back tersely, leveling him a grim look, "It's more important than ever that you stay out of the limelight. They already have your family; I will not hand them over the Avatar to boot!"

Syaoran's voice came out as a roar, the worry, desperation, and fury peeking to the surface. "I don't care! I am going to save my family, one way or another. But I will not sit here and wait like a good little boy!"

But ZanYi only continued to shake her head, glaring. "Absolutely not, Syaoran," she denied him again as she came out from behind her desk and Syaoran turned his body to continue facing her dead on.

"I'm not giving you an option, ZanYi."

Flat, unwavering words from Syaoran, and they only made the lieutenant bristle—as did every remaining AK. Each one of them was tensed, ready to attack at any word from their lieutenant, regardless of Syaoran being the Avatar. It was getting hot in there, and just the slightest motivation was going to set it off. Nothing good was going to come of this argument, should it continue in the direction it was going. Tiki felt that it was time for her to step in. Slipping in between the two teammates, Tiki decided to focus on Syaoran first, to get him to calm down. She grabbed the Avatar's head, pulling him down to meet her eyes.

"Syaoran: breathe," the tiny airbender urged him, her gray eyes serious. She knew what he was going through, but freaking out about it was not going to change anything. If he would calm down a little, Tiki would be able to help him out. Turning halfway, Tiki fixed ZanYi with beseeching eyes. "Please, ZanYi: you can't expect Syaoran to stay behind, knowing that the enemy has his family. We conducted a rescue mission with just the four of us in an attempt to save my parents, remember? We failed, but we still tried. I would have regretted it for the rest of my life if we didn't at least try. Are you going to force Syaoran to go through something like that?"

This was a little different, Tiki realized: Syaoran was the Avatar. His life was more important than hers, councilwoman of the airbenders or not. Still, the point was that she had been given the chance to help her family, even if she had failed to do so. How could ZanYi deny that chance for Syaoran, regardless of his title? Family was still family, no matter who you were.

ZanYi looked at Tiki, as if the girl should know better. "We did that because there was no time to get reinforcements. We have no time, but we already have a plan this time, and a lot of men and women on the line to get it done," she pointed tersely, making the difference very clear. This was not black and white.

But Syaoran, as much as Tiki was trying to get him to breathe, was having a hard time doing so. After all, it was hard when the most resilient woman in the world was denying him the opportunity to save his family. But Tiki was right: if he didn't try, fail or success, he wouldn't live it down. He couldn't just sit by and let this happen. "ZanYi," he tried again, disparaged, "if it was your brother out there, you and I both know that you wouldn't listen to what anyone said."

And ZanYi knew it was true. But that didn't mean she was going to easily relent. With a jerk of her head, the rest of her AKs reluctantly filed out of the room, giving Syaoran a cautious look. When they had all left, ZanYi crossed her arms, still glowering at Syaoran.

"Just what exactly are you wanting to do?"

"Go save my family."

"With the Resistance?"

"Yes."

"And you will listen to every order given, not run off and go solo, and play this by the book—my book?"

That made Syaoran stop and pause. Frankly, he didn't particularly care about the rules at the moment. He just wanted to save his mother and sister—he didn't even want to know where they were holding his father still, since he was an earthbender. And chances were that any orders given to Syaoran during this operation would be to make him stop what he was doing and turn tail.

But then he looked at Tiki, who—once he was breathing and calmed down a little, he realized—had gone through this exact same moment. She had managed to listen to ZanYi, listen to orders, despite her wild-child nature at the time. Granted, she'd been extremely impatient, but she'd done what she could. And at least this time they had a higher chance of getting this done right. It would just have higher risks for all involved.

"Fine," he answered.

Tiki let out a sigh of relief. Syaoran agreed to cooperate, which meant that he would be able to help. That was good, very good.

"I want to help," she said, her expression becoming determined as she locked gazes with ZanYi once more. "Like Syaoran, I'll only go where I'm needed and obey every command you give, ZanYi. I just want to help." The tiny airbender pulled the amulet she wore out from under her shirt, gazing down at it. It still weighed as heavily as it did the day her parents died, a constant reminder of the responsibility on her shoulders… and the cost at which it had come.

"…No one should have to go through what I went through…" Tiki said quietly, clutching the amulet as her eyes tightened. "I'll do everything in my power to make sure history won't repeat itself." She turned to look up at Syaoran. "We're going to save your family, Syaoran. I promise."

Tiki was fully aware of the fact that Syaoran had promised the same thing to her, and had ended up not keeping it due to unforeseen circumstances. But this was different—this time, Tiki would not let anyone tell her no, that it was meant to be. Fate had lost her faith when it had taken her parents away from her. She would not be made a fool by it a second time.

Syaoran looked at Tiki, wanting to believe in the promise in her words, in her eyes. He knew better; the déjà vu didn't escape him. He'd promised her the exact same thing… only he'd failed. It made him jaded. But that wasn't going to stop him from believing in that hope, trying for them. "Thanks, Tiki," he muttered with a small nod. They had their whole team on this, a full base of Resistance soldiers. This time was going to be different. It had to be.

ZanYi however was growling, a string of oaths under her breath. "Team Avatar is going to be the death of me," she grumbled, disgruntled. Trying to fight a war with a bunch of untrained benders with passionate hearts was a nuisance. And the lieutenant hated that if she didn't want them screwing everything up, she was having to consistently concede to them.

"Be ready to ship out tomorrow morning at dawn," ZanYi told them, moving back behind her desk. "I'll have your placements by tonight."

Syaoran frowned at the woman. "Wait," he paused, "we won't be with you?"

"No," she replied, cleaning up the mess Syaoran had made when he slammed onto her desk. "You will be with a troop that's strictly going in for rescue."

"And you?"

ZanYi paused, looking at Syaoran grimly. "I'm going after WeiTai." Looking between the two of them, she quirked a brow with a dangerous look in her eyes. "Now, is this going to be a problem?"

Tiki sucked in a breath, though she supposed she shouldn't have been all that surprised. Of course ZanYi was going after WeiTai—when it came down to it, Tiki could think of no one else more perfect for such a job. The tiny airbender did wonder whether or not Shun knew this specific detail, however.

"No," Tiki replied with a shake of her head. "Do what you have to. Just… be careful, ZanYi. We'll be rooting for you." Offering the lieutenant a slight smile, Tiki turned, grabbing Syaoran's arm and tugging on it. "Come on, time to go. ZanYi has to work, so let's go tell Shun we're on board too."

Tiki wanted to get out of there as fast as possible, before ZanYi had a chance to change her mind. Tiki knew the lieutenant didn't like the idea of what she considered civilians on a mission as dangerous as this, but in Tiki's opinion, they had had far greater odds stacked against them. As long as everyone did what they were supposed to do, everything would be fine… she hoped.

But Syaoran just gaped at ZanYi, refusing to budge. He knew that ZanYi could do the job. He knew that she had the training, the precision, the power, the smarts, and determination to do it. It's what had made him admire her in the first place. And even if Syaoran was giving her up, that didn't mean he didn't care. "Good luck, ZanYi," he told her, allowing himself to get dragged out of the room by Tiki. Closing the door behind him as they went into the hall. Syaoran took another deep breath, continuing to let Tiki pull him away. "Thanks, Tiki," he said again.

WeiTai may have his family, but Syaoran was the Avatar, and he had the Resistance. He had Shun. He had ZanYi. He had Tiki. The mad man was not going to get away with this. ZanYi would make sure of that. And his family was finally going to be free, be safe…

Tiki turned to smile at the Avatar. "You're welcome," she said simply, though she felt she had done nothing to earn his thanks—it had been him who had convinced ZanYi to let him in on the mission. All Tiki had done was remind him to breathe. Still, the hard part wasn't even over yet: their real battle started at dawn.

She slowed to a stop, turning to face Syaoran, her eyes scrutinizing him. "…Are you going to be okay?" Tiki asked in concern, grasping his hand once again. "I'm here to talk, if you need to." In fact, Tiki was probably the only one who could relate to the anxiety Syaoran must be feeling right now. His mother and sister, whom he hadn't seen in months, were going to be interrogated personally by WeiTai, the tyrant that had escalated a war that had gone on for too long. She knew Syaoran had to be feeling stressed out.

But Syaoran didn't want to answer that, so he looked away from Tiki, down the hall. 'Okay' was not a word that he'd use to describe himself. His mother and his sister had been taken to a much worse place than a concentration camp. They were taken by WeiTai, whoever this 'Ghost Leader' was. And all because he was the Avatar. It was the reason he was so highly protected, and the reason he was always held at bay. But this time he couldn't let someone else do his job. Syaoran was going out there himself. He was going to save his family. He was going to free them. And he was going to show WeiTai that no one messes with the Avatar.

Syaoran looked down at Tiki, knowing that she must have had similar thoughts at some point. The way they'd lost her parents still resonated deep in all of them, her most especially. But that couldn't happen again. They were at least better prepared, and so much had changed all of them since then. Team Avatar was going to get it right this time around.

So when he answered, it was honest. "Yeah, I'm going to be okay," Syaoran told Tiki, nodding with a small tilt on his mouth.

Tiki studied him for a moment, searching for any misgivings in his eyes. He appeared to be telling the truth, however, which relieved the tiny airbender. Her mouth mirrored Syaoran's.

"Just remember to breathe," she encouraged him with another squeeze to his hand. "I'll be right there with you the whole time."

They were going to succeed this time. They had to. Tiki would not let the same tragedy that was her life befall Syaoran—he meant too much to her as a friend for her to fail him now, when he needed her more than ever. The fact that he still lacked proficient airbending skills worried her a little, but he still had fire and earth at his disposal—she and Shun, should they be on the same team, could make up for the difference.

It was time for the Avatar to take back what was his.

When her door opened for the umpteenth time, ZanYi groaned. She was suddenly regretting that she didn't have her own office on this base. It meant that all work was done in her room, and people seemed to be coming in and out of it at will.

Looking over at the door, she found it to be none other than Zaron. "You can close the door behind you this time," the lieutenant told him, rubbing a towel over her wet locks. It had been an extremely long day, between planning, training, briefing her team on the new plans and therefore working through that, plus the interruption and revelation from Syaoran…

On a day that she wasn't even in combat, it had taken too long to arrive at nighttime—which was her time. Just a little bit before they had to go out the next morning and embark on a plan so ambitious, it made even the most experienced soldiers among them antsy. ZanYi craved these quiet moments to herself right before a mission, especially one of this magnitude. It kept her sane, kept her on point. But she would never refuse an audience with her brother.

"What's on your mind?" she asked him, sitting down on the bed, throwing the towel to the wayside. Zaron crossed the room, sitting down next her with a huff. ZanYi almost smirked. "Tired?"

Her brother laid back on the bed with closed eyes, as if completely at home there, nodding with a grunt. But he opened his amber eyes to look up at ZanYi, serious. "Everything set to go on your end?" he asked. When ZanYi nodded, he continued, the ends of his hair falling above his brow, "You need to be careful out there tomorrow."

"So do you, Zar."

The sergeant major sat back up, looking his younger sister in the eye. They knew they had to do this. They knew the risks the dawn would bring. No one was going to be safe. But if there was something the two shared, it was unshakeable confidence. Zaron held out his hand, and ZanYi reached up to grasp it. Their flames met and mingled, a burning warmth that only they could share. "Just another day at the office?" he asked, a hinting smirk in the corner from using words well worn.

"Just another day at the office," ZanYi answered, mirroring his look. But their hands grasped tighter with tension, and the twin golden eyes twinned emotions: anxiety, concern. Neither could or would back down though. They had each other, so they could get through anything. This time, for the first time in a long while, they were fighting together. Nothing could stop them. Nothing could stop a Tsong, let alone two.

ZanYi let their hands fall, and she watched as Zaron fished something out of his pocket. She was unsurprised to find a deck of cards. "Couple games?" he asked her, a bit cocky.

"Sure. But we both know you're going to lose," ZanYi told him, taking the cards from his hand. With swift movements, the lieutenant had them shuffled clean and quick, passing the hands out. "I surpassed you in Poker a long time ago."

Zaron shrugged as he lounged back on the bed, resting his elbow on the soft yet worn blanket, but was smirking nonetheless. "You do have an impressive poker face," he agreed, with one addendum, "except in one regard."

"And what's that?" ZanYi snorted, rolling her eyes at her older brother.

"The waterbender."

She glanced up at him as she dealt. "He has a name, you know."

Zaron shrugged, as if it were not important. But nonetheless, when he started to speak again, he corrected himself, "So you and Shun are…?" His sister smirked at him and it was time for him to roll his eyes. "None of my business," Zaron answered for himself. Even as he looked at his hand, and they started to play, though, his thoughts didn't stray. "I haven't seen you like this in a while."

ZanYi flipped some cards, looking then curiously at her brother. "Like what?" she inquired.

"Almost happy."

The lieutenant stopped moving and looked at Zaron with a tilted head. She didn't say anything, just tried to gauge the look on her brother's face. He always did have an impressive poker face himself, but right now, just for her, he let it all show. Sure, there seemed to be a bit of irritation in there, but there was a bit of contentment too. Perhaps Shun had beaten some of the stupid out of him after all.

Looking back down to her hand, ZanYi took a deep breath and let her lip curl back. "C'mon, let's play some cards."

Shun loved his showers. He could spend hours in the warm water, contemplating life, practicing his bending, letting the flow of the water carry his troubles away down the drain…

Unfortunately, such calming effects were not in place tonight. Shun was too stressed out to think about anything else but two things: the upcoming battle tomorrow, and ZanYi. And the latter thought was slowly but surely consuming the former.

Shun had thought long and hard about this all evening, and he had finally come to a conclusion: he was not going to tell ZanYi he was in love with her. For one thing, it was much too soon: even if he had fallen in love with her a long time ago, they had only been 'together' for a couple weeks, and expressing such emotions to ZanYi—who struggled with the concept of affection and hugging—would only freak her out. The other thing was Syaoran and his feelings for ZanYi. Shun was already stabbing the Avatar in the back at this point, stealing kisses from the woman Syaoran had feelings for. Even if he had convinced himself that it was none of Syaoran's business… the vestiges of Shun's loyalty would not allow him to cross that final line, even though the giant waterbender was beginning to suspect that something was blossoming between Tiki and Syaoran without them realizing it… or perhaps it was just wishful thinking, so Shun would be let off the hook. Either way, Shun acknowledged that what he was doing was wrong, and that he could not tell ZanYi he loved her until he felt he was free to do so.

Shun shut the water off and heaved a sigh. He was praying to every spirit he had ever heard of to keep them all safe tomorrow. So much was being put on the line, which meant there was only so much more to lose.

The giant waterbender headed back to his room, drying off and dressing quickly. He was anxious to be with ZanYi now, to steal a little more time for the two of them to be together before tomorrow came. As he slid on her dogtags, Shun began to hope fervently that he would not be too distracted worrying about ZanYi to do his job tomorrow—a lot of people were counting on him now, too.

Not bothering with a shirt—ZanYi yanked it off him anyway half of the time—Shun quietly closed his door behind him before moving to the next room over, lightly knocking on the lieutenant's door. It had gotten late before Shun realized it… hopefully she was still awake.

"Door's unlocked," ZanYi called out to Shun from inside. Shun heard muffled voices for a moment before ZanYi called for him to enter. Was she not alone? Maybe Shun should grab a shirt after all…

The giant waterbender shook his head. As ZanYi kept having to remind him, their business was their business. Whoever had a problem with him walking into ZanYi's room shirtless in the evening would just have to deal. Summoning up his courage, Shun opened the door and entered…

...To find that it was Zaron that was keeping ZanYi company. Shun almost smacked himself. He really should have known better… and doubled back for a shirt.

ZanYi had looked up at the sound of the knock, and she knew exactly who it was who had just walked in. She looked from the shirtless waterbender, to her hand, to her brother, who seemed to be waiting for her decision quite eagerly. There was no way Zaron wasn't going to see Shun. So Zaron was about to get unhappier.

"Call," she told him, matching his bid, and that smirk on his lips grew wider. He dropped his hands, revealing the hefty sum of points he had.

"Straight flush."

ZanYi shook her head. That was good. Really good. Worthy of the smirk on his lips. And yet…

"Royal. Flush."

And she dropped the cards to prove it. Satisfied with the begrudging and disgruntled look on her brother's face, her lip curled up and she leaned back on her hands on the bed. She glanced up at Shun again, a satisfied look on her face. "Good evening, Shun," ZanYi welcomed him.

"Good evening," he greeted in return with a nod to Zaron, crossing his arms self-consciously over his bare chest. Blue eyes going to the cards on the bed, the giant waterbender's eyebrows quirked. "What are you playing and who's winning?"

"Poker. And I just won. Again," ZanYi was quick to point out, triumph written all over her face. Her eyes perused Shun, finding the change in attire—or lack thereof—to be quite appealing. It was certainly something nice to end her day with, after all that had transpired throughout it. When her gaze went back to her brother, however, she found him tight-lipped and stiff now that he had finally looked at Shun. It probably took everything the older man had in him not to blast Shun right back out that door. "Zar…" she beckoned warningly, a look on her face to match.

The sergeant major gave his sister a grieved, frustrated look. After all, the man before him may love his sister. Shun may have beaten him in a fight. But he was still a grown man coming into his little sister's room at late hours without a shirt on. And Zaron knew what a grown man thought about.

So he stood up from the bed, taking a deep irritated breath. "Good evening," Zaron returned with a tense gait. Frowning, ZanYi gave her brother a kick to the back of his leg.

"What did I say?" she asked her brother.

Zaron took another deep breath, eyes never leaving Shun or his bare torso. "None of my business."

"Oh, you're too good."

ZanYi picked up the stack of cards and gave them a quick shuffle before bounding them again. Standing, she slipped them into her brother's pocket and put her hands on her hips. Looking from both Zaron and Shun, she questioned, "Now, are you two going to suck it up this time or am I going to have to beat both of you?"

This only made Zaron frown more, but he tried to reign in the protective instinct. His sister was going to face down the head of the Neo-Equalists tomorrow; he could afford to let her spend the evening with the waterbender… whether he liked it or not. "No, everything's fine," her brother answered, appeasing ZanYi for the moment. Zaron turned back to her, saying, "I'm going to go back now, since clearly you have other plans for the night." Before ZanYi could utter a word of irritation at him, Zaron gave her a quick hug and a peck to the top of her head. "See you in the morning, Zaza," he said.

Leaving her side, Zaron went to pass Shun, pausing for a moment. He clapped his hand on the waterbender's shoulder, nice and tight. "You give her any reason to regret giving you those tags you're wearing, and I won't hesitate to take you out," he vowed quietly, danger threaded into every word. Then the sergeant major took his leave from the room, closing the door behind him.

Shun wrapped a hand around the dogtags, frowning at the door. "Nice to see you too, Zaron…" he mumbled to himself before sighing and closing his eyes. Shun was sure that if ZanYi were not present, he would have found himself in yet another altercation with the sergeant major. As an older brother, Shun could certainly understand being protective of one's little sister, but Zaron was a bit of an extreme example. ZanYi was grown already, and capable of making her own decisions. Why did the sergeant major feel the need to butt into her affairs all the time? Perhaps it was because ZanYi was the only family Zaron had left.

Opening his eyes again, the giant waterbender gave ZanYi an aggrieved look. "Is your brother going to hate me for the rest of my life?" It was certainly starting to seem that way.

ZanYi rolled her eyes. "It's a possibility," she answered aloofly, crossing her arms. Despite the fact that Zaron had seemed pleased to find that Shun made ZanYi something close to happy, he certainly didn't act like it. Then again, Shun hadn't done himself any favors by walking in without a shirt on. "Like the look," she added, the corner of her mouth curled as she openly let her gaze travel along the contours of every muscle on his torso. "Pretty bold of you, all things considered."

Shun flushed, recognizing the look ZanYi was giving him. He was really questioning the decision to go shirtless now. "I just got out of the shower…" he mumbled in his defense, raising a hand to hide his blushing cheeks. Eying ZanYi with a bit of accusation, Shun continued, "Besides, if you rip any more of my shirts, this is how I'm going to have to walk around from now on." Somehow, Shun wouldn't be surprised if that was secretly ZanYi's goal… still, he didn't want that kind of attention around the base. This view was for ZanYi only, as embarrassing as it would be for Shun to admit that.

ZanYi shrugged, as if that was no consequence to her. "It was one shirt," she scoffed, "And it's your fault for having shirts that are too tight on you." At least he got rid of the issue for the evening it seemed. Smirking at this, ZanYi continued, "I think I can make it up to you." Sauntering over, the lieutenant reached up for his neck to bend him down to her lips, enticing a hum of pleasure from her throat. If their record most evenings were any indication, she was sure this would not be the end of this for the night.

So pulling away, ZanYi started to walk over to her desk, shifting through the mess of belongings as if looking for something. "So, I talked to Ransik. He said you did pretty well today keeping up."

Shun stared at her, nonplussed. How did she do that? It was like he had no affect on her at all—when they kissed, he was the only one left flustered and breathless. It wasn't fair. "Uh… yeah," he replied after a moment, gathering his wits about him. "I was surprised, actually—I had to teach myself how to waterbend, mostly, so I was glad that I didn't slow everyone else down."

Shun had been sent to the back of the practice queue, mostly because no one could see around him as they practiced. Ransik had instructed him to observe the first time around, but Shun found himself picking up the movements quicker than expected, so when Ransik turned to observe the soldiers, it was to his surprise that Shun was keeping up almost effortlessly, though there were definitely a few mistakes in his movements. Ransik only had to tell him once each time to correct something, and then the giant waterbender was able to follow through perfectly. The approving nod Ransik had given him made Shun glad that he had not allowed himself to get rusty over the years.

Moving to sit on the bed, Shun fixed ZanYi with a curious stare. "How were things today? Everything's finalized, right?" They would deploy tomorrow, at dawn. Other than a mental note to make sure his canteen was full, Shun was as ready as he was going to be. He hoped ZanYi was even more prepared than he was.

To his mild relief, ZanYi nodded. "Everything's set in stone and ready to go," she answered him, still shifting through the massive amounts of papers, maps, and lists that were all over the place. She really hated it being this messy, but considering the amount of time she'd had to change everything around earlier to accommodate both Syaoran and Tiki, the mess came with the rushed territory. "I'll have the AKs take lead and create the opening, and then my team and Ransik's will go into the camp. We split from there. The other units will be holding all the fighting away from our two teams, and Zaron's unit will play back-up to the AKs if we need it. Syaoran and Tiki were assigned to Ransik's team as well, though they are to remain near Sikka at all times."

Seriously, what was it about Team Avatar that caused her so many problems? ZanYi was surely thankful that the AKs she were given were disciplined and obedient, even before she would start training them up more.

Finding what she was looking for at last, the lieutenant walked over to her bed and stood in front of Shun. Taking his hand again, she put a small device in it. "This is your comm unit for tomorrow," ZanYi explained, knowing it was the one set aside for Shun from the blue dot she'd put on the earpiece. "I told Ransik I'd give you yours tonight, so you won't be getting one tomorrow."

Closing Shun's hand around it, ZanYi looked him in the eye, serious. "I got it set-up so it's on the same frequency of the other leaders'. You won't just hear Ransik and your unit, but also the heads of the other groups." ZanYi took a deep breath, frowning a bit. "It's only one-way; I can't have you in my ear tomorrow. I can't afford that kind of distraction." She let her warmth fill her hands around his, as she always did when trying to reassure him. "At least this way, you'll be able to hear when I check-in. I can give you that much."

Shun blinked up at ZanYi, surprised. This was unexpected, her giving him a way to know how she was doing. It would be a bit of distraction for him—that was a smart idea of hers, making it one-way—but he would still appreciate hearing her voice during the battle, knowing she was safe. Placing his other hand over hers, Shun smiled at the lieutenant, his eyes warming.

"Thank you," he said quietly, touched. The fact that she was trying was enough to please him beyond words.

ZanYi nodded, an acceptance of his thanks. She looked down at those warm blue eyes, finding herself wishing again that he would just stay behind, stay out of this fight. The fact that he was going to be out there at all would be a distraction on its own. It was going to take everything in her to get the job done tomorrow—and make it back in one piece.

But she wasn't going to think like that. Tomorrow was going to be a success; the tides would change. Soon the war would end and there would be no need for the Resistance anymore. Which meant she could finally just focus on the other things in life.

Shun was going to be one of those things.

It was that kind of thinking that led her to her next decision: "Just stay in here tonight." Knowing Shun and the embarrassment that her statement would cause him, ZanYi went on, "It's usually late when you go back to your room anyway, and it's already late. And it's not like we haven't shared a room, or a bed, I may add."

Shun's face turned completely red as soon as the request—or demand, since it was coming from ZanYi—left the lieutenant's lips. Stay? Stay? He couldn't do that! He could barely control himself around her as it was! And now she wanted him to spend the night with her? That one time didn't count—he was sick and he had no idea what he was doing, therefore, he could not be held responsible.

ZanYi was unsurprised by the look on his face, but for all of her logical reasoning for still extending the invitation, she had another purpose for it all. And what surprised the lieutenant was that it was rather sentimental, purposeless. "I just… want you here. With me." And the admission of that pushed an agitated pink to her cheeks, despite the frown she wore. But it was the truth. Tonight, ZanYi just wanted Shun to be by her side, like he always was.

Shun was about to politely refuse as best as he could when he heard ZanYi's secondary reasoning. And he found his resistance melting away. ZanYi was even blushing, something the giant waterbender happened to find irresistible. Seriously, how could he say no to that face, as disgruntled as it was?

Sighing in resignation, Shun stood up, wrapping his arms around ZanYi while placing a tender kiss on her forehead. "All right," he conceded, "I'll stay. Just… don't kill me when I wake you up tomorrow morning, okay?" Despite his words, a corner of Shun's mouth was tilted up. ZanYi was notorious for attacking first and asking questions later when she was woken, but it was secretly amusing to him… even when it was happening to him. It was just one of those quirks of hers that made her ZanYi.

She almost smirked. "I won't kill you, but I can't guarantee I won't attack," she warned him, knowing how finicky she could be. But it was a force of habit. Sometimes the paranoia of the job sank in places a soldier didn't know. And being unprepared to fend off an attacker in her sleep happened to be one of hers.

The lieutenant could only hope that she would remember that it was Shun in the morning.

Slipping out of his grasp, ZanYi went over to her door, locking it. She was far too tired of people busting in after today—and she certainly was not about to let Zaron come in at will again. No. This night was hers and Shun's.

"Then my guess is we should get to bed," the lieutenant continued. "We've got an early morning and we'll need as much rest as we can get." She crossed back over and crawled into bed, hitting the light as she did so. ZanYi tried to stay as close to the edge of the bed as possible to give Shun room. It wasn't the biggest bed in the world, but at least it would fit both of them.

The darkness of the room suddenly had Shun's skin flushing hot. He couldn't see anything, but somehow, the lack of light made everything more… sultry. Again, he kicked himself for foregoing the shirt. The cool metal of the dogtags against his chest enabled the giant waterbender to calm down a little, and he felt his way into the bed, trying not to bump ZanYi so much as he made himself comfortable. It was a reasonably sized mattress, which was a relief. Hopefully Shun wouldn't end up accidentally shoving ZanYi out of her own bed in the middle of the night.

Deciding to take a precaution, Shun slid his arms around ZanYi, pulling her into his chest. One advantage to dating a firebender: she always exuded warmth. And although Shun was already too warm for his liking, he enjoyed the feeling of having ZanYi in his arms too much to let her go. "Good night, ZanYi," Shun whispered into the dark. He would have kissed her if he could judge where her lips were, but since it was pitch black in the room, he decided not to chance it.

ZanYi, as aloof and impassive as she always was, found herself even a little warmer than normal. Granted, she was pressed up against Shun, who was massive. But she could feel it in her face too, and immediately she knew this was different than when Shun was sick. Yet, she wasn't about to stop it. The lieutenant never made a decision she would regret, and this was included. Intimacy was not exactly a strong suit of hers, aside from the two of them making out. Physical intimacy was easy. But this gentleness always took her aback, always caught her by surprise. After all, who in their right mind would normally be gentle with her? ZanYi was a firebending prodigy in charge of a Resistance Special Forces team: an epitome of danger.

And Shun always found a way too, seemingly effortless for him. It astounded her, and in some ways it made her wary. But most of all, it made her feel just as safe as going into a fight with her own fire blazing. It made no sense, but that was what Shun could do to her sometimes.

Since she couldn't see, ZanYi used her hand to feel her way up his chest, finding Shun's face in the dark. "Goodnight, Big Guy," she replied, inclining his head to dip down to her lips.

'Ah,' Shun thought as her lips met his. 'There they are.' Shun eagerly reciprocated the kiss, his arms tightening around ZanYi. He might have responded too enthusiastically, in fact, but he didn't care at the moment—judging on how things went tomorrow, this may be the last time he would be able to kiss ZanYi, let alone spend time with her like this. He wanted to memorize everything, the sensation of her lips, the warmth of her body, the happiness and contentment she brought him, everything. He couldn't tell her he loved her, but for tonight, he could show her, just a little.

Only for tonight, though.

A/N from DJ: PHEW! Here we go, boys and girls! December is the month of the Air Finale! Strap in for the next couple weeks. This is going to be rough - so read and find out! To prevent myself from spoiling, I will just move on to the acknowledgments!

Masseffect321: Yesh, all the naivety last chappie! We personally love the contrast between the leading protagonists, so last chappie was one of the moments we get to exploit that! As for TiRan... Well, you shall see! Stand by your ship and see where it sails! xD I'm so punny...

Revolution But Civilization: Syaoran is kind of like a casserole - he looks completely average and bland on the outside, but has plenty of layers and a warm center xD Yes, I just used a casserole instead of an onion; ZanYi is the onion with layers because she makes people cry xDD But every character has many sides, and will have their own things that push them to change. We're a story of life and change, so expect it of everyone~

Halfaleader: I'm so glad you're still with us and look forward to the updates each weekend! It's a bit later this weekend, but it's still up! Even we take some time off~ Get ready for things to get rough!

The Kitkat of Destiny: For the record, I love KitKats. Favorite candy. Ever. Forever. xD Second, thanks so much for the fave on Fire, and I hope you continue reading to where you can see this! We want you to enjoy Air just as much!

Japaneserockergirl: AHHH! You live still! HOORAY! You've been with us for a while now xD But yeah, Air definitely has a lot of... turbulence. xD Lots of ups and downs... which we regrettably continue. I'm so glad you enjoyed learning about Shun's backstory, as well as Syaoran's development. One thing we like to show is that everyone has a story, and life changes everyone. No one is spared from that. We're so glad you're almost caught up now, so get ready. Finale Month!

Now, I'm going to edit, hide, and start getting stuff ready for Water! Until next weekend, peace out y'all!