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.

Shun and Luka were working on breaking another cell of prisoners out of jail when Luka paused, a hand hovering over his comm unit. "What's going on?" Shun asked immediately—not having a comm unit of his own was seriously starting to irk him. Luka did not reply right away; he listened to whatever was being said with a concentrated frown before his eyes met Shun's.

"Ransik's calling for you. He says the lieutenant needs your assistance immediately."

Shun froze, the blood in his body icing over. No, not ZanYi…

"Where is she?!" he demanded to know, panic creeping into his voice. Luka winced and took a step back.

"Easy, man, I'm trying to find out…" Luka paused again, listening, before fixing Shun with a serious stare. "Down in Sublevel 1, in a big cavern-like area, he says. You'd better get down there—it sounds urgent."

Shun, by no means, needed telling twice. After roughly kicking the cell door open, he left the rest to Luka and booked it as fast as he could down the hall, flying past fellow waterbenders and enemies. He barreled down all who got in his way, friend or foe. ZanYi needed him. Nothing else mattered right now.

Shun jumped down the closest flight of stairs he encountered, reaching Sublevel 1 at last. There were a few AKs still fending off Neo-Equalists, and they were all in his way. Covering his fists with ice, Shun went in, punching everything that wore the uniform of the Neo-Equalists. He broke free of the fray and kept running, defrosting his fists as he panted.

"ZANYI!" The giant waterbender called, his frantic eyes searching everywhere for the lieutenant. "ZanYi, where are you?!"

He had to find her. He needed to find her. If anything happened to ZanYi that could not be reversed, Shun would never forgive himself.

Once Syaoran heard General Chen in his ear, he almost felt himself relax. Tiki had the general and his family. They were going to get them out of there. The only thing that was stopping him from relaxing was the blaring of sirens all throughout the compound. Something was wrong; somewhere, something was going wrong.

As hard as it was, the Avatar waited for Sikka to take lead, leaving the other waterbenders with them to finish freeing the corridor they were on. Syaoran followed her, having to even slow himself so as to not surpass her. But he still felt anxious, felt worried.

"What's going on, Sikka?" he asked her between pants, frowning over at the woman.

"Something's gone wrong on the lower floors. The Lieutenant had to request for back-up."

Syaoran's breath grew quicker. That was definitely not good. If ZanYi was actually asking for help…

He couldn't think about that right now. His family was at stake and that was more important.

Rounding the last corner, Sikka came to a halt, finding Tiki and her whole gang of prisoners with her. General Chen rushed over to Sikka, uttering news and plans, but that was also secondary. Because, again, the other two prisoners were more important.

"Mom! Sora!" he called in disbelief as soon as his jade eyes fell on them. As thin as his mother had become, ruining her usually tough and frightening gait, she moved quickly to hug him, Sora also clinging to him.

"You're alive…" Shima mumbled, overwhelmed. "I thought for sure they had—"

"No, Mom, I'm okay. I've been with the Resistance. They've been training me as the Avatar," he explained quickly. But before his sister could cut in and demand explanations, or his mother admonish him for something he doesn't even know he did, Syaoran cut them off, "We can play catch-up later, guys, but we've got to go. Now!"

Leaving their arms, he found Tiki right by them. Giving her the most sincere look he could muster, Syaoran told her, "Thank-you."

The happy reunion brought tears to Tiki's eyes. If only fate had been more kind to her… but no, she couldn't dwell on the past like that. She should just be thankful that Syaoran was able to meet his family again. So when the Avatar thanked her more fervently than he ever had, Tiki smiled at him. "I'm just returning the favor," she reminded him. Syaoran had tried his hardest to help her save her parents, and he calmed her down when they could not. This was the least she could do to repay him, but it was a start.

The alarms blared louder than ever, and Tiki glanced around, swallowing. "We've gotta get out of here," Tiki asserted, turning to the leaders. "Sikka, what's happening? Why are the alarms going off?"

Sikka was listening intently to her comm, and she turned stressed eyes onto Tiki. "The sergeant major is down," the waterbender reported, "The lieutenant has called for Shun, so it must be bad."

Tiki drew in a breath. She almost wanted to rush to wherever ZanYi was, to see if she could offer them support of any kind. But the tiny airbender knew that her place was here, to help Syaoran get his family out of this prison. Besides, if anyone could do the job that ZanYi needed done, it was Shun. Tiki was going to have to have faith in him.

"Let's keep moving," she insisted, fixing determined gray eyes on the rest of them and trying to ignore the pounding of her heart as her dark premonition reached its peak. Bad feeling or not, Tiki had to forge on, to continue forward. She could not let this stop her—too much was at stake.

Syaoran nodded, feigning confidence for the sake of the women in his family. It was bad enough that ZanYi had to call in for back-up, but if her brother was down and she was calling for Shun…

He couldn't think of the implications of what might be happening. Not right now. Syaoran's own family was at risk and he was going to get them out of there. "Mom, Sora," he beckoned, looking back to them gravely, "just keep close. We have to hurry." His mother nodded, a determined set to her, keeping a close arm on his sister. Satisfied that they understood, the Avatar turned to the general and Sikka. They both nodded to him.

"Let's go then," Sikka said, earning a grunt of affirmation from General Chen.

The two soldiers took off down the hall deserted hall, and Syaoran ushered his family to follow, pushing Tiki along right behind them so he could take the back. Sirens blared all around them. Tensions ran higher and higher with every step unopposed. Things were not going according to plan. But they had to get out, had to keep going. Syaoran wasn't allowing himself another option.

A couple Neo-Equalists stood at the stairs to go back down, but Sikka made swift work of knocking them off their feet with a smooth water whip. General Chen gave them hefty blows to the head to put them out cold. But that was the worst conflict they faced. Until they got down the stairs.

The prisoners were rushing out of the compound, the rest of Ransik's waterbenders hurrying about as the alarms grew more violent, more retching. However, the fact was that they were escaping. There was hardly any resistance. Considering the audacious noises, this was too easy…

"We've got company!" Syaoran heard General Chen warn from up ahead; Neo-Equalists were starting to file out from the sublevels. They looked worse for wear—very burnt and crispy—but still able to fight.

"Follow the other prisoners and head out to the trucks!" he ordered his mother and sister. It was Shima that looked ready to protest, but Sora rushed her along, understanding the urgency. Once assured that they were getting out fine, Syaoran took a deep breath and looked to Tiki. "We've got to buy them time," he told her, nodding over at the enemy soldiers rushing up from the sublevels.

Tiki glanced anxiously back at the retreating figures of Syaoran's family. Would they be able to make it safely to the truck? Tiki couldn't worry about that—although her dark premonition was all but blinding her senses—she had to help Syaoran fend off the men that would do his family harm. Looking up at the Avatar, she gave him a stiff nod.

"Let's do it," she encouraged. With a deep breath, she summoned a gale of wind that pushed back the Neo-Equalists a fair bit before she rushed in to engage them in hand-to-hand combat. They would not get past her. She would make sure of that… or die trying.

Past the NEs, past the AKs, and after searching down so many halls, ZanYi's pain-filled voice pierced through Shun's core. He had finally made it to the cavern room. The place looked as if it was about to collapse, rubble everywhere, fires burning, and with two solitary figures in the center of some sort of aftermath. Shun rushed over, relief filling him when he saw that ZanYi was alert, only for anxiety to take over once more once he took in the state of her.

"ZanYi, you're badly injured! Come on, we have to—!"

It wasn't until Shun was kneeling at ZanYi's side that he noticed the body on the ground in front of her.

Zaron's body.

All the blood drained from the giant waterbender's face as he looked down at the sergeant major's corpse, uncomprehending. "No…" he breathed, reaching over to touch Zaron's neck, feeling for a pulse. He found none. Sergeant Major Zaron Tsong had passed away. And it was probably Shun's fault. That guilt immediately crushed him with its weight. "…ZanYi… I'm so sorry… I got here as fast as I could…" Shun muttered, unable to take his eyes away from Zaron's still form. But he had been running for ZanYi… he hadn't known it was her brother that needed his help. If his fastest for ZanYi wasn't good enough, would he have made it in time if he had known it was for Zaron?

It didn't matter now. Zaron was dead, and there was nothing either of them could do about it. Shun's healing skills were excellent, but even he could not call back the dead… although, in this moment, he would have given anything to be able to. Zaron was not his favorite person, and he was certain Zaron was not too fond of him either—last night attested to that—but still, the sergeant major was the only family ZanYi had left… and now he was gone.

Shun clenched his jaw, his eyes misting over. This was his fault. If only he had been paying attention before that Neo-Equalist punched him, his comm unit wouldn't have shorted out, and he would have been able to help ZanYi faster instead of playing a game of telephone through Luka and Ransik. Shun should have been here. And now, there was nothing he could do for Zaron or ZanYi. Nothing.

The lieutenant's breath ran ragged, her throat jagged and hoarse. ZanYi felt like the world was closing up. Surely this was a dream. It was just a dream. This couldn't actually be happening. Zaron couldn't die. He was… Zaron. As many times as she'd worried, thought he wouldn't come back, he always did. He kept his promises to her.

So why wasn't he moving?

Why wasn't he answering her?

The back of her mind kept telling her why, but even still, ZanYi didn't want to believe it. She knew the answer, had seen these signs before. But not like this… not on Zaron…

Her hand went up to clutch at the tags she wore around her neck. Zaron was gone. Zaron was dead. The lieutenant's other hand went to her brother's chest, finding her dogtags right where they always were: around his neck. His skin was getting cooler and cooler to the touch, the warmth and heat she knew just like her own fading with every moment since his heart stopped beating.

"You promised, Zar…"

Her words came out much quieter now, the truth sinking in, cutting deep. It was like her own fire had gone out. Her hands were starting to shake, control slipping. She knew what she had to do next. She knew what Zaron had wanted, in the event of this. But ZanYi didn't want to do it. What if he wasn't completely gone? What if he just woke up…?

No.

It wasn't going to happen. Zaron was dead. There was nothing else anyone could do for him now. Nothing but what she had to do.

With a deep breath, she reluctantly set her hand on Zaron's chest on aflame. The fire first just burned at first, but then they caught, spreading slowly across his body.

"I don't want some stupid funeral service." His words from another day and another time echoed in her mind. "I want to be with Mom and Dad."

"Live by the flame, die by the flame…" ZanYi finished under breath, repeating the words her brother had told her so long ago. Was this was going to be the only way she could hear him anymore? Sporadic and trailing memories?

She took another deep breath and slowly rose up to her feet. ZanYi was unsteady—everything hurt, inside and out. But the lieutenant stood up straight, watching as the flames engulfed her brother.

"Lieutenant Tsong," ZanYi called in on her comm, her voice flat, even. "Status update: WeiTai on the run. Sergeant Major Zaron Tsong… Killed In Action." She let her hand fall back to her side, and her gaze fixated on the burning body before her.

Her anchor.

Her best friend.

Her brother.

Gone.

In the brawl upstairs, Syaoran rushed in after Tiki, ready to fight. These men were not going to mess with his family. Not anymore. Syaoran was not the same guy he was when he first escaped the concentration camps. He was stronger now. He was free. He was going to show these Neo-Equalists that the Avatar was alive.

And that they better watch out.

Once Tiki was airborne, Syaoran leaped and gave a hefty stomp to his landing, the stone under the tiles rising up in a wave to tumble the Neo-Equalists back. Then he sent a wave of five to travel right over it; several enemy soldiers fell onto their back, writhing in burns.

Fighting alongside the airbender was natural. The first time, it had been easy just because their styles clicked well, complimentary. But after training with Tiki, Syaoran knew where she was going before she moved, knew exactly how she moved. And he could attack accordingly to their opposition.

To his satisfaction, they, along with some of the other waterbenders, were managing to keep the Neo-Equalists at bay. Until Syaoran heard the voices come on over his comm.

"General!" Sikka's voice called out, cracking in the static. "We need to work on a retreat! Just in from the lieutenant: Sergeant Major Tsong is KIA."

"What?!" Syaoran couldn't help but interrupt, striking a Neo-Equalist back with a heavy block of stone. KIA? As in… dead? Killed? He whirled to Tiki, calling out to her, knowing that General Chen had her comm. "Tiki! Sergeant Major Tsong is dead!"

But because he'd turned to find Tiki, he didn't notice the nondescript shadow coming up behind him. Syaoran felt something grab the back of his jacket, and he let out a growl as he was yanked back into a nearby corridor, slammed against the wall. He moved to fight back, but his attacker had a hand around Syaoran's neck, squeezing tight as he punched various parts of his body. It was a feeling too familiar from when he was in the camps. Chi blocking… this guy was closing up his chi!

Syaoran tried to pry the hand off of his neck, but whoever the man in front of him was, he was just as big as he was, maybe bigger. The Avatar could barely see, a struggle to open his eyes. He saw black hair. The light was dim; he saw half of a face. Stalwart features, dangerous dark eyes. But his clothes… he didn't wear a uniform. What was he seeing… a suit?

"Goodbye, Avatar."

The hand squeezed tighter, now accompanied by the other since the Avatar was unable to bend. Syaoran could feel his windpipe closing in. His vision tunneled, and then all went black.

Shun jumped back hastily as ZanYi set the body of her brother on fire. He was astonished at first—why would she do something like that? Perhaps it was another firebender thing? Either way, it unnerved the giant waterbender, and he got to his feet along with ZanYi. But hearing the lieutenant have to report her own brother's death was almost too much for Shun. He turned to look at her, her amber eyes hollow as she watched her brother burn. Her expression was almost enough to break his heart. Moving behind ZanYi, Shun embraced her tightly from behind, half for support and half out of worry that she would throw herself into the fire with Zaron.

"…You don't have to look," he whispered, his head next to hers, the fire drawing his eyes despite his words. "Just… do what you need to. Cry, scream, hit something. Just let it out. I'm the only one here, and I won't judge you. I'm here for you."

It was not enough, Shun knew that. He could not replace her brother, nor did he want to. Still, the giant waterbender hated feeling helpless while ZanYi suffered in silence. He would much prefer her to be angry with him for not getting here in time to save her brother. Anything would be better than this silence. He understood her need to grieve perfectly… Shun just wished he knew what she was thinking.

But ZanYi didn't do a thing. Even as Shun's strong arms tightened around her, aggravating every burn and splice and piece of shrapnel on her upper body, it was almost like there was a disconnect. She just felt numb. It was like Shun wasn't even there, like his presence didn't even register. The arms that had made her feel comfort, made her feel safe? They meant nothing now. She felt none of it.

ZanYi took a deep breath then left the circling of Shun's grasp, walking slowly away. "There's still work to do," she finally spoke, her voice rough from dust, choked up by everything she was holding back, flat from what she'd just lost. She supposed everything should hurt, that she shouldn't be able to walk straight from the sheer pain of her injuries. But ZanYi didn't feel them. The lieutenant had a job to do. Zaron had done his. "AKs, move upstairs to aid in the prisoner escape," she ordered in her comm to her own team, hearing there had been a retreat upstairs.

"We've got a problem! The Avatar is missing!" the terse words came in through her comm.

"Someone find him right now!" ZanYi demanded, gritting her teeth. They'd already lost Zaron. They couldn't lose Syaoran too. To Shun, she said, without glancing back at him, "Syaoran's missing. We've got to go find him."

But before she could race to the nearest stairs, her golden eyes fell on the flames of her brother again. The pain became so very acute. Zaron was gone. Forever.

ZanYi turned away and pushed herself, grimacing, to get her feet running. He'd left her alone. Now, alone or not, she had a job to do.

Shun pushed himself to run after ZanYi. Syaoran being missing was not a good thing, but at the moment, all the giant waterbender could worry about was ZanYi; she had not shed one tear this whole time. Granted, ZanYi did not strike him as the crying type, but still, Zaron was—had been her brother.

But maybe Shun was overreacting for nothing. ZanYi had always been one to put her job first; that was just who she was. Maybe she would allow herself to grieve later, in the privacy of her own room. Or maybe she would drown herself in work to avoid the pain. Either way, Shun would be there for her, even if she thought she didn't need his help or support. Until she was ready to talk to him, he would keep a close eye on her as he always did.

Tiki had heard initially what Syaoran said, but she was too busy to respond: there were three Neo-Equalists doing their best to grab her, and she had to concentrate on ducking and dodging. But was that what her premonition had been about? Zaron's death? No… something else was going to happen. The sergeant major's passing was only the tip of the iceberg this time around. She leaped over the NEs and turned swiftly on her heel, ready to strike back, when the strangest thing happened: the Neo-Equalists began to retreat. Tiki stared after them, confusion plain on her face. Why were they suddenly pulling out of the battle? Had WeiTai escaped?

Tiki looked around, searching for Syaoran so she could consult with him. But the Avatar was nowhere in sight. Strange… he had been here just a minute ago…

"Tiki!"

Sikka and General Chen were rushing over to the tiny airbender, Sikka breathless as she took note of the empty space next to Tiki. "Where's Syaoran? Where's the Avatar?!"

"I… I don't know," Tiki admitted, her panic level beginning to rise. Why didn't anyone know where Syaoran was? Did he just take advantage of the Neo-Equalist retreat to go check on his family? "Did you try calling him on your comm link?"

"He's not responding," Sikka replied darkly. "Tiki, he was with you, wasn't he? Where did he go?"

"I don't know!" Tiki said again, beginning to get stressed out. "Hold on, just be quiet for a minute. I'll see if I can sense him." Tiki struggled for a deep breath, closing her eyes and pushing through her panic to focus. It took a second, but soon the bright auras of Sikka and the general burst into life right next to Tiki. But she was not concerned with them, and she searched for the overwhelmingly powerful aura that belonged to Syaoran. On the upside, Syaoran was not that far away from them—in a nearby corridor, in fact. The downside? His aura was inexplicably fading… and fast.

Tiki's eyes flew open with horror. "No!" She dashed off without so much as an explanation to Sikka and General Chen, only one thing on her mind: Syaoran. She had to get to Syaoran.

The tiny airbender skidded to a halt and fell to the ground next to the unconscious Avatar, her pants coming out heavy. Her mind was trying not to process what her eyes saw, not being able to accept what her vision was telling her. Syaoran could not be dead. He was the Avatar… he couldn't die…

"Syaoran," Tiki called out to him, grabbing his shoulder and shaking it vigorously. "No, Syaoran, wake up! You can't die! Wake up, Syaoran! Don't leave me!"

There were red welts on Syaoran's neck—strangulation. Tiki herself felt like she couldn't breathe, tears beginning to spill from her eyes. This wasn't supposed to happen! They had done it: they had saved his mother and sister! The three of them were supposed to go home together! It wasn't supposed to end like this!

"Syaoran, BREATHE!" she screamed at him, pounding on his chest. His aura was disappearing, slipping away from this plane, slipping away from her…

Somehow, in her panic, Tiki managed to remember that she knew CPR… well, sort of. She had seen it on T.V. a lot when she was on the run. She was supposed to start out with compressions, thirty per minute, to get his heart going again. But at fifteen, Tiki lost patience and jumped right to the second step: mouth-to-mouth. Syaoran needed air, and he needed it now.

"Please, Syaoran," Tiki whispered, before covering his mouth with her own and breathing life into him, "don't leave me."

He had to breathe. Syaoran wasn't living if he wasn't breathing. And if he couldn't breathe on his own, Tiki would breathe for him. He just couldn't leave her. She would not let him leave her alone.

First there was no response. Nothing. Just darkness. No thought. No dreams. No awareness. Just darkness. Everything was tight, closing in, stiff.

Then there was a rush to Syaoran's system. It was light, free; forceful, vital. Air. It coursed involuntarily through to his lungs. Again. And again. Where was the air coming from? As more air was pumped through him, Syaoran realized he was hearing things. Had he been asleep? What happened?

His chest began to heave and ho, breathing on its own. The air was so comforting, so reassuring. It filled him with a feeling so foreign to him, Syaoran didn't know what how to describe it. It made him feel… alive.

Coughing, air was expelled from his lungs. But no. He wanted more of it. Syaoran began to breathe deeper, as if grasping for it with everything he had. He could hear voices, calling out to him. Something wet on his face. Whatever it was, it was dripping. It landed on his eye. He didn't like it.

Scrunching his face, Syaoran tried to get the wet substance off of his face. Slowly, he opened his eyes and looked up. There was a large shadow looming over him, blocking the light. It was calling his name. The wet drops fell on his face again. He began to see clearer. Small. Dark hair. Crying. A voice so familiar…

"…Tiki…?"

Tiki gasped once Syaoran opened his eyes, said her name. She thought she had seen flickers of life in his face, but her vision was so blurry from her tears that she could not be sure.

"He's okay!" Tiki heard someone announce on their comm link—probably Sikka. "The Avatar is all right!" So relieved by this simple fact, the tiny airbender threw her arms around Syaoran, hugging him tighter than she should.

"Don't ever—EVER—do that to me again!" she scolded him in between sobs, her relief and panic mingling as one in her tears. That had been so frightening, to see Syaoran lying there, deathly still and pale. She hadn't known if he was going to make it or not, and the thought of losing Syaoran forever made Tiki realize something: Syaoran meant so much more to her than as the Avatar, even more so than a friend. When she had begged Syaoran not to leave her, she meant it. She wanted him to be there, to stay by her side, always. Tiki wanted Syaoran to belong only to her.

Was this what it meant to be in love? Tiki wasn't sure. All she knew was that she never wanted to be without the Avatar ever again. The alternative was too painful to even consider.

When Sikka and General Chen had arrived on the scene, the waterbending woman had encouraged Tiki to continue CPR, supervised by the general, as she reported the situation and waited for further command from the other leaders. Luckily further action was not necessary, since the Avatar managed to pull through with CPR alone. Sikka wanted to move in to see if there were any other injuries on the Avatar that needed healing… but it looked as if he and Tiki were having a moment. So Sikka could wait.

Syaoran, for one, was really confused. What had happened? Why couldn't he breathe at first? Why did everyone look so relieved? Why was Tiki crying so much?

"We almost lost you, Avatar," General Chen informed him, seeing the questions on his face. "We think you were strangled. If the little airbender hadn't found you…"

The general let the facts speak for themselves. Syaoran gulped. Looking at Tiki, he suddenly understood. He had almost died. No wonder Tiki seemed so scared. But he didn't like that; he didn't like that Tiki was so upset, that he'd upset her again.

Slowly sitting up, Syaoran looked at Tiki with a pained expression. "There, there… It's okay, Tiki… I'm okay…" he tried to assure her, but she wouldn't stop crying. The Avatar wrapped his arms tight around her, actually hugging her in an attempt to make her stop.

But he liked that—not that Tiki was crying, but actually holding her while she did it. He wanted to make her stop more than ever, make it so she didn't have to keep crying, or cry ever again.

Syaoran was the one to almost die, but maybe that's what gave him a bit more perspective. During the fights, it was Tiki on his side. When he was grumpy, it was Tiki who cheered him up. All throughout training, it was Tiki who was patient with him, Tiki who made him relax, Tiki who found his family, and the one right there by him when he almost died…

This was a different feeling than he was used to, but he knew that Tiki was more to him than just a friend—or even a close friend. He didn't know what it was, but he was going to make sure that she didn't have to cry anymore.

"It's okay, Tiki… I'm okay…"

Yep, definitely a moment. Sikka was inwardly amused—how could Tiki claim so fervently that there was nothing going on between them when it was clear as day right here in front of Sikka's eyes? Friends, huh? Well, maybe they just weren't aware of the deeper feelings they seemed to have for each other. Sikka would keep quiet about it for now, but she was going to keep a close eye on the two of them from now on…

Suddenly, Sikka's comm unit crackled to life, and she heard the voice of her fiancé. "Ransik, reporting in. All prisoners have been liberated, repeat, all prisoners have been liberated. Requesting retreat before the Neo-Equalists gather reinforcements."

"We're retreating," Sikka announced, looking to Tiki and Syaoran. "Let's move it, you two. It's time to go."

Sniffling, Tiki took a deep breath and pulled herself together. Syaoran was okay—there was no need for her to continue crying. Right now she needed to be strong so they could escape. She had just gotten to her feet and held her hand out to assist Syaoran when a few heart-stopping shots rang outside. Tiki's head swiveled towards the exit and her eyes widened.

"That… came from the direction of the trucks!"

Syaoran's eyes widened and got to his feet faster than he really should have. The world began to swirl around him, dizzying, but that was barely even a thought. His family… they were supposed to be safe. They had gotten them out of there. If those shots had hit them…

Leading their group, he burst towards the door, praying that whoever had shot that bullet had been on their side… and that no one else had been hurt.

Shun and ZanYi, too, were close enough to the surface that Shun quite clearly heard the gunshots. His body reacted before his mind made the conscious decision to, and he was running with all his might towards the surface, towards the trucks full of POWs on the edge of the forest in the morning light. A stray Neo-Equalist was on the dewy ground, struggling against a man pinning him down, whose arm was bleeding profusely. As Shun's mouth gaped open, the man turned his head, his normally handsome features contorted in pain.

"Hey, little help here?" Kei requested, "he shot my arm—I can't hold him down forever!"

Despite the fact that he was still struggling to breathe again, the Avatar had raced ahead to the POW trucks. He had seen Shun dart ahead out of the corner of his eye, ZanYi quick on his heels. So much was going on, but he could wait to talk to them later. Right now, they had to deal with—

Kei?

Syaoran came to a stop, seeing the nonbender pinning down the Neo-Equalist. "You've got to be kidding me…" he groaned in an angry disbelief. Was this really happening? How was Kei there? Had he bribed yet another guard?

Something brushed past him roughly, and ZanYi was moving forward. Roughly shoving Kei off of the enemy soldier, she picked up the fallen gun. The Neo-Equalist tried to rise, to attack ZanYi, but she slammed the handle of the handgun across his face. He fell back with a heavy thud, blood dripping from his temple.

Problem solved.

Syaoran watched as ZanYi stood back up, disarming the gun with ease again. She was in bad shape. Really bad shape. It was a miracle she was still able to move, with how she looked, cut open and bleeding. And then there was Zaron…

For once, he opted not to say a word to the lieutenant. Instead, the Avatar looked to Kei, baffled and urgent. "What are you doing here, Kei?" Syaoran huffed.

Tiki arrived with Sikka and General Chen just in time to catch Syaoran's question and the sight of Kei, clutching his injured arm. Her mouth came open with a pop.

"Oh no, Kei, you didn't!" she groaned, taking a page out of Syaoran's book and slapping her forehead in exasperation. What was he doing here?! That was it—the first chance she got, she was confiscating his seemingly limitless cash flow and having a word with ZanYi about the guards' apparently insufficient pay wages.

"Nice to see you too, Tiki," Kei greeted with a half-grin. "Have I mentioned I got shot?"

That was enough to snap Shun out of his shocked stupor—he knelt next to the nonbender, pulling his shirt out of the way to examine his shoulder. There was a strange, winding dragon tattoo on his shoulder, as well as a gaping bullet hole. As Shun set to work, Kei let his eyes wander back to the truck he was hiding in, where the appearance of two women had startled him.

"Hey lady, is your daughter okay?" he called to ask. Tiki turned to realize that Kei was addressing Shima, who had a death-grip on Sora. Shima nodded.

"That was very reckless of you, but you may have saved my daughter's life, jumping in the way like that. Thank you."

Kei's smile grew faint. "I couldn't just sit there and do nothing…" the nonbender mumbled, wincing as Shun worked on his shoulder. Tiki felt a sudden rush of affection for the man who should not be there—if he wasn't, who knows what would have happened to Sora? Maybe Kei was growing out of his selfishness faster than Tiki thought was possible.

Syaoran could only gape at the nonbender. Granted, Kei hadn't known who was he was protecting, but saving his sister? Syaoran couldn't let that go by. If Kei hadn't been there—by means quite underhanded, most likely—ZanYi would not be the only one to lose a loved one today. He almost expected said lieutenant to whirl on Kei, possibly strike him over the head with the gun next. The nonbender was in clear violation of orders and no one messes with ZanYi and her orders.

So before ZanYi could do such a thing, Syaoran moved over to Kei, standing in what would be between the two. The Avatar looked up into the truck, looking over his family with concern in his jade eyes.

"You two okay? Both of you?" Syaoran asked, needing that affirmation. He received it in a nod, and the relief flooded through him again. That had been far too close for comfort.

"Syaoran, are you all right?" Shima asked, looking down to him and eyeing the marks on his neck. Syaoran, on the contrary, had no idea what she was looking at, but he nodded anyway.

"I'm fine, Mom," he answered, honest and sincere.

It had been very close, though, something Tiki did not like remembering. She moved over to Syaoran to squeeze his hand briefly before kneeling down next to Shun in front of Kei. "That was very brave of you, Kei," she complimented him with a smile. "I'm glad you're here… although you really shouldn't be."

"Thanks… I think," Kei replied, looking amused.

"All done," Shun announced a second later, patting Kei's shoulder; the nonbender winced at the force the giant waterbender put on his newly-healed shoulder. "Now do us all a favor and do as you're told for once: get back in the truck. We're leaving."

Kei snorted, a hand rubbing his shoulder. "Trust me, I've had enough of being heroic for one day."

Ransik had arrived by then, along with several more prisoners and the rest of the soldiers. The absence of the sergeant major was obvious, most obvious in the defeated looks his men wore as they trudged back to their truck. Now that he had his canteen open, Shun stood up and approached ZanYi. "Let me have a look at those," he requested, reaching for ZanYi's arm. She was in very bad shape, worse than he had ever seen her. Shun didn't know how the lieutenant was still standing at the moment—perhaps by sheer force of will.

And that force of will pulled away from Shun, unwilling. Her eyes never even looked at Shun, only seeing the men in her brother's unit walking back. She knew those men; when she'd first joined the Resistance, it was those same men that had done training with her brother, fought alongside him as a comrade. And now they were without not just their leader, but their teammate, their friend.

All she could see was how the picture wasn't complete without Zaron in the front.

When one of the men, Zaron's second-in-command, glanced her way, the lieutenant turned, unable to meet those eyes. With purposeful steps, ZanYi instead walked over to the truck filled up with her AKs. It was much fuller this time around, all of the faces peering back to her ones she knew by heart. She could see the gratitude on their faces, the confidence they had in her, the sympathy for her loss. One by one, the hands went up to salute her.

It made everything all the more real and it hurt all the more.

Closing up the back of the truck, she forced a smirk and gave the door a pat before walking around front to sit in the passenger's seat. ZanYi had to climb up slowly to do it, but she did it. And once she sat down, the lieutenant wasn't sure if she was going to be able to get back up.

Shun watched her climb into that truck. Was it petty of him to be a little upset that she did not so much as glance at him? He understood that she had just endured a terrible loss, but she shouldn't neglect herself like that. He was only trying to help.

Tiki had watched the scene unfold, and she took pity on Shun. He was going to have to be very patient with ZanYi—Tiki knew very well what that kind of pain could do to someone. And if they all knew ZanYi the way they thought they did, the lieutenant was going to need ocean leagues of space before she was ready to start again. Shun had a difficult road ahead of him, the tiny airbender was sure of it.

"Come on, Shun," she beckoned to the giant waterbender, offering him a smile when he turned her way. "It's time to go."

"…Yeah," Shun answered, with a brave attempt at a smile in return. Together, they headed to the nearest truck, the one housing a few waterbenders, Kei, Syaoran's family, and Syaoran himself. Tiki tried to clamber inside by herself, but after a couple moments of struggle, Shun took pity on the tiny girl and gave her a helpful nudge. This nudge, however, was a bit too powerful, and Tiki ended up flying into Syaoran.

"Ah! Shun!" the tiny airbender protested, frowning as the giant waterbender climbed in and sat across from her. He spared her a glance before his gaze returned to the truck ZanYi was in.

"Sorry," he apologized absentmindedly. Tiki sighed and readjusted herself to sit next to Syaoran, their sudden proximity and the discovery of her feelings for him making her face go pink. Oh no, how was she supposed to deal with him now, knowing what she knew? This was going to be a nightmare.

Sitting across from Syaoran—and wishing their positions were reversed—Kei took notice of the new change in Tiki, along with the careful distance she put in between her and the Avatar. She never seemed to care about things like that before… why was she suddenly aware of her proximity in correlation to Syaoran?

As Kei watched, his suspicion turned to horror: the trucks started up, and when theirs lurched forward, Tiki was thrown into Syaoran once again. She hurriedly corrected herself with mumbled apologies and avoided the Avatar's eyes at all costs. That confirmed it to Kei: Tiki knew she had feelings for Syaoran. Which meant that the nonbender could not win now, no matter what he did.

Kei hung his head, sighing in defeat. It wasn't fair—he had only just begun to fight for Tiki's heart, only to have his worst fears confirmed: she was already taken with the Avatar. What a bummer—he had been smuggled onto this truck for nothing.

Well… almost for nothing…

Kei glanced up to see the lady Syaoran had called 'Mom' holding her daughter in her arms, both looking tired but overwhelmingly relieved. Kei couldn't imagine what kind of life they had been living, and all because they were nonbenders related to the Avatar. The treatment they received wasn't fair… none of the treatment of the benders was fair, now that he thought about it. Something wasn't quite right with this picture: if the Neo-Equalists were willing to imprison nonbenders as well as benders for crimes they did not commit, what else were they willing to do…?

Kei rubbed his shoulder once again, feeling the engraved ink of his family's tattoo on his skin. To be a Ryunnosuke meant to be aligned with WeiTai and his Neo-Equalists… but then again, when had Kei ever been happy to be a Ryunnosuke? Perhaps now was the perfect time to branch off on his own—he wouldn't be missed. His father would probably disown him, but he had two other sons to run his business, to keep his empire going strong long after he was gone.

Kei would build his own empire, from scratch if he had to. Like father, like son… only Kei would build his to actually better mankind, now that he knew for sure where his loyalties lied.

Syaoran had to do his best not to look over at Tiki. What was he thinking? Okay, so he may have had a near-death experience. But he was relieved to be alive, right? It was just crazy talk, liking Tiki as more than a friend…

And yet, every time she bumped into him, Syaoran felt an uncomfortable blush streak across his face. This could not be happening to him. Tiki was… Tiki!

That train of thought was going to get him nowhere. So he focused elsewhere. Syaoran looked over at his mother and sister, more than relieved that they were okay. They did look worse off than they had in the concentration camps—it was enough to make the Avatar's blood boil, heat pricking at his fingertips. But they were alive, they were healthy enough…

Shima noticed the look that her son was giving them, and she cracked a small smirk. She reached over and wrapped her other arm around him, pulling him close to her. "Mom!" he protested a little, quite aware that there was a lot of other men around, not to mention Tiki…

"Shut your mouth and let me hold you," she urged him, letting her hand soothe his scruffy head. "I thought I'd never see you again…"

He could make out Sora's eyes peering around their mother at him, and he gave her a look. "What're you looking at?" he antagonized her. Sora stuck her tongue out at him, but it was weak, mild in comparison to her usual antics. But still he opened up his hand for her to hold, and her grip in return was deadly tight. "Mom?" Syaoran asked, looking up at his mother's worn face. "Where's Dad?"

Both Shima and Sora seem to grow still, seemed to grip him tighter. "Later, Syaoran," was all Shima said. Syaoran didn't like that. But he wasn't going to push it. If his mother said later, weakened or not, he listened. Right now, he was just going to be content that they were safe and sound at last. Too much had already happened this morning. For now, this was enough. He was back to being coddled by his rigid mother and pestered by his sister.

And that feeling of family was not one everyone was going to walk away with today.

A/N from DJ: Phew. Close one, eh? After last week, I know you guys are on pins and needles xP Speaking of which, the acknowledgements:

Masseffect321: Oh yeah. There's a lot of emotions in ZanYi now over this. What becomes of it, though, only time will tell... On the other hand, we're so glad you've been enjoying the story thus far, even if we cause all the feels xP

Ging: My ginger... Sweet ginger... I'm happy that one little line cheered you up last week, because clearly the rest of the chappie did not xP

Same Guest: At least you were [slightly] prepared! Thank you so much for the compliments on the writing. It was a difficult chappie to originally write, mostly because on this duo of writers, there's a bit of personal experience in the words. I'm happy we managed to do it justice then.

Halfaleader: Yeah... bet that happy feeling of an update definitely soured by the end of the chappie xP

Japaneserockergirl: What a time to catch up xP I apologize when I say that this was not a cruel joke. As writers, we definitely want happy endings... but we also like to keep things real, and in pursuit of that... you get this xP I hope you were satisfied with what happened on Syaoran's end at least! Oh, and as for a team name, we've always stuck to Team Avatar, since in this story, the team is an ACTUAL team, assembled with a purpose by the military. Though if you wanted something with "Syaoran" in it, I guess like the Syaoran Squad or something? That just sounds weird xP

I knew since the beginning of Air that this finale was going to be one with a lot of outcry... or cause vengeful tendencies. This was proven when the excitable reader, A.W., chased me down last weekend and pin me between a wall and door as punishment. Nonetheless, we just gotta keep you guys on your toes! Hope you enjoyed this week, and see you guys next week for the conclusion of Air!