Aang became quite still, fully aware of the 5 sets of eyes staring at him, waiting for an answer. He ignored everyone as he looked upon the face of his resting spirit guide. She looked almost lifeless in the bed and being surrounded by large red pillows made her look tiny and frail. Black hair fell lankly over the blankets covering her motionless body; only the steady rising and falling of her chest signaled that she wasn't a statue. Her flawless and pale skin seemed foreign to the Avatar, already so familiar to her sacred markings and rosy complexion. This woman was so absurdly different from the regular Rei that Aang almost began to cry. Aang had always been close friends with Rei, even from the day she arrived. Her child-like way of thinking and otherworldly attributes had been something that he had always treasured her for, but it was her very spirit that he had been drawn to. Even without all of her physical changes, from a spiritual standpoint it was almost impossible to recognize the woman in front of him as the woman who had been his spirit guide; Reiko, spirit of balance, daughter of the sun-spirit.
As the Avatar, Aang had always found himself in the presence of things and people with a large amount of spiritual energy. Although every creature, plant, and even element on earth had certain spirit energy that he was sensitive too, Aang's friends had enough energy all together to keep him very fulfilled. But, Rei was different.
Being half-spirit and from the spirit world, Aang connected with Rei on a much stronger and spiritual level. That, paired with the fact that she was not only his bending master, but also his spirit guide, Aang knew almost every single thing about Rei, down to her core. And because of that, he knew undoubtedly that the woman in front of him was not Rei. He had worked with and seen her spirit so many times during training that it was effortless to see that it was gone completely. It had vanished and transfused into his own energy.
And now he wondered if it was possible to give it back.
"I'm not sure..." Aang said aloud, startling his friends.
"Aang, there has to be something! Search your past lives, meditate," Zuko's voice was slowly increasing as he rose to his feet, staring directly at Aang, "Contact the spirits, do SOMETHING!" Katara rushed to her feet also.
"Don't yell at him Zuko! Aang's trying his best! He DID just stop a hundred year war for goodness sakes! Let him breathe!"
"Aang won... EVERYONE won because Rei sacrificed EVERYTHING!" He screamed at the waterbender, who for once fell silent.
"You're right Zuko." Aang started wisely. "Rei helped everyone so much. And her body still being here is proof that we still have a chance... But it's a small one." He looked at her again. "You can't completely separate your spiritual self from your physical self without some type of scar. But I can feel Rei inside... somewhere deep."
"What are you saying?" Zuko demanded quietly. "Does that me-"
"It means that it's going to be difficult. Everything will."
"But first, we all need rest." Katara announced. "Rei would want us to rest and recuperate. This war is finally over, and what we all need to do now is prepare for the new world." This reminded everyone of the great amounts of work that still needed to be accomplished and they all inwardly groaned.
"Katara is right. We have a lot of work in front of us... Maybe even more than defeating the fire lord... I mean, old fire lord..." Aang looked to his friend, who rubbed the tiredness from his eyes.
"I'm not fire lord yet... I still need to have a coronation."
"And at the coronation we can finally start our movement to bringing the world back to balance. We'll call everyone on this side together, a gathering of the nations... One of many." Aang announced to his friends. "Zuko, I know it's hard, but you need to rest. I will try everything possible for Rei in the morning. We'll get her back, I'm sure of it." Zuko looked into Aang's grey eyes for the longest time, looking for something, anything to quell his surging fears, but he found only pleading and exhaustion. Zuko felt it too.
"You're right Aang." Zuko turned to his friends. "I'm going to take care of my father. I'll also send a messenger hawk to my Uncle to see how they did." He walked to his door before turning around. "Pull this rope to summon the servants. Ask for anything you'd like. They'll take you to the guest villas and the bathhouses. Make yourself comfortable." With that, the prince disappeared behind the red curtain.
"Aang let me get another look at your wounds." Katara said, pulling him to the far corner of the room and sitting him upon a few pillows. Suki and Sokka also plopped to the ground while Toph curled up on the bed next to Rei's legs, her hand resting on Rei's, waiting for some type of abnormal movement.
"Are you alright Katara?" Aang asked as Katara gently rubbed healing water over his back. "You didn't get hurt did you?"
"No, not really. Zuko did most of the work, I just had to finish up." She helped him back into his tunic before turning him around and bringing water to his head, his eyes slipped closed at her cooling touch.
"I'm glad..." His words were slowly slurring as he began to fall into a much needed, and frankly deserved rest. "I was so worried Katara." The way he whispered her name made her blush as she slowly helped him lay on his back. He suddenly looked much, much older than 12... or technically 112.
"Aang, I was worried too... I was so frightened." She pushed herself closer to him as her tears began to fall. He wrapped an exhausted arm around her and they lay there for many minutes, unable to sleep. Finally Katara could feel herself loosing consciousness and sighed in content. "Will everything be ok Aang?"
"Yeah Katara," Aang's eyes slipped closed on the last day of his old life. "It will be."
A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A
Zuko could not believe the sleeping person before his eyes once instilled dead fear into his heart. Staring at the man at his feet almost brought tears of horror to the princes' exhausted eyes.
Zuko had accompanied his servants and guard to an elite prison on the outskirts of the fire nation. It was a 2-hour long trip both ways so Zuko had dozed a bit on the way there. Currently he was staring at his sleeping father, who he had secured in the very same cell that he was so familiar with; but there had been a few adjustments made to what Iroh had all but destroyed. Zuko stood just staring at his father, memories of the past 17-odd years filling his mind. The previous fire lord looked exceptionally weak and powerless, but Zuko knew better. This was a man who had killed innocent people, obliterated villages and wiped out entire races. He also tore Zuko's only family to shreds, all in a quest for power.
"I want a level 10 guard on him at all times. No one gets in without my express signed and sealed permission... And I mean NO ONE." With that prince Zuko left his fallen father behind, slamming the iron door shut, sealing the room in darkness. He did not look back the entire two hours of the balloon trip, nor did he even glance in the direction of the prison as the sun began to rise in the east. As light began to pour over the new era Zuko felt the first true breaths of freedom, something he hadn't truly felt since the day he his mother disappeared. He walked into his old bedroom and surprised himself by breaking into a smile at what he saw.
All of his friends lay cuddled together on the floor in different places. Toph had snuggled unto Rei's side and even placed Rei's hand over her head like old times. Aang and Katara slept like the dead in each other's arms and Sokka was curled up into Suki, who had her arms around his chest, hugging him close. Zuko looked at Rei as he approached the other side of the bed and pulled up a chair to sit in. She hadn't changed at all. He reached over to grab her small, free hand before setting his head down on the bed for a quick rest.
"Come on Zuko, wake up!" Toph yelled before bending his chair straight back, leaving Zuko to fall on his face. He instantly jumped to his feet, his arms up and ready for a fight. He looked around at the room and noticed that it was empty save for Suki and Toph, and of course Rei. Suki was sitting in a chair at the opposite side of the bed right next to Rei, holding her hand.
"Wha-where is everyone?" Zuko asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He noticed that Suki and Toph had changed into different and nicer clothing, no doubt from either the palace or their earth kingdom.
"Aang is meeting with the Fire people to work on getting the fire nation soldiers out of the earth kingdom and Katara and Sokka are sending letters to everyone we know to come here for the coronation. Speaking of which, some really annoying guy has been looking for you all morning." Zuko splashed water on his face from the washing pitcher on the desk and could feel the scratching of an un-trimmed beard beginning to form. He would need to deal with that later...
"What was the guys name?" He began to stretch his limbs from his deep sleep, wincing as he pulled at the wound in his chest. Toph grimaced at him.
"I don't know, I didn't ask. But he had this really high and annoying voice... And his steps were as light as a woman." Zuko groaned at her description. He knew exactly who she-
"PRINCE ZUKO?" A high, reedy soprano pierced through the room like nails on a school board. "Really your highness, this is no time to play games! We have so much to do!"
"Hello again Lao-shun." A tall and very skinny man paraded into the prince's old room. He was a very neat and handsome man, with sparkling dark eyes and mousy brown hair pulled up into a topknot. He wore very grand Fire Nation robes and had a highly annoyed expression on his obviously made up face.
"Now, Prince Zuko, is this any time to be dilly-dallying about. We have a lot to do before your coronation, including picking a ceremony DATE! Hurry up and lets get started." Zuko turned to his friends with a roll of his eyes.
"What will you two do?"
"I'm gonna go make help Sokka and Katara. Some people will be arriving this afternoon already and we need to greet them and help them settle in." Zuko nodded in his approval before turning to Suki,
"I'm staying here. We're keeping someone at Rei's side at all times, just incase anything... changes." This forced Zuko back into reality. He quickly strode over to the bed and stared at Rei's face until Lao-shun began to complain again. Bending slowly and carefully, as to not reopen his wound, Zuko gently placed a kiss on Rei's smooth forehead, right where her tattoo should have been. This loving action pulled the palace's assistant up short and he stood in silence as Zuko approached him scowling.
"What?"
"Nothing my future-lord, nothing." Zuko did not see the small smile that fell across Lao-shuns glossed lips at they and Toph exited the room. He did not see the look of planning mixed with utter joy in his dark eyes either.
A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A
It was dark before Aang got back to where Rei was sleeping. He came to take the room from Sokka, who was now going to set up rooms for the guest waterbenders who would be arriving the next day. Zuko's coronation was set to take place in two days. Warriors from the earth kingdom, water tribe, and even the swamp people and fire nation would gather for the crowning of the new Fire Lord and witness the beginning to an era of peace. Zuko was signing mountains of papers and giving thousands of orders in order to make sure that everything was ready at that time. He hadn't been in the room since the morning and it was driving him crazy, along with Lao-shun's constant nagging about the proper color for his coronation gown and this napkin and that rug and blah, blah, blah. Toph and Suki were getting clean with Katara, leaving Aang alone for the first time since the battle ended. He sat next to Rei, his hands folded and in his lap. The fire nation tailors had been hard at work making his traditional vestments from history books and Aang's own notes and he had been given an entire authentic air-nomad wardrobe, complete with wooden prayer beads. His grey eyes suddenly swan in tears: It was finally over.
"Rei, I can finally help my people. I can bring the world back into balance and then resurrect the great air nation." He looked at her peaceful face. "What will you do?" He paused and looked at her. Right now, as she lay in a coma-like state, Rei looked like a completely normal woman. All Aang could see was a young girl with the possibility for a completely beautiful and average future.
"I wonder Rei, will you stay here? Become the Fire Lady?" He laughed slightly at the idea of his friend ruling an empire. It actually seemed like a good thing for the broken Fire Nation. After all, Rei had fixed Aang when he was broken and defeated. "Will you have kids and a family and actually live a normal life? It would be in perfect balance." His thoughts drifted to Katara. They were so young, and now they had their entire lives before them. Could this new freedom cause them to drift apart? He rubbed his head and sighed. It was hard living without an ultimate goal after having such a specific destiny the first twelve (technically one hundred and twelve) years of his life. It used to be 'defeat the fire lord' at all times, but with this new free world, Aang would have to decide his own goals and find his own ways of reaching them. This thought slightly frightened the young Avatar.
"But you've always followed your own path haven't you Rei?" He looked at her motionless face before standing up slowly. "And because of that, I owe you my life." He leaned over the bed and directly over Rei, her calm, almost silent breaths became the only sound in the room. Aang took a deep breath and closed his eyes, his face just inches from hers.
"Thank you Rei."
As his blue tattoos began to glow Aang slowly released the breath he had been holding. It gently washed over Rei's face, mussing up a few strands of her dark hair. He remained brooding over her as he slowly unlocked each chakra gate separately, trying to reach deep within himself. Aang thought of everything he and Rei had ever talked about, every training session they had ever gone through, each moment they had ever shared together. He then remembered seeing her on the battlefield, how she gave up everything to help him, her calming words, her empowering touch, her every last bit of power. Aang focused on the feeling he had when she wrapped her weakening arms around him in the rock shelter, how she came to his aid countless times during the battle, always sacrificing herself, always giving him more than she had. He remembered seeing a beautiful woman in flowing robes as she kissed him on the forehead, the love in her actions crashing over him like a wave.
A thick sheen of white mist covered Aang's body and he reached deeper into his spirit form. The translucent energy swirled around his calm body and concentrated on his third eye, in the center of his arrow. A voice began to reverberate inside his head, louder and louder until the Avatar recognized it as the soft soprano of the woman sleeping before him. A gust of white smoke ripped itself from Aang and hovered in the space between for several moments before plunging back to rest, leaving the room echoing in silence. Slowly, lilac eyes opened and gazed into damp grey ones. A smile blossomed from two pale lips, weary with exhaustion and chapped from not being used.
It was eerily silent as the sun began to rise over the land once again. Slowly the curtain behind Aang separated as a weary Katara shuffled in, wanting nothing more than to sleep for several hours. She looked up and gazed upon the bed, becoming quite motionless as tears slowly built up in her crystal blue eyes before spilling down russet cheeks. Aang had been pulled into a bone-crushing hug as Rei's lips curled into a blinding smile. The Avatar could do nothing but hug back, tears of joy falling as he embraced his reanimated spirit guide. The two on the bed gasped in surprise as another pair of strong arms latched around their bodies. Laughter filled the room while the three teenagers detangled themselves from the embrace before Rei opened her mouth to speak for the first time in days.
"Where is he?"
A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A
The Sun was shining the glow of early morning as Zuko slumped from his newly acquired bed. After demanding everything about the room changed or disinfected and objects left behind from the last occupant stored far away, Zuko was eventually coerced into staying in his parents previous, and his now and forever, bedroom. It would be a great dishonor if the new Fire Lord did not sleep in the traditional royal chambers and no amount of pleading and threatening could get him out of it. Now all he had to do was bring all of his old stuff in before the coronation and he would be ready to rule the nation. The prince shivered at this thought.
Zuko walked to the window to look over his home, sighing as he rubbed the scar on his face. He could feel some stubble underneath his marred flesh but decided to take care of that later. The first order of business was getting his robe on before Jao-shun arrived to dress him in something utterly ridiculous. Then he was off to check on Rei before his new duties pulled him away from her again. Getting the nation ready for a new leader as well as preparing the world for a new age was a difficult task. Zuko barely had time to sleep, and would honestly rather replace rest with sitting near Rei, but his friends would not allow that.
His chest was aching rather horribly that morning and Zuko struggled to put even one arm into his dark red cotton robe. Once he accomplished to slip the first arm in, he attempted the painful task of slipping the other one in, groaning in pain as he tried to quickly shove his arm in the sleeve.
"Need some help?" A quiet voice broke through the morning grogginess and Zuko was instantly on the offense. Time seemed to slow as his brain kicked into over-drive. He inwardly berated himself for allowing full-blown hallucinations to finally take over his exhausted mind. He turned slowly, ready to have his heart broken even more, and prepared to punish himself for going crazy.
"REI!" Dawn broke a second time that morning as Zuko drank in the sight before him. Rei was casually (and comically) leaning against a white marble pillar, dark hair falling over her shoulders and her lilac eyes shining much more lively than ever before. She wore a dark red robe with a golden sash (something Zuko absentmindedly thought suited her quite well) and her feet were bare. Her face was filled with an immeasurable amount of joy and her olive-toned skin was tinted with roses. Everything about her had changed in the short amount of time she lay dormant in Zuko's old bed. She seemed so unreserved and free. With a laugh, she pushed herself from the pillar and smashed into Zuko.
It was a flurry of fabric and skin as the two fell onto the thick red fibers of the rug beneath them. Zuko's hands melted into Rei as she kissed every inch of him that she could find. Zuko returned the action with desperation; frightened that Rei could disappear at any moment. Her legs had wrapped around his waist while he knelt to support them. His large hands were plastered against her back as hers became fisted in his hair, keeping his mouth glued to hers. Tears of joy fell from Rei's lilac eyes as Zuko's own golden ones swam in moisture.
It was a long moment before their breathing slowed enough for speaking to be possible. They lay on the floor, Rei curled up at Zuko's side holding his face in her hands, as their foreheads remained touching. Both sets of eyes where closed as the sharp panting subdued into relaxed breathing. Zuko was the first one to break the heavy silence.
"When did you wake up?"
"Just moments ago." Her voice was quiet, and a certain tone laced in her words made it seem like she didn't want to talk. But Zuko had questions that, for his own sanity, needed to be answered.
"What happened?"
"Aang."
"Rei, I'm gonna need a little more than that." His eyes opened and watched her flawless face carefully. Her eyes, however, remained closed.
"Zuko, just let me remain silent for now. I have missed you too much to ruin this moment with words." Zuko pushed himself carefully to a sitting position before pulling Rei up also. He grunted with the effort and clutched at the wound in his chest. Her eyes narrowed in the pain that the memory of the battle brought.
"This is my fault. You shouldn't have been trying to protect me."
"Rei, I will never stop trying to protect you, so just drop it." He opened his arms up to her and she snuggled in gladly. His hands cupped her soft hair and supple flesh. "Now, please tell me what happened to you. I thought you were..." The prince couldn't bring himself to say the horrid words, even now with his woman safely in his arms. Saying it would make the previous pain all too real.
"I was gone Zuko. Lost in a sort of nothingness between the two worlds." She clutched onto him tighter, fisting her small hands in the expensive fabric that covered his body. "I was so afraid Zuko. Afraid that I failed. Afraid that I would never see you again."
"So was I Rei... You looked so..." Zuko struggled to find the word that would cause him the least amount of pain. "Lifeless in that bed. I was afraid that you were gone for good." The prince took his lovers chin in hand and looked over her flawless face. Her tattoo, which he had come to love dearly, was still missing and the classic white hair remained black as the night. "But you're here now, and that's all that matters." He pulled her closer and placed a soft kiss on her waiting lips. Her slim arms tightened their hold as she closed any space between their bodies.
"My lord it's time to wake up and get fitted for your royal coronation robes!" Jao-shun's voice ripped through the room as he made his grand entrance. Dark golden eyes traveled searchingly through the grand room before coming to rest on the two people still sitting on the ground. His expression didn't change from haughty annoyance as he drank in the sight of the two lovers. Rei was pulled tightly to Zuko's side and her arm was gently thrown around his waist, her hand spread over the fresh white bandages that were wrapped around Zuko's injured chest. The prince had one of his legs placed underneath one of hers and his face was still turned towards her. Rei's head had whipped to the door as Jao-Shun strolled in and now was turning a lovely scarlet color. She absentmindedly tried to squirm away from her compromising position but Zuko merely pulled her closer to himself.
"Jao-shun, I'll be there in 15 minutes."
"Very good Prince Zuko." The man bowed. "I shall send a servant to come collect you." The refined man then twirled gracefully on his foot and strode from the room, a very large and content smile blossoming on his thin lips. "Oh and your... friend is going to need to meet with Lady Sizon today to get some affairs in order."
"Thank You Jao-Shun." Zuko said as the man in question walked out of the room with flourish. Rei turned to Zuko with a questioning look and he responded with a laugh before slowly getting to his feet, grunting with the effort it took and the strain on his injury. He offered his hand to Rei and she stood as well.
"Since when do you get so shy and embarrassed around other people?" Rei flushed red again as Zuko placed her on the bed before looming over her. She took his face in her small hands and pulled him lips to hers.
"Since I've realized just how human I've become." She then grabbed his broad shoulders and with a jerk of strength and a flurry of fabric Zuko was suddenly on the bed also, half of his body on the soft bed and the other half resting upon Rei.
"So now will you tell me what happened?" He whispered into her ear, his warm breath sent shivers up her spine and she closed her eyes in mute joy.
"Later Zuko, with our friends." Rei opened her eyes to gaze up at him with a small smile. "Besides, now we have time together. The rest can wait." Zuko opened his mouth to argue but closed it as he looked over the woman he loved. What was his rush anyway? Right now, everything was perfect. He was on the brink of becoming ruler of his beloved nation, the war was finally over, and the person he wanted to be with more than anyone in the world was right next to him. How she got there didn't matter at the moment. Only her large eyes, soft lips, and beating heart mattered.
"Well, we do have fifteen minutes..."
A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A
Sorry this took so long. I was having a BAD case of Writers Block. But it's almost done so I have a question...
What would you like to see in the last chapter? What questions do you need answered? What couples do you want to see? What do you think should happen?
THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO HAS STUCK WITH ME! I REALLY APPERICIATE IT AND YOU HAVE HELPED ME SOO MUCH!
REVIEW!
