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She’s beautiful. Pristine. Ethereal, even.
Her blue eyes are kind, and her white hair floats about her like a shimmering cloud. Her lips are twisted into a careful smile.
Jet’s breath catches at the back of his throat. He holds his hands out before him experimentally, flexing his fingers, wincing as they fade in and out of view. “Where am I?” he asks, voice broken from disuse.
Moments before (or hours… years, maybe?), all he could see was stone, a huge pillar shooting upwards, connecting to his forehead. He could feel Katara hovering over him, her eyes teary as she called her healing water to her hands. He mumbled reassurances, knowing that they meant next to nothing now. He wasn’t going to make it, and he knew it.
His consciousness wavered.
Katara hesitated, but she made to leave with the rest of her group, despite the way her conscience and moral compass were protesting loudly within her.
The earthbender could tell he was lying. Still, Smellerbee knelt beside him, pressing a hand against his forehead. He could barely feel the sensation. He could see Longshot in the distance, armed and ready for any remaining Dai Li that might be waiting to attack.
It was too late, though.
His injuries were fatal. Though his body was sprawled out against the hard ground, he ached to breathe. His heart was squeezing in his chest uncomfortably. His head spun. He felt dizzy.
Smellerbee muttered things at him continuously, but he didn’t hear them. The words phased in and out of his addled mind. He squinted against the light. It was too bright. Was it too bright?
It hurt to breathe. It hurt to move. It hurt to keep his eyes open. It hurt to close them too. It hurt to think. It hurt to be.
But then his world shifted, blurring between heavy darkness and light. He attempted to screw his eyes shut tight against it, but he wasn’t successful. Instead of fading further and further into the darkness, enveloped in the inky blackness of what he expected to be death, he was pulled further and further into the light.
Tendrils of light shroud his body, encasing him in all its splendor. He doesn’t know who he is anymore. He doesn’t remember why he’s here.
“Jet.” Her voice is kind, almost tender. Is that his name? Is that who he is? He doesn’t feel afraid. Should he feel afraid? She’s radiant. Is she here to greet him in his death?
He squints again, lips parting in shock. “Who are you?” he asks.
Her laugh is bittersweet. “I am Yue.” She gestures around them. “I am the moon spirit.” She beckons for him to come closer with a small flick of her slender wrist. “I am here for a reason, same as you.”
“A reason?” he echoes back to her hollowly. What happened at Lake Laogi all comes rushing back to him in an earth-shattering instant. “No. No. No. I left Smellerbee and Longshot alone,” he chokes out. “I swore I wouldn’t ever.” He buries his face in his hands, but there’s a noticeable lack of sensation… He can no longer feel the skin of his hands as they brush against his face.
She remains calm. She expected this. “You must take on the mantle of the guardian spirit, Jet.” Her face falls, long lashes falling to brush against her cheeks. “They need us – Katara, Sokka, Smellerbee, Longshot, Aang the Avatar, Toph… And Zuko.”
“Zuko?” Jet sputters. “The Crown Prince of the Fire Nation?”
“Otherwise known as Lee, yes,” Yue nods. “The fate of the world rests upon their shoulders. I’ve recently convened with the spirits, and we reached a decision together. Most do not take an interest in the human world, but I can… And so can you if you choose.”
Jet’s mind whirrs in confusion. It’s all too murky… too dark… too cold. “What do you mean?”
“You may choose death, Jet,” she says softly. “Or you can be reborn… as a spirit, like me.”
Her beautiful form blurs before him. “I can choose death?”
She nods. “You may choose death, but it will close you to the human world and the curtain will be drawn before it. If you choose rebirth, you can still help the ones you love. We can protect those we care about down there.” For the first time, he notices the bed of soft clouds they’re standing upon. They’re cradled by a soft crescent moon, and tiny stars twinkle about them, only adding to Yue’s shining brilliance.
Jet’s jaw clenches, though he misses the way his teeth hit together as he does. “Will you be with me?” he asks her.
The world shifts in and out of focus around him. She’s all he has left. She’s the last thread of consciousness he’s clinging to before everything fades to black. She’s beautiful.
“Yes.” She reaches a hand out to him, locking his dark gaze with her own. “It’s a difficult existence, but I believe that we can be a little less lonely together.” Her hand shakes slightly in the space between them, and for the first time, Jet notices fear hidden behind her lashes, deep within the blue of her eyes. She’s afraid that he will refuse her.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Jet extends a hand outward, gripping her smaller one tightly, eyes never leaving hers. “I’m here, Yue.” He’s not sure if he’s merely imagining the sensation of her soft skin against his own. “I’ll be reborn as the guardian spirit. I’ll stay with you.” And he pulls her to him, the curves of her body fitting against his so achingly well. He wraps his arms around her, despite not being able to truly perceive the gesture. The touch they possess here in Yue’s silvery kingdom is an elusive one.
She leans into him gratefully all the same. “Thank you, Jet.”
That only prompts him to hold her even closer. Wisps of her soft white hair drift around them as they stand together amongst the clouds. The path of sacrifice he’s choosing to walk will be a difficult one, but he doesn’t think twice about his decision.
Death does nothing to alter his mission. He will help people.
He will aid his friends. He will assist the Avatar in defeating the Fire Nation. And he won’t leave Yue here to face her fate alone. It will become his fate too, and they will share it together.
She quivers against him, and he holds her, even as the world blurs languidly around them.
“It’s okay. I’m here. I promise.”