Zuko knew the moment his clothes didn't dry something was wrong, but it took him a bit to realize it. He half expected to feel boiling pain all over his body any second, but he felt fine, other than being frigid to the bone.
He wiped the freezing water from his eyes as he felt himself being hauled out of the hole in the ice. With a quick glance around, it was obvious they had made it past the wall, a small but meaningful victory.
"You did it!" Zuko congratulated with a smile, calculating where to go from there. There was no response. "Y/N?" He turned around, and saw her, slumped over in the snow, her clothes still sopping wet. She wasn't moving.
"Y/N!" Zuko's tone was somewhat demanding, almost angry. You can't do this to me anymore. He grabbed her by the shoulders and gently turned her over. Her E/C eyes were open, and slowly looking around, so she was conscious, but barely. Her lips were turning blue, and her breathing was quick, labored and shallow.
"I can't get up..." she whispered, attempting to move onto her side to prop herself up.
"Don't try. I'll carry you. Where would the healers be?" Zuko lifted her up, carrying her bridal style through the snow. The night had no wind, just dead, cold stillness.
"Behind the front lines, you can't go there." Y/N rasped, her voice somehow strong but barely audible. "Find the Avatar. If my sister has spent more than 24 hours here she'll already have bothered some poor teacher to train her. That's my hope, at least."
"Avatar. Probably Spirit Pool... got it." Zuko began trudging through the snow, letting out a breath of relief when the ice and water was pulled from his clothing, making the cold more bearable.
"Please hurry. I can't feel my legs." Y/N spoke calmly, but he could hear the rising panic. "I can't feel my legs anymore. It's spreading." What's spreading? Zuko glanced down at her legs and stifled a gasp of horror. Dark red and purple lines snaked across her skin, visible through the tear in the shin of her pant leg. The jellyfish.
It was hard to move fast, but once he got to an abandoned side street, he was running. Every labored breath Y/N gulped in seemed as if it might be her last, and Zuko's panic didn't help his sense of direction. It had to be here somewhere, near the back of the city, near the towering ice cliffs.
—|〰️〰️〰️|—
Katara's POV
Aang had entered the Spirit World a few minutes ago, leaving Katara and Princess Yue to stand in silence, watching the koi spirits Tui and La swim circles in the pool beside them.
"Do you want me to send for guards to watch over the Avatar's body?" Yue offered, but Katara waved her off. I've gotten stronger.
"That won't be necessary. I can protect him."
"If I may..." Yue continued after a few moments of silence. "Sokka mentioned you had an older sister, but he wouldn't elaborate." Katara felt her heart drop. They had never found Y/N in the river, no matter how long they looked or called for her.
"There was a horrible accident not too long ago." She responded, not daring to look up at Yue, fearing she would immediately burst into tears. "We were being chased, and she fell into a river, knocking her unconscious. We... we never found her."
Katara couldn't hold back the tears now, letting them flow down her face freely.
"I'm so sorry, Sokka must be devastated as well." Yue hugged Katara, who stared down at the circling fish.
"I just wish I could apologize to her. Me and Y/N always fought, but I still loved her, and I wish we could have parted on better terms." Both girls jumped at a sudden sound coming from their right, Katara taking a defensive stance while trying to compose herself, wiping her tears from her red eyes.
A figure in black stumbled into the oasis, carrying another wearing an easily recognizable blue mask. Yue immediately left for help, realizing the firebender's identity. Katara's eyes narrowed in rage as she recognized Zuko, but they widened as she realized she wasn't the only one crying.
"Katara please come here." He said in a strangled voice, falling on his knees in the snow and setting the figure down, raising his hands in surrender. "Tell me you can heal her. Please, she has minutes, if not seconds left. Please!"
"She- What? The Blue Spirit? Excuse me?" Katara asked, still taken aback by the tears streaming down the prince's face.
"Katara?" A weak voice echoed in the mask, and Katara gasped, running forward and beginning to cry all over again, completely ignoring Zuko as he lit a fire in his hand to generate some heat. Katara quickly took off the mask, and Y/N smiled at her little sister.
"Tell me you can heal her. She has a lot of cuts, inhaled smoke, and got stung by jellyfish." Zuko listed off quickly. Katara could immediately see Y/N was in a terrible state, barely hanging in there.
"What did you do?!" She demanded of the prince, but cut him off when he tried to say something. "Where is the sting?" Zuko pushed Y/N's black pants up her shin, exposing the tendrils of purple, which were now turning an eerie black.
Katara immediately bent some water around her hands, the liquid glowing as she placed them on the sting.
"Zuko, keep her as warm as possible. Y/N, keep talking to us."
"I'm still here. I can hold on." Y/N assured Katara as Zuko propped her up a little bit, holding her closer and making his fire bigger. "Zuko..."
"What is it? You're drifting off, look at me." He prompted, Y/N's gaze drifting far away from this world. She looked back up at him, and Katara focused on her work, panic rising in her chest. The stings were taking a long time to heal, and it was hard.
"Don't go back. Come with us." Y/N said in a pleading tone, her voice fading. "Never go back. Go with the Avatar. End this stupid war..."
"You know I can't do that." Zuko choked on his words, and Katara tried not to stare at him, but he looked so conflicted, concerned, panicked, unsure. "And I can't take you with me anymore. It's too dangerous, you keep getting hurt." Like he actually cares...
She finally finished with the sting, having done her best, and moved on to the second most important thing, Y/N's failing lungs. She moved the healing water to her sister's chest, the liquid seeping through the fabric of her shirt and reaching to her diaphragm and lungs, struggling to take in air.
"I'm not leaving until you come with us." Y/N refused. "You can't do this to yourself. You can save so many lives, Zuko. Come with us." Her voice was gaining strength, making Zuko's visible panic calm down a lot, but he was still crying, along with Y/N.
"I can't go. I have to do this." He sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than Y/N. Katara relaxed more, Y/N's lungs mostly healed, leaving her in a very stable condition.
I have time to think... Katara healed a few deep cuts from some sort of metal. Why did he bring her here? Why is he so upset? Isn't he the enemy? Doesn't Y/N see that?
—|〰️〰️〰️|—
Zuko's POV
Y/N was getting better, and although she was obviously weak, Katara's healing was doing wonders. Zuko still barely felt any better, now that he was faced with another decision.
"You don't have to do this, please..." Y/N lay in his arms, huddling closer to the fire he held in his palm. She could see what he was going to do, and she was trying to stop him, although Zuko knew deep down she could see no one could change his mind.
"You'll be safer this way. Zhao can't take you, and you won't get caught in the crossfire. Stay with your siblings, and escape from the war. Keep each other safe." He urged, and Y/N gazed up at him, obviously resigned from arguing.
"Someday you'll come with us." She said, and the sureness in her voice made Zuko's heart warm and drop at the same time.
"Someday you'll give up this poisonous dream. But please..." Y/N weakly reached up with both hands, cupping his face. "Stay safe. Think before you act. Listen to the people close to you. Get rid of those whispering voices in your head, think clearly, and I will be with you." With some difficulty, she leaned up, planting a small kiss on his jaw.
Zuko simply stared at her in amazement as she laid back, lightly brushing her thumb over his scar, sending shivers down his spine. She smiled, a trickle of dry blood still sticking to her face. He stood up, looking over at Katara, who stared at them in shock. The sun was rising, piercing rays of red and orange lighting the small oasis.
He looked at the meditating Avatar, then the girl standing between them.
"Take her with you, and keep her safe. I'm sorry, but you are going to have to step aside."