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chapter twenty-one
Yanmei's cries died down as she felt her eyelids droop. she suddenly felt so tired from the pain. she tried her best to stay awake, but her body was shutting down. the pain stopped and Yanmei took this chance to finally close her eyes and fall back into Sokka's arms.
"Yanmei!"
"quick! get a doctor!"
"her heartbeat is slowing down damnit! hurry up!"
"no, no, no! stay awake Yanny!"
the pale skinned girl opened her eyes to the sound of her friends cries. she stood a few feet in front of them, but they couldn't see her, for the only version of her they saw was the one laying on Sokka's lap.
"damnit, not again," she cursed underneath her breath.
she was in that dream state once again. the brink of life and death. but this time she didn't understand what had caused it. was it the pain she was in? was it too much for her to handle?
"we finally meet again..." the spirit that was identical to herself gave her a closed eyes smile, "you've grown up a lot since our last talk"
Yanmei's facial expression didn't change from the stoic one she wore, "why am I here again?"
Xuan Yige's smile fell, "you already know the answer"
the human girl's hand subconsciously reached her outgrown stomach, but it was flatter than moments before. there was no bump.
"what's going on?" she asked the spirit, "why... why is it gone?"
her eyes moved back towards what was happening in the real world. they were in a healing room. she could see her face scrunch up in pain and her mouth open to scream. the sound was deafening.
Xuan Yige stood beside her doppelgänger, "I chose you as my host because your body couldn't handle your own power. I gave you the strength you needed to survive... but it came with a cost"
"GET IT OUT!" the Yanmei in the real world screamed. her eyes were closed, and it looked as if she was talking in her sleep, as if she was having a nightmare.
a fire nation healer stood before the girl and summoned a line of fire, letting it hover about the girl and move over her body, "her energy is draining rapidly... I believe it's the baby that's causing this"
the brown haired boy standing on the other side of the bed clenched his fists, "what are you trying to say?"
the healer dissolved her flames, "I can feel the power inside the baby growing. the only thing that can be happening is that the baby is absorbing her energy for itself. if this keeps happening... there won't be anything left in her"
the Yanmei in the spirit world widened her eyes. the reason her stomach was growing so much, why she felt ill every minute of the past few months, was because the baby inside of her was absorbing her energy. it was practically energy-bending the life out of her.
"we spirits need a life force in order to survive in the human world," Xuan Yige began, "I have only known of one case where there was spirit energy inside a woman because of her child... and her life was taken in order for that child to survive. that as well is the cost of our contract"
Yanmei stood in disbelief, "I have to die in order for my child to be born? what kind of child will it be? just how powerful will they become because of this?"
Xuan Yige shook her head, "that knowledge is unknown to even myself. the last case happened long before I was created, back when humans were first discovered by spirits"
Xuan Yige sighed. never had she ever experienced something like this, and not knowing what to do about it really pissed her off, "the only way you would be able to survive this is if the baby is born before it takes your remaining energy"
back in the human world, more healers came into the room where Yanmei laid. they scurried around the room frantically, gathering supplies and other things they needed like water and towels. one of them pushed a struggling Sokka out of the room, and then welcomed Katara into the room.
"I...I think that's happening now," Yanmei whispered from the other world, watching as the woman prepared for the same procedure she had seen many times before as a child.
she felt a drop of water run down her cheek as she stood to the side of the chaos. that one tear turned into many more, and she felt her whole body tremble as she watched the scene before her.
if Xuan Yige was right, and the healers and Katara could complete the birth before her time ran out, she would survive. she could go back and see them again. but what would happen to the baby? would it have gotten enough energy to survive in the human world with her?
after what felt like an eternity, the room was painfully quiet. Yanmei felt her chest clench in anticipation.
what's going to happen to us?
AUTHORS NOTE: i've rewrite. this chapter a thousand times cause I couldn't think of how to really set off this part in the story... but i've finally got it!
this is also a short one cause it's technically part 2 of the previous chapter, and the next chapter will be part 3, so be prepared 😁
i've also started a My Hero Academia book that i've been wanting to write for a while so if you're interested in that fandom please read that book as well!!
