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The Siege of Katara	By : CordeliaLeCroix Category: Avatar - The Last Airbender > Threesomes/Moresomes Views: 56169 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 9
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- 11
Originally this story was described as a slightly naughtier version of season 3, but so far it has mainly taken place before season three really begins. Now the season begins and while I'm not completely retelling the stories in the episodes I do heavily allude to them and sometimes give brief reminder summaries if I'm not changing what exactly happened. There is a large change of pace and the whole gamut of characters appear (which I try to dutifully keep in character), but hopefully it still flows smoothly.
Ep. 1 - The Return
"Katara!" Her father held out his arms as she slid from Appa's back. The small crew of bandits rushed forward to greet her, some happily and some not. Katara flushed in shame.
"Where have you been?" Toph demanded.
Katara opened her mouth but Sokka saved her from having to reply. "She went back to Ba-Sing-Se and gathered an Earth Kingdom Army!" Sokka splayed his fingers enthusiastically.
"An Earth Army? Really?" asked Toph.
"Katara, we were worried about you," her father hugged her tightly.
"I know dad, and I'm sorry."
"Do you understand that we have a whole ARMY now? They've been taking back Fire Nation colonies…" Sokka launched into a detailed explanation and Katara gratefully listened.
Sokka had found her almost three days after she rejoined her army. She'd blown Appa's whistle every evening and was amazed to finally see the white bison flying toward camp. Sokka told her he had flown near land every few days since Appa had reappeared on the boat without her.
It hadn't been easy keeping the whole story from Sokka. When he started asking too many questions she found problems for him to solve. It had been his idea to have each division recite their mission, "we fight for freedom, not revenge", as part of their training to remind them of why they were there.
Haru had thankfully kept his distance but word got around and Sokka finally asked, "Zuko rescued you in the fountain?"
Katara shrugged.
"Who was the woman that was with him?"
"Mai."
"And that's it? They rescued you and just left you there?"
"Yep."
"How can you expect me to believe that?"
"I can't explain it, Sokka. I don't understand it myself, but I might have died if they hadn't shown up," she said and had been so close to tears that he hugged her and let the subject drop.
Leaving the army had been more difficult than she'd thought. Some of them were angry, but she promised that their next great battle would be fought with the Avatar leading them.
"Katara? Sokka? What the?"
"Aang!" Katara cried. "You're awake!"
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"You're tense," Mai stated.
"I have no idea what's changed since I left home, or what I'm going to do about my uncle." Zuko stared into the mist dispersing over familiar waters from the deck of yet another iron clad ship, only this time he was going home.
Mai yawned.
"I hope Katara made it back to her army."
"Of course she did. She has the rest of the Earth Kingdom to rescue."
Zuko had missed his country and was eager to see it again, but there were already a stack of problems building and he hadn't even reached the shore.
"You think too much."
"What do you think?" He turned towards her.
Her hand was warm against his neck. She kissed him and her scent tempted him. He added Mai and Katara to the top of his list of problems.
"I think you should wait until we actually get home before you start worrying."
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"What about the others?"
"Dad is going to rally as many allies as possible, including Katara's army, and we're going to meet them at the Black Cliffs on the Day of Black Sun. Then we'll make our attack," Sokka said while pointing at a map.
"So until then we can learn as much as we can about the Fire Nation." Aang smiled for the first time since they found him washed up on this tiny island. He had fled the ship, angry that the world once again thought he was dead, and blaming himself for the fall of Ba-Sing-Se. Katara wanted to scream at him, tell him how ridiculous he was behaving, but how could she after she had done the same thing?
"As long as we're back on land I'm happy," Toph announced.
They looked at Katara. "I'm just relieved that you're okay," she said and hugged him.
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Zuko had barely set foot on Fire Nation soil when he was announced to the public and once again the crowned prince.
The day passed in a blur of ceremonial fanfare and the first time he'd seen his father in three years had been brief and confusing. He was congratulated for his part in the capture of Ba-Sing-Se, the downfall of the Avatar, and his continued effort in the Earth Kingdom.
"Did you hear the good news?" his father asked.
"What news?"
"Azula is pregnant," he said with obvious pride.
"That's…great?"
As he exited the throne room Azula was waiting for him.
"Aren't you going to congratulate me?" She was cool and primped as always, but her clothes had changed to accommodate her slightly growing middle. Zuko thought the dress looked odd on her, as did motherhood.
"What did you tell him?"
"That the baby is his, of course." Azula grinned and headed down the hall.
"What?!" Zuko stomped after her.
"I'm providing a new heir to the throne," she said. "The one you'll never get to sit in."
"Why would he believe it's his?" he followed her into an inner garden, resisting the urge to grab and shake her.
She turned and looked at him like she was bored but delighted. "You poor innocent thing."
"You're lying! Father wouldn't do that."
"How would you know? You've been gone for three years."
Zuko swallowed the bile in his mouth and his stomach soured. He clenched his fists until they burned.
"He has to realize you were pregnant before you arrived here," he said through his teeth.
Azula shrugged. "Welcome home, Zuzu."
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Ep. 2 - The Pivotal Point
Katara fingered the necklace Zuko made for her. She'd kept it hidden until now. They had stolen clothes to fit in with the people, and Aang had somehow gotten himself enrolled in the Academy. Everything around her reminded her of Zuko and she missed him painfully. She'd had to remove her mother's necklace, and now that a few days had passed she slipped Zuko's necklace on. Just for now, she thought.
"Wow! Where did you find that necklace?" Sokka surprised her and leaned in to get a closer look. Katara felt her cheeks burn.
"At one of the vendor booths."
"Really?" asked Toph, arms crossed.
"It looks just like our mother's necklace."
"That's why I bought it. It didn't cost much."
Toph made a face, but didn't say anything and Katara sighed in relief when the subject was dropped.
"I have an idea." Aang said. "The kids here have never really had the chance to express themselves. I think we should invite them to a dance."
"I don't think that's a good idea. We're on a schedule."
"It's one dance, Sokka. I think it would really help them."
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"What's wrong?" Mai asked after a failed attempt to cheer Zuko up.
"My uncle won't talk to me and I just found out my father thinks my sister is carrying his baby. Did you know?"
Now Mai understood. She removed herself from his lap and sat beside him.
"Ever since your mother left," Mai said softly hoping it would ease the revulsion.
"Azula implied that it started while I was gone."
"When Ursa disappeared Ozai replaced her with Azula. She probably blocks out the years that she wasn't in control of the relationship."
"How did I not know?" Pain suffused his voice and Mai held his hand. It was all she could do. "How did you know?"
"I was there."
"Then why didn't you do anything?"
Mai sucked in an angry breath. "Zuko, whatever Ozai did to Azula, Azula took out on me and Ty Lee. She punished us for knowing about it. She couldn't control him, so she controlled us. There was nothing we could do and if I ever pitied her or felt like I should do something , it was a LONG time ago. Accusing me isn't going to change anything."
"I know. I'm sorry. I just feel so responsible for not knowing."
"You couldn't have done anything anyway. Everyone in the palace knew. Who could stop the Fire Lord?"
"What about your parents?"
"Right. My parents were just thrilled to be associated with royalty. When I told them they didn't believe me."
"Damnit! What the hell is wrong with everyone? I was so hurt and angry when he burned and banished me. I thought I deserved it."
"Sane parents don't blast their 13 year old sons with fire. At least, I don't think they do."
"I'm starting to see that. I wasted three years trying to earn his love. He isn't capable of love, and our entire nation believes in a war that has no meaning." Zuko dropped his head into his hands.
A thrill of excitement raced up Mai's spine. Zuko was growing up. It was only a matter of time before he took his stand, and she would be ready to play her part by his side.
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In the center of the industrial side of the Imperial City, Azula brushed a stray hair into place. With feet apart she focused, bringing two fingers of each hand together, purposefully swung them in circles, and…
Nothing.
She howled in rage and her fists shot forward, her movements hard and precise.
Still nothing.
She would get her bending back if she had to track down and annihilate every water bender in existence. She ground her teeth and snarled, but a quiet footstep got her attention.
"You were almost late. That would have been a pity."
The large man didn't respond. A hawk perched on his metal arm and an eerie third eye was tattooed on his forehead. He was the Fire Nation's best assassin, but she needed him for something else.
"Now that my brother is home I'm certain the Avatar and his little group will be coming to get the lay of the land before the Eclipse. I want you to find them. There's a water bender with them." Azula's nails bit into her palms as she said, "Katara. I want her alive and functional at all costs." After a moment she said, "If the Avatar is still alive, he must be killed. I don't care what you do with the rest."
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The dance was a tremendous success, but someone had leaked news of it to the Head Master of the academy. They escaped through a tunnel to the other side of the cave where Appa was waiting.
"You were right, Aang. I think you really got through to those kids," Sokka said as he climbed onto Appa. "They even distracted that Head Master guy while we got away."
"He's right, Aang. It was really sweet of you." Katara kissed his cheek.
"Yeah, it was really fun," a new voice chimed in. Everyone seemed to turn and look at the same time.
"On ji?" Aang exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, hopefully I'm going to find out where you got a giant flying bison." She smiled and pointed at Appa.
"Who's On ji?" Sokka asked.
"We'll have to give you a ride home. We can't risk taking you back to the cave."
"But I don't want to go home. Can't I stay with you?"
"This isn't a daycare!"
"Shut up, Sokka," Katara hissed.
"On ji, my name isn't Lee. I'm the Avatar." Aang removed his head band. "I'm sorry I lied, but I wanted to see what it was like to go to school here."
Everyone tensed, expecting On ji to react badly, but instead she asked, "Where are you going next?"
"What? Well, uh…"
"She can't come with us. She's probably a spy." Sokka gestured at her.
"No I'm not. I could help you fit in more. Like, you have to stop saying 'Hotman' everywhere you go."
"Why do you want to come with us?" Aang asked.
On Ji wrung her hands. It was the first sign of being uncomfortable that she'd shown. "Hide isn't my boyfriend. I'm betrothed to him. Our parents drew up a contract at my birth and I was promised to him. I'm hardly allowed to be myself. Everything I do is so that I can be his wife someday, and I don't even like him."
"What about your parents?"
"I feel like my only purpose is to make them more influential."
"She's telling the truth." Toph shrugged.
"We plan to stop the Fire Lord's war," Aang solemnly told her. "If you have a problem with that, we can't help you."
On Ji's face lit up. "I'm in."
"Wait! Didn't anyone hear anything I said?" Sokka flopped face first into Appa's fur.
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Ep. 3 - The Fate of the People
"Why were your servants told not to let me in?"
Mai tilted her head and glared silently.
"I need your help," he tried again. "Ozai sent me a gift."
"I know all about it." Mai turned, dismissing him.
Zuko paused. Someone must have told her about the sheets. "You don't seriously believe anything you've been told?"
She was still and Zuko felt like his chest was in her grip. He couldn't bear it if she thought it was all true, that he could be so much like his father, but Mita wasn't his first gift and things had turned out differently with Katara. Maybe he was like his father. Finally she turned around. Her cheeks were dry but he could tell she had been crying.
"Azula had a lot to say. She knows the truth hurts the most, and she really enjoyed telling me."
Her hold on his chest squeezed tighter. "The truth?" he whispered.
"The blood?" she asked.
"Do you believe I did what she said?" He demanded harshly, stepping forward.
She exhaled and pointed a finger at him, "No. But if it's not true then you should have come to me with this sooner. I shouldn't have had to hear it from Azula. Even if it's not true it still hurt."
His lungs finally felt able to expand although he still felt on edge. "The blood was mine," he explained. Mita, his father's young gift to him, had refused to dress and begged him not to send her back. If he did she would most certainly go to Ozai, she told him, and she had heard how cruel he could be. Once again Zuko had to make it look like he could do what was expected of him. He remembered the morning after his first night with Katara and added blood to the sheets to make it believable.
"Your hand?" she asked.
"Where do you think the blood came from?"
"She said you had a bite mark."
Zuko unwrapped his throbbing hand and showed it to Mai. It was clearly a bite mark, purple and puffy. "If I'd just cut myself Azula would have known." Mita had refused the idea at first, insisting they do what she been sent there for, but he'd told her he wouldn't give her that option. The bite had been necessary for the bluff to work and she was to tell anyone who asked that he had been harsh and she bit him. He had used a knife to widen a few of the marks to get enough blood.
"Does Azula think you are mad at me?"
"She might," Mai said uncertainly.
"I'm going to send Mita to you as a second hand gift as an insult for throwing me out of your house. It would be rude to refuse a gift from the Prince," he said with sarcasm. "You are going to be angry and take her to the Bazaar to sell her to the slave traders. Her uncle will be there to buy her from you."
Mai nodded, understanding. He turned to leave.
"Zuko," Mai said in an uncertain voice and he stopped. "I'm sorry I believed her."
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"See what you've done?" Sokka pointed at the fishing village below them. "Now you've made things worse by getting those soldiers angry and we're behind on our schedule."
The village was built on top of a lake, but thanks to the near-by Armory the water had become polluted and left the villagers no way to live or feed themselves. Katara had delayed their tour so she could help them. She posed as their lake spirit, the Painted Lady, to disguise her water bending. The soldiers at the armory hadn't appreciated the food and supplies she had stolen from them.
Even though the war was an ocean away these people still felt it and Katara knew the worst was still to come. Her army would reach this shore in just a short time and innocent people, like the ones in this village, would be the ones to suffer for it. Had she done the right thing when she put the army together? If these people died would it be her fault?
"I will never abandon people who need me!" she said fiercely. "And I have to play the Painted Lady one more time."
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Iroh was sitting against the wall, his hair sticking to his face, sweat sheening off his skin. Zuko sat against the wall beside him, the bars between them. He wanted to talk but didn't know how to start, so he said nothing. His uncle sat in silence while he mulled over the things he wanted to say.
"Father and Azula have announced their wedding." Zuko stared hard at the opposite wall. "Azula is pregnant. I sent her home from Ba-sing-se when I found out. She told Father that the baby is his."
"What?" said Iroh, startling them both.
Zuko was relieved to hear surprise and disgust in that one word. It was important to him that his uncle didn't know that this had been going on.
"Azula claims that since Mother disappeared she has been playing her role in Father's life."
"You can't believe everything that Azula tells you…"
"Mai confirmed it."
"Oh," Iroh whispered. After a moment he said, "I spent too much time fighting in this war. Now I have yet another reason to regret it. How are the people reacting?"
"They're afraid to react. There have been protesters, but they've mysteriously disappeared."
"What about you? How do you feel?"
Zuko felt his throat well up with emotion and tried to swallow it, but his voice squeaked when he spoke. "I feel confused and ashamed. Father sent me a gift. A 10 year old girl."
"What did you do?"
"I made it look like I...that we..." he couldn't say it. "Then Mai helped me get her back to her family. Apparently Father chose her for me and there was nothing her family could do about it."
"It sounds like you did the right thing." It was comforting to hear the approval in his uncle's voice.
"It's not the first time I've been given a present like that," he said unable to hide the shame in his voice. He didn't want to tell his uncle about Ba-Sing-Se, but he needed to talk about it.
"What happened?"
"One of the Avatar's group came back to rescue you. You were already gone and Azula caught her. As punishment Azula put her in my room with an option. She could have me, or she would be given to the Dai-li for…entertainment." Zuko drew in a deep breath. "She chose me."
"Did you force her?"
"No," Zuko said firmly, then quietly repeated, "No, but Azula thinks I did."
"There were only two girls with the Avatar..."
"Katara," Zuko breathed her name. "She built her own army after she left Ba-Sing-Se. They've been liberating our villages ever since. She's a natural leader, but when she's with me I feel in control. I had serious doubts about coming home because of her. " He covered his scar with a shaky palm. "And…I really love that she's attracted to me."
"How does she feel?"
"At the time I didn't really know how meaningless this war was or what my part in it would be. She didn't like that, but she's never refused me, so I know she has feelings for me. But it's even more complicated than that." Zuko fidgeted, unsure if he should go on.
"How could things get more complicated?" Iroh chuckled.
Zuko leaned forward and dropped his head in hands. "Mai."
"Mai?"
"She came with Azula to Ba-Sing-Se. Things happened."
"Katara AND Mai?"
"We've sort of been a couple since we were kids. I feel like she's a part of the past I loved, and she still has feelings for me. I always thought I would marry her."
"Do you love her?"
"Yes. She tries to hide from people by pretending she doesn't care, but she does. She knows how to calm me down. She...knows how to handle Katara, too."
"She knows about Katara?" Iroh's voice rose an octave.
"They know about each other. The three of us…" he shrugged. "Things happened."
"I don't know what to say."
"Just say I'm not my father."
"Zuko, I do not know what lies in store for you, but I believe some things happen for a reason. You were banished by your father and sent on a journey to find yourself. If you had stayed here you may have ended up like them. You're still on that journey and I think, eventually, you will make the right choices. I think you already know that if Ozai were courting two women it would be a much different, and infinitely worse, situation than yours. You are not your father."
"Uncle," Zuko looked at the floor. "I'm sorry. I made the wrong choice at Ba-Sing-Se, and I'm going to find a way to get you out of here. Then I'm going to find the Avatar and help him in any way I can."
Iroh's arms surrounded him and hugged him against the bars. "I am so relieved to hear that, Prince Zuko."
"I don't know how you can forgive me so easily. I would be so angry."
"I was never angry. I was only sad and afraid that you had lost your way. But you don't need to worry about me. I already have an escape plan."
"You do?" Zuko looked at his uncle for the first time since starting the conversation. He felt flooded with emotion, regret, and relief. His uncle winked at him. Between his fingers a Pi-sho tile appeared and disappeared. He recognized it as the White Lotus tile he had used to get them into Ba-Sing-Se.
"I think, before you leave, you should put a strategy in place for your return."
"My return?"
"When Ozai has been defeated you will be the new Fire Lord, and it may do you some good now to sow some seeds."
"But, Uncle, won't you be the next Fire Lord?"
"No. I have another destiny. If our people are going to have any hope they need a new generation. They are going to feel pushed away by Ozai's marriage to Azula, and I doubt the madness will stop there."
"What can I do?" Zuko felt overwhelmed by this new responsibility. His struggle was no longer personal, but mattered to his entire country. He clenched his fists and felt the fire roar in his stomach. He would do everything he could to help his people break free of his family's madness.
"It isn't going to be easy to ease the fears of the people or to turn the propaganda around so that we can once again be friendly with other nations. If you marry now, a traditional wedding with a traditional bride in contrast to Oazi and Azula's abomination, it will be easier for them to accept you when traditions begin changing."
"Mai," Zuko said and Iroh nodded. "What about Katara?"
"It's not a light decision and it won't make your personal life any easier. I don't have any advice for handling two women. I could barely handle one."
Zuko relaxed against the wall and thought about Mai, Katara, his people, and all of the possible outcomes.
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Katara sat on the shore and watched the village people mill about on their boats. The soldiers were gone, the water was clean, and after a little confrontation they had made some friends. She finally felt a little peace and the irony of rescuing Fire Nation villages from themselves had settled in her mind.
She rubbed the carved disk hanging from Zuko's necklace. It felt familiar to her now and she wondered what he would think of their liberation. Did he care about his people?
If she were in his position there wouldn't be a choice. She would do whatever it took to bring peace to her people. She wasn't a part of their culture but she hoped their actions would help all the nations.
She reached into the water and washed the paint from her face. When she opened her eyes mist swirled about her and a vision of the Painted Lady floated above the water.
"Thank you," she said and slowly evaporated.
Katara stared at the mist in wonder until it had completely disappeared.
"Katara? Are you all right?"
"Aang, did you see that?"
"See what?"
Katara sighed and smiled. "Never mind. We did a good thing here."
"Yeah, it feels good to make a difference," he agreed.
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The Siege of Katara