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Borealis: A Zutara Story	By : jaded_priceless Category: Avatar - The Last Airbender > AU/AR - Alternate Universe/Alternate Reality Views: 34026 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 4
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, Avatar: The Legend of Korra, any historical figures or events, or easily recognizable persons, places or things. I make no profit from this work of fanfiction

Chapter List
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Chapter 268
The city was quiet when Zuko, Katara, Ty Lee, Mu and the twins returned. Everyone was on alert but there were no signs a battle had taken place. There were children playing outside at the Ursa House while the Earth Kingdom men protected its grounds. Katara recognized most of them as citizens of the small town. They’d taken their wives and daughters there to protect them from what happened after the last battle.
“Thank you,” Katara whispered quietly while reaching up to caress Zuko’s scar.
He guided her hand to his lips, “You did this for them Katara. You reminded me that I wasn’t helpless and that there was something I could do to help them.”
They rode to the infirmary to get Mu checked. Dr. Toshio and the doctor from the 58^th confirmed he had a concussion and would feel worse tomorrow. By then the red soles of his feet should have blistered and the muscle soreness would kick in. They recommended rest but no more than one hour’s sleep at the time without checking for signs his injury was progressing.
It was decided that everyone would once again camp out in Zuko’s room. The twins helped Katara and Ty Lee get Zuko and Mu upstairs before going to the stables and returning the animals. They groomed the komodo rhinos and Ty Lee’s eelhound while the veterinary staff examined the others. The twins then went to the barracks to retrieve clean clothes and bedrolls for themselves and Mu.
Zhao 2 had been distracted the first time he walked into the hotel and Qiaolian’s absence had not been noticed. This time he saw soldiers corner she normally occupied. He stopped, “She’s gone.”
“Who is gone?” 1 asked.
“Qiaolian’s gone. She’s not there. She’s not there,” he repeated while handing the items he was carrying to his brother. “Take these up to the room. I’m going to find her.”
“Jun,” Zhao 1 said authoritatively while grabbing his younger brother’s wrist. “She is-”
“She is my responsibility, Guo. I am the one who-,” He stopped and inhaled. “I must go find her.”
Zhao 1 recognized the look on his brother’s face and knew he was about to do something stupid, “Jun don’t”.
Zhao 2 smiled; it was cold and his words were without warmth, “I outrank you older brother, go upstairs and take those things to Prince Zuko’s room and wait for my return.”
“Jun,” Zhao 1 protested.
“Upstairs Level 2. This is an order from your superior,” Zhao 2 replied while pointing at them.
“If you…” Zhao 1 began only to be cut off by his brother.
“Go! Now! I can’t waste time dealing with you,” Zhao 2 yelled as he stalked into the Pussy Garden and grabbed the closest soldier, “Where is the girl who normally sits here?”
Zhao 1 ran. He was half way upstairs when he heard his brother yelling. He hoped he could make it to Zuko’s rooms before he heard any screams. Qiaolian was the first girl his brother had chosen to be with since his first girlfriend committed suicide. He blamed himself for her death, in some ways it was justified. She and her parents had been servants in their household but Jianjun fell in love with her. Zhao had been livid when he learned of his youngest son’s love. No Earth Kingdom serving girl no matter how sweet, kind, or pretty would be able to say she received his son’s first sowing. He caught her leaving Jianjun’s room and dragged her into his study. He raped her then went and got Jianjun. He threatened to kill her unless he did the same. His brother was thirteen. Qeren was fourteen and until that night both had been virgins. Zhao had called her parents to come get her and clean the room before dismissing them from their home.
Jianjun was the one to find Qeren dead in their gardens the next day. Their oldest sister had found him bleeding next to her holding the note she’d written blaming him. Their mother had been the one to take the knife away before he could do more damage to himself. He’d avoided relationships after that unless it was for work; even his son was a byproduct of business. Torture and Interrogation came in many forms. The powers that be needed to know just how much her father knew, insurance that he would hold his tongue and a way to influence her honest husband. He was a trustworthy man, one so pure he didn’t the recognize subtle bribes or other forms of influence presented to him. She was a means to get to him. Her missed cycle was motivation to visit his outpost and his concerns for her safety in the war zone gave adequate reason for her short stay. Visits to friends in various established colonies and different islands with and without her belly wrapped before returning to her parent’s home in the capital to give birth ensured there was plenty of people who knew she was with child but none who could say with certainty just how far along she was. Zhao 2 had been chosen to seduce her because of their close family relationship. His child was an unexpected complication and in the eyes of his superiors a grand tactical asset. Ideas would be submitted to her father who would give them to her and she was tasked with convincing her husband of their overall merit least the truth about her illicit love affair and the son she adored be revealed.
Zhao 1 burst into Zuko’s room just as the screaming began downstairs. He hastily shouted, “His girl is missing. I’m under orders not to leave, stop him. Go find her.”
“Girl, what girl?” Zuko asked in confusion unlike his promiscuous brother, Zhao 2 was nearly asexual.
“The one from Ba Sing Se,” Zhao 1 shrieked.
“Oh hell,” Zuko groaned while pushing himself up. Zhao 2 had spoken of wishing to return for her when he came home for Mu’s wedding.
Mu placed both hands over his head to stabilize it as he sat up, “You’re no longer in that division. I outrank you and your brother. Go make sure he doesn’t get court-martialed.”
“I’m coming with you,” Zuko said taking a step forward.
Katara placed her hand on his chest to halt his progress, “No you aren’t. You’re still healing. You’ve had enough excitement for one day. You’re staying here to keep Mu company.”
“But Katara you don’t understand,” Zuko whined.
“I do,” Ty Lee piped up. She poked Zuko in both legs, hips and sides then spun him around so he flopped face first onto the bed, “Your posture was off while you were riding Korhi, stay here with Mu. I’m taking Katara with me to find what’s her name and Zhao 1 is going to sit on 2.”
Katara removed Zuko’s boots, “Can I put these in your room as insurance? He doesn’t look very convinced.”
Ty Lee’s nose turned up but she nodded and said “Yes.”
Once Zuko’s shoes were secured they went downstairs. Zhao 1 was restraining his brother and speaking calmly to a bleeding soldier, “I can understand your reluctance to give the name of the person who took Miss Qiaolian since he is an officer in your division, but I can only hold my brother for so long. Give us his name and we will move on.”
“I can’t. I do not know it,” the man gasped.
“How can you not know his name and he’s your superior officer?” Zhao 2 yelled as he struggled to get away from his brother.
“I am from the 49^th, Lt. Colonel Wen’s division. He’s one of the rovers sent over from Ba Sing Se. The funny looking lanky one” the frightened man explained.
Zhao 2 relaxed. Only one member of the two small strike forces fit that description. He didn’t know his name but he was about Mu's height but not as skinny and wore his hair gathered in a tail at the nape of his neck. The style was out of place in the military where topknots were considered the norm. He’d often seen the man at the restaurant attempting to conversate with the older daughter or bribing her son with toys. He’d also caught the man staring at his Qiaolian. He knew exactly who to go find and hurt for putting hands on her.

Katara and Ty Lee were checking the alleys when a tall slender soldier walked past them. He stopped and turned around to call out to them, “Excuse me, young misses.”
He bowed politely and began to speak, “Young misses, please do not think me rude but we are under threat of attack. Please go back inside where it is safe. There is shelter available at the Ursa House and the hotel.”
Natsumon’s offer to escort them was interrupted by Zhao 2’s bellowing, “You! What have you done with Qiaolian?”
Natsumon’s eyes widened as the younger officer charged from the hotel. He thought of running but decided to stand his ground. Running implied guilt and he’d done nothing wrong. Natsumon raised his hands to show they were empty. He managed to state, “Miss Qiaolian is at the restaurant safe and uninjured” before the angry twin tackled him.
“Where is she?” Zhao 2 screamed lifting Natsumon’s head and slamming it into the ground. “Where is Qiaolian? Why did you touch her?”
“I didn’t touch her! She is a child. She is safe!” he screamed placing an arm behind his head to cushion the blows and bringing another in front of him to block them.
Ty Lee jabbed Zhao 2’s spine in four places and grabbed Katara’s hand then raced toward the restaurant. “We have to find her. That won’t hold him long and he won’t stop until he sees her safe and unharmed.”
The two girls banged on the door of the restaurant until it finally opened. Ty Lee spoke, “We are looking for an Earth Kingdom girl named Qiaolian. Is she here?”
Ming’s mother’s eyes widened. She had heard what the soldier said and believed the girl was her grandson’s sister. “No, there is no one here by that name,” and slammed the door.
Katara started banging on it again as the screams from the street grew louder, “Ming! Ming! It’s Katara open the door!”
Ming appeared several moments later. She appeared panicked and only cracked the door, “Katara what’s wrong?”
“Is there a girl being held for safe keeping here? Is she truly untouched?” Katara asked frantically.
“I…I…please Katara, don’t. They’ll kill him. They’ll kill my son,” Ming whimpered.
“Who’ll kill your son? Who is in there?” Ty Lee asked.
Katara didn’t waste any time. She knew who was in there. She didn’t trust the Dai Li or believe there was a chance they wouldn’t hurt anyone. She drew water from the containers behind them and used it to create a platform of ice then lifted herself to the second floor of the hotel. She looked inside each of the windows until she saw Jin, the missing girl and Gau Ruk. The room was otherwise empty so she crawled in. “I’m here to help. Come with me.”
The two girls were shocked to see someone climbing in through a second story window but the awe-struck four year old immediately ran to Katara. She picked him up and pulled more water in through the window to grab the older girls before jumping back out. Ming ran outside when she heard her son’s delighted squeals and terrified screams of her cousin and her son’s sister.
Zhao 2 also heard their screams. He lifted his head to search from where they were coming from giving Natsumon all the opportunity he needed to break free. He threw dirt into the larger boy’s face, kneed him in the stomach, and ran. Natsumon initially headed towards the restaurant but when he saw Ming and her son outside he circled around the garden then doubled back towards the hotel. He couldn’t risk putting them in danger if the torture twin chased him. He burst into the hotel then sprinted up the stairs screaming for anyone with a higher ranking than the twin.
Zuko opened the door and Natsumon rushed in, “Officer Zhao thinks I’ve harmed the girl he fancies. I took her to the restaurant. Lady Katara is there. I don’t know what he will do. It’s not safe. The all clear has not been given.”
“Did you see his brother?” Mu asked groggily.
“No sir,” Natsumon replied, “but that wouldn’t help would it?”
As soon as the question was posed they recognized the shouting voices coming through the windows.
“Get off me you ass!”
“Stop being stupid!”
“Katara’s going to kill me. Come on, Mu, I might as well get you killed too.” Zuko groaned as he stood. He pointed to where Mu was fighting with gravity to lift himself off the pallet, “Natsumon, help him up.”
“But Prince Zuko, you’re barefooted,” Natsumon protested while helping Mu to his feet.
“I know, Katara took my shoes so I wouldn’t go look for them. That’s why she’s going to kill me,” he replied hooking an arm around Mu’s waist and hobbling out of the door.
Natsumon watched the two of them struggle towards the stairs before helping Zuko down then coming back up for Mu. The three of them made it to the meadow behind the restaurant to see that Katara had the entire situation in control. The Zhao twins were separated and Zhao 2 was up to his neck in ice. She was yelling at him for being so selfish and stupid and for thinking he was doing anyone any favors.
“You! Didn’t I tell you to stay put and where are your shoes?” Katara screamed as soon as she saw Zuko.
“They are in Ty Lee’s room. You took them,” Zuko replied innocently.
“Why don’t we all go inside,” Ming’s mother suggested when there was a lull in the shouting. “That child is barefooted, this child looks like he’s about to fall over and all this is just too much for an old woman! Now inside all of you before I pull off my shoes use them to start beating children!”
Once they were inside Ming’s mother picked up her grandchild, “I’ll leave you to sort out the havoc this one brought to our house. Me and this little fellow are going to have a nap.”
She glared at the younger people and threatened them one final time, “Don’t make me come back down here.”
Zhao 2 spoke first quietly addressing Natsumon, “Why did you bring Qiaolian to see him? He’s better off not knowing. They both were. Do you even realize what you just did? Do you know what type of danger they are in?”
Natsumon stared at him and whispered, “You knew?”
Zhao 2 inhaled deeply, “I was in Ba Sing Se. I was called away from the Fire Nation to gather information after the first rebellion. My target was the instigator. I had to learn everything about him and all of his contacts. I earned my level one by giving Governor Xu the means to destroy him.”
“I am the one who found his children,” Zhao 2 admitted.
Tiredness seeped to his voice as he began to address Qiaolian, “You were not supposed to be here. You and your mother are supposed to be elsewhere. After the reception for my promotion I wasn’t supposed to go back to your house but I couldn’t get your face out of my mind. You looked so sad, so forlorn but then your mother smiled at you and you smiled back at her. Truly smiled…I went back. I had to. I had to warn her…to warn you.
“I told her they knew about the other children. Your father is not dead. They’re keeping him alive. They’re keeping him alive until they find and kill all of his children. I told her to run; to take you and run.”
“He didn’t say a word, not one single word when we killed them. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t say a word to save his children. I know men like that, I grew up with one. He didn’t say anything. He won’t say anything. I tried to tell my superiors it was useless, that he won’t speak but they said it was only because the children we found were not the right children. Their mothers were not the right women.
“They were older. They knew how men thought and what motivated them. They had married the socially acceptable woman from a well connected family that they cared little for. They knew that the woman in the big house and the children playing in the manicured yard were not the ones his heart yearned for. A wife and her children are part of the uniform of a successful soldier; shiny brass buttons who meant nothing to him. A mistress and her offspring were like pets, things of little importance to amuse him but there was a woman who was dear to him. The woman he truly loved and the cherished children she birthed him were somewhere in the city, close enough to be near him but safely hidden. If we were to find the right child and the right woman he’d tell everything he knew to save them.”
“I followed your father for weeks before we arrested him. You are the right child. Your mother is the right woman. He never went directly to or from your house and he never took the same route. He was careful, always so very careful, when going to see the two of you. He never took that type of care when going home or to see the others. I had snuck back to warn you…to tell you to leave…they were looking. It was only a matter of time before someone saw the resemblance and made the connection.
“Your mother saw me hiding in the bushes. She's smart. What they turned your home and your friends into was only for elite soldiers so knew I had done something forbidden. I told her what happened to the others, what would happen to the two of you. I risked everything to sneak back in and warn you. We were careful. We were so careful. Ba Sing Se is a fortress. You didn’t get out by accident. Your mother should be with you. She promised to explain everything when it was safe.”
Zhao 2’s voice trailed off to a whisper, “This wasn’t supposed to happen. I wasn’t supposed to see you, not here, not like this. None of this should have happened.”
Zhao 2 brought his hands to his face. He slid over them his skin before pressing them against his skull, “I wasn’t expecting to see you here. You should be gone. You should be safe in some remote corner of the Earth Kingdom where we’d never find you. I saw you sitting in the corner crying after you were brought here. Tears attract vultures. You drew them to you. I heard them speaking…I never wanted…it wasn’t my intention… I had to or else they would have…”
Natsumon frowned and cleared his ears, “Master Zhao are you saying that you…”
Zhao 1 answered the question roughly, “My brother is saying nothing. He also hit his head while we were retrieving Captain Mu and he suffers from a concussion. These are the ramblings of a madman.”
Natsumon lifted his eyebrow and countered, “I too have a head injury. I did not know Miss Ming was a mother when I initially approached her but I too was in Ba Sing Se. I knew who fathered her child the moment I laid eyes on him but said nothing.”
“My brother’s death has made me the oldest son in my family but I wish to take nothing from his children. I became a rover so there’d be more money to send home for them. I have proposed to this Earth Kingdom woman. Miss Ming has refused me all but once. And still her smile intrigues me, her grace bewitches me and I wish for my own children to be raised with the love she shows her son. Even if I am unable to woo her, I have asked Prince Zuko for permission transfer to the 58^th so that I may remain behind and become a true father to Gau Ruk.
He smiled slyly, “I am the communications and catapult office for my unit. I have seen no letters of importance going to Ba Sing Se but who is to say if I were to, that such a missive would not be altered or even misplaced?”
“I see, and what of letters back and forth to the homeland,” Zhao 1 asked to question the other man’s trustworthiness. Natsumon was on duty the night Azula sent her message.
“Aside from the rantings of a spoiled princess things have been rather quiet,” Natsumon replied meeting his challenge head on. “Although I must say Mistress Qin has become rather popular in the past week. Each day a new bird seems to arrive bearing either the War Minister’s seal or recipes from the palace kitchens. I find it rather odd; a woman of her talents does not seem as though she’d be the type to cook.”
“Stop it, that’s enough all of you. Do you even realize what you are saying and who you are saying it in front of?” Ty Lee quietly demanded.
“Yes Milady, we do realize what we are saying and who we are saying it in front of,” Zhao 1 replied. “Sometimes the only way to know who you can trust is by laying all of your weapons on the table and seeing who picks them up and uses them against you. My brother and Officer Natsumon have both admitted to treason by protecting this girl and this child. Are you with us or do you stand alongside your other cousin?”
Ty Lee nervously glanced around the room while chewing her lower lip. It quivered as she spoke, “Before I left home, Mama told me if I were to ever find myself in danger to seek out Lady Bong Cha. Her mother was a dear friend of Aunt Ilah’s. Lady Bong Cha grew up in the palace; Mama, Lady Hinata, Admiral Chu-hua, and Princess Ursa are former students of hers. I saw the letter Azula wrote. There was nothing I could do to stop her from sending it. If letters are coming from the palace but not from the Fire Lord then someone read the one she sent home and is most likely trying to protect Zuko.”
“It’s not your fault, Ty Lee, I know how Father and Azula feel about me,” Zuko admitted. He smiled at Katara, “I’ve found my future. I know that Father is not the one in control of my destiny.”
“What of my son’s future? He is a child. I was cast away by his father. He has never met him. I will not let my son die because of that womanizing bastard!” Ming interjected.
“Are you angry because your son’s father is a womanizing bastard or because you were stupid enough to believe his lies and spread your legs for him? Your poor judgment is the reason that child exists. Do you think he wanted to be born to a whore and grow up without a father?” Qiaolian shouted back at her in anger. "If you want him to spend his whole life being told his father loves him and is not ashamed of him, this is just how things have to be. Or would you rather be forced to tell him to continue to hold his head high while everyone looks down on you, or to pretend not to know your own father when you see him and his real family in the market. I know I didn’t! I never asked for any of this either!”
She glared at Zhao 2, “I certainly did not ask for your guilt! If you hadn’t interfered I’d still be in Ba Sing Se with Mama! I wouldn’t spend every waking moment wondering what happened to her and dream of her every night! I would still believe my father was dead and I wouldn’t have to worry about what you sick fucks were doing to him!
Zhao 2 reached for her and she slapped his hand away. She shouted, “Just leave me alone, all of you!” as she stormed outside.
Zhao 2 stood up to chase her but Zuko put a hand on his shoulder, “Let her go for now. She needs some time to calm down.”
Katara’s jaw dropped and she stared at him.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that? I can learn,” Zuko said defensively.
“And it only took how many blows to the head? That last one must have really been something, Miss Katara. He’s actually thinking,” Mu replied snarkily, “or maybe it’s a benefit of the blood loss. All the stupid bled out with the poison.”
“You need to hurry up and get better. You’re talking too much,” Zuko grumbled.
“Are you forgetting it’s dangerous out there? What if someone grabs her?” Zhao 2 argued.
“I didn’t go get the water this morning. Ty Lee and I can keep an eye out for her while I take care of it,” Katara offered quietly.
The acrobat gave Zhao 2 a quick hug, “Don’t worry, we’ll bring her back.”
The two girls walked outside and saw Qiaolian standing outside the Ursa House. Katara smiled, “She’s smart. She knows nothing will happen to her there. Let’s leave her in peace for now.”
“But,” Ty Lee protested.
Katara shook her head, “You have no idea what she’s going through. You know where your parents are and that all the members of your family are safe. She doesn’t know what’s happened to her parents or even where they are. She just found out she had another brother; all that is on top of the things Zhao 2 has been doing to her. You don’t know what it’s like, to have someone force themselves on you or do it in a way that doesn’t leave bruises where people can see that you are hurting. She should be able to go inside and be welcome instead of being made to feel like some sort of whore or traitor because your rapist didn’t leave you physically injured.”
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Borealis: A Zutara Story