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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 275
Katara woke as the first droplet fell on her. She shook Zuko and pointed to the sky, “It’s raining.”
His eyes opened slowly and he smiled at her as a raindrop landed on his chin, “It is.”
He sat up slowly and hugged Katara to him, “Uncle says when it rains suddenly like this something has happened to move the spirits.”
“What do you think it was?”
Zuko shrugged, “I don’t know. Perhaps a boulder fell into the ocean.”
Katara laughed, “That is the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard.”
“You’re the one that travels with the Avatar. How am I supposed to know what moves the spirits? Besides we should get moving, we don’t know if it floods around here.”
Zuko packed up the remnants of their lunch while Katara washed the blanket they’d lain on. The items were placed in opposite sides of Korhi’s saddle bag and they walked hand in hand back to the village.

“Well, what do you think now?” General Fong asked Pipsqueak.
The large man shook his head and slowly turned away, lumbering in the direction The Duke had been sent earlier. They had found the stream by accident a week ago and had been venturing back each day to capture small amounts of water to take with them into the desert. This was the second time they’d spied Katara there with the prince. The first night she’d been too far away to help but this time she’d been close, so very close but General Fong gave the order to observe her. Now that they had managed to gather enough fresh drinking water and steal enough used water from the town to wash up he wanted to see if she was worth rescuing or if there were merits to Hiro’s vehement accusations she was a traitor.
After watching her heal the Prince’s back and lie with him they knew the truth. The Waterbender did not need any form of rescue. It would be better for them to move forward and come back with reinforcements for the Avatar and her brother.

The Duke rushed towards them as soon as he saw them entering the camp. He ran in circles around them, his head searching in all directions as he yelled, “Where’s Katara?”
“She’s not coming,” the general replied answering for the sad man beside him.
“She’s not coming, but why? You told me if I went back to camp like a good boy and was quiet you’d bring her! Why didn’t you? Why did you lie?” the eight year old screamed.
Pipsqueak kneeled and placed a hand on his shoulders, “Do you remember how Smellerbee and Longshot were always together and swore nothing would ever tear them apart?”
The Duke nodded, “It’s cause they were married and did all that yucky stuff.”
The older man nodded, “Katara has found someone she wants to do yucky stuff with. Do you want her to come with us knowing it would make her cry? Do you remember how Smellerbee cried when Longshot and Jet went on that long mission?”
“Yeah, she waited until night and did when she didn’t think anyone would hear her,” the eight year old mumbled.
“Do you remember how sad she was until he got back?” Pipsqueak gently prodded.
“Yeah,” the Duke answered.
“Do you want to see Katara sad like that?” Pipsqueak asked kindly.
The Duke shook his head. “I don’t want to see Katara sad at all. What about the person she’s yucky with, can we bring him?”
Pipsqueak pulled the child into a hug, “No, little one, I’m afraid not.”
“Oh,” he replied disappointed, “so when are we leaving?”
“Tonight. We’re still leaving tonight,” General Fong answered.
Min-Sik nodded beside him, “The air will still he humid after the rain. You’ll be easier to track but you’ll also have to worry less about Firebending.”
“Yes, let’s hope it holds until morning,” General Fong replied at the uncharacteristic shower. It was still months away from the next rainy season.

It was still raining when Zuko and Katara made it back to town. They heard the shouts and laughter as they approach. It was no surprise that everyone, except Azula and Mai, was outside. There were soldiers frolicking among children, swooping in to save them from mothers who didn’t care if they were outside but didn’t want them to lie down and roll about in the mud. Fan, Kentaro, Bong Cha and few others of their generation sat idly beneath porches allowing their wrinkled bare feet to dangle as they huddled over books or pai sho boards.
They saw Sokka when they went to the corral someone had hastily created. He was with Ty Lee, Mu, and the Zhaos keeping watch over the happily grazing animals.
Katara hesitated when Zuko began walking Korhi in that direction. She couldn’t face Sokka after doing what he’d accused her of the day she thought Haru and Tyro had been killed.
“Katara!”
She turned toward the voice calling to her. Mung and Chu-hua were escorting Aang out of the hotel. They each had a hand beneath his arm that she knew was as much for support as for show. He was heavily chained and his short steps were minced. Katara watched as Mung directed him to the center of town and waved one of his soldiers over. The man, tall, burly and bearded, tapped Aang’s shoulders and knees. Chu-hua placed one hand beneath Aang’s chin and the other on the back of his head while Mung released his chains. The second man tossed Aang into the air with one hand and poked each of his joints as he spun him overhead.
“Aang!” Katara rushed forward screaming his name as he came tumbling down.
The man’s arms caught Aang beneath his knees and behind his back before flipping him forward and tossing him into the air again. This time when Aang fell he caught him beneath his shoulders, planted his foot and spun around before setting Aang gently on his feet.
“What did you do?” Katara shrieked, placing her hands on Aang’s shoulders to stabilize him.
Chu-hua smirked, “His chi has been blocked and scrambled. He will not be able to bend for the next thirty minutes.”
She waved her hand dismissively, “Begone with you. If he is not returned in a timely manner or tries something funny, he will suffer for it.”
Katara placed her arm around Aang’s back and led him to a nearby bench.
The small Avatar blinked a few times then smiled widely, “Hey Katara, what did they do to turn all the buildings sideways?”
“It’s not the buildings,” she replied, her voice heavy with concern.
Aang blinked and craned his neck forward while questioning, “It’s not?”
Katara pointed at the man who was spinning children in circles and tossing them up in the air, “That man over there playing with the children did something to your chi.”
“But it feels fine,” Aang replied. He lifted his hand and attempted to form an air ball then leaned forward and threw up.
Katara bent the vomit away then directed rainwater into his mouth. After rinsing Aang groaned, “I don’t feel good.”
“You shouldn’t!” Ty Lee exclaimed as she studied Aang’s aura. “I’ve never seen anyone use that before. I thought it was only a myth among chi blockers.”
She walked around them several times, hesitantly reaching out only to stop her hand a few feet away from Aang then pull it back. “I’ve never seen an aura like this. It’s like all of the colors are anchored to your chakra wheels inside out. It’s fascinating.”
“It doesn’t feel fascinating. It feels like I am going to throw up,” Aang groaned.
The man walked forward still surrounded by children. He was extremely soft-spoken for someone his size. He shook his head at Aang and sighed, “That was foolish.”
He tapped the air around Aang’s ears, “This will help the nausea. Do not bend again little Avatar. I was kind a few moments ago and didn’t strike the points attached to your Sahasrara. Now that I have you will die if you attempt to bend before the sun rises seven times. If not for your attempt you would have been fine in half of an hour.”
Ty Lee looked at the soldier’s aura. She followed its form down to the fingertips and gasped. She’d only seen an aura like that on two other people. She tilted her head back to look up into his face, her lips poised to speak but the big man spoke before she could form a question, “Once knowledge is gained it can never be unlearned. This art destroys the soul of healers. Are you willing to tread this path?”
She slowly shook her head no but whispered, “Your aura.”
He nodded and spoke, “That one will be the next Grand Master. She is the first in generations to accomplish the total destruction and rebirth of the soul.”
The phrasing caught Aang’s attention. Monk Gyatso had once mentioned that about Sister Iio but it was spoken in hushed tones to Monk Pasang. He quickly sent Aang away before he could hear more than “necessary abomination.” His forehead crinkled in thought before he asked, “How do you destroy a soul?”
“There are numerous ways to destroy a soul little Avatar. Do you remember the moment you woke and realized this world was not yours? Or the day that Ba Sing Se fell? Or the moment your bison was struck from the air? Did you not feel as though you’d lost a part of yourself?” the man asked quietly before turning and walking away.
Katara watched his footfalls. They like his voice were not as heavy as she would have expected. She wondered if he, with his mastery of chi blocking and viewing auras, like Ty Lee was descended from Airbenders.
“Are you still helping with the animals?” Aang asked quietly while gazing at the pasture Sokka had just come from. Halfway through the gentle shower Sokka had come over to share the bench with them.
“Yeah. After we leave here we’ll meet back up with Appa at Serpent Lake,” he replied, knowing what Aang’s next question would be.
“I wish he could have come with us,” Aang muttered.
“Tch,” Sokka snorted in disagreement. If Appa had come with them then not only would he be tasked with removing normal animal shit from the barn and carrying it to the garden; he’d be tasked with those enormous things as well. He knew Aang had never had to clean up after the bison. He fully believed in letting the chips fall where they may so they could enrich the Earth. After several months on doodie duty he’d come to the conclusion Soizin’s eradication of the Airbenders less to do with Aang than the menace caused by a ten ton animal flying overhead. The Air Temple they were heading for wasn’t that far away from the capital and given the term Air Nomad was synonymous with Airbenders he’d wagered he or his home had been hit at least one time.
Aang picked up on Sokka’s non-agreement and asked, “What’s wrong? Don’t you wish Appa could have come?”
“Not really,” Sokka replied without going farther in depth.
“Sokka!” Aang called his name in shock.
“It would have been too dangerous for him Aang. We’ve been attacked twice since coming to this town and during the last one they killed several of the Fire Nation animals. I miss him too, but it is safer for him to remain with the ship,” Katara explained.
“We?” Sokka questioned while glancing sideways at Katara. Her necklace had been adjusted so that it sat on top of her collar holding the red fabric in place so that it hid the suck-marks Zuko had left on her neck. “The last I heard, we were prisoners so how exactly did we get attacked?”
“You know what I mean Sokka,” Katara replied in exasperation.
“No, I don’t, Katara. Please tell me, how exactly did we get attacked? The way you say it seems like you had a stake in their fight. So tell me, Katara, how exactly did we get attacked when we were locked down in the hotel with Dai Li and Fire Nation soldiers ensuring we couldn’t escape.”
“You know what, Sokka, just forget it,” Katara huffed in exasperation.
Sokka retorted, “Is that what you tell Zuko when …”
Katara stood up and faced her brother, the rain around her stopping momentarily and twisting its trajectory when she spun towards him, “We were attacked when deserters from the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom armies who decided to make their money by smuggling women and children out of Ba Sing Se and selling them decided there were too many commodities in this town to be overlooked. We were attacked when any stray fireball could have burned down the hotel you were in or when a thrown boulder could have crashed into the window and killed you both or when those underground shockwaves could have caused it to collapse. We were being attacked so I did what I could to protect you!”
“Stop it! Stop fighting both of you!” Aang screamed like a child trapped between angry parents.
Katara inhaled and exhaled slowly deflating as she looked at him. Aang hadn’t been outside with them and unchained for months. She and Sokka were ruining what should have been a precious gift, “I’m sorry.”
“Yeah me too buddy,” Sokka echoed. “It’s just this place. They’re turning it into a colony.”
Sokka pointed at the ground in front and in back of them, “They’re building a garden behind the one that’s already there and they have plans to turn that space into another one. I’m in charge of hauling animal dung from the stables to the garden to use as fertilizer. If Appa were here his byproducts would be used to help the Fire Nation; that is if there was even enough water and vegetation to feed him. That’s why I sounded angry; this place would be hell for Appa.”
“Sokka’s right,” Katara added. She pointed to several earthen boxes in the fields, “I’ve been helping the townspeople save water. I collect the water they use twice and day and purify it so it can be used for cleaning or to water the garden. They don’t get much rain this close to the desert and it has to be shared among all of the people and animals. Appa’s big, Aang; the water he would need just to survive a day in this heat would be almost a week’s worth for the townspeople.”
Aang lowered his head; he hadn’t thought of those things, only that his best friend was not with him. It was selfish of him to want Appa nearby without thinking of how miserable Appa had been the last time they brought him to the desert, “I am sorry too.”
He lifted his hands. The motion felt foreign and he couldn’t feel any energy from them. It reminded him of how he ran away during Guru Pathik’s lesson instead of staying and learning how to re-open his chakras. He thought he’d been going to help Katara but his impulsiveness had only placed her in more danger, “If I had been stronger we never would have been captured.”
Katara lifted her head allowing the rain to fall onto her face while Sokka stoically stared ahead. This time there was nothing either one of them could say to shield the Avatar from the truth.
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Borealis: A Zutara Story