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Borealis: A Zutara Story	By : jaded_priceless Category: Avatar - The Last Airbender > AU/AR - Alternate Universe/Alternate Reality Views: 33555 -:- 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 302

The train lurched once more and Katara's stomach twisted as their destination came into view. "Zuko, what is this? Why are we going here? Why are we going to the Northern Air Temple?

The prince shook his head, "I don't know. This isn't where we were supposed to meet the Ursa. It should have been at the harbor at the shoreline North of Taku."

Chu-hua glared at the nearby teenagers. If Zuko hadn't given into the Waterbenders wailings to help the women of that dirt hill, Bong Cha wouldn't have come out of hiding to protect him and War Minister Qin wouldn’t have summoned her for an explanation. She was not looking forward to this meeting. While it was unlikely her status of Admiral would be revoked her patrol area could be changed. As Admiral At Large, Fire Nation Navy, she could travel wherever she wanted in support of the fleets of her nation. She could be "promoted" to Admiral of a specific region and grounded in one specific city. There was talk of sending a specific group after Chief Hakoda. Admiral Liang of the Western Fleet had the fastest ships and most battle hungry soldiers. She could very easily be shifted into his place and grounded in Ba Sing Se - her husband's city.

That was all speculation and if Mahnaz's superstitious nature had taught her anything was that if you expect the worse you will receive it. Deciding to amuse herself she rose and stepped outside of the main car and gave written orders to Huang and four others. Chu-hua resumed her seat and waited for the show.

Katara eyes widened and she groaned as the door opened once more, "Oh no."

Azula's mouth dropped in surprise and she glanced over to her cousin. She had been questioning her decision not to remain with the old woman after learning her true identity but this proved her decision to remain with Chu-hua had been correct. The Avatar and the Water Tribe boy tied and blindfolded, of course, were being ushered into their car.

Chu-hua smiled subtly from her seat where she could see everyone's faces, "Remove their blindfolds. Welcome to Fairy Land, the place where War Minister Qin's dreams come true."

Aang's eyes widened, he dropped to his knees and tears fell from his eyes as the train rumbled to a halt in front of Northern Air Temple in all of its red flagged glory.

"Get up," Sokka snarled harshly at Aang. "Stop crying and get up. Get up Aang! Can't you see this is what they want? Get up!"

"Leave him alone, Sokka!" Katara screamed as she rushed toward Aang only to have her wrist grabbed by Zuko.

"Katara stop."

Katara whirled angrily but the fingers on her wrist moved slightly before tightening and releasing. Zuko spoke again but this time she recognized the silent plea in his eyes, this isn't the time or the place, "Katara stop."

Katara bit her lip. Chu-hua was smirking waiting for her response. Aang was trying but failing miserably at stifling his tears. It was almost as bad as when he realized Monk Gyatso was gone; no it was worse. This time there was no Avatar State or even bending fueled by his emotions. Sokka was shaking and his voice was rough as he told him to get up.

Sokka had not been with them for several days. Fan made sure he ate; so did the Mu and the twins but Fan, Mu and the twins had been with them. There were shadows under her brother's eyes. He wasn't shaking in anger and the roughness in his voice wasn't from emotion - he was hungry. She had been so absorbed in the problems of other people that she hadn't even made sure her brother was fed properly.

Katara tasted blood as she meekly took her place next to Zuko.

Chu-hua harrumphed bitterly; she'd been looking forward to the Waterbender's reaction. She tilted her head, "Take them away. We'll be unboarding soon."

Sokka kept his head held high and suppressed the urge to shudder in disgust as Commander Huang placed a hand on his back and gently pushed him forward, "Come along, Sokka, I'll see you to your quarters."

Katara watched helplessly as her brother was pushed out of the room full of food and Aang was lifted by his chains by four large Firebenders. She ignored Chu-hua's comment of "well played little girl" and continued to sit quietly facing the floor. Unlike Aang she'd listened to her brother, her tears remained deep in their wells trapped by sheer force of will; each halting breath made it feel as if the sobs held tightly in her chest would cause her lungs to explode. The warm hand caressing her back should not have eased the sensation.

Azula frowned. The Waterbender was supposed to have blown up at her brother and ignored his request to stop but instead she'd obediently gave into his demand. This did not bode well. Her plans for New Ursa had been severely thwarted when the old woman claiming to be the lost child of Soizin declared herself governor. She still had Dai Li in the city but she knew better than to trust any of them now that they were out of her sight. If her brother's pet put on a good showing here there was a chance it could jeopardize retaining the support of the War Minister; after all War Minister Qin, like her father was a man.

"Aunt Ty!"

"Mai"

"Zula"

Azula corrected herself as she stepped off the train amidst childish shouts of greeting. War Minister Qin was nothing like her father, Ozai was faithful to his marriage vows and even after his wife’s death kept his promise that only she would bear his children. The support of Qin was already lost. A man who'd maintained the same mistress for decades, loved and acknowledged all of their bastard children would most certainly feel a sense of camaraderie with her loser brother and his intent to do the same thing.

The princess dodged one incoming mini-person only to be latched onto by another. "Zula! Zula! Zula"

"How many times do I have to tell you my name is Azula! A-zu-la! You stupid little midgets!" she screamed before spitting a torrent of flames much to the delight of her younger cousins.

"Aunt Ty!"

"Aunt Ty"

"Get off, I had her first"

"No you get off, I'm her favorite."

"They only call you that to see how much fire you'll blow out," Ty Lee laughed as she expertly wrangled the two nieces fighting for her attention. They were ten and twelve with their father's height so the brief distraction to reply to Azula sent all three of them tumbling into snow with her landing on top.

Mai took a different approach, she remained perfectly still and unmoving as a four year old twin grabbed each hand while repeatedly chirping, "Mai! Mai! Mai! Mai!"

A grinning boy rushed forward screaming, "Cousin Zuko! Cousin Zuko! You caught the Avatar! What did you bring me? Is it something cool?" and launching himself at the prince.

"Um hello," Katara muttered in surprise at the toddler whose small wet hand was wrapped around two of her fingers. Judging by the amount of slobber on its chin and her hand it was obvious the child had been chewing on its fingers and stopped only to proudly declare, "Mine."

"No, she's mine," Zuko growled while huffing smoke causing the child to laugh and the twelve year old clinging to his arm to loudly exclaim, "Wow! She's hot!"

"Get these things off of me!" Azula screamed blowing fire once more as the six, seven and eight year old children attached themselves to her torso and limbs.

The princess yelped and landed beneath a pile of children as a woman who looked like an older Ty Lee chi blocked her, "What have I told you about Firebending this close to my children?"

"And you seven," She yelled while placing her hand on her hips, scowling then correcting her count to include the toddler, "eight, what have I told you about proper decorum and acting as if I have taught you something!"

"Aw Sis but they haven't seen us in so long!" Ty Lee cajoled.

"And don't you encourage them! I swear between you, Quannie and Yan people will think I birthed a litter of hog monkeys!" the older woman screamed while pinching the ear of her younger sibling.

"Calm down, Eun Lee. Ty Lee's right, they don't get to see this part of their family very often. It's normal for them to be excited," a tall slender man with short dark hair, grey temples, and no top knot said as he pried the little one away from Katara. "Besides, they are obeying, we're not inside."

"Eiji" the woman growled as her husband once more took the side of their children when she was trying to discipline them.

He kissed her forehead while replying, "Yes my beautiful wife?"

"You're impossible! That's why they act like this!" She yelled pushing him away and storming off.

Eiji watched her disappear from view then smiled sadly at the youngsters, "You'll have to forgive my wife. Her hormones haven't stabilized since the birth of our last child."

"Yeah Dad, way to make an understatement," the boy next to Zuko proclaimed as he adjusted his glasses. "She's been unbearable for over a year!"

"Silence boy, I will not have you disrespecting your mother," he said sternly.

"Yes Father."

"Well since you're all out here, make yourself useful. Grab a bag and help me show our guests to their rooms," the man instructed.

"Come on Katara, we'll get settled then go find your brother," Zuko said quietly. He nodded to the boy, "I'm sure Seon will give us a tour."

The boy grabbed his glasses while nodding eagerly. Zuko was his absolute favorite cousin. The prince had been small and weak as a child but had grown up strong. Seon was the oldest by two minutes but his younger sister had always been taller and another younger sister had caught up to him. He picked up one of the smaller bags and headed to hall reserved for visitors, "Um Cousin Zuko, who is the pretty lady?"

Zuko offered a hastily introduction as Seon stopped at one of the many rooms, "Her name is Katara. Katara, this is my cousin, Seon. In case you haven't figured out, he's one of Ty Lee's nephews. His mom is her second oldest sister, Eun Lee."

"Nice to meet you, Katara. This will be your room," he said opening the door next to the one his sister opened for Mai.

Zuko looked inside, "No it won't. She'll be sleeping with me. Take us to another room. One that's not so close to Mai, Ty Lee and Azula."

The boy turned a bright shade of red. Katara elbowed the prince "Zuko! Watch what you're saying in front of a child!"

He rubbed his side, "I said we'd be sleeping together! It's not like I said we'd be having sex, besides Seon's twelve. He's practically a man not some little kid."

Zuko's explanation had an unintended effect. Hearing his hero call him a man over shadowed Zuko's pained yelp after receiving a second elbow and gave him the courage to disobey one of his father’s strictest rules. Seon led them away from the honored guest hall and took him to the off limits section. The rooms on that hall were larger and had more sunlight. They were deemed off limits since assigning them could potentially cause discord in what needed to remain a collaborative work environment but anyone was free to use them for meetings. His Father was in charge of the facility and the only concession he'd made for his family was installing a personal kitchen. He made the option available to every family out of fairness but the others weren't as large as theirs and were content to participate in the communal chore rotation.

Seon opened the door, "We're here. Don't tell anyone this is where you're staying. These rooms are bigger than the others and you know how Dad is about equality."

They set down their bags and Zuko asked for a tour. The Earth Kingdom inventor had been in charge the last time he was here and he knew Eun Lee had made several changes. She'd rearranged the decorations for Mu's wedding fifteen times until the chi flowed through the room satisfactorily. His cousin hadn't disappointed; the kitchen, living areas, work areas, stables and prison were all spread far apart. Zuko was able to obtain enough food to feed several people, carry it from the kitchen unnoticed, down the stairs to the stables where Sokka was with Mu, then farther down to where the Avatar was being held.

Despite being in an Air Temple the guards opened Aang's cell without question. The shock of seeing the Fire Nation flag flying from each turret was nothing compared to coming inside and seeing the how little of his culture remained. The brave and mighty Avatar had reacted like any twelve year old would upon learning the home he loved had been destroyed. He curled into a ball, lowered his head and cried. Zuko made no effort to stop Katara from entering the cell.

She pulled him into a tight hug, "It's okay to cry Aang. I know you're upset. I can't imagine how hard this must be for you."

Sokka sat on Aang's other side. He waited until Aang was wiping his tears and trying to compose himself to speak, "The Fire Nation wants to see you crying. That's why they brought us here. They want to see the all powerful Avatar sobbing like an infant. You let them win each time they see you cry."

Sokka squeezed Aang's hand, "You spent time here as a child. This place belongs to your people. It is filled with their spirit. It's in the very air we are breathing. Remember it how it was then. Remember everyone you knew and let them be your strength. Any time you feel like crying just remember you are at home surrounded by the spirit of your people. No matter what the Fire Nation does, they can't take your memories. Use them as ammunition to fight off your tears. Don't give the Fire Nation another victory."

Aang sniffled once more and blubbered, "Thanks Sokka."

Aang looked around the room and pointed at a nick in the wall as he attempted to fight his tears. His voice wavered with emotion as he explained, "Monk Gyatso did that. He and a friend were fighting over who would approach Sister Iio at their first gathering. As punishment they weren't allowed to attend and ended up spending their time cleaning the stables."

"We can't stay long, hurry up and eat," Zuko interrupted while passing out the food he brought. He handed a riceball to his cousin, "Here, you'll be the only kid who can say they shared a meal with Avatar."

"The Avatar?" Seon questioned. He didn't see anyone that looked like the Avatar; all he saw were Katara, her brother, and a crying little boy in orange.

Zuko pointed at Aang, "Even the most powerful bender on Earth has things that make him upset."

Seon stared at the prisoner; he could tell the other boy was still was fighting the urge to cry as Katara encouraged him to eat an apple and keep his strength up. He bit into his riceball; the riceball made by his cousin, the crown prince and future Fire Lord's very hand and bestowed upon him, then chewed mechanically. This would be a moment he would never ever forget and Akihiro would never believe it.

Seon led them back upstairs once they'd finished their food. He could have burst with joy when Zuko assigned him the task of making sure the prisoners were being fed properly after they’d covertly retrieved bedding and were behind the closed doors of the prince’s room. Seon understood he was being trusted with a task of great importance. He still felt ten feet tall when his grandfather's war balloon landed. The irritation he normally felt when Akihiro, his younger cousin who also shared his birthday but was much taller, greeted him with "Hey Shorty" was not there but he did give him the customary, "Hey Brat" after greeting his grandfather.

War Minister Qin was the only one to notice the change in his grandson. After greeting his own son he nodded in the direction Seon had led Akihiro, "I think I've been planning the wrong engagement. Aki may be taller but Seon's closer to becoming a man. What have you and that crazy wife of yours been teaching him?"

"Dad" Eiji warned.

Qin lifted his hand in a placating gesture, "No offense son, I love Eun Lee as if she were my own but you can't say she- "

Eiji’s voice was curt as he spoke, "Father, Eun Lee is my wife. Unless you are singing her praises or telling me how to repair the damage to our marriage I do not wish to hear it."

Qin shook his head at his son's foolish declaration but smiled. He patted his son's shoulder, "I knew I made the right choice in trusting you with the place, you're the only one of my children not afraid to tell me off so thoroughly."

Katara burst into tears once she and Zuko were alone in their room. It had hurt seeing Aang so upset and Sokka hungry; leaving only made her feel guiltier. She felt helpless far more helpless than she'd felt in a very long time.

Zuko lay next to Katara and rubbed her back as she sobbed. He had not wanted to come here. He’d been to all of the Air Temples but he specifically hated this one. The monks of the Northern Air Temple had been wiped out personally by Soizin. It was part of the reason it was chosen as the base of operations for Fire Nation military advancements. Each time he came in search of the Avatar it was as if he could feel the ghosts of those his great-grandfather murdered surrounding him in accusation. The last time he’d come, before the search for the Avatar once more led them south he’d mentioned it to his uncle. His uncle, who had been to the spirit world and could see them as a result, did not give him a response.

His uncle’s heavy calloused hand settled on his back warm and gentle as he said, “As members of the Fire Nation royal family, the sins of our forebears and future of our people weigh heavily upon us. It is good that you feel this weight Prince Zuko, as it means your honor is not truly lost.”

“I’m sorry,” He closed his eyes and whispered an apology to those beings he felt closing in on him, suffocating him as he buried his face in Katara’s hair. “I’m sorry, I had nothing to do with this. I don’t want to be here.”

Katara heard the words murmured in her ear. The feel of Zuko’s body trembling against hers halted her response.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I don’t want to be here.”

Zuko was cold. Katara pressed closer to him, laying her hand on his face, it wasn’t her imagination, he was cold. He was cold and apologizing. Katara called his name quietly and after the third time got a shaky response, “Katara?”

The Waterbender sat up slowly and brushed her thumb across his cheek, “A hot bath should help us warm up.”

Zuko nodded slowly. Together hand in hand they made their way to the bathroom.

The angry spirits crowding the room receded. There was a snowstorm the day they were murdered. The sky was clear and beautiful then all of a sudden the heavens opened. Snow, hail, sleet and rain blanketed the sky turning it white making the approach of the fiery comet all the more noticeable. It forced all of their people in the immediate vicinity to take shelter inside. Bisons were brought into areas they normally weren’t allowed; windows were broken, staffs were shaken from the walls and strewn about in the chaos. People were already running around when the first bolts of lighting and flames struck. The hail which they were accustomed to dodging on the mountain tops made the young ones flight easy. Broken windows made it easier to push the smaller ones into the waiting arms of Vayu. The rain dampened the fire buying time for the dying to strike death blows against their murderers.

This one, the one entangled with the seed of Soizin was a chosen child of the one who made hope possible. Vayu, the goddess of their element was fighting battles in four locations to save the people of air. The children they threw out of the windows into the arms of the wind were born away on snow drifts and frozen waterfalls. This child, the child of La which had protected their own from the purge and kept Aang, the one who would restore order safe until it was time for his return could not be harmed. Even if she was not a Waterbender, one they could see the spirit of La standing beside; the child who restored the Avatar to the world and loved Aang as if he were her own, was one they could not harm.
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Borealis: A Zutara Story