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Lost Roads	By : Vortex Category: Avatar - The Last Airbender > AU/AR - Alternate Universe/Alternate Reality > Het- Male/Female Views: 10520 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 2
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.

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Interesting how you broke my wings
Paralysed my lips so I can't sing
Pinning arms and legs, my feet and hands
Catch me if you can…
Delerium – “Orbit of Me”

After the invasion

The invasion of the Fire Nation and assassination of the Fire Lord had failed. Just as Azula had planned, Fire Nation troops had waited until after the eclipse to move in and surround the invaders. Airships had wiped out their means of escape through the water, effectively stranding the force deep within enemy territory. It had been Aang, with Appa’s help, who had managed to evacuate the children and teenagers to the safety of the western air temple.

But safety had eluded them. Zuko’s appearance at the temple had come as a rude shock to everyone in their group. His offer to help had been met with fierce resistance and skepticism from everyone. Even an offer to surrender himself to them as their prisoner had been met with scorn. Only his attempts to stop Combustion Man when the mercenary had arrived to continue with his mission to kill the Avatar had netted Zuko anything remotely similar to respect.

The group had reluctantly accepted Zuko into their community, though the reluctance had been strongest in Katara. Toph had taken things in stride, plans for friendly revenge against the firebending prince already forming in her mind. Sokka had deferred to Aang’s judgment, still solidly convinced that the way to win the war was to follow the original plan of learning all four elements. After a long moment of silence, Katara had also finally deferred to Aang, but she had made it clear that she did not completely believe in Zuko.

---
Zuko’s mind was still a jumble of thoughts as Sokka showed him to his room. The events of the past couple days had spiraled almost out of control. The disastrous first meeting with the Avatar and his group had been compounded by Zuko’s blundering words and his admission that he had sent a mercenary to kill the Avatar. Hurting the earthbender, even if purely by accident, had been a larger disaster, and Zuko had almost given up when he had faced down the mercenary earlier that morning. Only his drive and desire to see things through and make up for the wrongs he had done had kept him going.

A smile crossed Sokka’s face as the man finished speaking and turned to leave him to unpack in peace. Sokka’s words and manners were fairly amusing. Zuko knew that, had they been born in another life, they would have been great friends. For now he would have to settle for starting the long and slow process of friendship – a process made more complex by their shared past. Sighing, he turned to his bag and began removing the items from it. The first two items were his swords, as dear to him as any friend.

Next was the drawn portrait of his uncle. This drew a sigh from Zuko as he wondered where his uncle was. When he had gone to the jail to release his uncle during his escape from the palace, he had been surprised to discover that Iroh had instead broken himself out of jail and fled. Zuko hadn’t had the time to track down and chase his uncle, or else he would have lost sight of the Avatar, and the thought stirred a knot of worry in the pit of his stomach. Though his uncle was old and sometimes acted senile, Zuko had to remind himself that his uncle was clever and brilliant in his own right. If anyone could survive being hunted by the Fire Nation and Azula it was Iroh.

For a moment he had travelled back to his first visit to these temples, remembering the vow he had made and his uncle’s words of wisdom to him. The sound of soft footfalls on the stone floor brought him back to reality and he turned to see Katara standing in the doorway. For a moment, Zuko’s heart almost pounded out of his chest. Her hair was down, not in the braid that he had remembered from their last several encounters. Her new look made her seem older and prettier.

Any words of greeting or compliments fell short when he saw the look on her face. If looks could kill, Zuko would have undoubtedly found himself facing torture from a dozen angry waterbenders before being roasted over an open spit like a flying pig. Before he could gather up something to say, she opened her mouth and spoke.

“You might have everyone else here buying your… transformation… but you and I both know that you’ve struggled with doing the right thing in the past.” She approached him, and he realized for the first time that he actually was taller than her by several inches. His eyes followed her as she continued. “So let me tell you something right now: You make one step backwards, one slipup, give me one reason to think you might hurt Aang, and you won’t have to worry about your destiny anymore. I’ll make sure your destiny ends right then and there. Permanently.”

She spun on her heel, giving Zuko a look at her back. As she started to exit the room, Zuko’s mind raced. He had to make a decision and quickly before she did leave the room. He hadn’t wanted to activate her programming just yet – but wait until later when things had quieted down a bit and he had started to develop some trust with the group. But this might be the best and only chance he had to have her alone, where no one could interfere with him.

Letting out a breath, he looked at her. “Wait. I have something I want to say.” Mentally, he braced himself for what he knew would come next and took a deep breath.

Stopping at his words, she turned back towards him. Her blue eyes focused on his, a look of annoyance crossing her face. “Oh? And what would that be? Another apology? Another sob story about your mother or your family lineage?” She shook her head. “I don’t want to hear it, Zuko. Save your stories for someone who cares.”

“Only with water can the fire lilies bloom strong,” he hoped he had not forgotten the order of the words as Azula had given them to him. A flutter of excitement coupled with anxiety passed through him as he let out the breath he had been holding.

Katara started to open her mouth to ask Zuko why he was babbling nonsense about fire lilies when the full impact of the words hit. It was as if a switch had been thrown inside her. All of her thoughts came to a screeching halt. She could feel her body stiffen up as if someone had just taken control of it through bloodbending. What was worst of all was that she could no longer control the visions and memories flashing through her mind.

For a moment she remembered everything that had happened at Ba Sing Se. She remembered Azula and the Dai Li expert, the light on its circular track that had captured her attention, and eventually succumbing to the soft, warm commands of the expert. Each and every word spoken by the expert was now remembered, each command and suggestion, and Katara struggled mentally as she felt those very commands and suggestions take hold, awakened and unleashed by Zuko’s trigger phrase.

The struggle for Katara’s mind took only a few seconds but felt like an eternity. In her mind she could see herself standing alone, in a pit, as water started to rise up around her. A part of her knew that this wasn’t real water but the visualization of the commands that the Dai Li had planted inside her. Her bending was useless here, she found, so she tried to claw her way out of the pit as the water rose up past her knees and around her waist. Her attempts were futile against the slick sides of the pit and the water was rushing too fast for her to keep up with. Before she knew it the level had reached her neck. With some effort she struggled to tread water and stay afloat but her body felt so weary and so tired and the next thing she knew the water had submerged her completely and she was sinking. She closed her eyes, feeling the air inside her lungs burning to escape, knowing that she was going to die.

She blinked, and the world came back into focus once more. She was standing before Zuko in his room. For a moment she idly wondered why she was standing here, but the worry passed from her mind as quickly as it had arrived. Another thought nagged at her… there was something she needed to tell him. “Even water cannot withstand the sun,” the words flowed from her lips as they formed in her mind.

Zuko had watched the battle going on behind Katara’s eyes. They had held their vibrance and energy for a few seconds, but as he had worried, they had dulled as the programming and compulsions took effect. It was too bad that he could no longer see the defiance in her eyes, but the counter-phrase she had spoken had told him that the use of her activation had been successful, just as Azula had said it would. A part of him wondered what she was experiencing, wondered what it was like to be a victim of this sort of control, but he knew that such thoughts would only lead to trouble.

Now his plan got a bit hazy. To be honest, he had not thought out much beyond activating her programming. He needed to safeguard her against Azula, that much was certain, and it was probably a good idea if he made her believe he was not that big of a threat – not that he was, but if he could get her to trust him a bit more then it would mean less stress on him as he taught Aang firebending. There was also the part of him that desired her in the same way he had desired Mai – companionship, lust, and more.

It was better to at least start from the beginning. “Katara, can you hear me?” It was a stupid question, he knew, but he couldn’t help but ask the question out of uncertainty.

Katara’s face was a blank slate as she nodded. “Yes, I hear you, Prince Zuko.”

“Listen to me, Katara. The only one who can use the activation phrase on you is me. Do you understand?”

She nodded slowly, the command already writing itself in her mind. “Yes, Prince Zuko. You are the only one who can use that phrase on me.”

Good, that was out of the way. Now Azula wouldn’t be able to tamper with her. Zuko sat back down on the bed, noting that Katara did not move or react as he did so. She just stood there like a statue, waiting for orders. Rubbing his temple absentmindedly, Zuko thought over what to do next with her. He wouldn’t have a lot of time until her friends wondered where she was.

“Katara, each evening you will come to my room after everyone else is in bed. If anyone asks why, you will tell them that you are keeping a close eye on me.” It would be the easiest way to do whatever he would need to do with her programming… and let him enjoy the benefits of her company in private.

Again she nodded blankly. “I will come to your room each evening after everyone else is in bed. If anyone asks why, I will tell them that I am keeping a close eye on you.” A small part of her wondered why she was agreeing to a request that was blatantly obvious as a trap, but that nagging part of her was quickly silenced by the desire to obey Zuko.

That seemed to be a good enough start for now. “You will leave my room now, Katara, and then wake up and remember nothing of what just happened here. Only that you wanted to warn me about making any mistakes.” He wanted to do more with her but prudence won out over curiosity and desire.

Nodding blankly, Katara turned and walked out of the room. She had just crossed the threshold when a feeling like a flood engulfed her mind. Shaking her head, she tried to remember what had just happened. She had warned Zuko about making any stupid mistakes with Aang and then had turned to leave. That had been all, hadn’t it? Then why did she feel like there had been something she had forgotten?

She turned back for a second; saw Zuko sitting on his bed. A frown crossed her face. When she had walked in he had been standing in front of her. When had he sat down on his bed? Shaking her head, she dismissed the thought from her mind. Zuko would bear watching, she would see to that. For now, though, she needed to take some time to practice her bending and then look into dinner. Hopefully Sokka could catch them something to eat.

---

True to his skill, Sokka had managed to track down enough meat that Katara had been able to cook a reasonably decent meal, given the limited supplies they had on hand. Zuko had appeared briefly from his room to get a bowl of food but had returned to it just as quickly. The rest of their group had noticed his absence from the meal, but hardly anyone had thought anything of it. Katara, especially, had been thankful that he had taken his meal in his room – it meant she would not have to spend time watching him out of the corner of her eye. Ever since confronting him in his room she had felt a distinct sense of unease. Part of her wondered if she had crossed the line with him, part of her wondered if she had been too easy on him.

The conversation at the meal was light and humorous. Aang had been showing the others on a tour of the temple and they had come across some interesting things that they had wanted to share with Katara and the others. Toph had started getting the feeling back in her feet again, which made Katara sigh with relief to know that the young girl would not be hobbled up for very long. Sokka, of course, had to share the regaling tale of tracking down the bunnies that had become their dinner. But Katara had chosen to remain silent and listen, her mind fixed elsewhere.

Zuko, meanwhile, had felt it best to keep himself apart from everyone, which was why he had chosen to eat in his room. The silence he had met with earlier that day had been enough to convince him that the others needed time to cool down a bit before he truly approached and talked to them. There was also the matter of what he had done to Katara – he sensed that if he was out there with him he might inadvertently give away the secret he was carrying.

His time alone had also given him a chance to reflect on what he needed to do with Katara when she made her first visit to him that night. In the past, Uncle Iroh had accused the prince of acting without thinking ahead – something that Zuko knew now he was especially guilty of. If he was going to do this right, perhaps it was best to actually take the time and plan.

After some meditating on the matter, Zuko had decided on a course of action with Katara. If he made any drastic changes to her personality the others would be sure to notice. No, any changes that were going to be made would have to be done gradually, so neither she nor her friends picked up on them. Of course, he would only have a couple months to get everything accomplished before Aang and the rest of his group would face down Ozai and Azula once more.

If they were fighting on the same side, why was he even doing this to begin with? Part of Zuko had been asking this question since he had first hatched this scheme. It would have been easy just to teach Aang and fight alongside everyone else when the time came. But Zuko also knew that there was never just two sides to any battle. If he knew his sister, it might invariably come down to fighting multiple enemies for multiple reasons. Ambition was not a trait that Zuko carried with him much anymore but he knew that his sister would be seeking the throne to the Fire Kingdom. His sister never fought her battles alone, though – she always had someone else to fight them for her. Zuko knew that if he was to succeed and defeat his sister he would likely need more than just himself – he would need Katara.

None of their group, he suspected, would care to become involved in internal Fire Nation politics. The Avatar’s job was to defeat the Fire Lord. If Azula took the throne, she would undoubtedly seek to trick her way into the Avatar’s good graces. That would make any attempts to unseat her appear to be internal bickering, something that the Avatar often did not involve himself in. So, having an ally such as Katara would be a major benefit to him. That she was also an object of his lust and focus was a matter that did not need to be spoken aloud.

Zuko’s plan was simple but elegant in its own right. He would slowly mold Katara over to accepting him freely and willingly as someone she could trust. Over time she would come to like him, perhaps even to love him. Although she would be loyal to Aang and his cause, Katara would eventually come to loyally devote herself to Zuko as well. Then, when the inevitable time came that he would have to face down his sister, he would have Katara at his side. And, if all went well, she would never have known what it was he had done to her.

---

Night brought with it a clear sky and the sweeping twinkle of thousands of stars in the sky. Overhead a moon that was only a quarter full shone down, bathing its light on the temple and the valley below. The group had elected to go to bed early; Aang was to start his training with Zuko in a couple days and needed to brush up on his waterbending and earthbending beforehand. In her bedding, Katara tossed and turned, trying to sleep but finding herself unable to do so. She suspected her restlessness might be in part due to the dreams, but she knew that a large part of it had to do with the new member of their group. Aang and Sokka and Toph might be trusting of Zuko, but Katara knew better than to blindly trust someone who had betrayed them several times before.

After half an hour of tossing and turning Katara decided that enough was enough. Quietly, so as not to disturb the others, she rose from her bedding and glanced around. The others were all sound asleep. Looking over towards Zuko’s door she could see the dim flickering of candles. For a moment she thought about returning to her bed, but Katara decided that maybe it was better to check up on the firebender instead.

With soft footfalls she made her way to the doorway and peered inside. Zuko was sitting on his bed, eyes closed, meditating. Part of her wanted to turn around and go back to her bed, but she felt compelled to walk inside. Setting a scowl on her face she entered the room, stopping before the bed.

Hearing the rustle of clothes, Zuko opened his eyes and looked at the waterbender glowering over him. His heart skipped a beat as he realized that she had followed the command perfectly, waiting until everyone was asleep to come to his room. Now it was time to put his plan into effect. Leaning forward, Zuko smiled at the girl.

“Only with water can the fire lilies bloom strong.”

Katara’s eyes snapped wide as the familiar sensation washed over her, quicker this time now that the programming had been activated once before. As with before she remembered it all… and this time she remembered Zuko using the activation phrase on her. Then, just as suddenly, the programming took hold, altering her personality once more.

“Even water cannot withstand the sun.”

This time Katara did not wonder why she was standing there. She remembered that Prince Zuko had commanded her to come to this room every night after the others were asleep and she had carried out that command as he had ordered. Now she stood there, silently, waiting for him to give her a new order.

Standing up, Zuko slowly walked around her, inspecting her. “Very good, Katara. You have done well. Sit down on the bed.” She sat as he had commanded, eyes fixed straight ahead. Mentally he reviewed his plans, and then decided to forge ahead. “Katara, do you have a boyfriend or husband of your own?”

“No, Prince Zuko,” she replied in a soft monotone.

He remembered that she would not volunteer information – if he wanted to know more he would have to ask more. “Is there anyone who you have feelings for?”

An almost imperceptible frown crossed her features at the question. In her mind she was struggling to find an answer and a voice deep down was cautioning her not to answer – that this would only result in bad things. After a long second she shrugged her shoulders. “No, Prince Zuko.”

“What about Aang? Do you feel anything for him?”

The frown was deeper this time, far more visible. This time there was some emotion to her voice. “I like him as a friend. I feel concern and care and worry for him.”

Zuko sat down on the bed beside her now, turning his attention to her face, particularly those enchanting eyes. That had been the biggest worry he had had – that Katara had real and strong feelings for Aang. But her feelings right now were confused. It may not have been the best set of questions to start off asking but Zuko wanted to get them out of the way first.

“Katara, when you are awake you do not trust me, am I right?” She nodded slowly and he pressed on. “Why do you not trust me?”

“You betrayed my trust and you tried to hurt everyone. You used me as a hostage and stole my necklace.” Her voice was tinged this time with anger and hate, and it sounded softer yet far stronger than it had a minute ago.

“But you trust me now. Why?”

“Because I have to. You said the special words that opened my mind. Now you have control of me.”

He may not have understood it all, but Zuko knew that he needed her to start trusting him in reality. A moment’s thought was all that was necessary for him to come up with an idea. “When you are awake I want you to stop thinking so much about all the bad things I’ve done in the past. From now on, you will focus more on how I am really not that bad of a person.”

The weight of the words burned into Katara’s mind, but deep down inside something fought against it. A weak inner voice tried to dissuade her from taking this step, trying to remind her that Zuko was bad and what he was doing right now was bad. For a moment the struggle persisted, then ceased as the voice was quashed by the command. She nodded. “When I’m awake I will focus on how you are not that bad of a person instead of thinking about all the bad things you’ve done in the past.”

Zuko knew it was a start. He struggled to contain his rising excitement. “Every day when you are awake you will feel more strongly about giving me a second chance – you think that it would only be fair since I helped save your lives.” Again she repeated it back to him, the commands taking hold amidst the tiny voice in her mind that struggled to tell her that this was all wrong and she should not do what she was being ordered to do.

Satisfied with the progress he had made, Zuko smiled confidently. A couple weeks of sessions like this and Katara’s entire outlook would be changed. He knew that it was not a good idea to do this sort of thing to her, but he reminded himself that he needed her trust faster than he could ordinarily earn it.

Silently he moved in close to her. She did not move at his approach and he gently stretched out his hand, taking a handful of chestnut hair between his fingers and rubbing gently. Her hair was soft and smooth, not rough like Mai’s. He had done well so far, keeping hidden the part of him that was infatuated with her, but now it was time to let off some of the pressure that had been building up inside him.

It would have been far too easy for him to take her there and then on his bed. With no defenses she would not resist his touch or passions, would comply willingly with his every command. But that was not what Zuko sought – he sought to see the energy behind her eyes, the passion that reflected the very contents of her soul. Until she was willing he would have to settle for less. But there was nothing to stop him from planting the seeds.

“Have you ever kissed someone before, Katara?” He was almost surprised to hear his own deep voice crack a bit at the question. He had not realized just how tense he was feeling about this.

“Once. Aang kissed me before the invasion.” Katara’s voice was soft and tinged with confusion as the scene replayed itself in her mind.

If she had only kissed once then she had likely never felt anything else beyond that. Katara did not strike him as someone who often gave in to the primal instincts and urges of the human body. Certainly she had never known the intimacy that he and Mai had shared. Well, that would have to change starting tonight.

Still holding her hair between his fingers he sat back down on the bed beside her. He suspected that she was actually very shapely, but it was hard to tell with the layers of clothes she wore. “Katara, take off your robes.” She complied silently, pulling them off to reveal the bindings and top she wore underneath. Now that he could see more skin, Zuko took his time admiring the sight of her. Her skin was nicely tanned and looked to be very soft and smooth. Just as he had thought, beneath the robes she was very shapely, with a body that was almost as lithe as the water she bent.

His time with Mai had helped teach Zuko how to get over his clumsiness with the opposite sex. In their first intimate moments he had been rough with her, but over time she had shown him the right ways to do things. Armed with that knowledge, Zuko gently released the hair he had been rubbing between his fingers and moved his hand gently down the side of Katara’s neck.

A shiver coursed through her as her body reacted both to the cooler air and to Zuko’s gently touch. Inside her mind, the almost-silent voice screamed, begging her to stop this madness, begging Katara to come to her senses and realize what Zuko was doing. But the programming was too strong and Katara sat there, mind not even registering what Zuko was doing.

“How does that feel?” He used the back of his hand to continue the gentle movements, a surprising change in demeanor from that of a firebender.

“It feels…” now her mind took note of the sensation. It was gentle and it felt nice. There was no pain. Another shiver crept up her spine. “Nice, Prince Zuko. Very nice.”

“Just call me Zuko, Katara,” he corrected, deciding he grew tired of the title. “Especially when we are together like this.” The hand dropped down, following the curve of her shoulder and along her back. Her skin was exceptionally smooth and soft, just as it looked, and Zuko relished the sensation beneath his fingers. Tracing the curve of the shoulder, he came to her side and let his fingers trace idly up and down it.

The motion elicited stronger shivers from Katara and Zuko could feel her body tremble beneath his touch. “Does this also feel good, Katara?” She nodded, the words catching in her throat as a shiver started from her ribs, causing gooseflesh to break out along her arms.

Emboldened both by her reactions and her lack of argument (which, he logically knew, was because she was in a state where she would not resist him), Zuko allowed his fingers to graze her stomach now, following the contour of her ribs and tracing random circles and patterns as they moved. He didn’t need to ask her if she was enjoying it – the continual shivering of her body and her faster breathing were enough to do it for him.

If he had all the time in the world, Zuko would have stayed here and just caressed the soft, warm body sitting on the bed. He hoped that, soon enough, he would get that wish when she came to him willingly. There was one more thing he wanted to do before he sent her back to bed for the night.

In a gentle but surprisingly rapid motion he allowed his hand to roam over her breasts. Though they were hidden under bindings and cloth, he could feel the firmness of her flesh. The hardened bumps of her nipples, in the centers of her breasts, told him that she was responding nicely to the intimate caress. He allowed his hands to roam over her breasts for a few moments, and was unexpectedly rewarded by a gentle moan which escaped her lips.

It was too bad that he did not have more time tonight or he would have worked those bindings off and explored her body more. Gently, he cupped a breast with his hand and let his fingers massage it. “Do you like that, Katara?”

She nodded faster this time, taking a breath. “Yes, Zuko. It feels very nice.”

“Would you like to feel more things like this?”

Once again there was a moment’s pause as if things were warring inside her. Part of her continued to scream this was wrong, but the dominant voice in her mind told her that Zuko was in control and that she should answer the question truthfully. Truthfully, she did want to experience more sensations that felt this good. The answer was clear. “Yes, Zuko.”

“Tonight you will dream of feeling these things, Katara. Do you understand?” He squeezed gently at the question, punctuating it in her mind. She echoed the words back to him as another shiver moved through her.

Letting go of the soft flesh, he handed her the robes she had discarded. “Put these back on.” She did as he commanded, and with the exception of her hair, she looked as she had when she had entered the room.

Standing up, Zuko looked at Katara. “Return to your bed and go to sleep. When you wake up you will remember nothing of what has happened here.” With a nod, Katara wordlessly exited the room, returning to her bed. Watching her leave, Zuko sighed a sigh of relief, feeling exhilarated that things had gone according to his plans. He stood and extinguished the candles, mind already racing ahead to the fun they would have tomorrow night.
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Lost Roads