LESSER OF TWO EVILS

Lifestyle


THIS STORY STARTS AT THE BEGINNING OF EPISODE 3 (season 1)!
That was when Zuko arrived at Zhao's shipping yard, found out about the Avatar, battled over honor…etc...I'll branch off from the original plotline almost right away, but just have the idea anyway.

以毒攻毒- "Fight poison with poison. Fight fire with fire."
-chinese proverb


Chapter 1

Katara must have cheated death at some point in her life.

And now her fate was getting its sweet revenge.

She felt a damp washcloth press against her forehead, helping to calm her nerves more than her fever. Her head pounded with every thought that passed through her head, her drowsiness beginning to overpower her. The bed was her only support. Her skin burned. Her eyes watered.

Most of all, she felt positively nauseous.

There was no way she was going to live past her eighteenth birthday like this.

The man at the back of the room gave the doctor by her bedside a stern look.

"It shouldn't be this bad," he murmured deeply, eyes wandering over the bedridden girl occasionally. He stayed near the shadows, where the candle light couldn't reach him, "It's never gotten this serious."

Katara allowed her eyes to close softly, her pants slowly beginning to fade. A nap wouldn't hurt….just a short one.

The doctor drew the stethoscope from her chest about the same time, a small sigh building up in his chest. He looked fairly young, normal in all its forms. His short black hair complemented his fair complexion. Scribing a quick note to himself, he spoke to the man behind him while continuing to tend to his patient.

The sun had set hours previously. Katara had just finished dinner, getting ready to settle down in bed and admire the full moon just outside her window, when everything took a turn for the worse.

That was three hours ago.

"At this point, there's nothing I can do" the pause that followed the comment was uncomfortable; "she needs rest and a good meal. I can prescribe some medication, but I can't guarantee its success."

The man in the back folded his arms, leaning casually against the wall, eyes trained at the metal lined floor. His uniform looked outlandish in comparison to the simple room, but it didn't seem like he particularly cared. The doctor continued, a hint of annoyance added to his tone.

"It would help if I knew what is making her so sick. If I didn't know any better, I'd say this is some new type of virus…but…." he trailed off.

The man's fists clenched, and for the first time that evening, a flash of worry crossed his face. If the doctor had noticed, he didn't show it.

The candle light flickered, threatening to blow out the only remaining light in the room.

"What?" he shot.

"You're a powerful man, Zhao. Powerful men make powerful enemies," the doctor rambled "if there's anyone you know who might look the least bit suspicious…"

The man's face paled.

"And what exactly are you suggesting-"

The doctor had guts to cut him off in the middle of a sentence, especially with the tone he had been using.

"If you were to ask me, I'd say someone is poisoning her."

"Shut up already. That's impossible," Zhao ground out through clenched teeth, "Only a few members of my crew and I even know of her existence. Are you blaming them of treachery!"

"I don't think you understand-"

"Oh, I think I do."

"No," the doctor injected, "I don't think you do. If this was natural, than her sickness wouldn't be following a pattern."

The commander wore a blank stare.

"Don't tell me you haven't noticed" berated the doctor, "I've visited night after night since last year. Look outside: A full moon. It was like that during my past twelve visits onboard your ship. I've studied medicine my entire life, and I've never heard of a virus that is triggered this way. But, then again, I don't have too many water tribe patients. Get her to her own people. They'll know more than any fire bender."

"…."

"Did you hear what I said? Get her to a water bender, or risk jeopardizing her life."

Zhao cracked his knuckles darkly, "You can't be serious. We're at war with the filthy beasts."

"On the contrary, I'm being quiet serious."

"No."

"I didn't say it would be easy."

"It doesn't matter how easy it is. It won't be done."

The doctor was about to respond when he spotted a dish of unfinished biscuits and tea on a nearby table.

"Was that Katara's dinner?" he questioned, changing the subject without even realizing it, "Has her food been checked?"

"How about we find out," Zhao mockingly held out a biscuit, "…tea and biscuit, doctor?"

"….."

Zhao rolled his eyes when the doctor stilled, but failed to hide his smirk. Not that he had tried, "don't worry, Lee, I wouldn't dream of trying to poison you, even if the thought does seem very amusing to me at the moment. The food's safe."

He took a bite out of it just for spite.

"You need to work on your humor, Zhao," Lee, the doctor, replied instantly, running a hand though his hair steadily, "Nonetheless… this is serious. The prospects look grim for the girl. "

He drew a level stare.

The doctor held up one hand, only his pointer finger raised. He must have done this out of consideration of Katara who currently had her eyes closed. It looked like she had finally fallen asleep, but neither could be sure. He didn't want to say it out loud with the risk that she might hear it. But really, there was no point in delaying the inevitable. She was going to find out someday. Better sooner than later.

Later would work for now.

"This is not in terms of years, but in months," the doctor's eyes shadowed over, "no more, no less. Her heart's starting to fail. Not even the greatest practitioner in the world can start a heart back up once it's stopped."

One finger equals one month.

A death date, in other words.

His statement seemed to pass by Zhao like the doctor had only been commenting on the weather: In one ear and out the other. He didn't show one sign of emotion.

But had he ever?

He took one look at Katara. His gaze was distant, seemingly making up his mind in an instant.

His departure was silent as he brushed past the tent flap.

"If she dies before I get back, I won't hesitate in killing you."


30 minutes later-
"Uncle, I want the repairs made as quickly as possible. I don't want to stay too long and risk losing his trail"

"You mean the Avatar?"

Zuko cringed before turning on his uncle, "Don't mention his name on these docks! Once word gets out that he's alive every firebender will be out looking for him and I don't want anyone getting in the way."

Zuko took a deep breath, flicking a piece of dirt off the shoulder of his armor.

They had finally reached the Fire Nation naval yard. Tents and buildings lay to the right, ships lined the left and what looks like a railroad line ran down the middle. The prow of Zuko's ship had been opened, its spout lying on the floor of the port.

Zuko was out of a ship, was one short of an Avatar, and had banked at Zhao's shipping ground no less.

Today was going to be a great day.

And that was before Zhao caught sight of them.

"Well, well, well….if it isn't Prince Zuko and General Iroh." He gave a quick bow, "Great hero of our nation."

"Captain Zhao." Zuko muttered with distaste.

"It's commander now," he spoke calmly with a twist of self-satisfaction woven beneath, "The Fire Lord's brother and son are welcome guests any time. What brings you to my harbor?"

"Our ships being repaired."

"Is it now..." Iroh gestured to the ship behind as Zhao's eyebrow shot up on his forehead, "That's quite a bit of damage."

"Yes….you wouldn't believe what happened" Zuko shot a sharp glance to his left, "Uncle! Tell commander Zhao what happened."

Iroh blinks.

"Ahhh…yes, I will do that. It was incredible." Iroh leaned over in Zuko's direction, "What….did we crash or something?"

"Commander Zhao!"

Zuko nearly collapsed with relief at the interruption. Zhao was immediately distracted.

"Lee."

The doctor stopped by his side, waving a pamphlet before his face.

"I've been researching on that..." he hesitated, noticing the presence of the other two men, "…thing we were concerned about earlier. I've got in touch with another doctor from the capital. She thinks she can help."

Zhao looked torn. He gave Zuko a side look.

"I'm afraid we're going to have to leave this conversation until later gentlemen," he smirked, "You must regale me with all the thrilling details of your crash. We can do it over drinks Tuesday morning."

Zhao and the doctor walked away, leaving a fuming Zuko in its wake. Iroh places a hand on his shoulder.

"Did we…..crash or something…..!" Zuko snarled quietly, "Was that the best response you could think of!"

Zuko seemed to have forgotten he was the one who had passed the buck to him in the first place. Zuko huffed, ultimately releasing a gout of flame from his mouth that blew directly in his uncle's face. Iroh smiled, clouded with smoke.

"I'm lucky to have such an understanding nephew…Ohh! Tea!"

Zuko glowered to himself.

"What a complete waste of time…"


It was half past one AM.

Zhao wasn't back yet.

Katara was almost too afraid to open her eyes at first. She was planning on lying there as she had if her curiosity hadn't gotten the better of her.

On the desk besides her, her hand brushed lightly across a parchment. A bolded insignia was on the front, so it wasn't from Zhao, he was too informal with her. It was crumpled at the edges and must have been done in a hurry.

"Zhao?" managing to sit into an upright position while rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she picked up the paper that she had felt from before.

The date in the top hand corner tipped her off how long she had been unconscious. A full day had already passed.

Katara-

Take it easy for the next few days. This case was worst that your last, so some of the symptoms you experienced will carry over during that time. Do not overexert yourself! This means no sword or archery practice, no obstacle courses, and no taunting the other trainees (I know how much you love to do that). Zhao left for a meeting with Iroh, a retired general visiting the area (but don't tell him I told you that). He's somewhere around here and should be returning shortly if he hasn't already.

-Lee

P.S. - you have a lovely necklace, Katara. I'm glad Zhao let you keep it.

Katara held a hand over her heart, trying to steady it. The necklace had been her mother's.

Zhao was the only father she had ever known. He never went into much detail about where she had come from, it must be a touchy subject, but she knew enough to be satisfied.

Zhao had found her when she was two at the South Pole. She had been stranded, her parents either dead or….

It was war. She never blamed them.

Zhao had brought her back to his compound, given her a warm meal and had kept her ever since. Someday she wanted to return to her homeland just to see what she had grown up without. She'd go now if Zhao wasn't so adamant against it.

The truth was, Katara would never fit in anywhere.

The people of the Fire Nation were like her brothers and sisters. She walked the same, talked the same, and even ate in the same way as them. And yet…she would always be the girl from the water tribe who had lost her way. She couldn't even go out in public freely. Someone might as well chain her up, lock her away, and throw away the key.

If she was to return back to her people, she might look like everyone else, but the culture shock would overwhelm her.

The truth sucks sometimes.

Maybe Zhao wasn't holding her back. IF she really wanted to, nothing could stop her from returning. That was just the excuse she told herself the days she was scared.

Katara let her fingers glide over her necklace.

Deep down inside of him he must love her. Even though he's never said it, he must. He hated waterbenders; he hated any mention of them. So why keep her for all these years?

It went to prove that everyone had a heart, no matter how much they tried to deny it.

She thought about it the entire time she spent searching for her coat. Zhao wasn't back yet, so she was going for a night stroll.

As she pushed the tent flap away, checking both directions to make sure no one was around, she started walking in the direction of the dried up well. It was one of her favorite spots.

The port's empty streets gave her a feeling of trepidation.

By the time she had walked a good ways she was at the edge of a forest. She could clearly she the outline of the well just a ways off, bordering along the line of the woods and the developed community behind her.

She hadn't expected anyone else to be there. Surprise, surprise.

She yelped, probably louder than she would have liked, diving behind a tree. When no attack came, and the only noise to be heard was a distressed squirrel somewhere above her, she breathed again. It must have been her imagination.

She hated being naive.

Her hands shot up to her throat to try to pull the knife that had just been forced there.

Oh no….

Zhao was going to have a fit.

Wait. If she died, she wasn't even going to see Zhao have a fit!

She was forced away from the tree by a harsh hand. A plate of armor pressed against her back, an arm griping her side. If this wasn't such a traumatic situation, she would have blushed. She did so anyway out of anger.

"Who do you think you are!" she struggled, but his grip remained firm. She had hoped her voice had come across threatening, but she had tried to keep her voice down at the same time so it ended up more as a lame squeak, "Unhand me!"

His grip on the knife tightened, causing her panic to rise.

"Hey! Hold on a minute! I had no idea you were even there!"

"Likely case."

Ah. He speaks. And it was a he; not that she thought the person was a woman…he defiantly didn't feel…

She frowned, "Why are you here anyway?"

"So that I can catch spies in the act. Consider it my duty to the Fire Nation."

She glanced at her own skin. She had almost forgotten. He thought she was a spy…

"I'm not a waterbender you know. I may look like one-" He snorted, "If you take the knife away, I could explain."

He gave no answer.

"I swear by my honor I won't run! Or attempt to hurt you…or anything of that sort."

She hadn't expected that to work, it never had before, so she was pleasantly surprised when it did. The knife fell away as he let go of her at the same time, causing her to fall. She could care less that her knees were scraped up a bit.

Before she could turn around and look him face to face, he stepped in front of her.

She winced.

There was a nasty scar on the left side of his face. It only made his appearance appear more threatening than it already was. With his arms crossed over his chest, his stance held authority. His armor looked somewhat scuffed up. He had a small ponytail in the back of his head. He wasn't smiling. He was glaring though: at her.

He looked like a Zhao impersonator, only younger. Yet, from first glance, she could tell they were people from opposite sides of the spectrum. They probably hated each other. She had no idea how right she was.

He was waiting for her to explain.

She brought the tips of her fingers together: "I'm one of the….uh…daughters of the officers here." Zhao was going to kill her. She couldn't ever lie properly, "I travel a lot."

"You don't look like a firebender…" Katara gave out a shaky breath as he said this, "What's his position?"

Commander

"General." She chanted, taking a deep breath in the process. At least she hadn't given anything more away.

"General who?" he asked darkly.

Suspicious more like.

She put on a smile.

"You wouldn't know him. Actually, I barely know him…"

"Try me, peasant."

She fumed, "Don't call me a peasant! I have a name!"

"Stop avoiding the-!" His eyes buckled as she shoved a hand against his mouth, which he tore off angrily, "What do you think you're doing!"

She glared at him, holding a finger to her lips.

"Be quiet! The whole camp can probably hear you!"

"So?"

"So! People are sleeping! I don't want to get caught!"

A snarl formed at his upper lip.

"I knew it, you are a waterbender!"

"I am not! Can't even bend that puddle. Now shut it before you get me in trouble!"

The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as she felt his gaze on her. The silence that followed was deafening.

"…what did you say your father's name was?" he asked slowly, drawing out the question in a long, whispered manner.

This was the point where all lies fail, especially when you don't make back up plans. She could either tell the truth, lie again (which got her in this mess the first time) or avoid the question entirely.

It would have helped if she knew a general.

She thought back to earlier that evening where she had read one of the last lines in the letter Lee had left her.

Zhao left for a meeting with Iroh, a retired general visiting the area.

"Iroh."

That got his attention.

He had been staring out into the trees, perhaps thinking she wasn't even a bother to look at anymore, when his reaction sprang. She had never seen anyone's head turn so fast. She certainly heard the crack that came with it, and he certainly must have felt it.

He didn't seem to care.

Her face paled when a flicker of fire erupted from his fingertips.

"You," he roared, advancing while she backed away. He managed to grab her wrist at the last second before she could go any further, "I've had just about enough of this. You're going to come out and tell me exactly who you are."

Katara gulped heavily.

"I'm…"

"….."

"….I…….."

She looked up at his face, only to realize he wasn't even listening to her. His grip didn't loosen, but his eyes had focused on something beyond her shoulder. She didn't know he could look even more disturbed than he had a moment ago. She knew who it was the moment he spoke.

"Prince Zuko….what a surprise," said Zhao, "Out for a night stroll?"

She felt weak in the knees.

Prince?

He must not have spotted her yet. He sounded too calm.

PRINCE!

"Zhao."

Must run, must run, must get away- OW!

Zuko's grip on her wrist tightened so sharply she couldn't withhold a small yelp. The sound carried.

Zhao stopped in mid stride as he placed the noise. She could almost hear the gears in his mind churning while his anger started to boil. The heat from his stare burned on the back of her head. It couldn't have gotten any hotter unless he lit her on fire.

She wouldn't put it under him. He was a firebender after all.

He started walking again as if nothing had happened.

"And what do we have here?"

Zuko reacted tonelessly, "None of your business."

"Oh, but it is" he said smugly, a bounce in his step, "Escaped prisoners are always my concern.

Katara panicked before realizing he was bluffing. Zhao had obviously conjured up a plan, enough to get her out of the current situation.

She only hoped he didn't take it too far out of hand.

"Now, if you'd return her, we'll be on our way. She wouldn't want to miss her execution tomorrow."

Zuko did a double take, glancing quickly down at Katara. She could have sworn she saw a flash of sympathy in that half a second.

"On what charges."

"Existing should be reason enough" He smirked as Katara blanched, giving a short lived struggle against Zuko's hold, "I'm told burning to death is a very painful way to die."

Zuko fumed. His eyes flashed.

From Katara's position against him, she could she Zuko's hand clenching. His body began to shake with anger or fear, she wasn't sure.

Zhao smiled again.

"They've performed this particular execution only once before. It was for a certain Fire Lord's wife. Capital punishment. The Prisoner's screams can be heard for days."

Zuko shot forward a step. In his anger, he seemed to have forgotten he was carrying Katara alongside with him. She stumbled to keep up.

"Dammit Zhao. You monster."

"Dully noted," Zhao held out a hand, "Hand the girl over."

"No."

Katara wasn't the only one surprised. In fact, she was clueless as to why he was still standing up for her. It would be a lot easier if he just stopped playing the hero and handed her over.

"No? I believe I just gave you an order."

"I don't take orders from you."

Zhao was laughing. He swept a hand though his hair as he bellowed. Zuko finally let go of Katara, pushing her behind him.

This was her chance to run. So why wasn't she?

"You're still the spoiled prince. No wonder your father hated you. Always wanting what you can't have." He pointed at Katara, "I bet you couldn't wait to get rid of her two minutes before I came."

Katara winced. Surprisingly, it wasn't at the comment.

While the two men continued their banter, a sharp tingling spread up her legs, one that was only too familiar.

"You're right. Some things never change."

Her breathing was getting heavy. She swayed on her feet. Her eyes connected with Zhao's. He seemed to stare right through her.

However, in his next statement, the first signs of worry appeared in his tone.

"That's enough. Give her to me and I won't have to hurt you."

Zuko's stare was more than answer enough. He even anticipated what was happening two seconds before Katara had.

Five archers, hidden behind the trees, stepped out into the clearing. They had their bows and arrows at the ready, holding back and waiting for the consent to fire.

Where she lived, Yu Yan archers are practically legends. Their accuracy is unrivaled. They could pin a fly to a tree without killing it.

Some claim they are the best in the world. How Zhao ever managed to get them in his hold for the night she had no idea.

But, then again, she had spent 12 years with him. She watched him us his cunning over and over again. He could word his way out of any predicament. He could convince entire armies to follow under his lead. If you didn't comply, you were dropped off a cliff. Simple as that.

She use to cringe when she thought about that.

She doesn't anymore.

OH yes, she often times lies awake at night thinking about all the horrible things he's done, and still she forgives him. It wears on her.

He was her father. What other choice did she have?

The Yu Yan archers held their ground.

These archers were meant for capturing. They were use to detaining prisoners for questioning. But if ordered: they will kill. And Zhao didn't look like a happy camper.

They fired all at the same time; two arrows per archer. Ten arrows in all.

…about to be lodged into their skulls.

She heard a small yell of outrage, two actually, Zhao's furious yell of – 'Idiots!" combined with Zuko's scream of fury. Zuko's yell made sense. Zhao's had not.

Then, she realized it was because those arrows weren't just aiming at Zuko- they were heading straight at her. The signal must have been played wrong. She had gotten in the way of a full fledged attack.

Oops.

Luckily for her, Zuko wasn't planning on dieing that day.

With an impressive dive and spin, he had gone from in front of her to behind, picking her up by the waist to roll them both to the ground. Dirt flied as they landed, an arrow wising just by her head as he made another move of evasion.

He shot a stroke of fire with his free hand, burning an arrow in midair.

She could feel her heart pounding in her chest, adrenaline pumping through her veins. She had never experienced anything like this in her entire life. The fire was overwhelming, pulsing to her fingertips.

She clamped her fist and pulled it towards her chest. Somewhere, she felt like she was pulling something to her.

It was so wonderful she barely noticed the pain. Not until she tried to move.

The dull thunk echoed in her mind. She inhaled sharply, cold rushing to her limbs, unimaginable pain erupting from her ankle. The feeling of adrenaline left her, just as all feeling seemed to do the same.

She heard another outraged scream, and then- a jerk- Zuko had fallen just behind her.

Don't be dead, don't be dead…

Her body wouldn't let her do much more than blink. Her lungs betrayed her.

Zhao was in that mood of his again. He was shouting- at her? At Zuko? The prince right? He was a prince? Yea….

Her head lolled listlessly to the side.

A pair of rough hands yanked her head towards the sky. It was awfully red...She could feel hands running down her body, checking for injuries?

"Get her to Lee."

Despite the circumstances, it felt odd to hear those words from him. In the back of her mind she had totally forgotten that it was the middle of the night, and that she had just met with a complete stranger, a prince no less, and that they were in the middle of nowhere…

She had forgotten who she was.

Her back arched in pain as heavy hands shifted her leg. Her vision blacked out for a moment.

"Easy! Easy. She's caught good." A woman appeared by her side, steadying her. She had no idea where Zhao had gone off to, "We'll have to pull it out. This is going to hurt a bit."

Was she saying that to her? The woman wasn't even looking at her.

"On the count of three. One-, two-"

Her entire ankle must have come off with that arrow. She tried to yelp, but something had been placed in her mouth, a cloth? She bit down heard, her entire body tensing as the object left her body. The arrow didn't come easy.

She was going to hurl. Someone needed to get her a bucket. Spots were forming against her eyes.

Voices filtered in and out of her head as she caught only brief snips of their conversations.

"-escaped?"

"-Should-after him?"

"No- let –erd go."

Something wet began to gather by her legs, and for a horror stricken moment, she thought it was blood. Tilting her head to see for herself, she realized it was nothing more than water winding its way towards her body. It was an odd sight, something she pushed aside as her stomach clenched painfully. It began to mix with mud and coated her silk dress (it was new too) as a pair of arms lifted her from the ground. She had no will or strength to battle whoever it was, and allowed them to carry her off.

It was quiet as her consciousness left her.

It was not peaceful.

She dreamed about death.


He heard the familiar doors creak open, lighting a smile on his face.

Iroh poured himself more tea, settling himself down into his chair.

It was about time Zuko returned. He had stormed off two hours ago without so much as a goodbye. It had taken a while to calm down a few members of the crew after Zuko had aimed a lamp at their heads. He shouldn't have taught him such good aim.

It had been a long day….he thought to himself, but nothing that couldn't be fixed with a nice cup of tea. Zuko didn't know what he was missing.

His ears strained for the familiar slamming of doors. It didn't come, and smile slowly slipped off Iroh's face.

He only had time to turn around when Zuko wobbled into the room.

Iroh sprang straight up out of his chair, knocking his tea over in the process. Zuko had managed to grip the wall besides him, but hadn't managed to do much else. Blood trailed from his chest: an arrow lodged firmly there. There was a far away look to his eyes, which jolted Iroh to his senses.

"Nephew!"

Zuko sank to his knees as Iroh ran over, supporting him by his shoulders.

"Zhao!" There was fever in his eyes, "Damn him!"

Zuko hadn't looked desperate for nearly two years. Trying to ignore the blood stained carpet, Iroh took his face in his hands, steadying his eyes towards his own while attempting to calm his own worried heart. He couldn't help but feel like a repeat of his past life was happening all over again.

"It doesn't matter Zuko."

"-Stupid!–conniving!-the cretin- talked about- her!" Zuko forced out the words, straining with every syllable.

His hands were already covering the wound, working as he heard the ship's crew begin to awake with the commotion.

Iroh was kneeling next to the boy, hovering over him as his nephew slid back against the wall, his legs spread out in front of him.

There was something about seeing Zuko like this that angered him. But most of all, it broke him.

He wasn't sure he could handle it if he lost another son.


/

TBC