A/N: One more chapter after this and an Epilogue! Whoot Whoo! I hope everyone is doing well in the time of Love and Coronavirus. Our heroes are still working out some things that must be resolved but they will all come to a head in the final chapter. Dun dun dun! Ozai must be stopped and I think it's all going to work out well. I haven't been getting any feedback so I'm just going to keep writing till I'm done. LOL! This will be my very first multi-chaptered story that I have finished. Oh, and another thing. I've already started a gender-bent AU situation for Zuko. I shall post the first few chapters very soon... I meant to mention two chapters ago that we broke 100,000 words for this story! Yahoo! If you have any feedback for me you can PM or leave a review, If you likey, follow or favorite! Thanks for rocking with me so long...

Disclaimer: A basic human need is to be loved and love back. Fanfiction is for reviews...

Chapter 18—Revelations

"Asami safe and sound now, check. Avatar action, check. Korra not dead, check. Long Feng arrested for a whole variety of terrible and ungodly actions towards children, check. All in all, I'd say we did good." Tophia said proudly. Iroh agreed wholeheartedly. "Yes, many good outcomes came from some pretty terrible circumstances today. Hopefully, these are omens of more good things to come. Children, it is a new day-literally and figuratively. I suggest you try to get some rest since your school day was canceled due to some shocking "revelations" about your principal, Long Feng. The teens snickered and giggled. Hakoda beckoned to Tophia and Aang and offered to give them a ride back to Councilman Han's home which they accepted readily. None of the adults mentioned to Tophia about Azula as it was supposed to be a secret and her parents would have to be the one to tell her.

Katara yawned and stretched after checking over both Korra and Asami's injuries. The women were banged up but otherwise mending and would make a full recovery. Korra hugged Katara for all she was worth. She thanked each of the children for their part in bringing Asami home and stopping Long Feng. She knew that she would forever be indebted to them all. Katara gave her father an extra long hug and kiss before he left and made her way down the hallway to her bedroom. Zuko smiled at her retreating figure and sighed. He looked up in time to see Hakoda glaring at him and his eye widened. Detective Hakoda was going to have an interrogation later. He felt it in his soul.

Zuko thought it best to begin making his way to his shared room with his uncle when Korra called after him. "Zuko, I think we need to talk." Zuko paused midstep and slumped his shoulders. He knew that she was aware of who he was and what he had done to Mo Zhou. He knew he would face the music one day. He just wished it wasn't today when things were finally looking up. He sighed deeply and turned back to sit down next to Korra in one of the two armchairs. Asami and Gran-Gran took their cue and went into the kitchen to make some tea. Iroh glanced at Korra for permission to stay and she nodded. Iroh sat in the other armchair folding his hands in his lap and saying nothing.

Korra's face was unreadable as Zuko watched for any sign of anger or malice. Korra searched Zuko's face carefully looking for the brutal killer that dispatched Mo Zhou in such a violent way. Her curiosity was excruciating. "Zuko, it doesn't add up for me. You helped Katara who was being attacked by Mo Zhou. She had already hit him with a backpack. You could have disabled him and moved on—" Zuko cut her off. "Katara wasn't being attacked by Mo Zhou alone there were two others that chased her into that alley." Korra sat back in shock. "What? Katara didn't mention those guys she only mentioned Mo Zhou and that damned backpack." Zuko exhaled. "Probably because she was in shock. She was being chased by all three in the beginning. They had her cornered when I showed up. The first two guys I was able to put down easily after one of them tried to kiss her. Katara had already hit Mo Zhou with her backpack and he fell away from the others when she was running. We thought we had seen the last of them when Mo Zhou grabbed Katara from behind by her hair and held her hostage. He threatened to hurt her if I didn't leave. I wasn't going anywhere." Zuko said confidently. Korra smiled. She knew.

He continued. "Katara did some kind of self-defense move and Mo Zhou released her in pain. Katara ran like hell. She didn't look back and she also left her backpack. When Mo Zhou was on the ground I was going to hurt him for hurting Katara. I knew I should have just gotten out of there, but it made me so angry to know that this man had hurt so many people. Ruined whole families." Zuko pounded his fist against his leg. He took a deep breath to calm down. "I don't really know what I planned to do. I hate to admit I thought about castrating him but realized he would just find another way to hurt people because it was about power, like my dad." He said sadly. Korra nodded sympathetically. "When he realized what I planned to do he attacked me, and I lost my knife." Korra blinked. "Knife? You had a knife…" Korra said for confirmation. Zuko nodded. "Yeah, it was a gift for my birthday, it wasn't even that sharp," he added under his breath. Korra put her hand up to her mouth in realization. Iroh eyed her questioningly. Then he understood what she knew.

Her face and tone grew serious. "Zuko, Iroh, what I'm about to tell you cannot be repeated, nor can it leave this room. You're off the hook for this. You did not kill Mo Zhou. Someone else came behind you and did the job. I didn't know about the two accomplices to Mo Zhou which changes everything. The killing blow Mo Zhou received was not from a knife. You may have wounded him, but you didn't kill him." Zuko looked as if he would faint. He tried to regulate his breathing as he felt himself wanting to hyperventilate. Korra spoke to him steadily. "Breathe, Zuko. Breathe. I'm not telling you this so you can fall apart; I am telling you this because you need to know. I'm telling you this so that you can sleep at night again. You're not a murderer, OK? This also means that our killer is still out there."

Korra began rubbing her forehead feeling the beginnings of a headache. She felt like she was back to square one. Then she remembered something else that was going to really give her a migraine. She threw her head back in frustration and groaned. "I have something else to tell you, but listen to me—if you want to catch your father and stop him from continuing this chaos all over Ba Sing Se, you must listen first then act when appropriate. You are going to get angry. You are going to want to go and find your father, but I need you to stay in place. I need you not to move on your own. It could mean life or death for you or any of your family. Do you understand me?" Zuko jittered nervously about the news Korra had to share. He nodded not wanting his voice to betray himself. Korra nodded back. "Azula is staying with the Bei Fongs. Your father assaulted her and hurt her badly, very badly. No one else knows except for us and the Bei Fongs that she is there. Not even your father knows where she is. He has already lost custody rights to both of you, but we have to get him in court to put him away for good. He almost killed your sister." Zuko gripped both arms of the chair he was sitting in his knuckles white with tension. He was shaking and trembling uncontrollably. Korra knew that he was either on the verge of screaming and crying or running out of the door to actually commit murder. Only the next few seconds knew for sure.

"How did she get away?" he asked his voice barely above a whisper. Korra continued to watch Zuko. She wasn't sure about his line of questioning. She started hesitantly. "Uh, um, Azula managed to drag herself outside of the house and your father's driver Andre found her and took to the Bei Fongs. He didn't trust the hospital. He said he remembered what happened with you and he was afraid your father would have found her and finished her off." Zuko's jaw twitched and worked back and forth. "Is she going to be ok?" he said his mouth tight. Korra nodded slowly. "Yes, she is, but it will take some time. Her injuries are severe. Azula somehow managed to injure your father as well, but we don't know the extent. He didn't go to a hospital as he did the last time." Zuko cocked his head. "The last time?" he inquired. "Yes, Zuko, when he attacked you. He went to an emergency room because of his burn. I don't think he wanted to pop up in any police reports so he may have been treated at home." For a brief moment, Zuko realized that his sister may have taken a page from his book.

"Zuko, I should have realized that day in the hospital when you and your sister both lied about what happened to you: you were not safe. I should have pushed for your safety back then; you were both so scared of your father. I'm sorry I failed you." Korra said with tears in her eyes. Zuko shook his head. "No, my father failed us. He did that." He said remembering Jet's words from a few months ago. He stared into Korra's eyes. Korra wiped away a renegade tear. "Is there anything else?" He asked his voice dull with numbness and deep ache from wounds that can't be seen. Korra smiled. "Don't leave this house. We'll arrange for you to see your sister. Soon, we're going to make that bastard pay. I promise you, but don't take the law into your own hands, do you hear me Zuko?" she implored. Zuko nodded stiffly. "I understand." He did understand, but that didn't mean he agreed or that he would comply. Ozai hurt his family for the last time. He would make that bastard pay.