Chapter 50 Family
A loud noise carried through the hall and into the room where five forms were, four of the forms breathing and one not. The noise was heard again, louder, and by one of the figures in the room, it was identified. The three other figures were still crying, but they were all slowly calming down.
"Sokka, I'm afraid that the rebels are starting to wander up here now. We should probably move," Jee interrupted the teen's crying. He frowned as he recalled that Sokka and Zuko were the same age and both lost their parents to the war. He sighed aloud as he thought that they also had another sad similarity to add to their lives; they both lost Katara. "Do you want me to distract them while you get the twins out of here?" He offered.
Sniffling, Sokka shook his head. "I'm not leaving Katara's body here. I'm going to see to it that she gets a proper Waterbender burial." He stood off of the bed and hesitated. "I want you to stay behind me while I carry Katara's body. If the rebels see me carrying her they won't bother us. But you'd better take off your armor or else you'll get targeted."
Jee frowned but started to strip down his armor anyways. He kept the sword around his waist though. Sokka smiled and was glad that Jee was wearing a plain black shirt underneath the armor; it was stealthier than any other Fire Nation shirt. He handed his niece and nephew to the guard and turned to his sister's form.
Leaning down, he kissed her forehead and carefully slid his hands under her knees and shoulders. He lifted her light body up and held back his tears as he watched some blood continue to drop from soaked, loose dress. "Alright, let's go find the others." Sokka walked slowly out of the room and started his way out of the ruined palace. He stepped to the side, as did Jee, as a few rebels stormed past them, not seeing them as any threat.
Seeing the exit as he entered the hallway, Sokka couldn't help but cringe as he started to walk past the lifeless, bloodied forms of both rebels and guards. He glanced back at Jee and saw that the man had an expressionless look on his face; ever the solider that he was he continued to walk past the bodies of friends.
"Whoa, watch it!" A girl yelled as she ran around the corner and almost collided with Sokka. "Can't you see that I've got the Avatar here? Move it, buddy, I need to get him to a proper shelter!" Sokka stared at the rebel as he watched her carrying Aang.
"Hey, the Avatar is my friend. I'm not going to let you take him somewhere!" Sokka yelled angrily as the girl tried to shove past him.
"Yeah right, like I'm going to buy that. If he was your friend, then why weren't you freeing him from his cell?" She sneered.
"Because I was too busy coping with my sister's death!" Sokka screamed at the girl as he squeezed Katara tighter to himself.
The girl titled her head up to stare at his face and he noticed that her eyes were blank. "I'm sorry for your lost but unless you have some place where I can take the Avatar to, then I'm going to have to leave you in the dust."
"His name is Aang." Sokka sniffled again as he inwardly yelled at himself for forgetting about his friend. "And yeah, I have a home where we can all go to."
"Great, then what are we standing around here for?" The girl asked as she moved to the side to let Sokka and Jee through. "I'll follow you."
"You can see? But aren't you--"
"Yeah, I'm blind. But I'm also an Earthbender, the greatest Earthbender actually. Also, my name's Toph and I don't feel you moving." She motioned with a nod of her head for them to start heading out.
"My name's Sokka and this is my friend Jee." Sokka headed toward the exit again and started to pick up the pace. He wanted to check up on Ty Lee.
"Nice to meet you, Toph." Jee glanced behind him at the Earthbender following them.
"Who're the kids that you're carrying, Jee?" Toph asked as she felt the twins move in his hands.
Jee blinked back his surprise that she knew that they were there and reasoned that she probably was the best Earthbender to be able to sense things through people. "They are Katara's, Sokka's sister who has just passed on, children; Kazuki and Kimiko."
Toph nodded as she kept pace with the two and smiled as she felt ground beneath her feet again instead of the carpeted floors of the palace. They were outside again. "Alright, Sokka, lead us to this home of yours."
"Hold on, my friends are over there." Sokka slowed down when he spotted the small group of Freedom Fighters and Ty Lee still on the ground.
As he approached, he watched as all of their smiles turned to frowns. "Oh, Katara," Smellerbee wrapped her arms around Long Shot's waist and pressed her face against his chest as he started to rub her back with a lowered head.
"Sokka, I'm sorry." Pipsqueak picked Ty Lee up and frowned as Sokka nodded. "We've agreed that it would be best if we all headed back to the home. We can find a place to bury Katara and it would be best if Ty Lee was in a bed."
"Is she alright?" Sokka asked as he looked at his fainted girlfriend. The Duke nodded, tears in his young eyes, as he walked around his large friend.
"She'll live," his voice hitched in his throat as he sobbed a bit. "But Katara…" He started to sob and Smellerbee pulled the youngest of the group into a hug as well.
"I don't want to seem rude or anything," Toph suddenly spoke up. "But it seems to me like this is a bad place to start weeping for friends, especially when we have two people in need of rest and children that shouldn't be exposed to cold nights."
"Toph's right, we'd better get home." Sokka started to walk away and the rest slowly followed after him. They all froze when they heard a loud explosion and slowly turned to watch as the palace erupted in flames. They knew that by morning, the palace and its rule over the world would be gone.
On the walk home, Jee had softly explained to the group what had happened with Zuko, Katara, and the children. Pipsqueak had explained what happened to Ty Lee. And Toph had decided to describe how she rescued Aang, although she left the kiss out of her story. Everyone had decided that they were caught up in what was going on and now they had to just keep an eye on their fallen friends.
"Alright, Ty Lee, Aang, and the kids are being watched by the Duke and Pipsqueak offered to take up the next watch." Smellerbee announced as she sat down at the table. Toph was sitting to her right, Long Shot to her left, and Jee to his left while Pipsqueak and Sokka were standing. "Long shot, how are you feeling?" She asked as she placed her hand over his on the table. He smiled and patted the bandaged wound. She was glad that the Duke had had doctors for parents.
"Sokka, do you want to put Katara's body somewhere until we can start digging a hole for her?" Smellerbee offered as she wiped at her eyes some more.
She had agreed to let the Duke watch the others on his own because she understood his need to cry by himself. She felt like doing the same thing, but she'd save her tears for later if she could. But as she watched the tears slowly fall from Sokka's face, she wasn't sure that she could hold her tears back much longer.
"I want to sink Katara's body in the ocean." Everyone looked up at him but he continued to look at his sister's pale face. "My mom told me that all Waterbenders are returned to the ocean once they die. And Katara was a Waterbender, a caring, wonderful Waterbender." Silent tears continued to fall down his cheeks and land on Katara.
Smellerbee bit her lower lip to stop herself from crying as she watched the sad scene before her. She wiped at her eyes and glanced at Long Shot. His face was hidden in shadow by his hat, but she caught the glimmer of tears as they slid down from his eyes. She squeezed his hand and he squeezed back to reassure her.
"Zuko has small boats kept by the ports in his private dock house. I know he wouldn't want us to use anyone else's boat to send Katara to the afterworld." Jee suggested as he spoke up.
"Let's just hope that those idiots don't take over the ports." Toph spoke as she leaned back in her chair. "Since our leader Mai ran off early in the battle, our plans have totally been ruined. I don't really care though, the Avatar is safe and so he'll get the world peaceful again; that's all that really matters to me."
"What's going to happen now that Zuko's been forced to flee from his position of power?" Sokka asked.
Jee cleared his throat and folded his hands in his lap. "I'm afraid that I have no idea. I'm sure that the guards I sent off with Zuko and any other guards that thought to meet at the rendezvous spot will still be loyal to him, but it looked like the majority of our guards were killed in the battle. When Iroh returns with those guards, we'll try to fight off the rest of the rebels. Maybe we'll be able to keep control over the Nation."
"Yeah right," Toph slammed her chair back down abruptly. "Zuko barely was controlling the Nation when we were planning our attack. Once word gets out that Zuko let rebels burn down his palace, no one in the Fire Nation will bow down to him still. Listen, I didn't know the guy personally like you all did, but I knew that the majority of the Fire Nation hated his guts. And the rest of the world just hates the Fire Lord."
The group grew quite as Toph's words sunk in. "So, what will happen now? I mean, if Iroh used Sozen's Comet to destroy Ba Sing Se, that put the Earth Kingdom at the Fire Nation's mercy. But if the Fire Nation now doesn't have a ruler, won't everything just get chaotic?" Smellerbee asked.
"Sounds like it to me." Pipsqueak leaned against the door with a sigh. "So, Jee, where is this rendezvous place?"
"It's pretty far from here; if you're not taking a Kimodo Rhino it's probably a good day's walk. But it's a large manor, half the size of the palace though, and it sits atop a hill overlooking a quaint village." Jee sighed. "But I have to wait for Iroh to return to inform him of what's happened before I head there." He frowned and ran a hand through his hair at the thought of greeting the great General with such news.
"Do you think they'll be homes there that we can rent or buy?" Sokka asked as he shifted Katara a bit in his arms. "I still have some money that Zuko gave me awhile back that we could perhaps use. I know that the longer we stay here, where the fighting is still going on and only going to get worse before better, than the longer we put ourselves in danger. I am not going to raise Katara's children around that; I want them as far away from the war as possible."
The others nodded in understanding. "Hey guys!" the Duke ran into the room with a smile on his wet face. "Aang just woke up!"
Everyone rushed to the room, except for Sokka and Jee. "I'm going to go put Katara in my room." Jee nodded as he continued to sit in his chair. He had no desire to see the boy that he had been forced to be cruel to. He had simply watched as the boy had almost died from malnutrient and harsh living conditions.
"Aang," Smellerbee smiled as she entered the room and saw the Avatar lying with his eyes open and a grin on his face.
"Hey guys, so what's happened?" He asked eagerly. Everyone crowded into the room and grew silent as their smiles left their faces. "Guys," Aang frowned as he looked around. "I know there must have been a battle and that I probably missed a lot while I was in that cell, but I want to know what's been going on."
"Aang," Sokka entered the room and sat down on the edge of Aang's bed. "You've missed a lot but I think it's best if for now, you try not to think about what's been going on and just focus on resting. We'll tell you everything tomorrow."
"Okay," Aang yawned. "I am pretty tired." He glanced around the room and noticed Toph standing in the corner. "Hey, who's that?"
"I suppose you're asking about me?" Toph asked. Aang nodded his head and Sokka vocally answered for him. "My name's Toph and I was sent by this guy named Bumi to find you and train you in Earthbending."
"Oh, that's great." Aang smiled. "Hey, are you the angel that rescued me?" Toph nodded as a slight blush crossed her face. "Sorry I kissed you." Aang muttered as he fell asleep.
The group turned to look at Toph as she continued to blush. "You left that out of your story, didn't you?" Smellerbee teased as Toph stormed out of the room.
"Just tell me when he wakes up again." She mumbled as she went to sit by Jee again.
"Sokka," Pipsqueak spoke up. "You can't protect him from hearing about Katara. I'm surprised he didn't ask about her already."
"He did," the Duke cleared his throat. "He woke up and started asking questions so I answered them before I went to get you guys. He wanted to know where he was, where you were," he pointed at Sokka, "And where Katara was. I answered the first two questions and when he asked about Katara I told him that I had to go get you guys. He'll probably ask again tomorrow if he wakes up."
"Alright, then I'm going to take the night watch. In case any of them wake up. I want to be here for the twins and for Ty Lee." Sokka settled on the floor in-between the bed that the twins were laid on and where Aang was sleeping. "Besides, Katara's going to use my bed until we get her out to sea."
The group nodded and quietly left him to himself. He closed his eyes to prevent shedding more tears, but was unsuccessful as he rested his head on his knees and they quickly grew damp. Sokka wasn't aware of it, but he had cried himself to sleep. He was woken in the middle of the night when a soft hand brushed against his cheek.
He jolted awake and smiled as he saw Ty Lee sitting before him. "Ty Lee," he whispered as he leaned into her touch. She opened her mouth and her eyes widened as her hands flew to her throat.
"Ty Lee, it's okay, Duke said that the wound will be fully healed in a few days." Sokka placed his hand on her shoulder when tears started to form in the corner of her eyes. She frantically kept motioning to her throat and opening and closing her mouth as Sokka smiled sadly. "You lost your voice, Ty Lee, but you didn't loose your life." He pulled her into a hug as she began to cry.
"It's going to be alright, Ty Lee." Sokka whispered as he rubbed her shaking back. "As long as you're alive, it's going to be alright." An hour later, when she finally stopped crying and was beginning to fall asleep, he picked her up and placed her back into her bed. She smiled and pointed to her chest and then to him. "I love you too." He whispered back to her.
Two days later, it was time for Katara's body to be laid at rest in the ever flowing ocean with the rest of her Waterbending kin. They had picked out a boat out of Zuko's dock house, which had yet to be touched by any rebels, and decorated it with flowers and an offering from each of the members of the group.
Smellerbee had placed in her favorite headband while Long Shot had given one of his specially made arrows into the boat. The Duke had given a bag of leechee nuts while Pipsqueak had given a container of jelly candy. Jee gave a hand made Water symbol melded from metal while Toph had created the symbol out of a crystal. Ty Lee had given up one of her hair ties and Aang had offered his lucky marbles.
Sokka placed the dagger that his father had given him into the boat, claiming that he didn't deserve it any longer since he was unable to protect her like his father had wished. He looked at his baby sister again and took off the necklace that Zuko had made her for the engagement. "She'd want Kimiko to have it."
Iroh was glad that he was coming home earlier than expected; he missed seeing Katara's wonderful smile and he missed his nephew's rare smile as well. He hated that he had lied to Katara, that he had just destroyed the city of Ba Sing Se and had once again killed many in the name of war, but he was glad that that war was finally over.
All that he had to worry about now was dealing with Katara being angry at him for lying. But she had all the right to be angry with him. He was angry at himself as well; angry for letting himself be talked into that ridiculous plan by his nephew.
As the ship pulled into the dock he frowned at not seeing the palace. The palace was able to be seen from the docks and the fact that he couldn't see it told him that the uneasiness that had been disturbing his stomach wasn't from seasickness. He frowned as he glanced beside the boat at a small gathering. He immediately recognized the boy cloaked in orange, the girl in pink, and the other boy in blue.
Iroh hurried to the group, hoping that he was wrong when he thought that they looked to be performing a Waterbender's ritual.
They waited as they watched a large Fire Nation ship dock and then they said their goodbyes as they readied themselves to send Katara's body to the sea. As soon as they had offered their last words to her, Aang prepared to Airbend her out of the port when a hand dropped on his shoulder.
"Mind if I said goodbye to her?" Iroh asked politely with a frown on his face. The group looked startled to see him but they watched quietly as Iroh stepped beside the boat.
Glancing down at her lifeless form, Iroh frowned and gently brushed her cold face. "Katara, my dear, you were too good for this world. And I can only beg that by the time I join you in the afterworld, you will have forgiven me for lying to you."
Pulling out his lucky lotus tile, he placed it in the boat beside Sokka's dagger and leaned down to kiss her on her forehead. He noticed the thin chain around her neck that held the mood ring that Zuko had given her. "I hope that you will continue to watch over my nephew from the heavens." With that said he stepped next to Sokka and placed his hand on Sokka's shoulder.
Aang turned around with his staff in hand and Airbended the boat out to the sea. Everyone watched in silence until the wholes that they had made in the bottom of Katara's boat sunk it halfway out of the harbor. They started to walk away when Sokka looked at Iroh and smiled sadly as he held the twins in his hands.
"Grandpa Iroh, meet your grandchildren; Kimiko and Kazuki. Katara's last act was giving these two life." Iroh smiled as he took his grandchildren in hand and started to follow the group back to their house. He watched as two blue eyes and two gold eyes looked up at him and two smiles crossed the infants' faces.
"Hello, my beautiful grandkids." He kissed both of them on their foreheads and was delighted to hear Kimiko laugh when his beard brushed over her. The future without Katara was looking a bit less bleak.
It had taken the group three days to gather supplies, a large wagon, and a couple of Kimodo Rhinoceros. Then they had traveled through the unsteady Fire Nation toward the rendezvous town along with ten other guards that had decided to remain loyal and not fight the rebels for the doomed Fire Capital. They had successfully made it to the town without being attacked by any rebels or thieves.
When Jee said that the town was quaint, he was right. There were a few shops that sold basic items like fruit, vegetables, meat, and spices. Iroh quickly spotted the only tea shop in the town. And a few stores sold building supplies and weapons but besides that the town was just people's homes and farms. Of course, that was neglecting the giant manor that stood on top of the hill that provided the village plenty of shade in a few choice areas during the day.
They decided that it was a nice town and well protected by the thick forests and surrounding hills. Also, the small stream that flowed by the side of the town was filled with fish which made Sokka happy. They had asked around town and had found out that there was a large house that had been abandoned that they could all move into.
The house needed a bit of work, but with the money that Sokka had they could afford to fix it up. Besides, the home was furnished with three beds already, a table, and four chairs with only one chair in need of a new leg. The group claimed the house as theirs and settled most of their stuff in the home as they then turned their sights on the manor.
When they arrived at the manor, Iroh was relieved to see that Zuko was unharmed and had already made himself comfortable at the replacement home. "Uncle," Zuko pulled away from the man's hug to look at the group. "I'm glad that you're back and safe." Zuko stared at Aang and watched as the boy avoided his eyes.
Aang gasped when Zuko suddenly apologized to him. "I am sorry, Avatar, for all the pain I put you through." Aang held out his hand and smiled as Zuko took and shook it.
"If you'll be my friend, then I'll forgive you." Aang grinned as a slight smile rose on Zuko's face.
"You're very forgiving, Katara always said you were." Aang's grin dropped at the mentioning of Katara's name. He hadn't been able to take the news of her death well but luckily he had been too week to go into his Avatar state in his grief.
"Sokka--" Zuko turned to Sokka, who was holding the twins, and his eyes narrowed at the sight of them. He then turned to Jee instead. "Admiral Jee, where is Katara?"
Jee flinched as he looked at his Lord's hopeful face. "Lord Zuko, Sokka had decided to give her a proper Waterbender's burial. She is now at the bottom of the ocean to rest for all eternity."
Zuko continued to smile as he blinked. "What?" He asked as he blinked again and brought a hand to his head. "What do you mean you gave her a burial? Katara's not dead, Jee, she's just sick. But she's better now because you told me that you'd stay behind with her until she was better and then you'd bring her to meet me here."
"Zuko," Iroh placed a hand on Zuko's shoulder but the boy shook it off as he stepped closer to Jee.
"You left her back there, didn't you?" Zuko screamed at Jee, startling the twins and causing them to start crying. "I can't believe you left her--"
"Zuko, listen to me." Iroh grabbed his nephew's shoulders. "Zuko, Katara is dead. She died giving birth to your children. You should honor her sacrifice and love your children all the more for being all that you have left of Katara. Katara is dead, Zuko."
"No," Zuko pulled free of his uncle's grasp. He placed his hands on his head and closed his eyes before he opened them again and looked around at the sad faces staring at him. "Katara isn't dead, she's not! I refuse to believe it! She promised me that she wouldn't leave me anymore!" Zuko went down to his knees while he continued to grip his head. "She didn't leave me, she couldn't because she promised and she doesn't break promises because she loves me. She didn't leave me, but I left her. She's still there because I told her I'd be back for her. She's waiting for me to go back and get her." Zuko stood up again and looked around frantically.
"I have to go back for Katara!" He shouted as he darted through the group, heading towards the woods.
"Zuko!" Iroh shouted as he watched his nephew fly past him.
"Lord Zuko!" Jee grabbed Zuko's arm as he ran passed him and tried to get him to stop running. Zuko began to struggle when Pipsqueak grabbed his other arm and Smellerbee grabbed him around the waist.
"Let me go! Katara's waiting for me to go back for her!" Zuko screamed in hysteria as he continued to thrash around in their holds. "I have to go back for her, don't you get it; I have to get Katara!"
"Zuko, she's dead," Sokka spoke up. "My sister died to give birth to your children. She--"
"She's not dead and those are not my children. Katara isn't dead!" Zuko lashed toward Sokka with his fists blazing.
Iroh stepped in front of Sokka and punched Zuko quickly in the stomach, causing his nephew become winded and fall to the ground on his knees again. Zuko cradled his stomach in pain as he looked up at his uncle with tears sticking to his lashes.
"Guards, we need to adjust Lord Zuko's bedroom. We need to make sure that he doesn't try to leave and that he doesn't hurt anyone." Iroh ordered. "Please, take him up to his room and guard the doors until I get our guests settled."
A few of the guards nodded as they lifted Zuko to his feet and dragged him toward the castle. "But Uncle, I need to get Katara." Zuko called as he was hauled away. He didn't understand why his beloved uncle was betraying him.
Frowning, Iroh turned to look at Sokka. "Would you mind caring becoming their legal guardian?"
"Of course I don't mind, Iroh. I'll raise them as if they were my own and I'll have help too, right, Auntie Ty Lee?" Ty Lee nodded and took Kimiko from Sokka's hands as she smiled and began to calm the screaming girl down. "Besides, Uncle Aang will help raise them and they'll get daily visits from their Grandpa, right?"
Iroh nodded with a grin. "Of course I'm going to visit my grandchild daily, along with Jee of course."
Sokka nodded. "Of course," Sokka looked at Jee with a big grin. "The family wouldn't be the same without visits from Uncle Jee, as well."
Jee blushed as he pointed at himself. "Me, an uncle? Are you sure?"
"I'm sure, Jee; Katara would want you to be a part of her children's life. She'd want all of us to be a part of her children's life." Sokka nuzzled Kazuki as he held Katara's necklace in front of him. "We are all going to be one big happy family from now on, right guys?"
He looked around at all the happy faces and knew that even though he had lost his family, he had also gained a new one. One family that was made from other broken families but still filled with all the love and care only a true family could provide.
A mute gymnast, the Avatar, a master Earthbender, a wise old Firebender, a loyal friend, an archer, a spunky tomboy, a make-shift doctor, a big brother, a Water Tribe warrior, and two infants; in those twelve pairs of eyes, they made the perfect family.
Final Author's Note:
Alright, now that was the last chapter of my first ever completed story! Yay me, lol! Anyway, there are a few very special to me reviewers out there that have been reviewing since the beginning and still are so I'd like to give them all a special shout out. ML7, C.A.M.E.O.1 and Only, BlueOctoberr, and Dragon Jadefire; you guys have all been so helpful, encouraging, and just plain old awesome! Thanks a lot! I could always count on you reviewing! To all my other reviewers; I also want to thank you and I hope you all enjoyed reading my fic!
But I bet a few of you are wondering how I'm going to have a sequel without Katara and still have it be a Zutara. Well, I'm just going to tell you to wait and see. I'd like to start posting the sequel in about two months or so, after I finish revising this and work a bit on my ATLA oneshots.
Here's some info about the sequel though if you want to know what I'm planning. I'm going to create some background stories that I'll touch base on every now and again for Jee, Pipsqueak, the Duke, Smellerbee, and Long Shot. The story will mostly be about Zuko and his twins. Zuko will be 100 crazy. Zhao and Mai will show up again, so will Mika but she'll be a bit part and probably get like three lines before she disappears again. And there's only going to be four people that will die this time. Not to mention that I'm going to plan on having lots of Tykka, Smellershot, and Zutara; shippers be happy! Alright, I've given out enough info already. Now I can start typing it! Whoot!