Chapter 7

Memories

"Zuko!" repeated Toph faintly, falling into a chair. "We all wondered…but he trusted…always… Zuko… I can't believe it…"
"But the Avatar swore he was on our side!" whispered Hope, she had volunteered to stay behind with Toph while the order infiltrated the Fire Nation.
"How's Katara?" Toph asked Sokka.
"She hasn't spoken a word since… well… she won't leave Kya's side in the hospital." Sokka reported sadly.
"What about Tayo?" Hope asked concerned.
"He just needs some time" Toph turned her gaze to the base of the waterfall, Tayo sat there in a trance. He stayed like that for hours. He didn't even lift up his head when he heard Sokka approaching. Tayo could not bear to meet his eyes.
"The healers are patching everybody up now," said Sokka "Kya's burns are not major so she will make a full recovery." Tayo contented himself with nodding at the water. "I know how you are feeling, Tayo" said Sokka very quietly.
"No, you don't," said Tayo, and his voice was suddenly loud and strong. White- hot anger leapt inside him. Sokka knew nothing about his feelings.
"There is no shame in what you are felling, Tayo," said Sokka's voice, "On the contrary… the fact that you can feel pain like this is your greatest strength".
Tayo felt the white- hot anger lick his insides, blazing in the terrible emptiness, filling with the desire to hurt Sokka for his calmness and his empty words.
"My greatest strength is it?" said Tayo, his voice shaking as he stared at the waterfall no longer seeing it. "You haven't got a clue… You don't know…"
"What don't I know" asked Sokka calmly. It was too much. Tayo turned around, shaking with rage.
"I don't want to talk about how I feel, all right"
"Tayo, suffering like this proves you are still only human-"
"THEN- I- DON'T- WANT- TO –BE- HUMAN!" Tayo roared "I DON'T CARE ANYMORE!"
"You do care," said Sokka. He had not flinched. His expression was calm, almost detached "you care so much you feel as though you will die with the pain of it."
Tayo had enough at this point and screamed out what was building up inside him "HE KILLED HIM!" bellowed Tayo "HE KILLED MY FATHER- I'LL KILL HIM!" Tayo didn't notice the tears falling from his face and he ran away from his uncle.
"Tayo come back!" Sokka yelled after him but it was no use.

The next day was a beautiful autumn day. An extraordinary assortment of people had showed up for the funeral. Most Tayo did not recognize, but a few he did, including members of the Order. A few people he recognized from Kyoshi Island, and his mother's family from the South Pole.
Kya and Tayo took seats far back at the end of a row. Tayo didn't want to be too close. People were whispering to each other.
The Earth King walked past them towards the front rows, his expression miserable, Bosco was by his side as usual. He stood now in front of his father's coffin. Tayo could not hear what he was saying. Odd words floated back to them over the hundreds of heads. "Nobility of spirit"…"Greatness of heart"… it did not mean very much compared what he knew him as.
"They forgot Bigheaded with a short attention span" Toph whispered in Katara's ear. Katara's face broke into a slight smile. She suddenly remembers Sokka telling him about the war going on but he of course wasn't listening.

"Stop! Stop it right now! What's wrong with you? We don't have time for fun and games with a war going on." Sokka said annoyed.
"What war What are you talking about?"
"You're kidding, right?"
"PENGUIN!" he yelled in excitement.

And then, without warning, it swept over her, the dreadful truth, more completely and undeniably than it had until now. He was really gone.
The crowed slowly cleared, Katara noticed Toph crying silently beside her. "I'm going to miss you Twinkle toes" Toph spoke silently. She supported her ever growing stomach and stood up, and made her way over to Sokka. Katara stood up too and slowly walked towards his tomb, a memory flooded her mind, the time when he told her how he felt not in so many words.

"We won!" yelled Sokka, bounding into sight "We won! Ozai is gone! We won!"
Katara started to run towards 'him', she had a hard, blazing look in her face as she threw her arms around him. And with thinking, without worrying about the fact that half of their friends who joined the order of the lemur were watching. He kissed her.
After several long moments- they broke apart. The room had gone very quiet. Then several people wolf- whistled and an outbreak of nervous giggling.
He looked over Katara's head to see Haru holding a shattered glass in his hand, and Meng looking as though she might throw something. Even Toph who was still blind was beaming, but his eyes sought Sokka. At last he found him wearing an expression appropriate to having been clubbed over the head. For a fraction of a second they looked at each other, the Sokka gave a tiny jerk of the head that he understood to mean Sokka was Ok with this. Then he smiled wordlessly down at Katara.

Katara opened her eyes and reality sat back in. She heaved a heavy sigh and turned her back on the grave.
She shivered in the cold air the fall faded into winter. Autumn was 'his' season. The season of the airbenders. Now there were only two Airbenders left in the world. Katara looked over at her two precious children standing next to her brother. They were the one thing that stopped her from ending her own existence. It was a promise they made to each other a while back.

Katara place her new born baby in her crib, she stood there with 'him' by her side just watching the slumbering baby.
"Can we ever tell her she has a brother?" he asked Katara.
"Someday they will find each other" She took his hand in hers and left the room to let Kya sleep.
Then started unpacking and making there temporary new house to make it feel more like home. Katara stopped to see why he had stopped working.
"What are you staring at?"
"Nothing, I'm Just so happy that your alive, you know when Azula captured you and when you were… nearly killed…" He paused to take a deep breath, struggling to return to his teasing tone. "Of course I was trying to focus on finding you alive, but part of my mind was making contingency plans"
The memory of being taken prisoner washed through her head and made her feel dizzy. Katara could see it all so clearly- believing Azula had killed 'him',- walking miles a day while nine months pregnant with twins- the rude names she was called.
She shook her head- as if it would shake away the bad memories- and Katara tried to grasp what he had meant.
"Contingency plans?" she repeated
"Well, I wasn't going to live without you" He rolled his eyes as if that fact were childishly obvious.
Katara didn't want to believe he was serious, but his gray eyes were brooding, contemplated on ways to end his own life. She took his face between her hands and held it very tightly.
"You must never, never think of anything like that again! No matter what might ever happen to me" The idea of him ceasing to exist, even if she were dead, was impossibly painful. "What would you do, if the situation were reversed?" she asked
"I guess I see your point…a little," he admitted "But what would I do without you?"
"Whatever you were doing before I came along and complicated your existence." She told him.
He sighed "You make that sound so easy, before you came into my life, my life was moonless but there were stars, and then you came in like a meteor across my life and brightened everything but when you were taken away from me my life went dark, all the stars went out."

Since Zuko's betrayal the Order moved out of the cave since it would be a matter of time before an army would come along and destroy it. The members of the Order of the Lemur went back to protect their homes and families. Katara, Sokka, Toph and the twins sought temporary shelter at the Northern Water Tribe. At least until Sokka and Toph's baby was born.

"Mom. Are you all right?" Kya said terrified of disapproval.
"You are going out with Kinto Cullen?" Tayo thundered, his brotherly instincts kicking in. Katara and Toph sat in silence enjoying both Sokka and Tayo getting angry over the news Kya announced at dinner.
"I thought you liked the Cullens"
"He is too old for you," Tayo ranted
"We're the same age," she corrected.
"Oh, well, that's-" Sokka was struggling for words "Better, I guess. Is this Kinta your boyfriend?"
"It's Kinto, Uncle."
"Is he?"
"Sort of, I guess and anyways it's kind of at an early stage, you know. Don't embarrass me with all the boyfriend talk, okay."
"When is he coming over?" Katara asked trying to hide a smile.
"He'll be here in a few minutes" a knock came from the door. Everyone turned to look at the door.
"Behave" Toph hissed to Sokka and Tayo. Sokka stalked off to answer the door. Kya was half a step behind him.
"Come on in, Kinto" Katara and Kya were surprised he said his name right.
"Thank you sir" Kinto said in a respectful voice.
"Have a seat, Kinto" Kya smiled at him. Kinto sat down fluidly in a chair. Tayo quickly shot him a dirty look.
"So I hear you're getting our girl to watch Polar Bear Polo" Kya let out a groan. Katara smiled that Sokka has taken over as the father figure for both Kya and Tayo.
"Yes, sir, that's the plan." Kinto said looking a little apprehensive at the scowl Tayo was giving him.
"Ok enough" Kya stood up her cheeks burning with embarrassment. "Let's go" She pulled on her coat and Kinto stood up to follow her out the door.
"Not too late, Kya" Katara yelled after her.
"Don't worry, I'll have her home early" Kinto promised. When the door was closed behind them Toph leaned over and slapped Tayo in the back of the head.
"What?"
Sokka took one last glance at the door Kinto and Kya left through and then look at his wife. "She is not going t be allowed to date until she's thirty" he said pointing at Toph's stomach. Toph of course could already sense if the baby was a girl or boy. Sokka stood up and whispered something in Tayo's ear. Tayo gave a swift nod and swiftly walked out of the room. Toph raised her eyebrow at Sokka.
"I like him, he seemed very polite" Katara said with a sigh. Sokka said something that neither Toph nor Katara could understand. The door creaked open. Katara turned her head just in time to see Tayo's black hair disappear behind the door.
"Sokka what did you tell him" Toph scolded.
"Nothing" Sokka said with a little fear in his voice. Katara listen to the two of them argue. It was a good way to keep her mind away from 'him'. But nothing prepared her for what she was about to hear.
"…you're telling Tayo to spy on them just like you tried to do with Katara and Aang when…" Toph and Sokka stopped arguing horrified as if they just said something horrible. Both turned to look at Katara. Katara closed her eyes and stood up and walked away from them. She closed the door to her room behind her. Hearing his name was like having a knife stabbed in her heart opening a unhealed wound. She delicately traced the outline of the necklace that was stilled tied firmly around her neck. It was a very special necklace because he gave it to her many years ago.

Katara ran to her room after dinner. It had been a very exiting day because Momo had showed up with a letter from her best friend. Katara froze the door shut and took out the letter he had sent her. As she opened it, a beautiful blue shiny stone fell out followed by a blue silk ribbon. The stone had a water tribe symbol that was intertwined with the Air Nomad symbol. The back of it held three Classic Chinese characters for "I Love you". It was too incredible to believe it was an engagement necklace. Katara took off her mother's necklace and placed it carefully in a drawer. She then took his necklace and tied it around her neck. In doing so she was now engaged to her best friend, the Avatar, too….

"No!"Katara shouted to herself. She had almost thought of his name. She couldn't take another second of it. She ran over to her dresser and rummaged through a drawer until she found the silver dagger buried at the bottom. She picked it up with both hands and ran her fingers across the blade. She positions the blade towards her chest.
"KATARA STOP!" Katara immediately dropped the dagger and turned to see who had spoken. The room was empty. It wasn't her brother's or Toph's voice. No this voice was even more familiar to her but it was just a distant echo. But it couldn't have been him yet she had heard that sweet voice so many times she knew it was him.
"Aang?" Katara spoke out into the darkness. There was a long minute of silence before Katara came to the conclusion that the voice was in her head.
"Katara what do you think you were doing?" his voice said in a softer tone. Katara eyes widen as Aang stepped out from the shadows. He looked the same as he always had except he was glowing blue. It was his spirit but it still was him. They stood there just staring at the other. Katara remember how to breathe and ran into his open arms. It was a strange feeling because he was not physically there. Aang hesitated for a moment before he put his hand on her head and slowly stroked her long beautiful hair. Katara silently cried into his shoulder that wasn't really there. Aang lowered his head and whispered in her ear.
"Katara I shouldn't let you be able to see me or let alone be here"
"Why?"
"I need your help" Aang said with a hesitation in his voice. "Well actually the current Avatar needs your help"
"Has the next Avatar been born yet?"
"No, but she will be later on tonight, and a great danger awaits her. Katara listen to me Ozai is building up an army to attack both water tribes. They won't stop until every newborn child is killed, you need to get the Avatar to safety"
"Who is the mother?"
"Oh you already know her, I picked the perfect couple to raise the next Avatar" Aang swiftly kissed Katara's forehead and stepped back from her grasp "I need to go"

"No please don't leave me!"
"Katara" Aang open his arms so Katara can run back in them. "I never have left you, and my spirit will never leave you, and now it is time for the Avatar to return to the world" Aang spirit began to fade and he was gone.
"I love you" Katara said to the spot where he vanished. A voice inside her head chuckled.
"I know, I love you too"
Katara didn't move for awhile until it struck her "The Avatar will be born later on tonight" Katara heard a scream come from the other room.
"Toph?" Katara said in alarm.
"Oh no, NOW, KATARA GET IN HERE!" her brother called with much panic in his voice. Katara ran out of her bedroom and saw Toph on her knees holding her stomach in pain and gasping for air. Sokka looked as if he might fain… again.
"Sokka get a grip on yourself and get some water" Katara order "Toph I need you to relax for me" Sokka came back a second later with the water. "Sokka help me carry her to the bed" Sokka easily scooped her up and placed her on the bed and Toph grabbed Sokka's hand and squeezed it.
"Owch, Toph my hand isn't made of rock or metal"
"sorry" Toph gasped, she reluctantly loosened her grip. An hour later Katara handed Toph her beautiful baby girl. She had stopped crying and slowly she drifted off to sleep.
"She's beautiful" Sokka examined staring at his first born. The door suddenly burst open. Kya and Tayo came into the room yelling at each other about some incident that had just occurred. Both stopped yelling when they saw the baby in Toph's arms.
"O-"Tayo started
"MA-"Kya continued
"SHU" Tayo finished
They went closer to get a good look at the baby.
"What is her name" Kya asked smiling down at the baby
"Well Sokka and I kind of like the name Akayla"
"Avatar Akayla, I like it" Katara said as casually as she could. Everyone stared at Katara as if dumbfounded and then looked back at the baby sleeping in Toph's arms.
"Aang, why must you do this to me" Sokka groaned.