Chapter One

Aang watched his daughter as she, in amazement, wandered through the ruins. "Who is this?" she asked, pointing towards a statue.

"That's Monk Gyatso – yes, the man your brother is named after. He taught me everything I know."

"Wow."

There was nothing for a moment, then Kana said, "Dad?...how old were you when you got your tattoos?"

He smiled at her. "I was twelve. But, then again, I am the Avatar." Kana laughed.

"How old was everybody else when they got their tattoos?"

Aang's smile faltered slightly. "I…usually everyone got their tattoos around twenty. So you're exceptionally talented, for your age."

Suddenly, Kana looked nervous. "Does it hurt?"

"Getting the tattoos?" Kana nodded. Aang sighed. "Yeah, it does. A lot. But you can tell me to stop at any time."

Kana looked at him once, then nodded. "Okay. I'm ready."

He put his arm around his daughter's shoulder and slowly took her to a room with a flat, wooden table. Aang motioned to the table. "You have to lay there." Gently, he took a small swath of cloth and laid it down. "Face down. I'll be right back, let me get the materials." He left the room. Kana took a deep breath, then, after closing the door, unclasped her shirt, and slowly pulled it off. She ran her hand down her back, then pulled away her chest wrappings – the tattoos did go all the way down the back, after all. After sliding off her forearm protectors, she laid down on the table, taking a deep breath, remembering all her father had taught her on dealing with pain. "Count to one thousand, concentrate only on the numbers," he had told her. "And it'll be over before you know it."

Then, she remembered her mother's necklace, and she reached up to take it off – but it wasn't there. Kana shook her head, recalling that she had left it with her mother. Suddenly, she felt a wave of remorse. Her mother. How could she have been so cruel to her?... After all, Katara did just want the best for her daughter, even though Kana had a hard time believing it. But then again, Katara had let her temper get out of control, and had said some things that were just absolutely inexcusable – even Kana's father agreed with that. But perhaps she should have said something to her mother, instead of just leaving the necklace on her bed. Kana sighed and shook her head. There was a knock on the door. "Honey?" came her father's voice. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah," she called back, quickly lying back down on the table. The door opened and Aang entered the room, smiling at his daughter. She smiled nervously back.

"Okay," he said, laying everything out in front of him. "Are you sure about this?" he asked. "You really want this?"

"Dad, I'm one of the last airbenders left on earth," she replied. "I want to keep my people's customs alive."

Aang hesitated, then nodded. "Alright. If you need me to stop at any time, just raise your hand." He produced a small block of wood. "Here, bite down on this. I don't want you accidently chewing your tongue off."

Kana made a face, but took the block without protest. "Come on," she said. "Let's do this before I change my mind." Aang blinked a few times, but nodded all the same.

He knew exactly how to do this, and also knew that the ceremony had to be performed by an air nomad. And, on any other young airbender, he probably would have been honored to be included…but this was his daughter. How was he supposed to put her through this much pain?

He parted her long, dark hair, exposing her warm, unblemished neck. What was he thinking? He was going to ruin his daughter's perfect body forever with this! This was a stupid idea.

He took a deep breath and, dipping the tool in ink, got to work. There was a tiny gasp when he first broke the skin, and he recoiled at the sight of blood, but he continued anyway. Kana had convinced him that this was what she wanted, and who was he to refuse her wishes?

Eventually, Aang noticed that his daughter's breathing was unusually fast and sweat was beginning to appear on her upper brow. He paused. "Should I stop?"

She shook her head and, stoically, he put the brush down to her skin again. In an attempt to pull her mind away from the pain, he began to talk to her. "I remember, the whole time I was getting tattoos, Monk Gyatso was babbling on and on to me – that was the one time he told me the secret ingredient to his cakes. It was firegrass, by the way. While we're here, why don't we bake some cakes? Yeah, we could even take some home to your brother and sister." Aang carefully avoided mentioning Katara. Kana noticed, though, and a look of shame passed over her face. Aang's voice softened. "Just give her some time," he said. "You know how she gets."

Unfortunately, the block of wood in Kana's mouth prevented her from replying, but Aang understood the general gist. "She didn't mean what she said. She speaks before she thinks, you know that. You just have to let her blow off some steam."

There were a few more moments of silence, then Kana twirled her finger around, again and again, creating a miniature whirlwind beneath her. Aang gently put a hand on her arm. "Please stop. I really don't want to mess up." She nodded and moved no more.

Finally, Aang picked up the damp rag next to him and wiped the blood and extra ink off his daughter's hand. "You're done," he said in relief.

Kana spat the block of wood out of her mouth and said, "For the love of Agni, that was painful." Aang smiled.

"But now you're an honorary airbender! Well, without the sky bison. Speaking of sky bison…" He strode to the window and blew the bison whistle. "Appa! Don't you want to see Kana's new tattoos?"

A huge, furry creature appeared at the window, roared, then did a back flip in air. Kanna laughed. Slowly, she brought her hand up to her face. She grimaced at the pain, but stared at it in wonder all the same.

"This is so weird," she said. Blood began pooling around the ink again. Aang quickly wiped it away.

"They need a while to heal. And, if I remember correctly, they get really itchy, but you just have to bear it. Okay?"

"Yeah, I got it," she said. Aang took the rag and wiped off some more blood. "When do they stop bleeding?"

"A while. You don't want to move for at least an hour, in case you crack open some of the scabs." Kana shuddered.

"That's disgusting."

"It's the truth."

Kana sighed. "Okay, so I just have to lay here for an hour?"

"Yeah." Aang sat down next to his daughter's head and reached out a hand to stroke her hair affectionately.

There were a few moments of silence. Then, Kana asked, "Dad? After the Air Nomads here were killed, was this place ever used for anything else?"

Aang looked out the window, suddenly lost in thought. "Not really. Well. This was the place where Zuko joined our group, before the war ended."

Kana's eyes widened. "No way! Here? It's, like, historical or something then, isn't it?" Aang laughed.

"It's historical anyway, Kana."

"Well, not to other people it isn't. I mean, you know how they are. Oh, you're the last airbender, that's amazing, wow, so sad your people are dead. But if this is the place where Fire Lord Zuko joined the Avatar's group for the first time, that would give it some meaning to other people!" She laughed. "Dad, we could have this massive rebuilding project if the people knew about this!"

Aang inspected her tattoos, which were already beginning to heal. He wished he had Katara with him to help heal them. "Spoken like a true member of the Fire Nation, Kana."

She didn't flinch. "Dad, I am Fire Nation. Just as much as I am Water Tribe, Earth Kingdom, and Air Nomad. You're the Avatar, and we've never stayed in one place too long. I'm a citizen of every nation."

"Yes, but when I die you and your children are going to be the only Air Nomads left, and I want you to pass on the traditional customs and ideals."

"What if, to survive, the Air Nomads needed to change their ideals? They didn't have a proper military, and they were massacred for it. I'm still an Air Nomad, Dad, I'm just thinking ahead."

"I just don't think the Monks would want to change their ways."

Kana sighed. "A lot of things change in one hundred years, Dad."

"I know," said Aang. He let out a tiny bark of laughter. "I definitely know."

The conversation, although serious, was not an argument. Kana and her father never had arguments – as opposed to Kana's mother, who could not go one day without a spat with her daughter. Aang had originally intended to wait until his daughter's sixteenth birthday to bring her to the Western Air Temple for her tattoos, but, while at the Fire Nation capital, Katara and Kana had gotten into a fight like no other. Kana acted like a true Air Nomad, attempting to resolve the conflict before it began, holding her tongue when she needed too, and only speaking the truth. Katara hadn't liked the truth very much. For the first time, Aang had been afraid that Katara might actually have hit their daughter. She restrained herself, though. And, after a brief conversation with the Fire Lord, Aang had taken Kana on their trip to the nearest Air Temple, to become a true airbender.

And now, Aang's eldest daughter lay on the table before him, looking more fragile than ever. Her eyes were closed and her brow was furrowed. Her lips were forming silent words – that was how he knew she was thinking hard. She could do this for hours, trying to sort out her thoughts into something she could understand. Usually, it was crazy ideas about the current state of the world, but sometimes she found something that no one else had considered. Aang had once even suggested a few of her ideas to the Fire Lord, and that was how the Four Nations was given its flag, its postal system, and universal currency. Zuko valued her opinion just as much as Aang's because, although she was young, she seemed to understand a person by just speaking to them. It seemed that Kana was a perfect mix of her father and mother.

The sun dipped below the windowsill, marking an hour gone. Aang stood up and handed his daughter her clothes, then turned away as she slipped them on. "Ouch – are they supposed to hurt?"

"They'll feel better in a day or two."

"So are we going home or what?" Aang turned back to her daughter, fully dressed and grinning at him. There was a slight redness around the tattoos he could see, but other than that, she looked like one of the Air Nomad nuns.

"Not yet, I think. There are still a lot of things I'd like to show you about this place," said Aang, helping Kana to her feet. Her eyes lit up at his comment.

"Like what?"

"Like…the all-day echo chamber. And the giant Pai Sho table. And the Hall of Statues. Now that I think about it, we're not going to have much time to get through everything." He smiled at Kana. She sighed.

"Why do we even have to go back? Can't we just spend a long while here?"

"No. I'm sorry, but I have to be back at the Fire Nation capital in a week. There's an important peace negotiation that I have to be there for."

"With the Water Tribes?"

"The new Earth King, actually. I think he's your age," said Aang, as they slowly made their way out of the room.

"Seriously?" She smiled. "Weird. I don't think I could rule the Earth Kingdom. Knowing me, I'd probably launch the world into another war." She laughed at the possibility. Aang only managed a weak smile.

"Well, he does have his council of generals," said Aang. "Besides, it can't be that hard to sit in a throne and listen to old men talk all day."

Kana snickered. "That's exactly what Fire Lord Zuko does all day. I bet Lu Ten can't wait to become Fire Lord." Aang laughed.

"No, Lu Ten would throw a ball every week," he said, shaking his head. "He loves to party."

"I think Sozin would make a better Fire Lord," said Kana mildly. "He's really interested in state matters, isn't he?"

Aang nodded. "Yeah."

There was silence. Then, Kana asked, "What do you know?"

"What?"

"You know something, don't you? About Sozin. Or about Lu Ten. Something that you don't want to tell me."

For a split second, Aang was surprised, then he remembered that this was what made his daughter so popular. She always knew. "Well," he said smoothly. "If I don't want to tell you, I'm not likely to actually tell you, am I?"

She paused for a moment, thinking about his statement, then shrugged. "It was worth a try. But I think I know anyway."

"What do you think you know?" asked Aang, mildly interested. Kana smiled and looked up at the sky.

"It's obvious, isn't it? Lu Ten would rather spend his time with his cousin Roku on Ember Island than be supreme ruler of the Fire Nation. He knows how much his little brother would love to have that title, but Sozin won't get it unless Lu Ten dies, which probably isn't going to happen anytime soon. He asked his dad to revoke his birthright, didn't he? Lu Ten, I mean."

Aang smiled knowingly. "Did Lu Ten tell you this?"

"Nope. I guessed."

"You're far too good at that."

"I know. Zuko tells me that all the time."

Aang laughed. "You should get some sleep," he said, noting the darkness that had settled around the temple. Kana yawned.

"Okay." She paused. "Just one more question, though."

"What is it?"

"What happened to that?" She pointed towards a ledge above them – one that was crumbled and ruined beyond the rest of the temple. Aang smiled faintly, reminded of a near death experience – one of the things that had convinced him to let Zuko into the group.

"Combustion Man happened," said Aang with a grin. "I'll tell you about it tomorrow. Go to bed. Goodnight, Kana."

"'Night Dad."

As she turned to find the room that he had shown her earlier, Aang called, "I love you, honey." Kana waved her hand nonchalantly.

"Love you too Dad." Aang smiled as his daughter retreated. He could barely believe that things had gotten so far since the last time he was here. Twenty-four years since he defeated Fire Lord Ozai. Sixteen years since Kana was born. Everything had finally settled down – there had not been a major revolt in ten years, and everyone was hopeful that the world might finally be at peace…

Kana reached her room quickly. She could deal with the pain better than she let on, but she knew that her father felt the need to help her, to comfort her, so she kept the act up for his sake. Sitting down on the flat bed in the room, she slipped off her clothes again and tied her hair up with a length of ribbon, exposing the tattoos on her body. They stung when they hit the air, but it was worth it, to know that she was, finally, an airbending master. Digging through the small pouch she had brought with her, she pulled out a small mirror and held it up to her face, examining her features. Her hairline was nearly at the top of her head, something she had done in preparation a while ago, but it was so strange to see that blue arrow painted on her forehead. There were now only two people in the entire world with these tattoos – her and her father. It was amazing to think that the whole Air Nation was going to descend from her and her children. She knew she probably wouldn't live to see the day, but she was sure that, eventually, the Air Nomads would return to inhabit these silent temples.

And to think that every airbender in the world would descend from her. She smiled, and, as she closed her eyes, she thought she could hear the echoes that had been and would be, of Air Nomad children and masters and monks and nuns and people…

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Katara sat in her home across from the Fire Nation palace with a blank sheet of paper in front of her, waiting for inspiration to strike her. Somewhere, lying just beneath the surface, she was still simmering with anger at her daughter, but she knew that there was no point. Kana was not at fault here; she was. And, being the adult, it was up to her to apologize first.

The door slid open behind her. She turned around to see her youngest daughter, Emi, lingering on the threshold. "Come here, sweetie," Katara said, holding her arms out to the child. Emi ambled over and sat down in her mother's lap. Katara sighed and stroked her hair. Another figure appeared at the door.

"It's weirdly quiet without you and Kana at each other's throats all the time."

Katara didn't look at her son. There was an edge in his voice that she didn't like, but she knew that she deserved it.

"What? Ican talk to you like that, but Kana can't?"

"I thought you were going to go see Ozu at the palace."

"He's in a meeting with his father for another hour or two. But, believe me, if he wasn't, I would not be here."

"Don't start, Gyatso," she said sharply. Emi reached up and put her arms around her mother's neck.

"Sorry, Mom," said Gyatso, his voice totally devoid of emotion. Katara hated Zuko's son for teaching him how to do that. There were a few moments of silence. Then, "Are you writing to her? Bad idea. She knows that any apology from you will be completely insincere. Don't add insult to injury."

"Go to your room."

"That's where I was headed."

He slid the door shut again. Emi put her mouth close to her mother's ear and whispered a few words. "No, Emi," replied Katara. "I'm not mad at Kana anymore." Emi whispered something else. "No. I'm not mad at Gyatso either." The little girl nodded and left the room, probably to attempt to console her brother. She was six years old, Katara and Aang's youngest daughter. It had been a surprise when Katara had gotten pregnant the third time – they had been content to have only two children, Kana, ten years old at the time, and Gyatso, who had been eight. But Emi was such a blessing – between Kana and Gyatso, Katara barely had a minute when she wasn't angry at someone. It was almost impossible to be angry at Emi, though. She was unlike Katara's other two children had been at that age. Instead of demanding attention, loudly and obnoxiously, Emi was a quiet, well-mannered child who had the innate ability to calm anyone down.

Katara turned back to the blank page. Maybe she should write to Aang, and he could talk to Kana for her. It might be a spineless decision, but at least Aang would be able find the right words. Aang always knew what to say.

At least, he knew what to say to Kana. Gyatso was a mystery to both Katara and Aang. He was only ever happy in the presence of his two best friends, Zuko's youngest son Ozu and Sokka's only daughter, Yue, and occasionally with his sisters.

In his room, Gyatso laid on his bed, silently staring up at the ceiling. He was sick of his mother. He was sick of sitting here, doing nothing, at the same age as his parents when they had saved the world. He was sick of holding on. He was sick of being.

There was a knock on his door, then the door slid open and Emi poked her head in. "Mommy isn't mad at you," she said. Gyatso smiled halfheartedly at her.

"I know. Thanks."

"You're welcome." She left. Gyatso sighed. He missed Yue, who had had to go back to the Southern Water Tribe when their grandfather decided to pass on the title of chief to Yue's father. At least he still had Ozu, though – but considering how many peace meetings the prince had had to attend, it was almost as if he wasn't there either.

Almost unconsciously, Gyatso's hand rose and began to move slowly. The water in the bowl that always sat on his desk twirled and spiraled into the air, violently twisting itself into grotesque shapes, exactly the type of bending that his mother had tried to convince him not to do. Maybe he should go see Irah, Ozu's sister. But he quickly decided against that. She was too…apathetic. Gyatso allowed himself a chuckle. He was calling her apathetic? Guiltily, he flipped over on his bed so he was facing the wall. He was such a hypocrite.

After a few moments of gloomy silence, a loud rapping sound came from his window. Instantly alert, he sprung to the window and threw it open.

A large, dark hawk was sitting on the windowsill. Gyatso recognized the bird as Sun, the messenger hawk that Yue's father had given her for her thirteenth birthday. He quickly slid the sheet of paper out of the bird's pouch and smoothed it flat.

Gyatso-

We're going down to the Northern Water Tribe for the New Moon Celebration. We could stop by the capital to see you, but I would love to meet you at the North Pole. It's way closer to where you are than the South Pole, so you just might be able to convince your parents to let you come. Invite Ozu, too, but if he's too busy with all his princely duties, then that's okay. We'll be at the North Pole in three weeks. Be there!

Love,
Yue

Gyatso smiled at her scrawled, loopy writing. The whole letter just stank of his cousin. She was ridiculously optimistic, but at the same time one of the only people Gyatso felt he could really trust.

He carefully folded the paper and tucked it into a pocket. Tomorrow, he would ask his mother. And he would phrase it just perfectly, about wanting to see his aunt and uncle and cousin, so she would have no choice but to let him go.

Dropping the letter on his desk, he fell back down on his bed again. He thought vaguely about his sister, and how she and his father were at the Western Air Temple, and how she was becoming a true airbender, like his father had always wanted…

There was an odd feeling in his heart. Along with the hint of jealously that coated his thoughts of Kana, there was also something different.

Oh, who was he kidding. He missed his sister, as annoyingly perfect as she was. The two of them had almost never been separated, and although most of the time Gyatso could barely stand her, he knew that he couldn't be Gyatso without an irritating older sister who everyone loved.

And another thing; it wasn't fair that Gyatso was a waterbender, while Kana was an airbender. His father was always teaching Kana something, or introducing Kana to some important official, or telling her about the airbender culture. It took Gyatso's mother less than a year to train him and teach him her culture, so he couldn't understand why his father was still teaching Kana.

It was difficult, having the Avatar as your father. There was always something else. And who was Gyatso to deny his father his duties? The world was definitely more important that the Avatar's son. Obviously this was true, since pretty much everyone seemed to care more about everything else than him.

He groaned and rolled over in bed. If only he had a normal life.

Across the road, in the palace, Zuko was sitting on his throne, his son Sozin on his right, his son Ozu on his left. It was indeed an important meeting, but it had gotten to the point where his advisors were just discussing statistics and reports and other small issues. He glanced at Sozin, who was staring raptly at the advisors, obviously paying the utmost attention. Ozu, on the other hand, showed signs of his drowsiness. His eyes were straying around the room boredly, and he was leaning heavily on his hands. Zuko sighed and looked back at the men reciting numbers in front of him.

"Gentlemen," said Zuko softly. "Is there anything else of real importance?"

The men in the room all exchanged looks, then shook their heads. "No, my Lord."

"Good. Then I declare this meeting adjourned." The men nodded, bowed, and backed out of the room.

"Wait, they weren't really finished, were they?" asked Sozin. Zuko shook his head.

"No, they weren't, but it was getting boring, so I ended the meeting."

"Dad, you can't do that."

"Yes I can. I'm Fire Lord." He smiled at his son. Sozin rolled his eyes. Ozu laughed. He was already on his feet, stretching out his limbs.

"Man, that was so long. How many hours have we been in here, like, eight?"

Sozin shot a glare at his brother as the three of them headed towards the door of the throne room. "We've only been in here for three and a half hours, Icebrain."

"Sozin, what did your mother tell you about using that term?"

"It's just a word, Dad."

"It's like Gyatso calling you a Firebrain," said Ozu, grinning. "It's offensive to their culture, jeez Sozin."

"Whatever."

Zuko smiled at the two boys bantering. It bothered Mai to hear them teasing each other like that, but Zuko didn't have a problem with it. It wasn't harming anyone, and they were brothers; what else was to be expected?

The rest of the imperial family was sitting in the main quarters. Mai was sitting with one arm around Irah, her and Zuko's only daughter, who was moodily staring at something in the distance. Lu Ten was sitting with his cousin Roku on a separate couch, laughing uproariously at something. Zuko sat down next to his wife.

"So how was the meeting?" asked Mai, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Oh, you know," he said. "Just like all of the other ones. And did you know, the Earth King reestablished the Dai Lee? I didn't know that."

"Ah, what is it with the Earth Kingdom and secret police?" said Mai, shaking her head comically. Zuko rolled his eyes at her.

"Irah, you want to hear about the meeting?" asked Sozin.

"No."

"Why not? It was pretty interesting."

"Sozin, your idea of interesting is the equivalent of Dad's sense of humor."

"That's pretty mean, Irah."

"Hey!" interjected Zuko. "I have a sense of humor."

Mai patted her husband on the cheek consolingly. "Of course you do, honey."

Lu Ten and Roku burst into another fit of laughter.

Once they had calmed themselves down, Zuko asked, "Roku, is your mom here? I thought she was coming down today."

"Oh, you know she never shows up," he said lightly. "She gave me some generic excuse before I left, but she just doesn't like the palace."

"That's too bad," said Mai. "I'd love to see her again."

"Just say the word, Mai," said Zuko with a smile. "And I'll get to on a boat to Ember Island and a platter of fruit tarts."

Mai laughed. Ozu, Sozin, Irah and Lu Ten exchanged looks.

There was a moment of silence, then Ozu said, "Oh, I almost forgot!"

He leapt to his feet and bounded to the door. "Where are you going?" called Zuko, but he was already out the door.

"Probably to Katara's," said Mai. "He mentioned something about visiting Gyatso earlier."

"Of course," Zuko said. "He likes Aang's family more than he likes us, I swear."

"Is that really that surprising?" asked Irah, rolling her eyes. Lu Ten and Roku laughed.

Zuko's eyes slowly took in the people in the room, laughing (or, in Irah's case, almost smiling), and he smiled. This was what he had saved the world for.

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So yeah. This is my sequel to "Time, Truth, and Hearts", which you can find on my profile. But it's barely even related to that story. Everything will be explained. I'll update chapters very, VERY slowly, because I don't know if it's even worth it to put the whole thing up. Review please.