((AN: Heee...I think you guys are gonna like this chapter. Just trust me, you will. x3
As for the idea for the dramatic portion though, I was looking through Avatar Wikia and found something fascinating. The Trading Card Game of Avatar mentions an Airbender named Afiko, who was said to have sided with Sozin and helped him destroy the Air Nomads. I know that the information on the trading cards isn't considered canon, however, but it still makes a bit of sense when one considers the timing of the attacks. The comet lasts a few hours, probably; is it believable that in that span of time, Sozin's army attacked all of the Airbenders and killed them? It had to have been either a tedious process of wiping them out after the first blow, or he had to have had a bit of help.
To exercise the theory but keep respect to canon, I didn't name the traitor Air Nomad in the story as Afiko; I kept the identity vague. It just seems, sadly so, probable to me.
Don't worry, it's not all sad. Just thought I'd write some excuse for fluff as well. ^^ Enjoy, guys, and thanks for the comments on the previous chapter! I'm glad to know I can succeed at preserving some of the humor that the series was known for. :3
MIKE AND BRYAN, DUDES, NOT ME. Woot. x3 ))
A child's exuberance was infectious. No matter where you went in the world, it was guaranteed that the sight of such carefree innocence rushing about in the streets, laughter on full blast and with energy to spare, brought smiles to the passerby.
It was still true in the magnificent Southern Water Tribe during summer, when the season of Eternal Night set in over the otherwise barren and icy landscape. Hakoda watched from a spot on a hill outside the walls as several children rocketed down the nearby slopes on ice boards or on penguins. He couldn't help but release a loud bark of laughter when he caught sight of young Tenzin at the forefront, using some skillful acrobatics (one suspects those of Airbending) to out-maneuver his friends on his dubious mount. Only his older cousin Kimiye was able to almost match him stride-for-stride down the slopes.
To the chief, he couldn't have imagined having a more spirited grandchild. The boy's musical laughter echoed along the crevices of the mountains and somehow brought warmth to the hearts of all who heard him. At nearly eight years of age, he was growing swiftly, and was an object of pride for the world; most of all the Water Tribe as the son of their greatest-known Waterbender—and of the Avatar besides.
But to his parents and his lone grandparent, he was simply their blood child, someone to love and cherish no matter where they came from.
And soon enough, the family will get bigger, the aged warrior thought with a smile, once he heard boots crunching through the snow and coming towards him from his right.
Katara stood next to her father and followed his gaze toward the hill where the children were going for another round of sledding. She comfortably adjusted her coat to allow room for her five-months-pregnant belly, which was larger than usual. "Hey, Dad. You watching your grandson's antics again?"
"When am I not?" Hakoda rumbled a quick laugh. "I don't think I've ever seen the boy get tired once since he got here." Tenzin could be heard laughing again as he rocketed down the icy slopes. "And he loves sledding," the chief added with a grin.
"Like father, like son," Katara snorted with a shake of her head. She knew that Aang would have also been up there with him, if the Council of Elders didn't have to steal him for a lengthy meeting in a few days; which was the reason behind their trip to the Waterbender's homeland in the first place. Of course, she never minded visiting her family again, and they never got tired of taking care of Tenzin and Kimiye.
"Or like mother," Hakoda added a moment later, giving her a gentle smile as he wrapped his arm over his daughter's shoulder. "I know you'd be up there too if you could be, sweetheart."
"Yeah; but soon enough I won't even be able to move around much at all," Katara chuckled, returning his smile as her hand rested on her abdomen. There was a spark of giddiness in her eyes. "I just got back from a checkup with the Healers; they said I'm doing fine, and gave me some good news, besides." She gave her father a smirk. "I don't suppose you've seen my husband around here yet. This is something he has to hear."
Hakoda opened his mouth to answer, but stopped upon glancing toward another figure headed in their direction. "I haven't seen him yet, but I can bet I know someone who has." He tilted his head to indicate the newcomer.
Turning to regard him, her eyes widened, as did her smile. "Zuko!"
"Hey," the Fire Lord waved in an almost nonchalant manner, though his warm grin betrayed his habitual look of nobility. His heavy boots crunched deeply through the snow as he approached, and his thick red cloak trailed through the drifts. Despite having traveled through cold weather during much of his life in exile, he never did get used to it.
Katara brought him into a tight hug once he was close enough, then followed it with a light-hearted punch to his shoulder. "What the heck have you been doing, you big jerk? We hardly hear from you anymore."
"Oh, you know…ruling a nation, raising a family, you know how it is," he answered in a dramatically deadpan manner. "I was called here for the meetings as well. And hey, being a full-time jerk is busy enough too. I'm overwhelmed and suffering. You should pity me, Katara."
"Right," she snorted and made an exaggerated bow, making her voice sound as 'fancy' as possible. "So sorry for not treating you the way you should be treated, O Mighty Fire Lord. I don't know what came over me." She feigned swooning. "I don't deserve any more hugs from my old friend, because he has been so seriously hurt by my foolish ways! Oh woe is me!"
"Ooookay, that's enough of that," Zuko muttered indignantly as Hakoda contained his laughter in the background, before he regained his cheerful demeanor and returned her hug. "I've been okay. Mai decided to stay back at the palace to watch Ursa and Kazu, and of course our new daughter." His golden eyes hid a proud sparkle behind them. "Being Fire Lord isn't as full-time a job as being a dad, but it's also not as fulfilling."
"I can imagine," Katara smiled. "You really have a big, happy family now; and I can tell they'll be great for the Fire Nation's future." She drew back, looking down to her extended stomach. "And our family's growing, too."
"I heard," Zuko nodded. "Aang could barely stop talking about it. Are things working well and such?"
"Fine and dandy," Katara stated with a wide grin. "My children are all lucky that their mother's a healer…and that their dad's the Avatar."
"Psh…take it from a great-grandkid of an Avatar," Zuko scoffed playfully, "Their children will consider themselves lucky long into the future."
"And we haven't a leg to stand on either," Hakoda pointed out, pausing from watching his grandson make another run down the hill, "There's talk that there's some of Avatar Kuruk's blood in our family line."
Katara's eyes rolled. "Dad, from the way the legends say it, a quarter of the world is related to Kuruk in some way."
"He was that prolific?" Zuko's good eye widened. "Sheesh!"
"Bah, that's just a legend," Hakoda shook his head. "He ought to have had family and cousins that had kids, after all."
"Anyway," Katara sighed with a light grin on her features. "Aang's the Avatar now, and he has his own mark to make on the world. Speaking of which," she glanced up toward Zuko again, "I've been told that you know where he is?"
The Fire Lord's face fell a little. "Well…sort of…actually, that's what I originally came to find you about, Katara. There's…something's wrong."
Her expression instantly shifted. "…What do you mean?"
"I'll leave you two to talk," Hakoda softly excused himself, sensing a topic coming on that they probably didn't want him to overhear. "I think I hear Tenzin calling me, anyway."
"Alright, Dad," Katara dismissed, having not taken her eyes off of the Fire Nation ruler. "What's going on with Aang?"
Zuko's shoulders slumped. "Well, I talked to him a while ago; he said that he was looking for some clue as to the plight of the Air Nomads during the war…"
"Oh, that's right…" Katara hummed, her gaze drifting to the side. "He told me he found some pieces missing, about the destruction of the Air Nomads that really bugged him. Like the timing. He's been fixated on the subject ever since he started teaching Tenzin about his culture."
"Exactly; I've wondered about that too, but he said his records from the temples haven't come up with answers. So I was sifting through the Dragon Bone Catacombs back home and found some of Sozin's notes." The Firebender paused there, drawing in a long sigh. "And they're…not very pretty."
Katara narrowed her eyes in concern. "How not pretty?"
Zuko hung his head low, as if in shame, and spoke in a soft voice. "Heart-wrenchingly not pretty. I could barely read through the whole thing. But Aang insisted…he told me that he had to know. So, I showed him the scroll. He read it…and…I can't even begin to describe how he looked, Katara. It was like death crossed in front of his face, literally."
He looked up into her eyes again, and she looked distraught at the news. "Then he just…dropped the scroll and ran off, excusing himself. I haven't seen him since," he finished.
The Waterbender dipped her head in thought, biting at her lip. I was afraid of this…Aang always looks so lost when he talks about his people.
After a moment, she regarded the Fire Lord. "…Can I see the scroll? I want to know what's hurting him so much before I go find him."
He tilted his head, reaching for the parchment in his robes. "Are you sure? It's pretty hard to take."
"Let me see," she insisted, holding her hand out. "Please."
With a defeated sigh, he handed the Waterbender the scroll, and watched as she took in the writing on the page. With each skim of the words and the finish of each paragraph, her expression changed slowly into shock and sadness. Her hand came up to cover her mouth at the sheer thought of the pain that Aang had to have had wrenching through his heart upon reading it.
It was a familiar story, of a betrayal and the start of a war. She found herself involuntarily clenching her fingers as they held on to the scroll, sickened until the end.
Zuko simply stood by, reliving the weight of shame that his nation and his ancestors still carried for their senseless crimes, before she finished reading and gave it back to him.
"I know where he is," Katara whispered with sad determination. "I'm going to find him."
"I was hoping you would," Zuko nodded. "If there's anyone in this whole world that can bring our Avatar out of this shock, it's only you."
"Thanks," the pregnant Waterbender admonished before making her way to where she knew her soul mate would be holding himself.
The Avatar sat quietly by himself, his hands gripping the banister tightly to hold him in place. The highest point of the central tower of the village, built out of snow and ice, kept him in silent isolation where he could be close to the sky and the element of his birth.
But even at such a height, he felt burdened and weighed down; all of a sudden, he no longer felt the Airbender's spirit within him. Still so deep in shock that he had to hold on for his life, for if he fell, he would not have caught himself.
He couldn't hear the door to the staircase under the floor open behind him, or feel a concerned pair of eyes fall onto his back.
Katara had ascended the stairs of the tower slowly, hoping with all of her being that she was right. She always knew where to find Aang in his most depressing times; it only served to strengthen the argument that they were truly connected to each other.
She watched her husband for a moment or two as he continued sitting straight and stiff, for all the world a statue. He could have been meditating…but for the shudder that crawled across his body and the quiet, shaky sobs that broke the enveloping silence.
So thus, it came as a surprise to the Waterbender when a touch of her hand on his shoulder caused him to violently tense; she'd startled him. He's never startled, even when he's concentrating. This is…oh, Spirits…
"Aang…are you okay?" she softly asked, her hand still resting on his shoulder. It was a rhetorical question, to be sure; but one that had to be asked nonetheless. She had to hear something from him.
She paused, took a breath, and closed her eyes as she spoke again. "Zuko told me what happened. He showed me the scroll."
He didn't answer…but neither did he shrug away from her touch. He lifted his head to glance at her, and then swiftly turned it away. She'd gotten just enough of a look at his face to see his cheeks gleaming wet with tears. He didn't want her to see him that way…but a part of him knew that it couldn't be helped. Wherever he retreated, she would always come looking. Water could follow air, easily.
Katara's heart ached for him. Even through a marriage and a child, the dynamics of their relationship never ceased in the slightest; without her, he would have quickly come to be like this every day. A shell of a human being, unable to be what he truly was. And she couldn't bear to leave his side when he was like that.
He shivered when she drew closer, wrapping her arms around him in a tight embrace from behind and laying her head against his own. No other response. Just his irregular breathing and tightly-held-back cries of anguish.
It hurt her, whenever he retreated into his emotions and couldn't return her comfort. Still she persisted, keeping him protected in her arms as she'd always done; from the first day until then, and still forever more. Tears were brimming in her own eyelids.
"Aang…" she whispered into his neck, pleading. "Talk to me. Please, talk to me."
It was the catch in her voice that briefly brought him back to the surface, out of drowning in his turbulent sadness. Katara was the person that he cared for more than anything, even his own troubles; if she was so worried…if she was in turmoil, because of him…then he could be there as best as he could, too.
He felt her burying her cheek against the crook of his shoulder. This time, he responded, and raised his hands to clutch hers and hold them to his heart. Even through the cloth of her mittens, they felt so warm in his pale, shaking fingers.
Aang's eyes opened and he swallowed once to fix the rawness of his voice. "We were betrayed…" he croaked. "Th-the Air Nomads…my people…betrayed. By one of our own."
"I know," Katara soothed, lending him her strength. "I don't know what to say, Aang. It's horrible."
He took in a shaky breath. "I don't want to believe it. I wanted to believe that there was a measure of hope, all this time. How could they have found our hidden temples? How could they have known when we all would gather?" He exhaled hard, the tears streaming down his face. "He was one of us. A monk. And he led Sozin's army to the Southern Air Temple, and hunted down the rest. H…how could…how…why?"
Katara knew what he was asking, even when his words failed him. Why would someone betray their own Nation? How could they do that, to their homes and families? To abandon the nonviolent teachings of old and lead destruction and death to the doorsteps of a peaceful culture? She tried hard to see it from his side…if anyone would have sold out the Water Tribes to the attacking Fire Nation…oh, she couldn't even fathom it. This unthinkable thing had happened to Aang's own people, and now there lying before him was a part of the reason.
Finally, he turned to face her, his face flushed and eyes wide and dry of tears. His face wasn't that of the Avatar, but of a man broken and desperate for answers.
She gently wiped the moisture from his face and pulled him from the banister into her embrace once more. The warmth urged him to keep speaking, and just let out the pain.
"I knew him too…he was one of the lower-ranked monks at the Southern Air Temple. He was always a bit crass, but I never thought that he'd be the type to…just…turn against us."
Katara let out a soft sigh, keeping up her feverish hold on him. "Some people are just like that. Among every nation, there will be evil as well as good; or those unbalanced and easily swayed. You know this…we've all seen it."
"But…" he sniffed, pulling away to look at her. "It's just hard to believe that among the peaceful, life-loving people and the ways that we were raised…that someone like that would be there. And in my own home."
"It is," she agreed. "But, it's still not impossible, Aang. I don't know…maybe there was something wrong with him. That he was never in a right state of mind, and easily brought in by promise of power. In the end…he ended up paying the price for his mistake, anyway."
Aang nodded, his voice level. "Sozin executed him later. He must have been foolish…to trust that tyrant in the first place."
Katara watched her husband with concern. There was something in his voice that he rarely showed, if ever. A tinge of darkness, when referring to the traitor from his own people.
The Airbender seemed to catch the question in her gaze, and he softened. "You know what's upsetting me so much about all of this? It's not just the fact that one of my people went out of their way to help Sozin completely wipe everyone out…it's the fact that I can't help thinking he deserved his sentence. I forgave the Fire Nation for their crime…but…I'm finding it so difficult to try forgetting and forgiving this monk. Someone who was brought up with the secrets of life enlightenment and peace and happiness, and chose to throw them away and help to bring death on everyone he knew…to willingly throw away his vows and spurn his spiritual rights…someone like that was fated for nothing more than a painful death. It's what my mind keeps telling me, and Spirits help me, I agree." He closed his eyes in shame. "It scares me."
"Oh…Aang…" Katara sniffed, pulling him against her again. He leaned into her touch, finding support and strength. "I know exactly how you feel, you know. It was only a matter of time before you found something on a personal level that you could never forgive. But, you can at least accept it, and move on. That was then, and this is now."
"I know," he admonished, and she felt him nodding. "I'm breaking my promise not to dwell on the past. But I can't help it, especially now that I know this." He pulled back and held his wife at arm's length, looking hard into her eyes. "Katara…tell me the truth. Am I foolish, believing in what I do?"
She regarded him with shock. "Aang…!"
"I'm serious," he said, glancing away. "I'm teaching Tenzin my ways, but in essence, I'm the only one left who still takes them seriously. When everyone else, even my past lives, wanted me to kill to bring peace, I couldn't. I almost lost the fight because I couldn't strike back against Ozai. There are so many people who think that I should have completely rid the world of my enemies. 'Aang the foolish,' they call me. And sometimes I have to wonder if they're right…"
"Shut up."
Katara's stern demand stopped him cold. He met her eyes again, and they bore into him with a ferocious determination. She was literally shaking in vehement disagreement with his every word.
She took his chin in her hand and forced him to look at her. "You shut up, and you listen to me, Aang. You have absolutely no right to call yourself foolish for your actions, and nor do you have the right to even think about listening to what other people tell you that you should believe. What you did to end the war was the right thing."
"And how do you know that?" he quietly challenged.
Her grip on him loosened, but her look didn't falter. "Because you did it."
Unable to grasp what she meant, he simply stared back. She breathed in a calm stream of cold air and sorted her thoughts to explain. "They call you 'Aang the Foolish' in some places, yes…but do you happen to know what they call you in most of the Fire Nation, because of what you did?"
He answered with a shrug.
Katara smiled, and cupped his cheek with the hand that she had been gripping him with. "They call you 'Aang the Merciful'…in fact, I hear it a lot, and it's a title that's catching on in the rest of the world with the new generation. There are so many people in this world that hold you in complete awe, because you're probably the only Avatar in history to have fought a war without taking a single life. You ended a tyrant's reign without ending him. You help rebuild the Fire Nation instead of regarding them with spite. You tried your hardest not to really hurt your enemies, and you even showed Zuko mercy even after he could have given you over to his father to be killed. And your deeds have affected so many people, and made them believe that it's possible to achieve great things without having to throw your power around. That a war can be won through mercy and love, and without a single drop of hate.
"And that's why you're not foolish. You hang on to beliefs that the rest of the world abandoned long ago, and you gave them new, better ways to think on their actions. You are the most powerful man in the world, and still you present yourself as a humble, simple person; a husband and a father, and an Air Nomad…nothing more, nothing less. You aren't feared as an Avatar, but respected as a keeper of balance. Your heart holds everlasting kindness. That's how I know you, and that's how the world will know you. You're not the only one who believes in a life led through peace and joy anymore.
"And Aang," Katara finished in a whisper, pressing her forehead to his. "It's how you are, and it's how you should stay. No, you're not foolish. You're you, and that's all that's needed."
When he took in the resounding truth of all of her words, each one strengthening his heart and spirit a hundredfold, his tears returned and cascaded down his cheeks with no will to hold them back. He felt uplifted again, and once more, he couldn't feel more thankful for the woman in front of him. She still saves me, he thought in complete reverence as he pulled her tightly against him and just clutched her for all it was worth.
And she held him back just as forcefully, relieved, for his happiness meant more to her than even her life.
When he drew back again, he wiped his tears away and frowned. "Still…it'll take a while to accept what happened," he admitted.
"I know," his soul mate nodded with understanding. "But when it comes back to you, just remember that it's in the past and over, and nothing can be done now but to look to the future." She grinned, meeting those dark and soulful eyes. "You're what remains of your culture and their beliefs…and therefore, you're their founder. From now on, every Airbender will remember your teachings and uphold them. You aren't the last Air Nomad anymore, my love. You're the first."
At the thought, Aang smiled and let out a chuckle. "Well, I promise that I can try to be so influential. Foolish as I can be," he grinned.
"Psh…you're still my fool, at least," Katara laughed along with him and took his hand, placing it on her coat over her pregnant girth. "No better father of a Nation, either."
"And you, no better mother," Aang insisted, caressing the surface slowly with a loving smile.
Katara giggled, a twinkle coming to her eyes. "Anyway, I got something to tell you that's guaranteed to cheer you up and make you forget all about this."
He blinked up at her, incredulousness crossing his expression. "Oh?"
"In fact, I'd stake my life on it."
Aang laughed. "I wouldn't want you to stake your life on anything…but, you do have me curious now."
The smile she had was a wide one, one of those mysterious smiles that just screamed of someone knowing something that nobody else did. "I went to the healer for a checkup today. The baby's doing very well. All three of them are."
"That's wonderful, Katara," Aang started with a loving smile, embracing her. "I'm glad to—wait."
He froze. "Waaaaait a minute…" Slowly, he pulled away and fixed her with his stare. "Come again?"
Her giddy expression intensified. "You heard me, Aang. All three. We're having triplets."
If it were possible, his eyes grew wider than anytime she'd ever seen them. "Tr…wh…oh…oh, my…" He took a hold of her shoulders, grinning like mad. "Say that again. One more time, say it again," he pleaded, desperate to confirm what he'd just heard.
Katara let out a giggle and came closer, placing a kiss on his lips.
"We're…"
Another kiss. "Having…"
A third. "Triplets."
A streak of crimson painted Aang's cheeks as he looked into Katara's loving ocean-blue eyes, his heart racing. And as per her guarantee, his thoughts were wiped of everything but this wondrous, glorious news.
And suddenly, she found herself swept into his arms. He held her tight to him as his lips fell to hers—passionate, long, and deep—and stole away her breath.
He broke away just as swiftly after a moment and laughed, still holding her tightly. "Katara, I…wow! By the Spirits, I love you."
Entranced by his bouncy reaction, she couldn't help but laugh herself, nestling into his warmth and clutching him tight. "And I love you."
They kept up their laughter together for just a second longer before Aang let her go, rushing to the banister and looking down. "I gotta…wow, I gotta just fly after hearing this."
His wife chuckled in agreement. "Well, considering you've been cooped away from him all day, you could probably find your son and tell him that he's gonna be a big brother to triplets."
"Perfect!" He grinned and snatched his staff. Flipping the wings open, he leaped straight from the top of the tower with an exultant "WOO!"
Watching him fly with the expertise and mastery that he contained, his spirit renewed, Katara laughed long and hard until her sides ached. Then, she smiled proudly to herself.
Looks like I keep my life…and hopefully, Aang will stay himself.
Certainly, Aang would always keep remembering the lesson that was lifted into him that night; and for certain, the wind felt stronger with the spirits of a proud past nation of Nomads watching over him.