Chapter 25 A Dream Come to Light

Ava glanced nervously between Toph and Aang as she opened the door, unsure, for a moment, of the duo's intentions. She had expected Master Beifong to arrive but not the task force officer that had accompanied her. The man towered over Master Beifong and was, in all his armor, an intimidating sight. Most of the man's face was concealed by the metal face plate that he wore. The only feature visible was his stormy gray eyes that seemed, to Ava, hauntingly familiar.

"Miss Luong," Toph greeted the young artist with a bow.

"Master Toph," Ava greeted timidly. She moved her eyes back to the officer. He seemed to gaze back at her with such intensity that it made her slightly apprehensive.

"And you are," Ava questioned cautiously. The man in armor paused for a moment as if the question had been unexpected.

"Officer Gyatso," he replied in a gruff voice that almost seemed deeper than was normal for him. The man then bowed in respect pressing his fist firmly to his opposite hand.

"Please come in," Ava said nervously as she ushered Toph and the officer into her home.

"I hope you don't mind that I brought Officer Gyatso with me," Toph replied sensing Ava's nervousness, "This is a very delicate situation that you have brought my attention to. I decided it was in everyone's best interest to bring some back-up in case things took an unexpected turn. Please understand that I must take every precaution possible to protect the Avatar." Ava nodded forgetting for a moment that Toph couldn't see it.

"Yes, yes I understand Master Beifong," Ava replied, "but I am hardly a threat to the Avatar, you must believe me."

"I do believe you Miss Luong," Toph replied with a half-smile, "believe me, it is not you that I am concerned about. I can tell you are being honest, however, if what you suspect of this boy is true then you and your sister are in very real danger. If this boy truly is the Avatar's son then the people who have allegedly taken him want only one thing; to immobilize the Avatar. If these people are who I believe them to be, then they will stop at nothing to achieve their goal, and they can and will take out anyone who stands in their way. I simply cannot take any chances with the lives of Avatar Aang, his family…or any other innocent bystander."

"I understand," Ava replied.

"Okay," Toph replied, "now let's get this all sorted out. You said that you had other drawings from your sister, may we see them?"

"Oh, yes of course," Ava stuttered then paused, "but I thought…"

"Yes I am still blind," Toph replied bluntly," another reason for Officer Gyatso to accompany me, he is also here to help verify the evidence that I cannot see."

"Oh um, of course," Ava replied as she glanced nervously in the man's direction, "I uh, I have all the drawings in my studio. Please, follow me." She turned quickly and led Toph and the officer in the direction of her studio.

Aang trailed behind Toph and Ava, silently taking in every detail of the house. Everything looked exactly the same as it had a year and a half ago when he had come there with his family to have their portraits painted. He remembered as if it were yesterday, walking through these same halls with Katara by his side and Tenzin running ahead of them. He could almost hear his son's laughter echo through the halls as he ran with his little fingers trailing along the wall. He could almost hear Katara calling out the boy's name in a vain attempt to get the one year old to behave. Aang smiled softly beneath his mask as he remembered Tenzin giggling in response to his mother's gentle scolds. Aang's mind drifted into a brief memory of the moments long past.

….

Katara sighed heavily in frustration as Tenzin continued to run down the hall despite her attempts to correct the one year old.

"Your son is going to be the death of me," Katara huffed. Aang smiled slightly in her direction.

"Why is it he is my son only when he is acting up," Aang replied sarcastically.

"Because," Katara replied as she crossed her arms over her chest, "he is just like you, he has enough energy to run circles around me; he doesn't listen when I'm trying to teach him; he has a short attention span and he can't sit still at all, not even for a minute!"

"Come on Katara," Aang replied with a chuckle, "those are some of my best traits." Katara shot him a mock look of contempt.

"Hey, you act like it's a bad thing that he is like me," Aang replied in amusement.

"Isn't it," Katara smirked, "at this rate I'll be going gray by the time he turns two!" Aang chuckled heartily at Katara's comment. Katara continued to glare at Aang as she fought back her smile.

"Besides, those all are the traits of great air bender," Aang said with a shrug, "just saying."

"Well, let's hope so," Katara sighed, "that way you can be the one to teach him bending instead of me, because teaching you was bad enough."

"As if you didn't enjoy bossing me around," Aang chuckled. Katara rolled her eyes as she flashed her husband a brief smile.

"I wasn't bossing you around," Katara replied, "I was trying to be a good teacher. Discipline is the key to mastering bending." Aang rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he huffed, "Hello again Sifu Katara, it's been a while since I heard the discipline speech."

"Hey," Katara replied indignantly, "If it wasn't for me and my teaching methods you would still be trying to master water bending right now."

"I could have taught myself," Aang replied quickly and then paused, "eventually." Katara just gazed at him in disbelief, though she still fought back a smile.

"Are you saying that you never needed me to teach you water-bending," Katara replied in an offended tone.

"No, no," Aang replied quickly, "not exactly, I was just saying I could have if you weren't there."

"Because if I remember correctly," Katara went on, "It took you months to master even some of the simplest of bending moves." Aang smirked at her.

"Name one," he smiled as he spoke.

"Okay," Katara replied, "how about the octopus move, I can't tell you how many times I had to correct your stance, it was so frustrating how you would get it wrong almost every time."

"Are you kidding me," Aang replied with a wide grin, "that was one of the easiest ones to learn. I had that mastered after the first lesson."

"No way," Katara replied, "you're such a liar. We practiced that move for months; I didn't think you would ever get it right." Aang raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"All this time…I thought you knew," Aang replied almost to himself. Katara furrowed her brow as she gazed back at him in curiosity.

"Knew what," she questioned him. Aang glanced back at her with a warm and knowing smile.

"Well," Aang sighed, "You were a good teacher Katara, but I didn't want to learn too fast because…I liked you teaching me. If I showed you I was already mastering water bending, then you wouldn't have needed to teach me any more.

"So," Katara replied.

"So…sometimes I would kind of…purposely get things wrong," Aang replied.

"What," Katara questioned now unable to hide her smile.

"I'm sorry," Aang replied smiling back at her, "I couldn't help it. I was just a stupid kid with a crush and I liked you paying attention to me. At the time I guess it was the only way I could think of to get you to spend time with me. Not to mention that sparring with you was the perfect excuse to get close to you without making it too obvious that I liked you." Katara giggled slightly.

"You could have just told me you liked me," Katara replied in amusement. Aang chuckled again.

"Yeah right," he scoffed, you were almost two years older than me, a master water bender, and my teacher; talk about intimidating. I didn't think you would give me the time of day back then, least of all that you would ever like me the way that I liked you."

"I was not intimidating," Katara giggled.

"No, you were just a breath-taking beautiful girl that I liked, but who could also kick my butt in water bending any day of the week," Aang replied sarcastically, "not intimidating at all." Katara giggled slightly as she slapped him hard on the shoulder. "Back then you made me so nervous I couldn't think straight," Aang said with a smile. Katara smiled back at him without a word.

"You seriously didn't know," Aang questioned. Katara shook her head as she slipped her hand in his and squeezed it tightly. She then leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.

"I love you," she replied simply.

"I love you too Katara," Aang answered.

….

"Right in here," Ava's voice broke Aang from his thoughts and he looked up in her direction suddenly. She stood in the door way of her studio staring at him expectantly. Aang simply nodded and walked past her through the door.

The room was just as he remembered it. It was a large wide opened space that almost gave the impression of a green house. Windows covered the majority of the ceiling and walls allowing the bright sun light to pour into the room giving it the most optimal lighting for an artist to work. The room faced a lovely courtyard full of many brightly colored flowers and green shrubbery. The view of the garden gave the room a tranquil and homey feel that would have been calming if the reason for this visit had not been so inauspicious. Around the room hung paintings of every kind and a number of easels scattered the room some empty and some with unfinished paintings and sketches upon them. In the middle of the room was a large round table that was scattered with brushes, pencils and pastels as well as random papers and sketches.

"Alright," Toph sighed, "before you show us the sketches I just have a few more questions."

"Okay," Ava replied, "I'll tell you all you need to know."

"Good," Toph replied.

Back at the house

Suki sat silently in a wooden rocking chair with a sleeping Kya in her arms. She gazed at her husband in concern as he anxiously paced the floor in front of her.

"Maybe you should sit down Sokka," Suki spoke up suddenly, "you are going to ware a hole in the floor." Sokka paused a moment as he turned in his wife's direction.

"I'm sorry," Sokka sighed, "I can't help it, I just feel like I should be doing something to help. I can't stand not knowing what is going on!"

"Just relax Sokka," Suki encouraged, "Toph and Aang are just following up on this lead, that's all; nothing bad is going to happen." Sokka sighed heavily as he sank down into a chair beside his wife.

"You're right," Sokka replied, "I know you are right, but I just can't help worrying. If anything goes wrong…I mean if something terrible happens again…I wouldn't be able to forgive myself." Suki leaned forward and rested her hand atop Sokka's.

"It's okay Sokka," she said softly, "I know that you feel guilty about everything that has happened over the past year, but if this is true…"

"If it's true," Sokka said suddenly as he leaned forward and rested his forearms on his knees, "if it's true then it doesn't change how I feel."

"How can you say that," Suki replied, "Tenzin could be alive…that changes everything!"

"No," Sokka sighed, "it doesn't change everything, Katara still suffered needlessly for months; she still tried to kill herself because of her grief over Tenzin. She's still suffering now."

"Sokka," Suki replied softly as she once again reached for his hand, "It's not your fault." Sokka looked up to his wife with pain and guilt in his eyes.

"I told Katara her son was dead," Sokka replied, "She lost hope when she thought he was gone, I should have looked for more evidence…I should have…"

"Sokka," Suki interrupted, "You couldn't have known that Tenzin survived, it is not your fault that Katara lost hope." Sokka looked up to his wife with tears in his they were interrupted by a knock at the door. Suki and Sokka glanced at each other curiously for a moment and then turned back to the door. Another knock pierced the silence. Suki rose from her seat and headed toward the door with Kya in her arms. Sokka grabbed a hold of her hand suddenly, stopping her in her tracks.

"Don't answer that," Sokka said firmly.

"What, why," Suki asked.

"Because," Sokka replied, "we don't know who it is, what if it's a trick or something?"

"Sokka," Suki sighed. Sokka just shot her a stern look. Another knock at the door echoed through the room.

"Well we can't just leave them knock aimlessly," Suki replied, "we should at least find out what they want so they go away."

"Fine," Sokka replied, "but you are going to go upstairs with Kya out of sight and I will answer it."

"Fair enough," Suki replied, "this little one should be put down for a nap anyway. She kissed Sokka lightly on the cheek and headed upstairs with Kya.

Sokka waited until his wife was safely out of sight and then turned back to the door. He paused a moment, took a deep breath and then pulled the door open quickly. He found himself suddenly face to face with a bewildered delivery boy. The boy, about twelve years of age, stood there with a dumbfounded expression upon his face and his arm raised as if he were about to knock again upon the door. Sokka looked the boy over thoroughly and then glanced back and forth around the yard. His eyes fell once again upon the boy who looked up at him curiously.

"Yes," Sokka said in a questioning tone.

"Uh, uh, I have a delivery," the boy stuttered, "it's for Master Beifong."

"Right, right," Sokka replied, "I'll take it for you."

"You are not master Beifong," the boy said simply.

"I'm the butler kid," Sokka replied quickly, "Master Beifong is too busy to answer her door, so hand over the package and I will make sure she gets it." The boy sighed and handed Sokka a small wooden box that said fragile on one side of it.

"Who is this from anyway kid," Sokka asked.

"It's from Lao Beifong," the boy answered simply, "Master Beifong's father." The boy then turned and ran in the opposite direction. Sokka turned slowly back into the house and closed the door behind him.

"Who was it," Suki called out as she slowly made her way down the stairs.

"It was just a delivery boy," Sokka answered, "with some package from Toph's parents."

"Toph's parents," Suki questioned. Sokka nodded and handed the box to his wife. Suki looked it over quickly and then turned back to Sokka.

"I wonder what it could be," she questioned.

-Ava's house

As Toph spoke to Ava, Aang glanced steadily around the room until his eyes fell upon an all too familiar image. Sitting upon the floor, leaned up against a chair beside the center table was a rough sketch of Katara, Tenzin, and himself. It was Ava's original sketch and the precursor to her final painting. Aang was instantly drawn to the sketch and without thinking he drifted in its direction. Toph and Ava's conversation seemed to drift into the background as he gazed upon the happy image of his family. He couldn't help but to feel the same heart crippling longing for his son's return that was all to familiar to him, only this time the feelings were intensified with the possibility that his son might really still be alive. He slowly turned from the painting and began to walk back toward Toph and Ava but suddenly a drawing upon the table caught his eye. Aang turned to the table, picked up the piece of parchment and stared intently at the image sprawled upon it. It was a sketch of a building that he had only seen in his dreams, a stone building with large wooden doors. Carved upon each door was the symbol of Omashu. This sketch, unlike the one from his dream also included a caption.

"Omashu Home for Orphaned Boys," Aang read the caption silently to himself. Could this be where his son was being held all this time? Was Tenzin in an orphanage in Omashu? Aang looked up from the paper and glanced back to the table. An array of drawings were strewn across it and he quickly began to leaf through them. There were a few random landscape sketches, all of which he recognized immediately to be landmarks in Omashu. There were other sketches of random people, some portraits and others candid. One in particular caught his attention. It was the depiction of a girl wearing an identical outfit as the one from his dream, a green apron with the Omashu symbol embroidered on it but the girl herself was unrecognizable to him. The caption of this portrait read "Tadame."

"A uniform," Aang muttered softly to himself. He continued to leaf through the drawings. He flipped past a few more random landscapes and then finally to a sketch entitled "Self Portrait."

As he gazed upon the image he could feel his heart rate increase and a feeling of urgency pervaded his soul. The woman that was the subject of the portrait was identical to the one in his dream. Every feature of the lovely girl's face had been engrained in his memory as he had replayed the dream over and over again in his mind. It was her; there was no question in Aang's mind.

"Toph," Aang called out suddenly as he clutched the sketch tightly in his hand. Both Toph and Ava looked up in his direction. He noticed Ava gazing at him strangely. He smiled slightly at her behind his mask. Until this moment he had not noticed the similar features that Ava shared with her sister. Their deep green eyes, the color of their hair, their smooth flawless skin; the family resemblance was undeniable.

"What is it," Toph questioned in and anxious tone.

"It's her," Aang replied as he continued to gaze in Ava's direction, "the girl from my dream." He held the sketch of Sun-Li up for Ava to see, "This portrait…is this your sister?" Ava gazed in Aang's direction curiously.

"Yes," Ava replied nervously, "that is Sun-Li, my sister." Aang could feel tears welling up in his eyes as Ava's answer swirled through his mind. As he gazed intently upon the young artist he removed his face mask and took off his helmet revealing the tell-tale arrow tattoo that lined his scalp.

Ava gazed in Aang's direction in disbelief, "y-you are…the Avatar."

"I am Avatar Aang," he replied, "and your sister is the one that is to lead me to my son."

To Be Continued...