Thanks for the reviews! You guys are awesome! I'd be nowhere without fans like you guys (and girls lol). Hugs to all! Now here's the next chapter.
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The nursery was painted beautifully. The bottom halves of the walls were a blue ocean and the top halves had the setting sun and a mixture of warm colors in the sky. There was a light blue bassonet on one side of the room and a deep red one on the other. A Fire Nation tapestry hung in between the two bassonets, but Katara had wanted one from the Water Tribe there with it. Unfortunately they couldn't find one so there was one in the making for her. Zuko was confused when the babies opened their eyes. Echo's right eye was blue, but her left was an amber color. It was the opposite with Eryx's eyes. They assumed both of them were waterbenders because that's what element the next Avatar was supposed to be born into, but they planned on teaching them both at the same time so they would be even. Then Toph and Aang would teach them airbending and earthbending.
"We're going to have to increase security around here with both of them being the Avatar.. or Avatars, I guess. Your father's loyal followers are sure to try something, even Mai when she finds out."
"I already thought of that. I wanted your brother to help watch them, do you think he would?"
Katara laughed quietly. "I think he'd be more than happy to help, especially since you've questioned his warrior skills so many times. He'll think that you think better of him now since he's been training himself so much recently."
"It's late, we should go to bed. I can ask him in the morning."
Katara leaned over the side of the blue bassonet and kissed Echo on her sleeping head. Zuko repeated her actions as she walked to the red one and kissed Eryx on the head. "Goodnight, my little Avatars."
They walked out, closing the doors behind them, and yelled for a couple of guards to watch the door. "No one goes in, no one comes out. Katara and I are the absolutely only ones allowed in this room while they're in there, understand?"
"Yes, Firelord Zuko," they said together. They bowed slightly as Zuko and Katara walked away towards their room, just a couple doors down. They couldn't build it too far from their own room or they wouldn't be able to hear them when they wake up.
"You are going to help with them, right?" she asked as they climbed into their bed.
"Like how?"
"Like changing diapers, feeding them, putting them to sleep, and so on? They're our future, your duties as a father come before your duties as a firelord."
"I guess I can ask Uncle Iroh to help with running the nation until we get on some kind of schedule."
He wrapped his arms around her and she snuggled into him. "Thank you," she whispered as they drifted off to sleep.
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"More than one Avatar? Impossible! What happened to the airbender kid being the Avatar? Why didn't I know about Zuko having children sooner? And an Avatar, no less! Two of them!"
Mai paced the deck of the dinky little ship she bought before she left, fists balled up so tightly that blood was dripping from where her nails were digging into her palm. The few people she had managed to convince into coming with her were looking fearful right about then.
"Excuse me, miss." The lookout interupted the conversation with herself. "We're approaching someone in the water."
She ran to the front of the ship and looked around. She could hear a girl'svoice screaming. She sounded frustrated and really pissed off. That was her. She was done looking. Her revenge could now be pulled off.
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"I hope Toph is okay, she seemed awful worried when I left even though it was only for a couple weeks." Aang and Sokka were packing up Aang's things onto Appa for the trip back to his new home in the Earth Kingdom.
"She's fine, she's just being paranoid. Besides, what is there to worry about? You're not the Avatar anymore, there's no war anymore, what could happen?"
"Word could spread to Zhao's or Ozai's followers and they'd capture me to get information about everything out of me. That's.. about the only thing that could happen."
"Hey, you and Toph should go visit Jet when you get back there. Do you think he knows that the war is over?"
"I don't know, but I'll sure tell him everything that's been going on. He'll freak when he finds out about Katara and Zuko!" Aang laughed. "Jet didn't deserve Katara anyway."
"Well, you're all packed up! Let's go find Katara so you can tell her bye."
They walked to the nursery, hoping to find them there. They opened the big doors, but it was empty inside. They noticed that the Water Tribe tapestry had finally been finished and was hanging behind Echo's bed while the Fire Nation one was moved over to hang behind Eryx's.
"I wonder where they are."
"One of the guards should know and it should be easy to find one since they doubled security the other day. Look, there's a guard now." Sokka pointed down the hall to one that he had gotten to know well while working on the nursery. "Good, it's Yu. I know him. Yu! Wait up!"
Yu stopped and turned to see Sokka and Aang running towards him. "What do you need?"
Sokka stopped in front of him, just barely out of breath. "Do you know where Zuko and Katara are?"
"I believe they have the babies in the gardens today. Do you remember how to get there?"
"Yeah, thanks Yu." Sokka patted him on the shoulder before turning and running out, leaving Aang trailing behind.
They ran out into the gardens behind the palace, running past the yin-yang and the Fire Nation symbol and even the pool. They found Katara and Zuko playing with the babies on the other side.
Sokka fell over when he reached them. He was worn out and out of breath and wanted to pass out. Aang jogged up beside him and Katara and Zuko looked at Sokka, confused.
"We came to tell you that I'm leaving now," Aang panted. "Toph only let me be gone a couple weeks, she said it's still dangerous for me out here."
"Aw, I'm sorry Aang. I wish you could stay longer. I guess you're already on your leash," she laughed. She sat Echo next to Eryx on Zuko's lap and stood up to give Aang a hug goodbye. "Maybe when Toph gets older, her dad will let her move in with us so both of you can teach our children earth and airbending and you won't have to keep leaving."
Aang laughed a little. "I hope so, I missed all of you when I was gone. Now I have more people to miss." He let go of Katara and walked to his new 'nephew' and 'niece'. "Since I'm like a brother to you and Sokka, I'm like an uncle to them. I hope I can come back soon, I don't want them growing up too fast without me."
"You're already a big part of their life," Zuko said. "Since both of them are the Avatars, you're connected to them. Plus you and Toph are both fourteen now, you'll be back in no time, maybe just in time for them to start learning. We'll have them on a schedule by then, two different element lessons a day."
"That sounds like a plan. I'll talk to her dad when I get back. Since she's left home before and come back without a scratch, maybe he'll let her go again. Of course, last time she ran away," he laughed.
"We're going to miss you around here." Katara tried to fight back tears. She hated saying goodbye, even if it was just for a little while.
Sokka stood up and brushed himself off. "I'll make weekly trips to the aviary to write to you, okay? Tell Toph we all said hi."
"I will. I have to go now but I'll see you guys soon. Bye!" he called as he took off through the gardens back to Appa.
Katara sat back down next to Zuko and took Echo back into her lap. "This stinks. I hate that he has to leave. Did Ty Lee say goodbye?"
"She told him bye this morning, now she's practicing her jitsu stuff. She's getting better everyday. I'm so proud," Sokka sighed. "I think I'm going to practice myself. I'll see you guys around." He walked through the gardens back the way he had come.
"Wow, everyone is doing something. How's Iroh holding up?"
"I think he's actually having fun helping me. Speaking of which, I should probably get back. Do you think you can handle them for a little while?"
"Yeah. If I need help with anything, I can just call for one of the guards since they're everywhere."
Zuko stood up and kissed her on the head, sitting Eryx in her lap with Echo. "I'll see you in a little while."
She smiled up at him. "Don't be too long," she said as he walked back towards the palace. She looked down at the babies in her lap. "I wish you had grandparents that you could meet, besides Gran Gran anyway. I wish my parents were here to see you two," she sighed. Echo looked up at her and cooed. Katara smiled. "I know."
Kana found her in the gardens. "I've been looking for you. I just got word from Bato."
Katara looked up, her eyes got big. "Bato? Where is he? Does he have Dad with him?"
Kana smiled. "Even better. They're on their way here."
"Wait, how did they know to write here? Do they know what's going on?"
"When the war just stopped, they had to ask questions and heard about a group of people with the Avatar that defeated Firelord Ozai. Bato remembered that you and Sokka were traveling with him and they thought if they wrote here, they would find you or someone who knew where you were. I wrote them back and told them everything and now they're coming. They should be here soon."
Katara's entire face lit up with excitement. "Oh, if I didn't have them in my lap, I'd jump up and down and hug you! But why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"I wanted to make it a surprise. You're almost sixteen now, I thought it would be a good Sweet Sixteen present."
"When will they be here?"
"I got the letter yesterday, so if not later today, then tomorrow."
"That soon?"
"Yes. Here, read the letter they sent."
She took Echo and handed Katara the letter. She unrolled it and read it.
Dearest Kana-
It's so good to hear from you. I'm glad you're safe, but in the Fire Nation? At least you're with Katara and Sokka. We'reall glad to hear that the war is over, even more so thatthey bothhad a major influence on its end. Tell them that we'reall proud.
Our ship was on its way back to the South Pole, but luckily I got your letter in time before we passed the Fire Nation completely. We should be there in about a week, which will be a couple of days after you recieve this letter.
Tell Katara and Sokka that we're all soproud of them both.
Much love,
Hakoda & Bato
"Oh, we have to tell Zuko! We can have a big party with lots of food and- wait, they do know about me and him, right?"
"I didn't tell them that much, I thought you would want to do that yourself. Your father may take it better hearing it from your mouth than from my letter."
"So he doesn't know about his grandchildren either, huh? Won't they both be surprised?" She gave a nervous laugh.
"You'll be fine. Your father will love you no matter what. He'll probably feel better about it since Zuko's the one who ended the war. Don't worry about it."
Katara sighed. "Yeah. You're probably right. If he doesn't like it at first, I'll convince him to give him a chance like I did with Sokka."
"There you go." Kana hugged her and kissed her on the head. "I'll go find Zuko and tell him."
"No, he's doing something right now. I'll tell him later."
"Okay." Kana smiled and walked back to the palace.
Katara sat there for a few more minutes with her twins before picking them up and going back inside to look for the young firelord. She found him in the old war chamber, almost drowning in his thoughts.
"You okay? I thought you said you weren't going to come in here again."
He turned to her and quickly wiped a tear away. "Yeah, I just wanted to see if it had changed in the four years I've been gone. I'm surprised I didn't come in here sooner." He walked to her and took one of the babies off her hands.
"My father is coming and I was hoping we could have a party to welcome him."
"Your father? How did he know to come here?"
"Gran Gran got a letter from him a little while back and she wrote back. She showed me the last letter he wrote and it said they would be here soon."
"How soon?"
"This evening or tomorrow. Could we whip up a party that fast?"
"We can sure try." He smiled and kissed her on the head. "I'll go find my uncle, I'm sure he'd love to help."
"I'll join you. Do you know where he'd be at?"
"Knowing him, probaby shopping in the city. You up to that?"
"I'm always up for shopping," she laughed. "Besides, I don't think anyone in the city has seen their future rulers yet. It'll be fun!"
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"A lot has changed since I've seen you."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, the one you'll hate the most is that your brother is on the throne now."
Azula sighed and her eyes dropped to the ground to prepare herself for the rest of the news. "What else?"
"Your father is dead, Ty Lee betrayed us and joined them to help kill your father, your brother ended the war in peace, he married that Water Tribe girl, they have twins, and both of them are the Avatar."
Her eyes shot back up to meet Mai's. "My brother is the father of the new Avatar, er, Avatars? What happened to that one kid, the airbender?"
"No one around here knows. We've tried asking around at towns, but came up with the same answer. Some people in the Fire Nation that I've contacted said that the day Zuko became firelord, he left to bury the kid in the Southern Air Temple, but his flying bison has been seen since. I think that's something we'll have to figure out ourselves if we want the real story."
Azula stood up and paced the deck, thinking. "You've had more time to think than me, do you have any plans or ideas?"
"I've got nothing. I can't exactly walk right back into the Fire Nation."
"Why not?"
"I was banished when I went back. That's why I'm on this piece of crap." She kicked the side of her ship when she said that. "He said he didn't care where I went, but I couldn't go back there. This is all I could afford to leave with and the crew came at their own will."
Azula started looking through her pockets for some money or something when she realized that girl's necklace was missing. "Well, so much for using that against her," she sighed. "My brother will not stay on that throne so long as I'm still alive. I'll make sure of that."
"Well, if we're going back, I'll need a disguise or something.. and I'm almost positive they'll recognize this piece of driftwood." She kicked the ship again.
"Then we'll have to contact some old.. 'friends'."
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Katara was running around preparing things while Kana watched the twins. Iroh was, as usual, making tea, and Zuko was out 'playing firelord' in a meeting. The sun was setting on the ocean as Katara looked out the window. She caught a glimpse of something black on the water, but her attention was quickly drawn away when Kiatoh came running into the halls.
"There's a ship approaching. The guards say it looks like it would be a Water Tribe ship, but they haven't seen one in so long that they can't be completely sure."
Katara's face brightened with the news. "Thank you. Make sure the passengers arrive safely and have them escorted up here to the palace."
"Yes, Lady Katara," he said, bowing before he took off down the hall.
She walked around to the room where Zuko's meeting was held and peeked in. Zuko noticed and waved her in. "Did you need something?"
"Kiatoh just brought news of a ship approaching. He said it looks like a Water Tribe ship."
He smiled. "Excuse me gentlemen, our guests of honor have arrived. We will continue this meeting tomorrow morning. You're dismissed." He walked out with them and joined Katara as they went down to the ballroom to make sure everything was set up just right. Iroh was setting up music and the chefs brought in the food and covered the tables. It was right then that Katara realized what was missing.
"I'll be right back, I have to find Sokka."
Zuko kissed her on her head and she took off towards his room. She knocked and waited for an answer before going in, carefully avoiding another incident like that on the ship. Sokka was sitting at a desk in his room when she walked in. He turned and looked at her. "Well, don't you look all fancy?"
"Dad's almost here," she almost whispered in excitement.
Sokka's eyes got wide and he jumped up. "Dad, really? Why didn't you tell me sooner that he was coming?"
"I wanted it to be a surprise. Gran Gran just told me this morning after Aang left. Come on, we have a party set up in the ballroom. Kiatoh is going to escort all of them there. The chefs made all kinds of food."
"Okay, I'm coming. Let me get something else on first. I'll be down there in just a little bit."
"Okay." She left him and ran down to the nursery to find Kana and the twins. "Gran Gran, he's almost here," she said excitedly as she picked up Eryx. "Come on, let's go! He's almost here!"
They walked as quickly as they could to the ballroom. It was full of people from the city, most of them wealthy nobles and such. Sokka was at the tables eyeing the food, but he wasn't eating just yet. He looked like he was just sniffing about and deciding what to eat first. Ty Lee was with him and both of them had dressed up nicely. Zuko was also dressed up, wearing a red silk shirt. She had on a small red dress, but Kana bore her trademark blue. She didn't feel the need to dress up.
The music was playing softly in the background. Katara held Eryx and Kana had handed Echo off to her father. They all waited anxiously for the doors to open. When they did, a figure slowly started down the stairs to the party.
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Heck yes! Do you love me? Okay, after this the chapters are going to be put up further apart. I already had these written when I started posting them and the next chapter is still being worked on but it is getting done. I'm kind of in the middle of a different story too, but I'm not posting that one until I add a few more chapters to it. I hope you enjoyed this one and I'll have the next one up ASAP!
Jenn, waterbending master of the south