The Past
- in which we get reminded to focus on the future, not the past.
I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or Legend of Korra but I do own my passport now! (I'm going to Japan in December yay!)

...

Katara couldn't help but feel a little bit proud of herself as she looked at the bag that held her and her families formal clothes. Originally, she had planned for them to be wearing them before they started to fly to the Earth kingdom, but after reminiscing about previous excursions, felt it best not to.
Knowing her luck, the one time they would wear formal clothes while flying Kasami would feel sick, Tenzin and Gyatso would need to have a break and find mud while at it, and Kya would be in tears if the slightest stain tarnished her formal clothes.

Especially this time, as she was going to be a flower girl at Toph and The Dukes wedding.
After she had been posed the question, she had immediately shouted yes and ran around happily singing and clapping. Her happiness turned to joy after her parents told her that Rei would also be joining her, throwing flower petals down the aisle.

Katara had a funny feeling that Toph was not the one to pose the idea of flower girls.

Katara looked up as she noticed the bison she was atop of start to descend. She looked over at the children, looking for any signs of them feeling travel sick or being too restless.

"Are you ok?" She posed the question to her husband, looking deep in though and sitting on top of the bisons head.
Aang didn't reply, Katara furrowed her brow and asked again, louder.
"Are you ok?"

Aang snapped out of his thoughts and looked around, "huh?"

"Dd you need anything? The bison is heading down"

Aang looked down and it seemed as though he hadn't noticed the descend. Underneath them was a large expands of trees, and Katara couldn't see anywhere for them to land.

"It's...it's calling to me again" he said in a slight voice, eyes unfocused.

Upon hearing this, memories flooded back to Katara. She now recognised this place as the swamp where they had found themselves in when they were young.

"What could it possibly need to show you?" She wondered aloud, the children who had been noisy before had hushed their voices, sensing the important conversation.

"I haven't a clue"

Katara could only remember the pain this swamp had brought her last time, making her believe for a sight moment that her mother was still alive. The small height of joy turned to a devastating low and she would never forget that. She hoped nothing like that would happen again as Aang flew around, searching for a clearing.

...
Katara once again thanked her foresight of leaving the formal clothes in a bag as Tenzin and Gyatso jumped off the sky bison, landing in mud. Kya was more careful, leading Kasami to a safe section of solid ground, but they didn't escape the splatters of mud.

Aang stared at his children, each day they reminded him of the friends he had before he ran away from home. This would have caused his heart to hollow with longing had they not been his family, his to protect and to love.
A strange feeling came over him and he felt as though walking through the vines to his left was a good idea. Tenzin and Gyatso followed him, the girls trailing behind.

Aangs senses were sharpened as he made his way through the mud, eyes scanning the dense forestry for anything. Sometimes, out of the corner of his eye he thought he made out a flash of orange, but he reasoned that it must have been one of the twins, only keeping up with him because of their Airbending ability.

Eventually, they went too far ahead for Katara, Kya and Kasami to follow. Katara had picked up Kasami so she would not sink into the mud, but Kya was walking too slow and Aang too fast for them to stay together. She reasoned that they would eventually meet back up, the swamp did this last time, but she hoped that Aang would keep an eye on the twins so they wouldn't get lost.

...
There is was.
Another flash of orange.
That couldn't have been his imagination.
An orange figure made an incredible leap from a tree, landing silently and continued running. Aangs heart skipped a beat as he realised what it was, and he immediately went after it.

That boy had been one of Aangs friends before he ran away.

It was that thought and that thought only that filled his head as he flew through the abundance of trees. Katara would later remind him that it was all one big tree, but he wasn't thinking of that now. The Avatar state helped his gain speed, but he was never fast enough. He felt as though he was travelling in a circle.

...
"Where did daddy go?" Tenzin asked Gyatso, seeing his father suddenly disappear.
"I don't know, he went too fast!" Gyatso exclaimed, feeling very confused.
Their confusion turned to fear as the darkness suddenly seemed much more threatening.
"Tenzin?" Gyatso asked
"Yeah?"
"Are there any wild animals here?"

"Come on Kya, can you please walk a little faster? We need to find daddy and your brothers" Katara urged her eldest daughter.
Kya was walking slowly, looking captivated by something. Katara didn't understand, all she could see was dark foliage and mud.

"Do you know her?" Kya asked, her eyes still following the leaves

"Know who sweetie" Katara asked, half listening as she tried to find any footsteps left in the mud

"Her" Kya said, pointing ahead of her "She looks like you"

Confused, Katara just said "oh really" and continued looking.

"She's wearing blue like you, and she wears her hair like you, and she has your necklace, but shes...different somehow."

Katara concluded it was another of her children's imaginary friends, she also concluded that her husband was too light on his feet for his own good, because she couldn't find any footprints.

"What's you name?" Kya asked the shadows. "Really? Me too! We're the same!"
Realising she didn't have her mothers attention, she tugged on her sleeve

"What sweetie?"

"Mummy, she's a mixture of us! She looks just like you but her name is Kya, like me!"

Katara gasped.

...
The orange figure was gone.
Aang looked around the clearing desperately, but it had disappeared. His heart sank.
This was only momentarily though, because another figure came into view directly ahead of him.
Aang was stunned, his eyes began to water as he recognised the figure, his lips formed its name.

"Gyatso...?"

The figure didn't respond. It just stood there, facing away from him.

"Gyatso!" He yelled, pleading for his mentor to turn around.

It hurt him that he wasn't.

...
"Gyatso!"

"There! I can here Daddy!" Tenzin yelled, he and his twin rocketing after the sound. Airbending definitely being an advantage.
They came across a clearing, their father was standing in the middle, a tortured look on his face. He fell to his knees, whispering his sons name.
Tenzin and Gyatso approached him.

...
"W-what did you say sweetie?"

"She said that her name is Kya!"

"D-did she say anything else? Is she still there?" Kataras heart ached, desperately wanting answers.

Kyas face fell, "She's gone" she realised. "But, I said that Kya was my name too, and we were the same! And she said that we were the same. And she said I was special"

Katara broke down into tears, unable to withstand the emotions coursing through her. This scared Kya, confused about what she had done. Katara scooped her into a hug with one arm, the other around Kasami.
"You are special, never forget that" whispered Katara, knowing why the swamp showed Kya these images.
It was to teach her.
She mustn't lament upon these thoughts about her mother, she must focus on this Kya, nurture her and watch her grow.

"Why did she leave mummy? She was so nice, she reminded me of you" Kya was confused, did she do something wrong?

"She couldn't stay sweetie, she had to go. It's not your fault."

"Are you ok mummy?"

Katara sniffed, looking at her two daughters. "I'm fine sweetie, I know I'll be just fine"

...
"Gyatso" Aang whispered, his eyes not focused on anything.

"I'm right here daddy" Gyatso spoke up, holding hands with Tenzin.

Aangs focus slowly returned, he looked at his sons as if he had never seen them before.

"Gyatso" he said slowly, realisation slowly dawning on him

"Are you ok daddy?" Tenzin asked timidly, unsure as to why his father had been crying.

"I'm fine son" he said with a smile, scooping them into a hug.

He knew what his mentor was trying to tell him. There was no use on focusing on the past. He had to focus on this Gyatso. He had to focus on Tenzin, Kya and Kasami and work towards the best future for them.

He silently thanked his father figure as he let the twins climb onto his back.

"Now we just need to find our was out of here"

...

Thanks for reading, I've had this chapter planned forever, I apologise for the darker tone. If anyone has any fan art for a cover photo, suggestions for other stories or future chapters, or any comments at all, please leave a review or a PM. Thanks so much for reading, and to yourcloudnine for getting me back to writing.