Chapter Seven

After escaping the Si Wong desert, the team decided it was best to relax and decompress at a lake they found hidden in a canyon. Aang and Katara were currently enjoying the water through their bending, while Sokka was analyzing the intelligence he gathered at the library. Toph and Iroh were sitting next to the water's edge enjoying a pot of tea together, but Zuko was away from everyone, brooding alone with his back towards the group. Iroh watches him with a concern face.

Toph senses his anxiety. "Is everything okay Iroh?"

Iroh breaths out deeply. "I'm worried about Zuko…"

"You're always worried about Zuko" Toph teased before taking a drink of her tea.

"I suppose. But ever since we left the library, he seems very upset with himself."

Toph focuses on Zuko, trying to get a sense of what his feeling. "Hmm, he does seem more gloomy than usual."

"He did injure the Knowledge Spirit greatly. Maybe it has something to do with that?"

"Well, from what Katara said, the giant bird attacked her, and Zuko was only defending her. But, he was attacking with everything he had."

Iroh feels a sense of dread. "Like he lost control…" he said as a matter of fact.

Toph thinks of Aang when he almost lost control after finding the sandbender responsible for taking Appa. "I guess… anger isn't the best way to deal with a problem."

"No, it is not. I tried to warn him that stopping this war using his rage will not yield the results he believes it would."

"He might not be the only one to think that way sometimes" Toph said sadly.

Iroh place his hand on Toph's shoulder to reassure her. "Are you talking about Aang?"

Toph feels pain in her chest as she thinks about how Aang acted when he found Appa was missing, and how it was her fault that it happened. "Yeah."

"We will find Appa" Iroh said with confidence. "The sandbender said he must be in Ba Sing Se by now."

"And that's where we're heading. But…what are the odds that Appa isn't… you know…" Toph bit her lip as she trailed off thinking about the worst that could happen to Appa.

"Thinking that way will not help anyone Toph. At times like this, the only thing that will keep us going is hope."

Toph breaths out slowly. "Yeah, I suppose…"

Iroh tries to think of more wisdom he could offer to help reassure the young earthbender, but he was interrupted by a loud and cheerful yell of a gifted waterbender.

"Waterbending bomb! YEAH!"

Just as Iroh looks over to see where Katara was shouting from, the young woman sent water flying into the air from jumping into the lake, washing Aang up onto the shore while everyone else got soaked. Sokka pouts as he frantically tries to dry out his parchments.

"Sure, five-thousand-year-old papers from the spirit library. Just splash some water on 'em" he said in his trademark sarcasm.

"Sorry" his sister replied as she wrings out her hair. She walked over to Sokka and waterbends the water out of the parchments.

Sokka lays out a map of the Earth Kingdom. "Alright, team gather 'round."

"Did you figure out what route we're going to take?" Aang asks as he looks at the map.

"Alright, we just got of the desert, so we must be around here" Sokka replies as he points to a lake outside of the Si Wong desert. "As you know, we need to get to Ba Sing Se, which is here. It looks like the only passage connecting the south to the north is this sliver of land called the 'Serpent's Pass'." Sokka points to a tiny piece of land surrounded by a large lake on both sides.

"Are you sure that's the best way?" Toph asked, not liking the phrase 'sliver of land'.

"It's the only way. I mean, it's not like we can fly to Ba Sing Se on Appa" Sokka said, right before being flicked on the ear.

"Shut up about Appa. Can you at least try not talking about him right now?" Toph growled quietly.

"Toph, it's okay" Aang said calmly. "I regret that I was upset about losing Appa before, but now I just want to focus on getting to Ba Sing Se, and telling the Earth King about the solar eclipse."

Toph was surprised by his drastic change in attitude. "Oh… okay. Good to see you're doing better, Twinkle Toes."

"Then to Ba Sing Se we go" Sokka said as he packed up his papers. "No more distractions."

"Hello there, fellow refugees!"

The team turns around to see three refugees, one of which is pregnant.

"So," Aang said. "Are you guys heading to Ba Sing Se, too?"

"Sure are. We're trying to there before my wife Ying has her baby." He places his hand on Ying's abdomen. He then gestures to the other woman in the group. "This is my sister, Tani, and I'm Than."

"Hopefully you'll make it in time. We can travel through the Serpent's Pass together" Katara said with a smile.

But she was met with shocking expressions from the refugees. "The Serpent's Pass? Only the truly desperate take that deadly route!" Ying said with fear.

"Deadly route, uh?" Toph said before she punches Sokka's arm. "Great pick, Map-man!"

Sokka pouts at her as he rubs his arm. "Well we are desperate."

"You should come with us to Full Moon Bay" Than said. "Ferries take refugees across the lake all the time. It's the fastest and safest way to Ba Sing Se."

"Hmm…" Katara said thoughtfully. "Peaceful ferry ride, or deadly pass?"

"I believe we would all benefit from the peaceful ferry ride" Iroh said wisely. "I know I certainly would."

Everyone looks at Sokka with quizzical looks, which he responds with a confused face. "Why's everyone looking at me?"

"Well we wanna make sure Map-man is okay with the change in his precious plan" Toph sneered.

Sokka pouts at her. "It's faster than going on foot, so yeah, I'm okay with it."

As everyone gathered their things to begin traveling to the ferry, Katara notices how downcast Zuko was being. "Hey, Zuko are you doing okay?" she asked with compassion.

Zuko looks at her and feels slight panic. After seeing the terrified look she wore at the library, he could not face her right now. "Uh, yeah, I'm fine." He walks away quickly, leaving Katara full of concern. She sadly fell in line with the others as Than starts to lead them to Full Moon Bay.

After a few hours of walking, the team and the refugees arrived at the ferry docks. There were hundreds of refugees waiting for the next ship to take them to safety. Only two ships were being boarded, one by wounded soldiers, and the other by civilians.

"I can't believe how many people's live have been uprooted and ruined by the Fire Nation" Katara said sadly. She looks at Zuko to see him as downcast as ever.

"We're all looking for a better life, safe behind the walls of Ba Sing Se" Than responded.

"Let's just get our tickets and go" Zuko said as he walked ahead.

Something's really bothering him Katara thought to herself. She hopes that Zuko will talk to his uncle about whatever it is. But he was acting more distant than usual when it came to Iroh. Katara considered talking to Iroh about this, but for some reason, she believes he would not be able to help Zuko at a time like this. She decided that she will take it upon herself to talk to Zuko.

Besides, he needs more than his uncle for support, doesn't he? Katara thought to herself.

As the group got in line to receive their tickets, the ferry that was loaded with civilians left the port with a team of fighters whose leader has a checkered history. A confident but troubled young man stares out over the water with a piece of wheat in his mouth. He is going over how to make up for his past mistakes when one of his best friends approaches him.

"Jet, are you sure this is what we're gonna do now?" Smellerbee said with uncertainty. "Hiding in the biggest city in the world and do what, hide?"

"Not exactly" Jet responded with a confident smirk. "I'm thinking about doing whatever we can to help the refugees. And we can start doing that right now."

"How?" Smellerbee said with raised eyebrows.

Jet smiles at her. "How do you think the ship's captain is eating?"

Smellerbee starts to catch on to her leader's idea. "Probably like a king."

"Probably like the fat, happy kind. What do you think Longshot?"

Longshot silently looks at his leader, and gives him a nonverbal que.

"Glad that you agree. So, here's the plan…" Jet said as he covers how he and his friends' first raid of their new career helping poor, sick and hungry refugees.

Back at the ferry station, the team watches as a poor merchant gets yelled at by the lady in charge of issuing tickets. "I told you already; no vegetables on the ferry! One cabbage slug could destroy the entire ecosystem of Ba Sing Se! Guards!"

Right on cue, a trained platypus-bear destroys the cart of cabbages. The merchant who owns it grabs his head in horror. "Ahhh! My cabbages!" Two guards grab him by the arms and carry him away.

"Next!" the ticket lady shouts.

Aang approaches her and nervously said, "Um, six tickets for the ferry to Ba Sing Se, please."

"Passports?" the lady said with a raised eyebrow.

Aang was surprised by this. "Uh, no one informed us to have passports…"

Sokka steps forward. "Don't you know who this is? He's the Avatar!"

"Ah, I see fifty Avatars a day and, by the way, not a very impressive costume." She gestures towards a group of boys and young men impersonating Aang.

Sokka nudges Zuko on the arm. "Maybe you should capture one of them and turn him in to your old man…"

Zuko turns to glare at him, but before he could say anything, Sokka yelps in pain from a smack to the back of his head.

"Leave him alone, Sokka. He saved my life back at the library" Katara reprimanded.

"Why is everyone on my case?" Sokka complains.

"Probably because you're an idiot" Zuko sneered.

The lady then notices Momo on Aang's shoulder. "Besides, no animals allowed. Do I need to call security?" The platypus-bear growls towards Momo, who hides behind his master's head.

Aang attempts to comfort him. "That won't be necessary."

"Next!" the ticket lady shouts.

Toph steps in front of Aang. "I'll handle this. My name is Toph Beifong, and I'll need six tickets to Ba Sing Se." She places her passport on the counter. The ticket lady's eyes widen in surprise.

"Ah, the golden seal of the flying boar! It is my pleasure to help anyone of the Beifong family." The lady bows her head in respect.

"It is your pleasure. As you can see, I am blind, and my companions are my valets."

"But the animal- "

"-is my seeing-eye lemur." Momo lands on Toph's shoulder and eyes the ticket lady.

"Well…" the lady hesitates. "Normally it's only one ticket per passport, but this is such an official Earth Kingdom document. I guess it's worth six tickets." She stamps the tickets and hands them to Toph.

"Thank you very much."

"All right, you scammed that old lady good!" Sokka said triumphantly.

But his victorious mood by short lived when a female security guard with violet eyes grabs him by the collar. "Tickets and passports please."

"Is there a problem?" he nervously asks.

"Yeah, I got a problem with you! I've seen your type before. Sarcastic, thinks you're hilarious and, let me guess, you're traveling with the Avatar." The guard glares at him.

Sokka narrows his eyes, thinking he met this woman before. "Do I know you?"

"You mean you don't remember? Maybe you'll remember this!" Against all expectations, the guard kisses Sokka on the cheek.

But Sokka was shocked to see her again. "Suki…" he said softly, remembering that he has not thought about her since meeting Yue… and he never did think of Suki up until now.

"Sokka, I thought you'd be happy to see me…" Suki said sadly.

"I am, it's just…" he trailed off, not sure of what to say to her.

"Just what?"

Sokka looks at her. "Nothing. We've made a few friends since we last saw you." He leads Suki to the group, who stepped away from Sokka when he was grabbed. "Hey everyone! Guess who's here!"

Everyone eyes Suki, not knowing who she is. "Uh, is this supposed to be someone we know?" Toph said.

Sokka remembers that Toph was not around when he, Katara and Aang went to Kyoshi Island. "Well now you'll get to know our friend Suki" he said with a smile.

"Suki?!" Aang said surprised.

"By the Spirits, you look so different without your makeup!" Katara said before giving Suki a hug. "And the new outfit."

"That crabby lady makes all the security guards wear them." Suki looks at the group and notices Zuko. "What is he doing here?" she said bitterly.

Zuko looks at her confused. "Have we met?"

"We did. You kinda burned down my village on Kyoshi Island." The Kyoshi Warrior crosses her arms while glaring at the firebender bitterly.

Zuko grimaces as he thought about that day. "Uh, right. Sorry about that. Nice to see you again."

"Uh, yeah" Aang said awkwardly. "Zuko and his uncle Iroh are on our side now. And this my earthbending master Toph" he said gesturing towards the blind young woman.

"Hey" she said casually.

"It's nice to meet you" Suki responded. "It's nice to see you guys making friends, even if one of them is a psycho bent on capturing Aang." She looks pointingly at Zuko. The prince is upset because of her hostility, but he decides it was best he does not respond to it.

Though he could not say the same for anyone else. "Zuko and his uncle has proven to be trustworthy. Iroh helped us at the North Pole when it was under siege, and he and Zuko have been traveling with us for weeks now. If fact, Zuko saved my life not too long ago" Katara defended.

Suki still felt unsure of the man who attacked her village, but she decides to trust her friends. "Alright, if you say so."

"Are the other Kyoshi Warriors here too?" Aang asked.

"Yeah. After you left Kyoshi Island, we wanted to find a way to serve in this war. We ended up escorting some refugees and we've been here ever since." Momo leaps up next to Suki, who smiles at the lemur. "Hi, Momo! It's nice to see you." Suki scratches behind Momo's ear, who purrs in response. "So why are you guys getting tickets for the ferry? Wouldn't you just fly across on Appa?"

"Appa's missing" Toph said reproachfully. "We're hoping to find him in Ba Sing Se."

"I'm really sorry to hear that" Suki said. She looks over to Aang. "Are you doing okay Aang?"

"I'm fine. Can everyone just stop worrying about me?"

"Aang," Iroh said calmly. "We all can tell you are still upset about losing your best friend."

"No, what I'm most upset about is that everyone is on my case about how I'm feeling" Aang snapped.

Everyone looks at him in surprise at his outburst, but before anyone could respond, they were interrupted. "Avatar Aang, please, you have to help us!" Ying pleaded. "A thief took all of our belongings; our passports, our tickets, everything's gone!" She starts crying while Than tries to comfort her.

"I'll talk to the lady for you. I'm sure she'll give you new tickets" Aang said.

But he was proven wrong. "No passports, no tickets!" the lady shouted before stamping 'denied' on Aang's forehead.

"But she's pregnant and all of her stuff was stolen! You must make an exception for!"

"No exceptions! If I just gave away tickets willy-nilly to anyone, there would be no more order! You know what that means? No more civilization!"

"What if we gave them our tickets?" Aang asked desperately.

"No!"

"But…!"

"NEXT!" the lady roars while letting saliva fly out of her mouth and almost hitting Aang.

Aang wipes the stamp off his forehead while walking over to his friends and the refugees. "Don't worry, you'll get to Ba Sing Se safely. I'll lead you through the Serpent's Pass" he said with determination. The refugees look at him with dread, but nod in understanding, knowing how desperate they truly are now.

"I can't believe we gave up our tickets and now we're going through the Serpent's Pass" Sokka complained as the group exits the ferry station.

"I can't believe you're still complaining about it" Toph retorted.

"Wasn't it your bright idea to take it in the first place?" Zuko added.

Before Sokka could defend himself, he heard Suki shout, "Hold on guys! I'm coming too!" Sokka turns around and sees her in her complete Kyoshi Warrior uniform. He tries to remind himself why he was attracted to her when he met her last year, but he still could not feel the same.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" he asked when Suki caught up.

"Sokka, I thought you'd want me to come."

"I do, it's just…" Sokka hesitated to say why he feels that Suki should not come with them. Or rather, what he lacks in feeling about Suki.

"Just what?" Suki asks daringly as she crosses her arms.

"Nothing. I'm glad you're coming" he said as he gave a weak smile. He turns around and signals for the group to move forward.

Just what is going on with him? Suki thought to herself. Ever since she and Sokka departed, she desired to see him again, and she believed he felt the same. But from the way he was acting, she could not help but think that is not the case anymore.

After a few hours of walking and idle conversation, the group finally reaches the Serpent's Pass. Sokka eyes it with curiosity. "This is the Serpent's Pass? I thought it would be a little more wind-y, you know, like a serpent. Guess they misnamed it."

"Look at this sign!" Ying said in shock. "How awful!"

"What does it say?" Toph said.

"It says, 'For those about to enter, abandon all hope'" Katara said.

"How can we abandon hope? It's all we have left" Tani said sadly.

"I don't know" Aang said thoughtfully. "The monks used to say that hope was only just a distraction, so perhaps we do need to abandon it."

"What?" Toph said confused.

"Hope is not going to get us into Ba Sing Se, and it's certainly not going to help us find Appa. We need to focus on what we're doing right now and that's getting across this path."

Toph could not believe what Aang was saying. Out of everyone on the team, she believes that Aang would be the last to give up hope of finding Appa. The thought upset her greatly as she tries to think of a way to help her student and friend.

As the team crosses the pass, they notice a Fire Nation warship sailing in the distant. "The Fire Nation controls the western lake" Suki explains. "Rumor has it they're working on something big on the other side, and they don't want anyone to find out what it is." Iroh looks over the lake, remembering its significance from a certain period of his life.

A few steps later, the earth underneath Than breaks away causing him to fall. Toph reacts quickly and catches him, then lifts him back up. Than gives a sheepish smile. "I'm okay!" The rock falls into the lake below, creating a large splash…

…which the patrolling Fire Nation ship notices. It opens fire towards where they saw the rocks fall. "They've spotted us!" Sokka shouts. "Let's go! Let's go!"

Aang flies into the air and deflects a fireball back towards the ship, disabling its engine. But it did not matter as another fireball crashes into the mountain causing rocks to fall where Suki was standing. She looks up to see it coming, and realizes it is too late to move…

But suddenly, the rocks shift away from her. Suki looks back and sees Toph in a horse stance. "Thanks Toph."

"What are friends for?" she replies with a smile.

As the group moves on from their near-death experience, Iroh looks back across the lake. Zuko stops to look at him. "Uncle? What's wrong?"

"The western lake… it was one of the staging areas my army used before we began our siege of Ba Sing Se."

Zuko looks across the lake. "Do you think something like that is happening again?"

"It would be unwise not to believe so" Iroh dreadfully said.


A few weeks ago, Princess Azula received word that the Fire Nation war minister has developed a new weapon that will ensure the conquest of Ba Sing Se. Under normal circumstances, Azula would be pleased to hear about such a weapon. She knew this will allow her to succeed where her lazy and pompous uncle failed years ago. But Azula couldn't help but wonder if the weapon will cause more unnecessary suffering. At first, she pushed such thoughts aside, but as her tank-train moves closer to the rendezvous point to meet War Minister Qin, she was feeling more and more dread as they got closer to meeting him.

As she sighted the war minister and his entourage approach her tank-train, Azula's unease reached a head. Qin, like all other members of her father's council, were only concerned with progressing their own career ambitions, rather than do what's best for the Fire Nation. The princess has seen her fair share of betrayals in the Fire Nation's political and military circles. If she was being honest with herself, she was disgusted by how these 'honorable' men were turning on each other just to get their name mentioned to the Fire Lord in passing.

It was with these observations that led her to a rather harsh conclusion long ago; that trust is for fools, and fear was the only reliable way to keep people in line.

But her time in the Earth Kingdom is now making her see that fear may be less than… reliable. While the peasants she came across were terrified of her, she also saw what really drove them to fight against her nation; pure hatred, the kind that makes people disregard their fortunes, their lives, even their very honor.

Which makes her beg the question; will this hatred continue after the Fire Nation conquers the Earth Kingdom? And if it does, would it only increase in intensity, prolonging the war?

"Ah, Princess Azula," the war minister said as he bowed before Azula. "It is a pleasure to see you again."

"I'm sure that it is" Azula responded with slight venom. She did not like how he phrased the word 'pleasure'. "What is this weapon that you believe requires a diversion in my mission that our Fire Lord has given me?"

"One where I know this will gain even more favor with your father" the minister smirked.

Azula raised an eyebrow in doubt. If her uncle, pathetic as he may be but powerful just the same, could not break through all the walls of Ba Sing Se with the best of the Fire Nation Army, what makes the minister believe his weapon can?

A few hours later, Azula receives her answer. As she eyes the giant machine, one as big as a city, she wonders what this thing was capable of. But instead of ambitious joy, she feels dread as she wonders how much damage this monstrosity will do.

"As you can see princess," the minister explains. "This machine will allow us to drill through the walls of Ba Sing Se and allow our forces to take control of the city from the inside."

"I see" Azula said. Try as she might, she could not stop wondering if this machine will cause more loss of life among the Earth Kingdom citizens. "Pray tell minister, do you have a plan once we break through the walls?"

The minister looks at the princess, wondering why she was asking such an obvious question. "I believe it's quite simple princess; we attack all Earth Kingdom scum in our way."

Azula narrows her eyes. "By 'attack all Earth Kingdom scum', you mean those who only decide to fight back, correct?"

"Of course, princess" the war minister answers. Azula breaths out a small sigh of relief.

But she may have done so too soon. "Yet, it would be a wise course of action to set an example princess."

Azula turns around and faces the minister in shock, though she masks it quite well. "And what do you mean by that, War Minister Qin?"

The minister smirks at her. "By showing them the price of disobedience and rebellion, princess. An execution of scum we believe are likely to rebel against our rule. I learned this the hard way when the Mechanist betrayed me."

The princess remembers hearing about how one of the designers of the Fire Nation's weapons betrayed them. This was the first time she heard that the Avatar was indeed alive. All she thought about the subject was how incompetent her brother must be if the Avatar could be such an influence in forming rebellions.

"And…" the minister continues. "As a member of the Royal Family, the daughter of the Fire Lord himself, I believe it would be best that you carry out the deed."

Azula looks at the minister with wide eyes, as she could not believe what the minister is proposing. "You… cannot be seriously suggesting this? Me, commit such a heinous crime?"

The war minister only chuckles at her question. "It is not a crime, for you are the Fire Nation Princess, the daughter of the most powerful man in the world. You are an extension of his will, which is always right. I'm sure your father would agree with this course of action."

Azula was left speechless at this. She could not believe she must commit acts that has caused the Earth Kingdom citizens to continue to fight against her nation, using their rage as a weapon.

This would only make it worst, wouldn't it? she thought to herself.

"It will still be another day or two before we can begin our march onto Ba Sing Se, princess. I will send some men to gather your and your friends' belongings and bring them aboard your personal chambers on the drill's command deck" the minister said before he bows and walks away to check on the final progress of the drill.

Azula follows a soldier to her new stateroom and instructs him to bring her friends there immediately. After the man leaves, Azula takes a seat in a chair and rubs her temples, struggling to come to terms of what is expected of her.

A few minutes later, Mai and Ty Lee join her in the stateroom. As they spot their friend, they notice that, now more than ever, the princess was bothered by something. Ty Lee sits down next to Azula. "Is everything okay Azula?" she asks in a compassionate voice.

But Azula remains silent, still unsure if she could take the lives of people who would not be able to defend themselves, and have done nothing more than being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Is this the greatness my nation is to share with the world? An execution? she thought to herself, unable to find an answer.


At sunset, the group decided it was best to make camp, rather than risk maneuvering through the pass at night. After setting his sleeping arrangements, Aang decides that he wants to be alone right now. He stands near the edge of the rock, looking blankly over the ocean.

"Hey" he heard Toph say from behind.

"Hey" he said without turning.

"It's okay to miss Appa you know." She says as compassionately as she could, but Aang remains silent. "What's going on with you? Back in the desert, you went flying off the handle because of what happened to Appa. And now you're acting like you don't give a damn about him."

"You saw what I almost did out there. I was so enraged about losing Appa I couldn't control myself. As the Avatar, I cannot behave like that under any circumstances."

"But now you're not acting like yourself at all! I get it sometimes hurts to care about someone, and hope they'll be okay. But as the Avatar, and yourself, you can't stop caring Aang." Toph approaches Aang and tries to give him a one arm hug, but he gently pushes her away.

"I thank you for your concern, Sufi Toph" he said as he bows towards her and then walks away, leaving an upset Toph behind.

He… really must hate me right now she thought as she bites her lower lip to try and hold in her sadness.

On another part of the pass, Zuko was sitting lotus style meditating to keep himself calm. After what happened at the library, he was upset with himself because of his outburst. But mostly, he was confused as to why he snapped when he saw Katara was about to be killed by the Knowledge Spirit.

"How are you holding up?" he heard from the last person he wanted to face.

He breathed out slowly. "I-I'm doing okay Katara."

She sat down next to him. "You know… you can always talk to someone if you need to."

"My uncle must be upset with what I did at the library. I know I would be" he said remorsefully.

Katara looks at him in concern. "I didn't mean your uncle. You can always talk to one of us." Zuko looks at her to see a small smile on her face.

"With all that I've done to you? You're willing to hear me out?" He was truly confused now.

"Well, yeah you can talk to us. We just... didn't know what happened to you before we met." She hesitated before saying what she felt before hearing about his past. "For the longest time, I believed you were a monster spreading only violence and pain, just like your father."

"I don't blame you for thinking that way."

"It was just so easy to hate you, especially since what this war has put me through, me personally." Katara places a hand on her necklace, as a tear start falling down her face. "The Fire Nation took my mother away from me…"

Zuko looks at her and sees that he really was not the only one to lose their mother. "I'm sorry. That's… something we have in common" he said sadly.

Katara looks at him in surprise. She never would have guessed something like this about him. "How-how did you lose her?"

"It was right before my father became the Fire Lord. He was instructed to kill me by his own father, according to my sister. I didn't believe her, thinking there was no way my father would do such a thing." He breaths out deeply, remembering the last time he saw his mother. "Then, in the middle of the night, my mother woke me up and said that everything she did, she did it to protect me."

"So, your father killed your mother instead?"

"I-I don't know. The next morning, she was just… gone. But my grandfather, Fire Lord Azulon, died in the middle of the night. As his dying wish, my father was to be crowed as Fire Lord, rather than my uncle who was first born."

Katara wraps her arms around her knees, speechless at Zuko's story. After a few moments, she spoke up. "I'm sorry."

Zuko looks at her. "For what?"

"For hating you. It was just that, for so long, whenever I would imagine the face of the enemy, it was always your face…"

"My face… I see." Zuko looks away and places a hand on his scar.

"No, no that's not what I meant" Katara said regretfully.

"It's okay. I used to think this scar marked me; the mark of the banished prince, cursed to chase the Avatar forever. But lately… I've come to realize that I'm free to determine my own destiny."

Katara looks at him with hopeful eyes. "Then, what is your destiny?"

Zuko breaths in deeply, remembering why he chose to join the Avatar. "To get revenge for what my father has done to me, and to my mother."

"I-I see." The hope that Katara was feeling vanishes. She wanted to ask if that is what he truly wanted. But she cannot help but understand his feelings, given who took her own mother's life. "What was she like? Your mother?"

Zuko breaths in and out deeply, trying his best to remember everything he could about his mother, Ursa. "She was very caring, and compassionate. No matter how bad I was at something, she would tell me how proud she was of me. She taught me to always be kind, understanding, and accepting of others." Zuko bites his lower lip. "But… she would probably be very disappointed in me right now…"

"Because of what you've done in the past year?" Katara said carefully.

Zuko feels a tinge of sadness. "Yeah." He can imagine how his mother would scold him, seeing her do it over a dozen times to Azula.

Katara places her hand on Zuko's. He looks at her to see her give him a gentle smile. "I'm sure she still loves you Zuko. And if she would be disappointed in you, you can always try to make up for it."

Zuko thinks about the advice another woman gave him; June. She asked him how someone could give another person honor when they do not have any of their own. And more importantly, she asked him where the is honor in attacking children.

Maybe Father doesn't have any honor he remembers asking himself. Maybe he was seeking honor from the wrong person; instead of trying to gain it from his father, he should be seeking it from his mother, even if she was no longer around to give it. The imagine of her looking at him proudly would be all the honor Zuko could ask for.

He smiles faintly at the thought, thinking it would be a long and challenging task. But he was more than up for it. "Yeah. I always can."

Katara's gentle smile grows a little bigger at this, feelings of hope returning to her. "You should get some rest. We'll be heading out at first light."

"Right." Zuko heard Katara get up and start walking back to the campsite. "Hey, Katara?"

She turns around to see a soft look on his face. "Yes Zuko?"

He musters up the best smile he could. "Thank you." For what felt like the first in a long time, he truly meant his gratitude, because he now feels that someone besides his uncle generally wishes the best for him.

Katara was left speechless, and could only nod and smile before walking away. But she did feel like Zuko was coming around to be a part of the team.

I wonder if he would be interested… she thought to herself, but quickly cut herself off, believing it would be unlikely. Yet, her hopeful thinking did not stop her from blushing slightly as she lays down on her bed roll.

He was staring up at the full moon, thinking of the beautiful woman who gave up her life to make sure the oceans do not flood the lands. Normally he would be proud and sad, but now he was only confused about his feelings for her and another woman.

"It's a beautiful moon tonight" Suki said from behind him.

Sokka flinches, but turns to look at her. "Yeah, it really is."

After a few moments of silence, Suki blurts out more bitterly than she intended, "Look, I know you keep saying you're happy to see me, but from the way you've been acting, I can't help but think you're really not."

Sokka stiffens, knowing the conversation he was dreading was finally here. "Well I am happy to see you, but…" he trailed off, trying to find the words.

"But what?" Suki feels like he was about to tell her something painful, for the both of them.

"It's just… I don't feel the same about you the way I did." There, I said it he thought to himself as he grimaces.

Suki could not believe what she was hearing. "You-you don't? Why?"

"Well when I left Kyoshi Island, I thought about you every day… until I got to the North Pole… where I met someone…"

As much as she did not want to, Suki can see between the lines. "You fell in love with someone else?"

Sokka feels slight panic tugging at him, dreading how she would react to his confession. "It just… kinda happened."

Suki was at a loss for words, feeling extremely sad at losing the chance to be with a man who deeply intrigued her. He was a man who was arrogant and sexist when they first met, until she proved that his views were wrong. And he was amazed and smitten by her, and she could not help but feel the same given how funny and smart he is after he was humbled by her. But now, it was over, over before it can really begin.

"Listen" Sokka said, brining Suki out of her daze. "If I could love you like I did with her, I completely would. But, no matter how hard I try, I just… can't."

"It-it's ok Sokka…" Suki said as closes her eyes to hold back the tears.

Seeing her like this was a hard punch in the gut for Sokka. He did not want to hurt her in anyway, but now he understands that no matter if he told her or not, force himself to love her when he could not, or just lie to her about his feelings, he would have hurt her in the end.

He pulls her in for a hug, which she tries to resist at first, but gives up when he refuses to let go. "Suki… you deserve a man who will truly love you. And as much I wish I can be that guy, I can't."

Suki sniffles as tears start to fall down her face. "I-I understand…" she whimpered.

"But… as messed up as this is, I can't lose you as a friend." He lifts her chin up to look at her violet eyes.

"And I can't lose you either. You're… you're one of my best friends Sokka."

Sokka smiles and brings her in for a tight hug, which Suki returns with as much strength. After a few moments, they let go.

Suki sniffles and rubs the tears from her eyes. "You should get some sleep. Katara said we'll be heading out at first light."

"Yeah, I will" he said before Suki starts walking back to the camp site. Sokka looks up at the moon and feels sadder than ever.

First Yue, and now Suki. Will the universe ever just let me catch a break for once? he thought to himself as he thinks every woman he would be smitten with will leave him, by their actions or his own.

The group woke up the next morning and proceeded through the pass. Sokka and Suki were nowhere as distant as they were the day before, and Iroh notices that his nephew seems a bit calmer than before, while Katara could not help but sneak an occasional glance at the prince. Yet Aang was still acting serious and indifferent as yesterday, leaving his friends just as concern, especially Toph.

At around midday, the group found their path partially submerged below sea level. The refugees give downcast looks because of Ying's pregnancy cannot allow her to swim the distance. But Katara knew of way to cross without resorting to such an action.

"Everyone, single file!" She walks forward, using her bending to form an air pocket around the group, but she soon found she could not hold it alone. "Aang, I need your help!" Aang hands his staff off to Iroh and starts bending the water to hold up the air pocket.

Riding on Toph's shoulders, Momo notices fishes swimming outside the pocket. He jumps into the water to chase down the fish, but then he notices a large and unsettling shadow swimming with him in the water. He jumps back into the air pocket onto the nearest pair of shoulders he could find, which turns out to be Zuko's. Under normal circumstances, he would be annoyed with the lemur's choice, but the prince was far more distracted by the shadow swimming in the sea, which everyone else notices too.

"What is that thing?" Zuko asks, not wanting to know the answer.

But he got the answer anyway when the shadow breaks the air pocket, causing water to flood around the group. Before anyone can drown, Toph uses her earthbending to raise the ground back to the surface. Everyone quickly recovers their bearings, and notice a most terrifying sight.

A giant sea serpent shrieks as it eyes its lunch.

"I think I just figured out why they call it the Serpent's Pass!" Sokka shouts in a panic. "Suki, you know about giant sea monsters, make it go away!"

"Just because I live near the unagi doesn't make me a fucking expert!" she spat at him.

Sokka grabs Momo of Zuko's shoulder and holds him up. "Oh, great and powerful sea serpent, please accept this humble and tasty offering. Thank you."

"Sokka!" Katara reprimands him.

Aang takes his staff back from Iroh and blasts the serpent back with a powerful gust of air. "I'll distract it! Katara, get everyone across!" He takes off on his glider, blasting the serpent with air to keep it distracted and away from everyone.

Katara freezes the water, creating a bridge to earth on the opposite side. "Everyone, get across! I have to help Aang!" She forms a board of ice and chases down the serpent to freeze it in the water.

Everyone rushes across, but Sokka notices that Toph is not following. "Toph, come on, it's just ice!"

Toph places her foot on the ice and notices that she cannot sense it the way she can with earth. "Actually, I'm gonna stay on my little island where I can see!" But she quickly changes her mind when the serpent crashes on her little island. "Okay, okay I'm coming!" she shouts as she slowly starts making her way across the ice.

"You're doing great!" Sokka shout to Toph. "Just keep following the sound of my voice!"

"It's really fucking hard to ignore!" she shouts back.

"You're almost there!"

But Sokka spoke too soon, as the serpent, still persistent to get its meal, crashes into the ice bridge, causing Toph to fall into the water.

"Help! I can't swim!"

"Hang on, Toph! I'm coming!" Sokka shouts as he starts taking off one of his boots.

But before he could jump in, Iroh jumps in and starts swimming towards Toph. Still shouting for help, she slips below the surface, forcing Iroh to chase after her. Thankfully he manages to reach her and pull her back to the surface.

"Oh, thank you Sokka! You saved me!" Not knowing it was Iroh, she kisses him on the cheek.

Iroh chuckles and says, "Well I could not let my friend drown now, could I?"

"Oh… uh…" Toph said embarrassed. "Don't tell anyone about that…"

"I would not think of it" he said as he swims with Toph back to the group on dry land.

Meanwhile, the serpent was caught in a whirlpool as Aang and Katara circle it, forcing it to crash into the mountains and fall into the water defeated. Aang picks up Katara and flies back to the group, who cheer at their victory. After hours of resuming their walk, they finally see Ba Sing Se's outer wall.

"There it is!" Sokka glees while pointing. "Now it's nothing but smooth sailing to Ba Sing Se."

But as always, Sokka spoke too soon as he hears Ying grown in pain. "Oh no!" she yells as she grips her belly.

"What's wrong?" Sokka said with a frighten grimace.

"The baby's coming!"

Sokka grabs his head in a panic. "What? Now?! Can't you hold it in or something?"

"Sokka, calm down" Katara said coolly. "I helped Gran-Gran deliver lots of babies back home."

"This isn't the same as delivering an arctic seal or a penguin! This is a real… human… thing!"

Katara rolls her eyes. "It's called a baby, and I helped her deliver plenty of those, too." She turns towards the group. "Aang, you and Sokka get some rags. Iroh and Zuko, we'll need warm water. Toph, I need you to make an earth tent, a big one." Everyone jumps to their tasks while Toph earthbends a structure around Ying and her family. "Suki, come with me" Katara said as she steps into the tent to proceed with a task she was very well familiar with.


It was an overwhelmingly successful raid. Jet and his Freedom Fighters had stolen enough food to feed the poor refugees on the lower decks twice over. After getting their share of only what they need, the fighters take a seat in a small circle in the shadows.

"So, this is your plan Jet?" Smellerbee asks her friend. "Stealing food and handing it out?"

"Basically. Imagine the stocks we'll find in Ba Sing Se" Jet said as he finishes what he needs and hands the rest to Longshot.

"But it was hard enough to raid the ship's galley with just the three of us. How are we gonna keep this up while avoiding the law in the biggest city in the world?" Smellerbee said with a very concern look.

"One raid at a time" Jet said with confidence. He stands up and moves to the railing to stare out over the ocean, thinking of a certain girl he let down.

"We can't be this lucky every time. It's only a matter of time till we're caught" Smellerbee sadly said as she looks at Longshot. "What do you think?"

Longshot gives her his trademark stare in response.

"Yeah, that's what I thought" Smellerbee said, fearing the worst the future has to offer.


"You're doing great, Ying" Katara said as Ying breaths in and out to help with the contractions. "Where's that water and those rags?" Right on cue, Zuko walks in with the water. "Now get ready to push Ying" Katara said. "One… two… three, push!" Sokka walks in with the rags right as Ying groans, causing the Water Tribe man to pass out when he sees the infant being pushed out.

"Really?" Zuko grumbles before dragging the man outside.

Moments later, the group outside hears the cries of a newborn baby. "It's a girl!" Katara shouts with excitement.

"So, you want to see the baby, or are you going to faint like an old lady again?" Toph asks Sokka.

"No, no, I'm good this time" he replies.

"Are you sure? Because I'm not dragging you again" Zuko sneered.

Sokka pouts as he, Iroh and Zuko enter the tent to see the newborn girl. Toph lags behind as she notices Aang didn't move. "Aang, you should come see this."

Aang sighs deeply but gets up and enters the tent. He moves towards the new parents and notices the newborn girl in Ying's arms, which places a smile on his face.

"She sounds healthy" Toph said with a smile.

"She's beautiful" Katara said as checks over the baby.

"It's so… squishy looking" Sokka said.

"I believe she will grow into a wonderful woman" Iroh beamed. Zuko remained silent, unable to say what he wants to say; at least not in front of everyone.

"What should we name her?" Than asks his wife.

"I want our daughter's name to be unique. I want it to mean something" she replies.

Aang wipes his teary eyes with the back of his hand. "I've been going through a really hard time lately. But seeing you two and your new daughter has made me… hopeful again."

Ying gives a soft smile. "I know what I want to name our baby. Hope."

Than caresses his daughter's cheek with his thumb. "That's the perfect name. Hope."

After everyone steps outside the tent, Aang meets with Toph. "I thought I was trying to be strong. But really, I was just running away from how I was feeling. Seeing this family together, full of happiness and love, it's reminded me how I feel about Appa… and how I feel about you."

Toph lowers her head to hide the happy tears that were trying to leave her eyes. "What, are you confessing your love for me or something?" she teased.

"Uh… well…" Aang said flustered. Before he could think of an answer, Toph lunges and embraces him, which he returns gladly.

Katara was rinsing her hands when Zuko approached her. "Hey Zuko, thank you for getting the water."

"Uh, yeah no problem, but that's not why I came to talk to you" he said awkwardly.

"Oh? What was it than?" Katara eyes him, wondering what the prince was going to say.

"Well… I know I didn't ask about your mother, and I know I should have… but I feel like I don't need to now."

"Why do you say that?" Katara was unsure what he means by that, but she will listen to what he has to say. She did that for him last night after all.

"I say that because… if you're anything like her, she must have been really amazing" he said more awkward than ever as he deeply blushes.

Katara was left speechless at this. Never did she thought that Zuko, a man with a troubled and complicated past, would complement anyone like this.

"If I step over any boundaries…" he stammers, before being interrupted by Katara with a hug. His eyes widen in surprise, but he soon gave the best hug he could.

Katara steps away and looks him in the eyes. "Thank you, Zuko" she said with a smile before walking back to the group. Zuko had a strange feeling in his chest, but regardless, he feels that he is on the right path to regaining his honor.

With his task of escorting the refugees through the Serpent's Pass accomplished, Aang was getting ready to take off to Ba Sing Se with Momo to find Appa. "I promise, I'll find Appa as fast as I can. I really need to do this."

"See you in the big city" Sokka said as he gives a manly rub on Aang's head.

"Say hi to that big fuzzball for me" Toph said before punching Aang in the arm.

"You'll find him, Aang" Katara said with confidence.

"We believe in you, Avatar" Iroh said as he gives a respectful bow. Zuko does not say anything, but gives Aang a confident nod of encouragement.

"Thank you. All of you" Aang said as he steps away and readies his glider. "You ready, Momo?" The lemur chirps before following his master into the sky.

As everyone finishes collecting their gear, Suki approaches Sokka. "Sokka, it's been really great to see you again."

"Whoa, hold on. Why does it sound like you're saying goodbye?" he said as he looks at her sadly.

"I came along because I wanted to make sure you and everyone else got through the Serpent's Pass safely. But now I need to get back to the other Kyoshi Warriors."

Sokka sighs in slight disappointment, but he understands. "I get it. They need their leader, and you need to keep doing what you think is best in this war."

"Thank you. I'm really sorry about what I said last night…"

"No, I'm the one who's sorry. You did nothing wrong."

"But still…" she began, but was interrupted when Sokka brings her in for a hug. Suki returns the hug, knowing that while they might never be a couple, at least they were going to be best friends for a long time.

After flying for some time, Aang and Momo land on a tower on the outer wall of Ba Sing Se. The Avatar looks over the city, wondering how long it will take to find his best friend.

But as he notices a sight that he found difficult to believe, he realizes that it will take longer than he would like.

The Avatar breaths out deeply, mentally preparing himself for a difficult battle ahead. "Sorry Momo, looks like finding Appa is going to have to wait."