Chapter 25:
A waterfall fell down a rocky ridge and into a pool at it's feet. Sokka sat on a rock and had a scroll in his hands as Toph lay on the rocks below him, kicking her feet in the water as Momo jumped onto the older boy's shoulder. Freya was lying in the water, her eyes closed calmly and Sokka continued to glance at her from his spot on his rock.
"Okay is no one going to address what happened?" he suddenly asked. Aang and Toph glanced at him.
"What do you mean?" Aang asked
"Maybe the fact that a water bender can suddenly bend fire as well!?" Sokka said as he waved his arms around.
"It's not sudden, I've been able to fire bend since I was maybe four years old." Freya said, not opening her eyes.
"So why haven't I ever seen any!?" Sokka demanded
"One you hated firebenders, two I didn't need people thinking I was the new avatar, three we were in the south pole were everything was ice, four, you have seen me use it. Just I used it to disperse attacks sent at me." she said
"But why not tell us? You scared to?" Toph questioned
"I got my water bending before I got my firebending. I'd already learnt water bending basics by the time the fire emerged. It was difficult for me to do fire when I knew water and so it took more for me to get the hang of it. The two elements are opposite after all. I also spent more time with my mother water bending than I did with my father fire bending, so my fire bending is not all that good. It's not as useful."
"I've never been able to beat you while you've been using it before?" Aang reminded her
"Yeah well it wasn't strong enough for me to hold my own against Zhao. Zuko had to help me."
"Zuko knows you can firebend!?" Sokka snapped
"Uh huh." she sighed
"You told the enemy's fire prince and not your friends!?" the boy continued
"First off, I had no water bending and wanted Zhao to pay for what he did to the moon. That's how Zuko found out. I let my emotions cloud the idea of keeping it from him. Just like I did in the desert. Second, I didn't know how to tell you."
"But how can you fire bend when you're parents were from the water tribe?" Toph asked
"Freya's dad was actually a Fire Nation General." Aang piped up "He used to sail all around the world."
"In other words he wasn't from the water tribe." Freya said as Sokka's jaw dropped open.
"You're mother married a Fire Nation soldier!"
"You know that's the same reaction Zuko had when I told him." Freya admitted
"You told Zuko this!?"
"You need to remember Sokka I was captured on his ship for several weeks." Freya mumbled And I wanted him to trust and open up to me. "And it's not surprising my parents got married, I was born in an era where the nations were friends remember."
"But this makes things so much easier! We don't need to find Aang a fire bending teacher because he's got one!" Toph grinned
"I wont be able to teach Aang everything he needs to know, I never finished my fire bending training, I still have stuff to learn myself. I could try and give Aang the basics but in the long run he'd need a teacher to finish him off in his learning. We'd still need to find one." Freya believed. She was surprised they weren't more angry at her like Katara had been. Aang shrugged as he floated by her head in the lake.
"That's alright, it's not something we need to worry about now." he said before he ducked himself under the water to encase his body in ice to float on top of it.
"You're only saying that because you're scared to use it." Freya said and Aang lifted his ice block so he could see her.
"No I'm not!"
"Right cause it's not like you hurt someone the last time you did." Freya smirked slightly.
"Well look what happened to you! You completely lost it, who wouldn't worry about learning such a dangerous element?" Aang went with.
"It's actually no more dangerous than the other elements. If I hadn't been in the desert and there'd been a water supply near by who knows what would have happened then. Water is effected by emotions too Aang."
"Yeah but you and Jeong Jeong both reminded me how it's alive and will spread if there's no control." Aang said
"As long as you're calm it's fine." Freya said
"And you're a great example of that." Sokka said sarcastically causing Toph to laugh.
"I'm sorry I've known you for almost six years and you didn't know I was a duo bender till just now." Sokka looked at her annoyed "I think I'm rather good at staying calm."
The four all looked up as Katara suddenly shouted from the top of a ridge above the pond.
"Waterbending bomb!" she shouted before jumping off and wrapping her arms around her legs. "Yeah!" the girl smashed into the water and the liquid went everywhere as Freya waved her arms. Aang was sent flying out of the water and his ice casing smashed on the rocks. Sokka grabbed the scrolls and he ducked over them to try and protect the paper from being damaged. Aang and Toph just laughed as Sokka looked annoyed.
"Sure, 5000 year old maps from the spirit library, just splash some water on 'em." Sokka said as he held one up as it dripped. Freya got out of the water, having controlled the water around her to stop from being thrown like Aang was and Katara climbed out with her.
"Sorry." Katara squeezed some water from her hair before she waved her hands and drew the water out of the paper.
Sokka looked at the map before he jumped off his rock and the other four gathered around him.
"So, did you figure out what route we're gonna take?" Aang wondered as they looked at the Map Sokka had.
"Okay. We just got out of the desert, so we must be around here, and we need to go to Ba Sing Se, which is here." Sokka pointed over the map "It looks like the only passage connecting the South to the North is this sliver of land called the Serpent's Pass."
"You're sure that's the best way to go?" Toph asked as she stood listening.
"Especially when it's named after a serpent." Freya mumbled
"Coming from a dragon." Sokka said slyly, earning a glare as her eyes flashed golden for a moment. "It's the only way," Sokka continued "I mean it's not like we have Appa to fly us there." Sokka reminded them
"Shush up about Appa." Katara said in a hushed voice. "Can't you at least try to be sensitive?" the two turned to Aang as Freya took another breath.
"Katara, it's okay. I know I was upset about losing Appa before, but I just want to focus on getting to Ba Sing Se, and telling the Earth King about the solar eclipse." Aang was overly calm and held no emotion in his voice as he spoke, surprising the siblings.
"Oh, well, okay. I'm glad you're doing better." Katara said
"Not only that but the sand bender said that's where Appa might be, it's the best place to start looking." Freya added
"Then to Ba Sing Se we go, no more distractions." Sokka decided as they all got to their feet and Sokka rolled up the maps.
"Hello there fellow refugees!" The group turned to suddenly see three people behind them waving.
"Oh look. A distraction." Freya pointed monotony as Sokka looked annoyed, rising an eyebrow.
"So, are you guys headed to Ba Sing Se too?" Aang asked as the they approached them.
"Sure are, we're trying to get there before my wife Ying has her baby." the man rubbed her stomach
"Great, we can travel through the Serpent's Pass together." The three travellers looked at Katara with shock.
"The Serpent's Pass?! Only the truly desperate take that deadly route." the women admitted fearfully.
"Deadly route." Toph whacked Sokka's arm, knocking him over. "Great pick, Sokka."
"Well, we are desperate." Sokka said as he stood back up and rubbed his arm.
"Not if there's another way." Freya said with a raised eyebrow.
"You should come with us to Full Moon Bay. Ferries take refugees across the lake. It's the fastest way to Ba Sing Se." the man admitted
"And it's hidden, so the Fire Nation can't find it." his wife added.
"Hmmm, peaceful ferry ride… or deadly pass?" Katara said sarcastically. Sokka looked at her annoyed.
"That's what happens when you have a 5000 year old map." Freya admitted. "So have you all been travelling far?" she asked the three.
"Rather." Than nodded "Our village was invaded by the Rough Rhinos."
"You must have met some interesting people along the way." Freya asked smiling.
"Some places were rather quiet." Ying admitted
"Much for our benefit." Than smiled.
Freya smiled. Not much trouble… I hope they're alright. Freya glanced at the hills beyond in thought.
The group all left the grove and lake, moving after the two refugees before they came to a cave. They walked through it and in the dark before they reached a block at the other end.
"Um…" Sokka began before suddenly the rock wall disappeared from before them and two earth benders stood on the other side. Before them was a wall with earth kingdom symbols on it, and beyond that were several ferries as water had flowed into the cave on the other side.
The room was filled with people and a lot of them were lining up towards the wall.
"I can't believe how many peoples' lives have been uprooted by the Fire Nation." Katara said as she looked around, there were even some tents pitched.
"We're all looking for a better life, safe, behind the walls of Ba Sing Se." the man Than said from beside Aang and his wife.
"I guess we'd better get in line then." Freya said and the others agreed with a nod.
The women in which the group lined up with was nasty and as they got closer they heard her dismissing people and shouting at others. The man before them was asking for passage not just for him, but for his cabbages as well.
"I've told you already, no vegetables on the ferry!" she snapped at him as she stamped a paper. "One cabbage slug could destroy the entire ecosystem of Ba Sing Se. Security!" the man shook his head.
"Dah!" a platypus bear rose up above the cart of cabbages and suddenly smashed the entire thing, grabbing a cabbage in it's mouth "My Cabbages!" the merchant shouted.
"You know he was in Omashu the first time we were there." Freya said to Aang
"He was?" Aang asked
"Yeah, remember we crashed into his cabbages at the end of our slide run just as the guards found us."
"Oh yeah!" Aang remembered
"I think we might have run into him a few times now actually." Freya said thinking.
"Strange huh." Freya nodded as the man was carried away, on his knees and sulking heavily.
"Next!" Aang stepped forwards and held up his fingers. "Um, five tickets for the ferry to Ba Sing Se, please."
"Passport." she demanded. Aang looked at his pockets and Freya hit her forehead.
"Uh, no one told us we had to have passports." Aang admitted before Sokka moved forwards.
"Don't you know who this is? He's the Avatar!" he said pointing
"Ah, I see fifty Avatars a day, and by the way, not a very impressive costume." she pointed to the side were there were several bald people with arrows on their heads, one with a glider on his back, another with a staff in his hand and all were wearing different coloured variations of air nomad clothes. Aang nodded impressed. Momo cried out at the group from Aang's shoulder.
"Besides, no animals allowed." the women decided. "Do I need to call security?" Momo and Aang turned to the platypus bear who looked at them as he still chomped on a cabbage. Momo cowered on Aang's shoulder.
"That won't be necessary." Aang assured.
"Next!" the women shouted.
Toph walked forwards past Aang.
"I'll take care of this. My name is Toph Bei Fong, and I'll need 4 tickets." Toph pushed a passport onto the table and the symbol of the flying boar shone as she did.
"Oh!" The women looked at the passport with admiration "The Golden Seal of the Flying Boar, it is my pleasure to help anyone of the Bei Fong family." she flourished.
"It is your pleasure." Toph agreed arrogantly as she crossed her arms "As you can see I am blind, and these four imbeciles are my valets." she pointed to the others who grinned foolishly, the two siblings and Aang hugging one another.
"But the animal…" the women began
"Is my Seeing-Eye Lemur." Toph lied through her teeth as Momo appeared on her shoulder.
"Well, normally it's only 1 ticket per passport, but, this document is so official, I guess it's worth 4 tickets." and she stamped four before Toph grabbed them and the others walked away following her.
"Thank you very much."
"Alright, we scammed that lady good!" Sokka grinned before someone suddenly reached out and grabbed him by the collar. The others turned around to find a women in Earth Kingdom uniform.
"Tickets and passports please." she demanded as she held out her hand. Freya rose an eyebrow as she looked at the girl.
"Is there a problem?" Sokka asked slightly intimidated.
"Yeah, I've got a problem with you." she poked him in the chest. "I've seen your type before, probably sarcastic, think your hilarious, and let me guess, you're traveling with the Avatar." Freya moved up beside Sokka as she eyed the girl.
"Do I know you?" Sokka asked
"Wait a second." Freya said before she grinned and started laughing. Sokka looked at her confused before the girl yanked him close by the collar.
"You mean you don't remember? Maybe you remember this." she kissed him on the cheek.
"Suki!" Sokka remembered before they hugged.
"Sokka, it's good to see you!" she grinned.
"That sounds like an exaggeration." Freya said and Suki chuckled before hugging her as well.
"Freya! It's wonderful to see you as well."
"You too Suki, I gotta admit, took a minute to recognise you without your uniform and makeup." she confessed as Katara, Aang and Toph came up behind the two.
"What's going on?" Katara asked
"Remember Suki?" Freya asked
"The leader of the Kiyoshi Warriors!" Sokka grinned and Katara grinned
"Oh yeah,"
"Suki this is Toph." Freya pointed "Aang's earth bending teacher."
"Hi. It's been a while, come on and let's talk, I want to hear what you've been up to. Follow me." Suki lead them past the lines and to the wall were they climbed a set of stairs to one of the watch towers.
"You know we actually went to your village not too long ago." Freya confessed
"Really?"
"Yeah your neighbouring village of Chin imprisoned Aang for an act Kiyoshi pulled." Freya chuckled. "We went to Kiyoshi Island to help him."
"How is everyone?" Suki asked the older girl
"Better now the village is not smoking." Suki chuckled slightly.
"You look so different without your makeup, and the new outfit…?" Katara admitted as they took a seat.
"That crabby lady makes all the security guards wear them. And look at you sleeveless guy. Been working out?" Suki asked Sokka.
"I'll grab a tree branch and do a few chin touches every now and then, nothing major." Sokka said as he stretched and flexed his arm.
"Careful, we don't want to inflate his ego any more than it is." Freya whispered and Suki chuckled as Katara rose an eyebrow at her brother.
"Are the other Kiyoshi warriors around?" Aang wondered
"Yeah, after you left Kiyoshi, we wanted to find a way to help people. We ended up escorting some refugees, and we've been here ever since." Suki admitted as she looked around at the camp. Momo jumped up beside her and she chuckled. "Hi Momo, good to see you too." she scratched him behind the ear and he chirped happily. "So why are you guys getting tickets for the ferry? Wouldn't you just fly across on Appa?" Everyone looked down solemnly.
"Appa is missing." Katara admitted "We hope to find him in Ba Sing Se." she glanced at Aang who turned away.
"I'm so sorry to hear that." Suki turned to Aang with concern. "Are you doing okay?"
Everyone looked at Aang and he became annoyed.
"I'm doing fine. Would everybody stop worrying about me!"
"Aang." Freya said and he looked at her before sighing.
"What about you Freya?" Suki asked her. The girl sighed
"Let's just say we got most of it out of our system already." she responded, looking at Aang. "But we're going to find him."
"Avatar Aang, you have to help us!" the group turned to see Than and Ying below the tower they were in. "Someone took all of our belongings. Our passports, our tickets. Everything's gone!" Ying cried in worry.
"I'll talk to the lady for you." Aang decided
"A battle that seems lost before it's begun." Freya mumbled but they followed the Avatar regardless who turned to talk to her.
"No passports, no tickets!" the women stamped Aang's arrow.
"But she's pregnant, and all of their stuff was stolen. You have to make an exception." Aang pleaded
"No exceptions! If I just gave away tickets willy nilly to anyone, there would be no more order, and you know what that means. No more civilisation!"
"Actually it might just be chaos but…" Freya whispered
"What if we gave them our tickets?" Aang offered
"No!"
"But…"
"NEXT!" the women sprayed Aang with spit.
Aang walked away wiping his face and back towards the couple.
"Don't worry, you'll get to the city safely. I'll lead you through the serpents pass." Aang decided
"What was that you said about distractions?" Freya mumbled to Sokka who slumped.