Chapter 28: The Serpent's Pass

After exiting the desert, everyone stopped at the nearest lake to wash away all of the sand that accumulated in various parts of them. Sokka used the time to plan how they would reach Ba Sing Se. According to their map the only way to get there by land was to take the Serpent's Pass. Right when they were about to leave three travelers walked in on them.

"Hello there, fellow refugees" the man in the group said. He was followed by a pregnant woman and a younger one, likely his daughter.

"Are you guys headed to Ba Sing Se too?" Aang asked.

"Yes. We are trying to get there before my wife Yin has her baby" the man said.

"Great" Katara said. "We can travel through the Serpent's Pass together."

"The Serpent's Pass" Yin said. "Only the most desperate take that deadly route."

"You should come with us to Full Moon Bay" the man said. "Ferries take refugees across the lake. It's the fastest way to Ba Sing Se. And it's hidden from the Fire Nation."

"Full Moon Bay it is then" Sokka said.

With their destination chosen everyone journeyed to Full Moon Bay. Earthbenders at the entrance opened the secret passageway letting them inside. The place was crowded with refugees, all seeking a ride on the ferries. However there weren't any ferries docked at the moment.

An old woman was handling the new refugees. "How many times must I say it today? The ferries are closed."

"Excuse me" Aang said. "Why are the ferries closed?"

"I'll say it one more time, there is an outbreak of City Sickness in Ba Sing Se and the government doesn't want it spreading. So they aren't allowing the ferries to come back here until the outbreak is contained."

"I was afraid this might happen" Yin said.

"Do outbreaks happen often?" Sokka asked.

"Once a year at least" Yin's husband said. "Who knows how long we could be stuck here."

"Looks like you will have to take the Serpent's Pass." Everyone turned towards the new voice and saw a young boy with brown hair wearing red and blue clothing, chewing on a piece of wheat.

"Jet!" Katara yelled and then she immediately waterbended and trapped Jet in ice. "What are you doing here?"

"Relax Katara, I'm just seeking a new life like everyone else here" Jet explained. "I've given up the freedom fighter thing."

"How long has it been since the last ferry left?" Sokka asked.

"A few weeks ago and there's no sign of them coming back anytime soon" Jet said.

"Katara let him go" Sokka asked.

"Why, after what he did…" Katara said.

"I know but if the Serpent's Pass really is dangerous we could use the extra help" Sokka explained.

"Fine" Katara said, releasing Jet. "But I'll be watching you Jet."

"Ok then, I'll round up the friends I've made here and meet you at the pass in a few hours" Jet said.

While Aang and the others were walking away Sokka was stopped by a woman in a security uniform. After a brief misunderstanding Sokka recognized her as Suki. She and the other Kyoshi Warriors had come here to help the refugees, and now Suki wanted to help Sokka get the others through the Serpent's Pass.

The journey to the pass only took a few hours. When they arrived they saw Jet standing there alone.

"What happened to those friends you mentioned?" Sokka asked.

"They're coming" Jet said. "Smellerbee and Longshot had to take care of some business. Mushi, Lee, and Clark will be here in a few minutes."

Toph felt them coming first, and recognized all of them. Whispering to Aang she said "It's Kal and the others from the abandoned town."

"Zuko" Aang said. Before Aang could do anything he saw Zuko, Iroh, and Kal El walk into sight. He saw Zuko recognize Aang and prepared to attack, but was stopped by Kal El.

"We can't afford to be exposed here" Kal El whispered to Zuko. "Just act like we don't know them." Turning towards Aang Kal El said "Hello, I'm Clark, this is my cousin Lee and my father Mushi. Jet told us that you would help us get through the Serpent's Pass.

"We're just waiting for Smellerbee and Longshot" Jet said. "They will be here soon."

Within ten minutes Jet's friends arrived and everyone entered the pass. The path was narrow which forced them to walk in single file. To the west everyone saw a Fire Nation ship patrolling the water. The ground beneath Iroh broke under his weight and he began to fall, but was saved by Toph. However the falling rocks alerted the Fire Nation ship nearby, and they started to attack.

The ship launched a fireball at the pass, which Aang deflected back towards the ship. A second fireball hit the rocks above them, sending rubble down onto the path. They were about to hit Zuko when Kal El tackled him, getting both of them out of the way.

"Thanks… Clark" Zuko said.

Whispering Kal El said "At least I can still do something around here."

Aang quickly disabled the Fire Nation ship, preventing it from attacking again. With the danger over everyone continued along the pass. By evening they were halfway through it and found a suitable place to camp for the night.

Sokka walked over to Kal El. "Can we talk in private? I need to show you something." he asked. They put some distance between themselves and the campsite. Sokka released fire from his eyes and aimed it down towards the water.

"How did you do that?" Kal El asked.

"That incident with the lighting somehow copied your abilities and gave them to me" Sokka explained.

"Sokka, my abilities are gone" Kal El said.

"Wait, so the lightning transferred you abilities instead of copying?" Sokka asked.

"We have to find a way to transfer them back" Kal El said.

"I think lightning is the key, but it's not like any of us can just throw it around." Sokka said.

"Father knows how to create lightning" Kal El said. "Once we're through this pass we can recreate what happened before."

"Sounds like a plan" Sokka said. "We better get back to camp."

Meanwhile Aang was standing alone, watching the horizon. He didn't see Zuko walk up behind him. "So what happened to your bison?" Zuko asked.

"He's gone" Aang said. "I suppose that's good news for you, now that it's harder for me to evade you."

"You may not believe this Avatar, but I don't care anymore" Zuko said. "Even if I capture you now it won't do me any good. Azula would take the credit and I would rot in a dungeon."

"You've given up on reclaiming your honor?" Aang asked.

"I still care about it, but it's not worth dying for" Zuko said.

While they talked Toph was having a private conversation with Iroh. "So who came up with Mushi, Lee, and Clark?" she asked.

"Well my nephew chose Lee because there are thousands of Lee's" Iroh explained. "Mushi was something he made up while panicking. I gave my son Clark, it's a simple name and likely won't be noticed."

"Simple usually works" Toph said. "We should talk more often once we reach Ba Sing Se."

"I would enjoy that" Iroh admitted.

Sokka returned to the camp, and was confronted by Suki. She had noticed that Sokka was being distant from her during the trip through the pass, and wanted to know why. Sokka told her about Yue at the North Pole, and didn't know who to form a relationship with. They agreed to wait until the war was over before trying anything.

The next morning everyone resumed their travel down the pass. They were making good time until the path dropped below the waterline. A section of the pass was underwater, the distance too far to swim. Katara and Aang used their waterbending to move the water out of the way, revealing the path. Everyone bundled together as the waterbending formed an air bubble around them, allowing them to walk across the underwater section of the pass.

Halfway across a sea serpent broke the air bubble, flooding it with water. Before anyone could drown Toph used earthbending to lift them all out of the water on a column of stone. The sea serpent emerged from the water and roared at everyone on the little island. The serpent tried to attack but Aang deflected its head with a windblast.

Aang took the air to distract the sea serpent. Katara froze the water between the island and the far end of the pass. Longshot fired several arrows at the serpent, but they all bounced off its scales. Jet, Smellerbee, and Suki escorted Yin and the other refugees across the ice while Iroh and Zuko guarded the rear. Sokka ran on the water to help Aang. Taking Toph's hand Kal El guided Toph across the ice.

When everyone was across Katara surfed across the water with her bending. With Aang's help she created a large whirlpool around the sea serpent, spinning it around. Sokka blurred back and forth across the whirlpool, hitting the serpent with each pass. The serpent lost control of its movement and its head slammed against the side of the pass, knocking it out.

With the serpent dealt with Katara, Aang, and Sokka returned to the others. A few hours later everyone reached the end of the pass. However before anyone could celebrate Yin went into labor. Katara and Iroh helped deliver the baby. Luckily there weren't any complications and the baby was born healthy. Yin chose to name the baby Hope.

After the birth Aang flew off to find Appa. He flew past the crumbling old wall and landed on the new wall. However before Aang could enter the city he spotted a massive machine heading towards the new wall. It was a giant drill.

"Appa will have to wait."