The group were all huddled together in a circle, looking at a map. After they had finished eating breakfast it was decided that they start thinking about they're next destination, lest Zuko find them again. They had all decided that it was best to go to Ba Sing Se and tell the Earth King about the day of black sun (a plan that Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee still felt slightly unsure about, but made no moves to object to it given the circumstances) and from there, plan out the invasion. On the way there, they would take a short break at Full Moon Bay, and see if they could gather any information about the current situation in Ba Sing Se. Katara was quick to point out the Serpent's Pass, and they all made a mental note to avoid it at all costs. As they were all packing up their things and loading it onto Appa, Mai felt a tug on her sleeve. She looked down to see Azula staring at her.

"What is it?"

"Does anything about Ba Sing Se ring any bells to you whenever the others bring it up?"

"You mean how your uncle led a siege there for 600 days and that it ultimately ended in failure?"

"No, not that. Every time I hear them mention it, I can't help but think that I was either told something about that place or I overheard something about it right before father sent me out on my mission, but for the life of me I can't remember what it was."

"Well maybe whatever it was wasn't that important if you can't remember it. Stop worrying and help me pack our stuff." Mai said before grabbing Azula by the hand and walking to where the others were. Maybe Mai was right, and she really was worrying over nothing. But as Azula helped Mai pack, she couldn't help but think that Mai was so very, very wrong about telling her not to worry and that it was probably nothing.

Little did Azula know, however, that her worries would get proven right when they finally reached Ba Sing Se.

Zuko was looking at a map, trying to figure out where Azula would go next, when he spotted a large shadow above him in the clouds. He looked up and saw the avatars' sky bison. He quickly shook Iroh, who had fallen asleep.

"Uncle, wake up! It's the avatar!"

"Now where have I heard that one before?" Iroh said with a yawn, stretching. He rubbed at his eyes so he could see better, and soon enough the sky bison came into focus. Going by the direction they were going….

"Well, it seems like your sister and her new friends are heading to Ba Sing Se." Iroh said without thinking, before he immediately realized his slip up. Damn it, he hadn't meant to say that out loud!

"Ba Sing Se? Then that's where we'll go too. Come on, uncle. We're going."

Zuko moved to get on their ostrich horse before a hand stopped him.

"Not so fast, nephew. We can't get to Ba Sing Se with this. We will have to go to Full Moon Bay. There is a ferry there that will take us straight there. We will need to get passports first, though."

"A ferry? That works out perfectly. Now let's get going."

Iroh sighed. He hadn't meant to give them away like that, but what was done was done. He supposed that he could find some way to help Azula once they got to the city.

If he could do it without Zuko noticing, that is.

After around an hour of flying, they finally reached Full Moon Bay. Appa landed and they all got off, making their way inside the station. They then split up to see what information they could gather. Sokka looked down when he realized that he wasn't alone, and saw Azula standing by his side, with Momo on her shoulder of course.

"You didn't want to walk around by yourself?" he asked.

She shook her head, "No, not really. Figured that I'd stay here with you, since you'd probably freak out the minute you realized I was by myself."

"I wouldn't freak out!"

"Uh huh, sure you wouldn't."

"Sokka? Is that you?" a voice asked from behind them.

The two turned around to see a girl around Sokka's age standing there, smiling at him.

"It is you! How have you been? Where's Aang and Katara?"

Sokka looked at the girl, puzzled. How did she know who they were?

"Umm…do I know you?"

The girl blinked and then said, "Oh, that's right. You wouldn't recognize me like this. The last time you saw me was with my makeup and Kyoshi warrior outfit on.

Hold on. Makeup? Kyoshi warrior? This girl could only be one person then.

"Suki!" Sokka shouted and gave her a hug. One which she happily returned.

"Sokka, it's so great to see you again! What are you doing here though?"

"Well, let's just say that a lots happened since we last saw each other." Sokka said.

That's when Suki noticed that he wasn't alone.

"Sokka", Suki started, staring at Azula curiously, "who is this little girl? She's so cute."

As she said that, however, Suki couldn't shake the feeling that she had seen this child before. Perhaps from a description or picture. But that didn't make any sense. This girl was obviously a child. And the only people that Suki had any sort of information on were Fire Nation soldiers, as well as the royal family. This girl wouldn't be on any of those kinds of lists, right?

Azula stared at Suki for a moment before running behind Sokka. She didn't like the way that Suki was staring at her.

Sokka chuckled and rubbed Azula's head reassuringly, "Hey, it's ok. This is Suki, she's a friend of ours. Suki, this is Ming. We met her and her older sister in Omashu. We've been traveling together ever since."

"I see. Well, it's nice to meet you, Ming."

"...Nice to meet you, too."

Suki chuckled. This little girl was seriously shy.

"It's ok, I promise I don't bite. Where are you guys headed to?"

"Ba Sing Se. We have important information to give to the Earth King. We just stopped here for a short rest and to get some information."

"Oh no, this is terrible!" a voice cried out.

The three of them turned to find a man and woman who were clearly distraught. Aang, having heard the man shout, quickly went over to them.

"Hello, sir. My name is Aang, I'm the avatar. What's wrong? Is there anything I can help you with?"

The man stared in shock at Aang for a moment before responding, "My wife and I can't find our passports anywhere! And without those we can't get on the ferry that goes to Ba Sing Se. The only other way to get there is by crossing the Serpents Pass, but we couldn't possibly do that since my wife is heavily pregnant as you can see. It's too dangerous."

Aang didn't say anything at first, quietly thinking to himself. They could just offer the couple a ride on Appa, but that would be too many people for him to carry. Some of them would have to stay behind and wait, which would take up too much time. Time that they couldn't afford to waste, either. With that, Aang made up his mind.

"Don't worry. My friends and I will help you get across the Serpent's Pass."

Before long, the others eventually regrouped with each other. After confirming that the only piece of information they managed to get on Ba Sing Se was that everyone deemed it to be the safest place to go, Aang had informed them about the couple and how they would be escorting them to Ba Sing Se. Nobody had any objections (except for Azula, who thought that thanks to this little detour they would take even more time getting to Ba Sing Se, but of course she said none of this) and with that they were on their way, with Suki deciding to join them.

When Zuko and Iroh finally reached Full Moon Bay, Azula and the avatar were nowhere in sight. Meaning that they had probably just missed them. Great.

They got their passports for the ferry and got on, waiting for it to depart. On this particular journey they met a boy named Jet, who seemed to be concerned with getting the poor decent food. And he seemed hell bent on getting Zuko to help him do it. Zuko couldn't care less about anyone else, but he was hungry, and he was pretty sure that uncle was too, and so he went along with it.

Had Zuko known that Jet would have a violent reaction to firebenders, he probably would have stayed away from him.

Azula decided that she did not like Suki.

Suki decided that Ming was a mystery that she needed to figure out.

The side bangs. The top knot. The facial features. They were all strikingly similar to a certain important person that she had learned about while traveling the Earth Kingdom with the other Kyoshi warriors.

Princess Azula of the Fire Nation.

The little girl who Sokka claimed they had all met in Omashu bore a striking resemblance to the princess, someone who was supposed to be their enemy. The more Suki thought about this, however, the more she felt stupid for doing so. Ming was obviously a little girl. Princess Azula was a teenager. And besides, didn't everyone have a look alike in the world? Then again, how often did you find your look alike in a child?

Suki shook her head. She would just have to keep a close eye on the girl. Which she was already planning on doing anyway. Trying to get across the Serpent's Pass was dangerous for a little kid.

Azula, meanwhile, clung to Sokka tightly as he carried her on his back as they traversed across the Serpent's Pass. Mai and Ty Lee were flying on Appa, along with Than and his wife Ying. A part of her wished that she had gone with them instead, at least then she would have been able to escape Suki's constant gaze on her back. Sokka insisted that she was a friend and that there was nothing to worry about so long as she was with them. Azula begged to differ. Suki clearly recognized her, or at the very least was on the verge of figuring out who she actually was.

"Are you sure this Suki girl is ok to be around?" Azula whispered in Sokka's ear, "I'm pretty sure that she knows who I am. Somehow."

"What? How would she know that?"

"How should I know? We need to figure out how to get her off my trail, or else-"

"What are the two of you whispering about?" Suki asked.

"Uh, nothing! Ming here was just telling me that she's tired. Right?"

Azula nodded her head.

"Oh…well, I would say that we should stop and take a break, but we're getting close to the water now."

Sure enough, she was right. Katara ordered all of them to get into a single line, and she used her waterbending to part the waves so that they could walk across.

"We're almost there, Ming, don't worry. Once we get to the other side we'll be able to rest for a little bit."

"What Suki said. Just hang tight for a little bit longer- WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?!" Sokka shouted.

A giant shadow swam around them, before crashing into the water bubble that Aang and Katara had formed around them. Toph used her earthbending to get them back up to the surface, and it was there that they came face to face with a giant sea serpent. Now they knew why it was called the Serpent's Pass.

"Katara, get everyone across! I'm going to try and distract it!Mai, Ty Lee, get Appa and the others away from here!" Aang said, before snapping open his glider and flying towards the serpent.

Katara bent an ice bridge that went all the way across to the other side, and Mai and Ty Lee guided Appa there. Everyone slowly made their way across the bridge and Katara went to go and help Aang. Sokka realized that Toph had yet to make her way over, however.

"Toph, come on! It's just ice, you'll be fine!" Sokka shouted.

Toph took one step onto the ice before moving back to the earth.

"I think I'll stay right here on my little island where I can see."

That quickly changed when the serpent nearly hit Toph. "Ok, I'm coming!"

As she slowly made her way across the bridge, Azula decided that she didn't want to wait around for Aang and Katara to save the day. She knew that she could help them end the stupid serpent much quicker.

All they needed was some lightning.

Suki would most likely be able to tell who she was at that point, but Azula found that she didn't particularly care anymore. Her mind made up, she took Momo off of her shoulders.

"Momo, Sokka, stay here with the others. I'm going to help Aang and Katara." Azula said, before she took off running towards the serpent.

"Wait! Azula, come back!" Sokka cried, not realizing his slip up. In fact, nobody seemed to notice it at all, worried as they all were for their friends' safety.

Nobody but Suki, that is.

"Ugh, why does she always do this?! I'm going after her!" Sokka said, running after Azula.

The both of them eventually made it past Toph, who was beyond frustrated at this point.

"Hey Sokka, what gives?! You're supposed to be helping me get across this stupid bridge!"

"Sorry Toph, but Azula ran off to help Aang and Katara!"

"What do you mean she-"

But he didn't stay behind to hear the rest of her sentence, and just kept running after Azula.

"OH I SEE HOW IT IS, SOKKA! TINY GIRLFRIEND IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN ME, IS THAT IT?!"

"Why did you follow me, you idiot?!"

"Hey, I'm the one who should be asking the questions here! Why did you decide to run back over here, it's too dangerous for you!"

"Because I have a plan, that's why! A plan that will beat this stupid serpent no problem!"

Sokka blinked. She had a plan?

"A plan, huh? Then let's hear it. What did you have in mind"

"We're surrounded by water, aren't we? There's one move up my arsenal that can take advantage of all of this water surrounding us. I just need some time to charge it up."

Her lightning. She was going to use her lightning.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? I thought you said that using lightning in your current state takes a lot out of you."

"I'll be fine, stop worrying about me! Now are you going to help me or not?"

He wanted to tell her that no matter what she said, he'd worry about her regardless. He decided to keep that to himself though, for now.

"I will. What do you need me to do?" he asked.

"Distract it for me, and also get Katara and Aang's attention and have them come over here. I don't want them to get hit when the lightning strikes."

Sokka nodded. He wasn't quite sure how he'd distract the stupid serpent long enough for Azula to be ready, but he'd do his damn hardest to try. He threw his boomerang at the serpent and shouted.

"HEY, YOU STUPID SERPENT! OVER HERE!"

That got its attention. Aang and Katara looked on in shock as the serpent ceased its attacks on them and started heading towards Sokka. Before they could ask him what in the world was he doing and was he an idiot, he shouted at them next.

"Aang, Katara! Get out of the water, hurry! Azula's about to use her lightning on that thing!"

They didn't have to be told twice. The two of them quickly made their way over to Sokka, and the minute Azula confirmed that they were nowhere within range, she fired. The others watched as Azula's lightning connected with the water, electrocuting the serpent in the process. The serpent collapsed and sank below the depths, most likely dead.

It was silent for a moment before they all cheered, happy that the serpent had been defeated and they were finally safe.

Nobody noticed the sharp glare that Suki shot 'Ming'.

What happened next felt surreal. Ying's water broke and she went into labor, meaning that they had to once again stop their trek to Ba Sing Se. Suki, Mai, and Ty Lee helped Katara while the others waited outside. A few hours later, they heard a tiny voice crying. The baby had been born.

Aang, Sokka, and Toph all went inside the makeshift tent that Toph had made with her earthbending to see the newborn. They didn't realize that Azula hadn't joined them. She didn't particularly care about seeing some squishy little baby.

Besides, she was waiting for a certain someone to come out so that they could "talk".

Sure enough, a few minutes later Suki emerged from the tent. She stated at Azula, and Azula stared right back.

"So, I suppose that you want some answers?" Azula asked.

"I sure do, Ming. Or should I say Princess Azula? And don't even think about trying to lie and say you aren't her, I heard Sokka say your name earlier. And that lightning was a dead giveaway too."

So much for telling her that she was actually a purple platypus bear who could transform into a human girl.

"Fine, you caught me. I am indeed Princess Azula of the Fire Nation. Now, what question do you want answered first?"

"How about… this." Suki said, gesturing towards Azula.

Ah yes, everyone always wanted to know that part first, didn't they?

And so Azula told her everything. About her arrival in Omashu to recruit her friend Mai, meeting Aang, Katara, and Sokka, and being completely and utterly confused and terrified when she felt herself shrinking down to the size of a child, thanks to some spirits who clearly hated her existence. When she finished telling her story to Suki, the older girl looked shocked.

"That's- that shouldn't be possible. That doesn't even make a whole lot of sense and yet I believe you. I've heard stories about the spirit world and the crazy things that the spirits themselves can do. Plus, you look way too much like how you looked on that poster for you not to be Princess Azula, child form or not."

Poster? What poster?

"What are you talking about? What poster?"

"Not too long after you arrived in the Earth Kingdom, my warriors and I ran into some soldiers on our travels. The leader told us about how the princess of the Fire Nation was here, and that she had given a speech about catching some traitors of the Fire Nation. That was when he handed us this."

Suki pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to Azula. It was indeed a picture of herself.

"Huh. Not bad I guess. But wait. How did my lightning give it away?"

"The Kyoshi warriors are defenders of Kyoshi Island. Do you really think that we wouldn't have information on our enemies, especially the royal family of the Fire Nation?"

Azula supposed that made sense.

"So, what are you going to do now that you know who I really am? Try and hand me over to Earth Kingdom forces?"

"That depends. Do you intend to harm Sokka and the others?"

"Why would I? They've agreed to help me return to normal. And as much as I hate to admit it, they've...grown on me. Plus, with everything that's happened on this strange journey, I'm…kind of their ally now?"

"The fact that you said that as a question doesn't fill me with a lot of confidence. But I suppose I'll have to take your word for it."

The ferry ride had gone fine. They were now within reach of Ba Sing Se. Everything was going to plan….

Until uncle thought that it was a brilliant idea to heat up his cold tea. Right where Jet could see him do it. Fantastic. Now they would have to be even more on guard in this damn city.

After her conversation with Azula, Suki decided that she needed to talk to Sokka too. Toph's comment from earlier was still ringing in her mind.

"OH I SEE HOW IT IS, SOKKA! TINY GIRLFRIEND IS

MORE IMPORTANT THAN ME, IS THAT IT?!"

Toph had referred to Azula as Sokka's "tiny girlfriend" but what did that mean? She really hoped that Sokka wasn't smitten with the girl. Even after the talk she had with Azula, Suki was still a bit wary of her, and with good reason to be. Not to mention her own feelings towards Sokka.

She found her intended target, unsurprisingly, with Azula. As she got closer to the two of them, she began to make out bits and pieces of their conversation. Seemed like they were talking about Azula not using her lightning because it…tired her out. What was that about?

"Promise me that you won't do that again, ok? You looked like you were going to pass out earlier after you took down that serpent." Sokka said.

"Believe me, I felt like I was going to pass out…I mean, I was totally fine! Didn't feel tired at all. Aren't I awesome?"

"In what world do you think that I didn't hear you mumble that?"

"I hate you."

Suki watched the scene before her, unsure for a moment if she should interrupt them. The banter between them was surprisingly somewhat cute. She quickly shook her head. Now wasn't the time to be thinking like that. She had to confirm something with Sokka. She cleared her throat, alerting the two of them to her presence. Azula looked at her and glared, while Sokka smiled at her.

"Hey, Suki. What's up?"

"Nothing much, just wanted to check on you. Do you have time for a chat?"

Sokka nodded. He got up and made to follow Suki, but not before turning to Azula one last time.

"I'll be back soon. And don't -"

"I know, I know. I won't wander off anywhere, not even if I see something that interests me."

"Good. See you soon!" Sokka said, waving at the girl. Azula half heartedly waved back.

Suki could feel the small girl's eyes on her as they walked away. She snorted. What exactly did she think was going to happen between the two of them? That Suki was going to say that they should abandon her? There was a very slim chance of that happening. They all seemed to really trust the small princess, and genuinely wanted to help her, too. So no matter what Suki said about the girl, they're opinion on her wouldn't change. Besides, Suki couldn't deny that the Azula she got to know was a far cry from the girl that she had initially heard about from reports among Earth Kingdom soldiers. So in a sense, Azula being here with them was actually a good thing. It didn't hurt to have the Fire Nation princess as an ally rather than an enemy.

The two of them eventually came to a stop when they were far enough away from prying eyes and ears. Suki turned around and looked at Sokka.

"This should be far enough away from everyone else."

"Uh, yeah I guess so. What did you want to talk about?"

"I'll get right to the point: how do you feel about Azula?"

"What do you-what do you mean 'how do I feel' about her?! You can't just ask someone that!" Sokka cried hysterically.

"Toph called her your 'tiny girlfriend' earlier today when she was crossing the bridge and you ran after Azula. Is that true? Do you like her?"

"Of course I like her! I mean, you can clearly see that we're friends, right?"

"That's not what I'm asking and you know it."

Sokka sighed. Of course he knew that's not what she was asking! But how could she just expect him to come clean about his feelings for Azula, when he wasn't even ready to admit them to himself yet? He knew that his feelings towards the shrunken princess had changed from friendship to something more for a while now. He just…didn't know how to feel about it. The main reason being that Azula looked like a little girl, even if the logical part of his brain reminded him that she wasn't actually six years old. She was in fact a year younger than him. And of course, there was the fact that she was the princess of the Fire Nation, their enemies. But with everything that had happened since meeting Azula, could he really call her the enemy at this point? Especially now that her father wanted her captured and possibly killed? Then of course, there was Yue, a girl that he had fallen in love with rather quickly and who had died before anything could happen between them. It wasn't like he was entirely over her yet, either.

Sokka's silence brought Suki's hopes up. Perhaps she had been wrong and he really didn't feel that way about Azula. Maybe Toph was just teasing and there really wasn't anything going on between the two of them.

"...You're right. I do like her. I like her a lot."

And just like that, Suki's hopes were dashed.

"I like her, but it's complicated. I'm not even sure if I should even feel this way towards her, you know? One part of me is telling me that it's weird because she's a kid, but then there's the other part of me that's telling me it's not weird at all because she's not actually a kid, she's a year younger than me. Not to mention that she's the princess of the Fire Nation, our enemy. But I haven't thought of her like that in a long time now. Then there's not knowing whether or not she likes me back, and…"

"I think she does."

Sokka stared at Suki, "What? You really think so?"

"Mhmm, I do. Earlier today during the fight against the sea serpent, she specifically told you to stay back and out of harm's way. She didn't even bother to address her other two friends at all. And when you eventually came to her aid, she was angry that you hadn't listened, but there was also a smidge of fear on her face: fear that you might get hurt. And from what I've observed from being around all of you, she doesn't act like that with the others. So it seems to me that she does like you back, she just doesn't realize it yet. Or maybe she does realize it, but she doesn't know how to articulate her feelings into words."

Sokka pondered Suki's words. She had a point, he supposed. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that Azula really did act differently around him. And if she truly did have feelings for him, it would make sense that she wouldn't know how to go about saying that, given her upbringing. Azula not realizing that she had feelings for him was also a possibility as well. It certainly wouldn't surprise him if that were the case.

"One more question: you say that you like her, but what happens if you guys can't change her back to normal? That's the whole reason for this truce between you all, isn't it? What will you do if nothing that you do in the end changes her back?"

Sokka didn't even need a moment before answering her question.

"I'll stay by her side no matter what. We all will. I won't abandon her, and I know without a doubt that the others feel the same way. Besides, we aren't giving up. We'll make those dumb spirits change Azula back to normal, even if I have to fight them to do it!" Sokka declared.

Suki blinked. And then laughed. It was such a typical Sokka answer, but it satisfied her all the same. At least now she could move on. She got up and smiled at Sokka.

"Good. Just the answer I wanted to hear. You know, Azula's really lucky to have a guy like you looking out for her. I hope that things work out between you two in the end."

"Thanks, Suki. And….I'm sorry."

Ah. So he realized what her true purpose behind this conversation was after all.

"Don't worry about it. See you later, Sokka."