The Avatar and the Fire Prince

by biconickyoshi

In the year 96AG, a freshly banished 13-year-old Prince Zuko discovers a strange boy frozen in an iceberg. When Zhao interferes with Zuko's plans to deliver the Avatar to Ozai, Aang helps Zuko and Iroh escape. As he gets to know Aang, Zuko learns that everything he was taught was a lie, and begins to feel things he has never felt before. Originally posted on AO3.

39. The Serpent's Pass

Aang squinted his eyes as the Full Moon Bay security guards lowered a section of the wall of rock in front of them with earthbending, revealing a large, sunlit cavern crowded with people.

"I admit, this seems nicer than I thought it would be," Sokka said. "Though I wish it were a little less crowded. I'd rather not be crammed on a boat with a ton of strangers."

"Beggars can't be choosers, Sokka," Toph said, stretching her arms behind her head.

Sokka frowned at the small girl before turning to Aang. "Aang gets what I mean—right, buddy?" he said, nudging him with his arm. "I bet for an airbender, this many people in one place can feel… suffocating ."

Sokka looked at each of his companions with an open mouthed smile.

"Get it? Air? Suffocating?"

Aang rolled his eyes and picked up his pace to walk next to Katara.

"Come on. You thought it was funny, right, Toph?" Sokka asked.

"Yep. I'm dying of laughter."

Aang grunted in annoyance. Sokka had been acting extra… chummy with him ever since he'd regained his mental clarity after being under the influence of cactus juice. He wasn't even sure if Sokka knew why he was irritated with him, considering he hadn't been in his right mind when Aang had originally snapped at him in the desert two nights ago.

"All of these people are here because their lives have been uprooted by the Fire Nation," Katara said as they began to pass large encampments of refugees, her eyes lingering on a woman who was trying her best to soothe a crying baby. "I wish there was something we could do for them…"

"What we need to do is get to Ba Sing Se so we can find Appa and I can focus on my training," Aang replied, tearing his eyes away from the suffering refugees. "The sooner I stop the War, the sooner the suffering ends."

Before Katara could reply, he took a deep breath through his nose and strode forward, weaving between the crowd towards the ticket line as he tried to tamp down his ever-growing feelings of guilt and anxiety. He couldn't allow himself to lose control of his emotions again.

He thought back to the moment he'd regained consciousness the day prior, Katara supporting his weight as he'd fallen to his knees. She'd been the one to snap him out of it—and she'd risked her life to do so. If it hadn't been for Katara, he could have easily hurt a lot of innocent people.

I can't let her put herself in that position again, Aang thought, shaking his head. I can't let my worries about the future overwhelm me. I just need to focus on the present. Detach myself. Like the monks taught me.

"I told you already... no vegetables on the ferry!"

Aang's thoughts were interrupted by a loud, nasally voice, and leaned over to see a familiar-looking cabbage merchant standing at the front of the line, his head in his hands.

" One cabbage slug could destroy the entire ecosystem of Ba Sing Se!" the stern-looking middle aged woman at the ticket counter snapped. "Security!"

With a whistle, two security guards appeared with a leashed platypus bear in tow. With a swipe of its massive paws, it destroyed the cabbage merchant's cart and began to tear the cabbages to shreds with its teeth.

"AAAAH!" the cabbage merchant cried out, falling to his knees. " My cabbages! "

Aang's brow furrowed with sympathy as he watched the poor man be escorted out. As the next person walked up to the ticket counter, the woman's voice rose again.

"No passports, no tickets! "

"But we just had them, I swear!" the man at the counter replied, he and his companion exchanging a distraught look as they frantically searched their pockets and bags.

"They must have been stolen!" the man's companion replied, folding his hands together as he began to plead. "Please, if you could make an exception just this once, my husband and I–"

"No exceptions!" the woman barked. "Next!"

"Passports?" Katara questioned worriedly as Aang turned back around.

"Nobody at that village told us we'd need passports," Sokka said.

"They probably assumed we already had them," Toph replied, twirling her pinky finger in her ear. "But don't worry. I've got us covered."

She reached into her pocket and produced an extremely ornate green and gold document with a golden flying boar insignia emblazoned upon it.

"When I show them this bad boy, it'll be smooth sailing," she said, waving the passport back and forth before stuffing it back into her pocket.

"If you say so," Katara replied somewhat skeptically. "I guess we won't know unless we try."

They continued waiting in line for several more uneventful minutes. However, just as they were about to reach the front, Aang noticed that a large number of people had begun to crowd into the line behind them, pushing everyone closer together.

" Hey! " Toph suddenly shouted, expression growing fierce as she whipped around before being promptly shoved backwards with a grunt into Sokka, who caught her by her arms.

"What happened?" Katara questioned. "Are you okay?"

As Toph regained her balance, she patted her pockets frantically and grunted in frustration. "Someone just stole my passport!"

"What?" Sokka exclaimed, shaking his head. "Who?"

"I don't know ," Toph snapped. "But they went that way!"

She pointed to the right and immediately attempted to march forward, but was stopped by Katara, who grabbed her shoulder.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm gonna go beat that thief to a pulp!" Toph replied, punching her fist into her palm.

"But you just said you don't know who it was," Katara countered with a frown. "What are you going to do? Beat up everyone in the crowd until someone fesses up?"

" Urgh! " Toph grunted angrily, unable to argue with Katara's logic. "Then what are we supposed to do now?"

"Maybe if Aang tells her he's the Avatar, the ticket lady will make an exception for us?" Sokka suggested.

"Hey, you're holding up the line!" a cranky looking woman shouted from somewhere behind them.

Aang turned back around to see that the people ahead of them had already gone. He sighed heavily as he stepped up to the counter and attempted to smile politely at the ticket woman.

"Um… Four tickets for Ba Sing Se, please."

"Passports?" the ticket lady barked.

"Well, you see, the thing is… Um… We don't exactly have passports. But…"

He glanced over his shoulder at Sokka, who mouthed what looked like the word "Avatar".

"...I'm actually the Avatar. And I really need to get to Ba Sing Se for something important, so I was hoping–"

"Ah, I see fifty Avatars a day!" the irritated woman interjected. "And, by the way, not a very impressive costume."

She pointed behind him, where several dejected-looking people sat next to two security guards. It appeared that each of these individuals had dressed themselves up in various combinations of orange, red, and yellow clothing, and had painted blue arrows on their foreheads. Some of them had even gone as far as to shave their heads completely, and one even held a clearly homemade glider behind them.

"Listen here, lady," Sokka said, pointing his index finger at the woman. "My buddy Aang here is the real deal. Just say the word, and he'll prove he's the Avatar with a little airbending."

The ticket lady's eyes narrowed. "Even if you're not bluffing," she replied with a sneer, her eyes moving to Momo, who sat on Katara's shoulder. " No animals allowed. No exceptions." She leaned closer to Aang and Sokka. "Not even for the so-called 'Avatar'. Do I need to call security?"

Aang glanced over at the platypus bear, who growled as it crunched one of the remaining cabbages between its powerful jaws, and Momo chirped anxiously, cowering behind Katara's shoulder.

"That won't be necessary," Aang replied, raising his hands as he backed away.

"Next!" the woman shouted.

Aang sighed heavily as he began to lead the group out of the line and towards the back of the cavern, trying not to let his frustration bubble to the surface and overwhelm him.

"Passports and tickets, please," a stern, but familiar voice suddenly demanded from behind them.

Aang frowned and stopped in his tracks. As they all turned around, however, Katara gasped, and it was then that he recognized the person standing across from them, his eyes widening.

" Suki! " Katara exclaimed, jumping forward and throwing her arms around the neck of the laughing auburn-haired girl.

"See?" Suki said, grinning at Katara as she pulled back from the embrace. "Didn't I say we'd see each other again soon?"

Aang couldn't help but smile at seeing his friend again, stepping forward to give Suki a quick hug as well. "It's good to see you, Suki."

"Same to you, Aang," Suki replied warmly.

"Hey! Suki!" Sokka said, sliding up next to Aang as he cleared his throat. "You're looking nice today! Love the hat!"

Suki smirked in amusement, while Katara rolled her eyes. "Really? This is just the standard uniform that that crabby lady makes all the security guards wear."

"Well, I can guarantee you that none of the other security guards are pulling off the look quite as well as you are," Sokka replied with a grin.

Suki chuckled in response. "Thanks, Sokka."

" Ahem, " Katara interjected, glaring at her brother as she gently pulled him away from Suki. "What are you doing here? I thought you'd be with the other Kyoshi Warriors."

"Oh, they're around here somewhere," Suki replied with a shrug. "After they returned to Kyoshi Island to pick me up from the village, we came back to the mainland and ended up escorting some refugees to Full Moon Bay a couple weeks ago. We've been here ever since." She turned to Aang. "Have you found your earthbending teacher yet? Or are you headed to the city to look for one?"

Aang shook his head, smiling slightly as he turned to gesture to Toph, who was behind him. "You'll be happy to learn that I did actually find a teacher. This is Toph—she's from Gaoling."

"Hey," Toph stated, holding out her hand.

A surprised-looking Suki blinked for a moment before reaching out her hand as well. "Nice to meet you, Toph," she replied as the two shook hands firmly. "So you're the real deal, then?"

"What?" Toph said, frowning slightly. "Surprised to learn that the Avatar's earthbending teacher is a little blind girl and not some big, buff manly-man?"

Suki laughed and shook her head. "I think I know better than most people that being a big, buff manly-man is by no means an indicator of skill. I'm just surprised that Aang actually settled on a teacher," she said, shooting Aang a look. "Last time I saw him, he'd been having a lot of trouble finding the right person for the job, despite his abundance of options."

"I told you," Aang sighed, folding his arms. "It couldn't be just any earthbender."

"Well, it sounds like Toph here must be pretty darn skilled, then," Suki said, putting a hand on Toph's shoulder.

"Heh," Toph replied, smiling as her cheeks pinkened slightly. "I mean… I guess you could say I'm pretty decent."

"Never thought I'd see the day when Toph Beifong downplays her earthbending skills, but here we are," Sokka said, shaking his head. " Ow! " he added as Toph elbowed him.

Suki chuckled again at this interaction, but as her eyes scanned the crowd behind them, her smile slowly disappeared.

"Where are Zuko and Iroh?" she asked confusedly. "And what are you guys doing here? I wouldn't have thought you'd need to use the ferry since you have Appa."

Katara's sympathetic blue eyes immediately moved to Aang, and he looked away.

"...Appa is missing," Katara answered. "It's a long story, but we took a trip into the Si Wong Desert a few days ago, and he was stolen. We hope to find him in Ba Sing Se."

"I'm so sorry to hear that," Suki replied quietly. "What about Zuko and Iroh? Are they okay?"

"They're fine," Aang interjected, hoping that speaking those words aloud would help convince him that this was true. "We got separated, but they know we're going to Ba Sing Se. They're going to meet us there."

He tried to swallow down the lump of guilt he felt in his throat at being reminded that he had chosen to leave the desert without his friends. But he'd had no choice; Appa was in danger, and they needed to get to Ba Sing Se as soon as possible. Iroh and Zuko would understand.

That was, if they'd ever even gotten the message he'd asked Sha-Mo to deliver.

What if they didn't get it, and now they think you're dead? he couldn't help but wonder.

"...Aang?"

"What?" he said, shaking his head.

"I just asked if you're doing okay," Suki said.

Everyone's eyes seemed to be focused on him now, and he felt himself begin to tense up. Why were they all looking at him like that? Like he was fragile?

"I'm doing fine," he snapped. "Would everyone stop worrying about me?"

Upon seeing Suki's slightly shocked expression at the harshness of his reply, he felt guilt rise like bile in his throat again.

"I'm sorry," he sighed. "I just… Want to focus on getting to Ba Sing Se as soon as possible so I can get Appa back."

"It's alright. I understand," Suki nodded.

"The only problem is, we can't get tickets," Katara sighed. "Toph was going to try and get us some with her passport, but it just got stolen."

"But if Suki's a security guard here, could she help us get tickets?" Sokka questioned.

"Hmm," Suki replied, pressing the side of her fist against her mouth. "I could try, but without passports, I'm afraid it's almost impossible. The crabby lady—Boss Nie—is very strict about passports. Ba Sing Se officials want to prevent Fire Nationals from sneaking into the city."

Katara and Sokka exchanged a worried look before looking at Aang.

"What are we going to do?" Katara asked.

Suki was silent for a moment, her brow furrowing with apprehension. "There is one other route to Ba Sing Se…" she replied at last. "But it's said to be pretty dangerous."

"What is this route?" Aang asked.

"The locals in Manyue Village call it the Serpent's Pass."

---

Zuko sighed in relief as he splashed cool water onto his face, closing his eyes as the droplets rolled down his cheeks and neck. He could hear the gentle rushing of the nearby waterfall, the distant sound of birds chirping, and the rustle of dry fallen leaves in the wind.

He opened his eyes again, then cupped his hands together to scoop up some more water, bringing it to his dry lips.

"You doing alright?"

At first, Zuko assumed June was speaking to him, but when he turned around, he saw the bounty hunter making her way over to the large rock Iroh was sitting on.

The former general, who appeared to have been eating one of the steamed buns they had packed for the trip, looked up at her and smiled. "I'm a bit tired, as I'm sure we all are. But otherwise, I'm doing just fine."

Zuko was surprised to see that June was taking the initiative to check on Iroh. Ever since their fight yesterday afternoon, he'd been reluctant to fully put his guard down, as it would have been all too easy for the bounty hunter to change her mind and turn on them again.

But she hadn't turned on them again. And she had gotten them out of the desert, just like she had said she would.

"There's a village just to the northwest of here," June said, leaning against a nearby tree and folding her arms. "Manyue. Should be a good place for you to rest before your last leg to Ba Sing Se."

Zuko frowned as he pushed himself to his feet. "You're not coming with us?"

"I said I would get you out of the desert, and I did," June replied. "You know where the Avatar is going, kid. You don't need me anymore, and I've got a life to get back to."

"I see," Iroh said, visibly wilting as he picked up his satchel from the ground and set it in his lap. "Well, before you go, we need to pay you what we owe."

"Nope," June interjected, holding her palm up. "Keep it."

"What?" Iroh replied in confusion as Zuko's eyes widened in surprise.

"You'll need it for Ba Sing Se. City's expensive."

"But you went to all the trouble to take us through the desert," Iroh said, rummaging through his bag. "I won't let you just turn down–"

"I don't need it, okay?" June interrupted, pushing herself off the trunk of the tree. "I'm plenty well-off as it is."

Iroh shook his head. "Well, if you won't accept the full payment… At least allow me to give you half."

"Please, Iroh," June sighed. "I don't–"

"A third then," Iroh insisted as he stood up, taking her hand and shoving several coins into it. "It's the least we can do."

June looked down at the coins in her hand for a moment, then shook her head slowly before putting them in her satchel. "...Thanks," she said, giving him a small smile.

"Thank you ," Iroh replied warmly. " Your kindness is the reason we made it through the desert in one piece."

June smirked. "Just don't go around spreading the word, okay? I have a reputation to uphold."

"So… Where will you go now?" Zuko asked.

"Well," June replied as she made her way over to Nyla, who was lapping up water from the pond with his long tongue. "If you guys ever actually need to hire a bounty hunter, you can find me in Daxia Harbor, in the Hu Xin Provinces. Or you can at least send your friends that way."

Iroh nodded emphatically. "Certainly!"

Zuko was quiet for a moment, rubbing his forearm as June secured her belongings on the back of the saddle.

"Um. Thank you, again," he said at last, stepping forward as the bounty hunter hoisted herself onto Nyla's back. "You didn't have to help us."

"No, I didn't," June replied as she smirked down at him. "I hope you're reunited with your Avatar soon. I'm sure he'll be happy to see you."

She gave him a knowing look, and Zuko felt his face grow warm.

"Safe journeys, June!" Iroh said, waving his hand up high.

As June turned Nyla around, she smiled over her shoulder, lifting her hand up in a casual wave back, then whipped the shirshu's reins, galloping up and out of the ravine.

From next to him, Iroh sighed heavily. "She really is something, isn't she?"

Zuko rolled his eyes. "She almost captured us and handed us over to the Fire Nation."

"But she didn't ."

"At least she didn't make us pay her the full amount," Zuko replied, shaking his head as he bent down to pick up both his bag and Iroh's, hoisting them over his shoulders. "We should probably head to that village she mentioned."

Iroh sighed again, taking one last look at the direction June had left, and nodded dejectedly as they began to walk down the northern path.

---

"I can't believe we have to walk to Ba Sing Se instead of taking the ferry," Sokka groaned as they waited next to the guards' quarters for Suki—who had insisted on joining them—to return.

"Weren't you just complaining about how crowded the ferry was gonna be?" Katara added.

"I'm allowed to complain about more than one thing," Sokka replied defensively.

"Alright, I'm ready!"

Aang looked up to see Suki exiting the guards' quarters, now fully clad in her Kyoshi Warrior armor and makeup with a backpack slung over her shoulder.

"Suki!" Sokka exclaimed, clearly flustered by Suki's sudden change of appearance. "You look–"

"This is your Kyoshi Warrior armor?" Katara interjected, darting over to admire Suki's uniform. "It's different from Kyoshi's," she observed as she lifted up one of Suki's arms to study her bracers. "But it really suits you."

"Oh. Um, thanks," Suki replied, staring wide-eyed at the grinning waterbender. Strangely, despite the whiteness of her face paint, Aang swore that he could see a slight shade of pink in the warrior's cheeks.

After this brief moment, however, Suki seemed to regain her composure. "I've got fans like Kyoshi's, too. Wanna see?"

Katara nodded excitedly, and Suki whipped out her golden fans, forming a defensive pose.

"Ooo, is that your katana?" Sokka asked, his eyes sparkling as he pointed at the sheathed sword attached to Suki's waist.

"Yep," Suki replied, closing her fans and sticking them back in her belt. "I've even got a shield." She held up her forearm, and with a small movement of her wrist, seemingly out of nowhere, a golden shield opened up in a circular motion.

This was enough to impress Sokka, Katara, and Aang, who each exchanged awed looks.

"I may not know what any of your weapons look like," Toph said. "But they sound pretty badass."

"Thanks, Toph," Suki replied with a chuckle.

"Wait," Katara said, her smile fading as her brow furrowed with concern. "What about your job? Will you get in trouble for leaving in the middle of the day?"

"The other warriors will cover for me if Boss Nie starts asking questions," Suki replied with a shrug. "Besides, this is a volunteer position, so it's not like they can fire me. I wanna help make sure you guys make it across the pass safely."

"...Are you sure that's such a good idea?" Sokka interjected.

"Why not?" Suki replied with a frown.

"Well… it's dangerous," Sokka said.

"I'm an elite warrior, Sokka," Suki replied, folding her arms. "I've survived plenty of dangerous situations up to this point. I'll be fine."

" I'm glad you're coming, Suki," Katara said, smiling at the other girl. "And don't worry, Sokka. If anyone gets hurt, I can heal them."

"But there are some things that you can't heal," Sokka muttered.

"Sokka, I'm going. You can't convince me otherwise," Suki stated matter-of-factly.

Sokka looked as though he wanted to protest, but remained silent.

---

After about an hour and a half of walking, eventually, they reached a weathered old wooden gateway with the words "Serpent's Pass" inscribed on the top.

" This is the Serpent's Pass?" Sokka mused aloud as he cocked his head to the side and surveyed the jagged, narrow pathway ahead of them. "I thought it would be a little more… wind-y. You know, like a serpent. Huh. I guess they misnamed it." Suddenly, his eyes widened slightly upon spotting something on the left pole of the wooden gate. "This writing doesn't make me feel any better about all this."

Aang leaned down as well, and saw that some characters had been crudely etched into the wood.

"What does it say?" Toph asked.

"It says, 'abandon hope'," Aang replied.

"Well, we're definitely not going to take that advice," Katara said, folding her arms.

Aang did not reply, instead turning to walk over to the lakeshore, watching as the water splashed at the shallow cliffs below him.

"I don't know," he said. "The monks used to say that hope was just a distraction. So maybe we do need to abandon it."

"...What are you talking about?" Katara questioned from behind him.

"Hope is not going to get us into Ba Sing Se, and it's not gonna help find Appa," he replied, forcing down the uncomfortable lump in his throat as he turned back around. "We need to focus on what we're doing right now, and that's getting across this path."

Katara studied his face for a moment, her dark blue eyes filled with clear concern. However, she did not attempt to argue with him.

"...Okay. If you say so."

With that, they continued onwards, Aang leading the way down the thin, precarious path. Things were quiet for the next few minutes until Suki eventually broke the silence.

"The Fire Nation controls the western lake," she said, pointing to a Fire Navy ship chugging north in the distance as they walked. "Thankfully, the Serpent's Pass keeps them from attacking the ferry boats on the eastern side."

Suddenly, there was a crackling sound followed by a yelp, and Aang whipped around to see that the ground beneath Sokka's feet had begun to crumble. Just as he fell, Toph made a quick movement, and a slab of earth jutted out from the side of the cliff, catching him just in time. With an upward movement of her fists, the slab jutted upwards, flinging Sokka back up onto the cliff. However, Toph was unable to stop several other pieces of rock from falling into the sea.

Everyone's eyes immediately locked onto the Fire Navy ship, which slowed to a stop, and Aang's grip on his staff tightened.

"They've spotted us!" Sokka shouted as he scrambled to his feet. "Let's go, let's go!"

Soon enough, the Fire Nation ship was catapulting a flaming projectile their way, and it slammed into the cliffside above Aang's companions behind him.

"Katara, watch out!" Suki shouted, and before Aang could even think of attempting to use earthbending to stop the projectile's debris from falling, the Kyoshi Warrior darted forward, barreling into the waterbender as she shoved them both out of the way.

"Suki!" Sokka shouted, running past Toph straight into the path of more falling rocks. Thankfully, Toph was able to quickly create a shelf above him, and the rocks were cast into the ocean.

"You're welcome! " Toph shouted irritably as Sokka ignored her and continued on towards where Suki and Katara had fallen.

"Here, Suki, let me help you," the Water Tribe warrior said, grabbing her arm and pulling her to her feet.

"I'm fine , Sokka," Suki said, immediately pulling herself out of Sokka's grasp before turning back around. "Katara, are you alright?" she asked with a worried expression as she bent down to take the waterbender's hands.

"I'm okay," Katara replied as Suki pulled her to her feet, looking slightly flustered as she pulled her hands back and smoothed down the front of her robes. "Thanks."

"Thank goodness," Suki sighed before turning to glare at Sokka. "Don't you even care enough about your sister to check if she's okay?"

Sokka's wide eyes blinked in surprise. "I– uh–"

"You can argue about this later," Aang interjected. "Everyone needs to keep moving forward—the path curves back around to the eastern half of the lake just up there. I'll cover us."

As he spoke, he spotted another flaming projectile out of the corner of his eye. This time, however, he was not going to let their attackers get away unscathed. He leapt into the air and hit the flaming projectile with an air blast from his glider, sending it hurtling back into the ship, where it crashed into its hull.

With that, he opened his glider, huffed angrily through his nose, and soared over to the other side of the pass.

---

"Well, that secret entrance wasn't too difficult to find," Iroh said pleasantly as he and Zuko entered the cavern that housed the Full Moon Bay ferry boats. "And we even managed to make it here before sunset!"

Not only was this place genuinely much larger than Zuko had expected, but it was also rather crowded. He immediately felt his stomach twist with an all-too-familiar sense of guilt and shame as he realized just how many people filled the massive space—each and every one of them likely having been displaced by the War in some way.

"Tickets can be purchased there," one of the guards instructed, gesturing towards a booth across from them with a long line of people. "One per passenger. Be sure to have your passports ready for inspection so as to not hold up the line."

With that, the guard departed, and the tunnel closed up again behind them. When Zuko turned back around, however, he saw that his uncle was already several feet ahead of him.

"Uncle, wait," Zuko said, jogging to catch up with Iroh. "Didn't you hear what that guard just said?"

"Hmm?" Iroh replied somewhat absentmindedly. "Something about this being the ticket line?"

"He said we need to have our passports ready," Zuko replied. "We don't have passports."

Iroh stopped walking, at last processing what Zuko had said. "Actually, we do."

"…What?" Zuko replied confusedly as Iroh began to dig around in his bag.

His eyes widened considerably when his uncle held up two very official-looking documents. Printed on each document were the words "Earth Kingdom passport" and two names: "Hong Mushi" and "Lee Mushi".

"Where on earth did you get these?" Zuko questioned, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Courtesy of some friends from the Misty Palms chapter of the Order of the White Lotus," Iroh replied with a small smile.

" That's what you were doing in that meeting?" Zuko whispered, checking over his shoulder to make sure no guards were around as he leaned closer to his uncle. " Forging documents for us?"

"Not just for us," Iroh said, pulling out four more passports. "I had some made for the others as well, just in case. I figured we might need them someday, and I was right."

Zuko shook his head again. "So, wait. If you need a passport to get on the ferry… Were Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph even able to get tickets?"

Iroh's eyebrows rose slightly as he began to nod slowly. "That is a good question."

"This isn't good…" Zuko muttered, pressing his fist to his mouth. "If they couldn't get tickets for the ferry, where could they have gone instead?"

"Perhaps they snuck on board?" Iroh posited.

"Maybe…" Zuko replied, still feeling uncertain.

Before he could speak any further, however, something in the crowd next to them caught his eye.

A bald head. A bald head with blue tattoos .

" Aang …" Zuko murmured, his eyes widening and his heart leaping in his chest.

He immediately darted into the crowd, pushing past swaths of refugees.

"Aang!" he shouted. "Aang, it's me!"

However, when he finally reached the person with the blue tattoos and they turned around, he stopped in his tracks.

Instead of Aang, a lanky, confused-looking teenager with light brown eyes and a messily painted arrow on his forehead stared back at him in confusion.

"Who are you? " Zuko demanded, his lip curling.

The young man appeared taken aback for a moment before suddenly changing his posture. "Um… Fear not, citizen!" he declared, puffing up his chest. "I am your humble Avatar!"

"No, you're not, " Zuko snapped, causing the man to flinch while several nearby refugees began to look over with clear curiosity.

"Hey, man," impostor-Aang muttered out of the corner of his mouth. "Keep it down, will you? I'm just trying to get into the city."

Zuko felt anger begin to boil inside him, his fists clenching at his sides. "You can't just pretend —"

"Help! Thief! "

Zuko spun around to see a distressed, fatigued-looking woman with a baby in her arms and a toddler attached to her leg crying out from the edge of the crowd next to a cluster of tents. Just as he managed to spot Iroh in the crowd as well, the old man lurched forward as people began to murmur and push their way around him.

"Thief? Where?"

"It's someone in the crowd!"

"Hey! Get your hands off me!"

"I didn't do anything, someone just pushed me!"

The sound of arguing and panicked voices began to grow louder as the crowd grew more frenzied, many refugees now turning to accuse their neighbors of attempted pickpocketing. As Zuko's anxious eyes scanned the area to try and locate his uncle again, instead, he caught sight of one man in particular.

The man had what he would describe as a very ordinary appearance—in different circumstances, Zuko likely would have never even noticed his existence. But it was this man's strange calmness that set him apart from the rest of the panicked refugees.

Zuko's eyes narrowed, and as the man continued to weave his way through the crowd, he did the same. Eventually, the man reached the other side, but before he could take another step, Zuko grabbed his forearm.

"I think that lady would like whatever you stole from her back," he said in a low voice.

The thief froze, and suddenly, Zuko was jumping back as the man pulled out a dagger and swiped it at him.

Several people in the crowd screamed, others scrambling out of the way as Zuko unsheathed his broadswords and blocked the second attack. Thankfully, the thief did not seem to be well versed in combat, and as Zuko parried the third attack, the scrawny man fell backwards, the contents of the satchel he'd been carrying falling onto the ground next to him.

"P–please don't hurt me!" the thief begged fearfully, holding his shaking arms above his head.

" You're the one who attacked me first," Zuko muttered, sheathing his swords as several security guards came running over, followed by a nervous Iroh.

"Nephew, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, uncle," Zuko replied as Iroh came to a stop beside him, looking slightly out of breath. "I caught the thief."

As two of the guards handcuffed the sniveling man and led him away, the third guard—a young woman with long braided black hair and gray eyes looking to be in her late teens—turned to Zuko and Iroh. "Thanks for the help. We've been trying to catch this thief all day."

"It's saddening to see someone preying on the vulnerable," Iroh said, shaking his head as the guard crouched down to gather up the various tickets and passports from the ground.

"Unfortunately, it's been a recurring problem around here," the guard muttered as she stood back up. "It's horrible. So many of these people have nothing but the clothes on their backs, and then bastards like that take away their last chance at freedom and safety." She sighed heavily as she straightened up the stack of tickets and passports in her hands. "I'm sure the people who lost these will be happy to get them back, at least."

"Oh, thank you for catching that thief, young man!"

Zuko looked up to see the mother who had first alerted him to the thief pushing her way through the crowd, her baby still in her arms and the toddler still attached to her leg. She bowed deeply, to his surprise.

"I'm happy I could help," Zuko said, bowing back politely.

"May I ask for the names of your children and yourself, ma'am?" the guard asked

"Family name Xu," the woman replied. "Qingmiao, Shen, and Jue. We're from the State of Yi."

As the guard sorted through the stack of tickets and passports, Zuko's eyes widened as she flipped past a document with a familiar golden seal printed on it.

"Xu," the guard read. "Okay. There's Jue and Shen… and Qingmiao."

She presented the passports back to the mother, who took them and bowed gratefully again.

"Thank you," the woman replied, relieved tears in her eyes as she turned back to Zuko. "And thank you again, young man. I'd almost lost all hope… But you've given it back to us again. May the spirits light your path."

"Same to you," Zuko replied with a nod and a warm smile, bowing again in return.

As the woman departed, he turned back around to see that the guard was walking away as well.

"Wait!" he called out, and the guard turned back around.

"Is there something else I can help you with?" she asked.

"Yes," Zuko replied. "Um… Could I take a look at one of those passports, by chance?"

The guard's eyes narrowed slightly. "Unless one of them is your own, I can't just hand them to you."

Zuko bit his lip for a moment. Should he just tell the truth?

"...It's not mine," he replied, rubbing the back of his neck. "I just wanted to check something. That fancy passport with the gold print… Is there a symbol of a golden boar on it?"

The guard continued to eye him suspiciously for a moment before pulling out the passport, and her eyes widened slightly. "Yes," she replied. "Why do you ask, if it's not yours?"

"Because I think I know who it belongs to," Zuko replied. "Does it also happen to say the name 'Toph Beifong' anywhere on there?"

The guard blinked in surprise again. "...Yes, it does."

"Then they were here," Zuko exclaimed, turning to Iroh. "We're in the right place!"

"Where is this friend of yours?" the guard asked. "A high class passport like this is not something you'd want to lose."

"Well, the thing is…" Zuko replied awkwardly. "I don't actually know. We got separated from her and some of our other friends a few days ago, and we're trying to find them. But if Toph's passport is here, that means that they were, too."

"Really?" the guard replied. "What do your friends look like? Maybe I've seen them."

"It would have been four people," Zuko replied. "A small Earth Kingdom girl, two Water Tribe teenagers, and a bald teenage monk with blue arrow tattoos."

The guard's eyebrows shot upwards. "Wait. Are you talking about the Avatar? "

"Yes!" Zuko replied, nodding emphatically. "Yes, I am!"

The guard, whose eyes were still wide, turned to scan the area for a moment before her eyes landed on another female guard patrolling next to the wall that separated them from the bay.

"Haruka!" the first guard called out. "Come over here!"

The second female guard, who appeared to be slightly younger than the first, jogged over to them, her blue-green eyes wide and curious.

"What is it, Nayao?"

"Didn't Suki tell you she was going to help the Avatar with something this morning?"

Upon hearing this, Zuko did a double take. "Wait, Suki? "

"You know Suki?" Haruka questioned with a confused expression.

" Yes ," Zuko replied. "I'm friends with her, and with the Avatar!"

Suddenly, Nayao's eyes widened, then narrowed. "I thought you two looked familiar. You were there when the Fire Nation attacked our village a couple years ago."

"Oh yeah, " Haruka interjected with a look of realization. "Wow, you've certainly grown since then!" she observed, measuring Zuko's height with her hand. "Suki told us she'd seen the Avatar and his friends a couple of weeks ago on Kyoshi Island, before we picked her back up. I think she mentioned you."

"She said you're not as grumpy and stuck up as you look, if I remember correctly," Nayao said.

"That's… nice of her to say, I guess," Zuko replied as Haruka stifled a giggle.

"You two are Kyoshi Warriors?" Iroh asked.

Haruka and Nayao both nodded.

"What are you doing here?" Zuko questioned. "I thought you'd be… I don't know. Somewhere else. Not working as security guards."

"We've all been volunteering here the past couple weeks, helping the refugees," Nayao said. "Though I have to admit, I do hope that we'll be able to get back on the road soon…"

"Yeah. I'm tired of wearing these ugly uniforms," Haruka sighed heavily, lifting up the fabric of her sleeve.

Zuko felt like his mind was running a million miles a minute as he struggled to process all of this new information. "You mentioned earlier that Suki left to help Aang with something this morning?"

"Yep," Haruka replied. "She told me the Avatar and his friends were here trying to get tickets for the ferry, but they didn't have passports. So she left to escort them across the Serpent's Pass."

"Serpent's Pass?" Zuko repeated.

"I recognize that name," Iroh interjected, unfurling their map and pointing to a thin strip of land that separated two giant lakes to the north of the Si Wong Desert. "It's not far of a walk, perhaps an hour or two. It's got a bit of a reputation though, if I remember correctly from…"

He trailed off awkwardly, his eyes moving to Zuko, who pointedly shook his head.

"...My time spent in this area of the Earth Kingdom in the past."

"What kind of reputation does it have?" Zuko asked before the girls could ask any questions.

"It's not exactly the safest route, according to the locals in Manyue," Haruka answered. "They say only the truly desperate choose to take it."

"So you're saying they could be in danger?" Zuko replied uneasily, his gut twisting with anxiety.

"As long as they're careful, I'm sure they'll be fine ," Nayao said, shooting a pointed look at her friend before turning to Zuko. "With both the Avatar and Suki there, I wouldn't worry too much."

Zuko nodded as his eyes moved to the ground. Should he attempt to follow his friends across the Serpent's Pass and possibly catch up with them, or should he try to take the ferry to the city?

I can't risk taking a dangerous route like that while uncle is still recovering, he reminded himself, shaking his head. We should just take the ferry.

"Is something wrong, Zuko?" Iroh asked.

"It's nothing," Zuko replied before turning to both Nayao and Haruka and bowing politely. "Thank you both for the information. It was very helpful."

"Of course," Haruka replied, smiling warmly. "Any friend of Suki's is a friend of ours."

"Oh, before you go," Nayao said, removing Toph's passport from the stack in her hands. "You should take this with you. I'm sure your friend would like to have it back when you meet up with her again in the city."

Zuko nodded gratefully as he accepted the document and turned to give it to Iroh.

"Alright, uncle. Let's get some ferry tickets."

---

Aang pulled his knees closer to his chest as he stared into the horizon, the soft light of the third quarter moon reflecting on the lake water below.

He'd told Katara and the others some time ago that he was going to fly around and do a lookout for more Fire Navy ships—and he hadn't been lying. However, once he'd finished his task, he hadn't been able to muster up the willpower to return to their camp.

And so, there he was. Alone.

He turned his head to look north, where he could just barely see the shoreline. He was almost there. Appa was out there, somewhere in the city that laid just at the end of this pass.

…But what if he isn't? a small voice in the back of his mind countered.

There was no guarantee that the bison had actually ended up in Ba Sing Se. For all Aang knew, Ghashiun could have been lying, or perhaps the merchants he had traded Appa to had changed their minds about where to sell him.

This is why I can't keep clinging on to hope, he thought to himself, squeezing his eyes shut and pressing the lower half of his face into his forearm. I need to think realistically. I need to mentally prepare myself for every possible outcome. Even the worst.

If he could do that, then maybe it wouldn't hurt so much.

Aang slowly opened his eyes again, this time looking up directly at the moon. As he stared, a memory began to stir in his mind—the memory of looking up at the same moon with Zuko outside the guesthouse the night they had stopped the siege in Agna Qel'a all those months ago.

It had been the same night that he had realized what Zuko truly meant to him.

Those weeks in Agna Qel'a when Zuko and Iroh had been missing had been so painful. He'd felt so incredibly lost without his best friend at his side, not knowing if he was alright, or if he would ever see him again.

Now, they had been separated for a second time. Only this time, it was his fault.

He could have gone back to Misty Palms Oasis first before starting the search for Appa. But he'd pushed to move on to Ba Sing Se instead.

For good reason, he reminded himself. Appa could be in danger right now. He needs me.

But couldn't the same be said for Zuko and Iroh? They had not been in danger when Aang and the others had left the oasis, but he had no way to know for certain if they were in danger or not now .

It was the constant uncertainty in both situations that gnawed at him the most.

I just hope…

Aang stopped himself and shook his head. Hope wasn't going to solve anything. He had to remember that. Whatever was going to happen would happen, and he would have to deal with it when the time came, even if the outcome was not what he wanted.

"Aang?"

Aang tensed upon hearing the sound of Katara's voice from below the cliffs he was perched atop, and shrunk in on himself, praying she wouldn't look up and catch a glimpse of him in the moonlight.

"Aang!" Katara called out again.

Upon receiving no answer, to his surprise, the waterbender grunted loudly and kicked at the dirt.

" Ugh! Why is he always running off on his own?"

Aang cringed as guilt flared in his stomach. That was what he always did when things got difficult, wasn't it? He ran away.

"Katara? Are you alright?"

Aang's self-deprecating thoughts were interrupted by Suki, who he spotted jogging over from the same direction Katara had originally come from, concern evident on her face.

"I'm fine," Katara sighed, folding her arms and turning away from Suki to face the lake. "It's nothing. You can go back to camp."

Suki shook her head as she walked over to the waterbender and put her hand on Katara's shoulder. "It doesn't sound like 'nothing'. Do you wanna talk about it?"

Katara was silent for a moment before shaking her head slowly.

"...I'm worried about Aang."

"Is he alright?" Suki asked.

"He says he's doing fine," Katara replied. "But I know he's not. When we were in the desert, he was so upset about what happened to Appa. It was… I've never seen him that angry and sad before."

Suki nodded. "I'd be sad and angry too if I were in his shoes. It'll probably take time for those feelings to go away."

Katara shook her head again. "That's the problem, though. They pretty much have gone away..."

"...But?"

"But now, it feels like Aang's trying to keep all his emotions muted ," Katara replied in exasperation. "It's like… he's not letting himself feel anything . That can't be healthy!"

Aang bit his lip as he listened to this. Katara was not at fault here. It wasn't her responsibility to resolve his pain, his weaknesses.

"Everyone handles stress differently," Suki said. "...Maybe this is his way of dealing with his emotions?"

"It's just… I've been trying to do what I can to help him," Katara replied, now beginning to pacing back and forth. "But he keeps pushing me away."

"Katara…"

"And now, Sokka's been acting… weird ever since we left Full Moon Bay," Katara continued, her pacing increasing in intensity. "Toph hasn't been complaining much, but I know this must be a lot for her… And on top of that, we don't even know for certain if Zuko and Iroh are okay!"

"Katara, I think–"

"I just... I feel useless ."

" Katara. "

"What?" the waterbender replied at last, stopping to frown at the Kyoshi Warrior.

"You're not useless," Suki replied emphatically. "Sometimes there are things that are out of our control."

Katara sighed exasperatedly, shaking her head. "But I have to make sure everyone is alright," she replied. "I have to keep everyone together. I have to–"

"But what about you? " Suki interjected.

"Me?" Katara replied confusedly.

"You're always so worried about everyone else," Suki said, walking back over to the waterbender, putting a hand on her shoulder. "About taking care of them. But who's taking care of you? "

Katara's wide blue eyes blinked in surprise at this.

"I… I don't…"

Her gaze fell to the ground, and she was silent for a moment.

As the tears began to roll down her cheeks, Aang immediately felt another painful stab of guilt.

"I'm scared," Katara hiccuped as Suki pulled her into a hug. "And I'm tired. I'm so tired…"

"I know," Suki replied softly, patting Katara's back comfortingly. "It's okay to just cry."

"I've been trying so hard to be strong. To be there for everyone when they need it," Katara sniffed. "But it doesn't ever seem to be enough. I just don't know what to do…"

"It's okay to not know," Suki replied. "You don't have to be strong all the time."

Katara gripped the Kyoshi Warrior's sleeves tightly, and continued to sob.

Aang tore his gaze away from the emotional scene, pressing his fist to his forehead. He'd been so busy worrying about Appa, so wrapped up in his own pain that he hadn't even stopped to consider how his companions must be feeling right now—especially Katara.

Eventually, the waterbender's crying quieted, and his eyes gingerly moved back to his friends below.

"Thank you," Katara said at last, still hugging the other girl tightly. "I… I hadn't realized how much I'd been holding in all this time."

"Of course," Suki replied warmly, giving the girl a squeeze before pulling away with a smile. "You know I'm always happy to provide a hug anytime you need. No payment required. Though tips are appreciated."

Katara chuckled in response. "That's very generous of you," she replied sarcastically before her smile faded, her gaze falling to the ground.

"I'm… really glad you're here," she continued, almost so quietly that Aang couldn't hear. "Sometimes, with everyone else… I feel isolated. Like I'm the odd one out."

Suki was silent for a moment.

"...I think I know what you mean," she replied at last. "I love my sisters, and I love being a Kyoshi Warrior. It's what I've trained my whole life for. But…" She sighed heavily, shaking her head. "Even though we're close, I still feel distant from them, in a way."

"You do?"

Suki nodded. "I'm their leader, and they rely on me for so much. I don't really ever have time to relax and just… I don't know. Be a regular girl."

A small, understanding smile appeared on Katara's face. "Sounds familiar."

Suki smiled as well before her gaze moved downwards. "Maybe that's why, when I'm with you, it feels different," she murmured, reaching over to taking Katara's hands in her own. "With the warriors, I have to be their leader. But with you, I feel like I can just be… Suki."

Katara's wide eyes blinked several times as she looked down at their joined hands, and even in the dim moonlight, Aang could very much see a change of color in her cheeks.

Upon noticing this, his eyes widened slightly. It appeared that his suspicions were correct: Katara and Suki's feelings for each other were deeper than that of simple friendship.

"Katara," Suki said, cocking her head to the side as the waterbender's eyes drifted off to the side. "Is there something on your mind?"

"Oh," Katara replied nervously, looking down at their joined hands again. "...It's nothing. It's a silly idea, anyway."

Suki raised an eyebrow. "What is?"

"I don't know," Katara sighed, closing her eyes and shaking her head. "I guess I was just wondering. Have you ever thought about… maybe… taking a break?"

"A break?" Suki replied confusedly. "What do you mean?"

"From… being a Kyoshi Warrior," Katara replied quietly as Suki's eyes widened. "Not forever, of course! It's just that, you know I… We would love to have you on the team."

"Katara…" Suki sighed, her brow furrowing. "We just talked about this. I'm not just a Kyoshi Warrior, I'm their leader . They need me. I can't just leave my sisters."

"But they're capable of handling things on their own, aren't they?" Katara questioned. "They already had to manage without you for almost a month back when you were hurt."

"That was temporary ," Suki replied, shaking her head and letting go of Katara's hands. "Just like this mission is. I'm making sure you get across the pass safely, then I have to go back."

"I'm sure they would understand if you told them you were helping Aang," Katara said, attempting to reach out for the other girl's hand again. "I just thought–"

"It's not about that, Katara," Suki interrupted, expression stern as she turned to face her again, causing the waterbender to flinch backwards. "I have a duty to uphold. A duty you clearly don't understand the importance of."

Katara blinked at the other girl with a slightly hurt expression for a moment before lowering her arm. "If your duty is so important, you didn't have to come with us," she muttered, folding her arms. "We were perfectly capable of taking the pass on our own."

Now it was Suki's turn to appear hurt. "Katara…"

" There you guys are!"

Aang, Katara, and Suki each turned around to see Sokka approaching.

"Any luck with finding Aang?" Sokka asked, looking back and forth between the two girls, who were now pointedly not looking at one another.

"No, but I'm sure he'll show back up at some point," Katara replied, tone short. "I'm tired. I'll see you both back at camp."

With that, the waterbender briskly exited down the path as her confused brother and a saddened Suki watched her go.

"Huh. Wonder what's got her so grumpy," Sokka said, turning back to Suki.

"She's… been going through a lot," Suki replied with a sigh.

"Well, yeah," Sokka said, folding his arms. "We all have. It's been a rough couple of weeks, to say the least."

"You know, it wouldn't kill you to check up on her every now and then," Suki snapped, frowning at the Water Tribe boy. "She could use some emotional support from her brother right now."

Sokka's wide eyes blinked in surprise before he began to rub his bicep awkwardly. "I'm… not usually great with emotional stuff," he confessed, looking down at the ground. "Katara's always been better at it. She notices things that I don't. And she always seems to know the right thing to say."

Suki's irritated expression softened slightly. "In my experience, it's the thought that counts with these types of things," she said. "Even if you don't know exactly what to do or say, just showing that you care can go a long way."

Sokka smiled weakly and nodded. "...You're right. I guess I should go talk to her."

Suki smiled back at him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I think she would appreciate that."

There was an awkward silence for a moment, during which Sokka's expression shifted again, this time to one of nervousness as his eyes darted to the hand on his shoulder. It was not dissimilar to the look Aang had seen on his sister's face just a few minutes earlier.

"Um, Suki," Sokka began, clearing his throat. "Before we head back, there's… actually something else that I've been wanting to talk to you about."

Aang abruptly sat forward, his brow furrowing. Was Sokka about to confess his own feelings for Suki?

"Actually, Sokka," Suki replied quickly, immediately removing her hand and taking a step back with an apologetic smile. "Could it wait until tomorrow? I'm pretty exhausted. I think I'm gonna head back to camp too."

"Oh," Sokka replied, looking both dejected and slightly embarrassed. "Okay. Yeah. Sure. We can talk tomorrow."

As the crestfallen warrior watched Suki leave, Aang sighed and pushed himself to his feet, finally giving his legs relief from the ache of sitting in one position too long. As quietly as he could, he hopped down from the cliff, using a cushion of airbending to land softly a few feet behind Sokka.

"Hey, Sokka," he said.

Sokka's entire body flinched, and he whipped around. " Aang? Where did you come from?"

"I… just finished scouting for Fire Navy ships," Aang lied. "All clear."

"Ah. That's good," Sokka replied, his eyes drifting absentmindedly back towards the direction Suki had gone. "...Actually, I'm glad to see you," he added, shaking his head rapidly as he turned back to Aang.

"You are?" Aang questioned confusedly.

"Yeah," Sokka said as he began to rub the back of his neck. "I um… wanted to say I'm sorry."

Aang's eyebrows rose in surprise. "For what?" he asked, even though he was fairly certain he already knew the answer.

"For everything that's happened the past few days. I know a lot of it was my fault. If I hadn't been so obsessed with finding that information on the Fire Nation…"

A small, sympathetic smile tugged at the corner of Aang's mouth. "It's alright, Sokka. None of us could have expected… Well, a lot of what's happened."

Sokka nodded. "Still. I really am sorry. And I should have said it sooner."

"Thanks, Sokka," Aang replied, feeling a bit lighter.

---

As Zuko's tired eyes stared out at the western skyline, the gentle warmth of the midday sun shining on his face, he couldn't help but think of his friends.

Was it possible they were still crossing the Serpent's Pass at this very moment? Or had they already made it to Ba Sing Se?

He sighed heavily, silently cursing the fact that he and Iroh had arrived too late the prior evening to get tickets for the overnight ferry, and had instead been forced to wait for the first daytime ferry the following morning. The longer they delayed, the longer he'd have to wait to see everyone else again. To see Aang again.

The lower class deck, unsurprisingly, was rather crowded with people. There were no seats for this deck of the boat; instead, flimsy sitting pillows had been distributed by the security guards, though they did little to increase the comfortability of sitting on the hardwood floor. Frustratingly, it also seemed that these Earth Kingdom ferry boats were not nearly as fast as Fire Navy ships, nor even Water Tribe vessels. One trip across the lake would likely take an entire day, according to what Nayao had told them.

Meaning Zuko was stuck on this ship for several more hours at least. He certainly wasn't looking forward to trying to sleep later that night.

"Who would have thought after all these years, I'd return to the scene of my greatest military disgrace…" Iroh spoke solemnly from beside him. "...As a tourist! "

Zuko frowned at the grinning old man. "We're not tourists , uncle," he muttered. "As far as we're concerned, we're closer to being refugees than anything else."

He dared to take a sip from the untouched bowl of questionable-looking soup in his hand, and immediately regretted it, spitting it back into the bowl and grunting with disgust.

"So the lower class tickets only get you inedible slop? " he exclaimed irritably. "These people don't deserve this."

"I couldn't agree more."

Zuko immediately tensed upon hearing this new, yet familiar voice speak from behind him. As he slowly turned around, his suspicions were confirmed: from under the shadows of the deck's awning, a boy appeared, his signature piece of wheat hanging out of the side of his mouth.

Jet.

When their eyes met, Jet abruptly stopped in his tracks, his eyes widening and mouth gaping in astonishment.

"I can't believe it," the other boy breathed, shaking his head. " Lee? "

He made another move to step closer, but Zuko was quick to act, darting forward and slamming the other boy into a wooden pole, pressing his forearm against Jet's neck.

" Woah , easy," Jet said, raising his hands slowly, though there was no fear in his dark eyes—instead, strangely, they almost seemed to shine. "You might want to be more careful. I've heard the guards don't take kindly to violence on these boats."

Jet's eyes moved to the right, where Zuko suddenly noticed that Smellerbee and Longshot had appeared, the former brandishing daggers and the latter drawing his bow. Surprisingly, however, Jet frowned and shook his head, and the two Freedom Fighters reluctantly lowered their weapons.

"What are you doing here?" Zuko snarled, pressing his arm more firmly against Jet's throat, though not hard enough to affect his breathing.

"What everyone else is doing here," Jet replied. "We're looking for a better life in Ba Sing Se."

"Really? So you're not secretly planning on drowning everyone on this boat like you tried to drown all of Gaipan?" Zuko spat, narrowing his eyes.

Jet's eyes widened again for a moment; then, his expression seemed to fall. "No. We're not doing anything like that again."

"You expect me to believe anything you say?" Zuko scoffed.

Jet looked back up again, and Zuko was slightly taken aback when he saw what appeared to be genuine remorse in the Freedom Fighter's eyes.

"I know there's nothing I can do to prove it to you," Jet replied. "But I swear I'm telling the truth."

Zuko remained still for a moment. Then, against his better judgment, he loosened his pressure on Jet's neck and cautiously took a step backwards.

"If you're lying," Zuko said darkly. "You should know I will do whatever it takes to stop you from hurting innocent people."

A strange expression appeared on Jet's face upon hearing Zuko say this. It was almost proud, and actually somewhat fearful this time.

"You haven't changed a bit, Lee."

Zuko glared in annoyance at the other boy before turning back around, intending to end the conversation to return to a confused-looking Iroh. However, he soon felt a hand land on his shoulder.

"Lee, I—"

Zuko spun back around again, this time grabbing the hilts of his broadswords as Jet yanked his hand back.

"Sorry, sorry!" Jet apologized quickly. "I… uh… I just…" He rubbed the back of his neck in an unusual display of awkwardness. He glanced at his friends for a moment before removing the piece of wheat he'd been chewing on, staring down at it as he fidgeted with it in his fingertips.

"I wanted to say that I'm sorry," Jet continued. "In fact, I probably should have started with that..."

Zuko's eyes narrowed in suspicion again as he straightened his posture and folded his arms, waiting for the boy to continue.

"I–I know I don't deserve forgiveness from you. Either of you," he said, throwing Iroh an apologetic glance. "But I just wanted you to know that I am truly sorry for what I tried to do with Gaipan. It was wrong . I was blinded by anger and hate, and I almost hurt a lot of innocent people. If it weren't for you and Sokka…" He shook his head shamefully. "I didn't understand back then, but I do now. You were the one who helped me see the truth, Lee."

Zuko pressed his lips into a thin line and looked off to the side. If anyone understood just how much anger and hate could distort someone mentally and emotionally, it was him.

"We've actually been doing our best to make up for the damage we caused," Smellerbee said. "That's why Jet disbanded the Freedom Fighters. We want to start new lives, lives that aren't driven by violence and revenge."

Longshot nodded silently but adamantly in agreement.

"We've been trying to help people when we can," Jet said. "Lots of refugees have needed protection on the roads to Ba Sing Se, and we've been happy to help them, no strings attached."

Slowly, the tension in Zuko's shoulders began to loosen. It really did seem like each of them had reflected on their mistakes and had resolved to do better. Just like he and Iroh had.

Could he really stay angry with them, knowing they were truly sorry?

"I'm… glad to hear that," Zuko replied.

"I thought you would be," Jet said with a small smile. "...Listen. I'd like to apologize to Aang. Katara and Sokka, too. Are they around here somewhere?"

Upon hearing the mention of his friends, Zuko felt his chest tighten slightly. "...No. They're… traveling separately. We're planning to meet back up in Ba Sing Se."

"Oh. I see," Jet replied. While he looked as though he wanted to inquire further, he thankfully did not. "Well, hopefully I'll get the chance to tell them when we get there."

There was an awkward silence for a moment before Jet suddenly took a step closer to Zuko again, his eyes earnest.

"Look. I know it's probably difficult for you to trust us right now," he said. "But… I heard you complaining about the slop we get fed on the lower deck."

Zuko nodded slowly. "Yeah. What about it?"

"I hear the captain's eating like a king while the refugees have to feed off his scraps," Jet replied with a sneer, his fists tightening at his sides. "Doesn't seem fair, does it?"

Zuko's eyes scanned the deck, where he spotted several miserable-looking refugees with untouched bowls of soup sitting next to them—many of them children and the elderly. If what Jet said was true, these people were all but being forced to go hungry for an entire day because of the captain's greed.

"No. It isn't fair," Zuko replied darkly.

" Exactly ," Jet said. "But we're planning on doing something about it," Jet replied, exchanging nods with Smellerbee and Longshot as Zuko's eyes widened.

"What sort of king is the captain eating like?" Iroh interjected, stepping up next to Zuko.

"The fat, happy kind," Jet replied, folding his arms as Iroh's mouth gaped.

"What do you say, Lee?" Jet asked. "Wanna help us 'liberate' some food this evening?"

Zuko looked down at the bowl of slop in his hand. Then, he turned and tossed it into the lake.

"I'm in," he replied, turning back to Jet, who grinned at him.

---

" Ughhh ," Toph groaned. "Just how long is this stupid pass?"

"I'm sure we're getting close to the end by now," Suki replied, though the look on her face was uncertain.

"At least we haven't seen any more Fire Navy ships," Sokka said, stifling a yawn. "Maybe this pass isn't actually as dangerous as everyone says it is."

"Let me know if you still feel the same when I have to save you from falling off the cliff again," Toph replied, folding her arms.

"That's not going to happen," Sokka countered, though he eyed the water below them fearfully before making a clear effort to move closer to the wall of rock next to them.

Aang sighed heavily as he continued to lead the group forward. While it had been an uneventful few hours since they'd started the next leg of their journey early that morning, unfortunately, the overall atmosphere amongst the group was noticeably more tense and awkward compared to the previous day.

While Sokka and Toph had been bickering all morning, Katara and Suki were now barely speaking. This was seemingly not by Suki's choice, as Aang had witnessed her make several attempts to strike up a conversation, only to fail each time. It was clear that the waterbender had not gotten over their argument the previous night.

Eventually, around mid afternoon, they abruptly found themselves face-to-face with their first genuine obstacle along the Serpent's Pass.

Aang frowned as he came to a stop at the edge of the water. This was not the end of the pass; the path did appear to continue—albeit on the other side of a significant stretch of water.

He sighed heavily, slumping his shoulders. This was certainly an unneeded hurdle.

"Everyone, single-file."

Aang looked up to see Katara stepping forward, raising her arms and moving the lake water out of their path.

"Aang, I need help," she added over her shoulder.

Aang blinked several times before nodding quickly, allowing the rest of his friends to move ahead of him as he moved to the back of the line. He handed his staff to Toph, and began to mirror Katara's movements, enveloping them all in a large bubble that would allow them to traverse the lake's floor.

All around them, schools of fish of all shapes and sizes could be seen, and Aang couldn't help but find himself smiling with wonder. It seemed he was not the only one who was fascinated—Momo, who had been perched on Toph's shoulder, chirped and jumped into the water, swimming as gracefully as if he were a fish himself.

Aang chuckled at the sight for a moment, but his smile disappeared when he spotted a large shadow moving behind the schools of fish.

"What is that thing?" Katara asked, momentarily freezing as her eyes widened with fear.

The shadow moved again, this time looming directly over them, and within seconds, something extremely large and green crashed through the barrier, causing water to begin rapidly spewing into their bubble space.

Before Aang had time to react, Toph stomped her foot and raised her arms, and he focused on maintaining what little of the air bubble he could as they were jettisoned upwards through the water.

Within seconds, they all emerged on the surface, intact and surprisingly still dry. However, it now appeared they were trapped in the middle of the water, with still a significant distance to go until they could reach the other side.

As Toph handed his staff back to him, his eyes abruptly locked onto something moving in the water—what looked to be a very large green and purple backfin. It circled their tiny island several times before finally breaching the surface, revealing an enormous green and purple-scaled serpent.

The serpent opened its maw, revealing a plethora of razor-sharp teeth, and an ear-splitting roar emitted from its throat.

"I think I just figured out why they call it the Serpent's Pass!" Sokka yelped as the monster continued screeching at them. His eyes scanned their surroundings for a moment before landing on Momo, scooping the lemur up and holding him aloft. "Oh great and powerful sea serpent, please accept this humble and tasty offering!" he declared theatrically. "Thank you."

"Sokka!" Katara chastised, causing the warrior to flinch and drop the lemur.

Aang huffed through his nose, his irritation rising again, and he lifted his staff. With a powerful swing, he slammed an air blast into the serpent, knocking it backwards. "I'll distract it," he shouted, turning to his friends as he opened his glider. "Katara, get everyone across!"

The waterbender nodded, and as he took off into the sky, she began to bend a sheet of ice towards the other side of the pass, ushering everyone across. However, Aang's attention was quickly diverted as he was forced to pivot to avoid a strike from the serpent, whose neck twisted in various directions as it attempted to snap him in half with its jaws.

After a few more stressful moments of evasion, he looked down and was relieved to see that Katara was now helping him, skating along the water as she froze a large section of the serpent's torso.

Unfortunately, this did not deter the beast, who shattered the ice and dove towards Katara, who quickly skated away.

Instead of continuing to pursue her, however, the serpent turned its attention towards the ice bridge, where Sokka and Suki were still helping Toph across.

" Watch out! " Aang shouted in terror as the serpent began to make a dive directly towards them.

Suki was the first one to look up and spot the incoming attack. "Sokka, take Toph and run! " she demanded.

"But–" Sokka attempted to argue.

"Just GO!" Suki snapped, and Sokka quickly scooped Toph up in his arms and darted towards the shore.

Suki dived out of the way as the serpent came barreling down onto the bridge, shattering it just as Sokka and Toph made it to the shore. Suki, however, was pulled under by the force of the serpent's body hitting the water.

" SUKI! " both Sokka and Katara shouted at the same time.

It was the latter who immediately made the move to go after the warrior, eyes wide with panic as she shot herself towards where the other girl had disappeared.

Katara froze another section of the serpent again to momentarily prevent it from making any further moves, and dived into the water. After a moment, she emerged again, holding Suki by the waist with one arm while her other arm created a swirl of water beneath them that jettisoned them over the large body of the serpent and onto the shore next to Toph and Sokka.

Seeing as his friends were all safe, Aang turned his attention back to the serpent, who struggled to free itself from the ice. With a crack, the ice broke again, but before the serpent could make any further moves, Aang closed his glider and began to create a funnel of air below him, descending to the water as the air began to form a whirlpool. It was not long until Katara joined him in the water again, and the two continued spinning, using their waterbending to increase the strength of the whirlpool.

The serpent began to flail uncontrollably as it spun, unable to attack further. With a deafening crash, they slammed it into the cliffs of the south side of the pass, and as it crashed back into the water, it gave one last groan before its shadowy form disappeared back into the depths of the lake.

They had survived their encounter with the eponymous serpent of the Serpent's Pass.

---

"Thank you, young man," an elderly Earth Kingdom woman said as Zuko handed her a bowl of warm food, freshly stolen from the kitchen of the upper decks. Before he could stand back up, however, she quickly set the bowl down and grabbed hold of his hands, squeezing them gently. "You have a kind spirit."

Zuko nodded and smiled back at her. "Let me know if there's anything else I can do to help."

As he stood up and surveyed the deck to ensure that everyone had gotten a serving, he spotted Jet, who was crouched down next to a small child holding a stuffed rabaroo in their arms. The Freedom Fighter handed them a bowl, and the child's face immediately lit up as he opened it to reveal steaming white rice and roast pig chicken. The child said something Zuko couldn't hear, and Jet laughed, tousling their hair for a moment before standing back up.

Zuko's smile widened as he watched the wholesome interaction. Had Jet truly changed over the course of the past year? He wanted to believe so.

"So, Smellerbee," he heard Iroh ask as he and Jet both made their way back over to where his uncle was now seated next to Smellerbee and Longshot. "That's an unusual name for a young man."

Zuko's eyes abruptly widened as a clearly hurt look appeared on Smellerbee's face.

"Maybe it's because I'm not a man... I'm a girl! " Smellerbee snapped, bolting to her feet and stomping off.

Almost immediately, a mortified expression appeared on Iroh's face. "Oh, now I see!" he called out in an attempt to rectify his mistake. "It's a beautiful name for a lovely girl! "

Zuko and Jet exchanged a worried look, but before either could say anything, Longshot stood up and made his way over to Smellerbee, stopping her by putting a hand on her shoulder. After a moment, she turned around and sighed heavily.

"I know, you're right," she said. "As long as I'm confident with who I am, it doesn't matter what other people think. Thanks, Longshot."

"From what I heard, people eat like this every night in Ba Sing Se," Jet said, changing the subject as Longshot and Smellerbee returned to sit down next to them. "I can't wait to set my eyes on that giant wall."

"It is a magnificent sight," Iroh said as he scooped a spoonful of rice into his mouth.

Zuko immediately narrowed his eyes at him, and Iroh cringed slightly as he realized what he had accidentally let slip.

"So, you've been there before, Mushi?" Jet asked curiously.

"...Once," Iroh replied, looking down into his bowl with a serious expression. "When I was a... different man."

Jet nodded. "You both already know I've done things in my past that I'm not proud of," he said quietly. "But that's why I'm going to Ba Sing Se. For a new beginning. A second chance."

"That's very noble of you," Iroh replied, smiling kindly at the boy. "I believe people can change their lives if they want to. I believe in second chances."

They continued chatting as they finished their meals, until eventually, Zuko realized that it was getting close to sunset.

As Longshot and Smellerbee left to collect everyone's used bowls, Iroh's mouth stretched into a wide yawn. "Well, nephew, I think I'm going to turn in early for the ni–"

Just as he began to stretch his arms over his head, he winced.

"Is he alright?" Jet questioned concernedly.

"He's fine," Zuko replied, getting up quickly to grab his bag. "Just an injury that hasn't healed all the way yet."

Once he had procured the medicinal ointment and bandages, Iroh sighed heavily. "Are you certain we can't skip the bandage change, just for tonight?"

"Uncle," Zuko muttered as he sat down next to Iroh and began to unwrap his burn wound. "You should know better than anyone that you need to take care of a burn properly if you want it to heal properly. And quickly."

" Firebenders ," Jet said darkly, and Zuko looked up to see that the boy's eyes were now burning with anger.

Zuko remained silent as he unscrewed the lid of the ointment jar to begin applying the substance to Iroh's burn.

"I'm sorry, Mushi," Jet continued, shaking his head slowly. "The Fire Nation doesn't know how to do anything but cause pain ."

"...It's quite alright, Jet," Iroh replied kindly as Zuko finished applying the ointment and began to rewrap his wound. "It will heal soon, and the pain will be a distant memory."

Once Zuko finished wrapping the bandages, he set up Iroh's bedroll, then helped him lay down. Unsurprisingly, within seconds of his head hitting the pillow, the old man began to snore loudly.

"Hey."

Zuko finished packing the medical items back into his bag, and looked up to see that Jet was now standing over him, holding out his hand.

"You wanna come hang out on the bow with me? It's less crowded, and I hear it has a decent view of the sunset."

Zuko stared at him for a moment, brow furrowing as he contemplated how to respond.

"Come on," Jet said. "Just for a little bit."

Zuko sighed and took Jet's hand. Surprisingly, the Freedom Fighter pulled him up with ease, grinning as he did so.

Annoyingly, Zuko couldn't help but feel his face grow warm at their sudden closeness. The other boy was still infuriatingly handsome, just as he had been a year ago—only now, he was taller, and his jawline and shoulders were much more defined…

He immediately shook his head and quickly brushed past Jet, setting off into a brisk walk towards the bow of the ship. Once he reached it, he placed his hands on the railing and closed his eyes, breathing in the cool evening air.

"Your hair has grown a lot since we last saw each other," Jet said, leaning back against the railing next to Zuko as he grinned at him again. "I like it. It looks nice."

Zuko huffed through his nose in slight amusement, glancing at the other boy for just a moment. "Yours hasn't changed at all."

Jet shrugged. "It's kind of a nightmare to take care of. Smellerbee has to help me trim it every few weeks, otherwise it starts to get tangled."

"I'd hate to have her job," Zuko replied with a smirk.

Jet laughed, and there was a brief moment of silence.

"Lee?" Jet asked eventually as Zuko continued staring out at the lake, which was now reflecting the pinkish orange hue of the setting sun.

"Hm?" Zuko replied, purposefully not looking at the other boy.

"I appreciate you helping us out today," Jet said. "I think we made a lot of people really happy."

"Yeah. It seems like we did," Zuko said.

Another short stretch of silence.

"Do you remember when we first met?"

Zuko did not fail to notice how the other boy's arm shifted to press against his own. He tried to ignore it.

"I remember that you were a showoff," he replied with a smirk.

Jet laughed. "Maybe I was trying to impress someone."

"Katara?" Zuko asked, raising an eyebrow.

Jet's smile faded. " Anyway …" he continued, clearing his throat. "I just remember thinking that I'd never met anyone like you before. And I remember that the more we got to know each other, the more I felt like you really understood me."

When Zuko looked at the other boy again, he was surprised to see that Jet was already staring at him with a significant amount of intensity, his dark eyes swimming with an emotion that Zuko could not quite pinpoint.

"...And then I went and ruined everything," Jet said, looking away shamefully. "I broke your trust. I lied to you and your friends. I used you to help me try to do something horrible, and I put your uncle in danger…"

Zuko couldn't help but feel a sudden surge of empathy for the Freedom Fighter. "I've done a lot of things I regret too, Jet," he replied, thinking back to the person he'd been when he'd first met Aang. "But… I've learned that anyone has the ability to become a better person, as long as they're genuinely sorry and working hard to make up for their mistakes."

He smiled to himself as he thought of Aang's warm laugh and kind gray eyes, and he pressed his palm to his chest, where the airbender's message still sat folded next to his heart. Aang had taught him that.

"I am working hard, Lee," Jet replied, and Zuko looked up to see that he was smiling as well. "I hope you can see that."

Before Zuko could reply, suddenly, a large shadow passed over them from above— a shadow that moved far too quickly to be a cloud.

Surely it couldn't be…?

As he looked up into the sky, he nearly did a double take as he caught a better glimpse of the fast-moving, familiar shape.

" Appa? " he murmured aloud in disbelief.

There was no mistaking it. Unless, by some miracle, there was somehow another sky bison that had survived Sozin's genocide, there was only one bison it could be—and it was not flying towards Ba Sing Se.

"Appa?" Jet repeated in confusion. "What–?"

"APPA!" Zuko shouted, leaning over the edge of the boat and waving his hands in the air as he helplessly watched the bison grow smaller and smaller in the distance. "APPA!"

"Hey, what's going on down there?"

Zuko turned around to see one of the security guards—a fatigued-looking middle-aged man—frowning at them both as he jogged down the stairs that led to the upper decks. Zuko frowned back at the guard before turning back towards the lake.

"Nothing, sir," Jet interjected, placing his hand squarely over Zuko's mouth just as he opened it again. "My friend just had a little too much to drink," he added, patting Zuko firmly on the chest. "I'll make sure he behaves himself."

As Zuko yanked Jet's hand off of his face with a frustrated glare, the guard's eyes narrowed. "I'd better not hear any more shouting the rest of the evening, alright? I'd rather not have to lock anyone in the brig for disorderly conduct."

"And I'm sure my friend feels the same. Right, Lee?" Jet replied, eyeing Zuko pointedly.

"...Right."

The guard sniffed heavily before giving them one last suspicious look-over, then turned around and slowly made his way back up the stairs.

"Lee, what is up with you?" Jet hissed once the guard was out of earshot. "You can't just go shouting at the top of your lungs like that on a ship with this many guards!"

"I don't care about the guards!" Zuko snapped, turning back towards the lake. However, to his dismay, Appa was now nothing more than a distant speck on the western horizon.

"Well, what in the name of the spirits were you yelling at?" Jet demanded.

"That shadow that just flew over," Zuko replied, shaking his head. "It was Appa . Aang's flying bison."

Jet's eyes widened. "It was? " he questioned confusedly. "Does that mean Aang just flew over us?"

"No," Zuko replied. "At least, I don't think so."

Jet shook his head as well. "I don't understand what's going on, Lee. You said earlier that you're traveling separately…"

"I wasn't lying."

"But there's more to it than that, isn't there?"

Zuko couldn't deny it; the expression of concern on Jet's face was genuine.

"...You're right," he sighed heavily. "There is."