Azara laid out on a large rock, sunbathing next to Sokka, who was staring at various maps and documents he had stolen from the spirit library. She cracked an eye open, however, when she heard Katara yell out. "Waterbending bomb! Yeah!" Katara shouted, before doing a cannonball into the water. Noting the large wave of water barreling towards her, Azara sat up and sighed as she was soaked by Katara's splash.

"Sure, five-thousand-year-old maps from the spirit library. Just splash some water on them," Sokka snapped sarcastically as he held a now soaking wet map in his hands.

"Sorry," Katara chuckled, as she wrung her hair dry. Raising her arms, she bent the water out of the map as Azara tugged at her own hair, the water starting to pool beside her.

"So, did you figure out what route we're going to take?" Aang questioned, jumping up and over to the rest of the group.

"Okay, we just got out of the desert, so we must be around here," Sokka explained, placing the map down on the ground and pointing to their approximate location. "And we need to go to Ba Sing Se, which is here. It looks like the only passage connecting the south to the north is this sliver of land called the Serpent's Pass." Azara raised an eyebrow at the name of the passage.

"That sounds . . . foreboding," she commented, resting her chin on Sokka's shoulder to get a better look at the map.

"You sure that's the best way to go?" Toph asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"It's the only way. I mean, it's not like we have Appa to fly us there," Sokka shrugged before Azara nudged him and Katara shushed him.

"Shush up about Appa. Can't you at least try to be sensitive?" Katara whispered, but Aang shook his head.

"Katara, it's okay. I know I was upset about losing Appa before, but I just want to focus on getting to Ba Sing Se and telling the Earth King about the solar eclipse," Aang spoke calmly, causing Azara and Katara to share a concerned look.

"Oh . . . well, okay. I'm glad you're doing better," Katara replied, sounding surprised at Aang's change of reaction.

"Then to Ba Sing Se we go. No more distractions," Sokka stated, standing up and placing his hands on his hips. However, before anyone else could say anything or move, a man called out to them from behind Sokka.

"Hello there, fellow refugees!"

Azara stood up and stared at the three refugees walking towards them, which included a man, a heavily pregnant woman, and a younger woman. "So, you guys are headed to Ba Sing Se, too?" Aang questioned, glancing over at the refugees.

"Sure are," Than replied and nodded. "We're trying to get there before my wife Ying has her baby." Azara smiled softly as the man wrapped his arm around his wife, placing a hand over her round belly.

"Great! We can travel through the Serpent's Pass together," Katara offered, but the refugees recoiled in shock.

"The Serpent's Pass? Only the truly desperate take that deadly route!" Ying explained, causing the group's eyes to fall on Sokka.

"Deadly route. Great pick, Sokka!" Toph scoffed, punching Sokka in the arm.

"Well, we are desperate," Sokka muttered as he rubbed his arm in pain.

"You should come with us to Full Moon Bay. Ferries take refugees across the lake. It's the fastest way to Ba Sing Se," Than spoke, a wide smile on his face.

"And it's hidden, so the Fire Nation can't find it," Ying added, wrapping her arms around her stomach.

"Hmm . . . peaceful ferry ride or deadly pass?" Katara hummed jokingly, glancing back at her brother, who had a sour expression on his face, with a smirk.

The group packed up their belongings and followed Than and Ying down into Full Moon Bay. Walking through the ferry station, Azara couldn't help but shrink into herself as she noted the number of refugees in the station.

"I can't believe how many people's lives have been uprooted by the Fire Nation," Katara commented as Azara kept her eyes focused on the ground.

"We're all looking for a better life, safe behind the walls of Ba Sing Se," Than replied as they walked through the station. Azara glanced up from the ground at the sound of yelling.

"I told you already . . . no vegetables on the ferry! One cabbage slug could destroy the entire ecosystem of Ba Sing Se! Security!" the ticket lady screamed, causing a platypus bear to march forward and destroy a familiar looking cabbage cart.

"Ahh! My cabbages!" the cabbage merchant cried out before he was hauled away by security guards.

"Next!" the ticket woman snapped, her tone causing Azara to wince.

"Um, four tickets for the ferry to Ba Sing Se, please," Aang stated softly, stepping forward with a kind smile on his face.

"Passports?" the ticket lady snipped, glaring down at him.

"Uh . . . no one told us we had to have passports," Aang responded sheepishly as Sokka stepped forward to help Aang out.

"Don't you know who this is? He's the Avatar!" Sokka exclaimed, gesturing to Aang with his hand.

"Ah, I see fifty Avatars a day and, by the way, not a very impressive costume. Besides, no animals allowed. Do I need to call security?" the ticked lady threatened, the platypus bear from before chomping loudly on a head of cabbage to punctuate her point. Momo ducked into Aang's shirt out of fear at the sight of the platypus bear.

"That won't be necessary," Aang sighed as Momo poked a head out of his shirt.

"Next!"

"I'll take care of this," Toph huffed, pushing her way to the front of the group. "My name is Toph Beigong, and I'll need five tickets." She placed her passport in front of the ticket woman, whose eyes widened in surprise at the golden seal on the document.

"Ah, the golden seal of the flying boar! It is my pleasure to help anyone of the Beifong family," she spoke, bowing in her seat.

"It is your pleasure. As you can see, I am blind and these four imbeciles are my valets," Toph explained, gesturing back to the rest of the group, who smiled to try and sell the story.

"But the animal—" the ticket lady tried before Toph cut her off.

"—Is my seeing-eye lemur," Toph lied smoothly as Momo hopped onto her shoulder.

"Well, normally it's only one ticket per passport, but this document is so official . . . I guess it's worth five tickets," the ticket lady decided before stamping five tickets and handing them down to Toph.

"Thank you very much," Toph nodded, before leading the way over to the waiting area for the next ferry.

"All right, we scammed that lady good!" Sokka cheered before he was grabbed on the shoulder by a security guard and spun around.

"Tickets and passports please," the security guard demanded, glaring at Sokka.

"Is there a problem?" Sokka asked, narrowing his eyes at the security guard as the rest of the group noted his predicament and stopped in their tracks.

"Yeah, I got a problem with you!" the guard continued, poking Sokka in the chest. "I've seen your type before. Probably sarcastic, think you're hilarious and let me guess, you're traveling with the Avatar," the guard listed, causing Azara to raise an eyebrow at the oddly specific description.

"Do I know you?" Sokka questioned as he tried to identify the guard.

"You mean you don't remember? Maybe you'll remember this!" the guard snapped, pulling Sokka towards herself and pressing a kiss to his cheek. Azara's eyes widened in shock at the action.

"Suki!" Sokka exclaimed, before pulling her into a hug. Azara stared at them for a moment before turning her head and glaring at the ground.

"Sokka, it's good to see you!" Suki smiled as Azara held back, wanting to keep her presence to a minimum in their current situation. Aang and Katara moved forwards to greet Suki as Toph stood beside Azara. Following quick greetings, Suki led them over to a secluded waiting area, Azara and Toph pulling up the rear of the group.

"Who is she?" Toph inquired quietly as Azara stared at Sokka and Suki chatting excitedly.

"The leader of the Kyoshi Warriors. They met her back on Kyoshi Island," Azara explained, Momo landing on her shoulder.

"They?"

"I wasn't welcome on most of the island," Azara supplied as they neared the waiting area.

Azara climbed up onto a half wall and leaned on the adjacent wooden beam as Sokka, Katara, and Aang crowded around Suki. Glancing back and forth between Sokka and Suki, her mind couldn't help but drift towards his reaction on Kyoshi Island at the thought of Suki. Shaking her head, Azara sighed and glared at her knees.

"Stop it, Azara. You're overreacting," she muttered to herself, glancing up at Sokka and Suki as the latter laughed at a joke. "There's a thousand other more pressing problems you could worry about right now." Letting her arms slide to her sides, Azara's gaze hovered over Sokka. "Besides, he's allowed to have friends, Azara," she reminded herself, burying those emotions for now.

"You look so different without your makeup! And the new outfit," Katara noted, causing Suki to grimace and nod.

"That crabby lady makes all the security guards wear them. And look at you, sleeveless guy. Been working out?" Suki teased as Sokka straightened up and puffed his chest out.

"Ahh, I'll grab a tree branch and do a few chin touches every now and then. Nothing major," Sokka bragged, stretching out his arms as Azara raised an eyebrow and narrowed her eyes at him.

"Are the other Kyoshi Warriors around?" Aang questioned, turning to Suki.

"Yeah. After you left Kyoshi, we wanted to find a way to help people. We ended up escorting some refugees and we've been here ever since," Suki remarked as Momo hopped onto the wall Suki was sitting on. "Hi, Momo! Good to see you too!" She scratched his head under his ear. "So why are you guys getting tickets for the ferry? Wouldn't you just fly across on Appa?" An awkward silence fell over the group at the mention of Appa.

"Appa is missing. We hope to find him in Ba Sing Se," Katara explained as the tense air settled over them again.

"I'm so sorry to hear that. Are you doing okay?" Suki asked Aang, who nodded sharply.

"I'm doing fine. Would everybody stop worrying about me?" Aang snapped lightly, before the refugees they had met earlier walked over to them.

"Avatar Aang, you have to help us! Someone took all of our belongings. Our passports, our tickets, everything's gone!" Ying cried out, causing the group to look at each other in shock.

"I'll talk to the lady for you," Aang promised, walking back over to the ticket lady. The group waited for him to return, but the shouting and "Denied" stamp across Aang's forehead made their spirits drop fairly quickly as he returned to the group. As Than and Ying stared dejectedly at the ground, Aang wiped the ink off of his forehead and straightened up. "Don't worry, you'll get to the city safely. I'll lead you through the Serpent's Pass," Aang stated, causing concerned looks to be shared among the group.

"We'll be fine," Azara spoke encouragingly, honestly preferring the more dangerous route if it meant dodging more refugees that clearly would throw her over the side of the ship if they found out who she was. "We've accomplished more difficult missions."

"Azara's right. We got this," Katara agreed, placing a hand on Aang and Azara's shoulders, the group sharing a determined nod.

They gathered their supplies again before heading out of Full Moon Bay and towards the entrance to the Serpent's Pass. Azara walked alongside Toph as Sokka groaned behind them. "I can't believe we gave up our tickets and now we're going through the Serpent's Pass," Sokka whined as Azara rolled her eyes at his antics.

"I can't believe you're still complaining about it," Toph replied back, clearly annoyed with Sokka. As the continued along, the sound of footsteps caused Azara to pause.

"I'm coming too!" Suki called, running over in her traditional Kyoshi Warrior attire. Sokka stopped, turning around, and looking at Suki with surprise clear on his face. The rest of the group paused to allow Suki to catch up.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Sokka asked Suki, causing Azara and Suki to both raise a confused eyebrow at his question.

"Sokka, I thought you'd want me to come," Suki spoke, sounding slightly hurt at his question.

"I do, it's just—" Sokka started, before he was cut off by Suki.

"—She's fine, Sokka," Azara interrupted, placing a hand on her hip as she found herself growing tired of the back and forth of the day. "She's more than capable of taking care of herself, unless there's something else that you're thinking of." Azara trailed off her statement as she and Suki stared at him, almost daring him to add something.

"No. I'm glad you're coming, Suki," Sokka retorted, as Azara turned around and started walking towards the Serpent's Pass. Hearing footsteps behind her, she assumed it was Sokka, but a glance over her shoulder revealed that it was actually Suki who had walked up beside her.

"Thanks for standing up for me with him," Suki smiled, causing Azara to return a small smile and nod to Suki.

"It's not a problem," Azara shrugged as she and Suki fell into step with each other.

"I also wanted to apologize for the way my village and I treated you when you first came—"

"—Don't worry about it," Azara waved her off, causing Suki to pause. "Believe me, you guys weren't the first or last incident about that. And anyways, we straightened it out when we visited Kyoshi Island a few weeks ago."

"You guys went back to Kyoshi Island?" Suki asked, her eyes widening in surprise.

"Yeah, we had to get evidence that Aang, or Kyoshi, didn't commit a murder," Azara explained, causing Suki to look even more confused. ". . . it's a long story."

"I assume that's how most of your travels have gone," Suki joked, causing Azara to chuckle and nod in agreement.

Sokka glanced between Suki and Azara nervously as Toph walked beside him. "Why is your heart rate so elevated?" Toph asked, causing Sokka to jump in surprise.

"No reason!" he choked out as Azara and Suki continued their conversation.

"Sure," Toph huffed as they neared the entrance to the Serpent's Pass.

Looking away from Suki, Azara paused as she spotted the Serpent's Pass, a series of winding turns and sharp cliffs that cut across the lake. The entrance to the path was marked by a small wooden gate with a small inscription on the side.

"This is the Serpent's Pass? I thought it would be a little more wind-y, you know, like a serpent. Huh, I guess they misnamed it," Sokka shrugged as they collectively stood in front of the gate.

"Look at this writing! How awful!" Ying exclaimed, pointing up at the sign.

"What does it say?" Toph questioned, causing Azara to look up at the writing.

"It says, 'abandon hope'," Azara read aloud, her eyes narrowed at the writing.

"How can we abandon hope? It's all we have!" Ying cried as her family consoled her.

"I don't know. The monks used to say that hope was just a distraction, so maybe we do need to abandon it," Aang spoke, causing Katara to walk forward, a concerned look on her face.

"What are you talking about?"

"Hope is not going to get us into Ba Sing Se and it's not going to help find Appa. We need to focus on what we're doing right now and that's getting across this path," Aang stated firmly, turning to stare back at the rest of the group.

"Okay, if you say so," Katara shrugged, looking worriedly back at Aang. With a brief nod, Aang turned back to the path and led the group into the Serpent's Pass. Azara walked forwards and placed a reassuring hand on Katara's shoulder.

"He'll be alright, Katara. He just needs time," Azara whispered to her friend, who sighed and nodded.

"I know, but this is just . . . not like Aang," Katara replied, as Azara nodded reassuringly.

"Well, once we get back to Ba Sing Se and can actually start looking for Appa, he'll come around. I'm sure of it," Azara smiled in comfort to Katara, who nodded back and followed after Aang. Azara decided to give the two of them some space if Katara wanted to talk with Aang again and followed after Toph into the Serpent's Pass.

They walked silently in a single file along the Serpent's Pass, each watching their next step. Azara glanced out at the adjacent lake, her eyes narrowing when she spotted a passing Fire Nation ship in the distance. "The Fire Nation controls the western lake. Rumor has it they're working on something big on the other side of it and don't want anyone to find out what it is," Suki explained, noticing Azara's gaze.

"Sounds like the Fire Nation," Azara muttered as the path under Than suddenly gave out. The refugee yelled out as he slipped down the side of the mountain until Toph quickly used her earthbending to stop his fall and lift him back up to the path. "I'm okay!" Than smiled, hugging his wife to his side as she stared up at him worriedly.

Azara's eyes widened as she spotted the Fire Nation ship gearing up to launch a fireball right at them. "They've spotted us! Let's go, let's go!" Sokka shouted as Azara took a step back. The fireball was launched into the air as Azara kicked off the wall and jumped out form the Serpent's Pass. Flipping forwards to gain momentum, Azara released a fire slice at the fireball, causing it to split in two and fall away from the group harmlessly.

Holding out her hands, Azara used her rocket propulsion to push herself back to the path before turning and sprinting to catch up with the rest of the group. The Fire Nation ship released another fireball, which hit the top of the mountain they were running along. Several rocks fell down directly over Suki, who stared up at them.

Sokka pushed Suki out of the way of the rocks, falling on top of her in the process, before Toph easily bent the rocks out of their path. "Suki, are you okay? You have to be more careful! Come on!" Sokka continued, pulling up Suki and hurrying along, leaving Toph and Azara standing there with equally unimpressed expressions on their faces.

"'Thanks for saving my life, Toph.' Hey, no problem, Sokka," Toph shrugged sarcastically, mocking Sokka's voice as Azara placed a hand on Toph's shoulder.

"Thanks, Toph," she joked before they ran along the pathway to catch up with the rest of the group. Satisfied for now, the Fire Nation ship kept sailing along as the group walked carefully through the Serpent's Pass.

A.N. So here's the first part of the Serpent's Pass episode! Sorry for the late update, but thank you to all of you for reading, commenting, and voting!