Path Ahead

Answers

Sokka called everyone together as the group drew closer to Ba Sing Se. It was time for a strategy meeting.

"We're going to run out of mountains soon," he informed everyone. He spread out one of his maps to show them. "Probably tomorrow. When that happens, we'll have to cross open land and the river that flows into Chameleon Bay to get to Ba Sing Se."

"I'm guessing that means no more training for a while?" Aang suggested.

"Exactly," Sokka confirmed. "We'll have to travel as quickly as possible and at night. When we camp for the day, we'll find whatever cover we can and set a watch so that nobody can surprise us." He was nervous about this stretch of the journey, but he had decided to do his best not to reveal that to the others. Misery might love company, but there was no use in making everybody jumpy. Besides, they could probably figure out on their own that being in the open for extended periods was dangerous for all of them.

"Well, it's a good thing the nights are getting longer," Suki commented. "That should give us a fair amount of travel time."

"How long do you think it will take to get there?" wondered Katara.

"If we make good time, about three days should get us to..." Sokka just barely kept himself from saying "the outer walls." "To where the walls used to be," he concluded.

"I vote we put them back up as soon as we've got the city back," said Toph angrily, and Sokka could appreciate her confidence, even if he didn't share it. A pessimist by nature, he didn't truly believe that their dozen people plus a handful of master benders and a master swordsman could wrest an entire city from a company or so of firebenders and some traitorous earthbenders. Azula had brought some of the Dai Li to the Fire Nation, but she must have left many here.

"I need to disband the Dai Li," Aang remarked solemnly, almost as though he had read Sokka's thoughts. "It's my responsibility."

"Why you?" demanded Katara. "If anyone, I'd think it would be the Earth King's job."

"If he ever shows up again," Toph interjected doubtfully. Privately, Sokka thought that the Earth King was far from being an ideal ruler. However, the throne was rightfully his, and with access to the right advisors and complete information, it was possible that he would improve in time.

"Avatar Kyoshi created the Dai Li," Aang explained. "It's one of those things I learned when I walked the Spirit World a few months ago. At the time, she did it as a compromise, to settle a dispute, but she admitted later that it had been a mistake. They were supposed to guard the cultural heritage of the city, but instead, they became an elite group of earthbenders who used their power to control the population and keep information from them. It's time for that to end."

Aang fell silent while everyone else stared at him. Katara slipped an arm around Aang's shoulders and lay her head against his, as if to tell him that he would not have to face these things alone. Watching them, Sokka had to swallow down a lump forming in his throat. Until this moment, it hadn't seemed real that he might soon be handing off his sister to someone else to take care of. He quickly shrugged off the feeling, though. This was not the time for sentiment.

"Remind me to ask you for more details about that trip sometime," he said aloud. "It sounds like you picked up some useful stuff."

"What was the main thing you learned?" Katara asked Aang.

"Not what I expected," he told her. "I learned that the past Avatars had flaws, and they made mistakes. Just like me. Being the Avatar doesn't make you perfect."