The Concubine's Apprentice (an Avatar: The Last Airbender Fanfiction Zuko x OC)

Chapter 19: Journey to Ba Sing Se (Part 2)

"So did you figure out what route we're gonna take?" Aang asked as Sokka laid out the map he had taken from Wan Chi Tong's library.

"Okay, we just got out of the desert, so we must be around here," Sokka pointed to their supposed location on the map. "And we need to go to Ba Sing Se which is here." He pointed to a large walled territory depicted on the northeastern corner of the Earth Kingdom domain. "It looks like the only passage connecting the south to the north is this sliver of land called 'The Serpent's Pass'."

Toph crossed her arms over her chest, doubting Sokka's plan. "Are you sure that's the best way to go?"

"It's the only way. I mean it's not like we have Appa to fly us there—"

"Shush up about Appa!" Katara whispered angrily at her brother. "Can't you at least try to be sensitive?"

They all looked at Aang who had his eyes closed as if in meditation. While in Wan Chi Tong's library, a group of sandbenders had taken the sky bison by force. Toph was stuck between a rock and a hard place, trying to defend Appa and stopping the library from sinking in the sand and back into the spirit world.

Having lost his companion, Aang was devastated. And upon a confrontation with the sandbenders, Toph had identified one of the men responsible for Appa's disappearance. Unable to reign in his anger any longer, his Avatar State was revealed once more. Had it gone on for a few more moments, he would have wiped the sandbenders off the face of the earth. But Katara managed to get through to Aang, through all the anger and pain, pulling him out of the trance.

"Katara, it's okay..." He sighed and opened his eyes. "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."

The solar eclipse was perhaps the most vital information they have retrieved from Wan Chi Tong's library. The previous solar eclipse was dubbed the "Darkest day in Fire Nation History" because it was the day that the moon had blocked the power of the sun, rendering firebenders powerless. With the date of the next solar eclipse in their hands, they now have the element of surprise as well as the advantage of attacking while the enemy is vulnerable.

"Oh... Well, okay... I'm glad you're doing better..."

Sokka rolled the map up. "Then to Ba Sing Se we go, no more distractions—"

"Hello there, fellow refugees!" A man called out, waving at the group. With him are two women, one of whom was heavily pregnant.

Sokka rolled his eyes at the universe that always manages to mess with him. The travelers approached the group and Aang greeted them. "So are you guys headed to Ba Sing Se too?"

"Sure are!" The man said as he smiled at his wife. "We're trying to get there before my wife, Ying, has her baby."

"Great! We can travel through the Serpent's Pass together!"

At Katara's quip, the travelers gasped. "T-the Serpent's Pass?" The pregnant woman clutched her husband's arm. "Only the truly desperate take that deadly route!"

"Deadly route..." Toph punched Sokka's arm who was sent to ground upon impact. "Great pick, Sokka!"

"Well, we are desperate." He reasoned.

"You should come with us to Full Moon Bay! Ferries take refugees across the lake! It's the fastest way to Ba Sing Se."

Ying nodded. "And it's hidden so the Fire Nation can't find it."