by The Tale of Aang; Azula; Toph; Sokka; Zuko; Katara (retail) (epub)
Big deal that we had the information that could stop the Fire Nation. What good would it do us if we never made it out of the desert?
Aang was furious. “How could you let them take Appa?” he shouted at Toph. “Why didn’t you stop them?”
“I couldn’t,” she replied. “The library was sinking and you guys were still inside.”
“I’m going after Appa,” Aang declared, before taking off on his glider.
“Well, we’d better start walking,” Katara suggested.
Why? What good would that do? We couldn’t walk all the way to Ba Sing Se. We were doomed. There was no other way to look at it.
We walked on under the blazing sun. We got thirsty, but we had very little water. I found a cactus plant and drank some of its juice. Everything got a little fuzzy after that, and I really don’t remember much about our journey across the desert. All I know is that we had to figure out a way to get to Ba Sing Se, and we had to try to find Appa.
After a while Aang returned without finding Appa. But we did find a sandsailing boardlike thing that Aang powered with Airbending. It was nice to know that we didn’t have to walk all the way to Ba Sing Se.
As my head cleared we were attacked by a flock of flying buzzard-wasps. Nasty creatures. Luckily a group of Sandbenders came to our rescue, but then they wanted to know why we had a Sandbender sailer.
“Our bison was stolen,” Katara explained. “We found this sailer in the desert.”
“You dare accuse our people of theft when you ride on a stolen sandsailer!” one of the Sandbenders shouted.
“I recognize that voice,” Toph whispered. “He’s the Sandbender who took Appa.”
“You stole Appa!” Aang screamed. “Where is he?”
And then Aang lost it. He blasted the Sandbenders’ sand ships. That made the Sandbender confess.
“I didn’t know he belonged to the Avatar,” the frightened Sandbender said. “I traded him to some nomads. He’s probably in Ba Sing Se by now. They were going to sell him there.”
At that moment Aang went into the Avatar state. A huge wind funnel spun all around him. We had to get out of the way! I grabbed Toph and helped her run clear of the funnel. I looked around for Katara. Oh, no, what was she doing?
My sister actually walked toward Aang, right into the heart of the tornado that he had spun. Somehow she made it in and reached him. She hugged him, and slowly the winds died down.
Sometimes my sister is pretty amazing. But don’t tell her I said that.
Chapter 6
We needed to get to Ba Sing Se as quickly as possible to deliver our information. We left the desert and arrived at an area filled with lakes and waterfalls. According to the map I took from the library in the desert, there was only one way to get to the city.
“It looks like the only passage through all this water is a sliver of land called Serpent’s Pass,” I said.
Then a family of refugees showed up. They were also going to Ba Sing Se.
“Great,” said Katara. “We can travel together through Serpent’s Pass.”
“Serpent’s Pass?” one of the refugees said. “Only the truly desperate take that deadly route!”
“Deadly route,” said Toph. “Great pick, Sokka.”
Well, it didn’t say “deadly route” on the map! We headed for the ferry instead.
At the ferry dock I felt a hand grab my collar. I turned to see a female security officer staring right at me.
“Is there a problem?” I asked, slightly annoyed.
“Yeah, I’ve got a problem with you,” the guard said. “I’ve seen your type before. Sarcastic, think you’re hilarious. And let me guess. You’re traveling with the Avatar.”
Whoa—who was this person? How did she know this about me? “Do I know you?” I asked suspiciously.
Then, of all things, she leaned in and kissed me! That’s when I knew.
“Suki!” I yelled out.
“Hey, Sokka. It’s so good to see you.”
It was incredible to see Suki again. She is a Kyoshi warrior we met during our travels. And I really like her—a lot! It turned that out she had been working at the ferry helping refugees.
Just then someone stole the passports and tickets of the family of refugees we were traveling with, which meant they couldn’t take the ferry.
“Don’t worry,” Aang said. “I’ll lead you through Serpent’s Pass.”
Aw, Aang. Did we really have to do that? We gave up our tickets on the nice safe ferry to go on the deadly route for desperate people.
“I’m coming too,” Suki said.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” I asked, suddenly afraid that something might happen to her. It could be dangerous. She would probably be safer staying at the ferry dock.
“Sokka, I thought you’d want me to come,” she said softly.
“I do. It’s just—”
“Just what?”
“Nothing. I’m glad you’re coming,” I said with a smile. This trip just got a whole lot more complicated.
We arrived at the pass, which was a thin strip of land between two lakes—and were immediately attacked by Fire Nation ships patrolling the lake!
They lobbed a volley of fireballs at us. One of the fireballs hit the cliff above us and started a rockslide that headed right for Suki!
Dashing forward I pushed Suki out of the way. She fell clear of the tumbling rocks that somehow missed me, too.
“Suki! Are you okay? You have to be more careful!” I scolded. When I think that I could have lost her forever right then and there …
That night we set up camp, and I couldn’t help worrying about Suki. She was putting her stuff really close to the edge! What was she thinking? “You shouldn’t sleep there,” I said. “Who knows how stable this ledge is. It could give way at any moment.”
“Sokka, I’m fine,” she replied.
“You’re right, you’re right,” I said. “You’re perfectly capable of taking care of yourself.” Maybe I was being overprotective. After all, she is a Kyoshi warrior.
“Wait!” I called out. Was that a spider crawling on her sleeping bag? Was it poisonous? What if it bit her in the middle of the night?
“Oh, never mind. I thought I saw a spider … but you’re fine.”
Suki didn’t have anything to say, so I went to set up my own stuff and go to sleep. Except that I couldn’t. There was too much to worry about. So I decided to take a walk, instead.
Apparently Suki couldn’t sleep either—she was walking around, too.
“Look, I know you’re just trying to help, but I can take care of myself,” she told me.
“I know you can,” I replied.
“Then why are you acting so overprotective?”
How could I explain this to her? Should I tell her about losing Yue?
“It’s so hard to lose someone you care about,” I said. “Something happened at the North Pole, and I couldn’t protect someone. I don’t ever want anything like that to happen again.”
I have never stopped thinking about Princess Yue. I don’t want to lose Suki like that.
And then Suki said something that threw me off guard. “I lost someone I cared about, too. He didn’t die, he just went away. He was smart and brave and funny.”
Well, how can I compete with a guy like that? “Who is this guy? Is he taller than me? Is he better looking?”
“It is YOU, stupid!” Suki said.
“Oh …,” I said, suddenly feeling really dumb. I guess I missed the point completely. Suki really cares about me! We looked into each other’s eyes for a long moment. I feel so much for Suki—and yet I’m not sure how I should feel. Argh! Why do I have to think so much?
Then Suki leaned in to kiss me! What more could I want? Suki is great, and she thinks I’m smart and brave and funny. It’s … it’s … I couldn’t. I had to back away.
“I’m sorry,” Suki said, embarrassed.
“No, you shouldn’t be,” I replied, getting up and walki
ng away instead of telling her why she didn’t need to feel bad.
It’s not you, Suki. It’s me. I can’t risk caring for somebody again. Not like I cared for Yue. It hurts too much when you lose them. It’s not a chance I’m willing to take. I’m sorry, Suki. I’m really sorry.
The next day I found out why they call the route Serpent’s Pass. A real-life giant sea serpent attacked!
As Aang and Katara battled the creature, Toph tumbled into the lake.
“Help! I can’t swim!” she cried out. Then she vanished into the water.
“I’m coming, Toph!” I called out. I had to save her. I started to pull off my boots, and then—hey, Suki just dove right in with all her clothes on. She’s a good swimmer, and she had no problem rescuing Toph. They’re both okay. Whew! That’s a relief. I would have saved Toph. I just wanted to get my boots off first.
Meanwhile, Aang and Katara finished off the sea serpent. (Good thing we have them around!) A short while later we came to the end of Serpent’s Pass.
Aang took off to find Appa. “See you in the big city,” he said.
Then Suki came up to me. “Sokka, it’s been really great to see you again.”
“Why does it sound like you’re saying good-bye?” I asked.
“I came along to make sure you got through Serpent’s Pass safely,” she replied. “But now I have to get back to the other Kyoshi warriors.”
What a dope I am. She was there to protect ME all along. No wonder she couldn’t stand me acting so protective.
Then she started to apologize, “Listen, Sokka, I’m sorry about last night, I—”
Kiss her, Sokka. Just kiss her. “You talk too much,” I said, before kissing her.
When we reached the outer wall of Ba Sing Se we were surprised to see Aang land beside us.
“What are you doing here?” Katara asked. “I thought you were looking for Appa.”
“I was,” said Aang. “But something stopped me. Something big.”
Aang took us to the top of the outer wall, where we could see a huge scary-looking drill coming toward us. The Fire Nation was about to invade the city of Ba Sing Se!
We had to find a way to stop the invasion. Our first stop was the infirmary to visit some Earthbenders who had already gotten injured trying to stop the drill.
Katara examined an Earthbending captain. “His chi is blocked,” she said. Then she asked him, “Who did this to you?”
“Two girls ambushed us,” the captain replied. “One hit me with some quick jabs and suddenly I couldn’t Earthbend anymore.”
“Ty Lee!” Katara exclaimed. “She doesn’t look dangerous, but she knows the human body and its weak points. It’s like she takes you down from the inside.”
And that’s when I got my most brilliant idea yet. I knew how we could defeat that drill—by taking it down from inside.
We snuck onto the drill, and Aang and Katara started cutting away at its support braces with a whiplike Waterbending move.
Somehow I had envisioned it going a little faster, and as the two slowly made small cuts in the braces, I realized we would never cut through all of them in time. I had to figure out what more I could do.
But it was Aang who came up with an idea. “Maybe we don’t need to cut all the way through each brace. If we weaken them all, I can deliver one big blow from above …”
Aha! I got it! “And BOOM! It all comes crashing down.”
Aang and Katara started on Plan B, working quickly to make cuts in a series of braces. Just as they slashed the final brace, Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee showed up.
“Guys, get out of here!” Aang shouted to us. “I know what I need to do!”
I heard Aang’s command, but Ty Lee gave me a LOOK. I think she likes me. And I have to admit, she is cute. I mean, I know she’s Fire Nation and all, but—
“Sokka!”
“Okay, Katara. I’m coming!” I yelled back. Sisters can be so annoying.
Katara and I climbed into a big pipe filled with slurry and rode the current, popping out at the end of the tunnel. I knew it was just rocks and water mixed together, but it was still disgusting. It was in my mouth, eyes, ears—everywhere!
A few seconds later Ty Lee came out of the pipe, and Katara used Waterbending to trap her in the sludge. Then Aang slammed the drill from above and the whole thing collapsed.
We did it! We destroyed the Fire Nation drill!
“I just want to say, good effort out there today, Team Avatar,” I told the others. Team Avatar. I like the sound of that. Now we’re ready to head into Ba Sing Se!
Chapter 7
We took the train from the outer wall into the city itself. There we were met by a woman who somehow knew who we were.
“Hello, my name is Joo Dee,” she said. “I have been given the great honor of showing the Avatar around Ba Sing Se. And you must be Sokka, Katara, and Toph. Shall we get started?”
This was great. She’d know where the Earth King was. This was going to be easier than I imagined. “Yes,” I said. “We have information about the Fire Nation that we need to deliver to the Earth King immediately.”
“Great! Let’s begin our tour, then I’ll show you to your new home.”
I was confused. Maybe she hadn’t heard what I said, so I tried again. “We need to talk to the king about the war. It’s important.”
“You’re in Ba Sing Se now. Everyone is safe here.”
What was this lady’s problem? It’s like she was totally ignoring me—not to mention ignoring reality. She didn’t realize how wrong she was. If we don’t stop the Fire Nation, NOBODY will be safe anywhere.
But Joo Dee simply led us to a carriage and started our tour of the city. I tried to tell her again and again how important it was for us to see the king, but she ignored me each time.
“Maybe she’s deaf?” I wondered out loud.
“She hears you,” Toph said. “She’s just not listening.”
“Why won’t she talk about the war?” Katara asked.
“Whatever her deal is, I don’t like this place,” Aang said. “We just need to find Appa and get out of here.”
We passed the king’s palace and saw some scary-looking guards. Joo Dee said that they were agents of the Dai Li, who guard the city’s traditions.
“Can we see the king now?” Aang blurted out.
Joo Dee just laughed. “Oh, no. One doesn’t just pop in on the king.”
Now this was getting frustrating.
Then the carriage stopped in front of a really nice house.
“Here we are! Your new home!” Joo Dee said cheerfully, just as a messenger arrived with a scroll. She took it and read it quickly. Then she announced, “Good news! Your request to see the king is being processed and you should get to see him in about a month.”
“A month!” We were going to have to stay in that weird place for a whole month? That wasn’t going to leave us much time to prepare our attack on the Fire Nation.
“If we’re going to be here for a whole month, we should spend our time looking for Appa,” Aang said.
We searched all over the city. Not only had no one seen Appa, but everyone seemed scared to talk to us. Even our next-door neighbor was terrified.
“You can’t mention the war here,” he said. “And whatever you do, stay away from the Dai Li!”
I couldn’t believe how crazy it was. Clearly we were not going to get help from anyone. Not from Joo Dee, not from our neighbors, and apparently not from the Dai Li. We were going to have to do it on our own. Which meant we needed a plan to get in to see the Earth King. He’s the only one who could straighten everything out.
Later Katara saw something in the newspaper that gave her an idea. “The king is having a party at the palace tonight for his pet bear. We can sneak in with the crowd.”
So that night, Katara and Toph dressed up as fancy ladies and went in first. Aang and I snuck in as busboys.
Then trouble came walking up to us. It was Joo Dee. “What are you doing here?�
� she wanted to know. “You have to leave immediately or we’ll all be in terrible trouble.”
I’d had it with her. “Not until we see the king!”
“You don’t understand. You must go!”
But I wasn’t about to leave. No one was going to tell us what to do. While Aang provided a distraction, I went to search for the king. A short while later he entered the ballroom. Then, as Aang rushed over to greet him, I was grabbed by two Dai Li guards and taken to a room along with Katara and Toph. A few minutes later Aang showed up with this guy Long Feng, the head of the Dai Li.
Ah, finally, someone who could give me some answers. “Why won’t you let us talk to the king? We have information that could defeat the Fire Nation!”
“The Earth King has no time to get involved with political squabbles and the day-to-day minutia of military activities,” Long Feng said.
“But this could be the most important thing he’s ever heard!” Aang explained.
“What’s most important to the king is maintaining the cultural heritage of Ba Sing Se. It’s my job to oversee the rest of the city’s resources, including the military.”
So Long Feng was the guy who’s really in power. This explained a lot.
“So the king is just a figurehead,” Katara said.
“He’s your puppet!” Toph added.
If this was the guy who’s in charge, then maybe we’d come to the right place after all.
“We’ve found out about a solar eclipse that will leave the Fire Nation defenseless. You could lead an invasion—”
“Enough!” He angrily cut me off. “I don’t want to hear your ridiculous plan. It is the strict policy of Ba Sing Se that the war not be mentioned within our walls.”
It was all beginning to make sense. This guy had a sweet deal with all the power, and he was keeping the truth from the people of the city—not to mention from the king. This was corruption, plain and simple, and it was as bad as the Fire Nation itself.
“You can’t keep the truth from all these people!” Katara shouted.
“I’ll tell them,” Aang said. “I’ll make sure everyone knows.”