| abstract
| - The scene opens with Aang, Toph, Momo, and Katara enjoying a short refreshing break in a pool of water at the base of a waterfall while Sokka reviews the maps they acquired from the Spirit Library. After accidentally soaking the maps with a waterbending bomb, which is similar to a cannonball in a pool, Katara uses her waterbending to extract the water from the maps. The group subsequently huddles around the map to discuss in which direction they should go, concluding that the Serpent's Pass appears to be the most direct route. Just as they decide to take the mountainous route, a group of three Earth Kingdom refugees – namely Than, his pregnant wife, Ying, and his sister – approaches and greets the gang. Hearing the group's plans to go through the Serpent's Pass, which Ying describes as a "deadly" route for only the desperate, the Earth Kingdom trio convinces Aang's group to go to Full Moon Bay instead to take a ferry to Ba Sing Se. After arriving at the hidden Full Moon Bay ferry station, Katara is amazed to see how many refugees there are awaiting transportation. Unknown to the group, a ferry which has just departed has not only Iroh and Zuko, disguised as Mushi and Lee, on board, but also three former Freedom Fighters: Jet, Smellerbee, and Longshot. After overhearing Zuko's complaints about how bad the food tasted, Jet comes over and tells him and Iroh that the captain is eating like a king while the passengers are left with the scraps. He exclaims that this is unfair and asks Zuko to assist his group in liberating some food, to which the firebender agrees. Meanwhile, back at Full Moon Bay, the ticketmaster refuses to allow the cabbage merchant to bring on any vegetables as they may have parasites. Aang approaches the ticketmaster and requests four tickets. She does not let him through on the accounts of not having a passport, Momo being an animal and therefore not allowed on, and refusal to believe Aang is the Avatar, as she sees fifty a day. Aang backs away as Toph approaches with her Beifong family document, upon which the ticketmaster gushes her loyalties to the Beifong family and accommodates her by granting passage to the four of them, allowing Momo as her seeing-eye-lemur. Just as Sokka starts celebrating their acquisition of the tickets, he is grabbed at the neck by a guard asking for their tickets and passports. Not recognizing her until she kisses him on the cheek, Sokka is surprised by a clean-faced Suki greeting them. As they catch up on old times and Suki is told of Appa's disappearance, the refugees that led Team Avatar to the bay call up to them in desperation, as their tickets and passports had been stolen. Despite Aang's appeal to the ticketmaster, she will not allow the trio onto the ferry. Therefore, Aang decides he will lead them all through the Serpent's Pass. As the group heads to the Serpent's Pass, Suki joins them, although Sokka seems to have some misgivings which he does not voice. The group arrives at the Serpent's Pass, and Katara reads the inscription on the post at the entrance which states that they should abandon hope. As they head along the pass, they see a Fire Nation ship in the lake. Suddenly, the rock path gives way underneath one of the refugees, but Toph manages to save him. The rock fall attracts the attention of the Fire Nation ship, which begins firing at the group. Aang deflects fireballs from the group, but one manages to make a hit. After pushing Suki out of the way of rock debris from a Fire Nation blast, Sokka is right in the path of the falling debris, but Toph earthbends a barrier to deflect it. Instead of thanking Toph, Sokka focuses on getting Suki out of harm's way. This annoys Toph, but she quickly follows the group. As night falls, Sokka again acts overprotective of Suki, which baffles her. Back on the ferry, Zuko, Jet, and Smellerbee sneak up into the captain's private food storeroom and, in Jet's words, liberate some food. Longshot shoots up a line for them to escape, which is subsequently pulled out once the group is back on the lower deck, disguising the escape route. As Aang looks out over the water, Katara lets him know it is all right to miss Appa. She asks why he is keeping his emotions in check and Aang replies that he did not like how his anger changed him in the desert. Katara encourages Aang to not give up on hope and attempts to give him a hug, but he simply bows and thanks her for her concern. As Sokka is looking at the moon, Suki approaches him and comments on its beauty. She asks him why he is being so over-protective and he tries to explain about how he was unable to protect someone at the North Pole and does not want that to happen to anyone else he cares about. Suki, in a roundabout way, tells Sokka she has missed him; the two almost kiss, but Sokka claims he cannot. Suki apologizes, but Sokka says it is not her fault. As the ferry continues its passage to Ba Sing Se, Jet hands out food to the other passengers, while Iroh comments that Smellerbee is an unusual name for a young man. Smellerbee says, "Maybe it's because I'm not a man; I'm a girl", and storms off. Through his silent gestures, Longshot manages to calm her down. Jet sits with Iroh and Zuko and thinks about how great it will be to see the wall of the great city. Iroh says it is a sight to behold as he saw it once when he was a different man. Jet says he is going there for a new beginning, and Iroh, appearing to be directing his attention at Zuko, says that people deserve a second chance. The next morning at the Serpent's Pass, the group hits a section which is completely submerged beneath the lake. Initially discouraged, the group is brought together as Katara tells everyone to get in a single file line as she parts the water for them to walk the path. Aang helps out and they create a bubble for them to walk in. Momo jumps into the water, looking to catch some fish when suddenly something large swims by. When the bubble is burst by the creature, Toph earthbends the floor of the path high enough to get them above the waterline. The creature circles them and shows itself, upon which Sokka shockingly states that he realizes why it is called the Serpent's Pass. Aang tells Katara to get the others to safety as he distracts the serpent. Katara makes an ice bridge for the others to cross and promptly heads out on top of the water to assist Aang. Sokka encourages Toph to cross the ice, but just as she reaches the halfway point, the serpent smashes the bridge, sending her into the water. Suki rescues her, but the earthbender thought it was Sokka, who had called out to Toph that he was coming for her. Toph kisses Suki, realizing her error when Suki speaks. Embarrassed, she tells the warrior, "You can go ahead and let me drown now." Aang and Katara create a large maelstrom, spinning the serpent, which eventually gets knocked out as it hits one of the walls. The group completes its trek to the other side of the pass and they see the wall of Ba Sing Se; however, Ying goes into labor. Katara takes charge again and designates jobs to everyone as they prepare to help the woman deliver her baby. Jet tells Zuko that from the scar he knows who he is, which immediately puts Zuko on the defensive, but Jet continues on to say he is an outcast like himself and they need to have each other's back. Zuko states he has realized that being on one's own is not always the best path. Katara helps deliver the baby and the others go right in to see, except for Aang. However, Katara tells him that he has to see thew newborn, so he heads in. Amazed, Aang's expression changes from discouraged to encouraged. As the couple thinks of a name, Aang tears up and says, "I've been going through a really hard time lately, but you've made me ... hopeful again." Ying says she knows what they should name their daughter – Hope – and Than agrees. Later, Aang tells Katara that he thought he was being strong, but was really running away from his feelings. Seeing the family full of love reminded him of how he feels about Appa and about her. They embrace as the others walk toward them. Aang says he is going to try to find Appa and they wish him luck. Suki tells Sokka she needs to get back to her warriors, and Sokka is surprised to realize she came to protect him. Suki apologizes for the previous night, but Sokka stops her with a kiss. Aang reaches the wall and majestically ascends to the top only to be shocked to see a huge mechanical drill with the Fire Nation emblem emblazoned upon it. Aang turns to Momo and says, "Sorry Momo, Appa is going to have to wait."
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)