A.N. Sorry for the delay, but here's the final chapter of The Serpent's Pass episode! Thanks as always for reading, commenting, and voting!

The next morning, Azara awoke earlier and began to pack up camp. One by one, each member of the group woke up to the warm morning sun before preparing to continue on their journey. Azara followed after Katara quietly, glancing back at Sokka and Suki, who were discussing something, before turning forward again.

As Katara walked around the bend of the path, she suddenly paused, causing Azara to bump into her. "What's wrong—" Azara started to speak before the words died in her throat as her eyes gazed out at the open water in front of them. "How are we going to get through this?" Azara sighed, walking to the edge of the water before sharing a look with Katara.

Katara seemed to be thinking something over in her mind as she stared at the water, before she turned back to the group. "Everyone single file!" Katara ordered, before stepping towards the water. Azara stood to the side as Katara swung her arms gracefully, moving the lake water around herself, forming the beginning of a bubble.

Walking closely behind Katara, Azara glanced around at the underwater scene that was suddenly exposed to her. "Aang, I need help!" Katara called, causing the airbender to seal the bubble at the back of the group. Azara glanced up at Momo as he landed on top of her head.

"Freaky, isn't it," Azara commented to Momo, who chittered before jumping through the bubble and out into the water. The group walked along quietly on the lakebed, when Momo suddenly jumped back into the bubble, screeching about something. "What's wrong—" Azara gasped as she held Momo in her arms, spotting the large shadow moving towards them.

"What is that thing?" Katara wondered aloud before the shadow suddenly broke through the bubble, causing water to tumble inside. Everyone started to scream and panic as the water quickly rose above their knees. Without a word, Toph calmly used her earthbending to raise the floor of the lake to the surface.

Momo jumped out of her arms as Azara glared at the water surface, waiting for whatever the shadow was to reappear. The surface of the water started to ripple before a large serpent broke through. The group stared up at the beast with a terrified expression as it opened its large mouth, which was full of sharp jagged teeth, and screeched at them.

"I think I just figured out why they call it the Serpent's Pass!" Sokka yelled out, before turning to the Kyoshi Warrior beside him. "Suki, you know about giant sea monsters, make it go away!" Sokka pleaded Suki, who sent him a look.

"Just because I live near the unagi doesn't mean I'm an expert!" Suki retorted, putting her hands on her hips.

Sokka turned to grab Momo, holding him up in the air as an offering to the serpent. "Oh, great and powerful sea serpent, please accept this humble and tasty offering. Thank you." Azara rolled her eyes and stomped forwards.

"Sokka! What is wrong with you?!" Azara demanded, taking Momo from his hands, and holding the lemur to her chest. With a wave of his staff, Aang sent an air burst at the serpent, causing the beast to be knocked back for a moment.

"I'll distract it. Katara, get everyone across!" Aang ordered, before taking off on his glider. Azara released Momo before taking a few steps back. Ignoring Sokka's calls for her, Azara ran forwards and jumped up, blasting herself towards the serpent with rocket propulsion. Once she felt the rocket propulsion start to give out, she redirected her focus to her feet, taking individual steps of fire to get closer to the serpent.

As the serpent smacked Aang away, Azara threw her hands forwards, sending a strong fire blast at the beast. The serpent cried out in pain before turning to Azara. Seeing the beast swinging at her, Azara stopped firebending, dropping below the serpent's neck. Catching herself with her firebending again, Azara dodged another swing.

Regaining her balance, Azara spotted Katara charging towards the serpent on an ice block. "Hey, ugly! Over here!" Azara shouted, releasing a fire slice towards the serpent to divert its attention away from Katara. The serpent screamed out at her before lunging forwards. While Azara kept the beast occupied, Katara swung around the base of the serpent, freezing the water around it to try and hold it in place. Azara paused in the air, Aang returning on his glider, both waiting to see if the ice would hold. However, after a large twist, the serpent easily broke out of its ice prison.

It lunged at Azara and Aang, who both hurried to dodge its swing. With no option other than to drop again, Azara stopped firebending and fell down towards the water. Righting herself with a timed kick, Azara flipped backwards, landing on the neck of the serpent. Holding onto one of its scales, Azara pulled herself up as Aang knocked the serpent with an air blast.

Spotting an opening as the serpent was momentarily disoriented, Azara ran up the neck of the serpent, fire blades appearing from her fists. Jumping into the air, Azara was about to slice the serpent's eye, when it suddenly opened. Azara eyes widened in surprise, but she didn't have time to correct her attack before the serpent spun, smacking her off its head and towards the cold water below.

Azara yelled out as she was knocked back, trying to right herself with her firebending before her body smacked into the cold water. And then everything went black. Katara gasped as Azara started to sink and rushed over, using her waterbending to pull Azara to the surface again. Holding Azara in one arm, Katara used the other to push them towards the path, where Sokka and the rest of the group were waiting anxiously.

Sokka jogged out into the water as Katara slowed down, handing Azara over to her brother. "I think she may have swallowed some water," Katara warned, as Sokka nodded, cradling Azara in his arms.

"I got this. Go help Aang," Sokka called to his sister, who nodded and rushed back towards the serpent.

Running back up to the dry path, Sokka laid Azara down on the path, Suki and Toph gathering around her. "Azara!" Sokka yelled, shaking her shoulder. When she didn't respond immediately, Sokka moved to check for her pulse. About to check for her breathing, Sokka pulled back when Azara sat up, sputtering water.

Sokka hurried to roll her onto her side, Azara stabilizing herself with her arm as she coughed up some water. "Are you okay? Can you hear me? How is your breathing? Azara, are you—"

Azara clenched her fist as Sokka's voice continued to grate on her nerves, until she just snapped. Pushing his hand off of her shoulder, Azara turned around to face him, her face twisted up in frustration. "—I'm fine! Can't you just leave me alone?! I don't need you to check on me like some baby!" Azara screamed, her chest heaving as everyone stared at her with odd expressions.

Her chest heaving from her yelling, Azara's eyes widened as she realized the words that had just slipped through her lips. Hurrying to her feet despite the dizziness, Azara awkwardly cleared her throat. "I'm just going to, uh, check ahead. Yeah," Azara announced, before walking away from the group and towards Ba Sing Se, still soaking wet. The rest of the group watched her walk away before their eyes fell on Sokka, who looked hurt as he stood up.

Having successfully rounded the corner, Azara leaned on the wall of the mountain and held her head, willing the dizziness to subside for a moment. Sighing, Azara dropped her hand to her side and stared at the ground. "Oh Azara," she huffed as she pushed off the wall and walked forwards silently. Wrapping her arms around herself, Azara glared at the ground. "Now you've gone and done it," Azara muttered, shaking as the cold water of the lake dripped off of her.

Stopping momentarily, Azara swung her arms around, pulling the surrounding heat around herself. She held the position for a moment, before sighing in relief, and dropping her arms to her sides. Continuing her solo walk forward, Azara didn't dare look back at the group behind her. As she spotted the end of the Serpent's Pass and the Outer Wall of Ba Sing Se, she heard footsteps behind her. Expecting to see Sokka, her eyes widened in surprise as she spotted Aang.

"Aang? What are you doing up here?" Azara asked, stopping, and waiting for the airbender to catch up to her.

"I just wanted to check on you," Aang stated calmly as he stopped beside Azara. "Toph kind of filled us in." Azara winced at his statement, before turning and sighing.

"I didn't mean any of it. It just kind of . . . slipped out," Azara replied shamefully as Aang walked side by side with her down the path. A moment of silence passed between them before Azara turned to Aang. "Is Sokka alright?"

"Quieter than usual, but I'm sure he'll be fine," Aang spoke softly as Azara groaned, holding her face in her hands.

"I shouldn't have yelled at him," Azara mumbled before dropping her hands to her sides once more. "I just . . . snapped." Azara and Aang walked side by side for a moment, before Aang glanced over at her out of the corner of his eye.

"The monks always taught me that controlling your emotions was the key to controlling your power and abilities. But they left out the part about how suppressing and controlling your emotions are two different things," Aang spoke wisely, causing Azara to nod and look over at him.

"I know what you mean," Azara stated, as Aang glanced at her. "After my father became Fire Lord, every outlet of emotion I showed was punished. I never learned how to control my emotions, but instead to lock them up and hide them away . . . but that isn't an excuse for how I've been acting lately."

Aang paused and grabbed Azara's shoulder, causing her to stop as well. "I think you should just talk with him, Azara. Sokka will understand," Aang replied, causing Azara to sigh and nod.

"I know," she nearly whispered, before turning to look back at Aang. "And I hope you know that Katara will do the same for you, Aang. You don't have to hide your emotions from her, or any of us for that matter. We understand too."

"Thanks, Azara," Aang smiled as they reached the end of the Serpent's Pass, the Outer Wall clearly standing in the distance. A moment of silence passed before Aang turned back to Azara. "Has Katara mentioned anything to you about . . . uh," Aang trailed off, which caused Azara to smile in reassurance.

"She's worried about you, Aang. I think you should just talk to her as well," Azara responded, causing Aang to nod. The two glanced back up at the path, spotting Katara and Sokka leading the way through the rest of the Serpent's Pass. Noticing the looks on each other's faces, the airbender and firebender shared a chuckle.

"Water Tribe, right?"

"Tell me about it."

The rest of the group finally reached them, before they turned and started walking up the path to Ba Sing Se. "There's the wall! Now it's nothing but smooth sailing to Ba Sing Se," Sokka beamed, a wide smile on his face, when Ying suddenly groaned out in pain, holding her stomach.

"Oh no!" she cried as her family rushed to her side, supporting her as she bent down.

"What's wrong?" Sokka asked, spinning around as the rest of the group turned to look at Ying with concern.

"The baby's coming!" Ying announced, causing Sokka to panic instantaneously.

"What? Now? Can't you hold it in or something?" Sokka questioned, causing Azara to sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"You did not just ask that question," Azara huffed as Katara stepped towards Ying.

"Sokka, calm down. I helped Gran Gran deliver lots of babies back home," Katara stated as Sokka turned to his sister.

"This isn't the same as delivering an arctic seal! This is a real . . . human . . . thing!" Sokka gasped out as Katara shot him an unimpressed look.

"It's called a baby and I helped her deliver plenty of those too," Katara spoke before turning to the group. "Aang, get some rags. Sokka, water. Toph, I need you to make an earth tent, a big one." At the request, Toph stomped her foot into the ground and raised her arms, creating a large earth tent in front of them. "Suki, Azara, come with me."

Azara followed Suki into the tent as Katara helped Ying to the ground. "Azara, grab some sleeping bags. Whatever works to prop her up," Katara ordered, causing Azara to nod and leave the room, returning moments later with a few wrapped up blankets. Helping Than prop Ying up into a comfortable position, Azara waited for Katara's next set of instructions.

"You're doing great, Ying. Sokka, where's that water?" Katara called out to her brother, before turning back to Ying. "Now get ready to push. One . . . two . . . three, push!"

Ying groaned out in pain before she bared down. Azara saw Sokka enter the tent with a bowl of water. Seeing his eyes rolling into the back of his head, Azara jumped up and grabbed the bowl of water from his hands before it could spill onto anyone. Azara balanced the bowl with her hand, Azara's eyes widened as she spotted Sokka falling towards the ground.

Reaching forwards, she managed to grab the front of his shirt before he fully collapsed, sparing his head from smacking into the ground. "Uh, Suki, would you mind?" Azara whispered, holding out the bowl of water to the Kyoshi Warrior, who nodded and took the bowl from her outstretched hand, before turning back to Katara and Ying.

With another free hand, Azara gently lowered Sokka down to the ground before walking around him. Sliding her hands under his arms, Azara dragged him out of the tent as Ying continued to cry out in pain. "What happened to him?" Toph asked as Azara pulled Sokka up against the tent, resting his back against the curve of the rock.

"He saw the stuff . . . uh, down there," Azara supplied, before standing up and dusting herself off. "You guys think you can watch him?"

"Are you kidding? This is my favorite Sokka. The quiet one," Toph joked as Azara cracked a smile and walked back into the tent. Ying screamed out once more, before the baby was finally born.

"It's a girl!" Katara announced, cradling the newborn carefully in her hands as Suki handed her the bowl of water. Katara gently washed the crying baby off as Azara pulled out a soft blanket to wrap the child in. With the newborn carefully washed and swaddled, Katara handed the baby over to Ying, Than smiling form her side. Azara stayed to the side, a small smile on her face as Aang, Sokka, and Toph filed into the tent.

"She sounds healthy," Toph noted, standing next to Azara.

"She's beautiful," Katara commented as the new family enjoyed their moment together.

"It's so . . . squishy looking," Sokka replied, causing Katara, Azara, and Suki to shoot him a look.

"What should we name her?" Than asked his wife, who smiled up at her husband before turning back down to examine her daughter.

"I want our daughter's name to be unique. I want it to mean something," Ying stated as Azara spotted Aang wiping away some tears.

"I've been going through a really hard time lately. But you've made me . . . hopeful again," Aang spoke, causing Ying to smile up at the Avatar.

"I know what I want to name our baby now. Hope," Ying declared as Than smiled down at their daughter, his hand supporting his daughter's weight in her mother's arms.

"That's a perfect name. Hope."

The rest of the group filed out of the tent to give the family some privacy together. Azara dumped the bloody rags out of the bowl and blasted some flames over them to disintegrate the material. As she straightened up, she heard the sound of footsteps approaching. Turning around Azara's eyes landed on Sokka, who stared at her as he approached quietly.

"How are you doing?" Azara asked as he stopped in front of her. She clasped her hands together in front of her as the silence dragged on. "You know with the whole . . . passing out thing."

"Oh, yeah. All recovered," Sokka joked, smiling momentarily before it dropped from his face. They stood in awkward silence for a moment, before Azara finally spoke.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you back there. It was completely out of line," Azara apologized sincerely, staring up at Sokka.

"It's alright—" he tried to argue, but Azara cut him off.

"—No, it's not," Azara interjected, sighing as she looked away for a moment. "I've just been very . . . stressed. And I took it out on you, which I shouldn't have." Stressed probably wasn't the most accurate term she could have used, but she didn't want to unnecessarily concern Sokka.

"Why are you so stressed?" Sokka asked, looking at her worriedly. Azara's thoughts drifted to his and Suki's moment the previous night, and then her recent talk with Aang. "Azara, you can tell me anything, you know that." Sokka took another step towards her, as Azara refused to meet his gaze for a moment.

"I . . ." Azara trailed off, looking away from a moment, before turning to Sokka. "I think I just need some time to think through everything that's . . . stressing me out, before I talk about it." Seeing the light look of hurt on Sokka's face, Azara rushed forwards and grabbed his shoulder. "Really, I do want to talk about it with you, and I will soon, but . . . I just need some time."

"I understand," Sokka replied supportively, though anxiety still pooled in his stomach. "And I'll be here whenever you're ready to talk."

Azara smiled painfully and nodded. "Thanks, Sokka. Once everything's settled down a bit and we're finally in Ba Sing Se, we'll talk about it," Azara promised, before she spotted Suki approaching in the distance. "I should go . . . check on Toph," Azara finished lamely, wanting to give Sokka and Suki the space to say goodbye in peace and talk.

As she walked away from him, she shot Suki a small smile. "Safe journey back, Suki. It was nice seeing you under better circumstances this time," Azara called to the Kyoshi Warrior, who smiled back.

"Same to you, Azara," Suki replied, before walking over to Sokka, who was still watching Azara walk away. "Are you guys alright?" Suki asked as Sokka spared her a glance.

"I don't know," Sokka stated as he watched Azara and Toph converse by the earth tent. "She said she needed time to think everything over."

"You guys have been through a lot together, Sokka. I'm sure she just needs a moment to herself and then you guys will make up like nothing happened," Suki encouraged Sokka, who nodded, before sending her a small smile.

Azara spotted Aang and Katara embracing as Aang prepared to leave to find Appa and pulled Toph with her over to wish him good luck. Sokka walked over from the opposite direction, Suki no longer by his side. Aang looked out at his friends as he and Katara pulled away from each other. "I promise, I'll find Appa as fast as I can. I just really need to do this," Aang spoke to his friends, who smiled and nodded.

"See you in the big city," Sokka nodded as Katara stood by her brother's side.

"Say hi to that big fuzzball for me," Toph replied, punching Aang in the arm.

"And tell him we've missed him dearly," Azara added, placing a reassuring hand on Aang's shoulder.

"You'll find him, Aang," Katara continued, causing Aang to smile and nod.

"I know. Thank you, Katara. You ready, Momo?" Aang asked the lemur, who chittered in response. Aang sent one last smile to his friends, before opening his glider and taking off. The rest of the group waved goodbye as Aang and Momo soared towards the wall.