All the World is Lost (A:TLA)

Part 1 Ch 2: Plans

"So what now?" Sokka asked, bent over a map that was sprawled out on the table. His palms were pressed down on the edges of the map, holding the old piece of parchment flat. "We need to figure out our next move."

"We could start making our way to the Fire Nation," Hakoda offered, standing with his arms crossed to Sokka's right. "The eclipse is in six weeks. That gives us plenty of time to find all your allies, Sokka."

"What about Aang?" Katara interjected from where she was standing by the wall of the tent, a sour look on her face. "He's in no condition to travel."

Sokka sighed. "We know, Katara. But we may not have a choice."

Katara scoffed in response. About a week had passed since that awful night in Ba Sing Se. Katara spent most, if not all of her time in her tent, healing Aang with as much water as she could spare. With Aang's help, she regulated a healing schedule. Katara paid close attention to the Avatar's unconscious behavior, how he would move uncomfortably whenever he was in pain, trying to wake up but too weak to do so. Every few hours or so, Katara would notice him moving slightly and bring her water buckets over to heal him.

Toph's schedule was nothing out of the ordinary. Every morning she woke up, fixed her hair so she looked somewhat presentable (or what she assumed was presentable), picked her toes, picked her nose, picked her toes a second time, then went out to practice her Earthbending. Occasionally, Toph would drop in on Katara and ask how Aang was doing. The girls didn't exchange more than a few words of greeting along with Katara filling Toph in on Aang's nonchanging condition. Then Toph would leave Katara in peace and go about her equally uneventful day.

Sokka's mornings were a little more exciting than the girls' were. Since he had decided to help the Earth King with teaching Bosco to be a real bear, things had been lightening up a bit around the Water Tribe camp. The men got a real kick out of watching Sokka trying to teach a bear how to...well, be a bear. It was just so Sokka-like, how everything he would try blew up in his face. Nothing had changed since he was small.

And he was still just as smart as back then. Sokka made eye contact with his sister, taking note of how red her eyes were; she must not have slept much in the past week. "Look sis, I know these past few days have been hard on you, but we need to think about the big picture here, not just Aang."

"Aang is the big picture here!" Katara shot back. "Without him, the world will fall just like Ba Sing Se did. We can't afford to lose him again. If we do, there will be no one to make things right again."

"She's right, Hakoda," Bato chimed in from the other side of the table. He leaned over the map, his hands moving over the map as he spoke. "The Fire Navy has spread deep into Earth Kingdom waters. They've surrounded the capital city with no way in or out. Now, the only ways to the Fire Nation from here would be south along the Si Wong desert, or north through the Serpent's Pass. The southern route will surely take far too long, and the Serpent's Pass is most likely guarded heavily by the Fire Nation."

"What are you saying, Bato?" Hakoda asked.

"I'm saying that Katara has a point," Bato continued. "If we go north, we could be caught and captured, or even killed on sight. Going south would deplete our time faster than you in a barrel of stewed sea prunes."

That got even Katara laughing.

"Then what do we do?" Sokka asked. "We can't stay here. They'll find us."

"We need to think about what's best for Aang," Katara said. "When he wakes up--"

"If he wakes up," Sokka muttered, just loud enough for Katara to hear.

"When he wakes up," Katara corrected with narrowed eyes, "we'll need to make sure we have enough supplies for him to recover. We'll need to stay hidden until then. No one, not even the Fire Nation can know he's alive."

Bato nodded. "I agree. If the Fire Nation believes the Avatar is dead, we won't have to worry about them coming after us and hunting us. We'll be safe."

"That doesn't give us much to go on," Hakoda said.

"Actually, it does." Sokka's face lit up in a smile. "Katara, that's brilliant!"

"It is?" Katara raised an eyebrow.

"What are you saying, Sokka?" Hakoda asked. "Are you suggesting we stay here and hide until Aang wakes up?"

"No no, of course not." Sokka looked at everyone in turn. "I'm saying that we stick to the obscure routes, we lay low, we keep the knowledge of Aang's survival between us. That way, by the time we make it to the day of the invasion, they'll have no idea the Avatar is coming to kick their butts!"

Hakoda smiled at his son. "Well done, Sokka. Bato, tell the men to pack their bags. We set sail for Serpent River at first light."

"Yes sir," Bato said before leaving the tent.

"I'll go get Aang ready," Katara said, leaving before anyone could say a word against her.

Sokka sighed and looked up at his father. "She's too invested in him. When he doesn't wake up, she'll be crushed beyond all repair. She loves him, more than she cares to admit."

Hakoda sighed. "Then we'll just have to make sure he wakes up. We won't survive this war without him."