Ready or Not
... here I come ...
My name is Suki.
And I don't think I'm ready to die.
*
There were three young women who appeared out of nowhere, two clad in red and one in pink. The girl with the brown hair – the firebender – had a hard, cruel face. The face of a killer.
*
My wrists are numb. There is no point in struggling any more. But because I'm Suki – or just an idiot – I give one final tug. The ropes chafe my wrists. The firebender's golden eyes narrow and she smirks.
Out of the corner of my eye I can see Amaya, still pinned to a tree. I realized that one of the blades must have nicked her arm, as her wrist is soaked in crimson blood.
Sacrifice isn't about you getting hurt for the greater good. It's about letting the people you love bleed.
*
Oddly enough, the first thought that really registers in my mind is that the fire is blue – an oddity I have never encountered before.
Before it has even begun, the battle is lost. Amaya has been pinned to a tree, Eira is on the ground, unable to move. All of them, save me, have been defeated. I am the last one standing.
*
At first I tried to tell myself that everything would be okay. The firebender and her two companions were after Appa, and now that he was gone there was nothing left to do here. They'd leave us here, a little battered and bruised and worse for wear but on the whole okay, and continue on.
But I've always been able to tell when people are lying.
*
Everything passes in a fiery, dusty blur.
She firebends at me, I manage to leap over the blast and land on my knees, palms spread. For an instant I am bowing.
I'm running and then, finally, Appa leaves and is flying away. For a mere second everything is okay – Appa is safe – and then there's more fire coming my way. And soon enough it's too late.
*
The firebender is standing beside her dagger-throwing friend. She then wrenches a blade out of the woman's hand.
One step.
The girl dressed in pink suddenly presses her hand to her mouth, stifling a gasp. Her eyes widen in comprehension, rounded with childlike fear.
Two steps.
Amaya lifts her head, eyes glazed over with pain and exhaustion. I pray she will not be able to remember this.
Three steps.
I love you, Sokka.
Four steps.
I feel the ice-cold edge of the blade against my throat. It digs in, and there is white-hot pain.
My name is Suki.
And I'm going to die today whether I'm ready or not.
Disclaimer: AtLA is property of VIACOM and Nickelodeon. No profit is made from this story.
A/N: So the idea for this fic came to me while I was reading another one - I forget the name - and the author mentioned - it must have been written before DoBS aired - that everyone was assuming that Azula had either killed Suki, or taken her prisoner and stolen her clothes. And then I got thinking ... what if Azula had killed Suki? Having her grab one of Mai's daggers to finish the job just seemed like what she would naturally do. Especially since she's really pissed that Appa got away. So I started writing and this is what was created. And this is a ONESHOT, so there will be no continuation whatsoever - no matter how much I'd love to write Sokka's reaction during the DoBS ... :(
Please review!