Into Madness- Suki's story

Companion to My Protector

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Suki glared at Sokka, annoyed that he was defending Toph again, and rolled her eyes.

"Oh yeah, she really needs your protection." Suki sneered, annoyed at her boyfriend for the umpteenth time that week.

Within an instant, everything around her exploded into a white-hot, searing pain that radiated through her entire being.

She was launched several feet backwards, into the surrounding woods.

Her world went dim.

Suki forced her eyes open, and found herself facedown in the muddy bracken of the forest. Suki pulled her head up, and pain shot through her body. She forced herself to look around and see if she could find a stream to cleanse her wounds.

Suki's ears rang painfully, and she fought to focus. Suki took in her surroundings, and judging by the moss on the trees, decided the direction she would take to search for water.

Suki struggled to stand up, but finding it too painful, she reached her raw hands out and began to crawl, her fingernails filling with mud.

She drug herself for what could have been hours, or what could have been minutes. The only thing Suki was certain of was the unbearable pain.

Suki soaked in the small stream, the cool water soothing her burns. From what she could see and feel, her left side had taken most of the damage. When the sun went down, she would look for herbs to help heal her wounds.

With nothing to do but think to block out the pain, Suki replayed the events in her mind.

Someone had tried to kill them, and she had been injured. Soon, Sokka would come looking for her. He would find her and they would be together, and everything would be okay.

Maybe Toph had been killed.

Suki pushed the thought from her mind. What kind of sick person would think that? Suki loved the younger girl. Sure she could get annoying, but who cares? Death is not a fitting punishment, Suki scolded.

A week passed, and Sokka never came. Suki's wounds had become scabbed, and she had gained enough strength to travel into the town. Her clothes had been badly burned, but she salvaged what she could and entered the first building she came to.

It was a musty, dank tavern.

The men looked up as she entered, but none of them seemed to recognize her. The bartender, an older gentleman, pulled her aside.

"Miss," he began. "I'm afraid this is no place for you. You are injured, is there someone I can send for?" he asked. Suki looked into his weathered eyes and sighed.

"I don't know." She confessed. Suki couldn't fathom what had kept Sokka from coming to find her, unless he had been hurt. "I don't know if you've heard of him, but he travels with the Avatar." She began. A look of understanding graced the man's green eyes.

"The Water Tribe warrior, I believe he was injured in the attack. He is no longer here." The man told her. Suki closed her eyes, unable to believe that Sokka just left, not knowing if she was okay or not. How could he betray her? He was supposed to love her. The man continued, but his words fell on deaf ears. "He lost his bride in the attack." The man said softly. But Suki was already leaving.

Suki traveled to Gaoling, and as luck would have it, she found out from a group of rebels that Toph Bei Fong was living there. Suki would go to her and find out if Toph knew how to find Sokka.

Suki went to Toph's house, but when she set eyes on the woman, the events of the accident came flooding back at her full force.

Sokka turned and threw his body over Toph, shielding her instead of Suki.

Suki's blood ran cold and she turned around, headed straight for the people that she had met with earlier. Suki stepped into the run-down warehouse, her cloak's hood covering her scarred face.

"Destroy it." She commanded.

It was sheer coincidence that Suki came across Azula. They collided in the market place in Omashu.

Suki was clad in her grey cloak, and Azula wore the green garb of the Earth Kingdom.

Suki had been following a lead that Toph had moved to Omashu, and she had come to shake things up for the girl. She just wanted her to know what it's like to have your whole world come crashing down.

"So, if it isn't Suki of the Kyoshi Warriors. I heard that your boyfriend let you die. Sad really." Azula said, her voice anything but concerned, mocking even.

"Get away from me." Suki replied, shoving the woman out of her way. In the back of her mind, Suki knew that she should call for a soldier to arrest the woman, but Azula's words had crept under her skin. Azula reached out and grabbed Suki's wrist.

"Suki, come on now, I can help you. If you help me get my brother, I'll help you get revenge on Toph." Azula offered, her voice charming. Suki yanked her arm away and laughed.

"Why would I help you? I don't want revenge anyway, I just want to stir up a little trouble before I find Sokka." Suki replied, turning away from her. Azula smiled.

"I know that if my boyfriend had saved some child rather than me, and then slept with said child, I would kill her. I would let my boyfriend live of course, because then, I would be there to console him for his loss." Azula stated, her voice eerily calm. Suki spun around.

"Sokka did not sleep with Toph!" Suki said firmly. Azula shrugged.

"I suppose he also didn't save her instead of you." she countered. Suki's eyes filled with tears.

"I'm not listening to you." she said stubbornly. Azula tilted her head slightly, and stared at Suki.

"Suki, you don't remember what happened, do you? I can tell you if you want. My brother brought the news to the palace, and I heard all about it." She said. Though her mind was screaming to ignore Azula, her heart wanted to hear if Sokka had truly betrayed her.

"Fine, if I agree to listen to you, will you leave me alone?" she asked. Azula shrugged.

"I'm just trying to help you out, but of course. Let's take a walk, shall we?" she asked. The two girls walked out of earshot of any of Omashu's many citizens. They sat down on the edge of the mountain, and Suki turned to face Azula.

"Okay, tell me what you heard." She demanded. Azula stretched out, her claw-like nails digging into the ground.

"Well, ZuZu told his precious Mai who told a servant that someone had attempted an assassination. That person was questioned, and they found that he had been hired by a hooded figure. A figure with unseeing eyes. Apparently, it was a ploy for the person to get some attention; no one was supposed to get hurt. But then, something went wrong. Your dearest Sokka saved Toph and left a few days later. They got a house together and were supposed to get married, but Sokka still loves you. He wants to be with you Suki. All you have to do is get Toph out of the way." She spoke with a deliberately manipulative voice, and though Suki wanted to tell herself it was all a lie, her memory was changing.

She could see Toph in a dark cloak, a hood covering her hair. She could see Toph smiling as the bomb went off. She could see Toph holding Sokka, their bodies glistening with sweat. And she could see Sokka crying, begging for Suki to come back to him.

"I'll make her pay." Suki whispered, her eyes filling with tears.

A/N: Okay, so you all know the rest of the story. I wanted to show a little bit more about how she didn't start out screwed up, how she just wanted Toph to suffer a little, to be inconvenienced really. I wanted to show how Azula manipulated her to get what she wanted. Okay, thanks for reading. ~Kirsten