Chapter 10: Mother Knows Best

"What's your escape plan?" he growled with rage upon barging through the door.

She was huddled in the corner of the room with her knees to her chest, rocking back and forth, sobbing and muttering to herself.

"Azula…" He couldn't stand to see her like this. This was torture. He eased his tone. "You don't have an escape plan, do you." It wasn't a question.

"YES I DO!"

The outburst made him recoil. "THEN WHAT IS IT?!"

She stood up without looking at him and began pacing about the room sporadically. "Well, when the warden inevitably finds me and throws me back into that frigid hellhole… before I lose the ability to firebend… I'm going to sit myself down… and shoot lightning at the floor." She stopped walking, freezing in place. Slowly she turned to him. "You're a smart boy, Sokka. I'm sure you know what happens when lightning hits metal."

"I – " he choked. "I don't."

She sighed exasperatedly and continued her pacing. "When I was a young girl, Father had this metal safe of valuables and family secrets. But he wouldn't share them with anyone, not even me. Well obviously, this bothered me to no end. I was determined to find out what was in that box. So one day, when he was in a war meeting, I snuck into his room, grabbed the safe, and tried every random key I had collected. It wouldn't budge. I tried to physically pry it open, but it was no use. I got so frustrated that, while I was finagling with the lock, I shot lightning at it. All of a sudden, a jolt of unbearable pain rushed through my body, all the hairs on my head shot straight up, and then I fainted." Again, she ceased her desultory walk. "So… what's the point of this story?"

His blue eyes quadrupled in size. "No. NO. NO!"

"Well… I'm guessing you can imagine what would happen on a much larger scale."

That's when he felt his heart completely crumble and fall to pieces. "What?" he trembled. "S-So that's it? You're just giving up?!"

"I'm out of options!" she blared, her breathing becoming more and more ragged.

"There're always other – "

"NO! I have no friends, I have nowhere to go! I – "

"What about – "

"I can't go home. I disobeyed Father – he'll be… displeased."

A violent shiver coursed through his body.

"Don't you get it? My only two friends left me for dead. Zuko doesn't want me! You don't want me! NO ONE wants me!"

"No Azula, that's not – "

"Sokka," she whimpered. "You should have just left me in there."

"Don't say that." What pained him the most was that she had thoroughly thought this out. Indeed, she had an escape plan. The ultimate escape.

"Oh, what does it matter anyway? Soon you'll be reunited with your friends and win the war. You'll forget all about me. All of you will."

"I could never – "

"It'll be just like I never existed. Besides… Mother says it's a good idea. She says… it's the only way I can redeem myself."

"But that's not true! I can think of another way." His blue eyes brightened.

She looked at him with a mixture of melancholy and doubt.

"You could help Aang with his firebending."

She blinked. Two tears streamed down her cheeks. "What?" she exhaled.

"If the Avatar is going to fight your father, he's going to need to learn to deal with lightning." A purpose. He was gifting her a purpose.

Tears continued to roll down her cheeks, though not as steadily as before. "Wh-What are you saying?"

"I haven't broken my promise yet." He took her by the shoulders and led her over to the mattress where he forced her to sit down, noting that she didn't resist his touch this time. "Now you stay put." He leaned down to her eye level, his face just a breath away from hers, blue eyes searing into amber. "I'm going to tell Suki that you're coming with us. I don't care what she has to say."

She smiled at him faintly. Her eyes glistened.

"Even if you decide you don't want to help Aang with his firebending, I will get you off this island," he promised wholeheartedly. "But…" He smiled. "I really hope you will." Then he darted out the door and marched to Suki's cell, his pulse flittering nervously in his throat all the while. He swallowed hard and opened the door.

"Sokka!" she greeted, throwing her arms around his neck. "Are we all ready to go?"

"Yes." He put his hands on her waist but didn't deepen their connection. "But there's one thing you need to know."

Her face fell upon hearing the somberness of his tone.

"Azula is coming with us. And that's final."

"NO!" She dropped her arms and jumped back and away from him. "You're not seriously choosing her over me!"

"I'm not choosing anyone over anyone. We can all fit in the cooler. There's no need to choose, and it's unfair of you to make me!"

"I can't believe this!" she snarled. "You're going to help her. The girl who had me imprisoned here in the first place! Or had that escaped your mind along with all your common sense?!"

"Suki, please! You don't understand. She's in a really bad place right now – "

"Oh, boohoo." She feigned wiping a tear from her eye. "Hey ladies, guess what!" she taunted melodramatically. "It doesn't matter how many people you torture, how many lives you destroy, how many times you lie. As long as Sokka finds you naked and vulnerable, he'll pathetically come to your rescue."

His eyes went dark, his nostrils began to flare.

"I have half a mind to strip off my own clothes and jump into a – "

"ENOUGH!" he roared.

She froze.

He spoke in a low growl. "I never told you she was naked."

Her dark blue eyes widened with panic.

"You knew she was here all this time?! You were in on this?!" he accused, spitting with fury. "What did you do to her?!"

"Oh, I'm surprised she didn't already tell you considering how close you two have become!"

"Did you take her armor?!"

"I wouldn't even be here in the first place if it weren't for her! She deserved it!"

"DID YOU TAKE HER ARMOR?!"

"Yes!" she confessed. "I… was mopping the hallway when I saw Mai and Ty Lee throw her in the cooler. Immediately after they left, I snuck in, figuring the princess was chi-blocked. And then…" She sighed with remorse. "I snapped. I… I was furious with her, for everything she put me through, for everything she put my friends through! And so I took her armor. I regretted it almost instantly, but what was I supposed to do, give it back? Anyway… I figured the problem would soon resolve itself."

He shuddered at her final words. "You're… not the girl I thought you were."

"Yeah? Well you're not the man I thought you were either – "

"It's over, Suki."

"At least you got one thing right," she snapped bitterly.

He took a deep breath. "Well… I guess I should be going. Are you… coming?"

"Wh-What?" she breathed.

"Are you coming with us or not?"

"You'd still let me in on your plan even after breaking up with me? After knowing what I did?"

"Well yeah, I mean… we're in this war together, aren't we?"

A tear dripped down her cheek. "We are… but… I'm not coming with you. I'll find my own way off this island. I'm sorry."

He nodded, his features strained with anguish, unable to understand her decision. He turned for the door.

"Sokka," she whispered. "Be well, okay?"

He gave her a listless smile. "You too, Suki."

Author's Note: I'm sorry if you find Suki to be too unforgiving and vindictive. I know she may be a little OOC. Believe it or not, I actually like Suki as a character. I didn't include this in the story, but you can assume Suki successfully escapes a few days later by taking the warden as hostage and commandeering the gondola. Also, I'd like to emphasize that Azula isn't necessarily suicidal in this story – she's just desperate and feels that she is out of options, not to mention that her mother (in her head) is encouraging her to kill herself as a means of redemption.