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This episode is very sad, so be prepared. But, It'll get happier soon enough. I promise.

Book Two – Chapter Ten: Broken

Sokka's P.O.V

I frankly don't know what to call what I'm feeling at this moment. I'm depressed, I'm devastated, I'm outraged, I'm dejected, I'm mournful, I'm heartbroken, hopeless, and just damn right in an unfathomable amount of pain. But, is there a word that sums all of those dreadful emotions?

Broken.

Yeah, that's what I am.

Utterly and cynically broken.

How can she be gone? After all the dangerous situations the two of us have fought through, after all the times I came close to losing her, after all that I've done just to keep her protected and by my side... She got taken from me. Just. Like. That. All because of a bunch of maleficent, heartless, bastards decided to just ride up and force her away.

Away from the me—the person who is just so pitifully in love with her that without her, there's an empty, gaping hole in the middle of my chest that formed right when I realized she's gone.

It's just so unfair. So unbelievably unfair.

"How could you let them take Kaiko and Appa?" Aang shouts furiously at Toph, who has her back faced away from all of us. "Why didn't you stop them?"

"I couldn't! The library was sinking and you guys were still inside!" she replies, her voice thick with blatant grief and remorse.

"You could have come to get us! I could have saved them!"

"I can hardly feel any vibrations out here. The sand benders snuck up on me and there wasn't time for—"

He crudely interrupts her, "You just didn't care!"

"Didn't care?" she repeats in disbelief. "Kaiko means more to me than any friend I've ever had! I tried all I could to save her and Appa!"

"We need to stop fighting," Katara cuts in, her cheeks stained from previous tears. "We're all devastated about this separation, but standing here and doing nothing isn't going to get us out of the desert."

"Why's it even matter?" I mutter hoarsely, my tone coated with so much sadness that it almost comes out dull. "Kaiko's most likely being taken to the fire nation as we speak. I don't care if we don't make it out—not without her."

She sends me a distressed look. "Sokka, you can't give up. The sooner we make it out of here, the sooner we can search for Appa and Kaiko."

"You know what she yelled as she tried fighting them off?" Toph murmurs quietly. "She kept on shouting at me to not let go of the library and just forget about her. Even when her own life's at sake, her main focus is making sure we're all safe. I-I've never met anyone so selfless."

A tear streams down both Aang's and Katara's face. "She's my best friend," Aang chokes out, pursing his trembling lips. "I lost two of my best friends today. It just took one day."

"She's m-mine, t-too," Katara stutters, but then takes a deep, rigid breath to recompose herself. "Come on, guys. We gotta get moving. Kaiko wouldn't want us moping around until we die out here. She'd want us to hurry our butts up so we can survive."

I don't say anything because, honestly, I don't think I'm capable of forming a sentence without it coming out incoherently.

"I'm going after them," Aang declares, whipping out his glider and soaring up into the air before any of us can even comprehend what he was doing.

"Aang, wait!" Katara calls urgently. When he never turns around, she releases a troubled sigh. "We better start walking. Not only do we have to find Kaiko, but we're the only people who know about the solar eclipse and that information needs to get to Ba Sing Se."

I follow her lead because I know she's right—even though right now I only have one thing on my mind.

Her.

I'm so sorry, baby.

A lonely tear slivers down my cheek.

Kaiko's P.O.V

I stopped crying awhile ago—not wanting the show any sign of weakness to my demented captures. Anyway, it's fairly difficult to do so with a gag stuffed into my mouth and ropes so tight around my torso that I believe I might suffocate. Although, I wish I could continue to cry; I wish I was able to just wrench out all my distressed feelings into never ending sobs. But, I refuse to give these sand benders any satisfaction about knowing how much they're truly hurting me.

Therefore, I express no emotion as we travel further and further away from my friends. Occasionally though, I allow them to note the extreme hate I feel for them.

My eyelids flutter open when we come to an abrupt stop.

"Ransack his saddle!" one of the men orders—who I presume is the boss— and jabs his finger at Appa. "Who knows what treasures are stashed in there."

While the men comply, the boss stalks over to me. I swiftly divert my gaze away from him.

"Oh, so the little princess doesn't want to look at me. What? Am I too disgusting for you?"

I keep on staring down, apathetic. Catching me entirely off guard, he mercilessly grabs my face and forces me to look up at him. But, I stay emotionless the whole time—no flinching, grimacing, nothing.

Completely aloof.

"I highly suggest you listen to me," he snaps, a speck of his spit hitting my cheek. "I hold your fate in my hands. I chose where you'll be sent to. I can decided rather or not you'll be sold to people who'll kill you or merely just shove you in a prison cell to rot. It's all up to me, darling."

My response is a bat of my eyelashes, but that's all.

A sadistic smirk grows across his lips. "You know, you're quite pretty. For the fire nation princess, that is. Now only if you weren't part of reason for this era of suffering and destruction."

His words defiantly sting—just like they always do whenever the same, or similar, words are thrown at me. I have the urge to bawl right then and there and I even feel a sob build up in the back of my throat, but I swallow it down frantically. I cannot let his taunts get to me so easily. Just because some people may believe I'm just as spiteful and heartless as my father and sister, doesn't mean I really am. I know that I've been sacrificing multiple things to help end this way the right way so it shouldn't matter what others think.

But it does.

I'm being taken away from the ones that honestly love and accept me for the sole reason that a group of sand benders hate me. I might die in the next couple days just because I was born into the nation that began a devastating war. Earlier today may be the last time I ever see the boy I'm in love with. How is that fair? I'm being terribly punished for something I didn't even do, yet I am being blamed for.

So, yeah. His words do hurt. A lot.

"Ghashiun! There's not much in here," a sand bender yells over.

Ghashiun, the boss, glances over his shoulder at them before joining them by the pile of our things scattered on the ground. I ground my teeth together in anger when he kicks Sokka's machete to the side.

"That's it? Nothing but garbage!" he shouts. "Doesn't matter—we'll still make a profit selling him to those beetle-headed merchants."

Without gathering up our supplies, Ghashiun and the rest of the sand benders hop on their contraptions—witch I found out are named sand sailers—and carry forward.

It doesn't take long for us to arrive at a miniscule tented area in the middle of the desert. Three men stroll over to us, pure interest etched on their faces. If this were a more cheerful situation, I would have laughed at their literal "beetle headed" helmets. They don't notice me, but instead go through with examining Appa.

"How's his temper?" asks the biggest one out of the merchants.

"Uh, pretty good," Ghashiun lies, though his bluff is fooled when Appa roars viciously at the merchants. "Well, most of the time..."

The merchants discuss something I am incapable of hearing. "Alright!" the main one says, grinning. "You got a deal!"

No, I think, my face falling in despair. He can't be sold! Aang and them need him to get out of the desert! Heck, they need him to go anywhere. How are they gonna get out of the desert? And, Appa's never dealt with any circumstances like this. Who knows what they're gonna do with him? He doesn't deserve this—not at all.

My hectic thoughts are interrupted when Ghashiun and the merchants are suddenly in front of me. The main merchant, confused, questions who I am.

"The one and only Kaiko, princess of the fire nation," Ghashiun answers, obviously proud that he snatched up such a catch.

I want to smack him.

"What?" gasps the merchant. "She's one of the most -"

Another merchant cuts him off and finishes with, "horrible people alive." The two merchants, once again, discuss something quietly, but this time with their eyes.

"I'm quite aware that," Ghashiun says. "That's why when I first realized who she is, I didn't hesitate to go after her."

"Well, you defiantly have a deal!"

Minutes pass and Ghashiun and the sand benders amassed an abundant amount of money. While Appa is dragged onto a contraption that is restricts him even more than he already is, I'm tied to one of the tent poles until further notice. My banded hands are shaking, my bottom lip is trembling, and my eyes seem like they're permanently pricked with tears—not matter how much I attempt to hold them back.

I'm terrified, to say the least. I have absolutely no clue what these merchants are going to do with me. Ever since they found out how who I am, they've been stealing the most mischievous glimpses at me that makes my skin crawl each time. They're planning something that's pleasing news to them, but probably awful news to me. Like Ghashiun said, these few people hold my life in their hands; but they don't care. They're basically forcing a life sentence on me no matter where I go. I'll be lucky if I actually make it out of this alive.

No. I'll be lucky if I see Sokka again.

My eyes snap over to Appa when he unexpectedly begins to rock back and forth, causing the contraption he's captured in to break apart a little bit every time he repeats his movements. The merchants gape at him before looking over at the sand benders in panic.

"He's your problem now!" Ghashiun hollers mockingly as they speed away on their sand sailers.

Appa flaps his tail until the ties around it rip and he immediately soars a couple feet above the ground, but he's stalled by the restraints keeping him down. An overwhelming feeling of hope rushes through me when I see that he might he possibly escape.

"Fly, Appa!" I scream encouragingly. "Get away from here!"

He glances down and he almost seems reluctant to leave without me, but he continues to raise higher into the air. But, all my hope vanishes when they shoot him with a tranquilizer and he roughly collapses onto the ground, his eyes slowly drooping closed.

I hang my head, more tears threatening to spill.

"We gotta get rid of this one! He's too much trouble!" one of the merchants declare.

The other nods, agreeing. "We can sell him for parts."

"No!" I cry out desperately. They stare at me in confusion. "Don't sell him, please. Just let him go. He won't cause any trouble if you just let him go." My voice starts to crack sorrowfully. "Please. J... Just let him go."

They don't respond to my pathetic pleads, but one starts on a complete different topic instead, "We know how much you're wanted for, Princess Kaiko. That sand bender obviously didn't, but we do. I know someone in Ba Sing Se that will fess up loads and loads of doe just to get his hands on someone like you. So, don't try to beg about anything, alright?"

I don't know why that gives me a logical reason to quit begging, although I listen, figuring no matter what I say they'll never set Appa free.

But, who in Ba Sing Se desires me to be in their clutches that bad? Something inside of me doesn't even want to find out. It could be any kind of person, who could do any sort of thing to me—another horrifying thing for me to look forward to.

My face twists into puzzlement when a merchant approaches me with another tranquilizer.

"We're going to need to you take little nap for awhile," he sneers.

I usually would fight this, or at least pathetically plead him not to, but I know committing either of those actions will gain me nothing. Therefore, I don't object when he ruthlessly stabs the needle into my shoulder.

xxxxxx

When my eyes finally open again, I'm in a diminutive, cramped room. I'm curled up on the ground and if I were to spread both my legs and arms out completely, my hands and feet would bump into the metal walls. The handle-less door is almost directly in front of me and a petty window with bars across it is positioned toward the top. It's then I grasp onto the fact that I'm in a prison cell.

I scramble into a sitting position, my breathing coming out in short, panicky breaths as I glance around at the claustrophobic room.

Where am I? How long have I been out from the tranquilizer? Am in the fire nation? Or am in Ba Sing Se like the merchant said? What happened to Appa? Does my father know I've been caught? Does anyone know where I am?

So many questions pop into my mind all at one time, but I'm temporarily distracted when the door to my cell is swung open and in steps an intimating man dressed in ornate earth kingdom attire. He has a thin mustache that hangs slightly down his face and his piercing, emerald orbs basically scream how truly maniacal and corruptive he is. I haven't even met him yet and just his presence engulfs me with terror.

"Wh-Who are you?" I manage to ask, stammering nervously.

"I'm Long Feng, head of the Dai Li of Ba Sing Se," he introduces, a sadistic smirk stuck on his face. "It's a great honor to meet you, Princess."

I'm lost about what to say.

"I realize you've been having quite a hard time lately," he continues on before I can think of how to respond. "And I'm sorry to say that it's not going to get any better. From now on, your life will just slowly get worse and worse; it'll turn out even more miserable than it was the day before. You're a criminal, so you deserve to live a life like one. The fire nation despises you for betraying them and everyone else despises you because you're part of the royal family. You just have to fact the facts that everyone wants you dead. Now, I can grant all their wishes.

"I'm not going to kill you though. Murdering you would be too easy—too predictable. I'm going to keep you locked up in this cell until you either go entirely psychotic or I chose a different path for you. Neither choices are good, believe me. Therefore, I suggest you don't attempt to escape because you won't be able to. You're permanently a prisoner from now on, Kaiko. I suggest you make the best of it."

Without anything else said, he leaves.

The door is slammed.

I'm alone.

And apparently, according to him, for good.

Something inside of me clicks and I convulsively break down. Uncontrollable sobs rack through my body, so much to the point that it pains me, while I scoot back against the wall and jerk my legs up against my chest. My wails are shrill, wretched, and full of unbearable agony. I rock back and forth with my face buried in my knees and my hands clutching my hair in tight handfuls.

No more Sokka.

No more Aang.

No more Katara.

No more Toph.

No more Uncle.

No more Zuko.

No more Appa.

No more Momo.

Absolutely no one for the rest of my prison-contained life.

This makes me so inconsolably... Broken.