Sorry for the delay, this is the longest chapter to date and it was a difficult transition point in the story. It will start to get more action packed after this. As always please read and review. I do read the review and I do accept ideas.
TwinkleStaar and vienx.001 Thanks for your recent reviews. They were encouraging and inspirational.
Kineticwing- I agree with what you said on a whole I just want to make it as close to how the characters from the cartoon would view him.
Sokka's Task
After Sokka led Katara back to the palace he went out to one of the palaces many balconies and stared up at the moon. He allowed his thought to drift to Yue, as he often did on nights like this. He thought about what things would be like if he had been able to protect her.
The moon began to glow brighter and the light it reflected seemed to dance. Sokka rubbed his eyes. 'I must be more tired' Sokka thought to himself. Looking back up at the moon again it now seemed to be getting closer. Sokka narrowed his eyes trying to focus more on the moon as it seemed to draw nearer. He could now distinguish a silhouette of a woman drawing closer to him. Sokka inhaled deeply at the realization of who the silhouette was.
"Yue" Sokka whispered as the woman now floated mere feet from him.
Yue's figure shined brightly, her presence emanated light. She appeared exactly the same as when she had turned into the moon spirit. Sokka gazed upon Yue in awe. She allowed a moment to pass to allow Sokka to regain his composure. She couldn't help but chuckle at him staring at her with wide eyes and his mouth hanging open. When he finally composed himself she spoke.
"Sokka, I have watched over you. I have seen you grow into the warrior that matches your bravery. You have fought courageously to help the avatar bring balance to the world. I have also observed how much you fight to protect the ones you love. You have a truly noble and compassionate heart." She waited a moment to let her words sink in before she continued again.
"I have a task for you that will need both your bravery and compassion."
Sokka was shocked that Yue would come down and visit him, though given their history he shouldn't be too surprised. What surprised him the most was that a spirit would find a simple peasant who wasn't even a bender important enough to carry out a task.
"What task could I possible perform, I am not a powerful bender or even a feared warrior?"
"The task I have for you I can only entrust to you. It isn't your warrior skills that are need but the other skill you have that will be needed."
"I don't understand."
"The task I set before you will require your intelligence and leadership." Yue lets a silence pass before she speaks again.
"I need you to help the fallen fire nation princess overcome her broken mind. The war may be over but the balance is far from being restored. You are well aware that the battle is far from over."
"What does Azula have to do with any of this, what do I have to do any of this for that matter?"
"Sokka, you and Azula's destinies are intertwined, but I cannot share more. I can tell you that you have both been touched by the spirits."
"What spirits have I...we been touched by?" Sokka asked clearly confused by what spirit he had been touched by
"Azula may have lost her fire but she still has the blessing of Agni, the sun spirit. And you Sokka have been touched by the moon spirit."
As she spoke the last of her words she reached out her hands and touched his cheeks as a lover would. Sokka closed his eyes and placed his own hands on top of hers. Through closed eyes he could still see Yue's shining light brighten. As the light brightened he felt a warmth fill his body, starting where her hands and moving through the rest of him.
"Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe I bestow upon you the blessing of the moon spirit. In your most needed times I will grant you the power to overcome."
The light dimmed and the warmth he felt cooled. Sokka opened his eyes and met Yue's gaze. She had a single tear running down her cheek and she held a warm smile. Yue's eyes told Sokka the deep affection she had for him that she gave up when she sacrificed her life for the greater good of mankind. They shared a look that told each other the unspoken love they couldn't share with each other.
"Sokka, the road your life hold will be difficult and at times will seem unbearable, but do not waiver you will never be alone. If you keep on the path before you there will always be people around you to make your struggles worth it."
After a moment Yue kissed Sokka on the cheek and began her assent back up to the moon.
"Wait." Sokka said momentarily stopping her assent. "Will I ever see you again?"
"Every time you look up in the night sky and look up at the moon, I will be smiling down on you." With that she drifted up towards the moon. Sokka watched her until he could no longer tell her from the moon.
Sokka woke up early the next morning. He slipped out of his room and moved through the palace unseen and silently made his way into the room the girls were sharing.
"Suki...Suki wake up." Sokka whispered while gently shaking his girlfriend.
"What...Sokka?" Suki mumbled groggily.
"Suki, wake up." He whispered again.
"Sokka go away it's still dark outside." Suki muttered while burying her head under her pillow.
Sokka, got a huge grin on his face when a sudden idea on how to wake her up popped into his head. He crawled on her bed and laid next to her, allowing the blanket to keep them separated. He still had morals after all. He slid his head under her pillow and gently breathed warm air into her ear as seductive as he could. He felt her shiver and felt the goose bumps form on her neck.
"Mmm" Suki moaned and she rolled over onto her back and met her lips to Sokka's.
"You sure know how to wake a girl up." She purred
"Okay, now that your awake I need to get changed. I'll be right outside your door."
"You're pure evil you know that. You got me all excited for some kissy time just to tell me to get dressed." She spoke with a pout.
"You know me." Sokka said flashing her a huge cheesy grin as he left the room.
Five minutes later Suki came out wearing the same Fire Nation outfit she used as a disguise while they were hiding on Ember Island. She threw on a hooded cloak as she walked up to Sokka.
"What are we doing and why do we have to do it so early?" Suki Whispered
"We are going to pay a visit to Azula and I wanted slip in and out before everybody woke up and as fire benders rise with the sun we have to do it now."
Suki opened her mouth to ask further but Sokka cut her off.
"I'll explain more later, right now we need to hurry and sneak into the dungeon."
Suki gave a simple nod of acceptance and followed Sokka while they snuck through the shadows down into the dungeon.
Sokka and Suki were standing in front of Azula's cell while Sokka fumbled around with a ring full of keys trying to find the one for Azula's cell.
"Sokka where the hell did you get the keys to the dungeon?"
"Well, I had a conversation with the good doctor last night and I told him I needed to see Azula before everybody got up. He handed to the keys to me then and told me where to leave them when we leave so nobody will be the wiser."
"What about the guards?"
"Don't worry about them Dr. Lee's got that all taken care of."
Sokka finally found the key and placed it in the lock. He gave Suki a 'hear goes nothing' look and unlocked the door. Sokka pushed the door open and it let out a loud rusty squeak. Sokka grimaced at the offensive and un-stealthy noise. Sokka walked slowly into the cold, damp cell followed closely by Suki. The lantern Suki was carrying lit the room with a soft yellow glow.
Sokka walked slowly over to Azula's broken form laying in a bed in the far corner of the cell. She was curled up shivering under the thin blanket she had. Sokka took a mental note to make sure the doctor to get her a warmer blanket.
"Azula...Azula can you hear me. It is me Sokka...Suki is hear too?"
She didn't respond but he knew by the slight twitch in her face that she had heard him. So he pressed on.
"Azula, I'm sorry." After a brief pause he continued. "I'm sorry for what Katara did to you."
Azula listened intently. Her mother told her to trust the water tribe boy and his girlfriend. His words seemed to be sincere. The more she listened to him the more she was washed with emotions. He apologized for many things. None of them he had caused of had any part of for that matter. He heard sorrow in his voice when he apologized for Aang taking her bending away. He told her how he had admired its beauty and the grace with which she performed while bending. He said how he knew bending was a part of who she was and losing it was like losing herself. His voice carried anger when he apologized for the harsh treatment she received from Ozai. He said Dr. Lee told him about how abusive Ozai when he trained her. Sokka continued with venom when he said that it was all Ozai's fault that the Great Princess Azula was seen as evil and hated by the world.
Sokka watched Azula's face intently while he apologized for all the horrible things she had endured. Her face spoke a thousand words. He could see the sadness in her face. He could see the despair and the hurt. When he apologized for her losing her bending he was deeply saddened. Her bending was beautiful and graceful and if she wouldn't have directed it at him and the gang he would have loved to just watch her dance with her blue flames. When he talked about the things he found out Ozai had done to her, Sokka burned inside. Sokka knew that Ozai had twisted and manipulated Azula into what everybody saw her as. But he knew that it isn't what she is now. He knew there was good inside of her and he was determined to fulfill his mission from Yue and bring it out of her and help her become whole again.
"Why?" Azula rasped out her horse voice barely a whisper. "Why are you sorry? You have done nothing to be sorry for."
Sokka took a deep breath. "I know it is not all your fault you ended up this way. I know you were twisted by the abuse of your father. Nobody should ever have to go through what you had to go through. When I found out these things it made me sick. How can a father do that to his children?"
"He was making me strong, he was teaching me to overcome weakness." Azula spoke through ragged breaths.
"No, Azula he was not. The trauma you suffered at his hands did not breed out weakness. He twisted your mind into believing those lies. Look what his lies did to you. All the emotions you were forced to push into the back of your mind caused your mind to become fragile and when you failed the day of Sozin's commit your mind shattered. You have a chance at a new beginning, to start fresh if you let me help you."
Azula knew everything he said was true she knew that he was here to help. But he was forcing her to look inwardly and see how broken she became. This made her angry, why could she not have seen this coming? Why had she repressed all those terrible memories until her fall? Her anger boiled up. Her face twisted into a deep scowl.
"You know nothing. You are just a savage, what do you know?" Azula attempted to scream but it just came out raspy and weak.
"You know what I say is true" he said softly "Why do you fight it? You were nothing more than a tool to the lies your father taught you. He no longer has power over you, over your thoughts. I know you know I'm right, I can see it in your eyes. If you let me I will help you get a second chance in life, the choice is yours"
With that Azula broke down. He was right, mother was right. She can see it so clearly now. Her father never loved her he only used her. She became just like him. She treated her friends like that and eventually they turned on her. She decided right then and there that she would chose to trust the water tribe boy and the Kyoshi warrior.
After a long silence Azula looked Sokka right in the eyes. "Your right, I accept your offer." Azula spoke with as much dignity as her body would allow.
"Good. It may take some time but I will convince Zuko to let you out of here. It won't be easy and I know he won't allow you to just go free. I think I can convince him to release you into the custody of the Kyoshi warriors on Kyoshi island."
Sokka looked over at Suki with pleading eyes. He just came up with this plan and didn't get a chance to talk to her first. Suki was wide-eyed at first but after thinking it through she gave him a nod of approval.
"We are going to be leaving for Ba Sing Se tomorrow. We will be gone for a while but I promise I will do everything in my power to help you. You have my word."
Sokka and Suki left Azula cell and snuck back into the palace. They made their way to one of the gardens and Sokka told Suki about his visit from Yue and the charge she had given him. They talked about his plan to bring Azula to Kyoshi Island and then they talked about the future in general. They talked to one another while watching the sun rise.