"Why do I have to seduce the guard?" Sokka whined, quietly, as he stood up.
"Unless you have any better ideas," Suki said, "you're just going to have to do it."
"I have my dignity, Suki. Surely there's some other way!"
"Just lie back and think of the South Pole!"
Suki didn't really expect Sokka to seduce the guard to let them escape, but watching him squirm was funny.
"There must be some other way!"
Suki pretended to relent, and made a show of being deep in thought.
"Well, I do have one idea..."
Akari woke up with a start, and cursed herself.
She had been entrusted by the Firelord with looking after her honoured guests, and she couldn't be sleeping on the job. Even if it had been quite a late night.
Akari was very grateful to the Firelord. She had been a peasant on a remote island in the Fire Nation, eking out a living day to day, before the Firelord had come in a great golden ship and offered employment and a possible future in the Caldera to her. She would not let her down.
Admittedly, she hadn't given her much of a choice, but even if she had Akari would probably have said yes.
She yawned, and stretched, and stood up. And then she peered through the cell door.
There was nobody there.
Akari panicked. Had she really managed to lose her prisoners so quickly? And because she was asleep? She realised with a start that the Firelord's wrath would be swift and terrible. She grabbed the keys at her belt and began to unlock the door, cursing as she did so. She cursed herself, she cursed the prisoners, she cursed whoever had made this accursed door. She was pretty sure she had invented four or five brand new curses by herself.
Finally, the door swung open and she stepped in, preparing to look for any clues they might have left behind.
Before she had the chance, though, a fist came crashing down on the back of her head, and she was out like a light.
Sokka and Suki, from their hiding places tucked up beside the door, watched her collapse, before Sokka grabbed her keys out of her hand.
"Why do people keep falling for that?" He asked in exasperation.
"Who cares? We're out now."
"Time for the next part of the Great Sokka Master Plan!" Sokka almost shouted, as Suki rolled her eyes and tried not to laugh.
Together, they began to descend the steps of the tower, hoping that they would not be discovered at least before they found whatever passed for an armoury in this place. The descent down the staircase was the longest thirty seconds of Suki's life, and she was constantly expecting someone to come up the other way and discover them before they were ready. Fortunately, nobody did.
Together, they crept through the unfamiliar corridors of Azula's lair, and tried to get their bearings. A couple of times, they came around a corner to find a corridor full of pirates, and had to hastily pull back into cover, but they remained fortunately unspotted.
Eventually, they came to a door. Suki gently pushed it open, and as her eyes became accustomed to the relative gloom, lit only by one candle, she saw weapons inside. Rows upon rows of blades and shields were stacked on the sides. Suki whistled softly. There were some impressive pieces of kit in there.
Despite that, she only wanted that which was rightfully hers anyway.
"How many ships has Azula captured if she has amassed this?" Sokka asked.
"Too many," Suki replied, but she was a bit preoccupied combing the shelves. Eventually, a glint of gold caught her eye. Suki swivelled towards it, and rapidly approached what looked like three golden sticks. Suki knew better, though. She tapped one, and it expanded into a large gold plate. Satisfied, she then retracted her shield again and attached it to her sleeve. With this done, she picked up the other two, tucking one into her belt and opening the other one. A beautiful golden war-fan revealed itself, its spines clearly visible.
"It's beautiful," Sokka said appreciatively.
"I'm very glad you think so," Suki replied, and then looked around for her sword.
"My sword isn't here."
"Doesn't matter, you have the fans don't you?"
"It's pretty important to me, actually, but yes, I do still have some weapons at least."
"Great, then let's go."
"Wait, aren't you going to pick a sword or something? I know your Space Sword isn't here, but surely there must be something."
"I won't pick another sword, but maybe my boomerang and my club are here."
"Why not? Look at them all, there are hundreds of really good swords here."
"I know, but I didn't make any of them, did I? I forged Space Sword myself. I've fought with that weapon for a very long time, too. I'm not going to replace it."
"Suit yourself. Find your boomerang, then. I'll keep watch."
As Sokka went to take a look at the rows of weapons, Suki heard a noise that made her blood run cold.
It was the sound of the door to the armoury opening.
"Hello?" The new voice was very... if Suki had to describe it, the word she would choose would be friendly. It wasn't Azula, at least.
"Is there anyone there?" A figure approached them. Suki got a good look at her, and it was quite the first impression. The new figure was a woman about Suki's age, dressed entirely in pink. She had no weapons of any kind.
The woman stopped sharply when she saw Suki, and her eyes flashed to Sokka, who had frozen with his hands touching the weapons.
"Er... hi?" Sokka greeted her.
"Hello!" Her voice was far cheerier than it had any right to be given the circumstances.
"My name is Ty Lee, the Firelord's best friend, because I'm pretty sure you haven't met me yet, and you must be Azula's new prisoners!"
Her eyes suddenly narrowed.
"Though if you are Azula's prisoners, what are you doing in the armoury? It looks like you're escaping."
"No, no, we're not escaping. We're just... admiring all the weapons!" Sokka said, nodding frantically.
"Sokka, just find your boomerang," Suki told him. As the water tribesman hurried away, she then turned back to Ty Lee, pulling her fans from her belt and unfurling them.
"We are escaping, yes. I've decided Azula's hospitality is not for me. And what are you going to do about it?"
Her only answer was a brief smirk on Ty Lee's face, before the woman threw herself at Suki with incredible speed. Suki barely had time to deflect her punches with her fan, and with one smooth movement transitioned to pressing the button to activate her shield. As it expanded, she swung her fan at her opponent's head, who flipped backwards out of her reach.
All the while, Ty Lee wore the most smug grin on her face, as though she knew how good she was.
Truth be told, Suki had to admit that Ty Lee was entirely justified in her confidence. She was finding it very hard to keep up with the hailstorm of punches her opponent was sending her way- but she was keeping up.
Ty Lee came at her again, aiming a series of punches at her arm, but Suki managed to place her shield in the way. Ty Lee reeled backwards in pain, having just punched solid metal, and Suki took the opportunity to go onto the offensive. She lunged with one war fan and then attacked from the other side with the other.
Ty Lee's smile dimmed for the first time, to be replaced by a frown of concentration. Clearly, she wasn't a fan of opponents against whom she actually had to try. She aimed a kick at Suki's leg, which Suki swept aside with her fan, and then switched seamlessly into another flurry of punches. Suki reeled backwards, putting her shield in the way again, but Ty Lee was wise to her this time and did not punch the shield again.
Suki took a combat stance, and levelled both war fans at her opponent.
"You're good, I admit it- but you've lost."
"How do you know?" Ty Lee replied.
"Because my friend has a boomerang."
Sure enough, that weapon came slicing through the air and slammed into the back of Ty Lee's skull. Ty Lee's eyes rolled back in her head and she fell to the floor, unconscious.
Sokka appeared at Suki's side, attaching his club to his belt, and leaned down to pick the boomerang off the floor.
"I found my weapons."
"I never would have guessed."
Sokka turned to look at her.
"Is that how you see me?"
She looked at him, startled.
"Is what how I see you?"
"Just before my boomerang hit, you called us friends to that pirate. Are we friends now?"
Suki thought what would be the best way to respond to that. For now, she just went with a "yes, I suppose we are."
"So it can be done! There's hope for us yet." Sokka said, although Suki could have sworn she heard a tinge of disappointment in his voice. She decided she must have been imagining it.
"Now, let's get our crews out and bust some pirate heads!"
"You sound just like someone I know, you know that?" Suki laughed.
Together, the two of them left the armoury and crept down the corridor, on their way to find the cells where their crews were kept.