Warning: This chapter includes graphic scenes of torture . I'm going to be upping the maturity level in the future. So be prepared.

"It's an ambush!" cried one of the Earth Kingdom soldiers just before he was fried by a precise burst of flame which came from the other airship. Toph remembered how Iroh had suspected something was amiss when they'd received a messenger hawk from Katara and Zuko, detailing their victory over Azula only a day previously. The letter had given them coordinates for a meeting place, requesting that they send an envoy to rendezvous with Zuko and Katara so that they could tour the Earth Kingdom together.

"Why couldn't they have just returned on Appa?" Iroh had mused. Despite his slight confusion, however, Iroh had agreed to send Aang and Toph with a contingent of earth kingdom soldiers to meet them halfway; with Aang's defeat of Ozai so fresh in his mind he had dismissed his suspicion as the musings of an aging man. What would happen would wrack his mind with guilt for years to come.

Toph had realized something was out of place when she had not spotted Appa flying escort to Zuko's airship. When the two airships came up beside one another, high above the sea, and the first lightning bolt was loosed upon their ship, Toph deduced that the whole thing had been a plot by Azula. Assuming the worst for Zuko and Katara, she launched into action.

"To me, Earth Kingdom!" she cried, reaching into the metal at her feet to feel the minerals inside it. A small group of Fire Nation soldiers leaped on board and began to shoot burst upon burst of flame at the defenders. Toph bent the metal beneath her into a sphere, raised it to waist height and kicked it wish all her strength. Like a cannonball the makeshift missile flew right into one of the firebenders; Toph heard him wail and then felt the vibrations of his body hitting the floor- in two pieces. But where one firebender fell, two more arose in his place.

"The girl is their leader!"

"That's Toph- She's blind, comrades!"

They had caught on pretty quickly to her identity… how had they known who she was?

Suddenly there was a cry from the port side of the ship. This was no death cry of your average soldier; this cry paralyzed Toph in her tracks; it sounded like the hope of a thousand people dying in one swift stroke.

"The avatar is ours! Fire Nation, retreat! We have our objective!"

"Aww, shit," whispered Toph. She dropped the jagged metal in her grasp and ran towards the port. "Aang!"

She was interrupted by the cries of recognition of a group of fire nation soldiers who had just finished off the last of her Earth Kingdom brethren.

"She sees with her feet," spoke a new voice, a cold, high voice that seemed to freeze her blood cold. "Burn the floor."

Toph leapt up into action, hurling missile after missile into the throng. Every time she landed, though, she felt the heat beneath her; they were shooting their fireballs into the metal floor and heating it to insane temperatures. She remembered the time Zuko had accidentally burnt her feet, and the horrid blindness she'd never felt in all her years that accompanied the event. Now it was happening again, except this was a real battle. A battle she could not win.

Her feet touched the metal one last time and she cried out in pain; the heat was too much! She lifted up a slab of metal from the floor; she didn't care about her hands, just her feet... oh spirits, her feet!

Her last leap was a weak motion, barely reaching half of the height of her previous desperate hurdle. At the apex of the jump a horrendous force met the sheet of metal in her palms.

This was no fireball; this was lightning in its most furious form. Had it hit her directly, she would have been killed for sure. Instead, the metal absorbed the concussive blast, but not the energy transfer; rather, it passed it directly into her body. The result was a series of miniatures of explosions all over her as every hair on her body stood on end and pure energy crackled through her. A massive force propelled her up and out, far, far away from where she knew the airships to be. Then, it stopped, and she plummeted.

Bent metal in hand, Toph's thoughts were those of disappointment.

I have failed. Aang's dead, the water's right below me, I hate water, aww fuck.

Her meager thoughts were silenced with a splash as the cavernous expanse of great ocean reached out to meet her broken, weary form.

Sokka came to slowly, his vision spinning like a top as he forced his brain to reorient itself. He found himself strapped to a wooden bed standing perpendicular to the floor, shackled by impossibly tough chains. The room was sparsely lit, consisting of metal walls on four sides. Reddish-brown stains decorated the walls.

Oh boy, Sokka thought to himself, this is definitely a torture chamber. Crap. At this point he noticed his lack of clothing, and immediately came to the conclusion that he was in for a rough time.

At this moment, a hooded figure unlocked the door and entered. The person's posture was impossibly straight and elegant; Sokka immediately indentified the stranger as a women, do to her hourglass shape clearly visible through the folds of the cloak. With a simple whoosh of her sleeve across her face the hood fell, revealing the Fire Lady herself, in all her terrible beauty. Her skin was fair and clear, lips ruby red and cheek bones impossibly slender. Her eyes, however, were sunken in, bright and shiny, like an animal that had found its prey and was ready to pounce.

"Sokka, Sokka, Sokka. It's been a dreadfully long time, hasn't it? Five, no, six years? Its amazing how people can change, isn't it? You've grown… impressively."

She approached him, her smooth hand moving up and down his bare thigh. Desire and malice were prevalent on her face. Sokka's skin burned where she touched, and he grimaced in a mixture of pain and revulsion.

"Oh my, Sokka… what a perfect form you cut…I trust you wouldn't mind if I… examined you?" She purred. Sokka closed his eyes tightly, grimacing, trying not to look up at his tormentor. He felt her touch on his upper chest, snaking down his stomach…

His eyes snapped open as suddenly his abdomen burned…pain! He looked down to see the imprint of a hand on his skin. He looked up to see Azula holding fire in her hand, a sultry grin on her face.

"Now, dear Sokka… let us get down to business."

She took a step forward, then suddenly her flaming fist collided with his stomach. Sokka doubled up, or tried to, for he was shackled, retching with the pain. She followed her punch with a fiery slap to his face; her print once again burning into his skin. The barrage continued, his chest, stomach and legs burning and aching from the sudden, unprovoked attacks backed with the fury of her flames. Then, just as suddenly as it began, it stopped. Azula stepped back, her breathing heavy, her eyes flickering and her frame quivering. Sokka retched and tried once again to curl up in a ball, but his chains prevented it.

"Now, boy," her tone was harsh. "Tell me. Where is my idiotic uncle? Where has Iroh gone?"

To Sokka's pain-dulled mind, the news was comforting; so the sly dog had managed to slip free… unless Azula was playing that part, to give him false hopes… his pain was too great, but not so much that impeded his ability to play mind games. He spat at her feet and laughed.

"Iroh is deep in here in the fire kingdom, Azula, raising your own countrymen in revolt against you!"

She laughed as he did. "You're a piece of work, Sokka. But don't you realize? I'm offering you an easy way out. You tell me everything you know about my erstwhile uncle, and I'll kill you quickly.

"Perhaps…" she said, grinning her evil grin, "I shall even let you have pleasure before you die." As she said this, her hand slipped to the back of her robe, undoing a string at the back of her neck. The robe fell away, revealing her lithe, strong body. Sokka averted his gaze and gritted his teeth.

She came forward then, her terrible presence filling his eyes and his mind no matter where he looked. Reaching out, she traced a line down his chest once again, leaving a long snakelike burn down his muscled torso. When she came to his manhood, her hand no longer burned; she held him limply.

"Now, Sokka," she whispered, "Tell me. Or you shall know such great pain, not only to your body, but to your pride." She spoke it calmly, but she might as well have screamed it. Her breath was again heavy; she seemed to be getting some perverse sexual pleasure out of the whole situation.

"I don't know," he said truthfully. He felt her hand begin to warm, but he held firm, resisting the urge to cry out and start blubbering then and there.

Her eyes stared into his then, and he noticed how red they were… she must be mad, he concluded. Her hand was steadily heating, and he said again, calmly, fighting off waves of dagger-sharp agony, "I don't know."

He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate, but he couldn't; he could feel the heat, it was becoming unbearable…

Then, it stopped. He opened his eyes and looked up. She laid there, moving her hand limply around his manhood, smiling. "I can tell when a man lies, Sokka, perhaps because I am so accomplished at lying myself. But you are not trying to deceive me. You truly know nothing of my uncle, do you? How disappointing. Well, I have other things to ask you of, but perhaps later. Now, a parting gift?"

She rose, then, in a blink of an eye, slammed her fist into his face. Her barrage continued; he could hear her breathe raggedly as she sunk her fists into his body. With one last punch, she sliced through his binding chains with one white-hot swipe of her hand. He fell heavily on his front, not able to move because of the pain. He retched and tried to curl up, but she forced him onto his back, straddling him. Darkness began to take Sokka as he looked up to see her lowering herself on top of him. Then his head fell backward and unconsciousness took him in its firm embrace.

Suki was used to knowing every facet of her surroundings. This she had learned from many hard lessons, training with the Kyoshi warriors and, later, Sokka. Her surrounding environment was her ally, if she utilized it right, and doing just that could mean the difference between victory and crushing defeat. It was something that Sokka did especially well, and that she had learned to do as well. Being non-benders, the two had quickly come to realize their physical shortcomings, and had to compensate for those shortcomings by fighting smart, and using every resource at their disposal.

So Suki, blindfolded and at the mercy of this mysterious Blue Spirit character, could not be in a more helpless situation. Upon their initial meeting, she had recalled Sokka's stories of the blue spirit: how the vigilante had been Zuko in disguise. She resisted calling out his name, however. Quickly she deduced the Spirit was in fact not Zuko, as its voice was slightly too high. Suki was also willing to bet that this Blue Spirit was also a woman, based on its physical appearance, although this she was not sure of.

A boat to the mainland had not been hard to stow away on. In the cargo hold of a musty merchant ship, Suki had tried to talk to the Blue Spirit, but had been mostly unsuccessful in getting any sort of information out of the vigilante. It, or she, had simply stated, "There is someone who wishes to meet with you. The fate of your friend will be addressed in due time. I suggest you rest yourself," and turned away. Suki had bitten back her anger and had tried to meditate, to calm herself, but images of Sokka kept flashing through her head; she had promised herself that she would not lose another friend, no, lover, to the Fire nation.

Upon arriving at the mainland after a seemingly never-ending cruise, the Blue Spirit had quickly explained the plan: Suki was to be disguised as a prisoner awaiting a cellblock transfer, the Spirit as the guard escorting her. Where this would gain them entry to, the Spirit would not say. Suki had no choice but to accept the plan, having no one else to turn to. After waiting until dark in a seemingly abandoned household in the Fire Nation Capital, the two made their move.

The two, decked out in a prisoner's rags and a guardsmen's uniform respectively, had more or less simply walked in to the Fire Nation prison in which the city's political prisoners were detained. The Blue Spirit, only removing her mask after Suki had been sufficiently blindfolded, escorted the handcuffed and blindfolded young woman to the guard post right outside the prison's walls.

"Prisoner transfer from the palace dungeons," Said a young woman's voice. It was low and slightly scratchy, and oddly familiar; it sounded much different than the muffled one coming from under the mask though.

"Seems like they're always moving them around, aren't they?" Replied the guardsman. Suki heard his chair scoot back as he rose, and his footsteps as he walked to the pair. "Can you handle this one? I've got the all night shift and I need to catch up on some sleep."

"Tell me about it. Who can fathom the mind of the Fire Lady? I'd be glad to, comerade. You just stay here, I'll be sure not to tell the warden."

"Thanks. Who's the prisoner?"

"Not too interesting. Leader of some resistance group in the colonies. The royal 'questioners' have gotten all they can from her, for now. She may yet be useful, so we're keeping her close at hand."

"Colony trash. Throw her in cell block twenty-seven and leave her to rot."

"Of course."

Suki was shoved from behind by rough hands as the guard chuckled. Suki resisted the urge to lash out at the direction of the noise, but instead fell to the ground and moaned in false pain. She was heaved upwards and away from the guard; by whom she could not tell, although by the weight of their footsteps she judged it to be the blue spirit. The two padded on for what seemed an eternity, navigating descending stairwells and winding passages before finally stopping; there was a fumbling of something-keys, a lockpick perhaps- before a metal door cringed open. Suki was led inside. Okay, moment of truth, she thought to her self; Either this guy is gonna help me or I've just been officially duped.

After a moment there was a rustling noise, then all of the sudden the pressure on her hands subsided as her handcuffs were undone. Suki slowly removed her blindfold and turned around; the Blue Spirit had replaced her mask, draping a large cloak over its form to hide her identity once more. Suki turned to the cell that lay in front of them.

"Welcome to the deepest cell in the Fire Nation Mainland," said a hoarse voice from the back of the cell. It was not well lit, and Suki could only make out the form of a man, sitting cross-legged on the floor. His hair was long, dank and matted, serving to hide his face from view. She could make out that he was very gaunt, as if he had spent years and years in this prison.

"Who are you! Both of you!" Suki exclaimed in a fierce whisper. "And where do they have Sokka! You know something, don't you?"

"Calm yourself." Said the male voice. The Blue Spirit placed a hand on Suki's arm, a strangely soothing sensation. "I know where she is keeping him, but knowing will not serve to alleviate your distress. Instead, I implore you to listen."

Suki took deep breaths, trying to calm and control herself. Her quick temper often got the best of her, and it was something she often had to take measures to contain.

"Azula has ruled too long, and has further upset the balance that six years ago was almost returned to the world. Now, the wheels of fate are turning once again, and you are one of many yokes. You have a task to fulfill, Suki of the Kyoshi."

Suki paused. "What is this… task? And you still haven't told me who you are… how am I supposed to trust you? Especially if you keep unleashing your little errand boy on me?" at this she turned to the Blue Spirit, eyeing it with narrowed eyes. The Spirit did not move.

"I am that which our mutual enemy fears the most. I am the shadow that follows her burning light, always there, always lurking. She cannot bring herself to kill or confront me, for I am a part of her, and yet I am everything she is not. We are two sides of the same coin… and two of the same blood."

With that, the man rose and stepped into the dim light near the cell. His frame was wiry and strong, despite its long tenure behind bars, and he seemed to be possessed with an inner heat that expanded and retracted as he breathed. Then his face came into view. It was a face that she had not seen in a long, long time- gaunter than she remembered, sunken even, but familiar. It was a face whose left side was dominated with a single, horrific scar.

Suki gasped and nearly fell backwards.

Sokka awoke groggily, to find himself once again handcuffed to the wall, as well as freshly clothed. The pain had not dissipated, however, and neither had the mental scarring that he had received. He forced the images of Azula from his mind and instead curled himself into a ball, pulling his feet towards his torso as he suspended himself in the air. Taking deep breaths, he forced himself to forget the pain, forget Azula, forget the situation. He did this by thinking of that which he loved more than anything else in all the four nations: Suki. He allowed himself to be wrapped in the memories of her scent and touch, weaving these thoughts into a protective blanket against the pain and the hurt.

Suddenly the door creeped open, and Sokka was awoken from his brief vacation from reality. The pain crept back as slowly as the new arrival crept forward, walking slowly towards him. His vision was skill groggy so all he could make out was a hooded figure, shorter than he. He steeled himself for the worst. With a slow gesture the hooded figure reached under its cloak…

Quick as a flash, a swirl of water extended itself from under the cloak and, with razor-sharp precision, sliced through the shackles that bound him. He fell heavily to the floor. Forcing himself into a half-kneeling position, Sokka looked up, into two beautiful, crystal-blue eyes.

The person they belonged to was equally as beautiful. Long, brown hair was carefully braided into a Fire Nation topknot that spilled over her neck and back. A heart-shaped face smiled down at her that was impossibly unblemished. Her scent reminded him of memories long ago, of hunting for bear-seals in the icy tundra and sliding on penguins.

"…Katara." He said slowly, and smiled back.

"Sokka." She said firmly.

All of his troubles seemed to vanish in an instant. His sister was alive. His sister was here, to save him, and bring him far, far away from this awful place, away from this den of fear and aching pain. In his relief, he failed to notice how incredibly dull her eyes were.

"Come on! No time to sit and stare at each other! We need to get out of here!"

Sokka pulled himself to his feet, trying to ignore the screams and creaks of his pained body as he did so. He found he was able to walk well enough, if rather lopsidedly. Katara moved to support him but he waved her away.

"I'll be fine. Which way is out?"

"Follow me!"

She wrapped her cloak around herself again and exited the torture chamber into the corridor beyond. It was dimly lit and there was not a fire nation soldier in sight. Sokka hobbled up beside her.

"How did you find me? How did you get here? Damn it all, where have you been these four years?"

"I'll explain later," she shushed him, "for now, lets just concentrate on getting out of here!"

There were a million questions he wanted to ask, but Sokka only nodded. The two resumed their hurried pace through the eerie, deserted hallway. He turned to watch her walk, observing how she had changed in six years. She was a woman now, a woman in her prime; her body was easily as toned as his, and her muscles seemed to ripple through her black clothing. She held herself with a poignant grace and confidence that she had lacked in her youth. He found himself strangely proud then; his sister had grown into a true Water Nation warrior. She noticed him staring at her and looked into his eyes, smiling her familiar Katara smile. Yet there was something behind that smile, something that didn't add up. It was almost apologetic, and laced with worry somehow, almost successfully hidden behind her beaming expression. Almost.

Alarm bells clanged in Sokka's unconscious mind. Something is horribly wrong, it seemed to be saying, why is this so easy? However, Sokka's normally oh-so-acute danger perception abilities were currently being overwhelmed by the fact that his beloved, previously-thought-dead sister was walking here beside him in the flesh. Never mind how fishy this all was – if she could infiltrate the palace, why couldn't he? And why was she just showing herself now, if she had been secretly alive for so long?

Perhaps Sokka had reached his breaking point. He found it easy to repress the ever-growing doubts that otherwise would have propelled him into action. After all, it was Katara. All would be revealed in time. What could possibly be the matter? They weaved their way through the corridors – Sokka became horribly lost – before finally coming to a small arched doorway.

"We've got company," she hissed. Two guards stood watch at the end of the corridor. "Hang back, let me handle this." He nodded and pressed himself against the wall, nearly invisible in the dim lighting. She strode towards the men with a purpose.

"Who goes there?" asked one guard warily "State your business."

"My business is my own," she retorted and, without hesitation, flicked out her foot, catching the guard right under the chin. The kick was so strong the guard flew back into the wall, sliding down to a slumped position. He was clearly unconscious, if not dead.

The other guard was quick; he was able to draw his own sword and was in the process of swinging it vertically on top of her. He was quick, but not nearly quick enough.

Katara's left hand lashed out to intercept the man's sword arm; she caught his hand in hers and gave a simple twist. The man howled as he dropped his blade and tried to pry her fingers off of his left hand with his right. Katara turned her body so that her back faced his front and, with one fluid movement, flipped him over his shoulder, rolling his body off her back and onto the floor, which he hit with one hell of a thud. The man gasped and tried to curl into a ball, but she was upon him again. With a thunk her fist connected with his temple and his head sagged.

Sokka limped up, speechless.

"Wow," he began. "Just… wow."

She ignored his slackened jaw and began rustling through the disabled guards' pockets for the key to the door. Finding her prize, she quickly unlocked it and wrenched it open, pausing only to whisper "Come on!" before slipping through the door. Sokka followed gratefully, still impressed by his sister's ability of her newfound battle prowess. He resolved to force her to teach him a few moves once they were clear of the palace.

The door opened to a small, tranquil garden. In the middle of the enclosed area was an elegant water fountain. At the other end was a gate that led to a pathway leading into the mountains that protected the palace – the portal to freedom. Sokka paused for a moment to inhale a breath of the cool night air, savoring it as if he'd been underground for millennia. The stars were bright in the sky, and the garden had a peaceful aura that immediately brightened his spirits.

Those high spirits were immediately snuffed as twenty men clad in green outfits swooped seemingly out of nowhere and surrounded the siblings. They did not move, however.

Well shit, thought Sokka as he raised his fists in defiance, ready for whatever the Dai Li threw at him. His eyes caught Katara's then, and he grinned recklessly. She grinned back – but then her smile faltered. Confused, he whirled around to see that the Dai Li had moved and had been joined by another figure.

It was Azula, radiant and terrible.

"So you escaped," She began, taking a step forward. "How very inspiring. But once again, it was an exercise in futility, my dear Sokka." She grinned, the way a leopard does before it pounces on its carefully cornered prey. Sokka could imagine her swishing a tail back and forth under her robes.

"This time, I'm not alone," He growled at her. He began mentally preparing himself for a reckless charge. If he could somehow get to Azula…

"Oh contraire, Sokka," She began in her most irritatingly smug voice, "I'm afraid you are alone after all. You see, Katara and I have gotten to know each other well these past six years."

Sokka turned to his sister in confusion to find that she no longer stood at his side. Instead, she was facing him, her fists curled at her sides and her legs spread in a power stance. Time seemed to slow as he looked deep into her eyes and realized how truly empty they were.

Everything clicked into place. The escape had been too easy, Katara's presence far too convenient for it to be genuine. It's a fucking trap, Sokka's inner voice screamed. That isn't your sister.

But it clearly was. There was no mistaking Katara's smile – it was unique. Sokka only wished it was gracing her face now instead of the impassive, blank visage she presented now.

"Well shit," Sokka said, this time out loud as a stream of water wrapped itself around his ankle and threw him to the ground. He landed hard, but not hard enough to stop him from rolling upright. Panting hard, body aching from the previous night's torture, he looked up to see Katara slowly advancing.

"Katara! It's me, what are you doing!"

She did not reply, simply stalking closer. All of a sudden she burst into motion, leaping towards him while simultaneously sending a powerful jet of water towards his face. He rolled to avoid the water and came up directly in front of her, taking the impact of her first punch on the soft part of his forearm. Had he blocked with the bone, it would surely have shattered from the force of the impact.

"Katara!" he managed to choke out before she launched into a flurry of attacks, each one closer to breaching his diluted defenses than the last. Sokka was not your average opponent, however, and even sorely weakened managed to defend himself ably. Her final attack in the brief bout – a vertical cross from the left, meant to distract him while she prepared to deliver a powerful uppercut with her right – was executed rather sloppily and Sokka took his chance, leaning into the blow and preparing to tackle her to the ground in order to stop the hopeless battle between siblings. However, in a split second, she was not there – instead, he found himself staring into a raging wall of water that had until recently occupied the fountain. He had a millisecond to inhale deeply before it was upon him, forcing him to his knees as the water overwhelmed him.

It was like kneeling under an ever-raging waterfall. He could hear nothing but the roar of the water, his eyes screwed shut against the never-ending onslaught. He was blind and deaf, completely at the mercy of the water, chilled to the bone, terrified beyond hope and utterly alone. Seconds seem to stretch into hours as he kneeled, as his lungs slowly squeezed every drop of air from his body. He lost track of time there, in the darkness and the pain and the horrible pressure. His mouth opened in a silent plea for oxygen and water forced its way in, down his throat, into his lungs. His body began to convulse as it desperately tried to expel this foreign substance, but it was no use. Then, all of a sudden, the pressure was lifted.

Sokka collapsed to the ground, coughing uncontrollably, his every pore leaking the life-giving substance that had so nearly killed him. He could only wonder at the amount of water he'd just ingested. As his body spasmed he remembered where he was and what a shitstorm he was in.

At least the Dai Li had the good graces to let him vomit up the rest of the water he'd swallowed before they clamped him down with their stone hands. His vision finally began to clear then, and the first sight he beheld was that Azula and his sister standing side by side.

Of all the things Sokka could have said, only one word escaped his lips. That moment would haunt him forno short amount of time.

"Why?"

It was a pathetic plea, really, perhaps his lowest moment in the last six years. Lower than the death of his master, of his father, of his friends. His own sister, the only family he had left, had betrayed him.

"I serve the fire lady now," was her only response. She turned her back towards him.

That image, of Katara's back to his, with Azula's mad eyes staring into his own, would be forever burned into his brain. Sokka's mind took pity on him then and shut down, surrendering to the strangely comforting blackness of unconsciousness.

A/N: Yeah yeah, it's been a while. Hopefully finishing this up pretty soon.