An hour before nightfall, I was summoned to the throne room By Kuei. Xu came and got me.

"Lady Suki, are you engaged to Master Sokka?" She asked me shyly.

"Nope." I smiled at her and patted her head. "I think that would be nice, though." It was true- that meant that Sokka would have broken free of his ties to Yue and that he would be all mine forever, and that type of assurance would probably make my life. To be sure, losing Sokka to a spirit would suck. A lot.

"I think you would look really pretty in one of those fancy dresses." Again, the shy girl blushed.

"Well Xu, if it ever happens, you can come. Hey, you can even be one of the Blessing Girls." She smiled at me brightly. A Blessing Girl was a young, pure girl who was anointed by the sages, and they led the wedding procession to the temple. Since they were anointed, it was said that they helped to ward off spirits who might try to steal the bride.

"I'd like that." We spoke no more as we walked down a few more hallways. She bowed to me outside the large doors, and I bowed back.

Kuei sat in his throne, quietly speaking to a man with a well kempt white beard.

"Lady Suki! I'm glad you made it. This is Tong Wej, the court painter. I want you to describe that girl you encountered to him and he will draw her. Once we have a decent likeness, we will create posters asking for her to be turned in." I nodded, and Tong Wej led me to a place where two very large cushions were sitting, a plate of ink, several sheets of paper and some brushes awaited.

I told him of her angular chin and her defined cheek bones, about the knot of dark hair on her head and the pieces of hair that swept in her eyes. Finally, I told him of her eyes, so perfect and angular, the deepest green I had yet to see. I realized now that she had been beautiful, except for the smile that threw my mind back to a time when an insane princess had attacked me and defeated my team, taking my uniform and having me arrested. That day had been terrible- She had had Ty Lee and Mai hold me down while she unlaced the pieces of my uniform, an omnipresent flame burning in my face. I was humiliated and furious. That was a day that rivaled my stint in prison in the most awful day ever contest. And it sucked being hauled off to prison in your skivvies, let me just say that now.

"Is that her?" Tong Wej asked, showing me a painting. It was as close as one could get without that evil smile, so I nodded. I had to go and get dressed for my role, anyway, and couldn't waste another moment.

A man named Jode was standing in my room, blushing because Katara and Yumi were wrapping him in clothes that obviously belonged to Zuko. Besides him another man, somewhat shorter was being wrapped in an air bender's toga. I had forgotten his name, but I knew that I would have to go and shave his head in a few moments and then Sokka would draw an arrow on his forehead with some blue paint he had picked up earlier in the afternoon.

Jode sat on a stool that Toph created for him, and Mai went at his hair with a vengeance, deftly trimming it to the proper length, working a hair paint into it and finally putting it up in a top knot with a fire nation crown of lesser proportions. I looked at him, smiling. All that he needed was a scar painted on, which Sokka had volunteered to do as well.

I had the man who was going to be playing the Avatar lean over the basin, and I took one of the many pitchers of water that Xu had brought to my room and poured it over his head. Xu handed me a water skin filled with soap which I poured on, then lathered. A towel was wrapped around his shoulders, and I asked him to make a seat for himself.

"Of course, Miss Warrior." I took a knife that was very similar to the one that I used when I was helping Sokka shave around the wolf tail and dragged it over his head gently, removing hair with a deft precision that came from the practice I had garnered over the years. He looked very similar to the Avatar when his skull was bare and revealed.

"Okay, you're hairless now. I didn't hurt you or anything, right?" He shook his head.

"The lovely lady is very skilled with her hands." I blushed, flattered and also somewhat weirded out. I walked over to Sokka, and I could feel the weird man's eyes on me as I moved.

"How are you doing Sokka?" I asked, kissing his cheek. He turned and smiled at me.

"Great! I just finished the scar. Does it look alright?" Jode looked rather unhappy, but it only made his portrayal of Zuko more believable. Mai had done her job well.

'Perfect Sokka. You gotta go draw an arrow on the other guy, and then… Well, then you get to get ready with me." He nodded, shutting his pots of pink and red and brown paint. I took them from him, and the dirty brushes.

"Thanks Suki." He kissed me again, quickly, abruptly. After rinsing the brushes, I gave them to my warriors. Ty Lee and the other quickly covered their faces, then Ty Lee helped those with longer hair plait it tightly, neatly. They all left to go and put on armor and hide some additional weapons on their persons, as well as the fans.

With our main actors prepared, we sent them out and Sokka and I dressed at opposite sides of the room, our backs turned to one another.

"You excited?" I asked him.

"A little. I would rather we didn't have to do this at all." He sighed. "You ready?"

"Almost. Just a second." I pulled on my black pants that were designed to be worn as extra layers in the South Pole and threw a dark green tunic on over my shirt, wrapped my belt around my waist, knotted it, then tossed the hood over my head. My feet were comfortably bare, pale little protrusions from the end of a black figure.

"Alright. I'm ready." I turned around. Sokka was laying on my bed, shirtless but otherwise ready to go, staring at the ceiling. "Why aren't you dressed?"

"I'm not ready. It feels like something is missing." I sat down beside him, crossing my legs. He grabbed my hand and placed it on the curve of his cheek. I rubbed the soft skin with my thumb, smiling.

"I'm tired." He looked in the corner of my room where I had a candle that burned in time increments. Everyone had lit one at the same time, and Katara would come to my room and get us when the candle had burned down. The plan would be in action at that time already.

"Lie down. Sleep. I'll wake you up when we have to go." I nodded. Sokka pulled me into his arms and fell asleep as I was suddenly realizing how exhausted I was from the lack of sleep the previous night.

%%%%%%%%%%

We were in place. A Kyoshi warrior was paired with each of the remaining Dai Li, Mai and Ty Lee were together, Katara hid in the fountain at the end of this street, and Sokka and I stood at the ready.

Jode and the creepy guy were walking down the street. I walked several feet ahead of where Sokka was, and flashed him the signal. He lit a fuse that began to burn quietly. I took out my fans and flashed our actors from behind my pillar, alerting them that their scene would begin in a moment. I looked up on the roof of the building across from me, where Feng and one of my girls hid.

Any moment now, things would go crazy. I saw Jode lift his hand and a moment later, he held fire. The first part began.

The actors walked several more feet and looked up at the sky. Creepy Dude pointed up in the sky towards the stars that had just become visible, drawing shapes. Jode nodded, pretending to be enthralled.

That's when the first member of the rebellion entered the street, walking right past Sokka, right past me, right past the numerous fighters who were hidden.

"Wow! You're the avatar!" He said, a hint of malice tinting his otherwise amazed voice. He lunged out towards Creepy Dude, and Jode used our fake fire bending to hit him. Once the fire hit him, it went out. I saw a puff of smoke hit him, and he fell. Several other rebels dropped off of the roof and grabbed them. Another group ran down the street the first attacker had come down. What they didn't notice was that while they were trying to apprehend the actors, their numbers slowly dwindled.

I ran down the wall besides me and exposed those who were pinned to the wall by tiny spiked spears or throwing stars to a vial of scent that knocked them out cold. One of my Kyoshi- Dai Li teams appeared, freeing the unconscious victims and dragging them away.

I gave Sokka the signal to light the second fuse, then to come and assist me. He lit and ran, and I flashed the fan at Jode so that he could prepare.

Sokka and I darted out, avoiding Ty Lee's jabbing knuckles. I grabbed one of her paralyzed victims and Sokka grabbed the first attacker. We dragged them back to the team that ran along the wall and discarded them after knocking them out with the vial.

We had finished the first wave of attackers. Our clean up team disappeared and was replaced by another. I saw Feng slide down the roof on a spike of steel until he had situated himself for the drop.

Another wave of rebels hit us, and I saw the girl with the Earth Kingdom eyes and the evil fire princess smile. My warrior who had been on the roof with Feng flew off and landed as quietly as she could. She aimed at some of the new attackers and tossed large circular pellets at them.

The pellets shattered upon contact, spilling small amounts of the vile stench on the unfortunates whom they hit. It was enough- those who had been hit all dropped to the ground. I saw a signal of flashing fans from the removal team on the opposite side, telling me that they were going to switch as well.

This was when the second and final wave of explosives hit- Jode tossed balls of fire from each hand, delivering singing blows to two different attackers.

I watched a flash of fans come as Two warriors who had been acting as sentries signaled that the final wave of attackers was coming. It was time for the last piece of the puzzle to come to play. I looked over to where Katara now stood, soaking wet, in the fountain. She saw me and nodded. I lit the fire cracker I had placed in my sleeve earlier, which was the sign that those who had the unconscious rebels should come out with the prisoners in tow in large boxes of earth that were being moved by the earth bending Dai Li . Toph filled the fountain with loose earth, creating a slurry. Toph and Katara fitted large spikes of frozen slurry into holes that had been carved before hand. The prisoners inside were trapped and unconscious and would soon be spending time behind the bars of the Ba Sing Se Jailhouse.

What happened next was the mistake that I had tried so hard to prevent.

The crazy Azula girl attacked me, and I narrowly dodged it. We fought, but I couldn't lay a good hit on her. She somehow caught my arm, twisted it behind my back, and cut me with one of her knives.

It was no ordinary knife. The cut was by no means deep nor life threatening, but still I couldn't move, and I was slowly blacking out.

"Suki!" Sokka rushed over knelt besides me and looked at my arm. He saw the blood dripping down and he looked in my face. I smiled.

"I screwed up." His eyes widened, and I could see the fear in them. He didn't want to loose me too. "Sokka. You gotta go and get her. I think her knives are poisoned. Take my fans- remember how they change into shields? Use them to protect you. And get Ty lee to help. Just finish the mission and worry about me later." I whispered to him. He pulled one of the fans from my belt and picked they other up off the ground, then kissed my forehead. He left. I heard the final explosion and I knew that Feng was about to finish up. He had been given the task of capturing Azula Girl; I'd been stupid enough to try and attack her myself.

I stared up into the sky.

was this it? I wondered to my self. I looked at the stars, then to the moon.

The moon shone beautifully- it was nearly full. A great white beacon in the sky.

Around me, I could hear the battle coming to an end. I heard people shouting orders to one another, some asking for help, some congratulating their fellows. Nobody noticed me lying on the ground, drops of slurry falling on me sporadically; instead the walked in separate directions. My hearing faded a moment later.

I knew we had won.

I was left alone with the night sky, and my eyes were glued to the rough surface of the beautiful moon. Sokka's face got in the way, and I just stared at him. His lips moved, but I could hear nothing. I could feel him pick me up, folding my body up and holding me close to his chest. His heart resounded in there, it's vibrations telling me that he was panicking, his heart rate accelerated more than I had ever seen or felt.

I didn't want to leave him. That would be unfair. That stupid rodent of a child! I was angry. Tears spilled out of my eyes silently. I tried to move my lips, but they too had ceased their movement. I thought as hard as I could instead, screaming my last words in my head.

I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU, SOKKA! My eyes closed a moment later, and I kept screaming in my head. I felt the tears continue to slide down my face, unchecked.

It was dark. I could feel Sokka holding me still, could feel his heart beat.

It calmed me a little, and I stopped my mental screaming. My mind began to slip away from me, taking the anger with it.

I…I love you…I though once more before darkness engulfed me.

If this was death, it was certainly more peaceful than I had imagined.

Authors note! Well that was depressing. This is a pretty short chapter, but it was a short battle. Plus, there's a fair deal of impact in this chapter.

Don't worry. It's not the end.

POOR SOKKA!

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