Forgotten Words Part 1, Shaken

by Elle Kitty

"You talk too much ."

"Stupid," Sokka said darkly. "What was I thinking?" He tossed his boomerang out into the darkness that loomed just outside of the small encampment in the Western Air Temple. Behind him, Katara handed out bowls of rice. The rest of their small group huddled around her, taking the food. All except for Sokka. "Here, Sokka," said Toph. "Come get something to eat."

"I'm not hungry," replied Sokka, catching his boomerang as it came whirling back to him. He could still almost feel her hand on his shoulders. Before Suki left, she had kissed him as if she adored him; she had kissed him as if it were a love that could outlast the war. He remembered the way he had last seen her, waving and smiling sadly as if she somehow knew that they might not see each other again for a very long time. As if she knew that either of them might be dead by the time they say each other again, as they parted ways. And then he thought of her as she must be now, alone in a cell, a Fire Nation prisoner if not dead.

"But Sokka," said Aang, glancing up from where he sat beside Katara, "you're always hungry."

"Well, maybe I don't feel like eating right now," Sokka retorted. "I want to do something for the war. I want to fight. I want to get something done!"

"Sokka," said Katara, "the most we can do right now is help Aang learn to Firebend. It's not like there's anything else."

Sokka looked down at his boomerang. "Maybe you're right. Or maybe there's a whole lot of people locked up in prison because of us! Because of me! My dad is among them and we sit here and do nothing to help them escape!"

"Sokka," said Haru, "I know how you're feeling. My dad is there too. Imprisoned yet again. And so is Teo's. And your dad is Katara's dad too. We all have friends and family in prison. We all feel they way you feel right now."

Katara sighed. "I know this is hard for you, but it's our only option. Now that the invasion has- failed... well, it's like you said. We have to stick to the old plan."

Aang nodded. "We have to wait here for a while. Zuko can teach me Firebending, and you guys can come up with a new plan."

"He's got a point," Toph agreed. "When Aang has Firebending down, we need to have a plan set up already. And it can't be a plan that's thrown together in a day or so. No offense Sokka, since that's what your plans usually are. We need allies."

"And how are we going to get allies?" muttered Sokka. "All of ours were captured."

"It's not like we need another huge army," replied Toph. "Too many would be a bad thing. We just would need to get in, take out the Fire Lord, and Azula."

"So, you're saying," mused Katara, "we need a few choice people to help us."

"I think we're okay be ourselves," interrupted Aang. "We've always worked with just us, and now that we have Zuko, and Teo, the Duke and Haru, I think we'll be fine."

Katara sniffed. "Well, I don't know about all of you, but I don't think that Zuko is so reliable."

"Are we going back to your trust issues with Zuko?" questioned Toph.

"No," protested Katara, her face reddening.

Toph ignored her. "I think the point Aang's trying to make is that Zuko, besides being a good fighter, probably knows ways into the palace that we wouldn't," she continued. "It might be useful to talk to him."

"But Toph," said Katara, "he burned your feet!"

Toph shrugged, obviously unimpressed with Katara's arguments. "I think that was an accident. For all he knew, I could have been Azula. I wouldn't mind burning her feet."

Sokka turned away. "All I want is to defeat the Fire Lord," he said. "I don't care how."

The others averted their eyes. Then Katara spoke up. "We only have a few days until the comet."

"We know that, Katara," said Sokka. He turned and walked up a staircase. "Who would know that better than us?"

.:Fire Nation Royal Prison:.

Azula paced around the room, red lips pursed in frustration. On the other side of the bars of the prison, sat Suki. It had been months since her capture in the Earth Kingdom, and something about her had changed. It wasn't Suki's appearance, no, if anything, that had remained a constant. She wore the same red sackcloth tunic and pants, and although her hair was longer than when Azula had first met this warrior, the exterior had not changed at all. Suki had fallen into depression for a time, but today she looked fierce and animated, ready for battle. Azula smirked. This would be fun.

"Did you have a pleasant night?" taunted Azula. "Or was it another filled with nightmares?"

Suki's blue-gray eyes flickered. She had been tossing and turning in her sleep, and apparently, the guards had reported it. Like they must have reported all of her other behavior too. But she didn't say anything, letting only the smallest of smiles creep onto her face.

Vexed, Azula turned away for a moment. "I suppose that today's little show of defiance is a result of that futile attack last week. I'm surprised you'd even have heard about it, kept in this dungeon for months."

"What attack?" asked Suki abruptly. Of course she had heard of the invasion, but maybe this way, Azula might admit something.

Azula was an accomplished liar, and that skill caused her to be able to detect any amateur. But she gloated at this chance to retell events. Any news that Suki might have heard would have been the vaguest of details. "What attack?" mimicked Azula. "Why, the attack made by your friends and their allies. It's the reason why I haven't been able to visit you lately."

Suki remained silent. Azula imagined that she was dying for information about Sokka, but decided to withhold that information for a while longer. "I suppose you're wondering about the outcome. Well, the-"

"Yes, I wonder about the outcome," said Suki. "For there is no way I could understand why you're still standing here in front of me if they won."

Azula sniffed. "Well, they lost. Miserably," she smiled maliciously. "They failed. And my worthless brother Zuko has disappeared. You remember Mai, don't you? Tall, dark haired, she helped me attack you and your warriors." Azula paused and Suki wondered about the relevance of this point. "I'm sure that she'd like to know the whereabouts of her boyfriend."

Ah, thought Suki. That's what she's after. But Suki wasn't going to give it to her.

Azula continued. "I know that Zuko visited his uncle in the cell right next door to you. I was wondering if you might tell me what they spoke of. It would be in your best interests of course."

The princess waited for a reply. She didn't get one. The young warrior turned her face to the wall with an air of waiting for Azula to leave. Frustrated, Azula tried a different tactic. She wanted to be the one to catch both her brother and her uncle. "I didn't mention your Sokka, did I?" she asked idly.

At once, Suki whirled around, blue eyes fiery. "Where is he? Have you seen him? Did he come here?" she demanded, now standing.

Azula's amber eyes gleamed. "Oh, I don't think I can remember. So many things happened that day."

Suki folded her arms. "Well, I'm not sure that I can quite recall what Zuko and Iroh were talking about," she retorted.

Azula yawned. "Well, I'm not interested in talking about your boyfriend if you won't talk to me about my brother. You don't come out very well out of this, do you?" She smirked. "I won't deny it; I actually admire you. In a way that is. So perhaps we can make a deal. You tell me what my uncle and Zuko spoke of and what they might have been planning, and I might tell you about Sokka. I might even improve your living conditions. So what shall it be?"

Suki looked at her hands. She dearly wanted to find Sokka and Azula's information might prove to be the first step . And she needed to get out of here. But what if Zuko and Iroh's secret conversations were important? What if she was being selfish by even thinking about telling Azula? But still, she needed to get away.

"Alright," said Suki. "Tell me what you want to know."

.:The Western Air Temple:.

Early in the morning, Zuko practiced Firebending alone in a forgotten courtyard, without Aang or anyone else. He felt that it was the only place where he could be alone. Or so he thought.

Katara often observed him, always from a window, hidden by trailing vines. She was still furious at him, for making her trust him for a moment, just one moment, before attacking Katara and Aang with Azula at his side. And she couldn't believe that he could switch sides, just like that. And she meant what she had told him before. You make one mistake, you give me any reason to make me think that you might hurt Aang, and you won't have to worry about your destiny anymore. Because I'll end it.

But it had already been almost two weeks and there seemed to be nothing new that she could hold against him.

He had seemed happier in the last few days, and seeing him as something different than the menace she had always perceived him as had twisted Katara's feelings for him. She hated him, but at the same time she couldn't. He's too much like Aang, Katara decided, at least for my taste. Sometimes he seems like a confused and lost person in this world, just like Aang. Only Aang has us and he has no one. But she didn't want to think of Zuko has an actual person yet.

She heard a familiar pattering of footsteps on the stairs, and turned to face her brother Sokka. He at first scowled at her, asking, "Are you spying on Zuko again?"

Flustered, Katara tried to protest her innocence, but Sokka only held up a hand. "Toph told me you might be up here."

"How did she know?"

Sokka raised his eyebrows. "His feet are healing, you know" he reminded her.

Katara sighed. "What do you want?"

"I'm looking for Zuko. I figured that if I could find you, I could find him."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it's obvious you've been spying on him, so-"

"No." Katara's eyes narrowed. "Why are you looking for Zuko?"

"I want to talk to him. But what about you? I know that you're obsessed with him, but shouldn't you be with Aang?" Sokka smirked. "I saw you guys kiss."

Remembering the vent, Katara blushed. "With me and Aang, it's complicated. Besides, it's nothing worse than what you and Yue did. Or you and Suki." It was precisely the wrong note to hit. Sokka's face went a little gray, and he clenched his fists. Seeing this, Katara stopped smiling. "Oh no," she said, reaching out to him. "Something happened. What happened?"

"No!" replied Sokka defensively. "Nothing has happened. I just need to talk to Zuko. You just- you just leave me alone." Sokka hurried back down the stairs.

As soon as she knew he was gone, Katara turned back to the window in time to watch Zuko rest on a slab of granite. His dark hair hung over his face, over his scar and for a second, Katara could believe him to be a different person. Katara leaned over the windowsill and marveled at how one feature could change someone so dramatically. At once, his eyes shot up towards the window and instinctively, Katara threw herself back, daring to hope that he had not seen her studying him so eagerly.

When she stepped back to the window, Zuko was gone.

.:Later that night:.

It was night. Zuko was on the roof when Sokka found him. "Look, I'm sorry about what I've said before," said Sokka abruptly. "It's just that you've been the enemy for so long, and after you burned Toph's feet... well, I care about her. And I don't want her hurt."

Zuko nodded. "I see." They sat in silence for a moment until Zuko asked, "Are you and she... you know?"

"Oh, no!" Sokka exclaimed, jumping about a foot off the floor. "No, she's just like a sister to me."

"Your sister Katara doesn't trust me," said Zuko.

Sokka carefully chose his words. "Katara can't get past some things. But that's not what I came here to talk to you about." He took a deep breath. "I want to talk to you about something else. Something having to do with your sister. That is, my friend, Suki."

Considering this, Zuko asked, "Should I know her?"

Sokka smiled grimly. "I doubt it. But you attacked her home. You wouldn't have heard of her. But she's important to me and I have to find her."

"I'm sorry. Very sorry. For not just that, but everything. I've done some things in my past that I'm not proud of, things that I'd like to take back. I was a different person then," he said, smiling because the words reminded him both of Iroh and Jet. "But what does Azula, of all people, have to do with this?"

"Because," explained Sokka, shoulders sinking, "she's your sister's prisoner."

Dead silence fell on the discussion as Zuko contemplated his options, looking for the best way to say what was on his mind. Deciding that putting it bluntly was the most merciful choice, he answered, "She's dead."

Sokka stood up. "No, she's not!" he objected fiercely. "She can't be! Azula, of all people, told me herself! Back on the day of the invasion!"

Zuko looked to his past. "Azula lies. She lies easily and cruelly. She'd never tell the truth unless it served her own purposes."

"But this did serve her purpose! She used Suki to get at me, and to stall me,Toph and Aang from getting to your father's throne room. She has Suki prisoner. I don't know where. I was hoping you could tell me that."

"As for getting into the throne room, I was already in there and I wasn't prepared to deal with interruptions. As for your friend, I guess that Azula might tell the truth in that case, but you can never be sure. But you'd better hope she's dead. The happier of Azula's prisoners are like that. And if your friend is alive, you wouldn't want to see her. I don't think she'd be even be able to fight."

"This isn't about raising an army to fight the Fire Nation! This is about saving a friend. And not just a friend, but my-" At a loss for thinking of a word to describe Suki as, Sokka laughed bitterly. "The funny thing is, I'm not even sure what to call Suki," he admitted. "I care about her so much, but we had so little time together to really figure out what we meant to each other." He sat down. "I don't want to see her hurt."

"What do you mean? I'm sure that she's gotten beaten up many times in her career as a warrior. Especially as Azula's prisoner."

"But that wasn't my fault! Not directly, I mean. Except that we, as in me, Katara, and Aang, sort of dragged her into this war. So I guess it is my fault after all. It's all my fault."

"No one should be blamed for every mistake they've ever made. I don't think she'd even blame you," said Zuko, thinking about how much he wanted to be forgiven.

"It's not just Suki. Back at the North Pole, I had a sort-of girlfriend, Yue."

"What's a 'sort-of' girlfriend?"

"Well, technically, she was engaged to be married. But the guy was a jerk, and I think Zhao killed him anyway. But that's not the point! I was supposed to protect her, assigned to her by her father, but I couldn't save her. She died." He looked up at the moon. "And I've sworn to myself that I won't let Suki die. So it's my honor I guess."

Zuko looked away, thinking of his own honor. "Azula could be keeping her a hundred different places. The only way to know where she's being kept would be to ask Azula herself. And that's never going to happen."

"But what if she's tricked into telling?" Sokka persisted. "Or kidnapped?"

Zuko let out a bark of laughter. "Kidnap Azula? I think this girl's made you go off the deep end."

Sokka looked back up at the moon. "I still have to find her," he said. "It's not like anything is ever going to change that. You wouldn't understand."

"I know what you feel like. When I left to join you, I left someone behind too. I don't know where your Suki is, but I understand why you need to find her. And I'll help."

.:Fire Nation Palace, Guest Quarters:.

Suki ran a brush through her hair for what felt like the thousandth time. No longer locked in a cell, she reveled in the luxury she now possessed. Azula had been as good as her word and within a day, Suki had been moved into a comfortable room in the very palace itself. But, despite all of this generosity, Azula had yet to relinquish any information concerning Sokka. Suki tried to bring the memory of him to the front of her mind, but panicked when she realized that she could not recall what her looked like. The thoughts of her good fortune took his place immediately. But despite all of this show of generosity and unexpected kindness, Suki still felt caged.

Only this time, her bars were gilded.

She still wore her prison clothes. As silly as that seemed, Suki wouldn't wear the robe that had been left for her use. It was Fire Nation clothing and Suki couldn't stand it. She couldn't stand a lot of this room. The scarlet hangings, crimson sheets, gold tinted furniture, it was hard not to feel a prisoner in this room. Because under all the comforts, a nagging feeling prevailed, a feeling that she had somehow betrayed all of them. It was a horrible feeling.

A bath and a night's rest had done a lot for Suki, and now that her face was clear of grime, her hair hung past her shoulders untangled, she was ready to make her demands. Her demands of an explanation from Azula. Because Azula wasn't keeping her end of the deal. And this time, Azula would not emerge victorious. But Suki couldn't tell when Azula might come. All Suki knew is that she would come and Suki refused to be caught unaware.

So she waited. She waited for an hour, then two, and only then did Azula make her appearance.

Leaping to her feet as Azula entered, Suki asked curtly, "I believe that you owe me an explanation."

In a slightly bored tone, Azula merely said, "I believe that it's time we tied up some loose ends." No formalities, no other greeting. It suited Suki's purpose.

"Are you here to fulfill your end of the deal?" interposed Suki, her blue eyes snapping.

Azula shrugged. "Haven't I? You've been moved out of your cell, into a room in the very palace, and," a half-hidden smile crossed her face, "I can make sure that you have no troubles here."

Suki folded her arms. "I think you were supposed to tell me about Sokka."

Azula waved her hand. "All in good time," she said, but she sounded distracted.

"Azula," said Suki, "I need to know where he is."

"Oh, I'll tell you. But first, I'd like you to meet someone." The princess smiled as two men in darkest green entered the room. "I don't believe you've met the Dai Li, have you? They are excellent fighters, but their agents have... other uses as well."

The warrior shook her head. "Tell me, what's the point of this?" she asked, glaring at the princess. "This is between you and me. There's no reason to drag anyone else into this."

Azula didn't reply to this. She only sighed. "I don't think that Dad will even notice that I have a new friend in the palace," she said as the Dai Li moved stealthily around the room. "You'll be the equivalent of Ty Lee or Mai. You'll be at my side, the way they are." Azula paused. "Won't that be amusing? A Kyoshi Warrior, at my beck-and-call. And the girlfriend of one of the Avatar's protectors at that."

"And why would you even think," objected Suki, "that I would ever, ever, help you?" She kept her eyes on the Dai Li, who were advancing towards her.

"I don't," replied Azula silkily. "But you won't remember being my enemy. You won't remember anything except what I tell you."

"Well, I'm not about to lose my memory any time soon."

The two Earthbenders pounced, but Suki was ready. Darting to the side and leaping over the bed kept her just out of reach. She glanced around as the Dai Li began moving towards her again. As she sprinted for the unlocked door, sprinted to get out of this prison, Azula stepped into the way, smiling sardonically, and fired a large blast of blue fire straight at her. In order to avoid it, Suki dropped to the floor and, even as she struggled to get up, the Dai Li seized her, pulling her out into the stone hallway. They threw her against the wall and as she collapsed against it, earthbended the rock around her. Suki stared straight forward, unable to do anything else.

One bender withdrew a small glowing crystal from the folds of his sleeves as the other took a place directly in front of Suki. At first she resisted, fighting her bonds, but Azula had followed her agents out into the hallway and stood to the side of the young warrior.

"I suppose I could tell you about your Water Tribe boyfriend now," said Azula, sounding bored.

Suki stopped resisting and she looked at Azula with surprise. "What do you mean?" she snapped. "What are you trying to do?"

Azula smiled her most malicious smile. "Maybe I'll tell you, maybe I won't. But it doesn't matter anyways. Because you won't remember any of this."

"What are you talking about? I'll never forget about any of this! Sokka will come for me, you'll see!"

The princess stopped smiling. "Don't tell me that you are still, after all of this, holding on to that foolish little hope. Poor, poor little Suki. You think he'll come and rescue you, save you, but you and I both know different. Because, although you might not know this, he was already here and I know that he didn't even look for you."

"You don't know that," protested Suki, trying to shake her head, the tears streaming down her cheeks. "You can't know that!"

"Poor little Suki," Azula repeated. "I do know it. You know, this is one of the times when I don't need to lie. Because this time, the truth is all I need. Because your precious Sokka told me himself." When Suki's eyes widened, she continued. "I couldn't have done him a bigger favor. I happened to run into him during the invasion, and I told him about you, that you were my prisoner and that all he had to do was look to find you. Don't you think he should have been coming to your aid at run? Like you said he would?"

"You're lying. As usual."

Ignoring her, Azula continued her tale. "If he's all that you say he is, shouldn't he have been here by now? Shouldn't he have rescued you earlier? But you and I both know that he didn't. Obviously, he doesn't care about you at all."

"You're lying," said Suki, sniffing slightly. "I'll bet you never even saw him!"

"But I did."

"Prove it!" spat out Suki.

With another smile, Azula withdrew a fan from the folds of her robe, a war fan. One from Kyoshi. And as Suki recognized that it was one of a set she had given Sokka, she bit down hard on her lip, drawing blood. She ceased her struggles and instead stared blankly at the light that had begun to circle around the Dai Li agent as he whispered lies to her. And she gave up, even as the tears poured down her face.

A/N: Whew! That's the end of Part One of Three. I have seen the new Avatar episodes and I know that this is not what happens, as I began this in February 2008, Part Two in March, and Part Three is still in progress. I always thought that this might be an interesting plot for a Suki-Sokka ship, so I decided to write this fanfic. Look out for a bit of a Katara-Zuko thing going on in Parts Two and Three! -EK