A/N: I decided to rework probably my first 10 or possibly 12 chapters. The fist 9 or so were written a LONG time ago and I want the whole thing to be up to snuff with my current abilities. The first chapter was dreadful and now contains more details and small alterations to the plot. Tiny, such as where Sokka finds Suki's body. I'd like to keep the story up to date with the new episodes and since Suki was discovered alive, I had to change her death. I'll be editing the rest of the chapters later on. Nothing huge, but I spelled "Yue" right in this one. I was barely 14 when i wrote this. I'm now almost 16. It needed to be changed. Enjoy!

PLEASE READ IF YOU WISH TO KEEP UP WITH MY STORY! PLOT CHANGES MAY OCCUR! THANKIES!

Chapter 1: Never Again

The cell door groaned as Sokka opened it. He held his breath as he slid inside. Light pierced the dark shadows of the small cell. It fell on a figure. Sokka's heart froze. The figure wore a tattered red garment, its head was covered in a mass of brown hair; it was Suki. She lay motionless on the ground, her face turned away from him and her arms and legs sprawled out in front of her. Horror rose up inside him. He called out to her; she did not move. Spirits, no. He bolted over to her, dropping to his knees and wrenching her over. Her dark brown eyes stared emptily and her lips parted in a look of surprise. The robes covering her breast were blacked and singed. Sokka felt numb as he noticed the entry wound near her heart; she was dead.

Cold washed over him. It couldn't be. She's not dead. He shook her, calling her name desperately. He glanced over her face; it was beautiful as it had always been, but the life that once filled the blood in her veins was cold and gone.

"Suki!" His eyes widened as horror took him. There had to be a way; he had to save her. He glanced around the cell frantically. He had to find a way. He could still save her; he knew he could. But when nothing but gray, steel walls met his hopeful gaze, the horrifying realization took hold of him; there was no way. It sunk in; he couldn't do anything. His eyes closed shut, trying his best to hold back tears. With a shaking hand, he slid his fingers over Suki's eyes, accepting her death.

The pain shot through his heart, becoming unbearable. He let out a cry of agony; the tears burst free.

"Suki." Sokka whispered through his sobs. He drew a shaking finger down her cheek as if hoping the gentle touch would wake her. Her eyes remained closed. His hand curled into a firm fist. His teeth bore. Why? Why must every woman he had ever loved be taken by the fire nation? His mother, then Yue, and now Suki had been taken away from him as well. He stroked her face, trailing his finger down to rest at her pale lips. He drew near them, shaking slightly. He hesitated for a moment, afraid for what he might feel, but he dismissed the feeling quickly and brushed his lips against her. Cold shot up his spine. The warmth and pleasure he had felt in her kiss was now gone. She was merely a shell. Suki was gone.

He held Suki's body tight against his chest. He shuddered, remembering the last time he held her; he had felt her heart beat against his chest. Now, he felt nothing in the cold embrace. Tears flew freely down his face. Who could have done this? Who could have ripped the soul from the woman he had loved so dearly? Words floated into his mind, answering his question.

"One of my favorite prisoners used to talk about you all the time. She was convinced you were going to rescue her, but you never came so she gave up on you."

Golden eyes flashed in Sokka's mind.

"And then you killed her. I couldn't save her. I was too late; it's my fault." Sokka's blue eyes grew wide with terrifying realization. He let Suki's body slide from his arms. It was his fault. She was dead because he didn't come. He could have saved her. He could have opened the cell to find a different scene. Suki could have lived; he could have saved her from Azula's lightning.

Azula had killed Suki. Hot anger began to bubble up inside Sokka's chest. That monster had killed his Suki. Sokka began to shake, hatred replacing his guilt. The rage that filled him grew like a wild fire, singeing his every nerve with a feeling of unrecognizable fury. It consumed him, burning away all sense and fear; he would kill her. He was going to avenge Suki, the woman he loved. He would do it, even if he died trying; he would have his revenge.

With a cry of rage, Sokka dug his fists into the cold, metal floor, cursing Azula, cursing himself. Unspeakable vows and threats flowed from his shaking lips. As he knelt there, beside the body of the one he loved, he vowed never to love again, until Azula was dead.

Sokka shot up in his bed, a cold sweat glistening on his face. His dream had been so vivid, so real, that he expected to find Suki's cold corpse at his bedside. Shaken slightly from his dream, he peered over his bed; nothing met his gaze. He let out a breath of relief, closing his eyes, and wiping the cold sweat from his brow.

It had been a while since that dream had come to haunt him, to remind him of his guilt, his pain, and his ambitions. For five long years Sokka had pursued Azula. For five long years he had followed her throughout all four nations; not once had he even come close to catching her. He had almost forgotten the true reason for all his efforts until now. The dream had rekindled his hatred and anger.

That night was why he was doing this. Guilt and regret found their usual place inside Sokka's heart. If only he hadn't listened to Zuko. Sokka had once, long ago, asked Zuko of the location of fire nation war prisoners. He had hoped the Boiling Rock would be the location of his father, and he had had the goal to go there and rescue him; he wanted to redeem himself from his previous failure. But Zuko, had advised otherwise, and Sokka, acting on the princes opinion that his father would probably not be there, decided against the mission.

But that had been a fatal mistake. If he had gone he could have saved Suki. His father had been at the Boiling Rock as well, but had, as was expected from the water tribe chief, escaped the prison with the aid of a band of rebellious inmates. Hakoda, however, had not known of Suki's being there, and so he unknowingly left her behind. Nobody had know she was there.

When the war had ended, Toph, Sokka, Katara, and Aang immediately began their search for their missing and captured comrades. The many Earth Kingdom colonies and Fire Nation prisons were found and the survivors were released. But there were not many survivors. Azula, in her uncontrollable fury and hunger for death and power, ordered all the occupants of the prisons and colonies to be executed without trial. Such an order was to be carried out without hesitation or the consequence would be the same as the prisoners.

When they arrived at the Boiling Rock, few were found alive. Suki had not been among these survivors. Sokka had found her there, dead in her cell. But Azula took it upon herself to kill Suki personally. The lightning wound in her chest told Sokka of that. It was, he guessed, her association with Aang that earned her such a personalized murder. Azula killed Suki, and he could have saved her.

After the Boiling Rock, Sokka had left the gang in rush of anger and mourning. After Suki's funeral and after his respects had been paid and his vows made, he set off in pursuit of Azula, leaving his friends and family without a single word of goodbye. It was this that filled his heart with lead like regret. He hadn't seen Aang, Katara, or Toph in five long years. He had received news of course, from Katara and Aang. Aang, being the Avatar wasn't exactly a hard person to find news about. Sokka found himself finding it quite easy to keep up with the events in the young air benders life, and simultaneously keeping up with his sister. The two lovebirds were the only two that stayed in contact with one another, and while Sokka was tracking Azula through the Northern Water Tribe, he had learned of their engagement, and marriage. Sokka had missed the wedding and only knew that the two newly weds had moved to the Southern Air Temple and had been living there for the past five months.

A painful ache came to him as he thought of this. He hadn't seen them in all those years, and now they were married. His longing to see their faces again became unbearable for a moment. Then another face floated into his mind, to add to the pain and loneliness: the blind, rugged, jeering, sarcastic earth bender. How could he forget about Toph? In truth, he hadn't thought about her in five years. But, she had left them before Sokka had even left. He dimly recalled their brief yet earthshaking coffin side brawl that had occurred at Suki's funeral and which now caused regret and sorrow to stab at his heart once more. He forced his mind away from the memory, not wanting to recall the last words he had ever said to her. He had never screamed so loudly at her. He had never felt such hatred towards her; he had never seen her shake so hard, or look so pained. He knew that there way no denying that it had been all his fault that she had left. He never got to say goodbye, and now, he feared he would never see her again and the last memory they would have of each other would be that final screaming match. But that was years ago.

Attempting to take his mind off the past, he slid out of bed and wandered over to the window. The sun's morning rays were just beginning to breach the top of Ba Sings Se's glorious walls. Sokka rubbed his eyes as the light pierced them. He groaned and moved away from the window, moving towards the handsome wooden dresser sitting across from his magnificent canopy bed. Sokka had been the recipient of the Earth King's gracious hospitality when he arrived in Ba Sing Se, but the luxurious home that he had been provided with meant little to him; he was only here for Azula.

He was closer than ever. Azula was in the city, and as her brother did before her, she had disguised herself as a simple refugee in the lower ring, hiding amongst the hundreds of thousands of people. He knew he was close this time. Azula would not escape his grasp like she had so many times before. She was becoming tired of his constant pursuit, and the walls of Ba Sing Se served as an ideal resting point for her wicked mind; there was no doubt that she was plotting to dispose of him. He was assured that she would not leave the city without having killed him first; but he wouldn't let that happen.

Sokka dressed quickly; the dream had motivated him and he would put it to use. If he could find her today, he could end it. He had never been this close; he could almost see the life leaving her eyes as he slit her throat. He could almost smell the scent of her freshly spilled blood. He could almost feel the warmth of it on his eager hands. Today would be the day.

Snatching his boomerang and small traveling pack from an elegantly carved ivory rack on the wall, Sokka slid outside. He quickly made his way out of the housing and into town, heading for the lower ring. It was quiet out. The early morning was seldom greeted with the buzz of busy citizens. The rich, political snobs never walked the streets; apparently they were too important to walk anywhere on their own two feet, so ostrich horse drawn carriages were quite frequent on the streets.

As he strolled down the curved, white stone streets he heard a familiar friend greet him with a familiar morning sound. His stomach growled nosily, briefly reminding him of the days in which food seem to matter so much to him. He rarely had time to eat a decent meal while tracking Azula, so he was quite accustomed to simple rice bowls and hastily prepared stews. But today, he was in Ba Sing Se. He was not in the middle of a forest, or a desert, or riding on the back of a scrawny ostrich horse. Azula wasn't moving, he was sure of it, and his stomach wanted something more than plain rice.

Sokka may have grown used to ill prepared meals, but he found that he still did love food just as much as he did five years ago. Deciding that a good breakfast might do him some good, he perused the many shops and restaurants of the upper ring, searching for one worthy of his taste. He stuck his hand into his pocket and jingled around the gold coins the earth king had given him. He didn't think he would use it, but now he was glad he had it. He smiled a bit, feeling odd as he sauntered into a fancy restaurant called The Golden Boar.

People shot him quizzical and disapproving looks as he strutted inside, his stubby face and his ragged hair making him stick out like Aang in the fire nation. He smiled sheepishly at a woman dressed in a long puce kimono lined with sliver flounder swans. Her head piece gave her the appearance of a glittery peacock fox. Her faced was caked in powder and pink blush and her green eyes hid behind a thick coating of purple and silver eye makeup. Her lips were a pale violet and they were curled into a snobbish frown. She sniffled at him before turning away, returning to the elegant sipping of her jasmine tea. It was obvious that he was not welcome here.

Changing his mind and deciding to eat in the middle ring, he backed out of the doorway, bumping into several important looking snobs along the way and receiving more disapproving looks. As he shuffled down the street, hands in his pockets, he considered just going down to the lower ring and eating at a bar. At least there he could get a nice hard drink along with a fair meal.

Just as he was deciding his food future, he passed by the large white marble earth bending academy. A loud, bellowing voice emerged from it, causing Sokka to stop dead in his tracks, his eyes wide. The screaming person sounded, somewhat familiar.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU WON"T LET ME TEACH HERE?! The voice screamed, making Sokka wince. He really felt for the recipient of the unleashed rage. "IS IT BECAUSE I'M A WOMAN? YOU SICK PIGS ARE SO SEXIST! DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHO I AM?" As the final shrieking word died away, Sokka felt recognition wash over him. He knew who it was. Sokka knew the person who earth bended a terrified earth bending professor flying out of his own school. But he couldn't imagine why she was here. He whispered the question aloud to himself, craning his neck around, trying to see past the grand, marble pillars marking the entrance to the academy.

"Why are you here Toph?"