Author's Note: Sorry, long time, no post! I hope you guys like this. It's not the greatest chapter but still! I just got outta school hahah so I'll keep up with the posting. R&R! And thanks to everyone who's read lately!
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Thanks everyone!


"Katara!" She faintly heard a voice calling her name. "Katara, get up! Wake up!" As she was brought more and more into consciousness, she became vaguely aware of someone holding onto her shoulders, shaking her ever so slightly. Her blue eyes fluttered open and focused; it was Zuko. His brows were furrowed and his eyes had a look of distress, his jaw set.

"I'm up." She croaked, coughing weakly.

"Oh thank the Gods." He sighed with relief, body relaxing from being tensed with worry. "I thought..." He shook his head. "I don't even know. Are you alright?"

"Ye-" She cut off momentarily as the vision of Aang beaten and bruised came to mind again. "I'm fine." She hissed, voice turning to ice.

"Good..." Zuko sighed. He finally let go of her shoulders, and Katara immediately felt as if she was lacking warmth. She enjoyed the warmth that radiated from the Firebender's body. It was comforting. She needed comfort. But...it was Zuko. So she would not accept his comfort. Katara pulled herself into a half-sitting position, scooting away from Zuko. Her head throbbed.

"Why would you let them do that!" She tried to yell.

"What?" Zuko asked.

"They're killing Aang! You're letting them!"

"No, Katara, I..."

"Shut up! I don't want to hear it! How could you, Zuko!" She stopped, narrowing her eyes. "Oh, I forgot, you're the ruthless Fire Nation Prince. You don't care about anyone but yourself and the precious position of Fire Lord that you'll inherit. You disgust me." She mocked.

"No, Katara, that's..." Zuko slumped. "That's not..."

"Bull!" Katara yelled, gaining more strength in her voice. "You're letting them kill him! They're killing him!"

"You love him."

"No, I- yes. I do." Her voice lost volume and fight. "And you're killing him. How would you feel if someone was killing who you loved! Oh, wait, I forgot, you love no one!"

"That's not true!" Zuko yelled, and Katara could almost see the fire in his body start blazing.

"Prove it!" Katara yelled. "Who on this Earth could you love, Zuko? Who?"

"Why do you think I'm so incapable of love?" Zuko asked, and Katara could see the defeat in his eyes, his posture. She could hear it in his voice.

"Because you never show compassion. You never care. You kill without thought." Her voice shook.

Zuko inched towards Katara, leaning over her half-sitting form. "You really think that, you stupid Waterbender? Really?" He hissed, and the warmth from his body turned into heat, a blazing heat.

"Yes." Katara said, boldly.

"You're wrong. You're so wrong." He growled, leaning over her more, pinning her down. Katara tensed, truly frightened now, but determined not to show it.

"Prove it." Katara spat. "Who have you ever loved, Prince Zuko?"

"You want to know something, Waterbender? I had a Mom, until she disappeared. And I loved her. Oh but I'm sure you'll find a way to say that doesn't count, won't you?" His voice lowered to an almost feral growl as he leaned cloer and closer to Katara. Red was pooling in her cheeks from her body heating up, caused by Zuko's body temperature being so high and Zuko being so close. "So let me guess, I need to name someone else, don't I? Prove some more?"

Katara narrowed her eyes but didn't say a word.

"If I was so heartless, wouldn't I have killed you by now? Or raped you? Starved you? Forced you to do sick things? Not even bothered to take you to Aang, not even begged the guards to lighten up on him?" Zuko took a careful, deep breath. "Wouldn't I? I have all right to."

Katara gasped, looking up at Zuko. "What?" She forgot her tough facade for a few moments, her face softening, blue eyes confused. Then a shadow crossed over her features and her jaw tightened.

"Exactly." Zuko said. "I'm not heartless. That's proof if anything."

"You still didn't answer me." She hissed, looking away from him purposely.

"That was answer enough." Zuko growled, and Katara felt his warm breath on her cheek. She looked up through unmasked eyes. Zuko was so close she could literally almost taste him. She could see the pain, confusion and something else, something he was trying to hide, in his golden eyes. She could see the wrinkled, red skin of his scar, exactly where it started and how harsh it truly was. The rest of his skin was pale, clear as porcelain, clashing with the scar, which gave him all of his harshness. Without it, people would be less likely to be frightened of him, Katara thought.

Zuko leapt off of Katara nimbly, and she watched all of his muscles tense as his door swung open. Azula stood there, dark brown hair pulled up tightly, her cruel, ever-present smirk gracing her features, eyes cold.

"What is it, Azula!" Zuko growled.

"Oh nothing, Zuzu, just came to tell you it's time to go check on the..." She grinned, looking at Katara. "prisoners." And she spun on her heel and marched out, slamming the door behind her. Zuko sighed heavily.

"My friends." Katara stated.

"Yes." Zuko answered. Katara stood and walked over to Zuko, placing her hand on his bare chest, over his heart. Deep brown against pale porcelain, She felt his heartbeat and the heat his body carried.

"You're cold." Zuko said.

"No, you're just warm." She replied, then met Zuko's eyes. "You're not going to hurt them, right?" She asked.

Zuko shook his head. "No... I won't."

"Thank you." Katara murmured and stood on her tip toes, placing a soft kiss on his warm cheek, then turned and walked back to the bed, curling under the covers.


The flames had finally stopped, and were always just burning embers, but Toph didn't care. She was still in sand. Barred in. With burned feet. Chained. And blind. What could she do?

She whimpered as her hearing picked up a door in the distance opening, the only door leading to her and Sokka's imprisonments. Toph rolled herself into a ball, hands over her head, shivering. Toph was broken.

"They're coming?" Sokka asked, voice cracked and dry.

"Yes." Toph whimpered.

"Be strong, Toph. Breath. It will be okay. I'm here." Sokka murmured. He'd taken three beatings for Toph lately, yelling when they went to hit her or talking back when they were beating her. He didn't like hearing her broken, or hearing those men and the things they did. He wanted to protect her, so he did his best.

"I'll try." She whispered, choking back a sob.

"Toph, there's a big light." Sokka gasped. It was usually kept completely dark in here since the fire around Toph's "cage" burned out, the guards liked the element of surprise they thought they had. "It's Zuko!"

"Now he's come to kill us hasn't he!" Toph wailed, louder than she meant.

"Shush Toph....it'll be fine." Sokka tried to soothe. Toph heard a loud, familiar click in her cage, and a voice close to her ear.

"It's okay. Keep your voice down for a few minutes. Both of you." Zuko murmured, somehow sounding very official and commanding, and Toph felt herself being lifted. She started struggling, whimpers and whines escaping her throat as she tried to make him drop her. But he had an iron grip and she felt herself being carried, no sense of direction at all, until she was on hard ground again. Hard ground. Not sand. Through her burned feet she just barely, painfully detected two people- one being Zuko...the other was Sokka.

"Toph." Sokka said, pulling her to him and wrapping his arms around her. He kissed her forehead and she leaned against him, sobs escaping her throat.

"Keep it down." Zuko hissed. "This is only temporary, I'm only going to be coming in occasionally, when they tell me to, but I'll do my best to help you and Aang. Somehow." His voice was gruff.

"Where's Katara?" Sokka asked.

"She's fine." Zuko replied, giving no details. "Don't even ask about Aang..." And Zuko trailed off, leaning against a wall. He extinguished the fire so it was dark again. Sokka held on to Toph tightly, rocking back and forth and whispering comforting things in her ear, until he felt her breathing slow, and she fell asleep. Really asleep, for the first time since they'd been imprisoned. Sokka kissed her lightly on the cheek.

"She'll be okay, right?" He asked.

"I'll make sure of it." Zuko said as he gently lifted the sleeping Earthbender from Sokka, and went back to her prison cell, placing her gently in the sand. He half-buried a covered cup of water and some wrapped bread in the sand next to Toph, and gave Sokka the same. "Tell Toph about it but both of you do your best to hide the things. I can't do this often." Zuko then started swiftly leaving the room the two were in.

"Thank you." Toph's voice floated after Zuko as he closed the door.