AN: (looks at mob of protesting Zuko stalker/fangirls) you don't honestly think I'd kill Zuko do you? I told you I loved cliffhangers. And please don't tell me that you actually thought it was the last chapter...

The main POVs tend to be either Katara or Zuko, but sometimes Aang.

Chapter 6: The Prayer

Katara woke slowly to a bright and sunny morning. She remembered abandoning Zuko's robe the previous evening because of something more important. Exactly what had been more important she couldn't remember at once, but the same scent that the robe carried filled her senses. Then, all that had happened the night before and roaring back.

The previous night…
Appa flew them directly into the city. Everyone was running around trying to put out the flames. For some reason, there were no fire-benders around, or either they had somehow lost the ability to bend.

"Where is he? How do we find him?" She heard Aang shout.

"I know!" This was Sokka. "Why don't we run towards the place everyone else is running away from?"

As stupid and annoying as her brother was, his idea actually worked. They found themselves at the Great Hall, the same place where they had first seen the Fire Lord.

Katara used some of her water-bending to put out a few of the flames and bite back the smoke so they could see. They could see Zuko now, standing in the middle of the Hall. A huge crack sounded around them, and Katara watched in horror as the huge chandelier began to fall…directly towards her prince, who now had fainted.

"Aang!" she shouted as she pointed to where Zuko lay.

"I'm on it!" he returned and ran towards Zuko, propelled by his air-bending.

There was a blinding flash of light followed by an intense wave of heat as the chandelier crashed. For several heart-stopping moments, she couldn't tell if Aang and Zuko had made it or not. From the way Sokka was gripping her hand, he was as worried as she.

Just when they thought all was lost, Aang came running through the flames, Zuko clutched in one arm. Sokka pulled the unconscious prince from Aang's grip and threw him over one shoulder. Together with their savior, they ran back out of the burning palace and Appa met them. Everyone had been too busy putting out the flames to notice the Avatar and his friends escaping.

Once on Appa, Sokka and Katara had set down to try and do something with all the burns on Zuko. They didn't seem to be bad, there were just so many. There wasn't much of the silk robe left, but the strong outfit that had gone under it was still intact. Sokka cut Zuko's shirt and most of his pants off with the bladed side of his boomerang. Taking stock of the prince's burns, they knew that the little bit of salve and the few bandages they had would nowhere near be enough and Aang had turned them towards a healer he knew. Meanwhile, Sokka and Katara had done what they could for Zuko.

Katara had told Sokka to sleep, saying she would wake him after a few hours. Someone needed to stay awake with Zuko, who seemed to be hanging onto life by a worn thread. But her attempts to stay awake after the eventful night had apparently failed…

…because she'd woken up with her face pressed into Zuko's shoulder. Now, even as she jerked up and away from him, the prince didn't even blink. For a moment, Katara was sure he had died in the night. But then her hand, that had somehow landed on his bare chest during the night, began rising and falling with his breath. She sighed in relief.

"How is he?" The sudden sound startled Katara and she jumped before realizing it was Aang, who had just woken up. She moved her free hand from Zuko's chest to his forehead. She would've been happy for her brain to scream fever, for that would've told her that Zuko was normal, but instead of burning up, like he had been last night, he felt deathly cold.

"He's cold." Worry lit Aang's face and he moved to Appa's head. Apparently, he knew just how precarious Zuko's situation was now. Aang called to Appa to move faster, and Katara steadied Zuko as the bison sped up.

It was a little more than an hour later when Sokka woke up. It had seemed an eternity for Katara and Aang, who were both wired tensely from scanning the hazy horizon for the island where Aang said the healer lived.

And for once, the first thing on Sokka's mind when he woke wasn't food. His eyes traveled to the unconscious prince, for you really couldn't say he was sleeping, and then over to Katara, who was kneeling by him. And Sokka had the courage to say what they were all thinking.

"What if he dies?" Aang and Katara both glared at him.

"He won't." Aang said firmly and Katara nodded, but Sokka pursued the subject relentlessly.

"But what if he does? We don't know anything about Fire Nation customs."

Aang's arrow began to glow blue, and Katara bit back her angry cry. They waited until the light faded and listened to Aang as he spoke. "We will face that when, and if, we must. Not before."

Katara did not need to add anything to this, for Sokka nodded his compliance. He crawled over to her and placed a hand on Zuko's forehead in mimic to her action before. His eyes flew to hers as his jaw dropped. "You realize how cold he is?"

Katara had to lower her eyes to hide the sudden tears. She'd been holding Zuko's hand for the last hour; yes, she knew exactly how cold he was. Sokka moved and grabbed three small pieces of bread from their sack. He gave one to Aang and one to Katara, and then sat down and munched on his own.

Katara's hand traced the prince's jaw-line, her fingers coming to rest on his too dry lips. Grabbing her canteen, she held it to his lips and let a thin trickle of water thread its way across his closed mouth. She was ecstatic when his lips parted slightly, welcoming the cool water. Holding the canteen so it continued its trickle, she let the water flow until he closed his mouth once more. It felt like a miracle to watch him swallow. She recapped the canteen and squeezed his hand. "Please don't die Zuko." She murmured and willed Appa to fly faster.

Behind closed lids, dreams unfolded.

Sitting on the shore of the lake, he let the cool water flow over his feet. She danced through the sand, kicking it up around her and laughing. She was an angel; she was perfect. She came up and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in the back of his neck. He'd never loved anyone more.

Ok. So he still might die. But ya'll knew Aang would save him right? Right?

AN: Ok, things will probably slow down some now. I'm sorry the first five chapters were really fast but yeah, a lot was going on. It should be easier to understand now.

AN: For all those who care, this story is far from over. Mwahahahahahaha