Disclaimer; I don't own Avatar. Sadly..

I dedicate this chapter to ML7 who has always kept me going ) thanks so much.

I also dedicate it to my friend Betrayed629. You're one of the greatest friend's ever. )

Chapter 13; Stick Together

Not proud of my past… and definitely not of my present…

But still.

I hold on… knowing… just knowing… my future is looking up.

Even if it is hopeless

Even if it is hard.

Even if it hurts.

At least I know I've tried…

-emily (my friend )

"We'll help you." Sokka' face turned to stone after her heart-wrenching story came to an end. He couldn't bare another innocent life ruined in the hands of the fire nation. What right did they have? Who put them in charge? All he could do was keep rocking the poor girl in his arm and tell her it would be okay… but would it be okay? How was he to know? How was anyone to know? All they could do… all anyone could do… was try their hardest and hope for the best… and even if they fail in the process… at least they'll know they've tried.

Large hands thrust her now frail body sprawling on the floor of the chamber, the cell, an imprisonment fit for filth. She felt disgusted. She never had the strongest urge to bathe and scrub her entire body more. She felt so dirty and exposed in all the wrong places. She had never felt so useless and defeated. She was no longer innocent and was distraught by the mere fact that that man, no, that monster, took away the one thing she had control over. He took away something she could never get back. Her first time, the moment she would remember forever, was taken against her will, with a man she doesn't even know. She had never felt so used.

She tried to push herself up off the cold unforgiving floor and onto the cot. She felt sore and tired. The sobs came willingly and she sat in the corner of her cot, head in her hands, body in a fetal position, and she rocked back and forth trying to rid her mind of all the horrible memories.

After what seemed like forever, she lifted her head up, wiped away the still streaming tears away from her face and looked at the Prince's cell across from her. She could make out the body in the dim light but it was out cold, unmoving and dead.

"No…" She whispered. "No." She moved to the prison bars and attempted to reach out to him with no avail.

"Zuko? Zuko! Zuko, answer me! Get up! I… I need you!" She had no idea what made her say it. She just didn't want to be alone. She needed him as much as he needed her. They needed to stick together while in the clutches of his crazed sibling. It was the only way they were going to survive, and now he was dead.

"Zuko!"

"I'm… right… here…" His voice rang in the air and she whirled around surprised to find him sitting in the dark corner of her own cell. She stumbled over to him and as she grew closer, his wounds became more evident.

"Zuko!" She reached up to his face and ran her hand over his newly-formed wounds. "What happened…" She ran over a raw cut on his cheek and he flinched.

"Sorry… How could this have happened… She's your sister… How could anyone do th-…"

"She's no sister of mine." His voice was hoarse and his body frail but his eyes glowed with ferociousness.

"How could she…" She slowly wrapped her arms around him to hug him before he winced in pain and she jolted to a stop.

"Katara… why do you even care…" For a second she wondered why herself. But it was all clear now. The truth opened up to her and she realized how horrible it really was.

"Because… we're both in this situation together. We have to stick together. Even with our differences… it doesn't matter anymore. The only way we can survive is if we rely on each other. There's no other choice." He looked up at her worn out face and nodded in realization. He knew it too.

"So everyone's got the plan?" Sokka looked at Xayla and Aang for their confirmation. They both nodded. "Good. This is going to be the most difficult plan we've ever endured so far. It has to work perfectly. If you don't hold up your end of the bargain… all will be lost. Make sure you ha-"

"Sokka! We've got it. It's going to be okay. We're going to get through this. We're going to get Katara back AND avenge Xayla's family."

"Yeah Sokka… we've got this. We're ready." Xayla's eyes gleamed in the candlelight. You could tell she was ready for anything.

"After you left, she… she took me into a room and hit me… my blood was all over the walls and I couldn't stop it. She tied me back and hit me over and over and over… Then… when she finished, she gave me another scar… one more to 'mark me of my weakness' she said… I hate her…" Katara started to tear up as he told her his pain... his entire life story, about his father, his mother, how everything he touched turned to menace and grief… He also knew the pain she had to endure. Her mother… how she was killed right in front of her eyes…

She was trying to salvage his body, healing all the wounds she could with the grimy scum in her water basin. As she moved along his body, she found the mark. It was on his inner right thigh… She was most likely aiming for his… genitals… but missed and got his leg instead.

"After he dragged me out of the brig, he… he dragged me through so many hallways… I can't remember how many turns we took… and all that kept running through my mind was 'what did I do to deserve this?' Then he took me into a room… He tied me down… and…" She started to sob.

"… and then he raped me…" Katara kept her head low as she silently cried, not only for herself, but for both of them… all the pain they've been through… everything they had to endure… everything that was taken away from them… it wasn't fair. None of it ever was. They just held each other in their arms, trying to wash the pain away.

"What if it doesn't go as planned? What if something happens? What if I do-" Xayla hushed the worried avatar and signaled him to row faster. They had gotten a boat and were silently rowing in the night into the distance. After awhile of complete silence, Sokka pointed out at the ship they knew all too well, but, there was something else unexpected. What was another ship doing beside it? It was a bit larger than Zuko's and it was swarmed with people, while Zuko's seemed to be completely abandoned, except a small flicker of light in the captain's room.

Aang looked confused but Sokka just shrugged.

"Maybe they're restocking or getting news or something. Just stick to the plan." Sokka whispered. The boat moved over to side of the vacant ship and they all climbed aboard, immediately retreating the far side below some boxes of cargo.

"There's no turning back now…" Sokka and Aang nodded in agreement.

"Time to split up. You know what to do… Now move!" Sokka's voice still rang in their ears as they all split up in different directions. It was time.

OMG IM SO SORRY FOR THE WAIT!!!!!! 2 months… all my fault.. I had finals and then was grounded from the computer. This chapter is short and a little choppy. I don't like it very much and the title doesn't go at all but it flows into the next chapter. The next chapter wil have more action and itll be a whole lot better I promise. Sorry once again and I hope you guys don't hate me. I'll try to post soon as long as I don't get in trouble again… hehe… yeahhh.. well ill post soon.review please!!!