THANK YOU FOR 100 REVIEWS!!! xD Love you guys who review me so much. You're all awesome :) And even though I only got two reviews for last chapter, I was too excited to not update and anyway I woulda gotten three if SOMEONE hadn't broken her ipod -_- Lol.

Anyway I can't wait to see your reviews on this chapter. So please remember to give them to me. :) Remember, I need three (3) before I can update again.

WARNING: Well, telling you EXACTLY what I'm warning you of might give away too much of the story and I don't want to do that, so I'll just warn you that I might bring you close to tears at some point in this chapter :D Especially if you love a certain blind earthbender as dearly as I do...

So read, review and enjoy.

Previously…

"I miss everyone I've lost, Toph. And out of all of those people, Azula is probably the one I miss the most."

"Who else have you lost that comes so close with Azula that you can't tell the feelings apart?" she asked.

Zuko knew that she was only curious.

"I lost my mum. If I had never found out the truth about Azula, I'd easily say I missed Mum more. But now that I know Azula actually loved me and helped me…" He shrugged at a loss for words.

"I'm sorry you lost them," Toph whispered.

Zuko smiled sadly at her. "Toph, promise me something."

"What?"

"Don't give up your life to save mine," he told her.

They looked at each other for a moment and hesitation streaked across her face, as plain as day.

Biting her lip, she nodded slowly, "Uh… ok. But that means that you're not allowed to die for me either. And it also means that you have to keep out of life threatening situations when I'm around."

Zuko pulled her into a tight hug, "If I'm your big brother, then it's my job to save your butt when it needs saving… but if that's the way it has to be… then fine. I won't die for you, but I'll get as close to it as I need to."

Toph sighed, "Deal."

Zuko kissed her on the forehead and she hugged him.

22. You Promised

Everything seemed to stay still for a few moments as the dirt and dust settled. Everybody was sprawled out on the floor with their arms over their head for protection, hoping that they could somehow save themselves from being crushed as the ceiling fell in.

But one by one, Zuko, Katara, Sokka, Suki, Mai, Ty Lee and Windu opened their eyes to see that Toph had done a reasonably good job keeping the ceiling from causing them too much damage. Many of the Dai Li agents, however, had not been quick so lucky. Those who hadn't been buried alive were certainly unconscious and those who weren't unconscious were already dead. It was a very unnerving sight, but it was a relief at the same time.

Each of the group members searched the cave for each other, just to make sure none of them had been lost. They all got to their feet and gave each other awkward smiles, slightly shocked at the sudden end put to their battle and quick shaken from the near death experience Toph had used to their advantage.

"Thank you, Toph," Sokka sighed with a high pitched laugh, spelling his soiled pants out as plain as day.

Zuko stopped smiling. His eyes raced over the people standing around him as they picked their way to a spot near the exit.

"Toph?" he called her name. "Toph?!"

She didn't answer. The others all looked around, but like Zuko, they could not see her anywhere.

"Oh my gosh..." Suki gasped. "You don't think...?"

"No!" Sokka said quickly. "She couldn't have buried herself under there by accident. She's an earthbender! One of the greatest earthbenders in the world! It... it just couldn't have happened!"

But Sokka's words sounded uncertain, even to his own ears.

Everyone looked around.

"No... Toph?" Katara called out.

Everyone started calling the girl's name out.

"Toph? Where are you?!"

"Please answer us!"

"Are you alright? Where are you, Toph?!"

Ty Lee almost screamed, "Guys, I think I found her!"

Toph's hand had reached out from under some of the rocks and wrapped itself around the acrobat's ankle, scaring the poor girl out of her wits for a moment. The others raced over to help Ty Lee uncover the earthbender from the rocks. Toph was curled up in a ball under the debris with her face screwed up in pain and her eyes closed.

She coughed violently a few times, her whole body shaking as she tried to rid her lungs of dust. Tears began to streak their way past her eyelashes and she moaned in pain. The others all stooped around her, all speaking at once, all worried for her.

"Toph, are you ok?"

"Are you hurt?"

"What's wrong?!"

"Hold on, we'll get you out!"

"Can you walk? Do you think you can get up?"

"Guys! Guys! Shush for a sec!" Katara protested against the noise. The others all went quiet and listened to her.

"Toph," she asked quietly, Zuko hovering right behind her with a worried look plastered on his face. "Can you hear me, honey?"

Toph didn't move besides the shaking of her body as she tried not to sob. But even that small amount of movement seemed to cause her nearly unbearable pain. Katara held her hand – the one she'd grabbed Ty Lee with.

"Toph, if you can hear me, I want you to squeeze my hand, ok?"

It was gentle. No, not gentle – weak. But Katara felt it. Toph squeezed her hand and as soon as she stopped squeezing, her sobs grew a little more distinct.

The others were all silent, holding onto their breaths. Their eyes were wide with fear and concern and they were all watching and waiting to see how things were about to turn out. Was Toph alright?

"Listen to me, Toph, I need you to give me some indication... where does it hurt?"

All Toph could do was squeeze Katara's hand again. She still wasn't opening her eyes or moving anymore than her shaking sobs made her.

Biting her lip, Katara continued.

"Do you think you've broken any bones? If no, squeeze my hand once, if yes, squeeze twice, alright?"

Toph squeezed her hand again. Twice. Katara gulped and looked over the girl's body. She looked up at Zuko who looked as if he was about to burst into tears. She could see his hands shaking and his face was pale. The man looked back at her and nodded, hearing her unasked question.

Zuko knelt down next to Toph and Katara and helped Katara feel around Toph's body, looking for broken bones.

"Her ribs..." Zuko whispered, not daring to speak above a whisper. Katara placed her hands where Zuko's had been and felt for herself – the girl's ribs were definitely broken.

"Be really gentle – check her back for me. Be really, really, gentle."

Zuko nodded and gently ran his fingers down Toph's spinal chord, feeling for bumps or gaps that seemed out of place. He couldn't feel anything, but didn't want to assume...

"Nothing I can feel, that's not to say there's nothing wrong with it. Ask her," he suggested.

"Toph, do you think your back is broken?"

Toph hesitated for a moment, as if she was thinking of it and trying to figure out the answer. It was like, she was in so much pain that she couldn't tell where it hurt and where it didn't, and she was trying to see past the blinding pain so that she could figure it out.

She squeezed Katara's hand once and then slowly, opened her eyes and turned her head just a fraction as if to look at Katara's expression, where she not blind.

Zuko moved his head so he'd be able to see her eyes. They were gleaming with tears and full of fear.

"It hurts..." she breathed. Her voice was hardly audible and her mouth was full of blood. A little bit trickled out of her mouth when she opened it.

"Oh gosh!" Ty Lee shrieked, jumping back. She turned away and covered her eyes.

"Internal bleeding?" Windu asked, cringing.

Katara nodded, "I think so."

"It hurts..." Toph sobbed.

"It's alright babe, just hold on. We'll get you out of here and help you," Katara whispered, gently pulling some hair back behind Toph's ear. There was a nasty bump on her head and Katara thought how lucky Toph was not to have had her head cracked open.

"Guys," Windu said, trying to think logically. "We need to get out of here. Long Feng isn't going to take long to figure out that we managed to outdo his servants this time, and with Toph down, I don't think we'll be able to take them again. And she needs medical attention – we're not going to get any of that down there."

"Well what the hell do you suggest we do then, smart guy?!" Zuko shouted, rounding on the Water Tribe boy so fast that if Windu had not already been half expecting it, he probably would have fallen over.

"Zuko, pick her up as gently and carefully as you can and all of you follow me back out of here," he said in an even voice, trying to be the logical thinker and hoping this might make up for at least some of the damage he'd caused.

Zuko's breath was coming in short, sharp spurts – a dead giveaway that he was stressing out big-time.

"Zuko," Katara put a hand on his back. "He's right."

The Fire Lord sucked in a deep breath and let it out gently, trying to calm some of his nerves. He nodded once and turned back to Toph.

"Toph, do you think you can hold on until we get out of here?"

"Just get me out... please..."

Zuko was hesitant, but gently and as carefully as he could, he lifted the little bind girl into his arms. Katara helped settle her into a position where her head was rested against his chest so that her neck didn't strain and her airways didn't get blocked. Toph gasped a couple of times in pain as they moved her and they both whispered apologies to her. She just smiled tightly and tried not to make the situation any worse for herself by moving more.

The group picked their way over the rocks and out of the cave as quickly and carefully as they could, Zuko and Katara lingering at the back and going slowly so they didn't cause Toph any more pain than necessary.

Windu led them back to where his prison cell had been. There were more run-ins with Dai Li members this time, but he, Sokka, Ty Lee and Suki managed to make short work of most of them before they noticed them.

Much to their relief, the hole they'd used to enter the underground had not been closed up. It was a bit of a struggle to get up, but they managed, though it took a lot of effort on Zuko and Katara's behalf as they dragged Toph up too. Suki and Sokka did what they could to help without getting in the way, which was mostly holding on to Zuko and Katara to make sure they didn't fall the rest of the way back down.

Appa was waiting faithfully outside, just waking up from a nap by the lake. Momo chattered and jumped over to Ty Lee, who cuddled him tightly and almost started crying on him.

Zuko looked down at Toph in his arms and tried to smile, but she was too out of it to be able to see him. Katara led them to the water's edge and Zuko lay her down as gently as he could in the sand.

"Hold on, Toph," he whispered. "Katara's got water now – she can heal you."

Katara's heart skipped a beat.

Water...

She hadn't had enough water to bend since before she and Mai were abducted. She placed her hands in Lake Laogai and sighed as the cool substance played around her fingers. Then, she set her mind to task – she could play later, but Toph's life depended on her taking action, fast.

Katara lifted her hands from the water and an orb of water followed, encasing her hands. Because of lack of practice, it took a little more effort than usual for the water to begin to glow, but as soon as it did, she moved her hands over Toph's body.

"Zuko, I know it might be a bit awkward, but could you –?"

He started undoing the sashes and ties on Toph's shirt before Katara had even finished her sentence. It didn't matter to him that he was undressing someone – Toph needed Katara to heal her and the only thing that mattered was that it happened.

She ran her hands over the girl's broken ribs, healing some of the bruising that had started. The bump disappeared quickly and the scratches and scrapes everywhere else vanished with a touch. But there wasn't much she could do for the injuries inside her.

Toph coughed and then cringed at the pain in caused in her chest. Little flecks of blood erupted from her mouth with each cough and Zuko turned her head to the side so that she wouldn't drown in it all. Katara nearly jumped up as the river of blood slowly trickled from her mouth.

"Toph..." Zuko shook his head. "No..."

Katara tried to work harder at healing, but even she knew that her powers had a limit.

Toph's eyes began to droop shut.

"Please, hold on," Katara begged.

Zuko ran his fingers gently through her hair and let his tears of despair run down his cheeks silently.

"Toph... no..." Katara shook her head as the girl's eyes closed. Toph lay still. "No..." She began to cry and the water around her hands left her control.

Zuko stopped breathing for a moment. He watched the girl's face, hoping, silently begging her to move and to open her eyes again. Just to give some sort of sign that she was still alive.

He felt the others coming to stand around them, but they didn't come too close. They knew it was best to give each other space. Somewhere in the background, Zuko could hear other people crying – people other than just Katara. He heard some of them say her name and say other things too, but he couldn't make out what. Everything just seemed so far away.

"Toph...?"

Zuko reached forwards with one hand and very gently touched her face. Her skin was porcelain white and was not as warm as he knew it should have been. She did not move. And suddenly, the reality of everything caught up to him.

"Toph!" he half shouted, his voice trembling. "Wake up! Toph, you promised! YOU PROMISED!"

Katara looked up at him with watery eyes. She reached forward with one hand and touched his face. "Zuko…"

He swatted her hand away and shook Toph by the shoulders, "WAKE UP, DAMN IT!"

"Zuko!"

"Katara, heal her!" he begged her, his eyes frantic as they met hers. "Please! Heal her! Make her wake up!"

"I tried!" Katara said, her hands digging into the sand. She hung her head and shook it gently. "I failed..."

"NO!" Sokka shouted, dropping to his knees at his sister's side. "Katara, giving up isn't an option! Keep healing her!"

"Sokka, she's gone!"

The Water Tribe warrior put two fingers against her neck just to prove his sister wrong and almost smiled when he did – almost.

Zuko was leaning over her, still running his fingers through her hair as he cried over her, shamelessly.

"Toph, you promised."

"Give her to me!" Katara nearly screamed. She grabbed Toph and nearly ripped her out of Zuko's arms, much to the boy's disapproval. She dragged Toph into the water in the lake and held on to her as tightly as she could without crushing her bones any more than they already were.

Their friends stood at the river bank and watched. Katara's face was blotchy and tearstained and she was shaking.

"Come on..." she begged. "Heal!"

For a few moments, nothing happened and Sokka felt terrible for having stepped in when he had. His sister just wasn't going to cope.

"Katara..." he whispered and took a step closer to the water's edge.

"Stay there!" she ordered, trying to keep Toph's head above the water.

Sokka stopped where he was and watched on with the others. Then, just faintly at first, the water around the two girls began to glow. The light slowly got brighter and brighter, and Katara concentrated al of her energy on healing Toph.

There is water in blood... she reminded herself.

She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on Toph's blood. She'd never tried it before, but maybe, just maybe...

"Katara! What are you doing?!" Suki exclaimed.

But Katara did not open her eyes to see what Suki meant – she could feel the energy. It was working. Katara was healing Toph from the inside by using the girl's blood. She tried to block out all distractions, fearing that if she let her concentration slip even in the slightest, her new found power would be lost and she would not be able to regain it.

Zuko and the others beside him watched in amazement. They had no idea that Katara was capable of something so ... wonderful. After the water around them had begun to glow, something very strange happened that none of them had ever seen before. Katara closed her eyes and concentrated harder, and suddenly, Toph's skin was glowing with a faint blue light. It much reminded them all of Aang when he was in the Avatar state and his eyes and tattoos began to glow. But this wasn't quite as bright.

But they all had an idea of what Katara was doing. They just hoped it would work.

Azula had a hand pressed against her mouth as she watched Katara trying to save Toph's life. For a moment there, all three of the Spirit women thought that Toph would be joining them in the Spirit World. But when they saw Katara's efforts to heal her, they thought again. Katara was a strong waterbender – perhaps she hadn't been too late to save Toph or too incapable after all.

"Oh ... please, please, please, Katara... you can do it." Azula kept whispering words of encouragement down into the well. "Toph, please, you can pull through. Please hold on – my brother needs you. Our brother needs you..."

Ursa held on to Azula and Yue leaned her head on her shoulder. There were tears in the Fire Princess's eyes – something the others still could not explain. How was it possible that Azula, after being dead for so long, could still feel full human emotions?

It had been so long since Katara had been surrounded by her element. It was a blessing to finally have so much water. The feel of it caressing her body was heavenly and relaxing. Best of all, it made her feel powerful again.

The younger girl in her arms was being healed from both the inside and the outside thanks to her. Katara was so proud of herself for discovering this new way of healing people, by using their blood to heal their internal injuries. She didn't know how well she was healing the bones and was very careful not to heal the ones that weren't on their correct angle. She used the water to see, much like Toph used the earth. She searched Toph's insides with her water and found all of the injuries she was capable of healing and in no time at all – yet at the same time it seemed to take forever – she managed to heal quite a few of the broken bones and the internal bleeding.

But one thing Katara had learned from past experiences was that healing was not easy work. It took a lot of energy and the longer and harder she concentrated, the more of her energy it used up.

She could feel Toph's body healing and she was finding less and less things to heal. Katara smiled at her work and willed herself to keep working until she was drained. She could feel the girl's pulse and her blood pumping and heartbeat all returning to its normal, healthy pace. Toph was going to be ok...

Katara's head started spinning and she felt the last of her energy drain away from her. The next thing she knew, she was submerged in the water and her world was slowly fading out.

Zuko and Sokka ran into the water as soon as Katara passed out.

"Get Toph," Zuko said when he saw how Sokka was struggling with his own sister. Sokka scooped Toph up into his arms instead and Zuko pulled Katara back out of the water. Much to his relief, neither of them had swallowed too much water.

Once they were back on the river bank, Katara's eyes fluttered open.

"Oh gosh..." she grumbled, putting a hand against the side of her head to stop it from spinning.

"Just stay still, Katara," Zuko whispered with a smile. "You did great."

She smiled back up at him and he lowered his head to place a kiss gently on her lips. He felt her sigh and he kissed her forehead before he sat up again. Katara stayed lying down and took a few deep breaths as her energy replenished itself.

Zuko moved over to where Sokka was and knelt down next to Toph with him.

"Toph?" he called her name gently, touching her cheek with his fingertips. His fingers trailed down to her neck where he felt for her pulse. There it was – throbbing gently under her skin as it should be. He smiled and felt the relief flood him. He bent over and gently kissed the top of her head. "You're ok, Toph."

She still did not wake up, but he knew she was going to be fine.

"We still need to find Aang," Sokka said from where he was kneeling next to Katara.

Zuko straightened up and nodded.

Suki stepped forward, "Guys, let's get Katara and Toph into Appa's saddle and leave them in his and Momo's care. I'd say they'll be alright on their own and if trouble comes Appa can fly them off to safety. Same goes if we need to make a quick escape once we've got Aang – we can just jump aboard and go," she explained.

They all nodded at her logical thinking and as gently as they could, hoisted Katara and Toph into Appa's saddle. Momo perched himself between them as the others headed back down into the underground of Old Ba Sing Se, ready to take one final trip to save the Avatar.

:D I was really happy with this chapter. So tell me EVERYTHING you thought. Did you think I was going to kill Toph for a moment there??? You know, I did consider it. But I love her too much and I need her for the plot of the next few stories in the saga.

SO REVIEW! And give lots and lots of feedback if you please! ^_^ Love ya's all and remember I need to hear from at least three (3) of you before I can update. So review!

AND JOIN TEAM ZUTARA!!!