I'm glad you all like it so far! I'll keep up the good work :)

Chapter 2-We Meet Again

Katara P.O.V

Well, I must say I've been in worst situations.

Can't think of any right now but…

The guards led me down to the dungeons, but they didn't take me to my cell right away. We headed down a darker hallway right past the cells, back into an even darker room. Millions of questions raced through my mind as I was thrown down onto the cold, stone ground. It appeared that there was dry blood from someone else stained on the ground.

Not a good sign.

"I don't think your Fire Lord would be very pleased with you if you disobeyed orders."

The taller looking guard stepped out from the shadows with a smirk on his face. "But we are obeying orders little girl." He replied. A bad feeling rose inside of me, like I almost knew what was coming next. I scanned the room for any source of water I could find. There was none to be found. Two more guards appeared, one of them with a red, narrow whip in his hand.

"It's time we give you a proper Fire Nation welcome."

Fear was filling my mind and body, but I refuse to let it show.

It couldn't hurt that bad…could it? I had seen people get whipped before; they had usually died after it, but still. Ozai needed me for information about Aang, he wouldn't kill me on the first day, would he? My heart was pounding out of my chest as the man slowly walked his way over to me. You're going to be fine Katara, I told myself, even though I wasn't a hundred percent sure I was going to be okay.

Blood spurted out onto the floor on the first lash.

The crackling noise of the whip connecting with my back will be in my nightmares forever. It reminded me of the time Sokka but a fire cracker in my bed when we were little. The only difference being that the fire cracker made me laugh. I closed my eyes in pain when the burning sensation set it. I could almost feel my skin being dissolved into nothing.

Another snap.

My arms were shaking violently, my legs even worse. No matter how much I tried not to show weakness, I think they already knew how much pain I was in. The blood was now dripping off of my clothes and onto the floor. It had only been two lashes, and I had a terrible feeling it was only the beginning.

I hated being right.

Imagine this:

Being pinched with a burning hair clip that has razors on it.

That's what it felt like to be whipped over fifty times.

My back was beginning to feel numb after thirty, but the shearing pain was still able to get to me. I begged my mind to just stop thinking about the pain. I found myself struggling to think of anything else at the moment. I really don't like the Fire Nation's welcome. My arms had collapsed long ago, so I was now lying on the cool ground, which was my only consolation. I only had one thing to be proud of: I did not scream once.

The Fire Guard leaned down and whispered in my ear.

"Welcome to the Fire Nation peasant."

With that said, he kicked me right in the gut.

The entire area where he kicked exploded with pain. I wasn't sure, but I was certain I heard something crack. Like when you snap your fingers, except a lot louder. I tried to pull myself up to defend myself, but I was again kicked to the ground. Stay strong, I mentally yelled as my upper lip bit down on my lower one. Great, now another part of my body was bleeding.

Please, just let it end!

Everything was quiet.

No more blood was heard splattering to the floor, no more cracks of bones were either. I found myself being lifted up off the floor and drug out of the room, which was now painted with a red liquid. My wounds were still fresh; I found this out as the men threw my rag-doll body into the cell. My eyes were finding it hard to focus on anything other than the dirt lying on the ground of the cell.

"This is just the beginning. Just you wait."

There was something in his voice that I can only describe in one word.

Evil.

I heard the click of the cell door being locked, and the only source of light I had was shut off. The darkness overtook me immediately, filling my swimming thoughts with nothing but dread. I tried unsuccessfully to sit myself up so I could breath properly. It felt as if my chest had block the airway with my rib that had been broken. As I sat there heaving, something caught the corner of my eye.

It was blurry, yes, but I could still make out the light creeping in from the small crack in the upper corner of my cell. The light from the moon. A small smile appeared upon my lips; it was Yue. At least she was here and knew I wasn't doing too hot. The little light sent a quick spark of something through my mind.

Then it all went black.

Zuko P.O.V

"Sneaking out, are we my dear nephew?"

As always, my uncle knew what I was going to do even before I did. I sighed and let go of the door handle. How did he know that I would go to Katara? I didn't even like her! She was my enemy! At least, I thought that was the message I always sent to him about Katara. My short uncle smiled up at me, "I've gone with enough adventures with you Zuko to know that you've grown to care for the girl. I must say, I am quite found of her as well." He replied to me.

My eyes grew wide and I could feel myself blushing.

"I don't care for her!"

"What ever makes you sleep at night nephew."

I sighed, knowing I was getting nowhere with him. He was so stubborn sometimes! "Anyway…I'm just going to see if their punishment was harsh enough for her. That's all." I said darkly, even though I really didn't mean it. Uncle Iroh shook his head at me and walked towards me. "Don't even try that tough talk with me Zuko." He said, putting the key into the door handle.

I raised an eyebrow at him.

"You're coming with?"

"Of course! I know you're thinking what I'm thinking. They have indeed did something terrible to her, and I would like to help her."

The door opened quietly, and my uncle winked at me.

"I like an adventure now and then."

I smiled and through my hood over my head, heading into the dark hallway with my uncle. We had to be extremely quiet, since everyone else in the entire house was sleeping. The guards were only at my father's door, since Sozin's comet was approaching. My room was two hallways away from his, thank goodness, so we didn't have to worry about them. Just as we made our way to the end of the staircase, voices started coming around the corner.

"Get back!"

I pushed Iroh back into the shadows, then ducked behind a curtain.

Light filled the room and the voices were bouncing off the walls. I held my breath, hoping they would just pass by without noticing anything. A few seconds later, they were gone and I started breathing again. "Uncle?" I asked, not seeing him come out of the shadows. A creepy chuckle came out from where he was hiding, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

"This is serious Uncle!"

"Lighten up my dear nephew! You have your whole adult life to be serious!"

He came out of the shadows with a big grin on his wrinkled face.

"You're never serious!"

Iroh merely shrugged and continued on down the hallway. He was so…frustrating sometimes! I shoved the thought out of my mind and followed him. We made our way down to the dungeons without anymore interruptions. It was pitch black in there, so I lit a small fire on the tip of my finger. "Which one do you think she's in?" I whispered to my uncle, who was trotting close behind me.

"The one at the end."

I swiftly walked down the aisle, peering into every cell, none with Katara in them. When I made it to the end, my light shined on an unmoving, bloody body. Many memories came flooding back to me. The most recent one being when Katara apologized to me for having a father like Ozai. I remembered when I first laid eyes on her; she had surprised me. I expected the Avatar to have an old, wise woman as his waterbending teacher. Not a young, naïve girl! She had surprised me with her skills though…Katara used more emotion and feeling than I expected her to. It reminded me of myself.

"How are we going to get in?"

"Would this key help?"

I rolled my eyes for the second time that night.

"Yes."

He grinned and opened the door that gave us access to Katara. I walked over to her, leaning down to observe her wounds.

They were even worse than I had expected. She had over thirty lashes across her back, all of them already looking infected. The blood was dark and thick, still dropping onto the ground, where the pool of the rest of her blood had fallen. Iroh came over to her and I saw his face drop. "This is grave indeed." He said in a hushed voice.

He put his hand on her shoulder gently, shaking her slightly.

"Katara? Can you hear my voice?"

I stared at her pale face, waiting for her to pop up and start talking about hope.

But she didn't.

Iroh frowned again and took a water pouch out of his pocket. "She is able to heal herself, correct?" He asked me. I was too occupied with Katara's wounds to answer him. I knew what it felt like to be burned, but to be whipped repeatedly? And be a girl besides? It was a miracle that she was even alive! I found my thoughts wandering to imagining what it would be like to be Katara.

"Zuko!"

"What?"

"Can she heal herself?"

"Yeah, if she has water."

Uncle held up his water pouch and laid it on the ground. "If she could just wake up…" He trailed off, looking up to me for help. I knew what he was asking me to do…I just didn't want to do it. Katara may have saved my life plenty of times, but she was still my enemy. I should let her die! Then Aang would be too depressed to defeat my father.

No…I couldn't do that.

I may be a bad person, but I'm not that bad.

Leaning down by Katara's ear, I started to talk.

"Katara…it's Zuko. I know I'm probably not the person you want to see right now, but I really need you to wake up, okay?"

Katara did not move.

"Please wake up Katara. You have to wake up so you can get better and help Aang."

I knew how much Katara cared for the little twerp, so I included him. Laying a hand on her face gently, I got a few inches closer to her, begging her to open her eyes.

"Just open your eyes Katara…open your eyes."

We sat there for a few seconds in complete silence, the tension hanging in the polluted air. The bluest, brightest eyes I have ever seen appeared in the darkness. There was sadness and tiredness in them as she looked up at me. "Z-Zuko?" Katara whispered, staring at me blankly. I gave her a hint of a smile and nodded, "Yeah, it's me." I answered, stabilizing her with my hand.

"What…why are you here?"

I knew she didn't mean it in a bad way, but that's the way I took it.

"Helping you, you should be thankful."

Uncle Iroh rolled his eyes at me and put a hand on Katara's side. "Don't mind him dear. I brought something for you." He said, showing her the pouch of water. A flash of excitement showed in her glowing eyes. She tried to sit up, but to no avail. I put an arm around her, hoping to help her, but my hand accidently grazed her worst back wound. Katara moaned and gritted her teeth, holding back a yell. "Sorry, I didn't mean to, I just…" I trailed off, taking my hand off her. "Oh don't worry, it's totally fine!" Katara hissed at me, sending me a glare with her piercing eyes. I sent her one back, "I was just trying to help!" I said loudly, losing my temper.

"Silence, both of you!"

We both shut our mouths and looked at Iroh.

"Zuko," he started. "Stand behind Katara and hold her up with her shoulders, okay?"

Through gritted teeth, I responded.

"Fine."

I stood behind Katara and pushed her shoulders up so she was sitting upright. She was extremely tensed up; I don't know if it was from the pain, or if it was the fact that I was touching her. Iroh poured the water into her hands, and we both watched as she created a glowing ball of water. It was difficult for her to reach behind her, but somehow she managed. I observed her fluid motions, tracing the water up and down her back.

Within seconds, her entire back looked so much better.

The blood was gone, and so were the wounds. When Katara was finished, it was almost as if she had never been whipped. I saw my uncle smile in amazement; I was impressed too, but I was just better at hiding it. I let her shoulders go and sat down a few feet away. "Does that feel better?" Uncle asked her. Katara nodded and closed her eyes in relaxation.

"Much better. Thank…"

Katara didn't get to finish her sentence.

Instead of thanking us, she passed out right onto my lap.