So sorry I took so long to update this time around! This chapter took forever to write, and yes, sadly this is the last chapter.

Chapter 10

Everything

The area around them became almost deadly silent, broken only by the distant shouts of the commotion still occuring on the other side of the encampment. Firebenders began to advance on Aang and Katara, still standing in the shallow waters, while other firebenders rallied behind the princess. Aang noticed as Katara moved into her standard defensive stance, her body angled closely to his and her eyes alert as they took in all the surroundings. He took in a steadying breath as he himself became acutely aware of every potential attacker and prepared for the impending battle. They were both ready to protect the other at all costs.

"Explain to me why you're here again?" Aang hissed at her, not looking away from the firebenders.

"Zuko came and got me."

"Remind me to strangle him later."

Azula's face was still tilted up at the sky where she had been watching her fireball with an enormous smile plastered to her bony features.

"Princess Azula, what would you like us to do?!" one of the firebenders asked after several moments went by with her still staring at the empty sky.

Her head suddenly swung back down to stare at the man who had spoken to her, all traces of glee now vanished as she fixed him with a look of unadulterated hatred.

"What did you call me?" she asked him, her voice cold as ice.

"Uh… forgive m- I mean… you… what?"

"I. AM. THE. FIRE LORD!" She screeched with inhuman volume while striking the man in the chest with a powerful bolt of lightning. He was dead before his body hit the ground.

The rest of the firebenders stared in shock and began to edge away, one so consumed by fright that he turned and ran for his life. The sudden movement seemed to snap Azula out of the trance her kill had put her in, her already crazed expression going up to a new level of rage. Her supporters scattered as she spun around in circles, shooting off more bolts, aiming at anything that moved and all the while letting out a shrieking cackle and screaming profanities.

As a bolt made its way perilously close to the couple standing in the water, Katara felt herself being lifted up into the air as Aang airbended them out of the way. They landed behind an outcropping of rock a little ways downstream.

He pushed her up against the rock. "Please stay here."

"I'm not going to just do nothing."

"Then stay near the water and stay away from Azula," he said firmly, not wasting any more time arguing. His eyes closed in concentration. "I have to stop her; she's going to kill everyone in that camp."

"Good riddance," Katara replied sharply, not forgetting who was responsible for him being covered in bruises and his own blood.

"I can't let it happen." When he opened his eyes, they were glowing along with his tattoos. His hand cupped her chin as she was drawn into to his blazing stare, and then suddenly he was gone.

Katara watched as he took off, running faster than the wind in the direction of the insane princess who had started progressing through the rest of the camp, blasting everything with fire. He began to battle Azula, meeting her attacks with a power Katara had never witnessed. She couldn't help standing in awe of his lithe and muscular form, striking and dodging with such raw fierceness and yet such grace. As always when he fought, he was holding himself back, trying to subdue instead of destroy.

She was brought back to earth by the clouds of smoke. Fires were beginning to spread as a result of Azula's deranged assaults. Katara couldn't care less if the whole rebellion went up in flames for what they did to Aang, but he cared, so Katara began to bend the water from the creek and used it to put out the fires. She noticed several people lying on the ground and she went to them one by one, healing the ones that were still alive and stretching canvases over the ones that weren't.

Aang and Azula were still fighting; her confused supporters were standing around, not sure what they should do. When Azula spotted the crowd forming, she sent an enormous wave of fire their way. Before they even had time to flinch, Aang intercepted it with a powerful blast of air, redirecting it to the mountainside.

"Katara!"

She turned around to see Zuko and Iroh as well as dozens of uniformed men and women behind them. She was startled to notice that many of them were wearing the standard embellishments that she had seen on the Loyal Ones.

"What happened?!" she demanded. "Why are they with you?!"

"I met their leader, Lei Xing, on the other side of the camp. He was ready to fight me, but I was trying to express that I wanted to settle our differences and listen to his complaints. Then word got to us that Azula was here and that she was on a rampage and setting everything on fire. He completely lost it and ran away, so did a lot of his soldiers, but many of them chose to follow me instead; they seemed relieved at the chance to abandon what they realized was a corrupted rebellion. I think it's safe to say that this particular uprising is almost completely disbanded. We just have one last loose end…" His scarred face turned towards the continuing battle. "Do you think I should help him?" he asked uncertainly.

"It seems to me he has everything under control," Iroh mused as they watched Aang steadily gaining ground over his opponent.

"She's so different now," Zuko pondered aloud. "Azula used to be so calculating; like she had every move planned out and every strike premeditated. But now... she's all over the place. And it's almost as though her insanity has made her ten times stronger."

This last statement was emphasized by a particularily large fire ball produced by Azula. Katara's mind went blank with panic as it soared in Aang's direction, but he seemed to block it effortlessly with his own blast of fire.

"That is quite possibly a blessing in disguise, Nephew." Iroh said as he stroked his beard contemplatively.

"She can't distinguish between her enemies and her friends," Katara pointed out.

"Exactly," Iroh nodded to her appreciatively, "They will soon see, if they haven't already, that everyone is an enemy to Azula. Even herself."

Suddenly a weak voice cried out from an area along the mountainside, "Someone please help me!"

Katara looked over to see a young boy in the uniform of the Loyal Ones', lying in a pile of rocks that seemed to have fallen from cliffs. She ran to him and slowly lifted the heavy rocks from his legs as he sobbed in pain. When he was clear, she bended some water and placed a hand on each of his legs. He let out a heavy sigh as she finished healing him, and he stared at her in gratitude.

"Thank you, you didn't have to do that. I know what we've done. What I've been a part of." He looked ashamed as he spoke and wasn't able to hold her gaze. She felt pity take the place of anger as she listened to him. He couldn't be older than 12 years old.

"Why were you a part of this?" she asked calmly.

"I don't even know. It's almost like I'm just used to war. I was talked into it and began following orders. Now I'm not sure what I believe in, but I know it's not this."

"You'll find it. I can tell your heart is in the right place." She put her hand on his shoulder. "What's your name?"

"Enlai," he answered, lifting his face to smile at her, but then his eyes widened as he looked behind her.

She stood up and took in the scene before her. Aang had finally overtaken Azula, and she was pinned to the ground with rock encasing her hands and feet. The Avatar stood over her, his eyes going back to normal as he scanned the crowds of people.

"This is over!" he shouted. "If you have a problem with your government, you will be heard as long as you voice it with peace, not violence. I will not allow this loyalist group to continue. As you can see, Azula is not fit to be a ruler of any kind. She's evil and unbalanced and she will be locked away again. So will anyone else who continues to fight in her name."

Katara smiled as she watched him, the pride swelling up as he took charge. But all at once her smile fell and all the breath left her lungs as her head was yanked back by the roots of her hair and a steel blade was pressed to her throat.

"Don't make a sound or move a muscle," a deep voice rasped in her ear as he tightened his hold on her.

"L-Lei Xing," Enlai stuttered.

He kicked out at the boy, his foot meeting his head with a solid thud as he collapsed unconscious.

No one had yet noticed the three of them in the shadow of the mountainside, but as Katara looked wildly over Aang, she saw him anxiously searching the faces around him, a presence of fear taking hold of his features.

I'm here, her mind called out to him. Lei Xing began pulling her with him as he edged along the rocky wall, remaining hidden in the darkness. Aang was getting further away from them as he searched for Katara, calling out her name with rising panic. Not knowing what else to do, she stomped one foot and then the other on the ground in quick succession, remembering that Aang was able to listen to the earth.

The blade dug further into her skin, "I said not a muscle, you little bitch!"

"Get your hands off her."

Lei Xing swung her around with him to face the owner of the furious voice. "Ah, Avatar. Wasn't expecting you so soon." His huge, muscled arm squeezed around her torso as a thin trail of blood made its way down her chest.

Aang's eyes were burning and Katara thought she saw a slight flicker of light go through them. "Let go of her now."

"I don't think so. I require a little payback, you see. Azula was my last shot at regaining my power after her pathetic brother took it away from me. I was a captain on my way to being made commander, and he disgraced me by stripping me of all titles."

"I don't care. Of all the ways you could pick your revenge, you've chosen the one that will bring you the worst consequences. I won't say it again! RELEASE HER!"

This time she knew she saw it, as Aang raised his voice to the loyalist leader, his eyes and his tattoos glowed in pulsing flashes as his hands shook. The air around them began to stir, building up in speed until her hair was swirling around and slapping her captor in the face.

"I would listen to him if I were you," she called over the roar of the wind and the now rumbling earth.

His grip on her slackened as he began to lose his nerve at the sight of the enraged Avatar. Suddenly making up his mind, he threw her into Aang's arms and spun on his heel to run away. She sighed with relief into his chest as his arms enveloped her. But then she looked up in alarm as she realized he was still shaking with wrath.

"Aang? Calm down. It's okay."

"Stay," he whispered, his voice shuddering.

She watched in horror as he moved around her and began to swiftly pursue the fleeing ex-captain.

"Aang, no!" she screamed as she ran after him. She had never seen him this upset, and she was terrified of what he might be pushed to do, knowing he would eventually regret it.

Aang soared over the ground, his eyes locked on the man who thought he would take Katara away from him. He had never felt such pure hate for another person. Had never felt so justified in attacking someone. Never felt so driven. Never felt tempted to end a human life. Until now. With a sweep of his hand, he flattened Lei Xing to the ground with a gust a wind. He rolled onto his back just as Aang stopped in front of him.

"Please! I'll do anything! I'm sorry!"

"Not sorry enough."

He raised his hand, ready to strike the man with a blast of fire, but before he could even produce a spark, a gentle, smooth hand put itself in the very hand he was about to shoot fire out of.

"Aang," Katara murmured, coming up beside him. "Don't do this. Come back to me."

She didn't understand. She couldn't comprehend how important she was to him. He couldn't let anyone who threatened her life get away with it.

"This isn't you," she continued. "Let go." Her hand touched the small of his back and stroked up the line of his tattoo, running over his lightning scar, going up between his strong shoulders, and up to caress the base of his neck. She laid her forehead on his shoulder and softly pressed her lips to his skin. "I'm safe."

Slowly, he allowed himself to be soothed by Katara, until finally he was able to turn away from the squirming coward to look her in the eyes. She was here, holding him, and she was safe. He still hated the man on the ground, but he decided to listen to her. He trusted her.

"Aang, what's going on?" Zuko demanded as he rushed over. His eyes found the loyalist rebel trying crawl away unnoticed. "Lei Xing. I was hoping we could continue or conversation. Guards, put our friend under arrest. He's coming with us back to the palace."

"Is everyone alright, Zuko?" Katara asked.

"For the most part; however, we will need your healing abilities for the wounded. And Aang, could you uh… help me get Azula out of the ground? We need to get her on the ship."

"Did you ever find out how Azula escaped?" Aang asked him.

"It turned out that one of her attendants was an active member of the Loyal Ones. She snuck messages to her, and she delivered messages from her to the rest of the rebellion. I had already known about the messages; one of the other servants caught Azula writing one once, but I didn't know one of my own staff was to blame. And then a couple of weeks after we all left, they put an escape plan into action, one that involved her bedroom window."

The three of them walked over to where Azula was still writhing on the ground, her voice now only capable of making a hoarse gasping noise. Awkwardly, and with the help of several strong guards, they chained each of her limbs one by one before Aang prepared to release her hands and feet from the rocky earth.

"Katara, why don't you get back?" Aang tried suggesting casually. "It's not necessary for you to be a part of this."

He expected some kind of rebuke, but instead she emitted a horrified gasp. "I forgot about Enlai!"

"Who?"

Instead of answering, she took off in the direction of the mountainside, where he could see a small figure lying motionless on the ground.

"Alright Aang, are you ready?" Zuko asked bracingly.

"Uh, yeah," he answered, tearing his eyes away from the sight of Katara kneeling next to the person who needed her healing.

He stomped on the ground and thrust out the heel of his hand, breaking open the rocks confining the princess. As expected, Azula immediately increased her struggling, but what wasn't expected was the caliber of her strength. Before the guards were able to bring both her hands behind her back, she let out one last bolt of lightning, flailing her arms wildly. The bolt passed by, not striking any of the people standing by, but hitting the rocky wall of the nearest mountain that surrounded the small valley.

Katara was trying to get the unconscious boy to wake up, but so far all she had managed to get from him were a few pained grunts. Suddenly a loud sizzling sound soared over her head, followed by a loud crack. She looked up and registered the sight of several large rocks detaching from the mountain and falling straight towards her and Enlai. There wasn't time to move out of the way. In a flash, she did the only thing she could; she threw herself over his helpless body, shielding his head as the melon sized rocks rained down.

"NO!" As fast as he could, Aang ran to the falling rocks, bending an earthy shelf over Katara to keep any more from landing on her. As he made it to her side he immediately noticed a bloody gash on the side of her head. He lifted her off the boy, cradling her head as he turned her over in his arms to look at her face. Her eyes were closed and the blood oozed through her hair. His body felt numb with shock.

"K-K-Katara? Wake up, Baby, you have to heal yourself."

She didn't stir.

"No. No, no, no, NO!"

He stood and carried her to the creek. He kneeled down in the stream and laid her in it, gently cupping the back of her neck and letting the water flow over her.

"Please, come on," he whispered, tears coursing down his face as his hands quivered with panic. His heart was a hundred-pound rock in his chest, weighed down by the deepest fear he had ever known in his life. But he ignored it as he bended up a handful of water and placed it on her wound, hoping she would somehow be able to unconsciously heal herself.

"Please, please. I can't lose you."

He kept the water on her skull, wishing with all his being that he could fix her as she had done for him so many times before. He closed his eyes as he began sobbing over her head, using every ounce of energy he had to will her body to mend itself.

He felt something strange covering the hand he had placed on her injured head. He opened his eyes to see the water around his hand glowing. It felt hot and cold all at once, and he could feel the life energy within it. And then he felt even more. He could feel her. He could feel her life force as it flowed all through her body, but at the wound in her head the pathway was blocked. He kept it up, focusing on the one spot and was amazed as he saw the laceration begin to close up. When he thought that he done as much as he could do, he lifted her up from the water and hugged her to his chest, still staring at her face.

"Please," he repeated softly.

Her eyes fluttered open and she peered at him dazedly. Instantly, the austere pressure pushing down on Aang's heart melted away. He sobbed even harder, now in blessed relief, as he brought his lips down to move against hers. He felt her arm make its way around his neck as she hugged and kissed him back as well as she could.

"Shh, it's okay," she mumbled as his face moved to press against the softness of her neck. She didn't actually know if everything was indeed okay, in fact she found that she didn't know anything about what was going on around her. Her mind was a jumbled mess of confusion, but she knew one thing: Aang needed her, and it was her job to comfort him.

Neither one of them noticed as Iroh and Zuko approached. "You should get her somewhere warm," Iroh said to Aang. "I'll put on some tea."

0o0o0o0o0

Katara slowly opened her eyes, feeling like she was in a fog. Why is everything so blurry? She tried to move but her arms and legs felt so heavy, so she satisfied herself by just taking in her surroundings. She was in a soft bed with several blankets laid over her. The room was dark and lit only by an oil lamp on the table. At the sound of another person breathing, she realized she wasn't alone. She rolled her head to the side and smiled in contentment as her eyes found Aang, sound asleep as he lay next to her. The fog began to leave her and her strength steadily returned. She scooted closer and lifted her hand to stroke his jaw with the tips of her fingers.

Aang's eyes opened, a bright smile spreading over his face as he turned his face to nuzzle the inside of her hand. "You're awake."

"How long have I been asleep?" she asked, confused.

"About 18 hours. I was getting worried after the first 12, but the ship's doctor said that's normal with head injuries."

"Are we in the airship?"

"No, we're back in the palace."

"What happened?"

"You took a rock to the head," he answered, his eyes looking pained.

The memory of the rockslide came back to her. "Where's Enlai? Is he okay?"

"He's fine, thanks to you. I would lecture you about putting some kid's safety before your own, but I know you wouldn't listen."

"You know me well."

His gaze fell away from her's as a dark look passed over his face.

"What about you?" she asked with concern. "Are you okay?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I almost lost you."

She swallowed tightly. "Well you didn't. I'm here, you're here, everything's fine."

"It was so unbelievably close to not being fine. If you ever left this world, I don't know how I would go on. I couldn't be myself."

"No, Aang. I know you love me and the words you're saying feel like they're true, but if something happened to me you would somehow find a way to move on. You would do it by being you because you're strong. You're the strongest person I know."

He stared at her intensely. "Why do you think that is? It's not because I'm the Avatar, it's not because I'm the last airbender. It's because when my whole world was taken away from me, I was left one thing. One thing to help balance it out." He gently brushed her cheek with his fingertips. "When you released me from the iceberg, I opened my eyes and I saw you... I thought you were an angel. It wasn't until later that I realized that you were sent to me from the spirits. The most amazing person who was ever created was given to me in exchange for everything I had lost. How could I have done anything otherwise? I couldn't have mastered the elements, I wouldn't have had the strength to face Ozai, and I would have been no good to anybody."

Tears formed in her eyes as he went on.

"I lost so much, but if I was given the choice, I wouldn't be able to trade you in order to get it all back. You're everything."

"You're everything to me too," she whispered back, pulling herself further into his arms.

He wasn't wearing a shirt and for that she was very appreciative, needing to feel as close to him as possible. One of his lean, muscled arms slid up to pillow her head, the other went around her side, slipping under her shirt to rest on her bare back. Their lips met each other in a deep and slow, rhythmic motion. Pushing and rubbing softly but firmly as they took their time, savoring every sensation. At that moment, there was nothing in the world but the two of them. Their bodies and their tongues rolled over each other, still going slow. Losing themselves in one another as they made time slow down.

0o0o0o0o0

The rebellion of the Loyal Ones was officially over. It would have been difficult for them to continue since they discovered that one of their leaders was a homicidal maniac, and the other was a coward locked away in prison. Even more convincing to the ex-loyalists, was the compassion shown to them by the Fire Lord. Not to mention the actions of the Avatar and his waterbender companion. They had not forgotten that it was Aang who had protected them from Azula, or that Katara was the one who healed them. The kindness that they showed despite the cruelty of the Loyal Ones, was what really cemented the transference of loyalty.

Aang and Katara spent the next day strolling around the palace, not really doing anything, as Katara was still recovering. Aang refused to leave her side, keeping their fingers intertwined.

"You're acting like I could fall apart any minute," she complained good-naturedly.

"Humor me, okay? I've never seen that much of your blood before."

"Wait, what? How bad was I hurt?"

"Your head was practically split open," he answered, brow drawn.

She put her hand on her head, gently probing the tender area. "I don't understand. Who healed me?"

"I did."

She froze. "Are you freaking kidding me? After all those arguments about how you couldn't do it?"

"Those arguments still hold true. I tried doing it again on myself and on other people, but no good." He smiled solemnly at her. "My healing only works for you."

"That is unacceptable. Think about all the possibilities!"

His smile widened. "Just shut up."

He kissed her; thrilled that he was with her again after being separated for far too long. When she tried to pull away to complain some more, he lifted her off her feet and kissed her harder. She finally gave in, relaxing into his embrace and began laughing against his lips.

He pulled away and set her back down, his eyebrow raised at her random giggling. "What's so funny?"

"Just that everyone's watching."

He looked around; noticing how all at once the people around them became very busy with their tasks. He rubbed the back of his head self-consciously. "Oh well." Then he looked at her again, his eyes brightened by a sudden idea. "Why don't we take off?"

"And do what?"

"I don't know. What do you wanna do?"

"Whatever. I didn't get nearly enough alone time with you when we traveled through the Earth Kingdom. Although, I'm not crazy about the idea of all those deadlines and appointments."

"Vacation it is," he said, grinning as he played with a stray tendril of her hair.

"Where are we gonna go?" she asked.

"Anywhere. As long as it's just you and me."

"What about the rest of the world? The Avatar is still in high demand."

"They'll just have to wait. I need you right now, and I can't be the Avatar without you."

0o0o0o0o0

"If someone loves a flower of which just one example exists among all the millions and millions of stars, that's enough to make him happy when he looks at the stars. He tells himself, 'My flower's up there somewhere...' But if the sheep eats the flower, then for him it's as if, suddenly, all the stars went out."

― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

So that's it! My first fanfic is complete. I know, I know… you're thinking, 'How is she only capable of making a 10 chapter story? Other people manage to write 70 chapters!' Well… shit. 10 chapters seem to be the extent of my imagination.

In case you didn't figure it out for yourself, the title of this story and of this chapter are both taken from titles of Lifehouse songs: You and Me and Everything. They are both amazing songs, and I tried to reflect the theme of them into these chapters. I highly suggest listening to them if you haven't already.

Thank YOU so much for reading