Summary: Katara of the Water Tribe; master waterbender, top of her class. Aang of the Air Nomads; the Avatar, best of the best. The benders become acquainted through a deadly mission... as enemies.

A/n: IT'S DONE! FINALLY! I am free to relax and do whatever I please! -squees-

Disclaimer: I didn't own Avatar for the past three chapters. What makes you think I own it on the last?

L I N E H E R E

After his little encounter with the Water Tribe girl, the Avatar stealthily flew back to where his camp was set up. Luckily for him, Ty Lee was still sound asleep, a small smile on her face. He decided that they would leave for the building holding the lethal vile captive at night once again. Throughout the day, he rested his cot against a tree and stayed there. The bouncy girl bounded to and fro through the forest. She did not question his quiet, simple answers nor his serene expression.

Finally, the sun's orange rays sunk behind the horizon and the sky transformed to a deep dark endless sea of stars. Aang and Ty Lee packed up their camp and tucked their provisions in a bush and they headed for mischief.

L I N E H E R E

For the remainder of the day, Katara buried herself in her never ending track of thought. She sat on the beach shore, not speaking a word. The Duke pestered her with outbursts and "surprise" attacks. She did not slip so much as a sigh. Before long, the young warrior gave up and entertained himself with his sack of unknown.

Soon, the sun had set and the moon had risen. The Water Tribe girl stood up and prepared herself for the night. Her partner did the same, making sure their camp was stuffed away in the submarine. Fire flies lit a path through the thick trees.

"Whatever happens tonight, The Duke," Katara began, "I want you to follow my lead. No questions asked. Understand?"

The boy trailed behind her obediently, stepping in the same exact spot she had just stepped in. "No problem, Boss Lady."

A small smile was laid onto her face. No wonder this little guy was assigned this mission with me. Too bad it isn't easy at it looks.

At last they made their way into the building, the same they had last night. The two sneaked past security and slinked right into the halls easily. They did not meet any obstacles until they reached the bottom floor, where the bottle of liquid was held. Their backs were pressed against the white washed walls, right outside what Katara presumed was the door leading to the vile. Combat boots pounding on the floor gave her the chills and she whipped her head around to face a challenge.

Men the size of a tree towered over her and The Duke. He looked scared out of his wits, but still pulled out his club. She popped open her water skin. The men swiped out with earth, water, and firebending. She lashed out a water whip as she twirled behind the men. Water splashed every where and a blur of the little guy flashed from one man to another.

Katara whipped about her water like a ribbon. For a just a second, she saw past the huge men. She saw the door to the vile being opened by none other than the tattooed boy she had just seen today. His partner was right on his tail. Their eyes met for the shortest of moments. She almost forgot about the task at hand. A near death crack at her head, shook her out of the trance. Katara shot the Avatar a look that said "go."

He returned her with one of thanks. He waved in the girl behind him into the room, and closed the door gently behind him.

"Hey, are we gonna follow them?" Katara heard The Duke ask.

"I think they've got it under control," she replied, confidence rising. She pulled the water rope around her opponents, lassoing them closer to her. She began to run down the hallway, leading them away from their previous mission.

In one mere second, she discovered a realization that should have unfolded a long time ago. As long as the mission is completed, even if it goes against the rules, even if no one is going to be happy about it, even if it includes a new tactic, it gets done. And that is what's important. Katara was exposing herself to all the life or death adventures all around the world. She was responsible for being the successful agent she was right then and there.

The deadly liquids swimming around a vile would be taken to a sterile environment and be destroyed of immediately one way or another. As long as her and her partner's hands were filled, it was up to the Avatar and his companion. It was better to get the virus waiting to happen out of here before someone opened it up to the world than leaving it for a fight unneeded.

Katara ran down the halls with new found determination. The Duke sprinted after her and her tied up prisoners. The roped was held tight, and nobody broke through. Several tried but failed. Once the master waterbender reached the ground floor, they broke free.

The Duke launched a fury of bombs at the the men, causing them to fall to the ground. Katara wrapped a blanket of water over them, and froze it. They both smiled triumphantly in victory. And that's when two things occurred. One: the alarm echoed in and around the building in loud buzzing, shouts were yelled across the area. Two: The Avatar and his partner came bounding up the stairs.

Aang sighed with relief as they reached the top of the stairs. Somehow, he and Ty Lee managed to obtain the vile of liquid without getting hurt (or hurting anybody). She was holding it in her hand protectively now. They looked both ways for an ideal way out. And that's when he saw her.

It was like that first time just twenty-four hours ago. Her hair flowed down her back in a neat braid and her uniform was one of the Water Tribe (but colored in black). She stood there, staring straight at him. Her crystal clear blue eyes gazed right into his. They both hopped onto the same wave length.

The four agents zoomed into full speed out the building and into the cool night. The ran into the forest all the way to the shore. Once there, they all gasped for breath.

"Well, that was fun!" Ty Lee trilled, her familiar smile still glued on.

"Sure was!" The Duke agreed, with a matching grin.

The acrobat performed a series of flips in excitement. The young boy stared in awe. Ty Lee enjoyed the audience and began a conversation with the little guy.

That left a waterbender and the Avatar.

"Thanks for saving us back there," he said tentatively. "We would have been wrapped in those guys and not gotten to the bottle."

"Thank you," she replied. "You not only saved all of humanity, but you saved me from corrupting the rest of my life."

He raised a curious eyebrow.

"What you said this morning...," she began to explain. "You helped me figure out the impossible: this isn't the path I want to follow."

His lips curved into a smile.

"I just need to put my 'job' on hold for awhile... maybe for a long while," she continued. "I want to see my family. I want to see the world off duty. I want to relax. ... I want to settle down...," she finished in a quiet tone.

His smile widened to an ear-to-ear grin.

"You're very much welcome, Katara of the Water Tribe," the Avatar said. "It was my pleasure."

Even in the dim light, he could see her face brighten.

Aang would not be bringing an item from this trip back to his quarters at home base. What he was bringing home would no fit in the sack under his creaky floor boards.

Katara imagined the stack of papers in her room. She pictured the one that was delivered to her just a few days ago. She would look back on it someday and reminisce the night she first laid eyes on the Avatar as one of the most important events in her life.

fin

L I N E H E R E

A/n: Wow, I cannot believe I finished this so quick. Aren't I just the kewalist? haha. I apolgize for the cheesiness and rushingness in this fic. I mean, could anything get any cheesier? Also, sorry for all the spelling and grammatical errors throughout this fic. I just wanted to get it done and over with (-cough- and lazy -cough-). Yep.

Thank you SO much for supporting me, CommanderDarman, mei, Bag o' Moon Frogs, 1gokataang, and Hoshi. You guys were half the reason why I was compelled to finish this story. The other half, you have to thank Tang Si Ming-Yue. She was moderator person of this entire contest. If it hadn't been for her, I would have dropped this fic, like, four chapters ago. x.X YOU ROCK TANGY! (:

Sooo, we come to the end. Now, I need you readers to do me two favors. One: review, pleeeease! And two: Vote in my poll on my profile. I really need some help figuring out what I should do... THANK YOU TO ALL!