A/N: This is chapter IV of our semi-finals submission to Round 5 of the Pro Bending Circuit.

"You are collaborate on one large story, with each team member writing one chapter of the story, about how your actions and interactions with someone can have positive or negative effects on you in the future, through their subsequent interactions with others."

FF makes it rather tricky to link together fics, but each of us have our respective parts on our pages. Please do check out the other parts on my teammate's pages~! (If you're reading on day one, it might take a few hours for us to all post)

Part 1 | Display, by Raggazzed12
Part 2 | Solidarity, by tobberrys
Part 3 | Solace, by Writer1001
Part 4 | Victory, by DragonMaster65 (that's me!)

(object) one left shoe
(restriction) Start and end with the same sentence
Include your element in your fic. It does not have to be bent but the element must be plot-relevant [Water]
Waterbender, White Falls Wolfbats
Characters: Katara and Azula
875 words

Azula had to pay for what she'd done. Katara's eyes screwed into tight lines as her mind latched onto that single thought. Waiting on the sidelines had been foolish. While Zuko might have been fighting for and with honor, Azula had no such qualms. It was exactly as Sokka had warned her. She could hardly believe that Zuko himself had fallen for her manic assertion that their dual would only be between them. Then again, Katara herself hadn't stopped him from falling into the trap of his naive trust.

There wasn't time to look at the past now, though. Lightning still trailed from Azula's fingertips in hazy lines. The comet had afforded the firebenders astronomic power beyond what any one person should have. Of course they had found a way to storm their way above the other elements. Katara's blood boiled in her veins and she charged headfirst at Azula.

Water flicked to shield her from the ragged, unfocused flame blast that was sent in Katara's direction. There was no point concentrating on form when the universe handed you enough raw power to burn down a city. Katara could feel the heat through her shield as blue flames lapped at the edges before burning out.

There was no time for careful footwork or even to think beyond reaching out for the nearest water source. The courtyard had two long runs of water under grating. She could pull it to herself with ease and leave her with precious milliseconds to consider how to use it.

React. Dodge. Attack. Fall back. Attack again.

Katara's teeth ached from how she clenched her jaw in a rough grimace. Azula's tactics were falling apart, but it didn't even matter. If Katara was going to outsmart her, she was going to first need to survive her. Superheated air and rising smoke assaulted Katara's nose and throat. Every wide-eyed cackle and sharp-toothed smile only drove Katara further into her own rage.

Azula was a dirty fighter, a liar, and would destroy the world and the Fire Nation even if they yielded under her heel. It was up to Katara to do what Zuko had been unable to do and take out the girl. Katara could end Ozai's lineage - the power hungry side - and put the world one step closer to ending the war.

"I'm not going to let you win!" Katara yelled, casting an arc of frozen daggers at Azula's chest. She leapt, one foot a moment behind the other. One dagger stabbed into her left shoe, knocking it to the ground.

The feral cry that ripped from Azula's throat chilled Katara to the bone. It shouldn't have been possible for a person to make a sound like that. Having one bare foot didn't slow Azula down in the slightest. A quick doublestep was the sole window that Katara got, and she was too distracted by Azula's cry to launch another barrage.

"You'll regret that, scum!" Azula swore. The plumes of blue flames burned off, leaving only smoke and a wide slash of a smile behind. Arms looping in counterbalanced circles, Azula's fingertips began to spark again.

Lightning amped the stakes even higher. Katara couldn't use water to deflect the arcing blows that were sent her way. Her only defense was to draw up a wall and freeze it into a thick enough shield. Every collision of superheated air and frozen water sent out an explosion. Katara winced from the shards of ice that pelted her uplifted arm.

It was just as dangerous for Azula as the ice came blowing back at her as well. Tiny cuts peppered anywhere that wasn't covered by her armor. "You're delaying the inevitable! The world will kneel before my might!" Azula roared. Her steps dogged Katara's, forcing Katara further and further into the corners of the courtyard.

Blood welled and dripped from her wounds. Still, Katara would take the dozen small slashes over a lightning bolt to her chest. In a moment of hesitation, she turned her head to Zuko's still unmoving form on the ground.

This fight needed to end.

She didn't bother blocking the next blast, leaping onto a cascade of ice pillars instead. Azula focused on her next steps, taking down the still-forming pillars with her next twin shots. Katara doubled back, throwing a wave of water to douse Azula before she could adjust to her position.

There wasn't a way to truly knock the firebender off kilter any more than she was now. This would be Katara's sole opportunity. Pulling on the water still on Azula's clothes, Katara yanked Azula another step closer. Eager to approach her prey, Azula didn't resist. That was when Katara bent the water up through the grate to envelope Azula, freezing around both of their forms.

Azula would be able to burn her way through the semi-frozen bubble and Katara moved quickly. She took the chains intended to fasten the grating down and tied them around Azula's wrists. Then she looped them once more through the grate, forcing the girl to her knees. Only then did Katara drop the frozen water around them.

Katara almost pitied the way that the despondent girl thrashed and flailed in the chains. Almost. Azula had to pay for what she'd done.