Chapter 54: Hearts of Iron
Old Iron's words reverberated through the ground as the earthbenders burst to the surface. Working at moving the underground team up, Zuko turned to the Air Nomad.
"Aang, get up top and see if you can talk him down!"
"What?"
"Just see if you can stall him until the rest of us get up there."
Leaping out of the pit, Aang watched as a vision of the past came to life before his eyes.
"Old Iron…"
Rain poured down in driving sheets and wind whipped around. The earth heaved and groaned as the last metal shards were drawn into the air around the spirit, forming immaculate armor, not a speck of rust to be seen.
All over the refinery, the staff began to flee for safety. Aang ran the other way, weaving through and over the crowd and materials that were being caught up in the whirlwind. From the distance, he could hear the waves crack against the spirit as he shoved his way to the shore.
"Air Nomad," the spirit rumbled. "Have you come to beg for forgiveness?"
"I came to talk with you," Aang replied.
"There is nothing more to say. You promised to hold this place in sanctity, and look what you've let it become."
"Because we were almost wiped out," Aang argued. "None of us have been around to defend this place for over a century."
Iron glanced aside.
"So like the Lady. She was always too soft for her own good, and she paid the price. I was never as lenient or naïve. Vengeance will be had."
The ground rumbled behind him, Zuko making his way to the cliffs in leaps and bounds. Old Iron narrowed his eyes on the Avatar, crossing his arms over his chest, metal grinding and sparking.
"Ah, so the true failure arrives."
Zuko stared defiantly. "I don't believe we've met. Care to refresh my memory?"
"It was your past life that made that promise, whose wishes stayed my hand. I was merciful, and look at what my lenience brought. Desecration, destruction, a never-ending litany of crimes against spirits as you do among yourselves."
A blast of wind erupted from Iron's form, golden light etching the patterns on his armor.
"At the core of human nature is the will to dominate. There can be no balance between the Spirit World and the human one. One will ultimately destroy the other, and I for one will not meekly submit."
Zuko drew his swords, prepared for a fight .Old Iron formed his own response, ripping a hunk of metal out of the earth. Dirt and scrap fell away, leaving only an odachi that the spirit hefted into the air with a single arm.
"That's a big sword," Sokka said, dumbfounded, trying to calculate the size of the monstrosity.
He did not have long to think on it, as the blade fell to the earth. Zuko raised his swords, catching the strike. Water and earth split around him, scattering his friends and dropping him into the sea as Old Iron raised his sword for another strike.
A wall of earth sprung up, catching the blade, slowing it up for Toph to grab hold. Seeing the girl grab for his weapon, Iron wrenched it back up for another blow when the harbor gathered around him, holding him in place.
"Force him back!" Zuko shouted. Launching himself upward, he slammed into Iron, sending him back a step.
Katara mustered a tidal wave, washing up to the spirit's waist but doing little more than slow him as he shoves his way back. Toph ripped up a section of rock and lobbed it at Iron's chest. He raised an arm, deflecting the bulk of the damage, leaving him free to resume his assault.
"Alright then," she grumbled. "How about this?"
She reached out and crushed the metal making up Iron's armor, denting it, then crumpling it, but quickly returned to its original shape.
"Zuko, if you've got any other tricks up your sleeves, now would be a good time."
Without a word, the Avatar launched himself up to meet his foe. Iron raised his hand to block the incoming kick. Armor crumpled, but ultimately held fast, even as the force staggered the spirit. Zuko began slicing up the arm as he ran up towards the head, then the pauldron jettisoned, dropping him off before sliding back into place.
Landing on the water, Zuko launched himself back off before a giant hand smacked the water's surface. Putting in some distance, he saw Toph coordinating her students in bombarding the attacking spirit. Katara was making good use of the excessive amount of water at hand, harassing Iron's steps with ice. At the rate things were going, they were going to be in a whole world of trouble, especially if the spirit hadn't lost his touch from however many centuries ago, and especially because Iron was beyond the point of reason.
"Here goes nothing," Zuko muttered, then began his next pass.
Trying to form a mask, Zuko was brought short when it shattered under his fingers. He glanced down at his hand, perplexed.
What?
And then Iron's fist slammed into him, sending him crashing into black.
[-]
Sokka saw where the spirit sent Zuko flying, the resulting cloud prominently visible, even as the deluge turned the ground to mud. Wincing, he sought out his sister.
"Katara, make sure Zuko's still alive."
Shooting her brother a look,
"We can't hold this up forever. I have plan to take the Iron Giant down, but we're going to need Zuko for it to work.
Katara relented and ran to Zuko's crash site, freezing the harbor as she went.
Bracing for the next shockwave, Sokka hoped they lasted long enough to turn the tide.
[-]
All around them were countless hills, sharp inclines with jagged edges and tips, steeped in tangles of briar. Rising above all of that, difficult to see in the haze, were towers and pyramids, twisting and tearing into the layer swirling over it all to a place out of his sight, large thorns menacing from the sides as the structures tore into the clouds.
Balanced precariously on one of the nearest spokes was Blue, eyeing Zuko dangerously. This time, his doppelganger held a sword, a simple straight blade without any distinguishing features, nothing but the barest of shape to indicate what it was. Blue tossed the blade back between hands, then made to attack.
"Welcome back, Zuko. Your next lesson begins."
"I don't have time for this!" Zuko snarled.
"Oh, don't worry about what's happening outside," said Blue. "Time's a bit different on the inside. If you learn this lesson fast enough, it won't be even a minute. Now. Fight!"
Zuko barely drew fast enough to avoid being skewered, let alone hold his ground, and was thusly send flying across the wastes, crashing echoed across the overgrown ruins and slamming through layers of thorns into the depths beneath the open sky.
Extracting himself form the brambles, he searched for his doppelganger.
"What is this place?" Zuko asked.
"Something you're only beginning to see." Blue's voice came from all around.
"That tells me… nothing."
Wheeling around, he spotted Blue clinging to the side of the nearest tower
"Didn't expect it to," the spirit said. "But, since it was pretty much pitch black the past few times you visited me here, allow me to elaborate." Resting the sword on his shoulder, Blue swept his empty hand out. "This is your Inner World, an image that, in a way, is place is supposed to metaphorically represent your own mental state and internal struggles, hence the smoke and the maelstrom overhead." Blue gave an absent shrug. "Who knows for sure?"
"Okay, then. What are you trying to teach me this time?"
The spirit flashed a manic grin. "Better question, and more relevant."
Blue dove in, slashing at Zuko's side. A quick deflection and the Avatar made to counter, and received a thundering kick to the ribs. Through the spike of pain, Zuko righted himself and landed on a spike hanging directly below the raging maelstrom.
His other landed nearby, completely untroubled.
"You've had months to realize your problem," he said, "and yet you still haven't figured it out."
"And what problem would that be?" Zuko ask expectantly.
"You're hesitating," Blue said. "Ever since your fight with Azula, you've been holding back."
Zuko glared at the spirit, who raised his hands defensively, even as he chuckled.
"Not consciously, of course, but something in you shut down the moment you snuffed her out. Your regrets, your sorrows, your lingering demons have become obstacles rather than assets they were in the past. Little micro-fractures that made themselves known when the stress was gone. A tangle of brambles that have woven themselves to cloud your sight."
Thorns and thistles crackled underfoot as he chased him through the brittle growth, then pushed off, flying at his student. Zuko brought his blades up to block the next blow, the chain of attacks that followed, then the backswing.
Rocking back on his heels, Zuko regained his footing in time to receive a kick to his back.
"Where is that inner strength that drove you beyond human limits?" Blue snarled. "Where is your resolve that demanded you keep going, even when all hope was gone?"
Blue brought his foot up, sending Zuko crashing across the ground, then disappeared in a burst of static.
"What happened to your purpose, the inexorable compulsion to achieve the impossible? Where's your resolve!?"
Getting back up, Zuko searched for the spirit, finding him, barely visible, beyond the haze of sand above him.
"Get down here!" he roared.
"You're only going to touch me if you can push through," Blue shouted back. "That is, if you can."
Without pausing, Zuko launched himself into the storm, letting out a bark of pain. The sand cut and tore at him, but he pressed on and through the agony. Bending did little against the forces threatening to shred him to the bone, eventually winning out and smacking him into a cluster of briars.
"No trouble," Blue said, an edge of disgust and disdain. "You can just ignore me for now."
Getting back up, Zuko searched for a way through, something to shield him from the storm. Blue laughed, crouching down on his perch.
"If you want to get me, then do it. No tricks, no hidden routes. Come at me with everything you've got. Show me you're not a lost cause."
Zuko's eyes narrowed. Reaching out, he tried bending the dust away, both with air and earth, but the whirlwind refused to thin. He took a step back and evaluated his options, few as they were. If trickery and cunning were not the way, that left brute force.
What options do I have, he wondered, then recalled the day of Sozin's Comet.
Sliding a foot back, he braced, as if preparing to lunge. The sensation of pins and needles prickled at his skin, power surging into his legs, and then he pushed off.
He shot into the air, breaking through the tempest before it could rebuff his efforts. Above the canopy, he could see the towers stretching to the pale yellow expanse of a dusk sky. Realizing he was still standing in the air, he released the buildup around his legs, then landed on a nearby balcony.
Momentarily noting the improved quality of his surroundings, he banished his curiosity for a time, intent on locating his target. A task made easy with him standing on the side of the building, defying gravity with a satisfied smile spread across his face.
Dismissing the sword, he crossed his arms and turned to walk away.
"Sonido," he said without fanfare.
"What?"
"That's the name of the technique. Use it well. You can use the mask again, too; you're going to need it." He turned around and began to walk away, shouting over his shoulder. "And when you're ready for your next test, you'll know where to find me!"
Seeing the doppelganger vanishing on the wind, Zuko felt himself floating, like leaving a dream…
[-]
Zuko woke up with Katara leaning over him, the familiar pulse of healing coursing through him.
"How long?"
"Maybe a couple of minute. But-"
"Get out of the way!" Zuko shouted.
Getting a view of the bay, he saw Iron snapping through the remainder of the glacier that had appeared in his brief absence.
"Zuko," Katara called out. "Sokka has a plan."
"…Alright," Zuko replied. "Keep him busy for a little longer."
He jumped back to his feet, then launched himself back into the air. Midflight, he wiped away the remains of his half-formed mask and rainwater. Iron saw the Avatar's approach and took a swipe at him, momentarily shocked as he ran around it and back to shore. His attention was dawn away by a jet of water cutting across his face.
Less than a minute later, Zuko was jumping out into the bay. He found his footing in the air, then shot forward like an arrow. This time, when Zuko slammed into him, the General was knocked back, flat into the water. The spirit down for the moment, the others sprang to action.
Old Iron got his feet again and began lumbering back to the coast. Zuko leapt out to meet him, harassing him from the sides and keeping his attention, allowing the rest to prepare with minimal interference.
Bouncing off his invisible platforms, Zuko circled around, smashing against Iron's back. Fractures appeared in the armor, but they repaired, no, healed before his eyes as Zuko buffeted it. And then there was that massive sword, which sang through the air towards him, leaving whirlwinds in its wake.
None of his means of defense would be sufficient to counter that much force whilst suspended in the air. Luckily, a gust of wind knocked him up and out of the way of the slash, Aang sailing past him.
Nodding his thanks, Zuko flicked his wrist, calling his swords back into his hands. Mask forming on his face, he raced towards Old Iron. The spirit used the momentum of his previous swing, carrying him into the next.
This time, Zuko met the massive blade head on, snapping the construct in two, the Avatar carrying through to smash into the spirit's chest, metal shattering upon his impact.
"Up top, lily-livers!" Toph called out
Zuko and Aang moved out of the line of fire to let the metalbenders do their work. Old Iron spun around in confusion, but his bulk made him a touch too slow to do anything in time. A collective heave and the bulk of armor was torn away from the spirit.
Underneath his mask, Iron was on the verge of panic. Water had surged up around him again, frozen solid, holding him in place as he was deprived of his protections. Willing the armor back only could do so much, and that momentary lapse in awareness left him open for the next step in the plan.
Aang quickly followed up with another burst of wind, stunning him long enough for Zuko to drop down and finish the job, metal shooting off in every which direction, though most of it was sent into the water.
Yet the ancient spirit found the strength to rise once more, the damage apparent to all who could see it, the gaping hole in his chest glowing in the failing light.
"What does it take to take him out?" Zuko growled. Whipping up a whirlwind underneath himself, he hovered in front of the spirit, far enough to make a quick escape in case he attacked, but no such move was made, nor did he try to retrieve his armor, letting it fall off into the bay.
He merely stared at Zuko, judging him.
"Well done, Avatar," Iron said.
"Will you stop your assault?" Zuko asked.
The spirit bowed his head. "I concede defeat."
Light swirled around Iron's body, flaking off and dissipating on the wind.
"What's happening?" Aang asked.
"My kind have no place in this world, not anymore," the spirit replied, "I refuse to watch mankind bring ruin upon the world, but I have no hope of stopping you."
"The Avatar's job is to maintain balance in the world," Zuko answered. "I'll find a way."
Iron gave a bitter chuckle. "How can you expect to maintain balance in the world when you can't restore balance to yourself?"
Zuko raised an eyebrow, a question on the tip of his tongue. Iron didn't let him finish.
"It may have granted you victory today, Avatar, but that mask will be your doom."
With a final cascade of lights, General Iron was no more.
A/N: Another chapter with only a couple of days to turn around. Part of it is thanks to the battle be much more easily streamlined than some of the others. Another thing that helps is that anytime I had difficulty working on the previous chapter, I'd work on the others. As a consequence, it's really only a matter of fine-tuning the remaining chapters before they're published. If present progress keeps, Avatar: Finding Yourself will be completed before the New Year.
