Chapter 11: The Siege of Zaofu, Part 1

The last time Sen had seen the city of Zaofu, he had watched it creep across the horizon from inside the carriage of a train. Now he saw it from above, through the window of a swift-flying plane.

Now he saw it burning.

He could feel the shiver in Ada's heart as she saw pillars of smoke rise from the streets of her home, wondering in horror if her own home was at the heart of the fire. Suda was there at her side with a comforting hand on her shoulder, but that did very little to calm her nerves. She was upset, with good reason, but underneath that despair there was a solid current of anger. Ada was furious that anyone would dare do this to her home. Sen could see a rage boiling in her heart hotter than any fire that burned in her home.

Sen took one more look at the burning city, and then back to his own men. They had limited resources available. They were utterly unprepared for large scale movement into the Earth Kingdom –the Coalition had not been expecting such an urgent invitation. Getting over the mountains in a timely manner meant he had only his airborne units, and however many footsoldiers he could fit on his planes. Considering the enemies still maintained air superiority with their helicopters, the Coalition was at a disadvantage. He would need every resource at his disposal to win.

"Ada," Sen began. "When we land-"

"I know," Ada said grimly. "I need to focus."

Sen glanced at Suda for a moment. He had a dour look on his face. Last night he had been just moments from backing out of this war entirely, but he had been one of the first ones on the plane to Zaofu.

"No," Sen said. He put his hand on Ada's shoulder. "Do whatever you have to do to find your friends and family. We'll take care of the rest."

Ada's hands shivered slightly, and she nodded, but offered no other response. Her eyes never left the plane window that faced towards Zaofu. The city grew larger and larger as they came closer to the landing strip. Zaofu's military was desperately holding their ground around the airport: the Grey-Faces had already blown the rail lines and blockaded the roads. Any help would be coming from the skies.

The plane was still rolling on the landing strip when Sen's boots hit the ground. He had surveyed as much of the battlefield as he could from the air: the airport was under too much pressure for him to take control of the situation just yet.

Having seen the planes flying in, the helicopters of the enemy quickly moved in to control the skies. Sen thrust his hands upwards, and spun them in wild gestures, churning the air wildly. The helicopters wobbled and veered off course unsteadily, a momentary delay, but a moment was enough.

A white bolt of power struck the helicopter headlining the attack and burst it into a cloud of fire and falling scrap. Zaofu's defenders took cover as the molten metal fell. Miyani set her burning eye to its next target. Whistler joined her airbending to Sen's, to better control the helicopters, while Suda sent a spinning metal disc flying to knock one's rotor off, sending it crashing to the ground.

Ariak and Hanjo tended to the front line on the ground. The helicopters were perhaps the most significant threat, but a number of foot soldiers were also pressuring the airport. Their battle on the front lines was briefly joined by Ada, who flashed through the ranks of Grey-Faces in a maelstrom of blades, before disappearing behind them. She vanished into Zaofu's streets, heading towards her home.

A thunderous explosion shattered the last of the helicopers attacking the airport, and Miyani finally relaxed. The planes of the Coalition began to land, and soldiers poured out, as one of Zaofu's soldiers approached Sen.

"Avatar-General," The soldier declared. "I'm Captain Tamin. Highest ranking officer Zaofu has left."

"Captain," Sen said, shaking the man's hand quickly. "Tell me as much as you can as fast as you can."

The city was still burning. Intelligence was useful, but in a situation like this, wasted time was lost lives.

"They struck with the bloodbenders first," Tamin said. He could still well remember the first strike. The city had been on guard, of course –roving hordes of bloodbenders could not ignored. But their preparations ended meaninglessly, as they were swarmed from earth and sky.

"Took out our centers of defense, our leaders, and communication, then hit the roads and rails. We realized pretty quickly we were going to get overrun. Took everything we had to get the message out to you and hold the airport."

"You did well," Sen assured him. "You said they attacked your leaders. Are the Beifongs-?"

"Alive, last I heard," Tamin said. "Their panic room could hold out for days."

Though the domed walls of Zaofu were long gone, the Beifongs had not forgotten the benefits of a good defense. A massive sphere of steel acted as a shelter against danger. Hopefully it would be enough to keep them safe against the full might of the Energybender's armies.

The briefing on the state of Zaofu was put on hold briefly by the loud whine of engines descending from on high. Sen looked over his shoulder and nodded approvingly as his air support arrived.

With the Grey-Face helicopters patrolling the narrow streets of Zaofu, it would be next to impossible for them to control the ground. The Coalition needed their own firepower in the air. The spaces between the skyscrapers were too narrow for any conventional aircraft, so Sen had gone to the Republic for something unconventional.

The Iron Dragons were the Republics finest airborne unit, using airbenders as pilots to enhance the speed and maneuverability of their planes. With a firebender riding shotgun for firepower, the Iron Dragons had the agility and the power to combat the helicopters on their own terms.

The fighters of the elite squadron descended on the battlefield, coming to a sharp halt on the airstrips. They'd need a refueling before they could take to the skies above Zaofu, but they would soon prove invaluable to the fight. The assigned leader of the Iron Dragons, Yonten, was quick to approach Sen.

"All wings reporting, Sir," Yonten said with a salute. "Give us time to fill our tanks and we'll be ready for action."

"Good. I'm going to need you to-" Sen paused suddenly and looked over Yonten's shoulder. "Whistler, what are you doing?"

The renegade airbender had climbed into the cockpit of one of the refueling aircraft and was fiddling with the controls. She looked up from the various dials on the aircrafts dash as Sen called her name.

"I want one," Whistler said loudly. She jumped slightly as an idea occurred. "Hey, Big Bang!"

Miyani had learned by now that "Big Bang" was her assigned nickname. Whistler never called anyone but Sen by their real name. Miyani turned to listen.

"You want to be my wingman?" Whistler asked. Miyani raised a curious eyebrow. Sen was surprisingly receptive to the idea.

"That's actually a good idea," Sen said. "Having that kind of firepower in the air can only be a good thing."

"I'm glad you agree," Whistler said. She quickly reached down from the airplane cockpit to help Miyani into the back seat. The moment the refueling was done with, Whistler pressed as many buttons as she could and then got the airplane in motion. Despite having absolutely no experience operating aircraft, or vehicles in general, Whistler took off with ease.

"Should she be doing that?" Sen asked. "She doesn't even know how to drive."

"It's actually surprisingly similar to a glider," Yonten assured him. He saluted sharply and headed for his own plane. As the airborne unit got into motion, Sen turned to his ground troops.

"Tamin, you stay here, and take charge of the defense," Sen ordered. "We'll need you to coordinate troop movements and relay information between squads."

Tamin saluted sharply. Sen started to divide responsibilities between the rest of his troops.

"Ariak, Suda, take three platoons, swing wide into the hills, and then strike the city from the side. Clear the streets and try to establish a forward post," Sen ordered. "Hanjo, take Gun and go beneath the city. You need to get to the Beifongs and get them to safety."

His three friends saluted sharply and went to work. With Miyani and Whistler in the skies and Ada left to her own devices, that covered his entire team. The only question now was what Sen himself would be doing.

"Tamin, you've been keeping track of their motions," Sen said. "What's their primary objective here in Zaofu?"

"Can't say," Tamin grunted. "They took out our communications pretty quickly, we have no real intelligence on where they're moving or why."

"I'll rectify that," Sen said, adjusting his sleeves slightly. "Where would I go to get your communications back online."

"Uhh…There's a large radio relay on the eastern border of the city. I'd start there."

"Then I have work to do," Sen growled. He set his sights on the cities eastern wall and moved out.

Though Yonten had compared flying a plane to using a glider, Whistler found the experience vastly different. There was something about the speed, the altitude, the roar of engines and propellers shaking her in her seat, that made flying a plane vastly more exciting.

There was also, of course, the promise of imminent destruction. Whistler was quite fond of destruction.

"Do you have any plans to fight in formation?" Yonten asked. Whistler hadn't figured out how to turn off the radio yet, so she still had to put up with other pilots.

"My only plan is keep flying and let the big girl do her thing," Whistler boasted.

"Speaking of," Miyani said, bracing herself in her seat. "Fun's about to start."

Their flight towards Zaofu's skyscrapers was nearly over. Most of Sarin's helicopters had retreated amidst the towers, into the cramped spaces. They buzzed about like carrion flies swarming in the ribs of a carcass, thinking themselves safe. They were about to be proven incredibly wrong.

Miyani and Whistler had left the airstrip first, and Miyani had a decidedly longer range than most firebenders, so they were the first to strike. Whistler zeroed in on the nearest helicopter and took a sharp dive towards it. The plane shook slightly as the steep descent rattled its wings, but they kept flying steady and swift.

Nothing was quite so swift through the air as Miyani's lances of destruction. Her red eye flared with fire and light, and the nearest helicopter burst into a fiery explosion. The burning fireball sent a shockwave through the air and through the swarm of choppers hovering in the city streets. The enemy pilots were quick to realize exactly what was coming at them, and they attempted to maneuver themselves into combat formation.

Formations, as Whistler might attest, did not matter much. Their organized form and structure only made it that much easier for Miyani to blast them out of the sky. The first vanguard of choppers was reduced to ash and scrap metal as the explosive power of combustion bending tore through them. Whistler's headlong flight into the city never slowed for a second.

"And this is where it starts to get fun," Whistler mumbled to herself.

Their plane reached the first skyscrapers of Zaofu. The space between the massive buildings was barely wide enough for the fighters wings, and the sharp corners and side streets held the threat of a chopper ambush at every corner. The sharp corners and angles of the city held no greater threat than Whistler and Miyani, though.

Whistler led the duo on a frantic flight through the crowded skyline, with one hand on the controls and the other warping the air around them. Their fighter took steep dives and sharp turns with ease as they soared through the air like a lethal bird of prey. A bird that could make things explode, but a bird.

The rest of the Iron Dragons were not about to be shown up by a newbie pilot. Yonten and his squadron hit the city in tight formation. Miyani had the firepower, and the helicopters had maneuverability, but the Iron Dragons had speed. The lightning-fast warplanes dove past their targets, strafing them with lethal gouts of fire, and were down the street and out of range before the unfortunate chopper pilots could muster a retaliation.

Another chopper burst in a spectacular flare of destruction, and Whistler laughed as she swerved past the flaming wreckage. Miyani resisted the urge to laugh at the destruction, but she still had a smile on her face. The speed and the destruction was reaching her head too –she felt oddly exhilarated.

Whistler hammered down the accelerator to speed up. The swarm of helicopters was thickest towards the center of the city –they made for an easy target.

With Whistler and the Iron Dragons clearing the skies, Suda and Ariak got to work on the ground. The wheels of their vehicles tore through the rocky terrain of Zaofu's hills, heading towards the border of the city. Most of their entourage were Coalition soldiers, but they had a few of Zaofu's remaining troops accompanying them as well.

"We need a fortifiable position," Ariak said. "Not too far from the city's border, something we can defend."

"The old bank," one Zaofu trooper offered. "That thing's built like a fortress."

"That place got overrun," Another soldier offered.

"We'll clear it out," Suda assured him.

The tires of their jeeps hit the streets of Zaofu, and no sooner had the rubber hit the road than all hell broke loose. The Energybender had far more than just his helicopters for firepower. Grey-Face soldiers had lain in wait, secretly fortifying themselves inside skyscrapers.

The first jeep flipped over as a massive boulder struck it, sending its passengers flying. The rest of the convoy came to a swift halt as drivers slammed on their brakes or swerved into side streets to avoid the sudden elemental barrage that rained down on them.

"Stay together," Ariak shouted. Getting scattered on a battlefield like this was a death sentence. His driver swerved quickly to avoid a lance of ice from above. Such attacks were starting to pile up in the streets, and the Grey-Faces were targeting any attempt for Ariak's soldiers to regroup.

The sound of rapidly uncoiling metal signaled that Suda had decided to take matters into his own hands. The Grey-Faces were attacking from open skyscraper windows, raining down destruction from the safety of second or third story windows. The reels of Suda's gauntlets caught the ledges of their vantage points and carried Suda upwards, towards the enemy.

Ariak was blind to Suda's onslaught, still being pinned down on the ground, but by all evidence it was in impressive effort. Even through the chaos of the combat on the ground, Ariak could hear the buildings trembling as Suda struck heavy blows.

"Into the building," Ariak commanded, pointing his spear at the skyscraper Suda was in the process of clearing. Earthbenders created a shield against the destruction raining down from above. Soldiers followed Ariak's lead and created a turtle shell of earth to shield their retreat from the worst of the attacks. It was a slow march to the building under the shield of earth, but they managed to get inside. Ariak made sure the soldiers were in order and then went on the offensive.

With two skyscrapers worth of soldiers bearing down on them, their movement had been restricted, but Suda was now occupying the full attention of the skyscraper to the east. The western flank was still active and firing on their troops, but Ariak doubted they would be looking for his approach.

With two handfuls of water, Ariak pressed his hands on the side of the building, freezing his gloved hands in place. Then he unthawed one, lifted it slightly, and refroze it in a higher position. Step by step he made the climb up the sheer glass wall of the skyscraper. As he suspected, none of the Grey-Faces were looking straight down. They were caught completely off guard as Ariak's icy climb brought him to the window ledge and he dove through, brandishing his spear.

With Suda on the east and Ariak on the west, the firepower raining down from skyscrapers gradually dwindled. Ariak wielded a lash of water like a whip, striking the Grey-Face soldiers against the windows, cracking the tinted glass with every impact. Across the street, the windows of the skyscraper rattled, signaling that Suda had landed the last of his blows. The street was safe. At least this portion.

Ariak took a glance out the window, cautiously examining the rest of the street. He could see open windows all up and down Zaofu's thoroughfare. They'd gone to all this trouble just to clear two.

Descending the side of the building on an icy ramp and taking a quick dash across the street, Ariak ran to rejoin his soldiers. He quickly huddled behind cover. The Grey-Faces no doubt controlled streets throughout the entire city. Suda zipped downwards and joined him in the cover of the building.

"We'll never make a march down the streets," Ariak said. "We need a way to get from building to building without hitting the road."

The earthen shell defense had worked in the short term, but it wasn't viable for a real troop movement down the main road. If they tried to crawl down the streets in that fashion, they'd get torn apart by helicopters. Sarin still controlled the skies.

"What about the skyways?" Someone suggested. The shifting skyways that connected Zaofu's skyscrapers from above might travel above the fortified line.

"Could be too obvious," Ariak said. "They'd be the first thing the enemy would try and control in this kind of defense."

"What about the tunnels?" Suda suggested. "Ada told me there was a network of tunnels under the city."

Ada had often spoken of her home, and that had naturally brought up the hidden web of tunnels that Ko Rin and his spies used to move unseen.

"Never heard of any tunnels," One of the Zaofu troopers added. "Probably one of them spymaster secrets."

"Most likely," Suda said. "So I guess they won't be easy to find…"

Suda looked around. He was starting to wish that he had a seismic sense like Sen. It might be easier to find a tunnel in that case, or so he thought. In truth, most of Zaofu's tunnels were seismically shielded. Even Sen might have had trouble finding them. Suda figured it was best to get started looking. He slammed his hands down and split the ground beneath them. It immediately collapsed, revealing a barely-illuminated tunnel.

"Huh," He said. "Guess we were right on top of one."

Ariak jumped in and looked around. Not ten steps away was a massive nexus of tunnels branching out in all directions, one tunnel becoming dozens as the network split. It was no surprise that they had been right on top of a tunnel. From the looks of it, there wasn't a single building in Zaifu that didn't have a secret tunnel connected to it. Other soldiers began to follow Ariak into the tunnel, and looked around curiously.

"What's a guy need so many tunnels for?"

The tunnel network had plenty of uses, as Hanjo might currently attest. His were of a more impromptu variety, though they often intersected Ko Rin's manmade tunnels. Gun was barreling through the underground, seeking the home of the Beifongs. Every now and then Hanjo had the badgermole pop above ground to make sure they were headed the right direction. Every time he did he caught glimpses of the battle above, which only made him push forward faster.

The chaos of the battle got quieter and quitter as Hanjo approached the center of the city. The home of the Beifong family was heavily defended, and even Sarin's best troops had difficulty approaching it. Going underground made the approach considerably less difficult. Hanjo looked above ground one more time.

"Well, I'm not sure what I'm looking for," Hanjo said aloud, to no one in particular. "But that looks right."

In the center of the city, an entire structure stood enclosed by huge plates of metal. It was a veritable fortress, and exactly where Hanjo would hide if he were a Beifong. Hanjo hopped out of the ground, leaving Gun behind, and walked over to the fortress. He pounded his fist on the metal shell for a moment.

"Anybody home? It's Hanjo, I'm with the Avatar!"

"I'm afraid they're unavailable at the moment," A voice said from the alleyway. The sound of it made Hanjo's spine crawl.

"Sensheng," Hanjo growled.

Sarin's second in command strolled out of the alleyway, flanked by his three white-clad bodyguards.

"There's no way inside that fortress," Dei Sensheng said. "But we did know the Beifongs would make good bait for one of the Avatars friends. Fitting that you'd fall right back into our hands, Hanjo."

"Or you fell right into mine," Hanjo said. He cracked his knuckles sharply. "I've got two years of imprisonment to get revenge for."

"Quaint," Sensheng said. "Jan, Ken, Po, do try not to hurt him too much."

As one, the trinity of warriors lunged forwards towards Hanjo, their weapons ready. Their advance was met with a swift assault from flying stones, breaking up their ordered formation as the stones slammed down. Hanjo's attacks were fast, but not quite fast enough. He managed to strike a blow against the fan-wielding sister of the trinity, but the other two were much faster. One of the three white-clad soldiers was an earthbender, which made his efforts that much harder, as she deflected al; his attacks.

The third sister was the fastest of them all, and her twin swords lunged at Hanjo viciously, the matching blades cutting through the air like scissors. Hanjo was ready to admit that he was out of his league. Swiftly sidestepping the blades of Sensheng's bodyguard, Hanjo slammed his heel down.

Gun was upon them in a moment, rising up from the ground like a shark from the waters. His massive jaws caught the sword-wielding sister and carried her up and away from Hanjo. Gun shook the woman in his jaws and then unceremoniously threw her to the side, slamming her against a wall. As she crumpled to the ground, Gun bared his fangs at the remaining two sisters. Hanjo glanced to Sensheng and smiled. Gun completed his exit from the ground, crawling upwards and leaving his tunnel behind, ready to finish his mauling.

The earth likewise broke open beneath the halls of the fortified bank. Suda jumped upward swiftly to assess the situation. Ariak had guessed that there would be defenses, and he had guessed right. The Grey-Faces had seen the value in this fortified position as well. Luckily the Coalition had come from below and skipped past the defended walls.

The tunnels leading into the bank poured forth with Coalition troops, and the melee began in earnest. As the fight began Suda found himself with very little to work with. A bank would not keep too much earth or bendable metal on hand in a city full of metalbenders. Despite the lack of ammunition, Suda managed to fight with nothing more than his gauntlets and his skill, and his power quickly turned the battle in the bank rather one-sided.

Until the other side trembled, the ground beneath their feet shaking under the weight of heavy steel armor. The loudest shockwave of them all was the first fall of a black fist against the earth.

"Suda," Temujin growled.

Some few still rushed through the darkened tunnels beneath Zaofu. Ada used the shadowed network to reach her home as quickly as possible, rushing through tunnels she still remembered well. At last she reached an exit she recognized: the one nearest her childhood home. She slammed the hidden hatch open and looked around the street.

A few soldiers standing guard outside her door. They were equipped well and fortified in their position. This was obviously a trap, but in her state Ada did not see that. All she saw were threats to her home.

Across the city, Sen found himself in a similar position. The radio relay was heavily guarded. Sen managed to sneak up to a nearby wall and press his heels flat against the ground, feeling out every enemy positioned within. Seven on the walls, three manning the radios, guards watching every window. They were well prepared.

None of the preparation mattered on either side. No amount of preparation will make a mouse equal to a lion.

Ada lunged out of cover, towards those who guarded her childhood home. They screamed in alarm when they saw her, but managed little else. With a single sweeping blow, two fell to her blades. Another tried to strike her with a bolt of fire, but she sidestepped the blow, skidded on her heels briefly, and regained control just fast enough to strike her enemy in the chest with an electrifying blow.

Someone grabbed her from behind in an electrified grip. A shock-gauntlet, like those once worn by Equalists. The electricity coursed through Ada's bicep to little effect. She turned her eyes to her attacker and stared with fury that burned brighter than any blue electricity. In her state, pain was only fuel for more rage. Ada lashed out, striking down the last of the guards around her home.

Sen had wrapped up his affairs rather quickly as well. It had been less than child's play to defeat the soldiers fortifying the building. He sent a quick radio message to Tamin, letting him know they could use their radios once more, and turned his attention back to the Grey-Faces. Amidst the pile of unconscious and broken bodies he had left in his wake, there was one oddly-intact soldier. Sen wanted questions answered.

The front door of Ada's home was hanging off its, hinges, shattered open. Someone had broken in. Ada dove through the collapsing doorway and froze for just a second. She remembered walking through this door every day on her way from school. She'd been standing just in front of it when she'd had her first kiss with Canto. It wasn't meant to be like this, to be broken and vulnerable. This was supposed to be her home.

"Mom," She cried out. "Dad?"

"Ada!"

She did not hesitate for even a second to rush towards the sound of her father's voice. Her parents were cowering in a corner of a darkened room, trembling in fear. Ada dove into their arms and held them tight. For the first second since she'd heard word that Zaofu had been attacked, she allowed herself to stop, to breathe, and to cry. She had been so terrified that something would happen to her parents. Tears of bitter relief burned in Ada's eyes as she embraced them.

That warmth of relief quickly sparked a fire that began to expand in Ada's heart. The door was broken, her parents were afraid. Something had happened, something had threatened her home. She slowly released her parents, and rested a hand on her sword.

"What happened here?"

"They came, I'm sorry," Ada's father said. "He was here to protect us, and they took Canto."

Ada's fist clenched tight around her blade, nearly crushing the steel in a vicelike grip.

Sen's fingers closed around the throat of his captive, squeezing the air out of his lungs and hopefully, the answers out of his mouth.

"Why are you here?" He demanded.

"We're after the Spymaster," The unfortunate Grey-Face said, gagging. "He's stolen thousands of documents from us."

Sen's eyes narrowed. He'd only ever gotten a few dozen reports from Ko Rin. That discrepancy could not be his priority right now, however.

"Your leaders aren't here," Sen said. "Where are they?"

"Where did they take Canto," Ada demanded.

Though they were on opposite sides of the city, pursuing vastly different goals, Sen and Ada found themselves asking questions with identical answers.

"The Redstone building," Both Ada's mother and the interrogated Grey-Face declared. Sen released his grip on the soldier's throat, and Ada released her grasp on her sword.

"Who took Canto?"

"Who's in charge of this attack?"

Again there were two questions, but only one answer. Ada's father looked to her, and Sen's prisoner looked to him, with terror in their eyes.

"Sarin."