Chapter 12: The Siege of Zaofu, part 2
"Where is the Spymaster?"
A surge of unholy energy struck Canto's every nerve. Sarin's Energybending clawed at every ragged edge of his soul, tearing at the edges and inflicting unimaginable pain on the poor boy. Despite the brutal torture, Canto remained surprisingly resistant.
"Can't tell you," Canto said. His eyes were glazed over, and his responses were almost sluggish. "Spymaster's orders."
Sarin slammed his hand down on Canto's chest, sending another surge of pain through his body. The boys screams echoed throughout the Redstone building, but he did not yield.
"Where is Ko Rin?" Sarin demanded.
"Can't tell you," Canto said through pained gasps for air. "Spymaster's orders."
Sarin held his hand down and put a steady rush of pain through every fiber of Canto's being. He did not mean to break the boy, not yet, just cause excruciating pain. Nothing Sarin was doing would cause any permanent damage –even though it was magnitudes more painful than any mortal torture could ever be.
"I want your spymaster," Sarin growled. "That man has stolen thousands of documents from me, and I will see him dead."
He tightened his grip, crushing Canto's soul in an ethereal vice. Canto let out a loud roar of agony.
"I will ask again. Where is the Spymaster?"
"Can't tell you," Canto repeated yet again. "Spymaster's orders."
Sarin's eyes narrowed, and his grip loosened. Canto breathed heavily, trying to recover from the pain, but for now his screams were silenced. In the sudden quiet, Sarin heard rapid footsteps behind him, and felt a rising heat.
Sarin leaned to the side just in time. The lance of white-hot flame surged past his head, singing the grey hood he wore as it skimmed past his face. The heat and the light blinded the Energybender briefly as the intense flame scorched the sky and Sarin's eyes. Even the blinding light of the fire was nothing, though, compared to the raging light of the two eyes behind the blow.
The Avatar himself followed the lance of fire, lunging bodily at Sarin to strike him at close range. The Energybender moved aside as Sen impacted a nearby wall, sending a network of cracks through the fragile structure. The Redstone building they were in trembled as Sen's herculean strike landed.
"Avatar," Sarin hissed. He had meant to be in and out of Zaofu before the Avatar had time to arrive. This was a complication.
Sen did not respond. He pulled himself out of the rubble his destructive arrival had created, and turned to face Sarin. The Energybender was still the same black void he had been at the North Pole: a rotting abscess in the flesh of reality. Sen could see the black shadow of the Hssk flittering about Sarin's narrow frame. The Avatar's glowing eyes narrowed into a burning glare at his nemesis.
"I hope you haven't come all this way just to run away again," Sarin taunted. Sen's escape from the North Pole still burned in his memory. The anger burning in his heart only intensified the power burning in Sen's eyes.
"Things have changed," Sen said, his voice echoing with the power of Raava, the power Sen had not possessed during their last confrontation. Sarin flinched slightly as the burning gaze of a fully realized Avatar bore down on him. The shadow of the Hssk retreated, cowering behind Sarin as it hid from the scouring light. Sarin quickly regained his composure.
"Nothing has changed," Sarin said. "I am still the Energybender. I am still your end."
Sen stepped forward, his fists ready to strike.
"I didn't come here to talk," Sen thundered. With a swift, brutal strike, Sen launched a sharp stone at Sarin. The Energybender dodged to the side, allowing the jagged stone to embed itself in the wall behind him. Sen followed through with a lash of fire, a spear of water, a spiraling cyclone of air; all this and a thousand other things in a relentless barrage.
Sarin stayed just abreast of the rampage, always one step ahead of Sen's destruction. It was not just Sen's power that had grown since their meeting at the North Pole: his rage had grown, burning brighter with every passing second of the battle. While his strikes still carried a precise, tactical, air, they held far more weight. Whenever his blows landed they shattered walls, broke windows, shook the ground. He made no half-measures, no attempts to control Sarin or capture him. Sen's only goal was destruction.
A nearby wall crumbled under a heavy hammer of earth. The battle thus far had destroyed most of the nearby structures. Anything vaguely resembling the office this space had once been was now buried under rubble and scrap.
Sarin moved backwards swiftly, pushing out a wall of air that kicked up the dust and debris Sen had created. Sen briefly shielded his face from the oncoming rush of debris, but quickly turned his attention back to Sarin.
In the brief moment of distraction, Sarin had gone for the only area of the building not marred by destruction. Though Sen's rampage had destroyed much of their surroundings, he had deliberately avoided one area: the spot where Canto rested. Sarin stood in the midst of it now, holding Canto by the neck.
"You coward," Sen growled. Sarin was not fazed by Sen's insults.
"This is not the time or place for your end," Sarin said. "Make a move, and the boy dies."
"If you were so confident in your destiny, Sarin, you wouldn't need to threaten any innocent people," Sen shouted. "If you really believed you could beat me, you'd believe you could beat me here and now!"
Sarin froze, his hand still clutching Canto's neck. Canto groaned and struggled slightly, and that was enough to bring Sarin back to focus.
"There is an order to things, Avatar," Sarin said. "You and I will meet at the end of the world, under the Undying Bloom, and there you will die."
Sen took a step back from Canto and Sarin and held his arms out invitingly.
"Then I'll go," Sen said. "Right now. I'll call off my armies and you'll call off yours, and we'll finish this the way it should always have been. You and me, without any innocent people in the way."
Sen had only ever gathered his team, and his Coalition, because Sarin was using his own armies. In an ideal world, this would have been a fight between them and them alone. Sen stood and waited for Sarin to consider the offer. He doubted the Energybender would accept, or even if he did, it would turn out to be some kind of trick. Sen was perfectly willing to face Sarin on his terms, but Sarin was a coward by nature. He would never agree to a fight where he didn't have a clear advantage.
Sen would never find out what Sarin had to say. In the darkness below, diving like a thrown spear through a network of hidden tunnels, a vengeful blade approached the battlefield.
The gateway of the hidden tunnel network broke open. Ada burst out of the wall, her blade already cutting through the air before she had taken even a step. Startled by the sudden appearance of the blade racing towards his heart, Sarin released Canto and took a step back.
Her parents had told her where to find Canto, and that had been the last coherent thought in Ada's head. Any despair in her heart was buried now, under a mountain of burning rage. Sen, Canto, the city around her, everything fell into a red haze as her eyes focused on one target: Sarin.
Every teacher Ada had ever had had warned her about losing control, but none of that mattered to her. Sarin had hurt her friends, her family, her home, the one person she loved more than anything. He did not deserve any restraint, any hesitation, or any mercy. Her blade struck at his heart with heavy sweeping blows, like the claw of a beast aiming to gut its prey.
Though Ada had lost any thought but that of cutting Sarin to pieces, Sen still retained his thoughts, and his fears. Ada couldn't stand against somebody like an Energybender. Sarin was off his footing for a second and a second only. He would quickly strike back against Ada's ferocious onslaught.
Sen got back into the fight, this time much more tactically. He needed to force Sarin back, to keep him away from Ada. Sarin's touch could be lethal. Sen did everything in his power to prevent it, but Sarin knew what kind of opportunity he had. He kept Ada close, sidestepping all of Sen's attacks as he tried to find his opening.
One of Ada's strikes came dangerously close, barely skimming Sarin's chest and cutting a wide hole in the fabric of his shirt. There, in that hairs width of space, Sarin found his opening. He reached out with his right hand, pressed it against Ada's stomach, and he gripped her soul. Sen was privy to the terrifying detail as Sarin's soul overpowered Ada's coursing through her heart and throughout her soul. The air was filled with a discordant shrieking as Sarin's Energybending began its trademark howling.
Then, like the strings of an instrument snapping in the midst of the song, the shrieking ceased in a violent burst of noise. Sarin pulled his hand back sharply, but nothing came with it. His fingers tensed and twitched as if lightning had run through his hand. Ada fell backwards, in incredible pain, but intact. She screamed and clutched at her gut while Sarin took a quick step back, holding his pained hand.
Sen struck Sarin with a brick torn from a crumbling wall, knocking him backwards. Ada was on the ground screaming, and the sound of her pain woke Canto from his near-unconscious state. He crawled forward as Sarin moved back, still clutching the hand he had attempted to grasp Ada's soul with.
Sen forced Sarin further and further back, and astonishingly, the Energybender seemed glad to retreat. He was hurt somehow, in a way Sen couldn't see. He paid little attention to Sarin's well being. As soon as Sarin was out of sight, Sen turned back to Ada.
Canto had crawled to her side, but his presence did little to help her. Her screaming had stopped, but it had been replaced by some kind of unnatural paralysis. She laid motionless on the ground, staring forward without any focus. Sen knelt down by her side. He could feel an internal tempest, even though her body was motionless. Sarin's strike had damaged the core of Ada's being.
Sen placed his hands gingerly on Ada's forehead. He could fix this. He had to fix this. Canto begged him to explain what was happening to Ada, but Sen quickly quieted him. He needed to focus. Sen closed his eyes and abandoned any thoughts of the material world. Ada's wound was not in her body.
He started at the top, the Thought chakra. That was where the flow of energy from the universe entered a mortal body. He started at the source and traced downwards. It was only moments before he found an interruption to Ada's flow of chi; one he might have recognized, if he were being more analytical. For now, he unwound whatever foreign influence clung to Ada's soul, freeing her from its grip. Sen worked with what he know of chi reading, waterbending healing, and energybending to restore her damaged soul.
Sen's power traced downwards through Ada's soul, past several chakras, finding traces of Sarin's corrupt influence all the way. It was only at the Water chakra that Ada found the most severe source of damage. Whatever Sarin had attempted to do to Ada, it had stopped here. The chakra was torn and ragged, the flow of energy twisted and interrupted by foreign influence. Gently, careful in every motion, Sen restored the normal flow of chi, undoing the damage Sarin had done.
As he did so, Sen considered what exactly was happening. In the past he had talked about Chakras with Hayao, and he had used Ada as an example of the Water chakra. She embodied the concept of pleasure overcoming guilt stronger than anyone else Sen knew. The same chakra, her strongest, had halted Sarin's attempt to destroy her soul. Sen doubted that any of this was a coincidence.
Sen's focus was violently jarred back to the physical world as his work was finished. With her soul repaired, Ada woke, seemingly none the worse for wear. She looked around in confusion for a moment, her mind briefly reaffirming its place in reality.
"Ada?" Canto asked curiously. Ada looked at him for a moment, but she said nothing. There was something in her eyes. Something like fear.
"Stay with her," Sen said to Canto. As if there was any chance he wouldn't. "I need to go after Sarin."
Everything that had happened in the past few minutes was just more reason for Sen to hunt him down. Sarin would never stop hurting his friends, as he'd hurt Ada now. She was lucky to be alive.
Sen went to make sure that Sarin didn't have any such luck.
Sarin's chi was masked from Sen, but there was nothing he could do to hide the shockwaves of his footsteps. Following the vibrations spread by Sarin's stumbling gait, Sen tracked his enemy down. Sarin was still clutching his hand in a mix of pain and confusion. The Avatar cornered his foe at the end of a hall. Sarin had nowhere to run but up an elevator shaft.
Sarin forced the doors of the elevator open, exposing the bare metal shaft that lead upwards towards the buildings higher floors. He used airbending to vault himself along the walls of the elevator shaft, heading upwards, hopefully away from the Avatar's wrath.
He could feel that said wrath was dangerously close. The elevator shaft was getting warmer. Sarin dove through the metal doors that led outwards, crashing painfully through the thick metal. No sooner had he escaped the enclosed space than a roaring wall of flame roared up the shaft, with fire spilling out the open doors. The entire building got noticeably warmer as Sen's wall of flame rose, melting the iron support beams of the Redstone building and spreading fire throughout the structure.
Sen himself was quick to rise, following his wave of fire, and chased after Sarin. They were several stories up now, high enough that Sarin caught a good glimpse of one of his helicopters crashing and burning.
The battle for the skies still raged outside. Miyani and Whistler were the dominating force in the skies, but they did not mean their side had the advantage.
The helicopters had the Iron Dragons and, with the exception of Miyani and Whistler, outgunned. Fire was an effective weapon against other planes, but it was less useful against the heavy metal construction of the helicopters. The Iron Dragons took out their fair share, but the helicopters had a decided advantage.
Realizing the disadvantage their fellow pilots were at, Whistler had at least acquiesced to Yonten's demands to fly in formation. Miyani was pushing herself to her limits to shoot down every helicopter as they appeared. She was lucky that it didn't require much power to knock one out of the skies. She had to focus on being as swift as possible.
Despite Miyani's swiftness, she could not be everywhere at once. A helicopter lurched forth from a side alley, ready to strike. Yonten, at the head of the formation, was its first target.
Yonten's firebending partner struck back at the helicopter, striking a fatal blow, but the odd flying machine retaliated in kind. A blade of metal clipped the wing of Yonten's fighter, sending him careening downwards. He and his partner bailed out just before the fighter crashed into a skyscraper and exploded in a fiery conflagaration.
"We lost wing-leader!"
The radios of the Iron Dragons blazed to new life as they struggled to maintain order in the wake of Yonten's crash. As they struggled to reorganize, they only grew more vulnerable.
"Who's reserve command?"
"He already went down!"
Even as they argued, their third co-captain was shot down by a helicopter from the sidelines. Miyani took one last potshot at a passing enemy and reached out to grab the radio.
"Follow us," Miyani demanded. "Get in formation behind Whistler."
Miyani hung up the radio and looked to Whistler's face, seeing the expected indignant stare.
"You want me to be in charge of things," Whistler objected. "You do know on how many levels that is a bad idea, right?"
"You're the best flier in the air right now," Miyani said. She took a break from her encouraging lecture to shoot down yet another helicopter. "Just keep doing what you're doing. They'll follow."
Whistler grunted angrily and relented. As much as she hated leadership, someone had to take the lead or else the Iron Dragons would get picked apart. She reluctantly swerved to rejoin the rest of the squadron and took the lead.
With Miyani and Whistler at the helm the Iron Dragon squadron found new life in the skies of Zaofu. Whistler took sharp, swerving dives, nearly outmaneuvering the agile helicopters, and led them on an aerial rampage. Broken metal and fire rained down on the streets below.
The impact of one helicopter near the bank was outmatched in intensity by the Fist of Rahm slamming down. As Suda stepped away from the blow yet again, Temujin picked up his hammer and readied it for another heavy-handed strike. The heavy metal plates of his armor clattered as he chased after Suda.
"You will not escape me this time," Temujin roared. Suda jumped backwards as yet another blow came down.
"I'm sorry, have we met?"
Very few things could give Temujin pause, but that managed to do it. The warlord of the Metal Men stopped and stared at Suda for a moment.
"I nearly killed you," He said, somewhat offended.
"Oh, right, that was you," Suda said. "There were a lot of painkillers involved, my memory of that whole thing is kind of fuzzy."
The crashing blow of the Fist of Rahm was a good reminder of what had happened at Mount Zu-Shin. Suda caught the blow on his metal gauntlets and retreated a few more steps away. Temujin did not intend to let Suda escape twice. Suda, on the other hand, did not intend on nearly dying twice.
The halls of the bank rang with metallic clashes as the two titanic metalbenders dueled. Temujin's mighty hammer broke walls and sheets of steel as he chased after Suda, and the air was filled with a storm of metal blades as Suda struck back against his pursuer. The metallic shards bounced off Temujin's thick armor and filled the air with sparks as metal scraped against metal.
"You know, pal, I really ought to thank you," Suda began. He was remembering more and more about Temujin. He was a proud man, and liable to be thrown off balance by taunting. "That hit you gave me let me spend plenty of time with my girlfriend."
Temujin growled and slammed his hammer down again. The spikes of his armor shook with every blow that fell.
"Still, don't think I'm up for a redo," Suda joked. "Yoki wouldn't approve."
He whipped out a metal line and wrapped it around the shaft of the Fist of Rahm, pulling it off course. With Temujin off balance, Suda struck him from the side, knocking him a few steps away. The metal-clad warrior took a knee as the blow put him off balance. He soon righted himself and hefted his hammer once more.
"I will not fail twice," Temujin roared. "I'll crush you, and then go after her!"
Historians would note several severe tactical missteps in the Siege of Zaofu. Threatening Yoki would be one of them.
There was a loud groaning sound from far behind Suda. The building shook slightly as a metallic roar grew louder and louder. Temujin paused briefly and looked around, uncertain about the source of the noise. He had forgotten that they were in a bank. Banks had vaults.
With a harsh shriek of tearing metal, a two ton disk of metal tore free from the door of the bank vault and dove forward. Soldiers ducked and dove to the ground as the titanic disk cut through the air. Temujin had a moment to jump back in surprise before the metal plate slammed into him and continued onwards, flying towards the bank door and crashing through the wall. The vault came to rest just in front of the door, violently ejecting Temujin and securing the Bank fairly well for the Coalition. Suda nodded firmly as the titanic slab of metal landed in place.
"Aren't those supposed to be platinum?" One curious soldier said to another.
Ariak did one last sweep of the Bank to secure it, and found it had been cleared. He grabbed his radio and let the rest of the Coalition forces know they could proceed with the attack on the city.
Sarin tried to flee, turning corners sharply and dashing down long hallways. He believed that Sen was a good distance behind. That would technically have been true, were Sen following the same rules as Sarin. Sen did not run around corners and walls. He ran through them.
The wall next to Sarin burst in a cloud of rubble, and he felt a hand take hold of him. Sen pulled on Sarin's arm and hurled him back through the new hole in the wall, slamming him into the far wall. Sarin quickly rolled aside as Sen followed through with a swift fireball, catching the wall where Sarin had once been on fire.
Sarin stood his ground for the first time this fight, and used his Energybending rather than his airbending offensively. Sen avoided the grey light. He still remembered the agonizing sting of Energybending from the North Pole. He was not eager to risk another such encounter. The cruel energy Sarin wielded passed by Sen's shoulder, eradicating whatever obstacle they then encountered. Sen ducked as Sarin launched a crescent blade of the annihilating energy, leaving a curved hole in the wall behind Sen's head.
Though he had experimented with Energybending in the past, Sen could still not wield it offensively as Sarin did. It was the one real advantage Sarin held, and he used it for everything it was worth.
With one more lashing strike at Sen, Sarin attempted to retreat again. He knew that this was not the time or place to have his last stand with Sen. He would need to stand beneath the tree of the Undying Bloom, alongside Ta Jide Shui, to have enough power to defeat Sen. All he could do know was try to bait Sen to such a confrontation.
Sarin double checked the exterior of the building and then broke open a window with his airbending. As the shards of broken glass fell, Sarin followed them, leaping out of the building and falling downwards for a brief moment. Sarin caught the railing of a helicopter flying near the window, clutching to the door. He had always been ready to evacuate at a moments notice, keeping a vehicle close at hand to flee.
The helicopter began to rise slowly, and Sarin brushed off a coating of dust and broken glass he had obtained from his battle. He turned to his subordinate on the helicopter, briefly relieved to be free of Sen's rage. That relief was short-lived as he saw the soldier besides him step back in surprise.
The helicopter shuddered in midair as something slammed into its side. There was a very tense of silence. In that short second, the air in the helicopter became much warmed.
The metal hull glowed white hot for a moment before a searing lance of fire cut through it. The bolt of flame cut through the iron shell of the helicopter like a plasma torch, sawing the machine open. Sarin stepped back from the searing flame as it travelled along the hull. In a flash the fire had completely bisected the vessel, causing it to fall into two halves that began to plummet downwards.
Still clinging to the half of the helicopter that held Sarin, Sen dragged his foe out of the broken chopper and threw him downwards, then jumped down after him. The two struck out at one another as they fell, but their descent made it difficult for any blow to land. Their aerial melee lasted only a moment before the two slammed into the building beneath them.
The Redstone building had a terraced upper level, giving its exterior a ledge every few floors. Sarin plummeted onto one such ledge, while Sen's fall took him to the ledge directly below. Sen was quick to his feet, watching Sarin rise as well. With a brief roar of anger, Sen leapt upwards, pursuing his foe. Sarin likewise moved upwards, climbing higher and higher towards the peak of the Redstone building.
Despite Sarin starting a ledge ahead, Sen's more powerful airbending allowed him to close the gap quickly. Sarin paused, ready for a fight, as Sen leapt onto the same ledge as his adversary. Then Sen leapt upwards again, to the ledge above. Sarin was not so foolish as to think this would end well for him.
The Avatar landed on the ledge above, slamming his fists onto the wall of the building as he did. With the blow, the wall tore itself apart, filling the air with a cloud of heavy stones, broken steel, and shattered glass. Sarin spun his hands rapidly, creating a domed spiral of air that cast aside the falling pieces of building, keeping himself safe –momentarily.
As the rain of rubble and debris ceased, the Avatar himself bore down on Sarin, driving a hammerlike boulder before him. Sarin, with no time to reach, caught the boulder on his chest and was slammed downwards to the ground. Sen attempted a devastating follow-through, but Sarin would not be taken down so easily. A discordant shriek split the air as a burst of grey light raced forth, striking Sen in the chest.
It was a pleasant surprise to know that the searing grey light was not quite so cripplingly painful as it had been at the North Pole, but it still hurt. A lot. A loud scream of pain echoed throughout the city as Sen was launched backwards by the blast. Sarin got to his feet and prepared to flee downwards.
Sen's fingers curiously prodded his chest as he coped with the pain. Sarin's destructive attacks could unwind the spiritual energy that bonded reality together, but not the soul of one strong enough to resist. Inanimate objects, however, could offer no such resistance. There was a gaping hole in Sen's shirt where the blast had struck him.
Paying no heed to the damage to his uniform, Sen continued onwards, chasing after Sarin. They both leapt downwards from ledge to ledge. Whenever he landed, Sen made sure to tear out a chunk of stone or metal to hurl at Sarin, slowing his downward advance.
Eventually Sarin ran out of ledge. Halfway down the building, the terraced ledges ended, and the sheer glass wall of the skyscraper took over. A metal skyway glistened in the sun below. A helicopter roared past below Sarin's feet, followed shortly thereafter by a fighter jet. Sarin planted his feet and prepared to make a stand. Sen had no interest in watching Sarin stand. He would much rather see him fall.
Sen landed, and he once again tore open the wall of the Redstone building, collapsing it under foot. The wall crumbled and cracked, falling to pieces and leaving Sarin standing on nothing but broken rubble. As the Energybender plummeted, he raked at the air with stiff claws, pulling Sen downwards with him.
Once again the two found themselves falling, flailing at their foe with reckless abandon. The aerial battle produced little result, and the two resigned themselves to continuing the duel once they had landed. The skyway beneath them ensured that it would be a short fall. Sarin landed first, followed shortly thereafter by Sen, landing with a heavy thud on the metal roof.
Sarin stumbled to his feet, careful not to teeter over the edge of the narrow skyway. The Avatar likewise wobbled as he stood, shaking off the impact. The Energybender looked over his rival, stood up straight, and shouted across the length of the skyway.
"You know Avatar, there was a time I would have regretted having to fight you," Sarin shouted. The roaring wind at this height made it difficult to talk. "Now I know better."
"How comforting," Sen said bitterly. "You've been trying to kill me and everyone I love for years, but at least it wasn't personal!"
The two stumbled forward, closing the distance between them. Sen stopped a few steps short of Sarin, and the two stared each other down. The grey rings around Sarin's eyes narrowed as he examined his foe. Sen's coattails fluttered in the harsh wind as Sarin stared him down. He did not falter under the piercing gaze of his enemy, in fact he only grew more furious the longer he looked at Sarin.
"The light in your eyes hides nothing," Sarin taunted. "I can see how much you hate me."
Sen's face dropped into a harsh scowl.
"You have no idea how much I hate you."
This had stopped being a war of ideals when Sarin had taken Hanjo prisoner, when he had robbed Sen of the first good thing in his life, and it had carried on through every action Sarin had taken, right up to his hurting Ada today. The war between them was no longer entirely about Sarin's dream of a world without conflict, nor Sen's determination to protect the current world. Those things still mattered, but their current was undercut by a deep, personal hatred between the Avatar and the Energybender.
Sen stepped backwards ever so slightly, as did Sarin. The two could hardly bear to be near each other. Sen detested Sarin's defeatist attitude, his firm belief in destiny and predetermination. Sarin hated Sen's stubbornness, his refusal to accept the inevitability of destiny. They were two diametrically opposed souls in every way. Stripping away the roles of Avatar and Energybender, they would still fight one another.
With that all-consuming hatred in mind, the two stepped further forward, their souls flaring with power. Neither possessed the patience to suffer their adversary's existence for another second. This time there would be no holding back. From Sarin came discordant shrieking and grey light, tearing at the fabric of reality. Sen walked forward, his footsteps ringing like massive bells, with radiant white light emanating from his hands.
The two never had a chance to clash. Like opposing ends of a magnet, the two diametrically opposite energies violently rejected one another. The air thundered with a cacophony of conflicting sounds, shrieking, howling, thundering, ringing, filling the city with ear-splitting noise. Sarin and Sen were both launched backwards, slamming into walls at opposite ends of the skyway, as their power violently unwound upon itself.
After a brief blackout, the Avatar regained his senses. It was an unpleasant experience. His heart felt like it was trying to crawl out of his throat, and every one of his nerves was tingling. He groped blindly at the waistline of his coat. Miraculously, what he was looking for was still intact.
The portable radio he kept on him had managed to survive the brawl with Sarin. The Energybender himself was quickly recovering from the shock of the catastrophic Energybending collision. Sen would need reinforcements, and fast.
"Miyani," He called out. "I need you. The skyway by the Redstone building…"
His radio message reached Miyani and Whistler's aircraft. Miyani pondered his request. Going after Sarin was important, but it could be dangerous. In the end, it was not her decision.
"I've been looking for an excuse to ditch these dragon chumps for a while," Whistler said. She veered sharply off course, eager to no longer be in charge of anything. She detested leadership.
Sen stumbled to his feet once again, watching Sarin do the same from across the skyway. Sarin was radioing his own air support. Sen stepped backwards slightly. This was going to get messy.
The warplane of an Iron Dragon tore across the sky, rounding a corner towards the skyway Sen and Sarin stood upon. Sen took a leap back, pressing his back against the wall of the building. With him out of the way, Miyani focused her eyes on the metal skyway. Sarin realized what was happening, and cast out his hands.
The grey light of Energybending and the white light of combustion bending tore through the sky, coming close but never quite colliding. Sarin leapt from the skyway rooftop as the explosive burst consumed the skyway, causing both connected buildings to tremble. As he fell, his streak of grey light tore across the sky with equal speed, crashing into the wing of Whistler's aircraft. The harsh grey light ripped through her aircraft, destroying everything it touched.
Sen cursed under his breath as he watched Sarin and the plane fall. With only a moment of hesitation, he turned away from Sarin and dove after the crashing plane. Whistler was doing everything in her power to slow them down, but it was still going to be a nasty crash. She grabbed her glider and Miyani, and prepared to jump.
Her first attempt at an exit from the falling plane was cancelled as Sen landed on the one intact wing with a heavy thud. Wasting no time on explanations, Sen reached forward and grabbed the spare glider Whistler wore at her belt. She was still carrying the new staff the Coalition had forged her alongside her old staff. Sen grabbed the newer glider in one hand and wrapped his other arm around Miyani, then they jumped from the burning wreckage together.
Whistler had been through a few disastrous falls, and this ranked as her favorite. Instead of a messy plummet, they ended up just leaving the crashing wreckage behind and gliding gently to the ground. Whistler set her feet on the ground, with Sen and Miyani landing just after.
Sen took a look to the skies. One helicopter was rapidly retreating from the city. Sen could feel the black emptiness where a soul should be. Sarin was getting away. Sen's eyes focused purely on that rapidly retreating chopper, paying no heed to the state of the street around him. A few buildings down, Ariak, who had been keeping a careful eye on the situation, stepped out into the street.
"Sen! The streets aren't-"
As one, the soldiers stationed in nearby buildings launched their attacks. Sen found himself the sole target of a barrage of a hundred attacks at once. Whistler and Miyani dove for cover.
Sen held his hands out, his fists clenched. Shards of ice, lances of fire, hurtling boulders, all froze in midair. Sen never looked away from the rapidly vanishing silhouette of Sarin. A dome of fire and ruin surrounded him on all sides, hovering motionless in the air as Sen held them back with sheer force of will. The rain of destruction paused in midair as Sen looked at the helicopter, rapidly retreating from the city, that carried Sarin away.
With a loud cry of frustration, the dome shattered, every attack soaring back towards its target. Broken glass rained down like hail as Sen turned every attack back on its origin. He stood in the middle of the storm of shards, watching his greatest enemy escape.
"-Safe," Ariak finally concluded.
Dei Sensheng sat by the radio in silence. He had already made sure the word got out. They were in full retreat. They needed to get as far as possible from Zaofu as fast as they could. The arrival of the Avatar had been an expected problem; Sarin making no progress whatsoever on their primary objective was not expected.
"So how many did we lose today, Sensheng," Gamon wondered aloud. Sensheng did not respond. "I see your little bodyguards made it, at least."
The trio of sisters sulked in a corner, nursing their wounds. Their once immaculate white garb was now marred by tears and fang punctures. The Avatar's badgermole had been far beyond their ability to manage.
"Every day my job gets easier," Gamon mumbled. He began to mark off his book, the records he kept of all their loyal men and women. He would be crossing out hundreds of names before the day was done. "Every day we lose more and more."
Sensheng waited in silence by the radio for further reports. For a group of names Gamon could cross off his list.
Those few soldiers who had managed to get away had retreated to their nearest base, and waited in disarray for the retreat to progress further. Sarin lurked in a private chamber, out of reach to even Sensheng. He had yet to speak a word about the disastrous failure of their attack. They had lost so much, and gained nothing. Sensheng tapped his fingers in agitation.
This was starting to become a pattern.
Working to fix his damaged armor and his damaged ego, Temujin toiled in silence. The impact of the vault door had warped his armor out of shape. It no longer resembled Rahm's metal shell. As he worked and worked upon his armor, Temujin looked to the black gauntlet that made up his hammer. He still could not control the dark Spirit Metal. He still could not match Rahm's power.
The cuirass of his armor made a loud groan as Temujin bent it back into shape. Temujin matched that groan with a low roar of frustration. He had been just inches away from killing Suda once before. How was it he had lost today?
Underneath the loud clashes and shrieks of reshaping metal, a silent figure crept. Temujin did not realize who was upon him until she was already at his back.
"You lost," Kida taunted. Acting on instinct, Temujin grabbed his hammer and swung it towards her. She sidestepped the blow almost casually, swiftly moving away from the black gauntlet. Temujin saw who had taken him by surprise and then relaxed.
"You should have stayed," Temujin said flatly. Though the bloodbenders had led the attack on Zaofu, Kida had left as soon as the sun had risen, long before the Coalition's arrival.
"I had no reason to stay," Kida said flippantly. She stepped lightly, walking in circles around Temujin. The ironclad warrior turned to follow her movement. He did not trust Kida at his back.
"My war is a little more…personal," Kida said. There was venom in her voice. "I'm at my strongest when fighting on my own terms. Suda's the same way, apparently."
Temujin waited in silence. Kida was many things that Temujin disliked, but she had power, and Temujin liked power. If she had something to say on the matter, he would hear it. As Kida circled around and around the mighty warlord, her eyes flitted between the Fist of Rahm, and the metal armor that Temujin had shaped in the image of the now-deceased General.
"You want to be as strong as Rahm?" Kida asked. "Then you need hate."
Kida stopped circling and turned to face Temujin. She slowly crept closer, diving into his face with every step to emphasize her words.
"Suda beat you because he hates you," Kida said. "He hates you for hurting him, for threatening the person he loves. You can't be as strong as Rahm because you don't hate like he did. Because when the mountain collapsed, you ran instead of finishing the job. Because when you lost today, you sulked away in shame instead of trying again."
Kida stopped, close enough to Temujin now that he could see every vicious spark of hatred in her eyes.
"Hate, Temujin. Hate until there is nothing else inside you but fire."
Kida bared her fangs in a wicked smile and vanished, creeping back into the shadows she'd come from. Temujin stood firm for a moment, his fists clenched.
He reached out to grab the handle of his hammer, and turned it until the black gauntlet of Rahm was just in front of his face. The armor of a man who had done more, fought more, than any other human in history.
Hate. Temujin considered the word, and scowled.
"Alright, everybody out of the badgermole hole," Hanjo beckoned. The Beifong family followed him out of a hole in the dirt as he led them to safety. Zaofu would not be safe for a week, at the very least. The Beifongs would find shelter in Ba Sing Se or some other large city.
Whistler observed the Beifongs as they walked by. She managed to refrain from commenting on how they'd hidden away while their city burned instead of taking charge. She had a funny feeling about this whole attack on Zaofu. Her hands had been shaking even after the battle proper had ended. She didn't like Zaofu.
"Thanks for taking charge of the Dragons," Yonten said. Whistler jumped slightly. Lost in thought as she was, the pilot had snuck up on her.
Yonten limped slightly, as his landing had been far from perfect, but he was otherwise fine. The biggest wound was to his pride. The Iron Dragons had not performed as well as he'd expected. Until Whistler took charge, that was.
"You'd make a good pilot," Yonten advised. "Could even be a squadron leader in no time at all."
"I'll pass," Whistler said. She didn't bother taking a minute to think it over, and walked away from Yonten without hesitation.
Far removed from the center of activity, Ada sat at the outskirts of the command center, clutching her head in her hands. She had requested, quite vehemently, that she be left alone for now. Even Canto and her parents had been cast aside. Those who cared about her stayed at the outskirts, watching her from a distance.
Sen could see that something was troubling her, but he had an army to manage. The Grey-Faces were in full retreat, but Sen still had to coordinate sweeps of the city for any lingering threats or enemy soldiers. Zaofu was not completely safe yet.
Sen finished giving orders to one of his subordinates and took a moment to look around. Most of his friends were attending to their own agendas, but Suda was lingering nearby. He quickly noticed that Sen's eyes were on him.
"She won't even talk to me," Suda said quietly. His eyes still lingered on Ada, and the dark cloud that seemed to hover around her.
"She's okay, Suda," Sen said. She was fine, at least physically. "She's a strong spirit, one that won't break easily. She just had a close call. That's scary. For all of us."
Suda nodded. Ada had been by their side for years. Anything happening to her was –Suda didn't even want to think about it. He looked between his two friends for a moment. Sen gave one more order and found himself with a moment of free time. There was something that needed to be said.
"Suda, I'm sorry about the other day," Sen said. "I shouldn't have forced you to make a choice like that, it was-"
"No, you had a point," Suda admitted. "You were right. I got lazy. I forgot why I was doing this."
Time spent away from the battlefield had made him forget the reasons he fought. Everything that had happened today had been a harsh reminder that everyone had loved ones, had a home that was worth protecting. Suda hadn't just joined the Avatar because Bolin asked him to. He felt a responsibility to the world, but he had almost forgotten that responsibility.
"I love Yoki," Suda said. "But I'll still love her when this is all over. I'm with you, Sen."
Sen looked at his former earthbending master with a skeptical eyebrow raised.
"You'll still visit her now and then," Sen said.
"Yeah I'm not even going to bother denying that," Suda said.
The two of them laughed together for a moment. Their levity drew strange stares from those around them. The mood in the city was still rather somber. Sen shut his mouth and tried to focus on his work. When he thought about everything that had happened during the battle, one particular incident naturally stuck out. Sen glanced at Ada.
"You know, it's strange, the way she resisted Sarin," Sen said.
"Did you expect anything less?"
"Kind of," Sen admitted. "We spent so long assuming I was the only one who could fight Sarin safely."
"I wouldn't say it went all that well for her," Suda corrected.
"No, I don't want any of you fighting him again," Sen said. Although Ada had survived, it had been dangerously close and excruciatingly painful for her. Nobody would be repeating her mistake. Sen's battle would remain one between Sen and Sarin alone.
"But he tried to break her," Sen said. "And he failed. Even with all the Hssk's power behind him."
Sen rubbed his chin. As usual, everyone who heard him forgot what he had said quickly. Miyani gave him a strange look and then went back to business. Sen knew nobody would ever remember the Hssk's name, but it was still comforting to say it out loud.
"We need to re-evaluate how much of a threat Sarin is," Sen said. Ada surviving Sarin's Energybending proved that they had overestimated his power. Perhaps they were wrong about other things as well. Sen needed more information on his rival –and he knew just where to start.
"Canto," Sen said. Ada's lover was close at hand, despite Ada's stubborn refusal to talk to him. He stared longingly at her from a distance, but quickly turned his attention to Sen when he was called.
"What do you need, Sen?"
"I need to talk to Ko Rin," Sen said. There was nobody else who might be able to get him information on Sarin. "Can you tell me where he is?"
"Can't do that," Canto said stiffly. Sen's eyes narrowed.
"Why not?"
"Spymaster's orders."
A few steps away, Ada lurched violently out of her seat, standing up and stepping away quickly. Canto's words were like knives in her ears. Ada made up some excuse to leave and wandered off to somewhere secluded, far from the prying eyes of her friends. If they were her friends. She wasn't completely sure who they were anymore –or who she was.
Sweat beaded on her forehead as she walked. Sen's work healing her soul had untangled a part of her psyche that had been oppressively locked away. Now memories that had once been locked away by imprisoning shadows flowed freely. Memories of the Spymaster's orders. Ko Rin's voice echoed in her ears.
"Take these to Raisu Province," The Spymaster ordered. "Place them throughout the mine…"
His voice faded from memory, replaced by the sounds of bursting fire, collapsing stone, the screams of miners trapped under the wreckage.
"Your Spymaster commands it."
Ada leaned against the wall, trembling slightly. Her fingers closed around the handle of her sword, steadying herself. She walked forward through the hazy noise of memory.
"It is better if you not contact Zaofu except in an emergency," Ko Rin said, a memory of a phone call from Gai Zhu. "Your Spymaster commands it."
"Tell me as much as you can about this combustion bender." Another phone call, another command from Ko Rin.
"Your Spymaster commands it."
Ada's eyes started to feel that all too familiar burn. The oppressive weight of a will that was not her own, forcing her to do things she did not choose to do.
"You should recommend me to the Avatar."
She could feel her tongue burning, her mouth moving against her will, the choking feeling of having words that weren't hers said in a voice that was.
"Your Spymaster commands it."
"Take these to Zu-Shin pass. The Tunnel must not be completed."
Explosions, a falling mountain. Complete and utter betrayal, an act of treachery she didn't even remember committing. So much lost, so many people hurt.
"Your Spymaster commands it."
"Leave the door unlocked at the banquet hall. One of your fellow agents will arrive shortly."
An assassin snuck in through a back way. A metal disc sent flying towards an unsuspecting Minister. Barely a trace of memory left behind, just enough to put a disquieting chill in her heart.
"Your Spymaster commands it."
Ada stepped outside, into the streets of Zaofu, her face drenched in sweat, her fist clenched tight around the hilt of her sword. Under her feet an endless network of darkened tunnels stretched outwards. Access to every building, every secret in Zaofu –and beyond. Massive towers, soaring skyscrapers packed with people and industry –more money, power, and influence than any one person could ever dream of controlling.
Zaofu echoed with the words, above and below. Ada looked at her home, across the shining towers above and the shadowed tunnels below, and those words were all she could hear.
Your Spymaster commands it.