Chapter 40.6- And so the Dragons Danced

“General Natsu, then. I assure you we just came to talk. Why else would the two of us, Firebenders one and all, come at this auspicious moment” He said.

“And what stops me from having my companions kill you where you stand?”

“Me.” Jeong-Jeong said.

“I have no idea what you might think, but I am not so attached to you, my former teacher, that I would ignore the chance to do my duty to my Nation” I said with a scoff.

“Not that, of course. But last I checked, you’ve never beaten me in a spar before. Will you truly have others do the act for you when you could wait a few minutes and get the chance to collect my head yourself, with your own two hands?” He argued, and I knew then that they had come prepared for me. I had a strong feeling that I was stronger than Iroh and Jeong-Jeong put together, but how would I ever test that if I missed this opportunity that stood right in front of me.

Toji turned his head to look at me, and I could already see the rage building in his eyes as he thought about the order I was about to give.

“Toji, Toph. Take them down” I ordered even as everything within me rebelled at the thought. Jeong-Jeong looked too surprised to move in time, but the old general was wise and wiley. He grabbed a hold of the other man’s arm and jumped backwards, smashing through the door behind them with a row.

“Well, I can admit that I didn’t see this one coming” He said, voice echoing behind him as he ran down the hallway. Toph stomped her foot on the ground, making a wall that blocked their continued path.

“What the-“ Toph began before being silenced as a geyser of some sort shot through the wall and it gave space for two men, one dressed in the classic water style parka that made him stick out like a sore thumb while the other was dressed in the same casual trousers and tunic combination that had been popular among the upper class when I had left the Fire Nation for war. Pakku, and Piandao, I concluded. The water smashed through the boulders that Toph sent their way while Piandao jumped in front of his firebending friends and blocked the stab of Toji’s spear that had been about to make Iroh a very dead man.

“We could have decided this all over tea, you know?” Iroh said, even as Toph lifted a wall from the ground to block a series of icicles that threatened to turn the both of us into a pincushion.

“Decided what?” I yelled back, slightly curious.

“The terms of your surrender, of course.” He replied blithely and I could not help it, I burst into laughter at that.

“We’ve won, old man. The Fire Nation has won. The war is over. The only part of the world that isn’t under our flag is the Northern Water Tribe, and I wonder how long they will manage to hold out when one of their foremost masters loses his life miles away from home in Ba Sing Se of all places.’

“Just as shortsighted as your father, my boy. I am here. Where do you think the Avatar and my Nephew are right now? One way or another, Zuko will sit the throne by tomorrow, and the war will come to an end. The only thing that is in question is what happens to you after that” he said, and the fighting seemed to freeze as both my companions processed his words.

Iroh, sensing his opportunity, spoke here, “Surrender now. Return Ba Sing Se to its King, my Nephew will pardon you of your crimes and you can retire to a long life on your family’s lands” He said.