Chapter 39.5- And so the Dragons Danced

“Ozai was…is my brother. I love him just like any brother would love their own, but that creature on the throne. The one who commands the commission of so many atrocities. That is not my brother. That is who you must end. You must put an end to the Fire Lord so a new era can be born in the Fire Nation. That is where Zuko will come in. He and you will teach the Fire nation to become more than we have been for the last century, the two of you working together will change the fate of the Fire nation, but for that to happen, we must do away with the old warmongering era and those who perpetuate it” He said, taking a deep breath and a sip of his tea.

“But does he know about all this?”

“Zuko knows all that he must. Rest assured that when the time comes, he will play his part. All that remains is that you play yours.”

“And what is our part to be?” Bato asked, stepping closer to the General, taking a position between the old fire bender and Aang.

“During the Eclipse, you must assemble a team of whatever size and invade the capital nation. That will be the distraction. While you do that, the Avatar and his closest allies will attack the FireLord at the point where he will retreat to during the Eclipse.”

“So he will not be in the Palace?”

“No, he will not. This is not the first eclipse in Fire Nation history, and we are not the first to think to take advantage of it. Because of that, there is a general procedure that lays out the points to which various key members of the Nation’s governance, including the Fire Lord, are to retreat to prevent the country falling into disorder.” He explained, taking another sip of the tea. She hummed and mirrored his actions, noting that the tea tasted surprisingly good.

“You give us the information, and I will see to it that it happens, but what about your plan for General Natsu and the Earth Kingdom?”

“The independence of the Earth Kingdom can only be achieved by putting an end to the Fire Nation occupation of Ba Sing Se…liberating the conquered city, so to speak. The city is under the command of Princess Azula, but my sources tell me that it is General Natsu who gives the commands.” The General spoke.

“Part of why I am here is to seek Jeong-Jeong’s support. Azula is a dangerous bender, and Natsu is much of the same. The best of our non-firebenders shall be occupied in the attack on the Capital so my plan is for the two of us to confront them immediately after the eclipse ends. At that point, most of their forces would be disoriented from the eclipse’s pass and we should have an easy enough time isolating them.”

“But to what end? We’re going to be taking out the Fire Lord so what do you need to bother them for. Won’t the war end once Ozai falls?” Jeong-Jeong laughed at Aang’s question while Iroh took another sip of his tea as he prepared to respond.