Chapter 19.2- And so the Dragons Danced

XXXXXX- COLONEL SHINSUKE

“So the plan will remain simple. We launch a two pronged attack. The first will be smuggling Natsu here to make an attempt at assassinating the Old King. When that predictably fails, they will fight, and we will take advantage of the distraction to begin our attack on the city. We strike hard and fast to give the army as little time as possible to adapt to our approach or our tactics.” Sung spoke the plan they’d been concocting for months on end now as they stood around the war table for the planning council. 

“I still have some reservations” the boy on whom they intended to hinge. Most of the plan on, spoke up, but he was quickly shot down. 

“I said we’ll get you in. Trust me on that.” Sung replied. Shinsuke knew that this had been a matter of conflict for the both of them pretty much since the planning as a whole began. Sung assured them that he had the means to get the boy in for the mission and the boy wanted something more concrete than that. 

Shinsuke, on the sidelines, could see where they were both coming from. On one hand, he could understand Sung’s desire to maintain operational secuirity and discretion by keeping things on a need-to-know basis. On the other hand, if he was the one being sent in to distract one of the most powerful benders of all time, then he’d definitely want to know every single step of the plan. Scratch that, he wouldn’t want to know. If he were assigned with the task of distracting King Bumi the Mad, then he’d have himself sent home post-haste. He knew the boy’s grandfather had the resources for something like that, so it was clear that the acclaim he’d gotten from killing the mountain had gotten to his head. 

Yes, Shinsuke had seen the boy train. He knew that the boy could probably wipe the floor with him on any day of the week with two hands behind his back. But that wasn’t the important part. The Old King got that name for a reason. He survived the war from the very beginning. A hundred years of war, and the man remained spry with no permanent injuries. When the war had been at its most bloody, in the first two decades, Bumi had been on the front lines. Bumi had fought with the best of the best that the fire nation had had to offer back then, and killed them all.

He ascended to the throne of Omashu with a stairway of bones and bodies. Fighting someone like that, even now when they were for all accounts, old and senile, was a tall ask for anyone with an ounce of common sense. But he guessed that was why Sung had chosen his victim well. 

“Apart from that, the position of the army needs some clarification” Another said, drawing Shinsuke from his thoughts with a sharp jolt. 

“Yes. What I have in mind is a straightforward dual charge. Using the explosives from the Lab, we can have a good shot of breaking through the city’s walls in one fell swoop. We make our openings here and here” He pointed down at two ends of the wall. From the east and the west. He also noted that they were the ends furthest away from the palace where all the chaos was going to be. All things considered, it was a good plan. And he decided to say as much. 

“It’s a good plan.” He said. But what he didn’t say was that he fully expected it to fail. All this was predicated on a teenager managing to hold off the strongest earth bender in the last two centuries. The second that Bumi finished with Natsu and came for the rest of the army, then they’d basically be over and done with. He had expertise in using powerful earth bending to destabilise and shatter whole armies. He’d fought the fire nation at its strongest in terms of manpower. What they had now were a mere fraction of the numbers that had constituted the first assault on Omashu. And those numbers had been turned away with their tails between their legs by a pissed off old king. 

Perhaps if the Fire Lord himself, or even General Ozai were here to lend their greater firepower, then they’d have more of a chance, but as things presently stood, they’d be toast by the end of it. 

“In the absence of any further questions, that will all be all for tonight. Rest well, men. Rise with Agni tomorrow, and by the time He sets, Omashu will be ours. For Honour. For Glory. For the Fire Nation!” The ground shook as every one within the tent took up the old battlecry. The Major General might have been a quiet man, but he was a clever one who knew how to get the soldiers raring to go. 

Their camp had marched across the months, straight through the mountains, to where they now stood. They were close enough to the city that they could march the remaining distance in a few hours, but still far enough that the Omashu residents would not deem them enough of a threat for them to deal with.  Normally, the usual tactics would have involved luring the army to the field and crushing them there, but Sung had been well aware that things would have to change. They were going to risk a pitched battle in the streets simply because it was better than the alternatives. If Bumi ended up unleashed, he wouldn’t be able to just casually annihilate their entire army in one go. They’d also be bringing the civilians into danger so they’d ensure that the soldiers would have mixed priorities. They’d sacrifice a lot by letting them have the home field advantage of literally fighting in their home but Sung was certain that the psychological disadvantage of having the wolves in your house would be enough to win them the day. 

XXXXXX- NATSU

“It’s time” he heard a voice say from outside his tent and he wasted no time in getting to his feet and putting on the last of his outfit. He hadn’t been able to get much sleep in the first place. He felt just like he’d felt on the night before his olympic debut. Just like back then, this was life or death. 
He had no misapprehensions that Bumi was going to let him live if he got the better of him. This wasn’t a kids show. It was just the same way that he knew that if he got the chance, he’d put the old man down without hesitation. Avatar’s best friend be damned. If Bumi got caught slacking, he’d die. Natsu was aware that same applied to him. Bumi was one of the most dangerous benders in the world. Natsu was still an unknown. But this would be his chance to put his name on the map. He knew this victory would be huge for him. He knew he’d get a promotion if he survived this. Just the same way that he knew that Sung was also likely to get a promotion if this harebrained scheme manages to yield any results. 

But that was for the future. A future he was not sure would come. He left the tent and stared out at the night sky. He wondered what Zhufu could see now. Were they both looking at the same stars? Unlikely. He knew that he didn’t have to do this. Estranged or not, he was still his Grandfather’s heir. A letter or two would see him posted to a different section of the army in days. But he couldn’t deny the excitement. He hadn’t been joking when he compared this to his olympic debut. This smacked with a similar feeling of opportunity. 

“I hope you’re ready” Sung said as he saw him, peering down at his outfit with an assessing eye. He’d ditched the standard fire nation uniform in favour of a completely black but breathable suit. It was made of a cashmere-like material that assured light weight and some minimal protection from the elements. He’d decided that flexibility would be more important than armour for today’s mission. 

“Best I can be” he said in return. 

A/N; Work in progress