Chapter 18.1- And so the Dragons Danced

“Congratulations, Colonel Natsu. I knew you could do it. I never expected anything less” Sung said to be as I walked into his tent after our return and after action report. He said the words, but I could tell they were hollow. He’d expected much less. I was pretty sure that he’d expected me to completely fail and would have turned all of command’s attention to me and my failures instead of any possible investigation into him. It was a good plan, all things considered, and there was no way for him to lose as no matter what happened, there was no chance that he’d lose out. He’d engineered a win-win situation while playing with the Mountain and I like puppets in his hand. 

“Why wouldn’t you have? Your plan worked.” I said to him, trying to confirm my suspicions. 

“Yes. Yes it did.” He said. 

“How did you know the Mountain would go after Colonel Shinsuke?” I asked him point-blank. That was one part of this plan of his that still made no sense to me. An hour or so before we’d set out, a messenger had given me a scroll to pass on to Colonel Shinsuke once we arrived at General Han’s camp, but with the proviso that I was not allowed to open the letter. Now that what had unfolded had taken place, it was beginning to become obvious what exactly the letter had said. 

“It was too obvious. The Mountain’s attack patterns have shown a love for appearing where he’d be least expected. I also knew the he had some form of scouting system that kept him informed on what exactly the various units in the army were up to, and when it would be best to attack each place. He didn’t attack us until the night we onboarded an entirely new batch of recruits. It could have been a coincidence, but that also happens to be the night that patrols are least efficient because we tend to mix existing patrols with recruits to let them get a feel for the job and start with their feet on the ground. The only way he’d have known that was from watching us for weeks if not months. So, I assumed he did. I assumed he’d watch you from the day you left the main camp until the day you returned. So how could I use it to my advantage? I made sure you couldn’t be too subtle about your plans. I gave you clear orders on who to take, and who to leave behind, and then I made sure you’d start your search at the last place he attacked. He would never be foolish enough to confront those who’d been sent to hunt him down. The High Command had authorised several attempts to get at him, and he left each of them eating their own tails after months on the trail. Instead, wouldn’t he be more likely to attack those who’d been left behind? Weakened by the absence of you and your division?” He asked, ending the long monologue that had me gaping at him. It all sounded like gambling to me. 

“But didn’t you say the High Command thought it wasn’t worth it to send anyone after the Mountain?” I asked, looking at him with suspicion. 

“I lied.” He shrugged with the bright smile on his face still in place. 

“But how did you even know for sure that he’d attack? It still sounds like gambling to me” I argued, leaving the admission to be dealt with after I got to the bottom of this. 

“I won’t lie. If that was all that I had to go off of, then I’d have estimated that the chances of him taking the bait were 50-50. Not bad odds, all things considered, but I had the means to weigh them in my favour so I did so. Colonel Shinsuke just happens to have what I refer to as a very punchable face, and I put him right next to a water bender” he said with a smile on his face that got a bit brighter at the end. 

“What does that matter?” I asked, genuinely confused

“The Water bender bit? The Mountain had killed three water bending members of the healing corps before you put a stop to his existence. I had it on good authority that he had some form of beef against them. Maybe he views them as traitors. Maybe he just doesn’t like their faces. Either way, It was enough to raise the odds that he’d attack to about 75%. From there, the rest was history.” He said, looking mighty proud of himself. He had a look that any watcher of anime from my old life would identify as the ‘Shadow Possession: Complete’ look, the look genius anime characters would get when their plan worked without a hitch. I could see why he’d be proud though. 

“So we were all bait? Even Healer Amara?” I asked him.

“Healer Amara is a soldier in this army just like any other. We must all perform the roles needed of us. For the glory of the Fire Nation and to fulfil the dream of Fire Lord Sozin the Great” He said, looking at me. He was daring me to object. I couldn’t. To do so would echo too closely to treason for someone in my family. My father had already placed us in a precarious enough position with the Royal Family that Grandfather was only just beginning to rectify. 

“ I see. But now I must ask. Why did you lie?” 

“You’ll have to be more specific. I told you dozens of lies, Natsu. Each word I spoke to you was carefully tailored to get the optimal effects and reactions from you.” He said. 

“Let’s start with the biggest one” I said.

“Hmm. The lie that the mission was not approved then. As you’ve probably figured out by now, I wrote to High Command the day after you fought the Mountain to a standstill with the idea for the mission to send you to hunt him down. Their permission came with the very same letter that granted you your first promotion. I was also able to negotiate a further promotion for you as a reward for if you managed to succeed, which was approved on the day before you set out. For this lie, the reasoning was simple. I needed to know if I could trust you. It was a test, and one that I’m happy to say you passed with flying colours. You didn’t blab about the mission to anyone who wasn’t supposed to know, and perhaps most importantly, you didn’t try to snitch me to High Command. It bodes well for our future relationship, don’t you think so, Colonel Natsu?” He asked, standing up and staring up at me while somehow making me feel like I was the one being stared down. 

There was another reason he wasn’t saying. It was a power play. He wanted me to know that I’d never be able to outsmart him because he’d always be the one who held the cards. I just nodded at him before taking the hand that he stretched out in mine and pumping it.

He won this exchange. He was the one in power now, but sooner or later, I’d surpass him. He’d be nothing more than a stepping stone on my way to the top. 

“Good. Now we can plan our very next assignment. The Conquest of Omashu.” He said grandly with a wide, hungry smile on his face. 

“Welcome to Operation Firestorm, Colonel Natsu” He said, and then as if responding to some signal, Amara, Shinsuke, Tal, and half a dozen other officers walked in. 

A/N; I’m pretty chill with this.