Chapter 14- And so the Dragons Danced (Complete)

“And that’s the third town” Toji said to me as we marched through the village, doing our best to keep attentive as we carried out the orders of supervising the men as we made sure the village was truly undefended. The village’s spokesperson had been waiting for us at the border and had levelled an unconditional surrender to our mercies, but like with the two other villages we’d ‘taken’ in the last three weeks, this one was also suspicious. 
First of all, all the men aged 13 to 70 were gone. Just gone. In the first village, the story we’d been fed was that the Earth Kingdom Army had given up on defending the smaller villages and had retreated to the cities to make a stand. Not before taking all the men of an age to be in army, of course. Not just the men too. The spokesperson had not mentioned it of his own volition but somehow Sung had been able to sus out that all of the earthbenders were also gone. Not just some of them. Every single man, woman, or child able to move so much as a grain of sand had been taken. And this fact had the Major General on edge. Our orders were to be the tip of the spear, taking the land that the fire nation had once held and leaving it to those who marched behind us to assume possession and begin integration with the fire nation. These were to be the new colonies after all. 

But because of what our individual jobs were, we were the ones expected to face true, harsh combat. We were supposed to absorb the losses against the Earth Kingdom here, and push them back. Them retreating on their own was, on the face of it, a good thing. And I’d been happy enough about it until the Major General had pointed something out. 

“What happens if they haven’t truly retreated and are instead taking the long way around to strike at General Han’s division?” He asked me when I made my point to him and I was shocked into silence. I’d never even considered that. “All warfare is deception” he’d said immediately after he saw that I got the point he was making. I’d nodded, thinking that was it until he’d suddenly begun requesting my presence more often. As an officer, I was given the right to attend all strategy meetings, but even beyond that he had me present at briefings that would probably have been for his ears only. Tal said I was being groomed for leadership, and I couldn’t understand his enthusiasm about the prospect. Why would he be happy about his underclassman being promoted before him?

Besides, even if I was being promoted, surely it would be to the rank of Major. I wouldn’t have to deal with the kind of shit Sung did for quite a while. Hopefully, not too long though. 

“Indeed. With every one we take it gets more and more eerie” I said to him as we passed by a woman and her child that glared at us with such hatred that I swore half of me was expecting them to get up and actually attack us. The hatred in the boy’s eyes. That was the kind of shit that one couldn’t read about in a book or even describe in words. He stared at us like we were physical representations of all that was wrong with the world. 

“The looks too” Toji said, unknowingly voicing my very thoughts on the matter. 

“They look like they’d rip out our throats with their teeth and drink all our blood before eating us raw if they got the chance” He observed. 

“That’s a strangely specific imagery. Slightly disturbing, even for you.”

“You’ve not forgotten the rumours, have you? Earth Kingdomers eat pretty boys like you for breakfast, after all’ He said, drawing a chuckle from me that was only mostly forced. Toji was an expert at lightening the mood whenever he felt like. 

“But jokes aside, they make me feel dirty” He said, looking at me. I sobered up instantly. There was something in his tone that told me he was being real with me now. 

“I mean, I know we’re doing the right thing. These people are suffering. Most of them are malnourished, and wallowing in poverty. It would be selfish for us to just sit back in the fire nation and let them suffer. We had to help. Sozin had to spread our prosperity. But when they look at me like that, I find it hard to see the justification. I mean we’re doing it for their own good but…”

“But nothing” I interrupted, stopping my walk and turning to face him. He mirrored my movements, looking down on me. He wasn’t quite as tall as a freak of nature like The Mountain, but Toji still dwarfed nearly every man in the camp. 

“We do this for them. They don’t know any better right now, but look at the Island colonies. Look at how much prosperity they have thanks to the Fire Nation. We are doing the right thing, Toji. If they hate us for it, then so be it. They won’t hate us forever” I assured him. Not just him, if I was being honest. 

“Besides, can’t let some dirty looks from unwashed savages get under your skin” I said, trying my own hand at lightening the mood. 

Toji cracked a hesitant smile but I could see that my attempt wasn’t even as effective for him as his had been for me. Sometimes I hated my lack of true social skills. 

“Let’s just finish up and head to camp” I finally said. We weren’t going to take residence in the village. Doing that was just courting quick deaths. If the populace decided to try something stupid like slitting our throats while we slept, that could get messy fast. Sung was smart enough to just sidestep the entire issue. 

“Sureeee. I can’t wait to get back to Pinhead” Toji said, making me almost miss a step as we both broke into laughter at the nickname for his immediate Commanding Officer.

XXXXX

At the end of the day, we had all the things we needed in place to camp for the night and move on the day after. All we had to do was send a signal to General Han that his people were free to move forwards. At least, that’s what I’d thought until I was woken up by a messenger and essentially dragged to Sung’s tent in the middle of the night. 

I was tired out of my mind, but I still had the presence of mind to note that there were only three people in the tent when I entered, a far cry from the normal hustle and bustle that marked the command tent. I guess that was how things went at night. 

One of the people was a haggard looking man. I’d have mistaken him for a beggar or something of the sort if not for the fire nation insignia I could spot beneath the dirt and the grime that covered him from head to toe. 

“Welcome, Captain Natsu. I hope we aren’t disturbing your night” Sung said, with a smile on his face that failed to reach his eyes. 

“I serve at your pleasure, Major General” I said, snapping up a salute and standing at attention. He nodded at me. 

“This man here is an infantryman under the command of General Han. Tell the Captain what you just told me” Sung transitioned from speaking to me to addressing the obvious messenger in much the same way he always shifted gears when he spoke. 

“General Han commanded us to do as we’d always been doing. Go forward, settle the town and provide them with the supplies and all that other stuff. Just make sure they’re not angry or anything, Sir. But today was different. When we moved into the town, I knew something was wrong. My senses told me but I didn’t listen. They came from every direction, Sir. There were at least five hundred of them, Sir. Earth Kingdom soldiers. The Mountain led them. They swarmed in and overcame us.” The man said.

“Overcame you?” I pressed, surely he couldn’t mean what I was thinking. 

“They attacked from every corner, Sir. They hemmed us in and smashed us against the town with giant boulders, Sir. Lieutenant Maki was able to destroy a few of them with her ability but they still had us in a bind and it was all we could do to survive with the numbers we did. We had to abandon most of the army and commit to a charge on one end of the encirclement to escape.”  Maki? Was she okay?

“And what happened to Maki?” I asked, only realising that I’d slipped up when Sung rose an eyebrow. 

“She was fine, Sir” The infantryman responded. 

“And your numbers, how many of you survived?” I asked the question that I probably should have asked first before enquiring as yo the safety of my friend. That kind of thing wasn’t looked upon well in the army, and I could already foresee a mark being placed on Sung’ mental assessment of me. The man never missed a thing. 

“Two hundred and thirteen still alive, Sir. The numbers of the injured and those non-fit for combat weren’t taken before General Han sent me here to report” he said, and I nodded while my mind spun with thoughts. Two hundred remained. Han’s division had been about twice our number so they numbered at about one thousand. That was a good eight hundred men lost in one attack. I could understand why I’d been woken up now. Heads would roll for this. Han’s definitely. No Firelord would tolerate that level of incompetence and Ozai was proving to not be the most tolerable of rulers in the first place. His coronation had been marked with scandal and met grudgingly by a good portion of the nobility, and he was ruling with an iron fist to make sure that dissent was never even considered. A failure like this? It was just the last thing he might have been looking for. Many still viewed Iroh as the rightful Fire Lord, after all. 

“Get the man a bath, change of clothes, and some food in his belly,” Sung spoke, ordering the only other soldier in the room and both men left with haste. We were alone now. 

“I don’t need to explain just what kind of problem this is, do I?” Sung said, giving me a meaningful stare. 

“General Han is done for. He might have survived the attack, but he definitely won’t survive the Fire Lord if he even makes it back to the Homeland. Ritual suicide seems to be the only thing left for him. One last chance to regain his honour or at least prevent his actions from tainting the rest of his family.” I said, and the man sitting across from me nodded before letting out a deep sigh. 

“And when he kills himself, what happens?” He asked, giving me another significant look. He was trying to tell me something, or at least help me along to figuring something out. 

“The Fire Lord will still need someone to punish” I finally realised. This kind of thing couldn’t end with a suicide note and just have that be all of it. The entire fire nation offensive in the Earth Kingdom numbered about 5,000 soldiers. Han had just lost close to 20% of that in one fell swoop. Someone had to be made into a scapegoat after Han was gone, because there was no way he was making it back to the Homeland. Only a fool would be bold enough to subject themself to the Fire Lord’s mercy after that. 

“Good. Now think as to who that might be. It must be someone high ranked. Hundreds of citizens in the fire nation have lost sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, and even fathers and mothers. Anyone below the rank of Colonel would simply not ben worth it. It also has to be someone believable. Someone at the other end of the Kingdom would not be appropriate. Someone high ranked, in a position to have affected events, and who can reasonably be blamed for the loss. Now, think of who that might be.” I didn’t need to do much thinking to figure it out. He’d practically given me the answer already. 

“You” I said and he nodded while bursting into mock applause. 

“Got it in one. You’re looking at the next good old scape goat. If I’m lucky, I’d just lose any head after they take me there, but I have the very strange feeling that our Fire Lord will not be in the mood for a light sentence.” He said. 

“Exile or excommunication for your entire line” I said, having already figured out the harshest punishment in the Fire Lord’s arsenal. 

“Or killing all of us wholesale if the nation is hungry for enough blood” He said, reaching to his side and pouring some wine into his goblet before tossing it down his gullet in one go.

“You want me to help somehow” I deduced. That was the only reason for it. He’d made the messenger give me the report, and then emptied out the tent for us to talk with each other. There had to be something he wanted from me. Some way I could help with his situation. If not, he’d never have bothered calling me here. 

“Yes. Yes, I do. You’re a smart one, aren’t you?” He said to me with a nod of his head. 

“Of course you are. Top of your class, just like I was. If I had any sense in my head, I’d be tearing my belly open with that blade over there” He said, pointing at the ceremonial knife that had been unsheathed on his desk. It looked to me that he was still considering it. 

“But no. I’m a gambling man at my core, and I’ll gamble everything on you. The Fire Lord needs either someone to punish or someone to reward.” He said, confusing me.

“What?” I vocalised my first thought. 

“The people will be angry when the news gets broken to them, but if the news comes with the notice that the Earth Kingdom army that attempted to attack us has been slaughtered to the man, then there’s a very real chance that they’ll have their fill of the blood and won’t be looking for any good loyal fire nation blood to join the river.” He said. 

“So your plan is to hunt down the mountain and his war band? Kill them all?” I asked 

“No” He said. 

“My plan is for you to hunt down the Mountain and his war band. Make sure not a single one of them lives to see the glory of another sun. I can’t do it myself, and neither can I commit any significant portion of the army. I haven’t been ordered to, an unlike a full General, I am still beholden to follow the orders from high command to the letter, and moving astray would add Gross Insubordination to my undoubtedly long list of crimes” He said. 

“But how doesn’t this disobey the orders from High Command?” I asked, curious. 

“I am still a Major General. I have freedom to allocate my resources as I please, and hunting down the scourge of the fire nation offensive would be a worthy goal” I gave him a doubtful look at that. Yes, he was my superior officer, but I had strong bullshit senses and this was stinking to the high heavens.

“You’re lying to me” I accused point blank. I had nothing to lose here. Or almost nothing, rather. If he gave me the order, I couldn’t say no. But I, at least, had to know why. 

“Yes I am. I don’t have the authority to send you out there looking for him. The Supreme Commander likes to keep a tight reign on everyone except the Generals so I can’t. What I can send you to do is offer some support to General Han’s people. I’ll send you with medicine and healers to support them, and on your way back you will divert from the route with a hundred men and hunt down the Mountain. You will bring me his head, or you will die trying” 

I looked at him, perhaps seeing the Major General for the first time. These were orders he just gave me orders that were against the position of the High Command. But I still couldn’t disobey them. He was my Commanding Officer and disobedience here was treason. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. It was obvious to me that if I obeyed and failed, he’d disavow me with a smile on his face, claiming to know nothing about it. That was why there were no witnesses here. If I succeeded, he’d take all the credit. 

“I could say no” I threatened, but even I could hear the lack of conviction in my voice. 

“You really couldn’t. I’d court martial you immediately.” He said. “Even if the Supreme Commander is in support of your actions, you’d still be punished for them to set an example” 

“But you’d most certainly be dead” I said to him. 

“I would. And you would be Court Martialled. We’d both be in one hell of a bind.” He said. The tent was silent. 

“What’s in it for me, if I say yes?” I asked. 

He smiled, smug. He had me and he knew it. 

“Here are your commission orders. For your bravery against the Mountain, and your actions in the taking of the three towns of Jan, Ken and Po, you have been promoted and granted the rank of Major of the Fire Nation Army.” He said, handing the documents over to me by standing up and walking around the table. 

I narrowed my eyes at him. I hadn’t read the documents but looking at them showed that the date they were signed was a few weeks ago, so he’d just been holding on to it for that long. 

“Surely you don’t mean to offer me a promotion that’s already been granted.” I asked, sceptically. 

“Succeed, and you will be Colonel Natsu. I promise you that.” He said. 

A/N; And that’s the chapter, kids.  Not spell checked or edited just yet so please be forgiving.