In The Earth Palace in Ba Sing Se, its grand conference, once a place where the Earth King and his top officers and generals planned their next moves with the help of the Avatar, it now served as the council room of the Fire Nation's conquerors.
Tai Lung sat along with Azula, their eyes fixed on the weary man before him. Admiral Shulian Lung looked nothing like the strong proud admiral they knew. Weeks of captivity had left him gaunt, his clothes disheveled, his beard uneven, and a dull hollowness clinging to his eyes. But as he sat listening to his son recount all that had happened since his imprisonment, the removal of Fire Lord Ozai, the rise of Azula, and the fall of Ba Sing Se in a single day, his shoulders straightened. A proud smile crept across his tired features.
His son had come for him. His son had triumphed over the Earth Kingdom just for him.
Azula lounged back in her chair with her usual grace, her fingers tapping lazily on the armrest. "You'll be pleased to know, Admiral," she said smoothly, "that the Earth King and his top generals are now in prison. They'll taste the same hospitality you endured." Her smile sharpened as her amber eyes flicked toward Tai Lung. "I should add, Uncle Iroh was here in Ba Sing Se as well. He may have known about our enemies' plans and your imprisonment."
Admiral Lung's proud smile faltered into a frown. "Where is he now?" he asked, his voice low.
Tai Lung answered "Under arrest. But I didn't send him to rot like the others. He's confined to one of the palace rooms. I thought you'd want to speak with him yourself, considering your past friendship."
The Admiral's brows knitted together, then relaxed into a thoughtful nod. "Good. Very good." His eyes narrowed. "And Prince Zuko? Was he with him?"
"Yes," Azula said sharply, her tone curling with contempt. "My dear brother never left Uncle's side, as one might expect. He's with Mai at the moment. She insisted on talking to him." Azula's lips thinned. "Personally, I consider both of them traitors who should be treated as such. But your son," her gaze flicked to Tai Lung with a trace of annoyance, "wouldn't allow it."
Admiral Lung studied his son for a moment, then turned back to Azula. "Allow me to speak with General Iroh, Fire Lord."
Azula waved her hand dismissively "Do whatever you want." Rising gracefully to her feet, she smirked at Tai Lung. "I'll see to the army and tighten our hold on the city. If I need your help, I'll let you know."
Tai Lung gave a curt nod, watching her stride out, before turning back to his father. For a long moment, the room was quiet.
"Where is your fiancée?" Admiral Lung asked at last. "You told me she came with you."
"She's with Mai," Tai Lung answered. "She was worried about her."
The Admiral's expression softened. He walked around the table, his roughened hand landing on Tai Lung's shoulder. "I am proud of you, my son."
Tai Lung's mouth curved into a smile. "Glad you're safe, Father."
"Come," Admiral Lung said after a moment "Let us meet with General Iroh."
And together, they left the conference chamber.
——————
Iroh sat on the edge of the bed, in one of the Earth Palace chambers . It was a great room; spacious, hung with green banners trimmed in gold, the kind of place meant for important guests. Yet the Dragon of the West felt no peace here. His mind, heavy with grief, wandered restlessly back over the chaos of recent days.
The jade masters weighed most heavily on him. He had seen much in his life, wars and conquests, cruelties and betrayals, all kinds of horrors brought by war, but never had he imagined something so foul. To take a person, to strip them of their will, their thought, their very self, and turn them into a puppet… it was an evil that chilled him to the marrow. The image of their lifeless, glassy eyes haunted him, a horror far beyond inflicting harms on the body.
His heart ached as he thought of his companions in the White Lotus. Gone, all gone. Men who understood him, men who had the well of the world in their hearts, men he had trusted, wiped away like dust in the wind. Even his brother, for all his flaws, had been lost. Iroh's mind drifted further back, to the first time he had seen Tai Lung. A young boy then, training in fierce silence, his movements already sharp and honed beyond his years. A prodigy, Iroh had thought at once, the sort that appeared perhaps once in a thousand years. And the years that followed had proven it true. Tai Lung's rise was nothing less than meteoric, his power beyond what the Fire Nation had ever known. In all the long, blazing history of firebenders, none shone brighter.
And yet… brilliance often casts long shadows. After the assassination attempt all those years ago, Iroh had begun to fear him. The violence, the sheer destructive potential, had seemed too great. Tai Lung could be a danger to the balance of the world itself. But then came the invasion of the North Pole, when Tai Lung had acted with restraint, with care. He had healed the Moon spirit, fought not to ravage but to defend his retreating people. When Iroh listened to Tai Lung's thoughts afterward, he felt comforted.
A man who acted with such thoughtfulness could not be evil. Or so Iroh had told himself. Dangerous? Terrible when angered? brutal when pushed too far? All yes but not evil or mindlessly destructive. That was why, when Shulian Lung had been taken captive, Iroh knew his old friend's son would come. And he had expected fury, brutality, vengeance. He had not expected this.
Not the jade masters. Not this vile invention.
If he had known, if he had seen even a glimpse of the dark path Tai Lung would walk, Iroh might have raised his hand years ago. Might have tried to stop him before the seeds of this darkness had taken root. But the chance was gone. It's too late now. Tai Lung was unstoppable at this point.
The soft creak of the door broke his thoughts. Iroh looked up, half-expecting a guard, but froze at the sight of the two men entering. Admiral Shulian Lung, thinner than he remembered, his proud face marked by captivity, stood tall beside his son, who walked quietly by his side.
Iroh rose at once, his lips curling into a guilty smile. "I am glad you are safe, Shulian."
The Admiral's eyes narrowed. "I heard you've been in the Earth Kingdom all this time. I have one question, old friend. Did you know? Did you know of their plan to attack our home… and of my imprisonment?"
"I was hiding with my nephew here in Ba Sing Se," Iroh answered. "Disguised as refugees. I knew nothing of the attack until the army had already returned."
Shulian's gaze bore into him silently.
"As for your imprisonment," Iroh continued, "I only heard of it once Tai Lung had begun his march on this city."
"And after hearing of it," the Admiral pressed, his voice lower, colder, "you never thought of visiting?"
Iroh sighed, heavy as an old man's heart. "I was only the Avatar's firebending teacher. They would not allow me to see you. They would not even tell me where you were kept. I tried to persuade them to release you, I truly did, but they would not listen."
He fell silent for a moment, then added softly, "I swear this is the truth."
For a long breath, the Admiral studied him. Then, at last, his face eased into a small smile. "For a moment, I was worried you had betrayed our nation… and forgotten we were friends."
Relief warmed Iroh's tired face as he returned the smile. "I did betray our nation," he said simply. "But never forget my friends."
From behind, Tai Lung's voice cut in "I don't know why I expected something more… violent between you two, maybe some resentment. But I suppose this is good enough."
Iroh's gaze fixed on him "You have won the war, Tai Lung. You have freed your father. Please, let the dead rest now."
One of Tai Lung's brows arched. "Are you speaking of the jade soldiers?"
Iroh nodded, his expression grave. "You have used them enough. Do not dishonor them further."
A slow, amused smile curled Tai Lung's lips. His golden eyes glinted "Who told you they are dead?"
The Admiral became confused and asked, "What are you two talking about?"
Tai Lung answered, "A while ago, I went to the Spirit World, and after a few things happened there, I learned from a greedy yak how to turn masters into Jade Soldiers. The target's body becomes encased in jade, and they become an extension of my will. I can control them, use them to fight, and they retain all their strength and skills."
The Admiral's face became full of shock. "How could something like that exist? And you used that in this invasion?"
Tai Lung with an amused tone. "Yes. I turned a group of masters from all nations into Jade Soldiers and made them attack the city. They alone almost broke the defenders' will. And, well… this technique comes from a different world, literally."
Shullian kept staring at his son as if he had just heard the most absurd thing in the world.
"I can show you later," Tai Lung added with a smile.
Iroh asked what mattered most to him. "Are they truly still alive?"
Tai Lung nodded. "They're just in a deep slumber. I'll release them when I'm done."
Iroh let out a quiet breath of relief but pressed further. "Done with what exactly?"
Tai Lung smiled faintly. "I've finally decided what I want to do with my life. And for it to work, I need the world to be in peace and balance."
The answer left Iroh with more questions.