A burning wall of fire lit the dark room. It's halls felt emptier than a black hole. There, generals all across from the fire nation sat infront of the Firelord himself. A map was placed infront of them, figures painted in crimson red - reassembling the fire that burns deep down - were placed right next to the map.
Silently they sat, their flaming eyes meeting like two flames next to each other, daring to combine their small sparks of heat that touched.
Looking down on them sat the Firelord, staring down on them as if they were his next prey. Accompanied by his son, a dalmatian going by the name of Marshall, his brother, a black mouth cur and white shepherd mix and retired general, and his daughter, a west highland white terrier and the most skilled fire nation warrior there ever was.
The Firelord lifted his paw, allowing the generals to move. Immediately, one of them shoved the crimson red soldiers and ships with a stick at every border of each nation. Some threw questionable looks at him, however he did not seem to care.
As long as the Firelord approved.
With hesitation, the general spoke.
"Firelord, I suggest we start off with the southern water tribe, if we cut them off from their sister tribe, then there's no stopping us" The general explained with muffled voice due to the stick in his mouth.
Ultimately, he knew how stubborn water benders are and how difficult to eliminate them. In a group, they are invisible. However, if you single one of them out, then they stand no chance.
If the tribes were separated, one or the other will remain weak and powerless.
The general waited for a response, an agreement.
And yet, the Firelord remained quiet.
Before he could suggest another strategy by moving the figures, another general stopped him with his stick. Their sticks collided.
They emitted a low growl from their muzzle. It was like two flames collided with each other in an Agni Kai. Whoever breaks eye contact first must submit defeat.
And none of them were ready to do that.
"I for one think we should plan an attack on the earth kingdom. They are by far the strongest obstacle in our plan" The other general argued.
The earth kingdom was incredibly strong military wise. With an unbreakable military and their impenetrable walls keeping them sake. If only there was a way to break them into dust.
Their flames might be useless, however their weapons weren't.
The other general wasn't happy with this. They both deemed each other's plans worthless, deserving to be thrown into the mud.
And then they snapped.
They growled, barked and snarled at each other. Other generals soon joined them in their debates.
The fire inside them clashed together, forming a tornado of fire.
Sticks clashed with one another, they tore the map to their side. Left, right, up and down. The paper map tensed, daring to rip into pieces by the sheer force of the generals.
With disappointment and boredom, the prince sighed. Earlier, his uncle convinced him to join this important meeting, for experience, he claimed. Well one things for sure for the young prince, he didn't look forward to this.
The old dog shook his head in disappointment. Out of all the meetings he has ever attended, this one was by far the most... Uncoordinated.
The only female amongst them, the princess only huffed. As far as she could tell, they gathered the most incompetent generals. Maybe she could convince her father to fire them from their undeserved ranks.
"Enough" The Firelord spoke coldly. With a single word, he snuffed out their inner flames.
They no longer had a will to argue.
Not that they were allowed to without getting burnt into a pile of flesh.
"It is pathetic to think that you are so incompetent to see the real problem, the avatar," The generals looked down onto their paws. None of them dared to speak, not to move.
With fire in his eyes, the Firelord glared at them. Even if it was only a trick of their mind, they all felt a burning sensation slowly but surely burning their skin under all of their armor and fur.
"We are able to overpower the water tribes, we can outsmart the earth kingdom, but we cannot defeat a fully realized avatar. And that is why we kill him before anything else" Silence, only broken by the hushes and crackles of the fire that spoke in different tongues. Nothing, but the cold, empty silence.
The Firelord grimaced at their silence. Pathetic.
With a single huff of his breath, a small spark of fire landed on the western air temple. Like a rabid monster devouring its prey, the flame engulfed the map. Claiming it as their own.
Soon, every general moved directly infront of the Firelord. Their eyes moved to the ground. He didn't deem them worthy to look at him.
The Firelord eyed them under a cold and unbreaking leer. His muzzle moved to a snarl, making the generals cower infornt of him. They knew what he was capable of. And they knew that he didn't hesitate with anything.
No obstacle can withstand the Firelord, as it is the doomed to be burned into ashes.
"Generals, you are here by tasked with taking down every air nomad there is. However, you do not attack until after the full moon, do I make myself clear?" The Firelord's voice froze their veins in the most painful way. A nod was the only thing they dared- he allowed them - to do.
A growl emitted from Firelord. The generals moved to their feet, hastily walking to the door that led them out of this cold, dark and empty room.
Once the door shut behind the group, the Firelord's eyes wandered to the people that sat next to him.
"Prince Marshall, I want you to follow the avatar while we attack the air nomads, incase he flees. He might turn out useful to us. Retired General Maverick, you will join him on this quest. Failure. Is. Not. Welcomed" Prince Marshall and Maverick nodded, accepting the task. They got on their paws to leave. Their footsteps along the crackling fire echoed through the halls.
Just as the princess was about to leave, the Firelord stopped her. "And for you, Sweetie, I for one have a special request" Sweetie turned around to face her father, their red eyes flaming like two fires just about to crash.
They shared the same flame, the same eyes, the same malice.
"Yes father?" She answered in a monotone voice to not disrespect her father.
He smirked devilishly.
"You will stay here and protect our nation, you are the most skilled warrior I have, I trust you with protecting our sacred nation" The Firelord fletched his teeth, licking them with his fire red tongue, a grin traveled up his face.
Sweetie replied with a nod and left the room.
The Firelord grinned, he can't wait to feel, smell and taste the blood of the unworthy. For him, they have as much worth has the dirt from the disgusting streets of Ba Sing Se.
Rows of ships from the fire nation lined up in the harbor. Fire soldiers, other crew members and generals marched up to their assigned ships. As Marshall and Iroh watch their own crew march up into their - much smaller - ship, footsteps appeared behind them.
They both turned around to be met with a smug grinning Doberman. Marshall turns his muzzle into a frown while Maverick just stares at the Doberman with a neutral expression.
He approached the two, only stopping once he was a meter apart from them.
And already, Marshall was not happy about his sudden appearance.
"Well well well, if it isn't my favorite prince and retired general. What brings you into the harbor?" The Doberman stood in front of them, his eyes glaring down on Marshall who tried to make himself bigger by puffing out his chest. It was a silent fight between them, trying to show off who was stronger and unmoving.
"If you haven't heard, the Firelord himself ordered us to capture the avatar. A mission he would have only entrusted with people who are capable of taking down the avatar" Marshall replied, his voice was as snappy and quick. The Doberman frowned, his white canines showing.
Both growled at each other, waiting for the other to back down.
The Doberman stepped forward, hovering right infront of the prince himself.
They showed their teeth, ready to jump.
However, the two were quickly pushed apart by the retired general. He looked left and right, making eye contact with the both of them. Soon he returned to his usual stance.
"While this conversation was pleasant to share with you, Commander Claw, I think it is best for the both of us to get going now. We don't want to be late for our departure, do we now?" Maverick explained, directly looking at Claw.
Claw's eyebrows furrowed, creating wrinkles between them, which would twitch once in a while.
However, Maverick remained unfaced and calm. Even if he was filled with rage, he didn't show it.
Commander Claw just scoffed and turned around. He walked away, but not without giving Marshall one last grin. That grin told a million words and thousands of sentences, but they all had one thing in common. They were taunting them.
The prince growled a little. However Maverick just pats his head. "Come now Prince Marshall, we better hurry or they will set sail without us" Maverick turns to the ship. Quickly, Prince Marshall marched ahead of his uncle.
With one last look behind him, he looked his uncle right in the eyes.
"I had it under control uncle, you don't need to take care of me anymore, I'm old enough to do it alone" Marshall says, he then turns back and gets on the ship. Maverick just smiles and shook his head before joining his nephew.
Even when his nephew reassured him, he knew that even after all this time, he still needed to take care of him.