Aang didn't speak until late evening, early into their trip to the North pole.

"I know you think that I am gullible or naïve," he said, turning to Aaron and Ren, "but I see through you both and the person watching through your eyes."

Aaron shared a look with his father but said nothing. He was more curious about where the Avatar was going with his line of thought.

"You say you're the Air Nation, but you're not to me. Our people don't lie, and torture, and they certainly don't kill either. I'll work with you, help you save the world, win this war if you don't take any life you don't have to."

Aaron thought Aang's request was as naïve as he was short. Revenge and power were why they waged this war. He wouldn't dream of telling his Grandfather not to kill the Firelord or his children.

In fact, he understood the decision, even if he was not perfectly comfortable with it, given the Falcon's history, but he was willing to look the other way. The Phantoms were family, after all, but the Avatar was at the end of his rope. Fresh off an Avatar state, he was too unstable to barter with or coerce. Besides, they'd already seen what would happen if they tried manipulating Aang.

So, he left the decision to the people with real power.

"I'd agree if it were up to me. I don't like it any more than you do. But it's the reality of war. People die. I can't make promises. Only Grandfather can. And what do you intend to do about Mark?"

"Mark?" Aang asked, confused, before the realization finally struck. He turned to Mark with a conflicted look, which Mark waved away.

"I'll be just fine. After failing my first mission, I unlocked a new system function. Apparently, I can choose my own missions now."

Aaron's eyes grew wide.

"I know, right? Talk about timing. Anyways, the rules are still the same. I still lose a level if I fail a mission."

"It's a welcome change, but how do you intend to catch up to Samir without killing?" Aaron asked.

"Oh that. It won't be as big of a problem as you think. I still get experience when I win fights, even when I don't kill them, but I got less SP."

"How much less?"

"A third."

Sokka whistle,d and Aaron rubbed his forehead.

"It's not that bad," Aang quickly said. "We can spar with and throw fights so that he keeps improving. Or we can have him challenging the best warriors at every town we stop at."

Aaron's first instinct was to argue otherwise, but he reminded himself that the Avatar was still so fragile. He so desperately wanted to change the world without losing his soul.

'How unbelievably naïve,' he thought, but immediately recognized his hypocrisy. Wasn't he behaving like Aang when he learned about his Grandfather's past?

Baulking at the source of his new power when it'd ensured he walked through encounters unscathed.

But he supposed there was a difference between wiping out an entire race and killing soldiers you were in open war with.

Or was there?

"We will be sparring a lot then," Aaron conceded when he finally spoke.

Mark cracked a smile. "I'm looking forward to it. I'm already counting down the days until I beat you."

Aaron snorted. "Keeping dreaming," then turned back to Aang. "I'll bring it up to Grandfather, but I'm guessing he'll concede to your demand, but only to a point. Remember what I said before we stormed the camp? This is war, people die, and we must defend ourselves. If you really want this, I need to know you won't fly into the Avatar state the moment somebody dies."

Aang's smile waned. "I will…try."

Aaron nodded. It was a good enough assurance considering the circumstances. "So will I."

The meeting with Grandfather went a lot different than Aaron expected. He actually agreed to Aang's demands, but he made several of his own.

The Falcon offered a conditional promise of non-aggression unless it was absolutely necessary. That meant no killing enemies they could otherwise set loose and switching the Ghosts' poisons for paralytics. Harlan, who was in attendance, made a joke that he'd have to stock up on more rope since he'd be hog-tying every man he fought from now on.

In return, however, Grandfather wanted Aang's unconditional support. That meant submitting to the Air Nation, studying the techniques

Grandfather requested, sitting in on war meetings that decided the world's fate and acting on the orders given.

He would be agreeing to become Grandfather's pawn, and much to Aaron's joy and disappointment, he agreed.

"If that's what it takes, then yes, I'll do it," Aang said with as much conviction as he'd ever seen from him. Aaron had things to say but gave no voice to any of them. Grandfather was watching again, and it was better they than the fire Nation win the war.

The lesser of two evils.

After the conversation, Ren approached Aaron.

"A conscience and pride are a good thing in a Phantom, Son. It keeps you level-headed, but it also can be your undoing."

"I had it under control. If the Avatar hadn't snuck in…"

"You kept things from me because of our fight and your guilt. You should've known better."

Aaron conceded. "I did know better."

"And that's why this punishment is more than fair. You will perform your duty from now on unflinchingly. No intentional lapse in judgement, no back talk, and no letting your guilt get the better of you. It is the Master's place to concern ourselves with the greater issues of the Air Nation, and it's your duty to obey and execute."

"Then what do I do about the issues that don't matter to the Air Nation?" Aaron asked, frustrated. "I know you want me to be a perfect Son and soldier, but I cannot very well ignore my other responsibilities. You thought me better."

Ren brow twitched in annoyance. "Name your concerns?"

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

Aaron yearned to talk about what he'd learned about Dopi and Grandfather's motivations but nudged in Mark's direction instead. "You know what they are. You know he will betray us once he has no need for us. How long before he gains an ability like the other Traveler?"

"Your Grandfather is hesitant to kill them because of the wrath of the deities that control them, but there are countless ways of dealing with them that don't require too much violence. If the need ever arises, I will be here to subdue him. However, if it does not, he needs to be able to keep up with the other Traveler. He needs to hunt, and the Avatar must never find out."

---

Aaron found Mark in a clearing some ways from the camp at a small campfire he'd started, practising knife throwing with an unbalanced dagger he had gotten from King's armoury in Omashu.

He was terrible at it and missed more than he hit the tree opposite the campfire, but he had that look of determination on his face that Aaron had grown to admire and hate.

"You know, there are more efficient use of your time than practising knife throwing with an unbalanced knife."

Mark turned around, smiling.

"I didn't feel you approach. Either you're just that good, or my seismic sense needs more practice."

"So, you're not completely wasting your time," Aaron commented. "Learning to juggle multiple techniques then?"

"It's mandatory if I have any hope of fighting Samir and all the other monsters that come after him," Mark said, and Aaron gave him a curious look. Mark explained as he strolled to the tree to dig up his knife.

"You don't get it yet, but I'm fucked. Samir is the first guy I'm going up against, and I'm already hopelessly outmatched, and it's only going to get worse from here. I thought if I went fast enough, I'd catch up, but after Aang put his feet down about not killing, I figured maybe I'm not thinking outside the box," he said. "I've got this system that lets me learn anything faster, and the only thing I've done with it is training Earth bending techniques and weapons training," he scoffed.

"I've got to be the dumbest reincarnator in history," he shook his head. "I know Samir didn't get his broken Hypnosis skill from a simple class. Maybe the answer I am looking for is an unconventional skill. I just learned knife throwing, and it's already at lv 2 with an unbalanced knife. What other unconventional but overpowered skill could I learn if I put my mind to it?"

Aaron carefully considered what he said, his mind trembling at the possibilities.

"And you say you might be able to learn any skill at all?"

"I should be…"

"What about teaching?" Aaron said, and Mark broke into a wide grin.

"I like where your head is at. If I learned to Multitask, I could teach it to everyone in the group, hell I could teach my baton skill to Sokka, and if it works the way I think it does, it's bound to become almost supernatural on a higher level. It could explain how Samir is so powerful… He just focused on learning one skill until it hit the threshold…."

Aaron's mind went on overdrive. "This means that you could potentially teach any ability, however mundane, to anybody at a supernatural level or something comparable. Something as simple as parrying, footwork, running, and acrobatics. Maybe you could even learn to resist hypnosis."

Mark cackled, "Oh, you have no idea what you've just done. We might've just broken the damn game. We need to get experimenting right away."

Aaron nodded, rubbing his chin. "We have much to figure out still. While it's true that you absorb things like a sponge, I'm not sure it'll be that simple. You know how to sneak, shoot a crossbow and grapple, but you don't have skills for any of those."

"Maybe it has to do with intention?" he hazarded a guess. "I really wanted the skills I have, and I got them with enough dedication and time."

"But is there a limit to how many skills you can learn?" Aaron asked.

"I figure there might be," he muttered, bringing up his status screen, which was completely visible to Aaron now. The numbers and characters were inverted, but he could read them. Mark wasn't lying about his level, and looking a few lines down past the numbers that quantified his strength, Aaron could read through his list of skills. It was everything he expected and more. He was a bit startled when he read that some of the skills gave him more Chi and strength.

"It says nothing about a limit, but if I was an enigmatic god, I'd code hard limit into such a potentially broken loophole."

"I think we should focus on the most crucial skills for our experiments then," Aaron said. "Why don't you try to teach me something?"

Mark laughed, a bit embarrassed. "What could I possibly teach you?"

"Something from your old world."

Mark rubbed his chin, then snapped his fingers. "How about Chess."

Aaron gave him a curious look.

"It's a board game. I can use the ground as a board, some wood chips as pieces and we can go from there."

Aaron shrugged. He supposed it was as good a skill as any.

And so began the most entertaining night Aaron had ever had since he'd met Mark. He broke off a branch and chopped them into dozens of tiny pieces, marking them with symbols representing different roles on a checkered ground. He went into obsessive detail about the rules of the game, extolling the limitation and beauty of each piece. And Aaron, for his part, nodded along, paying close attention and asking questions when necessary, spurred on by curiosity alone.

It was morning before they stopped playing, and Aaron had begun to understand some of the finer points of the game, like the strange movement and basic strategy, but in time, he was sure he'd not be losing badly to Mark, who'd burst out laughing more than once when he won a game.

As Mark stretched out and the group rose from their night's sleep, Aaron asked, "Any luck?

Mark shook his head. "nothing yet, but I think we're onto something.

Explaining strategies became a whole lot easier towards the end. If we give it a few more tries, anything can happen."

Aaron agreed. "It was worth pursuing, even if it was a hunch. We can practise while we fly on Appa. You might want to invest in carving a board then."

Mark nodded and joked. "Hope I don't get a carving skill instead."

As they came closer to the group and Aaron readied himself for the day of labour ahead, Aaron asked a question that'd been burning at the back of his mind.

"Why did you show me all this and agree to master teaching of all things?" Aaron asked, though he already had his speculations. While it might not provide him direct power now, it could prove pivotal in all future worlds he visited. He could raise armies in months if he so chose.

Still, Aaron was curious to hear Mark's answer.

"I figured it was time I stopped being so selfish and showed you I am taking the opportunity you're giving me seriously. Y'all are my best chance of survival and probably my only chance to hitting my potential before the deadline, which brings me to a big ask…."

"You want to hunt, don't you?" Aaron asked with a knowing smile. "As long as we're being completely honest, one of the reasons I learned Astral projection was to keep tables on you."

"I get that, and I planned to run as soon as I learned the basics of Chi bending."

Aaron paused mid-stride.

"Oh, don't act so shocked. You must've known," Mark waved. "Besides, you guys gave off tons of red flags. I'd be an idiot for not running. That shit with Vulcan straight up scarred me, and your plans for Samir nearly had me running for the hills. You planned to capture him to keep me in line, and don't get me started on your plans for world domination. Any way you slice it, y'all are not the good guys."

"Neither are you. You've always planned to use us and ditch us from the very beginning, and you cannot even begin to comprehend how disrespectful teaching you Chi-breathing is," Aaron snapped.

Mark rolled his eyes. "I get it. It's a gift only reserved for the most skilled air bender, and here I am cutting in line and taking what you've slaved away your entire life to get."

"Yes, but it's much more than that," Aaron said. "Ghosts who've served us for decades never earn that right. Air Nation bastards don't earn that right. And don't get me started on what it cost to cobble together the techniques you refer to so flippantly."

Mark looked a bit more sombre. "I am beginning to see where you're coming from. I don't deserve it, I get it, but I can earn it if you give me a chance. This teaching skill will potentially let me say fuck you to the laws of reality and teach the Air Nation world-breaking shit. Y'all will be stupid powerful after I leave. I say let's bury the proverbial hatchet and focus on becoming OP. Don't try to control and manipulate me, and I'll let you milk me for everything I have."

Aaron didn't understand half of what he said, but he got the gist of it.

Mark offered his hand, and Aaron took it.

"Now that that's taken care of, can we go back to the hunting…" he said a bit too quickly, and Aaron shook his head.

"I'll scout the land around us while we travel for Fire Nation camps and Wild animals you can fight, and we can sneak off and take care of it at night."

"You've given it some thought."

"I have to. There was no way I would risk your progress to please the Avatar. You could be our only hope of stopping Samir and whatever monsters he's recruited."

"You bet on me?" Mark said, a bit surprised. "Then what about the promise you made to the Avatar?"

"You never made a promise," Aaron said, cracking a rare smile. "The Avatar means well, but he doesn't understand what it means to be at war."

Mark shook his head. "Y'all are sneaky. This is why I didn't trust you."

Aaron rolled his eyes as they strolled into camp.