“How could this have happened?”

If Ren was being honest with himself, he didn’t wonder so much about the how as much as the why.

He’d groomed Aaron to protect the Avatar. It wasn’t that much of a surprise that he was ready to risk everything to carry out his duty. It was more concerning that his father had chosen to act without informing them of his plans first.

What changed?

And why now?

Harlan whistled, reviewing the desolation with both admiration and awe. “Wow, they went all out. Shame we weren’t here in time for the actual fight.”

“Because that would've made the situation so much better,” Ren said, rubbing his forehead. “We have to pick sides, don't we? I can’t believe my son was right.”

The thick chi, scorch marks, and rich spiritual energies in the air all but confirmed it. There were four distinct energies. Wang’s, Aaron’s, the strange cat Spirit, and finally an unsavory or unnatural amalgamation of what Ren dubbed to be a mix of Aang and Grandfather’s Chi.

One piece of the puzzle that still eluded him though was the spirit vines.

“Who summoned the vines?” he asked Yara, who stood there, quiet, deliberating. He didn’t like her quiet. She came up with the craziest plans when she went quiet like that.

She narrowed her eyes, inspecting the mountain of vines scattered throughout the scarred valley.

“Your son, most likely, and with some help from the spirit, I can sense his presence all around it.”

“How…” Ren's heart skipped at the news. He'd only just learned Astral projection, now he was summoning giant spirit vines. He would've been so proud if the situation wasn't so dire.

Harlan had no such compunction, however. “The kid is something eh? If he survives all this, he’ll be the best of us. Well, as soon as he gets his head on straight."

“What are we going to do about Father?” Yara asked.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Support him obviously,” Harlan shrugged “His methods are a bit extreme, but he’s making sure the north pole incident doesn’t repeat itself.”

Ren didn’t believe his ears. “He’s possessed the Avatar; the person we’re supposed to protect. You can’t be seriously okay with that.”

Harlan folded his arms, obstinate.

“He’s a soft boy who’s just begun training,” Harlan said. “Better grandfather at the wheel than he…”

“You're impossible. All those years playing Pirate has twisted your mind” Ren scoffed. “Yara, are you hearing this?”

“Yes,” Yara answered in a low voice as she stared at nothing in particular. “I'll be the last person to ever concede that Harlan has a point, but he does. Whether it’s the Fire Nation or those travelers, somebody is always eager to place their boots on our necks. I say it’s better to eliminate the threat, regardless of the costs.”

“You know father well enough to realize he won’t just stop with the Fire Nation. He’s done this before with the spirits.”

Ren was frustrated. Couldn't they see history repeating itself before their very eyes?

Yara had the same far-off look in her eyes. “I only care about my daughter and my family. As long as you’re both fine, the world can burn for all I care.”

Ren swallowed hard. How could they be so callous? Actually, he knew how. Their Father had trained the empathy and compassion out of them years ago, disguising it as purging weakness, and he'd nearly made the same mistake with his son. That was why he was so stoic, so hard, always pushing.

He thought he was making Aaron better, but he couldn't have been more wrong.

They were about to cross lines that shouldn't be crossed.

"We'll be pushing the world farther out of balance than the Fire Nation ever did," Ren said. "If you do this..."

"Then what?" Harlan cut him off. "The world is already fucked. That little traveler runt and his double made bloody sure of that."

“Don’t fight this,” Yara said, turning to meet his eyes. “You will lose.” Ren saw her body slowly shift as she readied herself for a potential confrontation.

“Will you kill me? Fight your nephew too?” he scoffed. "Your own brother? Is father's dream worth burning the world down?"

The silence stretched no longer than a few moments, but it was an eternity for Ren.

Yara opened her mouth to speak, but before she could get a word out, Ren sensed a shift in the air, and two familiar presences coalesced from the thin air.

“Aaron! Wang!” Despite knowing they'd both escaped, it brought him no small measure of relief to see them in front of him, alive. Wang's flickering spirit gave him cause for alarm though. “What happened?”

Aaron met eyes with his father, his face hard, but his eyes said everything.

“I’m glad to see that at least someone sees the madness in Father’s actions?” Wang said with a pointed look at Ren.

“It’s a long story,” Aaron said, some irritation in his voice.

“It can’t be that long,” Harlan frowned, folding his arms. “Your fight lasted well under an hour. Honestly, I’m more impressed that you survived going up against your grandfather.”

“You shouldn’t be,” he leveled a hard look at his Uncle. “Dopi taught me much.”

“Oh, I am sure that swine of a spirit did,” Harlan said. “Where is she anyway?”

“Grandfather…,” Aaron’s voice hitched. “She’s no longer with us.”