Aaron lunged forward, channeling Chi flow and Spiritual enhancement. He disappeared in a flash of light and reappeared, swinging, palm first straight at the Avatar’s sternum, but Grandfather raised an elbow in time, blocking the attack.

Aaron flipped back from the exchange with his arm smarting, while Grandfather’s eyes turned white as he casually stepped into the Avatar state.

“Oh…she’s taught you the white flash, did she?” he said. “Show me how much you learned.”

Zuko, Jon Jon, and Iroh took that exact moment to react, sending huge balls of fire directly at the possessed Avatar. Paku sunk deeper into his stance, received the flame with one hand and returned fire at double the size. General Iroh stepped forward and parted the humongous fireball, albeit with great difficulty.

Bumi took advantage of the brief opening and molded restraints around Grandfather’s legs, and with a deft move, tried to drag him back to the ground, but with a casual wave, he shattered them all. Grandfather rose into the air with a proud smirk on his face, and then suddenly a fierce tornado emerged, spinning so quickly and wildly, that it sent everyone flying.

Only Dopi was left standing, and she retaliated by suddenly turning into light and vanishing. A second later, she was at the top of the tornado, griping grandfather as they tumbled to the ground, their body flashing with light and explosions.

Aaron was the first to leap onto his feet, and with a sudden burst of spirit and Chi, he’d caught up with the fight once more. He arrived just in time to see Grandfather condense dozens of ice shards from the air and send them directly at Dopi, who summoned a solid shield of Chi. She counter-attacked by unleashing a beam of green light that forced Grandfather to flash upwards, using a mix of Chi, air, and fire.

It left him vulnerable to an overcharged wind blade that Aaron unleashed with a swipe of his hand. Drawing on his grandfather’s memories, he’d mixed Chi, Spirit, and wind to release the glowing crescent. Grandfather raised an eyebrow at the new attack before he casually countered it with an identical wind blade of his own that completely overpowered it.

Aaron’s eyes went wide, and he had to use his new movement technique to dodge the attack.

“Using my own spirit techniques against me,” he laughed. “Truly marvelous. But don’t forget that I taught you everything that you know. You’ll need something original if you want to stand a chance.”

A bolt of lightning struck a moment later, bathing the sky in a blue light, and General Iroh stood at the other end, his face resolute and ruthless, but Grandfather was untouched.

He casually passed the current from the lightning from one hand to the other.

“I’ve always wondered what it feels like to wield lightning,” he mused. “It’s so much power. I can see why you’d all think you were above us.”

The sky roared as he returned fire. Aaron briefly caught the look of absolute dread on the General’s face before everything turned white.

When his vision cleared up, General Iroh lay on the floor, half of his body scorched, his nephew weeping at his side.

“Uncle…No.”

In front of him, the white lotus and Dopi fought Grandfather with great spectacle. He danced in the sky as he fired great lasers at Dopi who zipped around masterfully dodging but only barely. Jon Jon ran interference, unleashing great fireballs as well as compressed beams of flames that forced Grandfather to deflect the incoming fire, shield himself, and at times, dodge it entirely. King Bumi’s attacks weren’t doing any better either. All of the rocks he lobbed at him crumbled to pieces before they came close.

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Aaron stared at the chaos in awe and dread. Was this what it looked like to watch a true master of Chi battle?

There was no wasted movement. Every motion and technique was planned well in advance. It was like a transfixing dance. What made the entire situation even more alarming was that none of Grandfather’s attacks were lethal. It was like he was testing himself and his new body, rather than fighting them.

Dopi had been right to be afraid. And he'd been stupid to think they could take him.

“We can’t beat him,” Aaron muttered. Still, he did not let his mind entertain the alternative. The world would be fucked if he gave up now.

Grandfather might know everything he knew, but thanks to Dopi’s latest gift, he knew more of Grandfather's spirit techniques than any other Phantom.

Techniques he’d harvested from thousands of ancients during their lifetime. His spiritual pool was also considerably larger, almost as large as his Chi pool now. All he needed was the perfect technique and an opening. Once they had him down, he was sure Dopi would think of something to flush Grandfather’s spirit out.

He shut his eyes and set one of his subminds to the task, while he rushed over to Zuko’s side.

“What are you doing?” Zuko asked him mid-sniff.

“What does it look like?” Aaron said. “I’m saving your uncle’s life.”

A brief pulse of One-with-the-world had revealed that the old man was not dead yet.

He focused on gathering Chi while his sub-mind began Chi-healing the General. His hands glowed bright green as the technique worked its magic, healing his grievous wounds. Aaron also searched his pouch for a healing potion. He never the house without carrying a few with him.

“Thank…you,” Iroh muttered.

“Don’t thank me,” Aaron said. “You and Dopi might be our best chances of getting Aang back after we beat him. I’d be stupid not to try to save you.”

There was a lot of damage under the surface, especially to his Chi channels. It was anyone’s guess if he’d ever bend again. The damage had Aaron curious though.

“Wait, don’t tell me you tried to redirect his lightning?”

Zuko squeezed his grandfather’s uninjured hand.

“He succeeded too. We’d have all died if he didn’t. It was just too much for him to handle.”

“Wow…” Aaron had no words, yet his concentration did not falter. It was the many benefits of having multiple minds working in tandem. He rarely found himself lacking in control. The healing only came to an abrupt stop when the technique he’d been searching for came to him.

Great Spirit Vine Summon.

It discharged vast amounts of spiritual and physical energy to summon vines that populate the wilds of the spirit world and certain areas of the physical world. Their spirit conductivity and restraining capabilities were unmatched.

‘Found just the thing,’ he thought. However, he hesitated when he learned why Grandfather refused to use the technique. It drained too much spirit energy, radically unbalanced the physical world, and could serve as an avenue for determined spirits to slip into the spirit world. There was also the matter of them being nearly impossible to get rid of.

Yet, desperate times called for desperate measures. He turned to Zuko. “I’m going to need your help. I’ve got something that might work, but we need him so occupied that his precognition can’t keep up.”

“He has pre-cognition?” Zuko asked, a bit taken aback.

‘Rats. I just leaked Phantom secrets, didn’t I? Bah who cares, we’ve gone well past the point of no return.’

“Every master does,” Aaron answered casually, “and it’s a bitch to fight against,” Aaron explained. “It’s part of the reason why we can’t touch him.”

“And the other reason?”

“He’s just that good.” Aaron turned to Iroh next. His complexion was getting better and the bleeding stopped.

“Do you know how we can get him out of the Avatar?” Aaron asked.

“The Avatar spirit is the key. If you can somehow get it to fight back. It could be the key to stopping your grandfather before it’s too late,” General Iroh said with a strained voice.

“I’ve got just the technique. Spirit Vines.”

“A prudent choice,” Iroh said, and Aaron nodded.

Iroh was out of the woods with his first round of healing, and he'd barely spent any spiritual energy since the fight started. Chi was another conversation entirely, though. As he set one of his subminds to gather Chi, something occurred to him.

“Grandfather has more spirit power than the Avatar right now. That won’t be too much of a problem, will it?”

“I couldn’t really say,” Iroh said.

“I guess we’ll have to find out,” Aaron said. “Zuko, are you ready?”

He squeezed his Uncle's hand one last time before he stood up. “I am.”

“Here’s what we’re going to do.”