The battle turned massacre when the moon went dark. Momentum swung wildly in the Fire Nation's favour. There were only so many people Aaron, his Father, and his uncles could kill before they ran out of Chi. Even after setting his sub-mind to the task of gathering energy, Aaron's mental strength was not inexhaustible.

Aaron could only watch in horror as men and women who’ve fought their entire life with bending were forced to defend themselves against warriors superior to them in nearly every way.

Aaron and the gang put a stop to many executions, but they were too slow to prevent several more.

After the battle, they regroup at the heart of the city in a meeting only phantoms attended. According to Ren, no one else mattered for now. Not even the Avatar. He might not be able to fix what had been broken.

Harlan's first words set the mood of the meeting. “What the fuck, Yara. You were at the palace. How did this happen!” Uncle Harlan roared. “The world is in the hands of a meglomaniac toddler thanks to you.”

Yara was slow to speak. “I was…distracted with Misha. It’s her treatment--- nothing seems to work. Not Chi nor medicine. I fear that—” she caught herself before she made a pronouncement. It was at that moment that Aaron noticed she was deathly pale with bags under her eyes, her makeup smeared. “I am simply not at my best. They knew this and exploited our—my weakness.”

Aaron held back the urge to ask about Misha. It was neither the time nor the place. But he could feel it in his bone like he felt the cold. Something was wrong with her.

Uncle Wang grunted. “We cannot afford to be distracted, Yara. We are not people or mere benders. We’re Phantoms.”

“To overlook the fucking Koi fish after the warning that the little man gave us,” Harlan said with some exasperation, slicking back his hair. “We’re truly fucked.”

Harlan was, of course, referring to the conversation Aaron had shared with Mark weeks ago in Ba Sing Se, where he narrated an alternative history to him touching on General Zhao and his play for the Koi fish. In the tale, Zhao was the one to worry about. They never imagined Samir was stupid or brave enough to make a play for the spirit. Nonetheless, Yara was assigned to protect the royalty and the palace, just in case. She’d failed on both fronts.

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“You don't think the boy killed it?” Ren muttered carefully, giving voice to the question they’d been too afraid to ask.

“No, that’d be exceedingly stupid of him. He’s likely holding it hostage,” Aaron thought out loud, and all eyes swivelled to him.

“These travellers, they see the world as a game,” Aaron spoke, his throat nearly seizing up from anxiety and fear. “To Samir, only one thing truly matters.”

“Mark,” Ren muttered.

There was a spell of silence as they all digested what the realisation meant. Aaron's stomach churned at the thought of failing his student for the second time…but they were in the End Game now. Samir had captured a spirit that governed a fundamental aspect of their reality. Water would cease to flow. Rivers would become poison. Animals would die. Famine would soon follow, and the people would suffer. In months, most of the world population would probably disappear.

His skin grew whiter and whiter as he understood how important Mark's life had become.

“We can’t give the cunt the kid,” Harlan protested. “Given what I’ve seen about him, I know for a fact he won’t keep his word.”

“We also know how little he thinks of us,” Wang said, his hand briefly brushing the scarred half of his face. “After he has everything he wants, he might burn it all down for the hell of it.”

“Our only real choice is to retrieve the fish while we can,” Yara spoke up. “The Mark's story mentions the Avatar coming to the rescue after the incident. Princess Yuweh is also alive and well.”

That was true. Yuweh was their insurance if negotiations turned for the worse. If Mark’s story was to be believed. She would gladly give her life for the Moon spirit. This did not have to end with Mark dying, but Aaron wasn't excited about sacrificing the princess either.

Ren grunted. “We have a moment to strategise, and I say we use it. But I think our best bet is to lure him out with the promise of Mark and eliminate him alongside the Avatar.”

“You have less time than you think,” A voice rumbled from the corner of the room. Much to everyone’s shock, it was Grandfather in the spirit. His flesh looked lively, his clothes vibrant, but Aaron's spirit told me it was all a trick.

“The princess is off the board,” Grandfather said, stepping into the moonlight, a sombre look on his face.

“How!” Harlan asked. “Yara was supposed to—” he froze mid-sentence as he looked at her. “Damn it all. Of all the times to fall apart!”

Grandfather explained what had happened. In her distraught state, it’d been only too easy for a group of Dark Fire to sneak in and dispose of the Princess. No one had noticed Yuweh, and her retinue never made it to the undercover bunker.

With the death toll still coming in, and the last dregs of the Northern water tribe military barely holding back the Fire Nation, the princess’s safety took low priority.

“Her daughter is ill; any mother would be out of sorts,” Grandfather said, but the dour look on his face betrayed his true feelings. "As sad as the Princess's death is, she's not the only piece we lost tonight.”

Aaron blinked, and then it hit him.

“The kids!” he sat up. “Which of them?”

“Who do you think?” Grandfather looked at him like he was a fool.

‘Mark?’

“He wouldn’t…” Aaron fell back to his seat, muttering in disbelief. “He was just outside with the children. He-He—”

“He took the Bison and left,” Grandfather cut him off. “And just when you thought you were breaking through to him.” His words were like a knife twist to the gut.

“You will fix this,” Grandfather warned. “Fetch him, and do not return unless you do.”