52 Ultimatum 1
Aaron stormed out of the chamber, his heart at war. His face flushed crimson, a mix of embarrassment, regret, hate, relief, and other emotions he struggled to parse. His parallel mind spooled up, and he moved on autopilot.
"How did this happen?" Aaron demanded he came to the courtyard. Aang was gone, and Sokka and Katara were at each other's throats.
"We should've never let him take Appa," Katara declared.
"And stopped him with what, our fists?" Sokka snapped. "Aang has gone after him, so maybe he'll have more luck."
The siblings looked like they were about to come to blows, so he asked again. "How did this happen?"
Both siblings turned to him and then froze.
"Well?" he demanded.
"It's…your eyes, Aaron," Katara stammered. Aaron caught his reflection in the fountain nearby and his eyes shone as if he had Chi reinforcement activated. He had to double-check with his sub-mind to make sure he didn't. To his dismay, he did. It was like his Grandfather warned. His control of Chi was slipping.
"Of all the lousy fucking times…" he grumbled but shelved the problem, and focused on the task at hand. "Which direction did he go?" Aaron asked.
"You won't do anything to him, will you?" Katara asked.
"Which. Direction?" he asked, as his Chi swelled and his eyes turned a deeper shade of crimson. Sokka pointed him to the east with a shaky hand.
Before Aaron took off, Sokka got out a word.
"At least tell us what's going on."
Aaron considered it before he decided they were too young to bare the weight he did; to know the fate of their world desperately hung in the balance; to know that everyone they knew and countless more could die if he couldn't convince a selfish little shit to get his head out of his arse and do the right thing.
"Don't come after us," Aaron finally said as he took off with a whoosh.
Aaron flew faster than he'd ever flown before, pushing his wingsuit and body to the utmost limit. He'd been too preoccupied to notice it earlier, but constantly channelling Chi with his sub-mind had been doing wonders for him. He'd already noticed improvements to his energy levels and power since the battle started, and he'd grown more confident in his techniques to the point of obtaining new mastery.
Although his muscles screamed at him, his brain was foggy, and his grip on Chi was loosening, he was confident in the fight to come, despite everything he'd done in recent weeks to avoid that eventuality.
'He must be over level 36 by now.' Aaron had personally seen him cut down over 100 men.
He had barely come out ahead in their last fight, and he had no doubt his Chi and strength would've grown since then, but he had something Mark's system could not replicate: Real-world experience.
"I'll drag him back by the scruff of his neck if I fucking have to."
Aaron found Aang after nearly an hour of flying. His bright yellow and orange clothes stood out in a world of white and black. He looked to be rapidly gaining on a Bison in the distance.
As he came up close, Aaron considered his options. He couldn't afford a repeat of the Zhao incident. Juggling two powerful opponents was well beyond him, so he decided on a more diplomatic approach, allowing the young Airbender to prove himself.
"Aang!" he called out.
The boy struggled mid-air to look at him. "Aaron?"
"It's good you're here. I didn't think I would be able to get him back myself."
Aang's eyes went a bit wide. "You're not here to hurt him? I just assumed---"
"That I would hurt my own disciple?" Aaron raised a brow as he flew past the Airbender.
The boy sped up to keep pace so they could talk. "Before he took off, Mark told me that the Air Nation would betray him and offer him up to Samir. He said that it was the only move now."
"And give that lunatic everything he wants?" Aaron parroted his uncle. "Isn't it bad enough that the Fire Nation is moments away from capturing the North Pole?
"Besides, Samir has not made his demands yet. And the Air Nation leadership is still undecided, but I'm betting they're going with a trap. It's the obvious play and our only shot of winning back the North and putting down the madman. But for all that to happen, we need Mark. Samir wouldn't risk revealing himself otherwise."
"But you'll still be putting his life at risk," Aang countered, and Aaron gave him a dumbfounded look.
"All our lives are at risk, Aang. It seems you don't understand how much is at stake. Samir has the Moon spirit, Aang. The source of waves, the source of all water bending. The world is finished without it. Rivers will stop flowing; disease will run rampant. Forget the Fire Nation taking over. There will be nothing left to rule if Samir so wished. And the worst part is that Mark and Samir get to leave this world; we don't. Despite all that, I want to talk to him, not drag him back kicking and screaming, because despite what you think of me, I'm not evil, Aang, and I have no desire to hurt my disciple or friend."
"I don't think you're evil, Aaron," Aang muttered.
"You don't approve of my methods, either," Aaron pointed out, "which is why we're doing this your way. So, are you going to work with me?"
Aang hesitated and nodded. "I'm the Avatar. It's time I live up to the name."
Aaron cracked a smile. That couldn't have gone any better.
---
The moment the world turned black and white Mark knew he was fucked.
'Ding You've levelled up. You've reached level 34'
Earth bending constitution has reached level XL
Earth bending has reached level XLV
Knife throwing has evolved to Precision. Precision has reached level XX
One with the Earth has reached Level XXXV
Chi breathing has reached level XX
Baton mastery has reached level XL
Feather fist has reached level XLII (42)
Parallel mind has reached level XVIII (18)
He was another level closer to 50, and he couldn't even savour it or the growth of his new rare skill. He was 7 short levels away from another mind, but none of that mattered now.
"Fuck!" he roared as a bloodied firebender charged him with a vicious grin on his face. He'd mowed down three waterbenders who'd been reeling from the sudden loss of power.
As the man raised his blade sky high, ready to put down the kid that'd hurt so many of them. A stone spike erupted behind him and stabbed him in the neck.
Mark hardly spared him a look as his corpse sloughed to the ground.
"Fuck," he cursed again, then unleashed a stream of profanities. All of his carefully laid plans were up in flames. Samir just flipped the board with one move. He couldn't count on any of the Phantoms, not after this. They'd offer him up in a heartbeat or place him at the centre of some hair-brained scheme to kill Samir that would fall apart the moment he put things together. Nothing stopped Samir from killing the moon spirit the moment he discovered he'd been played.
But what if Aang went into the Avatar state and cleaned house and the Phantoms worked as backup…
"No." Mark shook his head.
It was too risky. Samir had the likes of Jon Jon on his side, and lightning benders kept popping up like flies. All it'd take is one lightning strike, and Aang goes bye-bye. It wouldn't matter if the ocean spirit was supporting him.
If Mark accounted for wild cards like Azula, the rest of Samir's brain-washed troops, the war balloons, and the soldiers…
The Phantoms would need a miracle to come out on top. The fact that the battle had exhausted them didn't help his confidence.
He had only one option, really.
Run.
Mark bit his nail in frustration.
"Gah!" he screamed. And he was so fucking close. A few more days, and he would've started teaching the phantoms and ghosts parallel processing. At that point, they'd be unstoppable, nigh-impervious to whatever bullshit Samir could throw their way. If Aaron's Grandfather could get the Earth King on their side, then…
Mark let out a frustrated sigh.
Leaving after the battle made the most sense. He could probably slip out when the guys at the top take to heaping blame on themselves sometime during the night, he concluded. They wouldn't notice him leave.
As for whom they'd send after him… He already came up with countermeasures to dealing with him. Plus, his new levels in Earth bending had come with some interesting benefits.
He was confident in taking him on now… probably.
From here on out, he could only rely on himself. After all, the Phantoms had helped lay the foundation.
All he needed to do was reach level 50 and wait for the year to elapse. One tidbit he'd conveniently kept from the Phantoms was that he and Samir would be forced into a final confrontation when their counter reached zero.
With Samir's abilities being mostly mental, it was probably in the maniac's best interest to end the fight before then.
If he didn't, he'd be forced to fight him.
With his progression plan laid out, Mark was confident he could take him on with some extra training. But could he survive 6 months with the world best benders after him?
He supposed he'd have to make due.
Mark's attention turned back to the melee, immersing himself in the fight once more as he tried to keep his mind on task and mentally prepare himself for the months to come.
Despite his best efforts, his mind wandered, traveling back to Senlin, the village Igi came from, Omashu and the friends he'd made there, and Aaron; his reluctant teacher and best friend.
He would be condemning them all to die. The guilt threatened to overwhelm him.
'This is just my first test. I can't wuss out,' he mentally recited over and over again. This was what it took to compete in the tournament. A few death was worth Godhood and infinite power.
"A few more worlds, and I won't even remember their faces."
----
Dan Dan Dan. What do you guys think about this development? Things are finally getting serious between Aaron and Mark. Who'll come out on top, find out next time on Dragonball.
