Others will consider this a victory, but Avatar Aang knows better. He cannot find comfort in his success. He knows that bending ability is not what makes a villain, and that no bending ability, even energybending, can take away that which gives Yakone his true power. Aang knows that as long as Yakone lives, the battle is not won, but he made the decision a long time ago that it’s a risk worth taking. As long as there is another way, he will take it, and he can only hope that it will be enough.

Sometimes, the most influential moments in history do not happen on theatrical pillars under a red sky with beams of light. Sometimes, it is a skirmish in the street that decides the world’s fate.