Danny: I've said it before and I'll say it again. You really are one seriously crazed-up fruitloop.
Vlad: A fruitloop would not have been able to make his first million with a series of invisible burglaries! A fruitloop would never have thought to overshadow enough millionaires to become one of the richest men on the planet! I AM NOT A FRUTTLOOP! And I am not a villain. All I ever wanted...was love.
Kindred Spirits, Season 2, Episode 17

Chapter 6

Prince Zuko couldn't remember the last time he had walked this long. Even when he was hunting the Avatar, he was on a boat or ostrich horse, traversing the lands. Nowadays, he barely left the Fire Palace, allowing delegates and political officials to come to him and relay news of the lands. A flying bison was the main vehicle for Aang during his early days of traveling. The animal companion made for smooth riding, especially with his growing number of friends. He really missed Appa right now.

"What are we looking for again?" Aang asked. Finally, his feet were heavy enough that they were crunching in the forest leaves.

"You'll know it when you see it," Tucker replied, trudging ahead.

"We're almost there," Danny said, still flying above. Twice this trip, his legs formed together into a wispy tail and he zoomed off, returning empty handed still. Aang swore he saw a blue air mist escape his mouth each time this happened. 'Could Danny be a ghost airbender?' Aang wondered. Was that even possible? He knew the dead sometimes moved to the Spirit World if they were strongly connected. Past Avatars were prime examples of that, being the conduits of the Spirit World. Maybe Danny was an airbender that was lost to the Spirit World and ended up here. Aang would have to ask Zuko to investigate. After all, he was the detective, the one who tracked Aang across the world and back successfully.

Ahead, Sam and Tucker finally stopped at the edge of the forest. A large wooden cabin stood in the middle of a clearing. A single road stretched past it to where they couldn't see where it went. No lights were on and no smoke rose from the chimney. It appeared empty, but above Danny floated wearingly.

Danny floated just above their heads, Zuko being the tallest. "I think I can get us past the traps. Zuko, Aang, link arms with Sam and Tucker," he commanded.

Zuko immediately grabbed Tucker's wrist, who linked his own wrist back while Aang stuck to Sam's whole body. "Traps!?" Aang questioned, but was again ignored. Danny took hold of Sam and Tucker and with a heave, everyone was again in the air. Nothing seemed amiss as they flew over the mowed lawn. Glancing back towards the forest, Zuko spotted multiple pairs of bright red eyes floating in the tree line. Before he was able to say anything, he felt a chill run through his body.

Aang started screaming when the cabin was within touching distance and Danny wasn't slowing up. 'Not this again!' he thought to himself. The cabin walls surrounded the group and they moved through, as if the walls didn't exist. Their feet touched down on a luxurious rug in the middle of a great room. Multiple doors along each wall extended to other parts of the house and a fireplace adorned one wall. If not for the ghostly chill, it would have been a cozy cabin. Everyone unlinked arms, and bodies in Aang's case, and shook off the chill.

"How do you keep doing that?" Zuko asked Danny, squinting his eyes. This was unlike any power he had seen. Before, Zuko believed himself crazy when they were phased through the Speeder's walls. He had just released himself from the icy lair and was getting his bearings. Now that it happened again, Zuko was suspicious.

Pointing to himself, Danny was about to answer, "Ghost, remember?" when Aang's voice interrupted. "Woah, look, Zuko!" Some questions were better saved for quiet times. The room was adorned in different animals, some hanging, some contorted in positions of power. Aang was wandering around, observing each one closer. "I told you, a platypus bear! And a rabbiroo!" he said excitedly, moving much quicker than humanly possible with some added airbending. "This has got to be a good clue that we're on the right track to getting back home!"

Sad to break the boy's spirit, Danny corrected, "Actually, I think most of these were Vlad's experiments." Danny remembered being here multiple times being chased by Vlad's crazed experiments. Each one seemed more terrifying than the last, especially alone in the darkness of the forest. Goats and lions and deer all adorned the walls and floors in various positions and body parts. And they all seemed angry, even stuffed.

Originally curious of his home world animals, Zuko stepped towards to the stuffed animals, wanting a closer look. Something was deeply wrong with them, something bastardized. It was like someone tried to make all his animals, piece by piece. It made his insides squirm.

"You are correct, little badger," a voice drawled in the back of the room.