Aang stared at the boy as he continued to walk up to the furious shadowy spirit. Aang made to run after the boy but suddenly felt his feet become encased in earth. He turned to the girl and scowled at her. He earth-bended the earth away.

"What are you doing? I'm trying to stop that guy from getting himself killed," Aang demanded. The girl shook her head.

"Funny, that's what I'm doing too. Trust me Danny can take care of this. That spirit seems really angry at you for some reason. Probably best you keep your distance," the girl reasoned. Aang blinked in surprise. He then frowned at her.

"I'm the avatar. This is my job!" Aang informed her. The girl shrugged and turned to the boy, Danny.

Danny stopped in front of the spirit.

"Hey! Can we talk?" Danny shouted clearly. The spirit turned to Danny and snarled at him.

"Why should I speak with you?" it growled. Danny shrugged.

"Maybe so I can help you. Destroying this village isn't getting you what you want, otherwise you'd be happier. So what do you want?" Danny replied calmly. The spirit crouched down to his level and then hissed in surprise at him.

"Ah, it's you," it realised. Danny nodded.

"Yep, it's me. So you want to talk?" Danny suggested. The spirit shook its head and flicked its sharp fingers at him.

Danny moved faster than anyone could blink. His wrist flicked up and the spirit's claw travelled through him. The spirit grumbled angrily and it tried again and again and each time Danny flicked his wrist and the attacks passed through him. Danny folded his arms and raised an eyebrow once the attacks stopped.

"Done? Can we talk now?" Danny asked. The spirit hissed in annoyance but nodded. Danny smiled.

"Great. So what's the problem?" Danny continued. The spirit sighed loudly.

"My fire is going out," it answered. Danny nodded encouragingly.

"It's fuelled by feelings like anger and passion. Since the war ended, it has grown weaker. If it goes out, I cease to exist," the spirit explained. Danny frowned in thought.

"So, you're attacking this village to get them angry at you?" Danny inquired. The spirit nodded.

"The thing is though, this village isn't angry at you. They're scared. I'm guessing fear doesn't fuel your fire," Danny remarked. The spirit nodded again.

"I don't understand why you're only attacking this village though. You could travel and attack many villages. Why this village?" Danny asked.

"Because my shrine is located in the forest nearby," the spirit answered. Danny gasped in realisation and understanding.

"Tell you what. Leave this with me and I'll do what I can to help you out. But I can't help you if you're constantly attacking these people," Danny suggested.

"And what guarantee do I have that you'll be able to fix my problem and energise my flame," the spirit demanded. Danny bit his lip and shrugged.

"I guess you don't but I give you my word that I will do my best to find a solution," Danny replied. The spirit hissed in disagreement.

"Not good enough. I'll give you three sunsets… then I will return. If you haven't found a solution by then, then I will destroy this village. That will bring strong feelings which will help my fire," the spirit decided. Before Danny could negotiate, the spirit faded away, returning to the spirit world.

Danny sighed and walked back up the road, past Aang and the others and pushed open a door into a shop where a number of villagers were hiding.

"I've bought you two full days to get your stuff and leave. After then, if I can't appease the spirit, it's coming back and it will destroy the village. I'd advise you to begin evacuating to be on the safe side," Danny recommended. Danny then turned to leave.

"Wait, where are you going?" an elderly man demanded. Danny glanced back at him.

"I have a camp just outside the village. I'll be there trying to come up with a plan. If you have any information for me, go there," Danny answered and left the shop and nodded to the earth-bender girl before they both walked out of the village together.

Aang watched the two teens walk around a corner and out of sight. He blinked and shook his head.

"Aang! Are you alright?" Katara yelled as she ran over to him. Aang nodded.

"Ye-yeah. I'm fine, thanks to that girl. Did you guys see that?" Aang replied.

"I heard it," Toph answered.

"I saw it and it was terrible. That kid just stole your job!" Sokka exclaimed. Aang stared at him.

"What are you talking about Sokka?" Aang retorted, completely confused.

"Aang, everyone knows that it's the avatar's job to maintain peace between the spirits and the human world," Katara began.

"Exactly and that kid just did that. Better than you!" Sokka added incredulously. Katara scowled at her brother.

"Not better, just…um," Katara started but didn't know what to say. Aang smiled gratefully at her.

"I know, I messed up before he came. Come on. I want to talk to him," Aang replied.

"By talk, I assume you mean punish for taking your job," Toph commented as they began to walk the way the two teens went. Aang frowned at her.

"No, I mean talk to him. I am the avatar and like you all keep reminding me, this is my job. He may have spoken to the spirit but that doesn't mean he can do what the spirit wants," Aang retorted.

"That's the spirit Aang. Don't give up your role to some random kid," Sokka exclaimed and pulled Aang into a one armed hug around his neck. Aang escaped Sokka's grip.

"Would you guys stop it? I have nothing to worry about. No one can replace the avatar. Didn't we just have a war proving that?" Aang pointed out. Toph glanced at him.

"Twinkle Toes, you okay? You don't sound so good," Toph inquired. Aang nodded. Then realised that Toph asked him.

"Yeah, I'm fine Toph," Aang answered for the blind girl's benefit. Toph frowned.

"I know you're lying," Toph whispered so only Aang could hear her.

Aang really hated it when Toph did that. If he wanted to lie that he felt fine and that he wasn't worried or concerned about being replaced then he should be able to do that. But no! Because Toph was so good at earth-bending she could feel the changed in his heart beat, hear the change in his breath and detect his lie. At least she didn't shout it out this time. Aang let out a long breath, releasing his pent up stress.

Katara glanced worriedly at him and took his hand in hers. Aang glanced at her and smiled gratefully to his girlfriend. It still amazed him that Katara was his girlfriend.

"Don't worry Aang, you're right. No one can replace the avatar. Maybe he's a little like Guru Pathik and is just extra connected to the spirit world," Katara suggested. Aang relaxed. Katara was probably right. That Danny guy was just like Guru Pathik. He had nothing to worry about.

"Thanks Katara," Aang whispered and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek as they walked. Katara blinked in surprise at him before smiling kindly.

"You're welcome Aang," she replied.

Let me know what you guys think of the story so far.

Not much to say really except…

Until the next chapter.