The Spirit World: Centuries earlier.

The huge fox's nine tails dragged behind them as they trudged through the trees. The gold eye markings on the fur were barely visible through the mud caked on them. While they walked, drool collected at the tip of their long tongue. Occasionally, it dripped onto the grass causing the flora to wither under the weight. Every footstep was heavier and more exhausting than the last. How long had they been walking? Months? Years? Centuries? They had long since forgotten. The same could be said of their name. They remembered being called many things in the past: Trickster, Schemer, Imposter, Master of Lies, but only one name remained—Deceiver. Whether that was their real name or not, they didn't know, but it was currently what other spirits called them.

They continued to trudge until they spotted a lesser spirit in a clearing. A pipe marmot? It didn't matter. It was someone to "play" with. After all, what was the Deceiver without anyone to deceive? This was a rare opportunity since other spirits had learned long ago to steer clear of them. Cautiously, they crept out of the trees and snuck up on their prey.

"Care to play?" Their giant shadow completely eclipsed the pipe marmot. Unfortunately, in their desperation, they overplayed their hand. The crazed look in their eyes was all it took to send the lesser spirit running.

"Wait!" They immediately chased after the marmot until it disappeared into a narrow burrow. Refusing to be denied, they frantically dug at the hole.

"Play! Please play!" Large swaths of ground muddied their white fur as they desperately tried to find their target. When that failed, they flopped on their side, kicked out their back legs, and pushed themselves in great circles around the newly formed crater.

"Pleaseeee," they wailed repeatedly until they spun themselves to exhaustion.

After their tantrum, they lay motionless by the gaping hole. Eventually, the pipe marmot emerged. The greater spirit only spared enough energy to turn their eye to the other spirit as it sniffed them. They tracked the lesser spirit as it hopped onto their face, down their body, and off their hip before disappearing into the wilderness beyond. The opportunity to "play" lost.

The large fox wandered alone again. They were tired. Tired of wandering. Tired of being alone. Tired of being…nothing. Their wandering eventually brought them to a wide river. Water splashed their nose as they lapped at it. While they were drinking, something across the river caught their attention. Floating up and down the opposite shore was a lone dandelion spirit. Seeds trailed from it as it "paced." It seemed to be looking for something, or was lost, the Deceiver couldn't be sure. They watched curiously for several minutes, or it could have been decades, until they finally decided to approach the fluff. The reflection of their monstrous appearance in the river made them pause. There was no way a lesser spirit like that would let them anywhere near it. They'd have to try a different approach.

The little fluff zipped up and down the river bank. He had gotten lost somehow and didn't know where to go, and the river was soooo wide. How had he even come to the river?

"Where? Home? Lost?" the little spirit babbled to himself. He spooked when he saw something walking up the bank towards him.

"Monster!" he gasped. He searched for a place to hide but the beach was barren with only a rocky shore worn smooth by the constant flow of water. As a last resort, he exploded himself into a blanket of seeds that spread over the shore-line. He stayed that way until a small, four-tailed fox revealed itself. Warily he watched as the fox sniffed along the shore. Once he was sure the other spirit was harmless, he reassembled himself. The white fox jumped at his sudden appearance.

"Hi! Are you a friend?" he asked excitedly.

The fox opened their mouth to answer but no sound came out which confused both spirits.

"Can you talk?" He continued. "Like this? La, la, la."

"I can," the fox answered.

"Yay! That's great!"

"It is," the fox confirmed but they still had a confused expression on their face.

"My name is Yuku," the fluff introduced itself.

"It is," came the fox's reply.

"What's your name?"

For the second time, the fox was unable to speak. Their voice suddenly inaccessible.

"Do you have a name?" Yuku persisted.

"I do," the fox answered.

"Do you want to tell me?"

"I don't," the fox replied with a hint of anxiety in their voice. Even if they wanted to tell him their name, it seemed they couldn't.

"Are you scared?" Yuku asked, genuinely concerned for the obviously frightened spirit.

"I am." The answer simply popped out. It took a moment for the fox to realize they really were scared. They weren't sure what was happening. The little fluff wrapped his leaf hands around the fox's neck.

"Don't be scared. We're friends now. I will help you," Yuku said with a gentle smile on his face.

"You will," the fox replied, their fear already dissipating.

"Yay! I can help! I can help!" Yuku sung happily.

"You can," the fox affirmed.

"I will call you Tema," Yuku finally stated.

"You will."

"Do you want to play Tema?"

"I do," Tema answered. The pair raced down the beach together, whatever Yuku had been searching for, quickly forgotten.

Present:

The bright morning sun streamed into the teahouse. As it shifted along its daily path, it eventually reached the smiling flower pot where a giant white dandelion fluff sprouted from the soil. A pair of dark ovals appeared on its face when the beam illuminated it. They blinked several times as they welcomed the new day.

"Hello light?" the fluff questioned with a smile. Then he looked around the empty building. There were several tables with chairs tipped on top of them and two booths along a large window. It looked familiar but something in the back of his mind told him this wasn't his home. "Where? Home?" An image of a small, ranch style house suddenly flashed in his head.

"Home!" he said excitedly. He tried to fly but his stem held him tight. "Egghhhh, let go. I need to find home." The pot rocked as he pulled and eventually shattered onto the ground. He pulled himself free from the soil and hovered through the store.

"Yay!" The fluff clapped his little leaf hands. "Now I can find home!" Seed-by-seed he squeezed himself under slit beneath the door to the outside city.

A rattle of keys in Hayato's hands popped the lock on the teashop door.

"How are we doing today Yuku?" the man said cheerfully as he walked inside. The mess on the floor immediately caught his attention as he stepped behind the counter.

"Oh dear…"

Shizuku pondered to herself as she got dressed for the morning. She didn't mind the responsibilities that came with subbing for Mako, but she wasn't as "young" as he was. The day-to-day rigors were quickly catching-up with her. Once he returned, she was going to retire. She'd long had her fill of criminals, and officers as well. Several still whispered behind her back about how she wasn't fit for, or deserved, the job. If they only knew how little her workload changed when Mako left. He was an excellent Chief, but there were many background things she handled that he probably didn't even realize existed.

She was just pulling on her boots, almost ready for work, when a voice caused her to jump.

"Where's Mako?"

She looked around and soon spotted a fox spirit standing in the living room doorway. "T, Tema. You scared me half-to-death," she gasped. Then she took a moment to examine them. They were in their six-tailed, bipedal form. Well, five and a half tails. The one tail was partially missing, as was their left arm, and they had a scar that split their chin.

"That Bufo r, really did injure you didn't he? I'm s, so sorry. Are you o, okay?"

"Where's? Mako?" Tema firmly repeated. They clearly weren't worried about their scars.

She let out a long sigh. She shouldn't be surprised that the spirit was more concerned about Mako than anything else. Their attachment to him was downright unhealthy.
"H, He's gone Tema. We decided that he should t, take the Avatar away from Republic City."

"Tell me where?!" the spirit demanded with a growl.

"D, Don't you threaten me," she scowled in response. "I don't know for s, sure where Mako is but don't you go after him. I know you've b, been his friend for a long time but he doesn't need you constantly at h, his side."

The fox transformed into their giant form of the Deceiver and hung their jaws over her.

"Again w, with the threats. You know Mako would n, never forgive you if you did something to me," she stated.

A growl came from the Deceiver's throat as drool dripped from their fangs. They knew they couldn't hurt her but it was evident they really wanted to. She looked up into their mouth. Even their tongue was still missing. Despite their apparent anger at her, she still felt terrible for them. The phone ringing brought a pause to the face-off.

"I should probably get that b, before you eat me. It might be important," she said. She didn't wait for Tema to respond and confidently walked out from the shadow of its jaws to the phone.

"H, Hello. Shizuku speaking," she politely answered.

"Mrs. Chief? It's Hayato," the voice over the line said. "Yuku's gone. I came into the shop this morning and his pot is shattered."

"B, But…That's not possible. He's never left on h, his own before," she said. "Did h, he leave a seed behind?"

"I'm sorry ma'am. There's nothing."

That was definitely bad news. Without a seed, if something happened to Yuku, they wouldn't be able to resurrect him. They needed to find him before he got hurt. She turned to Tema. The expression on the spirit's face was enough to tell her they'd heard everything…and they weren't happy. If they were attached to Mako, that attachment was one hundred fold when it came to Yuku

"I trusted you humans!" The Deceiver roared as they tried to squeeze themselves out the narrow front door. They would destroy the city to find their friend and Shizuku knew it.

"Tema! Stop right there!"

Fortunately, the spirit did stop at her command. At least they respected her enough to listen.

"I know you're w, worried, but I can't have you r, rampaging through the city," she scolded them. "We can search b, but you need to be little Tema."

"I don't care about your human city!" the spirit roared.

"But you do c, care about Yuku. What would he think if he saw you like th, this?"

That got the spirit's attention. Yuku had an aversion to "monsters" which was what the Deceiver currently was. If they wanted to help find the naive spirit, they'd have no choice but to transform into their lesser form. One final snort came from the agitated spirit before they shrank to their "little" form. Three-and-a-half tails anxiously weaved at its back as it sat on the floor. Even this form reflected their recent scars.

"Th, That's better," Shizuku stated.

"It is," Tema replied. In their lesser form, they were restricted to speaking two word statements and were unable to lie. It was the exact opposite of the Deceiver who thrived on deceit.

She lead the way to the garage where her car was parked. It was a small hatchback nowhere near as nice as Mako's sport Satomobile. For her, it was a simply a matter of function. As long as it got her from point A to B, that was good enough. She always had a good chuckle when he had to ride in it because she knew it embarrassed him. He'd tried on several different occasions to convince her get a new vehicle but she refused. No need to spend the extra Yuans if the car ran fine.

She opened the door and Tema immediately placed themselves on the passenger seat. A moment later, they were on the road.

"Hi. Hello. Hi." The fluff waved happily to everyone he passed as he floated along the busy sidewalks. There sure were a lot of humans. Maybe one of them could help him find home. He floated up to a random person.

"Hello! Can you help me find my home?"

The human gave him a nervous glance and hastily stepped around him.

"Okay. Bye human," he waved as they left. Maybe the next one. "Can you help me?" The next human's reaction was the same. As was the next, and the next, and the next. After the twentieth try, he started to feel weird. It was something he couldn't describe but it was the exact opposite of how he normally felt…and he didn't like it. A frown fell across his face and he started to sink to the ground.

"Are you lost little spirit?"

He turned to see a human dressed in a blue uniform with a gold piece of metal on their chest. It was shaped like the head of a wrench with a bar attached to the top. Below it was another insignia that looked like a wave of air. He squinted at the emblems. They looked familiar for some reason. In the back of his mind, he saw a figure wearing the same emblems but their face was obscured by shadow.

I have to go to work Yuku. I'll see you later. A familiar voice echoed and the figure placed a hand on his head. Even if it was just in his imagination, he could almost feel it.

"I'm looking for home," the little spirit eventually answered with a sniffle. "Can you help me?"

"Of course," the human smiled. "That's what I'm here for. C'mon, my car's not far."

He followed the human to a nearby vehicle. It was also blue with the same gold emblem painted on the side.

"What's your name?" the human asked once they were on the road.

He thought a moment. "It's Yuku," he replied, his cheerful mood returning.

"Nice to meet you Yuku," the human said. "I'm Jun. I'll make sure you get home safe."

Shizuku drove directly to the Republic City Police headquarters. If she had any hope of finding Yuku in the large city, she was going to need to use all the resources at her disposal. Tema hopped onto her shoulder as she exited the vehicle. They weren't about to let her out of their sight.

Officers looked curiously at her as she marched through the precinct. They'd all seen spirits before, but it was unusual to see her carry one into the building. She ignored them and went straight to the spirit investigations office. She had fond memories of the office as it was where she had first met Mako. Now, it belonged to the current head of the Bureau of Spirit Investigations.

She stepped inside to find the office empty. Where is he?

"Has anyone s, seen lieutenant Jun this morning?" she called across the precinct.

"I think he went out on patrol already this morning ma'am," an officer replied.

"Wh, What about Taro?" Taro was also part of the B.S.I., but he had a tendency to be late.

"Haven't seen them this morning either," the officer answered.

She huffed and rolled her eyes. It would be nice if they had more officers willing to train as spirit negotiators. Her next stop was dispatch. The officer stationed there quickly turned from their magazine and came to attention as she approached.

"I, I need you to put out an all points bulletin," she began. "All officers should b, be on the lookout for a dandelion spirit. He's lost a, and probably confused. If found, I, I am to be contacted immediately."

"Yes ma'am. I'll get on it right away," they said and went straight to the radio.

Jun drove through the streets quite pleased with himself. He always felt good when he was able to help a spirit. It made him appreciate his decision to leave the Air Nation to become a proper officer. Plus, he had the honor of working under The Fetchling the founder of the B.S.I. and close friend of Master Jinora. He was fond of sprits and although he could do a lot as an Airbender, he felt he could do more as an officer like Chief Mako had.

His good mood was interrupted by the radio.

"All units. Be on the look-out for a small dandelion spirit likely near Farwin Avenue. It may be confused. If seen; report it immediately," the dispatch officer's official voice came over the line.

What a coincidence. He smiled to himself as he grabbed the receiver.

"This is Lieutenant Jun. I am happy to report that I found the dandelion spirit and escorted him safely to the Spirit Portal," he proudly stated.

"You WHAT?!" A different voice hollered. It startled him to the point that he accidentally swerved into traffic. Cars honked as he quickly corrected course and eventually pulled to the curb.

"C, Captain Shizuku?" It was rare he heard his superior so upset. "Did I do something wrong?"

"You need to go right back to the Spirit Portal and find that spirit!" Shizuku ordered. The fact that her stutter was gone meant she was extremely upset. "I'm going to meet you there."

"Right away ma'am," Jun replied. He immediately flipped on the sirens and spun his vehicle around to return to the Spirit Portal.

Yuku hovered over the field of flowers in what the human had told him was the Spirit World. In the distance, he saw other spirits floating through the sky. The nice human that had brought him here had said this was his home but it wasn't right. It didn't look anything like the image he had seen in his mind. Slowly, he turned around and dragged himself back through the yellow beam that reached to the sky.

On the other side of the portal, grey clouds greeted him. They added to his dour mood. His fluff body slowly sank as he began his trek back through the city to try again to find home.

Jun was back at the park that surrounded the portal a short while later. He had already been halfway across town on his patrol when he'd heard the A.P.B. Because of that, it had taken him a while to return to the area. Acting Chief Shizuku was already there with a small fox spirit on her shoulder. It looked like she was questioning local spirits, and Airbenders, that must have been in the area. He didn't waste anymore time as he leapt from his car to address the woman.

"Captain!" he hollered as he approached. "I came as quickly as possible."

The group Shizuku had been talking to stepped aside as Jun entered the conversation. "Lieutenant, y, you finally arrived," the Captain stated. She sounded a lot calmer than what he had heard over the radio. "I, I want you t, to tell us exactly what you did with the dandelion spirit y, you found."

"Yes ma'am," he replied with a sharp salute. "I was on my usual morning patrol when I saw the dandelion spirit. It said it was looking for home. I brought it back here to the Spirit Portal, escorted it through the gate, and resumed my patrol. I thought that was the proper place for it since it couldn't tell me where its home was."

The Captain let out a long sigh. "N, Not all spirits c, call the Spirit World home. You know that."

Jun did, except he was so eager to help the spirit that it hadn't occurred to him that it could live anywhere else. What he had hoped was his quick actions would impress his superiors. Instead, he'd apparently done the exact opposite.

"C, Can you tell me anything else a, about the spirit?" The Captain stirred him from his thoughts.

"It said its name was Yuku," he simply answered.

Everyone that had been watching leapt backwards when the small fox on the Captain's shoulder, suddenly turned into a giant, eight-tailed beast. Even Jun's training with spirits hadn't prepared him for such a situation.

"Foolish human!" The beast managed to roar without moving a single fang. "You left him to die!"

Certain he was going to be devoured, Jun cringed beneath the great spirit's gaping jaws. He was saved when the Captain stepped between him and the spirit.

"Tema. Stop!"

Jun watched in awe as the spirit bent before his superior.

"What did w, we discuss?" The Captain scolded the spirit. The spirit gave a low growl before it shrank and returned to her shoulder. She then turned to the group. "I want everyone t, to be on alert. I have n, no idea where Yuku will go but we n, need to find him as soon as possible."

Yuku floated aimlessly along the city streets, carried mostly by the wind. Since the humans weren't able to help him, he decided he would find home on his own. The problem was, he had no idea where to go and he was starting to feel the opposite of happy. His little leaf hands practically dragged on the ground as the buildings slowly shrank behind him. While he was floating along the road, a large four-wheeled machine rumbled past him. The draft the metal machine generated caught his small, seedy body. He squealed as it spun around and tossed him far from the road. Once he stopped spinning, he sank to the ground where his white fluff turned to shades of dark. He was too not happy to go any further. He rolled across the ground like a tumbleweed as he surrendered himself to the mercy of the wind.

It was some time later when he squished into something. He peeled his face off the grass to see what had blocked his progress. In front of him was a tall wall.

"Home?" Yuku wondered as he gazed at the structure. He lifted himself off the ground to get a better look. It was a small, one-level house with an attached garage. In the backyard was an in-ground pool. Something in his mind clicked. He recalled playing by that pool; there was man with silver horns, a short woman with grey hair, a young girl who also had silver horns and a tail, in his head they were all laughing and smiling. With them was also a small fox with four tails.

"Tema!" Yuku excitedly blurted. "I remembered! I remembered! Home! Home! I found home!"

Darkness had long since covered the sky when Shizuku pulled her car into the garage. An entire day of searching for Yuku had resulted in nothing.

"Why are we stopping?!" Tema's bipedal form growled from where they were sitting in the passenger seat. "We need to find him!"

Shizuku let out a heavy sigh. "Tema…I, I know you're worried. I am too, but I'm not a spirit. I'm exhausted and n, need to take a b, break. We can start a, again tomorrow if none of the third-shift officers find him during the night."

"Let me go find him then," Tema snarled.

"A, Absolutely not. I won't have you going wild in the streets," she stated. She knew she was pushing her limit with the great spirit. Without Mako, she wasn't going to be able to keep Tema reigned-in for much longer. Tema considered Mako their friend, she was just the wife. She let out another exhausted sigh as they stepped into the house.

"Zuki!"

She jumped when a dandelion fluff suddenly appeared in front of her face.

"Yuku?" She could hardly believe it.

"I found home! All by myself," Yuku proudly proclaimed.

"You did," a third voice interrupted.

At her feet, Tema had reverted to their little form so they wouldn't frighten Yuku.

"Tema!" Yuku happily squealed as he went to hug his friend. As usual, little Tema's face remained stoic but their rapidly wagging tails showed how happy they were to see their companion.

A smile spread across her face as she watched the two spirits get reacquainted. Miraculously, Yuku had found his way back to the house on his own which he'd never done before. He even remembered her and Tema's names. In the entire time she had known Yuku, he had been "reborn" thirty-four times. Most of his…ends were accidents due to his constant naïveté, like when he wanted to see how lawnmowers worked—twice. As hard as they tried to protect him, he always managed to find a way into trouble. It was okay since he couldn't really die as long as they had one of his seeds to plant, but he never remembered anything after he regrew. This was the first time he had any kind of recollection of his previous life. Something had changed the little spirit although she couldn't say what. Maybe after spending all these years with her family, everything finally stuck.

"I'm s, so happy you're home Yuku." Tears threatened to escape her eyes as she gave the spirit an affectionate pat on the head. She'd have to tell Mako and Mari the good news the next time she spoke with them. In the meantime, there was one more thing to do. She took hold of a single seed and plucked it from his little body. Yuku didn't really feel pain the same way so he didn't even flinch when she took it. Then, she went to her bedroom and dug through the closet. Eventually, she found a small narrow box, probably once used for a necklace as it still had a cloth lining. Carefully, she tucked the seed into the material and stashed it in the drawer of her nightstand. There it would stay safe until they needed it again, although something in the back of her mind told her they wouldn't need it for a long time.