(Originally posted April 26, 2023 on AO3)

Zuko stared at the pearl-handled dagger in his hand and took a deep breath.

Just do it.

He slowly lifted the blade to the crown of his head, holding his ponytail up with his other hand, and with one swipe, it was gone, leaving nothing but a diamond-shaped patch of short hair on his otherwise clean-shaven head.

He let out the breath he had been holding, and handed the dagger to his uncle, who sliced his own topknot off without hesitation.

Zuko tried to ignore the gnawing feeling of guilt in his stomach. In Fire Nation culture, the hair was arguably the most important part of the body. Only very close family members and loved ones were permitted to touch it, and cutting one's hair was only done in situations of extreme dishonor. Up to this point, Zuko had been shaving his head nearly every day since he had been banished, as was the custom for any firebender who lost an Agni Kai. However, cutting off one's topknot or ponytail was only done in circumstances akin to death.

And that was exactly why he and his uncle were doing it.

They had both made the decision together shortly after the Air Nomad relic incident with Zhao. The admiral had declared them traitors months ago anyway, so it had only been a matter of time. And at this point, Zuko wanted to let go of anything connecting him to his old life. He was not that person any longer.

However, it still felt very wrong.

Together, he and Iroh dropped their topknots into the stream they were kneeling next to, and watched as the current washed them away.

"You guys didn't have to do that..." Aang said. The Avatar had been watching from a few feet behind them, leaning against a tree. "I know how important topknots are to Fire Nation culture."

Iroh pushed himself to his feet and walked over to the airbender, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, Aang. We made this decision on our own. Trust me when I say we did not make it lightly, and that it was for a good reason."

Aang nodded, but still looked somewhat troubled.

"We've rested enough for today. We should keep flying," Zuko chimed in, attempting to change the subject as he joined them at the tree. He didn't want to dwell on what he and his uncle had just done. "We're only a couple days away from the mountain village, and we don't want to give Zhao any more time to catch up with us."

"Agreed," Iroh said. "We can stop again once we've crossed the river. We should be safe once we return to Earth Kingdom-controlled territory."

Zuko hoped his uncle was right.

Aang slowly opened his eyes, scrunching his brow in confusion when he began to recognize what looked like the ceiling back in his old bedroom at the Southern Air Temple.

He sat up with a start, rapidly scanning his surroundings. He really was back in his old room.

He was back home.

Had everything that had happened with Zuko, Iroh, and the Fire Nation been nothing more than a vivid dream?

A light knock at the door interrupted his thoughts. "Come in," he said, and the door creaked open.

Gyatso poked his head in the room and smiled warmly. "Good morning, Aang."

"Gyatso!" Aang cried, jumping out of his bed and into his mentor's arms, hugging him tightly. "You're here. You're..." Alive.

The old monk chuckled and gently patted Aang's head. "What are you talking about? Of course I'm here."

"I..." How was he supposed to explain his dream to Gyatso? He had never had one so vivid before. "It's hard to explain..."

Gyatso was silent for a moment. "Ah. Would it help if you told me the truth?"

Aang pulled back from the hug and cocked his head to the side in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"We needed you, Aang. But you left us. And now we're gone."

"Huh?!" Aang exclaimed, taking a step back.

Suddenly, Gyatso and the room disappeared, and Aang was surrounded by Fire Nation skeletons, a beam of light illuminating his mentor's corpse in the center.

"No! No no no no no!" he yelled, closing his eyes and covering his ears. "I'm sorry!"

The scene shifted again, and he was now flying Appa through a violent storm over the South Sea. He could barely see anything due the heavy pelting of rain, and Appa roared fearfully as the large waves below threatened to overtake them. Aang tried to steer them out of the path of one of them, but was unsuccessful.

The next moment, he was submerged deep in the ocean, the lightning from the storm illuminating its waters with an eerie glow. He was outside of his body, watching the now-unconscious forms of Appa and himself sinking deeper and deeper into the blackness. Aang tried to open his mouth to cry out to himself, to tell himself to wake up and go back to the temple, but his mouth filled with salty water when he tried.

He continued to watch helplessly as his other self's eyes shot open and began to glow, a bright white light emanating from them, and he seemingly instinctively slammed his fists together, beginning to freeze himself and Appa into an iceberg.

The same iceberg that Zuko would find ninety-six years later.

The glowing iceberg faded away, and Aang's vision darkened as he floated further into the depths of the dark ocean, wondering when this nightmare would be over.

Aang.

Who was calling out to him? He didn't recognize their voice.

Aang.

He squinted his eyes when the darkness abruptly turned to stark white. He put his hand over his brow to help his eyes adjust, and he realized he was standing in the middle of a snowy tundra. In the distance, he could see a column of smoke. He couldn't explain why, but for some reason, he felt drawn to it.

He turned around to see a now-calm blue sea stretching out into the horizon. He squinted again when he caught a glimpse of something in the far distance. It began as a red speck, but as it grew closer, Aang recognized what it was with a spike of terror.

In a split second, a large red dragon had landed directly in front of him, and began slowly reaching out one of its whisker tendrils towards him. Aang willed his body to move, to run, but he found that he couldn't.

Aang.

"Aang!"

His eyes shot open to see an anxious-looking Zuko hovering over him, Momo perched on his shoulder.

Aang blinked several times. "Wha...? Zuko?" Aang still wasn't used to seeing the Fire Prince with his entire head covered in hair. In the few days that had passed since he had cut off his ponytail, he had stopped shaving his head as well.

He sat up, and Zuko quickly backed away—the Fire Prince clearly still wasn't used to being physically close to others.

"You were muttering in your sleep, so I, uh, wanted to check if you were okay," Zuko said with a slight cough.

Aang smiled, touched that his friend had been concerned about him. "I'm okay. I just had a bad dream."

Zuko nodded seriously. "I have them too, all the time. Makes it really difficult to get a good night's sleep."

Aang felt a tug of sympathy in his heart. He couldn't imagine the types of nightmares the young firebender had, but he guessed they probably weren't pretty.

"Do you... wanna talk about it?" Zuko asked.

Aang looked at his friend in surprise. He still wasn't used to Zuko being this open to talking about... well, anything. "It was the storm," Aang replied, pulling his knees to his chest. "I dream about it a lot."

"The storm?"

"The storm I got caught in before I got frozen in the iceberg."

Zuko raised his eyebrows and nodded in understanding.

"Except this time, it ended differently than it usually does. Usually I wake up when I hit the ocean, but this time I was–"

Before he could finish his sentence, Iroh spoke from where he was sitting on Appa's head. "Are you two awake back there?"

"Yes, uncle," Zuko replied in slight annoyance. He looked back to Aang, expecting him to finish talking about his dream.

Aang waved his hand. "It's nothing. It didn't even make sense anyway." I don't want to worry him.

Zuko narrowed his eyes, looking skeptical, but did not press him further. He then got up and walked over to the front of the saddle, Momo taking off from his shoulder to begin flying next to Appa. "Will we be able to land anytime soon, uncle? And I mean actually land, not just to go to the bathroom or sleep for a few hours and immediately start flying again? Surely we've put enough distance between us and Zhao by now."

"I'm hopeful," Iroh replied. "We're on the other side of the river, so we should be safer now that we're back in Earth Kingdom-controlled..." he trailed off.

"What is it?" Zuko questioned, leaning over the edge to see what was ahead of them below the clouds. Suddenly, his face blanched, and Aang scrambled over next to the Fire Prince to see what he and his uncle were looking at.

He gasped in horror when he saw it. The lush forest below had been marred by a large, dark patch of land. It had been completely burned. "It... it looks like..." Aang murmured, unable to find the words to describe the devastation.

"Like a scar," Zuko finished his sentence, knuckles growing white as he gripped the edge of the saddle. Disgust and shame were evident in his voice.

Aang couldn't take his eyes off of the burnt patch of earth. He felt hollow inside. Was this what the Fire Nation had done to the Air Temples?

He felt something tugging at his chest the longer he looked. "Iroh, can you take us down?" he asked, and both Iroh and Zuko looked at him in surprise.

"Aang, it is too dangerous to-"

"The Fire Nation isn't here anymore. They've done their damage." Aang interrupted. "Do you see any ships on the coastline? Any camps? Any soldiers?"

Iroh and Zuko shared a nervous glance.

"Please. I need to see it."

Iroh stared at him for a moment, then turned back around to whip Appa's reins.

When they landed, Aang dismounted first, Zuko and Iroh following close behind. The entire section of the forest had been completely turned to gray ash, save for a few burnt and blackened tree stumps here and there.

"Aang, I'm... sorry," Iroh said, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. However, Aang could hear the anger in the old general's shaking voice. "This never should have happened."

Aang fell to the ground on his knees and gathered a pile of ash in his hand, watching it slowly seep through his fingers. "Why would anyone do this? How could I let this happen?"

"You didn't let this happen, Aang!" Zuko countered angrily. "It's the Fire Nation's fault. It has nothing to do with you."

"Yes, it does," Aang argued. "It's the Avatar's job to protect nature. But I don't know how to do my job." He squeezed his eyes shut. "All I've done is let people down, and run away from my problems."

"You couldn't have known what would happen, Aang," Iroh said. "You may be the Avatar, but you can't be everywhere at once."

"But I could have at least been helping people the past six months, fighting the Fire Nation, preventing things like this from happening! I'm the Avatar! I'm supposed to help everyone, but all I've done is think about myself, and risk lives in the process!" Aang shot back, gripping his staff tightly. He felt sick to his stomach.

Iroh looked at him with a serious expression. "Aang, you are too hard on yourself. You were not selfish to want to search for Air Nomad survivors. It is not selfish to hope."

Aang shook his head. "But Guru Pathik was right. I have to stop running away. I need to begin my Avatar training. I need to find a waterbending teacher, but now we're weeks away from the North Pole, and the Fire Nation is probably crawling all over the northern Earth Kingdom looking for me." He stood up and sighed. "Besides, even if we could get to the North Pole easily, there's no one there who can teach me how to be the Avatar. Monk Gyatso said that Avatar Roku would help me."

"The Fire Nation Avatar before you?" Zuko asked. "He's been dead for over a hundred years. How are you supposed to talk to him?"

"Aang must establish a connection with Avatar Roku's spirit," Iroh explained.

"And how do you know that, uncle?" Zuko's eyes narrowed, and he folded his arms. "Anything you want to tell us? You promised no more secrets."

"Indeed I did," Iroh nodded. "I have entered the Spirit World myself several times in the past, so I have some knowledge about spiritual matters."

Aang and Zuko's jaws both dropped simultaneously. Traveling into the Spirit World was not something the average person just did. Aang had only heard of a handful of monks who had been able to do so in his lifetime. It was an extremely rare feat, meaning that Iroh was an incredibly spiritual person.

"Uncle, how on earth did you manage to go into the Spirit World multiple times?" Zuko demanded incredulously. "And again, why didn't you tell us this earlier?"

"You never asked," Iroh replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

Zuko grunted in frustration and pinched his nose bridge. "Whatever. So you've been to the Spirit World, and that's how you know all this. How is Aang supposed to connect with Avatar Roku's spirit?"

Iroh cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "That, I don't exactly know."

Zuko's eye twitched.

"Excuse me?" an unknown voice interrupted from behind them.

Right as Aang turned around, Zuko jumped in front of him, broadswords unsheathed. "Who are you?" he demanded.

Aang peered over Zuko's shoulder to see an old man approaching the trio, dressed in dark green robes with furs on his shoulders and a knotted walking stick in his right hand. "When I saw the flying bison, I thought it was impossible!" the old man exclaimed. "But, those markings... are you the Avatar, child?"

Aang suddenly remembered he was not wearing his bamboo hat, and mentally kicked himself. At least Iroh and Zuko had long since stopped wearing their Fire Nation attire.

The old man did not seem inherently suspicious. Aang moved forward, gently pushing Zuko's broadswords out of the way, and glanced over at the Fire Prince, who shook his head vehemently. He then glanced to Iroh, who studied the old man for a moment, then looked back to Aang and nodded. He decided that Iroh was probably the better judge of character in this situation, and looked back to the old man, nodding in reply.

"My village desperately needs your help!"

It was nearly sunset by the time they reached Senlin Village, and Zuko noticed immediately that two of its front buildings looked as if they had been destroyed. By what, he did not know, but it made him feel very uneasy. He was still feeling quite frustrated that Iroh and Aang had decided to trust the old man, and remained on his guard, ready to unsheathe his broadswords again at a moment's notice if need be.

The old man, who had given his name as Kay-fon, led them to the center building at the back of the village, where a younger, middle-aged man sporting similar dark green robes and an Earth Kingdom-style topknot stood.

"This young person is the Avatar!" Kay-fon told the man, who Zuko guessed was the village leader.

The village leader addressed Aang with a tired smile. "So, the rumors of your return are true! It is the greatest honor of a lifetime to be in your presence."

"Nice to meet you too!" Aang replied kindly. "So... is there something I can help you with?"

"I'm not sure..." The man replied, lips pressed into a thin line.

"Our village is in crisis, he's our only hope!" Kay-fon stressed, and turned to Aang. "For the last few days at sunset, a spirit monster comes and attacks our village. He is Hei Bai, the black and white spirit."

Zuko felt a spike of fear in his stomach. A spirit monster? "Why is it attacking you?" he asked.

"We do not know, but each of the last three nights, he has abducted one of our own," the village leader replied solemnly. "We are especially fearful because the winter solstice draws near."

"What happens then?" Aang asked.

"As the solstice approaches, the natural world and the Spirit World grow closer and closer until the line between them is blurred completely," Kay-fon explained.

The village leader shook his head. "Hei Bai is already causing devastation and destruction. Once the solstice is here, there's no telling what will happen."

Aang scratched the back of his head. "So, what do you want me to do, exactly?"

"Who better to resolve a crisis between our world and the Spirit World than the Avatar himself?" Kay-fon said confidently. "You are the great bridge between man and spirits."

"Right... that's me," Aang replied, and Zuko sighed, shaking his head.

"Hey," he whispered, nudging his friend with his elbow. "Could I talk to you—both of you—over here for a second?" He gestured behind him with his head, and Aang and Iroh followed him next to a nearby window. "You seem... unsure about all of this."

"Yeah, that might be because I don't know anything at all about the Spirit World," Aang replied in annoyance. "It's not like there's someone to teach me this stuff! I've never even met anyone who had actually traveled into the Spirit World until Iroh, and we literally just found that out today."

Zuko sighed again and turned to Iroh. "Uncle, please tell me you know how Aang can help these people."

Iroh blinked several times. "Well... I don't know everything about spiritual matters... and certainly not Avatar matters."

"But you have to have some idea!" Zuko demanded.

Iroh stroked his beard for a moment, staring at the ground in deep thought. "Hmm. Well, most spirits are not inherently violent. But both the Spirit World and its inhabitants are easily influenced by emotions, either from the spirits themselves or from nearby humans."

Zuko and Aang looked at one another in surprise. So his uncle did actually know quite a bit about spirits.

"The Avatar is part spirit," Iroh continued. "Which is why an untrained Avatar, when experiencing extreme negative emotions, can find themself trapped in the Avatar State."

"Woah..." Aang breathed. "I'm part spirit?"

"So does that mean that the spirit monster is... Angry about something? And that's why it's attacking the village?" Zuko asked.

Iroh nodded. "It is the most likely explanation."

"That's it! I just need to figure out what made the spirit angry, and then fix it!" Aang exclaimed with a smile.

"And how are you going to do that? By having a little chat with it?" Zuko asked sarcastically.

"Well... yeah."

Zuko stared at Aang with a deadpan expression and turned to Iroh, who shrugged.

"It might work," his uncle said.

Zuko smacked his forehead with his palm and groaned.

Once the sun had begun to set, Zuko watched anxiously from the windows of the center building as Aang made his way to the front of the village, staff in hand. He and Iroh were hiding with the rest of the villagers while Aang stayed outside to "talk" to the spirit.

He didn't like this one bit.

"Hello, spirit? Can you hear me? This is the Avatar speaking. I'm here to try to help stuff," Aang called out as he walked.

"This isn't right," Zuko growled. "I won't sit here and cower while Aang waits for some monster to show up."

"If anyone can save us, he can," Kay-fon said. "He's the great–"

"Yeah, yeah, 'the great bridge between man and spirits', we know," Zuko interrupted, shooting the old man an irritated glance. "But he still shouldn't have to face this alone!"

He turned back to watch Aang, the shadows of the buildings fading as the sun finally disappeared over the western horizon.

"The sun has set. Where are you, Hei Bai?" Aang called out. He waited several more moments, and Zuko held his breath, but nothing happened.

"Well... spirit... uhhh... I hereby ask you to please leave this village in peace!" Aang spun his staff and landed it on the ground in a gesture of authority.

Again, there was no response.

"Okay... well... I guess that's settled, then," Aang finished, and turned around to walk back towards the center building.

Suddenly, Zuko's eyes widened in terror as something huge materialized at the entrance of the village, walking right up behind Aang, who turned to face him.

"You must be the Hei Bai spirit. My name is–" Aang started, but was interrupted when the black-and-white beast opened its sharp-toothed maw to release some sort of blast of spirit energy directly at him, which the Avatar thankfully evaded.

"My name's Aang! I'm the Avatar and I would like to help. Hey, wait up!"

The monster ignored him, and began to phase rapidly to different parts of the village, destroying more buildings with its energy blasts.

"Uhh..." Aang said, head turning back and forth as he watched the monster wreak its havoc.

"The Avatar's methods are ... unusual," the village leader said nervously from behind them.

"It's not interested in talking. We should go help him!" Zuko said, standing up.

"No. Only the Avatar stands a chance against the Hei Bai," Kay-fon argued.

"Please, would you stop destroying things and listen?" he heard Aang shout, now sounding annoyed. "I'm trying to do my job as spirit bridge! Excuse me, would you please turn around?" Aang's efforts continued to be futile. "I command you to turn around now! " he finally shouted angrily.

This time, the spirit granted his request. Then, it immediately lifted one of its four arms and smacked it into Aang, sending him flying to the roof of another building.

"That's it. He needs help," Zuko said, and ran out of the building.

"Zuko, wait!" Iroh said, following him out the door. "You can't just attack a spirit! Your emotions will influence it!"

"Hei Bai! Over here!" Zuko yelled, unsheathing his broadswords, and the monster turned.

"Zuko, go back!" Aang demanded. "You too, Iroh!"

"No!" Zuko replied. "We'll fight him together!"

Aang shook his head. "But I don't wanna fight him unless I–"

Before he knew what was happening, the monster suddenly phased behind them and reached down to grab Iroh from the ground.

"Uncle!" Zuko yelled. "Let him go!" He swung his broadswords at the creature, but one of its other arms knocked them out of his hand before they could land a blow.

"Zuko, don't!" Iroh yelled back. "I'll be fine! You must run!"

As the monster lifted another one of its arms to land a blow on him, Zuko moved into a firebending stance. He had hoped he wouldn't have to use his bending with the villagers watching, but he didn't have time to go pick up his broadswords.

"Hey!" Aang yelled, jumping off one of the roofs, staff raised as he prepared to hit the monster with a blast of air.

However, before either of them could act, the Hei Bai spirit turned around and abruptly took off into the dark forest.

"Uncle!" Zuko cried out again, beginning to panic. Where was the monster taking him?

"Hang on, Iroh!" Aang yelled. He flicked his glider open, taking off after them.

When Aang opened his eyes, it was near sunrise. He jumped back onto his feet and whipped his head around. He had been chasing Hei Bai and Iroh, but then everything had gone dark. Somehow, he had ended up back in the burnt area of the forest. Aside from a statue carved into the shape of some sort of bear-like animal that sat in front of him, the area was completely barren. He saw no sign of life.

"Iroh!" he exclaimed, remembering what had happened the night before. "I failed..."

He had to return to the village and let Zuko and the others know what had happened. He sighed, picked up his staff, and began his trek back through the forest.

I let everyone down again, he thought morosely.

When he arrived back at the village, he saw Zuko petting Appa's muzzle just outside the village entrance. The bison let out a nervous grunt.

"It's okay, Appa. I'm sure Aang and uncle are fine," Zuko said with a sigh. "I'll head back into the forest once the sun has risen to keep looking for them. And we can fly around the area later."

He walked up to them. "Zuko... I'm back. I lost him. I'm sorry."

Zuko did not look at him, and said nothing. He must be really angry with me...

"The sun is rising. Perhaps the Avatar will return soon," Kay-fon said, walking over to the sullen Prince.

Zuko turned and glared at him. "The Avatar and my uncle are gone now, thanks to you."

The old man bowed his head in remorse, and Aang could see the immediate guilt in Zuko's amber eyes.

"What? No, I'm right here!" He waved his hand in front of Zuko's face, and started when he noticed that it appeared to be a translucent blue color. He frantically looked at his other hand, which was also translucent blue, then down at his body, and gasped. "Am I in the Spirit World?"

Zuko sighed. "Aang's a smart kid. If anyone can fix this, he can. And not just because he's the Avatar, or the great bridge guy."

Kay-fon smiled slightly and nodded. "You care for your friend deeply."

Zuko flushed slightly, the tips of his ears turning pink. "He's... I..." the Fire Prince stuttered, and Kay-fon chuckled before turning back towards the village. Zuko grunted and shook his head in annoyance.

"I'm glad you believe in me, Zuko. I'll figure this out," Aang said, touched by his friend's words. "I promise. Like they said, I'm the bridge between the worlds, right? All I have to do is... figure out what I have to do. But once I do that, no problem."

"Come on, Appa," Zuko sighed, pulling on the bison's reins to lead him into the village. "Let's get you something to eat."

Aang slumped his shoulders. "What am I supposed to do? Iroh is the only one who would know, but he's gone... Avatar Roku, I'm in the Spirit World, but how can I talk to you?"

He turned to face the forest and looked up into the now bright morning sky, and squinted when he noticed something growing closer in the distance. "Iroh?" As the thing drew closer, Aang realized that it was some sort of creature. "That's definitely not Iroh." What if it was another vengeful spirit?

He flicked open his glider and jumped onto it to fly away, only to realize that he could not keep it aloft. "What?" He landed back on his feet and attempted to create a gust of air with an airbending move. Nothing happened. "I can't airbend in the Spirit World!"

The creature landed directly behind him, and he spun around to face it. His eyes widened in recognition when he saw the creature: it was the dragon he had seen in his dream!

"You don't know where Iroh is, do you?"

The dragon remained silent, and just like in his dream, it reached out a whisker. When it touched his forehead, a vision of Avatar Roku flying on the dragon flashed in his mind.

"You're Avatar Roku's animal guide! Like Appa is to me!" Aang exclaimed happily.

The dragon blinked slowly in response.

"I need to save my friend and I don't know how! Is there some way for me to talk to Roku?"

The dragon curled around him and he climbed onto its back. "I'll be back, Zuko," he promised, looking back at the village behind him as they flew towards the ocean. "Take me to Roku!"

The dragon took off at lightning speed, and before he knew it, they had arrived at a crescent-shaped volcanic island with a multi-tiered temple built upon it. The dragon flew into the temple, then directly towards the roof.

"Hey, what are you doing? AAAAAH!" Aang screamed, squeezing his eyes shut, but the impact never came.

When he opened his eyes, they were in a mysterious room containing a golden statue of Avatar Roku. "I don't understand. This is just a statue of Roku."

The dragon pressed another whisker to Aang's forehead, and a vision of a fiery comet flashed in his mind.

"Is that what Roku wants to talk to me about? The comet that Sozin used to attack my people? When can I talk to him?"

The dragon moved its head, allowing a light beam to appear through a small hole near the chamber's ceiling. It pressed its whisker to Aang's forehead again, and he saw a vision of the sun rising and setting repeatedly, the light getting closer and closer to the statue of Roku each time.

Aang understood now. "It's a calendar, and the light will reach Roku on the solstice! So that's when I'll be able to speak to Roku?" The dragon exhaled, which Aang took as confirmation that he was correct. "But I can't wait that long! I need to save Iroh now!"

Aang climbed back onto the dragon's back, and it raced back to the forest near Senlin Village. When it reached the burnt area, Aang noticed that it was taking him back in the direction of the bear-like statue he remembered seeing when he first woke up. He spotted a familiar-looking figure sitting in lotus pose on top of the statue, and suddenly realized that the figure was him .

The dragon flew directly towards the statue at high speed, and Aang squeezed his eyes shut again, bracing for impact. "Whoa!"

When he opened his eyes, he was sitting on top of the bear statue, fully corporeal once more. He quickly scanned the area with his eyes, then jumped down to the ground. He stared at the statue with a furrowed brow. How was he supposed to help Iroh and stop the Hei Bai spirit? Were there any clues near this statue that could be of use to him?

He looked down, and something on the ground caught his eye. He knelt down to pick it up and studied it for a moment. It was an acorn.

He looked back up at the bear-like statue, then back at the acorn in his palm.

That's it!

He shoved the acorn in his pocket, then took off on his glider back towards Senlin Village.

Zuko sighed in exasperation, willing himself to remain calm as he flew Appa over the forest for what seemed like the hundredth time that day, Momo gliding alongside them.

"It's no use. I don't see them anywhere. And the sun will be setting soon," he murmured. It seemed their best hope now was to go back to the village and wait, which was the last thing Zuko wanted to do. He hated feeling so helpless.

He landed at the village entrance and dismounted, Momo crawling up on his shoulder. Right when he turned to reenter the village, Appa began braying loudly from behind him. He turned around, fearful that the spirit monster had returned, then gasped as he watched Aang fly over the forest and land in front of them.

Laughing in disbelief, Zuko ran towards Aang and hugged him tightly. "You're back!"

"Good to see you too, hotman," Aang replied happily, and hugged Zuko back.

Zuko suddenly realized that he had initiated the hug without thinking, and jumped back, cheeks burning. "I'm... uh... I'm glad you're alright," he said, smoothing the front of his robes. "Where's uncle?"

Aang looked off to the side. "I'm not sure... But I think I know how to deal with the Hei Bai spirit now."

Zuko looked at him in confusion. "How?"

Aang turned to look towards the village entrance. "I'm not sure if it will work, but I don't think there's another option. I have to try talking to it again."

"Again? Talking didn't exactly work out so well the first time," Zuko replied, feeling both irritated and anxious at the same time. "What makes you think it'll work now? We should be preparing to defend ourselves."

Aang shook his head. "You have to trust me, Zuko."

Zuko folded his arms and pursed his lips into a thin line. He had told Kay-fon earlier that day that Aang was a smart kid, and that he had faith in him. He supposed he would be a hypocrite if he didn't trust his friend now. "Fine. But I'm not hiding this time."

About an hour had passed after sunset while Aang waited at the entrance to the village for the Hei Bai spirit to reappear. Zuko was beginning to grow restless from where he stood a few feet behind the Avatar, broadswords drawn. Is it even going to come back? Is uncle just... gone forever?

Aang sighed from in front of him and slumped his shoulders, then turned around to walk back towards Zuko. Suddenly, Zuko jumped back as he saw Hei Bai materialize to his right. Aang, however, remained standing where he was.

"What are you doing?!" Zuko yelled. "Run, before it attacks you!"

Aang ignored Zuko, and as the spirit turned to begin attacking the village once more, he jumped in front of it. "You're the spirit of this forest! Now I understand," Aang said, addressing the spirit directly. "You're upset and angry because your home was burned down. When I saw the forest had burned, I was sad and upset too. But then I found this," he reached into his pocket and pulled something out, showing it to the spirit. "An acorn. This reminded me that there is hope that the forest will grow back."

He placed the acorn at the creature's feet, and it picked it up gently in one of its large hands. After a moment, the spirit's monstrous form morphed into that of a peculiar looking black-and-white animal that almost resembled a platypus-bear, or a gopher-bear. The spirit turned and walked out of the village through its entrance, a series of bamboo shoots sprouting up behind it as it disappeared into the forest. Four people emerged from the bamboo cluster, and Zuko was relieved to see that one of them was his uncle.

"Uncle!" Zuko exclaimed in relief, and ran up to hug the old man, while the other villagers ran past them to embrace their loved ones as well.

"Are you, okay, Iroh?" Aang asked. "Where did Hei Bai take you?"

"It's... difficult to remember, and I'm not sure why," Iroh replied, squinting his eyes he attempted to recall what had happened to him. "But I'm fairly certain I was in Spirit World, physically." He shook his head slowly. "Strange. In my previous journeys there, I always remembered everything."

"Maybe it's because you never went physically before?" Aang posited.

"Maybe..." Iroh said, still seeming bothered. "No matter. Are you two alright? What happened while I was gone?"

"Aang figured out how to calm the spirit!" Zuko answered proudly. "I never doubted him."

Aang raised an eyebrow at him.

"Okay, fine. Maybe I doubted you a little."

"Thank you, Avatar," the Senlin Village leader said, interrupting their conversation. "If only there were a way to repay you for what you've done."

"How about some supplies, and some money?" Zuko immediately asked, and Aang and Iroh glared at him. "What? We're running low on both right now."

"It would be an honor to help you prepare for your next journey," the village leader replied, and Zuko folded his arms and nodded in acknowledgement.

"Well, I'm proud of you, Aang," Iroh said with a warm smile and a pat on the shoulder. "You figured out what to do all on your own! I knew you would."

"Actually, I did have a little help. And there's something else."

"What is it?" Zuko asked.

"I need to talk to Roku, and I think I found a way to contact his spirit."

"That's great, Aang! What do you need to do?" Iroh asked.

"There's a temple on a crescent-shaped island and if I go there on the solstice, I'll be able to speak with him," Aang explained.

"But the solstice is tomorrow!" Zuko exclaimed. "How far away is this island? Do you even know where it is?"

"Yeah... and that's another problem. The island is in the Fire Nation."