AVATAR PLUS TEN!

Chapter Two: A Strange New Friend

"We've been walking for days now! How much further is it to Ba Sing Se?" Toph complained loudly. She and her three companions, Aang, Katara, and Sokka, have been walking through a seemingly endless dense forest ever since they found their way out of the desert, with some help from the sandbenders.

"It's still a week by foot, more or less," Sokka replied. "Of course, we would get there much faster if we still had—" He was suddenly cut off by Katara giving him a quick jab in the ribs with her elbow.

"Sokka, will you stop that! Aang's still sad over the fact that Appa's gone," Katara whispered harshly to her older brother. "How can you be so insensitive?"

"It's okay, Katara, really," Aang replied as he looked back over his shoulder at Katara, Sokka, and Toph. "Come on, guys. The sooner we get to Ba Sing Se, the sooner we'll find Appa."

"Don't forget, Aang. We also need to tell the Earth King about the solar eclipse," Katara reminded the young airbender as the four friends entered a small clearing.

"I didn't forget, Katara," Aang replied a bit defensively.

"Wait a second, guys," Toph announced as she stopped dead in her tracks.

"What is it, Toph?" Sokka asked curiously as he, Katara, and Aang stopped as well.

"I can hear something…from up there," Toph explained as she pointed up at the sky. "Something big is flying towards us."

"Is it Appa?" Aang asked hopefully as he ran up to Toph, clearly excited over the possibility of being reunited with his sky bison sooner than expected.

"No, it's way too small to be Appa," Toph revealed, much to Aang's disappointment. "It's more like a bug…a big, ugly bug!" Just then, everyone heard a loud buzzing sound from somewhere overhead.

"Quick, hide!" Sokka whispered just loud enough for Katara, Aang, and Toph to overhear. The four friends quickly took cover behind separate trees as the buzzing sound came closer.

When the buzzing sound finally stopped, Aang carefully peeked out from behind his hiding place. He was shocked by the size of the bug, which was nearly twice the size of him. The large bug had a white body, a black head, two pairs of yellow-green eyestalks with solid orange eyeballs, two pairs of yellow-green spider-like legs, a pair of yellow-green arms with black three-digit claws, three black V-shaped stripes on the front of its thorax, a large black spade-shaped stinger at the end of its long tail, and a pair of long transparent pale yellow-green wings. When the bug turned around, Aang also noticed a strange symbol in the middle of the bug's forehead. He couldn't make out any details, but he noticed that it was a black circle with white and gray in the middle. The bug walked around a bit, as though it was looking for something or someone. After a short while, the bug took off to the skies.

"Did you see the size of that thing?" Sokka exclaimed in a loud whisper as he, Toph, Aang, and Katara cautiously came back into the clearing.

"Sure did. I'm gonna try and catch it," Aang announced as he leapt up into a nearby tree.

"Aang, don't! That bug looks dangerous!" Katara pleaded.

"I have to try, Katara," Aang replied as he paused to look down at the waterbender. "Besides, if I can find more bugs like that one, we can ride them and get to Ba Sing Se much quicker than on foot."

Before anyone could protest any further, Aang quickly jumped from tree to tree, eventually catching up to the strange-looking bug. Once he reached the treetops, Aang took one massive leap into the sky and landed on the bug's back.

"Huh? Hey, get off my back!" the bug complained in a raspy voice as he looked over his shoulder at Aang, who just stared back at him with a shocked, wide-eyed expression on his face and his mouth agape.

"Whoa! You can talk!" Aang exclaimed loudly.

"Uhh…so I can. Now, get off! I don't give free rides!" the bug told Aang.

"Wait! Can I ask you something, urhmm…what do I call you?" Aang asked a bit uncertainly.

"Call me Stinkfly!" the bug introduced himself.

"Okay…Stinkfly," Aang replied as he stifled a giggle. "Have you seen a sky bison around here at all?"

"Quick question: what's a sky bison?" Stinkfly asked curiously.

"Well, a sky bison is a really big flying bison covered in white fur," Aang described. "He has six legs, a big flat tail, and dark gray arrows on his head and all the way down his back."

"Sorry, haven't seen anything like that before," Stinkfly replied.

"Oh…I see…" Aang trailed off with a hint of sadness in his voice. Just then, Aang heard a strange beeping noise that appeared to be coming from Stinkfly.

"Uh…oh…" Stinkfly trailed off as his four eyes focused on the symbol on his forehead.

Suddenly, there was a brilliant flash of red light, so bright that Aang was forced to shield his eyes. When Aang brought his arm down, he gasped when he saw that Stinkfly was no longer there. In Stinkfly's place was a boy around his age with brown hair and green eyes.

"Huh?" Aang gasped as he and the boy started to plummet to the ground below.

"Hurry! Change back into the Stinkfly!" Aang shouted to the boy, who was frantically messing around with something attached to his left wrist.

"I can't!" the boy shouted back, clearly scared and frightened over their predicament.

As the two boys continued falling, Aang quickly removed his staff from his back and spun it around, opening up the concealed glider wings and tail. Once he secured himself in place, Aang quickly steered the glider towards the falling boy.

"Grab onto my glider!" Aang instructed the boy, who complied without hesitation by grabbing the very end of Aang's glider with both hands. As carefully as he could, Aang eventually brought himself and the boy safely to the ground.

"Wow! That was so cool!" the boy exclaimed as Aang spun the glider around, returning it back to its original staff form.

"Umm…thanks…" Aang trailed off with a chuckle as Katara, Sokka, and Toph soon joined them.

"Aang, are you okay?" Katara asked as she approached Aang.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Aang confirmed.

"Hey, Aang, who's that?" Sokka asked curiously as he pointed at the brown-haired, green-eyed boy.

"And what happened to that big, ugly bug?" Toph added.

"Umm, he was the bug…I think," Aang replied a bit uncertainly as he pointed at the boy with his staff. "He called himself a Stinkfly."

"No way! That's not possible!" Sokka exclaimed quite doubtfully.

"It is so! I was Stinkfly!" the boy confirmed with a hint of pride in his voice as he stood up.

"Oh, really? Then, how did ya do it?" Toph asked dully.

"With this," the boy announced as he pointed to the black device on his left wrist, with steel gray trim and a circle colored with white, black, and red.

"Umm…what is it?" Toph asked curiously.

"I've never seen anything like it before!" Sokka commented as he took a closer look at the strange device.

"Don't tell me you never saw a watch before!" the boy asked out of disbelief.

"What's a watch?" Katara asked curiously. "Is that what that thing on your wrist is called?"

"No, it's not a watch," the boy replied.

"Okay, first thing's first: Who are you?" Sokka asked the boy.

"Name's Ben Tennyson," the boy introduced himself.

"Hi, Ben Tennyson! My name's Aang!" Aang introduced himself as he vigorously shook Ben's hand.

"N-n-nice t-t-to m-m-meet y-y-you, t-t-too…" Ben trailed off when Aang finally let go of his hand. "You can just call me Ben."

"Okay, Ben. These are my friends," Aang continued as he first turned to Katara. "This is Katara, and that's her brother Sokka, and this is Toph."

"Hey," Ben replied as he waved to Katara, Toph, and Sokka, who all nodded a greeting back.

"So…what do you call this thing?" Katara asked curiously.

"It's called an Omnitrix," Ben replied as he held up his left wrist so everyone could have a good look at the Omnitrix. "This is how I'm able to change into Stinkfly…among other things!"

"So, how does this, umm…Om-nee-trick work?" Sokka asked a bit uncertainly.

"You see…all you do is press this button," Ben started to explain as he pointed at the small red button under the black ring of his Omnitrix. "Then when the ring pops up, just twist it until you see the guy you wanna be. Slam it down, and BAMMO! You're one of sixteen super-cool alien dudes!"

"Alien…dudes?" Katara repeated. "What are…alien dudes?"

"Aliens are creatures from other planets, like Stinkfly," Ben explained.

"Wow! That's amazing!" Aang gasped in awe. "Can you change into something else right now?"

"Umm, not just yet," Ben reluctantly admitted as he pointed at the Omnitrix with its red face. "The Omnitrix needs some time to recharge. Whenever the Omnitrix turns red like this, I can't use it until the light turns green again."

"So, what are you doing out here all by yourself, Shrimpy?" Toph asked dryly.

"Well, you see…hey, wait a minute!" Ben complained loudly as he stepped forward to confront Toph. "Why are you, of all people, calling me Shrimpy for, anyway? I'm taller than you!"

"Still doesn't mean you're not short…Shrimpy!" Toph pointed out with a smirk. It was then that Ben first noticed Toph's eyes.

"How can you even tell? You're blind!" Ben remarked, causing an angry look on Toph's face. In response, Toph stomped the back of her heel hard against the ground, causing the earth to shake and rumble just enough for Ben to fall flat on his face.

"Whoa…how did you do that?" Ben asked curiously as he carefully got back to his feet, keeping a wary eye on Toph.

"I'm an earthbender! Duh!" Toph remarked.

"Earthbender?" Ben repeated with a confused look on his face. "What the heck's that?"

"You gotta be kidding me! Have you been living under a rock or something?" Toph asked sarcastically.

"No!" Ben replied defensively. "I'm starting to think I landed on another planet or something!"

"Now you think you're from another planet? This kid's crazy!" Toph retorted.

"Actually…I think he's telling the truth," Katara spoke up.

"Are you sure, Katara?" Sokka prodded curiously. "So far, everything that Ben's been saying sounds pretty bizarre!"

"Think about it, Sokka. The strange clothes, that thing on his wrist, and he's never heard of bending before…maybe he is from a different world!" Katara suggested.

"Wow! I never met someone from a different world before!" Aang exclaimed softly.

"Yeah, me neither!" Ben pointed out with a chuckle. "So, what's this bending stuff all about?"

"Well, our world's divided up into four nations: the Air Nomads, the Water Tribes, the Earth Kingdom, and the Fire Nation," Aang started. "Each nation has benders, who can bend their nation's element. I'm an airbender, Katara's a waterbender, and you probably figured out that Toph's an earthbender."

"Yeah, that was an obvious one," Ben muttered out loud as he made a face at Toph, who stuck her tongue out right back at him. "Hey, how'd you know that I did that?"

"Toph may be blind, but she can see through her earthbending," Katara explained.

"O…kay…" Ben trailed off, confused over how that could possibly work. "What about the Fire Nation? Do you have any friends from there, Aang?"

"Umm…not anymore…" Aang trailed off with a hint of sadness in his voice.

"Why not?" Ben asked curiously.

"It's because of the war," Sokka announced. "The Fire Nation started a war with the other three nations that has been going on for a hundred years now."

"A hundred years?" Ben repeated in disbelief, his green eyes growing wide over hearing this news. "Is there any way to stop them?"

"Well, there's one person who can stop the Fire Nation, and that's the Avatar," Katara replied.

"What's an Avatar?" Ben asked curiously.

"The Avatar is the master of all four elements," Katara explained.

"So, any idea who this Avatar is?" Ben prodded.

"That's me!" Aang announced as he pointed at himself.

"You're the Avatar?" Ben gasped, which Aang nodded yes to. "That's great! You can stop the war!"

"Maybe not, Ben. I haven't mastered all the elements yet," Aang reluctantly admitted. "I started my training with Toph just a few weeks ago."

"We still have one chance to end this war: the solar eclipse," Sokka announced.

"What's so special about a solar eclipse, anyway?" Ben asked dully.

"It just so happens, Shrimpy, that firebenders lose their powers during the solar eclipse, and there's one coming up in a few months," Toph revealed.

"Will you stop calling me Shrimpy already!" Ben complained loudly.

"Just leave it alone, Ben. Toph has nicknames for all of us," Katara pointed out.

"Okay, fine," Ben reluctantly agreed. "So, what's your plan?"

"We're heading to the Earth Kingdom capital of Ba Sing Se to tell the Earth King about the solar eclipse," Sokka explained. "He can organize his armies to attack the Fire Nation on the day of the eclipse and possibly end the war for good!"

"That's not the only reason we're going to Ba Sing Se," Aang interrupted. "We're also looking for Appa."

"Who's Appa?" Ben asked curiously. "Is he that sky bison you were telling me about when I was Stinkfly, Aang?"

"Sure is," Aang confirmed. "Appa was stolen from me when we were out in the desert. We caught up to the sandbenders that took him, but they said they already sold Appa to a merchant heading to Ba Sing Se."

"So, you think you'll find Appa in Ba Sing Se?" Ben prodded.

"I sure hope so…" Aang trailed off with a hint of sadness in his voice.

"Hey, Shrimpy! You never answered my question!" Toph interrupted rudely. "What are you doing out here all by yourself?"

"I got separated from my grandpa, and my geek of a cousin, Gwen," Ben replied as he rolled his eyes while mentioning his cousin.

"You know, Ben, Ba Sing Se happens to be the closest city around here," Katara interjected. "Maybe you'll find your family there."

"Hey! Since we're all going to the same place, why don't we travel together?" Aang suggested.

"Really? I can go with you guys?" Ben asked curiously. "But…I just met you."

"Even with that Omna…whatever, you shouldn't be traveling by yourself, Ben," Sokka pointed out, with both Aang and Katara nodding their heads in agreement.

"All right!" Ben cheered enthusiastically.

"Just great…" Toph murmured dully with a forced grin on her face…