Ryo is looking down at his arm fiddling with the control panel. "This is the right place," he says, "But I'm not picking up any underground base. Kang, could you be a dear?"
Kang smiles and takes a wide stance, pounding his feet into the ground. "There's something blocking the sound waves from traveling through the earth. I can sense about half the distance to the base, and then... nothing." Kang looks perplexed.
"So, there's a wall or something underground?" asks Mengyao.
"No, it's nothing like that. It's like there's just no more ground. As if the earth comes to an end."
"If the earth comes to and an end," Ryo says, "Then let's go to the end of the earth."
"I don't think it's a good idea just walk over there," Mengyao cautions."
"You're right. Kang, lead the way."
Kang presses his feet into the ground and holds out his arms in front of him, making a twisting motion. A hole begins to form and the ground gives way with a rumble. Kang repeats the process. Now the tunnel is much deeper. Kang steps in. "Right this way, everyone."
As Kang clears the way the others follow. Ryo illuminates the way, generating light with implants in his arm. Then darkness suddenly falls.
"See bro, technology always fails. I guess what we need is an old fashioned fire bender." Just as Mengyao finishes speaking he creates a flickering ball of flame in his hand. The light dances on the walls of the tunnel. "See isn't this better than dumb old lights?"
"Okay, I don't need that much light," Kang says. "You can turn it down"
"Ya, man." Agrees Ryo. "It's a bit much."
Ryo extinguishes the flame, He looks at his hands just to make sure he really put the fire out. "Uh... guys? This isn't me."
"Gas!" Shouts Kang. He quickly pushes a hole in the earth in front of him and grabs Ryo and tosses him forward. Kang leaps towards Mengyao. When his feet touch the ground, the earth from beneath Mengyao shoots out, propelling him backwards into the air. He gets a glimpse of the fireball coming down the tube just as Kang throws up a wall behind them.
Kang opens up a new hole forward.
"Go!" He shouts.
As the group advances is he collapses the tunnel behind them. The ground shakes as the fireball hits the other side of the barrier.
"That was close," says Ryo. "Good job Kang."
"There's nothing to do but keep moving forward," says Kang as he pushes forward.
"Good idea," Mengyao quips as he darts ahead.
"Arghh!" Mengyao releases a scream. Kang rushes ahead.
"I've got my bionic luminescent implants working again..." Ryo's light shines just in time for Kang to release it's about to run over a cliff and stops.
"You guys. Help me." It's the voice of Mengyao.
Ryo walks to the edge of the cliff. "I don't see you."
"I'm down here. I'm holding onto the wall."
"How do we get to you?" Ryo shouts into the emptiness.
"I... I think I can see your light. I can firebend to propel myself up to you."
"Are you a fool?" Kang shouts, annoyed. "There could be more gas. Just hang on."
"What?" Mengyao's reply echoes up.
"Just hang. Real tight." Kang twists his foot on the ground and then pulls his arms in towards his body. He sends the rocks that Mengyao are holding onto skating up the side of the cliff wall. Eventually The rocks and Mengyao along with them sail past the tunnel, at which point Kang stops bending and just lets them fall; snatching a stunned Mengyao right out of the air.
"Are you okay?" Asks Ryo.
Mengyao glares at Kang.
"He's okay," says Kang.
"Dude! You could've warned a guy first! That's all I am saying!"
"Look at that." Ryo shines his beam across the gorge. It reveals a massive boulder, the size of a ten story building and just as wide. It's perfectly suspended in this cave they've stumbled into.
"There are no supports. That thing just 100 meters from the surface on all sides." Says Ryo.
"What is that?" Asks Mengyao.
"It's Gaipan," says Kang.
"Of course!" Ryo exclaims.
"What's going on here?" Mengyao is very confused.
"If it's suspended under ground we can't find it," explains Ryo.
"Buy how is it suspended?"
"With magnetism." Says Kang. "I can feel it."
"How do we get over there"? Ryo asks.
"I'm a magnetism bender," explains Kang."
"Mengyao looks up. "Wait, you're a what?" He looks to Ryo. "He's a what?"
Ryo shrugs.
"Certain earth elements have magnetic properties," Kang continues. "These properties create a field of energy. I can tap into that field of energy and manipulate objects within the field. Every time I get close to a strong magnetic field I can feel it in my nose. And the closer we got to this thing the stronger I can feel it."
"Oh, so you learned about magnetism bending with your nose?" Says Mengyao, sarcastically. "Oh, okay, I get it. Maybe you should call it 'smell bending.'"
"I learned about magnetic fields while studying geology at Ba Sing Se University."
"Oh," sighs Mengyao.
"I learned how to manipulate them in secrecy on my own. I theorized it would be possible, but I didn't want to be found out as a bender."
"Kang, can you use this type of bending to help us get to Gaipan?"
"I can. The rocks we're standing on has strong magnetic properties, and the magnetic field holding that place up in the air like that is the most immense that I've ever felt. Just hold on."
"To what?" Mengyao asks.
Kang bends the earth from beneath himself and the other two Lionraptors. He uses it to suspend them in their air.
"We're going to move across the gap now." Says Kang as he slowly moves himself and his companions towards Gaipan.
Mengyao looks down. "I am totally freaking out right."
"I am more freaked out by what may be waiting for us inside," Ryo says as they approach the outer edge of Gaipan.