Phew! Oh, when was the last time I updated this story? I dunno. I don't think it's THAT long ago... Well, I just got back today from a four-day field trip. That was fun... and now I have a few more ideas for this story. So... yippee.

Valon stared wide eyed at the now-unconscious body of the CEO. He had suddenly shot up from the couch, clutching his head and shouting "What are you doing to me?" He was worried. He could guess what had happened to Kaiba, and judging by the rate of recent things, he was next. Mokuba had also rushed into the kitchen, and the black-haired boy now hurried over to where his big brother slumped.

"Ah, Seto!" he cried. "What happened?"

"He was proven right…" Anzu whispered. She was staring wide-eyed at her clasped hands in her lap.

"What do you mean by that!?" Mokuba demanded. "I'm getting sick and tired of all this!"

Rebecca sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Basically, the four godforsaken spirits promised that they would put us in a sort of arena. I guess this is their way of doing it. Sending us to the Spirit World while our bodies lie in comas. This can't be good for our health," she added dryly.

Valon's heart was thumping hard in his throat. When was it going to happen to him? He almost wished that Kyoshi would appear and make it happen so that he could get it over with. That was better than all this tension.

Aang seemed to ponder Rebecca's statement. "But I thought you couldn't Bend in the Spirit World?" No one had an answer to that.

Toph, who had entered with Mokuba, pointed at Valon. "Dude, why are you so nervous?" He jumped.

"Wh-what?" he stuttered. Toph seemed to say something, but suddenly, he couldn't hear it. His eyes widened as all sounds fell away. There was a strange pulsation in the air, and sight fell away too, revealing Avatar Kyoshi. White hot pain shot through his head, and he clutched it with both hands pressing at his temples.

"Young Earthbender," she said, "it is time."

"Wait!" he cried, shooting up from his chair. "No! What–?"

Kyoshi didn't say another word, and as the pain in his head increased, Valon blacked out.

Valon opened his eyes. He blinked, confused. He waved a hand in front of his eyes. Nothing but blackness.

He shot up from his position on the ground, breathing heavily. He looked every which way, but he was greeted only by the deep permeating darkness. Was he blind? Or was he just in a dark place? He couldn't tell. He felt the ground with his hands, and it seemed to be dirt. He shifted to his knees and crawled in a random direction, reaching out a hand before moving forward. A few moments later and his hand met a wall of similar texture to the ground. Most likely, he was in a cave. Using the wall as support, he slowly got to his feet. Not too fast, in case there was a low ceiling. Luckily, his head didn't even brush against any kind of roof.

And then Kyoshi was there. She faded into his vision. It was kind of odd, seeing her there. She didn't give off light, but he could see her perfectly. It was like a poor Photoshop job in which someone pasted the picture of a person on a black background. Valon gritted his teeth.

"What the hell!" he snapped at her. "You couldn't have dropped me in a better place?"

"This is necessary for your training," was her simple answer.

"What training!" Valon cried in frustration. "This is the Spirit World! I can't Earthbend here!"

Kyoshi shook her head. "No, Valon, you four are unique cases. You see, normally, a human's Bending is attached to their physical body. But in order for us to grant you Bending, we had to bind it to your soul. So, you can Bend in this world."

Valon raised an eyebrow at her. "Uh huh. But there's one thing I don't get. If Aang and the others were entering our world anyway, why do you need us to fend off demons?"

"Valon, you four were specifically chosen for this task. We didn't know that Aang and his friends were traversing worlds when the decision was made, and besides that, only you four can destroy the demons."

"You're making no sense. That guy Zuko killed one."

"That was a low level demon. An unremarkable person could kill it with a torch. I wouldn't expect any more of those low level demons. And besides that, we need you to teach Aang."

Valon frowned now. "Teach him?" he clarified. "Are you joking? I can barely move a pebble around."

"You four will bring new light to the art of Bending, something that no one from our world could ever figure out. They are constrained by their traditional teaching methods."

Valon wanted more explanations, but then Kyoshi added, "My time is short. Before I leave, I must tell you. You are more connected to the earth than you know. You will be able to feel her trembles. Find your way out of the cave this way." As he watched, she faded away into the darkness, leaving her silhouette burned on his retinas just briefly.

Valon sighed. "This sucks," he said softly. It seemed inappropriate all of a sudden to be loud. It was too quiet. But what did she mean by her last words? Connected to the earth? Feeling her trembles?

But wait. He remembered hearing Kaiba's secretary scream when the CEO had been possessed. He had been on the ground floor, and no one else had heard it. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't really heard it. More like he felt slight vibrations and his ears interpreted it. And then there was the moment before the corpse demons ripped their way out of the ground. It had felt almost like a small earthquake to him, and also apparently to the blind girl Toph. No one else had felt it but him, the Earthbender.

He had an idea!

He leaned down and took off his shoes. From touch, he realized that he wasn't wearing his normal shoes. It was the black ones from the outfit that had appeared on him after he synced with the stone. So that must mean he was wearing the rest of his outfit. He shrugged. He didn't care that much right now. He took of the shoes and tossed them indifferently aside. He wouldn't need them. The ground was still motionless to his senses. It was eerie, but he shrugged it off and started walking, using the wall as a guideline.

After a long while of blind walking, the wall fell away. Confused, Valon swept his hand out in front of him before realizing that he was at a corner. He frowned, his brows knitting together. So there was a turn? How many other turns had he bypassed? Or was this really a forked path? There was no way of telling.

But suddenly, the ground trembled underneath his bare feet. His breathing quickened and he licked his lips, now becoming salty with sweat. What was coming? As the shaking steadily increased, he knew whatever it was, it wasn't human. He squinted through the darkness. Damn it! Why couldn't he see! The vibrations were almost like a roar in his ears. He quickly pressed his back to the stone wall as something massive rushed by with a gale in its wake.

He took a deep breath. Well, if he couldn't see with his eyes, he'd have to see with his feet. He forced himself to relax, breathing deeply in through his nose, out through his mouth. He closed his eyes, even though the darkness never changed. The vibrations lengthened, as if whatever it was skidded to a stop. Then, the ground stilled, but he could feel it breathing. It was short and shallow, but it made the walls quiver almost imperceptibly beneath his fingertips.

A bigger shudder. The creature took a step.

The quakes threatened to overwhelm Valon. He forced his knees to stop shaking and focused on the vibrations. Whatever that creature was, it was huge, almost filling the cave. He heard a strange noise that sounded like a rapid clacking of a pen against a desk. Suddenly, something furry brushed his face. Valon leaped back, choking down a shout of surprise. What was it, and insect?

The noise again. Another shudder.

Time to act. He was not going to get eaten by a giant bug.

Taking in another breath through his nose, he forced himself to calm down. He slid his foot back and clenched his fists tightly. He thrust one fist up in an uppercut – there was a great tremor and a loud sound as earth shot up. Then, he swung his back foot forward, kicking the earth towards the creature. This was followed by a screech from the creature, a deafening noise that made his teeth rattle. The ground shivered as the creature rushed towards him. Not thinking, only reacting, Valon punched both fists straight up. There was a thunderous groaning and a sickening crunch. Breathing hard, he blindly reached in front of him to find a new wall. Something gooey and slimy dripped on his hand, and he jerked away, shaking it off as much as he could.

He sighed and turned his back to the crushed creature. Time to find his way out of here.

Hmm. It's an okay chapter, in my opinion. Hope you enjoyed! (please review)

Cheers!