Otay lets just get started shall we. Mat has gotten so far we are all proud of her and are rooting for her but first she needs to find that earth manipulating teacher or she is screwed. All the guesses I got saying who that would be were all close…some even correct but until that character comes in….

VV

Chapter Eighteen: Earth: Her...

"Good May! You're getting better!" Misty applauded as May lifted her arms and the water lifted into a roaring wave that crashed up against the shore they were on. It didn't take them more than a couple of days to reach the earth region; the only region that had the strongest resistance against the fire region and was still independent without the help of the Ping Heng.

May felt intimidated yet hopeful at the same time. The manipulators here must be strong to have been able to keep fire region invaders at bay and that meant that finding a teacher with skill would not be an issue. She could just picture her new master in her mind; someone who was large and strong with the ability to move mountains and he would be a male. That was where stereotypes came into place.

"I can't believe how quickly you managed to get down the basics of water manipulating! It took Misty at least a year just to get the water to stream." Ash commented. Misty shot him a death glare as she streamed some water in his directed. He fell back as the water hit him in the face and Dawn chuckled while May full out laughed. Drew simply smirked in amusement.

"Now that we're back on land near trees, me and May will be able to practice wood manipulating together!" Dawn inserted enthusiastically. May nodded in agreement.

"And I can start fire too!" She exclaimed looking towards Drew. He shook his head and she gave him a confused look. She wanted to start her fire manipulating as soon as possible before all the talismans revealed their power. "Why not!?"

"You're nowhere near ready for an element such as fire." Drew said simply while crossing his arms over his chest. May mimicked his actions adding in a pout.

"And why am I not ready?" She questioned shifting her weight to one foot. Drew flicked his hair and smirked at her.

"Fire is the most dangerous and destructive element out of all of them. It requires great control and intense study and discipline or it will go out of control. You need to learn every other element and learn how to discipline yourself properly and once you've done that, I'll teach you fire manipulation." Drew explained. May let his words sink in before nodding in agreement. He was her teacher so he knew what was best for her.

"I don't know what you're talking about water is the most dangerous element I know." Misty commented cockily as she crossed her arms over her chest. Drew breathed out through his nose and steam came out. Ash stepped away from him nervously.

"No I think he's more dangerous." He countered pointing at Drew who had his eyes narrowed at the ginger haired girl. Misty rolled her eyes and snorted. May looked between the two and shook her head. She would love to see the day Drew and Misty would get along or at least go five minutes without getting into a disagreement.

"Anyway now that we're in Heng we need to find May a teacher to help her manipulate the earth." Drew said as he began to walk towards the forest's that was not too far from the shore. May ran after him.

"Wait, where are you going!?" She questioned putting a hand on his shoulder to stop him. He glanced at her and shrugged her off.

"I'm going to the heart." He said simply. May's face was contorted with confusion at that statement. Misty came up next to her with Ash by her side and they also looked confused. Dawn was simply smiling.

"The heart…?" Ash questioned. Drew and Dawn nodded at the same time. Obviously Dawn knew what they were referring to.

"The heart is the center of the earth region. The area is surrounded by thick forests and tall mountains." Dawn said all knowingly.

"She's correct. Earth region soldiers hide in these discreet places to stop invasions. That is why the earth region has yet to be captured." Drew added.

"But the talisman has already been taken from this region." May reminded him. "How could that have happened if invaders can't reach the heart."

"The talisman isn't always in the civilization of that region. The fire talisman was actually in a volcano on the outskirts of inner Pao where everybody lived." Drew exemplified. May nodded in understanding.

"So then what are we waiting for!? Let's find the heart of Heng!" May said as she snapped open her glider and took off. She circled her friends overhead before flying over the forests in search of the heart but as far as she could see, there was only large canyons and mountains.

She flew ahead even further, taking her time as she flew to the top of the highest mountain she could find. The temperature at the top was rather cold and she had just traded in her torn up water region clothing for some fresh new wood region clothing which was a tan halter top, a cream colored skirt and a dark brown pair of shorts under that. On her feet were wooden sandles and her hair was similar to Dawn's now.

May landed at the peak of the mountain closing her glider as the winds played with her hair and ruffled her clothing. Clouds obstructed her vision but as they moved she could get a clear view. She gasped in shock at what she saw.

A huge city-larger than any city she had seen since she touched land-sat within the bottom the mountains. The tall mountains surrounded the city and it was also enclosed by tall walls just as the water region and the wood region was but this wall was more durable being made from pure stone that looked to be very thick even from a distance.

A sudden flash came before May's eyes and in that brief moment she saw the silhouette of a person. It appeared to be a girl by the body structure. She was standing before a wall and it was crumbling as she lowered her hands to the ground causing dust to fly up and ruble to go in all directions. May blinked her eyes and the vision was gone.

"Oh my gosh!"

May glanced over her shoulder to see Ash, Drew, Misty and Dawn on Gyarados' back. Dawn was the one who had the sudden outburst and Ash and Misty looked just as amazed. Drew seemed less astounded by the site but by his knowledge of the region he must have already been there before so this was no surprise to him.

"Isn't it amazing?" Misty sighed. May nodded in agreement.

"It is."

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's find that teacher for May!" Ash said. May grinned as she reopened her glider just as Gyarados began to head down in the direction of the city. She flew at the same pace of the dragon but closer to the head. Just as they were approaching the top of the tall wall that was surrounding the large city, bolder sized rocks were sent in their general direction.

"WAH!!!" May screeched as she dodged one narrowly. Gyarados began to go crazy as it felt threatened and Misty was having a hard time controlling it. Due to the lack of control the dragon was hit and began to go plummeting towards the ground.

"AAAAHHHHH!!!!!" Misty and Dawn screamed together. May gasped as she did a nose dive with her glider so that she hit the ground before the others. She quickly closed her glider and waved it causing a gust of air to cushion the fall of the Gyarados.

"That was….interesting." Ash said as he slid of the dragon shaking slightly.

"We were just attacked!? Who attacked us!?"

"I did."

The group of five looked in the direction of the voice which was upwards to see a guy hanging from the wall by stone handle bars that were not there before. He looked to be only in his early twenties and he was sporting earth region soldier clothing and armor. May swallowed before putting on a kind smile and stepping forward.

"Hello, I am…"

"I know who you are. You are the Ping Heng" He said simply as a small smile appeared on his lips. May blinked in surprise.

"How'd you know?" She questioned. He laughed lightly as he jumped to the ground so he could speak to her face to face. Once up close she could notice that his eyes looked like they were nearly closed which confused her.

"Word has traveled that there is an air manipulator traveling around who they claim is the Balancer of the Cycle. I guessed that was you by the way you just manipulated the air." He said.

"Ah yes, good point. I'm May of Vayu and these are my friends; Misty, Ash, Drew and Dawn." May said bowing out of respect. He bowed to her as well.

"I'm Brock. I'm an earth general here in Heng." He said. May's eyes widened.

"Does that mean you're an earth manipulator!? Because I'm looking for a teacher!" She exclaimed hopefully. Brock laughed lightly and shook her head.

"No…but my father is. He's the captain. If you'd like I could take you to see him." Brock said. May smiled at him thankfully.

"That would be wonderful! Thank you!" She said sweetly. Brock nodded and waved up to the top of the wall. The earth began to rumble as the wall suddenly separated into two sides, opening up into the light of the city.

May stared in shock and suddenly a flash came before her eyes. It was that silhouette again but this time May could see a bit better. It wasn't as much as a shadow and she could see a long flowing dress that looked to belong to someone of royalty and the girl's short hair that got long in the front at her bangs swayed in the breeze. The wall she was standing before was completely destructed by now.

"May!" Drew called snapping his fingers in her face. She blinked in surprise and smiled sheepishly. "Did you zone out or something?"

"Y-Yea I guess I did." She stuttered. The others had already progressed, following Brock past the gates and into the city. Drew took May by her upper arm and dragged her quickly to catch up to the others.

"Heng is so huge." May commented as they entered into the city. The people there had darker skin tones then any region May had been in. Most of the buildings were made of stone and there were people all running about. There were kids playing in the street but most of the people were running in one direction.

"Hey, what's with all the commotion?" Ash questioned as he watched people head towards a fountain in the city circle that was just ahead. Brock let out a long sigh.

"Not again…" He muttered as he began to jog. May glanced at Drew before she began to quickly go after him. Once they had reached the crowd, they could hear people yelling and shouting things such as "Get 'em!" or "Fight!" The five of them followed Brock as he pushed through the crowd and there in the circle was a girl with hair that was short in the back but got long in the front, veiling her face.

She glanced up to show off her bright brown eyes which were narrowed into a glare at the man that stood opposite to her. She was dressed in a green hooded dress that reached her knee's and had a slit that reached her waist and she was wearing tan shorts underneath. Her feet were bare and her skin tone was about the same as Brock's.

"You really believe you can take me!?" The man who was at least twice the girl's height snapped. She blinked slowly in response. He took this as a sign of disrespect and in one swift movement of his foot a boulder came up from the ground. He made a throwing motion with his hand and the rock went hurtling towards the girl.

"No!" May cried as she lifted her staff to help but Brock held her back. She looked up at him in shock. "She's gonna get hurt!"

"Watch." He said simply. May did as she was told and what happened next seemed to happen in slow motion. The girl lifted on hand with two fingers up and the boulder hit her hand and was instantly split in half going on either side of her and missing her entirely. The crowd cheered as the girl brought her hand to her lips and blew the dust off her fingers.

May had another vision at that moment this time she could see the girl clearly. She looked exactly like the girl who was fighting. May gasped as she came back to reality and stared at the girl who now had her arms crossed over

"My gosh…" Misty breathed. Ash was too stunned to speak as was Dawn.

"She has some skills." Drew muttered with a shrug. May just continued to watch.

The man retaliated and began to throw out attack after attack. May watched carefully watching his every movement; jump, kick, jump, spin, kick, flip, spin and kick. Boulder after boulder was sent towards the girl faster than May could ever think rocks could fly. May turned in her direction to see her raise her arms before her and as she did so a tent like shield erupted from the ground withstanding every boulder that hit it. Nobody could see the girl anymore but after a moment of silence that hung for a matter of seconds the tent shaped shield was sent propelling towards the man.

His eyes widened and he quickly jumped into the air and flipped over the attack. The girl narrowed her eyes and returned to her stance. Her legs were spread accordingly; her right fit in front of the left and her hands were out; palms up and elbows slightly bent.

"That's it!?" the man she was fighting taunted. The girl blew up at her bangs and she began to move so quickly and suddenly that people jumped. She reached over her body keeping her palms up and the ground began to raise heading straight for the man's feet. It encased his feet in rock causing him to fall back allowing his wrists to get encased as well. Before he could escape she quickly lowered her hands and he sunk into the earth up to his neck.

She walked up to him and he glared at her. She crouched down and shoved her hand into the earth before him. She dug around a bit before pulling her arm out to show a sparkling gold necklace in her hand. Hanging from it was a emerald pendant that shone in the light. The girl turned on her heel and began to walk away but suddenly a boulder erupted from the earth and went straight for her head. The man smirked as he began to wiggle his way out of his earthen trap.

May shut her eyes not wanting to see the outcome, however Drew nudged and she looked to him. He pointed towards the girl and she looked to see her quickly spin around and putting both her hands up, palms out. The boulder was reduced to rubble upon impact. May let out a sigh of relief and just as she did the girl pulled her hood over her head and the ground literally swallowed her.

"W-Who was that?" May questioned.

"That was the Rock Princess." Brock responded. May looked at him and her eyes urged him to continue. "She's this region's mystery. She is the strongest fighter this region has ever known and people challenge her to prove their strength but she is always victorious. People say she's homeless and she has a striking resemblance to the Queen's Daughter which is why we refer to her as the Rock Princess, however the actual princess never leaves the castle and she cannot manipulate the earth. The Rock Princess is a homeless girl also."

"Amazing…" Misty sighed.

"I wish I was a mysterious battle princess!" Dawn exclaimed.

"She was rather talented. I would love to see her battle again." Drew commented.

"I've never seen a girl kick butt like that!" Ash added. Misty gave him a threatening look as she reached for her water pouch and he smiled sheepishly. "Except for Misty!"

May remained silent. She was confused now. Why was she having visions of this girl and why was she wearing such elegant clothing if she was homeless?

"I need to meditate…" She sighed.

Next Chapter Preview…..

"She is who you're looking for. You just have to figure out her mystery to find out who she is…"

"Drew you have to be careful! You are a fire manipulator, thus the enemy to all of them…."

"Get out of my face! I don't need you or anybody else!"

"I need you…I need you to help me end all of this. It is your destiny to help me."

Okay that's all you get for now. I hope you all enjoyed it because right now I'm really falling asleep at my computer…I hope nothing is lacking! Well until next time thank you for reading and Pweez Review!

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