Hi Guys! Wow, only 4 months of waiting? Must be a new record! Anyway, I'm starting to wrap it up… yeaaahh… enjoy the newest installment!

Chapter 10: The Air Relic

The three relics; Katara's necklace, Toph's wrestling belt, and Roku's crown, bumped against each other in the satchel as Katara and Aang resumed their silent travel through the spirit world. The relics' constant clashing matched the beat of Katara's movement: clink… clink… clink…

There was only one relic left to go, and then Katara would be permitted to return to the physical world. Aang pondered that as his feet awkwardly shuffled in front of him, his eyes cast downward. It wouldn't be fit to leave the spirit world without complete honesty, he thought; which meant that before they left, Aang had to tell her how he truly felt. It was a heavy burden on him, and he sighed heavily.

"What's wrong?" Katara said over the sound of her clinking.

Aang looked up suddenly, his cheeks red. "Oh, I- nothing." He said, stuttering.

Katara smirked, and cast her own eyes towards the ground below them. Unbeknownst to Aang, the very same thoughts were running through her head. But her main concern was how to put her confession into words. She was afraid that saying I love you would be too much of a shock for Aang, and would chase him away. She couldn't figure out exactly how she would pour out her heart to him, and closed her eyes in nervous contemplation. When the time came, so too would the right words.

The silence continued as the trail grew steeper, and they hiked into the mountains, dusty gravel nipping at their feet, trying to slip into their shoes. Then, suddenly the trail ended at a cliff. Aang didn't see where he was going, and absentmindedly walked off the cliff.

"AAAAAH!" Aang screamed, waving his arms wildly, and began to plummet into the valley below. "AANG!" Katara shouted at the top of her lungs, running to the trail's end, her hand stretched towards Aang's increasingly dropping figure in desperation. Tears filled her eyes, and a helpless feeling filled her heart.

Aang's scream ended abruptly, and Katara winced, looking away from the view below her, drawing her hand into a fist over her chest. But… where was the thud? Katara opened her eyes and blinked in confusion.

"Katara, look!"

Aang appeared in the same spot he had fallen, his hands fastened on his glider, floating on the cliffside… floating?! Katara gasped. "Aang?! But… but how? I thought there was no Airbending in the Spirit World!"

Aang shrugged with a boyish smirk. "Me too." He said sheepishly, and cautiously tiptoed onto the rock, spinning his glider back into a staff.

A waterly laugh permeated the otherwise silent air, and a single red glider shaped like the wings of a bird dotted the horizon. A female Airbender with long brown hair flowing behind her touched down on the cliffside. She wore a one-armed yellow wrap dress, accented by a single orange sash. The brown slips that covered her feet touched the solid rock, and she brushed a lock of hair out of her face, revealing the all-too-familiar blue arrow on her forehead. She spun the glider, and the bird's wings disappeared with graceful elegance. The newcomer opened her radiant gray eyes and turned to face Aang and Katara, who wore an expression of shock. "You must be the Avatar," she said confidently. "Word spread fast about your quest."

"Who are you?" Katara said in awe.

The Airbender laughed again. "My name is Lorelai. I was sent to escort you to the Air Nomad's cloud."

"The what?!" Aang blurted in surprise.

Lorelai blinked. "Don't tell me you've never heard of it! It's the final home of the Air Nomads. We had a separate cloud built for us when we were wiped out by the Fire Nation. We were too resentful to live on the same cloud as the Fire Nation's dearly departed." She said with a roll of her eyes.

"…But how can you Airbend?" Aang blurted. "I thought Airbending was impossible in the Spirit World, since there's no air."

Lorelai smirked. "Some of the more sympathetic Firebenders used all of their strength to open a small hole in the spirit world, near the South Pole. It's not enough to affect the physical world or the rest of the Spirit World, but it gives us enough air to bring our Airbending to full capacity."

Aang and Katara looked at each other with excitement. "Please, take us there!" Aang said impatiently.

Lorelai laughed again. "With pleasure." She spun her staff into a glider, and waited for Aang to open his.

Aang turned to Katara, and placed his right arm out behind her. Katara leaned close, interlocking her hands on his neck. Aang put his right arm on her waist, and spun his glider out with his free hand. They both looked at Lorelai expectantly.

Lorelai smirked knowingly, and launched herself off into the valley. Aang was quick to follow. Katara squealed in fright as their feet left solid ground, but her terror turned to bliss as they began to fly.

Lorelai was a red dot in front of them as she flew further and further away from the safety of the mountains. Katara could only watch Aang with a loving look in her eyes. With a lovesick sigh, she leaned in and kissed Aang's cheek. Aang blushed red as an Apple, and looked back at Katara with a sheepish grin. Katara blushed in response, and looked down at the valley, embarrassed.

They followed Lorelai higher and farther from the mountains, until they were surrounded by nothing but sky. A wispy cloud began to appear, covered with Air Nomad-shaped dots of yellow and orange. Tears fell down Aang's face as he gazed upon his people for the first time since he'd been freed from the iceberg.

The Air Nomads ran to the tip of the cloud where Lorelai, Aang, and Katara were approaching, waving and cheering. Lorelai's bird-wing glider landed, and disappeared with more grace than before. The cheering grew louder and louder as Aang and Katara approached. When at last, Aang's tiptoeing feet touched the wispy cloud, a sea of Air Nomads rushed upon them, hugging and embracing the Avatar as if they hadn't seen him in 100 years… and as a matter of fact, they hadn't.

Katara broke free of Aang, and responded warmly to the welcomes coming from other Air Nomads come to greet them.

Then, suddenly, the crowding Air Nomads parted ways. An old man dressed in traditional robes and a very familiar wooden necklace stepped through them. His long mustache and beard curved up in a smile.

"Gyatso!"

Aang dropped his glider, still open, and ran to his old mentor, embracing him with tears of joy. Gyatso hugged Aang back, unable to hold back his own tears. Katara looked on with a warm smile.

At last, Gyatso pulled away from Aang's hug, and stood facing him, his hands on Aang's shoulders. "It's so good to see you, Aang."

"Gyatso, I… I've missed you so much." Aang said, wiping away a tear.

"I have missed you too, Aang. We all have." He gazed at Katara with a wink. "I understand you are here on a special quest."

Aang nodded. "I need to return my friend to the physical world."

Gyatso chuckled. "I see. Well, let us not waste any time." Gyatso took off his wooden necklace and placed it around Aang's neck. "This is your final relic. Consider it a gift," he explained.

Aang gazed down at the necklace around him with gratitude. "Thank you, Gyatso."

"Aang, we did it! We have all four relics! Now all we have to do is get back to the Spirit Cloud and-"

Poof! Aang and Katara, along with Aang's glider, disappeared in a sudden rush of wind. Gyatso grinned, looking down at his feet. "Farewell, Aang. We shall meet again some day."

Aang and Katara reappeared on the Spirit Cloud, where the Spirit Guardian and the other prominents Spirits stood waiting with smiles on their faces. "Congratulations, Avatar." Said the Spirit Guardian. "Let us begin the process of returning the young Waterbender to the physical world."

Yaayyy!!! So, the next chapter shall be the last. Expect it before the end of the year. Thank you, goodnight, aaaand…

(Water Tribe)