Chapter 9: The Second Airbender

Aang let out a deep sigh as lied down on Appa's soft, furry back. He gazed up at the beautiful onyx sky, which was decorated with ivory stars. The gang had been traveling for a long time, and Aang was feeling drowsier with each passing minute. He knew he couldn't fall asleep, though. He was the only one still awake and he had to steer Appa. Eventually, he fell back and drifted into a deep slumber. This was repeated by Appa, who closed his enormous eyes, let out an earth-shaking yawn, and began falling to the earth below.

"Wake up boy!" Aang shouted to his bison, having been woken up by the fall.

"It's not working," Toph said. "This is bad. At this speed, this will be one bad fall." Everyone braced for impact as Appa neared ever closer to the ground. Finally, Appa crashed directly into the ground. Everyone managed to stay planted firmly on Appa's back, except for Sokka and Aang. Sokka had fallen flat on his face, though it seemed nothing was injured besides his pride. Aang, on the other hand, had fallen on his head and seemed to be seriously injured. His eyes began to go fuzzy, until he blacked out and his body went limp. He was unconscious.

It was a few hours before Aang woke up. As his eyes opened, he immediately saw the furry face of Momo directly in front of his face, severely startling him. As he calmed down, he noticed the figures of Sokka, Toph, Mai, and Longshot standing over him, along with a person he didn't recognize. He was a young man, about 15 or 16, with pale gold eyes and a coolie hat.

"Who-" Aang asked weakly, "Who are you?

"My name's Rong," he explained. "I saw your bison crash, so I came to see what was going."

"He just got here a few minutes ago," Toph said. She then turned her attention to Rong. "So, what brings you here in the middle of nowhere?"

"I'm looking for my family," said Ling. "I've heard that they're living at the Western Air Temple." This shocked everyone.

"Wait, so you're-" Aang began, clearly stunned. The boy pulled off his coolie hat, revealing a completely bald head, marked with a blue arrow extending from his forehead down to his back.

"I'm an airbender, yes," explained Rong. "My parents left with my adoptive father when I was very young. About 2 years ago, he fell ill. The medics in our village said he was going to die. Before he died, he told me that I was an airbender, and that my real parents were in hiding at the Western Air Temple. I've been traveling ever since."

"How do we know if you're for real?" Sokka asked skeptically. Instantly, Rong sent out a strong gust of wind, which caused Sokka to fall over and land flat on his face.

"Why does that keep happening to me!?" Sokka shouted in frustration. He was convinced though.

"You mean there are airbenders at the Western Air Temple!" exclaimed Aang. "We have to go!"

"Wait," Smellerbee interjected. "What about the Order?"

"Oh, God," Aang said. "I hadn't thought about that. I guess we'll have to split up. Zuko, you can take Appa, while we can travel by foot."

"No way," Zuko disagreed. "You have a much longer distance to travel, and more people. You go on Appa, I can go by foot.

"I'm coming with you," said Mai.

"Are you sure?" Zuko asked her. "It's just going to be us, in fire nation territory."

"I'm more than capable of protecting my self," Mai said defensively. She pulled out a throwing star and held it in front of Zuko's face. "Do you want me to prove it?"

"No, that's not necessary," Zuko said nervously. As Zuko and Mai left for the Order, Ty Lee grabbed them for an enormous hug, much to their annoyance.

"Well, we have to get going," Rong stated impatiently. The groups exchanged good byes and went their separate ways.

"So, have you found the Avatar and his friends yet?" Kai asked into a microphone

"Affirmative," a scratchy voice replied. "I have made contact with them."

"Remember, your top priority is the water tribe boy. If they still remain ignorant, then you may attack the others."

"I am completely aware of the plan, ad I assure you, you have nothing to worry about."

"Remember, my fate and yours depend on this, so do not mess up."

"I will not fail you, Lieutenant,"

The sky was getting brighter as the sun rose into the sky over the travelers. Once aboard Appa, Aang and Katara made an effort to remain as distant as they could from each other. Though they were still friends, they still found it too confusing and awkward to be near each other. They barely spoke, nor did they speak even in close proximity of the other.

Longshot and Smellerbee were walking hand in hand, Longshot running his fingers through her hair. In recent weeks, Smellerbee, had let her hair grow out, making her look more feminine. Though this made her look more attractive, it had diminished her warrior-like appearance in the least. In fact, if anything it had made her look even more threatening.

For some reason, Sokka was having trouble keeping his eyes off of Ty Lee. I never noticed how beautiful she is, he thought. He observed how her tight half-shirt showed off her elegant figure, and her beautiful smile which made everything all his disappear. Then the image of Suki flashed into his head. He saw images of her death. No, I can't think of this right now, not with what happened to Suki.

"Hey, what's up Sokka?" Rong asked after the group had found a resting place by a running stream. It already seemed that Sokka and Rong were going to be good friends. Sokka was relaxing on a log overlooking the stream, when he got up after hearing Rong speak.

"Not much, just thinking," Sokka replied.

"About that hot Fire Nation chick with the belly shirt?" Rong asked him.

"Sort of," Sokka replied. "How'd you know?"

"Well, you were staring at her the whole way up here," he explained. "A blind person would've noticed it."

"So, what's your point?" asked Sokka.

"Ask her out." Rong stated simply.

"No. I can't," Sokka replied, a solemnity entering his voice. "I've just lost the love of my life, a I don't think I'm ready yet. Especially for her."

"Your choice, man," said Rong. "Just remember my advice." He then turned the other direction and began to walk back to the others. Sokka then followed his lead by followed him back. Before he left, he cast one glance back at the river. As if the invisible figure of Suki was sitting on the log, her beautiful brunette hair flowing in the wind and her pale white face shining in the warmth of the sun.

It had been hours since Zuko and Mai had left for the Order of The White Lotus. Though the journey had not worn Zuko in the slightest, as he was used to long journeys, Mai was beginning to grow weary from the endless hiking. Together, they sat by a tree while Mai rested her fatigued legs.

"So, why did you want to come along with me?" Zuko asked Mai, who was sitting right next to him and resting her head on his shoulder.

"Well, I wanted to be with you," Mai explained. "And I wanted to make sure you were safe."

"You know, I haven't seen you like this in a long time," Zuko commented. "So, happy,"

"Yeah," Mai agreed. "It's been a rough two years without you." Both of their minds flashed back to a time long ago, before Zuko's exile.

It was two years ago. Zuko was fourteen years old, and Mai was thirteen. It was Zuko's last day at home before his exile. His scar was freshly formed, and it looked even worse than it does today.

"It's your final day at home, Zuzu," Azula commented with a grin. "Bet you wish you kept your mouth shut in that court room, don't you?" Zuko felt a surge of anger and resentment, which lightened when he saw Mai come before him.

"So it's true then?" she asked. "You're being exiled?" Zuko gave a silent nod in the affirmative. Azula gave Zuko a triumphant look, before leaving the room. This was the last time he would see his sister for two years.

"I can't believe it," The young Mai stated in disbelief. In the sadness, Zuko gave Mai a passionate kiss on the mouth. Mai had her arms wrapped around Zuko's neck, while Zuko had his hands on her waist. They had stayed like this for many minutes, knowing that this was the last they would see of each other for a very long time. At last, they broke apart, and Zuko bade Mai farewell before leaving the palace to accept his fate.

It was nighttime, and the sky was full of stars. By this time, most of the group had fallen asleep. Ty Lee was resting peacefully on a clump of soft grass. Toph was lying on a hard rock, which she had changed into the shape of a mattress. Longshot and Smellerbee were cuddling by a nearby tree. Everyone seemed to be asleep, except for Aang and Katara.

"Hey Aang?" Katara asked awkwardly. The two had barely exchanged two words since what had happened the prior week. "Can I talk to you for a second?" She led him into the nearby wood.

"What's up?" questioned Aang.

"Well, I'm not sure about this Rong guy," Katara explained.

"What do you mean?" Aang asked, clearly relieved at the change of topic.

"It's just that, his story doesn't add up," explained Katara. "I mean, if he just found out he was an airbender two years ago, and he hasn't seen any others since, how could he have mastered bending and earned the arrows?"

"Maybe he had the arrows when he was at the Air Temple," Aang said, unwilling to accept he was still the last of his kind. "Even if he just painted them on himself, you can't deny that he's an airbender, even if he isn't a master. You saw him bending."

"But how do you know he was really airbending?" Katara countered. She remembered how the air had seemed darker than usual at that time.

"You know what I think!" Aang shouted, his anger rising with every word. "You don't want there to be other airbenders. You think that if I go off with Rong and the other airbenders, you'll be stuck back with your boring little life at the South Pole!"

"Aang, you know that's not true," Katara said calmly, despite Aang's offensive comment. She wanted to go back home more than anything, to be with her family. "Think and you'll see my point. How could airbenders have survived 100 years unnoticed, especially so close to the Fire Nation as the Western Air Temple?" Instead of responding, Aang mearly walked back to camp.

"Wuzgoinon?" Sokka asked groggily. He had clearly been woken up by Aang's shouting. However, both Aang and Katara went to sleep, without uttering a sound. They hadn't noticed that one person was not asleep with them. Rong was nowhere to be found.

Drowsily, Sokka got up to get a drink of water from a nearby river. As he walked into the wood, he heard a far-off voice coming from near the river. When he got closer however, he saw only one figure, instead of the two he was expecting. The figure, who he recognized to be Rong, was speaking into a receiver.

"The plan is going perfectly," Sokka could hear him say. "But best of all, it appears that the key to the plan is standing right in my midst." He turned ominously to Sokka, who was startled by Rong's strange behavior.

"Rong, what's going on?" Sokka asked nervously. Slowly Rong walked closer to him until he could literally feel the warrior's nervous breathing. Sokka reached for his machete, but before his hand could even reach for the cold weapon, he felt an unbearable pain in his chest. He had been stabbed, yet he could see no blood. Suddenly, he went numb, and his muscles became limp. He crashed to the ground, and his eyes closed.

Hours passed.

"Where's Sokka?" Katara asked frantically. It was morning and everyone had woken up.

"He's not here," Smellerbee responded. "Neither is Rong."

"Oh no," Katara said to herself. "Everyone, search the area!"

"That won't be necessary," Toph chimed in. "Sokka's only about 50 yards away. He's by the river. I can't tell where Rong is, though." Instantly, they all ran into the wood and came to the river. Here they found Sokka taking a drink from the river. He didn't have a single scratch on him. It was as if his run-in with Rong had never happened. Katara came over him a throttling hug.

"What happened? We thought you were missing," Katara said, still sounding worried.

"Chill out Katara, I was just getting some water," Sokka replied casually, apparently unaware that he had been gone for eight hours. He looked through the group and noticed that they were one down. "Where's R-?" This question was cut short when he saw Zuko carrying a wounded Mai to the group.

"What happened?" Katara asked as Zuko set Mai down so she could be healed.

"We were attacked by someone. We couldn't see their face, though they seemed like they were in a hurry," explained Zuko. Katara put her hand over Mai's back and summoned her bending water. Instantly, the water gained a white glow, and Mai was healed.

"It was lucky we hadn't gotten too far," Zuko said. Everyone nodded except Aang. What would have been lucky would be if they had managed to catch Rong. If only he had listened to Katara. Aang had realized that he was the last airbender, and he always would be.

Soon, the group had packed up their supplies, and was ready to board Appa. Sokka and Ty Lee were walking hand in hand onto the bison. Before he left, Sokka gave one glance back. For a moment, Sokka's whole eyes turned black. Almost as quickly as they had changed, they changed back. Because of this, no one had noticed it. He then turned around and boarded the bison as if everything was fine. But it wasn't.