*Hope you guys liked the last chapter! We're about to go into more detail about Ed and where in the story he is, but you're not going to get the full picture yet. I'll tell you, though, that he's about 18 in this story, so he's also a bit taller. Still too short for his age, but taller than he was when he was 15 or 16. It's suppose to kinda replace the Conqueror of Shamballa where Ed went through the portal of truth to save Alphonse and wound up in a different world. So, he's a little more mature and he's spent about two years in this world. That's all I'm going to say about it though. You'll have to find out the rest from the story!

Chapter Two

Flying on Oppa was a new experience for both the Professor and Edward. While the Professor was quite excited, Ed was skeptical.

"So, you're telling me that we are about to get on that giant fluff monster and fly across the desert?" he said, looking at Oppa and then over to Aang. "Ha, you're joking, right?"

"No, they most definitely are not," said the Professor. "Sky Bison are ancient creatures that existed over a hundred years ago, and this must be the last of its kind! They were known for being a huge part of the air nomads culture."

"It's not possible," said Edward as he walked over to Oppa. "This thing must weigh about five thousand pounds give or take. He's too big. He had no wings, nothing to get him up in the air, so forget having anything that could actually keep him up there. If this thing could fly, it would defy every scientific law of physics known to mankind."

"Science, now that's my kind of guy!" said Sokka as he remembered his first experience with Oppa.

"It's not about Laws and Physics," said Aang, jumping off of Oppa and going over to Ed. "It's Airbending."

"Trust me, Ed," said Sokka from up in the saddle, "I was skeptical about it too when I first met them, but I promise you he really does fly."

"We've traveled the world on Oppa," said Katara. "He's taken us as far as across the world from north to south pole."

"And many more places," Sokka interjected.

"Look," said Aang, "I get it if you don't believe us, but this is how we travel. If you'd rather track the Library on foot it wouldn't bother me, but if you'd like to give Oppa a try, go ahead and get on."

"Yeah, and if anything, you at least wouldn't be walking. Even if Oppa didn't fly, you'd still have a ride across the desert," said Katara.

"All true," said Ed, mauling it over. "Alright, you've talked me into it."

Ed, still skeptical, started to climb onto Oppa as Katara reached out her hand to help pull him up onto the saddle.

"Thanks," said Ed.

"By the way, I don't think we had full introductions," said Katara. "I'm Katara, this is my brother, Sokka, and this is Toph."

"It's a pleasure to meet another lover of Science," said Sokka, shaking his right hand.

"Let me guess, you're the only one who can't bend anything," said Ed, slightly smirking.

Sokka looked at him in slight disbelief. "You know, that hurts."

Ed shrugged his shoulders. "It's just an observation, really. I've noticed that people who tend to lean more towards scientific understanding tend to not be benders since the people who can bend tend to want to learn all there is to know about the elements."

"So, does that mean you're not a bender since you tend to think more scientifically?" asked the Professor.

"I can't bend the elements like you guys, but I still have a few tricks up my sleeve," Ed replied with a smirk.

"Alright, everybody ready?" Aang yelled back from the front of Oppa.

"You might wanna grab onto the saddle," said Toph.

"What?" said Ed, giving her a strange look.

"Yip yip!" said Aang, and then they were in the air and over the desert, and all the way you could hear Ed screaming as the gang laughed at him.

"AHHHHHHHH! WHAT THE HELL?!" screamed Ed, holding on for dear life.

"We tried to tell you," said Sokka.

Ed dared to try and look over the saddle and down to the ground.

"This is incredible!" yelled the Professor, so excited about the ride as Ed was trying to get use to the flight.

He looked down and then out. "Whoa, this is...this is actually pretty cool," he said with a smile starting to develop on his face. "I don't know how this is remotely possible, but this is actually kinda amazing."

"I told you, it's Airbending," said Aang, looking back at him.

"Airbending, hu? How come you're the only one then?" Ed asked. "I've traveled all across the Earth kingdom, and I've hardly ever heard of an Airbender."

Sokka went to whisper into his sister's ear. "Man, has this guy lived under a rock his whole life or something?"

Aang thought it was odd as well that he didn't know about the Airbenders, but with a heavy heart he said, "They were wiped out at the beginning of the war." He envisioned everything that happened, from him running away to him being in the iceberg where Katara found him. "I was the only one who survived."

"My brother and I found him in an iceberg, where he and Oppa were frozen for a hundred years," said Katara, looking from Aang to Ed. "Aang is the last hope for the world to be put back into balance."

"All of this is pretty common knowledge to everyone, though, so why don't you know about all of this?" Sokka asked, putting all eyes on Ed.

Ed looked down with grief on his face as he tried to figure out what to say. "I've heard whispers and different things about the war. Hell, I've even been to a village or two that were overrun by Fire Nation troops, but as long as they didn't bother me, I didn't bother them and they didn't seem to even care that I was there. It might be because my features tend to resemble them more with my eyes and hair."

"Yeah, I've seen some golden eyes in the fire nation before, but never as bright as yours," said Katara.

"And what's up with your hair?" asked Sokka as he lifted up his ponytail and started to play with it curiously.

"They're not common features, I know," said Ed, grabbing his hair back and pushing Sokka aside, "but that's aside the point. They never bothered me, even with my Earth Kingdom clothes, so I never really bothered them. I got what I needed and went on my way," said Ed calmly. "Lets just say that I'm not really from around here, and I try to keep to myself for the most part. I actually think this is the most I've told anyone here about me."

"So, you're not Fire Nation?" asked Katara, searching for a confirmation.

"No, I'm not. I have nothing to do with them," Ed replied. "I have my own agenda, and it has nothing to do with whatever they're wanting."

He couldn't help but think about his brother, how he would have loved to be doing this with him. He missed Alphonse more than words could describe.

"Keep an eye out, everyone," said Sokka after a moment of silence. "The Library could be anywhere. We're out in the middle of the desert now."

There's no turning back for me now, Ed thought to himself as he looked up and out into the vast desert with sand going as far as the eye could see.