Aaaannd...chapter 2! :) Apologies for my grammar mistakes as of late. My laptop has been lagging, and when I type a word, it doesn't always go through. I try to catch them through proof-reading, but sometimes my mind moves before the words! Hope you all enjoy!

Chapter 2

The group had woken up much later than intended, to Sokka's extreme dismay, and he spent the whole of breakfast berating everyone for sleeping in and not caring to get up early.

"I'm sorry…weren't you the one that was snoring away when we all woke up and wouldn't actually get up until Toph kicked your sorry butt ten feet in the air?" Katara chided, clearly fed up with her brother's non-stop complaining.

"Well-I-you! GAH!" Sokka got up and stormed up, muttering under his breath.

"Come on, we'd better get going before his all-mighty-grumpiness has his head explode." Suki laughed, standing to clean up their breakfast while the others went about rolling up sleeping bags and loading up Appa's saddle.

The group quickly reached the Nan Shan River, where they chose to stop to eat before continuing on to the village Zuko had mentioned. They chose to walk for the remainder of the way, as they were so close anyway, and Appa had been working double to carry them all lately. All was silent when suddenly Toph's head shot up, her eyes wide in fear.

"Katara watch out!" she twisted her heel into the ground, forming a hole under Katara into which the water bender fell, an arrow sinking itself into the trunk of a tree, exactly level with where Katara's head had been just mere moments ago. Zuko rushed over to help Katara from the hole, pulling up to level ground.

"It came from over there." Toph pointed up a large hill covered with brush. "I heard it before I felt them."

Everyone's attention snapped to where she had indicated, but saw no one.

"Are they still there?" Zuko looked to Toph who ran her foot across the ground, surveying. When she did answer, her voice was a whisper of disbelief.

"No…it's like they just…disappeared."

"Toph, that's impossible. People can't just poof into thin air. Are you sure your feet are working?"

"I'll poof you into thin air if you keep it up Snoozles. I don't know where they went. I only felt them for a second to begin with."

"We might not know where they are…but I do know who they are." Zuko's voice called over as he examined the arrow in the tree, ripping it out of the tree trunk. He turned to his friends, revealing the arrow he held. Along the dark wooden body were intricate carvings and symbols, and Zuko's voice was grave as he spoke. "The Yu Yan Archers."

"Those guys again!" Aang shouted in disbelief, clamping a hand to his forehead. He could remember all too well the archers that attacked him when he was on his quest to find medicine for Katara and Sokka when they had been so sick.

"We can't be for sure if it's that same group." Zuko spoke quietly; he had just been told the story of the first time Aang had met the Archers.

The group had ridden Appa to Omashu, deciding it could be potentially dangerous to head into a village they knew nothing about especially after being attacked, and landed in Omashu very late into the night. They found themselves very fortunate that Bumi had taken control of the city once again and it had returned, more or less, to its former glory. He had welcomed them warmly into his home, asking no questions as to their late arrival or their worried expressions. Once able to sit and to think things through more fully, Zuko questioned Aang as to how he knew about the Archers. Aang relayed the story of how, when he had first met Sokka and Katara they had fallen sick and he rushed to find a cure for them he had been attacked by the group of archers.

"That was a long time ago Aang… it could be them. But it could be an entirely different group all together. For all we may know, they could just be posing as the archers."

"Whoever they are, why did they try to attack Katara?" Aang asked.

"Because of this." Sokka, who had up until now been silent, spoke up, holding up a thin piece of parchment.

"Where did that come from?"

"Inside of that arrow. I didn't see it at first, but if you looked really closely, there was a slit in the body." He handed over the arrow to Zuko who examined it himself. Sure enough, there was a small line along the body, thin enough to look like the grain of the wood.

"I was picking at it and it just sort of popped open. I found this rolled up in there."

Sokka laid the paper in the middle of the table to show the rest of the group. It was but a small strip of parchment, but the dark words written in untidy scrawl could be easily seen.

The world will never work peacefully together. The Fire Nation will not work with underlings. Give up now.

"Hello? Blind girl here!"

"It's a threat.." Aang's voice was soft as he answered Toph.

Sokka slumped back in his chair, as did Katara and Zuko.

"So how are we supposed to know who this is? I mean…It's gotta be from someone fire nation. Sorry Zuko." Aang apologized, wincing at his harsh words.

"What for? You're right. I knew we'd run into trouble, with people not wanting to trust one another. I just never really thought we'd have this."

"So what now? I mean…do we really want to try to go back to that village? Or just go somewhere else?" Suki asked as she looked around the group.

"For now?..." Zuko sighed, running a hand over the back of his neck. "We sleep on it. We've been up all night. We might as well get some sleep and think of something in the morning. Maybe Bumi's heard something about a rogue group."

"Zuko's right. We won't get much done if we're all exhausted." Katara stood up, stretching out her sore muscles. After almost being hit by an arrow, she felt she fully deserved a good night's rest. Tomorrow they could figure out their next move. But for now, a feather-soft mattress was calling her name.

And there you have it folks! Chapter 2! Who could be after our friends? Find out next time! RxR!