a/n: okay, this chapter is kinda angsty. Also, I uploaded an image for this story but it got cut off. So go to inwhich-te-tree-of-time-explodes. tumblr image/ 104596077570 (without spaces) for the full thing. But CAUTION! There be spoilers!

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Gusts of southern wind whipped around rolling dunes of sand, rising, falling, sinking, growing in an endless pattern. Meanwhile, a young man shot along on an abandoned sand sailor. He laid back, feeling numbness and grief.

It's all my fault. It's always my fault. He would go wherever the wind carried him. Nothing matters anymore.

His mouth was parched but he was too tired to even bring the waterskin to his lips. He closed his eyes-

A man needs his rest...

-and slept.

–

Turbulent thoughts flit through his subconscious: Uncle's smile, crinkly wrinkles around his eyes as he made tea.

Anger.

That old man had no right to be happy living in squalor, one of the many peons in the dirty, dingy streets of the city of walls and secrets. They were royalty. They shouldn't be chased around like common criminals. They are NOT traitors. He wanted the fire nation to win the war. Right? Except "there is no war in Ba Sing Se". But of course there was there was, especially when a giant drill tears through the supposedly impenetrable walls. Especially when the vicious army of his home nation surges through the streets in a wave of blood, fire and steel. Especially when his little fourteen-year-old sister somehow managed to shift the allegiance of the "Protectors of the City" to her. And left afterwards.

Thank Agni too, or else he and uncle would have been caught a long time ago. For eight years, she was gone. Eight years of relative peace. Eight years of prosperous business. Eight years to wake the hell up and see what the Fire Nation has become. That his father was insane.

He was beginning to understand why Jeong Jeong deserted.

Eight years later, Azula returned. When she first walked into the city's most prestigious teashop, her cruel, impassive face rippled a little, then lit up with the most delightful expression, like she had received a gift from the spirits themselves.

It was the most terrifying thing he had ever seen.

It happened so fast he could only remember flashes of elements binding him. Then a chase with a firm hand guiding him the entire way and melted stone. Exhaustion. Uncle collapsing in a net of buzzing static. Screaming (from his own mouth?). A final glance at Azula's face, her eyes unreadable and her mouth forming the words "Let him go."

But that didn't make sense! He must have seen wrong!

Azula always lies.

Darkness.

.

.

.

.

When he woke, night was falling, his skin was sticky from sweat and his eyes full of grit. Although he was sweaty and tired and dehydrated, the intense sunlight seemed to have recharged him. But he still didn't want to move. He would need hope for that to happen...

What would Uncle say?

No! Zuko! You must never give into dispair. Allow yourself to slip down that road and you surrender to your lowest instincts. In the darkest times, hope is something you give yourself. That is the meaning of inner strength. Now GET UP! He groaned and complied, teetering dangerously. Now uncork your water skin.

Pop.

Now drink.

He obeyed.

Water is the element of change.

He was going insane.

His sanity, slipping from between his fingers, just like Uncle. Funny how little he appreciated what he had, until it was gone, like everything else he cared about. He squandered so much of those eight years on bitterness and nostalgia and angry hopes of finally earning his father's love. If only he realized who had been a real father to him earlier on! But he had to keep going, if only for the sake of retribution.

I will avenge you.

Zuko stretched his tired limbs and rubbed the sand out of his eyes. The winds had died down and the sand sailer was still. He observed his location, but saw nothing more than endless rolling dunes, and a tiny prick in the distance, like a small lighthouse for lonely travelers on the sea of sand.

Why in agni's name is there tower in the middle of a desert?

Dazedly, he started to trek over.

—

As Zuko approached this mysterious tower he noticed a hole in front of it, with sand being steadily tossed out.

"Hello?" He called warily

Bright, curious brown eyes, shadowed by a beige, wide brimmed hat, peered over the edge of the little pit.

"Ah! Well hello friend, what brings you here?"

"I could ask the same thing." replied Zuko carefully.

"Ha Ha!" laughed the strange man easily, "Good answer. I am currently excavating the remains of Wan Shi Tong's magnificent spirit library!" he announced exuberantly.

Suddenly, a fox bounded out from behind a sand dune with a scroll in it's mouth. Zuko lept back in surprise as the fox galloped vertically up the tower and disappeared into a window on top. Zuko glanced back at the traveller in the hole and started to ask, "What is-"

"Oh, that is one of Wan Shi Tong's foxy little knowledge seekers! Fascinating creatures indeed! But since they are spirits, I have no way of telling whether the library is in this world at all! They can exist in both the physical and spirit world." he sighed mournfully, "How disappointing that my life's greatest ambition may now be full of sand."

Zuko looked down at this genial man who reminded him (like everything else on the planet now) of uncle. Except with an obsession for books and reading instead of tea and pai sho.

"Who are you?" he asked, "What is your name?"

"I am Professor Zei, former Head of Anthropology at Ba Sing Se University." he said while scrambling out of the hole. "Although not a part of Ba Sing Se anymore, unfortunately, because I was not able to re enter the city after my last expedition. Since it was captured by the Fire Nation! *sigh* And yourself? What is your tale?"

Zuko swallowed uncomfortably. "I'm from Ba Sing Se too. Name's Li." He lied, cautiously holding out a hand.

The Professor shook it energetically, oblivious to Zuko's discomfort. "What a shame that you will probably not manage to return to the city either! Would you like to help me excavate?"

Zuko raised an eyebrow as he glanced down at the tiny shovel in Professor Zei's hand.

"Perhaps it would be better to try and climb to the window."

"That woud be a phenominal idea if I could climb up! I have rope." he pondered

I could boost myself with firebending, thought Zuko, But he would probably panic if he found out I was a firebender.

Then, an even stranger thought occurred to him. Why was he even helping this man? Because he bore a slight resemblance to Uncle? He should not be pining so much.

"Are you a bender, Mister Li?" inquired Zei, breaking him out of his thoughts

"Yes." He answered absentmindedly, glancing at the tip of the tower.

"Then can you create a staircase?"

Zuko gaped in confusion. How can I create a staircase using fire-Oh. He then realized this man thought he was an earthbender. He mentally facepalmed himself for being so errant. "Eerrrrrm..."

Meanwhile, the professor retrieved his rope with an expression of childlike anticipation on his face.

Zuko debated whether or not he should reveal that he was a firebender. "Screw it," he thought. The nerdy little professor wouldn't be able to do anything to him anyways. "I'm not an earthbender."

Zei looked at him in puzzlement, "Well you certainly do not look like a waterbender"

"I'm a fire-"

"A firebender!" he exclaimed while jumping up, grabbing his hand and checking in between the fingers. "Flying hog monkeys! Never thought I would be able to examine one so close up!" Then he pried open his eyelids and stared directly into his pupils.

Well this is a better than expected reaction. thought Zuko while trying futily to blink. Suddenly, the professor sprang away.

"Well, I suppose we should get into the library first. Must set priorities you know!"

Thanks. Always nice to be a second priority. thought Zuko wryly as he grabbed the rope and ran up the wall, blasting a flame outwards to keep himself propelled towards the tower. At the top, he took a leap and released a fireblast from his feet to push him up to the windowsill. He landed lightly and tossed the other end of the rope back to the professor, while looking down towards a humungous and very much intact library.

Suddenly, black spots swam in his vision and he had to sit down heavily from exhaustion. The past couple of days had drained him immensly, his waterskin was almost empty, and he had not had anything to eat since coming into the desert two days ago. He balance precariously on the edge of the window, leaning his head back against the warm brick behind him.

"Li! Are you unwell?" huffed Zei after clambering to the top of the rope.

"Just a little dizzy."

"Have some water," said the professor, taking out his water before saying, "Then we must examine the archives! There are thou-"

Gurrgulurgr...growled Zuko's stomach to his chagrin.

Without even pausing, the professor handed him a biscuit and threw the rope down inside while continuing, "-sands of years of knowledge to be found!"

Without futher ado, the eccentric scholar shimmied down the rope into gaping space below.

Zuko followed suit, feeling grateful, but mildly affronted about how the professor did not bother to ask about his wellbeing.

Whatever, he's a complete stranger anyways.

When he reached the bottom, Zuko gazed around in awe, momentarily forgetting about hunger and thirst and fatigue, and simply taking in shelves upon shelves of knowledge at his disposal. He could understand where the professor's carefree nature came from; life would be so much easier if Zuko's sole drive were knowledge, if he would always feel what he felt at this very moment.

Not that this was his first time seeing a grand library. He was the CROWN PRINCE who lived in the FIRE NATION CAPITAL. But the entire Capital City's library isn't even the same size as two floors of...of..this fortress of books.

Apparently, Zei's opinion of the place was very similar.

"Oh, it's breath taking. The spirits spared no expense designing this place." he breathed, drinking in the sight, "Look at those beautiful buttresses!"

Zuko snorted softly, feeling extremely immature.

"What's funny?"

"Nothing, I just like architecture."

"As do I." replied Zei with dreamy smile, "My word! Look at the exquisite mosaic handiwork of this tile-rendered avian symbol..."

Zuko looked at him nonplussedly.

What?

"Eh, nice...owl." amended the professor after seeing his confused face.

Suddenly, he heard a flapping noise and dove behind a pillar, dragging the professor with him. He peeked out from behind the pillar, staring at the unsettling pair of white feathers, resembling eyes, on the back of a giant owl-spirit's head.

"I know you're back there." said the owl-spirit in an ominous voice.

Before Zuko could stop him, Professor Zei stepped out excitedly from behind the pillar.

"Hello! I'm Professor Zei, head of anthropology at Ba Sing Se University." he said, bowing to the massively tall and intimidating black owl.

"You should leave the way you came," replied the owl, gesturing to a wall on the left, "Unless you want to become a stuffed head of anthropology."

Zuko glanced over at a the wall, mounted with a couple of gruesome, preserved animal heads and stepped into view. "Are you the spirit that brought this library to the physical world?" he asked.

"Indeed, I am Wan Shi Tong, he who knows ten thousand things, and you are obviously humans, which by the way are no longer permitted in my study."

"What do you have against humans?"

"Humans only learn things to get an edge on other humans. Like that firebender who came to this place a few years ago, looking to destroy his enemy. So..." Wan Shi Tong pulled his face close to Zuko's and squinted into his eyes, "Who are you trying to destroy?"

"I don't care." What's the point? Nothing will bring him back.

"Hmmm, an interesting answer. Then why have you come here?"

"I don't know." perhaps you can tell me, mister 'He-who-knows-ten-thousand-things.'

"Perhaps you should leave, if there is so little motivation for coming here."

At this, Professor Zei sprang forward, "Please, Great Spirit! We will not abuse the knowledge in your library. This young man does not have an evil bone in him! We seek only the cerebral treasures within your great archives."

"Very well, I will let you peruse my vast collection on one condition. To prove your worth as scholars, you have to contribute some worthwhile knowledge."

Zei immediatly stepped forward with a heavy book in hand, "Please accept this tome as a donation to your library."

"First edition, very nice" replied Wan Shi Tong as he swept it away under his wing. Then, he turned his shrewd eyes upon Zuko. "What do you have to contribute, young man?"

"I...I know the fate of the man who last entered your library."

"As do I." said the owl loftily.

"The fire nation is winning the war?"

"Mmmmhmmm."

"Hot air rises."

"And how do you intend to prove this."

"If you take a balloon and fill it with warm air, it will rise."

"Fine. I suppose that counts as knowledge." muttered Wan Shi Tong as he swept away. "Enjoy the library."

"Profes-" started Zuko as the professor eagerly scurried away to gather books. "Never mind." he muttered to himself.

He started to meander too. With nothing better to do, he might as well learn some things.

As he headed downstairs, he noticed more and more red appearing. This must be where the section about the fire nation is. Zuko hurried down. Perhaps he would be able to find some sort of divine knowledge about the nature of fire.

When he walked aroung the last corner, he stood dumbstruck at the sight of an entire passageway, completely burned out. Black soot still stained the shelves where those old scrolls and tomes used to lay. The Admiral must have destroyed it last time he came to the library!

Zhao, you deserve whatever torture the spirits are putting you through right now.

Numbly, Zuko walked back the way he came. He had never been a sentimental person, but thinking about all those priceless artifacts, completely destroyed, filled him with a sense of great loss.

Once something is lost, it can never be replaced...

Mournfully, he walked to the next floor down, dedicated to the spirits. Uncle would love this place he thought, running his fingers along a row upon row of scrolls. Then, one particular small scroll caught his attention. To Give Qi, To Take Substance it read, He unrolled it and started to read:

Spirits, in a mortal form, although weak, are able to connect with other mortal beings much more effectively than in spirit form. During the First Age of the Avatar, most spirits withdrew to the metaphysical world, but energybending masters with connections to the elements created physical offspring which can take the form in nature or in animals. These creatures are the true masters of an element and practice bending in it's purest, most refined form. Such masters may include, air bison, badgermoles, dragons, and even the moon and plants. In history, many benders have met the masters personally, but only those whose souls are pure may recieve divine knowledge of their element.

Then the page ended. Zuko looked up, pondering what he just read. Welp he thought, Time to do more research.

–

a/n: okay, this chapter is ridiculously confusing. Sorry.

ps, when you review, (and I know you will all review because you are not buttfaces!) please mention any ships, platonic or non-platonic that you might like to see! I can't guarantee that it will come true, but do it anyways!