They'd been flying for some time when Professor Zei finally reached over and tapped Matthew on the knee. "I don't believe I've heard a word from you, young man. Where are you from?"

Matthew snapped out of his reverie at the physical contact and looked at Zei inquisitively.

"I asked where you were from," Zei urged gently. "I've never seen features like yours before."

The blond, now focusing on the professor's words, nodded. "I am from—far away."

The professor frowned expressively. "Far away?"

"You're not gonna get much out of him," Toph grunted. "He's still learning the language."

Zei looked intrigued. "Did he never learn how to speak?"

"He has his own language." Sokka explained. "You ever heard of something like that? Because we haven't figured out where he's from."

"Well, anthropology is my emphasis." Professor Zei's gaze abruptly unfocused, going somewhere up and to the left as though running through a very long mental list. Eventually he said, "I have two possibilities in mind."

Everyone (except Aang, who was at the reins) scooted closer to hear him better.

"First," Zei tapped Matthew's knee again. "Could you…" he waved to mime speaking "—talk for me? Your language."

It took him a moment, but Matthew seemed to understand what was being asked of him. A jumble of disorganized characters and strange vowels spewed from his lips. The pronunciation was somehow harsh and subdued at the same time.

"…Well that's one possibility gone," Zei admitted at length. "Because that's not High Court."

Toph scratched her stomach idly. "Isn't High Court a Fire Nation thing?"

"The Fire Nation has their own language?"

"Matthew isn't Fire Nation," Katara insisted immediately. "He'd have tried something already. Anyways, they talk the same as anyone else. We've run into them before."

"High Court is spoken among Fire Nation royalty and very high ranking officers," Zei explained. "You wouldn't hear it out here, invasion or no."

"Explains why Katara and I haven't heard of it." Sokka crossed his arms and looked over at the earthbender of their company. "Toph, where'd you learn about it?"

"My parents are powerful merchants," Toph answered easily enough. Quickly she asked, "If it isn't High Court, then what else can it be?"

"Ah, here the theory is a bit more complicated," Zei said. He ran a finger along the spine of his journal contemplatively, taking his time to arrange the words. "Where did you all find him?"

"East of here," Katara said. "And south. He was very lost."

"And his name is—Matthew? Yes." Zei nodded, more to himself than anything. "Matthew. A very odd name…Have any of you ever traveled into the North Mountains?"

"I have!" Aang called from the front. "I've been all over the world. There's a temple just past them."

"And what do you remember of the people down in the mountains?" Zei asked. "A hundred years ago, that is?"

"Um…" Aang's cheeks puffed out slightly as he struggled to recall. "I never saw anyone. There's not a lot of places to land a bison in those mountains so I never really stopped there, either."

"There are people up there," Zei insisted. "You would likely not see them from the air–the forests are too thick. They're dangerous, too. And very dark. Steep surfaces make everything difficult to get to, even by sky bison. Difficult to farm. Why the mountains are so tall and close together, you'd only be able to see the sun for a few hours in some places! What kind of person would want to live in a place like that?"

"Someone who wants to be left alone," Toph guessed. She tilted her head thoughtfully. "But with the war going on, I bet those mountains got a few more people now. The Fire Nation wouldn't bother with them yet."

"That's an interesting thought," Zei said. "I've never been there myself. Far too cold. But I have a colleague who wrote an excellent thesis on the isolated peoples of the Earth Kingdom. He probably knows about as much as anyone could know without living among them."

Sokka nodded slowly, thinking. "So we'll talk to your guy and figure out which mountain it is…but…wait. How did Matthew end up so far away? How did he get anywhere without being able to talk to people?"

"Some trade makes its way through," Zei said. "Those few merchant families that have been privileged to meet them at The Root of the Hanging Valleys claim that the centuries of isolation have made them—odd. Different customs, different words…They're apparently so distinct, I wouldn't be surprised if the community has its own language. As for how he got here…" Zei shrugged. "I've never heard the likes, to be honest. Legend says they keep to themselves. Intruders simply…disappear."

Into the awkward silence that had descended after that alarming piece of information Toph suddenly cried out and pointed. "There it is!"

Everyone crowded to one side of the saddle to see where she was pointing…at nothing. Sand dunes as far as the eye could see.

Matthew snorted, being the first to understand that they'd all been duped. Toph smiled victoriously.

"Not funny," Katara said.

"So funny."

"Wait…" Sokka squinted into the achingly bright landscape. "Wait there is something! Aang!" He scrabbled closer to Appa's head. "Aang, go left! There's a tower!"

"Okay!" Aang pulled the reins. Appa groaned and banked obligingly. In a matter of minutes they had landed with a muffled thud before the-out-of-place feature.

Toph was first on the ground. She frowned unhappily as her feet sunk into the shifting sand. "I hate sand. It makes the world all…fuzzy."

Aang jumped off and made sure to give Appa's favorite spot a thorough scratching. Momo, awakened from his nap, chittered and jumped onto Sokka's shoulder as he and Katara slid off next. Matthew helped Zei clamber off.

Katara looked up at the tower with a despairing sigh. "This can't be it. The building in the picture is enormous."

"No, no, look at this spire," Sokka shook the drawing in his hand for emphasis. "It matches perfectly! The library, it's—completely buried."

Zei gripped his bag to his chest, staring at the spire with an expression that was caught between covetousness and soul-crushing despair. "The crown jewel," he murmured. "My life's ambition…buried in sand." He dropped to his knees, and just like that the despair was smothered by a smile and an alarmingly obsessive gleam. A trowel appeared in his hand, seemingly out of nowhere. "Time to start digging."

"Not necessary," Toph said, flexing her toes. "It's still kinda blurry to me, but the inside looks completely intact."

The trowel disappeared again and Zei jumped to his feet. "Really?! Oh, we must get inside!"

Aang shaded his hand against the sun. "There're windows up there we can climb through…Matthew? Rope. Understand? Get the rope."

Zuko pretended he didn't see Alfred sneaking one more strip of moose-lion jerky as the last of their supplies were packed away. The blond swung the heavy pack over his shoulder like it weighed absolutely nothing. "Aaaaaalrighty, then. Let's get this show on the road!"

"Sounds like a plan," Iroh said. "But I've been thinking. It's only a matter of time before we find civilization again. You need a change of clothes if we're going to remain inconspicuous."

Zuko wondered how his uncle could act so normal after last night. He also wondered how Alfred had missed the glowing orange sparks that had literally come off his knuckles yesterday.

Alfred shrugged. "I've been thinking that too. Let's keep an eye out for people who need some heavy lifting done–we can get some money that way."

As Zuko saw it, there were two possibilities here:

One being that Alfred had slipped up. He'd been lying to them the entire time. He was a Fire Nation operative sent by Azula to kill himself or Uncle or both.

It was the reasonable thing to think. A lot more believable than the second possibility: That Alfred had been telling the truth...and that would be a whole other kettle of catfish-eels indeed.

"Such an enterprising young man," Uncle smiled. Dark gold eyes met his own, a silent reassurance. It was so strange how Uncle seemed to trust Alfred so easily. "Zuko, is something wrong?"

The scarred teen placed his sleeping roll onto the ostrich-horse's back and strapped it in. "Nothing. Let's get moving."

Zei turned in a full circle. "Spirits, just look at this place. It's everything I've ever dreamed of!"

"It really is amazing," Katara breathed. "It's a shame that Toph didn't come with us."

"She's blind," Sokka pointed out. "What's she gonna do with a book?"

Matthew's head snapped up and to the right. His eyes widened slightly. "Something coming. Big."

"Hide!" Aang whispered urgently. They shuffled quickly towards the wide stone columns at the end of the skybridge and ducked behind them, hopefully out of sight of whatever Matthew saw.

All was silent at first. Then, there was a soft swishing sound, like a soft broom being dragged along the stone floors.

It got louder, now accompanied by a sharp clicking sound. Like it had knives on its feet.

The distant sun at the top of the spire cast deep shadows. Something very big was standing on the skybridge. Whatever it was, it was tall.

Katara dared to peek around the column to see.

It was—a giant owl. Taller even than the village walls back home. With great black wings folded fully around its body. It was studying the very incriminating evidence that was their rope still dangling from the top of the spire. When its starkly white face swiveled in their direction, Katara felt strange. Something about those beady black eyes and sharp beak was…well, she couldn't describe it. But it was easily one of the creepiest things Katara had ever seen.

It only had to open its beak slightly to speak. Its voice seemed to echo throughout the entire library. "I know you're back there."

There was a silent conversation among the group as they tried to decide what they were going to do next. A conversation that Zei apparently didn't catch on to, as he only squirmed uncertainly for a few moments before jumping out from behind the column.

"Hello! I'm Professor Zei, head of anthropology at Ba Sing Se University. Are you the spirit who keeps this collection?"

"You should leave the way you came," the spirit said. "Unless you'd like to be a stuffed head of anthropology…"

Katara was the last to ditch the column by only a half-second. Matthew seemed to catch her hesitation, though. His brow furrowed briefly in concern just as Sokka addressed the spirit. "Are you the spirit who brought this library into the physical world?"

"Yes, I am Wan Shi Tong, He Who Knows Ten Thousand Things…And you five are obviously humans." He said this word with utter disgust, as if just saying it left an unpleasant taste in his mouth.

Katara frowned. There were six of them. Did the spirit miscount? Could a spirit miscount?

"Humans are no longer permitted in my study. I suggest you all leave immediately, before I add all five of you to my collection of taxidermy specimens." Wan Shi Tong kept swiveling his head. With each pass of those gleaming eyes, Katara had to suppress a shiver. It was like the thing saw into her. He paused on Matthew. "And I'm certain I can think of something creative for you. Don't think I've forgotten what happened the last time I let one of your kind in."

Matthew shifted uncomfortably. For having a very limited grasp on the language, Matthew seemed to understand that Wan Shi Tong had a particular dislike for him.

Forever the diplomat, Aang asked, "What do you have against humans and…Matthew's kind?" His gaze slid over to Matthew briefly as he said this, confused and newly suspicious as the rest of them.

"Humans only ever come here seeking knowledge to use against other humans," Wan Shi Tong spat. "As for your 'Matthew'...they are worse. The fate of his kind is tied to humanity. Their very existence is characterized by violence and desperation. Why, they'll slaughter their own family to survive. I've read all about it. So tell me," He leaned down until his face was a few inches from Sokka, who happened to be the closest. "Who are you trying to kill?"

"K-Kill?" Sokka gulped nervously. "N-no! We don't want to kill anybody, we're not into that!"

Wan Shi Tong didn't need a facial expression to convey his skepticism. "Then why have you come here?"

"Er...Knowledge for knowledge's sake?" the Water Tribe teen tried unconvincingly.

There was a long moment of silence.

"If you're going to lie to a several thousand year old spirit, you should probably make a better attempt than that," the Knowledge Spirit advised drolly.

"What? I'm not lying!" Sokka insisted.

Aang stepped forward, taking on his 'Avatar Aang' persona. He bowed deeply. "We understand your frustration, but we are not here to make war. We are simply here to admire your grand collection and to hopefully find a way to get our friend home."

"Your friend?" Wan Shi Tong prompted slowly, straightening again.

Aang nodded solemnly. "Yes. We found Matthew in the forest some days ago now...He's still learning our language. Doesn't even know enough to understand what you're accusing him of. We're trying to help him find his way home…but it's not on any maps we've seen. It's only decent to help him however we can."

"Admirable," the spirit murmured. "A very moral position you all take, to be willing to help one who is so different from you…it's been a very long time since a human offered me a good reason to be here." Wan Shi Tong turned his back to them. "Fine then, I will allow you to peruse my collection. Do not disappoint me." He walked to the nearest ledge, extending his wings—

"What is Matthew, exactly?" Katara called out nervously, knowing that she was treading on rather thin ice.

"It is not for me to say," Wan Shi Tong answered. "I will say with certainty that he does not belong to any of the four nations. The rest, you will learn for yourselves…one way or another." He jumped, and glided into the seemingly endless darkness below.

Of course, it was scantly an hour before Alfred decided to start talking again.

"So, as far as I know we're still going in a random direction for vague reasons," Alfred pointed out. "Unless you guys have come to some decision I didn't catch while you were using your weird made-up language?"

"It was random for a time," Iroh admitted. "But lately I've been considering–"

"–plotting," Zuko found himself interrupting wryly. "You've been plotting."

"...Plotting," Iroh resubmitted at length with a wry smile of his own, "a potential next step. It begins at Misty Palms Oasis."

"Mm, sounds refreshing!"

"Oh, it is not."

"Misty Palms Oasis," Zuko repeated slowly. He'd never even heard of the place. But more importantly, "Why there? And this is pertinent information, why did it take Alfred making a snide remark to get you to say where we're going?"

"Be fair, Nephew…you didn't ask."

Zuko had no rebuttal for that.

"I wasn't being snide." Alfred pouted lightly. "I'm not British. I was being pointedly smartass."

"You and your strange alien words." Iroh's eyes twinkled with unmistakable mischief. "Or–wait, are you still being 'pointedly smartass'?"

"Well no, now I'm being mildly affronted…which kinda is a British thing, I guess."

"You keep saying that word as though it's going to mean something to us," Zuko said. "Uncle, you didn't answer my other question."

Iroh obliged him. "Misty Palms Oasis is the very last fragment of civilization before the Si Wong Desert. Once there, I think that this Moose Lion skin will fetch a good price. At least enough to resupply and acquire a ride across the desert."

"A ride, when we've already been walking this whole time?" Alfred asked. His eyes narrowed slightly. "How big is this desert, exactly?"

"It's the largest in the world," Iroh said. "I've seen enough maps of the place to know that we shouldn't try to walk it."

"You're the expert," Alfred conceded absently.

With no one inclined to continue the conversation, for a while the only noise was their footsteps against the dry, hard packed dirt. It was a wonder that anything could grow here at all. Even more so that there were ever people here. Every now and then there'd be a wall, or a fencepost. An abandoned structure collapsing with dry-rot. A roadside shrine to Oma and Shu, or Guanyin.

Alfred yawned obnoxiously.

"Everytime you open your mouth a noise comes out," Zuko muttered.

"Wassat?"

"Nothing."

Another yawn. Iroh looked at the younger man curiously. "How did you sleep? You tossed about more than you usually do while I was on watch–you even threw off your blanket."

Now that was odd. Anyone who'd witnessed Alfred's sleeping habits knew that he essentially cocooned himself inside of his bedroll. One wouldn't even realize there was a person inside were it not for the little tuft of straw hair peeking through the top.

"Like shit," the blond admitted. "I kept getting super hot. Like someone had lit a furnace in my…entire body? I dunno. Usually I get cold real easy."

Zuko and Iroh exchanged a meaningful look. Hot flashes were common…in novice firebenders.

"Let's hope you're not getting sick," Iroh said. "Are you feeling better now?"

"Oh, I don't get sick unless it's something catastrophic," Alfred reassured flippantly. "Don't worry about that."

Oh Zuko was worried, alright. But for now he'd follow his own firebending master's lead on this matter, and stay quiet.

Yeah, it's been a month. I made the mistake of cramming English and trigonometry into a two-month summer semester. I've only got time right now because I've gotten very sick.

Review if you've got a moment! Let's me know if the changes are going well and gives me a much-needed boost.

Later dudes ^J^