I Don't Own Avatar or Miraculous.
Chapter Twenty-One: The Library.
Rin and Toph were not qualified for a mini vacation. At least, according to Sokka
Aang had decided to taken Team Avatar to see a bunch of singing prairie dogs. Rin had found it humorous and the prairie dogs were super cute. Aang then explained that he had just taken then to see the prairie dogs as a mini vacation. Katara decided she wanted to choose next. They decided to go to an oasis south of them: The Misty Palms Oasis. They had a pristine natural ice spring that Aang had visited over a hundred years ago. Katara thought it be a fun place to stop before they began their quest to collect better maps of the Fire Nation.
Only the problem was, their own map of the Earth Kingdom, which had been something water sibling's grandmother gave them from her times traveling the world, was very outdated. So now, they stood outside the oasis staring at a once beautiful ice spring. Huh. He guessed having a natural ice spring next to a desert could have drastic effects on how long ice stayed ice. Most of it had evaporated away over the years, leaving a huge disappointment for Katara. Regardless, the five headed into the tavern in hopes to get a meal that wasn't Rin's soup, Katara's take on sea prunes, or Sokka's jerky.
Inside the tavern were several scary looking mercenaries. Aang just smiled and waved as he past people, hoping no one would recognize him as the Avatar. Suddenly, a older man with a thin moustache approached the group, clinging to a scroll desperately.
"Excuse me, but I must ask. Are you Avatar Aang and have you been traveling with a young lady called Ladybug?" The man asked. All eyes darted towards Rin, who looked startled.
"Uh, who are you?" Rin asked.
"My name is Yung. I am a friend bearing a message concerning the whereabouts of your Partner, Cat Noir. This is my message." He held out the scroll. Rin stared at the message in Yung's hand's like it was going to burst into flames. Timidly, she took it, unrolling it. Aang peered over her shoulder, hoping to catch a glimpse of what it said. Unfortunately, he didn't recognize the characters written on the page.
"It's in French!" She said in surprise, "I can actually read this!"
"Wait. You can't read normal writing?" Katara said in surprise. Rin shook her head.
"No. We didn't write like that in Paris. Whoever wrote this was from my home village." Rin said happily.
"Is it sighed?"
"...Yes… It's sighed… G. Who is G? Is that the first letter in Cat Noir's real name or something?"
"Well? What does it say?"
"It says Cat Noir is in Ba Sing Se. He's been looking for me." Rin said excitedly.
"That's amazing news Rin!" Aang said, patting Rin on the back.
"So we can start for Ba Sing Se in the morning." Sokka said, "And visit it's university for updated maps while you search for Cat Noir." Rin nodded eagerly. Yung nodded.
"Good luck, young ones. I do hope you find your friends."
"Did you say Ba Sing Se's university?" The team turned around to see a man in white clothing with a conical hat. He wore lots of traveling gear with a backpack, sleeping bags, and several scrolls.
"I go there!" He said excitedly, then he noticed Aang and gasped, "You are a living relic!"
"Thanks," Aang said with a goofy smile, "I try." The man bowed respectfully at Aang.
"An Air Nomad, right in front of me. Professor Zei, head of anthropology at Ba Sing Se University. Tell me, which of the Air temples do you hail from?"
"The Southern Temple." Aang replied. Suddenly the man had out tools and a notebook, taking notes and measurements on Aang.
"Oh splendid! Now, tell me, what was the primary agricultural product of your people?"
"Uh, are fruit pies an agricultural product?"
"Oh, truly fascinating. That is one for the journal." Zei said. Sokka perked up.
"So… Professor, you're obviously a well traveled guy. Do you have a more current map? Ours seems to be a bit outdated." Sokka said quickly.
"Certainly." The professor found and empty table and laid out maps for Team Avatar to see. Sokka eagerly examined each one. Aang didn't get why Sokka found maps so interesting, but whatever. He looked up in irritation.
"What? No Fire Nation? Doesn't anyone have a good map of that place?" Ignoring her brother's complaints, Katara leaned forwards and studied the maps.
"You've made a lot of trips into the desert." She noted. Zei nodded.
"All in vain I'm afraid. I've found lost civilizations all over the Earth Kingdom, but I haven't managed to find the crown jewel… Wan Shi Tong's Library." Zei said in disappointment. Toph scowled.
"You spent years walking through the desert to find some guy's library?" She asked.
"This library is more valuable than gold, little lady. It is said to contain a vast collection of knowledge, and knowledge… is priceless." Zei said dreamly.
"Mm. Sounds like good times." Toph said, rolling her eyes sarcastically.
"Oh, it is!" Zei said, not catching Toph's sarcasm, "According to the legend, it was built by the great knowledge spirit, Wan Shi Tong, with the help of his foxy knowledge seekers."
"Oh, so this spirit has attractive assistants, huh." Rin elbowed him.
"I think he means they look like actual foxes Sokka." She scolded.
"You're both right. Handsome little creatures. Wan Shi Tong and his knowledge seekers collected books from all over the world, and put them on display for mankind to read, so that we might better ourselves." Zei explained.
"If this place has books from all over the world, do you think they've got info on the Fire Nation? A map maybe."
"I wouldn't know, but if such a thing exists, it's in Wan Shi Tong's Library." Sokka looked over at a bored Rin in concern.
"Hey, Rin, could we wait to go to Ba Sing Se for a few more days? This place could be our best chance on collecting information on the Fire Nation." Rin winced.
"But Cat Noir needs me." She said urgently.
"I know, but he is probably the one who left the message here. Which means he is waiting for you there. He won't be going anywhere as long as he thinks your coming to find him. This is a one time chance." Rin hiestated.
"I suppose. But we must be quick."
"Then it's settled! Aang, I do believe it is my turn. I'd like to spend my vacation at the library!"
"Of course, there's the matter of finding it. I've made several trips into the Si Wong Desert, and almost died each time. I'm afraid that desert's impossible to cross." Aang exchanged looks with Sokka.
"Professor, would you like to see our sky bison?" Of course, Zei was ecstatic to see and meet Appa, lamenting that the sky bison couldn't talk, but rejoicing over his sheer existence. After the professor calmed down, they climbed onto Appa and took off flying over the Si Wong Desert, searching high and low for the library. Several hours passed, and everyone in Team Avatar slowly got bored of looking for the place.
"Does this place even exist?" Toph asked.
"Some say it doesn't." Toph scowled.
"Shouldn't you have mentioned that before?" She slumped over, annoyed, before suddenly perking up and pointing.
"There it is!" She said in excitement. Everyone looked. When they saw nothing, they looked back at Toph in confusion. She waved her hand in front of her face jokingly.
"That's what it will sound like when one of you spots it." She said. Right. Toph is blind. They groaned.
"It shouldn't be hard to spot a giant ornate building from the air." Rin complained, clearly wanting to get the side trip over with so they could go to Ba Sing Se. Sokka shrugged, looking through his spyglass eagerly.
"Down there! What's that?" He pointed at a tower thing, right in the center of the desert.
"Forget it. It's obviously not what we are looking for. The building in the drawing is enormous." Katara muttered. They saw some movement near the tower-thing.
"What kind of animal is that?" Sokka asked. Pointing. Rin peered over, and her eyes widened.
"It's a fox! That must be one of the Knowledge seekers Zei mentioned! We are here!" They landed.
"It's completely buried." Sokka said in horror. They all stared at the spiral tower in shock before Zei sank to his knees and started to lament the loss of the library. Then he smiled, pulled out a tiny shovel, and began to start excavating it. Toph ignored him, placing her hand on the tower.
"Actually, the inside seems to be completely intact, and it's huge." She said in awe.
"I say we climb in there and take a look." Sokka suggested. Rin hiestated.
"I rather not. This place… it unsettles me and Tikki… besides… I can't read anything here."
"Same. I'll stay out here." Toph agreed.
"You got something against libraries?" Katara asked Toph.
"I've held books before, and I gotta tell you, they don't exactly do it for me."
"Right… sorry." Katara said sheepishly.
"Let me know if you have anything you can listen to." She said with a smile. The Team, minus Rin and Toph, climbed into the library using Sokka's ropes. Once inside, they were greeted with the stunning architecture of the the library.
"Oh, it's breathtaking! The spirits spared no expense designing this place." Zei said, "I mean, look at those beautiful buttresses!" the kids all giggled at the word 'buttresses'. Hey, war or not, they were still kids. Zei, not understanding they're chuckles, continued to praise the beautiful architecture of the library. Pointing out archways and mosaics. Suddenly, they heard a loud swooping sound, and Aang was grabbed by Sokka and hidden behind a pillar. Aang glanced carefully out to see the largest owl in existantance.
"I know you're back there." The owl said. The Team shrugged and came out from behind the pillars. Immediately, Zei introduced himself.
"Hello, I'm professor Zei, head of anthropology at Ba Sing Se University."
"You should leave the way you came, unless you want to become a stuffed head of anthropology." The owl threatened. Zei glupped.
"Are you the spirit who brought this library into the spirit world?" Sokka asked.
"Indeed, I am Wan Shi Tong, he who knows 10,000 things. And you are obviously humans, which, by the way, are no longer permitted in my study."
"What do you have against humans?" Aang asked.
"Humans only bother learning things to get an edge on other humans, like that firebender who came to this place a few years ago, searching to destroy his enemy." The owl turn, getting very close to Sokka, "So, who are you trying to destroy?" Sokka smiled nervously.
"Oh, no, no, no! Destroying? We aren't into that. In fact, our friend is friends with the spirit Tikki… the spirit of creation." Wan Shi Tong looked taken aback.
"Imposible. The Miraculous wielders do no hail from this world. The Kawmi's are powerful and even beyond the spirits of the spirit world. You claim to have met the very essence of creation itself, but I doubt that to be true. Tikki, creator of worlds and giver of good fortune and Plagg, destroyer of worlds and giver of misfortune have not been seen in this world in centuries after they foolishly pledged themselves to forever serve the Miraculous holders of another realm. The Kwamis no longer exist in this world, yet you calm to have met Tikki and Ladybug themselves?" Wan Shi Tong asked. Wait, what?
"It's true! They didn't want to come in, because Tikki sensed the spiritual energy in this place and decided she'd better stay out. I promise, as the Avatar, that Sokka's telling the truth, and I vouch for him. We won't abuse the knowledge in your library." The owl cocked his head.
"Very well, for the sake of Tikki the spirit of creation and the sake of Raava the spirit of light, I'll let you peruse my vast collection… on one condition. To prove your worth as scholars, you have to contribute some worthwhile knowledge." One by one, team Avatar presented their pieces of knowledge, Zei's tome, Katara's waterbending scroll, Aang's wanted poster, and Sokka's… knot. While Sokka went searching for Fire Nation things, Aang had a different goal in mind. Wan Shi Tong's rant about the Miraculous wielders like Rin had caught the young Avatar's attention. He began to search the library high and low on any information about Tikki or the Miraculouses. He came across some cool scrolls about lion turtles and his past lives, but found little to nothing. Finally, he spotted three books that caught his interest. One was called the Miraculous Guardian book, the next was calle The Tale of Creation and Destruction, the final was labeled A Incomplete Collection of Memoirs by the Ladybugs of the Distant Past. Aang pulled them off the self, only to find they memoir book was in that language Rin could read, the Guardian Book had funny characters that he didn't know, and Tale of Creation and Destruction was written in a weird language that used picture-like characters.
"Aang!" Sokka called. Aang jumped, gathering up the Miraculous books and running towards Sokka.
"Yes… Oh…" There was an entire section of the library destroyed… more specifically, the Fire Nation section. No wonder Wan Shi Tong didn't trust humans.
"Firebenders." Aang said darkly.
"They destroyed everything having to do with the Fire Nation." Katara said in horror.
"That's so unfair! Just when I think I'm one step ahead of the Fire Nation, it turns out they beat us here a long time ago." Sokka said, before glancing at a parchment he held in his hands, "I need to know what happened on the darkest day." The watertribe boy noticed the knowledge seeking spirit approaching him.
"Hello, weird little fox guy." Sokka said in uncertainty.
"It seems he's trying you assist you."
"Um, sure, I guess I'll follow you." Sokka said. The team followed the fox into a large open room with a giant dail in the center of it. It was a planetarium of sorts.
"This room is a true marvel. A mechanical wonder! It's a planetarium that shows the heavens moving." Zei explained.
"Uh, it's beautiful, but how is it helpful?" Sokka asked. Katara studied the dail in the middle.
"The dials are dates and times… Sokka, try entering the date from the parchment you took." Katara ordered.
"Shush! Not in front of the fox. He's with the owl." The fox whimpered at Sokka's words. Sokka turned to the dail and switched the date and time. They team watched in awe as the planetarium did its work.
"Wow, I've got to hand it to you Sokka, you pick the best mini-vacation for sure." Suddenly the machine stopped and all went dark.
"Hey, what happened to the sun?" Katara asked.
"You must've broken it." Aang said in disappointment.
"It's not broken! Look, the sun is behind the moon, it's a solar eclipse! It's literally the darkest day in Fire Nation history! Now I get it! Something awful happened that day. I don't know what, but I know why! Firebenders lose their firebending!" Sokka said excitedly.
"That makes sense! I mean, think of what the lunar eclipse at the North Pole did to the waterbenders. This is huge." Katara agreed.
"This is information we've got to get to the Earth King at Ba Sing Se while we are there looking for Cat Noir, after we find him, we can invade the Fire Nation and take the Fire Lord down!" Sokka said excitedly. That's when a huge shadow fell over them. The owl had heard everything.
"Mortals are so predictable, and such terrible liars." The owl growled and he grew in size, "You betrayed my trust, you intended to use this knowledge for evil purposes."
"You don't understand, if anyone is evil, it's the Fire Nation. You saw what they did to your library. They're destructive and dangerous. We need this information."
"Plagg, the Destroying Spirit is far more destructive than firebenders, yet you openly admit to be searching for him. He is not evil, but like with this information, you intend to also use him for your own selfish purposes. Every man comes to think their war is justified. It's not. War is war. Both sides are equally to blame. Countless have come seeking battle strategies, weaknesses, or weapons in hopes to kill and utterly destroy their foes. Perhaps if Plagg the destroying spirit had not been left this world, then mankind would have less wars and the destruction that occurred would be out of necessity, not selfishness. So, for misusing my knowledge for the destruction of others, you will remain here." He attacked. Flapping his wings violently while the library began to sink under the sand. They took off running, trying to escape the library, no matter where they went, the spirit cut them off. Suddenly Sokka grabbed his shoulder.
"Aang, we need to turn back! We still don't know when the next eclipse will happen. If we leave this place, we will never get the information we need." Aang looked back at Katara, Momo, and the professor.
"Go!" Katara said. Aang followed Sokka back to the planetarium.
"Okay, we just need to check every single date before Sozin's comet arrives… after that… well…" Sokka let the statement hang in the air as he began turning the dials. The two worked, checking each date and time carefully. Finally, the sun disappeared under the moon.
"That's only a few months away." Sokka said, writing it down, "Got it, let's go!" The returned to the main room they'd entered in to find Wan Shi Tong chasing Katara. Sokka threw his boomerang at the spirit and recaught it, distracting the owl. The dashed for the rope, only to realise Professor Zei wasn't with them.
"Let's go!' Sokka yelled down at the reading professor.
"I'm not leaving, I can't. I've spent too long trying to find this place. There's not another collection of knowledge like this in the on Earth." He closed his eyes, smiling, "I could spend eternity in here."
"Just go!" Katara yelled. They got outside quickly, just as the library sunk, they landed in the sand outside only to find an unconscious Rin tangles in ropes and a distressed Toph shaking her head in disbelief. Appa was nowhere to be seen.
"Rin!" Katara yelled, running to the injured teen and untangling her. Tikki flew out of Rin's satchel looking worn out and insanely concerned.
"Where's Appa?" Aang asked. Tikki just shook her head.
"I'm sorry Aang, Rin and Toph tried everything… there was just so much sand and Toph was panicking because the library was sinking and then the sandbenders came and… I'm sorry… Appa is gone." Aang's heart sank.
"No." He whispered.