Author's Note: This chapter is based on The Library but Zei is not in it because he doesn't need to be. I don't like copying episodes for fics. Also, note that Wan Shi Tong does physically appear in front of humans so some parts include him as an active character and others he is merely an observer like the other spirits.


It was the year 100 AG, not that the spirits cared, when Wan Shi Tong's foxes barked for his attention. They'd been doing that a lot lately the past couple decades. The greater spirits blessing humans, the moon spirit dying– They were sensitive to these things, almost as much as Wan Shi Tong himself. Wan Shi Tong would be proud of them, except they cared a great deal and assumed he did too. Wan Shi Tong wanted to have a record of what the other spirits were doing but had no interest in being involved himself. The Knowledge Seekers had to learn that before they drew too much attention with their sniffing around.

So, when Wan Shi Tong felt a powerful presence approach his library, of course he was wary. Only, his foxes told him the oncomers were mortals. How peculiar. He didn't know if he should be more or less concerned. "I know you are there."

One of the mortals squeaked and attempted to hide. Wan Shi Tong wanted to huff but withheld. That sort of behavior would be permitted in front of his Knowledge Seekers but not these mortals. How silly they were. One of them seemed to have some sense though. No one could hide from Wan Shi Tong and his Knowledge Seekers. Stepping out of the shadows, he approached. "Hello, Z-"

"I know who you are, Blue Spirit," Wan Shi Tong rumbled. He heard one of the mortals whisper in question to one of the others, only earning a shrug in response. "It has been some time."

"Um…"

"Are you the spirit who brought this library to the physical world?" one of the mortals asked, joining the Blue Spirit boy in front of Wan Shi Tong.

"I am," Wan Shi Tong confirmed, "and you are obviously a human which, by the way, are no longer permitted in my study."

"What do you have against humans?" one of the mortals asked. This one had tattoos Wan Shi Tong recognized. An airbender, it seemed. It had been quite some time since an airbender visited him. Oh, how he missed them.

"Humans only bother learning things to get the edge on other humans. Like that firebender who came to this place a few years ago, looking to destroy his enemy." In hindsight, letting a firebender in was a poor choice on his part. Books were very flammable, afterall. Still, he'd hoped firebenders had changed in the century since the fall of the airbenders. Wan Shi Tong craned his neck down, looking right in the eye of his fellow spirit. "You of all spirits should know how treacherous the humans can be, Blue Spirit. I understand your master was hurt most of all. My condolences, but I ask that you send your humans on their way."

"I'm not the, um, Blue Spirit," the boy spoke up. He met Wan Shi Tong's eye but Wan Shi Tong could sense his confidence was facade. "I was touched by the, um, late moon spirit but I'm human."

Wan Shi Tong couldn't help but chuckle. "Oh, the mortal mind. So puny. But I am interested in how the spirit melds with the flesh. I imagine you are as well?"

The Blue Spirit boy nodded. "I- That's why I came here. I- I wanted to talk to you. But my companions-"

"I suppose if I offered you an exchange, it is only fair I offer them one as well." Fair, but Wan Shi Tong doubted they could make this worth his while. "Prove yourselves. Give me knowledge worthy of my library and I will allow you access to the knowledge you seek, provided you do not intend to abuse it."

The mortals, expectedly, agreed readily but their offerings were lacking. The waterbending scroll was rather stylish but the poster and knot were uninspired. The lemur honestly would have been a better offering, though he respected the mortals' loyalty to him. The last winged lemur ought to have some interesting knowledge, wouldn't he? No, no. His library was restricted to humans, not animals. He couldn't ask for an exchange. But if the lemur offered something…

The trio of humans wandered off to explore his collection and the Blue Spirit boy remained, gazing up to meet Wan Shi Tong's eye. To his pleasure, the lemur remained and did the same. Perhaps he could get a couple good conversations out of this. "Blue Spirit, how did you end up in this human?"

"I'm Zuko. I don't know who the Blue Spirit is," the human told him. "Or, well, I've heard of him. He's the evil water spirit in Love Amongst the Dragons."

Wan Shi Tong scoffed before calling out to one of his foxes. "Seeker! If a human ever comes offering something called Love Amongst the Dragons, remind me not to accept it. Or perhaps I should have a copy ready for Blue to read if he ever stops by after he's done with this human…"

"Love Amongst the Dragons is a great play!" Zuko cried out in indignation.

"Perhaps but it is factually incorrect. Not worthy of being in my collection," Wan Shi Tong responded. "The Blue Spirit is one of Angi's underlings, his right hand and commander of the Kemurikage. He is a fire spirit, not a water spirit. If he were a water spirit, you would be dead the moment he tried to inhabit you."

"Inhabit…? There's a spirit in me?"

"Yes!" What a stupid human. "Your spirit resides alongside that of the Blue Spirit, harboring a hint of the moon. It's what binds you. Tui's Wolf, I believe. No, I am certain. Any spirit could sense it. How did it end up in you?"

"I- I'm not certain. My mother told me it was cold when I was born and the spirits intervened so I'd survive but she wouldn't tell me what exactly happened," Zuko admitted. Before Wan Shi Tong had the chance to feel disappointed, Zuko continued. "My friend was spirit touched like me though. Two of them actually. Do- do you know Yue?"

"Yue? Of course I know Yue. I am Wan Shi Tong, He Who Knows Ten Thousand Things!"

"Yue was born weak at birth too. Her father says she was visited by a spirit. She- I, um, we can both transform. I can turn into a dragon and she could turn into a sea serpent. My friend Toph is the same and she can turn into this big snake thing. I don't know why."

"A child of fire, a child of water, and a child of earth… All born with weak spirits during the air Avatar's absence… All gifted great power from the moon…" There was something there but Wan Shi Tong wasn't quite sure what. He'd have to spend some time consulting his books to understand this. Shaking out his feathers, Wan Shi Tong refocused on Zuko. "I will ponder this. Now, what knowledge did you come here seeking?"

"Yue," Zuko said, one simple word somehow sounding so desperate. "I want to see her again. This place exists between the spirit and material worlds, right? Can you take me to her?"

It was humans that looked like this that Wan Shi Tong remembered why he used to love letting them visit his library. Humans were so vulnerable, so raw. Their lives were so short too. They never understood anything yet they were so passionate that Wan Shi Tong couldn't help but have a soft spot for them. "It doesn't quite work that way, young dragon."

"Why?"

Wan Shi Tong opened his beak to respond when one of his foxes barked for his attention, sounding an alarm through the library. The brief flash of affection he'd felt suddenly faded and Wan Shi Tong let his form shift into something more menacing. "Your companions betrayed my trust, human."

"What?"

"Run, run, run!" one of the humans cried, running right toward Zuko. The lemur on his head chattered in confusion before leaping into the air as Wan Shi Tong snapped at him. Maybe he would take him as payment. "The foxes are mad!"

"My Knowledge Seekers aren't who you have to worry about." Wan Shi Tong reared up, extending his neck and wings to their full length. "Unfortunately for you, a dragon doesn't fight well without claws."

"Zuko, transform!" the airbender cried as he ran by.

"I still can't!" Zuko yelled back as he dodged a blow from Wan Shi Tong's wing. Wan Shi Tong didn't let up, lunging at him once more. When Zuko ran, Wan Shi Tong gave chase. If he actually managed to catch and kill him, the Blue Spirit would be pretty peeved but Wan Shi Tong thought it'd be worth it to get these lying mortals out of his library.

"You did before!"

"With Toph? I think there were some other spirits at play there."

Toph? Oh right, the other spirit touched. She must be the one he sensed outside in the desert. Could she still transform? What had Zuko said she was? Some kind of earthbending snake. An earth dragon? No, dragons were Angi's creation. She was no dragon. A dilong? Those were too dragonlike. Maybe Zuko was right and she was actually just a big snake. No matter, he didn't want any kind of snake attacking his library. He didn't want any more humans coming back either, not after these ones. That only left him with one option.

"The library is sinking!" the airbender cried, forming a ball of air beneath him to dodge a swipe from Wan Shi Tong's wing. Interesting technique. It was too bad Wan Shi Tong couldn't take knowledge from the dead. "Everyone get out!"

"Kind of busy, Aang," the Water Tribe boy responded as he hurled something at Wan Shi Tong. Wan Shi Tong dodged easily only for the weapon to come hurling back and nailing him in the back of the head. "Okay, now's our chance!"

Wan Shi Tong tried to push himself up but was quickly knocked over the head again, this time by Zuko. With hazy vision, he could see the boy holding a pair of broadswords. "You said dragons couldn't fight well without claws."

What an excellent use of his knowledge! Wan Shi Tong almost wasn't mad that Zuko was stealing from him, nor was he very upset that the humans and their lemur had gotten away. Perhaps they could learn from their mistake. Or maybe they'd just keep being liars and thieves. It didn't matter much to Wan Shi Tong anymore. Sand slid over his library, blocking his doors from human intrusion ever again.


Wan Shi Tong missed the humans' visits, sure, but there was always a feeling of relief when the humans left. He was He Who Knew Ten Thousand Things! He had appearances to keep up. If the humans were here, he never would've allowed himself to lie on the floor of his library trying to ignore his throbbing head. Zuko and that Water Tribe boy actually managed to land some heavy blows. Only his Knowledge Seekers got to see him like this. And, thankfully, they knew that and alerted him to rise when they sensed another approach encroaching on his space.

For a moment, Wan Shi Tong was fearful the humans had found a way back in to extract their revenge and destroy his library just as that firebender had. He pushed the thought away quickly. That was ridiculous, far too ridiculous for a spirit like Wan Shi Tong to even entertain. It was another spirit approaching. He could deal with spirits.

"You must be Yue," Wan Shi Tong greeted, dipping his aching head in a slight bow as her ghost white form drifted towards him. "I'd heard of Tui's fall. My condolences, to her memory and to you."

"Thank you, Wan Shi Tong. I am… adjusting."

"Then you know why I denied Zuko the chance to visit you."

"I sought Koh to see if it was a possibility to visit Zuko as he visits the humans. He… Well, you can imagine how that went," Yue started and Wan Shi Tong didn't tell her he preferred she tell him than ask he imagine. He was a collector of knowledge for spirits' sake. He wanted to know, not assume. But she'd learn. In the meantime, he'd learn more if he just listened. "I thought I'd visit you to see if you knew how to pass between the spirit and physical worlds."

"Why not ask Agni and La? Or your Wolf? He visits the material world quite often, always bothering my Knowledge Seekers…"

"They all want me to focus on my new place in the spirit world," Yue told him, voice quietting. "I suppose that's why you turned Zuko away."

"I've seen humans grieve and Zuko's already had too much contact with the spirits. He needs to learn to live among the humans, just as you need to learn to live among the spirits."

"But Oma told me I shouldn't let go of my human side."

"That isn't what I suggested. The spirits would benefit from a leader who understands the humans. But, you can never be that leader if you continue to obsess over Zuko."

"I can't just abandon him!"

"He is fine. Has anything happened to him since you died?"

"You tried to kill him less than an hour ago," Yue responded, voice dry with that sarcasm humans were so skilled at.

"I suppose you're right," Wan Shi Tong grumbled, knowing better than to argue with a great spirit, "and I suppose it is somewhat my fault you worry for him. How about a bargain?"

"A bargain?"

"A bargain. I watch over Zuko for a bit so you can focus on your new duties and you tell me how three children of three different nations caught the attention of you greater spirits."

"I- I don't know."

Wan Shi Tong turned his head. "No bargain then."

"No bargain then," Yue agreed and faded from this plane, leaving Wan Shi Tong alone in his library once more. Just how he liked it.


Okay, maybe Wan Shi Tong didn't offer Yue the bargain purely for her sake. He was a bit curious about Zuko and Toph, not to mention he did feel a bit bad about trying to trap them all in his library to die. Plus, he hadn't realized sandbenders had gone after their air bison and they'd ended up trapped in the desert. It wasn't really his fault but it was still sort of his fault and he felt just guilty enough to project his spirit out of his usual form to take a peek at them.

"Zuko, get out of the rain," the waterbender called from the safety of a desert cave. Not the best hiding place but Wan Shi Tong supposed that was the best they could do in the rain. The height would protect them if the ground flooded but the lightning was far closer up here, especially from the cliffside. "You're going to catch a cold."

"I'm a firebender. We run too hot to get sick from the rain."

Wan Shi Tong could practically hear the unspoken words lingering in the air. Zuko wasn't exactly a bender anymore. He probably could get sick from the weather. Maybe Blue would combat it? He was probably the reason Zuko was still alive, afterall. The common cold was probably too lowly for the Blue Spirit to waste energy on though. Zuko was in for a miserable night, it seemed.

"Come on, Sparky," a voice Wan Shi Tong didn't recognize spoke up. She must be Toph, the earthbending girl Zuko had spoken of. "We already lost Appa tonight. We don't want to watch anything happen to you either."

That seemed to soften Zuko's heart. He turned, guilt on his face, and opened his mouth to apologize when the sky lit up with electricity and lightning arced toward the earth. In a split second, Wan Shi Tong reacted. Pressing his intangible presence forward, he bellowed into Zuko's soul, "Keep it away from your heart! Blue, keep it away from his heart!"

Lightning struck skin and Zuko cried out.

"Zuko!"

Lighting struck sand, the current dying. Zuko remained standing.

Wan Shi Tong nearly sank back into his body in relief.

"Did- Did you just redirect lightning?" the airbender asked, peering out from the cavern behind Zuko. "You just redirected lightning!"

"I…" Zuko stared at his hands. The palm of one of them was slightly red. "I guess I did."

"How did you do that?"

"I don't know," Zuko said, numbly stumbling out of the rain to collapse by his friends in the cave. The waterbender immediately started bending the water off him. The others seemed to be in shock, at least one of them seemed to have her priorities straight. The lightning redirection was impressive but even an immortal like Wan Shi Tong knew when the time was to wonder and when the time was to worry. "Something in me told me to keep it away from my heart so I just… did."

"A spirit?" the airbender asked. "Maybe someone feels bad after what happened with Wan Shi Tong."

"I don't think spirits can move lightning," the Water Tribe boy responded and Wan Shi Tong was mildly insulted, or at least he would be if he wasn't right. As powerful as he was, even Wan Shi Tong couldn't keep lightning from striking a mortal's heart. Even warning him was a bold act and it was a wonder Zuko had managed to do anything about it. Or was it the Blue Spirit? Wan Shi Tong had no idea how active he was. He could be totally dormant inside Zuko for all he knew.

"I think I did something," Zuko told them, confirming some of Wan Shi Tong's suspicions. "I did something with- I moved the- There's energy inside us? That makes us bend? At least that's what Uncle used to say. Maybe I did something with that? I definitely felt something move. Other than the lightning, I mean."

"The royal family can lightningbend, right?" the waterbender asked. "Maybe it was something like that?"

"I don't think I was lightningbending, Katara. I didn't generate the actual lightning. I just moved it."

"That's still bending in my book!" Toph announced, slapping Zuko over the back so hard he nearly toppled over. Wan Shi Tong didn't know if that said something about her strength or Zuko's. Or both. Probably both. "You know what this means? You can bend!"

"I tried bending fighting the big owl, Toph. I don't think I can bend."

"Well, you're closer than you were before."

"Not to distract from the awesomeness that is Zuko's lightning trick," the Water Tribe boy spoke up, "but I just remembered something. I kind of forgot in the whole running for our lives deal but we found something that might help with your bending, Zuko."

"What? You did?"

"We did?" the airbender echoed, sounding confused. Wan Shi Tong felt equally confused. He thought the humans were scrounging around his library to try to find something to help their war effort, not help their friend. Maybe he wouldn't have sunk his library if they'd said they wanted to help Zuko.

"I don't think you were awake when the other night when Zuko and Toph were talking about the original benders," the Water Tribe boy told him, "but basically Toph said maybe Zuko should try learning how to firebend from dragons so I thought I'd poke around the Fire Nation section to see if there was anything about humans learning firebending from dragons."

"And there was?" Zuko asked, hope bleeding into his voice.

"Oh right! Yeah, I remember that," the airbender jumped in. "The Sun Warriors! They're this ancient civilization in the Fire Nation who learned firebending from dragons. If you found their city, I'd bet you'd find something to help with your bending!"

"Their city's in the Fire Nation," the waterbender reminded. "Zuko might be able to get in but he'd have to leave us to do it and we need him to get us to Ba Sing Se."

"Get you to Ba Sing Se?" Zuko echoed, confused. "How? I've got some coins from Arnook but not nearly enough to get you enough ostrich horses to get you to Ba Sing Se. And even if I did, I would let you guys go without you."

"No, I mean-" the waterbender cut herself off with a sigh. "We can't exactly ride on Toph's back. With all her digging, we'd get crushed in an instant."

"Katara, I can't transform. And it's nowhere close to being a full moon!"

"You said Yue taught you how to transform without the moon," Toph pointed out. She took one of Zuko's hands. "Come on, I bet I can help you do it too."

"I just explained it to you. That's pretty different from actually doing it."

"You did it in Gaoling!"

"I told you, I think some spirit interfere then. I wouldn't be able to do that on my own."

"Well, maybe there's some friendly spirit here that wants to help!" the airbender suggested cheerfully. The Water Tribe boy scoffed and crossed his arms, annoying Wan Shi Tong to drop his intangibility just long enough to give Zuko a big peck in the head.

"Ow! Toph, did you throw a rock at me?"

"What? No. Why would I do that?"

Wan Shi Tong pecked again.

"Ow! Okay, okay, Guys, I think there's an invisible spirit here. It keeps poking me and-" Zuko was cut off as Wan Shi Tong pecked him again, reaching in to bite the edges of the Blue Spirit's aura. Tugging, he felt the Blue Spirit's presence flare and a sense of change flood Zuko's being. "Oh, Spirits of the Islands, that hurts. You spirits know it hurts when you do that, right? I can feel you pulling on me and I can feel all my bones-"

Zuko was interrupted again, this time by a grunt erupting from his own throat. The airbender's face creased with concern. "Zuko?"

"Bleeding hog monkeys!" Zuko cursed, stumbling out of the cave just in time for his wings to jut out of his body. He slammed his hands down on the ground, his hands growing into paws before their eyes. "You couldn't have waited until morning at least? Now I'm going to have to fly in the rain!"

Whoops. Well, that was payback for being dishonest. Besides, Wan Shi Tong didn't really care. He wanted to see Zuko's transformation but he didn't really want to keep watching the mortals until it happened naturally. He considered this a win for him.

Zuko reared his head up and let out a mighty roar. Wan Shi Tong found himself a bit disappointed. Oh, his dragon form was marvelous but he didn't look anything like the dragons of the days past. Come on, wings? Dragons didn't have those, at least not like that. They were more serpentine. Though, they were interesting. Zuko was an entirely different kind of dragon than the ones he knew. How curious was that?

"Oh, wow. That was gruesome," the Water Tribe boy said loudly, breaking the silence. "Please never make us watch that again."

Zuko grunted and tossed his head, gesturing to his back. The airbender took his offer immediately and with glee, darting out of the cave to jump on Zuko's back. "Holy Shu, thanks Zuko!"

"Now?" the Water Tribe boy questioned, "It's raining!"

Zuko gave him a flat look and growled as Toph elbowed his ribs. "He says if he has to be in the rain, we do too."

Wan Shi Tong could, in fact, confirm that wasn't what Zuko had said but he found the Water Tribe boy annoying so he didn't feel motivated enough to reveal himself and correct her. The girl was lying and he hated liars but he supposed that if humans had to lie, this was a good use of one.

"Come on, Sokka. Zuko's too big to go back inside anyway and if he waited out all night, he'd be too stiff to fly us to Ba Sing Se in the morning," the waterbender reasoned, pushing her brother to climb onto Zuko's back. "I'll try to waterbend as much rain off you if you don't complain."

"Deal," the boy– Sokka, Wan Shi Tong had learned his name was Sokka– agreed and clambered up onto Zuko's back, using one of his elbows as a stepping stool. "We're not too heavy, Zuko? You're no Appa."

Zuko's dragonic eyes slid over his leathery wings and he shrugged. Wan Shi Tong supposed that was a good point. Most dragons flew with the blessing of the spirits but Zuko, apparently, flew with wings. But when Zuko threw himself off the cliffside and his beating wings managed to keep the teenagers from plummeting to their deaths, Wan Shi Tong found his question answered.

"La's fins!"

"Flying hog monkeys!"

"Spirits above, Zuko! Never do that again!"

"Wahoo!"

Zuko let out a loud, bellowing chuckle at his friends' reactions. Wan Shi Tong watched them fly into the night, the waterbender keeping her word and bending the rain away, and Wan Shi Tong decided his interest was waning. He was done for the night. Not forever, his curiosity lingered, but it was time to wish the moon a good night.

"I held up my end of the bargain, Yue," Wan Shi Tong said, craning his gaze up to the sky. With the storm, the moon wasn't visible but his sharp eyes could still pick up its glow behind the clouds. "I know you didn't agree to it so you don't have to hold up your end but I hope you do. The spirits could use someone with your strength."

And with that, Wan Shi Tong ceased his projection and returned to his body, just barely missing the sight of the clouds parting and a moonbeam filtering down to light Zuko's path ahead.