"Okay, I don't see anything that looks like a library here," Sokka said as he looked at the picture. They were all standing in front of a tall tower in the middle of the desert.
"Strange, the map said it was right around here somewhere," the Professor spoke as he scratched his head.
"Okay, can we go now?" Toph asked with some uneasiness in her voice.
"Something wrong, Toph-san?" Ryuki asked.
"It's the sand. I can't 'see' as well as I do on the ground here. I can barely feel any vibrations to tell where you all are. Right now I'm vulnerable." She added firmly, "I hate feeling vulnerable."
Ryuki nodded. Knowing Toph for a short time he realized that she was a very strong and prideful person. This was both a good and bad trait.
"Hey, what's that?" Katara pointed out, getting everyone's attentions. They turned to see what she was pointing and saw… a fox? What was a fox doing in the middle of nowhere and holding a scroll in its mouth?
Professor Zei identified it, "It's one of the knowledge collectors!" The fox then did a magnificent leap and entered the Tower from a window. Ryuki then realized something and looked at the picture in Sokka's hand.
"That tower…it looks like the one in the picture…" Ryuki said as he pointed at the tower and then the picture, pointing at the identical structure depicted.
"We're standing on top of the library?" Aang asked.
"I guess it got buried under the sand after all these years," Ryuki said with a shrug.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Sokka said as he pointed ahead at the tower. "Let's go, people!"
"I'll stay out here with Appa and Dragonzer," Toph volunteered. "I can't see so I can't read. I don't really have any reason to be in there anyway."
Ryuki looked at Toph sympathetically and spoke to Dragonzer, "Take care of her, alright?" the dragon growled.
The group then entered through a window in the tower. It was quite dark when all of a sudden several candles lit up. Yaminekoryu spoke to Ryuki at that moment.
"Aibou, something isn't right here," the spectral apparition said.
"Hai, I know…" Ryuki said, eyes narrowed. "There's something here with us."
Suddenly, his suspicions were confirmed when a large and great owl appeared before them. "That is not normal," Ryuki mumbled. Then again, what was normal in this world.
"I am the spirit Wan Shi Tong!" the owl announced, his voice echoing. "Who dares enter my library?"
The group backed away a bit from him and the Professor came forward, "Oh, great spirit! We are but travelers seeking the knowledge in this library. Please, permit us to enter."
"Humans seek knowledge and use it for evil!" Wan Shi Tong spoke distrustfully.
"That's not true!" Sokka shouted. "We won't use the knowledge here for evil! Honest!"
"Humans cannot be trusted with the knowledge stored in this library!" the spirit bellowed. "They use the knowledge here as an advantage to harm other humans. There were others like you who sought out the knowledge but used it for evil purposes. His name was Admiral Zhao!"
Sokka, Katara and Aang fell silent. Ryuki asked, "Who's Admiral Zhao?"
"A Fire Nation Admiral," Sokka answered with a bit of anger in his voice. "We last saw him at the North Pole." Ryuki now understood. They had told him about how and why Yue died and no doubt this Admiral Zhao had been the cause of it.
"You are…the Avatar," Wan Shi Tong spoke to Aang.
Aang attempted to reason with the spirit since he was the Avatar, something the spirit could sense from the young Airbender. "Please, great spirit," Aang pleaded. "Let us in to read the knowledge here."
Katara added, "We promise you that we're not like the last group of humans who only wish to do harm with the knowledge here," Katara added.
The spirit's attention then turned from them to Ryuki as he contemplated his decision and their pleads. He asked, "You? Who are you? Why do I sense demon energy within you?"
The rest of the group turned to look at Ryuki curiously. Aang asked, "Did he say demon?"
"You're a demon!?" Sokka shouted out. Ryuki sighed, exasperated.
"No, I am not a demon, Sokka-san," Ryuki said. "And even if I was, not all demons are evil." Ryuki answered the spirit, "The reason, Wan Shi Tong-sama, is because I inherited a spirit from my father who inherited from his father and so on. The people of my family have been entrusted with guarding this demon within ourselves by sealing it within our bloodline. Do not be alarmed because the seal is strong and this demon will not get out."
"Nice save, aibou," Yaminekoryu complimented.
"Arigatou," Ryuki whispered back.
The spirit looked at them and said, "Very well, you may enter." The group began to cheer, "But, you must each contribute a bit of knowledge to be added to my library as an exchange for entry into my library."
The group then gave him something. The Professor gave his first edition book, Aang handed over his wanted poster, Katara offered her Waterbending scroll and Sokka gave he spirit his butterfly knot. All that was left was Ryuki to offer something.
"Gomenasai, Wan Shi Tong-sama," Ryuki apologized. "I don't have anything to contribute. I will leave."
"Wait, Ryuki!" Aang shouted. "What about your journal?"
Ryuki reached into his pocket and pulled out his journal. "But, Aang-san, I need this to record my adventures here."
"You still have that vid-cam thing," Sokka said.
"Hai, I do," Ryuki said, realizing how true Sokka was. "But I think I have something better."
Ryuki then gave Wan Shi Tong a piece of paper in which the spirit absorbed it into himself. "My what delicious knowledge. This journal is quite fascinating and it is written in a strange yet beautiful language. Very well, you may enter."
"What did you give him?" Aang asked.
"My curry recipe. I keep it in my pocket at all times," Ryuki replied.
The group went deeper into the library and Katara asked Ryuki, "Is it true?"
"What is?" Ryuki asked back.
"About you having a demon in you?"
"Hai, it is," Ryuki said as he placed a hand to his heart. "The demon inside me is my partner. I wouldn't be alive now if it weren't for him."
"But aren't demons evil?" Katara questioned.
"All life is composed of Yin and Yang, Katara," Ryuki responded, "A dark and a light side. Human, animals, plants, we all have our good and bad qualities. Why not demons?"
"You have a point there."
The group then searched through many tomes. Momo brought down some scrolls from high places to them. Ryuki was surprised to see the language similar to Japanese and Chinese and was able to read them easily. Sokka grew frustrated and threw a random scroll away.
"Nothing in here is worth anything!" he complained. Ryuki picked up the scroll and placed it on the proper shelf Sokka had taken it from.
"Sokka-san, please don't throw knowledge away," Ryuki scolded. Sokka crossed his arms and looked away in embarrassment of being scolded.
"So many different scrolls and tomes," the Professor said in awe. "Many of these had been lost forever."
"Now we know why," Aang said as he looked through another scroll and then replaced it before taking a book and flipping through the pages.
"Raven would love it here," Ryuki said.
"From what you told us about her I'm not surprised," Katara spoke. Ryuki then sighed sadly. Talking about his friends made him miss them more and more and Katara understood how it felt to be away from the people they loved. Katara missed her Gran-Gran and the people from her village but she then reminded herself of the mission she had went out on with Sokka and Aang, and now Toph and Ryuki.
Soka then found a burnt piece of paper and called the others after reading it. "Hey, guys, check this out!" he read it out loud, "The 'Fire Nations' Darkest Day'," he asked, "There's also a date here but what do you think that means?"
"Hey, I found some more burnt paper here," Katara said and Aang drew a conclusion.
"It must've been Zhao," Aang said. "Wan Shi Tong told us he was here so maybe he…"
"Destroyed everything single thing related to the Fire Nation to keep anyone from getting an advantage!" Sokka concluded.
They heard a soft growl and saw Ryuki petting one of the foxes. "Kawaii…" he scratched it behind the ears and it rubbed against him.
"Ryuki!" Sokka shouted.
"What? I like animals," Ryuki said as he continued to pet the fox. It then began to lead them somewhere. "I think it wants us to follow it."
"Well, let's go then," Sokka said.
"Okay, who died and made him leader?" Yaminekoryu quipped. Ryuki chuckled.
The fox led them all to a room dedicated to astronomy, complete with charts of the stars and a model of the planets circulating around the sun. It was a planetarium 'So similar to my world yet so different,' Ryuki thought sadly. Katara saw his expression. He was using his vid-cam to record the room.
"Nice place but how does this help us?" Sokka asked. He then saw a strange stone wheel and saw that there was a place to enter dates. Feeling curious, he entered the date that stated the Fire Nation's darkest day on the wheel and the planetarium began to activate.
"Sugoi!" Ryuki said in awe as the moon and planets began to shift places
"Sokka, what did you do?" Katara asked.
"I just entered the date and-" Sokka began.
"Look!" Aang pointed.
"Amazing," the Professor spoke.
They saw the moon block the sun and then Sokka surmised, "A solar eclipse! That must be it!"
"What is, Sokka-san?" Ryuki asked.
"Firebenders get their power from the sun while Waterbenders get it from the moon," Katara explained and then she got the idea. "If a lunar eclipse weakens Waterbenders then…A solar eclipse will weaken Firebenders!"
"This is it! The secret of defeating the Fire Nation!" Sokka shouted out with glee. Katara and Aang cheered while Ryuki looked solemn before his eyes popped wide open.
"Guys, he's here!" Ryuki shouted to them.
"I KNEW IT!" Wan Shi Tong bellowed., angrily "ALL YOU HUMANS ARE THE SAME! YOU ONLY WISH TO USE THE KNOWLEDGE HERE FOR EVIL!"
"We're doing this to fight evil!" Sokka protested.
"IT MATTERS NOT ANYMORE! YOU HAVE BROKEN YOUR PROMISE AND FOR THAT THIS LIBRARY SHALL NO LONGER BE ACCESIBLE TO HUMANS!" Wan Shi Tong flapped his wings and dove at them all. "NOR WILL YOU BE ALLOWED TO USE THIS KNOWLEDGE!" He was going to attack them.
"Aibou!" Yaminekryu urged.
"Hai!" Ryuki shouted out as he activated his transformation, "EMPOWERMENT OF THE ZODIAC DRAGON! HENSHIN!" he slid the deck into the slot in the centre of his belt and in a flash his armor encased him much to the shock of the Professor and the spirit.
"What? Who is he?" the Professor questioned.
"A warrior of justice," Aang answered. "Come on, let's get out of here!"
"Wait!" Sokka shouted as he began searching again.
"What now, Sokka?" Katara asked, panicking.
"I gotta find the date of the next eclipse! Ryuki, can you hold the big bird for us?"
"Watch me," Draco said as he flew up with the flames under his feet. Wan Shi Tong was surprised to see this.
"A flying Firebender?" Wan Shi tong questioned. "I have not heard of such thing!"
"There are a lot of things you don't know!" Draco shouted as he charged at the big owl and planted a fist to his face. He then followed up with a roundhouse kick but the spirit flew away and then clawed at the Knight of Combustion. Ryuki then changed into sand and then blasted into Wan Shi Tong's eyes, blinding him.
The Professor was taking notes of Draco's fighting style, amazed a the Knight's abilities. "Amazing! Simply amazing! I have never seen a human with such powers!"
"Believe me, we were surprise too," Aang said. The place was beginning to fill up with sand. "Sokka, hurry up!"
"Yes! I got it!" Sokka wrote the information down. "Let's go!"
Draco and Wan Shi Tong were still fighting. Draco did not want to hurt him since he was only doing what he thought was right. Draco was also doing what he thought was right, defending his friends.
"Who are you?" Wan Shi Tong questioned. "What are you?"
Draco then answered, feeling like it was the most natural thing to say, "Call me…Kamen Rider Draco!" Draco then called forth a fireball and then hurled it at the spirit. Wan Shit Tong evaded it and the fireball destroyed several scrolls. "NO!" Draco shouted. Wan Shi Tong came at him and Draco gave him a powerful blast of telekinesis that caused him to smash into the planetarium.
"Ryuki! Let's go!" Aang called to his friend.
"Hai!" Draco said as he landed but then he noticed the Professor wasn't moving.
"Hakase?" Draco asked. (Hakase means Professor in Japanese)
"I have spent my whole life to find this place. I cannot leave," the Professor said with a contented smile. "However, I am glad to have met you. I will not regret staying here for the rest of my life."
Draco was about to object when Katara grabbed his arm. "Let's go!"
"But!"
"Come on!"
Draco gave one last glance to the Professor and waved apologetically before they all made their escape. The place was starting to be buried in sand. Wan Shi Tong intended it so nobody would get in here to steal his knowledge ever again. Spirits were just so stubborn for their own good.
Outside, Toph was trying to keep the tower from sinking but she had other problems to deal with; Sandbenders. They took her by surprise and only Appa's snort and Dragonzer's roar alerted her. She could not bend sand as well since the vibrations were distorted, causing her to not be able to sense their movements. They sailed upon boats made specifically for the sand and then began to abduct Appa. They also saw Dragonzer as a prize and attempted to capture the dragon too.
The red dragon breathed fire at them but they blasted it with sand, causing its eyes to go blind. It was, however, able to cut off the ropes holding Appa down only for ropes to tie around its legs and hold it down.
Toph could not help Appa and Dragonzer while simultaneously holding off the Sandbenders and holding up the tower. There was so much she couldn't do alone. In the confusion, they had captured Dragonzer and Appa. Appa struggled but the ropes binding him were too strong and Dragonzer's jaw had been tied shut so that it could blast them with fire.
"Let's go!" one of the Sandbenders ordered and they all left with their prize.
Aang and the others made it out of the tower before it sank into the sands, lost forever. Ryuki, now unarmored, fell to his knees. He had left someone to die. He let out a prayer before wiping off his tears.
"It's okay, Ryuki," Katara said to him, placing a hand on his shoulder in comfort.
"Why couldn't I save him? Why did we have to leave him?" Ryuki questioned.
"Sometimes, some people don't want to be saved," she reasoned.
"But now his death won't be in vain. We got the information to defeat the Fire Nation once and for all!" Sokka said proudly.
"WHAT!?" Aang roared angrily as they saw him grab Toph by her collar and shaking her.
"AANG! Let Toph go!" Katara shouted as she went to separate them both.
Ryuki then realized something as Momo perched itself on his head, "Where are Appa-chan and Dragonzer?"
Toph then said, "That's what I told Aang. They've been kidnapped."
"By who?" Sokka asked.
"Sandbenders."
A/N: To be fair I don't remember the episode much and I wrote this based on info I got from Wiki so everything was probably different from how the episode showed it. Then again, Draco IS in here so there are bound to be differences. Dragonzer and Appa are gone so Draco's contract with the dragon is blank meaning he will be in blank mode for the next few chaps. But don't worry. He still had his other contracts.
The next chap will focus on the Fire Nation girls, including Kat, Ryan and Ant while they are in Aunt Wu's town. Let's see what happens there, k?
