Book Two: Earth

Chapter Eleven: The Library

After Xena had woken up from her collapse, Katara had given her a lecture about not pushing herself too hard. Aang had said that since they were all still exhausted from the sleepless night before that they should pick mini vacations. Xena had grudgingly agreed with him, putting her collapse and dream off as exhaustion because she really didn't want to think about the alternative. She was in complete denial over the whole thing.

"What's out here?" Sokka asked in confusion as he stared at Aang where he sat crossed-legged on the ground.

"A lot actually," Toph replied as she kneeled and put her hand on the ground. "There's hundreds of little-"

"Shh!" Aang cut Toph off quickly. "I know you can see underground but don't ruin the surprise. Just watch."

Xena smiled as Aang held the flute to his mouth and blew a single note; a second later a groundhog popped out of a hole in the ground and mimicked the note.

"Yeah!" Aang cheered with a laugh then played another note and another groundhog popped up to mimic the note. "I'm putting an orchestra together!"

"An orchestra, huh?" Sokka asked sarcastically, "Well, la-di-da…"

Three groundhogs suddenly popped up and mimicked the notes. Momo chittered and dove at one of the groundhogs just as it disappeared, the lemur followed after them, only to pop out of a different hole. Aang played four more notes, and Momo tried to catch each groundhog, causing Katara to giggle with amusement. Aang played another note which was cut off abruptly when Sokka stomped over to him and plugged the flute with his finger.

"This is great and all, but don't we have more important things to worry about?" Sokka demanded in annoyance. "We should be making plans!"

"We did make plans," Toph replied matter-of-factly. "We're all picking mini-vacations."

"There's no time for vacations," Sokka snapped.

"I'm learning the elements as fast as I can," Aang whined. "I practice hard every day with Toph and Katara. I've been training my arrow off!"

"Yeah," Katara agreed, "What's wrong with having a little fun in our down time?"

"Even if you master all of the elements, then what? It's not like we have a map of the Fire Nation," Sokka grumbled and gestured to the side. "Should we just head west until we reach the Fire Lord's house?" He pretended to knock on an imaginary door. "Knock, knock. Hello, Fire Lord? Anybody home? I don't think so. We need some intelligence if we're going to win this war!"

As soon as Sokka finished his rant Aang played another note on the flute and a groundhog popped up underneath Sokka, mimicking the note before disappearing. Xena smiled as Sokka jumped back in surprise.

"Alright," Katara placed her hands on her hips. "We'll finish our vacations and then we'll look for Sokka's intelligence."

Aang and Xena laughed at her joke much to Sokka's irritation. Aang grabbed the map out of the saddle and jumped down to show it to Katara.

"Your turn, Katara," Aang said with a grin. "Where would you like to go on your mini-vacation?"

"How about the Misty Palms Oasis?" She pointed at the map. "That sounds refreshing."

"Oh, yeah, we've been there," Aang stated. "It's a pristine natural ice spring. And I usually don't use the word 'pristine.' It's one of nature's wonders..."

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"Must've changed ownership since we were here," Aang said sheepishly as Xena stared at the run down oasis blankly, unable to even begin expressing her shock.

Aang laughed awkwardly before entering the village. As the other four followed him, the sign at the entrance suddenly fell and shattered. Xena glanced back at it then shares a look with Aang.

Aang cleared his throat awkwardly and continued walking. They walked past a dog licking the severely melted ice spring and five men wearing tan turbans as they entered the oasis tavern, Katara had to go back and retrieve her brother when he stopped due to the rudeness of the sandbenders.

Xena narrowed her eyes, taking in the room and the shady people in one glance. One of the men at a nearby table smirked and leaned towards her slightly. She scowled and tapped the hilt of a sword in warning, causing the man to lean back.

"I don't see anything wrong with having one of those fruity beverages while we plan our strategy," Sokka said drawing her attention to him as he ran to the bar with a grin. "Excuse me."

They followed at a much slower pace and a man accidently bumped into Aang, spilling his drink onto him

Aang looked down at his clothes then smiled up at the man, "No worries, I clean easy."

The man gasped when Aang airbended the drink off his clothes.

"You're a living relic!" The man stated in awe.

"Thanks, I try," Aang replied with a shrug.

Xena shifted slightly behind him, watching the man warily.

"An Air Nomad, right in front of me," The man stated with admiration as he cupped his chin then bowed to Aang. "Professor Zei, head of anthropology at Ba Sing Se University."

Aang returned the bow and started in surprise when Zei grabbed his arm and began inspecting the arrow tattoo on his hand "Tell me, which of the air temples do you hail from?"

"Hands off buddy," Xena growled, hand closing around the man's wrist and putting herself between the two.

"The Southern Temple," Aang replied.

"Oh, splendid!" Zei exclaimed happily, ignoring Xena entirely. "Now tell me-what was the primary agricultural product of your people?"

"Uh…" Aang said in confusion. "Are fruit pies an agricultural product?"

"Oh, truly fascinating," Zei muttered as he stepped away from Aang and pulled a journal from his pocket. "That is one for the journal."

"So Professor," Sokka addressed Zei as he wrote in his journal. "You're obviously a well-traveled guy. Do you have a more current map? Ours seems to be a little dated."

"Certainly," Zei replied and he rummaged in his pack for a moment before handing a rolled up scroll to Sokka.

Sokka walked over to a vacant table and unrolled it while they stood around him with Toph sitting across from him, her feet propped up on the table and her drink in hand.

"What, no Fire Nation?" Sokka asked in exasperation as he stared at the map. "Doesn't anybody have a good map of that place?"

"You've made a lot of trips into the desert," Katara remarks casually, ignoring her brother's exasperation.

"All in vain, I'm afraid," Zei replied. "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."

"You spent years walking through a desert to find some guy's library?" Toph asked in disbelief.

"This library is more valuable than gold, little lady," Zei chided lightly, not noticing that Toph is blind. "It is said to contain a vast collection of knowledge, and knowledge is priceless."

"Hmm… sounds like good times," Toph muttered sarcastically and took a sip of her drink.

"Oh, it is," Zei responded obliviously. "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?" Sokka asked in sudden interest.

"I think he means they look like actual foxes, Sokka," Xena says as Katara elbows him.

"You're both right. Handsome little creatures," Zei said pulling out a picture of the library. "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 may better ourselves."

Sokka looked at the drawing then addressed the professor. "If this place has books from all over the world, so you think they've got info on the Fire Nation? A map, maybe?"

"I wouldn't know," Zei responded sadly. "But if such a thing exists, it's in Wan Shi Tong's library."

"Then it's settled. Aang, I do believe it's my turn. I'd like to spend my vacation…" Sokka said then he pointed at the ceiling and his tone became dramatic. "At the library!"

"Uh, hey, what about me?" Toph demanded from her seat. "When do I get to pick?"

"You gotta work here a little longer before you qualify for vacation time," Sokka replied.

"Humph!" Toph scoffed in annoyance and slammed her drink on the table before crossing her arms.

"Of course, there's the matter of finding it," Zei mused as he rubbed his chin slightly. "I've made several trips into the Si Wong Desert and almost died each time. I'm afraid that desert's impossible to cross."

"Professor, would you like to see our sky bison?"

"A sky bison?!" Zei exclaimed in shock and excitement. "You actually have one?"

Sokka nodded then led the group outside where Appa was surrounded by four sandbenders.

"Sandbenders, shoo!" Zei barked as he ran towards the four men and waved his arms at them "Away from the bison!"

The four Sandbenders hurried away, glancing back at Appa as they left.

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Sokka was looking for the library through a telescope at the front of the saddle while Katara and Toph leaned against the two sides and Xena against the back. Aang sat on Appa's head with Professor Zei and Momo. Zei crawled forward and leaned over Appa's head to stare down into the sky bison's face.

"Tell me, sky bison; are you the last of your breed?" Zei asked curiously and Appa growled in response, prompting Zei to reply enthusiastically. "Delightful! I only wish I spoke its language. Oh, the stories this beast could tell."

The professor scratched Appa's head as Momo crawled up to his side and started chattering at him. "Shush, chatty monkey."

Momo gave an annoyed chitter before heading back over to Aang, who was examining the picture of the massive library.

"Wow," He muttered. "Shouldn't be too hard to find a place like this out here."

Zei moved to sit in the saddle with the other teens after several minutes of nothing but sand.

"Does this place even exist?" Toph asked with a frustrated groan.

"Some say it doesn't," Zei replied cheerily.

"Shouldn't you have mentioned that before?" She demanded then collapsed on the saddle, her feet hanging over the side.

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Several hours later, they still hadn't found anything. Xena sighed and pulled her knees to her chest, closing her eyes.

Toph suddenly shouted, "There it is!"

Xena smiled as she reopened her eyes to watch the four scramble to look in the direction she was pointing. They turned to glare at her in annoyance when once again all they saw was sand.

"That's what it will sound like when one of you spots it," Toph explained, waving a hand in front of her eyes with a joking smile.

"It shouldn't be this hard to spot a giant, ornate building from the air," Katara said, retaking her seat.

Sokka glanced at her before looking back through his telescope.

"Down there," He called out suddenly, pointing. "What's that?"

Aang had Appa circle a tower sticking out of the sand a few time before landing on the ground, sending up a small cloud of sand. THey jump out of the saddle and walk closer to the tower.

"Forget it," Katara said with a sigh as she held up the picture of the library and compared it to the tower. "It's obviously not what we're looking for. The building in this drawing is enormous." Suddenly a dusky red fox holding a scroll in its mouth ran towards the tower.

"What kind of animal is that?" Sokka asked as it ran up the side of the tower and jumped through a window.

"I think that was one of the Knowledge Seekers," Zei said in awe. "Oh, we must be close to the library!"

"No, this is the library-look!" Sokka said pointing at the picture.

"It's one of the spires," Xena says in surprise.

"It's completely buried," Sokka adds.

"The library is buried?" Zei cried out dramatically and collapsed to his knees. "My life's ambition is now full of sand."

He suddenly perked up and pulled a trowel out of his robes. "Well, time to start excavating."

Toph stalked past them and slammed her hand on the side of the tower. "Actually, that won't be necessary. The inside seems to be completely intact. And it's huge."

"That foxy thing went in through the window," Sokka said looking up. "I say we climb up there and give it a look."

"I say you guys go ahead without me," Toph replied.

Katara put her hands on her hips. "You got something against libraries?"

"I've held books before," Toph responded with a bored shrug. "And I gotta tell you, they don't exactly do it for me."

"Oh, right," Katara said sheepishly. "Sorry."

Toph smiled then gestured towards her ear. "Let me know if they have something you can listen to."

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"Oh, it's breathtaking!" Professor Zei gasped as they continued to climb down the rope into the tower. "The spirit spared no expense in designing this place. Look at those beautiful buttresses!"

Sokka and Aang giggled immaturely.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Aang replied quickly. "We just like architecture."

"As do I," Zei said obliviously. "My word! The exquisite mosaic handiwork of this tile-rendered avian symbol…"

He trailed off when he caught their confused looks. "Eh, nice bird?"

A sudden rustling noise came from somewhere behind them, but Xena didn't sense anything from her heat vision. Exchanging glances with Aang, she grabbed the siblings arms, hustling them behind a pillar while Aang pulled Zei behind another. Aang peered around the pillar, his eyes widening at whatever he saw.

"I know you're back there…" Someone intoned gravely.

Aang gasped silently and ducked back behind the pillar. The professor walked out from behind the pillar, despite Aang's attempt to grab him.

"Hello, I'm Professor Zei, head of anthropology at Ba Sing Se University," The professor introduced himself to whoever it was.

"You should leave the way you came," He threatened. "Unless you want to become a stuffed head of anthropology."

Xena glances at Aang and nods before the four of them step out into the open. She barely refrains from gasping as she gets her first look at the giant black owl.

"Are you the spirit who brought this library to the physical world?" Sokka asked quickly.

"Indeed, I am Wan Shi Tong, 'He Who Knows Ten Thousand Things," The owl spirit drawled emotionlessly. "And you are obviously humans, which, by the way are no longer permitted in my study."

"What do you have against humans?" Aang asked in confusion.

"Hm! Humans only bother to learn things to get the edge on other humans," Wan Shi Tong rumbled in annoyance. "Like that firebender who came to this place a few years ago, looking to destroy his enemy. So, who are you trying to destroy?"

"What?" Sokka squeaked in surprise. "No-no-no-no destroying. We're not into that."

Wan Shi Tong blinked slowly. "Then why have you come here?"

"Um…" Sokka faltered slightly. "Knowledge for knowledge's sake?"

"If you're going to lie to an all-knowing spirit being, you should at least put some effort into it…"

"I'm not lying," Sokka protested then grabbed Aang and pushed him towards Wan Shi Tong. "I'm with the Avatar and he's the bridge between our worlds. He'll vouch for me."

"Ow!" Aang complained when Sokka nudged him in the ribs. "Uh, yeah, I'll vouch. We will not abuse the knowledge in your library, good spirit. You have my word."

They bowed slightly to the spirit, while Xena crossed her arms in annoyance. Because lying to a knowledge spirit is always a brilliant idea.

"Hmm… very well. I'll let you peruse my vast collection on one condition," Wan Shi Tong conceded after a few tense seconds. "To prove your worth as scholars, you have to contribute some worthwhile knowledge." Professor Zei didn't take much time to consider and walked forward, kneeling before the spirit and holding out a book, "Please accept this tome as a donation to your library."

"First edition, very nice." Wan Shi Tong commented then swiped the book from the professor's hands with his wing.

"I have an authentic Waterbending scroll," Katara said holding out the scroll.

"Ooh, these illustrations are quite stylish," He said then grabbed that as well.

"Uh…oh, I know!" Aang stammered before pulling out his wanted poster with a flourish. "Hah!"

"I suppose that counts," The spirits comments dryly before turning Xena's way.

She shifts uncomfortably, having nothing that she'd be willing to give the spirit.

"Oh, great spirit," Sokka said dramatically, drawing the spirit's attention from her. "Check this out!" He quickly tied a string into a butterfly knot then presented it to the owl spirit.

"Ta-da!" Sokka exclaimed proudly. "It's a special knot. That counts as knowledge!"

"You're not very bright, are you?" The owl spirit asked rhetorically then took the knot. "Guardian, I believe the knowledge that you have to share is best for my ears alone, so your friends may enjoy the library while we discuss it."

"Fine by me," Xena answers, shrugging her shoulders and ignoring the look of concern her friends give her.

She followed the owl to a study on one of the lower floors. The room is clean and well organized with a large desk against one wall. Wan Shi Tong walks over to the desk and pulls out a blank scroll.

"What knowledge do you wish to share with me?" He asks.

"Well, I guess the most knowledgeable piece would be about the ancient Air Temple ruins in the Fire Nation," She says after a few moments of consideration.

The spirit blinks once before beginning to write as she began explaining about the architecture. The only people that knew about the ruins were the Head Monks of the three other temples, Drake, and her.

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Lying to a knowledge spirit is perhaps the stupidest thing Sokka had ever done. Only he could manage that. Xena does not like running for her life from an angry spirit. Wan Shi Tong had escorted her to the planetarium where everyone else was. They had gotten there just as Sokka shouted about the Fire Lord going down.

"Mortals are so predictable and such terrible liars," Wan Shi Tong says stepping farther into the room. "You betrayed my trust. From the beginning, you intended to misuse this knowledge for evil purposes."

"You don't understand," Sokka protested desperately. "If anyone's evil, it's the Fire Nation. You saw what they did to your library. They're destructive and dangerous. We need this information."

"You think you're the first person to believe their war was justified?" The angry spirit demanded harshly. "Countless others before you have come here seeking weapons or weaknesses or battle strategies."

"We had no choice," Aang pleaded. "Please; we're just desperate to protect the people we love!"

"And now I'm going to protect what I love." Wan Shi Tong snapped and began to violently flap his wings.

"What are you doing?" Aang asked as the room began to shake violently.

"I'm taking my knowledge back," He responded coldly. "No one will ever abuse it again."

"He's sinking the building!" Katara gasped, noticing the sand leaking from the ceiling. "We've gotta get out of here!"

"I'm afraid I can't allow that," Wan Shi Tong stated, transforming into his true form of a dragon owl. "You already know too much."

"Go!" Xena shouted, blocking the knowledge spirit's beak with her sword when he pecks at them, eyes gleaming silver as spirit strength burns through her body. They race past her and she grows, pushing him away with some difficulty. Spinning around, she blasts a short burst of fire from her feet to give her the speed boost she needs to catch up with the others.

Professor Zei suddenly stopped running as they turned a sharp corner and turned to face the angry spirit. "Great Knowledge Spirit, I beg you, do not destroy your vast collection of priceless tomes!"

Wan Shi Tong ignored the professor's words and Aang had to stop to save him.

"We've gotta get back to the surface!" Aang exclaimed after striking the owl with a blast of air. Sokka suddenly skid to a stop, causing Xena to crash into him

Katara stopped as well and looked back at him, her voice urgent. "Sokka, let's go!"

"But we still don't know when the next eclipse is gonna happen!" He argued, grabbing Xena's arm to keep them from falling

"Don't be stupid!" Katara snapped. "We'll find out later."

"No, we won't," Sokka stated firmly. "If we leave this place, we'll never get the information."

"Sokka, are you sure about this?" Xena asked him seriously

"Yes."

"Aang, go with him to the planetarium, he'll need the cover."

"No," Katara protested.

Aang handed Momo to Xena with a grave nod. "Take Momo and get Katara out of here."

"But…!" Katara started to protest, but the angry spirit crashed between the bookshelves separating them.

"Go!" Sokka shouted urgently.

"Hurry Sokka!" Katara yelled over her shoulder in resignation as they spun and ran.

Xena barely noticed when Professor Zei dived between two bookcases. She cursed silently, knowing that she didn't have time to save him. They took another sharp turn and Xena automatically pulled Katara behind a bookcase so the spirit couldn't see them. They both panted for breath and she held Momo tight to her chest.

"At least I'll have one specimen to add to my collection," Wan Shi Tong commented suddenly. Cussing colorfully, Xena grabbed Katara's arm and started running again. They reached the bridge where the rope was hanging and spun around at the same time, shifting into waterbending stances, Momo wrapping himself around Xena's neck like a hissing scarf.

"You're waterbending won't do you much good here," Wan Shi Tong states opening his wings. "I've studied Northern water style, Southern water style, even Foggy Swamp style."

Aang suddenly flew over the owl spirit on his glider with Sokka holding onto him. Sokka let out a war cry and slammed a book into the giant owls head.

"That's called Sokka style," Sokka taunted, dropping onto the ground next to his sister. "Learn it!"

"Did you see Professor Zei?" Xena asked Aang as the siblings began to climb the rope.

"He chose to stay behind," Aang said sadly and Xena sighed before scrambling up the rope as Aang circled around the rope on his glider.

The angry owl spirit awoke with a screech and grabbed the rope in his beak. He shook it knocking them off. Aang shouted and caught Katara and Sokka. Xena flipped midair and used a quick blast of fire to shoot upwards to reach the lip of the tower window. The tower shook as the spirit slammed into it and Xena lost her perch and dropped to the sand next to siblings. She almost bit her tongue as her breath was forced from her lungs on impact. She was going to be one angry bruise later. Xena noticed Toph release the library as it was sucked into the sand. That girl is really the best earthbender alive if she could hold it for that long.

"We got it. There's a solar eclipse coming," Sokka said excitedly as he stood up and hugged his sister. "The Fire Nation's in trouble now!"

"Where's Appa?" Aang asked suddenly as they notice for the first time that the large bison is gone.

Toph shook her head, her eyes closed. Xena flinched before standing up and pulling a distraught Aang into a hug, ignoring her many bumps and bruises.

This chapter was a little difficult for me to write because I wasn't sure how to involve Xena in it, I'm fairly happy with how it came out. Next chapter has Zuko. Also I'm going to start writing the parts in the show with Azula in them so you can see how Mist affects their group dynamic. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

likethewordish- The color Xena's eyes turn depend on which spirit is interfering. Last chapter Tui and an earth spirit were working together which is why they were blue green.