A/N: Finally fixed those kinks I was working on, so I can post an update. Sorry for the delay, I had/have a bunch of tests coming up.
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Eight chapters in and I already have fanart (if it's to be called that). liontaming sent me a PM with a link to a doodle she'd done of a hooded girl, and I love it! Here's the link: lionsforbreakfast .tumblr post/41091275423. Just remove the spaces. And if you have any fanart you want me to look at/share, feel free to PM me!
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. I only own Mira and any original plot concepts.
Enjoy!
Chapter Nine
Gathering Intel
"Why are we here again?" Mira asked uncertainly, eyeing the pockmarked plains again. Aang had taken his map the night before, examined it carefully, then ushered everyone on Appa the next morning and had flown them to the wide open field they were currently standing in. Mira had been wracking her brain for any reason to be here, but had come up empty.
"Yeah, what's out here?" Sokka asked, squinting in the morning sun as he craned his neck to examine the dry, empty field.
Toph frowned in concentration and kneeled to the ground, her palm pressed to the ground. "A lot, actually. There's hundreds of little—"
"Shhh!" Aang hushed, turning around. "I know you can see underground, but don't ruin the surprise. Just watch."
Toph stood and opened her mouth to deliver a sarcastic retort (which would probably be along the lines of not being able to watch anything), but Mira grabbed her arm and squeezed gently. "Don't bother," she whispered.
A clear, gentle tone rang out in the prairie. Aang had pulled out his wooden flute and was playing a single note. A prairie dog popped up from a hole to his right and echoed the same note. Aang giggled maniacally as the prairie dog disappeared back down into his hole. He put the flute to his lips and played another note, and a second prairie dog popped up and mimicked the music. Aang smiled widely and threw his hands up in the air in triumph. "I'm putting an orchestra together."
"Orchestra, huh? Well, la-di-da," Sokka drawled, clearly not very impressed.
Three prairie dogs popped up from three adjacent burrows and echoed Sokka's spoken notes, much to the amusement of the others. Momo chased after the disappearing animals. He vanished down the left hand burrow, but soon poked his head up through the middle one.
Aang continued playing, prairie dogs continued echoing, and Momo continued chasing prairie dogs. Mira watched with amusement, despite her slight disapproval of the diversion. She knew that Aang was only twelve, and she knew that he needed a few breaks. But she also knew about the end-of-summer deadline, and the cruelty the Fire Nation could exhibit. They didn't have much time to waste.
Apparently, Sokka felt the same way. He marched up in front of Aang and plugged the flute with his finger, effectively ceasing the music. "This is great and all, but don't we have more important things to worry about? We should be making plans."
"We did make plans. We're all picking mini-vacations," Toph reminded him.
"There's no time for vacations," Sokka insisted. Mira nodded her head to add her agreement.
"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 arrows off!"
"Yeah. What's wrong with having a little fun in our downtime?" Katara joined in, crossing her arms.
"Even if you do master all of the elements, then what? It's not like we have a map of the Fire Nation," Sokka pointed out.
"And even if we did, it's not like you could just knock on the Fire Lord's door and challenge him to an Agni Kai," Mira chimed in.
"Exactly!" Sokka said emphatically. "We need some intelligence if we're gonna win this war."
"I guess that means you're outta luck," Mira quipped, turning on him.
Aang played one last note, and a prairie dog appeared between Sokka's feet. He started violently, prompting a round of giggles from the others.
"Alright, we'll finish our vacations, and then we'll look for Sokka's intelligence," Katara teased.
Aang unrolled his map for Katara to peruse. "Your turn, Katara. Where would you like to go on your mini-vacation?"
Katara pursed her lips and tapped her chin with one finger. She pointed to a landmark on the map. "How about the Misty Palms Oasis? That sounds refreshing."
"Oh yeah, I've been there," Aang said eagerly. "It's a pristine natural ice spring, and I usually don't use the word pristine. It's one of nature's wonders!"
"And after this, it's over to intelligence gathering?" Sokka said hopefully.
"I promise," Aang said solemnly.
"Alright then. Let's get to Misty Palms Oasis."
"Um…how old is that map exactly?"
"Erm…old."
"Thought so."
"It must have changed ownership since I was here," Aang said weakly.
They were not standing in front of an Oasis. What they were standing in front of was much drier. In the middle of the desert sat a barren little village. A stone wall surrounded several dried earth huts, which in turn surrounded a pathetic excuse for an ice spring. Three sand gliders were parked off to the left of the spring, which contradicted Mira's theory that the place was abandoned. Two tall columns of stone marked the entrance. A shoddy wooden gate was standing wide open, desperately calling out for people to come inside. Rusty chain links held up a faded, unreadable sign that hung over the entrance.
Aang pushed through the gates and made to go inside the "oasis". Mira grabbed his arm. "You mean we're not leaving?"
Aang gave her a puzzled look. "No. Katara wanted to come here."
"And you want to stay?" Mira asked doubtfully.
Katara looked a little uncomfortable, but she didn't say anything.
"Look, I've been in places like this," Mira said in an undertone, looking Aang straight in the eyes. "They aren't good parts of town. I don't think this is a good idea."
Aang absorbed her words and scrunched his brow in thought. He looked back at her. "I'm sure it can't be too bad," he said hopefully. "C'mon." He walked through the stone columns. As Mira passed through the gates, the creaking sign hanging above came crashing to the ground, and splintered into several pieces. The others looked around in confusion, and Mira threw her hands up defensively. "Not my fault."
They continued past the joke of an ice spring and straight for one of the mud huts. A few men wrapped in brown cloth stood outside, murmuring together. They ceased their conversations as the others neared, and watched them as they approached. Aang, Katara, and Toph passed through the green cloth door without incident, but before Sokka could enter, one of the men outside spat toward him, narrowly missing Sokka's foot. He stumbled back as he tried to avoid it, and glared at the man at fault. The older man merely leered at him, eyes cold and calculating under his white visor. Mira reached out and pushed at Sokka's shoulder. "Just go," she hissed. Sokka tensed for a moment, then allowed Katara to drag him inside. Mira quickly followed him before anything else could happen.
She blinked to adjust to the dim interior of the hut. It appeared to be a restaurant/bar, and a handful of patrons were scattered at either tables or the bar itself. A couple of men were taking a break from the burning sun outside and were sleeping at tables. The bartender, a squat bald man, was serving a pale, scholarly type dressed in white. He pulled out two swords, and with an air of showmanship, diced several pieces of fruit to make a drink.
"I don't see anything wrong with having one of those fruity beverages while we plan our strategy," Sokka sniffed, his disapproval vanishing. He approached the bar, and the other followed. As Sokka attempted to catch the bartender's attention, the man who'd just been served turned to leave, and bumped into Aang in the process. His drink spilled all over Aang's clothing.
"Oh, I am so sorry," he began to apologize.
"No worries," Aang said cheerfully. "I clean up easy." He placed his knuckles together, and summoned a gust of air to dry his clothes off. The wind ruffled everyone else's clothes, but the man in white didn't seem to care. He gaped at Aang, his spilled drink all but forgotten.
"You're a living relic!" he cried. his eyes wide.
"Thanks," Aang said. "I try." Mira wondered if Aang even knew what the word relic meant.
"An Air Nomad, right in front of me," he said in awe. By that time, Sokka had gotten his drink and was handing one to Katara. They both looked back in interest as the man bowed to Aang, who returned the gesture. "Professor Zei, head of anthropology at Ba Sing Se University." In a burst of movement, he grabbed at Aang's hand and started examining it like it was an ancient artifact, and not an appendage attached to an actual person. "Tell me, which of the Air temples do you hail from?"
"The Southern Temple," Aang answered, a little put-off by the examination.
"Oh, splendid! Now tell me, what was the primary agricultural product of your people?" Professor Zei had moved on from Aang's hand and was now attempting to measure Aang's head with a pair of calipers. Mira was beginning to think that the professor's primary company was books, and not people.
"Uh, are fruit pies an agricultural product?" Aang asked nervously.
"Oh, truly fascinating! That is one for the journal," he said, and Mira wondered if he'd even heard what Aang had said.
Sokka offered Mira a drink, as the others had all received theirs. She merely waved a hand and shook her head. If she didn't see what went into a drink, she didn't want to touch it. Sokka merely shrugged and set it back down on the counter before focusing on the professor. He decided to capitalize on an opportunity as the professor began to scribble in a leather-bound journal. "So professor, you're obviously a well-traveled guy. Do you have a more current map? Ours seems to be a little dated." He shot Aang an irritated look, and the airbender just shrugged in reply.
"Certainly," Zei said, all too happy to help. He beckoned them over to a nearby table, where he unrolled a current map of the area. Sokka set down his drink and bent down to examine the map.
"What, no Fire Nation? Doesn't anybody have a good map of that place?" he complained, straightening up.
"You think they're just handing them out on street corners?" Mira asked, raising an eyebrow.
Sokka pursed his lips as he thought. "You have a point."
"You've made a lot of trips into the desert," Katara commented to the professor, running a finger along several paths penned onto the paper.
"All in vain, I'm afraid," he remarked sadly. "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."
There was an awkward pause. "Is…that supposed to mean anything to us?" Mira asked carefully.
"This library is said to contain a vast collection of knowledge, and knowledge…it's priceless," he said breathlessly.
"Mm, sounds like good times," Toph said sarcastically.
"Oh, it is," Professor Zei said eagerly, not catching on to Toph's lack of enthusiasm. "According to 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 jumped in, wiggling his eyebrows.
"You would go there," Mira muttered, rolling her eyes.
Katara shoved him. "I think he means they look like actual foxes, Sokka."
"You're both right. Handsome little creatures." He reached into his pouch, pulled out a scroll, and unrolled it across the table. "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." The parchment held a drawing of an impressive building littered with domes and spires. While it was hard to get a feel for the scale of the building on paper, Mira could tell that it would be even more impressive in person.
"If this place has books from all over the world, do you think they've got info on the Fire Nation? A map maybe?" Sokka questioned thoughtfully, tapping his chin.
Professor Zei shrugged. "I wouldn't know, but if such a thing exists, it's in Wan Shi Tong's Library."
"Then it's settled," Sokka said with an air of finality. "Aang, I do believe it's my turn. I'd like to spend my vacation at the library!" He jabbed his finger violently at the architectural drawing of the library.
"Uh, hey? What about me? When do I get to pick?" Toph whined.
"You gotta work here a little longer before you qualify for vacation time," Sokka bluffed.
Toph slammed her drink on the table and crossed her arms in a pout.
"Of course, there's the matter of finding it," Professor Zei cut in timidly. "I've made several trips into the Si Wong Desert, and almost died each time. I'm afraid that desert's impossible to cross." He slumped at the table, looking utterly depressed.
Sokka and Aang exchanged glances before Sokka turned to the professor. "Professor, would you like to see our sky bison?" Sokka grinned.
Professor Zei sat up and blinked, stunned. "A sky bison? You actually have one?"
They left the bar to board Appa and search for the spirit library (which Mira was not looking forward to, due to her aversion of anything spirit-related), but they halted as they saw Appa surrounded by the men from before. Appa growled and backed up, clearly not happy with their presence. Professor Zei rushed forward, waving his arms. "Sandbenders! Shoo! Away from the bison!" Mira watched in mild amusement. She couldn't imagine anything being intimidated by this pale stick of a man. But the sandbenders shot him dark glares and moved away to board their sandgliders. Two of them summoned mini-whirlwinds of sand, and the gliders shot off into the desert.
"There," Professor Zei said, brushing his hands. "Now, do I just hop on…?"
"Climb on up," Aang said cheerfully, already perched on Appa's head, the reins in his hands. Katara assisted Toph up before climbing on herself. Sokka and Mira remained on the ground to help Zei aboard. Mira cupped her hands in a stirrup and gestured for him to place his foot on her palms. He did so hesitantly, his hand clamped in Sokka's for balance. Mira pushed up, and the surprisingly light man rose toward the saddle. Katara helped pull him in, and Sokka and Mira soon followed.
"You're very strong for a young man," Zei remarked to Mira as she took her place on the saddle.
Mira had been mistaken for a boy before, and wasn't much bothered by it. But this time, she decided to have a little fun. "'Scuse me?" she cried indignantly.
"I—um, you aren't—" he spluttered.
She pulled her hood down and shook her head, letting her long black hair fall around her shoulders.
"I apologize," he said hurriedly. "The hood—you pushed me up so easily—I…" he trailed off uncertainly.
She snickered at his horror. "I'm just messin' with you," she said. "Don't worry about it. You're not the first to do that."
He looked relieved, but still a bit wary of her, which Mira found hilarious. It'd been a while since someone had found her intimidating. She'd missed this feeling.
Their flight was even more tedious than usual. At least when they'd been traveling in the forests, or the plains, they had something to look at. The desert was nothing more than endless hills of sand stretching out until the horizon. After a few minutes, everything just started to look the same to her. She leaned back in the saddle and pulled her hood up to protect her head from the sun, and hoped that the library would appear sometime soon. But…something was bothering her. Something Zei had said before. She closed her eyes and thought back to the conversation in the bar. What had it been?
"Tell me, sky bison," she heard Zei say. She cracked open an eyelid to see him leaning out of the saddle as he tried to make eye contact with Appa. "Are you the last of your breed?" Appa roared, and Zei laughed delightedly. "Oh, delightful! I only wish I spoke his tongue," he said wistfully, staring out into the horizon pensively. "Oh, the stories this beast could tell," he added, stroking Appa's fur absently. Momo swooped to his side and chittered at him. Zei placed a finger on his lips, his expression still thoughtfully vacant. "Shush, chatty monkey."
"Wow, shouldn't be too hard to find a place like this out here," Aang commented optimistically, examining the drawing of the library.
Sudden realization dawned on Mira. She knew what had been bugging her. "Hold on a minute," she said, sitting up. "If this library was a gift 'for the betterment of mankind'," she said, using air quotes, "then why is it so hard to find? Shouldn't it be, I dunno, a little more accessible?"
Zei tore his gaze from the sand dunes and gazed at her thoughtfully. "You bring up a good point. Scholars over the years have debated that, but some believe that it is so inaccessible to screen out the unworthy. It is said that only the truly devoted may enter its walls," he said, his voice trailing off in a dramatic fashion.
"Or those in possession of a flying mammal," Mira pointed out, effectively bursting his bubble. Zei looked slightly put out as he turned back to his analysis of the horizon.
Hours passed in silence. Mira found herself growing increasingly irritable as the time passed. There was a very good chance that this library didn't even exist, and that they were wasting their time. She was thirsty, tired, and hot. Normally the heat didn't bother her, but even she was susceptible to several hours out in the desert sun. Overall, this was not one of the more enjoyable trips they'd had.
"There it is!" Toph cried, and before Mira could really think things through, she was turning around and scanning the horizon intently for any sign of a library. Then the flawed logic hit her, and she sat back on her heels to shoot Toph her dirtiest glare. Yes, she knew Toph couldn't see it, but it made her feel better. "That's what it will sound like when one of you spots it," Toph pointed out, grinning mockingly and waving her hand in front of her cloudy green eyes.
Another hour passed without incident. Mira was leaning back on the saddle, trying to meditate. She could feel her frustration growing, and was trying to alleviate it. She knew she wouldn't be any help to anyone if she was angry, so she focused on deep, cleansing breaths.
"Down there!" Sokka cried. "What's that?"
Mira abandoned her meditation in an instant and was leaning over the saddle to peer at the small, twisted white tower that Sokka was pointing at. "I don't care what it is," she said. "Can we just land?"
Aang pulled on the reins, and Appa began to descend. He landed on the ground in a puff of sand, and Mira slid off gratefully. She didn't care if this wasn't what they were looking forward. She just needed off the saddle.
The tower was small and slender. It was topped by a small dome, with five or six windows carved into it. The white stone that made up the walls twisted around and around itself, like a clean white rope.
"Forget it," Katara sighed, disappointed. She held the drawing of the library and was comparing it to the spire in front of them. "It's obviously not what we're looking for. The building in this drawing is enormous."
"Well, then, what is it?" asked Mira, looking up at it. If it wasn't the library, then what else could it be?
Katara was stumped, and could only shrug her shoulders.
Mira rolled her neck in exasperation and scanned the horizon, hoping to spot anything else out of the ordinary. She caught sight of an animal of sorts, and brought her hand up to shield her eyes from the sun. A gray fox stood atop a nearby dune, a scroll clamped in its jaws. "Over here," Mira said, alerting the others. "Does anyone else think that a fox in a desert is strange?"
The fox began trotting toward the tower, and instead of stopping once it reached the base, the fox merely continued running up the side. "That's definitely not normal," Mira said slowly.
"I think that was one of the knowledge seekers," Zei remarked in awe.
The fox reached the top of the spire and disappeared through the window. Zei watched it go, his eyes round with excitement. " Oh, we must be close to the library!"
Mira pointed at the drawing. "Bring that up again?" Katara lifted it up, and they all clustered around the parchment.
Sokka squinted up at the spire, then down at the drawing before saying, "No, this is the library." He pointed at the small spire at the top of the library in the drawing, then at the spire in front of them. "Look!"
Mira looked up, and realized he was right. The towers were identical in appearance.
"It's completely buried," Sokka said, amazed.
"Better vacation than you thought, huh?" Mira nudged him.
"Totally," he breathed.
"The library is buried!" Zei shouted redundantly, ignoring the others.
"I just said that," Sokka murmured.
Zei ran toward the tower and fell to his knees in despair. "My life's ambition is now full of sand," he muttered despondently.
"Someone's feeling a tad overdramatic," Mira muttered, eyeing Zei warily.
A moment later, Zei lifted his head up, an optimistic smile plastered across his face. "Well, time to start excavating!" He whipped out a miniscule shovel and began scooping at the sand in front of him.
"And now he's gone from overdramatic to just plain weird," Sokka said quietly.
"Actually," Toph said, "that won't be necessary." Zei looked up from his excavation. "The inside seems to be completely intact, and it's huge."
Sokka took a few steps forward and craned his neck to examine the tower. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully and said, "That fox thingy went in through a window. I say we climb up there and give it a look."
Toph crossed her arms and leaned back against the smooth, white spire. "I say you guys go ahead without me."
Katara tilted her head in confusion. "You got something against libraries?"
"I've held books before, and I gotta tell you, they don't exactly do it for me," Toph quipped dryly. Mira chuckled and tapped Toph twice on the shoulder.
Katara laughed nervously and scratched at the back of her head. "Oh, right. Sorry." Toph was new enough to the group that they didn't yet know how to treat the subject of her blindness. Luckily, Toph didn't seem to care all that much.
"Let me know if they have something you can listen to," Toph teased, and she slid down the side of the spire until she was resting on the ground.
"Alright then," Sokka said, clapping his hands together. "We just have to figure out how to get up there."
Mira squinted up at the small windows. "I could probably climb that."
"But no one else could," Katara pointed out. "How about we stick to the plans that could work for everyone?"
"Anyone got any rope?" Sokka asked suddenly, his boomerang out of its holster and in his hand.
Mira rummaged through one of the pockets on her belt and pulled out a length of rope, which she handed to Sokka. "Of course you've got rope," he muttered, tying one end to the boomerang. "Why wouldn't you?"
"I don't think it'll be enough though," she said, examining the sketch of the drawing.
"I think I can help you there," Zei said brightly, pulling a second, much longer length of rope from inside his bag.
Sokka tied the two ropes together, tugged on the knots to make sure they were secure, then he let the rope slide through his fingers until the boomerang was dangling a few inches above the ground. He slowly began to swing it around in large loops, gradually increasing his speed until the boomerang was a silver blur. He let it fly on the top of its arc, and it went flying up to the window. It caught on the windowsill and held fast. Sokka yanked twice on the rope, then pushed off the wall with his foot and began climbing up. Aang went over to Appa to rub his nose and murmur a few things in his ear. After Sokka had climbed up and was perched on one of the windowsills, Zei began the climb up with Katara, Mira, and Aang spotting him. Sokka pulled him up on the windowsill, then helped him to balance on an adjacent ledge. Katara was next, and she perched on a third empty windowsill as Aang scampered up the rope. He found the second to last ledge, and Mira was left to climb up and balance on the last widow left.
She untied the rope from the boomerang and handed it back to Sokka, who tucked it back into its pouch. Mira then took the end of the rope and with a few quick movements, tied the end around one of the columns separating the window frames from each other. She pulled on the rope with all her strength, and was satisfied when the knot held. She tossed down the long length of rope to the distant floor, and gestured for Zei to climb down first. She grasped one hand to hold him steady as he took hold of the rope and started his descent. Aang went next, then Sokka, Katara, and finally Mira. They rappelled down the wall of the tower, which wasn't too hard. But Mira knew once they descended past the spire, the descent would be much more difficult.
If Mira had been anywhere else, she would have turned it into a practice exercise by just using her arms. But she was dangling hundreds of feet up. If she fell, she was dead. So she gripped the rope tightly and lowered herself down carefully. Once she was more comfortable with climbing down the rope, she took the opportunity to look at the dome they were passing through.
The dome was covered in a cloud design, as if to mimic the sky it would never see. Arches held up the ceiling, passing through the concentric circles of support. The chamber below was boxed in with columns connected by arches that depicted owl face after owl face. The architecture was awe-inspiring.
"Oh, it's breathtaking," Zei said in a hushed whisper. "The spirits spared no expense designing this place. Look at those beautiful buttresses!" he added, pointing up at the stonework.
Aang and Sokka's shoulders shook in a fit of giggles. Mira and Katara rolled their eyes "What's funny?" Zei asked, perplexed.
"Nothing." Aang said, trying (and failing) to look innocent. "We just like architecture."
"As do I," Zei said eagerly, completely in the dark.
Finally, they reached the bottom of the massive room. They all piled off the rope, and Mira took the opportunity to stretch her aching limbs. She craned her neck up to look at the tower they'd just descended from, she suddenly remembered that the entire library was buried under mountains of sand. They were underground. Mira's chest tightened and her breath hitched. A second later, she forced her breath out and scolded herself. She was in a library. Not underground. Just…a library. If she could focus on that, she would be alright.
Four bridges met in the middle of the room, connecting the surrounding walkways to each other. Mira could see rooms and rooms of books stretching past the walkways, leading on and on. They were currently standing on one of the bridges, which stretched over a deep, dark pit of blackness. This was the room ringed with owl columns. One set of columns in particular had a large arch connecting the two, with a black owl stretching its wings across the stone.
"My word!" Zei breathed, his eyes wide. "The exquisite mosaic handiwork of this tile-rendered avian symbol…" he trailed off as he looked around and took in the confused faces surrounding him. "Eh, nice…owl."
The silence of the library was interrupted suddenly by the rustling of feathers. Mira sprang into action and ran down the bridge to duck behind one of the columns supporting the owl arch. She motioned for the others to do the same. They exchanged uncertain glances until Mira hissed, "You really want to take the chance that it's friendly?" After that, they quickly hid themselves the two columns and surrounding walkways. Well, almost all. Aang had to reach out and yank Zei behind a column with him.
An enormous owl stepped out onto a perpendicular bridge and made its way to the intersection of bridges. It stopped just in front of the rope and examined it carefully before turning its head this way and that. There were two white eye spots on the back of its head, which gave the impression that they were being watched, even when the owl's head was turned away. But its head kept turning, past the point of possibility in humans. It peered around at the set of columns where they were hiding, and Mira quickly jerked her head back behind the column. "I know you're back there," said the owl. His ancient voice echoed with the tones of many. That and the uncomfortable tingling of Mira's spirit mark clued her in to the identity of the owl. They were in the presence of a spirit. Mira kept herself pressed against the column as she suppressed the urge to peek at the owl again. Peeking meant sticking your head out of your hiding spot, and it meant the possibility of being spotted.
But Zei didn't really seem to care. He boldly stepped out from behind his column, a bright smile on her face. Mira was only barely able to stop herself from smacking herself in the forehead.
"Hello! I'm Professor Zei, head of anthropology at Ba Sing Se University," he said excitedly, conveniently forgetting the tone the owl had just used.
"You should leave the way you came, unless you want to become a stuffed head of anthropology," the owl threatened darkly.
Mira saw Sokka, Katara, and Aang exchange glances before stepping out from their hiding spots. Katara motioned for Mira to follow, and she did so reluctantly. She wasn't a big fan of spirits, and they usually weren't big fans of her. But the others were putting themselves at risk, so she would too.
"Are you the spirit who brought this library to the physical world?" Sokka asked, surprising Mira. She knew about transitions from the spirit world to the physical, but she wasn't expecting Sokka to ask that.
"Indeed," the owl confirmed. "I am Wan Shi Tong, He Who Knows Ten Thousand Things. And you are obviously humans," he said, sniffing haughtily at them, "which, by the way, are no longer permitted in my study."
"What do you have against humans?" Aang asked curiously.
"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." Mira's eyes widened in realization. Zhao had discovered the identity of the moon and ocean spirits. This must have been the place where he'd found that information. "So," Wan Shi Tong said, leaning down quickly to peer into Sokka's face, "who are you trying to destroy?"
Sokka smiled nervously and took a few steps back. "What? Oh, no, no, no destroying, we're not into that."
"Then why have you come here?"
"Some people only wish to learn," Mira cut in, trying to save Sokka from himself. Wan Shi Tong turned his attention to her, and his feathery face floated much too close to hers for comfort.
"If you're going to lie to an all-knowing spirit being, you should at least put some effort into it," he said coolly.
His accusation didn't faze her. "I'm not lying. This is the Avatar," she gestured to Aang, and Katara gave him a push forward, "the bridge between our world and yours." Wan Shi Tong swiveled his head to analyze Aang, and Mira let out an unconscious breath.
"We will not abuse the knowledge in your library, good spirit," Aang said, recognizing his cue. He bowed solemnly. "You have my word." The others followed his example and bowed respectfully to Wan Shi Tong.
"Hmm," Wan Shi Tong contemplated. "Very well. I'll let you peruse my vast collection—on one condition. To prove your worth as scholars, you have to contribute some worthwhile knowledge."
Zei stepped forward immediately and pulled a thick book from his bag. He kneeled and presented it to the spirit. "Please accept this tome as a donation to your library."
"First edition, " Wan Shi Tong hummed in approval. "Very nice." He waved a large, feathery wing over Zei's hands, and the book vanished.
Katara stepped forward next, a scroll open in her hands. "I have an authentic waterbending scroll."
Wan Shi Tong examined the artwork. "Oh… these illustrations are quite stylish." He reached out and took the scroll from her hand.
He turned to Aang, blinking owlishly (pardon the pun) as he awaited the Avatar's information. Aang tapped his finger on his chin as he thought. His eyes suddenly lit up, and he pulled out a white scroll covered in writing and a hand-drawn picture of Aang himself. Mira squinted at it. Was that a…wanted poster? Did that even count?
Apparently Wan Shi Tong was thinking the same thing. Finally he said, "I suppose that counts." He accepted the scroll, and then it was Sokka's turn.
He was smirking as Wan Shi Tong watched him expectantly. Mira flinched. This wasn't going to end well.
"Oh, great spirit," Sokka started, holding up a small piece of string in his hand. His eagerness quickly overshadowed any formality he'd begun with. "Check this out!" His hands moved in a blur, and suddenly a knot shaped like a butterfly was resting in his palm. "Ta da! It's a special knot! That counts as knowledge."
Wan Shi Tong simply stared at Sokka before blinking twice. "You're not very bright, are you?" he asked simply.
Sokka sagged and grumbled a bit, but the knot was nevertheless accepted. Then Wan Shi Tong's feathery gaze was turned to Mira, and she froze. She'd forgotten that she was expected to contribute. And she wasn't about to pull a stunt like Sokka had. Surely she had some information that would be useful?
Her spirit mark chose that exact moment to give a little tingle, and she suddenly knew what she could give the spirit.
"Wan Shi Tong," she bowed respectfully, "I can give you the name of a spirit born, marked by a spirit at birth."
The spirit could give no change in expression, but she saw his eyes flash in approval. "I accept this knowledge. Name and sponsor, please?"
"Mirala Tsung," she replied steadily. She turned around and lowered her hood before unclasping the cloak and letting it slide down. She pulled at the back of her collar until it'd slid down far enough for Wan Shi Tong to glimpse the spirit symbol on her neck. She waited a few seconds, then released her collar. She retied her cloak and turned back around.
Wan Shi Tong nodded at her, and Mira tried to ignore the triumphant twinkle in his eye. He started backing up across the bridge, his wings extended in an open gesture. "Enjoy the library." He leaped off from the bridge and flew off into the depths of the library. Mira peered over the edge and realized that the space below the bridge was not in fact an empty pit, but contained even more levels to the library.
Sokka watched him go, still sulking from the spirit's previous remark. "Bright enough to fool you," he muttered.
Mira slapped her hand across his mouth. "Shut up!" she hissed. "You really think you totally fooled him? He'll still be watching us!"
Sokka nodded sheepishly, looking ashamed.
"Now, c'mon," she said, removing her hand from across his mouth and tugging on his sleeve. "Let's get what we come for and get out of here."
She led the way across the bridge and into one of the large rooms adjacent to the central chamber. It was lined with rows and rows of bookshelves. Small, tattered books were crammed next to large, barely touched tomes. Scrolls were piled on top of each other, and loose pieces of paper where stacked near the ends of rows. It had a chaotically organized feel to it. Mira turned left inside the room to peruse one of the bookshelves. She could hear the others picking out shelves to examine, and she huffed out a tired breath. It would take ages to find the information they wanted. There was no way to know exactly where it could be, so it was anyone's guess as to where they should start. Mira was hoping they could figure out a system of organization for the library and figure out a way from there, but she wasn't feeling very optimistic.
She heard a rustling from the shelf to the right of her, and she turned in time to see Katara pull out a book from the next row over. She gave a half-smile, then bit her lip, as if she wanted to ask something, but wasn't sure that she should. Mira gave a little half-wave of permission. She had a feeling she knew what the question was about anyway.
"Why is your identity as a spirit-born important information to him?" she asked curiously.
Mira ran a finger absently across the spines of the books next to the gap as she answered. "Back when spirit marking was more common, it was a valuable commodity to know the names and sponsors of as many spirit-born as you could. Allegiances are a tricky thing, and in the spirit world, this information is valuable. Now Wan Shi Tong knows what spirit sponsors me, and which spirit cares very much that I survive. Giving him my name and sponsor will probably come around to bite me in the ass, but it was the only thing I could think of."
Katara's eyes widened as she realized the implications of Mira revealing herself. "That's why you hide so much, isn't it? People could use that information against you."
"And now a spirit knows," Mira replied. "I'm trying not to think about it right now."
"You did that for us," she said, voice gentle. "Thank you."
Mira shifted her weight from foot to foot. "'S'not a big deal," she muttered. "You don't have to act so surprised."
"Right," Katara said, embarrassed. "Sorry. I'm just getting used to the whole spirit thing."
"Trust me," Mira said under her breath, "not something you want to get used to." And she started to pay attention to the books underneath her fingers. Life Cycle of the Turtle-Duck, Migration Habits of the Butter-Bee, and…ew. Mating Rituals of the Buzz-Fly. Not the section she wanted right now.
"Hey, guys?" she asked, sticking her head into the aisle. "I think we're in the wrong section."
"You can say that again," Sokka said, waving a book in the air. "I just found The Birth and Death of the Bull-Frog."
"And I'm standing in a section about mating rituals," Mira said, wrinkling her nose. "I think we're in biology. The information we want'll probably be in geography. That shouldn't be too far away."
Aang nodded, and wandered into a different room. Mira picked out a few titles as they filed in after him. The Composition of Earth Kingdom Minerals. Volcanic Activity in the Fire Nation Isles. Close, but not exactly what they wanted. "I think this room's geology," Mira announced. "We should be getting close." She picked an adjacent room at random and strolled down a row of shelves. She knew immediately that she'd picked the wrong room. The titles here read The History of Spiritual Interaction, and Spirit-Born Throughout the Centuries. A small voice in the back of her head screamed that this was a bad idea, but her hands seemed to have a mind of their own. They reached out of their own accord and plucked a book from the shelf. The tome fell open to somewhere around the middle, and she started reading the faded script.
There are several reasons for a spirit to sponsor an earthly champion, but one purpose seems to be the most prevalent: to fight, and possibly die, for the sponsor. While most spirits believe themselves to be removed from earthly conflicts, the major elemental spirits know that their fate rests with the balance of the mortal world. As a result, their interests need to be protected. But, as they themselves cannot visit the physical world without assuming a mortal form (see page 217 for the Ocean and Moon spirits), most choose instead to sponsor a champion. This is usually done by saving a human at birth, and marking them as theirs in some way. This mark usually corresponds to the symbol of that spirit. After this encounter, the champion is bound to the sponsor. Their cause is the spirit's cause. They will fight for this cause, usually to the death.
Mira slammed the book shut and stuffed it back on the shelf. Her hands were trembling, and she felt nauseated. Coming into this room had been a bad idea, and picking the book up had been worse. She'd spent so much time pushing the issue of being spirit-born to the back of her mind, only to have it dredged up in mere minutes. She knew this much from her research years ago. She knew what being a spirit-born meant. But she'd pushed the issue aside, buried it deep into the recesses of her mind until she could pretend that her destiny wasn't tied to a spirit's cause. But no matter how hard she tried to ignore it, that was the truth. It wasn't something she could run away from.
But she could damn well try.
She quickly passed through the geology area, and found the others clustered at a table in room adjacent to it. Aang looked up as she entered, a question written across his face. Mira merely shook her head, and he nodded in understanding. Sokka would have poked and prodded out of plain curiosity, Katara would have asked in a misguided attempt to help, but Aang…he knew when to push and when it would be going too far. At least, he knew when it came to her. She found herself feeling grateful toward him in that moment.
"The darkest day in Fire Nation history," she heard Sokka murmur, and she turned her head to see him bent over a pedestal covered in a thin sheet of glass, reading off an old, singed piece of parchment. "It's got a date at the top, but it doesn't say anything else."
Mira walked over and peered over his shoulder. "That sounds promising."
Sokka pulled out his club and made to lift the case, but Mira held his arm back. "Wait. Let me do this."
"I could do it," he grumbled unhappily, but he grudgingly stepped aside to let her work.
Mira slipped a thin throwing knife out of her belt and gently wiggled it under the glass case. Once it had lifted up enough, she slipped a finger inside and gingerly pinched a corner of the parchment. She pulled it out and silently set the glass back down.
She tried to examine the parchment closely, but before she could, Sokka had snatched it out of her fingers and was peering down at it. "Excuse you," she snapped petulantly.
He ignored her and started walking toward the door.
"Sokka, where are you going?" Aang asked, his head popping out from behind a bookshelf.
"I want to know what happened to the Fire Nation on their darkest day," Sokka said absently, still absorbed in the parchment. "This could be promising." He looked up, his eyes narrowed as he scanned the hallway outside of the room. "The information on the Fire Nation should be right up here."
"How do you know?" Mira asked exasperatedly as she trailed after Sokka. She nearly bumped into him as he stopped suddenly and pointed to the Fire Nation flag pinned up above a doorway that led to yet another room within the library.
"Ah," Mira said quietly, feeling very silly. "That's much better than geography."
The group filed into the cavernous room, only to find mountainous piles of ash and tattered spines of charred books. The burnt skeletons of bookshelves were tossed in heaps of disarray. Everything inside was burned to a crisp.
"Firebenders," Aang said bleakly.
"They destroyed everything having to do with the Fire Nation," Katara said, absently kicking gently at the remains of a wooden bookshelf.
"That's so unfair!" Sokka cried in frustration. He buried his head in his hands. "Just when I think I'm one step ahead of the Fire Nation, it turns out they beat us here a long time ago." He fell dramatically to his knees in defeat. Mira rolled her eyes. She understood the despair he was feeling, but he was being a little over the top. "I need to know what happened on the darkest day," he muttered.
A strange little whimper echoed from behind them, and they all turned to find a gray fox standing on its hind legs in the doorway. "Hello, little weird fox guy," Sokka greeted tiredly.
The fox let out another whimper and turned in a pointing gesture.
"Seems it's trying to assist you," Zei pointed out. Mira started at the sound of his voice. He'd been so quiet the entire time that Mira had almost forgot he was there.
"Um, sure, I'll guess I'll follow you," Sokka said in reply to the fox, a tad perplexed. He pushed himself up off the floor and followed the fox out of the room. The others followed close behind.
The fox led them through several twisting hallways until they hit a large door shaped like a golden sun. The fox wiggled into a small gap near the door, leaving the others to wait outside. A few moments later, the center of the door rolled to the side, and the five stepped inside a huge domed room.
In the center rested a raised, circular platform. Several concentric circles radiated outward to the edges of the room. The fox trotted inside the room and pushed against a long lever that sat next to the round table.
Suddenly, the ceiling shifted. The domed roof had been shrouded in shadow, but now the ceiling turned to reveal a starry sky. Mira gaped up in awe. The stone had just rolled away to a different scene. She'd never seen anything like it. A metal arch bearing the image of the moon emerged from beneath the floor and moved across the sky.
"This room is a true marvel. A mechanical wonder!" Zei admired, smiling wide. "It's a planetarium that shows the heavens moving." As he finished speaking, the starry sky rolled away into the floor, and a sunny afternoon sky clicked into place. A yellow sun attached to another metal arch began its journey across the ceiling.
"Uh, this is beautiful, but, how is it helpful?" Sokka asked, scratching his head.
Mira peered at the table in the center of the planetarium. It was covered in rings of dials, and two yellow rods isolated one row of characters. "Maybe these dials represent dates and times," Katara mused. "Sokka, try entering that date from the parchment you took."
"Shh! Katara!" Sokka hissed. He covered his mouth and whispered, "Not in front of the fox, he's with the owl."
Mira rolled her eyes and snatched the parchment from his hand. "Calm down." She began to click the correct characters into place. When the correct date had been entered, she pulled back on the dial, and the sky began to turn once more.
"Wow, I gotta hand it to you Sokka," Aang said respectfully as he watched the ceiling shift. "You picked the best mini-vacation, for sure."
Sokka smirked at the compliment, but the smile quickly disappeared as the light suddenly dimmed in the room. Mira looked up to see the moon symbol completely covering the sun symbol, blotting out most of the light.
"Hey wait, what happened to the sun?" Katara asked, her eyebrows drawing together.
"You broke it," Aang accused, turning to Mira. She held her hands up in defense. She had done nothing wrong.
"It's not broken," Sokka said in dawning realization. "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!" he exclaimed excitedly. He grabbed Aang by the shoulders. "Something awful happened on that day. I don't know what, but I do know why," he said excitedly. He shook Aang by the shoulders. "Firebenders lose their bending during a solar eclipse!" He pushed Aang away, then winced in sympathy as Aang stumbled backwards. "Sorry," he apologized.
"That makes sense," Katara said slowly. She turned to Sokka. "I mean, think of what the lunar eclipse at the North Pole did to the waterbenders. This is huge."
A whimpering sound cut through the excited chatter, and they all turned to see the gray fox begging for a treat. Sokka smiled. "Fine, you earned it." He rummaged around in his bag and tossed the fox a scrap of jerky. The animal caught it and ran off. Sokka turned his attention back to the others. "We've got to get this information to the Earth King at Ba Sing Se. We'll wait for the next eclipse, then we'll invade the Fire Nation when they're totally helpless. The Fire Lord is goin' down!" he finished excitedly, oblivious to the towering figure of Wan Shi Tong staring disapprovingly down at him.
"Mortals are so predictable," he sighed, not sounding too surprised. "And such terrible liars," he added scathingly as he stared unblinkingly at Sokka. "You betrayed my trust. From the beginning you intended to misuse this knowledge for evil purposes," he accused.
"You don't understand," Sokka defended. "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!"
And there's where you're wrong. Not all Fire Nationals are evil. And Wan Shi Tong knows that.
"You think you're the first person to believe their war was justified?" Wan Shi Tong scoffed. "Countless others before you have come here, seeking weapons or weaknesses or battle strategies."
"We had no choice. Please, we're just desperate to protect the people we love," Aang pleaded.
But Wan Shi Tong was not moved. "And now I'm going to protect what I love," he replied coldly, and he began to beat his wings furiously. The downdraft created by his wings whipped through the air, tugging at clothes and pulling at hair. Mira leaned forward as she attempted to keep her balance against the tempest.
"What are you doing?" Aang had to shout to be heard over the winds.
"I'm taking my knowledge back." The spirit's low, quiet voice cut through the howling drafts like a knife. "No one will ever abuse it again."
Mira felt a trickling on her shoulder and looked up to see sand pouring through new cracks in the ceiling. The fear she'd boxed up in the back of her mind escaped with a vengeance. They were underground. Wan Shi Tong was destroying the library. She'd be buried alive.
"He's sinking the building! We've gotta get out of here!" Katara cried.
Wan Shi Tong shuddered, and began to transform. His neck stretched up and out, and feathery horns erupted from his head. "I'm afraid I can't allow that," he said menacingly. "You already know too much." With an unearthly shriek, he lunged for them.
Mira dived to the right and rolled to her feet. She raced for the planetarium door with the others. She could hear the muted hushing sound of the spirit's feathers, and forced herself to run even faster. They sprinted past endless rows of bookshelves as Wan Shi Tong flew after them. They were crossing another series of bridges a bit smaller than the one they'd first landed on when she heard the strained voice of Professor Zei pleading with the spirit. "Great knowledge spirit, I beg you. Do not destroy your vast collection of priceless tomes!"
Aang didn't even hesitate. He turned mid-stride, pulled his hands back, and sucked Zei away from Wan Shi Tong just as the spirit lunged. But he didn't stop there. Aang remained on the bridge, and took a great swing with his staff. A huge gust of air erupted from nothing, pushing Wan Shi Tong off the bridge and sending him falling past the lower levels. "We've gotta get back to the surface," he reminded everyone unnecessarily. He ran past them, leading the way, but Sokka stayed where he was. The conflicted look on his face told Mira exactly what he was thinking.
"Sokka, let's go!" Katara urged, gripping Zei's shoulders tightly.
"But we still don't know when the next eclipse is gonna happen," Sokka said distantly, staring back at the bridge.
"Don't be stupid, we'll find out later," Katara said desperately.
"No, we won't," Sokka said stubbornly. "If we leave this place we'll never get the information. Aang, come with me to the planetarium, I need cover." Aang ran over to his side, albeit reluctantly. "Katara, take Momo and get out of here," Sokka ordered, swallowing hard. He turned his gaze on Mira. "You make sure they get out of here," he said.
"I'll make sure you do too," she said stubbornly.
"But—" Katara started to argue, but a large crash cut her off, and Wan Shi Tong emerged in a cloud of dust from the bookcases between them.
"Go!" Sokka yelled, and Mira dragged Katara away before she could protest.
"Hurry, Sokka!" Katara shouted back as they fled.
Mira had never run so fast in her entire life. Her claustrophobia only served to pump more adrenaline into her veins. Her breath was ripped from her body in short, wheezing gasps, but she couldn't stop. Her body wouldn't let her. A primal instinct had taken control, and would not let go.
They raced past bookshelf after bookshelf, through room after room. Mira skidded around one sharp corner and darted behind a shelf, hoping in vain to lose the spirit. She clapped a hand over her mouth to silence her panting breaths, and forced her lungs to inhale slowly and quietly. Katara followed her lead, and they sat side-by-side, eyes wide and hearts thudding.
There was a slow clicking of talons as Wan Shi Tong padded his way down the row. There was one second of silence, then two. And just for a moment, Mira thought he'd left the room.
"At least I'll have one specimen to add to my collection," he said slowly, and Mira heard him rush forward. She dived away from the bookshelf and the two girls began to run once more. They were now in a room next to the massive bridges. Daylight was so close that Mira could very nearly taste it.
They ran for the bridge, feet pounding in a frantic rhythm. They slid to a halt in front of the rope that trailed from the tower, and Katara turned to immediately sink into a waterbending stance. Mira pulled out two daggers and assumed a fighting stance as well. But Wan Shi Tong merely chuckled. "Your waterbending won't do you much good here," he said. His chest puffed out and the spirit seemed to inflate as he spoke. "I've studied Northern Water Style, Southern Water Style, even Foggy Swamp Style." Mira was slightly irked that he didn't even see her as enough of a threat to mention.
We'll just have to change that, won't we?
But before she could move, an unearthly scream echoed through the halls of the library. Mira looked up to see a blue blur flying through the air and land on Wan Shi Tong's head with a solid crack. As it landed, Mira realized the blur was in fact Sokka with a large book in his hands. Wan Shi Tong wobbled around on the bridge before he collapsed with a muted thud. "That's called Sokka style," Sokka bragged. "Learn it!"
"Boast later," Mira said, already thinking ahead. "Climb now!"
Sokka used the spirit's neck as a stepping stone to start ascending the rope. Katara followed close behind, and Mira came after her as Aang circled on his glider in the air above. They were a few feet in the air when Sokka looked down to check his feet and caught sight of Zei sitting in the middle of a pile of books in a nearby room. "Wait!" He called for a halt to their progress. "Professor, let's go!" he urged.
But Zei was already shaking his head. "I'm not leaving," he said firmly. "I can't. I've spent too long trying to find this place. There's not another collection of knowledge like this on Earth," he added dreamily. "I could spend an eternity in here."
Sokka looked doubtful, so Mira said, "Look, he's made up his mind. I don't want to join him!" This seemed to prod him into action, and he looked back up to continue climbing. But the rope started to swing violently, and it took all of Mira's strength to keep holding on. She looked down to see a very conscious Wan Shi Tong yanking the end of the rope with his beak. She felt her grip start to slip, and a terrified scream was ripped from her throat as she began to fall. Her arms flailed out wildly in an attempt to find anything to grab hold of. Her fingers touched cloth, and her hand wrapped around Katara's ankle. But instead of going down, she suddenly found herself being pulled up. Aang had swooped down at the last minute and had caught Katara. She glanced up to see Aang straining to reach the tower window. She held her breath as they began to slow. Another glance down revealed Wan Shi Tong chasing after them, his neck straining as he snapped at her feet. If they didn't make it…
But at the last second, Aang put on an extra burst of speed, and they flew out the tower window. In an instant, Aang was steering them in a controlled fall until all four of them collapsed onto the hot desert sand. Mira groaned and massaged her wrist as she rolled over and stood up. Holding onto Katara's ankle had taken more strength than she realized.
She regarded the place where the spire had been. The only thing to suggest that something had been there was a perfectly shaped circular crater in the sand.
"We got it. There's a solar eclipse coming," Sokka said excitedly. He and Katara laughed in giddy joy and enveloped each other in a hug. "The Fire Nation's in trouble now!"
Aang looked around in confusion as he approached Toph, who was sitting on the ground by the crater. Her head was in her hands, and Mira felt her stomach drop. Something was terribly, terribly wrong.
"Where's Appa?" Aang asked uncertainly.
Toph gave a mournful groan and shook her head. Aang stood frozen, an expression of pure horror written across his face. Mira could feel the same emotion gnawing at her insides.
They were trapped, in the middle of the desert, with no way out.
A/N: Please review and tell me what you think! I love hearing from each one of you.
I'd just like to say right now that I will never stop updating from a lack of reviews. I will never institute review quotas for an update. This story is as much for me as it is for you, and I would keep posting it even if no one was reading it. You, my dear readers, are just icing on the cake.
…But of course, I am human and love reviews. Feel free to leave one if you are so inclined.