Arrrrrrrghhhhh. Okay, people, I'm just gonna say that, I was sitting at a TOTAL stump for this one. My mind wasn't where it belonged, entirely, so… I can't tell you this one'll be good. Well, we do learn a bit about the last four Firstborn, plus we have a Danolan scene.
Chapter 60: The Spirits' Library
Dathomir, Lucinda's Cave
The decaying swamp remained just as it always has, rotting with dead trees and peoples' corpses, emitting the brown fog as green mist flowed out of the mountainside cave. Within the depths of the cave, Rumpel, Gruntilda, and Lucinda sat around the magic cauldron, throwing items into the bubbling brew as they waved their arms and sang.
Witches: Double, double, toil 'n' trouble
Fire burn and cauldron bubble!
Double, double, toil 'n' trouble
Fire burn and cauldron bubble!
Lucinda: A fairy's foot scraped with toast
In the bubbling, the bread will roast
Rumpel: A lollipop shoved up my nose
In the boiling pot it goes
Grunty: A jar of salty children's tears
Really gives ME the cheers!
Lucinda: Crusts made from some Irish eyes
Watching as their happiness dies
Rumpel: Perhaps a pencil, littered with boogers
I hear it's tasty to those Moogers
Grunty: Eye of newt and toe of frog
Have a kitty drop a log
Rumpel: Gasping breath, and dying pant
May kiddies tremble to our chant!
Grunty: A stew that makes the children CRY!
Watch their tears flood to the sky!
Rumpel: And once they taste our luscious stew
Their deaths will be long before due!
Lucinda: And perhaps a Rainbow Monkey's chaudron?
Rumpel: All the better for our lovely cauldron
Witches: DOUBLE, DOUBLE!
TOIL 'N' TROUBLE!
Grunty: By the picking of my fingers
Something wicked this way lingers!
Their little chant ended when Yuki Crystal walked in. "What the hell are you witches doing?"
"Throwing stuff into a magic cauldron and stirring it up." Rumpel responded. "Why, you ask? We don't know! It's what we do!"
"Well, can you hurry it up? Jagar and his buddies escaped from Bowser's Lair. If I'm gonna destroy the Kids Next Door, I need my ice powers to be stronger."
"Patience, Yuki." Talzin replied. "How I'd love to grant you your wish and make you the most powerful icebender in the world. But even with my lovely shadow, I don't have the strength to do so, and am desperately seeking a way to increase my magic tenfold. And I think I may have found something…"
"What is it, Lucy?" Rumpel asked as the ancient fairy stirred her finger in the brew.
"That little shadow imp that was around Danika looked familiar. And lo and behold. It's just what I suspected." The magic cauldron showed an image of Midna herself. "She is Midna. One of the Eight Legendary Firstborn. The Spirit of Shadows… As you might know, Rumpel, the ability to use magic originated from the Shadow Realm, which is why a good number of magic-wielders, like myself, are shadowbenders. And Midna is a powerhouse brimming with such magic… With her powers, I could easily increase the strength of my wand. I could give Yuki the kind of power he needs to freeze the Moonbase and every last puny operative off the face of the Earth."
"And if Midna is hanging around Danika…" Rumpel started to think.
"Well, let's find that Midna chick already and force her to do it!" Yuki demanded.
"Not so fast, Boy. Let us just see what our little gang is up to…"
Ember Island
"Oh, finally." April sighed in relief, lying back on the warm, sandy beach, in her green and black-polka-dotted two-piece swimsuit, as she rubbed sunscreen on her skin. "You know, when you bring an entire city to its knees, a vacation at the beach is just what you need."
"Especially in a world where we aren't on the wanted list." Danika replied, dressed in her black bikini. "Why were the villains sent here, anyway?"
"The Brain said something about… turning some people to the Dark Side or something. I dunno." Nolan answered, merely sitting in his wheelchair in his regular clothes.
"Well, that is what Brain does best." Danika said.
"I just wish we could've picked a different setting." Midna commented, lying under an umbrella a few feet away, wearing a single sunshade on her only exposed eye.
"You look like you're enjoying yourself." Nolan noticed.
"Are you kidding? I'm a shadow being. This light bugs me."
"Well, I'm a shadowbender, and I find it kind of nice." Danika replied. "'Course, the only light we enjoy is twilight. Right, Cheshy?" Cheshire smiled and nodded.
"Hey, Nolan, how come you aren't dressed for swimwear?" April asked. "I know you can't swim, but…"
"Well, in my current state, getting into swimming trunks isn't the easiest task. …Unless you girls wanna help me." He smirked.
"Uhhh… no." April plainly responded.
"Still, you might get a little sweaty that way." Danika said, and with that, she proceeded to pull Nolan's shirt and boots off, and rolled his pants legs up so that they looked like shorts. "There you go! …Hm. I don't really think I've seen you with most of your clothes off."
"Uh… hehehe." Nolan blushed strongly.
"Anyway, I'm gonna go lie down. Catch some rays." she said as she walked several feet away, lying on her back on the sand.
Nolan couldn't help but stare absentmindedly at Danika as April spoke. "You know, speaking of 'not being on the wanted poster here,' I actually heard a bit about this place from Azula. Supposedly, Ember Island gives everyone a… 'clean slate.' 'Like waves washing along the sand…' or something. But putting that aside, it looks like somebody's in love."
Nolan suddenly blushed in embarrassment and looked at her. "W-What?"
"Oh, come on, don't deny it. You're in love with Danika."
"That's crazy. Just because we hang out a lot, you think-"
"I can sense emotions, Nolan, remember? I don't need to tell that it's written all over your face."
"Ah. Well… of course I like Danika. I mean, look at her. She's sexy… she's cool… she's a bender… ever since I joined the Brotherhood, she's felt like the only friend I've had. Besides you and the poisons… Sigh, anyone would be in love with her. And she could date anyone she'd want… Probably not me though…" he stated glumly. "Hey, April! If you can sense emotions… can you tell if she likes me… or not?"
"I can't tell who people are in love with. Just if they're in love, or not. You, it's pretty obvious. Anyway, you need to find out yourself. Go and talk to her."
"I always talk to her!"
"Yeah, but now it's serious." she replied, standing up and grabbing his chair, and facing him in Danika's direction.
"Hey, what are you- HEYY!" The blonde pushed his chair forcefully toward Danika, and he stopped himself just before running over her, but this resulted in him shooting out of his chair, right onto her body.
"Uh… hey, Nolan." Danika blushed as Nolan lied across her belly.
"Hey, Danika! Uh…"
"Let me help you up." She offered, standing and lifting Nolan up, and putting him back in his chair.
"Hehe, thanks." He blushed as she lied back down, closing and resting her eyes. He glanced back at April, who twirled her finger around, gesturing for him to start a conversation. "Uh… nice weather, huh?"
"E-yup…"
"Hehe…" Nolan began to sweat in anxiety, trying to think of something. Come on, Twenty-thirty. You had a girlfriend before. A bad one, but… just take it slow now. Complement something about her… I dunno… and see where it takes you from there. "…I like your nail polish."
"Uhhh, thank you… It is the color for Shadow, after all."
"Hehe." When Danika lied back down, Nolan pushed a button on his chair and extracted the punching glove, which immediately started punching him in the face, then stretched over to grab a stick and used it to whack his head around. When it was done, the glove threw the stick away, tapped Nolan's shoulder, jabbed his thumb at Danika, and pounded Nolan's armrest, gesturing for him to ask her out already. The glove patted Nolan's head and went back in his chair. "Ahem… Oh, hey, did you hear, Eggman died… last night."
"Oh yeah! Gramma Stuffum's gonna be real ticked off about that, huh?"
"Haha, yeah! Um… listen, tonight, you wanna go for a walk around the island? I hear the stars are… pretty beautiful here."
"A 'walk'?"
"I mean, um… you know."
"Heh heh heh! Well, we DO share a common interest in 'stars', so… Sure! I mean… after sunset, of course. I wanna see if anyone's still around so I can turn into a giant shadow and totally scare them!"
"Haha, I'd love to see that! So… see you then?"
"I guess so."
"Hehe… well, later." Danika lied back down to rest while Nolan rolled back to April.
"So… is it a date?" she asked.
"It… looks like it."
"Great! So, just stay clear of the random awkward comments, just be yourself, and everything should be good from there."
"Since when do you know how to set people up?"
"Eh, me and Sonya share some qualities. Family trait? Also, you might wanna give her something special. Like… a flower or something." She then handed Nolan a flower with long, red petals. "I picked that up earlier, it's a Fire Lily. Just something to get you started, for good luck."
Nolan studied the bright-red flower for a minute before stuffing it in his pocket. "Hm. If only luck was always in my favor…" he said before turning and rolling up the hill.
Forest area, outside of Great Wall
"You know, guys, I gotta admit, despite the problems I had with that Katara chick, this world isn't half-bad." Eva stated as she walked with Kade and Dimentia in a forest, letting Manaphy swim in a river beside them.
"Lucky people can bend in this world, too. Or else we'd have to face more anti-bender hate." Dimentia noted.
"Still, if this is a different world, I wonder if bending ways are a little different here, too. I wouldn't mind getting a bit better with my waterbending."
"Well, why don't you ask that Katara girl? She seems pretty good with it." Kade said.
"I'd assume Kade to keep track of every detail in a catfight." Dimentia remarked.
"H-Hey! I was just saying, they both look equally skilled… or something." Kade blushed.
"Yeah, she was good and all, but I'm sort of looking for someone of the mastery level." Eva replied.
"Well, what about Pakku? His mission was to ambush and 'train' you to begin with."
"Hmm, I guess he could-"
"Uwaah!" cried an elderly voice.
"What was that?" Eva whispered as the three and Manaphy hurried behind some bushes. They found a squad of red and blue bell-like Heartless surrounding some elderly woman, with ghostly-white hair and tan-colored raggedy clothing.
"Heartless!" Dimentia yelled, alighting her hands with lightning.
Eva ran forward and jumped in front of the old lady, Phantom Sword drawn. "Stay back." Some of the Red Nocturnes rung their bells and shot flames, but Eva bat them away with her sword and sliced them. The Blue Rhapsodies conjured and launched ice balls, but Eva was able to grab them with her bending and send them back. When bigger versions of the Red Nocturne appeared, Eva grabbed some water from the river and splashed it over them, making them dissolve. Manaphy also pounced onto one of the Blue Rhapsodies and pulled it down, proceeding to beat it.
As Dimentia and Kade fought some of the Heartless, Soldier Heartless appeared, dancing around in blue garb and wearing silver helmets. "Ugh. These things really get annoying." Dimentia commented.
"Then let me go for a spin." The old lady smirked. The kids stood with mouths agape when the woman jumped in the river, and spun a watery cyclone around her, sending it at the Heartless and freezing them. She then snapped her fingers and caused the ice to shatter, destroying the Heartless.
"Whoa! That was amazing!" Eva beamed.
"Thank you. I may be an old woman, but I know my water." She smiled. "I would've had them done sooner if they hadn't startled me. Say, you're not from around here, are you?"
"Hm hm, nope." Eva shook her head. "We're from someplace… far away. My name's Eva. Those are Dimentia and Kade."
"Mm, but who's the little guy?" she asked, noticing Manaphy.
"Oh, that's Manaphy. He's…"
"The Prince of the Sea?" she asked in slight shock. "I've heard about him. The Firstborn himself… But that must makes you-"
"THEEE Princess!" Kade exclaimed brightly.
"Well, I am deeply honored to be in the presence of royalty." The woman bowed. "My name is Hama. A fellow waterbender, much like yourself."
"So I've noticed. I wonder… just how good are you? Like… a mastery level? Something?"
"I've been told I'm pretty good. For years, I've been studying rare and unique ways to use water. You might say I qualify as a master."
"Really? Well, then… I hope it wouldn't trouble you to maybe… teach me a few things. I'm already pretty good myself, but I'm curious to see how people do it in this world. You could say I have a natural curiosity."
"Then I think we're going to get along swimmingly. Let us have a little… walk-n-talk…"
The Jasmine Dragon
"Okay, so what did the firebender say after setting his crush on fire?" Sokka asked Hoagie. "'Hey, Baby. What's smokin'?'"
"PFFAHH HA HA HA HAH! !" Hoagie exploded with laughter. "Okay-okay, here's one! Why did the timebender jump out the window?"
"Hmmm…"
"He wanted to see if he could fly! Haha! Get it?! 'Cause time FLIES?!"
"AaaAAHH HA HA HA HAH!" Sokka laughed hysterically.
In the corner of the room, Suki and Fanny sat and smoothed their fingernails with annoyed expressions. "Pfft. Boys."
"Tell me about it." Suki agreed.
Atop the roof, Aang was playing with Momo, spinning an airball around and moving it as the flying lemur tried to catch it. "Hey, Aang." Morgan greeted, levitating herself atop the roof.
"Hm? Oh, hey. Uhhh… Morgan, was it? You're Nigel's cousin."
"Hm hm, that's me."
"Hehe, right. I heard that you… spoke to the Negatar."
Morgan frowned a little. "Yeah… Aang, I was wondering. Have you… ever been… tempted by the darkness?"
Aang looked confused. "Um… I don't quite understand."
"You know… been manipulated into doing something you… normally wouldn't wanna do?"
"Well… there is my Avatar State. Back when I was in… Avatar training, I guess, whenever I became physically or emotionally distressed, my Avatar State would trigger and wreak all this havoc, and I'd have no control. It's scary… like when I found out my people died, or when I thought Katara was… well, you know. My anger would get so out of control, and… I'd lose control. I guess I have been manipulated by darkness at some points. But I've always been able to let it go. And I have control over my Avatar State now, so… there isn't much worry."
"Hmm… interesting…" Morgan looked away in thought. He's supposed to be a lightbender, but from what he's saying, I guess his heart isn't all light. Which means… the Negatar's heart isn't all darkness.
"Hey, Morgan, if you've spoken to the Negatar… how much do you know about him?"
"Hmm… not much, I guess. Only he always sees the dark side of things. And… people have strong doubt that his heart is anything but Darkness. But I…I see differently. No one else may think so, but I think there's a speck of light in there somewhere. He just needs someone to help find it."
"Well, maybe there is a speck of light in there. If someone has faith in him…" Aang smiled at her.
Zuko, Nigel, and Rachel were eavesdropping slightly, leaning on the restaurant's wall. "I still don't understand how Gnaa was able to stay alive so long without aging."
"I think I have a theory." Rachel replied. "From what you guys told us, Aang has been frozen in an iceberg for a hundred years. As a result, he was prevented from aging. And as Aang's mirror self, Gnaa was prevented from aging, too. But here's where the opposite part plays in: while Aang was frozen in time, immobile, Gnaa was unfrozen and free to roam the earth."
"Which means he had plenty of time to master those elements." Nigel followed.
"Hehe… talk about an unfair advantage, huh, Aang?" Zuko chuckled.
"Don't remind me." Aang sighed.
At this time, Toph was lying against the wall below the stairs to the shop, happily picking her nose and flicking boogers away as Angie came by and sat with her. "Hi, Toph!"
"Hey, Angie!"
"Whatcha doin'?"
"Picking my nose… It's a hobby of mine."
"Heehee! …Hey, Toph? If you're blind, how come you were able to see me when we fought?"
"My eyes don't work, but I see using Seismic Sense. I feel vibrations in the earth with my feet and see where everything is."
"Cooool!"
"I know, right? I was even taught earthbending by badger-moles. They're blind, just like me, so we connect. But still…" she frowned.
"Still what?"
"Even though being blind gives me an advantage sometimes… sometimes I wish I could see like everyone else. The waves washing along the beach, the grass blowing in the wind… the sun lighting up our world."
"I don't think the sun is something you wanna look at."
"Ha ha! You know what I mean. But… I just wasn't born that way. And not to mention my Seismic Sense doesn't even work on ice or wooded areas."
"Well, it's okay, Toph. All you REALLY need are great friends! Even if you can't see them!"
"Yeah, whatever. Anyway, who taught you earthbending?"
"Some creepy stalker voice in a dream of mine." Angie replied.
"Voice in a dream?" Aang asked, hearing this as he jumped to where they were, using airbending to slow his fall.
"Yeah, his name is Chronicler… or something."
"The Chronicler? Me and Eva had a dream with him, too." Nigel replied, walking down with Zuko and Rachel. "And he taught each of us a certain element."
"Well, that's weird. Maybe it was some kind of spirit." Aang figured.
"I had a dream, too, one time!" Harvey exclaimed, hurrying over. "Before my sister and my friends saved me, I had a dream with this GIANT turtle, only he had a lion's head!"
"The Lion Turtle!" Aang exclaimed.
"You know him?" Rachel asked.
"He's the one that taught me energybending. He taught me the Power of Light."
"Strange… no doubt this Lion Turtle thing and The Chronicler are… somehow related." Nigel said.
"Or probably the same person?" Rachel inquired.
"I've actually gotten a bit curious about who this Chronicler guy is." Morgan said. "He did send me a book that one time…"
"I bet I know who can tell us about him!" Angie perked. "GRIIIIM!"
The bony reaper appeared out of a puff of smoke, wearing no clothes except a shower cap on his head. "WHAT is it?! Can't I take a sponge bath just once without interruptions?"
"Uh, Grim, we were wondering if you knew anything about this… Chronicler that people keep dreaming about." Rachel told him.
"How should I know? All I know is he's some mystical spirit that resides in peoples' dreams with immeasurable wisdom. If you want to know more, you should go to the library."
"What kind of library would have information about some otherworldly spirit?" Nigel asked rhetorically.
"Well, there was that one spirit library we went to out in the desert." Toph remembered.
"A spirit library? Maybe that would have something!"
"We can't go there!" Katara stated. "The library's buried beneath the sand. Plus, the librarian there… isn't the friendliest guy."
"He's a giant, angry owl." Sokka whispered.
"Oh, I remember him!" Grim smiled. "Wan Shi Tong. We went to college together. He was always about gaining knowledge, every time you'd see him, he'd be buried in those books. He's become so consumed with the desire, he's become judgmental, attacking anyone who'd 'abuse' such a 'precious gift.' I bet I could reason with him. Get that library out of the sand, too."
"Well, in that case, we oughta head over to this library and see if it has anything about this Chronicler." Rachel suggested.
"I'm still not so sure about this." Katara said.
"Ah, relax, Katara, he's a librarian." Sokka replied, nudging her arm. "Those guys are all about this 'forgive and forget' thing, we'll be fine."
"Well… okay."
"All right, hold on, kids." Grim ordered, raising his scythe as the Gaang piled around him. "Teleportation ain't easy, so keep your arms and legs inside the warping zone." And with that, he punched his scythe down, and the crews vanished in an instant.
Underground dungeon, unknown location
"Swing lowww, sweet chaaariot. Coming forth to carry me hooome." The elderly demons, Grandfather and Cole hung with their wrists chained to a wall within the damp, cold dungeon, littered with skeletons and rats gnawing from their empty eye sockets. The only sounds heard were tiny drops of dripping water, and the singing of the two demons as they swung back and forth. "I looked over Jordan, and what did I see? Comin' forth to carry me… HOOOOME."
"QUIET!" Ganondorf yelled, banging his fist against the wall. "Don't you demons know how to stay quiet when locked in a dungeon?"
"Oh, come on, Ganon. It just gets so LONELY in here." Grandfather moaned. "And we can't go anywhere since you taped these chi-blocking symbols on us. Sooo lonely."
"LONELYYY. I'M MR. LONELYYY." Both demons sang. "I have nobooodyyy. For my oowww-OOOWN-"
"SILENCE!" Ganondorf punched the wall and shook the room again, stepping over and touching his sword to Grandfather's neck. "The only reason you're alive now is because I want you to see your precious Demon Realm tremble to my rule. But when it's over, you and the rest of your family are going straight in the Sanzu River where you can rot."
"Hm… crazy demons." Lehcar commented, standing at the cave's entrance beside Scarlet.
"And you're a half-demon. I'd hate to be you." Scarlet remarked.
"Don't sell yourself cocky, I have more power than any other demon, and far more competence."
"Do you now…" Ganon replied gruffly, coming over.
"U-Uh… n-not a-as much as you though… Father." Lehcar stuttered in fear.
"I should hope not. Now… I have some business to attend to in another world. You stay here… so you can stay out of my way." And the bad-skinned man walked out of the cave as the girls sat against the wall.
"Sigh… sometimes I wonder if this whole world domination thing is even worth it." Lehcar sighed.
"If it weren't for this flame curse, I'd've already ditched him by now." Scarlet replied.
"So… why didn't you kill Violet back there?"
"I don't know. Part of me would've loved to taste her blood off my claws. But another part of me thought… something just didn't seem right about it."
"I've seen you kill a bunch of people before."
"I know. But with Violet… it felt different, ironically. I feel like… she's the only person I wouldn't kill. And I feel like if her boyfriend left her… I would kill him just for that. But either way, I just feel so… weak for not being able to do that."
"…Maybe it isn't weakness." Lehcar said thoughtfully. "Maybe it was… inner strength. Or something."
"Hm, you sound just like her." Scar chuckled.
"Well, you'd be surprised." Lehcar smirked. "But, it's just like when Rachel wouldn't destroy Ghirahim. It wasn't because she was weak… it was because she had the strength and the willpower not to do it."
"But I thought you held the Triforce of Power?"
"Hehe, I do. But the whole thing is pretty confusing, really."
"But how come you suddenly think she's strong for not doing it?" Scarlet cocked a brow.
"…I…" Lehcar frowned, "I don't know… maybe her influence is rubbing off on me."
"And maybe…" Scarlet looked away, "Violet's is rubbing off on me…"
Forest area, outside of Great Wall
"The most important thing about water is that it's everywhere." Hama explained to Eva as the two walked through the forest. "You must always be resourceful in dangerous situations. There's water in places you'd never think." With that, she spun around and made water appear on her fingers out of thin air, freezing them into icy fingernails.
"Wow, that's cool!"
"And the best part about it is, it can be used in many different ways. Like freezing, whipping, or even cutting."
"Or punching! Check this out!" Eva bent the water from the bottles around her sash into Water Fists.
"Ooh, impressive! You and I see eye-to-eye when it comes to creativity. Tell me, Eva, how is life like for you in your world? I bet you are a well-respected young maiden for having such a gift."
"Well… not all the time. I get picked on a lot at school. My only friend was Kade, even before I found this power."
"Mmm. The old thing with bullies. I was picked on a lot myself during my time. Not everybody accepts us benders for who we are. But thankfully, I found the perfect way to teach them wrong."
"Really? How?"
"Meet me at this spot around midnight, Eva. Then, I will teach you the ultimate waterbending technique, which can only be done under the full moon. It's the kind of power that would make any waterbender feel invincible."
"Wow, sounds pretty neat! I guess I'll see you later!"
"Take care now." Hama waved as Eva was headed back for the city.
That's when Kade ran by and started to walk beside her. "Eva, are you sure you should be trusting that old woman? I feel like our meeting up with her was… a little too random."
"Ah, relax, Kade. She's just a sweet old woman, going for a walk in the woods, probably for exercise, and was… ambushed by Heartless. Nothing majorly suspicious about her."
"…Hmm…" Kade only glanced to where Hama was suspiciously.
Si Wong Desert
Grim and the crew reappeared in the middle of a vast, scorching desert, next to some gaping crater in the sand. "I don't understand, this was the spot."
"It's been buried, remember?" Sokka reminded.
"In fact, we're standing right on top of it." Toph pointed out.
"No problem. Step back, kids, and let Uncle Grimly show you how it's done." The heroes stepped several feet away as Grim rose his scythe and stuck it to the ground again. The earth began to quake and the sky turned dark as a tower slowly rose from the crater in the ground. It was followed by a colossal building, in which sand fell out of the windows as it emerged from the earth, eventually stopping once the front entrance was up.
The children stepped inside and started to view the colossal library, which seemed to go up several stories. "This better not be like that library we found in that underground school!" Wally shouted.
"But like any other library, you're supposed to stay quiet." Numbuh 5 whispered.
"So, where do they keep all the books about spirits or whatever?" Hoagie asked.
"That is none of your concern." The kids readied their guard when a gigantic black owl with a white face suddenly landed in their path, his neck stretching high above them as he looked like he was going to bite down. "I thought I've seen the last of you kids. But it seems you've returned with some friends. Now I can mount all your faces on my wall."
"Gross!" Kuki shouted.
"Hold on, Wan Shi Tong." Grim raised his hand in defense. "These kids are with me. We aren't here to harm anyone."
"Hmm. Grim. It's been a while. What are you doing nowadays?"
"Demon King."
"Mmm. Impressive. Regardless, no human is permitted in my library. If you refuse to leave, I shall be forced to… Oh…" The owl's neck shrunk back to normal as it began to tremble. "What is happening? Oh!" The world dimmed to a shady black as a vision appeared before his eyes: the image of a figure with a silver body, golden head, two tails, and closed eyes.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"M…Master Uxie. I-I was just-"
"I did not place our Grand Library in your care for you to shun people away. Knowledge is a treasure all beings must share. Including the humans."
"You don't understand. Humans desire knowledge only to-"
"Not all humans are alike, are they, Wan Shi Tong?" Uxie asked, getting in the owl's face, her closed eyes furrowing. "Some humans are good spirits. They desire knowledge for other reasons. And I sense no evil from these beings. It is clear that, by diving yourself into so much knowledge, you've become overprotective of it. Your desire for it is blinding you to trust. You will let these mortals read the knowledge they desire in your library. Unless you'd rather… lose all of your knowledge yourself."
"N-No… Master Uxie… I don't. The humans… may use my knowledge…"
"We can? Great!" Aang cheered, the vision suddenly vanished before Wan Shi Tong's eyes.
"Oh? …Yes, well… what was it you wanted to learn?"
"Umm, got any books on the gods?" Sokka asked.
"The God Section is right over there." He directed a wing to their left, showing a hall which was labeled 'Gods.' "There's information on every god within that hall. You'll find nearly anything you wish to learn there. Enjoy the library." With that, the owl flapped his wings and took off to a higher floor.
The team entered the hallway as Nigel held a flame up by the book shelf, searching the titles of the books alphabetically in the dark. "It should be around here somewhere…" Rachel spoke.
"…Ah, here it is!" Nigel perked, discovering a book titled Chronicler. "The Chronicler." The Brit took the book down and began skimming it as everyone else looked over his shoulder.
"What does it say?" Sokka asked.
"The Chronicler is an ancient and knowledgeable spirit who is said to exist within peoples' dreams and can see within the hearts of mortals. It says that, many eons ago, during a meeting with the Order of Deities, it was The Chronicler who proposed to Supreme God, Arceus that mortals should be able to bend elements. That whenever a mortal shall be born, their heart would be studied to see which element would befit their personality. For example, a passionate heart would bend Fire, a free heart would bend Air, and a heart who hides from humanity would bend Shadow."
"Wow. Wait, did he skip me or something?" Sokka asked.
"After the Supreme God was destroyed by the very first Negatar, along with the many other evil benders that followed him, the Underworld God, Malladus, and Nightmare God, Darkrai, deemed Chronicler a traitor, for the idea of allowing mortals to bend elements being his in the first place. They proposed that Chronicler be banished. And sadly enough, the majority of gods agreed."
"Is there anything your family HASN'T ruined?" Harvey remarked.
"Harvey." Rachel glared.
"Sorry."
"What else does it say?" Toph asked. "Where does he live?"
"It's said that The Chronicler makes his home on a lost island somewhere among the oceans of the Spirit World." Nigel read as the book showed a picture of an island of jagged, prickly rocks, with two crescent moons hanging above it. "Many mortal benders have traveled to the Spirit World and ventured to this island, in the hopes of training with The Chronicler to becoming stronger with their element. But each have failed to pass the tests on the island and have met their ends. It is told that only the people who were deemed worthy enough would be able to pass the tests. And the ones whom The Chronicler deemed worthy, he would speak to through their dreams. Oh…"
"Does that mean WE'RE deemed worthy?" Angie asked.
"I…I don't know."
"Well, let's find The Chronicler's island and see if we can pass the tests!" Angie beamed.
"It would help to know what kind of tests we're dealing with. Either way, I don't think so. I think we should just focus on finding the Firstborn until we learn otherwise."
"If this library has information on spirits, it may have something about the Firstborn, too." Rachel figured, already walking to the "F" section and skimming around. "Hmm… nothing on Firstborn. That's funny."
"He did say 'nearly anything we wish to learn.'" Katara noted.
"I figured 'nearly' would mean he at least had a book on the Firstborn."
"It's probably because of how important they are." Zuko figured. "The Eight Firstborn are all-powerful beings, so the spirits had to take away any information this place had on them. In case evil beings were to get curious."
"There's gotta be something good we could use…" Rachel rubbed her finger along the book rows as she skimmed their titles. She gasped when she found a book titled, "'The Triforce.'" Rachel took the book down and began to read through it quickly. "The Triforce is a sacred relic, divided into three parts, Power, Wisdom, Courage, blah blah blah… Let's take a look at the 'Origins.'" She skipped to a section labeled Origins. "The three Triforce pieces were each designed by three different… Firstborn Spirits…" she read that part quietly. "The Triforce of Wisdom was designed by the Goddess of Knowledge, Uxie, who designed it so that only someone of truly great knowledge of right and wrong would be able to use it. Pfft. Picked the wrong choice there." she mumbled. "The Triforce of Power was created by Azelf, Goddess of Willpower, who designed it only for someone who possessed the 'true, absolute strength' within. …Hm. Guess it depends on what kind of strength it is. And finally, the Triforce of Courage was designed by Mesprit, Goddess of Emotion, who designed it so that only someone with the courage to face their fears, and determination to never give up on anything… would… be able… to wield it…"
"Hm, guess it picked the right choice in that case." Nigel smirked.
"Hehe." Rachel blushed, then continued to read. "However, it is told that Azelf and Mesprit added a dose of their magic to the others' Triforce, in order for it to be wholly complete. The holders of Power and Courage would be connected the strongest by the thread of fate. And one would not truly know the powers of their own Triforce without the others' support."
"So, in other words, Ganondorf needs your help to completely comprehend the powers of his Triforce?" Nigel asked.
"I…I don't think it's talking about Ganondorf. I think it's talking about… Lehcar."
"But if these three Firstborn were the makers of the Triforce… does that mean the Triforce holders are the Guardians?" Abby asked.
"It says that… according to the prophecy, despite whomever would hold the pieces of the Triforce… these Firstborns' Guardians would be people of other descent… with the exception… of the Holder of the Triforce of Courage! BINGO!" she fist-pumped.
Wan Shi Tong, at this time, was glumly walking down another aisle, alphabetizing books. "Feeling okay, Wani?" The owl turned and noticed Grim.
"Oh. Hello, Grim."
"You haven't changed a bit." Grim smiled, stepping closer.
"Perhaps I haven't. For so long, I've had my beak buried in these books. I've become so… accustomed to knowledge. It's been such a great honor, being put in charge of this very library by the Goddess of Knowledge herself. My desire to increase my worldly knowledge… has led me too protective of it."
"Ah, Desire… one of the Seven Deadly Sins, yes? The seven emotions which lead people on the path to the Dark Side. We demons are the inventors of such things, yes?"
"Correct me if I'm wrong, Grim, but I thought there were Eight Deadly Sins?"
"Well, technically, the eighth one comes from Desire. And in reality, it could turn up good, or very, very bad, depending on where it flows. When bad, it could be the deadliest sin of all!"
"And… what is it called, again?"
Grim gave a mischievous little smirk and tapped the owl's beak. "Love." At the instant of the touch, the owl fell unconscious.
The Avatar Gaang arrived just in time, mouths agape for what Grim just did. "Oh, relax, this touch never really kills anyone. It just puts 'em to sleep. It's easier to drag souls when they're DEAD! AHH HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Ember Island
As the sun was setting over Ember Island, and the sky began to turn a bright orange, Danika was getting her summer clothes on over her bathing suit, a black bellybutton tank-top, black skirt, and black sandals as Nolan rolled over. "Hey, Danika! You ready for, um… our date?"
"Date?"
"I mean! That is…"
"Hahaha! Just kidding! Yeah, I'm ready. Just… hold on a second." She looked over at the many kids still playing a game of volleyball, and noticed how long her shadow had gotten because of the sunset. She and Cheshire exchange a smirk as Cheshire pulled her into a Shadow Veil. Nolan and April watched as the goth grew nearly 10 times as long. The kids playing volleyball suddenly noticed the ground become pitch-black, and beneath their feet was a great, wide Cheshire-cat like grin. "Hellooo, myyyy prettieees…"
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH! ! !" The kids immediately hurried away as Danika shrunk back to normal and came out of her Veil. "Well, that was fun." She smiled. "Come on, Nolan. Let's get rollin'. Haha! Get it? Nolan? Rollin'?"
"Ha ha! Good one!" Nolan laughed as Danika pushed him up the hill.
As they were leaving, Midna floated beside April as the two smirked in their direction.
About half an hour passed, and the sun was nearly gone over the sea. The stars were already lighting up the blue night sky as Dani and Nolan were venturing some old ruins on the island, passing by five statues of previous Firelords of the Fire Nation, including Iroh and Zuko. "Stars really are pretty here… huh?" Nolan asked, the two gazing from over a stone railing.
"Just like our world…"
"They say that… when people die, their star gets placed up in the heavens. And… that star shines down on their other friends, still in the living world, and gives them hope. I've always wondered… if Dillon's or Corey's stars were up there. Guiding me…"
"What made you so interested in learning about stars?"
"I dunno." Nolan chuckled. "…Maybe our little trip to that lake was what got me interested."
"Oh yeah. Haha! That's a night to remember." Danika glanced down and noticed the two scars on Nolan's wrist. "Hey, where'd you get those scars?"
"Oh, these?" Nolan looked at them. "I got them from a villain called Figure. I might've mentioned him."
"Yeah, once or twice."
"He killed Corey…" Nolan sighed. "You know, Danika… after everything that's happened, even after joining the Brotherhood, I've been feeling empty inside. I keep wondering what it is that's keeping me going. Then… I look at you." He looked up as a blush appeared on her face. "You're my best friend, Danika… You've been by my side this whole way. If it wasn't for you, I don't know what I'd do."
"…Well…" she gave a light smile. "I'd be pretty lost without you, too. You're the only… normal human that's grown to accept me. Not like Chad."
"Right… Danika? Do you and Chad… have something special?"
"Hm? You mean like in a crush?"
"W… Yeah."
"Hmm… I used to. But he never could accept me for who I was. Couldn't with April either. It's the whole reason we could never join KND in the first place, because nobody accepted us. And you included."
"Right…" Nolan remembered that he was among the kids that made fun of Danika before. "Danika, I'm sorry, I-"
"Relax, Nolan." She smiled, squatting down to his eye level. "You've changed now. You're my best friend. You're cool now."
"Hehe." Nolan blushed as Danika ruffled his hair. "It's just that… I didn't want to at first. But my ex-girlfriend- Gwen… she kinda got to me. She hated freaks and didn't want me involved with them. But… then look what happened. I became leader of the most distorted bunch the KND's ever seen. Now Gwen wants to kill me."
"It sounds like things went pretty rough between you and her… ever feel like… you want her back?"
"Hm hm. No. I really don't think I loved her at all, in that sense. I feel like…" he turned and smiled at her, "maybe I deserve something better."
"Yeah… maybe you do." Danika smiled back.
The two sat in silence for a few moments, nervously blushing and scratching their necks. While watching this, Cheshire suddenly thought up an idea and snuck away from Danika, going behind the shadows of the Firelord statues.
"Um… Well… it's been a long night." Nolan finally said.
"Not long enough, I don't think." Danika joked.
"Hehe. I feel like we should head back to the beach. We can… probably continue on from there."
"Hmm… I think I wanna stay here for a bit. You good to get back on your own?"
"Sure! But, um…" Nolan reached into his pocket and pulled out the Fire Lily April gave him earlier. "I want you to have this."
"What is it?" Danika asked, taking and studying the flower.
"It's a Fire Lily. Grows all over this place." Nolan turned and began to roll his way back. "Keep it as a lucky charm."
By the time Nolan left, Danika couldn't help but stare closely at the flower. After this night, she feels as though a strong burst of light suddenly erupted from her heart. It was a feeling too precious to let go. However, she shook it off and sat on the stone bench beside the railing. "Oh, what am I doing? You'd think a girl would learn by now."
Standing behind the ruins of another building, The Brain secretly watched them, and in his mind, the Sith Lord was smirking. A shadow crept up behind him as Lucinda stepped out. "Oh, Darth Genious! How great that you should be here…" The witch bent down so her head was at Brain's level, watching Danika with him. "I have learned something extraordinary about that… Danika girl."
"So have I, Talzin." The Sith Lord turned and faced the witch. "So… have I…"
Ava's Heart Star, somewhere over Earth
Team Alien and Team Psychic flew after Lucario in their ship as the aura fox dashed across the ground, eyes closed as he tracked the aura of the Kong Family. "There they are!" Ava exclaimed, pointing at the family of apes ahead, who were shouting and waving their arms for their attention.
The five kids landed and hopped off the ship, hurrying to the Kongs. "Where have you guys been?" Dixie asked.
"Shrunk down and trapped inside a hamster cage at a castle, where've you been?" Kami remarked.
"Well… after Kroctus stole the Firstborn and they all left after the invasion, we decided to fly back to DK Isles and see if Cranky had an idea what he would be doing. …And boy, is it not good."
"What's he doing?" Kweeb asked.
"He's going to awaken the Leptys!" Tiny responded, making the six gasp. "Cranky said that Mew was the final key K. Rool needed to finally awaken the source of all diversity. He's powered up his Blast-O-Matic machine again and he's going to use it to transfer Mew's energy into the tower."
"Wait, what's the Blast-O-Matic again?" Kami asked.
"A machine with a cannon K. Rool used long ago to try and destroy our island." Diddy answered. "We shut it down, but he's powered it up again, and he's going to shoot the tower with Mew's energy."
"The Leptys needs one of each animal spirit for it to work." Dixie continued. "And supposedly, Mew contains every animal spirit within him. The only other thing he needs is to wait for the full moon to shine directly at the eyes of the tower. And according to Cranky, this is the one night a year where the full moon is in perfect alignment with the eyes."
"He really knows how to think things through, then." Ava said.
"And that's not all!" Diddy spoke up. "Cranky didn't wanna wait, so he went to K. Rool's island base by himself to stop him!"
Hideout Helm
"At long last…" K. Rool spoke calmly as the Kremling Kops placed Mew into a chamber on the machine, watching with many other Kremling and Tiki soldiers. "My revenge is nigh. This Firstborn will give my machine the power it needs to awaken the Leptys. Once I have control of the Leptys's power, I will be able to get rid of ALL diversity! No one will ever be different, and EVERY one will be the same! And I will be the supreme ruler of all Animalia! HAA HA HA HA HAH!"
"Eeeee-WAH!" An old man leapt down and bashed the Kremling with his cane.
"OW!" Kroctus rubbed his head and turned, facing Cranky Kong. "Ahh! Well, what a surprise. Seems our good friend, the ape couldn't stay out of the show."
"You bet your bippity, Krocky! I hope you enjoyed this while it lasted, but it's over now! Ol' Cranky here's gonna teach ya what-for!"
"Hmmm… how imposing… give it up, old man. Your time in the videogame spotlight is up. DK Isles is gonna see a new star now, and his name is King Kroctus."
"Yeah? Well I might be old, now, but I gotta 'nough strength in this bod to whack the jaws outta yo' mouth with this old cane!"
"Really? Well then… perhaps it's best I call for backup." With that, Kroctus stuck his fingers in his mouth and made a whistle. (Play "Tiki Tong Song" from Donkey Kong Returns!)
Cranky Kong looked as a gigantic Tiki hovered about K. Rool, a crown on its head, fiery-red eyes, shaman-like feathers along his side, and two disembodied floating hands beside it. "Harr… wah hah hah hah!" the Tiki laughed.
"Cranky Kong, I would like you to meet Tiki Tong." Kroctus introduced. "The source of all Tikis and the one Tiki who can truly activate the Leptys's power. Many years after I was banished from your island, this marvelous creature came to me, and we struck a deal. I would help him rob the island of its bananas and bring his people back to life… and he would allow me to control the Leptys. Of course, such a task was impossible with those filthy apes still frolicking around. But to my utmost relief, Lord Gnaa required my services. I knew that his forces would prove useful in our mission, right, Tiki?"
"Ar-har!" Tiki nodded.
"Now…" K. Rool rose his finger and pointed at the elderly Kong, "Finish him!"
The Tiki Tong rose his right hand and smacked Cranky into a wall. When the old Kong tried to get up, Tiki took his left hand and smashed him, laughing as the Kong lie there squished. "HAHH hah hah hah hah!"
"How sad for you." Kroctus said to the Kong. "Now then…" he clapped his hands, "fire up the weapon! Target lock on Tiki Volcano and… FIRE!"
From outside, the floating base sailed and faced directly at Tiki Island. The chest of the base opened as an electrical rod stuck out and took aim at the volcano.
"He he he…" Kroctus laughed, the Tiki Tong lifting the King to the top of the machine, where there was a big, red button. "HAH!" He stomped the button, and Mew started to scream as the electricity surged through his body, causing the rod to fire a powerful blue laser directly at the volcano. The animals on the island watched with eyes wide as a humongous tower started to rise from the magma, with a terrifying face with large eyebrows and an angry frown.
"MEW MEW MEWW!" Mew kept screaming.
"HAH HAH HAH!" the Kremling King laughed, now holding and raising a staff that had a skull with shaman feathers. "FRIENDS! This is the moment we've been waiting for! The Kremling Krew's most glorious day! Worry no more of being overpowered by your enemies! For once the Leptys is fully powered, we will have all the strengths and benefits to survive anything! The winters will never be freezing, the summers will never be boiling, and you'll NEVER go HUNGRY AGAIN!"
"YEEAAHH!"
"Now begin the final countdown!"
At his command, a Kremling troop tapped a button, causing a bunch of digital clocks to appear around the base, all starting at 50 minutes and proceeding to count down.
"Leptys awakening in: 50 minutes and counting." The computer spoke.
"MWEH heh heh har! Soon, the power will all be mine!" Kroctus exclaimed. "'Tis a shame Kami didn't wish to join me. But, perhaps I'll wait and see if she decides differently at the last minute. But the clock's a-tickin'. And soon, it will be too late. Ahh ha ha ha! Ahh ha ha ha! Wahh ha ha hah!"
Eh, I guess this wasn't TOO bad. But boy, is it hard to think straight. But next time, we will do Kami's final stage and have our showdown with King K. Rool! Unlike with Eggman, this showdown should be pretty epic! Maybe as good as Bowser's was, or maybe almost. And lastly, the song comes from Hercules. :P Later!