Chapter Text
“What’s out here?” Sokka asked, eyeing Aang skeptically. Zuko was curious as well, though he didn’t say anything. To be honest, after the whole… rescued an entire division of the Earth Kingdom Army thing, it felt kinda hypocritical to complain about unexpected detour.
He didn’t expect that to last long though. If he remembered, they took a lot of detours. At the moment, they were in a wide open prairie, covered in tall blades of grass. Zuko breathed deeply, taking in the unique scent of healthy grass under a hot sun as Aang sat cross legged and pulled out a flute. Toph knelt a bit to put her hand on the ground. “A lot actually, there’s hundreds of little-“
Aang suddenly whirled and shushed the girl, asking her not to ruin the ‘surprise’. Zuko rolled his eyes, wondering at the odds about this being a good surprise or something that would bite them in the butt. Probably about 50/50.
Aang blew a note on the flute, and suddenly a meerkat-groundhog popped out of a hole and mimicked the noise. Aang blew another note, and the same thing happened. It was honestly pretty adorable. “I’m putting an orchestra together.” The airbender joked.
“Orchestra, huh?” Sokka asked sarcastically. “Well, la-di-da.”
Three of the creatures jumped up, matching the ‘la-di-da notes. Sokka couldn’t help a soft smile and Iroh cooed. “These are incredible! Oh, Nephew, if only I had thought to bring your tsungi horn!”
“And where would you have put it?” Zuko asked with a roll of his eyes.
Toph snickered. “You played the tsungi horn?”
Zuko colored. “It helped breath control.” He said defensively.
“Oh, don’t let him be modest.” Iroh said with an Uncle-y twinkle in his eyes. “He played ‘Little Soldier Boy’ for a rally event at the palace once. It was a great morale boost to the men.” He began humming the tune of the song, exclaiming in excitement as the groundhogs accompanied him.
Zuko groaned. “Isn’t there anything else we could talk about?”
“I’m with Zuko.” Sokka said. “While its great to hear a childhood Zuko story without a huge heap of trauma,” Zuko chose not to mention that the rally event was to reignite moral after a serious loss of life after a significant battle, and his song had been intended to honor the dead, new recruits only a little older than those of the 42nd division. The recruitment age had been lowered shortly after. “Don’t we have more important things to worry about? We should be making plans.”
“We did make plans. We’re picking mini-vacations.” Toph argued.
“There’s no time for vacations!” Sokka retorted back. Personally, Zuko agreed, but Uncle had insisted, then brought up an exhaustion-based back injury that had disappeared the instant Zuko reluctantly agreed.
“I’m learning the elements as fast as I can.” Aang insisted, rising and putting away his flute. “I practice hard every day with Toph and Katara, and I even wake up with the sun to meditate with Zuko and Uncle. I’ve been training my arrow off!”
“Yeah, what’s wrong with having a little fun in our down time?” Katara asked.
“Even if you do master all of the elements, then what? It's not like we have a map of the Fire Nation. “ Sokka retorted.
There was an awkward moment where all eyes turned to Zuko and Iroh. Zuko shrugged and shook his head. “I haven’t been there in a few years, but the Caldera has been the same for decades. I can’t imagine it’s changed since I left.”
Iroh chuckled. “I have been there even more recently. I assure you, if a guide of the palace is needed, I would be happy to provide. However,” He said seriously. “I will admit… I’m afraid neither Zuko nor I are as familiar with the area as you would perhaps prefer.”
They all frowned at that, even Zuko. “What do you mean?” Sokka asked.
“As a member of the royal family, our movements were… controlled. As general and crown prince, when I was in the Fire Nation at all I seldom left the Caldera except for certain campaigns, or tours to give speeches or attend significant ceremonies and events. In those cases, we were escorted in large parades with guards and servants who determined the course for us. We traveled in palanquin or carriage, and visited only larger, significant cities. Anything else, and we sent scribes or governors or representatives in our stead. I saw very little of the nation personally until I went on my campaign to hunt the last of the dragons, and that would likely take us far off course. As he was still a child at the time of his… banishment” Iroh grit his teeth on the last word, “Zuko has likely seen even less.”
Zuko made a grimace but nodded. “I know maps of the islands, and could probably point out most of the cities and locations, but… I haven’t actually seen a lot of it.” He admitted. "Really just home and the Ember Island beaches."
Sokka flailed. “Exactly! We need to know where to go and the lay of the land. Are we just going to go up the first steps and ask for him? Knock, knock. Hello, Zuko’s dad? Anybody home? I don't think so. We need some intelligence if we're going to win this war.”
Iroh nodded approvingly, and Aang petulantly blew another note to summon another singing rodent. Katara laughed. “All right, we’ll finish our vacations and then we’ll look for Sokka’s intelligence.”
The boy blustered and Zuko snickered to himself. Iroh let out a loud belly laugh. Aang pulled up an map and gave it to Katara. “Your turn, where would you like to go on your mini-vacation?”
The girl chose the Misty Palms Oasis, and Iroh grinned. “Perfect! Sokka, this may assuage your concern, Master Katara and I can share a mini-vacation. I had arranged to meet a Pai Sho friend at the Oasis.”
Zuko frowned. “Is that the place? The guy with the documents?”
“Documents?” Katara frowned.
“I had arranged with a friend to forge passports and refugee documentation for Zuko and I, in anticipation of going to Ba Sing Se to try and find you all.”
“Do we need that stuff?” Sokka asked, his earlier nervous energy peaking again.
“You should not. The name of the Avatar, and now Beifong, should be enough to get you… pretty much anywhere you wish in the Earth Kingdom. For Zuko and I however, with distinctly…. Fire Nation features, it is best if we have documentation. I especially, would like to avoid anyone looking at me too closely.”
There was a moment of silence as the group was forcibly reminded that the man who had just spent the past several moments singing to the meerkat-groundhogs had once been the most deadly general of the Fire Nation army. He was a man who had almost made Ba Sing Se’s wall fall.
Aang coughed awkwardly. “Well, uh, Misty Springs Oasis. I’ve been there. It’s a pristine natural ice spring. And I usually don’t use the word “pristine”. It’s one of nature’s wonders.”
Maybe Aang didn’t use words like ‘pristine’ often because he didn’t know what they meant, Sokka considered. The teen glanced around the dungy, crusty, sketchy encampment full of glaring, hungry-looking men who watched their every step. At the center, there was a little puddle of a glacier, releasing so little liquid into the dry air that it was likely even Katara wouldn’t be able to do anything with it.
“Must’ve changed ownership since I was here.” Aang said awkwardly, and Sokka wondered when he would stop falling for the whole ‘I totally know what this place is like, oh wait I mean I knew what it was like a century and a war ago’. Iroh grimaced at him in sympathy, before putting a hand on the airbenders shoulder and leading him into a bar in the corner.
“Perhaps it is just a dry spell.” The old man offered without conviction. Sokka grimaced and looked to Zuko, who was watching a skinny dog lick at the small bit of ice that remained. Sokka wondered if he was also wondering if this ‘dry spell’ was a result of the war and how that could be. Wondering if his people destroyed yet another natural wonder, or if it was just nature itself that hit the area. Sokka nudged the boy, breaking him of his revelry and nodding at the bar that Iroh, Aang, and Toph had already disappeared into.
As they neared a man spit at their feet, though it was unsure who the insult was meant for. Even so, Sokka felt his bristling mirrored by the teen at his side, until atara reached out to grab both their arms and drag them the last steps into the bar. It was a bit cooler inside, though it was still hotter than sitting in a hut with a fire on the hottest day of the summers he’d grown up with. It was a bit of a relief though, which was more than nothing.
Ok, maybe more than nothing. Sokka amended as the bartender used two swords to cut a mango off an overhanging shelf and used them to make an elaborate looking drink, every movement using the swords with extreme dexterity and deftness. Sokka shared a glance with Zuko, who was looking equally impressed. “Can you do that?”
“I never tried.” The other teen admitted, though he looked like he was interested in doing so.
“Well maybe we should get an up close look, you know, for science. Besides, I don’t see anything wrong with having one of those fruity beverages while we plan our strategy.”
Suddenly, Iroh appeared, nudging Zuko towards a Pai Sho board set up in a corner. “Nephew, it looks like a game is opening up. Shall we play.”
Zuko’s eyes darted between his Uncle, the games, and the bartender. “…can I get a drink first?”
Iroh blinked, they saw the motions as the bartender cut down a papaya for Katara’s drink. No fair! Sokka wanted to go first. The old general laughed and pulled two coins out of the purse that Zuko had apparently filled by telling stories. “Of course, see if they have chili to go with the mango for me.”
Sokka shuddered, he’d nearly forgotten about that… flavor profile that Zuko had enjoyed in the village with the volcano. To Sokka’s horror, they actually had it. He avoided the mango entirely and ordered a peach drink, grabbing another for Toph. By the time he made it back to the others, some weirdo was asking Aang questions and frantically writing his answers down in a little notebook. Oh, not just any weirdo, a professor weirdo. Well, when searching for knowledge, beggars can’t be choosers.
“So, Professor, you’re obviously a well-travelled guy. Do you have a more current map? Ours seems to be a little dated.” Zuko had said it was out of date all the way back when they’d been at the Pohuai stronghold, but Sokka hadn’t realized how bad it was. After all, it had been much more recent than any found in the isolationist Northern Water Tribe. Still, with the stronghold and the oasis being do off, and them getting closer to ‘Fight the Fire Lord’ day every morning, he didn’t want to take too many more risks.
The professor nodded, “Certainly!” And passed over a collection of maps, which…. Other than the dessert and Ba Sing Se, was pretty much all of the places they’d already been. He knew all of this stuff. “No Fire Nation? Not even an outrated Fire Nation one? I think we could make that work.” Even just a base for Zuko and Iroh to put actual information into.
Katara hummed. “You’ve made a lot of trips into the desert.”
“All in vain I’m afraid.” The professor said. “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.”
Of course, no one was paying attention to him, because why would they, it wasn’t like he was the one to ask about the maps or anything. Was it too late to try and learn Pai Sho with the firebenders? He mused consideringly until the man said something about someone being foxy and his attention was drawn back in.
“Oh, so this spirit has attractive assistants, huh?”
His little sister shoved at his head with a roll of her eyes. “I think he means they look like actual foxes, Sokka.”
“You’re both right!” The professor said. He pulled out a picture of a creature that was definitely just a fox. “Handsome little creatures.”
Alright dude, whatever you’re into I guess.
“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.”
Sokka frowned consideringly. “If this place has books from all over the world, do you think they’ve got info on the Fire Nation? A map, maybe?”
“I wouldn’t know, but if such a thing exists, its in Wan Shi Tong’s Library.”
Well of course it existed, they were just maps. This was perfect! He declared that he wanted to visit the library as his ‘vacation’ just as Iroh and Zuko joined them, clutching some paperwork.
“A library?” Iroh asked with furrowed brows as Zuko tucked the paperwork into his bag.
“Yeah,” Sokka said excitedly, ignoring Toph muttering angrily about her current lack of vacation. “Owned by some dude name Washy Tong.”
Iroh inhaled sharply, eyes darting to the professor. “You have found the Library of ‘He Who Knows 10,000 Things’? That has been lost for generations.”
“W-well, not exactly. I’ve narrowed it down to a stretch of the desert, but well… I've made several trips into the Si Wong Desert and almost died each time. I'm afraid that it's impossible to cross.”
“Professor, would you like to see our sky bison?”
Uncle’s White Lotus friend joined them as they left the bar. A couple of sandbenders were crowding Appa, but the professor seemed to have that matter in hand, so Zuko focused on Dragon. She had a bit of red on her beak, indicating that some unfortunate resident of the oasis had taken interest in her as well, but she had showed them precisely why that was a bad idea.
Zuko rubbed the blood off her beak and praised her lightly. The teen ran his fingers over his feathers for a moment before handing the reigns to the White Lotus member, his mouth so dry that he considered going back in for another of the drinks. He knew that this was the right thing to do. The animal added so much weight to Appa, and despite the wings and feathers, ostrich horses were never meant to fly, and she freaked out every time. They couldn’t keep her.
It didn’t make this any easier.
“I will make sure that she get’s back to your friend.” The man promised, and Zuko knew he should trust him, Uncle trusted him. Still, he had to fight himself to step back.
“Be good for Sensu.” He ordered, nodded at the man, and stomped to Appa, forcing himself not to look back.
It was for the best.
Why did that never help?
The professor was chattering excitedly about and to Appa, but Zuko largely ignored him to look at the picture of the library. It was a beautiful and stately building, absolutely gigantic. Aang shot him a grin. “Shouldn’t be too hard to find a place like this out here.”
Several hours later, that was proved demonstratively false. Uncle had gotten though an entire ‘how to interact with a spirit’ lecture complete with stories of his time in the spirit world in his two year stretch after Lu Ten’s death, and he had made them create appropriate offerings for the spirit, and all that had been hours ago and there was still nothing.
For all of his adventures and knowledge, Zei didn’t have any interesting stories or myths to tell, and Zuko swore if Toph did the ‘I found it!’ prank one more time, he was going to purposely burn her food next time he helped Katara cook. Finally, after forever of looking out at what might as well have been a beige ocean, Sokka managed to spot the very tip of a buried library. Zuko scowled. So much for that, even if there were any books in the buried building, the sand would have ruined anything significant ages ago, only the documents currently being carried in by the knowledge seekers would be legible at all.
The firebender rolled his eyes as the professor started trying to dig it out with a spade smaller than his hand. “Actually,” Toph said, her hand flush against the bit of visible building. “That won’t be necessary. The inside seems to be completely intact, and it’s huge.”
“That fox thingy-“
“Spirit messenger.” Iroh corrected, but Sokka continued on.
“Went in through a window. I say we climb up there and give it a look.”
Toph refused, reasonably pointing out that libraries didn’t have much interest for someone who couldn’t read. Zuko suspected she also wanted to practice sand bending a bit. He tired to suggest that Iroh keep her company, if only to keep the old man from having to try and climb up and down a rope, but the man resolutely refused to allow them to face such a powerful spirit without him, even with the ‘bridge between worlds’ present.
Zuko was at the bottom of the rope before it really hit him that the library was underground, as in buried, as in no windows or sky or air and almost no light or- he took deep breathes as the others admired the architecture, pointedly looking up to the high-high ceilings that were so difference from the shallow, claustrophobic cave. He’d almost managed to calm himself down when Wan Shi Tong shuffled into view with the soft fluttering of feathers and heavier-than-human footsteps.
That… was at least a distraction.