The Last Woodbender Chapter 25 (The Library) (Patreon)

"There's...nothing here," Sokka observed bluntly as he looked around us. Aang had set us down near the desert because he said he wanted to show us something. So far, all he did was sit down and pull out a flute.

"Actually, there's a lot under here. There are hundreds of-."

"Sh! I know you can see underground but don't ruin the surprise." Aang insisted, interrupting Toph with a wide smile. Naruto crossed his arms.

"I'm assuming this has to do with all the little holes in the ground." Naruto pointed out. He just shushed once again before beginning to play single notes with his flute. His eyes widened in surprise as a little prairie dog rose up with each note to sing its little heart out. Okay, he had to admit that it was pretty cute.

"Hah, I'm putting together an orchestra!" Aang cheered. Katara giggled behind her hand while Sokka scoffed.

"Orchestra, huh? Well, la dee da." He offered sarcastically. Naruto elbowed his side.

"Let the boy dream. I feel like singing animals would be a big hit." Naruto said with a shrug. For some reason, it just sounded like something that would work, at least for a little bit. Just as Aang went to blow another note, Sokka walked up and plugged the instrument with his finger.

"This is great and all, but don't we have more important things to think about? We should be making plans." He insisted. Naruto groaned. What a downer.

"We did make plans. We're all choosing mini vacations!" Toph reminded with a smirk. It was mostly Katara's idea. She didn't want to overwork Aang. Toph and Naruto were just always up for a fun time. The blonde didn't know if stopping to see prairie dogs was really a 'vacation,' but he wasn't complaining.

"We don't have time for vacations!" Zuko gave his piece of mind. He was a little annoyed.

"I'm working as fast as I can to master the elements! I'm training with Toph and Katara every day. I'm working my arrow off!" Aang countered with a surprisingly effective pout. His childish face works in his favor.

"Yeah, what's wrong with having a little fun in our downtime?" Katara added as she walked up to put her hand on Aang's shoulder.

"Nobody likes a try-hard Zuko. Sometimes you just have to relax for a little bit and smell the impending doom." Naruto said, putting his hands on his hips. For some reason, he didn't seem to like his little pep talk.

"Oh ha ha, you're so hilarious. But even if Aang does master the four elements, what are we supposed to do next?! Just walk up to the fire lord's house and knock? We need a map. We need more intelligence!" Sokka shouted as he glared at all of them, especially Zuko.

"Don't look at me. I haven't been home for years now. I doubt me and my uncle can help in this one." Zuko groaned loudly.

"I think you're the only one who needs to worry about 'finding more intelligence.'" Naruto laughed out. He made it too easy. Naruto dodged a playful nudge from Katara in her attempt to be the responsible member of the group.

"He said it, not me. I'm just agreeing." Naruto could practically feel the burns Sokka was trying to inflict with his glares. Someday he would learn to appreciate his support. Ignoring him, Aang walked up to Katara with a map of the nearby areas.

"It's your turn Katara! Where do you want to go on your mini-vacation?" He unfolded the map in front of her. Naruto looked over her shoulder as she considered her options. There weren't a whole lot of places nearby, considering it was a desert.

"How about the Misty Palms Oasis? That sounds refreshing." She said, pointing at the little ice image on the map. It sounded pretty cool. Aang grinned as he looked down at the parchment.

"Oh yeah, 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."

Later

"Must've...changed ownership since I was here...heh." Aang chuckled nervously as they stared at the sad little area. It was basically barren except for a couple of sand huts and the main ice block in the center. It was smaller than Appa and obviously in the process of melting down.

Naruto flinched as the sign to the 'oasis' crashed to the ground behind them. Okay, the place was a bit more run-down than he expected. Well, he supposes that's to be expected after over a hundred years.

As they walked through the center, Naruto glanced over at a wild dog that was licking the centerpiece of ice. Naruto was pretty sure that wasn't helping the whole melting situation.

At the back of the oasis stood a larger sand hut with a cloth curtain in front of it. It seemed to be the main hub. They walked over there, and as they approached, Naruto examined the three figures standing off to the side of the building. They were sand benders, it seemed.

They didn't exactly have the best reputation in other parts of the world, known as bandits and a clan of thugs. Of course, they weren't all like that, but a large percentage were. Naruto cautiously passed them while watching in the corner of his eye.

Toph and Aang both entered the hut, but just as Sokka was about to, one of the sand benders spat at his feet. His face skewed up in disgust as Sokka glared heatedly at the offender, who just smirked widely with missing teeth. Katara quickly pulled Sokka inside before anything bad could really happen. Zuko and Iroh followed the others. Naruto just gave the sand men a pointed glare before following the others inside.

Inside was basically just as dead as the outside. A few patrons lay sleeping around tables. There was a bar of sorts that a man with long swords stood behind. Another man wearing a large straw hat stood in front of the counter.

"One mango, please." He ordered. With a few swipes that impressed Naruto, the bartender slipped a bowl made of ice onto the counter and finely chopped up a mango before scooping it into the bowl. He grabbed a nearby pitcher and poured some juice of sorts into the bowl as well before plopping a straw and a tiny umbrella into the now-finished drink.

He did all this with his swords, might Naruto add. Cool, but pretty unnecessarily complicated.

The hat guy grabbed the drink, tossing a copper coin onto the counter. Sokka smiled slightly as he stared at the drink.

"I don't see anything wrong with enjoying one of those fruity beverages as we plan our strategy." With that, he pushed through us before rushing to the bar. Naruto rolled his eyes before following the others further into the room.

"Oof!" Aang grunted as the hat guy suddenly ran into him, spilling the mango drink down the front of his shirt. The man went to apologize, but Aang just waved him off.

"Don't worry. I clean up easy." And proceeded to air-bend the juice off of him. If there were any fire nation nearby, they would be dead. Naruto glanced around nervously, but nobody stood to attack them, so he assumed they could continue peacefully for once.

The man gasped in awe, "You're a living relic." He stared at Aang with a wide grin. Huh, weird way to refer to someone.

"Thanks, I try." Aang shrugged.

"An air nomad, right in front of me. I'm Professor Zei, head of anthropology at Ba Sing Sei University. Now tell me, which of the Air temples do you hail from?" Zei grabbed Aang's arm, examining it closely as he began to question him. He even pulled out some weird metal contraption and began measuring his head.

"The southern temple."

"Oh, splendid! Now, what was the primary agricultural product of your people?"

"Uh, are fruit pies an agricultural product?"

"Oh, truly fascinating, that's one for the journal." He hummed, pulling out said journal and beginning to write in it. This guy was a bit off. Or he was obsessed.

"So...professor, you're obviously a well-traveled guy. Do you have a more current map? Ours seems to be a little dated." Sokka interjected in curiosity with his fruity beverage in hand. The professor pulled himself away from his notes with a smile.

"Certainly, here, let me get it." He reached around his bag and pulled out the rolled-up map before handing it to Sokka. Grabbing it, Sokka quickly laid it on the nearest table and spread it out, and examined it.

"What, no fire nation? Doesn't anybody have a good map of that place?" He groaned out in exasperation. Naruto shrugged.

"The Fire Nation makes sure to keep their secrets inside. The only way to get a good map would be to go there." Iroh informed the group, and the others groaned, with Zuko nodding along.

"Wow, you've made a lot of journeys out into the desert," Katara observed as she pointed at all the lines drawn out. They spread far into the desert, but they didn't seem to have the goal.

"All in vain, I'm afraid. 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." He waved his hands in a grand gesture. Toph and Naruto shared a look of disbelief before she turned to him.

"You've spent years walking into the desert looking for some guy's library?" She questioned with a smirk. Books were obviously not one of her favorite things.

"This library is more valuable than gold, little lady. It is said to contain a vast amount of knowledge, and knowledge is priceless." He explained sagely. While Naruto agreed that knowledge is important, this guy spent years trying to find a library in a desert to answer his questions instead of actually exploring and trying to answer them himself.

Sure, libraries make it easier, but Naruto thinks it would've been more fun to explore things themselves. Toph's smirk faded to an unimpressed look of boredom.

"Mm, sounds like good times." The professor, oblivious to her sarcasm.

"Oh, it is! According to legend, the library was formed by the great spirit Wan Shi Tong and his foxy assistants." At that, Sokka zoned in with a smirk.

"Oh, so he has some attractive helpers, huh?" He asked. Ew, men. Katara rolled her eyes and pushed Sokka's head away.

"I think he means that they actually look like foxes Sokka." She glared. Zei nodded to both of them.

"You're both right. They're handsome little creatures. Wan Shi Tong and his helpers collected knowledge from all over the world and compiled it into this library for mankind so that we might better ourselves." He stated, pulling out a sketch of the grand library. It looked huge.

"Wait, is this thing a spirit?" Naruto's curiosity was peaked now, looking at the professor intensely.

"Ahh. I think so." The man confirmed with a little shrug of his shoulders. Naruto's eyes widened, knowing this was an excellent opportunity to learn everything about himself. Why can I firebend, and why did my family die?

"So if this place has books all over the world, do you think they have info on the fire nation? A map, perhaps?" Sokka questioned with a grin.

"I wouldn't know, but if such a thing exists, it will be in this library." Zei nodded. Zuko raised a brow at this.

"Um, I'm pretty sure there are other places we could find a map. Less...hidden places." Zuko suggested. While the fire nation probably did keep their maps more under lock and key, there had to be some leaks to be found. These would at least be easier to find than an ancient library that was hidden very purposefully, it seemed.

Obviously, if people couldn't find the library currently, that had to mean it was hidden by this Wan Shi Tong guy. It was originally made for mankind to access, after all. Though with all that's happening in the world, it's no wonder a spirit would want to cut human access off from it.

"But, we don't know for sure we'd find a map or even if it would be accurate. Aang, I believe it's my turn to choose a vacation. I wish to spend my vacation at the library!" Sokka struck a ridiculous pose, pointing his right hand up into the sky.

"Uh, hey! What about Naruto and me? When do we get to pick our vacation spots?" Toph huffed. Naruto nodded in agreement.

"Toph, you gotta work here a little longer before you qualify for vacation time. And Naruto...well, you will get your turn soon." He responded as he placed his hands on his hips. Naruto glared at him as Toph mumbled at the unfairness of it all.

"Of course, there's the matter of finding it. I've made several trips into the Si Wong desert and almost died each time. I'm afraid that desert is impossible to cross." Professor Zei sighed in defeat. Aang and Sokka shared a smile before turning to the man.

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