History of Aang (Spring 100 AG)

After defeating Fire Nation Admiral Zhao's invasion force and saving the Northern Water Tribe, Avatar Aang headed to the Earth Kingdom to learn earthbending.

The Avatar State
While journeying to the Earth Kingdom via a Water Tribe ship, Aang dreamt that he was in the Avatar State, but he was outside his body, witnessing it firsthand. This frightened him and he awoke with a start. Aang, Katara, and Sokka parted ways with the Water Tribe citizens accompanying them and set off for Omashu where Aang would learn earthbending from King Bumi.



Aang and the team traveled to a military base from where they would be escorted to the metropolis. They met Fong, an Earth Kingdom general who believed Aang was wasting time mastering the elements. He devised a plan to trigger the Avatar State whose power would enable Aang to defeat the Fire Lord. Feeling guilty because of the casualties of the Hundred Year War, Aang agreed. First, they tried using a stimulant tea which induced a state of hyperactivity in Aang. Next, Sokka attempted to scare him into the Avatar State by making it seem as if Momo's head had replaced Sokka's. Lastly, they tried by creating a mixture comprising of the four elements which was subsequently thrown onto Aang. However, the mixture ended up simply being mud that merely caused Aang to sneeze on everyone.

Aang came to realize that he should not try to trigger his Avatar State. Hoping that Fong would understand, Aang confronted him, but Fong foolishly tried to trigger the Avatar State by ordering his troops to attack the Avatar. When that failed, Fong used his earthbending to bury Katara. This enraged Aang, who fell under the Avatar State. Although initially overjoyed at his success, Fong quickly realized the error of his ways; he tried to explain that he had faked Katara's death in order to induce the Avatar State. However, Aang used a powerful wave of earthbending to defeat Fong and his troops. He was subdued only when Avatar Roku communicated to him during the battle, briefly taking him into the Spirit World. Roku explained that the Avatar State empowered the Avatar with the skills and knowledge of all his past lives. While in the Avatar State, Aang was at his most powerful, but also at his most vulnerable. Should an Avatar die while in this state, Roku warned, the Avatar Cycle would die with it and the Avatar would cease to exist. With the explanation completed, Roku returned Aang to his body.

Having regained his senses, Aang saw the damage that he had caused and felt ashamed. General Fong, on the other hand, was overjoyed that Aang had entered the Avatar State, and suggested that they begin finding a way to control the Avatar State. Sokka knocked Fong out before he could proceed with his idea, and the group left for Omashu without an escort.

The Cave of Two Lovers
While the friends were relaxing, a group of Earth Kingdom nomads appeared, displaying the characteristics of carefree, nature-loving people. Upon hearing the team's plans to travel to Omashu, the earth nomads spoke of a shortcut through a tunnel passing under a mountain. Although Sokka did not trust these new characters, the kids later followed the nomads to the tunnels after an unsuccessful attempt to fly over the mountains.

Just before they entered, the leader of the nomads mentioned that the tunnels formed a labyrinth protected by a curse. Only those who put their trust in love could find the way through; those who did not would be forever lost. Sokka created a map while traveling through the labyrinth, but the map proved useless due to the fact that the tunnels were constantly changing around them. When a cave-in suddenly occurred, Aang's quick action saved everyone from being crushed by the falling rocks; however, the resulting catastrophe separated the group. Aang, Katara, and Appa were in one group, while Sokka and Momo, to Sokka's great displeasure, were forced to travel with the musical nomads, who assured him that he should not "let the falling rocks turn his smile into a frown."



After traveling for an extensive period of time, Aang and Katara encountered a large tomb designed for the two lovers spoken of in lore. By reading script around the walls, they discovered the true story of the two lovers. The final line in the script stated, "Love is brightest in the dark." Inspired by this, Katara suggested a possible way to navigate the labyrinth by following the example of the lovers and kissing. Although Aang, due to his unexpressed but growing affection for Katara, found this idea highly intriguing, he attempted to reassure an embarrassed Katara that he could not imagine kissing her. When she was put out by this response, he assured her that what he meant was, in choosing between a certain death and kissing her, he would definitely choose to kiss her, insisting "it [was] a compliment!" This cooled the ardor between them for a while, but later, as the torch was burning out, desperation and possibly affection led them to dare the unknown. In the resulting darkness, Aang and Katara found out that glowing crystals embedded in the ceilings of the tunnels led to the exit. The two and Appa succeeded in navigating their way out of the cave. Soon after, the entire team was reunited. Concluding this, Aang, Sokka, and Katara finally arrived at Omashu only to discover, much to their devastation, that it had been conquered by the Fire Nation.

Return to Omashu
Despite the dangers of being caught, Aang decided to enter the city and search for Bumi. Although Katara believed it was time Aang to find a different earthbending teacher, Aang explained that Bumi was not just an earthbending teacher but a friend. Aang, Sokka, and Katara infiltrated the city via a sewer. Upon emerging, Sokka found several creatures called pentapi stuck to his face; they turned out to be harmless, and Aang removed them. Moments later, they encountered three Fire Nation soldiers who questioned why they were out past curfew. Aang quickly covered his arrow tattoo with a piece of cloth and Katara said that they were just on their way home. The soldiers decided to let them go until they noticed the marks on Sokka left by the pentapi, raising their suspicion. Katara quickly fabricated an explanation, claiming him to have "pentapox", a very contagious disease. The soldiers ran away in fear, thus the team avoided capture.

In Omashu, a Fire Nation official, his wife, baby son, and daughter Mai learned of Aang's presence in the city. Mai chased after the trio, firing a barrage of knives their way. The team, however, avoided these attacks after suddenly ending up in an underground base where Omashu's army was present. The trio inquired about the Fire Nation's conquest of the city to which an Earth Kingdom captain revealed that King Bumi surrendered to the Fire Nation, much to the dismay of the army. Aang stated that the best course of action was for the citizens of Omashu to depart; he devised a plan to give all the citizens the fake disease, "pentapox". This strategy succeeded with the Fire Nation governor ordering all citizens to be evacuated; unbeknownst to the governor, however, his own infant son accidentally left the city alongside the citizens.



While stationed securely outside the city walls, the team received a ransom note, proposing an exchange of the governor's son for King Bumi. Although the exchange was ultimately called off, Aang was still able to communicate with Bumi. Bumi explained to Aang the value of jing, or battle strategy, focusing primarily on neutral jing in which one does nothing. He revealed that he deliberately allowed the city to be captured by the principle of neutral jing, where one should remain in place and wait for the opportune moment to strike; this principle is the key to earthbending. Realizing the value of Bumi's judgment, Aang departed the city on Appa while Bumi bent his way up the mail shaft.

Visions in the swamp
The team flew on Appa above a giant swamp, with Aang staring at it in a sort of hypnotic trance and slowly lowering the bison toward it. When Sokka inquired as to Aang's reasons for doing so, the Avatar came out of his trance and claimed that the swamp was "calling him". Sokka tried to convince Aang to simply ignore this intuitive feeling and continue flying past, but Aang was still highly intrigued because of what King Bumi told him about listening to the earth. He resolved to leave after the others stated their suspicions about the swamp. However, a sudden tornado appeared, rampaging toward the team and forcefully causing them to fall down into the swamp.

Aang, Katara and Sokka were separated from Appa and Momo due to landing in different places. Aang began to search for their animal friends, but returned having not found them. He also said that the tornado had just "disappeared". The trio, led by Sokka, tried to find Appa and Momo with Sokka chopping everything in sight with his machete. Aang told Sokka to "be nice to the swamp". Katara agreed with Aang, as she felt some supernatural qualities in the swamp; claiming that it felt "alive". Sokka kept chopping around anyway. but Aang said that the longer they stay there, the more he thought Sokka should not do that. Though Katara and Aang still believed something supernatural was going on in the swamp, Sokka dismissed their concerns. They later saw strange glowing eyes, and got a little afraid. The strange thing that was looking at Aang was shown again, still unseen. This time it grabbed each of them with its vines. They awoke from their sleep, and each managed to escape from the vines using their styles of fighting. The trio ended up in separate places.

Aang saw a strange girl with a pet flying boar giggling at him, and he began to chase her. He kept chasing the girl, but she disappeared just as the trio was reunited. They reached the center of the swamp, which was a giant tree. Aang believed that the swamp was calling them there. All of a sudden, the giant monster who earlier had grabbed them appeared.



Aang and Katara finally defeated the swamp monster who was really a waterbender, Huu, bending the water in the vines. He said the swamp is just one big tree, stretching out its roots for miles. He also said that the whole world is one organism like the swamp. If one listened carefully, he explained, they could hear everything breathing together because everything is connected. He went on to explain each person's visions. In the swamp, people have visions of people they have lost, though they are not really gone. Aang's vision continued to perplex him because he was certain he had never met the girl, but realized he will meet her in the future. Aang then discovered that if he listens to the earth, then he can find Appa and Momo. Aang went into a semi Avatar State, and a glowing line drew him straight to Appa and Momo. Aang and Katara confronted the natives to free Appa and Momo, and the natives were revealed to be waterbenders as well.

Avatar Day
Once in an Earth Kingdom village, the three kids learned of "Avatar Day". They watched a parade with giant floats that were made to look like Kyoshi, Roku and Aang. The trio at first believed that the festival was honoring the Avatar, but then a man torched the three floats to the loud approval of the village, who chanted, "Down with the Avatar!"

Aang revealed himself as the Avatar, only to be arrested. While in his jail cell, the village's mayor explained to him that "Avatar Day" was formed after Avatar Kyoshi killed the village's leader, Chin the Great. To prove Aang's, or rather Kyoshi's innocence, Sokka and Katara searched the village and returned to Kyoshi Island to find evidence that said otherwise. The evidence was useless because in the trial, the opposing sides only told what they believed had happened. Solely based on those stories, the jury, consisting of the town's mayor, decided who was innocent and who was guilty; for this case, the village mayor served thus as both prosecution and jury. Meanwhile, Aang, still in his jail cell, had somewhat befriended the other prisoners. One of them advised him to open up to Katara about his feelings.



During Aang's trial, after hearing the village mayor's story and Aang's vague version, he was found guilty. Refusing to give up, Sokka and Katara had Aang dress up in Kyoshi's old uniform.

Surprisingly, Kyoshi manifested herself through Aang's body and announced to the village that she did indeed kill Chin the Great, or "Conqueror", as she called him, but that it was for good reasons. Once Kyoshi's spirit disappeared and Tong got over his shock, he condemned Aang for the murder of Chin and ordered the Wheel of Punishment to be brought out so Aang could spin it to determine his punishment. Much to the excitement of the villagers, it halted on "boiled in oil", but before the sentence could be carried out, the Fire Nation bandits, the Rough Rhinos, arrived to claim the village in name of the Fire Lord. Fearing for his safety, the mayor quickly changed the punishment to community service, and pleaded with Aang to defeat the warriors and save the village. Aang accepted his punishment and with the help of Katara and Sokka, the trio quickly defeated the warriors in battle and expunged them from the village; as an added bonus, Sokka regained his boomerang during the battle as it fell out of the saddle bags of one of the soldiers. In order to thank the Avatar for saving the village, the mayor decided that "Avatar Day" would no longer be a day of hatred, but a day to commemorate and honor the Avatars for the protection they gave the village in time of need. Since Aang was not boiled in oil on this day, the celebration involved eating effigies of the Avatar made from uncooked dough.

Search for an earthbending teacher


Aang and the trio went to the town of Gaoling to continue the search for someone to teach Aang earthbending. While searching, Aang got a free earthbending lesson from Master Yu, but he found that Yu cared more about having him pay for lessons then he did about teaching them. Afterwards, they heard from a pair of students about Earth Rumble VI, a Lei Tai tournament featuring several powerful earthbenders. The boys were not very inclined to help Aang with the location, until Katara secretly used her "feminine charm", which involved freezing them to the walls, to convince them to tell.

At the tournament, they saw a powerful earthbender named The Boulder, who defeated every challenger he came across. Sokka completely got into it, but Aang was not very impressed, saying that the Boulder was "just listening to his big muscles", rather than listening to the earth around him. The Boulder defeated several other contenders, until he worked his way up to the current champion, The Blind Bandit, a blind earthbender who happened to be Toph, a twelve year-old girl. Aang noticed the Bandit's techniques, especially how she waited and listened carefully to the movements of her opponent, and realized that she was the type of person that Bumi said would make a good earthbending teacher. He also realized that she was the girl whom he saw in his vision in the swamp.

The announcer of the tournament, Xin Fu, offered a large sum of gold to whoever could defeat the Blind Bandit in a fight. Seeing an opportunity to talk to the Bandit, Aang challenged her. While Aang wanted to talk, the Bandit was ready for a fight, and she refused to engage in conversation and launched a rock from underneath which lead her to ask if his nickname was the "Fancy Dancer" after landing softly followed by him shrugging with a smile. She was not ready to face an airbender, and was defeated when Aang blew her out of the ring. The Bandit took badly to her loss, and stormed off, refusing to even listen to Aang.

Later, Aang and the others returned to Master Yu's school to try to find out where the Blind Bandit lived. They approached the students they had confronted earlier, both of whom were quite intimidated by Katara. However, they did not get much information, until Aang remembered the flying boar he had also seen with the girl in his vision. The boys told them that the flying boar is the symbol of the Beifong family, the wealthiest family in the town.

Aang and company traveled to the family's house, where they were accosted by the Bandit, now wearing the same dress Aang saw her wearing in the swamp. The girl, Toph, who called him "Twinkle Toes" and did not want to help them, and called the house guards to chase them off.



That evening, Aang used his status as the Avatar to gain a formal audience with the entire Beifong family. He tried to get her father to talk her into helping him, but Toph used her earthbending to keep him from saying anything revealing. Her parents and teacher were completely unaware about her true skill, and she wanted to keep it that way. After numerous earthbending interruptions, Aang retaliated by sneezing, bringing the dinner to both a premature end and into everybody's face.

After dinner, Toph approached Aang to call a truce, and spoke with him. Her parents, seeing her as a weak and fragile child due to her blindness, treated her as being far more helpless than she really was. So, she began sneaking out of the house and mastering earthbending on her own, secretly competing in tournaments and surpassing her "teacher" in skill. Suddenly, the pair was ambushed and captured by Xin Fu and his stable of earthbenders, who wanted their money back. Toph was later freed and, after defeating Xin Fu's earthbenders, rescued Aang.

As Aang and the others got ready to leave, Toph ran up to them, saying that her father had changed his mind, and decided to allow her to travel with them. Sokka wisely offered to leave quickly before her father "changes his mind again". Toph was ready to go, but she wanted to show Aang one thing first. Aang hopped down from Appa, and she promptly launched him into a tree. Toph, declaring them even, demanded to have her championship belt returned.

Showdown
Team Avatar was pursued by a train-like machine belonging to Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee. Their machine allowed them to cover great distances at high speeds, preventing Team Avatar from getting their much needed rest. Aang and his friends were repeatedly forced to escape, draining the last of their power and patience, until Katara and Toph's differences got the better of them, and Toph left the group after a bitter fight.



Aang attempted to deceive Azula by leaving a false trail of Appa's shed fur, telling Katara, Sokka and Appa to go somewhere safe. Azula anticipated his plan, sending Mai and Ty Lee in the direction she believed the group to have gone, and followed Aang's fabricated trail herself.

Azula found Aang in an abandoned town. She and Aang stood facing each other at a stand-off, soon joined by Zuko, who took up a fighting stance between the pair, making it a triangle of enemies. Azula fired the first shot, hitting Zuko hard and knocking him back. All three exchanged blows until the duel was joined by Katara, Sokka, Iroh, and Toph. The six of them managed to create a semicircle in front of Azula, and back her into a corner. She surrendered, and for one brief second Iroh let his guard down, turning to see his comrades. Azula took advantage of this and launched a blast of fire at him, striking him in the chest. Zuko let out a horrified cry, and all four benders unleashed their power against her. After or during the large explosion that resulted, Azula disappeared, blocking the attack with a fire shield. Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph gathered around Iroh but Zuko yelled at them, telling them to go away and backing up his words with a sweeping arc of flame. Aang, respecting his need for privacy, led the group away.

Earthbending training


Aang awoke from his sleep, excited that he would finally begin his earthbending training with Toph. He enthusiastically asked her what they would do first, and Toph replied that they would simply learn how to move a rock. Toph taught Aang that earthbending required a firm, steady stance, and she demonstrated the technique by sending a rock into a wall. Aang tried to emulate her, but he ended up hitting the rock with airbending and propelled himself backwards.

Aang got confused with why he could not move the rock while in his correct stance. He tried to find an alternate solution, but Toph explained that creative thinking was the problem. Earthbending required a head-on approach. Aang then trained by doing several activities involving rocks and started to become successful with the many different training activities.

Toph decided that Aang should learn stop a rock that would be coming toward him. She put a blindfold around his eyes and rolled a boulder down a steep hill toward him. Aang then flinched and jumped over the rock, and Toph yelled at Aang and called him a wimp. Katara tried to console Aang by teaching him some more waterbending.

In a marsh, Aang was moving a small mass of water with Katara. She tried to tell Aang to face the issue instead of avoiding it. Aang, however, was unable to do that. Katara explained that Aang was working with his opposite element, earth. She then surprised Aang by throwing a reed at him. Aang was able to use water to cut the reed into two pieces before it reached him. Katara congratulated Aang for having reflexes of a waterbending master, and Aang replied to her as "sifu", meaning teacher, Katara.



Toph taunted Aang about his submissiveness by abusing his staff. She walked away, but Katara arrived, saying that Sokka had not been found yet, and they split up to search for him. Aang then found him, stuck in a hole he had fallen in while he trying to hunt. Sokka then asked Aang to help, but Aang refused to ask Toph.

The critter that Sokka had attempted to hunt returned, and Aang identified it as a saber-tooth moose lion cub. Then the mother of the cub arrived, and she was furious that they were in possession of her child; therefore she started to attack Aang and Sokka. Aang tried to initially avoid it, but he eventually faced the mother head-on and sent her away. Toph, who was silently observing the conflict, congratulated Aang, but Aang demanded that she gives his staff back. Toph then said that Aang was thinking like an earthbender, and Aang finally was successful at earthbending a rock.

Wan Shi Tong's Library
Each of the members of Aang's group decided to take a "mini-vacation", as a way to unwind after all the work they have done; Sokka, on the other hand, thought the group should be working on getting "intelligence" on the Fire Nation, most specifically a map for when Aang must hunt down the Fire Lord. The group met Professor Zei, who told them he was searching for a legendary library said to be in the middle the Si Wong Desert; the library, said to have been created by the spirit of knowledge and his fox servants, has more valuable tomes than any other place in the world. Sokka, believing he may be able to get information on the Fire Nation there, dedicated his "vacation" to finding the place.

Flying on Appa, the group soon found the library, which was buried in the sand, except for its single, highest tower. Aang, Katara, Sokka, Momo, and Professor Zei used a window to enter the library; Appa stayed outside, of course, as did Toph, who cannot read since she is blind. Toph also mentioned that, because of the desert sand, she could not feel the vibrations in the ground as well as she normally could and thus her seismic sense was impaired.



When the group entered the library, they met the spirit, Wan Shi Tong, who constructed the library; taking the form of a large owl, the spirit initially did not trust them. The spirit, apparently, disliked the fact that humans only use knowledge to get an advantage over other humans; he brought up the last human to have discovered his library, who happened to be Admiral Zhao, and believed the group only wanted to get information to help them defeat their enemies, which is, of course, true, but they convinced him otherwise.

Sokka found a burned paper that mentioned "the darkest day in Fire Nation history"; it had a date but no other information. It also turned out that Zhao, before leaving, destroyed every other bit of information about the Fire Nation, probably to prevent exactly what Sokka and the others were trying to do. However, a fox, one of Wan Shi Tong's animal helpers, found the group, and led them to a room dedicated to astronomy. There, a date could be entered on a stone wheel, which then showed the sky on that particular date; when Sokka entered the date of "the darkest day", it showed a solar eclipse occurring. The group realized that solar eclipses must weaken or take away firebending, in the same way lunar eclipses affect waterbending; they realized they could use this information to plan an attack on the Fire Nation forces.

Soon, however, Wan Shi Tong found out their plans, and decreed that he will no longer allow humans to misuse his beloved information; he attacked the group, while the library began to sink, that way it will be completely underground forever, taking the knowledge with it. Outside, Toph began to hold up the tower using her earthbending so that the others could escape. However, at the same time, sandbenders abducted Appa, while Toph found it impossible to hold up the tower and simultaneously fight them. They made off with Appa and escaped.



Inside the library, Aang and Sokka hurriedly tried to use the astronomy room to find the next date of a solar eclipse; it turned out the next one was in a few months. They planned to give this information to the Earth Kingdom armies of Ba Sing Se to help in the War. The group then quickly escaped, except for Professor Zei, who said he would rather spend eternity in the library than see it vanish forever. The others had no choice but to leave him. They escaped before the library vanished into the sand. Toph told Aang that Appa had been stolen by sandbenders, and he was completely heartbroken.

In the Si Wong Desert
Infuriated, Aang unreasonably blamed Toph for Appa's kidnapping. Seeing how everyone was more focused on making their way through the desert than on his lifelong friend, Aang flew off on his own in search of Appa. Aang's search proved to be fruitless, with him engendering a gigantic mushroom-like cloud in frustration. After returning to the others, the group continued their trek through the endless desert, with Aang acting despondent, if not outright, hostile and bitter over their situation all the way. The group eventually came across an abandoned sand-sailer and compass, which they used to travel to a large rock formation in the desert's center. There, they were attacked by a hive of buzzard wasps, one of which Aang viciously struck down after it had attempted to take Momo.



The group then encountered the sandbenders themselves, one of whom Toph identified as the person who stole Appa. Aang demanded to know where his bison was, threateningly obliterating their desert sailors one by one before slipping into the Avatar State. The sandbender Ghashiun confessed that he had traded Appa over to some merchants and that he was probably in Ba Sing Se by now where he would be sold. The wind and sands twisted around Aang as he proceeded to fully enter the state. Katara, however, managed to make her way to him and calm him down. Tears rolled down his face as he fell into her arms and out of the Avatar State.

To Ba Sing Se
After the group got out of the desert, they met a refugee family with a pregnant mother traveling to Ba Sing Se. The group helped the family to an underground ferry way that led to the city. While there, Sokka and the others were reunited with Kyoshi Warrior, Suki, who was there helping war refugees. Later, the family lost their documents so Aang, Katara, Toph, Sokka, and Suki agreed to help them cross the Serpent's Pass.

As the group traveled along a sheer cliff side of the pass, Suki pointed out Fire Nation forces patrolling the water, telling them that they were rumored to be working on a secret project. As they continued, Tahn fell when the ground underneath him crumbled. Toph saved him, but the falling rocks drew the attention of the patrol ship, which launched a fireball at them. Aang leaped into action, knocking the ball back and striking their engines. The ship returned fire, hitting the rock face above them, and sending debris falling toward Suki. Sokka pushed Suki out of the way, and Toph saved him by deflecting the rocks. Sokka was too worried about Suki's safety to be thankful to Toph for saving his life, which greatly annoyed her. The group ran to the shelter of an outcropping rock, leaving the ship behind to tend to its damage.

When the group stopped for the night, Aang was one of the only ones not sleeping. Katara tried telling him that it was okay for him to miss his sky bison, and asked why he was acting so distant. Aang reminded her that he was so upset about losing Appa that he could not control himself and that he hated feeling like that. Katara tried reasoning with him, and told him that he was not letting himself feel anything now and that sometimes it hurts to care. Katara tried to get Aang to promise that he would not stop caring about Appa, and offered him a hug. He declined and walked away, leaving Katara disappointed.



The next morning, Aang's group came to a large setback: A portion of the pass was currently underwater. Katara stepped forward, parting the waters to allow them to pass. As the path got deeper, Aang helped her, forming a bubble of air for them to walk underwater safely. Momo, seeing a fish swimming by, jumped out into the water to catch it, but quickly jumped back in when something huge swam by. As it turned out, the Serpent's Pass was named and feared not for its shape, but for the gigantic sea serpent that swam in the surrounding waters. The serpent attacked the bubble, forcing Toph to raise the sea floor under their feet to bring them up to the surface. This stranded them in the middle of the water, with the serpent circling around. Aang attacked the serpent, telling Katara to get the others across while he distracted it. Katara created an ice bridge for the others to cross, then leaped to help Aang without a second thought. Together, Aang and Katara managed to drive off the serpent, using currents to slam it into the cliff. When the group finally crossed the Serpent's Pass, Ying went into labor. Katara, who had had experience in birthing children, quickly took charge, despite having Sokka pass out like an old lady in the process.

The baby, a girl, was born with no complications, thanks to Katara. Aang, seeing the family coming together, renewed his hope, which was what the family decided to name the baby. Aang chose to go on ahead of the group to find Appa, but before he went, he told Katara how he felt about her. Katara let a few tears run down her cheeks, and she and Aang embraced in a hug before he and Momo left to look for Appa. Aang and Momo flew over to the wall of Ba Sing Se, where they made a terrible discovery: a massive drill, escorted by tundra tanks, was approaching the wall.

Battling the drill


After Aang reunited with his friends and they met with General Sung, the group tried to figure out a way to destroy the drill. Sokka eventually got the idea of taking it out by striking it from the inside, on its pressure points. While Toph tried to slow it down from the outside, Aang, Katara and Sokka sneaked inside to sabotage the drill. After ambushing an engineer and finding a set of blueprints, the group figured out that they needed to cut through the braces that hold the machine together with waterbending. After long and exhausting work, Katara and Aang only managed to cut through one brace. Knowing that they will never destroy the drill in time at this rate, Aang remembered what Toph had been teaching him, and suggested they only cut partway through the braces, then deliver a final blow at the top.

Later, just as they decided that they had cut through enough braces to go to the top, the group was attacked by Azula, Mai and Ty Lee. Deciding to split up, Sokka and Katara tried to leave the drill while Aang went to deliver the final blow. When he got to the top, he found the Earth Kingdom soldiers dropping boulders on the drill and him. After cutting a wedge in the metal with waterbending, he shaped one of the boulders into a spike. Just as he was finished carving the wedge, he was attacked by Azula, resulting a furious duel, during which Aang was briefly knocked unconscious, and almost fell off the drill. He managed to run part way up the wall and destroyed the war machine, splattering the wall and the spectators atop of it, specifically the general, with muddy water.

Life in Ba Sing Se
Riding the earth rail, the group finally entered Ba Sing Se. Sokka was confident that they will easily find Appa, but the city was bigger than they had imagined. Soon after they arrived, Aang and his friends were met by Joo Dee; a cheerful, incessantly smiling woman assigned to guide them around the city. Attempts by Sokka to try and get their guide to talk about the war and a possible audience with the Earth King were invariably ignored.

In the Upper Ring, Aang and his group were finally taken to their new home. When a possible audience with the Earth King was finally mentioned, it was revealed that they had to wait at least a month. It soon became apparent that within the walls of the city, no one wanted to talk or even think about the war raging in the rest of the world. Even Aang's attempts to find Appa did not bear any fruit as nobody seemed willing to divulge any information to them, thanks to some meaningful glances from Joo Dee. Along the way, they also saw members of the Dai Li — elite guards who ensured safety to Ba Sing Se's culture and society.



Katara made a plan to sneak into a party with Toph to receive an audience with the Earth King. Aang and Sokka eventually arrived, after Katara and Toph, at the palace and managed to get in through the side entrance disguised as servants. Aang was soon exposed as the Avatar, but he quickly smoothed things over with a display of his abilities to entertain the audience, until the Earth King himself arrived. Sokka was captured and dragged away by Dai Li guards, and Katara and Toph were bound and gagged with earthbending. Aang himself was confronted by Long Feng, who revealed himself to be the Grand Secretariat of the Earth King, and head of the Dai Li. Aang was then led to a room where the others were waiting.

Inside Long Feng's chamber, Sokka tried to talk about the upcoming solar eclipse, but was abruptly cut off by Feng. To preserve the culture and utopian life within the walls of Ba Sing Se, Feng explained, no mention of the war was permitted. It was also revealed that Feng was in charge of handling day-to-day affairs in the city, including all military matters. The king himself was no more than a figurehead, a beloved icon. When Aang threatened to talk and tell everyone about the war, Feng countered with their expulsion from the city. He then went on to say that if Aang persisted, he may never find his missing bison again. After the statement from Long Feng, the group was escorted out by a woman who called herself Joo Dee, though was not the one who they initially had met.



In a side story, Aang was flying high over Ba Sing Se, and landed at a small zoo looking for Appa. Glancing around, he saw a wide variety of animals, all of which were miserable in their small cages. Many of them were partially starved and hungry. Kenji, the zookeeper, told Aang that the zoo was no longer receiving funding from the Dai Li because it was no longer popular with the children. However, in a circle of troubles, nobody came to the zoo because it did not receive the funding and was quite filthy; one of the cages showed an animal lying near multiple piles of feces. Kenji would like nothing more than to let his animals run wild in open spaces. Aang then suggested moving the animals to an open area just outside the city.

The animals proved much more difficult to control than Aang had originally thought, and they ended up running wild over the city, terrorizing the citizenry. Hog monkeys destroyed a shop, various animals attacked the citizens and the cabbage merchant had his cabbages eaten by a rabaroo. After trying to restore order, Aang pulled out his bison whistle and blew a huge burst of air through it using airbending. He then hopped on an air-scooter as the animals ran after him.

Meanwhile, Kenji frantically tried to get the guards to open the gate. They refused until they saw the oncoming stampede. Once the gates were open, Aang reached the other side and hopped on his air scooter again. Using earthbending, he created a wall around the animals. He continued to earthbend paths, secluded areas and habitat accessories. The children and their families came flocking to the new zoo, and the zookeeper thanked Aang for his help. Kenji told Aang he should have a job with animals. However, the zoo animals were not the only creatures that followed the sound of the whistle; as many cats, dogs and half cat-half-dogs were also inside the animal pens. Afterwards, Kenji decided that Aang should "stick to saving people".

Lake Laogai


At Team Avatar's temporary home in Ba Sing Se, Sokka was attempting to draw pictures of Appa, but Aang and Katara burst in with a stack of professionally-made posters they had a printer make featuring much better pictures of the lost bison than Sokka's crude drawings. The group planned on spreading the flyers all over the city, hoping someone will have some information. Aang spread these posters by flying on his glider and dropping them throughout the city.

Later, Aang returned home, impatient to see if the flyers had had any success. He sat down on the floor, after Katara mentioned it only being the first day of the flyers being passed out. There was suddenly a knock on the door after the first second that Aang had sat down for. Aang's whole face lit up and he said, "Wow, patience really does pay off!" The visitor turned out to be the original Joo Dee, holding one of the posters. When confronted about her absence, she explained that she took a short vacation to Lake Laogai. She informed the group that dropping fliers without clearance was against the rules. Aang felt that he had had quite enough of the "rules" (this scene briefly showed his chibi version for his little outburst), and told Joo Dee off, saying that he intended to find Appa, and that she should stay out of his way. Sokka replied that may come back to bite them in the blubber. Toph was elated at the opportunity to break the rules, and expressed this joy by breaking the side wall of their home with earthbending.

Out in the city, the gang was setting up more posters when Katara ran into Jet. He told her that he wanted to help, but Katara distrusted him and attacked. Jet deflected her attacks, and tried to prove his honesty by dropping his hook swords. The others arrived, drawn by the noise, and Jet tried again to explain himself. Then Jet showed them a flyer. Toph, reading Jet's heartbeat and breathing patterns through the ground, pronounced that he was telling the truth.

On their way out, the group was sidetracked when Smellerbee and Longshot, the other Freedom Fighters, happened to cross their path. Katara once again confronted Jet, as he had claimed to have left the gang behind. Jet insisted that he had been living alone in the city, but Smellerbee claimed that he was dragged away by the Dai Li. Toph realized they were both telling the truth, even though their stories did not match. Sokka quickly figured that Jet had been brainwashed by the Dai Li.

The group made their way to Lake Laogai the next day, and Toph quickly found and uncovered the underwater entrance. The gang found themselves confronted by Long Feng and several Dai Li agents, and a battle quickly ensued. Toph showed the true mastery of earthbending when she incredibly took down several Dai Li agents. Long Feng managed to escape, with Aang and Jet in hot pursuit. Long Feng tried to make one last bargain with Aang, to leave the city immediately in exchange for their freedom and Appa, but he and Jet refused. Long Feng then told Jet the same sentence he told Joo Dee earlier, and, like the hostess, his eyes went blank, and Jet turned on Aang.



Aang was trying to get Jet to snap out of his trance, while avoiding his attacks. He finally got through to him by reminding him of his past as a Freedom Fighter. The memories of his old comrades awoke Jet, and he hurled one of his hook swords at Long Feng, who dodged and retaliated with earthbending. After dealing a grievous blow to Jet, Long Feng escaped as the others entered the chamber. Katara tried to heal Jet, and realized just how badly he was injured. Longshot, speaking for the first time in the series, told Aang and his group that they should go and find Appa, and leave Jet to Smellerbee and himself. Jet tried to assure Katara that he would be fine, but as they left, Toph sorrowfully claimed that Jet was dying. As the four exited the room, Smellerbee tended to Jet while Longshot pointed his bow at the doorway in case Dai Li agents enter the room.

Team Avatar finally reached Appa's cell, only to find the chains broken, and Appa gone. Thinking that Long Feng had taken him, they rushed back to the surface, only to find themselves surrounded by the Dai Li. Momo suddenly took off into the sky, only to have Appa come down and break through the Dai Li trap. Long Feng tried to attack Appa, only to have his foot caught in Appa's mouth, with the bison then throwing him into the lake. Long Feng's body skipped three times on the water before sinking, followed by Appa spitting out one of his shoes. Aang and the others joyfully reunited with the flying bison. As Team Avatar flew away, Katara looked back at the lake, deeply saddened by Jet. The group then shared a reassuring hug.

The Earth King


Less than an hour later, Aang and his friends were on a small island recovering, and discussing what they should do. Katara and Toph both wanted to leave Ba Sing Se, as they had found Appa and thus had no reason to remain there. On the other hand, Sokka wanted to stay to inform the Earth King of all that was taking place within Ba Sing Se, as well as the approaching solar eclipse, as this was their entire reason for heading toward Ba Sing Se in the first place. Aang agreed with him. Ultimately, the others agreed to do so, and all four rode Appa back to Ba Sing Se's Upper Ring, and managed to break into the palace, tearing their way through the Royal Guards despite a strong defense.

At the palace, Aang and his friends finally reached the Earth King's throne room, where they were encountered by Long Feng and many Dai Li, who stood before the Earth King as a last defense. They attempted to inform the king about the war, of which he knew nothing, and Long Feng's conspiracy, but had difficulty due to their position as well as his trust in his advisor. Long Feng attempted to arrest them, until the Earth King realized that Aang was the Avatar; he then decided it best to at least hear out Aang and his friends after seeing his pet bear, Bosco, acting friendly toward the child.

Aang went on to explain the various events going on that the Earth King was unaware of: a war outside Ba Sing Se's walls, Long Feng and the Dai Li's conspiracy, the imprisonment of Appa and the brainwashing of Jet and countless other individuals. Long Feng denied all the charges brought against him, even claiming that he had never even encountered a Sky Bison. As the Earth King pondered over the apparently unlikely allegations, Long Feng whispered in his ear that Aang and his friends were part of an "anarchist cell" attempting to overthrow him. The Dai Li bound the group with earthbending, and the Earth King ordered the group to be detained, but Sokka had an epiphany, and with Aang's airbending, exposed a bite mark that Long Feng received from Appa in their encounter at Lake Laogai. Long Feng claimed it was a birth mark, but Aang then produced Appa to compare the mark to the bison's teeth. The Earth King was unconvinced of the larger accusations of conspiracy in the city, but expressed a willingness to investigate more closely into the matter. Long Feng frowned sourly at all this, and shuffled off quietly with his Dai Li.

The Earth King arrived at the Outer Wall, and was shocked to see the remains of the Fire Nation's drill leading right up to and through Ba Sing Se's Outer Wall. Long Feng made a hurried attempt to pass the drill off as part of a construction project, but the Earth King was clearly unconvinced, and ordered the Dai Li to arrest Long Feng. The two Dai Li agents accompanying Long Feng shared a conspiratorial glance, and then bound Long Feng's arms with metal manacles. When they returned to the palace, he also agreed, after some persuasion to support Sokka's plan to invade the Fire Nation on the day of the solar eclipse, dubbed by Sokka "The Day of Black Sun", when the Fire Nation will be helpless.

The Earth King's top generals, the Council of Five, raided Long Feng's office and discovered files about every person in Ba Sing Se, including Aang and his friends. Included was the note from Guru Pathik that was attached to Appa's horn prior to his capture, informing Aang that he could teach him how to control the Avatar State; a letter from Toph's mother, saying she was in the city and wanted to meet her daughter; and an intelligence report giving the location of Water Tribe warriors led by Hakoda, Sokka and Katara's father.



Aang and Sokka prepared to leave Ba Sing Se, and before they did, Aang tried to confess to Katara of his love for her, but Sokka unknowingly interrupted him before he could say anything, much to Katara's annoyance. But before Aang hopped onto Appa, he did get a hug and a kiss on his cheek from her. Aang and Sokka made their way over the plains surrounding Ba Sing Se on Appa, convinced that things were finally going positively for them. However, back in the city, the circumstances took a suddenly negative turn. The Kyoshi Warriors arrived before the Earth King, who formally welcomed them. Unknown to the king, however, they were actually Azula, Mai and Ty Lee, disguised in Kyoshi garments and face paint.

Training with Pathik
Aang and Sokka landed at the mouth of Chameleon Bay, where they were told that Sokka's father Hakoda and the rest of the Southern Water Tribe warriors were. Sokka was very nervous, but Aang tried to calm him down and succeeded somewhat. Sokka questioned Aang on his feelings toward meeting Guru Pathik to master the Avatar State. Aang smiled, and replied that he, unlike Sokka, was not nervous in the least. He then took off on Appa, shouting back to Sokka that they will reunite in a week.



Aang arrived at the Eastern Air Temple, and found Guru Pathik meditating atop the same pillar he was on before Appa's departure. Guru Pathik introduced himself as a spiritual brother to the air monks, and a good, close friend of Monk Gyatso. Aang asked Pathik how he planned on teaching him how to gain control of the Avatar State, to which Guru replied that he must first bring balance to himself before he could bring balance to the world. The Guru first asked Aang to simply drink a liquid, which Aang did before spitting it out, as it was a strange combination of onion and banana juice. Pathik then began Aang's instruction of the chakras. Chakras are nexuses of metaphysical and/or biophysical energy residing in the human body. In order to master the Avatar State, Pathik said that he must first open the seven chakras of the body. After determining that Aang has absolutely no knowledge of the nature of chakras, Pathik provided a visual representation. Using a pond clogged with algae, he successfully explained to Aang the concept of chakras, stating that by removing the clogs between pools, the water was allowed to flow, just as energy was allowed to flow through the body when the seven chakras are open. There are seven chakras within the body, each with a purpose and each with a different blockage: An intense sensation results from the opening of them all. Pathik warned that the process of opening the chakras cannot be halted once it has begun- it must be completed in order to succeed. Aang accepted this risk and they began the process.

The first chakra is the earth chakra, located at the base of the spine. It deals with survival, and is blocked by fear. Aang went into meditation, and saw himself surrounded by fire, sitting before a man who appeared to be the Fire Lord. Although surrounded by his visions, Aang was able to clearly hear Pathik's advice on how to address the emotion. After some reassurance, Aang was able to clear his thoughts, and the images disappeared. Aang dropped out of his meditative trance and Pathik congratulated him before they moved on.

The second chakra is the water chakra, which deals with pleasure, and is blocked by guilt. When asked what he blamed himself for, Aang replied that he regretted running away from the Southern Air Temple upon receiving the pressure accompanying his position as Avatar. Also, he regretted harming others while in the Avatar State, as at General Fong's base. Pathik replied that Aang must accept what had happened, and not allow them to influence his judgment. In order to benefit the world, Aang must forgive his own actions, which he was able to accomplish.



Aang and Pathik prepared to open the third chakra, the fire chakra, which is located in the stomach. Aang somewhat jokingly remarked upon learning this that he was hungry, and Pathik treated it in good humor before quickly moving on. He explained that the fire chakra deals with willpower, while it is blocked by shame. Aang had a vision of when he first attempted firebending, and severely burned Katara's hands. He repeated aloud the promise he made afterwards: that he will never firebend again. Pathik dismissed this, saying that in order to obtain balance, Aang must accept all aspects of his life. As the Avatar, Aang must firebend. Aang breathed in and out once, releasing the chakra.

Aang and Pathik had now moved on to open the fourth chakra, the air chakra. Located in the heart, this chakra deals with love, and is blocked by grief. Laying his grief before him, Aang meditated, and saw all of the monks he knew, with Gyatso at the front, all of whom had died because he abandoned them. He watches sadly as they slowly fade away into dust. Love, according to Pathik, is a form of energy, and flows around everything, and that the monks' love for Aang is still all around them, and manifests itself inside of new love- for example, as Aang saw, the love he felt for Katara. Aang released the chakra, teary-eyed, and asked for more juice before they continue.

The fifth chakra is the sound chakra, and is located in the throat. It deals with truth, and is blocked by the lies people tell themselves. Pathik said that all must accept who they are, and that Aang must accept he is the Avatar, even though he never wanted to be. Aang sighed, and quickly and calmly accomplished this, therefore opening the chakra.

Aang and Pathik moved quickly to the next chakra. Located in the center of the forehead, the sixth chakra is the light Chakra, which is responsible for insight, and is blocked by illusions. The greatest illusion, Pathik explained, is that of separation: things that appear separate but are, in truth, one and the same. Aang mentioned the four nations, and Pathik agreed, stating that the people of the world are in reality one people, despite their decision to live as separate nations. Even the separation of the four elements is an illusion, Pathik explained. He mentioned metal, which is simply earth which has been purified and refined. After this one was cleared Pathik said that one did not flow like a creek but more of a burping bison. In reply Aang let out a loud burp.

Aang and Pathik arrived at the seventh and final chakra. Pathik congratulated Aang and stated that with the final chakra's opening, he will be able to willfully enter and exit the Avatar State, as well as control his actions within it. The thought chakra, located at the crown of the head, deals with cosmic energy, and is blocked by earthly attachment. Aang was asked to meditate on what he was attached to, and images of Katara flooded his mind. Now that Aang had focused on that which he was attached to, Pathik instructed Aang to let the attachments go. Aang suddenly became angry, finding the idea of letting go of Katara ludicrous, as he loved her. He also questioned why he should not allow himself to feel this love when Pathik stated previously that it was beneficial to him. Pathik narrowed his eyes, but remained calm, and stated that if Aang ever wanted the pure cosmic energy to enter him, he must let go of all earthly attachments, including Katara.

The argument continued, with Pathik telling Aang he must open all of the chakras to master the Avatar State. Aang decided to at the least try to do so, and he began to let go. He visualized an image of Katara disappearing into space, and himself being taken high above the planet to walk along a purple stream of cosmic energy. The stream was radiating from a gigantic image of himself in the Avatar State, which surrounded him in a sphere of energy radiating from its palms. However, Aang was suddenly shocked when an image of Katara, struggling in chains and screaming for help, appeared behind him. He abandoned the Avatar State, and began running toward the image. The stream of cosmic energy dissipates, and Aang plummeted to the Earth. Jolting awake from his meditation, Aang desperately said that Katara was in trouble, and that he must go back to Ba Sing Se to help her. Pathik stopped him, telling him that by choosing attachment, the last chakra had become blocked- if he left now, he will not be able to go into the Avatar State at all. Aang hesitated, but then continued on without looking back or responding.

Turning point
Sokka and Aang both hurried back to Ba Sing Se on Appa. As they flew along, they spotted Toph, who was trying to get back to the palace as quickly as she could. They picked her up and flew to Ba Sing Se, flying quickly to get there and see if Katara was all right. When asked if he had mastered the Avatar State, Aang lied to the others, saying that he had.

When they arrived at the palace, the Earth King reassured them that Katara was fine, but Aang and his friends checked their apartment just to be sure. As they searched the apartment, Toph sensed someone at the door, but she soon knew who it was after a knock. She told Aang and Sokka that it was an old friend of hers. It happened to be Iroh. He told them that Azula had captured Zuko and that he needed their help. Sokka grew defensive but changed his mind after a short discussion. Iroh then motioned to a captured Dai Li agent who was trapped by Toph in a pinch of rocks. After Sokka's questioning, Team Avatar learned of a coup that was supposed to start that day, and that Katara was being held captive in a secret underground cave that was part of Old Ba Sing Se.



Outside the palace, the gang discovered that there was indeed a huge underground city, and decided that Toph and Sokka should go to warn the Earth King about the coup, and Iroh and Aang were sent to rescue Katara and Zuko. Traveling down a tunnel to this prison, Aang mentioned that Toph said Iroh gave great advice and tea. He also told him of the events of his meeting with Guru Pathik. When questioning his choice, and saying how he doubted his abilities without the Avatar State, Iroh suggested that Aang was very wise to choose happiness and love over power and perfection, which were both overrated in his opinion.

Down below in their prison, Katara apologized to Zuko for how she yelled at him, and told him that for a long time, whenever she saw the face of the enemy, she saw Zuko's face. He turned away, touching his scar, assuming she was referencing to it; a mark he felt that was once symbol to his banishment, and to his "destiny" of chasing the Avatar forever. However, he had gained Katara's trust to the point where she offered to heal his scar using the water from the Spirit Oasis. However, before she could do anything, Aang and Iroh showed up, both of them embracing Katara and Zuko, respectively.



Zuko and Aang exchanged glares, and Zuko grew angry that Iroh was with the Avatar, and Iroh sent Katara and Aang off to help Sokka and Toph. Iroh then explained to Zuko that he was a different and changed man, stronger and wiser than ever before. He told Zuko that it was time for him to choose good. However, a mass of crystals entrapped Iroh, and Azula emerged. She said that she expected this sort of treachery from Iroh, but not from her brother. She began to feed him tales of how this was the most glorious day in Fire Nation history, and that if he joined her, Zuko will gain back his father's love and honor. Iroh begged Zuko to not listen to Azula, telling him that the kind of redemption Azula was offering was not the redemption for him, but Azula continued to plot, telling Zuko how she had planned everything, and that they will only win if he joined her. Iroh begged even more for Zuko to look deep inside his heart and see what he truly wanted. Azula sent the Dai Li away, and told Zuko that he could chose whatever he wanted, and she walked away; leaving him to ponder the two sides of the coin.

Aang and Katara rushed to save Toph and Sokka, however, Azula sent a bolt of fire at them. A battle ensued between Aang, Katara, and Azula, and just as Aang and Katara had her cornered, Zuko showed up. After a brief moment of dramatic tension, Zuko began fighting on Azula's side, to everyone's astonishment. In the midst of the battle, the two pairs switched off, with Zuko now fighting Katara, both using element whips on opposite sides of a river. Katara expressed her angry disappointment in Zuko, how she thought he had changed. He replied inscrutably, "I have changed." Aang and Azula charged at one another, and Azula sent a blast of fire, sending Aang soaring into the air.



Underground, the fight continued on, with Katara taking on both Zuko and Azula, before Aang managed to stand back up from being thrown earlier. He slammed into the ground, creating a tidal wave of earth barreling toward Azula and Zuko, but he was stopped by the Dai Li. Soon they were joined by dozens of Dai Li agents, and Katara assumed the octopus stance. Horribly outmatched, Aang realized there was no other choice and did the only thing he could think of—creating a quick crystal shelter with earthbending, he meditated, and decided to try to release his attachment to Katara in order to enter the Avatar State. He rose into the air, but before he could let go of Katara and gain control of the Avatar State, Azula shot him down with a lightning bolt to the back. At that moment, the Avatar Spirit fell from the plane of existence. As Aang fell back to the ground, Katara created a huge wave by waterbending, and managed to scatter the Dai Li, Zuko and Azula; and caught him before he hit the ground. Holding him in tears, she was defenseless, but Iroh suddenly appeared. He told Katara to escape, and that he would hold off Azula and the others as long as he could. Once they escaped, Iroh surrendered himself to the Dai Li and glanced at Zuko, quickly turning his head in shame.



Iroh was crestfallen of Zuko's decision. The entire group managed to escape and while flying away on Appa, and Katara used her Spirit Oasis water to heal Aang, who initially appeared dead. With a quick flash of light, nothing occurred, and Katara began to cry and held Aang close. Then Aang's tattoos glowed shortly and he opened his eyes and smiled at her. Overwhelmed and relieved that he was okay, Katara embraced him closer.

Meanwhile, in the palace, Zuko fretted over betraying Iroh. However, Azula reassured him by telling him that it was actually Uncle that betrayed them, not the other way around. Zuko then asked Azula about returning to the Fire Nation, raising his doubts about being accepted and having his honor restored since he did not have the Avatar. Azula again reassured him by saying that he had restored his own honor, though Zuko still seemed unsure. Azula was firmly in control of the city, and as the Earth King, Bosco, Momo, Toph, Sokka, Katara, and Aang flew atop Appa's back over the Outer Wall and out of the city, the Earth King looked back and sadly proclaimed, "The Earth Kingdom... has fallen."