Aang

Book 1: Water
When Aang was a child, he unknowingly revealed that he was the reincarnation of the Avatar when he chose four toys out of thousands--turtle (Water), a string-powered propeller (Air), a Hog-Monkey (Earth) and a drum (Fire). These four toys were the same ones that past Avatars had chosen for generations when they were children. This is the same procedure a child must go through in order to be recognized as the reincarnation of a Tulku Lama in Tibetan Buddhism. According to the book Magic and Mystery in Tibet by Alexandra David-Néel, “a number of objects such as rosaries, ritualistic implements, books, tea-cups, etc., are placed together, and the child must pick out those which belonged to the late tulku, thus showing that he recognizes the things which were his in his previous life”.

Raised by Airbender monks, Aang grew up in the idyllic surroundings of the Southern Air Temple. Aang was a carefree young boy, given to frequent travel, play, and possessing an almost effortless mastery over his native element. His world drastically changed when the monks revealed that he was the Avatar, destined to master all four elements and bring peace to the world.

Usually, the Avatar is told of his or her true identity only after turning sixteen; however, Aang's caretakers feared that a war between the Four Nations was on the horizon and believed that the Avatar would be needed to help maintain balance. Aang soon began to feel overwhelmed with the burden of his position. His peers ostracized him for his airbending skill, while his caretakers pressured him to mature too quickly.

The only monk sympathetic to Aang's feelings was the elder Monk Gyatso, Aang's Airbending teacher and guardian. When the burden weighed heavily on his favorite student, Gyatso worked to instill a sense of fun through jokes and games. He sincerely believed that Aang should be allowed to grow up as a normal boy. However, the other monks disagreed. Citing Gyatso's attachment to the boy as an interference, they decided to send Aang away to the Eastern Air Temple to focus on his training, oblivious to the fact that Aang had overheard their caucus.

Confused and frightened by what he had learned, Aang fled from his home on his flying bison, Appa, towards the South Pole. While over the Southern ocean, a sudden storm caused Appa to plunge deep into the sea. Entering the Avatar State, Aang reflexively used Airbending to surround himself and Appa in an air bubble that quickly froze into an iceberg, putting them into a state of suspended animation for the next hundred years.

In the present day, two teenage siblings from the Southern Water Tribe - Katara, a Waterbender, and her brother Sokka - discovered and freed Aang from his iceberg. Aang's first thought from being freed from the iceberg was to go penguin sledding.

Aang soon discovered that in his absence, fears of war had became reality. The very year he vanished, the leader of the Fire Nation at that time, the ruthless Fire Lord Sozin, took advantage of the Firebending-enhancing powers of a mystical comet to launch a war on the three other nations. Unfortunately, to Aang's utter shock and disbelief, the Fire Nation's opening gambit had been a genocidal assault on the Air Nomads. All four Air temples were stormed, and the monks slaughtered, in an effort to break the Avatar Cycle, leaving him as the last known Airbender in existence.

Aang has since realized that the future of the Four Nations rests in his hands. It is his duty to defeat the Fire Nation and restore peace and harmony to the world. To achieve this, Aang and his newfound friends (and pets) set off on a quest to find and learn from Master Benders, while evading capture by the Fire Nation.

During one of their detours they land on Kyoshi Island (an island named after one of his incarnations), where they were captured by the Kyoshi Warriors; the inhabitants had kept out of the war for the past 100 years and thus were xenophobic to outsiders. The village elder Oyajii and the warrior Suki believed they were Fire Nation spies and were about to throw them to the Unagi, until Aang proved he was the Avatar and they became honored guests in the village. However, Aang's new celebrity status had gotten to his head; causing him to entertain and impress a group of fan girls. When Prince Zuko arrived on Kyoshi Island, he realized that by staying too long he had endangered the people. Therefore, by tricking the Unagi to spray water over the village, he put out of the flames of the battle and flew away so Zuko would follow him and leave the island.

In another 'detour', he took Katara and Sokka to the Earth Kingdom city of Omashu, where, long ago, his old friend Bumi took him on the world's biggest roller coaster ride on the city's postal system. After their own roller coaster ride, they were arrested for damages and taken before the King; the old King (who seemed to be crazy) encased Katara and Sokka in a strange mineral called "creeping crystal," and would only free them if Aang passed three tests. Afterwards, the King challenged Aang to guess his name, and Aang finally deduced that it was his old friend Bumi. King Bumi told Aang to end the war he must learn all the Bending Arts and defeat the Fire Lord himself.

When trying to help a village tormented by an angry spirit, he unknowingly entered the Spirit World. There he was contacted by Avatar Roku's dragon, who led him in his spiritual state to Roku's temple on a cresent island. By showing Aang various visions of a fiery Comet and beams of light shining towards Roku's statue, Aang realized he could talk with his previous incarnation during the winter solstice.

On the morning of the solstice, Aang and his friends passed through a Fire Navy blockade and entered the Fire Nation, journeying to the Avatar temple. With the help of the Fire Sage that was still loyal to the Avatar, Fire Sage Shyu, Aang managed to enter the inner chamber of the temple. Avatar Roku, who manifested himself when light from the solstice sun struck his statue, warned Aang of Sozin's Comet, a comet that returns once every one hundred years and greatly increases a Firebender's power. Fire Lord Sozin used the power of the comet to start the war a century ago, and Sozin's Comet will return at the end of summer. If Aang does not defeat the Fire Lord before the Comet's arrival, the Fire Nation will be unstoppable, and the Avatar unable to restore balance to the world. Aang despairs that he has not learned the other bending arts and will be unable to complete his training before the Comet's arrival, but Roku assures him that, as his previous incarnations have done, he will succeed.

Venturing through Northwestern Earth Kingdom, Aang and his friends decide go to a cultural festival in a Fire Nation occupied town so that Aang can witness some firebending, ensuring their safety from attack with disguises (although they acquire masks soon after their arrival). Regardless, it is discovered that Aang is the Avatar, and the three friends quickly attempt to escape from Fire Nation soldiers. Fortunately, their escape is aided greatly by a man named Chey. Chey tells them of a firebender named Jeong Jeong who deserted the fire nation. Chey takes them to him and he agrees to teach Aang firebending.

Jeong Jeong starts teaching Aang slowly, focusing exclusively on breathing exercises, but the young Avatar desires to learn more advanced firebending techniques. Jeong Jeong is greatly angered with Aang's lack of discipline, telling Aang vehemently that without control, firebending will bring nothing but unnecessary destruction, using a former student of his who displayed similar impatience and lack of discipline as an example. Aang quickly apologizes, and says that he is ready to learn Jeong Jeong's way. Jeong Jeong then proceeds to teach Aang to use real fire (much to Aang's enthusiasm). However, his enthusiasm is quickly deflated when Jeong Jeong only assigns him the simple task of preventing a leaf from being completely burned. Jeong Jeong then leaves to other matters, and Aang, still feeling restricted, takes his exercise to the next step and creates fire. Aang plays around with it for a little while, although Katara insists that he be careful. Then he accidentally burns Katara's hands when he attempts to imitate a move the performer made at the festival. Katara runs away crying, and Sokka becomes enraged as a result. Jeong Jeong, having returned, follows Katara into the forest. However, during this time Admiral Zhao (who is revealed to be the former student of Jeong Jeong) and his men locate the camp, and in turn battles Jeong Jeong (although the master's attempt is half-hearted).

Aang, hiding away in Jeong Jeong's hut in order to reflect over his error, is urged by Katara to aid Jeong Jeong. Although Aang feels terribly guilty, and promises to never firebend again, Katara's revelation of her healing restores his battle spirit. With a fiery display, Jeong Jeong and his men make their escape, while Aang confronts Zhao. Recalling Jeong Jeong's lesson of control, Aang provokes the firebending master, goading him into destroying his own ships. Zhao can only watch as his ships burn and sink into the river as Aang escapes. Aang demonstrates that some firebenders have little self-control; Zhao unintentionally destroys his own ships.With Jeong Jeong gone, the three resume their journey and leave the forest, a hard-learned lesson of fire's destructive power fresh in their minds.

As they progress towards the north, Sokka began to complain that Appa is flying too slowly, Aang defensively replied that they should all climb on Sokka's back and he could fly them to the North pole. Katara tries to soothe the situation remarking that they are all tired and cranky as a result of flying for two days straight. Just as Sokka is voicing his doubts about finding the Northern Water Tribe the group is attacked by Northern waterbenders who lead them to their Water Tribe.

Outside the great palace of the Northern Water Tribe Sokka and Katara are celebrated as family from the Southern Tribe, and Aang is honoured as a special guest. Aang and Katara are then delighted to see the Waterbending Master, Pakku, and his students performing elaborate and elagant waterbending moves for entertainment. After the Waterbending performance is over, Aang is introduced to Master Pakku. Aang is looking forward to Katara and himself learning Waterbending, after a few days rest. Master Pakku is unimpressed with his work ethic, telling Aang that he will receive no special treatment just because he is destined to save the world. If he is interested in learning Waterbending then they will be ready at sunrise.

The next day as they approach the palace, Katara expresses her joy at being able to learn from a real master, saying she has waited for this day her whole life. However she is horrified to learn from Master Pakku that it is forbidden for women to learn Waterbending. He advises her to go to the healing huts and learn from Yagoda to use her Waterbending to heal. Although Aang initially refuses to learn from Master Pakku, outraged at the unfairness, Katara makes him return by saying that he can't risk his training for her. So Aang begins to reluctantly learn from Master Pakku.

Sokka suggests that at night Aang teach Katara everything he has learned in the day. Katara is excited at this idea, it allows her to learn Waterbending and Aang will have someone to practice with, everyone will be happy. Sokka remarks that he's not happy, but Katara dismisses this by saying that Sokka's never happy, and she and Aang hurry outside to begin practicing. They look up to the bridge above them to see Master Pakku, angry that Aang has disrespected him, his teachings and his entire culture. Aang hastily apologises, but Master Pakku refuses to teach Aang anymore, saying he is no longer welcome as his student, before leaving. The next day at the palace, Katara pleads with Chief Arnook to make Master Pakku take Aang back as his student. Master Pakku agrees to continue training Aang.

Zhao begins to launch his attack against the Northern Water Tribe. Under the tutelage of Master Pakku, Katara's waterbending skills have improved to the degree she can defeat all of his pupils with ease. To both Pakku and Katara's annoyance, the same cannot be said for Aang. Meanwhile, Sokka takes Princess Yue on a ride on Appa, during which they nearly kiss. Soot begins to fall, Sokka recognizes it from when his tribe was attacked, and he knows that a massive attack is approaching.

The Northern Water Tribe prepares to defend itself from invasion and Sokka volunteers for a dangerous mission where several warriors will be forced to infiltrate the Fire Nation fleet. As the walls of the prestigious city begin to fall, Aang feels duty bound to prevent the same fate the befell the Air Nomads and the Southern Water Tribe. However, he finds that against such a vast fleet, he does not stand a chance and retreats in exhaustion.

Princess Yue, after relating the origins of the Water Tribe and its power, gives Aang an idea. If he can tap into the spirit world and meet with the Moon and Ocean Spirits, perhaps they can help him defeat the Fire Nation. Yue takes Katara and Aang to a hidden oasis and the most spiritual place in North Pole. Aang enters a trance after staring at the two koi fish in a pool and heads off into the spirit world. Katara is left to protect Aang. When Zuko arrives, Katara duels him, and with the power of the moon, is able to temporarily defeat Zuko. However, the sun rises and it enhances Zuko's powers, allowing him to defeat Katara. The Avatar is then kidnapped by Zuko while Katara is left unconscious until Yue brings Sokka and Appa back to The Spirit Oasis.

Zhao's invasion breaks through the outer wall of the Northern Water Tribe’s defenses, and he reveals a sinister plan. Zhao wants to kill the mortal manifestation of the moon spirit in order to destroy the moon, which would greatly weaken the Water Tribe.

Aang goes to the spirit world for help and is advised by Avatar Roku to see Koh, one of the oldest spirits in existence, but must be extremely careful when he does. Aang visits Koh, who steals faces if emotions are shown. Aang questions him and realizes that the white and black koi he saw swimming in the oasis are the moon and ocean spirits, Tui and La respectively. It is a race against time for Aang to get back and prevent Zhao from eliminating the spirits. He returns to the physical world with the help of a friend, Hei Bei, and escapes from Zuko due to the timely arrival of Katara, Sokka, and Princess Yue on Appa. Zuko and Katara have a rematch but due to the moon being out this time, Katara easily defeats him in a matter of seconds. Aang takes the unconscious Zuko with him, despite some disagreement from Sokka and Katara.

When Aang returns to the oasis, Zhao has already captured the white koi fish. Immediately, the moon glows red, creating a lunar eclipse and color seeps from the world. Iroh threatens Zhao against harming the Spirit of the Moon, and Zhao appears to listen, returning the koi. However, Zhao suddenly throws fire at the koi, killing it. The moon vanishes altogether from the sky. Iroh retaliates as promised and Zhao slips away. Iroh and Katara attempt to revive the Moon Spirit, but it is too late. Aang suddenly fuses with the Ocean Spirit into a giant spirit creature and massacres the Fire Nation's invasion force. A scene shows the creature observing the retreating fleet, and the next scene shows the fleet completely gone—suggesting that the Avatar mercilessly wiped out the entire fleet, to the last man.

After the battle, Pakku reveals to Katara his intention to head for the South Pole and help rebuild the tribe. He assigns Katara as Aang's new Waterbending master.

Book 2: Earth
Aang has a dream that he is in "Avatar State," but is outside his body and witnessing it first hand which frightens him. He wakes up, on a Northern Water Tribe boat that is heading for the earth kingdom. Aang, Katara, and Sokka leave the rest on the boat and set off for Omashu to learn earthbending from King Bumi.

Aang and the gang meet Fong, an Earth Kingdom general, who believes Aang is wasting time learning bending and should just try to trigger his Avatar Spirit and go after the Fire Nation. Aang feels so guilty over the casualties of the war he agrees. Aang later realizes that he should not try to trigger his Avatar State. Hoping that Fong would understand, Aang confronts him, but Fong foolishly tries to trigger the Avatar State by endangering Aang and, when that fails, endangering Katara. This enrages Aang, who falls under the Avatar State and manages to defeat Fong and his troops. However, during the battle, Avatar Roku communicates with Aang and explains that should an Avatar die while in this state, the Avatar Cycle dies with it.

While the friends are relaxing a group of Earth Kingdom nomads appear, displaying the characteristics of a carefree, nature loving people. Once the Avatar's group reveal their plans to travel to Omashu, the Earth nomads speak of a short cut through a tunnel passing under a mountain. Although Sokka does not want to trust these new characters, the kids later follow the nomads to the tunnels after an unsuccessful attempt to fly over the mountains.

Just before our heroes enter, the leader of the nomads mentions that the tunnels form a labyrinth protected by a curse. Only those who put their trust in love can find the way through; those who don't will be forever lost. Sokka plans to create a map while traveling though the labyrinth, but gradually finds that the map is useless due to the fact that the tunnels are changing around them. The Group then gets sepperated during a cave-in. Aang's quick action saves everyone from being crushed by the falling rocks, but the group is separated. Aang, Katara, and Appa are in one group, while Sokka and Momo are forced (to his great displeasure) to travel through the tunnels with the musical nomads, who assure him that he should not "let the falling rocks turn his smile into a frown.

After traveling for what is estimated at three hours, Aang and Katara encounter a large tomb designed for the "two lovers" spoken of in lore. By reading script around the walls, they discover the true story of the "two lovers". The final line in the script states "love is brightest in the dark." Katara is inspired by this to suggest a possible way to solve the labyrinth; perhaps by following the example of the lovers and kissing, she and Aang could find the way out. Although Aang (due to his unexpressed but growing affection for Katara) finds this idea highly intriguing, he attempts to reassure an embarrassed Katara that he could not imagine kissing her. When she seems put out by this response, he assures her that what he meant was that, in choosing between certain death and kissing her, he would definitely choose to kiss her ("It's a compliment!") This cools the ardor between them for a while, but later, as the torches are burning out, desperation (and possibly affection) lead them to dare the unknown. As the torchlight fades, we see them leaning toward each other, closing their eyes. In the resulting darkness, Aang and Katara find out that the two lovers put glowing crystals showing how to get out of the tunnel, and these crystals only glow in the dark. Finally, the two (plus Appa) get out of the tunnel. Soon after the group is reunited. Concluding this, Aang, Sokka, and Katara finally get to Omashu. When the gang sees the Fire Nation has taken Omashu they are devastated.

Despite the dangers of being caught, Aang decides to go off and try to find Bumi, although, Katara believes that it might be time for Aang to get a different earthbending teacher. Aang explains to Katara that Bumi is not just an earthbending teacher, he is a friend. Aang, Sokka, and Katara find their way into the city by going through a sewer and emerge from it unharmed save for Sokka who has several creatures called Pentapuses stuck to his face. These turn out to be harmless, and Aang removes them from Sokka's face. Not two seconds pass and they encounter a Fire Nation soldier who questions why they are out during curfew. Aang quickly covers the arrow on his head with a piece of cloth and Katara says that they were just on their way home, and the soldier decides to let them go. Just as they were leaving, the soldier notices the marks left by the Pentapuses and asks about them. Katara quickly says that he has "Pentapox," a very contagious disease. The soldier runs away in fear, thus they avoid capture.

In Omashu, a Fire Nation General, wife, baby son, and daughter Mai find out about Aang's presence in Omashu. Mai chases after Aang and tries to kill him by throwing hails of flying daggers at him. However Aang gets away and leaves Mai puzzled about where he had gone. The trio wonder where all the earthbenders have gone and an Earth Kingdom General reveals that King Bumi surrendered to the Fire Nation and that the rest of the Omashu Army were mad at him for not telling them to attack. Aang devices a plan to give all the citizens "Pentapox". The Fire Nation General orders all citizens to be evacuated.

Once Aang find Bumi, Bumi explains to Aang the value of Jing, or battle strategy. Aang says that he knows all about them and says that there's Positive Jing when one is fighting and Negative Jing when one is retreating. Bumi adds that there is Neutral Jing when one does nothing. Aang is surprised that there is a third one, and Bumi reveals that there are 85 in total, but tells Aang to focus on the Neutral Jing part. Bumi says that he deliberately allowed the city to be captured by the principle of Neutral Jing, where one should wait for a better time to strike and remain in place until then. This principle is the key to earthbending. Realizing the value of Bumi's judgment, Aang leaves on Appa while Bumi bends his way up the mail shaft again.

Sokka, and Katara are flying on Appa above a giant swamp. Aang stares at the swamp in a sort of hypnotic trance and starts lowering themselves into the swamp. When Sokka starts explaining what is happening to Aang, he comes out of his "trance" and starts telling Sokka and Katara that the swamp is "calling him." Sokka tries to convince Aang that there is nowhere to land and to move on, but Aang is still interested because of what King Bumi told him about listening to the Earth. Sokka, who is being usually stubborn says to ignore it. Aang starts to leave once Katara, Appa, and Momo start to complain about the swamp. Unfortunately, an oddly located tornado comes right toward the gang and they fall down with much force.

Aang, Katara, and Sokka are separated from Appa and Momo due to landing in different places. Aang begins to search for Appa and Momo. Aang returns having not found Appa and Momo. He also says that the tornado just disappeared. The trio led by Sokka try to find their animal friends with Sokka chopping everything in sight with his machete. Aang tells Sokka to be "Nice to the swamp." Katara agrees with Aang, as she feels some supernatural qualities in the swamp. She claims that it feels "alive." Sokka keeps chopping around anyway. Aang says that the longer they stay there, the more he thinks he shouldn't do that. Though Katara and Aang still believe something supernatural is going on in the swamp, Sokka dismisses their concerns. They later see strange glowing eyes and get a little scared. The strange thing that was looking at Aang is shown again, still unseen. This time it grabs each of them with its vines. They wake up from their sleep, and each manage to escape from the vines using their styles of fighting. The trio all end up in separate places.

Aang sees a strange girl with a pet flying boar giggling at him. Aang begins to chase her. He keeps chasing the girl, but she disappears and the trio is reunited. They reach the center of the swamp which is a giant tree. Aang believes that the swamp was calling them there. All of a sudden, the giant monster who earlier had grabbed Aang appears.

Aang and Katara finally defeat the swamp monster who is really a Waterbender, bending the water in the vines. He says the swamp is just one big tree, stretching out its roots for miles. He also says that the whole world is one organism like the swamp. If you listen carefully, he explains, then you can hear everything breathing together because everything is connected. He goes on to explain each person's visions. In the swamp, people have visions of people they have lost, though they are not really gone because everyone is connected. Aang's vision continues to perplex him because he is certain he has never met the girl, but realizes he will meet her in the future. Aang realizes if he listens to the earth, then he can find Appa and Momo. Aang goes into a semi Avatar State, and a glowing line draws him straight to Appa and Momo. Aang and Katara confront the natives to free Appa and Momo, and the natives, revealed to be Waterbenders.

Once in an Earth Kingdom village, the three kids learn of "Avatar Day." They watch a parade with giant floats that are made to look like Kyoshi, Roku, and Aang. The trio at first believed that the festival is honoring the Avatar, but then a man torches the three floats to the loud approval of the village, who chant, "Down with the Avatar!"

Aang reveals himself as the Avatar, only to be arrested. While in his jail cell, the village's mayor explains 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 search the village and return to Kyoshi Island to find evidence that says otherwise. Unfortunately, the evidence is useless because in these trials, the opposing sides only tell what they believe happened. Using only the two stories, the jury decides who is innocent and who is guilty; for this case, the village mayor serves as both prosecution and jury. Meanwhile, Aang, still in his jail cell, has become somewhat friendly with the other prisoners. One of them offers him advice about girls (that is, Katara).

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

Surprisingly, Kyoshi manifests herself through Aang's body (like how Avatar Roku did). She announces to the village that she did indeed kill Chin the Great (or "Conqueror," as she calls him), but it was for a good cause. Once Kyoshi's spirit disappears, the village brings out a wheel for Aang to spin to determine his punishment. It lands on "boiled in oil," but before the sentence can be carried out, the Fire Nation bandits, The Rough Rhinos, arrive to take over the village. Fearing for his safety, the mayor quickly changes the punishment to community service, and pleads with Aang to defeat the warriors and save the village. The trio engages the warriors in battle and is successful in driving them away, Sokka regaining his boomerang during the battle. In an act of thanks, the mayor decides that in the future, Avatars will be honored on "Avatar Day." Since Aang was not boiled in oil on this day, the celebration will involve eating effigies of the Avatar made from uncooked dough.

Aang and the trio go to the town of Gaoling to continue his search for someone to teach him earthbending. While searching, he gets a free earthbending lesson from Master Yu, but he finds that Master Yu cares more about having him pay for lessons then he does about teaching him earthbending. Afterwards, they hear from a pair of students about Earth Rumble VI, a Lei tai tournament featuring several powerful Earthbenders. The boys are not very inclined to help Aang with the location, until Katara uses her "feminine charm," which involves freezing them to the walls, to convince them to tell.

At the tournament, they see a powerful Earthbender named The Boulder, who defeats every challenger he comes across. Sokka completely gets into it, but Aang is not very impressed, saying that the Boulder is "just listening to his muscles". The Boulder defeats several other contenders, until he works his way up to the current champion, The Blind Bandit, a blind Earthbender who happens to be Toph, a 12 year-old girl. Aang notices the Bandit's techniques, especially how she waits and listens carefully to the movements of her opponent, and realizes that she is the type of person that Bumi said would make a good earthbending teacher. He also realizes that she is the girl in white he saw in his vision in The Swamp.

The announcer of the tournament, Xin Fu, offers a large sum of gold to whoever can defeat the Blind Bandit in a fight. Seeing an opportunity to talk to the Bandit, Aang challenges her. While Aang wants to talk, the Bandit is ready for a fight, and she refuses to engage in conversation. Unfortunately, she is not ready to face an Airbender, and is defeated when Aang blows her off the ring. The Bandit takes badly to her loss, and storms off, refusing to even listen to Aang.

Later, Aang and the others return to Master Yu's school to try to find out where the Blind Bandit lives. Asking the same boys Katara "asked" about the tournament (who are now quite intimidated by her), they do not get much information, until Aang remembers the flying boar he also saw with the girl in his vision. The boys tell them that the flying boar is the symbol of the Bei Fong family, the wealthiest family in the town.

Aang and company travel to the family's house, where they are accosted by the Bandit, now wearing the same dress Aang saw her wearing in the Swamp. The girl, Toph, does not want to help them, and calls the house guards to chase them off.

That evening, Aang uses his name to gain a formal audience with the entire Bei Fong family. He tries to get her father to talk her into helping him, but Toph uses her earthbending to keep him from saying anything revealing. Her parents and teacher are completely unaware about her true skill, and she wants to keep it that way. After numerous earthbending interruptions, Aang retaliates, bringing the dinner to both a premature end and into everybody's face.

After dinner, Toph approaches Aang to call a truce, and talks with him. Her parents, seeing her as a weak and fragile child due to her blindness, treat her as being far more helpless than she really is. 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 are ambushed and captured by Xin Fu and his stable of Earthbenders, who want their money back. Toph is later freed, and then rescues Aang.

As Aang and the others get ready to leave, Toph runs up to them, saying that her father changed his mind, letting her travel with them. Sokka wisely offers to leave quickly before her father "changes his mind again." Toph is ready to go, but she wants to show Aang one thing first. Aang hops down, and she promptly launches him into a tree. Toph, declaring them even, demands to have her championship belt returned.

Aang awakes from his sleep, excited that he will finally begin his earthbending training with Toph. He enthusiastically asks her what they will do first, and Toph replies that they will simply learn how to move a rock. Toph teaches Aang that earthbending requires a firm, steady stance. She demonstrates the technique by sending a rock into a wall. Aang tries to emulate her, but he ends up hitting the rock with airbending and propels himself backwards.

Aang, trying to figure out why he could not move the rock, since he did the correct stance. He tries to find an alternate solution, but Toph explains that creative thinking is the problem. Earthbending requires a head-on approach. Aang then trains by doing several activities involving rocks. He starts to become successful with the many different training activities.

Toph decides that Aang will stop a rock. Toph puts a blindfold around Aang's eyes and rolls a boulder down a steep hill towards him. Aang then flinches and jumps over the rock. Toph yells at Aang and calls him a wimp. Katara tries to console Aang by teaching him some more waterbending.

In a marsh, Aang is moving a small mass of water with Katara. She tries to tell Aang to face the issue instead of avoiding it. Aang, however, is unable to do that. Katara explains that Aang is working with his opposite element, earth. Katara then surprises Aang by throwing a reed at him. Aang is able to use water to cut the reed into two pieces before it reaches him. Katara congratulates Aang for having reflexes of a master Waterbender and Aang replies to her as Sifu (teacher) Katara.

Toph taunts Aang about his submissiveness by abusing his staff. She walks away, but Katara arrives, saying that Sokka has not been found yet. Aang and Katara split up to search for Sokka. Aang then finds Sokka, stuck in a hole while he tried to hunt. Sokka then asks Aang to help, but Aang refuses to ask Toph.

The critter (that sokka attempted to hunt) returns, and Aang identifies it as a Saber-Tooth Moose-Lion cub. Then the mother of the cub arrives, and she is furious. The mother sabertooth moose-lion starts to attack Aang and Sokka. Aang tries to initially avoid it, but he eventually faces the mother head-on and sends her away. Toph, who was silently observing the conflict, congratulates Aang, but Aang demands that she give his staff back. Toph then says that Aang is thinking like an Earthbender. Aang successfully earthbends a rock. Toph then drags Sokka out of the hole.

Each of the members of Aang's group decides to take a little "mini-vacation," as a way to unwind after all the work they've done; Sokka, on the other hand, thinks 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 meets Professor Zei, who tells them he is searching for a legendary library said to be in the middle of a nearby 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, dedicates his "vacation" to finding the place.

Using Appa to fly, the group soon finds the library, which is buried in the sand, except for its single, highest tower. Aang, Katara, Sokka, Momo and Professor Zei use a window to enter the library; Appa stays outside, of course, as does Toph, who cannot read since she is blind. Toph also mentions that, because of the desert sand, she cannot feel the vibrations in the ground as well as she normally can, making her lose her usual advantage.

When the group enters the library, they meet the spirit, Wan Shi Tong, who constructed the library; taking the form of a large owl, the spirit initially does not trust them. The spirit, apparently, dislikes the fact that humans only use knowledge to get an advantage over other humans; he brings up the last human to have discovered his library, who happened to be Admiral Zhao (Zhao mentions a library in "Siege of the North"), and believes the group only wants to get information to help them defeat their enemies (which is, of course, true). But they convince him otherwise.

Sokka finds a burned paper that mentions "the Fire Nation's darkest day;" it has a date but no other information. It also turns out that Zhao, before leaving, apparently destroyed every other bit of information about the Fire Nation, probably to prevent exactly what Sokka and the others are trying to do. However, a fox (one of Wan Shi Tong's animal helpers) finds the group, and leads them to a room dedicated to astronomy. There, a date can be entered on a stone wheel, which then shows the heavens on that particular date; when Sokka enters the date of "the darkest day," it shows a solar eclipse occurring. The group realizes that solar eclipses must weaken or take away their Firebending, in the same way lunar eclipses affect Waterbending; they realize they can use this information to plan an attack on the Fire Nation forces.

Soon, however, Wan Shi Tong finds out their plans, and decrees that he will no longer allow humans to misuse his beloved information; he attacks the group, while the library begins to sink, that way it will be completely underground forever. Outside, Toph begins to hold up the tower using her Earthbending, so that the others can escape; however, at the same time "Sandbenders" attack. Desert tribesmen, they travel in boat-like materials, using their Bending to travel; they come and begin to abduct Appa, while Toph finds it impossible to hold up the tower and simultaneously fight them. They make off with Appa and escape.

Inside the Library, Aang and Sokka hurriedly try to use the astronomy room to find the next date of a solar eclipse; it turns out the next one is in a few months. They plan to give this information to the Earth Kingdom armies of Ba Sing Se to help in the war. The group then quickly escapes, except for Professor Zei, who says he would rather spend eternity in the Library than see it vanish forever; the others have no choice but to leave him. They escape before the Library vanishes into the sand; however, the episode ends with Toph telling Aang that Appa has been stolen by sandbenders.

After the group got out of the desert, they met a refugee family travling to Ba Sing Se. The group help the family to a underground ferry way that leads to the city. While there the Sokka and he others are reunited with the Kyoshi Warrior, Suki who was there helping war refugees. Later the family lose their documents so Aang, Katara, Toph, Sokka, and Suki agree to heliping them cross the Serpant's Pass.

As the group travels along a sheer cliff side of the pass, Suki points out Fire Nation forces patrolling the water, telling them that they are rumored to be working on a secret project. As they continue, Tahn falls when the ground under him crumbles. Toph saves him, but the falling rocks draw the attention of the patrol ship, which launches a fireball at them. Aang leaps into action, knocking the ball back and striking their engines. The ship returns fire, hitting the rockface above them, and sending debris falling towards Suki. Sokka pushes Suki out of the way, and Toph saves him by deflecting the rocks. Sokka is too worried about Suki's safety to be thankful to Toph for saving his life, which annoys Toph. The group runs to the shelter of an outcropping wall of rock, leaving the ship behind to tend to its damage.

That morning, Aang's group comes to a large setback: A portion of the pass is currently underwater. Katara steps forward, parting the waters to allow them to pass. As the path gets deeper, Aang helps her, forming a bubble of air for them to walk underwater safely. Momo, seeing the fish swimming by, jumps out into the water to catch one, but quickly jumps back in when something huge swims by. As it turns out, Serpent's Pass is named (and feared) not for its shape, but for the gigantic sea serpent that swims in the surrounding waters. The serpent attacks the bubble, forcing Toph to raise the seafloor under their feet to bring them up to the surface. This strands them in the middle of the water, with the serpent circling around. Aang attacks the serpent, telling Katara to get the others across while he distracts it. Katara creates an ice bridge for the others to cross, then leaps to help Aang without a second thought. Together, Aang and Katara manage to drive off the serpent, using currents to slam it into the cliff. The group finally crosses the Serpent's Pass, just in time for the mother to go into labor. Katara, who's had experience in birthing children, quickly takes charge.

The baby, a girl, is born with no complications, thanks to Katara. Aang, seeing the family coming together, renews his hope, which is what the family decides to name the baby. Aang decided to go on ahead to find Appa, but before he goes, he tells Katara how he feels about her. Aang flies over to the wall of Ba Sing Se, where he makes a terrible discovery: A massive drill, escorted by Fire Nation tanks, is approaching the wall.

Along with the help of his friends, Aang destroys the drill and saves Ba Sing Se. Riding the Earth rail, the group finally enters Ba Sing Se. Sokka is confident that they will easily find Appa, but the city is bigger than they imagined... much bigger. Soon after they arrive, Aang and his friends are 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 are invariably ignored.

In the upper ring, Aang and his group are finally taken to their new house. When a possible audience with the Earth King is finally mentioned, it is revealed that they will have to wait at least a month. It soon becomes apparent that within the walls of the city, no one wants to talk or even think about the war raging in the rest of the world. Even Aang's attempts to find Appa bears no fruit as no one seems willing to divulge any information to them, thanks to some meaningful glances from Joo Dee. Along the way they also see members of the Dai Li — elite guards who safeguard Ba Sing Se's culture and society.

Katara makes a plan to sneak with Toph into a party. Aang and Sokka eventually arrive (after Katara and Toph) at the palace and manage to get in through the side entrance disguised as servants. Aang is soon exposed as the Avatar, but he quickly smooths things over with a display of his abilities to entertain the audience, until the Earth King himself arrives. Sokka is captured and dragged away by Dai Li guards as the Dai Li bind and gag Katara and Toph with earthbending. Aang himself is confronted by Long Feng, who reveals himself to be the Grand Secretariat of the Earth King and head of the Dai Li. Aang is then led to a room where the others are waiting.

Inside Long Feng's chamber, Sokka tries to talk about the coming solar eclipse, but is abruptly cut off by Feng. To preserve the culture and utopian life within the walls of Ba Sing Se, Feng explains, no mention of the war is permitted. It is also revealed that Feng is in charge of handling day-to-day affairs in the city, including all military matters. The King himself is no more than a figurehead, a beloved icon. When Aang threatens to talk and tell everyone about the war, Feng threatens them with expulsion from the city. He then goes on to say that if Aang persists, he may never find his missing bison ever again.

At Aang's house, Sokka is 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 plans on spreading the flyers all over the city, hoping someone will have some information. Aang spreads these posters by flying on his glider and dropping them throughout the city.

Later, Aang returns home, impatient to see if the flyers have had any success. He sits down on the floor, after Katara mentions it only being the first day of the flyers being passed out. There is a knock on the door after the first second that Aang has sat down for. Aang's whole face lights up and he says, "Wow, patience really does pay off!" It's Joo Dee... the first one who met them when they entered the city. She explains the mysterious disappearance as having taken a short vacation to Lake Laogai. She informs the group that dropping flyers without clearance is against the rules. Aang has had quite enough of the "rules", and tells Joo Dee off, saying that he intends to find Appa, and that she should stay out of his way. Toph is elated at the opportunity to break the rules, and expresses this joy by breaking the side wall of their home with Earthbending.

Out in the city, the gang is setting up more posters when Katara runs into Jet. He tells her that he wants to help, but Katara distrusts him and attacks. Jet deflects her attacks, and tries to prove his honesty by dropping his hook swords. The others arrive, drawn by the noise, and Jet tries again to explain himself. Then Jet shows them a flyer. Toph, reading Jet's heartbeat and breathing patterns, pronounces that he's telling the truth.

On their way out, the group is sidetracked when Smellerbee and Longshot happen to come across them. Katara once again turns on Jet, as he had claimed to have left the gang behind. Jet insists that he's been living alone in the city, but Smellerbee claims that he was dragged away by the Dai Li. Toph realizes they are both telling the truth, even though their stories don't match. Sokka quickly figures that Jet has been brainwashed by the Dai Li.

The group makes their way to Lake Laogai the next day, and Toph quickly finds and uncovers the underwater entrance. The gang find themselves confronted by Long Feng and several Dai Li agents. A battle quickly breaks out. Toph shows the true mastery of earthbending when she incredibly takes down several Dai Li agents. Long Feng escapes, with Aang and Jet in hot pursuit. Long Feng tries to make one last bargain with Aang, to leave the city immediately in exchange for their freedom and Appa, but he and Jet refuse. Long Feng then tells Jet the same sentence he told Joo Dee earlier, and, like the hostess, his eyes go blank, and Jet turns on Aang.

Aang is trying to get Jet to snap out of his trance, while avoiding his attacks. He finally gets through to him by reminding him of his past as a Freedom Fighter. The memories of his old comrades awakens Jet, and he hurls one of his hook swords at Long Feng, who dodges and retaliates with earthbending. After dealing a grievous blow to Jet, Long Feng escapes as the others enter the chamber. Katara tries to heal Jet, and realizes just how badly he was injured. Longshot, speaking for the first time in the series, tells Aang and his group that they should go and find Appa, and leave Jet to Smellerbee and himself. Jet tries to assure Katara that he'll be fine, but as they leave, Toph sorrowfully says that Jet was lying. Jet's fate after the attack remains to be seen. As the four exit the room, Smellerbee tends to Jet while Longshot points his bow at the doorway in case Dai Li agents enter the room.

They finally reach Appa's cell, only to find the chains broken, and Appa gone. Thinking that Long Feng had taken him, they rush back to the surface, only to find themselves surrounded by the Dai Li. Momo suddenly takes off into the sky, only to have Appa come down and break through the Dai Li trap. Long Feng tries to attack Appa, only to have his foot caught in Appa's mouth, with the bison then throwing him into the lake, and Long Feng's body skips 3 times on the water before sinking, followed by Appa spitting out one of his shoes. Aang and the others joyfully reunite with the Flying Bison. As the Avatar crew fly away, Katara looks back at the lake, deeply saddened by Jet. The group hugs.

Less than an hour after the events of "Lake Laogai," Aang and his friends are on a small island recovering, and discussing what they should do. Katara and Toph both want to leave Ba Sing Se, as they have found Appa and thus have no reason to remain there. On the other hand, Sokka wants to stay to inform the Earth King of all that is taking place within Ba Sing Se, as well as the approaching solar eclipse, as this was their entire reason for heading towards Ba Sing Se in the first place. Aang agrees with him. Ultimately, the others agree to do so, and all four ride Appa back to Ba Sing Se's upper ring, and manage to break into the palace, tearing their way through the Royal Guards despite a strong defense.

At the palace, Aang and his friends finally reach the Earth King's throne room, where they are encountered by Long Feng and many Dai Li, who stand before the Earth King as a last defense. They attempt to inform the King about the war, of which he knows nothing, and Long Feng's conspiracy, but have difficulty due to their position as well as his trust in his advisor. Long Feng attempts to arrest them, until the Earth King realizes that Aang is the Avatar; he then decides it best to at least hear out Aang and his friends after seeing his pet bear, Bosco, acting friendly towards the child.

Aang goes on to explain the various events going on that the Earth King is 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 denies all the charges brought against him, even claiming that he has never even encountered a Sky Bison. As the Earth King ponders over the apparently unlikely allegations, Long Feng whispers in his ear that Aang and his friends are part of an "anarchist cell" attempting to overthrow him. The Dai Li bind the group with earthbending, and The Earth King orders the group to be detained, but Sokka has an epiphany, and with Aang's Airbending, exposes a bite mark that Long Feng received from Appa in their encounter at Lake Laogai. Long Feng claims it's a birth mark, but Aang then produces Appa to compare the mark to the bison's teeth. The Earth King is unconvinced of the larger accusations of conspiracy in the city, but expresses a willingness to investigate more closely into the matter. Long Feng frowns sourly at all this, and shuffles off quietly with his Dai Li.

The Earth King arrives at the outer wall, and is 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 makes a hurried attempt to pass the drill off as part of a construction project, but the Earth King is clearly unconvinced, and orders the Dai Li to arrest Long Feng. The two Dai Li agents accompanying Long Feng share a conspiratorial glance, and then bind Long Feng's arms with metal manacles. When they return to the palace, he also agrees, 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, raid Long Feng's office and discover files about every person in Ba Sing Se, including Aang and his friends. Included is the note from Guru Pathik that was attached to Appa's horn prior to his capture, informing Aang that he can teach him information about his powers, and even how to control the Avatar State; a letter from Toph's mother, saying she is in the city and wants 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 make their way over the plains surrounding Ba Sing Se on Appa, convinced that things are finally going positively for them. However, back in the city, the circumstances take a suddenly negative turn. The Kyoshi Warriors arrive before the Earth King, who formally welcomes them. Unknown to the king, however, they are actually Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee, disguised in Kyoshi garments and face paint.

Aang and Sokka land at the mouth of Chameleon Bay, where they were told that Sokka’s father Hakoda and the rest of the Southern Water Tribe Warriors are. Sokka is very nervous, but Aang tries to calm him down, and succeeds somewhat. Sokka questions Aang on his feelings towards him meeting Guru Pathik to master the Avatar State. Aang smiles, and replies that he, unlike Sokka, is not nervous in the least. He then takes off on Appa, shouting back to Sokka that they will reunite in a week.

Aang arrives at the Eastern Air Temple, and finds Guru Pathik meditating atop the same pillar he was on before Appa's departure. Guru Pathik introduces himself as a spiritual brother to the Air Monks, and a good close friend of Monk Gyatso. Aang ask Pathik how he plans on teaching him how to gain control of the Avatar State, to which Guru replies that he must first bring balance to himself before he can bring balance to the world. The Guru first asks Aang to simply drink a liquid, which Aang does before spitting it out, as it is a strange combination of onion and banana juice.

At the Eastern Air Temple, Guru Pathik is beginning 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 says 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 procides a visual representation. Using a pond clogged with algae he successfully explains to Aang the concept of chakras, stating that by removing the clogs between pools, the water is allowed to flow, just as energy is 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 warns that the process of opening the chakras cannot be halted once it has begun- it must be completed in order to succeed. Aang accepts this risks and they begin 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 goes into meditation, and sees himself surrounded by fire, sitting before a man who appears to be the Fire Lord. Although surrounded by his visions, Aang is able to clearly hear Pathik's advice on how to address the emotion. After some reassurance, Aang is able to clear his thoughts, and the images disappear. Aang drops out of his meditative trance and Pathik congratulates him, before they move on.

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

Aang and Pathik prepare to open the third chakra, the Fire Chakra, which is located in the stomach. Aang somewhat jokingly remarks upon learning this that he is hungry, and Pathik treats it in good humor before quickly moving on. He explains that the Fire Chakra deals with Willpower, while it is blocked by Shame. Aang has a vision of when he first attempted Firebending, and severely burned Katara’s hands. He repeats aloud the promise he made afterwards: that he will never Firebend again. Pathik dismisses this, saying that in order to obtain Balance, Aang must accept all aspects of his life. As the Avatar, Aang must Firebend. Aang breathes in and out once, releasing the chakra.

Aang and Pathik have 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 meditates, and sees all of the Air Monks he knew, with Gyatso at the front, all of whom died because he abandoned them. They 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 sees, the love Aang feels for Katara. Aang releases the chakra, teary-eyed, and asks 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 says that all must accept who they are, and that Aang must accept he is the Avatar, even though he never wanted to be. Aang sighs, and quickly and calmly accomplishes this, and he opens the Chakra.

Aang and Pathik move 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 explains, is that of Separation: things that appear separate but are, in truth, one and the same. Aang mentions the Four Nations, and Pathik agrees, 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 explains. He mentions metal, which is simply Earth which has been purified and refined. As Pathik continues to speak, Toph continues bashing her hands into the metal walls of her cell. Her blows send out vibrations, allowing her to sense the fragments of Earth contained within the metal. Toph reaches out for the fragments, and continues stubbornly beating against the cell, eventually leaving a good-sized dent in the center. She cheers, and congratulates herself for her discovery, before continuing her assault on the cell's walls.

Aang and Pathik arrive at the seventh and final Chakra. Pathik congratulates Aang and states 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 is asked to meditate on what he is attached to, and images of Katara flood his mind. Now that Aang has focused on that which he is attached to, Pathik instructs Aang to let the attachments go. Aang suddenly becomes angry, finding the idea of letting go of Katara ludicrous, as he loves her. He also questions why he should not allow himself to feel this love, when Pathik stated previously that it was beneficial to him. Pathik narrows his eyes, but remains calm, and states that if Aang ever wants the pure Cosmic Energy to enter him, he must let go of all earthly attachments, including Katara.

The argument continues back at the Eastern Air Temple, with Pathik telling Aang he must open all of the chakras to master the Avatar State. Aang decides to at the least try to do so, and he begins to let go. He visualizes an image of Katara disappears into space, and himself being taken high above the planet to walk along a purple stream of cosmic energy. The stream is radiating from a gigantic image of himself in the Avatar State, which surrounds him in a sphere of energy radiating from its palms. However, Aang is suddenly shocked when an image of Katara, struggling in chains and screaming for help, appears behind him. He abandons the Avatar State, and begins running towards the image. The stream of cosmic energy dissipates, and Aang plummets to the Earth. Jolting awake from his meditation, Aang desperately says that Katara is in trouble, and he must go back to Ba Sing Se to help her. Pathik stops him, telling him that by choosing Attachment, the last chakra has become blocked- if he leaves now, he will not be able to go into the Avatar State at all. Aang hesitates, but then continues on without looking back or responding.

Sokka and Aang both hurrying back to Ba Sing Se on Appa; as they fly along, they spot Toph, who is trying to get back to the Palace as quickly as she can. They pick her up and fly to Ba Sing Se, trying quickly to get there to see if Katara is all right. When asked if he had mastered the Avatar State, Aang lies to the others, saying that he has.

As the gang searches the apartment, Toph senses someone at the door, but she soon knows who it is after a knock. She tells Aang and Sokka that it is an old friend of hers, Iroh. He tells them that Azula has captured Zuko, and he says that he needs their help. Sokka grows defensive; however, after Aang puts the whole image into perspective, Sokka changes his mind and the gang heads outside. Once there, they trap the captured Dai Li agent (caught by Iroh) in a pinch of rocks, and after Sokka’s questioning, the gang learn that Katara is being held in a secret underground cave that is part of Old Ba Sing Se.

Outside the Palace, the gang discovers that there is indeed a huge underground city, and decides that Toph and Sokka should go to warn the Earth King about the coup, and Iroh and Aang are sent to rescue Katara and Zuko. Traveling down a tunnel to this prison, Aang mentions that Toph says Iroh gives great advice and tea. He also tells him of the events of his meeting with Guru Pathik. When questioning his choice, and saying how he doubts his abilities without the Avatar State, Iroh suggests that Aang was very wise to choose happiness and love over power and perfection, which are both overrated in his opinion.

Down below in their prison, Katara apologizes to Zuko for how she yelled at him, and tells him that for a long time, whenever she saw the face of the enemy, she saw Zuko’s face. He turns away, touching his scar, assuming she was referencing his scar; a mark he feels that was once symbol to his banishment, and to his “destiny” of chasing the Avatar forever. However, he has gained Katara's trust to the point where she offers to heal his scar using the water from the Spirit Oasis. However, before she can do anything, Aang and Iroh show up, both of them embracing Katara and Zuko, respectively.

Zuko and Aang exchange glares, and Zuko grows angry that Iroh was with the Avatar, and Iroh sends Katara and Aang off to help Sokka and Toph. Iroh then explains to Zuko that he is a different and changed man, stronger and wiser than ever before. He tells Zuko that he is time for him to choose good. However, a mass of crystals entraps Iroh, and Azula emerges. She says that she expected this sort of treachery from Iroh, but not from her brother. She begins to feed him tales of how this is the most glorious day in Fire Nation history, and that if he joins her, Zuko will gain back his father’s love and honor. Iroh begs Zuko to not listen to Azula, telling him that the kind of redemption Azula is offering is not the redemption for him, but Azula continues to plot, telling Zuko how she has planned everything, and that they will only win if he joins her. Iroh begs even more, for Zuko to look deep inside his heart and see what he truly wants. Azula sends the Dai Li away, and tells Zuko that he can chose whatever he wants, and she walks away; leaving him to ponder the two sides of the coin.

Aang and Katara rush to save Toph and Sokka, however, Azula fires a bolt of fire at them. A battle ensues between Aang, Katara, and Azula, and just as Aang and Katara have her cornered Zuko shows up. After a brief moment of dramatic tension, Zuko begins fighting on Azula's side, to everyone’s amazement. In the midst of the battle, the two pairs switch off, with Zuko now fighting Katara, both using element whips on opposite sides of a river. Katara expresses her angry disappointment in Zuko, how she thought he had changed. He replies inscrutably, "I have changed." Aang and Azula charge at one another, Azula sends a blast of fire, sending Aang soaring into the air.

Underground, the fight continues on, with Katara taking on both Zuko and Azula, before Aang manages to stand back up from being thrown earlier. He slams into the ground, creating a tidal wave of Earth barreling towards Azula and Zuko, but he is stopped by the Dai Li. Soon they are joined by dozens of Dai Li agents, and Katara assumes the Octopus stance. Horribly outmatched, Aang realizes there is no other choice and does the only thing he can think of---creating a quick crystal shelter with Earthbending, he meditates, and decides to try to release his attachment to Katara in order to enter the Avatar State. He then rises into the air, but before he can let go of Katara and gain control of the Avatar State, Azula shoots him down with a lightning bolt to the back. At that moment, the Avatar Spirit falls from the plane of existence. As Aang falls back to the ground, Katara creates a huge wave by Waterbending, and manages to scatter the Dai Li, Zuko, and Azula; and catch him before he hits the ground. Holding him in tears, she is defenseless, but Iroh suddenly appears. He tells the two to escape, and that he will hold off Azula and the others as long as he can. Once they escape, Iroh surrenders himself to the Dai Li and glances at Zuko, quickly turning his head in shame.

Iroh ashamed of Zuko's decision.The entire group manages to escape and while flying away on Appa, Katara uses her Spirit Oasis water to heal Aang, who initially appeared dead. With a quick flash of light, nothing occurs, and Katara begins to cry and holds Aang close. Then Aang’s tattoos glow shortly and he opens his eyes and smiles at her. Overwhelmed and relieved that he is okay, Katara embraces him closer.

Aang survives the lightning.Meanwhile, in the palace Zuko frets over betraying Iroh. However, Azula reassures him by telling him that it was actually Uncle that betrayed them, not the other way around. Zuko then asks Azula about returning to the Fire Nation, raising his doubts about being accepted and having his honor restored since he does not have the Avatar. Azula again reassures him by saying that he has restored his own honor, though Zuko still seems unsure. Azula is firmly in control of the city, and as the Earth King, Bosco, Momo, Toph, Sokka, Katara, and Aang fly atop Appa's back over the Outer Wall and out of the city, the Earth King looks back and sadly proclaims, "The Earth Kingdom... has fallen."

Voice actor
Aang was voiced by Mitchel Musso initially in the series two part pilot The Avatar Returns Part 1: The boy in the Iceberg and The Avatar Returns Part 2:(no subtitles) but afterwards was replaced by Zach Tyler Eisen from The Southern Air temple onward