"Water." "Earth." "Fire." "Air." "Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony." "Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked." "Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them." "But when the world needed him most, he vanished." "A hundred years passed, and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar... an airbender named Aang." "And although his airbending skills are great." "He has a lot to learn before he's ready to save anyone." "But I believe Aang can save the world." "Previously on Avatar..." "Even though I was born blind, I've never had a problem seeing." "I see with earthbending." "Look here, sugar queen, I gave up everything I had so that I could teach Aang earthbending," "Well, look at this." "Enemies and traitors all working together." "Book Two:" "Earth Chapter Nine:" "Bitter Work" "Today's the day!" "Can you believe it?" "After all that time searching for a teacher," "I'm finally starting earthbending!" "And this place... i-it's perfect!" "Don't you think?" "Sokka" "Oh, you're still sleeping, huh?" "Sorry!" "Good morning earthbending student!" "Good morning sifu Toph." "Hey!" "You never call me sifu Katara." "Well, if you think I should" "Sorry, snoozles." "We'll do our earthbending as quietly as we can." "So what move are you going to teach me first?" "Rockalanche?" "The trembler?" "Oh!" "Maybe I can learn to make a whirlpool out of land!" "Let's start with move a rock." "Sounds good!" "Sounds good!" "The key to earthbending is your stance." "You've got to be steady and strong." "Rock is a stubborn element." "If you're going to move it, you've got to be like a rock yourself." "Like a rock." "Got it." "Good." "Now the actual motion of this one is pretty simple." "Okay, you ready to give it a try?" "I'm ready." "Rock beats airbender!" "I got you, dad!" "My beloved Lu Ten, I will see you again." "Uncle!" "You were unconscious." "Azula did this to you." "It was a surprise attack." "Somehow, that's not so surprising." "I hope I made it the way you like it." "Good" "That was very, uhh... bracing!" "So uncle, I've been thinking." "It's only a matter of time before I run into Azula again." "I'm going to need to know more advanced firebending if I want to stand a chance against her." "I know what you're going to say:" "She's my sister and I should be trying to get along with her." "No, she's crazy and she needs to go down." "It's time to resume your training." "I don't understand what went wrong." "He did it exactly the way you did." "Maybe there's another way." "What if I came at the boulder from a different angle?" "No, that's the problem." "You've got to stop thinking like an airbender." "There's no different angle, no clever solution, no trickity trick that's going to move that rock." "You've got to face it head on." "And when I say head on, I mean like this!" "I've been training Aang for a while now." "He really responds well to a positive teaching experience." "Lots of encouragement and praise." "Kind words." "If he's doing something wrong, maybe a gentle nudge in the right direction." "Thanks Katara." "A gentle nudge." "I'll try that." "Keep your knees high, twinkletoes!" "Rocklike!" "Rocklike!" "You're awfully cute, but unfortunately for you, you're made of meat." "Just a bit closer..." "Gotcha!" "You are one lucky little meat creature." "Lightning is a pure expression of firebending, without aggression." "It is not fueled by rage or emotion the way other firebending is." "Some call lightning the cold-blooded fire." "It is precise and deadly, like Azula." "To perform the technique requires peace of mind." "I see." "That's why we're drinking tea:" "To calm the mind." "Oh yeah, good point!" "I mean, yes." "There is energy all around us." "The energy is both yin and yang positive energy and negative energy." "Only a select few firebenders can separate these energies." "This creates an imbalance." "The energy wants to restore balance... and in a moment the positive and negative energy come crashing back together." "You provide release and guidance, creating lightning." "I'm ready to try it!" "Remember, once you separate the energy, you do not command it." "You are simply its humble guide." "Breathe first." "This time we're going to try something a little different." "Instead of moving a rock, you're going to stop a rock." "Get in your horse stance!" "I'm going to roll that boulder down at you." "If you have the attitude of an earthbender, you'll stay in your stance and stop the rock." "Like this" "Sorry Toph, but are you sure this is really the best way to teach Aang earthbending?" "I'm glad you said something." "Actually, there is a better way." "This way he'll really have to sense the vibrations of the boulder to stop it." "Thank you Katara." "Yeah, thanks Katara!" "I guess I just panicked." "I don't know what to say." "There's nothing to say." "You blew it." "You had a perfect stance and perfect form... but when it came right down to it you didn't have the guts." "I know." "I'm sorry." "Yeah, you are sorry." "If you're not tough enough to stop the rock, then you could at least give it the pleasure of smushing you instead of jumping out of the way like a jelly-boned wimp!" "Now, do you have what it takes to face that rock like an earthbender!" "?" "No." "I don't think I do." "Aang, it's no big deal." "You'll take a break and try earthbending again when you're ready." "Besides, you still have a lot of waterbending to work on, okay?" "Yeah, that sounds good." "Yeah, whatever, go splash around until you feel better." "Why can't I do it?" "Instead of lightning, it keeps exploding in my face!" "Like everything always does!" "I was afraid this might happen." "You will not be able to master lightning until you have dealt with the turmoil inside you." "What turmoil?" "Zuko, you must let go of your feelings of shame if you want your anger to go away." "But I don't feel any shame at all!" "I'm as proud as ever!" "Prince Zuko, pride is not the object of shame, but its source." "True humility is the only antidote to shame." "Well, my life has been nothing but humbling lately." "I have another idea." "I will teach you a firebending move that even Azula doesn't know, because I made it up myself!" "You probably think I deserve this, don't you?" "Look, I'm sorry I hunted you, but that's just the natural order of things!" "Big things eat smaller things, nothing personal!" "But this time it didn't work out that way." "I admit it." "You're cute." "Okay, you've convinced me." "If I get out of this alive, it's a comically correct vegetarian existence for me." "No meat." "Even though meat is so tasty." "It looks like my karma is already paying off!" "That's okay!" "I got it!" "Now come back boomerang." "You know this block you're having is only temporary, right?" "I don't want to talk about it." "You do know that's the problem, don't you?" "If you face this issue instead of avoiding it..." "I know I know I know I know, I get it, alright!" "I need to face it head-on, like a rock." "But I just can't do it!" "I don't know why I can't, but I can't." "Aang, if fire and water are opposites, then what's the opposite of air?" "I guess it's earth." "That's why it's so hard for you to get this." "You're working with your natural opposite." "But you'll figure it out." "I know you will." "Think fast!" "Excellent." "You have the reflexes of a waterbending master." "Thanks Katara." "Sifu Katara." "Fire is the element of power." "The people of the Fire Nation have desire and will, and the energy and drive to achieve what they want." "Earth is the element of substance." "The people of the Earth Kingdom are diverse and strong." "They are persistent and enduring." "Air is the element of freedom." "The Air Nomads detached themselves from worldly concerns and found peace and freedom." "Also, they apparently had pretty good senses of humor!" "Water is the element of change." "The people of the Water Tribe are capable of adapting to many things." "They have a deep sense of community and love that holds them together through anything." "Why are you telling me these things?" "It is important to draw wisdom from many different places." "If we take it from only one place, it becomes rigid and stale." "Understanding others, the other elements, and the other nations... will help you become whole." "All this four elements talk is sounding like Avatar stuff." "It is the combination of the four elements in one person that makes the Avatar so powerful." "But, it can make you more powerful too." "You see, the technique I am about to teach you is one I learned by studying the waterbenders." "Aang!" "I found these nuts in your bag." "I think you would't mind." "And besides, even if you did, you're too much of a pushover to do anything about it." "As a matter of fact, I don't mind." "I'm happy to share anything I have." "You know, I'm really glad you feel that way, because I also have this great new nutcracker." "Actually, I'd prefer if you didn't..." "That's an antique, hand crafted by the monks..." "It's a delicate instrument!" "It's not the only delicate instrument around here." "Hey Aang, have you seen..." "Meditating here!" "It's important." "It's almost sundown and Sokka isn't back yet." "I think we should search for him." "We'll find him faster if we split up." "Okay karma person or thing, whoever's in charge of this stuff, if I can just get out of this situation alive, I will give up meat and sarcasm." "OK?" "OW!" "That's all I got!" "It's pretty much my whole identity!" "Sokka, the meat and sarcasm guy!" "But I'm willing to be Sokka the veggies and straight talk fellow!" "Deal?" "Aang!" "Thank goodness!" "Have you got any meat?" "Sokka!" "Are you okay?" "Stop, stop!" "You're going to pull my fingers off and I don't think the rest of me is coming!" "Hmm..." "I bet I can airbend you out of here." "Seriously Aang, I know you're new at it, but I could use a little earthbending here." "How about it?" "I can't." "I can't do it." "If you can't earthbend me out of here, go get Toph." "I can't do that either." "You can't?" "Why not?" "It would just be really..." "uncomfortable." "Uncomfortable?" "Well, I wouldn't want to make you feel uncomfortable." "Thanks Sokka." "This whole earthbending thing really has me confused." "There's so much pressure." "Everyone expects me to get it right away." "It puts me in a really awkward position." "Awkward position?" "I think I know the feeling." "If I try, I fail." "But if I don't try, I'm never going to get it." "I feel like I'm caught between a rock and a hard place." "How about that." "Aang, this is my friend Foo Foo Cuddlypoops." "Foo Foo Cuddlypoops, Aang." "Aww, what a cute name for a little baby sabertooth mooselion cub." "Really?" "He looks nothing like a sabertooth mooselion." "It's hard to tell before their giant teeth and horns grow in." "Whatcha doin' out here, little guy?" "Did you lose your mama?" "Waterbenders deal with the flow of energy." "A waterbender lets their defense become their offense, turning their opponents' energy against them." "I learned a way to do this with lightning." "You can teach me to redirect lightning?" "If you let the energy in your own body flow, the lightning will follow it." "You must create a pathway from your fingertips up your arm to your shoulder and down into your stomach." "The stomach is the source of energy in your body." "It is called the sea of chi." "Only in my case, it is more like a vast ocean." "From the stomach, you direct it up again and out the other arm." "The stomach detour is critical." "You must not let the lightning pass through your heart or the damage could be deadly." "You may wish to try a physical motion to get a feel for the pathway's flow." "Like this." "Now, are you focusing your energy?" "Can you feel your own chi flowing in, down, up, and out?" "I think so." "Come on." "You've got to feel the flow." "Excellent!" "You've got it!" "Great!" "I'm ready to try it with real lightning!" "What, are you crazy?" "Lightning is very dangerous." "I thought that was the point:" "You teaching me how to protect myself from it." "Yah, But I'm not going to shoot lightning at you!" "If you are lucky, you will never have to use this technique at all." "Well, if you won't help me, I'll find my own lightning." "Hey there?" "We found your cub!" "See?" "We have no problem with you!" "We're friendly." "Aang, this is bad!" "You gotta get me outta here!" "This is really bad!" "Please, Aang!" "You have to earthbend me out, there's no other way!" "Oh no" "Whoo-hoo!" "Look at me!" "Please don't leave me again." "I won't." "What are you doing here?" "Just enjoying the show." "What?" "You were there the whole time?" "Pretty much." "Why didn't you do something?" "Sokka was in trouble!" "I was in trouble!" "You could've gotten him out and helped us get away!" "I guess it just didn't occur to me." "Enough!" "I want my staff back!" "Do it now." "What?" "Earthbend, twinkletoes." "You just stood your ground against a crazy beast, and even more impressive, you stood your ground against me." "You've got the stuff." "But..." "Do it!" "You did it!" "You're an earthbender." "I can't believe it!" "Aww, this is really a wonderful, touching moment." "So, could you get me out of here so I can give you both a big, snuggly hug?" "No problem, Sokka!" "Actually, you should probably let me do that." "You're still a little new to this." "You might accidentally crush him." "Yeah, no crushing please." "You found him!" "The whole time that I was in that hole, not knowing if I would live or die, it makes a man think about what's really important." "I realize..." "Hey Katara, look what I can do!" "You did it!" "I knew you would!" "You tried the positive reinforcement, didn't you?" "Yep." "It worked wonders." "Appa!" "Appa!" "I can earthbend now!" "The key is being completely rooted!" "Physically and mentally unmovable!" "You've always thrown everything you could at me!" "Well I can take it!" "And now I can give it back!" "Come on!" "Strike me!" "You've never held back before!"