"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." "100 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..."" "Blending in is better than hiding out." "If we get Fire Nation disguises, we'll be just as safe as we would be hiding in a cave." "You have no right to judge me, uncle." "I did what I had to do in Ba Sing Se, and you were a fool for not joining me." "I see you favor the white lotus gambit." "Not many still cling to the ancient ways." "Those who do can always find a friend." "Wow, this is amazing to watch." "Kind of makes you realize how insignificant we are." "Eh, you've seen nothing once, you've seen it 1,000 times." "Oh, man." "You've never not seen anything like this." "The fire is gonna destroy that town." "Not if we can stop it." "There's a creek over here." "I'll bend the water on to the fire." "Toph, let's make a trench to keep the fire from coming any closer." "What should I do?" "Keep an eye on Momo." "So what, I'm just a Lemur-sitter?" "There, there." "Feel better?" "Sokka, stand clear." "Right, stand clear." "Got it." "Good work, everybody." "Look at you." "You're just a fat, disgusting old man." "You do nothing, you say nothing." "You just eat and roll around in your own filth like a pig." "You're a disgrace." "These people have no idea how close they were to getting toasted last night." "Yeah, the worst thing about being in disguise is we don't get the hero worship anymore." "I miss the love." "Boo-hoo, poor heroes." "What's your problem?" "You haven't even touched your smoked sea slug." "It's just, all you guys can do this awesome bending stuff like putting out forest fires, and flying around, and making other stuff fly around." "I can't fly around, ok?" "I can't do anything." "That's not true." "No one can read a map like you." "I can't read at all." "Yeah, and who keeps us laughing with sarcastic comments all the time?" "I mean, look at Katara's hair, right?" "What's up with that?" "What?" "What's wrong with my hair?" "Nothing, I was just trying to..." "Look, I appreciate the effort, but the fact is each of you is so amazing and so special, and I'm not." "I'm just the guy in the group who's regular." "I'm sorry you're feeling so down, but I hope you know none of us see you that way." "I know something that's gonna make you feel better." "You do?" "Shopping." "Maybe a little something to reinvigorate my battling." "Hey, how about these?" "Hi-ya!" ""Smack-a-dacka-doo!"" "What do you think?" "Pretty slick, huh?" "All I need to complete the outfit is a wind sword." "What's a wind sword?" "It's where I get a sword handle and then I just swing this around and bend air out like a blade." "Yeah, nice." "I'll just stick to what I got." "Ooh." "That's what Sokka's talking about." "You have a good eye." "That's an original from Piandao" "The greatest sword master and sword maker in Fire Nation history." "He lives in the big castle up the road from here." "That's it." "That's what you needed all along, Sokka." "A sword?" "Not the sword." "A master." "We've all had masters to help us get better." "You should see if you can study with Piandao." "That's a great idea." "I could've never gotten to where I am without master Pakku." "Everyone needs a teacher." "I learned from badger moles." "They don't talk, but they're still good teachers." "It would be nice to be a master swordfighter." "All right, I'll talk to him." "Can I help you?" "I've come to train with the master." "You should know the master turns almost everyone away." "What did you bring him to prove your worth?" "Well, uh..." "Right." "Let's get this over with." "Master, my name is Sokka, and I wish to be instructed in the way of the sword." "Sokka." "That's an unusual name." "Oh, uh, really?" "Uh, where I come from, the Fire Nation colonies" "It's a pretty normal name, for Fire Nation colonials." "Let me guess." "You've come hundreds of miles from your little village where you're the best swordsman in town and you think you deserve to learn from the master." "Well, actually, I've been all over the world." "Yep, here we go." "And I know one thing for sure." "I have a lot to learn." "You're not doing a very good job of selling yourself." "I know." "Your butler told me that when I met you, I would have to prove my worth." "But the truth is, I don't know if I am worthy." "Hmm, I see." "Well then, let's find out together how worthy you are." "I will train you." "The first thing you must learn is that your weapon is an extension of yourself." "You must think of it as another part of your own body." "Like a second head." "Well, more like an extra-long, really sharp arm." "The sword is a simple tool, but in the hands of a master, it becomes the most versatile of weapons, and just as the imagination is limitless so too are the possibilities of the sword." "What should we do today?" "I'm tapped out." "I already picked my toes, twice." "Twice?" "The first time was for cleaning, but the second time's just for the sweet picking sensation." "Sokka's been in charge of the schedule." "I'm not sure what we should be doing." "Plus, it's so hot today." "How hot is it?" "I don't know." "Real hot?" "It's so hot, it's so hot, Momo is shedding like Appa." "Huh, huh?" "I guess the jokes don't run in the family." "Oh, everyone's a critic." "The warrior practices a variety of arts to keep his mind sharp and fluid." "The first you will learn is calligraphy." "Write your name." "Writing my name will make me a better swordsman?" "When you write your name, you stamp the paper with your identity." "You must learn to use your sword to stamp your identity on a battlefield." "Remember, you cannot take back a stroke of the brush, or a stroke of the sword." "You are getting ink on your face." "I am?" "I am." "So this is about putting my identity on the page, right?" "Landscape painting teaches a warrior to hold the lay of the land in his mind." "But...in battle, you only have an instant to take everything in." "Now, paint it." "And no peeking." "I'm finished." "You added a rainbow." "Is that ok?" "Sokka." "Concentrate on what you're doing." "Rock gardening teaches the warrior to manipulate his surroundings and use them to his advantage." "Hmm, manipulate them to my advantage." "Oh!" "Ah." "Hey, would you mind grabbing a cold drink for me?" "I'll take a slice of lemon in mine, please." "What's going on in there?" "Crazy old man." "So where are we going next?" "We're starting from here." "No, we're over on this island." "You noodle-brains don't know what you're doing." "I miss Sokka." "Ooh, I got one." "If you miss him so much, why don't you marry him?" "You've had a good first day of training." "I have?" "But I thought I messed up every single thing we worked on." "You messed things up in a very special way." "You are ready for a real sword." "Are you giving me one of yours?" "No." "Your sword must be an extension of yourself" "So tomorrow, you will make your own sword." "Choosing the correct material the most important step in crafting a sword." "You must trust your steel with your life." "Choose carefully." "Master, would it be possible for me to leave and bring back a special material for my sword?" "I wouldn't have it any other way." "Sokka's coming." "Hey, guys." "What are you doing?" "Sokka!" "You're back." "We missed you so much." "Say something funny." "Funny how?" "What's their deal?" "I don't know." "They missed you or something." "I didn't care." "Thanks." "That warms my heart." "Anyway, I need some help." "Who's this?" "Oh, these are my friends." "Just other good Fire Nation folks." "Do you think we can make a sword out of a meteorite?" "We'll make a sword unlike any other in the world." "Sokka, when you first arrived, you were so unsure." "You even seemed down on yourself." "But I saw something in you right away." "I saw a heart as strong as a Lionturtle, and twice as big." "And as we trained, it wasn't your skills that impressed me." "No, it certainly wasn't your skills." "You showed something beyond that." "Creativity, versatility, intelligence." "These are the traits that define a great swordsman and these are the traits that define you." "You told me you didn't know if you were worthy" "But I believe that you are more worthy than any man I have ever trained." "I'm sorry, master." "You're wrong." "I am not worthy." "I'm not who you think I am." "I'm not from the Fire Nation." "I'm from the southern water tribe." "I lied so that I could learn swordsmanship from you." "I'm sorry." "I'm sorry, too." "No, this is my fight." "Alone." "You used to be the pride of the Fire Nation." "Our top general, the Dragon of the West." "Now, look at you." "Look at what you've become." "Excellent." "Using your superior agility against an older opponent." "Smart." "Good use of terrain." "Fighting from the high ground." "Yes, use your surroundings!" "Make them fight for you!" "Very resourceful." "Excellent work, Sokka." "I think I'm a little old to be fighting the Avatar." "How did you know?" "Oh, I've been around a while." "You pick things up." "Of course, I knew from the beginning that Sokka was water tribe." "You might want to think of a better Fire Nation cover name." "Try "Lee."" "There's a million Lees." "But why did you agree to train someone from the water tribe?" "The way of the sword doesn't belong to any one nation." "Knowledge of the arts belongs to us all." "Sokka, you must continue your training on your own." "If you stay on this path, I know that one day" "You will become an even greater master than I am." "Wait." "The master wanted you to have this, as something to remember him by." "It's a Pai-Sho tile." "The white lotus." "Hm." "What does it mean?" "I have no idea." "Ooh, that reminds me." "Toph, I thought you might like this since you've probably never had a chance to bend space earth before." "Sweet!" "Check this out." "You know, I don't think there's such a thing as "space earth."" "If it's from space, then it's not really earth." "Must you ruin everything?" "I can't believe I missed you."