At the beginning ofAvatar the Last Airbender: Book 3 Fire, Vol. 3, things don't go quite the way one would have hoped at the end ofVol. 2. Aang--the young avatar--and his companions Katara, Toph, and Sokka were part of a major assault on the tyrannical fire nation, and hopes of victory were high. In "The Day of Black Sun, Part 2: The Eclipse," however, circumstances reverse the heroes' fortunes, forcing Aang, his friends and the very youngest warriors to flee the battle. As they regroup at the Western Air Temple, mourning the expected imprisonment of the adults left behind, Aang comes face to face with an unexpected, would-be ally: Zuko, prince of the fire nation. Sokka and Katara refuse to accept Zuko's guarantee that he is truly on their side (they've been through this before), but Toph and Aang are a little more receptive to the idea. Good thing. In "The Firebending Masters," Aang accepts that Zuko could be the firebending mentor he  needs to show him how to conquer the most elusive of the four elements. But it isn't easy: Zuko loses his power and must retreat to a fire nation temple, where he can learn the origins of his native gift. The set of five stories on this disc concludes with the two-part "The Boiling Rock," in which Sokka and Zuko infiltrate a fire nation maximum security prison in hopes of freeing Sokka's father. Trying hard to stay clandestine, Zuko's identity is revealed anyway, jeopardizing not only the mission but Zuko and Sokka's very freedom. The excitement is endless in the long-runningAvatarseries, and developments (especially Zuko's acceptance by Aang and the others) are as heartening as they are surprising.--Tom Keogh