Book 1: Truth, Chapter 1: The solution

It was dark, cold, rainy, foggy and windy but he didn't care. He had to hurry back to his house. He was officially the state's problem now, which meant they would put him in an orphanage or a foster home. He couldn't go back to that. Ever.

He reached an apartment building and took the elevator to the fourth floor. He reach his apartment doors and took out the keys. His hands were shaky so it took him a good two minutes to open the door. He slammed the door closed and hurried to his room. His black hair was wet, and he would most likely get a cold but he didn't have the time to wipe it. He looked in his closet and found a black bag pack. He then started to take inventory of all he needed: clean clothes, canned food, a flashlight, a Suisse army knife, cell phone, his pills and a few thousand dollars that would serve for a rainy day. And it was pouring. He shook his head to get rid of the thought and quickly put everything in the bag. He changed his clothes with dry ones from the closet and headed for his room's door. But before he could open it, loud knocks could be heard coming from the apartment's door.

"Riser! Riser, we know you're in there, make this easy on yourself!" a man yelled.

Riser cursed in his head. He couldn't leave through the door. He quickly scuffled to his bedroom window which had a fire escape next to it. He hurried down as quickly and quietly as he could.

He quickly headed for the streets and lifted his jacket's hood to his head. There were two black cars parked in front of the apartment building and there were a few people in black suits patrolling the area. He walked as inconspicuously as he could in the other direction. After he was far enough that he couldn't see the cars or the men anymore, he sighed in relief. But before he could he could think about what to do next, he felt his arm getting yanked but someone.

"Son, you're coming with me." He had been caught by a police officer. It couldn't get any worse.

"No, let me go!" Riser said, struggling for freedom.

"Son, if you don't calm down, I'm going to have to do something drastic." the officer warned but Riser ignored him. The officer pulled out a taser but Riser reacted faster than the officer. He kicked the taser and the cop dropped it. Instead of using the time to release himself, Riser took advantage of the confused state of the cop, grabbed his wrist and twisted it, making the cop roar in pain and turn around to try and control the pain. Riser kicked the back of his knee making him kneel, took his handcuffed and cuffed him to a nearby post.

Riser wasted no time and ran as fast as he could. He could hear the cop yelling at him but it didn't stop him. After running a few miles, he decided to cut through an alley.

He couldn't stop thinking of his sister. She was gone. Really gone. And now he was on the run. In New York. It was bad enough that they wanted to take him to an orphanage, but he had assaulted a cop. He could forget the orphanage, he was going straight to juvenile hall.

He stopped walking in the alley and placed his back against a wall, with his hands on his head.

"This is so fucked up." he whispered. He really wished she hadn't died. He was lost without her. His baby blue eyes were starting to tear up but he refused to cry. His Sifu had told him that crying was no weakness, but a display of humanity. But now, all the Kung Fu he learned wouldn't make a difference. He doubted his Sifu would understand his situation so he couldn't rely on him for the time being.

He thought and thought, but he knew he was screwed. He had hit rock bottom. He sat on the floor and placed his head on his knees. He didn't have any family left. That he knew of. And a twelve-year old couldn't live alone.

He had run out of options. He was desperate.

Suddenly, he started to feel weird. Anxious. He couldn't understand why though.

A strong wind started to gush through the alley. Water started overflowing from the storm drains. The lid from the nearby dumpster flew open revealing a fire that was being held back by that metal container. The floor beneath him started to crack open, making Riser jump to his feet. And just as soon as it began, it ended.

The city was peaceful. Nothing had disrupted it. It was entirely normal.

But for Riser, it was gone.

Riser's eyes suddenly opened, making him cringe in pain. While his eyes were still getting adjusted to the light, sat up on what felt like dirt. The heat had also gone up drastically and the air was heavy. Riser's eyes adjusted themselves and his mouth just opened in awe. A giant red and gold palace stood proudly in front of him. There was no vegetation near it whatsoever but there were a few guards patrolling the ground. Riser rubbed his temples. He got up and decided that interacting with those guards would not be a good idea. He quietly ran to the palace but the giant golden double doors were also being guarded. He scoped the walls of the palace and they looked climbable. He hoisted himself up carefully so he wouldn't slip.

After a bit of climbing, he reached an open window. He peeked inside but it was too dark to make anything out. He decided to take his chances and climbed in. He took off his shoes to limit the noise he would make. After his eyes adjusted themselves to the darkness, he noticed he was in a bedroom. And judging by the smell it was a girl's room. It wasn't a good idea to linger in the room so he headed to the door. But the moment he touched the knob, a fire ball struck the wall next to him making him drop his shoes. Riser turned around immediately and took up a fighting stance.

"Who are you?!" The girl in front of him was pointing her fist at him. That was no fighting stance he ever saw before. And where did that fire come from? The girls yellow eyes scanned Riser head to toe.

"I don't usually spare those who sneak up on me, but I'm feeling rather... Intrigued. So speak!"

"My name's Riser." he said with no weakness in his voice. If there was it would most likely get him chew up and spit out.

"Where are you from?" she said getting closer.

"New York."

She chuckled humorlessly. "Are you making fun of me? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"No offense lady, but I think I can take you." If he did, those years of training would finally pay off.

The girl's twisted smile turned into a offended snarl. "Oh yeah, then take this!"

Riser dodged, expecting a punch, but instead he ended up dodging another fireball.

"What the..." Riser muttered keeping his eyes on the girl. Her hand was smoking, which meant only one thing.

"Did... did you just throw a fireball at me?" Riser asked, still not believing his eyes.

The girl raised an eyebrow. "You're surprised? I guess people are just getting stupider by the minute."

She pulled her fist backwards for another attack but Riser was faster. He grabbed her wrist and pinned her against a wall.

"What's your name?" Riser asked.

"You don't know my name? You really are an idiot. Why should I tell you anyway?"

"Indulge me." Riser said with a smirk.

The girl smirked as well. "It's princess Azula. And you should feel special, because it's the last name you're going to ever hear." Suddenly, Azula elbowed Riser in the ribs, making him stumble backwards and kicked the hair, creating a line of fire that made Riser stumble even faster towards the window. He was able to control his body so he wouldn't trip out the window but it was no use. Azula kicked his chest, sending him flying off the window.

Riser hated the feeling that falling gave. Like it was over. Like he couldn't do anything. He felt free but at the same time constricted. The floor kept getting closer and closer, and Riser knew the end when he saw it. And he was angry about it. It wasn't his time to die yet.

He was just seconds away from the floor when it happened. He felt amazing. Powerful. Invincible. And he knew what to do.

He twisted in the air so he fell on his feet. Then, a giant torrent of air and fire erupted from his body making him propel upwards extremely fast.

Azula couldn't believe her eyes. From the window of her room, she could see it all happening. Fire and air enveloped him but it didn't hurt him. He was rising at an incredible speed. He was flying.

The first rays of sunlight appeared in the horizon and the towns people of Kyoshi Island were preparing themselves for another day of hard work. Chief Oyaji was patrolling the streets and was greeting his fellow town's folk like every day. He headed to the town centre so he could gauge the statue of Kyoshi once more. It was dirty and a bit ravished due to the damage that time had brought.

"I have to get that statue restored." he mumbled creating a mental note.

But before he could start his daily duties, strange sound could be heard from the sky. It was slightly clouded so he couldn't see exactly what it was. But he feared the worst because nowadays, the Fire Nation was capable of anything.

The wind started to become sporadic. A figure descended from the clouds enveloped in a ball of air. The chief covered his eyes slightly due to the violence of the wind but he could see that the figure had touched the ground.

Oyaji couldn't believe his eyes. The figure was a boy and his eyes were glowing a ominous blue.

Suddenly the wind stopped. Riser's eyes returned to normality and he collapsed forward, due to his exhaustion.

"It can't be..." Oyaji whispered. "The Avatar has returned."

And there you have it. The first chapter of my Avatar Fanfic. Hope you guys liked it, if so feel free to review. Fanfiction writer away!