In the present world, the generation of benders have long died out. The world has advanced. Its spirituality has faded. As a result, that less than 5% of the world's population is made up of benders. Yet even so, they're kept secret from the rest of the world.
Benders are routinely hidden by the government. The abilities tend to skip along generations, so many children wind up benders while their parents aren't. As a result, these 'strange children' are taken away by the state and raised separately from the world to carve their abilities for government purposes.
That has long been the way of benders. Non-benders are the majority. Bending doesn't exist. It has never existed. And no one will ever know of the wonders it had brought the world long ago.
But the Avatar still lives. Earth. Fire. Water. Air. Only the Avatar can master all 4 elements.
Knowing of this miraculous being, the government has made it their top priority to supervise this 'Avatar' from birth to death, so that their power may never see the light of day, and may never be exposed, unbalancing the nature of the world.
Being the avatar is a very accursed thing. Once you are born, government officials raid the parents' home, and take the child away. The child is raised in solitary. No contact whatsoever. The term 'Avatar' is only known to a select few.
Fifteen years ago in the year 1996, the last avatar had died, and was reincarnated as a baby girl right after.
Her parents, fully aware that their gifted child would soon be apprehended by the authorities and sealed off from the world, sent her away so that she could live her life instead of being a prisoner of their country.
They named her Tori, and prayed for her happiness.
It is now the year 2012, and knowledge about the Avatar and the world of bending is very very secret. Despite the world's obliviousness, there still lies in the town of Wei Jo an old monk who watches over his family shrine. Yet, underground lies a hidden room, where engraved on the walls is the history of the Avatar, and a prophecy.
This monk meditates, awaiting the day the missing Avatar will return, to save the world.
One night, while meditating in his secret underground temple, the walls of the Avatar History began to glow. The monk awakened from his meditation, not believing what was before him. "The Avatar... he has awaken!"
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The world is a very solemn place now. A very, very solemn place. You'd think as time went on in the world, there would only be improvements. Each day finding some new discovery to benefit someone or something or some greater cause. But it's so hard to think such thoughts, when every time you look outside, all you can see is a bleak city. And having such a pessimestic outlook on life doesn't really help either.
"I'm leaving for school, Sylvia!" I shut the door and locked it before me, lugging my school bag over my shoulder with my skateboard under my arm. Syliva's my 'legal guardian' now. Like a foster sister if you want to get technical. To add to the reason of mypessimistic attitude' as my friend calls it, I was adopted.
I came to this the little suburb town of Wei Jo when I was a mere month old, apparenly abandoned by my real parents and taken in by an old couple, who already had a teenage daughter of their own. My adoptive parents however now live in a nursing home, so I just live with my sister, Sylvia.
But aside from that life isn't really any different. My name is Tori. I had just turned 15 last week, and I'm a freshman having recently started high school. I have short brown hair that frizes up in the heat. I have old hand me down clothes from Sylvia becuase we can't afford 'nice things' according to her. And I have a C average in school.
So much going for me right?
A beep started coming from my watch, and I realized it was 7:55. "Man, I'm gonna be late again," I said to myself, forcing myself to skate faster to school. I'm not usually late, but you get detention if you are, and Mr. Baro says that if I get one more detention he'll threaten suspension. "It'll be dangerous, but maybe if I take the route down Mil Street I'll get to school on time." Maybe I should think this through first- "I've thought it through!"
I leaned into a sharp turn at the intersection, riding down the long down-hill street. Luckily there weren't as many cars this morning, but it was still a really steep hill, and I never really liked skateboarding down super steep hills.
"AHHHHH!" I couldn't prevent myself from letting out a scream as the speed picked up with my skating. I could only pray that the green light stayed a green light, because there's no way I can stop at this rate. "SORRY! SORRY! SORRY!"
Meanwhile at Wei Jo High school, a black haired teen was at his locker gettings his books for the morning before the first belll. A few other students would pass by, say hi or what's up.
"Yo."
"Good morning, Rai."
"Hi Rai!"
"Dude!" A fellow clssmate from fencing came up to him, leaning sideways against the lockers. "Did you hear the good news?"
"No but I have a feeling you're going to tell me anyway."
The other teen went to put on a sly grin. "Your girlfriend won first place city wide in that poster contest."
Rai blinked cluelessly. "My girlfriend?"
"You know, that emo-chick you always hang around."
"Ah," Rai said with an exasperated look. "You know Tori and I aren't like that."
The guy rolled his eyes. "Heh, sure."
"But that's pretty cool though - her winning first place. She put a lot of work into that painting. She'll be pretty psyched when she hears the news." He turned around to look at the locker across from his, void of any people. It was supposedly my locker. "I wonder where she is, though."
"Your girlfriend's probably late again."
"She's not my grilfriend," Rai repeated with a blant stare.
"I WON'T BE LATE! I WON'T BE LATE! I WON'T BE LATE!" My board's wheels scorched like fire as I sped off towards the school building. Five seconds left! I can make it! I won't be late! I won't get that detenion and I won't get suspended! I can make it!
The door was still open, and I sated full speed ahead. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1! I kicked the back of my board and jumped over the two stairs in front of teh doors, landing inside. I didn't land on the board or my feet, but I made it inside the building before I could be declared late by the office.
I held up my head, a heavenly relieved look on my face. "Phew. I made it."
The footsteps of a faculty memeber came by across the hall. "No skateboards in the hallway, Tori. Detention."
...What.
Rai sat in homeroom reading a book, and all of a sudden he heard my aggravated scream from all the way on the other side of the school building. He glanced up, along with many of the other students in the classroom. "Well, she made it."
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"Okay everyone! Before class ends, write down your topic for your position paper and hand it in alright!" the teacher bellowed.
Position papers. Mm, what work that sounds like. Still, I think I had a decent idea of what I wanted to write about.
As teens in this generation, no one really wtaches the news or cares about current events. But I know what the adults think about. There's the energy crisis going on right now. Has been for years. At the turn of the century, they started drilling for oil in the North and South Poles. And they're overfarming the land in this country (Dai) while over-industrializing the cities in the next country over (Nationale). There're tensions between our two countries, between the city-ish Nationale and the rual Dai.
Maybe writing a position paper own't be so bad. It's basically me just criticizing the world. That I can do. I smiled inwardly as I finished writing down my topic, just in time for the final bell to ring.
With the last class dismissed, everyone rushed to hand in their paper and prepare to leave for the day.
"Yo, Tori." Rai walked up to me as I left the room. He placed a hand on my shoulder to catch my attention. "Hey I haven't seen you all day. What happened to you at lunch?"
I hung my head in rememberance of what got me in such a bad mood today. "Sorry. I was busy sulking on the roof. I was racing to get to school this morning so I wouldn't get detention for being late. But in the end I did because some teacher caught me in the hall with my skateboard. Danggit I wasn't even on it."
Rai snickered.
"Shut up don't laugh at me!"
"Why not? It's so funny!" he grinned, slightly aggrivating me as I turned away with a pout. But it's hard to stay mad at Rai forever.
Rai's my best friend, actually. We grew up together from elementary school. We didn't like each other at first, though. It's sort of the polar-opposite friendship relationship. He liked cleanlieness. I liked messes. I hate school. He likes school. But we got along eventually, and here we are, still opposites. I'm more of the shy loner who's barely keep up grades while this guy's the popular all-around guy who gets staright A's. I've also noticed him attract a lot of attention too, for our first month of high school. He's smart and a master in martial arts, so of course girls tend to fawn over him from afar.
"So, you're gonna go to detention now?"
"I guess."
"Mm, alright. I'll go wait for you in the school library then okay?"
My head jumped. "What you don't have to do that."
"Nah, I want to," he said with that annoying girl-catching smile of his. "I want you to come come over today."
"Your place really?" I asked, actually surprised by the offer. "Wait, what's teh catch?"
"What catch it's so we can celebrate. You did hear didn't you? About how you won that poster contest from September?"
Ooh. "I've heard it sometime this morning," I recalled stupidly. "Well, I can't tell you what to do. You sure it's not too much trouble to wait?"
"'Course not! Besides it's been a while since we've hung out and pigged out on cake."
My mouth gulped. "C-Cake?" Since Sylvia and I don't have that much money, we don't get to eat expensive things like sweets, let alone cake. The closest thing I can ever get to cake are pancakes, and even Sylvia's and my cooking combined can't make those decently right.
Rai had that sly girn again. I tried my best not to make ey contact. "Yup. Cake. It's only right to celebrate with cake."
"You dolt you know I have no money for that-"
"That's why I'm buying," Rai cut off. "Come on, my treat. We'll buy a whole cake just for the occasion - one from that little cafe shop you like so much."
"Why does it feel like you're bribing me..." I glared with a suspicious look.
He laughed at my comment and scratched his head. "I guess you can think of it as a bribe, to hang out. Sounds pathetic when you put it that way, but either way are you up for it, mis sweet-tooth?"
I turned the other way, feeling somehat defeated. "Fine. But only because of the cake," I mutter.
About after half an hour of boredum sitting in Mr. Bora's detention room, I was free to go. As I was leaving the room, I managed to meet up with Rai who was leaving the school library before closing. I made sure to pick up my skateboard from my locker before I forgot. By the time we left school, it was almost sunset. The skies were turning pink, and people were coming home from work. Rai however kept his word and we are currently on our way to the Gourmet Cafe that sells my favorite cakes.
"So you were promoted to a black belt?"
"Yeah. About time right?" Rai grinned, looking rather modest about the topic as we walked down the sidewalk. "Hey, maybe we should spar one day, Tori."
I scoffed. "Don't make me laugh. You know I can't fight."
"Yeah but you sure seem like the masculine type." Vein. "Hey you know it's true." Maybe. People have alays made comments like that of me, calling me tomboy or some boy-related thing. But I'm 15 now. Having a really short homogeneous haircut and a flat chest and being called masculine may tend to hurt your new unknown pride as a girl sometimes.
Soon afterwards we made it to that cafe Rai was talking about before. I don't come here often, since cheap old me continuously finds the varying prices, well, pricy. Usually if I ever do come here, it's becasue Rai is treating me to something for an occasion. Maybe a hot chocolate or a cheesecake slice or some super fancy cupcake. But this time, we're picking out real cakes.
"Go, pick any one you want," Rai assured as he pulled out his wallet for the cash.
I bent over and peered into the class cassing, where quaintly decorated cakes were displayed in cold lights. They were very beautiful. Very well decorated. But in the end I choose a small (cheap) round cake, probably ten inches in diameter for enough slices. It was decorated in vanilla and chocolate frosting with whipped cream and chocolate sauce drizzled. The counter lady said it was a marble cake, my favoirte. I pointed at it for the lady and she rang it up for us.
"That'll be $15.99," the counter lady smilled. Rai gladly paid the woman, though I felt sort of guilty for the purchase. Sixteen bucks is a lot. For me, anyway. Rai held the packaged cake by the red and white string it was tied with as we walked the rest of the way ot his house, juts barely making it before the beginning of sunset.
Rai lives with his grandpa, a shrine keeper, because his dad works in the military. Old man Kairo (AKA Grandpa) doesn't like me very much, but I suppose he's tolerent enough of me to be able to visit so often. That greedy little old man even had the nerve to ask for half of the cake slices, to which Rai and I quickly desponded. According to Rai, it's half and half for the two of us. And quite frankly my stomach didn't turn that sttement down.
We were sitting in his kitchen, me on my fifth slice while Rai was still on his second. For the most part however I remained quiet. Distracted actually. "You alright there, Tori?" Rai asked suddenly.
My head jumped "Hm?" I pasued. "Oh, sorry. Just dazing off a little. I had this freaky dream last night and that's why I woke up late this morning," i said with my eyebrows slowly furrowed downward along with my frown.
"Freaky dream huh? What - you took a math test only in your bra or something-? Agh!" I had flung with my fork part of my cake's whipped cream, landing right on the side of his face. He reopened his squinted eyes, blinking at my childishness. "Okay, what kind of freaky if not that kind of freaky?"
"I dunno. Just... weird." I couldn't quite sum it up. "For one, it really made no sense. It was just a... really long line of people in this dark spacey setting, all with creepy glowing eyes."
"You had a dream... of glowing statues," Rai repeated, not really getting the 'freakishness' of the dream.
"No like there were SO many! And all of them were lit up in the head like, like it was some sort of ... calling." What did I just say?
"Sounds more creepy than freaky," Rai remarked with the fork in the side of his mouth.
My shoulders slumped at another memory. "But you wanna know the creepiest part of the dream?"
"Oh do tell," he said with sarcastic unenthusiasm.
Instintively I gripped my form tighter in hand. "There was one statue, at the end of that super long line. And... it looked like me. I mean, not like-me like-me, but," Tori you are not making sense, "Oh just forget it," I finished stubbornly, eating a big piece of my slice of cake. Rai seemed to understand that the tipic was dropped, and went on eating his cake, too.
By 8:45, it was already nightfall. Sucks having early nightfall during the start of school. But the worst part was that there was a really bad rain storm brewing up outside. You could hear the thumping o fthe rain above the ceiling tiles of Rai's old Temple-House thing. That what I used to call it: Temple-House thing, since it looked like something out of a traditional Japanese style home from Tv. Then again, what else could you expect from a shrine keeper's abode?
"Wanna sleep over?" Rai asked as I starred out the window. Half at the rain and half at my own reflection. "Tori?"
"Uh, sure," I said in late response. It's been quite common for us to sleep over at each other's places when it got too dark or when the whether was too troublesome. Only it's been a while since I've stayed over at Rai's. Probably a couple months actually. I remember when we were kids how we used to stay over almost five days out of seven during a week. "Thanks."
"No problem. Let me just go ask my grandpa if we have any sleeping bags. We got rid of that sofa back in August." Sofa. There was a sofa in Rai's room I used to sleep on whenever I'd stay for the night. I almost forgot about that.
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"What!" the old man shrilled.
Rai covered one of his ears with his fingers. "What? You're acting like Tori's never slept over before."
Old Man Kairo kept his sour expression, grumbling something to himself first. "Fine, just don't get too used to it. You're both teenagers now, Rai. Having a girl sleep over in your room every day isn't right, ya hear? Even if she is your best friend."
Rai carelessly rolled his eyes. "Don't worry, Gramps - Tori and I are tottally fine. There's nothing between us."
"There's nothing between us. Bleugh. That's what they all say," Kairo replied with his broom as he swpt. "Seriously. That really is what they all say."
Rai sighed, walking over to his grandpa's storage closet. "I still don't see what you don't like about her."
"Oh it's not that I don't like her. I just think she's a bit too much for an old man like me," Kairo said, sounding a little more offensive than he intended to be. "Tori's a sweet girl, Rai. It's just... she's so manly! I mean look at her hair! It's almost as short as yours! And skateboards - in my day no girls ever dared stood on a skateboard. Not to mention how she is towards kids. Young girls her age are usually great with kids, but remember your cousin Niko's fifth birthday? She practically had all the little girls pulling at her scalp and clothes!"
"So Tori's a bit of a tomboy. Lots of girls are like that in my generation, Gramps," Rai assured in a leisurely manner. He was used to hearing his grandpa rant on (negatively) about me, whether I was there or not.
His grandfather sighed and resummed his sweeping. "Oh, whatever. I'm not going to let that girl get on my nerves today. In case you haven't noticed, I'm in a very good mood today."
"Really now, could've fooled me," I remarked, sparking a vein in the old man. Rain turned around, seeing me appear at the door with a smug look and crossed arms. "Hey, Old Man."
"That's Kairo to you, missy!"
"Yeah yeah," I said. Our way of conversation isn't really as rude as it sounds. It's just the way the two of us communicate. Old Man Kairo actually isn't all that bad, you know, once you get past the grouchiness and the... baldness and stuff. "So, what's the reason behind your legendary 'good mood' anyway?"
"Hmph, for your information, the Avatar has reawakened."
"The Avatar?" I repeated with a puzzled look.
"Remember that old fairy tale Gramps used to tell us when we were little?"
"Ah the one that always put me to sleep out of boredom?"
"I can hear you," Old Man Kairo said.
"I know," I smirked before giving off a short laugh. "But yeah, I remember now. The Avatar, legendary superhero who can manipultate the elements of fire, water, earth and air - beating up bad guys wherever he goes."
"The Avatar's no superhero! He is a highly spiritual being and the embodiment of the earth itself! The bridge between our world and the Spirit World! The Avatar is the one keeping peace and maintaining balance in the world."
"Peace and balance. Those totally describe our world today," I remarked in smiling sarcasm.
Rai laughed at that, finally fidning the sleeping bag and pulling it out of the closet. "What makes you think this all-powerful and wise Avatar returned anyway?"
"Last night, during one of my meditation sessions, I experienced something great and unexpected, powerful even."
"You farted?" I asked blantly.
"No I did not fart," he clarified quite loudly. I smiled smug while Rai stiffled his laughter. I could see Old Man Kairo boiling in the face, just barlely holding down his temper. "I witnessed a vision of what this world has been long waiting for. Just you wait, you two. Those stories I used to tell you will be nothing of legend soon enough. They'll be as real as you and me.
"Well, thanks for the sleeping bag," Rai said as he bid his farewell and goodnight. He grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the room before I could come up with another insulting remark to his grandpa. "Sorry about my Grandpa."
"WHDon't feel bad for me. I'm not the one who lives with him."
He chuckled. "I see your opinion of him hasn't changed."
"Yeah well his opinions about he haven't changed either so there's nothing wrong with a little witty offensive banter," I argued in my defence, only for Rai to laugh again as he shook his head.
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That night, protected from the rain storm outside, and sleeping comfortably in a sleeping bag from the autumn coolness was anything bit relaxing. For some reason I just couldn't fall asleep, no matter what sleeping position I tried. I just felt too anxious. At first I tried to convince myself it was because of all the cake I ate for dinner. But by the second hour of no sleep, I admitted it was just me worrying too much over the dream.
I've had weirder dreams than that I assure you, but for some reason the thought just... lingered. Like it wouldn't go away or be forgotten. I pulled the sleeping bag over my mouth, as if to hide from something, from the shadows.
Five minutes later - still not sleepy
Ten minutes later - Oh my gosh I can't sleep.
Half an hour later - "Forget it." I sat up and slid out of the sleeping bag. I trudged over to Rai's bed, shaking his shoulder gently as not to scare him. "Rai? Rai are you awake?"
"Oh yeah. Definitly. I've totally been awake all this time," he replied in sarcasm once more. He sat up, apparently still half alseep. "Tori it's like three in the morning. What's up?"
"I need to go to the bathroom."
..." You're kidding right?"
"Where is it again?"
Rai sighed. "Down the hall and to the left- Wait. Grandpa still hasn't called in a plummer to fix it yet," he remembered, scratching his head. "We have a second bathroom in the second building, but you have to walk along the patio outside. Want me to come with you-?"
"No it's okay I can find it. You go back to sleep," I assured, feeling kind of bad that I've woken him up. Without letting him respond I left, but he went to follow anyway. He'd taken an umbrella with him as we made out way for the back door. I could see his courtyard was still endowned with plants grown by his Grandpa, despite the darkness of the storm.
Rai and I walked along the wooden floors adjecent to the main house, trying to avoid getting wet from the rain behind the umbrella. After two corner turns, we made it to this lone old wooden door, which Rai said was the bathroom. He waited for me outside, which didn't take very long I think. But apparently by the time I got out, Rai really had to go. And without much conversation he'd thrown the umbrella in my hands and ran in to do his business as well.
I stood there dumbstruck for at least three seconds before sighing. "Typical Rai." I swear, outside of school he can be such a dork sometimes.
I stood there against the wall, waiting while gazing out at the rain, illuminated by the moonlight. I noticed in the distance their family shrine, the holy shrine that Old Man Kairo keeps clean. I emember playing with Rai around it, then his Grandpa yelling at us for playing on holy grounds. Please. If strangers can walk up and put random pieces of fancy food on a rock near the shrine than surely that old man wouldn't mind us sitting around it and enjoying life.
"Mm, no wonder he doesn't like me. All I do is complain about him," I muttered to myself in realization. I turned to the old wooden door, thinking about Rai. "He sure is taking his sweet time making me wait in there." Only then did I take a double take out into the rain. I could be hallucinating form lack of sleep, but I swear I could see a weird light in the same generation direction of the shrine.
With my free hand not holding the umbrella I rubbed my eyes, turning left and right first before staring back at the shrine, seeing the same light. "O-kay. High school's officially stressing me out."
After a quick flushing sound, the door reopened and Rai walked back out. "Whew, I thought Grandpa forgot to replace the toilet paper but then I found the-" He noticed the light too, it would seem. "... Did you do that?" Slowly I shook my head no. Once. "... Oh."
"Rai, does your family shrine do that often?"
"Not that I know of," he replied warrily. "Maybe it's just the reflection of a lampost somewhere. Let's go back inside-"
I grabbed his arm, keeping him in place. My face was unusually serious. Firm. And as if I were expecting it, I had a flash-image of those eye-glowing statues again blink in my mind. And then it was gone. "Let's go towards it."
"Tori I am not going out into the cold rain in a frickin' wife-beater-"
"Just come on, you big baby," I ordered, dragging him forward with me under the umbrella. We walked barefoot across the courtyard. The bottom of the flannel pants got wet, leaving cold chills hit my ankles with every step.
Arriving at the shrine, the odd markings remained nostalgic to me. Familiar since it's been so long - or maybe because of something else. I couldn't help but feel that. The light we saw before was coming from the ground, thorugh the cracks of the stones we were standing on.
I knelt down, having my and feel the cool wet cobblestone floor. "That's weird. It's like there's something under there."
"Maybe we should get my grandpa?" Rai asked me as I continued feeling the ground.
I scoffed in reply. "Then we'd really never get to find out what's under here. Come on where's your sense of adventure?"
"Out the window like yours. But apparently your's come back," Rai said, watching me with a nostalgic essence about him. I smiled with anxiousness, wondering what was beyond this gray stones. Curiosity. Surprise. Those were two of the few things that made me smile, and it would seem Rai missed that about me and our childhood.
Amongst the stones I was feeling, a particular black one felt different. Smoother. Colder. Like, like- "Metal?" I accidenatlly wound up pushing on it, only to realize it was a button of some sort. The ground in front of us glowing began to open up. Rai and I stood up and jumped back, afraid we'd accidenatlly fall in. But it stpped before out feet, near where I had dropped the umbrella from shock. Before us lied an errie staircase with the blue light emitting from further down inside.
Rai and I just stood there, frozen. "Something tells me we weren't supposed to find this," I finally said.
"Well that weird blue light's telling me we probably were meant to," Rai said, unusually enthusiastic about this weird event. "Well chief, you opened the creepy passage way. You wanna go in?"
As if to help me answer, a second mental image flashed through my mind. It was those statues again, and I got back that weird urging feeling within me. "Let's go."
Here's the first chapter of my new story. I hope it's not too OC-ish. This was an old idea of mine that I was going to use as a sequel to the original Avatar series, and then Legend of Korra came out. (LOVE IT) But I felt like still doing this idea, so I revamped it a bit. So, hope you enjoy. Feedback please!
P.S: As for my Danny Phantom and Naruto stories - still doing those too. Just REAL sidetracked right now.
CHARACTERS
Tori: 15 year old freshman with a bland outlook on life. She is unenthusiastic, temperamental, unsocial, but secretly holds a held-back sense of adventure. She discovers she's the Avatar and must how change her whole lifestyle to fit this sudden role given to her.
Rai: Tori's best friend. Grandson of a shrine keeper, he's something of a modest model student. Perfect gradea and perfect rep - only his best friend is no nobody-sourpuss, Tori. Despite how outgoing he is, Rai is actually very conservative and serious. Tori misses how free he used to be as a kid.
Kairo: Rai's grandfather and the shrine keeper to the secret Avatar Temple. He's long awaited the reawakening of the lost powerful and wise Avatar, only to discover it's his grandson's spawn-of-the-devil best friend. Despite how much she gets on his nerves, he must guide her to becoming a fully realized Avatar.