Author's Comments: Before I get started with this story, I just want to get a few things straightened out here. First off, this story does not involve any of the cannon characters from Avatar: The Last Air Bender, or The Legend of Korra. Ok, that might be stretching it a bit... Because Aang does make a few appearances later on. So... he is somewhat involved. More or less as a spiritual mentor than anything else, though. There is also a character named after Zuko, pretty much called "Prince Zuko the Second" kind of like how many countries will have their heirs named after notable heroes/heroines in their ancestry or history. But keep in mind, this is a future generation, nearly seven hundred years into the future to be exact. The last Avatar in this series was nearly eighty years ago.

Another thing? This story, while it takes place in the Avatar world, is a bit like an alternate reality version of it. In our current time with our current technology, etc. mixed in with the creatures, and Benders from the original Avatar universe. Republic City is still the hubbub of the world, crime still runs rampant, among other things.

I also want to address something I added to Raya's looks that some people might question me about later: The blue arrow things on her skin. I thought about it for the sake of my fiction making it strictly "Aang's Bloodline" trait and all that, but then I also thought that it might be an interesting detail belonging to the Avatar in general, a way to identify the 'real' Avatar in modern times, when there are so many people claiming to be the Avatar, or best of the best and so on. So not only are the blue arrow things part of Aang's blood line, setting his descendants apart from the rest of society, but they crop up on the next true Avatar every few generations.

I won't go into much detail here, maybe in the next chapter's A.C. 's, about why I chose the element I did for Raya, the main character, as she started out on her journey. Or maybe, even, it might be obvious to some Avatards why I chose the element I did for her! Who knows?

So, consider this a mix of realities, with a few touches of my own added in to the story. But with the history of Avatar: The Last Air Bender. I don't know that much about Korra yet, especially since at this point, there's only a few episodes of The Legend of Korra. But I can guarantee you that Raya is one of my personal favorite Original Characters I've invented lately. And there are a lot of O.C.'s in my personal library, so to speak.

Oh yeah... I'm also not a Katara+Aang shipper, but I stuck with the cannon in this story because I love Tenzin! I'm actually a Zuko+Katara shipper. But again, stuck with the cannon pairing of Katara+Aang for this story. Just wanted to stick that out there... ;)

I hope you enjoy this! Read on!

Avatar: The Legends of Raya

Chapter: The Rebirth of Hope

She knew she was different from the get-go. Always getting in trouble at school for outbursts when she became frustrated, or busting down the walls of a classroom when she was angry at a bully. While she wasn't shy by any means, she was also teased because of how different she was. She'd beat up the kids who teased and bullied her with ease, with the result of being suspended from school for weeks at a time afterwards. The only reason she had not been expelled was because her parents were close friends with the Principal, who had faith that she could one day overcome her social 'barriers' as they put it.

Today was one of those days that she was suspended from school, and Raya was bored out of her wits, throwing rocks in a stream. Looking up at the sky, she saw in broad daylight the moon hovering as a pale, milky-white disc among the blue periwinkle skies of Republic City. It wasn't that she was getting poor grades in classes or anything, but rather because of the struggles in the social life that she couldn't stay in school for very long. She had dark red hair that was nearly brown, but in this sunlight, it was obvious she was a red head, and it hung to her waist. She also had thick, wild bangs that seemed to hide something most people couldn't see unless they actually told her to lift up her hair. Her skin was pale peach a light tan which showed that she indeed spent a lot of time in the sun. It wasn't obvious, but she wore make-up as another disguise, even on her hands. But she blended it so well, that it was barely noticeable to the untrained eye. Her own eyes were rather unique too, the right eye being blue, the left being emerald green.

She wore her favorite black hooded jacket with a single white stripe going down the outside of both arms, a pair of blue cut-off jeans that cut off just below the knee, and a pair of black double belted boots. Her companion noisily bounded down the hill they were climbing, before running over to the creek and drinking the fresh, cool water. It always amazed Raya that there would be a creek like this in the middle of the city, giving this area the illusion of being an oasis.

Rikki was a large beast, with the body and head of a white tiger, and tail and ears of a wolf. The base of Rikki's fur was white, with a single black streak from the forehead to the tip of her tail, and black stripes cascading down from the main streak on its back. The only place that didn't have any tiger stripes on her body was the tail, and ears. Rikki was almost bigger than Raya, but the two had been best friends ever since her parents brought the Tigruf home as a pup, then only four feet long and wide.

It was as Raya was looking up that she saw a creature even bigger than Rikki flying in the skies above Republic City. It was a flying bison... One from the Air Temple! Blinking, Raya gawked at the sight. It was said that the flying bison was the transportation of the Air-bending Monks, and only left the temple when the leader of the Monks was in search of the Avatar or traveling for a meeting with the leaders of the other great nations of the world. The sound of the flying bison snorting caught Rikki's attention, as the Tigruf's tail twitched in an annoyed manner, the bison moved on.

Deciding now was a good time to practice her fire bending, Raya stripped off her jacket, setting it on a favorite rock. This was the one place where she could practice without being harassed or bullied by her classmates. This is what made her unique in her class. As there were very few Fire Benders outside the Fire Nation, it was unusual that a Fire Bender would be born into a family predominately consisting of Water Benders. It wasn't as though she had an expert level of control over her Fire Bending yet, but she preferred the Fire Bending skills over Water. It was more powerful, and could make a point much more quickly than her feeble Water Bending skills.

Her red hair seemed to fly around her as she practiced, summoning the fire at will as Rikki now watched in quiet patience. As the hours flew by, she now worked up a sweat. Finding it hard to keep going, she finally decided it was time to go home. She went over to grab her coat, and was surprised to hear a beeping in her pocket.

It was her mother telling her it was time for dinner.

"C'mon, Rikki!" Raya threw her coat onto her shoulders, as the Tigruf raced over, her big paws leaving prints the size of dinner plates in the sand. Once they were up the hill, Raya jumped on to Rikki's back, and the Tigruf bounded at top speed to the nearest side walk, then bolted down the streets, rounding several corners until coming to a sudden, abrupt halt. "Eh...?" Raya blinked at the sight that apparently took the Tigruf by surprise.

The Flying Bison had stopped in her parents' yard. Her father was waiting, surprisingly, with a smile.

"Ah, Raya, I see you've done good and managed to stay out of trouble again today!" He said. The explanation as to why Raya had red hair could easily be seen in her father's own red hair, only because he was much older, his had gray streaks in it and he was starting to go bald at the front.

"Yeah, Dad. What's with the giant bison in our front yard?" Raya asked as she bounded off Rikki to hug her father.

"Come on in, we have a guest. NO, Rikki, stay out here." Her father added as Rikki once again tried to sneak inside. But the Tigruf was just too big to be allowed inside the two story home anymore.

She felt apprehensive as she stepped through the door and into her home, to see a tall priest with brown hair, wearing the Air-Bender's garb. He was also accompanied by a teenager, who looked roughly a year or two older than herself, wearing exactly the same type of clothing. Both her reaction and his were that of indigence and annoyed disbelief.

"What are THEY doing here? Aren't those monks supposed to be at the Air Bending temple?" she demanded of her father.

"This is the one you think is going to be the avatar?" The man's apparent son snarled.

Raya's father sighed, rather impatiently.

"Raya, these men have come to see if our claim is true or not, that you could be the Avatar." He said.

"Wait... What? But the Avatar is just a legend!" Raya looked between her father, and the two monks. "I mean, sure, he or she existed in the past, and the legendary Aang and Fire Lord Zuko formed this city and all, every one knows that, but-"

"The legends of the Avatar, while being fantastic in and of themselves, are true. Now, Mr. Bion, what proof would you have that she could be the Avatar?" The oldest of the two monks asked patiently, looking like he was trying hard not to laugh at Raya or his son's reaction.

"Raya, show him the markings." He instructed.

"What?" She looked like she wasn't sure if she wanted to Fire Bend his butt out of his own home for suggesting that, or run away. "Honey," Mr. Bion called into the kitchen, where his wife was working on fixing dinner. "Would you mind bringing a wet cloth out?"

"Sure thing, dear." A few light clangs later, and his wife with dark brown hair and blue eyes came out from the kitchen with a black wet cloth for her daughter to use. Hana was just a few years younger than her husband, but descended from immigrants from the Northern Water Tribe who came to Republic City years ago during its foundation. "Here you go, Raya." She said sweetly, handing her daughter the cloth.

Raya looked from her parents to the monks then sighed, seeing that she was outnumbered, but still not thrilled.

"Either you take off the make-up willingly, or we Water Bend it off." Her father said simply.

"Fine." She huffed, taking the cloth and wiping it over her face, revealing the blue arrows on her face under the make-up that she used to conceal it. She had two small horizontal arrows pointing inward, one on each side of her cheeks, and a larger vertical arrow pointing down on her forehead. She then moved to wipe off the make-up on her hands, to reveal a single arrow the same shade of brilliant blue pointing to her fingers. Feeling thoroughly humiliated, Raya glared at the monks. She felt like a dog being put through its paces at a show.

"That and she's a Fire Bender born into a family made predominately of Water Benders." Hana smiled at the monks as her daughter handed her mother the cloth.

The monks were blinking at her. Markings like that had not been seen since the previous Avatar.

"If you're done gawking at me." Raya snapped. "I'm going to my room until dinner."

"Wait." The oldest of the two monks said, not having once lost his patience with the girl. "Only the Avatar is ever born with those kinds of markings. And your mother just said that you are a Fire Bender among Water Benders?"

Raya stopped as she was on her way to the stairs, glancing back.

"Yeah? So what. I'm sure lots of families have the odd-ball Bender in them once in a while. There must be a Fire Bender in my ancestry that we're not aware of." She replied.

"Flawless logic." Her father rolled his eyes. "But you seem to be forgetting that our family of Water Benders goes back all the way to the days of Master Katara and her talents. Not that we are descended from her or anything, but there hasn't been a Fire Bender in our family in generations."

"I suggest a test." The oldest monk said. "Have Miss Raya come to our temple for a month. If she proves that she really does have the potential to use all the elements by the end of the trial, then real training will begin."

"And if not?" Hana looked suspicious for a moment.

"Then she'll just be sent straight back home. No farther questions will be asked about her." He replied with a simple nod.

"What do you say, Raya?" The parents looked at their daughter who looked like she was ready to start yelling at them all for choosing her life for her again.

"A month, huh? I guess it can't be worse than that vacation we took to Ba Sing Se last year during summer break." She shrugged.

"Then we will leave for the Air Temple tomorrow if that is all right. We have already withdrawn her from the Republic City school systems." The monk bowed to the parents, who looked a little awkward to the reference of the vacation the previous year. "Raya, bring what only you can pack in a back pack." He instructed.

"Can I bring Rikki? She's been with me since I was a kid." She added at a raised eyebrow from her parents.

"Of course. I do not see why not. Eira is quite capable of handling an extra passenger." The man nodded.

"Eira? Is that what you call your flying bison?" Blinked Raya.

"Indeed, it is." The man replied kindly.

"Well, I'm going upstairs to pack. Let me know when dinner's ready?" Raya looked over at her mother, who nodded. She then made her way up the stairs. Even though she'd been fighting to stay calm, fighting to hold her temper in front of the Air Temple monks, Raya was seething inside.

She could hear her parents asking the monks their names.

"I am Achak, and my son here is Len. We are descendants of the Avatar Aang and his family."

She heard the man reply. She didn't hear the rest of that conversation, for she slammed her door shut rather loudly to make a point that while she was compliant to the idea of spending a month at the exclusive Air Temple, she hated the fact that her parents had summoned the Benders to single her out. She was scared, terrified of what might happen if she WAS the Avatar. But she wasn't about to let anyone know her inner fears, or self doubts. There was a part of her that also really wanted to prove herself to her classmates who bullied and teased her about her markings, and the fact that she was a Fire Bender born into a family of Water Benders. She was often called the "Bastard Daughter" Of a good, hardworking family. One who didn't belong. One who had been most likely adopted, if not for the fact that her father had the same red hair, and her mother had the same unique eyes.

As she went through many of her things, deciding what would be practical for retaining her sanity during a month of unknown dangers and training, she thought about everything. And while she was terrified, of what the future could hold for her if it was proven without a doubt that she was the Avatar, a new desire rose up in her heart. One to prove to all those doubters, all those who ever caused her harm at school and forced her to Fire Bend to defend herself, wrong about who she was.

"Please, don't take her attitude towards your sudden arrival wrong, Priest Achak." Mr. Bion bowed to the man. "It's just... she's always had a difficult time with socializing with anyone. It's not been easy for her to make any friends... Sometimes we pull her out of school for her own safety. The children there just do not accept her as one of her own."

"I wonder why that is." Len rolled his eyes. His first opinion of the perspective Avatar wasn't all that high, sure, she was rather easy on the eyes in looks, but her attitude wasn't all that approachable.

"Son?" Achak looked down at the young man.

"All I have to say on the matter is that I've met more sociable lemurs than her at the Air Temple." Len took a seat on the couch.

Achak chuckled a bit. It took a lot for his son to be impressed by much, having grown up in a family of legendary warriors and being descended from Aang. Apparently Raya would make no difference in that attitude of his.

"I have already made arrangements for the Fire Lord's youngest to meet us at the Air Temple to begin fine tuning her Fire Bending techniques. First we must ensure that she can fully master that before moving on to the other elements." Achak went on to explain the method of training that he was planning on using on the girl as Hana went back into the kitchen to finish making dinner.

"You mean Prince Zuko the second? I have heard that he is a prodigy Fire Bender." Bion looked quite interested that his daughter would get to meet the Fire Bending Prince. "I've seen him on television. He is quite the skilled bender for only being eighteen." He knew that the Prince was named for the legendary Fire Lord who helped Avatar Aang form the very city he lived in, and also helped bring an end to the Hundred Year War brought on by his predecessors of the throne.

"Indeed. So much so that I felt he would be perfect once you contacted us in regards to your daughter." Achak said as Len apparently was zoning out from the conversation.

Raya was looking through her books and all of her movies. She knew she wouldn't be able to bring the movies along, but maybe a few books. Looking at her historical collection, she decided on a few key novels about the history of the Avatar, since it would be pretty relevant if it was proven that she was the new Avatar. Apart from packing some of her favorite clothes, she also chose a few that she thought would be perfect for training in.

And, being an 'expert packer', and loving all the space that was in her back pack, she was able to add all of her favorite music to the iPod, and put the device in the front pocket with her portable game player and hacked data card. Another hobby of hers was drawing and coloring, so she was able to shove her rather extensive collection of professional colored pencils, ink pens, mechanical pencils, rulers, erasers and several sketchbooks into her backpack as well. She didn't know when she'd have time to draw, color and listen to her music while she was at the Temple, but it would be nice to know she had the option for entertainment. Especially since she wasn't the best at socializing, and she wasn't expecting that to change right away either at the Air Temple. As her backpack filled up with her personal belongings, there was a knocking on her door.

"Who is it?" She asked, in the middle of deciding which pair of tops to bring, and which not to bring.

"Your mother, dear." Hana's voice came from the other end of the door. Raya gave an annoyed sigh as the door opened. "I just wanted to give you something before you came down to dinner."

"Yeah? And what's that?" Raya set down her tops carefully on her bed as her mother approached. It was clear that she held something delicate in her hands.

"I've been thinking about this ever since we contacted the Air Benders at the Temple... And... I wanted it to be something that you could carry on you at all times, even if you were to loose your bag, and something that would remind you that your parents love you." Hana smiled kindly. Raya was only able to consider now how hard it must be for her mother to let her daughter go like this, and not know if she'd be coming back or not. "Then it came to me... I want to give you this." Hana opened her hands to reveal the necklace that she always wore.

"Mom... you're not serious? I thought Dad gave that to you on your wedding day!" Raya thought something looked different about her mother that afternoon.

"Yes. And it has great meaning to us. That is why I want to pass it on to you. I have confidence that you will be able to surpass all the Avatars of the past... Maybe even become greater than Aang in this world of unbalanced chaos." Hana smiled as she held out the necklace, and Raya took it tenderly. The necklace was a thin silver chain with a single tear-drop shaped sapphire gemstone hanging from it, set in thin gold that wrapped around it.

Putting it around her neck, Raya looked up to see her mother giving her a glowing smile.

"Always take care of it, dear child. And we'll always be with you, no matter what trials you wind up going through." Hana hugged her daughter tightly, as though scared to let her go. But after a few moments of tender, parental love silence, Hana pulled away. She watched as her daughter tucked the necklace underneath her shirt collar, before following Hana back down the stairs.

Raya saw with an annoyed twinge that Achak and Len were indeed still there, and by the looks of it, having dinner with the family that night. Just because she was going with them to the Air Temple didn't mean that she had to like them. But it was now that she was able to really see what they looked like. Achak looked like a true descendant of Avatar Aang, with the bald head, the blue eyes of his ancestor Katara, and the Air Bending monk's outfit. While his son opted to grow his hair, which was dark brown and wild. Len also had the blue eyes that seemed to run in his family.

When Len realized she was looking at him, he stared back.

"What?" He asked, to which she shrugged and started wolfing down her pasta.

Within a few moments, she had eaten so much that she coughed a little, then let out a loud belch at the table due to having drank too much water in one gulp.

"Raya! Must you behave like that in front of the Air Bender monks?" Bion stared aghast at his daughter while Len roared with laughter. Achak blinked between his son and the perspective Avatar, fighting the desire to join his son, coughed a little.

"Could use some lessons in self restraint..." He said, pretending to already be in mentor-mode. "I think by now it's obvious why she's already a skilled Fire Bender."

Raya actually felt her face going red with embarrassment as the moment passed.

Later that night, Raya laid awake in her bedroom, for what could possibly be the last time for who knows how long. While she was anxious to prove all her classmates wrong in regards to their opinion of her, she was also scared of what was to come if it was proven that she was the Avatar. Her bags were packed, she had spent the evening cleaning and tidying up her room so that her mother would have little maintenance for it while she was gone, and made sure her computer was well covered up. She decided to pack her laptop in her handy computer travel bag, since she was sure that the Air Temple.

The very next morning, she was standing in her front yard, wearing her hair back in a pony tail. She also wore her favorite black tail coat with ruffles in the front from the waist down at an angle. Her pants were navy blue cut offs again, while her shirt was a v-neck non-photo blue t-shirt with spring green trim at the neckline that matched her eyes. Her shoes were double buckled black hiking boots, and one wouldn't be able to tell just by looking at her, but around her neck was the necklace her mother gave her.

Rikki was bounding around the family as Achak prepared the Flying Bison, Eira. There were also several bystanders watching, wondering who it was that was being 'sent away' as one of her classmates was saying early that morning while waiting for the school bus.

Raya looked up and saw that it was a cloudless sky that morning, so she pulled from her pants pocket a pair of black sunglasses lined with a silver frame- her eyes were a little sensative to the bright sun.

"Is there really a need for that kind of disguise?" Asked Len. "I mean, I'm sure people won't recognize you at all with those markings." He added sarcastically from atop Eira's back, where the giant saddle was mounted for the passengers.

"It's called sunlight sensitivity, not a disguise, ya know?" She retorted. "Besides, these make me look cool." She added, striking a small pose with her hand on her hips.

"All right, all right. Time to quit fooling around, hon." Hana giggled at her daughter's way of handling her own obvious fears and insecurities.

"Right. Go and make us proud, sweetie." Bion hugged his daughter one more time as Rikki sensed they were really getting ready to leave, and with surprising agility for a beast so large jumped from the ground into the passengers' saddle atop Eira in a single, excited bound. "Looks like someone's ready." He added as Rikki wagged her tail and stared at her master expectantly.

"I'm not sure if I am..." Raya mumbled, barely audible as she walked over to the flying bison. Then looked up at Len as Achak leapt on to the head of the creature, settling himself comfortably, cross-legged at the top. "Um... how do I get up on this thing?" She asked as she slung her backpack over her shoulders.

Len rolled his eyes and leaned over the edge, offering her his hand to help her up. Once she was on board, she took off the back pack and looked down as she heard Achak asking the spectators to kindly get out of the way or risk being blasted by the bison's Air Bending. Then, he gave the command, while Raya looked down once more at her parents. Next thing she knew, she was hanging on to the edge of the giant passengers' saddle's edge for dear life as the beast took flight, heading away from her home, her school and her past. Making for the new, uncertain future that was being set before her.