I'm not one for listening. Never have been. I've known that for years, I suppose. But I never thought it would get me into a mess like this. You see, I've doomed everyone I love. My brother and my mother. Everyone. Republic City is going to be destroyed. And it's all my fault . . .

CHAPTER 1

An Announcement

"Chief Beifong and the whole of the police force are currently working their hardest to stem the flow of the anti-bender revolt. They have proven slightly successful in preventing some potentially-harmful—"

I turn off the radio on my windowsill and gaze out onto the panorama of the city. My street is all but silent now, but the rest of Republic City is alive with light and music. The city beats like a neon heart at the center of the world; its life and oxygen the people that roam through it. This is what I crave. The life that I could be having out there: the downtown hub, the marketplaces, the Pro-Bending Arena.

Mother would never let me, though. Not with Amon and his goons running amok and trying to scare people with their goofy masks and wanna-be chi-blocking. Caught with a sudden pulse of rebellion, I can't resist the urge to open my dusty window and jet. I grasp the hinges and pull the glass up with a rusty groan. It's like an old man's cough.

The smells immediately mesmerize me. Rosemary and sage from our garden, tire from the streets, metal and stone from the nearby buildings. And the breeze, oh the breeze. A cool, life-pouring wind that makes my every pore sing and hum with elation. I am ready. This is my city.

The fall from the window is quick and painless. I land with a muffled thump and take special care to not step on any of mother's flowers. A few short steps and I open our green metal gate. It's noisy, but closes with certainty. My street is quiet and still, the only sound coming from my footsteps and the occasional flickering of a faulty streetlight. I pass by a slew of beat-up Satomobiles. Some abandoned, some still in use. The Dragon-Flats are not known for their . . . prosperity.

Where I'm heading, though, is far from the Dragon-Flats.

The street has a gradual downhill-incline that I barely notice. It's funny because all the streetlights are tilting with the street, but no one around here really cares. They have enough to worry about.

Eventually, the houses and Satomobiles give way to lumbering patches of dewy grass. I've exited the Dragon-Flats and am now in my favorite part of the city. Past the grass and a small line of trees, I can hear the sound of waves breaking over rock. Like the relief from a fresh breath of air, Yue Bay opens up before me.

The moonlight flickers on its glassy surface like shifting layers of ice. In the distance I can see Air Temple Island and Avatar Aang Island. They fascinate me. They both hold a kind of secret enigma for me. The last avatar, Avatar Aang, had had both of them built, yet I am willing to bet that barely anyone in the city pays much attention to them, much less has ever visited them. I make a silent vow to visit them one day. As the wind picks up and blows my hair, I close my eyes and breathe deeply. My normal routine begins.

My hands come up at my sides, parallel to the ground. I feel everything in one cohesive moment. The push and pull of the water in front of me and the energy of the moon above me. I don't move – not with a conscience effort, at least. I feel the tug that the water supplies and before I know it my hands are moving. The water responds with ease. My will and its will are no different. We have the same purpose in mind, therefore, we move with the same clarity.

I don't know how long this ritual lasts. I often get lost in time when waterbending. I suppose I should fix that . . .

Needless to say, I'm late. My eyes finally shoot open when I begin to see a reddish glow beneath my eyelids. Everything seems so bright after having them shut for so long. The sun has already broken the horizon and I can hear the sounds of shops opening and Satomobiles driving: Republic City is waking up.

"Oh—" Okay, perhaps I should leave out the next word.

I run back through the trees, not caring that branches and thorns are probably cutting my clothing. The fields of grass pass beneath my feet like a river and soon enough I'm running back up the inclined streets of the Dragon-Flats. The streets are beginning to fill up with all sorts of people. Most of them up to no good, so I keep my eyes on the concrete and my feet moving. I must admit that I am surprised when I bump into something tall and annoying.

"Ooh, you are so dead," my brother says, his arms crossed and a stupid smirk on his face.

"Shut up," I say as I push past him.

He turns around and walks close enough behind me so he can whisper in my ear.

"What d'ya think mom will say when she finds out you were . . . waterbending."

"She doesn't have to find out. At least, not if someone keeps their mouth shut."

"Ahh, I see. And if she already knows?"

I stop dead in my tracks. I slowly turn to face my brother. He has tousled black hair that falls in a jumble over his forehead. His eyes are a brown that would make any girl's heart melt. My brother's physique is tall and lean with slightly showing muscles. I suppose he's been working out.

"Gen, if you told mother, I swear –"

"Oh, calm down. I didn't tell her anything." He smiles. "But no guarantees that she hasn't woken up and noticed that you're gone."

I roll my eyes and punch his arm.

"Let's just get home."

Bread, bacon, eggs and oranges. That's all I can smell when I get home. The smells hypnotize me for a moment and all I can think of is my hunger. Then I realize that for breakfast to be ready my mother would have to be . . .

"Yup, nice knowin' ya sis." Gen walks past me, whistling an annoying tune.

I take a deep breath.

She's standing in the kitchen, one hand on her hip, the other helping her lean on the wooden table. Her apron is covered with flour and her hair is tied back hastily in a pony-tail.

"Mom, I can–"

"Don't bother," she says. "I get it. You love sneaking out and feeling the rush of teenage mischief so much that you don't care that Amon and the Equalists could snatch you at any moment."

"But I was only bending, and no one was–"

"Save it," she snaps. She places her finger and thumb against her temples and massages them. A sigh escapes her lips. "Kosame, I understand bending is important to you. It was for your father too . . . but you can't go and bend in public like that. The Equalists are too dangerous."

While every fiber of my being tells me to argue, I don't have the heart for it. Especially when she mentions my dad . . . that's just too painful. So, I swallow my pride and nod. It takes everything I have.

My mother suddenly turns on Gen who is stuffing his face at the table. Three strips of bacon, a whole string of scrambled eggs and a chunk of bread are all sticking out of his mouth at the same time.

"And you! Where on earth were you?"

He raises his eyebrows. "Mm? Mm–hm–mmh–"

"Chew first!"

He chews and swallows.

"Me? I was doing the brotherly thing and going after my terribly misguided sister here," he gestures toward me. I feel like strangling him.

"I was doing her–and you–a favor."

Gen smiles, looking satisfied, and promptly continues to glue his face to the plate. My mother, on the other hand, just sighs and walks out of the kitchen. Completely ignoring my brother, I pile a plate with food, fill a glass with orange juice and take my breakfast upstairs to my room.

I close my window which muffles the sounds of the city and turn on the radio. Thanks to the first thing I hear, I never get to finish my breakfast.

"–and due to these rising levels of Equalist activity, Chief Beifong is calling out to those who wish to help end the extremist group. More and more police are hired each day and Beifong needs as much help as she can get. Just be at least eighteen years-of-age and come down to the police department to begin registration and, if you are accepted, training."

That's when it happens. The cogs start spinning in my head and I realize I have found a way to bend freely while also fighting those who would oppress my right to bend. I immediately scramble to find some spare yuans under my bed and fly down the stairs.

"Mom! Going out! Be back in time for dinner!"

I sprint out of my house feeling excited and elated at my fortune. In my elation, however, I fail to recognize one glaring point: I am not an earthbender, much less a metalbender.