Avatar: The Legend of Rai (Modern AU)

Book 1: Discovery

It was Rai's eighteenth birthday. He was excitedly waiting for his father, Ken, to come back from work. Ken was a scientist from the Fire Nation that often visited the North Pole. In the last couple of centuries, the entirety to the water tribes moved to the South Pole due to global warming. Humanity had advanced significantly and so did the inventions. By now, they had futuristic cars, architecture and technology. All of that contributed to the melting of the North Pole. Ken had promised his son that he would take him on an expedition to the North Pole when he turns eighteen.

The door opened and Rai's eyes immediately darted towards it. Ken walked in the house.
"Happt Birthday Rai! You're finally eighteen and you know what that means, right? I'm taking you to an expedition next month!" - Ken seemed more excited than Rai.

"Thanks, dad. I'm looking forward to it."
- Rai wanted to know what was buried deep into the ice since he was a kid. He had read hundreds of books about the North Pole and the water tribes. He always taught that there was some kind of a blank spot or a gap in their history, but he didn't question it much.

A month passed and Ken was finally taking Rai to the expedition, like he promised. There were some other people on board as well and Ken introduced Rai. Turns out, Chiu, a businessman from the Earth Kingdom had also promised his daughter that he would take her.

"Hello, Chiu. This is my son, Rai. I told you about him." - Ken introduced Rai to Chiu. Rai quietly bowed, he was more intrested in the girl.

"Pleasure to meet you, your father told me a lot about you. Anyhow, this is my daughter Ming." - Chiu said with a smirk.

Ming and Rai just stared at each other, it was awkward at best. Ken and Chiu tried breaking the silence, but it didn't really work. After awhile, they gave up on it and went back to the boat. The plan was to sleep inside the boat.

Ming grew tired of Rai's shyness, buy she was also shy and couldn't break the silence. She decided to leave.

"Where are you going...?" - said Rai before catching up to her.

"Finally decided to say something? Well, for your information, I'm going out for a walk. You could tag along if you want." Ming looked annoyed, but deep down, she wanted him to come. He was the only one that wasn't an old man on this expedition and she could use the company.

"I'll come. It's very dangerous to walk out here alone. I read a lot of books about this, so I know what to avoid."
- Rai taught he sounded cool, but Ming looked at him with a disgusted expression. - "You seem like such a nerd."

This made Rai visibly angry, but he didn't say anything. He just continued to walk alongside her. After ten minutes of walking, they notice a glacier. Ming tired to climb on it.

"Are you crazy?! That's really dangerous!" - Rai shouted.

"Don't be a killjoy! It's fun, you should try it too!" - Ming was trying to convince him to climb it.

"I'd rather stay alive." - Rai rolled his eyes.

Suddenly Ming screamed and fell into the water. Rai jumped in to help her. He dragged her onto the ice.

"Are you okay?! What the hell happened?!" - Rai was worried.

"There's something inside of that glacier!" - Ming looked terrified. - "It was some king of monster!"

"Monsters don't exist, it's probably a fossil or something." - Rai was trying to calm her down, but he sounded like he was trying to be a smart-ass.

"Oh yeah?! Well, you have firebending abilities, melt it and see for yourself!"
- Ming got angry and shouted at him.

Rai was actually a great firebender. Definitely not a master, but skilled enough to melt a glacier. Rai melted it with his flames. A dark spirit came out of the iceberg, Vaatu. Ming screamed and hugged Rai. Vaatu left eventually, but there was something else inside the water. It looked just like Vaatu, but it was white, it was Raava. Raava was starting to regrow inside of Vaatu after the avatar cycle ended, but she was far from her prime. Without Vaatu, Raava couldn't survive like this, not until her true power was restored. In an attempt to stay alive, she attached herself to Rai, making him The First Avatar in a Millennium.

Rai could hear a voice in his head. "You're the avatar, the keeper of peace in the world. Make sure to seal Vaatu."
- these were the last words he heard before passing out.

He woke up in the boat, Ming sitting on the edge of his bed. His vision was blurry at first, but eventually he recognized her. Ming realized that he was awake.

"Are you alright?! Did that monster hurt you?!" - she was showering him with questions, but he could barely speak.

"No... Did you tell my father and Mr Chiu about this...?" - Rai asked in a raspy voice.

"Not yet. I'll tell them now if you want..."
- Ming replied, but she was interrupted by Rai.

"No! You can't tell them!" - he screamed.

"Why not? Mr Ken will come here soon, he made you soup and..." - Ming was yet again interrupted, but not by Rai. It was Ken that interrupted her.

"Are you feeling okay, Rai? I made you some soup and chicken." - Ken placed the tray onto the desk next to the bed. -
"Tell me, how did this happen? Did you fall?"

Rai nodded. - "Yes, I fell on the ice. It's nothing serious, I just hit my head."

Ken nodded, but still looked suspicious of Rai. - "Well, I'm sure that the soup will make you feel better. " - he said and left the room.

Ming looked at Rai, who was by now eating his meal. - "Why did you lie to him?" - Ming asked.

"Because I'm the avatar." - Rai looked serious.

Ming raised and eyebrow. - "What's an avatar?" - Ming asked, she looked confused.

"I'm not sure either, but all I know is that I have to find that dark spirit and seal it..." - Rai answered her question and continued eating.