The Promise I Made....

[xX Kaede-chan Xx]

((..:Chapter 1:..))

Chiyo sighed. Another day. Another day of going on, simply living..... She had begun to wonder if it had all been worth it. She couldn't bend anymore, and if she did, she would be caught and put in those places they called "homes." But if she couldn't bend, was there even a reason to live? Water bending was the only thing, the only way, she would feel close to her mother, who had died three years earlier. "Mother....I miss you so much. I need you here, we all do.' Chiyo thought, 'You were a fighter. You wouldn't ever give up. So....you know what? I won't ever give up either. I promise you that!" She pulled on her hooded sweater and walked out the door.

As she walked with her head down, Chiyo began to think. Had it really been two years already? She thought back to that day in 6th grade, sitting in the English classroom when it had happened. "Everybody! Everybody! I have an announcement to make!' Her teacher had said. 'As you all know, eight years ago, benders migrated here from a different continent. And I'm also sure you know about the conflicts we have been having lately. Well, watch this, ok?" She said turning on the television, where the president seemed to be making a speech.
"When the benders came here, from a completely new continent, we happily took them in, accepted them, as we did our own people. They have helped us greatly in many wars, and we thank them for that. But now, they seem to be making trouble. We cannot sit here and let our own people be in danger! Action must be taken, which is why, I have just signed a contract that banns benders from using their abilities here any longer! So hear me now outsiders, either stop bending, or go back where you came from!!!" The teacher shut the TV and faced the classroom. Chiyo looked around, her classmates and teachers were cheering. She looked down at her desk uncomfortably. She knew it was coming, there had been prejudice against them ever since the war had ended. But still....
Chiyo snapped out of her thoughts and looked up. A police guard. She quickly put her head back down, hoping he wouldn't recognize her from the chart he was holding. Her mother was a well known bender, so when she was born, she had automatically been put on the list.

She arrived at the small cafe she always ate at and sat down. "Hey, Chiyo! I'll be right over." the waitress said from the other side of the room, smiling. "Hey Kari! Sure, I'm not in any rush. Take your time." You see, Kari wasn't a bender, but she was a good friend of her mother's, before she died. Though Kari wasn't a bender, she supported them and helped them in any way she could, Chiyo could trust her with her secret.
Kari came over to the little table Chiyo was sitting. "So, what would you like today?" "The usual, thanks Kari." Kari smiled and said, "Ok, be right back." A few minutes later Kari came back with her order. "Thanks...hey Kari?" Kari replied "Yeah? What is it, Chiyo?"

"Well....' Chiyo begun. 'You know how rumors say the government has been planning some sort of removal plan to get rid of rebellious benders...?" Kari's smiled faded away into a serious face and she answered, "Why do you ask that?" Chiyo thought for a moment. "What are the Bender Activists doing about that?" Kari sighed. "Some are taking groups of benders and going back to your original country. Others are fighting back against the government. At any rate, they are doing all they can." Chiyo nodded. Kari eyed her curiously. "Why do ask?" Chiyo smiled and asked, "Why, are you suspicious of me?" Kari laughed and said, "Well...you ARE your mother's daughter after all!"

Kari noticed some other customers looking hungry. "Well, kiddo, got to go." Chiyo nodded and began to eat, thinking. "It's true that there are about three options for me right now. One would be to just never bend again and live here like some others are doing. But that's out of the question. The others would be more drastic, fight or leave? I can't do either of those alone though..." she thought. Ten minutes later, Chiyo got up and waved good-bye to Kari, leaving the money and tip on the table. She needed to take a walk alone and think things out, there was a lot to be thought about. She looked at the sky. It was dark and cloudy, the air was just a bit windy and cold.

Chiyo walked down the path at the park. It was quiet other than the rustle of leaves and wind, and the soft noise of the drizzling rain. "If I fought...well, there is always the possibility of us winning. But if we did win, what good what it do us really? Everyone would still be afraid of us - even more so. The government would find a way to make our lives miserable at one point or another. And if we lost...things would be even worse. Kicked out of the country, maybe? Prosecuted? Under lock down around the clock? Then, I could group up with some other benders and go back to our original land, that wouldn't upset the government further, I assume. That may be the safest choice. ......but what would mom do?"

A while later, Chiyo dashed back into her house and shut the door, them the rain began to pour down hard. She took off her shoes and jacket, leaving them on the floor. She sat on the couch and watching the rain pour down against the window. She listened to the sound of the rain with her head propped up by her hand. Chiyo fell asleep.

"Chiyo, honey. Come help me with these bags." Chiyo ran outside the house and took some of the grocery bags from her mother. As they locked the car and began to walk inside, a police car drove past the house. He slowed down and watched them as he slowly passed by. Chiyo's mother gave him a dirty looked. He returned the look, then focused his attention ahead and drove away. Once inside, her mother said, "Chiyo. No matter what happens, no matter what it is, or how hard it is, never forget who you are."

Chiyo opened her eyes and looked out the window. "Still raining..." she thought. She got up and walked over to the closet in the hall. Looking through the mess of coats, phone books, and other things, she pulled out a small locked journal that belonged to her mother. She found the key hidden where her mother had told her, under the large living room rug. Chiyo sat down at the kitchen table and opened the journal. Flipping through the pages, she found various notes, summaries, entries, and phone numbers. Here was what she was looking for. The information for the Bender's Rights Society. Her mother had written this down when the group first began forming. "Hopefully it's still there." She scribbled down the information on a crumpled napkin and continued flipping through the pages. "Now I fully understand why she said it was so important that nobody found this book..." Chiyo thought. "If they did, the group might not be here today." Stopping at an entry that looked really interesting, she began to read it.

"Today marks the first official day of the Bender's Rights Society, for the purpose of keeping the bender's and their families safe from the rising discrimination against them. As long as we should stand, this generation and past, we will fight for the safety and rights of benders and the movement of equal treatment as the other citizens.
Though the discrimination may not be to the point of war today, future generations will experience worse if things continue as they are. This organization was made in secret, will act both openly and secretly, and location kept in secret. May all the benders stand together as one and fight back!" -Dani Hatasuki

Chiyo closed the book and locked it, putting the key in her pocket. Taking a small bag, she put the journal in it and took the napkin with the information on it, and heading out the door. It was still raining, but not as hard as was before. She put up her hood and walked down the street. "Alright, from the looks of it, this would be on the edge of town...alright." Chiyo went to the bus stop and waited for the bus. She was the only one waiting other than an older, serious looking man with a black umbrella.
The bus came a few minutes later, making noise as it pulled to a stop. Chiyo got on and gave money to the bus driver. She walked to the back of the half empty bus and sat in a secluded corner. The bus continued on, and Chiyo watched out the window as the buildings and cars came into sight and then passed out of sight once again. Soon after, the bus stopped again, and some people got off. She watched as people came and got off for the next 15 minutes. The bus pulled to a stop. "This is where I get off..." thought Chiyo. She made her way to the front and got off, looking around. Waiting until the bus left, she looked at her paper. "This is where it's supposed to be...' looking around her faced dropped. 'There's nothing here, not a living soul or building..."

((..:Chapter 2:..))

"I can't believe it's not here..." dropping to her knees, Chiyo landed on the thick carpet of green grass and pounded her fists against the ground. Her eyes began to get glassy and she held back the urge to cry. Hitting her fists against the ground again, she gasped and sat dead still. A second of utter silence, and she dropped on her side and hit the ground again with her fist. Listening intently, she heard the slightest echo. She sat up and looked around. There still wasn't anyone else in the area, other than a curious looking squirrel in a nearby tree; staring down at her. She stood up and looked around, her knees shaking from being both excited and nervous. "Somethings down there...' she thought. "But how to get there...?"
Desperately, Chiyo looked around. "A secret lever, a switch? How do I get down there?!!" She looked under things, searched the overgrown and half dead garden, pulled twigs, but she found nothing. "I don't know where to look...I tired everything I could possibly think of." she sighed. Reaching into her knapsack, she took the crumpled napkin and looked at the information. "There MUST be something here, there has to be a way in..." Scanning over the writing, she scratched her head. Then, like a thought struck her. A subtle memory, that was buried deep inside her; seeming to be unimportant, it revealed itself. Chiyo could so clearly hear her mother's words. "Chiyo, just remember, you must NEVER give up bending, no matter what. Bending is the key to everything!" Chiyo smiled slightly, silently thanking her mother, and put the paper away. She looked around briefly to make sure there was nobody anywhere near her. Then she opened a water bottle and bended out the water in a steady stream. Controlling it calmly and surely, she began to pack the water in an odd looking crack in an old water fountain that she noticed. Not sure if this was it, but worth a try, she pushed the water in tightly.
Silence.....Chiyo looked around, deciding what to try next. Just then, she felt a slight vibration underneath the ground. "What I wish to be Earth Bender right now! So much easier..." she thought to herself. The rumbling stopped shortly, and Chiyo wondered what to do now. Then, the ground opened slightly and narrow stairs were revealed. A young man hurried her in. She ran over to the stairs, and glanced over her shoulder before entering. The mysterious man began to earth bend, and the opening shut. It was pitch black for a moment, than a small flame appeared. Chiyo blinked a few times to get used to the dim light, and before her stood another figure - a woman, but she couldn't tell much else with the lighting. Chiyo looked from the fire bender, to the earth bender, then at the darkness beyond, wondering what was hiding there.
The trio walked silently down the dark hallway; the light from the palm of the fire bender illuminated the walls on either side, then faded back into darkness. Both of the strange benders were looking at her suspiciously, while Chiyo glanced over her shoulder to look over where the door to the outside world was shut. She couldn't see anything but black there now. Shifting her glance the in front of her, she saw something a little way off at the end of the hall. "A door..." she figured. The earth bender pounded hard on the metal door, and Chiyo heard the unlocking of several bolts. The door creaked open, and a bright light seeped into the dark hallway quickly.
Chiyo blinked as the door behind her shut. Looking around the room, she was being looked at by dozens of people; a man stood up and spoke. "Who are you?! What are you doing here?" Chiyo nervously glanced around the room, then down at her feet. Looking up again, she spoke. "My name is Chiyo Hatasuki...." she was interrupted by small gasps from around the room. The man who spoke to her so harshly before said, "Ms. Hatasuki, we are so glad you have finally arrived. We've been waiting for you..."
Chiyo looked at the man in surprise. Everyone around him had a hopefully, happy look in their eyes. "Waiting....for, me...?" Then she remembered. "Of course!' she thought to herself. "Mom was one of the founders of this place. Everyone knew her, all the benders respected her greatly. But I wonder why they were waiting for ME?" The man seemed to tell what she was thinking. "Your mother spoke a lot about you. She was an amazing bender, and an amazing person. So of course we knew that we could count on her daughter to be so smart as to find our base and come to see us!" Then a girl in her late teens stood up. Chiyo guessed she was a fire bender, from the looks of it. She then spoke warmly, "So, Chiyo, why DID you come to see us? Curiosity? Questions? ...Or something else...?"
Searching for the right words, Chiyo glanced around the room once more. Then, she began slowly, "Well...I, I was just....thinking about, things lately. I found from Kari...my mom's friend...' The girl nodded. "Kari...though she isn't a bender, she's a good friend. Is she doing well?" Chiyo nodded. "Yes, she works at a small cafe' and is doing quite alright...Well, she told me that you guys were still operating, working towards...towards...well, I'm not sure WHAT you're aiming for, but something for bender's rights. Is that true?" The man nodded. "I found my mother's old journal, and the key. It had a lot of things in it, but I found a description of where the base is, so I followed it here. When I got here...I remembered my mother had told me something. She told me bending was the key..." Chiyo trailed off and looked up at the man across the room.
He nodded. "You remember correctly. So you ARE your mother's daughter!" He smiled along with the other benders in the room. Chiyo felt the corners of her mouth turn up, forming a smile as well. Not at the words that were just spoken, but more because they reminded her of Kari.... "Well, you ARE your mothers daughter, after all!" Then, she thought about it. She had always loved her mother more than any other person in the world, but she always liked being her own, unique person. She wasn't her mother. But...she NEEDED to live up to these people's expectations, they seemed to be counting on her, after all. "Well...whatever." She shrugged off the thought. Then, the man introduced himself as Hirro. "I'm an Earth Bender. And this,' he gestured towards the woman standing next to him. "this is Aaiza. She's a little older than yourself, I believe. You're 13, correct?" Chiyo nodded. "Nice to meet you, Harri, Aaiza." She said bowing. "So may I ask, exactly WHAT are you planning to do?" Harii's expression turned serious. "We are planning to rebel against the country."  

[xX Kaede-chan Xx]

As she walked with her head down, Chiyo began to think. Had it really been two years already? She thought back to that day in 6th grade, sitting in the English classroom when it had happened. "Everybody! Everybody! I have an announcment to make!' Her teacher had said. 'As you all know, eight years ago, benders migrated here from a diffrent continent. And I'm also sure you know about the conflicts we have been having lately. Well, watch this, ok?" She said turning on the television, where the president seemed to be making a speech.
"When the benders came here, from a completly new continent, we happily took them in, accepted them, as we did our own people. They have helped us greatly in many wars, and we thank them for that. But now, they seem to be making trouble. We cannot sit here and let our own people be in danger! Action must be taken, which is why, I have just signed a contract that banns benders from using their abilities here any longer! So hear me now outsiders, either stop bending, or go back where you came from!!!" The teacher shut the TV and faced the classroom. Chiyo looked around, her classmates and teachers were cheering. She looked down at her desk uncomfortably. She knew it was coming, there had been prejudice against them ever since the war had ended. But still....
Chiyo snapped out of her thoughts and looked up. A police guard. She quickly put her head back down, hoping he wouldn't reconise her from the chart he was holding. Her mother was a well known bender, so when she was born, she had automatically been put on the list.  

[xX Kaede-chan Xx]

She arrived at the small cafe she always ate at and sat down. "Hey, Chiyo! I'll be right over." the waitress said from the other side of the room, smiling. "Hey Kari! Sure, I'm not in any rush. Take your time." You see, Kari wasn't a bender, but she was a good friend of her mother's, before she died. Though Kari wasn't a bender, she supported them and helped them in any way she could, Chiyo could trust her with her secret.
Kari came over to the little table Chiyo was sitting. "So, what would you like today?" "The usual, thanks Kari." Kari smiled and said, "Ok, be right back." A few minutes later Kari came back with her order. "Thanks...hey Kari?" Kari replied "Yeah? What is it, Chiyo?"  

[xX Kaede-chan Xx]

"Well....' Chiyo begun. 'You know how rumors say the government has been planning some sort of removal plan to get rid of rebellious benders...?" Kari's smiled faded away into a serious face and she answered, "Why do you ask that?" Chiyo thought for a moment. "What are the Bender Activists doing about that?" Kari sighed. "Some are taking groups of benders and going back to your original country. Others are fighting back against the government. At any rate, they are doing all they can." Chiyo nodded. Kari eyed her curiously. "Why do ask?" Chiyo smiled and asked, "Why, are you suspicious of me?" Kari laughed and said, "Well...you ARE your mother's daughter after all!"  

[xX Kaede-chan Xx]

Kari noticed some other customers looking hungry. "Well, kiddo, got to go." Chiyo nodded and began to eat, thinking. "It's true that there are about three options for me right now. One would be to just never bend again and live here like some others are doing. But that's out of the question. The others would be more drastic, fight or leave? I can't do either of those alone though..." she thought. Ten minutes later, Chiyo got up and waved good-bye to Kari, leaving the money and tip on the table. She needed to take a walk alone and think things out, there was a lot to be thought about. She looked at the sky. It was dark and cloudy, the air was just a bit windy and cold.