The sun shone brightly as the young nine year old Southern Water Tribe boy snuck towards his target, the eight year old girl with loopies in her hair. He smiled as he stood up to swing his arm, but she beat him to it. His head jerked back as the snowball hit him square in the face.

"Heh heh heh heh ha ha!" she giggled as the Water Tribe boy climbed over the mound of snow he had been hiding behind with a large snowball. He had just made it over when he stopped. It had started to snow, but the snow wasn't white. It was gray as soot. He dropped the snowball. The girl looked up as well. Their faces changed from happy to very concerned.

"I'm going to find Mom," the young girl said as she started to run off.

"No, Katara," the young boy grabbed her as she passed him. "I'll go and find her. You stay hidden."

She nodded, tears in her eyes. "Okay, Sokka," she said as she rushed off. He began running towards their snow hut. Fire bombs exploded around him. Other men rushed assed him as they headed to the shore. Soon he could see the blue sheets that covered their doorway. He threw them aside as he entered.

"Mom!" he shouted. She was there, but she wasn't alone. A Fire Nation soldier was standing there, he turned and looked at the young boy.

"Just let him go, and I'll give you the information you want."

"You heard your mother. Get out of here!"

Sokka didn't say anything, he just looked at his mother, scared for her, but not for himself.

She obviously knew what her son was thinking because she said, "Go find your dad, sweetie, I'll handle this."

He looked up at the officer. His glare was a distinct glare. He looked back at his mother, nodded and left the hut, but he listened in instead of finding his dad.

He heard the Fire Nation man ask his mom, "Now tell me, who is it? Who's the waterbender?"

He heard his mother reply, "There are no waterbenders here. The Fire Nation took them all away a long time ago."

"You're lying," The Fire Nation man growled. "My source says there's one waterbender left in the Southern Water Tribe. We're not leaving until we find the waterbender."

"If I tell you, do you promise to leave the rest of this village alone?"

He heard the man agree with a grunt. Sokka was horrified. They were talking about his own sister. His anger was quickly fueled. They were going to take his sister away. He had to act.

"It's–" his mother started, but Sokka jumped in and proclaimed in as loud a voice as he could muster, "It's me! I'm the waterbender you're looking for! Take me!"

The man looked down at the child, a look of surprise on his face. Sokka's mother looked at Sokka in shock. She couldn't say anything.

"Hmmmm. My orders are to take the waterbender into custody if he or she was younger than fourteen. How old is he?"

"N-Nine," Sokka's mother replied.

"Take me!" Sokka repeated, "and leave the rest of my village alone."

The man didn't say another word. He reached behind his back, grabbed a rope and bound Sokka's hands and feet tight. He also gagged him.

As he was leaving, he turned to Sokka's mother and said, "Thank you for your hospitality." He threw Sokka over his shoulder and ran out.

There were tears in Sokka's eyes as he took one last look at his home. He caught a glimpse of Katara hiding in a snow bank. For one second their eyes locked. Katara's eyes filled with tears at the sight. He saw her get up and run toward the battle, towards where their father was.

"Stop the attack! We have what we came for, let's go!"

"Yes, Commander Yon Rha," one of the Fire Nation soldiers replied. He signaled the other soldiers, who began to fall back to the ships. As soon as they boarded, the man referred to as Yan Ra untied Sokka and tossed him into a hot and dry cell.

"Attention all hands, set a course for the Fire Nation. We're going home."

"So, this is the last waterbender in the south pole, Commander."

"Yes he is, my lord."

Sokka's hands were tied to two poles that were outstretched as he was presented to the Fire Lord. His hair and clothes were a mess. He looked like he hadn't eaten or slept in days. The one and a half month journey back had been torture for him. He had been barely fed.

"He is only nine, correct?"

"That was what his mother told us, my lord."

The Fire Lord stood and passed through the fire wall that blazed in front of his throne. He took Sokka's chin in hand and roughly turned his head to one side.

"You may think your skills are better than mine, little one, but don't underestimate me," the Fire Lord said as he looked into the young boy's eyes. Sokka glared at the Fire Lord as he turned and went back to his throne.

"What shall I do with him, sir?"

The Fire Lord sat down on his throne calmly and collectedly. "Throw him into the Tower outside the city."

"Yes, my lord," Yon Rha said as he bowed. The two soldiers holding the poles that bound Sokka's hands also bowed. They took Sokka out.

As he was being led out, they passed three girls playing. One of them saw Sokka. She smiled evilly as she walked over to them.

"So, I see you were successful in capturing the last southern waterbender."

Yon Rha bowed to the girl. "Yes, Princess Azula."

By this time the two other girls had joined her. One of them who had shiny black hair recoiled at the sight of the dirty waterbender. The other, however, looked at the boy with sorrow.

"So, are you going to take him to the Tower?"

"Yes I am."

The girl took Sokka's chin just like her father had done. "Good luck escaping from the Tower," she said as she laughed evilly. She turned and walked away. The girl who had looked sorry for him took one last look at him before joining the princess.

"Come on, boy," Yon Rha snarled as the two guards led him away. Soon they were at the entrance to the Tower. It was a massive structure built into the side of the mountain. He took one last look at the sun, thinking that it would be his last glimpse of daylight as the door slammed shut behind him.

It had been almost a year since Sokka had been thrown in this place. He was now ten. His Water Tribe clothes had been taken from him and he had been dressed in red prison garb. Every time he was given water his hands were bound. Dry air was pumped in so that the other waterbenders couldn't use the moisture. They were suspended above the ground.

One day in the second month he watched as a prisoner attempted escape. He watched as the Fire Nation guards captured the old waterbender. Watching the soldiers firebend somehow awakened something in Sokka. He clenched his fists, angry that he couldn't do anything to help the old man.

"Hey, Sokka, your pants are on fire."

It was the prisoner next to him. Sokka looked down and noticed that his pants were indeed on fire. He yelped as he patted the fire out.

"How'd that happen?" he asked his fellow prisoner.

"I don't know. I was watching the fight below."

Sokka sighed and sat back down. He looked at where both the burned portions of the clothes were. They were at his sides where his fists had been.

He decided to try something crazy later that night. He remembered one of the firebending moves that one of the guards used. He tried to replicate it, but the first two times he fell on the ground. Finally, with a look of fierce determination on his face, Sokka took a deep breath and performed the move.

What happened next surprised even him. Fire shot out of his hands and through the bars. He looked at his hands. He opened his palms and concentrated. A small flame appeared over his hands. His eyes widened in horror. How is that possible, he thought to himself. I'm from the Water Tribe, not the Fire Nation. Not knowing what to do next, he just went to sleep.

After a few days, he began to realize that this new ability could help him escape his prison. When every other prisoner was asleep he would try and perfect a certain skill, heating the bars so that he could bend them. He also practiced other attacks just in case he had to fight his way out. He assumed that he's be in for at least another year, but, to his surprise, he had mastered the technique.

One night, when the guards shift was changing, Sokka began to put his plan into action. He grabbed a hold of the bars and concentrated. Soon, the bars began to glow a dull, fiery red. Amazingly, his hands didn't burn. In a few short minutes, he was able to bend the bar. Before he jumped, he looked around to make sure no one could see him. He jumped and rolled to the side.

After a year in a Fire Nation prison, he was finally free.

A story idea I've had for a really long time. Enjoy!

morbiusgreen