Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar.

AN: First Avatar fic. Rated M for a reason xD. It seems a bit angsty, this first chapter, but I'll put some humour in it in later chapters. This first one was just needed for the plot xD.

Chapter 1: Save me

He woke up in a dark cell. His hands were tied together with a rope; he had been strapped from his clothes, his brown hair hanging lose, instead of the usual ponytail he wore. He vaguely remembered being captured by some Firebenders, though he couldn't be sure about it. His mind was blurry and his memory wasn't at its best, so he might have been mistaken about those benders. His entire body was smudged with dirt and mud, as if he had been dragged a long time- he felt like that as well.

And, worst of all, he was hungry.

His stomach was rumbling and he also actually needed to use the bathroom. After all those months of travelling with Aang, he never had been this hungry before. Deciding it was time to find out where he had been taken, he stood up, swaying slightly as he does so. He managed to lean against a very filthy and moist wall, until his legs were used to the feeling of standing again, and walked towards what seemed to be the entrance and exit of his small cell. He looked out the small hole of the door, probably only there to give the prisoners food, and saw other cells- all of those were open ones, bars in front of them, so you could see right through.

In one cell, the one right across from him, were two girls lying with their backs against each other, sleeping quietly and using each other as pillows. They were both naked as well and he blushed at the sight- he quickly looked away, to the next cell, where there were three boys locked up. Those three were naked as well (I think it's about time I stop establishing that everybody's naked)- two of them were kissing each other and he blushed even more at the sight. Was that allowed? Isn't that sinful? He quickly looked away and started to look for some guards instead- after all, he was a prisoner, so there must be a guard somewhere, right?

He saw one, standing near the only exit of the filthy chamber the cells were in and calls for him. "Hey! What's going on here? Where am I?" The guard briefly looked up, to see where the noise was coming from, before grinning slightly. He walked towards him, or, towards his cell really. As he was passing the two kissing boys, he hit the spear he was holding against the bars and told them to stop it. The two boys complied, reluctantly.

"So, you've finally woken up," the guard said, still grinning at him through the small hatch.

"Where am I?" he demanded. The guard yawned and took out a piece of paper from his pocket.

"Let's see. Cell number 18, slave-number: 56329. You're a slave, boy," the guard said, grinning at him. "But don't worry, I don't think you'll be here for long. A pretty boy like you should be easily sold to one of the older men," he quickly added. "What's your name, pretty boy?" he asked, putting his hand through the small hatch and grabbing his hair to pull him a bit forward. He screamed in agony and tried pulling back, but to no avail; the guard had a good hold on his hair.

"Sokka," he ground out, figuring it to be the easiest way to get rid of this guard. What was going on here? What did he mean with 'pretty boy'? Sokka didn't like it one bit and he was starting to get worried- where were Aang and Katara? Were they captured to? And what did he mean with 'slave'? As far as Sokka knew, slavery wasn't even allowed anymore.

"Well, Sokka," the guard said and let him go. Sokka immediately staggered backwards so the guard couldn't reach him anymore. Of course, in the long run, that was very useless- the guard has a key to the cell and could easily get him, if he would wish that. "You're in a slavehouse." Sokka blinked.

"But slavery is illegal!" he yelled- he was getting mad about the whole ordeal and, to be honest, he was also panicking. What happened? Damn his memory. The guard just laughed at him.

"It is, but so are a lot of other things and people do it anyway. Rich people from all over the world come here to buy one or more slaves and if you're lucky, you get a good owner. If you're not, you're screwed." His blood began to boil as the guard spoke about him as if he was an object, instead of a person. "Don't look so offended, it's nothing personal. You were caught by Firebenders, right?" He nodded, even though he still wasn't sure about it himself. But, fact was, he was in a cell, naked and alone. The only one who could give him any information was this guard. "When they have prisoners, they usually see if they can sell them to us, before they go to prison." The guard turned away from him and walked back to his original post, leaving the young boy alone with his thoughts.

All he could hope for now, was that someone would come and rescue him.

--

"Uncle, I still do not see the point in going here."

"Prince Zuko, you need money. Rich people go here and I happen to know someone who still owes me a favour." Zuko scowled at his uncle, who stood happily in front of the secret slavehouse. How his uncle knew about it, he did not know. Nor did he want to know. Personally, Zuko felt ashamed about showing his face in such a place, but his uncle was, to his dismay, right about it.

A while ago, his father had decided that he would cut off all of his finances, leaving Zuko with little money, a ship which needed maintenance, and a crew, who wanted their pay checks. His reason: Zuko still hadn't captured the Avatar and he was getting tired of sending him money. The young prince knew it was only a matter of time before he would get his hands on the Avatar, but until that time came, he still needed the money to pay for everything. Travelling was an expensive hobby.

"Well, shall we go inside?" Zuko nodded and followed his uncle. The building was relatively small- it stood in the middle of a prosperous Earth city, one that had been taken over by the Fire Country long ago, giving the people of Xiang two choices; either they would stay low and obey Fire and they could go on with their lives, or they would oppose, lose and get killed. Even though Earth was a brave land, they chose the first option. It also allowed the buying and selling of slaves to continue, as most purchasers actually came from the Fire Nation.

However, as they both entered the slavehouse, Zuko immediately noticed it had an underground basement and probably led to where the slaves were being held. He didn't think slaves were really necessary- servants were as good as slaves, were they not? You had to pay for slaves as well and, as far as Zuko had heard, slaves were worth a fair amount of money as well, so it didn't really matter when it came to paying for them. He decided to question his uncle about this fact, being the curious person that he was.

"Uncle, why are they still selling slaves? Servants are practically the same, right?" He could tell the old man's face immediately darkened.

"Yes, they are, but there are major differences. For one, slaves must do whatever their master tells them to do. If they don't, they must face punishment from said master. Servants can refuse, but they'll get fired. That's, of course, a worst case scenario," Zuko stayed silent as his uncle spoke. They had to wait for someone to come anyway, so they had the time. "Secondly, most people purchase a slave for… things other than bringing tea," Zuko blinked once, not understanding.

Then it dawned on him.

"You mean, sex?" he asked. His uncle nodded.

"Indeed. Most slaves here are very young still and there are a lot of… sick people out there, who like that," Zuko looked horrified. "It's a serious thing and personally, I'd like to see it stop, but there are few things we can do about it. Whenever Fire Country take prisoners, they first bring them here to see if they can be sold to the slavehouse, before they are actually taken to prison. They will be naked in a cell and people can even 'test' them for one night, before they actually purchase one. Most slaves end up dead after one year of being with their master- either mentally or physically."

"I'll stop this once I'm king," Zuko said, determined, obviously angry by the way his father actually allowed this. Taking prisoners is one thing, but actually turning them into a- a sexslave is ten times worse than that. The old man smiled at his nephew proudly, before the owner of the slavehouse came up to them, a very fake grin on his face.

"How can I help you today? We have just gotten some new slaves in only two days ago and one of them is a real pretty boy. Luckily you came early, sir, I'm sure he's gone within the next hour!"

"No, we are actually looking for someone," Iroh said, forcing a smile on his face. However, the man wasn't listen and already walked towards the stairs leading to the basement.

"If you're looking for someone, you're at the right address," he called out to them. Zuko refrained from lashing out at the man and, together with his uncle, followed him downstairs to the most gruesome place he had ever seen- it was filthy and smelled and… well, let's just say he never wanted to be in the shoes of those slaves. Not that they were wearing any shoes at that time- in fact, they weren't wearing anything at all. Zuko, even though he tried to keep his stoic posture, blushed slightly at the naked boys and girls sitting in the cell. "Don't mind these, they're not half as good as the one in the last cell. Most slaves are being put together in cells, but the really exquisite ones will be put alone. Wait till you see him, I had to keep the guards away from him, though I believe one man got to him." The man grinned evilly at Zuko and Iroh, making the first one shudder.

"Actually, Mr. Mao, we're looking for-"

"Boy!" the man- Mao- yelled through the door as he unlocked it, revealing a naked, shivering boy on the floor. Zuko's eyes widened briefly- it was the Watertribe- boy. Even though he was covered in dirt and he had his hair loose- he could still recognise the tanned skin and ice-blue eyes. For a moment, Zuko didn't know what to think- on the one hand, he felt like leaving the Water-Boy in the cell, leaving him to die there, but then he remembered what his Uncle had told him about the slaves and their… duties. Zuko shuddered. Even though they were enemies, he still felt a strange connection, probably because he knew him, and couldn't possibly leave him there. He was still hesitant though- the prince had some money, savings, for when he was in trouble, but should he use it on him? "We keep the exquisite ones in this cell, because their minds will be easily broken, so it will be easier for the masters to handle them better. Some tend to fight and this one isn't an exception," Mao grinned sadistically at the pair of them and all of Zuko's hesitance faded away as he saw his face and the look the boy on the floor had. His eyes looked dead.

"I'll buy him," he said. His uncle Iroh looked up at him, questioningly, but didn't say anything about it. He grabbed a small bag out of his pocket and handed it to the man. "Will this be enough?" Mao looked in it, his eyes widening briefly, before his grin reappeared again.

"You're in luck today, mister…"

"Call me Lian," Zuko said, not wanting to reveal his true name, if the creepy man didn't know him.

"Mister Lian," Mao nods. "He's all yours." Iroh took this opportunity to talk to Mao, as Zuko walked inside the cell, grabbing Sokka by the arm and pulling him up to his feet. The Watertribe boy looks at him wearily, a faint hint of recognition in his eyes.

"Z-Zuko? What are you doing here?" He asks him, obviously too broken to even defend himself, to even know that Zuko was actually his enemy.

"I bought you, you're coming with me," Zuko said coldly, though shocked by the way the boy behaved- he was usually very spirited and cheerful and energetic; they had gotten to him and somehow, Zuko felt hurt because of that. "Do you have some clothes he can wear?" Zuko called out to Mao, who was still speaking with Iroh. The creepy man handed him a ragged pants and shirt and Zuko helped Sokka getting dressed- the boy was weak and couldn't stand on his own. "Uncle, let's go. Do you have any information on the whereabouts of your friend?" The prince finally said, as he supported Sokka.

"Yup, but I think we should take him back to the ship first. If you want, I could go by myself," his Uncle said, clearly amused by the way Zuko took care of this boy. Of course, Iroh had recognised him as well and had already suspected his nephew to buy him, but still, it came as quite a shock to see him helping the boy, guiding him, dressing him. Then again, the Watertribe-boy looked rather weakened and, from what Iroh could tell, he had been raped by one of the guards. Iroh wouldn't be surprised if that really had been the case and he himself felt his blood boil at the thought- nobody deserved such a thing, enemy or not.

"If you wouldn't mind going by yourself," Zuko said, nodding. "I have to take care of some things on the ship anyway." Iroh nodded and let his nephew pass, occasionally helping him getting the young boy to move and walk. When Zuko placed Sokka on his own bed, he immediately passed out.

--

Sokka woke up the next morning and groaned. His head hurt like hell and he vaguely wondered if the whole thing had been just a terrible nightmare. Then he felt his bruised ass and quickly withdrew that small hope; it had been real. He opened his eyes, blinking as the light of fire hurt his eyes. He waited a moment for his eyes to adjust and then looked around, only to find the crest of the Fire Nation all over the place and the prince himself sleeping on a soft chair.

He blinked and wondered why he was there. Had Zuko bought him? He didn't remember anything, only his arrival and… unfortunately, the day after that. But his mind was blank after that, so he had no idea what he was doing on the ship of his greatest enemy and perhaps one of the persons he hated the most.

Though, Zuko didn't look so mean as he lay there, sleeping peacefully on the chair. Sokka quickly shook that thought out of his head; Zuko was after Aang. Therefore, they were enemies, no matter how he looked whenever he was asleep. After all, a dragon doesn't do anything in his sleep either, does he? Even though Sokka knew he had to get out of there, he simply didn't have the energy, nor will, to do so. He was tired, he was hurting- both mentally and physically- and he didn't want to; what was the point? He was ashamed of himself, how could he go back to his village or to his sister knowing that he had been… he had been…

He couldn't even think about it.

He just focused on the problem at hand; Zuko and what he was supposed to do now. Maybe he should just stay there and wait for him to wake up and explain everything. Unless Zuko was like those guards…

No, not even he would do such a thing.

"You're awake," a voice suddenly stated. Thank you, Captain Obvious. Sokka looked up to Zuko, who was looking at him, expressionless. The Watertribe-boy looks back at him, face as blank as his is- somehow, it bothers Zuko that he has such an expression, but he decided that it was nothing and diminished the thought. "You're my slave now," he continued, a smug look on his face. To his surprise, Sokka didn't even yell at him, but instead just looked away.

"Congratulations."

"Aren't you-"

"Is there anything else you want to say, or do you just want to rub it into my face? Don't you think you Firebenders have done enough to my life as it is?" He all but yells at Zuko, who's eyes flinch briefly at the hurt tone of his voice, but regains his composure after a second.

"Slave, you don't talk to your master like that," he says, walking up to the bed. "This time, I will let it slip since you are still recovering from that place, but next time, you will be punished. And trust me, you don't want that." Sokka looked away from him again. "You'll be staying in my room for the time being, as there is only room left with the crew and I don't think you'll want to sleep there. And," he adds. "My uncle snores and I don't want my slave to change into an insomniac." This brought forth a flicker of emotion in Sokka's dead eyes, but it was gone immediately.

"We wouldn't want that," he said, sarcastically.

"Indeed," Zuko said. "There are certain rules I want you to obey," he continued, looking intently at Sokka. "First of all, you will have breakfast with me every morning. Secondly," he paused, hesitantly. "I will treat you well, if you treat me with respect. That means that you will obey me and I won't make you do anything unreasonable." Zuko didn't really like the idea of having a slave, but he wasn't about to waste his money either, so he'd make use of the Watertribe-boy. "Thirdly, if you try to escape even once, I will have you punished as well. If you obey these rules, everything will be fine. Maybe after some time, I will give you some privileges, if I trust you enough and if you are loyal enough." Sokka nodded. "And, finally, what is your name, Watertribe-boy?"

"…Sokka." He looked up at Zuko and sees him nod.

"Very well, Sokka."

--

AN: Ok, so what do you think? O.o This just popped into my head and I wrote it down immediately. I personally quite like it, so far, so I'm wondering if I should continue this or not. I am surprised that I like the show Avatar though, because it is more of a… childlike anime and, to be frank, it's not one of my favourites, though I am completely in love with Zuko and I think Sokka would be perfect for him, somehow xD.

Anyway, review, if you will :3