Junko woke up. She was in a cell. A dingy thing, with dirt caking the floors. Slowly she sat up, looking around her. There were grey walls surrounding her. There were metallic bars in front of her. She started to panic. Where was she? How did she get here? All she could remember was the two men who broke into her apartment stabbing her with a syringe, and she could not remember what happened after that.

Just then, a pair of open-toed black boots entered Junko's line of sight. The toes sticking out of them were a pale color, almost white. She looked up and saw a man standing in front of the bars. He was tall, with long black hair and bone-white skin. He wore a beige tunic with a giant purple rope tied around it. He stared at her with his strange, golden eyes.

"Hello, Junko." The man said, "Glad to see you're finally awake."

"Who are you? How do you know my name?" Junko asked as she stood up.

The man laughed, "You really don't remember me?"

Junko was puzzled. She had never seen this man before, and here he was acting like he knew her. It's not like she would have forgotten a man as strange looking as him. So, who was he?

"Nevermind" He said, "It shall all be revealed later. For now, why don't we begin?"

Then, a young man with grey hair unlocked her cell. He slid open the door. "Come with me." He said.

Junko began to walk slowly towards them, her long black hair swaying as she walked. As soon as she exited the cell, she bolted. Running as fast as she could, she made her way to the end of the hall. She ran to door, and reached for the knob. It was locked! She tried to jiggle it every which way, but it was no use.

The man laughed again "You silly little girl, you really ought to learn your manners." With that, the man extended his tongue and used it to grab Junko around the throat. It all happened too fast for Junko to process it. Before she knew it, she was being lifted up in the air by a slimy noose, which constricted her breathing. She gasped for air, but none would fill her lungs. She kicked her legs and tugged at the man's tongue, anything to free herself from his grasp. But his hold would not loosen. Her vision started to go dark. She panicked and kicked even harder than before, to no avail. Eventually her eyes closed and she went limp, and the world went dark around her.

Orochimaru let go of his grasp on the girl. She landed with a thud on the ground. He walked towards her. He leaned over her and checked her pulse. She was still alive. 'Good,' He thought, 'It would be a shame if I killed a specimen as rare as this' He gazed upon her. She was a girl of no more than sixteen, with long flowing black hair that reached the small of her back. Her skin was pale and smooth, unusually free of acne for a girl her age. She was wearing a short, lilac nightgown with sleeves that reached the end of her forearms and a deep V-neck cut. Orochimaru noticed how low cut the gown was, as he could see her small but shapely bosoms uncovered. He also saw how her nightgown was riding up on her, and he could see most of her thighs. He was rather enjoying the view, admiring the beauty of the young girl that lay before him. He always noticed how pretty she was, even when he first saw her, but seeing her so unprotected, so vulnerable…he was excited by her in a way he hadn't been before.

Kabuto stepped behind his master as he stared at Junko. "Should we take her to the interrogation room?"

"Yes," Orochimaru said, not taking his eyes off of her, "Be sure to strap her down as well. We don't want her trying to escape again."

"Yes sir." Kabuto said. He picked up the girl and carried her over his shoulder. He walked down the steps and out of the jail. Orochimaru watched him exit, paying close attention to the girl's posterior as Kabuto exited.

Junko awoke again. This time, she was strapped to a chair in a different room than before. There was a metal table in front of her, and two metal chairs that matched the one she sat on across from her on the other side of the table. Other than that, there was no other furniture in the room. She noticed there was a strap on her wrist which was attached to a strange contraption on the table. She felt pressure on her head. Clearly something was on it, but she couldn't tell what that thing was.

The man with the long hair entered. The man with short, grey hair followed him, and close the door behind him. They sat in the chairs across from Junko, with the grey-haired man sitting by the contraption Junko was hooked up to. He fiddled with the contraption, and a green light came on from it, with a line that moved up on down on it with sharp movements. The long-haired man sat directly across from Junko. He leaned back in his chair, and watched her carefully with his yellow eyes.

"Junko," He said, "Are you ready to cooperate now?"

Junko struggled in her chair, trying to loosen the bonds that kept her in place.

The man laughed, "You won't get out of there. We tied you up very tightly."

"Who are you? Where am I?" Junko demanded.

"You still don't recognize me? I'm hurt." The man said, "Perhaps this will remind you," He said in a softer, higher pitched voice.

That voice. She recognized that voice. It brought her back to Ramen Ichiraku. A little ramen shop she worked at before she was taken away. It was the first job she got after she learned the language. The owner, Teuchi, was always kind to her, and his daughter, Ayame, was a sweet girl of fourteen, only two years younger than Junko. All three of them were working that night, when the man with that voice came. He wore his raven hair in a bun. He had on a robe with long black pants underneath. He came with his friend, a young man who always wore a cloak who spoke only to the man with the bun. He was kind, the man with the bun. Junko remembered laughing with him as she served him his ramen.

"You are too funny, Junko." He said, as he took a sip of his tea.

"I think you're funnier." Junko remarked.

"Thank you dear."

"What's your name?" Junko asked, as she poured him more tea.

"Haruki."

"It's very nice to meet you, Haruki. I'm Junko."

"Junko." He said, "A pretty name for a pretty girl."

Junko blushed, "Thank you, Haruki."

Haruki paid his bill, and got up to leave. His friend rose with him.

"Will I see you again?" Junko asked.

Haruki smiled. "Oh yes, I believe you'll be seeing a lot of me, Junko." With that, they left, and she never saw them again.

Junko snapped out of her daydream. The man with long hair had stood up. His back was turned to Junko. His hands were on his face, moving as if he was rubbing it.

"Perhaps this will jog your memory." Then the man turned around. Junko looked at his face. It was Haruki! Junko eyes widened in shock.

"What? How? Haruki?" Junko stuttered.

Haruki laughed, "I'm not Haruki. There is no Haruki." With that, he ripped off his face to reveal the man who she met in the jail cell. A man with purple surrounding his eyes and with golden pupils.

"Who…who are you?"

"My name is Orochimaru."

"You lied to me."

Orochimaru chuckled, "Yes, I did. Along with Kabuto over here." He said as he tapped the grey-haired man on the shoulder, "Although he preferred to stay under his cloak."

Junko looked at Kabuto, who was still fiddling with the machine. She couldn't believe it. All this time, she was played for a fool. She looked back at Orochimaru.

"What do you want from me?" She asked sternly.

"We just want to talk, that's all my dear."

"Was all this necessary?" Junko said as she pulled on her bonds.

"We wanted to make sure we got the truth." Kabuto explained.

"I would have told you the truth. You didn't have to abduct me."

"Would you?" Orochimaru asked, raising an eyebrow, "Because you seemed like you were trying your hardest to hide your little secret."

Junko turned pale. Her heart raced. 'They couldn't know,' she thought. She had worked so hard to hide it. How could they have found out?

"It was Kabuto who saw it first." Orochimaru said as he paced the room, "When you got that cute little Ayame girl out of a jam. You used your hand to heat up the bowl that she had let go cold. With fire that came out of your hands. Without hand symbols. But then again, you aren't a ninja, are you? Junko the fire bender."

Junko kept a straight face, but inside she was panicking. They knew. She had been careless, she thought, she should have left that bowl alone. She didn't want Ayame to get in trouble, but she knew the risks if she got caught. But she would have never expected the horror she was facing now.

"We thought it was only legend," Kabuto said, "Tales of a long-gone era or superstition and misunderstanding. But it turns out to be true. The benders are real."

"You can imagine our surprise," Orochimaru said, "I didn't believe it when Kabuto first told me. That's why he took me to you to see for myself. Luckily, you were foolish enough to use your bending a second time."

That's right. She had. Junko remembered she had forgotten the man she thought was Haruki's order and had let it grow cold. She had heated it up to spare having to make another one. How could she be so foolish, she thought to herself.

"So, you can see why we'd have a lot of questions, and why we'd like them answered as honestly as possible." Orochimaru said as he sat in the chair. "So, Junko, why don't we begin?"

"Junko, why don't we start from the beginning. Tell us, how did you get here?"

Junko stared Orochimaru in his strange, yellow eyes but said nothing. Orochimaru gave Kabuto a look and nodded. Kabuto turned a knob on the strange machine. Suddenly, Junko felt a shock, like a bolt of lightning, pierce her body. She screamed.

"When you refuse to cooperate, we will shock you. Is that understood?" Orochimaru asked.

Junko said nothing. Kabuto shocked her again. She screamed.

"I asked you a question. Is that understood?"

"Yes!" Junko said as quickly as possible.

"Good. Now how did you get here?"

"I…I don't remember."

Orochimaru looked at Kabuto. Kabuto shook his head, and turned the knob again. Junko screamed in pain.

"If you lie to us, we will shock you. Understand?"

Junko nodded, unable to speak due to her pain.

"Now, I'll ask you again, how did you get here?"

"There was a large hole in the ground. Like someone had torn the earth in half like a piece of paper. Only there was no dirt in the hole. In it, was whiteness. Just whiteness. It was sucking in everything, the leaves, the trees. I tried to hold on, but it pulled me away. White covered my eyes, like I was in a blizzard. Before I knew it, I was on the ground again. But I was somewhere different. I was here."

Orochimaru turned to look at Kabuto. Kabuto nodded. Orochimaru turned his attention back to Junko. "And where were you before this thing sucked you in?"

"I was in the Air Nation."

"Air Nation?"

"Yes, my ship had sunk. I was going to meet Princess Azula and her posse to join them in the search for the Avatar. I managed to stay afloat with a piece of driftwood until I landed on Air Nation shores. I tried to survive there, until someone came to rescue me. But before they could I was brought here."

After that, Orochimaru had a million questions. What was the Air Nation? Who was Princess Azula? What was an Avatar? Junko answered them all. She explained how the Air Nomads had been eliminated, how the Fire Nation was at war with the other two remaining nations, the Water Tribe and the Earth Kingdom, and the four kinds of bendings worked, including who the Avatar was and what they did for the world. Orochimaru listened eagerly, taking in every word Junko had to say.

"I've answered all your questions. Am I free to go?" Junko asked after hours of interrogation.

"No," Orochimaru said, "First, I want to learn more about you."

Kabuto turned his head towards Orochimaru, puzzled by his request. Orochimaru ignored him. Junko looked puzzled as well, unsure why this man would care about her personal life.

"What do you want to know?" She asked.

"Let's start with your family. Tell me about them."

"I have a mother and a father. As most do. My father was an admiral. He passed away a few months ago. He was killed during a raid on the Northern Water Tribe. My mother still remains at the Fire Nation."

"Anyone else?"

Junko did not respond.

"Junko?"

Orochimaru was about to signal to Kabuto to shock Junko, but she finally responded,

"I have a sister too."

"Interesting," Orochimaru said as he leaned on the table, "What's her name?"

"Chika."

"Younger or older?"

"Younger. She's eleven."

"Does she look like you?"

"Oh no. She takes after her father. I look much more like my mother."

"I see. Did you have any boyfriends, Junko?"

"Oh no! I mean, I had friends who were boys, but I never dated. Father forbade it."

"Who were these friends of yours?"

"Well there was Prince Zuko, the elder brother of Princess Azula, and my friend Jin, who was the son of the royal accountant."

"Did you ever want to date these boys Junko?"

"No, we were just friends." Junko said, becoming more uncomfortable with each successive question.

"Did you have any crushes at all, Junko?" Orochimaru asked as he placed his hand on hers, "Any desire for the opposite sex?"

"I…No, I haven't."

"That's a shame," Orochimaru said as he stroked her hand, "I can imagine a lot of boys had wished they had won your favor."

Junko stared at her hand. Orochimaru continued to stroke it. She was incredibly uncomfortable. Kabuto looked at Orochimaru, uncomfortable himself. Orochimaru didn't notice. He only stared at Junko greedily. After a moment of indescribable awkwardness, Orochimaru let go to Junko's hand.

"Yes, well, that should be all the information we require of you today. Kabuto, take her back to her cell."

"Wait, you said if I answered all your questions you would let me go!" Junko exclaimed.

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow, "I said no such thing. Besides, there's still part two of our information extraction to go."

"What's part two?" Junko asked nervously.

Orochimaru chuckled. "You'll see."

With that, Orochimaru exited the room. Kabuto took a rag and a bottle from out of his pocket. He dampened the cloth with liquid that came out of the bottle. He approached Junko.

"Kabuto, what's part two?"

"When Lord Orochimaru wants you to know, you'll know." Then Kabuto pressed the cloth hard against Junko's mouth. She struggled to get it off, shaking her head vigorously, but to no avail. After a minute of struggling, she went limp. Eyes closed, breath heavy. Kabuto unfastened her bonds, picked her up and carried her back to the cell.