(One year later)

"Ah come on, Nere! I'm pretty sure you can do better than that!" The boy taunted.

Nereus growled before charging with a training staff and swung at him, the boy grinned before dodging and lightly tapping her on the head with his club.

"Gotcha!" He grinned.

"Gah!" Nereus gasped before standing and then using the pole to point at the boy, "no fair, Sokka, you keep taunting me!"

Sokka grinned before twirling his club around, "well a battle isn't going to be quiet you know. Plus I love seeing your cute widdle mad faces!"

Nereus blushed in embarrassment before tackling the boy again, however he knew it was coming and sidestepped the attack, causing her to fall into a heap of snow.

His loud laughter caused Katara to inspect what was going on.

Nereus pouted again while glaring at Sokka still laughing loudly. Katara could tell what happened and couldn't help but smile and roll her eyes. She walked past her brother and held out her hand for the firebender. Nereus smiled sheepishly before grasping it and standing.

"If we weren't in the village I'd burn that club of yours." Nereus grumbled.

Sokka stuck his tongue out, "yeah but I can make another. Face it you're just sore about losing."

"Yeah I'm sore about losing to a girl."

Sokka flinched then glared at her while katara snickered behind her hand. Sokka huffed out before bending down and scooping a heap of snow and launching it at Nereus.

"Ack!" Came Nereus's cry when the snow knocked her down. Katara gasped before glaring at Sokka and scooping up snow herself.

"I shall avenge you, Nereus! Take that!" Katara let out a battle cry and charged her brother, Sokka yelped playfully and began running from his sister, dodging the snowballs flying at him. Nereus was quick to get up and dust off the snow then joining in.

An hour later most of the children was caught in a snow fight, Sokka had gotten backup and was now behind his fort, waiting for his sister and Nereus to make a move.

Katara and Nereus had gotten reinforcement as well and was hiding behind their fort as well. However instead of waiting, they were making a plan.

"So if we make a diversion then a rush group can go in and deal with the sentries... then me and you get Sokka, right?" Nereus relayed the plan, her and Katara was huddled with eight other children.

Katara nodded, "yep, twomake a diversion, four rush and two protect the fort. And while they fight we sneak in."

"You know, your pretty dark sometimes, Katara." A boy grimaced then grinned.

"Well the older kids might have a different plan, we gotta be ready." Nereus defended.

"Well you two are technically older than us." A girl jokes.

"Yeah by two years... plus they'll go easy on you guys" katara smirked sarcastically.

"So are we ready?"

"I guess." The rest whisper.

Nereus nodded before peaking over their fort and quickly ducked a snowball. She gulped, "ah... they're ready too..."

Katara nodded with a smile, "okay we go on three... two... one!"

Before the children was able to act out, the snow started to fall black, Katara blinked in confusion before holding her hand out and inspecting the snow.

Nereus did the same and then smeared the snow around, "ash...?"

Katara paled before telling the younger kids to get home then she grabbed Nereus by her arm and ran to Sokka. The boy was already in the process of running to them. He looked around then saw the men running to the shore ready for them, he then looked to his sister and friend.

"You two need to get home, don't stop and don't lose each other!"

Nereus nodded before the girls started to run back home, they looked around and already saw soldiers raiding huts and attacking people.

This didn't make sense! Why were they back?

"Mom!" Katara yelled out, however both Katara and Nereus stopped once they saw a man enter their home, Katara paled before running off and warning Hakoda.

Nereus immediately ran into the hut.

She stopped dead in her tracks when she almost ran into the man, Kya was trapped between him and the wall and noticed that Nereus was in the room. Her eyes widen slightly but remained quiet.

"Where's the waterbender? Speak quickly before I lose my patience."

Kya feigned innocent, "I don't know what you're talking about..."

The man growled again, "do not take me lightly, peasant, speak now and I will not harm the bender."

Kya bit her lip before glancing at Nereus, the girl shook her head rapidly in horror.

"You are taking prisoners?"

The man nodded.

Kya gulped before whispering, "I-I'm the-"

"I'm the bender!" Nereus yelled before twirling her arms around, a flame quickly sparked and she punched the flame toward the man. The flame was quick to obey and slammed into the man's back, he slammed into a wall and slid down it. He groaned before grabbing his head. Kya paled before running around the man and grabbing Nereus.

"What were you thinking!?" Kya yelled while dodging and running to find her husband. Nereus could only try to keep up. However a soldier fell in front of her and tripped her, Kya was jerked when Nereus's hand slipped out of her own.

"Stop that woman!" She heard the man yell, Kya paled before starting to run after Nereus. However the child panicked when she saw more Raiders run toward her, to not get Kya in the way, she scrambled onto her feet and ran in another direction.

"Nereus!" Kya screamed.

While dodging the now approaching Raiders, Nereus was desperately trying to find Hakoda and Bato. If she could find them then they could protect her. While she knew too little in controlling her fire, she knew almost nothing about dodging and blocking attacks.

Hakoda was fighting a Raider when he heard his daughter run up to him, "Dad! There's a man in our home!"

Hakoda paled in horror before grabbing Katara and running off to his home.

Kya swung a frying pan at a man and knocked his helmet off, he turned to attack her however she delivered another blow and he was knocked out cold. Hakoda ran to his wife and hugged her tightly, Kya pulled away and spoke with urgency.

"Nereus is in trouble!"

"Hakoda! Hakoda where are you!?" She yelled out, jumping away from a fireball that blasted next to her. She yelped and scrambled into a hut and kept quiet. The men ran by and began shouting orders to find her quickly.

Aside from the shouting and the sounds of fighting, Nereus sighed silently in relief before relaxing.

Then a man shot into the hut and tackled the girl, she screamed before starting to kick and scream, trying everything to get free.

The man chuckled darkly, "thought you got away from me, didn't you, brat? Oh the Fire Lord is going to love to see what I've found. You're lucky I've decided to let you live."

Nereus then bit his hand yet the glove he wore prevented the effect she had wanted. He snickered darkly before slamming his fist down on her head, knocking her out cold.

He then ran out with the child on his shoulder and started to shout that he had captured the bender and to retreat.

Those who could run had carried the injured yet able back to the ships to leave. Hakoda and his men were still driving them out in order to find Nereus, yet once the ships were in open water, the villagers were quick to put out the fires and tend to their wounded.

Katara and Kya was shouting for Nereus and asking anyone if they had seen her. Most shook their heads while a few said that they saw her running away from a group of raiders.

"No..." Katara paled, Kya was just as scared as her daughter yet as she tried to comfort her Katara ran back into the village, screaming Nereus's name.

(OO)

Nereus awoke with a thundering headache, she groaned as she groggy sat up and rubbed her head. Eerie moaning, chains and machinery was heard all around her. She looks around in puzzlement before moving to stand, as she tried to walk toward the door something caught her foot and made her fall on one of her knees.

"Huh?" She mumbled before looking behind her and finding a cuff around her ankle and a short chain hooked into the ground. She paled before looking around again, her memory was starting to come back.

She was hiding... and someone found her... and took her.

Quickly she scooted back into the closest corner and brought her legs in close, she hugged herself tightly before whimpering.

(OO)

It was confirmed.

Nereus was gone. Kidnapped. Like so many of the Southern Water Tribe.

Katara sniffled as she stares out into the open seas, hoping that somehow Nereus would come back. But she knew better. She wiped away a few tears before staring at the setting sun. She could only hope that her friend was strong and that one day they would meet again.

No... she wasn't going to hope. She was going to vow. Vow to find her friend and hurt the man who took her. But for now... she had to cope. She had to heal.

Hakoda was furious. He had failed that child. When he held her in his arms when her mother died he couldn't help but feel obligated to protect her, he made sure she had the best parents, made sure she was happy. And when Janik and his wife didn't want her no more, he made sure he could still keep her happy.

He felt thankful that the child distracted the man who would've hurt Kya, but at another point he felt so torn. Kya was with him and both were happy each other was safe. Yet he lost a child he saw as his second daughter.

The family was currently around the dinner table, solemn and quiet. Sokka and Gran Gran had tried to cheer the other three residents up yet even they were distraught over the firebender being gone.

(OO)

Nereus scrambled away from the door when its heavy locks screeched to life. The iron door creaked open and a guard walked in with a plate full of slop. The fact that it was on a plate was the only thing Nereus could tell that this past as food.

"You better eat up kid. You don't need to be this skinny when presented to the Fire Lord." The guard barked before shoving the plate in the child's hands. He then tossed a waterskin at her and turned to walk out.

When the door slammed shut Nereus flinched. The bang echoed in the room for a second before it faded out.

She eagerly went for the water, she had accidentally spilt her last one and was dying of thirst.

As she gulped down the water she couldn't help but ask herself.

How long has it been?

Such an odd time to asked herself, she noted.

The days merged in this room when you didn't have a window to tell what time of day it was. She knew she was here for a while though... her weight had gradually decreased from the time she had been here. Now while she was healthy and at a right weight before she was kidnapped, she was nothing but skin and bones now.

Once she quenched her thirst she placed the cork back on and placed away from her. She then pushed away the plate and crawled over to her coat and laid down. It was too hot to wear the thing and there was no cot in the room, only herself, her supposed dinner and a bucket to relieve herself with. Her boots were also taken off and she had on only her thick pants and her thin long-sleeved shirt. However the sleeves were rolled up.

She laid on her back with her hands behind her head, she couldn't help but start thinking about her friends... she bet they were heartbroken. She knew she was.

She shook her head and rolled over and laid in a fetal position. Now was not the time to think about that, she had to think about escaping.

This ship was bound to hit land at some point and she was determined to escape when that happened.

"Don't be stupid!" She mentally scolded herself. She was only a kid! What was a child going to do so far away from home?

She sighed while closing her eyes, it was best that she played her cards right... until she got a better idea of her escape.

"Goodnight... Katara..." Nereus whispered before falling asleep.