Naya and the Last Airbender

i. Welcome Back

SWEAT dripped into my eyes as I opened them for the first time in what felt like weeks. I lifted a hand to wipe off my face, only to feel that one eye was incredibly swollen and sore at the touch. I winced and slowly sat up. My eyes adjusted to the dark room and it wasn't a warm welcome. I was stuck in a jail cell, alone.

Memories flashed in my head as I remember why I was here. Ba Sing Se. My friends and I failed. My mother, Kanya, betrayed me. Zuko betrayed me. And now I'm probably going to die.

My stomach twisted in knots and I fell off of the small bed onto the cold floor. Bile rose in my throat and I fought hard to keep myself from throwing up. How could this all happen? How could we have failed? What did that mean for the fate of the world.

"Aang..." I whispered, remembering that he was badly injured during our fight. He was struck down at the hands of Azula, someone who I awfully dreaded seeing.

"Spirits, how could this have happened?" I asked into the air.

There was a silence that hung over me, and I knew that nobody was going to help. I clenched my fists with a sigh and slowly climbed back onto the bed. I balled myself up and hugged my legs close to my chest, praying that things would somehow turn for the better.

+

"I know you probably hate me," I voice said, waking me up. I stayed still, however, since I could recognize Zuko's voice anywhere. "But I had to do this. It's my destiny. I can only hope that you join me."

Silence.

"Please, Naya. Tell my father you will join him, so you can join me. We can be together. This is what we've always wanted," Zuko continued.

I stayed unmoving, only feeling the anger build up in my body. For all I know, he helped Aang get killed. Zuko didn't deserve an ounce of my attention. And he has to be dim to think I would ever join his father.

"I know you're awake, answer me!"

I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping that he would leave. I couldn't bear being around him and hearing his voice. He doesn't understand how much he hurt me...

"Fine. Your mother is right, you are weak," the Prince scowled and slammed the door leading to my cell shut.

I quietly sat up and stared at the door. Maybe, for the sake of my sanity and health, I should tell Ozai I'm willing to join him to get out of this dreadful jail cell.

+

HOURS turned into days and days soon turned into weeks. I made sure to keep tally with a twig I found on the floor. If I didn't keep track, I easily wouldn't be able to tell how long I've been in here. Time seemed to blur when you're alone.

Zuko, at first, did come for a bit and try to talk to me. I never gave him the time of day, and I think that frustrated him so he stopped coming in. I may not have wanted to see him specifically, but it was still nice to hear from someone other than the horrible guards that came in to deliver my food.

Speaking of...

"Get over here, girl, it's time for your drink," the guard said. "Any sign that you're bending and you're dead."

I obliged and walked to the bars, where the man used a metal pole to feed me the water. I made sure to gulp down every last bit of it, since I only am visited three times a day. The man then slid my dinner under the bars. He did so with force, making my rice spill onto the floor. He chuckled and walked out of the room.

I sighed and sat on the ground, separating the dirty rice from the clean. This time I was lucky because not only did they give me a grain, but they gave me an apple. How sweet. Now I'll starve a little less.

+

"LET me out of here!" I screamed as I shook against the bars. Another week passed along with the same lifestyle. Sit. Think. Eat. Think more. Go crazy. It got harder and harder to not rip out the hairs in my head.

I also started to care less and less about the consequences I faced if I tried to escape. Anything seemed better than here. So I would try and think of new ways to try and get out of here.

First off, I had no earth to bend since I was in a metal cell. The only water that came in here was tiny and I wasn't good at that element. I've tried airbending the door down but it's too loud and I almost got beat by one of the guards.

Though, there was fire bending, and I think I had an idea on what to do. If I heated up the bars and made them weaker, maybe then I could blow the doors down for real.

"How about you shut it in there! You're not leaving until the Fire Lord says so!"

I rolled my eyes and lit a finger and held it to the metal bar. I watched as it grew orange from reaching a high temperature. Only a few more moments before the first bar is done...

"I think I've given you enough time to think," the person I dreaded seeing said as they barged into my cell. I quickly stopped what I was doing and back away before she could notice.

"Think about what?"

"Where your loyalties lie. What you should really be doing in life. There will be a victorious side in this war and you should open your eyes to siding with them," Kanya told.

I scoffed. "And you're hilarious to think that I'd do that. I have my duties to the world. My job as the Akshata is so protect and serve people of all nations. All the Fire Nation has done is disrupt world peace. All you want is power and that is pathetic."

"Maybe the fact that you don't want power is what's sad. There is a reason why the Fire Nation is winning. Nobody else could stop us."

"Us? You're not even from the Fire Nation! How could you betray your people like that," I said.

"Because I realized how pathetic the South was. They are a bunch of savages, your mother included. She was weak and that's why I took you from her. She knew it too. If you stayed you would never unlock your true potential as the Akshata. Though, it seems that part of her will always live in you and that's why you fail," Kanya spat.

"I may not know her but my mom is ten times the woman you will ever be!"

Kanya rolled her eyes. "Now let's get back to what I came for, shall we? I came here to release your burden of being the Akshata."

"No, I'm never going to do that! And besides, you will fail. Nobody has become the Akshata not chosen by Spirits," I reminded.

"See, that's where you're wrong. The Red Moon Society has figured out something that could work. So get up. Gon, Imim, gran her."

The two men who worked on capturing me with Azula appeared and grabbed me by the arms. They dragged me out of my cell and followed Kanya to wherever she led us. The entire way I had an awful feeling in my stomach. Was she bluffing? Or what if she really could take my powers, what would that mean for the world?

I know I will do everything I can to stop her.