Naia could barely sleep that night. She had to wait until she was sure everyone was asleep before crawling into her sleeping bag, to make sure that Sokka wasn't somehow still awake. But before that, Naia cried for a long while.
She missed Yue even more that night. Naia stared up at the moon, pleading to Yue to forgive her. Naia started to hate herself. Not only was she pathetic because she had feelings for a boy who liked her sister, but she was also a backstabber. She didn't know what to think, or how Yue would feel if Naia truly revealed her feelings about Sokka. Naia stared up at the moon more, asking for Yue to give her a sign. Anything, that could steer her in the right direction.
When she was sitting at the edge of the cliff, tears streaming down her face, she saw a small blue butterfly land next to her. She looked down at it, perplexed. Naia didn't want to move, as any sudden movement would scare the small creature and cause it to fly away. However, when she did move her hand slightly, the butterfly moved closer to her. Naia turned over her hand and it rested on her palm. Naia thought back to what she said about happiness being a butterfly, that it was like chasing a butterfly. But once she caught it, even for a split second, it flies away again. However, this butterfly didn't have to be chased. It rested peacefully in her hand. Could this be a sign that Yue was okay with Naia's feelings for Sokka, or was it just a mere coincidence?
Naia thought back to her previous flings she's had with boys. Koa, someone who was sweet and loving, she ultimately pushed away. Hiroshi, someone who she initially gained interest in but also ultimately lost feelings for and pushed away. And now Sokka. With Sokka, Naia thought it was different. Every graze of his fingers sent sparks through her body. He was the one she thought about when dreaming at night. But it didn't matter. She pushed him away too.
Naia believed herself to be unlovable. She's built walls to guard her heart, and those walls were impenetrable. Each time someone would try to help, she would rather hide in the corner. Is this who she was? Someone who would rather run away from their feelings than face them? Someone who was drowning but refused a lifeboat? Like a rose, who smells and looks alluring, but come too close to it and it's thorns will pierce the skin. Would she truly be alone forever? Does she sabotage ever good thing that comes her way?
The group woke up early the next morning and began their trek down the Serpent's Pass again. Naia didn't even look at Sokka or in his direction. There was no way she could. Whatever friendship they had before would now be changed forever. She said some hurtful things to him, things he probably won't forgive her for. Naia just wanted to simply disappear. As much as she wanted to slip away during the night, she knew that the task at hand was much more important than her trivial love life problems.
After walking for about a few hours, the group came to a point where the trail ended. It simply ended, and where it resumed was further away. Naia assumed that the part that once connected the two was submerged underwater. Katara and her exchanged glances.
"Everyone, single file," Katara ordered.
Naia and Katara started to use their water bending to part the lake, as the group followed behind their lead. Once everyone was under the water, Naia closed gap the water over their heads and created a small bubble. It was quite a pretty sight. Naia watched as schools of fish passed by their bubble, peering in. However, something much larger passed by it.
"What is that thing?" Katara asked. Immediately after she said that, the large creature burst through their bubble. Water started to pour into it. Everyone started screaming, but Toph saved them with her earth bending and elevated the ground to the surface of the water. The group watched as the cretaure's large green scaly fins circled around their little island. A large serpent emerged from the water and screeched at them, it's long razor sharp tongue falling out of its mouth.
"I think I just figured out why they call it the Serpent's pass!" Sokka said nervously. He turned to Suki. "Suki! You know about giant sea monsters. Make it go away!"
Suki frowned and pointed her finger at him. "Just because I live near the Unagi doesn't mean I'm an expert!" She hollered.
Naia touched Katara's shoulder. "You lead everyone to safety on the other side. Aang and I will distract the serpent."
Katara started to make a bridge out of ice and lead everyone across. Aang opened his glider and started to fly away. Naia stepped out onto the lake, freezing the water underneath her with each step she took. She ran around the serpent, who's eyes followed her every movement. Naia knew she had to be quick and light on her feet, so that the serpent couldn't predict where she was going next. Naia ran by it and tried to freeze the side of its body. However, it was unsuccessful as the serpent immediately broke free. It screeched again and lunged it's head straight at Naia. Naia didn't have any time to attack. She simply dove beneath the water, swam underneath of its body, and emerged on the other side. She sent sharp icicles, aiming for the serpent's eyes. It's head was moving a little too fast so she couldn't get the best angle.
"Princess Naia! Go back to the shore!" Aang shouted. Naia didn't have to be told twice. She created a large wave and rode it back to the shore. Aang used his air bending and water bending to create a whirlpool, causing the monster to spin around in circles. Eventually, it's long neck hit the rock and caused it to lose consciousness. Naia sighed of relief and jumped back onto the rocky trail.
Sokka pointed ahead. "There's the wall! Nothing but smooth sailing to Ba Sing Se," He sighed. Ying let out a distressed cry, holding her stomach. "What now?"
"The baby's coming," She said, gritting her teeth.
"Can't you just...hold it in or something?!" Sokka yelled.
Katara rolled her eyes. "I helped Gran Gran deliver lots of babies back home. Aang, get some rags. Sokka, grab some water. Toph, make a big earth tent. Naia, Suki, come with me," She ordered.
Naia helped Ying lay down. Naia's never seen a woman give birth before, but she knew she could help. To ease her pain, Naia used some of her healing abilities and held her hands over Ying's belly. Surprisingly, it didn't take long for Ying to push the baby out. Although, Sokka did faint during the process.
Ying held her newborn baby in her arms. It was a baby girl. As much as Naia tried to not act soft, she had to admit the baby was pretty cute. "What are you going to name her?" Naia asked Ying.
"I want our daughter's name to mean something," Ying said, pondering on what to name the baby.
Out of the corner of her eye, Naia saw Aang wipe away a few tears. He walked forward. "I've been going through a hard time lately. But you've made me hopeful again."
Ying gasped. "I want to name our baby Hope."
Naia smiled. She was glad Ying had an relatively easy birth with no complications. The group said their goodbyes to the people they were escorting and stepped outside of the tent. Naia watched from afar and Aang and Katara hugged. It looked like Aang was making progress with his feelings, and starting to accept them.
Naia looked towards Sokka again. Their eyes met briefly but both of them looked away at the same time. Naia's stomach fell. She crossed her arms and sighed lightly, trying to keep herself from looking upset. It was painful. It reminded her of how awful she felt when she fought with Yue. Naia didn't only have feelings for Sokka, but she also viewed him as a friend. She lost both of that in one fell swoop. She knew she really messed things up with him. I deserve this she thought.
"Hey," She heard a voice say. Naia turned around and it was Suki.
"Hi," Naia said back.
"I wanted to say it was nice meeting you," Suki said. "I have to get back to the other Kyoshi warriors. But I hope we'll meet again sometime in the future. By the way, I think you're a badass."
Naia chuckled. She smiled at Suki, who returned the same gesture. "I'm glad I got to meet you. I was hoping you'd stay. Finally someone who's my age and is a girl."
Suki reached out her arms and hugged Naia. She was surprised, but immediately hugged Suki back. Naia could see herself being friends with her, and reminded herself to not let boys get in the way of making close friendships.
☽
Aang was out looking for Appa for nearly five minutes before he came back and said something stopped him. Something big. And that something was a Fire Nation drill. Naia couldn't even believe what she was hearing. But sure enough, a humongous black drill was heading towards the outer wall of Ba Sing Se.
Naia stood, leaning off of the railing on top of the outer wall. The general in charge of the wall assured Aang that they didn't need his help. He sent earth benders called the Terra Team, which were swiftly wiped out by some unknown force. It was then that the general started freaking out.
"How are we going to stop this thing?" Naia thought out loud. The group all turned to face her and Sokka. "What?" Naia asked.
"Well...it's just, you guys are the ones who come up with the plans," Aang said.
"So we're the only ones who have to come up with a plan?" Sokka crossed his arms over his chest.
"That's a lot of pressure," Naia commented. "Is it just because we're the oldest?"
Toph, Aang, and Katara all shrugged. They payed a visit to the infirmary, where the Terra Team laid paralyzed. Katara attempted to heal them, even thought they looked unhurt.
"Ty Lee," Naia muttered under her breath. "She's the one who chi blocked them."
"She knows the human body and it's weak points. It's like she takes you down from the inside," Katara commented.
"Oh!" Sokka shouted, his mouth falling open. "That's how we're going to take down the drill!"
"By hitting its pressure points!" Toph added.
Once the group touched the ground again, Toph made a small trench to hide them from the drill's view. Toph whipped up some cover and the group was able to sneak inside of the drill. They managed to attack and engineer and steal the blueprints, that way they could get a better look at the mechanics of the machine.
It took a lot of strength from Katara and Aang to cut through the brace. Since Naia's wrist was still broken, she couldn't bend. She paced around the room, feeling horrible that she couldn't help at all. Once Katara and Aang spent about ten minutes to cut through it, it only slid slightly and remained relatively stable.
Naia groaned. "I'm sorry I can't do anything guys," She muttered, pressing her nails into her palms.
Aang smiled softly. "Naia, it's fine. We'll figure something out."
Suddenly, the whole room started to rumble. Naia felt a glimmer of hope. Maybe destroying that one brace made the drill unstable. However, disappointment stomped out that feeling after over the intercom, a Fire Nation soldier announced, "Congratulations! We have made contact with the wall of Ba Sing Se."
Katara shook her head. "This is bad. Really bad."
Naia rolled her eyes and sighed heavily. "There has to be a way we can damage this thing enough to where the drill collapses."
Aang's eyes widened. "Maybe we don't need to cut all the way through. Toph has been teaching me that you shouldn't give 100% on your energy into any one strike. You've got to be quick and accurate, and deliver a final blow."
"So we just need to weaken the braces instead of cut all the way through," Katara thought out loud.
"Then I'll go to the top of this thing and deliver the final blow!" Aang said excitedly. "The whole world is counting on us."
"Well, everyone expect the Fire Nation," Sokka added. Katara and Aang stared blankly at him.
Katara and Aang started to cut through the braces halfway. They were making good progress, even if it was taking a while. Naia anxiously paced back and forth and bit her lip. She hated not being able to help.
"Good work! Now Aang just needs to—duck!" Sokka shouted.
A blast of blue fire traveled by Sokka's head. He screamed and ducked out of the way. Naia looked to where the blast came from. It was Azula, who Naia learned was princess of the Fire Nation, along with Ty Lee and the other girl named Mai.
"Wow, Azula, you were right! It is the avatar!" Ty Lee exclaimed. She narrowed her eyes specifically at Sokka. "And friends."
Sokka smiled like a good and waved at her. "Hey," He said softly, clearly checking her out. Even if Naia technically pushed him away, it still made her blood boil. She shook her head. I have no right to be jealous, right?
They all made a run for it. As the hallway split into two, Aang stopped. "You guys get out of here. I know what I need to do," He said.
As he turned on his heel, Naia called out Aang's name. "Here," She said, tossing him her waterskin. "You need this more than me."
Sokka, Katara, and Naia all ran the opposite way. They reached a dead end. "Slurry pipeline?" Katara read the sign above a small opening. Sokka screwed it open, and the hatch led to a drainage system. It was a beige color and looked like a liquid consistency.
"Lovely," Naia grimaced. "It's rock and water mixed together."
"That's our way out," Sokka said.
Naia nervously grabbed her hair. "I just washed my hair!" She complained. "There goes that," She said, jumping in the slurry pipeline first. Sokka and Katara followed her. The current was strong and pushed Naia towards an exit. They were thrown out of the end of a pipe, all three of them landing on their backs. Naia scrambled to stand up as she saw Ty Lee coming out of the exit as well. Naia used her one good hand and stopped the water from moving. "Katara! Help me plug up this drain!" She said.
Katara thrusted her arms out and used her bending too. Ty Lee grunted as she tried to get out of the backed up slurry pipeline. "Why don't you try chi blocking me now, circus freak!" Katara taunted. Toph approached them and helped plug up the drain as well.
Aang must have delivered the final blow, became the drill started to explode, the slurry oozing out of the cracks. The drill finally powered down and remained silent. Katara and Naia high fived. Naia turned to high five Sokka as well, but she instantly retracted her hand. It was almost like she forgot they weren't on speaking terms. She looked away, embarrassed.
After cleaning themselves up, the group watched the sunset dip beneath the horizon on top of the wall. Naia leaned against the edge, watching the colors change in the sky. Sokka was discussing names that they could have for their team, but Katara kept denying them. Naia didn't participate in the conversation, as her mind was deep in thought. She was still in a bad mood. Things with Sokka were now just awkward and she didn't know what to say to make them any better. Let's just get into Ba Sing Se she thought.
a/n: this chapter is kinda short and kinda shitty but oh well. stay tuned for more soon!!!! will probably be making edits to this chapter as well ;)