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Chapter Three: Fall of the Maggotflea

I slept until morning. Bo-Fen had somehow managed to convince Iroh that I was very ill, but Zuko apparently threw a huge fit when I didn't appear as promised. According to her, he said something along the lines of, "She's lucky to be alive, who does she think she is? A princess?" But I suppose he really did believe Bo-Fen because I wasn't disturbed the entire night. In fact, I wouldn't have woken up at all if something mangy and furry hadn't curled up next to me on my pillow.

It took a rat's tail tickling my nose to really wake me up. I suppose it would wake anyone up, really. You can't blame me for screaming my lungs out.

The door to the hold slammed open.

"What's all this noise?" someone called sharply.

"I'll tell you what's wrong!" I shrieked, stabbing a finger at my pillow. The rat had already scurried off, frightened by my yelling. "This ship is completely infested!!! How do you live like this?!?"

The voice tutted. By that point I realized it was Shen-Long I was addressing.

"You know for a nomad you're really very skittish," he said. "What's wrong? Ain't you ever seen an elephantrat before?"

That would explain why the rat had a trunk.

"I just...don't...like them!" I snarled, clenching my hands into fists. "And excuse me if I'm the only one on this rust-bucket that has any sense of hygiene!"

"Hey, now, don't be saying that! All ships have some kind of vermin. It just can't be helped."

"Why don't you kill them or something?"

"If this kind of weather doesn't kill them off, do you honestly think any poison will? What do you suggest we do about it, Julie?"

I glowered at him in the darkness, which I was starting to get used to. At least I knew where he was standing. I could also see another figure, smaller and sturdier, come up from behind Shen-Long. I squinted for a minute and realized it was Bo-Fen.

"Hey, you're awake," she said. "Come on, we need to go on deck."

I froze on my hammock. "Why?" I asked suspiciously.

"Do you want something to eat or not?"

"Oh," I said with some relief. I felt my muscles relax as I ceased to fear the worst. "For a minute there, I thought I was going to have to climb the mast..."

Bo-Fen shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah...about that..."

I knew even before she said it. But I sat still anyway and waited to hear what she had to say. I probably should have made a break for it then and there, but then again, I tend to do stupid things when I'm afraid. So I stayed put.

"They're...not going to let this slide, are they?"

"Nope. In fact, they're pretty dead set that you go through with it. They're waiting until you have something to eat before you make your attempt."

Well, well. This must have been their idea of being humane. Jerks. I wished with every fiber of my being that I was a Firebender so I could have just challenged them to an Agni Kai instead. It was my mistaken notion that only Firebenders could partake in an Agni Kai, and you will see, dear reader, that I was very, very wrong.

But that's a story for later.

"Does...um...Zuko know about this?" I asked, taking the stale biscuit she handed me.

"We're trying to keep this quiet. Chaang is apparently taking bets on whether or not you'll actually make it to the top, and he doesn't want anything screwing it up."

I almost choked as I nibbled on the bread. What an enterprising son of a bitch! I could hardly stand to be a tool in his game, but then...well...I was pretty sure they would kill me if I didn't at least try, no matter what Bo-Fen said to the contrary.

"What if Zuko or Iroh happen to take a stroll on deck while I'm climbing up to the crow's nest?"

"That's why you're going to do it when it's time to change shifts. It won't look suspicious that way." Bo-Fen slapped me on the back, and I nearly fell off my hammock. "Don't worry so much. I thought this through."

"What if I fall, then?" I challenged.

"You die," Bo-Fen replied without skipping a beat. "No pressure, though. I'm sure you won't. There'll be rigging and everything."

Huh. Funny how yesterday she was practically yelling at me for doing something so suicidal like agreeing to do this in the first place. A day really does make all the difference, doesn't it? Too bad the sea-woman's bravado wasn't going to do me an ounce of good once I actually got on deck.

"Yeah, well...we'll see, then, won't we..."

I ate my breakfast as slowly as I could, but there was so little of it that I could only stretch it out for fifteen minutes. Then, Bo-Fen helped me to my feet and led me out of the room. My stomach was churning unpleasantly under the solid wad of dread that had sank like a stone into my intestines. The last time I had to do something anywhere near as similar to this was when we were climbing ropes in P.E. I remember how I ended up with rope-burns on my hands after I slipped somewhere near the top, and I never went near the gymnasium again. I just cut like everyone else.

Too bad I couldn't cut now. The only bright side I could see was that if I died now, I wouldn't have to be subjected to any more of Zuko's prying questions. Some silver lining that was.

It was all I could bring myself to do to keep moving one foot after another. I went ridiculously slow, but Bo-Fen dragged me along. It was all too soon before I found myself blinking through the dazzling sunlight. I immediately stiffened under the chilling winds.

"Why did it have to be the South Pole?" I whispered. I saw a cluster of soldiers ambling about, and, mysteriously, a good number of them had excuses to do their work near what was unmistakenly the mast. I groaned, but allowed myself to be dragged in that direction. One of the taller men paused in his mopping and grinned mischievously at us.

"There you are, maggotflea! I thought you might have kicked the bucket! Good to see that you're still alive and squeaking."

I glared at the man. "I'm surprised," I said slowly. "The way you sounded down below, Chaang, I would have thought you were a miserable little hunchback or something."

Bo-Fen elbowed me in the side. Very hard.

"Heh, you've definitely got a pair," he said with a lopsided grin. "Well, we're all just about ready for you if you'd be so kind as to get your ass up to the crow's nest."

"Are you sure you want her to?" Bo-Fen had the decency to ask. "Hell, she doesn't look very strong to me. By the time she reaches the top, I'll have a beard on my chin."

I glared at her. "Just who's side are you on, anyway?" I hissed.

"Just shut up and let me do the talking," she whispered back. "I'm trying to keep your sorry butt in one piece, but if you keep shooting your mouth off like this, you won't live to eat supper...!"

"Sorry," I muttered. I felt dizzy as I looked nervously up at the sky. The crow's nest seemed to be a little pinprick far above me. I swallowed the lump in my throat and wondered whether I was lucky enough to have my imagination run amok to this extent. Then I remembered what Bo-Fen had told me about that guy that fell fifty feet to his death and decided not.

I was whole-heartedly screwed. That was a fact.

Prince Zuko was meditating, practicing his breathing in the calm silence of his bedroom. It was at the very core of Firebending to have perfect control over your breathing, and any good Firebender was smart enough to practice the basics...or at the very least, they had a responsible tea-obsessed uncle to goad them into doing it. In that regard, Zuko was a great bender indeed.

He found it difficult to concentrate, however. A muscle in his jaw kept twitching in aggrivation, a very sure sign that someone somewhere was about to make him very angry. Still, he kept his eyes closed and continued to breathe in and out, trying to clear his mind. It wasn't working, though.

Stupid girl...who does she think she is???

When I didn't meet him when he told me to, he felt as though I were undermining his authority. Which, I admit, had been part of the reason I had allowed myself to miss the appointment in the first place. All he saw when he looked at me was a stubborn peasant with freakish red-hair; and while I certainly couldn't blame him for seeing me in that light, considering the circumstances, that didn't mean I couldn't resent him for it. And I certain did. Resent him, I mean.

There was no doubt that the feeling was mutual.

There was a hasty knock on the door. The flame of the candle jumped dangerously, but Zuko put it out instantly as his eyes shot open.

"What is it?" he snapped, getting to his feet and pulling on a shirt. He ripped open the door, expecting General Iroh or his Lieutenant. He did not expect to find Shen-Long standing there, his face flushed and filled with apprehension.

"Prince Zuko, sir," he said. "There's something happening on deck that I think you should know about..."

The scarred exile glared down at him. "I'm listening..."

I was clinging to the rope ladder for dear life. Below me, almost a mile away practically, Bo-Fen was screaming encouragements. Surrounding her were Zuko's men, all of them yelling profanities and cat-calling and jeering at my dangling form. Some of them, upon seeing me, were trying to change their bets as to how long it would take me to fall, and others were arguing about who would fish me out of the water...or clean my corpse off the deck.

"Just hold on and don't look down!" Bo-Fen called. "Try to get a firmer footing!"

I grimaced. My fingers were starting to ache from having to support my own body weight from so high up. If I let go,though, I would undoubtedly plummet like a brick into the ocean. I couldn't swim. Not even a little bit. No one had ever taught me, and as I looked down into the swirling depths below me, I felt lightheaded with fear. The memory of almost drowning was still very vivid in my mind. I was not eager to experience it again.

My foot chose that inopportune moment to slip out of the noose. All of a sudden, I was struggling like a crazy person to put my feet back on the rope, but they kept flailing and missing. Bo-Fen was yelling at me again.

"Stop thrashing! You'll end up falling! Just calm down, Julie!!!"

I tried to listen to her as my sweaty fingers struggled to maintain their hold on the rigging. I gritted my teeth and pulled myself up a little higher, and just then I managed to catch my foot around one of the loops. I used the leverage to move myself even higher.

Maybe I really can do this...

Five minutes after I started climbing I was almost halfway up the mast. I wasn't sure if that was good or not, but apparently I was doing better than even Chaang expected. I could hear him swearing below me. Sailor talk.

Just then, however, I heard another voice. Just about the last voice I could have ever wanted to hear--except maybe in one of those fangirl daydreams that one doesn't speak about in polite company. Though he certainly ruined every one of those in our last meeting, I have to say.

Glancing down, I caught sight of Prince Zuko striding angrily towards our gathering of soldiers, gestulating wildly at the mast. General Iroh and a very sheepish Shen-Long followed in his wake, looking very concerned.

"What's going on here? Where's Lieutenant Jee??? Why aren't all you men at your posts?!?"

I could hear them, very faintly from way up high, explaining the little performance piece attempting to reach the alarm bell--namely me--and saw Zuko's golden eyes boring into me. I felt my stomach lurch unpleasantly, and not just because I was so high up, either. I knew right at that moment that if I survived this, I would be in very big trouble.

"You!" Zuko snarled up at me. "Get down from there at once!"

I made sure I was secure where I was before I dared to look down again.

"I can't!" I called. "I already went this far, and I won't back down now!"

"You'll do as you're told, peasant!"

I stuck my tongue out at him and attempted to keep climbing. Zuko really was an arrogant jerkface. If I could only get a little higher. I was three quarters of the way up now, and the bell was within sight. I was exhausted, but I knew I had to keep going. I was so close...!

"Julie, just listen to Prince Zuko!" Iroh yelled. "You could die if this goes wrong!"

I winced ruefully.

"General, I'm sorry, but I just can't do that right now!"

"Be reasonable!" Shen-Long pleaded. "Julie, this isn't just dangerous! This is downright stupid!"

I hesitated, taking my gaze off of the bell for a long moment before glancing back down at them. They looked so small beneath me. I saw Bo-Fen placing her hand pensively against the mast, as though considering something mathematically. She was probably weighing the risks of coming up after me. I didn't blame her. What with Zuko acting like a fire-breathing dragon down there, it was a wonder that anyone could...

At that moment, unseen by everyone, Bo-Fen sharply struck the mast, sending a tremor rippling upwards.

...Shit...!!!

My foot slipped again, only this time I wasn't so fortunate to have a firm grip on the rope. My fingers slipped right through the loop, and I went straight down. I screamed as I fell, and groped frantically at anything that blurred past, hoping it would stop my descent. My ankle got tangled up in the rope, and all at once I found myself dangling upside down, my eyes wide as saucers, my entire body trembling as I stared down at the stirred crowd. Bo-Fen looked calculatingly impassive, but Iroh and Shen-Long both went rigid in shock.

Zuko, on the other hand, swore like a sailor and immediately started climbing up after me.

Unlike my pitiful attempt, the task seemed almost effortless to him. It only took him thirty seconds to get to where I was, and I was so stunned that I could barely utter a sound as he firmly grabbed the rope that had ensnared my leg and pulled me to him.

"Don't make any sudden moves," he cautioned. Zuko nimbly wrapped his arm around my torso so that his body formed a loop around mine. As soon as he was confident that I wouldn't fall, he used his other hand to work with the rope around my leg..

"I..."

"Just shut up," he snapped, still busy with his task. I shut my mouth and watched as he managed to free my leg. Then, in a harsh voice, which I guess I deserved, he ordered me to climb down.

Shaking like a leaf, I obeyed.

Zuko shadowed me until we had reached the deck. When we got there, Bo-Fen grabbed me by the scruff of the neck to steady me. I really wasn't that aware of it, though. I was already stunned into stupidity. I sank against the planks, extremely grateful that I was still alive.

Then I felt a wizened hand on my shoulder.

"I think," said General Iroh in a deceptively calm voice, "we need to have a little talk."

"Um..." I choked, and then suddenly Zuko was at my other side. He firmly gripped my arm, restraining me and preventing any future plans of escape.

"Yes, let's..." he growled.

Oh, snap.

As he led me away, I could make out the vaguely incredulous murmuring of the crowd. They surrounded the crumpled and weeping form of their ring-leader, Chaang. He was screaming something about his money, but before I could piece anything together, Zuko shoved me through the doorway leading down off of the deck and into the bowels of the ship. The door was shut swiftly behind us.

Bo-Fen watched them drag me off, her expression inscrutable. At the same time, Shen-Long sidled up to her, not bothering to hide his annoyance.

"You better have a good explanation for this," he snapped.

The sea-woman glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes. "What's with you?"

"You know your orders. Why are you disobeying them, Bo-Fen?"

She shrugged her broad shoulders, flexing her arm muscles in the open sunlight. "Isn't this interesting, though...?" she asked him off-handedly. "This worked out better than I thought. Who knew that the Prince could be downright chivilirous like that...?" she murmured.

"What the hell do you mean? Because of what you did, history is starting to rewrite itself! Do you know what Mesmer do to us if he finds out about this??? This is open treason!"

"Our orders," Bo-Fen snapped, "were to observe the girl. To see the effect that she'll have on her environment. That's what I'm doing. I'm not disobeying anyone." Then, dropping the term-paper talk, she added, "I got this, Shen. Quit worrying."

"But this is destructive! You're deliberately forcing Julie into the spotlight! If this keeps up, then...who know what will happen...?"

"And that's why I'm doing this. Julie's an anomaly. A variable. She's unique, an unpredictable force--one that hasn't existed for a very, very long time. She's something that even Mesmer didn't forsee in his plans. That's got to be worth something."

"Yes," Shen-Long agreed. "He knew immediately when the bridge between worlds was breached. But he never saw it coming, and that has made him very angry..." Quietly, he pleaded with her. "Don't do this, Bo-Fen. This is dangerous...too dangerous for us to get involved in. It's bigger than either of us, and even though we don't know what the fuck this portends, it can't be anything good."

"I'm willing to take that risk, Shen," said Bo-Fen softly. "Because what's at risk here is too big to just sit around and do nothing."

"What in the name of Agni were you thinking?" Zuko bellowed.

I winced. I was seated in an uncomfortable metal chair that was set up in between him and his uncle, both of whom were frowning--and in Zuko's case, glaring--at me. I kept my gaze to the floor, unwilling to show just how intimidated I was. I don't think it was working though. My interrogater was relentless in his verbal assault.

Just what would happen, I wondered, if I actually cracked under the pressure and put the hot finger on Chaang and his butch friends. Would they kill me? Would anyone on this ship take my side? I considered Bo-Fen before I remembered how she had purposefully made me fall from the mast.

What was her motive behind that, anyway? She didn't seem to hate me when we first met, and I don't think I did anything after that to make her want me dead. So...why?

I decided that after this was over, if I survived, I would reserve a few questions of my own for her.

"What you attempted just now was extremely reckless," Iroh was saying to me. "You are very fortunate that Prince Zuko was able to save you in time, or you might have been killed."

Huh. He sounded genuinely upset about that.

"I'm sorry," I said as sincerely as I could. "I shouldn't have done it...and I really wish I hadn't."

"Then why did you to begin with?"

"Um...well, I..." I was at a loss for words. I suppose the mental image of Chaang clenching and unclenching his meaty hands, as though longing to wrap them around my neck and throttle the crap out of me, didn't help. "I just...had to."

Oh, yeah. I had them eating out of the palm of my hand. NOT!

"What do you mean, you had to? No one on board this ship gave you orders to climb the mast," came a clipped reply. This response had been graciously given by Lieutenant Jee, who I was now meeting for the first time today. The man was dressed smartly in typical Fire Navy garb, and his boots were so meticulously shined that I could see my face reflected in them. This meant that he was a neat freak, and that meant that he was probably strict too. Perfect.

"I had orders...sort of..."

"From whom?" Zuko asked coldly. He gave his uncle a suspicious look, but then mentally checked himself and settled his hate-filled gaze back on me.

I was about to say that I couldn't tell them who's orders I was acting on. But then it occurred to me that they might assume that I was working with their enemies as a spy. I hastily backtracked.

"It was someone on board the ship," I said carefully. "Just not someone particularly important. In fact, the only reason why I'm not giving you any names is because I don't want to be fed to a Bull-Shark."

Well, why not? Honesty had a funny way of helping in modest doses.

"Julie, I'm going to be frank with you," said Jee primly. "You're suspected of insighting a rebellion among the members of the crew and acting as a catalyst for mutiny. We're trying to decide just how severe your punishment should be, so it would be in your best interests to come forward with any...ah, helpful information."

Mutiny? Holy Guacamole! This was being blown way out of proportion...!

"It's nothing nearly as complex as that," I said, the way I would to the principal if he had caught me running three-card monte in the cafeteria again, and was threatening to suspend me. "Just a gambling ring among the crew, and a bunch of ill-conceived threats to get me to be a part of it..."

"Gambling?"

"Yeah," I said, a little miffed. "Apparently these guys think it's all in a day's fun to get a girl to do something dangerous and then take bets as to how long it will take for her to die from it."

A lightbulb went off in my head. Could that have been why Bo-Fen sabotaged me? For money?

"Disgraceful," Jee spat. "I can't believe that something like that could have been going on without me knowing about it...!"

Iroh narrowed his eyes. "It is very strange. But Julie has only been on board for two days. I don't believe that sufficient time has passed for her to hold that much influence over the crew. Therefore, I don't believe that this was an organized riot."

"Unless someone else was pulling the strings," said Zuko slowly. He turned to Jee. "I want you to do a thorough investigation into this matter. Even if this was just an incident of rowdiness, I won't have even minor infractions among my crew. Especially if we find the Avatar."

Lieutenant Jee bowed, clicked his heels smartly, and exited the interrogation chamber. As the door shut behind him, I had begun to mull over what Zuko had just said. Did this mean they already knew about Aang?

"Now about your punishment..." Iroh prompted.

Oh, snap.

A/N: This chapter was a lot longer in its original form. Seriously, I couldn't find a good place to end until now, and at that point I jumped at the opportunity. I really needed to get this updated, especially now that I have some reviewers! Hurray! Thank you Moonclaimed, Thrawn7730, PinkPanther123, and Toxic-Tears-123 for giving this story the attention it needed!

I know, Lieutenant Jee probably should have had a heavier presence on the ship in the earlier chapters, so to make up for his absense, I'm going to make sure you see a lot more of him in later chapters. Also, I dropped the name Mesmer in Bo-Fen's discussion with Shen-Long. He will be another major character, so don't forget about him!

I promise, Aang will show up soon. I can't say how soon since my chapters have a tendency of being ridiculously long, but Zuko's ship is getting closer and closer to that iceberg. Best case scenario, I'd say two or three chapters later.

Next time: Tarot reading time! Julie has to prove herself both in the cards AND on deck--but will she be able to make up for her blunder on the mast? Danger is in the air! Huzzah!

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