Chapter three is here! stares around ECHO! Well, its' empty. Go figure. Anyhoo, I don't own Avatar, just Maki, the crystal, and the plot. I wanted to put a dream sequence in here, but it turns out I can't write them for squat. Enjoy and review. Or at least just enjoy.


"You are going to tell me where the Avatar is staying, or you will sorely regret it."

Maki watched in confusion as Zuko snarled at a suspicious looking middle aged man in noble's clothes. He seemed positively terrified of the fire prince who bore down on him. Maki could swear that he was about to cry as he stammered a response.

"I told you already, I d-d-don't know!" he wailed piteously, choking back tears with each word.

"Oh, you know," Zuko smirked, "And I know you know. I'll give you credit for keeping silent so long, but it's time to start talking."

Maki stared, utterly perplexed, as the youth she had thought was just a jerk for show intimidate a villager for a measly piece of information. And yet, she couldn't bring herself to move. Maki could just tell that if she tried to interfere, the results would be disastrous. That and she couldn't feel her legs. Around the time Zuko finished his 'interrogation', Maki regained control of her body. She was still shocked at what she had just seen as she made to return to the village, but something was niggling in the back of her mind. Maki sighed but turned. She knew from experience that it was unwise to ignore one's instincts, and she was right.

Three things happened at once.

A shrill whistle pierced the air as something came flying from the trees. Maki flinched, but was relieved to find herself uninjured when she looked up. Zuko couldn't have said the same. The fire prince had dropped his captive, who quickly scrambled away out of terror, and was clutching his side. Maki could barely discern a green feathered arrow sticking out from a gap in his armor. The look on his face was a painful combination of shock and fear. Tearing her eyes from a sight that made her insides feel like lead, Maki fingered her crystal. The cool black stone was comforting to the touch, and before she knew it, the girl was running in the direction of Zuko's fallen form.

Sure, it wasn't one of Maki's more brilliant ideas, and she would probably get killed saving the life of somebody who hated her, but Zuko had allowed Maki to stay on his ship. That simple decision had probably saved her life, so she might as well return the favor.

She sprinted to the riverbank, reaching it in the same moment that two masked figures leapt from the trees. On of them had a bow strung on their back. It didn't take an idiot to figure out that they were the ones who had fired that arrow. And Maki was no idiot. Time seemed to stand still in the moment that the three stared at each other before the fighting began. The two figures drew their weapons and planted themselves on either side of Maki and Zuko.

Centuries of waterbending instinct combined with pure panic to force her to act as one of the masked figures made a move. In a single fluid motion, Maki drew her hand to the side and brought a powerful jet of water crashing down on their attacker. Zuko's amazement at this bizarre turn of events was his only incentive to stay conscious as he watched his captive battle, as blood loss was draining him by the second. For somebody who had never had any formal training, she managed to hold her own against assassins, dodging their blows with agility only a dancer could posess. Ah, the irony of life.

Maki shrieked in alarm and drenched the bowman that advanced on her just as his partner leapt at her. She tried to sidestep, but was too late. The attacker slashed at her stomach with a dagger. Blade cut through cloth and flesh, causing her to leap back and grip her stomach in pain.

Her midriff was on fire as she staggered back, warm blood trickling through her fingers. The assassins rounded on her as though eager for an easy kill. She could even swear that they were chuckling to one another. Maki squinted upward, desperate to see clearly through the pain, only to find one of the assassins smirking down at her, knife in hand.

Her life didn't flash before her eyes as she let out a shriek that would put a fire alarm to shame. Running on adrenaline alone, Maki drew enough water to fill a small swimming pool from the river and sent it flying at the assassins. They clearly weren't ready for such an attack. The water hit them with so much force that the assassins went flying into nearby trees. Maki barely heard the 'thump' of bodies hitting the bark. Relief spread through her body as she realized that victory was hers. Maki clung to that feeling of relief as her body shut down for repairs.


Maki awoke to find a warm hand on her shoulder and the hard ground beneath her limp form. She had just been having the strangest dream, something about chasing a sparkly something through the fog and never being able to catch it. Said dream was quickly fading from as her mind struggled to regain consciousness. It was an effort to stay awake, but Maki wasn't too tired to find out what was going on. She cracked her eyes open slightly to find a worried face staring down at her. Maki faintly recognized him as the young lieutenant she had replaced as cook. Nice guy, actually, if not a bit air headed. Despite every inch of her body ached as though she had been beaten, she managed to creak out a few words.

"Toshi… what happened?"

The man staring down at her let out a gasp of surprise at the sound. Maki grunted. The effort of speaking had sent a dull pain to her midriff but Toshi didn't seem to notice. He turned around and shouted to somebody nearby. Maki winced at the sound.

"General Iroh, she's awake!" called Toshi. There was a scuffling sound of somebody standing up, followed by footsteps. Maki squinted slightly as Iroh's face came into view. He was deathly pale, and he looked more fearful than she had ever thought he could be.

"Miss Maki! Thank the gods you are both alright. Are you well enough to speak? I have a few questions."

"Yeah, just give me a sec," Maki nodded and attempted to move her heavy limbs. Iroh immediately got the message and put a hand on her back to help her sit up. She winced, but forced the pain into submission as she sat up and braced herself against the ground with elbows. Maki blushed at seeing a strip of cloth tied tightly around her midriff. One of the men must have done it to keep her from loosing too much blood, but it was somehow embarrassing. Maki tilted her head to the side to gaze at Iroh before scanning the rest of the clearing. Prince Zuko was still unconscious and about five men were gathered around him, alert for any ominous signs. The old general still looked worried when Maki looked back at him.

"Alright, you wanted to ask me something?"

"Yes," Iroh's frown deepened, "I was wondering what happened here."

"Oh, that," Maki sighed and raked her memory. Zuko shouting about an 'Avatar', arrows, a battle…There were a few brief images before her memory flooded back. Maki clutched at her skull as she spoke, "I was looking for a waterfall and I saw Prince Zuko shaking somebody down about… what was it? Oh yeah, something about an Avatar. And then he got hit with an arrow and when I went over to try and help these two people jumped out of the trees and attacked us and…"

Maki felt the blood drain from her face.

"The assassins! What happened to the assassins!" she stared wide eyed at Iroh, fear painted across her delicate features. The old general shook his head sadly.

"There was nobody here except for you and Zuko. I am afraid that the assassins you speak of got away."

Maki felt her stomach vanish. If they had gotten away, there was a chance that they would strike again. And if she couldn't fight them off the next time…

Unbidden tears began to stream from Maki's eyes. She wiped them, furious with herself for crying in front of Iroh the crew. Her indomitable image would be ruined, but that was the least of her worries. Maki ignored the pain from her stomach as she drew her knees of up her chest and buried her face in the fabric of her shirt. All the fury she had toward the fire prince was dissolving. What was the point of being mad at someone if you couldn't even yell at them about it? Maki hiccupped in alarm when Iroh patted her comfortingly on the back. She looked up, eyes red from sobbing, and watched as Iroh got to his feet and addressed the crew.

"Finish loading the ship. We will set off as soon as it's restocked," the old general frowned, his voice now commanding, "Return here once you are done loading. Miss Maki and I are going to get prince Zuko back to the ship."

The soldiers peered at each other in confusion, but none of them seemed to find it wise to disobey Iroh. Maki watched as the twenty or so men left for the village. Then it was silent She felt her mood reverse as Iroh helped her up, curiosity suddenly plaguing the surface of her mind. Maki narrowed her eyes slightly when the old general strode toward Zuko and motioned for her to come over. She limped toward Iroh. The old general was glancing between the unconscious form of his nephew and Maki herself. She suddenly found herself fingering her crystal as Iroh settled his gaze on her.

"Are you going to just leave him here?"

Maki blinked in confusion. "Hunh?"

"I was wondering if you would be so kind as to carry my nephew back to the ship. I am too old and too tired to carry him back myself, so could you help me?" Iroh smiled innocently at her, but Maki didn't believe that smile for a second. The old general was up to something. But since he was the only other one who could have her thrown off the boat, Maki decided to let him have his way. She hid a scowl and attempted to lift Zuko. Only after five minutes did Maki manage to get the fire prince into proper piggy back position. Her muscles were beginning to ache already as she and Iroh trudged back to the ship. Maki just prayed that Zuko didn't regain consciousness while she carried him back to the ship. Something told her that he would strangle her if he did.

By the time they got back to the ship, every muscle in Maki's body was on fire. She cursed herself for allowing Iroh to manipulate her so, but an unbidden instinct kept mentioning that the old general was testing her somehow. Instead of showing any signs of weakening, Maki contented herself by glaring at everything that came into sight and venting her anger into her limbs. They reached the ship by nightfall. It took every iota of her remaining strength to not just drop Zuko onto one of the cots. Iroh thanked her and asked a soldier to make him some tea as Maki collapsed onto a nearby cot. She was going to have to rest for a second if there was any chance of making dinner, or even getting to her room.

Maki buried her face in her pillow, curling up like a cat on her cot. Maybe she would stay there for more than a second. The cots were so soft and comfortable; it was as though she would drift off in to dreams there and then…


As it turned out, Maki was a heavy sleeper, but she felt magnificently refreshed when she awoke. Maki cracked her eyes open to find that the room was empty save for the ship's medic and herself. The prince must have recovered from the attack and left, she decided. Maki peered around to find that the medic was bustling around, muttering to himself as he prepared bandages. He dropped the gauze when he spotted Maki trying to sit up.

"Miss! Don't sit up!" gasped the medic. He rushed over to Maki's cot, a panicked look upon his visage as he forced her to lay back down. Maki sent him a glare that could have frozen magma.

"And just why not? I feel fine."

The medic flinched, but somehow persisted. There was a silent battle of wills in which Maki gave the medic enough death glares to bring down an army before he gave persuasion another shot.

"Stop that! And stay still before you make your injuries worse! You may feel fine but you are still injured and General Iroh told me to make sure you recover," the medic snorted irritably as Maki reluctantly gave up her struggle for mobility. Her mind was full to bursting with curiosity as the medic rambled on,"He's one to talk, making you carry Prince Zuko all the way to the ship on your own. It's a miracle you survived as it was after that attack without his help…"

Maki rolled her eyes as the medic went back to preparing gauze. The man could ramble like there was no tomorrow, that was for sure. She rolled onto her back and examined the bandages wrapped around her stomach. Her insides felt like lead when she realized that the medic was right in his diagnosis. She may feel fine, but she had barely withstood the attack. But how on earth did Maki manage to survive carrying Zuko all the way to the ship? Maki fingered her crystal necklace absentmindedly as the day wore on, testing every theory as to why she had lived. Easily her favorite was that she was a super human. That had its merits, but it didn't last long against pure logic.

Dinner time finally rolled around, and the medic eventually fled in search of food. Maki found herself searching her mind for entertainment when somebody returned to the sick bay. She propped herself up on her elbows to properly see who it was, but was quite surprised when Iroh walked in, Zuko trailing behind him. The fire prince looked quite irritated with the situation. He no longer wore armor and was being forced to carry a bowl full of what Maki assumed to be soup.

"Miss Maki! So glad to see you are well!" Iroh scurried over to her cot. Zuko followed, but his frown was more noticeable than ever. Maki bit back a laugh at the sight before turning to Iroh. The old general smiled slightly, "We brought you some soup, as you can see. It's not as good as the stuff you make but one can still eat it." He laughed, causing his nephew's scowl to deepen.

"Uncle," snapped Zuko suddenly. Both Maki and Iroh looked up, eyebrows raised at the prince, "Would you mind getting to the point as to why we actually showed up? If you are going to socialize then I shall leave right now."

Maki narrowed her eyes at Zuko before returning her gaze to Iroh, "You mean you didn't come to chat and bring me food? I'm crushed. Thanks for the soup though," she wasn't really shocked, but sat up abruptly and began to spoon at her meal nonetheless, "So then, why did you come here?"

"We wanted to ask you a few questions, Miss Maki," Iroh looked grave all of a sudden.

"And we want the complete truth this time," added Zuko acidly. Maki just blinked at him in confusion.

"Thank you, prince Zuko," said Iroh, "So then, where are you from? Do not leave anything out this time; the smallest detail may make the greatest difference."

Maki sighed reluctantly. They probably weren't going to believe her, but what else could she do? Iroh had demanded answers, and she respected the general too much to try and trick him.

"I'm from earth, just like you are-"

"We are not from the Earth Kingdom," interrupted Zuko, thus earning himself a death glare.

"Don't get so insulted. I meant that I'm from the planet earth. I don't even know what the Earth Kingdom is. I mean, it's like, a store or something, right? Anyway, this'll probably sound dumb but I'm from the future," Maki tried to ignore the dumbstruck looks from Iroh and Zuko, "No, really, I am. I think my necklace brought me back here. How it did it, I have no idea. All I want is to get home." With that, she folded her arms. It took all of Maki's self control to remain straight-faced. Inside, she was panicking. The odds that they believed her were so low it was scary just to think about it.

"Good enough."

Maki whipped her head around to find Iroh smiling at her and Zuko looking at his uncle as though questioning his sanity.

"You're joking."

"No, no, I wouldn't joke about something such as this," the old general chuckled, "It makes perfect sense. The way you talk, your strange customs, the fact that you didn't get all nervous around prince Zuko," another chuckle at this, "Especially the way you cook. It all fits perfectly."

Maki fell back against the back of her cot, unable to believe her luck. How her story made sense, she had no idea, but she wasn't going to complain. Maki was content as long as they didn't think she was insane and toss her overboard. This new feeling of relief was suddenly pushed aside in the face of curiosity. Maki turned to face Iroh as old questions resurfaced. Questions about her crystal in particular. Maki propped herself up on her elbows once again and gazed at the two firebenders.

"Thanks for believing me, General Iroh. Honestly," From the corner of her eye, she spotted Zuko leaving the room in a huff. Maki had a sudden impression that he felt guilty about something as he brushed past. Her hand didn't seem to care about this. Maki was surprised when it shot up and grabbed the fire prince's arm and she spoke, "Don't you have something to say to me?"

"What are you talking about?" snapped Zuko.

"I'm pretty sure I saved your life," Maki raised her eyebrows, "You could at least thank me."

"Not likely," Zuko wrenched his arm from her grip and strode toward the door. Maki felt her jaw drop in unmitigated fury.

"You're lucky I don't give you another injury you arrogant little-"

"Now, now, there isn't any reason to fight," interrupted Iroh cautiously. Maki looked over to find that the general had gotten to his feet, ready for disaster the two teens might stir up.

"Don't worry yourself, Uncle," Zuko was smirking down at Maki. The girl was sitting up, her face contorted with stubborn rage as the prince kept needling, "It's not like she can do anything to me without her precious water around."

Maki was ready to explode, but in the heat of her fury, a simple fact came floating to the surface of her mind. Her snarl morphed into a sly smile. Sometimes it paid to come from the future if Maki knew things that Zuko didn't. She sat up as high as she could, determined to be eye level with the arrogant prince. "Oh, there's water around here, you just can't see it," she said. Maki let her mind wander off in the prince's direction until she sensed the water that made up his body. She raised a hand and concentrated. Iroh and Zuko merely stared before the youth's feet left the floor.

"AAAAH!"

Maki let him drop. Since the prince hadn't been ready for floating or falling, he fell flat on his bum. Iroh looked ready to faint there and then from what he had just seen as Zuko jumped to his feet. The youth's face was beet red, but he didn't seem to notice as he rounded on Maki. The girl managed to look completely unfazed by being faced by an angry firebender. Heck, she even managed to look smug as Zuko started ranting.

"I knew you were a witch! You're leaving this ship the next time we dock- or no, we could just pitch you overboard right now."

"Nope, not a witch, although that would be useful," Maki said brightly, "That was just waterbending. Did I get the term right?"

"Like hell it was. There's no way a waterbender could lift a person into the air like that." snarled Zuko.

"The body is three-quarters water, genius. All I needed to do is move the water that makes up your body to make you move." Maki folded her arms across her chest. Zuko seemed to think that she was going to say something else, as he waited a moment before opening his mouth to yell some more. Only then did Iroh come to the rescue. He ordered his nephew to go to the mess hall, which resulted in Zuko storming out and slamming the door behind him. Maki could only smirk with satisfaction at having freaked out the arrogant prince, but it was quickly pushed aside by nervousness. Iroh had sat next to her cot and was peering at her with an unfathomable expression. Maki felt herself deflating slightly under his gaze, "I wasn't trying to hurt him, I swear. It's just-"

"I know you weren't," said Iroh gravely, "But you should not judge prince Zuko so harshly, he is not always this temperamental."

Maki quirked her head and frowned, but the old general didn't waver.

"You say that you do not know about this world, and I believe you. But you will not be safe anywhere unless you are informed. We should probably get some tea started, Miss Maki. There is much that I must tell you…"


Just because the fact that Maki managed to fend off assassins might weird out somebody, you should know a few things. 1: Survival instinct and fastreflexes are a deadly combination when your life is threatened.Makinot only posesses strong instinct and fast reflexes, but she's agile as heck.Therefore she can kick much arse.2: The human body is indeed 75 water, but bending that water withoutdamaging the bodywouldprolly require extreme concentration, which is why Maki didn't do it during the attack. Instinct doesn't exactly count as concentration.

Science-ish ramble done. TA! xD