Oh, my goodness, guys! Thanks so much for the reviews! This morning, I was feeling sort of down. Then I looked at my email, and… BAM! Reviews! I couldn't stop grinning. Thank you all, even if you're only just viewing this. You don't know how much I appreciate it.

Well, enough squealing for me. Without further adieu, here is Chapter 3… enjoy!

Chapter Three: Alone

Moana didn't say this very often, but...

She was frightened.

After all, she had just been kidnapped by a bird, almost killed by her best friend, and now was being flown over a group of sea stacks. Squinting through the blood that was dribbling into her eyes, she saw that each sea stack looked like they each had a cushion of hay on them. Through a haze of pain and confusion, Moana wondered what they were.

Moana's head wound was pretty serious. Maui- or at least she thought it was Maui- had accidentally sliced her forehead with his razor-sharp claws in attempt to fend of Moana's abductor. It was clear that it was a mistake, but that didn't mean it was any less painful to her.

She held onto her oar with one hand while pressing the other to her injury. She had already lost a lot of blood, and needed to clot the wound to prevent it from losing anymore.

The teenager bit her lip to keep from crying out as girl and bird suffered minor turbulence in the air. She saw red for a moment. Gods, it really hurts...

The bird screeched, circling above a sea stack. Then it dove. This time, Moana couldn't help from hissing in pain as pressure stressed her wound. Her vision stretched to blackness.

She must've lost consciousness for a minute or two, because the next thing she knew she was lying limp on a bed of scratchy hay. She groaned, stirring. Her fuzzy mind was still back on her canoe with Maui. She remembered bits of what had happened with the bird, but blood loss made her head spin too badly to make much of it.

A small caw awakened her fully. Brown eyes opened. Moana let out another groan as she pushed herself to a sitting position and looked for what had made the sound.

She immediately wished she hadn't.

Because Moana of Motunui, wounded, alone, and scared was surrounded by a group of hatchlings. And from the looks of them, they were hungry.

She scooted back, glancing around for something to scare them off. Relieved, she saw her oar lying next to her. Thankfully, she hadn't let go of it during the ride here. She grabbed it and held it in front of her, growling, "Get back, or the demigod Maui's autograph will be the last thing you ever see!"

The birds obliged.

Moana's mind raced. These hatchlings looked a lot like the bird that had taken her here. Heavily feathered, large wingspan, elongated beak... if she had one guess, she'd say these were the children of her abductor.

So that's why the bird took me, the girl realized. It- or she- needed to feed her young.

Though she now had a reasonable explanation for her capture, she still wasn't gratified with what had happened. She wouldn't be bird food. No way. But she couldn't keep these guys at bay forever. Especially with her head wound seeping vitality from her.

Moana knew she had to do something about that. Take care of one thing, then move on to the next. Propping her oar up and pointed at the hatchlings, she ripped part of her skirt off and made a sort of headband around her forehead as a makeshift bandage. Hopefully that would help clot the wound. Still, she felt faint from the loss of blood.

Alright. What next? Rescue, right? Maui had been following the bird throughout the chase, but Moana had seen him since he scratched her.

Poor Maui, she sympathized as she thought of him, sending a pang through her heart. Probably blaming himself for hurting me. Well, I'll forgive him. Once he comes back and rescues me.

Though Moana was independent, preferring not to seriously rely on other people, this time, she had to. With her lacerations, she could barely stand, let alone fight. No, this time, she had to be the damsel in distress, as much as she hated it.

She waited for a good ten minutes, watching the sky in anticipation. Where was Maui? He should've been here and rescued her by now. Hadn't he been following them? Everything that had happened since Moana was hurt was fuzzy, so she couldn't be sure.

Moana's blood chilled as she thought of an explanation for Maui's absence.

The night on the boat. After almost getting blasted to bits on Te Fiti. Maui's cracked hook. His face, with anger and disappointment. "The ocean chose wrong.". Him turning into an eagle, flying away. Abandoning her in the middle of the sea. Alone. Doubting. Grieved.

Had Maui abandoned her again?

She tried to disagree. No... she trusted Maui with her life, and knew it was the same with him. After returning to Motunui, Moana had expected not to see much of Maui again, but was surprised when three weeks laters, he had appeared with another story of the great demigod Maui single-handedly taking down a monster.

From then, he had visited Moana and Motunui frequently. Though they didn't have time to sail far past the reef, they bonded even more through stories, small adventures, and confessions. She had accepted him as family now. And she had definitely forgiven him for leaving her alone and hopeless that one horrible night six months ago.

But if Maui wasn't here yet, what else had happened? What was holding Maui up? What was more important than ohana? She felt hurt, and not just from her head wound. She was alone. Once again.

Before Moana could settle into a nest of self pity, a hatchling snapped forward, hoping for a bite of tasty human flesh. With a grunt, Moana hit it with her trusty oar, causing it to fly backward into the others.

"Anyone else want to try?" she panted, glaring over them.

None tried anything. She had proven herself a difficult opponent.

Moana was remembering herself now. She was strong. Tough. Soon to leave an impressive legacy when she became chief of Motunui. She could handle this. They were just a few birds. Nothing Moana of Motunui couldn't handle, right?

Right?

From the way the girl was feeling now, she didn't know how to respond to that. She'd just have to see how it all turned out. Like the ocean, the outcome was impossible to control. Moana of all people could understood that. Most of everything happened by chance. Little choices. She'd let fate flow the way it did and decide on how this one turned out.

But that didn't mean she couldn't push her chances of surviving a little higher than they were now.

Moana raised her oar, adrenaline coursing through her. The hatchlings cowered, realizing that she was going to fight them. She jumped forward, wincing as the pain in her head increased, but trying to focus on the battle instead… she had to win… she had to get back to Maui… Motunui… her parents… they were all counting on her to survive this.

And there was no way that Moana's tale would cease with, 'And then, after stealing a magical item from Tamatoa, defeating Te Ka, and returning the heart of Te Fiti, Moana was eaten by some baby birds. The end.' But if she was going down, she'd go down in battle. The fierceness roaring its head inside of her wouldn't have it any other way. Born a fighter, die a fighter.

One bird, one of the biggest of the group, had had enough of Moana's oar. Annoyance narrowed its eyes and it lunged forward to bite it.

WHAM!

Its endeavor earned it a painful bruise on the side of its head, courtesy of a signed oar. It crowed in pain, flapping around in attempt to somehow stop the discomfort it was enduring. Soon, the others were squawking along with their sibling, distressed.

Moana was confused for a moment, and lowered her weapon. Why were they screeching?

The truth hit her hard.

They were calling for their mother.

Moana stepped back, alarmed. "Guys! Wait! I'm sorry- don't call for your mother! I won't hit you anymore! Just- just-"

But it was too late.

The giant bird that had taken Moana had been summoned. It emerged from the clouds and was flying back straight towards the nest. Straight towards Moana.

Hope you all liked that chapter. It's shorter than Chapter 2, but longer than Chapter 1.

You know the drill. If you like, please review, like, favorite, or follow! If you don't let me know.

And let me say THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS. LOVE YOU GUYS. You made my day! :-)

Thanks for reading, and I'll try and write Chapter 4 today if you want.