Author's Note: Hey, guys! Two things. 1) Thank you to "Guest" for that lovely review. 2) I am starting college today and will therefore not be able to write as much as I normally do. And I am already running out of chapters to give you, so from now on I will only be able to update one chapter at a time instead of two. Thank you guys so much for all your support! Enjoy the chapter! – Fira

Eighteen

It was utterly chaotic. Zuko had been annoyed at Maya for coming. She was the only one in their group who wasn't riding a rhino. There hadn't been enough for all of them to have one, and she was not riding on the back with one of the guards. She was also the only one who wasn't wearing Fire Nation red. A few days back they had stopped at a town to resupply, and Uncle had given her some money to go get clothes that fit. The town was part of the Earth Kingdom, so obviously, the only fashions available were Earth Kingdom fashions. Maya now wore a pale yellow tunic, trimmed in light green, and forest-green pants. It wasn't exactly her style, but it was better than the too-large men's clothing she'd been wearing.

It was actually good for her to be the only one not wearing Fire Nation red, because that meant she wasn't an immediate target. And the fact that she wasn't on a rhino also helped. So, she was probably the safest one there. As Zuko and the two guards made their way down the ramp to the shore, Zuko said to the guards, "Find the Avatar. I want him alive."

Maya stood next to the ship, out of the way of the ramp. Uncle had refused to come onto the island, claiming he didn't want anything to do with the fighting that was sure to ensue. He'd tried to get Maya to stay behind as well, but she'd refused. She would watch. That was all. Hopefully she wouldn't need to save Zuko from anyone trying to kill him. But if it came to that…

And suddenly, she was brought out of her thoughts when she heard a loud grunt, and then a yell. She looked up. There was a woman in thick face paint, and odd clothing standing over the top of one of the guards. She was a Kyoshi Warrior. Maya had heard of them throughout her travels in the Earth Kingdom. They were known to copy the fighting style of Avatar Kyoshi, the last Avatar born to the Earth Kingdom – the one before Avatar Roku.

Maya watched as, one by one, the women warriors brought down each guard. There had been other guards that had come off the ship, but only the two in front had been riding rhinos. Maya was impressed, and slightly afraid. If they realized she was part of Zuko's group, they'd start attacking her, too. She backed away, closer to the ship, and made sure to stay quiet. Hopefully no one would notice her.

At some point, she lost track of Zuko, so she had to move. Slowly, she made her way down the streets of Kyoshi Island, and when she spotted Zuko up ahead, she stayed where she was, watching him. He was still atop the rhino. Suddenly, one of the Warriors jumped down off of the roof above him. Maya was surprised she hadn't noticed her. The Warrior knocked into Zuko, causing him to fall off his rhino. The animal ran away in surprise, and Zuko was surrounded by three Warriors.

They began to close in on him, and Maya took a step forward, ready to defend him. And then he was on his hands and spinning in a circle, feet out, shooting flames at the girls. They were knocked back. One woman went crashing through the door of one of the houses, another girl slammed into a wooden support beam, and the last crumpled into the ground a few feet away. Zuko quickly got up.

"Come out, Avatar!" he shouted into the air. "These little girls can't save you!"

"Hey!" came the return yell. "Over here!"

Maya turned and saw Aang standing in an alley.

"Finally," she heard Zuko mutter.

Silently, she sent a plea to the spirits that somehow neither of them would get too injured. She watched as Zuko and Aang squared off, circling one another. Zuko shot first, sending a fireball at the boy that sent him flying backwards and knocking his staff from his hand. Suddenly, a Kyoshi Warrior ran in front of Zuko and proceeded to attack him using the customary fans. Zuko sent her crashing to the ground, and her fans clanged against the ground, landing in Aang's vicinity.

He used airbending to suck them up into his hands, and then charged at Zuko. Zuko and Aang ran towards one another, and then Aang stopped. He pulled one of his arms back, fan open, and then threw his arm forward again. Maya felt a blast of air that, had it been coming directly at her, would have knocked her off her feet. As it so happened, Zuko was sent flying backwards into the wall of a house, and then he landed on the porch and did not get up again.

Maya did not notice Aang as he picked up his glider and flew away with it. She ran over to Zuko as quickly as she could, kneeling down beside him. She put two fingers on his wrist. He was still alive. "Zuko," she said loudly. He did not respond. She shook him slightly, and lightly slapped his face. "Zuko! Wake up!"

He lifted his head and moaned. And then he seemed to remember what had just happened and sat up quickly, holding his head in his hands. "The Avatar," he rasped. "Where is he?"

"I don't know," Maya said. "He flew off after he knocked you out. Are you okay? You must have hit your head really hard to pass out like that. Maybe we should just go back to the ship and cut our losses. We can always find him again. You should really get your head checked out by the ship's physician."

"No! I need to capture him before he gets too far away!" Zuko quickly stood up and looked around.

And then they heard a loud, grumbling noise above them. Maya looked up. The Avatar's fluff-monster was back. "Zuko!" she said.

"I know! I see it!" He turned and yelled to the guards who had slowly made their way back to him, "Back to the ship! Don't lose sight of him!"

Maya followed them back into the depths of the ship. Where to now? she wondered.