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Italics: (Na'vi language, or Metkayina sign language, and Jake's inner thoughts)
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Happiness is simple. Like date night. Time away from the kids.

There were nights when you and Jake just needed to get away. Just the two of you. When this happened, you entrusted your mother and Neytiri, the aunt of your children, to watch over your kids for a few hours. Tonight, Jake had told you to meet him in the spot where you first told him you were pregnant. The cliff had s perfect view at night of the planet that Pandora orbited around, and it was breathtaking.

You two had been visiting that spot, most of the time just sitting in silence in each other's embrace. The only sounds that accompanied you were the eerie and beautiful sounds of the forest. Now, he told you to meet him there but didn't say why. As you walked up the hill to the cliff, the view was the same as it ever was.

You had expected him to be there waiting for you, but when you saw nobody at your guys' spot, you started to get confused. Perhaps you heard him wrong about where he wanted to meet with you. With a sigh, you turned around to head back, and before you knew it, Jake appeared from around a tree and grabbed your hips, throwing you over his shoulder.

He twirled you around as he held onto your thighs and waist, making you giggle and laugh at his actions. He scared the life out of you, but the moment you were having now made it all worth it. Jake was spontaneous, romantic, and sweet. Those were traits he never lost even 14 years after being with him.

Eventually, Jake put you down, his hands not leaving your waist as he caressed your skin softly with his thumb. You looked up at him with a bright smile, and he gazed at you as if he had hearts in his eyes. He lifted one of your hands from your waist and used it to cup your cheek, bringing you to him and planting a slow and steady kiss. You sighed into it, smiling against his lips, prompting him to do so too.

He pulled away much faster than you would've liked, and tucked your hair behind your ear, rubbing his thumb against your cheek. "Did you like the surprise? Did I scare you too much?" He asked teasingly, and you rolled your eyes with a smile threatening to show.

"Yes. Yes, you did. But it was worth it. You're here with me now," You said, wrapping your arms around his shoulder and behind his neck. "You're lucky I love you as much as I do. You wouldn't want to upset your darling wife, would you?" You asked innocently.

He smiled toothlessly, humming in response to your words. "Never," He said, leaning over again, pecking your lips, pulling away, and then pressing his forehead against yours. Out of instinct, you closed your eyes, and inhaled deeply, rubbing your nose against his. He still held onto your hips, relishing every moment he got to have with you like this. He wasn't about to take it for granted.

Jake never failed to give you butterflies. Even with the smallest of gestures like these. It'd be embarrassing if he knew how much he made your heart race by simply touching you. What you didn't know is that you had that same effect on him, ironically.

"I love you, Y/n. More than you'll ever know. You're a blessing to me" Jake whispered, making a pact with himself to tell you every day of his life if he has to. You came into his life, or rather he came into yours and completely turned it upside down in the best way possible. He couldn't imagine his life any other way.

"I love you, too, Jake," You whispered, wrapping your arms tighter around his neck and embracing him lovingly. As you hugged him, he didn't hesitate to move his hands from your waist to your hips, as if it was second nature to him.

Shortly after that, you and Jake headed down the cliff hand in hand, making your way to your Ikrans. To this day, you still were devastated over Nana's passing, but you were able to make a bond with another Ikran. It was a female banshee, and you named her Aio, meaning peace. Funnily enough, her temperament was very similar to Nana's.

Eventually, you and Jake were soaring through the night air around the Hallelujah Mountains. You and Jake laughed together, chasing each other with their Ikrans. You yipped, flying ahead of Jake, and he reciprocated it by hooting, letting you know he was right behind you. Jake grinned as he flew faster to the point he flew above you and then back to your side.

The two of you continued to follow the rhythm of chasing after one another playfully, both of your laughs resonating through the mountains. His hearty and genuine laugh made your heart skip a beat as you both flew upwards at the same time, having your Ikrans face each other and then diving back down. To both of you, It was the perfect way to end the night.

After riding a bit more on your Ikrans, you left your banshees in their usual spot. Later on, you and Jake ended up resting together stargazing after kissing for a bit and then expressing your love for one another, consequently ending up laying down on the soft grasses on top of one of the Hallelujah Mountains. You were both laying on your backs, facing up.

You were cuddled against his side, with his arm draped around your waist. Your head was comfortably laying on his chest, feeling the rise and fall of it with every breath he took, listening intently to the steady beats of his heart. It was enough to make you go to sleep peacefully, all the while Jake stayed awake as he looked up at the sky, pondering and thinking. Shifting a bit in your sleep, you placed your hand over his stomach and he placed him over yours tenderly.

But the thing about happiness, is that it can vanish in a heartbeat.

As you slept, Jake's eyes surveyed the sky intently. He spotted an unusual-looking star in the sky, except it wasn't a star at all. More like something much worse that you knew would eventually come back. While Jake's eyes narrowed to look at the weird-looking light in the sky, with closed eyes, your eyebrows furrowed with internal anguish, feeling that something devastating was about to occur to your home once again.

When he realized what was approaching, Jake's eyes widened and he gasped, sitting up and waking you up. Your eyes opened drowsily, and you looked at him to ask why he was sitting up all of a sudden, but then you looked at his horrified and concerned expression, seeing that his eyes narrowed.

You were confused as to why he had that look on his face, but then you looked up at what your husband was staring at up in the sky, and then your entire being was filled with dread and fear. Knowing an even worse repeat of 14 years ago was about to happen. The lights were getting closer and brighter. Your ears tipped back in terror as you let out a small gasp. Your years of bliss and happiness were over.

A new star in the night. It could only mean one thing. Ships decelerating. The Sky People returning.

"Jake..." You whispered, turning to your husband, and the look of fear was suddenly replaced by a serious and determined one. "Come on. Let's go," He said, not hesitating in grabbing your hand and leading you toward your Ikrans on the other side of the mountain.

The ships began to descend even faster than you and Jake would've expected. The blares from the engine flames destroyed anything they touched the moment they landed. The forest was starting to succumb to the terrors of destruction once again, just like 14 years ago.

As you and Jake reached your Ikrans, knowing that destruction was about to ensue and how you negatively reacted to it, he suggested that you ride on his Ikran and let Aio get to safety. If you rode while having your bond connected with your Ikran, the banshee could lose control due to your pain, and Jake didn't want to risk you being in danger any more than they are at that very moment.

After you let your Ikran fly to a safer part of the forest among the Hallelujah Mountains, you and Jake finally took off on his banshee. You were sitting in front of him, with his arm wrapped around your waist securely. Worry gnawed at the two of you, wanting to get your children, family, and the rest of the Omaticaya out of the forest before it was too late.

A ship landed nearby, and immediately set fire to the trees and area around it. Your hair began to glow brightly and you hissed at the massive headache coming in. It was so painful that tears started to brim in your eyes, and you instinctively started to breathe quicker. Noticing this, Jake began to panic and did what he always did whenever this happened. He urged his Ikran to fly faster and moved your head to the other side so you wouldn't see the damage the forest was taking below you.

"Y/n, we're almost there," Jake cooed in your ear the pain began to be more intense and erratic, making your head pound painfully. The destruction was much bigger than you could've ever imagined. You could feel the flames consuming and burning animals alive, trees being scorched, and the forest air being contaminated by the fire's fumes.

It was too much, you could hardly take it. All organisms of the forest were gone in the blink of an eye, while the last emotion they felt was an undeniable terror as they ran for their lives.

Jake kissed your cheek from behind you and your village was coming into sight. He continued to reassure you, trying to alleviate the pain somehow. It broke his heart that you were suffering, and he wished he could make it go away. He helped you breathe in and out, keeping your breathing steady. It has always helped you in the past, and the farther you can get away from this devastation, the better.

Eventually, Jake guided his Ikran to land safely on the ground and proceeded to carry you bridal style towards the village since you could barely stand on your own two feet. His Ikran eventually left too to hide somewhere, most likely where the rest of the banshees were. You tucked your head in Jake's neck as he carried you, hoping it could ease the pain.

"Ma Jake, it hurts...so much" You choked out, feeling the pain intensify so much that you felt like you were going to pass out. Your head was pounding even harder than ever before, and you couldn't take it. The only reason you weren't having a full reaction, is because you were nearing your children, and instilling even more fear in them by seeing you in pain was the last thing you wanted. So, you had to suck it up, no matter how painful it was.

"I'm so sorry, my love. Just hold on" He whispered, and you weakly nodded. After that, Jake quickly made it to the village and after seeing you in your husband's arms, Neytiri rushed in with concern.

"Jake! What happened to Y/n?" Neytiri said, hovering over you as you keep your eyes closed and eyebrows furrowed with affliction. Getting away from the destruction lessened it a lot, but it wouldn't be long until the flames and Sky People would reach this area. Your hair was beginning to dim, but regardless, it was still glowing on and off.

"She's in pain. A lot of it. We need to get everyone out of here. Right now. Gather the people," Jake said sternly, and Neytiri nodded without hesitation, gesturing with her head for your husband to follow her. Meanwhile, as more spaceships landed, Ampsuits and machinery were being unloaded. It was a lot more heavy-duty than the first time around, and more destructive as well.

Upon reaching your hut and seeing your children and mother preparing to leave, when your kids saw you almost passed out in Jake's arms, they rushed over to you with concern.

"Mom!" Tuk said, running over to stand beside Jake on her tippy toes to get a look at you. Neteyam, Kiri, and Lo'ak were close behind, and Mo'at rushed over to see you and dread filled her being. They needed to leave, or they wouldn't survive the attack and wouldn't be so lucky to make it out alive.

"We need to leave," Mo'at said sternly, and everyone nodded in agreement. When you felt conscious enough to stand on your own two feet again, Jake let you down and held you by your waist. He wouldn't let go of you, especially in a moment like this.

You could see he was extremely worried but didn't want to let your kids feel more fear than they already are. Even when he was guiding the Omaticaya out of the village, he still held onto you tightly. In appreciation during the chaos, you mustered up the strength to reach up to cup his cheek and place a kiss on his temple. You could see it eased his stress infinitely. The fear and distress in his eyes diminished, and your touch gave him strength.

After everyone was ready and gathering everyone in the village to escape, you were all running and getting away from the destruction. You hadn't spoken much, given the fact that your head was pounding so badly, that you could barely form a coherent thought, much less an entire sentence.

Being the good big brother and leader that he is, Neteyam was doing a great job at leading his siblings away from danger, making sure that nobody got left behind. Meanwhile, Neytiri and Mo'at were making sure that everyone in the village was coming along.

As you got further away from the carnage, it got relatively easier to walk, but Jake still held onto your hand to have you run with him to the front of the crowd. Everyone ran for their lives, following Jake's lead, while you looked back every few seconds to make everyone in your family was there. The situation was dire, but at least everyone you loved was still there.

When you and Jake reached a hill far away from the devastation of the forest, the both of you turned around to look at what had become of your home. Animals that were able to get away ran past you and your husband. It was ruined and destroyed to the ground. Every tree past the horizon was scorched and in flames, the bulldozers were tearing down everything in their path, and more ships were still incoming. It felt like it was never going to end.

When it finally sunk in what had happened, you fell to your knees and sobbed with tears running down your cheeks uncontrollably. You moved both of your hands to put over your mouth as you cried, seeing what had become of your home. Your children were supposed to grow up here, just like you did. You met Jake here, fell in love with him, grew your family in this forest and now all of those memories were tarnished with the sights you saw today.

Jake's strong arms wrapped around you, pulling your head to his chest as he buried his nose into your hair. He cooed in your ear, reassuring you that everything would be alright. He rocked you back and forth as you cried, holding onto you for dear life. He would never forgive the Sky People for ruining their peaceful lives and scarring their children's memories with so much annihilation.

"Mama!" You heard a small voice call behind you, and you immediately turned to see Tuk running toward you with her siblings in tow. You opened your arms and embraced her as she cried into your neck. It broke your heart to hear those sounds because you would've never wanted any of your kids to go through what they just did. They didn't deserve it.

You sniffled, holding onto your daughter and then reaching a hand out for Kiri to join in. Your oldest daughter kneeled down and finally let the waterworks out, crying against you while you rocked your two girls back and forth. "Kiri, Tuk..." You muttered, relieved that they were here, safe, alive, and in one piece.

Jake was hugging Neteyam and Lo'ak, reassuring them as well. Eventually, you and Jake switched so you could hug your sons and Jake could embrace his daughters. You approached Neteyam and Lo'ak, wrapping your arms around their shoulders, hugging them as if they would disappear right then and there.

"My boys..." You whispered with a soft sniffle, feeling them wrap their arms around you too, and tucking their heads in your neck. "I'm so glad you're okay," You whispered, and they nodded, holding on tighter.

"We're glad you're safe too, Mom," Lo'ak said, pulling away to face you, as well as Neteyam who pulled away from the hug. Looking at your two sons, you smiled softly and reached one hand to cup Neteyam's left cheek and the other to hold Lo'ak's right cheek. You looked into their eyes, grateful to Eywa for protecting them, and pressed a kiss to each of their foreheads gently.

You grabbed their hands and led them back to Jake, who had his daughters in his embrace. Before you knew it, the six of you were in a group hug. The family held each other as if it was the last time. Jake turned his head away from the hug as you tended to all of your children, looking towards the destroyed forest.

Jake wanted revenge. He was angry. Frustrated. Determined He wanted to make the Sky People pay for what they've done. How dare they come in like this as if they had any right to, and destroy everything in their path? He never wanted his children to go through the horrors of war that he underwent, both on Earth and in Pandora. He wanted them to have peaceful lives like they deserved to, and not have this engraved in their minds for the rest of their lives. It wasn't fair.

When Jake turned back to hold onto his family, you excused yourself for a moment to see your sister there. Without hesitation, you ran into her arms and sobbed. This was the place you both grew up in and it was gone, completely torn to shreds. As if it wasn't enough you lost Hometree the first time around, the Sky People continued to let themselves be driven by greed.

When you pulled away from the hug, your older sister put on a look of resolve and bravery, hoping to transmit it to you as well, and held onto the sides of your face. "Make them pay, Y/n, be strong," Neytiri said sternly, and after a few seconds, even with your bloodshot eyes, you mirrored her dedicated expression and nodded with assurance.

"I will. I promise," You said back to her, making your sister smile with pride. She believed how capable and strong you could be, not doubt her mind that you and Jake would make the Sky People regret ever invading your home as they did.

You looked back at Jake, and he was already looking back toward you. You nodded, which he reciprocated, rounding up the children. Eventually, the entire family started walking once more away from the has already been exterminated. All you could do was continue to move forward and focus on the future, not the mistakes or events of the past.

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- One Year Later -

Everything in sight was blurred and distorted. Quaritch started to wake up and was hearing familiar voices that were standing over him. He felt very different. He didn't understand why he was alive, after all, you brutally murdered him with your bow and arrow 15 years before.

"Pulse 168," A voice said, and slowly, everything started to clear up in his vision and line of sight. "Okay, here it comes. You're fine. Stay calm," An unfamiliar voice chimed in, which seemed to be the person annoyingly flashing a light in his eyes.

As his vision started to clear, he saw humans standing over him. They looked like scientists, and it looked like they were looking at his pupillary reaction, which is weird because the last he remembered was that he died. How was he breathing and operating normally if nothing ever really happened?

The doctors eventually stepped away and a blue figure, that looked like an Avatar came to stand over Quaritch. "Colonel, can you hear me? Colonel?" The Avatar-looking man asked, and if you asked Quaritch, he looked like Lyle.

Out of instinct, Quaritch punched Lyle's Avatar right in the face, knocking him down. The Colonel then stood up and leaned against the window, raising his hands menacingly and hissing, something he's never done before. He was out of control. Quaritch began breaking and aggressively knocking down anything in front of him to the point the other Avatars in the room had to hold him back.

"Sedate him! Sedate him!" One of the scientists said, rushing to call for help as Quaritch continued to punch the other Avatars who were trying to get him to calm down.

"Get out of here! Go! Go! Go!" Lyle said to the scientist, that urgently left the room and was told to get security while the Avatars were still trying to grab the Colonel.

Before Quaritch could punch anyone else, two Avatars finally managed to grab him by his arms and restrain him while another held onto his shoulders. "Hold him! Calm down, Colonel!" The female Avatar said with urgency. Lyle stood in front of the Colonel with a bloody nose, trying to get his superior to understand what was happening.

"It's me! Corporal Wainfleet!" Lyle said with labored breaths after trying to hold him down. Quaritch looked at Lyle for a few seconds with narrowed eyes and furrowed eyebrows, trying to comprehend who was standing in front of him and who exactly was holding him back.

"Lyle? That you?" Quaritch asked with confusion, not understanding how the said man was in an Avatar. Lyle grinned and responded; "Yes, sir," He said, gesturing with his head to those behind him. "And Z Dog. And Fike" Lyle continued, prompting Quaritch to turn his head to everyone who was being mentioned. He needed an explanation.

"Alright; Let me go. I'm alright," Quaritch said calmly, earning wary looks from his comrades, but they eventually let the Colonel go. Reluctantly at that. Quaritch immediately started to look at his hands, finally taking a look at what his new body looked like. He was entirely blue from head to toe.

The Colonel stood up from the gurney he was sitting in and pushed Lyle aside to look at himself in the mirror. There was a mix of wonder, confusion, and irony settling into his face. Nothing was clicking into place. Quaritch opened his mouth, which revealed his teeth that now had canines just the Na'vi. He ran his tongue through them, pressing his fingers against the pointer teeth he had now.

With a chuckle of disbelief, Quaritch looked at himself in the mirror more."Well, ain't this a bitch?" He said to himself, but also for his comrades to hear his words. Leaving the mirror, he walked towards a window that showed the outside, which just happened to display the planet of Pandora not too far away. He was in outer space now in a shuttle, but still not knowing why or how.

"Stand by. Two minutes to Pandora insertion. Secure for Delta V," An automated voice said from the speakers of the shuttle, making Quaritch's ears perk up, but then lower again as he looked out the window.

Quaritch was eventually led to a room that did not have gravity, so he was floating by, seeing something through the window of the room that caught his eye. They were removing an unconscious Avatar from the chamber where it's grown, identical to the ones from the RDA. The scientists were floating around the body, removing excess fluids from the chamber, and cutting the umbilical cords. It was all a part of the process itself of creating Avatars.

In the room he was led to, Quaritch was instructed to watch a video that was ready to be started on a tablet set up for him. He pressed play, and a familiar face came on. His human body. The actual Colonel Quaritch before he was transferred to the Avatar body he's in.

"In case you haven't figured it out yet, you're Colonel Miles Quaritch. Only younger, taller, bluer, and not nearly good-looking," Human Quaritch said in the video, chuckling at his own words. The Colonel in the video exhaled before leaning back in his chair. "In two hours, I fly a mission against the Na'vi stronghold," Quaritch said in the video was Lyle floated through the room and turned to face the Colonel.

"The powers that be thought it prudent that I do this backup. Just in case. And if you are watching, well it means that I did get my ticket punched," Quaritch said in the video, making his Avatar self narrow his eyes as he pondered what exactly he meant by that.

"Hey, Parker; Just what the hell am I supposed to say now?" Quaritch said in the video, calling over Selfridge that was standing across the room. Parker himself walked over to the Colonel and stood behind him in front of the camera to speak. "Just remind him how this works," Selfridge said, meaning that human Quaritch should talk more about the mission so that his Avatar form can understand what is happening and why.

Parker reached a hand over the camera and turned it over to face him, adjusting the angle. He held up a small USB-like capsule and held it up to the camera. "So, see this? This is all of your memories and your personality. We're gonna send this back to Earth. Where you are growing in a lab as we speak. We're gonna imprint you with it-" Parker explained, but eventually Quaritch started to get annoyed at Selfridge taking over.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! Am I doing this, or are you doing this?" Quaritch snapped, and Parker was taken aback but backed off anyway. "Hurry it up," He said, patting the Colonel's back before walking off. Quaritch turned back to the camera and adjusted it back to how it was.

"Anyway, the idea is, to get the minds of the saltiest time world operators. Yeah, like Corporal Wainfleet over there and your humble narrator into your recombinant bodies," Quaritch said, pointing behind him to show Lyle as a human coming out of his pod link ss he flexed his arms and hopped out.

"You're recon now, Colonel. Loaded with my memories and my charm. What you won't remember is my death because it hasn't happened yet. And it ain't gonna," Quaritch said in the video, unaware of what his future awaited at the end of that day.

"Damn right!" A woman entering her pod in the background said. "Hell yeah!" Human Lyle said in the video. The Avatar body of Quaritch turned away from the video and looked at Lyle before shrugging and continuing to watch.

"Well, whatever happened, if you're any clone of mine, you'll be looking for some payback. Jake and Y/n Sully would be at the top of that list," Quaritch said in the video, and this made Avatar Quaritch narrow his eyes at the mention of the ex-marine

"Remember, kid; A Marine can't be defeated. Oh, you can kill us. But we'll just regroup in hell. Semper fi." That was the last thing human Quaritch said before turning off the camera and the video log ended.

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Hi! I'm sorry this chapter wasn't as interesting as you guys would've hoped, but Im so excited for the next one because we'll see a lot more interactions between the Sully family as a whole. I hope you guys are excited for it too!

Anyway, I wanted to make this chapter just as long as the other one, but this one is about 4.8k words long. Let me know if you guys want me to keep this same length for all the chapters.

Anyway, I have a couple of tests the next few days, but I'll still update after studying for them and finishing them up! The next update will probably either be Wednesday or Thursday. Maybe Friday, but I'm not sure yet. Ill post it on my announcements tho!

Other than that, I don't have much more to say, but hope you guys comment and vote! 🤍 Have a good day/night everyone! ^w^

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