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Italics: (Na'vi language or Jake's inner thoughts or narration)
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Everything was burning. There wasn't a single place around the fallen sacred tree that wasn't infested by fire and flames. It was hard to see, but you and Neytiri were able to run to your father's aid, seeing his body on the ground. "Ma sempul!" (Father!) You yelled, and Neytiri's eyes widened at the sight.

As you approached him, you and Neytiri dropped your bows and dropped down to your knees beside your father as you began to wail and sob. There was a big piece of wood impaled through his torso. If he wasn't already dead, he didn't have much time left. "Ma sempul, ngati oel kin!" (Father, we need you!) You sobbed, resting your arms on your father and leaning against him with grief as Neytiri sobbed and cried by your side.

Eytukan's eyes opened a small fraction as he groaned weakly. "Ma 'ite, tskoti munge" (Daughter, take my bow) He said, handing his bow that is made from the wood of Hometree and handing it to you. Taking the weapon in your hands, your head shook frantically in denial. "Kehe..." (No...) You said through sobs. Neytiri leaned against you while your father said his last words.

"Omatikayaru tìhawnu sivi..." (Protect the people...) He said through labored breaths, and then, his eyes dilated and Eytukan took his last breath. His arms fell limp onto the ground. He was gone. As if the switch to reality had come back, denial subsided and the realization quickly came to both sisters. You held the bow in your hands as you and Neytiri continued to cry at the loss of your beloved father.

You and your sister huddled closer together in grief, keeping one another close, not wanting to lose each other like you just lost the most important person in both of your lives. The cries never ceased, and it felt like an eternity for the two sisters as they sat together, holding onto the bow and each other tightly.

All of a sudden, Jake's voice could be heard through the crackling of the flames around them. He was looking for you. He needed to know if you were okay. "Y/n!" He called out for you but got no answer in return.

He continued to search the area until he saw you kneeling with Neytiri in front of Eytukan. His eyes widened and he immediately approached and ran towards the two of you, getting to his knees and seeing the Chief of the Omaticaya no longer alive. Sadness overtook Jake. He remembered that Eytukan was the one that welcomed Jake into the clan and let him stay amongst The People so that they could learn from him.

Seeing you and Neytiri cry in grief was devastating to Jake. The two sisters were speaking in Na'vi as they mourned what they had lost. It felt like daggers in his heart. Y/n wailed in grief, and instinctively, Jake leaned over and put his hand on her arm for comfort. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry..." He whispered to you, but also Neytiri as well. He couldn't imagine the pain the two of you were enduring.

Seeing Jake approach his sister like that, Neytiri glared at Jake with venom in her eyes, so she harshly pushed him away, making him stumble back, and Neytiri cradled her sisters' head as emotions coursed through them.

"Get away..." Y/n sobbed, not making eye contact with Jake. You then abruptly stood up and away from your sister's embrace. "Get away!" You yelled at Jake, making Jake's ears go down and his heart dropped.

He didn't want you to push him away, even if you had all the right to do so. Tears were brewing in his eyes at your words, and his eyebrows furrowed in sadness.

He hates seeing you upset, especially if it's him who's the cause of it. He has been willing to risk everything for you, and even now, he will still do it without hesitation more than ever. He knows he disappointed you, and the way you were internally wishing for him not to come any closer, shattered his heart completely. He loves you so much, that he can't even put it into words. He risked everything he had for you but in the end, you ended up losing it all.

Neytiri stayed on the ground with tears pouring down her cheeks nonstop. The minute Jake saw how hurt and distraught you were, his heart shattered even more and your words stung, especially at the hateful gaze you had on him.

"Y/n...I'm so sorry" Jake apologized, trying to approach you, from the bottom of his heart, even as you pushed him away with your bow. "Get away from here!" You yelled at him with tears running down your face. "Never come back! I never want to see you again!" You yelled at him as your voice broke a little, pushing him away further, hitting his chest repeatedly, making him stumble back with a gut-wrenching expression written all over.

As you returned to lie down on the grass with your sister, Jake stood there, not knowing what to do next. How did it come to this? Why did this have to happen? He stood there as the two sisters wailed as they rocked back and forth, holding onto their father's body. Their cries resonated around the branches of the fallen tree above them, the flames were now dying down slightly, and the smoke was starting to slowly clear up.

Back at Hell's Gate, the RDA's main base of operations, Parker felt a lump in his throat as he watched the footage in front of him.

Jake had run out of time and didn't come through with his part of the deal, so now it was time for the consequences. "Pull the plug..." Parker said to a soldier standing behind him,

The soldier nodded and started making her way toward the link pods. Norm's eyes widened at this, then attempted to stop the soldier. "No, you can't do that!" He exclaimed, with Max trying to stop the link from being disrupted as well. They tried their best, but the two scientists were eventually held down by other soldiers nearby.

"No! Please!" Norm begged and pleaded, fighting against the hold the soldiers had on him. In the heat of the moment, Norm raised his fist and punched the soldier who was holding him down square in the face.

He was released for a few seconds, but then more soldiers came and surrounded Norm. The soldier Norm punched took the opportunity to make his way over to the red button, and pressed it down, stopping and shutting the link down completely for Grace's pod.

Back at the fallen Hometree site, Grace's Avatar body shut down. Her body fell to the ground as she quickly became unresponsive, making the Omaticaya Na'vi, especially her old students, around the vicinity come to her aid and began to take her body with them.

Not knowing what to do or where to go, Jake was walking amongst the ruins of Hometree. He was devastated. Racked with guilt and anger. With nothing else he could do.

I was a warrior who dreamed he could bring peace. Sooner or later, though, you always have to wake up

As he walked aimlessly and without a clue as to what to do now, back at Hell's Gate, the red cancel button of Jake's button was pressed as his link was shut down by the same soldier Parker commanded to get the drivers out of their links. Because of this, his Avatar body fell unconscious to the ground with a thump.

Once Jake woke up inside the pod again in his human body, he felt dazed and unable to comprehend what was happening. When his pod opened, all he could make out through blurs were soldiers shouting at him from above. Everything sounded muffled to him, and he couldn't concentrate on one thing. His body was limp, but they still managed to lift his body over one of the soldiers' shoulders and carried him out of the room.

Norm was now in cuffs that were put on him for acting out toward a superior. He was trying to fight his arms and hands out of them but it was pointless. "Put him down!" Norm yelled, fighting against his restraints with all that he had as Jake was taken out of the room.

"You murderer!" Grace yelled and screamed at the faces of those who contributed to such a massacre. Especially Parker, who was standing there with a stoic expression. It only made Grace's anger rise through the roof.

The Omaticaya were now leaving their burning home behind. Y/n and Neytiri walked alongside their mother as their people walked away from the destruction and were now heading to the one place left for them to go to, which is The Tree of Souls. You held the bow that your father passed down to you in your grasp, keeping pace with Neytiri

Grace's Avatar body was put on a giant leaf attached to some roots so they could pull and drag her body along with them. The animals that survived, like the Pa'li's, were being escorted by the Na'vi as well.

While walking, you turned your head back to look at what had become of the place you loved most. As you got further and further away, your headache subsided and the pain was much more bearable. You looked around you to see your people mourning, carrying devastated looks on their faces, and it hurt you more than any headache ever could.

Noticing you had stopped, Mo'at and Neytiri turned to look at you and then grabbed your hands to pull you along with them so you wouldn't fall behind. The Omaticaya eventually continued their trek through the forest, leaving their home behind forever.

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Before they knew it, Norm, Grace, and Jake sat in a locked cell, guarded by a soldier. The only way to open the door was with a special key card, which none of them had at their disposal because they were revoked. It was clear that there was no way they were getting out of there soon.

Jake sat in his wheelchair with his head in his hands, leaning over to place his elbows on his knees. There were two cots, or beds if you will, on either side of him, so Grace was sitting in one with her legs tucked up to her chest and Norm lay down as he looked up at the ceiling with his hand behind his head.

It felt like an eternity since they had been locked up. Staring at a blank wall for so long makes you lose track of time. In reality, it has only been a couple of hours since then. Eventually, Trudy was making her way to the cell with a cart that had food and amenities.

Since the sliding door to the room was transparent, she stood outside while the soldier guarding the cell noticed her presence and let Trudy inside with her cart. Once it opened, Trudy walked in as she pushed in the cart and the soldier came around his desk towards her.

"What's going on, brother? Long time no see," Trudy greeted, and her voice made Grace, Jake, and Norm all turn around to see the pilot. "Hey," The soldier said, coming up to Trudy and the cart to see what she brought.

"Personally, don't feel these tree-hugging traitors deserve steak" Trudy mused, making the soldier scoff as he leaned down to check out the compartments of the cart.

"They get steak? That's bullshit. Let me see that" He said, inspecting the drawers of the cart. Trudy chuckled, and nonchalantly pulled out her gun and held it to the back of his head.  The soldier's eyes widened as he heard her cocking the gun, ready to shoot.

"Yeah. You know what that is. Down" She said sternly, but also completely calm, completely confident in her plan and that she could take this man down if she needed to.

"Trudy!" Norm explained, standing up from his cot and standing in front of the glass of the cell. 

"All the way down," Trudy said, with a scarily calm tone. She pressed the gun harder on his head, forcing him to the ground, and then smacked him with the gun in the back of his head, leaving him unconscious so the group can escape successfully. Once that was done, Trudy proceeded to put her gun back in her holster attached to her hips.

"Max!" She yelled out to him, and the said scientist answered his cue and ran inside the room. He reached the cell and put his key card into the slot, earning a beep with a green light, making the door slide open and everyone rushed out before they could be seen.

In no time, the group was now running through the base and towards the hangar where Trudy had her helicopter. Jake was wheeling himself as fast as he could right behind Trudy who had pulled out her gun once again in case they encountered anyone, and Norm had Grace and Max right behind him. There were cameras all over this place, so the faster they can sneak out and leave without being noticed, the better.

"Trudy, fire up the ship. Go" Jake said, gesturing for Norm to catch up with Trudy. As he ran up beside her, the pilot handed Norm a gun as well while they neared the aircraft hangar. Separating from the others temporarily, Trudy led Norm to the door that led to the hangar.

Knowing that the air outside the door was toxic to humans, Norm opened a compartment on the wall and grabbed a couple of face masks. "Here you go," He said, handing Trudy one, and keeping one for himself.

Once they were clear to head out, Norm and Trudy headed outside to her helicopter, waiting for Jake and Grace to arrive. Speaking of which, the two were still inside trying to go through the halls of the base unnoticed with Max along with them, and before they knew it, they had arrived at the door that led to outside where Trudy and Norm would be waiting.

Making sure the coast was clear, Jake stopped Max to tell him that he needed him here. "Max, stay here. I need someone on the inside I can trust," Jake said while Grace took a couple of masks, one for her and the other one for Jake to put on.

"Okay. Go," Max nodded, patting Jake's shoulder, and left the other way. After having put on their masks, Jake and Grace were making their way toward the helicopter.

Meanwhile, Trudy made her way inside the cockpit to check the controls and monitors, all the while Norm was removing the protectors from the turbines so that they could take off.

"Clear" Norm whispered, leaning down to tell Trudy inside the cockpit. She nodded and began to power up the aircraft, seeing that everything was in place and ready to go. "Come on, baby" She whispered, hoping her helicopter wouldn't fail her now of all times.

Back at Hell's Gate, an operator that had access to security cameras was looking at the footage in front of her. "Colonel? Sir? I got a situation here," She started while Quaritch made his way over to watch the security cameras. It displayed clear as day that Trudy was starting up her helicopter while Jake, Grace, and Norm were preparing to get onto the aircraft.

"It's Samson 1-6. Unauthorized engine start" The woman said, showing the security footage of the group preparing to leave on the helicopter. With anger running through his veins, Quaritch slammed the files he had in his hands on the floor and left the room.

Meanwhile, Norm was pulling up Jake onto the helicopter, with Grace behind him waiting to be helped up. Once Jake was on the platform, Jake pulled himself onto one of the seats.

"Come on!" Trudy yelled from the cockpit, realizing that they were taking too long and the security officers had probably already noticed this on the cameras. They had to leave now or this escape would have been for nothing.

In the main base of the operations room, Quaritch angrily snatched a gun from a soldier nearby and headed towards the exit. "Masks on!" He warned, letting everyone know that he was opening the door that will let all Pandora air inside the room. Quaritch himself did not have a mask, he could endure it long enough.

"Gas! Gas! Gas!" A woman yelled out, urging everyone to put on the masks, feeling the air from outside start to penetrate inside the room. Outside, Quaritch started shooting rapidly at the group in the helicopter.

"I'm taking fire! Let's go!" Trudy yelled out to the group in the back, seeing bullets hit her windshield repeatedly. If they didn't leave now, the bullets would eventually break through. The helicopter itself wasn't bulletproof to withstand gunfire for so long.

Norm climbed up, then Grace handed him Jake's wheelchair. He then helped her up and now everyone was finally inside the aircraft. Getting a signal from Norm that they could take off, Trudy began to ascend her helicopter while Quaritch continued to shoot.

Trudy flew her helicopter towards the exit of the hangar as quickly as she could. Gunfire was still being fired at them, so the group covered their heads and ducked from the bullets.

Quaritch's revolver ran out of ammunition, so he dropped that one and took the gun from his belt. He tried to shoot a couple of times, but thankfully for the group, the helicopter was too far away for the bullets to reach them.

The Colonel growled in frustration. A soldier suddenly came through the door with a mask in hand. "Colonel," He said, handing the mask over to his superior as Quaritch put it on and was finally able to breathe properly. Still, his scowl never left his face as he watched the helicopter fly off into the distance.

Realizing they got away, Jake and the rest of the group cheered. Hearing this, Trudy chuckled as she manned the aircraft. "Yeah! Yeah!" Jake exclaimed, feeling adrenaline and exhilaration run through him.

While Norm and Jake were celebrating, Grace was in her seat losing strength. She had her left hand cradling her right side. She pulled the palm of her hand away to reveal blood, the same one staining her clothes. "Crap..." Grace muttered, starting to have labored breathing.

Jake looked towards Grace as he celebrated but his face dropped as he saw her hands with blood, her clothes stained with it, and the pained look on Grace's face.

"This is gonna ruin my whole day," Grace said with a groan, half joking, trying to liven up the situation. Knowing that she was hit in a vital place of her organs, it'd be better to make the best out of a bad situation and accept her fate.

"Grace is hit!" Jake said, relaying the message to Trudy who gasped in disbelief. Norm and Jake proceeded to approach Grace, trying to find a way to help her hold on and to have strength for just a little while longer. Although, he did know it was easier said than done.

Before the situation could escalate, Jake told Norm to get the trauma kit, to which he complied quickly. Trudy indicated that the kit was forward on the bulkhead, and Norm wasted no time in looking for it.

"Keep the pressure on, Grace. Hang on," Jake assured the red-headed scientist. Her face scrunched up in pain, trying to ignore the shooting strain she felt because of the bullet.

"It doesn't matter. It's fine" She said with discomfort while she stifled a groan, and Jake's eyebrows furrowed and hardened at her words. She knew she was trying to deflect the situation, but he needed her to stay awake and conscious until they got to their lab.

The helicopter eventually reached the Hallelujah Mountains and landed on top of one of them, the one that had their small base on it, so Trudy positioned the aircraft safely on the grass without shutting off the engine so they could take off shortly after and they don't waste more time, especially with Grace's injury.

Norm disembarked the aircraft with Jake as Grace had an arm around Norm's shoulders while he helped her walk and the ex-marine wheeled himself inside. They entered their small base, and Norm lead Grace inside towards one of their pods where she could be laid down in the meantime, all the while Jake stayed by her side. After helping Grace, Norm transferred over to his Avatar and climbed on top of one of the bases with said form.

Norm proceeded to hook the giant metal containers onto Trudy's helicopter so they can transport them to another location where the RDA couldn't find them. After securing the hooks, Jake let Trudy know that they were good to go as Norm gave them a thumbs up from below.

"Hold on, I'm pulling pitch," Trudy said through their coms, letting the group know that she was ascending again. As they took off again, Norm held onto the ropes that were holding onto their base as it lifted it off the ground and towards their next destination.

"Just keep going north. Get us deep into the mountains," Jake said into the radio, relaying the message to Trudy. "Copy that" She answered back. After hearing that answer, Jake wheeled himself from his spot next to Grace, who looked paler every passing second and made his way over to Norm's pod.

"Norm, you all good up there?" Jake asked, seeing the monitors of the man's pod, checking if there was anything out of the ordinary but the vitals and system all look good so far.

"Yep! Still here!" Norm said, responding through the coms. "Well, at least they can't track us up here. Not this far into the Vortex" Trudy said, knowing that they were safe from the RDA and out of their radar.

Jake began to look through the emergency trauma kit, finding what could best help Grace right now. "It's strongest at the Tree of Souls, right?" Jake asked, remembering what Trudy said about her instruments being messed up in this part of the forest. So it was perfect.

"Yeah," Trudy confirmed. "Good. 'Cause, that's where we're going," Jake said, earning a hum of agreement from the pilot.

After getting the correct medicine from the kit, Jake made his way back to Grace who was laying in one of the pods, covered in warm blankets, and her torso was wrapped in gauze. Jake proceeded to insert a needle in Grace's arm and then rolled her sleeves back down.

"Ouch," Grace said with half-lidded eyes. It was clear as day from her pal skin, hair sticking to her face, and her slurred speech, that she was losing strength. "You big baby..." Jake joked, seeing that the gauze around Grace was even more soaked in blood than it was before.

"We're moving" Grace muttered. She was becoming weaker and that worried Jake. "I'm gonna get you some help, Grace," He said, trying to lift her spirits. Grace scoffed softly with a smile creeping through. "I'm a scientist, remember? I don't believe in the fairy tales" She said, groaning softly.

"The People can help you. I know it" Jake assured, but Grace was not convinced. If anything today taught them, was that the Omaticaya wanted nothing to do with them.

"Why would they help us?" Grace said weakly. She didn't believe they would give her and Jake another chance. Jake's eyes dropped to the ground at her words. She was right. But he would do everything he could to make things right and gain back their trust.

The People say Eywa will provide. With no home, no hope. There was really only one place they could go.

The remaining Omaticaya had all gathered in The Tree of Souls. Their numbers had decreased and the heartbreak for those they loved was bigger than ever. Y/n and Neytiri stayed close together, while Mo'at did her duty as Tsahik and interpreted the will of Eywa to ease the despair of her people.

After settling their base near the Tree of Souls, everything happened in a blur. Before he knew it, Jake was preparing to go back into his pod.

"Link's running. What's the plan here, Jake?" Norm asked as Jake lifted his body onto the pod. The ex-marine shook his head and said; "There's no plan," His words made Norm's eyes widen a small fraction.

"Tsu'Tey is Olo'eyktan now. He's not going to let you near that place" Norm said, not knowing what Jake had in store. Jake adjusted his legs onto the pod and turned to Norm.

"I gotta try," Jake said with no hesitation as he laid down on the pod, making Norm sigh while he made the final configuration of the link. "Launching," Norm said, finalizing the last few details so that Jake went back to his Avatar.

As the pod closed, a few seconds later, Jake woke up in his Avatar body again. He had ashes covering his entire body and face. He coughed at the feeling of smoke around the area. The fire had died down, but the remains were still there Jake sat up and looked around him, realizing he was still at the ruins of what was left of Hometree.

He didn't waste any time at all, so he stood up and started making his way through the woods. There were ashes still falling everywhere as if impersonating snow but with a much darker reason behind it.

He knew that the Omaticaya wanted nothing to do with him, and much less you. And all he wanted was to gain back their trust and yours altogether. He wanted to be by your side again, and fight alongside you to protect The People.

Outcast. Betrayer. Alien. I was in the place the eye does not see. I needed their help, and they needed mine. But to ever face them again, I was gonna have to take it to a whole new level

Jake walked up to a hill, and he shuddered at the sight before him. Everything was destroyed. The ashes and burnt landscape made everything seem black and white. He continued to walk until he heard the familiar screech of his Ikran approaching.

His Ikran landed in front of him and Jake smiled softly. Jake pet the side of his banshee's head, earning an appreciative chitter in return.

Sometimes your whole life boils down to one insane move.

"There's something we gotta do. You're not gonna like it," Jake said, finally knowing what he had to do. He made the bond with his Ikran and Jake climbed on its back to take flight.

Once they were airborne, his Ikran screeched and squawked. Jake headed to the place where he last saw what he was looking for. Toruk, or Leonopteryx. Once Jake had 'The Last Shadow' in his gaze, Jake discreetly flew over to it. Unsuspected by the giant banshee.

The way I had it figured, Toruk is the baddest cat in the sky. Nothing attacks him. So why would he ever look up? That was just a theory

"Easy boy," Jake assured his Ikran, making it chitter softly. The Avatar knew that he had to find the perfect moment to strike. Once they were at a perfect point, Jake dove down with his Ikran with perfect stealth.

After releasing his bond with his Ikran, Jake then jumped off his banshee and landed on Toruk's back, making the Last Shadow screech, and roar in surprise.

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Heyo! Okay so there's only a few chapters left until I wrap up the first Avatar! Then we're onto the sequel!

I hope this chapter wasn't too messy lol I finished writing this just now at 2 AM 💀

Are you guys enjoying the story? :,) I swear, seeing your comments on previous chapters makes my whole day, I love them all so so much <3

I also ended up updating a lot earlier than I thought I would so yay! Ive been super productive these past couple of weeks and Im proud of myself lol

Anyway, I don't have a whole lot to say for now, but if there's more, I'll add it in future author's notes!

Don't forget to vote and comment! They help me out so much! I hope you guys look forward to the next one! See you all very soon! ^w^

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