-
Italics: (Na'vi language, Metkayina sign language, and Jake's inner thoughts)

A/N: Okay I apologize in advance, just saying-
-

Everything turned into mayhem before they knew it. Payakan was still splayed on the main deck of the SeaDragon while all soldiers shot at him from every direction. Although, even if that was the case, because of Payakan's plated skin, none of the bullets penetrated his skin. The Tulkun roared and lifted his sentient tail, and broke a small platform above him with soldiers shooting at him. The men were sent flying and the platform bridge broke completely.

Meanwhile, Scoresby was already commanding the ship to move at an angle where the hunter could shoot the Tulkun with the harpoon. "Switching rounds! Let's go! Go! Go!" Scsoresby yelled out as the boat rounded a corner, turning to be right in front of Payakan. The Tulkun roared, opening his mouth, giving Scoresby the perfect opportunity to shoot.

"Get in there! Go! Go Go!" Scoresby yelled out, feeling the boat turn at a perfect angle, and the hunter took this as his chance to release the harpoon. The anchor was launched while Payakan still had his mouth open, but the Tulkun was smart enough to close his jaw and turned his head to use his hardened skull to deflect the shot. The harpoon instead shot right toward one of the inner structures of the ship, damaging it completely with an explosion.

As men continued to fire at Payakan, the Tulkun roared victoriously and felt like he had done his job. Payakan began to inch himself closer to the edge and eventually submerged himself back into the water. On his way down the ship, Payakan's tail hovered dangerously over the soldiers. "Down!" Lyle yelled, telling everyone to lie down or they'd be crushed. On his way down, the Tulkun's tail managed to break a crane that was on the edge of the ship.

Watching this happen, Scoresby was absolutely speechless at what the Tulkun just did. He stayed in place with his eyes wide. "Bloody hell," The man exclaimed with shock. Garvin was in absolute awe. This is the type of behavior he had been wanting to study on Tulkuns for ages, and he finally got to see it in person with his own eyes, right in front of him.

Jake, Tonowari, Ronal, and the rest of the Metkayina warriors were approaching the ship on their Skimwings, crying out war calls that showed just how determined they were. Jake had his gun raised high in the air, while Tonowari and Ronal had their spears raised high. Scoresby was watching the army of Metkayina approach, so he gave out immediate orders.

"Open fire! Open fire!" Scoresby yelled, and the soldiers manning the rifles began to quickly and relentlessly shoot bullets at the incoming warriors. The machine gun sent bullets at lightning speed, but before the ammunition could reach the group, Jake, Tonowari, Ronal, and the others all had their Skimwings tuck their wings to their sides and dived into the water in a torpedo shape. Quaritch snarled at the strategic attempt of trying to avoid the barrage of gunfire shot at them.

"Sully's inbound! I want eyes on him!" Quaritch yelled out, walking last to Lo'ak, Tuk, and Tsireya who were still cuffed to the railing. The kids watched Quaritch walk away, waiting for the perfect opportunity to try and set each other free. Lyle turned to the other Avatar soldiers to relay orders. "Come on! Saddle up!" He yelled out as the Avatars began to all get on their own Ikrans, including Quaritch as well.

After the soldiers on the Ikrans took flight, a helicopter appeared from behind the ship and through the clouds, beginning to shoot from above at the warriors below the water. Fortunately, the water stopped the bullet's speed so none of them were able to do any real damage to the Metkayina below the surface.

You wanted to do your part, and you wouldn't stop fighting until your children were safe. You rode on Aio from above, diving down through the clouds with unmeasurable speed as you hook your feet on the holsters of your saddle, stood up, aimed your arrow, released it, and let it strike right through the windshield of the helicopter, which consequently instantly killed the man since it shot right in his chest.
You yipped victoriously and smiled, flying away on Aio from the impact as the helicopter veered to the side and crashed on a rock, exploding right behind you. It was quite an impressive sight for anyone who was watching.

Tonowari rode on his Skimwing below the water with a vengeful and powerful facial expression as he held his spear with one hand. He looked upwards and saw a boat, finding the perfect opportunity to start to make his way up, leap out of the water as his Skimwing screeched and he yelled ferociously, stabbing the man commanding the boat, and taking the body back down with him into the water.

Ronal was underwater too, riding through the currents with strength and determination. She looked up and saw a boat from below the water, just like Tonowari, and took this as her chance leaps out of the water with her Skimwing as she raised her spear, and then lunged it with a strong throw right at one of the men on the boat, killing him instantaneously. She yelled out victoriously when going into the water.

This same strategy was used by many of the other Metkayina warriors that were in an arduous battle against the men on the Picador and Matador boats. It was absolute bloodshed at that point, even to the extent of the Metkayina commanding the Skimwings themselves to rush in and grab the soldier between their jaws, razor-sharp teeth, and jaw strength. The Na'vi had the upper hand in this battle as of now and there was no denying it. Forces were being taken down one after another, but they wouldn't get too confident. It wasn't over yet.

As for Jake, he came up from below the surface and took flight on his Skimwing, moving to kneel on just one knee as he sent a barrage of gunfire with one hand at enemy ships while he held the saddle holder with his other hand. With only a few seconds of shooting, Jake was able to set fire and flames to the boat he was firing at, making it implode altogether.

Metkayina warriors lunged their spears over and over at the men on the boats with incredible precision. Dead bodies of soldiers plagued the waters below them. The Sky People were so outmatched that Scoresby was in shock that their numbers and soldiers were dropping like flies. "Somebody shoot something!" Scoresby yelled out at the same time as an arrow landed on his boat. right behind him.

It seems like Scoresby's words triggered the soldiers and men on the boats to actually react to the Metkayina's attacks, which helped them get their bearings. This time, they were able to shoot directly at the warriors who were coming straight at them. More and more sound bombs were launched, knocking the warriors off their Skimwings. Jake was in direct eye-line of a man launching the bombs, so he maneuvered his flying creature to maneuver through the bombs' landings. Upon getting closer to the boat that was launching the bombs at him, Jake raised his gun and shot directly at the man controlling the boat, killing him.

Because the pilot was now dead and nobody was controlling the boat, the vessel itself was running out of control and driving straight toward a cluster of sharp rocks. "Stop!" The man launching the bombs on that boat called out, seeing that they were about to crash. Since the rock had some sort of elevated structure, the boat, upon reaching it, the ship went high in the air and exploded upon landing. The two men were flung off and died at impact.

Seeing that his work was done with that boat, Jake flew higher up in the air to get some time to change and refill his ammunition. He removed the empty barrels, dropped the empty ones, and immediately stocked his rifle with new ones. He cocked the gun and continued to ride his Skimwing to take care of more ships.

You were on the other side of the battlefield, taking care of helicopters and aerial vehicles that were approaching. It was simple, you took care of air defense on Aio while Jake took charge of the water enemy ships with Tonowari, and Ronal. As you continued to fly, you saw that a helicopter was taking off from the SeaDragon, so you swooped down to take care of it before it could leave. When reaching it, you stood up on the saddle holders, aimed, and released your arrow directly at the pilot's chest with a sneer through the aircraft's window. It didn't even get to leave, so as soon as the pilot was dead, the helicopter began to spiral out of control as its turbines crashed in flames.

You left the area, and as you turned the corner, Quaritch and Lyle appeared from behind the ship. You immediately reacted by turning away with a yip, flying away from Quaritch as he started to shoot relentlessly at you. As for you, you started guiding Aio in a zig-zag motion, trying to avoid the bullets. Quaritch snarled as he tried to get a clear shot at you. If he couldn't get to Jake, he'd attempt to go after one of the people he loves the most in the world, which are you. You yipped and called desperately for Jake because Quaritch was hot on your trail.

Jake noticed this happen and his blood boiled at the fact that Quaritch was trying to shoot and kill you. He'd be damned if he ever let anything happen to you, especially from Quaritch's hand. Jake came up behind the Colonel and Lyle unsuspectedly and yelled as he began shooting gunfire at Quaritch, coming to your rescue. To Jake, if someone messes with you, they'd all have to come through him first.

Jake continued to pursue Quaritch, effectively taking his attention off of you and giving you a chance to escape. As he continued to shoot, his rifle suddenly stopped, and he realized that he was out of ammunition again. As Jake began to search the pockets of his military vest, Quaritch looked back at Jake with a sinister smile.

Meanwhile, you took it upon yourself to take care of Quaritch's allies and Avatar soldiers. There was one that was following the Colonel's trail, but you found the perfect way to sneak up on the soldier, appearing from behind a cloud of smoke from an explosion and firing an arrow directly into the man's face. The Avatar soldier fell off his Ikran, unconscious and unresponsive, onto the choppy ocean floor.

Realizing that he had no more ammunition, Jake dropped his gun and let it fall onto the water, leaving him without a weapon. Quaritch had noticed that Jake was defenseless so he tried to shoot at the man, to which Jake responded by ducking, taking a deep and long breath, and then diving into the water on his Skimwing as he'd done in the beginning. Even with Jake underwater, Quaritch continued to shoot at the ex-marine, following his figure on the crystal clear water from above. Soon enough, the Colonel had run out of ammunition as well and stopped shooting momentarily with a huff before stocking up.

The submarines that had been released earlier were still looking for the kids that hadn't been caught in the net with Tsireya, Tuk, and Lo'ak. The only group left was Ao'nung, Rotxo, and Kiri that were still trying to find refuge in the underwater forest of algae and kelp. As the submarines searched, they shined their lights below and saw three figures swimming away.

"Get after them! Go," The submarine pilot said, starting to swerve to the side and head straight toward Kiri, and the two Metkayina boys. As they continued to swim further in, they came across this wall littered with anemones that had white tentacles on them. Just by looking at them, Kiri got an idea. She grabbed her braid and connected her queue to the stem of the anemone just as the submarine got closer.

The undersea anemone began to glow at the contact of Kiri's braid and immediately stretched its tentacles upwards. As the submarine approached, Kiri closed her eyes and summoned her connection with Eywa to control the fauna and underwater anemone.

When the submarine was about to get to Kiri, Rotxo, and Ao'nung, the girl stretched and moved her hands forward and controlled it so anemone stretched its tentacles and wrapped them around the submarine, beginning to crush the vehicle at the pressure. After the tentacles were secure, she finished it off by commanding the anemone to crash the Mako sub against the rock wall on the side of them.

The moment the submarine made contact with the rocks, the glass windshield broke and water started rushing inside the vessel. The pilots began rushing inside to get their masks on. "Breach! Masks on!" The main pilot yelled out to the crew in the back, but they barely got any time to put them on because the water was rushing in so quickly from the outside. However, they were able to seal the masks and leave the submarine through the hatch at the top.

What they didn't know is that Kiri had anticipated that, so she waited for the men inside to come out, only for her to control the anemone once again so that the tentacles wrap around the men and suffocated them as they screamed for help. After they were taken care of, Ao'nung and Rotxo looked at each other with wide eyes at what they just witnessed.

The battle continued up on the surface, and Payakan continued to be a clear target for the rest of the remaining enemy ships, including Scoresby's boat. As one Picador ship pursued Payakan, the Tulkun was smart enough to get them off his trail. Payakan turned around and swiped the jetboat that was after him with his tail, sending it flying and tumbling into one of the SeaDragon's tilt-rotor engines with a big explosion, and damaging the larger vessel of the SeaDragon. The various men were sent off screaming, instantly dying at the height they fell from, some even dying in the explosion.

While all this chaos occurred, Spider was watching this happen from the main room of operations where he was still being held, hostage, and captive by the RDA. The explosion that Payakan created happened dangerously close to the window of the room, so Spider watched as the flames spread on the vessel. As many monitors started beeping because of the malfunctioning and failure of the destroyed engines, Spider took this as his only opportunity and chance to be helpful in this.

When everyone was distracted by the beeping of the monitors, Spider looked around and raced over to grab the fire extinguisher that was attached to the wall. He grabbed it and raced over to the pilot commanding the ship, immediately knocking him out cold with the fire extinguisher. Even with the protests of the employees, Spider pushed forward the control levers, making the turbines next to where the explosion happened to start running again.

The fire from the flames got caught up in the engine as it started to wind up again, making the fire grow bigger and larger. To prevent the helm controls from being moved again, Spider knocked the fire extinguisher over and over onto the levers, breaking them completely. There were a few men who tried to come in and stop Spider, but the boy used the extinguisher to hit their heads with it as multiple employees in the cabin tried to get him away.

Because Spider had broken the controls of the turbines, the SeaDragon was now moving forward without any control. Spider kept trying to weasel his way out of the hold that multiple soldiers had on him, all the while the ship continued to move forward and head straight towards a few segments of rocks protruding from the ocean. One hit from that, and the ship would go down. That is why many people started to head over to the broken levers and try to push them back, but it was futile.

Eventually, the SeaDragon barrelled over the sharp rocks they were heading towards and continued to scrape the bottom base of the ship. When it was in the air, gravity seemed to waft up into nothing because Lo'ak, Tuk, and Tsireya, levitated from the deck while still being cuffed to the railing, and then landed back down until the ship finally landed on the water again, but this time, with a more dire state.

Right before it hit the water, the boat that Scoresby was in happened to be right below the SeaDragon. "Go! Go! Go!" He urged the ship pilot, and if it weren't for a strike of luck, they would've been crushed to death. They got out of the way right in the nick of time and sailed away to another part of Three Brothers Rocks.

It was tranquil for a few seconds after that, but none of the people on the ship were aware of the fact that the fundamental part of the ship was damaged and water rushing inside the vessel. The ship was sinking now. Slowly, but surely. At least not the people in the top decks. For those in the engine rooms and the very bottom deck of the ship, there were drowning and screaming employees that were being washed away by the waves there rushing inside. They had nowhere to run to, and nowhere to grab onto either. Every time any of them hung onto something, the currents washed them away.

The main room of operations was in absolute chaos and the leak hadn't reached them yet. There was blaring of alarms everywhere with people running around frantically in the room. "Damage report?" A man yelled as he came up to the supervisor, but she looked back and shook her head with distress. "There's a flood! Rooms 2 and 3!" The woman exclaimed anxiously.

Meanwhile, Tuk, Lo'ak, and Tsireya received a massive wave of water the moment that the ship hit the water again. "You okay?" Lo'ak asked his little sister with concern, and Tuk nodded assertively. The boy turned to Tsireya and gave her a look that prompted the same question, so she nodded. Once the water was out of the way, the three kids continued to pull on their cuffs as hard as they could, but it was too hard. Tsireya encouraged Tuk as best as she could, knowing that the little girl was the youngest and needed all the help she could get.

Quaritch continued his pursuit against Jake. The Colonel shot from above on his Ikran, watching Jake's figure ride through the reefs on his Skimwing in crystal clear waters. Jake skillfully moved through every corner of the reef he could find while the bullets just barely passed by him. When Jake found a small opening where he could sneak into, he was out of Quaritch's sight for a few seconds. The Colonel stopped shooting and sneered when he no longer had a visual of the ex-marine.

Though, unbeknownst to Quaritch, Jake was now following the Colonel underwater through a path he couldn't be seen. Coming up with a surprise attack, Jake lead his Skimwing up to the surface and shocked Quaritch when he leaped out of the water. The Skimwing opened its mouth, using its razor-sharp teeth to bite onto the Colonel's Ikran as the banshee screamed, mirroring the yell that Quaritch was feeling. The pain that the Ikran was feeling directly shot through the Colonel's nerves.

Now that Jake had a hold on Quaritch and his banshee, having the upper hand now, the ex-marine proceeded to use all of his strength to turn the banshee and the Colonel around using all of his upper body strength. Jake yelled as he bared all of his canine teeth and fangs, so effectively, Jake's tactic managed to knock Quaritch off of his banshee and land on the water below. Jake landed in the water as well, but with him still on his Skimwing and the creature holding the Ikran in its jaws. Quaritch was defenseless.

The Ikran swam away, feeling incredibly startled and pained, leaving the Colonel to float on the reef by himself as Jake rode away on his Skimwing. Quaritch began to swim upwards with his gun still in hand, and he gasped when he came up to the surface to breathe. The man immediately aimed his gun at anything he could see and turned around to see his Ikran flying away into the distance without him.

You were watching the entire ordeal happen from above on Aio. You had just finished taking care of the last few enemy helicopters and ships that were surrounding the area as a last resort for the Sky People. The only boat left was Scoresby, but Payakan was already dealing with them, rightfully so. When watching Jake do such an amazing job, your heart couldn't help but swell at his feats. It gave you the courage to continue fighting until the end. Knowing Jake was taking care of Quaritch, since this fight had always been between them, felt satisfying in a good sense of the way.

As expected, Payakan was effortlessly dealing with the hunters trying to catch him. The Tulkun was too smart to let himself get caught, especially knowing that his mom would've died for nothing if he didn't fight back. As Payakan swam close to the surface, Scoresby's boat was sailing right beside the Tulkun. The hunter was still standing on the harpoon launcher, with another anchor loaded and ready to shoot.

Knowing that they were on his trail, Payakan raised a fin and splashed it onto the water, right as the boat started to turn towards him. "Open fire!" Scoresby yelled out as he angled his shot while a soldier continued to try and shoot at Payakan from the gun attached to the edge of the boat. "Get me a shot!" Scoresby yelled out to his team, frustrated that he wasn't getting a clear shot. Payakan narrowed his eyes at Scoresby, having an idea of what to do.

Scoresby concentrated, and then finally released the trigger. "Got you!" The man yelled out as the harpoon launched. As predicted, Payakan swiftly swerved and dodged the harpoon, letting it release somewhere else. The Tulkun howled underwater as he turned around and hooked the wire onto his frontal tusks and then bit onto it with his jaw. When the rod was secured, Payakan began to quickly swim forward, unraveling the entire wire of the harpoon as the Tulkun swam away with it.

When the rod was pulled out entirely, the boat was beginning to be pulled forward as the Tulkun tugged on the metal rod. Everyone on the boat held on as tightly as they could, stumbling forward a bit because of the angle the ship was on now. "Get us away!" Scoresby yelled out to the captain of the boat as he tightly held onto the harpoon launcher. "Not responding!" The man replied, but the hunter was not happy with that. Scoresby continued to yell to the pilot to get them away from the cable and cut them off from it.

"Who's got the harpoon now?" Garvin said cockily, remembering the conversation he had with Scoresby a few days ago. Underwater, Payakan began to steer to the left, bringing the boat along with him. The Tulkun swam far enough until he approached a rock that also appeared from above the surface, so it was perfect. He managed to drag Scoresby's boat over the rocks, and even when Scoresby tried to maneuver the ship away, the boat itself ramped over the rocks, damaging its bottom, and then landed back down onto the water, much like the SeaDragon did before.

Since the boat went up so high before falling back down to the water, many men, including Scoresby landed somewhere else from where they were originally standing. The hunter stood up again, heading back towards the harpoon launcher. "Reload!" He yelled out to the crew. When Scoresby saw that they were changing the cable and not the harpoon, he mentally facepalmed. "Not the cable, you idiot!" The hunter said, already having someone else take care of the explosive harpoon being reloaded.

A few seconds later, a new harpoon was loaded and ready to be launched. Scoresby started to make his way around the ship to get back to the launcher while Garvin moved to be on the other side where he was before. "Take your water pumps on," The pilot said. Standing on the platform, Scoresby did not hesitate to yell out orders for everyone to man their weapons.

Garvin scoffed at the situation that Scoresby was putting himself in. Payakan had already proven how smart he was, so why is he going in again? "I thought you were the intelligent species here, Scoresby," Garvin said loudly enough for him to hear. Scoresby scowled at the biologists' words, telling him to shut up, but Garvin only laughed in amusement.

As Scoresby aimed at any movement he saw in the water in search of the Tulkun, there was only silence while he waited. "Where are you, cheeky bugger? You think you're pretty clever, don't you?" Scoresby muttered and before they knew it, once his back was turned, Payakan leaped from the water right behind the hunter. The Tulkun soared over the boat with the previous cord still in his mouth. Garvin gaped in awe at the Tulkun. Knowing he'd gotten this close to one in all its glory without killing it, he felt like he could die happy at this point.

The cord that Payakan had wrapped around the back of the boat when he leaped over it, was now used in a genius way. When he started swimming again, the Tulkun dragged the boat to the side and pulled it so that the belly of the boat was pressed tightly against a large rock. The more that Payakan swam and pulled on the rope, the cord began to level the Matador slowly as the cord made its way to the front.

"Get down!" Garvin yelled, telling the remaining crew to drop to the ground just a second before the cord finally broke through. Scoresby was not so lucky. When the cord reached him, the force was so great that it pinned the man's arm to the gunner's platform attached to the edge of the ship. He groaned in pain as he tried to move his arm away, but the pressure that Payakan was putting in was too great, that it only brought more pain.

With a final tug, Payakan pulled on the cable, the immense pressure the Tulkun put on the Matador eventually causes the cable to tear the gunner's platform off the boat, along with lopping off and severing Scoreby's arm. The man was sent flying and hurling into the ocean with an agonizing scream. Those whalers took away Payakan's fin, so now, he took away that man's arm. An eye for an eye. Or rather, a fin for an arm, so to speak. Payakan avenged his mother and was able to do what he wanted to do those years ago with the other Tulkuns.

(A/N: I gotta say, I felt so proud of Payakan when he did that :,) It felt so satisfying to have those Tulkun hunters get what was coming to them. I love Payakan shsjd I cheered for him)

Back in the main room of operations of the SeaDragon, the alarms continued to blare because the ship was sinking more with every passing second. Everyone was running around frantically trying to fix the situation, even if it truly was beyond hope now for them. "Pumps aren't working!" The supervisor said, pushing every button available to her disposal.

The man watching over the monitor began to bark out orders, along with what to do with Spider. "Abandon the ship! Abandon the ship! Get him on a boat! Come on, people! Let's move, people! Let's go!" The man called out as two men carried away Spider to the exit. People were starting to evacuate as fast as possible. This ship was not salvageable at this point, so the only option left was to get everyone out.

As the people continued to scurry out of the ship, already feeling noticeable of its current sinking, Tsireya, Tuk, and Lo'ak were still cuffed to the ship railing. They knew that they weren't coming for them, so the kids started to take matters into their own hands. Tsireya was continuing to help Tuk, even when she was stuck herself, while Lo'ak continued to kick the railing over and over until it started to look bent and they could free themselves. At that point, that was basically all they could do.

After disappearing from the battle and taking away Payakan's tracker, Neteyam had finally reappeared. He had ridden all the way back and saw his siblings cuffed to the ship, so now, he was approaching the nearest deck to them. After swimming on his ilu and getting to an opening, he maneuvered the creature so that it leaped upwards and he was able to get off and jump onto the ledge of the SeaDragon.

Tsireya, Tuk, and Lo'ak all noticed simultaneously the arrival of the oldest Sully brother. He leaped over the railing and started making his way over. "Neteyam!" Tuk beamed excitedly to her older brother, while Lo'ak and Tsireya gaped in surprise at his appearance.

"Hey, baby brother. Need some help?" Neteyam said with a tired smile as he pulled out his dagger and cut Tsireya free first. Neteyam quickly moved onto Tuk as the Metakyina princess rubbed her wrists with discomfort and pain, all the while she waited for Lo'ak and Tuk so they could all leave together. She didn't want to leave them here.

"Yeah, come on, get us loose," Lo'ak said as he watched his older brother cut Tuk free. Lo'ak quickly checked to see if there was anyone else coming. As soon as Tuk was free, Neteyam turned to his little sister. "It's okay," He said to Tuk, but then turned to Tsireya.

"Get Tuk out of here," He said, and the girl nodded, taking the youngest Sully's hand and running over to the edge of the boat where they finally leaped off and started swimming away. "Bro, hurry up!" Lo'ak said urgently, worried they might get caught. Neteyam soon moved on to Lo'ak since he was the last one cuffed.

Before Neteyam could cut, he looked up at his brother with a cheeky expression. "Who's the mighty warrior? Come on, say it," Neteyam teased, making Lo'ak roll his eyes with a smile grazing his face. Soon enough, Lo'ak was free of the cuffs. "Bro!" The boy said with a smile to his older brother, who patted his head.

Neteyam quickly stood up and gestured with his head to the edge of the boat. "Come on, let's go," The older boy said, but Lo'ak had different plans. The younger brother spotted a gun from across the platform and ran over to grab it from the fallen soldier. "Lo'ak!" Neteyam whisper-shouted, not wanting to waste any more time trying to get out of there.

Lo'ak held the gun in his hands as he stood up, while Neteyam stayed crouched. "They've got Spider. We've gotta get him. Come on," Lo'ak said, while Neteyam stayed on the ground, feeling doubtful and hesitant about this. Lo'ak noticed this and continued. "Come on, bro. We can't leave him," Lo'ak reasoned. Neteyam groaned and begrudgingly stood up, following Lo'ak to the inside of the ship to Spider.

After a while of taking care of the submarines, Kiri, Ao'nung, and Rotxo finally made it back up to the surface. Since that chase in the algae forest, they hadn't had a single chance to breathe. The two boys and Kiri didn't even have time to register the Ikran screech coming from above. It was Lyle on his banshee descending quickly onto the water and then had the Ikran grab Kiri's arms with its clawed talons. The only remaining Avatar soldier snatched Kiri and lifted her out of the water, carrying her to the ship, despite her protests. "Let me go!" Kiri protested, trying her best to wiggle her way of the Ikran's grip.

During that, Tuk and Tsireya had swum far enough away from the ship, but when coming up for air, both girls' eyes widened when they looked up to see Kiri being taken to the ship. Tuk and Tsireya could both hear the girl's protests to be let go, up until the moment Lyle flew over the deck and dropped Kiri on it. "Look!" Tuk pointed out with worry.

The moment that Lyle had his Ikran drop Kiri back onto the ship, the girl landed with a grunt and quickly attempted to stand up to run away, but was held back down by the banshees claw over her shoulder. She tried her best to fight against it as Lyle moved down from the banshee and walked around to her. The man grabbed both of the girl's arms and lifted Kiri upwards, even with her attempts to get away.

"Let's go buttercup, get up," Lyle said, having Kiri stand up and lead her to the railing of the moon pool inside the ship. "I'm not your buttercup, you perv!" Kiri said with disgust and annoyance, fighting with everything she could against the hold that this man had on her.

In the water, Tuk and Tsireya were watching as Kiri was taken away further inside the ship. The youngest Sully furrowed her eyebrows with determination and started to swim towards the ship, making Tsireya's eyes widen. "We've got to go back for her," Tuk said, very sure of herself and full of confidence, continuing to swim forward. "Tuk, wait!" Tsireya said, not wanting the little girl to get into more danger.

"Sully's stick together," Tuk quipped before taking a big breath and then submerging herself into the water. Tuk was not about to let her sister alone in there, and even if she was a small 8-year-old now, Tuk knew that she at least wanted to be there for Kiri. Tsireya did not hesitate in swimming after Tuk, following the young Sully back to the ship to save Kiri.

By now, Lyle had cuffed Kiri to the railing of the moon pool. Once the cuffs were secure, Lyle walked away to find Quaritch or any sort of other remaining Avatar soldiers as Kiri was left all alone. She breathed heavily as her hair stuck to her forehead because of the water and her hair was drenched. She tried to tug on the cuffs a couple of times but sighed when she realized they were too hard and stubborn.

On the other side of the ship, the remaining crew of the SeaDragon were now releasing inflatable boats onto the water and down the ramp where the Picador and Matador boats were supposed to be released from. There weren't a whole lot of people left, but those who were scurried to get out of the sinking ship. "Wait, right there, wait! Ready to go!" The woman overseeing the process yelled out.

Meanwhile, the crew of the cabin of the main room of operations was making their way down the stairs of the ship, including Spider. The man walking beside the human boy handled the boy's mask for a few seconds, tightening it a bit too much for Spider's liking. "Check your mask! Make sure it's tight!" The man said in an overwhelmingly loud voice as he put a hand on Spider. The boy slapped his hand away with irritation as he walked past. "I'm good, dumbass" Spider said, but the man didn't even seem to be phased at all by his words.

While everyone started to make their way out, Neteyam and Lo'ak were stealthily climbing upside down on the top structures of the roof, making sure not to be seen. Below them, people were running everywhere to get to the exits. "Move, move! Come on, people!" One of the superiors urged the ones who were behind. As everyone seemed to be out of sight, there was one soldier still patrolling the area in a robotic suit, not leaving any time soon.

Tsireya and Tuk had made their way around the ship by now and found an opening that led directly to the moon pool where Kiri was being held. Tsireya poked her head out of the water first to check the area, all while her double eyelid closed and opened, then turned to see Tuk already climbing up onto the platform. "Tuk, this is not a good idea. Tuk," Tsireya whispered, getting on the railing and following after Tuk, who looked confident and walked around the ship as if it was second nature.

It had been a while since Quaritch's Ikran flew away and never came back, leaving the Colonel stranded by himself in the ocean. Soon enough, the man had finally found something to hold onto. It's from destroyed parts of boats that came apart during the battle. Quaritch gasped as he came up for air and grabbed onto anything he could to get himself back up.

The man panted heavily, trying to get his bearings. It wasn't long before Quaritch swam just enough to get onto the nearest platform of the ship, then got on, and boarded it again. Upon standing on the deck with a bloody nose, the Colonel looked up and saw that the sun was tucked behind the planet that Pandora orbits, which means that eclipse would happen soon.

Tuk and Tsireya both moved through the ship in a crouched position, using their hands and bent knees to help them move more swiftly. Tuk continued to take the lead while Tsireya was a bystander and even though knew this was a bad idea, they needed to be there for Kiri. After getting through every nook and cranny of the ship, Tuk soon spotted her sister cuffed to the railing much like she was a while ago.

Tuk did not hesitate in speed walking to Kiri, not wanting to make too much noise. "Kiri!" Tuk whisper-shouted, getting the attention of the said girl who smiled with relief at the sight of her little sister and Tsireya. "Tuk!" Kiri exclaimed, watching the little girl come around her side to try and free her while Tsireya leaped over the yellow railing to get closer to them.

"Hurry. Cut here," Kiri whispered, guiding Tuk and Tsireya to where they were supposed to get it off. What the three girls didn't notice is that Quaritch was sneaking up behind them. The Colonel surprised them all, grabbing Tuk high up in the air with one arm and using the other to push Tsireya into the moon pool, back into the water of the reef. Tuk protested and screamed against Quaritch's hold as Kiri yelled at the Colonel to let her little sister go.

After Tsireya fell into the water and the bubbles from her fall cleared up, the girl opened her eyes and looked up to see through the clear water that another Avatar soldier, which was Lyle, arrive on the scene. "I got her," She heard Quaritch say, forcing Tuk down next to Kiri. Tsireya suddenly heard the familiar sound of an Ilu from afar, and thankfully, she turned around to see that one was quickly approaching. The girl called for it, clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth. Once it came close, Tsireya grabbed her braid and connected her queue to the ilu, grabbed onto the handle, and swam away with it.

As soon as Quaritch was having Tuk restrained next to Kiri, he turned to Lyle and the other remaining Avatar female soldier that was just now finishing up attaching Tuk's cuffs. "We can still get this done," Quaritch began, earning a 'hell yeah' from the woman as the Avatar soldiers started to walk away after.

Tuk whined as she fought against the restraints, moving them against the railing with disappointment. "I can't believe I'm tied up again!" Tuk said, earning a sympathetic look from Kiri. She knew that Tuk was only trying to help and got herself stuck like before.

Neteyam and Lo'ak were walking along the top beams of the ship, high on the ceiling to get a good view of Spider surrounded by crewmen. Neteyam held his dagger tightly in his hand while Lo'ak followed his lead. The two boys came to stop at the edge of the beam, waiting for the men to pass by with Spider. A few seconds later, when they did, Neteyam and Lo'ak jumped down and ambushed the men.

Both brothers used their knives to cut wherever they needed to, whether it was to knock them unconscious or simply to leave a wound that will distract them enough so the two can leave with Spider. To finish it off, the men who managed to stand up again, Neteyam and Lo'ak both threw them over the yellow railing to the moon pool connected to the ocean below. Spider decided to help in any way he could, so those men who were left, the human boy removed their masks so they are exposed to the toxic Pandoran air, and they suffocate.

When the three boys were distracted, a man who had his gun with him and gained consciousness, slowly grabbed his rifle and aimed it at Neteyam, but, Lo'ak was quicker and used the gun he had picked up before. He fired multiple bullets at once, a bit sloppily at that, but it got the job done. The man was dead, but Neteyam looked at his brother in shock. Bullets clinked on the floor, which made it much more real. That was all the confirmation he needed to know that their dad did not teach Lo'ak how to use a gun, but more like saw him use one once and that was it.

After all the men were taken care of, Lo'ak was still a bit stunned at what he just did, but was quickly taken out of his thoughts when Neteyam tapped his arm. "Bro, come on!" Spider urged, and Neteyam nodded in agreement but saw his brother still out of it. "Let's go," Neteyam said, and that seemed to bring Lo'ak back because soon, the three boys were running through all decks of the ship.

After finding a staircase that lead outside, Neteyam, Lo'ak, and Spider all leaped from it onto the bottom level that was closer to the edge of the water. They were about to move forward as Neteyam looked for their next route. "Thanks, guys," Spider said, grateful that his friends had come back for him. Lo'ak was about to reply when he saw someone behind Spider, and the boy's eyes widened. It was Lyle, and he had seen all three of them.

Spider turned around too and saw Lyle. Without wasting time, right as the second in command raised his rifle, the boy spoke up. "Go!" Spider urged at the same time as Lo'ak was about to raise his and start shooting, but was stopped by Neteyam. "No!" The oldest Sully brother said, beginning to run with Lo'ak and Spider to a more covered-up area. "Go! Go! Go!" Spider said as he ran after Lo'ak with Neteyam running close behind him.

When they were against a wall, still receiving gunfire, Neteyam looked at the rifle in his little brother's hands. "Give me that," He said, grabbing the gun and beginning to shoot, more precisely and accurately. The soldiers ducked at the receiving end of Neteyam's bullets, giving Lo'ak and Spider a chance to leave. Neteyam turned to both of them sternly. "Go! Now!" The oldest Sully said with urgency.

Lo'ak and Spider looked at each other and nodded. "This way!" The human boy, leading Lo'ak to the moon pool in front of them connected to the ocean. They both leaped over the railing and were able to escape unscathed while Neteyam was still up on the deck. The two boys began to swim away, waiting for Neteyam to come down too shortly after.

Neteyam continued to shoot up until the moment he ran out of bullets. He took a shot in the dark and decided to run towards the moon pool in hopes of not being shot in the process, but luck was not on his side. Right as he leaped over the railing, Lyle came around a corner and began sending a barrage of gunfire at the boy. Just before landing in the water below him, Neteyam felt a stinging sensation and winced, holding his chest as the water enveloped him. Lo'ak and Spider were still unaware.

After the three boys were underwater, Lyle lost sight of them and stood over the bridge between the moon pool and the deck. "You see them?" The second in command asked the other remaining Avatar soldiers but they all shook their heads in complete denial.

Spider and Lo'ak continued to swim up to the surface normally while Neteyam was still underwater struggling to come up. When coming up for air, the two boys looked around their surroundings and then at each other, prompting them to start laughing at the feeling of pure adrenaline. "Bro, that was insane, cuz'!" Lo'ak laughed, raising his hand to high-five Spider. "Yeah!" The boy said.

Although, their happy moment was short-lived when Neteyam came up to the surface, grasping his chest with one hand, keeping himself afloat with his other arm, and gasping for breath. He tried to make it seem like nothing was wrong as if it was a minor injury, but it wasn't, and nobody had caught on.

A few seconds later, Tsireya arrived on her ilu to pick everyone up. "Get on!" The princess said, to which Lo'ak and Spider immediately started to do. "Come on, bro!" Lo'ak said to his older brother. As they did so, Lo'ak noticed that Neteyam wasn't moving from his spot in the water and that he had a pained expression written all over. Neteyam managed to keep his head above water, just barely, to reply back.

"You skxawng! I'm shot," Neteyam groaned, moving his free arm around to keep himself above the surface. Neteyam could feel his blood seeping quickly and out of control, not knowing for how long he could hold on. At his brother's words, Lo'ak's face paled and his eyes widened. "Shit!" The boy yelled, not hesitating to rush to his brother's side.

-

I am so sorry-

I know I said chapter 18 would be the last, but I decided to divide it so that chapter 19 is the last one, and after that, the epilogue! That way, there will be 20 chapters for this story! I think that's how it's gonna play out, and the story will be done by the end of the week!

As of now, there's about 30 minutes or less in the movie so half of that will be the last chapter and the other half will be the epilogue <3 Then that's it! Oh, and also the alternate ending after the epilogue! I almost forgot to mention.

I'm so nervous about writing the next part of this story, because it's nothing but angst from here on out :,(

Anyway, I'll see you all in the next one! 🤍 Have a good week everyone!

-