A/N: ...AVATAR is, quite honestly, the best movie I've ever seen. I have seen it three times over the last week, and hope to see it many more times. I've had a lot of ideas for oneshots, so I decided to start just one story for them all. Here's the first oneshot, about Jake's reaction to Tom's death.

EDIT 11/27/10: This has been more or less rendered AU by the recently released original opening. ^^; Well, hope you enjoy anyway.

Jake Sully wheeled himself out of the elevator, moving slowly, lost in thought. He had gone grocery shopping for himself that day, a task he hated but one that was nonetheless required. It only hit him then, as he rolled himself down the street and attracted the stares of others, that the news channels were right. The trees were gone. Everywhere you looked, there were only gray buildings. Jake had been hit with a feeling of captivity and helplessness, so strong that he turned around and wheeled himself home. He would regret this later when he looked in the fridge to find it was empty.

His neighbor's door opened and its inhabitant, Ms. Kling, poked her head out her door curiously, and brightened when she saw Jake. Jake smiled back, if a little wearily.

"Jake!" she said happily, opening the door. Her blue eyes sparkled from the wrinkles of her skin at her favorite neighbor. Jake thanked her with a slight nod as Mrs. Kling took his key, opened his door, and let him wheel himself in.

Mrs. Kling behind him, he distractedly flung his jacket on top of a pile of clothes. Mrs. Kling looked around in disgust as Jake noticed his home screen beeping, indicating he had a new message from his mother on his phone. He slumped and pushed the blinking icon, readying himself for his mother's perky voice.

It didn't come.

The message video began to play, Jake's mother crying hysterically. Jake straightened up, wincing when what was left of his spine complained, but wheeled closer to his crying mother, looking alarmed.

"Jake, Jake..." she sobbed."Oh, something awful's happened, Jake. Tom..." the recording burst into racking sobs, and Jake felt himself tensing for what he knew had happened.

"He's dead!" bawled the message.

The world stopped, and his mind had gone blank. He stared forward, unaware of his neighbor's gasp, of the quiet swoosh of the air-tram next to his window and the traffic outside.

His brother...Tom. His look-alike, his mirror image. More often than not, his best friend. When? Where? Why, for God's sake? Jake was only barely aware of his shocked neighbor gently pausing the recording, then turning towards him. He felt something prick at his eye, and he blinked back the tears.

"Jake...?" asked Mrs. Kling's voice gently. Jake shook his head, and the next thing he heard was the gentle click of the door closing. He buried his face in his hands.

Tom. Tommy. Thomas, whatever the hell you wanted to call him. Why the hell did he have to die? What was the divine purpose in this? He had so much he wanted to do...Jake had seen him only last week, laughing, excited for a mission he was going on in a few months, to a planet called Pandora. He had been talking about it for years, often talking about it to Jake; slipping bits of the native language into the conversation...Jake almost winced at the memory. He'd never be able to do what he wanted to do. His mother didn't mention how he'd been killed, but Jake would bet anything that it was because of robbery. Crime was supposed to be nonexistent, at least to the government eye, but it was everywhere. That's how his father had been killed, as well. For the money in his pocket.

Jake went through the rest of the day unaware of anything. Mrs. Kling talked desperately about nothing, as if to regain some semblance of normality. She explained to him, gently as she could, how his mother couldn't bear to go...she would understand if he wouldn't, but wouldn't be want to see his brother off...?

"See him off." It sounded too much like Tommy was actually fulfilling his dream on Pandora, not being burned, covered in garbage bags, given a cardboard box for a coffin. They would do better, if you had the money. But no one did. Not now. Not in this economy.

Jake was alone at his brother's incineration. He watched as the government agents- those fucking suits that saw only what they wanted to see and nothing more- lifted the lid so he could have one last look at his brother's body. Like looking at yourself, dead. At least looking at a part of you, dead.

Tom wasn't smiling. He looked unemotional, as though he was indifferent to the fact that he was going to be burned. It didn't look right on his face, the face of an optimistic man with a great future ahead of him. Was this his way of telling the world that he wasn't alright with being dead?

What bothered Jake the most was the cardboard that surrounded his brother's body. Cardboard. Tommy didn't deserve a cardboard box. No one did. It was an unfitting memo to tribute your life, everything that you had accomplished…and Tom had promised that he's return from Pandora and make them all rich, and when they died they'd have a peaceful death and a proper funeral. Jake wanted to cry out at how wrong it was, but his throat was stuck. He tilted his head as they closed the box, and half-listened as the government agents began to speak.

They told him of his brother's importance in their grand plan. Jake watched as the box was rolled into the incinerator.

They told him that he could 'step into his shoes.' Tom's 'coffin' was ignited.

They told him of the pay, as Jake watched the box burn, knowing his brother was inside.

Sometimes your whole life boils down to one insane move.

"Yeah, I'll do it."