Disclaimer: Anything you recognize from the Avatar movie is not mine. It's a wonderful piece of art and I only wish to expand on it's wonderfulness with my own take on the story. Sara and everyone you dont recognize is mine.

A/N: Welcome one and all to the newest story of mine! I hope the first chapter catches you and that you will enjoy this story. I wish I had the concentration to start one and finish it but I have all these ideas in my head that need to be written down! Enjoy and let me know what you think! =]

Chapter One: Welcome to Pandora

It was hard not to become overwhelmed by this place. The colors of the land. The way it all glowed at night. The creatures and people who lived here. Only that was me looking past Hell's Gate. My vision returned to normal and the compound came into view again. The sounds of it all returning. Standing at the window I felt nostalgic. I didn't want to be here. The commons were quiet. Soldiers filtered in and out. This wasn't my area of the compound. I had work to do. Things that needed to be attended to. But I had been summoned and, despite everything inside of me, I obeyed. When I heard the subtle sound of his steady footsteps I shut my eyes, lowering my head as I attempted to keep my emotions in check. It took a lot of energy to face him. It was because of him that I was here. He wanted me to follow in his footsteps. Become what he wanted me to be. But I had found my calling. Realized what I wanted to be. What I wanted to do with my life. It wasn't what he wanted. But I did have him to thank. If it wasn't for him pushing and dragging me here, I wouldn't have been shown the most beautiful world I have ever seen. Though he tried to convince me otherwise. He continuously tried to talk "sense" into me. But it wasn't going to work. We were just too different. There was no seeing eye to eye. No convincing me that he was right.

"Sara." He said with his authoritative tone.

"Miles." I replied with a cold edge, turning from the window.

"Ah, come on now. Can't we go with Dad every once in a while?" He replied with a smile.

"No." I smiled back. "What is it that you want?"

"How's work?" He asked.

"Good. I love it." I replied.

"When you gonna take me up on my offer?" He asked.

"We've been over this." I told him.

"You're stuck on Augustine aren't you?" He said crossing his arms.

"There's nothing you can do to make me think differently about what I do. I've put my entire life into the Avatar program. It doesn't matter what you say. It doesn't matter what you think. It's my life. You haven't been a part of it for a long time."

"I'm still your father." He told me with a frown.

"Maybe biologically. But you haven't been my dad in a very long time." I said and walked around him. "Have a nice day, Miles."

Taking a deep breath I held myself high as I walked through the halls. Soon I was joined by a middle-aged man with dark curly hair and a lab coat.

"Max." I smiled at him.

"Sara." He replied.

"What's up?" I asked him.

"She's going in. She wants you to join her." He replied.

"Good." I smirked and picked up my brisk pace.

When we got to the lab I shrugged out of my sweatshirt before going to number five, my usual link. I was eager to get back out into that world. Where I didn't have to wear exo-packs. Where I could be free.

Lying down, I made myself comfortable. The bed of green material was comfortable for the long hall. I pulled the metal frame over me before pulling the link closed. I shut my eyes, letting my mind go blank as I felt my consciousness shift. Opening my eyes again I was now in the bunks outside. Sitting up I saw all the other Avatars. They acted so human in their alien bodies. They were playing basketball. Running the obstacle courses. Stretching my long limbs I stood, my tail whipping back and forth. Smiling, I walked down the steps.

"There you are."

I turned to see the smiling blue face of Grace. Her feline features, with her large yellow eyes, curious. "What did he want this time?"

"The usual." I told her.

"And you threw it back at him, right?" She asked.

"You're damn right I did." I scoffed at her. "He just won't give up."

"Of course not. He's your father." Grace stated as we started to walk.

"It's not even that. He just wants to beat you." I replied.

She didn't say anything. I knew that that would get her blood boiling. The last thing I needed was for her to start something with Miles. He was nothing to me. Just the colonel of the militia. Just the asshole that keeps putting it in everyone's head that the Na'vi are something to be afraid of. That they are the enemy and we are their liberators. This was their land. The magic of this place. The power of the land. Everything was connected. Everything was a part of each other. The Na'vi knew that. They knew how to access the land in ways no one would ever imagine. Grace understood that. She had taught me everything she knows. I had initially planned on joining the military like my father. Be what he wanted me to be. But science was my calling. I had met Grace when I was young, barely a teenager. She had taken me under her wing and taught me the way they spoke. The way they lived. Everything she knew, I knew. Helping her with her book and research along the way. The Avatar Program meant the world to me. I would do anything for the program and for Grace. Especially for Grace. She was like a mother to me. A mother when I didn't have one of my own. It took a long time for me to get this far. This whole project had been long in the making and even longer in the execution. Grace had shown me the magic of the world. I disappointed my father the day I told him I didn't want to me in the military. I didn't want that life. I wanted to study the earth. I wanted to know how the world worked. Especially because there was so little of our world left that was beautiful. Earth was slowly deteriorating. We were killing our world. Grace showed me what was still beautiful. I was home schooled by tutors my father had hired for me as we traveled from place to place. He moved through the ranks until he finally got his job on Pandora. I majored in biology and helped Grace with the Avatar program. Becoming her assistant. I learned everything about the Na'vi. Grace was a wonderful teacher. I owed her more then I could say. Having her as a mentor meant I would be going to Pandora. For the longest time Miles never said anything. He was getting what he wanted. Just not the way he had wanted.

We made our way to the helipad as a scorpion slowly landed. Waving a hello to Trudy, Grace and I loaded ourselves into the chopper. Trudy took off and we were soon on our way. The jungle stretched out before us. In every direction there were trees, streams, rivers, open plains where herds of Sturmbeest grazed. A smile moved across my face as my eyes tried to take in as much of the land as they could. It didn't matter how many times I saw it. I still loved seeing it over and over again. Grace nudged me with a smile as I grinned at her.

When we landed, Trudy shut the scorpion down and made herself comfortable. She was used to us leaving for hours at a time. She'd be fine. She had the guys with guns to protect her and she wasn't exactly helpless herself.

Grabbing our packs, we moved into the trees, the sounds of it heightening my senses. My ears moving with the sounds. My yellow eyes looking at everything. It seemed like no time had passed when the school came into view. The jungle was slowly taking it back. It had been looted more then once. Books and toys still on shelves and the floors. Placing my pack on the floor, I walked through the room, looking at everything we had tried so hard to accomplish. I felt my face fall and I looked at Grace.

"Oe ngim ayeveng." I told her sadly.

"Na si oe." She replied lowering her eyes. I just looked at her. "Let's get to work."

Nodding, I picked up my pack. We needed to get as many samples from as many trees and animals as we could. Researching everything was essential. We had been so close to entering their lives. We had had the school. As one point we had been welcomed by the Omaticaya. Had started to learn from them and vice versa. But…we had fallen out of favor with the natives. The Na'vi no longer trusted us due to Miles and his stupid brigade. Shooting children. We had built them a school. We had taught them English. Taught them about us as we had hoped to learn about them. But tragedy had struck and the school was shut down. It had been my favorite part of all of this. Being a part of those children's lives. I missed them. I longed for the school days.

"Did Max tell you?" I asked her gently as we took root samples.

She paused before starting to work harder. "Yes."

"Don't get all uppity about him. We need him whether you like it or not." I told her.

"I think we're good here." She told me and stood up.

"Grace." I said standing too.

"Sara." She said looking at me. Grace sighed and just looked at me. "We need scientists."

"Yes, we do." I told her. "But he'll come in handy."

"With a gun." She stated and walked away.

"You might be surprised." I replied.

"I doubt that." She scoffed.

"Don't make a thing of this." I told her. "Parker will win if you get all in his face about this."

"I wasn't gonna get in his face about it." She said glaring at me.

"Yes, you are." I retorted. "I know you. I know what you're thinking. It's still an Avatar to help with everything. We need all the help we can get."

"I know." She replied.

"I've read and reread his file. His and his brothers. It'll turn out okay." I told her more calmly.

"I hope so." She replied.

I sighed and followed her. We talked little as we continued to work. She took the samples as I turned back to the jungle, moving further in then we had been before. Grace didn't stop me. She knew what I was doing. I shouldn't have been wandering away. We weren't supposed to go out unprotected but I didn't care. I didn't need to be protected. I could handle myself.

Moving through the trees, away from Grace and the school, the louder nature became. I couldn't help the smile that moved across my face. The feeling of the dirt under my feet, the smell of the plants, the blissfulness of it all. I loved everything about this place. It was like nothing I had ever imagined and had become more then I could have hoped for. It was a second home. No…it was home. This alien body felt more like home than my own. This land felt more like home then Earth. I could hear the prolemuris moving through the trees. Every once in a while I would catch site of them, swinging from branch to branch. I paused to listen to them before moving on. It was early in the day, plenty of light left. Even though the night was more beautiful then the day.

Walking for hours, one might think I was lost. But I had been this way many times. Nothing was better then time spent in this jungle. Gracefully moving forward, I was getting close. It was amazing how my avatar legs moved. Being twice my normal size was different at first, but once I got used to it I wished to be this way. The Na'vi way of life was sophisticated and pure. They loved each other. Their way of life was how everyone should be. They took care of each other and took care of their world. They put everything they were into everything they did. I was jealous of the level of respect they had for one another and everything in their world. It was amazing and beautiful. It was as it should be. The way everything should be.

Moving through the trees, I was almost to my destination. Slowing my pace I listened to the jungle. My ears moving with every sound. I froze when a stick cracked nearby. My breathing slowed and I took a deep breath through my nose. There was a small rumbled behind me. I turned to come face to face with a black Thanator. Taking a step back his entire form moved from the cover of the trees. Lowering his head I heard the rumble again before he pressed it against me. Grinning I stroked his head. His hexapodal body shifting as I moved my hands over him.

"Sìltsan, Loki. Sìltsan." I grinned and patted his back.

He was a magnificent animal. His eyes watching me as I moved around him. He nudged me before leading me off into the brush. Coming through a group of trees there was another Thanator lying with three babies playing in front of her. She looked up at me and I sat next to her. She leaned forward and licked my cheek before nudging her babies as one bit down on the other.

"How are my babies?" I smiled and leaned down.

The three of them barreled toward me. Laughing, I fell back as they started to maul me with their tongues. Who needed dogs when you had Thanators? Loki was the god of chaos and the namesake for the Thanator that now lay behind me. I leaned against him as his mate and children lay around us. I named his mate Sally, his children Wiley, Gabe, and Lacy. I wished I could have come up with Na'vi names but it almost felt more personal to give them names that I knew from Earth. I had found Loki several years ago. He was orphaned when one of Miles's recon groups had shot and killed his mother and his other sibling. I had been hiking through the jungle before I had heard the shots and the cries from the dying Thanators. Taking him in I raised him in my quarters until he was big enough to be outside. He was the one thing on Pandora that knew me in my human and avatar form. He was perfect. I taught him how to hunt and to live in the jungle that was his home. Now I looked at him with pride. He had found himself a mate and had started his own family.

"Oe ma lrr nga lrr." I told him softly. He rubbed his head against me. Smiling, I stroked his head as I began to confide in him. "We're getting new avatar drivers tomorrow." I told my animal friends. "One we can use for science. One we can use for protection." I explained. "Norm Spellman and Jake Sully. It'll be interesting. Grace is anything but open to the fact that Jake is an ex-marine and a paraplegic. We were supposed to have his brother. His twin. But he was killed before he could ship out. Tragic. But he might surprise us. Might come in handy. Who knows?"

I stayed for a few hours, staying with the babies while mom and dad hunted. It wasn't until they brought back the carcass of a Hexapede that I finally took my leave. It was one thing to stay with them through their daily lives but to see them feast was something different. The sun had already moved from it's highest point when the scorpion finally came into view. Grace just smiled and had Trudy start it up. By the time we got back everything we starting to wind down. The samples were taken to the lab as Grace and I returned to the cabin. Several avatars were already in their bunks. Grace and I happily laid down. I shut my eyes, feeling my consciousness shift again, opening my eyes to see the inside of the link. Sighing, I pushed it open, sitting up as I put my legs over the edge. Grace demanded her cigarette and was off to the lab. I stood and smiled as Max came over to me.

"Have fun?" He asked.

"I did." I smiled at him. He crossed his arms and just nodded at me. "What is it?" I asked, recognizing his tell.

"He was here again." He told me softly.

I stood up, heaving a heavy sigh. "What did you tell him?"

"That you were unavailable. In the middle of a link." Max replied.

"I'm sure he mumbled a colorful response." I told him with a raised brow.

"As always." Max smiled.

"How many times did he come back?" I asked him, not really wanting to know.

"Only a couple times." Max said but he avoided my eyes.

"Really?" I frowned at him.

"Maybe four or five." He said finally looking at me.

Sighing again I nodded and walked away from him. "Great."

"Grace wants you to see her in the lab." He called after me.

"Figured as much."

Walking through the compound at a brisk pace I found Grace slaving over a microscope. I dropped into a chair next to her with a heavy sigh. She didn't even falter as I looked at her with frustration.

"How's Loki?" She asked.

"He's good. The babies are getting big." I replied.

"I still can't believe you've managed to find a place in a family of Thanators." She told me.

"I'm not. You know I find the animal aspect of biology the more fun part of the profession." I stated.

"I know." She said.

"You're slaving over plant samples. I'd take a blood sample to see the differences in the cells. Now that would be fun." I smiled at her.

"I take it Quaritch stopped by again today." She stated. I didn't say anything, confirming it. "He's been stopping by a lot lately."

"I know." I said and scoffed. "I liked it better when he just ignored me."

Grace gave a short laugh. "He's never ignored you. He just used to keep his distance before now. What happened to flip his switch?" She asked.

"Don't ask me. Maybe it's because the anniversary is coming up." I told her.

"Ah, that could be it. You're not trying to let him in are you?" She said and eyed me, finally taking her eyes from the scope.

"No." I told her sharply.

"Good." She said and returned her eyes to the scope.

I watched as she, unblinkingly, stared into the microscope. Giving her a small smiled I put my hand on her shoulder as I stood up. "I'm gonna shower before dinner." I told her.

She just mumbled something in response. Smiling again, I shook my head as I left the lab. My quarters were near the link room. The way I wanted it to be. I wanted to be close to them. Feeling like I had to watch over it somehow. Opening the door to my room I felt a small sense of relief. The few things I had were here. Sitting on my bed I looked at the pictures that framed the mirror. My memories from the school. Memories of the children I loved and missed. Pushing the thoughts from my head, I undressed; turning on my ipod as I took a long hot shower. The feeling of the water flowing over me made me feel reconnected to my human body. Feeling like I finally came back from my avatar. It was my stomach that finally made me shut the water off. To finally leave my room again to join everyone else for a nice hot meal. Who knew coming here would mean the beginning of a very indecisive road.