Disclaimer: Alas, I do not own Avatar. I am merely borrowing.

Author's Note: Right. So. Yes. I adored Trudy far too much to let the likes of Quaritch snuff her out with one boring missile. There's much more of a story to be told after that explosion. This is Trudy and Norm centric, and it kicks off from when Trudy takes that final blow in the battle. It'll turn out Trudy/Norm, though I'm not entirely sure where I'm going with it. I guess I'm supposed to figure out plots before I start writing, but hey. Enjoy. =)

"Rogue One is hit. I'm going in. Sorry, Jake."

Death was staring her in the face this time, waiting for her to blink so it could embrace her in its shadowy grasp. Trudy had no chance against the monstrous Dragon which was tilting its launchers towards her craft, almost moving in ominous slow motion as the gunman fired. The deadly missile was on its way.

And that's when the primal instinct to chase survival, no matter what it took, overcame the helplessness and resignation which should have engulfed Trudy. She utilised the seconds she had before the missile hit, leaping from the pilot's seat, seizing her Exopack and throwing herself out of the craft without a moment's hesitation.

She had no parachute. She had no wings. She couldn't stop this last flight and bring herself down to the ground safely, but even as the wind rushed past Trudy in a deafening roar, she wasn't afraid and she didn't regret taking the plunge. Because if she was going to die, then she would damn well rather die in mid-flight than be incinerated by Miles Quaritch. No, there was no way in hell she was going to give him the satisfaction of being the one who sent the missile that finished Trudy Chacon.

It was better this way. Yes, she was falling, falling, falling so fast. Her faithful Samson exploded above her, becoming a fiery inferno before disintegrating in a rain of hot metal, some of which chased her down, brushing her skin and giving her unforgiving burns which she would not feel until later.

It was ironic that this was her end. All her life she had wanted to fly away, to see that the suffering and pain of the Earth could be left behind with a whirr of a rotor blade and the soothing hum of an engine. That was the reason she had signed up for the Pandora project in the first place. How could someone whose heart called her to the highest reach of mankind resist the chance to fly in a brand-new sky? Earth had long since stopped being enough for her, so just like she always did, she flew away.

Now she was plummeting from the great height she had willingly put herself in. Maybe those who climbed so high always had to come back down at some point. It didn't matter, she told herself. The Na'vi were worth this sacrifice, because she knew that she would never have been able to live with herself if she had pulled the trigger and been a part of the destruction of their beautiful world. When the fires blazed on Hometree at the hand of her own comrades, Trudy had felt shame. She was ashamed of her own race and its greed, and ashamed of herself for almost being a part of it.

There was no doubt in her heart that what she had done was the right choice. She had known all along that turning against the tide and being the one fighting against a colossal wave would probably sweep her out to sea, but at least she'd barred Quaritch's way for a while. She'd put a few bullet holes in that damned death-ship of his and, above all, she had stomped on his ego by turning on him. Men like him were used to the rest of the world falling at his damned feet, obeying his every command like a mindless pawn, completely incapable of defying the glorified slaughterer.

It would have been a slap round the face and a kick up the ass to have her, Trudy, a lowly pilot who consorted with the scientists, turn her fire on him. And as the air rushed past her and stole her breath, she smiled, safe in the fact that she'd done her duty to the end which was fast approaching with the tree-green blur that grew with each passing moment. There was time for her to register regret that she would never see her loved ones again. Jake, Neytiri, Max... Norm.

God, she was leaving Norm behind. She'd become closer to him than she could ever have imagined and it turned out that air and earth really did make for a harmonious combination. In fact, you could say they really went hand in hand. As her vision blurred and she turned over and over in the air, Trudy whispered an apology to him that he would never hear, because it was too late now.

The forest was rushing towards her at dizzying speed; she could see the separate leaves on the tallest trees below her. They could do nothing to help her now. She was going to hit the ground and the final chapter of her life would be completed. She would die instantly and the forest would become her final resting place.

At least, that's what should have happened. But it seemed the Great Mother was unwilling to take back the life energy from the brave pilot who was willingly handing it over. Instead of making the fatal collision with the unforgiving Pandora earth, Trudy fell into the embracing arms of Eywa's forest.

Perhaps embracing was not the word to describe it. The forest only removed the fatality of Trudy's fall; it did not remove the pain or the physical damage. The broad canopy and snaking vines which saved Trudy's life by slowing her fall with less force than she would have had were she to hit the bare ground also tore into her flesh as she tumbled through the foliage, slamming into a branch here, a rock there.

Nothing made sense as she felt herself being tossed about, not knowing which way was up. Her hands grasped at nothing in a futile attempt to hold onto something. A sense of panic overwhelmed Trudy as the distinctive, bold scents of the forest infiltrated her senses. Surely the end was almost upon her?

She was nearly right. Finally, her damaging descent ended as she ricocheted off a series of giant leaves ungracefully, finally hitting the earth with a painful thud.

Consciousness ended there.

"Spread out! Look for those who have survived! We have to hurry, brothers and sisters! Make sure every corner of the forests is searched."

Norm watched as Jake called the orders out to the gathering made almost solely of Na'vi in a voice roughened by sorrow and loss. The battle was won, but at such great cost. He himself was numb with the shock of it all. It had taken a while for it to sink in, especially since he felt so conflicted. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry, because while the RDA were driven out of Pandora, the soil would be stained with the blood of hundreds all over the forest which had served as a battleground for a battle which should never have happened.

And Trudy was gone.

They told him that she fought to the bitter end, firing upon the Dragon until... Until...

He couldn't bring himself to think about her dying out there in the unfriendly skies alone. All he knew was that his heart ached for her in a way that he hadn't realised he ever would. She had become one of his best friends out here in the hostile world of Pandora, though that tended to happen when you spent three months in a small bunker with a person. It wasn't just that, though. His friendship with Trudy had been so easy, so relaxed. There were some people in life that you met and just clicked with. And you knew you had made a friend for life.

Trudy was one of those friends and more. Norm knew somewhere deep inside that there had been something between them, just waiting to ignite. He'd fallen for her quickly, almost unnoticeably, but now it was too late for her ever to know. He didn't know how to handle the loss, especially so soon after losing Grace too. It was like two parts of him had been stolen away and he was only left with a gaping hole. He'd lost his Avatar too, so that was only added salt in the wound because he couldn't bury himself in the Na'vi world now; not while he was in a fragile human state.

Jake had come out of the terrible situation the best, though Norm would never have said a word against him. Besides, Jake did deserve good fortune; he'd put his life on the line for the Na'vi and he'd led them to victory. But Norm had done that too, and it just didn't seem fair that he had lost everything that was precious to him whilst Jake was able to seek solace in the arms of his lifelong mate and comfort from the courage of the People. Jake would always have a place on Pandora now, now he was the Omaticaya leader.

Norm was left with very little. The world felt a quieter and colder without Trudy's laughter and Grace's dry humour, and he wouldn't see the world again through anything like a native's eyes.

As the graceful direhorse riders and the swooping Ikran hunters embarked on their grim sweep of the forest for survivors, Norm looked on with a heart made heavy with loss. Who didn't know someone who had died today? Not many, that was for sure.

"Norm. Are... Are you all right?" Norm glanced up. It was Max, wandering over cautiously after seeing his friend seated on an old crate, hands in his hair. It was all Norm could do to stop himself from snapping at the scientist for asking a question with such an obvious answer. Norm didn't want to shout and scream though. He liked to think he was rational enough to not act like an idiotic jarhead.

Besides, he was so tired. Not just physically, but mentally too. His mind was exhausted with grief, suffering and loss, and this made him just want to sleep until the pain went away. That, unfortunately, wasn't going to be an option, so, letting out a long breath, Norm spoke in a tightly restrained voice.

"I'm... Fine. I'm fine, Max." It was a blatant lie. He wasn't fine. But there was no point in pouring out his heartache to Max, because nothing was going to bring her back. She was gone. Trudy was gone and the world wasn't the same. It was imbalanced. It was wrong.

Max seemed to give up there and then, giving Norm a sad sort of smile before nodding and backing away, leaving him alone with his troubled thoughts. Norm felt he should be out helping with the search and doing something positive, but to do so would mean to return to the scene of the battle which had spilled more blood than Pandora would ever have seen before. Besides, he felt he'd seen too much destruction for one lifetime, although his reluctance was perhaps more to do with the cold fear of finding something he didn't want to find.

Someone would find her body eventually. That is, if it was... If it was whole enough to be found. Norm swallowed hard, suddenly hit with an agitation and frustration which led him to push off the crate, turn his back on the united Clans of Pandora and disappear into the RDA base, now transformed mostly into a medical bay to treat the many injuries.

The only humans who were allowed to remain on Pandora besides him were a few medical and science teams whose ties with the RDA were well and truly severed. These people were helping deal with the aftermath of the battle, treating innumerable wounds and starting to repair the damaged world.

If only hearts could be patched up as easily as a broken bone.

Did he want the searchers to find Trudy and bring her body back? He didn't know. It didn't seem right to leave her out in the forest, never laid to rest by the hands of those who loved her. But he didn't want to say goodbye, either. Didn't want to accept that this was the end. Because if no-one ever saw her lying still and no-one ever etched her name onto a cold gravestone, then there was always the hope...

No. There had been several dozen witnesses who'd said that Trudy's Samson had taken a Dragon missile full-on after already being set aflame. No craft survived that. All had sung the praises of the beautiful, valiant flier who had helped to rid Pandora of corruption, but all accepted that she had paid the ultimate sacrifice to do so. They all believed Trudy was gone now, and there was no bringing her back.

And now Norm had to believe that too.

I'm sorry, Trudy. I'm so, so sorry. The heartbroken, fervent thought was all Norm could summon the energy to come up with as he moved like a ghost through the busy RDA center. As he stood, staring at the scene of efficient urgency and bustling doctors, Norm realised that the loss of a friend was something that never went away.

It was a miracle that she was alive.

But being alive also hurt like a bitch.

Trudy was in a very bad condition as she lay where she had fallen, surrounded by the shards of her Samson which had followed her down to the ground. Her skin was lacerated and cut all over her body, she had multiple burns and a likelihood of broken bones. She couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't cry. She was only conscious for a few, fleeting moments and everything else was a haze of darkness.

In the moments of wakefulness, all she was aware of was the agony encasing her entire being, as well as a sense of cold fear. She was lucid enough to know that she was alone in the middle of the forest and there was nobody who knew where she was. Hell, everybody would think she was dead. After all, no-one would have realised that when her Samson exploded, she hadn't gone with it. A few eagle-eyed beings might have seen her beloved craft go down, but who would have spotted the tiny figure plummeting down amidst all the chaos?

She wasn't supposed to be alive. She had offered to let death lead her by the hand, yet for some reason it had pushed her away. And now, as she lay suffering and helpless, she wondered whether she was the most fortunate or the least fortunate person on Pandora.

Yes, she had cheated death. But it was almost not worth it, because her body felt like it had been sliced into pieces and left out to burn in the sun. As Trudy slipped out of a spell of unconsciousness, her thoughts were dazed. Her Exopack must have been left undamaged, considering she was currently still breathing. (Just about, anyway.)

Apart from that, however, Trudy couldn't think of anything else that worked properly. She tried to keep as still as possible, since moving even the slightest bit set off an explosion of agony. She was aware of a stabbing pain in her abdomen, as well as the fiery sting of multiple surface injuries and countless bruises. Her shoulder was also unmoveable.

There was no way of telling how long she had been out here. Trudy only knew that she was gradually growing more light-headed and the patches of consciousness were growing more hazy. She tried to part her cracked lips and make a noise, any noise, just to reassure herself that she was still in control of her body. That she still had a chance.

Nothing came out. She was helpless and dying on the forest floor, surrounded by the unnerving chattering of Pandora's strange inhabitants. The trees seemed to sway sadly, groaning out to her as the wind passed them.

No-one's coming for you, Chacon. You don't get any more shots at life.

Trudy swallowed, though her throat was already dry. Blackness began to claim her again as her brain pushed her confused thoughts towards happy memories to protect her from the pain. If these were here last moments, then they weren't going to be full of fear and sorrow. Instead, Trudy's mind drifted to memories of the glorious three months before the battle. Memories of a friend she never expected to make.

I'm sorry, Norm.

I tried.

Author's Note: Don't be sad. I can fix her. ^_^ If you want me to, that is. Drop me a line if you enjoyed this and want to read more, 'cause I don't want to continue something that no-one wants to see. There's potential in this for a good few chapters, so hit that review button now!