Year: 2154

With roaring engines echoing off the buildings and tarmac, creating a hurricane of sound, the Valkyrie shuttle slowly rose off the landing pad and into the air. The last of the RDA employees were safely inside, having had anything remotely dangerous confiscated. They weren't going to be coming back for some time.

The shuttle began its ascent into the clouds and away into the atmosphere, the Na'vi nearby finally removed their hands from covering their ears as it disappeared into the grey atmosphere. Jake watched the shuttle go, and finally the elation that they had actually defeated the RDA, SecOps and Quaritch hit him. They hadn't had to try to siege the compound, which would have led to terrible casualties, instead the new commander, a Major Anderson, had broken Selfridge's declaration that they would fight to the last man when he found Selfridge had the second Valkyrie prepped for immediate evacuation. The Major had put Selfridge in a holding cell while he negotiated a truce with Sully over a com link.

Jake had met Major Anderson on the tarmac as they watched the last load of evacuees mount the ramp into the shuttle. Anderson looked sombre as he watched them file past, he was a large man who took himself seriously, but intelligent enough to realise that they had gotten off lightly. He had been there, watching the screens when the thermal imaging satellite pictures went from blue with small yellow dots to a mass red and white. He had watched as Selfridge's face fell and confusion broke across it, however, the over-confident smile had returned as the mass broke up and the attack obviously fell apart. The Valkyrie and Dragon were up, but more than a few of the escort Samsons and Scorpions were small white dots, burning on the ground. They could guess numbers but couldn't communicate: the flux vortex prevented that. Anderson could feel the tension in the air as they approached the 'Tree of Souls', he had believed it ridiculous that some tree was the centre of their entire culture. And then the mass of red and white had appeared again, this time bigger. Suddenly a huge white mass bloomed on the map, and Selfridge shouted gleefully, 'Yes, they've done it! We got 'em!'

The others had gone silent.

Anderson felt he should tell Parker, but didn't know what to say. Instead he pointed out that the 'Tree of Souls' was a klick to the North. Confusion rushed over Parker's face again, 'What the hell was that then?'

'Sir, I believe we just lost Valkyrie One.'

A grin broke across Jake's face and he turned and whooped to the other hunters, waving his rifle above his head. A storm of cheering broke out across the tarmac as the Avatar team joined in too. Through the window of the control tower he could see Norm, Max and the twelve others who had been allowed to stay behind shouting and laughing.

Neytiri ran towards him and jumped into his arms, linking her feet around his waist, he was almost knocked over by the attack but he caught himself and they spun, laughing as the sun finally broke through the clouds.

'Jake, the Sky People, the tawtute, are gone!'

'I know! We are free!'

They both laughed and then he pulled her in close, their lips met and they kissed passionately.

The flight back to the Tree of Souls was uneventful, a handful of hunters had been left behind to guard the tribes and those who had ikran met them in the air, calling questions and whooping loudly. The remaining humans would stay at Hell's gate for the time being, later they would make plans for the future. Jake and Neytiri had a quiet flight back on Toruk, hardly talking, though it was not as though they could easily on the back of the giant beast. The wind, Neytiri trying to balance on an animal she had no control of and possibly, maybe, a slight reluctance. They hadn't spoken properly since Jake had dropped out of the sky on the back of Toruk and been proclaimed Toruk Makto. From then on it had been too petty: they had brought the clans together, planned a defense and won a great victory. Too much had happened and Jake knew they would have to talk at some point. There was a lot to set straight. Then he remembered Anderson's last words, they weren't a threat, Anderson wasn't that kind of man, 'We'll be back, Mr. Sully. Enjoy it while it lasts, but we will be back. They can't let this go.' After those words he had thought about those they had lost, and he hoped it would never have to happen again, the faces of those who had died past him in the air: Trudy, smiling and laughing at the awe on their faces; Eytukan, serene and proud as he placed his hands on Jake's shoulders; Tsu'tey, who had turned from hateful enemy to noble brother; the hundreds of others who had died at his command, he had walked the rows of the dead before they were taken away for burial.

He had hope though; that he could reforge some kind of relationship with Neytiri from the ruins he had made, she had already given him reason but he knew that hard times were ahead. The look on her face when he landed at the Tree of Souls had been amazing; to him it felt as though every effort he had ever made in life was being rewarded when she looked at him across the crowd of awed Na'vi. His heart at leapt when she had approached him, adrenaline coursing through his veins, but an odd sense of calm had settled over him. He didn't feel like the same guy who had fallen from a direhorse so many times he had lost count, the guy who missed all of the most obvious signs in tracking a hexapede, or even the guy who had raced Neytiri thousands of feet down a cliff face on their ikran. He felt almost empty, devoid of emotion; his mind focused on the task at hand.

The crowd had parted and he had met Neytiri, she had gazed at him in the silence created by his presence and whispered, 'I see you… I was afraid, Jake, for my people.' She had made excuses! It hadn't felt right, after all he had put her through, he had smiled but he knew that there would be time for words later. He had caressed her cheek to reassure her that it would be alright, but then he had had to pursue his real objectives.

They swept down through the flying arches around the Tree of Souls, Neytiri clutching onto his shoulders; Mo'at was there, along with hundreds of the Na'vi people, the tribes mixing as one great nation. The honour guard of all the warriors who had been supervising at Hell's Gate swooping down behind them; it must have been an amazing sight. They landed and he dismounted, helping Neytiri down then he turned and stroked the huge ridge above Toruk's sulphurous eyes and patted him, then he released tsahaylu with the massive beast. Taking Neytiri's hand they walked down the corridor that opened before them through the crowd, and Jake felt that odd sense of déjà vu as Toruk stretched behind them and made himself comfortable. They reached the dias on which Mo'at stood and he looked up at her, 'Speak Jakesully.' Was all she said, gesturing to the platform as she stepped down; honouring him. He stepped up to take her place, and turned around. There was absolute silence. He couldn't bear having every eye on him and he reached out to Neytiri, I need you, beside me, was all he thought and she seemed to understand. She stepped up to the platform and stood just behind him.

He looked out over the crowd, and took a deep breath.

'The sky people have left our lands.'

Cheering erupted everywhere, the noise was deafening. Warriors shouted from the ledges, children danced and women shouted praises to Eywa, banshees screamed on the ledges as though they too were celebrating. Jake raised his arms for silence, but to no avail, the noise seemed like it would last forever. Eventually Toruk became agitated with all the cheering for he roared and everything became still again.

'The sky people have left, but we bear our own sorrows,' He was thinking of Tsu'tey and the hundreds of warriors who had been killed in the battle, the numbers of pa'li among the tribes had been devastated and their would be many who would have to choose whether to take Iknimaya again to find another ikran.

'There are many who we will not see again, those who gave their lives to defend their homes, those who died bravely to answer our call. I honour them.'

There were tears among those in the crowd as they remembered fathers, brothers and sisters who had died in the final battle against the RDA. Jake paused to give them time to remember and then he went on, 'But we must rebuild our homes, return to our lives and live as they would have lived, in freedom and with grace. May Eywa bless those who have died and help us to rebuild our lives.'

He paused again, wondering what to say next.

'I declare two days of mourning for those who have departed to the embrace of Eywa, however, in four days, four days from now, in this place we will celebrate our victory and a hope for new life!'

Cheering erupted again, a storm that wouldn't be stopped if ten or even twenty Toruks were roaring at them.

'Are you saying that I could truly be one of The People?' Jake was astounded at what Mo'at had just suggested. 'That I could transfer my conciousness into this body permanently?'

'Yes,' Mo'at said rather gravely, 'You would pass through the Eye of Eywa and become truly one of the people. As Grace would have done.'

Jake stood their with his mouth agape, Neytiri watched him hopefully, and Mo'at conveyed no expression whatsoever on her entirely blank face.

'I… I dunno… I need to talk to a couple of people, to you Neytiri.'

'We need an olo'eyktan Jake.'

'I… I what!?' his head whipped round and he now stared at Neytiri.

'We need a leader.'

'I…I'm not…'

'You have already proven yourself to be a great tsam'eyktan, a war-leader, is it that surprising?' interjected Mo'at.

'I need to talk to Neytiri about this.'

'Very well. The other clan leaders believe you would be the right choice, Awkey, of the Plains and Ti'rani of the Eastern Sea, are particularly supportive. But believe me; you would lead the Omaticaya well.'

'I need to talk to Neytiri first.'

'Very well, I will ask again in the morning, I hope you will have made your decision by then. Kiyevame, Toruk Makto. Eywa ngahu.' She left us there and walked out into the night.

I looked at Neytiri, and found her already watched my reaction, eyes wide, curious and concerned.

'I can't do this, Neytiri. I've brought nothing but war and pain to your people.'

'They are your people now, Jake.'

'No, I'm still just another grunt with some crazy ideas.'

Neytiri took my hand, 'Not any more, my Jake, you are so much more, you have changed.' She whispered, 'let me show you.'

She had her queue in her other hand and she brought it near to where his hung down his chest, he took his own and met hers. The nerve endings twitched and then wrapped around each other.

They both sighed at the ecstatic pleasure which ran through their bodies and they wrapped their arms around each other, engaged in each others minds. There was no need to speak now. Their hearts beat in rhythm and he could feel her pressing against him, and him against her.

Images flashed before their eyes, Neytiri's memories: Jake blundering through the jungle with a crude spear, Jake falling from a direhorse, Jake trying to fire his bow correctly, Jake fighting his ikran. The images began to change slightly and he felt the love they conveyed, Jake swimming in the fluorescing river below the waterfall, Jake's first flight, his first kill, Jake standing straight and tall with his bow bent back and an arrow ready to fire: a true warrior. They changed again, an awed feeling emanating from Neytiri: Jake swooping out of the sky on Toruk, Jake grim-faced and dour looking at Grace's body, Jake in his full wargear, facepaint, necklaces and bow, 'This…THIS IS OUR LAND!'.

His voice echoed through the mind, and he felt again the surge of adrenaline that had flooded him.

'Jake, do you know how many people have been Toruk Makto since the time of the first songs?'

'You said I was the sixth.' He wondered what she was trying to say now.

'Do you know how many people have tried to become Toruk Makto?'

'Six?' He hazarded.

'In inglisi numbers: over one of you hundreds.'

He looked down at her, confused, 'What…what happened to the others?'

'They failed… Clans have lost leaders, good hunters and warriors. And I only know of the people who have said they would try to become Toruk Makto.'

She let this thought sink in, 'Most are killed trying to… attempt such a feat. What do you feel when you bond to Toruk?'

He thought about it and paused for a moment, 'It's not like an ikran or pa'li… I don't feel like I'm completely in control. It's more like… like I suggest things, and Toruk acknowledges me… more like…' He struggled for a moment, 'Like we're partners, he seems interested in me… almost amused. He liked the fight with the RDA, he gets annoyed by the noisy kunsip, he thought it was a good hunt.'

'Almost all people will never be able to bond with another creature apart from ikran and horse, they got wild, angry. If someone tried to bond to angtsik it would charge around, or any other creature it would try to get away. Ikran and pa'li can bond because it benefits both, Na'vi gets a mount and pa'li gets sheltered and protected, ikran gets fed well even when it cannot find something to hunt. Toruk does not need a rider, or anything else. Toruk is mighty.'

He could feel her awe again, rising like a wave through the bond.

'You still don't know me. Look.'

He sent his own memories through the bond: Tom and himself playing ball in the garden, a grey lifeless city on a grey, lifeless planet, recruitment at an army HQ, shooting targets on the practise range, guarding a water refinery in the desert, running through the jungle with bullets whipping through the leaves, watching bullets punch through a young Venezuelan militant, others militants running screaming until his hail of bullets cut them down, watching the grenade roll in slow motion to his feet, pain…Tom lying there, not moving in a cardboard crate.

Quaritch's first speech: 'We have an indigenous population called the Na'vi…they are very hard to kill.' The terror of running from a Thanator. The disappointment of waking up in his human body each night. The beauty of Pandora, the forest, the sky, the people. Neytiri's angry face as he tried to follow her. Neytiri's impatient looks as he failed again and again to learn anything. Neytiri's hatred and pain as she screamed, 'You will never be one of the people.'

He felt her flinch against him, and then hug him tighter.

The feeling of being called a traitor to his own race and the people he was trying to help. The sheer feeling of despair as he watched the light go out in Grace's eyes…

He stopped there and opened his eyes, Neytiri had tears streaming down her face and she looked up at him.

'Jake. This is why you should be olo'eyktan, you know how it feels to be outside of it all, you know how much all of this is worth.'