Dr. Eileen woke up in her bed with a massive headache. The foul aftertaste of alcohol and vomit polluted her mouth and it felt yuck. She rubbed her eyes and her vision slowly cleared to see Tak walking through the doorway. He walked over and sat down on her bed next to her.

"...What happened last night?"

"You tried to finish that bottle of whiskey and then threw up in the toilet while crying so I held you up to the sink so you could wash your mouth out and then threw you into bed."

"...I'm so sorry."

"Don't worry, you've been nice to me for the past two months so this was the least I could do."

"What about the others? What are they up to?"

"Working, or at least pretending to work, bunch of lazy fuckers."

Dr. Eileen smiled and patted his hand.

"Thanks for taking care of me."

"Like I said, it's nothing, but now it's time you take care of them. They won't get anything done unless you're there so get up and have a shower, you look and smell like shit."

Letting out a small laugh she slowly got up and walked to the shower. Tak went back to his desk to see the others still doing nothing but talking to each other. Some days it felt like he did absolutely everything and he was sick of it. Alan pulled up next to him in a chair.

"Well, now that everyone knows the FEBA base is gone and we haven't been questioned over it I guess we can take time to relax." said Tak as he stained a few samples with iodine.

"Yeah...I guess we can."

"What's wrong with you?"

"...I can't stop thinking of yesterday. I was disabling the turrets when one of them saw me, he tried to stop me and the others soon noticed. It just felt like something inside me took control and I killed them, all."

"You did what you had to do."

"You know I barely slept last night?"

"You can cry all you want about it but what's been done has been done, so don't be such a pussy."

"Easy for you to say, you don't feel anything...and I never knew you had so many friends, got yourself a little army."

"You met them before, you forget?"

"I don't remember there being that many of them, you've never actually properly introduced me to them."

"Well now you know."

Dr. Eileen was feeling better physically but she still had emotions trapped inside her and she needed to let them out. Her memories of the horror were still fresh and she wanted them gone but didn't know what to do, she just wanted to cry. Being trapped in a shack didn't help so she decided to escape for a while in her other body. As she walked through the peaceful forest which surrounded her she anticipated stumbling upon a dead animal or even a dead Na'vi and it was hell. She continuously looked around in paranoia, thinking the RDA was watching her. Extremely unsettled she stopped and sat down with her back against a tree, she had walked so far that she didn't even know where she was. With her head in her hands she closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind but it only made it worse. She could still see the blood covered bodies and hear the cry of the lone survivor. Tears began running down her face as she sat helpless, her emotions eating her away. All she could hear was her weeping. Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder. She stopped weeping and looked up to see Tsuwokan kneeling in front of her with a concerned look on his face. She felt calm for a little while and got up on her knees to slowly hug him and when he reached out to hug her she broke into tears again. She hugged him tightly, frightened and in complete disarray like a child who had lost their parent.

"I know what happened." said Tsuwokan softly as he tried to calm her down.

"It was horrible, I can't stop thinking about it." Her voice was unsteady as her emotions took over.

"You are safe now."

"But what about those who died? It's too late for them, and what about their families? What if they get blamed for what happened yesterday?...There's nothing I can do to bring them back."

"It is not your fault."

He was right, it wasn't her fault, but it would be partly his if the wrong people ended up paying the price for his actions. He stood up and pulled Dr. Eileen up with him after she had settled down and wiped her tears.

"I must return, there are things to do."

"...Yeah, ok."

With a smile and a gentle pat on her shoulder he picked up his bow and returned. Dr. Eileen had been his shoulder to cry on in the past and now he was returning the favour. She felt better and so she decided to return.

Back at the shack Tak was reading a message he had received from Yuki.

"Hi Tak, how are you? OMG did you hear about what happened at the FEBA? The military base was completely destroyed and everyone there was killed! They think explosives were used and suspect it wasn't the Na'vi who planned it, everyone's saying it's that traitor. You're not too far from there so you probably heard the explosion or saw the smoke. I just hope things between us and them don't get out of control.

Anyway, you also probably know that RDA setup a new biochemical weapons department. They assigned a team of scientists to work at a new lab in the middle of nowhere and I was one of them, so lame. So here I am in this shit hole, trying to find new ways for people back on earth to kill each other. At least it'll reduce the world population LOL. But this place is just dead. The vehicles have ripped out all the grass and now it's just rocks and mud, no plants, just heavy machinery. The grass returns and there's actually beautiful forest and water in the area but we can't go there, we have to stay here. Oh yeah, next to our lab are a few barracks and we have to live with these dumbass military douches! I hate it, we all do. This isn't what I came here to do! Well, at least you're having an awesome time.

By the way I've got a Samson just for the science team and I can use it anytime so if you ever need anything airlifted or need to go somewhere just ask me, I'd love to get away from here sometime. Well, talk to you later. Kiyevame (as the Na'vi say hahaha)

Yuki"

Yesterday had been a bad day for the Colonel and he hoped today wouldn't be worse. After finding out the RDA had lost control of a crucial area it was nothing but yelling and insults from Parker while under the pressure of trying to figure out what the hell he should do about the situation. It was humiliating to face his colleagues after this defeat but it was a wakeup call. The Colonel was no pacifist, sometimes he saw that war was the only way to end things and although he didn't believe in unnecessary violence he did whatever had to be done to finish the job. But this time was different, the enemy had managed to seriously wound him and there was no way he could be found, nor was it clear when his next attack would be. Siding with the Na'vi was pretty much a home field advantage and knowing the RDA's activities just made it easier. He sat at his desk and decided to have a drink, something he rarely did. With a drink in his hand he leaned back in his chair and thought about what to next. It took him a while but he eventually came to realize that in this case, violence solved nothing. Over the years he had learned that the Na'vi are a tough and stubborn race, willing to do anything to avenge the death of their brothers and sisters. Since day one of his time on Pandora it had been nonstop back and forth battles but ultimately he would be the one to make this decision. He called Dr. Augustine to his office.

"I'm busy so make this quick." she said in an aggressive tone.

"...You know, I can't believe it's taken me this long to make this decision."

"Stop wasting my time."

"About yesterday's events, I just don't know what else to do. All these years of constant wars and it finally took that to make me realize this isn't doing anything."

"What are you getting at?"

"...The Na'vi want a war, well I'm not going to give them one. I've lost too many people over the past years, way too many. It's just not worth it. They expect me to strike back, well it's not going to happen. My job is to keep people alive and I haven't been doing that."

"So what does this have to do with me?"

"...I never thought I would say this but, I need your help."

"My help?"

"Yes, your help. I need you to make sure it stays this way."

"And exactly how am I supposed to do that?"

"You and your team of Avatars is all we have to keep what little peace exists between us and them, I want that peace to grow and only you can make that happen."

"Really? Then how about you stop mining this place, I'm sure they'd greatly appreciate that."

"Doc, please be realistic with me. And besides, without the money coming in from the mining your Avatar program wouldn't exist, ok? Now what I'm proposing is for you and your team to explain to the natives what I'm offering. Talk to their leaders, talk to everyone if possible, go anywhere you can. I want this to go as smoothly as possible so my men will be put under more strict orders, and I would like to put you in command. You see any of them step out of line, you report them. Take the gun out of their hands if necessary, I just want this to succeed."

"...Alright, I'll do it. But it's not going to do much, and if any of your goons try anything funny, don't come crying to me when they end up dead."

"Thankyou Dr. Augustine, you may now leave."

Letting out a sigh of relief, he poured himself another drink.

The next few days were busy as Dr. Eileen had recovered physically and mentally from her horrific experience and so she made sure everyone was doing their jobs. They had received the message from Dr. Augustine in regards to the major operation which was to be conducted by the Avatar program in efforts to try and restore peace and planned on carrying it out soon. With the major occupancy of the RDA gone in the area, getting out for work or leisure was a lot more enjoyable as they didn't have to worry about running into unnecessary trouble. However when one problem ended, another one always seemed to arise. Over the months that Tak had been working with his group, he had come to learn not only of the poor productivity of his colleagues but their lack of respect for others' property and workspace. He had been disregarding it but couldn't take it anymore when one morning he returned to his desk to see all his cover slips gone and iodine spilt on his papers. He looked around to see Dr. Isaac examining a specimen through her microscope while chatting with Alan. He went to her and turned off the light to her microscope.

"Hey what are you doing?"

"What the fuck is this? And where the fuck are all my cover slips?"

"Why don't you just calm down?"

"Why don't you just not fucking touch my stuff? And how about not spilling shit on my papers?"

Alan decided to step in and try to calm them both down.

"Hey hey let's just settle d-"

"No Alan just shut the fuck up because this doesn't concern you. I'm fucking sick of you stealing my shit and not cleaning up after the fucking mess you make, it's fucken bullshit."

"When have I ever stolen anything from you? Tell me, tell me!"

"You always take my stuff and never return it, I always have to find it and clean it myself. My scalpel is always dirty, my probe is always dirty, my tweezers are always dirty, everything's always fucken dirty because of you."

"Yeah I borrowed it, I never stole it! And if you weren't so fucking impatient I would've cleaned it and returned it you asshole!"

"Bitch just shut up before I kill you."

"You wanna kill me? Do it! I dare you!"

Dr. Eileen had returned from exercising outside to hear arguing in the lab. As she walked through the doorway Tak grabbed a scalpel from Dr. Isaac's desk and pressed her face against the wall, holding the scalpel to her face. Everyone lunged at him, trying to pull him away but Tak held the weapon tightly and refused to budge. Dr. Isaac wasn't acting so tough now, Tak could see the fear in her eye as she breathed heavily.

"You're really starting to fucken piss me off, I was really patient with you all but my patience has run out."

Dr. Eileen gently put her hand on Tak's weapon wielding arm and looked at him.

"Put it down Tak, no one needs to get hurt, ok?...We all get angry sometimes, it happens. But no one needs to get hurt, so just let her go, please?"

Her soft gentle voice managed to calm him down and he lowered the scalpel, dropping it on the table and letting Dr. Isaac go. She had pushed him over the edge because he had never used such force against a woman. He went to his bed while Dr. Eileen staid standing against the wall, still in shock. Tears of fear trickled down her face as Alan tried to comfort her. Dr. Eileen couldn't believe this had happened and she wasn't sure if Tak should continue working with her group. He was the best researcher she had but if things continued the way they were then someone would die. After an hour of thinking she contacted the new weapons development lab and had a chat with the person in charge.

Tak had his bag packed and was sitting on his bed, waiting for his ride to arrive.

"I'm sorry but I don't know what else to do, I just think you need to leave here for a while. Don't think I'm singling you out, I know your reasons for being mad and I'll talk to them about that. But for now I just think it's best for you to be separate from the others. You'll still be able to use your Avatar since they have some mobile links there."

When the Samson finally arrived Tak put on his exopack and headed out. As Dr. Eileen watched the Samson take off and fly out of the forest she hoped that he didn't get into anymore trouble. Sitting next to Yuki in the cockpit he took off his mask and looked out the window as they flew over the landscape.

"So how come you're moving in with us?"

"Because I threatened the stupid bitch I have to work with, my supervisor says I need to leave for a while."

"Oh, why'd you do that?"

"She takes my instruments and never cleans them, she takes all my cover slips, she spills shit on my papers, she talks shit and she does nothing just like the others. Just a bunch of useless cunts."

"Sounds like you don't have the greatest bunch of people to work with."

"No... So where are we going anyway?"

"Just a place not too far from here. It's on the edge of a huge lake but don't get your hopes up, it's a dump. It literally looks like a pile of shit."

"Isn't that's nice."

Eventually they could see the forest slowly disappearing across the land as they approached the site. Trees became grass and grass became dirt as they began their descent into the camp.

"Well this is it, welcome to sludge city."

He looked below at the manmade site which seemed so out of place. The ground was brown and looked wet with not a single bit of green in sight. Heavy machinery lied around the place reminding him of the junkyards back on earth. Pipes supplying water looked like parasitic organisms feeding off lake, slowly sucking up the life from the area. The multiple parked vehicles along with the portable fuel cells and barracks reminded him of the FEBA base. The whole place just looked dead and was now inhabited by humans like maggots living off a rotting corpse. They landed on what was meant to be the helipad and got out. As Tak stepped off his feet landed in partly dry mud and with every footstep he could feel the squishy ground below him as he made his way to the lab. When he got to the top of the yellow staircase he looked at the view which really had nothing to offer, just a patch of land with water and a blue sky. He went inside and Yuki showed him his bed which he threw his bag on, then they went to the lab where Tak would be working for a while. Yuki introduced Tak to her colleagues but they weren't very welcoming, just the way Tak preferred it. Tak was already getting a feeling that his time here was going to be long and boring, good thing there was a link for him. He decided to go and recalibrate it for his Avatar and showed Yuki some things in case her help was needed, she wasn't a qualified supervisor but the basics weren't too hard to learn.

"So...yeah, not much to do around here."

"Good thing I can get into my Avatar and escape this place."

"But don't you want to help me with my work?"

"No, not really."

And with those last words Tak finished setting up the link and got in. Yuki sighed and sat down at her desk, wondering why she never got to have any fun. Waking up in the tent, Tak stretched his body and headed out. He tried to walk aimlessly as usual when he just wanted to be completely alone and not think about anything but found himself following the rivers which were spread throughout the FEBA. He would randomly choose where to turn and which new stream to follow, hoping that eventually he would be completely lost and find a secluded place just for himself. After minutes of walking he heard the sound of falling water and came to a place which he instantly recognized, a waterfall ending in a deep pool surrounded by an abundance of plants. "Oh, this place" he said to himself as he had returned to the place where he had his first swim. He pushed his way through some plants to uncover someone already occupying his place and again, he recognized this person by their braids tied together in a bunch.

"You found my spot." he said as he sat down beside her. Zetey turned around seeming a bit surprised. She eventually forced a bit of a smile.

"You come here too?" he asked.

"Yes, I find this place when I was child. I come here when I want to be alone."

"This is only my second time here, I came here for the same reason...Something wrong?"

Zetey dropped her head towards the ground seeming disappointed.

"Sometimes people make me mad... My friends say I change, they say before I hate tawtute and uniltiranyu but now no more, because I meet you. Mother say I have become someone else, she say my father would not be happy if he was still alive. "

"...You mad at me?"

"Kehe, you do nothing bad. But I want...I do not know the words."

"Well I get what you're saying. Sometimes people make me mad too. Selfish, lazy, useless people who think they're never wrong. You try to be patient with them but even that's not enough. Every second you put up with them builds up inside you until it just all comes out..."

It was a relief for both of them to talk to someone who felt the same way. The frustration was slowly being let go through their conversation.

"...You wanna go for a walk?"

"Srane."

They made their way through the giant space filled with plants and creatures of all shapes, sizes and colours. Walking through the never ending network of calmly flowing rivers encapsulated in a massive hall of exotic life was something that would relax anyone no matter how stressed or angry they were. The sights and sounds of the forest gave the place an immense sense of purity and perfection, everything was in balance with each other. Whether it was flowing water or animals calling to each other or rustling plants, everything pushed Tak deeper into ecstasy as he was fixed in a trance by what surrounded him. He looked down to see his feet in water with ripples moving away from them. Tiny fish swam away with every step as he marvelled at the delicate life which thrived even within the shallow waters below him. Zetey looked at him as he fascinated over the small creatures and smiled, seeing him get excited over something simple as fishes was like seeing a child's mind operating a man's body at its best. She kicked some water onto his leg to get his attention. The water was cool and refreshing. Tak decided to take off his shoes and socks and feel the water with his bare feet. His feet instantly cooled and as he stood there taking in the great feeling, the fishes returned around his ankle as if they were observing something. For the first time Tak actually felt at peace. Everything that had happened within his time on this world he forgot about and just continued to enjoy the great feeling he felt. They continued walking and would come across giant tree roots covered in moss and small plants which would grow in and out of the ground in a bizarre fashion, forming bridges and arches for them to walk over and under like children on a playground. As they hopped from tree roots to the ground and then into the water, Zetey began to slow down, then eventually stopped. Tak noticed and looked behind to see her standing with her smile gone. He then looked in the direction he was going to notice the trees were disappearing, they were near the FEBA base. He walked back to her.

"What's wrong?"

"...I said I will never return here."

"It's ok, it's over. This place is free now. You don't have to worry anymore."

"Yes, but..."

Tak took her hand and slowly pulled.

"Trust me."

He waited patiently for her to move and although she knew the skypeople had been defeated, she was still living in fear. She looked at Tak with an uncertain look and he smiled, assuring her there was nothing to be afraid of. With that, she took a slow step and gradually built up the courage to enter the place she had doomed for a long time. As they walked through the side gate, the turrets greeted them as if they were still alive, looking down upon them with their barrels. The grass turned into a hard, lifeless surface. Zetey had never stepped on such a thing and it sent chills down her back. Scattered across the place were dead bodies in dried puddles of blood. Debris was blown across the ground and the buildings that once were now laid as large piles of rubble, still smoking from their destruction. The smell of blood, urine, faeces, fuel and smoke filled the place and was near unbearable. It was scary to stand in the place which had been feared for years. Zetey walked to a nearby body and looked at it. A dead woman still with her exopack stared right back at Zetey. Looking into the lifeless eyes, she felt no pity for this innocent victim, just a build up of anger as she remembered all the people of her clan who died because of this place. Tears slowly crept as she kneeled down closer to this woman. She took off the exopack and looked down in despise, a human in its true form. No exopack, no gun, nothing to protect it, just a weak and pathetic excuse of life. But then she came to realize that, like her friends who did nothing to deserve their deaths, this woman may have done nothing either. She was just a woman, no weapons, no military gear. From what little Zetey knew this woman could have been a mother just trying to provide for her children, just like the mothers in her clan. She was then reminded that not all the skypeople are bad, and for this one she was in no position to make judgements. She closed the woman's eye lids with her fingers, giving closure to her death, then stood up and began heading for the gate they came through. Tak watched the whole thing and it amazed him how one could feel so much hatred and anger towards their enemy yet in the end manage to find a bit of empathy for them, something he could never do. He took one last look at the dead woman and turned to leave.

The two spent hours exploring the area and managed to make their way up a rocky hill. When they reached the top they got an amazing view of the forest which stretched into the horizon along with rivers which made their way randomly through all the green. Hometrees could be seen sticking out of the forest canopy along with valleys, cliffs and some waterfalls. In the sky were colonies of floating mountains which sat majestically in a sea of clouds. They were like giant floating islands connected by bridges of vines and roots. It was too much for Tak, there was so much he wanted to say about this place but couldn't even manage to squeeze out a single word. Zetey could clearly see he had completely fallen in love with everything. As the sun began to set, Zetey decided to ask Tak more about his home.

"Tell me more about your home."

"This is my home."

They both shared a bit of a laugh but Tak knew what she meant.

"Well, it's nothing special. I lived with my parents in a small apartment just enough for three people. The only things you could hear were the noisy fucking people around you, the train or my parents arguing. I had all my stuff crammed into a tiny room with no windows, just a box with a door. You go outside and the building was always surrounded by rubbish. There was always a crack head passed out on the stairs, or some guy beating the shit out of a woman, or people yelling and fighting, it was a bad place... That's why I love this world, because it's beyond everything I've always dreamed of."

They sat on the hill as Tak told Zetey more about the world he came from while they watched the sun set. The orange glow slowly retreated across the forest back to the horizon and before they realized it was night, but a new light took over as Polyphemus shined its many shades many of blue onto Pandora. Bioluminescent colours lit up the forest and the rivers were dotted with light by the organisms in the water. As much as he wanted to stay longer, he was concerned for Zetey's curfew.

"It's getting late, shouldn't you go back?"

"No, I do not want to return."

They sat there for a moment until Zetey got up, pulling Tak with her.

"Come, come." she said as rushed to get him on his feet. She then began running down the hill and Tak tried to keep up. "This way!"

As they made their way down, running and jumping to lower ground, the colours of the night lit the way. They reached the river and ran along it. The crystal clear water allowed light from the fishes and anemonoids to completely shine their colours through, it was beautiful. He wanted to stop and take it all in but had to keep up so he decided to save this for another day. As he tried to keep up, every step he took made the grass glow patches of light which temporarily showed the path he had taken. Where ever he looked there was bioluminescent blue, green, pink and purple along with other colours, representing some form of life whether it was a plant or creature. They made it into the forest and Zetey led him into the centre of a huge open area where rivers converged and plants flourished. They stopped and marvelled at all that surrounded them. The place shined with every colour on Pandora through the many plants and creatures, putting on a display of unimaginable beauty. Glowing insects hovered around flowers while fishes and anemonoids put on magnificent light shows in the water. All the trees had trails of glowing moss along their trunks and branches which formed intricate patterns. Panopyras hung from branches high above, radiating their bright pink light like natural chandeliers. Overwhelmed with emotions, Tak was completely lost in this world. He had never felt this way in his life and he didn't know what was happening to him, but he didn't want it to end. He turned to face Zetey as if he wanted to say something but said nothing, the look on his face clearly showed what he was feeling. As he saw the bioluminescent dot patterns all over her body, he looked at his arms to find he had them as well. Closely inspecting the patterns on himself, a smile grew across his face. She had never seen him this happy and it made her happy as well. To see someone from another world completely fall in love with everything the Great Mother had created was nice. The two continued to lose themselves in this wonderland, feeling better by the moment.

Back at the lab Yuki was sitting by the link reading, wondering when Tak was going to return. She would occasionally look at the screen to see if he was ready to come out. When it seemed like he wasn't coming back, the screen alerted her that he was coming out of the connection and she got out of her seat. She struggled to remember which buttons to press but managed to get him out. Tak was stiff as a log and needed help sitting up. He stretched his muscles and moved his neck in a circle.

"You know how late it is?" asked Yuki. "What were you doing?"

"Having the greatest day of my life."