"God fucking dammit Tak! This is what I was talking about!" were the first words Dr. Eileen yelled at Tak when he told her what'd happened. He didn't bullshit her, he just got straight to the point, but it didn't matter because Dr. Eileen was too pissed off to care about his honesty. She was losing her trust in him quick and it would take more than just getting his Avatar out of there safely to earn it back. Afternoon became night and Tak had been sitting at his desk, spinning a pocket knife in his hand as he thought about what he was going to do. Dr. Eileen had been stressing out for hours and it didn't seem like she was going to calm down. Tak got up and headed for his link.
"And where do you think you're going?" asked Dr. Eileen.
"I'm getting my Avatar back."
"Getting it back...of course you are." she mumbled sarcastically.
Tak awoke to being beaten by staffs while water was splashed in his face. The pain instantly kicked in, giving him no time to adjust, and he. "Wake up dreamwalker!" screamed into his ears as he slowly looked up from the ground to see three Na'vi men. One of them grabbed his face and held it up, staring him in the eye before letting go and running off. Tak's hands and feet were tied together around an altar which was decorated with all sorts of bones. He tried to free himself but it was no use. One of the men jabbed him in the stomach, causing Tak to let out a wheezy cough. The Na'vi who had left returned with what seemed like the whole clan and they gathered in a circle around Tak. The Olo'eyktan stepped forward and paced around as he began talking to his people.
"My people! The time has come for us to send the creators of these demons a message! These skypeople, who take from the land what is not theirs, who destroy everything in their path, who kill for no reason, and in the end who hide behind a fake body to cover their true selves!"
The people yelled as they got excited to see this dreamwalker die. Tak still hadn't thought of how he was going to get out of this one. The Olo'eyktan looked him in the eye.
"You cannot hide behind this body, we know what you truly are."
He had been standing for hours and his legs were about to give up. He was very tired and could barely keep his head up. It was no use but he tried again to free his hands. The guards just beat him with their staffs.
"You think you can escape? After what you and your people have done, you will not walk from here alive! You will die!"
The people yelled even louder.
"Bring me the Kali'weya!" yelled the Olo'eyktan. Tak was finding it hard to keep eye contact with him and every time his head fell towards the ground the guards would prod him and splash water onto his face. An elder brought out a stone jar and opened it. The Olo'eyktan stuck his hand in the jar and pulled out a large Arachnoid. It violently wriggled as it tried to free itself, ready to sting the first thing it could. Tak saw this and spat water in the Olo'eyktan's face to which he responded with a powerful back hand to Tak's face, giving him a bleeding nose.
"You have angered Eywa, and now dreamwalker, you will feel her wrath as she does onto you what you and your demon people have done to us!"
"Go fuck yourself." said Tak in English, giving some last words to the Olo'eyktan. His head was pushed to the right to fully expose his neck and a painful sting was delivered. Tak yelled as the stinger pierced his skin and injected the toxin. It didn't take long for the toxin to spread through his body and take effect. The people around him became distorted and their yelling was amplified to horrific screeches that pierced his ears. The roof of hometree above him shook as if it was going to crack open. Drums began to play and people dressed in costumes taunted him with their dances. The chaos of everything caused Tak to panic as he tried harder than ever to free himself but he was just beaten and taunted more. He yelled as insanity took over and the people yelled along with him. A woman with face paint held the skull of a Nantang to his face and cursed him with evil before she opened the jaws and snapped them. For Tak this Nantang was alive and it was trying to bite his face off. The peoples' yelling had now turned into a demonic growl and the dancing had come to life, transforming the dancers into fearful beasts. Tak was now in hell. As the insanity continued, the Olo'eyktan held his head still.
"I see the fear in you dreamwalker, you are not tough after all."
The Olo'eyktan's voice was pure evil, sucking the strength out of Tak who was now like a caged animal about to seriously lose its mind. The Olo'eyktan wanted to see how Tak would respond if he was set free so he cut him loose. Tak collapsed to the ground, his whole body barely able to move. The beasts of hell surrounded him and were suffocating him with their fear. Tak tried to get up but it was taking a while for his body to respond. He suddenly snapped and violently swung his arms around, trying to protect himself, and then began kicking his legs. He kicked one of the beasts hard , causing them to hit the ground. The beasts backed off as Tak managed to get up. He began going for the ones who taunted him, grabbing them and throwing them hard to the ground before viciously beating them with his fists. Others tried but couldn't completely stop him. Fear turned into rage and Tak went for anyone he could. His uncontrolled fists hit anyone within reach and the Olo'eyktan asked for the guards to get him under control. They swung their staffs, hitting Tak's legs to drop him to the ground and held him down. Tak wouldn't stop moving and swearing, telling them to let go or he would fuck them up. No one could understand his tawtute gibberish.
"The dreamwalker wishes to fight! Who will accept his challenge?" yelled out the Olo'eyktan to which many responded with yells. Eventually the crowd sent one out, a tough looking warrior with an athletic build and serious look on his face. There was no way he would give his opponent the time to even take one breath as soon as the fight started. The crowd moved in to reduce the space and gave the warrior a staff. The guards held Tak and put a staff on the ground in front of him, ready to let him loose. Tak's opponent was ready, and the fight began when the guards released him. He picked up his staff and swung it around with no control. His opponent just dodged the swings and countered with blows to his torso. Tak got madder but it only made him fight worse. "I'm not going to lose to this fucker." said Tak and he got back onto his feet. When their staffs clashed together, Tak tried to overpower him and push him back but he was as tough so he head butted him hard then kicked him. His opponent fell back and continued to back up, creating space between him and Tak. Tak got fed up with the staff and threw it like a spear and ran towards his opponent. The staff was deflected and Tak was coming straight for him. He took a swing at Tak's ribs but it was only a partial hit as Tak caught it, clamping it between his ribs and arm. Tak then pulled his opponent closer and cracked him in the jaw, followed by another head butt. He continued to lay waste with only his right fist but there wasn't much that could be done. Dazed, his opponent tumbled to the ground and tried to protect himself. Tak pulled the staff away and kicked and punched his downed opponent. He laid waste with all the energy he had left, hammering his fists into his opponent's face and beating him to a pulp. The crowd watch in shock as one of their fine warriors lay unconscious, bloodied and bruised, being beat to death by savage dreamwalker. Some of them came to their senses and pulled Tak away but he responded quickly and wacked them away with his forearms. He then got the staff and swung it to clear the people away. The crowd backed off and the cleared a path for Tak. Exhausted, Tak slowly began making his way, facing the people to make sure they didn't try to stop him. He then threw the staff at the crowd and ran as fast as he could. The people went after him but the Olo'eyktan stopped them. "Kehe! Leave him! Eywa will make sure that he does not live to see day."
Tak ran into the forest, getting away as far as he could before running out of breath. The forest was beautiful as usual, but he couldn't give a shit about the view right now. When his body couldn't take it anymore, he collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily as he tried to regain his breath. Looking up at the forest canopy as beams of light from Polyphemus shined down through pockets, he really thought he was going to die. Everything was pulsating with colour, the plants wobbled and the creatures buzzed. It was as if the forest was trying to tell him something. He let out one final yell in hopes that someone would hear him and come to his help. His heart was pounding and his vision was fading in and out. He was drifting off into a deep sleep but before he dozed off he felt someone grab his arm.
Tak woke up in the afternoon the next day. He prepared himself to be yelled at by his boss for his major fuck up but the memory of someone grabbing his arm before he blacked out kept his hopes up that his Avatar was safe. Dr. Eileen walked in to catch Tak stretching in bed and sat down in front of him.
"You alright?" she asked.
"Mhm."
"You don't sound concerned about what happened yesterday."
"Neither do you...I told you, someone grabbed my arm before I blacked out."
She gave him a blank look before continuing.
"Well, I just went to visit our friends to ask about what happened, and they took me upstairs and there you were, lying in a hammock."
Tak smiled, he knew he was right.
"Yeah, you can thank your friends for saving your ass. They had to go back and convince a few more to come along and get you, they were expecting a fight. But they told me they found you lying in the forest. What happened?"
"Uuum...they tied me to a pole and beat me with sticks, then they stung me with one of those poisonous Arachnids and I went insane. Eventually they let me go so I could fight one of their guys, I beat the shit out of him then escaped and ran as fast as I could and then...that was it."
"You're lucky you made it out alive."
"Well, at least I got the job done...I think."
Dr. Eileen shook her head and lightly slapped him on the cheek.
"Idiot."
It was later than usual but Tak got around to using his Avatar for the day. When he woke up he could hear some kids gathered around him, talking quietly to each other.
"Is he dead?"
"Maybe he is sleeping?"
"Do something."
"No! You do it!"
He felt something poking his face so he slightly moved his head. The kids laughed quietly and the poked him again with their stick. "Uh piss off, leave me alone." he said but the kids didn't understand his English. They continued to poke him until eventually Zetey told them to go play somewhere else. She hopped onto the hammock beside his and from there, rubbed on a paste made from a plant to help his bruises heal quicker. Her soft fingers rubbing the soothing medicine onto his body felt nice.
"The children like you."
"Really? That's nice...Thanks for coming back to get me."
Zetey smiled and nodded. It was good to know he was going to live.
Tak got to stay at the hometree during his recovery. Every day the kids would poke him with sticks or throw stuff at him to get a reaction but their timing was always off. Since he was living with the clan, it was his duty to contribute in some way. He would go hunting for meat or gather fruit with Zetey and they were spending alot of time together. This of course drew the attention of her mother, along with some of her friends. Zetey was getting more questions about this dreamwalker she was with all the time and what she found so interesting about him. She just downplayed their questions and made it seem like nothing, but it was obviously something. One day Tak caught Zetey's mother carrying a basket of fruit up hometree, it looked quite heavy. Unaware of how she felt about him, Tak offered to carry it for her. Although he was still some stranger to her, she couldn't deny that he was caring, and that was the day that her view of Tak began to change. Every day she would catch Tak helping to carry things, preparing food, helping to make things or some other small task. She was beginning to see why her daughter took interest in this one.
Two weeks of receiving treatment and Tak was ready to go back. His bruises were pretty much gone and his cuts healed nicely. It was a fun two weeks as he got to experience village life, although he was inactive for most of the day, but now the fun was over and he had to get back to work. Just when Tak was getting back to the normal routine, news had just arrived concerning some major changes. Dr. Eileen was talking to Dr. Augustine about moving to a new location, which she wasn't too happy about, but also couldn't argue with.
"Gillian I'm going to need you and your team to move to Blue Lagoon. Some of the guys need some help with running the place and also their research and I just can't afford sending any more people out of here, I need all the help I can get, so please just do this for me."
"...Well, it's not like I have an option. I mean you're my boss, I have to listen to you."
"That is true..."
"Alright, alright- sorry, just a sec"
Tak pulled her away from the camera for a moment to use this as an opportunity to help out a friend.
"If we're moving, then we get her to do something for us."
"Uh, what? You don't just make demands to Grace. That's just suicide."
"Just listen, you know my friend? The one who always flies us around? Well she's stuck over at that fucken shit hole weapons lab and she really wants out. If we could get her, then not only would we have an awesome addition to the research team, but we'd also have our own pilot. Sounds good right?"
"...So you want me to ask Grace if she can have your friend relocated with us?"
"Yeah."
It was a big request but Dr. Eileen decided to give it a shot.
"...Alright, I'll ask. But this is your idea, you take the blame if this turns shitty."
Dr. Eileen went ahead and took her chances. She asked nicely, hoping to get the response she wanted.
"Who are you talking about?" asked Dr. Augustine. Dr. Eileen turned to Tak and quickly asked.
"Her name is Yuki Kubota, she arrived this year and she's now working over at the new chemical weapons research lab. Yeah I just think she's wasting her time over there and we could really use another hard worker like her, so..."
She nervously waited for Dr. Augustine to reply.
"...You've got guts making requests like this...alright, I'll have her meet up with you. Just promise me you'll help my people out there get things done."
"Will do. Thanks."
The decision was made. Dr. Eileen and her group were moving to Blue Lagoon and Yuki would be joining them. This news came as a disappointment to everyone, especially Tak, but it was still exciting as it was another place to get familiar with. The group spent the rest of the day visiting the Takahayo tribe and saying their kiyevames. The kids were sad to find out Dr. Eileen was leaving but she promised she would be back. She let them keep the soccer ball and told them to keep playing and get better so that when she returned they could have an awesome game. Back at the shacks Tak was waiting for his turn to get into his Avatar. It was just him and Alan.
"Well, looks like this is it." said Alan as he sat in Dr. Isaac's chair.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I mean this is it for this place, we won't be coming back here right?"
"Don't know, I hope I can."
"...You really like the Na'vi people huh?"
Tak gently nodded his head with a sincere look on his face.
"I bet they are...So what now? What about all your friends? Your allies, how are you gonna stay in contact? I mean, do we really need to keep this going? Things have been pretty good for a while, we shouldn't fuck that up."
Alan was right, things were going good. Who was he to ruin that?
"Yeah, I guess you're right."
There was still business to be dealt with, but that day would come sooner or later. For now, Tak just enjoyed the peace and quiet. When it was finally Tak's turn to get into his Avatar and say his goodbyes, he wasted no time heading to the Takahayo hometree in search for his friends. He first found Tsanten and got to the point. Tsanten didn't like the idea of his only friend leaving, but Tak promised he would return soon. He then went to see Tsuwokan and told him what was going to happen, but Tsuwokan already heard from the others.
"My brother, you help us bring peace to our land, thank you. You are welcome here, any time."
"Thank you."
Tak wanted to say more, so much more, but he just couldn't think of the words. He felt like he had become part of a family and now he had to leave them. While trying to think of more to say, he caught Zetey in the distance by the watching him talk with Tsuwokan. He ended the conversation with a smile and a nod and went to say his last goodbye. Zetey was standing at the base of the spiral in the hometree and as Tak approached, she started walking to the back where the water was. Tak followed her and they sat down in a shady spot.
"...Hey."
"Hai."
"You probably already know that we have to leave."
"Yes."
"Well, I just thought I'd come to say goodbye."
"...Why you leaving?"
"Just some changes to my job. Can't argue with Dr. Grace."
"Will you come back?"
"Yeah of course I will. I love it here."
The two smiled at each other before a moment of silence. It always happened, but Tak still wasn't used to it. He decided to quickly change the subject.
"Hey, there's still many places I want to go see. Maybe you can take me there?"
"Yes I will."
"Alright then, I can't wait."
It was a quick conversation but Tak had nothing else to say so he decided it was time to leave. They got up and made their way out. Tak wasn't sure if a handshake would be appropriate for a way to say goodbye and thank you for all she had done. He stuck his hand out but Zetey opened her arms for a hug. It was a surprise but Tak hesitantly reached out and hugged her. The last time he hugged anyone was when his parents came to see him leave for Pandora. For him it was emotionless. To hug someone and feel something was weird for him and for some reason it put a small smile on his face, but he just went along with it. He pulled away, realising there was work to get back to, so he began making his way. Stepping back into the heavily forested area, he could hear a voice calling for him.
"Wait! Wait!" yelled the little voice. Tak turned around to see Tsanten chasing after him. He was in the forbidden area but it didn't matter. Tak kneeled down, wondering what was so important for him to be chased after.
"What are you doing here? You will get into trouble again."
He saw Tsanten holding something in his hand.
"I made this for you." said Tsanten as he showed Tak a beautifully hand crafted Ikran. Amazement and gratitude struck him upon sight and all he could do was continue to stare at the piece of art.
"You made this?"
"Yes."
"This is beautiful...thankyou, thank you so much."
"...Are you really going to return?"
"Yes, I promise."
He hugged his friend and headed back. Tsanten watched Tak walk off, wondering when they would see each other again.
Blue Lagoon was quiet as usual but once they touched down, the people came out to help get the extra shacks setup. The presence of humans really did look out of place, a whole bunch of shacks, machinery and people occupying an area surrounded by lush growth of colourful life. But looking closer, it seemed as if the place was slowly blending in with its environment and becoming a part of it. Plants could be seen growing on the structures and paint was wearing off in areas which would become rusted, then eventually penetrated by vines. Getting setup took a while but it was a perfect time for the scientists to catch up on things. Tak felt like an outsider walking around in his own shack, he didn't know anyone other than his own team and he wasn't keen on getting to know them. He just got his stuff, threw it on his desk then got something to eat. While everyone was chatting with each other, Tak was lying on his bed eating his sandwich, spilling crumbs on his shirt. With his hunger killed, it was time for a nap. It was just one of those days where he didn't feel like doing anything so sleeping was the best way to kill time. He probably would've kept sleeping till the next day if he wasn't awaken by one of the scientists who he didn't bother introducing himself to.
"Hey new guy, get up." said the man as he shook the bed with his foot. Tak didn't react so he shook more vigorously.
"Hey new guy, dinner's on and you're gonna miss out."
"…what…..what time is it?"
"Time to get up, we're about to eat. You wanna join us?"
"Oh, yeah. Thanks."
Dinner was as usual, Tak just ate his meal in silence. Dr. Eileen would ask him questions for him to answer to the new people but his efforts to socialise were still minimal. He sat at the table for a while, listening to everyone's conversations. Yuki was managing to get along great with everyone and she would try to include Tak in a conversation but it was useless. Eventually Tak's boredom sent him to his desk. He took out his sketch pad and began drawing some Pandoran scenery. Hours passed and the others eventually went to sleep but it was another night of insomnia for Tak. He stayed up until his eyes were becoming dry and blood shot. He went to brush his teeth but still came back to his desk, really pushing himself until he was really ready to go to sleep. This was going to be a long night.
"Get the fuck up now! Get up get up get up!" screamed a man right in Tak's ear as he failed to hear the first wake up call. The sergeant ripped off his blanket, pulled him from the bed onto the floor and kicked him. It was time for Dr. Eileen's team to be briefed on the rules of Blue Lagoon, not that it was that different from other places. This could've have happened the moment they got here, but any opportunity to make life hell for scientists, the mercs would take, and an extremely early wake up was perfect. Tak slowly opened his eyes as a slight pain in his leg kicked in. He curled up and rubbed his leg where it hurt, the men wouldn't give him a break.
"Rise and shine princess! Let's go!"
They pulled him up and pushed him back onto his bed, hitting the back of his head on the upper bunk. As Tak sat on his bed, rubbing the back of his head to numb the pain, all he wanted to do was destroy the guy standing right in front of him. Tak instantly recognized him as one of Terry's goons. The rage built up within him but now wasn't the time.
"Good! Now that I've got your attention, we can start! Welcome to Blue Lagoon. As much of a shithole this place is, it's also extremely dangerous, so open your fucken ears and listen to what I have to say! You will not leave the area unless given permission. If you do, you must be accompanied at all times."
Tak was tired and decided to lean against one of the beams of the bunk bed. Everything the guy said entered one ear and went out the other. He stared at the floor, paying no attention. The others didn't take it seriously either, and Dr. Eileen had had enough of the yelling.
"You don't have to yell, this isn't the army and we're not cadets. We can hear you just fine, so cut the tough guy shit already."
"...What was that? I didn't hear you so say it again..."
The man grabbed her by her throat and got right in her face.
"You got something to say to us?"
"...No..."
"Then shut the fuck up!"
He released her harshly and made his point to not annoy him. And so began their time at Blue Lagoon. The beautiful surroundings and getting to work on new stuff was a good change, but the mercs made life tough. Not wanting to start trouble, the scientists would always have to take whatever bullshit was delivered their way. Alan's concern for Dr. Isaac grew as he would catch the mercs staring at her. Whenever he was away, Dr. Isaac would get unwanted attention. Being around aggressive, violent, desperate men who hadn't got laid in years made her extremely uncomfortable. She would cringe whenever one of them touched her. Constantly being distracted from her work was very frustrating but she put up with it. Alan sometimes would step in and ask them kindly to leave her alone and let her do her work, but it always ended with him being told to fuck off and mind his own business, or being asked what he was going to do about it. These people were impossible to reason with.
It was a warm and sunny day, Dr. Eileen had decided to help collect some samples and asked Tak to come along while the others went off to track the migration of the local Sturmbeest population. Dr. Isaac decided to stay behind and catch up on some data analysis she couldn't finish from the previous day. She wasn't comfortable being left behind even though there were some people nearby, but she got on with her work. An hour into it and she needed a break. She went to her bed and pulled out a diary which she kept hidden from the others. In it were photos she secretly printed. Some of them were of her and Alan together, others were just shots of him. She lied on her bed and looked at the photos until her peace and quiet was interrupted.
"Shouldn't you be doing your work?" asked one of Terry's Goons. She quickly hid the diary under her pillow.
"...I'm just taking a break..."
"So then you won't mind me talking to you right?"
"Um...I guess not."
There was an intense awkward silence but the creep wouldn't leave her alone.
"Hey come on now, relax. I just want to talk to you. You probably never been around a guy like me huh?...Do I scare you?...You don't wanna answer my questions? Come on now what's up with that?"
"Um...I really should get back to work."
She tried to get up and leave but the man grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her back.
"Whoa whoa whoa where you going? Sit down, sit down."
"No I really need to go."
"You're on your break right?"
"yeah but I ne-"
"You got lots of time, you can finish that later."
"I'm actually behind in work so please, just let me go."
Even after asking kindly he wouldn't let go. She tried harder to break his grip but he wasn't giving up. She had enough.
"Just fucken let me go!" she yelled as she hit him in the face. There was another silence before the man unleashed his anger onto her. He got up and back handed her across the face, then grabbed her by the throat and slammed her against a shelf.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing! You hit me bitch? You hit me?"
He then forced her onto her bed and punched her in face multiple times before tearing her clothes off. Dr. Isaac yelled but there was no one to hear. She struggled with all she had, pushing his face away and trying to get him off but it was no good. He hit her once more.
"Shut the fuck up bitch!"
He turned her over onto her stomach, unzipped his pants and tried to rape her. She tried to stop it again but this time she received a punch to the back of the head. Nearly knocking her out, it blurred her vision and all she could see was the bed opposite hers. She helplessly cried and moaned in pain as the ruthless man had his way with her. She still tried to move her arms but she just had them harshly twisted behind her back. Crying out loud would just inflict more pain on her so she helplessly took it. The pillow soaked her blood and tears. Once the man was done, he grabbed her by her hair and made sure no one would know what he had done.
"Listen to me you little whore, you tell anyone what we got up to, and I'll fucken kill you."
And with that he pushed her head into the pillow, got dressed and went outside, leaving Dr. Isaac lifelessly lying on the bed. She slowly pulled the sheets over herself, curled up into a ball and cried.
