I don't know how many times I can apologize for taking forever to write these chapters. I've struggled a lot with the direction I wanted to bring this part of the story down. Obviously I know where we're headed, but with everything we've done to change the original story, it's a bit of a challenge to parse out what all would have been effected. I've finally landed on a version of this chapter I'm happy with, which is good because if I had to write it out for a sixth time I think I would've lost my mind.
I hope you all enjoy it!
He took it rather well, considering, or maybe, Tsu'tey mused with no small amount of satisfaction, he was just in shock.
Tommy had sat and listened, not once opening his mouth to interrupt, barely noticing when his glasses slipped down the bridge of his nose.
When Jake finished, a little breathless, the room filled with heavy silence until Tommy took in a breath like he'd forgotten how.
"I was just going to... like... study specimens," Tommy choked a little on the words, "and you're leading a fucking revolution."
"I'm not leading it," Jake corrected, cheeks flushing a dark navy, "I'm just a part of it."
Tommy waved his hand in front of his face, shooing away the words, "you've certainly made something of yourself, I'll say that."
"That's one way to put it," Jake shrugged with a grimace, because what else was he supposed to say.
"I just-" Tommy let out a huff of breath, his hand rising to push his fingers through his hair, "fuck, Jake, I'm... I'm sorry."
"You don't have to apologize," Jake shook his head, and when Tsu'tey let out a snort of dissent, he added, "really," a bit emphatically.
"No, no, your husband is right about me, I... I should've believed you," Tommy was speaking through his teeth, his fingers flexing, pulling at his hair, "God, I should've... even if I didn't believe you, I should've kept listening. I can't believe how... how shit of a brother I was, you had this... this amazing, logic defying, tragic thing happening to you and I... I told you to shut up."
"We were kids," Jake said, lips quirking into an awkward half smile, shrugging again.
"Yeah, we were kids, and your consciousness was traversing across galaxies every night and I fucking told you to stop talking about it, and maybe, I don't know... maybe I was jealous, even if I didn't believe you, maybe I was jealous that you were getting to have these amazing dreams about a distant planet and I was dreaming about... like, fucking, math class. Not that that makes it better, I mean, it kind of makes it worse, you know? It would've been better if I was just annoyed with you-"
"Tommy," Jake cut him off, amusement lightening the weight in his chest, "really, it's okay, I'm not mad, not really. You apologized, that's enough, there's nothing we can do to change what's already happened. I love you, always have, always will. I can't promise Tsu'tey will ever like you-"
"I will not," he confirmed, leveling Tommy with a cold stare that didn't seem as effective as it had before, much to Tsu'tey's displeasure.
"But," Jake rolled his eyes, in contrast to the affection bleeding into the upturn of his lips, "the past is the past and... fuck, Tommy, I'm just happy to see you again."
"I'm happy to see you too," Tommy said, tears pricking hot against his eyes, before he let out a laugh to break the tension, "I can't believe you screamed at Grace Augustin in her own office, do you know how excited I was to meet her, and you screamed at her."
"I don't think I would call it screaming," Jake cringed at the memory, but couldn't help the chuckle that bubbled up from his chest.
"My brother," Tommy whistled, eyes crinkled with mirth, "Soulmate of the Omatacaya's next Olo'eyktan, the sixth Toruk Makto in all of Pandora's history, figurehead of a rebellion, traitor to the human race."
"Mom liked the idea of that last one," Jake said, earning an amused chuckle from Tsu'tey, despite the sour face he was still stubbornly maintaining.
"I bet she did," Tommy smiled, his eyes going just a touch glassy.
"So you really had no idea where you are?" Jake asked, sobering slightly, "you had no idea what's been going on?"
Tommy's eyebrows drew together in a frustrated expression, "no," he shook his head, "I just woke up here, I wouldn't have been able to tell you how long ago until you told me. I haven't heard anything, haven't seen anyone else until you two just kind of," he waved his hand in front of him, gesturing to the space right in front of the closed bedroom door, "appeared."
Tommy's face was pinched as he rose to his feet, pacing the small area between the two beds, "you said mom expected you, expected both of you," he pinched at his chin as he paced, looking a perfect cartoon of academia, "but she didn't know anything about your life together?"
"Correct," Tsu'tey nodded, ill feelings temporarily set aside, distracted by the possibility of deciphering the mystery of their prophetic dreams.
"But then," Tommy pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, before gesturing to Tsu'tey, all the hard work the Na'vi had put towards intimidation forgotten, "your mother seemed to know what you've been up to, right up until you told her Jake had become the Toruk Makto."
Jake nodded, not daring to interrupt.
"Which happened after your dream with mom," Tommy's voice was rising, excitement bubbling inside his chest, "so it's only reasonable to assume that, somehow, our mothers were communicating, enough so that our mom was able to tell your mom everything you told her."
"That makes sense," Jake said, shrugging, having not had much time to really think through the evidence up until now.
"So why haven't I been able to communicate with anyone?" Tommy asked, his hands grasping at the air in front of him, as though the answer were something tangible, just out of his reach.
"Maybe Eywa did not find you worthy of such gifts," Tsu'tey suggested, shrugging, like it wasn't meant to sting at Tommy's pride.
"That's not very scientific," Tommy huffed, halting his pacing to stand in front of them, arms crossed over his chest.
"None of this seems very scientific, Tommy," Jake pointed out, flicking his wrist as though to banish the notion.
"Don't take this away from me," Tommy scrunched up his face, like the mature adult that he was, "I can make anything scientific, magic is just science we haven't figured out yet, now shush and let me-"
Tommy stopped mid-sentence.
His body froze, rigid, ramrod straight, eyes glazing over, mouth stuck around a word.
It lasted for several endless, agonizing seconds, none of them moving a muscle.
When Tommy seemed to snap back into himself, his focus dragging from somewhere far away to stare into Jake's eyes, his own blown impossibly wide, manic with fear.
"Oh."
It took another moment, while Jake's heartbeat pounded in his ears, until Tommy spoke again.
"Jake," his voice felt miles away, "I cannot-" his mouth twisted, as though he was physically holding back words, "I wish I could explain... Jake... Jake you must go, you must wake up!"
"Tommy, what are you talking about?" Jake asked, panic rising in his throat.
"You have to go," Tommy was breathing hard, his face drained of color, "Jake, now!"
At that, Tommy reached out with both hands, flat palms hitting both men square in the chest, and pushed them with more strength than he should have been able to produce.
They felt themselves falling back, blackness pressing in along the edges of their vision, the room and Tommy fading away from them.
Just before it all went black, Tommy's mouth fell open, hands still outstretched, arms shaking, "Jake," he whispered out, the quiet words ringing as clearly in their ears as their own thoughts, "Jake, run."
-x-
It was early, the sky still dark, air still chilled with moisture, when they awoke, gasping as though breaking through the surface of a vast ocean. They stared at each other, eyes wide, pulses hammering against skin, as a sense of dread and panic settled into their bones.
"Neytiri, Trudy," Jake yelled as they pulled back their hammock, courtesy towards the rest of the tribe, bound to still be sleeping, the furthest thing from their mind.
"Jesus Christ, what?" Trudy's voice filtered through the fibers, drunk with sleep.
"We have been given another warning," Tsu'tey said as he scrambled his way out onto the nearest branch, gracefulness forgotten.
"Who was it?" Neytiri asked, alert and rising from her hammock, Trudy trudging behind her, "what did they say?"
"It was my brother," Jake said, his eyes refusing to focus as he followed after Tsu'tey, "he said..."
"He said to run," Tsu'tey finished grimly.
Neytiri's mouth opened to reply, but they were cut off by a scream ringing out from far below them.
"Jake!" The voice they now recognized as Grace, shrill with panic, screamed out, "Tsu'tey! Neytiri! Trudy! Everyone!"
They took off, feet beating against the smooth bark of Hometree, Trudy held in Neytiri's arms in a way she'd grown past finding embarrassing.
It felt like years before they reached the forest floor, where they found themselves having to push their way through a growing crowd of confused, sleep addled Na'vis until they could reach Grace, standing, panting in the center.
"Grace," Jake shouted, reaching out and gripping her bicep, "Grace what's happened?"
"Jake," Grace's eyes were wide, looking so much like Tommy had before he'd pushed them into consciousness, "Jake they're coming."
"Who?" Tsu'tey demanded, speaking loudly over the panicked chatter that broke out around them.
"The Skypeople," Grace sounded close to tears, "I received an urgent message from one of the people under Quaritch. Selfridge is deploying a team as we speak."
"It's too early," Jake felt his stomach drop, his knees threatening to buckle, "we're supposed to have at least another week."
"We cannot waste time wondering why this is happening," Eytukan's voice broke through the chatter as he pushed his way bodily through the crowd, "we must act. Grace, do you know how many are coming?"
Grace stared up at him with wide eyes brimming with fear, before she took a shuttering breath, and steeled her expression, forcing it into something close to calm, "I don't know exact numbers," she shook her head before turning, looking between Jake and Trudy, "they're bringing in bulldozers, mech suits, and ground troopers. They're targeting the Tree of Souls."
"You four," Eytukan said grimly, turning to face the quartet, "you must instruct us in how to proceed, this is..." he swallowed around the words, "this is beyond me, you four have stated your desire to be leaders of our people, now is the time to act on these words. What do we need to do?"
They looked at each other, panic and fear and insecurity settling like a stone in their core. After a moment, Neytiri took a long breath, the rest of them following suite, and they swallowed it all, stamping it down, even as terror threatened to cave in their chests.
"They're not sending gunships yet, that's good for us," Trudy, to everyone's surprise, spoke first, her voice ringing clear despite the fact she barely stood past their hips. Her Na'vi wasn't perfect, stilted and clumsy, but she carried her point across as she continued, "we'll have an advantage over them if we can attack from above."
Tsu'tey nodded, confidence growing, "we must send messengers to inform the other clans that their aid is needed earlier than expected. The Tipani will be the only tribe able to be reached before the Skypeople are upon us, but this war will not be over today."
"We will go," the voice of R'oyk rang out, his thin arm rising, identifying himself among the sea of Na'vi, the faces of the other young warriors surrounded him.
Tsu'tey nodded, "those of you traveling far, pack rations and supplies, quickly. May Eywa grant you safe journey."
The warriors offered little more than a nod, their features set in an intense expression, before turning and making their way out of the commons, the crowd parting to allow them through.
"We need to take out the bulldozers first," Jake found himself speaking, but he felt far away, detached and running on autopilot. His voice may have been carrying orders, but his mind was buried in the crowd, afraid, shoulder to shoulder with everyone else, "they are piloted remotely, so all we have to do is take out the cameras on top and they'll be useless."
"We have faced the machines driven by Skypeople before," Neytiri chimed in, "Trudy is correct, with the advantage of attacks from above, we will be able to overwhelm them."
Her words were met with cheers, fear dissipating from the air.
"Brothers, sisters," Tsu'tey shouted out, fist raising, eyes wild with energy, "prepare yourselves, dress yourselves in the armor our Tipani comrades have provided us, arm yourselves with bow and spear and blade!"
Another deafening cheer rippled through the crowd.
"Five groups of ten will take to the sky," Jake bellowed out, the orders coming easier as the energy around them thrummed with anticipation, "they will follow me, we will circle the area around the Tree of Souls, waiting for the transport ships."
Tsu'tey nodded, turning to Jake for just a moment, pride blazing behind his eyes, "five groups of ten will mount pa'lis and come with the Olo'eyktan and myself. We will wait for word from the areal parties, then two groups will stay behind to surround the target area, while the rest of us rush the Skypeople."
"Any remaining warriors will wait with me here until the Tipani reinforcements arrive," Neytiri cut in, "from there we will join the fight to take out as many foot soldiers as we can."
"Those of you who are not warriors," Tsu'tey spoke, "hold no fear in your hearts. Eywa does not take sides, if blood must be spilt, it will be spilt. What she wills will come to pass, but know that we will fight," his chest swelled with the words, fists clenched at his sides, "we will fight to protect our home and our people until they rip the breath from our lungs."
Cheers rolled through the crowd once more, a cacophony of sound spilling from behind sharp teeth and blazing eyes. Adrenaline seeped into the ground, saturating the air until it sunk into their skin and vibrated against their bones.
They were about to call out the orders, fracture the crowd into the necessary parties, until a fresh, frantic voice rang across the commons.
"Wait!" And there was Norm, pushing and shoving his way to them, until he broke into the small circle in which they stood, panting, doubled over, chest heaving.
"Did something happen?" Jake asked, gripping his arm and hauling him up straight, urgency keeping him from allowing the Dreamwalker to catch his breath.
"I just received a message on a secure channel," Norm gulped shallow gasps of air as he spoke, "the military guys on our side, some of them are members of the deploying parties."
"How will we know the difference?" Neytiri asked, her brows drawn together.
"They've managed to get themselves all assigned to escorting the largest of the bulldozers," Norm said, his eyes flicking between his comrades, "they'll fracture off from the rest of the soldiers and lay down their weapons, but we have to take out the cameras first and..." Norm hesitated something nauseous passing across his features, "any other soldiers around too see, will have to be killed, we have to make sure there's no way they could report back that there are defectors in their ranks. If we don't, they'll know there are traitors among them, we'd be putting the ones still at the base in danger."
They nodded solemnly at him. Ideally, as little blood would be spilt as possible on either side, but this was still war.
"That's not all," Norm cringed, his long features pulled back in a mix of anxiety and determination as his eyes fixed on Grace, "they found out where the mobile unit is, Selfridge is sending out a party to apprehend and detain us."
"Jake," Trudy spoke up, staring up at him, her mouth set in a severe line, "you have to fly me out there, I can get the mobile unit moved, put it closer to Hometree where they can't find it. We'll need it to house the defectors anyway, better for it to be closer to home."
"You cannot do it by yourself," Neytiri protested, mouth downturned with concern.
"Grace and Norm can come, they'll fit on the Toruk and they'll fit in the Samson while I move the shack," there was fire in her eyes, and Jake understood why, this was something she could do, something tangible and proactive, something that wasn't 'sit and stay and be good', "we don't have time to argue, we have to move."
"She's right, Neytiri," Jake said, an apology trapped behind his eyes, no matter how much he understood Trudy's need to do this, he understood Neytiri wanting to protect her just as much, "we have to move out."
It looked, for a moment, like she was going to protest, but then she gave a tight, painful nod, and that was that.
Soon, the warriors were separated from the crowd, and instructed to prepare themselves quickly.
Mo'at broke off from them reluctantly, moving to usher the non-warriors to a safe location after whispered words of love and encouragement to those she was leaving behind.
There was little time for talk as the rest of them made their way to a hollow alcove where their personal weapons and new armor were stored, away from the common supply.
The trio, along with Eytukan, fashioned themselves into the armor, assisting each other with the unfamiliar pieces in silence.
Jake stared at his own armor as it fell into place across his skin, bone and hide bound together to create intricate shoulder pauldrons and a broad, heavy chest plate. They were made up of several free moving pieces, ensuring his mobility was not limited, painted to match the colors of the Toruk.
It all seemed to take an eternity, yet, too soon, they were making their way back to the commons to wait for the warriors to reconvene.
He should have been watching the area for his designated warriors to arrive, as they stood on the commons platform, should have been going over the details of whatever hastily made, spur of the moment plan he was going to execute, but how could he? How could he look anywhere, think of anything, when Tsu'tey stood beside him, a pillar of strength, dressed in armor matching his own in all but color, washed in the grey, early morning light.
Tsu'tey looked every bit the warrior and leader he was born to be. His mouth was set in a tight downturn, his eyes focused and deadly, almost appearing like a statue, cut from marble or steel.
Jake might've thought he was made of sunlight and star dust, something ethereal and terrifying and beautiful enough to burn the eyes. Not to him, however, standing there. No, Jake knew him too well—had seen him snort with laughter, watched him stumble and bleed, cry until his nose was raw and his lung empty.
Tsu'tey turned to him briefly, his eyes softening, affection and worry brimming at the edges like tears threatening to spill.
"It will be okay," Jake whispered out, leaning their shoulders together, allowing their fingers to brush, reassuring and calming because Tsu'tey was not a statue or a god, made of anything more than blood and bone.
"Yes," Tsu'tey nodded, letting out a shaking breath, turning his hand to lace their fingers together, seeming so vulnerable in that moment, though his rigid posture never wavered, "yes, it will."
"We'll stay out of sight and let you know as soon as they touch down," Jake said, squeezing Tsu'tey's hand, "as soon as the transport ships are out of sight, we'll take out the bulldozers as quickly as possible. Once the defectors are safely out of the way, we can attack the ground troops without worrying about downing one of our own."
Tsu'tey nodded, tightening his grip on Jake's hand before turning to face the open area where Na'vi were filing in like tin soldiers, the air thick with anticipation.
Orders were given swiftly, warriors grouping together, ready to move as soon as the word was made.
Before he knew it, before he was ready, it was time to go. Jake turned, opened his mouth to say something, anything, but he didn't get the chance as his face was framed in two strong hands and suddenly Tsu'tey's mouth was slotting against his, too fast and too rough, teeth clacking together, but it was the first time Jake had felt like he could breathe since they'd awoken nearly an hour previously.
He thought he might've heard a few crowing whoops from the crowd, whether teasing or bolstering, he couldn't tell the difference as Tsu'tey pulled back to look into his eyes.
"Be safe," Jake whispered out between them.
"You as well," Tsu'tey grinned at him, teeth flashing dangerously.
They didn't say goodbye, trusting that they would always find their way back to each other.