Chapter 19: Revelations, part II

Earlier today, Elynin had explained to Charlie that she had snuck out of the Avatar longhouse before dawn. She had done so using his ID badge to unlock the safety fences, then throwing it back onto the bed after she had closed them again. She had been pretty confident that none of the others had seen her at any point. Charlie had reassured her it would be fine in either case, but agreed it was indeed better not to draw too much unneeded attention to themselves.

At the end of the day, when Charlie had finished his schedule, and when he had also retrieved Jessica's tennis ball from the tall roof, he had sat down onto the same platform as he had done yesterday. It was quite a neat little place. Being a couple of stories above the ground and away from the bustle, it offered privacy as well as an enjoyable view.

Elynin joined him mere minutes after he had climbed up. Clearly, she was always keeping track of where he was. This time, Charlie lay down with his head on her lap.

She was gently stroking his head and shoulders. Her thighs were warm and soft. It was very relaxing. If it wasn't for certain thoughts which kept him awake, Charlie was pretty certain he could fall asleep right here.

"How can you stand this situation?" he suddenly asked her.

"Hmm? I do not know what you mean?" Elynin answered gently. Although she was asking him a question back, she sounded so content that it didn't seem she cared if her question was even answered.

"That's exactly what I mean." Charlie said as he sat up and made eye contact with her. "Your imprisonment; them being here; the occupation of your world."

"It is bad, but… how you say? It is like a volcano erupting; what can we do about it? We can only avoid the heat and the destruction." Elynin replied, apparently having resigned herself to the situation.

"But its people doing this, Elynin, not some unstoppable force of nature. They might seem unstoppable… hell, that's the entire point of the Star Gun: to wield the power of the sun. That's one aspect of nature that can't be stopped." Charlie continued earnestly as he put a hand on Elynin's shoulder. "But people can be stopped. Weapons can be destroyed. We can stop them if we wanted to; if we really wanted to."

"And if we only ever think of doing this, at the cost of everything else, what life would we still have?" she asked in return, certainly not convinced and sounding disappointed he was ruining the moment.

"What kind of life do we have now?" he asked in a straightforward manner. "Don't you wish it was better? Don't you want more?"

"That is a very human thing to say." Elynin answered, while averting her gaze.

"Right there, that's a very Na'vi thing to say." Charlie said, pressing the matter further. "I refuse to believe that wanting a better life is specifically a human desire."

"Eywa provides for all Na'vi." Elynin said curtly in an attempt to end the discussion.

"So, fruits just gather themselves? And hexapedes just keel over and die to provide their meat?" he replied bluntly. "Sorry for being so rude, but I'm just trying to make a point here. And the point is your people also have to get up and do something if they want something in their lives."

Elynin took a deep breath before admitting openly: "What I desire is to be right here, with you."

This had been pretty obvious already to Charlie. However, he wasn't sure whether he liked her evading the discussion like this. He honestly wanted to know why she wasn't putting more effort into making her life better. Maybe she thought she was now doing what he had been asking for by directly stating her intentions. Alternatively, perhaps she thought the discussion was his way to make clear he wanted her to make the first move in upgrading their relationship?

"I know what you want, because it is also what I want." he said in return, trying once again to avert her longing gaze. "But seriously, if we want to build something together, then it is never going to work with the both of us as prisoners."

"We will be together. That could be enough." Elynin replied somewhat moderately. The answer didn't satisfy Charlie.

"Please don't tell me your reason for not wanting to escape is because you want to be with me. Because if that is the case, then I'll try to break out of this place and you'll just have to come along." he said, sounding like he meant it "Also, if your clan is the problem, then we'll just go to some unspoiled place far away, like a beautiful lagoon or something and live like Tarzan and Jane and have like ten kids or whatever we can provide for. We'll make our own clan."

Then he realized too late that his mind had wandered past the point of reality, namely that he wasn't sure Elynin even wanted their relationship to move into that direction, let alone that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. He thought it was just as likely she simply wanted to be with him because her situation didn't allow for anything else. After all, she appeared easily satisfied with how others decided her life for her.

"Uh, well, that's not really…What actually I meant was…theoretically…hypothetically…" he tried in vain to backtrack.

"Tarzan and Jane… I remember you telling me this story." Elynin said unflustered as she put a hand on Charlie's chest. "They loved each other for a lifetime. I am… how to say… very pleased you feel we are like them. I feel the same. But… one thing… You would have to be the greatest hunter known to this generation of the People to provide for ten children. Perhaps… five… is a better number?"

Charlie believed for a moment he was imagining her response, but as he saw her anticipating and serious look, he knew he really was not. She would be his other half without question if he chose to go down that path.

"Sure, this Tarzan can settle for five. But we'll have to get out of here first. Then we'll be free to make it a reality. Promise me you'll help me do that?" Charlie attempted to negotiate. He could see Elynin lost in thought for a moment, until she looked at him with a subtle smile.

"I remembered something. Today, I found a weak point in the fence. It is not much, but maybe we can use it when the time comes? I shall show it to you now." she said as she started climbing down from the platform.

Charlie immediately knew something fishy was going on. She just happened to have seen a weak point in the fence today, while during the last ten months she hadn't concerned herself with such details? It was suspiciously convenient.

The moment she reached the ground, she stopped for several seconds to look up at him in a somewhat playful manner, before darting off. He had to hurry to keep up with her.

"Slow down a bit. Where exactly is this place?" Charlie said, halfway towards catching up with her.

"Come. It is at the edge of the forest." She said unrevealingly, but nevertheless sounding quite pleased.

He followed her into the sea of glowing plants and trees. The colors cyan, purple and magenta were all around him. Elynin, who like any Na'vi, stood out against the green during the day, now seemed to blend in with the surroundings perfectly.

Charlie stopped for a moment to inspect the lines of glowing dots on his arms. He still had to get used to the phenomenon, and found it very fascinating. When he looked up again, Elynin was gone.

"Where are you?" he asked. After several seconds, he still hadn't gotten any answer. "Come on, no fair." he added in slight annoyance.

He spent the next minutes wandering around the forest, wondering if there really was a weak point in the fence at all. He was nowhere near the fence right now. Maybe he should go there to look for her? It was his best lead as to her whereabouts. Whatever was going on, she was keeping silent on purpose. He supposed there was no harm in letting her have her fun with this game.

Soon, he came across a magnificent sight. There was an uncommon type of plant here, its leaves forming an upright semi-circle of several meters tall, emitting vibrant orange tints. The plant was a great big wall which in essence blocked his path. He approached it cautiously, but also with curiosity, wondering if it was emanating heat as well as light. It certainly looked as if it had a high temperature. Before he could touch it, though, he was startled by something wrapping itself around his chest from behind his back.

It quickly turned out that instead of some scary or bloodthirsty beast, it was just Elynin who had unexpectedly hugged him from behind. And she didn't just leave it at that. She started to gently rub her face against his neck and shoulder. Charlie relaxed quickly, and let her continue, even leaning a bit against her touch. She was warm and tender. It was a nice sensation.

She was not kissing his body; perhaps this was simply not her thing. Charlie thought that maybe she didn't even know of such a thing, and that he was projecting too much human culture on her. She was from another planet after all. But with an amazing feeling like this, these thoughts seemed to matter very little. Whatever technique she used, her intensions were nevertheless very clear.

He reached back with his arm to caress the side of her head as she continued uninterrupted. Locks of her messy hair were falling over his shoulder. He breathed in her scent once more; it gave him a very primal and excited feeling.

She started to gently guide him into a certain direction and a different position. He just followed without any protest. First, she turned him around so that they were facing each other. Then she crouched, and subsequently sat down onto the moss bed. Charlie did the same. As they gazed intensely at each other, Elynin gracefully lay down flat on her back, placing her hands palms-up at either side of her face. Her unkempt hair lay spread out on the moss.

It was only now that Charlie realized she must have put brightly colored feathers into her hair as decoration. So perhaps she did sometimes take care of her hair.

As she had been moving into this position, she hadn't broken eye contact with him once. He was getting a bit lost in those big enchanting lemur-like eyes of hers.

It was clear she was waiting for him to make a move. Charlie felt, with every fiber of his body, absolutely no need to restrain himself. He moved in to kiss her neck, and steadily moved down towards her chest, taking off her necklace to have better access to the area. Evidently, Elynin liked what he was doing to her; she had her eyes closed, moaned slightly, and tightly grasped his back.

She let him continue on for a while, before she shifted her position again to sit up and face him. This time, Charlie was slightly confused. Elynin reached for the back of her head and let her braid slide through her fingers as she guided her queue across her shoulder. She ended up holding the end of it in both her hands in front of her chest. Charlie looked at the tendrils of her queue with some apprehension.

Now originally, he had thought in regards to having an Avatar body, that having a tail was weird. He had almost forgotten about this queue thing. During the past months, he had read a bit about it, and even just today, he had seen Elynin connect with her direhorse in this way. Now he was confused as to why she was showing this thing to him that was meant for riding horses. He was beginning to get a little worried about what he had really gotten himself into. Just how alien was this experience going to become?

"Remember what I told you about our queues? And tsaheylu?" Elynin said, almost as a whisper.

"Uhm… not really…They were for… riding, and… things…" Charlie replied nervously.

Elynin put a hand on his wrist and stroked it soothingly. "Do you trust me?" she asked plainly.

"I do. Fully and completely." he answered with outward confidence but with inward doubt.

"Then do as I did just now." she said as she leaned in a bit closer towards him. She sounded confident, commanding even, though in a calm and controlled way, and not forceful. It was a trait that she hardly ever displayed, even when teaching.

Despite having some misgivings, Charlie copied her, and took his own queue to present the end with the tendrils to her. She then moved hers closer to his, until the tendrils reacted to each other and started intertwining. Then they were one.

It was peculiar, how normally you could feel quite whole, and then suddenly realize that all along half of your being had been missing, disconnected, lost, when that part was finally returned and reunited.

Charlie and Elynin both experienced it in the same way. Their senses, like the tendrils, had become intertwined, and their scope broadened and enlarged. Beyond this basic realization, they felt very primally that they were being reunited. Rationally though, they could not explain it, since this was the first time they were even connecting like this. However, for the moment, rationality was gone. Now there was only passion.

As both were lying on their backs, still trying to catch their breath, they were unable to tell how much time had passed since they had gone into the forest. It certainly was night now, with the plants around them glowing at their maximum intensity. Elynin and Charlie themselves were glowing as well; in more ways than one.

They were able to see the clear sky, through gaps in the canopy of leaves above them. One of Polyphemus' moons was visible. Oceans, continents and thick, large cloud covers with wavy patterns could be distinguished. All features had an overall teal color to them.

"Will we ever be the same again? It doesn't feel like it…in a good way, of course." Charlie said as he turned his head to look at Elynin. She also looked away from the sky momentarily.

"Eywa has witnessed us, I know she has." Elynin replied with a smile. "We will never be the same again. We have grown. Once a seed has become a tree, it cannot ever go back to being a seed."

Both of them resumed watching the sky and the moon. Occasionally, some lightning discharges could be seen in the moon's cloud cover.

"Must be a hell of a storm out there. I'm glad we're down here and not up there." Charlie admitted frankly.

"Something has happened. I think I noticed it before. This one has only recently revealed itself." Elynin said, sounding like she was still trying to comprehend that fact.

"You mean that planet, or moon, or whatever? I think that's Shadow, the former rogue planet now orbiting Polyphemus." he elaborated.

"Shadow?" she asked, slightly confused.

"Yeah, that's what some wise-ass started calling it, and everybody just went with it. I suppose it's better than Cosmos 93… something." Charlie continued. Elynin just remained silent after that. He agreed with her that the name was a boring topic anyway.

"You know, Lockwood and Joseph went there once. They didn't find anything interesting, though." he said in an attempt to continue the topic before realizing he shouldn't be reminding her of the people responsible for her capture.

"Somehow, it makes me feel cold, looking at that place. It is… hard to explain… like a hungry demon is watching you." Elynin revealed.

"Hey, it's just some rock with water on it. It's not going to do anything, okay? Our scientists know what they're talking about." Charlie replied in an attempt to reassure her. "And if you're cold, well, then just come closer."

Elynin went to lay down with her head on Charlie's chest, her arms and legs wrapped around him. It didn't take long now before the both of them peacefully fell asleep.

Once again, Charlie found himself staring at the inside of his link unit. He sighed a couple of times before opening up the lid. Why had he not been born a Na'vi? Why was he stuck in this dreadful place, while true and vibrant life was out there? He would never forget tonight's experience. But how long could he keep living two lives?

He expected someone to walk up and lecture him on his unusually long link unit usage, especially after official curfew. There was no activity, however. When he looked around, he only saw doctors Singh and Liao. Apart from them, the link center was deserted. It was relatively quiet, with only the sounds of the air conditioning and the link equipment humming in the background. There was one other thing also.

Dr. Liao was sitting behind his desk. Or rather, he was using his keyboard as a pillow to rest his head on whilst snoring. Dr. Singh was leaning back in a chair positioned near Charlie's link unit. She too was as good as knocked out. He supposed they had stayed on duty to monitor his link, which was certainly admirable. Was it really that late already then?

"Doc, hey." Charlie said as he gently shook Dr. Singh's shoulder. "I'm finished for the day. Thanks for keeping watch, but don't strain yourself, okay? Get to bed."

"Uh-huh." was the only thing he got as a response from her. He subsequently threw a lightweight recyclable coffee cup at Dr. Liao's head, who just continued snoring in the same pattern even after it hit. Charlie decided that he wasn't going to put any more effort into it and just let them be.

Elynin found herself in paradise. She was at a cove with calm, light-blue seawater nearby. Multiple giant rock outcroppings, partially covered with green foliage, provided shade even now, when the sun was highest in the clear blue sky. The sand of the beach was white and appeared well traversed. Three of her children, two girls and a boy, were playing in the sand or swimming in the water nearby. She was carrying their youngest son on her arm. He looked happy and giggled when she briefly touched his nose with one finger.

She was standing on a wooden plateau just a short distance above the sand. A wooden frame, woven sheets and dried animal hides together formed their humble dwelling. It did not look like a traditional Na'vi construction. There was definitely some human influence visible. She now heard Charlie calling out to her.

He had just emerged from the tree line with a great big smile on his face, carrying a yerik, or hexapede, on his shoulders. Their eldest son was with him. He was even more excited as he eagerly moved aside to show her another yerik he was dragging on a makeshift sled behind him. He proudly announced to her that he had successfully made his first kill as a hunter. Charlie gave him a pat on the head, obviously being very proud.

Turning back to continue with her daily activities, she noticed a moon in the sky with teal-colored continents, clouds, and dark oceans. She thought nothing of it, set their youngest son down beside her and proceeded to pick up where she had left off with her weaving.

Time seemed to slip by as Charlie and their oldest son prepared the meat to be roasted. Meanwhile their two daughters and second son returned excitedly to their dwelling and started falling over each other as they tried to be the first to tell Elynin of the wonderous things they had found and experienced. They were quite loud; something she enjoyed thoroughly.

Suddenly, they were all silenced. Everything turned from brightly colored to grey and dimly lit, the sky, the sea, the sand. An eclipse was happening. The moon which had previously been visible was eclipsing with the sun. Only a bright teal ring was now visible in the sky.

Something seeped down from the moon. It was darker than dark; pitch black and shapeless. It made clicking and cracking sounds interspersed with howls which sounded so alien that Elynin knew the thing was a being unlike all others she knew of.

A strong wind subsequently started blowing, and they found themselves being engulfed in teal mist. The seven of them huddled together. Charlie did his best to shield them, but a piece of dead wood, propelled by the wind, punched its way through the group. One of their daughters was knocked away and proceeded to be blown further down the beach, crying for their help. Elynin screamed for her to hold on and that she was coming.

At that moment she saw him again, the tall, pale-skinned human with a broad-shouldered physique, white hair and piercing blue eyes, his head upside down on his neck. He picked up their daughter roughly, clearly with malevolent intent. Holding her by her neck and ankles into the air, he proceeded to headbutt her helpless body, instantly breaking her back.

Elynin could bear no more and wished herself to be dead. Only then did she realize she was having a nightmare. Unlike a normal dream, this one took its time to dissipate. She knew she had her eyes open for real, but still she was seeing this scene. Then, slowly, it disappeared and she found herself still lying on the moss in front of the plant whose leaves formed an upright semi-circle. The plant was now simply green with a hint of orange as the bioluminescence was gone. The sun was shining brightly.

Elynin could feel her left arm being numb. No doubt had she slept in an unsuitable posture. As she turned over to lie on her stomach, she realized she was still near Charlie. She crawled over and clamped herself around him once more.

"Had a bad dream?" Charlie then asked somewhat concernedly.

"You are already awake?" Elynin replied, sounding completely trashed.

"Yeah, I… uh…wanted to keep you company… while actually being with you." he said with a hint of guilt. "I only slept, like, four hours in my human body."

"It was beautiful… and terrible." she admitted. "The dream, I mean." She did not elaborate. She just wanted to forget it as soon as possible; the good and the bad. She didn't know what was worse; that the good wasn't real or that the bad could perhaps become real.

Elynin loosened her grip on Charlie, taking a more relaxed posture, before guiding his hand and placing it on her belly. Maybe it was too early, but it could very well be that their first son had already been conceived. Had she seen a glimpse of him and his future siblings already? She might not be able to hold them in her arms, but perhaps she could soon feel their first son growing inside her. She found the thought to be some consolation at least.

A short while later, when Elynin was at ease again, the tranquility was most unfortunately interrupted. The air raid siren of the base started wailing. It was anything but a good sign.

"Crap, I forgot!" Charlie blurted out. "Come on, get up, we have to get inside."

"Inside what? What is happening?" Elynin asked alarmedly.

"Maintenance." He replied. "No matter what happens, just keep your eyes shut. I'll guide you."

They got up and started running, half-dressed, their queues still attached. Elynin squeezed one eye shut, but used her other one to look up ahead. Nothing appeared to be wrong except for the siren that was wailing. She took the opportunity to disconnect their queues as they were moving. Charlie noticed the changing sensation momentarily, but he did not let himself be distracted, and with good reason.

The sky turned white and an extremely bright light shot down. Elynin immediately shut both her eyes when she saw it happening around her. She could feel the heat on her skin. It didn't stop after a few seconds, but went on and on. It was like the brightest and hottest sunny day she had ever experienced, multiplied by a factor two. It wasn't hurting her just yet, though she didn't know if her skin could handle this much sunlight for a long time.

They were still running, with Charlie guiding her. She didn't know how he was doing it with this blinding light out there, but she trusted him fully.

"There's a branch. Jump… now!" he shouted to her.

Elynin did her best, but her timing was bad and she caught her foot on said branch and fell to the ground. She lost her grip on his hand.

"Charlie!" she called out in desperate panic as the light continued to burn them.

Within seconds, he grabbed her hand again and helped her up. They then continued making their way out of the forest as quickly as they could. She could feel Charlie pulling her arm harder towards the left or the right, no doubt deciding this time to move around obstacles to prevent another mishap.

And then, before she knew what was happening, she felt a smooth, cold and hard floor underneath her feet.

"You, seal the goddamn door!" she heard Charlie bark at someone. Elynin continued running until Charlie caught her and stopped her in her tracks. Now that she didn't feel the heat anymore, she dared to open her eyes.

She found Charlie looking at her through what appeared to be special eye-protection; a strip of gold-colored material set into a frame, which he quickly removed from his face.

He proceeded to hurl his goggles onto the floor in absolute fury. The force with which they hit the ground made Elynin flinch.

"Well look here, if it isn't Crispy and Bacon. Had fun out there?" one of the Avatars, Rae Mwangi, inquired smugly. They were currently inside the locker area. Several other Avatars were here as well, presumably also to take shelter.

"Yeah, it was loads of fun. You should try it yourself next time, huh? Maybe bring some marshmallows with you? Oh wait, that's right, you'll BE the marshmallow!" Charlie called out, mostly in a forcedly restrained way except for one word. He looked like he wanted to punch her, but he still had enough self-control to stop himself from doing so.

"Chill out, bro." Rae continued in the same tone as before. "Pete's just cutting some daisies out there. That jungle just doesn't learn; keeps encroaching. So, he'll draw a nice circle around the base with his favorite toy."

"I got the fucking memo yesterday already!" Charlie replied bluntly. However, Rae didn't stop there.

"And it's all solar-powered so there's no environmental impact." she insisted self-approvingly. Meanwhile, a curtain of black smoke appeared to engulf the outside of the building from what could be seen through the windows.

Charlie snapped and lunged forward, but some of the others, namely Dr. Liao and Dr. Singh caught him in time to stop him from attacking her. He started shouting all kinds of obscenities at Rae and the other PPP members, before turning his focus to Pete Mulholland.

"Where are you keeping Pete's Avatar?! I'll go there right now and snap his filthy little neck! You think he'll like that?!" he screamed at them.

It took a full two minutes, with Liao and Singh talking to him to calm him down, before Charlie turned back to check up on Elynin. He found her sitting in a corner on the floor, whimpering, crying, rocking her body back and forth.

They had ruined everything.