A New Life

by SavedByGrace82514

A New Life...a chance to leave behind all that he had done and who he had been. A chance to forget and begin anew. What lengths was he willing to go when a man whom he had seen die comes back into his life? How will he cope? Begins before Jake's transfer and continues from there. Rated M for violence and suggested themes. A Son from Another Life and Survival are blended into this.

5. Chapter 5 Part 2

Iknimaya Part 2 (Jake, Neytiri, Norm)

Neytiri and Norm traveled on in relative silence for what felt like hours. And indeed it was hours before they finally stopped for the night.
They made camp in little under an hour. Instead of camping on the ground, like Norm had wanted to, they made camp in a cluster of four trees that came together and formed a platform above the ground. Neytiri explained that it kept them out of the reach of predators. Norm couldn't argue with that logic because he didn't want to be eaten.
That still didn't stop him from trying to get camp set up on the ground. He had an aversion to heights. He could tolerate them but still did not like them.
" Neytiri," he said as soon as they had made camp," What's the matter? I can tell leaving Jake was hard for you but you'll see him again soon."
Neytiri looked at Norm with a sad smile on her face. She knew he was a friend. He had risked his life for her people and decided to become one of them. She knew she could tell him all her cares and sorrows and he would comfort her.
" Norm," she said," I am with child."
Norm looked at her with surprise then a wide smile lit up his features.
" Neytiri, that's amazing," he said. " It's an occasion for joy and yet you are sad. Why?"
" Because," she began," the timing could have been better. I'm going on my second Iknimaya with another life besides my own to risk. I don't want to lose this child. And from what you and Jake are saying, the tawtute will be back. When they arrive my child will only be seven years old. That makes me responsible for him yet again. And Norm, this time I do not know if I can protect him."
Norm held his tongue about his vision he had received. He knew the Na'vi won the battle but he had not seen how many were dead or even if he lived. And that scared him even more than anything else because he knew that if he died, Tanhì would be right behind him. She would die of grief. Grief over the loss of her second mate. Norm wouldn't let that happen. He would survive, even if he was on the brink of death his strong bond of love with his mate would keep him alive.
" Neytiri," Norm began, carefully choosing his words and looking her in the eye the entire time, " The tawtute will return. But this time, they will come back in stronger numbers and with a knowledge of how to fight us. The next tawtute have all the supplies and people to build four new bases."
He looked at her and decided to put all his trust in her. She had trusted him and now it was his turn.
" When I went on my dream hunt," he continued," I saw a great tree, much like the one Jake saw when he was transferred. Grace was standing in front of it. She was in her Avatar which is strange but I understand what it meant. To make me choose to become fully Na'vi and take the transfer.
The scene changed all of a sudden. The tree was on fire but that was not what I saw. Grace, you, Jake, Tanhì, our children, and Max all dead. They were hanging from the tree by spears while it burned. I was told that was what would happen should I not take the transfer. What would and will happen is more or less comforting. I saw the tree, perfect and pristine. All around it were RDA soldiers. They were firing into the bowl shaped ring of trees that circled this great mother tree. Suddenly, out of nowhere, I see this rider appear on a thanator. Warriors surge out of the forest and completely surround the RDA. The soldiers put up a valiant effort but were ultimately defeated. They surrendered. But back to that rider. Neytiri, that rider was me. And the Thanator was Grace. Before the battle was over though, I see myself thrown off of Grace by what look like huge bullets penetrating my body. I have no idea whether I live or die. And that scares the living hell out of me."
" Eywa showed you this?" she asked incredulous.
" Yes," he replied. " She did. For what reason I do not know but she showed me. I am actually kind of hesitant to go on intimacy. Eywa showed me another vision of that. The banshee that I'm supposed to bond with bites me on the leg. My leg splinters and I am rendered useless. After that, the banshee picks me up, shakes me, then throws me over the edge. I'm falling and still the banshee is coming at me. He comes close enough and I bond with him. The last thing I see after getting on him is the trees rushing up at me. Then nothing."
" Nothing?" Neytiri asked.
" Yes," Norm replied. " Nothing. Just blackness. Then I woke. And that in and of itself was scary enough."
" Do you remember I also rode a thanator?" Neytiri asked.
" Yes," Norm replied. " It was killed when you fought Quaritch. What was it like, being bonded to a full grown thanator?"
" I felt like," Neytiri replied, " I was the king of the forest. I felt like I could take on anything and survive. That is why, in my rashness or overconfidence, I went searching for RDA soldiers. By chance I stumbled onto Quaritch. Killing him was hard but I accomplished that. So do not think, when you bond with Grace when she is fully grown, that you cannot die. You can die just as easily as anyone. I had a close brush with death myself. It is not a very comforting experience."
" myself also and I should say not," Norm said. " I'll try not to get that kind of attitude. Well, I'm going to take the first watch until midnight. I'll wake you then."
" Okay," Neytiri said. " See you then."
Neytiri laid down on the other-side of the platform. After a few minutes, Norm could tell by her breathing that she was asleep. He sat there in relative silence until he heard a snap. Then another one and another one. Someone or something was out there. Norm slowly reached behind him and grabbed his bow. In one motion, he knocked and pulled the arrow back to his cheek. He tracked the sound which became louder and louder as it got closer to him.
Norm caught a glimpse of a leg and then nothing as it faded back into the night. At first he had thought it was the direhorses but they had tied them before going to bed. Whatever it was, it was smart. Then, a rustling behind him made him turn around. What he saw turned his blood to ice. A viperwolf stood crouched over Neytiri, ready to bite her throat. Before he could loose his arrow, a black shape launched itself onto the viperwolf. It grabbed the viperwolf and shook it until its back broke. Norm turned back around just in time to see a viperwolf jumping at him. He would not have enough time to react. Before it reached him, an arrow appeared in its throat. He looked around in bewilderment, trying to figure out where the arrow had come from and who had shot it. He finally located the person who had shot the arrow. Tanhì stood on the ground, bow drawn ready to shoot again if necessary. Understanding dawned on Norm as he finally figured out what the black shape was. Grace. Neytiri had woken after Grace had dispatched the viperwolf. She had grabbed her bow but the remaining viperwolves had fled. Norm ran across the platform to where Neytiri was standing.
" Are you okay?" he asked.
" Yes," she replied. " I am fine. Are you okay?"
" Yes. I'm fine. Tanhì saved me."
Grace slowly came into the light. She had minor scratches but nothing major wrong. Norm squatted down and Grace ran into his awaiting arms. She licked his face and could not stop wriggling around in his arms. Tanhì climbed onto the platform. She stood of to the side as if she was not welcome.
" Thank you," Norm said to her. " We are both in your debt. But what are you doing here?"
" Grace would not settle down," Tanhì replied. " She was running around and whimpering like crazy. Nothing I did would settle her down. So I decided to come find you. And lucky for you, I did."
" I don't believe in luck." Norm said. " Just divine intervention. I wonder why they attacked us? We didn't cause them any trouble."
" Most likely they were hungry or we are in their territory," Neytiri said sadly. " They did not need to die. But alas, they cannot see that we mean them no harm."
Norm looked away from Neytiri to his mate. Tanhì was sitting on the floor of their little platform. She was rocking back and forth, sobbing uncontrollably. Norm ran over to her and grabbed her in a great embrace. He rocked her back and forth until she settled down.
" What's wrong, my love?" he asked tenderly.
" I…I have never taken a life like that before," she said between sobs. " This did not need to happen. I did not need to take that life."
" It is done," Norm said. " Do not worry about what happen. If you wouldn't have killed it, I would be dead."
" And frankly," he said with a chuckle, " I don't want to die. I want to live."
" And I want to live with you," Tanhì replied. " I don't want you to die. I love you. And thank you."
" You're quite welcome," Norm said, his face lit up with the biggest smile he had ever smiled. He leaned down and kissed her.
" If you two are done," Neytiri said. Norm had plum forgotten about her. He and Tanhì slowly pulled away from each other. They stared into each others eyes then looked to Neytiri.
" I'll take this shift," she said smiling. " You two had better get some sleep. And I mean sleep."
" We will," Norm said smiling as he swept his mate off her feet. " We are adults."
" That is why I said what I said," Neytiri replied to Norm's comment.
" Don't worry, Neytiri," Tanhì said with the faintest of smiles. " We'll get sleep. I'm already tired so you have nothing to worry about."
Norm carried Tanhì to the other-side of the platform and set her down. Grace tagged along at Norm's heels and settled down on Tanhì lap after Norm had set her down. Norm laid down beside his mate and curled into her. She curled into him, with Grace between them. Finally, after almost twenty four hours of being awake in his Avatar, Norm closed his eyes letting go of the world he loved for the moment.
He awoke not five seconds later back at Hell's Gate. He pushed the link chamber lid open and slowly climbed out of the link pod.
" Hell," he muttered to himself. " I need to take that transfer soon or I'm going to be nothing but a pile of bones."
" I'll say," a familiar voice said from behind him. " You look like shit. Of course the same could be said for me."
" Trudy?" He asked turning slowly around, not quite trusting his ears. As he completed his turn, there sat Trudy Chacon in a wheelchair. She had bandages all over her body. It appeared that she had severe burns all over her body, except for her face. Her face was the same as he remembered it except for a long scar that ran from her eyebrow down to her jaw on the left side of her face. Other than her being in a wheelchair she was the same person he had known and loved.
" Trudy?" he asked again, this time not trusting his eyes.
" Yes, Norm," she replied smiling and laughing. " It's me."
" Trudy!" he finally yelled and ran over to her. " You're alive! How? I saw your Samson take a direct hit."
" You gotta remember something," she said seriously. " All the Samsons have fire resistant cockpits. Along with that, the cockpits were designed to withstand tremendous impact. Even though it looked like the cockpit blew, it didn't. The only injuries I sustained were from the fall. A group of Na'vi found me and brought me back to Hell's Gate instead of taking me to the Well of Souls. And for that I'm grateful. Because if I would have gone to the Well of Souls, I probably would be dead right now, mainly because I had injuries only a surgeon could take care of. Anyway, Max took care of me in the Medical bay. I thought he told you?"
" No, I didn't," Max said coming from behind Trudy. " I didn't tell him."
" Why the hell didn't you tell me?" Norm asked letting the venom seep into his voice.
" For a couple of reasons," Max explained. " One, I knew it would obviously distract you from your training. Two, I wasn't entirely sure she was going to make it. And three, I did not know what that would do to your decision to take the transfer."
" I told you before," Norm said. " Nothing is going to change my mind about taking the transfer. Nothing. So what else have you not told me about?"
" Nothing," Max said. " I swear on Tanhì's life."
" Okay," Norm replied suspiciously. " I'll just have to trust you for now I guess."
" You didn't trust me before?" Max asked, slightly offended.
" Yes," Norm replied. " I did trust you before this. Keyword-did."
" Stop it you two," Trudy said, more than a little agitated. " Norm, max had his reasons for hiding my survival from you. They were damn good reasons too. And Max, what else have you not told us?"
" Well," Max began, " I've been monitoring the next ISV and it's two months out. I also pulled up their shipping manifests. They have everything they need for another four base. Buildings, perimeter fence, and a whole shitload of weapons and ammo. The only thing they don't have is troops. Only one hundred guys came with this ISV."
" And you didn't think Jake or I needed to know this?" Norm asked clearly agitated.
" I was going to tell you sometime this week," Max said apologetically, " But the reason I didn't was because I didn't want you to have so much to worry about. I mean you have Iknimaya and that's enough to worry about. I didn't want to add to it. I'm sorry for not telling you."
" I'm the one who should be sorry," Norm said still seething. " Thank you for not telling me before this."
" There," Trudy said. " Everything back to abnormal around here."
" Ain't that the truth," Max said laughing.
Norm joined in laughing after a moment, letting his anger slide away into joyful mirth.
He stopped laughing after a while and looked at Trudy.
" What?" she asked.
" I still can't believe you are alive," he replied. " I saw your Samson fall from the sky and thought you were dead."
" Well," she said bitterly," at least you didn't have a hard time replacing me."
" What?" Norm said astonished. " You mean Tanhì?"
" Yes," Trudy replied. " Whatever her name is."
" Trudy, I thought you were dead. I mourned you then I moved on. And I know that sounds shallow but it isn't. Tanhì's mate was killed by the RDA. She recovered my Avatar and nursed me back to health. During that time we became closer and closer until we made the decision to be mates. If I knew you survived, I might not have mated with Tanhì. But since I didn't know, I let you go. I moved on. If I would have died, you would have done the same thing, wouldn't you?"
Trudy was silent for a while. By the look in her eyes, Norm could tell he was right. But, instead of pressing the attack, he backed off and cooled his heels.
" I probably would have," she replied quietly after a long silence.
" Then you have no argument," he said. " But know this Trudy. When I thought you were dead, a little part of me died. I still care immensely for you but nothing that would take root. I found what I was looking for, a new life, and a new place to call home. I hope you find such as well."
He gave Trudy one of his smiles that she had always loved.
" I'm sure I will," Trudy said, returning his smile. " Thank you."
" You're absolutely welcome," he replied. " Now that's taken care of, I need to get some rack. Tomorrow, we will reach the banshee rookery. Then the real fun begins. So goodnight and I'll see you guys tomorrow night."
" See you then Norm," max said as he turned and walked out of the link room, " and good luck."
" 'night Norm," Trudy said as she slowly wheeled herself back to the corridor.
Instead of going back to his room to sleep, Norm decided to sleep in his link chamber. He dimmed the lights in the link room and climbed into the link unit. He didn't close the lid but left it open. After a few minutes of lying there with his eyes open, Norm finally fell asleep.
Blinding light jolted Norm out of sleep the following morning. Somebody had turned on the lights for the link room. He slowly cracked his eyes open then slammed then shut again because of the blinding lights coming from the ceiling. He opened slowly again, this time sitting up and stretching as he did so. Norm looked around, wondering who had turned the lights on. He focused his eyes on the doorway, ready to ream out whoever had interrupted his sleep. He stopped short when he didn't see anyone. There was no reason for those lights to be coming on. It completely befuddled Norm until he realized he had forgotten to shut off the timer for the morning session.
He swung his legs out over the side of the link and tentatively put his feet onto the cold metal floor. After standing and stretching, he walked over to the main control board for the Avatar Program. Norm punched in the proper codes and initiated the programming in all the link units. Slowly but surely, he heard all the generators starting up.
Norm climbed into his link and pulled the upper clamshell closed. He let his mind go blank and closed his eyes. The usual tunnel of light marked his entry into his Avatar.
Norm blinked himself awake as he slowly sat up in his Avatar. Tanhì was still sleeping beside him. Grace lifted her head and gave his arm a nudge as he stretched his legs. He slowly stood up and walked to the edge of their little platform. Looking to where Neytiri was supposed to be, Norm could not find her. He started to worry. If anything happened to her, Jake would kill him, even if it wasn't his fault. Then, as quickly as he had started worrying, he stopped. He had spotted her. She was at the base of the tree, kneeling over a carcass. A few feet away from her a small fire was burning. The sweet odor of cooking meet drifted up to Norm as he looked over the edge of their platform.
Neytiri looked up and saw Norm looking over the edge. She stopped what she was doing and motioned for him to come down.
Norm began to climb down the tree, carefully picking his handholds. He slipped once and almost fell to the ground before he regained his grip. He finally reached to ground and walked over to where Neytiri was making them something to eat.
" The pa'li are not tied to the tree anymore," she said. " They have run away to be with the rest of their herd. The natang scared them away."
Norm gave her a menacing scowl. He was not very happy at all. Walking the rest of the way was going to be a pain.
" So we have to walk the rest of the way?" he asked.
" Yes," Neytiri replied. " It is not far. If we leave here by mid-morning we will reach the nesting grounds in about an hour. Half an hour if we had the pa'li."
Norm walked over to Neytiri and sat down beside her. He was debating whether or not to tell her Trudy was alive.
" Neytiri," Norm said, looking her in the eye," Trudy survived. She's alive."
" Trudy's alive?" she asked incredulous. " How? The metal beast that carried her crashed from the sky."
" It did," Norm replied. " She survived it somehow. She's back at Hell's Gate recovering. I thought you might like to know."
" Thank you for telling me," she said. " It warms my heart to see that Eywa spared her. She did not deserve what happened to her."
" No one deserves what happened to her or what happened to Pandora," Norm added. " What the RDA did was wrong. They thought they could take whatever they wanted and kill as often as they pleased. But that's just not right. ' Thou shalt not kill.' And yet they do."
" It is a sad way of life," Neytiri said. " Jake told me once that the tawtute killed their mother. Is this true?"
" Yes," Norm replied. " The people on Earth killed their mother. There is no green left on Earth. It is a dying world. They have screwed it up so much that there is no hope of saving her. She died a long time ago. We traded our dear Mother's life for technology that is cold and impersonal. It has no feeling whereas our mother listened to us and gave us comfort when we needed it. She gave us aid when we were down on our luck. And all we could do to repay her was to slowly kill her."
By the time Norm was done talking, a tear rolled down his cheek. He wiped it away with the back of his hand.
" I will not let them do that to this world," he continued. " I've found a new life, a new world to call home, and a new people to call family. And by Eywa, if the skypeople return, I'll kill as many of them as I can before they kill me. I will not let them kill our Mother."
" You are truly one of the People," Neytiri said. " I have never met a dreamwalker who loved our Great Mother and our world as much as you and Jake do. Grace loved our world to an extent but she never fully gave herself over to Eywa as you two did."
Norm thought back to the conversation Grace had with him a few hours before she died.
" Norm," she said beckoning him over to where Jake had laid her before he linked up. " Norm, I am dying. There is no way around that. I realize that now even if this transfer thing doesn't work. Listen to me while I have the strength. Quaritch will stop at nothing to kill the Na'vi. I've held him at bay for years, stopping him when and where I can. This time he got me. You must stop him. He must not be allowed to take all those lives. Kill him. If you have the chance, don't hesitate. Strike first.
" I never really gave my life to the Na'vi. I held back. Neytiri noticed this once and asked me why. I tried to explain to her that I had two bodies and one mind. She really didn't understand but she didn't ask me again. I guess part of me wanted to stay human because it's all we've ever known. When Quaritch came in and shot Sylvanin in the doorway of my school, I tried to get as many of the children out as I could. A soldier saw me doing that and shot me. Bullet ripped through my abdomen and took out a kidney. My Avatar spent almost a year healing. During that time, I couldn't forgive myself for what happened to Sylvanin. I felt I caused it. After the incident, no more children came to the school. Norm, they used to call me Sa'nok. Mother. And let that happen. Do not make my mistakes. Love them with all your heart and never let anything happen to them. The Na'vi are now your life. Fix what I have done. Restore the peace between human and Na'vi. Farewell, Norm. And Neytiri, I'm sorry for everything that happened to her and her family…"
Grace's voice trailed off as another wave of pain washed over her. She drifted into an unconscious state of mind as the pain became more intense. That was the last time Norm had spoken to Grace. He still remembered that conversation.
" The reason Grace never gave herself to you and Eywa," Norm said, " was because she felt responsible for your sister's death. She couldn't stand to face you again. She told me to tell you she was sorry. That she was sorry for everything. She asked me to ask you if you could ever forgive her."
Neytiri had tears running down the sides of her face as Norm finished. She had never held Grace responsible yet Grace had thought she was responsible.
" I never held her responsible," Neytiri said in a voice just above a whisper. " She died feeling like she had betrayed our race and me. I feel… I don't know how I feel. I never knew or I would have told her. I loved Grace. She was like a second mother to me. I used to tell her everything. My not coming to the school after my sister was killed must have been an indicator that I held her responsible and that was not the case. After my sister was killed, they forbade me to go around any dreamwalkers. I would have gone to the school just to see Grace. I tried but my mother and father stopped me each time. And I never had the chance to talk to her after that up until she died. But she's alive right?"
" That's what Max told me," Norm said. " Neytiri, don't beat yourself up for something you never knew about. There's still time to fix it. Her avatar is alive somewhere to the north. All we are getting is sketchy signals but knowing Grace, she's probably at that tree Jake and I saw. And your Mother has the knowledge of where it's located. The only problem with that is Jake has to be olo'eyktan for a year, of which he has only two months left. After that, we are off to find Grace and to find our new home."
" Yes," Neytiri said thoughtfully. " It will give our people a permanent place to call home. Also it will give us hope of a new life, a better life than the one before."
" It will be a new start." Norm said. " An untainted beginning for our people."
A branch creaked high above in the tree creaked. Norm turned to look and saw that his mate was slowly making her way down the tree. He wanted to rush over and help her but if he did, she would never accept it. After three minutes, she was on the ground sitting by her mate, tail intertwined with his.
" Good morning," Norm said affectionately to her.
" Good morning to you too," she said, resting her head on his shoulder.
" How did you sleep?" he asked.
" Very well," she replied. " Especially since I had you."
" Good," he said. " Today we are going to reach the nesting grounds."
" Do not worry," she said after seeing the worry in his eyes. " Eywa has destined you to bond with a banshee and survive, albeit with some injuries. All I have to do is keep my composure. The thought of seeing you free falling over a cliff is almost too much for me. But at least I know you live.
" And think of it this way," she continued after a short pause with a smile on her face, " if you get injured, I get to nurse you back to health."
" I bet you'll enjoy that, huh?" Norm said smiling mischievously.
" You know I would," she replied, returning his smile.
After they had eaten, they packed up their small camp and began their short journey to the nesting grounds. As Neytiri had predicted, they reached the foothills of the Halleluiah Mountains by mid-morning.
As they neared the path, Norm had a decision to make. Either to let Tanhì come with him or make her stay at the bottom. He did not want her to see what was going to happen to him.
" Tanhì," Norm said. " I want you to stay here. I don't want you to see what is inevitable going to happen. Besides, I don't want you to get hurt. And, let's face it, your pregnant. You've got yourself and the baby to look after. Stay here and I'll be back. I promise."
" I don't doubt you'll be back," Tanhì said. " What worries me is in what condition. Norm, I love you so much. Please be careful."
" I love you too," he replied. " And remember, I'm always careful."
He leaned down and kissed her passionately. She didn't resist. She never resisted.
Norm pulled away from her. He turned and walked away without looking back. Grace tried following him but he stopped her almost instantly.
" Stay here, Grace," he said. " Stay."
Grace turned around and reluctantly walked back to Tanhì. She whimpered for a little then quieted down.
Norm gave one last glance at Tanhì and Grace then began climbing.