Ok Folks, I know i said a few weeks on my last one. I just didn't realize it would mean dozens of them. Anyway, after some self searching, and seeing the extended edition i found my ability to write again! Haha! So to everyone who has kept this story on their alert list in the hopes i'd add another chapter or even if you just forgot to remove it, i hope you enjoy this new bit! Just finished it and i'm quite happy with it. Not a long one, but enough to get me back into this. So to everyone who took the time to read this bit, a box of Swirly lizards each!

Also, this was an idea given to me by the user Matteic, so if you're reading this, it's for you!

Grace threw open the lid of her pod once her Avatar was secured in lockup. "Well!" she said, forgoing her cigarette for once at the dismay of her attendant. "What's his status?"

Dr. Patel tapped a few times on his tablet and shook his head slowly. "Still to early to tell. All signs show the link is still one hundred percent and functio-" He was cut off by Grace pulling the tablet from him and looking at both it and the monitor carefully. "Functioning…" he finally finished running a hand over his hair.

"Is he even alive?" Norm, after finally getting his Avatar secured, pushed open his pod and stumbled over to Jake's. "Well?"

"He ain't dead yet" Grace said, returning Patel's tablet. After a moment more of staring, she turned to the two with the rest of the lab looking on. Grabbing her cig and lighting it she inhaled slowly. "For now, all we can do is wait." Walking though the crowd she muttered something under her breath.

"This is gonna be a long fuckin' night…"

-Three Hours Later-

"Grace." Max entered the lab again to see Dr. Augustine sitting next to Jake's active pod. "Grace…" He walked over and placed a hand on the woman's shoulder. Grace's body jumped and turned quickly before relaxing at the sight of Max. "So no change then…"

Grace closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, shaking her head. "Coming up on nine hours in the pod…"

Max nodded, squinting to read the pod's screen. "That's beginning to stretch it for his second time out…" Max pulled up a chair and sat down. "You think the Avatar is still ok?"

Grace glared at the pod. "If it were dead, he'd back by now…" She closed her eyes slowly. "Then we could get him out of here and get back to real work…"

"Grace!" Max said, sort of scowling and slightly disappointed. "He may be a marine, but I'm sure he's going to work out here." She looked up at him with an eyebrow raised. "Well, I'm sure he'll work out if his Avatar is still alive…"

To that Grace gave a light scoff. "Really? Ever talked with these 'Hired gun' Marines?" Max paused and slowly shook his head. "Single track mind. They focus on one thing only because their brains can't handle anything else."

Max looked at the pod. "Hate to disappoint" he said with a small smirk. "But I've seen Jake's brain. He's no 'Hired Marine'."

Grace scoffed again, opening her eyes to look at the pod. "Yeah…we'll see about that…"

-Two Hours Later-

Grace pulled the last cigarette from her pack and lit it quickly. "Where the hell is that idiot!" she screamed, kicking a chair halfway across the link room. Max, who was half working and half unconscious at the time jerked his head up with a start when a beeping emanated from the pod the fiftieth time this hour and rushed over to it once more. This time was important as Jake's vitals had majorly shifted. After a moment of pressing buttons color drained from his face.

"Ah Shit…"

Grace turned and looked at the monitor and gave the same reaction Max had given. The strain of the link was beginning to kill his untrained body. Physical strength was one thing, but no one could just jump in a link pod for hours and hours without training.

Norm had woken up from an uncomfortable position in the lab and tried to figure out why people were rushing around. "Jake's back?" he mumbled, stumbling over to the active pod. Norm looked at the monitor. "Ah sh-"

"Yeah, we've established that" Grace interrupted. She stole the tablet away from Max again and began to work. She knew once the marine lost consciousness the link would break, so she knew he wasn't dead or sleeping. Or at least, she had hoped that was the case.

It hadn't been but a few minutes before Jake's brain waves plummeted. Grace froze and looked at the screen. "That's it, anymore and he'll be brain dead."

"Agreed" Max said quickly, keeping his eye on the monitor. "Overriding pod sequence." He slapped his hand on the big red threatening button and the pod retracted and opened.

Jake didn't move. His eyes were slightly open but he didn't move. "Holy hell" Norm uttered as Grace took out a flashlight.

"Jake" she said sternly, shining her light into one eye, then the other. "Jake!"

Max kept his eyes on the monitor as the minor brainwave patterns started to get bigger and bigger slowly. "He's in alpha." Max said, his voice now holding only a bit of concern. "He's coming out right now."

Norm looked quickly from the monitor to the marine as Grace continued to stimulate Jake's visual cortex. "Jake!" she continued to say repeat as the marine started to breathe deeper. "Come on back kid" she said, giving him a little slap. "Come on, that's it." Jake started to move slowly as he realized where he was again.

"There you go…there you go…" Jake coughed and tried to sit up, eventually Grace just helped him. "Damn kid, you were dug in like a tick." Max and Norm helped get Jake sitting up as the marine groaned with a stupid smile on his face.

"Is the Avatar safe?" she asked.

"Yeah Doc," Jake replied weakly. "And you are not going to believe where I am…"

So yeah, that's it for now. If you haven't, go back and re-read chapters 3 and 4. I've done a few changes and i'm much happier with them now.

And for fan's of a certain british sci-fi show, i added an obsucure Doctor Who reference somewhere in here. An extra Lizard in the box to those who find it.

Peace, love, and all those other crazy ideas.

- ÐѓдҜΘИΪ§