The room shook as the explosive went off. Charging out from behind their cover James and Jake covered the distance of the bay in a few seconds. Leaping upwards they landed an either side of Quaritch and made to grab him. their hands met cold metal as they latched onto what should have been Quaritch's shoulders. A training dummy fell at their feet. James swore and dropped to one knee sweeping the bay with his rifle raised. Dropping off the suit James slowly moved around the bay looking for Quaritch, with Jake covering him from above. Jake watched as James cleared the bay and jumped to the top of one of the suits. Jake watched as James turned to give him the all clear sign. He could see the confusion in James's face. but that confusion was quickly replaced with horror as a loud blast ripped through the eerily silent air of the bay. A hole the side of a basket ball materialized in James's chest. Jake felt horror grip every fiber in his body as he watched James's body slip from its spot on the power suit and fall to the floor of the bay dead.
CHAPTER 16
FLASHBACK
Jake sully slowly made his way through the hospital. His uniform was perfect. Not a wrinkle or a smudge could be found anywhere on him. In one of his hands he clutched a small folder. Moving through the hallways Jake's eyes never stopped moving. They roamed the various doorways and flickered over the people in the hallway with him. For the most part they were nobodies. Nameless, faceless doctors, and nurses; people he would most likely never see again in his life. Turning into a new hallway Jake stopped for a fraction of a second. He could hear music now; Piano music to be exact. Making his way down the hallway Jake soon found himself in a large room. All around him nurses, doctors, and patients were clustered in a circle in the back part of the room. Pushing his way through the crowd Jake smiled as his target came into view; James, rely. Jake first impression wasn't very good. The soldier sat on a small bench hunched over an ancient piano looking more like some kind of statue than a soldier. But as he watched he felt his views melt away. The boys fingers moved like wind over the keys, bring each and every note he played alive. All around his people hung on every note he played, ever sound he made.
As Jake listened to the solider play he felt tears well in his eyes. He could see the solider sitting in a wheelchair, around one leg a white cast protected the still injured limb from further damage. And yet despite this the soldier was still helping others by playing for the other soldiers. He was vaguely aware of the song that was being played; it was an old favorite of his 'water fall' by John Schmidt. As the song finished Jake found himself clapping with the others. But when the clapping died down he continued until several people turned to look at him. Several of the less injured solider gave him weak salutes. But he simply smiled at this his whole attention on James who slowly looked at him. "Glad you liked the song sir. I'm going to have it played at my funeral if and when I die."
CURRENTLY
He wanted to run to scream to shake James body and will life back into it. But he couldn't he didn't. Instead Jake sully did what years of training had taught him to do. He found cover. Which was a good thing to, because a moment later bullets peppered the spot he had been only seconds ago. Diving off the power suit and behind equipment crates Jake checked his weapon before peering out from his cover. Only shadows and darkness met his gaze. Each breath he took hitched in his chest sending small lances of pain through his body. But as annoying as they were they did serve a purpose they reminded him that he was still alive. Silence pressed in around him. Like some supernatural blanket, that cut him off from everything around him. Then a voice like a knife cut through the silence. "I must admit I'm disappointed. You're team comes highly recommended, and yet it was so easy to kill one. Pity. I was hoping for more of a game." Jake ground his teeth in frustration. He would have liked nothing better than to step out from behind cover and blow Quaritch's head off. But he couldn't all he could do was kneel here until he found where Quaritch was. Using his radio Jake tried to call to Eric but found the line was dead. Again Quaritch's voice cut through the silence. "don't bother sully. I've cut all radio traffic in this room. Just you and me now." Jake's eyes strained against the darkness, looking trying to find Quaritch.
"What's the matter son? Having trouble seeing in all this dark? Guess that's one thing human's have that you don't. Better night vision." Jake had been about to look out from cover again when a bullet whizzed passed his head and buried itself in the bulkhead behind him. Jake felt his blood go even colder. Quaritch knew he was there. Knew where he was. He was toying with him. Jake growled and unslung a small flare. Pulling the chord, Jake threw the flare and watched as the bay exploded in red light. It took his brain maybe 15 seconds to take in all of his surroundings. On either sides of the bay power suits lined the walls. Above them catwalks cross crossed the air like a spider web. And on one of the catwalks Quaritch stood, night vision goggles on sniper rifle in hand. Jake watched as Quaritch's hand went p to shield his face, and it was only then that he made his move. Leaping out from his cover Jake lunged to the top of a power suit before throwing himself through the air and pulling himself up onto the catwalk that Quaritch was on. He felt his blood pumping in his ears as he watched Quaritch tear off his goggles and look for him again, only to find that Jake was no longer where he had been but instead less than 10 feet from Quaritch.
Jake never gave Quaritch a chance to react. Jake's fist lanced forward and caught Quaritch in the middle of the chest. Quaritch's face compressed with pain and he was thrown backwards and landed hard on the metal catwalk. Blazing forward Jake grabbed Quaritch by the front of his uniform and lifted the human soldier off the ground dangling him over the edge of the catwalk. Quaritch just grinned at him. "You won't do it. You don't have the guts." Jake growled and shook Quaritch like a rag doll. He hated the human at that moment. Hated him like he had never hated anyone or anything ever before. Hated him because in his gut he knew he was right. But his hesitation to kill Quaritch gave Quaritch the time he needed to escape. Using his legs Quaritch pushed off from Jake's chest and managed to break his grip on the front of his uniform. Dropping through the air Quaritch landed on the top of the one of the power suits. Pulling the suit canopy open it took Quaritch 5 seconds to position himself in the command 'chair', turn the suit on and bring his weapon to bare.
Jake moved at the last second, barely avoiding the round of cannon fire that tore the catwalk to pieces. Leaping through the air Jake was very glad he had gone running with neytiri so many times. All the while cannon fire tore the world around him to shreds. He could hardly stay on a catwalk from more than a few seconds before Quaritch would shred it and he would have to jump to a new one. But all the while he was counting. Even though he wasn't authorized to use power suit he did know how they worked. And it was with this knowledge that Jake knew Quaritch could only fire 400 rounds before he would need to reload. And by his count Quaritch had already used about 200 rounds. Dropping from the catwalks Jake began running along the rows of power suits. And sure enough Quaritch fell for his trick. Rounds tore the suit apart and made them unusable for anyone. As the last suit dropped from the rack Jake heard the sound he had been listening for. 2 small clicks cut the gunfire off as Quaritch's ammo ran out. Charging Quaritch Jake had been about to leap onto the suit when Quaritch surprised, him. Lashing out with the butt of his cannon Quaritch caught Jake mid leap and sent him crashing to the other side of the bay. Jake's vision blurred as he slammed into the metal wall. For a moment his felt like he was going to pass out. But he fought this urge. He had to fight, had to make Quaritch pay for everything he had done.
Shaking his head to clear his vision Jake watched as Quaritch turned away from him and ran off to one side o the bay. For a moment Jake wondered what his plan was. But he felt his spirits sink as something dawned on him. The bay not only housed power suits but the ships required to move them. And sure enough even as Jake pushed himself up he felt the rumbling as Quaritch started one of the ships. Jake's muscles screamed in protest as he ran the length of the bay in what had to be world record time. But it still was not fast enough to stop Quaritch from getting the ship fully started. As the ship began moving away Jake took another flying leap and only through a miracle did his hand grab one of the emergency handles. And it was good thing to because a second later Jake felt as though his arm was being torn from its socket as the ship lurched forward and took to the air. Wind whipped at Jake's face as the ship began flying down a large tunnel that led to the surface.
Moving slowly up the ladder Jake had to shield his eyes as sunlight stabbed at him like a knife. Pausing only for a second Jake could just make out the form of Alice as they rocketed past. Tapping his comm. Jake spoke. "Eric, Tom, James is down. Get down to the hanger and see if you can help him. Alice get everyone inside and start secure the base." Continuing his climb Jake only stopped once he was onto of the ship's back. In a perfect world all he would have to do was pull the grenade that was attacked to his belt and throw it into one of the engines. But this proved to be very difficult since Quaritch kept trying to throw him off. As Quaritch tried for the 3rd time Jake caught sight of the 1 thing he wanted to see. ISO was flying towards him behind her dozen of na'vi on their mounts. Smiling Jake let go of the emergency brace and felt gravity grab him and begin pulling him down. In mid air he felt iso come up from under him. Instantly grabbing the rein Jake jammed their neural chords together. Iso let out a roar and shot up towards Quaritch. Using her claws like hands iso grabbed an engine and with little effort tore it from the ship, and sent it crashing into the jungles below.
ALICE'S POV
Alice made her way through the corridors. Behind here she could feel rather than see the group of na'vi following her. As she turned a corner Alice reacted out of reflex. Dropping to one knee she grabbed a set of legs and flung them against the wall. She expected the body to drop unconscious. What she did not expect was for a hand to come down on both her arms and break her grip. She had been about to pull out her combat knife when she felt someone grab her shoulders and pull her away from the stranger. Alice froze as she found that she had been attacking her fellow teammate. Behind her she heard tom say. "geeze Alice. Calm down." In front of her Eric rubbed his neck and glared at her. "geeze Alice. Do I look like a 5 foot tall pale soldier?" Alice shook her head. "sorry." Eric shrugged. "it's ok." Moving through the corridors Alice, tom, and Eric met little resistance. Most of gasses Eric had vented had vanished. Gone was the gaseous fog. Alice had just turned a corner when she felt Eric grab her shoulder and pulled her back. Good thing to because a moment later a shot gun blast tore the wall apart behind where she had been. Alice glanced to Eric and then glanced out of the corner. Turning to Eric Alice spoke. "Cluster of 4 guys. All wearing heavy armor with shock batons strapped to their hips. I'll need your help." Eric nodded, as Alice positioned herself. "1….2….3."
JAKE'S POV
Bullets tore through the air around him. He was fighting a losing battle. Iso had managed to slow Quaritch. But now Quaritch was doing his best to shot him out of the sky. Dropping in the air Jake spiraled before trying to come at Quaritch from below. This proved to be useless as more bullets tore through the air, cutting his attack off before it had even happened. Jake felt sweat pop out over his skin. He was running out of time. Quaritch was almost to the hometree. He had been about to attack again when his radio crackled to life, with Trudy's voice. "Hey Jake looks like you could use some help. Move away. I'll deal with Quaritch." Jake tapped his radio. "Where are you?" Trudy chuckled. "Don't worry just move away. You don't want to be in the blast zone." Doing as he was told Jake dropped away from Quaritch; All the while looking to see if he could find Trudy. Try as he might he couldn't see her. But he could defiantly hear her. He could easily hear the whine of her Samson's engines. And then all at once there she was. Trudy emerged from under the sea of trees. Turning to face Quaritch Jake could almost see Trudy smirk at the fastly approaching ship. Over the radio Jake heard her speak. "fuck you Quaritch."
Jake watched as a missile streaked away from Trudy's Samson and headed straight for Quaritch. For a moment Jake hung in the air watching. But as the missile passed him he felt his heart rate skyrocket. It wasn't just any rocket Trudy had lobbed at Quaritch. It was a tactical buster missile. Which meant he needed to get the fuck away from Quaritch unless he wanted to be crushed by the shockwave. Even as he commanded Iso to fly away he felt the missile impact Quaritch's ship. The shock wave was incredible. It just lifted Jake off of iso's back and threw him through the air. Jake plummeted through the trees and after a moment hit the ground below. Every bone in his body ached, as he lay on the forest floor. Somewhere behind him he felt the ground shudder as Quaritch's now burning ship landed. It must have been close because he could feel the heat, against his back. And while it wasn't hot it was certainly not comfortable. Jake slowly lifted his head, wincing as he did so. It felt like he had broken all the bones in his body. Of course all this left his head, as the sound of twisting and bending metal met his ears.
Turning Jake rolled his eyes as the form of a power suit pulled apart the shell of the burning ship. Staggering slightly as he pulled himself up Jake flinched as he felt someone hand tug at his shoulder. Pushing himself away Jake turned to find Neytiri standing next to him. "You're hurt Jake. Let me help you." Behind him Jake could hear Quaritch crawling out of the burning ship. With Neytiri's help Jake managed to get to his feet. His whole body was covered in cuts and gashes from the fall. As he leaned on neytiri he felt another pair of hands touch him, helping to hold Jake up. Peln had joined them, and now stood straight backed and proud watching Quaritch climb to his feet. But it was a faint rustling above him that made Jake look up. Hundreds maybe thousands of na'vi stood, or crouched in the trees above them. All them had their bows out and aimed at Quaritch, who by now had managed to right himself and now glared at Jake with pure hatred. "You think you're one of them? Is that is soldier? You've got one of their bodies and so you think you're one of them? You'll never truly be one of them. No matter how long to lead them no matter how many times you save them. Eventually they will come to resent and hate you. So why do you keep protecting them?"
Taking a deep breath Jake willed him most likely broken legs to move. Stepping forward Jake felt his legs tremble in pain only to find Neytiri and Peln move with him. "You are not welcome here Quaritch. Leave." For a long moment Jake seriously thought Quaritch would just leave the clearing. Then all at once Quaritch reached behind him and pulled out his power suits weapon. "YOU'LL NOT BEAT ME!" but instead of shooting at Jake Quaritch turned his rifle up and began firing at the na'vi in the trees. It was a futile act. The na'vi simple dodged the rounds and re aligned themselves in the trees arrows still aimed at Quaritch who dropped his weapon as it over heated. Pulling out his suits knife he shouted again. "BRING IT ON. I'LL KILL EVERY ONE OF YOU!" Jake expected the na'vi to kill Quaritch. What he did not expect was a loud roar to echo behind Quaritch. As Quaritch turned Jake saw what had made the roar. A large Hammerhead Titanothere had lowed ity's way through the wreckage of Quaritch's ship and now paced back and forth in a way that Jake recognized all to much. As though they knew what he was thinking Jake felt Peln and Neytiri grab him and pull him up into the trees with the other na'vi. As they did so Quaritch whipped around and saw that they had escaped. Quaritch let out a scream of fury, and spun his knife in his suit's hand.
It happened in the blink of an eye. One moment the Hammerhead Titanothere was pacing back and forth the next it was charging at Quaritch who let out a yell of and lunged at it. Bone met metal and Jake was forced to cover his ears as the Hammerhead Titanothere tore through Quaritch's suit's armor. To put it accurately the battle was a bit like a human trying to stop a freight train using only his face. The Titanothere stomped on the armor leaving massive dents in the front of the suit. Quaritch tried to counter slashing at the Titanothere with his knife. And even though it did connect it only got caught in the dense bone plate on the Titanothere's head. Jake could do nothing but watch as Quaritch was mauled by the Titanothere. Dust and smoke billowed up from Quaritch's suit and it was only when he was laying flat on the ground that the Titanothere stopped its assault and ran off back into the jungle. Moving away from Peln and Neytiri Jake carefully dropped down from the tree, and hesitantly made his way to Quaritch's suit. He didn't have to worry about it hurting him. hydraulic gel, seeped out of the suit meaning Quaritch wouldn't be able to move the suit's arms or legs. Climbing across the metal skin of the suit Jake peered through the shattered glass port into the cockpit.
Blood dripped from Quaritch's nose and mouth, the inside of the cockpit was covered with blood and even though Jake couldn't see them he knew Quaritch's arms and legs must have been crushed, by the Titanothere. Peeling the glass sheet back Jake made to pull Quaritch out of the suit. Bit surprisingly Quaritch still had some fight left in him. Quaritch's hand blurred forward and painfully grabbed Jake's injured shoulder. Wioth his other hand Quaritch leveled a pistol at Jake. Blood dripped from his hand and Jake could easily see dozens of bones sticking out of Quaritch's skin. Coughing blood Quaritch spoke. "You lose boy." Quaritch took aim and Jake closed his eyes. He fully expected to die. What he did not expect was to hear a soft, his pass by his left ear, and then feel Quaritch's grip die. Opening his eyes Jake looked at a now dead Quaritch, a na'vi arrow sticking out of his chest just where his heart was. Turning Jake looked. Only 1 na'vi had their bow drawn; His old teammate Alice. She hung upside-down from a branch using her knees to hold her in place. Behind her Jake saw Eric who spoke. "It's over Jake. The base is ours. We've won."
Jake barely registered the cheer that went out around the clearing. Only one thing registered in his mind. With the battle done they had to see to the dead. But only one specific death meant anything to him at that moment.
LATER
Jake stood in front of a large gathering of wood. Behind him he could hear Alice, and tom bring James's body. After a moment they laid him on the pile of wood. As they turned to leave tom handed Jake a small devise. It was a thermo grenade. Pulling the pin Jake shook the grenade and then tossed it onto the pile of wood. A moment later the wood was engulfed in flames. Jake watched as flames licked at the wood sending loud cracks and bangs through the air. Turning Jake couldn't help but look at his old team. Tom sat on a small tree stump. And while he did have his knife out Jake could easily see how upset he was. Not far away Alice sat on the ground; head bowed and praying. Next to her Eric knelt; hand on her shoulder. After a moment Alice looked up and Eric pulled her into a hug. Past his team Jake cold easily make out the forms of a dozen or so na'vi watching the ceremony. Sighing Jake spoke. "Take a good long look." He gestured to the fire behind him. "This is our reward. We chose to side with the na'vi it was the right choice. But that wont change what we'll get when we die. We came from the fires of conflict. And it's to those fires that we'll return."
Night time covered Pandora. Like a blanket of darkness. All around him Jake could hear the sounds of celebrating. The na'vi had won. And the sky people would be leaving tomorrow at sun rise. But try as he might Jake couldn't celebrate. He had failed. A mission only succeeded when everyone made it out alive. Of course all things considered the mission was a miracle. A few hundred na'vi had joined in the assault on the base, and a few around 6,000 had stayed at the hometree to guard it, incase the mission had failed. Out of maybe 6,700 na'vi; they had only lost 13. And those 13 were being treaded like heroes. But try as he might Jake couldn't help but wish someone else could have taken James's place. It was horrible to think but he wished it with all his heart. Behind him a voice spoke. "Well mister sully. It seems our deal is complete." Turning Jake found himself no longer alone in the clearing. Fog had moved in creating a shimmering dome isolating the clearing from the outside world. Behind him ewya smiled. "You kept your end of the bargain so I'll keep mine. You may live." Pausing for a moment ewya nodded at the burn remains of James's funeral pier. He sacrificed the most. Seems like a fair trade." Ewya turned to level. "A fair trade?" ewya stopped and turned. Jake was on his feet staring at her.
"You think this was fair? You think he deserved to die?" ewya took a step backward god or not she could still be hurt and Jake looked as though he was seriously considering killing her. "Calm down mister sully I on-" "you go to hell." Silence met that. For a moment no one spoke, then "exactly what I was thinking Jake." Both ewya and Jake turned. Someone else had joined them. Another na'vi but this na'vi was VERY different. Unlike the others which had blue skin, this na'vi had jet black skin, his eyes shown the evil color of blood, and his hands resembled claws more than anything else. He spoke. "You see ewya just because you're letting him live doesn't mean he'll be grateful. In fact I thin he's seriously thinking about attacking you right now." Jake looked from ewya to the strange na'vi. "Who are you?' the na'vi shrugged. "I have a lot of names. Most call me Grum. It's good to see you again Jake." Jake shook his head, "again?" Grum nodded. "Don't tell me you haven't wondered. If ewya killed you then why are you still alive? Let me guess she gave you the whole 'you're a drop of ink in a book' metaphor right?" Jake nodded. Grum sighed. "Ewya just because you created the na'vi does not mean you're all powerful. I have just as much power as you do. As for you Jake. I'm the reason you're still alive."
Stopping for a moment Grum pulled a small fruit off of a branch and bit into it. Jake watched as the fruit's juices ran down Grum's face. After swallowing the bite Grum continued. "You see Jake. While ewya created a virus to kill you, I created a virus to learn about you. And when ewya died I transplanted that virus into the body of a na'vi that I created. That was ewya couldn't manipulate you but you would still be yourself." Jake nodded slowly "don't think I'm not grateful but still….. who are you?" Grum smiled, showing rows of white pointed teeth. "Think of it like this Jake. Ewya represents Pandora's nature god. Kind of like Mother Nature. And I represent the move forward, or progress. You see Jake. By becoming head of the clan you've opened the door for progress to begin. Not that it guaranteed mind you. Progress can't start unless it's allowed to. But progress does help a society. Humans are an example of that. Up until the discovery of Pandora wasn't your planet at war with itself. Then when Pandora was found everyone stopped fighting and started researching and exploring. Of course sacrifices come with progress. Mostly old traditions and stuff like that. But hey progress is progress. But now you're at a cross road Jake. How will you go? Will you allow progress to appear, and change the na'vi way of life, for better or for worse. Or will you stick with the traditional way of doing things and risk plunging the planet into war?" Jake had been about to answer when a flash of light blinded him. As the flash dimmed Jake looked around. Both ewya and Grum were gone. He was alone in the clearing with James's funeral pier.
EPILOG
6 months after the battle Neytiri would give birth to a healthy daughter. Both Jake and Neytiri agreed on the name Pira.
Eric and Alice would get married about 1 year after the battle. And shortly after that they would reveal that they to were about to have a son. They would call him James.
After a bit of research grace discovered that all Avatars showed the same level of neural degradation. All avatars were then given a choice, to stay on Pandora and permanently become of na'vi; or return to earth and swear to never return. For the most part the group stayed.
6 months after the great battle a new branch of warriors would be formed by the na'vi. This new branch would call itself the raven warrior in honor of the 5 greatest warriors Pandora had ever seen. Each warrior was trained to not only use na'vi weapons but human as well.
For the most part Pandora has not changed. With the human base left intact many na'vi began to learn about human culture. And with this knowledge came a great burden. A burden to avoid the mistakes of the past, and move forward into a greater and more beautiful future.
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AN: WELL FOLKS CHAPTER 16 IS DONE, AND SO IS THIS STORY. WOOOOOO! REVIEWS ARE WANTED AND NEEDED.
I HAVE TO SAY I THINK THIS STORY IS MY BEST ONE YET. AND THERE IS A 23% CHANCE THAT THIS COULD BE MY LAST STORY. LET ME EXPLAIN.
I HAVE A TUMOR. AND IN A FEW WEEKS I'M GOING IN TO HAVE SURGERY AND TRY TO GET IT REMOVED. I HAVE A 23% CHANCE THAT IT WILL FAIL AND I WONT SURVIVE THE OPERATION.
IF THAT HAPPENES I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THANK YOU ALL FOR READING AND ENJOYING MY STORY. I'VE ENJOYED YOUR REVIEWS.
OH. A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE BEEN ASKING ME IF I'M GOING TO DO A SEQUAL. THE ANSWER IS NO. I DON'T THINK I'D BE ABLE TO MAKE A BETTER STORY. SORRY.
ONE FINAL SHOUT OUT TO saingirl101. THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR WORK IN WRITING THE LEMONS. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!
SEE YOU AL LATER (HOPEFULLY)
BYE