This story is written for entertainment purposes only. All copyrights belong to their respective owners.

Keep in mind that English is not my first language and so I do not claim to have corrected every mistake yet. As the story keeps getting bigger, it is possible that inconsistencies may appear. If they do, let me know and I will correct them.

Chapter 19: Nemesis

John awoke to find himself unable to move. He had been strapped to a chair. There was no sign of Mark Dodgson anywhere. While his head still hurt, John looked around for something he could use to free himself. It seemed that Mark had taken the necessary measures to prevent that from happening however, as John and the chair were located in one of the storage areas of the outpost. There was nothing in the room other than sealed boxes. Unable to find a way to escape, John anxiously awaited his fate.

Having nothing else to do with his time, he began to wonder how this could have happened. Just when he finally had someone protecting him, his former superior shows up. John couldn't figure out how Mark could have gotten past Wukan and the other Na'vi unnoticed. But he had succeeded, which would mean that they had probably been defeated somehow. John recalled that he had last seen his former superior on a video feed from one of the other outposts. There, Mark had seemingly been in discussion with one of MT-NET's machines. It was obvious that he was now working for them. John also recalled something else, which Joseph had told him when they had first met. Joseph had approached John because, as a human, he possessed critical information about the operations on Pandora, which MT-NET was interested in. Joseph had also mentioned that MT-NET had already captured a human, but he hadn't specified if this person was Mark, though this seemed to be highly likely. The reason that Joseph had wanted John to join him was that both sides would then have a human to provide missing information.

Perhaps that was the reason why Mark was here now. He had likely been sent by MT-NET to capture him. Even though there seemed to be no machines with him, they had probably just remained outside. John had had a feeling that the machines were quite a long distance away from his outpost, since Ney'ite had first told him about them. He had been foolish to believe it would stay like that forever. Even though Joseph had known he had been here all by himself, he had done nothing to protect him. But then again, what could Joseph have done? Even a small machine army would have easily defeated him. Maybe Joseph thought it would be best for the two of them to remain separated, so that if one of them was found, the other would still remain. Whatever his reasoning behind the decision not to protect John had been, it seemed that John would no longer to able to assist him.

Finally, the door to the room opened and a red faced Mark stepped inside. John noticed that there was something strange about him. He seemed to be all pumped up, but he moved very calmly. Mark walked slowly across the room and kept a steady eye on him. He seemed to have a permanently throbbing vein on his forehead. When he started speaking, the first thing the said was that he would have never taken John for a tree hugger. His second remark was that he had always had a feeling that John was a traitor. John now managed to find the words to ask what his captor wanted and how he had gotten past the Na'vi outside. Mark suggested that they leave the past be and make a new start. He pointed out that John's situation was a dead end and that if he didn't do anything soon, he'd end up just like the RDA. However, he could now choose to change that fate. All he had to do was acknowledge the supreme intelligence MT-NET as his new lord and master.

John did not say anything at first. Then, he dared to ask why anyone would see that as something better than dying. To him, it didn't seem like much of a choice. Mark told him that he was wrong about that. He explained that John didn't know MT-NET the way he now did. John probably only knew about MT-NET being an artificial intelligence sent to Pandora to succeed where the RDA had failed. But there was more to it than that. According to Mark, MT-NET was becoming more powerful in ways John couldn't imagine. It was becoming more than just a super computer; it was becoming a physical god. John didn't know what to say to this. Mark could see that John was a bit confused. He continued by telling him about what would happen to him if he were to choose for MT-NET. First of all, he would definitely not be a prisoner. He would be free to move around and do what he wanted, but he would also have to do what MT-NET commanded. However, this wasn't going to be a one-sided deal in which he would only give and MT-NET would only take. He would be allowed to choose a reward for his services. This reward could be anything he wanted. Mark admitted that when he was offered this deal, he couldn't make up his mind about what he wanted. At first he thought about getting even with the Na'vi who were responsible for the loss of his eye. But then MT-NET made a different suggestion. It promised to make him immortal, so that he could serve forever and live to witness the destruction of the ones who took his eye and killed his people. John looked at him in disbelief. Mark added that this was only the beginning of MT-NET's powers.

It was becoming clear to John that this Mark was vastly different compared to the man he used to know. The Mark he knew, had only believed in what he could see. The super computer seemed to have driven him insane, making him believe things that he would normally have found foolish and silly. It had also made him quite overly dramatic. Mark seemingly had no clue that MT-NET was just making false promises in order to make him do whatever it wanted. It was likely that the super computer would just discard him like a piece of trash, once he had served his purpose. John didn't dare to say this out loud, as he was afraid it would make Mark lose his temper. Instead, he asked why he seemed to be so full of adrenaline and yet so calm. Mark proudly admitted that this was merely a side effect of the substance that MT-NET was giving him in order to prepare his body for his immortality.

However, Mark noted that they were straying from the actual subject of this conversation. He revealed that the reason MT-NET wanted John, was because of his unique situation. John was able to effectively infiltrate the indigenous population, as he had the last known functioning Avatar on the planet. On Pandora, this technology had been lost when the remnants of the RDA had left. If it weren't for the fact that the Na'vi were not as easily fooled as humans, MT-NET would probably have made a machine that looked like a Na'vi. Such a machine was simply not going to be very effective in this case. On top of that, John had already established good relations with at least one clan. If he were to join forces with MT-NET, his task would be to continue gaining their trust, and the trust of other clans, until the moment was right to strike. Mark ended his monologue by asking what John's answer was going to be. For a moment, there was a silence. As always, John did not want to get involved, but he realized he had brought this on himself. Mark was right about his unique position; it had attracted the attention of MT-NET. John knew that if he declined the offer, it wouldn't end well for him. But if he accepted, he knew he wouldn't be able to live with himself. Before he had come to know the Na'vi, he would have probably accepted the offer out of fear. Now, he just couldn't bring himself to betray them. They were his people now and their village was his new home. Ney'ite, Wukan and Hatuyo were the kindest people he had ever known. Their faces kept flashing in front of his eyes as he made his final decision.

While John remained silent, Mark continued praising MT-NET by saying that it wouldn't be long before MT-NET would be in complete control of Pandora. And when it had conquered this world, it would venture out into space to continue the conquest. Earth was next on the list. No-one would be able to oppose this new order. Mark told John to imagine how it would be, working for the most powerful being in the universe, watching civilizations rise and fall and living until the end of time. Suddenly, he was interrupted by John, who shouted out loud that he would never join that crazy, power-hungry, and insensible machine. But unlike John expected, Mark did not shout back to him. That same ugly grin had now reappeared on his face. Mark revealed he had had a feeling from the start that John wouldn't betray his new tree hugging friends. He also revealed that he wasn't going to force him to do anything, because if John didn't accept MT-NET as his new master, there was no way he could be trusted. MT-NET had already taken into account that there was a reasonable chance that he wouldn't cooperate. In fact, he and his Avatar were not even crucial for MT-NET's plans of conquest. Without him, the only thing that was going to be different was that it would take a little longer.

He concluded by saying that if John didn't cooperate, he was allowed to kill him. Mark admitted he had waited for this opportunity for a very long time. John nervously attempted to make him reconsider by telling him that MT-NET could still use him for information. However, according to Mark, it was too late for that. He himself had already told MT-NET everything it needed to know about Pandora and the history of the RDA. John had become expendable in this area. Mark now started wondering how he was going to execute him. After a few seconds he decided he was going to use a hammer. When he turned around and walked back to the door, he passed the window. At that instant, the window shattered, and an arrow pierced him and pinned him to the ground. Alarms were activated as the Pandoran atmosphere entered the compound. John quickly drew a few breaths of air, and took one last deep one. Just when he started wondering if this was going to be his end, a Na'vi threw himself through the window. To his relief, it was Wukan. He didn't have to tell him that he needed an exopack immediately. Wukan seemed to know what to look for and quickly found the sealed case next to the door, which contained one. He smashed the case open, took the exopack and returned to give it to John. With his remaining breath, John hastily told Wukan to cut his arms loose. Wukan took out his dagger and did so, allowing John to put the mask on his face and seal it properly.

After a few breaths, John calmed down and thanked Wukan for his help. Wukan pointed out that he had merely returned the favor and would gladly continue to do so. After he had completely freed John from the chair, John asked how Mark managed to get past him. Wukan did not know how. He hadn't seen anybody approaching from the outside. Only after he had peered through the window from afar, and had seen two humans in the building, did he know that something wasn't right. He had taken the first opportunity to strike. John praised his alertness and looked over at the body of Mark. But there was one problem: there was no longer a body lying on the ground. There was only a trail of blood, which led into the next room. Even Wukan was surprised. Normally, a shot like that would have done the job for sure. For a second, John thought to himself that maybe Mark had indeed come close to gaining immortality, but then quickly refuted the idea as being ridiculous.

After John had sealed the door to the storage area, he initialized the sequence for refilling the entire compound with Earth atmosphere. Then, armed with a knife, he followed the trail. The interior of the building was too cramped for Wukan and so John had chosen to do this himself. The trail led him to the basement, where it went into a corridor, of which the entrance door was now closed. John knew that behind this door, there was supposed to be an underground tunnel, which surfaced somewhere far away from the outpost. But as far as he knew, it had collapsed years ago, even before the defeat of the RDA. Apparently, that wasn't the case. Instead of opening the door to see if Mark was behind it, John decided to weld it shut, so that nothing could ever come through it again. Finally, he could now resume his normal day routine…