Hey everyone and welcome back to chapter 2! I hope you guys enjoyed the new beginning and so I bring you this new chapter.

"Talking."

"Na'vi talking."

"Animal talking"

~oOo~

They told me that you wouldn't dream but I did. It's been the same dream since I found out I was heading to Pandora. I would get the same dream at least three times a week, maybe even more. Each time I could see myself running…

Running freely…I could feel a beating, almost like a heartbeat, under my feet and voices in my ears but they didn't hurt. They're muffled and there was so many as I ran. They blended together and they always got louder and louder...

However, this time…it's different. When I'm running, I'm not in my human body. I'm in a different one and I was running faster than normal. The trees blur past me as I ran. I've never felt so alive. The heartbeat pounds each time my foot hits the ground. Then when I come to a cliff… I jump off and see the land below me and I couldn't help but smile. The land is lush with colors and the calls of animals roar in my ears. As I look down, I see…

I wake up.

Each time, in that dream, in that same place, I wake up. I can't help it but I just can't see the end of the dream or if it even was the end. However, this time, when I woke up I wasn't in my soft, warm bed at home. I was in my case, heading to Pandora when my case started to open…

"Have a nice nap?" I looked up to see a doctor unhooking me from my case, taking off the monitors.

"Feels like I got hit by a car." I muttered and the doctor chuckled. He shook his head and floated away.

"You've been in cryo for five years, nine months and 22 days. You will be hungry. You will be weak." A doctor called but the only thing I could say was; "now you tell me." Once I was free, I floated over to my locker and put on my beanie hat. That way, people won't see my white hair. I always felt self-conscious about it and I always hid it when I was out shopping. People give me looks, as if I'm a freak. But I'm not. I'm like any other but I only look different. That's the thing with humans, the hate people who are different. They can't get over looks to see into the personality of a person. To truly see who they are.

As I floated, I thought I saw a ghost. It was Tom, floating right by me…but Tom was dead…no, it wasn't Tom. It was Jake, his brother. What was he doing here? I shook it off and headed to where everyone else was. They told us where they would be putting us and to explain what's been happening. Then they allowed us to change into clothes we brought with us before they loaded us into transport ships, along with a some cargo for the scientists but I really didn't mind. As I looked for a seat, I noticed a certain someone with a free seat next to him.

"Mind of I sit here?" I asked him. He looked up and gave me a weird look but gestured to the seat next to him. "It's the eyes isn't?"

"They're white. Most people with white eyes are blind. I'm guessing you can see?" Jake asked and I chuckled.

"I was born with them. My father carried the genes but it's the women who actually show the trait. I don't mind but the stares get on my nerves sometimes." I told him. Ever since I was little, people give me this look. A look of sympathy or the look of disgusted. But I love the way I look because it's me. I'm unique.

"Sorry. Kind of new to this sort of thing. I'm Jake by the way, Jake Sully." He extended his hand and I gave it a firm handshake.

"Celene Augustine. I knew your brother Jake, he talked a lot about you." I said giving him a small smile.

"Nothing bad I hope." He joked as the ship jerked and headed for Pandora.

"No, nothing like that. Still, why are you here? Not to be rude but you seem more military then brains." I said.

"Two men asked me if I wanted to take over Tommy's place. They didn't give me all the details but I said yes to it. I couldn't stand earth anymore." Jake said. He really doesn't know what he's getting into. Let's just hope he's ready for it.

"Don't worry. I'm in the same section as your brother. Stick close and you won't have to worry about anything…except my mother. When it comes to her work, she's gets pretty protective." I told him. We were like that until we landed. Talking about the good old days when earth was greener and a sign for hope and liberty. Now….now it's worth nothing to some.

I told Jake about Tom and his work. Jake smiled and I would tell he was being drawn back to good memories. Good times with family; he's lucky he has them. Then Jake told me of how he lost his legs. I felt saddened but he told me it was nothing to worry over. He's strong; I could feel it.

"Exo-packs on! Let's go! Exo-packs on!" shouted the supervisor. Jake and I grabbed our packs and placed them on quickly. "Remember people, you lose that mask your on unconscious in 20 seconds, you're dead in four minutes! Let nobody be dead today! It looks very bad on my report." He said. I looked over at Jake and we both shook our heads. Geeze, how many idiots didn't put their mask on?

When we felt the ship land, the supervisor spoke again, "Harnesses off! Get your packs!" He shouted. I grabbed my pack but still sat next to Jake. There was no way I'm going off without him. "When that ramp comes down, go directly into the base. Do not stop!" Then the ramp came down, "Go directly inside. Wait for my mark." You could actually see the air difference when the door opened, "Go, go, go, go! Get out of here!" everyone then moved in a straight line as they left. I stood up and waited for Jake. When I went to grab his back, he shook his head and said he got it. I nodded and waited, "Let's go special case and Miss Scientist! Do not make me wait for you!" I really wanted to knee that man so hard, he will feel it for week; but starting on bad terms is a bad move.

On our way towards the base, a walker almost squished us and we had to wait for this huge truck to pass us with arrows stuck in the tires. I noticed that a few guns-for-hire were waiting for us as we made our way towards the door and with my hearing increased over the years, so I could make out what they were saying.

"Check this out. Meals on wheels." One said and I cringed. They were talking about Jake.

"Now, that is just wrong….however the babe is just all kinds of wrong. Get a load of that body." The bald man said and it made feel shiver from his words. Great, another asshole who needs to learn his place. As we walked past I noticed a small weed plant by their feet. I whispered a favor and the plant ended up tripping the guns-for-hire once we pasted them. "Thank you." I whispered and I heard a small whisper back to me. I've practiced my communication with plants for years, learning to get their attention and better side if I needed a favor. With trees, they have a similar eye-for-an-eye way but all they want in return from me is a little attention and order. Make people respect them so to speak.

When we were inside, heading to the mess, I had to make note of how huge the base was. I've seen military bases before but this was crazy. When we arrived I noticed we were the last to sit down so we sat in the back, listening to Scar-face, as I like to call him, talk about Pandora.

"If there is a hell, you might want to go there for some R&R, after a tour on Pandora. Out there, beyond that fence, every living thing that crawls, flies, or squats in the mud wants to kill you and eat your for jujubes." Said scar-face. I leaned over to Jake and whispered that it was untrue. "We have an indigenous population of humanoids called the Na'vi. They're fond of arrows dipped in a neurotoxin that will start your heart in one minute. And they have bones reinforced with a naturally occurring carbon fiber. They are very hard to kill." I winced at the word kill. Killing wasn't in my dictionary. "As head of security, it is my job to keep you alive. I will not succeed. Not with all of you. If you wish to survive, you need to cultivate a strong mental attitude. You've got to obey the rules, Pandora rules. Rule number one…" The man continued to ramble off rules.

"There's nothing like an old-school safety brief to put your mind at ease." Jake whispered in my ear. I smiled at his comment. There's always that one person who makes you think that things are actually ok but in reality, all you have to do is step outside to see that it's not. Problem is your seeing with your eyes, not someone else's. Two sides of a story, two sides of a coin, and ending and a beginning. There will always be options.

~oOo~

When we were dismissed, we headed down one of the halls, trying to figure out where to go. I was pushing Jake down the hallways, giving his arms a chance to rest as we tried to find where the science lab was. I told Jake that my mom would possibly be there since its been her life's work.

"What do you think of Scar-face?" I asked Jake and he chuckled.

"Don't worry about him. He may look tough but you know deep, deep, deep down, he's an overgrown teddy bear." Jake said with a bright smile. I laughed and Jake joined in. It felt good to laugh with someone for once.

"Jake!" We turned to see Norm running towards us, "Your Jake, right? Tom's brother. Wow! You look just like him. Sorry, I'm Norm. Spellman. I went through avatar training with him." Norm said and shook Jake's hand.

"And what am I? Chopped liver?" I asked. Norm turned and gave me a smile.

"No, just army chow." Jake said and I slapped his arm before giving Norm a hug.

"It's good to see you Norm, how was your sleep?" I asked.

"I felt like I was back in that bar when we were graduating. Still don't know how you could hold your liquor like that." He said and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I never reveal my secrets. I am a master, after all!" Norm laughed and we continued back down the hall. I asked Norm where the Bio-lab was and he said he knew the way so we followed him, lightly talking on our way there.

We walked down a few corridors until we found it. Inside, scientists were working and things were busy as usual. Jake and Norm were impressed but I have already seen a lab like this before. Mom took me to work with her a couple of times so I could see what I will be doing when I get older. I loved it.

"We're going to spend a lot of time up here." Norm snapped me out of it. "Link…this is the Link room. This is where we're connected to our avatars." Out of the corner of my eye I see three tanks being unloaded. I poked Jake in the shoulder and pointed to them. He rolled over to them with me behind him.

"Damn, they got big." Jake said. One of the scientists, who was checking the tank, turned around.

"Max?" I asked. The man smiled and pulled me into a hug.

"Celene! God it's great to see you! You got so big." Max said and let me go.

"So did they." I answered, point to the avatars.

"Yeah, they fully mature on the flight out. So the proprioception sims seem to work really well." Norm said.

"Yeah, they got great muscle tone. It'll take us a few hours to get them decanted, but you guys can take them out tomorrow." Max said and pointed to one of tanks, "There's your Celene." I followed his finger to the last tank in the row.

My avatar looked exactly like me, in almost every way. Her skin was a lightest pale blue unlike the pictures I've seen. Her body also seemed to have more curves than a rectangle. Her hair was the same pure white as mine but besides the braid, her hair went to the shoulders loosely. She seemed so peaceful sleeping in the tank.

"Max, she's so beautiful!" I told him.

"Hey, they're your genes. I'm surprised she hasn't grown plants or done anything else." Max was the only one who knew my secret besides my grandma. My mom doesn't even know. My grandma made sure she never knew. I looked over at Norm and Jake who gave us weird looks.

"Inside joke from when I was a kid. I have sort of a green thumb when it comes to planting." I jabbed Max in the side. The boys looked at each other and continued to look at their avatars. That was close. If anyone figured out I had strange abilities, I'll be put on a table and be tested.

God, just thinking about it makes my skin crawl.

"I can't believe I'm here, on Pandora! Mom always dreamed that I would come here and work side by side with her. Still, I can't believe it! Pandora is the most beautiful place I've seen. The pictures don't even compare to the real thing." I look up at Jake, Norm, and Max. Even though Tom's not here, Jake is. I can feel Tom's energy through Jake's actions. They look so much like each other but their different in every way possible. Norm is still Norm, goofy as all ways. Max, I'm glad to see. I can't wait to see mom. I haven't seen a good look at her in years…not since grandma died. I looked up when someone called my name. Max was calling me over. "That's all for today. See ya, people." I hit the off switch and walked over to everyone else.

"Ready to see your mom?" Max asked. I nodded and followed him, along with Jake and Norm. Once we walked through the door, I saw what was gonna be home for the next few years. It's all bright and shiny to me, compared to others. When a woman said that drivers were coming out of link, my heart started to beat really fast. What is she gonna say? Would she smile? Give me attitude? Give me a lecture like when I was little about making people respect me even though I have abnormal genes.

"Who's got my goddamn cigarette? Guy's! What's wrong with this picture?" Her voice shouted to the others. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Grace Augustine is a legend." Norm said, "She's the head of the avatar program." He told Jake.

"And my mother." I chimed in.

"She wrote the book, I mean, literally wrote the book on Pandoran botany." He said, which I could see, Jake really didn't care.

"Well, that's 'cause she likes plants better than people." Max said and I gave his arm a slap, "It's true!"

"No it isn't and you know those things will kill you!" I called to her. I could tell she rolled her eyes by the way her head moved before she turned around. When she did….I could tell she is surprised since I'm walking towards her.

"Celene?" Tears formed in her eyes she was spoke, looking me over.

"Hey mom, it's been a long time hasn't?" I asked her. She dropped her cigarette and ran over to me. Her arms wrapped around and gave me the biggest hug you could possible think a woman her age could give.

"You've gotten so big! What are you doing all the way out here?" she asked pulling away with a smile.

"I'm an avatar driver mom. Remember? You got that idea stuck in my head since I was ten." I told her.

She laughed, "Of course I do. You have to tell me all about it, when we get a chance."

"Grace," Max chimed in, "I'd like you to met Norm Spellman and Jake Sully." Mom let me go and faced the two Avatar drivers.

"Norm. I heard good things about you. How's you Na'vi?" my mom asked him, placing her hands behind her back.

"May the All Mother smile upon your greeting." Norm said in Na'vi.

"Not bad. You sound a little formal." Mom answered.

"I've studied for five years, unlike your daughter, she studied for eight years, but there is still so much to learn." Norm said with a smile.

"Eight years?" Mom asked, turning her head towards me?

"What can I say? I learned from the best. Besides, I've had a lot of free time on my hands." I told her.

"Grace? This is Jake Sully." Max interrupted.

"Ma'am." Jake held out his arm to shake her hand.

"Yeah, yeah. I know who you are, I don't need you. I need your brother. You know, the PhD who trained three years for this mission?"

"He's dead," Jake said coldly, "I know it's a big inconvenience for everyone."

"How much lab training had you had?" Oh, boy.

"I dissected a frog once." It's high school, all over again.

"You see? You see. I mean, they're just pissing on us without even a courtesy of calling it rain." My mom turned to leave, "I'm going to Selfridge."

"No, Grace, I don't think that's such a good idea."

"No, man, this is such bullshit! I'm gonna kick his corporate butt." My mom left through the door.

"Don't let it get you down, when her work is evolved, she get's defensive. Come back tomorrow and show her you mean business being here." I said to Jake and gave Max a quick smile before I left to follow my mom.

By the time I caught up to my mom, we were half way to where ever she was going. Her eyes told me she was hell-bent on speaking her mind and she didn't care if it was to her boss or not. He pissed her off and she's gonna give him a piece of her mind. The inside of the control room was like a bee's hive. Everything and everyone moving at the same time. That's when I noticed a man in a yellow button up shirt and gray dress pants. He was talking to one of the personal about his golf club.

"Parker, you know, I used to think it was benign neglect, but now I can see that you're intentionally screwing me." My mom spoke to him.

"Grace, you know, I enjoy our little talks." He took a swing of his club and when the ball was close to the cup, my mom pushed it out of the way.

"Oops." She said and Parker looked up at her. "I need a researcher, like my kid, not some jar-head dropout." I winced when she spoke about Jake.

"Well, actually, I thought we got pretty lucky with him." He said, walking to the center of the the command center where a huge map device was placed.

"Lucky?"

"Yeah." He answered.

"How is this in any way lucky?" My mom asked.

"Lucky your guy had a twin brother, and lucky that brother isn't some oral hygienic or something. A marine we can use." Parker told her, "I'm assigning him to your team as security escort."

"The last thing I need is another trigger happy moron out there!" Trigger-happy? Man, my mom got it hard here.

"Look, look, you're supposed to be winning the hearts and the mind of the natives. Isn't that the point of your puppet show? If you look like them and you talk like them, then they'll start trusting us." Parker said doing something with the controls.

"Mom, is that true?" I asked, shocked by Parker's words.

"No it isn't. I do this to learn, not to make money." She hissed at Parker.

"Anyway, we build them a school, we teach them English, but after what, how many years? Relations with the indigenous are only getting worse." Parker stopped fiddling with the map and looked at my mom.

"Yeah, that tends to happen when you use machine guns on them." I stepped in. Parker turned to face me and gave me a once over, his eyes taking way too long on my legs and chest area.

"And you are?"

"Celene Augustine. I'm an avatar driver." I told him.

"Your kid?" He asked my mom.

"Yep, she's just like me."

"Right, both of you, come here." He led us to his office where he picked up a small rock, "This is why we're here. Unobtanium. Because this little gray rock sells for 20 million a kilo. That's the only reason. It's what pays for the whole party. It's what pays for your science. Comprendo?"

"Why don't you go somewhere else and stop bothering and killing the life here like we did on earth?" I hissed at him.

"Because, this is the only thing we're actually able to convert to energy. Now, those savages are threatening our whole operation, we're on the brink of war, and you're supposed to be finding a diplomatic solution. So use what you got, meaning your team and your kid here, and get me some results." Parker said and sat back on his chair. Mom grabbed my arm and pulled me with her as she left. Once we were out of there my mom quietly walked us back to her quarters.

Her room wasn't big but it wasn't small. There was a living place, two bedrooms, and a private bathroom with a small kitchen area. She shut the door behind her and sat down on the couch. She put her face in her hands and took a deep breath.

"Celene, what Parker said was a lie. I do what I do because I want to learn more about them. Parker and the other jar-heads here only care for money. All I told the Navi was the truth." My mom told me. I placed my bags down and sat next to her.

"I knew he was lying. My mom would never do that to anyone. You care too much to hurt them. That's why I'm here, to learn as well and show them that we're here to learn not to harm." I told her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"How did I end up with a daughter like you?" She said and wrapped me in her arms.

"You had me, that's how." I told her. She laughed and started to ask me questions about earth and how I was the past years. We just sat like that for hours, just talking. I told her about grandma and how my studies went. She was sad when I told her when her mother died but she just hugged me closer and whispered sorry to me. I told there was no need and she just replied with more questions.

Somehow, I ended falling asleep on the couch. My mom covered me with a blanket and turned off the lights. My bag still remained next to the couch, where I left it, and my mom got ready for bed too. It's been a long day and now that I'm here, maybe she'll get a good night's rest. I hope coming here will lighten my mom's mood. I only want to make her happy…

~oOo~

Changed a few things around. Hope you guys like it!