Summary :

Nova, his clones, his human allies, accompanied by the prisoner Michaela are about to enter the Core. There isn't much time left to stop them.

The Way of the Angel

Chapter 25, The Core

a) Order 66:

Guided by Nova, the group made up of Mac Carthy, Gabriella, five clone soldiers as well as a dozen humans, descended into the trench which was to lead to the Core of Crystal City. Chained up, I also followed the group wondering what they were going to have in store for me.

But McCarthy's radio crackled and he had to answer.

- What ?

- We are attacked by a mob of natives on flying critters. They are hundreds, maybe thousands.

- Use the gas!

- Impossible Colonel, it's too windy today outside! And they attack the rocket hull from above, bypassing the hangar. They throw flaming liquid in the holes, they will burn the rocket! We are not numerous enough to repel them.

The group emerged from the trench. And Mac Carthy gathered the ten clones who guarded the site plus about fifteen other armed humans.

A discussion took place between Nova and McCarthy:

- Colonel, it's not reasonable, we have 16 clones and 25 humans. We can't defeat all these savages, we're going to be slaughtered. We have to lock ourselves underground. Then the Washington will come and atomize them and get us back.

- You forget that by the time it intervenes and can land we will be dead, we humans. We don't have enough CO2 filter reserve!

- You risk jeopardizing the mission?

- Nova, I must be with you to open the Core. So we'll do it together or we won't!

- It's true…

I saw Nova make a weird sign with his left hand.

And suddenly a gunfight broke out. And I threw myself on the ground instinctively.

When silence returned, I saw with horror that all the humans had been slaughtered. In an instant the clone troopers had turned on their master. McCarthy had been shot directly by Nova.

He opened his arms and proclaimed:

"My daughters, come to me! These stupid humans wanted to seize our inheritance! This heritage is ours and will remain so! We will take possession of the Core and rebuild our world! And you will mate with me to revive our glorious race! You will be my queens!"

And all the clones, including Gabriella, but except me answered in heart:

"Yes beautiful and powerful Master Nova, we are all yours!"

I was shocked at what had happened but not really surprised. It was so obvious that Nova would use the force of love to tear these clones out of their conditioning. I understood better now why he was worried about me resisting him. This could have jeopardized his plans.

b) Toruk Makto:

But Nova did not sit idle for long. He ordered :

"My daughters, the slaves could give us clues. Group them together, then shoot them all with machine gun!"

He had ordered to kill all the drugged slaves who were going to be massacred without reacting. Among them Na'vis that I personally knew as Ratlaw.

- Nova, no! You are a monster! They are people, not things! People of your race!

- No Michaela, they are savages who will turn against us once their drugs run out. Stop thinking with your heart!

But a clone interrupted the conversation:

- Master, a column of savages on flying creatures is heading towards us!

- Immediate withdrawal into the trench! We will take refuge in the underground and blow up the entrance. Gabriella and Trudy take Michaela! She comes with us.

And I was dragged into the trench. We entered the gallery. Some of the clones posted themselves to defend the entrance while the others laid explosive charges.

It took a moment and the Na'vi warriors landed at the entrance to the trench. There were dozens, maybe two hundred Ikrans and a much bigger, orange and red volatile that carried four warriors.

- Toruk Makto says Nova!

- Knight of the Last Shadow was I repeating? - Because that meant that in Na'vi.

- Yes my dear. The tamer of this red dragon acquires such prestige that he can unite the clans to face a peril. We killed several of them in our wars against Eywa in the past. We will have to start over.

- Like what having atomized the planet will not have been so effective as that.

- The critter had to be in a shaded area, it was planned. Our work dragged on and the neural connectors had time to regenerate. Eywa will take longer to recover.

Either way, once we're in the Core, we'll have nothing to fear.

The charges were not yet ready and warriors ventured into the trench. The clones unleashed a murderous fire and the warriors fell like dominoes. The survivors retreated.

Nova grew impatient:

- But what the fuck! It's too long daughters! They will launch flaming liquids!

- Sorry Master. It will be ready soon.

A richly dressed warrior could be seen in the distance giving orders. Despite his adornments and paintings, I thought I recognized his weird skin…

A shiver comes over me… What if it was Yrr!

Nova must have realized this too and spoke to me:

"Looks like he's your boyfriend. With the weapons of the Core, I will take pleasure in roasting him with all his companions!"

I responded with a hissing. A gesture of instinctive aggression that materialized my helplessness more than anything else.

"Master, we are ready!" one of the clones announced.

We all stepped back deeper into the gallery.

"Fire!"

And the charges exploded causing the ceiling of the gallery to fall. Now access was cut off and it would take days to clear it.

c) The Core:

After the dust settled, we all went deep into the gallery. It was totally dark and you had to use lamps to see a few things in it.

Then we reached a very large well that seemed bottomless. A waterfall flowed down its center. To descend we had to follow a spiral ramp that ran along the cylindrical wall of the well. The railing had collapsed in several places which was not very reassuring.

The descent was endless. We sometimes met slaves, males, females, children, who without instructions remained inactive. Nova grabbed them and threw them into the well. The sound of the waterfall masked their screams but it was hard to bear. I recited a prayer to Eywa and to God for each victim… I couldn't do much else.

Then we arrived in front of a wide, equally dark corridor that went horizontally. We sank into it.

The corridor ended with a dark and more or less smooth wall.

Nova came forward alone and said:

"Ñoqaykuqa valeq runakunan kayku. Yaykuna mañakuyku."

It was the language of the ancient Pandoran that I had learned in the Sky City. He said, "We are worthy people. We request access."

Immediately luminous lines appeared in the wall drawing a large door decorated with elegant curved lines. Then a shutter opened. Nova took his plait and inserted it into a seashell inside the space the shutter had uncovered.

It took a moment and a voice was heard:

"Qankunaqa chanin runakunan kankichis. Allin hamuy."

Either: "You are worthy people. Welcome."

And the door opened into a wide hallway bathed in lights.

So we all entered the Core. Then the door closed and gas was released into the hallway. Nova explained:

"Don't worry, it's to purify us."

And a second door opened. We started walking again further into the structure.

Soon we found ourselves on a bridge in the middle of a large empty space. It was an amazing sight!

The spherical cavity was bathed in abundant and pleasant light.

Its outer wall was covered with cylindrical, spherical, cubic volumes that were arranged in very complex ways. It looked like an oil refinery but made of chrome, copper and gleaming gold. Every bolt, every fitting, every detail was a work of art on its own.

In the center stood a large tower that rose from the base of the cavity to the ceiling. It was even more richly decorated than the finest spiers of Gothic cathedrals.

At the base of this tower there was a kind of garden filled with sculptures, small monuments, ponds and trees cut like a castle park. All in immaculate condition. We could see metal animals working in some places, which must have maintained the entire structure.

The central tower was connected by four elegant and symmetrical bridges to the equator of the cavity. At regular intervals, large statues of warriors in armor decorated the bridges. They even seemed to keep them. Looking closer I noticed that these statues seemed to have functional joints. I then remembered the toys I had seen in the Sky City, these kinds of robotic armor that housed a pilot.

Before this extraordinary vision the clones and I were speechless. Nova broke the silence:

"The Core was designed to be invulnerable and immortal. It brings together all the knowledge of our glorious civilization. It can provide all the things we need. It's like a seed just waiting to be awakened. This seed will revive our world and allow us to ward off all threats whether they come from the savages of Eywa or from Earth. Let's wake up the seed! "

And we headed for the large central tower…

d) The throne room:

The central tower was a masterpiece of art and technique. In the middle of the corridors made of marbles, gems, gold, copper and chrome, animated armours, this time our size, solemnly greeted us. Probably robots. The decor was reminiscent of a mixture of Gothic, Baroque and Art Nouveau.

Then we all arrived in front of a large magnificent door that opened when we arrived. The room it housed was circular and facing the door was a throne flanked by four smaller seats.

Nova explained:

- Here we are in the throne room. Here sits the king and around his queen and advisers. Of course the titular king is no longer there and it is therefore the most worthy of those present here who will be considered king.

- And the most worthy is you, of course, I answered!

- Exactly my daughter. Considering my age, my experience, my knowledge, who can be more worthy?

- Does cruelty count too?

This word displeased especially the other clones and I received a slap from Gabriella:

"How dare you miserable! Without him we are nothing! You owe it all!"

Nova smirked at the gesture, then walked over to the throne and sat down. He inserted the end of his plait with a shell from the armrest of the throne. And he closed his eyes...

But he had a grin of annoyance. Something was wrong?

He opened his eyes and said:

"I'm afraid we have to wait a bit my daughters. We have at least 20 days. But we won't be bored, here there is everything to pass the time pleasantly! I think you all want to taste my flesh!"

Obviously they wanted to, they were just waiting for that since they had been designed for it. And all these clones jumped like fleas:

"O Master, yes we are all yours!"

But one thing puzzled me. Why wait 20 days? The thing that controlled the Core had refused to consider Nova king. Maybe he wasn't the most worthy of the group? Why then?

e) The orgy:

We had to pass the time. So we all descended to the lower floors of the tower by a vast elevator. I was still chained and guarded.

At this level the tower had luxurious apartments overlooking a green park. The Pandoran plants were sometimes a little odd, but it looked like an Italian garden with its line-cut hedges, its fragrant multicolored flowerbeds, its statues of Pandorans with divine physique sometimes depicting strength, reflection, pleasure…

And we settled into a room furnished with many large cushions as soft as they are richly embroidered.

- I understand better why you like Italy, Nova, I pointed out.

- Perfectly my daughter. In fact in my world, we wanted to make it more beautiful than Nature. This set the bar higher than on Earth where everything is grosser and uglier.

Then Nova invited everyone to undress completely. Everyone took off their military clothes and put their weapons in a corner. I kept my chains and I remained under guard.

Then we went to take a bath in a basin. This pool was special. A large part was covered with a soft coating with rounded shapes. There were also bubble jets and water jets of different temperatures. It was particularly pleasant. The smell and taste of the water was also delicious, nothing to do with our pools filled with chlorine. It's like bathing in fruit juice.

It was also an invitation to debauchery and Nova did not hesitate to fiddle with his "daughters" who were all very excited.

Then came meal time. All lying naked on large cushions, robots with elegant shapes and gait came to serve us delicious food. Certain foods caused bizarre sensations that went beyond mere taste but caused visual, auditory and all other sense hallucinations; but always in the sense of pleasure.

Nova played music and invited some of his "daughters" to dance with him. He danced very well and this dance was obviously very sensual. The music also played on the senses in a way that you can hardly imagine until you have felt it.

Frankly everything was so beautiful here. Even the most luxurious of earthly hotels could not come close to this place. In fact if we wanted a description of paradise, it could have corresponded to that even if it was a little too focused on the pleasure of the flesh for a good Christian.

But then came the moment I dreaded. Nova turned to me:

"Here is what we white Pandorans have managed to create after generations of effort. A perfect world, made of voluptuousness, abundance and beauty. Here we no longer fear suffering, no longer death, no longer anything. A real paradise, not an empty promise like on Earth or an illusion like with Eywa. Michaela you are made for this world, you come from it. Do you want to unite with me and free yourself forever?"

All I had to do was say "yes". And then I would know, I was certain, a total happiness that would make me neither regret my human life, nor my life as a clone and nor my life among the Na'vis. Yrr would just be a bland experience.

Yet deep inside me, something was stuck. The world of Nova may lacked authenticity or rather meaning. Did I want to spend my life worshiping this character with a soul of stone in an endless life? To see him destroy everything I had loved, whether here or on Earth?

So I say "no".

The clones screamed, insulted me, threw food and dishes at me.

But Nova made a gesture and they fell silent:

- Do you know the consequence of this refusal?

- Suffering?!

- Exactly, again and again.

And once again Nova raped me by putting even more violence into it under the cheers of her clones. And once again I lost consciousness after this umpteenth torture session.

f) Who is more worthy? :

And again I woke up in pain. I had been tied to a column in a remote corner of the room. I couldn't really see where I was from but apparently Nova was mating with one of the clones while the others were watching or participating in the show.

Suddenly one of the humanoid looking iron beings came towards me. Its smooth face could display different things and there it displayed a face full of compassion. And it said in the language of the ancient white Pandorans:

"Unqusqa kasqaykita rikuni. Qanpaq imatapas ruwanayta munankichu?"

Which meant: "I see you are in pain. Do you want me to do something for you?"

I couldn't stay like this. Suffer daily rapes. I couldn't hold on. And if? What if that was it? What if I could? I would become the mistress of the game? So I dared and I answered:

"Kay cadenakunam nanachiwarqa. Atiwaqchu chaykunata hurquyta?"

"These chains hurt me. Can you take them off?"

And the machine obeys. Out of its hand came a laser scalpel or something. The chains melted silently in moments. I was free!

Without waiting I headed for the throne room.

The idea was simple, Nova and his clones had colored their skin blue to fool the Na'vis, I was the only one with white skin. The Core soul must have found that odd. So it had denied Nova dignity. He would therefore have to wait the 20 days for his skin to turn white again since Gabriella had told me that it was temporary.

So I was going to be queen of the Core, it was the only possible escape.

To reach the throne room I had to climb at least 100 meters up the central tower. I arrived in front of the elevator but I did not know how to use it. Afraid of wasting too much time, I took the stairs.

It was not a good idea because the climb was much longer than expected. And when I got to the throne room I was exhausted.

Alas Nova had noticed my flight. He probably understood what I wanted to do and started chasing me with his clones. I barely had time to hide when the elevator door opened. It was too late !

Nova shouted his orders:

"You four, stand in front of the Throne Room! She must not go there!"

"The others form groups of three and scatter to find this bitch! And you shoot her!"

"Michaela, if you can hear me, I've been patient but the game has gone on long enough! You chose your ending!"

It was finished. It would only be a matter of time before they find me and kill me. I preferred this ending, at least I wouldn't have betrayed anyone. But the Core was big and it would take them a long time to find me in this game of hide-and-seek.

I tried to reach the external structures by leaving the central tower but I was spotted on one of the bridges. If the clones hadn't had time to put their clothes back on, they had taken their weapons. And they fired at me, though from too far to hit me.

Passing one of the "mecha suits" that lined up on the bridge, I had an idea. Maybe I could use one and turn the situation around? But how to activate it? I was looking for a button, a lever. I was wasting time and my lead was melting away. The clones were already entering the bridge.

Perhaps by speaking: "Manka, amachayniykita haywariway!" or "Armor, offer me your protection!"

And the belly of the object opened like a cupboard with two doors.

I heard Nova yell, "Shoot her down! Fire! Fast!"

And a volley of bullets flew towards me and before I engulfed myself, one of them hit me in the stomach. But that didn't stop my momentum and I jumped into the seat inside.

And the armor closed around me. I could hear bullets bouncing off its armor. I was safe but my wound was bleeding a lot. I tried to compress the wound which was very painful. And at the same time I made the bond with the shell that fitted one of the armrests of the machine.

The armor immediately understood my situation. The threat had to be eliminated as soon as possible in order to heal me.

And then all the suits came to life and used their weapons – kind of rapid-fire sniper rifles embedded in one of their two arms – to eliminate the clones in a flash. Blood was flowing! I was killing my sisters! It wasn't really me but it was just like. I found no satisfaction in that.

The survivors and Nova retreated to the Throne Room.

The Core machines continued their work. They surrounded the Throne Room which could not serve as a lasting refuge because the door was not lockable, at least not by Nova.

He began to speak through loudspeakers:

"You have won Michaela, my daughter. Congratulation! I am fully responsible for it, victim of my vanity. But I don't see it as a failure because you won't be able to resist the power of the Core. And you remain my flesh!"

My injury made me suffer too much and I felt that I was weakening. So I let the machines finish the job and shoot down the latest clones and Nova.

It was finished...

g) Yrr the victorious:

Yrr had fled the rocket under fire from the daughters of Nova and their dwarven minions. He had been hit but his Ikran had come to his aid and saved him from certain death.

Now only one thought would occupy him. Raise an army and return to defeat Nova before he takes the Great Power. And of course get his mate back.

Yrr after treating his wounds, had gone to the clan of the Blue Flute, the Omaticayas. They were the closest to the Tree of Souls, one of the most sacred places in Eywa.

Like the others, the Omaticayas had been struck by the evil spell which had amputated their kurus. But on the other hand in the region of the Tree of Souls, the power of Eywa had protected the creatures from the evil spell.

Yrr was able to find Toruk there who had been spared from the spell. And he tamed him becoming the new Toruk Makto. From there he remobilized all the clans and imagined new plans of attacks against Nova.

When the kurus finally regenerated, Yrr was able to launch his attack on the village of the demons and the place where they were digging the ground. They were almost 5000!

To avoid the poisonous air, Yrr attacked on a windy day and avoided entering the Demon House Tree. He pierced the wall and threw flammable resin inside. Soon the fire reached all their refuge killing all the occupants.

But he arrived too late on the mine. Nova had blocked off the entrance and locked himself in there with his daughters. Yrr could see his Blessed Demon, she was chained and visibly dragged against her will with Nova. She hadn't given in to him. This single vision had only strengthened his love and his determination to free her.

But the mine clearing work was dragging on:

- Toruk Makto, the gallery collapsed again. We need more wood to support!

- Wasting too much time! If Nova Great Power, lost!

Call for more warriors for more wood. Fast !

- Yes Great Warrior!

It had been almost a day since Nova entered the ground. And nothing had happened. But Yrr and no Na'vi or even Eywa suspected what was underneath.

Suddenly a warrior began to shout: "The hill is on fire!"

The imposing pile of rocks that dominated the mine began to smoke. Between the stones escaped large light gray plumes. There were even flames and dull sounds of explosions that seemed to come from the heart of the hill. The phenomenon lasted around 10 minutes.

Some Na'vis fled but Yrr remained in front of the show. He knew that if it was Nova who was about to unleash another cataclysm, they would all be killed. Might as well look death in the face.

Then a blinding column of light rose vertically up the hill for a short time before disappearing. The phenomenon then gradually subsided and the smoke eventually disappeared.

Yrr then called several warriors and began to climb the hill to see what had happened.

Near the top of the hill there was a perfectly circular hole with a smooth surface like sleeping water. This hole plunged vertically into the ground.

"Look Toruk Makto, something is coming up from the bottom of the hole towards us!"

But Yrr couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the blond mane appear in the light. Soon the creature reaches the top of the well carried by a circular platform just the size of the hole.

This young female with white skin, blond hair and green eyes, wore a beautifully braided loincloth and a shell-shaped pendant.

- I see you Yrr, my love!

- See you. More and happier!

- Nova is dead. His cursed daughters too. The Great Power will not be in demonic hands. Dangers are definitely away from our world. The time of Great Sorrow is over!

Take me in your arms great warrior!

Yrr took his Blessed Demon into his arms in a long embrace. Then they addressed the crowd of warriors from the top of the hill. Cheers of joy rang out!

h) The legend:

Yrr and the Blessed Demon climbed on Toruk and accompanied by many warriors traveled around the world for years.

They told their adventures to as many clans as possible and announced the good news: the demons were defeated and Eywa would be reborn! Soon the charred earth would be covered with greenery and the scars would close to send the demons back to nothingness.

They had many, beautiful and brave children who made the happiness of many clans. They themselves remained wandering and disappeared after two generations.

After finding Prince Charming, the ugly duckling was able to defeat the very evil wizard. Then they lived happily and had many children: what a beautiful tale that delighted the children of Pandora for generations!

That's all the Na'vis and Eywa needed to know. They didn't need to know more to avoid being tempted.

Only I knew the whole truth. And Yrr of course because I couldn't hide it from him.

I said it was all over but I knew it wouldn't be. I had eliminated the last Earth spaceship with a gravitational wave. Then I destroyed the gravitational catapults that linked Earth to Pandora; with some regret. But one day it was obvious that the earthlings would come back here on their own. We had to prepare...