Chapter 20: Too Far Down
ohn climbs out of the psionic machine gingerly; he is a man with a heavy heart. When he stands up, he notes the huge eyes of George staring him down as if reading his soul. He just shakes his head wearily and turns towards the cabin. Greg steps up behind the Odal and places one hand on the alien's shoulder with a firm little pat. Everyone in the lab is speechless. They did not hear the exact words spoken between them, though they could feel that something was wrong when John came back alone.
Mycroft sits at the desk in front of the monitor with his face resting in his hands. He is completely unsure of what the next step should be. He is partially aware of the sound of George's sullen hoot as the Odal leaves the lab. Una calls out a goodnight to him and then Greg is there beside him, resting his hand against Mycroft's thigh. Mycroft raises his head, giving Greg the once over then reaching up and clicking his ear piece back on. Greg leans in and grasps both sides of Mycroft's face in his hands, forcing the other man to meet his eyes. After a time, he kisses him softly on the lips and pulls back to stare at him.
"You did nothing wrong." Greg says softly as he taps his own ear piece.
Before Mycroft can answer, Sherlock's gruff growling Na'vi voice comes through the devices. "Leave me the fuck alone, Mycroft."
"Sherlock, you need to get back here. You and your avatar need to rest." Mycroft says with authority.
"Fuck you Mycroft." Sherlock responds. Mycroft holds onto a tiny flicker of hope because apparently Sherlock's hands are too busy to turn off the ear piece. Mycroft turns the monitor back on and points to the little dot that shows them Sherlock is high up in the canopy, doing what looks like climbing using both hands and feet.
Mycroft heaves a heavy sigh and rolls his shoulders. "Where are you going, alone, Sherlock?"
The little dot on the screen stops moving. Even at this distance, Mycroft can feel the wheels in his brother's head churning. The original agreement between them was that everyone always went out in pairs, at the very least.
Up in the trees, Sherlock knows that his brother has the power to pull rank at any second and force him back to the lab. He pauses in his climbing, being forced back now would be a serious issue for the avatar, especially if it fell to the ground from this distance. He closes his eyes and focuses on the admiral's voice.
"Sherlock, let me explain this to you one last time. If you do not find a safe place for your avatar in five minutes, I am personally pushing the button that will disconnect you from it for good. You can go back to gaining your information the old way."
"Mycroft, Pandora is dying." Sherlock's has the audacity to sound like a whiny teenager. Beside him, Greg lets out a snort of displeasure. Mycroft turns toward him and smiles before answering.
"As I am well aware."
"Mycroft, I need more time. It all has to do with the connections, with this Ewya thing…" Sherlock gasps as a whole new world opens up in front of him. The sun has just set, plunging the forest around him in complete darkness—except for the glowing foliage, roots and insects now plainly see with Na'vi eyes. "That's it!" Sherlock shouts! Mycroft pulls his ear-piece part way out of his ear while Greg yanks his off completely.
"I will be there in ten minutes." There is a click and the only thing to tell them that Sherlock is scrambling back down the trees is the descending of his dot on the monitor.
There is a quiet knock on the door to their bedroom. John pushes himself up against the headboard and calls out "enter."Una opens the door and steps in, leaving it partially ajar.
"Ambassador, are you doing alright?" Una asks in a muffled voice through the hand she puts over her mouth. She stands rooted on the spot, just one step in from the door.
"No. I will be, though, thanks for asking." John tilts his head to one side a little, watching her carefully. The Telom understands his uneasiness around her; she does not let it get to her, however, instead choosing to concentrate on John's better qualities.
"I just wanted to let you know that if you needed someone to listen, I am here. George is, too, he did want me to tell you that." Una clicks her heels together lightly and exits the room.
"Thank you." John's voice follows her out.
Sherlock is rushing to his hiding place in bounding strides so fast that he is almost trotting across the landscape. He is out farther than even John has been yet, the ground that was once a river basin dry and desolate now. It is a large barren spot on the plains that are otherwise still healthy with plant life, even if they would not be described as bountiful. He is lost in his mind, going over the talk with John and the amazing spiritual something that is so deeply ingrained in the Omaticaya. He is so immersed in his own thoughts that he fails to see the chasm before it is too late.
Without warning, Sherlock plunges feet first into a hole. He seems to fall into the darkness for several minutes before he is aware of the chill of water as he hits the bottom. There is only an echo of his crash and he weakly reaches for his earpiece before he passes out cold.
"Ambassador!" Una is banging on the bedroom door with both fists. John startles awake as she is coming into his room, grabbing at one arm and practically hauling him through the tunnel and into the lab.
John's head is spinning and he tries to gain some control. So far, all he can decipher is that something has happened to Sherlock and his avatar.
Something has happened to Sherlock.
"Stop!" He shouts as he holds both hands up. Every being stops attempting to talk with him all at once. He stands there in the midst of utter chaos, his chest heaving and his eyes wild from lack of sleep or perhaps worry about the captain; a mix of both is most likely. When he sees Mycroft settle back into his chair and Greg move to join him, he turns towards Una and asks her to repeat what she just said. He latches onto the fact that Sherlock is most certainly still alive, as the monitors are all reading favorably. It appears that he is simply lost for the moment and cannot be awakened.
"So, what you are telling me is that even though he is lost in his avatar out there," John points towards the windows for good measure, "and he is still healthy in here," he points to the psionic machines, "that it is inadvisable to wake him up here because forcing his mind away from his avatar body would damage them both."
Una nods with both enthusiasm and sadness.
"Alright. Alright. It's fine. We can deal with this." John rubs his forehead with his fingers. "Will you keep watching the monitors, then, Una?" She agrees and settles back into her stool between the machines, though her eyes remain on him.
"George is it possible to keep the link on him so we can attempt to find out his exact location on the map?" The Odal snorts and squeaks out the affirmative. "Good." John has begun pacing the length and breadth of the lab, in imitation of his lover.
"Mycroft, what have you got?"
"Ambassador, in the event we need to rescue him, my ship is on stand-by just within Pandora's orbit."
"Alright, thank you Admiral." It is always fascinating for the rest of the crew when their leaders snap back and forth between military formality and familiarity. Formality means things are serious and it seems to be a means of comfort for them all. "That is not all, though is it, Admiral?" John asks as he stops by the machine Sherlock is currently sleeping in. He strokes the metal with his fingertips, keeping his eyes down on the machine.
"No." Mycroft answers. Next to him, Greg turns to him in surprise.