Summary

He had not expected to wake up in his Avatar. Actually he had not expected to wake up at all. Thomas Sully comes to Pandora with Quatrich. His memories are not fully intact but he was told his brother went crazy.

Chapter 1

There were certain things he had expected of his life. Growing up, going to school, finishing college with honors, and starting his work. And then, someday, escaping the world he was born into.

Suddenly waking up in another body was something he had expected, but it being his permanent new body was definitely not. He had been killed over a decade ago, and they had only just invented the technology to implant memories into a Na'vi body. Good thing he had recorded all of his knowledge and memory up to the point of getting ready for his departure.

But all the surprises paled in comparison to the stories he had learned about his little brother, who had taken his place in the RDA program after his passing. Then he apparently went mad, turned his back on the human race, and defended his new home to the best of his abilities.

To be honest, there were only a few times in his life where Thomas Sully was this proud of his younger twin, Jake. Jake was always the more impulsive, strong, brave, and oh-so-stupid one. So many times had Tom been denied sleep just to stay awake and worry about his brother.

When he was a marine, Jake used to call him once a week, and every time there would be a new person Jake had magically pissed off and gotten into a fight with. With a bruised face, he'd tell Tom how he won the fight with a smile, but his brother still worried more. He didn't doubt that Jake did just that when he came to Pandora.

A month before the planned landing on Pandora, Tom and six other avatars were woken. All others were hardened soldiers, and most of them seemed to dislike Tom for some reason. After the first few days of sorting his memory and scanning the databanks for information, Tom realized their reason for their dislike. They all had died in the last battle on Pandora, and some even said they had been killed by his brother himself.

Looking like his identical twin, even in his new body, they made sure to tell him how little they thought of him. In their view, he had only been given a second chance at life due to his worth as a diplomatic figure, or better said, a hostage, to get his brother to comply.

Personally, Tom doubted his effectiveness in this regard. For Jake, he must have died over two decades ago. The threat of killing Tom might seem ludicrous at best and plain stupid at worst, but the higher-ups had decided on that move, so they would comply.

The reunion with his twin would have to wait anyway. First, he needed to become more accustomed to his new body's movements. The sensory input was truly incredible and his body was so much stronger than before. After acclimating to walking, running, and climbing in a gym, Tom decided to gather more information about his brother.

He thanked Eywa in advance -before ever coming into contact with the deity- for the RDA's blatant underestimation of his skills. The technology had gone through some changes in the last 20 years, but nothing Tom couldn't master in a couple of hours. He hacked into the system as best he could to get the news video they had shown on Earth after the battle of Pandora. They had painted Jake and the Na'vi in the most savage way, leaving out entirely, how they had attacked first.

Not that it would change much. On Earth, they had enough examples of native folks being slaughtererd, and most humans were struggling so much to stay alive, that they would take anything from others. It was just a reminder of how low humanity had fallen.

Through newly formed connections with young and eager scientists, he also acquired his brother's video logs before the battle. Jake seemed so different to Tom's eyes. At first, there was curiosity, wonder, and deep sorrow that only he could see on his brother's face. It seemed that Jake had mourned for him and his life on earth. Tom was somewhat touched by his brother's care and sorrow.

They had been drifting apart after Jakes injury. The first months Tom had taken Jake in and made sure he'd get the best treatment he could afford. But Jake had tired of his care quickly and demanded to live on his own. Tom had reluctantly agreed. He understood his twin better than anyone, but he was not able to understand the loss of ones legs. Jake, being fiercely independent and headstrong, forbade Tom to visit more than once a week.

At one point they had a terrible fight in which Jake had accused him to live out his own cowardly desires, by taking care of his now invalid brother. Tom had been hurt, hurt by the fact that Jake might be correct. But being the coward his twin knew him to be, he kept his distance. Instead of confronting the issue, he fled into his work. A month later, with little to no contact he'd made it into the Avatar Programm.

The thought of being born again, but this time without his twin by his side made him realise a hard truth. No matter what Jake might think of him, he was his older brother and it had been his responsibility to keep Jake and himself alive after their parents death. He wanted to let his brother know he was loved even when Tom was light years away.

Actually he wanted his brother by his side no matter what. His last recorded memory was his plan to visit his brother in town but after that… Nothing.

He assumed he had died on his way into town. He had not been able to say goodbye to the only family on earth he had treasured.

In the first couple of logs, Jake even mentioned Tom's name. He had to suppress a snort when Jake complained about Tom's awful co-workers, who were too nerdy for his taste and even more grumpy than him. Grace Augustine must have left a splendid first impression, right next to the excitable Norm. Tom's constant worry for Jake only intensified when he heard Jake telling of his circumstances of meeting the Omaticaya clan. Nearly being killed three times in one day must have been a record, even for Jake. Then he remembered that Jake had seen war firsthand. He sighted at the trouble that was his twin.

But then his stories began to change. The light in his little brother's eyes returned fully when he explained how he had tried to ride a Pal'i or learned archery. Jake seemed to love his Ikran: Bob. What a terrible Name for such a majestic creature.

Especially his talk about Neytiri made Tom pause in his research. She must have had a great impact on Jake's decision to defend Pandora from the human invasion.

He heard about Dr. Augustines death and mourned for the woman he had seen in the background of his brothers logs. She had cared for Jake, when he had no one. For that alone Tom was so very grateful.

When he saw his brother's last log, Tom realized what must have happened. The Na'vi had found a way to permanently bind Jake's soul to his Avatar body. Deep in his heart, he was happy for his brother, and he longed to speak to him again. But with Thomas's arrival, there would be more and new enemies for his brother to fight.

Somehow they would make it work. Tom was determined to talk to Jake in person and ask him for forgiveness. His last words to him had been out of anger and fear, but now he wanted to be there for Jake. He might just be willing to help his little brother defend the new way of living that he had found for himself.

Welcome to all readers.

This might be my first story but I hope you can enjoy it. The Idea just stuck in my head and wouldn't leave, now it is out here.